Truck deliberately drove into Berlin Christmas market, police say

The truck that ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people and injuring 49, was driven at the crowd deliberately in a presumed terrorist attack, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

GALLERY

The truck that ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people and injuring 49, was driven at the crowd deliberately in a presumed terrorist attack, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

Berlin (dpa) - The truck drove between 50 and 80 metres through the market at the historic Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church late Monday, near one of the German capitals most popular shopping streets. The suspected driver, who fled the scene, was taken into custody shortly afterwards a few kilometres away. Police have not released details on his identity.Public broadcaster RBB reported he came to Germany in December 2015 from Pakistan, A security source earlier told dpa he had registered as an asylum seeker.The suspect was known to police for minor criminal offences, but not terrorist activity, the Tagesspiegel newspaper reported.Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere refused to label the incident a terrorist attack, though he said "a lot points in that direction.""We want to be very, very cautious and operate close to the investigation results, not with speculation," he told broadcaster ARD.A man found dead in the passenger seat of the truck, which was owned by a Polish company, was later identified as a Polish citizen. It was not clear how he died. Police said he had not been behind the trucks wheel when it drove through the market.The companys owner, Ariel Zurawski, told Polish broadcaster TVN 24 that the truck had earlier in the day been driven by his cousin, who had been transporting steel to Berlin and had not been reachable since the late afternoon.He said he was sure his cousin was not an attacker. "It cant have been my driver," he said. "Something must have happened to him ... I am so shocked."German police said later they were working on the assumption that the truck had been stolen from a construction site in Poland.Amateur videos taken directly after the attack and aired on several German broadcasters showed injured people lying on the ground against the backdrop of police sirens."We are mourning the dead and hope the many people injured can get help," German Chancellor Angela Merkels spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Twitter.Security had been increased at many of the nations Christmas markets this year, according to a recent dpa survey, amid fears they could be a target for terrorists.A large number of streets were cordoned off around the church on Breitscheidplatz while police patrolled the area with machine guns.Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller called that attack "dramatic" but said the situation in the capital was under control.If established as a terrorist attack, the incident will come less than six months after two attacks in Germany inspired by the Islamic State extremist group and the Bastille Day attack in France, which left 86 dead.In July, a 17-year-old claiming to be an Afghan asylum seeker attacked passengers on a Bavarian commuter train with an axe and a knife.A week later a 27-year-old Syrian asylum seeker blew himself up outside a music venue in the Bavarian town of Ansbach, injuring more than a dozen people.A 12-year-old boy with dual German-Iraqi citizenship also allegedly attempted to explode a nail bomb at a Christmas market in the western German city of Ludwigshafen a few weeks ago.Christmas markets have a long history in Germany stretching back to the Middle Ages. However, more recently they have grown dramatically to become popular places to socialize - to drink mulled wine and to eat snacks in the weeks running up to Christmas.
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When Denvers board of education reinstated school resource officers (SROs) to 11 high schools last week, they temporarily undid a policy that caused incidents of campus violence and students bringing weapons to school to skyrocket  culminating in deadly shootings on and near East High Schools campus.

The decision was a tacit recognition that removing SROs was a failure  although the boards vice president, Tay Anderson, rejects that. The data supports that what we were pushing for was correct, he said on 9News, arguing SROs wouldnt have helped prevent the shooting of two East deans by 17-year-old Austin Lyle.

(T)here were many times where we had SROs and school violence detectives from DPD as part of our safety plan development because we knew they would be there and we wanted their intelligence and expertise in that process, Mike Eaton, former DPS chief of safety, said on my 710KNUS radio show. That SROhas been trained on how to mitigate that situation immediately and maybe there would have been a different outcome.

Lets be clear: The problem with Tay Anderson isnt that hes wrong. Its that he is manifestly incapable of escaping his own ideological capture, his implicit bias against police and his toxic impulses. We know Lyle was on probation for weapons violations in 2021 and previously expelled from Cherry Creek Schools. We also know Denvers McAuliffe International School requested DPS move a middle school student charged with attempted murder to online learning or expel the student. The district refused.

We cant deny students an education based off of behavior that occurred outside of our district, Anderson asserted, twisting himself into a pretzel to defend the indefensible. (O)nce we get into this practice of saying, this happened off school groundswhat else are we going to start hammering kids for? A kid steals something at the mall, do we now check that student every day? Ah yes  the old, attempted murder-to-shoplifting analogy.

Anderson couldnt articulate the districts responsibility to protect students, teachers and staff. He blamed racism while talking about student mistakes, as though violent crimes are mere slipups to be shrugged off. He insisted that separating a potentially dangerous student would deny a free, fair and public education.

Yet, as McAuliffes principal, Kurt Dennis, observed, every kid deserves an education, regardless of their state in the legal system, that kid deserves a free public education, but there is more than one way to do that. If Anderson believes remote learning was adequate for all DPS kids during the pandemic, why is he against using it to temporarily mitigate potential threats to other students?

Anderson (who also goes by Auontai Anderson) has a longstanding, implicit bias against police. On 9News, he dismissed his own past comments  like calling cops motherfs and corrupt  as coming in the heat of the moment during the summer 2020 protests. Andersons public record and longstanding reputation for impugning police belie this claim  and his inherent bias is interfering with his fiduciary duty to school safety. Even as students of color fall prey to school violence more than white students, he continues to insist that police officers on school campuses may be doing more harm than good.

Andersons penchant for online intimidation  which hes been found guilty of by DPS multiple times  is on display, too. On Sunday, he used Twitter to shame concerned constituents. Its time to start releasing the problematic emails were getting from folks to the Denver School Board, he wrote. Anderson posted five screenshots, along with commentary and three childish memes. With one vulgar exception, the emails were from parents simply expressing genuine concerns. Welcome Jeff, Andersons thread begins.

I am OUTRAGED at this! I have previously never gotten involved in politics or the schools or contacted anyone like this, Jeff wrote. If DPS only wants to protect the criminals and the worst of our society over the safety and education of all our children they are going to end up with empty schools, or prisons with only the criminals attending, he added, drawing Andersons scorn for this sentence.

Anderson himself stated that students charged with attempted murder should return to school  even if it means putting other students at risk. So, Ill forgive Jeff for saying DPS prioritizes students who may pose violent risks to other students, especially in the heat of the moment.

Two other emails advocated remote learning. Covid taught us a lot, Jennifer wrote. If you are unable to behave in an appropriate manner, then your schooling can be completed on-line in a setting with sufficient support staff to help you. Stop letting these violent students hold our kids and schools hostage. From this, Anderson absurdly claimed Jennifer supports segregation and den(ying) a free and fair public education.

Lets be real: These parents understandably fear for their childrens safety. Yet Andersons juvenile response was to publicly dismiss and attempt to embarrass them. Such toxic, petty behavior is not only tone-deaf  it trivializes very real concerns.

In 2021, Tay Andersons colleagues censured him for unbecoming behavior. Nearly two years later, hes proven nothing has changed. Come November, voters ought to finally show Auontai the doorway.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and host of The Jimmy Sengenberger Show Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS. Reach Jimmy online at JimmySengenberger.com or on Twitter @SengCenter.
Voter turnout just days ahead of Colorado Springs' Tuesday municipal election hasn't matched turnout at the same point in 2019, the city's last mayoral election year, data from the City Clerk's Office show.

But more residents have cast their ballots this year than they did at the same point in the last municipal election in 2021, when no mayoral race was on the ballot.

Figures through Thursday, the most recent date for which data is available, show about 16%, or 50,397, of Colorado Springs' 311,902 active registered voters have so far returned their ballots. That's compared with 49,203 ballots returned at the same point in 2021, and 57,098 ballots at the same point in 2019.

Overall, more people tend to vote in mayoral election years than in years when there are no mayoral races, clerk's data from the last four regular municipal elections in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 show.

So far, voters in District 1 in Colorado Springs' northwest area have returned 11,109 ballots to date, the most of any of the city's six districts, figures show. Residents in District 3 (southwest) have returned 9,389; District 2 (north), 9,305; District 5 (central), 9,105; District 6 (east), 8,095; and voters in District 4 (southeast) have returned 3,394, the fewest of any district.

On Tuesday, residents will have their final chance to cast their votes for the city's first new mayor in eight years. They will elect three at-large City Council representatives to four-year terms and will elect a representative to serve the remaining two years of the term for Council District 3.

Voters will also decide whether to extend for another 20 years a dedicated 0.1% sales tax, or 1 cent per $10, that is split between parks, trails and open space for acquisition, stewardship and maintenance.

If on Tuesday none of the 12 mayoral candidates vying to replace term-limited Mayor John Suthers earn 50% of the vote, plus one vote, the city will host a mayoral runoff election between the top two vote-getters, scheduled for May 16.

In a runoff election, the person who wins the most votes will be named third strong mayor to serve since voters approved the city's change to this form of government in 2010.

Under this system the mayor serves as Colorado Springs' chief executive officer who enforces laws and ordinances, creates a strategic plan for the city and submits to the City Council an annual budget, among others. The City Council acts as the legislative branch.

Residents must return their ballots to the city clerk's office or at any one of the city's 26 designated drop-off locations, which have 24/7 ballot boxes, by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Postmarks will not count.

It is too late for voters to mail their ballots.

A full list of drop-off locations and their addresses is available online at coloradosprings.gov/voterinfo.

Residents may receive replacement ballots in person at the city clerk's office, 30 S. Nevada Ave., 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on April 4, according to the clerk's website.

Voters who have questions about the election or need further assistance can call 719-385-5901.
A major renovation of the Air Force Academys Cadet Chapel is on hold indefinitely after $68 million slated for the project was reallocated for fixing hurricane damage at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced the change Wednesday on Twitter in a plea for hurricane funding to rebuild Tyndall, which suffered damage to all of its 1,200 buildings when Hurricane Michael slammed the base in October.

The Air Force estimates repairs will cost more than $3 billion, and Wilson chose to cancel 61 projects at other bases to get started on the work while waiting on Congress to approve additional funding. More projects will face the ax unless Congress comes up with disaster relief money for hurricane repairs for Tyndall, she warned.

We will be forced to cut more critical facility and readiness requirements if we dont receive it by May/June, Wilson said.

The Air Force asked for $1.2 billion in immediate disaster cash with $3.7 billion more added to the 2020 Air Force budget.

The Cadet Chapel is the most prominent of the projects Wilson canceled, but other work in Colorado is also on hold.

At Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, work on air intake valves to the underground command post was put on hold as well as air conditioning work on a satellite control facility at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora. A demolition project at Peterson Air Force Base was also delayed.

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The projects were slated to get money from the Air Forces facilities maintenance fund. Unlike military construction budgets, where projects are specifically authorized by lawmakers, the Air Force has wide discretion in what it does with maintenance money.

The chapel decision is likely one of the last for Wilson, who is set to leave her Air Force post in May to take a top university job in El Paso, Texas.

The academys chapel has leaked in rainy weather since it opened in 1962. The leaks are due to a cost-cutting decision during the Kennedy administration that saw an elaborate system of gaskets designed to seal its aluminum skin replaced by cheaper caulking.

A new seal system was planned along with other repairs that would have seen the building gutted. The repairs were expected to take as long as four years.

The academy estimates that 500,000 tourists annually visit the architectural wonder, recognizable for its soaring stained glass and 150-foot spires.

The academy had planned to close the chapel for work beginning Jan. 1 but delayed repairs in December. A new date for the work hadnt been scheduled when Wilson postponed it indefinitely.

Contact Tom Roeder: 636-0240 Twitter: @xroederx
In a new high-tech building taking shape on the Air Force Academy campus, cadets will someday learn to jam communications signals, test small quadcopter drones and attack and defend critical infrastructure, such as electrical grids.

The $58 million Madera Cyber Innovation Center will provide a home for the Department of Computer and Cyber Sciences and space for students to help solve real world problems the Air Force is facing, said Col. Judson Dressler, head of the department. The students will also have the opportunity to work on real world missions in a secure portion of the building.

"The nexus of cyber and artificial intelligence is really being integrated into war and future conflicts, so it becomes more and more imperative the cadets are getting that education and training ... in order to make sure we are prepared and ready to go for that next fight," Dressler said.

The academy's current research facility for projects in cyber and artificial intelligence is housed in one room, so the new building with 48,000 square feet and seven labs will be a significant upgrade and has generated more interest among younger students who could use the building, he said. The facility will also allow easier access for industry and academic partners to visit and work with students on projects because it will be outside the secure area of the campus.

The building was slated to open in 2023, and now it is expected to be ready for students starting in the fall 2024 semester, said Carlos Cruz-Gonzalez, director of logistics, engineering and force protection. The construction contractor, Bryan Construction, was delayed by a number of factors including major design changes to the building, unforeseen utilities on the site and pauses in work to accommodate parades and other events on a neighboring field. It is about a third complete, he said.

Crews on Wednesday were busy working on the steel bones of the three-story structure that will eventually blend into the midcentury-modern architecture on campus featuring largely glass on the exterior. The interior will also be largely glass to give it an open feel, said Brett Kmetz, Bryan construction project manager. The building's design took about 18 months, compared to a typical timeline of six to eight months, and small changes are happening even now.

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"We are still tweaking and evolving the design," he said.

For example, the crew added a suspended spiral staircase that will span the three floors of the building and feature a glass handrail. It was inspired in part by the staircase in the McDermott Library, but it will be more oblong and sculptural, he said.

The Army and the Navy's academies have similar facilities, but this one is meant to facilitate collaboration with experts in industry, Dressler said. For example, while cadets are working on real Air Force problems during their senior years, industry experts will be able to easily meet with them and teach them how to incorporate best practices, he said. The building will have office space for experts in industry and academia to help with that collaboration.

Each year, about 1,400 students will attend class in the building, according to a news release.

"We are teaching them to be forward thinking leaders," Dressler said.

This story has been updated to correct the square footage of the building.
In the final days ahead of Colorado Springs' municipal election next week, residents on Thursday evening will have a chance to meet and chat with several candidates for mayor and City Council.

Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center is hosting a free, public meet and greet with candidates from 4-6:30 p.m. Thursday at its facility, 530 Communications Circle.

Residents can chat with candidates, "with a focus on veteran and military issues," a news release announcing the event states.

Ten of the 12 mayoral candidates vying to succeed Mayor John Suthers are planning to attend. They are Sallie Clark, Andrew Dalby, Darryl Glenn, Longinos Gonzalez Jr., Lawrence Joseph Martinez, Jim Miller, Christopher Mitchell, Yemi Mobolade, Tom Strand and Wayne Williams.

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At-large City Council candidates Jay Inman, Jaymen Johnson, David Leinweber and Roland Rainey Jr., as well as District 3 City Council candidate Michelle Talarico, are also planning to attend, the release states.

On Tuesday Colorado Springs residents will cast their votes to elect Colorado Springs' first new mayor in eight years. They will also select three at-large City Council members and will fill an unexpired term for council District 3.

Voters also will decide whether to extend the Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) tax for another 20 years. The majority of the proceeds of the dedicated 0.1% sales tax, or 1 cent per $10, is split between parks, trails and open space for acquisition, stewardship and maintenance.
Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individual responsible for the death of a Fort Carson soldier.

Braden Peltier, 23, was one of two individuals shot Sunday in the 2700 block of Palmer Park Boulevard, just west of North Circle Drive. The shooting happened at what police are calling an after-hours club, which was unauthorized, Colorado Springs police spokesman Robert Tornabene told The Gazette. Police have not confirmed whether the shooting happened inside or outside the building.

The status of the other person who was shot has not been reported.

The official cause and manner of Peltier's death have not been released. However, the case is being investigated as a homicide, according to police.

Detectives are working hard to identify the suspect. We are asking for help from our community for any information about this suspect, their whereabouts or anything they may know about this terrible crime. I would ask that you call Crime Stoppers if you have information that will help us, said Police Chief Adrian Vasquez.

For individuals with any information regarding the alleged assailant, reports can be made by calling 719-634-7867, or by submitting an anonymous report by visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
Authorities on Thursday arrested a Colorado Springs man who allegedly was among a group of rioters who repeatedly engaged in violence against law enforcement officers guarding the (U.S.) Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

Jonathan Grace, 49, was expected to make his first court appearance Thursday in Denver on charges that include felony civil disorder.

Grace is accused of joining a mob of rioters who were pushing back against a line of officers in the Lower West Terrace and tunnel areas of the Capitol, according to the release. At the end of the tunnel were two sets of doors that opened directly into the Capitol.

GRACE made his way deep into the mob of rioters inside the tunnel, put his head down, and began using his body weight to push in unison with the rioters against police officers," reads a statement from the investigating special agent whose name was redacted. "As GRACE and the rioters thrusted their collective body weight into the officers, one officer could be heard screaming in agonizing pain as he was smashed between a shield and a metal door frame."

After officers temporarily cleared people from the tunnel, authorities say Grace watched as rioters dragged an officer from the tunnel and brutally attacked him. He then rejoined the rioters at the front of the tunnel as they once again pushed against police inside the tunnel.

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Grace retreated once an officer sprayed chemical irritants.

His case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section.

The FBI identified Grace using publicly available video footage, U.S. Capitol Police surveillance footage and body camera footage from officers. The FBI also reviewed Grace's financial transactions, which indicated he traveled from Colorado to the Washington, D.C., area and back in the days surrounding Jan. 6.

Grace joins more than 1,000 others who have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol breach that disrupted Congress count of the electoral votes and certification of President Joe Biden. The investigation is ongoing.
The El Paso County Sheriffs Office on Thursday identified a man fatally shot Monday near Cimarron Hills as Anthony Padilla, 43, of Colorado Springs.

Sheriff's deputies were called just before 1:45 a.m. Monday to the 800 block of Hathaway Drive in unincorporated El Paso County for a report of a burglary. Deputies heard gunfire when they arrived at the scene, and they found that Padilla had been shot, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Medics rushed Padilla to a hospital, where he later was pronounced dead.

Investigators are actively working the case and following up on leads, according to the Sheriff's Office. As of Thursday morning, there was no word of an arrest.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday identified two officers who fatally shot a man when investigators say he tried to stab police during a 911 call in Rio Grande County in south-central Colorado.

Monte Vista police Sgt. Michael Martinez and Cpl. David Pino have been on administrative leave since the shooting on March 21 that left an 18-year-old man dead.

Officers were sent to 1007 S. Broadway Street in Monte Vista around 12:35 p.m. for a report of a violent suspect in a home who was wielding two knives.

A man jumped from a front window of the home and began running at police while swinging both knives, barely missing the officers, according to a news release.

Pino deployed his Taser, and Martinez fired his handgun. Pino also fired his gun as he fell backward. The suspect, whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting remains under investigation, according to the CBI. Monte Vista is about 180 miles southwest of Colorado Springs.
Update: The 403 fire has burned 1,388 acres as of Sunday morning.

The Teller County Sheriffs Office announced Sunday residents who were evacuated will be allowed to return home. People who were under mandatory evacuation will change to a pre-evacuation status. They will be allowed to return to their homes after 12 p.m., Sunday. Homes that were under pre-evacuation status before will remain at that status.

Wildfire in El Paso County

A fire burning in El Paso County has prompted mandatory evacuations, according to a tweet from the sheriff's office.

A blaze burning in Cimarron Hills cause a mandatory evacuation of the area of Preble Drive and Boreal Drive, west to Newt Drive.

Click here for further updates on the fire.

Efforts to suppress the 403 fire continued for a third day in Teller and Park counties as red flag warnings persisted Saturday in southern Colorado.

As of Saturday late Saturday afternoon, the fire had burned an estimated 1,215 acres, with 25% of the fire contained, according to the official 403 Fire Facebook page.

Officials said their main priority lies in the safety of firefighters and the public. Over 123 personnel are actively on the scene, with the majority of resources going toward constructing a handline around the fire.

Although no structures have been lost, they remain threatened. Evacuation measures in immediate areas are still in effect.

Friday's update, 403 fire

The fire grew to 1,205 acres Friday afternoon, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which took over management of the fire at midnight.

Florissant Fire Chief Erik Holt said 123 fire fighters in total across multiple departments worked to contain the 403 fire on Friday. Strong, sustained winds challenged air support efforts, but crews managed one air drop of 3,000 gallons of water.

A red flag warning remains active across the Pikes Peak region until 7 p.m. Friday. A fire watch also will be in effect Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

High winds rolling through the region may pose problems to firefighters, as winds are expected to range from 20 to 35 mph throughout the day. Gusts may reach as high as 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

A media briefing took place at 9 a.m. Friday. The Teller County Sheriff's Office said a deputy will be available Friday to escort people to their residences to pick up necessary medication and animals.

According to officials, as of 8:15 a.m., smoke was not visible from the Florissant Fire Protection District on U.S. 24.

Officials are asking the public for donations of things such as eyedrops, water, and cough drops for both Park and Teller counties. Donations for Park County can be dropped off at the Lake George fire station, and donations for Teller County can be dropped off at the Sheriff's Office in Divide.

Thursday recap and lookahead, 403 fire

Lieutenant Jennifer Plutt with the Park County Sheriffs Office on Friday said flames were first confirmed by an off-duty sheriffs deputy at 10:58 a.m. Thursday morning following a 911 call from a resident reporting the fire from the Pikes Forest Estate subdivision. By 11:15 a.m. the Lake George Fire Department was on the scene, with assistance from the Guffey and Florissant fire departments.

At 11:31 a.m., mandatory evacuations came into effect for residents within a one-mile radius. By 3:23 p.m., a secondary call for evacuation went out to the residence in a 5-mile radius.

Right now, in terms of cause and origin, we are working hand and hand with the U.S. Forest Service, Special Agent, and fire investigation team, Plutt said.

Mandatory evacuations are still in place for the Pike Forest, Saddle Mountain Ranch and Blue Mountain Ranch subdivisions, as well as for residents along County Road 403.

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Country Road 403 along with County Road 38, which is east of County Road 61, remain closed.

Depending on what the fire does today will determine when those closures will be lifted, Plutt said.

According to Plutt, residents from evacuated subdivisions can stop by any of the roadblocks in place to be escorted back to their residences for a short period of time to retrieve any necessary materials left in their homes.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, approximately 1,100 acres have burned since the fire began Thursday morning. The area is expecting more resources Friday to help suppress the fire, including aviation support. However, the high winds present could limit the abilities of aircraft.

As of 10 a.m. Friday, Teller County moved into stage 2 of an active burn ban, posting the resolution from the county commissioners to its Twitter account.

According to the Pike & San Isabel National Forest, and the Cimarron & Comanche National Grasslands Fire Information Blog, the fire has burned a total of 1,205 acres as of 1:30 p.m. Friday. The Forest Service is leading current operations on the ground, utilizing resources from Teller and Park counties. The Department of Fire Prevention and Control's aviation resources were unable to fly Friday due to high winds present in the area.

The blog states the main goal is to continue to limit fire growth.

Fire in Park and Teller counties: 403 fire

As the 403 fire crosses over county lines, Teller County authorities Thursday evening ordered mandatory evacuations for the area stretching from County Road 46 to Wilson Drive and for residents of the Wilson Lakes and Forest Glenn subdivisions. Officials say 1,047 acres have been burned as of 8:45 p.m.

A pre-evacuation warning was issued for Valley Hi and Florissant Heights subdivisions, according to Teller County Sheriff Office. Residents in the area are asked to evacuate immediately if in danger. Officials announced the closest major intersection is County Road 403 and County Road 98 in Park County.

Click here for an interactive map of the current evacuation and pre-evacuation zones for the 403 fire.

Emergency shelters for evacuees are set up at the Woodland Park Community Center at 800 Valley View Drive.

Officials announced the power and gas will be cut off south of Highway 24 and west Teller 1 to the County line at 8:20 p.m., mainly impacting the subdivisions of Wilson Lakes and Forest Glenn.

Park County residents within one mile of County Road 403 and Alpine Meadow Lane were previously ordered to evacuate at 11:39 a.m. The alert said structures in the area are threatened by the grassfire.

An emergency evacuation shelter is open at the Lake George Community Center located at 39141 U.S. 24. Those with large animals or livestock are asked to locate to the Lake George Fairgrounds at 37371 Highway 24. For immediate updates, residents can call the evacuation line at 719-836-4200.

A media staging will take place at Florissant Grange located at 2009 Teller County Road 31, according to a tweet from the Teller County Sheriff's Office.

According to the Teller County Sheriffs Office, smoke was visible in the west part of the county because of the fire burning behind the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Officials are asking the public to call 911 only if they see active flames, or a plume of smoke.

The Department of Public Health and Environment issued an air quality advisory for southeastern Park County and western Teller County. Park County officials advise citizens to remain indoors if smoke becomes too thick in their neighborhood, especially the young, the elder, and those with heart disease, or respiratory illness.

Fire near Simla: 125 fire

Officials lifted an evacuation of Simla at 6:10 p.m. Thursday after the 125 fire threatened approximately 500-700 acres, according to the Elbert County Office of Emergency Management and Elizabeth Fire. Elbert County Road and Bridge cleared 25 feet of vegetation to prevent the fire from spreading into the town.

As of about 8 p.m., the fire was 96% contained. Crews expected to remain on scene to tend to hotspots until Friday morning.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department first reported sending two brush trucks, one engine and a battalion chief to assist with a wildland fire off of U.S. 24 south of Simla at 4:12 p.m.

Fire in Colorado Springs

Fire crews earlier Thursday contained a wildland fire in southeast Colorado Springs in the area of Delta and Hancock. The fire stretched approximately half an acre and was contained by 2:39 p.m., just under two hours from when CSFD says crews arrived.

No structures were threatened or lost, and no civilians were injured, according to the Colorado Springs Fire Department. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
A wildfire crossing Park and Teller county lines has spread 1,047 acres Thursday, officials said in an 8:41 p.m. update.

The 403 fire, initially burning along County Road 403 southeast of Eleven Mile State Park Thursday morning, spread near county lines into the afternoon and evening, prompting several evacuations.

Click or tap here for the latest updates from Thursday's wildfires in the Pikes Peak region, including in Park County.

Teller County authorities ordered mandatory evacuations for the area stretching from County Road 46 to Wilson Drive and for residents of the Wilson Lakes and Forest Glenn subdivisions.

A pre-evacuation warning was later issued for Valley Hi and Florissant Heights subdivisions, according to Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell. Residents in the area are asked to evacuate immediately if in danger.

Emergency shelters for evacuees are set up at the Woodland Park Community Center at 800 Valley View Drive.

Officials announced at 8:19 p.m. the power and gas will be cut off south of Highway 24 and west Teller 1 to the County line, mainly impacting the subdivisions of Wilson Lakes and Forest Glenn.

Click or tap here for the latest updates from Thursday's wildfires in the Pikes Peak region, including in Park County.

Park County residents within one mile of County Road 403 and Alpine Meadow Lane were previously ordered to evacuate at 11:39 a.m. The alert said structures in the area are threatened by the grassfire.

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An alert issued at 11:39 a.m. Thursday orders residents within one mile of County Road 403 and Alpine Meadow Lane to evacuate immediately.

The alert said structures in the area are threatened by the grassfire. Although people may have time to gather necessary items, the alert said to do so at your own risk.

On March 30, at 11:39 AM residents in the 1 mile area of County Road 403 and Alpine Meadow Lane are advised to evacuate immediately due to a fire in the area. This is a full and immediate evacuation  residents are asked to leave immediately. https://t.co/vHqyD59GiL pic.twitter.com/8thfeaWM8X  Park County (@ParkCounty) March 30, 2023

A state firefighting helicopter is providing support by air.

According to the Teller County Sheriffs Office, smoke is visible in the west part of the county because of the fire burning behind the Florissant Fossil beds. Officials are asking the public to call 911 only if they see active flames, or a plume of smoke.

The Department of Public Health and Environment issued an air quality advisory for southeastern Park County and western Teller County. Park County officials advise citizens to remain indoors if smoke becomes too thick in their neighborhood, especially the young, the elder, and those with heart disease, or respiratory illness.

For immediate updates, residents can call the evacuation line at 719-836-4200

This article will be updated once more information is received.
A homeless camp cleanup along the Greenway Trail and Fountain Creek resulted in 33 citations Thursday, according to Colorado Springs police.

The Police Department's Homeless Outreach Team, along with other officers, made the sweep near Cimarron Street south to the MLK Bypass along Interstate 25, targeting trespassers and campers in the area.

According to officials, authorities cited four individuals for camping near a waterway, three for possession of narcotics and one person for obstruction and interference with law enforcement.

Officers said they took 14 individuals to the Criminal Justice Center and served four felony warrants and 40 misdemeanor warrants.

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A total of 33 citations were issued and 18 verbal warnings were given to first-time offenders at the camp, police said.

The cleanup precedes the sweep of 50 more camps scheduled for cleanup beginning Monday. Officials said a camp can be considered a single tent or a grouping of tents.

The Homeless Outreach Team has recorded more than 500 homeless encampments on public land in the past decade, adjacent to recreational parks and creekbeds throughout the city, The Gazette has reported.
More than three years since Gannon Stauch's body was found in northern Florida, his alleged killer and stepmom Letecia Stauch's trial is nearly ready to begin opening statements.

Stauch's trial began March 20 with jury selection, where attorneys worked to select a pool of potential jurors to call back on April 3.

Robert McCallum, the public information officer for the Colorado Judicial Department, confirmed to The Gazette that a pool of 120 potential jurors had completed being assembled earlier this week. Attorneys on Monday will work toward narrowing down the 120-person pool to an 18-person jury, with opening statements expected to be given that afternoon.

Testimony and evidence presentation aren't expected to begin until Tuesday, according to McCallum.

Gannon Stauch was first reported missing on Jan. 27, 2020, by his stepmom, Letecia Stauch, 39.

Over the course of the five-week investigation into Gannon Stauch's whereabouts, detectives began to suspect that Letecia Stauch had killed her stepson and reported her missing, despite Letecia Stauch publicly maintaining her innocence throughout the investigation.

On March 3, 2020, Letecia Stauch was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with a corpse for allegedly killing Gannon Stauch.

A few weeks later on March 18, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office in Florida announced it had discovered Gannon Stauch's remains. District Attorney Michael Allen, one of three prosecutors trying this case, said during jury selection that evidence in the trial will show Gannon Stauch was shot, stabbed, and beaten before being put in a suitcase by Letecia Stauch and driven to Florida, where she threw the suitcase over a bridge into a river below.

Previous reporting from The Gazette details that during Letecia Stauch's transport from South Carolina to Colorado, she assaulted a transporting deputy somewhere in Kansas.

Stauch would go on to make her first appearance in Colorado 4th Judicial District Court on March 9, 2020, more than three years before the first day of her trial last Monday.

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Over the past three years, several delays have occurred in Stauch's case. Initially, delays occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began to impact all court proceedings in El Paso County around the time she was arrested in March 2020.

The case against Stauch would continue to encounter problems in 2021, when she had numerous disputes with her public defenders, at one point insinuating she may represent herself in a trial.

Stauch would later go on to drop her bid to represent herself in trial and hire defense attorneys Josh Tolini and Will Cook to represent her.

The last significant delays were incurred due to Stauch choosing to switch her plea from not guilty to not guilty by reason of insanity in February 2022.

The new plea required Stauch to have two separate sanity evaluations conducted on her. The first sanity evaluation, conducted by psychiatrists at the state hospital in Pueblo found her to be sane, Judge Gregory Werner stated in August.

The findings of the second sanity evaluation, conducted by defense expert Dr. Dorothy Lewis, were unknown until last week when Tolini reported to potential jurors that Lewis found Stauch to be insane at the time of the incident.

Lewis is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale University, the author of several books on the topic of the insanity plea and the subject of the documentary Crazy, Not Insane.

The documentary outlines Lewis work with notorious killers such as Ted Bundy, Arthur Shawcross, John Allen Muhammed and many others.

Opening statements are expected to be given Monday afternoon in the Stauch trial, expected to last six to eight weeks.

The prosecution's endorsed witness list obtained by The Gazette is over 150 people long.

Stauch faces 13 charges including first-degree murder, child abuse and tampering with evidence. If found guilty of the first-degree murder charge, Stauch will be given a mandatory sentence of life of prison, per Colorado law.

In addition to the murder trial, Stauch faces a second case in which she is accused of attempting to escape from the El Paso County jail in May 2020. The second case against Stauch is on hold until the completion of the first-degree murder trial.
A family whose struggle to get out of debt and back on their feet, after a life-altering diagnosis and then eviction from their apartment in Colorado Springs, has a new lease on the future, thanks to the generosity of Gazette readers.

Christopher Sheppard, his wife, Angela, and son, Malik, were profiled in "Extended Stay," a story highlighting the plight of one family living in motel limbo in Colorado Springs  not homeless and not technically tenants, and therefore beyond the reach of most social service programs and aid.

The Sheppards moved to Colorado in 2017 after Chris, a trained cook and food services manager, got a job at a hotel chain in the Denver area. The family relocated to the Springs and Chris joined the team at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's Grizzly Grill, where he worked until he started losing his vision to macular degeneration.

My hands were my livelihood and my survival. I cooked and saw things for a living. I created dishes, managed people, and it was great, he said. With failing vision, though, he "couldnt cook in a commercial kitchen anymore because that was a liability, and that was my livelihood.

Chris was forced to leave his job and career in 2020, and begin drawing disability, as the familys savings melted away and bills began to mount. An eviction for non-payment of their rent in July 2022 made finding another apartment effectively impossible. They moved into the first of a series of motels.

Hours after "Extended Stay" published Sunday  a half-day before Chris launched a GoFundMe campaign (at The Gazette's urging)  several people who saw the story and noted the location of the hotel where the family lives and stopped by the front desk with donations to help the Sheppards cover their bills.

The compassion and support had only just begun.

One woman stopped by a few days ago, said she saw the story and that her husband went through the same thing (macular degeneration) before he passed away, said Chris. She paid for two weeks of the room here.

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A man named Tony came by with his son and paid for another week. Someone bought them groceries.

A couple who lives near the hotel offered to drive them to doctors' appointments, and to look at apartments, when the time comes.

And by Thursday evening, the GoFundMe was closing on its $10,000 goal.

As soon as he can access the money from the crowdfunding campaign, Chris said he's "knocking out this eviction debt. That's first priority," he said.

The roughly $3,000 the Sheppards owed their landlord at the time of their eviction has almost doubled since the debt was acquired by a collections company, Chris said.

Any money that remains after they've reestablished that "clean record" will go to paying first, last and deposit at a place where they won't have to live, week-to-week, always on the edge.

"Hopefully we will be out of this hotel sooner than we thought," he said.

And who knows? They may already have the connections to help them take that next big step, out of limbo and onto solid ground.

"There were a couple more people who reached out to say, 'Hey, if your credit and stuff gets better, I might have a property for you,'" Chris said. "We just don't know how to thank these people enough. Our situation is looking 200% brighter and very hopeful ... and it's all because of them."
Gov. Jared Polis is pitching it as an affordable-housing plan. Others are calling it a sweeping rewrite of the entire states land-use rules.

A prominent critic, meanwhile, labeled it a breathtaking power grab; another, writing Thursday in Colorado Politics, called it, one of the most egregious assaults upon home rule he has seen.

The proposal, rolled out amid fanfare last week at the Capitol by the governor and his allies, is in fact all of the above  though Polis take on it could turn out to be wishful thinking.

So, let's just call it what it is: a profoundly bad idea.

The governors proposal, much of which would be implemented by the newly introduced Senate Bill 23-213, would trample local planning and zoning authority across the state. In its place, new state zoning rules would be enforced from the Capitol.

Those rules would call for more multi-family housing in single-family neighborhoods; clustering growth closer to transit and work  the sort of planning trends that are popular and perhaps warranted in some places and not in others. And, right now, it is up to local government and local citizens to decide. Just as it always has been and should be.

Say goodbye to such historic local control under the Polis plan.

To pass muster under the 105-page tome of legislation, municipalities either could adopt "flexible minimum standards" or accept a state-developed model.

No longer would City Hall have the final word on whether your neighbor is going to be another three-bedroom, two-bath home  or a halfway house for paroled felons; the ultimate authority for the new regime would be the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

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Polis was flanked by a wide range of political and civic stakeholders backing the plan at last weeks news conference on the Capitol steps; he called them an unprecedented coalition.

Opposition, however, lined up almost immediately and responded furiously. At the forefront of the foes are Colorados municipal governments, whose historic zoning and planning authority will by steamrolled by the new statewide planning regime.

But it is the citizens of those cities and towns  from urban centers like Denver and Colorado Springs, to suburbs and mountain resorts  who have the most to lose in the big picture. Their ability to define their own quality of life would be gone. All would march to the same drummer under the Polis plan in communities as diverse as Boulder and Colorado Springs; Fort Collins and Pueblo; Vail and Aurora.

To cite only a few of the plans other pitfalls and gaping holes:

It overturns covenants in HOA-governed communities  where people have moved precisely for those quality-of-life protections

It is likely to set off spiraling litigation  by cities, asserting their constitutional right to local zoning authority; by builders whose previously approved master plans are upended by the new rules; by neighborhood groups whose property values could plummet.

Because county governments would not be covered  at least, not yet  new development that doesnt meet the state standards would cluster outside city limits.

Fundamentally, the proposal flouts a core tenet of democracy  that the government closest to the people serves them best.

It also is premised on a promise  more affordable housing  that is at best speculative and would take years, even decades, to bear fruit if at all.

Wed urge state lawmakers to just say no to the governor, but thats unlikely for this Legislature. It may be up to the citizens themselves to stand up and be counted.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert wants to arm teachers following a spate of school shootings in Nashville and Denver.

Two school administrators were seriously wounded when a 17-year-old student opened fire last week during a regularly scheduled pat down at East High School in Denver, the police said. In Nashville, three children and three adults died when a gunman attacked a Christian school.

Authorities in Colorado said the East High School student later killed himself. Officers who responded to the Nashville shooting killed the alleged shooter.

I want to arm teachers, Boebert told commentator Dave Rubin at The Rubin Report podcast on Thursday. I want to have secure schools.

The recent shootings have catapulted the question of how best to secure schools to the forefront. Boebert belongs to the camp that believes hardening schools by beefing up security, including arming teachers, is the answer.

Others counter that arming teachers only introduces a new risk into schools, noting that adults frequently mishandle guns. Critics of the idea also argue that teachers cannot be expected to transform into a highly-trained law enforcement officer in an extremely high-stress situation and that a more likely outcome is that the armed teacher will accidentally shoot somebody else or get caught in the crossfire of responding officers.

They also maintain that restricting access to guns is key. Democrats in Colorado, for example, introduced a slew of legislation they say would curb gun violence. The package includes legislation to establish a three-day waiting period between purchase of a firearm and delivery, expand the groups of people who can petition the court to remove a firearm from someone deemed to be a danger and permit gun victims to to sue firearms manufacturers.

While supporters say they would curb gun violence and save lives, critics call them arbitrary and argue, among other points, that they would turn law-abiding citizens into criminals.

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Boebert insisted the best way to protect schools is to treat them as potential targets, such as airports and Congress, and to secure them accordingly.

We secure airports, we secure banks, why not our most precious asset? Our children? she said, adding she pushed for funding for school security in the last session.

Boebert argued that arming teacher can play a critical role in keeping students and staffers safe.

I think that having some presence there (to be) able to defend the students is a really good thing, she said. It doesnt have to be every teacher. It doesnt have to be a majority of teachers. But even knowing that there is someone there to stop an imminent threat  I think that is a large enough deterrent.

Boebert also noted that Colorado already allows teachers to be armed when their school board permits it.

We have an organization, Faster Colorado, that trains teachers and its a very extensive tactical training course that theyre taught how to be responsible with this firearm, she said.
Democrats advanced a bill cracking down on the operations of crisis pregnancy centers on Thursday, granting preliminary approval to the first in a trio of bills seeking to bolster abortion rights in Colorado.

If made law, Senate Bill 190 would prohibit crisis pregnancy centers from advertising abortions, emergency contraceptives or referrals they dont actually provide, classifying it as deceptive advertising. It would also classify providing abortion reversal treatment as unprofessional conduct.

SB 190 already passed the Senate last week. In a voice vote, House lawmakers advanced the bill to its third and final reading, which could happen Saturday. The bill is expected to pass along party lines, at which point it will be sent to Gov. Jared Polis for final consideration.

Crisis pregnancy centers counsel pregnant women against having an abortion, advocating for parenting or adoption instead. Opponents call them "anti-abortion clinics."

Bill sponsor Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, said the centers pretend to offer abortion care but dont, using "disinformation, intimidation, shame and delay tactics" to prevent people from accessing abortion care.

"It is harmful and it is wrong," McCormick said. "All we're asking is that they be transparent about the services they provide, and equally transparent about the services they do not provide. ... Don't trick people."

In Colorado, there are 51 of these crisis pregnancy centers, compared to 20 abortion clinics.

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 deny misleading patients, arguing that they legitimately provide services, including health education, ultrasounds and counseling. They said SB 190 would unfairly limit the centers' advertisement, potentially prohibiting them from saying they offer help with unplanned pregnancies without specifying the services provided. They also argue that to call them "fake" clinics is a smear campaign perpetuated by abortion providers.

Republicans on Thursday argued that deceptive advertising is rare, only occurring among a small number of crisis pregnancy centers. They alleged that Democrats are targeting the centers for their ideological beliefs, introducing multiple unsuccessful amendments that would have expanded the bill to apply to abortion clinics as well as crisis pregnancy centers.

"We already have consumer protection laws in this state. Why is this legislation necessary?" said Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Littleton. "And if the bill sponsors think that it is, why aren't abortion centers listed in this legislation?"

Democrats said the state legislature has passed nearly three dozen bills responding to specific instances of deceptive practices.

Rep. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, listed time shares, dance studios and contracts for dating services as a few examples, arguing that if the legislature will provide protections against deceptive practices in these "far less consequential" industries, then "we should certainly see fit to set those forth here."

The bill's other sponsor Rep. Elisabeth Epps, D-Denver, spoke of Colorado's growing status as a hub for abortion access, saying it is important for residents and visitors alike to be able to clearly identify which clinics do and don't provide abortion services.

In the month after the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights, the Colorado-based Cobalt Abortion Fund reported that 94% of its clients seeking practical abortion support came from out of state, including 66% from Texas alone. In January, 750 people traveled to Colorado Planned Parenthoods from out of state for abortion care  compared to only 1,500 people during the entirety of 2021, according to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

Epps said when she was pregnant at 16 years old while living in North Carolina, she bought a plane ticket to Colorado with the intention of getting an abortion. She ended up choosing to keep the baby, but around a year later, Epps said she aborted a different pregnancy. During both pregnancies, Epps said she accessed something similar to a crisis pregnancy center.

"What a huge deal it was that I understood my options," Epps said. "When I needed, far too soon, to make a very different choice, those folks talked me through that too. ... I want that for other pregnant folks. Unfortunately, that is not uniform in Colorado right now."

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Outside of deceptive advertising, the bulk of Thursday's debate centered on the portion of the bill that seeks to classify providing abortion reversal treatment as unprofessional conduct.

The controversial practice claims that the hormone progesterone can stop a medication-based abortion after a patient has completed the first part of the two-step process.

In the Senate, the bill was amended to require the state medical, nursing and pharmacy boards to evaluate the practice of abortion reversal by Oct. 1. If the boards all agree that its a valid medical practice, then it will be considered professional conduct. If not, it will be labeled unprofessional conduct.

While Democrats said this would protect women from being pushed into partaking in a medically-unfounded practice, Republicans argued that it would take away a choice for women who change their minds after starting the process of a medication abortion.

"We should give these women as many choices and options as possible," said Rep. Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs. "We're talking about choice but then we're taking choice away. The freedom to choose life is also a choice."

Crisis pregnancy centers support the abortion reversal practice, pointing to a small-scale 2012 study, which found that four of six women who had begun medication abortions were able to carry their pregnancies to term after taking progesterone. Some said the study employed methodological flaws, and subsequent research has concluded there is insufficient evidence to support abortion reversal treatment, attributing successful pregnancies to the results of simply not taking the second abortion pill.

Republican lawmakers cited a case series that claimed to evaluate 754 pregnant women who attempted abortion reversal, finding 64 to 68% success rates. One paper discredited that case series for only reporting outcomes of less than three-quarters of the patients, not including a comparison group and not having appropriate oversight.

A larger 2019 University of California study attempted to test the effectiveness of abortion pill reversal, but the study was ended prematurely due to safety concerns after three participants required ambulance transport to a hospital for treatment of severe vaginal bleeding, NPR reported. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also rejects prescribing progesterone to reverse abortions, saying it is "not based on science and do not meet clinical standards."

"Saying the bill takes away a person's choice makes no sense. We should not allow these unproven therapies to trick people into believing they are getting something that they are absolutely not getting," bill sponsor McCormick said. "No one will make them take the second drug in the protocol if they don't want to, but people deserve honest, complete, standard of care medical information when they are making decisions about their own personal health care."

Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton, said the lack of broad agreement on the effectiveness of abortion reversal shows that it is not the legislature's place to intervene: "Is this actually a good medical policy? Or is this inserting the government between a doctor and their patient?"

In total, Republicans introduced eight amendments on Thursday seeking to weaken or change the bill. None of the amendments passed.

Thursday's debate lasted from 11:20 a.m. to 7:20 p.m., after House Speaker Julie McCluskie moved to restrict the debate to only eight hours, blocking the Republican Party's filibuster before it even began.

McCluskie, D-Dillon, invoked Rule 14 to limit the debate with a simple majority vote, a previously little-used rule that was also used last week to shut down the Republican filibuster on a package of gun control bills. All Republicans voted against limiting the debate on Thursday, in addition to three Democrats: Epps, Rep. Mary Young of Greeley and Rep. Matthew Martinez of Monte Vista.

McCluskie said the Republicans forced Democrats to limit debate by delaying floor work and going back on agreements they made to end days-long debates in return for amendments. But Republicans argue that the Democrats are not giving them the time or consideration they deserve when discussing such significant and contentious policy.

"The problem with the amount of time is that's our big negotiating tool," said House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington. "Unfortunately, it's only as good as they will accept some compromise on this. They've made it very clear that there's no room for them to negotiate on this. ... That's very frustrating for us."

SB 190 is part of a package of bills seeking to strengthen abortion rights. The other two are Senate Bill 188  which seeks to protect abortion patients and providers giving and receiving care in Colorado from facing criminal or civil consequences from other states in which abortion is illegal  and Senate Bill 189, which requires health insurance carriers that serve large employers to pay for abortion coverage.

SB 188 and SB 189 are scheduled for their second House reading on Friday, and are expected to face their third and final reading on Saturday along with SB 190.

The Senate passed the three bills last week in identical votes of 22-13, with all Republicans voting "no" and all Democrats voting "yes," except for Sen. Kevin Priola, D-Henderson, who switched parties last year.

The bills are the first legislative action Colorado lawmakers have taken up on the subject since the Supreme Court overturned national abortion protections in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling last year. Two months prior to the ruling, state lawmakers enshrined abortion as a fundamental right with the Reproductive Health Equity Act.
A federal judge has agreed an incarcerated man can sue a prison employee for causing him to miss his deadline for filing a longshot challenge to his convictions with the U.S. Supreme Court, after the employee allegedly closed the facility's library the day the petition was due.

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney refused to dismiss the claim against Yvette Brown, a legal assistant at Fremont Correctional Facility, who allegedly denied "meaningful access to the courts" to inmate Bernard Jones.

Jones is serving a lengthy prison sentence on a pair of sexual assault and drug convictions from 1997 in El Paso County. He unsuccessfully appealed his convictions in state court, then filed a new challenge alleging he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Once again, Colorado's judiciary declined to provide him relief.

Jones then filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court, an avenue available when a conviction violates federal law. A trial judge concluded the state courts had reasonably denied Jones' ineffective assistance claims, a ruling the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld in late 2018.

Finally, Jones sought to appeal to the Supreme Court. He allegedly filed a petition with the court in March 2019, but the court notified him of several deficiencies. It gave him until May 16 to submit a corrected appeal.

Jones was reportedly allowed to use the law library for, at most, two-hour sessions at a time. He wrote the Supreme Court's deadline on his library request forms to alert Brown. However, Brown allegedly threw up roadblocks to Jones' efforts to complete his petition by failing to assist him in preparing legal documents and giving him false information about the availability of resources.

On May 15, one day before Jones' petition was due to the nation's highest court, Brown allegedly closed the library early, but indicated Jones could complete his petition the next day. Yet she "refused to open the Law Library at all" on May 16, causing Jones to miss his appeal deadline to the Supreme Court.

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Representing himself, Jones then then sued Brown for denying him access to the courts. Jones simultaneously advanced a separate claim against Brown and employee Kristi Moore for allegedly conspiring to transfer him to another facility in retaliation for his complaints about Brown.

In December, U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak analyzed Jones' allegations and Brown's motion to dismiss the court access claim against her. Varholak agreed with Brown that some of Jones' allegations did not amount to legal violations. For example, Jones was not entitled to Brown's assistance, nor was the two-hour limitation on library use an apparent hindrance to his appeal.

However, the magistrate judge believed Brown's alleged closure of the library on the day Jones' petition was due and the prior day  crippling Jones' opportunity to have the Supreme Court consider his case  was a credible claim of denied access. He recommended denying Brown's motion to dismiss.

"Defendant Brown denied Plaintiff access to the law library the day the petition was due, despite knowing that the petition was unfinished and saved on a computer inside the law library, thereby prohibiting Plaintiff from filing the petition," Varholak wrote. "And while it is true that Plaintiff may have had sufficient time  including time in the law library  to have completed his petition prior to the May 16 deadline, nobody informed him that he would need to complete it early or that the law library would be closed on May 16."

Brown objected to Vaholak's recommendation. She insisted Jones had "substantial access" to the library, spending 78 hours there during March and April 2019. Consequently, he had "more than enough time" to complete his petition before the deadline.

Sweeney, the district judge, was unconvinced. In a Feb. 16 order, she upheld Varholak's recommendation. Since then, pro bono attorneys have begun representing Jones in his civil lawsuit.

The case is Jones v. Brown et al.
An employee of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs will be able to pursue her civil rights claims against the institution after a federal judge on Tuesday found Whitney Porter credibly alleged that she experienced a gender-based hostile work environment and retaliation.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell agreed Porter had described a pervasive amount of ridicule and insult at UCCS that altered her working conditions and created an abusive environment. At the same time, Dominguez Braswell acknowledged that not all of Porter's allegations had "clear and obvious ties" to her gender.

"Defendants will have ample opportunity to show that Plaintiffs allegations are false or otherwise unconnected to her gender or human resource department grievances," she wrote in a March 28 order. "However, based on the allegations before it, the Court cannot say the hostile work environment claim warrants dismissal."

Neither Porter's attorney nor a spokesperson for UCCS responded immediately to a request for comment.

Porter's lawsuit centered around one person, Venkateshwar "Venkat" Reddy, who was dean of the UCCS College of Business before becoming the campus chancellor in 2017. The alleged discrimination Porter faced occurred largely while she worked in the College of Business under Reddy's leadership.

Beginning around 2016, while Porter was the assistant director of graduate programs, she allegedly experienced the following:

 Reddy's office monitored her arrivals and departures daily, but not those of other workers

 Porter was the only person required to obtain a medical note to take even one sick day

 Porter was threatened with termination if she did not come to work while "violently ill"

 She was the only person required to work in the office when the air conditioning was broken and temperatures exceeded 90 degrees

 The school assigned her extra work without a corresponding pay increase, which was not the case with other employees

 Porter received a poor performance review for the first time after she complained about her treatment

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Those actions "demonstrate the inequitable, unjust, and discriminatory practice of dismissing and undervaluing Plaintiffs contributions as a woman," wrote Porter's attorney, Chet Kern.

Porter filed grievances with the human resources department, but there was allegedly no corrective action. Instead, Porter reportedly felt pressured to resign from the College of Business and she moved to a different school within UCCS.

In 2019, she applied for a job in the registrar's office, which resulted in an offer. But reportedly, Reddy, who was then the chancellor, refused to sign off on hiring Porter. UCCS posted the same job opening a year later, for which Porter applied and was rejected.

Porter filed a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February 2021 and followed it up with a federal lawsuit. In it, she alleged violations of Title VII, the civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in employment, plus infringements on her constitutional rights.

The university moved to dismiss the lawsuit, asserting that many of the incidents Porter claimed had violated her rights occurred well before she filed her charge of discrimination. The only claim Porter could pursue, UCCS contended, was her non-hiring in 2020 for the registrar's office.

"Plaintiff attempts to tie the failure to hire in summer 2020  in another department of the campus, with no allegations of anyone from the College of Business or Dr. Reddy being involved  to the day-to-day harassment she alleges she was subjected to in the College of Business in 2016-2017," wrote attorney Hermine Kallman for UCCS.

Dominguez Braswell agreed with the university that certain events in Porter's timeline were not part of a continuous civil rights violation, but were standalone incidents that now exceeded the statute of limitations.

The magistrate judge further acknowledged it "seems unlikely" that Porter's treatment in 2016 and 2017 could connect with the one timely claim in her lawsuit, the 2020 non-hiring.

"However, in this case, there is a uniquely identifiable throughline: the alleged hostility from Defendant Reddy," Dominguez Braswell wrote.

She elaborated that the totality of Porter's allegations suggested Reddy's actions put pressure on Porter to quit the College of Business, then he prevented her from working in the registrar's office. Therefore, Porter's allegations of a hostile work environment amounted to a viable claim after all.

Dominguez Braswell came to a similar conclusion with Porter's claim of retaliation. Even though the 2020 non-hiring came years after Porter reported her alleged mistreatment to human resources, it was possible to view UCCS's failure to hire her as "the logical continuation of an ongoing retaliation campaign," Dominguez Braswell noted.

Porter's lawsuit is seeking monetary damages and reinstatement to the job she resigned in 2017 with the College of Business.
A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit of a homeless man in Fort Collins who alleged the city and university prohibitions on trespassing violate his constitutional rights.

Robert-Lawrence Perry also challenged the constitutionality of Fort Collins' ban on camping in public places. U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore rejected that claim in a March 21 order, along with Perry's other contentions.

Perry, who represented himself in the federal case, was convicted in municipal and county court for violating the local and state prohibitions on trespassing. The charges stemmed from a Colorado State University police officer citing Perry in 2019. Perry was under an "exclusionary order" from the campus, which he alleged was due to him "feeding squirrels." The government countered that Perry's campus exclusion was actually because he harassed employees.

Perry filed suit asking for a declaration that CSU's exclusionary orders and Fort Collins' trespassing ordinance are unconstitutional, and that state and local trespassing laws do not apply to the CSU campus.

"Plaintiff asserts that the City trespass ordinance cannot lawfully apply to public property, like CSU campus because it unconstitutionally denies Plaintiff's right to equal protection of the law," Perry wrote, "and that the trespass ordinance is unconstitutionally over-broad and vague by granting police unlimited dictatorial power and discretion to seize control over public property to permanently deny anyone access and use of public property for any reason or for no reason whatsoever."

He also alleged he had been charged multiple times with violating the public camping ban, but was never convicted. Nevertheless, he argued the ordinance unfairly targets homeless residents like himself.

The city and CSU's board of governors moved to dismiss Perry's claims. Fort Collins argued its trespassing and camping ordinances do not infringe on any constitutionally-protected right.

"Both ordinances regulate conduct as opposed to speech, and penalize activities constituting special harms to the City and its residents," wrote the city's attorneys. "Specifically, the trespass ordinance prohibits activities posing obvious public safety risks to residents, and the camping ordinance prohibits activities posing sanitation and hygienic risks to residents."

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Last month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix analyzed the allegations. She noted that CSU's board of governors, as a state entity, is immune from being sued. As for the city, Mix recommended that Perry's allegations were insufficient to show a constitutional violation.

For example, while Perry claimed the trespassing ordinance deprived him of equal protection under the law, he did not show that enforcement of the ordinance resulted in discrimination against a class of people. Mix found the same to be true about the camping ban.

"Here, although Plaintiff alleges that he has been cited with violating the camping ordinance seven times, he does not provide allegations of any conduct revealing a motivation to charge Plaintiff because he is homeless," she wrote.

Mix also agreed with the city that its ordinances do not deter any constitutionally-protected conduct, pointing to court decisions that held sleeping on public property and trespassing on public land are not constitutional rights. Rather, she believed the city's stated justifications for the policies passed legal muster.

Perry objected broadly to Mix's recommendation to dismiss his case. Moore, the district judge, overruled Perry's interpretation of the magistrate judge's analysis.

Perry "provides no basis for revisiting those rulings," Moore wrote.

Because Perry's federal claims were not viable, the judges declined to address whether Colorado's trespassing law and Fort Collins' related ordinance apply to the CSU campus and other public property.

The case is Perry v. City of Fort Collins et al.
Two bills intended to move Colorado forward on its voter-approved requirement to reintroduce the gray wolf won approval from the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

Senate Bill 255 would set up a $350,000 per year compensation account, paid for with general fund dollars, to reimburse ranchers when wolves kill their livestock. The bill, co-sponsored by Ag Chair Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon and Sen. Perry Will, R-New Castle, won a unanimous vote from the committee.

The second bill, SB 256, didn't have so easy a path, both in the committee and likely when it reaches the Senate floor. It won a 5-2 vote, with two Democrats, Sens. Kevin Priola of Henderson and Janice Marchman of Loveland, voting against.

Both bills were sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The bill drew a testy exchange between Roberts and the head of the state Department of Natural Resources over whether wolves would be reintroduced without a federal rule designed to give the state maximum flexibility in its management of wolves. It also faced rigorous opposition from a variety of environmental groups, who claim the bill will delay wolf introduction for six years and maybe longer.

SB 256 focuses on the efforts of the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife to obtain what's known as a 10(j) rule from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

That rule would allow wolves to be classified as a nonessential, experimental population, with the state taking the lead role on managing the population. USFWS is currently in the rule-making process and is expected to finalize 10(j) by mid-December.

Colorado voters, primarily those in urban areas , approved Proposition 114 in 2020 with 50.9% of the vote. That ballot measure requires grey wolves to be reintroduced in Colorado on designated lands west of the Continental Divide by Dec. 31, 2023. The designated areas are primarily public lands but previous studies have shown they can migrate 50 miles within a month of reintroduction and as much as 140 miles from their initial location.

Colorado has already begun to see gray wolves migrating into the state. A wolf pack in Jackson County is believed to have killed dogs and calves on several ranches. Gray wolves are on the Endangered Species list though, which mean current law prohibits ranchers or others from shooting wolves attacking livestock, though shooting wolves is permitted in defense of a human. At the state level, killing a wolf is a state offense that could result in a criminal fine of up to $50,000 and a year in jail.

But under 10(j) and with wolves listed as a nonessential, experimental population, the state plan would allow for "lethal takes," the killing of wolves attacking livestock, for example, as well as other non-lethal management tools.

SB 256 requires all legal challenges to 10(j) be completed before wolves can be reintroduced. That could take years, opponents pointed out Thursday. The federal statute of limitations requires all legal challenges to be filed within six years, but opponents noted that someone could file a legal challenge at the end of that six-year period and years of litigation could ensue, further delaying reintroduction.

The bill also requires the state to obtain the 10(j) designation before reintroduction. USFWS is expected to complete that rule in mid-December, but Roberts told the committee that there is cause to be concerned about that timeline.

He said the federal process could get hung up for all kinds of reasons, and any delay would push the rule past December 31. Wolves would then be reintroduced without the rule, and "once wolves are on the ground, that can't be reversed."

"It's like toothpaste out of the tube," he said.

SB256 would guarantee that CPW's intent is honored and that the department would have the flexibility it needs if the timeline is disrupted.

Environmental groups that support the 10(j) designation don't support the bill. Neither does Gov. Jared Polis, who also advocates for the 10(j) rule but opposes the process laid out in SB 256.

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The state could move forward with a 10(j) designation without SB 256, but wildlife groups and ranchers advocate for the bill, stating they want the process to be done right.

The state could also move forward without a 10(j) designation, but that would mean wolves would remain as an endangered species in Colorado and nearly three years of work by the CPW, mandated by Proposition 114, would be wasted, as management would be handled by USFWS.

Renee Diehl's family owns and operates a sheep ranch in Delta County, as well as leasing grazing land in Gunnison County, within the area designated by CPW for wolf reintroduction. Diehl is a member of the stakeholder advisory group, one of two outside groups that worked with CPW on the reintroduction plan, and she supports SB 256.

"Our hard-fought recommendations helped to advise CPW's draft plan with goals to minimize impacts while restoring wolves," she told the committee. SB 256 directly supports CPW's proposed impact based management plan. Without a 10(j) designation, CPW will not be able to even follow their own plan, she said.

Diehl pointed out that without 10(j), critical tools would not be available to CPW, livestock producers and even the conflict management tools advocated for by wolf proponents. "This reintroduction will be woefully unsuccessful without the ability to use all the necessary tools."

Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Department of Natural Resources, testified against SB 256 on behalf of CPW and the Polis administration. Obtaining 10(j) would allow the state maximum flexibility for managing the wolf population, he told the ag committee Thursday. "It's the preferred path" of governor and CPW, which has invested $1 million into the process of developing the plan. The state is on track to reintroduce wolves at the end of the year, he added.

But SB 256 would deny the will of Colorado voters, Gibbs said. "It is a solution in search of a problem...If it were to pass, it would unacceptably tie the hands of the state of Colorado to a federal process" where litigation could drag out reintroduction to 2029 or later.

Gibbs said they are committed to a partnership with wildlife and ag communities, although many of those groups are the very ones backing SB 256.

But Gibbs also dodged repeated questions from committee members during the hearing about whether the state would reintroduce wolves without the 10(j) designation. Those rules have been "battle-tested" with litigation, he told the committee. "We don't want to welcome litigation" but indicated he believes SB 256 would do that.

"We have to keep all legal options on the table, and 10(j) is the preferred path," he said, when pressed by Roberts on the question a second time.

Roberts asked the question again.

"There's a lot of hypotheticals," Gibbs replied. "We don't think [SB256] belongs in state statute."

Roberts told Gibbs people are worried that the state is moving forward with the Dec. 31 deadline for reintroduction with USFWS expected to issue its ruling on Dec. 15. Roberts then said he believes, based on Gibbs' answers, that the state will introduce wolves in December without the 10(j) rule.

SB 56 guarantees the state obtains the 10(j) before reintroduction, Roberts said as the hearing wrapped up. "This is not something that is to subvert the intent of the voters," a claim made by several witnesses. Roberts said his constituents wanted him to write that bill and it would have been perfectly legal. Instead, SB 256 "honors the current process and what the department calls its preferred path." He also pointed out that Conservation Colorado, one of the state's leading environmental organizations, also supports the bill.

Marchman, in explaining her "no" vote, said outside of its requirement for a 10(j), the bill looked like a delay tactic. Roberts said he believes the federal rule process will be done in time, and on the bill's litigation language, Roberts pointed out that environmental groups are already talking about lawsuits, which has happened with 10(j) rules in other states, such as Idaho.
The Colorado Republican Party rushed to defend Donald Trump and attack Democrats as news broke Thursday that a Manhattan grand jury had indicted the former president on criminal charges related to alleged hush money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign meant to conceal an extramarital sexual encounter with a porn star.

The chair of the state's Democratic Party told Colorado Politics that the long-anticipated indictment demonstrates the rule of law.

"With the breaking news that this unjust indictment will move forward, Democrats all across the country, and in Colorado, are signaling that they are willing to do whatever it takes to maintain power, even if it means tearing down our institutions of justice and pursuing dangerous methods that only dictators and despots have resorted to in third-world banana republics," said Colorado GOP chair Dave Williams in a fundraising email sent to the party's supporters.

"This is a complete witch-hunt and an outrageous attempt at election interference to unduly influence the 2024 Presidential Election," he added.

Calling the Democratic district attorney who has overseen the prosecution "corrupt" and "crooked," Williams demanded that Colorado Democrats "unequivocally condemn this undemocratic action that undermines fairness and the rule of law."

Williams' counterpart, Colorado Democratic Party chair Morgan Carroll, instead welcomed the development in a text message delivered via a spokeswoman, adding that anyone other than Trump "would already be serving time in jail."

"We believe it is important that Donald Trump be treated the same as any other American citizen  no better and no worse," Carroll said. "In his hubris and exceptionally privileged life, he has learned he can ignore the law and often get away with it. If regular people did the same things Donald Trump did they would already be serving time in jail. We believe no one is above the law.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and late Thursday denounced the investigation as "weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent."

Williams told Colorado Politics that the indictment differed from a steady clamor by Republican politicians  including Trump  to prosecute Democrats, typified by GOP crowds chanting "lock her up!" at rallies, referring to 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, as well as persistent calls to imprison Dr. Anthony Fauci and Hunter Biden.

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"Clinton, Fauci, and Hunter Biden clearly broke laws and have never been prosecuted, whereas the alleged crime here was investigated by federal prosecutors in New York and ultimately never pursued," Williams said in a text message. "We have (a) zealous DA trying to make headlines by pursuing charges that others declined to prosecute after an investigation was conducted."

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Centennial Democrat and one of the House managers who prosecuted the first impeachment against Trump in early 2020, said in a statement that it was "a somber day for our nation."

"Former President Trumps indictment reminds us that no one is above the law and that we are all afforded due process and equal protection under the law," Crow said. As we see this process unfold, I hope Americans can find faith in our judicial system and take heart in knowing justice benefits us all.

The Denver Democrat who helped prosecute the second set of impeachment charges against Trump in early 2021  the Senate acquitted Trump in both impeachment proceedings  noted that a criminal indictment against a former U.S. president was unprecedented.

"No one is above the law in this country. Not even former presidents!" tweeted U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette

Silt Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a vocal Trump defender, tweeted her support, along with a picture of her standing next to a smiling Trump, who displayed a thumbs-up gesture.

"We've got your back, Mr. President!" Boebert said.
The U.S. Air Force Academy announced Thursday that its Cadet Chapel  Colorados most-visited man-made tourist attraction and an iconic structure at the campus north of Colorado Springs  will remain closed for massive renovations until early 2027, more than three years longer than originally expected.

The discovery of more asbestos than anticipated or budgeted for in the original $158 million project increased costs by $60 million and bumped the already-delayed completion date by three years.

There were no notations of the asbestos in the original contract documents, said Alex Delimont, a senior project manager with JE Dunn construction. Unfortunately, when that initial survey was done, there were just limitations to where that survey could access.

Delimont explained that, until workers were able to remove material from the structure  built in 1962  they didnt know what they were facing as far as the scope of asbestos abatement.

And in those pockets additional material was found. And additionally in locations where it wasnt intended to be installed originally, we found pockets of material as well, Delimont said. That was likely just due to the nature of not understanding the hazards of the material when it was originally installed.

The chapel closed in September 2019, for a renovation project that was expected to shutter the iconic house of worship for at least three years. In December of last year, The Gazette reported there would be a delay due to the discovery of an increased amount of asbestos.

That challenge turned out to be bigger than expected.

The effort is so labor-intensive, its just going to take a fair amount of time for them to complete the abatement and allow the rest of the project to continue, said Carlos Cruz-Gonzalez, the USAFAs director of logistics and engineering.

Renovations to the chapel are being done under the cover of a boxy, white cocoon that allows work to continue year-round. Delimont said that pandemic-related material and worker shortages havent been a factor in the delay.

Fortunately, the project has been lucky in regards to material impacts from COVID, said Delimont. We  were fortunate in that we purchased ahead of time. The status of the project  its classification as essential  helped us to avoid many of those impacts.

Cruz-Gonzalez said that the feedback hes received so far has been perhaps disappointed, but overwhelmingly supportive.

People understand that a project like this is going to take a fair amount of time. Its going to be disruptive, he said. Of course people would have wanted the chapel to open closer to 23, 24, but they also understand that weve got to get it done.

And get it done right.

Contact the writer: stephanie.earls@gazette.com
Many major bills survived the second funnel deadline this week at the Iowa Capitol, but Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate hit points of contention on issues like education and liability limits.

Republicans came together to pass priority legislation like private school scholarships, a ban on gender-affirming care for minors and government reorganization. In the final week of March, many bills needed to pass a committee deadline by Thursday to remain eligible for debate. The chambers different approaches to certain topics showed through that process: the House made major amendments to bills like the governors education proposal and trucking liability limits and the Senate did not hold meetings on the Houses pipeline bill.

Further disagreements between the chambers may be on the horizon. House Republicans released a budget proposal $50 million above the Senates and Gov. Kim Reynolds targets with hopes of funding programs to support Iowa nursing home and mental health providers. Legislative leaders said one of their 2023 goals is making property tax changes, but the Senate and Houses proposals on how to change the system differ greatly.

Budgets and bills with a spending or tax component are not subject to the funnel deadline. While lawmakers will have more discussions on taxes and appropriations in the coming weeks, there are still plenty of policy bills that survived this weeks deadline up for discussion, with more than 100 bills placed on the unfinished business calendar Thursday. And legislation that died in the funnel still could be resurrected through amendments to surviving bills, as well as come up again as a leadership-sponsored bill.

Heres where some of high-profile proposals stand following the second funnel:

Safe bills

Education

Parental rights: Gov. Kim Reynolds parental rights bill, Senate File 496, passed the Senate floor and has advanced through the House committee process in the days before the funnel deadline. The House Education Committee amended the legislation to include proposals discussed in other bills on LGBTQ+ topics in classroom materials, book challenges and parental notification if school staff believe a child is transgender. In its current form, the bill prohibits books available in school libraries if they contain explicit visual or written depictions of sex acts, bans material and instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation from K-6 classrooms, and requires schools inform parents if a child requests socially transitioning at school.

School requirements: Students would be required to take fewer arts and second language classes to graduate under Senate File 391, which remains available for consideration in the Senate after passing the House with an amendment. The bill also allows teachers to instruct multiple sequential units of a subject at the same time, in the same classroom and limits non-online schools to 30 hours or five days of online instruction per school year.

Teacher accreditation: House File 614, which allows out-of-state teachers to be more easily credentialed in Iowa, also remains eligible for consideration in the Senate following its House passage.

Justice

Liability limits: The governor has already signed medical malpractice liability limits into law, and similar limits on cases involving commercial motor vehicles are on the unfinished business calendar in the Senate. Senate File 228 was passed by the Senate in February, but the House sent it back after raising the $2 million cap to $5 million for noneconomic damages in lawsuits against trucking companies whose employees caused injuries or deaths while on the job.

Fentanyl: The Senate placed House File 595, one of the governors proposals, on the unfinished business calendar. The bill, which passed the Iowa House earlier in March, would increase penalties for the manufacture, distribution and possession of drugs containing fentanyl, with higher sentences when the use of those drugs result in death or injury.

Child pornography: Penalties would rise for people convicted of crimes related to child exploitation and pornography through House File 646. The bill was placed on the calendar with its companion, Senate File 84, which passed the Senate with unanimous support in early March.

Brady-Giglio: House File 631 unanimously passed a measure to keep the official procedure codified in 2022 in place for officers whose names are placed on a list for their credibility being in question over complaints of misconduct, excessive force or discrimination. The bill remains available for consideration in the Senate.

Cellphones in vehicles: After years of stalled debates, Iowa lawmakers may pass a hands-free driving bill in 2023. Senate File 547, which requires drivers to only use phones in voice-activated or hands-free modes while operating a vehicle, was approved by the Senate and by House committee.

To-go alcohol: Bills that would require drivers to stow to-go alcohol containers from restaurants and bars in their trunks survived the second funnel. House File 433 and Senate File 401 were placed on the unfinished business calendars in both chambers.

Firearms in vehicles: Measures allowing gun owners to leave loaded weapons in parked cars at businesses, prisons, schools and colleges, and other locations, House File 654 and Senate File 543, were also placed on the unfinished business calendars.

Drones: Restriction on how close drones can fly to homes and livestock facilities remain up for consideration through Senate File 520 and House File 572.

Subpoena limits: Fishing expeditions that limit witness cooperation would be limited under House File 644, a bill that passed the House and was placed on unfinished business in the Senate.

Health care

Birth control: While the governors health care omnibus proposal also included an over-the-counter birth control, an independent birth control measure, Senate File 326, is safe having passed the Senate advanced out of the House Health and Human Services Committee.

Midwifery: Advocates say House File 265, a bill establishing a midwife licensure process in Iowa, could help address the maternal health care shortage in Iowa. The bill is eligible for debate having cleared the House and the Senate committee process.

Workforce

Child labor: The House and Senates child labor bills, House File 647 and Senate File 542, were placed on the unfinished business calendars Thursday, keeping them eligible for further discussion despite not yet being debated on the floor. Both versions passed through the committee process with lawmakers recommending amendments after debating issues like workplace safety for 16- and 17-year-olds serving alcohol at night.

Asset tests: Iowans receiving public benefits would be subject to new asset tests and income limits through Senate File 494, which cleared the Senate and the House Appropriations Committee Thursday. The new limits and verification requirements could remove 8,000 Medicaid recipients and 2,800 SNAP recipients from the programs because of reporting discrepancies, the Legislative Services Agency reported, which advocates said will impact Iowans legitimately in need.

State government

State auditor: New restrictions on information the State Auditors Office can obtain during its investigations received a House committees support on Thursday. However, the committee amended Senate File 478 to make exceptions for investigations that involve embezzlement and theft. Committee members said the bill might be further amended to include fraud. The bill passed the Senate earlier in March.

Investment of public funds: Investment of public funds could not be managed through firms that account for environmental, social and governance factors when making investments through Senate File 507. The bill, sent back to the Senate after a House amendment, is on the unfinished business calendar.

Chinese investments: Public funds would also be subject to restrictions in companies owned or controlled by the Chinese government through Senate File 418, approved by the House Commerce Committee Thursday. Some legislators brought up concerns that the bill could impact trade with the country, but supporters said fields like agriculture and computer chip manufacturing would not be affected.

Agriculture

Dog breed bans: Companion bills Senate File 476 and House File 651, bills, prohibiting cities or counties from enacting breed bans to restrict dog ownership based on the animals perceived breed, survived as unfinished business.

Nuisance animals: Farmers would be allowed to kill certain animals deemed a nuisance to crops and livestock through House File 317 which passed the House and is on the calendar for later consideration with its companion Senate File 358.

Raw milk: Those with herds of 10 or fewer dairy cows would be allowed to sell raw milk directly to a consumer under Senate File 315, which got committee support in the House on Thursday. It cleared the Senate about a week earlier. The milk transactions cannot take place where retail food is sold.

What didnt survive

Pipelines: While House Republicans pipeline proposal passed with bipartisan support in March, House File 565 will not survive the funnel deadline as the Senate Commerce Committee did not hold meetings on the bill this week.

Public lands: A bill that would have prioritized the maintenance of public parks and recreational trails over the creation of new ones did not get a needed committee vote to survive the deadline. Senate File 516 passed the Senate but stalled in the house after getting support from two subcommittees. Detractors feared it would limit public land acquisitions.

Death penalty: While Senate File 357, a bill reinstating the death penalty, passed through the Senate committee process, it did not meet the funnel deadline. The legislation proposed allowing the death penalty in cases where a minor is kidnapped, raped and murdered.

Judicial nominating: A move to give the governor a larger say in district judge nominations did not advance through the House, and has not been placed on the calendar for later consideration. The Senate approved Senate File 171 in February, which proposes taking the most senior judge in a judicial district out of the district judicial nominating commissions where they now serve as chair, a similar change to what was adopted for statewide judicial nominating commissions in 2019.

Victim restitution: While the Senate placed Senate File 522, a bill curtailing restitution requirements for people who kill their abusers on the unfinished business calendar, its companion House File 594 did not make the cut.

Window tint: A proposal allowing drivers to affix darker tint to their front windows under Senate File 491 did not receive a hearing on the Senate floor or get House consideration.

Already approved

Gender affirming care: Iowa minors receiving gender-affirming care have less than six months before their doctors are no longer able to provide treatment for gender dysphoria, with Reynolds signing Senate File 538 into law March 22. Health care providers can still refer their patients to providers in other states to continue receiving gender-affirming care.

Bathroom ban: Schools had to immediately stop allowing transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding with their gender identity with Senate File 482 signed into law in March. People can no longer use a bathroom or facility designated for a gender that differs from the one they were assigned at birth. If a student is not comfortable with the bathroom corresponding with their designated gender, parents must submit a request for a child to be able to use a single-use alternative facility if needed.

Private school scholarships: Reynolds signed House File 68 into law in January, establishing an education savings account program giving K-12 students an account of roughly $7,600 in state funds to use for private school tuition and associated costs. New York-based education technology company Odyssey is set to administer the program, which will kick off in the 2023-24 school year.

Agency reorganization: The governors massive agency restructuring bill was approved with few changes through both chambers, despite Democrats offering dozens of amendments calling for reversals to changes they said will hurt Iowans using government services as Iowas system of agencies consolidates from 37 to 16. Senate File 514 awaits Reynolds signature.

Rural Emergency Hospitals: Iowa has a state licensure process to receive the federal Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation through House File 75, signed into law Wednesday. REH facilities would only provide emergency room and outpatient services, but be eligible for more Medicare reimbursements as well as a monthly facility payment.
RINGGOLD  Gov. Glenn Youngkin visited the Dan River Region on Thursday, with his stop in the area including a tour of AeroFarms at Cane Creek Centre Industrial Park.

The governor got a peek inside the largest indoor vertical farming facility in the world, located at Cane Creek Centre Industrial Park off U.S. 58.

He was at the facility to celebrate Controlled Environment Agriculture Month in Virginia and present AeroFarms with a CEA proclamation.

Youngkin expressed wonder at what he saw inside the 138,670-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility.

The emotion when you walk into that facility is one that feels like youre in a science fiction movie and you cant believe whats going on, Youngkin told community leaders, state and local officials and AeroFarm employees during remarks after the tour.

He congratulated AeroFarms representatives and employees who have careers at the company, which is so exciting to see.

Its a company to be proud of, its a product to be proud of, its a state to be proud of for sure, but it is really exciting to have that sense of awe when you walk into a facility like that, he said.

Other state officials joined Youngkin on the tour, including Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr, Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, and state Sen. Frank Ruff, R-Clarksville.

Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler, who chairs the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority, also toured the facility. RIFA, whose board includes members of City Council and the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, owns the industrial park where AeroFarms is located.

AeroFarms opened up to produce tens of billions of leafy green vegetable plants per year at its facility.

Containing 48 plant-growing towers four-and-half stories high, the operation entails the equivalent of a 1,000-acre farm.

Leafy greens are being grown aeroponically inside the building include micro arugula, micro wasabi mustard, micro kale and other vegetables.

AeroFarms Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer Marc Oshima said Youngkins visit speaks to amazing support from Virginia for AeroFarms.

Weve seen it from day one, Oshima said. The thing about the work thats happening in terms of driving and being the epicenter for CEA, its happening here in Virginia.

The company is writing the next chapter in the states agricultural history, he added.

During his remarks, Youngkin said Virginia faces food insecurity and AeroFarms address that.

What I hear over and over again are the challenges that we have, broadly, in our agriculture-to-the-table pipeline, he said. What Ive just seen [during the tour] changes all of that.

He added that he was excited about the jobs in Danville and theres more to be had.

The AeroFarms project is more than just a loose partnership, he said, but a shared walk into the future among the company, Danville, Pittsylvania County and state government.

Youngkin talked about a bill he recently signed that will extend sales and use property tax exemptions for equipment used at AeroFarms and other facilities.

What were trying to do as a commonwealth is promote further growth of this extraordinary industry, Youngkin said.

He added that he wants to double the states ability to provide grants to allow companies to grow more in Virginia and to fund more research so that the next innovation can be incorporated in making products and productivity even better.

The AeroFarms indoor vertical farm came to Ringgold to distribute primarily to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast markets with the ability to reach about 50 million people located within a days drive and more than 1,000 retailers.

Within the four-and-a-half-story growing area, each section in the system has its own micro-climate determining which plant will grow where.

Vertical growing uses LED lighting and aeroponic mist on leafy greens in stacks that can reach as high as 40 feet. It mists the greens roots with nutrients, water and oxygen, using 95% less water and 99% less land than field farming and 40% less water than hydroponics, according to the companys website.

The lighting allows control of the size, shape, texture, color, flavor and nutrition.

AeroFarms employs more than 100 workers and is expected to ultimately hire a total of about 150.
The city can afford to pay its employees at 100% of market, according to a study of salaries among Danvilles municipal workers.

That means the city of Danville will be able to increase pay for its employees to average compensation for workers in similar markets.

No employee in Danvilles city government will make less than $15 per hour.

The pay plan we will recommend will be the first time in anyones memory and, perhaps ever, that we can afford to base it on 100% of the market, City Manager Ken Larking told the Danville Register & Bee Friday morning.

Also as a result of the study, starting firefighter pay, which was at 20% below the market in 2022  at just $34,085.85 per year  will be at just more than $42,000 annually, Larking said. A recent increase raised the minimum pay to $35,434.

Firefighter compensation has been a hot topic in recent months.

In 2021, the city provided raises to the Danville Police Department due to difficulties in recruitment and retention among law enforcement agencies following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide protests.

Firefighters have brought that up when imploring city officials to do the same for their department, attending and speaking out at several recent City Council meetings.

A firefighter pay study presented to Danville City Council in December showed that starting pay for a Danville firefighter fell nearly 20% short of the market average hiring minimum of $42,034.

The city hired the Berkley Group  which conducted the firefighter pay study  to perform the more recent organization-wide pay study to address disparities that have developed because of volatility in the market over the past three years since the pandemic.

Results of the firefighter pay study were incorporated into the organization-wide study, Larking said.

Following the previous overall study of city worker pay in 2019, the city was only able to bring salaries up to 90% of market at the time, Larking said.

Earlier this month, Larking proposed $1.3 million to put toward employee raises in the upcoming 2023-24 budget as a result of the study. Implementing the pay increases as a result the most recent study will cost less than $1 million, he said.

However, Larking said the city plans to make additional adjustments to worker pay, as well.

Exactly what that looks like, its still to be determined, Larking said. We want to do it as equitably as possible.

Mayor Alonzo Jones welcomed the studys results.

It is important to me, City Council, and city administration that our employees are paid a competitive wage, Jones said in a news release from the city Thursday. I am pleased we are able to afford to implement this new pay plan in our upcoming budget.

Employees have received annual pay for performance raises over the last eight years, with the last one being in July. Every employee except sworn police officers received another wage adjustment effective Jan. 1 to account for the state minimum wage increase.

In the news release, Larking said that he appreciated the City Council for making strategic investments in economic revitalization, which has helped increase tax base and tax revenue in recent years.

If not for this growth, we could not afford to continue the high level of services our community enjoys, or the pay increases our employees consistently receive, Larking said in the new release.

The Berkley Group conducted the study, which began in February. Data was collected from peer communities in the region.

The study addressed wages only. Employee benefits, including health insurance, paid holidays, and family leave, meet or exceed the market in most aspects.
At funeral services at a Chesterfield church to mourn Irvo Otieno, there was also a call to remember him as a symbol of how mentally ill people are treated by law enforcement and the need for change.
STOKESDALE  A 6-year-old boy was critically injured Thursday morning when a car hit him while he was trying to board a school bus in Stokesdale.

The NC Highway Patrol has not released the name of the child but a Guilford County Schools spokeswoman said hes a student at Stokesdale Elementary School. The patrol identified the driver of the car as James Michael Christman, 47, of Stokesdale.

Troopers were called to the scene of the crash, on N.C. 65 near Self Road, about 6:47 a.m.

Christman was traveling west on NC 65 in 2020 Nissan Maxima passenger car, the highway patrol said in a news release. The school bus was stopped, facing east on NC 65 and displaying its mechanical stop arm, and flashing red lights.

Christman disregarded the activated lights and stop arm and hit the child, who was crossing from the north shoulder of the road headed south, the patrol said.

The child suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem.

Impairment is not suspected as a contributing factor in this crash, the patrol said.

Investigators are set to meet with the Guilford County District Attorneys Office about charges in the case.

The school districts crisis team was at the school Thursday to support students, the spokeswoman said.

N.C. 65 was closed for approximately four hours during the investigation.
Twenty-five years ago, when a powerful state senator quietly and suddenly advanced a bill that would have allowed the leaders of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina to transform the giant and successful health insurance nonprofit into a for-profit company, advocates, consumers, average citizens and ultimately, the full General Assembly, took a stand.

For more than a half-century, Blue Cross had been afforded all manner of public assistance and preferential treatment in the form of tax and premium breaks as it grew into massive institution that employed thousands of people who served millions of customers. So state legislators passed a law mandating that if Blue Cross converted to a for-profit, it wouldnt be allowed to leave the states residents high and dry. Instead, the law specified that the would-be converters could have the name, but its assets would be transferred to a publicly controlled charitable trust for the benefit of the states citizenry.

In so doing, the legislation protected and preserved a vital public asset and ensured the nonprofits directors could never realize a massive, publicly subsidized windfall.

The strength of the 1998 law was validated five years later when Blue Cross started a conversion to a for-profit. But Blue Cross abandoned those plans amid worries that consumer premiums would rise and the insurers concerns that "conversion could result in the company being subjected to regulatory restrictions that would make Blue Cross less competitive."

Now, however, as Lynn Bonner reported on Monday for NC Policy Watch, Blue Cross is back trying for yet another bite at the apple:

"House Bill 346 and Senate Bill 296 would allow Blue Cross to create a 'holding corporation' into which it could transfer assets, property and ownership of subsidiaries. The holding corporation would not be subject to insurance company regulations.

What this means, as a practical matter, is that Blue Cross would be able to establish a nonprofit holding company exempt from the 1998 law. The new company could then make all manner of deals and quietly transfer nonprofit value to for-profit uses. The original Blue Cross corporation would remain, but it would literally be a shell of its former self and, as such, the idea of transferring its assets to a public trust would be meaningless.

Interestingly, the politics surrounding the legislation, which is scheduled to be heard for the first time in a House committee on Tuesday, are reminiscent in many ways of those that surrounded the initial conversion proposal.

Like its original counterpart, the 2023 bill was introduced quietly and without fanfare by an enormously powerful sponsor (or, in the present case, a raft of sponsors)  the kind of backing that normally spurs the impression that the bill is, as the saying on Jones Street goes, wired.

But another striking similarity thats arisen in 2023 involves the rapidly mounting opposition: As it was a quarter-century ago, that opposition is passionate and convincing.

Whats more, one of the most important leaders of the anti-conversion opposition from the 1990s is still on the job: Martin Eakes, the charismatic MacArthur Foundation genius award winner who founded and leads the Durham-based Self-Help Credit Union, and who also helped lead the initial fight against Blue Cross going for-profit.

Eakes says with characteristic bluntness that the proposal is "a betrayal of the public trust" and made clear he would be helping to spearhead efforts to stop it.

Eakes and company are marshaling a formidable opposition team, including Nicole Dozier, the leader of the North Carolina Justice Centers Health Advocacy Project and current Republican state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.

Their shared and powerful message: The legislation constitutes a cynical effort to evade the 1998 law and drain Blue Crosss publicly subsidized assets for private gain, and it needs to be stopped.

Of course, none of this means that Blue Cross isnt or hasnt been a generally solid public citizen down through the decades thats served the state well. Indeed, State Treasurer Dale Folwells recent decision to oust Blue Cross from its role as the administrator of the State Health Plan was a highly questionable act based on questionable criteria that seems likely to significantly and unnecessarily disrupt the health care of thousands of state employees, retirees, and their dependents. Indeed, its hard not to wonder if the new conversion proposal might be in some way connected to that decision.

That said, theres also no getting around the fact that Blue Cross was established by, and for the benefit of, the people of North Carolina. Ultimately, it belongs to us and legislators should say "no" to this blatant attempt to loot its assets.
The most plausible explanation for hundreds of people in a rural African country coming down with a mass sociogenic illness has to do with what happened in the country in the months leading up to it. In late 1961, Tanzania, which was then called Tanganyika, gained independence  it had been a British colony for four decades. Although this sounds like a positive step, it threw the country into cultural chaos.

Tanzania was suddenly a socialist state, and the new government was eager to make changes. Local clans were broken up and land changed hands. Almost overnight, there was a huge amount of pressure to adopt Christianity and modern systems of government, instead of the belief systems and social structures that had endured for hundreds or even thousands of years. People were even offered money to choose one church over another.

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Life in Tanzania became very different, all at once, and it's easy to imagine how stressful that must have been for everyone.

Humans look to each other to know how to behave, and it's possible that the first girls who could not stop laughing, crying, screaming and fainting had just had enough  maybe of boarding school, maybe of the new order of things. Their schoolmates saw their uncontrollable laughter and thought, I feel like that, too. Over the next 18 months, people all over the country expressed their fear, anxiety, sense of overwhelming stress, grief and confusion through laughter.

Sometimes a good laugh can make you feel better, but experts are doubtful the laughter improved anybody's existential crisis. Wave after wave of the laughing epidemic shivered through Tanzania, until it eventually stopped all together. It's the only one of its kind to ever have been recorded.

Now That's Interesting When it's not the main symptom of an MPI epidemic, laughter has been shown to release endorphins and alleviate tension.
Republican lawmakers have advanced a proposal to reshape Montanas independent redistricting commission in a way they say will remove the politics from the process.

Senate Bill 534 has the backing of GOP leadership in the House and Senate and passed the Senate State Administration Committee on a party-line, 6-3 vote after minimal debate Wednesday evening.

Sponsored by Sen. Tom McGillvray, the bill would propose a constitutional amendment to voters in next years general election that would add new language to the Montana Constitutions provision creating an independent Districting and Apportionment Commission. That commission is responsible for drawing new legislative districts every 10 years to account for population shifts identified by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The language would require the commission to produce maps that contain the fewest possible divisions of any city, town, county or community of interest. It would also forbid the commission from considering any data pertaining to the political affiliation of electors or prior election results.

I really think this is a common-sense addition to the Constitution, McGillvray told the committee, I would bet that any Montanan would say that we dont want partisan politics in districting.

Montana was one of the first states in the country to create an independent body to oversee its redistricting process, by writing it into the state Constitution drafted in 1972. That commission is made up of five members, the first four evenly divided between the state's top two political parties. Those four partisan members must attempt to nominate a nonpartisan fifth member to serve as the chair. Failing that, the Montana Supreme Court is given the task of appointing the fifth member.

Commissioners cant be legislators or serving as partisan elected officials in any other capacity. And unlike the commissioners prior to the 1972 Constitution, the new maps arent subjugated to the will of the Legislature. The law-making branch gets to offer feedback as part of the process, but lawmakers have no control over the final maps.

The proposed amendment had several proponents, including Dan Stusek, one of two Republican appointees to the most recent redistricting commission. He noted that the commission had adopted similar-sounding criteria for its recent map-drawing efforts, but that they had been part of the discretionary goals for the process. Those goals arent given the same weight as the mandatory criteria, which are those requirements found in the Constitution and in federal law.

Most of it here is discretionary, and its not equally applied across the spectrum in different parts of our state and in different types of districts, Stusek said.

No other former commissioners spoke at the bill hearing. Two of the most recent Democratic members of the redistricting commission, Kendra Miller and Joe Lamson, both declined to comment on the record when reached by phone.

The committee chair limited each speaker to just two minutes each during the bill's hearing. SB 534 was one of seven bills scheduled for the committee on Wednesday ahead of a procedural deadline Tuesday.

Helena resident Norane Appling-Freistadt called the bill a one-size-fits-all proposal that would remove the aspect of the process that allows local residents to engage with the process and give feedback on proposed district maps.

This bill reduces the voices of the locals who engage in hearings and know about the communities, Appling-Freistadt said.

The use of political data is a bedrock of the redistricting process. In the most recent commissions deliberations, legislative map proposals advanced from each side of the aisle, each predictably more favorable to the party advancing them. But Republicans repeatedly argued against making that an explicit consideration, saying the commission should follow the state Constitutions requirement that districts be contiguous and compact and let the other chips fall where they may.

Those proposals were notably more favorable to Republicans, however, and would have likely locked in GOP majorities far in excess of the majority partys actual share of voters across the state. Democrats argued that political data was the only way to check whether the states voters were getting a fair shake in how the districts ultimately got drawn.

Each party is going to use tools to model political outcomes of each map regardless of whether there's language banning it in public, argued Sen. Janet Ellis, D-Helena, during the committees discussion on the bill.

Theyre going to know exactly what the election results will be and its all going to have to happen behind closed doors and not out in the open, at least for citizens to see, Ellis said in arguing against the proposed amendment.

Legislative referendums to put constitutional amendments on the ballot require a higher threshold of votes than most bills. They must get a combined 100 votes from both chambers, or two-thirds of the total. Republicans control a combined 102 seats, meaning three defections would be enough to kill the proposal if Democrats remain united against it.

SB 534 has the backing of GOP leadership in both chambers. House Speaker Matt Regier on Tuesday told reporters Tuesday that its the top of the list for him, and Senate Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick said Wednesday he is also throwing his support behind the bill.

Three other GOP proposals had been floating around the Legislature but were all voted down in committees this week. One sought to require the Legislatures approval for a proposed legislative map, while the other two would have stacked the commission in favor of the party that gets the most votes in statewide elections.

All three were tabled by the House Judiciary Committee, but could get resurrected if SB 534 fails to attract enough votes to make it to the ballot.
After a Helena judge in late February found Montanas parental consent law for minors seeking abortions unconstitutional, a state lawmaker is now seeking to pass a policy requiring consultation with parents instead.

House Bill 968 from Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote Thursday with Republican support and Democratic opposition. It was introduced Tuesday and referred to the committee the day before it was heard.

The question of if parents or guardians should either consent to or be notified if their minors seek an abortion has been in legal limbo in Montana for a decade. In 2012 voters approved a legislatively passed referendum to require parental notification. Then in 2013 the Legislature passed a consent law, which Regier said Thursday was intended to clear up loopholes in the notification law.

Planned Parenthood of Montana sued over both the notification and consent policies and a temporary injunction left the notification part in place, but blocked the consent requirement. Since then the case moved through several judges and even different jurisdictions before Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Chris Abbott in February issued an order declaring the consent requirement unconstitutional given the contours of the right to individual privacy established by the (state) Constitution and prior decisions.

Instead of consent, Regier's bill would say a minor under the age of 16 and not emancipated may not receive an abortion until a physician consults their parent or legal guardian. The bill would also require a parent or guardian to be provided sufficient information to "consult with the minor as to the risk and complications associated with abortion and pregnancy." The bill would also require proof of relationship to the minor.

Regier told the committee the legislation addresses a critical issue that affects one of Montana's most valuable population(s): our young girls.

She said that Abbotts order recognized the states compelling interest in legislating in the area; Abbott in his order did give a nod to the ongoing session and said his ruling was timed to occur while lawmakers were still bringing bills.

While the state Attorney General has said he will appeal the block on the consent law and the notification law is set for trial in 2024, Regier said her bill would be a faster route.

This legislation provides a quicker path, Regier said.

Echoing Regier, the head of the anti-abortion group the Montana Family Foundation said the bill was written to comply with Abbotts order and would serve to protect minors.

These compelling state interests include the state's interest in protecting children from sexual exploitation and abuse, monitoring post-abortion complications and mental health trauma, ensuring that minors are fully informed in their decision-making and promoting family integrity, said organization president Jeff Laszloffy during Thursdays hearing.

Regier said the bill would protect young women , but Democrats on the committee said it could instead put them in danger by having to contact parents, who could be their abusers or close to their abusers, to complete the consultation requirement.

While Laszloffy pointed to a legal workaround in those cases, opponents said the process can be challenging, especially for minors without lawyers.

Those who opposed the bill said the issues of consent and notification are still being litigated and argued instead of speeding up the process, it would delay resolution.

This bill concedes that parental consent is no longer needed in Montana, instead requiring consultation of a parent or guardian. That means that this Legislature is agreeing that parents have no say in consenting to their minors' abortions. Is that really the Legislature's intent? asked Quinn Leighton, the director of external affairs for Planned Parenthood of Montana.

Leighton also said the state should not interfere with the relationship between patients and doctors. Still, Leighton said, the majority of young people who obtain abortions come in with parents or guardians. When that doesn't happen, there are often compelling reasons, Leighton said.

There are cases where that is not possible for the patients. Abuse and neglect, rape and incest, are tragic realities for some young people. There are times when consulting, notifying or requiring consent of a parent or guardian will put the pregnant teen in danger. It is imperative that we protect their rights and safety. Every single young person who is harmed by this bill is one too many, Leighton said.

The bill is up against a procedural deadline that means it must advance from the House by April 4. Several who testified against it raised concerns with the rapid scheduling for the bills hearing. Lawmakers generally aim to give three days of notice, but its not required and often doesnt happen when a deadline looms. With the exception of study bills, legislation must clear the chamber it started in by the deadline.

After Julia Maxon with Montana Women Vote said the public should have more time than less than one day's notice to weigh in on a bill, the committees Republican vice chair Rep. Brandon Ler, of Savage, said the committee was following procedures.

There's been no rules broken in introducing this bill. This bill was just dropped and we have a tight deadline getting to transmittal. There's no way to bring the three-day rule so if you could leave that out of your testimony because it has no bearing on this, Ler said.

Several other people giving testimony against the bill continued to voice concern about the timeline, and were also rebuked by Republicans on the committee.

But Democratic Rep. Laurie Bishop, of Livingston, countered that.

I think it's OK for the public to express their frustration at the small amount of notice that they have been given on this particular bill. I don't know why we would limit people from just expressing that frustration, Bishop said.

However, Rep. Lola Sheldon Galloway, a Great Falls Republican, said hearing the concern once was enough and the committee generally asks people to try to not duplicate testimony.

We have heard that point. It's been noted and we don't need to hear it again, Sheldon Galloway said.

Several other abortion bills, both recently introduced and bills that have already cleared their initial chamber, took steps forward Thursday.

That includes the banning of the most commonly used abortion procedure in the second trimester, which cleared a Senate committee after already passing the House. During debate on the bill earlier in the week Democrats walked out of the hearing, citing concerns about the content of the debate.
The Montana House will soon debate the merits of electing justices to the Montana Supreme Court versus an appointment process somewhat like the federal level.

House Bill 915, carried by Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, is a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate elections for Supreme Court justices and put the appointment power in the hands of the governor, backstopped by confirmation in the Senate.

If passed by the Legislature, the proposal would be up to Montanans to either approve or reject on the 2024 ballot.

Mercer, in presenting the bill Wednesday, said the flood of campaign contributions into judicial races sets up judicial candidates for the appearance of impropriety. He cited briefs by past justices and chief justices from around the country warning about the systems in which justices run successful campaigns partly due to expenditures by third parties. He noted the Citizens United ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, which removed campaign contribution limits for corporations.

"We have a system now in which the only people that can serve on the Montana Supreme Court are people who want to run a statewide campaign," he said. "There are plenty of people who are good lawyers who do not want to go raise money, who do not want to go through the very aggressive tactics that are employed by both sides and are not going to subject themselves to that.

"We are absolutely culling the list of people who could serve in this position, and that's a serious problem," he added.

Layered over that context are the ongoing efforts by Montana Republicans to reshape the judiciary. The GOP secured both the legislative and executive branches in 2020, but their policies have been held up in court by constitutional challenges and, in some cases, rulings that found the Legislature acted outside of its authority.

Opponents said during Wednesday's hearing the measure would take away Montanans' ability to vote for Supreme Court justices, whose decisions on the high court have statewide impact. They also noted there are no sideboards to who reaches the governor's list for appointments, and suggested including a vetting panel.

Under the HB 915 process, justices would be appointed for a single six-year term at a time. Al Smith of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association noted that arrangement would diverge from the federal system, where justices are appointed for life.

"Which means they don't have to worry about the political winds that might be blowing, or getting on the bad side of the president," Smith said in opposition. "Here if somebody wants to serve more than one term, they better make sure that they don't cross the governor, who's going to be the one to make that reappointment at the end of the term.

"Does anyone like how judicial elections go? No, but it gives the people a chance to vote for those folks," Smith added.

The State Bar of Montana also opposed the bill, contending if campaign contributions are the concern, the solution should focus instead on campaign finance.

"We should have a serious conversation about ways to remove money that are constitutional, that meet with the rule of law," Bruce Spencer, representing the State Bar, said.

Three Montana Supreme Court justices will be up for reelection in 2024. If passed by the voters, the changes Mercer proposes would go into place in January 2025.

On Thursday the House Judiciary Committee spent not one minute debating HB 915, jumping right into a 13-6, party-line vote with Republicans in support.

The bill is likely to be heard on the House floor Monday. It must pass over to the Senate by Tuesday in order to survive a procedural deadline.
DECATUR  The situation that led to the shooting of a stabbing suspect by Decatur police officers escalated quickly, taking about 60 second from the time officers encounter the man and shots were fired, Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel said.

I don't want to nail down a specific time. I can tell you that, just from what I saw on the body cam, from the time that they located the suspect to the time shots were fired was roughly a minute, Brandel told reporters at a news conference Thursday. And then from, I think, the time that the suspect made a move to when officers fired was less than a couple seconds.

Brandel said four or five of his officers responded to a domestic violence call at the 400 block of East Orchard Street just before 4 a.m. Thursday. Upon their arrival at the residence, they discovered a female with multiple stab and slash wounds on her body.

The suspect, later identified as 43-year-old Steven L. Hirstein of Decatur, was found hiding in the bathroom, Brandel said, and believing he was still armed with a knife, officers ordered him multiple times to exit the bathroom and show them his hands.

That is when officers said Hirstein, armed with a knife, charged at them.

Two of the officers then shot at Hirstein, striking him multiple times, a police department statement said. Hirstein fell and was secured immediately.

The officer-involved shooting is being investigated by the Illinois State Police, per standard procedure, Brandel said.

In addition to assaulting the woman, Brandel said the suspect had apparently threatened a child sometime before the shooting.

According to the police departments statement, the 911 call indicated an adult male  a man police ultimately identified as Hirstein  and a 34-year-old female, residents of the home, were in a fight and that Hirstein had also threatened a juvenile with a knife.

The juvenile was the female residents son, Brandel said. Hirstein and the stabbing victim were in a domestic relationship, Brandel said, but the juvenile was not Hirsteins child.

It was the childs biological father who made the domestic violence call to police, Brandel said.

Raw emotion and just about as strong of an emotion that you can get is interjected into (domestic violence) incidents, so they can become violent very quick, Brandel said. I can probably say from my time and experience that I was on the street, Ive probably used force more times during domestic violence situations than any other time.

Brandel said officers had reason to believe the situation could be tense. Before arriving on scene, officers were made aware that Hirstein was wanted for aggravated domestic battery and domestic battery for previous incidents, Brandel said. According to Macon County Circuit Court files, formal charges relating to these offenses have not been filed.

Brandel said he did not know how many times Hirstein had been shot, but did say the suspect was shot in both his hands and in his right arm, just above the elbow.

The officers who shot Hirstein are not being identified at this time, Brandel said. One is an eight-year veteran of the department and the other just completed his first year as a police officer.

No officers were injured during the incident.

The shooting was captured on the body-cameras of multiple officers, including those that fired their weapons.

First aid was provided to Hirstein. Both he and the female stabbing victim were then transported to Decatur Memorial Hospital for treatment.

The woman was found to have multiple stab wounds to the back, arm and hip. She also had a cut on her chest. Her injuries were not serious, the department said, and she was released from the hospital Thursday morning.

Hirsteins injuries were also not life threatening, Brandel said. He was in stable condition as of Thursday afternoon and is currently under guard at the hospital. Upon Hirsteins release, Brandel said, he will be arrested on preliminary charges of attempted murder, aggravated domestic battery and aggravated assault related to Thursdays events. He will also be booked on the previous charges.

Brandel said the Illinois State Police will lead the investigation into Thursdays domestic violence incident as officials expect overlap with the investigation into the officers response.

It is common practice across the state of Illinois for ISP to investigate use of force incidents involving local officers, said Illinois State Police Lt. Lisa Mitchell. After a thorough investigation is completed, ISP will turn all reports over to the Macon County State's Attorney's Office for an independent review of the facts.

The states attorneys office will ultimately determine if the use of deadly force was justified under the law. The Decatur Police Department will also conduct a parallel internal investigation to ensure all department policies were followed.

Brandel said he believed only Hirstein and the 34-year-old female were in the home at the time of the stabbing incident. But there are multiple children involved with the victim and the investigation, Mitchell said.

We did make contact with DCFS to make them aware of the incident that happened, Mitchell said. And they are going to be, they are involved now. So they will make sure that the children are protected.

Thursdays incident was the fourth officer-involved shooting in Decatur since January 2022. The most recent took place on Oct. 12 when a shootout wounded two officers and the suspect died.

Both officers who shot at Hirstein have been placed on administrative leave with pay.

Brandel said the two officers will speak with counselors who can give clearance for them to return for administrative duties. The officers will be off the street while the investigation is ongoing.

Officers involved in Thursdays events should have written reports submitted by Monday, Brandel said. Officers then get to review their body cam footage. After that, the body cam footage can be released to the public.

Brandel said he hopes to have the footage released by the end of next week.

I'm thankful today that we didn't have a loss of life, Brandel said. I'm thankful that none of our officers were hurt. From the videos that I've seen, you know, the training that they've received was certainly helpful in how they responded to this incident.

Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe, who was present during the news conference on Thursday, acknowledged the incident could have been much worse.

For being in a very bad situation, this is a pretty good outcome, she said. Because everyone is going to be okay.

Nobody wants to fire a gun, Moore Wolfe said. But the police did what they had to do.

Moore Wolfes son, Travis Wolfe, now a Decatur police officer, was previously a deputy with the Macon County Sheriffs Department. He was one of four officers involved in the Oct. 12 shootout in Decatur.

The mayor said she understands domestic calls can be one of the most threatening situations for police officers.

A lot of the times the most dangerous calls are to a residence where emotions are high, she said. People do things they shouldnt be doing.

Officials encourage any individuals with information relevant to the case, whether through witnessing or having video evidence of the crime or knowing the parties involved, to contact the Illinois State Police, Zone 5 Investigations team at 815-844-1500.

Staff writer Donnette Beckett contributed to this report.
DECATUR  The man shot Thursday morning during a confrontation with Decatur police was released from the hospital Friday and booked into the Macon County Jail.

Steven Hirstein, 43, faces preliminary charges of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated domestic battery, aggravated battery of a police officer, aggravated battery, domestic battery and criminal damage to proper in connection with the Thursday arrest and an unrelated incident. Preliminary charges are subject to review by the state's attorney's office.

He is being held without bond in the jail. He is scheduled to appear in Macon County Circuit Court at 10:30 a.m. Monday, April 3.

According to a police statement, officers responded to a domestic violence call just before 4 a.m. Thursday in the 400 block of East Orchard Street. Responding officers discovered a female with multiple stab and slash wounds on her body.

The statement said Hirstein was found hiding in the bathroom. Believing he was still armed with a knife, officers ordered him multiple times to exit the bathroom and show them his hands. Hirstein, armed with a knife, charged at them.

Two of the officers then shot at Hirstein, striking him multiple times, the statement said. Hirstein fell and was immediately secured. No officers were injured.

The 34-year-old stabbing victim was treated and released for her injuries on Thursday.

The officer-involved shooting is being investigated by the Illinois State Police, per standard procedure, Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel said.

The officers who shot Hirstein are not being identified at this time, Brandel said. One is an eight-year veteran of the department and the other just completed his first year as a police officer.

The shooting was captured on the body-cameras of multiple officers, including those that fired their weapons, which Brandel said may be released as early as next week.
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller offered support for former President Donald Trump on Thursday evening as the world learned that he would be the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge.

Miller, an Oakland Republican who represents the 15th Congressional District, characterized the indictment as a political witch hunt.

"Every American should be concerned about this blatant political weaponization of the justice system," she said in a statement.

The charges center on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters. Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the indictment "political persecution." Read more about the charges here.

Miller and Trump have previous ties. Days before the June primary election, he endorsed Miller in a hard-fought race against former U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Decatur. Miller ultimately defeated Davis, 58% to 42%, in a district that had supported Trump by nearly 40 points in 2020.

The 15th Congressional District encompasses much of Central Illinois, including all or part of the following counties: Calhoun, Jersey, Greene, Pike, Scott, Morgan, Cass, Brown, Adams, Schuyler, Menard, Mason, Hancock, Henderson, Logan, DeWitt, Edgar, Douglas, Moultrie, Shelby, Christian, Montgomery, Fayette, Bond, Madison, Macon, Champaign, Warren, Sangamon, Piatt, Coles and Vermillion.

Miller's full statement is below:

"The partisan Manhattan D.A. is leading a political witch-hunt to punish Joe Bidens political opponents instead of getting justice for actual crime victims in the increasingly violent New York City. Every American should be concerned about this blatant political weaponization of the justice system.

"Support for the America First agenda is on the rise because Joe Biden has created crisis after crisis with his attacks on our energy production and border security. The Left claims they stand for democracy, but they pursue bogus investigations to try and remove their political opponents from the ballot so voters cannot vote for the candidate of their choice, which is the definition of democracy! I join many of my constituents in offering my support for President Trump as he fights to defend our democracy from this latest Soros-funded attack on the rule of law."

MORE COVERAGE:

Trump indicted; 1st ex-president charged with crime A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.

Donald Trump indictment: What will the arrest process look like in New York? Every day, hundreds of people are taken into law enforcement custody in New York City. Former President Donald Trump is expected to become one of of them next week.

What to know about Alvin Bragg, Manhattan district attorney A New York grand jury that voted to indict former President Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter has refocused attention on the Manhattan district attorney steering the case.
Headlines in Spring 2023's Macon County Conservation District's Prairie Islander: "April is Citizen Science Month." The article continues: "...and is celebrated by renewing the effort to involve the public in scientific research projects. But why should we care?"

Coincidentally, Decatur Herald & Review's March 25-26 page A4 headline: "Park district meets neighbors", reading in part, "The way neighborhood parks are used and look are changing."

Both of these headlines, with their accompanying articles, are near and dear to my heart: growing-up in 1950s, Garfield Park was a much-beloved playground for kids, including myself, whose families resided in nearby neighborhoods.

Back in those summer days life was good. Sadly, however, few adults and virtually no kids knew the word "ecology." We were never taught to practice good stewardship of our natural environment, Thankfully, times have changed. Finally, issues of life-sustaining ecology and and healthy neighborhood ecosystems have entered our public vocabulary, but, sadly, not necessarily our personal practices.

May I suggest that concerns of Macon County Conservation District and Decatur Park District have fatefully and fruitfully crossed paths. Why not combine the efforts of these two public agencies to reclaim Illinois as the "Prairie State" by reintroducing Mother Nature's original ground-cover of native prairie tall-grasses and wildflowers to our city parks.

Thus, fostering a summertime "hands-on" activity for children to understand and contribute to healthy ecology and ecosystems by providing their own helping-hands in the propagation of Mother Nature's eco-essential, yet rapidly disappearing, pollinators and insect biomass? "But why should we care?": Its better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

Don Carmichael, Decatur
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Considerable cloudiness. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 70F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
Jim Wesson is the executive director of New Braunfels Christian Ministries and is the former president and administrator of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa - New Braunfels.
A high school student on a field trip at Forsyth Technical Community College shot himself in the hand on Thursday morning, leading to a lockdown of the school and a massive law enforcement response.

The student was identified as Shannon Howard James Pitts of Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy. Police said he had a gun he fired, resulting in the hand injury.

Police did not say whether the shooting was intentional or accidental.

The shooting occurred about 10:10 a.m. in the Strickland Center, a large building on the south side of the main Forsyth Tech campus. The injured student was found after campus police responded to a report of a shooting in a second-floor restroom of the building, according to Chief Carolyn McMackin, of Forsyth Tech Police Department.

I recognize this was a scary situation for all of us, she said. As a chief of police, this is the call that we never want to receive.

Capt. Shelley Lovejoy of the Winston-Salem Police Department said that Pitts, who is 18, was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening.

After his release from the hospital, Pitts was charged with two counts of having a weapon on educational property and one count of carrying a concealed gun, police said. He was released from the Forsyth County Jail on a $25,000 bond.

Pitts was among 600 high school students from the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and schools in Stokes County who came to the Strickland Center for a Focus event organized to tell students about educational opportunities at the college.

The high school students, students at Forsyth Tech and staff inside all the buildings on campus were lockdown until just before 1 p.m. when the all clear was given.

During that time, many students huddled in fear, not knowing if there was a school shooter on the loose: An alert sent out to everyone at the college by campus police said early on that two armed and dangerous males were at large.

TechAlert: We are experiencing an active shooter situation. Law enforcement is on site. The campus is on lockdown with shelter in place for all students, faculty and staff.  Forsyth Tech (@ForsythTechCC) March 30, 2023

That turned out not to be the case, as police announced around 11:30 and confirmed in a 2 p.m. news conference held in a nearby parking lot. Police said they were searching for no suspects and that there was no danger to the community because of the incident. College officials said the text was sent out because that was the preliminary information they had to give.

Just so scared

The shooting came the same week three students and three staffers will killed in a shooting at a school in Nashville and a day after an unsubstantiated threat was made at Forsyth Tech.

Allison Wilson and many other students didnt know there was no active shooter as they tried to figure out what to do to keep themselves safe.

It was terrifying, she said, describing how she, two other students and a lab instructor hid in a supply room after learning of the shooting. We were really quiet at first and just so scared, and we didnt know what to do except hide, and get down and turn the lights off.

Then they began talking: What could they get their hands on to defend themselves if the shooters came in?

How much can (something) protect you against a bullet? She said.

With her phone down to 7%, she texted loved ones, not knowing if shed see them again.

The Strickland Center houses a variety of student support services, along with labs, classrooms, a bookstore, the admissions office and a conference center.

On the other side of the campus from the Strickland Center, parking lots filled to overflowing with anxious parents and others waiting to pick up students.

Kyosha King, whose son is an Early College program at Forsyth Tech, said her child was at Mount Tabor High School in August of 2021 when a 15-year-old sophomore was fatally shot near the cafeteria.

After that, I would say a prayer to myself every morning for the students safety, King said. I would tell him goodbye and I love him because you dont know 100% that he will come home safe each day. Its just sad their generation  has to be aware of where all the exits are at, and pay attention to signs that something may be off, may be wrong.

As a helicopter circled overhead, anxious relatives stood by their cars or parked at the National Guard armory, clutching their cellphones and asking anyone they saw what to do next.

Jordan Harris, a health care worker whose daughter attends Forsyth Tech, stood in a driveway looking at a first-floor window where her daughter, Ashden, could see her. Because of the mirrored windows, Harris could not see inside.

In Gods hands

We just have to put it in Gods hands at this point, Harris said. I mean, Im so thankful that my daughter is safe, but I cant imagine getting that phone call that somebody will get that their child is injured or worse. And thats scary.

Otis Jordan was in a class when he heard sirens.

We had to move to a class that didnt have glass doors, so you had just a lot of confusion.

In the early stages of the incident, police and sheriffs deputies cruisers converged on the parking lot of the Strickland Building to block it off. Until reinforcements arrived, Forsyth Tech employee Walt Braxton was standing in jeans and a T-shirt at one parking lot entrance and doing the job single-handedly.

Across the street, an officer in plain clothes could be heard telling a woman in a car on the parking lot at Hauser Hall that she had to stay in her car. More and more deputies and police came in, joined by N.C. Highway Patrol troopers and officers on motorcycles.

Forsyth Tech student Damon Davis was in Hauser Hall and stepped outside to get something from his car, only to hear a man yelling at him to go back inside. But the building door was now locked and he couldnt get back in.

The day before

A woman waiting in a car shared a text that had come only the day before, when Joey Hearl, the principal of Early and Middle College of Forsyth, said that Forsyth Tech was among schools at several locations across the state that had gotten a threat by email.

Hearl said in the text that the threat was considered unfounded but that people would see more law enforcement officers on campus. Real or not, the text prompted more concern.

Tracy Presley, sitting at the base of a pole, said she was waiting to pick up her daughter Greyson Bowman.

This is probably the (most scared) Ive ever been in my life, she said. She was a little relieved when she learned police said no shooter was on campus.

About an hour into the lockdown, police cleared the media and other bystanders from the campus and it was harder to tell exactly what was going on. Police set up a command post, and both Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough and Winston-Salem Police Chief William Penn Jr. were both on the campus with their officers.

A dramatic moment came around 1 p.m. when law enforcement officers stopped traffic on Silas Creek Parkway so that a parade of school buses carrying students could emerge from the campus.

Tricia McManus, the superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, said that in addition to the 600 Focus students on campus, there were some 400 Early and Middle College students from her system on campus as they are every day.

When the lockdown was over, the students were returned to their home schools.

Janet Spriggs, the president of Forsyth Tech, praised the students for how they responded to the crisis, and said there would be no classes at all campuses for the rest of the week.

Spriggs called Thursday a very difficult day in a statement to students and staff.

But as always, we came together, followed the plans we had practiced, and took care of each other in true trailblazer fashion.

Theres no school Friday for students in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth system, and next week is spring break. McManus said that when students who were at Forsyth Tech on Thursday go back to school on April 11, counselors will be available to speak with them.

Due to what is happening nationwide, I guarantee when you hear theres an active shooter it impacts our children, McManus said.

PHOTOS: Shooting at Forsyth Tech Community College
A police chase in Catawba County led to the arrest of an unregistered sex offender on Wednesday.

Paul Edward Ikard Jr., 52, of Hickory, is charged with felony fleeing to elude arrest, identity theft, reckless driving and resisting a public officer. Upon his arrest, Ikard was served with outstanding warrants for failure to register as a sex offender, failure to notify law enforcement of address change, interfering with an electronic monitoring device and a parole violation, the Catawba County Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

Ikard was convicted in 2003 in Catawba County for indecent liberties with a child. In 2007, he was convicted in Burke County for second-degree rape. Ikard is listed on the North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry as an aggravated recidivist, the sheriffs office said.

On Wednesday, deputies with the Catawba County Sheriffs Office Patrol Division observed a vehicle displaying a fictitious license plate. Deputies initiated a traffic stop at the intersection of N.C. Highway 127 South and Old Farm Drive. Deputies began pursuing the vehicle after it failed to stop, the sheriffs office said in a news release.

The fleeing vehicle crashed into an electrical pole at the intersection of Old Farm Drive and Valley Field Road. The driver of the vehicle fled on foot before being apprehended, the sheriffs office said.

Once in custody, the driver provided deputies with a false name. The investigation revealed that the person was Ikard, the sheriffs office said.

Ikard is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Two Morganton vape shops were targeted in a joint operation between local, state and federal law enforcement in the last few months, court documents show.

Morganton Vape, which was located in the Fiddlers Run Shopping Center, and Tobacco World #1, in the Morganton Heights Shopping Center, both had search warrants executed at their businesses in January, according to court documents filed at the Burke County Courthouse.

Theyre two of about 20 smoke shops in total that have been searched since November, with store locations across the state, Lenoir Police Lt. Z. Poythress said.

Victoria Lucaj is the owner of Tobacco World #1 in Morganton and Hudson Tobacco and Vape on U.S. 321 in Hudson. She told reporters Wednesday she felt she and her colleagues were targeted because they are Muslim.

We feel like were being treated unfairly because of the religion we practice, because we have a successful business, Lucaj said.

But law enforcement officers investigating the stores said thats not the case. Poythress said it wasnt until months into their investigation that law enforcement identified Lucaj and her colleagues as persons of interest.

Search warrants filed in connection with the case indicate the investigation started in March 2022 when the department, alongside the North Carolina Secretary of States Office, started looking into the sale of THC and tobacco products to minors, along with the sale of products packaged to look like commercially available candies such as SweeTARTS, Sour Patch Kids and peach rings.

An undercover investigator entered one of the smoke shops in question that month, purchasing several packs of gummies in candy-like packaging.

He also asked the clerk for flower, which means marijuana, and the clerk pulled out a small container with a substance that appeared to be marijuana, search warrants said. The investigator purchased 3.8 grams of the substance, and when it was field tested later, it tested positive for THC, search warrants said. That meant the substance was not CBD.

Several months went by until November, when school resource officers in Lenoir voiced concerns to narcotics investigators about students in high school carrying vapes and THC products. Parents and students told detectives the products had been purchased at H&A Tobacco Store, which is on Blowing Rock Boulevard in Lenoir near Dunham Sports, the search warrants said.

State and local law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the store and ended up seizing more than $10,000 worth of items for copyright infringement, along with a large amount of THC products, the search warrants said. They also seized $27,000 in cash they believed had not been claimed on tax filings.

It was during the execution of this search warrant that detectives made contact with Lucaj, who said she was the manager of the store. Lucaj told investigators the store owner, Mahmood Aldahabi, was out of the country, according to search warrants.

Search warrants said investigators found it odd that Lucaj knew the combinations to all of the safes inside the Lenoir store even though she said she was not the store owner.

They also noted in the search warrants that Lucaj gave a Lenoir address, but told investigators she was headed to the store in Hildebran, the same town where Aldahabi lived.

Investigators said in search warrants that tax documents, along with bulk currency found in the store, led them to believe Aldahabi and Lucaj were trying to move funds without claiming it on their tax filings, sparking further investigation and the involvement of Homeland Security Investigations.

HSI, LPD and the Burke County Sheriffs Office executed a search warrant at Aldahabis home in Hildebran. When they knocked on the door, Lucaj answered, wearing nitrile gloves investigators later found in the basement of the home near a conversion lab, search warrants said. Poythress said the gloves werent found anywhere else.

The conversion lab was being used to convert THC wax/resin to oil for vape cartridges, according to search warrants. In an interview after waiving her Miranda Rights, Lucaj told investigators the lab was her brothers and that he would buy product in Florida, convert it in the lab, then they would sell the cartridges in their stores in North Carolina, search warrants said.

Her brother, Frank David Lucaj, 38, of Del Ray Beach, Florida, was charged with felony manufacturing a Schedule VI controlled substance, trafficking in marijuana, conspiracy to sell/deliver marijuana and continuing criminal enterprise, according to arrest warrants filed at the Burke County Courthouse.

Also found during the search of the Hildebran home was a box containing bulk cash. Victoria Lucaj told officers that cash was from cleaning out the stores because she was worried law enforcement would hit them, too, search warrants said.

Investigators also revealed in search warrants that Burke narcotics detectives learned Victoria Lucaj and possibly Aldahabi had purchased several money orders for $1,000 at a local post office. Those money orders were sent to a tobacco and vape shop in Buffalo, N.Y., search warrants said.

Search warrants obtained for bank accounts connected to the investigation at Wells Fargo indicated Aldahabi claimed $16,000 when he filed his 2020 income taxes, but investigators with Homeland Security Investigations ended up seizing a total of about $1.5 million in their investigation, according to federal court documents.

They also seized a cashiers check for $128,437.41 made payable to US Customs and Border Patrol, search warrants said.

Of the products seized during the investigation, all but one were illegal to be possessed in North Carolina, search warrants said, because of the concentration of a specific strand of THC  delta 9, according to search warrants.

In North Carolina, delta 9 is not legal. Delta 8, another strand of THC, is legal in small amounts.

Victoria Lucaj told reporters she believed the testing the products would have undergone would have caused them to show higher amounts of THC than they would through personal use.

If a real lab were to test it, of course it would go high because theyre heating it the wrong way, Lucaj said. Delta 8 would be converted to delta 9, of course. But if a delta 8 expert, lab experts, were to do it, its going to be delta 8 for sure.

Poythress said law enforcement used a private lab to find out the amount of THC in the products, and lab officials told him heating the products during testing would not cause their chemical makeup to change.

Besides Frank Lucaj, no other charges have been issued in connection with the investigation so far.

Poythress said state level charges are pending in the case.

Federal prosecutors have asked judicial officials for an extension of time to file a forfeiture complaint.

Victoria Lucaj said she plans to fight any legal action and wants to get her belongings back.
Hickory Family Pharmacy has new owners, a change that makes the Hickory business the first Hmong-owned pharmacy in the area, said Chang Yang, the husband of new owner May Vang.

Yang said he believes it may be the first Hmong-owned pharmacy in the state.

Yang and Vang are both first-generation immigrants, he said.

We spoke to a few Hmong leaders and Hmong clans  a variety of ages, and theyre all excited, Yang said. (The Hmong community) has moved very far from where we were. From owning stores to laundromats, and now pharmacies.

Both Yang and Vangs parents came to the United States as refugees after the Vietnam War, where they fought as freedom fighters with the CIA, the couple said.

We just want to show that there is an American dream, Vang said. People dont realize it, but in other countries, you dont have as many opportunities. Were only first generation, so we cant imagine what our kids are going to have the ability to do. Its a privilege to have the choice to pick and choose what you want to do.

If we were living in Laos, where our parents grew up, I would not have had the ability to go back to school after getting married (and) having six kids.

She added, But in this country, anything is possible as long as you have the support that you need. We have been blessed to have the support we need, and not only that, but to have dreams and be able to accomplish them. Thats pretty amazing.

Vang said she has wanted to open her own pharmacy for years, but no opportunities had arisen until now. Vang and her husband bought Hickory Family Pharmacy immediately after it was put on the market, she said. It has been in their hands for three months now.

Yang said there are prerequisites to purchasing a pharmacy. Prospective business owners must have the required experience as a pharmacist and financial stability, Yang said.

Vang has been in the field for over 10 years and has a pharmacy degree from Wingate University School of Pharmacy, she said.
GRANITE FALLS  During a meeting of the Granite Falls Town Council on March 6 Mayor Caryl B. Burns recognized Linda Richards Crowder, co-chair of the Granite Falls History Committee and president of the Granite Falls Historical Association Inc.

Burns announced that Crowder had received the Award of Excellence from the North Carolina Society of Historians (NCSH) in recognition of invaluable contributions toward the preservation and perpetuation of North Carolina history.

In appreciation for her work, the mayor presented Crowder with a gift from the town. Gretchen Griffith, NCSH secretary, assisted with the presentation.

Crowder publishes a monthly newsletter, makes videos of special events around the town, and manages a website and Facebook page for the Granite Falls History and Transportation Museum.

The award-winning entry consisted of copies of the newsletters, DVDs, and screenshots of the website and Facebook page.

The Town of Granite Falls will celebrate its 125th anniversary on May 1, 2024, and the Granite Falls Historical Association plans to publish a history book based upon Crowders work.

During the presentation, Burns also recognized the following members of the Granite Falls History Committee who were in attendance: Adele Mangan, co-chair Jeanne Whisnant, Renae Winkler, Gifford Poe, and Town Councilman M.D. Townsend. Other members include Claudia Bujold, Joel Kaufman and Barbara Ross.

The History Committee oversees the Granite Falls History and Transportation Museum, arranges special exhibits/events, and preserves historical information and artifacts.

For more information about the history of Granite Falls, visit www.granitefallshistorymuseum.org and/or the Granite Falls (N.C.) History and Transportation Museum Facebook page.
Though Chavez lacked a full, formal education, he was a voracious reader. He followed Gandhi and King and took from them lessons of nonviolence. He also read the works of union organizers like Eugene V. Debs. His belief in the workers, and their worth, pushed him. And their belief in him sustained his work.

"You know, many people, for a hundred years before Cesar Chavez, tried and failed to organize farmworkers. People who had a lot more resources and money and had a much better education, tried and failed. For a hundred years," Grossman says. "And he succeeded, I think, because he was one of them. It was not an academic pursuit for him."

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Chavez endured government investigations and death threats from the rich and powerful. He often traveled with two fierce-looking German shepherds  Boycott and Huelga (Strike)  who became both friends to Chavez and deterrents to those who might wish him harm. (They also were an inspiration. He credited his dogs with his decision to become a vegan, and he became an animal rights activist later in his life.)

As he did in the fields as a young man, Chavez put in long, hard hours organizing workers, traveling from town to town, pushing for better wages, insurance and improved working conditions. He employed the threats of boycotts and strikes  and, in fact, went beyond mere threats  to try to better the lives of those he represented.

In 1965, Chavez and the NFWA joined forces with a group of Filipino grape workers in the Delano (California) grape strike. It lasted five years and included a boycott of table grapes that spread throughout the nation. Chavez insisted  with an acute awareness of the violence that roiled the country that decade  that the protest remain nonviolent. But as it wore on, many workers grew impatient.

To focus strikers on staying strong without using violence, and to show those throughout the country their resolve, Chavez went on a 25-day fast. Thousands streamed into the tiny windowless room near Delano to see him during his fast. He lost 35 pounds (15 kilograms).

King sent a telegram, which said in part:

Your past and present commitment is eloquent testimony to the constructive power of nonviolent action and the destructive impotence of violent reprisal. You stand today as a living example of the Gandhian tradition with its great force for social progress and its healing spiritual powers.

Bobby Kennedy was there as Chavez finally broke the fast, calling him, "one of the heroic figures of our time."

In a statement, Chavez said, "To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men."

It took some more time, but in 1970, grape growers signed their first contracts with the union that provided workers better pay and benefits.

" " Cesar Chavez at the national headquarters of the United Farm Workers Union, talking with grape boycott leaders in Keene, California. Library of Congress
The arguments over what its opponents call Critical Race Theory in classrooms, over banning books about race, over statues of Confederate generals  these are all arguments about historical memory. What parts of our history are we willing to remember, and what happens when we choose to forget other aspects? The work of remembering is ongoing, and for those of us who dont live in former Confederate states, it can be easy to think its just down there that people have to think about the Civil War or Jim Crow. Here in Indiana, there were plenty of lynchings. What do we do with that memory? How do we remind ourselves that the past is still with us, that the questions of the past are still unanswered?

This week, two stories about how art can keep those conversations going. First, a photographer who uses his breath to think about nuclear war. Then, two competing anti-lynching exhibits from the 1930s, and remembering lynchings here in Indiana.

108 Breaths

Growing up in the 1990s, Kei Ito was surrounded by superheroes. And it got him wondering, was he a superhero too? After all, so many of them had gotten their powers from radiation. Ito, unfortunately, had radiation in his family too. His grandfather was a survivor of Hiroshima. Now, Kei Itos photographic work is a practice of remembrance. Each year, he creates a sungazing scroll by exposing photographic paper to the sun as he breathes 108 times. The number references the practice of Japanese temples tolling their bells 108 times to cleanse evil desires at the new year. For Ito, its also about cleansing  and honoring  the legacy of the nuclear bomb. WFIUs Avraham Forrest tells the story.

NAACP vs CP USA

Jim Crow, in the U.S., wasnt just a matter of segregated drinking fountains and schools. It was also a period of anti-black racial terrorism. Some would say that period hasnt ended, although it has transformed. One of the major forms of terror was lynching, and lynchings happened throughout the U.S., not just in the South. In 1935, two organizations decided to create exhibits of anti-lynching art, and they were in a bit of competition with each other. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People thought stopping lynching was a matter of courtrooms and legislation. New York Citys John Reed Club, of the Communist Party USA, wanted to create a mass movement of protest. Those positions played out in the aesthetics of the art they chose for their exhibits.

Theres a new exhibit now on the Indiana University campus that recreates aspects of both of those, and also raises questions about the memory of lynchings in Indiana. Its called Unmasked: The 1935 Anti-Lynching Exhibits and Community Remembrance in Indiana. Its at IUs Gayle Karch Cook Center March 25-April 28, by appointment only, and its curated by Professors Alex Lichtenstein, Phoebe Wolfskill, and Rasul Mowatt.

Credits

Inner States is produced and edited by me, Alex Chambers, with support from Violet Baron, Eoban Binder, Mark Chilla, Avi Forrest, LuAnn Johnson, Jack Lindner, Yane Sanchez Lopez, Sam Schemenauer, Payton Whaley, and Kayte Young. Our Executive Producer is John Bailey.

Our theme song is by Amy Oelsner and Justin Vollmar. We have additional music from the artists at Universal Production Music.
Audio and home automation products distributor BusiSoft AV has been appointed as the official distributor of Roon Labs Hardware for Australia and New Zealand.

The strategic partnership brings together two companies which BusiSoft AV says are committed to delivering the ultimate audio experience to discerning music enthusiasts across both regions.

Since its founding in 2015, Roon Labs has pursued innovative technologies to create music products that organize, play, and elevate music streaming experiences, making it the lens through which the world views streaming, notes BusiSoft AV.

With its headquarters in New York, the American company has earned the respect and support of the music industry through its unique user interface, broad compatibility with audio devices, and a playback engine designed for optimal sound quality.

The Roon Labs team is dedicated to bringing new technologies to music products and services while constantly striving to learn and grow. They have cultivated a passionate community of subscribers who actively engage with their platform and share their love for music.

BusiSoft AV says Roon Labs' solutions allow users to explore and connect to their entire music library, encompassing both local files and streaming content from TIDAL and Qobuz - and the platform presents a captivating gallery of high-resolution artist photos, biographies, reviews, lyrics, tour dates, and credits for various music professionals, such as performers, composers, conductors, producers, and engineers.

This comprehensive offering creates an immersive and engaging experience for music lovers, engaging all the senses.

Roon Labs notes that products which will be distributed by BusiSoft AV include:

Nucleus Music Server: A silent, high-performance, power-efficient Roon Core developed by the same team that created Roon software. The Nucleus offers a simple, fast setup with automatic updates and no fans or moving parts, ensuring minimal operating system interference

A silent, high-performance, power-efficient Roon Core developed by the same team that created Roon software. The Nucleus offers a simple, fast setup with automatic updates and no fans or moving parts, ensuring minimal operating system interference Nucleus Plus Music Server: Designed to provide the ultimate Roon experience, the Nucleus Plus caters to users with larger music libraries and more audio zones. With superior processing power, it ensures a high-quality, seamless music experience for in-home and personal use.

Designed to provide the ultimate Roon experience, the Nucleus Plus caters to users with larger music libraries and more audio zones. With superior processing power, it ensures a high-quality, seamless music experience for in-home and personal use. Whirlwind: A dedicated Roon Core developed for seamless integration with existing home automation solutions, featuring four-zone audio outputs, flexible storage options, and high-resolution audio delivery throughout the home. The Whirlwind is designed for rack mounting with other home systems and has a built-in four-zone Roon Ready streamer with a range of digital and analogue outputs.

"BusiSoft AV is excited about distributing Roon Labs and bringing its exceptional hardware products to the Australian and New Zealand markets, said George Poutakidis, CEO of BusiSoft AV.

We share Roon Labs' commitment to delivering exceptional products and services that delight our customers and the wider audiophile community. This partnership is a significant leap forward for the advancement of the audio industry here in Australia and New Zealand."
Remote sensing software advancing computer vision company Metaspectral has joined Venture Catalyst Space, a space accelerator and incubator program led by the University of South Australias Innovation and Collaboration Centre (ICC).

Metaspectral handles large data requirements of hyperspectral payloads. Its novel data compression algorithms transmit data in real time whether from orbit to ground or within terrestrial networks.

The technology will be deployed on the International Space Station to demonstrate real-time compression, streaming, and analysis of hyperspectral data from Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The Canadian Space Agency funded Metaspectrals novel data compression technology to measure greenhouse gasses on the Earths surface using satellite hyperspectral data.

Hyperspectral imagery contains data from across the electromagnetic spectrum which, when analysed with artificial intelligence (AI), can be used to monitor time-sensitive environmental events on Earth such as wildfires, methane leaks, and more. The same data can also be leveraged by the defence industry for real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, said Metaspectral CEO and co-founder Francis Doumet.

I believe that we can bring significant value to the nascent local commercial space market with the years of research behind our space-ready technology. Especially with Kanyini including a hyperspectral payload, there is potential for our software to immediately provide value and be used by SmartSat CRC for managing, distributing, and analysing the data, said Metaspectral chief technology officer and founder Migel Tissera.

The Australian Space Agency opened in February 2020 in Adelaide. It announced in 2022 that Kanyini, the first satellite designed and constructed in South Australia, is set to launch this year. Kanyini will include a hyperspectral imaging payload, and will be managed and operated by the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

The South Australia Space Innovation Fund financed the program, which kicked off this month and runs until the end of August 2023.
include_once "/home/jwreview/public_html/$theme/includes/sidebar.php"; ?> Google engineer Ray Kurzwell stated that Artificial Intelligence will be able to heal cancer and repair age-damaged cells and allow people to live forever by 2030. It has to disappoint some people. Oprah Winfrey said racism won't die until Baby Boomers die, and this is what she gets for playing G od.

 The Nashville Police drew praise for rushing into the school during Monday's mass shooting and taking out the assassin. The body cam video shows their amazing courage. To be willing to run toward gunfire and not away from gunfire, you've got to have bigger balls than a women's swimming champion.

 ABC News reported a militant transgender group expressed sympathy for the Nashville shooting victims Tuesday but added the shooter needed some way to be heard. I know better than to joke about this crowd. When I first heard that the school shooter was a transgender, it brought a lump to my throat.

 Senate Democrats echoed the call for an assault weapons ban Tuesday while Republicans called for a ban on gun sales to people with a record of psychiatric disturbance. It was our nation's 129th mass shooting in 2023 alone. The miracle is, the Chinese balloon made it all the way across the United States.

 President Biden demanded a ban on assault weapons in his speech in North Carolina on Tuesday, however he said he's a Second Amendment guy, adding that both he and his son own shotguns. His advisors were upset. Joe missed a chance to score diversity points by saying they are Browning Shotguns.

GET ARGUS' DAILY SMILES TO YOUR INBOX. SIGN UP FOR THE JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. Just click here.

 Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mayorkas was dragged over the coals by Senate Republicans in Senate Judiciary Committee hearings Tuesday over his perceived open border policy. Democrats in America used to re-stock their party by having eight kids per family. Now they just order in Mexican.

 Tik Tok CEO Shouzi Chew was slammed by both Democrats and Republicans in House hearings last week. Congress was investigating if Tik Tok is being used by China to spy on Americans. The CEO didn't help his case by addressing the House Committee Members by their mother's maiden name.

 President Biden posted a statement Monday blaming Republicans for the border crisis and for the smuggling of Fentanyl into the U.S. from Mexico. My analysis of Biden's carefully worded charge leads me to believe his staff re-wrote what Biden actually said. What Joe actually said was, the cow goes moo!

(COMMENT, BELOW)
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller offered support for former President Donald Trump on Thursday evening as the world learned that he would be the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge.

Miller, an Oakland Republican who represents the 15th Congressional District, characterized the indictment as a political witch hunt.

"Every American should be concerned about this blatant political weaponization of the justice system," she said in a statement.

The charges center on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters. Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the indictment "political persecution." Read more about the charges here.

Miller and Trump have previous ties. Days before the June primary election, he endorsed Miller in a hard-fought race against former U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Decatur. Miller ultimately defeated Davis, 58% to 42%, in a district that had supported Trump by nearly 40 points in 2020.

The 15th Congressional District encompasses much of Central Illinois, including all or part of the following counties: Calhoun, Jersey, Greene, Pike, Scott, Morgan, Cass, Brown, Adams, Schuyler, Menard, Mason, Hancock, Henderson, Logan, DeWitt, Edgar, Douglas, Moultrie, Shelby, Christian, Montgomery, Fayette, Bond, Madison, Macon, Champaign, Warren, Sangamon, Piatt, Coles and Vermillion.

Miller's full statement is below:

"The partisan Manhattan D.A. is leading a political witch-hunt to punish Joe Bidens political opponents instead of getting justice for actual crime victims in the increasingly violent New York City. Every American should be concerned about this blatant political weaponization of the justice system.

"Support for the America First agenda is on the rise because Joe Biden has created crisis after crisis with his attacks on our energy production and border security. The Left claims they stand for democracy, but they pursue bogus investigations to try and remove their political opponents from the ballot so voters cannot vote for the candidate of their choice, which is the definition of democracy! I join many of my constituents in offering my support for President Trump as he fights to defend our democracy from this latest Soros-funded attack on the rule of law."

MORE COVERAGE:
Wells Fargo & Co. has plans to close another Winston-Salem branch at 2000 S. Hawthorne Road as part of 33 nationwide, according to its latest disclosure to federal regulator U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The bank also is closing its branch at 211 Elkin Highway in North Wilkesboro.

Wells Fargo spokesman Josh Dunn said the Medical Park branch will be consolidating into the Thruway Shopping Center branch at 418 S. Stratford Road, which is about a mile away.

The Northside branch in North Wilkesboro also will be consolidating on June 21 into the Wilkes Plaza branch, located about five miles away at 1899 U.S. 421.

"These are not easy decisions or something that we take lightly," Dunn said.

"We continually evaluate our branch network, and make adjustments based on changing customer needs, market factors, and economic trends. This process leads to both expansion and consolidations."

Since July 2020, Wells Fargo also has closed Winston-Salem branches at 100 N. Main St. and 720 Coliseum Drive, as well as two locations in Greensboro and one in Blowing Rock and Dobson.

The bank has notified the OCC of its plans to close its branch in Jamestown by June 7 as part of transferring accounts to its Skeet Club branch in High Point.

There have been at least 58 Wells Fargo branch closings in North Carolina since July 2020.

Overall, Wells Fargo has dropped from more than 6,600 branches in 2009, when it acquired a collapsing Wachovia Corp. and gained an East Coast presence. The branch count was at 4,598 as of Dec. 31, down from 4,612 on Sept. 30 and from 4,777 on Dec. 31, 2021.

Meanwhile, PNC Financial Services Group listed a branch in Asheville among 48 it is closing nationwide.
A male juvenile was shot and wounded Thursday in a Winston-Salem home, authorities said.

Winston-Salem police responded to a reported shooting at 4:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Manly St., police said.

Officers then found the juvenile suffering from a gunshot to his upper leg, police said.

The juvenile was taken to a local hospital, and his injury is considered serious, but non-life threatening, police said. Police didn't identify the juvenile.

Officers executed a search warrant at the home, and they seized a spent casing and a rifle, police said..

Police also found other evidence that indicated that the shooting happened inside the home.
The state Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday it is making another round of COVID-19 dashboard changes in preparation of the federal public-health emergency authority expiring May 11.

DHHS said the changes reflect COVID-19 becoming part of a routine part of public-health and health-care activities.

While we continue to see illness and deaths from COVID-19, it is no longer the threat it once was thanks to testing, vaccines and treatment, said Dr. Susan Kansagra, director of the state Division of Public Health.

As we evolve our response to the more routine nature of COVID-19 going forward, these indicators will help us monitor our health care capacity from respiratory illness, including COVID-19, and adjust our response if needed.

Meanwhile, new COVID-19 cases in Forsyth County remained at a near year-long low last week, while there was one additional death disclosed, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported Wednesday.

There were 179 cases listed for Forsyth, down from a revised 198 in the previous report.

The most recent time the weekly case count was lower was 179 for the week that ended April 9, 2022.

One of the main changes to the COVID-19 dashboard is that the data will be moved to the N.C. Respiratory Illness Summary Dashboard that also focuses on influenza and respiratory syncytial virus data.

DHHS will continue to provide weekly updates on new COVID-19 and influenza hospital admissions, and wastewater surveillance.

Data on COVID-19 cases and deaths and proportions of variants still will be available through links on the respiratory illness dashboard.

COVID-19 vaccination data will move to a monthly update until NCDHHS tracking ceases on May 31. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will continue to provide tracking.

Meanwhile, DHHS said that reports that will cease as of Friday include: COVID-19 patients presumed to be recovered; hospitalizations and deaths by vaccination status; and COVID-19 outbreaks in congregate living settings.

NCDHHS said it is closing its remaining community testing sites on Friday. The department cited the availability of home test kits through free community access points, through Project ACT and the federal program distributing at-home test kits via the U.S. Postal Service.

North Carolina residents are encouraged to keep several tests on-hand. Check covid19.ncdhhs.gov/FindTests for updates, DHHS said.

COVID-19 vaccine records will be available online until June 1.

After that, people vaccinated in North Carolina will need to get vaccine records from their provider or pharmacy or local health department in the same way they access their vaccine records now for other immunizations.

Forsyth update

DHHS cautions its weekly totals are subject to revision, including factoring in cases and deaths that occurred weeks or months ago, but were only recently confirmed as related to COVID-19.

About 26.2%, or 47, of the 179 new cases in Forsyth were listed as reinfections by DHHS.

Altogether, Forsyth has had 126,138 confirmed cases and 972 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began in mid-March 2020.

Forsyth health director Joshua Swift and Novant Health Inc. infectious diseases expert Dr. David Priest have stressed that the DHHS weekly case totals include only laboratory confirmed cases, and dont include most people who determine they are positive with an at-home test.

Forsyth, along with the entire state, is listed in the low category for COVID-19 community spread in the latest update from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Forsyths three key metrics were little changed last week.

The COVID-19 community level is determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions and the total number of new cases in an area.

The latest number of new cases per 100,000 people is 52 in Forsyth, compared with 51 and 60 in the previous two reports.

The rate of new COVID-related hospital admissions per 100,000 people was at 8.8, compared with 8.6 and 11.2 in the previous two reports.

Also, 2.6% of staffed inpatient beds are being used by COVID-19 patients, compared with 2.3% and 2.4% in the previous two weeks.

DHHS reported that hospitals in a 17-county version of the Triad region averaged 66 COVID-19 patients, down from 124 for the week that ended March 18.

COVID-19 statewide

DHHS reported the statewide count for last week was 3,922, compared with a revised 4,047 in the previous report.

The latest weekly count is the lowest since 3,104 for the week that ended April 2, 2022.

Of those North Carolinians with a positive test result in the latest weekly report 886, or 22.6%, were considered re-infected.

North Carolinas total confirmed case count since the onset of the pandemic is 3.48 million.

There were 15 COVID-related deaths reported statewide last week, along with another eight confirmed from previous weeks, for a total of 28,540.

Last week, the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals in North Carolina was at 397, compared with 394 for the week that ended March 18.

The current dominant omicron subvariants have proven to be more contagious, contributing to the surge in hospitalizations. DHHS lists seven active subvariants, down one from the previous report.

The XBB 1.5 subvariant made up 86.3% of new cases from March 5-18, while XBB is 5%.
First Citizens Banks meteoric rise has been fueled primarily from becoming federal regulators preferred acquirer of failing and collapsed financial institutions nationwide  most recently Silicon Valley Bank.

In fact, the Raleigh bank has teamed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on 21 brokered deals since 1989. That level of confidence persuaded the FDIC to choose First Citizens for perhaps its highest-profile takeover since the Great Recession.

Just days ago, the FDIC approved First Citizens paying $16.5 billion to acquire $72 billion in total assets and 17 branches from a closed Silicon Valley Bank. The deal came 16 days after the FDIC shut down Silicon Valley, which had a decided focus on the technology and startup business.

As a result, First Citizens vaults to more than $219 billion in total assets. The bank also gains its first branches in Boston, Chicago and New York City.

First Citizens has a proud history of growing organically and through strategic acquisitions that build our core capabilities in a careful and deliberate manner, said Frank Holding, First Citizens chairman and chief executive, in a news release.

In a recent interview with cable business channel CNBC, Holding said this is a remarkable transaction in partnership with the FDIC that should instill confidence in our deposit system, and its also a great example of where regulators and banks come together to protect depositors.

Holding said First Citizens continuing successes in the FDICs bidding process is not just the function of the quality of bid we put and the competitiveness of it, but also the strength and stability and soundness and expertise that we bring to the transition, which we think adds stability to our industry.

Tony Plath, a retired UNC-Charlotte finance professor, said First Citizens management team perfected this sort of distressed-bank deal-making and acquisition template with the FDIC back during the 2008 banking crisis.

Once again in 2023, theyre going back to the banks tried-and-true template for growing larger via financial acquisition, while at the same time creating successful private-sector solutions to the governments problem of failed bank disposal, he said.



The First Citizens deal has gained a series of approvals from banking industry officials and analysts.

For example, N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell said  speaking in his role as chairman of the State Banking Commission  that the First Citizens acquisition is a positive reflection on the conservative regulatory environment that we have established in North Carolina. I believe this cements our place as the second-leading banking center in the United States behind New York.

Christopher Chung, the chief executive of Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, which is focused on recruiting new businesses, thinks that the transaction will help the state.

First Citizens will be able to shine a light on North Carolinas excellent business climate, especially as it welcomes high-growth technology clientele coming over as part of the Silicon Valley Bank acquisition, he said in a statement. We see economic development potential from this deal as former Silicon Valley Bank clients begin to hear from First Citizens about our states many business advantages, which we hope prompts these tech firms to take a closer look at North Carolina.

Lee Burrows Jr., vice chairman of investment banking for Atlanta-based Performance Trust Capital Partners, said Holding is a very smart and savvy banker and First Citizens did extremely well acquiring failed banks during the Great Recession.

I can only imagine that the FDIC made him a deal he couldnt refuse, otherwise I cannot imagine that First Citizens would have taken all of the deposits and loans, Burrows said. It is too early to make any definitive statements about the math in this transaction, but one would think the math must be compelling.

Bowman Gray IV, a local independent stockbroker, said that even though the FDIC-brokered deal occurred just 16 days after Silicon Valleys collapse, First Citizens waited for the proverbial flames to die down before buying what remains. This should be a solid move for First Citizens assuming there are no other hidden issues within Silicon Valley.



The move hearkens to comparisons of Wells Fargos $15.1 billion takeover of a collapsing Wachovia Corp. in October 2008 and BB&T Corps assumption of $22 billion in total assets from a collapsed Colonial BancGroup in August 2009.

Wachovia was considered as the bluest of blue-chip stocks for its conservative financial model until it became the financial sectors version of the canary in the coalmine for the Great Recession in late 2007. Wachovias stock was so prized over the decades that shareholders used it to finance charitable donations and church offerings, and to offset educational costs. Its dependable dividend provided retirees with a secure source of money outside of Social Security payments.

Even as billions of dollars in losses piled up in 2008, top Wachovia officials extolled their belief that the bank would rebound, and the stock was a buying opportunity even as it dropped sharply with the housing bubble burst.

However, after taking massive earnings hits for several quarters, Wachovia  the fourth-largest U.S. bank  faced its own demise and threatened to trigger a meltdown of the financial-services industry at the end of September 2008.

Bart Smith, the managing director and partner with Performance Trust Capital Partners, said that until the Wachovia collapse, there was no precedent for how to handle a systemic scenario. Those events were the beginning of a much more proactive and controlled FDIC liquidation process throughout the crisis.

With BB&T, the chance to make a major push into Florida at a perceived low risk persuaded the company to take over Colonial.

BB&T assumed all $20 billion of the failed banks deposits as part of an agreement brokered by the FDIC.

Colonial, which was a major provider of real estate loans in several boom-to-bust housing markets, represents the biggest bank failure of 2009.

The takeover of Colonial has proven to be the biggest risk-reward opportunity in then-BB&Ts existence since it used the acquisition to stake its first claim in Texas and expand beyond the Southeast.

Plath, the retired UNC-Charlotte professor, compared the First Citizens takeover of Silicon Valley to that of BB&T and Colonial in that they were cases of corporate euthanasia that put those banks out of their misery before things got worse.

In each of these cases, he explained, the acquired bank was in a severely distressed state.
Friday. Anyone else feeling relieved but ticked off at the same time?

By now, the entire routine is familiar, drummed into our heads by drills and near-constant real-world practice.

Run. Hide. Fight.

Its obscene.

Shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday, the first alert roiled campus at Forsyth Technical Community College.

TechAlert: Reports of shots fired at the Strickland Center. Shelter in place.

Minutes later, a follow-up mass text underscored the danger. Coming just days after the latest abomination  six dead in Nashville school, including three 9-year-olds  the words were familiar, the new normal and terrifying.

TechAlert: Continue to shelter in place. Two armed and dangerous black male suspects are still at large wearing gray and black hoodies. Do not engage, call 911.

Word spread across the city at the literal speed of light as smartphones, abetted by social media, told an unfolding story in the real time and in first person.

The campus went into lockdown. Instructors barricaded themselves inside rooms, and scores of worried parents, spouses and friends raced to campus with hearts in their mouths, conditioned by fear and familiar with the drill.

I had to get to her, said Ralph Ricciardi, who raced across town after getting texts from his wife, an instructor who had barricaded herself inside a classroom. She texted me that there was an active shooter on campus and she was alone (in her classroom) in the building where it was happening.

We know now that the entire episode was allegedly kicked off by an 18-year-old who shot himself in the hand after bringing a gun to campus.

Police havent provided a lot of detail beyond a just-the-facts news release which stated that after Shannon Howard James Pitts shot himself, he was taken to a local hospital and charged with possessing a weapon on educational property and carrying a concealed weapon.

Plenty of questions remain, of course. Near the top of the list is this one: How do you go from one 18-year-old with a gun to two armed and dangerous suspects still at large?

Answers, one supposes, will come.

Still, its not difficult to picture an 18-year-old showing off to his buddies, letting a round in the chamber go accidentally and others running like hell.

Under those circumstances, in real time and balanced against a barrage of school shootings, locking campus down and sending out active shooter, shelter-in-place alerts was the only prudent course.

Worse, beyond the immediate panic and concern from loved ones, no one was surprised.

Guns on campuses and mass shootings are normal. Expected, even.

Kids learn Run, Hide, Fight almost as soon as theyre taught to sound out words. Teachers, from elementary school to universities, are given specific training on how to do if someone shoots up their campus

Chrisann Ricciardi, a Forsyth Tech instructor who barricaded herself in a classroom for 10 to 15 terrifying minutes Thursday, calmly summed that up once the commotion died down.

With what just happened in Nashville, everybody is on edge, she said. Its a shame. I do think of these things, the what-ifs.

These days you just never know.

Its obscene.

Police chase ends in fatal crash

PILOT MOUNTAIN - One man was killed and another seriously injured following a chase Thursday night on U.S. 52 involving the N.C. Highway Patrol, authorities said.

According to the highway patrol, troopers attempted to stop two men riding motorcycles south on U.S. 52 near Holly Springs Road.

But instead of stopping, the men sped off leading troopers in a pursuit that ended minutes later when both motorcycles crashed near Cook School Road in Pilot Mountain.

Patrick Dannemiller was killed, troopers said, and a second man was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Forecast clouds prospects

WINSTON-SALEM - If weather forecasts prove correct, Saturday morning wont be the ideal day for a community clean-up project.

Still, Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful - a volunteer arm of city government - scheduled some time back a community clean up effort for streets, parks, streams and school grounds.

The plan was to equip volunteers with trash bags and shovels to fan out across the city from 9 a.m. to noon to what they can to spruce up public spaces.

If Mother Nature cooperates, expect the show to go on as scheduled. Check the Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful tab on the citys website for details and updates.
Why does the prettiest town in the South have an ugly reminder of racism at the foot of our main street?

Thats the way the ad on page three of the Chowan Herald read a couple of weekends ago.

Anyone who has visited Edenton, a lovely town of 4,400 in the far northeastern corner of the state, would agree with prettiest town in the South part of the ad.

Walking down West King Street or West Church Street past 18th and 19th century houses is a stroll back in time into a community that was home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as well as to one of first justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, and also to the governor of North Carolina when the state ratified the U.S. Constitution.

Its the ugly reminder of racism at the foot of our main street part that, according to the front page of the Herald, has pitted groups of Chowan residents against each other for almost three years.

Edenton is the latest but not likely the last in a lengthening line of Southern towns and cities to grapple with how to deal with their past.

Specifically, the good folk of Edenton struggled with what to do with the statue of a Confederate soldier that stands tall above the terminus of South Broad Street, beyond which lies a small park and a delightful childrens playground and the calming expanse of the Albemarle Sound.

I had hoped the Souths small towns might be spared the acrimony experienced by our larger cities.

The statue was erected in 1904 by  guess who  the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which in the early years of the 20th century was responsible for erecting similar statues and monuments in communities large and small across the South, including the statue that stood beside the old courthouse in Winston-Salem for roughly 115 years until it was removed in 2019.

Though some citizens in Edenton wanted the statue left as it is and as it has been for almost 120 years, others wanted it taken down and taken away. Two weeks ago, the Town Council voted unanimously to split the difference: take the statue down and move it to a local park.

The arguments I heard on a recent visit to Edenton were familiar and, to one who has rehearsed those lines too many times, if Im honest, a bit tired.

What if, at the deepest level, beneath the rhetoric and arguments, the controversies that surround the statues are not about statues at all. What if they arent even about history. What if they are about who we are as a people and who we want to be.

The statues were erected in the early decades of the 20th century, when the mythology of the Lost Cause was fully formed, ostensibly to honor veterans of the Confederate army.

They also sent a message about white supremacy. A looming statue of a Confederate soldier on the courthouse lawn was a sober reminder to African Americans that the proper ordering of society, which had been temporarily disrupted during Reconstruction, had been restored.

Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated musician and composer Terence Blanchard, who grew up in New Orleans, got the message. He and his wife brought their daughters to watch the statue of P.G.T Beauregard come down. Blanchard had passed the statue of the Confederate general every day when he walked to school as a child.

Its always made me feel as if they were put there by people who dont respect us, he said.

To ask African Americans to drive by property ... occupied by reverential statues of men who fought to destroy the country and deny that persons humanity seems perverse and absurd, said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

In our blessed land, we all come to the table of democracy as equals, Landrieu said in a brilliant speech in which he explained why four Confederate statues had been removed.

We have to reaffirm our commitment to a future where each citizen is guaranteed the uniquely American gifts of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

At the meeting of the Town Council at which the decision was made to relocate Edentons Confederate statue, a local resident congratulated the council for taking on the controversial issue.

Then she said, We need to take care of everybody in this town. Removing a symbol from this particular location could be one part of that.
FRIDAY, March 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Despite a longstanding assumption that babies gut microbiome development could be affected by whether they were born vaginally or through cesarean section, scientists report this doesn't appear to be the case.

A team of Canadian researchers looked to infant stool microbiome composition in the first weeks and months of life to evaluate the theory.

We show that the composition of the maternal vaginal microbiome does not substantially influence the infant stool microbiome in early life, said study author Dr. Deborah Money, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of British Columbia. It does not appear that exposure to maternal vaginal microbiota at the time of vaginal birth establishes the infant stool microbiome.

To study this, researchers recruited 600 women who were ethnically and socioeconomically diverse from three hospitals across British Columbia, some of whom planned to deliver their babies vaginally and some by C-section.

The investigators collected vaginal swabs from the women before they delivered their babies. They collected infant stool samples within 72 hours of delivery and again 10 days and three months after the babies were born.

The mothers vaginal microbiome composition did not predict the composition of babies stool microbiome at 10 days or three months, the authors found.

The findings were published March 30 in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.

From this study and other follow-up work, we were able to show that transfer of vaginal bacteria to the infant gut is limited, and that the maternal vaginal microbiome is not a large contributor to the bacterial community that develops in a babys gut after birth, said co-author Scott Dos Santos, a PhD candidate at the University of Saskatchewan who conducted the lab work and data analysis.

On the contrary, other maternal sources like breast milk and exposure to the environment likely play a much larger role," he said in a journal news release.

Researchers are now analyzing the breast milk microbiome, to better understand its impact on infants gut microbiomes.

The study did find statistically significant differences in microbiome composition by mode of delivery at both 10 days and at three months.

But the differences we found between infants' stool microbiome composition by mode of delivery in early life seemed to be primarily influenced by exposure to antibiotics around the time of birth, Money said in the release.

The researchers said their assessment of antibiotic use did not counter the finding that the maternal vaginal microbiome is not predictive of infant stool microbiome composition.

This study underscores the need for robust methods with large enough sample sizes to ensure clinical conclusions drawn from human microbiome studies allow one to control for factors affecting natural variability in human microbiomes across individuals, Money stressed.

Study limitations included that the authors could not draw conclusions about maternal stool microbiomes influence because they did not collect stool samples from the women in the study.

More information

The U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute has more on the microbiome.

SOURCE: Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, news release, March 30, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP)  Joint Base Andrews, one of the nations most sensitive military bases and home to Air Force One, emerged from a lockdown Thursday evening after officials were unable to confirm reports of a man carrying an assault-style rifle on the base, authorities said.

No shots were fired and no suspect was found after hours of searching, according to a statement from the Maryland base.

The person was reportedly seen near the bases housing area around 2:30 p.m. Officials allowed a limited release from lockdown at 5 p.m., and the full lockdown was lifted an hour later.

Joint Base Andrews, a few miles outside Washington, houses the fleet of blue and white presidential aircraft, including Air Force One.

The base has faced security issues previously, including when an intruder reached the housing complex last month. A resident opened fire on the trespasser.

Two years ago, a man breached several spots on the base  including a military checkpoint  and climbed into a C-40, a transport jet primarily used by members of the Cabinet, Congress and military combatant commanders.

Dazio reported from Los Angeles.
There is one more polling location change for the city of Lincolns upcoming primary and general elections in addition to some announced earlier.

The change was inadvertently omitted from the prior announcement, according to Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen.

The Grand Lodge at the Preserve served as the polling location for Precinct 10 H-1 prior to the pandemic and was temporarily relocated to Maxey Elementary. Voters in this south Lincoln precinct will be returning to vote at the Grand Lodge at the Preserve.

Commissioner Wiltgen indicated that the change will impact approximately 1,000 of the 172,000 voters in the city. Notices of this change were sent Thursday by mail. The primary election is Tuesday.

Early polling changes for nine precincts were announced earlier. They affect about 9,000 voters.

As of Thursday, Wiltgen indicated about 34,000 Lincoln voters requested early vote ballots for the primary election.

Early voters must return ballots to the election office by mail or in the drop box at the office, 601 N. 46th St., no later than 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The general election is May 2.

Polling locations can be found on the Nebraska Voter Information Lookup website. People with questions can call the election commission office at 402-441-7311.
Here's a look at the top stories for today, Thursday, March 30:

Trump indicted

A lawyer for Donald Trump said Thursday he's been told that the former president has been indicted in New York on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.

It becomes the first ever criminal case against a former U.S. president and a jolt to Trumps bid to retake the White House in 2024.

Read more:

***

CDC study: Gun injuries in US surged during pandemic

For every American killed by gunfire, an estimated two or more more survive, often with terrible injuries  a fact that public health experts say is crucial to understanding the full impact of guns on society.

A new government study highlights just how violent America's recent past has been by showing a surge in gunfire injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of people fatally shooting each other  and themselves  also increased.

The number of people injured by gunfire was nearly 40% higher in 2020 and 2021, compared with 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a study published Thursday. In 2022, gun injuries tapered off, but were still 20% higher than before the pandemic.

Read more:

***

Nashville school shooting 911 calls released

Authorities released 911 recordings on Thursday that capture the terror inside a Nashville elementary school during a mass shooting this week, as callers pleaded for help in hushed voices while sirens, crying and gunfire could be heard in the background.

Police released recordings of three emergency calls made during Monday's attack at The Covenant School, in which three children and three adults were killed.

In one, 76-year-old retired church member Tom Pulliam tells the dispatcher he is with a group of people, including several children, who are walking away from the Christian school toward a main road. Although Pulliam remains calm, the tension and confusion of the situation are clear, with several adults speaking over each other and childrens voices in the background.

When the dispatcher requests a description of the shooter, Pulliam asks a second man to get on the line.

All I saw was a man holding an assault rifle shooting through the door. It was  hes currently in the second grade hallway, upstairs the second man says, noting the assailant was dressed in camouflage and wearing a vest.

Asked about how many shots were fired, a woman responds, I heard about 10 and I left the building.

Pulliam, who was with his wife driving near the church when the attack happened, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he is struggling to make sense of what happened. He said he mostly the children and how calm they seemed, not yelling and screaming or anything.

Up there for a normal day of school, these young children," he said. "Now, theres difficult days to go through.

Read more:

Check out more of today's trending stories
GRAND ISLAND  Northwest Public Schools and its superintendent, Jeff Edwards, are facing a lawsuit stemming from an LGTBQ-driven decision to end the high schools student newspaper, the Saga.

Former Northwest student Marcus Pennell and the Nebraska High School Press Association are plaintiffs in the suit, which the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska filed in federal district court Friday morning.

According to a statement by ACLU of Nebraska, The lawsuit argues that school officials decision to shutter the newspaper violated plaintiffs First Amendment free speech rights on three counts: their right to be free of viewpoint discrimination, their right to be free of retaliation and their right to receive information.

The lawsuit seeks a judges declaration the district violated the law and award damages as the court sees fit.

Pennell is a former Saga staff member, who has since graduated. In April 2022, Pennell used his preferred name in the publication. The newspaper staff was subsequently reprimanded by school administrators and directed to use legal names.

Students on staff decided to produce an LGBTQ Pride-themed June issue, which contained three LGBTQ-related, student-written articles along with stories about a Northwest High School students national art honor and a movie review of Worst Roommate Ever.

The June 2022 Saga, often referred to now as the Pride issue, was published May 16, 2022. It turned out to be the school newspaper's final issue.

After news of the Saga's fate was made public last summer, ACLU of Nebraska submitted a public records request, which resulted in hundreds of documents, including emails and text messages.

In a May 17 email to Edwards, Northwest High School Principal P.J. Smith and Activities Director Matthew Fritsche, Northwest school board president Dan Leiser said: Ive read the publications in the Viking Saga. Im sure this is a revenge tactic from the pronoun thing a month or so ago  .

Later in the email, Leiser said, Im hot on this one, because its not OK. The national media does the same crap and Ive had enough of it. No more school paper, in my opinion. You give someone an inch, they take it a mile.

Northwest school board member Paul Mader sent an email that same day to fellow board members. In it, he included a photo of Pennells story about the dont say gay bill.

Has anyone read our school paper this month? Mader asked in the group email.

Staff and students were notified of the Sagas elimination on May 19.

The Grand Island Independent broke the Saga story Aug. 24, after a monthslong investigation.

In those public records obtained by ACLU of Nebraska, on Aug. 24 one school official said in a text to another, the article was very poorly written.

Edwards said in an email to a former Nebraska City student (where he was superintendent before coming to Northwest) the resulting controversy was due to an inaccurate article written by an over zealous [sic] reporter who misconstrued multiple facts.

At the time, the school's official response concerning the Saga's cancellation was "an administrative decision" and declined to further elaborate.

On Aug. 29, ACLU of Nebraska took action, issuing a demand letter to Northwest Public Schools. They alleged violations of the First Amendment and Title IX, which relates to gender equality.

According to ACLU officials, the district did not respond.

Attorneys on the case decided not to pursue the latter of the charges, said ACLU of Nebraska Legal and Policy Counsel Jane Seu, and opted to focus on the former.

To us the strongest  and most compelling issues are the First Amendment claims, Seu said. The First Amendment claims obviously embrace the underlying LGBTQ discrimination on the content of that speech.

(The First Amendment) is what we're focused on, but also knowing that this is an important opportunity to stand up for LGBTQ students.

Seu said of the charge surrounding the right to receive information, Weve also included (that) because we think thats an important part of this story. Your right to speak also includes your right to receive information and receive that speech.

Michelle Carr Hassler, associate professor of practice for the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is the NHSPA executive director.

Hassler said of the lawsuit, Its education, first and foremost. This is disrupting the education of aspiring journalists.

It also affects the education of student journalists not necessarily looking at journalism as a career, she added.

Theyre getting such a great experience with critical thinking and language and research and newspaper literacy.

Censorship  has such a demoralizing effect on everyone.

NHSPA is a statewide journalism organization welcoming high school journalism instructors and/or advisers of student publications in Nebraska.

Deposed Northwest Saga adviser Kirsten Gilliland was elected to the NHSPA board last year.

This case was particularly troubling to us, Hassler said of the Sagas cancellation. We felt like it had larger ramifications for scholastic journalism in Nebraska.

Seu was asked whether the case was about setting a precedent or achieving accountability.

With case law, this kind of shows  especially with what we got through open records  the blatant violations (of the right to receive information). It helps promote this constitutional right and the constitutional value of the First Amendment.

We hope this case has a good, long-lasting impact.

Top Journal Star photos for March 2023
An Omaha-based engineering company has been selected to design the Memorial Stadium of the future.

The University of Nebraska chose HDR at the end of a competitive selection process to serve as architect/engineer for the renovation project, which could cost between $200 million and $500 million.

The Board of Regents will consider approving the contract at its April 7 board meeting. Regents will meet at the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

University leaders announced their plans to improve Memorial Stadium for Husker fans last year ahead of the 100th anniversary of the venue opening on the state's flagship campus.

And last fall, regents signed off on a plan to hire a third-party firm that will help shoulder the responsibility of fundraising, design and construction of the Memorial Stadium renovation.

The process selected by regents will allow the university to hire a "right hand" to oversee all facets of the project.

HDR won't serve in that capacity, an NU spokeswoman said, but will instead focus on developing concepts for what the end result might look like, plan construction, evaluate costs and eventually work alongside a construction manager.

According to a copy of the contract included with the regents' agenda, HDR will conduct conceptual planning and design during the first phase of the Memorial Stadium improvement project for a flat fee of $1.1 million.

The first phase will also involve an assessment of the existing facilities, including a study of space and the flow of foot and vehicle traffic inside the stadium's footprint, as well as determining the mechanical and electrical needs of the project.

Once the first phase is complete and a cost estimate is determined, the university would then pay HDR an amount equal to 8% of the total price to draw up schematics and begin working with contractors on a timeline for work to begin and be completed.

Both university administrators and regents have emphasized that no public tax dollars, tuition revenue or student fees will be used on the project.

The ultimate scope of changes to Memorial Stadium will rely upon how much the university can raise toward improving one of the already most visible areas of campus.

Other items regents will consider include:

* A $15.1 million budget for a renovation of Kimball Recital Hall at UNL. The project will use funds set aside by the Legislature for deferred maintenance projects.

* The elected Board of Regents will also honor the outgoing student regents: Emily Saadi of UNK, Jacob Drake of UNL, Nicole Kent of UNMC and Tori Sims of UNO.

Photos: In awe of Memorial Stadium 1923 stadium 1950 stadium 1959 stadium Memorial Stadium 1965 1971 stadium 1991 stadium Stadium in 1994 1999 stadium 2005 stadium 2006 stadium 2008 Spring Game crowd 2009 stadium Memorial Stadium 2009 Red-White Spring Game, 4.16.2011 Aerial of stadium in 2012 2013 Red-White Spring Game, 4.11.15 2015 stadium Husker fans, 11/24/17 Ohio State vs. Nebraska, 10/14/17 Red-White Spring Game, 4/21/18 2019 fireworks Guard flyover at stadium - 2019 2019 stadium
Nebraska lawmakers on Thursday began debate on a measure to create a new office within the executive branch responsible for expanding broadband internet across the state.

But the discussion around the Transportation and Telecommunication Committee's priority bill (LB683) creating the Nebraska Broadband Office ran into opposition from senators who questioned if it was wise to put the program under the control of the governor's office.

The Legislature adjourned on Thursday  Day 53 of the 90-day session  after about five hours of debate but before they could vote to advance LB683. Senators will take up the bill again on Friday morning.

LB683 was introduced following an executive order from Gov. Jim Pillen in January that created a similar office within the Nebraska Department of Transportation to coordinate the deployment of high-speed internet to unserved and underserved locations.

Lincoln Sen. Suzanne Geist, who chairs the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, said the Public Service Commission, which currently administers state and federal programs to build out broadband, said the elected board would continue to oversee those efforts.

The Nebraska Broadband Office, under the committee's plan, would be responsible for directing Nebraska's share of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, better known as BEAD, as well as other federal programs.

Nebraska is expected to receive up to $400 million from BEAD to expand access to broadband from the program.

Several senators questioned whether it was necessary to create a new office within the executive branch, saying those funds would be under the control of a director appointed by the governor rather than an elected body like the Public Service Commission.

Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad said it wasn't clear how there would not be a duplication of efforts between the role the Public Service Commission plays and the role of the Nebraska Broadband Office.

Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, the only senator to vote against advancing the bill from committee, introduced several amendments that were debated and defeated over the course of five hours on Thursday.

"Why are we diluting our own power and authority?" she asked. "Why are we diluting the power and authority of another body, and giving it all to the governor's office?"

Cavanaugh also said the Public Service Commission was already preparing a statewide plan as it prepared to apply for funds under BEAD and that moving that responsibility to a new office could jeopardize that funding.

Senators on the opposite side of the political spectrum also said they had concerns with expanding the size of the executive branch, though one later changed course and said he supported the bill.

Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings said he had "anxiety" about setting up a new office, and suggested it might be better for the Legislature to appropriate more funding to the Public Service Commission to expand its capabilities.

And Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard told the Legislature he was concerned about an appointed person being put in charge of hundreds of millions of dollars rather than a body of elected officials, though he later signaled that he would support LB683.

An amendment from the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee that was introduced and will likely be voted on Friday morning sought to clarify how the office would be structured and adds accountability measures that helped ease concerns of some senators.

The director of broadband would be required to file an annual report on his or her activities with the committee, and the committee would be required to hold a public hearing on it.

The amendment also outlines the process for how challenges to broadband project proposals would be handled. Instead of being administered by the Public Service Commission, those would go through Lancaster County District Court.

Lincoln Sen. George Dungan and others said they wanted further clarity to how that process would work out without overburdening the court, however.

The Legislature will reconvene Friday morning. A vote on LB683 will likely come around noon.

Top Journal Star photos for March 2023
"Is the juice worth the squeeze?" That's the question that Tirien Steinbach, Stanford Law School's associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, posed to Stuart Kyle Duncan regarding the federal appeals court judge's now-notorious visit to campus earlier this month.

By this, Steinbach meant that Duncan should consider whether his appearance at Stanford was worth the obvious rancor and ferment it had created. Named by President Donald Trump to the 5th Circuit, Duncan is controversial not only for his previous advocacy against LGBTQ rights but also for his rulings, including a 2020 case in which he refused to call a transgender woman by the female pronouns.

"I mean, is it worth the pain that this causes and the division that this causes?" Steinbach asked Duncan, who was invited to address the school's chapter of the Federalist Society. "Do you have something so incredibly important to say ... that is worth this impact on the division of these people who have sat next to each other for years, who are going through what is the battle of law school together, so that they can go out into the world and be advocates. And this is the division it's caused. When I say 'Is the juice worth the squeeze?' that's what I'm asking. Is this worth it?"

Now Steinbach has posed that query again, in the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal. "I was referring to the responsibility that comes with freedom of speech: to consider not only the benefit of our words but also the consequences. It isn't a rhetorical question," Steinbach wrote. "I believe that we would be better served by leaders who ask themselves, 'Is the juice (what we are doing) worth the squeeze (the intended and unintended consequences and costs)?' I will certainly continue to ask this question myself."

This is the wrong question, and while there's been enough appropriately horrified commentary about the unacceptable behavior of the Stanford students who heckled Duncan, it's important to explain why. It involves the difference between civility and self-censorship.

Civility is important and too often lacking, as the Stanford incident itself demonstrated -- both the students and the judge apparently missed some important childhood lessons on that score. Duncan was shouted down; as he entered the classroom to give his talk, he said, one protester yelled, "We hope your daughters get raped." Duncan's response can be safely described as injudicious. "You are an appalling idiot," he told one student.

Self-censorship is dangerous. It reinforces the notion that we should stay silent in spaces where our views might not be welcomed. This flattens discourse and homogenizes thought.

Duncan himself offers a useful encapsulation of the distinction. I first encountered him in 2020, when he went out of his way to be disrespectful to a transgender prisoner who asked that her name be changed in the prison system. Duncan not only rejected the inmate's petition -- he disregarded her request that she be referred to by the female pronouns.

And he wrapped his incivility in the astonishing, unconvincing garb of maintaining the appearance of judicial impartiality.

If he were to accommodate the prisoner's request to be addressed by the pronoun of her choice, Duncan warned, "the court may unintentionally convey its tacit approval of the litigant's underlying legal position. Even this appearance of bias, whether real or not, should be avoided."

This is a flimsy excuse for intolerance and a lack of simple decency toward a fellow human being. Duncan should not have been shouted down; Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne and law school dean Jenny Martinez were correct to apologize to him. But it is hard to avoid appreciating a certain rough justice in the situation. Civility is as civility does.

But should Duncan, as Steinbach suggested, have chosen to turn down the Federalist Society's invitation and voluntarily absented himself from Stanford's campus? No -- a thousand times no -- not for his own good but for the very benefit of the students who are most offended by his position.

How much better off would they have been to allow him to speak, and to respectfully challenge his reasoning in the pronoun case?

We are all better off in a world where we don't have to second-guess ourselves before venturing an unpopular opinion. Think about how you phrase something, yes, but not about whether you ought to say it. Because the alternative is pallid mush, short on honesty and condemned to vapidity. The juice is always worth the squeeze.
Scapegoating requires a sinister mixture of false claims and clear orders. Disinformation, conspiracy thinking and fanning paranoia are keys in creating scapegoats. Falsehoods are required to subvert reality in order to stoke panic. At the later stages, the scapegoating method reveals with chilling clarity what should happen to the scapegoated group.

Scapegoating has been common throughout history. And we are seeing it today. Take for instance at CPAC, where the eradication of all transgender people was explicitly called for. There can be no confusion around the word "eradicate." It means erase, destroy and murder.

My grandparents, three of them veterans of World War II, warned me at a young age what demanding the eradication of a group of people leads to.

Transgender and queer peoples lives are under attack from those who wish to gain financial and political power and from those whose ignorance has curdled into hatred.

The purpose of scapegoats is to distract us from real problems, like unaffordable housing and corporate pollution. Scapegoating one group of people also makes it easier for those who are power hungry to start to curtail the freedoms of other groups of people.

Its time for those who value personal and collective freedom to be as clear with our own words and actions. Nebraskans must reject recent anti-LGBTQ laws and stand up against scapegoating. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Kelly A. Seacrest, Lincoln
BUCHA, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainians marked the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha Friday with calls for remembrance and justice after a brutal Russian occupation that left hundreds of civilians dead in the streets and in mass graves, establishing the town near Kyiv as an epicenter of the war's atrocities.

We will not let it be forgotten, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a ceremony in Bucha, vowing to punish those who committed outrages there that are still raw. Human dignity will not let it be forgotten. On the streets of Bucha, the world has seen Russian evil. Evil unmasked.

Bucha's name has come to evoke savagery by Moscow's military since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Ukrainian troops who retook the town found the bodies of men, women and children on the streets, in yards and homes, and in mass graves. Some showed signs of torture.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, fighting continued Friday: Russia used its long-range arsenal to bombard several areas, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes.

And the Kremlin-allied president of neighboring Belarus raised the stakes when he said Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in his country, along with part of Moscows tactical nuclear arsenal. Moscow said earlier this week that it planned to place in Belarus tactical nuclear weapons, which are comparatively short-range and low-yield. Strategic nuclear weapons, such as missile-borne warheads, would bring a greater threat.

At the official commemoration in Bucha, Zelenskyy was joined by Moldova's president and the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Russian troops occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month. When Ukrainian forces retook the town, they encountered horrific scenes. Over weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including of children.

Russian soldiers, on intercepted phone conversations, called it zachistka  cleansing, according to an investigation by The Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline.

Such organized cruelty, which Russian troops also employed in other conflicts such as Chechnya, was later repeated in Russia-occupied territories across Ukraine.

Zelenskyy handed out medals to soldiers, police officers, doctors, teachers and emergency workers in Bucha, as well as to the families of two soldiers killed during the defense of the Kyiv region.

Ukrainian people, you have stopped the biggest anti-human force of our times, he said. You have stopped the force which has no respect and wants to destroy everything that gives meaning to human life.

Ukrainian authorities documented more than 1,400 civilian deaths, including 37 children, in the Bucha district, and more than 175 people were found in mass graves and alleged torture chambers, Zelenskyy said. Ukraine and other countries, including the U.S., have demanded that Russia answer for war crimes.

Among the civilians killed was 69-year-old Valerii Kyzylov, whose wife survived but for whom the horrors inflicted on Bucha, her home town, are still raw.

I remember everything like it was yesterday, she said, twisting a handkerchief in her hands as she stood at a candle-lit vigil on Friday evening. A year has passed but I still see it before my eyes.

She cried as she recounted the horror she endured a year ago. Of Russian troops shooting her husband dead and leaving the body lying in the street for days. Of the Russian soldiers taking over her house, where she was forced to live in the basement. They would bring other civilians to the basement, she said, some with bags over their heads, and they would decide there whom to execute and whom to allow to live.

I lived with my husband for 47 years. We have two children. We had such a nice family, she said, weeping. This pain is so great. He was so beautiful. He was killed for nothing.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin alleged Friday that many of the dead civilians were tortured. Almost 100 Russian soldiers are suspected of war crimes, he said on his Telegram channel, and indictments have been issued for 35 of them.

A Ukrainian court has sentenced two Russian servicemen to 12 years in prison for illegally depriving civilians of liberty, and for looting.

I am convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russias planned strategy aimed at destroying Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation, Kostin said.

In Geneva, the U.N. human rights chief said his office has verified the deaths of more than 8,400 civilians in Ukraine since Russias invasion  a count believed to be far short of the true toll. Volker Turk told the U.N. Human Rights Council that severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine during Russia's invasion.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, along with announcing the possibility of the deployment of Russian strategic nuclear weapons in his country, called for a cease-fire in Ukraine. A truce, he said in his state-of-the-nation address in Minsk, must be announced without any preconditions, and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted.

Its necessary to stop now, before an escalation begins, Lukashenko said, adding that an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using Western-supplied weapons would bring an irreversible escalation of the conflict.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Russia has to keep fighting, again claiming that Ukraine has rejected any talks under pressure from its Western allies.

Peskov also dismissed remarks by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that the European Union was mulling the deployment of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, calling that extremely dangerous.

Russia has maintained its bombardment of Ukraine, with the war already in its second year. Along with the two civilians killed Friday, 14 others were wounded as Russia launched missiles, shells, exploding drones and gliding bombs, the Ukraine presidential office said.

Two Russian missiles hit the eastern city of Kramatorsk, damaging eight residential buildings, the office said. Nine missiles struck Kharkiv, damaging residential buildings, roads, gas stations and a prison, while Russian forces shelled the southern city and region of Kherson. A barrage at Zaporizhzhia and its outskirts caused major fires.

In the battered front-line town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, a baby and adult were killed in Russian shelling, according to the presidential office. Before the Russian invasion, about 25,000 people lived in Avdiivka. About 2,000 civilians remain.

Hanna Arhirova reported from Kyiv. Jamey Keaten contributed to this report from Geneva, while Yuras Karmanau contributed from Tallinn, Estonia.
MOUNT PLEASANT  The Village of Mount Pleasant trustee who has been on the board the longest is being challenged by a political newcomer.

The seat for trustee No. 1 will be voted on April 4, with challenger Travis Yanke going up against incumbent John Hewitt.

Yanke is a part of a group of challengers that have been vocal critics of village government for the last few years.

Hewitt is a retired independent insurance agent and a U.S. National Guard veteran. He is a former president of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Racine and served on the board of directors for Cops and Kids and Racine YMCA.

Village trustee seats are two-year terms and come with salaries of $6,754 annually.

John Hewitt AGE: 80 ADDRESS: 1100 Fountain Hills Drive, unit 207A PAST ELECTED OFFICE: Mount Pleasant Village Trustee since 2004, President of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Racine, sat on board of directors for Cops and Kids and Racine YMCA OCCUPATION: Retired independent insurance agent for 36 years HIGHEST EDUCATION RECEIVED: Degree from School of Insurance of the United States - Baltimore, Maryland CURRENT COMMUNITY SERVICE: None

Hewitt has served on the Village Board since 2004.

He said he would like the village to stay on the path it is on now, citing the caliber of village staff, such as Village Administrator Maureen Murphy, who was appointed president of The Wisconsin League of Municipalities in October 2022.

I am very appreciative of our village administrator, Hewitt said. She brought direction and strength, not only to the board, but also to all of our area that need to that direction.

Hewitt said that the boards vision for improving infrastructure has attracted businesses, such as Microsoft, to the village.

As for changes, Hewitt doesnt want to make any really big changes.

I am very happy in the direction our board (is taking), he said. Because of the leadership that we have, we have a compass pointed in the same direction to move Mount Pleasant ahead and welcome businesses and people to move into Mount Pleasant.

Hewitt said the biggest challenge facing the village is finding competent, strong employees for the jobs that are coming to the village and continuing to welcome new residents.

Travis Yanke AGE: 48 HOME ADDRESS: 103 Trellis Lane PAST ELECTED OFFICE: None OCCUPATION: Director for Clinical Research Operations in U.S. Medical Affairs at AbbVie HIGHEST EDUCATION RECEIVED: Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison CURRENT COMMUNITY SERVICE: None

Having a village where residents are happy to say they are from Mount Pleasant and not upset every year because of rising property taxes is a future that Yanke would like to see.

Yanke said he believes the way to achieve this vision lies in reevaluating Tax Incremental Districts, including TID 5, the Foxconn development.

For this to happen, a significant reduction in the villages debt and its overall spending needs to occur, Yanke said. When it comes to debt, the Foxconn TID and the other six will be revisited. Priority will be given to examining the Foxconn agreements to repurpose its TID and ensure other development partners are no longer blocked from coming to Mount Pleasant. The annual budget will also be given the financial scrutiny that has been sorely lacking.

One thing Yanke would like to focus on is treating village residents with respect and dignity.

If youve been to Village Hall over the past few years, you understand this is lacking, Yanke said.

Yanke said he will start by listening to and caring about residents questions and concerns, no matter how trivial.

He also said he would be transparent with residents when it comes to Foxconn and other village business.

Closed sessions by the Village Board will no longer be abused to keep residents in the dark, Yanke said. Village Board meetings will be conducted in a manner which solicits resident input while still conducting business per the agenda.

The villages debt and continued spending are the biggest challenge facing Mount Pleasant, he said.

Foxconn is a huge liability which needs to be tackled head on. It will not be ignored, and a mitigation plan will be formulated right away, Yanke said. While development in any community is important, our villages involvement the past several years has been too much. While Foxconn exemplifies this problem, the other six TIDs are similar by giving businesses financial incentives to develop that are supported by our tax dollars.

Meet Kala, Mount Pleasant's new electronic detection canine Dream team Kala Going to work Quite the sniffer Kala the K-9 officer demonstrates her electronic detection abilities Kala A police dog you can bring home
MOUNT PLEASANT  Microsoft is set to purchase land in Mount Pleasant to develop a data center, which is part of the tech giants plans to spend $1 billion on development in Racine County over the next decade-plus.

The Mount Pleasant Village Board during a meeting Thursday unanimously approved the sale of 315 acres of land to Microsoft for just over $50 million, or $159,000 per acre.

Village Board members all expressed enthusiasm for the sale.

I am so glad to be here for this, Trustee Anne Marie Clausen said.

Village Board President Dave DeGroot said plans had been in the works for nearly a year, and he was impressed they were kept out of the public eye.

I just find it remarkable that we were able to keep this quiet, because loose lips along any step of the way can sink ships, DeGroot said.

The sale also requires approval from the Racine County Board of Supervisors, which is scheduled to consider the issue on April 11 and April 18.

If the County Board approves, Microsoft will acquire the land south of Braun Road, north of Highway KR, east of the Canadian Pacific Rail right-of-way and west of 90th Street in Tax Incremental District No. 5.

The purchase must be made by July 31.

That land is part of the Foxconn development in Mount Pleasant.

Foxconn will receive proceeds from the purchase as a partial reimbursement of net of costs for its original purchase.

The agreement will not lessen any of the obligations that Foxconn has with the village over the land, and it does not provide any new benefits to Foxconn.

Phase one of Microsofts development is scheduled to start no later than July 2026, according to a news release. A second phase is planned for no later than July 2033.

Eight people spoke during the public comment portion of Thursdays meeting. Most supported the sale, but some had concerns.

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, applauded the move, saying it should create an environment for other businesses to come here.

Steve Wicklund, Union Grove village president and chair of the Racine County Intergovernmental Cooperation Council, agreed.

I cannot tell you how excited the whole region is right now, Wicklund said. All of Racine County should be super pumped up about this project.

Alfonso Gardner, eastern Racine County community engagement specialist, said he supports Microsoft coming to the area but wants the corporation to meet with all types of residents, including Black residents, to hear their questions, comments and concerns.

This is too important for them not to meet with everybody, Gardner said.

A man who said he lives about a mile from the proposed Microsoft site said there are many questions that nearby residents have, including how many employees will work at the data center, how the surrounding natural environment will be managed and what type of water will be used at the data center.

I hope that, as concerns are brought up by me or other neighbors, we move forward with our eyes and ears wide open, the man said.
MOUNT PLEASANT  A newcomer to the Village of Mount Pleasant will go up against an incumbent who has been on the board since 2018.

The April 4 election will feature the race between Eric Martinez and Ram Bhatia, who is seeking reelection for his position as village trustee No. 5.

Martinez moved to the Village of Mount Pleasant in 2021 and is the newest resident to the village in the race. He currently serves on the St. Paul Church Finance Committee and owns a business, which he plans to relocate to Mount Pleasant.

Bhatia, a retired electrical engineer, has been a village trustee since 2018, and has served since 2005 on the Gateway Technical College Board of Trustees.

Village trustee seats are two-year terms and come with salaries of $6,754 annually.

Ram Bhatia

Ram Bhatia AGE: 72 ADDRESS: 7902 Creek View Lane PAST ELECTED OFFICE : Mount Pleasant Board of Trustees 2018-present, 18 years on the Gateway Technical College Board of Trustees OCCUPATION: Retired electrical engineer HIGHEST EDUCATION RECEIVED: Masters in electrical engineering from the University of Aston in Birmingham, UK; Masters in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto; Masters of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside CURRENT COMMUNITY SERVICE: None

If reelected, Bhatia would like to see Mount Pleasant be "a great place to live and raise your family" in the future.

Bhatia said the village should be "developed to provide family-supporting job opportunities balanced with quality of life amenities such as walking trails, bike paths, parks and recreation."

He also would like to foster a safe community that is supported by the best law enforcement and emergency response services for all residents.

Bhatia said that Mount Pleasant should be an economically thriving community that has the lowest tax rates in Racine County, perhaps in southeast Wisconsin.

If reelected, the one big change Bhatia would like to focus on is exploring an alternate source of revenue to reduce the burden of property taxes.

He said the biggest challenge facing the village is that a small number of residents don't want to see any growth or development in the village.

"They do not have any vision for the community, except they stand against all growth ideas and opportunities," Bhatia said. "This has the potential to drive the developers and future residents away. I also fear their lack of support for the public safety and emergency services is likely to adversely impact the quality of life currently enjoyed by the residents in our Village of Mount Pleasant."

Eric Martinez NAME: Eric T Martinez AGE: 59 ADDRESS: 4336 Wood Road PAST ELECTED OFFICE: None OCCUPATION: Business Owner/Entrepreneur HIGHEST EDUCATION RECEIVED: Masters of Business Administration in Finance, Marketing and International Business from Northwestern University CURRENT COMMUNITY SERVICE: Finance Council for St. Paul the Apostle Church

Martinez said he would like to see a better balance between business and residential growth.

"We need to secure businesses (big and small) in our community to sustain and attract employers and economic growth while maintaining the quality of life for Mount Pleasant residents," Martinez said. "This important business expansion should not come at the expense of Mount Pleasants small community feel and suburban and rural landscape. I recently moved here because it is not urban or suburban sprawl, and Id like to keep it that way."

Martinez said he would like to focus on developing the blighted areas near Racine and by the lake.

If elected, a big change Martinez would like to see is a more transparent Village Board that communicates frequently with its residents.

Martinez said he has heard complaints about the current board not being transparent with its residents, not acting as a representative group, dismissing the concerns of many residents and not communicating board business in a manner that keeps residents fully informed.

"If elected, I will welcome direct engagement from the residents, make sure that the board is transparent and held accountable, and everyone is heard and respected," he said.

Martinez said the village's biggest challenge is the the Foxconn project.

"Since the original Foxconn plan is abandoned and the alternative plan is yielding significantly lower, if any, cash flows, the upcoming TIF payments are at risk," he said. "What happens if Foxconn decides to default?"

Martinez said the village board needs to develop a credible plan to manage this material financial exposure and proactively seek and attract companies to locate their business expansion to Mount Pleasant and the developed property. Martinez said he is prepared to actively assist in that task.
A Catholic church in Cottage Grove engaged in potentially illegal political campaigning when its pastor posted a bulletin urging parishioners not to vote for her in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, an atheist group told the Internal Revenue Service.

The church flyer posted by St. Patricks Catholic Church doesnt refer to the candidates  liberal Janet Protasiewicz and conservative Dan Kelly  by name. But the pastors choice of pronouns in the context of the letter make clear hes seeking to bolster support for Kelly, the Freedom From Religion Foundation said.

You cannot publicly support abortion or abortion advocates and remain a Catholic in good standing, the bulletin said. The fact that this is a Supreme Court race does not exempt us from our duty to protect life .... As a Catholic, I urge you, for the salvation of your soul; do not vote for her in the Supreme Court race on April 4.

Churches and charities, which are exempt from paying taxes, have been banned from engaging in political activity since 1954. In 1987, Congress revised the bans language to clarify that opposing candidates also constitutes political activity.

We write to respectfully request that the IRS immediately investigate St. Patricks Catholic Church and ensure that it no longer receives the benefits of 501(c)(3) status and that donations made to the church are no longer treated as tax deductible, Freedom From Religion Foundation staff attorney Christopher Line wrote in a letter to the IRS.

A statement from the group called the pamphlet blatant electioneering.

When the Wisconsin State Journal attempted to contact the church, the person who answered the phone declined to comment.

Reached separately, church Pastor Brian Dulli, who wrote the letter, initially said he had nothing to say. Dulli later issued a statement saying his comments were coming from a place of love, adding that he didnt want anyone of any faith to suffer for supporting abortion rights.

The letter circulated as a physical flyer and online bulletin. The bulletin was posted in a section entitled, From the pastors desk, which also noted that Dulli was leaving the church in April.

The pamphlet circulated widely on social media after conservative talk show host Vicki McKenna posted a screenshot of it on Twitter, saying Every Catholic pastor in WI should have done what my pastor did.

Every Catholic pastor in WI should have done what my pastor didand put a message in the bulletin about our Supreme Court race. THANK YOU, Fr. Brian! #VoteLikeThereIsAHeaven pic.twitter.com/HOkkyymwUx  Vicki McKenna (@VickiMcKenna) March 26, 2023

Any church that decides to be this overtly political is making a case against their tax-exempt status, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Black Earth, said about the pamphlet. Political organizations are not tax-exempt. This organization has to decide what it is, religious or political.

The pamphlet heavily focuses on abortion, an issue that Protasiewicz has put at the center of her campaign. As Democrats seek to nullify Wisconsins near-complete abortion ban in court, Protasiewicz has all but pledged to restore the rights the law currently blocks.

While Kelly has been less vocal about the issue in this race, he has asserted that abortion involves taking the life of a human being.

Calling abortion murder, Dulli tells parishioners, Its a mortal sin to render aid to the cause of abortion. That aid includes voting.

There can be no mistake that Pastor Dulli is trying to intervene in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, Line wrote to the IRS.
President Emmanuel Macron and the people of France are facing a significant challenge to government authority, social stability and the future of the nation.

Massive sustained protest demonstrations have turned into violent clashes between enraged workers and the police. The unrest is continuing.

The source of the ongoing unrest is the effort by President Macron to increase the retirement age in the nation. The change raises the retirement age from 62 to 64 and also requires people to work for 43 years to qualify for a full pension.

President Macron decided to make these significant shifts through executive order rather than a vote in parliament. The constitution of the Fifth Republic, instituted by President Charles de Gaulle, provides considerable power to the chief executive.

Protestors have set fire to uncollected garbage in Paris. There has been sporadic fighting with police. Separate from the pension protests, protestors near the village of Sainte-Soline in western France have clashed with police over a projected water reservoir, which is opposed by environmentalists.

The massive displays of public hostility are particularly important given the important role of France in the European Union, and the continuing war in Ukraine. Britain has postponed a planned visit by King Charles to France.

These dramatic developments are occurring only eleven months after Macrons impressive reelection to office. Last April, he received just over 58 percent of the vote, against just under 42 percent for opponent Marine Le Pen. This margin, while decisive, is narrower than in 2017 when these same two candidates competed for the presidency.

Most important is that the presidential election seemed to reconfirm the stability of Frances domestic political structures and institutions of government. This is no small matter.

Instability previously characterized France.

The decisive, stunning military defeat of the large, well-armed but woefully weak army of France in the spring of 1940 by the fast-moving blitzkrieg of Nazi Germany began four years of brutal humiliating occupation. Years of weak ineffective governments followed Allied liberation of France in 1944.

General Charles de Gaulle, exceptional leader of the Free French during the war, returned as leader of France in 1958. He succeeded in stabilizing the nations politics, and finally reestablished effective national authority and legitimacy.

De Gaulles constitution creates a powerful presidency, key to long-term stability. A referendum in 1962 confirmed direct election of the president through universal suffrage. In 2000, a referendum reduced the presidential term from seven to five years.

In this century, the alliance with the U.S. has been strong. Immediately after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, French aircraft joined those of other NATO allies in patrolling the skies over North America. The struggle against al Qaeda and the Taliban represents a comprehensive collective enterprise, authorized and supported by the United Nations as well as the NATO alliance

De Gaulle was in power during President Dwight Eisenhowers second term. Ike developed good working rapport with the difficult French leader during the Second World War. While planning the Normandy invasion, some American and British air commanders argued against heavy bombing, which would kill many civilians.

General Eisenhower was able to turn to General de Gaulle to support the heavy bombing.

The Kennedy and Johnson administrations clashed with de Gaulles nationalist policies. In 1966, France withdrew from NATO. Fortunately, in 2009 the nation rejoined the alliance.

Current unrest in France has significant international implications.

Learn More: Stanley Hoffmann (Editor), In Search of France
By Richard W. Stevens. March 31, 2023

Mass murders in schools and public venues will certainly continue and get worse. Why? Because the factors push in one direction. Angry and disturbed people exist at the statistical margins who: (1) would just as soon commit suicide as live; (2) want revenge or attention; and (3) know they will never be meaningfully punished for any crime including mass murder. The prime directive for these dangerous actors is to kill in an infamous splashy way.

On March 28, 2023, the prime directive was accomplished perfectly. According to first-hand reports collected in The Independent (UK): A woman who called herself a man dressed up in faux street warrior gear, barged into a peaceful Christian school, and murdered three little kids and three adults in cold blood. Ball cap on backward and long gun drawn, the killer prowled the halls, anticipating no armed defensive resistance and facing none. Only later-arriving Nashville, TN, police stopped the murderer by shooting her.

Worldwide coverage of the shocking murder of innocent women and children flashed the (alleged!) killers name, picture, personal facts, and messages. The killer achieved the very goal she described shortly before attacking the school, when she messaged:

this is my last goodbye

One day this will make more sense

Ive left behind more than enough evidence behind. But something bad is about to happen.

Im planning to die today. THIS IS NOT A JOKE!!!!

Youll probably hear about me on the news after I die.

The killer was on the vector, planning to kill, to die, and to make headlines. [...] .....
China advances rural revitalization through industrial development

People's Daily Online) 14:10, March 30, 2023

By relying on agricultural and rural resources, multiple regions in China have promoted industrial development according to local conditions in recent years, laying a solid foundation for advancing rural revitalization.

The country fostered the development of rural industries and diversified channels to boost the income of farmers in 2022. Thanks to industrial development, the per capita disposable income of rural residents stood at 20,133 yuan ($2,927) last year, representing a growth rate of 4.2 percent.

Volunteers help pick and sell strawberries via livestreaming platform at a planting base in Banjing township, Rugao city, east Chinas Jiangsu province, Feb. 24, 2022. (Peoples Daily Online/Xu Hui)

This year, the country will build 40 new clusters of distinctive industries with a competitive edge, 50 national modern agricultural industrial parks, and 200 towns with strong agricultural industries, which will further cement the foundation for rural industries.

Shangqing township in Yingtan city, east Chinas Jiangxi Province has planted chestnuts on over 5,000 mu (333.3 hectares) of land, helping more than 1,200 farming households, including 53 erstwhile impoverished ones, increase their income.

Turning small chestnuts into a big business is not an easy achievement, said Tong Qingfeng, a major chestnut grower in the townships Shangqing village, who planted over 260 mu of chestnuts, with the annual output surpassing 50,000 kilograms.

Tong explained that it took a long time to transport chestnuts from the village due to poor road conditions in the past and there were frequent losses before chestnuts were sold because of a lack of cold-chain logistics. Growers also faced great pressure storing and transporting fresh chestnuts, which have a short shelf life.

The local government helped us solve these acute problems, Tong said, adding that the township has moved faster to shore up weak links in roads, logistics and other infrastructure and constantly improved the capacity for cold storage in recent years. As a result, fresh chestnuts can be sold throughout the whole year.

Workers sort and wrap pitaya at a factory in Dongfang city, south Chinas Hainan province. The city has strived to build a pollution-free production base for tropical fruits and create a brand for green agricultural products. (Peoples Daily Online/Yuan Chen)

The township serves as a vivid example of Chinas efforts to extend the agricultural industry chain. Chinas No. 1 central document for 2023 specified that the country would accelerate the building of cold chain logistics facilities for agricultural products in agriculture producing areas and improve the processing and distribution of agricultural products.

Last year, the operating revenue of agricultural product processing companies above the designated size in China exceeded 19.14 trillion yuan, up about 3.6 percent year on year. The country supported all types of business entities in building over 16,000 cold storage facilities for agricultural products in agriculture producing areas.

China has seen thriving new business forms in the agricultural sector such as contract farming, rural e-commerce and the live-streaming industry, and has fostered over 30,000 agriculture-related e-commerce stores. In 2022, online retail sales of agricultural products climbed 9.2 percent year on year to reach 531.38 billion yuan, 6.4 percentage points higher than the growth rate in 2021.

China has promoted the integrated development of agriculture with other industries including culture, tourism and healthcare. Over 300,000 entities running agri-tourism businesses had been established in the country since 2012, generating annual revenue of more than 700 billion yuan.

Hu Bingchuan, a researcher with the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, suggested promoting the high-quality development of rural tourism by preserving a sound ecological environment and unique rural culture.

An idyllic complex in Dutang village, Wuhan, capital of central Chinas Hubei Province, has attracted 3.8 million visits and realized tourism revenue of over 500 million yuan since its opening, providing jobs to more than 3,000 people.

Chinese people who have returned or moved to the countryside to start their own businesses or make innovations have boosted the drivers for the development of rural industries and helped create more channels for rural residents to find employment and increase their income. From 2012 to the end of 2022, 12.2 million people returned to their hometowns to start businesses.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
1. Yes. Police officers should be the only ones armed in the council chambers. Period.

2. Yes. Such a ban is allowed by state law, and the city council should consider it .

3. No. The possibility of violence is always present, but disarming everyone isnt the answer.

4. No. Its unwise to change the city ordinance based on one unfortunate incident.

5. Unsure. Some steps must be taken, but its hard to say if a gun ban is necessary.

Vote

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SHELTON  A fire Thursday morning destroyed a house in Shelton.

Shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday, the Shelton Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire in a single-family home on Cody Street in Shelton. The structure was fully engulfed when crews arrived on the scene, said Shelton Fire Chief Taryn Hawks. It took firefighters until 9:30 a.m. to have the blaze under control.

No one was injured, and the fire was contained to the home. The residence is believed to have been vacant for some time, reported Hawks.

Gibbon Volunteer Fire Department provided mutual aid at the scene. The Nebraska State Fire Marshal is assisting with the investigation into the cause of the fire.
The Legislature gave first-round approval to a bill creating a new office that would be responsible for coordinating the expansion of high-speed internet across Nebraska under a new federal program.

The bill (LB683) to create the Nebraska Broadband Office, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Suzanne Geist and prioritized by the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, advanced to the second round of consideration on a 43-2 vote Friday afternoon.

If the bill passes two more rounds of voting and is signed into law, the Nebraska Broadband Office and its new director would be responsible for directing up to $400 million in Broadband Equity, Access and Development (BEAD) funds allocated for the state.

While the office would be located inside the Nebraska Department of Transportation, the director of broadband would be appointed by and answer to the governor, Geist said.

That individual would be responsible for working with the Public Service Commission, state senators on the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, and internet service providers seeking to connect unserved and underserved areas to broadband internet.

On Friday, a small group of senators renewed their concerns about moving the responsibility for managing BEAD funds from the Public Service Commission  a regulatory body with five elected members  to an office controlled by the executive branch.

Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who along with Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue voted against advancing the bill, said the statements of some in support of the bill sounded like an attack and an assault on the Public Service Commission, which will continue to manage several state and federal broadband programs moving forward.

Cavanaugh introduced a series of amendments to limit the powers the governor would have under the bill and ensure the office be subject to the Nebraska Open Meetings Act  something supporters said it would be  but each of her amendments was defeated on Thursday and Friday.

Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte, addressing Cavanaughs amendments Friday, said constituents in his western Nebraska legislative district had lost faith in the Public Service Commission to connect them to broadband internet in an expedited way.

Im tired of waiting on the PSC, Jacobson said. Weve had new membership on the PSC, but the PSC has failed us, and its time for someone to take control of this, and the governor intends to do just that.

Jacobson said he was in favor of removing roadblocks to build out high-speed internet to areas without it, but Cavanaugh said she thought it was prudent to ensure government oversight over the spending of millions and millions of dollars.

We are giving massive amounts of money to the administration, Cavanaugh said. We should be responsible in how we do that and we should care about the potential for exploitation and weaknesses, and oversights in the process.

Geist took issue with that characterization and said the Nebraska Broadband Office would be subject to existing open government laws, and through an amendment drafted by the committee, would be required to file an annual report with the Legislature about the offices activities.

To say this is not transparent is absurd, said Geist, the chair of the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. Its the same way we treat every other agency, agency director and government.  It is so incredibly clear that this is covered by the (open) meetings act, so quit calling it not transparent, corrupt, irresponsible, and that there is no oversight. There obviously is.

Several senators, led by Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt, also took time to speak during debate on LB683 as part of a weekslong filibuster over another bill  LB574 from Sen. Kathleen Kauth, also from Omaha, that would prohibit anyone under 19 from seeking gender-affirming care in Nebraska  which consumed several hours Friday, which had been deemed a Trans Day of Visibility.

But shortly after noon, Geist introduced a motion to invoke cloture. It received 43 votes, well over the 33-vote threshold to shut off debate.

Geist said she planned to push her bill forward without any substantive changes, but said she would entertain an amendment to clear up the process for internet companies to file appeals on project proposals.

While the Public Service Commission has its own procedure for those appeals to play out, those issues would be decided by the Lancaster County District Court under LB683.

Several senators said they wanted to ensure those appeals could be considered and ruled on in a timely manner, and indicated they may draft an amendment before the bill comes back for a second round of floor debate.

Top Journal Star photos for March 2023
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg speaks at the 12th ROK-U.S. Alliance Forum, hosted by the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation (KUSAF) and the Korea Defense Veterans Association at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Newsis



Goldberg praises Yoon's efforts for reconciliation with Japan



By Lee Hyo-jin



The United States will continue to build extended deterrence and show its ironclad commitment to South Korea's security amid North Korea's growing provocations, according to U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Philip Goldberg, Thursday.



He made the remarks during the 12th ROK-U.S. Alliance Forum, hosted by the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation (KUSAF) and the Korea Defense Veterans Association, themed on the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.



"We are in discussions with the South Korean government about how to further reassure the Korean people and the government about our ironclad commitments, which includes an extended deterrence, our nuclear capability," Goldberg said in response to a question about his view on whether South Korea should develop its own nuclear capability in the face of the North's intensifying missile threats.



Extended deterrence refers to the commitment to use a full range of capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to deter attacks on allies. The U.S. has provided extended deterrence  also known as the nuclear umbrella  to South Korea since 1991, when it removed all of its nuclear assets from the Korean Peninsula.



However, the advancement of Pyongyang's nuclear and missile prowess has prompted doubts from many South Koreans about the U.S.' commitment to extended deterrence. Such skepticism has led to calls for Seoul to build its own nuclear weapons out of necessity or for the redeployment of American tactical nuclear weapons here.



The idea seems to be gaining stronger support, especially after North Korea on Tuesday revealed photos of its Hwasan-31, which appeared to be a miniaturized nuclear warhead.



Goldberg, who said that such opinions from the Korean public are "understandable given the threats and provocations from North Korea," did not directly comment on the issue.



However, in a press conference held last October, the top envoy made it clear that the U.S. opposes the redeployment of tactical nuclear arms in South Korea.



At Thursday's event, Goldberg highlighted that during the last 70 years, bilateral relationships between the two countries have expanded well beyond their traditional security relationship, to encompass business and industry, civil society, the arts, culture and academia.



"In 2023, it is also true to say that the character of our alliance has fundamentally changed. It is an exciting time in our bilateral relationship, as we redefine shared security with a comprehensive global partnership that addresses the full spectrum of emerging threats, while creating new opportunities to promote prosperity and democratic values," he said.



Regarding intensifying U.S.-China rivalry, Goldberg said, "We all want a better situation and a better conversation with China. But we also have to be realistic about what China is doing in the region."



He went on to say that Washington will not remain silent about issues such as Beijing's increasing threats against Democratic Taiwan and repression of ethnic minorities.



Meanwhile, he commented that the Korean president's efforts for reconciliation with Japan "deserves great credit," as it has created an atmosphere for trilateral relations between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.



"We understand that some of the issues between South Korea and Japan deal with a very painful period in Korean history. At the same time, we want to look to the future where two modern democratic countries can work together with the U.S. and with other democratic countries to further our mutual security."




A proposed constitutional amendment giving the Republican-controlled Legislature control over how to spend federal funds allocated to the state could soon be on its way to Wisconsin voters.

Voting along party lines, with all Democratic members opposed, the Assembly Ways and Means committee on Tuesday approved sending the measure to the Assembly. If approved by the full Legislature and voters in a future referendum, it would prohibit any executive branch official or department from allocating any federal dollars without first securing approval from a legislative committee, which would likely be the GOP-led budget committee.

Committee chair Rep. John Macco, R-Ledgeview, said the measure simply lets voters choose who should have final say over how federal funds are spent. Macco said hes hopeful the measure passes and allows the Legislature to reclaim the power of the purse from the governors office.

While the Legislature determines how state tax dollars are spent, the governor has long held the authority to distribute federal money. But Republicans have pushed for more control over how Democratic Gov. Tony Evers doles out such funds since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when billions in relief were being pumped into the state.

Rep. Samba Baldeh, D-Madison, described the measure as a pointless power grab, and joined his fellow Democratic members in raising concern that the proposed change could drastically limit the states ability to quickly allocate emergency funds, such as those provided during the pandemic. Republicans have said the change would increase accountability of those funds.

Rep. Tod Ohnstad, D-Kenosha, also worried that the amendment would almost certainly end up in court and further complicate future funding allocations. He noted the proposal suggests that all federal funds provided to the state, not just emergency dollars, could require legislative approval.

This is not clear to us, Ohnstad said of the proposal. This is certainly not going to be clear to the people who vote on this, I believe. I think it really leaves us in kind of a rough spot, waiting for lawyers to meet with judges and judges to determine how funds are going to be allocated.

The resolution passed the Legislature last session, securing 20-11 votes in the Senate and 60-36 in the Assembly. Constitutional amendments must pass the Legislature in two subsequent sessions before going to voters. The governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment, and any amendment to the language of the referendum would restart the process.

If it passes both chambers this session, the amendment would then go before voters in a statewide election, though not in time for Tuesdays ballot.

The Legislature passed laws in the 1930s handing over control of federal funds to the governors office as federal dollars flowed into the state near the end of the Great Depression, according to a report from the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau.

If approved, the resolution would ask two questions. The first would ask if the Wisconsin Constitution should be amended to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?

The second question would ask if the constitution should prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?

The proposed amendment has been supported by the Badger Institute, a Milwaukee-based conservative think tank, and opposed by the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards, Wisconsin Conservation Voters, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Wisconsin Education Association Council and the Wisconsin Public Health Association.
Oftentimes it seems that writing a book  or in Milton author Evie Yoder Millers case, a trilogy with individual titles of Shadows, Loyalties and Passages  would be challenging enough.

But Miller, a former UW-Whitewater professor, decided to produce audiobooks to accompany her trilogy, Scruples on the Line: A Fictional Series Set During the American Civil War. Miller said the audiobooks, released late last year, address a growing trend of multi-tasking book-lovers. They also help readers keep straight the many characters in her trilogy, which is historical fiction about Anabaptist groups during the Civil War.

I wanted more people to be familiar with these common citizens and what happened to them, Miller said. I wanted to adapt from my comfort zone in print books and make the stories more available by creating audiobooks.

Q: Can you start by telling me a little about your writing background? I also understand you taught at UW-Whitewater.

A: Yes, I taught there for 10 years. I went back to grad school at Ohio University in mid-life and earned a masters and Ph.D. in Creative Writing  Fiction. I was at Whitewater in 2000 and I retired from there in the spring of 2010. Thats when I focused on these books.

My first book had been historical fiction also, Eyes at the Window. It was about an infant in an Amish family in 1810 who was smothered to death. Someone was accused and the actual resolution didnt take place for another 50 years. Its set in Pennsylvania and Ohio. For my second book, I took my dissertation from when I was at Ohio University  we could write a creative fiction dissertation  and I self-published a book called Everyday Mercies. In that book of several generations of women on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, the daughter comes back and wants to convince her dad to raise vegetables instead of being a grain and livestock farmer.

Q: What is your connection to the Mennonite community?

A: My background is Mennonite. There are differences between Mennonites and Amish, but people tend to confuse them as being the same. Both of my parents had two years of college, which was fairly unusual for Mennonites. As a child, I mostly interacted with other Mennonite families and went to a Mennonite high school. That fits with living in a community that can be seen as private, isolationist or protectionist. I still am Mennonite, although when I was in grad school I enjoyed going to other denominational gatherings. That helped me gain perspective. There is a Mennonite church in Madison that Im a part of. Four of us readers for the audiobooks are members there.

Q: How does religion play a role in your trilogy, Scruples on the Line?

A: To make my books distinctive, I didnt want to focus on Civil War battles. My books are about common people who oppose warfare for religious reasons. I used the Civil War as the background chronology of the trilogy, but I wanted to show how religious pacifists lives were changed by the presence of armies in their locations or by war drafts and exemptions.

All five narrators struggled with the choices they faced; there were no easy answers. I chose characters from Mennonite, Amish and German Baptist groups of Anabaptists, a name for those who descended from or were originally part of those who broke away from Roman Catholics during the Reformation over issues like infant baptism and refusal to participate in war. For my trilogy, these characters lived in several locations: the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Chicago and southeastern Iowa.

Q: What is the plot throughout the trilogy?

A: So there is major conflict with Anabaptists coming to America from Europe and wanting to be peaceful people and not be involved in warfare. But both the North and the South in the Civil War needed men to fight. Many Anabaptists also had an internal argument because they believed in obeying the rules of government, but at the same time were asked to do things they had a conscience against. All kinds of results came from these conflicts. To further complicate things, both sides, North and South, thought God was on their side. You really cant take religion out of the Civil War if you want to understand it.

Q: When did the trilogy of books come out?

A: The first book came out in 2020, when the pandemic was just starting. The next two books came out in 2021, and the audiobooks came out in late 2022. I worked with a publisher, Wipf and Stock in Eugene, Oregon, for the print series and for the audiobooks. The audiobooks are on audible.com and iBooks, and were working to get them on a platform that distributes to libraries.

Q: What made you want to do an audiobook?

A: It became obvious to me that people were finding different ways of reading. Not everyone wants to sit and hold a book. Its part of the way our society has become  a multi-tasking approach to life. With the chapters of my trilogy being interwoven among the five narrators, and with a different family unit and a different geographic location for each narrator, it requires a lot for the reader to keep track of. Hearing one voice tell the stories of one narrator reduces the complication. Another advantage for audiobooks is that as children, we, hopefully, were told stories, and theres something pleasurable about that. Recorded voices also bring the emotions of characters to life.

Q: How does it work to create audiobooks? Did you all work together in a studio? Was there a lot of rereading to get things perfect?

A: At first we tried to set up a studio in a room of a church building, but we couldnt get it soundproof and there were issues with interruptions. I ended up choosing Audio for the Arts in Madison as our studio. The head engineer there became our fifth reader. He was an excellent addition as a professional reader. Each of us readers, as a book narrator, had his or her own set of characters and needed to decide what the tone and pace, etc., of each voice might sound like. That was a major part of the preparation that we five readers had to determine on our own or sometimes in group work.

As a novice voice actor, I had to give myself permission to sound angry or sarcastic or weepy in order to express that dramatically. Thats not just OK; its necessary for audiobooks. I always had someone listening to each of us as we recorded to make sure we followed the print script for accuracy. It took three months for all of us to get our chapters recorded for the three books. Then I listened to the chapters as another engineer prepared them for me, and I marked places that needed to be redone by each of us readers for clarity and smoothness. This part of the process was by far the most enjoyable for me  collaborating with the other readers and the engineers.

Q: Did the process take longer than you expected?

A: I really didnt know how long it would take to coordinate all the parts and produce the books. I think we were very efficient in that stage. Our audiobooks are distinctive also with brief musical interludes that provide bridges between most of the chapters. That took more time to produce, but now we have interludes from musicians at Madison Mennonite Church who recorded in the studio on piano, French horn, oboe, or by singing a vocal solo or humming. To go with the time period, we used old-timey hymns and a few war songs.

Q: What response have you gotten from the books?

A: I hear people comment that they appreciate all that they learned about the Civil War. Its true that most people know fairly limited parts about the Civil War itself. People also like the different voices, both the shifts from one reader to the next and also with the music. Civil War actions, like the burning in the Shenandoah Valley, are dramatic in themselves.

On top of that, theres suspense for each narrator. A listener might be wondering whats going to happen to them, based on others actions, but it also could be hearing the tensions in the voices of individuals struggling with their own choices.
WASHINGTON  Republican lawmakers on Thursday swiftly condemned the indictment of former President Donald Trump, lashing out at the Manhattan district attorneys office for what they called an unfair and politically motivated attack.

Outrageous, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted minutes after news outlets reported news of the Manhattan grand jurys vote.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., took a similar tone. The sham New York indictment of President Donald Trump is one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents, Scalise tweeted.

Democratic lawmakers, on the other hand, widely pointed to the need to treat everyone fairly under the law, even former presidents who are running for the White House.

No one is above the law, New York Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat tweeted, a phrase echoed by many liberal lawmakers.

And Colorado Democratic Rep. Jason Crow called it a somber moment for the nation: As we see this process unfold, I hope Americans can find faith in our judicial system and take heart in knowing justice benefits us all.

The Manhattan district attorneys office confirmed the indictment of the 76-year-old Trump, who was under investigation for his role in paying hush money to a porn actress.

The reaction from lawmakers underscored the lengths of Trumps continued sway over the Republican Party, even as the twice-impeached former president faces a burgeoning 2024 presidential primary and a special counsel investigation from the Justice Department.

In responding to the indictment, congressional Republicans found themselves on familiar ground: rushing to support Trump after he is accused of illegality or wrongdoing.

In statements and press releases, congressional Republicans sought to turn the attention toward Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, attacking his approach to violent crime and delivering broadsides against his offices investigation of Trump.

The unprecedented election interference from corrupt Socialist District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a political witch-hunt and a dark day for America, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the House Republican Conference chairwoman, said. The radical Far Left will stop at nothing to persecute Joe Bidens chief political opponent ahead of the 2024 presidential election to suppress the will and voice of the American people.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who lost to Trump in his push to become the Republican presidential nominee in 2016, tweeted that the Democrat Partys hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds.

House Republicans appear poised to fight back in whatever way they can. Hunter Biden: Call your lawyers, California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, tweeted.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California tweeted that Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.

The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account, McCarthy said.

Even before the formal indictment in New York, Republicans were turning their sights on Bragg, decrying his moves as politically motivated.

On March 20, several House Republican committee chairs issued a letter requesting documents and testimony from Bragg, asking for all communications between the Manhattan district attorneys office and the federal Justice Department related to his offices investigation of Trump.

The letter was signed by Jordan, Rep. Bryan Steil, chairman of the Committee on House Administration, and James Comer, who leads the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

The Republicans, who signed the letter before Trumps formal indictment, lambasted Bragg and characterized a possible indictment as motivated by political calculations.

In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision, the letter read.

Days later, the Manhattan district attorneys office issued a letter to the lawmakers, saying that their request is an unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution and an unlawful incursion into New Yorks sovereignty.

The Letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene. Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry, according to the letter, which was signed by Leslie Dubeck, general counsel for the district attorneys office.

The lawmakers sought nonpublic information about a criminal investigation thats pending, which is confidential under state law, Dubeck wrote in the letter.
Joe and Jodi Villacrez have opened the Bogs Edge Brewing Co. microbrewery at 3511 Blarney Road on the outskirts of Warrens, where Joe is making small batches of his own beer while also dispensing craft beers from small Wisconsin breweries at guest taps behind the taproom bar.

Bogs Edge opened March 2 near the Interstate 94 Warrens exit. Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Joe Villacrez has been serving his own beer on Saturdays and said its been quickly selling out. He expects to serve his own Belly Up Brown Ale.

He will be making and selling much more of his own beer once his three-barrel brewing system, which can make 100 gallons per batch, is up and running by fall.

Villacrez also has a three-acre vineyard and last year sold all of its grape juice to the St. Marys Distillery near Cashton.

I always wanted to start a winery, and I thought this (building) would be a good place for it, he said. It just didnt happen that way. My wife said You make good beer, why dont you open a brewery? So I went with that. Villacrez has been home brewing beer for more than 20 years.

Bogs Edge also sells canned soda pop and bottled water, along with popcorn and pretzels. Customers are welcome to bring food with them.

For more information, call 608-343-6708 or visit http://bogsedgebrewing.com or Facebook.
Oral arguments over whether to dismiss Democrats lawsuit challenging Wisconsins near-complete abortion ban are set for May 4, more than 10 months after Attorney General Josh Kaul first filed the case.

While the Dane County Circuit Court judge presiding over the lawsuit can rule from the bench that day, its possible that her decision on whether to allow the case to continue wont come out until the summer, dragging the case out to the year mark.

Democrats filed the lawsuit days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, activating an abortion ban first passed in 1849, though it has been amended several times since then.

The future of this case and other abortion-related issues will likely be decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which currently has a 4-3 conservative majority but could flip after Tuesdays election between liberal Janet Protasiewicz and conservative Dan Kelly.

In January, Kaul asked a Dane County judge not to dismiss the lawsuit after one of the three district attorneys named as defendants, Sheboygan District Attorney Joel Urmanski, asked for the opposite.

Kauls lawsuit alleges that a 1985 abortion law  which prohibits abortions after fetal viability but includes an exception to protect the mothers life or health  conflicts with the earlier, near-complete prohibition.

Kaul also alleges that the 1849 prohibition, which bans all abortions except those required to save the mothers life, isnt in effect because of a legal principle that laws may become unenforceable after a considerable period of disuse.

In December, Urmanski asked for a Dane County court to dismiss the case, saying the plaintiffs arent threatened by prosecution under the abortion ban theyre seeking to have a judge nullify. He also argued that the abortion laws Kaul mentioned do not, in fact, conflict.

Additionally, Urmanski said Kauls argument that the bans disuse means it lost its validity lacks merit.

If the Plaintiffs believe the statute lacks the consent of the governed, their appeal should be to the Legislature and the Governor to seek changes to the law, not this Court, he stated.

The other defendants, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, did not file motions to dismiss.

Attorneys representing Ozanne said Kauls claims dont represent a controversy that the courts can resolve. They also argued that Kauls lawsuit improperly seeks to limit Ozannes prosecutorial discretion.

Responding to Urmansis dismissal motion in a brief filed in January, Kaul wrote that Wisconsin precedent shows that government officers, including the attorney general, have standing when an issue is of vital concern ... to the entire public.

Kaul added that to succeed on his motion to dismiss, Urmanski must prove theres no way the lawsuit challenging the ban could succeed.

He comes nowhere close, Kaul wrote.

Kaul also wrote that Urmanski disputed his assertions of historical fact in his December response.

Urmanski cannot prevail at the motion-to-dismiss stage by disputing Plaintiffs assertions of historical facts and presenting his own, Kaul wrote. His disputes instead demonstrate that his motion must be denied and Plaintiffs disuse claim must proceed.
MILWAUKEE  A youth who was 15 when he shot and wounded eight people at Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa in 2020 was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison.

Xavier Sevilla, now 18, pleaded guilty in January to five counts of first-degree reckless injury with a dangerous weapon. Five other criminal counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Judge David Feiss granted Sevilla credit for three years time served. He also sentenced Sevilla to five years of extended supervision.

I think the community needs to know that when a horrific assault is committed against the community, even by a 15-year-old child, that there will be incredibly difficult and large criminal consequences, Feiss said.

Officers arrested Sevilla after stopping a car he was in. Prosecutors said investigators found a gun in the car with his fingerprints.

What I did was violent, what I did was unnecessary, what I did was wrong," Sevilla said in court. "I understand my actions have done irreversible harm to the community, the victims, their families and my own. I never want to cause pain like this again.

Sevilla will be incarcerated until he is 30 years old.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled last June that Sevilla should be tried in adult court despite being 15 at the time of the shooting.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  A formerly well-connected GOP donor was convicted Friday of enticing teenage girls with gifts, cash and money in exchange for sex.

A federal jury found Anton Tony Lazzaro, 32, guilty of seven counts involving commercial sex acts with five girls ages 15 and 16 in 2020, when he was 30 years old.

The charges carry mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years with a maximum of life in prison.

The jury will return to court Monday to determine what property the government can seize based on each conviction, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Lazzaro, who contends the charges against him were politically motivated, plans to appeal, a spokeswoman for his attorneys said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The unusual application of this federal sex trafficking statute to his activities is frighteningly broad, conflating what is nothing more than arguably an act of prostitution with federal sex trafficking, Stacy Bettison said. He believes he has strong grounds for appeal, and he will vigorously seek reversal of his conviction. Mr. Lazzaro trusts he will be vindicated."

His indictment led to the downfall of Jennifer Carnahan as chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota.

His co-defendant, 21-year-old Gisela Castro Medina, who formerly led the College Republicans chapter at the University of St. Thomas, pleaded guilty to two counts last year. She testified against Lazzaro.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that Lazzaro enlisted Medina, who he initially paid for sex, to recruit other teenagers  preferably minors  who were white, small, vulnerable or broken.

He wanted sex, and not just any sex, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda Williams said during closing arguments Friday. He wanted sex with minor girls under the age of 18. And he had a plan to get it.

Lazarro's attorney, Daniel Gerdts, argued that government's salacious prosecution was based on completely unfounded allegations.

The prosecution clearly disapproves of Mr. Lazzaros playboy lifestyle, Gerdts said. And frankly, as the father of three daughters, so do I. The opprobrium is well deserved, but that is not why were here.

Carnahan. the the widow of U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, resigned a week after the charges against Lazzaro were unsealed. She denied knowing about Lazzaro's crimes but his arrest prompted outrage among party activists.

Pictures on Lazzaros social media accounts showed him with prominent Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. He gave more than $270,000 to Republican campaigns and political committees over the years.
MILWAUKEE (AP)  A youth who was 15 when he shot and wounded eight people at a suburban Milwaukee mall in 2020 was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison.

Xavier Sevilla, now 18, pleaded guilty in January to five counts of first-degree reckless injury with a dangerous weapon. Five other criminal counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Judge David Feiss granted Sevilla credit for three years time served. He also sentenced Sevilla to five years of extended supervision.

I think the community needs to know that when a horrific assault is committed against the community, even by a 15-year-old child, that there will be incredibly difficult and large criminal consequences, Feiss said.

Officers arrested Sevilla after stopping a car he was in. Prosecutors said investigators found a gun in the car with his fingerprints.

What I did was violent, what I did was unnecessary, what I did was wrong," Sevilla said in court. "I understand my actions have done irreversible harm to the community, the victims, their families and my own. I never want to cause pain like this again.

Sevilla will be incarcerated until he is 30 years old.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled last June that Sevilla should be tried in adult court despite being 15 at the time of the shooting.
TALLINN, Estonia  Advertisements promise cash bonuses and enticing benefits. Recruiters are making cold calls to eligible men. Enlistment offices are working with universities and social service agencies to lure students and the unemployed.

A new campaign is underway this spring across Russia, seeking recruits to replenish its troops for the war in Ukraine.

As fighting grinds on in Ukrainian battlegrounds like Bakhmut and both sides prepare for counteroffensives that could cost even more lives, the Kremlin's war machine badly needs new recruits.

A mobilization in September of 300,000 reservists  billed as a partial call-up  sent panic throughout the country, since most men under 65 are formally part of the reserve. Tens of thousands fled Russia rather than report to recruiting stations.

The Kremlin denies that another call-up is planned for what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine, now more than a year old.

But amid widespread uncertainty of whether such a move will eventually happen, the government is enticing men to volunteer, either at makeshift recruiting centers popping up in various regions, or with phone calls from enlistment officials. That way, it can avoid declaring a formal second mobilization wave after the first one proved so unpopular, according to a recent report by the U.S.-based think tank Institute of the Study of War.

One Muscovite told The Associated Press that his employer, a state-funded organization, gathered up the military registration cards of all male employees of fighting age and said it would get them deferments. But he said the move still sent a wave of fear through him.

It makes you nervous and scared  no one wants to all of a sudden end up in a war with a rifle in their hands, said the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisal. The special operation is somewhat dragging on, so any surprises from the Russian authorities can be expected.

It's been more than a week since he handed in his card, he said, and exemptions usually get resolved in a day or two, heightening his anxiety.

Russian media report that men across the country are receiving summonses from enlistment offices. In most of those cases, men were simply asked to update their records; in others, they were ordered to take part in military training.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that serving summonses to update records in enlistment offices is usual practice and a continued undertaking.

Other unconfirmed media reports say authorities have told regional governments to recruit a certain number of volunteers. Some officials announced setting up recruitment centers with the goal of getting men to sign contracts that enable them to be sent into combat as professional soldiers.

Ads have appeared on government websites and on the social media accounts of state institutions and organizations, including libraries and high schools.

One of them, posted by a municipal administration in the western Yaroslavl region, promised a one-time bonus of about $3,800 to sign up, and if sent to Ukraine, a monthly salary of up to $2,500, plus about $100 a day for involvement in active offensive operations, and $650 for each kilometer of advancement within assault teams.

The ad said the soldier would also get tax and loan repayment breaks, preferential university admission status for his children, generous compensation for his family if he is wounded or killed in action, and the status of a war veteran, which carries even more perks.

In the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, officials asked universities, colleges and vocational schools to advertise for recruits on their websites, said Sergei Chernyshov, founder of a private vocational school there.

Chernyshov posted the ad on his social media account so that everyone knows what our city hall is up to, but he told the AP that he doesn't plan to put it on the school website. Its weird to target vocational school students, he said.

Other efforts include enlistment officials meeting with college students and unemployed men, or phoning men to volunteer.

A Muscovite who spoke on condition of anonymity for his own safety said that he received such a call and was surprised at how polite it was: After my No, there were no threats or (attempts to) convince me  (just) Thanks, goodbye.

Lawyer Alexei Tabalov, who runs the Conscripts School legal aid group, believes there's nothing unusual in authorities handing out summonses now. Some of the notices are traditionally served before Russia's spring conscription draft, scheduled to begin April 1 for those eligible for mandatory service.

All Russian men from age 18 to 27 must serve one year in the military, but a large share avoid the draft for health reasons or get student deferments. The share of men who avoid the draft is particularly big in Moscow and other major cities, and many simply evade enlistment officials bearing conscription summonses.

Tabalov said that men have reported going to enlistment offices to update their records but have officials there who beat around the bush and promote the idea of signing the contract, talk about how one should love their motherland and defend it.
President Joe Biden pledged during his visit to a Mississippi town ravaged by a deadly tornado vowed that the federal government is not leaving until the area is back on its feet. Last week's twister destroyed 300 homes and businesses in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, and nearby Silver City, leaving mounds of lumber, bricks and twisted metal. Hundreds of other structures were badly damaged. The death toll in the state stands at 21. Biden and first lady Jill Biden surveyed the damage, met with homeowners and first responders and got a briefing from federal and state officials.
Have you seen this fella waving on the windmill? He doesnt talk much, but he sure likes to wave. And he likes to be safe! (obviously) I really wish he talked more because I have so many questions. I mean, just by looking at him, he seems like a pretty happy-go-lucky fella, although he is missing his right foot. Where did it go? How long has he been climbing that windmill? Is he really the Don Quixote of Vernon County? Does his arm get tired from waving all the time? Do you wave back? I do. Every time. Whatever is happening here, I tell ya, when you cross over the county line, our waving fella friend sure makes you feel welcomed to Vernon County. Speaking of lines, sometimes I cross them. The county line, that is. Yes, I know boundaries are important and I solemnly swear on the hair on my chinny chin chin that I will respect them. You know though, sometimes boundaries shift as we grow and change and its up to us to establish that and communicate it when that happens. For Vernon County, it took awhile for the county to establish its boundaries. Vernon County is shaped like a short, fat hand with a stubby finger pointing to the East. But it wasnt always that way. Tell you what, Ill start telling you about the way it was before and work my way to nowadaysOK? OK.
An incumbent board supervisor and a former three-term board supervisor are facing off in a contested race for the the supervisor No. 2 seat on the Geneva Town Board on the Tuesday, April 4 spring general election ballot.

Incumbent Larry K. Kulik and challenger Gene L. Decker are vying for a two-year board term.

The Lake Geneva Regional News reached out to Kulik and Decker with candidate questionnaires in advance of election day to give voters a profile snapshot on their backgrounds, motivations for seeking office, and thoughts on what they believe to be the top pressing issues facing the community.

Their responses follow below:

Kulik

Name: Larry K. Kulik (Inc.)

Age: 67

Occupation: Fire Inspector Lake Geneva Fire Department 20 hours a week.

Address: W3768 S. Shore Dr., South Shore Lake Como.

Community involvement: Lake Como Lake Committee since 1996; Town of Geneva Lake Committee since 2008 (recording secretary); Lake Geneva Fire Department, 2000-2012 and 2021-now; Currently serving as Supervisor #2 on the town board since December 2020.

Previous elected experience: Elected and served 2 years on the Town of Geneva board 2010-2012.

Why do you want to be a member of the board: I want to represent my neighborhood on the board. Currently the board is comprised of two supervisors who reside in the Como Subdivision, one who lives in the Geneva National Subdivision, I live on the south side of town, and our Chairman who lives in the northern sector of the town. All areas of the town are properly being served on the board. Its the best mix Ive seen since Steve Kukla served on the board six years ago.

What are two of the biggest issues you are concerned about in the community: A) Lake Como itself is my priority. When dredging will eventually be performed in parts of the lake, how will that project be paid? I would like to see a Lake District come back to take care of that. Only parcels that are in the actual watershed of Lake Como would fund the district.

B) Zoning/building inspection. I believe the town needs Village Powers. Our town is under county jurisdiction for zoning purposes, and they only have so many people to cover a huge county. I believe our taxpayers would be better served by having our own people. We currently contract our building inspector; its costing us more than having our own employee. It may be time to reconsider this.

Anything else you want to add: When I moved here in 1984 there were no more than 25 piers on the LCBPOA lakefront property (the north shore of beautiful Lake Como). Today there are 142. There are 30 municipalities in Walworth County. The Town of Geneva is ranked number 5 in assessed value behind 1) Town of Linn 2) City of Lake Geneva 3) Village of Fontana and 4) Town of Delavan. Its time for us and all the municipalities to considered shared services. To consider combining governments at the local level. I believe this has stopped being a sleepy little town and we need to have our local government act like it. I retired from AT&T after 30 years in 2009, went back in 2012 and left for good in 2020.

Decker

Name: Gene L. Decker

Age: 76

Occupation: Retired since 2004 from Morton Salt  VP of Operations and Engineering.

Address: W4159 Hemlock Dr., Lake Geneva, WI 53147

Community involvement: Chair of Finance Committee, chair of Lakefront Committee, member of Pier Committee, Lake Como Beach Property Owners Association. Treasurer, Executive Committee member, Tree House Child and Family Center in Elkhorn. Food buyer/transporter for Lake Geneva Food Pantry.

Previous elected experience: Served three terms as supervisor, Town of Geneva, ending in 2017.

Why do you want to be a member of the board: I have been off the board for six years but I keep up to date through meeting attendance. I have a list of six issues on subjects that never seem to get addressed, and I would like to redirect the boards attention toward addressing a few of those issues.

What are two of the biggest issues you are concerned about in the community: One issue is the towns assessor. The newest assessor has been in place eight years and is not an improvement. Houses/businesses/structures have not been assessed for at least 12 years. Every re-assessment simply revalues the cost of land and ignores the house and any newer improvements! Recent sales information takes forever to be reflected in assessed values. I could go on and on! Its time to interview potential assessors and select someone who is capable of a logical assessment.

The second issue would address replacing the Rosen Spillway with a structure that alleviates spring flooding, while retaining the water levels of Lake Como during the dry late summer months. This does not require massive funding!

Anything else you want to add: I believe that I would bring some much needed financial expertise to the current board. The current board nearly passed a 2023 budget that would have resulted in expenditures exceeding revenue by $800,000 (20% of the entire budget) if an error in our appraised value had not been identified and corrected.

In 42 Photos: Black Point Estate and Gardens, Lake Geneva, Summer 2022 Black Point Bedroom 2.jpg Black Point Estate Bedroom Black Point: Catherina Seipp (1846-1920) Black Point: Conrad Seipp portrait Black Point: Conrad Seipp photograph Black Point: Emma Seipp Schmidt Black Point Estate Tower Black Point Estate Grounds Black Point Flower Bed Black Point Garden Beds Black Point Gift Shop Black Point Guests Stroll Grounds Black Point: Headboard Detail Black Point Hillside View, Approaching From Geneva Lake Black Point View From Geneva Lake Black Point Medicine Cabinet Black Point Paving Bricks.jpg Black Point: Seipp Beer Bottles Black Point: Seipp Beer Bottles 2 Black Point: Seipp Beer Bottles 3 Black Point: Seipp family photo Black Point: Side View Showing Verandas Black Point: Site Director David A. Desimone Black Point: Table Scene Black Point: Billiard Room Black Point: Group Outing Visit Black Point: Music Room Black Point: Parlor 2 Black Point: Parlor Black Point: Billiard Room 2 Black Point: Tower View of Geneva Lake in the Early Evening Black Point: Dining Room Black Point: Early Evening View of Geneva Lake from Tower Black Point: Amy Bachtell of Hartland Taking Picture of Flowers Black Point: Stained Glass in Music Room.jpg Black Point: Staircase Black Point Estate Tower with Blue Sky Black Point: View from Second Story Wrap-Around Veranda Black Point: Wardrobe Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. ad 2 Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. ad 1 Artist's view of Chicago's Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. facility
A Big Balloon Build event was held from March 23 through March 26 at Covenant Harbor Christian Camp and Retreat Center, Jackson Family Activity Center, 1724 W. Main St. in Lake Geneva.

The event featured 75 balloon artists from throughout the world creating nature balloon scenes using about 120,000 balloons at the activity center. The theme for the event was "Inspired by the Great Outdoors."

The Big Balloon Build was hosted by Wisconsin Balloon Decor in Lake Geneva as a fundraiser for Inspiration Ministries in Walworth.

Sara Meyer, owner of Wisconsin Balloon Decor, said she is impressed with the designs that the balloon artists created for the nature-themed scenes.

"It's incredible to see the designs on paper come to life. It's so accurate and so specific," Meyer said. "It turned out how it was designed, which was great."

Representatives from Inspiration Ministries collected non-perishable food items for the Chapel on the Hill Food Pantry and Walworth County Food & Diaper Bank during general admission tours March 25 and March 26.

The artists began working on the nature balloon scenes March 20 and completed the designs early March 23.

"A lot of talented people pulled this off really quickly," Meyer said.

Lake Geneva is the third city in the United States to host a Big Balloon Build. Similar events have been held in England, Scotland and Canada.

Meyer said she is excited that Lake Geneva was able to host a Big Balloon Build event.

"I'm very proud. I think we have the perfect community to host something like this," Meyer said. "It is better than I could have imagined."
Helga Zepp-LaRouche Addresses High-Level Peace Conference in Berlin on the Path Forward

March 30, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)On March 27, a conference took place in Berlin, Dialogue Instead of WeaponsNonpartisan Action against the War. It was organized by the East German Advisory Board of Associations (OKV), founded in 1994.

The initial impetus to hold the conference came on Jan. 30 via two open letters to the Russian Embassy in Berlin by former officers in the G.D.R. National Peoples Army, Maj. Gen. Sebald Daum (ret.) and Lt. Gen. Manfred Gratz (ret.), who on Jan. 31 urged for like-minded associates to become active and to publicly counter the campaign to hold Russia entirely responsible for the war in Ukraine. Their open letters and call created a lot of support and interest not only in Germany, but also among retired military in France.

The meeting was convened to help create a new peace movement across party affiliations and ideological differences. The organizers stressed that it is not enough to call for peace, but to demand peace with Russia, which means ending the U.S./NATO war in Ukraine and its potential enlargement to the rest of Europe, but also to stop the deindustrialization of Germany by the U.S.

While the nationwide transport strike that day and illness among some key speakers prevented quite a few from attending, nevertheless there were some 100 participants. In the end, those participating accepted a joint resolution for Dialogue Instead of WeaponsPeace with Russia.

Among the key speakers were: Chairman of the German Peace Council, Gerhard Fuchs-Kittkowski; peace activist, physics Prof. Joachim Wernicke; writer, and famous former G.D.R. spy in NATO headquarters Rainer Rupp; economist, research fellow WeltTrendsPotsdamer Wissenschaftsverlag, former NVA Col. Prof. Wilfried Schreiber (ret.); author, former Bundeswehr officer, Wolfgang Effenberger. Helga Zepp-LaRouche, who was presented as chairwoman of the Civil Rights Movement Solidarity party (BuSo), keynoted the second part of the program, speaking on Peace with RussiaFor a New Global Security and Development Architecture. Quite a few people appreciated getting to know her personally at this occasion, and some were happy to correct slander-based assumptions.

The proceedings, including submitted speeches and background material, are being publicized now by the OKV organizers. RT.de covered wrote a detailed summary of the event; Chinese TV attended.

The conference resolution, Dialogue Instead of WeaponsPeace with Russia, is as follows:

We, the participants of our forum today, call upon all peace-loving people to join our protest against war and for a just peace.

In the great danger in which our peoples currently find themselves, we no longer have time to argue about party political differences and different socio-political orientations. Instead, we must focus on what unites us!

The future of our children and grandchildren and the preservation of human life on our Earth require that Germany and its economy do not fall victim to a policy of Western rules-based order that wants to destroy Russia and is preparing for war against China.

The U.S. and NATO are standing with their military might on Russias borders, arming Taiwan against China, and thus threatening the security of the Russian Federation and the Peoples Republic of China.

This policy is accompanied by economic, financial and media wars, sanctions in violation of international law, and misinformation, combined with dismantling of democracy and freedom of expression.

Double standards characterize the rules-based world order of the West. In truth, it is an imperial war policy under the leadership of the U.S.A. For this, the people pay a toll in blood and lose their hard-won social achievements. Since 1999, when the war of aggression against the rest of Yugoslavia was launched in violation of international law, the U.S.A. has mandated its own war operations in accordance with its so-called rules-based international order.

The war in Ukraine, planned for the long term and started in 2014 at the latest, is also before our eyes on a daily basis.

Germany, as a warring party, is contributing to the further escalation of this war with arms deliveries, money and military training on the front line. It is arming, making the population ready for war and persecuting peace activists. It is fomenting hostility against Russia with hatred and incitement. The government violates its oath of office [Article 56 of the Basic Law ... dedicated to the welfare of the German people ... to avert it from coming to harm] and violates the most important obligation of the Basic Law: the peace commandment [Article 26GG]. This policy leads to a world war, which will know no winners.

Therefore

 we raise our voice to stop the war spiral,

 we protest against the German support for the prolongation of the war

 and demand an end to this course of war through a just peace that guarantees Russias security and a peaceful anti-fascist Ukraine without NATO.

Lets not wait until it is too late again!

We see our event as a further voice for peace, so that it becomes stronger and gains broad power.

Berlin, March 27, 2023
What does a small school in the American state of Florida have to do with the famous Italian statue of David in Florence, Italy?

Well, the mayor of Florence and the museum where David is housed recently invited parents, students and the former principal of the school to visit.

The invitation came after some parents were upset when their sixth-grade children at Tallahassee Classical School saw a photo of the statue during an art class. Sixth graders are 11 or 12 years old.

Renaissance artist Michelangelo completed the 5-meter-tall statue of David in 1504. The famous work shows the Bible story of David getting ready to fight Goliath. David is represented without clothing and armed with a sling over his shoulder and a rock in his hand.

Two Florida parents said, under school policy, they should have been warned that their children were going to see the image of Davids statue without clothing. A third parent called the statue pornographic  or overly sexual.

The principal of Tallahassee Classical school in Florida said she was asked to leave her job as a result. But school leaders claimed it was one of several reasons for her removal. The private school follows a program of studies designed by a conservative Christian college.

Cecilie Hollberg is the director of the Italian museum in Florence. She told the Associated Press, To think that David could be pornographic means truly not understanding the contents of the Bible, not understanding Western culture and not understanding Renaissance art.

Visitors coming to see David

The statue of David is the main reason thousands of people visit the museum, called Galleria dellAccademia, every day. Following the controversy, visitors, including many Americans, arrived in large numbers this week to see the statue.

Isabele Joles was there with a school group from the U.S. state of Ohio. She studies French and Italian art. Its part of history, she said. I dont understand how you can say its porn.

Brian Stapley is from Seattle, Washington. He said he was sad for the schools children. He called the statue one of the most incredible parts of our history, and said he feels sorry for the children that dont get to see it.

Back in Florida, the local newspaper in Tallahassee reported a large crowd came out to a school board meeting on Monday night. Some parents disagreed with the decision of the school leaders to remove the principal. And the board chairman rejected a request from a teacher to resign.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

_________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

former adj. a person who does not hold a position or title anymore

principal n. the leader of a school

upset adj. the feeling of being hurt or angry

grade n. a year in school

sling n. a small weapon made from animal skin used to throw a rock

principal n. the leader of a school

controversy n. something that has may people concerned or upset

incredible adj. something hard to believe

board n. a leadership or advisory group for a school, university or business

________________________________________________________________

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Hundreds of artificial intelligence experts and industry leaders are urging for a suspension in development of some AI technology. They say that the most powerful AI technology could present extreme risks to humanity and social order.

The group released an open letter about the issue this/last week. It referenced the recent release of a fourth version of the popular AI program ChatGPT.

We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than" ChatGPT-4, the letter says.

The product comes from Microsoft-backed developer OpenAI. It performs human-like discussions and creative abilities.

"Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable," the letter continues.

The non-profit group Future of Life Institute released the letter signed by about a thousand AI scientists, experts and industry members, including Elon Musk.

The Musk Foundation is the main financial backer of Future of Life. It also receives money from the London-based group Founders Pledge, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Elon Musk is one of the co-founders of OpenAI. His electric car company, Tesla, uses AI in models with self-driving systems.

Musk has been critical about efforts to regulate the self-driving system. But, now, he is hoping an agency is created to make sure the development of AI serves the public.

"It is ... deeply hypocritical for Elon Musk to sign on given how hard Tesla has fought against AI regulation in his self-driving cars, said James Grimmelmann. He is a professor of digital and information law at Cornell University.

Last month, Tesla had to recall from owners more than 362,000 of its U.S. vehicles. The company had to update software after U.S. regulators said the driver assistance system could cause crashes. At the time, Musk tweeted that the word "recall" for a software update is "just flat wrong!"

However, Grimmelmann did not disagree with the idea of a temporary break. "A pause is a good idea, he said, but the letter is vague and doesn't take the regulatory problems seriously."

The letter suggests shared safety measures could be developed during the proposed suspension. It also calls on developers to work with policymakers on governance.

The letter noted danger linked especially to human-competitive intelligence.

The writers ask, Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmartand replace us?" They also say that such decisions should not be made by unelected tech leaders."

Yoshua Bengio, often described as one of the "godfathers of AI," was also a signer. Stuart Russell, a lead researcher in the field, put his name on the letter as well. Business leaders who signed include Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque.

The concerns come as U.S. lawmakers begin to question ChatGPTs effect on national security and education. The European Union police force warned recently about the possible misuse of the system in phishing attempts, disinformation and crime.

Gary Marcus is a professor at New York University who signed the letter. He said development should slow until more is learned. "The letter isn't perfect, but the spirit is right: we need to slow down until we better understand the technology, he said.

Since its release last year, ChatGPT has led other companies like Google to create similar AI systems.

Suresh Venkatasubramanian is a professor at Brown University and former assistant director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

He said that a lot of the power to create these systems is usually in the hands of a few large companies.

"That's how these models are, they're hard to build and they're hard to democratize."

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters.

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Words in This Story

confident  adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

positive  adj. good or useful

regulate  v. to make rules or laws that control

hypocritical  adj. a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs

vague  adj. not clear in meaning

recall  v. to remember from the past

phishing  n. the practice of sending emails pretending to be from real companies in order to get individuals to reveal personal information
The popular television series, The Last of Us, is based on a video game series with the same name. In it, teenager Ellie and middle-aged man Joel are survivors of a disastrous pandemic. They travel together across an extremely dangerous, violent America to try to reach safety. A fungal infection has destroyed much of humanity. Ellie is immune and may be the only hope to develop a vaccine.

During their travels, they often have to fight murderous zombies, security forces and robbers. Along the way, Ellie finds a book of word jokes, called puns. She reads some of the puns to Joel, who does not think they are so funny.

Today, we will explore three kinds of puns from Ellies book, their meanings, and how puns are created.

What are puns?

A pun is a kind of figurative language that uses a play of similarly sounding or similarly spelled words to create humor. Puns are used in writing but we also hear them in everyday speech.

Three kinds of puns are based on the difference between the sounds, spellings, and meanings of the words used.

Homophonic puns

The first kind of pun is made with homophones or words that sound the same or very similar but have different meanings and spellings.

In The Last of Us, Ellie shares a pun about a mermaid in math class:

What did the mermaid wear to math class? An algae bra!

Here the play on words is the homophones "algae bra and algebra. A bra is a piece of clothing. Algae are water plants. And algebra is a kind of math.

It is funny to picture a mermaid going to math class to study algebra in her algae bra.

Although Joel does not find that pun funny, Ellie thinks it is hilarious.

Homographic puns

The next type of pun is a homographic pun. If words are homographic, they are spelled the same, but have different meanings.

Ellie reads Joel another pun out of her book. This time it is a homographic one!

I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went And then it dawned on me.

Here the pun is with the word dawn. The first meaning of dawn as a verb is to grow lighter as the sun rises in the morning. If someone would stay up all night, they would see the dawn.

The next meaning of dawn is to begin to think or understand something. If something dawns on you, you think about it in the moment. If someone is staying up all night and thinking about something, they might realize it in the morning, or it might dawn on them.

Compound puns

And lastly, we have compound or double puns. Compound or double puns have two plays on words within the same pun. The puns could be homophonic, homographic or both!

When Ellie first finds the book of puns, she starts off with this double pun:

It doesnt matter how much you push the envelope; itll still be stationery.

This pun includes the idiom to push the envelope, which means to go beyond the usual or acceptable limits by doing something new, dangerous, or divisive.

An envelope is also something that contains a letter for mailing.

The second half of the pun includes the word stationery. Stationery is equipment used to write letters, including pens, paper and, yes, envelopes.

There is another word that sounds the same, but has a different meaning, stationary ending in -ary instead of an -ery. Stationary, -ary, is an adjective that means still or without movement.

When we first hear this pun, because speakers understand the idiom to push the envelope they think the joke is going to go one way. Then they hear the second half of the pun, and they realize it is about literal envelopes, this is where the double meaning comes in.

No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationary.

The first meaning is that the envelope will not physically move, by using the adjective stationary that ends in -ary.

No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery.

The second meaning uses the plural noun of stationery that ends in -ery, the letter writing materials. The meaning of this pun is that we cannot change envelopes because they will always be included in a box of stationery.

Final thoughts

In todays Everyday Grammar report, we learned about three kinds of puns. One is homophonic. It uses words that sound alike, but have different meanings. Another kind of pun is homographic, meaning words spelled the same, but having different meanings. The final kind are the double puns or compound pun. Compound puns use two or more puns into one to create multiple meanings.

Are you like Joel, who does not find much humor in the puns? Or are you like Ellie, who gets a good laugh at these jokes?

Let us know! Or tell us if you know other puns in English! Write to us in the comments or send us an email, learningenglish@voanews.com .

Im Faith Pirlo.

And I'm Caty Weaver.

Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

fungus  n. a kind of plant without leaves that gets its food from other living or delaying things

zombie  n. a dead body that walks around, as portrayed in fictional stories

figurative  adj. used with a meaning that is different from the basic meaning

mermaid  n. an imaginary sea creature that has a woman's head and body and a fish's tail instead of legs

hilarious  adj. very funny

dawn  v. to grow lighter as the sun rises in the morning; to begin to think or understand something

envelope  n. an enclosing cover for a letter, card  at the Academy Awards, the winning name is written on a card in an envelope.

stationery  n. paper that is used for writing letters and that usually has matching envelopes

controversial  adj. causing a lot of disagreement or argument

literal  adj. following the ordinary or usual meaning of the words

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Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz insisted the coffee chain hasnt broken labor laws and is willing to bargain with unionized workers during an often testy, two-hour appearance before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
Michael Pal (University of Ottawa - Common Law Section) & Luka Ryder-Bunting have posted Citizenship and the First-Generation Limitation ((2022) 45:1 Dalhousie Law Journal 159) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This article considers the current Canadian regime for citizenship by descent and what is known as the first-generation limitation. In 2009, Parliament legislated to limit the transmission of citizenship by descent. Known as the first-generation limitation, the new rules mean that a Canadian parent is only entitled to pass on their citizenship to their children born abroad if the parent themselves became a citizen by birth inside Canada or by naturalization. In other words, if an individual acquired Canadian citizenship by descent, they are not entitled to pass on their citizenship to their children unless those children are born in Canada. The imposition of the first-generation limitation was controversial, as it is much more restrictive than the previous Canadian rules or those in many comparable jurisdictions. This article outlines the operation of the current Canadian rules around citizenship, analyzes the first-generation limitation, and sets out relevant international comparisons. In evaluating the current legal regime in light of debates about the principles of jus soli, jus sanguinis, and jus nexi, we conclude that the current legal regime is overly restrictive. There are potential alternatives that would better meet the underlying values of Canadian citizenship law. Building on the foundations of jus soli, jus sanguinis, and jus nexi, we have identified three main policy options that respond to the tensions raised by the indefinite transmission of citizenship by descent in Canada: (1) a parental residency exception; (2) an adapted naturalization application, and (3) a birth registration exception. In our assessment, any of these three options would be preferable to the status quo or the pre-2009 rules.
Natsu Taylor Saito (Georgia State University College of Law) has posted A Pedagogy of Liberatory Belonging: Learning From Charles R. Lawrence III (University of Hawaii Law Review, Vol. 44, 2022) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Professor Charles R. Lawrence IIIs pedagogy is described here through the themes of belonging, trespassing, uncovering, and emerging whole. His considerable powers of persuasion have opened many doors, expanding who participates in educational institutions, what is taught, and how it is taught. He recognizes, however, that even as people of color have been allowed into mainstream institutions, we are still constructed trespassers. In response, many urge us to acculturate and assimilate. Professor Lawrence, however, recognizes the psychic damage that can result from covering ourselves in this manner and encourages us, instead, to trespass boldly. Ultimately, through his preaching and practice, he offers a pedagogy built upon the gifts that people of color, as outsiders, can bring to the struggle for a better world; gifts that can help everyone to emerge whole.
Country

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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
As Taiwans leader began a stopover in the United States on her way to Central America, China said it was closely watching developments and would resolutely safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and portrays the self-governing island democracy of 23 million people as the most sensitive issue in its increasingly fraught relationship with the U.S.

Yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated Chinas furious objections to any interactions between Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. officials.

China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan, Mao told reporters at a daily briefing. China will continue to closely follow the situation and resolutely safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

China has particularly warned that a meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy planned for April 5 in Los Angeles would bring a strong but as yet unspecified response.

In August, Beijing responded to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan by launching missiles, deploying warships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait and simulating a blockade of the island. China also temporarily suspended dialogue with the U.S. on climate and other major issues and restricted military-to-military communication with the Pentagon.

Tsais visit aims to show that Taiwan still has allies, despite Chinas military threats and attempts to isolate it diplomatically. Most recently, the Central American state of Honduras switched relations from Taipei to Beijing, leaving Taiwan with just 13 formal diplomatic allies.

Tsai is expected to meet with the American Institute in Taiwan chair, Laura Rosenberger. AIT is the U.S. government-run nonprofit that carries out unofficial relations with Taiwan.

While the U.S. terms relations with Taiwan as unofficial, it remains the islands chief source of military hardware and cooperation. U.S. law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of grave concern, but does not explicitly say whether the U.S. would commit troops.

Tsai arrived in New York yesterday [Macau time] and was scheduled to spend one day in the city, but few details of the trip were made public.

The U.S. typically foregoes any official meetings with senior U.S. leaders in Washington for transit stops, as is the case for Tsais visit.

The latest spike in tensions comes months after the passage of what the U.S. said was a Chinese spy balloon across the U.S., which heightened questions about Chinas intentions. China says it was a research balloon that was blown off course, but the Biden administration ordered it shot down over the east coast and canceled a planned visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China in the wake of the incident.

Along with Taiwan and frictions over trade, technology and human rights, Chinas close ties with Russia and its refusal to criticize Moscows invasion of Ukraine have also increased friction between Washington and Beijing.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week, underscoring the warmth of the no-limits relationship between the two authoritarian states announced just weeks before Russias year-old invasion.

China has provided Russia with an economic lifeline by buying up the oil-rich countrys resources. U.S. officials say theyve seen indications Beijing is considering selling military hardware to Moscow, although they say there is no evidence that has happened yet.

Days after Xis visit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The Associated Press he hoped to meet with Xi in Kyiv. China, which has put forward a peace proposal that says nothing about Russia withdrawing from Ukrainian territory it has seized, gave no immediate response about whether such a visit would take place.

Also yesterday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei said Xi and Putin had reached a number of important new points of consensus during their Moscow meetings, laying out a blueprint for the future of relations.

Strategic communication and practical cooperation between the two militaries have never ceased moving toward a higher level, Tan said at a monthly briefing.

While Tan repeated Chinas stance that its relations with Russia do not constitute a formal alliance and were not aimed at any third parties, the two have increasingly aligned their foreign policies in a challenge to the dominance of global affairs by the U.S. and other democracies.

He also pledged regular joint air and sea patrols, exercises and training as the sides work together to implement global security initiatives (and) jointly safeguard international fairness and justice.

China has been steadily building up its 2-million-member armed forces  already the worlds largest standing military  as well as latest-generation fighter jets, aircraft carriers and highly capable warships. MDT/AP
The Transport Bureau (DSAT) is open to regulating substitute driver services, bureau director Lam Hin San said yesterday on the sidelines of a parliamentary meeting.

Substitute driver services involve the provision of a replacement driver to drive a private car when the owner has consumed alcoholic drinks or when they feels too fatigued to drive.

Recently, a fatal car accident took place involving a motorcycle and a car bearing the logo of a driver replacement service.

In light of this incident, the question of regulating similar services was raised. To which, Lam assured that the bureau would humbly listen to social discussions on regulating the service and its road safety.

He then resorted to the lack of similar regulations in nearby places to hint that local regulations will only be available at a suitable time in the future.

He also believed that there is no breach of law by the service. He believes insurance and legal responsibilities in accidents can be clarified, adding that the driver will be held responsible for any accident.

Lam emphasized that pursuant to the Road Transport Law and the Taxi Law, substitute driver services do not constitute illegal car hiring. He cited the fact that illegal car hiring uses drivers own vehicles, while substitute driver services use customers vehicles.

When asked about the governments lack of preparedness for the easing of traffic near the Pearl of the Orient area, Lam blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the impression, which he regards as a misapprehension, of congestion having become more serious.

Near 20 years ago, when the idea of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge was first discussed, public submissions had already suggested that the government to prepare for a possible escalation of traffic congestion in the area.

On roadside parking license, the government will either temporarily extend existing contracts or open a short-term tender to cope with the new law currently being developed at the parliament.
A fire broke out on a ferry in the southern Philippines and raged overnight for eight hours, killing at least 31 of the approximately 250 passengers and crew, officials said yesterday.

Many of the more than 200 people who survived the blaze jumped off the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 and were rescued from the dark sea by the coast guard, navy, a nearby ferry and local fishermen, said Gov. Jim Hataman of the southern island province of Basilan. Rescuers were still searching for at least seven missing people, he said.

Hataman said the burned ferry was towed to Basilans shoreline, where the bodies of 18 of the 31 victims were discovered in a budget section of the passenger cabin.

These victims perished on board due to the fire, Hataman said by telephone. He said more people may have been on the ferry who were not listed on its manifest.

The ferrys skipper, however, told coast guard officials that he tried to run the burning ferry aground on the nearest shore to allow more people to survive or be rescued, regional coast guard commander Rejard Marfe said. The fire raged for about eight hours, he said.

The ferry was traveling to Jolo town in Sulu province from the southern port city of Zamboanga when it caught fire off Basilan close to midnight, Hataman said. At least 23 passengers were injured and taken to hospitals.

Some of the passengers were roused from their sleep due to the commotion caused by the fire. Some jumped off the ship, Hataman said.

The steel-hulled ferry could accommodate up to 430 people and was not overcrowded, Marfe said. According to the manifest, it was carrying 205 passengers and a 35-member crew, he said. In addition, it had a security contingent consisting of four coast guard marshals and an unspecified number of soldiers who were not listed on the manifest for their protection, Marfe said.

He said officials are investigating whether the 33-year-old ferry was seaworthy, if there were passengers not listed on the manifest, and whether the crew properly guided passengers to safety.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippines because of frequent storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding, and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.

In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the worlds worst peacetime maritime disaster. JIM GOMEZ, MANILA, MDT/AP
* Turbulence

 Taiwans Tsai transcontinental trip to Latin America, via US, has all ingredients to be a bumpy one. But despite warnings of retaliation from Beijing, Premier Li tempered the rhetoric in Boao by saying, Chaos and conflict must not happen in Asia

* Real estate | End of travel restrictions helps revive property market

* Taste of Edesia

* Building at Calcada do Gaio resumes construction, Guia Lighthouse protection group protests to UNESCO

* Aviation industrys chief task is to restore pre-pandemic volume: Pun

* The current operation of the light rail is stable, providing around 32,000 trips per week, Secretary Rosario said

* The Conversation

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Friday, March 31, 2023  edition no. 4219
Sasa is set to open between five and seven new stores across Hong Kong and Macau this year, after its network in the cities shrank by a third in the past three years to about 80 stores due to border closures.

Chief financial officer Danny Ho said that city also faces long-term challenges, including Chinese consumers shifting to buying more online and the rise of rival shopping hubs in Macau and on the duty-free island of Hainan, according to a report issued by The Straits Times.

In anticipation of a slow return of tourists, Sasa has been shifting its focus to local consumers, including selling more personal care products such as shampoo and shower gel in addition to the cosmetics and skincare products typically favoured by tourists, Ho said.

Were making sure that we expand to other channels, Ho said. While more tourists will come back to Hong Kong, we have quite a conservative outlook, so we are not banking on that.

Both SARs have recorded a plunge in tourist arrivals amid Chinas strict zero-Covid strategy, leading to low retail sales in both cities. LV
MEXICO CITY  A Mexican court on Thursday issued arrest orders for six people in relation to the fire that killed 39 migrants at a detention facility earlier this week in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, according to the federal prosecutor leading the investigation.

Sara Irene Herrerias said the six include three officials from the National Immigration Institute, two private security guards contracted by the agency and the person accused of starting the fire. Herrerias said five of the six have already been arrested and they will face charges of homicide and causing injuries.

At least 39 migrants died after apparently starting a fire inside a holding cell at the facility Monday night and more than two dozen others were injured.

A video from a security camera inside the Ciudad Juarez facility showed guards walking away when the fire started late Monday inside the cell holding the migrants and not making any attempt to release them.

BRIEFLY

CAPITOL RIOT: Former Boston police officer Joseph Robert Fisher was arrested Thursday on charges that he assaulted a police officer after storming the U.S. Capitol with a mob of President Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. Fisher is accused of pushing a chair into a Capitol police officer as the officer was running after a rioter who deployed pepper spray, according to court documents.

BANK RULES: Weeks after the failure of two banks, President Joe Biden called Thursday for independent regulatory agencies to impose tighter rules on the financial system, telling them that they can act under current law without additional steps taken by Congress.

OBAMACARE: U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, who previously ruled to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, struck down a narrower but key part of the nation's health law Thursday that requires most insurers to cover preventive services that include screenings for cancer, diabetes and mental health.

NATO: Turkey's parliament on Thursday ratified Finland's application to join NATO, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the Nordic country's long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance. All 276 lawmakers present voted in favor of Finland's bid.

ENERGY BILL: House Republicans on Thursday approved a sprawling energy package that seeks to undo virtually all of President Joe Biden's agenda to address climate change. By a 225-204 vote, the House sent the measure to the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it "dead on arrival."

BASE LOCKDOWN: Joint Base Andrews, one of the nation's most sensitive military bases and home to Air Force One, was locked down after reports of a man carrying an "assault-style" rifle on Thursday, authorities said.

Associated Press
PRO-LIFE SITE FIREBOMBING

DNA gleaned from a half eaten burrito led to the arrest in Boston Tuesday of a Madison man charged with the May 2022 firebombing of the Madison headquarters of anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action.

Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport with a one-way ticket to Guatemala City, according to Timothy M. O'Shea, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Roychowdhurywas charged with attempting to cause damage by means of an explosive.

He made an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on Tuesday, where U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell set a detention hearing for Thursday.

Roychowdhurys attorney, Brendan O. Kelley, who is listed in online court records as a federal public defender, declined comment when reached by phone by The Associated Press after Tuesdays hearing.

If convicted, Roychowdhury would face a minimum of five years in prison. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Prosecutors identified Roychowdhury with the help of DNA evidence found on a partially eaten burrito thrown away in a fast-food bag in March. Police had been tracking his movements on security cameras since January after tying two people, one of whom was later identified as Roychowdhury, to visually similar cursive-writing graffiti on the grounds of the state Capitol in January.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said detectives were committed to finding the person responsible for the arson, even when tips and leads were limited.

Their persistence is proof that hateful acts do not have a place in Madison Barnes said in a statement Tuesday. I applaud their work and want to thank our federal partners for all of their help leading up to this arrest.

Failed to ignite

In the early hours of May 8,2022, someone attempted to throw a Molotov cocktail through the window of Wisconsin Family Actions office at 2801 International Lane near Dane County Regional Airport, authorities said at the time.

The improvised explosive failed to ignite, but a separate fire was started. The incident came days after a leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision that presaged the overturning of the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade.

The outside of the building also was sprayed with graffiti depicting an anarchy symbol, a coded anti-police slogan and the phrase, If abortions arent safe then you arent either.

In November, after six months with no arrests, Wisconsin Family Action President Juliane Appling questioned whether the Madison Police Department had slowed the pace of its investigation because of the groups anti - abortion stance. At the time, Madison police spokesperson Hunter Lisko said the department was working on the case with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and rushing the investigative process could potentially jeopardize future legal proceedings.

Appling did not immediately return a voicemail message Tuesday.

Im very proud of the tireless and determined efforts the combined federal, state and local team put in to identify and arrest this individual, ATF Special Agent in Charge William McCrary said. I can assure you, our ATF Certified Fire Investigator invested long hours into this case. It is very satisfying to me to see that this alleged perpetrator has been placed in custody.

DNA and graffiti

According to an investigators affidavit filed with a criminal complaint:

Roychowdhury was identified as a person of interest in March. Forensic biologists matched Roychowdhurys DNA, which was present on the Molotov cocktail, the cloth used in it and a lighter left at the scene in May 2022, to the DNA on the burrito and fast-food bag in mid-March.

Two months earlier, police noticed the similarity in the cursive-style handwriting featured in the Capitol graffiti, which said We will get revenge, and the writing on the Wisconsin Family Action office building.

While reviewing video footage from nearby parking ramps in an attempt to identify the two people seen on Capitol security cameras, police spotted them in the Tenney Plaza parking ramp and later leaving in a white Toyota pickup truck.

Police later tied the vehicle to Roychowdhury after running the rear license plate number, visible on parking ramp cameras, and linked it to his Madison residence.

In early March, police saw Roychowdhury park his truck in a park-and-ride lot on Madisons Southeast Side.

Officers watched for about 15 minutes from 100 feet away as Roychowdhury sat alone in the truck. They then watched him get out of the truck to throw out a brown fast-food bag before driving out of the parking lot.

Police then retrieved the bag from the trash, which was the only thing that had been thrown away in the time police had been observing Roychowdhury. The discarded bag included a half-eaten burrito, which police swabbed for DNA, crumpled and used napkins and four unopened hot sauce packets, all of which were then shipped off the ATF lab.

Federal Election Commission records show Roychowdhury donated $27 to Act Blue, a software company that hosts fundraisers for Democratic political candidates and left-leaning causes, in 2020.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
AFRICA

CAPE COAST, Ghana  Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday stepped through the black doors of a colonial-era seaside fort and down into the dungeons, touring a site where millions of enslaved Africans were held captive before they were loaded onto ships bound for the Americas.

With her visit to Cape Coast Castle, Harris insisted on remembering the painful past even as she stood earlier Tuesday before a monument commemorating Ghana's independence, envisioning a grand future between the U.S. and Africa propelled by innovation on the continent.

"The horror of what happened here must always be remembered," she said from the fort as the sun set over the water. "It cannot be denied. It must be taught. History must be learned."

The nation's first Black and South Asian vice president is the most high-profile member of President Joe Biden's administration to visit Africa as the U.S. escalates its outreach to the continent. The events on her second day in Ghana are part of a weeklong trip that will include visits to Tanzania and Zambia.

Cape Coast Castle is one of dozens of fortresses in West Africa that held slaves, many of them in Ghana. The government here has viewed preserving them as part of its historical responsibility.

Harris spoke bluntly about the anguish "that reeks from this place," and the horrors endured by the people who passed through those walls; mass kidnapping, sickness, rape and death. Those who lived were sold into bondage in the Americas.

"And yet, they survived," she said. She said the endurance and determination of the African diaspora in the world should be admired.

"All of us, regardless of our background, have benefitted from their fight for freedom and justice," she said.

During their tour, Harris and husband Doug Emhoff walked past a plaque commemorating a visit by Barack and Michelle Obama, the nation's first Black president and first lady.

Tour guide Kwesi Blankson said he told the vice president about how captives would sometimes gaze up through the holes in the dungeon ceiling and pray to the gods and sing songs.

He sang one to her, about wishing for death, "because death means freedom."

He described the tour as a solemn moment, "like a graveyard."

U.S. outreach is part of the global competition over Africa's future, with China and Russia each defending their own interests in the continent as well.
KENTUCKY

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky.  Nine people were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters conducting a nighttime training exercise in Kentucky, Army officials said Thursday.

Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, said the deaths happened Wednesday night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission.

A statement from Fort Campbell said the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed about 10 p.m. on Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky. The 101st Airborne confirmed the crash about 30 miles northwest of Fort Campbell.

The helicopters went down in a field near a residential area with no injuries on the ground, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander. One helicopter had five people aboard and the other had four, Lubas said.

Speaking a news conference Thursday morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the state would do everything it can to support the families of those killed.

"We're going to do what we always do. We're going to wrap our arms around these families, and we're going to be there with them, not just for the days, but the weeks and the months and the years to come," Beshear said.

Lubas said it is unclear what caused the crash. He said a team of investigators from Fort Rucker in Alabama was headed to the crash site.

"This was a training progression, and specifically they were flying a multi-ship formation, two ships, under night vision goggles at night," Lubas said.

The helicopters have something similar to the black boxes on passenger planes, which records the performance of aircrafts in flight and are used by investigators to analyze crashes.

"We're hopeful that will provide quite a bit of information of what occurred," Lubas said.

The Black Hawk helicopter is a critical workhorse for the U.S. Army, used in security, transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue and other missions. The helicopters are known to many people from the 2001 movie "Black Hawk Down," which is about a violent battle in Somalia eight years earlier.

Black Hawks were a frequent sight in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan during the wars conducting combat missions and are also used by the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. They were also often used to ferry visiting senior leaders to headquarters locations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones.

Fort Campbell is located near the Tennessee border, about 60 miles northwest of Nashville.
A Waunakee man who struck and critically injured a pedestrian on East Washington Avenue in 2021, causing the mans death nearly a week later, was convicted Thursday of homicide by drunken driving.

Kemal A. Dzelil, 38, will be sentenced in May for causing the death of Kurt J. Maier, 36, of Sun Prairie, who had left work shortly before he was struck while crossing the 3300 block of East Washington Avenue on June 14, 2021, just after midnight.

The grandmother of Maiers young daughter told Reserve Judge David Flanagan, who took Dzelils no contest plea on Thursday, that she and others had hoped Dzelil would also be sentenced on Thursday, but that will happen on May 8 after a pre-sentence report by the state Department of Corrections is finished.

Though Flanagan said he would not immediately sentence Dzelil, he revoked Dzelils bail and ordered him to await sentencing in jail, over the objection of Dzelils lawyer, A. Steven Porter.

Under terms of a plea agreement, Assistant District Attorney Lexi Keyes said she would seek no more than four years in prison for Dzelil. A change in state law that was effective as of November 2019 requires a minimum five-year prison sentence for homicide by drunken driving, but the law allows judges to sentence violators to less if the judge finds there is a compelling reason to do so.

Porter is free to argue for any sentence under the agreement. The conviction carries up to 25 years of combined prison and extended supervision.

Maria McCarthy, the grandmother of Maiers daughter, said four years wont be enough for causing Maiers death. She said Maiers father made the painful decision to end life support for his son on Fathers Day 2021.

My granddaughter will never have her father again, will never look at Fathers Day the same again, she said. That will be a constant reminder.

McCarthy said she and others wanted Dzelil to be sentenced on Thursday because they have waited nearly two years for something to happen and they just want the case to be over.

I am asking and begging the court here to please, just let us finish this today, she said. I think weve suffered enough and we should not have to be able to continue this. This man has shown no remorse for this whatsoever. And why should we have to keep being punished here? Its almost two years. We need to put this behind us.

A criminal complaint states Dzelil had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.13%, well over the 0.08% limit for drivers in Wisconsin, when he struck Maier.

A witness told police she and friends were in the backyard of a home on East Washington Avenue when they heard the crash and saw Maier in the road. She stayed with him until medical help arrived, the complaint states.

Dzelil initially left the scene but returned. The witness told police she smelled alcohol on him.

Dzelil told police he was driving home from an East Side bar when he heard a loud bang and turned around to see what happened, the complaint states. He said he saw a backpack in the road and returned to help the guy. He said he had been drinking since late afternoon.

Another witness told police he was about 50 feet behind Dzelils car, which did not swerve or change lanes before hitting a pedestrian in the road, the complaint states. The car did not stop, the witness said.
A police officer from Batavia, Illinois, was found dead in a home in northern Juneau County in central Wisconsin on Monday, authorities reported.

According to a statement from the Juneau County Sheriff's Office, the county's Communications Center received a welfare check call at around 5 p.m. that day regarding a cabin in the town of Armenia. The center received an additional call from a neighbor prior to deputies arriving that two residents in the cabin were not breathing. Emergency medical services (EMS) and fire staff were dispatched as a result of the follow-up call.

Deputies entered the residence and saw a man who was "noticeably deceased," according to the release. Another source indicated the dead man was Batavia Police Department officer and Bloomingdale, Illinois, resident Joe Gudella.

When they arrived at the cabin, deputies witnessed EMS staff from Camp Douglas Fire and Rescue treating an adult male who was removed from the residence. He was later transferred to an area hospital via medical helicopter for treatment.

Another source said the adult male was Rick Griffith, a friend of Gudella's, and that he was on life support at the hospital. A social media post from March 29 indicates that Griffith is no longer on life support but "has a long road ahead" and mentions that the incident involving Griffith and Gudella was a "terrible accident."

No cause of death has been revealed and the incident remains under investigation by the Juneau County Sheriff's Office.

GoFundMe accounts are available for both Gudella's family and Griffith. As of March 31, the one for Gudella's family has received nearly $90,000, surpassing its initial goal of $10,000.

Photos: Looking back at Laurie 'Bambi' Bembenek's murder conviction Bembenek takes the oath Bembenek testifies, 1982 Murder victim Christine Schultz Fred Schultz testifies, 1982 Talking to reporters Bembenek in 1986 Appeals court hearing in 1986 Bembenek in court, 1991 Laurie Bembenek in 1992 Bembenek in 1993 Bembenek's drug charge in 1996 Bembenek in 2002 Bembenek continues to pursue appeals, 2006 Download PDF Coverage of Bembenek's death, 2010 Download PDF
The Illinois murder suspect who fired at Kenosha County Sheriffs deputies and shot K-9 deputy Riggs in the head while attempting to flee from them in Bristol was found guilty of all criminal charges against him Thursday afternoon.

Allan M. Brown, 35, was found guilty by a Kenosha County jury of seven men and five women of numerous felonies including three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by an out-of-state felon, firing at an animal with a dangerous weapon and causing injury, and mistreatment of a law enforcement animal with a dangerous weapon, among others.

Brown, of Countryside, Ill., a Cook County suburb, remained silent as the verdicts were read aloud and he was taken away in handcuffs by sheriffs deputies from Judge Anthony Milisauskass courtroom. On his way out the door he made a crude hand gesture toward deputies.

Brown is set to be sentenced May 25. He faces over 70 years in prison on the charges he was convicted of Thursday. Brown still faces two homicide charges against him in Illinois and a handful of felony charges he racked up while being held in the Racine County Jail on a $1 million bond.

It took the jury less than an hour to convict Brown, already a convicted felon, on all nine counts against him in Kenosha County.

On the morning of Oct. 21, 2021, Brown fired at deputies and non-fatally shot Riggs in the head as they tried to take him into custody on behalf of Chicago police. Deputies had been alerted by Chicago police earlier that morning that Brown was being sought in connection with two homicides there.

Brown is still accused of, in the very early morning hours of Oct. 21, 2021, fatally shooting a 25-year-old man he had argued with at a bus stop in Chicago and then shooting and killing a 41-year-old man and stealing his vehicle before fleeing over the state border to Kenosha County.

The stolen vehicle Brown was driving was tracked to Bristol via a GPS device and located at the convenience store/gas station at 2000 75th St. (Highway 50). Brown fled on foot and fired at three deputies, striking Riggs in the head, before being taken into custody. Brown was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening wounds he sustained when deputies returned fire.

The prosecution was led by Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Smathers. Brown was represented by defense attorney Addison Kuhn, who remained mostly quiet throughout the trial and seldom raised objections or questioned the states witnesses. Kuhn did not call any witnesses for the defense and Brown declined to testify on his own behalf.

The prosecution called numerous witnesses throughout the four-day trial ncluding Kenosha County deputies, Racine County deputies, Chicago detectives, a state crime analyst and a veterinarian, among others. Jurors were also shown body camera footage and squad car footage showing the moments before, during and after Brown fired at deputies and Riggs.

On Tuesday, the jury heard emotional testimony from Riggss handler Deputy Terry Tifft. Riggs also made a brief appearance in court so prosecutors could show the jury where the bullet entered and exited his head. Many in court teared up when he was brought in by Tifft.

In December 2021, Riggs was honored with both a Purple Heart and a Silver Star, which are the fourth- and second-highest awards, respectively, presented by the Sheriffs Department.

Riggs, who is nearly 10, has since returned to active duty with his partner and handler.

Closing statements

Smathers said there is absolutely no doubt that the defendant intentionally struck K-9 Riggs with a bullet knowing full well that K-9 Riggs was a working law enforcement animal and that he caused him injury.

Smathers also said but for the grace of God K-9 Riggs is still alive today, but he did sustain injuries.

She said the states case doesnt leave inconsistencies in digital evidence, and thats why I had you watch the body camera over, and over, and over again.

McKinna Quinter, one of Allan Browns attorneys, offered the defenses brief closing statement.

Im not here to tell you that you have to approve of Mr. Browns actions, thats not why youre here, Quinter said. Your job is to hold the state to their burden beyond a reasonable doubt.
WASHINGTON  The Biden administration is offering support for the creation of an international court to prosecute alleged crimes of aggression by Russia against Ukraine.

In comments this week, senior U.S. officials said the administration believes that would be the best way to hold Russia accountable for its year-old invasion. However, they also acknowledge that the prospects for a court to actually take custody of any Russian official for trial are slim.

The United States supports the development of a special tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine in the form of an internationalized court that is rooted in Ukraines judicial system, with international elements, the State Department said in comments emailed to reporters.

The officials said they envision a hybrid tribunal based on the Ukrainian justice system but with international components  similar to previous ad hoc war crimes courts set up for Cambodia, Chad, the Central African Republic and Bosnia  and likely based in The Hague, Netherlands.

This kind of model  an internationalized national court  will facilitate broader international support and demonstrate Ukraines leadership in ensuring accountability for the crime of aggression, the State Department said. It also builds upon the example of other successful justice mechanisms.

The Hague will be home to the International Center for Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression, a Ukraine-focused investigations unit that is expected to be fully operational this summer. The center's offices and staff could be incorporated into whatever tribunal is eventually created, the U.S. officials said.

The Hague also hosts the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. The ICC prosecutor issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and an aide earlier this month for the abductions of Ukrainian children.

But the U.S. is not a member of the ICC, which complicates its ability to support the court with evidence or other information that could be used in its prosecutions.

Photos: In Ukraine, searing images capture a year of war
LEGISLATURE | SPENDING OF FEDERAL FUNDS

A proposed constitutional amendment giving the Republican-controlled Legislature control over how to spend federal funds allocated to the state could soon be on its way to Wisconsin voters.

Voting along party lines, with all Democratic members opposed, the Assembly Ways and Means committee on Tuesday approved sending the measure to the Assembly. If approved by the full Legislature and voters in a future referendum, it would prohibit any executive branch official or department from allocating any federal dollars without first securing approval from a legislative committee, which would likely be the GOP-led budget committee.

Committee chair Rep. John Macco, R-Ledgeview, said the measure simply lets voters choose who should have final say over how federal funds are spent. Macco said he's hopeful the measure passes and allows the Legislature to reclaim "the power of the purse" from the governor's office.

While the Legislature determines how state tax dollars are spent, the governor has long held the authority to distribute federal money. But Republicans have pushed for more control over how Democratic Gov. Tony Evers doles out such funds since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when billions in relief were being pumped into the state.

Rep. Samba Baldeh, D-Madison, described the measure as a "pointless power grab," and joined his fellow Democratic members in raising concern that the proposed change could drastically limit the state's ability to quickly allocate emergency funds, such as those provided during the pandemic. Republicans have said the change would increase accountability of those funds.

Rep. Tod Ohnstad, D-Kenosha, also worried that the amendment would almost certainly end up in court and further complicate future funding allocations. He noted the proposal suggests that all federal funds provided to the state, not just emergency dollars, could require legislative approval.

"This is not clear to us," Ohnstad said of the proposal. "This is certainly not going to be clear to the people who vote on this, I believe. I think it really leaves us in kind of a rough spot, waiting for lawyers to meet with judges and judges to determine how funds are going to be allocated."
MASS SHOOTINGS

Public outrage is swift following mass shootings, such as the recent killing of six people at a Christian elementary school in Nashville. Sorrow and sympathy are widespread. But what comes next from policymakers is likely to depend on which political party is in charge of a state.

Don't expect new gun controls in Republican-led states, such as Tennessee or Texas.

But when similar tragedies occur in Democratic-led states, more gun limits are likely  even if they already have restrictive laws.

Mass shootings generally don't seem to change a state's basic political makeup.

"Democratic-led states tend to focus more on firearm restrictions whereas Republican-led states do not and often emphasize lessening regulations on guns," said Jaclyn Schildkraut, executive director of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

The fact that responses seem predicated by Republican and Democratic labels is perhaps an indication of the nation's political polarization  and of differing viewpoints that pin the problem primarily on violent individuals or their easy access to weapons.

Tennessee shooting response

Following the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, tensions ran high among state lawmakers meeting across town in the state Capitol. Democrats called for action on gun control  and got their microphones cut off by Republican leadership for criticizing their GOP colleagues' love of the Second Amendment.

"Prayers are good, but faith without works is dead," Democratic state Sen. Raumesh Akbari implored with a biblical reference. "Let's not let another preventable tragedy unfold without this legislature taking real action."

Any action from Republican lawmakers, however, is more likely to move in a different direction. Republicans this year have introduced bills that would make it easier to arm teachers and allow college students to carry weapons on campus.

On the same day as the Nashville shooting, a federal judge approved a legal settlement lowering the minimum age to carry handguns without a permit in Tennessee from 21 to 18. That came just two years after a new law set the age at 21.

Blue states

Michigan's Democratic legislative majority took its first steps in March toward passing a sweeping gun safety package.

The Senate voted along party lines for a red-flag law that would allow guns to temporarily be removed from people with potentially violent behavior. It also passed measures requiring anyone purchasing a rifle or shotgun to undergo a background check, which is currently only required for handgun purchases, and to store guns safely where they cannot be accessed by minors.

Much of the package was crafted nearly 15 months ago following a shooting at Oxford High School. But the bills saw little movement until Democrats won control of the Legislature in last fall's elections. They've gained momentum after a gunman killed three people Feb. 13 at Michigan State University.

In Colorado, the Democratic-led Legislature was pursuing a variety of new gun restrictions after five people were killed last November at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs. After another shooting injured two administrators at a Denver high school, Democratic majorities are pushing through Republican filibusters to send several bills to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.

The bills would expand who can petition to temporarily remove a firearm from someone who poses a danger, raise the minimum age for purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21 and institute a three-day waiting period when buying a gun. While Polis supports those three bills, he has demurred from questions around a fourth bill that would ban semi-automatic firearms. That bill faces a steeper battle to become law.

Red states

Republican-led Florida responded to a 2018 shooting that killed 14 students and three staff members at a Parkland school by passing laws that raised the gun-buying age to 21, imposed a three-day waiting period for purchases and authorized red flag laws to temporarily remove guns from people. But that marked a bit of an exception for Republican states.

In Texas, minority party Democrats have filed numerous gun-control bills after a shooter killed 19 children and two teachers last May at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Relatives of some of the victims have joined Democratic lawmakers at Capitol rallies urging action. Some proposals would raise the age for owning so-called assault weapons, limit firearm transfers among people and create requirements for safe firearm storage.

But GOP state leaders have made clear from the start that these bills do not have the necessary votes to pass.

Instead, Texas officials responded last summer with about $105 million for school safety and mental health initiatives. The Senate also passed a bill earlier this month that would require the reporting of court-mandated mental health hospitalizations to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System for people as young as 16. That bill now is pending in the House.

Students from Central Visual Arts and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, where a gunman killed two and injured seven others last fall, also have traveled to the Missouri Capitol to urge greater gun-control measures. But Democratic-sponsored bills to create a red-flag law allowing temporary gun removals have yet to receive a hearing in the Republican-led Legislature.

Instead, the Legislature approved $20 million for safety grants to schools across the state in response to the shooting, and is considering more for the program.
VATICAN CITY  The Vatican on Thursday responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the "Doctrine of Discovery," the theories backed by 15th-century "papal bulls" that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property laws even today.

A Vatican statement said the papal bulls, or decrees, "did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples" and have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith.

The statement, from the Vatican's development and education offices, marked a historic recognition of the Vatican's complicity in colonial-era abuses committed by European powers.

It was issued under history's first Latin American pontiff, who was hospitalized Thursday with a respiratory infection, exactly one year after Francis met at the Vatican with Indigenous leaders from Canada who raised the issue.

On Thursday, these Indigenous leaders welcomed the statement as a first good step, though it didn't address the rescinding of the bulls themselves and continued to take distance from acknowledging actual Vatican culpability in abuses. The statement said the papal documents were "manipulated" by competing colonial powers "to justify immoral acts against Indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition from ecclesial authorities."
Right after a 28-year-old shot six people to death at a small Christian school, Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, emoted on camera.

"Three precious little kids lost their lives," he said with sad resignation, "and I believe three adults."

Burchett then defended the killer's right to own the three weapons she carried onto the grounds of the Covenant Presbyterian Church, located in a pretty Nashville neighborhood.

"It's a horrible, horrible situation, and we're not going to fi x it," he said. "Criminals are gonna be criminals, and my daddy fought in the Second World War ... he told me, 'Buddy, if somebody wants to take you out and doesn't mind losing their life, there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do about it.'"

He's not entirely wrong about criminals being criminals. But criminals elsewhere don't have the easy access to the fi repower that this woman used to woman used to rapidly kill six on a lovely spring day.

Did Burchett see this quiet, leafy neighborhood as comparable to the jungle hells of wartime Pacific? And must he rationalize sick people wanting to "take out" 9-year-olds, when, actually, there are things to do about it.

No matter. There's no making moral sense of the political zombies who take orders from the National Rifle Association.

But there are civic and political leaders who can see how rampant gun violence can damage their economies. Nashville has been a hot growing city, but corporations considering a move there must be taken aback by this latest mass murder. Such outrages are happening

elsewhere, but this one happened in a state where a woman being treated for severe mental disturbance and whose parents didn't want her to have guns was able to legally purchase seven of them, including two assault-style weapons. Tennessee already allows permitless carry, with no requirement for training. And, of course, guns don't have to be licensed.

Bills are now before the state legislature that would let 18-year-olds carry long guns in public without a license. It should be hard recruiting high-quality workers to a place where they must assess whether a fellow shopper carrying a rifle is OK or will explode if you accidently bump your cart into his?

Support is widespread for universal background checks, for safe storage, for red-flag laws to prevent someone who might commit harm purchase an AR-15. Only 19% of Americans "strongly oppose" more gun laws.

Very few airline passengers want to crash their planes. Nonetheless, we accept stringent security checks at airports.

Very few airline passengers want to crash their planes. Nonetheless, we accept stringent security checks at airports.

It may be true that you can't entirely stop someone willing to sacrifice her own life from killing others. But you don't have to swamp America with the killing machines that most anyone  criminal, nuts or both  can buy. And today's are more powerful than the weaponry used in Vietnam.

And it's not just the guns themselves. It's the worship of them. It's the politicians who send out Christmas cards of themselves grinning as they brandish assault rifles. We can't do much about these people's right to mock a religion of peace, but we can easily vote them out of office.

Nashville police prevented a bigger horror by their fast and brave response. But suppose road work had slowed the response by two minutes? Are we supposed to find solace in there being only six dead?

When employers consider relocating, they may well look at numbers in addition to tax rates. They may include the number of gun deaths per 100,000 population  which is 3.7 in Massachusetts but 21.3 in Tennessee.

And as the Nashville example shows, putting children in private schools is not enough to protect them from gun violence.

Harrop, who lives in New York City and Providence, Rhode Island, writes for Creators Syndicate: @FromaHarrop and fharrop@ gmail.com.
Violent activists entered the Capitol building  vandalizing public facilities, threatening legislators, assaulting law enforcement, and interrupting official proceedings.

Some readers might be thinking of Jan. 6, 2021. But the sentence above actually describes events that took place this week, at the statehouse in Nashville, Tennessee.

Radical leftists, some wearing satanic garb, stormed the Tennessee legislative chambers in an attempt to push for gun control and intimidate and punish legislators who voted to prohibit medically-risky and scientifically dubious practices performed on minor children.

Republicans in Tennessee overwhelmingly voted for House Bill 1, a bill that bans doctors, hospital networks, and Big Pharma from targeting children with irreversible pharmaceutical and surgical interventions.

Shortly after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed House Bill 1 into law, radical transexualists threatened violence against any and all who oppose efforts to deny biological reality. They made good on those threats this week when a mentally-unwell transexualist attacked a Christian elementary school, killing children and school officials.

The shooting and the scenes of violence being broadcast from the Tennessee Capitol are meant to terrify everyday citizens and strong-arm elected leaders, not just in Nashville but throughout the country. This violence, which one would expect to see in countries like Iran or Venezuela, is an attempt to force people of faith and anyone else who dissents from the transexualist agenda to get in line with that radical movement.

Following Tennessees lead, Idaho now has an opportunity to enact protections for children and prohibit medical experiments. House Bill 71 would ensure that Idahos children are free from a dangerous ideology that leads to higher rates of suicidal ideation, irreversible physical disabilities, and lifelong drug dependencies.

Idahos hardworking men and women, the moms and dads who make our neighborhoods the envy of America, have consistently voiced their support for laws that protect children and ensure that valuable (and limited) medical resources are governed by responsible and safe protocols  rather than pseudoscience or ideology.

For decades, gender dysphoria, a mental health condition that impacts a fraction of all minors, has been successfully treated through psychological therapy. This was the gold standard for treatment until radical activists pushed for a wholesale change.

House Bill 71 is a prudent measure that ensures Idahos children are not subjected to untested and dangerous medical procedures.

House Bill 71 is now on Gov. Brad Littles desk. It should be the hope and prayer of every Idaho citizen that Little follows the example of Tennessees courageous Republican governor and signs this bill into law.
The Idaho State Constitution reads: The people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws, and enact the same at the polls independent of the legislature.

Our precious right to ballot initiatives is a check on the power of the Legislature. Resentment over this right has driven Republican legislators to curtail it. Their latest effort, Senate Joint Resolution 101, would have effectively taken it away.

Ballot initiatives and referendums are proven safety valves when the Legislature wont solve problems or creates new ones.

When the Legislature refused to address rapidly rising property taxes in the 1970s, a volunteer-led ballot initiative created the homeowners exemption. Idaho voters reversed the unpopular Luna Laws, which included mandatory online classes to replace some in-person instruction in our schools. When the Legislature refused to expand Medicaid to close the coverage gap  trapping Idahoans earning too little to qualify for health insurance tax credits  voters took action.

What thanks do voters get for solving problems the Republican supermajority wouldnt? Their ballot initiative rights are now a target.

SJR101 would amend the State Constitution to make ballot initiatives practically impossible. Similar to Republicans 2021 legislation, it would require meeting signature collection standards in all 35 legislative districts, rather than the 18 nowrequired, an impossible feat for any citizen-led effort.

The Idaho Supreme Court struck down that law as tyrannical and unconstitutional. Now, Republican legislators want to write their tyrannical law into the State Constitution.

While SJR101 was sold as identical to the 2021 legislation, its actually worse, making the signature threshold even higher within each district. Citizens in rural Idaho would face insurmountable odds reaching every part of the state.

Idahoans would have voted on SJR101 in 2024. Im confident Idahoans would ultimately reject this assault on their rights, but a well-funded misinformation campaign is a potential threat. Thousands of Idahoans would have had to take time out of their lives to wage a campaign defending their constitutional rights. It is disrespectful to Idahoans to ask them to do this.

Our foundational rights should never be treated carelessly by the people we elect to represent us. Can you imagine being asked to volunteer your time to campaign on whether you should retain your right to free speech or religious freedom?

We dodged a bullet for the moment. Placing constitutional amendments on the ballot requires approval by two-thirds of the Senate and House. SJR101 came out of the Senate on a near-party line vote. But a critical mass of House Republicans voted with Democrats on Thursday to kill it for this year.

This wont be their last attempt. We must remain vigilant against efforts to undermine our freedoms and take away the political power inherent in the people.
Nakhin, Nayok Thailand  Hundreds of Thai firefighters and soldiers battled a forest blaze less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Bangkok on Friday as the kingdom grapples with air pollution that has made more than 1.7 million people ill already this year.

The fire has affected at least 800,000 square metres (200 acres) of forest across three hills in Nakhon Nayok province, to the northeast of the Thai capital, with two districts declared emergency zones.

The blaze comes as Thailand grapples with a spike in pollution caused in part by agricultural burning that has seen the air in some northern cities rank among the dirtiest and most hazardous in the world this week.

Since the start of the year 1,730,000 people have needed hospital treatment for respiratory conditions caused by air pollution, according to the latest figures from the health ministry.

The fire is not threatening any major population centres but it is close to the edge of the Khao Yai National Park, the kingdoms oldest national park and part of a UNESCO-listed forest complex stretching to the Cambodian border.

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Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha has dispatched his interior minister to coordinate operations on the ground, his office said in a statement.

PM Prayut and minister of defence have closely monitored the wildfire situation in Nakon Nayok and ordered relevant organisations to help putting out the fire urgently, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said.

Prayut, who faces a general election on May 14, on Thursday urged the top official from regional bloc ASEAN to help coordinate efforts to reduce cross-border pollution caused by agricultural burning.

Farmers across Southeast Asia burn off stubble in fields every year after harvest time, causing widespread air pollution.

Thailands north is particularly affected and this week the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai topped monitoring firm IQAirs worst air quality list  beating the likes of Delhi and Beijing.

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A European Union official on Friday welcomed the willingness of the Philippine government to engage with the EU and the international community over extrajudicial killings (EJKs), even as Senator Imee Marcos said the International Criminal Courts (ICC) insistence to investigate the Duterte administrations war on drugs was a diversion.

EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore emphasized the Philippines should ensure accountability, in particular those accountable for Operation Tokhang which led to thousands of deaths during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.

However, Sen. Marcos, sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said the ICC probe was a diversion that is necessary to prop up the false image of Western nations as the unimpeachable protectors of human rights.

She said the ICC chooses to prosecute Third World countries but fails to take notice of the wrongdoings of the West.

Fellow Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. also aired his belief that President Marcos decision to fully disengage from the ICC that Duterte withdrew the country from should be the last nail in the coffin in what he said was the tribunals attempts to meddle in the countrys local affairs.

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Revilla expressed support for the countrys anti-drug efforts, including that of the previous administration carried out by his current colleague, Senator Ronald Bato Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa was the chief of the Philippine National Police under Duterte and faces the same charges as the former President at the ICC.

The results of the anti-drug campaign coupled with the support it continues to receive from the public speak for itself, Revilla added.

Another lawmaker, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, however, said that disengaging from the ICC will embarrass the Philippines on the international stage.

Gilmore was in the Philippines for the first time as the EUs Special Representative for Human Rights.

He met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Chief of the PNP Human Rights Office Gen. Vincent Calanoga, Philippine Representative to the AICHR Aileen Mendiola-Rau, United Nations agencies, civil society groups, and business representatives.

The EU Special Representative also met with jailed ex-Senator Leila de Lima in Camp Crame and had a dialogue with victims of extrajudicial killings during his visit to an EU-supported project called Paghilom

Programme of Father Flaviano Villanueva.

Doing business with the EU means addressing human rights issues, he said.

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Remulla claims Degamo slay 99% solved, says Teves in midst of it all

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested an alleged mastermind in the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Friday.

The NBI was able to catch a main player, a main player. A name we have not discussed, we have never discussed here. But practically, I would say in my reading of the situation one of the masterminds was caught today, Remulla told reporters.

Remulla would not release the name of the suspect, however, but said the case is 99 percent solved.

Im just telling you that theres a breakthrough, its 99 percent solved. The Degamo case is 99 percent solved, Remulla said.

He congratulated the NBI for a job well done.

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He figures in the statements made by the other suspects in custody

It drives a thread through everything, Remulla said of the alleged mastermind.

He said the suspect fled Negros Oriental, and that for three weeks, the authorities were on his trail.

He did not resist arrest and was read his rights, Remulla added.

Remulla again insisted that suspended Negros Oriental Rep. ArnolfoTeves Jr. was part of the group that planned Degamos killing, saying he was in the middle of everything.

Degamo and eight others were killed while several others were injured after gunmenmost of them ex-militaryopened fire on them at the governors home in Negros Oriental on March 4.

Teves was linked to the killings after suspects in custody said acertain Cong. Teves ordered the hit.

The lawmaker has refused to return to the country to face chargesfiled against him for three 2019 murders, saying he feared for his life.

The House of Representatives has suspended him for 60 days.

Tevess brother, former governor Pryde Henry Teves, told ABS-CBN hewas exasperated with his older brother for refusing to come home, even though their father was sick and in hospital since Dec. 8.

I asked him, can you forgive yourself that youve never been able to see him before he goes? Pryde Henry said.

That doesnt seem right. So, I told him, you ponder and meditate upon that and you make the right decision, he added.

Im exasperated. Ive done enough and I have suffered enough, hesaid in a mix of English and Filipino. Im done with this. Im tired of reaching out to him.

The former governor, however, refused to comment on the firearms found in a sugar mill he reportedly owns.

Police conducting raids on the former governors compound said they collected items allegedly used by Degamos killers.

The Joint Task Force Negros reported on Thursday evening that agentsof the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) found identification cards and burned clothes.

On top of the charred items, accessories such as a silencer, riflecleaning equipment, caliber .45 cartridges, soldering iron, a flash drive, a Swiss knife, and a tucker used for target papers.

PNP-CIDG officers have been implementing a search warrant on the 50-hectare sugar mill since March 24.

Assorted firearms, ammunition, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs)were confiscated in the week-long search operations, while P18 million worth of cash collected by the authorities was returned to the mill.

Three individuals were arrested in the raids including the alleged head of security, Nigel Electrona.

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The Department of Education (DepEd) has underscored the setbacks of returning outright to the pre-pandemic school calendar which starts in June and the summer vacation set for April and May.

Meanwhile, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro appealed to the DepEd to return the summer vacation of students to April-May.

DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said among the factors to consider is the minimum number of school days covered by the school year.

For this school calendar, 203 days po ng schooling iyong sinusunod natin. So hindi natin mami-meet iyan pag bigla tayong mag summer break, Poa said in an interview with ABS-CBN News.

We take note the suggestions to revert the school break to April-May because of the hot climate, but we need to study it first, If there is a chance, we will announce it, but the changes will be definitely not abrupt. It will have to be a slow transition, he added.

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Poa pointed out that they have to identify which areas that would be affected, and weigh the arguments on reverting to the pre-pandemic school calendar.

He ruled out however, the possibility of the transition taking place this year because of the timetable involved.

In the years to come, we will have to really look into it and study first what will be affected. But again, we are not saying reversion is not an option, Poa said.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian suggested earlier to bring back the AprilMay vacation in schools amid intense heat due to the warm and dry season.

The school break in public schools was moved to different months over the last three years, as school opening dates were adjusted amid the pandemic: School year 2020-2021 began in October, the September in 2021-2022, and August in 2022-2023.

Meanwhile, full in-person end-of-school-year classes were back this year.

This was a first since the pandemic. In previous years, only virtual, hybrid, or limited in-person graduation and moving-up ceremonies were allowed.

Under DepEd Department Order No. 9 series of 2023, observance of physical distancing shall no longer be mandatory and the wearing of face mask during the ceremonies is not required and shall be left to the discretion of the learners and their parents.

Graduation and Moving Up ceremonies should be simple yet meaningful. While these rites mark a milestone in the lives of the learners, these should be conducted without excessive spending, extravagant attire, or extraordinary venue, the order read.

Reverting the summer vacation of students to April-May at the soonest time possible would be best since students and teachers are now suffering the intolerable heat in jam-packed classrooms, Castro stressed.

Castro issued the call on the heels of a recent survey by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines that showed the serious difficulties that teachers and learners endure during the harsh summer heat in classrooms.

According to 87 percent of ACTs online survey among 11,706 public school teachers nationwide, which was conducted from March 24 to 27, 2023, students cannot focus on their lessons due to intolerable heat in classrooms.

About 37 percent said that the summer heat triggered the existing medical conditions of teachers and students. There are 40 percent of respondents who noted that more learners have been missing classes since the summer months started, Castro said referring to the survey result.

The heavy reliance on electric fans for ventilation is insufficient, as only one percent of classrooms have air conditioners and two percent rely on natural ventilation. Moreover, only 0.5 percent of respondents deem their classroom conditions as pleasant, while 67 percent noted that the heat is intolerable.

The survey also revealed that 64 percent of teacher-respondents have existing medical conditions while 82 percent have students with temperature-sensitive ailments. This situation has led to many students and teachers experiencing headaches, dizziness, nose-bleed, and other health issues.

Unfortunately, our schools have no appropriate health facilities and personnel to address these concerns, and absenteeism is becoming a more serious problem, Castro stated.

The group earlier called on the DepEd to urgently address this issue and provide solutions to ensure the safety and well-being of our students and teachers. The teachers proposed the installation of air conditioners in classrooms, changing the class schedules to avoid the hottest hours of the day, and implementing blended learning by alternately holding face-to-face classes in the mornings and distance learning modalities at home.

Furthermore, they demand that the school calendar be reverted to its pre-pandemic schedule when school break coincided with the summer months, Castro stressed.

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Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo on Friday expressed elation over what he said was the good situation of Filipino workers in Bahrain saying there are no distressed Filipinos needing shelter in that country.

I was satisfied that in my recent visit, I did not see any homeless and distressed OFWs in Bahrain needing refuge in the Bahay Kalinga. This is a good sign that our OFWs are taken good care of in Bahrain, Salo said.

Salo, who chairs the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, had a consultation meeting with the Filipino community in Bahrain when he attended the 146th Assembly of the Interparliamentary Union (IPU). In his visit, he was warmly by Ambassador Anne Jalando-On Louis and Labor Attache to Bahrain Vicente Cabe.

I am honored to have the opportunity to visit our kababayan in Bahrain and listen to their stories, Salo said. I am impressed by their resilience and hard work. Thus, we need to ensure that their welfare and protection are prioritized, and I will work towards this goal as chairman of the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, he added.

Salo also met with foreign recruitment agencies in Bahrain and secured their commitment in ensuring the protection of OFWs.

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I reminded the recruitment agencies to ensure the protection of our OFWs, Salo said. In turn, they assured us that they conduct the necessary interviews and background check on their employers.

The foreign recruitment agencies requested Salo to ensure that Filipino household service workers (HSW) are briefed of the norms in Bahrain before their deployment.

I was also asked to ensure that our HSWs are properly briefed of the laws, culture, and norms in Bahrain before deployment, and that they are endowed with the appropriate skills for their jobs, Salo explained.

They can rest assured that we will remind our private recruitment agencies in the Philippines to properly train and brief our OFWs before sending them, Salo assured.

He also called for the strengthening of the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS).

PDOS is a mandatory seminar for all Filipinos who are going to work abroad. Maricel V. Cruz

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TINGOG party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre on Friday expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Filipino people for voting Tingog as the top performing party-list in the House of Representatives.

In a nationwide survey conducted by the RP-Mission and Development Foundation, Inc. (RPMD), Tingog led the roster of top-performing party-lists with 93.5 rating on a total of 10,000 respondents, followed by ACT-CIS with 89.4 percent, Agimat PL with 88.6 percent and Ako Bicol with 85.1 percent.

We are humbly thankful for this honor. With all humility, we thank all those who believed in us. Rest assured that this recognition from our endeared constituency will only motivate us further to work harder for the welfare of our people and our nation, said Rep. Romualdez, wife of Speaker Martin Romualdez and current chair of the House Committee on Accounts.

Mrs. Romualdez said although they are honored by the affirmation of the people of Tingogs work inside and outside Congress, she considered the survey results as a challenge to do better and accomplish more as a party-list.

Tingog was established during the aftermath of Yolanda, deemed the strongest typhoon ever to hit the Philippines, in 2013 as a party-list with a regional perspective on national issues.

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It focuses on issues affecting the countryside or rural areas in general.

Its membership continues to expand as it operates 70 offices through its Alagang Tingog Centers across the country.

As a party-list group that was borne out of the worst calamity ever to hit our country, our passion for helping others runs very deep in the people that make up our organization. Kaya naman natutuwa kami na nagbubunga ang aming pagsisikap na makatulong sa ating mga kababayan, Romualdez said.

She also lauded the other party-list groups in the House of Representatives for doing a good job of looking out for the welfare of the people.

This is not a competition. Magkatuwang tayong lahat para sa ikabubuti ng ating bayan at ng mamamayan, she said.

According to Dr. Paul Martinez of RPMD, the evaluations were essential in providing a glimpse into the performance of the countrys district and party-list representatives, who have been tasked to represent every district and the marginalized sectors of society.

Through these ratings, the public can gauge the effectiveness of these representatives in fulfilling their mandate and addressing the needs of their constituents, Martinez said.

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The United Kingdom and the Philippines are looking at an upgraded bilateral cooperation as London sought to strengthen its maritime engagement with Manila in the Indo-Pacific region.

UK Minister of State for Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and other Cabinet secretaries on Thursday to discuss growing maritime, trade and climate links.

Trevelyan is in Manila to launch the British Investment Partnerships in the Philippines, which mobilizes investment from the British private sector and provides technical expertise to support sustainable infrastructure development and the transition to clean energy in the Philippines.

In a tweet following the meeting, Manalo reaffirmed the Philippines commitment to strengthen its enhanced partnership with the UK.

On Friday, Trevelyan met with Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) chiefCommodore Artemio Abu to discuss maritime security and marine conservation as part of UKs commitment to deepening diplomatic, economic and security-based ties in the Indo-Pacific (see photo on A1Editors).

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At present, the UK offers the PCG and Philippine Navy officers a chance to train at world-renowned institutions, such as the Britannia Royal Navy College at Dartmouth.

Recently, the Philippine Navy and PCG attended UK-run training in Exclusive Economic Zone management in Vietnam and the UK.

The embassy said UK funding streams support areas of maritime collaboration, such as maritime domain awareness capacity building, tackling Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing and maritime environmental protection.

This year, the two states held an inaugural maritime dialogue, a platform to exchange views and discuss future opportunities for cooperation.

The next dialogue will be chaired by the UK in London in 2024.

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China, India, and Russia are not members of the ICC but they have never been accused of aggression or of violating the territorial integrity of other countries

If we are to historically retrace our membership in the International Criminal Court, students of international law could easily detect the Statute of Rome creating the ICC is fundamentally flawed.

The ICC ignores the most basic principle that places international order to human interaction.

Foremost is the concept of sovereignty and respect for territorial integrity and independence.

This has somewhat disregarded the principle of law now imposed by the ICC.

This has now become a supra law superseding international law and the UN charter which has been upheld by the members through the ages.

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This means the principles upheld by the ICC overlaps International Law that often require procedural due process like the approval of the UN Security Council if the subject matter affects the peace and security of the state.

These are principles that should stand with the law itself because they could affect the social order of society; that, without them, human civilization will never advance.

Two American presidents waged war against several countries without the US Security Council approving a resolution.

On March 24, 1990, US President Bill Clinton bombed Serbia for refusing to withdrew its forces from the breakaway province of Kosovo.

For five months, US-led NATO forces bombed Serbia including the bombing of the Chinese chancery, killing several embassy personnel while the country could not do anything to defend itself from being pulverized.

That, after Serbia opted to withdraw from the arrogant alliance created by the US that demanded the extradition of Slobodan Milosevic and died while in prison without being convicted for his alleged war crimes.

During the administration of President George W. Bush, his country waged war against Iraq and Afghanistan, also without the UN Security Council sanctioning that decision.

Bush lied before UN General Assembly about the weapons of mass destruction allegedly found in Saddams laboratories to ensure that its ally then, Iran, would be able to execute its foremost enemy.

More than a million Iraqis died in the indiscriminate bombing.

The subsequent occupation of Iraq by its mortal enemy, now an accomplice of the US, was, in fact, encouraged by the US to ensure the capture of Saddams Sunni Muslim followers resulting in numerous casualties.

Many believe the US merely used Iran to finish off the Sunni Muslims, and when that project was accomplished, like the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, the US abandoned their erstwhile ally which today stands as ally of Saudi Arabia against the US, Israel and Yemen.

Many countries were pressured to join the ICC.

The thing that is unusual is the major powers continue to shun their membership with the ICC for refusing to submit or surrender a part of their sovereignty which to them is indivisible to their independence.

The issue is the political immunity which they accorded to their head of state.

The architects of the ICC made sure the President or the head of state allegedly guilty of war crimes or crimes against humanity be indicted for crimes which policies often overlap with existing international law.

Perceptions on the enforcement of certain laws have become a political issue as in the case of our countrys handling of prohibited drugs.

Our President tried to resolve the problem of drug abuse but often was misunderstood.

Consequently, our harsh application of the law results in the misapplication of policy with Presidents often accused of human rights violation.

The crime may ordinarily be treated with some kind of understanding to a society that is wrapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.

That, with zealot politicians often resorting to violence to gain quick results like executing those engaged in the selling and peddling of prohibited drugs without them knowing the consequence often bears a far greater consequence to society and affect the stability of the government.

Our joining the ICC has made us a pariah in the international community.

The ICC has lumped all the cases that could validate US and NATO intervention in other countries.

Some say, the US and NATO have politicized the ICC in their bid to arrest Putin for its invasion of Ukraine.

Yet, none of the NATO member-countries has voiced out the same concern when the US invaded Serbia, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.

Some even say our approval of the ICC marked the return of neocolonialism to our country for, physically, it meant the return of imperialist control on our own armed forces to ensure our sovereignty will be greatly affected as we project our country as an alleged stalwart member of the ICC.

Members of the political opposition are acting more like morons debating whether to surrender our own former President to an unelected bunch of self-styled leaders purporting to represent the free world.

These people want to surrender President Duterte to the ICC which could reduce them to nothing more than a bunch of lunatics unable to determine what is right from what is wrong.

The ICC can never purport to be an independent body empowered to investigate and prosecute individuals for war crimes, for crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression.

Its power summarily shortcuts the UN Security Council that originally must be approved by the said UN agency.

In effect, the ratification by the members to the ICC means that individuals accused for war crimes, for crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression could be outrightly prosecuted by the ICC without the approval of the UN Security Council. Full text at www.manilastandard.net

The prosecutors determine whether the person accused should be tried and sentenced without them considering the person enjoys the mandate of his own people.

The decision of the ICC to issue a warrant of arrest against Vladimir Putin is not only unprecedented but a mockery to embarrass the world body because the world knows that behind the agitation seeking his arrest is the US and some members of the North Atlantic Alliance that even refused to join the ICC.

Such refusal could result in war or in the total destruction of the ICC as a system of collateral imperialism devised by the collective West.

The greatest irony is the agitation of the US for other members to join the organization and to submit to its jurisdiction while it holds the unblemished record of invasion and aggression in many countries without the approval of the UN Security Council.

China, India, and Russia are not members of the ICC but they have never been accused of aggression or of violating the territorial integrity of other countries.

The Russian investigation of Ukraine is a long case of US and NATOs forceful eviction of Russian inhabitants in Lugansk and Donbass.

It was a long period of ethnic cleansing orchestrated by the neoliberals that resulted in a civil war climaxed by the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych in 2014 thereby prompting Russia to invade that country to stop the bloodbath. (rpkapunan@gmail.com)

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Selecting the right school is a significant decision for both students and parents. Schools play a critical role in shaping a young adults personality and worldview. Moreover, a proper learning environment enables young adults to explore and enhance their holistic potential.

That is exactly what Assumption College offers: enriching opportunities that allow students to go beyond the four walls of a classroom environment and to have the world within reach.

Assumption College students are able to grow independent, confident, and capable of taking on lifes challenges, preparing them to find success in their endeavors both in the local and global scale.



Championing transformative education

When choosing a school, various factors need to be taken into account, from programs and opportunities to costs and location. Assumption College makes the decision much easier, with its esteemed reputation for delivering excellent education for each and every student.

Assumption College has two main departments: liberal arts under the Marie Eugenie School for Innovative Learning (MESIL) and business administration and management under Milleret School of Business and Management for Women (MSBMW). The institutions roster of excellent academic programs range from

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communication, interior design, psychology and education, to accountancy, business administration, and entrepreneurship..

Championing transformative education, Assumption College is future-proofing students with a fresh approach to learning. Known as Ability-based Learning or ABLe, this student-centered method of education puts an emphasis on developing Prime Life Abilities centered on Assumption Colleges Core Values, preparing students to face the real world.

On top of high-quality academic programs, Assumption College also boasts an accessible international student exchange program that opens up the world to its students.

An accessible student exchange program

Assumption College offers enriching opportunities that allow students to go beyond the four walls of a classroom environment and to have the world within reach.



An international exchange program can be a life-changing experience for students, but factors like high costs can deter them from pursuing such programs. Assumption Colleges International Student Exchange Program addresses this concern. With the program, students do not need to pay additional tuition fees at their chosen overseas partner institution. This gives more students the opportunity to study abroad for a semester, allowing them to:

immerse themselves in a brand new culture and meet new people from all walks of life

take the opportunity to learn a new language

experience different styles of learning under the guidance of various esteemed educators; and

widen their employment opportunities on a global scale.

As such, Assumption College students are able to grow independent, confident, and capable of taking on lifes challenges, preparing them to find success in their endeavors both in the local and global scale.

Assumption College has partnered with reputable institutions around the world, such as Monroe College in New York, Assumption University in Massachusetts, Hiroshima University in Japan, Kobe College in Japan, Reactor School in Singapore, and Universitas Kristen Indonesia in Jakarta, as well as other institutions in the UK, Australia, and South Korea.

The program is an eye-opening experience that exposes students to opportunities in partner schools such as those in Hiroshima University or Kobe College in Japan, and other reputable institutions around the world, such as Monroe College in New York, Assumption University in Massachusetts, Reactor School in Singapore, and Universitas Kristen Indonesia in Jakarta, as well as other institutions in the UK, Australia, and South Korea.



Students who have participated in the international student exchange program can testify to how much the program has helped them change in better ways.

I was able to grow into the woman of faith, community, and action through the help of the Assumption education and family, shared Alexandra Victoria Adriano Boccone, who took part in Assumption Colleges student exchange program to Assumption University, Worcester, Massachusetts.

It was an eye-opening experience where I realized that we live in a big world with a lot of opportunities to grow and world, said Clarisse Ambray, who went to Kobe College under the same student exchange program. If Im allowed to enroll again, Id do it. Thats how much I loved the experience.

Its one of the highlights of my college years, Bea Marbella, who also attended Kobe College for a semester. Words cant express how grateful I am that I joined this program. Its really fun and I hope you guys get to experience what I did as well.

Participants all echo their love and enjoyment of the Assumption Colleges life-changing exchange program.



Begin your international studies journey now with Assumption College

Its time to broaden your horizons and step out into the world. Enroll in Assumption College and get ready to study abroad without paying additional tuition fees to your chosen overseas institution. Application for School Year 20232024 is currently ongoing, so dont miss this chance! Sign up now through this registration form: bit.ly/AssumptionCollegeRegistrationForm.

For more information, visit the Virtual Admissions Hub or contact the College Admissions Office through email at admissions@assumption.edu.ph or mobile at +63 927 966 2341 or +63 926 728 0980.

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Former Henry County Administrator Tim Hall is the new interim county manager for Patrick County.

That was announced during Wednesdays Patrick County Board of Supervisors meeting, which was dominated by a tense conversation between the Board and Piedmont Community Services (PCS) over funding.

Hall fills the role vacated by Geri Hazelwood, who resigned from her position on March 6 but giving an effective date of resignation as March 1.

PCS Executive Director Greg Preston asked the board for additional funding after the traditional funding had been reduced during the last fiscal year.

Virginia has 40 Community Service Boards and PCS is one of them, Preston said. PCS was founded to be a publicly funded organization to help with mental health, substance abuse, developmental disability and prevention services, he added.

It was specifically formed to serve the counties of Franklin, Patrick, Henry and the city of Martinsville, Preston said.

The role for Piedmont Community Services is to serve Patrick County. Not provide all mental health, developmental disability or substance abuse services, but to be here as a liaison and also to provide services whether an individual has the ability to pay or not, Preston said.

Preston added PCS has proudly served Patrick County for the last 50 years.

In 2022 PCS served 862 people in Patrick County, Preston said. The organization employs over 68 staff in the county, provide over 25 services and has plans to expand its programming.

PCS has just purchased a mobile unit, or RV, that will drive around the Piedmont service areas with a prescriber, nurse and a case manager to provide recovery services, and there is a community recovery program in Patrick County that provides employment services in addition to recovery services, he said.

With a HRSA grant, totaling $500,000, PCS is funding a deputy position at the Patrick County Sheriffs Office for the next three years.

PCSs estimated program budget for FY23-24 is $3,591,249, Preston said.

Preston brought copies of a portion of the Code of Virginia and passed them out to the board members. The code says that PCS gets state funds up to 90% for services and have to make up the other 10% from local governments, Preston said.

PCS uses U.S. Census information to calculate the 10% match by different service areas.

Franklin Countys population of 54,938 makes it responsible for 40.30% of the 10% local match; Henry Countys population of 50,248 makes it responsible for 36.87% of the 10% match; Martinsvilles population of 13,517 makes it responsible for 9.92% of the 10% match; and Patrick County, with a population of 17,602 is responsible for 12.91% of the 10% match.

The 10% match from state funds totals $791,202, and Patrick Countys 12.91% of that cost is $102,144. The local match can also be in in-kind services, and Patrick County already provides water line and facility services to PCS worth $600 and $2,400 respectively.

In FY22 Patrick County designated $79,000 to PCS. In FY23 Patrick County lowered the contribution by $25,000 to balance the budget. For FY24, PCS is requesting that the county provide $102,144, minus the in-kind services, or at least return to FY22 level funding at $71,179, Patrick County Financial Officer Lori Jones said.

When PCS doesnt receive local match, it is required to report back to the state why the funding was not received. Preston said this can result in PCS losing state funding.

PCBOS Board Member Doug Perry said the concern the board has is not that PCS is moving services outside of Patrick County but that they dont currently see any services.

We have zero prevention. Nothing, Perry said. Theres a huge gap between active addiction and then the recovery services you provide. A person has to already be in recovery, and we dont have anything to fill in those gaps.

And I know thats a huge part of other communities, so when are we going to start seeing those things physically here, inside of Patrick County, Perry said.

Preston responded with a list of programs PCS provides: Too Good for Drugs, a program for students; mental health training for staff; mental health first aid; Safe Talk; and ACIS training.

Perry said that though ACIS is done at the Reynolds Homestead, he asked when the last time the other programs were held in Patrick County.

I respectfully disagree and I will definitely get back to the chair about your concerns  I respectfully disagree that these are promises that have not been met, Preston said.

I would love for you to prove me wrong because this is near and dear to my heart and I would like to see this active as active can be in the county. So please, please prove me wrong, Perry said.

The questions around the services that Piedmont [PCS] is not providing, its also the responsibility of the locality to meet their 10% match to assist us with extended services, to assist us with paying salaries, Preston said.

By being cut 20 or 25 thousand dollars last year and then per your request to expand services  it definitely puts Piedmont in a tight bind, especially when we have other localities that meet their match, Preston added.

The board did not make any action based on the presentation at the Wednesday evening meeting.

In other matters:

The board approved the real estate tax rate at $.73 per $100 of assessed value for FY23-24.

The board approved Patrick County Assistant County Administrator and Human Resources Director Donna Shough as the project administrator for certain grants so that grant funds arent lost due to administration changes after the resignation of former Patrick County Administrator Geri Hazelwood.

Patrick County Treasurer Sandra Stone informed the board she will restructure the positions in her office due to an employee resigning that will not require any additional funds form the county.

The board approved the county changing from self-funded employee insurance to its own Anthem plan.

The board approved a request for $15,000 for the DeHart Park Pool from the FY2023 budget and only for this year. The board agreed to discuss whether or not it would become a regular county budget line item in the future.
Today is the final day of a public comment period on an enforcement by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on Virginia Mirror Company Inc. (VMCI).

An enforcement action has been proposed for Virginia Mirror Company Inc. for violations of the Virginia Waste Management Act and the applicable regulations at the Martinsville facility that occurred as part of the silvering and painting operations performed in the manufacturing process of mirrors and glass, according to the DEQ. The Department of Environmental Quality proposes to issue a consent order with a penalty in the amount of $40,000 to address the noncompliance.

Public comment may be sent to Michelle Callahan of the DEQ at michelle.callahan@deq.virginia.gov or (804) 698-4000 or (800) 592-5482.

At Virginia Mirrors facility, silvering and painting operations are performed in the manufacturing process of mirrors and glass, the DEQ Consent Order states. Those operations are subject to the Virginia Waste Management Act and the Regulations.

The VMCI facility generates both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, the DEQ reports. The hazardous wastes it generates are paint and paint-related materials and solids and corrosive liquids (basic and acidic). The regulated waste it generates is used oil spent lead acid batteries. The universal waste it generates is spent florescent lamps.

On Aug. 24, 2021, the DEQ performed a desk-top, audit-style review for compliance. Its report states that it found the following:

VCMI accumulated hazardous waste for over 180 days, from April 12, 2018, to Feb. 25, 2020, instead of shipping it offsite

VCMI stored accumulated hazardous waste on-site for over a year, did not notify the DEQ of that and did not explain why doing so was necessary

VCMI generated over 2,200 pounds of hazardous waste during December 2020 and did not notify the DEQ nor the Environmental Protection Agency of a change to Large Quantity Generator (LQG) status

VCMI did not pay the LQG hazardous waste fee for 2020

VCMI did not re-notify the EPA of its continued SGQ status by the deadline of Sept. 1, 2021

VCMI did not provide documentation to confirm that hazardous waste containers were labeled appropriately

VCMI did not document weekly inspections, develop a quick reference guide to distribute to emergency responders and other agencies, ensure that all employees are familiar with proper waste handling and emergency procedures, or ensure that universal waste was contained in a closed package or container

VCMI did not ship universal waste between 2019 and May 11, 2021, letting it accumulate for over a year; and VCMI did not demonstrate the length of time universal waste had been accumulated.

Code sets a limit of 180 days for the accumulation of hazardous waste on site, the report states. Anyone who becomes a Large Quantity Generator must notify the department in writing of that change in status and pay an annual fee. A small quantity generator must re-notify the EPA starting in 2021 and every four years thereafter, it states.

The DEQ assessed Virginia Mirror with a $40,000 civil charge.

The order was signed and accepted on Feb. 9 by Beverly Riddle, Virginia Mirror Company vice president of human resources.

Virginia Mirror did not respond to a request for comment from the Bulletin on Thursday.
Ralph Ricciardi wasted no time heading to Forsyth Technical Community College Thursday morning when he learned that his wife, Chrisann, an instructor at the school, was hiding under a desk in a dark room.
Two Morganton vape shops were targeted in a joint operation between local, state and federal law enforcement in the last few months, court documents show.

Morganton Vape, which was in the Fiddlers Run Shopping Center, and Tobacco World #1, in the Morganton Heights Shopping Center, both had search warrants executed at their businesses in January, according to court documents filed at the Burke County Courthouse.

Theyre just two of about 20 smoke shops in total that have been searched since November, with store locations across the state, Lenoir Police Lt. Z. Poythress told The News Herald.

Victoria Lucaj is the owner of Tobacco World #1 in Morganton and Hudson Tobacco and Vape on U.S. 321 in Hudson. She told reporters Wednesday she felt she and her colleagues were targeted because they are Muslim.

We feel like were being treated unfairly because of the religion we practice, because we have a successful business, Lucaj said.

But law enforcement officers investigating the stores said thats not the case. Poythress said it wasnt until months into their investigation that law enforcement identified Lucaj and her colleagues as persons of interest.

Search warrants filed in connection with the case indicate the investigation started in March 2022 when the department, alongside the North Carolina Secretary of States Office, started looking into the sale of THC and tobacco products to minors, along with the sale of products packaged to look like commercially available candies like SweeTARTS, Sour Patch Kids and peach rings.

An undercover investigator entered one of the smoke shops in question that month, purchasing a couple of packs of gummies in candy-like packaging.

He also asked the clerk for flower, which means marijuana, and the clerk pulled out a small container with a substance that appeared to be marijuana, search warrants said. The investigator purchased 3.8 grams of the substance, and when it was field tested later, it tested positive for THC, search warrants said. That meant the substance was not CBD.

Several months went by until November, when school resource officers in Lenoir voiced concerns to narcotics investigators about students in high school carrying vapes and THC products. Parents and students told detectives the products had been purchased at H&A Tobacco Store, which is on Blowing Rock Boulevard in Lenoir near Dunham Sports, the search warrants said.

That month, state and local law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the store and ended up seizing more than $10,000 worth of items for copyright infringement, along with a large amount of THC products, the search warrants said. They also seized $27,000 in cash they believed had not been claimed on tax filings.

It was during the execution of this search warrant that detectives made contact with Lucaj, who said she was the manager of the store. Lucaj told investigators the store owner, Mahmood Aldahabi, was out of the country, according to search warrants.

Search warrants said investigators found it odd that Lucaj knew the combinations to all of the safes inside the Lenoir store even though she said she was not the store owner.

They also noted in the search warrants that Lucaj gave a Lenoir address, but told investigators she was headed to the store from Hildebran  the same town where Aldahabi lived.

Investigators said in search warrants that tax documents, along with bulk currency found in the store, led them to believe Aldahabi and Lucaj were trying to move funds without claiming it on their tax filings, sparking further investigation and the involvement of Homeland Security Investigations.

HSI, LPD and the Burke County Sheriffs Office executed a search warrant at Aldahabis home in Hildebran. When they knocked on the door, Lucaj answered, wearing nitrile gloves investigators later found in the basement of the home near a conversion lab, search warrants said. Poythress said the gloves werent found anywhere else.

The conversion lab was being used to convert THC wax/resin to oil for vape cartridges, according to search warrants. In an interview after waiving her Miranda Rights, Lucaj told investigators the lab was her brothers and that he would buy product in Florida, convert it in the lab, then they would sell the cartridges in their stores in North Carolina, search warrants said.

That all led to her brother, Frank David Lucaj, 38, of Del Ray Beach, Florida, getting charged with felony manufacturing a Schedule VI controlled substance, trafficking in marijuana, conspiracy to sell/deliver marijuana and continuing criminal enterprise, according to arrest warrants filed at the Burke County Courthouse.

Also found during the search of the Hildebran home was a box containing bulk cash. Victoria Lucaj told officers that cash was from cleaning out the stores because she was worried law enforcement would hit them, too, search warrants said.

Investigators also revealed in search warrants that BCSO narcotics detectives learned Victoria Lucaj and possibly Aldahabi had purchased several money orders for $1,000 at a local post office. Those money orders were sent to a tobacco and vape shop in Buffalo, New York, search warrants said.

Search warrants obtained for bank accounts connected to the investigation at Wells Fargo indicated Aldahabi claimed $16,000 when he filed his 2020 income taxes, but investigators with Homeland Security Investigations ended up seizing a total of about $1.5 million in their investigation, according to federal court documents.

They also seized a cashiers check for $128,437.41 made payable to US Customs and Border Patrol, search warrants said.

Of the products seized during the investigation, all but one were illegal to be possessed in North Carolina, search warrants said, because of the concentration of a specific strand of THC  delta 9, according to search warrants.

In North Carolina, delta 9 is not legal. Delta 8, another strand of THC, is legal in small amounts.

Victoria Lucaj told reporters she believed the testing the products would have undergone would have caused them to show higher amounts of THC than they would through personal use.

If a real lab were to test it, of course it would go high because theyre heating it the wrong way, Lucaj said. Delta 8 would be converted to delta 9, of course. But if a delta 8 expert, lab experts, were to do it, its going to be delta 8 for sure.

Poythress said law enforcement used a private lab to find out the amount of THC in the products, and lab officials told him heating the products during testing would not cause their chemical makeup to change.

Besides Frank Lucaj, no other charges have been issued in connection with the investigation so far.

Poythress said state level charges are pending in the case.

Federal prosecutors have asked judicial officials for an extension of time to file a forfeiture complaint.

Victoria Lucaj said she plans to fight any legal action and wants to get her belongings back.
This 30th March, in Juba, South Sudan expressed its interest in strengthening parliamentary cooperation with Angola in various matters.

According to the president of the Legislative Assembly of South Sudan, Jema Kumba, who held a meeting in Juba with her Angolan counterpart, Carolina Cerqueira, her country is interested in obtaining more knowledge and experience in Angola, above all, in terms of pacification, union and reconciliation among citizens.

He highlighted the fact that Angola managed, after nearly three decades of conflict, to rebuild its infrastructure.

Carolina Cerqueira, who heads the Angolan delegation at the 13th ordinary session of the Plenary Assembly taking place in the capital of South Sudan, invited Kumba to travel to the country to find out more about the reality, as the National Assembly is open for exchange of experience.
The envoy of the United Nations Secretary General to Mozambique, Mirko Manzoni, said this week in New York that the Mozambican government has the money to pay pensions to Renamo guerrillas, an issue that has been the main dispute between Maputo and the main party of opposition.

Meanwhile, political analysts consider that the non-payment of pensions to former guerrillas reflects a complex reality that the Government of Mozambique is trying to hide, which is the lack of resources for current expenses, being forced to make deviations from the application of funds made available by the international community or for this purpose.

Speaking to the media, Mirko Manzoni, said that financing is a subject that seems to be a little technical.

The financing of pensions was voted on, the Government of Mozambique has the money to pay pensions. It is clear that the issue of pensions is not easy. Also in my country, which is Switzerland, it is not an easy matter. Pensions, in the case of Mozambique, will be paid like all combatants, he concluded.

Political analyst Manuel Alves is of the opinion that the Government is committed to the agreements signed with Renamo, but does not have the money to pay pensions, just as it cannot fit all civil servants into the so-called Single Salary Table.

There are many bad cases in Mozambique due to lack of funds, emphasizes that analyst, while also political analyst Alexandre Chiure says that the European Union and other international partners have promised to support the process of Demilitarization, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of the combatants of the Renamo, but due to lack of resources to face current expenses, eventually, the Government is being forced to divert promised funds.
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Neutralizing and non-neutralizing ADAs in complex with brolucizumab. A structural model of a complex comprised of one neutralizing anti-brolucizumab antibody in blue, and two non-neutralizing antibodies in light yellow. Brolucizumab is shown in gray, with the VEGF-A-binding CDRs highlighted in magenta. ADA, anti-drug antibody; CDR, complementarity-determining region; VEGF-A, vascular endothelial growth factor A. Credit: Science Translational Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abq5068

A drug approved in 2019 for macular degeneration apparently caused rare retinal side effects because of its interactions with the human immune system, two new studies have concluded.

The drug, a monoclonal antibody called brolucizumab, was developed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG for an eye condition known as wet age-related macular degeneration, or simply, AMD. The disorder is a leading cause of vision loss in people 65 and older. AMD not only causes severe blurring, it is characterized by a blind spot in the center of the retina, the macula of the eye. The disorder is characterized by an overgrowth of abnormal blood vessels that leak into the macula. Brolucizumab was developed to specifically target the damaging overgrowth.

The medication is approved in more than 70 countries, but while it was deemed safe in pre-approval testing, reports emerged a few months after its launch noting rare retinal disorders in a small percentage of patients treated with the drug. These side effects impacted an estimated 2.1% of patients, according to data in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Scientists at two Novartis research centers embarked on investigations to determine what went awry. These probes were undertaken at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Scientists in one study examined serum samples, and in the other, created models of the inflammatory conditions patients experienced. The single aim of the research on two continents was to address the mystery underlying why this medication became linked to retinal side effects in some patients while the majority of patients treated with the drug were problem-free.

"In October 2019, Novartis launched brolucizumab, a single-chain variable fragment molecule targeting vascular endothelial growth factor A, for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration," wrote Anette C. Karle of the company's biomedical research division in Basel.

Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) is a signaling protein with multiple activities, one of which is prompting the growth of aberrant blood vessels. Wet AMD is caused by abnormal blood vessels growing in the layer of the eye called the choroid, situated underneath the light-sensitive retina. Blood vessel overgrowth leads to vision loss in AMD.

Writing in the Science Translational Medicine, Karle noted that patients who didn't fare well on the drug developed telltale conditions of the eye. "In 2020, rare cases of retinal vasculitis and/or retinal vascular occlusion were reported, often during the first few months after treatment initiation, consistent with a possible immunologic pathobiology," Karle, lead author of one of the new studies noted.

Retinal vasculitis is an inflammatory condition affecting blood vessels of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the rear of the eye. The most insidious aspect of retinal vasculitis is the painless loss of vision. Retinal vascular occlusion, on the other hand, is caused by a blockage in veins moving blood away from the retina. The blockage can lead to edemafluid retentionin the macula. This trapped fluid accumulates not only within the retina but under it, leading to rapid and severe loss of visual acuity.

According to the research by Karle and colleagues, retinal disorders were "inconsistent with preclinical studies in cynomolgus monkeys that demonstrated no drug-related intraocular inflammation, retinal vasculitis or retinal occlusion, despite the presence of preexisting and treatment-emergent antidrug antibodies in some [test] animals." However, a small number of patients in the clinical trial experienced the two inflammatory conditions after treatment with brolucizumab.

To understand why the medication didn't work for some patients, Karle and her collaborators compared serum samples from select groups: nonhuman primates, untreated healthy volunteers, and 28 patients from the clinical trials who experienced retinal vasculitis or retinal vascular occlusion after brolucizumab treatment.

Serum analyses revealed that an immune response against brolucizumab was a prerequisite for both side effects because only patients with retinal vasculitis or retinal vascular occlusion showed strong T cell responses to the treatment. Patients' immune systems were attacking their retinas after treatment with the drug.

In a second study, also reported in Science Translational Medicine, Dr. Jeffrey Kearns and colleagues adopted a translational approach to elucidate how the body can unleash inflammatory forces after treatment with brolucizumab.

Kearns' team, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Basel, Switzerland, integrated structural modeling, immunological analysis, and other techniques to investigate the root causes of retinal vasculitis and retinal vascular occlusion.

"The presence of antidrug antibodies in these patients led to the initial hypothesis that immune complexes could be key mediators," wrote Kearns, a researcher at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge, and lead author of the second study. "Although the formation of antidrug antibodies and immune complexes may be a prerequisite, other factors likely contribute to some patients having retinal vasculitis or retinal vascular occlusion, whereas the vast majority do not."

Kearns and his collaborators studied brolucizumab's effects in a systems pharmacology model that mimicked conditions in the eye. Using the model allowed researchers to identify several factors that drove the treatment's interactions with immune cells.

These factors included a linear epitope on the drug shared with gut bacterial proteins, and the appearance of non-native derivatives of brolucizumab after 13 weeks. These manifestations led to the formation of immune complexes between brolucizumab and anti-drug antibodies.

Karle and Kearns, along with their colleagues, caution that more work is needed for more definitive answers. Both researchers note that other unknown factors could be at play, as their experiments were limited by a dearth of intraocular clinical samples and a lack of genetic risk factors.

More information: Anette C. Karle et al, Anti-brolucizumab immune response as one prerequisite for rare retinal vasculitis/retinal vascular occlusion adverse events, Science Translational Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abq5241 Jeffrey D. Kearns et al, A root cause analysis to identify the mechanistic drivers of immunogenicity against the anti-VEGF biotherapeutic brolucizumab, Science Translational Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abq5068 Journal information: Science Translational Medicine

 2023 Science X Network
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Shannon MacDonald and her research team found that rates of routine immunizations in grades 6 and 9 dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, and are calling for extra measures to ensure students are protected against HPV and meningitis. Credit: John Ulan

The percentage of Alberta students who received vital routine immunizations dropped dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the public health system must now take extra measures to catch up, according to a public health expert behind newly published research in the journal Vaccine.

"School vaccinations came to a standstill during the pandemic," says Shannon MacDonald, registered nurse, associate professor in the Faculty of Nursing and adjunct professor in the School of Public Health. "The public health system was operating in unprecedented circumstances and it could only be stretched so far."

MacDonald's research team reviewed immunization records for 289,420 Alberta adolescents scheduled to receive vaccines against meningococcal disease and human papillomavirus (HPV) before, during and immediately after pandemic school closures.

They found that while 65% of children received the full HPV vaccine series before COVID, just 5% were fully immunized against HPV during the first pandemic year and 6% the following year. By the fall of 2021, the number had bounced back to 50%. For the meningitis vaccine, immunization rates dropped from about 80% pre-COVID to 55% during the pandemic, before rebounding to 83% afterward.

Using immunization records from the 201718 pre-pandemic school year as a baseline, the researchers followed the students through the 20192020 first pandemic year and then into the fall of 2021 to assess catch-up. Alberta schools were closed and students moved to online instruction from mid-March in 2020 until the end of the school year, and then parents had the choice of whether to send their kids for in-person or online learning during the following school year. MacDonald explains that even when schools reopened, public health nurses were redeployed to work in COVID-19 vaccination clinics, so the interruption of school immunizations continued.

"The fact is we want at least 90% of kids vaccinated," says MacDonald, "because we're talking about a vaccine to prevent HPV-related cancersthroat cancer, penile cancer, cervical cancerand another against meningococcal disease that can take kids' hands and feet, or even their lives.

"Yes, we need to catch up to our pre-COVID levels, but we also should be trying to exceed our pre-COVID levels."

Short window of opportunity to catch up

Meningococcal disease is spread through saliva, and outbreaks can occur among unvaccinated young adults, leading to inflammation in the brain and spinal cord called meningitis. The disease can lead to brain damage, loss of limbs and even death. The vaccine against meningococcal disease is usually given in one dose in Grade 9, while the HPV vaccine is usually scheduled in two doses for Grade 6 students. HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that causes genital warts, but a long-term infection can lead to cervical and other cancers later in life. All routine immunizations require parental consent.

MacDonald says it is crucial for the public health system to take extra measures to catch up with routine immunizations before these students graduate and are much harder to track down. Measures already underway include sending extra nurses to schools to deliver missed doses, offering vaccines in high schools and encouraging families to visit public health clinics for missed immunizations. Other possible measures could include greater efforts to engage parents whose first language is not English using translated materials.

"We usually vaccinate kids against HPV in Grade 6, for examplenot because they're liable to get HPV in Grade 6, but because we are able to access essentially every child in the province through a school program," says MacDonald, who is also adjunct assistant professor in the Cumming School of Medicine and principal investigator in the Applied Immunization research program. "We know that school programs improve the equity of access because kids whose parents are working two jobs or who don't have a car to go to a public health center can still have their kids vaccinated."

MacDonald notes that the rate of infant vaccinations also fell off during the pandemic, although not to the same extent as for school-aged children. Although there have been no outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and polio in Canada due to missed vaccines, there have been in other parts of the world.

MacDonald is working on a follow-up study to track further recovery of routine school immunization rates, but she is hopeful that progress is already being made.

"Public health is starting to get caught up on things; they have made an additional investment of time and resources and staff to try and catch these kids up," she says.

More information: Hannah Sell et al, School immunization coverage in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective cohort study, Vaccine (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.01.011 Journal information: Vaccine
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Variation in DST coverage. Each bar represents the number of times that date falls under the particular time regime from 1989 to 2015. DST, daylight saving time. Credit: Economic Inquiry (2022). DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13130

This Sunday marks the end of 'Daylight Saving Time' (DST) in eastern Australia as states revert to 'Standard Time' (ST) losing one hour of light at the end of the day.

It's an event many would like to see come to end, claiming that the bi-annual changing clocks ritual poses a health hazard, increasing road accidents and hospitalizations.

Yet a new study from economists at the University of Bath (UK) argues there is no evidence for this claim. Instead, the researchers suggest, the transition between DST and ST merely spreads accidents at different points throughout the daythere is no overall net increase, even if collision risks are higher at night.

Drawing on extensive administrative data on road traffic collisions over 27 years (from January 1989 to December 2015), comprising over 40,000 fatal road collisions, the researcher tested effects of DST by comparing annual time changes and one-off events, for example when DST was extended for the Sydney Olympics.

This provided comparison data: some calendar days which were subject to DST and some which were not. Their study finds that that there was no effect of DST on fatal collisions across Australia, even though effects have been observed in other countries, including the UK and US.

Lead researcher, Dr. Jonathan James from Bath's Department of Economics, explains, "Many have argued that shifting an hour of daylight from the morning, when there are typically fewer collisions, to the evening, when collision risk is typically higher, could lead to an overall net reduction in road traffic collisions. However, our study suggests this would not be the case."

"DST does not only have an impact on light, it also has an impact on sleep. Australians do not sleep enough, and this could be impacting accidents just at different points in the day."

"This study provides one piece of evidence that was missing in the case of the relative merits of implementing DST in Australia. Overall, the change in the clocks in Australia is not leading to an increase in road traffic collisions."

A recent report revealed that 29% of people report driving while drowsy at least once every month and that around one fifth have fallen asleep while driving. The transition to DST has been shown to lead to less sleep and poorer quality sleep too.

While the study does not find the overall number of collisions change, by using the precise time of the accident there is evidence that pattern of accidents changes over the day, with fewer accidents in the evening under DST but more in the earlier parts of the day.

Australia began using Daylight Saving Time (DST) during the first world war in 1916 and still has DST in some states today. Yet changing the clocks is controversial.

The European Union has recently set in motion plans to scrap DST and will allow member states to either move to permanent summertime or permanent wintertime Similar bills have been put forward in Ireland and US that, if passed, would move the respective countries onto DST all year.

There have been referenda in Australian states to decide whether to keep DST. In 2008, the single-issue political partyDaylight Saving for South East Queensland was formed, and in 2016 this grew into the Daylight Saving Party.

Access the latest study 'Let there be light: Daylight saving time and road traffic collisions' via the journal Economic Inquiry.

More information: Jonathan James, Let there be light: Daylight saving time and road traffic collisions, Economic Inquiry (2022). DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13130
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Localized isocitrate dehydrogenase wild-type astrocytoma tumor before any surgery (left). Even after the removal of the tumor (middle), the patient had malignant recurrence (right) and a poor clinical prognosis. Credit: Kazuya Motomura

A team of researchers from the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine has reported that patients with a rare form of brain and spinal cord cancer, localized isocitrate dehydrogenase wild-type (IDHwt) histologically diffuse astrocytoma, have a poor prognosis similar to the most malignant types of brain and spinal cord tumors. Their findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, point to the need for strong postoperative care for patients with this type of tumor.

Gliomas are a tumor that originate in the glial cells that surround neurons in the brain. Under the microscope, gliomas can be divided into several types based on the type of cells they invade. These include astrocytomas, which, as their name suggests, infect astrocytes, an important type of neuron.

In 2016, to improve prognosis and patient management, the WHO classification of central nervous system tumors included a new classification of diffuse gliomas, based on the presence or absence of specific mutations. Two rare types of diffuse astrocytomas are infiltrative and localized isocitrate dehydrogenase wild-type (IDHwt) diffuse astrocytomas. Since they are so rare, there is a lack of information on whether the infiltrative or localized characteristics affect their prognosis and what this means for the patient.

The Nagoya University research team, led by Yuji Kibe and Kazuya Motomura of the Department of Neurosurgery, analyzed localized IDHwt astrocytomas and found that all resulted in malignant recurrence and a poor clinical prognosis similar to that of glioblastomas. Glioblastomas are among the most malignant tumors, with an average survival time of eight months and less than 7% of patients survive for five years.

Motomura believes that the findings of the group are important for doctors and patients. "All tumors that we investigated had a dismal prognosis despite multidisciplinary treatment," he said. "For patients with gliomas, our research results should lead patients to receive the proper clinical diagnosis and treatment. For physicians, IDHwt astrocytomas must be followed with great caution, even after total removal. Strong postoperative therapy should be considered. As almost all patients with diffuse astrocytomas present with radiographic imaging findings suggesting a localized tumor mass, physicians may misdiagnose the patient with a low-grade tumor instead of a malignant tumor; therefore, our findings suggest physicians should consider the possibility of such tumors."

More information: Yuji Kibe et al, Imaging features of localized IDH wild-type histologically diffuse astrocytomas: a single-institution case series, Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25928-2 Journal information: Scientific Reports
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Researchers led by a team at UT Southwestern Medical Center have created a statistical model to identify standards for typical, high, or low rates of bleeding after pediatric tonsillectomies. The findings, published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, could help doctors and hospitals improve outcomes for the third-most common pediatric surgery in the U.S.

"This model is a useful instrument to include in quality and safety initiatives around tonsillectomies. Now, doctors have a validated model to judge their bleeding rates against," said first author Romaine Johnson, M.D., Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UTSW and the Department's Director of Quality and Safety.

In 2019, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation issued updated guidelines for pediatric tonsillectomies, which recommended that surgeons self-monitor their patients' bleeding rates after these procedures. Ron Mitchell, M.D., UTSW Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology, was lead author on those guidelines and on the current study.

Although complications after tonsillectomies are rare, Dr. Johnson said, excessive bleeding is one of the most common and is often considered a factor in the very few deaths associated with this surgery. The change in guidelines was a significant step toward helping improve tonsillectomy safety, he said, but physicians faced a significant hurdle in using them effectively. No standards existed to inform doctors whether their personal or institutional bleeding rates were considered normal, high, or low.

To develop probability standards, Dr. Johnson and his colleagues collected data from the Children's Hospital Association's Pediatric Health Information System database, which contains de-identified patient information covering inpatient stays, outpatient surgeries, emergency department visits, and observation unit patient data from more than 49 not-for-profit children's hospitals in the U.S.

The researchers were primarily interested in data involving patients who came to the emergency department or were readmitted for bleeding after tonsillectomiesa sign that their bleeding after the procedure was considered excessive. Researchers collected demographic data on these patients as well as medical histories.

After stratifying bleeding rates for these institutions into percentiles, the team found that the median probability rate for bleeding among all patients was 1.97%. The lowest rate hovered just over 1%, and the highest rate, in the 99th percentile, was 6.4%. Variables associated with increased rates of post-tonsillectomy bleeding included adolescent age (older than 12), Hispanic ethnicity, residence in a relatively high-wealth ZIP code, and obesity.

Dr. Johnson emphasized that the study did not account for surgical technique or the many tools available to perform tonsillectomies. Different training of surgeons could also affect results, a variable that's difficult to capture, he said. But Dr. Johnson stressed that technique may not be to blame for higher bleeding rates since many factors outside a surgeon's control contribute to risk, including a patient's age or other comorbidities.

"This model provides a useful starting point to help surgeons look critically at their own bleeding rates and help them understand why this complication might occur," Dr. Johnson said.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Tanzania has heightened disease surveillance and prevention measures to contain its first-ever outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), which is highly infectious and potentially fatal.

MVD is a hemorrhagic fever in the same family as Ebola, with no vaccines or treatments approved to treat it.

The virus is initially transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Rapid response teams have been deployed to investigate the outbreak and implement interventions such contact tracing and "risk communication activities" in the affected area of Tanzania, said the WHO.

A 23-year-old fisherman who had traveled to Goziba Island in Lake Victoria fell ill on return to his home village in Bukoba municipality in the Kagera region of the country. He died on 1 March. His symptoms included vomiting, fever, bleeding, and kidney failure.

Four other people died with similar symptoms, including a health worker who was in contact with the patients at a health center in the village of Maruku.

The deaths sparked fears of an outbreak of what the Tanzanian ministry of health described as a "contagious disease" in the region. Tanzania's Ministry of Health confirmed last week (21 March) that it was an outbreak of MVD after laboratory testing.

"These emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are a sign that the health security of the continent needs to be strengthened to cope with the disease threats," says Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A total of eight cases had been reported as of 22 Marchfour of them from the same family as the fisherman. The three surviving patients, including a second health worker, were undergoing treatment at health facilities in Bukoba.

So far, 205 people have been quarantined in Bukoba where there is an outbreak of Marburg, said health minister Ummy Mwalimu during a press briefing on 25 March. No case had been reported from outside the Bukoba district.

Tumaini Nagu, Tanzania's chief medical officer, told SciDev.Net that health advocacy campaigns had been scaled up in rural communities where the outbreak was first reported.

Residents are encouraged to adhere to hand washing and safe and dignified burials involving municipal authorities.

"We are getting good support from the community," Nagu said.

She explained that interventions were in place to ensure effective case management while observing infection prevention and control to prevent further transmission of the disease.

"Contacts have been quarantined and are followed up daily," Nagu added. "Should they develop any symptoms, samples will be taken for testing."

Gideon Rugumamu, a resident of Bukoba town, says responses are mixed among members of the community. "There are people who believe it's Ebola," he told SciDev.Net. "There is a bit of anxiety here after deaths were reported. But there are people who still ignore warnings, believing it's not a serious disease."

MVD is caused by a virus of the Filoviridae family that causes hemorrhagic diseases such as Ebola. According to the WHO, patients are offered supportive care and treatment of specific symptoms to improve survival in the absence of approved treatments.

On average, around half of those infected die from the disease, the WHO says.

Ibrahim Simiyu, a Tanzanian doctoral researcher in health systems at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom, says the Tanzania outbreak highlights the need to invest in primary health systems that can respond to epidemics.

"Health workers in primary health facilities are the first line of contact in such outbreaks," he told SciDev.Net. "They need to be trained to detect such disease threats and protect themselves and the communities.

"Without well-equipped primary health facilities, such outbreaks could go undetected and lead to more fatalities."

Protective gear needed

Deusdedit Ndlanha, president of the Medical Association of Tanzania, stressed that the government should ensure access to personal protective equipment for health workers.

"My advice to medical personnel is, they should also observe infection prevention control measures," he said.

Tanzania has updated its international travel guidance to prevent cross-border transmission of the virus. Passengers who exit the Kagera region through formal and informal ports of entry will be screened.

Elsewhere in Africa, Equatorial Guinea has been battling an outbreak of Marburg since Februarythe first ever in the country. Seven people have been confirmed dead from the disease and a further 20 people suspected to have been infected have also died.

The WHO says there is no evidence of a link between the two outbreaks. It says the Marburg virus in Tanzania has been isolated from Egyptian fruit bats (Roussettus aegyptiacus) and countries such as Rwanda and Uganda near the affected Kagera region could be at risk.

"These emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are a sign that the health security of the continent needs to be strengthened to cope with the disease threats," said Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

He urged members of the public to share relevant information in a timely manner with the authorities to enable an effective response.

Provided by SciDev.Net
Here's some business news in the Missoula area:

Get Air Missoula, a new indoor trampoline park and playground in Missoula, opened this past Wednesday morning. The business is located at 2501 Brooks St. in Missoula at the site of the former Flying Squirrel trampoline park.

Morning Birds Bakery has opened their new location at 223 W. Broadway, the site of the former Bagels on Broadway. After remodeling the interior of the space, they're now fully operational with an espresso bar, pastries, bagels, breakfast treats and lunch items.

The old Silvertip Casino at 680 SW Higgins is being torn down and replaced with a brand new Magic Diamond Casino, according to Town Pump director of corporate communications Bill McGladdery.

Were in the process of emptying the building out, he said. Were starting demolition (the week of March 27). Then we have plans to open the new building in about 8 months.

The new casino will have a liquor store, a lounge/bar area and gaming machines.

Were relocating all employees to other casinos, then well bring them back when it opens, McGladdery said.

Rendering of new Magic Diamond A rendering of what the new Magic Diamond will look like.

They were originally planning to remodel the building.

Then we got in there and discovered the building was at the end of its useful life, he explained.

The former Dennys restaurant location at 2922 Brooks Street in Missoula will become a new Liquid Planet Grille, according to KPAX news. Scott Billadeau, a founder of Liquid Planet locations in Missoula, told the news station that the new restaurant will be similar to the Arthur Street location and will have beer and wine options.

Magpies Chic Consignment Boutique at 1118 S. Russell Street recently sent an email to customers notifying them that the business will close permanently at the end of June. The building it is in was sold to the Montana Department of Transportation.

The Sushi Palace in Southgate Mall in Missoula has announced that it's opening a new store nearby called Dessert Palace.

We will be where Dairy Queen and Orange Julius used to be in the Southgate Mall, the company wrote on Facebook. We will be offering a ton of things such as boba, Asian desserts, sandwiches and salads, and fresh juices. With this great news that means Sushi Palace will be phasing out our boba. The exact opening date is still to be determined. But we will keep you guys posted! We are very excited for this opportunity! We are very excited for all of you guys to try all our sweet treats.

A new food truck called Clark Fork & Spoon Kitchen has opened in Frenchtown. It's offering smash burgers, crispy chicken sandwiches, cheese sticks, corn dogs, poutine and other specialties. For more information follow it on Instagram and Facebook.
Cindy Newman, a trailer court resident from Great Falls, told a Legislative committee in Helena on Thursday that most of the residents where she lives are elderly and on fixed incomes and cant afford the drastic lot rent increases that have been happening in recent years.

We are here today because our communities are under threat, she said. Real estate investors have seized on the vulnerability of homeowners who own homes but rent the land. They have built a highly profitable business model that relies on our limited mobility to squeeze large profits out of moderate-income residents."

Newman was speaking as a proponent of House Bill 889, which she labeled as a bill of rights for mobile home residents.

The bill is officially titled Revise the Residential Mobile Home Lot Rental Act, introduced by Rep. Jonathen Karlen, a Democrat representing the Frenchtown and Huson areas west of Missoula. Among other provisions, the bill would ban mobile home park owners from instituting month-to-month lease agreements and instead would require year-long leases unless a month-to-month lease agreement is mutually agreed upon.

The bill would also mean that if a landlord terminates a rental agreement due to nonpayment, the tenant has 45 days to correct the issue instead of the current seven-day period. The bill would also mean a landlord cannot require a resident or a resident association to obtain liability insurance in order to use common areas or facilities unless alcohol is being served. And it stipulates that a landlord may not retaliate by altering or refusing to renew an existing rental agreement, by imposing any fee, by changing park rules, by enforcing park rules in an unreasonable or non-uniform manner or by bringing or threatening to bring an action for eviction.

This bill modernizes the Montana Residential Mobile Home Lot Rental Act to ensure that the rights of all parties are being protected, Karlen told the House Judiciary Committee. This bill is not an overhaul of the law and does not shift power in any major way. It does not infringe on the rights of mobile home park owners."

Instead, he said, it balances the rights of the trailer owners and the park owners' private property rights.

"And I dont think anybody will argue they dont have (property rights)," Karlen continued. "They have private property rights. But it will make sure though that tenants, mobile home owners, have a basic set of rights and can be ensured a transparent process in their contractual agreements with the owner of the mobile home parks.

He said the bill strengthens protections against retaliation.

We want to make sure that people, whether they are trying to form a resident-owned community, (and) theyre coming down to participate in the political process, we want to make sure that they dont face retaliation for doing that, Karlen said.

Newman, the mobile home resident in Great Falls, said outside investors have caused an affordability crisis for tenants.

"Under this model, we residents are suffering greatly and are reaching out in crisis," she said. "Lot rents for our homes are going up drastically. Under new corporate owners, utilities are being decoupled, maintenance is worsening. We now live with fear and uncertainty.

The bill was opposed by the Montana Landlords Association.

John Sinrud, the president of the association, decried the fact that the bill expands what qualifies as retaliatory actions by landlords.

This is only one-sided based upon the tenant, Sinrud said. This bill basically allows an individual to have a 1969 mobile home, to sell it within the park and they cant replace it."

Sinrud said the bill does not allow a park owner to "maintain a nice park if the individual owners are not maintaining their own property."

"If you have an individual that has been given a seven-day notice for non-payment of rent they have 45 days to correct instead of seven days, so youre expanding issues and rights to a tenant and not allowing a landlord to take care of those through the courts," he said.

In conclusion, Sinrud said, its just not a good bill.

Its a property rights issue, he said. Good tenants, good landlords make great mobile home parks. This is only a bill to allow the bad actors to continue to be bad actors.

Rep. Jennifer Carlson, a Republican from Manhattan, asked Karlen about a provision that a landlord cannot institute an eviction if a tenant doesnt pay fees.

Basically, a person could live there for 10 years and never pay their association fees and theres nothing a landlord could do about that? she asked. And if you dont pay your rent you can go for a month and a half before the landlord can even start doing something about evicting you?

Thats a good question, I guess that is correct, Karlen said. He concluded by noting that hell work with anyone on adding amendments.

The House Judiciary Committee took executive action on Thursday and voted to pass the bill 12-7.
A 160-acre private inholding along the West Fork Madison River has been purchased by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in a unique collaboration.

Investors with the Bozeman-based Beartooth Group purchased the parcel along with two other nearby properties in 2021. The two other parcels, 141 and 124 acres, are downstream from the acreage acquired by the Forest Service.

The previous owners of the inholdings were a group of ranchers that utilized the land for grazing, according to Dale Olson, Madison District ranger. Trout Unlimited reached out to the Forest Service when the properties were first advertised, seeking to put them into public ownership, he said. But federal agencies cant move quickly when land is for sale and will sometimes seek nonprofit conservation partners to help by purchasing the land and then selling it back to the government.

In this case, however, The Nature Conservancy contacted Beartooth Group who found investors willing to purchase the properties with the idea of eventually selling them all to the Forest Service. The first parcel was acquired with money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

A forest information officer said the agency could not release the purchase price since it had not negotiated nor closed the sale. The buyer is identified in Montana Cadastral records as West Fork Madison Ranch LLC with a Ketchum, Idaho, mailing address.

Live Water Properties had listed the three parcels  448 acres all together  for $2.8 million.

Rarely does a ranch come to market that boasts such wonderful combinations of water features, privacy and thousands of acres of public land and wildlife, Live Water wrote in its website advertisement for the land. The West Fork Madison Homesteads is a wilderness that is almost impossible to replicate anywhere in the western United States. With the three homesteads having over six miles of combined forest service boundary, this ranch is a great access point for those who love to explore the backcountry.

Other highlights of the property were its proximity to Ennis, 35 miles away, and Yellowstone National Park, 40 miles distant. It also includes nearly two miles of the West Fork, a major tributary of the world-renowned trout fishery the Madison River.

For the Forest Service and conservationists, the land deal helps remove private inholdings from the surrounding national forest while also guaranteeing there wont be development in the wild country thats home to everything from elk and wolves to grizzly bears and moose.

This acquisition is a valuable addition to the Madison Ranger District, providing important aquatic and terrestrial wildlife habitat, as well as expanding what is a beautiful area for our public to access and enjoy, Olson said in a forest Facebook post. We really appreciate the Beartooth Group for their assistance and expertise in facilitating this purchase; it wouldnt have happened without them.

The post goes on to describe the area as important to recreationists and hunters: The Gravelly Mountain Range is a popular area enjoyed by hikers, campers, horseback riders, hunters and anglers. The West Fork Madison properties are located just west of the Elk River Trailhead which is a common starting point for members of the public accessing National Forest System Lands. Several motorized trails begin at this trailhead and connect over 68 miles of trails in this area.

The area is also becoming increasingly popular with snowmobilers, Olson added.

The Forest Service targeted the parcel farthest into the forest first in case it cant raise funds to purchase the two other parcels, Olson noted.

We are enormously grateful to the private investors that made this deal happen, said Robert Keith, founder and managing principal of Beartooth Group, in a press release. In a moment of conservation need, they stepped forward to save this property, with no expectation of a financial return. Their sole goal was to generate a return in the form of protected wildlife habitat and expanded public recreational access.

Beartooth Group also noted the land has unique ecological value given its location in an important corridor for wildlife moving through the Madison, Gravelly and Centennial mountain ranges. Many species of wildlife use the area seasonally as they come and go from Yellowstone National Park. This transaction is critical to the long-term conservation and protection of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Last year, Beartooth Group helped protect 634 acres from subdivision at nearby Henrys Lake that involved The Nature Conservancy. Then in March, the investment firm facilitated a sale to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to acquire two 50-acre islands in the Yellowstone River near Reed Point.

The Beartooth Group has always been about finding creative financial tools to fund conservation solutions, Keith told the Gazette in March.

The West Fork Madison land the Forest Service acquired was originally homesteaded by Robert L. Shackelford, with a patent issued in April 1920 by then President Woodrow Wilson.

According to a published death notice, the 67-year-old Shackelford died in 1922 in Butte, with his body returned to the home of his youth, Wellsville, Missouri, for burial. Other news articles identify him as a one-time probate judge of St. Louis County.
American Prairie has expanded its land holdings in Phillips County with the recent purchase of the 4,960-acre Wilke Ranch South, located on the eastern border of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

We are excited to share a fence line with our friends at the Fort Belknap Indian Community for the first time, said Alison Fox, CEO of American Prairie, in a press release. We plan to continue partnering with our Aaniiih Nakoda neighbors, many of whom share the vision of a full-functioning prairie ecosystem.

The land includes 3,075 deeded acres and 1,885 leased acres located about 25 miles southwest of Malta.

About 1,847 of the deeded acres are under a conservation easement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect waterfowl habitat. The property also borders the 1,041-acre Korsbeck Waterfowl Production Area.

American Prairie's latest acquisition, to be called the Wild Horse unit, brings the nonprofit conservation group's total deeded and leased property to more than 460,000 acres in Montana.

The name comes from Wild Horse Creek, which is south of the property and a major tributary of the Big Warm Creek system, Fox said.

This area provides critical habitat for a myriad of bird species which have suffered serious declines in recent decades, including Spragues pipit, chestnut-collared longspur and mountain plover, Fox added.

The property contains a diverse landscape of wetlands, grasslands and gumbo soils. Mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorns, upland game birds, waterfowl and prairie dogs inhabit the landscape.

The land had been listed for $1.99 million.

American Prairie intends to share public access details in the months ahead to spell out recreational uses on Wild Horses deeded acres. The organization will first take time to familiarize itself with the property.

American Prairie has been working for decades to build relationships and collaborate with the Fort Belknap community, the group said. Shared work has included wildlife and bison restoration, tourism and economic development partnerships, and the sharing and preserving of cultural heritage.

More information on American Prairie's relationships with Montana's Indigenous communities can be found at https://americanprairie.org/project/indigenous-communities/.
A measure to repeal recreational marijuana in Montana didn't last long.

Senate Bill 546 was first presented on Wednesday and shelved by Thursday the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee.

Opponents to the bill said repealing recreational cannabis would be a boon to the black market. According to the state revenue department, Montana providers did $300 million in sales last year, the recreational market's first year in action.

Several lawmakers on the committee expressed concern with the industry's growing footprint since the 2020 legalization vote. Others, including Democratic Sen. Willis Curdy from Missoula, said they still have concerns about the potency of cannabis products available on the legal market. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, would have set a 10% THC limit on marijuana products in Montana. The current limit is 35%.

"I wished we focused a little more on potency in this issue," Curdy said before Thursday's vote. "On the other hand, I'm really nervous about undoing the people's will. That really concerns me."

Montana voters approved recreational cannabis use by a 57% margin in 2020.

Lawmakers have made attempts to rein in advertising by marijuana providers this session, saying the visibility of the industry is a poor influence on children. Providers, meanwhile, have argued their businesses would suffer because of a "few bad apples" broadcasting their brands beyond what state regulations allow.

Sen. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork, supported SB 546 particularly because of its advertising restrictions, citing billboards in the Flathead area.

"We have changed society to accept this thing," Noland told the committee Thursday. "That's an adult decision, I'm just trying to protect our youth."

The bill failed to pass on a 4-6 vote. The committee then unanimously voted to table the bill.

The senate committee that killed the repeal bill on Thursday also tabled House Bill 351, which would have further restricted where and how cannabis providers can advertisers.

Advertising changes may still appear before the session is over. Several bills remain in the Legislature with broad, general titles related to marijuana in which provisions from tabled bills could theoretically be implemented.
New furniture showroom Scandinavian Designs is set for its soft opening Saturday in the former Macy's location, and the company's head of visual merchandising said it will offer products this market might find "a little shocking," a bold, international style replacing an American Main Street institution.

Mike Brown, who described his role with the company as its lead retail interior designer, is responsible for ensuring all 50,000 square feet of the showroom looks as good as possible for customers.

He said Scandinavian Designs intends for the Helena store to be one of its flagship locations, attracting customers from across the region. With the size and existing amenities of the former department store's bones, Brown said he was able to implement "different collections we don't normally get to have in stores."

He said he was able to use some of the existing fixtures and create separate sections for lighting fixtures and outdoor furniture, both franchise firsts.

The Helena location will be one of six new stores the company plans to open in 2023.

Bren Inman, regional general manager over Washington, Oregon and now Montana, said Scandinavian Designs purchases from about 400 vendors around the world and the Helena showroom will offer several thousand pieces.

"There's a great variety, and its available," Inman said. "You're not having to wait months and months."

Every product in the showroom can be purchased and shipped from the company's Seattle distribution center. Inman said orders will arrive within a week.

Local Store Manager Deborah Brugman said locally hired delivery drivers, "who know the area," will make deliveries as far as Whitefish and Livingston.

Brugman described the store's offerings as "mid- to high-end furniture unlike anything else in Helena or Montana for that matter."

She said it is mostly mid-century modern aesthetics with some contemporary and Tuscan rustic sprinkled in.

Brown described the particular school of design as being a "very simplistic" one.

"Every thing has a function," he said. "It's very impactful and can make a huge statement."

The showroom's sheer size and volume of offerings may prove somewhat intimidating to novice room re-decorators, but Brugman said the showroom will boast a design center complete with a visual merchandiser educated in interior design to assist customers.

Both Inman and Brugman noted all 12 of the Helena store's employees receive training in subjects like interior design and mattresses.

Brugman also said Helenans can expect a level of small town customer service they expect.

"We get to say 'yes' to everything our customers need, and the company encourages it," she said.

Scandinavian Designs, 3405 N. Montana Ave., plans to open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The showroom will be open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The grand opening is slated for the last weekend in April.
For some time now Ive watched efforts by Montanans to improve their state Constitution, and the anguished opposition by figures in Montanas former political establishment, who exclaim, in essence, How dare they?

One example: Former Governor Marc Racicots Feb. 1 capitol speech, in which he equated reform efforts with attacks on democracy, the republic, and separation of powers.

But lets get real: It is always the peoples prerogative to fix flaws in their government. And the Montana Constitution, like any human creation, has its flaws.

As a law professor at the University of Montana (1987-2010) and as chairman of Montanans for Better Government (1993-1997), I became intimately familiar with those flaws.

Moreover, in 2017-18, I extensively researched the Constitutions adoption. My findings were peer-reviewed and published in the British Journal of American Legal Studies. The findings include information every Montanan should know. I dont have space in this column to review most of them, but you can read the whole story at https://i2i.org/wp-content/uploads/Cashmore-final.pdf.

Some highlights:

Montanas original constitution, adopted in 1889, contained important safeguards against cronyism and excessive taxes, spending, and debt. These safeguards were the product of hard experience in other states.

In the 1960s, liberal special-interest groups  such as the National Municipal League  began a campaign to create new state constitutions that removed restrictions on government. Montana was one of several states in their sights.

Montana liberal activists joined this campaign. They sought to give government more power to tax, spend, and borrow and replace elected offices with appointed ones. There was no secret about this.

Although many fine people participated in the 1972 convention, the process was manipulated to achieve favored results. The information provided to the delegates was highly slanted. (The link above provides details). Additionally, sitting legislators were barred from running for election as delegates and the decision to sit delegates alphabetically impeded the ability of the conservative or skeptical minority to confer with each other.

Most of the delegates were not equipped to deal with this. None was experienced in constitution-writing. Few knew that the information they were receiving was unreliable or biased.

Moreover, the timing and ballot form of the ensuing referendum were carefully structured to skew the vote toward approval. Public money was used to promote ratification. For example, Montana State University used public funds to send pro-constitution propaganda to tens of thousands of households.

In his capitol speech, Mr. Racicot claimed the voters approved the Constitution.

That is doubtful.

Again, there is no space to relate the details here, but under the election rules then in effect, the Constitution probably failed. In defiance of the rules  and over the objection of the Democratic secretary of state  the Democratic governor purported to certify a victory for the Constitution. The Montana Supreme Court upheld his certification by only a bare 3-2 majority. This apparently reversed an earlier in-chambers tally of 2-3. Some have reason to believe there was improper political pressure on the swing justice.

The result: Many peoples ballots were not tallied as they were told they would be tallied.

That defective referendum is not reversible at this late date. Still, it is altogether appropriate for Montanans to address some of the Constitutions faults. These include insufficient control on taxes and spending, language insulating bureaucracy from popular control, and vague and contradictory language that encourages judicial lawmaking. Some of the state Supreme Courts decisions in particular endanger democratic self-governance.

In his capitol speech, Mr. Racicot emphasized the need for civil discourse. I agree. But a prerequisite to civil discourse is for the Constitutions celebrants to drop the sanctimony  and recognize that there is more than one side to this important debate.
CPC to launch Party-wide education campaign on Xi Jinping thought

Xinhua) 08:11, March 31, 2023

BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee has decided to launch a Party-wide thematic education campaign starting from April to study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

The decision was made at a meeting held by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Thursday, which also deliberated the regulations on the reporting of personal information by officials.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.

It was pointed out at the meeting that the campaign, with a focus on leading officials at and above the county and director level, is to use the Party's new theories to achieve unity in thought, will and action, carry forward the great founding spirit of the Party, and see that the whole Party strives in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts.

During the meeting, participants stressed that the whole Party needs to develop a deep understanding of the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

They called on all Party members to comprehensively study, understand and implement the guiding principles from the Party's 20th National Congress, apply the new development philosophy, foster a new pattern of development, promote high-quality development, and advance Chinese modernization through the campaign.

It was also emphasized at the meeting that efforts should be made to advance the Party's self-reform and always stay alert and determined in order to tackle the unique challenges that a large party like the CPC may face.

The meeting noted that with the education campaign, the whole Party should rally more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.

It asked Party committees and leading Party members groups at all levels to address the pressing concerns of the people, make special efforts in tackling prominent problems, and ensure that the campaign is carried out in an effective and sustainable manner.

The system for officials to report their personal information has served as an important measure for strictly managing and supervising officials since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, said the meeting, adding that the revision of the regulations is of great significance.

Reporting personal information to authorities truthfully is a political and organizational discipline that officials must abide by, said the meeting, calling on officials to willingly submit to organizational oversight.

It also asked those in senior positions to take the lead in implementation by reporting their personal information, thereby setting a good example.

The meeting asked Party committees and leading Party members groups at all levels to ensure sound implementation of the reporting system so that it can play a bigger role in exercising full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.

The meeting also discussed other issues.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
AC/DC performing in 1978 with their customary wall of Marshall Amps

Iconic British guitar amp manufacturer Marshall Amps is being acquired by Swedish firm Zound Industries  the company that currently produces Marshall headphones and speakers under license from the amp brand.

According to Zound CEO Jeremy de Maillard, the two firms will now sit under a new privately owned umbrella company, The Marshall Group, with the Marshall family owning a 24% stake in the new company.

The value of the deal has not been revealed, but The Verge is reporting it includes all of Marshalls subsidiary brands (including its record label and Natal Drums) and that there are no plans to close or shift production away from Marshall Amps existing UK and Vietnam factories.

Weve already been working in close collaboration for the past 12 years, says de Maillard, in an interview with The Verge. We havent done a single product from Zound that hasnt been approved by the acoustic engineer at Marshall Amps Its a complete continuation of what we do, except now were one and the same.

Terry Marshall, son of the firms founder Jim Marshall has also issued a statement. (Fun fact: Jim and Terry Marshalls initials determined the model name of Marshalls iconic JTM45  the amp that pretty much defined rock music.)

Since my father and I created the original Marshall amp back in 1962, we have always looked for ways to deliver the pioneering Marshall sound to music lovers of all backgrounds and music tastes across the world, says Marshall.

Im confident that the Marshall Group will elevate this mission and spur the love for the Marshall brand.

De Maillard also reveals in his interview that some 90 percent of Zounds sales currently come from Marshall-branded products and says he wants to focus on ensuring the two sides of the newly-formed Marshall Group will work together more holistically.

Marshall JCM800

Exactly what that means for the guitarists remains to be seen, but the storied amp-maker has made very few new product announcements in recent years  with a notable exception for its Vintage Reissue pedals, which were leaked and subjected to a somewhat confusing debut.

The merger may also have advantages in enabling the often heritage-focused Marshall to compete with more tech-savvy, home practise brands such as Positive Grid. For example, producing more equipment that caters to both guitar amp and home audio purposes.

Fingers-crossed, then, that this proves to be good news for the iconic brand. Marshall Amps celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2022, at which point Guitarist magazine documented 20 milestone moments in Marshalls 60-year quest for bigger, badder tone. It looks like 2023 will hail another milestone.
Frank Lloyd Wright Price Tower located in Bartlesville, OK.

After years of financial woes and struggles to maintain Price Tower, a local company says it will breathe new life into the historic property.

Copper Tree Inc. took over ownership of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed skyscraper several weeks ago, with promises to infuse $10 million into the project for upgrades and renovations.

As the only skyscraper designed by legendary Frank Lloyd Wright ever built and as a beloved landmark for the Bartlesville community, the EE is working to learn more about the new owners and the deal struck between the nonprofit Price Tower Arts Center and Copper Tree Inc.

Here's what we found out so far:

What is Copper Tree, Inc.?

Copper Tree, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware a year ago. The company recently released a statement from one of its principals Mike Moran, based in Orlando, Florida, that described Copper Tree as "a privately held company specializing in the acquisition and preservation of historic properties."

Cynthia Blanchard, CEO of Copper Tree, said Copper Tree is "a locally based company with a desire to save Price Tower."

Who are the owners?

When asked who owns Copper Tree, Blanchard said, "Well, you're talking to her, and it's me."

"Our goal is to embrace the community, not push the community away," said Blanchard. "I think that the reason that, not that it's been dodgy, but that it's been like we don't want to get into this person owns this amount because the goal has been since our conversations began that the Price Tower is the heart and soul and that should be the focus."

Blanchard said they don't plan to announce who has equity in the company but she did indicate the number of investors.

"There are five of them, and quite frankly, it's earned equity from the people that have given their time, and they haven't gotten paid for it until now," said Blanchard.

Who else is on the Price Tower team?

Blanchard describes the people involved as "working for," "on the team," "having contracts with," or "consultant," but stops short of calling anyone an employee.

Story continues

The names Blanchard confirmed are associated with the project are Mike Moran, Dale Takio, Scott Ambler, and Allen Meizlish, some of whom have ties to HeraSoft in Bartlesville, where Blanchard stepped back from her role as president and her husband Anthem Blanchard is listed as co-founder and CEO.

Moran lists his title on LinkedIn as principal at Copper Tree and executive vice principal of marketing and experiences for Price Tower. He was the marketing director for HeraSoft until March of this year. He is also the founder and CEO of Pictoria Studios USA, an Orlando-based software development company specializing in blockchain, AI, 3D animation, and digital media applications.

In a LinkedIn post, Takio announced that he was the Managing Director, Executive Vice Principal and minority owner at Copper Tree, Inc. Currently, he is the special cyber projects and business development advisor for HeraSoft. He also is the chief of business development at Taktik Enterprises, inc., located in Florida.

When asked if he was employed at Copper Tree, Ambler replied, "It's none of your business." But Donna Keffer, director of the nonprofit Price Tower Arts Center and partner at Ambler Architects, called Ambler "an important part of the team."

Ambler said his company would handle much of the $10 million project to renovate the Price Tower and said he had no equity in the Copper Tree.

Meizlish is the co-founder of Helm Ventures and announced on his website and LinkedIn that he was partnering with Copper Tree's development of the Price Tower. None of the projects announced on Helm Ventures' website appears to have been completed and look to be past their stated completion times.

Green Copper Holdings, the company that owns the physical assets of Price Tower, is listed with six other companies belonging to Meizlish on LinkedIn.

What is the deal?

When a not-for-profit sells an asset, it can transfer it to another not-for-profit or sell it for "fair market value" to a for-profit company, according to the IRS.

"We were in an insurmountable amount of debt," said Keffer of PTAC. "And the (Copper Tree) group has taken over operations and that debt."

The PTAC has declined to release the sale price, finalized contracts, the amount of debt that was assumed or the fair market value of Price Tower.

However, Washington County records indicate the assessed value of the property is $6,214,060. Sources familiar with the deal claim the debt was around $500,000.

County records show Brad Doenges, Chairman of the Board of PTAC, signed a quitclaim deed on March 7 turning over Block 47, which houses the Price Tower and Price Tower Annex, to Green Copper Holdings, LLC, a New Mexico company, for the "sum of $10 (ten dollars) and other goods and valuable consideration."

Blanchard describes Green Copper Holdings as a subsidiary of Copper Tree.

"Not only was it a fair market value, but we came in with a commitment to put millions of dollars into this building, and that is a commitment," said Blanchard.

Blanchard and Keffer wouldn't indicate if that deal was contingent on any funding, but reiterated there was a commitment. They said the nonprofit board of PTAC signed off on the sale.

What about the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy?

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, which facilitates the preservation and stewardship of works designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, holds an easement over the Price Tower that Copper Tree has agreed to abide by, according to Keffer.

"Our purview is over the physical condition of the building, but in terms of what their funding sources or anything like that, that's not our business," said John Waters, preservation programs manager.

Waters said concerns had been shared with the Conservancy about the Blanchards taking ownership and had no comment on the concerns raised.

"In general, we are an advocacy organization for Frank Lloyd Wright buildings," said Waters, "We certainly are interested that the building thrives from that part of our mission, but in terms of our direct legal involvement, it's through the easement."

The Conservancy noted that they communicate with Ambler, and that he is the point of contact for the deal.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Price Tower sold the for the debt, $10 and a promise
Western Piedmont Community College will host its annual Pioneer Preview Open House and Advanced Manufacturing Day for prospective students on Friday, April 21.

New this year, the college is partnering with Burke County Public Schools counselors, administrators, Gear Up coordinators, as well as Work in Burke to focus the event on high school seniors. The event is open to everyone, from high school students interested in learning more about college to adults already in the workforce considering a change. This year, high school seniors will have transportation provided from their high school to the event.

Jennifer Propst, director of outreach and recruitment at WPCC, said the idea is to give seniors a fun and informative event tailored to their needs. It will give them the opportunity to learn about the colleges programs and services that can prepare them for careers, she said. They will explore degree and certificate programs firsthand and learn about apprenticeship and employment opportunities they may not have considered, according to the college.

Visitors will also take tours of the campus and visit program buildings, including labs, classrooms and technical facilities. They will have access to information about admissions, financial aid, scholarships, career pathways and student resources to show them how accessible and affordable education after high school can be, according to the college.

Its an exciting time as seniors move from one stage of life and education to the next but it can also be daunting, she said. At WPCC, we want to be a welcoming partner in their new journey. On April 21, seniors will spend the day discovering all that makes WPCC unique. Pioneer Preview is a great opportunity for them to experience the campus, learn more about our programs, and connect with faculty, staff and area employers.

Partnerships with Work in Burke and BCPS make it possible for this to be an annual event. Propst said it is going to take partners from agencies all across the county working together to help seniors and recent high school graduates find the right opportunities for them.

Our entire county is invested in the success of our high school students, she said. Young people are our future and the strong partnerships between education and employment in Burke are evidence of our commitment and desire to be a part of theirs. We look forward to seeing everyone.

Pioneer Preview will take place on the main campus of Western Piedmont Community College on Friday, April 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The open house event is open to the public.
The Quaker Meadows Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Burke County Veterans Service office partnered to present a Vietnam War Veterans Day service Wednesday at the Burke County Veterans Killed in Action memorial monument on the grounds of the historic Burke County courthouse.

The national Vietnam War Veterans Day, established in 2017 and held March 29, marks the day the last troops were sent home from Vietnam.

The event at the courthouse drew dozens of veterans and their families.

Janie Matthews, regent of the DAR chapter, welcomed visitors to the service and explained that the chapter is a partner with the USA Vietnam War Commemoration Committee.

Today, we join thousands of communities throughout the nation in thanking and honoring Vietnam veterans and their families for their service, valor and sacrifice, Matthews said.

The Rev. Larry Britt, a local retired minister and Vietnam War veteran, gave an invocation. Morganton Mayor Ronnie Thompson spoke to the crowd as well, sharing how the Burke County KIA memorial monument came to be installed on the courthouse square.

Tom Johnson, secretary of the Vietnam Veterans of America Robert Douglas Avery Chapter No. 1116 of Morganton, described the group and their activities. The chapter was founded in 2016 and currently has 47 members. Members meet at 5 p.m. every third Monday of the month at Timberwoods restaurant in Morganton.

Donna Besch, a local resident who is the widow of a Vietnam veteran, told stories of her husbands time of service. Edwin Besch graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1960 and also earned a masters degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps stationed in Vietnam in 1965 with the 3rd Marine Division.

Donna shared how Ed survived a harrowing accident while flying on a mission. Another U.S. military aircraft accidently crashed into the helicopter in which he was riding and exploded.

The chopper flew into the side of a mountain and rolled three times, Donna said. All survived, and Ed got the most delicious ice cream cone aboard the hospital ship, and his first Purple Heart.

Thirty days after the crash, Ed took fire while on a patrol mission near the demilitarized zone. He and his fellow soldiers had to play dead while enemy soldiers ate a meal nearby. The Marines were not able to be rescued until 16 hours later.

He carried the shrapnel in his body for the rest of his life  another Purple Heart, Donna said. He spent the next nine months in Great Lakes Hospital and endured six surgeries as they put him back together. That was the end of his career as a Marine.

Ed returned stateside following his release from the hospital. He met Donna at a dinner in Washington, D.C., in 1970, and they were married a short time later. Following their wedding, Ed was stationed at the American Embassy in Saigon, South Vietnam, serving as a military analyst. Donna took a job as a secretary at the embassy.

It was an incredible experience getting to know the people, the food, the history and the arts of the country, Donna said of her time there.

DAR chapter member Flo Carter introduced featured speaker Dr. Gerald Nieters. Nieters is a Vietnam veteran who recently published a memoir about his experiences called, Cryless.

In a moving tribute, Nieters asked all of the veterans in the audience to stand around him as he gave his remarks so he could feel their support.

He noted that it was the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, and that approximately two-thirds of the veterans from that era have since died. He reflected on their sacrifice.

Combat scars the psyche like the branding iron scars the calf, Nieters said. Combat profoundly changes the combatant. In combat, the meaning of life drastically changes, for life is reduced to its utmost simplicity. Youre either alive, or youre dead. Nothing else  and I mean, nothing else  matters.

He noted that the experience of such dire circumstances help bond veterans together, even as the trauma continued when Vietnam soldiers came home.

Jeering crowds labeled them as baby-killers and in essence, savages, Nieters said. They were to be shunned. And what did the military do? Basically nothing. They just gave us our discharge papers and in essence, told us to go and be normal. Most of us got on with our lives, but harbored deep feelings of resentment, guilt and non-acceptance that persists today. Most of us cannot forget the nightmares of our youth, both foreign and domestic.

He emphasized how important it is for people today to take the time to express gratitude and empathy to Vietnam veterans for all they have endured in the name of freedom.

So if you see a Vietnam veteran, please take the time to speak two beautiful and appreciated words: Thank you, Nieters said.
Do you ever get a song stuck in your head? One that keeps playing over and over regardless of how hard you try to dismiss it.

For me, sometimes its Respect by Otis Redding, sung by Aretha Franklin, or I Still Havent Found What Im Looking For by U2. Sometimes it is an old hymn, Its me, its me Oh Lord (Standing in the need of Prayer) or Let us Break Bread Together on our Knees. Some of you are probably laughing and saying, what a boring list of songs.

Our lists will vary depending on our age, our mood, our music preferences and our faith. During the first week of Lent, I was doing a little cleaning and reorganizing at home when I found the lyrics to Natalie Sleeths, Hymn of Promise.

This was one of my mothers favorite hymns and a copy of the words stayed on her bedside table as part of an evening prayer ritual that helped sustain her life of faith.

It is a hymn often played during funerals as a reminder of Gods presence and promises. It is a source of comfort for all who are grieving and a reminder that we are each living in the mystery of our faith and trusting in Gods promises for new life.

In Christian faith communities, we started our journey of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The word Lent stems from the Old English and German words for spring and for long. Our pilgrimage for Lent, starts in the short, dark days of winter and continues until the Easter morning resurrection and the arrival of the longer, lighter days of spring.

Lent is an invitation to engage in Spiritual Spring Cleaning. It is a moment to pause and reflect on what is growing in my life of faith and what is hidden beneath the surface, waiting to be freed?

Look at the natural world around us. Every spring, I am amazed at how quickly the landscape changes. The Japanese Maple shows up in bright, red leaves and the Dogwood with its dainty, bold white flowers. The Hostas, emerge from beneath the earth, timidly sticking their leaves up toward the dappled sun. Lenten Roses sprinkle the ground with flowers and unexpected colors. It reminds me of Gods reaction to the finished work of creation in Genesis 1:31.

God saw everything that he had made, and it was very good.

Many Christians have spent the last five weeks engaged in practices of prayer, fasting and giving. Christ addresses these practices in Matthew 6, where He reminds us to do these things in private without calling attention to ourselves and to engage in these practices with a pure heart. It is a personal journey of reflection, growth and tending to ones spiritual life.

The spiritual disciplines provide nourishment and growth for our continued journey through Holy Week, Easter and beyond. We are prepared to go from Palm Sunday to Jesus arrest on Maundy Thursday, Fridays crucifixion, Saturdays long vigil and finally the Easter celebration of Jesus resurrection.

With the multitude of emotions and events, guiding us to the cross, Holy Week prepares us to continue carrying the love of Jesus to the world.

While Christians around the world prepare for Holy Week and Easter, the Muslim faith community celebrates Ramadan. The holiest month on the Muslim calendar, Islamic tradition teaches that it was during this time the archangel Gabriel descended from heaven and revealed the Message to the Prophet Muhammad.

For Muslims, Ramadan is a time for fasting, strengthening ones relationship with God and showing compassion for those less fortunate. Like Lent for Christians, it is a personal journey of reflection, growth and service.

Starting on April 5, the Jewish faith community will begin its Passover Celebration. It is a time to remember the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery and the passing over of the forces of destruction, sparing the firstborn of the Israelites. On the first night of Passover, families gather to celebrate the Seder meal and retell the historic story of how the Israelites escaped from Egypt.

Across the world, billions of people from different faith traditions are engaged in worship, celebration and service. The power of community is present in each as the faithful gather together in hope and celebrate the new life that emerges for all.
After more than three years of legal twists and turns, a woman accused of providing marijuana to a teenage boy while living at an apartment at Butte Central High School was sentenced Friday.

District Judge Deborah Christopher sentenced 46-year-old Amy Kadrmas to a three-year suspended sentence to the Montana Department of Corrections for one felony count of criminal endangerment and was given credit for serving two days, with no fine to pay. It has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and fine up to $50,000.

Christopher normally oversees cases in Lake and Sanders counties in northwest Montana but took over this case after District Judge Robert Whelan of Butte recused himself in January 2021. Christopher conducted Fridays sentencing from Whelans courtroom in Butte.

Kadrmas was also given three years probation under the supervision of Adult Probation & Parole. Among the stipulations, she must also have no contact with children under the age of 18 without a chaperone who is aware of all the circumstances to the case.

Prosecutors had initially charged Kadrmas in January 2020 with two felony counts of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs at or near a school and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

They alleged that Kadrmas and her husband, Brad Kadrmas, were living in a fourth-floor apartment at Butte Central High School in 2019 with a 14-year-old boy and she provided marijuana to him and a 14-year-old friend  the victim in this case. Brad Kadrmas was then a math teacher at the school.

Amy Kadrmas pleaded guilty to one of the initial felony counts in June 2021 as part of a plea deal and in that agreement, prosecutors recommended a three-year suspended sentence. The charge is punishable by up to life in prison and fine up to $50,000.

But in an unusual move, Whelan tossed out the entire plea deal during a sentencing hearing via Zoom in August 2021. It followed an emotional plea from the mother of the teenager, who urged Whelan to impose tougher penalties on Kadrmas than a three-year suspended sentence.

Whelan said it was comments Kadrmas made herself in a presentence investigation interview that led him to reject the entire deal. He said the only regret Kadrmas cited in the interview was being too trusting and being a bad judge of character.

But Kadrmas attorney, Kevin Vainio, said numerous violations were made before and during the hearing regarding victim impact statements. He also said the state breached the plea agreement and Butte-Silver Bow prosecutors had a conflict of interest.

He said they should be removed from the case because Samm Cox, then chief deputy county attorney, was related to the victims and had participated in the prosecution.

County prosecutors said Cox did not participate in the case but through a local agreement referred the case anyway to Ben Krakowka, county attorney and prosecutor in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County. Whelan later recused himself as well and Christopher took over.

The victims family filed a civil lawsuit against Kadrmas claiming she targeted the teenager for abuse by providing him with marijuana, among other things. The suit also made negligence claims against Butte Central High School and its Catholic governing entities.

The lawsuit was settled in September but financial details or other facets of the settlement were not divulged.

During the initial sentencing hearing before Whelan in August 2021, the victims mother made a lengthy, emotional plea for tougher penalties, saying Kadrmas made her son feel like part of her family then got him to smoke marijuana.

Marijuana is called a gateway drug for a reason, and you opened that gateway for him, the mother told Kadrmas.

The mother said her son had since quit the school band, transferred schools, received counseling and therapy but was still suffering mentally and emotionally.

Last November, her son, along with another 18-year-old were shot and killed by a single bullet. Police stated that one man had a large caliber handgun, fired the weapon and sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head, and the same bullet struck a second male in the head, killing him.
Ranked choice voting is as easy as one, two, three.

In a recent op-ed making its way around the state, the author says that ranked choice voting can lead to second-preference votes counted as first-preference votes when a ballots first-preference candidate comes in last place in the first round of counting and is therefore excluded in the second round of counting. Overall, even if a candidate received the most votes but did not eclipse 50%, that candidate may not win.

Ill admit, this characterization of ranked-choice voting (RCV) is absolutely true. This is the whole point of RCV: to determine the most-preferred candidate among voters by eliminating the least-preferred candidate. It is this very simple point that detractors are trying to confuse you with when they say, the winner didnt get the most first-place votes. Again, that is the point of ranking our choices: the most preferred candidate will not always equal the most first-place votes.

Rep. George Nikolakakos, R-Great Falls, said on the House floor, Its not complicated  Its very simple. Its very easy  and we should not override local control for a type of voting that is basically just an instant runoff.

The purpose of RCV is to ensure that the winning candidate has broad support among voters. By allowing voters to rank their candidates, RCV can reduce the impact of candidates splitting the vote, promote positive campaigning and it has been shown to reduce the amount of wasted votes by three times!

Perhaps, youve never heard of this voting system that allows you to rank your candidates in order of preference, but that doesnt mean its confusing or untested. Nikolakakos reminds the House, Its passed in Maine. Its passed in Alaska. Its passed in states where people still have an independent mind like we do in Montana  independent people like ranked choice voting.

Besides statewide use in Maine and Alaska, RCV is used in several countries around the world, including Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. In the United States, seven states use RCV for military and overseas voting and several cities have adopted RCV for local elections, including San Francisco, Oakland, Austin, New York City, Minneapolis and 23 cities in Utah.

However, in Montana, even though no jurisdiction currently uses RCV, HB 598 seeks to preemptively ban RCV from being used or even considered in Montana.

Rep. Paul Green, R-Hardin, representing the southeast area of Lame Deer stated on the House floor, I dont believe that I have the capacity to tell another local community how they go about their elections. For that Im gonna be a No.

Ryan Williamson from R Street Institute recently reviewed Alaskas first run with RCV and Final Four Open Primaries.

A review of initial evidence found that races in the state became more civil and competitive overall, writes Williamson. Importantly, Alaskans viewed the process favorably, largely describing it as simple despite some arguments to the contrary. In addition, Walter Olson from the Cato Institute states, Alaska's new election system appears to have made races more competitive and voters found it easy to use. Candidates with crossover appeal may have benefited, but contrary to some chatter, Republicans overall did just fine.
The Montana Constitution of 1972 has a great history.

Montana historian Harry Fritz says it represented a fundamental turning point in the history of Montana.

The old 1889 Constitution was a disaster. Drafted primarily by mining company supporters (copper King William Clark was chairman). It sharply limited the States ability to tax mining. The government was intentionally weak and ineffectual. The Governor was largely ceremonial. For 80 years Montana was controlled with a copper collar.

The 1889 Constitution was filled with details and minutiae. Location of Army posts and the annual salary of statewide elected officers were unnecessary.

Enforcement of equal assessment for property taxes was left to the local County treasurers, which was a disaster. There was no audit of government agencies, no centralized management of state funds, and there was no statewide documentation of water rights.

Even then, authorizing the drafting of a new Constitution was not easy. Bills authorizing a Constitutional Convention were killed for at least a decade before the Legislature finally succeeded in passing a referendum in 1969. The League of Women Voters worked tirelessly for years trying to convince the people that a new Constitution was necessary. Gradually they picked up support. In 1968 the Montana Chamber of Commerce joined. A national conservative group, the Committee for Economic Development, joined soon thereafter. They wanted state governments to have power to offset the growing power of the Federal Government. Conferences, workshops, studies, and numerous other activities involving the public focused on the need for a new Constitution.

A study by the Legislative Council helped the 1967 legislature create the Constitutional Revision Commission with adequate funding to do a substantial study. A huge bipartisan effort resulted when a referendum was authorized in 1969. Hundreds of influential people from both parties lobbied hard for a Convention. In November of 1970 65% of the people voted for it.

The 1971 Legislature Created the Montana Constitutional Convention Commission. Many young and enthusiastic researchers were hired by Dale Harris to go through the old Constitution article by article comparing it with the other forty-nine states. It included people like Rick Applegate and Max Baucus. The delegates were thus presented with an enormous study to assist them.

Dorothy Eck of the League of Women Voters and an elected delegate said many people were involved in this effort. These people wanted to (1) involve the public, (2) keep it nonpartisan, (3) keep the process open and (4) stick to fundamental principles. Let the legislature take care of the details.

In 1971, 515 people filed to become a delegate. After both a primary and final election, 100 were elected. Existing elected officials were barred by the Supreme Court from running. Nevertheless, a large number of very prominent Democrats and Republicans were elected. The list of twenty-four lawyers was really a whose who among the legal profession.

Although Democrats held a 58 to 36 majority with six independents, the rules of partisanship were discarded. The delegates sat in alphabetical order. The committee chairmen were equally divided among each party; a vice-chairman was chosen from the opposite party. There were no party caucuses. Each and every delegate worked hard to draft the best Constitution possible. Every single delegate signed the document when it was finished. Most, including prominent Republicans like Betty Babcock, wife of former Governor Tim Babcock, worked hard to get it approved by the people.

The Constitution has been heralded as the best Constitution in the United States, maybe the world. That happened because of all the hard work that went into preparing for and holding the Constitutional Convention. The delegates brought fresh ideas and, without any partisanship, brought a commitment to draft the best Constitution possible.
Under the Albanian town of Kukes lies a vast warren of underground tunnels and a military command center, relics of the former communist regime's fear of a foreign invasion that never came. Now, local authorities hope to turn the network into a tourist attraction, with the help of European Union funding. By the end of the year, they say, the 37-room command center and a long tunnel leading to it from the town hall should be accessible. Tourists would be particularly welcome in Kukes, 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of the capital ,Tirana. Its Albanias poorest area, despite its mineral riches and striking mountain scenery. Most of the its young people emigrate.
Victoria Ferrell Ortiz learned she was pregnant during summer 2017. The Dallas resident was finishing up an AmeriCorps job with a local nonprofit, which offered her a small stipend to live on but no health coverage. She applied for Medicaid so she could be insured during the pregnancy.

It was a time of a lot of learning, turnaround, and pivoting for me, because we werent necessarily expecting that kind of life change, she said.

Ferrell Ortiz would have liked a little more guidance to navigate the application process for Medicaid. She was inundated with forms. She spent days on end on the phone trying to figure out what was covered and where she could go to get care.

Sometimes the representative that I would speak to wouldnt know the answer, she said. I would have to wait for a follow-up and hope that they actually did follow up with me. More than 476,000 pregnant Texans are currently navigating that fragmented, bureaucratic system to find care. Medicaid provides coverage for about half of all births in the state  but many people lose eligibility not long after giving birth.

Many pregnant people rely on Medicaid coverage to get access to anything from prenatal appointments to prenatal vitamins, and then postpartum follow-up. Pregnancy-related Medicaid in Texas is available to individuals who make under $2,243 a month. But that coverage ends two months after childbirth  and advocates and researchers say that strict cutoff contributes to rates of maternal mortality and morbidity in the state that are higher than the national average.

They support a bill moving through the Texas legislature that would extend pregnancy Medicaid coverage for a full 12 months postpartum.

Texas is one of 11 states that has chosen not to expand Medicaid to its population of uninsured adults  a benefit offered under the Affordable Care Act, with 90% of the cost paid for by the federal government. That leaves more than 770,000 Texans in a coverage gap  they dont have job-based insurance nor do they qualify for subsidized coverage on healthcare.gov, the federal insurance marketplace. In 2021, 23% of women ages 19-64 were uninsured in Texas.

Pregnancy Medicaid helps fill the gap, temporarily. Of the nearly half a million Texans currently enrolled in the program, the majority are Hispanic women ages 19-29.

Texans living in the state without legal permission and lawfully present immigrants are not eligible, though they can get different coverage that ends immediately when a pregnancy does. In states where the Medicaid expansion has been adopted, coverage is available to all adults with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level. For a family of three, that means an income of about $34,300 a year.

In Texas, childless adults dont qualify for Medicaid at all. Parents can be eligible for Medicaid if theyre taking care of a child who receives Medicaid, but the income limits are low. To qualify, a three-person household with two parents cant make more than $251 a month.

For Ferrell Ortiz, the hospitals and clinics that accepted Medicaid near her Dallas neighborhood felt uncomfortable, uninviting, she said. A space that wasnt meant for me is how she described those facilities.

Later she learned that Medicaid would pay for her to give birth at an enrolled birthing center.

I went to Lovers Lane Birth Center in Richardson, she said. Im so grateful that I found them because they were able to connect me to other resources that the Medicaid office wasnt.

Ferrell Ortiz found a welcoming and supportive birth team, but the Medicaid coverage ended two months after her daughter arrived. She said losing insurance when her baby was so young was stressful. The two-months window just puts more pressure on women to wrap up things in a messy and not necessarily beneficial way, she said.

In the 2021 legislative session, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill extending pregnancy Medicaid coverage from two months to six months postpartum, pending federal approval.

Last August, The Texas Tribune reported that extension request had initially failed to get federal approval, but that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had followed up the next day with a statement saying the request was still under review. The Tribune reported at the time that some state legislators believed the initial application was not approved because of language that could be construed to exclude pregnant women who have abortions, including medically necessary abortions.The states application to extend postpartum coverage to a total of six months is still under review.

The states Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee is tasked with producing statewide data reports on causes of maternal deaths and intervention strategies. Members of that committee, along with advocates and legislators, are hoping this years legislative session extends pregnancy Medicaid to 12 months postpartum.

Kari White, an associate professor at the University of Texas-Austin, said the bureaucratic challenges Ferrell Ortiz experienced are common for pregnant Texans on Medicaid.

People are either having to wait until their condition gets worse, they forgo care, or they may have to pay out-of-pocket, White said. There are people who are dying following their pregnancy for reasons that are related to having been pregnant, and almost all of them are preventable.

In Texas, maternal health care and Pregnancy Medicaid coverage is a big patchwork with some big missing holes in the quilt, White said. She is also lead investigator with the Texas Policy Evaluation Project (TxPEP), a group that evaluates the effects of reproductive health policies in the state. A March 2022 TxPEP study surveyed close to 1,500 pregnant Texans on public insurance. It found that insurance churn  when people lose health insurance in the months after giving birth  led to worse health outcomes and problems accessing postpartum care.

Chronic disease accounted for almost 20% of pregnancy-related deaths in Texas in 2019, according to a partial cohort review from the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committees report. Chronic disease includes conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. The report determined at least 52 deaths were related to pregnancy in Texas during 2019. Serious bleeding (obstetric hemorrhage) and mental health issues were leading causes of death.

This is one of the more extreme consequences of the lack of health care, White said.

Black Texans, who make up close to 20% of pregnancy Medicaid recipients, are also more than twice as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than their white counterparts, a statistic that has held true for close to 10 years with little change, according to the MMMRC report.

Stark disparities such as that can be traced to systemic issues, including the lack of diversity in medical providers; socioeconomic barriers for Black women such as cost, transportation, lack of child care and poor communication with providers; and shortcomings in medical education and providers implicit biases  which can impact clinicians ability to listen to Black peoples experiences and treat them as equal partners in decision-making about their own care and treatment options, according to a recent survey.

Diana Forester, director of health policy for the statewide organization Texans Care for Children, said Medicaid coverage for pregnant people is a golden window to get care.

Its the chance to have access to health care to address issues that maybe have been building for a while, those kinds of things that left unaddressed build into something that would need surgery or more intensive intervention later on, she said. It just feels like that should be something thats accessible to everyone when they need it.

Extending health coverage for pregnant people, she said, is the difference between having a chance at a healthy pregnancy versus not.

As of February, 30 states have adopted a 12-month postpartum coverage extension so far, according to a KFF report, with eight states planning to implement an extension.

Were behind, Forester said of Texas. Were so behind at this point.

Many versions of bills that would extend pregnancy Medicaid coverage to 12 months have been filed in the legislature this year, including House Bill 12 and Senate Bill 73. Forester said she feels cautiously optimistic.

I think theres still going to be a few little legislative issues or land mines that we have to navigate, she said. But I feel like the momentum is there.

Ferrell Ortizs daughter turns 5 this year. Amelie is artistic, bright, and vocal in her beliefs. When Ferrell Ortiz thinks back on being pregnant, she remembers how hard a year it was, but also how much she learned about herself.

Giving birth was the hardest experience that my body has physically ever been through, she said. It was a really profound moment in my health history  just knowing that I was able to make it through that time, and that it could even be enjoyable  and so special, obviously, because look what the world has for it.

She just wishes people, especially people of color giving birth, could get the health support they need during a vulnerable time.

If I was able to talk to people in the legislature about extending Medicaid coverage, I would say to do that, she said. Its an investment in the people who are raising our future and completely worth it.

This story is part of a partnership that includes KERA, NPR, and KHN.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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FRIDAY, March 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Telehealth appointments  meetings with a doctor through a phone or video call  are valuable tools in the fight against opioid use disorder in the United States, researchers say.

The use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with medications for addiction, reduced the risk for fatal overdose among Medicare recipients, a new study finds.

The study findings support continuing these services.

The results of this study add to the growing research documenting the benefits of expanding the use of telehealth services for people with opioid use disorder, as well as the need to improve retention and access to medication treatment for opioid use disorder, said lead author Christopher Jones. He is director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings from this collaborative study also highlight the importance of working across agencies to identify successful strategies to address and get ahead of the constantly evolving overdose crisis, Jones added in a CDC news release.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data among two groups of Medicare beneficiaries with opioid disorder.

Data for the first group  the pre-pandemic cohort  stretched from September 2018 to February 2020. It included more than 105,000 participants.

For the pandemic group, data ranged from September 2019 to February 2021 and encompassed more than 70,000 people.

Medicare beneficiaries who started receiving opioid use disorder-related care during the pandemic, including telehealth services, had a 33% lower risk of a fatal drug overdose.

Those who received medications for opioid use disorder from opioid treatment programs and those who received buprenorphine, a medication for opioid use disorder, in office settings also had reduced odds of a fatal drug overdose of 59% and 38%, respectively.

Death rates from all causes and drug overdoses were higher in the pandemic group than in the pre-pandemic group, the investigators found. However, the percentage of deaths due to drug overdose were similar between the two groups.

At a time when more than 100,000 Americans are now dying annually from a drug overdose, the need to expand equitable access to lifesaving treatment, including medications for opioid use disorder, has never been greater, said study co-author Dr. Wilson Compton, deputy director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Research continues to indicate that expanded access to telehealth is a safe, effective, and possibly even lifesaving tool for caring for people with opioid use disorder, which may have a longer-term positive impact if continued, Compton added.

These services should not only continue, they should be expanded, the authors noted.

The study findings were published online March 29 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Someone with a substance use disorder may find help through local health centers for substance abuse or by calling the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. SAMHSA also has an Opioid Treatment Program Directory and a handbook called Decisions in Recovery: Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.

If you have questions about any medicines, you can call the Poison Help Hotline at 1-800-222-1222.

More information

The American Psychiatric Association has more on opioid use disorder.

SOURCE: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, news release, March 29, 2023
ATLANTA (AP)  Georgia officials have approved the takeover of the Augusta University hospitals associated with the state's only public medical school.

The state Board of Regents on Friday approved agreements to transfer control of the hospitals to Marietta-based Wellstar Health System, saying the deal may take effect in late summer.

Augusta University President Brooks Keel said in an online press conference that Wellstar would take over as the controlling legal entity of the health system, which will now be known as Wellstar MCG Health. The exact details of the transfer, first announced in December, remained unclear. Neither side immediately provided a copy of the associated contracts.

But Gov. Brian Kemp and University System Chancellor Sonny Perdue pushed hard to conclude the deal, driven by concerns over the financial struggles of the Augusta University Health System, which runs the 478-bed Augusta University Medical Center and the 154-bed Childrens Hospital of Georgia, both in Augusta.

Theres no doubt in my mind that this new partnership is a win for our state, and a win for countless families across our state, Kemp said Friday in an online news conference.

The Augusta University Health System also has regulatory approval to build a 100-bed hospital in Grovetown, in the growing Columbia County suburbs of Augusta. The system also runs the Georgia Cancer Center in Augusta, and Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals in Warm Springs and owns physician practices.

Wellstar runs nine hospitals in suburban Atlanta, mostly concentrated in the northwest suburbs. It said it has pledged to invest nearly $800 million in AUHS facilities, including more than $200 million for the main Augusta University Medical Center, plus building the new hospital in Columbia County and associated facilities.

Wellstar also said that it would spend additional money on the implementation of a new medical records system that the state is spending $105 million on. Jones derided that money as a giveaway to Wellstar.

The move is one of many hospital mergers in Georgia and nationwide, as standalone hospitals combine into large systems. That helps them afford massive investments but also gives them the market power to negotiate more lucrative payment agreements with insurers.

Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare took over a three-hospital system based in Augusta last year, pledging to invest more than $1 billion in upgrades and expansions over the next 10 years. That nonprofit group was named University Hospital, although it wasnt controlled by Augusta University.

In the 2021 budget year, AU Health Systems lost $28 million on $1.06 billion in revenue  which is the most recent year for which a state audit is available. Revenue included $30 million in state appropriations. The system has lost $63 million overall since 2017, audits show. AU Health Systems has been looking for a partner since 2019.

The two sides said in December that the deal could also result in a further expansion of the Medical College of Georgia by creating a new regional campus at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta. No specifics of that possible expansion were mentioned Friday, although Wellstar CEO Candace Saunders and others talked about expansion generally.

This partnership will train more physicians at Medical College of Georgia to help address a significant shortage of clinicians in our state, Saunders said. "These physicians will learn at the MCG, many of them will train at WellStar."

The state and Wellstar again touted opportunities to use telemedicine to extend medical care and clinical teaching to rural parts of the state. How that would work is unclear.

Keel said that Augusta University sought in the process to ensure that our employees are going to be protected to the very best that we possibly can. Wellstar has made that commitment.

Perdue said the agreements would be filed next week with Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr for review, subject to a possible public hearing. The Federal Trade Commission also reviews hospital mergers.
Christians around the world will be getting blessed palm branches at Palm Sunday services, which start the churchs most solemn week. At Church of the Incarnation in Minneapolis this week, dozens of volunteers have been weaving the fronds into elaborate art works. It is a celebration not just of faith, but ancient traditions popular in their native Mexico. And theyre eager to pass them on to younger generations. The palms are kept in places of honor in many Mexican homes for a year. Then, theyre traditionally burned to make ashes for the Ash Wednesday celebrations that mark the beginning of Lent.
JOLIET, Ill. (AP)  A suburban Chicago teen accused of fatally shooting his 17-year-old girlfriend, a 9-year-old girl and the childs father was told Thursday a grand jury has indicted him on three charges of first-degree murder.

Byrion Montgomery, 17, of Bolingbrook, went before a Will County judge and was informed that the grand jury indicted him in the March 5 slayings of 40-year-old Cartez Daniels, 17-year-old Samiya A. Shelton-Tilman and Sanai Daniels, 9.

Judge Dave Carlson told Montgomery, who is currently being held at the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center in Joliet, that he will be transferred to the Will County Jail after he turns 18 on April 27, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported.

Carlson also granted an order to have Montgomery submit to DNA testing.

The 13-count indictment contained the same adult charges that were filed against Montgomery on March 6. They include multiple counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, home invasion, aggravated battery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Montgomery has pleaded not guilty. He is being held in lieu of bail set at $20 million.

The attempted murder charge stems from the shooting of Tania Stewart, 34, the fiancee of Cartez Daniels and mother of Shelton-Tilman and Daniels. Stewart survived.

The shootings took place in Bolingbrook, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Chicago.

Police have said Shelton-Tillman and Montgomery dated.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  An Iowa man serving life in prison for the stabbing death of an 18-year-old woman in 1979 has lost an appeal to overturn his conviction.

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday rejected 69-year-old Jerry Burns' argument that law enforcement officers violated his right to privacy while investigating the death of Michelle Martinko in Cedar Rapids.

Burns argued police should have been required to get a search warrant before obtaining a discarded drinking straw and testing it for DNA. The DNA sample matched DNA on Martinko's dress, leading to Burns' arrest and conviction.

Several civil liberties groups filed briefs supporting Burns appeal.

In a 5-2 decision, the court found that Burns did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when he threw a drinking straw into the trash after eating at a Manchester restaurant in 2018, the Des Moines Register reported.

Martinko's body was found in her car in a Cedar Rapids shopping mall parking lot. She had been stabbed nearly 30 times, police said. The investigation went cold for decades until DNA technology advancements led to Burns.

Burns attorney Nick Curran said in an email that his client continues to maintain his innocence.
King Charles III commemorated the more than 30,000 people killed in the Allied bombing of Hamburg almost 80 years ago as he visited the northern German city Friday on the last leg of his first foreign trip since becoming monarch. The attack in July 1943 carried out by British and American planes using incendiary bombs was a response to Nazi Germanys deadly aerial raids on Britain. It resulted in a firestorm which destroyed large parts of the city and remains a painful memory in the Hanseatic ports proud history. Earlier, Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, visited a memorial to the Kindertransporte that saw more than 10,000 Jewish children receive refuge from Nazi Germany in the U.K. in 1938.
The federal government has filed a lawsuit against railroad Norfolk Southern over environmental damage caused by a train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border that spilled hazardous chemicals into nearby creeks and rivers. The U.S. Department of Justice said in the suit filed Thursday that its seeking to hold the company accountable for polluting the waterways and to ensure it pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup. The derailment in early February led to the evacuation of about half the village of East Palestine. Norfolk Southern says it's focused on cleaning up the site and helping the community recover.
Kenya and the European Commission have reached a EUR 347.6 million (approx. Ksh.50 billion) financing agreement for the construction of the first dedicated electric bus rapid lane in East Africa.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between President William Ruto and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the European Union Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

President Ruto reiterated Kenyas commitment to a green transition as envisaged in the countrys climate change mitigation plan.

The Green Mobility-Nairobi core Bus Rapid Transit line 3 (BRT 3) will feature zero-emission electric buses and will introduce intelligent transport system features, affordable fare setting, inclusion of access to the public transport system for youth, women and low-income households, and addresses traveller safety.

The agreement was signed by Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen.

The two leaders also discussed other key areas of mutual interest including trade & investment, climate change adoption, health and technology.

-PCS
President William Ruto Wednesday held talks with the leadership of the European Union and European Commission at EU Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

During a meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council, the two leaders committed to strengthening the Kenya-EU strategic partnership.

The President of the EU commended Kenyas democratic credentials, noting the leading role the country plays in search for regional peace and security and creating an enabling investment environment for green growth.

He committed to support Kenya in leading the reset of EU-Africa relations and shaping new geo-strategic relations.

The President reaffirmed the blocs support for an African Union seat at the G20.

He committed to working towards the finalisation and signing of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPs) agreement; the Post Cotonou agreement.

At the Commission, the President held discussions with Ursula von der Leyen, President of European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice President and Commissioner for Trade of the EU and Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Partnerships.

An agreement was reached to finalise the Economic Partnership Agreement within two months.

They also undertook to work towards the establishment of financing instruments to avert the effects of the climate crisis and respond to the stress experienced by African countries, including the debt, food and energy.

The leaders committed to mobilise investment targeting Small and Medium Enterprises and youth innovators across various sectors including agriculture, industry, transport, renewable energy and women empowerment.

Kenya and the European Commission also explored the intent to pursue a financing agreement for the construction of a Green Mobility-Nairobi core bus rapid transit line 3 (BRT 3).

The project will put in place the first dedicated electric bus rapid lane in East Africa.

President Ruto reiterated Kenyas commitment to green transition in line with the climate change mitigation plan.

-PCS
Photo: The Canadian Press Kaycee Madu shakes hand with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith after he was sworn into cabinet in Edmonton, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Madu says it was appropriate for his boss to phone up a pastor charged over pandemic-rule protests and discuss the accused's upcoming criminal trial. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Albertas deputy premier says it was appropriate for Premier Danielle Smith to phone up a pastor and discuss his upcoming criminal trial on charges stemming from protests over pandemic restrictions.

Kaycee Madu, who is also the province's former justice minister, said Thursday that Smith is working to make Alberta better, adding that she is free to contact whomever she wants in pursuing that mission.

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley labelled Madus comments a dangerous "la la land" rationale and the start of a slippery slope toward a "tinpot dictatorship."

Smith faces renewed criticism over a leaked phone conservation she had with Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski in January about his looming criminal trial for his role at a protest over COVID-19 health measures that blocked the United States-Canada border-crossing at Coutts, Alta., in January 2022.

Audio of the call was obtained by the Opposition NDP and played for reporters Wednesday.

In it, Smith is heard commiserating with Pawlowski over her governments trial tactics, offering to make inquiries on his behalf and saying the Crown is pursuing politically motivated charges against him.

Legal and political observers say the call is a profound breach of the firewall separating politicians from those who decide who gets prosecuted.

Smith has long been critical of COVID-19 masking, gathering and vaccine mandate rules, questioning if they were needed to fight the pandemic. She has called them intolerable violations of personal freedoms.

Madu, when asked by reporters whether it was proper for Smith to have called Pawlowski, said: "COVID policies were divisive for the people of Alberta. I am looking to see us pass that particular era and focus on the peoples priorities."

He said Smith's focus as premier has been on things that matter to Albertans, such as affordability, economic growth and taking care of the vulnerable.

In the course of that particular work, the premier is free to speak with anyone that she wishes to speak with.

Notley said those remarks, coupled with Smiths words on the phone call, put Alberta on a slippery path to the politicization of its justice system. She called for an expedited independent inquiry into the matter before the writ is dropped next month for a scheduled provincial election.

Were on the verge of a tinpot dictatorship, Notley said.

You start ripping apart the fundamental tenets of democracy, you move into dictatorship. Its that simple.

Madu moved out of the justice portfolio under former premier Jason Kenney after a third-party report found he tried to interfere in the administration of justice by calling up Edmontons police chief to complain about a traffic ticket.

Madu was given a new portfolio under Kenney, then promoted to deputy premier when Smith won the party leadership and became premier in October.

Smith has not spoken to reporters since the audio was released, but in a statement Wednesday reiterated she has acted strictly within the parameters of advice from justice officials and has not spoken directly to Crown prosecutors.

"There is no need for further investigation of this matter," Smith said in a statement Thursday.

Notley said the call is dramatic and disturbing proof of Smith breaching the judicial firewall.

"You cannot have unfettered power in the office of the premier. There are limits," Notley said. "Our Constitution for as long as weve been a country has said that those limits are defined by an independent judicial system."

Calgary-based pollster Janet Brown said the controversy will reanimate voter concerns with Smith.

Why was she even taking a call from someone facing a criminal offence and talking about their criminal charges? said Brown in an interview.

This will give undecided voters pause. They will be wondering about her judgment, and her judgment is her Achilles heel.

Political scientist Duane Bratt said Smith is exerting pressure on the justice system by constantly questioning justice officials about why they are pursuing COVID-19 cases.

"Even if this isnt about talking to Crown prosecutors, this is clear pressure on (Justice Minister Tyler) Shandro," said Bratt, with Mount Royal University in Calgary.

Constitutional law professor Eric Adams, with the University of Alberta, said the call threatens public trust in the courts.

"You expose the administration of justice to the reasonable concern of the public that some people have access to the premier and preferential treatment and some people dont," said Adams.

Our system cant function on that basis.
Kenya is seeking to partner with Univercells to develop a biotechnology centre in Nairobi that will manufacture vaccines and drugs.

President William Ruto said the biotechnology centre is part of the governments plan for Universal Healthcare.

The Head of State said the partnership once finalised will also include skills transfer to boost the countrys human capital in the pharmaceutical industry.

The President spoke during a visit to the Univercells group biotechnology center in Jumet, Belgium.

President Ruto welcomed Belgium investors to Kenya saying Kenya offers a conducive business environment.

The investment your organization is going to make in Kenya is testimony that the global south is not as risky as they are being profiled, he said.

Minister of Development Cooperation and of Major Cities Caroline Gennez and Minister-President of Wallonia Elio Di Rupo accompanied the President.

Ms. Gennez said Belgium is keen on decentralizing the production of drugs to help Kenya and other African states achieve universal healthcare.

Techology transfer is something that can truly change the world, she said.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwah has revived his calls for the arrest of Opposition Leader Raila Odinga.

The Kikuyu Member of Parliament (MP) said Raila has been leading destructive protests and should be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Ichungwah said the ODM leader has a habit of selling fear to governments, which has made him look like an untouchable.

I am urging police to arrest Raila Odinga for perennially putting Kenya on the edge with illegal and destructive protests, he said.

Kichungwah said the State should not fear arresting the former Prime Minister, and asserted that the country will not plunge into chaos as a result.

I am urging police to arrest Raila Odinga for perennially putting Kenya on the edge with illegal and destructive protests. I know there is widespread fear that if he is arrested, then the country will plunge into chaos, making it ungovernable. I want to tell you, without fear of contradiction, that nothing will happen to Kenya if Odinga is arrested, Ichungwah told The Standard.

The lawmaker also accused Raila Odinga of blackmailing President Ruto into sharing government positions with him.

If one allows blackmail to continue, it never stops. Lets follow the rule of law in airing and resolving our grievances. And if one breaks the law, like Odinga is doing, then he must be arrested and prosecuted. Im challenging the Inspector-General of Police Japhet Koome to arrest Odinga, Ichungwah said.
President William Ruto has announced that start-up companies based in Kenya will be exempted from paying taxes on unrealized gains beginning July 1st.

Speaking on Thursday during the American chamber of commerce regional business summit at the Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi, the President noted that his administration wants to make Kenya an apex innovation centre by attracting investments from start-ups.

He acknowledged that a few hindrances remain that are preventing such businesses from realizing their full potential.

I have received complaints that we impose employee benefit tax on allocated shares to employees of start-up companies, even before any value is realised on these shares, he said.

The government will exempt start-up companies from paying taxes on such unrealised gains on employee-allocated shares starting 1st July this year.

President Ruto added that his administration is committed to promoting the best operating environment for business enterprises by introducing policies designed to make Kenya the most competitive investment destination in Africa.

I am committed to making Kenya one of the most attractive places to do business. As you may know, Kenya has been ranked the third most attractive place to do business in Africa by the World Bank, under its ease of doing business scheme, said President Ruto.

We are also reviewing our Special Economic Zones and Export Processing Zones laws to remove impediments to attracting new local and foreign investments. The raft of amendments are under stakeholder consultations and will be in place by 1st July this year.

The Head of State at the same time noted that Kenya has one of the most developed financial services sectors in Africa and that the country is ripe for the establishment of an International Financial Centre in Nairobi to attract global financial players.

To continue to reinforce this strong position, we are working with organisations such as the Financial Actions Task Force (FATF) to ensure Kenya fully complies with the relevant international standards on money laundering and terrorist financing activities, so as to make this International Financial Centre a reality, he said.

Dr Ruto also announced that Kenya, the United States government and the American Chamber of Commerce had on Thursday had launched a trilateral business dialogue, to address and resolve the challenges of U.S. investors and businesses in Kenya, in a bid to boost trade among the two nations.

This new trilateral platform, scheduled to meet every three months, will serve as a key convening body to jointly tackle investment challenges and is a demonstration of the governments commitment to hearing directly from the U.S. business community, he said.
Azimio La Umoja Coalition leader Raila Odinga says there was an attempt on his life on Thursday during anti-government protests in Nairobi.

Speaking to the press in Karen, Raila claimed anti-riot police shot at his car seven times trying to take him out.

We condemn in the strongest terms possible what has happened today. Today is a very sad day in the history of this country. This shows that were degenerating into the colonial stage, where lives of Africans did not matter at all, because theres no reason why police should use this kind of force against unarmed citizens who are merely exercising their democratic rights, Raila said.

The Opposition Chief at the same time faulted foreign envoys for allegedly taking sides with the Kenya Kwanza government.

My own car was hit seven times with live bullets, and the direction of the bullets were all aimed at me. These people have been threatening and blackmailing us, unfortunately the friends of this country are not helping. Look at the statement released by some ambassador based here, you would think that they live in a different country; theyre actually adding fuel to this conflict, instead of being independent and neutral arbiters.



Mr Odinga additionally castigated attacks on the press, where at least four journalists from different media houses were hospitalised after allegedly being brutalised by goons and police officers while covering the Thursday protests.

It is very unfortunate that in the whole of these skirmishes, the media is being targeted for attack. The other day and today, several journalists have been injured.

We also had information that they were planning to attack Uhurus farm, business, and residences, Raila claimed.
President William Ruto has reiterated that his Kenya Kwanza administration has stabilized the Kenyan economy amid protests by the Opposition over the rising cost of living.

Speaking to German international news organisation Deutsche Welle (DW), Ruto rubbished Opposition leader Raila Odingas claims that Kenyas economy is on its knees.

The President also dismissed the Azimio leaders claims that his economic policies and punitive taxation have burdened many Kenyans.

There are no taxes imposed that are punitive. Actually, we have stabilised the economy. Kenyans can now access the international markets that we could not access when we took over six months ago because of debts, Ruto said.

The President also said his government has opened up a duty-free importation window to allow importers to ship in food commodities at low costs.

This (duty-free importation) will help lower the cost of living. Our farmers have also been given fertilisers, and we are investing in the long-term irrigation which will help us have food, even during the dry season, he said.

President Ruto said Raila Odingas protests are not about the cost of living but about his loss in the August 9, 2022 presidential election.

The riots in Nairobi are not so much about the cost of living, but more about election results, which is actually a settled matter. My competitors are trying to take advantage of the current crisis [high cost of living] to satisfy their political needs, said Ruto.
Napa Police reported the arrests of two men Wednesday afternoon after a reported attempt to fraudulently exchange merchandise at the local Home Depot.

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Officers were called to the hardware store in the South Napa Marketplace, 225 Soscol Ave., after employees reported two customers leaving with more than $2,000 in wall heaters they had not paid for, according to police Sgt. Keri Sedgley.

Loss prevention officers saw the visitors enter the Home Depot, select merchandise and then try to exchange it at the customer service counter, Sedgley said in an email. After the exchange failed, the two men, identified as 51-year-old Bernave Carrasco of Vacaville and 40-year-old Fernando Juarez of Vallejo, left the store with the wall heaters, according to Sedgley.

Juarez stayed at the scene, but Carrasco left in a vehicle that California Highway Patrol officers later stopped at South Kelly Road and Broadway in American Canyon, Sedgley said.

Both men were detained and booked into the Napa County jail on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, and Carrasco also was held on suspicion of grand theft. He was released shortly after 10:30 p.m., according to jail booking records.

Juarez remained in custody as of Thursday afternoon.

The nature of the alleged theft was not immediately clear, but Sedgley said similar incidents can involve a person showing an old receipt for a product, or previously buying an item and using the original receipt to get a second item or refund money for the first.

Photos: Napa Valley Faces and Places, March 26, 2023
Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza announced Thursday that he is running for state Senate in 2024.

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Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, currently holds the 3rd District seat, but will be termed out from the Senate after 2024. The district includes Napa, Solano and Yolo counties and parts of Sacramento, Sonoma and Contra Costa counties.

Pedroza said it would be a privilege to contribute to making a difference on a larger scale.

This is a moment in time where we need leaders to really do their jobs and achieve outcomes to make peoples lives better, Pedroza said.

Pedroza added that he wants to make a difference for housing and the homeless, and to inspire a transition from talk to action on climate change.

As a Napa County supervisor, Pedroza doesn't have the chance to become well known in such 3rd District population centers as Fairfield-Suisun City and Davis. Yet he pointed out that his work extends beyond his own county.

He is chairperson of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. That has him involved in regional transportation issues, such as Interstate 80 improvements, express lanes and a mega-regional partnership, he said.

MTC has provided him an opportunity to know what the needs are in other areas. Hed be ready from day one as a senator, because he knows the district, knows the issues and has built relationships, Pedroza said.

Pedroza is a Napa County native. He was assistant vice president at a local Mechanics Bank and in 2012, at age 25, became the youngest person and first Latino to be elected to the Napa City Council.

In December 2014, then-Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Pedroza to fill the Napa County Board of Supervisors seat vacated by Dodd when Dodd was elected to the state Assembly. Pedroza won election in 2016 and 2020; his current term ends in 2024.

Pedroza in 2022 drew criticism in some quarters for a late 2021 vote he cast on the Walt Ranch vineyard project. Citizens discovered Pedrozas family had bought land next to Walt Ranch and brought the issue to the state Fair Political Practices Commission. A year later, the FPPC has yet to announce results of a conflict-of-interest investigation.

Critics earlier this year tried and failed to gather enough signatures to qualify a recall against Pedroza for the ballot. Still, recall proponent Beth Nelsen said afterward that the effort would halt Pedroza from progressing in his political career.

When asked about the recall attempt, Pedroza talked about learning to be a better representative and leader. He's prepared to work with the people who tried to recall him, he said.

Those moments dont determine whether we work together in the future. We have to continue to work together, Pedroza said.

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Napa wants official state designation as a pro-housing city, and its about more than bragging rights.

Its about money. Having such status could make it easier for Napa to land state affordable housing grants.

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But there might be some bragging rights involved. Only 10 jurisdictions have secured the title from a California Department of Housing and Community Development program established in 2021.

In a special Thursday meeting, the City Council voted to submit an application.

Napas gone from no-growth to pro-growth. And that is remarkable, City Councilmember Liz Alessio said, reflecting her perspective as an "older local."

To secure pro-housing status, a community must show it has pro-housing policies in four areas:

Zoning and land use.

Housing production time frames.

Construction and development cost reductions.

Subsidies.

The application has a worksheet that awards points in various categories, such as promoting greater housing density. A community must earn at least 30 points to win pro-housing designation. Napa calculates it has 47 points.

I work with people all up and down the state on housing issues, and Napa continues to be sort of ahead of the pack, Ryan OConnell of the Napa Housing Coalition told the council.

Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the states pro-housing program in a December press release, at a time when six cities had just won the designation.

These communities have stepped up to implement policies that aggressively eliminate bureaucratic obstacles and drive the growth of housing throughout the stateThis is the right approach and I look forward to seeing more communities join the effort, Newsom said.

Napa if successful would join Citrus Heights, Fontana, Oakland, Roseville, Sacramento, San Diego, West Sacramento, El Cerrito, Sacramento County and Placer County as pro-housing jurisdictions.

In a separate item at the Thursdays meeting, Napa flexed its pro-housing muscles by attempting to add still more affordable units to the planned The Crescent project.

The Crescent is the former Napa County Health and Human Services Agency campus at 2344 Old Sonoma Road. Heritage Housing Partners plans to build 154 condominiums and eight single-family homes there, with some to meet state affordability standards.

A week ago, the City Council agreed to join Heritage Housing Partners in applying for a $50 million state affordable housing and sustainable communities grant. On Thursday, the council revised the application.

The latest plan is for 65 low-income and 47 moderate-income, for-sale homes. The original plan was for 49 low-income and 47 moderate-income units, Deputy City Manager Molly Rattigan explained.

Napa and Heritage Housing Partners would eke out more affordable housing by changing the method by which they use grant money for the project.

This is a great project, Dave Whitmer of the Napa Housing Coalition told the council.

Of the hoped-for $50 million grant, $35 million would go to affordable housing. The remaining $15 million would go to such things as building bicycle and pedestrian improvements along Old Sonoma Road, West Imola Avenue and Walnut Street.

Photos: Get a picture of ArtHaus of Napa ArtHaus 6 ArtHaus 4 ArtHaus 5 ArtHaus 1 ArtHaus 2 ArtHaus 3
Credit: vitaliiborkovskyi via FreePik

As the national average FICO score keeps climbing, so do the scores in Tennessee. According to 2021 Experian data, the state boasts an average credit score of 701. Thats up four points year-over-year, maintaining Tennessees good credit rating.

Why is a Higher Average Good News for the State?

Your credit score is an important metric of financial health, particularly your creditworthiness. A good rating improves how likely a financial institution will approve you for a legitimate loan.

Good credit isnt the only way to qualify for legitimate loans online, but it makes your borrowing experience easier. A score like Tennessees average is high enough that many financial institutions would consider it positively. The higher your score is, the more likely it looks on paper that you would pay back your lenders on time, provided they grant you a new online loan.

Good credit can help you in other areas of your life, too. Some employers may check credit scores before they make a final hiring decision. The same goes for landlords looking to narrow down tenants. Your score may even impact the auto insurance premiums you pay.

What is Good Credit?

The FICO scoring system ranges from 300 to 850, with 300 representing the worst score possible and 850 representing the best score possible.

At 701, the average Tennessean is closer to the best score than the worst. However, theres still room to improve.

Exceptional | 800850

Very Good | 740799

Good | 670739

Fair | 580669

Poor | 300579

How Do You Earn a Good rating?

With so many real-world applications in life, your credit score is something you want to work on. If you fall below the states average, working on the five factors below can help you increase your score.

1. Payment History | Worth 35% of Your Overall Score

Paying your bills on time will keep bad payment entries in your file.

2. Amounts Owed | 30% of Your Overall Score

How much you owe comes into play when generating your score. However, the utilization ratio of revolving accounts (lines of credit and credit cards) also factors here. It shows the percentage of your credit limits that you use. Keeping your ratio in the single digits can help you maintain a better score.

3. Length of History | 15% of Your Overall Score

A long history of good payment history is a good sign to FICO, so older people may find it easier to maintain a higher score.

4. New Account | 10% of Your Overall Score

Opening multiple new accounts in a short period of time may impact your score negatively for a brief moment.

5. Account Mix | 10% of Your Overall Score

FICO favors slightly those consumers that show they can handle a variety of different accounts at the same time, such as installment loans, mortgages, and lines of credit.

Keep These Tricks in Mind, Regardless of Your Score

Your score is a dynamic number that reflects your borrowing choices as you make them. Remember this as you manage money and borrow loans. Everyone should follow the tips above  whether you want to maintain a good score or improve a bad one.
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Photo: The Canadian Press Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland and B.C. Premier David Eby arrive for a news conference after touring Powertech Labs, in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, March 30, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has dismissed criticism that this week's federal budget lacks measures to address Canadas housing crisis, saying last years budget featured a $10-billion plan that is still being spent.

Freeland said Thursday that last year's budget allocated funds for a $4 billion housing accelerator program that was launched only this month by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

She said the previous housing funding "hasn't been spent yet," and it's up to municipalities across the country to apply for it through a recently opened portal for the accelerator fund.

This was a multi-year plan, Freeland said at a news conference in Surrey, east of Vancouver. You dont deploy $10 billion in one month or in one year.

B.C. Premier David Eby, who attended the news conference with Freeland, said he recognized there are "significant parcels" of funding from the last budget that have not yet been deployed in the province "in a significant way."

Eby said the federal government needs to make sure that B.C. sees "its fair share of that funding, and the province is ready to move as soon as federal money moves in its direction.

When they bring capital dollars here to build housing, we have the operating funding, Eby said. If they have surplus from other provinces that is unspent, bring it to British Columbia, because were going to put it to work right here. Were an excellent partner for that.

Trudeau announced the $4-billion housing accelerator in Guelph on March 17. It aims to speed up the construction of 100,000 homes across Canada over the next 10 years.

The fund requires municipalities to submit action plans on how they want to fast-track more housing supply, with affordability in mind.

Freeland said the federal government will not be prescriptive in finding one-size-fits-all solutions to fund through the accelerator.

Tell us what your plan is to get more homes built, she said. Tell us how some of that money can help you build those homes, and we will write a cheque. And $4 billion will mean we can write a lot of cheques.

Real estate observers have bemoaned the lack of additional housing affordability measures in the Tuesday's budget, despite applauding the federal government's promise of a new mortgage code of conduct that is meant to give struggling homeowners fair access to relief measures.
According to the agreements reached in August 2022, as of April 1, 2023, the Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to the Republic of Armenia (RA) shall end at the Kornidzor bridge. As of April 1, the route connecting the RA area to the Lachin corridor shall pass through the Kornidzor-Tegh route, only through the RA area. This is noted in a statement issued Thursday by National Security Service of Armenia.

The statement continues as follows:

"After August 2022, a part of the road connecting the Lachin corridor to the RA was again crossing the territory of Azerbaijan after the Kornidzor Bridge. That section of the road along its entire length and its surrounding area was controlled by the RF [(Russian Federation)] peacekeeping forces.

"According to the agreements reached yesterday between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the border guards of the two countries were to be deployed on both sides of the border along the aforementioned section in the last days of March.

"During the deployment, misinterpretations of the maps have emerged. In some places, the Azerbaijani side, without waiting for pre-arranged adjustments, has started positioning and carrying out engineering work.

"According to the calculations of the Armenian side, there are five such points where the Azerbaijani side is deployed 100 to 300 meters further from the border. It has now been agreed that cartographers from both sides will correct the situation.

"The Armenian side approaches the situation with the logic of not allowing escalation [of tension].

"The RA army did not have positions in the area in question because positions are not deployed on the border line, but on the nearby strategic heights. And the protection of that part of the border should have been transferred to the border guard troops, according to the agreement mentioned above."
The ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan, and Armenia's security challenges occupied a key place in this year's conferences of the Armenian Assembly of America at the US Congress, reported the VOA Armenian Service.

According to US Congresswoman Judy Chu, the importance of such events has increased in the context of recent developments.

Co-Chair of the US Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, Congressman Frank Pallone also informed about new initiatives in the Congress.

Congressman Jim Costa is also sure that these conferences remind the Congress of its obligation to strengthen US-Armenia relations.

Congressman Seth Magaziner called the developments around the Lachin corridor a real humanitarian crisis. He called on all his colleagues to realize the importance of supporting the Armenian issues, especially in the conditions of the blockade of the Lachin corridor.

The US Congress members who spoke during the final event of the conference in US Congress assured that they will continue to act in defense of Armenian interests, and they strongly condemned Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin corridor.
The Karabakh conflict is not a dispute between two countries, but an intention to eradicate a people, civilization. This was stated by president Laurent Wauquiez of the Regional Council of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France at Fridays joint press conference in Yerevan with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh, Sergey Ghazaryan.

"They repeat it decisively, and it is important that this is heard in France and Europe. This is not a dispute between two countries where the borders are not clear. This is a violation of human rights being protected by all international conventions; this is an intention to eradicate a people, civilization. This is the struggle of Armenia, Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)], and Syunik [Province of Armenia], but it is more than the struggle for civilizational values. Protecting yourself means protecting those values," Wauquiez said.

When asked about the ongoing blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, the French politician said what is happening is not normal, and the respective reaction of the international community does not correspond to what is happening. He recalled that a decision was made in Europe not to buy Russian natural gas.

"Is Azerbaijani [natural] gas more acceptable? Why didn't they draw conclusions? Why are there no sanctions against [Azerbaijani president Ilham] Aliyev's regime? I ask these questions, and they upset me," said the head of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France.

According to him, it is necessary for famous people to stand with Artsakh and explain the situation to the public of their countries, as many people do not know what is happening.

"Major propaganda is going on by your enemies; I was there, and 40 members of our delegation can confirm. I have seen what is happening. Azerbaijani [armed] forces have occupied the territory of Armenia, the place where we were two days before this. I don't know another corner on the planet where 120 thousand people are besieged. I don't recall another place where such barbarism takes place," Wauquiez said.

Commenting on the chances of deploying peacekeepers from France, the French politician noted that he cannot make promises on behalf of his government.

"But I can assure that we will do everything at our level to alleviate the situation. We are in awe of the courage of the people of Artsakh, and they have the right to live in the world," Laurent Wauquiez added.
Azerbaijan has occupied the territory of Armenia. This was stated by president Laurent Wauquiez of the Regional Council of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France at Fridays joint press conference in Yerevan with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh, Sergey Ghazaryan.

A delegation, led by Wauquiez, had visited Syunik Province of Armenia and the beginning of the Lachin corridor.

"I have been a friend of Armenia and Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] for many years. I am deeply shocked by what is happening. In 2019, we met with representatives of Artsakh and signed a collaboration agreement. In my region, a political position was adopted for the establishment of Artsakh's right to independence. Because of that, pan-Turkic organizations have tried to put pressure on me and my family. The attention of the international community is focused on Ukraine, and there is a risk that Armenia and Artsakh will be forgotten. I am here to say that we do not forget you, you are not alone, and there should be no violations of rights in Armenia, Artsakh, and the Lachin corridor," the French politician emphasized.

He noted that two days ago he visited the starting point of the Lachin corridor.

"My compatriots should know that the rights of 120,000 people [in Artsakh] are being violated [by Azerbaijan], they are deprived of the opportunity to meet their basic needs. I was with the governor of Syunik when he was informed that Azerbaijan has advanced where we were. I have seen and can testify about the violation of rights [by Azerbaijan]. As I have seen Azerbaijani flags on the hills of the Armenian territory. I have talked with those displaced from Artsakh; their words touch me to the depths of my soul. It is our duty and mine, as a politician, to come to your aid," Laurent Wauquiez said.
The incumbent Armenian authorities do not know the situation and cannot determine the priorities in the created situation. Seyran Ohanyan, head of the opposition "Armenia" Faction of the National Assembly (NA) and former defense minister of Armenia, told this to reporters in the NA Friday, reflecting on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement that there was no positional changes, whereas later the National Security Service admitting that the Azerbaijani army units had indeed advanced.

"This is not a new thing, there have always been contradictions, contradictory actions in the statements of Armenias authorities. Within the framework of the arrangements, a new road had to be planned, built; moreover, by advancing the concept of a corridor because a corridor includes not only roads, but also a [natural] gas pipeline, power lines, means of communication. We see that Azerbaijan quickly built its road, while the Armenian side has not built the alternative road fully. They say that the road would be opened on April 1. In that case, why did it allow? What are the arrangements with [Azerbaijani president] Aliyev? Once again, Aliyev violates the arrangements," said Ohanyan.

The former defense minister of Armenia added that he has no hope that the country can have those territories returned through negotiations.

"When you see that your authorities constantly make mistakes, constantly allow the adversary to advance, this suggests that they either do not realize [it] or have such arrangements. It will not work to pin hopes on the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem that they might withdraw through negotiations," added Ohanyan.
Photo: The Canadian Press The Canadian Pharmacists Association says protecting Canadian drug supplies from mass exportation to the U.S. market remains a priority in light of B.C.'s recent move to limit sales of the diabetes drug Ozempic, which has been hyped as a weight-loss treatment. Prescription drugs are seen on shelves at a pharmacy in Montreal on March 11, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

The B.C. governments bid to restrict the sale of diabetes drug Ozempic to prevent non-Canadian residents draining supplies was the right move and a long time coming, says Brett Skinner, founder and CEO of the Canadian Health Policy Institute.

Nearly two decades ago, Skinner warned that policymakers in Canada had to wise up to the market realities for pharmaceuticals and realize large-scale demand from Americans for cheaper Canadian drugs threatened the countrys limited supplies.

In the case of Ozempic, its popularity has soared in recent years thanks to a ubiquitous advertising campaign coupled with celebrity-driven social media chatter about its effectiveness as a means of losing weight, a so-called off label use for the drug.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said on Tuesday he wants a federal clampdown on sales to non-residents after it was discovered that Americans were being sent thousands of doses of Ozempic in the mail from B.C., the majority prescribed by a single practitioner in Nova Scotia.

"It's Ozempic today, it might be another drug tomorrow, but I don't think this is a short-term thing," Dix said. "It's a significant drug and it's part of our PharmaCare system."

The health minister said that advertising and social media hype had fuelled American demand for Ozempic, and B.C. pharmacies that ship products by mail have enabled it and created an "unacceptable situation."

"We would never have sufficient supply of Ozempic in British Columbia to satisfy the needs of the American market," Dix said. "We have to protect patients here."

Dix said upwards of 15 per cent of Ozempic prescriptions in the first two months of 2023 went to Americans.

A Health Ministry spokesperson said in a statement that data available to the ministry did not enable it to identify the practitioners from Nova Scotia prescribing Ozempic to U.S. residents via B.C. pharmacies.

"That is why the minister is requesting the Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons to immediately initiate an investigation ... and to take action to address this unacceptable issue.

Nova Scotia's Department of Health and Wellness said it is aware of the situation and has reached out to the province's College of Physicians and Surgeons about "what is taking place."

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. said in a statement that "if the Minister identified patterns of prescribing and dispensing of Ozempic that suggested a registrant wasnt following the Colleges professional guideline  the College would open an investigative file to ensure high standards of patient care."

The move by the B.C. government was vindicating for Skinner, he said, because he and others had predicted such a scenario years ago, but not with a drug like Ozempic in mind.

Skinner said that no matter the drug or what's driving demand, Canada cannot satisfy American appetites for cheaper pharmaceuticals.

He said he understands why Americans would look to Canada for their drugs, but the phenomenon puts pharmaceutical companies in an awkward position.

"It's perfectly rational economic behaviour for consumers to seek the lowest price for the same product," he said.

"From a business point of view, (pharmaceutical companies) can't allow Canadians to be shipping products intended for Canadian patients across the border to Americans and undermining the American price, which is the foundation of revenues in the industry  so naturally they only ship as much as they intended to ship for the Canadian population and no more."

Skinner said that's the position the B.C. government finds itself in with Ozempic. Moving to restrict exports is exactly what he and others predicted "would have to happen in order to protect our drug supply."

Demand for Ozempic has exploded in recent years, leading to shortages elsewhere that B.C. is hoping to avoid.

Expenditures by drug coverage plans on the injectable treatment ballooned from $13.5 million in 2019 to $227 million in 2021, a study by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies and Health found.

Kate Hanna, spokesperson for Ozempic's manufacturer Novo Nordisk, said the company and the B.C. government have a "shared interest" in ensuring the province's supply.

"Earlier this year, the B.C. government approached Novo Nordisk with concerns about cross-border sales of Ozempic. The government has now highlighted specific concerns regarding the sale of a significant amount of Ozempic to non-Canadian residents," Hanna said in a statement to The Canadian Press.

"We will work with and support all governments in the efforts to limit the sale of Ozempic to non-Canadian residents. Weve also engaged Health Canada on this issue in the hopes of identifying a national solution."

The Canadian Pharmacists Association said protecting Canadian drug supplies from mass exportation to the U.S. market remains a priority.

Joelle Walker, the association's vice-president of public and professional affairs, said cross-border sales of Canadian drugs to Americans seeking lower prices has been a long-standing issue for the country's health-care system.

Walker said the concern is not with small numbers of Americans coming over the border to buy cheaper drugs, but rather any large-scale quantities of drugs being exported and diverted from Canada's limited supply.

In the case of Ozempic, which is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, Walker said the internet and intense media coverage have fuelled demand for the drug for its weight-loss properties.

Walker said online sales of Ozempic from Canadian pharmacies to non-residents also highlight how virtual service providers have proliferated, making it a "complicated" situation for policymakers and regulators.

"Online pharmacies have been around for a long time, but again I don't think we've ever seen an example of the kind of numbers we're talking about there and I think that's what raised more of the concern," she said.

The association, Walker said, remains opposed to any large-scale schemes that would see Canadian drugs shipped over the border that could lead to Canadians being unable to access essential medications.

"From a shortages perspective, the province has indicated that that's sort of their primary concern and I think that's probably where the priority needs to be," she said.

Walker said a national conversation about whether something needed to be done to "protect Canadians" was "probably very timely."
President Arayik Harutyunyan on Friday chaired a special extended meeting of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Security Council, Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from the press service of the President of Artsakh.

Issues related to the defense of Artsakh, ensuring the security and the life-activity of the population of Artsakh under the conditions of the tightening of the blockade and unceasing provocations by Azerbaijan were on the discussion agenda.

State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan, and Defense Minister Kamo Vardanyan delivered reports.

President Harutyunyan underscored the close and coordinated cooperation between the law enforcement agencies and civilian organizations, public administration, and local self-government bodies in the solution of urgent and long-term problems.

Also, the President gave a number of instructions to the authorized bodies in the context of the discussed issues.
The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) of Russia has petitioned to the veterinary service of Armenia, with a request to stop the supply of dairy products to Russia as of April 5. The respective statement was issued by the press service of this Russian inspectorate agency.

The results of the inspectionfrom March 20 to 24of Armenias milk processing enterprises were discussed during Fridays talks between the veterinary services of Russia and Armenia.

"During the consultation, the issue of the impossibility of guaranteeing the safetyfor Russian recipientsof dairy products produced by the Armenian veterinary service was raised," Rosselkhoznadzor states.

It is noted that the aforesaid petition is related to the unsatisfactory results of the inspection, which were reported earlier.

The possibility of resumption of supplies will be discussed additionally, Rosselkhoznadzor adds, based on the results of the work carried out by the Armenian side toward the elimination of the detected violations.

Earlier, Rosselkhoznadzor announced that it would consider introducing restrictions on the import of dairy products from Armenia to Russia due to poor monitoring and the Armenian sides violations of the restrictive measures. According to the information received from the Armenian side, the milk processing enterprises of Armenia use the raw materials produced by the enterprises of Iran, whereas Rosselkhoznadzor has applied restrictive measures against these raw materials.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia received Laurent Wauquiez, President of the Regional Council of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France, and the delegation led by him, who were on a two-day visit to Syunik Province.

In his welcoming remarks, the Prime Minister stated:

"Dear Mr. Wauquiez,

I welcome you in the Republic of Armenia and I am glad to meet you again. We are also pleased to note that the relations between Armenia and France have high dynamics not only at the highest political level, but also in the level of decentralized cooperation.

Of course, we are in a very difficult period, and our country and the region are experiencing very difficult times. In this sense, such visits are also very important in terms of conveying moral strength and support, including political. I would like to emphasize the importance of your visit to the starting point of the Lachin Corridor and the Syunik Province and, of course, your messages regarding the existing situation.

I would also like to hear your impressions from the visit. I hope you have noticed that despite all the problems, we are making very serious investment projects in the republic, including in the Syunik Province. massive construction works are being carried out: roads, schools, kindergartens, other infrastructures, because our approach is that despite all the challenges, we should not deviate for a moment from the development agenda of Armenia. Recently, the European Union's investment and economic plan was launched in Syunik Province, which is extremely important. We also hope that the presence of the EU civilian mission along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border will become an additional factor contributing to stability and security. I welcome you once again."
It was very important for us to go to Syunik Province itself and be the first French local authorities to establish collaboration with the province. Laurent Wauquiez, President of the Regional Council of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France who was on a two-day visit to Syunik Province, stated this during Fridays meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia.

In his remarks Wauquiez stated as follows:

"Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister.

This is the second time we are meeting, and I have the greatest respect for everything you are doing for Armenia in this very difficult period. Last time I was very impressed with your strength and your will to move forward with very specific plans.

You are asking about my impressions from this visit. First of all, I want to say that it was very important for us to go to Syunik Province itself and be the first French local authorities to establish collaboration with the province because we understand very well how important Syunik is for the integrity of the territory of Armenia."

The parties emphasized the consistent efforts of the international community towards stability and peace in the region.

Also, the interlocutors discussed the prospects for the development of multi-sector interaction and the expansion of trade and economic ties. In this regard, the signing of the Cooperation Agreement between Syunik Province and the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region on Wednesday was highlighted.

The PM noted that the Armenian government consistently continues the policy of balanced territorial development, and in this regard, the strengthening of decentralized cooperation with France, the exchange of experience between the regions of the two countries is very important. Pashinyan reflected also on the reform agenda of the Armenian government and the measures being implemented to improve the investment climate of Armenia.

Laurent Wauquiez, in turn, thanked for the information, noting that French companies are interested in doing business in Armenia.

In addition, views were exchanged on the chances of joint projects in agriculture, health care, education, infrastructure, and renewable energy.
Ameriabank has been named the Best Bank in Armenia by Global Finance magazine in its 30th annual awards for the Worlds Best Banks.

When selecting the world's top banks, Global Finance considered a range of criteria, including growth in assets, profitability, geographic reach, strategic relationships, new business development, and innovation in products. Other factors for selection included the opinions of equity analysts, credit rating analysts, banking consultants, and others involved in the financial industry throughout the world. This years awards were given to banks that attended carefully to their customers needs in difficult markets and accomplished strong results while laying the foundations for future success.

As the banking crisis spreads from the US to other regions, identifying the best banks regarding services, stability and institutional knowledge is more important than ever, said Joseph D. Giarraputo, founder and editorial director of Global Finance. This years Best Bank Awards recognize the financial institutions that offer the broadest range of services as well as the reliability required for long-term financial relationships.

Artak Hanesyan, Chairman of the Management Board, CEO at Ameriabank, commented: We are delighted to receive the Best Bank Award from Global Finance, which serves as a testament to our robust growth in all business areas over the past year. As this is the ninth time we have received this prestigious award, it goes beyond just one year's financial results and serves as a true recognition of our strong performance for more than a decade to reflect also the resilience and enduring strength of our long-term strategy. By accepting and celebrating this acknowledgement, we reinstate our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our customers and introducing innovation in financial services with a strong focus on digitalization financial responsibility and long-term sustainability.

Ameriabank has been awarded the Best Bank of Armenia for the ninth time and the third consecutive year.
The two faces of Aggretsuko on the course syllabus are the first hints that the Emory College Cute Studies course unveiled this spring will include the light and dark sides of the adorable.

For the uninitiated, Aggretsuko is the female personification of a red panda. She smiles simply in her daywear, the blue suit for her job as an Office Lady in a Japanese accounting firm. The rage at her mistreatment at work and in her personal life bubbles to the surface in her nighttime iteration, when her face contorts into a snarl as she screams death metal karaoke under heavy eye makeup.

Its difficult to think about cuteness without thinking about gender, says Erica Kanesaka, the assistant English professor who designed the course. This course is an opportunity to think about that and more, about the politics of race, disability and age at play when cuteness appears in literature and popular culture alike.

Kanesaka is one of a handful of experts in the emerging field of cute studies, which unites cultural studies, biology and neuroscience to examine cuteness beyond aesthetics. The academic study is personal for Kanesaka, who came of age during the rise of kawaii, the loosely translated ideal of Japanese cuteness perhaps most recognizable in the character Hello Kitty

As half-Japanese and half-white, Kanesaka has long held mixed emotions about kawaii, especially in American culture. Originally the kawaii characters, tied to an extensive Japanese history of simplicity in art and design, emphasized both softer cultural touchstones in the wake of World War II and pushed against restrictive norms for women.

In the U.S., kawaii has taken on the hyper-feminine, sexualized stereotypes that define a large part of the American vision of Asia in general and Japan in particular. That perception has held even as kawaii diversified into digital spaces and introduced subversive characters like Aggretsuko.

I have mainly taken STEM classes so far, so I think its really fascinating how rigorously this can be studied, says Simon Yu, a junior with a double major in quantitative science and neuroscience and behavioral biology.

In contrast to some other students, Yu had limited exposure to kawaii characters before the class. He has enjoyed learning both about the culture and analysis, including the project to research and summarize one character in an authoritative Cute Compendium encyclopedia that future classes will use and expand.

Students also are conducting complex literary analysis, such as applying the racialization of cuteness to reveal the harm those beauty standards inflict on a young Black girl in The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrisons Nobel Prize-winning classic novel.

Describing something as cute is not necessarily a bad thing. But I had never seen the repercussions of it being harmful, says Alekhya Pidugu, a junior human health and economics major who makes sure to get the calendar that features tubby cat Pusheen every year.

Consideration of the power dynamics revealed some implicit biases that Pidugu, who is applying to medical school this summer, wants to address before becoming a physician.

I dont know that I will ever call a person cute again, she says. I want to treat my future patients as well as I can, so it is important that I am more cognizant that what I say can help patient health.

Senior Hazel Oh hoped the class would help her unpack why she felt belittled when people called her cute despite being a fan of Hello Kitty  who was intentionally created without a mouth to keep her own emotions vague  since childhood.

She is now applying the course framework to her English honors thesis, with Kanesaka as the advisor. Her work scrutinizes the memoir Crying in H Mart alongside Pucca, a Korean superhuman girl, to articulate the power structures behind a willingness to self-cuteify, even while resisting the label from others.

The experience has made her more willing to speak up and interested in pursuing a PhD that allows for deeper study of Asian-American literature and cute studies.

To be completely honest, I used to be a Hello Kitty myself, more on the quiet side and not taking a stand, Oh says. Ironically, Ive spoken out in class about not speaking out. It has helped me see that cuteness is not an inherent part of me.

I like that it is so nuanced and an emerging field, because I actually see I can contribute to the ways we study and teach and understand that nuance, Oh adds.
Joe Moon, Oxford dean of campus life for the past 35 years, will deliver the keynote address at the 178th Commencement exercises on Saturday, May 6. Moon will retire on Aug. 1 after a long and impactful career.

Dean Moon has enriched the Oxford experience  directly or indirectly  for all students, faculty and staff, says Ken Carter, interim Dean of Oxford College. He has been at the core of our student-centered culture for more than three decades, and his work and spirit have touched every corner of campus. We are a close-knit community, and we owe much of that experience to Dean Moons leadership. I know that we all will look forward to hearing his parting words of wisdom in May.

Moon began at Emory in 1978  his first job after earning a masters degree from the University of Georgia. While on the Atlanta campus, he helped launch staple university programs such as the First Year Council, the Sophomore Advisor Program in residence halls and the beloved Songfest. Along with his staff, he also advocated for the establishment of the counseling center and Helpline  two important campus resources. And, for both the Oxford and Atlanta campuses, Moon was the point person in the transition to co-ed campus housing.

After 10 years on the Atlanta campus, Moon came to Oxford in 1988 as Dean of Campus Life. Since then, he has played an integral part in shaping Oxfords culture and its core principles. He and his likeminded colleagues developed numerous departments that make up the heart of the Oxford student experience: The Center for Healthful Living; The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Counseling and Career Services; Student Involvement and Leadership; International Student Programs; Residential Education and Services; and others. He has contributed to the design of Murdy, Elizer and Fleming Residence Halls; the Oxford Student Center; and other buildings on the Atlanta campus.

In addition to his many accomplishments, Moon is known around campus as an Oxford historian. He holds vast institutional knowledge and is the resident keeper of Oxford stories, tall tales, and traditions. His book An Uncommon Place: Oxford College of Emory University  which covers the same topic as his doctoral dissertation  is full of unique insights into the history and culture of this community.

Learn more about Oxfords 178th Commencement.
Right in the middle of womens history month, its staggering to think back on how recently women and their hearts began to be taken seriously by the scientific community. As legendary Emory cardiologist Nanette Wenger, MD, wrote in a 2016 American College of Cardiology article: Although heart disease is the number one killer of women, cardiovascular disease was really thought of as a mans disease until the last few decades.

In the not-so-distant past, Wenger added, Women who came into the emergency room with chest pains were told they had a stomach problem or that they were imagining the pain and had emotional problems, so they were sent home.

Thankfully, following down the path first carved out by pioneers like Wenger, researchers and physicians like Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, have continued to build a data-backed case for the fact that women are very much not just making things up.

Vaccarino, the Wilton Looney Professor of Cardiovascular Research at Rollins School of Public Healths Department of Epidemiology and faculty member in the Division of Cardiology, is the principal investigator of a prospective study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) looking at sex differences in bodily responses to mental stress and subsequent cardiovascular events among young and middle-aged patients who survived a heart attack at Emory University.

A resulting paper focusing on the reactivity of small vessels to stress, published earlier this month in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, will be one of two articles featured in the AHA Journals April 2023 issue.

Samaah Sullivan, PhD, the first author of the paper, now at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, was a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University working with Vaccarino when she embraced this research. With these latest findings, Sullivan, Vaccarino and their co-authors  including Emory cardiologists Puja Mehta, MD; Arshed A Quyyumi, MD; and Amit Shah, MD  are building upon a growing body of evidence that links acute mental stress with a host of adverse cardiovascular events, especially among women.

Their work supports emerging research that the function of small vessels, also known as the microcirculation, plays a key role in ischemic heart disease (meaning decreased blood flow and oxygen to the heart muscle) among women. Vaccarino and her colleagues went into this new study with a strong hunch that mental stress makes this condition far worse. And, in fact, thats exactly what we found, she says.

The women in the study experienced more tightening of their small peripheral arteries (the blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart to other parts of the body) than men did when under mental stress. Not only that, but this microvascular response to stress was also associated with adverse outcomes in women but not in men. As a result, researchers determined that the ways in which small peripheral arteries in the body respond to stress carry important risks for women.

Vaccarino says that the reasons for these differences between women and men are still unclear. But the team is working steadily toward gaining more insights.

To that end, she adds, theres a strong need for more studies and clinical trials to include more diverse samples of patients. If we think about stress and mental health issues, a larger representation of women is essential, Vaccarino says. We knew that women are more likely to have these issues  stress and depression. Young and middle-aged women struggle more, and we think its perhaps because of the hardship of everyday life they may face.

Indeed, finding a clinical trial in the cardiovascular field that has included the same number of women as men can be challenging. If were lucky, its normally 30%, she says. In the case of this study, however, the participant breakdown between men and women was almost 50/50. How? By not turning people away because their symptoms were subtler or because they had other comorbidities.

To get participants in the study, we rigorously defined heart attacks, but didnt exclude people because they have other health problems, which opens up a level of participation for women. Thats one thing that clinical trials should be more open to doing.

In terms of next steps, Vaccarino says theyre planning to continue deepening their research into this area, thanks to continued funding from NIH. They have already begun enrolling men and women into a second phase of the study, which will have a larger sample size and go into more detail about the findings.

This second research phase will also expand stressful exposures from the lab to everyday life, and in a separate study theyll also start looking at women and men in rural communities in four southeastern states (not including Georgia). Eventually, Vaccarino says the goal is for these findings to help inform clinicians and the public and expand health advisories from professional organizations.

Often stress and mental health factors are not considered in the guidance, Vaccarino says. And as we identify these specific mechanisms, there could be opportunities for future interventions.

Vaccarino holds a medical degree from the University of Milan and a PhD in epidemiology from Yale University. She joined Emory in 2000 in the Division of Cardiology and was the Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health from 20102018. She has directed the Emory Program in Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and Epidemiology (EPICORE) since 2005.
The National Institute of Nursing Research has awarded a $3.4 million grant for Emory University and Morehouse School of Medicine researchers to study the impact of the integration of community-based, perinatal patient navigation into the continuum of maternal care for Black women in a safety-net health system.

The R01 Research Project grant provides funding for five years to conduct a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of the patient navigation intervention to discern its effectiveness in reducing maternal morbidities and mortality and improving unmet social needs, health care utilization, and timeliness of care.

Principal investigators on the grant include Rasheeta Chandler, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, associate professor with the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing; Anne Dunlop, MD, MPH, professor and director of clinical research with the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory School of Medicine; and Natalie Hernandez, PhD, MPH, associate professor and executive director of the Center for Maternal Health Equity at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

According to Chandler, maternal mortality in the United States is substantially higher than that of other developed nations, with Georgia ranking second highest among the states. In Georgia, racial disparities in adverse maternal health outcomes, including severe maternal morbidity and maternal mortality, are wide and persistent.

Equity-centered, transformational models of care offer promise for reducing these disparities and achieving maternal health equity, but data sufficient for supporting the adoption of such models into health care practice are lacking, she adds.

Using equity-focused research frameworks, the multi-disciplinary team experienced in health services, community-based research, and equity-centered care will evaluate maternal health outcomes in a hospital system that primarily serves Black women with high unmet needs. The team will also implement a high-fidelity care model intervention and utilize health system and patient-reported data to determine the models effectiveness.

This research is supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01NR020756. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Small but mighty is a phrase that often comes to mind when students and alumni describe the community they found at Mount St. Marys University. The phrase has come to life in the rooms of the Coad Science Buildingparticularly in the stories of a group of seven friends who, with the encouragement of their professors and each other, have achieved tremendous success in their studies.

Rita Anoh, C23, has been accepted to seven doctoral programs, including ones at MIT, Harvard, Yale, Penn and Caltech. Victoria Tavernier and Naomi Leno, both juniors, will be participating in summer research programs at MIT. Jillian Berko, C24, will be doing summer research at AstraZeneca. Efosa Omorogbe, also C24, will do her summer research at Penn State University, and Nana Acheampong, C24, will be at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Valerie Delss, C24, will be conducting research at W.R. Grace for the summer. Anoh spent her past two summers conducting research at Caltech and MIT, respectively.

Varied as their summers and futures will no doubt be, these women have similar fields of study and a bond formed in the many classes and lab experiences theyve shared. Anoh, Delss and Tavernier work in the lab of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Patrick Lombardi, Ph.D., and Acheampong and Berko are part of the lab of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sarah Krueger, Ph.D., C17. Science Department Chair and Professor of Biology Dana Ward, Ph.D., C97, has Leno and Omorogbe in her lab, and Leno also works in the lab of Christine McCauslin, Ph.D., dean of the School of Natural Science and Mathematics and professor of biochemistry. Theyve credited their science professors, and each other, with providing the encouragement and opportunities that have carried them so far.

Were all very aligned as far as what we want, and determined to accomplish our goals, which makes it so easy to help each other out, shared Leno, whos triple majoring in biology, biochemistry, and chemistry with minors in math and music.

Acheampong, whos majoring in biology with a chemistry minor, echoed Lenos thoughts, noting that her circle of friends has been a major source of motivation. STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] is hardthese women have definitely been a support system for me, she exclaimed.

Omorogbe even shared that Berko was the one who sent her the application to Penn States summer research program, where shell study cardiovascular disease, and encouraged her to apply knowing that Omorogbe plans to become a cardiologist.

Studying at a university like the Mount was also a part of what helped these young women succeed. Berko spoke of how tight-knit the students and professors studying STEM are, calling them one big family and noting that this closeness is what allows the students to learn so much from the faculty. Originally from Ghana, she plans to take the foundation shes received at the Mount and one day open a research hospital in a lower-income country.

Delss received similar guidance, explaining that when she joined Lombardis lab sophomore year, she had never worked in a lab, or taken as many classes as the other students on the subject. But Lombardi welcomed her into the fold, taking time to walk her through new concepts and experiences. Delss noted that the Mount is unique in allowing inexperienced students to join a lab, yet its this very experience that gives them a competitive edge in applications for internships, research programs and graduate schools. Shes looking forward to researching in an industry setting, as opposed to an academic one.

Tavernier, whos double majoring in chemistry and biochemistry, shared that this was an unexpected advantage to attending a smaller university. While it can be easy to think a smaller school equals less notoriety and opportunity, shes found the opposite.

Theres lots and lots of experiential learning opportunities, plus a good foundation and mentoring system from the professors. They can get to know you, help you find your passion and find the right things to apply for. Shes looking forward to being able to network and conduct cancer research in Boston this summer.

For their part, the friends professors arent at all surprised by the acceptances that rolled in for these women. Lombardi noted that all seven of them are stellar academics and researchers, who are always willing to help each other, and somehow still find time to serve the Mount community through tutoring and peer mentorship. Its no wonder that they have been so successful in applying to graduate programs and internships, he stated.

As these seven young women move closer to graduation and go on to lead lives of significance, they can be assured that they made the most of their time, talents and relationships at the Mount. Anoh, who will graduate this year with degrees in biochemistry and French, said it best: I have been fortunate to be a part of this group of friends who are passionate, hardworking, service-oriented, and dedicated to making an impact on others, and a campus where faculty are clearly committed to student success. This has been a space for me to thrive and I feel blessed to be a part of it.
Everyone welcome at SIUs Launch That Business ceremony April 6

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill.  The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is hosting a celebration on April 6 showcasing and honoring new area businesses the center has assisted, and everyone is invited to attend.

Representatives from nine businesses recently completed the 10-week Launch That Business fast-track training program, and the free event recognizing them will be from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, 1740 Innovation Drive in Carbondale. Light refreshments will be served and some of the graduates will have exhibits highlighting their businesses.

Helping small businesses

The Launch That Business program is designed specifically to assist home-based or small business entities get their business concepts on track, offering entrepreneurs practical steps for registering their enterprises as legal entities and giving them simple tips and tools to maintain their businesses.

Micro businesses, those with one to 10 employees, add to our economy. While many of their owners do not often have a business background, they start with a passion, said Yemisi Anderson, small business adviser and Launch That Business program coordinator. A lack of training or education can sometimes be a hindrance to their growth. As I work with business owners, I find some dont have the proper paperwork in place, or they just dont know what they need to do or how to do it. This program, which requires commitment, is designed to bridge that gap and help entrepreneurs launch and thrive.

Anderson said not all candidates complete the rigorous program, but this year, the graduating class has nearly doubled in size. Each graduate will receive a certificate and participate in a ribbon cutting during the April ceremony.

The event will feature a showcase area where those in attendance can view exhibits highlighting the products and services the graduates offer.

They have worked hard, and now it is time to celebrate them, Anderson said. They are excited to share their passions with the public.

Anderson noted that the graduates include several service-based businesses, including SI Pressure Washing, an Anna business whose owner is an alumnus of the Union County CEO program and K2 Academy, which offers a hands-on community approach to take learning to the next level. Graduates also include Proper Pour, a mobile bar for special events; MRC Enterprise, which performs quality renovations; and Kirk and Company, which sells skin care products made with goats milk and other simple ingredients.

More about the program

The Launch That Business program debuted in 2022, and due to its popularity, another session will be offered this fall by the SBDC. To learn more about the program or the Launch That Business ceremony, contact Anderson at yemisi.anderson@siu.edu or 618-536-2424.

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 center, or the many services it provides, visit sbdc.siu.edu, call 618-536-2424 or email sbdc@siu.edu. 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.
Fermentation science students enjoy a test batch of King Ale, a cream ale style beer that will be released Tuesday, April 4. The beer, created by SIU staff and students, was designed by Saluki Brew Works, an offshoot of SIU's Fermentation Science Institute, in partnership with Ravinia Brewing Co. From left are some of the students who worked on the beer, including Brandon Harris, Chris Barnes, Scott Whitehead and Daniel Browning. Additional students who worked on the beer not pictured include James Benefiel, Rachel Bernier, Jennifer Cesolini, Zachary Current, Sam Hanson, Greg Serangeli, Joshua Virella and Jamie White. (Photo provided)

SIU students and staff lead creation of new beer

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Grabbing a cold one with a distinctive Saluki twist will become even easier soon, when Southern Illinois University Carbondales Fermentation Science Institute and a partnered private brewing company release a new SIU-branded brew Tuesday, April 4.

FSI and Ravinia Brewing Co. will unveil King Ale, a cream ale style beer with American roots first produced during the 19th century and developed to compete with pre-prohibition lagers. Typically featuring prominent use of corn in the grist mash to lighten the flavor, the beer is designed as a light, refreshing beer.

The FSI and Ravinia Brewing Co. previously released two other brews  Salukitoberfest and Dog Pound Porter. But King Ale was an SIU-led creation, said Matt McCarroll, director of the FSI.

Students and staff of the FSI developed the beer style and formulation, and University Communications and Marketing took the lead on a collaborative effort to develop the label and branding, McCarroll said. The students brewed seven prototypes before landing on the final formulation. Some of the students were able to travel to Chicago to assist in brewing the beer at Ravinias Logan Square location during spring break.

Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover A Taste of Saluki Spirit, set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, at McLafferty Annex, home of the FSI and future home of Saluki Brew Works, a student-run brewery planned for the facility. Students, staff and alumni are slated to attend the event, which is fully booked.

McCarroll said the latest beer is the culmination of the collaboration and planned partnership with Ravinia, which ultimately will see the company locate its production facility in the McLafferty Annex.

These beers will soon be produced on campus, but Ravinia offered the opportunity to collaborate and bring these beers to the market now, McCarroll said. The students have gained the experience of working with a commercial brewery to bring their own ideas to a commercial product. They are learning that being able to make a great beer is only part of what it takes to profitably bring a product to market.

As an equal partnership, the proceeds from the beer sales are split evenly between Ravinia and the FSI, which it will use to expand the facilities and support a bachelors degree in fermentation science, McCarroll said.

That is a win-win-win opportunity for the university, the students and the consumer, he said.
India's first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, will open in Mumbai on Friday which will showcase the best of India across the fields of music, theatre, fine arts and crafts to audiences from both India and around the world. The centre will mark another definitive step in strengthening India's cultural infrastructure and bringing to fruition the best of India and the world in the sphere of arts. The launch programme will features a specially-curated art and craft exposition called 'Swadesh' along with three shows - a musical theatrical called 'The Great Indian Musical: Civilisation to Nation'; a costume art exhibition called 'India in Fashion'; and a visual art show titled 'Sangam/Confluence'. Together, the event will explore the diversity of India's cultural traditions and their impact on the world, while also showcasing the diversity of spaces at the cultural centre. Speaking on the occasion, Nita Ambani said, "Bringing this cultural centre to life has been a sacred journey. We were keen to create a space for both promoting and celebrating our artistic and cultural heritage in cinema and music, in dance and drama, in literature and folklore, in arts and crafts and in science and spirituality. It is a space where we will showcase the best of India to the world and welcome the best of the world to India." The Centre will be highly-inclusive with free access for children, students, senior citizens, and the differently-abled, and will strongly focus on community nurturing programmes The launch programme has been imagined to highlight India's immense cultural impact and provide a platform where the artist meets the audience. The cultural centre is a first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary space in the sphere of arts, within the Jio World Centre, located in the heart of Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex. The centre is home to three performing arts spaces: The 2,000-seat Grand Theatre, the technologically advanced 250-seat Studio Theatre, and the dynamic 125-seat Cube. It also features the Art House, a four-storey dedicated visual arts space built as per global museum standards. --IANS arm/ ( 353 Words) 2023-03-30-23:06:05 (IANS)
New Delhi [India], March 31 (ANI/ATK): Crypto traders from all around the world are looking for encouraging indicators that the market may be turning the ship toward gold. What is the future of cryptocurrencies generally, and will 2023 be a materially better year than 2022? These are two questions that many people keep asking. These questions and several other doubts are addressed in this article by outlining and making price forecasts for the crypto assets in 2023 that indicate tremendous growth this year. By adding coins like Big Eyes Coin (BIG), Algorand (ALGO), and Litecoin (LTC), cryptocurrency investors can improve their digital wallets. These are the most profitable coins on the market, and as their demand and value soar, they might just hold the secret to your success. Algorand (ALGO) Algorand (ALGO) is a revolutionary blockchain technology that has taken the world by storm. It was invented by Silvio Micali, a professor of computer science at MIT and recipient of the Turing Award, the top honor in the field. What makes Algorand so distinctive? In the beginning, it combines the best aspects of a blockchain's security and decentralization with a normal database's speed and scalability. As a result, it is suitable for use in practical applications since it can process a large number of transactions per second. One of the biggest problems existing blockchain platforms, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, are having is the concept of "consensus". Several computers, or "nodes" in a blockchain, must agree on the network's status, but this could take some time and slow the system down. Algorand's "Pure Proof-of-Stake" consensus process, which permits quick consensus without sacrificing security, solves this problem. Our online interactions and transactions may change as a result of this technology, making it a strong candidate to be the best cryptocurrency of 2023. Litecoin (LTC) 2011 saw the release of Litecoin (LTC), a fork of the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. Because of this, Litecoin and Bitcoin, both employ the same mining algorithm. The cryptocurrency platform wants to offer a service that uses a lot less energy than Bitcoin while having cheaper transaction fees. The fact that the Litecoin network uses about half as much energy as Bitcoin suggests that Litecoin has apparently succeeded in doing this, according to its yearly energy report! Litecoin uses less energy than Bitcoin, but the blockchain can verify transactions more quickly. It appears that Litecoin has struck a plateau. Litecoin (LTC) has gotten off to a great start in 2023. Its rapid expansion has now slowed down, though. Given how much Litecoin's growth has slowed, now might be the ideal time to buy this cryptocurrency. Big Eyes Coin (BIG) Much to the surprise of cryptocurrency investors, Big Eyes Coin (BIG) has appeared to perform well since its mid-2022 introduction. Big Eyes Coin, which started its presale in 2022, was able to raise millions in presale tokens before going live on the market. The token has done so well to the extent of earning the distinction of being the most prosperous Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in recent memory. An Initial Coin Offering, or ICO, is a crucial stage in the cryptocurrency industry because it allows investors to purchase tokens at a discount and gain early access to potentially high-growth tokens. Big Eyes Coin's ICO offers investors the chance to participate in the project's community and decision-making process, with 90 per cent of the tokens being made available at launch. The community-owned cat-based meme token known as Big Eyes Coin was created on the Ethereum Network, which uses the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus method to verify transactions. Big Eyes Coin also intends to lower blockchain energy requirements with its PoS protocol by doing away with crypto mining, which is mostly responsible for nearly a million tons of carbon emissions into the environment. When the meme coin launches, early investors will receive a 200 per cent bonus thanks to the recently expired promo code. Big Eyes Coin has promised to contribute 5 per cent of its whole token supply to nonprofit organizations whose mission is to safeguard marine life as part of its ongoing commitment to protecting the world. To learn more about Big Eyes Coin (BIG), visit: Join Presale: https://buy.bigeyes.space/ Website: https://bigeyes.space/#signup Telegram: https://t.me/BIGEYESOFFICIAL This story has been provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK)
New Delhi [India], March 31 (ANI/PNN): Warren Pereira's feature documentary Tiger 24 will be available to rent on Prime Video India, starting March 31, 2023. The film has been released in theaters and digital platforms in North America and most recently in theaters across India through AA Films. "I am thrilled to bring Tiger 24 to Indian audiences through Prime Video's movie rental service. I hope my film resonates with Indians who are the ideal audience but above all I want TIGER 24 to be a tribute to T24!" - Warren Pereira In Tiger 24, a wild tiger kills men who enter his territory, then being declared a man-eater and locked up in a zoo. This galvanizes massive social uproar and activists to take their cause to the streets, online, on billboards and all the way to the High Court and Supreme Court. Tiger 24 won the Panda Award at the 2022 Wildscreen Festival and was a finalist at the 2022 Jackson Wild Media Awards, where previous winners include My Octopus Teacher. The Picture also claimed Best Documentary at the 2022 Burbank International Film Festival. Pereira served as the film's Director and Producer, with The Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Jeremy Bell exec producing alongside Eagle Egilsson, Howard Barish, Zach Mann and Stephen Nemeth. Pereira's past work has garnered top accolades, including the Cannes Gold Lion, and has been showcased at top international film festivals. Clients under his production company W Films include The Royal Bank of Scotland, Spectrum, Tissot, NBA, Hpnotiq, The Wall Street Journal and agencies such as DDB and CAA. Additionally, Pereira founded The Tiger Fund LLC, which produces content related to tiger conservation, including films for the government of India. The filmmaker is currently in post-production on the feature-length doc The Bamera Tiger, and is at the same time developing a horror pic entitled Scarebnb and the darkly comic thriller, Double Bite. Consumers will be able to rent Tiger 24 on Prime Video. The rental destination can be accessed via the STORE tab on primevideo.com and the Prime Video app on Android smart phones, smart TVs, connected STBs and Fire TV stick. Customers get a 48-hour window to complete the film once playback is initiated. Customers can start watching the film within 30 days of the transaction date. Amazon Prime: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0HK4J6A9XPS4RVH8KUDGTGHEAG/ref=atv_dp_share_mv Youtube: TIGER 24 | Official HD Trailer (2022) | DOCUMENTARY | Film Threat Trailers This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
New Delhi [India], March 31 (ANI/PNN): In a press conference held at Hotel Metro View, IHRCCC Chief Dr VP Singh said an international conference is going to be held in Bangkok Thailand on September 28, 2023. It has been decided to organize the International Conference "Adbhut Bharat Sampanna Bharat" by "National Anti Corruption Commission" and International Human Rights and Crime Control Council in Punjab & Amritsar, National & International awards will also be given. In which Rashtra Gaurav Samman, Dr Gaurav Samman, Prithvi Ratna Award, Global Peace Award, International Children's Award will be presented to eminent personalities of the country and abroad. Rashtra Gaurav Samman is the highest civilian honor given by the "National Anti Corruption Commission". This award is given for different services to the nation like education, health, social service, journalism, environmental arts, literature, science, administrative service, public service and sports. The International Conference has been organized on 25th March 2023 in Delhi, 05 June 2023 in Amritsar Punjab and 28 September 2023 in Bangkok Thailand. Dr VP Singh said that children are the future of the country, who should have a leading role in nation building, so their right guidance is necessary. IHRCCC High Commissioner Akanksha Vidyarthi said that our aim is to give the right direction to the society and build a new nation also we give identity to those who really want to do something for our Nation we give Membership joinings from IHRCCC. People who are really willing to do something good kindly contact us to get our Membership Thank you . International Chairman of the organization, Dr Harish Makhija said that our effort should be that all the people should be connected with the main stream of social development; only then the country will develop. The Director of the organization Saurabh Sachan & Priyanka Sharma, Deputy Director Deepak Kumar, Rohit Kumar, Roshni Singh and Manager Ghanshyam Yadav told that we need to bring social harmony in the society. The institute is running various types of awareness programs in the country and abroad. This organization is doing a lot of public welfare work in various areas of India for human welfare since 2013, which is playing its leading role in nature conservation as well as making human and animal friendly social harmony a part of the society. Dr VP Singh said that we are moving ahead at the pace of a turtle, connecting the society with our members and one day we will be able to curb corruption, crime and surely India will again become the world master and gold bird. Iltaja Usmani, the PR manager of the organization, emphasized on human unity and he said that there is no religion bigger than human religion. Also Akanksha Vidyarthi said that we are going to organise awareness program & award Ceremony on 5th of June 2023 on Environmental day. Dr VP Singh said we are giving free upsc education to 30 eligible students & 100 ssc students by our end we really want to make our Country Atma Nirbhar Bharat with thanks. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
New Delhi [India], March 31 (ANI/Mediawire): The tech revolution is unleashing limitless potential for small and medium enterprises in India, and fostering a robust start-up ecosystem. The unprecedented effects of the global pandemic on small businesses have presented an array of challenges. While some had to cease operations temporarily, others have shown resilience and creativity in their efforts to pivot their business models and find new ways to reach their customers. Ultimately, those who have been able to reimagine and adapt their strategies were likely to find long-term success. For many small businesses, the need to remain connected with customers has led to the adoption of a more digital business approach. Speaking at the Delhi edition of Times Techies Tech Drive, Ajay Sahgal, Executive Director, Commercial Business, Lenovo said "each and every industry is trying to understand how to be connected to their asset. Even if you are from a manufacturing unit, the machines need to be connected through which they can see their productivity. They need to track their downtime and do the proactive maintenance." Recently-held summit in Delhi NCR, which had the who's who of industry in attendance, is part of Lenovo IT4SMB initiative. The keynote address was by Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip who made a case for technology-led solutions in customer experience. Mr Magow said, "Technology has evolved significantly. What is important to stay relevant in the leadership position is to continuously keep improving customer experience. We have seen customer experience powered by technology has evolved and improved significantly in the last few years. This has given the power in the hands of the consumer." Future business models enabled by connectivity Advancements in mobile networks, tools, and devices have led to the creation of robust digital business models. These models would not be possible without the required connectivity, analytics, applications, security, and personalization for a wide variety of use cases. The onset of the pandemic has allowed small businesses to tap into the advantages of online ordering, which is known for its flexibility, immediacy, and cost-effectiveness. Through digital transformation, small business owners can identify and capitalize on new opportunities while being able to keep up with the ever-changing needs of their customers. By leveraging digital connectivity, even modestly sized businesses are able to find success in a competitive landscape traditionally dominated by larger corporations. Providing a big-picture perspective on the transformational power of technology, Debjani Ghosh, President, nasscom said, ""When you apply the technology lens to some of the critical challenges faced by the humanity like climate change crises, food, or water crises, you realise that for the first time you have the power in your hands, to solve for some of these biggest challenges. We didn't have that before." SMBs, which till now have been late adopters of technology, have also realised the business impact of deploying customised business tools that can prove to be game changers. Ease of working drives growth Start-ups, known for their agility and innovation, benefit from a testing ground for their products and services, making SMBs the perfect partner for their venture. With technology solutions becoming more accessible and cost-effective, SMBs that were previously hesitant to invest in such initiatives are now aligning with start-ups to take advantage of the knowledge and resources at an affordable price. "For a start-up ecosystem, a lot of experiments need to happen at times, and you are not sure if you are going to scale this up really fast. To do so yourself, you would need to physically buy hardware and manage your data centres. In comparison, working on cloud technology is an easier plug and play," said Praful Poddar, Chief Product Officer, Shiprocket. According to the National Sample Survey (NSS), as of 2015-16, Udyam, a government-run portal designed to register MSMEs, had 8.4 million entities registered, while 63.4 million unincorporated non-agricultural MSMEs existed in the country. And tapping into the power of technology will allow these millions of businesses to scale up in a short span of time. In fact, cloud is one of the key focus areas for most SMBs. "If you want to scale, earlier you could do by adding more people. Today this is an unviable model. If you want to be profitable, you need to be able to collect data and use technology extensively," said Marut Singh Chief Technology Officer, Cars24. While Gaurav Bagga, SVP, Product and Engineering, Pristyn Care elaborated, "the managed services aspect that cloud provides, is much faster, and is highly available. The security aspect is also there which adds up a lot of advantages. When you try to do these things yourself at a data centre, the challenges would add up a lot more cost." As per a study conducted by NeoGrowth, labeled 'Digital Adoption Trends Among SMBs', around two-thirds of SMBs have made their switch to online sales. The most popular online platforms used for customer discovery are Google Business (35%), as well as combined usage of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram (20%). A study conducted by the U.K. Sinha-headed committee for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in June 2021 revealed an overall credit gap facing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) of around Rs 20-25 lakh crore, while a separate International Finance Corporation (IFC) survey estimated it to be in the region of Rs 25.8 lakh crore. Fintech start-ups are making a notable contribution to bridge this deficit. Although technological advances are assisting conventional small businesses to escape from the physical confines of traditional retail stores, they still do not attract equal levels of venture capital (VC) funding as those of their tech-first peers. The inability of SMBs to access long-term private capital remains a consistent issue. Technology could provide solutions in this domain as well. The summit culminated with the IT4SMB awards ceremony. The jury comprised of Satyavrat Mishra, Head Corporate IT, Godrej Industries, Amit Saluja, Senior Director and Head NASSCOM, Gandhinagar, Abhay Bapna AVP IT, Adani Wilmar and Manoj Chugh, an IT veteran. There were a total of 11 awards given in six categories. In the emerging SMB category, Q2 Power was adjudged as the winner, while Chqbook was adjudged as the first runner up and Loconav as the second runner up. In the small sized business category, Lal10 was adjudged as the winner, while B L Lifesciences was declared the first runner up and Instantpay as the second runner up. Shiprocket was declared the winner in the mid- sized business category, and Marengo Asia Healthcare as the runner up. Enerture Learnings was adjudged as the SMB leader of the year and BBB Technologies was the runner up in the same category. Kusum Healthcare was adjuded as the SMB CTO of the year. The jury special award was given to Sanskrit E Solutions and Services. This story has been provided by Mediawire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Mediawire)
Photo: The Canadian Press

Rogers Communications Inc's $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared the last regulatory hurdle Friday, more than two years after the deal was first announced.

The federal industry minister approved the transfer of Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile's wireless licences to Quebecor Inc. which paves the way for the deal to be completed.

Francois-Philippe Champagne says Ottawa has secured legally enforceable commitments from Rogers and Videotron, which is purchasing Freedom Mobile from Shaw as part of the deal, to bolster competition in the sector and "actually drive down prices."

The ministers long-awaited decision is the final approval the agreement needs to clear, bringing to a close a lengthy review that began after Rogers announced its deal to buy Shaw in March 2021.

In January, the Federal Court of Appeal rejected the Competition Bureaus bid to quash the agreement as it upheld a ruling from the Competition Tribunal in favour of the pact.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved Rogers' acquisition of Shaw's broadcasting services in March 2022, subject to certain conditions.
No comment was made by the CBI in this respect while the senior police officers confirmed the incident.

A senior police official said that a raid was conducted by the CBI officials at around 12:30 p.m. at Police Station GTB Enclave. The CBI had lodged an FIR in which inspector Shiv Charan Meena was accused of corruption.

"Meena allegedly demanded bribe for bail cancellation of one accused Ravinder alias Titu who was released on bail in an Arms Act case. Meena has been apprehended by the CBI team, though no recovery is made," the police said.

The police said that the CBI team conducted search at police station premise including adjoining rooms, gallery, corridor etc but recovery could not be effected.

"The CBI team has taken inspector Shiv Charan Meena, ASI Trilok Chand Dabas and DHG Rishi with them for further interrogation. In this regard, a case has been registered by the CBI," the police said.

--IANS atk/uk/

( 202 Words)

2023-03-30-19:50:03 (IANS)
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she will take her agitation over non-payment of Central dues under various Centrally-sponsored schemes to Delhi in the coming days. Speaking on the second day of her two-day sit-in agitation here on Thursday, Banerjee said she had expected that her two-day agitation would evoke some response from the Central government on this count. "I waited till Thursday. I thought that at least out of courtesy, I will receive a phone call from the Union government with assurance of payment of the Central dues. But nothing of that sort happened. Now it is time to go to Delhi. If necessary, we will beg and go to the national capital by hiring a train," she said. The Chief Minister said that she had interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier, requesting them to initiate the payment of Central dues to West Bengal. "But when nothing happened finally, I decided to go for the sit-in agitation. The next agitation will be in Delhi," she said. Without naming the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, the chief minister said that he is actually taking the main initiative so that the Central dues are not paid to the Bengal government. "One traitor from the state is going to Delhi and constantly asking the Union government to stop payment of central dues and the Union government is blindly accepting his suggestions," the Chief Minister said. Speaking on the occasion, she once again launched a scathing attack against the Union government on the alleged misuse of central agencies. "The central agencies are being sent randomly to the states ruled by the non-BJP parties. But the BJP is forgetting that if they are defeated in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the same central agencies can be directed against them," she said. On Thursday, the chief minister repeated her allegations that those who secured state government jobs during the previous Left Front regime "illegally" are now agitating in demand for payment of dearness allowance arrears. --IANS src/pgh ( 362 Words) 2023-03-30-19:56:03 (IANS)
Sources said that the Prime Minister spent more than an hour inside the new building, during which he inspected various works.

According to the sources, during his surprise visit, the Prime Minister also inspected the facilities being installed in both the Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha).

During the visit, Modi also interacted with the workers engaged in the construction work of the new parliament building.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The new building, which was earlier expected to be completed by November last year, is likely to be inaugurated soon.

A series of pictures showed the Prime Minister interacting with construction workers, standing amid the big halls, and taking a tour of the place.

The new building will have facilities like a grand Constitution Hall to showcase India's democratic heritage, a lounge for members of Parliament, a library, multiple committee rooms, dining areas, ample parking space etc.

It will also have a new Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Cabinet Secretariat, India House and National Security Council Secretariat.

--IANS dr/uk/

( 206 Words)

2023-03-30-20:40:05 (IANS)
In a tragic accident on Ram Navami day, at least 13 people were killed and several others injured after they fell into a deep stepwell, containing water, at a prominent temple in Madhya Pradesh's Indore as they came to offer prayers on Thursday, officials said. President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other leaders expressed their shock and grief at the tragic incident. The incident occurred at the Baleshwar Mahadev temple. As per the police, the cover over an old stepwell, around 50 to 60 feet deep, on which devotees were standing to offering their prayers caved in, due to which around 30 people fell into it. Panic spread as people started crying after seeing their beloved gasping for life into deep well. District administration and the police swung into action soon and NDRF teams were also called for the rescue operation. District Collector Illaiaraja T. also reached to monitor the rescue operation and other departments like health and fire were also alerted. "Rescue operations were severely hampered due to narrow and iron rods on top of the well. Only one person could go inside at one time and similarly only once person could be brought out at one time," a police officer, involved in the rescue operation, said. Amid rescue operations, the police also had to manage the crowd, especially whose family members fell into the well and were frantic. Police used ropes to take out the trapped people, however, water in the stepwell was yet another hindrance. "Those fell into the deep well were severely injured and debris made the water muddy. One little girl is still missing and search operation was underway," Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra told the press in Bhopal. "As many as 11 bodies have been recovered. Of the 19 people who were rescued, two died. So, a total of 13 have died. Order has been given to probe the incident. This unfortunate incident has shaken the entire Madhya Pradesh," he said. Expressing her grief, President Murmu, in a tweet, said: "I am deeply saddened by the news of the death of many people in the accident in Indore. I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families and wish speedy recovery to the injured". Prime Minister Modi, expressing his condolences on this tragic incident, also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of those killed. "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers with all those affected and their families. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate tragedy in Indore today. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000," a tweet by the PMO said. Chief Minister Chouhan announced that the state government will provide a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the incident. "We are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. Rs 5 lakh each will be given to the relatives of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured. Proper arrangements have been made for the treatment of the injured, and the entire medical expenses will be borne by the state government," he said. --IANS pd/vd ( 584 Words) 2023-03-30-20:48:03 (IANS)
Some areas in West Bengal's Howrah district on Thursday turned into mini battlefields after clashes broke out between two groups of people over a Ram Navami procession. An organisation, Anjani Putra Sena, took out a procession at Sandhyabazar area of Shibpur on the occasion of Ram Navami. The organisers alleged that while the procession was passing through the area, a group of people attacked and started throwing glass bottles, stones and bricks at those who had participated in the procession. The organisers also alleged that the attackers later hurled crude bombs at them. Eventually, clashes broke out following which a number of vehicles, including some belonging to the police, were set afire. The procession organisers, meanwhile, claimed they had the police permission to take out the march. "The police, instead of taking action against the attackers, resorted to baton charge on those participating in the procession peacefully," an organiser said. The police, however, have maintained a silence on the matter, including the number of arrests, so far. The situation is said to be under control, and as per sources, at least 15 people, including some police personnel, were injured in the clashes. However, barring this incident, the situation was overall peaceful in the remaining areas in the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was on a sit-in agitation in Kolkata, said it is unfortunate that despite her appeal for a peaceful rally, an incident in Howrah took place. "The rioters always target Howrah. They are the enemies of the people of the country," she said, and warned that the administration and police will take strong action against the offenders. --IANS src/pgh ( 282 Words) 2023-03-30-20:50:04 (IANS)
The incident occurred at Mushari Tola under Arer police station as the teacher, Saroj Thakur, was returning to his native village at Ijot village under Basopatti police station after tuition classes to students.

The police said that the incident occurred around 6 p.m. Local police recovered the dead body and sent it to the postmortem. The reason of murder is yet to be ascertained.

In another incident, two persons were shot and injured during a robbery bid in Hajipur on Thursday.

The two were returning home on a bike from work when three gunmen, wearing face masks, intercepted them and tried to rob them of their valuables and the vehicle. When they resisted, the robbers opened fire on them. The victims sustained gunshot injuries in their hands and were admitted to a hospital.

--IANS ajk/vd

( 167 Words)

2023-03-30-22:48:03 (IANS)
Rajasthan BJP President C.P. Joshi claimed on Thursday that weak lobbying was done by the state government in the Jaipur serial bomb blasts case. Joshi's remark came after the Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday acquitted all the four men who were sentenced to death in 2019 for the 2008 serial bomb blasts in Jaipur that killed 71 people and injured 185 others. The court also upheld the acquittal of a fifth accused besides accepting the plea of one of the accused stating that he was a minor. "The entire case puts the government under suspicion for gross negligence. The acquittals show the insensitivity of the government in this whole matter. Seventy-one innocent lives were lost in the bomb blasts while hundreds of people were left. The government should punish the accused by strong lobbying in the Supreme Court and justice should be done to the victims. "Going by the activities of the state government in the last four years, it is clear that it is doing appeasement politics on religious grounds, be it the case of Kanhaiya Lal's murder in Udaipur or the Karauli riots. "Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also holds the home portfolio, yet the common man of Rajasthan is yearning for justice. If the state government does not show seriousness even in punishing the accused in heinous crimes like the Jaipur blasts, what will happen to the rest of the cases?" --IANS arc/arm ( 249 Words) 2023-03-30-22:54:04 (IANS)
The students of the Kalakshetra college in Chennai's Thiruvanmiyur who were protesting over delay in action against a professor and others, against whom sexual harassment allegations surfaced recently, halted their agitation temporarily post-midnight. "Large numbers of students were protesting since Thursday afternoon, and a call for a temporary halt was made by Kalakshetra students' representatives at around 02.00 am," sources told ANI. According to Kalakshetra students' representative, since protesters are tired they said they are going to temporarily halt the protest till Friday morning. "Our protest will start by Friday 7 AM again," they said while speaking to ANI. Earlier on Thursday, the Kalakshetra Educational Institute was shut down after a protest by students over the lack of action against the professor who allegedly sexually harassed the students, informed the institute's authorities. The students of Kalakshetra Educational Institute, which operates under the control of the central government, sat on a protest inside the institute to take action against the professor who sexually harassed the students. Students raised allegations on social media that a professor was sexually harassing students. Subsequently, the National Commission for Women ordered the Tamil Nadu Police to conduct an investigation. A complaint had been filed by a girl victim from Kalakshetra at Adyar Police Station. Earlier on March 25, the official handle of the National Commission for Women (NCW) wrote, "As per media report, in the case of sexual harassment allegations at Kalakshetra institution, the Director's clarification and the internal complaints committee report did not find any evidence of sexual harassment on campus. "National Commission for Women withdrew its order for a police investigation on the grounds and it is informed that no one had been sexually harassed there." "The Commission has come to a conclusion to close the matter as the victim has denied sexual harassment while she was inquired by the IC committee," it further read. The administration is reluctant to take action against the concerned teacher as they have been working for a long time and all the students studying there have joined the sit-in protest to demand appropriate action against the concerned teachers. The students said that the protest will continue in the absence of any concrete response from the college administration regarding taking formal action against the professor. The institution said that the Director and the Deputy Director from the administration have spoken to the students taking into consideration the sentiments and grievances of the students."On March 29, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) also visited our campus and made enquiries about the allegations," it added. The Foundation had already sought an explanation from the persons against whom some allegations have been made and on receipt of their explanation, the Chairman and the Governing Board will consider the appropriate action that has to be taken in accordance with its Rules and Regulations and in conformity with the law. The Chairman and the Governing Board are fully appraised of protests and grievances and all steps will be taken to ensure that no person who is involved in any unsavoury activity in the Foundation will be spared, the statement read. (ANI)
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu on Thursday held a meeting in Guwahati to discuss the border issue between the two states. Taking to Twitter, Khandu said, "Himanta Biswa ji and my shared commitment are to resolve the long pending border issues between the two friendly states. We are working hard to find an amicable solution. Happy that we have both made substantial progress." "The CM-level meeting on the Assam-Arunachal border was held today at Guwahati in an ambience of camaraderie and cooperation to resolve all outstanding issues! As per the vision of HPM @narendramodi ji and under the guidance of HM @AmitShah ji, we are working towards resolving the vexed issue," Khandu tweeted. In another tweet, CM Khandu said, "The Regional Committees of both States have tirelessly worked by appreciating the ground realities and recommending the way forward. Discussed all the issues threadbare which required guidance at this forum and suggested a way forward." The Assam Government has formed regional committees for talks with Arunachal Pradesh over the inter-state boundary issues with the neighbouring state and several rounds of talks between the Regional Committees were held in recent times. The Regional Committee jointly visited the area for the first time after the Namsai Declaration was signed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu last year. (ANI)
Photo: The Canadian Press Former President Donald Trump is set to be arraigned Tuesdsay after his indictment in New York City, court officials said Friday. Trump's surrender will usher in the unprecedented scenario of a former U.S. commander-in-chief being arrested and arraigned.

Trump's indictment, announced Thursday, came after a grand jury probe into hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign to squelch allegations of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and denounced the investigation as a scam, a persecution, an injustice and a political low blow aimed at damaging his 2024 presidential run. He is a Republican; the district attorney who oversaw the inquiry, Alvin Bragg, is a Democrat.

No ex-president has ever been charged with a crime before, so there's no rulebook for booking one. Trump has Secret Service protection, so agents would need to be by his side at all times.

Indeed, Trump was asked to surrender Friday, but his lawyers said the Secret Service needed more time to make security preparations, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Even for defendants who turn themselves in, answering criminal charges in New York generally entails at least several hours of detention while being fingerprinted, photographed, and going through other procedures.
At least 22 people have been caught for allegedly pelting stones during a procession in the Fatehpura area of Vadodara, officials said on Friday. A man was reportedly injured in the stone pelting incident that took place on Thursday on the occasion of Ram Navami. This was the second such incident after stones were pelted during another procession taken out in Kumbharwada area of Vadodara on the same day. Talking to the media, Manoj Ninama, Joint CP, Vadodara City said, "Area domination and combing operation underway. Around 200 police personnel have been deployed. So far, 22 people have been detained in connection to the incident." Talking to the media, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said, "Stones were pelted in Vadodara during the Ram Navami procession. Around 15-17, people have been caught. The accused are being identified with the help of CCTV." "The additional force has been sent to Vadodara. Strict action will be taken against stone pelters," Sanghavi said. Some anti-social elements tried to pelt stones at the Ram Navami procession. Police took prompt action and handled the matter. All the processions have been completed peacefully, Shamsher Singh, Commissioner CP, Vadodara City said. Patrolling is being done. So far, we've detained more than 20 people. Police will take strict action against them, Singh said. During the 'Rama Navami Shobha Yatra' in Vadodara an incident of stone pelting occurred. In the Fatehpura incident, no one was injured and some persons were injured in the stone pelting by a mob in Kumbharwada, police said. Ram Navami is a Hindu festival that is celebrated in order to honour the birth of Lord Vishnu's incarnation, Lord Rama. This day marks the end of the nine-day Chaitra-Navratri celebrations, which are celebrated in the Hindu month of Chaitra which falls on the cusp of spring and summer. (ANI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reacted over the violence that broke out during a Ram Navami procession, and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of hiring goons from outside the State to orchestrate communal riots. "They (BJP) have been hiring goons from outside the state to orchestrate communal riots. Nobody has stopped their processions but they do not have the right to march with swords and bulldozers. How did they get the audacity to do this in Howrah?," CM Banerjee said in Kolkata on Thursday. "Why did they change the route and take the unauthorised route to particularly target and attack one community?" she added. If they believe that they will attack others and receive relief through legal interventions, they must know that the people will reject them one day, CM said. "Those who haven't done any wrong will not be arrested. How do BJP workers have the courage to bulldoze people's homes?" West Bengal CM said. Earlier on Thursday, several vehicles were set on fire after two groups clashed in West Bengal's Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. The reason behind the violence is yet to be ascertained. On Wednesday, Banerjee began a two-day dharna in Kolkata to protest against the central government's alleged discriminatory attitude towards her state. West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar refuted CM Mamata Banerjee's allegations. "TMC is lying because it was not a wrong route. There was permission till Howrah ground and this was the only route to go there. Now such days have come in India that you can take out Ram Navami procession in some areas and can't go to other areas," BJP president Majumdar said. (ANI)
Three others were also injured in the firing incident that took place after the party's meeting in Chutiakhor village panchayat of North Dinajpur, the police said on Friday.

"One of the persons who were injured later succumbed to injuries. The incident occurred in Chutiakhor village panchayat of North Dinajpur," police said.

The firing took place after a block-level meeting of the party. "Further investigation in the matter is underway," officials added.

On March 20, over 2,000 workers of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from different parts of Murshidabad and Maldah districts joined the Congress ahead of the Panchayat election.

Earlier, in 2018, the panchayat elections in West Bengal saw huge-scale clashes between the BJP and the TMC workers, resulting in the death of at least 12 people. The West Bengal Panchayat polls are likely to be conducted in May and June. (ANI)
"Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha was the darkest day in the history of Indian democracy. There are various legal issues in the judgement of the trial court, however, those will be dealt with at the appropriate platform by our legal team," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in Kottayam.

The Congress national president was speaking after inaugurating an event to mark the centenary of Vaikom Satyagraha in Vaikom on Thursday.

On March 23, Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a Surat district court and sentenced to two years imprisonment in the 2019 defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark made in 2019 during an election rally in Karnataka.

The criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi was filed by BJP MLA from Surat West Purnesh Modi.

After being convicted by the court, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

The sentence of two-year imprisonment has been suspended for 30 days before which Rahul Gandhi has to appeal against the conviction.

The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha has been one in a series of flashpoints between the Congress party and the ruling BJP, uniting the opposition parties who have been accusing the Centre of diverting attention from the Adani issue. (ANI)
A staff member at a resort in North Goa's Pernem has been arrested for stabbing and molesting a Dutch tourist and also stabbing another person who went to help the tourist, informed police officials on Friday. The accused has been identified as Abhishek Verma and the injured person as Eurico. According to the Superintendent of Police (SP), Nidhin Valsan, "A resort staffer trespassed into the rented tent of the complainant, when she started to scream for help, one local person came to rescue her from the accused and seeing his presence, accused ran away, after that accused person returned back with the knife and assaulted local person with a knife who had come to rescue and further assaulted the complainant with a knife and fled away from the spot." The SP further said that the complainant and the local person were shifted to the hospital for treatment. "The knife used for the commission of the crime has been recovered. FIR has been registered under section 452,354,307,506(II) of IPC," said Nidhin Valsan. Further probe is underway, details are awaited. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the government is considering a scheme to give Rs 1000 a month to Ladli Laxmi (girls) after crossing 21 years of age till they get married. "It is our aim that Ladli Lakshmi Beti should not face any financial problems. Ladli Laxmi Yojana is for girls from birth to 21 years of age. Ladli Behna Yojana has been started for married women in the age group of 23 years to 60 years. The motive is that after 21 years, Ladli Laxmi should be given Rs 1000 a month till her marriage so that she does not face financial problems," Chouhan said, adding that a decision would be taken in this regard soon. Chouhan said this while discussing welfare schemes with women from various fields during Shiv Shakti Samvad at Tribal Museum in Bhopal on Thursday. The Chief Minister discussed various aspects of women empowerment with women sarpanch, sportspersons, police officers, doctors, sisters of self-help groups and students on the premises of the Tribal Museum on the occasion of Ram Navami. He congratulated the women on the occasion of the Navratri festival and apprised them of the impact of the steps taken for women's empowerment in the state and the background of those decisions. The Chief Minister said, "I am happy to meet the sisters today. A discussion is being held with the sarpanch, sportsperson, police officer, doctor, Ladli Lakshmi's daughter and the students. Various schemes have been implemented in Madhya Pradesh for the empowerment of daughters and sisters. Society cannot progress without daughters. The daughters have done many innovative works and their cooperation has been received in implementing the plans." "This gives a message to society about how important daughters are. On one hand, sisters have come to over 50 per cent places in the local bodies and on other hand their recruitment in the police is making the task of women empowerment easier. They are also performing their duties better in the posts of teachers. Self-help groups of sisters are doing good work. Food processing work is in progress. Sisters are doing work like manufacturing toys, preparation of uniforms, recovery of electricity bills, and operating of tap water scheme. They are also coming forward in the field of processing of paddy and wheat," Chouhan said. Women often require to take leave from their workplaces under certain circumstances. Provision was made for an additional 7 days' leave. It is our duty that there should be such a system that women do not have to be helpless. They should become strong instead of weak. This society is indebted to the mothers and sisters. They create the universe. Their debt can be repaid by the implementation of such schemes, the CM added. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday met the people who got injured in the Indore temple stepwell collapse incident. As many as 35 people died in the incident while the search operation is still on. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his cabinet ministers also inspected the rescue operation at the site of the incident. He said that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident and action will be taken against those found responsible. "FIR was registered, and the magisterial inquiry was ordered into the incident. Action will be taken against found responsible. The current priority is the rescue operation. The injured will be treated free of cost. PM has also announced the ex-gratia amount to the victims. We have ordered an inspection of such step-wells and borewells across the state," said SS Chouhan. "Total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment. The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," Indore Collector said. "The 18 hours long rescue operation started at around 12:30 on Thursday, and is still ongoing," Collector Ilayaraja T added. According to officials, a team of 75 army personnel and NDRF and SDRF are engaged in the operation. "Three people died of electrocution during a Ram Navami celebration in Kota district yesterday 7 people were brought here, out of which 3 were brought dead. 3 were seriously injured and have been referred to MBS hospital. One is admitted here and is undergoing treatment", said Dr Parvez Khan, Sultanpur CHC, Kota. At least 14 devotees were killed after the roof of a stepwell collapsed during a 'hawan' organized at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in Patel Nagar area of Madhya Pradesh's Indore on the occasion of Ram Navami. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced Rs 5 lakh exgratia to the kin of the deceased while Rs 50,000 to the injured. "An ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh will be given to next of kin of deceased while Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured," Chouhan told reporters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to take stock of the situation and an ex-gratia from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for Indore mishap victims. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers are with all those affected and their families." "An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate tragedy in Indore today. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," tweeted PMO India. (ANI)
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday claimed that the new parliament building in Delhi is a "waste of money" and it is nothing but a "personal vanity project" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to the Congress leader, PM Modi like every "dictator" wants to leave behind his architectural legacy through the new parliament building. Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter and said, "The first of the personal vanity projects. Every dictator wants to leave behind his architectural legacy. Colossal waste of money". Earlier on Thursday Prime Minister Modi visited the new parliament building for a surprise visit. He spent more than an hour and inspected various works. Prime Minister Modi observed facilities coming up at both Houses of the Parliament and also interacted with the construction workers. Congress Party leaders have been criticizing the construction of the new parliament and central vista project since its announcement. Earlier Congress leader Randeep Surjewala took to Twitter and said, "Mr Modi, It will also be recorded in history that when farmers were fighting for their rights on the streets for 16 days, you were building a palace for yourself in the name of Central Vista. In a democracy, power is not meant to fulfil whims, it is a means of public service and welfare". He further stated that the Parliament building is not about mortar and stones and it envisions democracy and imbibes Constitution. "Dear PM, Parliament is not mortar and stones. It envisions democracy. It imbibes Constitution. It is economic-political-social equality. It is compassion and camaraderie. It is the aspiration of 130 crore Indians. What would a building built upon trampling of these values represent?" he tweeted. It has to be noted that the Congress party also boycotted the foundation laying ceremony of the new parliament building. (ANI)
Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday expressed grief over the demise of people in the incident of stepwell collapse at a temple that led to the loss of the lives of 35 people in Indore. "The death of the devotees in Indore is saddening and I express heartfelt condolence and pray for the deceased people," said Scindia. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the injured victims at a hospital in Indore. He said that a magisterial inquiry was ordered into the incident and action would be taken against those found responsible. "FIR registered, magisterial inquiry ordered into the incident. Action will be taken against found responsible. The current priority is the rescue operation. The injured will be treated free of cost. PM has also announced the ex-gratia amount to the victims. We have ordered an inspection of such step-wells and borewells across the state," said CM Chouhan. "Total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment. The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," Indore Collector said. "The 18 hours long rescue operation started at around 12:30 on Thursday, and is still ongoing," Collector Ilayaraja T added. According to officials, a team of 75 army personnel, along with NDRF and SDRF, are engaged in the operation. The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister announced Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to CM Chouhan to take stock of the situation. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers are with all those affected and their families." PM Modi also announced an ex-gratia from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for Indore mishap victims. "An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate tragedy in Indore today. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM @narendramodi," Tweeted the PMO. (ANI)
Organiser of the Shobha Yatra in West Bengal's Howrah and Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Inderdev Dubey on Friday claimed that they did not deviate from the approved route and had sought permission from the authorities in advance. The organiser claimed that Trinamool Congress conducted a yatra ahead of the VHP's yatra, following which the incident of stone pelting occurred. Dubey's claims came after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said, "Why did they change the route and take the unauthorised route to particularly target and attack one community?" Several vehicles were set on fire after two groups clashed in West Bengal's Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. Speaking to the reporters, Dubey claimed that they had sought police protection near a particular area on the route of the yatra, where he alleged disturbances occur every time. "We did not deviate from the route. We followed the route map for the yatra which was submitted to the authorities. We even sought permission from the Railways as we had to cross a railway gate, so that railways does not face any problems. We had repeatedly requested the Police to provide protection to the yatra near PS Shivpur as disturbance occurs near there every time. We had given every information to the administration regarding the banners which would be displayed and slogans that would be raised during the procession," the organiser of the Shobha yatra claimed. "Before our procession, there was a procession of the West Bengal government. We did not have any information about it. The procession is carried out (by TMC) strategically and then the incident took place," he added. VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain lashed out at Mamata and alleged that she wanted to "protect the attackers". "Over 50,000 Shobha Yatras were conducted across the country of which over 2,000 were in West Bengal. But unfortunately, attacks were done by miscreants at some places and violence was incited. Why are such incidents reported only on Ram Navami? When some secular leaders provoke them for vote bank, they get the opportunity to provoke," Jain said in a video. "What was the need for Mamata Banerjee to say that she would not stop the Ram Navami processions but if attacks are carried out on the Muslim community, she will take action? Does she have any examples? She wants to protect the attackers and threaten the victims. There should be peace across the country," he added. Clashes were witnessed in some places of the country during the processions including Gujarat's Vadodara, West Bengal's Howrah, and Mumbai's Malvani area. "Tension prevailed for some time during the Ram Navami procession in Mumbai's Malvani area but the police handled it and the situation is under control," DCP Ajay Bansal said on Thursday. Some of the participants alleged stone pelting, which created panic among people, DCP Bansal added. Meanwhile, in Vadodara, at least 22 people have been caught for allegedly pelting stones during a procession in the Fatehpura area of Vadodara, officials said on Friday. A man was reportedly injured in the stone pelting incident that took place on Thursday on the occasion of Ram Navami. West Bengal Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in Howrah where violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. (ANI)
Photo: The Canadian Press Treasury Board President Mona Fortier.

The federal government's return-to-office deadline has arrived  and on cue, a major public-sector union is holding a rally in Ottawa to call attention to workers' concerns.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada, which is hosting the demonstration and represents 165,000 federal workers, says women are disproportionately affected by the government's mandate.

The union says that parents have been struggling to find affordable child-care and get adequate accommodations from the government.

Treasury Board President Mona Fortier announced a mandatory hybrid work model in December that required public servants to return to the office two to three times per week, to be implemented by March 31.

The Treasury Board says a few workplaces, such as Canada Revenue Agency call centres and the immigration and employment departments, have been granted exemptions so as to "assess the benefits" of remote work.

The union and government will begin mediated negotiations on Sunday as a potential strike looms, with the union saying the return-to-office plan will be part of discussions at the bargaining table.
Students Union the Kalakshetra Foundation's Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts in Tamil Nadu's Chennai have written to the Union Culture Ministry demanding action against the Director and the Head of the Dance department of the institution. The letter informs that the students formed an Union on March 30 with with office bearers Jisma KK as President and Sakthi Shivani as Secretary. The students are demanding the dismissal of four staff members accusing them of inapporpirate behaviour and sexual/verbal abuse. The Union also demanded reconstitution of the internal complaints committee and also recognise the students' union which was formed on Thursday. In the letter, the Union said, "We the students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, would like to inform you that we have formed a Students Union today, Thursday, March 30, 2023, with office bearers Jisma KK as President and Sakthi Shivani as Secretary." "We write to you as this institution is under your Ministry's direct management. These incidents pertain to instances of decades of sexual abuse and allegations by current and former students. These instances involve several serving male teachers at the institution, one of whom has been here for close to two decades", reads the letter. The letter mentioned the names of Assistant Professor Hari Padman, and Repertory artists Sanjit Lal, Sai Krishnan and Sreenath. It also further stated, "Going beyond these four faculty members, students have faced body shaming, verbal abuse, casteist remarks by the serving director Revathi Ramachandran and Head of the Dance Department, Dr Jyotsna Menon. The affected students have refrained from speaking publicly for fear of retribution and dismissal from the institution. They also wish to maintain privacy, particularly those who have been facing sexual abuse and harassment." The Union also added that the concerns raised and complaints by many students earlier were blindsided by the Director. "The complaints include written letters by a former student and three current students. They also include letters supportive of the complainants by a faculty member and a former student. As our complaints have been summarily dismissed we write to you demanding to take necessary action towards Director Ramachandran and Head of Dance Department, Dr Jyolsna Menon", reads the letter. The letter further said, "We also demand reconstitution of the internal complaints committee, with the presiding officer who is an external member appointed by the governing board in consultation with the Students Union. The IC must include a Student representative decided by the Students Union. We demand the immediate recognition of the Students Union which has been formed today." The letter also said that until the demands mentioned in the letter are met, the students will continue their sit-in protest within the Kalakshetra premises. Earlier on Thursday, the Kalakshetra Educational Institute was shut after a protest by students over the lack of action against the professor who allegedly sexually harassed the students, informed the institute's authorities. The students of the Institute, which operates under the control of the Central government, sat on a protest inside the institute. Students raised allegations on social media that a professor was sexually harassing students. Subsequently, the National Commission for Women ordered the Tamil Nadu Police to conduct an investigation. A complaint had been filed by a student from Kalakshetra at Adyar Police Station. Earlier on March 25, the official handle of the National Commission for Women (NCW) wrote, "As per media report, in the case of sexual harassment allegations at Kalakshetra institution, the Director's clarification and the internal complaints committee report did not find any evidence of sexual harassment on campus. "National Commission for Women withdrew its order for a police investigation on the grounds and it is informed that no one had been sexually harassed there." "The Commission has concluded to close the matter as the victim has denied sexual harassment while she was inquired by the IC committee," it further read. The administration is reluctant to take action against the concerned teacher as they have been working for a long time and all the students studying there have joined the sit-in protest to demand appropriate action against the concerned teachers. The students said that the protest will continue in the absence of any concrete response from the college administration regarding taking formal action against the professor. The institution said that the Director and the Deputy Director from the administration have spoken to the students taking into consideration the sentiments and grievances of the students."On March 29, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) also visited our campus and made enquiries about the allegations," it added. The Foundation had already sought an explanation from the persons against whom some allegations have been made and on receipt of their explanation, the Chairman and the Governing Board will consider the appropriate action that has to be taken in accordance with its Rules and Regulations and in conformity with the law. The Chairman and the Governing Board are fully appraised of protests and grievances and all steps will be taken to ensure that no person who is involved in any unsavoury activity in the Foundation will be spared, the statement read. (ANI)
Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs of India V Muraleedharan on Friday said that the G20 under India's Presidency has turned into a people's movement. Muraleedharan was speaking on the second day of the second G20 Sherpas meeting under India's G20 Presidency at Kumarakom village of Kerala. "We had 46 meetings across 26 countries. The biggest difference in this G20 under India's Presidency compared to the earlier G20 is that this is not an exclusive diplomatic exercise, it has become a people's movement. Amongst the various topics discussed, we have suggested and is newly added is disaster risk education, which is a major problem world is facing", Muraleedharan said. Minister further added that "Going through the pandemic period helped in major learnings in the science and technology, including health. This is a new topic in G20. Then there are start-ups. Start-up 20 is a new engagement group in this." On speaking about the challenges, he said, "Even before we took the Presidency, ultimately for any conflict that we face, diplomacy and dialogue is the only way forward and continue to make efforts and we are very optimistic that things will be in the positive route." The second G20 Sherpas meeting began on March 30 with two high-level side events on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Green Development, according to the MEA press release. Organised in partnership with NASSCOM, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), the Digital Public Infrastructure side-event kickstarted with an immersive digital experience for all G20 delegates. India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant will also lead discussions with the G20 Troika comprising India, Indonesia and Brazil. He will meet with G20 Sherpas and heads of delegations of G20 members, invitees and international organizations, including the Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) to discuss issues pertinent to the Global South and from the Advanced Economies (AEs) on shared priorities and mutually beneficial ways forward. The delegates will be hosted for 'Charchayum Aaharavum' (Conversations over Dinner) and cultural programmes, a mini Thrissur Pooram experience, a traditional Onam Sadhya lunch, and Chaya Vallom (Tea on Boat) among other experiences. These experiences will give the G20 delegates a unique opportunity to enjoy the rich cultural heritage and diverse cuisine of Kerala. The MEA in the press release noted that India has selected its G20 priorities considering the diverse global challenges of the day, the concerns of developing countries and the need for greater momentum for collective action to take forward the shared international agenda, especially the development and environment agenda. India's G20 theme "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" - "One Earth. One Family. One Future" encapsulates the shared vision of the G20 for galvanising wide support and reaching decisive, ambitious, inclusive and action-oriented outcomes. These outcomes require the G20 to come together and act as one family to instil hope. Ongoing deliberations during India's G20 Presidency include Green Development, Climate Finance and Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth, accelerating progress on sustainable development goals (SDGs), technological transformation and digital public infrastructure, multilateral institutions for the 21st century and women-led development. These priorities demonstrate the needs of the Global South which were articulated by 125 participating countries at the first-ever Voice of Global South summit, according to an MEA press release. The Voice of Global South Summit was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2023. Notably, the first G20 Sherpa meeting was held in Udaipur in December. The meeting witnessed active participation by G20 Members, nine guest countries and 14 international organizations. The first G20 Sherpa meeting had set the tone for forthcoming meetings in 32 different G20 workstreams, including the Sherpa Track, Finance Track and Engagement Groups, according to an MEA press release. The substantive discussions on prevailing global challenges, and the warm hospitality with the motto 'Atithi Devo Bhava', resonated throughout the G20 Sherpas meeting and were highly appreciated by all delegates. (ANI)
The Supreme Court has remarked that cases involving tortious acts or criminality like fraud or cheating could not be decided by the Consumer Forums and deficiency in service has to be distinguished from the criminal acts. A bench of Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi passed these remarks on March 27 order while setting aside an order of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Circuit Bench at Chennai dated February 1, 2007. The Chairman and the Manager of the City Union Bank Limited have preferred the present appeal against the Judgment and Order dated February 1, 2007 passed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Circuit Bench at Chennai in which it upheld the order dated December 23, 2004 passed by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chennai. "The proceedings before the Commission being summary in nature, the complaints involving highly disputed questions of facts or the cases involving tortious acts or criminality like fraud or cheating, could not be decided by the Forum/Commission under the said Act," the top court said. "The "deficiency in service", as well settled, has to be distinguished from the criminal acts or tortious acts," the top court said. "There could not be any presumption with regard to the wilful fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance in service, as contemplated in Section 2(1)(g) of the Act. The burden of proving the deficiency in service would always be upon the person alleging it," the top court said. The complainant in the case has alleged that City Union Bank had transferred two demands of a total of Rs 8 lakh to the wrong account in the year 1996. The top court noted there were certain disputes going on between the Directors of the said company. "Some disputes were going on amongst the Directors of the Company and one of the Directors if allegedly had committed fraud or cheating, the employees of the bank could not be held liable if they had acted bona fide and followed the due procedure," the top court said. The top court said the complainant have miserably failed to discharge his burden to prove that there was a deficiency in service on the part of the employees of the appellants-bank within the meaning of Section 2(1)(g) of the Act, his complaint deserved to be dismissed. "The impugned orders passed by the State Commission and the National Commission are therefore quashed and set aside. The appeal stands allowed accordingly," the top court said. (ANI)
As river erosion wreaked havoc in the state, the villagers of Assam's Barpeta district appealed to the state's administration to take precautionary measures as the monsoon season approaches. Inamul Hoque, a resident of the Baghmara Char area said that due to river erosion, a school building and many human settlements were completely destroyed in this area. "Now the flood season is coming and we are so much worried. If precautionary measures are not done ahead of the rainy season, then many families in this area will again suffer. We request our MLA to undertake safety works by spending at least Rs 20-30 lakh from the MLA fund to protect the area from river erosion," Inamul Hoque said. The local villagers also appealed to the state government to take appropriate action to protect the settlements in the district. Villagers of 1 no, Baghmara Char, Nayer Char area under Baghbar assembly constituency in Barpeta are under serious threat of river erosion. The river erosion continues to wreak havoc in the area and the Brahmaputra river and Jaljali river wiped out many homes, land, religious institutions, school buildings, and thousand bighas of agricultural lands. According to local villagers, many families in the area have been affected due to the river erosion and many of them have lost their homes. The mighty Brahmaputra river and Jaljali river had taken over the land and several houses, school buildings, and religious institutions were destroyed in the past years also. According to the Assam government data, the state has so far lost about 4.27 lakh hectares of land in river erosion of the Brahmaputra river and its tributaries. (ANI)
A day after protest by students against alleged sexual harassment at Kalakshetra in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said in the State Assembly that legal action will be taken against those found guilty if the allegations are confirmed. The chief minister was responding to a special attention-grabbing resolution in the Legislative Assembly regarding the sexual harassment of Kalasetra Foundation. The resolution was put forth by opposition MLAs - Balaji of VCK, Velmurugan of VUK, Selva Perundagai of Congress and others. "Government conducting a proper investigation into this matter and if the charges are confirmed, legal action will be taken against whoever is at fault. It will be taken compulsorily," Stalin told the Assembly. "All measures are taken to ensure the safety of women protesters. Tamil Nadu police did not receive any official written complaint from the Kalakshetra student union," said Stalin. CM Stalin said that the National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson who initially wrote to DGP has sent another letter stating that their inquiry had concluded and that they haven't found any evidence of sexual harassment on campus. Stalin said the police has not recieved any written complaint so far in this issue and that the Foundation has declared a holiday till April 6 for students of the college and directed students to vacate the hostel within two days. "I contacted the district collector's office and got the details. They have sent the Revenue Divisional Officer, District Collector and Joint Commissioner of Police to collect details and conducted an investigation. This morning again the revenue police team is investigating," said Stalin. He said that all necessary measures are being taken for the safety of the women students. "Guards led by a female inspector have been posted for security. The government conducts a proper investigation into this matter and if the charges are confirmed, legal action will be taken against whoever is at fault. It will be taken compulsorily," said the chief minister. Earlier in the day, the students' Union of Kalakshetra college in Chennai'sThiruvanmiyur wrote to the Union Culture Ministry demanding action against the Director of the Institute and HOD of the dance department over the sexual/verbal abuse allegations against several male faculties. The Union also demanded reconstitution of the internal complaints committee and also recognised the union which was formed on Thursday. In the letter, the Union said, "We the students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, would like to inform you that we have formed a Students Union today, Thursday, March 30, 2023, with office bearers Jisma K.K as President and Sakthi Shivani as Secretary." "We write to you as this institution is under your Ministry's direct management. These incidents pertain to instances of decades of sexual abuse and allegations by current and former students. These instances involve several serving male teachers at the institution, one of whom has been here for close to 2 decades", reads the letter. The letter mentioned the names of Assistant Professor Hari Padman, and Repertory artists Sanjit Lal, Sai Krishnan and Sreenath. It also further stated, "Going beyond these four faculty members, students have faced body shaming, verbal abuse, casteist remarks by the serving director Revathi Ramachandran and Head of the Dance Department, Dr Jyotsna Menon. The affected students have refrained from speaking publicly for fear of retribution and dismissal from the institution. They also wish to maintain privacy, particularly those who have been facing sexual abuse and harassment." The Union also added that the concerns raised and complaints by many students earlier were blindsided by the Director. "The complaints include written letters by a former student and 3 current students. They also include letters supportive of the complainants by a faculty member and a former student. As our complaints have been summarily dismissed we write to you demanding to take necessary action towards Director Ramachandran and Head of Dance Department, Dr Jyolsna Menon", reads the letter. The letter further said, "We also demand reconstitution of the internal complaints committee, with the presiding officer who is an external member appointed by the governing board in consultation with the Students Union. The IC must include a Student representative decided by the Students Union. We demand the immediate recognition of the Students Union which has been formed today." The letter also said that until the demands mentioned in the letter are met, the students will continue their sit-in protest within the Kalakshetra premises. On Thursday, the Kalakshetra Educational Institute was shut down after a protest by students over the lack of action against the professor who allegedly sexually harassed the students, informed the institute's authorities. The students of Kalakshetra Educational Institute, which operates under the control of the central government, sat on a protest inside the institute to take action against the professor who sexually harassed the students. Students raised allegations on social media that a professor was sexually harassing students. Subsequently, the National Commission for Women ordered the Tamil Nadu Police to conduct an investigation. A complaint had been filed by a girl victim from Kalakshetra at Adyar Police Station. Earlier on March 25, the official handle of the National Commission for Women (NCW) wrote, "As per media report, in the case of sexual harassment allegations at Kalakshetra institution, the Director's clarification and the internal complaints committee report did not find any evidence of sexual harassment on campus. "National Commission for Women withdrew its order for a police investigation on the grounds and it is informed that no one had been sexually harassed there." "The Commission has concluded to close the matter as the victim has denied sexual harassment while she was inquired by the IC committee," it further read. The administration is reluctant to take action against the concerned teacher as they have been working for a long time and all the students studying there have joined the sit-in protest to demand appropriate action against the concerned teachers. The students said that the protest will continue in the absence of any concrete response from the college administration regarding taking formal action against the professor. The institution said that the Director and the Deputy Director from the administration have spoken to the students taking into consideration the sentiments and grievances of the students."On March 29, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) also visited our campus and made enquiries about the allegations," it added. The Foundation had already sought an explanation from the persons against whom some allegations have been made and on receipt of their explanation, the Chairman and the Governing Board will consider the appropriate action that has to be taken in accordance with its Rules and Regulations and in conformity with the law. The Chairman and the Governing Board are fully appraised of protests and grievances and all steps will be taken to ensure that no person who is involved in any unsavoury activity in the Foundation will be spared, the statement read. (ANI)
Expressing concerns over Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's daughter reportedly receiving death threats in the USA, Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Friday appealed to the Indian Embassy in Washington DC to ensure her safety. Maliwal said that the reported threats to Mann's daughter are an act of "cowardice". "Read reports of Punjab CM Shri @BhagwantMann 's daughter receiving death threats in the USA. It is an act of extreme cowardice. I appeal to the @IndianEmbassyUS to ensure her safety," the DCW chief tweeted. The Chief Minister's daughter, Seerat Kaur, who lives in the US, got the alleged threat amid protests by pro-Khalistan supporters in the US against the recent crackdown on Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh who has been declared a fugitive by the Punjab Police. Meanwhile, the United States government has condemned recent violent incidents that have taken place during protests at Indian diplomatic facilities in the US, while also terming that violence, or the threat of violence is never an acceptable form of protest and is of "grave concern." The response from the US Department of State comes after the pro-Khalistan supporters in the US threatened the Indian embassy and Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu during their protest on Saturday. On Saturday, Pro-Khalistan supporters in the US threatened the Indian embassy and Indian Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu during their protest. While rallying outside the mission, a protestor in his speech made a direct threat to the Ambassador that the "hypocrisy" will come to an end and that the Ambassador could face a similar fate to what former president of India Zail Singh faced back in 1994. "Violence or the threat of violence against diplomatic facilities and personnel in the United States is a grave concern and will not be tolerated," a US Department of State spokesperson told ANI. Multiple incidents of protests by supporters of Khalistan have been staged outside the Indian embassy and the San Francisco Consulate. Earlier this week, the Indian Consulate in San Francisco was also attacked on March 20. Recently a video surfaced on social media in which pro-Khalistani protestors gathered at the consulate in San Francisco, shouting slogans in support of Amritpal and heckling staff as they abandoned the diplomatic mission. "The United States government condemns recent violent incidents that have taken place during protests at Indian diplomatic facilities in the United States," the Spokesperson further added. "The Department supports the First Amendment rights of protestors in the United States to engage in free speech. However, violence, or the threat of violence is never an acceptable form of protest," the spokesperson further said. (ANI)
Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party (YSRTP) chief YS Sharmila on Friday claimed that a lookout notice has been issued against her for taking on the fight on behalf of the youth against Chief Minister KCR's "dictatorial rule". Sharmila hit out at KCR over the issue of the TSPSC paper leak and alleged that the police are being provoked to issue notices against her. "Issuing lookout notices against me, as I am fighting on behalf of the unemployed is proof of KCR's dictatorial rule. By now, I have been house arrested twice. Now the police are being provoked by issuing lookout notices (against me). In the TSPSC question papers scam, SIT is leaving out the big heads," she tweeted. A lookout circular letter is used by the authorities to ascertain if a travelling person is wanted by the police. This comes after Sharmila was detained by the Hyderabad Police before she reached the Telangana Public Service Commission (TSPSC) office in Hyderabad to hold a protest there regarding the paper leak issue. In a video posted in the tweet, Sharmila alleged that the Chief Minister has formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the paper leak case to give a message that no higher officials are involved in the case. "KCR has formed an SIT in the TSPSC question paper leakage issue. He is trying to tell through the SIT that there is no involvement of big people in this and only small people are involved. YSRTP has decided to lay siege to the TSPSC office as we came to know that he is trying to close this TSPSC issue easily through the SIT. We were house arrested 10 days back as we tried to lay siege to the TSPSC office. I was house arrested and not allowed to go out for anything," she alleged. She claimed that hundreds of police personnel were deployed at her residence and party office and she "managed to escape" from her residence last night. "Somehow, I managed to escape from my house yesterday night and stayed at a hotel room. As if the police has no other work, hundreds of police were deployed at my residence and party office all these days. I was house arrested and today I hear that lookout notices have been issued in my name," she alleged. "Am I some criminal to give lookout notice in my name? Did I do anything wrong? If the TSPSC paper leaked, whose fault is it? Where should your forces be? What should be your priorities?" Sharmila asked. Citing her claims of a lookout notice against her, the YSRTP party chief asked if there is a more "dictatorial" chief minister than this. "If you have given lookout notice for me, is there any Chief Minister in the world who is more dictatorial and inefficient than this? You can do how much ever corruption you want, your daughter can do a liquor scam, you can do corruption in the Kaleswaram project, and your son can do a real estate scam. Your people can leak the question paper, you can give Dalit bandu to your followers, and you can give double-bedroom houses to BRS party people. How much ever atrocities you do, as you have power, you use the police so that you are not harmed," she alleged. The TSPSC on March 15 had cancelled the Assistant Engineers (AE) exam held on March 5, following allegations of the question paper leak. On March 13, police arrested nine people, including two employees of the TSPSC. Following the arrest of the accused, the Commission cancelled the exam and also postponed other exams scheduled to be held later this month. (ANI)
Former union minister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday said that the people involved in a criminal conspiracy like instigating violence to break the fabric of the country's harmony should not be given any protection by the governments. The BJP leader's remarks came in the wake of violent incidents reported in some parts of the country during the processions on Ram Navami on Thursday including in West Bengal's Howrah, and Gujarat's Vadodara among others. Speaking to ANI, Naqvi said, "Harmony in the bars and frenzy on the streets is a lesson as well as a message, for those fanatics and for those who are projectors of fanatics. The criminal conspiracy to break the fabric of the country's harmony and unity of the country should not get any kind of protection. Those who are doing such activities should understand that neither the people of the country, society nor the government will accept it." Hitting out at Congress, the former Union Minister said that the party is a "history-sheeter" in violence. "On the allegations of Congress, Naqvi said that the Congress party and some of its partners are rioters, and are also history-sheeters in this matter. It had a tenure of 50-60 years in the government. More than 5,000 major massacres and communal riots took place, be it Bhagalpur, Bhiwandi, massacre of 1984, Baroda, Mumbai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Allahabad, Aligarh," Naqvi alleged. Meanwhile, clashes were witnessed in some places of the country during the processions including Gujarat's Vadodara, West Bengal's Howrah, and Mumbai's Malvani area. "Tension prevailed for some time during the Ram Navami procession in Mumbai's Malvani area but the police handled it and the situation is under control," DCP Ajay Bansal said on Thursday. Some of the participants alleged stone pelting, which created panic among people, DCP Bansal added. Meanwhile, in Vadodara, at least 22 people have been caught for allegedly pelting stones during a procession in the Fatehpura area of Vadodara, officials said on Friday. A man was reportedly injured in the stone pelting incident that took place on Thursday on the occasion of Ram Navami. West Bengal Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in Howrah where violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. (ANI)
Jailed Conman Sukesh Chandrasekar on Friday released a letter, through his counsel, claiming that he is having a total of 700 pages of WhatsApp and Telegram chats with Arvind Kejriwal and that he had allegedly delivered 75 crores on Kejriwal's to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) office in 2020. However, there is no independent verification to these claims and many allegations Sukesh had levelled recently. The letter has been issued through Advocate Anant Malik. "Kejriwalji, I am going to show a trailer of the chat related to 2020 in which 15 kg ghee - code word for Crore set by you and Mr Jain, which was delivered by me personally - i.e. - 15 Crore Rupees paid on your behalf at a political office, party office of TRS to one of the Accused of the ongoing Liquor Case", stated the statement issued. The statement further claimed that Kejriwal wanted him to drop this 15 kg Ghee aka 15 Crore Rupees at Hyderabad because he mentioned there were 5 cases of Ghee which is 15x5 Crore which was already at Hyderabad. He further stated "The amount was being converted for you as you had suggested that 15 was to be delivered to Hyderabad at the TRS party office to the person "AP" in a Range Rover parked inside the office." Recently, Sukesh Chandrasekhar while produced in the court had told media that Kejriwal's countdown has started, and soon Kejriwal will be welcomed in Tihar Club. And next week he will make a significant disclosure, which will be a trailer against Kejriwal. (ANI)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has seized Rs 7.80 lakh and a car as 'proceeds of terrorism' in Bastara Toll Plaza Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) recovery case involving designated terrorist Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, the agency said on Friday. Of the amount, the NIA team seized Rs 5.5 lakhs from one suspected account and also recovered Rs 1 lakh that one accused named Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi had stashed away raising the total recovery to Rs 7,80,000 in this case. This amount of cash and a car were seized on Thursday as 'proceeds of terrorism', under the provisions of the 25 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967. On May 5 last year, Haryana Police intercepted a car at Bastara Toll Plaza which was carrying Gopi, Amandeep Singh alias Deepa, Parminder Singh alias Pinder and Bhupinder Singh who were on their way to Adilabad in Telangana. They were found carrying three Improvised Explosive Devices, one pistol with two magazines, 31 rounds of ammunition and Rs 1.30 lakh in the Innova, which had been specially modified to conceal these IEDs, Pistol and ammunition in a specially designed cavity, said the NIA. NIA investigations have revealed that multiple consignments of arms, explosives and drugs had been sent from Pakistan by terrorist Harwinder Singh Sandhu, a 'designated terrorist', through drones to pre-decided locations near the Indo-Pakistan border. Gopi, Deepa, Akash alias Akashdeep, Sukhbeer Singh alias Jashan and Jarmalpreet Singh received these consignments of arms, ammunition, explosives and drugs, the anti-terror agency said. "Gopi and others were tasked to collect the contraband and deliver part-consignments to various places in different places in the country to carry out terror attacks in the name of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a banned terrorist organisation," said the NIA. The car was used by the accused persons for transporting such consignments, the agency added. The case was initially registered at Madhuban Police Station in Haryana. The NIA took over the case on May 24, 2022 and filed the first charge sheet against six accused, including Harwinder Rinda in October, 2022. A supplementary chargesheet was thereafter filed against another three accused earlier in March this year. "Gopi had also amassed a large amount of cash through smuggling these contraband items. Investigations have exposed his modus operandi of depositing this money in bank accounts of others," said the NIA. (ANI)
Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output from ChatGPT, on March 21, 2023, in Boston. The Italian governments privacy watchdog said Friday March 31, 2023 that it is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT in the wake of a data breach. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Italy is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT in the wake of a data breach as it investigates a possible violation of stringent European Union data protection rules, the government's privacy watchdog said Friday.

The Italian Data Protection Authority said it was taking provisional action until ChatGPT respects privacy, including temporarily limiting the company from processing Italian users' data.

U.S.-based OpenAI, which developed ChatGPT, didnt return a request for comment Friday.

While some public schools and universities around the world have blocked the ChatGPT website from their local networks over student plagiarism concerns, it was not immediately clear when or how Italy would block it at a nationwide level.

The move also is unlikely to affect applications from companies that already have licenses with OpenAI to use the same technology driving the chatbot, such as Microsofts Bing search engine.

The AI systems that power such chatbots, known as large language models, are able to mimic human writing styles based on the huge trove of digital books and online writings they have ingested.

The Italian watchdog said OpenAI must report within 20 days what measures it has taken to ensure the privacy of users' data or face a fine of up to either 20 million euros (nearly $22 million) or 4% of annual global revenue.

The agency's statement cites the EU's General Data Protection Regulation and noted that ChatGPT suffered a data breach on March 20 involving users' conversations" and information about subscriber payments.

OpenAI earlier announced that it had to take ChatGPT offline on March 20 to fix a bug that allowed some people to see the titles, or subject lines, of other users chat history.

Our investigation has also found that 1.2% of ChatGPT Plus users might have had personal data revealed to another user, the company said. We believe the number of users whose data was actually revealed to someone else is extremely low and we have contacted those who might be impacted.

Italy's privacy watchdog lamented the lack of a legal basis to justify OpenAI's massive collection and processing of personal data used to train the platform's algorithms and that the company does not notify users whose data it collects.

The agency also said ChatGPT can sometimes generate  and store  false information about individuals.

Finally, it noted there's no system to verify users' ages, exposing children to responses "absolutely inappropriate to their age and awareness.

The watchdog's move comes as concerns grow about the artificial intelligence boom. A group of scientists and tech industry leaders published a letter Wednesday calling for companies such as OpenAI to pause the development of more powerful AI models until the fall to give time for society to weigh the risks.

The president of Italy's privacy watchdog agency told Italian state TV Friday evening he was one of those who signed the appeal. Pasquale Stanzione said he did so because it's not clear what aims are being pursued" ultimately by those developing AI.

If AI should impinge" on a person's self-determination then this is very dangerous,'' Stanzione said. He also described the absence of filters for users younger than 13 as rather grave."

Others were citing concerns, too.

While it is not clear how enforceable these decisions will be, the very fact that there seems to be a mismatch between the technological reality on the ground and the legal frameworks of Europe shows there may be something to the letter's call for a pause to allow for our cultural tools to catch up, said Nello Cristianini, an AI professor at the University of Bath.

San Francisco-based OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, announced this week that hes embarking on a six-continent trip in May to talk about the technology with users and developers. That includes a stop planned for Brussels, where European Union lawmakers have been negotiating sweeping new rules to limit high-risk AI tools, as well as visits to Madrid, Munich, London and Paris.

European consumer group BEUC called Thursday for EU authorities and the blocs 27 member nations to investigate ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots. BEUC said it could be years before the EU's AI legislation takes effect, so authorities need to act faster to protect consumers from possible risks.

In only a few months, we have seen a massive take-up of ChatGPT, and this is only the beginning, Deputy Director General Ursula Pachl said.

Waiting for the EUs AI Act is not good enough as there are serious concerns growing about how ChatGPT and similar chatbots might deceive and manipulate people.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will get a clear majority in the upcoming Assembly elections. The chief minister was speaking to the media at the Ghati temple in Doddaballapur taluk of Bengaluru Rural district today. CM Bommai said, "A lot of poll surveys have been done and it shows the rivalry. Not in favour of Congress. There is still a month and a half to the elections and many changes are being seen." Talking about the upcoming elections, the CM said, "The process of preparing the list has started and it will be released in another week." Talking about the meeting of opinion gathering of potential candidates, he said, "The opinion of the office bearers at the grassroots level is being collected, and it will be submitted to the Parliamentary Board after consultation at the district and taluk level." Targeting the leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah, the CM said, "Siddaramaiah is desperate. The last election was in 2013. Contested again in 2018 and now is dreaming again. It is not important that a person becomes the Chief Minister." "What he can do for the people of the state as Chief Minister is important. People rejected him in 2018 and will reject him this time too," Bommai added. "He could have done this in response to opposition parties' claims that reservation was an election gimmick. This is a 30-year demand. He did not go on this adventure because of a lack of commitment. People are seen as vote banks. We have done the impossible for them. Thus, he has started a turmoil and he will do politics at all costs," Bommai further remarked. Mentioning a strong competition in Varuna, he further said, "BS Yediyurappa will take a decision after conducting a survey in the Varuna constituency. We will definitely give strong competition in Varuna." "People are of the opinion that Vijayendra should contest. Yediyurappa will finally take a decision," the CM added. The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections. The polling would take place in a single phase on May 10, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Wednesday. The counting of votes will be done on May 13, the CEC said in a press conference here. Detailing the data of the electors, the CEC said that there are a total of 5.21 crores in the state and the number of 100 plus voters is 16,976. He informed that over 58,000 polling stations would be set up across the state. (ANI)
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday met the Advisory Group on Airport Operators in Delhi to discuss the wide-ranging issues in the civil aviation industry. On this occasion, Civil Aviation Minister Scindia said that discussions were held on issues such as capacity enhancement security equipment and the issues related to customs. Union Minister Scindia took to Twitter and said, "Met the Advisory Group on Airport Operators to deliberate on a range of issues, such as capacity enhancement, security equipment, and customs issues. Given the positive trend of the surge in domestic traffic, we are working to ensure that the industry is ready to cater to this growth". Earlier Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said that India will become the largest civil aviation market in the next decade while addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) International Conference on Advanced and Short-Haul Air Mobility for All (ASHA): Technologies for Ease of Transport. "India has crossed the pre-COVID number of air travellers by 10 per cent to reach 455,000 passengers daily, with airlines now operating at 80-90 per cent load factor," Scindia said. He said that we need more aircraft because India has an insatiable desire to travel.While stating that India is proving itself to be a manufacturing hub in the aerospace sector, Scindia invited global companies to be part of India's journey. Technology has jumped forward and has become an important protagonist in future of mankind," the minister said. "In that period of change and dynamic flux, the civil aviation sector is making unimaginable strides as never before," he added. Speaking about opportunities in the advanced air mobility sector, the minister said the drone market will become a Rs 3 lakh crore market by 2030 employing 3-4 lakh persons. During the conference Union Minister Scindia also emphasised that the government was no longer a regulator but a facilitator and partner to the industry. (ANI)
After violence broke out in West Bengal's Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Locket Chatterjee on Friday said that the lives of Hindus in the state are "under threat". "It is disheartening. Such visuals emerge from Bengal every Ram Navami and Durga idol immersion. It is not acceptable that the lives of Hindus in Bengal are under threat. When there was violence in Howrah yesterday, Mamata Banerjee was sitting on a 30-hour Dharna," Chatterjee told ANI. The BJP MP accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of appeasement politics. She demended the resignation of Mamata Banerjee. "What did she say? Muslims live nicely during Ramzan. Is this an example of that? She is with Muslims for vote bank and appeasement politics. Law and order situation in the state is worse. She should resign. She is the Chief Minister as well as Home Minister and she is unable to stop this. This has been happening one after the other...This should be probed by National Investigation Agency (NIA)," added Chatterjee. Union Minister Anurag Thakur also condemned the violence in West Bengal. "During Mamata Banerjee's rule, journalists were attacked, stone pelting was done during Ram Navami processions. If journalists are becoming victims of violence and the State government remains a mute spectator, what can be more shameful than this? The more it is condemned, the less it is..." Thakur said. Meanwhile, the situation turned violent in Shibpur area of Howrah on Friday. Fresh violence broke out here ,on Friday a day after arson on 'Ram Navami'. Several vehicles were set on fire earlier on Thursday after two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. West Bengal Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in Howrah where violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession. (ANI)
Doctors in Vijaywada staged a protest on Friday demanding a judicial inquiry into the death of Dr Acchenna, Deputy Director of the veterinary department in a hospital in Kadapa of Andhra Pradesh's Vijaywada district as they suspect he was murdered. A memorial event for Dr Acchenna was held in Vijayawada which was attended by Animal Husbandry Minister Seediri Appalaraju and Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti (MRPS) leader Manda Krishna Madiga. During the event, an argument took place between the Minister and the protesting doctors. The doctors suspected Dr Acchenna was murdered and demanded justice.MRPS leader krishna Madiga said, "I heard the news about the death of Dr Acchenna while I was in Bengaluru through the newspapers." He added that he suspects Dr Acchenna was murdered. "Dr Acchenna was working in Kadapa and his family stays in Kunrool. I met his family members. I suspect Acchenna was murdered. I have doubts about his death. I visited the incident spot and have also spoken to the SP of the Annamaya and Kadapa districts. Reportedly Dr Acchenna's son lodged a missing complaint at the police station. But the police asked him to remove the director's name from the complaint. The police weren't ready to file the FIR unless he removed the name. "I am appealing to the Animal Husbandry minister to take necessary action on the issue. All evidence is clear and my appeal is to conduct a transparent enquiry into Achhenna's death", said Krishna Madiga. He also alleged that the police didn't take any action though Dr Acchenna was missing even after his son reported it. Animal Husbandry Minister Seediri Appalaraju said, "This is our family. We will go together. I will discuss this matter with Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. I pay tributes to Dr Acchhena. Jagan Reddy government will stand with the family." Earlier on March 14 Dr Achhena went missing. Later on, he was found dead, said the police. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak assured all possible help to the businessmen from the government after a fire broke out in the early hours of Friday at AR Tower near Hamraj Market in Bansmandi, Kanpur. The Deputy Chief Minister conducted an inspection of the situation on Friday. While talking to the reporters, Brajesh Pathak said, "The important thing right now is to control the fire and ensure that no person is harmed. Our government stands with the businessmen in this hour. We will not leave them alone. The government assures all possible help to the businessmen." Informing about the situation, he said, "There is a lot of smoke since the fire has caught cloth material. Equipments are being sent inside to take out smoke. All efforts are in place to douse the fire." "As soon as the smoke is reduced and the situation is under control, the government will enquire about the damage that has taken place," he added. Mentioning the action in the matter, the Deputy CM said, "Together Kanpur Commissioner and Kanpur Police Commissioner will submit a report to the government about the damage caused by the fire. After which, the reason behind the accident will be revealed." "There should be no politics on this," he further remarked. Notably, a total of 15-16 fire tenders reached the spot to douse the fire. No casualties have been reported as of now. Fire engulfed the AR Tower and spread to the nearby buildings present inside Masood Complex. Deputy director of the UP Fire Department, Ajay Kumar told ANI, "Efforts are still being made to extinguish the fire, for which hydraulic fire tenders are being taken from Lucknow along with army vehicles and fire tenders have also been sought from the surrounding districts of the city". "Around 3 am a fire broke out in Hamraj Market. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, but it is suspected that it may have been caused by a short circuit. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the incident," the official added. In this regard, Kanpur Police stated that the fire rescue teams' operation will take another 3-4 hours to control the fire. While speaking to ANI, Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) Kanpur City, Anand Prakash Tiwari said, "Our efforts are going on, we expect to control the fire in the next 3-4 hours. Operation is going on for 6 hours. We have pulled resources from nearby cities also". (ANI)
In response to the call of Manyam Bandh that Boya Valmiki, and Bontu, Oriya castes should not be included in the ST list, a peaceful protest was held at Kukkunur main Center, said the Head of Adivasi Welfare Parishad Division, Kukkunur, Sanjeeva Rao on Friday. Adivasi Welfare Parishad Division Secretary Kooram addressed the protest. Sanjeeva Rao further informed that the protest was held under the auspices of Adivasi Welfare Parishad, Girijana Sangam and Girijanasamakhya, and the traffic was disrupted for an hour. While talking to ANI, Sanjeeva said, The vehicles stopped. Later, a rally was organized from Kukkunur Ring Road Center to Ramalayam Center. Government offices, many shops and business establishments were freely closed." Sanjeeva Rao said, "All the tribals are against the Andhra Pradesh state government's decision to include Boya, Valmiki and Bentu, Oriya castes in the ST lists. In the name of the tribals, those who won as MLAs and MPs with the votes of the tribals in the tribal fort said that it is not a method to pass a resolution without opposing this resolution." "This state government is trying to trample the laws and reservations of the innocent Adivasis," he added. (ANI)
Foreign Trade policy (FTP) 2023 is focussed more on export growth, and the country will achieve USD 900 billion in exports in the next financial year, Dr A Sakthivel, the President of Federation of India Export Organisation (FIEO) said. Talking to ANI, the FIEO President said., "I am very confident that next year we will be able to achieve USD 900 bn exports of goods and services". Sakthivel said that We welcome this foreign trade policy because now there is no time limit for it. "So, because of the global situation, we need regular amendments. So once five years policy then we get stuck. So this policy is good for us in that way. Our export to Russia and other countries are stuck. We are getting good orders from such companies but we are not able to do it because of the Rupee mechanism. So the government is going to consider the rupee trade mechanism that is good. A lot of countries are starving for foreign currency. Countries like Russia, Sri Lanka, Iran, and Iraq are short of foreign exchange. If the Rupee trade mechanism is in place, it is easy for exporters to trade with these countries," he told ANI. Earlier in the day, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that India's exports have surpassed 750 billion USD, and the country is on track to achieve the 2 trillion USD export target by 2030. Arun Garodia, the Chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) said that they are hopeful of their exports rising significantly from the next year. "We are hopeful that for the next year, our exports, be it merchandise or services, are going to increase significantly. There is no sunset clause in FTP 2023. Due to this, there was a fear among the exporters that after the end of the policy, the uncertainty will no longer exist," he said. Pankaj Chaddha, the senior VP, of EEPC said that One District One Product has been promoted in this policy. "Their products will be brought internationally. One District One Product has made every district an exporter today. As Japan, South Korea, Germany, and France move forward, we are also moving forward at the same step. Our product will also be acceptable anywhere in the world," he said. Naren Goenka, the Chairman of AEPC said the FTP 2023 encapsulates the progressive and growth-oriented vision of the government for promoting India's exports. "It is pro-MSME, innovative in approach and in the spirit of cooperative federalism. It will help promote women's participation and promote start-up ecosystems for technology infusion into manufacturing and business processes, ensuring efficiency and competitiveness. The focus on cross-border e-commerce will help align India with the global digital business value chain. The added thrust on sustainability, compliance and ease of doing business will help India boost exports," he said. Welcoming the newly launched Foreign Trade Policy 2023, Mr Vinod Aggarwal, the President of SIAM; and MD and CEO of VECV said that the Auto Industry would get substantially benefitted from the FTP 2023. "Measures such as self-certification of origin, reduction of the threshold for Status Holders of Exporters, enabling Rupee payment and reduced Export Obligation under EPCG Scheme for Electric Vehicles. These measures will go a long way in propelling Automobile Exports from India, as Indian vehicle manufacturers are increasingly focusing on widening their exports footprint," he said. (ANI)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday hit out at the Gujarat High Court ruling that imposed a cost on him in connection with the case related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualifications. Taking to Twitter, the Delhi CM said that an "illiterate or less educated PM" is very dangerous for the country. "Doesn't the country even have the right to know how much their PM has studied? He vehemently opposed showing of his degree in the court. Why? And those who demand to see their degree will be fined? What is this happening? Illiterate or less educated PM is very dangerous for the country," he said in the tweet. https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/1641735944297644033?s=20 His remarks came hours after the Gujarat HC on Friday, set aside the Chief Information Commission (CIC) order and ruled that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) need not furnish degree and post-graduate degree certificates of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The single-judge bench of Justice Biren Vaishnav set aside the order of the CIC directing the public information officer (PIO) of PMO, Gujarat University and Delhi University to furnish details of PM Modi's graduation and post-graduation degrees. The bench was hearing an appeal filed by Gujarat University challenging the CIC order. The High Court also imposed costs of Rs 25,000 on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who had sought details of the certificate of the Prime Minister's degree. Meanwhile, the Delhi CM has been launching continuous attacks on BJP, questioning the "educational qualification" of PM Modi. Talking to the media on March 24, he said, "Never in its history did India have a PM, who is only a 12th pass. He is incapable of running the government and lets his ego guide his actions". (ANI)
The accused was arrested from his native village in Tamil Nadu's Pondicherry just three days after he got married, police informed.

Further, according to police, the accused (26) and the victim (30) got to know each other on Facebook 6 years ago after which the accused youth reached Mumbai and met the woman.

On pretext of marrying the victim and taking care of her daughter as well, he started a physical relationship with her, police said, adding that on March 27, the woman came to know that the accused had gone to his native village to marry another girl.

The woman filed a complaint at Mumbai's Cuffe Parade police station.

Three days later after the complaint was filed, the accused was arrested and brought to Mumbai. He was produced in a court, which sent him to police custody April 1, an officer said. (ANI)
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Sukanta Majumdar on Friday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations. "It is always my privilege to write to you, especially concerning about the affairs of my state. But unfortunately this time I am forced to write about the orchestrated attack on the Processions of Ram Navami in various parts of West Bengal like Howrah, Dalkhota. In Howrah it took ugly turn with Bombs and Stones thrown on the procession inspite of taking prior permission from Police by submitting Route map," wrote the West Bengal BJP chief in his letter addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "It is our firm belief that the whole incident was pre planned by the unfolding of events with first statement coming from none other than the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on March 29 that strict action will be taken against the Processions of Ram Navami if there is any untoward incident," wrote Majumdar. Secondly, the BJP leader said on March 30 the procession in Howrah was attacked at the same place where it was attacked during the last Ram Navami in spite of police presence. "And finally before any investigation, she has given the statement that provocation was done from the processions, ie the Hindu side and there is the involvement of BJP, therefore strict action will be taken against them," Majumdar said. In Dalkhola also, he further said the same pattern was followed and when BJP MP and former Minister Debasree Chaudhury went to visit the affected area in Dalkhola, she was stopped by the police which proves the pre determined mindset of the State government. "After the loss of Minority dominated Sagardighi Assembly seat in the bye election, which came as a shocker to the ruling party, we believe that a conspiracy was hatched using the Ram Navami occasion only to get back the minority vote by indulging into communal politics and attacks and overlooking the involvement of anti national forces who are going to be encouraged. Therefore, it is my request to order an impartial inquiry involving Central agencies like NIA as done in Mominpur (Kidderpore) to actually nab the culprits and not innocent Hindus or any people who might be framed for their political cause," urged Majumdar. Following the violence in West Bengal's Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday filed a PIL in Calcutta High Court seeking a NIA probe into the matter and immediate deployment of Central Forces in the violence-affected areas. The Acting Justice of Calcutta High Court granted leave to file the PIL and directed the same to appear at top of the list on Monday, April 3. Taking to Twitter, Adhikari wrote, "I have filed a Public Interest Litigation today in the High Court at Calcutta pertaining to the incidents of violence and attack on the Ram Navami processions at Howrah and Dalkhola. I have prayed for NIA probe and immediate deployment of Central Forces in such areas for containing the situation and restoration of Law and Order situation as well as for saving innocent lives. The Acting Chief Justice has been pleased grant leave to file the PIL and directed the same to appear on Monday at top of the list." Earlier on Friday Adhikari met the injured of Howarh violence in Hospital. The BJP leader alleged that West Bengal Police acted as mute spectator when houses were vandalised during the violence. "Police are not doing its work. They are silent spectators. They are not doing anything. All houses of Hindus have been vandalised. All Hindus in Kazipara area had to flee to save their lives," Adhikari told reporters here. "I will meet the injured and thereafter meet the Commissioner of Police (CP). CP had refused to meet me. I had sought an appointment for 4 pm but he had said that the question does not even arise - Chief Minister has given directions. But I will go there and carry a CD of yesterday's incidents with me," added the BJP leader. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and took stock of the situation in Howrah where violence broke out. Shah also called West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and enquired about the law and order situation in the state. After violence broke out in West Bengal's Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee on Friday said that the lives of Hindus in the state are "under threat"."It is disheartening. Such visuals emerge from Bengal every Ram Navami and Durga idol immersion. It is not acceptable that the lives of Hindus in Bengal are under threat. When there was violence in Howrah yesterday, Mamata Banerjee was sitting on a 30-hour Dharna," Chatterjee told ANI. The BJP MP accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of appeasement politics. She demanded the resignation of Mamata Banerjee. "What did she say? Muslims live nicely during Ramzan. Is this an example of that? She is with Muslims for vote bank and appeasement politics. Law and order situation in the state is worse. She should resign. She is the Chief Minister as well as Home Minister and she is unable to stop this. This has been happening one after the other...This should be probed by National Investigation Agency (NIA)," added Chatterjee. Union Minister Anurag Thakur also condemned the violence in West Bengal. "During Mamata Banerjee's rule, journalists were attacked, stone pelting was done during Ram Navami processions. If journalists are becoming victims of violence and the State government remains a mute spectator, what can be more shameful than this? The more it is condemned, the less it is..." Thakur said. The situation turned violent in Shibpur area of Howrah on Friday. Fresh violence broke out here, on Friday a day after arson on 'Ram Navami'. Several vehicles were set on fire earlier on Thursday after two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. West Bengal Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in Howrah where violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession. (ANI)
High-profile Boao forum sends message of robust growth

Xinhua) 08:13, March 31, 2023

BOAO, Hainan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- In an ever-changing world full of uncertainties, people are in dire need of strong certainty to drive toward a better future.

China's certainty is a mainstay that safeguards world peace and development, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2023 in the southern island province of Hainan.

China will adhere to reform and opening up and innovation-driven development, no matter how the world will change, Li said.

This photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

CERTAINTY FOR GLOBAL GROWTH

The global economy has been in choppy waters for quite some time, experiencing shocks from several factors including the pandemic, raging regional conflicts and rising anti-globalization sentiment.

But every cloud has a silver lining, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "Emerging and developing Asia remains the best hope and chief driver of global growth. Combined, they would contribute 75 percent to global growth. China and India alone are expected to contribute half of it."

The weighted real GDP growth rate of Asia in 2023 is estimated at 4.5 percent, an increase from 4.2 percent in 2022, according to a report released by the BFA.

China's economic growth is showing strong momentum. In particular, major economic indicators such as consumption and investment continue to improve, and employment and prices are generally stable.

In Hainan, tourists and shoppers crowd duty-free shopping malls and idyllic beaches. In the town of Boao, where the BFA annual conference is being held, policy makers, entrepreneurs and experts are exuding confidence in global economic recovery and exchanging observations on pressing issues of development, security, climate change and AI.

Premier Li reiterated that China has the confidence and ability to advance the Chinese economy to break waves, maintain steady and sustained growth and make greater contribution to world economic development.

China has set a GDP growth target of around 5 percent for 2023. The International Monetary Fund has raised its projection for China's economic growth in 2023 to 5.2 percent. At Boao, forum participants are reassured by China's robust economic pulse.

This photo taken on March 27, 2023 shows a fountain square in front of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) International Conference Center in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Fan Yuqing)

At the opening ceremony, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, "Post-COVID, we encourage the revival of investment, trade and tourism flows, and look forward to participating in new growth opportunities in China's dynamic economy."

"Chinese economic data is definitely looking better over the past two months. We've seen a real bounce," said Ben Simpfendorfer, a partner at leading international management consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

China's high-quality development brings a more even distribution of wealth and a more sustainable way of growth, said Michele Geraci, former undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. He said China has done very well in making long-term plans for five, 10 and even 25 years.

OPENING UP WIDER

On Thursday, Li pledged to further open up the world's second-largest economy, shoring up the confidence of global investors ready to tap into the country's potential.

"China is opening up wider, and it embraces the outside world while the outside world embraces China," said Andrew Forrest, chairman of Australian iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group.

In terms of establishing huge renewable energy sources, China offers tremendous opportunities to companies like Fortescue that are looking to go green, he said.

China has been increasing the size of the pie, with a large market and a wide range of products, so companies need to have a strategy to sell to or invest in China, Simpfendorfer said.

The country is speeding up the establishment of a unified national market, breaking down market barriers, and accelerating the free flow of goods and resources, thus providing greater convenience for companies to optimize resource allocation, said Ricky Wong, vice-president of KPMG China.

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 24, 2023 shows a view of the zero-carbon demonstration zone in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

To tackle mounting global issues, efforts should be made to jointly broaden effective ways to achieve solidarity and cooperation, and inject more certainty into global governance.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for instance, which was proposed by China in 2013, has played a crucial role in boosting economic connections across the globe. At the ongoing BFA, the BRI is again a keenly-discussed topic.

The BRI represents the future of the world, said Paolo Borzatta, a board member of the Italy-based consultancy European House -- Ambrosetti, adding that the BRI is not only an initiative of China or a project of the Chinese government, but also a project of all countries along the route.

Statistics show that over the past decade, 151 countries and 32 international organizations have joined the initiative. It has generated nearly 1 trillion U.S. dollars in investment, established over 3,000 cooperation projects, created some 420,000 jobs in countries along the routes, and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty.

"We welcome China's commitment to continue opening up its economy, and to continue supporting multilateralism and regional cooperation, and we look forward to all parties contributing more actively to regional and global development and prosperity, to benefit Asia and the world," said Lee Hsien Loong.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Photo: Daisy Xiong Vivian Wang, who didn't want her face to be photographed, said she was shocked to discover that her new husband married someone else three weeks after their marriage registration in B.C.

RCMP are investigating a former Steveston business owner accused of bigamy and immigration fraud by his wife from Taiwan.

Vivian Wang, 55, a business owner in Taiwan, was introduced to her husband, a cafe owner in Steveston at the time, through a common friend in 2020. After chatting online for two years, Wang came to Vancouver where the couple lived together for two months before registering for marriage at the Vital Statistics office in Vancouver last June.

Just when Wang was looking forward to a new life with her new husband, she discovered he had married another woman, just three weeks after their marriage registration.

The RCMP said they are investigating the case and are looking into whether a bigamy charge might be proven.

Alleged bigamy and immigration fraud

Wang showed the Richmond News her marriage certificate, dated June 28, 2022, and another marriage certificate she said her husband accidently sent to her with his name and date of birth, but with another womans name, dated July 19, 2022. It appears that both marriage certificates were issued by the same Vital Statistics office in Vancouver.

Vital Statistics of B.C. did not respond to the News request by the time the article was published.

I was in Taiwan preparing for moving to Canada to live with him permanently when I found out that he married another woman here in B.C. I was in shock, said Wang, who immediately flew to Vancouver to confront her husband, a permanent resident of Canada.

He told me he only married the other woman to help her get permanent residency. He said he only loves me and was loyal to me.

Despite his declarations, Wang reported the situation to the RCMP, who told the News they are also investigating the man for possible immigration fraud, which would involve the Canada Border Services Agency.

I still cant wrap my head around how this could happen. How could he get married twice with no one questioning it? Dont they check the persons status when they register for marriage here in Canada? They do that in Taiwan, said Wang to the News.

I kept asking, why did this happen to me? I want to raise this issue because I dont want other victims to experience the same and suffer like me.

Wangs husband, whose business has since gone under, has left for China to take care of his elderly father, according to Wang.

Wang admitted she has provided her husband with financial support throughout their three-year relationship but refused to say how much.

Incomplete marriage record leaves room for bigamy

Lawrence Wong, a lawyer from Lawrence Wong & Associates, told the News that under the current system, its not easy for the registry office to get an applicants complete vital statistics records, so the office often relies on the honour system.

Divorcing is a federal matter and marriage is a provincial matter, so the registry might not have access to someones divorce record, said Wong.

Plus, it wont show if the person gets divorced abroad, so the record is not complete. So a lot of the time, it relies on the applicants to provide an honest answer about their marriage status.

On the B.C. governments website, it states that Vital Statistics does not register divorces. If you married in B.C. but then divorced, the search will only list the marriage.

However, in this case there was no divorce, just two marriages within a month registered at the same B.C. office.

It doesnt mean people can just marry as many times as they want, though, because committing bigamy is a criminal offence, but it is not easy to identify in advance, said Wong.

People committing bigamy can be sentenced for up to five years in prison in Canada.

However, Wang found the explanation unacceptable.

Why cant they just stop people from committing bigamy in the first place when they try to register, instead of letting it happen, instead of expecting the victim to report to the police and deal with all the stress, said Wang.

Wong added that if what Wang claims is true and a bigamy is confirmed by authorities, the second marriage of Wangs husband should be invalided and cannot be used for immigration purpose.

Despite all that, Wang said if her husband is willing to admit his mistake, she will consider giving him another chance.
According to Customs, 1143.87 g of gold has been seized from the passenger.

On the basis of profiling done by the officers of the Customs AIU batch, a passenger coming from Dubai to Kochi Airport by flight 6E 1476 was intercepted at the green channel.

During the passenger's examination, four capsules of gold in compound form, weighing 1143.87 g concealed inside his body, were recovered and seized.

The accused has been identified as Manikandan, a native of the Palakkad district

Further investigation is underway.

In a similar incident, AIU of the Customs department seized 1063 g of gold worth Rs 49.5 lakh at Kochi airport on Thursday and nabbed the passenger carrying the gold.

On the basis of profiling done by the officers of the Customs AIU batch, a passenger coming from Abu Dhabi to Kochi by flight 6E 1404 was intercepted at the green channel.

During the examination of the said passenger, four capsules of gold in a compound form totally weighing 1063 grams concealed inside his body were recovered and seized.

The accused was identified as Muhammed, a native of Kunnamkulam in the Thrissur district. (ANI)
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader BS Yediyurappa on Friday ruled out the possibility of his son, BS Vijayendra contesting from the Varuna constituency, and said that he will only contest from Shikaripura, which happens to be his own seat. Talking to the media, Yediyurappa said, "There is no question of BY Vijayendra going to contest from Varuna. I will tell high command that Vijayendra will contest from my seat Shikaripura". Notably, Yediyurappa is a sitting MLA from Shikaripura but has announced his retirement from electoral politics. Earlier on Thursday, BS Yediyurappa said that BJP will get an absolute majority in the Karnataka assembly elections. He also accused Congress of making false allegations calling them "corrupt". Addressing a press briefing, Yediyurappa said, "Under PM Modi's leadership, we'll come back to power. Congress is corrupt and that's why they're making false allegations of 40 pc commission and such others, these things will be kept away by voters." The Election Commission of India on March 29, announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections. The polling would take place in a single phase on May 10, and the counting of votes will be done on May 13, the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said in a press conference here. (ANI)
The AIIMS New Delhi will set up the Museum of Archives to exhibit the high standards of work ethics, evidence-based patient care and the legacy of the Institute. It would assist generations to come to understand the objectives and culture of the organization and motivate them to live up to them. According to the Office Memorandum," All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi was established in 1956 as an autonomous institution of national importance by an Act of Parliament with the objective of setting the highest standards of Medical Education in India by bringing together in one place, educational facilities of the highest order for the training of healthcare personnel in all important branches for the attainment of self-sufficiency in Medical Education. Nearly seven decades into its journey, AIIMS, New Delhi continues to be the forerunner in the field of health education, research and patient care, across the country.""The standards that it has attained and maintained over the period are a result of the dedicated healthcare professionals that have toiled day in, day out to nurture this Institute. AIIMS has developed a rich culture that amalgamates evidence-based medicine with strong work ethics that synchronise to deliver results envisioned during its inception. However, some memories have faded, especially for people who only recently associated with the Institution. As has been observed, most of the renowned educational institutions across the globe maintain archives to demonstrate their legacy," as mentioned in the Office of Memorandum. "These archives are a witness to the past and provide an explanation for historical actions and rationale behind current decisions. They assist the coming generations in adapting to the Institute's culture and align their individual objectives with the organisation's. It is imperative that the archives are collected and maintained at AIIMS, New Delhi in the Library and a museum to showcase the legacy of the Institute," it said. (ANI)
A day after a clash erupted between two groups amid Ram Navami celebrations in Howrah, Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Friday said that strict and decisive action will be taken to prevent recurrence of such criminal intimidation. In a press note issued on Friday, Bengal Governor Ananda Bose stated, "Those who resort to violence under the illusion that they can hoodwink the people will soon realise they are in a fool's paradise". He said that there will be effective and concerted action to book the culprits and bring them before the law. "Setting fire to public property, that too on the sacred Ram Navami day, is a highly provocative act and will be viewed seriously. Hanuman set fire to Lanka to uphold Dharma. Those who resort to fire for Adharma will be made to swallow the fire themselves or those who are mandated to douse the fire, will do it decisively," the release stated. Ananda Bose added that Bengal stands united against the perpetrators of this heinous crime against humanity. "Trouble makers and abettors will be made to realise that they cannot play Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde in Bengal anymore. Police should be objective, strong and fair, and should not let down their masters and the peace-loving people," the release added. The release added that Raj Bhavan will keep its "eyes and ears" open to ensure protection to the life, property and dignity of the common man. He further told that he had a confidential discussion with the Chief Minister to review the situation. "The State Government was directed to ensure that fool-proof arrangements are made to maintain law and order effectively and action taken against miscreants firmly. The Chief Minister assured that strict and decisive action will be taken to prevent recurrence of such criminal intimidation," the release said. The release added, "Close on heels of this, the home secretary called on the Governor and assured compliance. Governor called for a compliance report in the matter. Governor ordered real time monitoring of the situation by Raj Bhavan and constituted a special cell for the same". Earlier in the day, the situation turned violent in the Shibpur area of Howrah, after fresh violence broke out here on Friday a day after arson on 'Ram Navami'. This came after two groups clashed on Thursday in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. After the disruptions, West Bengal Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in Howrah where violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession. (ANI)
Launching a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Sukanta Majumdar on Friday said the Trinamool supremo orchestrated the violence for Muslim votes. "Mamata Banerjee orchestrated this entire violence. Mamata Banerjee has done this work to concentrate the Muslim votes because her Muslim votebank shrank in the by-election. So she resorted to this," Majumdar told ANI. He said West Bengal BJP has given a timeframe to the police in this matter to solve the case. Majumdar said if the West Bengal Police is unable to solve this matter, then BJP will raise this issue politically. "There have been reports of blasts in some places, so I have written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding NIA investigation and Central Force deployment in this matter," Majumdar said. West Bengal BJP chief on Friday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations. In his letter to Shah, Majumdar said, "It is always my privilege to write to you, especially concerning about the affairs of my state. But unfortunately this time I am forced to write about the orchestrated attack on the Processions of Ram Navami in various parts of West Bengal like Howrah, Dalkhota. In Howrah it took ugly turn with bombs and stones thrown on the procession in spite of taking prior permission from police by submitting route map." "It is our firm belief that the whole incident was pre-planned by the unfolding of events with first statement coming from none other than the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on March 29 that strict action will be taken against the processions of Ram Navami if there is any untoward incident," wrote Majumdar. Secondly, the BJP leader said on March 30 the procession in Howrah was attacked at the same place where it was attacked during the last Ram Navami in spite of police presence. "And finally before any investigation, she has given the statement that provocation was done from the processions, ie the Hindu side and there is the involvement of BJP, therefore strict action will be taken against them," Majumdar said. In Dalkhola also, he further said the same pattern was followed and when BJP MP and former Minister Debasree Chaudhury went to visit the affected area in Dalkhola, she was stopped by the police which proves the pre-determined mindset of the State government. "After the loss of Minority dominated Sagardighi Assembly seat in the bye election, which came as a shocker to the ruling party, we believe that a conspiracy was hatched using the Ram Navami occasion only to get back the minority vote by indulging into communal politics and attacks and overlooking the involvement of anti-national forces who are going to be encouraged. Therefore, it is my request to order an impartial inquiry involving Central agencies like NIA as done in Mominpur (Kidderpore) to actually nab the culprits and not innocent Hindus or any people who might be framed for their political cause," urged Majumdar. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and took stock of the situation in Howrah where violence broke out. Shah also called West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and enquired about the law and order situation in the state. Following the violence in West Bengal's Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday filed a PIL in Calcutta High Court seeking a NIA probe into the matter and immediate deployment of Central Forces in the violence-affected areas. The Acting Justice of Calcutta High Court granted leave to file the PIL and directed the same to appear at top of the list on Monday, April 3. Taking to Twitter, Adhikari wrote, "I have filed a Public Interest Litigation today in the High Court at Calcutta pertaining to the incidents of violence and attack on the Ram Navami processions at Howrah and Dalkhola. I have prayed for NIA probe and immediate deployment of Central Forces in such areas for containing the situation and restoration of Law and Order situation as well as for saving innocent lives. The Acting Chief Justice has been pleased grant leave to file the PIL and directed the same to appear on Monday at top of the list." The situation turned violent in Shibpur area of Howrah on Friday. Fresh violence broke out here, on Friday a day after arson on 'Ram Navami'. Several vehicles were set on fire earlier on Thursday after two groups clashed inHowrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. West Bengal Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in Howrah where violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession. (ANI)
A video went viral on Thursday in which one boy is seen performing a dangerous bike stunt with two pillion riders, one in front and the other at the rear with no helmet.

Sharing a clip on Twitter, Mumbai traffic police said, "A case has been registered with BKC Police Station. Investigation into identifying the accused is underway. If anyone has any information about the persons in this video, you can DM us directly."

Previously on March 15, Haryana Police arrested two men in connection with a viral video in which one of them is seen throwing currency notes from his moving car in Gurugram, officers informed.

The accused were identified as Jorawar Singh Kalsi and Gurpreet Singh.

Police said a case was registered in the matter.

"Both the accused, Jorawar Singh Kalsi and Gurpreet Singh, were arrested. They made a viral video in which one of them is seen throwing currency notes from a moving car in Gurugram," said Assistant Comissioner of Police (ACP), Vikas Kaushik.

The ACP said the currency notes were seized from Jorawar Sigh Kalsi's custody.

"Two others, on a motorcycle, were recording the video. We seized the currency notes from Jorawar Singh Kalsi and are trying to locate his car," he said.

An investigation is underway and further details are awaited. (ANI)
A special team led by Inspector General of Police, CID Sunil Choudhury has initiated the investigation.

The situation turned violent in Shibpur area of Howrah on Friday. Fresh violence broke out here, on Friday a day after arson on Ram Navami.

Several vehicles were set on fire earlier on Thursday after two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and took stock of the situation in Howrah where violence broke out.

Shah also called West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and enquired about the law and order situation in the state.

West Bengal BJP chief on Friday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations.

Following the violence in West Bengal's Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday filed a PIL in Calcutta High Court seeking a NIA probe into the matter and immediate deployment of Central Forces in the violence-affected areas.

The Acting Justice of Calcutta High Court granted leave to file the PIL and directed the same to appear at top of the list on Monday, April 3.

Speaking to ANI, Adhikari said, "Police (Home) Minister (Mamata Banerjee) is useless. Her resignation is the only solution. I sent a mail to the Union Home Minister and Governor yesterday. Today I approached the High Court. Governor is going to visit the spot. The Court should step forward. All this should stop. Section 144 (CrPC) has been imposed here."

West Bengal Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in Howrah where violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession. (ANI)
Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday demanded that the state government should provide appropriate compensation to the farmers who faced huge losses due to crop damage amid heavy rainfall. Taking to Twitter, Singh said, "Completely tragic to note how these untimely incessant rains have caused huge losses to our farmers' crops. I urge Punjab Government to get the Girdawari done as soon as possible and provide appropriate compensation." On March 27, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held a meeting with the officials and discussed the matter of compensation for the farmers in the wake of crop loss due to bad weather.Heavy damage to crops was reported due to the bad weather in North India. Crops of the farmers from many districts in Punjab were destroyed, after which farmers were demanding compensation. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann personally visited the crop fields to assess the damage to crops along with several officials. After the assessment of crops, he held a meeting with the officials. Taking it to Twitter CM Bhagwant Mann released a video on his personal account and told that, "We have changed the way of compensation of the previous government and now unlike the previous government, we will not only announce compensation but also give it". "We will not distribute cheques of Rs 54 or Rs 111, but timely compensation will be given to the farmers in a transparent manner," he had added. CM Bhagwant Mann told that earlier Rs 12,000 was given for a 75 per cent to 100 per cent loss, but now Rs 15,000 will be given for a 75 per cent to 100 per cent loss. In the previous government, Rs 5400 was given for 33 per cent to 50 per cent loss, but now Rs 6750 will be given. Taking it to CMO Punjab Twitter, he had said, "The labourers will get 10 per cent as compensation adding that Rs 95,100 will be paid as compensation to full house damage whereas Rs 5,200 will be given for minor damage to houses. The state government will soon introduce a crop insurance scheme for the farmers". (ANI)
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairman Priyank Kanoongo on Friday alleged that the West Bengal police had beaten him up at the Tiljila police station when he protested against them for recording proceedings of the commission's probe. Taking to Twitter, he wrote, "Bengal police officer Biswak Mukherjee snatched and beat me up at Tiljila police station in West Bengal." He claimed that the Bengal police were surreptitiously recording the investigation proceedings of the NCPCR regarding the murder of a girl in Kolkata and the rape of another minor in Malda. "The policemen were surreptitiously recording the @NCPCR investigation proceedings. They beat me up for protesting," he added. Earlier, The NCPCR announced that it would be on a two-day visit to West Bengal on Friday and Saturday to conduct a fact-finding inquiry related to recent cases of murder and sexual assault. The team will be visiting to look into the incident of the alleged murder of a 7-year-old minor girl in Kolkata's Tijala area and into the incident of gang rape with a Class 6 girl by outsiders during school hours that allegedly occurred inside a Government School in Malda. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been constituted under the provisions of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005 for the protection of child rights and other related matters. One of the functions assigned to the Commission under Section 13 (1) (j) of the CPCR Act is to inquire into complaints and take suo motu cognizance in relation to deprivation and violation of child rights. (ANI)
According to reports, the Radhanagar Battalion of Agartala Sector Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (E) in a joint operation with Patharkandi police station apprehended one drug peddler alongwith suspected Brown Sugar (grade-II).

Based on credible information about drugs sale, the Radhanagar Battalion of Assam Rifles launched a joint operation with police from Patharkandi Police Station on Friday and the operation party apprehended one drug peddler alongwith 276 grams of suspected Brown Sugar (Grade -II) with an approximate cost of Rs 55 lakh from Patharkandi area in Karimganj district.

Karimganj Deputy Superintendent of Police Gitartha Dev Sarma said that in a joint operation police and Assam Rifles launched the operation at the Patharkandi Bataia area and apprehended one drug peddler.

"We have recovered 8 soap cases containing around 276 grams of drugs in possession from him. The apprehended person was identified as Kabir Uddin," Gitartha Dev Sarma said.

The drug peddler alongwith seized contents were handed over to Patharkandi police station for further investigation and legal proceedings. (ANI)
Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - A headline about President Donald Trump is displayed outside Fox News studios in New York on Nov. 28, 2018. Documents in defamation lawsuit illustrate pressures faced by Fox News journalists in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election. The network was on a collision course between giving its conservative audience what it wanted and reporting uncomfortable truths about then-President Donald Trump and his false fraud claims. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

A voting machine companys defamation case against Fox News over its airing of false allegations about the 2020 presidential election will go to trial after a Delaware judge on Friday allowed a jury to decide whether the conservative network aired the claims with actual malice, the standard for proving libel.

Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that neither Fox nor Dominion Voting Systems had presented a convincing argument to prevail on whether Fox acted with malice without the case going to a jury. But he also ruled that the statements Dominion had challenged constitute defamation per se under New York law. That means Dominion did not have to prove damages to establish liability by Fox.

The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that (it) is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true, Davis wrote in his summary judgment ruling.

The decision paves the way for a trial start in mid-April.

Dominion is suing the network for $1.6 billion, claiming Fox defamed it by repeatedly airing false claims about the companys machines and its accompanying software. Court records and testimony revealed that many Fox hosts and executives didnt believe the claims but continued to air them.

Fox has said it was simply covering very newsworthy allegations. The coverage fed an ecosystem of misinformation surrounding former President Donald Trumps loss in 2020 that has persisted ever since.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday issued its recommendations on "Promoting Local Manufacturing in the Television Broadcasting Sector". According to the Ministry of Communications, digitalisation of the Indian broadcasting sector began in 2012 and was completed across the country by March 2017. It provided a unique opportunity for the growth of local manufacturers to cater to the demand. The Government launched initiatives such as 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' and has accorded the highest priority to transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub. The Authority with the objective of realistically assessing India's true potential in equipment manufacturing and arriving at the recommendations to the Government that would enable the Indian Broadcasting equipment manufacturing sector to transition from an import-dependent sector to a global hub of indigenous manufacturing has suo-motu issued a consultation paper on "Promoting Local Manufacturing in the Television Broadcasting Sector" on 22-12-2021, for seeking comment of all the stakeholders. The last date of submission of comments was January 19, 2022 and counter comments, if any by February 2, 2022, which was extended on the request of stakeholders up to February 9 and February 23 respectively. The TRAI received 16 comments from stakeholders and a counter comment. In this regard, an Open House Discussion was also held on April 28, 2022 through video conference, said the Ministry statement. After considering all comments received from stakeholders during consultation process and further analysis of the issues, the Authority finalised its recommendations. TRAI recommended the need to focus on emerging technologies and tenets of era of convergence and aim at building an eco-system for broadcast equipment. Centre of Excellence may be established for broadcast equipment or existing Telecom Centres of Excellence may be upgraded to focus on broadcast equipment as well. The recommendations include Enabling organisations like Telecom Export Promotion Council (TEPC) or some similarly placed organization to promote and facilitate exports of locally manufactured broadcast equipment. The Authority recommended Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), the Department of Telecommunications should be mandated to test and standardise all the broadcast equipment. Further, it emphasized strengthening existing research and development centres in public sector, such as C-DOT. TRAI said a go-to market strategy may also be adopted for the products developed through local research and development. The Authority said Linear Set-up boxes should be brought under PLI scheme. Further, periodically review the availability of indigenous components required for broadcasting equipment including chipsets. The availability of local components shall be considered while setting the localisation levels under the PLI scheme. It recommended reviewing the investment outlay required for obtaining benefits under the PLI scheme with a view to promoting manufacturing by MSME for some selected equipment as may be identified from time to time. TRAI called for promotion of local manufacturing of other relevant components of the television broadcasting sector along the lines of Semicon India Programme. The Authority recommended defining the scope of 'local manufacturing' for different equipment categories in the television broadcasting sector regarding the percentage of locally sourced components/services. TRAI also recommended reviewing Free Trade Agreements and such agreements with regard to their impact on local manufacturing in the television broadcasting sector. (ANI)
The violence was triggered during the Ram Navami march on Thursday when two groups were involved in a quarrel. Following that incident, unidentified hooligans set two houses on fire in Shahjalal Pir locality.

On Friday, the people of two groups involved in stone pelting on each other leading to violence. Sources have said that some firing incidents and bomb blasts also took place in the city.

Following the incident, a large police force was deployed at the affected areas to restore peace. District Magistrate Dharmendra Kumar and SP Vineet Kumar are at ground zero to take control of the situation. The district administration has also imposed section 144 at the affected area as well.

Due to the violence, traders of Kadirganj, Mubarakganj, Chaukhandi, and Navratna Bazar shut their shops.

Shah is slated a rally in Sasaram city on March 2. He will also do a rally in Nawada as well.

--IANS ajk/vd

( 183 Words)

2023-03-31-19:58:04 (IANS)
The BJP and Trinamool Congress engaged in a war of words on Friday over violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations with West Bengal government handing over the probe to Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and took stock of the situation in Howrah where violence broke out. Shah also talked with West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and enquired about the law and order situation in the state. Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday filed a PIL in Calcutta High Court seeking a NIA probe into the matter and immediate deployment of Central Forces in the violence-affected areas. Sukanta Majumdar also wrote to Amit Shah seeking National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations. Amid the political furore, Mamata Banerjee government on Friday handed over the probe into Howrah violence to Criminal Investigation Department (CID). A special team led by Inspector General of Police, CID Sunil Choudhury has initiated the investigation. The situation turned violent in Shibpur area of Howrah on Friday. Fresh violence broke out on Friday a day after arson on Ram Navami. Several vehicles were set on fire earlier on Thursday after two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. West Bengal Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in Howrah where violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession. The state Governor said in a press release that strict and decisive action will be taken to prevent recurrence of such criminal intimidation. He said the State Government has been directed to ensure that fool-proof arrangements are made to maintain law and order effectively and action taken against miscreants firmly. The Governor said he had a confidential discussion with the Chief Minister to review the situation. "The State Government was directed to ensure that fool-proof arrangements are made to maintain law and order effectively and action taken against miscreants firmly. The Chief Minister assured that strict and decisive action will be taken to prevent recurrence of such criminal intimidation," the release said. "Close on heels of this, the home secretary called on the Governor and assured compliance. Governor called for a compliance report in the matter. Governor ordered real time monitoring of the situation by Raj Bhavan and constituted a special cell for the same," it added. The Governor said those who resort to violence "under the illusion that they can hoodwink the people will soon realise they are in a fool's paradise". He said there will be effective and concerted action to book the culprits and bring them before the law. "Setting fire to public property, that too on the sacred Ram Navami day, is a highly provocative act and will be viewed seriously. Hanuman set fire to Lanka to uphold Dharma. Those who resort to fire for Adharma will be made to swallow the fire themselves or those who are mandated to douse the fire, will do it decisively," the release stated. Ananda Bose added that Bengal stands united against the perpetrators of this heinous crime against humanity. ."Trouble makers and abettors will be made to realise that they cannot play Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde in Bengal anymore. Police should be objective, strong and fair, and should not let down their masters and the peace-loving people." The release said that Raj Bhavan will keep its "eyes and ears" open to ensure protection to the life, property and dignity of the common man. BJP leaders strongly attacked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the violence. Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani alleged that Mamata Banerjee had given clean chit o stone pelters. "Stone pelting happened during Ram Navami's procession in Howrah. Mamata Bandopadhyay (Banerjee) gave a clean chit to stone pelters. The question is how long will Mamata Bandopadhyay keep attacking the Hindu community," she said. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur also slammed the Trinamool Congress government over the violence. "During Mamata Banerjee's rule, journalists were attacked, stone pelting was done during Ram Navami processions. If journalists are becoming victims of violence and the State government remains a mute spectator, what can be more shameful than this? The more it is condemned, the less it is..." Thakur said. Sukanta Majumdar alleged that Trinamool supremo "orchestrated the violence for Muslim votes." "Mamata Banerjee orchestrated this entire violence. Mamata Banerjee has done this work to concentrate the Muslim votes because her Muslim votebank shrank in the by-election. So she resorted to this," Majumdar told ANI. He said West Bengal BJP has given a timeframe to the police in this matter to solve the case. Majumdar said if the West Bengal Police is unable to solve this matter, then BJP will raise this issue politically. "There have been reports of blasts in some places, so I have written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding NIA investigation and Central Force deployment in this matter," Majumdar said. Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee hit back at the BJP and accused it of "spoiling" the atmosphere in the state and creating "enmity" among the people. Addressing a press conference on Friday, Abhishek Banerjee, said, "For the past few days, there have been attempts to disrupt the peace and harmony in Bengal. We have appealed to everyone to maintain peace and order". "Despite that, a political party, for nurturing its politics, despite having no police permission, vehemently took out the procession on a route where issues happened last year as well," he alleged. During the press conference, the TMC MP also showed videos, where some people with 'saffron' flags and were chanting slogans. "People were carrying guns and swords in the Ram Navami procession. Shops and materials of small vendors were vandalised. What form of a procession is this? Insanely playing DJ and worshipping Ram is which ritual? We have lived in Bengal for so long, never seen anything like this. I might be lying, but these videos won't lie," he alleged. "Such incidents didn't happen in the 2011-2016 period. It started after they (BJP) came in power at the Centre and won three seats in the Bengal Assembly. They started treating the whole state as their personal property. Creating enmity among people of different communities, forcefully imposing their culture on the people of Bengal and shamelessly reaping political fruits out of it," he added. The TMC leader "challenged" BJP for arrest of those seen indulging in violence in the videos. "I am clearly saying here that those who have done violence, whether they are from any religion, or political party, strict action will be taken against them. But I would like to challenge BJP if any of their leaders come and says on record, that they want those people under arrest who are seen setting properties of poor people on fire and dancing with weapons. I challenge them. Our Chief Minister has appealed to people to keep harmony, but has the BJP leader given any statement even after 24 hours?" Banerjee said. He alleged that the incidents of violence were "pre-planned" in nature."This was pre-planned. From Shyambazar, a BJP leader was saying to keep eye on TV. Why? There was no reply to Howrah Police Commissionerate regarding details of permission copy, the exact number of participants and exact beginning and end of the rally. They did not submit any documents but started taking out a procession on the route which was not permitted," he added. The TMC leader added that if there is any lapse on the police side, they will be booked and action will be taken against them. In his letter to Amit Shah, Majumdar sought National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into violence in Howrah. "It is always my privilege to write to you, especially concerning about the affairs of my state. But unfortunately this time I am forced to write about the orchestrated attack on the Processions of Ram Navami in various parts of West Bengal like Howrah, Dalkhota. In Howrah it took ugly turn with bombs and stones thrown on the procession inspite of taking prior permission from police by submitting route map," he said in the letter. "It is our firm belief that the whole incident was pre-planned by the unfolding of events with first statement coming from none other than the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on March 29 that strict action will be taken against the Processions of Ram Navami if there is any untoward incident. And finally before any investigation, she has given the statement that provocation was done from the processions, ie the Hindu side and there is the involvement of BJP, therefore strict action will be taken against them," he added. Majumdar said when BJP MP and former Minister Debasree Chaudhury went to visit the affected area in Dalkhola, she was stopped by the police which proves the pre determined mindset of the State government. "After the loss of Minority dominated Sagardighi Assembly seat in the by-election, which came as a shocker to the ruling party, we believe that a conspiracy was hatched using the Ram Navami occasion only to get back the minority vote by indulging into communal politics and attacks and overlooking the involvement of anti-national forces who are going to be encouraged. Therefore, it is my request to order an impartial inquiry involving Central agencies like NIA as done in Mominpur (Kidderpore) to actually nab the culprits and not innocent Hindus or any people who might be framed for their political cause," Majumdar said. Suvendu Adhikari on Friday filed a PIL in Calcutta High Court seeking a NIA probe into the violence. The Acting Justice of Calcutta High Court granted leave to file the PIL and directed the same to appear at top of the list on Monday, April 3. "I have filed a Public Interest Litigation today in the High Court at Calcutta pertaining to the incidents of violence and attack on the Ram Navami processions at Howrah and Dalkhola. I have prayed for NIA probe and immediate deployment of Central Forces in such areas for containing the situation and restoration of Law and Order situation as well as for saving innocent lives. The Acting Chief Justice has been pleased grant leave to file the PIL and directed the same to appear on Monday at top of the list," Adhikari said on Twitter. Earlier he met the injured of Howarh violence in Hospital. The BJP leader alleged that West Bengal Police acted as mute spectator when houses were vandalised during the violence. "Police are not doing its work. They are silent spectators. They are not doing anything. All houses of Hindus have been vandalised. All Hindus in Kazipara area had to flee to save their lives," Adhikari told reporters here. BJP MP Locket Chatterjee said that the lives of Hindus in the state are "under threat". "It is disheartening. Such visuals emerge from Bengal every Ram Navami and Durga idol immersion. It is not acceptable that the lives of Hindus in Bengal are under threat. When there was violence in Howrah yesterday, Mamata Banerjee was sitting on a 30-hour Dharna,"Chatterjee told ANI. The BJP MP accused Banerjee of appeasement politics and demanded her resignation. "What did she say? Muslims live nicely during Ramzan. Is this an example of that? She is with Muslims for vote bank and appeasement politics. Law and order situation in the state is worse. She should resign. She is the Chief Minister as well as Home Minister and she is unable to stop this. This has been happening one after the other...This should be probed by National Investigation Agency (NIA)," Chatterjee added. (ANI)
"14 people were brought here. Of them, 4 had suffered bullet injuries, out of which 3 have been referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital. One person is admitted to ICU. All are stable," Dr Viswajeet Kumar, Sadar Hospital, Nalanda told ANI.

On Friday, a clash broke out between two groups after the Ram Navami procession. Stone pelting and arson of vehicles also occurred, a senior official of the police said.

Soon after the incident Police and Administration reached the spot.

"We are getting the details of the incident through CCTV footage, drone camera and videography," Nalanda DM Shashank Shubhankar said.

"On the basis of the evidence, the miscreants will be identified. They will not be spared, strict action will be taken," he said.

"Section 144 CrPC has been imposed across the city as a preventive measure," Nalanda DM added.

Speaking to ANI, Nalanda SP Ashok Mishra said, "We are patrolling the area. The situation is peaceful now. Patrolling will be done through the night and Saturday morning. Section 144 CrPC has been imposed and a request has been made for suspension of the internet."

"The miscreants are being identified. FIR will be registered against them and stringent action will be taken," Nalanda SP said.

Further investigation is underway, he added. (ANI)
Four capsules containing a gold mixture weighing 1,107 grams from Rahman (43), a native of Malappuram who came from Jeddah, officials said.

Muhammad Uwaisil (30), a native of Malappuram Karulai, was caught by the custodians when he tried to smuggle four capsules containing gold mixed inside his body.

In addition, the officials seized four capsules containing gold mixed with a weight of 1,061 grams, which he tried to hide inside his body and socks from Unnichal Methal Vijith (29), a native of Koodaranji, Kozhikode, who came from Abu Dhabi on an Air Arabia flight.

In the fourth case, Ossankunnath Shafiq (27), a native of Malappuram, who came from Dubai on a Spice Jet flight, was found to have hidden 9,01 grams of gold in his hand luggage.

Officials said that after extracting the gold from the seized gold mixture, the passengers will be arrested and further action will be taken. Further investigation is underway, they added. (ANI)
A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former US President Donald Trump, The Washington Post reported citing his lawyers. The indictment makes Trump the first person in the history of the US to serve as commander-in-chief and then be charged with a crime. This came weeks after speculation about whether and when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg might take a step. The indictment was unsealed, which implies that the specific charges or charges are not publicly known yet. The grand jury had been hearing evidence about hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, as per the news report. Alvin Bragg and his investigative team were probing whether Trump falsified business records related to the payments in a manner that could make a campaign finance violation, as reported by The Washington Post. Former US President Donald Trump was at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home and a private club on Thursday when his lawyers said he had been indicted. How or when Trump could be brought to New York to respond to the charges was not clear. Security will be a concern considering that Trump has a significant Secret Service detail as a former president, the report said. Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, the lawyers who have been representing Trump in the Bragg case, in a statement, said that their client was indicted. They further said, "He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court," according to The Washington Post report. Trump has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and stressed that those probing him were making politically motivated accusations. An arrest warrant is typically issued automatically after an indictment is filed against a defendant who has not been charged previously in a criminal complaint. In the case of Donald Trump, the indictment was filed behind closed doors at the lower Manhattan courthouse after the clerk's office was closed for the day. Bragg's investigation seems to have focused on USD 130,000 paid by Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who has said he fronted the money involved in the Stormy Daniels transactions to ensure her silence ahead of the election in 2016, as reported by The Washington Post. The money was later reimbursed by Trump, as per the news report. The reimbursement payments were classified as legal fees, The Washington Post reported while citing previous investigations. Michael Cohen served time in prison after pleading guilty in two federal criminal cases. He also pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and his credibility has been attacked by Trump's defenders. (ANI)
The United States has been taking the safety and security of the diplomatic missions that are present in our country "quite seriously", US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Thursday. Vedant Patel, in a press briefing, said that the US continues to be in close touch with India on a number of issues. "We take the safety and security of the diplomatic missions that we host in the United States and the diplomats that work in them quite seriously," Patel said while responding to a question on 'whether the US government or the Indian government was in touch with State Department over the incidents that took place outside the consulate in San Francisco last week. He also said, "We are in close touch with our Indian partners on a number of issues, but including on this we made sure to remain in close touch with them as well as the appropriate local entities, depending on where these various missions and consulates were located." Vedant Patel's statement comes after the pro-Khalistan supporters in the US threatened the Indian embassy and Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu during their protest last week. Multiple incidents of protests by supporters of Khalistan have been staged outside the Indian embassy and the San Francisco Consulate. Last week, the Indian Consulate in San Francisco was also attacked. Recently, a video surfaced on social media in which pro-Khalistani protestors gathered at the consulate in San Francisco, shouting slogans in support of Amritpal Singh and heckling staff as they abandoned the diplomatic mission. When asked about the time when the new US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti will take charge, Vedant Patel said, "We were quite happy to see Ambassador Garcetti be confirmed. I don't have any specific date or timeline to share other than I know he's eager to get to New Delhi and present his credentials very soon. And I'm sure that will happen as soon as it can." Last week, former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was sworn in by US Vice President Kamala Harris as the new US Ambassador to India. During the oath-taking ceremony, Garcetti said: "I Eric M. Garcetti, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter." Harris then congratulated Garcetti upon the assumption of his duties. The Senate on March 15 (Local Time) confirmed the former mayor of Los Angeles, Eris Garcetti, to be the US ambassador to India. Garcetti won the mandate by a vote of 52 to 42, a major victory for US President Joe Biden as well, who stuck by his political ally in the face of the allegations and the prolonged process that has left the world's most populous democracies without US representatives. (ANI)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis attacked Manhattan's District Attorney and said that they will not assist in Donald Trump's extradition after the former US President was indicted over the alleged hush money payments to an adult film actress. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Ron DeSantis criticized the "political agenda" surrounding the case and accused the Manhattan District Attorney of "stretching the law to target a political opponent." Notably, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, is a probable candidate in the Republican party to run for the upcoming US Presidential elections. It is pertinent to note here that Trump's residence Mar-a-Lago is also located in Florida. Ron DeSantis tweeted, "And The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent. Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda." An arrest warrant is typically issued automatically after an indictment is filed against a defendant who has not been charged previously in a criminal complaint, The Washington Post reported. In Donald Trump's case, the indictment was filed behind closed doors at the lower Manhattan courthouse after the clerk's office was closed for the day. The grand jury had been hearing evidence about hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, as per the news report. Former US President Donald Trump was at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home and a private club on Thursday when his lawyers said he had been indicted, The Washington Post reported. Security will be a concern considering that Trump has a significant Secret Service detail as a former president, the report said. The indictment makes Trump the first person in the history of the US to serve as commander-in-chief and then be charged with a crime. This came weeks after speculation about whether and when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg might take a step. The grand jury had been hearing evidence about hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, as per the news report. Alvin Bragg and his investigative team were probing whether Trump falsified business records related to the payments in a manner that could make a campaign finance violation, as reported by The Washington Post. Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, the lawyers who have been representing Trump in the Bragg case, in a statement, said that their client was indicted. They further said, "He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court," according to The Washington Post report. Trump has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and stressed that those probing him were making politically motivated accusations. (ANI)
The hardline Islamist policies of the Taliban for females of the country have barred them from work as a result of which the Afghan women are facing extreme economic difficulties which continue to surge with every passing day. Quoting a former employee for the Administrative Reforms Commission, Farzia, TOLOnews reported that she has been faced with financial and psychological problems since losing her job. Afghan women attacked laws limiting women's employment opportunities, claiming that their severe financial circumstances are getting worse. Farzia, who is the sole breadwinner of her family, said: "The women who have studied for years and gained expertise should be allowed to contribute to the workforce," according to TOLOnews. Residents of Kabul have often urged the Taliban to put women and men to work in order for the country's economy to prosper. "We ask the Islamic Emirate to let women work side by side with their brothers, which would cause the growth of our country's economy," said Mudaser, a resident of Kabul, TOLOnews reported. The ban on education, as well as work for Afghan girls and women, has resulted in a surge in the risk of early marriage, violence and abuse in the country, according to TOLO news which cited the report by Save the Children, a humanitarian organization. Many Islamic countries and organisations, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have condemned the ban on women's and girls' access to work and education as a violation of Islamic law. Since August 15, 2021, the de facto authorities have barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls' freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses. (ANI)
Fear of youth in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) coming out on the streets holding the Indian flags have prompted the Pakistan military to empower the fascist organisation Islami Jamiat e Tuleba (IJT) in every school, college and university to unleash terror and call for renewed 'jihad' in the valley. On March 18, the youth walked miles from the city of Rawalakot to the crossing point at Titrinote demanding the opening of borders between PoK and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. They were attacked by the IJT members while youth leaders were delivering anti-jihad speeches. Slogans such as Hum lay kay rahen gay Azadi (We will get our freedom), that once echoed in Indian Jammu and Kashmir, Arr par jorr do, tutay rishtay khol do (Open the border and re-establish broken relation) are now part of every single political or social agitation across PoK. Amid constant uproar in the valley, the Islami Jamiat e Tuleba (IJT, Islamic Students Society), gave an open call to local youth inviting them to join the jihad against India in the Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir in a recent event held in Rawalakot city in the Poonch Division of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The event was attended by more than 200 youth who were gathered from all over the Poonch Division of Rwaalakot district in PoK. IJT is the militant student wing of the infamous Jamat e Islami and is allegedly funded and controlled by Pakistan inter-services intelligence agency (ISI). It has always been used to crush dissent against the military that pops up in educational institutions in Pakistan. IJT was the main street force that was used by the former military dictator late General Muhammed Zia ul Haq to crush the anti-martial law student movement, during his reign that spanned from July 5, 1977, to August 19, 1988. During that period the IJT goons used to attack and break up any political event or public gathering that called for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. Currently, the IJT is being used to spread fear among the Baloch students at Punjab university in Lahore, Quaid e Azam university in Islamabad, Karachi university and other educational institutions. Recently the IJT members were set loose to attack Hindu students who had been celebrating Holi in the aforementioned universities. The IJT members carry weapons and clubs and are protected by the university administration and the state of Pakistan. Many right-wing politicians in Pakistan hail from the IJT. Babar Awan, a Pakistani politician, and senior lawyer and Siddique Ul Farooq were student IJT members who began their political careers while at Government degree college Rawalpindi in 1977. Most of the ministers in the previous Pakistan People's Party and the current Muslim League Nawaz governments hail from IJT. However, recently the military establishment in collaboration with the ISI, has started organising infiltration of the IJT in the educational institutions of PoK. This is a worrying development. Most of the people living in PoK are of secular minds despite the religious-communal indoctrination of the two-Nation theory by Pakistan over the past seven decades. There is a strong secular nationalist current in PoK that calls for the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people. There is also strong leftist tendencies present in the PoK political scene which calls for an (imaginary) socialist revolution that would end the capitalist system in the region. Since the abrogation of article 370 of the Indian constitution on August 5, 2019, which gave Jammu and Kashmir the so-called special status, the perspective of the youth in both PoK and occupied Gilgit-Baltistan has seen a great leap of both faith and belief. The inability of Pakistan to garner anti-India support from 56 Muslim countries to condemn the action taken by the Modi Sarkar and the failure to provide PoK with basic essentials of living has for the first time made the people of PoK realise that Pakistan is no big brother or 'loyal' to the cause of the so-called Kashmir issue. The youth in PoK have, over a period of four years, delved into the history of the Pakistani occupation of their state. They realised that Pakistan and not India had attacked and is responsible for the breakup of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The great leap in social infrastructure development in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of article 370 has opened their eyes to the fact that Pakistan has not spent a single paisa for the development of PoK. On the contrary, Pakistan has looted their natural resources and stolen their water. The regular broadcast of Radio Himalaya news, for more than 5 years now, has also played a significant role in making the youth of PoK and occupied Gilgit-Baltistan realise the reality and the gravity of the conflict between Pakistan and India that has been a constant source of strengthening the Pakistan army and its states hold on their territory. Scores of universities and colleges in PoK are running regular clandestine study groups where the history of the conflict is being revisited. Time is running out since the IJT has millions of rupees of funds available to run their affairs and are armed whilst on the other hand the pro-India and anti-Pakistan forces in the PoK are kind of penniless and lack the organisational infrastructure to give the IJT a daring fight back. Only time will tell what would transpire but at the moment the facts on the ground do not seem to favour the forces who are fighting for the reunification of PoK and occupied Gilgit-Baltistan with India. Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza is an author and a human rights activist from Mirpur in PoK. He currently lives in exile in the UK. (ANI)
The co-founder and former president of Outcome Health did not teach an underling to commit fraud and did not intend to deceive clients, an attorney said Thursday as closing arguments continued in the widely watched criminal fraud trial of three former Outcome executives.

Attorneys entered a third day of closing arguments Thursday, with a lawyer representing former co-founder and president Shradha Agarwal getting her turn to make a final impression on jurors. Agarwal, along with former Outcome CEO Rishi Shah and former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Brad Purdy, stand accused of leading a $1 billion fraud scheme.

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The three have been on trial in Chicago for nine weeks. Closing arguments are expected to continue into early next week, and the jury will then begin deliberations.

Shah, Agarwal and Purdy face charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud, some of which carry sentences of up to 30 years in prison. All have pleaded not guilty.

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The three were once darlings of Chicagos tech scene before a Wall Street Journal article in 2017 exposed alleged problems at Outcome.

Outcome installed TVs and tablets in doctors offices and waiting rooms, and then sold advertising for those screens to pharmaceutical companies. Federal prosecutors allege that Shah, Agarwal and Purdy lied about how many doctors offices had screens and tablets running their content and then used those false numbers to overcharge drug companies for advertising and inflate revenue figures used to get cash from lenders and investors.

During the case, defense attorneys have maintained that a fourth employee, Ashik Desai, was to blame for the fraud. Desai has already pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, and he testified earlier in the trial.

But government prosecutors have argued that the fraud started before Desai arrived, and that Desai was just following his bosses lead.

Agarwals attorney Kori Bell struck back at that accusation during her closing arguments Thursday.

She highlighted an email in which Agarwal told Desai and others not to share emails about certain data discussions with salespeople because Ive noticed their confidence level in our data change dramatically when presenting to clients if they believe its accurate vs made-up. That email was sent about a week after Desai started at the company, and prosecutors have seized on it as evidence of her teaching him how to conceal data.

But Bell reminded jurors that Desai testified that the email was not a direction to make up data or lie to salespeople, and that the data they were discussing could have been genuinely confusing to salespeople. Thats a bombshell because that was the whole premise of the fraud handoff, Bell said.

Like other defense attorneys, Bell described Desai as the ultimate fraudster, lying to countless people, while reassuring his bosses that everything was aboveboard.

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Counter to prosecutors allegations, Bell argued that company leaders did not try to fool clients or conceal from them that they often sold inventory based on the growth they thought they would achieve over time. Prosecutors allege that the defendants were well aware that Outcome was selling advertising on screens it did not have and charging pharmaceutical clients as if they did have them, without pharmaceutical clients knowledge.

Bell played a video clip from an interview of Shah and Agarwal, in which Agarwal told an audience how the company grew: So a lot of that was really kind of to us going step by step, adding a few screens and then telling the advertisers, Hey, we have 50, were projected on 200. If you start Jan. 1 with us, its Nov. 15, well be there.

The fact that projections were used, when discussing screens used for client ads, was well known and openly discussed with all three sales employees and clients, Bell said of how business worked at Outcome.

Bell also told jurors that Agarwal and Desai only overlapped by a few weeks in sales after Desai arrived. From that point on, Agarwal didnt have much to do with finances or sales at the company, instead focusing on content, hiring and other areas, she said.

She said merely being president of a company is not proof of a crime.

Bells closing arguments are expected to continue Monday.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan on Friday joined the inaugural session of the 2nd Sherpa meeting under India's G20 Presidency in Kumarakom, Kerala. Speaking at the event, he said that he is confident that Sherpas will strongly carry forward the discussions further to achieve ambitious outcomes. In a tweet, he wrote, "Delighted to have joined the inaugural session of 2nd #G20 Sherpa Meeting at Kumarakom, Kerala." "Confident that the Sherpas will carry forward the discussions further to achieve outcomes that are ambitious, inclusive, decisive & action-oriented," the tweet read further. The 2nd G20 Sherpa meeting is chaired by India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and will witness participation by over 120 delegates from the world's 20 largest economies, nine invitee countries, and international and regional organisations. The event, according to an official statement, is slated to work on a range of issues of global concern. The delegates will reportedly hold multilateral discussions on G20's economic and developmental priorities as well as on addressing contemporary global challenges during the four-day gathering. The deliberations of the Sherpa meetings will take forward the outcomes of various Sherpa Track and Finance Track meetings. The deliberations will form the basis of the Leaders declaration, slated to be adopted at the summit set to take place in New Delhi in September 2023, the official press release said. India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant will also lead discussions with the G20 Troika comprising India, Indonesia and Brazil. He will meet with G20 Sherpas and heads of delegations of G20 members, invitees and international organizations, including the Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) to discuss issues pertinent to the Global South and from the Advanced Economies (AEs) on shared priorities and mutually beneficial ways forward. The MEA in the press release noted that India has selected its G20 priorities considering the diverse global challenges of the day, the concerns of developing countries and the need for greater momentum for collective action to take forward the shared international agenda, especially the development and environment agenda. India's G20 theme "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" - "One Earth. One Family. One Future" encapsulates the shared vision of the G20 for galvanising wide support and reaching decisive, ambitious, inclusive and action-oriented outcomes. These outcomes require the G20 to come together and act as one family to instil hope. Ongoing deliberations during India's G20 Presidency include Green Development, Climate Finance and Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth, accelerating progress on sustainable development goals (SDGs), technological transformation and digital public infrastructure, multilateral institutions for the 21st century and women-led development. These priorities demonstrate the needs of the Global South which were articulated by 125 participating countries at the first-ever Voice of Global South summit, according to MEA press release. The Voice of Global South Summit was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2023. Notably, the first G20 Sherpa meeting was held in Udaipur in December last year. The meeting witnessed active participation by G20 Members, nine guest countries and 14 international organizations. (ANI)
Hayashi, who is all set to visit Beijing for the first time in over three years since 2019, will kickstart his trip on April 1.

The visit of Japanese FM comes at a time when ties between the two nations remain tense over issues including Beijing's recent detention of a Japanese businessman and a territorial row, Kyodo News reported.

Kyodo News reported citing the official sources said that Hayashi will meet with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang for the first time since Wang Yi's replacement by the former Chinese ambassador to the United States in late December.

According to the sources, Hayashi will probably demand that China free the Japanese person who has been jailed since the beginning of the month on accusations of engaging in espionage.

Relations between the two Asian countries have become tenser as a result of the imprisonment of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma Ltd.

Chinese coast guard warships have frequently violated Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands, which are governed by Japan and are located in the East China Sea but are claimed by China as Diaoyu.

The trip was arranged after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to set up Hayashi's trip to China during their initial face-to-face meeting in Bangkok in November, Kyodo News reported. (ANI)
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka "Prachanda" has reached President's office with the list of ministers who will be sworn in today, the PM Secretariat sources told ANI. The Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation planned the 7th Cabinet reshuffle after coming to power last December. Abdul Khan who was supposed to remain the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation from the Janamat Party has now tendered his resignation to Dahal expressing dissatisfaction over the allocation of Ministries in the 7th round of Cabinet reshuffle within the last three months. A new coalition of 10 parties was formed after the PM took the vote of confidence on March 20 and had to expand the cabinet because two other parties deserted the earlier coalition. Prime Minister Dahal is planning to swear in all the ministers by 3 PM (local time) today, the PM Secretariat sources confirmed ANI. With swearing-in set for 3 PM (NST), the final name list of the ministers is yet to be ascertained. Till 2 PM (NST) Dahal has planned to induct Purna Bahadur Khadka, Prakash Sharan Mahat, Ramesh Rijal and Sita Gurung on board the cabinet. Khadka will be taking the post of Deputy Prime Minister as well as Defense Minister, Mahat as Finance Minister, Rijal as Industry, Trade and Commerce and Gurung as Urban Development Minister. From Maoist Center, Narayan Kaji Shrestha will be assigned to Home Minister as well as the Deputy Prime Minister. Shakti Basnet as Energy Minsiter while Rekha Sharma will remain in the post as Communications minister. Likewise, Sudan Kirati will continue as Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister and Amanlal Modi will be assigned to the Ministry of Federal Affairs. From the CPN- Unified Socialist Beduram Bhusal will be Agriculture and Prakash Jwala will become the Physical Infrastructure Minister. Ashok Rai from the Janata Samajbadi party will be Education Minister while Sharad Singh Bhandari from Loktantrik Samajbadi Party will be the Labor minister. Ranjita Shrestha from Nagarik Unmukti Party will be the Land reformation Minister while Mahindra Raya Yadav will be the Minister for Women, Children and Senior citizens. A week after securing the confidence of the House for the second time, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is still struggling to expand his Cabinet. And it may take a few more days for the prime minister to appoint the ministers if the statements of key leaders of the coalition partners are to be believed, Kathmandu Post reported. As Dahal has been overseeing 16 ministries on his own, it shows the complexity of power-sharing among the coalition partners. (ANI)
As India overtakes China as the most populous country in the world, and as international companies seek new bases for manufacturing outside China, India has a historic opportunity to recover its mojo in a way that would change the world, Nicholas Kristof, a two-time Pulitzer winner says in a recent report for New York Times. In an opinion piece titled 'Can India Change the World' for the US publication, Kristof elaborates to his own query on whether "India the world's next tiger economy" is poised to succeed a slowing China as a pillar of the global economy? Kristoff states that he is not quite that confident in India's future, but he believes that it has a fighting chance to soar economically "if it faces up to three major challenges: It needs to improve education, boost women in the labour force and improve the business climate to increase manufacturing." He cites an economic historian estimate that as recently as 1700, India accounted for about 24 per cent of global GDP, similar to the share now of the United States or Europe. "But today India makes up just 3 per cent of global GDP, up from 1 per cent in 1993," Kristoff points out in the NYT opinion piece. The author writes that today India has a new chance to lure manufacturers. China has an aging population, its brand is tarnished by repression, and global companies are eager to find new manufacturing bases. India has English speakers, a familiar legal system, low-cost workers and first-rate engineers emerging from the Indian Institutes of Technology India, for a while in the 2000s was enjoying economic growth rates of roughly 8 per cent per year, however, it might now become the next Asian tiger economy. According to the New York Times report, the IT industry in India is amazing and, in some ways, much more advanced than in the US. Digital data on mobile phones is really affordable here in India. Digital transactions are commonplace, and users may simply store their safe digital records on their phones. Quoting Nandan Nilekani, a pioneer in information services, the author of the New York Times report says that India's digital public infrastructure enables a technology-led growth model, and there are indeed signs of a boom in entrepreneurial activity in the tech sector: India had 452 start-ups in 2016 and 84,000 last year, it said. However, in some cases where China still has an edge is how the nation has heavily invested in human capital, unlike India. One indicator of India's larger human capital challenge: Malnutrition causes about 35 per cnt of children to be physically stunted, which is more than in much poorer African nations like Somalia and Burkina Faso, the New York Times report stated. India must provide possibilities for educated women in the economy in addition to boosting education. Several economic concepts served as the foundation for the East Asian economic boom. China's path was distinct from Malaysia's, and South Korea's path was not similar to Taiwan's. But these nations shared one thing in common: they thrived in part as a result of shifting educated rural girls into the urban labour force, which greatly increased their country's output, the report said. India has a unique chance to regain its mojo in a way that would revolutionise the world as it surpasses China as the world's most populous nation and as foreign businesses look for new industrial bases outside of China. Nicholas Kristof, the opinion columnist, writing for New York Times added that India can once again astound the world if it can improve education, allow its women to work, and entice businesses while emerging as a hub for manufacturing. If it succeeds in doing that, it will reclaim its historical position as a global economic superpower, and the previous few centuries of deprivation will be forgotten, he added. (ANI)
President Erdogan prayed to the Almighty Allah that these appointments would contribute to the country's development and progress, wishing the UAE and its people continued progress and prosperity.

He also expressed his wishes for success for the new leaders in serving their country and its people.

For his part, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed expressed his thanks to the Turkish president for his congratulations and the sincere feelings he showed towards the UAE leadership and people, wishing Turkiye and its friendly people further progress and prosperity.

During the conversation, the two leaders also exchanged Ramzan's greetings. (ANI/WAM)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will chair an open debate at the UN Security Council on April 24 to discuss the contours of the new world order and effective multilateralism in defence of the organization's Charter principles as part of Russia's chairmanship of the UN Security Council, Moscow's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said in an interview with TASS on Friday. "We expect Sergey Lavrov to arrive in New York in the second half of April. He will chair an open debate on April 24 on the topic of effective multilateralism through the defence of the principles of the UN Charter. Our idea is to hold a comprehensive, forward-looking strategic discussion about the contours of a new world order that is coming to replace the unipolar one," he pointed out. "We call on UN members to look beyond the horizon of the current moment and present their vision of how we could build a truly multipolar world through joint efforts, in which the interests of all states would be guaranteed. To do this, it is important to discuss the topic of protecting the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the sovereign equality of states. This conversation is long overdue," the Russian envoy added. Earlier on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing also reiterated Moscow's stance regarding multilateralism. According to her, this issue is becoming more and more relevant against the backdrop of increasingly active attempts by a number of countries to subordinate the UN exclusively to their interests, and in the future to "completely undermine the UN-centric system of international relations," replacing it with the odious concept of "a rules-based world order." "Let me remind you that no one has ever seen the rules," she said. Meanwhile, Ukraine has called for Russia to be removed from Security Council over the military operation launched in February last year and condemned its presidency next month as a 'bad joke'. Ukraine earlier criticised the upcoming change in the presidency at the UN Security Council. Russian UN Security Council presidency on April 1 is a bad joke,' Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter. "Russia has usurped its seat; it's waging a colonial war; its leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for kidnapping children," Kuleba said. The presidency rotates every month between the 15 member states. Russia last chaired the council in February 2022. In April, Russia assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council. Russia would hold little influence on the decisions but would be in charge of setting the agenda of the international body. During Russia's chairmanship in the UNSC, a meeting of the council is planned to be held on the violation of military products export agreements, Zakharova said. As one of the central events during this period, our delegation plans to hold a meeting of the Security Council on April 10 on the topic 'risks generated by the violation of agreements on the regulation of military products exports.' In the current conditions, we are convinced of the need for a thorough analysis of the consequences of non-compliance with contractual obligations for the so-called end user in military supplies, as well as discussion of ways to counter such destructive steps," Zakharova said. (ANI)
High Commissioner of Singapore to India, Simon Wong on Friday expressed his condolences over the loss of 36 lives in Indore temple stepwell collapse incident. "Deeply saddened by the news of the temple well collapse in Indore. My heartfelt condolences to the families affected by the tragedy. HC Wong," the official Twitter handle of Singapore in India tweeted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to take stock of the situation. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers are with all those affected and their families." "An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate tragedy in Indore today. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," tweeted PMO India. The incident occurred at Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple located in Patel Nagar locality in the city at around 11 am on Thursday during a Havan puja going on in view of the Ram Navami festival. CM Chouhan along with state home minister Narottam Mishra and others also reached the incident spot and inspected the rescue efforts at the site. "An FIR registered, magisterial inquiry was ordered into the incident. Action will be taken against those found responsible. The current priority is the rescue operation. The injured will be treated free of cost. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced an ex-gratia amount to the victims. We have ordered an inspection of such step-wells and borewells across the state," Chouhan said. According to officials, a team of 75 army personnel along with NDRF and SDRF are engaged in the operation. After the incident, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh to be given to next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 would be given to the injured. Besides, free treatment arrangements will be made for the injured. (ANI)
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday said that a common strategy of India and Israel will give a new direction to the world in the fight against terrorism. Lok Sabha Speaker made the above remarks during his meeting with an Israeli Parliamentary Delegation led by Amir Ohana, Speaker of Knesset (Parliament) of the State of Israel. The Israeli Parliamentary Delegation called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at Parliament House on Friday. At the outset, Birla welcomed the delegation to India and said that Israel and India have traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations. Birla underscored that India and Israel share a robust democratic heritage and as fellow democracies, both countries have many similarities, which include respecting diverse cultures, following democratic values, and working as per the hopes and aspirations of the people. He also observed that in the changing global dynamics, the relations between India and Israel have become more important. Cautioning about the growing scourge of terrorism, Birla said that terrorism is an area of common concern for India and Israel. Democratic countries like India and Israel should deepen cooperation in the fight against terrorism. He emphasized that the common strategy of India and Israel will give a new direction to the world in the fight against terrorism. Referring to the Jews community in India, Birla said that India has always supported and provided a safe ecosystem to the Jews. The Jews have significantly contributed to the development of India. Mentioning the strong parliamentary relations between the two Parliaments, Lok Sabha Speaker expressed happiness at the formation of a Parliamentary Friendship Group for India in the Knesset. Birla emphasized that both Parliaments should work together at international fora and accordingly prepare an action plan based on collective discussion and dialogue. He further suggested that both Parliaments must share experiences, best practices and technology to deal with global challenges and to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes across a range of situations. Speaking about regular high-level visits between the two countries over the years, Birla said that such visits have added new energy to bilateral relations. India-Israel relations have undergone fundamental and qualitative changes since the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in 2017 and subsequently, the visit of Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu to India in 2018. In the context of the technological dominance of India and Israel in different scientific fields, Birla said that Israel is a world leader in agri-technology. He mentioned that people from around the world seek to emulate the technological progress that Israel has made. Birla said through mutual collaboration both nations can learn from each other and reap the benefits of technological progress. Speaking about the popularity of India as a tourist destination for the Israeli youth, Birla called for more travel and tourism between the two nations and encouraged more and more people from Israel to visit India. Birla said that India attaches the highest importance to its bilateral relations with Israel and that both countries are natural allies and friends. He observed that at a time of immense global change, the importance of India-Israel relations has increased further. He expressed confidence that the India-Israel friendship will continue to set new records of mutual cooperation in the coming decades. Speaking on this occasion, Amir Ohana said that both India and Israel are old civilizations and the relationship between the countries has been strengthened over the period of time. Mentioning India's progress, he said that India is rising miraculously in all sectors. Amir Ohana expressed hope that the bilateral relations between India and Israel will be further strengthened and collectively both will deal with the global challenges. The delegation paid homage to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi by laying a floral wreath at Raj Ghat. Notably, the Israeli Parliamentary Delegation, which is on an India visit till April 4, was jointly invited by the Vice President and Chairperson of Rajya Sabha and the Speaker of Lok Sabha. This is the first visit of Amir Ohana, Speaker of the Knesset (Parliament) of the State of Israel to any country after assuming the Office of the Speaker. (ANI)
India and Latin American country Chile on Friday exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues at the 8th Foreign Office Consultation. Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar also discussed cooperation in wide-ranging areas including trade, tech, renewable, space, mining, and education with Secretary General for Foreign Policy of Chile Alex Wetzig Abdale. "In 8th India-Chile FOC held today between Secy (East) @AmbSaurabhKumar & Amb Alex Wetzig, Secy General, MoFA, Chile. Discussions covered cooperation in wide-ranging areas including trade, tech, renewable, space, mining, and education. Also exchanged views on regional & multilateral issues," tweeted the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi. The Chilean Ambassador also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who discussed intensifying the bilateral political and economic cooperation. "Pleasure to receive Ambassador Alex Wetzig Abdale, Secretary General for Foreign Policy of Chile. Shared his enthusiasm to intensify our political and economic cooperation," tweeted Jaishankar. Recently in February 2023, Cabinet approved the signing of MoU between India and Chile for cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Chile for cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors. The main areas of cooperation envisaged are agricultural policies for the development of modern agriculture, organic agriculture to facilitate the bilateral trade of organic products, as well as promote the exchange of policies aimed to develop organic production in both countries, Science and innovation to explore partnerships to encourage innovation in the agricultural sector among Indian Institutes and Chilean institutes as well as collaborate to confront common challenges. India-Chile relations are characterized by warmth, friendship and commonality of views on a wide range of issues. Chile shares India's concerns over the threat of international terrorism and has regularly condemned the acts of cross-border terrorism that India has suffered. Both countries cooperate extensively in multilateral fora and share similar views on climate change/renewable energy issues and on expansion and reforms of the UNSC. Chile articulated its support for India's claim to a permanent seat in the UNSC in a Joint Statement issued at the conclusion of the official visit of Chile's Foreign Minister to India in April 2003. It has consistently reiterated this support since. It also signed the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement in November 2017. In 2009, India and Chile celebrated 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations. (ANI)
A Parliamentary Delegation from Israel, led by the Speaker of Knesset, HE Amir Ohana called on the President of India, Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, according to an official release. Welcoming the delegation, the President said that over the last 30 years, the diplomatic relations between the two countries have grown into a multidimensional strategic partnership. An official release from the Rashtrapati Bhavan read, the President noted that throughout their long history, the Jewish communities in India have maintained, and enriched their unique heritage and traditions. She said that the Jewish people have been - and will always be - an integral part of India's composite society. The President said that in India, Israel is well known as a key source of expertise in advanced agriculture and water technologies. Our collaboration in research and innovation has also boosted the 'Make in India' initiative. She was happy to note the success of the 'Centres of Excellence' set up with Israeli assistance across India, as per the official release. Notably, the Israeli Parliamentary Delegation, which is on an India visit till April 4, was jointly invited by the Vice President and Chairperson of Rajya Sabha and the Speaker of Lok Sabha. This is the first visit of Amir Ohana, Speaker of the Knesset (Parliament) of the State of Israel to any country after assuming the Office of the Speaker. Before meeting the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, the Israeli parliamentary delegation called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the Parliament House in New Delhi. The delegation also paid homage to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi by laying a floral wreath at Raj Ghat. (ANI)
Conductor Riccardo Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Sept. 23, 2021. The CSO was one of 10 leading musical institutions to release exclusive content on the new Apple Classical app, part of Apple Music. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Look, its not that us classical music fans are snooty. But ask any aficionado and well roundly agree: Music streaming platforms get the genre so, so wrong. Searching for classical recordings on platforms like Spotify and even, to a lesser extent, YouTube, can be a headache. At present, listeners have two options, broadly speaking: fork over your money to a specialized classical streamer  like the Berlin-based Idagio, or the now defunct Primephonic  or grin and bear it.

In 2021, Apple announced that it had acquired Primephonic with the intent to spin it into yet another stand-alone app, Apple Music Classical. The fruits of that semi-hostile takeover launched yesterday, and the app is available at no additional cost to Apple Music subscribers.

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Ill be the first to admit I was more than a little skeptical. As a non-Apple Music subscriber myself, Im not thrilled with the notion that the tech oligarchs at 1 Infinite Loop may soon be hoovering up more of my monthly budget. Second  and Im still chafing from this one  Apple torpedoed Primephonic within a week of its acquisition in 2021, preventing anyone from enjoying the platforms many perks for nearly two years while Apple Music Classical was in development.

Lastly, but certainly not leastly: Is it really so impossible to retrofit classical music onto Apple Musics existing infrastructure?

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The short, nontechnical answer is yes. Classical music includes a daunting amount of metadata: composer name, work title, movement titles (if applicable), instrumentation, performer(s), release year, even the key. None of these are necessary for the vast majority of musical genres, so conventional streaming services account for very little of it, instead defaulting to whatever information, often gapingly incomplete, is provided in album track listings.

These facets may seem superfluous to listeners outside the classical world, but each one can make or break ones search. Are you looking for Verklarte Nacht the string sextet, or the string orchestra version? For Glenn Goulds first Goldberg Variations (1955) or his second (1981)? Amid numbering confusion for Haydns cello concertos, youd better know the key of the one youre searching for (C or D). And heaven help you if youre searching for Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor  would that be Robert or Clara?

Thankfully, Apple Music Classical does what it came to do in the metadata sphere. Like in Primephonic and Idagio before it, in Apple Classical, works have their own landing page  a crucial feature which alone will likely make the app worth it to diehards. (In one of the apps more jaw-dropping features, the most famous opuses even have an informational blurb contributed by in-house musicologists and writers.) By codifying work titles and other essential metadata, the music search process has been sleekly optimized. In comparison to what came before, its a relative breeze to surf the apps whopping five million tracks, together representing some 20,000 composers and 50 million data points.

All thats left is for inveterate classical streamers to unlearn the free-association search strategies theyve honed for years now.

To test Apple Music Classical, a friend and I attempted to search for Claudio Abbados recordings of Brahmss Symphony No. 1. (He recorded it twice: once with the Vienna Philharmonic and once with the Berlin Philharmonic, the latter in a frequently rereleased cycle from the early 90s.) The search Brahms Symphony 1 Abbado yielded some topical albums, but also included some off-the-rails results, like Brahmss first piano concerto. We found that we had to search within the work listing (Symphony No. 1 in C minor, by Johannes Brahms) for best results  some extra legwork, to be sure.

Apples bespoke organization of a data set this immense means some mistakes will inevitably creep in. That same Brahms search unearthed one: a 1997 Bruckner 1 recording by Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic, whose Scherzo is randomly attributed to Brahms. Ironically, such a misattribution would be unlikely in a more general streaming app like Spotify or Apple Music. (Indeed, the movement is properly attributed on Apple Musics main app.) If Apple Classicals capacity for user service is much greater than anything weve seen so far, so is the margin of human error.

A search for Claudio Abbados recordings of Brahmss Symphony No. 1 still requires some literacy with Apple Music Classicals interface  and turned up an error. (Hannah Edgar screenshot)

Then, theres the audio quality  also a strong selling point for the app. Apple Music Classical touts Dolby Atmoss spatial audio and lossless listening options as calling cards, available in both recently captured contemporary performances and remastered historic recordings. Its as if youre in the concert hall, standing side by side with the conductor, awash in the magnificent sound of a full orchestra, the in-app language gushes.

I agree, in spirit, that the best seat in the house is right in the middle of the orchestra. You havent lived till youve felt a brass entrance rumble in your sternum, or waded in a lapping pool of strings. But lets not mistake that live experience for something that actually makes for a good recording. Composers who didnt live to witness the advent of high-quality recording technology penned their works  orchestration, articulation, dynamics, you name it  with an audience vantage point in mind, hopefully aided by a forgiving concert hall.

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Not all pieces benefit from a spatial treatment, and if theres a reason to think they might, pray engineers know what theyre doing, so it doesnt sound like an over-miked nightmare. An app exclusive recording of the London Symphony and Sir Simon Rattle in Maurice Ravels Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2 is touted as an exemplar of spatial audio; in execution, its the aural equivalent of trying to take in a Monet with ones nose pressed against the canvas, and about as rewarding. The New York Philharmonics Symphonie fantastique with exiting music director Jaap van Zweden lands better, though I personally find its microscopic detail  van Zwedens breathing, chair creaks, errant far-off coughs  somehow akin to accidentally seeing a good friend naked.

Thats not to say bringing a spatial element to recordings cant make for spectacular listening. Some albums benefit beautifully from platform-exclusive remasters: Our very own Chicago Symphonys 2010 recording of the Verdi Requiem, conducted by Riccardo Muti, makes for a luminous rerelease, not in a small part because the spatial re-imagining is subtle. So does the London Symphonys 2012 Faure Requiem album, given a heavenly redux only available on Apple Music Classical.

The apps other offerings are more or less just icing on the cake, but they certainly sweeten the deal. Gigawatt artists, including violinist Hilary Hahn and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, curate playlists and offer illuminating commentary on their existing discography. Likewise, 10 of the worlds leading musical institutions released exclusive content on the app, including the aforementioned CSO, London and New York spatial recordings. Apple Music Classical curators have also assembled other playlists for your listening pleasure, centered around instruments (whos down for an hour of recorder music? Me!), composers and even moods. (Theres the requisite, if eye-rolling Classical Chill, leading off with  who else  Eric Whitacre.)

The app has to be commended, too, for balancing music discovery tools geared toward sophisticates with ample guideposts for newbies. Guy Jones, formerly Primephonics curation head and now Apple Musics classical editor, hosts The Story of Classical, a formidable nine-part podcast outlining major touchstones in the genres history. That investment makes much better returns than Apple Classicals commissioned composer portraits, which are overly austere at best and poor likenesses at worst. (While were on him: poor Brahms.)

For all Apple Music Classicals bells and whistles, it still doesnt assuage my initial discomfort, even revulsion, toward siloing classical music in its own app. It seems to compound negative stereotypes of classical music fans, sometimes true  that were unadventurous listeners, out of touch with the music of the here and now, glaring down our noses (presumably through a monocle) at less sophisticated genres of music. As other commenters have pointed out, classical is not the only genre that stands to benefit from more detailed metadata. But it is one of the few genres which relies on it.

What still remains, then, is to build out Apple Music Classical so it actually functions to its fullest potential. Right now, the app is only available on iPhone; Android users, and even Apple computer users, still have to wait for the app to be built out for those operating systems.

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Apple Music Classical is also only a streaming service, meaning an internet connection is required. Right now, one has to hop over to the mother Music app to download music, or even build playlists. Apple developers plan to better integrate the two and announce further OS expansions in recent months. As for myself, I wish theyd waited rather than releasing the squishiest soft-launch possible.

All things told, Apple Music Classical is a gamble, and that gamble will likely only pay off for a highly self-selecting audience base. But Im part of that audience, however begrudgingly.

So, take my money, I guess. Apple Classical is the best weve got for now.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet will perform at an Apple Store to celebrate the launch of Apple Music Classical, with pieces by Telemann and Shostakovich alongside contemporary works; 7 p.m. April 12 at 401 N. Michigan Ave., reservations at www.apple.com

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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday vowed to take back all lands lost to Russia since the beginning of the war last year on February 24 between the two countries. In a video message after the completion of 400 days of the Russia-Ukraine war, he said, "Ukraine will win at the front, will win in recovery, will win in restoring justice. We will not leave a single trace of Russia on our land. And we will not leave any enemy unpunished either. We are preparing news about this. This day, like any of the 400 was as active as possible for me." Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian troops of carrying out war crimes, pointing to extensive footage and witness accounts. "Four hundred days of our defence against full-scale aggression. This is a colossal path that we have walked. All together - everyone who fought and fight for Ukraine, who took care and take care of the state and Ukrainians, who helped and helps our logistics, who strengthened and strengthens Ukrainian resilience. Ukraine went through the most terrifying days of that February. We survived this winter as well. There is a colossal effort behind these words. We passed last spring, which turned the tide of this war in favour of our defence," said Zelenskyy. Lauding the heroism of Ukrainians, he said, "Last summer and autumn, we proved that the spring liberation of our northern regions was no accident. The battle for Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the return of the territories of our Kharkiv region, the return of Kherson, the defence of Bakhmut and Donbas in general - this is the heroism of Ukrainians that the world will not forget. " The Ukrainian President also said that the country is preparing for the next step and its approach to victory in the war. "We are preparing our next steps, our active actions. We care about preparing the approach to our victory. What is the strength of Ukraine? If your intentions are good, the whole world will be on your side and help you." He also thanked everyone in the world who stands with Ukraine and believed in the rules of humanity, respect and peace. "Today, on the 400th day of resistance, full-scale resistance, I want to thank everyone in the world who stands with Ukraine, who shares our interpretation of freedom, who supports our pursuit of justice, who has the same strong conviction that we Ukrainians have the conviction that the world should be based on rules, on civilized rules - on the rules of humanity, respect and peace. That is why Ukraine will win. Because freedom and justice, humanity and respect, peace deserved by the people must prevail," said Zelenskyy. He also thanked his soldiers and sailors, sergeants and first sergeants and officers and generals, saying, "I thank all our soldiers and sailors, all our sergeants and first sergeants, all our officers and generals. I thank each and everyone who holds this front - the front of protecting the best that humanity has, the front of protecting the best that you and I have - our Ukraine - united, invincible and forever free." "I thank everyone who is currently fighting! Each and everyone who is fighting to protect themselves and their brothers-in-arms in neighbouring positions! Thank everyone who cares about our brave warriors! Thank you every one who protects our cities and restores normal life in the areas where it was violated by Russia with its aggression and terror!" he added. Thanking his citizens Zelenskyy added, "I also thank everyone who helps the daughters and sons, wives and husbands, mothers and fathers of our people, soldiers and civilians whose lives were taken away by this war, by Russia!" Zelenskyy further stated that he is having communications with his commanders, with intelligence, and meetings regarding the internal situation adding that he made another appeal to the parliament of the partner country Austria. "Communication with commanders, with intelligence, meetings regarding the internal situation. I made another appeal to the parliament of the partner country - to the Austrian Parliament and I thank Austria for the fact that Ukraine was heard. A productive meeting with the delegation of German defence enterprise Rheinmetall AG. I am thankful to our partners for their willingness to cooperate with us in an even more meaningful way. Tomorrow will also be active - to the maximum. We will do everything so that the day comes sooner when I can thank you. Dear Ukrainians, for our victory! Glory to Ukrainian heroes! Glory to Ukraine!" he said. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would "never forgive" Moscow for its occupation of Bucha, a year after the town became a symbol of alleged Russian war crimes. Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, a commuter town northwest of Kyiv, on Mar 31, 2022, just over a month after Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine and left a trail of death and destruction in their wake. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a new foreign policy doctrine in which the West poses an "existential" threat to Moscow and the Kremlin lies at the centre of a broader Russian civilisation. Prosecutors in Kyiv say that Russian forces killed about 1,400 civilians around Bucha and that they have identified dozens of Russian soldiers responsible. (ANI)
US NATO Ambassador Julianne Smith, while speaking on NATO and strengthening relationships with South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, virtually said the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is ready to engage more with India if it is interested. The Ambassador though stressed that currently there are no plans by the alliance to expand this to a broader global military alliance. "The NATO alliance is open to more engagement should India seek that. NATO currently has 40 different partners around the World and each individual partnership is different. Various countries come to the door seeking different levels of political engagement, sometimes countries are much more interested in working on inter-operability, and standardization questions. So, they vary. But, the message that has already been sent back to India is that NATO alliance is certainly open to more engagement with India, should that country take interest in pursuing that", said Julianne Smith in a virtual press briefing. "Membership is not something that we have really considered with anyone in the Indo-Pacific or Asia-Pacific. The alliance remains the Euro-Atlantic military alliance. Its door is open to the region. But there are no plans by the alliance to expand this to a broader global military alliance," she added. Further, speaking on the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which will take place on April 4-5, 2023 at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, the ambassador said "at this stage, we would not want to invite them (India) to NATO ministerial until we knew more about their interest in engaging the alliance more broadly". "Regarding the Ministerial next week, 4 countries that I mentioned (Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and Japan), are four countries that have already established formal partnerships with the alliance over many years. They worked closely with the NATO alliance on security challenges. These relationships have been ongoing. We have been working to strengthen these relationships. These are four countries that joined us at the summit last year in Madrid," said Smith. "In terms of the future with India, I think NATO's door is open in terms of engagement should India be interested. But we would not want to at this stage invite them to NATO ministerial until we knew more about their interest in engaging the alliance more broadly," she added. Appreciating India's role in the Russia-Ukraine war, the envoy said she is grateful for the humanitarian assistance that India has been able to provide to the country and that she appreciates India's call for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine. "We both at NATO and United States, welcome what India has been able to do for the people of Ukraine. We are very grateful for the humanitarian assistance that India has been able to provide which is critical right now and those needs are only growing. Certainly, appreciate calls coming from India for some sort of immediate end to the war in Ukraine. That's important. And we have been in constant communication with India about what more we can do together to hold Russia accountable and we have done that and worked with India, spoken with India several times since Russia started this war inside Ukraine," said Smith. "The United States and India do not always share exactly the same policy approaches, but we do share a commitment to upholding the rules-based order and ensuring that the key principles particularly as they relate to sovereignty and territorial integrity, those principles are respected. I think that's the most important part of our relationship," she added. Speaking about the NATO shift, the envoy highlighted how the alliance has started to mention the Asia-Pacific and the Indo-Pacific in some of its strategic documents. "NATO has really shifted in a pretty noticeable way in terms of how it conducts outreach and engages with its partners in Indo- pacific. If you go back 5-6 or 7 years, you would find an alliance that didn't necessarily have rich agenda with the countries in the Indo-Pacific. Still, in recent years, what NATO has started to do is to include, mention of the Asia-Pacific and the Indo-Pacific first and foremost in some of its strategic documents," she said. "This is the first time that the alliance acknowledges the importance of focusing on the PRC as a challenge for the alliance and why it's important for NATO allies to enhance and deepen its relationship across with partners in the region and NATO has just done that. We are bringing our friends from the Indo- Pacific in the NATO HQ into ministerial, what we call North Atlantic Council in summits so that we can learn from our partners in terms of what their experiences, challenges to the security," she added. (ANI)
The Jamaat-e-Islami has announced that it will hold a protest outside the Governor's house in Karachi against what it has described as a "conspiracy" to underreport the metropolis' population in the upcoming census, Pakistan Today reported. Hafiz Naeem ur-Rehman, president of the Karachi wing of the party, and Idara Noor-e-Haq, another leader of the party, have raised concerns about the census process. They demanded that every person living in Karachi should be counted as a resident of the city. The Jamaat leader said that Karachi should have representation in the provincial and national assemblies on the basis of its actual population, as per the Pakistan Today report. He slammed the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government for not playing their due role with regard to the actual counting of Karachi's population. The Jamaat leader slammed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) over their dual standards when it comes to the rights of Karachi, as per the news report. Hafiz Naeem ur-Rehman said that the PPP was afraid of the consensus in Karachi as it would result in the chief minister being from the mega city and would shake the feudalism that provides bases for the rule of the PPP in interior parts of the province, Pakistan Today reported. He called for transparency in the process of the consensus and a mechanism to check the registration of people and statistics on the block code level. Earlier, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's Rabita (MQM-P) Coordination Committee expressed its grave concerns over the process Pakistan's first digital census is being carried out, saying that if any errors in the statistics are found then the party would hold its own census, reported The Express Tribune. The party claimed further that its reservations over the ongoing exercise of the 7th Population and Housing Census in the country were coming true, as per the news report. In February, the party had written to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) chairman, saying that allocating only three days for conducting the census in the densely-populated Karachi was not enough. The letter stated that at least 10 days should be set aside for household head counts. It added that the number of days should be increased for the three phases of national household and digital censuses. The party had also warned that any count of Karachi's population below 40 million would not be acceptable to it, according to The Express Tribune report. Sources said the MQM-P had conveyed its reservations over the census to the premier as well as the chief commissioner of the exercise, the PBS chairman, The Express Tribune reported. According to the latest PBS figures, the census of 23.6 million houses had been completed by Sunday across the country. It added that it had finished the counting of 140 million people. The PBS said overall, 61 per cent of the census had been completed, as per the news report. It continued that the entire exercise in the country would be achieved by its scheduled time of April 4. (ANI)
United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has mocked Russia over its foreign policy. While sharing the screenshot of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweet where it announced its foreign policy, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in a tweet wrote, "April Fool's Day is TOMORROW." Taking to its official Twitter handle, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described its foreign policy as "peaceful, open, predictable, consistent and pragmatic". It further said that Russia's foreign policy is based on respect for universally recognized principles. "Concept of the Foreign Policy of Russia (2023) Russian foreign policy is peaceful, open, predictable, consistent, & pragmatic & is based on the respect for universally recognized principles & norms of international law," the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted. Russia's new foreign policy was adopted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. The new 42-page document said that the majority of the European nations pursue an aggressive policy towards Russia aimed at creating threats to the security and sovereignty of Russia. "Most European states pursue an aggressive policy toward Russia aimed at creating threats to the security and sovereignty of the Russian Federation, gaining unilateral economic advantages, undermining domestic political stability and eroding traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, and creating obstacles to Russia's cooperation with allies and partners," reads Russia's foreign policy document. With regards to European nations, Russia in the document said, "Objective prerequisites for the formation of a new model of coexistence with European states are geographical proximity, historically developed deep cultural, humanitarian and economic ties of the peoples and states of the European part of Eurasia." Russia said that the main factor complicating the normalisation of ties between Russia and European states in the "strategic course of the USA." "The main factor complicating the normalization of relations between Russia and European states is the strategic course of the USA and their individual allies to draw and deepen dividing lines in the European region in order to weaken and undermine the competitiveness of the economies of Russia and European states, as well as to limit the sovereignty of European states and ensure US global domination," reads the document. The new 42-page document singled out ties with China and India, stressing the importance of "the deepening of ties and coordination with friendly sovereign global centres of power and development located on the Eurasian continent." According to the document, Russia will continue to build a particularly privileged strategic partnership with India with a view to enhancing and expanding cooperation in all areas on a mutually beneficial basis and place special emphasis on increasing the volume of bilateral trade, strengthening investment and technological ties, and ensuring their resistance to destructive actions of unfriendly states and their alliances. Russia has been the largest supplier of weapons to India, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the latter's arms imports from 2016-2020. "Russia will continue to build up a particularly privileged strategic partnership with the Republic of India with a view to enhance and expand cooperation in all areas on a mutually beneficial basis and place special emphasis on increasing the volume of bilateral trade, strengthening investment and technological ties, and ensuring their resistance to destructive actions of unfriendly states and their alliances," reads the document. (ANI)
China's state-run CCTV has censored all the mentions of the Republic of China (Taiwan's official title) made by Taiwan's former President Ma Ying-jeou in the Nanjing region of China on Tuesday, Focus Taiwan reported. During a visit to the housing complex Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum in Nanjing, Ma Ying-jeou four times mentioned the official name of Taiwan. He mentioned ROC once while paying tribute to Sun, once in a public statement he gave in the compound and twice when stating the dates of his visit and Sun's passing. At the mausoleum, Ma Ying-jeou also displayed a calligraphy work he created and wrote the date of which as "112" which is the number of years since the founding of the ROC. Those elements were completely removed from the CCTV's print and video coverage of Ma's visit to the mausoleum, as per the Focus Taiwan report. On Wednesday, Ma Ying-jeou visited the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre. He described the massacre as "animalistic brutality rarely seen in human history" and choked up several times when spoke to reporters, as per the news report. He also spoke about the importance of avoiding a conflict between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Despite Ma Ying-jeou references to the ROC in China, leaders from Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) were critical of those efforts. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai said Ma on several occasions only used the ROC in abbreviated form and stressed that he should have said the full name, according to Focus Taiwan report. Chen said that during a meeting between Ma and Jiangsu Chinese Communist Party Municipal Committee Secretary Xin Changxing, Ma was referred to as a "former leader of the Taiwan region." Chen further said that Ma Ying-jeou was referred to as "Mr Ma" after Ma called himself as former Taiwan President. On Thursday, Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou highlighted the importance of the "1992 consensus" at a meeting with Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao in China, as per the Focus Taiwan report. Ma Ying-jeou is the first former Taiwan President to visit the Chinese mainland. He said that the "1992 consensus" was a focus when leaders of both sides of the Taiwan Strait met in Singapore in 2015. He referred to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his tenure as Taiwan's President. (ANI)
The El Paso area saw large groups of migrants detained, nearly a dozen fugitives arrested and more than 150 pounds of illegal drugs seized over two busy weeks for federal law enforcement.

U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony "Scott" Good announced more than 1,000 migrants surrendered to agents Wednesday in the El Paso area.

Many of the migrants said they had received information regarding CBP immigration policies via social media that said if they surrendered to agents at a certain location in El Paso, they would be allowed to remain in the United States. That information was wrong.

U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso Sector will continue to fully enforce immigration laws at our border, Good said in a news release. People should not listen to the lies of smugglers, who often take advantage of vulnerable migrants by providing false information in order to profit from charging migrants to cross the border illegally.

At approximately 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector received reports of a large group of migrants walking eastbound in Mexico, paralleling the international border from the Bridge of the Americas port of entry. At about 4 p.m., agents began to encounter groups of 20 to 30 migrants, with more than 1,000 eventually entering the U.S. illegally and surrendering to Border Patrol agents at the border gate near Barker Street and the Cesar E. Chavez Border Highway, the Border Patrol said in the news release.

U.S. Border Patrol detained 1,000 migrants who surrendered throughout Wednesday to agents near the border in the El Paso Lower Valley.

The migrants encountered were primarily from Venezuela, but also were from other countries, including Nicaragua, Colombia and Ecuador.

Throughout the night and into the early morning, agents continued to encounter groups attempting to enter the United States.

All the migrants were expelled under Title 42 authority or processed for removal proceedings under Title 8.

The large number comes as thousands of migrants have attempted to cross the Rio Grande and El Paso ports of entry, including hundreds who rushed an El Paso port of entry on March 12.

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The U.S. Border Patrol continues to expel migrants under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Title 42 authority.

Nationalities subject to Title 42 include: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti. Those migrants that cannot be expelled under Title 42 who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States are placed in removal proceedings under Title 8, the Border Patrol said.

Both orders are tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and are meant to reduce health risks.

Over 1,000 migrants, mostly from #Venezuela, surrendered themselves to USBP agents in El Paso, TX after making an illegal entry into the U.S. USBPs authority to expel migrants under Title 42 & place migrants under Title 8 removal proceedings has NOT changed. @CBP @BorderPatrolHQ pic.twitter.com/lSRDfMTmRH  Anthony Scott Good (@USBPChiefEPT) March 30, 2023

Murder fugitives, migrants with criminal history

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in El Paso deported a man Wednesday who was wanted in connection with a Feb. 9, 2020, fatal shooting in Guerrero, Mexico, ICE officials said.

Noe Rosas Soto, 33, is accused of firing a weapon from a moving vehicle, striking a victim several times, according to Mexican officials.

ICE officials referred to Soto in a news release as a suspected "sicario," which translates to hit man in English.

Soto was arrested Feb. 16 in Portland, Oregon, by ICE officers, officials said. He was served with a notice of intent/decision to reinstate a prior removal order.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in El Paso turn over Noe Rosas Soto, 33, to Mexican authorities on Wednesday at the Stanton Street Bridge.

Soto previously had been deported from the U.S. two other times, including in El Paso in 2013, and in Calexico, California, in 2015, officials said. Soto was convicted in 2013 of assault in Oregon, officials said.

Soto was taken to the Stanton Street Bridge on Wednesday, where he was turned over to Mexican law enforcement authorities at the top of the Downtown El Paso port of entry, officials said.

The arrest and removal of this fugitive back to Mexico is a testament of the ongoing cooperation between ICE and our Mexican counterparts, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Field Office Director Mary De Anda said in a statement. Violent criminals, who flee to the United States believing they can evade justice, are mistaken and will find no refuge here."

More: Mexican president to face protests in Juarez over deadly fire at immigration center

U.S. Border Patrol agents also detained several people with extensive criminal records who illegally crossed into the U.S. through West Texas and Southern New Mexico, agency officials said.

Agents arrested 10 migrants with criminal records between March 20 and March 27.

The criminal offensives included:

Assault of a federal officer

Rape of a child

Criminal possession with intent to distribute cocaine

Possession of heroin with intent to distribute

Carrying a prohibited weapon

Aggravated felony charge of controlled substance trafficking

Felony assault

Felony possession of a weapon

Lewd sexual acts with a child under 14 years

Force rape

Aggravated assault

Three of the migrants arrested had ties to transnational criminal organizations and gangs, officials said.

Transnational Criminal Organizations have smuggled hundreds of criminals into our communities whopose a threat to public safety, Good said in a statement. Dangerous criminals endanger our communities as they often continue to disregard the rule of law. I want to thank the hardworking agents of the El Paso Sector who remain steadfast in securing our nations border in West Texas and New Mexico.

Border Patrol agents in the El Paso Sector, which covers West Texas and all of New Mexico, have arrested more than 240 individuals with extensive criminal records and gang affiliations since October, when the 2023 fiscal year started, officials said.

Massive drug seizures

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in El Paso seized more than 32 pounds of fentanyl, 31 pounds of cocaine and 79 pounds of methamphetamine in less than 24 hours, officials said.

The drugs had an estimated street value of about $900,000, according to customs officials.

CBP officers work tirelessly to secure our borders while efficiently facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel," CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio said in a statement. The interception of these dangerous drugs demonstrates the commitment of our frontline officers to the border security mission.

The drug seizures happened Monday at the Paso Del Norte international bridge, which connects Downtown El Paso and Juarez.

More: Affidavit: Venezuelan migrant bites CBP officer at Northeast El Paso processing center

In the first incident, officers found 31.95 pounds of fentanyl and 79.35 pounds of methamphetamine in a vehicle driven by a 24-year-old Mexican citizen. The man had mixed bundles hidden in the trunk and hood area of the vehicle, officials said.

Later that day, officers seized methamphetamine and fentanyl with a combined weight of 1 pound from a 22-year-old woman, who is a U.S. citizen. The woman attempted to cross the drugs via pedestrian lanes.

Officers allegedly found two bundles strapped to the woman's waist area.

A few minutes later, officers found 31.21 pounds of cocaine-filled bundles in the quarter panels of a vehicle driven by a juvenile, who is a U.S. citizen, officials said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized 5.05 pounds of cocaine March 20 at the Ysleta port of entry.

Last week, customs officers seized a total of 15.65 pounds of cocaine in two unrelated incidents at the Ysleta Port of Entry. The cocaine had an estimated street value of $135,000.

Every illicit narcotics shipment that CBP officers intercept is significant, CBP Ysleta Port Director Arnoldo Gomez said in a statement. CBP officers continue to step up and address this threat on a daily basis, therefore making our communities safer.

On March 20, officers seized 5.05 pounds of cocaine hidden in a vehicle. Multiple bundles of cocaine were found hidden in the bumper of the vehicle, which was driven by a 22-year-old man, who is a U.S. citizen, officials said.

Officers then seized 10.6 pounds of cocaine March 22. Several bundles containing the cocaine were in the vehicle's radiator. The driver of the vehicle was a 33-year-old man, who is a Mexican citizen, officials said.

The smugglers were arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations, state or local law enforcement authorities for prosecution.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 1,000 migrants, fugitives and drugs seized at El Paso border
One person is dead after a shooting that involved a Kentucky state trooper in Edmonson County, according to Kentucky State Police.

The shooting happened in Edmonson County around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, state police said. A man was declared dead on scene by the Edmonson County coroner.

The state police Critical Incident Response Team was called to investigate the shooting, which is typical when Kentucky officers are involved in shootings.

State police did not immediately release further details, including who was shot or what the troopers involvement was.

To protect the integrity of an ongoing investigation, it is KSPs standard operating procedure not to release specific details until vital witnesses have been interviewed and pertinent facts gathered, state police said in a news release Friday. Timelines to complete investigations vary based on the complexity of the case.
(William Morrow; Bloomsbury; Atria/One Signal; Doubleday; New Directions; Harper; Ecco; Anchor; Del Rey)

Critic Bethanne Patrick recommends 10 promising titles, fiction and nonfiction, to consider for your April reading list.

Spring has sprung, along with new books about dreams, nature and beauty, the raw materials of renewal. Whatever the genre that renews your spirits  mystery or history, poetry or prose  youll find it on our April list. Don Winslow offers the second installment in his City trilogy, Sophie Mackintosh examines a historical crime, Nicole Chungs second memoir triumphs over grief, and Simon Winchester takes on nothing less than the human quest for knowledge. All of them involve high stakes: mutiny and trauma, transcendence and growth. The stuff of life. Read up.

FICTION

Cursed Bread



By Sophie Mackintosh



Doubleday: 208 pages, $27



(April 4)

Mackintoshs Womens Prize-nominated third novel carries the power of her first two, The Water Cure and Blue Ticket. Its based on a 1951 mass poisoning in Pont-Saint-Esprit, France, that left 50 hospitalized and seven dead, all due to bad bread. Revenge? Accident? CIA hallucinogens? A feverish friendship between Elodie, the bakers wife, and Violet, the wife of an American ambassador, both complicates and expands reality.

The Haunting of Alejandra



By V. Castro



Del Rey: 272 pages, $28



(April 18)

Alejandra has the perfect life: a husband, three children, a beautiful house in Philadelphia. But shes living in the kind of quiet despair that will sound familiar to those who suffer from depression . When she finds a therapist who is, like her, of Mexican heritage, the women decide that Alejandra is possessed by La Llorona , a mythical spirit also known as The Crying Woman. As they pursue an exorcism, Castro keeps the suspense at a perfect pace.

The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa



By Stephen Buoro



Bloomsbury: 336 pages, $28



(April 18)

Andy Aziza has growing up to do, and it will involve anger and family secrets and a big first love. So far, so common. But Andy Africa, as he terms himself, lives in a Nigerian town torn between two faiths (Muslim and Catholic), and he takes on the theological language of the latter to explain his journey, making his eventual affair with a priests niece (come on, Eileen!) funny and poignant.

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Symphony of Secrets



By Brendan Slocumb



Anchor: 448 pages, $28



(April 18)

Slocumbs 2022 book,  The Violin Conspiracy,  focused on performance; this follow-up turns on composition, but its not a one-note theme. When a musicologist named Bern Hendricks receives a call asking if he can re-score famed composer Frederic Delaneys long-lost opera, he agrees. Unfortunately, Hendricks will discover Delaney may not have written it. Did a Black woman named Josephine Reed compose all or part of it? Lets find out.

City of Dreams



By Don Winslow



William Morrow: 352 pages, $30



(April 18)

Winslow takes Danny Ryan from 1988 Providence, R.I., to California in a whiplash-paced gangster thriller guaranteed to delight his fans. But caveat, fandom: Even for you,  City of Dreams  will feel as dark as a Moretti brothers heart (yes, Peter and Paulie have roles in the new book). Ryan has plenty to deal with on the Left Coast, but also family obligations, which leave room for a glimmer of hope in the next book.

NONFICTION

A Living Remedy



By Nicole Chung



Ecco: 256 pages, $30



(April 7)

A sophomore memoir might be even tougher to write than a second novel, but Chung ( All You Can Ever Know ) has knocked it out of the park with her second book, detailing how she coped with the deaths of her adoptive parents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read both books for a full accounting of how transracial adoption affects a person, but know that A Living Remedy stands on its own as an accounting of what it means to become an orphan.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir



By Maggie Smith



Atria: 320 pages, $28



(April 11)

Smiths essay collection Keep Moving, a 2020 blockbuster (how often does that word modify essay collection?), informs this memoir about the end of her marriage and its effect on her children. In fact, its title is from the last line of Smiths viral poem  Good Bones  (Life is short, though I keep this from my children...). The composition, including very short chapters, authentically conveys Smiths poetic voice.

This Is Not Miami



By Fernanda Melchor



New Directions: 160 pages, $16



(April 4)

Melchor, whose novel  Hurricane Season  was nominated for the International Booker and the National Book Award, now writes nonfiction  if reportage blended with authorial imagination fits that category. Melchor sets 10 stories in and around Veracruz, based on real events but without verifiable details: a carnival queen-turned-killer, a purported witch, a meeting with a cartel. The stories are shocking, the prose shockingly good.

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder



By David Grann



Doubleday: 352 pages, $30



(April 18)

The shipwreck: 1740, the Royal Navy ship the Wager, off Brazil. The mutiny: up for debate, between two groups of survivors (no further spoilers). The murder: Suffice it to say a court-martial was assembled. Grann ( Killers of the Flower Moon ) employs his considerable narrative gifts in reconstructing an event that not only reveals the weaknesses inherent in military justice but also might help us understand the essence of imperialism.

Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic



By Simon Winchester



Harper: 432 pages, $35



(April 25)

Winchester has written about information systems before, as in his 1998 book  The Professor and the Madman , about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. In his robust new compendium, the author examines those systems in far grander scope, from mankinds earliest attempts at language to the digital worlds we now keep in our pockets. This isnt just a rollicking look back; Winchester asks what these systems do to our minds, for good and ill.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Vogue Philippines released its April issue on Friday and its newest cover model is an 106-year-old indigenous Kalinga woman, Apo Whang-Od, also known as Maria Oggay.

Whang-Od, from the small mountain village of Buscalan in the Philippines, is considered the countrys oldest mambabatok (traditional tattooist). She has become famous for mastering a 1,000-year-old batok tattooing technique, which uses a traditional tapping method utilizing charcoal soot and a sharp stick. She began learning the traditional method from her father at 16 years old, the magazine reported.

Apo Maria 'Whang-Od' Oggay symbolizes the strength and beauty of the Filipino spirit," Vogue Philippines wrote in a tweet. "Heralded as the last mambabatok of her generation, she has imprinted the symbols of the Kalinga tribe signifying strength, bravery & beauty on the skin."

Apo Maria Whang-Od Oggay symbolizes the strength and beauty of the Filipino spirit.



Heralded as the last mambabatok of her generation, she has imprinted the symbols of the Kalinga tribe signifying strength, bravery & beauty on the skin.



Read more on https://t.co/2F1mJ5iQWG. pic.twitter.com/urVcA3g2Ek  Vogue Philippines (@vogueph) March 30, 2023

Her artwork has driven waves of tattoo tourism to the Philippines, where people from all over the world visit her to receive one of her legendary designs, according to Vogue.

Whang-Od has passed down her knowledge to her grandnieces, Elyang Wigan and Grace Palicas, whom she has trained in the tattooing art for several years, she told Vogue. Her work has inspired a new generation of batok artists in the Philippines and United States, the magazine reported.

When visitors come from far away, Whang-Od told Vogue in the Butbut language, I will give them the tatak Buscalan, tatak Kalinga for as long as my eyes can see.

Whang-Od is the face of Vogue Philippines Beauty issue, which also highlights the female gaze, according to the magazine.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Ukrainian military during training in Germany

"Training for Ukrainian Forces is an international effort being conducted in partnership with our coalition partners, who are currently training more than 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers," he said.

The Ukrainian military is being trained across 26 countries. In particular, 4,000 soldiers will complete their training in Germany this month.

"Additional combined-arms training is currently underway at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas in Germany, with two motorized infantry battalions consisting of 1,200 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel," Ryder said.

Ukraine has for months been training soldiers abroad and in Ukraine ahead of a much-anticipated counter-offensive against Russian invasion forces.

Read also: How Ukraines soldiers are mastering NATO weapons in UK

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the aim of the counter-offensive is to liberate Ukrainian territory up to its internationally recognized borders of 1991, which would include the Russian-occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

Meanwhile, Russia has been conducting its own, stuttering offensive over the winter months, reportedly losing thousands of men and hundreds of armored vehicles in assaults along the front line, while making little progress.

In particular, bloody attritional fighting in the Donetsk Oblast city of Bakhmut is thought to have cost Russias Wagner mercenary company thousands of dead and wounded  though Ukraine is also thought to have taken heavy casualties there as well.

Read also: Sweden instructors train Ukrainian conscripts in forest fighting

With the Russian offensive slowly grinding to a halt, Ukraine has been building up fighting forces of modern Western main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, though Kyiv has complained that the equipment has been slow in coming, and Ukraines other pressing need  Western multirole jet fighters  has yet to be met by its military allies.

Meanwhile, Russia has been taking from storage hundreds of T-55 tanks  medium tanks dating from just after the Second World War  which points to the Russian army suffering a serious shortage of armor.

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However, the Russians have also had months to build formidable defensesin the south of Ukraine and along other parts of the front where a Ukrainian counter-offensive might strike, and Western military experts have warned that breaching these will require Ukraine to have modern demining equipment as well as tanks.

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
If you admire the blunt, descriptive simplicity of a movie title like Murder Mystery, then I suppose Murder Mystery 2 is right up your alley. The 2019 original stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston as a working class couple from New York  Nick and Audrey Spitz  who improbably found themselves stumbling into drama and intrigue among the super rich. The sequel reunites Sandler and Aniston once again as the cop and the hairstylist who have since ditched their day jobs to work as private investigators, but with little success. They need a win.

Or as the voice-over explains in the opening montage recap: With business struggling, Nick and Audrey could only pray for a miracle: That someone close to them would be killed. Not to put too fine a point on it! I actually like the winking spirit behind that line: Subtlety be damned! Too bad the movie mistakes frenzied comedy for style or even a point of view.

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The sequel reunites Sandler and Aniston once again. The cop and the hairstylist have since ditched their day jobs to work as private investigators, but with little success. They need a win. Or as the voiceover explains in the opening montage recap: With business struggling, Nick and Audrey could only pray for a miracle: That someone close to them would be killed. Not to put too fine a point on it! I actually like the spirit behind that line: Subtly be damned! Too bad the movie mistakes frenzied comedy for style or even a point of view.

Nick and Audrey are bickering about their professional malaise when  plonk  an all-expenses paid wedding invitation arrives from their old friend Vikram (Adeel Akhtar), the maharaja of the first movie, and theyre off to an exclusive island somewhere for The Most Elaborate Wedding Ever. And wouldnt you know it, mid-party, Viks head of security turns up dead. And then Vik himself is kidnapped.

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Calm down everyone, we do this for a living, Audrey tepidly reassures the crowd, and soon enough a dashing British hostage negotiator in the form of Mark Strong emerges from the sea like a scuba-suited Bond girl and confidently takes over. Except the kidnappers insist on Nick and Audreys involvement, so everyone jets off to Paris to deliver the ransom.

From left: Zurin Villanueva, Jodie Turner-Smith, Kuhoo Verma, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Strong, Adam Sandler and Enrique Arce as Francisco in Murder Mystery 2. (Scott Yamano/Netflix)

If only the Murder Mystery films had any interest in creating characters for anyone to actually play. Or, failing that, at least some halfway funny dialogue to toss around. Screenwriter James Vanderbilts credits include the 2007 thriller Zodiac and a couple of Scream movies, all of which tap into various mystery conventions. Comedy, though, requires a finesse all its own  especially of the violently slapstick variety  and Vanderbilts maximalist instincts dont send up or tweak the whodunit genre so much as reduce it to its lowest common denominator.

Aniston and Sandler seem game for anything. I just wish they were given something. Ding-dongs solving mysteries is a decent premise. But the house style of the movies is more celebrities-delivering-lines rather than its two leads committing to the camp of it all. That wouldnt be such a glaring issue if there were a palpable sense of delight in the way they play off one another as actors to compensate.

Kyle Newacheck directed the first movie. Jeremy Garelick takes over this time out and retains the frenetic pacing. If you squint, you can see the farce buried within. After the initial discovery of the murdered body, Audrey and Nick head back to their lavish hotel suite and barricade themselves inside with heavy furniture. A series of visitors to their room sees them schlepping that furniture back and forth, over and over, and its a funny idea that flounders because its shot and edited with no sense of timing or blocking.

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler jet off to Paris in "Murder Mystery 2. (Scott Yamano/Netflix)

If nothing else, Murder Mystery 2 is consistent with its predecessor, at once expensive (the locations! the star salaries!) and somehow cheap-seeming, with a cacophonous throw it at the wall and see what sticks approach to mystery building. A Bollywood-esque dance number? Sure. Someone hanging precariously off the side of the Eiffel Tower? Why not?

Then again, why single out any one creative choice when it feels like all the choices were made?

Both movies are obvious wealth-aganda. I think there are ways to give audiences that eye candy, wish fulfillment and all-in-good-fun lack of seriousness while also adhering to certain storytelling structures that give whodunits such a satisfying clockwork rhythm. Whereas Murder Mystery 1 & 2 are content to simply drop Nick and Audrey into one exclusive space after another, like floundering extras crashing a season of The White Lotus.

That just might be the selling point.

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Murder Mystery 2  1.5 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: Netflix

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic

nmetz@chicagotribune.com
Christina Aguilera at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

The GLAAD Media Awards were hosted in Beverly Hills, California, on Thursday.

Celebrities like Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Coolidge, and Gabrielle Union attended.

The stars wore a mix of glamorous gowns, standout suits, and daring ensembles.

Chrishell Stause made a fashionable appearance at the GLAAD Media Awards alongside her partner G Flip.

G Flip and Chrishell Stause at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Variety/Getty Images

The "Selling Sunset" star wore an off-the-shoulder, corseted romper with heels and simple jewelry, while G Flip donned white trousers and a matching cropped vest.

Lisa Ann Walter chose a daring corset for her red-carpet moment.

Lisa Ann Walter at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

Her black, semi-sheer corset had metal cups and a matching high-neck piece.

Walter, known for her roles in "The Parent Trap" and "Abbott Elementary," paired the top with a mermaid-style skirt and satin blazer.

Frankie Grande donned a black-and-white outfit with standout detailing.

Frankie Grande at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

He wore a white shirt underneath a cropped blazer, which was adorned with black sequins and hanging crystals on each sleeve.

But his high-waisted slacks were just as unique. The black pants were tied loosely at the waist and had long swaths of tweed on each leg.

Gabrielle Union wore one of the most colorful looks of the night.

Gabrielle Union at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

Her multicolored dress, designed by Moschino, had a high neckline that extended into a hood.

Geena Davis' classic gown had a daring detail.

Geena Davis at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Her black gown was made from velvet, with an asymmetrical neckline, a full pleated skirt, and pockets at the hips.

And when she turned around, you could see that the dress was backless, revealing one side of her torso.

Sarah Michelle Gellar wore countless sequins for the event.

Sarah Michelle Gellar at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Variety/Getty Images

Her sleeveless crop top matched her high-waisted skirt, and her accessories paired perfectly with both.

She wore bedazzled sandals, a matching choker, and carried a gem-encrusted purse.

Raven-Symone and her wife Miranda Maday showed their couple style at the event.

Raven-Symone and Miranda Maday at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Monica Schipper/Getty Images

Whereas Raven wore a green-and-purple blazer with magenta slacks and purple loafers, Maday opted for a structured, sleeveless gown in a gray-toned shade.

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Orville Peck made an appearance in head-to-toe blue garments.

Orville Peck at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

He paired his baby-blue cowboy hat with a flannel trench coat, printed blouse, and sky-blue trousers.

Of course, he also wore his signature mask. This one was a leather piece with two long braids hanging from it.

Christina Aguilera had a stunning sparkle moment on the red carpet.

Christina Aguilera at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Her strapless gown had a deep-V neckline and sparkle-covered bodice, which matched the detachable puffy gloves she wore on each arm.

Its skirt, on the other hand, hugged her body at the waist and extended into a long train on the floor.

Jennifer Coolidge opted for a glamorous dress and shining accessories.

Jennifer Coolidge at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Michael Kovac/Getty Images

Her off-the-shoulder dress had sheer long sleeves and a ruched, form-fitting bodice.

She wore it with a crystal headpiece that sat atop her head with strings of hanging gems.

Read the original article on Insider
Maddie Abuyuan / BuzzFeed News

So Donald Trump got indicted. I know, right?! Its a moment that somehow feels just as shocking as it does inevitable. Its also completely unprecedented, since no US president has ever officially come under criminal charges until now. You probably have some questions about what this all means: What happens next? Could he actually wind up behind bars? Or will ol Donny Trump wriggle his way out of this jam yet again?

We wont lie, we didnt know either. But fortunately, here at BuzzFeed News, its literally our job to ask people questions and find the answers for our readers. So we called up a bunch of experts, and asked them just about every question you may be wondering about (including the maybe-kinda-silly ones), so you dont have to. Youre welcome.

Wait, sorry, start at the beginning. Whats actually happening?

Great question. So Trump got indicted  meaning, he was formally charged with a crime  on Thursday for his part in a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

A little refresher: Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about a sexual relationship she claimed to have had with Trump years earlier. Trump denied ever having sex with Daniels. He also initially denied knowing anything about the payment, but later admitted to reimbursing his personal lawyer Michael Cohen for the amount, though he claimed the expense was unrelated to his campaign (well get into that).

Right, right, that whole thing. But what makes that illegal?

The indictment was filed under seal, so we dont know for sure yet what hes charged with, but its expected to focus on how the payment to Daniels may have been fraudulently documented.

In and of itself, paying Daniels off wouldnt be a crime. But if Trump had falsely logged the transaction  he claimed the payment was covered under Cohens  monthly retainer  fee  that could constitute falsifying business records , which is a misdemeanor under New York state law.

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That charge could be elevated to a felony if prosecutors can show that the records were falsified to conceal criminal wrongdoing  in this case, possibly a violation of campaign finance laws .

So that's basically what the former president is looking at in New York, Cornell law professor Randy Zelin told BuzzFeed News. Its the question of if you falsified the entries in your records, to make it appear that you paid $130,000 in legal fees, when in reality you paid $130,000 to duct tape a porn star's mouth shut.

Cohen has already served time over his role in the hush payment, which he said at his 2018 sentencing he did as an act of  blind loyalty  to Trump. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges of campaign finance fraud, tax evasion, and lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released after just over a year due to concerns with COVID-19 and served the remaining time on house arrest .

Got it. Has Trump said anything about all this yet?

Has he ever. In a statement shortly after the indictment was announced, Trump decried it as Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.

He also called himself a completely innocent person, accused the Democrats of targeting him with a witch-hunt, and slammed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as having been hand-picked and funded by George Soros  a less than subtle nod to an antisemitic conspiracy theory .

Scott Olson / Getty Images

So what happens now?

Heres the wacky thing about ~unprecedented~ times: Theres no damn precedent for them. Even the most preeminent legal minds have about a thousand different opinions on how this could all play out.

I wish I could read the tea leaves, but there are just so many unknowns here that make it very difficult to predict, Cheryl Bader, a professor at the Fordham University School of Law, told BuzzFeed News.

So basically, no one knows anything with 100% surety. No certainties, just vibes.

Will Trump get arrested?

Despite his all-caps social media claim on March 18 that he WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK, Trump was not arrested that day, and he probably wont ever be, at least in the literal sense. In a statement Thursday, Bragg said the DAs office was in touch with Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender, which multiple outlets reported would likely go down Tuesday. His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, previously told the Daily News that Trump would voluntarily surrender, saying there wont be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DAs office.

There is a difference between an arrest and a surrender, Cornell law professor Randy Zelin said. When you are arrested, it's exactly what it sounds like: Your door gets kicked in at 6 o'clock in the morning, [or] you get pulled out of your office in handcuffs. A surrender is where your lawyer arranges for you to walk into the court or the DA's office or a police precinct under your own power.

He would have his fingerprints and mugshot taken, but he probably wouldnt be handcuffed, as is common for a surrender.

Probably is the keyword here, though. According to the Guardian , sources close to Trump have said he wants to show up in handcuffs, apparently to lean into the spectacle of a perp walk. Whether or not hes seriousI guess well see.

Will there be a trial?

Again, gotta reiterate, this has literally never happened before so its hard to say for certainbut according to our legal system, Trumps case should go to trial like any other case would. Thats unless he took some kind of plea deal, of which Trumps lawyer said there was zero chance .

Even so, it wouldnt be quite that simple. First of all, even picking a jury wouldnt be easy, since jurors are expected to be as unbiased as possible, and potential jurors are interviewed ahead of a trial to determine if they hold any preconceptions that could affect their ability to judge a given case objectively. Of course, its hard to picture anyone having no previous awareness or opinions about Trump, so jury selection might take a long time. You can imagine the number of people that will have to be summoned to try to select a fair and impartial jury for a case like that, said Melissa Redmon, University of Georgia law professor and former prosecutor.

Though its hard to imagine what a criminal trial for a former president would look like, one thing is for certain: It would be an absolute circus.

It will look like a regular trial, but it will be like the OJ trial , or the Scopes Monkey Trial , said Norm Eisen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. It will be a trial of the century, with all of the panoply and spectacle.

Socould he go to prison?

He probably wont. But yeah, he could.

As a misdemeanor, falsifying business records can be punished with up to a year behind bars. But if its elevated to a felony, Trump could face up to four years imprisonment.

But in either case, a prison sentence would not be mandatory. A judge could also sentence Trump to probation, a fine, or community service.

But if you had to wager a guess

Legal scholars generally agree that Trump going to prison is very unlikely.

I think there are a lot of hurdles, both legal and political, UCLA professor and election law expert Richard Hasen said. And so I dont think its likely, but I think its possible.

But even if he werent a former president, a prison sentence wouldnt be the norm for someone facing comparable charges. For a nonviolent first offender of his age, probation would be the norm  but I could see why the symbolism here is important to people that Donald Trump is not above the law, said Columbia Law School professor John Coffee.

Thats not the only way the odds are on Trumps side. According to a 2017 University of Iowa study , federal judges were found to frequently sentence well below guidelines for white-collar crimes, which are disproportionately committed by white men, many of whom are wealthy.

I would think it would be highly unlikely, just because of the nature of who we believe deserves that harshest punishment of being incarcerated, Redmon said. You don't see a lot of white-collar defendants going to prison.

Spencer Platt / Getty Images

OK, but if he did. Would it be, like, a normal prison?

Like many convicted of white-collar crime, Trump would probably go to a minimum-security prison. But dont start picturing country clubs  minimum security prisons are still very much prisons.

The biggest difference, I would say, is in the nature of the housing, [which might be] a dorm setting versus a cell setting, Cardozo Law School professor Alexander Reinert said. But your freedom is still severely restricted while you're in the facility.

But on the other hand, a minimum-security prison might not be safe enough for such a prominent person. Though numerous high-profile people have served prison time before, its hard to argue any come close to Trump in terms of reputation (sorry, Martha). Thered be major questions about his security: Would he need to be held in a special unit, separated from the general population? Would the Secret Service come with him?

It'd be easier to provide that kind of security and safety in a higher-security prison, Reinert said.

Since this is a state case, Trump would go to a state facility, which would be chosen by the Department of Corrections. As for the so-called Club Fed facilities where you might picture rich and famous convicts doing time, those are solely for federal crimes, as the tongue-in-cheek nickname implies. Since Cohen was convicted on federal charges, he served his prison sentence in FCI Otisville, which Forbes dubbed one of the cushiest prisons in the US.

Trump couldnt run for president from prison, could he??? COULD HE?!?!

Legally speaking, you bet.

As long as he is over 35, a natural-born citizen of the United States, and a resident for at least 14 years, and has only served as president once, he's eligible to run for a second term, Hasen said.

And Trump himself has said thats the plan. Speaking to reporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this month, the Hill reported, Trump said he wont even think about leaving the race if indicted, adding that probably itll enhance my numbers.

If convicted of a felony, he probably wouldnt be able to vote for himself, though  people who are actively incarcerated are generally ineligible to vote in the US , and only some states allow those convicted of a felony to vote after theyre released.

But could he actually campaign from prison? Well, its happened before. In 1920, Socialist Party candidate Eugene V. Debs won 3.4% of the popular vote from a cell in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, where he was incarcerated on sedition charges for making a speech opposing the World War I draft.

Logistically speaking, its harder to say. He wouldnt be able to do rallies, theres lots of people he wouldnt be able to communicate with, and he wouldnt be able to meet with fundraisers personally, Reinert said. His ability just to communicate with the outside world, even in a minimum security environment, would be significantly restricted  and thats not even to say about what reputational cost it may have. When I think about all the things the typical presidential candidate has to do, you can do almost none of that if youre incarcerated.

Theres also the whole matter of timing. Even if Trump is eventually convicted and sentenced to prison, it would come after a very lengthy trial that has not even begun yet.

If there is going to be a trial of Donald Trump, I doubt that the trial and all the appeals will be concluded before November 2024, Eisen said.

Lets say he won the presidency. Could he then pardon himself?

Not if it was a state conviction  presidential pardons can only be granted for federal crimes.

If he were to be convicted on federal chargesno ones totally sure. Shortly before leaving office, Trump reportedly floated the idea of pardoning himself for potential crimes, the legitimacy of which was the subject of debate by legal scholars. In a 1974 memo , the Department of Justice took the position that a self-pardon would be unconstitutional , but thats not legally binding.

With no legal precedent for such a move, its unclear whether such a pardon would actually hold up. But even if it did, that still wouldnt be the end of his legal troubles. If he pardons himself, maybe he would be impeached for doing so and removed from office for abuse of power, Hasen said.

Trumps in trouble for a bunch of other stuff too, right?

Right indeed  the New York case is just one of several Trump is facing.

In Georgia , a grand jury is investigating Trumps alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. That case is based on a phone call Trump had just days before Bidens inauguration, during which he threatened and berated Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to try and get him to manipulate the states election results in his favor. During their chat, Trump begged him to "find" enough votes to help him win. Shortly after the Washington Post published leaked audio of the call, prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, opened a criminal investigation into attempts to influence the election. In a Truth Social video on March 21, Trump defended the call as absolutely perfect.

At the federal level, Trump is also being investigated for his alleged mishandling of classified documents , as well as for his actions related to the Jan. 6 insurrection and alleged attempts to overturn the election.

So no matter what happens with the New York case, Trump is still in some profound legal jeopardy.

Donald Trump faces the most serious prospect yet  not just of prosecution, but of actual conviction  in his entire half-century-plus career of skirting the edges of the law , Eisen said. This may be the time that he finally falls off.

Mar. 31, 2023, at 18:19 PM

More on this
A delicious lemon dessert should balance the tart, astringent acidity of lemon juice with the sweetness of the sugar its mixed with. Weve got 20 recipes that do just that. Start with a classic, like a batch of these lemon bars from recipe developer (and Carsons wife!) Siri Daly. The base of them is made with a classic combination of powdered sugar, all-purpose flour, butter, vanilla extract and lemon zest. The result is a buttery, slightly crumbly cookie crumb crust that maintains its structural integrity. As for the filling, youll make a thickened lemon curd using eggs, granulated sugar, flour, lemon zest and, most notably, an entire cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Once the bars bake, dust them with powdered sugar, slice and serve.

Once you master this essential lemon dessert, try other popular recipes such as lemon meringue pie (including our foolproof version for beginning bakers!), lemon cupcakes, a lemon layer cake and so much more.

Youll notice that some of these recipes call for Meyer lemons. This variety is smaller than regular Eureka lemons and is prized for its sweet flavor and floral-like aroma. They tend to be harder to find and more expensive, but we highly recommend giving them a try. Feel free to substitute Eureka lemons in recipes that call for Meyer lemons (and vice versa). Because theyre smaller, just know that you may need more of them to yield the right amount of juice.

Celebrate this sunny citrus fruit year-round with our best lemon desserts.

Siri's Lemon Bars by Siri Daly

This zesty dessert is as classic as it gets. A buttery cookie crust serves as the base for these summery bars and the simple filling is made with a combination of sugar, flour, eggs, and the zest and juice of a few lemons. Dust the bars with powdered sugar just before serving for a picture-perfect look.

Lemon Velvet Cake by April Anderson and Shirley Madison

Move aside, red velvet. This lighter and brighter layer cake gets its airy, moist texture from a combination of fine cake flour and buttermilk. As for the flavor, the batter features a combination of lemon and vanilla extracts, while fresh lemon zest is mixed into the frosting.

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Ginger-Lemon Crinkle Cookies by Jocelyn Delk Adams

A holiday classic thats delicious year round, these warm and zesty cookies taste like a perfect cup of tea all in one sweet bite. A trio of ground spices (ginger, cinnamon and cardamom) bring the cozy feels, while the zest of two whole lemons perks up each batch with a bit of brightness.

Mama's Lemon-Lime Soda Cake by Jocelyn Delk Adams

Theres something special about this Bundt cake recipe created by Martha Stewart. Maybe its the nostalgic, fizzy flavor of a can of lemon-lime soda. Or maybe its the fact that its the first cake Martha ever learned how to bake. Both can be true and should inspire you to give it a try too.

Foolproof Extra Lemony Meringue Pie by Ryan Scott

Making a billowy mountain of meringue has a reputation for being an intimidating process. That is, until now. Its nearly impossible to mess up the filling or the fluffy white topping  pinky promise.

Al's Lemon Vanilla Dutch Baby with Blueberry Sauce by Al Roker

Think of a Dutch baby as a giant, free-form puffy pancake. This one has more flavor than the traditional recipe, thanks to a duo of lemon zest and vanilla bean paste, which are folded into the batter, plus a juicy blueberry sauce on top.

Lemon Loaf Cake by Samah Dada

We wont judge if you decide to start your day with a slice of this good-for-you lemon loaf that just so happens to be both gluten- and dairy-free.

Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies by Gaby Dalkin

Baking a batch of these cookies is as easy as classic chocolate chip, but the result is a cookie that tastes like summer.

Martha Stewart's Meyer Lemon Cupcakes by Martha Stewart

Meyer lemons are known for their sweet-floral aroma and less astringent flavor, compared to regular Eureka lemons. If you can get your hands on a few of these prized citrus fruits, stock up and bake a batch of these cupcakes from the lifestyle queen herself.

Lemon Espresso Pie by Maya-Camille Broussard

Lemon and coffee are an unconventional pairing but this magical recipe from pie baker Maya-Camille Broussard proves that it works. A lemon curd filling sits in an espresso-chocolate crumb crust, then the whole thing is topped with made-from-scratch hot fudge.

Lemon Mug Cake by Caroline Choe

Cake for one? This easy single-serve recipe comes together in less than 5 minutes, making it easy to enjoy a freshly baked dessert at the drop of a hat.

Martha Stewart's Lemon Mousse Cake by Martha Stewart

If a layer cake and a lemon meringue pie had a baby, it would be this superstar cake from Martha Stewart. For the best cake texture, use cake flour, which has a lower protein count than all-purpose, thus contributing to light and airy baked goods.

Rosemary-Lemon Pecan Bars by Gail Simmons

If youre not so keen on super sweet desserts, these tart and aromatic bars should hit the spot. A pecan nut crust serves as the base for a rosemary and citrus curd, which is dusted with confectioners sugar just before serving.

Martha Stewart's Meyer-Lemon Shortbread Wreath Cookies by Martha Stewart Living

Bookmark this festive recipe to bake in December. Lemon shortbread cookie dough is rolled out and cut into individual wreaths, which are baked and decorated with a lemon glaze and sugared herbs.

Luscious Limoncello Cake by John Alberti and Tony Alberti

Even though limoncello has plenty of citrusy flavor as is, this recipe calls for even more lemon flavor in the form of both freshly squeezed juice and zest. Mascarpone is used in the batter to create a rich, moist cake and additional tangy notes.

Ginger-lemon creme brulee by

A far cry from classic vanilla bean creme brulee is this lemony situation. To make it, pulse together fresh ginger, sugar and lemon peels in a food processor, then steep with cream until the mixture is smooth and silky.

Buttermilk Pie by B.J. Chester-Tamayo

This classic southern pie calls for buttermilk and lemon juice, which give it its signature flavor. We decided to introduce coconut extract, which compliments the lemon notes in a subtly sweet way.

Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Bread by Ashton Keefe

In between a Bundt cake and a quick bread is this bakery-inspired recipe. We like to use Meyer lemon here due to their floral, aromatic quality, but regular lemons will do in a pinch.

No-Bake Individual Lemon and Raspberry Cheesecake Jars by Elise Strachan

Baking for a crowd can be a feat, but with this simple recipe on hand, itll be both easy and enjoyable. Prepping individual cheesecakes seems like a lot more work than it actually is, which will make you the hosting MVP.

Lemon and Olive Oil Cake with Limoncello Glaze by Anthony Contrino

Take your tastebuds on a trip to Italy with this lemony cake that gets its moistness from high-quality olive oil. We love the sweet, floral quality of limoncello in the glaze but feel free to swap it out for regular lemon juice for a booze-free cake.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
A new study identifies 20 large cities, including Chicago, Pittsburgh and Boston, where the average single-family home is cheaper than the mid-priced condominium.

Apartment and condo dwellers have flocked to more spacious detached homes in the last few years, an era of upsizing defined by the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work.

The pandemic is easing, but remote work has endured. For families spending ever-longer hours in their homes, the nations one- and two-bedroom condos can start to feel cramped.

Houses usually cost more than condos: about $40,000 more, on average, based on February prices, according to Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of real estate research at the National Association of Realtors.

The impulse to flee cramped apartments for houses with yards helped push home prices up 40 percent in two years, with the median price peaking above $450,000 last autumn. Economists predict the condo-to-house trend will continue.

I think that impulse to want a single-family home in a more spacious area is still there for people who are settling down and having kids, especially families in the millennial generation, said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, the real-estate brokerage.

The pandemic changed buyers preferences, and not only for one year, Evangelou said. Hybrid work arrangements may be the new normal, sometimes with one partner commuting to a job while the other works from home. When you dont have enough space, you have to work at your dining table. Nobody wants to go back to that.

Detached homes remain staggeringly expensive in many cities, especially on the West Coast. But median house prices are low in several large, desirable cities to the east.

An analysis published Monday by Point2, a real-estate analyst, studied the 200 largest cities and found 20 where the median-priced single-family house cost less than the mid-priced condo.

In Chicago, the analysis found, the median house costs $295,000; the median condo, $320,000. The median Cleveland house costs $115,000; the median condo, $181,000. A mid-priced house in Des Moines, Iowa, costs $180,000; a condo, $209,000.

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Other cities where houses cost less than condos include Pittsburgh (median house price, $212,000), St. Paul, Minn. ($250,000) and even pricey Boston, where the median house costs $670,000, while the median condo fetches $675,000.

The analysis found dozens of other cities where a single-family house costs more than a condo, but not a lot more.

In Providence, R.I., the median house costs $334,000, just $3,000 more than the average condo. A Kansas City house averages $180,000, only $5,000 more than the mid-priced condo.

Using median income data, the study identified several large cities where the average family could bridge the price gap between condo and house with no more than six months pay. They include Buffalo, N.Y., where the median house costs $198,000; Milwaukee ($175,000), Richmond, Va. ($330,000), and Savannah, Ga. ($271,000).

Miami, New Orleans and Fort Worth, Texas, arent far behind, all with median house prices that fall within $50,000 of the median condo price.

Upsizing comes with tradeoffs. Dense housing, such as condos, tends to get built where land is valuable, Fairweather said, often in upscale neighborhoods with restaurants, nightlife and public transit. On top of that, these condos may be coming with extra amenities that make them more valuable, like a pool or laundry service.

Upsizing is a more realistic option in some housing markets than others. In 16 large cities analyzed by Point2, houses cost at least twice as much as condos. Some of the priciest markets lie in affluent suburbs with high land values.

In Pembroke Pines, Fla., part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale sprawl, the median house costs $580,000, more than twice as much as the average condo.

In Naperville, the Chicago suburb, the median home fetches $496,000; the median condo, $217,000.

In Arlington, Va., outside the District of Columbia, the median house price has reached $1.1 million. Condos average $415,000.

And in Irvine, California, home to a University of California campus, the median house price is $2 million. The average condo costs half as much: a cool $1 million.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A $5 dollar scratch-off ticket, purchased on a whim, shocked Melissa Corano-Juarez, of Charlotte, with a $200,000 prize, the N.C. Education Lottery announced Thursday.

RELATED: Mint Hill man enjoys $2 million scratch-off win

I was thinking maybe I was going to win 50 bucks, 100 bucks max, she told lottery officials.

Corano-Juarez found a much bigger prize when she got home and checked the ticket.

I just scratched it off and it said $200,000, so I was just in complete shock, she said, I just started shaking and I was really happy.

Corano-Juarez, 21, bought her Ice scratch-off at the Raceway Amoco on Lyles Lane in Concord. She said the big win also shocked her family.

I told them and they thought I was playing around until I showed them the actual ticket, she said.

Corano-Juarez visited lottery headquarters in Raleigh Wednesday to collect her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $142,501. She plans to put the money in savings.

The Ice game debuted in December with six top prizes of $200,000. After Corano-Juarezs win, four top prizes remain.

VIDEO: Florida man bags $1M lottery prize: I havent even told my wife yet
Holmes County Board of Elections Director Lisa Welch looks over the affidavit available for voters who do not have a photo ID because of religious beliefs.

MILLERSBURG  As Ohios primary approaches, a strict new photo ID requirement is stirring concerns among older voters, military veterans, out-of-state college students and in Amish communities, such as Holmes County.

Commissioner Joe Miller wonders about the impact of House Bill 458, which was designed to respond to conservative voters unsettled by unfounded claims of widespread fraud and persistent conspiracy theories over the accuracy of U.S. elections.

"We've got about 20,000 Amish people in our community and more and more are voting," Miller said. "A third of our voters are Amish, and we want to get more and more of them registered."

Road safety in Amish Country: Buggy, bikes lanes, new trails sought for Wayne, Holmes counties

According to a story from the Associated Press, of the 35 states that request or require a photo ID to vote, Ohio is now the ninth Republican-controlled state to move to a strict law allowing few to no alternatives.

The change adds passports as valid ID, but eliminates nonphoto documentation such as a bank statement, government check or utility bill for registration and in-person voting. Military IDs also are no longer acceptable when registering to vote.

With nearly one-third of the 18,072 registered Holmes County voters being Amish (based on estimates from the 2020 Amish Directory that is published every five years), Miller believes voting may be more difficult for many locals, particularly Amish sects that stand against having their pictures taken.

However, according to Wayne Wengerd, an Amish man who serves as director of the Ohio Steering Committee, he has not had any reports from within the Amish communities of Holmes and Wayne counties of potential problems with the new law. Wengerd does not believe it will be a problem.

Wendy Weiser, vice president for democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice, said the new Ohio law undercuts the Republican narrative about the state having a record of clean and well-run elections.

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Ohio election officials have long been adamant that this wasnt needed, that Ohio had a good system for vetting and rooting out any fraud and the proof was in the pudding, she said.

Republican state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, a supporter of the law, said the change will make it harder to cheat.

It already has led to frustration and confusion, in part because of the fast-approaching state primary on May 2.

Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose ordered counties to begin implementing the fast-tracked law so it would be in effect for the primary, though its start date falls within the early voting period. Waiting until fall, LaRose said, would result in a clear violation of Ohio law.

What happens at the polls if voters don't have a photo ID?

The Affidavit of Religious Objection will enable voters who do not have a photo ID to register for voting.

According to LaRose's office, if a voter does not have a photo ID because of a religious objection to being photographed, the precinct election official or board staff must provide a state form.

Rob Nichols, communications officer, explained an Amish voter would fill out the Affidavit of Religious Objection form, including their name, signature and last four digits of their Social Security number.

The elections board will then check with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to make sure the voter does not have a photo ID. The vote is cast provisionally, and once there is confirmation of no photo ID, the vote is counted.

"That all happens in the few days after Election Day," Nichols said. "A little wrinkle, in that early voting starts Apr. 4, and the free ID that will be offered by the state does not go online until April 7, so a voter can't get a free photo ID for the first three days.

"Starting April 7, anyone (without a driver's license) can go into their BMV and get their free state ID; and if they have a religious exemption to their photo being taken, they can get one without their photo on it, and that can be used to vote or to register to vote. There is a path for whatever they choose."

Meanwhile, a legal challenge to the law by a Democratic law firm remains unresolved. The lawsuit alleges the law creates needless discriminatory burdens, including by requiring photo IDs, making it harder to correct minor mistakes on ballots and restricting mail balloting.

Veterans organizations and county recorders, particularly in the populous, Democratic-leaning counties that include Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati, have been vocal about the law excluding county-issued veteran photo IDs, though it does allow military IDs, to vote. They cost less and are valid longer  10 years  than a drivers license.

People find reasons to fix something that doesnt need to be fixed, said Larry Anderson, 85, a veteran from Columbus who has found the veteran ID card a convenience. Veterans could come back from the wars and not have a drivers license and not drive a car, and it just creates more problems for them.

This chart breaks down how the new photo ID requirement established in House Bill 458 will work. Note that requirements for casting a ballot by mail have not changed.

Concerns about the impact on Election Day

Lindsey Bohrer, assistant director of communications for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, said her office is in constant communication with groups from Amish communities to help keep them updated on requirements to obtain a state identification card.

"We work with a central member of the community who disseminates forms and materials to the regional churches," Bohrer said.

Even though supporters of House Bill 456 say the religious exception affidavit will be easy to use, Holmes County Board of Elections Director Lisa Welch is worried that confusion and extra paperwork could add to the workloads of already stressed boards of elections.

My biggest concern is the first time through, we get a whole bunch of provisionals (that must be processed separately later), she said. Im the only full-time person in the office right now, and we cant do everything.

Miller fears the new process could deter some voters.

I want honest voting, I understand that, but a lot of the Amish dont have the photo ID and wont do a photo ID, he said. So what the Amish do usually  theyre pacifists, they dont fight anybody  they just walk away.

Welch expects delays if there is an influx of provisional ballots this election.

"If a voter comes into a polling place, and you've got everybody flowing through the line, and all of a sudden you've got stop for a provisional, it kind of slows the line down," she said. "They've got to move over to the side, then the poll workers have to take the person back in once they've completed the form."

The elections board also has to handle that ballot, scan it, enter the data into the computer and verify them.

"It takes a lot more work to do a provisional ballot, as far as hands-on, than an absentee ballot," Welch said. "If we can get more people to use absentee ballots, that would be the simplest way to solve this problem."

Welch noted Holmes County generally has between 30 and 50 provisional ballots during a typical election, with around 150 for a presidential election. She expects the new law will create at least 200 or more.

"I think it will get better as time goes on, because if people get the state ID and are using the absentee ballots, we won't have to worry so much about the provisionals," Welch said. "We're kind of behind the eight ball because first of all, we don't know how many provisional envelope supplies to have available at each voting precinct."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: New voter ID law in Ohio could impact Amish voters
The field of declared and prospective 2024 Republican presidential candidates on Thursday decried the indictment of former President Donald Trump on criminal charges for his alleged role in organizing hush money payments made to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign.

Trump is one of a handful of declared GOP candidates running for the White House in 2024, with several others mulling a bid of their own.

Heres what those other Republicans had to say about Trumps indictment.

Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, perhaps Trumps most formidable possible challenger in the 2024 race, called Trumps indictment un-American and said the state would not assist in any extradition request. He did not mention Trump by name.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American, DeSantis, who is seen as Trumps top rival in a potential 2024 GOP primary, tweeted after news of the indictment broke.

The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent, DeSantis continued, adding that Florida would not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue.

Trump is a Florida resident, but his attorneys have indicated he will turn himself in. He is scheduled to be arraigned next week.

DeSantis has not declared his candidacy, but is expected to do so in the coming months.

A Fox News poll published Wednesday showed Trump drawing 54 percent in a GOP primary field, with DeSantis next closest at 24 percent.

Nikki Haley

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has declared her 2024 candidacy, posted on Twitter that the case is more about revenge than it is about justice, linking back to a Fox News interview she conducted last week.

From everything Ive seen from this New York district attorney, this is something hed be doing for political points, Haley said in the clip. And I think what we know is when you get into political prosecutions like this its more about revenge than it is about justice, and I think the country would be better off talking about things the American public cares about.

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Haley also previously served as Trumps ambassador to the United Nations.

She launched her campaign in February and has focused largely on what she says is the need for a new generation of leadership in the Republican Party.

Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday called a Manhattan grand jurys decision to indict former President Trump an outrage.

The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage, Pence said on CNN. And it appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution thats driven by a prosecutor who literally ran for office on a pledge to indict the former president.

Asked by CNNs Wolf Blitzer whether Trump should be disqualified from being the 2024 presidential nominee or drop out of the race, Pence said its a long way to that decision.

I promise to answer that question if that approaches, Pence said, adding that he did not want to talk about hypotheticals.

Sen. Tim Scott

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), whos also been widely been floated as a 2024 challenger, slammed Trumps indictment in a statement saying, this pro-criminal New York DA has failed to uphold the law for violent criminals, yet weaponized the law against political enemies.

This is a travesty and it should not be happening in the greatest country on Earth. The presumption of innocence is central to our legal system, yet is selectively discarded by those on the far left today, he said. As I travel the country, I hear from families starving for truth. Theyre starving for hope.



They want the rules to apply to everyone, the South Carolina Republican added.

Asa Hutchinson

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R ) urged caution in reacting to the news, but called it a dark day for the country.

It is a dark day for America when a former President is indicted on criminal charges. While the grand jury found credible facts to support the charges, it is important that the presumption of innocence follows Mr. Trump, Hutchinson said in a statement.

We need to wait on the facts and for our American system of justice to work like it does for thousands of Americans every day, he continued Finally, it is essential that the decision on Americas next President be made at the ballot box and not in the court system. Donald Trump should not be the next President, but that should be decided by the voters.

Hutchinson has been critical of the former president in the past, calling a Trump 2024 bid a worst case scenario.

Glenn Youngkin

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R ) echoed many of his fellow Republicans in reacting to the news, calling the move to indict Trump politicized.

It is beyond belief that District Attorney Alvin Bragg has indicted a former President and current presidential candidate for pure political gain. Arresting a presidential candidate on a manufactured basis should not happen in America, Youngkin wrote on Twitter.

The lefts continued attempts to weaponize our judicial system erode peoples faith in the American justice system and it needs to stop, he added.

It is unclear whether Youngkin will launch a presidential bid, however he has been floated by many in the GOP as a potential contender.

Mike Pompeo

Mike Pompeo, Trumps former secretary of State and CIA director, who has traveled to early primary states as he mulls a 2024 bid, did not mention the former president at all in his statement, instead focusing his ire on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The Manhattan DA is undermining Americas confidence in our legal system, Pompeo posted on Twitter. Bragg is the same Soros-funded prosecutor who refuses to prosecute violent crimes and who has downgraded more than half of all felonies to misdemeanors.

Prosecuting serious crimes keeps Americans safe, but political prosecutions put the American legal system at risk of being viewed as a tool for abuse, Pompeo continued. DA Bragg  spend taxpayers money and your energy protecting law-abiding citizens. Not playing politics.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and declared 2024 candidate, called the charges against Trump politically motivated and warned it could accelerate political polarization across the country.

This is wrong. This is dangerous. Were skating on thin ice as a country right now. I think we may be headed on our way to a national divorce, Ramaswamy said in a video posted on social media.

He suggested that competitors in the 2024 GOP primary field should come together and make it clear that it should be up to the voters to decide who the partys nominee is in 2024.

Ramaswamy called on those who may want to protest to do it peacefully and do it lawfully. The comments came after Trump earlier this month urged supporters to protest a potential indictment and later warned if charges were filed, it would bring death and destruction.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
EXCLUSIVE: A coalition of 21 state attorneys general sent a stark warning to dozens of financial institutions and asset managers, warning them against pursuing woke environmental and social initiatives.

In a letter sent Thursday to 53 of the nation's largest financial institutions, which collectively manage trillions of dollars worth of assets, the attorneys general threatened to take legal action if the firms veer from the best interests of their clients while pushing social priorities. The effort, led by Montana, Utah and Louisiana, comes ahead of proxy season during which most companies hold annual shareholder meetings where they vote on key policy initiatives.

"This ESG nonsense is filtering into a lot of our states and the way they're doing it is really, really concerning and probably flagrantly illegal," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told Fox News Digital in an interview. "Pushing it through these asset managers and through these proxy votes is extremely concerning."

"The message is: 'Stay in your lane and do what you're supposed to do. You have a fiduciary obligation under our various states laws to maximize investment. That's your job. That's what you're supposed to be doing. We're aware of state law and if it needs be, we will defend our state pensioners against anything outside that lane.'"

REPUBLICAN STATES ARE PLANNING AN ALL-OUT ASSAULT ON WOKE BANKS: 'WE WONT DO BUSINESS WITH YOU'

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry led the effort on Thursday.

The letter, first obtained by Fox News Digital, stated that in recent years large asset managers, which hold majority stakes in major publicly-traded companies, have used client assets to change companies' behavior to align with so-called environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Critics  including attorneys general, state treasurers, the energy industry and consumer advocacy groups  have accused ESG-focused asset managers of sidestepping their legally-mandated fiduciary duty of looking out for the wellbeing of clients whose money they manage.

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25 STATES HIT BIDEN ADMIN WITH LAWSUIT OVER CLIMATE ACTION TARGETING AMERICANS' RETIREMENT SAVINGS

"You are  not only bound to follow the general laws discussed above but also have extensive responsibilities under both federal and state laws governing securities," Knudsen and the other attorneys general stated in the letter. "Broadly, those laws require you to act as a fiduciary, in the best interests of your clients and exercising due care and loyalty."

"Simply put, you are not the same as political or social activists and you should not be allowing the vast savings entrusted to you to be commandeered by activists to advance non-financial goals," it continued.

Protesters demonstrate outside the BlackRock headquarters in New York City during the company's annual shareholders meeting in 2022.

The attorneys general took particular issue with ESG practices that push aggressive climate policies which opponents have argued would hamper the fossil fuel industry and increase consumer energy prices.

The letter Thursday highlighted that asset managers participate in Climate Action 100+ and have joined the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM). The two associations require members to make certain climate commitments.

LOUISIANA DIVESTS FROM BLACKROCK OVER ESG POLICIES: 'WOULD DESTROY LOUISIANAS ECONOMY'

For example, the NZAM requires members to "accelerate the transition towards global net zero emissions and for asset managers to play our part to help deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement." NZAM members also commit to implement "a stewardship and engagement strategy, with a clear escalation and voting policy, that is consistent with [their] ambition for all assets under management to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner."

And the Climate Action 100+ initiative seeks commitments from boards and senior management to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain" via net zero commitments.

"None of this is financially defensible," the attorneys general stated in their letter. "Instead, it is a transparent attempt to push policies through the financial system that cannot be achieved at the ballot box."

Knudsen added that he was concerned ESG policies would ultimately harm Montana residents by reducing their energy options and hiking prices.

"Montana's a northern state. It gets really, really cold," he told Fox News Digital. "We can't heat our homes with rainbows and fairy dust. That's basically what we're talking about here when we're talking about solar or wind power. When it's 40 below in February in Montana, the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow."

"We've got a million people to keep warm. So, we have to have reliable energy," he said. "And Montana is an energy producing state. We do produce oil, we do produce natural gas, and we do produce some of the highest quality coal in the world. So, I mean, to me, that's a no-brainer."

Knudsen noted that New York-based BlackRock, one of the asset managers addressed in the letter, owns a 25% stake in NorthWestern Energy, Montana's largest regulated utility company.

BlackRock, which alone manages more than $8.5 trillion, has explicitly leveraged client funds to push green transition policies to combat global warming. In 2021, the firm's CEO Larry Fink said that pension funds, foundations and endowments "should have a loud voice with [fossil fuel] companies to move forward."

The letter Thursday also warned against taking certain actions promoting race and gender quotas or abortion. More than 20 abortion-related proxy measures have been proposed this year, more than every other year combined, according to the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow.

In addition to BlackRock, the letter was sent to Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Invesco, JP Morgan, State Street and dozens of other asset managers.
Margot Robbie, Matthew Lillard and Ewan McGregor all make the cut (Warner Bros/LucasFilm)

There is, its fair to say, nothing more important to the movies than actors.

The right performance can tip a film into the realm of greatness; a bad one can doom an otherwise promising project to mediocrity or ridicule.

What would There Will Be Blood be without Daniel Day-Lewis at its centre? Would The Godfather still sparkle without Al Pacino and Marlon Brando?

These are not questions anyone is keen to know the answer to. The best performances are irreplaceable; they are key to the very essence of cinema.

But what happens when one good performance isnt enough to save a film? When a terrific performance is wasted on a substandard story?

From Anthony Hopkins to Leonardo DiCaprio, many of the finest actors working today have lent their talents to inferior projects. Sometimes they simply phone it in, but other times, they manage to shine despite the material.

Heres The Independents list of 23 secretly brilliant performances in bad films...

Phillip Seymour Hoffman  Along Came Polly (2004)

The late, great Phillip Seymour Hoffman was that rarest of things; an actor who brought depth to even the flimsiest of roles, from The Hunger Games Plutarch Heavensby to Mission: Impossible IIIs villainous Owen Davian. The critically lambasted romcom Along Came Polly may be the best example of this, however, as Hoffman delivering a coruscating comic turn that stole not just a scene but the whole film from under Ben Stiller and Jennifer Anistons noses.

Margot Robbie  Suicide Squad (2016)

One of the worst blockbusters in living memory, David Ayers supervillain dirge Suicide Squad was met with unanimous damnation from the critical community. Reviews were also unanimous, however, in their praise for Margot Robbies performance, with the Australian star later reprising the role in two subsequent movies.

Tom Hanks  The Ladykillers (2004)

The Ladykillers is rightfully considered the nadir of the Coen brothers otherwise pretty miraculously consistent filmography. But thats not at all down to Tom Hanks, who compellingly reinvented a role so brilliantly inhabited by Alec Guinness in the classic Ealing original. Unctuous, erudite and deeply sinister, the felonious band leader is a far cry from any other character Hanks has tackled; he devours the Coens typically sardonic dialogue with a grin.

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A not-so-serious man: Tom Hanks as Professor Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr in The Ladykillers' (Buena Vista Pictures)

James McAvoy  Split (2016)

M Night Shyamalans pulpy multiple-personality horror Split had plenty of issues, but James McAvoys showstopper performance wasnt one of them. Playing, essentially, eight characters in one is a tough task to pull off, but McAvoy manages it with theatrical aplomb.

Kristen Stewart  American Ultra (2015)

Though Kristen Stewart has been in a few of the best films of the last 10 years, shes still had her fair share of misfires. The 2015 stoner-thriller American Ultra was inarguably a misfire, as she played the girlfriend and handler of Jesse Eisenbergs amnesiac government sleeper agent. Its a bad film that never lives up to its larger-than-life premise, but Stewart turns in some remarkably good work here.

Peter Dinklage  Pixels (2015)

Theres almost nothing good to say about this insipid Adam Sandler video game comedy from 2015. But what little there is exclusively concerns Game of Thrones Peter Dinklage, who turns in an incongruously funny performance as obnoxious video game champion Eddie "The Fireblaster" Plant.

Peter Dinklage in the insipid 2015 gamer comedy Pixels' (Sony)

Thomas Hayden Church  Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Probably the worst Spider-Man film to ever grace cinemas, Sam Raimis trilogy capper was a torrid mess of plotlines, too many villains and bad haircuts. The films only sincere pathos comes from Thomas Hayden Church, who manages to somehow survive the carnage with his head held high, playing the tragically fated Flint Marko, AKA Sandman.

John C Reilly  Kong: Skull Island (2017)

On paper, Kong: Skull Island should have been a blast. It had a solid cast (including Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, and John Goodman), an intriguing premise (King Kong during the Vietnam War) and the 104ft ape we all know and love. But the film was a major disappointment. The only saving grace was John C Reilly, whose brief appearance as a WWII pilot stranded on Skull Island after his plane was shot down felt like it was from another film entirely.

Uma Thurman  Batman & Robin (1997)

Uma Thurman knew how to pitch her performance better than anyone else in this despised 1997 superhero flick. In the role of fern fatale Poison Ivy, Thurman gives a performance of enjoyable camp extremity. To quote Janet Maslin in her contemporaneous review for the New York Times: As played by Uma Thurman, Poison Ivy is perfect, flaunting great looks, a mocking attitude and madly flamboyant disguises. Like Mae West, she mixes true femininity with the winking womanliness of a drag queen.

Uma Thurman as Dr Pamela Isley, AKA Poison Ivy, in Batman & Robin' (Warner Bros)

Michelle Pfieffer  Grease 2 (1982)

The original Grease has not endured the ravages of time with a whole lot of grace, and its reviled 1982 sequel has fared even worse. Nevertheless, Grease 2 had one living, breathing redeeming quality: its 23-year-old newcomer star Michelle Pfieffer, whose charisma and talents survived the stink of the whole schlocky affair.

Alan Rickman  Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Kevin Costner may have failed to set Sherwood Forest alight with his role in the ropey Robin Hood adaptation Prince of Thieves, but the same cant be said for his co-star Alan Rickman. The Die Hard star gave an outstanding performance as the nefarious Sheriff of Nottingham. Was Rickman playing to type? Well, yes, but there was pretty much no one better at doing what he does here.

Martin Freeman  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Forged in the afterglow of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jacksons Hobbit prequels were doomed to live in the shadow of their predecessors. But not many people were ready for quite how bad they were. Look past the dodgy CGI and over-egged plotting, however, and Martin Freeman was an inspired choice as a young Bilbo Baggins: no-one plays a genial, put-upon everyman (or should that be everyhobbit?) quite like him.

Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' (New Line Cinema)

Max von Sydow  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

This skin-crawling 9/11 drama was criticised upon its release for being exploitative and trying to milk sentiment from real-life tragedy. Max Von Sydows performance was spared the knives, however, with the legendary Swedish actor giving a moving  and wordless  turn as an elderly renter. His efforts didnt go unacknowledged, and von Sydow was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Phil Hartman  Jingle All the Way (1996)

Barring a few notable exceptions (such as The Simpsons and NewsRadio), the late Phil Hartman pretty much made a career out of radically outshining his co-stars. During his eight-year stint on Saturday Night Live, a low period for the shows reputation, Hartman was known as the glue. He didnt manage to hold all the cracks in the wretched holiday comedy Jingle All the Way together, but he was nonetheless an enjoyable, consistently funny presence, playing Arnold Schwarzeneggers smarmy neighbour.

Leonardo DiCaprio  The Great Gatsby (2013)

Baz Luhrmann was always an odd choice to adapt F Scott Fitzgeralds literary classic; his brand of cinema is one of bombast and flash. While Tobey Maguire was a pretty drab Nick Carraway, and the usually brilliant Carey Mulligan underwhelming as Daisy Buchannan, DiCaprio was perfectly cast as Gatsby, striking the right balance of insecurity, bluster and poignancy.

Boats against the current: DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby' (Warner Bros)

Anthony Hopkins  Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

For an actor of the highest calibre, Anthony Hopkins has still been known to phone it in from time to time; when he receives a script, he reportedly marks certain pages with the letters NAR (No Acting Required). Hed have been forgiven for just dialling it in for this dismal Transformers sequel, but instead, hes unnecessarily compelling, playing a sagacious astronomer whos studied the history of Transformers.

Oscar Isaac  Sucker Punch (2011)

Even by director Zack Snyders own standards, Sucker Punch was something of a spiky, unpleasant misstep. The film, a fantasy about a woman who tries to escape a mental institution through a series of fantasy worlds, was savaged by critics. Oscar Isaac, not yet a name movie star, acquitted himself shockingly well, however, playing a despicable orderly at the facility.

Adam Driver  Star Wars: Episode IX  The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Theres much to detest about the final film in the so-called Skywalker Saga, from the dialogue and the lazy fan pandering, to the way in which it all but abandoned story arcs previously given to characters like Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran). Though his masked villain, Kylo Ren, is rushed through a slipshod redemption-by-numbers story, Adam Driver doesnt stop turning in good work, however. The force was certainly weak with this one, but Driver emerged from the wreckage with his reputation utterly unscathed.

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker' (LucasFilm)

Ewan McGregor  Star Wars: Episode III  Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Driver wasnt the only actor who valiantly struggled to provide a good performance in a thoroughly bad Star Wars film. Ewan McGregors work as Obi-Wan Kenobi came under scrutiny throughout the first two of George Lucass maligned prequels, but by the third, he had well and truly found his footing.

Michael K Williams  Assassins Creed (2016)

Even by the metric of video game adaptations, Assassins Creed was capital-b Bad. Usually bankable actors like Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard were histrionic and laughable here; the plot and characterisation almost defy belief. But in the midst of this is The Wires Michael K Williams, delivering a typically classy turn as a Haitian Assassin called Moussa.

Florence Pugh  Black Widow (2021)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has lured a number of elite actors to its shores, from veterans like Robert Redford and Michael Keaton to younger stars like Michael B Jordan and Zendaya. In terms of up-and-comers, there are few better than Florence Pugh, who appeared as Yelena in the otherwise dreary 2021 blockbuster Black Widow. Pugh makes the films lead, Scarlett Johansson, pale in comparison, but the materials simply not up to snuff.

Matthew Lillard  Scooby Doo (2002)

Say what you will about the puerile 2002 movie adaptation of the classic kids cartoon Scooby-Doo, but you cant really fault the casting. Linda Cardellini, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr are all well-suited to the roles of Velma, Daphne and Fred respectively, but theyre not a patch on Matthew Lillard (Scream; Twin Peaks: The Return), whose big, swing-for-the-fences performance as the feckless slacker Shaggy Rogers is a masterclass in understanding the assignment.

Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers in Scooby-Doo: The Movie' (Warner Bros)

Raul Julia  Street Fighter (1994)

The Addams Familys incomparable Raul Julia died tragically in 1994 at the age of 54, having suffered a stroke. While it may seem like a shame for his final major film to be as shoddy an effort as Street Fighter, Raul Julias performance in it is nothing short of a cult sensation. Playing the villainous M Bison, Julia is laugh-out-loud funny, a wonderful foil for a set of unworthy adversaries.
Officers in Iowa are searching for a man accused of fatally shooting a 26-year-old mother in a parking lot, police say.

The Ford Dodge Police Department said its officers were dispatched to a residential area around 10 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, after receiving multiple reports of shots fired.

First responders found the woman unresponsive. They began life-saving efforts, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, police said in a March 31 news release.

She was identified as Nicole Reza, of Fort Dodge, and social media posts indicate she was a mother to young boys.

You put people first and you are a loving mother to your children & family & relationship, Jesse Montes said in a Facebook post.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Adarius Clayton, who has been charged with murder, according to police. He is considered armed and dangerous, police said.

The relationship between Reza and Clayton is unclear. Police did not state a motive for the killing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Ford Dodge police at 515-573-1424.

I have such a burning hate for who did this & I pray that her babies and her family find peace, one loved said in a Facebook post. She did not deserve this and neither did they.

Fort Dodge is about 95 miles northwest of Des Moines.
NEW YORK  Former President Donald Trump will be arraigned Tuesday after his indictment in Manhattan, his formal surrender and arrest presenting the historic, shocking scene of a former U.S. commander in chief forced to stand before a judge.

Court officials confirmed the timing on Friday. When Trump turns himself in, hell be booked mostly like anyone else facing charges, mugshot and all. But he isnt expected to be put in handcuffs, hell have Secret Service protection and will almost certainly be released that day.

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As Trump and his lawyers prepared for his defense, the prosecutor in his hush money case defended the grand jury investigation that propelled him toward trial while congressional Republicans painted it all as politically motivated.

We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote to three Republican House committee chairs Friday in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

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The case is plunging the U.S. into uncharted legal waters, with Trump the first former president ever to face an indictment. And the political implications could be huge ahead of next years presidential election. Trump is actively campaigning for a third term and has said the case against him could hurt that effort  though his campaign is already raising money by citing it.

Top Republicans also have begun closing ranks around him. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to use congressional oversight to probe Bragg. Reps. James Comer, Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil, the committee chairs whom Bragg addressed in his letter, have asked the district attorneys office for grand jury testimony, documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department.

Trumps indictment came after a grand jury probe into hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign to squelch allegations of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and denounced the investigation as a scam, a persecution, an injustice. He argues that it is specifically designed to damage his 2024 presidential run. Within hours of the news breaking on Thursday, his campaign was noting the development in fundraising emails.

Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said during TV interviews Friday he would very aggressively challenge the legal validity of the Manhattan grand jury indictment. Trump himself, on his social media platform, trained his ire about what he calls a political persecution on a new target: the judge expected to handle the case.

Since no current or former president had ever been charged with a crime, theres no rulebook for booking the defendant. Indeed, Trump was asked to surrender Friday, but his lawyers said the Secret Service, which protects him as a former president, needed more time to make security preparations, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Braggs office said it had contacted Trumps lawyer to coordinate a surrender. Ahead of the courts announcement of the arraignment date, Trumps attorney, Joseph Tacopina, said that Tuesday was the likely date for Trump to turn himself in.

When Trump goes into custody he isnt expected to be put in handcuffs, according to a person familiar with the matter. Secret Service agents will escort him through the booking process at the Manhattan district attorneys office, but prosecutors have no plans to shackle Trumps hands, the person said.

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For weeks, court officials and representatives from the district attorneys office, the New York Police Department and U.S. Secret Service have been discussing logistics and planning for a Trump indictment. The person could not publicly discuss details of the preparations, and thus spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Trump will be fingerprinted, a mug shot will be taken, investigators will complete arrest paperwork and do a check to see if he has any outstanding criminal charges or warrants. That all happens away from the public.

The former president would then appear before a judge for an afternoon arraignment.

Even for defendants who turn themselves in, answering criminal charges in New York generally entails at least several hours of detention while being fingerprinted, photographed, and going through other procedures.

The investigation dug into six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both claim to have had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics; he denies having sexual liaisons with either woman.

As Trump ran for president in 2016, his allies paid the women to bury their allegations. The publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer paid McDougal $150,000 for rights to her story and sat on it, in an arrangement brokered by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

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After Cohen himself paid Daniels $130,000, Trumps company reimbursed him, added bonuses and logged the payments to Cohen as legal expenses.

Federal prosecutors argued  in a 2018 criminal case against Cohen  that the payments equated to illegal aid to Trumps campaign. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation charges, but federal prosecutors didnt go after Trump, who was then in the White House. However, some of their court filings obliquely implicated him as someone who knew about the payment arrangements.

The New York indictment came as Trump contends with other investigations that could have grave legal consequences.

In Atlanta, prosecutors are considering whether he committed any crimes when trying to get Georgia officials to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss there to Joe Biden.

At the federal level, a Justice Department-appointed special counsel also is investigating Trumps efforts to unravel the national election results. Additionally, the special counsel is examining how and why Trump held onto a cache of top secret government documents at his Florida club and residence, Mar-a-Lago, and whether the ex-president or his representatives tried to obstruct the probe into those documents.

Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz in New York and Colleen Long, Michael Balsamo and Farnoush Amiri contributed from Washington.
Humberto Eladio Real Suarez, a Cuban exile who served 28 years in prison in Cuba after attempting an armed incursion into the country from Miami in 1994 from Miami, was freed this week..

It has not been easy. I have endured it with a lot of patience and thank God my parents were always by my side, he told independent news outlet Cubanet in his first public statement after his release from a prison facility in Matanzas province. Thank God, above all things, who is with us in this daily struggle to see Cuba free and democratic.

In Miami, his daughter, Lizandra Real, 34, was thrilled with the news.

I am so happy. I havent talked to him in several years; I cried a lot, she said. My father is my hero.

Real Suarez, 55, was just 26 when he disembarked with another six Cuban exiles in Caibarien, in central Cuba, with plans to foster an insurgency and fight Fidel Castro in the Escambray mountains.

The men were quickly arrested on Oct 15., 1994, and the islands authorities said they had seized several weapons the group was carrying, including AK-47, AR-15 and M-14 rifles.

Real Suarez was accused of murdering a man and taking his car soon after they reached the island. He was sentenced to death by firing squad on April 1996. The other exiles were sentenced to 30 years in prison.

At the time, his mother pleaded with Castro in a letter, asking the islands ruler to spare her sons life.

He was educated in revolutionary Cuba where he often heard that armed struggle is the only option to achieve the liberation of a people, she said. You and those who support you can argue that Cuba is now free, but my son doesnt think so. He did not say a word of repentance, not even when it could have spared him the death [sentence].

Under international pressure for the frequent use of the death sentence, the Cuban Supreme Court commuted his sentence to 30 years in prison in 2010, when it also revised other cases of people accused of violent acts against the government.

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Shortly after Castro took power in 1959, many fellow guerrilla members who felt betrayed by his turn towards communism took arms in the Escambray mountains to try to overthrow him. After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, several exile groups also tried over the years to foster an armed insurrection with little success. Real Suarezs group was one of the last that attempted it.

He was considered among the political prisoners who had served the longest in the Western Hemisphere.

In Miami, where many organizations advocated for his freedom, news of his release was received with joy. Some Cuban exiles gathered around the monument to the 2506 Brigade, the Cuban exiles who fought in the Bay of Pigs, to celebrate.

In a statement Friday, the Assembly of Resistance called him a patriot and a brave Cuban who had returned to the island to fight for the freedom of Cuba.

The motherland looks at you in pride, the organization said, quoting Cubas national anthem.

Real Suarez told Cubanet that during his imprisonment, he feared for his family. Now, he wants to return to the United States to reunite with his daughter, who had to emigrate to the United States when she was 20 because of government harassment, she said. She was living in Cuba and was just five when her father got arrested.

Here in Cuba, they accused me of being a terrorist, which I am not,  Real Suarez said. I do not intend to be in Cuba; I intend to travel to the land of freedom, to the United States, and take all my family with me.
Authorities announced Thursday that arrests had been made in the assault and robbery of popular rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine earlier this month at a Palm Beach County LA Fitness, CBS Miami reported.

The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office identified those arrested as Rafael Medina Jr., 43, Octavious Medina, 23, and Anthony Maldonado, 25.

Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, had to be hospitalized after the beating that took place inside the facility's steam room, according to video posted on social media and police.

Rapper Daniel Hernandez, known as Tekashi 6ix9ine, performs in Milan, Italy, Sept. 21, 2018. / Credit: Luca Bruno / AP

The rapper suffered facial cuts during the assault, his attorney, Lance Lazzaro, told news outlets.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said in a written statement that the assault occurred at the LA Fitness in Lake Worth.

Video posted to several social media sites showed Hernandez on the floor of the gym bathroom as at least two men kicked him and grabbed him by the hair.

The sheriff's office said the rapper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The rapper was a social media phenomenon with millions of followers on Instagram before becoming an ascendant name in hip-hop.

He had a multiplatinum hit song, "Fefe," with Nicki Minaj, which peaked at No. 3 on the pop charts, and "Stoopid," featuring the incarcerated rapper Bobby Shmurda.

Lazzaro told TMZ that the rapper, who did not have personal security with him, tried to fight back during the attack but was overpowered and outnumbered.

The rapper was released early from federal prison after he cooperated with law enforcement officials during an effort to prosecute fellow gang members.

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People stand around a structure built over an old temple well that collapsed Thursday as a large crowd of devotees gathered for the Ram Navami Hindu festival in Indore, India, Thursday, March 30, 2023. Up to 35 people fell into the well in the temple complex when the structure collapsed and were covered by falling debris, police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar said. At least eight were killed. | Associated Press

On Thursday, at least 36 people were killed and 16 injured after the floor covering a stepwell outside a Hindu temple collapsed, according to local officials.

The incident occurred at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in Patel Nagar, Madhya Pradesh, during Ram Navami, a Hindu festival. A stepwell is a well with stairs that can be used to descend to the water level, and this one, in particular, was covered with an iron mesh.

The states Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in a statement on Twitter that he has been in touch with the federal government while monitoring the rescue operation.

According to Time magazine, nearly 140 rescuers, including state and national disaster response teams along with army personnel, pumped out the water from the well before using ropes and ladders to pull bodies up.

Only a narrow path could be used to rescue individuals as half of the well was covered in iron mesh, elevating the risk of debris falling in, as seen in videos online.

Rescuers work at the site of a structure built over an old temple well that collapsed Thursday as a large crowd of devotees gathered for the Ram Navami Hindu festival, in Indore, India, Friday, March 31, 2023. | Associated Press

An accident victim is carried towards a waiting ambulance in Indore, India, Thursday, March 30, 2023. | Associated Press

People carry bodies of victims of an accident, when a structure built over an old temple well collapsed Thursday as a large crowd of devotees gathered for the Ram Navami Hindu festival, in Indore, India, Friday, March 31, 2023. | Associated Press

One witness, Prakash Patel, told The New York Times that he was at the temple when he heard cries for help. He saw people clinging to the iron mesh. Many of those who died were women and children, he said.

The rescue operation lasted almost an entire day as the injured were taken to the hospital.

The stepwell was covered, but the slab covering it collapsed because of the crowd and extra load on it, Chouhan said. He has ordered an investigation into the incident.

Meanwhile, Ilayaraja T, a local government official, told Reuters that a major cause of death could be drowning, since the well was full of water and 60 feet deep.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was extremely pained by the incident and gave his prayers to the families of those affected. He later announced that an ex-gratia worth Rs. 200,000, or roughly $2,400, would be dispersed to the next of kin of the deceased, while the injured would be offered Rs. 50,000, or roughly $600.
Authorities seized a $4 million load of fentanyl and cocaine suspected of being trafficked through Mecklenburg and Gaston counties, police said Friday.

A K-9 found 53 pounds of fentanyl  the most common drug distributed in Charlotte  and 26 pounds of cocaine last week in a vehicle involved in trafficking, according to a Gaston County Police Department news release..

One pill, or about 2 mg of fentanyl, is enough to kill a person, according to the DEA. Fifty-three pounds of fentanyl could make more than 24 million pills.

Last year, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations seized three times the amount of fentanyl capable of killing every resident in both North and South Carolina.

Its unclear what led authorities to the car, whether anyone was with the car or where the car was located. Gaston County Police said Friday the investigation is ongoing and no one has been charged yet.

Last week, police arrested a Gastonia man on 13 charges related to trafficking fentanyl. They found 3,000 additional fentanyl pills in his possession.

Most Charlotte fentanyl trafficking cases are linked to the Cartel Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)  a Mexican-based transnational drug trafficking organization with a well-established network in the Carolinas, according to Michael Prado, Charlottes Homeland Security Investigations deputy special agent in charge.

A new Republican-sponsored Senate bill making its way through North Carolinas General Assembly would increase fines and penalties for fentanyl distribution.
The Oregon Ducks are quickly adding to their list of 5-star players who will be in attendance for the annual spring game in Eugene on April 29.

On Friday morning, 5-star EDGE Colin Simmons announced that he would be in town for a visit, making it a total of five 5-star players, so far, who have confirmed that they will be checking out the Ducks that weekend.

Simmons will join QB Dylan Railoa, S K.J. Bolden, and EDGE Elijah Rushing. 257Sports Steve Wiltfong also reported on Friday that 5-star safety Xavier Filsaime will be in Eugene for the Spring Game as well.

Simmons is rated in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 3 overall player in the 2024 class, and the No. 1 EDGE. Per 247Sports, he is the No. 20 overall player, and No. 4 EDGE.

He was supposed to take a visit to Eugene last summer, but it ended up falling through.

Colin Simmons Recruiting Profile

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i will be attending @oregonfootball Spring Game ! April 29th   Colin Simmons  Call Me D1 (@ColinSimmons__) March 31, 2023

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Stars Overall State Position 247 5 98 TX DE Rivals 5 6.1 TX DE ESPN 5 90 TX DE On3 Recruiting 5 98 TX DE 247 Composite 5 0.9898 TX DE

Vitals

Hometown Duncanville, Texas Projected Position EDGE Height 6-foot-3 Weight 210 pounds Class 2024

Recruitment

Received Oregon Offer on May 4, 2022

Will visit Oregon from April 29-30, 2023

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Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire
Now that a New York City grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump, all eyes will be on the actual indictment  the legal document that outlines the charges.

The document is still under seal with the court, but the charges are likely to relate to Trumps involvement in a $130,000 payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election, according to reporting by NBC News and other outlets. Cohen maintains the money was to keep her quiet about the affair she says she had with the married Trump in 2006, and federal prosecutors have said that was for the purpose of influencing the outcome of the 2016 election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and consistently said there was no affair.

Here are five legal issues to look out for when the court papers are made public.

Whats the legal theory of the case?

Prosecutors could charge Trump with falsifying the business records of the Trump Organization to disguise money he gave Cohen as legal expenses, when in fact it was to reimburse him for hush money; that charge is a misdemeanor.

To make it a felony under New York law, prosecutors need to prove that records were falsified with the intent to conceal or commit another crime." So what's that second crime in this case? We don't know yet.

Making it about a federal campaign violation is viewed as a risky move, because federal law typically supersedes state law when it comes to federal election crimes, and no court has ever upheld a jury conviction on that ground.

If its a state crime, such as a conspiracy charge, whats the evidence for that?

Are there crimes unknown to the public?

Prosecutors in Manhattan previously passed on charging Trump in relation to the alleged hush money scheme, and the federal investigation into Trump about the issue withered away long ago.

So, are more alleged crimes yet to be revealed in this new indictment? Former special prosecutor Mark Pomerantz outlined a detailed financial fraud case against Trump in a recent book, but District Attorney Alvin Bragg didnt prosecute.

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Do any of those allegations resurface? Trumps longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to five months behind bars for his role in the companys tax fraud case. Its an open question as to how his role is described in the new indictment, as well.

How do prosecutors prove Trumps intent to defraud?

The New York law on falsifying business records importantly requires an intent to defraud. But who was defrauded in this case?

New York prosecutors have brought a number of past cases involving phony business records, but they mostly involved a person submitting the fake records to a third party, like an insurer or a tax agency. Did Trumps business records, listing checks he paid to Cohen as legal expenses, ever see the light of day? If they didnt, whats the prosecutions theory about who was harmed?

What does the indictment say about Trump's and Cohen's roles?

Cohen is a key witness, but prosecutors cant hinge their entire case on his testimony. In New York, no one can be convicted on the basis of testimony from an accomplice to a crime without corroborating evidence. Whats the corroborating evidence in this case?

At times, Trumps attorneys have suggested Cohen acted to pay Daniels without Trumps knowledge or blessing or that Trump was simply following his then-lawyers advice  but federal prosecutors said Cohen acted in coordination with and at the direction of Trump. What do the contemporaneous documents say?

Is it a speaking indictment?

Sometimes prosecutors file a bare-bones charging document that doesnt reveal much. In other cases, prosecutors paint a far more vivid picture of their allegations (with detail that isnt required to meet the elements of the crime), known as a speaking indictment. What route do they take here?

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A fifth suspect was arrested Friday in connection with the murder of Alison Thomas, of Monroe, the Union County Sheriffs stated in a news release.

William Mulenex, of Brevard, North Carolina, was apprehended by officers from several agencies, including the Union County Sheriffs Office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Transylvania County Sheriffs Office

Mulenex, 39, was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and was being processed into the Union County Detention Center Friday afternoon.

The 37-year-old mother was last seen on Feb. 13 on Flint Ridge Road in Union County. Her body was found on March 5 in a national forest in Jackson County.

Three suspects who had already been arrested in connection with the homicide investigation had their charges upgraded to murder, the sheriff stated Friday.

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Shawn Adkins, Amanda Griffin and Brandon Kisiah who were already charged with conspiracy to commit first degree murder now face first-degree murder charges, the sheriff said.





Michael Kasminoff was charged with first-degree kidnapping and murder in addition to conspiracy.

All suspects charged and arrested in the case are in custody.

The investigation is ongoing.

VIDEO: 3 charged in death of Monroe mother, deputies say
Most drugs in short supply are older generic medicines that are relatively inexpensive to purchase but complex to manufacture  acetaminophen, for example. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

More Americans are queuing up at pharmacies and discovering they cant get the critical medicines they've been prescribed.

It's not the fault of the pharmacies. Drug shortages reached a peak in late December when almost 300 medicines were in short supply, at times having devastating consequences for patients, according to a new U.S. Senate report .

Among the drugs difficult to obtain are Adderall for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; albuterol, which can ease asthma attacks; and a myriad of essential cancer medicines, including those for children.

Even basic over-the-counter medicines  such as childrens cold and flu drugs  were hard to find last fall when influenza-like illnesses peaked earlier than usual.

What's causing the shortages? Is anything being done to alleviate them?

Here are answers to some of the most pressing questions about the situation, according to available information.

Which drugs are especially at risk?

Most drugs in short supply are older generic medicines that are relatively inexpensive to purchase but complex to manufacture: the pain reliever acetaminophen, the antibiotic amoxicillin, and IV saline solution, for example. Injectable drugs such as the sedative propofol are more than twice as likely to be out of supply than oral tablets.

At the same time, some expensive new medications are also hard to find. Demand for diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy soared after doctors began to prescribe them as an aid to losing weight, a use that federal regulators have not approved. Celebrities and internet influencers fueled demand for the diabetes drugs by sharing their weight loss experiences on social media after starting the injections.

In another example of America's rising use of medications, demand for Adderall, Ritalin and other ADHD drugs has skyrocketed in the last three years after telemedicine websites eased the way to a prescription, leading to shortfalls for those prescriptions as well.

You can check to see whether your meds are experiencing shortages on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's searchable drug database.

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How bad are the shortfalls?

Medication shortages have been a problem for decades but are getting worse. Between 2021 and 2022, the number of new shortages increased by almost 30%, according to the March report by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs .

The shortages are also lasting longer. More than 15 critical drugs, including the antibiotic ceftazidime, have been difficult to obtain for more than a decade.

The shortfalls, in some cases, have caused delays in treatment and led to an increased risk of medical errors as doctors prescribe substitute medications they are not as familiar with, according to the report. Doctors have had to ration lifesaving medicines and use less effective alternatives.

Yoram Unguru , a doctor who treats children with cancer, told the Senate committee, Pediatric chemotherapy agents work in concert with one another, and if you are missing one drug, we dont know what the outcome will be.

Why is this happening?

Drugmakers lack financial incentives to make older generic medicines, which have far lower profit margins than expensive new drugs that are protected from competition by patents.

To save money, generic drug manufacturers have moved production to China, India and other countries where labor costs are lower and government regulations are less stringent. About 80% of manufacturers producing active pharmaceutical ingredients  the crucial materials that give drugs their intended effect  are located outside the U.S.

This overreliance on foreign sources for the medications taken by Americans, the Senate report said, poses a national security risk.

Why cant the FDA prevent or limit the shortages?

The agency does not have the data it needs to predict which medicines may soon be in short supply. FDA officials were unable to tell Senate staffers the percentage of life-sustaining drugs that had fewer than three manufacturers. The regulators explained they had some information on the manufacturing of crucial pharmaceutical ingredients but that the data were unusable because they were buried in PDFs" that companies had filed with the agency.

Can't the manufacturers do more to disclose when key pharmaceutical ingredients are becoming hard to find?

There can be as many as 20 key starting materials in each pharmaceutical, the report said. And even the drugmaker may not know where those raw materials come from or whether their availability could soon be limited, the Assn. for Accessible Medicines , which represents generic drug manufacturers, told Senate staff.

For patients, that means there is little information available on the many ingredients in their meds or where those materials come from.

What is the government doing to address the shortages?

The Senate report recommended that the U.S. invest in increasing the nation's ability to manufacture the most critical drugs often in short supply. It also recommended that drugmakers be required to report spikes in demand for their products. And this week, Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent the FDA a letter, questioning why the agency lacked data on the shortages and asking for key details behind the shortfalls of certain crucial drugs, including those for cancer.

What can patients do?

Until the broader problems contributing to the drug shortages are addressed, gathering information is your best strategy. If your local pharmacy does not have your medicine, look further afield to see whether others in different parts of the city or county have it in stock. Pharmacists can be a font of information. Ask them what they know about the shortage, when it might end and their advice on where the drug could be available. If you still can't find the medicine, ask your doctor if there is an alternative. Make sure to find out how the substitute drug is different in terms of effectiveness and adverse effects.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Donald Trump Holds First Rally Of 2024 Presidential Campaign

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25 in Waco, Texas. Credit - Brandon Bell/Getty Images

As news spread that former President Donald Trump had been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, making him the first former U.S. President to be charged with a crime, his spokesperson, Liz Harrington likened the situation to a banana republic. His son, Donald Trump Jr., declared the case Communist-level sh*t. This is stuff that would make Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot blush. The former President is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.

But a government that is accountable to the rule of law, and not subject to the whims of a king or a dictator, is considered one of the key tenets of democracyand, many experts say, it is essential for leaders to be held accountable like anyone else. In fact, many countries that are considered free and highly functional democracies have prosecuted their leaders.

Indicting Trump thus is essential to send a message to all: No one, not even a former president, is above the law, said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of University of California Berkeley School of Law, in an interview with Berkeley News.

Take, for instance, France. Ex-president Nicholas Sarkozy was convicted in 2014 of having tried to bribe a judge by suggesting hed trade a job for information about a case. In 2021, he was sentenced to three years in jail (two of them are suspended), although hes appealing the case. Before him, former President Jacques Chirac was found guilty of corruption, and in 2011 was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence.

Read More: Holding World Leaders Like Trump Accountable Is Democratic

In South Korea, two of its most recent presidents, Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, served time in prison for bribery, although both were later pardoned.

And in some cases, the democratic process isnt even interrupted. In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister again despite an ongoing felony corruption case, in which he faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

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Notably, not all cases have led to convictions. In Italy, for instance, former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was acquitted in a series of trials for various charges, including for having paid for sex with an underage girl and paying witnesses.

The list goes on: in Taiwan, Germany, Portugal, and across the globe, former leaders have faced indictments, often for corruption-related charges. As Robert Maguire Research Director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics wrote in a recent editorial for TIME some of the countries that have prosecuted their leaders actually have democracies that rate higher on a scale of political rights and civil freedoms than the United States. Democracies young and old have held past presidents and prime ministers accountableand come out as strong (or stronger) on the other side, he said.

Some experts have also pointed out that history has shown the alternativeavoiding the prosecution of a leader who has committed a crimeis not the better option for democracies. As Matthew Dallek, a professor at George Washington Universitys College of Professional Studies, said in a recent Washington Post editorial, corruption in Mexico flourished after Mexico failed to prosecute officials for corruption during the 20th century.
In a 911 call, a former Ranlo police officer who is now charged with murder, told an operator he'd been stabbed multiple times, and that he was trying to protect children.

In the call, which was made Jan. 1 at 2:19 a.m., Kwaku "Riley" Agyapon tells an operator that he has been stabbed, but that he's okay.

Kwaku Agyapon is walked into Gaston County District Court on Wednesday, Jan. 4.

"I'm trying to get a kid out of the residence right now. I've been stabbed about four or five times already. I've been stabbed about nine or 10 times already," Agyapon said. "I've been stabbed in my shoulder. I've been stabbed about two or three times in my shoulder. And then I don't know where else, it's just bleeding down, but my right arm is still good to go."

Agyapon, then 34, was at a home on Burlington Avenue where, according to police, he went to fight 33-year-old Juan Nikely Avalo. The two did fight, and Agyapon, who was off duty at the time of the shooting, stands accused of shooting and killing Avalo as Avalo tried to retreat. Agyapon is charged with first-degree murder.

In January, County Attorney Bill Stetzer asked Judge David Phillips to seal the 911 calls in the shooting, but Phillips ordered them released on March 31.

The call made at 2:19 was initially made by Krystal Ortiz, who was romantically involved with Avalo.

Ortiz met Agyapon in November 2022, when Agyapon responded to an alleged domestic dispute at her home, in which Avalo was accused of assaulting Ortiz. Agyapon and Ortiz stayed in touch, and in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, according to search warrant documents, Avalo discovered Agyapon's name and number in Ortiz's phone. Avalo contacted Agyapon, and Agyapon, the documents said, suggested they meet at a QT gas station to fight.

Instead, however, Agyapon went to Avalo's house, and the two fought there.

During the 911 call on Jan. 1, Ortiz initially speaks, but then Agyapon takes over. He doesn't mention shooting anyone, instead repeating several times that he was stabbed.

"He ran behind the residence. He stabbed me. He went back that way. I don't know if he's inside or if he ran to the woodline," Agyapon said of Avalo.

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In another call, a scared neighbor describes hearing around five gunshots.

"They're out here fighting and woke me up," the neighbor said. "I told them to get out and go, and they're still fighting. They started shooting, and then that's when I called. There's two men and one woman."

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: In 911 calls, former Ranlo police officer details stabbing
Robin Wolfenden prays at a makeshift memorial for victims outside the Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church following a shooting, in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 28, 2023. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Nashville authorities released 911 calls on Thursday that capture the terror inside a Christian elementary school during an attack this week in which three children and three adults were killed, as callers pleaded for help in hushed voices as sirens, crying and gunfire could be heard in the background.

Police released recordings of three 911 calls made during Mondays attack at The Covenant School.

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In one, a man tells the dispatcher he is with a group of people, including several children, who are walking away from the school toward a main road. Although the man remains calm, the tension and confusion of the situation are clear, with several adults speaking over each other and childrens voices in the background.

When the dispatcher requests a description of the shooter, the caller asks a second man to get on the line.

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All I saw was a man holding an assault rifle shooting through the door. It was  hes currently in the second grade hallway, upstairs the second man says. White man. With camouflage. He had a vest on and an assault rifle.

Asked about how many shots were fired, a woman responds, I heard about 10 and I left the building.

In another call that started just before 10:13 a.m., a woman tells a dispatcher that she can hear gunshots and that shes hiding in an art room closet.

It sounds like somebody is shooting guns, the caller says. She then notes that there had been a pause in the gunshots.

The dispatcher asks if she was in a safe spot and says two other callers also reported gunshots at the school.

I think so, the woman says, as children can be heard in the background.

The teacher then says she can hear more gunshots, and muffled thuds can be heard.

Im hearing more shots, the caller said. Please hurry.

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Another caller says he is in a room on the second floor and asks the dispatcher to send help.

I think we have a shooter at our church, he says, later adding: Im on the second floor in a room. I think the shooter is on the second floor.

Three adults and three 9-year-old children were killed in the attack. Authorities say police shot and killed the assailant, a former student they identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale.

The release of the recordings came as people protested at the Tennessee Capitol on Thursday in favor of tighter gun controls, haranguing the Republican-led Legislature to take action.

Chants of Save our children! echoed noisily in the hallways between the state Senate and House chambers, with protesters setting up shop inside and outside the Capitol. Some silently filled the Senate chambers gallery, including children who held signs reading Im nine  a reference to the age of the kids who died. Most protesters were removed from the gallery after some began yelling down at the lawmakers, Children are dead!

The protests followed a Wednesday night candlelight vigil in Nashville where Republican lawmakers stood alongside first lady Jill Biden, Democratic lawmakers and musicians including Sheryl Crow, who has called for stricter gun controls since the attack.

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The vigil was somber and at times tearful, as speaker after speaker read the victims names and offered condolences to their loved ones but refrained from any statement that could be seen as political.

Just two days ago was our citys worst day, Mayor John Cooper said. I so wish we werent here, but we need to be here.

Police have said Hale drove up to the school on Monday morning, shot out the glass doors, entered and began firing indiscriminately. Police later fatally shot Hale.

Among those killed were the three students, Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney; Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian.

Absent from the Wednesday vigil was Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has been an advocate for less restrictive gun laws along with greater school security and once intimated that prayer could protect Tennessee from school shootings and other things.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 16 A child weeps while on the bus leaving The Covenant School following a mass shooting at the school in Nashville on March 27, 2023. (Nicole Hester/AP)

Lee issued a video statement Tuesday saying that Peak was a close friend of his wife, Maria, and that the two had been planning to meet for dinner on Monday.

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Maria woke up this morning without one of her best friends, Lee said in a video statement, adding that his wife once taught with Peak and Koonce. The women, he said, have been family friends for decades.

Lee has avoided public appearances this week and has not proposed any possible steps his administration might take in response to the school shooting.

As with similar responses to gun violence, the states Republican leaders have avoided calling for tighter gun restrictions and instead have thrown their support behind adding more school security measures.

In a letter to Lee, Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally called for securing windows and glass in school buildings, adding magnetic locks on doors, modernizing camera systems, and increasing armed guards.

While these changes would come with a cost, I believe it is important for us to have a conversation about how to increase and modernize security at schools in Tennessee, McNally wrote.

Along with improving school safety measures, McNally told reporters Thursday that he is in favor of red flag laws like one in Florida.

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Meanwhile, Tennessees U.S. senators, Republicans Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, were pushing for legislation that would create a $900 million grant program to harden schools and hire safety officers.

Blackburn and Hagerty said Thursday that they would introduce the SAFE School Act, which would help public and private schools train military veterans and former law enforcement officers to provide security. They said the grants could also be used to bolster physical security measures. Blackburn introduced similar legislation in the last Congress, but it failed to gain support.

Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake has not said what police think the shooters motive was, only noting that the assailant didnt target specific victims and had some resentment for having to go to that school.

Drake said the shooter had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the attack. Drake also said Hale left behind writings that the chief referred to as a manifesto, but authorities havent released the writings to the public.

Police have said Hale was under a doctors care for an undisclosed emotional disorder. However, authorities havent disclosed a link between that care and the shooting. Police also said Hale was not on their radar before the attack.

Social media accounts and other sources indicate that the shooter identified as a man and might have recently begun using the first name Aiden. Police have said Hale was assigned female at birth but used masculine pronouns on a social media profile, however police have continued to use female pronouns and the name Audrey to describe Hale.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Authorities have released three calls made to 911 during the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville on Monday, March 27. The calls are hard to listen to, especially knowing how the events unfolded throughout the day.

One call came from a man on his cellphone, along with another person, telling the dispatcher what he saw during the shooting.

Covenant School Shooting: Everything known about the Nashville school shooting, so far

Call 1: [The shooter] came in between where the sanctuary is and the overhead entrance, theres a side door on the exit, youll see [they] shot the windows out to enter the school.

Surveillance footage released Monday night captured the shooter  later identified as 28 year-old Audrey Hale  shooting their way through the school doors.

Call 1: All I saw was [the suspect] holding an assault rifle, shooting through the door. [Theyre] currently in the second grade hallway upstairs.

Nashville has had its worst day: Hundreds mourn together during citywide vigil

Later, the dispatcher asked the callers about their location.

911: Where are you guys?

Call 1: We are outside. We are walking toward Burton Hills. We have a group of about six preschoolers. We are out of the building.

911: How many students would you say are in there, probably, approximately?

Call 1: 200.

The second call released came from a staff member hiding in an art room closet on the second floor with students.

911: Are you in a safe spot right now?

Call 2: I think so.

WATCH | Bodycam video from Covenant School Shooting (viewer discretion advised)

Loud booms can eventually be heard in the background of the call, believed to be gunshots in the nearby hallway.

Call 2: I hear another shot.

911: You did?

Call 2: Im hearing more shots.

At one point you can hear her remind the children to be quiet as she tells the operator gunshots are getting closer.

Covenant School Shooting: Should private schools hire SROs?

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The third call released also came from someone on the second floor.

911: Where exactly are you in the building?

Call 3: Im on the second floor in a room. I think the shooter is on the second floor.

According to police, officers entered the school building and ran toward the sound of gunfire. Two officers met Hale on the second floor and fatally shot them.

The victims

The Metro Nashville Police Department identified the six victims as Evelyn Dieckhaus (9), Hallie Scruggs (9), William Kinney (9), Cynthia Peak (61), Dr. Katherine Koonce (60) and Mike Hill (61).

Each of the six victims is said to have died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to Davidson County Medical Examiner Feng Li who performed the autopsies on March 28.

WATCH | Man stops traffic as students flee Nashville school shooting

Chief John Drake of the MNPD said by the time he arrived on scene, the three children had already been transported to the hospital. However, he found the other victims spread out in different places throughout the building.

Koonce was found in a hallway and Drake said its possible she may have run toward Hale, but couldnt say for sure. Hill was believed to have been killed when Hale shot their way through the side door, having been hit by the bullets and shattered glass, according to police.

The shooter

Audrey Hale (Courtesy: Metro Nashville Police Department)

Police said Hale was armed with two assault-style rifles and one handgun.

At a press briefing Tuesday afternoon, Drake said there is no information to indicate Hale was specifically targeting any one of the six victims, but rather that the location itself appeared to be the target.

Police said investigators tracked down Hales address and searched their home on Brightwood Avenue in the Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood where they reportedly found detailed maps drawn of the school, including surveillance and entry points, as well as a manifesto.

Nashville shooter traveled past numerous schools before shooting, cameras show

Drake said Hale legally bought seven firearms from five different gun stores in the area. Three of those guns were used in Mondays shooting and investigators believe Hale hid several weapons in the home they shared with their parents.

Police said Hale was also under doctors care for an emotional disorder and their parents assumed they only owned one gun and that Hale had sold it.

The chief added there are no laws in place that would have prevented Hale from having weapons, even with certain mental health issues.

Police also searched Hales vehicle which was left in the school parking lot and found additional material written by Hale.

Hale attended The Covenant School at one time and had no criminal history, according to police.

Metro police said the shooting began at 10:13 a.m. as Hale drove their Honda Fit to the school and shot their way through a side door of the school, before making their way to the second floor, firing multiple shots.

The surveillance footage shows Hale, holding an assault-style rifle, traversing through the school and looking into multiple rooms around 10:20 a.m.

On Tuesday, Metro Police released body-worn camera video from the two officers that met Hale on the second floor and fatally shot them. Those officers have since been identified as Officer Rex Englebert, a four-year MNPD veteran, and Officer Michael Collazo, a nine-year MNPD veteran.

According to police, both Englebert and Collazo are trying to decompress and make sense of the whole situation. Drake said he also spoke with President Joe Biden, while The White House said the president also reached out to Englebert and Collazo, thanking them for their bravery and quick response to the shooting.

Covenant School Shooting: Sister of officer who stopped shooter says proud is probably an understatement

Photos released by police show a bullet hole in a squad car windshield, the schools side doors completely shot out, and windows shot out from the second story of the school. Police said Hale fired shots from the second floor at arriving officers.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee took to YouTube Tuesday evening to address the mass shooting.

In his address, Lee mourned the loss of the six victims, saying, some parents woke up without children, children woke up without parents and without teachers, and spouses woke up without their loved ones.

The governor also mentioned how two of the victims were family friends for decades.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Several private companies that manage housing on military installations nationwide asked 98 families since 2019 to sign nondisclosure agreements as part of settlement disputes over mold, infestations and other dangerous living conditions in their on-base homes.

The companies' use of nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, was revealed in a Defense Department response to a request from five U.S. senators asking for more details about the use of confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements with tenants.

According to the DoD, the NDAs were reviewed by the military services and, in "fewer than five cases," were determined to comply with laws that pertain to their usage. Those NDAs that didn't pass muster were revised, resubmitted and approved, according to documents provided by the Pentagon to Congress last week.

Read Next: 9 Soldiers Killed as Pair of Helicopters Crash in One of the Army's Deadliest Training Accidents

While the names of the companies that used the NDAs were redacted, at least one was The Michaels Organization military housing, which oversees homes at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, having purchased the management portfolio at that base from Clark Realty Capital, according to a footnote in the DoD response.

Others include Balfour Beatty Communities and Liberty Military Housing, according to a letter requesting answers on the use of NDAs by Military Private Housing Initiative companies sent by the five senators, including Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

Breanna Bragg, a military spouse who once lived on Fort Belvoir, shared the NDA she was offered with Orlando television station WFTV. According to the station, the agreement forbade the family from talking publicly about the alleged claims or making any pejorative statements about housing at Fort Belvoir to anyone, including current and future residents of the post as well as the news media.

"It's hush money," Bragg said. The family rejected the settlement, which she said was contingent on signing the agreement.

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Widespread problems with construction and maintenance issues first came to light in 2018 in a series of reports by Reuters over the presence of mold, lead-based paint, pestilence and more in military housing.

Families have testified before Congress since 2019 on poor housing conditions, noting that the companies often ignored maintenance requests or took shortcuts in repairing their homes. Some families have filed lawsuits, with litigation ongoing in dozens of cases.

As a result of the scandal, the Defense Department developed a tenant bill of rights effective August 2021 that gave residents more leverage in negotiating disputes with the management companies, but it does not have the right to unilaterally require the companies to abide by the requirements.

As of October 2022, five Air Force installations had implemented the tenants' right to enter into a resolution process or be able to have their Basic Allowance for Housing payments held while disputes were being resolved.

Ongoing concern about the use of NDAs by companies that manage military housing prompted Warren and colleagues to send their letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The answers Warren received earlier this month left her less than satisfied.

"I remain concerned that the Department of Defense is not conducting adequate oversight to determine whether these NDAs are being used appropriately," Warren said in a statement to Military.com on Monday. "Safe housing is a basic right, and military housing companies shouldn't be able to stop families from exposing when those companies have failed them."

The housing companies maintain that they are allowed by law to use NDAs and the agreements comply with relevant regulations.

"Current law allows for the use of nondisclosure agreements as part of the settlement of litigation or when a resident has retained counsel or sought military legal assistance," officials at Liberty Military Housing said in a statement emailed Thursday to Military.com. "In addition, no LMH resident has ever been asked or required to sign a NDA in connection with entering into, continuing, or terminating a lease for the housing unit."

In an emailed response to Military.com, officials with Balfour Beatty Communities said that the company uses NDAs only "in the context of a settlement and release agreement where the resident is agreeing to resolve a dispute that is considered pending/threatened litigation," and the company complies with the law that "explicitly permits" their use.

"We enter into a small number of settlement agreements each year which include nondisclosure provisions regarding the settlement amount. In every case, we get written approval from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and we comply fully with all the requirements in the [National Defense Authorization Act]," a Balfour Beatty spokesperson said.

They added that there are no restrictions imposed on military families that live on installations who aren't involved in potential litigation or disputes.

The Michaels Organization did not respond to a request for comment by publication.

Warren has said that if the Pentagon does not increase oversight of the companies' use of NDAs, she will push for legislation that would bar their use.

Some families complain that they have chronic illnesses related to having lived in unsanitary and poor conditions. A DoD Inspector General investigation conducted last year into the types of health conditions related to military housing was inconclusive, however, because the Pentagon lacks the data it needs to track such issues.

As a result, the IG was unable to link housing conditions and any reported illnesses.

Earlier this month, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., joined Florida Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio in launching a bipartisan investigation into the health effects of housing conditions on families.

The senators wrote Austin on March 21 asking the Pentagon to take actions to monitor the state of privatized housing units.

"Due to this lack of information, the military services were unable to consistently track housing conditions that may have led to asthma, lead poisoning, cancers, and other adverse conditions among service members and their families," they wrote.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime

Related: Will the Tenant Bill of Rights Fix Privatized Military Housing?
Legal documents shed more light on an incident where a convicted sex offender was apprehended trying to break into Scotland Park Elementary School on Thursday.

Officers from Wichita Falls Police and the WFISD Police Department responded quickly Thursday when a man tried to break into Scotland Park Elementary School during school hours,

Freddie Lee Brown is jailed in Wichita County on several charges related to the incident.

An arrest affidavit claims Brown broke a window in a second-grade classroom as he attempted to get into school. Nineteen children were in the room at the time. The teacher got the children out of the room and called for help. Witnesses said they saw Brown banging on the window trying to get in.

Officers found Brown hiding near an exterior doorway. They arrested him at gunpoint. The affidavit said a window had been shattered and removed from its frame.

The affidavit said Brown told arresting officers he was being chased by someone and was trying to get into the school to elude them. Witnesses saw no one else outside the school.

One charge Brown faces is failure to report as a registered sex offender, requiring him to notify the administrator of his presence in any school, which police say Brown did not do. The sex charge against Brown stems from an incident in Dallas County where he pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a nine-year-old child in 2013. He was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Also, the affidavit claims Brown has not registered with proper authorities since arriving in Wichita County.

Wichita County Sheriff David Duke said Brown told his officers he had taken 22 capsules of the drug ecstasy and resisted confinement at the county jail.

Brown remained jailed Friday in lieu of bail totaling $115,000 on charges of criminal mischief, failure to register as a sex offender and assault on a public servant.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Affidavit: 19 kids in classroom intruder tried to enter
CHATGPT EN LAS ESCUELAS (AP)

Artificial intelligence systems are being hit by new fears and increased scrutiny as they gain new powers.

Italy has banned ChatGPT and popular AI image generator Midjourney has had to switch off free access because of abuse of its platform.

Those latest issues come after a range of experts  including Elon Musk  urged AI companies to pause development on new systems for six months. That time should be used to ensure that existing systems are safe to use and that new ones do not endanger the public.

While artificial intelligence has been a major topic of research for years, new capabilities meant that it has shot into the mainstream, especially after the release of OpenAIs ChatGPT last year.

Those new and surprising capabilities have led to much excitement about how the technology might change the world for the better. But they have also brought worries about misinformation and lost jobs.

Hello and welcome...

15:03 , Andrew Griffin

... to The Independents ongoing coverage of all the latest in artificial intelligence.
Russian forces used 10 Shahed drones for an air attack on Ukraine on the night of 30-31 March. The air defence forces downed nine of them.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 06:00, 31 March 2023

Quote: "The enemy used 10 Shahed-136 attack drones to launch airstrikes, nine of them were destroyed by our defenders."

Details: In addition, according to the information from the General Staff, Russian forces conducted nine missile attacks at night at the civilian infrastructure of Kharkiv, using S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems

Later, the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces posted a video of the downing of Iranian-made Russian kamikaze drones.

It was reported that Shahed UAVs were destroyed by soldiers of the anti-aircraft missile unit and mobile fire groups of the Air Command East (Skhid).

       -  .   Telegram   pic.twitter.com/shhTxS6ZYO     (@ukrpravda_news) March 31, 2023

Background:

Russia deployed kamikaze drones in an attack on Ukraine late on Thursday, 30 March.

Russian occupation forces carried out an attack on Kharkiv.

Explosions rang out in Zaporizhzhia while an air-raid warning was in force.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force Command

He noted that at first Russia used Shahed drones during the day, then at night, realizing that mobile fire groups could not destroy them as effectively as during the day.

"But we are not standing still, and mobile fire teams are receiving modern equipment from our partners, from volunteers, which helps to destroy Shahed even at night," Ihnat said.

He said that Ukraine, like Russia, is modernizing its weapons, such as cruise missiles.

"New weapons are gaining more prospects for use," Ihnat said.

The same applies to winged bombs, which we also employ  JDAMs. We also use them, though we do not have as many of them as we would like.

Read also: Russias missile terror has failed, Ukraines intel says

At the same time, Russia is modernizing high-explosive aircraft bombs by equipping them with wings and GPS so that the warplanes that drop them can avoid entering Ukraines air defense zone.

Such a projectile will not fly farther than 10-15 kilometers, but even this flight distance can cause damage to Ukrainian troops and the population in frontline areas. Long-range air defense and Western aircraft are needed to shoot them down, Ihnat said.

In the early hours of March 31, Russian occupation forces attacked Ukraine with S-300 missiles and Shahed drones, launching them from Russias Bryansk Oblast through Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts.

In total, Ukrainian air defenses destroyed nine out of the 10 drones.

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
Alfonso Salcido Herrera, Jr., 45 of Alamogordo, pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor, according to the 12th Judicial District Attorney's office.

Herrera was arrested on May 26, 2022 on 22 charges related to the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl.

Now nearly a year later, Herrera awaits sentencing for grooming and sexually abusing at least four children, according to a news release from the district attorney's office.

According to the criminal plea agreement and court documents, Herrera was accused of showing the girls pornographic videos on his phone with an attempt to coerce and entice the minors into sexual activities.

Herrera faces up to 60 years in prison but remains in custody while awaiting sentencing.

This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Alamogordo man faces 10 years for sexual abuse of a minor
Alan Ruck's acting career really started taking off with the 1986 movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Paramount and HBO

The saddest kid on "Succession" is probably Connor Roy, played by actor Alan Ruck.

Ruck's big breakout moment came in 1986 when he played Cameron in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

Speaking with Page Six, Ruck joked he got a "second wind" in acting after marrying fellow actor Mireille Enos in 2008.

Alan Ruck is currently gracing our TV screens as the eldest son of Logan Roy on HBO's "Succession," a role the actor recently told Page Six was "one of the nicest things that's ever happened" to him.

Ruck also joked that the unexpected role came after a "second wind" in his career from marrying fellow actor Mireille Enos in 2008.

While speaking with a Page Six at the "Succession" premiere in New York City last week, Ruck reflected on how his career had "gone through some ups and downs" after his breakout role in 1986's "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

"I had some craters, but I was definitely on an upswing," he said before joking about his marriage to Enos. "But I was definitely on an upswing. I kind of coat-tailed on my wife when we first got together."

Ruck and Enos married in 2008, and Enos starred in the acclaimed series "The Killing" starting in 2011, and then "World War Z," opposite Brad Pitt, in 2013.

Ruck told Page Six that he moved to Los Angeles along with Enos, and they realized she was in high demand.

"They would say, 'You know who she's with? Really? Oh, bring him in for that guy, maybe he's good for that,'" he said.

Ruck was nearly 30 years old when he starred as Cameron Frye in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Afterward, he continued landing TV and movie roles, including the 1996 blockbuster "Twister" and the ABC series "Spin City."

Now the 66-year-old actor is back in the major spotlight as the fourth and final season of "Succession" is underway. Matthew Broderick, Ruck's costar in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," even attended the premiere in New York to celebrate the acclaimed HBO series.

Story continues

New episodes of "Succession" air Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

Read the original article on Insider
For more than a year, a central question swirled around the fatal shootings of the wife and son of disgraced South Carolina personal injury attorney Alex Murdaugh: Who killed them?

The unsolved slayings of Margaret, 52, and the couple's younger son, Paul, 22, in June 2021 shattered the immaculate image of the well-connected legal family in South Carolina's Lowcountry. Murdaugh, whose father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather were each elected as top prosecutors in the region in roles collectively spanning almost 90 years, immediately denied culpability in the deaths.

Still, the slayings set off a bizarre chain of events that officials say included Murdaugh hiring a man to kill him so his older son could collect on his life insurance policy, and dozens of charges against Murdaugh accusing him of financial crimes.

From left, Paul, Margaret and Alex Murdaugh. (via Facebook)

Investigators shared few details and named no suspects or persons of interest in the slayings. But then in July 2022, a grand jury indicted Murdaugh on double murder charges in connection with the deaths of Margaret and Paul, authorities said, capping a long-winding mystery marked by conflicting narratives and a web of other questionable deaths that has yet to be fully untangled.

The double murder trial began in January and after about six weeks of testimony, Murdaugh was found guilty of murder in the deaths of his wife and son.

Here's a timeline of key moments in the case.

June 7, 2021

Murdaugh calls 911 at 10:07 p.m. to say he has found the lifeless bodies of Margaret and Paul near the family's dog kennels on their hunting lodge estate in rural Colleton County.

"I've been gone," Murdaugh, his voice quivering, tells a dispatcher. "I just came back."

Authorities arrive on scene. (Lawyers for Murdaugh later provided an alibi, telling news outlets that he had been spending time with his mother, who has Alzheimer's disease, and her caregiver that day.)

An entrance gate to the estate in Islandton, S.C., where Alex Murdaugh's wife and son were found shot to death. (Travis Dove/The New York Times) (Travis Dove / The New York Times / Redux)

June 10, 2021

Murdaugh's father, Randolph Murdaugh III, dies at his home in Hampton County, South Carolina, at age 81 following various health ailments. His death, while not directly connected to the slayings, adds to the growing intrigue in the case.

Story continues

June 14, 2021

A coroner reveals Margaret and Paul both suffered multiple gunshot wounds, with the estimated time of death between 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Sept. 4, 2021

Murdaugh is injured in a roadside shooting in Hampton County, authorities say. His lawyer and friend, Jim Griffin, tells news outlets that Murdaugh's black Mercedes-Benz SUV had a flat tire and he pulled his vehicle over when a pickup truck passed by, turned around and a person inside opened fire.

A stretch of Old Salkehatchie Highway in Varnville, S.C., on Sept. 26, 2021, not far from the spot where Alex Murdaugh was shot. (Travis Dove/The New York Times) (Travis Dove / The New York Times / Redux)

Sept. 5, 2021

Authorities say Murdaugh's injury is a "superficial" head wound and he had been flown to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia, for treatment.

Sept. 6, 2021

Murdaugh releases a public statement saying he has resigned from his family's law firm to enter rehab and that he "made a lot of decisions that I truly regret." Hours later, his firm  Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrickhe  releases its own statement alleging Murdaugh had misappropriated company funds.

Sept. 8, 2021

The South Carolina Supreme Court indefinitely suspends Murdaugh's law license.

Sept. 14, 2021

Authorities provide new details in the roadside shooting. They allege that Murdaugh arranged for a man to kill him so that his older son, Buster, could collect on a $10 million life insurance policy. The man  identified as Curtis Edward Smith, 61  is arrested on charges of assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.

Sept. 15, 2021

An attorney for Murdaugh, Richard Harpootlian, tells NBC's "TODAY" show that his client was depressed and attempting to get off an opioid addiction that continued to consume him in the wake of his wife and son's death. Believing his insurance policy had a suicide clause, Harpootlian says Murdaugh enlisted a man to kill him during a "fake car breakdown."

Meanwhile, state investigators announce the opening of a criminal investigation into the death of a longtime Murdaugh housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. She died in 2018 following what has been described as a "trip and fall accident" at the family home. The decision is based on a request from the Hampton County coroner and on "information gathered" during a separate investigation involving Murdaugh.

Sept. 16, 2021

Murdaugh surrenders to authorities after he is charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and filing a false police report. He is granted bond and a judge orders him to surrender his passport but permits him to return to a drug rehabilitation center.

Image: Alex Murdaugh Hampton County (Mic Smith / AP file)

Oct. 14, 2021

Murdaugh is arrested in Florida upon his release from a drug rehab facility. Authorities charge him with two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses after an investigation into millions of dollars that went missing from a settlement involving the death of Satterfield. According to her heirs, they received none of the proceeds from a $4.3 million settlement they said was orchestrated in secret by Murdaugh.

Meanwhile, Smith appears on NBC's "TODAY" show to dispute that he was a willing accomplice in the September roadside shooting of Murdaugh. In his version of events, he says Murdaugh had a gun and it appeared he was going to shoot himself, which is when Smith says he intervened. The gun fired. Once Smith realized Murdaugh was OK, he said he drove off.

Oct. 19, 2021

A South Carolina judge denies Murdaugh bond and orders him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Nov. 19, 2021

The state's investigation into Murdaugh's business dealings leads to new indictments announced against him totaling 27 counts, including breach of trust with fraudulent intent, obtaining signature or property by false pretenses, money laundering, computer crimes and forgery. "Altogether, Murdaugh is charged with respect to alleged schemes to defraud victims and thereafter launder" nearly $4.9 million, the state attorney general's office said.

Dec. 9, 2021

The attorney general announces more charges, including nine counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, seven counts of computer crimes, four counts of money laundering and one count of forgery. In total, Murdaugh faces 48 separate charges. The victims include family friends, an undocumented immigrant and a man in a car wreck, prosecutors say.

Dec. 13, 2021

A judge sets Murdaugh's bond at $7 million. Murdaugh, who is being held in Richland County jail, also speaks publicly for the first time in months, telling the court that he had been going through opiate withdrawal in September when he sought to have himself killed.

"My head is on straighter, I'm thinking clearer than I have in a long, long time," Murdaugh says. "I want to deal with these charges appropriately and head-on."

(Murdaugh does not make bail.)

Jan. 21, 2022

A grand jury indicts Murdaugh on 23 new charges, including breach of trust with fraudulent intent and computer crimes. Collectively, he faces 71 charges involving the theft of about $8.5 million over the course of 11 years.

Jan. 24, 2022

A legal claim is filed against the estates of Margaret and Paul Murdaugh by the mother of Mallory Beach, 19, who was killed in a boat crash in 2019. The boat was owned by Murdaugh and investigators have said Paul had been steering at some point during the night of underage drinking involving six people on board. The boat slammed into a piling below a bridge, and the passengers, ages 18 to 20, were ejected.

Two survivors also join the Beach family's legal claim in an attempt to get money they believe they are owed as a result of the accident. Other related lawsuits are pending.

March 16, 2022

A grand jury indicts Murdaugh on four new charges related to a scheme to defraud multiple insurance companies and others involving his friend and another attorney, Cory Fleming. Fleming's lawyer says in a statement that he is "yet another casualty of the host of crimes perpetrated by Alex Murdaugh."

May 4, 2022

Prosecutors announce that Murdaugh is facing four new charges related to financial crimes also involving Fleming and others.

June 3, 2022

State authorities say they have received permission from Satterfield's family to exhume her body as part of an investigation into her death. That investigation was the result of questions surrounding why her death certificate noted that the manner of death was ruled "natural," which a coroner has said was inconsistent with injuries sustained in a "trip and fall accident."

June 24, 2022

Smith is taken into custody on new charges, including four counts of money laundering, three counts of forgery and criminal conspiracy.

June 28, 2022

A grand jury indicts Murdaugh and Smith with criminal conspiracy and narcotics offenses. Smith is also indicted on other drug charges. The men are accused of conspiring to purchase and distribute oxycodone in Colleton County from Oct. 7, 2013, to Sept. 7, 2021.

Image: (Tracy Glantz / The State via AP)

July 13, 2022

The South Carolina Supreme Court formally disbars Murdaugh, who is facing 84 criminal charges and 11 lawsuits.

July 14, 2022

A grand jury announces an indictment against Murdaugh on double murder charges in the deaths of Margaret and Paul.

Two sources close to the investigation say that authorities have cellphone video that they believe not only puts Murdaugh at the scene of the slayings shortly before they took place, but also contradicts a previous timeline of events provided on the day of the killings.

"It was very clear from day one that law enforcement and the Attorney General prematurely concluded that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son," Murdaugh's lawyers say in a statement. "But we know that Alex did not have any motive whatsoever to murder them."

July 20, 2022

Murdaugh pleads not guilty to the murder charges.

Aug. 19, 2022

A grand jury indicts Murdaugh on nine more criminal counts related to money laundering and computer crimes. The indictment alleges Murdaugh stole money from his firm in late 2020 and 2021 and that in 2017-18, he took advantage of an error by the firm's accounting office, which sent $121,358 to him for a loan repayment when that money should have gone to his brother.

Murdaugh's brother, Randy, is also a partner in the firm; he has not been implicated in any of the alleged schemes.

Oct. 13, 2022

The state Attorney General's Office sets Murdaugh's trial date on the murder charges for Jan. 23 at the Colleton County Courthouse. The trial is expected to last almost three weeks.

Dec. 9, 2022

During a pretrial hearing, state prosecutors claim Murdaugh killed his wife and son to gain sympathy and "escape the accountability" for his string of financial crimes. Murdaugh's lawyers reject the state's motive and questioned why he would "shift a financial investigation away from himself in order to avoid scrutiny" only to put himself "in the middle of a murder investigation."

Dec. 16, 2022

A grand jury indicts Murdaugh on nine counts of tax evasion, alleging he failed to pay almost $487,000 in state income taxes while making nearly $14 million over nine years. With the latest indictment, the total financial-related charges against Murdaugh are more than 100.

Dec. 20, 2022

State prosecutors announce they will seek life in prison without parole in Murdaugh's double murder trial, allowing him to avoid the death penalty if convicted.

Jan. 23

The double murder trial against Murdaugh opens at the Colleton County Courthouse with jury selection.

Jan. 25

In an opening statement, state prosecutors contend Murdaugh killed his wife and son at close range with a shotgun and an AR-style rifle, and that forensic evidence would show his culpability. The defense in its opening statement insists there are numerous holes in the prosecution's case, claiming it is built on "theories" and "conjectures."

Feb. 1

Prosecutors play a previously unseen video taken from the phone of Paul Murdaugh in which three voices can be heard in the background shortly before the murders occur. Witnesses testify the voices are of Alex, Paul and Margaret, which places the patriarch at the scene of the crime and undermines his alibi that he had not seen his wife and son in the moments before their deaths.

Feb. 23

During the fifth week of the trial, Murdaugh takes the stand in his own defense. He testifies, "I didn't shoot my wife or son," and breaks down multiple times as his attorney asks him to describe the murder scene.

Feb. 24

Murdaugh is on the stand again. During cross-examination, the prosecution grills him on his "new story," arguing that his earlier testimony was fabricated to align with their video evidence that he saw his wife and son minutes before they were found dead.

Murdaugh contends he lied to law enforcement officers about his location before the murders due to his addiction to prescription pain pills and his general paranoia.

March 2

The jury begins deliberations after the prosecution and defense wrap up closing arguments.

A verdict is returned three hours later, and Murdaugh is found guilty of murder in the deaths of Margaret and Paul. The jury also convicted him of two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, which carries five more years in prison.

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters says at a news conference to "let this be a warning: No matter who you are, if you break the law, the truth will come out and you will be brought to justice."

March 3

Murdaugh is punished with the maximum two consecutive life sentences for the killings. At his hearing, Judge Clifton Newman admonishes him for his apparent lack of awareness and "duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom."

Murdaugh continues to proclaim his innocence. His defense lawyers say they will appeal the conviction.

March 8

A lawyer for the Beach family says a wrongful death lawsuit against Murdaugh will go to trial Aug. 14. The family previously reached a settlement with Margaret's estate and surviving son, Buster.

March 9

Murdaugh files a notice to appeal his double murder convictions. The notice does not include arguments offered by his legal team, who raised several issues at trial, including the admission of Murdaugh's financial misconduct into evidence.

March 31

Murdaugh has been moved into protective custody in a maximum-security prison after completing an initial evaluation, South Carolina corrections officials announce.

His unit is in an undisclosed location and is separated from the general population for safety reasons. Murdaugh's single 8-by-10 cell includes a bed, toilet and sink, and he is provided "all privileges afforded those in the general population inside this self-contained unit," according to the state.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) chewed out anti-trans Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik in the Capitol, video posted on Thursday shows.

The encounter started friendly enough, as Raichik appeared to withhold her identity at first as they posed together for a picture. Then she said to the progressive lawmaker: I just delivered an ethics complaint to your office because you lied about me in a committee hearing.

I actually didnt, because youre actually super transphobic, and I never want to share a space with you. Thank you! Ocasio-Cortez snapped back before storming off.

A trans-rights activist also shared the clip, lauding Ocasio-Cortez for shutting down Raichik straight to her face.

You bet I did, Ocasio-Cortez replied on Twitter. NYC doesnt play with bigots and transphobes and neither do I.

Raichik, known for her anti-LGBTQ activism, had just visited the lawmakers office to hand over a complaint accusing Ocasio-Cortez of defaming her at a recent hearing. The lawmaker said Raichiks 2022 tweet claiming that Boston Childrens Hospital provided gender-affirming hysterectomies for young girls was false information. A doctor from that hospital discussed the procedure in a video, but did not say who was eligible.

Reportsdebunked Raichiks allegation, noting that the hospital does not offer gender-affirming hysterectomies to patients under 18. Candidates must also meet other criteria. The hospital also updated its language to clarify its position, The Associated Press noted.

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A small plane crashed near a central Illinois church filled with worshippers, injuring two men who were aboard the aircraft, authorities said.

The single-engine Piper Cherokee Six crashed Wednesday night in the parking lot of Open Arms Christian Fellowship in Lincoln, coming to rest nose-down in a landscaped area with its left wing sheared off and other damage.

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Two men who were the only people aboard the plane were taken to a Springfield hospital for treatment for injuries not considered life-threatening, The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reported.

Clyde Zellers, principal avionics inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration in Springfield, said the plane came down about a quarter-mile from the Logan County Airport while trying to approach. He said the crash remained under investigation.

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The plane crashed about 7:30 p.m. as about 100 to 150 people were inside the Open Arms Christian Fellowship, a nondenominational Christian church, attending regular Wednesday evening services for its childrens ministry and some adult ministries, the churchs co-lead pastor, the Rev. Larry Crawford, said.

No one inside the church was injured and church property suffered minimal property damage, he said.

Honestly, its a miracle of God, Crawford said.

Lincoln is located in Logan County about 34 miles northeast of Springfield.
An intimidating alligator with monstrous protruding teeth has been seen roaming Southwest Florida, and experts suspect it suffered a severe jaw injury.

The gator appeared March 13 on a trail camera set up to monitor panthers in Collier County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

The gator in the video is about 10 feet long and may weigh as much as 220 pounds, the institute says.

However, its the teeth that stand out ... or rather, stick out.

This alligator appears to have a jaw deformity causing some of its bottom teeth to protrude past (its) upper jaw, Carly Jones of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute told McClatchy News.

This is likely due to an injury. Jaw injuries are not uncommon in alligators and crocodiles. As long as the injury doesnt prevent the animal from getting enough food, they can usually survive and (recover) from them, even if a deformity remains after healing.

An intimidating alligator with protruding teeth has been seen roaming the Florida wilderness, and experts say its likely due to an injury.

American alligators have a broad, rounded snout with no lower teeth visible when their jaw is closed, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Their teeth are continually replaced as they age, possibly up to 50 times, Jones said.

The injured alligator has normal teeth, but they appear bigger due to its jaw deformity, she said.

How the gator was injured is not known, but its common for males to bite each other in battles over turf and females, resulting in limbs and tails being ripped off.

In a normal alligator, the bottom teeth fit inside of the upper jaw, behind the top teeth, and therefore are not visible when the jaw is closed, Jones said.

In crocodiles, the bottom and top teeth interlock when the jaw is closed so the bottom teeth remain visible, especially the prominent fourth tooth in the lower jaw. This alligators jaw deformity makes it an unusual exception to this rule.

The alligator was spotted in an area where researchers with the FWC Panther Project are monitoring and assessing panthers for feline leukomyelopathy (FLM), a neurological disorder affecting panthers and bobcats, officials said.

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Collier County is about 220 miles southeast of Tampa.

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US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INDICTMENT

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (L) leaves his office in New York on March 30, 2023. - A New York grand jury has voted to indict former US president Donald Trump over hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, multiple US media reported on March 30, 2023. Credit - Ed JONES-AFP

A former U.S. president was indicted for the first time in history, and they chose to charge him with paying hush money to a porn star?

Yes. Only there is no they.

On Thursday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Donald Trump, apparently for falsifying business records in 2016 to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who reportedly threatened to go public with allegations that she and Trump had engaged in an extramarital affair. The Wall Street Journal called it the weakest of charges. Columnist Peggy Noonan wrote that the indictment was below us tacky lowlifes doing tacky lowlife things. Instead of charging Trump in Manhattan, she wrote, Save the handcuffs for Georgia.

But criminal charges are not an either/or proposition. Falsifying business records may pale in comparison with the other crimes for which Trump is under investigation, but defendants dont get a pass on other crimes just because they committed a more serious one in another jurisdiction. Murderers are not legally immune from being charged with other, less serious crimes. Trump is not, either.

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Even more importantly, it is wrong to think of prosecutors as a single entity. Bragg in Manhattan is independent of District Attorney Fani Willis in Fulton County, Ga., and Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to lead the federal investigations into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the highly sensitive government documents found at Trumps Mar-a-Lago home last summer. Each prosecutor is sworn to investigate crimes and make charging decisions, regardless of whether some other prosecutor in some other jurisdiction is investigating the same person. Certainly, prosecutors exercise discretion. They dont charge every violation of law that comes across their desk, only those where they believe that prosecution is in the best interests of justice. If, based on his careful review of the facts and law, Bragg believes that falsifying business records is an appropriate charge in this case, then it would be inappropriate to decline seeking an indictment just because Trump might also be charged at some later date with a more serious crime in some other jurisdiction.

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Framing prosecutors as a monolith is a divide-and-conquer disinformation tactic. On his Truth Social social media platform, Trump recently posted a photo of Bragg with the words, the radical left, Biden Democrats seem desperate to derail by any means Donald Trump from becoming president again. In another, he criticized Bragg for planning to indict an innocent man, and suggested that Bragg is part of one unified effort to take down Trump: They spied on my campaign, Rigged the Election, falsely impeached, cheated and lied. They are HUMAN SCUM! Bragg, of course, had nothing to do with investigating the Trump campaigns ties to Russia, the 2020 presidential election or Trumps two impeachments. But Trump lumps all rivals together into one demonic force. When the world is limited to only two factions, then if Trump can persuade the members of the public that his rivals are so bad as to be an untenable choice, then their only option left is to support him.

While reasonable minds may disagree as to whether the charge in Manhattan was one that should have been brought, there is nothing improper about it. A grand jury found probable cause that the crime was committed, and now Trump will receive all of the due process rights any defendant receives in a criminal case. The strength of the indictment will be tested in court, where Bragg will be required to prove guilt to an unanimous jury of 12 citizens beyond a reasonable doubt. The procedural safeguards afforded to defendants in a criminal case incentivize prosecutors to bring only charges they believe they can prove.

One of the worst harms caused by the hyper-partisanship of recent years is the false notion that prosecutors make charging decisions for political reasons. During my 20 years as a federal prosecutor handling hundreds of cases, politics merited zero consideration. Prosecutors are ethically prohibited from basing charging decisions on political factors. Selective prosecutioncharging a person for a discriminatory or otherwise arbitrary reasoncan result in a dismissal of the case for violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. But a selective prosecution claim requires a defendant to show that other people who are similarly situated have not been prosecuted for the similar crimes. Here, Trump will be unable to make that showing. District Attorneys offices in New York have charged numerous other individuals for falsifying business records in recent years. Trump is not a victim of selective prosecution. What Trump really seems to want is special treatmenta pass, simply because he is a former president. That kind of treatment that would violate the rule of law, the idea that all of us are subject to the same rules.

In the coming weeks or months, we may see other prosecutors file charges against the former president, as well. But none of those decisions will be dependent on the other.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg became the first prosecutor in US history to charge a former or sitting president when he filed his indictment against Donald Trump.

The 49-year-old Democrat is no stranger to landmark moments: he is the first Black Manhattan DA, winning election to the post in November 2021.

A New York grand jury's indictment of Trump on Thursday over hush money paid to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels has put Bragg firmly in the national spotlight and drawn the ire of conservatives across the United States.

The Democrat ran for DA as a progressive candidate, pledging to seek alternatives to imprisonment and to increase prosecutions of white-collar financial crimes.

Born in Harlem in 1973, Bragg has said his experiences of aggressive policing by the New York Police Department (NYPD) when he was a teenager in the 1980s shaped his support for restorative justice.

He told The American Prospect magazine in 2021 that he had been "deeply affected by the criminal justice system, most directly through three gunpoint stops by the NYPD during unconstitutional stops."

"You can't really fully have public safety without trust," said Bragg, who was educated at Harvard and previously worked for the New York attorney general and the Southern District of New York.

But his start to life as a DA was far from smooth sailing.

Just days after taking office in January last year, Bragg announced that he would no longer prosecute low-level offenses, such as fare evasion and resisting arrest.

He also said he would seek lesser offenses for certain robberies and avoid seeking jail time for all but the most serious crimes.

By February, Bragg had been forced to revise the policy following a backlash from the NYPD and criticism from centrist Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who had pledged to crack down on violent crime.

Bragg also received early flak for perceived hesitance in the Trump probe he inherited from his predecessor Cyrus Vance, who started it in 2018.

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Two lead prosecutors quit the investigation into Trump's business dealings in February 2022, throwing the future of the inquiry into doubt.

The New York Times reported that the pair had resigned after Bragg raised doubts about pursuing a case against Trump.

- 'Pragmatic' -

While the DA's office would only say in a statement that the case was ongoing, in the background, it was honing in on the $130,000 payment made to Daniels in 2016.

In December, Bragg secured the convictions of the Trump Organization and another Trump entity over a years-long scheme to defraud and evade taxes through the falsification of business records.

Longtime Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in prison and agreed to pay $2 million in fines for his role in the scam.

Trump was not charged over the case.

That is said to have given Bragg the confidence to form a grand jury to begin hearing evidence in the hush-money probe.

"Bragg has shown himself to be flexible and pragmatic," former prosecutor Bennett Gershman told AFP, praising the DA for an "aggressive investigation" of Trump.

The former president has repeatedly lashed out at Bragg, calling him a "racist" and a "radical left" district attorney.

After Trump called Bragg "corrupt and highly political" earlier this month, the DA told staff that his office will "not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York."

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg at the New York Supreme Court in December 2022

Alvin Bragg made history in 2021 as the first black man elected New York County district attorney. His spotlight is about to grow a lot brighter.

As he left his office last night, Mr Bragg, 49, was saying nothing, knowing he'd guaranteed himself a place in the history books as the first ever prosecutor - at the federal, state or local level - to bring criminal charges against a former American president.

His office has been investigating an alleged hush money settlement between Donald Trump and an adult film star.

The case stems from a $130,000 (106,000) payment made by his then-personal attorney Michael Cohen to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels at the height of the 2016 presidential election, allegedly in exchange for her silence over an affair with Mr Trump.

The Republican ex-president vehemently denies wrongdoing. He took to his own social media platform to say that he does not expect to have a fair trial in New York.

"They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York!" he wrote on Truth Social.

The Manhattan district attorney is a veteran prosecutor who took office at the start of 2022 on a two-part platform: investing in alternatives to incarceration while ramping up white collar and public corruption prosecutions.

His campaign for DA focused heavily on his personal biography and the desire for prosecutorial reform it had kindled. Born and raised in New York's Harlem neighbourhood during the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic, he has spoken of having police officers hold him up at gunpoint; of encountering homicide victims at his doorstep; and of having a brother-in-law live with him after a period of incarceration.

The Harvard-educated attorney specialised in white collar fraud and civil rights issues, including representing the family of Eric Garner, a black man who died at the hands of New York police in 2014.

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He has claimed he helped sue the Trump administration more than 100 times in its four-year term. He also led New York's lawsuit against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Mr Bragg has experience with prosecutions at every level of government. He previously served as an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York, a deputy attorney general of New York and a chief litigator for the New York City Council.

Mr Bragg's office secured a conviction against the Trump Organisation last year

Days after taking office, DA Bragg detailed new charging, bail, plea and sentencing policies for the Manhattan borough. He said his office would no longer prosecute certain low-level offences such as public transport fare evasion and cannabis-related misdemeanours.

An outcry from local law enforcement and business leaders amid rising violence in New York City prompted DA Bragg to apologise and revise the policy.

He has since pointed to statistics showing major crimes have fallen under his leadership, but critics - including Mr Trump and his allies - assail him as a "radical" liberal who is lenient with criminals.

Mr Bragg inherited the Trump probe from his predecessor Cyrus Vance Jr, who opened the case nearly five years ago while Mr Trump was still in the White House.

Early in his term, two prosecutors from his office quit, with one claiming that the investigation had been "suspended indefinitely" by a "misguided" DA who did not want to prosecute Mr Trump.

The DA's office responded that the case was ongoing and it was "exploring evidence not previously explored".

Last December, two of Mr Trump's companies were convicted of tax violations at a criminal trial brought by Mr Bragg. Mr Trump himself was not charged, but The Trump Organization's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, is currently serving a five-month prison sentence.

This January, Mr Bragg convened a grand jury to evaluate evidence in the hush money probe.

In the wake of these historic charges against Mr Trump, the stakes are enormous. With his third bid for the White House under way, many say the indictment could supercharge his supporters and put him back in the Oval Office once again.
Amanda Kloots and Nick Cordero in 2017 at an event in New York City. Walter McBride/WireImage

Amanda Kloots shared a poignant tribute to her late husband Nick Cordero on Instagram Thursday.

March 30 was the third anniversary of Cordero's hospitalization for COVID-19 complications.

He later died of the illness in July 2020, and Kloots told followers in her post to "live and love to the fullest."

Amanda Kloots shared an emotional tribute to her late husband, actor Nick Cordero, on Instagram Thursday, which marked the third anniversary of his hospitalization for COVID-19.

"Three years ago today we took Nick to the emergency room at Cedars Sinai. March 30, 2020, is a day that is engrained [sic] in my brain forever as it's the last day I had with my husband," Kloots wrote in part, under an undated photo of Cordero holding their young son Elvis. "There are days in my life I wish I could go back in time to and this is one of them."

According to the talk show host, she would give Cordero "the biggest kiss," a "never ending hug," and tell him "I love you" "one million times" if she could.

"I was so foolish that day, so naive thinking I'd pick him up in two hours," Kloots continued. She concluded her post by urging her followers to "live and love to the fullest."

In her Instagram stories, Kloots also shared a March 2020 video of herself and Elvis (that she sent to several friends) waiting at the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles after dropping Cordero off at the hospital. Kloots expresses her hope that everything will be okay in the short clip, mentioning the fact that the song "Volare" is playing as a sign that things will turn out fine.

Cordero and Kloots were married in 2017, and welcomed Elvis in June 2019.

After being hospitalized for COVID-19 complications in late March, Cordero was later intubated as his symptoms worsened. His condition continued to deteriorate, with doctors later amputating his right leg and inserting a temporary pacemaker to help with heart issues.

Cordero died on July 5, 2020 after being in the hospital for over 90 days.

Cordero appeared in film and television but was best known for his work on Broadway. In 2014, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Cheech in the musical "Bullets over Broadway."

Read the original article on Insider
Brian Walshe, of Cohasset, Massachusetts, faces a Quincy Court judge. | Greg Derr, The Patriot Ledger via Associated Press

Update: A grand jury indicted Brian Walshe for the murder of Ana Walshe on Thursday. WCVB 5 News reported he remains in custody without bail and will face life in prison without possibility of parole if he is convicted. His indictment means he will be arraigned in the Norfolk Superior Court (he was previously arraigned at the Quincy District Court).

On Jan. 1, mother of three and real estate investment manager Ana Walshe went missing in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Since then, authorities have investigated her disappearance. On Tuesday, authorities issued an arrest warrant for her husband, Brian Walshe, charging him in connection with her death.

Walshe has been in custody since Jan. 9 on a charge of misleading investigators. According to CBS News, authorities have issued another arrest warrant for Walshe  this time, hes expected to be arraigned on Wednesday for murder charges.

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Ana Walshe went missing at the start of the new year. Her workplace reported her missing on Jan. 4, according to Deseret News. While her husband said he last saw her on Jan. 1, investigators believe that he gave a false timeline of when he last saw her.

Authorities also alleged that Brian Walshe didnt disclose a trip he took to Home Depot on Jan. 2, according to The Washington Post. There, he reportedly purchased $450 worth of cleaning supplies, using cash.

Investigators continued to look for Ana Walshe and evidence related to her disappearance when a two-day sweep of the town didnt lead to authorities finding her. Boston Globe reported, In court on Monday, prosecutors said they discovered blood and a damaged, bloodied knife in the basement of the couples Cohasset home.

Authorities say that they found additional evidence leading up to the arrest. CNN reported that the evidence included Brian Walshes internet records showing searches for how to dismember and dispose of a body, according to law enforcement sources; and a hacksaw and apparent bloodstains at a trash collection site.

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According to Boston Globe, additional details about the case will be revealed at the arraignment. Investigators said that they hoped that Ana Walshe was still alive, but the evidence led them in a different direction.

Brian Walshe had run-ins with authorities before his recent arrest. According to CNN, Further, Ana Walshe told police in 2014 someone threatened to kill (her) and her friend, according to an incident report CNN obtained from the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. A spokesperson for the department confirmed that Brian Walshe was the person involved in the report.

Additionally, at the time of Ana Walshes disappearance, he was under home confinement due to his conviction for fraud, per Deseret News. He had sold real and fake Andy Warhol paintings, which led to his arrest and subsequent conviction.
A Romanian court on Friday ordered that controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother be moved from jail to house arrest while they are investigated for alleged human trafficking and rape.

Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in late December, and have been held in pre-trial detention ever since, which was again extended last week.

However, an appeals court "rejected the prosecution's proposal to extend the pre-trial detention" and ordered the pair be placed "under house arrest", according to a court ruling, which was seen by AFP.

The brothers deny all charges brought against them.

Tate, a British-American former kickboxer who has millions of online followers, along with his younger brother and two Romanian women, are under investigation for allegedly "forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking and rape".

As part of the probe, Romanian police raided several properties connected to the Tate brothers and seized many of their assets, including a collection of luxury cars.

A court document from January said that one woman was "recruited" from the UK after she fell in love with Andrew Tate, who then brought her to Romania "with the goal of sexual exploitation".

In 2016, Tate appeared on the "Big Brother" reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.

He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views before being banned for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.

Tate was allowed back on Twitter after the South African billionaire Elon Musk bought the company.

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Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother were released on Friday after three months of detention in Romania and moved to house arrest while they are investigated for alleged human trafficking and rape.

Tate, a British-American former kickboxer with millions of online followers, along with his younger brother and two Romanian women, are under investigation for allegedly "forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking and rape".

Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in late December, and have been held in pre-trial detention ever since, which was again extended last week.

However, an appeals court "rejected the prosecution's proposal to extend the pre-trial detention" and ordered the pair be placed "under house arrest", according to a court ruling seen by AFP.

Accompanied by their Romanian lawyers, the brothers -- who deny all charges against them -- were released around midnight (2100 GMT) from the police central arrest premises in Bucharest amid chaotic scenes, an AFP journalist reported.

"Freedom at last," a smiling Andrew Tate said said to whoops and hollers from supporters as he arrived at his house. "It's a little bit emotional, I've been in one room since last year."

He thanked the judges for the release and maintained that he was innocent of all charges against him.

Media thronged the entrance while young fans greeted Andrew Tate with cries of "Top G" (for gangster), his nickname.

Tristan said the judges had made "the right decision" and vowed to prove that he was "an innocent man."

Their lawyer Eugean Vidineac said they were forbidden from contacting other people involved in the case and could not "leave their home without prior approval from judicial authorities."

Earlier, he insisted the brothers were not a flight risk.

"There's no reason for them to flee, because to be on the run is not a life worth living and the Tate brothers don't want this life. They are just tired and want to rest," he said.

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- Seized luxury cars -

The two men moved to Romania several years ago, and Tristan has a baby son who was born since his arrest.

As part of the probe, Romanian police have raided several properties connected to the Tate brothers and seized many of their assets, including a collection of luxury cars.

A court document from January said that one woman was "recruited" from Britain after she fell in love with Andrew Tate, who then brought her to Romania "with the goal of sexual exploitation".

The brothers, and the two Romanians also detained, allegedly trafficked, recruited and exploited women by coercing them into "pornographic acts with a view to producing and disseminating such material" online.

Flaunting his bulging muscles, cigars and fast cars, Tate's videos posted on social media fascinate millions of teenage boys.

A video he posted of himself pacing in his living room after his release garnered millions of views in just hours.

Giving tips on how to be successful, along with misogynist and sometimes violent maxims, his videos has made him one of the world's best-known influencers.

In 2016, Tate appeared on the "Big Brother" reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.

He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views, before being banned for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.

Tate was allowed back on Twitter, where he has 5.5 million followers, after the South African-born billionaire Elon Musk bought the company.

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Andrew Tate (L) and his brother Tristan Tate walk out of the central arrest centre of Bucharest police after three months of pre-trial detention - DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)

Andrew Tate, the divisive internet personality who has spent months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organised crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest, an official said on Friday.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Tates appeal, which challenged a judges decision last week to extend his arrest a fourth time for 30 days, said Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanias anti-organised crime agency, Diicot.

Tate, 36, a British-US citizen who has 5.4 million Twitter followers, was initially detained in late December in Romanias capital Bucharest, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women.

All four won an appeal on Friday, and will remain under house arrest until Apr 29, Ms Bolla said.

None of the four has yet been formally indicted.

Tate, a professional kickboxer who has resided in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.

He has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and alleged their case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.

Diicot said in a statement after the December arrests that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were allegedly subjected to acts of physical violence and mental coercion and sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.

Andrew Tate (L) and his brother Tristan Tate have been moved from jail to house arrest - DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)

The agency said victims were lured with pretences of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group.
Andrew Tate and brother Tristan leave court in Bucharest on Feb. 1. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A Romanian court on Friday granted an appeal from Andrew Tate , the notoriously misogynist influencer who has been behind bars for three months, to have his detention in a jail replaced with house arrest.

Tate, 36, was arrested in late December on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking, along with his brother Tristan and two alleged Romanian accomplices.

The brothers, who have maintained their innocence, were accused of forcing women to create online pornographic content.

Their pretrial detention has been extended four times since their arrest.

Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanian anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, told the Associated Press on Friday that the Bucharest Court of Appeal had ruled in favor of all four individuals moving to house arrest.

Mateea Petrescu, a spokesperson for Tate, confirmed the courts decision in a message to BuzzFeed News.

We are ecstatic to announce the Romanian judicial system approved Andrews and Tristan Tates appeal against last weeks extension decision. They will be placed under house arrest while the investigation continues, Petrescu said. We are appreciative of the judge and courts for allowing the brothers to return home.

Daniel Mihailescu / AFP via Getty Images

Both brothers are looking forward to being reunited with their families in Romania and want to extend their thanks to all the supporters who have stood by them during this time, Petrescu continued. They will continue to fight to clear their name of these fabricated accusations; however, this is a big step in the right direction.

Romanian news outlet Gandul also reported that the four would leave prison on Friday evening local time. It quoted the Tate brothers lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, as saying , No one will flee the country.

Representatives at DIICOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tate, a USBritish citizen who has lived in Romania since 2017, was banned last year from most major social media platforms .

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Three homemade explosive devices allegedly found in a backpack belonging to Xavier Pelkey, 18, of Waterville, Maine, who is accused by federal prosecutors of threatening to blow up Chicago-area mosques. (U.S. District Court records)

A 19-year-old from Maine who the FBI says built homemade explosives and plotted to attack places of worship in the name of the Islamic State group will plead guilty to providing material support to terrorists.

Xavier Pelkey of Waterville faces a maximum of 15 years in prison under a plea agreement in which a second charge will be dropped, according to court documents filed Wednesday. The change-of-plea hearing is set for next week in U.S. District Court.

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Pelkeys attorney did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment on Thursday.

Law enforcement officials said Pelkey was in communication with two juveniles  one in Canada, the other in Illinois  about conducting a mass shooting at a Shiite mosque in the Chicago area and other houses of worship. All three alleged plotters believed in a radical form of Sunni Islam that views the Shiite branch of Islam as nonbelievers, officials said.

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[ Feds raided Chicago home of teen suspected in plot to attack mosque, commit mass murder ]

Pelkey was 18 when he was arrested last year by FBI agents who found three homemade explosives in his residence. The devices were made of fireworks bundled together with staples, pins and thumb tacks to create shrapnel, the FBI said.

Investigators also found a handwritten document in Pelkeys bedroom that appeared to be a draft statement about the planned mosque attack, claiming it in the name of the Islamic State group. In the statement, Pelkey claimed allegiance to the extremist Sunni militant group, and an IS flag was painted on the wall of his bedroom, investigators said.

Despite their defeat in Syria in March 2019, the militant groups sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in both Syria and Iraq where they once declared a caliphate.
Alberto Flores reeled in a fish full of teeth that was almost as big as him in Texas  but it didnt come without a fight.

The TikTok creator posted a video March 26 of him fishing in the West Fork of Trinity River near the Dallas area. After tossing some bait into the murky water, he began to fight to reel in what he called a river monster.

The monster was a hefty alligator gar  a species that Texas coined its largest and most misunderstood freshwater fish.

Alligator gars are the largest type of gar and can grow up to 8 feet long and 300 pounds, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. They are known for their iconic long snouts.

This girl put up a beautiful fight, beautiful fish, Flores said between breaths after working hard to reel the fish in. After showing off his catch, he laid the gar down and let it slither down the bank back into the river.

Awesome, one viewer said about the catch. Those are dinosaurs for real.

You a brave soul, another person said.

Flores said he doesnt eat anything out of the Trinity River.

Nice catch and better release, another viewer commented. Hate to see people keep those dinosaurs.

Elusive blood-sucking fish washes ashore in Netherlands. Take a look  if you dare

Elephant lived alone and chained for 35 years. Now shes headed to Georgia sanctuary

Alligator with strange protruding teeth seen on trail camera in Southwest Florida

Once-in-a-lifetime shark washed up on British shores  then someone stole its head
Flowers and candles were placed on a bench at Memorial Park in New Carlisle in honor of Grace Ross, who was murdered in March 2021.

SOUTH BEND  St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Sanford sentenced Anthony Hutchens on Friday as a juvenile to a total sentence of 64 years for the March 2021 murder and molestation of 6-year-old Grace Ross in a wooded area near her home at an apartment complex in New Carlisle.

The sentence included 55 years for murder and nine years for child molestation. The sentences are to be served consecutively, and Anthony has already served 748 days for the murder charge.

Sanford found Anthony guilty of murder and child molestation after a two-day bench trial that concluded Jan. 26.

The verdict: Teen found guilty of killing, molesting New Carlisle 6-year-old

Sanford suspended those sentences under IC 31-30-4-2(b) and placed Anthony in an Indiana Department of Corrections juvenile facility. According to the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office, as a condition of the suspended sentence, Anthony must successfully complete placement at the juvenile facility.

Once Anthony turns 18, the juvenile facility will send Sanford a report on Anthony's time there. Sanford will then decide whether Anthony should remain at the juvenile facility until up to his 21st birthday, to sentence Anthony to an adult facility, to place him in community corrections or to discharge him from his sentence.

If and when Anthony is released, he will have to register as a violent sex offender.

Anthony's appointed public defender, Jeff Kimmell, said a St. Joseph County public defender appointed by the court will have 30 days to appeal Anthony's sentence.

Shortly after the sentencing, Grace's mother, Michelle Ross, posted on the Facebook page Justice for Grace Ross, "I'm sorry baby girl, you deserved better," in reference to the sentencing decision.

Two years of criminal proceedings

At about 6:30 p.m. March 12, 2021, Grace's family reported her missing after she had last been seen in the area of Chapman Drive. Her body was found two hours later in a wooded area behind the Prairie Ridge Apartment Complex.

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An autopsy by Jared Brooks, a forensic pathologist, found the cause of her death to be homicide by asphyxiation. It also revealed blunt force injuries to Grace's pelvic region.

At the trial, prosecutors showcased DNA evidence and a video-taped statement from Anthony as proof the teenager, then 14, killed and molested Grace. Ultimately, Sanford found prosecutors proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Vigil for Grace: New Carlisle residents come together to express love for 6-year-old found dead Friday

The sentencing concludes more than two years of criminal proceedings against Anthony that have included multiple rounds of evaluations and hearings that started in probate, or juvenile court, but later moved to adult, or superior, court. After the trial, Kimmell said he would appeal the verdict based on his contention that the trial should have been held in juvenile court.

On Friday, Anthony entered the courtroom in handcuffs and wearing an orange jumpsuit and flip flops with socks. The long, stringy dark hair in his mugshot is now shorter, though the right side still nearly covers his eye and hid his face from the witnesses and members of the media gathered in the courtroom for the sentencing.

Anthony's mother, dressed in jeans and a blue sweatshirt, sat alone in the front row, nervously picking at her fingernails. She waved at her son before the hearing began, though his hair prevented her from seeing his face for most of the proceedings.

Throughout the hearing, Anthony was silent and displayed little emotion, his gaze angled down slightly.

Grace's family spoke at the sentencing

Grace's mother and Grace's paternal grandmother, Kelly Howard, spoke at the sentencing as witnesses for the state. They emotionally shared how Grace's murder has impacted them over the past two years.

Ross said she still remembers having to identify her daughter from a picture on a detective's phone the night she was killed.

"Every time I close my eyes, all I could see is the picture of her laying in the woods, alone, on the detective's phone," Ross said.

She said she often thinks about the things her daughter will never get to do. Grace was supposed to play baseball later that year, and, Ross said, she had planned to sign Grace up for soccer the day after she was killed.

Grace Ross, 6, of New Carlisle.

"Grace will never get the chance to grow up or graduate high school or drive a car," Ross said, and Grace will never get to meet her siblings, a younger brother and sister, who were born after Grace's murder and will only know their big sister through "pictures and memories."

Howard said she has known no greater love in her life than being "Grace's Nana." She said she never knew she could love someone more or as much as her children until Grace was born.

"It's a whole different kind of love. Grace loved me, and I loved her," Howard said. "We had a very special bond."

Between tears, Howard asked aloud questions she said she's been thinking to herself since her granddaughter died: "When did my sweet grandbaby start to be afraid?" "How long was she in pain?" "How long was she crying out for her mom or her Nana?"

Howard said she believes Anthony's decision to kill Grace was premeditated and conscious. She said she hopes to "never live to see the day" he is out of prison.

"I will always only know my granddaughter til the age of 6 ," Howard said. "Until Grace can come home to her family, Anthony shouldn't be able to come home to his family."

Before Anthony was sentenced, Howard said seeing him sentenced to an adult facility would, in a small way, help ease her grief because at least there would finally be certainty as to how long Anthony would be incarcerated after waiting for two years.

Rehabilitation versus certainty argued

Dr. Michael Jenuwine, an attorney and licensed clinical psychologist, was called as a witness for the defense. Jenuwine said he has spent about 20 hours with Anthony, including 16 hours administering personality tests and other mental health assessments.

Jenuwine said he found Anthony to have a "whole host" of mental health issues, but no history of treatment. He said Anthony meets the criteria for an autism spectrum disorder and likely also has anger management and emotional issues. Additionally, he said, following Anthony's arrest for Grace's murder when he was 14, he was determined to be functioning at the developmental level of an 11- or 12-year-old.

Attorneys Jeff Kimmell, left, and Andrea Beachkofsky, representing Anthony Hutchens, speak to reporters Friday, March 31, 2023, after the sentencing of Hutchens in Superior Court in South Bend.

"After meeting with him yesterday, I have no reason to believe he's advanced much beyond that," Jenuwine said.

Jenuwine argued that Anthony should remain in a juvenile facility and said he thinks the teen can be rehabilitated, citing that Anthony has no prior criminal history. Jenuwine also said that he believes Anthony was abused by his stepfather as a child and may have witnessed domestic violence in the home while growing up.

Kimmell argued that due to Anthony's age, lack of criminal history and possible mental health concerns, he should be sentenced as a juvenile.

"You're going to be making a sentence today for a 16-year-old for something he did at 14 with the developmental capacity of an 11-year-old," Kimmell told the judge.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph County deputy prosecutor Christopher Fronk argued that whatever caused Anthony to commit murder likely cannot be fully addressed in the two or so years he'd spend in a juvenile facility. Plus, Fronk added, Anthony could receive the same services he has been receiving in the juvenile facility in an adult facility and would be housed with juvenile offenders until he was at least 18. The State recommended Anthony serve 67 years in the adult Department of Corrections.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Chris Fronk, left, and Mishawaka police detective Timothy Wiley speak to reporters after the verdict was handed down in a murder trial for Anthony Hutchens at the St. Joseph County Courthouse on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.

Fronk said that no matter how young or developmentally delayed Anthony may have been when he committed the crime, you learn that "you don't hurt people" by the time you've finished kindergarten.

"Grace knew that ," Fronk said. "Even an 11- or 12-year-old knows it's not right to do what he did."

Fronk called Anthony's crime "as heinous and aggravated as it gets with only one victim," adding the only way it could have been worse is "if there had been more victims."

Coming back in two years for another hearing once Anthony is no longer a juvenile "deprives the victim's family and the community" of the certainty of knowing what is going to happen in this case, Fronk argued, referencing Grace's grandmother's statement.

"I've asked the court to opt for certainty, opt for the treatment that's available (and) sentence Anthony as an adult," Fronk said.

Sanford sentences Anthony as a juvenile

Before sharing the official sentence, Judge Sanford addressed Grace and Anthony's families, saying, "I can only speculate how sad Grace's family feels," and "I imagine Mr. Hutchens' mother feels very alone in the courtroom."

The judge read from a report by the juvenile detention center where Anthony currently resides that stated that Anthony has "been well behaved in detention," spends most of his time reading or writing alone, and "has not caused a single problem" since entering the detention center. Sanford also said doctors recommended that Anthony be sentenced as a juvenile.

Even so, the judge added, likely due to Anthony's autism, "he doesn't have the wiring to feel remorse" in the way that he should. This may be able to be addressed in treatment, he said.

"Whatever sentence I impose today won't ease anyone's pain," Sanford said, "and it won't bring Grace back."

Email Tribune staff writer Claire Reid at cereid@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Judge sentences Anthony Hutchens as a juvenile for murder of Grace Ross
Anthony Joshua hit the heaviest weight of his career on Friday, coming in 21lbs heavier than Jermaine Franklin ahead of the pairs fight this weekend.

Joshua is looking to bounce back from two straight losses to Oleksandr Usyk as he boxes Franklin at Londons O2 Arena on Saturday night. And at Fridays weigh-ins, AJ came in at 255.4lbs (18.2 stone) compared to the 234.1lbs (16.7 stone) of his American opponent.

Briton Joshua was 11lbs heavier than he was in his last fight, a decision defeat by Usyk in August. Meanwhile, Franklin was 23lbs lighter than he was in his most recent bout, a controversial points loss to Dillian Whyte in November.

Ive got my gameplan, Ive got my mind right, and Im just ready to go to war, said Joshua, 33. I know Ive got the possibility of [a knockout win], 100 percent, but theres a process to get there. I just follow that process.

Franklin, 29, then said: Hes probably bulked up a little bit, but were ready for whatever. We got a chin of steel, so Im not worried too much about power; hes still got to be able to touch me with it.

Joshuas promoter Eddie Hearn told Dazn shortly thereafter: Im the closest person to the head-to-heads, Im seeing Jermaine Franklin looking at Anthony Joshua. I dont care what anyone says, [Franklin] is thinking: Look at the size of this guy. I mean hes an absolute tank.

Franklin was unbeaten until his majority-decision loss to Whyte, while Joshuas back-to-back points losses to Usyk were the second and third defeats of his career.

Joshua previously suffered a shock TKO loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019, before outpointing the Mexican-American six months later.
Two anti-abortion groups have settled their federal lawsuit against Mecklenburg County, which arose from the pandemic-related arrests of protesters outside a Charlotte clinic.

The groups claims against the City of Charlotte continue, David Benham, president of one of the plaintiffs, Cities4Life, told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday.

On April 4, 2020, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police arrested eight protesters belonging to either Benhams group or fellow plaintiff Global Impact Ministries.

The arrests occurred during a demonstration outside A Preferred Womens Health Center, an abortion clinic on Latrobe Drive in southeast Charlotte.

Police said at the time that those arrested had violated North Carolinas COVID-19-related ban on gatherings of more than 10 people. The policy, which was put in place statewide on March 10, 2020, was rescinded that April 29.

In their complaint, the groups claim that protesters were complying with the ban but were arrested anyway, violating the groups First Amendment protections of religion, speech and assembly.

The case received national exposure when Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, without providing proof, claimed that the arrests were a case of partisan overreach by the Democrat-run county and city.

This is an unconstitutional arrest, Cruz tweeted. @BenhamBrothers exercising core First Amendment rights. PEACEFULLY. In a way fully consistent w/ public safety. Because elected Dems are pro-abortion, they are abusing their power  in a one-sided way  to silence pregnancy counselors.

Under the settlement, which was announced Thursday, Mecklenburg County agreed to pay the anti-abortion groups $20,000.

The county also promises that any future emergency policy related to COVID-19 must exempt outdoor gatherings for the purpose of religious or spiritual worship, or for the purpose of engaging in First Amendment protected speech and assembly ... provided that all other measures for social distancing applicable to other similar activities are followed.

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The exemption would apply to the plaintiffs sidewalk prayer and related peaceful pro-life advocacy that plaintiffs were engaged in on April 4, 2020, the settlement states.

A copy of the filing supplied by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group that represented Benham and the anti-abortion groups, shows that Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio signed the settlement on March 17.

ADF said in a statement that Mecklenburg County officials have conceded that the First Amendment protects the pro-life citizens public advocacy.

Andrew Fair, a spokesman for Mecklenburg County, said in an email that the county does not have any further comment beyond what is in the settlement agreement.

The court fight arose out of the collision of two polarizing issues  the daily protests outside the citys abortion clinics; and pandemic restrictions on gatherings put in place by the county and city in early March 2020.

Several days before the arrests, Calla Hales, executive director of the Latrobe Drive clinic, told the Observer that protesters had created a public health nightmare by violating social distancing protocols and approaching patients without wearing gloves or masks.

On April 4, police said about 50 protesters gathered outside the clinic in violation of the states stay-at-home order, the Observer previously reported.

After an initial request for compliance, 12 people who were in violation refused to leave and were cited under state law for violation of emergency restrictions, according to a police news release.

After police issued the citations, eight of the protesters, including Benham, still refused to leave and were arrested.

According to his lawsuit, Benham said the protesters were mindful of both the risks of COVID-19 and the recent state and local orders, and they adhered to applicable regulations and guidance.

That included maintaining social distancing by standing at least 6 feet apart and having hand sanitizer available.

In fact, they even used sidewalk chalk to mark and maintain appropriate distances between individuals, Benham said in the complaint.

Where the groups complaint against the City of Charlotte now goes is unclear.

Charlotte attorney Daniel Peterson, who represents the city in the case, did not respond to an Observer email Thursday seeking an interview.

A spokesman for the City of Charlotte said Friday it does not comment on ongoing court matters.
Oleh Bakhmatyuk

The press service of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office reported on March 31 the authorization of the special pre-trial investigation. The decision on a special pre-trial investigation will allow the pre-trial investigation against the suspect to be completed, and the case to be referred to the High Anti-Corruption Court or HACC for consideration on merits.

In March 2023, the HACC charged Bakhmatyuk in absentia on suspicion of providing UAH 722 million ($19.6 million) in undue benefits to the former head of the State Fiscal Service, Roman Nasirov, and his advisor.

Nasirov faces eight to twelve years in prison under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code (accepting an offer, promise or receiving an improper advantage by an official), while Bakhmatyuk faces five to ten years in prison under Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code (proposal, promise or providing an improper advantage to an official).

The Criminal Court of Vienna, Austria has refused to extradite Bakhmatyuk to Ukraine in the VAB Bank case at the request of the Ukrainian prosecutor's office.

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 Army on Friday identified the nine soldiers killed in a crash involving two Black Hawk helicopters Wednesday evening in southwestern Kentucky.

The two helicopters were from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne, and were conducting a routine training exercise flying at night with the pilots wearing night vision devices. There was no clear indication of inclement weather, based on local weather reports.

The incident marked one of the worst training incidents in the Army's history. It also has returned the spotlight to incidents with Black Hawk helicopters, the service's key aviation tool for getting soldiers in and out of battle, which has been plagued with safety concerns for decades.

Read Next: GI Bill Housing Payments Delayed, VA Says

"My heart goes out to the families of these service members and to the members of the 101st Airborne Division who bravely and proudly serve our country each and every day," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

All soldiers were assigned to the 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida

Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri

Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, California

Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina

Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida

Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Alabama

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri

Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23, of Oradell, New Jersey

At 10 p.m. CT Wednesday, the two helicopters crashed into a field not far from a residential area. It is unclear what led to the crashes as Army officials are still investigating. It's the deadliest incident for the 101st Airborne since another crash involving a pair of Black Hawks in 1988 that killed 17 soldiers.

That crash also occurred around the same time of night and with fair weather, according to reporting at the time. Investigators concluded that the crash occurred when one Black Hawk slammed into another mid-air while conducting a routine maneuver.

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Black Hawk crashes in training make up the overwhelming majority of military aviation fatalities, in which five soldiers on average die a year on average, according to service data. In February, two Tennessee National Guard soldiers died in a Black Hawk crash in Alabama. In a 2015 incident, seven special operations Marines and four Louisiana National Guardsmen died when their Black Hawk crashed in Florida during nighttime training.

The Black Hawk has been in use by the Army since 1979 and has been grounded on several occasions over safety concerns. In total, the aircraft has been involved in at least 390 crashes and other incidents that resulted in injuries and deaths, the lion's share in the United States, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network. The site has tracked 970 deaths related to Black Hawk incidents.

The Army has not grounded the Black Hawk or ordered any further safety measures while the investigation into the incident continues.

"At this time, the Army's UH-60 fleet remains operational with no plans for a safety stand-down. A Safety Investigation Team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, headquartered at Fort Rucker, Alabama, is leading the safety investigation and, based on their findings, the Army will make decisions on safety and training protocols," Jason Waggoner, a service spokesperson, told Military.com in a statement.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: It 'Blew Everything Apart.' Osprey Accident Shows Danger of Clutch Issue as Services Keep Flying
A U.S. Army soldier who was killed in the March 29 helicopter crash outside Fort Campbell was about to become a first-time dad, his family shared.

Staff Sgt. Caleb Gore, 25, was one of nine soldiers who died when two Army Black Hawk medical-evacuation helicopters crashed during a nighttime training exercise in Kentucky.

Staff Sgt. Caleb Gore was killed in a helicopter crash in Kentucly. (Courtesy Tim Gore)

While the military has not released the names of those involved, Tim Gore, pastor of Fremont Missionary Baptist Church in North Carolina, confirmed one soldier on board was his son.

"My precious son Caleb was killed in a tragic helicopter accident last night," the grieving father wrote in a public Facebook post. "He was the light of my world and I have no words to express my grief right now. My words are my tears right now. Please pray for us all."

Tim Gore with his son, Caleb, as a child. (Courtesy Tim Gore)

The pastor told NBC affiliate WRAL his son, and his son's wife, Haleigh, recently learned they would become first-time parents.

They just found out yesterday it was a boy, Tim said. She was my sons childhood love, so the grief of the moment stretches pretty deep right now.

Caleb Gore and his wife, Haleigh (Courtesy Tim Gore)

Gore called his son "a hero."

My son was really a hero, not just in the sense that he was in the army but just who he was as a person, Tim told WRAL. He was a tank, he was literally a tank. If Captain America walked in the door, thats exactly what I would think he would look like.

Brigadier General John Lubas, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) deputy commanding general for operations, called the crash "a tragic loss" in a press release.

"This is a truly tragic loss for these families, our Division and Fort Campbell," Lubas said in a statement. "Our number one priority is caring for the families and the soldiers within our combat aviation brigade."

In a written statement to NBC, Gore says his son was "everything a father could wish for" and that Caleb couldn't wait to join the Army.

"He loved the Army," Gore wrote. "He was soon to become a registered nurse and was taking leadership training so that he could continue his career as he got older by training others in this field."

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Gore remembers Caleb as kind and compassionate.

"My son left behind a beautiful memory in the hearts of everyone he touched," Gore wrote. "He is my hero and I am proud that God let him call me dad."

Related video:

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Caleb Gore had spent over 13 years as a service member of the Army, with 11 of those years served as a sergeant

Facebook

A sergeant expecting his first baby is among the nine individuals killed after two U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters crashed during a routine training mission in Kentucky on Wednesday.

"The accident occurred at approximately 10 p.m. when the two helicopters were conducting a planned training exercise in and around the local Fort Campbell training area," a release from the 101st Airborne Division said Thursday.

Related:9 People Are Dead After 2 U.S. Army Blackhawk Helicopters Crash in Kentucky

"The Army has deployed an aviation safety team from Fort Rucker, Ala., to conduct a thorough investigation into the accident," the statement added.

While the Army did not immediately release the identity of the nine victims killed in the crash, Pastor Tim Gore of Fremont Missionary Baptist Church in North Carolina shared on Facebook that one of the passengers was his son, Caleb Gore.

"My precious son Caleb was killed in a tragic helicopter accident last night. He was the light of my world, and I have no words to express my grief right now," wrote Tim. "My words are my tears right now. Please pray for us all."

Facebook

Caleb had spent over 13 years as a service member of the Army, with 11 of those years served as a sergeant, according to his LinkedIn profile. Per NBC affiliate WSMV-TV, he was 25 years old.

Related:Skydiver Gets Tangled in Power Lines During First Solo Dive: 'I Don't Know If I'm Going to Jump Again'

Tim told WRAL that Caleb's wife Haley is pregnant with their first child.

"They just found out yesterday it was a boy," he said, sharing that she is currently about three weeks pregnant. "She was my son's childhood love, so the grief of the moment stretches pretty deep right now." Tim also remembered his son as a "hero."

"Not just in the sense that he was in the army but just who he was as a person," he said. "He was a tank. He was literally a tank. If Captain America walked in the door, that's exactly what I would think he would look like."

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RELATED VIDEO: 9 People Are Dead After 2 U.S. Army Blackhawk Helicopters Crash in Kentucky

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Brigadier General John Lubas, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) deputy commanding general for operations, shared in Thursday's press release that the division's "number one priority is caring for the families and the soldiers within our combat aviation brigade."

"This is a truly tragic loss for these families, our Division, and Fort Campbell," he added.

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Read the original article on People.
An aircraft safety team is in Kentucky to investigate the deadly Army helicopter crash that killed nine people in the southwest part of the state, the Pentagons top spokesperson said Thursday.

The team, from Fort Rucker, Ala., will look into how two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the 101st Airborne Division crashed while conducting a night training flight late Wednesday, killing four troops aboard one aircraft and five in the other, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.

The crash is the second such deadly incident involving a Black Hawk in a month, with a helicopter crashing along an Alabama highway during a training exercise in February, killing two Tennessee National Guard pilots.

But Ryder said hes not aware of a military-wide review of helicopter safety or an Army ordered stand-down of the aircraft.

Anytime theres an accident it is incredibly unfortunate and something we take incredibly seriously, Ryder said. Unfortunately, a lot of what we do is inherently dangerous. This is something that were always going to constantly be working at.

He later added that if the investigation team found something systemic, then there is a chance other Black Hawks could be grounded.

In the United States military, we take safety very, very seriously, he said, adding that each aviation unit has a safety branch whose primary role is to do exactly that  maintain constant situational awareness on safety. That is something that is baked into our culture and something that we will continue to do.

Earlier on Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin released a statement offering his condolences and pledging to work with Army leadership to address the incident.

My heart goes out to the families of these servicemembers and to the members of the 101st Airborne Division who bravely and proudly serve our country each and every day, Austin said. Im saddened by this tragic loss, and I am working with Army leadership to make sure our troops and their families receive the care that they need in the wake of this accident.

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Lawmakers also offered statements, including Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), whose district borders Kentucky and houses part of Fort Campbell, where the helicopters had taken off from.

Fort Campbell is one of the closest-knit communities weve ever been a part of, and we know this loss is being felt heavily, Green said, referring to him and his wife. Our prayers are with the families of those we lost.



The loved ones left behind need all of our support. These moments serve as a stark reminder that freedom is never without sacrifice, he continued. America is grateful for their willingness to serve, and our hearts are broken that it came with such a high cost.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Arsenal enter the final furlong of the Premier League title race with a clash against Leeds on Saturday as they bid to be crowned champions for the first time in 19 years.

Second-placed Manchester City cannot afford to stumble in a marquee match-up against Liverpool, while the battle to avoid relegation is heating up.

AFP Sport looks ahead to a crucial weekend in the top flight after the international break.

Arsenal fuelled by 'powerful' bond

With 10 games to play, Arsenal are in pole position to win their first title since 2004 after reeling off six successive victories to build an eight-point lead over Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta's side have played a game more than the champions and still have to travel to Manchester to face Pep Guardiola's team on April 26, but they have the destiny of the title firmly in their grasp.

Few would have expected Arsenal to be so close to glory after they blew their attempt to finish in the top four last season.

Arteta has worked wonders with a humble squad short of superstars but filled with team-first workaholics who buy into their manager's desire to have a group of players who enjoy being around each other.

"We have the right level of competition and cooperation because they really want to help each other, but they have to challenge each other as well," Arteta said ahead of Leeds' visit to north London on Saturday.

"The secret is probably the unity and togetherness that they have between them.

"They love to spend time with each other, they love to play with each other. That's very powerful."

Man City braced for Liverpool showdown

Manchester City are refusing to surrender their crown without a fight, winning their past six games in all competitions and scoring a combined 13 goals in their most recent matches against Leipzig and Burnley.

But there is little margin for error in City's attempt to clinch a fifth title in six seasons.

Pep Guardiola's men have a slightly easier run-in than Arsenal on paper, yet also have the distractions of a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich and an FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United.

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For City to stay in touch with Arsenal, they must beat sixth-placed Liverpool in the league for the first time in two years -- Jurgen Klopp's men still harbour hopes of salvaging a dismal season by sneaking into the top four.

City may have to face Liverpool without star striker Erling Haaland, who missed Norway's recent internationals with a groin injury.

Intense survival scrap

The desperate scrap to avoid relegation looks tighter than ever, with nine clubs fighting for survival.

Just four points separate bottom-of-the-table Southampton and 12th-placed Crystal Palace.

Palace responded to their failure to win a single match in 2023 by sacking Patrick Vieira and re-appointing Roy Hodgson, with the former England boss taking charge for the first time against fellow strugglers Leicester on Saturday.

"I know my birth certificate tells me I am old enough to retire but the way I feel doesn't tell me that," said the 75-year-old Hodgson.

Bournemouth and West Ham are in the bottom three with Southampton, but sit only three points behind 13th-placed Wolves, whose manager, Julen Lopetegui, has urged his team to embrace the tense battle.

"It's a pleasure to play these kinds of matches. To feel this pressure is a good thing," Lopetegui said as he looked forward to the clash against struggling Nottingham Forest.

Leeds and Everton are also far from safe in a survival race that looks certain to go down to the wire.

Fixtures (1400 GMT unless stated)

Saturday

Manchester City v Liverpool (1130), Arsenal v Leeds, Bournemouth v Fulham, Brighton v Brentford, Crystal Palace v Leicester, Nottingham Forest v Wolves, Chelsea v Aston Villa (1630)

Sunday

West Ham v Southampton (1300), Newcastle v Manchester United (1530)

Monday

Everton v Tottenham (1900)

smg/jw/mw
Despite concerted efforts from vendors at the Little Village Discount Mall  some of who had been there for decades  their bids to remain in the storied shopping center under the new ownership failed.

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Last Monday night, more than 40 vendors were forced to vacate their shops and put their merchandise in storage  or for some, in their garages and homes  while they figure out where theyll set up their stores again, if ever.

There was disbelief and frustration, tears and anger as vendors and their families packed up and loaded the moving trucks parked in front of the building that had given much of its character to the Little Village neighborhood, said Juan Zarate, whose family operated three stores in the mall for nearly 30 years.

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We wanted to stay here, and Im glad we tried, he said.

When Novak Development, the plazas new owner, announced earlier this year that it had reached an agreement with only one of the two leasing companies for the mall, vendors were disheartened and under their organization, Juntos Por la Villita, they sought help from local leaders and city officials to intervene.

But the help came too late, Zarate said by phone from his home, now filled with hundreds of items that he and his family sold at the Discount Mall.

On Monday night, as Zarate and his family finished packing, city officials announced that they had reached an agreement with Novak to allow the vendors operating through PK Mall  the leasing company that did not renew its contract with Novak  to remain in the building six more weeks while the city modified a nearby former CVS to accommodate the vendors through the end of December, with a potential long-term solution to be discussed.

Pilsen Plaza Corp., owned by Kyunhee Park, signed a new 10-year lease with Novak to continue renting space to nearly half the 150 vendors that operated at the mall.

Though city officials recognized that the announcement of the six-week extension and plan to relocate vendors came hours before the vendors deadline to vacate the building, they are hopeful that it will develop a path forward that empowers vendors who are so vital to the Little Village community, a statement said.

Merchandise is hauled out from the Little Village Discount Mall on March 27, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

A Wonder Woman pinata is seen on the ground as vendors and workers move out merchandise from the Discount Mall in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood on March 27, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Nubia Willman, the citys chief engagement officer, said her team worked to understand the community while also explaining to the vendors that there was little the city could do to stop Novak from asking PK Mall to end its leases since it was a transaction between private businesses.

We didnt have that much power but we did have the ability to find these alternatives, Willman said. We told them as soon as we could.

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The mayors office worked with local stakeholders to develop a comprehensive plan that meets the needs of the local entrepreneurs and it will continue to work with Discount Mall management and vendors, neighborhood stakeholders, as well as the local aldermen to develop a long-term solution, according to the statement.

Under the current plan, which is yet to be finalized, the city is partnering with the Little Village Chamber of Commerce to restore a former CVS at West 27th Street and South Pulaski Road to provide a space for the displaced vendors until at least the end of the year, according to officials. Funding to support the Little Village Chamber of Commerces efforts to assist vendors in their transition is provided by the Neighborhood Strategy Team at Choose Chicago, which has worked to promote underserved neighborhoods and preserve Chicagos rich cultural diversity.

The space will be operated as a pop-up shop, and those vendors who choose to participate will pay a subsidized rent for the space, but details, including the number of vendors that can be accommodated and the rent prices, are yet to be determined, said Jennifer Aguilar, the executive director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce.

Aguilar said that her team struggled with the proposal because we wanted it to be a permanent solution and not just a temporary one that leads them to the same situation. But we dont know what will happen after December, Aguilar said.

Samir Mayekar, deputy mayor for economic and neighborhood development, said that city officials priority is to finalize the short-term solution, adding, however, we are also working with the vendors on a longer-term solution.

We are very optimistic that we could find a longer-term solution that could potentially be a site that they (the vendors) help co-own and manage, Mayekar said.

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Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, said that the citys response was strategically late and the urgency only came after a Cook County judge denied a request from vendors who faced eviction for an emergency injunction last Friday.

Sigcho-Lopez said he will continue to help vendors find a permanent place to set up their shops either in Little Village or in the 22nd Ward. Another proposal vendors have heard is the possible creation of a co-op so that they can buy their own property.

I think that the extension was all just a show, but Im grateful that there are some options for us, Zarate said.

Salgado said that after speaking to vendors, the sentiment was unanimous: Theyre upset and frustrated, but many want to stay in the area, and if we can provide them that space until we figure out something more permanent, we will go forward with the plan to open the new location.

Sarfrazz Satti, a Pakistani immigrant who ran one of the oldest shops on the side of the Little Village Discount Mall that closed, said even with a six-week extension available, he wont come back to the mall.

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You need at least two months to set up a shop, he said. He took most of his merchandise to a storage unit and rented moving trucks. Everything costs money, the U-Haul, the man hours, he added.

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Satti said he was able to look at the CVS, but that the space is a bit small and hes still undecided if he will set up shop again in any place at all.

I dont blame (Novak for ending the business), he said. (Novak) bought the building, its their choice. Everything has its time. You either go up or you go down.

As Mayor Lori Lightfoots term comes to an end, Mayekar said officials believe that most of the short-term solution for 2023 will be complete before the mayoral transition.

We may even have a long-term framework of a solution before the transition, he said. And our goal will be to make sure that over the course of the transition, we set up the next administration for success on this matter because thats what the people of Little Village deserve.

Chicago Tribunes Richard Requena contributed.

larodriguez@chicagotribune.com
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church of Maryville hosted a well-attended, multimedia Celebration of the Arts on March 18, featuring displays of wares from the Townsend Artisan Guild, as well as a classical piano concert by Slade Trammell and Sophie Wang.

Joy Fournier, from left, Slade Trammell and wife, pianist Sophie Wang, and Maestro Serge Fournier

Trammell, music director for Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge, played selections from Schubert, Schuman, Debussy and Chopin. Along the way he shared biographical notes of interest about the artists, the musical selections, and the contexts of time and place and period.

Trammell, who serves on the music faculty of Roane State Community College, is married to Wang, who is a piano professor at Mississippi State University.

A native of Western North Carolina, Trammell gave his first public performance at the age of 10. Five years later, after a family move to Tennessee where he attended The Webb School of Knoxville (from which he graduated), he was accepted as a pupil of David Brunell, a faculty professor at the University of Tennessee, whom Trammell credits as a strong influence in his piano development.

As a conductor, Trammells first public appearance on the podium was at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he was accepted as a pupil of Maestro Serge Fournier, onetime assistant conductor with Leonard Bernstein, of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Attending as Fournier's guest at the Maryville performance was Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor Regulo Stabilito.

During the St. Andrews concert, Wang joined Trammell at the piano to perform, as the finale, a selection by Richard Strauss, written originally as an orchestral piece for his opera, "Waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier." The selection was later adapted for two pianos. Wang, however, further adapted the earlier adaptation into an arrangement for four hands on one piano.

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How long did it take you two to learn how to do that? one audience member asked after the husband-and-wife team successfully survived the series of hand-over-arm-over-hand contortions that made it possible to play the piece on only one piano.

You had to see it to believe it, said another attendee.

Joy Schrotenboer Fournier, organist and choirmaster with St. Andrews and formerly organist and choirmaster with St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Oak Ridge, introduced the performers.

Sales proceeds and donations supported Habitat for Humanity of Blount County.

Attending as Fournier's guest was Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor Regulo Stabilito.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Arts Celebration spotlights Oak Ridge Tennessee musicians
An Atlanta woman who just turned 102 years old on Friday is filled with joy after meeting Bernice King on her birthday.

Clara Mama Bridges had two wishes on her big day. The first wish was to get a chili dog from a well-known Atlanta fast food restaurant known as The Varsity. Her second wish was to meet the daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The post Atlanta Women Gets 102nd Birthday Wish Fulfilled After Meeting Bernice King appeared first on Blavity.

The Atlanta centenarian was working as a pediatric nurse at Grady Hospital when she first met Dr. King, who was a teenager at the time. Speaking to WSB-TV, Bridges said she knew that young man would do great things.

Now, Bridges is just as thrilled to see Bernice, who is also ecstatic after meeting the Atlanta senior.

It meant everything to me, just to see her smile. Its a smile to me and I know hes just laughing up there, Bernice told WSBTV.

Bridges enjoyed her birthday with the help of her community at the Peachtree Senior Towers, where she has live for 47 years. Bernice, who is the youngest child of Dr. King, sang Happy Birthday for Bridges.
Cocaine, ecstasy, hydrocodone, iPhones, tobacco and cigarette rolling papers.

Those were among the items local defense attorney Allen C. Jones smuggled to a murder suspect being held in the Muscogee County Jail, a sheriffs investigator testified Friday in Muscogee Municipal Court.

Jones, 51, appeared via teleconference before Judge Steven Smith for a bond hearing following his arrest Thursday on 10 felony counts related to taking contraband into the jail.

Local attorney Allen Jones, 51, appears remotely for a hearing before Municipal Court Judge Steven D. Smith Friday morning in Columbus, Georgia. 03/31/2023

Questioned in court by District Attorney Stacey Jackson, Investigator Michael OKeefe said Jones was observed from the time he left his car in the jail parking lot Wednesday to meet for six minutes with the inmate in an interview room until his departure. Authorities then strip-searched the inmate, finding five envelopes Jones had delivered, he said.

Inside the envelopes, investigators found 18.7 grams of what they initially thought was methamphetamine, but turned out to be cocaine, OKeefe said. They also discovered 10 tablets of ecstasy, three hydrocodone pills and seven strips of paper soaked with a substance believed to be a drug, but yet to be identified, he said.

They also found five new iPhones in their original plastic packaging, plus the tobacco and rolling papers, he said. They got warrants for Jones and arrested him in Columbus on Thursday, OKeefe said.

OKeefe said the inmate Jones met was not his client, which aroused suspicion. Neither OKeefe nor Jackson would identify the inmate, though the district attorney said after court that he is a murder suspect. OKeefe said his name is being withheld to ensure his safety inside the jail.

Jones admitted taking the contraband into the jail when he was arrested, OKeefe testified.

Michael OKeefe, an investigator with the Muscogee County Sheriffs Office, facing camera, speaks with District Attorney Stacey Jackson Friday morning before a hearing for local attorney Allen Jones, 51.

Judge sets bonds

Finding the evidence sufficient to send Jones case to Muscogee Superior Court, Judge Smith set bonds totaling $107,000 on these charges:

$20,000 for possessing ecstasy with the intent to distribute it

$20,000 for possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it

$25,000 for crossing jail guard lines with unauthorized drugs

$6,000 each on seven counts of taking prohibited items into the jail

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Sheriff Greg Countryman, whose office operates the jail, said at a news conference Thursday that the envelopes Jones brought in were marked for delivery to specific inmates, and that cell phones in particular were in high demand: Cell phones will sell for about $2,000 in the jail, he said.

OKeefe said a single, thin tobacco cigarette can be worth $50, and the strips of paper thought to be saturated with a drug could fetch as much as $7,000 each.

Neither he nor Jackson would say whether others were involved in the alleged smuggling, only that the investigation continues.

How Jones arrest could affect the clients he represents remained unclear Friday. While based in Phenix City, Alabama, he is licensed in both Alabama and Georgia.

Jackson said Jones may be allowed to continue practicing law until either the state bars of Alabama or Georgia moves to suspend his license.

Rick Chancey, the Russell County, Alabama, district attorney, said Jones cases there wont proceed to trial until his status is clear.

Jones has been representing Damon Daniels Jr., whos charged with capital murder in a double homicide last year on the Phenix City Riverwalk. Daniels is accused of gunning down Darrelyn Darren Harris and John Arthur Burkus on Dec. 3.

Chancey said Daniels is set for arraignment on April 26. The suspect has a second attorney, Joshua Fleitas, so that hearing wont be affected, he said.
The Florida Attorney Generals office weighed in on a scheduled execution for a man that murdered a Flagler County couple in 1989.

This week, lawyers for Louis Gaskin filed a motion for a stay-of-execution.

Watch: Florida lawmakers approve bill to allow carrying of concealed weapons without a permit

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Gaskin about two weeks ago.

However, Gaskins attorneys said the jury didnt hear evidence about his mental illness before recommending a death sentence.

Watch: Im so hurt: Family demands answers after boy with special needs dies at medical day care

The attorney generals office urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject that request.

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.
Auli'i Cravalho wears a red handprint on her face at "The Power" New York Premiere and Screening. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

On a red carpet for Amazon Prime's "The Power," actress Auli'i Cravalho posed with a red handprint painted across her face.

The symbol represents the growing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Indigenous women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than other women in the US.

On March 23, at the premiere of Amazon Prime's "The Power" in New York City, actress Auli'i Cravalho took the spotlight for her unique red carpet look. But it wasn't her floral-print Naeem Khan dress that drew the attention of photographers and reporters as much as the red handprint painted across her face.

The symbol represents the growing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, who are 10 times more likely to be murdered than other women in the US. "It is incredibly frustrating that there are not enough cases that are actually followed up with, and it points to police and how they are not using their funds correctly," Cravalho told Good Morning America at the event.

Oftentimes, these cases go unreported. In 2016, the National Crime Information Center reported 5,712 cases of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls. However, the U.S Department of Justice missing persons database only reported 116 cases. Another 2021 report found that more than 4 in 5 cases of missing Indigenous people don't have complete information on tribal affiliation in NamUs, the federal missing persons database. According to a 2018 Urban Indian Health Institute report, reasons for the lack of quality data include "underreporting, racial misclassification, poor relationships between law enforcement and American Indian and Alaska Native communities, poor record-keeping protocols, institutional racism in the media, and a lack of substantive relationships between journalists and American Indian and Alaska Native communities."

Murder is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women, and while almost 60% of the reported missing and murdered Indigenous women cases are homicides, most of them remain unsolved. There are many factors that lead to this epidemic, one being a lack of media coverage paid to women of color and a lack of awareness around the reality that Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately affected by gender violence.

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Gestures like Cravalho's decision to highlight this crisis at a nationally televised event are important in spreading awareness. Optimistically, the actress's red carpet look is one of many initiatives to spotlight the growing epidemic, with Showtime releasing "Murder in Big Horn," just last month. The three-part documentary examines the cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women within Big Horn County, Montana.

As Cravalho shared on Instagram: "I felt a responsibility to ground our work out of the sci-if realm, and back into the real world. I am humbled and deeply grateful to the many outlets who continue to share this message."

Read the original article on Insider
An Austin woman was one of nine soldiers killed in a helicopter crash near Fort Campbell, Ky., on Wednesday night, the U.S. Army announced Friday.

All nine soldiers died in the accident involving two U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters in Trigg County, Ky., during a routine nighttime training exercise about 10 p.m. Wednesday. On Friday, the Army identified the soldiers  including 23-year-old Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos of Austin  after notifying all the victims' families.

Bolanos enlisted in the Army in 2019, attended basic training in South Carolina and Advanced Individual Training in Virginia, according to WATE 6 News, a Knoxville TV station. She had been assigned as a UH-60 helicopter repairer and UH-60 air crew member for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since March 2020, the station reported. She served nine months in Germany in support of Atlantic Resolve in 2020.

Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, was one of nine soldiers killed in a helicopter accident Wednesday night near Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne Division deputy commanding general for operations, told The Associated Press that four people were in one helicopter and five were in the other. He said the helicopters crashed in a field with no injuries on the ground. It's not yet clear what caused the crash.

"This is a truly tragic loss for these families, our division and Fort Campbell," Lubas said in a statement. "Our number one priority is caring for the families and the soldiers within our combat aviation brigade."

All of the soldiers were members of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade in Fort Campbell.

"This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come," said Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell. "Now is the time for grieving and healing. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen Soldiers."

An Army aviation safety team from Fort Rucker, Ala., is conducting an investigation into the accident, according to a news release.

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"Our entire Fort Campbell community is surging resources in support, Lubas said. Our thoughts and prayers are with these families and soldiers during this difficult time.

9 Fort Campbell soldiers in helicopter crash named

Besides, Bolanos, the soldiers who died in the crash are:

Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Fla.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Mo.

Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles.

Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, N.C.

Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Fla.

Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Ala.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith. 32. of Rolla, Mo.

Sgt. David Solinas Jr, 23, of Oradell, N.J.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Fort Campbell helicopter crash victims identified, includes Texan
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia said it has "deep concerns" about delays in the case of Australian journalist Cheng Lei who faced a closed door trial in Beijing on national security charges a year ago.

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on Friday that Cheng was still waiting to learn the outcome of the trial 12 months later.

"We share the deep concerns of Ms. Cheng's family and friends about the ongoing delays in her case," Wong said.

Cheng, who has been detained in Beijing since her arrest in 2020, has two young children living in Australia. Wong said the Australian government has advocated for Cheng to be reunited with her family.

Cheng was a business television anchor for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN before being arrested and accused of providing state secrets to a foreign country.

She was born in China and moved with her parents to Australia as a child. Later she returned to China to build a television career first with CNBC, starting in 2003, and in 2012 she joined CGTN.

China's foreign ministry has previously told Australia to respect China's judicial sovereignty.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
SYDNEY, 2021 (Reuters) - (This Nov. 4, 2021 story has been updated to comply with an Australian court order to the media.)

Australian police charged a 36-year-old man on Thursday with abducting a four-year-old girl from an outback campsite 18 days before she was found safe in a locked house.

The man was twice taken to hospital for self-inflicted injuries before being interviewed, police in Western Australia state said in a statement.

The girl, Cleo Smith, had last been seen in her family's tent in the early hours of Oct. 16 at the remote Blowholes Shacks campsite in Macleod. In the morning she was gone.

Her disappearance triggered an extensive search by land and air, along with roadblocks and scouring of CCTV footage.

She was found safe on Wednesday when police broke into a house in Carnarvon, a town about 100 km (60 miles) south of the campsite on the far northwest coast of the state. The house is 3 km (2 miles) from her family home, media said.

The suspect appeared in court and was due to appear again on Dec. 6, police said.

During his court appearance the man threatened journalists in the public gallery and asked them what they were staring at, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported.

Police released an audio recording of their entry into the house and the discovery of the girl in a room. "We've got her. We've got her," an officer could be heard saying.

After being asked her name a few times, the toddler answered: "My name is Cleo". She had been found playing with toys with the light on, police said.

After meeting her family, state Premier Mark McGowan said Cleo was a "very bright, upbeat, sweet little girl" and looked "very well adjusted", considering her ordeal.

Specialist child interviewers would speak with her, and authorities had instructed her parents on how to talk to her to preserve her memory, authorities said.

The hashtag #CleoSmith has been trending on Twitter since Wednesday, with a picture posted by police that showed a smiling Cleo waving from her hospital bed drawing nearly 54,000 "likes".

Purple and pink balloons adorned the streets and many landmarks in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, were lit up in blue on Wednesday night to thank police for their efforts.

(Reporting by Renju Jose, Pauline Duran in Sydney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel, Giles Elgood.)
Mike Fleiss Steven Lawton/FilmMagic

The creator of The Bachelor left the franchise this week after being accused of racial discrimination, according to a new report.

Mike Fleiss, creator and executive producer of the long-running reality show, confirmed his surprise departure this week, thanking ABC "for 21 extraordinary years." But Variety now reports he departed the Bachelor franchise after Warner Bros. Television conducted an "investigation into allegations of racial discrimination."

According to Variety, the probe was sparked by employee complaints accusing Fleiss of bullying and resistance to increased diversity on the show. Those who spoke to investigators alleged Fleiss lashed out at suggestions of casting more diverse stars, and one source told Variety, "People said he would retaliate against people for having minorities and Black people on the show. He favored certain people over other people. He would say, 'Minorities don't get ratings.'" Deadline confirmed that Warner Bros. TV investigated "claims of alleged racist behavior as well as verbal and emotional abuse against Fleiss."

In a statement to Variety and Deadline, Fleiss admitted that since he created the show in 2002, "Times have certainly changed and I'd have to say we didn't keep up with the pace of those changes." He added, "I am proud of the work we've done over the past five years to make the show substantially more diverse, but I do believe I could have done more." The Bachelor only had its first Black lead in 2021 with Matt James.

But in his statement, Fleiss pointed to the "number of teary messages that blew up my phone" when he announced his departure as evidence that "I had more good days than bad" and "lifted more spirits than hurt feelings." According to Variety, the producer, who was previously accused of attacking his pregnant wife, will still be credited as the franchise's creator going forward.

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The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey wished her childhood self a happy Trans Day of Visibility in a poignant tweet shared Friday (31 March).

Ramsey  also known for starring in Game of Thrones  came out as non-binary in January this year. In a later interview, she elected to use she/her pronouns, telling the publication that she doesnt mind what pronouns are used for her.

Happy TDOV to this little dude! Ramsey tweeted alongside a photo of her younger self.

I didnt know the word non-binary in this picture. But I knew what it meant. Inherently. Because I always was, and always will be. Lotsa love to all of my trans, enby and gender funky friends. #TransDayOfVisibility.

The 19-year-old English actor told The New York Times in January that her gender has always been very fluid.

Im very much just a person, she said. Being gendered isnt something that I particularly like, but in terms of pronouns, I really couldnt care less.

Happy TDOV to this little dude! I didnt know the word non-binary in this picture. But I knew what it meant. Inherently. Because I always was, and always will be. Lotsa love to all of my trans, enby and gender funky friends. #TransDayOfVisibility  pic.twitter.com/8T5Kq6SIOW  Bella Ramsey (@BellaRamsey) March 31, 2023

Ramsey revealed that for 90 per cent of the filming process, she wore a chest binder, which she said helped her focus better on set.

Which probably isnt healthy, she admitted. Like, please bind safely.

She said she shared many conversations with her super supportive co-star Pascal regarding sexuality and gender.

They werent always deep: they could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum. We were just very honest and open with each other, Ramsey said.

Pascal has been an outspoken LGBT+ ally since his younger sister came out as trans in 2021.

The Mandalorian star recently shut down a paparazzo who repeatedly asked him about The Last of Us LGBT+ themes.
Chinese FM meets Dominican counterpart

Xinhua) 08:32, March 31, 2023

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang meets with his Dominican counterpart Vince Henderson in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BOAO, Hainan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with his Dominican counterpart Vince Henderson on Thursday in Boao, Hainan Province, and pledged to boost bilateral ties.

Qin said that Dominica is a good friend and partner of China in the Caribbean region.

China is willing to take the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Dominica next year as an opportunity to strengthen bilateral exchanges at all levels, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, enhance multilateral cooperation, and promote China-Dominica ties to reach a new level, Qin said.

He said China appreciates the support of Dominica for the Global Development Initiative and welcomes its active participation in the Global Civilization Initiative.

Henderson said Dominica adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in fields such as agriculture, education, medical care and climate change, and deepen exchanges and cooperation between the Caribbean Community and China.

Dominica supports and is willing to join the Global Civilization Initiative to work with China to promote exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations, he added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The mouth of the Calumet River at Calumet Harbor into Lake Michigan, March 27, 2023. According to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers analysis, 97% of projected dredging in the Chicago Area Waterway System over the next 20 years will be in Calumet Harbor and Calumet River. Dredging makes cargo voyages more efficient. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Linda Gonzalez grew up swimming in the Lake Michigan and playing softball on the fields at Calumet Park, but today, the lifelong Southeast Side resident thinks twice before dipping her toes in the water.

Its difficult to try to enjoy some of these things now. I find myself, when I go to the beach, looking at the sand and looking to see whats washed up, said Gonzalez, 53. I think its really just been a change from a time of innocence where maybe things were not so apparently risky as they are now.

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Directly north of Calumet Park and along Lake Michigan sits a 45-acre site where toxic sediment dredged from the Calumet River and the Cal Sag Channel has been dumped for 39 years. Known as a Confined Disposal Facility, the area was supposed to be turned into a public park, not once but twice. In the latest shift, instead of closing the facility now that its full, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to add 25 feet to its height and extend it another 4 acres along the shoreline.

The expansion would allow approximately 1 million cubic yards of additional dredged materials containing toxic pollutants to be stored at the site for at least another 20 years, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

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Earlier this month, two community organizations  Alliance of the Southeast and Friends of the Park  filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Army Corps to stop the expansion. The suit alleges the Army Corps did not receive necessary legislative permission to expand the disposal facility and failed to adequately consider the environmental impacts.

Home to Chicagos largest Industrial corridor zoned for manufacturing, the Southeast Side has a high concentration of polluting industries. Residents breathe some of the citys dirtiest air, and more than 75 companies in the area have been investigated for Clean Air Act violations since 2014.

[ Fiercely proud of their home, residents of the Southeast Side  long a toxic dumping ground  are rising up against polluters ]

(The disposal facility expansion) is just the continuation of policies to keep locating toxic development in overburdened communities. The lawsuit, for us and for a lot of residents, is saying: Enough is enough. Were tired of being the dumping ground for all these sorts of developments for the city, said Alliance of the Southeast Executive Director Amalia NietoGomez.

As the mayoral election enters its final days, candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas have promised to help communities struggling with pollution concerns.

Earlier this week, in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Lincoln United Methodist Church in the Lower West Side neighborhood, both pledged to reestablish a Department of Environment and fight industrial polluters.

They called for community-based activist groups to have a seat at the table in the resurrected department, which was disbanded under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Mayor Lori Lightfoot chose not to bring back the department despite campaign promises to do so.

The people who are impacted by the waste that takes place in our communities really have to have real agency and leadership in identifying people and policies that can actually help us move forward, Johnson said.

Vallas suggested creating an oversight board for the Department of Environment with representatives from community advocacy groups and said he would have zero tolerance for polluters.

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We dont want to move polluters to the poor communities. We dont want polluters anywhere in the city at all, Vallas said. You need a department that can issue an environmental report card and that environmental report card can guide the city when it comes to permitting expansion, or for that matter, when it comes to vendors or contractors that are seeking to have financial relationships with the city.

Apolonia Jackson, 9, asks mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson a question while attending a Southwest Environmental Alliance mayoral forum at Lincoln United Methodist Church, March 27, 2023, in Chicago. Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas also attended. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

While Southeast Side residents welcomed the focus on an issue that intimately affects their well-being, they are skeptical they will see improvements.

I cant say that Im hopeful, only because what (Vallas and Johnson) are talking about is just pushing this off onto the Department of Environment, Gonzalez said. I would like to see more concrete examples of what exactly the city is committed to do right now.

Gonzalez was part of the successful community-led effort to stop Reserve Management Group from opening a scrap shredder on the largely Black and Latino Southeast Side. RMG took over and closed General Irons scrap shredder in the wealthy, mostly white neighborhood of Lincoln Park, planning to open a new operation in the East Side neighborhood.

[ Mayor Lightfoot denies permit to Southeast Side scrap shredder ]

Unfortunately, after having been involved in the fight to stop General Iron  I see how a lot of it is just decisions made by insiders, consultants and intergovernmental agency agreements, Gonzalez said.

She said it felt like deja vu when she heard about the disposal facility expansion plans. To fight this next battle, Gonzalez recently became vice president-elect of the Calumet Park Advisory Council, a volunteer group that serves as a liaison between park patrons and the Chicago Park District.

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I was just fearful, she recalled. Every time I hear that (the Calumet River or Cal Sag Channel) might need to be dredged, I think, Oh, no, what are they going to do with it? Where are they going to put it?

Linda Gonzalez, vice president-elect of the Calumet Park Advisory Council, at the northeast corner of Calumet Park in Chicago on March 28, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

That sour taste

The state deeded the parcel of land where the disposal facility is located to the Park District in 1982 but permitted the Army Corps to operate an in-water disposal facility there for up to 10 years.

The state later authorized the Army Corps to continue using the disposal facility until full, at which point the land was supposed to be returned to the Park District and converted into a park. However, construction of the expansion, which is slated to begin this spring and be completed before the end of the year, would enable the Army Corps to use the land for at least another 20 years.

The Army Corps and the Park District declined requests for comment.

The Army Corps has until May to respond to the lawsuit and their application to expand the dump site is currently under review by the state EPAs Bureau of Water.

Southeast Side resident Freddie Batchelor, 63, remembers being concerned during the construction of the original disposal facility in the 1980s.

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As a child, I loved to go to the beach and walk in the park along the water, she recalled. But, over the years, that became not possible because even the smell when you go to the water is really horrid.

Odors from industrial sites that hug the park on the north and south are common, especially in the summer. The sediment collected at the disposal facility contains high concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs.

It makes me feel bad and sad, honestly, because I lived in the area when it was very vibrant in every way. Now, to see it now  she mourned.

The Army Corps of Engineers dump site on Lake Michigan at the south bank of the Calumet River, March 27, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Freddie Batchelor at her normal walking spot at Powderhorn Lake, March 27, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Batchelor said she believes her chronic pulmonary problems, which she said her doctors attribute to environmental pollutants, are from living on the Southeast Side. In 2009, at the suggestion of an immunologist, she moved out of Chicago. Batchelor said her health improved during this time, but she had to come back during the pandemic to attend to family obligations.

Residents across the Calumet Industrial Corridor have a disproportionately higher rate of coronary heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared with the rest of Chicago, according to a study by the nonpartisan Alliance for the Great Lakes.

According to the lawsuit, the Army Corps is not considering how the disposal of more pollutant-filled sediment on the Southeast Side will affect community health. The Army Corps is also failing to weigh the potential benefits that green space could afford the community.

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It would open up all that land to people who like to fish  so that in time, perhaps in generations, all that opened up shoreline could be a viable fishing territory. People could actually provide food for their families with the salmon runs and the trout runs, said Mark Banks, a lifelong resident and local artist. The water is a resource for the community. Not to mention the enjoyment of it, not to mention the beauty of it.

Artist Mark Banks works on his painting "In the Fields of Rotting Giants, Number 1," in his East Side studio, March 27, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Banks, 41, draws environmental justice themes in his artwork to express how the Southeast Side has and continues to be affected by polluters. His current project, In the Field of Rotting Giants, is a collection of photographs and paintings that capture the remains of abandoned industrial sites to show the enduring scars that years of industry have left on the community.

The shoreline dump is just one of the constant reminders of the broken promises that have plagued the neighborhood for decades, he said.

You cant walk by the place without getting that sour taste in your mouth just because you know that its not supposed to be there, Banks lamented. You know that its supposed to be public land, but instead its still just this warehouse of toxicity and danger.

Vital to maritime commerce

The decision to build on top of the existing disposal facility came as a surprise to many residents and community groups.

We were shocked when they announced that they were going to expand on the site, because when they did the public participation process about alternatives, they did not mention that if they couldnt find another site, they would just expand in the existing location, said Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks. We very much saw it as a bait-and-switch.

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The Army Corps is required to weigh the cumulative adverse environmental effects of the expansion against an array of alternative options, according to federal law. But the only alternatives explored were also in the Southeast Sides 10th ward.

The Army Corps required environmental justice analysis of the proposed expansion reasons that since 97% of projected dredging in the Chicago Area Waterway System over the next 20 years will be in Calumet Harbor and Calumet River, the 10th Ward is the most logical and efficient location for the facility.

The Illinois International Port District, which includes Calumet Harbor, is vital to the citys maritime commerce industry. The port district has created thousands of jobs and brought millions of dollars to the city, according to a 2017 report.

Calumet River Norfolk Southern Railroad bridges over the Calumet River, with the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge in the background, March 27, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Dredging makes all these cargo voyages more efficient, leading to less ship traffic and reducing the risks associated with increased truck and rail traffic. It also removes contaminated sediment that would otherwise be floating in the lake unconfined and in proximity to the community, according to the analysis.

[ Moving hazardous chemicals by train is far safer than trucks, says top regulator ]

But residents say dredging shouldnt come at their expense. As a low-income community disproportionately overburdened by environmental hazards, they say disposal sites outside their ward should have been explored.

Its just evidence of this continued idea that (the Southeast Side) is a sacrifice zone, Gonzalez said.

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Southeast Side residents are also worried about how an expanded disposal facility will withstand the effects of climate change.

A review prepared by Battelle Memorial Institute, a nonprofit science and technology research organization, found that the Army Corps did not comprehensively consider how climate change will affect the expansion project over the next 20 years. The Army Corps evaluation only looks at greenhouse gas pollution. The review raised concern that the Army Corps stopped short of investigating the effects of rising lake levels, increased wave action and intensifying storms on the site walls.

Lake Michigan reached near-record highs in 2020, and lake levels currently are about average. Residents say large waves sometimes reach the Calumet Park beach house, engulfing its wooden platform. They worry these severe water patterns will pound the shoreline around the disposal facility, creating erosion and causing toxic materials to spill into Lake Michigan.

[ How bitter cold winter blasts and a warming planet will chew up the Lake Michigan shoreline, faster and faster ]

Community groups have been calling for further examination of erosion along the lakeshore before any further construction is undertaken.

After not including the Southeast Side in its original study on lakeshore erosion, a move which residents say exemplifies how they are often an afterthought, the Army Corps is preparing to conduct a $3 million study on the effects of erosion in the area, with the help of the city and Park District. However, the new study will not be completed until 2025 and the disposal facility expansion is expected to begin this spring.

In the meantime, residents are cautiously optimistic that, with representation from the nonprofit Environmental Law and Policy Center, the lawsuit will put a halt to the dump expansion. But they also worry about what will happen with the next polluter and whether the next mayor will hold them accountable.

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Once were stuck in legalese and litigation, we have to be very specific about the thing thats bothering us, said Banks, the artist, referring to the disposal site. We might win that battle. But what if right across the river, some other gross thing pops up? We cant get too stuck in a game of whack-a-mole here.
A beloved Georgia high school band director and grandfather died in a wreck, state troopers and family members say.

Carl Michial Mayhall, 70, died on Tuesday, March 28, according to a crash report from the Georgia State Patrol. Mayhall was attempting to cross Highway 38 in Thomasville but failed to yield to an oncoming car. The two collided, sending Mayhalls car across the median and back before it was stopped by a guard rail.

Mayhalls car was struck on the drivers side, troopers said. He was taken to Archbold Medical Center, where he died.

The other driver was also taken to Archbold Medical Center, according to the crash report.

Mayhall was a band director for nearly 50 years, his obituary said. He spent 29 years as band director for Thomas County Central High School before retiring.

Thomas County Central High School officials did not immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment on March 30.

Mayhall was also a husband and father, and he leaves behind nine grandchildren and step-grandchildren, according to the obituary.

Former students and loved ones shared tributes for Mayhall on social media.

He was a father figure to me and so many others, & one of the biggest personal cheerleaders Ive ever had in my corner. He was uplifting, encouraging, and unconditionally loving, but could also set you straight with one solidly stern look, one student wrote on Facebook. The world lost a great man yesterday.

So incredibly heartbreaking. He was a treasured colleague who epitomized the traits of a master teacher and leader, another person wrote. He impacted the lives of so many students in Thomasville leaving a lasting legacy.

I would not have a career as a musician if it werent for this man. I owe him everything, a third person shared.

Thomasville is about 200 miles south of Atlanta.

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Then-President Donald Trump uses his cellphone at the White House. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Former US president Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury.

The news produced many memes, from "Succession" references to Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial comparisons.

Here are some of the best memes of Trump's indictment.

A Manhattan grand jury indicted Donald Trump on Thursday, making him the first former US president to be charged with a crime.

And while it's currently unclear what charges Trump faces, the Manhattan District Attorney's office had been investigating Trump's personal and business finances, including a payment Michael Cohen  Trump's former personal attorney turned nemesis  made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 election.

While the news of the indictment stirred Trump, his allies, his opponents, and the media into a frenzy, it also spurred some top-quality memes across social media.

From references to the popular show "Succession" to Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial comparisons, here are the best memes of Trump's indictment.

Some memes celebrated the big day

Others used the news to take a few jabs at the former "The Apprentice" host

The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 30, 2023

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The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 30, 2023

Some memes made comparisons to Gwyneth Paltrow's ski trial

Paltrow was found not liable in a case surrounding a 2016 ski crash with a retired optometrist, and was awarded $1 in damages, on the same day as Trump's indictment.

Mister Oh my God that Joey's shameless (@SpiceBoyJoey) March 30, 2023

Other memes made references to various television shows and movies

The Wire out of context (@WireCaps) March 30, 2023

no context succession (@nocontextroyco) March 31, 2023

And Trump indictment memes aren't just an American thing

Chinese social media users hit the former President's indictment as well.

Read the original article on Business Insider
When James Lomax moved to Arlington from California more than 22 years ago, he never envisioned opening his own tattoo studio. Lomax, who goes by OG Poppy among his fellow tattoo artists, recalled coming to North Texas and trying to find a shop to fit his Afro-conscious or Afro-centric tattoo style.

A lot of shops were more cliqued up back then, and they werent really hiring Black artists, so I was kind of underground for a while, Lomax said.

He met his future business partner, Mike Montgomery, while doing tattoos out of the back of his wifes salon. With lines for Lomaxs tattoos going out the door, Montgomerys wife suggested the two open their own tattoo business together.

James Lomax, who goes by OG Poppy, left, and Mike Montgomery partnered together to open Da Kandy Shop Tattoo Studio over two decades ago.

If you would have asked me back then, I was like, I dont even want to do the shop thing, but I was kind of forced into it. Its been a blessing ever since.

Now, more than two decades later, Lomax and Montgomery have transitioned through their original store front and two others and now operate Da Kandy Shop Tattoo Studio on South Cooper Street in Arlington. The shop sees about 200 customers per week, between tattoo designs and piercings, and it just won the Fort Worth Star-Telegrams Readers Choice vote for best place to get a tattoo in the Fort Worth area.

The Star-Telegram started out with 38 reader-nominated tattoo shops in Tarrant County, then did four rounds of voting to narrow the list.

[MORE: Here are the 38 tattoo shops recommended by our readers]

Lomax said what sets Da Kandy Shop apart is its versatility, meaning guests can come in and get whatever design they want for fairly inexpensive. The shop does everything from portraits to traditional bold lines and bright colors to an anime fad thats been popular recently.

Tattoo artist Pharoah tattoos client Peggy Oquendo at Da Kandy Shop Tattoo Studio on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Montgomery said he thinks the shop has a large following because it doesnt have a minimum price customers must spend during visits. Da Kandy Shop goes as low as $10 for tattoos and $1 for piercings depending on the size and has specials on certain days, Montgomery said.

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Da Kandy Shop employs about 25 artists across day and night shifts, including six female artists. Lomax said the average tattoo can take one to four hours or more, depending on the art.

Lomax said he became a tattoo artist because he was always the kid drawing in the back of the classroom. When his step-father, also a drawer, was sent to prison, he would send letters to Lomaxs mother full of script lettering and drawings of teddy bears with hearts.

His love letters to my mom are what inspired me the most to transfer that into my tattoos, Lomax said. Even today, I still do pieces like a teddy bear with a hat or a heart smoking a cigar  pieces with an emotional attachment to them.

Tattoo artist Carldrick Coleman works on a tattoo at Da Kandy Shop Tattoo Studio on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Khaotic Zen came in second place with Readers Choice votes. The shop on Bluebonnet Circle near TCU opened just over a year and a half ago.

Co-owners Will Carter and Yovi Valentin crossed paths while working at other tattoo shops in Fort Worth and decided to open their own, named after their contrasting personalities. Carter described himself as energetic and full of emotions, while Valentin described himself as mellow and calm.

We came up with the name Khaotic Zen, because we liked the play on words, Valentin said. Theyre opposites but it works, like us. We have a nice balance.

Co-owners Will Carter and Yovi Valentin opened Khaotic Zen Tattoo in Fort Worth just over a year and a half ago. They placed second in Readers Choice votes.

Carter and Valentin both recalled struggling with academics but always loving art, creating and drawing. Valentins aunt encouraged him to pursue a full-time career in tattoo design while Carters younger brother was the first to pique his interest.

I can see how it makes other people feel, said Valentin, while talking about why he loves being a tattoo artist. Everyones super excited when they get a new, fresh, nice-looking tattoo. It really boosts their self esteem and adds positivity to their life.

Meanwhile, Carter said he still doesnt strictly consider himself a tattoo artist, per se.

Im an artist who happens to do tattoos and fortunately became good at it, Carter said. I still take time out to draw for myself all the time. At least once a week, I try to dedicate at least five or six hours to drawing.

Tattoo artist Bella Harrell works on client Savannah Smith at Khaotic Zen Tattoo in Fort Worth on Thursday, March 23, 2023.

Tattoo artist Bella Harrell works on client Savannah Smith at Khaotic Zen Tattoo in Fort Worth on Thursday, March 23, 2023.

Khaotic Zens growth is just beginning, according to the co-owners. In late September, Khaotic Zen will be at Cowtown Comic Con to give tattoos and piercings on site at the two-day convention.

Coming in third place in the Readers Choice voting was Prather Tattoos. Scott Prather operates his studio out of a private suite in Montgomery Plaza off Weisenberger Street.

Prather graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, with a degree in illustration. After trying different paths, including freelance illustration, design and storyboards, he fell back into his original high school dream of being a tattoo artist.

Scott Prather tattoos Xander Fallek at his private tattoo studio in Fort Worth on Monday, March 27, 2023 Theres not a lot of Fort Worth-branded tattoo artists that go to the scale that I do, said Prather on his work. Prather has completed numerous sessions with Fallek since August of 2020 as they work on a large-scale piece that flows down the right side of Falleks body.

During his nine years in the tattoo business, Prather has developed a large clientele list, which allows him to work by himself and operate on his own schedule. He relies mostly on word-of-mouth referrals and said he has developed a strong, local community.

Coming from an illustration background, my tattoos carry a distinctive flair over whats normally seen in tattoo art, Prather said. In recent years, Ive focused on freehanding my work, meaning drawing directly on the skin for best fit and composition. By doing this, my style has been more uniquely defined as tattoos that only come from me.

Scott Prather tattoos Xander Fallek at his private tattoo studio in Fort Worth on Monday, March 27, 2023 Fallek, who lives in Tulsa, Ok., has been coming to Prather since August of 2020 and is close to completing a tattoo design that will cover the right side of his body.

Scott Prather tattoos a crow on Xander Fallek at his private tattoo studio in Fort Worth on Monday, March 27, 2023. Prather has been working on a large-scale piece on the right side of Falleks body.

In addition to tattooing, Prather recently created a cover for Fort Worth Magazine and interior illustrations for two issues. Hes also completed several murals and paintings for local bands and bars.

Studio Black, on Williams Road in Benbrook, ranked fourth in votes. The owner is Michael Gordon, who was convicted on federal drug trafficking charges in Fort Worth years ago. Gordon refined his drawing skills and tattooed inside prison for almost a decade.

Upon my return home, it was very important to me to come home and be an example of someone who changed, Gordon said. I wanted to have a positive impact on my community and show that we are not defined by our past but rather how we overcome and progress into the future.

Gordon said he hopes to convey to others every day that its never too late to make some changes and chase their dreams.

Hannah Bratcher owns fifth-place winner, Ink by Hann, also on Williams Road in Benbrook. Bratcher, who rents a room from Gordon, started tattooing shortly after the start of the COVID pandemic. She defines her style with a focus on realism, butterflies and florals.

Though Bratcher always had an interest in tattoos, she never thought it would become her lifestyle. Three months into tattooing, she quit her full-time job to focus on her business.

MORE: Check out winners of Star-Telegram Readers Choice in 2022:
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage charges  allegations the newspaper denies.

Let him go, Biden told reporters at the White House when asked about his message to Russia on the arrest of Gershkovich.

Russias Federal Security Service has accused Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, of trying to obtain classified information. It is the first time an American journalist has been detained in Russia on accusations of spying since the Cold War. The Journal has said it vehemently denies the charges.

Speaking at a news conference in Lusaka, Zambia, Vice President Kamala Harris added that the administration was deeply concerned about Gershkovich's arrest.

We will not tolerate  and condemn, in fact  repression of journalists, Harris said during a weeklong visit to Africa.

The Biden administration said Thursday it was working to secure U.S. consular access to Gershkovich. Asked Friday whether he would expel Russian diplomats or journalists in the U.S., Biden responded: Thats not the plan right now.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, called the targeting of U.S. citizens in Russia unacceptable and said the administration condemns the detention of Gershkovich "in the strongest terms.

The Biden administration has also warned U.S. citizens not to travel to Russia, and for Americans in the country to depart immediately.

In Moscow, Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize-winning editor-in-chief of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, told reporters he knows the detained journalist and Gershkovich was not an agent using his professional and journalistic accreditation as a cover for espionage.

Speaking more generally of the Kremlin's repression of independent journalism, which has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine, Muratov said: "This is a trend  trying to attribute espionage and treason to people at every step, to show that the profession of a journalist is an enemy profession for the country  for Russian and other journalists.

___

Associated Press reporter Chris Megerian contributed to this report from Lusaka, Zambia.
President Joe Biden, left, and former President Donald Trump, right, in a composite image. Getty Images

Biden was asked multiple times Friday morning about the historic indictment of Donald Trump.

He shot down every question. "I have no comment on Trump," he said, according to a pool report.

Democrats have told Insider that Biden, for many reasons, needs to be quiet about it.

President Joe Biden was asked multiple times Friday morning about the historic indictment of his predecessor, Donald Trump, but he shot down each question.

"I have no comment on Trump," he said, according to a pool report, when asked whether the charges were politically motivated.

Other questions he declined to comment on during his departure from the White House included whether the indictment would further divide the country or what the indictment means for the rule of law.

"No. I  I'm not going to talk about the Trump indictment," he said, when asked if he's worried about possible protests.

Trump becoming the first former president to ever be indicted is the biggest story in politics. But Democrats have told Insider that Biden, for many reasons, needs to be quiet about it.

He could be viewed as interfering in the legal system or using it for political purposes against a former and potential future rival  exhibiting an approach to law enforcement that Biden promised to reverse when running for president. His words could also backfire on him, as they have in the past.

"Don't say a word," is the advice from Democratic pollster and consultant Brad Bannon. "Let Trump steep in his own juices."

A White House aide on Thursday night told Insider that the White House would not have a comment on the indictment.

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were departing on Friday morning to Mississippi to reaffirm their committment to supporting people there after a deadly tornado, according to the White House.

He will undoubtedly be asked again for his reaction to Trump's legal issues. The indictment follows an investigation into his alleged role in a hush-money payment to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels about their alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election, when he defeated Clinton. He could potentially be charged in multiple other ongoing investigations.

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Democratic consultant Josh Schwerin said Biden should "stay above this."

"He needs to project the image of someone who is fighting for people and not meddling in the investigations against a former president, who was his political rival," said Schwerin, a former spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Hillary Clinton.

Read the original article on Business Insider
President Biden speaks to reporters in Rolling Fork, Miss., on Friday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  On Friday morning, President Biden strode out of the West Wing and across the South Lawn. Above the roaring helicopter blades of Marine One, a reporter asked him if he had any thoughts about the indictment of former President Donald Trump by a Manhattan grand jury.

I have no comment on Trump, Biden said.

In refusing to say anything about the legal drama in which Trump now finds himself embroiled, Biden is remaining diligently on script, which has amounted to a blank page when it comes to the several federal and state investigations targeting his predecessor.

Known on Capitol Hill and during his time as Barack Obamas vice president for his inveterate loquacity, Biden has been notably disciplined in speaking about Trump, whom he used to refer to as the former guy. As last years midterm elections neared, Biden took to lambasting the MAGA Republicans he claimed were beholden to Trump and his extremist ideas.

Former President Donald Trump arrives for a rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

But he has never commented on Trumps legal challenges, which include a federal investigation into the handling of classified documents, a Georgia inquiry into electoral interference and District Attorney Alvin Braggs case in New York.

Invariably, the White House refers the matter to the Department of Justice.

Invariably, the Department of Justice says nothing.

That is precisely how the White House wants things to stay. With partisan sentiment already on such florid display on Capitol Hill, the president and his advisers believe that he benefits by remaining well above the fray. (It only helps that the Justice Department typically doesn't comment on ongoing investigations, making the job easier for White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, as well as for Biden himself.)

As pundits on cable news debated the merits of Braggs emerging case against Trump on Friday, Biden toured an area of Mississippi devastated by tornadoes. With him was the states Republican governor, Tate Reeves, as well as Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, also a member of the GOP.

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Biden in Covington, Ky., on Jan. 4 with, from left, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, former Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. (Michael Swensen/Getty Images)

The dichotomy recalled Bidens infrastructure-related trip to the Kentucky-Ohio border earlier this year, which took place as House Republicans were in the midst of a contentious speakership fight. While recriminations flew on Capitol Hill, the president basked in a bipartisan Midwestern glow, standing next to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, both of whom are Republicans.

If the mood in Mississippi was understandably much more somber, it nevertheless broadcast a similar message, one the White House is especially eager to promulgate ahead of next years presidential election: that Biden is a serious president, focused on serious business, while some Republicans and conservatives push antisemitic tropes and threaten violence.

The contrast redounds to Bidens benefit, the White House believes  if only he can remain quiet.
2:30 p.m.: Biden promises tornado victims support now and in the future in Rolling Fork speech

President Biden stood in front of a pile of twisted blue metal and wood that had once been an animal shelter and an auto parts store. Trees behind him were completely stripped of their branches, making the area look even more desolate.

He talked about the damage he'd seen while touring Rolling Fork and the families he met of some of those killed in the storm. He read out the names of 13 people who died and said he understood the difficulty of sudden loss.

He also spoke of the federal government's commitment to all the Mississippi communities affected by the storms.

Biden said the federal government will pay 100% of the recovery costs for 30 days. For affected residents, he spoke of various government resources to help them rebuild their lives. He said there are 300 federal employees on the ground to help make a well-coordinated response.

"We're trying to make it as easy as possible," Biden said.

He also assured residents his administration would continue to provide support for the long-haul.

"We're not just here for today," Biden said. "I'm determined we're going to leave nothing behind. We're going to get it done for you."

1:50 p.m.: President Biden reacts to seeing damage in Rolling Fork

After arriving in Rolling Fork today to tour damage left by a deadly March 24 tornado, Biden reacted to the sight of the destruction.

'Its devastating," Biden said. "(Inaudible)  I mean it: We're not leaving. The federal government is going to stay as long as it takes. I've given every extension, if its possible; 100 percent debris removal. "So its going to get done. But the most important thing is we got to let people know there's reason for them to have hope, because this is  especially the people who lost somebody. We've been at a bunch of these together. This is  this is  this is tough stu-  tough stuff."And the thing that really is  always amazes me, in all the tornadoes I've been to of late, is that you have one house standing and one house, from here to the wall, totally destroyed. Its but for the grace of God. But at any rate, I'll be  Ill be out to talk more about this in a minute."

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Afterward, Biden and the First Lady toured the area and met with some of the affected.

Also touring the storm-damaged area were:

Governor Tate Reeves, Mississippi

Elee Reeves, First Lady of Mississippi

Secretary Marcia Fudge, Department of Housing and Urban Development

Administrator Deanne Criswell, Federal Emergency Management Agency

Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS-02)

Mayor Eldridge Walker, Rolling Fork, Mississippi

Board of Supervisors President Bill Newsom, Sharkey County, Mississippi (District 1)

Police Chief Michael Myles, Rolling Fork, Mississippi

Becky Myles, Spouse of Police Chief Michael Myles

Farren Washington, Granddaughter of Police Chief Michael Myles

Other local residents impacted by the storm

1:06 p.m.: Biden greeted by state, local and federal officials

From Marine One, as they flew from Jackson to the area hardest hit by last weeks storm, the president and first lady Jill Biden got a view of the devastation across acres of farmland  destroyed homes, toppled trees and piles of debris.

This is tough stuff," Biden said as he was greeted by state, local and federal officials after arriving in Rolling Fork. The most important thing is we got to let people know the reason for them to have hope, especially those who have lost somebody."

What we know about the people who died: All 21 March 24 tornado victims in Mississippi identified

11:50 a.m.: President arrives in Rolling Fork, press pool witnesses devastation

The motorcade arrived at the South Delta Elementary School, Rolling Fork, Mississippi at 11:37 am CDT for the briefing with federal, state and local leaders.

As Biden and the press pool rolled into town, the destruction was everywhere. Basically one home after another was just piles of wood and rubble. Cars flipped over on their roofs. Trees down. Electrical wires on the ground.

Every now and then, there was a house that looked largely untouched. But they were clearly the exception.

11:10 a.m.: MEMA warns of larger area with moderate risk for severe storms

The moderate risk area has expanded to include more counties in North Mississippi. Severe weather is expected Friday evening into Friday night. Now is the time to prepare your family. Make sure you have multiple ways to receive alerts and you know your safe place.

MEMA reports the moderate risk area for severe weather tonight into Saturday morning has been expanded.

10:40 a.m.: Press briefed on federal aid for tornado recovery

In a press conference this morning, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefed members of the media on federal aid for storm clean-up and recovery in affected areas of Mississippi.

Jean-Pierre said the federal government has 300 people on the ground to assist with recovery efforts. Jean-Pierre also said Biden will announce the federal government will pay 100% of the recovery, shelter costs and clean-up costs for the next 30 days.

She also said the President will announce the opening of centers in storm-ravaged areas to help residents access resources available to them.

8 a.m.: Biden answers media questions

Prior to heading for Mississippi, President Biden was questioned about former President Donald Trump's indictment, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia and the trip to Mississippi.

Q. Will the indictment divide the country?

Biden: I have no comment on that.

Q. Are you worried about protests?

Biden: No. Im not going to talk about the Trump indictment.

Q. On the WSJ reporter, do you have a message for Russia?

Biden: Let him go.

Q. What does the indictment say about the rule of law?

Biden: I have no comment at all.

Q. Are you going to expel Russian diplomats for the WSJ journalist?

Biden: Thats not the plan right now.

Q. Are the charges politically motivated?

Biden: I have no comment on Trump.

7:25 a.m.: Biden has no comment on Trump indictment

President Biden exited the White House at 7:05 central time without commenting on the indictment of former President Donald Trump.

I have no comment on Trump," Biden said when asked multiple times.

He said the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovitch should be released from Russia.

Let him go, Biden said before boarding Marine One to begin his trip to Jackson.

Presidential Mississippi visit at a glance

The Bidens will be joined by Gov. Tate Reeves and First Lady Elee Reeves, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Rep. Bennie Thompson, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker, and additional state, local and Tribal officials and first responders.

Around 11:30 a.m. President Biden and the First Lady receive an operational briefing by federal, local, and state officials in Rolling Fork on current response and recovery efforts.

The Bidens will then meet with community leaders and local residents impacted by the storms and thank first responders.

Following the meeting with community leaders, President Biden is expected to deliver remarks to reaffirm his commitment to supporting the people of Mississippi as they recover and rebuild from the devastating storms. The First Lady will attend.

Additional Mississippi counties eligible for FEMA assistance

Montgomery and Panola counties are now eligible for FEMA assistance after the March 24-25 storms.

Individuals and households in Montgomery and Panola counties can apply for FEMA Individual Assistance, which may include temporary housing assistance, basic home repairs and certain other uninsured disaster-related needs.

These counties join Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties, which were previously approved for Individual Assistance.

Survivors can apply for disaster assistance at disasterassistance.gov, by using the FEMA mobile app, or by calling 800-621-3362 from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time. If you use a relay service such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service.

For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance go to, youtube.com/watch?v=WZGpWI2RCNw.

National Weather Service warns of severe storms

The National Weather Service has issued a warning of expected severe storms in parts of Mississippi tonight into Saturday morning.

Damaging winds up to 70 miles per hour, large hail and strong tornadoes are possible in parts of the state. Others may experience winds up to 60 miles per hour, quarter-sized hail and possible tornadoes.

The National Weather Service is warning of likely severe weather in Mississippi later today into Saturday morning.

Prepare now for expected severe weather

FEMA is urging a wide area of the country to stay alert and start preparing for weather risks from today into the weekend. The National Weather Service is predicting intense and widespread severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes in some areas.

Remain alert, keep your cell phone charged and take steps to prepare now to potentially save lives and protect property when severe weather strikes.

Severe weather, that could include long-track tornadoes, may occur from Friday afternoon into the overnight hours for a large portion of the Middle Mississippi Valley and the Mid-South. This dangerous weather risk will continue eastward into the Lower Ohio and Tennessee Valley.

Anyone living in these areas should take steps now ahead of the storms

Have several ways to receive alerts. Download the free FEMA App (available in English and Spanish) to receive real-time emergency alerts from the National Weather Service, and to find a nearby shelter if you evacuate

Pay attention to local alerts and warnings and follow any guidance by local officials.

Check on neighbors. As you prepare your family and loved ones for a disaster, check on neighbors and folks in your community to see if they are doing the same or help them get started.

Older adults may need extra assistance to prepare for the storms. Visit Ready.gov/seniors for more information. For people with disabilities and their families, it is important to consider individual circumstances and needs to effectively prepare for emergencies and disasters. Visit Individuals with Disabilities to learn more.

Prepare your property for dangerous weather now by cleaning out any large or loose materials near your property. Remove dead trees, hanging branches and loose objects in your yard or patio that could become a dangerous projectile during severe winds.

It's not too late to create a plan with your family. Visit Ready.gov/plan and use the new "Make a Plan" fillable form to walk through all the steps to begin your plan and then easily save an electronic copy, or share with other family members. Many shelters do not take household pets, so remember to create a plan and have supplies available for your pets.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: President Biden tours Rolling Fork MS tornado damage
Idaho libraries and schools soon could be sued for allowing minors to obtain books, films and other media that depict sexual content deemed harmful for kids.

The Legislature on Friday advanced the bill to Gov. Brad Little. The bill would allow the guardian of a child who was able to obtain harmful material from a library to claim $2,500 in statutory damages for each instance the material was obtained.

Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said the bill would create age-appropriate separations between library material. It requires that library officials take reasonable steps to restrict access of material to minors to avoid liability, according to the legislation.

But opponents said the bills definition of harmful material is too broad. Parents should be responsible for ensuring their kids dont access inappropriate content, they said, and the civil bounty could be abused.

Sen. Geoff Schroeder, R-Mountain Home, said Thursday that he supports the intent of the bill, but he opposed the enforcement mechanism.

My objection to this bill is a $2,500 bounty for a private right of action for what could be construed as an innocent mistake by a librarian or library board, Schroeder, a prosecuting attorney, told the full Senate.

Harmful material, according to the bill, features nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sado-masochistic abuse when its lewd or patently offensive to prevailing standards among adults.

Sexual conduct under the law includes depictions of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual intercourse and physical contact with genitals and female breasts.

Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, said theres no pornography in libraries and highlighted the reference to homosexuality in content that would be considered harmful.

There are people that are trying to ban books with LGBTQ themes, Wintrow told the Senate. I think thats what this is about.

Madison Hardy, spokesperson for Little, said the governors office does not comment on pending legislation.

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Bill resurrected after rejection

Earlier this month, members of the House Education Committee rejected a previous version of the bill, citing the severity of the damages  which initially were $10,000  among other reasons.

Rep. Julie Yamamoto, R-Caldwell, who chairs the education committee, told the full House on Friday that a recent decision by the Ada County Board of Commissioners demonstrates how conflicts over books should be handled. The commissioners rejected a petition to dissolve the Meridian Library District by people who objected to books.

Does this mean that the Ada County commissioners want pornography or harmful material in the hands of children? Absolutely not, Yamamoto said Friday. They listened to thousands of people. ... And they said that one of the possible solutions was the May 16 Meridian library trustee election, and there you go.

Gregory Taylor, a teacher librarian at Boises Hillsdale Junior High School, told the education committee that a librarians job is helping people find books relevant to their everyday lives.

No one standard could ever match all needs and tastes, Taylor told the committee. Responsible parents know what their children are reading, and they take the time to make those thoughtful decisions about which books their kids read. Let other families make their own choices.

After the House Education Committee rejected the first version of the bill, sponsors, Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, and Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, crafted new legislation that reduced the penalty.

Instead of going back to the education committee, House GOP leadership directed the new version to the House State Affairs Committee, where it overwhelmingly advanced.
State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, advocating for the Pretrial Fairness Act during a Wednesday, Nov. 15 rally at the Illinois State Capitol.

Legislation advancing out of the Illinois Senate this week is now one step closer to addressing an initiative pushed for years by juvenile justice reform advocates.

Senate Bill 1463 from state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, passed on Wednesday in a 37-19 vote and would eliminate the issuing of nearly all juvenile court fines and fees if signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker.

Individuals under the age of 18 would still owe restitution for violations of traffic, boating, fishing or game law along with municipal ordinance violations. The bill has received its first reading in the state House of Representatives and is now in the House Rules Committee.

Senate Action: Senate votes to lift nuclear construction ban

Already eliminated in more than 20 states, advocates say the costs of the fines and fees especially impact families of color and lower income families. A recent report from the Illinois Statutory Court Fee Task Force recommended abolishment and found the assessments "undermine the goal of achieving rehabilitation."

"In the juvenile court system, youths living in poverty may face harsher consequences than their more well-off peers since poor children are less likely to pay juvenile assessments, which may result in contempt of court, probation violations, recidivism, and even additional fees," the report reads.

Peters previously attempted passing similar legislation in the prior General Assembly through Senate Bill 3621 - a bill that never advanced beyond first reading in the chamber. Fines typically range from $50 to $800, although sometimes much higher, according to the juvenile justice reform coalition Debt Free Justice Illinois.

Peters said the real impact is often felt when families have to take-on credit card debt to cover their fines and fees.

"One fee for someone who's working class leads to a variety of different other economic challenges that could cause a debt cycle or debt spiral," he said.

Still, Republicans voting against the bill were concerned that this would be a financial loss for counties. State Sen. Jill Tracy, R-Quincy, said during floor debate on Wednesday that Adams County, her home county, issued $22,000 in fines either last year or in 2021.

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"That is a significant amount that somehow that county and that entity of government through their taxpayers is going to have to make up," she said.

All Senate Republicans voted against the bill. The Illinois Sheriff's Association also opposes the legislation.

The amount listed by Tracy for Adams County is "marginal," Peters added, since the county has an annual budget exceeding $60 million. The costs a county likely incurs in the process of collecting fees are also unnecessary, he believes.

Several counties, including the state's most populus Cook County and neighboring Morgan County, already do not order fines and fees. The average amount collected per county annually is about $786,000, according to DFJI, but this includes counties with much larger budgets such as Lake, DuPage and McHenry.

Recent: Senate passes gambling bills as industry expands

Annually, the money collected by less populous counties is typically less than $5,000. Sangamon County assessed $155,742 in fines and fees at the juvenile level between 2017 and 2021- collecting slightly more than $20,000 over the five-year span.

The bill in its current form has no means test, meaning that families regardless of income would not be subject to fines and fees. This was an issue brought up by Tracy, and, when asked later on Thursday, Peters said he would not support.

Peters argued a means test already effectively exists in the court system since wealthier families can afford lawyers that have greater ability to either reduce or outright eliminate fines and fees. The same reality does not exist for poor families, he said.

"We have an inequity of how representation happens in our court system to begin with," Peters said. "We shouldn't have that actually."

Peters' bill comes as activists call for youth detention centers to be shut down throughout the state. The governor announced plans to close five centers in 2020, although plans are moving forward with a new center in Lincoln.

The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice announced plans for the new Illinois Youth Center that will use a portion of the Lincoln Development Center grounds in Lincoln, Ill., Tuesday, February 2, 2021. [Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register]

SB 1463 has a companion bill in the House under House Bill 3120 from state Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago. The bill was re-referred to the House Rules Committee on Monday.

Contact Patrick Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Senate moves juvenile court fines and fees bill onto House
Blac Chyna's real name is Angela White. Getty/Theo Wargo

Blac Chyna has revealed why she chose to have cosmetic surgeries as a teenager.

"Insecurities," said Chyna, whose real name is Angela White.

Chyna said she felt pressure to look like other women while working as a stripper.

Blac Chyna has revealed why she chose to have cosmetic surgeries as a teenager, including getting illegal butt injections.

"Insecurities," Chyna, whose real name is Angela White, said during an appearance on "Tamron Hall" on Thursday.

"I was an exotic dancer for six years from the ages of 18 to 24 years old. And being inside the strip club or the gentleman's club, you're looking around  I'm super young  I'm looking at the women like, I'm looking at myself like, 'Okay, that's not it. This is not gonna make the money. This is not gonna do it.'"

White said she felt "pressure" to "hurry up and build" her body so she could look like her coworkers.

"I should've just waited until I was older because that's gonna happen," she said. "At 19, 18 years old, your body's not developed. And you know, in my mindset, I wasn't thinking about that, and nobody was telling me, you know, right from wrong."

Blac Chyna at the 54th NAACP Image Awards held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 25, 2023 in Pasadena, California. Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

White has recently been undergoing some dramatic lifestyle changes, which have included adopting her birth name, getting baptized, and having many of her cosmetic procedures reversed.

In March, the reality star revealed that she'd had breast and butt implant reductions, as well as her facial fillers removed.

She said the surgeries were the first steps in "changing my life and changing my ways."

White's plastic surgeon, Dr. David Matlock, told Access Hollywood that he spent eight hours removing the silicon from her butt.

"The physical dangers of getting illegal fillers are many," Matlock said. "You can have infection, abbesses, sepsis. Sepsis patients can die from that."

White said that the amount of silicon removed from her rear was the equivalent of two liters of Coca-Cola.

"You know how many CCs I took out? 1,250 CCs," she said, referring to cubic centimeters. "A 2-liter Coke bottle all in my booty."

Read the original article on Insider
The Saturday night before last Thanksgiving, Dr. Alfredo F. Gurmendi, 57, pulled his Toyota onto the interstate in Dallas heading west. More than three hours later, just outside of Abilene, Texas, as he sipped coffee to keep himself awake, a call came through from his son.

What are you doing? the son, age 26 and also named Alfredo, asked from his home in Austin, Texas. His father, a surgeon, told him he was driving more than 580 miles to Alamogordo, a desert town of 31,000 people in south-central New Mexico where he lived.

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In the middle of the night? his son asked. Why? Why are you driving back at this hour?

Dr. Gurmendi explained. A few weeks earlier, he had operated on retired chef Paul Olivent, but now Olivent was in the emergency room. The surgeon was going to drive through the night  across more than one-fifth the length of the continental United States  to operate on his suffering patient.

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His son then told Dr. Gurmendi that he would stay on the line to keep his father awake. Not necessary, the doctor said. But his son insisted. He said it would be a privilege.

Lets flash back a second. Gurmendi, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, had operated on Olivents left leg in late October at the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo. He had performed bypass surgery, running a graft from Olivents groin to his knee.

But a month later, a problem arose. Olivent went shopping at a local thrift store and tripped over a suitcase on the floor. He fell hard on his recently repaired left leg, splitting open the still-healing incision at the knee, which caused blood to gush from his bandage through his pants. He was immediately driven to the ER.

As it happened, Gurmendi and Kobi, his wife of 28 years, were in Dallas, where they once lived. They had driven nine hours to stay there for the next 10 days. Their three children would be joining them for Thanksgiving.

Gurmendi was getting out of a shower when the general surgeon on call phoned him to tell him about Olivent. A large clot had appeared in the center of the wound. The general surgeon was concerned that the graft and artery could get infected, a complication that, if left unattended within the next 24 to 48 hours, could prove fatal.

Gurmendi ordered Olivent admitted for surgery the next morning. But given that Olivent was stable, safe and no longer bleeding, Gurmendi was averse to reaching out, least of all on a Saturday night, to ask a fellow surgeon from Albuquerque, New Mexico, or El Paso, Texas, to assume what he took to be his responsibility alone.

No, he decided to do the job himself. He would open the wound, evacuate the clot and prevent further danger. But rather than take a plane  it would mean waiting for a flight, and he knew he would be unable to sleep anyway  he would hit the road and drive through the night. He would have enough time.

He was, in effect, going to make a house call, even though surgeons rarely make house calls.

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Patient care comes first, said his wife, a nurse practitioner. Ill make some coffee.

He filled two thermoses with strong black coffee and got in his car.

His son stayed on the phone with Gurmendi for the next seven hours, keeping him safe. On and on into the night, the surgeon drove, first through the rolling prairies of north-central Texas, then across the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle and eastern New Mexico, now over the Sacramento Mountains of the Lincoln National Forest, and finally into the badlands of the Tularosa Basin. He reached the hospital at 4 a.m., exhausted, but he managed to sleep a few hours before doing the operation later that morning.

What father and son talked about during this adventure, neither will say. My son is a private man, Gurmendi told me, so thats between us. I could say a lot about him. But Ill tell you this. I love him very much. And Im proud of him.

Every day, someone somewhere somehow helps someone else. And well they should. Because unless we help each other, who will?

Dr. Gurmendis exceptional dedication to caring for his patient is yet another inspiring example of how surgeons put their patients first each and every day, said Dr. Patricia L. Turner, executive director and CEO of the American College of Surgeons. Going to extraordinary lengths to care for their patients is common for surgeons as we strive to embody our mission to heal all with skill and trust.

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In the end, the doctor went the extra mile to fulfill his responsibilities, prepared to brave the long haul alone if need be. But then his son went above and beyond to ride shotgun. And, true to his word, matched his father mile after extra mile.

Bob Brody is a consultant and essayist in Italy. Carol Everhart Roper is a photographer, artist and writer in New Mexico.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson told theGrio the unprecedented indictment of the embattled former commander-in-chief proves that no one is above the law.

TheGrios April D. Ryan contributed to this report.

Black leaders quickly reacted to the historic indictment of former President Donald Trump.

The Exonerated Five, formerly known as the Central Park Five  the wrongfully convicted Black men Trump called to be executed in 1989 newspaper ads  reacted to Trumps indictment on Thursday evening in a one-word statement: Karma.

The indictment of Trump has the country at a standstill as it marks the first time in United States history that an ex-president and current presidential candidate has been indicted by a grand jury and charged with a crime.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (left) and former President Donald Trump (right). (Photos: Getty Images)

NAACP President Derrick Johnson told theGrio the unprecedented indictment proves that no one is above the law.

Finally, of the myriad of lawsuits thats pending, one will begin to bring him to justice and to cause him to pay for the harm hes committed against individuals, but also the American people, said Johnson.

While the exact charges against Trump remain unknown, the twice-impeached former president was indicted on more than 30 charges by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Black man, in relation to his alleged involvement in a hush-money ploy to conceal an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels in the weeks ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The prosecution is expected to make the argument that Trump committed business fraud and falsified records to protect his presidential campaign from political harm.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton also recalled Trump demanding the death penalty for the Exonerated Five, saying in a statement: What goes around comes around.

(Left to right) Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam and Kevin Richardson, three of the five men wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in Central Park in 1989, speak outside New Yorks City Hall in 2014 after it was announced that the men then known as the Central Park Five, had settled with the city for approximately $40 million. Karma, they wrote of the indictment of Donald Trump, who had called for the death penalty in their case. (Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Lets not forget that it was Donald Trump who took out full-page ads calling for these five Black and Brown young men to get the death penalty, said Sharpton. This is the same man whos now calling for violence when he has to go through the same system. The same man will have to stand up in a courtroom and see firsthand what the criminal justice system is like.

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However, Black conservative and political commentator Armstrong Williams said despite the indictment, Trump remains innocent until proven guilty.

Its just an indictment; it has to be proven, Williams told theGrio. As far as Im concerned, these are the moments that Trump lives for. He likes to be the center of attention  and he has it.

He said the public should respect the process.

After the news broke of his indictment, Trump called it an attack on our country. In an email, his 2024 presidential campaign quickly solicited donations from supporters to defend our movement from never-ending witch hunts and win the White House in 2024.

Due to Trumps actions connected to the deadly and violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building  instigated by his false claim that his 2020 presidential election loss was a result of voter fraud  there remains concern his supporters could turn to violence in protest of his indictment.

Williams said Trump supporters should learn from the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Their families were destroyed [and] theres financial ruin, he recalled. Thousands were charged. Over 500 were indicted. Many are in jail.

Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the day some of them stormed the building. (Photo: Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

Its not a need for violence, opined Williams. Its not a need for destruction.

Though Trump has long evaded accountability from the criminal justice system, political scientist and Fordham University professor Christina M. Greer told theGrio that this case could be the one thing that actually finally makes the chickens come home to roost for Donald Trump.

Not only did you possibly do something illegal that Michael Cohen has admitted to, and we have other witnesses that are going to corroborate his story, but we actually have you on tape saying that you are committing this crime, said Greer of District Attorney Braggs likely thinking in indicting the former president.

While America can sometimes be seen as having two justice systems based on if youre Black or white, wealthy and powerful like Trump, Johnson noted, Our justice system should be a just system to apply equally to everyone. This is an example where we can demonstrate that to be the fact.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg addresses a press conference in July regarding Steven Lopez, who was exonerated then in the 1989 Central Park jogger case. Braggs indictment this week of Donald Trump could be just the first for the former president, who is also under investigation in Georgia and by the FBI. (Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The ideology of white supremacy, of the corruption and deceiving people existed prior to Trump being in office, and after hes finally brought to justice, said the NAACP leader.

We must, as a society, do all we can necessary to create an environment where we snuff out that type of behavior, he added, and not allow it to be normalized as it has been normalized over the last five years.

The indictment coming from the Manhattan District Attorneys Office is the first of what could be several for Trump. The former president is also being criminally investigated by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The FBI is also probing Trump for his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection and his possession of classified documents.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Black leaders see irony in Trump indictment: What goes around comes around appeared first on TheGrio.
Black Women Expats celebrating Juneteenth In Portugal - Black In Portugal group

As more Black people consider moving abroad, in a movement often referred to as a Blaxit, you may notice some destinations come up in conversation more often than others. Portugal is one of those countries that consistently rank on the top of the list among those who have Blaxited. One space where you will find community among expats across the diaspora is in the Facebook group, Black In Portugal.

In total, there are more than 900,000 expats living in Portugal from around the world. Its a place where its easy to fall in love. The weather is beautiful year-round, and its affordable for Europe.

For Black expats, safety, lifestyle and a growing Black cultural scene make the Western European destination more attractive.

Black In Portugal

The Black In Portugal Facebook group is a resource for visitors who want to connect with other people that look like themselves in Portugal. Its also an essential resource for Black people looking to make Portugal a primary or secondary home. Members answer questions about working abroad, the visa process, education for small children, how Black people are treated and represented, and more.

The Facebook groups administrators, Anna Sanders, Ashley Osborne, Heather Proctor and Kam Clemons, are Black women who are leading this effort and creating this community. They are using their own experiences to help others navigate a move abroad, while creating a healthy community among Black people through social gatherings.

All four women decided to move to Portugal for various reasons, but the one thing they all have in common is that their decisions boiled down to the quality of life.

Travel Noire spoke with them about the most important things to know before relocating.

Photo Credit: Aayush Gupta

Travel Noire: Does Portugal live up to your expectations?

Kam Clemons: At a point, I questioned whether Portugal was for me because everything felt like a [challenging] task from setting up health insurance to getting my bank information together. Many things were going on in my life, and I thought maybe Portugal was not for me.

Story continues

What ultimately kept me here is the community. I know I will not find this anywhere else. By giving myself extra time to adjust, Ive been able to ease into the Portuguese lifestyle.

Part of the reason I wanted to be here was to slow down. You cant slow down, if you want anything to happen so instantaneously  a way of life in the States. There has been a lot of unlearning, and now it feels like home.

Heather Proctor: I have mixed feelings about this question. Let me say before I moved here, I joined the Facebook group. Nothing was happening in the group like our Mexico group, so I was nervous because I didnt speak the language and didnt know anyone there.

I moved to Portugal without any expectations because I knew going in that the community I wanted didnt exist, so I had to create it.

RELATED: Travelers Sound Off On Whether The Black Expat Movement Is Considered Colonizing

TN: What has surprised you the most?

HP: It has a lot to do with personal growth. I am an introvert, and Ive never been willing to go out and meet people. I usually keep to myself, but my daughter and the people here in Portugal have brought out an extroverted side of me.

I couldnt imagine the type of relationship I have with people. The community Ive built here does not compare to the U.S. Ive never had this family-style community.

Anna Sanders: Having time and the mental capacity to explore my creative hobbies, interests and passion has been a pleasant surprise.

I started feeling burnt out in the U.S. and was uninspired by my surroundings back home. I didnt realize until recently that it was my previous environment.

Ashley Osborne: I was scared because I was here for a month when I first came in 2019. Visiting and living somewhere are different experiences. Its living up to my expectations, and its been surprising how Portugal has felt like home so quickly.

What also surprised me is how content I am. Im used to living in bigger cities, [like] Los Angeles [and] New York. Im used to the fast life, but now Im 35, married and settling down to build a family. Im content and finding peace here.

Expect Challenges

TN: Are there any challenges or hurdles you wish you had known before moving?

KC: Give yourself a grace period when youre moving. Some say youre significantly better once you move to a new country. If youre mentally struggling with things in the U.S., youll still have to unpack that.

For me, I had to unlearn my American ways. I had to learn to trust and lean on people, which is hard. I always recommend having a support system when youre going through a transition like this, whether going to therapy or having friends you can talk to.

AS: I struggled with survivors remorse. Its tough living abroad with family at home in the United States. Your heart is in two places.

We all know the situations we came from in the U.S., whether its racial trauma or the day-to-day heaviness. Being black in America and living here in Portugal, where its almost the complete opposite, I sometimes feel guilty for feeling so happy. Im also very fearful for my family and friends still living in the states. Sometimes, its tough to be entirely at peace.

Photo Credit: Black In Portugal

TN: What should people know before relocating to Portugal?

AS: Do your research. Many resources are available on the internet, including our community. We try to provide as many resources as possible with other Facebook groups and YouTube channels because nothing beats your research. Everyones circumstances are different.

This article has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
The explosions in Dzhankoi happened in the evening of March 20

Speaking on Ukrainian national television, Natalia Humeniuk, Head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine, said the railway connection that Russia had been using to transfer missiles to occupied Crimea has not yet been fully repaired.

Read also: Blasts in Dzhankoi might have prevented Russia from fully equipping its ships with Kalibr missiles, Humeniuk

Humeniuk noted that the invaders were trying to deliver missiles by transport aircraft, but it is not known whether they could reach the warship berths in the naval base at Sevastopol.

We state this, even given that the number of ships (on station in the Black Sea) increased when the storm abated, she said.

Ten vessels are now stationed in the Black Sea, but there is still only one missile carrier, the same submarine. Still, that means they do have some stocks of Kalibr missiles.

Read also: What is known about drone attack in Crimeas Dzhankoi

A series of explosions were heard in Dzankoi on the evening of March 20. Videos with sounds of drones flying were published online. Kremlin-installed authorities in Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimea claimed the explosions were the work of air defenses and that some fragments had allegedly damaged houses and a store.

The Russian-installed head of the Dzhankoi occupation administration complained about a drone attack.

Soon after, Ukrainian intelligence stated that the explosions in Dzhankoi destroyed Kalibr missiles that were being transported by rail.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Micron saw another drop in revenue for its latest quarter.

The Boise memory-chip maker reported revenues of $3.7 billion, down nearly 10% from the previous quarter and more than 50% from the same quarter a year ago.

Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a news release Tuesday that the company expects the industrys supply and demand balance to gradually improve. The company previously cited weakening consumer demand and significant inventory adjustments for the steep revenue declines.

Micron delivered fiscal second quarter revenue within our guidance range in a challenging market environment, Mehrotra said. We remain confident in long-term demand and are investing prudently to preserve our technology and product portfolio competitiveness.

Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra welcomes dignitaries and celebrates a $15 billion plant, or fab, for memory manufacturing to be constructed at the companys headquarters in Southeast Boise.

The company reported a net income of $minus-2.1 billion for the quarter ending Feb. 28, down 202% from the same quarter a year earlier. The earnings amount to $minus-1.91 per share.

Micron is the largest for-profit employer in Idaho, with about 6,000 workers in the Treasure Valley and roughly 49,000 employees worldwide, as of December. The company began laying off workers in February, with plans to reduce its global headcount by about 10% over the next year, according to prior reporting by the Idaho Statesman.

Its unclear how many Micron employees in Boise and Meridian were affected by the cuts. The company has not filed a Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act, which suggests that fewer than 500 workers may be laid off in Idaho.

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Satellite image shows a weather pattern off the West Coast on Wednesday. (NOAA)

Californians have been warned over the past few months about weather ranging from a "vicious heat dome" to back-to-back "atmospheric rivers," and the always-concerning "bomb cyclone."

While it might feel as though recent weather has been dominated by a string of new phenomena, experts say these terms and events are well-established in the scientific world but simply novel to much of general public.

Many of these meteorological terms have entered the public discourse in recent years due to a combination of factors: more extreme weather in the age of climate change, a new wave of scientific journalism and the virality of the internet and social media, which often helps promote such eye-catching phrases.

We are hearing these terms more, and I think partially thats in reaction to [the fact that] the weathers gotten crazier, said Jeff Masters, a meteorologist and writer for Yale Climate Connections. The terms "have been around scientifically for a long time, but theyre getting dusted off and trotted out here to  capture the extremity of what were seeing."

James Marshall Shepherd, director of the University of Georgia's Atmospheric Sciences Program, also credits a new wave of meteorological journalism for helping popularize these more scientific  as well as attention-grabbing  terms. That includes meteorologists writing for climate-focused websites or within established news outlets, like the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang.

"They started to bring some of that terminology out of the science literature into more popular writing," Marshall Shepherd said. "These things like polar vortex and bombogenesis and atmospheric river and derecho, every one of those have been around for decades, particularly in the atmospheric sciences [and] meteorology literature."

Most call the development overwhelmingly positive, but there's a growing concern that these dramatic-sounding terms can get misused and abused in different circles," said Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist.

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I think that sometimes using the more colorful language is helpful in a science communication perspective," Swain said. "But you do need to present things in context."

"Polar vortex" is one term that multiple meteorologists cite as often misused, pointing out how it has sometimes been inaccurately cited as a developing weather pattern when it properly refers to a regularly occurring air mass over the Arctic.

To better understand some of these new-sounding weather phenomena, Times staff dived into the archives to see how long these phrases have made the news, and asked experts about their scientific origins and true meaning.

A look at each term:

Atmospheric river: a concentrated stream of water vapor in the middle and lower levels of the atmosphere that travels across the ocean until some land mass obstacle forces it to expel its moisture.

In the scheme of meteorological terms, "atmospheric river" is relatively new, cited in scientific papers only in the last 30 years, Masters said.

He said the phenomenon had been identified as early as 1939, but it wasn't until 1992 that a paper coined the term "tropospheric river." That later morphed into atmospheric river simply to make the terminology "more accessible," Masters said.

"Now that we have high-resolution satellites and we've been flying research aircraft into these atmospheric rivers, we're really learning a lot more about them that we didn't know," Masters said.

Some of these events are often also referred to as pineapple expresses, which experts say is a more colloquial term for some atmospheric rivers that originate near the Hawaiian islands.

The term "atmospheric river" first appeared in The Times in 1993, in a story that focused on the research paper that first named the phenomenon. The phrase didn't appear back in print for almost two decades, when meteorologists and scientists in 2011 warned that California could be vulnerable to them.

Much has changed in a decade. So far in 2023, the term has appeared in dozens of Times articles.

Bomb cyclone; bombogenesis: the rapid intensification of a cyclone or low-pressure system; the formation of such a rapidly strengthening system.

The phenomenon was first coined as a "bomb" in a 1980 paper that focused on cyclones rapidly, or explosively, developing, according to the Washington Post. The authors used the word to help convey the strength and danger of such storms, but the phenomenon had long been studied by meteorologists.

"Somehow, it just found its way into the common lingo in recent years, because it is dramatic and it's descriptive," Masters said.

For the public, the term is still relatively new, not having made it into The Times until 2018, when reporters used both "bomb cyclone" and "bombogenesis" to describe a major storm hitting the northeast U.S.

The phenomenon was credited for the strong and deadly storm that hit California last week, and Swain said the U.S. will likely see another such storm soon.

There are about 40 or 50 quote-unquote bomb cyclones per year in the Northern Hemisphere," Swain said, but he added that they are more likely to develop over the North Atlantic and in the Gulf of Alaska than off the Northern California coast.

Polar vortex: upper-level air masses that regularly circulate over the Earth's poles and are typically confined to those regions by the polar jet stream  though it can get disrupted, letting some of that cold air escape toward the equator.

This term jumped into the public's consciousness during some particularly cold storms on the East Coast. It was used in a science writer's 2014 post and picked up by other media. But Masters said the term has been around since the 1930s.

Masters said this term has drawn some of the most concern from him and his peers because it's more of a stratospheric phenomenon  in the atmosphere's higher, second layer  so it's not as relevant meteorologically, though it can have some effect on Earth's weather.

"The weather in the stratosphere doesn't really impact what's going on down on the ground," Masters said, explaining why he usually avoids using the term, which he thinks has been "misused and overhyped."

The Times first used it in a scientific sense in 1992, describing a trip to the Arctic to study the atmosphere there. It wasn't until 2014 that it was used in a weather story.





Heat dome: a more colloquial term that describes a hot, high-pressure system that isn't moving anywhere anytime soon.

Experts said this term is not as entrenched in the scientific literature but is still an accurate description for a massive heat wave; some meteorologists have said it could also be considered a heat bubble.

"It's just a big old high-pressure system that's hot," Masters said. "You can think of it as a dome, why not?"

This term was first used in the context of weather in The Times in 2012, describing a long, hot event in Greenland, melting a massive ice sheet. It has been used multiple times in recent years.





Supercell thunderstorm: a thunderstorm with a rotating updraft, or upward motion, that can cause more extreme weather.

These thunderstorms are some of the most intense and organized storms, which can last several hours and spin off tornadoes or cause hail, experts said.



"You can go back into textbooks 50 years ago and see people talking about supercells," Marshall Shepherd said, calling them "basic meteorology."

But the term hasn't been so common in weather reporting, not appearing in The Times until 1999, when it was mentioned in a story about a chain of tornadoes that swept through Oklahoma and Kansas.





Thundersnow: the rare combination of thunder and lightning during a snowstorm.

While far from a new term, Marshall Shepherd thinks the word likely grew in prominence after a Weather Channel meteorologist geeked out as he experienced the phenomenon in Boston 2015.

"Thundersnow is very rare," Marhsall Shepherd said. "It's not that common that you get thunderstorms in a snow environment."

It first made it in The Times in 2007, after thundersnow was recorded in Southern California, and has since had increasing mentions, including this winter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) warned Republican lawmakers on Friday that their efforts to conduct oversight into his investigation of former President Trump represents a dangerous usurpation by Congress that could impinge upon the former presidents rights.

The response from Braggs office comes the morning after a grand jury he empaneled to hear evidence voted to indict Trump in connection with efforts to hide a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by couching them as legal payments.

A trio of Republican House chairmen, led by House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), gave Bragg until Friday to comply with a demand to turn over documents related to his investigation.

Braggs office again rebuffed the chairmen in a second letter, noting that a jury found probable cause to initiate the charges for Trump and laying out his full rights in the upcoming trial.

What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State, Leslie Dubeck, general counsel for Braggs office, wrote in the letter.

The letter is the fourth in a back-and-forth between Bragg and the lawmakers, who demanded all the documents in the case as well as any communications Braggs office has had about it.

The GOP leaders contended the probe was politically motivated  a point Bragg has repeatedly contested.

Your second letter asserts that, by failing to provide it, the District Attorney somehow failed to dispute your baseless and inflammatory allegations that our investigation is politically motivated. That conclusion is misleading and meritless, Dubeck wrote.

We did not engage in a point-by-point rebuttal of your letter because our Office is legally constrained in how it publicly discusses pending criminal proceedings, as prosecutorial offices are across the country and as you well know. That secrecy is critical to protecting the privacy of the target of any criminal investigation as well as the integrity of the independent grand jurys proceedings.

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Braggs office reiterated a willingness to meet but this time asked lawmakers to supply them with a list of questions and documents they could discuss without violating New York grand jury secrecy rules or interfering with the criminal case now before a court.

The letter attacks another GOP argument seeking to justify their intervention, with the lawmakers in their original March 20 letter saying they were weighing potential legislative reforms.

Again, Braggs office questioned the intent of GOP plans.

We doubt that Congress would have authority to place a single private citizen  including a former president or candidate for president  above the law or to grant him unique protections, such as removal to federal court, that are unavailable to every other criminal defendant, Dubeck wrote.

Even if you were seriously considering such legislation and had the constitutional authority to enact it (which you do not), your request for information from the District Attorney and his former attorneys concerning an ongoing criminal probe is unnecessary and unjustified. Congress has many sources from which it could seek information on the wisdom of this legislation, including from former federal or state prosecutors not involved in this pending matter.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who last week had to cancel a visit to China after coming down with pneumonia, has rescheduled the trip to April 11-14, his office said Friday.

The veteran leftist has sought closer ties with China -- Brazil's biggest trading partner -- since taking office in January.

He canceled his original trip last Saturday, the day he was initially due to leave, after being diagnosed with what his office called "mild pneumonia."

Now back at work, the 77-year-old made it clear the visit was a top priority, after years of strained ties with Beijing under his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).

A presidential spokesman confirmed the new dates to AFP, saying the exact agenda was still being finalized.

Lula's initial agenda included a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and a high-level China-Brazil business forum that went ahead this week without him.

Like during his first two presidential terms, from 2003 to 2010, Lula is keen to position Brazil as a go-between and deal-broker on the international stage, seeking friendly ties across the board.

He has cultivated a close relationship with European leaders and US President Joe Biden, whom he visited last month.

But he has also made some in the West nervous with his overtures to the likes of China, Russia and Venezuela.

Brazil and China did a record $150.5 billion in bilateral trade last year -- far more than the $88.7 billion in trade between Brazil and the United States, its second-biggest partner.

On Wednesday Brazil announced it had reached a deal with China to ditch the US dollar as an intermediary currency and trade directly in yuan and reais.

- 'Brazil is back' -

Lula and Xi had also been expected to discuss the war in Ukraine.

The leader of Latin America's biggest economy hopes to promote his proposal for mediated talks to end Russia's invasion.

However, his diplomatic stock took a hit last year when he came under fire for claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "as responsible" as Russia's Vladimir Putin for their countries' war.

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Lula has also refused to join Western nations in sending weapons to Ukraine to help it defend itself.

Brazil, Russia and China are all members of the BRICS group of emerging economies, together with India and South Africa, and have sought to counterbalance the traditional dominance of Europe and the United States in the international arena.

Lula took office vowing "Brazil is back" on the world stage after its relative isolation during the Bolsonaro years.

Bolsonaro was often perceived as demonizing China, particularly over the coronavirus pandemic, like his political role model, former US president Donald Trump.

Lula's health has been a source of concern in recent years.

In 2011, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, shortly after leaving the presidency. He went into remission after undergoing treatment.

Last November, he had surgery to remove a lesion from his vocal cords, after his trademark raspy voice grew even hoarser during his grueling 2022 election battle against Bolsonaro.

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BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 14 in Beijing, his office said on Friday, rescheduling a visit that was postponed last week after Lula was diagnosed with a mild pneumonia.

Lula will leave for China on April 11 and intends to stick to the original agenda, including the signing of some 20 agreements with Brazil's largest trading partner.

The trip's aim is to upgrade relations with China now that Lula is back in office and seek new Chinese investment in the Latin American country. It will come two months after Lula met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, as Brasilia aims for a pragmatic foreign policy balancing ties with its top trading partners despite growing tensions between the two.

A visit to Shanghai, for the inauguration of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as chief executive of the New Development Bank, was later confirmed to April 13, his office said.

It will still be a state visit, with meetings with Xi, the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, and an event at the National People's Assembly, Lula's presidential office said.

(Reporting by Lisandra ParaguassuEditing by Frances Kerry and Josie Kao)
Model Leeanne Adu, right, signed up to get a breast exam on live TV from Dr. Sara Kayat, left, because she knows "firsthand how critical early detection is." (Photo: @thismorning via Twitter)

A woman got a breast exam on live TV. No bra, no carefully draped gown, no blurring.

On the British talk show This Morning, model Leeanne Adu, who wears a size 38JJ bra, disrobed and had Dr. Sara Kayat perform a physical exam at 10:30 a.m. BST Monday.

"Part of the examination for breasts is looking and feeling," Kayat said in the segment. Kayat talked about the importance of looking at your breasts from the front and side during an exam. "We're feeling for lumps here," she said, walking the audience step-by-step through her process.

While breast cancer awareness and the importance of self-checks are regularly talked about on television, it's rare for a real person, as opposed to a dummy or simulation, to be used in such a way.

Do you know how to check your breasts properly? @Sara_Kayat shows you the simple way to check your breasts for signs of breast cancer. #ThisMorning pic.twitter.com/K6AemHWLnW  This Morning (@thismorning) March 27, 2023

Adu tells Yahoo Life that she was diagnosed with stage III, grade 3, triple-negative breast cancer in 2020 when she was 35. "The cancer had already spread to my lymph nodes, but knowing my body and breasts meant I found it before it spread further," she says. "So when I saw the call for someone to participate in a live breast exam, I instantly put myself forward because I know firsthand how critical early detection is to survival rates."

Adu has finished treatment and says she "lives firmly in the camp of saying yes to things that might change my life, and this was one of those yes moments."

Adu says the response to her segment has been "overwhelmingly positive. ...To hear so many people will be checking their breasts and chests makes me so happy."

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In fact, the segment went viral on social media, garnering comments from people like "the actual demonstration is so helpful, especially for girls/women with larger breasts," one person wrote on Twitter. "Brilliant. I did a check whilst watching the video. A very powerful segment. Much needed!" another said. Plenty of others pointed out that simulated exams, which are commonly used, just aren't helpful. "So many videos do not use real women to demonstrate breast examination. Using fruit or household objects leaves people confused," one said.

This Morning covers several health topics each week and has done live breast checks in the past, along with testicular checks and smear tests. This one just happened to go viral.

Having live demonstrations help to provide much more detail, guidance and confidence for individuals to help them practice vital, life-saving health checks at home," a publicist for This Morning tells Yahoo Life. "Viewers gain more awareness of the best movements, techniques and pressure to apply for example than what a leaflet or diagram may provide.

Doctors applaud the segment. "I'm totally for it," Dr. Richard Reitherman, a radiologist and medical director of breast imaging at MemorialCare Breast Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. "Using a live model is a great educational format  especially if there is an interaction between the physician and woman, the kind that would occur in a real clinical situation."

"It is very important for women to be informed and educated on how to perform a breast self-exam and also be able to identify changes in the breast that warrant medical attention," Dr. Avan Armaghani, a medical oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center's Breast Oncology Department.

But Armaghani says that this won't be effective for everyone, noting that using a real model to demonstrate a breast exam "can be sensitive or uncomfortable for viewers to watch."

Armaghani says that's especially true in the United States, where nudity is restricted on daytime television. "Im not sure that this is something that may happen in the U.S.," she says. "I recommend use of models and photos to provide education to the general public."

According to the National Library of Medicine, the best time to do a breast self-exam is three to five days after your period starts (if you get a period), once a month. "Performing a breast self-exam once a month is reasonable and allows patients to examine and identify any potential changes to their breasts," Armaghani says. "I always tell my patients that they know their body best and they know what is their normal. So, if they notice any changes, they should not ignore it  they should notify their health care provider immediately."

It's important to point out that guidance around breast self-exams in the U.S. is a little confusing. The American Cancer Society (ACS) says that research has not shown a clear benefit of regular physical breast exams done by a health professional or by women themselves, noting that there is "very little evidence" that the tests help detect breast cancer early when women also get mammograms. Most breast cancer is detected because of symptoms, like a lump, and women usually discover them during normal activities like bathing and dressing, the ACS says. However, the organization also stresses that women should be familiar with how their breasts normally look and feel, and should report changes to their health care provider immediately.

Reitherman acknowledges that some medical literature "minimizes the benefits of breast self-examination in the context of screening for breast cancer" but says that the technique still has value. Mammograms "cannot detect a significant proportion of breast cancers, especially in women with dense breast tissue and those under age to have mammograms," he points out. "It is critically important to educate and encourage women to adopt breast self-examination as an empowering complement to regular mammography," he adds.

Adu says she hopes her demonstration helps other women. "Seeing how a breast exam looks on a real person is so important," she says. "So many of us are not taught how to examine ourselves and look for changes or the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Seeing it on a live person shows how easy it is to check yourself and makes it relatable to those who may have felt they would not be affected by breast cancer." It's also "essential" for people to "see different bodies and what a breast exam looks like on those bodies," she adds.

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.
Brian 'Brizz' Gillis, pictured in 1997, left the band before they scored their two biggest hits

Brian 'Brizz' Gillis, one of the original founders of 90s pop group LFO, has died at the age of 47.

The Massachusetts band are best known for hits Girl on TV and Summer Girls - but both were released after Gillis's departure in 1998.

Tributes have been paid to Gillis by the band's only surviving original member, Brad Fischetti, who said he was "struggling" with the death.

Fischetti posted on Instagram: "Today I honour my former bandmate and friend.

"If it wasn't for his hard work and dedication in the early days of LFO, the LFO you came to know and (hopefully) love would not exist."

He added: "The first two chapters of the LFO story lost a main character yesterday."

The cause of Gillis' death isn't currently known.

LFO story 'a tragedy'

Gillis had some success with the band in the US and Europe but he left the group in 1998 to start a solo career.

That meant he missed out on one of the band's biggest moments - opening for Britney Spears on her 1999 US tour.

LFO were formed in 1995, and their singles Girl on TV and Summer Girls both reached the top 20 in the US and the UK.

Gillis is the third person to die from LFO, which stands for Lyte Funkie Ones.

Rich Cronin died aged 36 of leukaemia in 2010, whilst Devin Lima, who replaced Gillis when he left the band, died in 2018 at the age of 41 from adrenal cancer.

Fischetti referenced the death of his bandmates in his Instagram tribute, adding: "I've said it before and I will continue to say It, the LFO Story is a tragedy"

"If you know what I've been doing, you know I'm trying to bring light into the darkness. Trying find redemption in pain and suffering. Trying to honour the legacy."
Tourists photograph Trump Tower along the Chicago River after news of his indictment on March 30, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Hours after a Manhattan grand jury indicted Donald Trump and made him the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, the space around downtown Chicagos Trump Tower  a site of protest and unrest at many of the Trump presidencys most polarizing moments  looked particularly normal.

No droves of Trump haters celebrated. No backers of the former president gathered to decry the grand jurys decision. Business people passed the building nonplussed, headphones in. Tourists with shopping bags made their instinctual stops to take sunset photos of the citys stunning buildings.

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But amid the normalcy, one woman stopped to point her phone straight at that polarizing five-letter surname that lords over the iconic strip of the Chicago River. Then, she put her middle finger in front of the camera and snapped a pic.

[ Donald Trump indicted; 1st ex-president charged with crime ]

It was a pleasant surprise, said the woman, who was visiting from New York, the same state that produced the charges centered around Trumps alleged involvement in hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to a porn star to purportedly silence claims of an extramarital affair.

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The tourists partner said the charges showed no one is above the law. However, she wasnt optimistic that the charges would lead to a guilty verdict.

But if it leads to some sort of conversation about accountability and justice, Id be OK with that, said the woman, who said her name was Julianne but declined to share her last name.

Moments later, a young man mounted Wacker Drives tan concrete steps to stand tall for a photo before the towers mammoth Trump logo. He curled his right arm low for the camera and slightly flexed.

The man, like most people passing under the brazen last name logo of the now-indicted ex-president, declined to share his thoughts on the news. Many people near Trump Tower said they hadnt even yet heard about the charges Thursday evening, a far  if soft  cry from the heated, 2,000-strong crowd that marched on the same 98-story building when Trump first won in 2016.

[ From 2016: 5 arrested after largely peaceful anti-Trump protests downtown ]

But across the city and state, politicians jumped to share their thoughts on the historic indictment.

The grand jurys decision quickly rose to the forefront of Chicagos mayoral runoff as Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson used the charge to attack former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas.

Johnson called Trumps administration one of the most corrupt in history. He pivoted to allege Vallas campaign received money from Trumps education secretary, Betsy DeVos.

Vallas brushed off the Trump connection. He has never had any connect with DeVos, he said. She has not donated directly to Vallas, though an advocacy organization she founded spent roughly $60,000 on digital media supporting Vallas. She no longer leads the group, but continues to contribute to it.

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This unprecedented and historic news begins the process of proving once and for all that no one is above the law and everyone must be held accountable for their actions. Read my full statement on the indictment of former president Donald Trump. https://t.co/v4UuJX5R2c  Paul Vallas (@PaulVallas) March 30, 2023

In a separate statement Thursday, Vallas celebrated the Trump indictment. The news begins the process of proving once and for all that no one is above the law and everyone must be held accountable for their actions, he said.

He labeled Trumps recent promises for retribution dangerous and irresponsible.

Donald Trump repeatedly and shamelessly violated the rules and norms that govern the Office of the President, cheapening the most widely respected elected position in the world and demeaning our democracy. He must be held accountable, Vallas said.

Justice must be served. https://t.co/YwN029H9aE  Brandon Johnson (@Brandon4Chicago) March 30, 2023

In another post sharing a New York Times article announcing the indictment, Johnson was brief: Justice must be served, he said.

Darren Bailey, a former state senator who unsuccessfully ran as the Republican nominee for Illinois governor last year, responded to the news by posting to Facebook a picture of himself on stage with the former president at a rally where Trump endorsed him.

I stand with President Trump, Because he stood with us, Bailey wrote in the post.

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I stand with President Trump, Because he stood with us!!! Posted by Darren Bailey on Thursday, March 30, 2023

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller of downstate Oakland, an ardent Trump supporter who received the former presidents endorsement at a rally near Quincy in her GOP primary race last year, posted statements to both her campaign and her official Twitter accounts in response to the indictment.

She accused the prosecutors behind these charges and other investigations Trump faces of being corrupt and attempting to destroy our system of justice and tear our country apart.

We stand with President Donald J. Trump and the America First movement. We will prevail! #MAGA, she wrote on her campaign account.

On her official account, she wrote: We will not be deterred. We will defeat the communists trying to destroy our country. We will save America.

We will not be deterred. We will defeat the communists trying to destroy our country. We will save America.  Rep. Mary Miller (@RepMaryMiller) March 30, 2023

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Channahon, an outspoken critic of the former president who voted for his second impeachment and was one of two GOP members of the House committee that investigated Trumps role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, called Thursday a somber day for our nation.

Donald Trump committed many crimes, but this indictment should be a reminder that in America, NO ONE is above the law, Kinzinger wrote on Twitter. We must move forward and let justice prevail. The anti-democratic threat, however, hasnt diminished.

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Today is a somber day for our nation. Donald Trump committed many crimes, but this indictment should be a reminder that in America, NO ONE is above the law.



We must move forward and let justice prevail. The anti-democratic threat, however, hasnt diminished.  Adam Kinzinger #fella (@AdamKinzinger) March 30, 2023

Across the aisle, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said in a series of Twitter posts that the court process must be allowed to play out, with respect for both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs investigation into Trumps alleged crimes and Trumps due process rights.

But no one is above the law  not even a former president, Durbin said.

Dan Petrella contributed.

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
Brian Walshe, 48, of Cohasset, Massachusetts, was indicted Thursday by a Norfolk County grand jury in the murder of his wife, Ana Walshe, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office confirmed.

The grand jury indicted Walshe for misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice, and improper conveyance of a human body, the DA's office said.

Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old mother of three from Massachusetts, has been missing since New Year's Eve, some time after having dinner with her husband and a friend. Her husband said she took a rideshare to Boston's Logan International Airport to fly to Washington, D.C., but there is no evidence that she got on the plane. Her remains have not yet been found.

In January, the Norfolk DA announced that Brian Walshe was being charged with murder in his wife's disappearance. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.

During the time of her disappearance, Brian Walshe was on home confinement because of a federal conviction involving a scheme to sell fake Andy Warhol paintings. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, and possession of converted goods and unlawful monetary transaction, CBS Boston reported.

Walshe remains held without bail.

 Kerry Breen contributed reporting.

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Britain's police watchdog asked prosecutors Thursday to decide whether to charge a police officer over the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black man in London last year.

Chris Kaba died after an officer fired a single gunshot through the windshield of the car the 24-year-old was driving in a residential area of south London on Sept. 5.

Officials said at an inquest last year that the Audi was believed to be linked to a firearms incident that took place the previous day. The vehicle's registration number had been entered into a database for automatic camera recognition, although Kaba's name was not included in an officer briefing.

Kaba's family has accused London's Metropolitan Police of racism and called for the officer to be charged.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said Thursday it has completed a homicide investigation into Kaba's death and passed on a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.

UK SCIENTISTS FIND ONE OF LARGEST BLACK HOLES EVER DISCOVERED

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The watchdog's director, Amanda Rowe, said it was up to prosecutors to decide whether or not to charge the officer, who was suspended from duty while under investigation.

Kaba's family welcomed the move and said they hoped "the truth will emerge, without delay, through criminal proceedings."

"Our family and community cannot continue waiting for answers," the family said in a statement.

Britain's police watchdog asked prosecutors to decide whether to charge the officer responsible in a fatal police shooting of Black man.

Kaba was expecting a child when police pursued and blocked the Audi, according to information from the inquest. An officer who got out stood in front of Kaba's car and fired through the windshield, striking him in the head. He died in the hospital soon after.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Kaba's death prompted "anger, pain and fear" and a desire for change and justice across the capital, especially among Black Londoners.

The shooting came amid intense scrutiny of the Metropolitan Police.

In 2021, an officer on Britain's biggest police force pleaded guilty to raping, kidnapping and bearing responsibility for the death of a 33-year-old woman who disappeared while walking home from visiting a friend.

Another Met officer, who worked in the same parliamentary and diplomatic protection unit, pleaded guilty in January to committing dozens of rapes between 2003 and 2020. The police department has been embroiled in other matters involving its treatment of women and minorities.

Earlier this month, an independent review found the London force had lost public confidence because of deep-seated racism, misogyny and homophobia.
[Source]

An Asian officer with the New York Police Department was filmed receiving a barrage of racist attacks in a viral video this week.

The incident reportedly occurred in Times Square while the unidentified cop was on duty.

In the video, a man behind the camera can be seen pointing a finger at the officer, whom he calls Bruce Lee and shorty.

Get back, Bruce Lee-lookin [unintelligible] boy, the man demands. On King Day youre acting like Bruce Lee, shorty.

More from NextShark: Pakistani journalist reporting on deadly floods while neck-deep in water goes viral

The man then accuses the officer of playing with him. Stop playing me, shorty, before I do that to your ass, he says.

The officer responds by pushing the mans hand as the latter continues to point a finger at his face.

Stop pushing me, the man snaps back. Stop pushing me or Ill smack your gook ass!

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The video appears to have been originally posted on Instagram by a now-defunct profile called @famoussrichard. Screen recordings of the video were then shared by multiple accounts on Twitter.

Police sources identified the officer in question as part of an anti-shoplifting detail in Times Square, according to the New York Post.

As of press time, the NYPD has not made any announcement or statement about the incident.

More from NextShark: Purdue University chancellor faces growing pressure to resign over racist joke

Patrick Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association, reportedly attributed the incident to racist hatred emboldened by anti-cop politicians and activists.

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They have encouraged threats and abuse towards police officers. And they have made sure that police officers cant do anything about it without jeopardizing their careers, Lynch told the Post.

This is not the first time an Asian NYPD officer wound up on the receiving end of racist abuse.

In 2021, 17-year veteran Vincent Cheung sued a man who called him a goddamn cat eater and taunted him with soy sauce chants  an incident that was also caught on camera.

Cheungs suit, however, was dismissed by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shlomo Hagler, who decided that the defendant was ultimately protected by his First Amendment rights. The judge instead encouraged Cheung and his lawyers to take the matter to legislature, saying I do believe the legislation should go back and review whether they should protect racist and hateful speech as part of the civil rights law.
Bucha Summit on March 31, 2023

According to the message, world leaders and international organizations strongly condemned the atrocities committed in Ukraine, including the massacres in Bucha, which had become a symbol of the brutality of Russias aggression.

Read also: Russian Embassy in UK tweet responding to Ukrainian PoW massacre causes uproar

The participants supported the efforts of countries  including Ukraine  to investigate and prosecute crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine, or against Ukraine, in accordance with international law and national legislation. They also called on the global community to provide maximum support to the International Center for Investigation of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine.

Read also: Kuleba calls for Russia to be declared a terrorist state after massacre of Ukrainian POWs in Olenivka

The declaration states that those responsible for planning, perpetrating, and committing the crime of aggression against Ukraine must be punished. The leaders also called on the international community to establish a legal mechanism to "ensure effective accountability for the crime of aggression," and supported creating an international registry to record damage inflicted by Russia on Ukraine, for the purposes of future reparations.

Read also: Podolyak on China proposal, possible Ukrainian drone near Moscow, US backs intl tribunal

The summit was attended by representatives of nearly 50 countries and international organizations, while Polish President Andrzej Duda, French President Emmanuel Macron, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Czech President Petr Pavel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen participated via remote video links.

Read also: Zelenskyy posts emotional video on anniversary of Buchas liberation

On March 31  the anniversary of Buchas liberation from Russian occupation  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the town, accompanied by his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu, as well as the prime ministers of Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
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Demers joins GrayRobinson's litigation section

The GrayRobinson law firm recently announced that Shawn Demers joined its litigation section. Demers will part of the firms Melbourne office.

Shawn Demers

Demers serves as a commercial litigator, handling a diverse portfolio of complex commercial litigation matters from inception through trial; a business transaction attorney handling asset and purchase agreements; and as counsel for small and growing businesses.

Demers regularly works with developers, investors, contractors, residential and commercial property owners, commercial tenants and other parties in the real estate and litigation arena.

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Demers received his Juris Doctor from Florida State University, and his bachelors degree in history and classical civilizations from FSU.

He is admitted to practice in Florida and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Demers also is an avid vegan Ironman triathlete, and races for team Vegan Powered Athlete and the Team Infinit Competition Team.

New board officers named at Neighbor Up Brevard

Neighbor Up Brevard has announced the appointment of two key board positions.

Leslie Tibbetts

Leslie Tibbetts, vice president of commercial services at Community Credit Union, has been appointed board president.

Jordin Chandler, governmental relations consultant for Space Coast Strategy, has been selected as board vice president.

Jordin Chandler

Tibbetts succeeds Peter Mannino, who has served as Neighbor Up Brevards board president since 2020.

I am excited to pass the torch to wonderful community advocates like Leslie and Jordin," Mannino said. "With their leadership, along with the rest of the board, the future of Neighbor Up is bright.

Tibbetts has sat on the Neighbor Up board for two years, and before that she served as an adviser to the Evans Center project.

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Chandler, who has been involved with Neighbor Up Brevard as a board member since 2020, is an advocate for equity, community action and leadership. He also recently was named one of LEAD Brevards 4 Under 40 awardees.

For more information on Neighbor Up Brevard, go to www.neighborupbrevard.org.

Melbourne Police Department staff members honored

The Melbourne Police Department recently recognized police officers, communications officers and civilian employees for outstanding accomplishments, dedication, bravery and professionalism.

Among those attending the Melbourne Police Department's awards event were, from left, Police Chief David Gillespie, Employee of the Year Sheree Payne, Officer of the Year Greg Hughes, Communications Officer of the Year LeSean Campbell and Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey.

Within these groups, the department also gave special awards to officers and employees who stood out among even these exceptional honorees. The 2022 winners of these awards are as follows:

Officer Greg Hughes was named Officer of the Year. He was been with the department for more than 26 years, and known for consistently providing excellent service to the people of Melbourne. In 2022, he conducted 69 searches, responded to 386 calls for service, responded to back up other officers 512 times, responded to assist other agencies on 34 incidents and made three K-9 apprehensions. His efforts resulted in seizure of more than 2 kilograms of various illegal drugs. Additionally, he assisted with numerous K-9 demonstrations throughout the year.

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Hughes was awarded the Police Combat Cross and Police Purple Heart for responding to and engaging with an armed subject who was barricaded in a room at a hotel on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. During the incident he was shot and wounded while attempting to peacefully resolve the barricade. At imminent personal hazard to his life, he had engaged in dialogue with the rooms occupants. A gunshot was fired through the door from within the room, resulting in a bullet striking Hughes in the chest. He was wearing his department-issued ballistic vest, and the bullet did not penetrate his skin. However, the force of the impact caused him to fall to the ground.

LeSean Campbell, the Communications Officer of the Year, with the Communications Center, has been with the department for more than 20 years. For the past 10 years, she has been second in charge on the night shift, where she plays a critical role in helping supervisors during high-volume incidents and seamlessly fills in for supervisors on their days off. She shares her knowledge with her peers and helps whenever requested.

Crime analyst Sheree Payne, the Employee of the Year, was honored for consistently demonstrating passion and attention to detail in her day-to-day responsibilities, often working outside of her normal hours to accomplish tasks. Her exceptional efforts resulted in significant law enforcement accomplishments in 2022, including documenting a new criminal gang responsible for significant violence in the community. This was the first time a new gang had been documented in Melbourne in close to a decade.

She also helped officers quickly locate a vehicle that was involved in a shooting. Officers found a loaded AK-47 and arrested the suspect who had been associated with the new gang during an attack at Palm Bay High School. Due to the swift actions of Payne and police officers. a dangerous firearm was taken off the street, and a gang associate was charged with several felony crimes. It is likely that further violence was prevented due to their actions.

Also in 2022, her quick action in cross-referencing evidence from the scene of a hit-and-run crash led to the location of the vehicle involved and the arrest of its driver. She also helped officers quickly locate a Silver Alert vehicle and safely return a disoriented elderly driver to his family members. She provided key intelligence support for various incident action plans throughout the year and took the lead on implementing a large investigative database of cellular phone data that has been used to assist with many major cases and to help curb overdoses in the city.

Timothy Clifford received the departments Detective Award of Excellence. He consistently deals with the highest-profile and most-violent offenders in the community, and his reputation is well-known among them.

A sworn officer since 2016, Clifford was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division as a member of the Juvenile Unit in 2022, where he was assigned 34 cases, 27 of which he has closed. The department said his significant achievements last year are indicative of someone who is consistently and knowingly placing themselves on the leading edge of whatever mission is at hand.

He played a key role in the cooperative effort to document a new street gang in south Brevard tied to multiple shootings and other violent criminal acts in several jurisdictions. He was temporarily integrated with Brevard County Sheriffs Office GAMEOVER Task Force to assist with apprehension efforts to arrest the one out of four suspects who had not yet been arrested after an incident at Palm Bay High School during which a Melbourne Police Department officer was struck with a vehicle.

In 2022, he also served on the SWAT Team, as a task force officer on the Central Florida Homeland Security Task Force, and represented the department at CEASEFIRE Task Force meetings hosted by the State Attorney's Office and on the Brevard County Public Schools Threat Assessment Boards for several schools.

Field Training Officer of the Year Baylee Sudman was noted for her work and dedication in aiding the Training and Accreditation Units in important areas. In 2022, she mentored trainees through the assigned phases, ensuring she exposed them to sufficient training opportunities with effective and proper feedback, including additional training when necessary, so they would be prepared to progress through field training to solo patrol.

In 2022, Sudman received a Unit Meritorious Performance Award for her role in responding to an aggravated assault resulting in officers taking gunfire. She helped form a perimeter around the incident location and safely evacuated nearby residents until the suspect was apprehended.

She has achieved general instructor certification and has attended numerous advanced training courses to improve her abilities and increase the number of topics she is able to teach.

Sgt. Michael Tatalias received the Supervisor Award of Excellence Award. He was instrumental in developing Day Watch Bravo squad into a consistent and reliable representation of the Melbourne Police Department. Under his leadership, the squad consistently yields high levels of self-initiated activity, as well as dependable cohesive work on large-scale incidents.

He was awarded an Exceptional Duty Bar for apprehension of a known gang member who fired multiple gunshots into a residence. He was awarded another Exceptional Duty Bar for apprehending the armed driver of a vehicle that was involved in an armed robbery, and supervising officers from three agencies and multiple internal units to conduct a successful search for a second vehicle and firearm that were involved in the incident. He was awarded a third Exceptional Duty Bar for his quick actions at the scene of a stabbing that helped save the victim, and led to the arrest of the suspect and recovery of the knife he used in the attack. He also helped arrest several members of a new street gang.

If you have a Business Newsmakers item you'd like to publish, please email details to Wayne T. Price at wtpkansas@yahoo.com or contact him at 321-223-0230.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: GrayRobinson adds Demers to its litigation section in Melbourne
Luther "Dewayne" Davis, right, coaches U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during an air traffic controller simulation. Buttigieg toured the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City and spoke with air traffic controller trainees and FAA employees at a town hall meeting.

The aviation industry is facing its most transformative decade since the introduction of the jet engine, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Thursday on a visit to Oklahoma City.

Buttigieg toured the Federal Aviation Administration's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, where air traffic controllers are trained.

He said their work was critical in view of rapid changes in the industry. He cited drones occupying the national airspace, artificial intelligence coming online, and the development of electric-powered vertical landing and takeoff craft, along with a robust commercial spaceflight economy.

He said the Monroney Center was at the forefront of keeping access to the skies safe and reliable.

"I'm standing in the middle of what might be the single location in the United States of America that can do the most to help address this because of the expertise that's here, because of the insight that is here, because of the equipment that's here to run scenarios and test different things," Buttigieg said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tours the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center and speaks with air traffic controller trainees on Thursday.

Along with being the primary training school for new air traffic controllers, the FAA facility in Oklahoma is host to a wide range of programs that interface with nearly every critical aspect of the National Airspace System, including airports, air traffic organization, aviation safety, commercial space transportation and security and hazardous materials safety.

As the nation's aviation and aerospace system meets 21st-century technology, Buttigieg noted the importance of work done at FAA to understand the modern challenges of that system. There have been several close calls at airports recently, where aircraft have come dangerously close to crashing into each other.

These kind of near-misses were happening at a rate of 10 to 15 per year over the past decade, said Buttigieg.

"Right now, they seem to be happening at roughly double that. And while that means they continue to be extremely rare, I don't want to see any of those. None of us do," he said.

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When there's an airplane crash, federal investigations take place, and heavy scrutiny is applied to find out what went wrong.

"We need to have that same mentality around the near misses so that they don't happen frequently enough that there will be a crash," he said.

Buttigieg visited Oklahoma City while on a cross-country tour of airports to learn about FAA-funded safety improvements. Before visiting Oklahoma, the secretary flew into North Carolina, Arkansas and Texas. While in Oklahoma City, he met with Gov. Kevin Stitt and Mayor David Holt, toured the FAA center and planned to visit the tower at Will Rogers World Airport.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was in Oklahoma City on Thursday and toured the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, speaks at a town hall for students and employees.

The commercial passenger side of the country's aviation system has faced challenges recently with several high-profile disruptions to flight scheduling that caused the highest rate of cancellations in a decade. Some of those disruptions were caused, at least in part, by antiquated scheduling systems used by airlines.

Buttigieg acknowledged the FAA's own challenges in upgrading old systems.

"There's a reason why there is a lot of technology that has been around for a very long time, and that's because it works, and we have to preserve the extraordinary success of the system as we know it," he said. "But that doesn't mean you can just pickle yesterday's technology and expect it to work for us forever."

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg takes part in a town hall meeting with students and employees on Thursday after his tour of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center.

When asked what the U.S. Department of Transportation is doing to ensure the reliability of commercial passenger flights, Buttigieg said the biggest thing regulators can do is hold airlines accountable for outcomes.

"We're not going to go in and tell them what their software package ought to be or something like that. But we are going to make sure that they're held to a very high standard in terms of how they treat their passengers. And that includes making sure they're ready to service the tickets that they sell," he said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, middle, laughs with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, left, and Luther "Dewayne" Davis inside an air traffic controller simulator on Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Buttigieg visits OKC to highlight airspace safety, reliability
Capercaillie

Visitors to the UK's largest national park have been asked not to go in search of one of its rarest birds.

The Cairngorms are home to capercaillie, a large woodland grouse whose numbers have fallen to the lowest level in 30 years.

In the UK, the bird is only found in Scotland and fewer than 600 are thought to survive.

In spring, male capercaillie gather at sites known as leks where they compete for the attention of females.

It is illegal to disturb capercaillie during the breeding season.

Habitat loss

The Cairngorms Capercaillie Project has launched a social media campaign called Lek It Be to raise awareness of the risks to the wildlife.

The campaign includes messages from ornithologist and broadcaster Iolo Williams, police, wildlife photographers and Cairngorms National Park rangers.

About 85% of the UK capercaillie population live in the national park.

They are described as very shy and elusive birds, often perching in trees or hidden away on the forest floor.

They are mostly found in Scots pine forests that have a rich growth of blaeberry on the forest floor.

Predation, habitat loss and cold, wet springs have been blamed for their decline.
California and three other states have joined a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking JetBlue's $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines, which is scheduled for trial this fall.

New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina also joined in an updated version of the complaint that was filed Friday in federal district court in Boston.

The Biden administration argues that the deal would reduce competition and drive up prices for airline consumers by eliminating Spirit, which is known for low fares. JetBlue argues that the deal will help consumers by making the New York-based airline a stronger competitor against American, Delta, United and Southwest.

The original lawsuit was brought earlier in March by the U.S. Justice Department, Massachusetts, New York and the District of Columbia against JetBlue Airways and Spirit. Attorney General Merrick Garland led a press conference to announce the lawsuit, a signal of the importance that the Biden administration attaches to the case as part of its campaign against consolidation in many industries.

A federal judge scheduled the trial to begin Oct. 16 in Boston.
A liberal Los Angeles judges leftist Facebook posts have surfaced in a remarkable court filing from a judicial colleague who is asking for him to be removed from the resentencing of a convicted cop killer.

Judge Patrick Connolly has taken the unusual step of asking a court to disqualify fellow Judge Daniel Lowenthal from presiding over the case, alleging in a 186-page court document that he is "biased" in favor of the criminal.

Lowenthal is the son of former U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., and the same judge who last year declared a mistrial for a robbery suspect who argued he could not properly take notes in the courtroom because he was not getting enough sleep in jail. That led to a public spat with then-Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

Now, he is handling a resentencing request from Justin Flint, who was convicted in 2007 of felony murder for the death of Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Maria Rosa for his role in a robbery in her Long Beach driveway. Connolly, a deputy district attorney at the time, prosecuted the case before becoming a judge.

LA DA GEORGE GASCON CHALLENGED BY JONATHAN HATAMI, PROSECUTOR OF CHILD KILLERS

Judge Daniel Lowenthal, right, listens during a hearing at Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach, California, on Jan. 19, 2022.

"The Application is made on the grounds that Judge Lowenthal is biased in favor of Petitioner Justin Flint and against the People and Judge Connolly, based on a purported Brady violation during Petitioners trial more than 15 years ago," Connolly's lawyer wrote. "Judge Connolly was lead trial counsel for the People."

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During the robbery, Flint and his co-defendant noticed the 30-year-old Rosa's gun and badge and opened fire, fatally shooting her, according to court records. Although the accomplice had pulled the trigger, while in custody after his arrest, Flint sang Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff."

Connolly's petition includes alleged screenshots of Lowenthal's personal Facebook to illustrate the alleged bias through his criticism of "policing culture" and the American criminal justice system.

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CALIFORNIA MURDERER RELEASED 6 YEARS INTO 50-YEAR SENTENCE ARRESTED AGAIN ON GUN, DUI CHARGES AFTER CAR CHASE

Judge Daniel Lowenthal's post on policing.

"As a lawyer I represented police officer unions, served as a prosecutor, and defended the LAPD in employment litigation," one Facebook post attributed to Lowenthal reads. "Now, as a judge, I evaluate the testimony of officers who testify in criminal cases, and I frequently am asked to review their personnel files."

Judge Daniel Lowenthal's post on policing continues.

Based on that confidential material, he continued, he developed criticisms of law enforcement.

LA DA ANNOUNCES RESTRUCTURING OF SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT DAY AFTER YEAR-OLD LEAKED MEMO ASKED FOR MORE STAFF

"Our paramilitary, aggressive policing culture, that often results in excessive force being used, should be replaced by one that emphasizes community-based policing focused on regular and positive community interaction," he wrote. "A police department's recruitment and training should be focused on more civil rights, civil liberties, and understanding the past inequities and oppression endured by members of the community that the department serves."

Judge Daniel Lowenthal's Facebook post.

PROGRESSIVE LOS ANGELES DA OFFERING FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE SO STAFF CAN GET TO WORK SAFELY

In another post included in the filing, he lamented the U.S. prison population and boasted about dismissing a robbery case and offering probation to a middle-aged man with "the cognitive functioning level of a 2nd grader" who threatened two children with a machete in a public bathroom.

Former U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., and his son, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Lowenthal.

Additional posts not included in the court filings referenced studying under the Marxist philosopher and former fugitive Angela Davis at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Judge Lowenthal wrote that he took a class with Angela Davis at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Flint's attorneys were seeking a resentencing that could result in his early release from prison  but not an outright dismissal. Connolly's filing further alleges that Lowenthal improperly deemed a legal brief filed in connection with the case a habeas corpus petition to have the case dismissed entirely.

The emergency filing takes issue with Lowenthal's apparent claim that the prosecutor on Flint's case, Connolly, committed "serious misconduct" by withholding evidence from Flint's defense. However, according to the filing, the trial judge at the time ruled it did not have to be disclosed.

The evidence includes a claim from another felon who said Flint was down the street at the time of the crime  however, prosecutors argued that Flint admitted to being a lookout and that lookouts don't have to be present on scene.

Connolly has requested that a judge from a different county entirely rule on the matter, since both he and Lowenthal serve in the same court.

Lowenthal has 10 days since the Monday filing to respond.
Californias rivers are once again surging with winter runoff, a beautiful sight after several consecutive dry years. Sacramento-area water providers have been working together to capture as much of excess water as possible for use during drier days. Yet, we could be doing so much more with additional support from state and federal decision-makers.

Additional water storage is right in front of our eyes  or, more specifically, right under our feet.

The City of Roseville, for example, captured surplus flows from Folsom Reservoir and stored this water in the groundwater aquifer using specialized Aquifer Storage and Recovery wells. Just a year ago, Roseville stored enough water to fill 160 Olympic-sized pools. Later, in 2022, we delivered that water to customers, leaving water in Folsom Reservoir to benefit our environment.

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Other water providers stored water underground through a strategic yet more indirect route that maximizes how our natural infrastructure already works. The Sacramento Suburban Water District operates the regions largest network of groundwater wells  70 in total  but does not have its own right to access river water. This winter, the district temporarily delivered treated river water to customers via our partnership with the City of Sacramento, which has surface water rights. The City of Sacramento also shut down some of its groundwater wells and delivered more river water to its customers. This allowed our groundwater aquifer to recharge, resulting in banked water for future use.

All of this is part of what we call the Sacramento Regional Water Bank, our system of underground water reserves that we pump and refill over and over again to serve capital-area water users. The aquifers underlying the Sacramento region have enough capacity to store twice the volume of water as Folsom Reservoir.

Thanks to steady investments over several decades, we can reliably withdraw and refill 60,000 acre-feet of groundwater every year, irrespective of extremes in conditions  enough to meet the drinking water needs of 180,000 families for a year.

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Local water providers are working to expand water banking as we face the ever-familiar impacts of climate change, resulting in rain and snowfall falling earlier in the winter in more explosive bursts. This creates a Catch 22 for our water system: the need to release water from Folsom Reservoir to protect our community from flood rather than storing water for the dry days ahead.

Led by the Regional Water Authority, we have embarked on a process to engage the public in how a larger-scale water bank could operate in the Sacramento region. We are continuing to pursue state and federal funding to offset ratepayer costs and estimate the Water Bank can increase its present deliveries to 90,000 acre-feet  enough to serve 270,000 households annually. This will require another $300 million investment to build more wells, pumps and plumbing.

State and federal decision-makers must make groundwater recharge a priority.

According to Gov. Gavin Newsoms Water Supply Strategy, hotter and drier weather conditions spurred by climate change could reduce Californias water supply by up to 10% by 2040. Groundwater recharge is the only solution that can meet the scale of this loss, and its the lowest-cost option per acre-foot.

The California Department of Water Resources estimates the potential for recharge at 13 million acre-feet each year  double the total amount of water currently used by urban California. Stanford University has put the cost of recharge at less than the cost of conservation, typically thought of as the cheapest water reliability option.

The California legislature should set statewide targets for increasing below-ground water storage. State Sen. Angelique Ashby, representing Sacramento and Elk Grove, has introduced Senate Bill 659, which would make it a state policy to achieve 10 million acre-feet of groundwater recharge annually.

The boom-and-bust cycle of weather weve been living with will occur more often with climate change. State and federal support is critical to creating a 21st-century water system to capture the storms when they roll through to create a brighter water future for every Californian.

Sean Bigley is assistant environmental utilities director for the City of Roseville. Dan York is general manager of the Sacramento Suburban Water District.
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.

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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.

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[ 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.

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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.

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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.

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Sources: Chicago Board of Election Commissioners; Tribune reporting
The deputy found primarily responsible for a high-speed fatal crash last year has been fired from the Stanislaus County Sheriffs Office.

Sheriff Jeff Dirkse said Eric Fulmer was terminated Wednesday for violating department policy related to the Jan. 9, 2022, crash at River Road and Villa Manucha Road, west of Turlock. Fulmer was a detective driving code-3, with lights and sirens, in a department-issued Nissan Maxima to respond to help a Newman police officer who was fighting with a suspect.

Fulmer was traveling 121 mph on a foggy morning, seconds before he reached the intersection where 21-year-old Saul Betancourt was starting to make a left turn.

Fulmer braked, but it was too late  his vehicle broadsided the drivers side of Betancourts vehicle at 90 mph. Betancourt died at the scene and his girlfriend, in the passenger seat, suffered major injuries. Fulmer also suffered major injuries.

Stanislaus deputy found primarily at fault for fatal crash but DA declines to file charges

Fulmer later returned to work on light duty as he continued recovering from injuries, then eventually went to full duty, Dirkse said.

An internal affairs investigation was launched around December, following the completion of a nearly yearlong investigation by the California Highway Patrols Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team.

Fulmer, a 10-year employee, was put on paid administrative leave in February or March after a disciplinary review board recommended termination, based on the finding of the IA investigation, Dirkse said. That recommendation then went to Dirkse, who upheld the recommended discipline.

We want our voices heard

The CHPs 158-page report, obtained by The Modesto Bee through a public records request, put Fulmer primarily at fault for the collision, due to the traffic conditions and limited visibility.

Betancourts action, rolling the stop at 6 mph at an intersection where Fulmer had no stop sign, was an associated factor in the collision, according to the report.

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Using video from an officers body camera and a patrol car camera, the CHP calculated that visibility was between 350 and 425 feet. Using crash reconstruction software, investigators estimated that a safe speed for the limited visibility would have been 64 to 72 mph.

As Betancourt was pulling into the intersection, Fulmers Nissan was approximately 392 feet away and most likely not visible to Betancourt, according to the CHP report.

The CHP submitted its report to the Stanislaus County District Attorneys Office in December for consideration of misdemeanor or felony vehicular manslaughter charges against Fulmer.

On Jan. 9, the one-year anniversary of the fatal crash and the deadline for his office to pursue a misdemeanor charge, District Attorney Jeff Laugero sent a memo to the CHP and the Sheriffs Office saying he would not charge Fulmer with either.

Under California law, authorized emergency vehicles are exempt from certain vehicle code laws, like speeding, when they are being used to respond to an emergency call.

But the law states that the driver is not relieved of the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway, nor protect him from the consequences of an arbitrary exercise of the privileges.

In an interview with The Bee about his decision not to file charges, Laugero cited several witness reports that contradicted the CHPs calculations of visibility that day; Betancourts associated actions of rolling the stop sign; and the hurdle of overcoming the emergency vehicle exemption, which has no specific language of what due regard is as it relates to speed and weather conditions.

Saul Betancourt pictured in 2021

Betancourts sister Elizabeth Madrigal told The Bee she met with Laugero by phone Tuesday and he explained much of the same reasoning to her, but she said she and her family disagree with his decision and called it alarming.

She said Fulmers termination is a start toward justice but isnt enough. We are not giving up; we want our voices heard, she said.

Driving code-3

Dirkse would not say what policy violation led to Fulmers termination, but there are several policies related to driving code-3 to emergency calls.

The Stanislaus County Sheriffs Office policy on code-3 driving states, Responding with emergency light(s) and siren does not relieve the deputy of the duty to continue to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons.

It says, Deputies shall reduce speed at all street intersections and check each lane of the intersection to make sure it is safe to proceed at any uncontrolled intersection.

There are other factors in the policy, like how many deputies should respond to an emergency call (usually only two), who needs to be notified of and authorize a code-3 response, and the type of situations that warrant a code-3 response.

Fulmer has up to 10 days to request arbitration if he wants to try to get his job back. Dirkse did not believe Fulmer had requested that as of Thursday. He said arbitration can take months, referencing one case that took almost a year.

Fulmer and his attorney did not respond to calls from The Bee seeking comment on Thursday.

Betancourts parents and his girlfriend, on behalf of herself and the young daughter she shared with Betancourt, filed a lawsuit against Fulmer and the Sheriffs Office in September for wrongful death and negligence.

Fulmer countersued Betancourts estate and Prados father, who owned the vehicle Betancourt was driving. His suit alleges negligence and seeks damages for medical costs, general damages, attorney fees and loss of income.

Fulmers complaint, filed several months before his termination, says he was informed and believes, and thereon alleges, that he will ... be prevented from attending to his usual occupation for a period of time in the future, all causing (him) further damages in an amount unknown at this time.
Rights group Amnesty International on Friday urged Cambodia to immediately stop the ongoing "mass forced evictions" of 10,000 families from the Angkor Wat temple complex.

The Cambodian government late last year ramped up the relocation of families living within the sprawling UNESCO world heritage site to a new community being built on former rice paddies 25 kilometres (15 miles) away.

Authorities say they are acting to protect the ruins by moving squatters whose informal settlements are damaging the local environment by producing rubbish and overusing water resources.

The government says people are moving voluntarily but Amnesty said its research found that villagers faced "implicit threats if they did not move".

It said those affected were not properly consulted or given enough notice.

"These are forced evictions in disguise and on a mass scale. People were pressured to volunteer and made to feel fearful of reprisals if they refused to leave or challenged the evictions," Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty's deputy regional director for campaigns, said in a statement.

"The Cambodian authorities should immediately halt this harmful eviction drive that seriously risks impoverishing thousands of families," Ming Yu Hah added.

The ruined Angkor Wat temples, half-swallowed by the jungle, are the country's top tourist attraction.

Families being moved are given a 20-by-30-metre plot of land, $350 cash, 30 pieces of tin roofing material and access to a welfare card -- but they have to build their own houses.

Long Kosal, a spokesman for the Apsara National Authority, which manages the archaeological park, refused to comment on Amnesty's statement.

Prime Minister Hun Sen -- who has ruled the kingdom with an iron fist for nearly four decades -- has warned that Angkor Wat will be withdrawn from the world heritage list if villagers were not relocated away.

UNESCO guidelines say relocations should be carried out with the consent of the population concerned, and that local communities should be the primary beneficiaries of tourism from heritage sites.

suy/pdw/mtp
Queen Consort Camilla dipped into the British royal family archives and sported not one but two heirlooms during a recent trip to Germany.

Camilla and her husband, King Charles III, made their first foreign voyage as U.K. monarchs to attend the State Banquet at Schloss Bellevue Palace in Berlin on Wednesday night. The Queen Consort arrived wearing a black, long-sleeved gown with silver embroidery by Princess Dianas favorite designer, Bruce Oldfield. (Fun fact: hell also be creating the dress for her coronation, which will take place on May 6.) She paired the elegant ensemble with two glittering pieces of jewelry including the Greville Tiara, which belonged to the Queen Mother, and the late Queen Elizabeth IIs City of London Fringe Necklace. Meanwhile, Charles donned a black tailcoat tuxedo and white bow tie for the diplomatic dinner.

More from Robb Report

President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier (R) and First Lady Elke Budenbender (L) welcome King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort

The headpiece, sometimes referred to as the Boucheron Honeycomb Tiara because of the pattern, joined the royal collection in 1942 when Dame Margaret Greville left it to Charless grandmother. The dazzling diadem was originally made by Boucheron in 1921, however, the Queen Mother had Cartier heighten it with additional diamonds in 1953. Camilla also paid tribute to her late mother-in-law with an elaborate necklace that was gifted to Queen Elizabeth upon her wedding to Prince Philip in November 1947. The work comprises all diamonds, set in silver and gold, threaded on silk. To complete the look, Camilla wore a pair of diamond earrings. The Garter Star, given to her by the president of Germany, was pinned to the left side of her dress along with the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II broach.

During the dinner, Charles expressed his gratitude saying, My wife and I have been so deeply touched by the warmth of the welcome that has been extended to us in Germanyjust as we have on each of our previous visits to this very special country. On Thursday, The King received a two-minute standing ovation after delivering a historic speech as the first British monarch to address the German parliament.

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Click here to read the full article.
By Ryan Suppe, State Politics Reporter; and Hayat Norimine, Accountability Editor

The Idaho Legislature wont be adjourning quite yet.

Instead, lawmakers plan to recess and reconvene next week on April 6, likely so they can revote on bills that were vetoed by Gov. Brad Little. A concurrent resolution introduced yesterday says they plan to recess starting on Friday.

Abortion exceptions expanded to include miscarriages

In an effort to address complaints about an exodus of Idaho physicians, who fear felony charges for providing pregnancy care, an Idaho bill would add exceptions to the states abortion ban. But pregnancies that cause health risks isnt one of them.

House Bill 374, which lawmakers cleared Thursday, would clarify that medical treatment for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are allowable under the states abortion ban. An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus, making the pregnancy non-viable.

The bill also would allow exceptions to felony criminal abortion when an abortion saves the life of the mother or if the pregnancy was the result of incest or rape. The exception applies only if the incest or rape was reported to police. Currently, the law grants affirmative defenses  opportunities to present evidence in court that negate charges  in those instances.

Additionally, exceptions for rape and incest would be narrowed to apply only in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Read my full story here.

Idaho initiatives referendum

A proposal asking voters to make the ballot initiative process more difficult will not appear on the 2024 election ballot.

The Idaho House yesterday rejected Senate Joint Resolution 101, which would have asked voters to amend the state constitution and require 6% of voters from each of Idahos 35 legislative districts to sign a petition triggering a ballot initiative. Currently, 6% of voters in 18 legislative districts is the benchmark.

Most House Republicans supported the change, but it fell eight votes short of the required two-thirds majority. Some pointed to confusion in the language of the proposed change.

Story continues

Read my full story here.

Medicaid budget squeaks through

The Senate yesterday narrowly approved the states largest budget  Medicaid.

The $4.5 billion budget drew opposition from Democrats who argued there are too many cuts and conservative Republicans who pushed for more.

This is a huge amount of money that were spending, and we all realize that, Sen. Julie VanOrden, R-Pingree, who sponsored the budget bill, told the full Senate.

The federal government covers about 70% of the budget, and the state would pay $856 million from the general fund, a 3% increase from the current fiscal year.

The budget appropriates about $200 million less than Gov. Brad Little recommended.

The Senate passed the bill by one vote, and it heads to the governor.

What to expect today

The Senate will take up gubernatorial appointments, then recess until next week.

Track other bills

Keep track of high-profile bills as they go through the legislative process. You can find yesterdays updates here.

If you like this newsletter, forward to a friend or colleague, and they can sign up here.
The U.S. Secret Service was one of more than 40 employers to meet with more than 275 local adults, college students and high school juniors and seniors during the Career Connections job fair hosted March 22 at the Siena Heights University fieldhouse in Adrian and conducted by Lenawee Now and the Align Center for Workforce Development.

ADRIAN  The second annual Career Connections countywide job fair more than doubled the participation numbers of last years event, career fair organizers said.

The job fair allowed more than 40 employers to meet with more than 275 local adults, college students and high school juniors and seniors March 22 at the Siena Heights University fieldhouse in Adrian.

Career Connections was developed in 2022 to connect high school seniors who were not planning to follow a traditional career path to different employment options available in the region. It also provides opportunities to join the workforce after high school, enroll in apprenticeships and seek tuition reimbursement. The job fair is conducted by the Align Center for Workforce Development, which is part of Lenawee Now, the economic development agency for Lenawee County.

Sponsors of this years job fair included Midwest Energy and Communications, Michigan Works Southeast, Siena Heights, the Lenawee Intermediate School District, Anderson Development Co., Clift Buick GMC, Evonik-Silbond, Walmart and MC Bartending.

It takes a tremendous amount of work to put an event like this together, so to see students, career seekers and employers turn out in the numbers they did was super energizing, Ashley Vandenbusche, manager of the Michigan Works Southeast service center in Adrian, said in a news release.

Ben Negron, store manager of the Adrian Meijer, said he met several high value applicants and possibly some new employees.

I was also very impressed with the organizational effort by the Align team to make the space welcoming for all, he said in the release. The one thing that stood out about the Align team was that they were constantly visible and helped the various vendors throughout the event.

Garry Clift, owner of Clift Buick GMC, was able to share both his for-profit and nonprofit passions by talking to job seekers about employment with the dealership and volunteer opportunities with the animal rescue he supports, Ahimsa Safe Haven in Onsted. Clift called the event outstanding and said it was a great investment in the community.

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Local high school students listened to employers pitch various career options, like those at the Frank and Shirley Dick Family YMCA, during the Career Connections job fair hosted March 22 at the Siena Heights University fieldhouse in Adrian and conducted by Lenawee Now and the Align Center for Workforce Development.

Sheila Blair, manager of the Align Center for Workforce Development, said high schoolers had the opportunity to not only visit with employers for maybe the first time in their lives, but they also were able to tour the Siena Heights University campus and attend mini seminars onsite.

High school teachers and counselors who attended the event with their students were impressed with the offerings for high schoolers, the release said.

We had seminars for them (students) to learn about what apprenticeships, scholarships and other supports were available for their interests and also which employers offer tuition reimbursement, Blair said in the release. We even talked to them about the importance of cleaning up their social media posts since employers are now looking at social media before hiring candidates.

Adrian High School math/business teacher Thomas Allor Jr. said his students who attended the career fair gained much from the experience.

Many of the kids really felt that the vendors explained the jobs well, he said. Align provided them the opportunity to meet and greet, now it is (the students) turn to actually follow through and apply for the job.

Blair said the Align Center is going to make Career Connections an annual event, more than likely being held in March each year. The 2022 career fair was hosted at Adrian College in late March. The timeframe, she explained in the release, provides high school seniors with the chance to have a job plan following graduation. However, what is available and offered at the communitywide job fair is for more than just high school students. It is also a positive impact for the entire community, she said.

Job seekers chat with County National Bank staff about employment opportunities during the March 22 Career Connections job fair.

We all want to live in a community which fosters and sustains a strong, diverse economy, Vandenbusche said. Providing career seekers and employers with forums like Career Connections to engage with one another is an essential part of ensuring Lenawee County continues to be a place where individuals and businesses alike can live, work and prosper.

Patrick Farver, executive director for Lenawee Now and the Align Center for Workforce Development, said great collaboration brought last weeks event together.

All the sponsors helped support and promote this event to other businesses, students and people looking for a job, Farver said in the release. Coming together to support our businesses and job seekers is what makes this a special event.

Lenawee, Jackson County high school students compete in entrepreneurship challenge

On March 18, the final part of the CEO Challenge: Lauch took place at the Jackson Area Career Center with 13 teams from Lenawee and Jackson County high schools giving a business pitch in front of a panel of judges.

After the initial elimination rounds, the final three teams went against each other to compete for the grand prize of $1,000. Tthe winning teams were from Jackson High School, first place; Lumen Christi High School, second place; and Northwest High School, third place. The event was sponsored by Lenawee Now and administered by Junior Achievement.

Launch is the final stage of the CEO Challenge, a three-part series designed to create enthusiasm among high schoolers around entrepreneurship and teach them the necessary skills for the endeavor. Starting in January, Lenawee County schools took part in the first phase, Spark. At this event, students heard from a panel of local entrepreneurs and participated in a structured activity where they created a business concept to pitch in a 2-minute infomercial.

Following that experience, students returned to their schools and assembled teams for Ignite, the second part of the CEO Challenge. Over the course of six weeks, students developed a product or service and a strategy for turning it into a viable business. Participants learned from both teachers and independently from interactive modules supplied by Junior Achievement.

Participants in the Launch challenge were also able to win awards for the most innovative idea or best presentation, the release said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Career Connection job fair sees more than 275 seek employment
Carol Vorderman opened up about her all-stars experience. (Getty Images)

Carol Vorderman has hinted at rivalry with a fellow campmate ahead of the upcoming all-star series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

The former Countdown star made an appearance on ITV's Lorraine on Thursday where she discussed her return to the jungle as part of Im A Celebrity All Stars.

As she shared stories from behind the scenes of the pre-recorded series based in South Africa which debuts on screens next month there seemed to be some animosity present.

Read more: I'm A Celebrity all-star line-up revealed

While Vorderman, 62, happily shared anecdotes about her time camping out with the star-studded cast of former campmates and winners, she appeared to avoid discussing one name in particular from the line-up.

Celebrities including Amir Khan, Shaun Ryder, Helen Flanagan and Janice Dickinson, took part in the series which filmed in autumn last year.

Vorderman is part of the line-up that headed to South Africa (ITV/Lifted Entertainment)

As she chatted with Lorraine Kelly, Vorderman admitted her admiration for her co-stars calling Flanagan her "little meerkat" who she had "fallen in love with".

Vorderman also praised boxer Khan as "one of the funniest men on Earth", and cited her role as dancer Jordan Banjo's "jungle mum" after the pair formed a close bond when they starred in the 2016 series of the show.

She also heaped praise on former Olympian Fatima Whitbread as she enthused "what a woman, what a story".

Vorderman is joined by Dickinson in the line-up.(ITV/Lifted Entertainment)

However, when it came to former supermodel Janice Dickinson, Vorderman wasn't so vocal and opted to stay silent on the TV personality.

Read more: Carol Vorderman says I'm A Celeb all-star series was 'brutal'

She said: "Janice Dickinson, well not talk about her so much."

Janice finished as runner up in the seventh series of Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in 2007, with Christopher Biggins pipping her to the post and winning the title of King Of The Jungle.

Watch: Carol Vorderman discusses her romance with five 'special friends'

Talking about revisiting the jungle Vorderman previously said: "Doing Im A Celebrity changed me a lot and I cant wait to take part in this new series. I loved everything about Im A Celebrity the first time round."

Meanwhile, Janice enthused: "Im coming back for more fun, more camaraderie and to see if I can get along with everyone. You never know whats going to jump up."

Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV and ITVX.
Members of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) team studying the effects of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, became briefly ill earlier this month, the agency told The Hill on Friday.

A CDC spokesperson said seven of the 15 investigators experienced symptoms including sore throat, headache, coughing and nausea, which are similar to those that residents of the area reported following the train crash in early February, which allowed hazardous materials to escape into the air, water and soil of the area.

CNN reported that whether exposure to the chemicals or fatigue caused the symptoms is unclear, but an official familiar with the cases told the outlet that the workers were suspicious that they became ill at the same time and had the same symptoms.

The investigators were taking a house-to-house survey of residents living near the area of the derailment.

The agency spokesperson said that the symptoms resolved for most team members later in the afternoon and all workers were able to continue their work within 24 hours. They said the affected members have not reported any lingering health issues.

The spokesperson said the survey collection process will conclude Friday, and staff will then analyze the data and provide it to Ohio and Pennsylvania state health officials.

The derailment to the Norfolk Southern train allowed toxic chemicals such as vinyl chloride, an explosive cancer-causing substance used in certain materials like plastic, to leak out. Officials intentionally burned the substance as part of a controlled release to avoid a potential explosion that would have been more damaging to the region.

The derailment forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes for a few days. Officials said they did not detect any chemicals in the water or air that would pose a threat to peoples health, but residents reported experiencing symptoms such as difficulty breathing and rashes when they returned.

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Norfolk Southern is facing multiple lawsuits, including a class-action case from East Palestine residents and complaints from the state of Ohio and the Justice Department.

The affected investigators were a part of the CDCs Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which probes the effects of chemical releases on peoples health. They ask those they survey about where they have spent time and any symptoms they or their pets have had.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Celebrities have slammed Elon Musk for his plan to remove legacy blue checkmarks unless they sign up for Twitter Blue. Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

Celebrities have criticized Elon Musk for his plan to charge Twitter users for verified checkmarks.

Jack Black planned to call Musk's bluff, while William Shatner called Twitter Blue a "money grab."

Ian McKellen and LeBron James said they wouldn't pay $8 a month for the subscription.

Elon Musk has made many changes on Twitter since acquiring the company for $44 billion in late October. As well as laying off thousands of employees and restoring former President Donald Trump's account, he's also launched Twitter Blue.

John Raoux/AP Photo

Twitter Blue is a monthly subscription service that costs at least $8 a month. Blue offers subscribers fewer adverts, priority with tweets, and above all, a blue checkmark that signals that they're verified.

Chesnot/Getty Images

Although Twitter said users who previously got a blue tick for free would have their legacy checkmark removed from April 1, the only account affected so far is the New York Times' account. The rollout of Twitter's paid subscription feature has irritated some users, including celebrities.

Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Source: Insider

Jack Black told Variety he was going to call Musk's bluff.

Jack Black in November 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Black told Variety at the premiere of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" on Saturday that he wasn't sure whether he was going to pay for Twitter Blue.

"I'm a little embarrassed by the blue check to be honest with you," he told Variety. Black said it wasn't cool to pay for Twitter Blue and he was going to see what happens when he doesn't sign up for the subscription service.

"I'm gonna call his bluff, see if he really takes my check away," Black added.

Ian McKellen made it clear he wasn't planning to sign up for Twitter Blue.

Getty Images

"Please note that I am not paying for the blue checkmark, which I've displayed for many years," McKellen tweeted on Sunday.

Ben Stiller said he had "no idea" how people will know what his official Twitter account is once his blue checkmark is removed.

Juan Naharro Gimenez/ Getty Images

Stiller tweeted what he thought would be his last post with a blue checkmark next to his name.

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"My last blue check night, loving this #Knick game," he said.

In response to a Twitter user who asked how will people know whether he is the real Ben Stiller, the actor said: "I have no idea. I'll keep my account. Not sure what I'll do."

LeBron James also said he wasn't paying for Twitter Blue.

LeBron James. Michael Owen Baker/AP Images

"Welp," the NBA superstar tweeted. He added that his blue tick may disappear soon because "if you know me I ain't paying" for Twitter Blue.

Dionne Warwick said she'd rather spend the money on extra hot lattes than Twitter Blue.

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Bowie State University

Warwick said she was not paying for a blue check.

"That money could (and will) be going towards my extra hot lattes," she tweeted.

William Shatner called Twitter Blue a "money grab."

Getty Images

Shatner, known for portraying Captain Kirk in "Star Trek," tweeted at Musk, telling him he'd been on Twitter for 15 years giving his time and "witty thoughts all for bupkis."

Musk responded to Shatner, saying that celebrities should be treated the same as everyone else on Twitter.

Shatner replied to the billionaire, saying: "Somewhere, Twitter lost its way."

The actor said blue checkmarks were "guardrails to legitimacy; not meaningless status symbols." He added that Twitter doesn't stop another William Shatner from being verified with the subscription service.

Shatner said Twitter Blue seemed to be a "money grab."

"There's nothing wrong with money grabs if you are clear upfront. You aren't," he said.

Monica Lewinsky shared screenshots of other Twitter accounts that had the same name as her and a blue checkmark.

Danny Moloshok/Reuters

"Well this is going to be fun," Lewinsky tweeted.

"In what universe is this fair to people who can suffer consequences for being impersonated?" she wrote in a following tweet. " A lie travels half way around the world before truth even gets out the door."

She then shared her Instagram handle in a Twitter post.

Jason Alexander, who starred in "Seinfeld," threatened to quit Twitter.

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images

The American actor tweeted that although there were bigger problems in the world than having a blue checkmark on Twitter, anyone could allege to be him.

"So, if I lose that tick know I will leave this platform," Alexander said. "Anyone appearing with it=an imposter. I tell you this while I'm still official."

Karl Urban, who acted in "Star Trek" and "Lord of the Rings," warned his Twitter followers about other users impersonating him.

Barry Brecheisen/WireImage

Urban wrote in a tweet that he would lose his blue checkmark on Twitter because he was "opposed to spending money on social media."

The New Zealand actor told his followers to be careful about "imposters and money soliciting scams."

"I will never ask you for money on any social media platform," Urban said.

He added that he was going "checkless."

Martin Lewis, an expert in personal finance in the UK, told his 2.2 million Twitter followers that Twitter Blue could cause scams and fraud.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

"This is not a good for scam or fraud prevention. Scammers can pay as they make money from it," Lewis, founder of the MoneySavingExpert platform, tweeted.

Lewis later shared that he had signed up for Twitter Blue, but his decision wasn't a recommendation or support for Musk's new feature.

"I'm in a peculiar position that scammers commonly impersonate me to steal from the vulnerable, so I feel obligated to do it to reduce that risk," Lewis said.

But Musk isn't backing down. He's said there shouldn't be a different standard for celebrities on Twitter.

Yasin Ozturk/Getty Images

"It's more about treating everyone equally. There shouldn't be a different standard for celebrities imo," Musk told Shatner in a tweet.

Read the original article on Business Insider
King Charles made a speech at the German parliament, making him the first British monarch to do so. (Getty Images)

King Charles's trip to Germany this week was his first state visit since becoming monarch and saw him address their Parliament on Thursday - making him the first British monarch to do so.

The visit was also notable for providing some further indication that his reign will be very different to that of his ever-popular late mother, Queen Elizabeth.

Where the late Queen strove to never get involved in politics and remain bound by her position of constitutional neutrality, Charles is showing himself to be willing to speak about some issues in a political manner.

Charles has already demonstrated in his first Christmas address and his message marking the one-year anniversary of the invasion Ukraine that he is both willing to touch on controversial topics and address geopolitics more aggressively than his mother was.

William, now stepping into Charles's shoes as Prince of Wales, has also shown this month a willingness to tackle topics that his grandmother would once have avoided

Charles and Camilla at the Brandenburg Gate with the German President and his wife. (Getty Images)

Charles's speech to the Bundestag

Charles has spoken at the German Parliament before, when he was Prince of Wales, but this was the first time a British monarch has ever addressed the Bundestag and he gave large portions of the speech in German.

This would normally be an example of the royals' so-called 'soft diplomacy', which is often cited as a major selling point of the Royal Family: that as politically neutral figures they are able to embark upon a type of diplomacy on the world stage while staying above the fray of international politics. The Queen notably gave a greeting in Irish at a state dinner in 2011, which was well received.

On the surface, Charles's speech seems like a strong example of this, and it was warmly received with a standing ovation by those in attendance.

Epic standing ovation for King Charles after the first address by a British monarch to a session of the German parliament (1 min 42 secs to be precise) pic.twitter.com/2a32r1fEjD  Max Foster (@MaxFosterCNN) March 30, 2023

However, some of the contents of his speech broached topics more directly than we are used to seeing the monarch do  particularly relating to "the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine".

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"Since I last spoke in this building the scourge of war is back in Europe. The unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has inflicted the most unimaginable suffering on so many innocent people. Countless lives have been destroyed; freedom and human dignity have been trampled in the most brutal way. The security of Europe has been threatened, together with our democratic values.

"The world has watched in horror - but we have not stood by. Even as we abhor the appalling scenes of destruction, we can take heart from our unity - in defence of Ukraine, of peace and freedom.

"Germany and the United Kingdom have shown vital leadership." The King said in German.

While there has been universal condemnation in the West of Putin's action, it is still an unusual break with tradition for the monarch to address it in such strong terms.

King Charles and the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier plant a tree in the garden of the presidential Bellevue Palace (Getty Images)

Charles, however, did avoid one particularly polarising subject - Brexit, which he did not directly address. Instead he opted to stress a desire "to renew the pledge of friendship between our nations", which is far more similar to how the late Queen would have broached the topic.

William's visit to Poland

The Prince of Wales also made a recent and strong show of support to Ukraine with a visit to Poland earlier this month, where he thanked British and Polish soldiers for supporting Ukrainian Armed Forces and learned about how Poland has helped refugees from Ukraine.

Whilst he was there he said to local media that when he "visited Rzeszow to meet troops based there to hear their stories and recognise their duty. I was struck by their passion as well as their shared determination to defend our shared freedoms."

William met with Polish and British military whilst in Poland recently. (Getty Images)

This trip will likely have been made at the request of the government, but it was a relatively unusual step for the heir to the throne to take, with reports claiming that it was just as much a "personal mission" for William.

And, according to a Kensington Palace statement given to the Mail on Sunday, the trip was very much designed to be symbolic of William's willingness to engage in "political issues".

The statement added: "This is a continuation of the evolution of his role as a global statesman. We talk often about him using his global platform for the good of the environment via Earthshot. But this is the first opportunity for him to take a visit of this kind as Prince of Wales, and given that it is one of the biggest political issues facing every country on the planet, this is a demonstration of him growing as a statesman-like figure."

Why does it matter if the royals talk about politics?

Simply put, the Royal Family are not elected officials  the public have not chosen them for the purposes of handling political matters.

As a symbolic  and neutral  head of state, it is argued that a constitutional monarch like Charles is able to bypass the fractious nature of party politics and represent the whole country.

It is an issue Charles has addressed head on in the past - asked by the BBC in 2018 if he planned to continue campaigning once he took the throne, he responded: "No... Im not that stupid. I do realise that it is a separate exercise being sovereign. So of course I understand entirely how that should operate."

With a topic like supporting Ukraine, there seems to be little worry in the palace that it will be something the public criticises, because the Ukrainian cause is so widely supported.

The danger is, however, that these types of comment will set a precedent, and Charles and William could broach other topics, now they dipped their toe in the political pond.

There are few issues behind which a large majority of people rally, particularly in a time of polarised politics as we see now.

It might seem safe for the royals to weigh in on this particular topic, but it is beyond their constitutional bounds to get involved in anything political at all.

Watch: The Royal Family's biggest spending sprees
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With dozens of televised specials available to stream at the press of a button, its hard to imagine a time when stand-up comedy was a new fad. But about 160 years ago, newspaper writer Charles Farrar Browne proved the genre had a bright future.

Browne is considered the pioneer of American stand-up comedy for his live performances as alter ego Artemus Ward, a character he introduced in 1858 while writing for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. The popularity of the character inspired a best-selling book enjoyed by President Abraham Lincoln and helped inspire the writings and speeches of author Mark Twain.

With April Fools Day quickly approaching, learn about Brownes life and legacy as a funnyman.

Brownes Early Life and Career

Browne was born April 26, 1834, in Waterford, Maine, to parents Levi and Caroline Farrar BrownCharles added the e to his last name years later. He started his professional life as a printers apprentice before moving to Boston. There, he began writing for a humor magazine.

According to Ideastream Public Media in Cleveland, Browne moved to Ohio in 1854 and worked for newspapers in Toledo and Tiffin before joining The Plain-Dealer as a columnist in October 1857. At the newspaper, he introduced the Artemus Ward persona in a written letter on January 30, 1858, according to Case Western Reserve University.

Browne continued to write as Ward and began sending copies to Vanity Fair in New York, creating friction between him and The Plain-Dealer founder Joseph W. Gray. The founder wanted Browne to write exclusively for the newspaper but declined to increase his pay. Browne left the job on November 10, 1860, and moved to New York on his way to becoming editor of Vanity Fair.

Contemporaries described Browne in pleasant terms. According to the Portland Press Herald, humorist Charles Pfaff said Browne was thoroughly good-natured, incapable of malice toward anyone, with a capacity for gentleness and tenderness. He would often write with one leg draped over the arm of his chair and was prone to burst into laughter.

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The Artemus Ward Character

Brown used the Ward characterthat of a Yankee circus showman loosely based on P.T. Barnum, according to the Mark Twain Projectto deliver social commentary.

Brownes writings as Artemus featured blatant misspellings, illustrating the characters lack of formal education. They also reflected the common attitudes of the time, which were marked by massive racial and sexual inequality. Because of this, much of Brownes material appears politically incorrector even downright racistby modern standards.

But the act proved popular, and in the early 1860s, Browne began traveling the United States and Canada to perform as Ward in a routine called The Babes in the Wood. On stage, Browne told outrageous stories with a straight face and deadpan delivery, selling the Ward identity to great effect.

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Brownes success with the character led him to publish Artemus Ward: His Book in May 1862. President Lincoln enjoyed the book and actually read parts of it to his cabinet before presenting the Emancipation Proclamation, according to Lehigh University.



Influence on Twain and Death

The most notable part of Brownes legacy is his connection with Twain. The two met at a show in Virginia City, Nevada, in December 1863 and became friends, according to the Mark Twain Project.



Browne gave career advice to Twain and encouraged him to submit one of his short stories, Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog, for publication in November 1864. The story eventually debuted the next year and brought Twain instant recognition. The deadpan delivery Browne used on stage also influenced Twains persona during his public speaking tours.

In 1866, Browne traveled to London to perform The Babes in the Wood for a new audience. But he frequently went out to drink and meet with writers from Punch magazine, and he began struggling to even make it through his shows, according to Lehigh University. Within two months overseas, he contracted tuberculosis and grew increasingly ill.

Browne eventually died on March 6, 1867, at age 32 in Southampton, England. He was buried in London, but his remains were later moved to his hometown of Waterford.

During a November 1871 lecture highlighted in The Albany Evening Journal, Twain called Artemus Ward Americas greatest humorist, not manufactured or bogus, but a born humorist. So the next time youre laughing along to your favorite comedian on Netflix, dont forget Brownes foundational role in the evolution of American humor.
Thousands of Brandon Johnson supporters packed an arena at the University of Illinois at Chicago Thursday night where longtime Sen. Bernie Sanders, the darling of the political left, cast Tuesdays mayoral runoff as a choice between the interests of the powerful and greedy and the son of the working class.

The two-time Democratic presidential contender stressed the importance of voter turnout and decried the establishment that he said was stifling a movement sparked by Johnson, the progressive Cook County commissioner vying for Chicago mayor against former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas.

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Now, Brandons opponent and the other side, they have a lot of money, Sanders said, pointing his finger. And thats what always happens when you take on the establishment. They have the money. They got a lot of power. But you know what we have? We have the people.

Sanders then ripped what he said was the greed of real estate speculators and Wall Street as he painted a picture of widening income inequality across the richest country in the history of the world.

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All of us today understand, in an unprecedented way, we are seeing the billionaires and the rich get richer while the working class struggles to stay alive, Sanders said. And what this campaign in Chicago is about is bringing the working class together.

While Johnson topped other progressives to win his place in the runoff, Vallas has also touted the endorsements of dozens of labors unions, along with prominent Black and Latino political, community and faith leaders. He repeatedly refers to himself as a lifelong Democrat to blunt criticisms and past comments that suggest hes too far right for Chicago, while with his crime-focused campaign, hes also picked up support from those who view Johnson as too far left.

At the rally, Sanders argued Johnson is the candidate who would reverse that cavernous disparity between rich and poor through his advocacy of public education, union-backed job creation, health care and smart solutions to the gun violence epidemic.

We must address that crisis, Sanders said about Chicagos high crime. But we must do it in a way that is smart and effective, and that means not only high quality and non-racist law enforcement, it means that we must address the epidemic of mental illness, the epidemic of drug abuse, the epidemic of poverty and the epidemic of guns on the street. And that is something that Brandon Johnson understands.

Sanders transitioned with one last jab at the rich, a signature message of his past presidential runs and earlier political career.

The fundamental issue, the deep down issue, is: Which side are you on? Sanders said. Are you on the side of working people? Or are you on the side of the speculators and billionaires? And I know which side Brandon is on.

He concluded: I have absolute confidence that if we stand together, if we have the courage to take on powerful people whose greed is destroying this country  if we are prepared to do that, we can create the kind of city that the people of Chicago deserve, the kind of nation that all of us deserve.

Johnson then strode on stage, clasping his hands with Sanders and raising them above their heads as the crowd roared. He opened with one of his jokes that have become part and parcel to his speeches.

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I think thats someone that tried to date me in high school, he said in response to an especially loud holler. Its too late, sister.

The candidate then picked up where the senator left off by discussing the makeup of Vallas biggest financial backers.

Now there are some forces, however, that are intimidated by this room, he said. I mean, they are so intimidated that they have thrown everything imaginable at this brother here.

But he reminded the audience  many donning Chicago Teachers Union and Service Employees International Union sweatshirts  that his loyalty is with them: The last I checked, Chicago is a union town. And if you are an enemy of labor, you are the enemy of the people.

Johnson sought to connect the antipathy Vallas and his supporters have wielded against CTU leadership to the plight of Black people.

Keep in mind: These are the same enemies of one of the greatest humanitarians to walk the planet Earth: Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Johnson said. He said that the enemy of labor is the enemy of the Negro. Those are his words.

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A young Brandon Johnson supporter stands during a campaign rally for Johnson alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders at the University of Illinois at Chicago on March 30, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Johnson also made pointed critiques of Vallas, ones that elicited loud boos and hisses from the audience that vigorously waved his blue campaign signs.

His failures are so profound, we are still living the experience of his failures, Johnson said before alluding to how some of his opponents donors also gave money to former Republican President Donald Trump.

When you take dollars from Trump supporters and try to cast yourself as a part of the progressive movement, man  sit down, Johnson said.  Those forces, though, that have wrapped themselves up in my opponent, they want to redo the mess that they created.

Earlier, Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, praised Johnsons decade of work as an organizer for the CTU before turning her attention toward opponent Paul Vallas record leading public school districts in Chicago and other cities.

Could there be any better indicator of where Paul Vallas stands than for Betsy DeVos? Weingarten said, to the audiences boos. I dont care what he said. For Betsy DeVos and her (political action committee) to come in and support Paul Vallas tells you everything you need to know about him. We need uniters, not dividers, in Chicago.

DeVos has not donated directly to Vallas, but an advocacy organization she founded channeled money into a super PAC called Illinois Federation for Children that spent roughly $60,000 on digital media supporting Vallas, state election records show. She has not led the group since 2016, but she and her husband continue to contribute to the group.

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The Vallas campaign said in a Thursday statement that he would strongly reject any endorsement from her and noted the firewall between such himself and any independent political committees, which he is not allowed to coordinate with.

Vallas also released a statement in support of the reported indictment of Trump, which was not a heavy focus in the Sanders rally.

Donald Trump repeatedly and shamelessly violated the rules and norms that govern the Office of the President, cheapening the most widely respected elected position in the world and demeaning our democracy, Vallas statement read. He must be held accountable and Im grateful the first step towards justice has been taken.

Also at Thursdays rally, Martin Luther King III, the son of the slain civil rights legend, took to the stage to echo a message that the candidate has been repeating on the campaign trail.

My father used to say that one of the most important steps that we most take is that four steps to the ballot box, King said. April 4 will be 55 years since my father was killed, but he is going to be looking down on Chicago on Tuesday.

King then went on to condemn groups who have supported Johnsons opponent, including the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara.

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I mean its just totally irresponsible for anyone to talk about some blood occurring in the streets because someone is elected to office, the activist said in reference to comments Catanzara made in which he warned there would be blood in the streets from cops quitting en masse under a Johnson administration. That is a sick mentality, and we cannot continue to embrace and support that kind of leadership.

Vallas condemned the Catanzara comment.

As Johnson continued his speech, he pointed out two former students in the standing pit: They still owe me some assignments, but I told them since they are voting for me, Ill excuse it.

Toward the end, the candidate led the crowd in a chant: Paul Vallas, take a seat.

Dont that feel real good? Johnson asked afterward.

The Tribunes A.D. Quig contributed.
Britain's King Charles III on Friday commemorated German victims of World War II Allied air raids, a gesture carrying great significance for both countries.

On the third and final day of his first state visit since ascending the throne, the monarch, accompanied by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, visited the St Nikolai memorial in Hamburg, where he laid a wreath.

The move, in the ruins of a church, is unprecedented for a British sovereign. TV commentators on rolling news channel NTV calling it a "great, great symbol".

When Charles's late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, visited Dresden in 1992, eggs were flung at her after she failed to get out of her car to lay a wreath at the rubble of the Frauenkirche -- a symbol of wartime destruction.

After laying the wreath alongside Steinmeier and Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher, Charles stood for a moment with his head bowed.

Then Queen Consort Camilla placed a white rose at the memorial.

Ahead of the ceremony, Germany's biggest-selling daily Bild said Charles' gesture at the memorial "will say more than any speech".

The issue of German suffering in World War II is historically and politically explosive.

Wracked with guilt over the extermination by the Nazis of six million Jews, mainstream Germany tends to shy away from discussing suffering by Germans during the war.

- 'It matters' -

The WWII air raids, which were among the most controversial actions taken by the Allies, were designed to terrorise the German population and force a surrender. They killed tens of thousands of civilians.

Hamburg's bishop Kirsten Fehrs, who said the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation at Friday's ceremony, stressed the importance of the event.

"The sign of reconciliation between two war enemies and the joint commemoration of the victims are an important signal today," she said, according to remarks carried by regional broadcaster NDR.

Engineer Rainald Erbacher, 54, who was at the memorial said Charles' action "sends a positive signal".

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He underlined that it was a "difficult balance to strike between the past and looking ahead" but that the king's gesture was appropriate.

It was important attention to "the legacy of our ugly past", said rural tour guide Chrissi Breyer, 55, who was among hundreds of well-wishers who waited in the rain outside Hamburg city hall to catch a glimpse of Charles.

The king, who was greeted with cheers by the crowd, had set an "example" with his gesture, Breyer said.

Hamburg and Dresden were among the most heavily bombed cities in Nazi Germany.

On July 24, 1943, Britain and the United States began raiding Hamburg in what was described as a "Blitz week", with the Royal Air Force striking by night and the US forces bombing by day.

- Train ride to Hamburg -

Codenamed Operation Gomorrah, it unleashed some 9,000 tonnes of explosives, killing more than 30,000 people and leaving the port city in rubble.

Originally designed by English architect George Gilbert Scott, who restored London's Westminster Abbey, St Nikolai has been left in its ruined state and now houses a WWII memorial and museum.

The themes of reconciliation and a future forged by common values have featured prominently during Charles's three-day visit, widely interpreted as a bid to build bridges after Brexit.

But during his inaugural foreign trip as king, he managed to score several firsts, including becoming the only monarch to address the German parliament.

In Berlin for the first two days of his visit, he also interacted with well-wishers at the Brandenburg Gate where he was given a formal welcome, as well as toured a reception centre for Ukrainian refugees.

The royal couple travelled on Friday morning to Hamburg on a regular scheduled train, to the delight of some passengers.

Medical student Henriette Czech, 20, was surprised to find herself using the same means of transport as the monarch.

"It's exciting for a mere mortal that a royal is on the train," she told AFP.

bur-hmn-sea/gil
A Charlotte man was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison Thursday for using a social media app to blackmail a teen and to distribute child pornography.

Sean Matthew Burney, 28, used Snapchat to blackmail a 14-year-old boy into sending him sexually explicit images, the United States Attorneys office said in a news release.

Burney originally posed as a woman in February 2021 to contact the victim, then once the teen sent sexually explicit photos, he used those to blackmail him, prosecutors say.

Court records show Burney demanded additional child pornography from the teen, and threatened to post the sexually explicit images and videos on social media if he did not comply.

Burney knew the teen was only 14, the U.S. Attorneys office said. When the teen stopped responding, Burney posted the teens Snapchat account name and a caption contact him if people wanted videos.

This occurred from Feb. 21-24 and a criminal investigation was launched once the victims mother contacted the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to report the blackmail, according to the release.

In October, Burney pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorneys office. He is currently in federal custody and as part of his sentence he will be under lifetime supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender.

The FBI reported that it has seen a huge increase in what it refers to as sextortion among children and teens. Sextortion occurs when someone solicits a sexual photo of the victim and threatens to publish it if they dont send more.

If you need to report an incident of sextortion contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.
OpenAI launched ChatGPT last November

Italy has become the first Western country to block advanced chatbot ChatGPT.

The Italian data-protection authority said there were privacy concerns relating to the model, which was created by US start-up OpenAI and is backed by Microsoft.

The regulator said it would ban and investigate OpenAI "with immediate effect".

OpenAI told the BBC it complied with privacy laws.

Millions of people have used ChatGPT since it launched in November 2022.

It can answer questions using natural, human-like language and it can also mimic other writing styles, using the internet as it was in 2021 as its database.

Microsoft has spent billions of dollars on it and it was added to Bing last month.

It has also said that it will embed a version of the technology in its Office apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

There have been concerns over the potential risks of artificial intelligence (AI), including its threat to jobs and the spreading of misinformation and bias.

Earlier this week key figures in tech, including Elon Musk, called for these types of AI systems to be suspended amid fears the race to develop them was out of control.

The Italian watchdog said that not only would it block OpenAI's chatbot but it would also investigate whether it complied with General Data Protection Regulation.

GDPR governs the way in which we can use, process and store personal data.

The watchdog said on 20 March that the app had experienced a data breach involving user conversations and payment information.

It said there was no legal basis to justify "the mass collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of 'training' the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform".

It also said that since there was no way to verify the age of users, the app "exposes minors to absolutely unsuitable answers compared to their degree of development and awareness".

Bard, Google's rival artificial-intelligence chatbot, is now available, but only to specific users over the age of 18 - because of those same concerns.

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The Italian data-protection authority said OpenAI had 20 days to say how it would address the watchdog's concerns, under penalty of a fine of 20 million ($21.7m) or up to 4% of annual revenues.

Elsewhere, the Irish data protection commission told the BBC it is following up with the Italian regulator to understand the basis for their action and "will coordinate with all EU data protection authorities" in connection to the ban.

The Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's independent data regulator, told the BBC it would "support" developments in AI but that it was also ready to "challenge non-compliance" with data protection laws.

Dan Morgan, from cybersecurity ratings provider SecurityScorecard said the ban shows the importance of regulatory compliance for companies operating in Europe.

"Businesses must prioritise the protection of personal data and comply with the stringent data protection regulations set by the EU - compliance with regulations is not an optional extra."

'Not sufficiently regulated'

Consumer advocacy group BEUC also called on EU and national authorities - including data-protection watchdogs - to investigate ChatGPT and similar chatbots, following the filing of a complaint in the US.

Although the EU is currently working on the world's first legislation on AI, BEUC's concern is that it would take years before the AI Act could take effect, leaving consumers at risk of harm from a technology that is not sufficiently regulated.

Ursula Pachl, deputy director general of BEUC, warned that society was "currently not protected enough from the harm" that AI can cause.

"There are serious concerns growing about how ChatGPT and similar chatbots might deceive and manipulate people. These AI systems need greater public scrutiny, and public authorities must reassert control over them," she said.

ChatGPT is already blocked in a number of countries, including China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.

OpenAI told the BBC that it had disabled ChatGPT for users in Italy at the request of the Italian data protection regulator, called the Garante:

"We are committed to protecting people's privacy and we believe we comply with GDPR and other privacy laws", it wrote.

The organisation said it worked to reduce personal data in training AI systems like ChatGPT because it wanted its AI systems to "learn about the world, not about private individuals".

"We also believe that AI regulation is necessary  so we look forward to working closely with the Garante and educating them on how our systems are built and used", it added

OpenAI said it looked forward to making ChatGPT available in Italy again "soon".
By Asif Shahzad and Ariba Shahid

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday China had rolled over a $2 billion loan that matured last week, providing relief during the South Asian nation's acute balance of payment crisis.

Locking in a rollover had been critical for Pakistan, where reserves have dipped to just four weeks' worth of imports and talks over an International Monetary Fund bailout tranche of $1.1 billion have hit a stalemate.

"I am happy to confirm that this had been rolled over on March 23," Dar told parliament, referring to the maturity date. He said all concerned documentation had been completed.

Neither the government in Beijing nor the Chinese central bank responded to requests for comment on the rollover.

Dar's comments were the first official announcement of the rollover after the loan matured. Dar did not give the new maturity date or other terms of the arrangement.

A top finance ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday that a formal confirmation of the refinancing would be made after the process was completed.

One of the IMF's conditions for the release of the next tranche is assurance of external financing to fund Pakistan's balance of payments.

Longtime ally Beijing has provided the only help Islamabad has got so far, with refinancing of $1.8 billion credited last month to Pakistan's central bank.

In its monthly Economic Update and Outlook, the Finance Division of the government noted that Pakistan was currently confronted with shortage in external liquidity.

Islamabad has been negotiating with the IMF since early February for the release of $1.1 billion from a $6.5 billion bailout package agreed in 2019. To unlock the funding, the government has cut back on subsidies, removed an artificial cap on the exchange rate, added taxes and raised fuel prices.

"Through demand management policies, the government is trying to limit the current account deficit, which will not transfer further pressure on dwindling reserves," read the report.

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It added that inflation, which is already running above 30%, a near 50-year high, is expected to stay elevated.

The report cited market frictions caused by relative demand and supply gaps of essential items, exchange rate depreciation, and the recent upward adjustment in prices of prices of fuel as reasons behind higher inflation expectations.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Ariba Shahid in Karachi, PAKISTAN; Editing by Jason Neely, Frank Jack Daniel and Mark Heinrich)
By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Nine Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line on Friday carrying out combat readiness patrols, Taiwan's defence ministry said, days after Beijing threatened retaliation if President Tsai Ing-wen meets U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory despite the strong objections of the island's government, has been angered by what it sees as stepped up U.S. support for Taiwan.

Tsai arrived in the United States on Wednesday, stopping off on her way to Central America.

She is expected to meet McCarthy in Los Angeles on her way back to Taipei in April, and China on Wednesday threatened unspecified retaliation if that meeting were to go ahead.

Taiwan's defence ministry said the nine Chinese aircraft crossed at points in the north, centre and south of the strait's median line, which used to serve as an unofficial buffer between the two sides.

Taiwan's armed forces responded using its own aircraft and ships to monitor the situation using the principle of "not escalating conflicts or causing disputes", the ministry said.

"The communist military's deployment of forces deliberately created tension in the Taiwan Strait, not only undermining peace and stability, but also has a negative impact on regional security and economic development," it said in a statement.

The ministry condemned what it called "such irrational actions".

There was no immediate response from China.

Tsai, on her first U.S. stopover since 2019, told an event held by the Hudson Institute think tank in New York on Thursday that the blame for rising tensions lay with China, according to excerpts of her comments reported by her office.

"China deliberately raises tensions, but Taiwan always responds cautiously and calmly, so that the world can see that Taiwan is the responsible party in cross-Strait relations," she said.

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Nury Turkel, a Hudson senior fellow who attended the event, said Tsai had been clear in her desire to see the U.S. communicate to China that it would stand with the Taiwanese people if Beijing sought to destroy Taiwan's democracy, by force or whatever means.

"Tsai was very clear in her messaging without being provocative," Turkel said.

During her stop in New York, Tsai met with Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, according to Punchbowl News, one of many U.S. lawmakers expected to engage with her before she returns to Taipei.

'ALL PREPARATIONS'

A senior Taiwan official familiar with security planning told Reuters the Chinese aircraft had only "slightly" encroached across the median line, and that no unusual movements by Chinese ships had been stopped.

China staged war games around Taiwan last August following the visit to Taipei of then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and has continued its military activities near Taiwan since though on a reduced scale.

The Taiwan official said China was unlikely to repeat such large exercises as it was in the middle of a "charm offensive" towards foreign political and business leaders, and an escalation of military tension would send "conflicting messages" to the world.

"Having said that, we have made all preparations in case China reacts irrationally," the source said. "The more the international community pays attention to Taiwan, the more upset they get."

Speaking to reporters in Taipei earlier on Friday, Premier Chen Chien-jen said Taiwan was a "democratic country" with the right to go out into the world.

"I hope that China will not find pretext to provoke," he said, when asked about Beijing's retaliation threat.

"China's authoritarian expansion will in fact cause unnecessary trouble, so we here again make this call, hoping that China can reduce its provocative actions."

China has never officially recognised the median line, which a U.S. general devised in 1954 at the height of Cold War hostility, although the People's Liberation Army had until very recently largely respected it.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard, Yimou Lee, Michael Martina, Patricia Zengerle and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel and Sandra Maler)
(Bloomberg) -- Chinas top official for handling Taiwan issues emphasized shared cultural links during a meeting with Ma Ying-jeou, the first former president of the democracy to travel across the strait.

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Song Tao, head of Beijings Taiwan Affairs Office, said people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are of one family during a meeting with Ma in Wuhan, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday night.

Song also called for boosting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, while opposing foreign interference, a veiled reference to US support for Taiwan and its 23 million people, especially militarily.

The comments underscore Chinas efforts to strengthen ties with Taiwans main opposition party, the Kuomintang, which will try to win the presidency for the first time in a decade. Last month, Song met KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia while he was visiting China. The election is scheduled for next January.

Beijing is also trying to counter perceptions that it is becoming reckless amid increased geopolitical tensions. Premier Li Qiang told business and government leaders at the Boao Forum for Asia on Thursday that his nation was committed to peace.

Mas trip to China comes as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen stops in the US as part of a trip to Central American allies. She has worked to build Taiwans profile on the world stage since taking power in 2016.

While China has pledged to take control of Taiwan by any means necessary  and has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure on island in recent years  it also emphasizes shared historical and cultural links as a reason its claim is legitimate. The government in Beijing has never controlled Taiwan.

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Ma, president of Taiwan from 2008 to 2016, is visiting China until April 7. Hes leading a group of students to Shanghai and other cities, including his familys ancestral hometown in the central province of Hunan.

Earlier this week, he visited the mausoleum in Nanjing of Sun Yat-sen, the Chinese leader who founded the Kuomintang, which Ma eventually led. Ma also toured a museum commemorating the massacre carried out by Japanese troops in 1937.

Both the Communist Party and the KMT fought the Japanese in China during World War II.

Tsai, whose Democratic Progressive Party insists the island is already a de facto sovereign nation, said at an event in New York Wednesday that Taiwan is at the front lines of democracy.

China has warned the US and Tsai that a meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during an upcoming stop in Los Angeles would be a serious provocation.

China responded to a meeting last summer between Tsai and then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi by holding military drills around Taiwan and sending missiles overhead.

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LUSAKA, Zambia (AP)  When Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she touched down at an airport thats doubled in size and features glittering new terminals.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, its a reminder of Chinas deep influence. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent that's rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt. Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Bidens administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijings sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition. However, she has acknowledged theres limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent, telling reporters earlier in the trip that there is a window that is definitely open now for American investments.

At a news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday, Harris reiterated her call for all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia  an oblique reference to China  but she stressed that our presence here is not about China.

Hichilema said it would be completely wrong to view Zambias interests in terms of a rivalry between the U.S. and China.

When Im in Washington, Im not against Beijing. When Im in Beijing, Im not against Washington, he said, adding that none of these relationships are about working against someone or a group of countries."

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Chinas roots in both Tanzania and Zambia run deep. In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzanias Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

Today, China is Africas largest two-way trading partner, with $254 billion of business in 2021, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Thats four times the amount of trade between the U.S. and Africa. In addition, dealing with Beijing features less admonishments about democracy than with Washington.

Most African countries are rightly unapologetic about their close ties to China, Nigerias vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, tweeted on Thursday. China shows up where and when the West will not and/or are reluctant.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has worked on Africa issues in Congress, expressed frustration over Chinas growing influence on the continent.

We switched from being the No. 1 trade partner or the No. 1 investment partner in two dozen countries, to China being the No. 1 trade and investment partner, he told reporters aboard Air Force Two on the flight to Ghana at the beginning of Harris trip. I think our challenge for this decade is to address that.

Biden has been taking steps toward that, such as hosting a summit for African leaders in December, when he announced that he wants to commit $55 billion to the continent in the coming years.

Harris has made announcements as well during her trip, including more than $1 billion in public and private money for economic development, $100 million for security assistance in West Africa and $500 million to facilitate trade with Tanzania.

However, theres skepticism about whether the U.S. will follow through on its promises, and Harris has been faced with not-so-subtle hints that Africa expects more. For example, the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania bluntly said they hope Biden chooses to visit their countries during his expected trip to Africa later this year, which would be his first to the continent as president.

By comparison, Tanzania was among the first countries that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited after becoming president in 2013. And after Xi secured a third term, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African head of state to visit Beijing.

Kamala faces Chinese dominance in Tanzania, the Tanzania Business Insight publication tweeted Wednesday.

Ian Johnson, a former China-based journalist who works at the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Beijing presents a powerful narrative in the developing world as a country that rapidly built its economy and pulled much of its population out of poverty.

African leaders think lets see what we can learn from China, he said, adding that theres a certain fascination in how they did it.

Johnson also said China views Africa differently than the U.S.

We have a tendency to see Africa as a series of problems  wars, famines, something like that, he said. "But in Chinas eyes, Africa is much more of an opportunity.

Edem Selormey, who conducts public opinion research at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, said the feeling is often mutual.

Chinas influence in Africa is largely seen as positive, she said. And the U.S. trails China in that regard.

The difference, she said, is often about what citizens see on the ground, such as infrastructure projects, and the U.S. has been missing from this picture for a while.

John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the debt that comes from Chinas involvement is ultimately corrosive. He said African leaders are beginning to realize that China is not really their friend.

Chinas interests in the region are purely selfish, as opposed to the United States, he said.

Its a sentiment that draws scoffs in some corners of Africa.

America is like playing the role of a big Uncle Sam in trying to defend African countries against what they think is the encroachment of China into the liberty of African countries through these loans, said Tanzania-based analyst Mohamed Issa Hemed.

However, he added, China is ahead of the U.S. in many, many ways."

Daniel Russel, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, summed up the African perspective as enough with the lectures about China. Theyve got something we want. And theyve got it right here.

When it comes to U.S. hopes for Africa, he said, you cant beat something with nothing.

___ Anna reported from Nairobi, Kenya, and Meldrum from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.
E-commerce giant JD.com will spin off its industrial and property units and take both of them public, the company said, in the latest reorganisation of a major Chinese tech firm.

One of China's largest retailers, JD.com's fortunes were hit hard by heightened scrutiny of big tech by the state as well as a Covid-induced sales slump in recent years.

The company said in filings with the Hong Kong stock exchange Thursday that its property and industrial arms will be spun-off and taken public, though the parent company will retain a controlling stake in both.

JD Property operates construction projects across China and dozens of overseas infrastructure works, according to its website. JD Industrials specialises in supplying mechanical components and electronic products to carmakers and other manufacturers.

The firm gave no timeline for taking the two companies public, and the size of the share offerings has not been finalised.

Shares in JD.com soared more than seven percent in Hong Kong in early trading Friday following the announcement.

The firm previously spun off its logistics arm in 2017, later allowing third-party companies to invest in its delivery and warehousing business.

The news comes days after rival Alibaba said it planned to split itself into six different business units, in one of the most significant overhauls of a leading Chinese tech firm to date.

The move was widely seen as a sign that the broad crackdown on tech firms -- instigated in 2020 -- was easing, as well as an effort by Alibaba to help insulate parts of the business from future scrutiny.

Alibaba has said the new units will be free to pursue public listing plans, with Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter as saying logistics arm Cainiao is already in discussion with banks for a Hong Kong IPO.

The firm -- currently valued at more than $20 billion -- is looking to go public before the end of this year, Bloomberg reported.

Alibaba said it will retain a controlling stake of the new units, and will decide whether to cede control once they go public.

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By Joe Cash

BOAO, China (Reuters) - 'China is open for business' was the message its newly-appointed Premier Li Qiang delivered this week to the Boao Forum, an international summit sometimes touted as Asia's answer to the World Economic Forum's meetings in Davos.

But unlike the gaggle of global leaders, celebrities and CEOs that descended on the Swiss Alps in January, the foreign contingent in Li's audience were outnumbered by a local crowd of Chinese business leaders, academics and China-based diplomats.

The scene partly illustrates the disconnect between Beijing's repeated entreaties for foreign investment now that three years of COVID curbs have ended and the intensifying suspicions, especially in Western countries, of China's business environment.

"Participation this year is China heavy," Ben Simpfendorfer, a Hong Kong-based partner at management consultancy firm Oliver Wyman, told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual summit held on the balmy island province of Hainan.

"Over time, it would be fabulous to see more participants from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and of course, America and Europe."

Even though China axed its strict COVID-19 controls in December, airlines are still struggling to ramp up international flights while years of closed borders and painful lockdowns have battered the economy and knocked business confidence.

China still requires COVID-19 tests for most inbound travellers and the delegates and media who wanted to hear Li's speech in person at Boao had to be swabbed beforehand.

The five-day event came immediately after another business summit, the China Development Forum in Beijing, attended by business luminaries such as Apple CEO Tim Cook. However, several of the bigwigs in attendance there did not stay on for the meetings in Boao.

"My global CEO could not spare more than a few days in China, and had more important meetings to attend in the U.S.," an executive from a multinational told Reuters, declining to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

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LONG COMPLAINED

But Chinese officials will have to work hard to convince the foreign executives that heard Li's message that they are serious about change.

Foreign firms in the manufacturing powerhouse and home of 1.4 billion consumers have long complained about an uneven playing field for overseas companies, intellectual property theft and an unpredictable regulatory landscape.

"The question now is whether you can trust the Chinese government? Can they be expected to keep their word?" a Europe-based hedge fund manager said after listening to Li's speech.

Days before the duo of summits kicked off, Chinese authorities raided the office of U.S. corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group in Beijing and detained five of its local staff, a move which unsettled foreign companies.

The geopolitical backdrop to the charm offensive on foreign business has deteriorated as well, with the U.S. and its allies facing off with China over issues from Taiwan to trade restrictions.

Hours after Li's speech, in which he also warned about the dangers of protectionism and economic decoupling, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen said Europe needed to "de-risk" diplomatically and economically from China.

On Friday, as the conference wrapped up, Japan announced trade controls that align with a U.S. push to curb China's ability to make advanced microchips.

One western diplomat in southern China, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Boao and other summits in China were largely "window dressing" and that the reality is foreign firms are not rushing to China.

"It isn't clear that business is keen to enter China beyond the companies already here," he said.

(Reporting by Joe Cash in Boao; Additional Reporting by David Kirton; Editing by John Geddie and Christian Schmollinger)
[Source]

Nine colleges in China are giving students a weeklong spring break to enjoy love amid Chinas declining birth rate.

The schools, which are run by the Fan Mei Education Group, announced last week that students and teachers are free to go fall in love from April 1 to 7. The break is an expansion of China's one-day national holiday for Tomb-Sweeping day, which is also known as the Qingming Festival.

The school implements the spring break system in the hope that students can learn to love nature, love life, and enjoy love, Liang Guohui, deputy dean of the Mianyang Aviation Vocational College, said in a statement.

I hope that students can go to see the green water and green mountains and feel the breath of spring. This will not only broaden students horizons and cultivate their sentiments, but also enrich and deepen the teaching content in the classroom, Liang added.

More from NextShark: Canadian man says hospital denial of visits to his dying mother will 'haunt' him forever

The nine colleges are reportedly vocational schools for jobs in the aviation industry.

While the schools have been giving students and staff a weeklong spring break since 2019, this years break emphasizes romance with the theme, enjoy the blossoms, go fall in love.

According to Liu Ping, the deputy dean of Sichuan Southwest Aviation Vocational College, the school implemented its spring break program in response to students who asked for time to make new friends and experience the beauty of love.

More from NextShark: Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong lift COVID-19 restrictions on inbound travelers after more than 2 years

As for their spring break homework, students are tasked with writing or filming travel diaries about their vacation. The colleges will also be having make-up classes on weekends to make up for the lost time. But for now, the schools goal is to give their students and teachers a concentrated time to rest.

The announcement comes as Chinas birth rate continues to decline, with only 9.56 million births recorded compared to 10.41 million deaths in 2022.

Some saw the colleges decision as an attempt to spark a population increase.

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More from NextShark: Gemma Chan, Benedict Wong call on British government to recognize ESEA Heritage Month

Experts predict that the nations population will decline by 109 million by 2050, which will have a significant impact on China's economy.

As the aging population poses a threat to Chinas economy, the government has been trying to offer incentives, including tax cuts, extended maternity leave and financial subsidies, to encourage couples to have more children.

The demographic declines are also present in other Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea. According to experts, the low fertility rates are a result of high childcare costs, low income, and changing attitudes toward marriage and gender equality among younger generations.

More from NextShark: Survey of Hong Kong children reveals nearly half are subjected to physical punishment
On the mayoral campaign trail, Brandon Johnson leans heavily on his tenure on the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

Its an important chapter in his background as a candidate whos otherwise short on government experience, a way to show voters he can accomplish things while working with others in a setting akin to the City Council he would need to lead as mayor.

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But Johnsons record is complicated by the realities of serving since late 2018 as one of the junior members on a 17-person body where President Toni Preckwinkle, who has endorsed Johnson, runs a tight ship and much of the real decision-making is top-down.

Inflating ones legislative victories is a time-honored tactic for political candidates trying to make the jump from a member of an elected legislative board to the top administrative seat at the front of the room, and Johnson is likewise claiming credit for major initiatives that have demonstrably benefited thousands of Cook County residents. But how critical a role he played is in some cases debatable.

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His opponent in the April 4 runoff election, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, has pounced on what he says is Johnsons lack of real experience running things.

First of all, voting for a budget is not managing a budget, Vallas said at a recent debate. Voting for (minority- and women-owned businesses) is not managing (them). Rhetoric is no substitution for management.

Johnson called those accusations from Vallas awfully condescending, and ripped Vallas own management decisions, saying theyve wreaked havoc with the institutions Vallas led.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 93 Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson greets people at MacArthurs Restaurant in Austin on April 23, 2023. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Now heres someone who has built budgets on a house of cards, Johnson said after one of several debates with Vallas. How dare he or anyone else lecture my ability to count, where everywhere he has gone, he has caused tremendous destruction, a structural deficit in the city of Chicago, a structural, a deficit in Philadelphia.

[ Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas clash over race, leadership and each others records at latest forum ]

On the Cook County Board, Johnson points to his work to pass a Justice for Black Lives resolution as a defining moment of his four years, saying it was the impetus behind more substantial legislation the board subsequently adopted.

Commissioners passed it in July 2020 as Chicago and cities across the nation were reeling from violent unrest in the wake of George Floyds murder by a Minneapolis police officer.

Like many other resolutions enacted by the board, it is essentially a set of values and aspirations, in this case a broad mandate urging the county to keep Black people and other marginalized groups in Cook County safe from police violence and from unfair incarceration at the Cook County Jail.

[ Cook County Board passes symbolic resolution to shift money from police, jails in wake of defund movements ]

Johnson draws a direct line from this Justice for Black Lives success to two other programs paid for with coronavirus recovery money that Preckwinkle launched later.

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In particular, Johnson argues he was instrumental in the county passing a guaranteed income pilot program and another initiative aimed at eliminating medical debt.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 107 Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas concedes with his wife, Sharon, by his side during his election night watch party at the Hyatt Regency hotel, April 4, 2023. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Yes, I have played a role in making sure that we are crafting a budget, Johnson said after a recent mayoral debate. Ive built an entire budget around Black lives.  And even President Preckwinkle gave me credit for the entire equity plan that has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars for violence prevention, the largest pilot program for guaranteed income, workforce development, eliminating up to $1 billion of medical debt. I led that charge and that effort.

[ Mayoral challenger Paul Vallas has promoted his schools resume, but blemishes garner scrutiny ]

While Johnsons proposal passed with 15 colleagues co-sponsoring it, since it has no real teeth or money attached to it, judging its success is difficult.

Preckwinkle, for instance, published her own extensive five-year policy road map before Johnson took office in 2018, laying out what she called a focus on racial equity to ensure that all Cook County residents have opportunities to prosper, participate and reach their full potential no matter their race, gender, geography or socio-economic status.

Therein lies the difficulty for Johnson and others who want credit for tangible legislative accomplishments, particularly on the Cook County Board. The chamber operates with Preckwinkle enjoying a rock-solid majority and her own clear progressive agenda that has been bolstered in recent years by the federal COVID-19 money flowing to the county.

Preckwinkle and her financial team design the countys annual budget and drive many of the policy decisions, taking suggestions from commissioners before the board passes their plans with overwhelming support. The Cook County Board president wears the jacket for those choices, as the mayor does for the city budget.

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The $42 million county guaranteed income pilot Johnson referenced started accepting applications from residents in fall 2022, after Preckwinkle said she saw the need for it during the early days of the pandemic.

The income pilot was based on initiatives already underway elsewhere, including a Chicago version Mayor Lori Lightfoot kicked off in October 2021. Preckwinkle this year was named co-chair of the Counties for a Guaranteed Income coalition that will push for federal support for the programs, underscoring her prominence in the movement.

And the $12 million county medical debt relief plan included in Preckwinkles 2023 budget comes amid a nationwide reckoning over the impact such costs have on families.

Johnson maintains his Black lives resolution was in effect a value statement for county spending.

Yes, we get to state our values and our mission, because our budget should be a reflection of our morals, he said. You cant just have a budget without having a value statement.

Preckwinkle and Johnson have been close allies since his successful 2018 campaign to unseat Commissioner Richard Boykin, a Preckwinkle antagonist. In endorsing Johnson, she lauded his work on the board to bring transparency and equity to public safety.

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The Justice for Black Lives document sponsored by Johnson says the board shall focus on its ability to invest additional resources in communities of color to increase affordable housing and health care, help tenants fight eviction, create jobs and improve public transportation.

[ Brandon Johnson once said it was a political goal to defund police. Hes been less precise running for mayor. ]

The resolution says the county should engage in efforts to redirect funds from policing and incarceration to public services not administered by law enforcement that promote community health and safety equitably across the County, but especially in Black and brown communities most impacted by violence and incarceration. Its a clause critics have pointed to in trying to paint Johnson as a supporter of defunding the police, a charge he has tried to parry in recent months.

The county will seek to avoid militarizing the police, and endeavor to improve contract opportunities for businesses owned by minorities and women, the resolution states.

The Justice for Black Lives resolution also specifically spells out that the county should expand mental health inpatient/outpatient care including for individuals leaving incarceration and ensure first responders for people in mental health crisis are mental health professionals and not police, which is aimed at reforming the ways mental health episodes are handled by first responders.

But in late 2022 those goals collided on the Cook County Board with Johnsons pledge not to increase the Cook County sheriffs budget.

Commissioner Bridget Degnen proposed embedding two social workers in Cook Countys 911 dispatch center to answer calls related to mental health and crisis stabilization. Degnen said while the money would still pass through Sheriff Tom Darts budget to the 911 center, the social workers would not be directed by Dart.

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Nonetheless, Johnson voted against the $275,000 outlay for the social workers, saying at the time he was having a tough time supporting a measure that utilized a system his constituents didnt really trust.  When 911 shows up, it isnt really comfortable. Degnens amendment passed despite Johnsons objection.

A Johnson mayoral campaign spokesman this week said Johnson voted against Degnens plan because he supported a plan where medical and mental health professionals were not embedded with dispatchers at the 911 center, but instead, on the front lines responding to mental health calls and crises.

But the incident illustrates the difficulties lawmakers face in setting out principles and then sticking to them within the ferment of the legislative process, as many members seek ways to address problems important to their constituents, and compromise is often needed to accomplish anything.

This push and pull gets considerably more turbulent for a Chicago mayor attempting to shepherd an agenda through an increasingly independent-minded 50-member City Council. Aldermen on Thursday further asserted their authority, voting to increase the number of council committees from 19 to 28 and naming their own committee chairs. For decades, those chairmanships, which come with additional paid staff positions, have been picked by the mayor.

Lightfoot faced some of her harshest criticism from aldermen and special interests who said her greatest failing during her single term in office was her inability or unwillingness to work with them to find common ground. Chicago voters are now looking for a Lightfoot successor who will be more successful in doing so.

Johnson said hes well-equipped to get things done. Im a collaborator, Im an organizer. Thats important to me, he said. Im not a dictator. There are other folks who lead like that. Thats not my style. In fact, its important that we demonstrate compassion.

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Vallas has an extensive record as a top administrator working for former Mayor Richard M. Daley and as head of Chicago Public Schools. But has never held elected office. He points to his background as proof he can accomplish things at City Hall, while critics say his decisions were financially calamitous and harmful to Chicago schoolchildren.

Other highlights of Johnsons county record include the Just Housing amendment to the Cook County code that took effect in 2020, for which he was the lead sponsor. That amendment outlaws housing discrimination against people who were arrested or convicted of most types of criminal acts more than three years earlier.

The Cook County Commission on Human Rights has received 42 complaints alleging landlords violated provisions of the amendment. In 18 of those cases the parties reached some kind of settlement, and a total of over $31,000 has been paid out to settle such disputes, according to the commission.

There are hundreds of thousands of people all over Cook County that now have the ability to access housing because we made it against the law to discriminate against individuals who have arrest records, which Im very proud of, Johnson said.

jebyrne@chicagotribune.com

ayin@chicagotribune.com
Preppy style in China takes on a different look, where the outfit should look as realistic as possible. VeryBuy/Bangkok Post

As preppy style makes a global comeback, the trend takes on a different look in China.

Chinese women have been sporting school uniforms from other countries, dressing up in them for fun.

Unlike prep styles in other places, they want their faux uniforms to be as realistic as possible.

Preppy fashion has been making a global comeback, but over in China it never really went away.

During the early 1900s, in both Europe and the US, the style was seen as a status symbol. It was often worn by the wealthy who went to preparatory and Ivy League schools, according to InStyle.

The fashion trend is making a return as it has recently been spotted in several design collections in the fashion weeks of 2023, according to Harper's Bazaar.

But over in China, women have a different take on the style. Rather than incorporating bits and pieces into their own wardrobes, they are putting together sets of faux school outfits from other countries that look as authentic as possible.

"JK uniform", where "JK" stands for "Joshi Kousei"  female high school student in Japanese  is one of the most popular fashion trends in China.

The hashtag #JKuniform has over 1.7 billion views on Weibo, China's top social media platform. And there are currently over 50,000 JK fashion pieces being sold on TaoBao, China's biggest online retailer.

JK uniform is inspired by actual Japanese school uniforms, which can be divided into two patterns  sailor suit and Western-style.

Sailor style (left) and western-style (right) Japanese school uniforms have distinctive features, but both are equally popular. Wolfgang Kaehler/Satoshi-K/Getty Images

A short-sleeved white blouse with a sailor collar and a hankerchief bow or tie are the defining features of a sailor suit Japanese school uniform, while the Western-style is characterized by a plaid pleated skirt, sweater vest, and a blazer.

Both styles are equally popular in China, where the interest may be attributed to the huge popularity of both Japanese anime, where many main characters are high schoolers, and Japanese idol culture. Many J-idols sport school outfits as a concept.

It's mostly grown women who have been spotted in JK uniforms, most likely because Chinese girls who are still schooling are required to wear their actual school uniforms.

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Both western-style (left) and sailor suit (right) are popular among Chinese women.  via Sunnymiucat

Unlike preppy style in other places, where a few elements are incorporated into one piece to create the collegiate-inspired look, Chinese women want their whole outfit to look as realistic and school-like as possible.

Small variations are fine, but hardcore JK uniform enthusiasts are usually looking for that authentic Japanese high school girl look, avoiding outfits with inaccurate details.

And the country's obsession with authentic preppy fashion goes beyond Japanese school uniforms.

Earlier this month, a single social media post sparked a new trend of Chinese tourists flocking to Thailand to buy their own set of actual Thai school uniforms to wear and take pictures in.

On February 18, Chinese celebrity Ju Jing-yi posted a series of photos of her in a Thai school uniform on Weibo, sparking the trend. The post has gathered over 1 million likes and more than 942,000 shares as of March 31.

Since then, Chinese customers, the majority of who are women in their 20s, have been visiting a school uniform store in Bangkok almost every day to buy uniforms to dress up in for photos, per Nikkei Asia.

Chinese celebrity Ju Jing-yi (left) sparked a trend with her social media post, inspiring Chinese tourists (right) to follow suit. Ju Jingyi via Weibo/ Bangkok Post

"This is the first time in the 60 years since our founding that we have received so much attention," said Yenjit Atsawaprichawong, owner of the school uniform store Sriphan, per Nikkei Asia.

The trend even caught the attention of Thailand's ministry of education, who has been very supportive.

"I have seen from online posts that they had their own names embroidered on student shirts. That is cute and beautiful and does not cause any damage," said Atthaphon Sangkhawasee, permanent secretary of the ministry of education, per Bangkok Post.

This trend had an earlier rendition inspired by Thai teen romantic comedy "First Love," which faded during the Covid-19 pandemic, per Bangkok Post.

Read the original article on Insider
Two people, including a Cincinnati-area police officer, were killed in a crash while the officer was responding to another call, according to police.

>>2 injured after head-on crash involving school bus in Preble County

Springfield Twp. Officer Tim Unwin, a 2-year veteran of the department was identified as the officer killed in the line of duty, Springfield Twp. Police Chief Rick Bley said during a news conference Friday morning. Unwin was 31-years-old, the Hamilton County Coroners Office told our news partners at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati.

A second driver, identified as William Dunson, 50, of Cincinnati, was also killed in the crash, according to police and the coroners office.

>>STORM TRACKING ALERT: Strong to severe storms with damaging winds possible Friday night

Contributed Photo/WCPO-TV

The crash happened on U.S. 127, known on that stretch as Hamilton Avenue, just south of the Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway shortly after midnight, WCPO-TV reports. Unwin, along with other departments in Hamilton County were responding to a call for officer assistance.

The crash happened in the North College Hill neighborhood, which borders the Springfield Twp. jurisdiction.

This is an extremely emotional and sad day for the family and friends of the two men who died, as well as the entire Springfield Twp. police department, and our community as a whole, Bley said.

We have received offers of support from many Hamilton County police agencies. I want to assure the public that the Springfield Twp. community is in good hands.

Unwin was also identified as a former Hamilton police officer, also serving two years in the Butler County department before moving to Springfield Twp., Bley said.

Civil society depends on selfless sacrifice, sometimes the ultimate sacrifice. We should never take their service for granted. My deepest condolences are with Officer Unwins family, fellow officers and the Springfield Township community, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement Friday afternoon.

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Additional details were not available. Well update this story as we learn more.

Contributed Photo/WCPO-TV




The work of French author Alexandre Dumas has attracted stars since the birth of cinema, through silent-era hero Douglas Fairbanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, not forgetting a certain Volodymyr Zelensky and -- almost -- The Beatles.

The 19th century writer's popularity shows no signs of dimming -- a flashy new version of "The Three Musketeers" hits French screens next week, while "The Count of Monte Cristo" starts filming this summer.

There have been more than 250 adaptations of his books, including popular takes on "Queen Margot" and "The Man in the Iron Mask", which gave a starring role to DiCaprio in 1998.

But it is the plume-hatted musketeers that have been the most popular, stretching back to the first film version in Britain in 1898.

Fairbanks became a swashbuckling megastar thanks to a 1921 version, while the story was relocated to a French Foreign Legion in North Africa for John Wayne in 1933, and thousands of marionettes were used for an Italian puppet version a few years later.

The Beatles almost donned the capes in the 1960s, but eventually passed the roles to Charlton Heston and Oliver Reed.

And Hollywood keeps them coming, from the "Brat Pack" version in the 1990s with Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland, to the little-loved 2011 remake featuring Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom and some flying battleships.

Argentine, Indian, Mexican and even Soviet versions have also been seen over the years.

One of the most unlikely -- particularly from the current perspective -- is a 2004 Russian-language version in which the musketeers are all women and D'Artagnan is played by a young Zelensky, now president of war-torn Ukraine.

- 'Courage, panache' -

"It's a book that travels easily through time," Martin Bourboulon, director of the latest iteration, "The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan", told AFP.

"It's the values of camaraderie, courage, panache and solidarity that make it so interesting."

It helps that Dumas was a pioneer of the sort of writing that has shaped modern cinematic storytelling -- from his fast-paced action scenes to the multiple cliffhangers that punctuate each section.

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Dumas, then 41, wrote the 1844 novel to appear in serialised form, which was all the rage thanks to new periodicals.

"He has a sense of rhythm, of knowing when to accelerate, when to pause and build intrigue," added biographer Sylvain Ledda.

"Plus, he's very funny with the best of the French spirit: his signature style, the fantasy, the derision."

Dumas may even have appreciated his name-check in 90s classic "The Shawshank Redemption", where the inmates enjoy the prison-break in "The Count of Monte Cristo" but mispronounce his name as "Alexander Dumb-ass".

bur-er/lcm
After months of uncertainty, the city of Sacramento has agreed to allow a tight-knit North Sacramento homeless encampment to stay put, and also move them out of tents and into trailers.

The city has leased the property, at Colfax Street and Arden Way, for free to a new organization called Safe Ground Inc., run by prominent civil rights attorney Mark Merin, according to a city blog post.

The city will bring up to 33 trailers to the camp, called Camp Resolution, over the coming weeks, city spokesman Tim Swanson said.

The trailers have been sitting unused at a Natomas city lot since June 2021.

The lease will expire in about four months, with an option to renew for another four months. City and county staff will visit the site to provide services as well as help getting the residents into more permanent housing, the blog post stated. The camp will include a resident council, operations plan, and good neighbor policy, which will be approved by the city.

A group of people, mostly women, started camping on the lot over a year ago. They felt it was safer than the riverfront, which often floods and where trees sometimes fall on tents and sexual assaults are frequent.

Last year, city officials submitted a plan to designate the site as a staffed safe parking lot where homeless individuals could stay in vehicles and receive government services. The water board in January granted a variance for the proposal, a step intended to move the plan forward.

Officials told the people moving there that if they left temporarily, they would be allowed back, Joyce Williams, who lives at the camp, said at the time.

After spending $617,000 to pave and fence the site, the city abandoned the plan in April, finding it would not help enough people to justify the cost.

In October, a group of people, still unable to find housing, went back to the lot and resumed camping there, also using it to send a message. They hung colorful signs around the fence. One sign questioned abandoning the project after such a large investment, it read $617,000 TAXPAYER DOLLARS FOR A PARKING LOT???

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Another sign stated COME MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS. The residents started holding family dinners, hosting poetry and open mic nights that are open to the public and taking security shifts.

Sacramento police posted notices at the camp in November ordering them to leave or they would be cleared. When 60 people showed up at a City Council meeting in protest on the eve of the planned sweep, Councilman Sean Loloee, who represents the area, announced the city had delayed the sweep.

For four months since, the people have been living on the lot, but unsure if will be able to stay.

The Sacramento Homeless Union, which represents the residents at the camp, also brokered the new lease, as well Loloee and City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood, the city blog post said.

Merin has since 2020 operated a small Safe Ground with uniform tents at 12th and C streets, which the city also allowed after threatening to close, but that one is on land owned by Merin. The city also runs a safe ground with trailers at Miller Park, but that one was not started as an existing unsanctioned encampment.
The family of a man struck and killed at an intersection has settled with the City of Seattle in a lawsuit brought by his family, according to a media release from the familys attorneys.

Jackson Reavis, 22, was struck and killed in 2019 while riding his motorcycle through an intersection at 35th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 75th Street in Seattles Wedgwood neighborhood.

While Reavis went through the intersection, the driver of a pickup truck hit him while he was turning left at a solid green light.

The City of Seattle settled for $6.5 million.

According to the Reavis family attorneys, the City was aware the intersection was not safe and had planned to install left-turn arrow signals, but did not make improvements at the intersection until after Reavis was killed.

The attorneys statement says the City allotted funding for the improvements, but abandoned their project, despite concerns from community members.

Less than a month after Reavis death, the City began its work to install the left-turn arrow signals.
The first floor community area, on a tour of the new headquarters and campus of CoverMyMeds, Monday May 17, 2021.

A candidate for Columbus mayor is challenging the tax break received by CoverMyMeds for its new Franklinton headquarters, after the health technology firm announced major layoffs this week.

Joe Motil, who is taking on Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, reiterated his opposition to the 2018 tax break, which he called "unnecessary and excessive."

What was CoverMyMeds' tax deal?

Under the terms of the tax incentive, approved in July 2018, CoverMyMeds received a 15-year, 100% property-tax abatement worth up to $77.7 million for its new corporate campus along McKinley Avenue. The company opened the first of its two new buildings on the site in 2021 but has since sold both buildings.

As part of the deal, the city also agreed to return 30% of city income tax withholdings on new CoverMyMeds employees for up to eight years (35% for any new employee who lives in Columbus). That incentive is worth between $4.5 million and $5.3 million.

In exchange, CoverMyMeds promised to retain and relocate 592 jobs to the new headquarters and create 1,032 new jobs with payroll totaling $76.4 million within five years.

The Columbus Board of Education signed off on the deal, agreeing to forego $55.6 million in property-tax revenue in exchange for a portion of the income-tax revenue the new jobs would generate.

How many Columbus employees will CoverMyMeds retain?

Motil's news release suggests that CoverMyMeds' layoffs violate the terms of the agreement.

Motil's claim rests on the number of employees CoverMyMeds will retain in Columbus. Company spokesperson Angela Tavrell has declined this week to answer Dispatch questions on CoverMyMeds' current or post-layoff headcount in Columbus.

CoverMyMeds told employees that it is laying off 815 workers but did not say where those workers are located, or how many would be left. As part of the announcement, CoverMyMeds said it is closing its Arizona office and leasing out some of its Franklinton headquarters.

According to information provided to the city for its tax agreement, CoverMyMeds employed 1,334 workers in Columbus last year, including 742 new jobs.

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Citing the employment website Zippia, Motil said CoverMyMeds employed 1,336 workers in Columbus in February, short of the 1,624 full-time employees required by its tax abatement agreement.

How are tax deals reviewed?

Ginther's spokesperson, Robin Davis, said These are performance-based incentives. If you dont perform, you dont receive the incentive. Period. Companies are audited yearly to assure they are meeting performance commitments in their incentive agreements.

Sheldon Goodrum, spokesperson for the city's Department of Development, said all tax incentive deals in the city are subject to review by the city's Tax Incentive Review Council. Tax deals throughout the county are also tracked by the Franklin County Tax Incentive Review Council (TIRC).

"This is why we have the tax review council," Goodrum said. "If an agreement needs to be amended or rescinded, we can do it. We can look at what the agreement calls for, and whether the terms of the agreement are being met."

The bulk of the city's tax deals are included in eight Community Reinvestment Act neighborhoods, 49 Enterprise Zones and 96 Tax Increment Finance districts, according to last year's county TIRC report. An estimated $16.5 million was foregone in taxes in the city deals last year, in addition to $45 million in diverted taxes for Tax Increment Finance districts.

The TIRC recommended last year that the city remind 25 companies with tax deals, including CoverMyMeds, of the importance of filing timely and complete reports with the city.

In addition to the city tax breaks, CoverMyMeds also received several state tax credits for its expansions, starting in 2010 with credits worth $546,055, in 2014 for credits worth $482,288; in 2018 for credits worth $19.4 million; and last year with credits worth an estimated $6.8 million.

What does CoverMyMeds do?

CoverMyMeds was founded in 2008 to provide physicians and pharmacists across the country an online service to get quick insurance approvals for new prescriptions. According to the company, the service has been used more than 200 million times.

CoverMyMeds is profitable part of McKesson

Motil notes that CoverMyMeds is a profitable part of the $50 billion Texas healthcare company McKesson Corp., which bought CoverMyMeds in 2017 for $1.4 billion.

For the nine months ending Dec. 31, CoverMyMeds had revenue of $3.2 billion and profits of $400 million.

In his note announcing the layoffs to employees, however, CoverMyMeds President Kevin Kettler said the company needed to make changes "to continue on a path of long-term sustainable growth."

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus' CoverMyMeds tax breaks challenged after layoffs.
Q'Juantez Poole, 23, of Columbus' Northwest Side, center, stood with his defense attorney, Joseph R. Landusky II on Thursday when Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Kimberly Cocroft sentenced Poole to life in prison with eligibility for parole after more than 24 years in fatal 2020 shooting of 26-year-old Donte Wiley and wounding a woman with Wiley.

Q'Juantez Poole maintained he exchanged gunfire in 2020 to protect his older brother and himself. But Franklin County prosecutors said the brothers drove up without provocation and opened fire on a car parked outside a Northeast Side apartment complex, killing an innocent man  26-year-old Dontey Wiley.

A Franklin County Common Pleas Court jury on Feb. 2 rejected Poole's argument and found the 23-year-old guilty of five felony counts, including murder, attempted murder and felonious assault.

On Thursday, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Kimberly Cocroft sentenced Poole to life in prison with eligibility for parole after at least 27 years. Poole has almost 2 years of jail time credit, meaning he could be eligible for parole in about 24 years.

Poole's defense attorney, Joseph Landusky II, who argued at trial that Wiley began shooting first, told The Dispatch after the sentencing hearing Thursday that he will be appealing the jury verdict.

Past reporting: Jury finds Columbus man who claimed self-defense guilty of murder in 2020 shooting

The shootout

Late on Oct. 6, 2020, Wiley and Kari Anderson-Latham, then 23, sat in a parked car at an apartment complex in the 5800 block of Arborwood Drive where 27-year-old Quintez Poole lived. Q'Juantez Poole testified at his trial that his older brother called him, concerned that the people in the car were there to hurt him.

Security video captured some of what happened next at approximately 12:30 on Oct. 7, 2020, but not everything.

The video showed Q'Juantez Poole driving up, Quintez Poole getting inside Q'Juantez Poole's car, and them driving away.

After a few minutes, the Poole brothers drive back to Wiley's car and gunfire is exchanged between the brothers and Wiley for about six seconds.

Wiley was mortally wounded and later died. Anderson-Latham was grazed by a bullet. Quintez Poole suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his groin area, which he survived.

More on claiming self-defense in Ohio: How Ohio laws make it easier to claim self-defense in cases like Sinzae Reed's death

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Quintez Poole is facing trial on the same murder and other charges and is scheduled to appear in court next on April 25. A previous jury trial of Poole in August 2022 ended in a mistrial before closing arguments.

Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Vaccaro said during the hearing Thursday that Q'Juantez Poole had no regard for the families living in the apartment complex when he and his brother "obliterated" Wiley's car with bullets.

Vaccaro said Anderson-Latham would have testified at both murder trials, but she died in a car crash in November 2021.

The night of the shootout, Vacarro said, Anderson-Latham called 911 dispatcher and reported that "we were just sitting there and they started shooting at us."

Q'Juantez Poole (center), 23, of Columbus' Northwest Side, appeared in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 2 with his attorney Joseph R. Landusky II (right) to face trial for murder and attempted murder in the 2020 death of 26-year-old Dontey Wiley and the wounding of a woman who was present.

'I'm sorry for the situation that happened'

Landusky said at Thursday's sentencing hearing that Q'Juantez Poole was a model kid with no criminal history and who had an associate degree. And from the beginning, Landusky said, he's been under instruction to not besmirch his older brother's name.

During the hearing, Poole turned to Wiley's family in the courtroom gallery and apologized.

"I do pray for your family day in and day out," Poole said. "I'm sorry for the situation that happened. If I could change anything I would. I'd maybe use better judgment ... Everything I did was just a reaction to what was going on around me."

Later in the hearing, Judge Cocroft chastised Poole for saying he 'maybe' could have used better judgment.

"You think?" Cocroft said. "Absolutely, you could have used better judgment."

Kaiana Edwards, one of Wiley's sisters, said at Thursday's sentencing that her brother was a genuine and loving person.

"Our family is torn apart," she said. "Well never heal over this."

More court news for subscribers: Then-15-year-old who fatally shot another 15-year-old gets probation. How many youths kill?

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man gets at least 24 years to life in fatal 2020 shooting
Dec. 2022 photo of suspended Los Angeles Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas speaking at an event in Leimert Park. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Prosecutors will say that justice was served. That for the good of the taxpaying public in Los Angeles, theyve taken down a corrupt career politician "who abused his position of power" for personal gain, as Martin Estrada, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, insisted from the steps of the U.S. Courthouse.

But not much about what happened to L.A. City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas on Thursday afternoon feels like justice.

In fact, permanently sidelining someone who has been so effective at delivering funding and programs and infrastructure for often-neglected Black Angelenos  so much so that hes sometimes called a one-man institution in Black politics  actually feels like opening the door to greater injustice.

And yet, here we are.

After five days of deliberations, a jury found Ridley-Thomas guilty in a sprawling federal case involving a quid pro quo with the then-dean of USCs social work program, Marilyn Flynn. The crimes dated to his time on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors when, as prosecutors argued, he traded county contracts to help his son, then Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, gain admission, a job and a scholarship from USC.

Jurors combed through hundreds of emails, phone records and other documents before convicting him of conspiracy, bribery, honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud.

It wasn't a slam dunk, though. The jury found him not guilty of a dozen other fraud charges. And as deliberations progressed, there was a split about whether there was a quid pro quo, before the jurors ultimately agreed beyond a reasonable doubt.

Given that I wasn't in the room, personally examining the mountain of evidence, I won't quibble with the verdict. I'll leave that to the planned appeal.

But still, the conviction on seven counts means that, at 68 years old, Ridley-Thomas could be sentenced to several years in a federal prison. And what had been a storied political career, spanning elected office in both state and local government, is now over.

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Per the City Charter, he must be removed as the representative of the citys 10th Council District, leaving it, once again, without a voting member  for the time being anyway. No matter what happens, there will be a vacuum of power that will be difficult, if not impossible, to adequately fill at a time of rising poverty and race-based inequities.

Mayor Karen Bass called it "a sad day for Los Angeles and I feel that sadness personally. For decades, Mark Ridley-Thomas has been a champion for our city, a civil rights activist, a thought leader, and a policy maker who made real impact on this city."

L.A. City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, meanwhile, echoed that sentiment, tweeting: "When those in power chose to forget our community, Mark Ridley-Thomas centered and uplifted us."

State Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) said in statement that he was "compelled" to share his appreciation for Ridley-Thomas, including his work to build the new Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital.

So justice?

Not according to many of the Black Angelenos I've spoken to, even those who aren't in elected office or don't know Ridley-Thomas personally.

At the courthouse during closing arguments last week, Black pastors, Black business owners and fellow Black politicians showed up in support. Some were invited to come. Many others just came on their own. They all seemed anxious, and watched and listened intently as prosecutors spoke.

He leveraged his power to extract privileges for his son, Assistant U.S. Atty. Lindsey Greer Dotson had said, drawing grunts of disapproval. Public officials do not get to monetize their public service. As a politician, you work for us, you work for the taxpayer.

And then as the lead defense attorney Daralyn Durie told jurors that everything that happened at USC was legal if unseemly, those same Ridley-Thomas supporters nodded and sighed in relief.

During the breaks, when people would gather in the hallway, many wondered aloud why, in a world where politicians are doing real harm to the public every day, would federal prosecutors go after someone who wasn't. In other words, why is this the corruption we care about?

Estrada, during that news conference Thursday from the steps of the downtown L.A. federal courthouse, said: The people that elected Mark Ridley-Thomas were entitled to honest services. They were entitled to have him not act in a corrupt way. But instead of doing so, he engaged in political corruption  and thats why hes been convicted today.

As my Times colleague Matt Hamilton noted, this guilty verdict against Ridley-Thomas is the most high-profile in a series of them, all dealt by a team of hotshot public corruption prosecutors in the local U.S. attorneys office.

Earlier this year, they secured a guilty plea from former Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar on charges of racketeering and tax evasion, for shaking down real estate developers. He admitted, among other things, that he extorted at least $1.5 million in bribes, not long after it came out that he had been gambling in Las Vegas with a billionaire developer.

Two years ago, former Los Angeles Councilman Mitchell Englander agreed to a plea deal in an obstruction-of-justice case that involved him accepting money, hotel rooms and other gifts during trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs.

Meanwhile, Ridley-Thomas? He didn't go to Las Vegas. He was convicted for helping his son, who was resigning from the state Assembly, reportedly for health reasons but also while facing a sexual harassment investigation.

I don't have children, but I know this is the sort of thing that parents can understand: wanting to help their adult children get out of a jam. It's certainly the sort of thing that powerful people who are white do all the time, often with little to no repercussions.

Just consider our clearly corrupt former president, Donald Trump, who hired most of his adult children to work in the White House, even the ones with sketchy histories and even worse decision making while on the public dime. And yet, it's been years since Trump left office and he has just now been indicted  for allegedly paying hush money to a porn star.

Meanwhile, Ridley-Thomas? What he got for helping his son in the quid pro quo with USC actually benefited his constituents.

At issue during trial were three votes taken by the Board of Supervisors, including for a Telehealth medical clinic, a probation reentry center and a probation employee training program. All are consistent with the then-supervisor's legislative record.

In fact, as closing arguments wrapped up Friday, Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael J. Morse reminded jurors that the only question for you is: Was the defendant doing these things for Marilyn Flynn so that she would do things for him?

It is not a defense that any actions taken were good for the community or were actions that the defendant would have taken [without a bribe], he said.

Given the guilty verdict on Thursday, Morse is right. This clearly isn't a defense in a court of law. But in the court of public opinion, where Black Angelenos sit and weigh questions of harm to our community, it's another matter.

So justice?

It was served, just not for all of us.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Conor McGregor has called Justin Gaethje a bird brain for threatening to leave the UFC if the Irishman receives a title shot in the near future.

McGregor is due to fight Michael Chandler later this year, while the pairs fellow lightweight Gaethje is fresh off a win over Rafael Fiziev this month.

Gaethje, a former interim champion who has twice failed to win undisputed gold in the UFC, outpointed Fiziev at UFC 286 in London on 18 March, moving himself a step closer to a third title shot.

However, many in the sport feel that McGregor will receive a title fight if he beats Chandler, a scenario that could lead Gaethje to leave the UFC, per the American.

Would I quit if Conor won and they gave him a title shot? Probably, Gaethje told ESPN this week. Thats how hurt I would be by the actions of the company I represent, but thats out of my control. I just really hope that doesnt happen. We can imagine a lot of things, but theres a possibility that thats the scenario, which I would be devastated [by] for sure.

McGregor has since responded, writing in a now-deleted tweet on Thursday (30 March): This braindead fool got a title shot off of one single win and it was vs chandler. Yet he will quit and retire if I get the same thing.

Classic [gaethje] bird brain. #Jacka** Two Title attempts. No wins.

Gaethje became interim UFC lightweight champion in 2020, but he failed to unify the titles with then-official champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later that year. Gaethje, 34, was submitted by Khabib but bounced with a points win over Chandler in 2021. His next fight was a title shot against Charles Oliveira last May, and again he lost via submission.

Meanwhile, McGregor has not fought since July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg in his second straight loss to Dustin Poirier.

The Irishman is a former dual-weight UFC champion, having held the featherweight and lightweight belts simultaneously in 2016. The 34-year-old has also fought at welterweight three times in the UFC, and the weight class for his bout with Chandler is as yet unknown  as are the date and location.
Woman looking at meat in counter

Consumers may in the past have been at risk from contaminated meat, the UK's food watchdog has admitted.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is investigating allegations a rogue meat supplier falsely labelled foreign pork as British, and mixed rotting pork with fresh products for processing.

Farmers Weekly, which first reported the story, also claimed e-coli and listeria paperwork was falsified.

The FSA said there were no "current concerns" about meat on the market.

But its chief executive Emily Miles told the BBC's Today programme it was "possible" people had been at risk from contaminated meat in the past.

The FSA started its initial investigation about mislabelling of products in August 2021 and seized more than six million documents, which it said are now being gone through.

"The food safety allegations have been much more recent and we're following those up. We went to the premises last week and made three arrests and seized millions more documents," Ms Miles said.

She said it fell to local authorities to regulate meat processors and that the FSA was the "last line of defence for particularly serious allegations".

"What's meant to happen is that retailers and manufacturers, who are responsible for ensuring food is safe, have to be vigilant and do their own audits and sampling.

"The FSA is not on the ground the whole time at all, in fact we act on intelligence. As soon as we got intelligence, we acted," Ms Miles said.

However, the FSA chief said her department only had 27 staff running "about eight live investigations".

"We can only go as fast as we can with that resource. For this particular investigation, we were reviewing six million documents, we've now added a lot more."

Farmers Weekly, which said multiple sources had said it was common to mix rotting pork with fresh goods for further processing, also reported claims that meat was "sometimes thawed out on the factory floor".

Deputy editor Abi Kay told Today: "Most concerningly, two employees said the paperwork which would pick up bacteria like listeria and e-coli, was falsified.

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"That is no joke, listeria and e-coli can kill people."

Ms Kay also explained how the alleged fraud worked by buying a "relatively small volume of British meat" from an approved supplier.

"Then they would use the traceability information from this delivery for all the products it made in that week with the majority coming in from elsewhere in the world.

"One source even said they were 100% confident that all the retailers the company it supplied had been victims of country-of-origin fraud."

Farmers Weekly believed this was not a one-off and claimed to have evidence this went much further than the one business currently under investigation and raised questions about the audit process.

"In this factory when the auditors visited, they would show up unannounced, but they had a certain amount of time between signing in to the premises and being allowed onto the factory floor.

"In that short space of time a text message would go out and all the staff would move any suspect products onto lorries, the loading bay or a trolley and push it round one side of the factory while auditors and management were on the other.

"That is how ridiculous this is," she added.

Ms Miles admitted the FSA needed to look at the audit process and whether it could be "tightened up".

President of the National Farmers' Union Minette Batters said the allegations were "absolutely deplorable".

"Consumers and farmers need to know the whole system is honest and that when something says it is British, it genuinely is."

Ms Batters said the FSA needed more resources: "We are going to have a lot more imports coming into this country, we're a very big marketplace with nearly 70 million people.

"Nothing matters more than making sure the food on our plates is safe."

The BBC has approached the government for comment.
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)

Former President Donald Trumps historic indictment by a New York grand jury was a flashpoint in Chicagos last mayoral debate as Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas clashed over the criminal case.

In response to a question from WBEZ host Sasha-Ann Simons at the last scheduled debate between the candidates Thursday, Johnson immediately used the grand jury decision against Trump to attack Vallas for his connections to Republicans.

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Saying the Trump administration was one of the most corrupt in history, Johnson immediately pivoted to say Trumps education secretary, Betsy DeVos, has inserted herself and her resources into my opponents coffers.

DeVos has not donated directly to Vallas. But an advocacy organization she founded, American Federation for Children, has channeled money into a super PAC called Illinois Federation for Children. That group has spent roughly $60,000 on digital media supporting Vallas. DeVos has not led the group since 2016, but she and her husband continue to contribute to it.

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Ive never had any conversations or contact with Betsy DeVos, and our campaign has not received any money from her, Vallas said. He added his oft-repeated line that hes a lifelong Democrat and that Johnson is still a paid lobbyist for the Chicago Teachers Union  an organization Vallas later said has a stranglehold over Chicago Public Schools  and that a majority of Johnsons campaign funds have come from the union and its affiliates.

Through Monday, roughly $5.4 million, or 55%, of Johnsons donations since kicking off his mayoral campaign have come from funds affiliated with teachers unions. Vallas incorrectly estimated it was 80 or 90%.

Vallas separately released a statement Thursday supportive of the Trump indictment, saying the former president repeatedly and shamelessly violated the rules and norms that govern the Office of the President, cheapening the most widely respected elected position in the world and demeaning our democracy. He must be held accountable.

Later, Vallas said he would also keep the citys current public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady. Johnson said we have different views of public health, and so no, she will not stay on in my administration.

The rivals otherwise broke little new ground during the hourlong debate. Vallas, a former CPS CEO, promised to hire police officers and accused Johnson of wanting to defund the police department. Johnson, a Cook County commissioner, said he will not defund the police but would also invest in programs that benefit people.

Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas greets Chicago police officers in Wrigleyville before the Cubs opening day on March 30, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune)

Mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson dances on stage with Lisa Alexander after speaking during a steppers' party in the West Pullman neighborhood on March 29, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Asked what qualities theyll seek in the next Chicago Police Department superintendent, Johnson said his desire is to make sure they come from the rank and file ... (someone) who actually knows what its like to be a police officer in the city of Chicago. It also has to be someone who is prepared to administer constitutional policing. We have a consent decree, of which my public safety plan spends $50 million to implement. Johnson repeated that he would want his superintendent to be compassionate, collaborative and competent, and ready to work with our district council members and community groups.

Vallas said he would prioritize selecting a deputy mayor for public safety who is drawn from the consent decree community and he has already talked with three or four people who have been involved and been engaged who would occupy that spot.

He said he wanted to promote officers from within who have credibility with the community.

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I would promote, as interim superintendent, someone from the ranks, Vallas said.

A North Side listener asked how each candidate would work with the CTU, given how work stoppages and strikes (have interrupted) my education. Vallas noted that he had never, ever had a strike while leading school districts and negotiated with teachers unions in four different cities. Despite Johnsons close ties with the teachers union, he repeated that he would be the mayor for every single resident in the city of Chicago and he had a fiduciary duty to be responsible for the interests of all taxpayers.

The bottom line is that you need someone who actually has the lived experience of having children who attend CPS, Johnson said.

Vallas said hed negotiated with 26 different unions in my lifetime without ever having a work stoppage.

Paul, you left out something about all those so-called accomplishments: you got fired. Everywhere youve gone, youve gotten fired, Johnson replied, also blaming Vallas for pension shortfalls that have led to rising property taxes.

Asked when he last rode the CTA, Vallas replied that he had that day, to the Cubs game. While he isnt a regular rider, he said he has more frequently to talk to CTA workers. Their overriding concern right now is public safety, because the ridership is significantly down, and it is the reason why theyre losing members left and right and its the reason why they cant fill vacancies.

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Pressed on how he would address service efficiency and staffing, Vallas again said people dont want to work for the CTA because of fear of crime.

Johnson says he usually rides three or four times a month to county board meetings.

Vallas said his plan to address food deserts would include supporting local pantries, promoting an urban agricultural economy in Chicago and letting schools partner with local restaurants to provide meals for students, rather than the Aramarks and Sodexos, both private companies that have had food service contracts with CPS. Johnson said he would invest in local community gardens and urban farms.

Simons also asked both candidates how they would address their respective blind spots. Johnson said he was already hyper-critical of myself. Im also a middle child, which probably explains a lot to people, and was raised by a father who rarely took sick days.

Vallas said his blind spot is really the fact that theres a lot that I dont know, but I think my great strength is knowing what I dont know and going out and finding people who know what I dont know, and then bringing them in and empowering them to make decisions.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen began a visit to Guatemala and Belize on Friday to shore up ties with dwindling allies following a trip to the United States that angered China.

Tsai's visit to the Central American neighbors comes after Honduras became the latest country to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing.

The president had stopped in New York on the way, with announced plans to meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

Washington had said there was no reason for China to "overreact" to the "normal, uneventful" trip, while Beijing warned the United States was "playing with fire."

Tsai is due to arrive in Guatemala on Friday afternoon, where she is expected to hold talks with her counterpart Alejandro Giammattei and witness the signing of a cooperation agreement, according to her program.

On Sunday, she travels to Belize, where she is scheduled to meet Prime Minister John Briceno on Monday before departing the next day.

On her way back to Taiwan, Tsai plans to stop in Los Angeles, where McCarthy has said he will meet her.

Earlier this month, Honduras, a neighbor of Guatemala, cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognized China.

The switch reduced the number of number of countries that diplomatically recognize Taiwan to 13.

Paraguay could follow next, with presidential elections due in April and opposition candidate Efrain Alegre having vowed to reevaluate ties with Taiwan.

That would leave only Guatemala, Belize, Haiti, the Holy See, Eswatini and seven small Caribbean and Pacific island nations diplomatically allied to Taiwan.

China considers the self-ruled, democratic island as part of its territory to be retaken one day.

Under its "One China" policy, it does not allow countries to officially recognize both Beijing and Taipei.

Latin America has been a key diplomatic battleground since Taiwan and China separated in 1949, following a civil war when the communists seized power in China, while the nationalists retreated to Taiwan.

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In recent years, Nicaragua shifted allegiance to Beijing in 2021, El Salvador in 2018, Panama in 2017 and Costa Rica in 2007.

The United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but maintains "a robust unofficial relationship", according to the State Department.

It is Taiwan's most significant ally and largest weapons supplier, despite having switched recognition to Beijing in 1979.

After Honduras' move, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington offered its "support to people on Taiwan" but that it also stood by its "One-China" policy.

"Countries have to make their own sovereign decisions about their foreign policies," he said. "We leave that to them."

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Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in Guatemala Friday on a visit to shore up ties with dwindling allies following a trip to the United States that angered China.

Tsai's visit to Guatemala and its Central American neighbor Belize comes after Honduras became the latest country to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing.

The president had stopped in New York on the way, and has announced plans to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California on her return leg.

Washington has said there is no reason for China to "overreact" to the "normal, uneventful" trip, but Beijing warned the United States was "playing with fire."

Tsai arrived in Guatemala on Friday afternoon, where she was received with military honors and met by Foreign Minister Mario Bucaro.

She held a brief meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, whose government has declared Taiwan "the only and true China," before the two staged a joint press conference reaffirming their bond.

"The ties between Guatemala and Taiwan are unbreakable," Giammattei said.

"We promote resolving disputes by dialogue and negotiation, and work together to satisfy people's desire for freedom, prosperity, development, and territorial integrity," he added.

"For Guatemala, this visit is very significant to renew and reaffirm the full support to the government of Taiwan, reiterating the recognition of Taiwan as an independent nation and as the only true China," Giammattei said.

Tsai called Guatemala "a solid diplomatic ally of Taiwan" in a speech.

"In recent years we have continued to consolidate our cooperation in the areas of health, economy, trade and basic infrastructure," she said.

She also thanked Giammattei for his support last year when China was carrying out military maneuvers against the island.

On Saturday Tsai will visit the majestic Mayan ruins of Tikal in the north of the country, and on Sunday she will head to the new Chimaltenango hospital in the west, built with a $22 million donation from Taipei.

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Then she will travel to Belize, where she is scheduled to meet Prime Minister John Briceno on Monday before departing the next day.

On her way back to Taiwan, Tsai plans to stop in Los Angeles, where McCarthy has said he will meet her.

- Dwindling recognition -

Honduras, a neighbor of Guatemala, cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March and recognized China.

The switch reduced the number of countries that diplomatically recognize Taiwan to 13.

Paraguay could follow next, with presidential elections due in April and opposition candidate Efrain Alegre having vowed to reevaluate ties with Taiwan.

That would leave only Guatemala, Belize, Haiti, the Holy See, Eswatini and seven small Caribbean and Pacific island nations diplomatically allied to Taiwan.

China considers the self-ruled, democratic island as part of its territory to be retaken one day.

Under its "One China" policy, it does not allow countries to officially recognize both Beijing and Taipei.

Latin America has been a key diplomatic battleground since Taiwan and China separated in 1949, following a civil war when the communists seized power in China while the nationalists retreated to Taiwan.

Nicaragua shifted allegiance to Beijing in 2021, El Salvador in 2018, Panama in 2017 and Costa Rica in 2007.

The United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but maintains "a robust unofficial relationship", according to the State Department.

It is Taiwan's most significant ally and largest weapons supplier, despite having switched recognition to Beijing in 1979.

After Honduras' move, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington offered its "support to people on Taiwan" but also stood by its "One China" policy.

"Countries have to make their own sovereign decisions about their foreign policies," he said. "We leave that to them."

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Sen. Beverly Gossage, R-Eudora, explains her vote during the Senate session Wednesday afternoon.

Senate Republicans passed a pair of anti-vaccine bills and a third one targeting governmental public health authority on Wednesday, though none of the measures had enough support to overcome a likely gubernatorial veto.

One bill, Senate Substitute for House Bill 2390, included provisions of Senate Bill 6, which previously passed the Senate but was never taken up by the House. The bill saw no new debate on the Senate floor this time around, but did see brief political drama over a failed attempt to revert the bill back to the original House plan to tackle fentanyl.

"Rather than looking at the pandemic of the past, we need to focus our collective attention on the plague affecting our future and support efforts to reduce the impact of counterfeit drugs laced with fentanyl poisoning our people," said Sen. Kristen O'Shea, R-Topeka.

That bill would strip the Kansas Department of Health and Environment secretary of the authority to designate infectious or contagious diseases through rules and regulations. Instead, the KDHE would send a report with recommendations to the Legislature.

The KDHE would also lose the power to quarantine or require testing of people afflicted with or exposed to contagious diseases while also losing its legal mandate to "use all known measures" to prevent the spread of certain infectious diseases, including smallpox.

Likewise, county boards of health and local health officers would lose their quarantine order powers, as well as the power to limit public gatherings to control disease spread.

More: Kansas passes 10K COVID-19 deaths as bill aims to strip public health officers of authority

The Senate passed HB 2390 23-16. Senate Bill 314, a bill preempting addition of the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required child wellness vaccines, passed 24-16. Senate Bill 315, a wide-ranging anti-vaccine bill, passed 22-18.

Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the chamber, would need 27 votes to override a veto. Before the bills would go to the governor, they must first pass the House.

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Heather Braum, a health policy adviser for Kansas Action for Children, said the Legislature is "trying to dismantle public health policy."

"Continuing down this path will kill Kansas kids, and the House must reject these dangerous policies," Braum said.

O'Shea voted against SB 315 after previously calling for security due to a perceived threat from an anti-vaccine advocate when the bill had its committee hearing.

"Vaccines, particularly for children, are essential to protect them from raging fever, blistering sores, paralysis and death," O'Shea said.

She likened her support for childhood vaccination to her opposition to abortion.

"I oppose efforts by those who would wipe out innocent life through abortion, and I stand opposed to those who would allow innocent children to suffer and possibly die when these life-saving vaccines have been safely used for decades and remain available," O'Shea said. "Real conservative Republicans stand up to protect children and protect life at all times."

More: Kansas could redefine 'abortion' in state law. What would that mean?

Meningitis vaccination requirement repealed

One piece of SB 315 would repeal a state law mandating the meningitis vaccine for college students living in on-campus housing.

"Meningitis is a very, very deadly and fast-moving disease," said Sen. Pat Pettey, D-Kansas City and the top Democrat on the public health committee. "A young person can contract it one day and be deathly ill and potentially lose  all four of his limbs in a short period of time."

Gossage said a university could conceivably impose their own requirement.

"I would of course vaccinate my child against meningitis," said Sen. Beverly Gossage, R-Eudora and the chair of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee. "I totally agree that this is a very scary disease. But this is America. We want to be educated. We want to hear recommendations from those in the medical community and then we want to make those decisions."

More: Anti-vaccine politics return to Kansas Legislature. This time, it's more than COVID-19.

Kansas bill no longer weakens employer vaccine mandates

Senators amended SB 315 to abandon an attempt to expand existing guarantees of religious exemptions to employer-imposed COVID-19 vaccination requirements to also apply to any other vaccination. That law was passed by the Legislature during a November 2021 special session and signed into law by Gov. Laura Kelly.

Under current law, employers with COVID-19 vaccine mandates are required to offer religious exemptions that include nonreligious beliefs. They are also be banned from inquiring into the sincerity of the belief. Employees could complain to the Kansas Department of Labor, with violation orders enforced by the attorney general's office and court orders for civil penalties.

The original version of the bill would have extended that to any vaccination required by an employer. The Kansas Chamber opposed that proposal.

Religious exemption definition in Kansas bill includes nonreligious beliefs

The bill expands the definition of religious exemptions for child wellness vaccines to attend school and child care.

The new definition, modeled after the special session law, would allow nonreligious beliefs to count for the religious exemption. It likewise would bar schools and child care from inquiring into the sincerity of the belief.

Gossage said some employers had required additional information to get religious exemptions, and has gotten hundreds of emails wanting to expand that protection to children.

"I had an employer that was in the vicinity of my district," she said, "that was asking your pastor's name, the name of your church, how long you've gone there, contact for the pastor, where in the Bible, what scripture says that you must have this religious exemption, how long have you attended this church, do you pay tithe, do you give to this church."

The KDHE testified that it already does not inquire into the sincerity of exemption requests.

"This policy also insults my faith," Pettey said. "Being religious and having a belief does not make such a belief a religious one, and we shouldn't relegate otherwise just because it's politically expedient."

Pettey asked Gossage what faith leaders have supported the bill.

"I don't recall any religious beliefs coming forward to say that we support this bill," Gossage replied.

"Well in fact there are no religious groups that are supportive of this," Pettey said. "The Catholic Church and other mainline religions are in full support of vaccination requirements."

Sen. Renee Erickson, R-Wichita, said that doesn't account for nondenominational churches.

"As someone who has been a lifelong member of a nondenominational church, I would just like to point out no one has a right to question or challenge my individual religious beliefs, whether that relates to vaccination requirements or anything else," she said.

More: Topeka senator calls for security as frustrations flare at Kansas anti-vaccine hearing

Kansas bill preempts COVID vaccine mandate for children

Sen. Chase Blasi, R-Wichita, looks over the Senate Calender during session Wednesday at the Statehouse.

Senate Bill 314 would block the KDHE secretary from adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations to attend school or child care. The KDHE currently has the authority to establish required wellness vaccines. The agency's leadership has repeatedly promised that it has no intention of mandating the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We have asked twice in our committee if the secretary plans to mandate the COVID vaccine for children and we're told, 'Oh no, we have no intention to do that,'" Gossage said. "This just codifies that we're putting it in writing that the secretary cannot do that, whether the child's at a child care facility or in school."

Sen. Chase Blasi, R-Wichita, introduced the bill.

"I brought this bill forward because the CDC has recommended they add this to the list," Blasi said. "I've heard from a lot of parents who were very upset by that."

Pettey said the decision should be up to the experts.

"It is not driven by the CDC. It is driven by what decision is the best fit for the state of Kansas," she said. "This bill is just another opportunity to restrict the ability and the responsibility of the secretary of health and environment when it comes to health and safety in Kansas. It is unnecessary, there is no indication that COVID-19 has ever been brought up for discussion.

"We as Kansans have the ability to make the decision as to whether we want that shot  and the same thing for our children, as the efficacy has proven that it is safe."

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Senate Republicans pass anti-vaccine bills
Here's a look at how three cases were resolved March 28-30 at the Ocala courthouse.

State v. William Corbin Gervase Bright

Plea: No contest.

Charges: Attempted trafficking in oxycodone and conspiracy to introduce contraband into state correctional institution.

Sentence: 180 days in the Marion County Jail and two years of probation, all to run concurrently. He has credit for three days already served at the jail.

Book controversy: Residents pack Marion County School Board meeting to share concerns

Life in prison: Man found guilty of shooting a man inside his home

Probation conditions: Must complete random drug screening at own expense.

About the case: Bright was a corrections officer at Lowell Correctional Institution, a women's state prison in Marion County. Members of the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team arrested Bright, 28, of Ocala, and Kwanzara Angel Fort in 2019 on suspicion of plotting to bring oxycodone pills into the prison. Fort has been sentenced and is scheduled to be released from prison next month, according to records.

State v. Nathan A. Lewis

Plea: No contest.

Charges: Travel to meet a minor after use of computer to lure child. A charge of unlawful use of two-way communications device to facilitate was dropped by prosecutors.

Sentence: 30 months in prison, 30 months of probation, with credit for two days already spent behind bars.

Probation conditions: He must register as a sexual offender and have no contact with anyone younger than 18.

About the case: The 29-year-old Ocala man was taken into custody by law enforcement officials last year in a sting operation entitled "April Fools," where authorities pretended to be juveniles. Several adults were later arrested and accused of trying to meet the minors for sexual encounters.

State v. Dennis Rutherford

Plea: No contest.

Charges: 19 counts of possession of child pornography

Sentence: 72.9 months in prison and 15 years of probation. He has credit for two days already spent behind bars.

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Probation conditions: No access to the internet and must register as a sexual offender

About the case: Sheriff's detectives arrested the 66-year-old Ocala man in 2019 and accused him of having child pornography in his possession.

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: In court: Three cases resolved at the Marion County Judicial Center
By Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) - Crime rates have plunged in Ukraine since the Russian invasion, largely due to a police crackdown on criminal gangs in the early days of the war, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

Klymenko told Reuters that crime cases had dropped by up to 50% for some kinds of offences in the 13 months since Russia's full-scale invasion, although police have also recorded tens of thousands of war crime allegations against Russian troops.

"The situation with crime is completely under control in our country today," Klymenko said in an interview in the capital Kiev on Thursday, without saying which crimes had fallen most and how serious crimes such as murder were affected.

"This is due to the rather serious work that we carried out from the very first day of the war. We took all organised groups under our control on February 24 (2022). It made it possible to take complete control of the street and street crime in the first days of the war."

He gave no further details of the measures taken.

As Russian forces headed towards Kyiv at the start of the war, the government urged Ukrainians to take up arms and distributed thousands of rifles and shotguns to civilian defence forces in the capital and other cities.

More than a year later, all these weapons are accounted for, as are other weapons that Ukrainians already had in their possession, Klymenko said.

But he said police were facing attempts by criminals to defraud people fleeing frontline areas who are particularly vulnerable as they are desperate to find new housing.

Klymenko said education campaigns had been launched to help protect such people and Ukraine is sharing information with other national police forces to help protect Ukrainians who have fled abroad.

WAR CRIME ALLEGATIONS

Klymenko, 50, took over as acting minister in January after his predecessor was killed in a helicopter crash, and was confirmed in the role the following month. Before that, he had been national police chief since September 2019.

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Klymenko said police move into areas as they are recaptured from Russian forces - such as Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson in the south - to protect residents from criminals.

"We deal with criminals who still remain in de-occupied territories in Kharkiv region and Kherson region, where we want to help people feel as safe as possible after the Russian occupying forces were expelled from these areas," he said.

Klymenko said law enforcement agencies were investigating alleged collaborators and aiming to "clear them out". He said the number of collaborators in the Interior Ministry forces had been less than 1% of employees.

Police have also had a prominent role in registering alleged war crimes committed in areas occupied by Russian forces, and Ukraine has also launched a crackdown on corruption.

Klymenko said about 70,000 alleged war crimes had been documented by the national police so far but gave no details of the allegations. Russia denies its troops have committed atrocities.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Angus MacSwan)
King County voters will decide whether to fund a network of behavioral health crisis care centers in April. Pierce County is watching the outcome with interest since access to behavioral health care is a significant issue impacting the region.

There are many reasons to embrace crisis care centers. We all know people who have experienced behavioral health emergencies. However, Washingtons entire behavioral health system is in crisis. Narrowly focusing on crisis centers may lead to more crises.

In King County, lawmakers have explained that crisis centers will provide a safe place specifically designed, equipped and staffed for behavioral health urgent care. These Centers will provide immediate mental health and substance use treatment and promote long-term recovery.

If crisis centers receive the most resources, they will be the most robust element of the system. Outpatient clinics providing earlier intervention and prevention services are under-resourced, understaffed and have waitlists for both new and established patients. Excessive waiting for care can precipitate emergencies.

Crisis care centers will accept anyone, with or without insurance. Many behavioral health clinics have insurance restrictions on who they can serve, with some providers having only limited funds to serve uninsured people. Such restrictions will funnel the uninsured to crisis centers.

Due to limited resources, crisis care centers must screen and triage referrals. If people experiencing symptoms related to mental illness or substance use dont meet admission criteria for a crisis center or a hospital, what then? If under-resourced outpatient clinics remain understaffed or close, these individuals will be forced to wait for treatment. Their symptoms may worsen, precipitating preventable crises.

The King County levy touts the use of peer counselors in crisis centers. Peers with lived experience are valuable, though should not be the primary providers of care. Peers often have the lowest wages and, in some for-profit models, make up the bulk of personnel providing patient care. Many people experiencing behavioral health emergencies are very ill and vulnerable. If these people receive insufficient services, their mental health is more likely to rapidly deteriorate, increasing the likelihood of returning to these centers. If these crisis centers are operated by for-profit organizations, readmissions will increase their revenue. We have already witnessed this pattern in several for-profit psychiatric hospitals where patients experienced harm. Patients and their families deserve better.

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Outpatient clinics with robust funding for personnel, technology and other resources, along with adequate reimbursement  things that never happened after the original deinstitutionalization movement of the 1960s  will help people access care, and offer preventative care and early intervention at the first signs of behavioral health challenges. These efforts will decrease behavioral health emergencies.

Ultimately, supporting peoples basic needs will prevent behavioral health crises. Living wages, affordable housing, access to food, universal health care coverage, employment opportunities, education and training, and building social connections will reduce psychological burdens and promote wellness.

Crisis care centers are only one step in improving Washingtons battered behavioral health care system.

More needs to be done to improve the mental health of our friends, family and neighbors.

Dimitry Davydow, MD, MPH is a psychiatrist and is Chief Medical Officer of Comprehensive Life Resources, a community mental health organization serving individuals in Pierce County.

Maria Yang, MD, works as a public health psychiatrist in King County who serves people who are experiencing homelessness.
Mike Dunne has spent 50 years tasting his way through greater Sacramentos wineries. Retired and bored during the pandemic, he decided to write a book to it.

The Signature Wines of Superior California is Dunnes 348-page, self-published paperback guide to the regions essential wines, wineries and wine regions.

Encompassing Lodi, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the Sierra Nevada foothills and Yolo Countys Dunnigan Hills, it not only tells readers what to drink but paints a picture of the scene surrounding Californias capital. Dunne identifies the regions 50 essential wines and tells the story of each, from a unique white in Loomis to Shiraz grown along the Mokelumne River.

Longtime readers of The Bees Food & Drink section should recognize Dunnes name. He was The Bees restaurant critic, wine columnist and food editor from 1978 up until his retirement in 2008, and previously covered Ground Zero of the foothills wine scene for the Amador Dispatch (now the Ledger Dispatch).

Mike Dunne, former dining and wine critic for The Sacramento Bee, has published The Signature Wines of Superior California a 348-page guide to the regions wines, wineries and wine regions.

The greater Sacramento wine scene gets a fraction of the attention lavished on the North Bay Area, but it has gems throughout and tends to be less expensive than those counties. The Signature Wines of Superior California gives these historic wineries their due, dedicating ample ink to unsung grapes such as Chenin blanc and zinfandel.

With wine publications, their ... focus is mainly on Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, Santa Barbera when it comes to California wines, Dunne said in a phone interview. Therell be a chapter near the end thatll be shorter than the others, thatll be about the Sierra foothills, thatll be about Lodi. I just hope my book brings more attention to these areas.

Each chapter is full of recommendations  if youre around Placerville, try these 10 wineries, Dunne says  as well as history lessons and explainers on grape trends old and new. Its a contemporary guide and includes newer wineries such as Markus Wine Co. outside of Lodi, but Dunnes half-century of beat knowledge is really what makes this book stand out.

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The Signature Wines of Superior California retails for $24.95 and is available at local bookstores such as Time Tested Books, Capital Books and Avid Reader, or in print or e-reader version on Amazon. You can also snag a copy while picking up wine from Ro Sham Beaux, Corti Bros. (owner Darrell Corti wrote the intro) or a broad list of area wineries detailed on Dunnes website.

The author will host a book signing Sunday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Yorba Wines tasting room in Sutter Creek.

What Im Eating

Junos Kitchen & Delicatessen makes a great kale Caesar salad.

Junos Kitchen & Delicatessen is as cute as to-go restaurants get. Mark Helms and Susan Vasques bake sourdough daily in the couples 12-year-old sandwich shop named after their bull terrier/pit bull mix, whose grinning face shines down in 4-by-6 family photos hung around the 1,000-square-foot space.

Its a beloved East Sacramento hole-in-the-wall, and one of the best sandwich spots anywhere in the city. Helms, the founding chef/owner of now-closed Ravenous Cafe in Greenhaven, has a knack for thinking creatively and melding flavors together wonderfully.

Junos has all the pastramis and salamis of a traditional deli (Vasques even gave my parents yappy dogs a few slices of the latter), but great meatless sandwiches as well. As an omnivore, Id happily order the vegan sandwich ($14.50) again.

Instead of trying to create a meat substitute, Helms let sliced portobello mushrooms shine with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, a white truffle spread and a balsamic reduction.

The panko-encrusted eggplant sandwich ($14) had some of the same vegetables, plus Manchego cheese and zingy basil aioli. Each sandwich order comes with the choice of herby roasted potato rings vs. a mixed green salad.

Junos has pan dishes, too, such as a rich chicken pasta ($18) that paired translucent tagliatelle from San Francisco-based Dolce Italia Foods with bacon, button mushrooms and arugula. Adding anchovies to Caesar salads is always a matter of debate; Junos bright kale Caesar ($12.75, plus another $3.50 for grilled chicken or $6 for shrimp) removes that choice by mixing anchovy paste into the vinaigrette.

Junos Kitchen & Delicatessen

Address: 3675 J St., Sacramento.





Hours: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday or until sold out.

Phone number: (916) 456-4522.

Website: https://junoskitchen.com

Drinks: Sodas and sparkling water.

Animal-free options: Several sandwiches.

Noise level: Moderate when ordering; no seating indoors.

Openings & Closings

French-inspired cafe and patisserie Cafe 33 just opened in Arden Arcade at 1840 Fulton Ave. Look for croissants, cookies, cakes and other treats in addition to Peets Coffee and savory items such as turkey sandwiches.





Dog Haus Biergarten bounded into Roseville last Friday, opening at 1501 Blue Oaks Blvd. The spruced-up hot dog chain and beer bar first opened in Pasadena in 2010; this is its first Sacramento-area location.

Nekter Juice Bar will hold its Elk Grove stores grand opening Saturday at 7450 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 120. Its the sixth area location for the smoothie and acai bowl chain.

Sign up for our free weekly Food & Drink Newsletter

Whether it's the newest restaurant in town or the hottest brewery to check out, our free, weekly Food and Drink newsletter will make sure you're the first to know about the next big thing in the Sacramento region. Sign up here!

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A father had likely ran out of gas on a Michigan highway before he was hit and killed as his two young children were nearby, police say.

Michigan State Police troopers said they were called to the fatal crash on US-131 in Grand Rapids shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday, March 30.

Investigators found a 49-year-old Grand Rapids man who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a thread of tweets from Michigan State Police Sixth District.

It is believed that he ran out of gas and exited his vehicle with his 5- and 7-year-old children, authorities said. He walked them to the median and attempted to go back to the vehicle when he was struck.

An investigation is ongoing.

This is a sorrowful reminder that if your vehicle becomes disabled on the freeway, please stay inside your vehicle until help arrives, police said.

Driver tries to help woman they hit with car, TN cops say. Then shes run over again

6-year-old dies days after crash with driver fleeing cops kills his mom, CA police say

Four men killed changing flat tire when tractor-trailer hits them, Tennessee cops say
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)  A monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest on Friday, spawning deadly weather including tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers in Arkansas, collapsed a theater roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois and made a fatal sweep into rural Indiana.

The storm caused three deaths in Sullivan County, Indiana, Emergency Management Director Jim Pirtle said in an email to The Associated Press early Saturday. The storm damaged homes and some residents were missing in the county seat of Sullivan, located near the Illinois state line about 95 miles (152 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis.

At least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, in the Little Rock area, authorities said. The town of Wynne in northeastern Arkansas was also devastated, and officials reported two dead there, along with destroyed homes and people trapped in the debris.

Authorities said a theater roof collapsed during a tornado in Belvidere, Illinois, killing one person and injuring 28, five of them severely. The Belvidere Police Department said the collapse occurred as a heavy storm rolled through the area and that calls began coming from the theater at 7:48 p.m. It said that an initial assessment was that a tornado had caused the damage.

The collapse occurred at the Apollo Theatre during a heavy metal concert in the town located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. The venue's Facebook page said the bands scheduled to perform were Morbid Angel, Crypta, Skeletal Remains and Revocation.

Belvidere Fire Department Chief Shawn Schadle said 260 people were in the venue. He said first responders also rescued someone from an elevator and had to grapple with downed power lines outside the theater.

Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody described the scene after the collapse as chaos, absolute chaos.

Gabrielle Lewellyn had just entered the theater when a portion of the ceiling collapsed.

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I was there within a minute before it came down, she told WTVO-TV. The winds, when I was walking up to the building, it went like from zero to a thousand within five seconds.

Some people rushed to lift the collapsed portion of the ceiling and pull people out of the rubble, said Lewellyn, who wasnt hurt.

They dragged someone out from the rubble and I sat with him and I held his hand and I was (telling him) Its going to be OK. I didnt really know much else what to do.

There were more confirmed twisters in Iowa and wind-whipped grass fires blazed in Oklahoma, as the storm system threatened a broad swath of the country home to some 85 million people.

The destructive weather came as President Joe Biden toured the aftermath of a deadly tornado that struck in Mississippi one week ago and promised the government would help the area recover.

The Little Rock tornado tore first through neighborhoods in the western part of the city and shredded a small shopping center that included a Kroger grocery store. It then crossed the Arkansas River into North Little Rock and surrounding cities, where widespread damage was reported to homes, businesses and vehicles.

In the evening, officials in Pulaski County announced a confirmed fatality in North Little Rock but did not immediately give details.

Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock officials told KATV in the afternoon that 21 people had checked in there with tornado-caused injuries, including five in critical condition.

Mayor Frank Scott Jr., who announced that he was requesting assistance from the National Guard, tweeted in the evening that property damage was extensive and we are still responding.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders activated 100 members of the Arkansas National Guard to help local authorities respond to the damage throughout the state.

In Little Rock, resident Niki Scott took cover in the bathroom after her husband called to say a tornado was headed her way. She could hear glass shattering as the tornado roared past, and emerged afterward to find that her house was one of the few on her street that didnt have a tree fall on it.

Its just like everyone says. It got really quiet, then it got really loud, Scott said afterward, as chainsaws roared and sirens blared in the area.

At Clinton National Airport, passengers and workers sheltered temporarily in bathrooms.

Praying for all those who were and remain in the path of this storm, Sanders, who declared a state of emergency, said on Twitter.

About 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, the small city of Wynne, Arkansas, saw widespread tornado damage, Sanders confirmed.

St. Francis County Coroner Miles J. Kimble told the AP by phone Friday night that he was assisting the Cross County coroner in Wynne and that two people died there in the tornado.

The governor at a briefing with Little Rock officials Friday night said it was possible the number of deaths could rise.

City Councilmember Lisa Powell Carter told AP that the town Wynne was without power and roads were full of debris.

Im in a panic trying to get home, but we cant get home, she said. Wynne is so demolished. ... Theres houses destroyed, trees down on streets.

The unrelenting tornadoes continued spawning and touching down in the area into the night.

The police department in Covington, Tennessee, said on Facebook that the west Tennessee city was impassable after power lines and trees fell on roads when the storm passed through Friday evening. Authorities in Tipton County, north of Memphis, said a tornado appeared to have touched down near the middle school in Covington and in other locations in the rural county.

Tipton County Sheriff Shannon Beasley said on Facebook that homes and structures were severely damaged.

Tornadoes moved through parts of eastern Iowa, with sporadic damage.

One tornado veered just west of Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa. Video from KCRG-TV showed toppled power poles and roofs ripped off an apartment building in the suburb of Coralville and significantly damaged homes in the city of Hills.

Nearly 90,000 customers in Arkansas lost power, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks outages.

In neighboring Oklahoma, wind gusts of up to 60 mph (96 kph) fueled fast-moving grass fires. People were urged to evacuate homes in far northeast Oklahoma City, and troopers shut down portions of Interstate 35.

In Illinois, Ben Wagner, chief radar operator for the Woodford County Emergency Management Agency, said hail broke windows on cars and buildings in the area of Roanoke, northeast of Peoria. More than 109,000 customers had lost power in the state as of Friday night.

More outages were reported in Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Indiana and Texas.

Fire crews battled several blazes near El Dorado, Kansas, and some residents were asked to evacuate, including about 250 elementary school children who were relocated to a high school.

At Chicagos OHare International Airport, a traffic management program was put into effect that caused arriving planes to be delayed by nearly two hours on average, WFLD-TV reported.

The National Weather Services Storm Prediction Center had forecast an unusually large outbreak of thunderstorms with the potential to cause hail, damaging wind gusts and strong tornadoes that could move for long distances over the ground.

Such intense supercell thunderstorms  are only expected to become more common, especially in Southern states, as temperatures rise around the world.

The weather service is forecasting another batch of intense storms next Tuesday in the same general area as last week.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Tarm in Chicago, Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Harm Venhuizenin in Madison, Wisconsin, Isabella O'Malley in Philadelphia, Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Michael Goldberg in Jackson, Mississippi, and Trisha Ahmed in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
A line of severe thunderstorms made its way across Central Indiana late Friday and early Saturday morning, bringing strong winds, rain and tornado warnings.

Follow along here for the latest information.

Gov. Eric Holcomb declares disaster emergency in several Indiana counties

Gov. Eric Holcomb declared a disaster emergency in several Indiana counties after severe storms and tornados rolled across the Hoosier state March 31 into the next day. The counties included in the disaster emergency are Benton, Monroe, Owen, Morgan and White.

Holcomb issued the disaster emergency Tuesday. He previously issued a disaster emergency in Johnson and Sullivan counties due to impacts from the the severe weather.

Those in need of government services will be able to stop in at sites in Whiteland and Sullivan from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The sites will be at Sullivan City Hall and the Clark Pleasant School District Administration Building. State agencies offering assistance will include:

Bureau of Motor Vehicles

Department of Insurance

Department of Workforce Development

Family and Social Services Administration

Housing and Community Development Authority

Department of Health

Department of Homeland Security

5 counties including Morgan, Monroe, Benton, Owen, and White have been added to the state's disaster declaration request. To help those in need of government services, we are setting up one-stop sites in Whiteland and Sullivan which will operate 9 AM-7 PM TF and 10 AM-2 PM Sat. pic.twitter.com/IuoefRHmFf  Governor Eric Holcomb (@GovHolcomb) April 4, 2023

Scattered power outages as worst of storm clears Indianapolis

12:19 a.m.: The Marion County Emergency Management Service declares that the severe weather threat has passed for Indianapolis. The city and AES are working on downed trees and power lines as the utility reports 5,165 customers without power across Marion County.

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The severe weather threat is over for Marion County. Currently, there are over 5000 locations without power. Some trees and power lines are down around the county. @IndyDPW and @AESIndiana are working to clear these locations. Treat dark intersections as four way stops  Marion County Emergency Management - Indianapolis (@MarionCo_EM) April 1, 2023

11:54 p.m.: Gusts of 41 mph and light rain are reported at Indianapolis International Airport, down from gusts of 45 mph at 10:54 p.m. The temperature is 57 degrees, down from 68 an hour earlier.

Severe thunderstorm warning for Indy, Carmel, Fishers

11:26 p.m.: Sirens sound across Indianapolis as winds pick up. The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning until midnight for an area that includes Indianapolis, Carmel and Fishers. The warning will continue until 12:30 for Muncie, Anderson and Yorktown.

The severe thunderstorm warning expires at 11:45 for Avon and Plainfield, on the western side of the metro area.

"This storm will contain wind gusts to 70 MPH!" the agency tweeted.

Check the most recent weather alerts around the country here.

Tornado warning issued for Franklin, Shelbyville

11:26 p.m.: There's a tornado warning for Franklin, Shelbyville and New Whiteland until midnight.

Tornado warning issued for Morgan County

11:20 p.m.: The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning until 11:30 for an area south of Indianapolis including Martinsville and Morgantown.

"Strong rotation with debris signature located just north of Stinesville at 1105 PM EDT," the NWS's Indianapolis office tweeted.

Tornado indications at Indiana-Illinois border

10:20 p.m.: The National Weather Service urges residents of Sullivan County, which is south of Terre Haute on the Indiana-Illinois state line, to take shelter due to "strong indications" of a tornado just west of the county.

Latest line of rain and thunderstorms hits western Central Indiana

9:50 p.m.: "Areas of showers and thunderstorms are moving across western Central Indiana at this time," the National Weather Service in Indianapolis posted. "This line will progress across the area over the next few hours."

Tornado watch issued for parts of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan

8:01 p.m.: A tornado watch is in effect for Indianapolis and much of Indiana until 3 a.m., according to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. The watch stretches from South Bend to Evansville, with only eastern Indiana and the northwestern corner not included.

A tornado watch  which means weather conditions are ripe for tornadoes to form  was also issued for parts of Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan.

Marion County Emergency Management: 'Have a place in your home to shelter.'

7:25 p.m.: Marion County Emergency Management officials are urging Hoosiers in Central Indiana to stay mindful of the weather.

"Some weaker storms are making their way out of Marion County, however the next round is approaching from Illinois," the organization tweeted Friday night. "Multiple tornados in several states to our west and south west. Have a place identified in your home to shelter, a basement or interior room with no windows."

Severe storms from Illinois creeping into Indiana

6:35 p.m.: A line of severe storms is making its way from western Illinois into western Central Indiana and are expected to arrive by around 9 p.m. Friday, according to a Tweet by NWS Indianapolis. Meteorologists say showers, thunderstorms, strong winds, hail, and possible tornadoes are possible.

The current round of storms is making its way out of our area but the next round is approaching in a couple hours from Illinois. Stay weather aware and have a plan of action for this evening. #INwx pic.twitter.com/yuMTWXsjRI  NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) March 31, 2023

Rain and thunderstorms enter the Indianapolis area

4:25 p.m.: Rain and thunderstorms have entered the area, according to a tweet by NWS Indianapolis, which said residents can expect an increase in sustained wind speeds and gusts as the evening progresses.

Rain and Thunderstorms enter the area. We will see an increase in sustain wind speeds and gusts as the evening progresses. #INWX pic.twitter.com/4FjfaF5itO  NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) March 31, 2023

Federal forecasters issue first high-risk severe weather alert in 2 years

2:45 p.m.: Federal forecasters have issued their first high-risk severe weather alert in two years.

An outbreak of violent thunderstorms is forecast to impact more than a dozen states on Friday, with several tornadoes a near certainty.

About 89 million people in at least 15 states  from Texas to Alabama in the South all the way up north to Wisconsin and Michigan  are at risk from the "explosive" storms.

On Friday, two rare high-risk zones for severe weather were issued by the Storm Prediction Center, one centered near Memphis and the other on the border between Iowa and Illinois. It's the first time in more than two years the SPC has issued a high risk.

A tornado watch  which means weather conditions are ripe for tornadoes to form  was also issued for a large portion of the central U.S., all the way from Iowa to Arkansas.

Central Indiana upgraded to moderate risk for severe storms

12:45 p.m.: Central Indiana is now within the moderate risk for severe storms this evening, according to a tweet by NWS. Damaging winds are expected with the line of storms along with isolated tornadoes. Additional severe storms are possible ahead of the line.

Moderate risk means an area where widespread severe weather with several tornadoes and/or numerous severe thunderstorms is likely, some of which should be intense. This risk is usually reserved for days with several supercells producing intense tornadoes and/or very large hail, or an intense squall line with widespread damaging winds.

Central Indiana is now within the Moderate Risk for severe storms this evening. Damaging winds expected along a line of storms along with isolated tornadoes. Additional severe storms are possible ahead of the line. #INwx pic.twitter.com/xbhEii6vqG  NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) March 31, 2023

A good reminder from our friends @NWSIWX Have multiple ways to receive wx info and warnings! #INwxhttps://t.co/3m48oCmwqU  NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) March 31, 2023

EARLIER PREDICTIONS: A line of severe thunderstorms is expected to make its way across Central Indiana late Friday and Saturday, bringing with it damaging winds, small to large hail, and the possibility of isolated tornadoes.

The Indianapolis area can expect rain Friday afternoon, followed by a chance for severe weather Friday evening, say meteorologists.

"We're looking at the potential for a few scattered showers and storms, probably between 5-8 p.m. Friday, and then a line of strong to severe storms coming in after that," said Andrew White, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

Rain will diminish through midday. Additional rain and storms will arrive later in the day. Some storms could be strong to severe this evening with damaging winds as the main threat. Severe Storms will be most likely after 900 PM. Isolated tornadoes and hail are possible. #Inwx pic.twitter.com/WfeQ0IzMkQ  NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) March 31, 2023

Indianapolis weather: What Central Indiana residents can expect moving into 'heart of the severe weather season'

White said Hoosiers in Central Indiana should brace for damaging winds between 7-10 p.m. Friday, adding that an isolated tornado couldn't be ruled out.

A line of thunderstorms moving through Central Indiana Friday evening could bring damaging winds up to 70 mph and some risk of a few brief tornadoes, according to a hazardous weather outlook issued by NWS.

A wind advisory is also in place for portions of Central Indiana, including Indianapolis, from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday.

"I would say winds of 60-70 mph certainly looks likely at spots," White said. "Not everyone's going to get winds that fast. It all depends on where you are along the lines of the storm."

The gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects, down trees and cause power outages, according to the wind advisory.

The area of greatest concern appeared to be west-central Indiana counties and communities, but all residents of Central Indiana should monitor weather conditions Friday, according to a statement by NWS.

In addition to other safety precautions, White recommended Hoosiers bring in their outdoor lawn furniture in anticipation of strong winds and, if possible, to remove dead tree limbs that could cause potential hazards.

Others are reading: A falling tree killed two Indy children. Parents hope billboard will help save lives

"After the showers and storms move through the area, we are going to be looking at another period of strong winds," White said. "There could be some additional wind gusts of about 50 mph, which could cause some additional power outages."

AES Indiana is encouraging Hoosiers to be prepared for possible power outages Friday and Saturday.

 A strong storm system will likely bring severe thunderstorms with damaging winds on Friday night and Saturday. Tornadoes and large hail are also possible. Be sure to read our outage FAQs so you can be prepared: https://t.co/mtWymblVu1 pic.twitter.com/P6CJCQ6D9Y  AES Indiana (@AESIndiana) March 30, 2023

Weather forecast for Indianapolis

According to NWS, the weather in Indianapolis will be windy, wet, and moderately warm this upcoming week. Here's what Hoosiers can expect.

Friday: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 4 p.m. High near 65 degrees. Breezy, with a south wind 18 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Friday Night: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before midnight. Low around 41 degrees. Windy, with a west southwest wind 24 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 46 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Increasing clouds, with a temperature falling to around 41 degrees by noon. Windy, with a west wind 24 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 27 degrees. Northwest wind 8 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 57 degrees. Light southeast wind becoming south 6 to 11 mph in the morning.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 46 degrees.

Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 68 degrees.

Monday night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57 degrees. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75 degrees.

Tuesday night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 59 degrees. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 70 degrees. Breezy.

Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40 degrees. Breezy.

Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 57 degrees.

IndyStar's Jake Allen and Cindi Andrews contributed to this article.

John Tufts covers evening breaking and trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis weather: Severe storms possible March 31, April 1, 2023
A popular chain restaurant known for its crispy Korean fried chicken opened a location in Aurora Wednesday.

Bonchon, at 4302 E. New York St., is open for takeout and dine-in and is the chains eighth location in Illinois.

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Owner and operator Ting Ting Zheng said she already runs other businesses in Aurora, including Lao Sze Chaun, also on the citys far East Side, and thought Bonchon would be a great fit for the area.

Bringing the Aurora community together with the delicious flavors and crunch that Bonchon has to offer is what I am looking forward to the most by opening this new location, Zheng said in a statement. The love for Bonchon is growing throughout Illinois and I hope to see more people discover what makes our fried chicken so special.

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Bonchon started in Busan, South Korea, in 2002 and has more than 390 restaurants across eight countries. (Bonchon / HANDOUT)

Located in Pacifica Square in Aurora, Bonchon fits in great with the other restaurants in the area, Zheng said.

The menu varies from the cult-favorite fried chicken wings, drumsticks and strips to Pan Asian favorites including japchae, kimchi, Korean tacos and potstickers, company officials said. The fried chicken comes in two flavor options - soy garlic or spicy.

Id recommend people to try both flavors because even some people who have never had spice before will try it and love the spiciness, Zheng said.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The Bonchon brand began in Busan, South Korea, in 2002 and now has more than 390 locations worldwide.

mejones@chicagotribune.com
The indictment of former President Donald Trump is likely to deliver a temporary boost to him in the GOP primary  but at the expense of his standing among the broader electorate that will ultimately decide whether he returns to the White House.

Thats according to recent polling conducted prior to Thursdays news of Trumps indictment.

Pollsters will likely go back into the field now, but the protracted run-up to charges being filed against the former president allowed a number of pollsters to gauge Americans opinions about the matter.

In a number of surveys released over the past two weeks, most Americans said the then-rumored charges against Trump were fair and serious. In an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist College poll released last week, 56 percent of Americans said, taken together, the investigations into Trumps conduct were fair, and 55 percent of voters in a Quinnipiac University poll out this week said the probe into Trumps alleged hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels was serious.

But among Republicans, those numbers were all reversed. They believed Trump was being unfairly targeted  80 percent of Republicans in the Marist poll said Trump is facing a witch hunt  and New York County District Attorney Alvin Braggs office was bringing charges for conduct that is either legal or not serious enough to merit criminal indictment.



The pre-indictment poll numbers are consistent with the political dynamic thats existed since Trump took office six years ago: The Republican base  especially downscale voters and those who describe themselves as very conservative  rallies around Trump after scandals, even as those controversies take a toll on Trumps overall image.

So whats best for Trumps chances of holding off Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the other candidates for the nomination  an indictment that rallies most of Trumps competitors and rank-and-file Republican voters around him  likely makes it more difficult for the GOP to reclaim the presidency in 2024.

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Over the past month, as the prospect of criminal charges hung over Trump, the former president was actually increasing his national advantage over DeSantis, who hasnt officially entered the race yet, among GOP voters. The indictment does little to threaten that lead, at least in the short term  as evidenced by DeSantis and the other declared or likely candidates decrying the charges on Thursday.



But its not just that Republican voters think Trump is being targeted or treated unfairly. A sizable portion of them believe hes fully innocent. In the Marist College poll, in addition to four-in-five Republicans calling the investigations into Trump a witch hunt, just 10 percent of GOP voters say Trump has done anything illegal. Nearly half, 45 percent, say Trump hasnt done anything wrong, while a sizable 43 percent describe Trumps behavior as unethical, but not illegal.

Similarly, in the pre-indictment Quinnipiac poll, only 20 percent of Republicans said the existence of criminal charges against Trump should disqualify him from running for president, and 52 percent said the Manhattan case was not serious at all.

Those numbers could change once the details of the indictment are made public. But for now, Republicans are out of step with the electorate as a whole. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in the Quinnipiac poll say criminal charges should disqualify Trump from the campaign, and only 26 percent say the allegations in the New York case arent serious at all.

While most Republicans say the various Trump probes amount to a witch hunt in the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, its only 41 percent of all Americans. And 46 percent of Americans say Trump has committed crimes (compared to only 10 percent of Republicans), while another 29 percent call Trumps actions unethical, but not illegal.



In another pre-indictment survey released this week, the Democratic polling consortium Navigator Research found that 57 percent of voters supported indicting Trump for illegally using campaign funds for personal expenses  a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels  and then lying about it, including a quarter of Republicans, 25 percent.

And the online pollster Morning Consult offered the first data point following news of the indictment, though there has been little time for it to sink in yet. In a flash poll conducted early Friday, 51 percent of voters said they supported the indictment, but only 19 percent of GOP primary voters agreed. (Polls conducted entirely in one day, let alone a half-day, are subject to greater sources of potential error than other surveys.)

There is one message for Trump defenders that is resonating: Just because Americans dont think Trump isnt the victim of a witch hunt doesnt mean they dont think politics is a factor at all.

In the Quinnipiac poll, 62 percent of respondents said the district attorneys case is mainly motivated by politics, including 93 percent of Republicans, 29 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of independents. Fewer than a third, 32 percent, said the case is mainly motivated by the law.

There are discreet limits to that argument, however. In Fridays Morning Consult poll, voters were split between those who said the New York grand jurys decision to indict Trump was mostly based on evidence that Trump violated the law (46 percent) and those who said the grand jury was motivated to damage Trumps political career (43 percent).

The coming days and weeks will bring more data, including following Trumps expected arraignment next week. And theres a hint in the Quinnipiac poll about how that moment could move the needle of public opinion.

Quinnipiacs pollsters cited Trumps statement earlier this week that his indictment was imminent and asked his supporters to protest and take our country back. They asked respondents if Trump was mainly acting out of concerns about democracy as a candidate who could face criminal charges while campaigning for the nations highest office, or mainly acting out of concerns for himself?

Of the subgroups identified by Quinnipiac, only one thought Trump was defending democracy in urging protests against his indictment: Republicans (56 percent). Majorities of all Americans (69 percent), Democrats (98 percent) and independents (71 percent) thought Trump was mostly concerned about himself.


From left, DAV members John Skelton, Robert French, Jeremy Skelton, Gordon Lofgren, Shirley King, Joel Jimenez, Sonja Gandy and Connie Johnson. Major Francis Grice Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and the DAV Local Ch 41 all from Wichita Falls came together on March 29 to pay tribute to The National Vietnam War Veterans Day and they also honored all veterans past and present. Keynote speakers Sonja Gandy, Shirley King and Connie Johnson stated that all of our veterans are our heroes.

Major Francis Grice Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and the DAV Local Chapter 41 came together March 29 to pay tribute to National Vietnam War Veterans Day and they also honored all veterans past and present. Keynote speakers Sonja Gandy, Shirley King and Connie Johnson stated that all of our veterans are our heroes.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: DAV, DAR gather to honor veterans
The Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic Black church in Washington, D.C., has filed a $22 million lawsuit against the Proud Boys. The lawsuit, filed against the Proud Boys organization and five of its leaders and allies, stems from a Stop the Steal rally in D.C. on Dec. 12, 2020.

The post DC AME Church Files $22 Million Lawsuit Against The Proud Boys: We Will Not Shrink In The Face Of This appeared first on Blavity.

Thats when the far-right group vandalized several historic Black churches in D.C. and tore down their Black Lives Matter banners.

We wanted to make a statement, that we will not shrink in the face of this, Rev. William Lamar told Judge Neal Kravitz according to HuffPost. We know that this [Proud Boys] activity continues  and we have an opportunity to be clear that this is unacceptable, it is illegal, and it cannot continue.

Lamar said the case is not just about a vandalised banner.

Its more than doing violence to a sign  they seek to continue the violence their ancestors visited upon our ancestors, Lamar said on a conference call with congregants in 2020. They dont want to just ruin signs. They want to destroy lives. They want to destroy hope. They want to erase history. We wont let them do that.

Arthur Ago, director of the criminal justice project at the Lawyers Committee, said The ultimate goal of this is not a monetary windfall.

Its to stop the Proud Boys from being able to do what they do, Ago told HuffPost. They continue to raise money  and that moneys being used to do the things we saw on Dec. 12, Jan. 6, and now at drag queen story hours in Ohio and New York and Maryland. Thats what we want to stop.
The death toll after a floor collapsed at a Hindu temple in India had risen to 36 on Friday after rescuers discovered the body of the last person still missing, police told AFP.

Dozens of worshippers celebrating a major religious holiday plunged into the stepwell - a stair-lined communal water source -- on Thursday after the floor covering it collapsed in the central city of Indore.

"Seventeen people were rescued yesterday. Thirty-six bodies have been recovered," senior police officer Manish Kapooria told AFP.

Women, children and an 18-month-old baby were among those standing on the grill covering the well when it buckled and gave way, plunging them into about 7.5 metres (25 feet) of water.

The bodies of dozens of victims were cremated on pyres near the scene of the accident on Friday after brief funeral rites.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday he was "extremely pained" by news of the accident.

"My prayers with all those affected and their families," he added.

Modi's office said compensation payments of 200,000 rupees ($2,400) would be given to the next of kin.

Narottam Mishra, home minister of Madhya Pradesh state, told reporters on Thursday that an investigation had been launched into the mishap.

Television footage on Thursday showed emergency workers using ropes and ladders to reach those trapped in the well in Madhya Pradesh state.

Other videos showed the caved-in floor and mangled steel bars as well as police officers using ropes to seal the area.

Temples across India were brimming with devotees on the occasion of Ram Navami, the birthday of the Hindu deity Lord Ram.

- Deadly religious accidents -

Deadly accidents are common at worship sites in India during major religious festivals.

At least 112 people died in 2016 after a huge explosion caused by a banned fireworks display at a temple marking the Hindu new year.

The blast ripped through concrete buildings and ignited a fire at a temple complex in Kerala state where thousands had gathered.

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Another 115 devotees died in 2013 after a stampede at a bridge near a temple in Madhya Pradesh.

Up to 400,000 people were gathered in the area, and the stampede occurred after the spread of a rumour that the bridge was about to collapse.

About 224 pilgrims died and more than 400 others were injured in a 2008 stampede at a hilltop temple in the northern city of Jodhpur.

str-ash-gle/lb
Math scores plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic. What will it take to raise them back up? Ridofranz / iStock / Getty Images Plus

When President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Math Awareness Week in April 1986, one of the problems he cited was that too few students were devoted to the study of math.

Despite the increasing importance of mathematics to the progress of our economy and society, enrollment in mathematics programs has been declining at all levels of the American educational system, Reagan wrote in his proclamation.

Nearly 40 years later, the problem that Reagan lamented during the first National Math Awareness Week  which has since evolved to become Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month  not only remains but has gotten worse.

Whereas 1.63%, or about 16,000, of the nearly 1 million bachelors degrees awarded in the U.S. in the 1985-1986 school year went to math majors, in 2020, just 1.4%, or about 27,000, of the 1.9 million bachelors degrees were awarded in the field of math  a small but significant decrease in the proportion.

Post-pandemic data suggests the number of students majoring in math in the U.S. is likely to decrease in the future.

A key factor is the dramatic decline in math learning that took place during the lockdown. For instance, whereas 34% of eighth graders were proficient in math in 2019, test data shows the percentage dropped to 26% after the pandemic.

These declines will undoubtedly affect how much math U.S. students can do at the college level. For instance, in 2022, only 31% of graduating high school seniors were ready for college-level math  down from 39% in 2019.

These declines will also affect how many U.S. students are able to take advantage of the growing number of high-paying math occupations, such as data scientists and actuaries. Employment in math occupations is projected to increase by 29% in the period from 2021 to 2031.

About 30,600 math jobs are expected to open up per year from growth and replacement needs. That exceeds the 27,000 or so math graduates being produced each year  and not all math degree holders go into math fields. Shortages will also arise in several other areas, since math is a gateway to many STEM fields.

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For all of these reasons and more, as a mathematician who thinks deeply about the importance of math and what it means to our world  and even to our existence as human beings  I believe this year, and probably for the foreseeable future, educators, policymakers and employers need to take Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month more seriously than ever before.

Struggles with mastery

Subpar math achievement has been endemic in the U.S. for a long time.

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that no more than 26% of 12th graders have been rated proficient in math since 2005.

The pandemic disproportionately affected racially and economically disadvantaged groups. During the lockdown, these groups had less access to the internet and quiet studying spaces than their peers. So securing Wi-Fi and places to study are key parts of the battle to improve math learning.

Some people believe math teaching techniques need to be revamped, as they were through the Common Core, a new set of educational standards that stressed alternative ways to solve math problems. Others want a return to more traditional methods. Advocates also argue there is a need for colleges to produce better-prepared teachers.

Other observers believe the problem lies with the fixed mindset many students have  where failure leads to the conviction that they cant do math  and say the solution is to foster a growth mindset  by which failure spurs students to try harder.

Although all these factors are relevant, none address what in my opinion is a root cause of math underachievement: our nations ambivalent relationship with mathematics.

Low visibility

Many observers worry about how U.S. children fare in international rankings, even though math anxiety makes many adults in the U.S. steer clear of the subject themselves.

Mathematics is not like art or music, which people regularly enjoy all over the country by visiting museums or attending concerts. Its true that there is a National Museum of Mathematics in New York, and some science centers in the U.S. devote exhibit space to mathematics, but these can be geographically inaccessible for many.

A 2020 study on media portrayals of math found an overall invisibility of mathematics in popular culture. Other findings were that math is presented as being irrelevant to the real world and of little interest to most people, while mathematicians are stereotyped to be singular geniuses or socially inept nerds, and white and male.

Math is tough and typically takes much discipline and perseverance to succeed in. It also calls for a cumulative learning approach  you need to master lessons at each level because youre going to need them later.

While research in neuroscience shows almost everyones brain is equipped to take up the challenge, many students balk at putting in the effort when they dont score well on tests. The myth that math is just about procedures and memorization can make it easier for students to give up. So can negative opinions about math ability conveyed by peers and parents, such as declarations of not being a math person.

A positive experience

Heres the good news. A 2017 Pew poll found that despite the bad rap the subject gets, 58% of U.S. adults enjoyed their school math classes. Its members of this legion who would make excellent recruits to help promote Aprils math awareness. The initial charge is simple: Think of something you liked about math  a topic, a puzzle, a fun fact  and go over it with someone. It could be a child, a student, or just one of the many adults who have left school with a negative view of math.

Math exercise for shells can be downloaded at https://www.manilsuri.com/assets/shell_patterns.pptx. Manil Suri, Author provided

Can something that sounds so simplistic make a difference? Based on my years of experience as a mathematician, I believe it can  if nothing else, for the person you talk to. The goal is to stimulate curiosity and convey that mathematics is much more about exhilarating ideas that inform our universe than it is about the school homework-type calculations so many dread.

Raising math awareness is a first step toward making sure people possess the basic math skills required not only for employment, but also to understand math-related issues  such as gerrymandering or climate change  well enough to be an informed and participating citizen. However, its not something that can be done in one month.

Given the decline in both math scores and the percentage of students studying math, it may take many years before America realizes the stronger relationship with math that President Reagans proclamation called for during the first National Math Awareness Week in 1986.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Manil Suri, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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Manil Suri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
By Tom Hals, Jonathan Stempel and Helen Coster

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - A jury will decide whether Fox Corp defamed Dominion Voting Systems with false vote-rigging claims aired by Fox News after the 2020 U.S. election, a Delaware judge ruled on Friday, dealing a setback to the media company that had sought to avoid a trial in the $1.6 billion lawsuit.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis denied motions from Fox and partially granted Dominion motions to resolve the issue of defamation liability ahead of the scheduled April 17 trial date. The ruling puts the high-profile case in the hands of a jury that will determine whether Fox acted with actual malice and whether Dominion suffered any damages.

The trial, to be held in Wilmington, is expected to last roughly four weeks. It is possible the parties could still settle the case. Davis heard arguments from both sides during a two-day pretrial hearing on March 21 and 22.

This case is and always has been about the First Amendment protections of the medias absolute right to cover the news," Fox said in a statement. "Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings.

Dominion said it was gratified by the ruling and looked forward to the trial.

This is one of the most closely watched U.S. defamation lawsuits in years and involves one of America's largest cable networks, home to many prominent conservative commentators.

Denver-based Dominion sued New York-based Fox Corp and Fox News in 2021, accusing them of ruining its reputation by airing false claims by former President Donald Trump and his lawyers that its voting machines were used to rig the outcome of the election against him and in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.

Dominion has said in court filings that internal emails, texts and deposition testimony demonstrate that Fox personnel at every level - from producers to hosts, all the way up to Chairman Rupert Murdoch - knew the election-rigging claims were false and aired them anyway in pursuit of ratings as they lost viewers to far-right outlets that embraced Trump's claims.

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Dominion argued this met the "actual malice" standard to win a defamation case under which a plaintiff must prove a defendant knowingly spread false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.

Davis, however, said actual malice will be determined by the jury.

The judge ruled in Dominion's favor on some elements of defamation including that the allegedly defamatory statements by Fox concerned Dominion, that the statements had been published by Fox and were false.

"The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that (it) is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true," wrote Davis, using all capital letters for emphasis.

Fox has argued that its coverage of the election claims was protected by press freedoms enshrined in the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment because it was newsworthy and properly framed as opinion or unproven allegations. Fox also has argued that Dominion's suit advances an overly broad interpretation of U.S. defamation law and is a threat to freedom of the press.

Lawyers for Fox also have invoked the legal doctrine of "neutral reportage," which holds that the press cannot be held liable for publishing newsworthy allegations in a neutral way.

Davis, however, said in his ruling the doctrine would not shield Fox from liability, because the network did not conduct disinterested reporting.

Fox faces a similar lawsuit by voting-technology company Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox Corp, the cable network, Fox hosts and guests.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delawared; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill Berkrot)
Democratic lawmakers didn't hold back their anger Thursday at a House hearing about social media and censorship when a pair of Republican witnesses delivered testimony and left without being questioned.

The shouting began after Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), the former attorney general of Missouri, and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) testified before the House Judiciary subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government about what they claimed was the Biden administration's effort to censor conservative voices online. After the two spoke, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the subcommittee chairman, dismissed them.

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"We'll let you move on to your other responsibilities and we'll get to our next witnesses," Jordan said.

Democrats immediately interrupted, asking why he wouldn't allow them to ask questions as Schmitt and Landry stood up and left the room. Democrats then tried to have the two witnesses' testimony struck from the record.

"We aren't able to probe the veracity of their statements, the truthfulness of their statements," said Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.).

When Jordan told him, "You will be given your five minutes here," Lynch replied, "They're not here," referring to the witnesses. "They're absent," he said, and they "scurried away, with your complicity."

Jordan, speaking over Lynch, said: "They have not scurried away. They were dismissed like all witnesses."

As the two men traded remarks, Lynch fumed: "You can't find two people to defend their statements. That's pretty disgraceful."

At times, the shouts and crosstalk was so fast that the C-SPAN camera recording the hearing could not show each person who was talking. At one point, a woman's voice could be heard saying, "If allowing them to leave is not weaponization, I don't know what is, Mr. Chairman."

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A male's voice responded, "Yeah, right."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) agreed to the creation of the select subcommittee as a concession to the hard-right faction of his conference in the deal he struck to secure the votes to become speaker. The panel has faced criticism, even from some on the right, that its work has been lackluster and unfocused.

Jordan said at the hearing that it was common practice to have current or former members of Congress testify without staying for questions.

Russell Dye, his spokesman, said in a statement, "It has been a long practice of the Committee to allow current and former Members of Congress to present an opening statement without taking questions," noting that Democrats recently had Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) speak to the committee without taking questions.

Democrats said the comparison was inappropriate. Lynch said that the witnesses on Thursday may have presented "false" information and that "I would like the opportunity to cross-examine those witnesses."

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said Landry is not a member of Congress and, therefore, "is not entitled" to the kind of courtesy Jordan described.

Even by today's low standards for congressional decorum, the hearing stood out for its rancor and animus. Kyle Herrig, executive director of the Congressional Integrity Project, a Democratic-leaning watchdog group, said in a statement that the hearing was "an embarrassing farce. Two of the Republicans' witnesses didn't even stick around to defend their lies, aided and abetted by Jim Jordan." Jordan and the Republicans on the subcommittee, Herrig said, "are afraid of the truth."

Dye said Democrats had put "on a partisan charade" in response to a routine congressional practice.

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Video: On March 30, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) confronted Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for letting hearing witness be dismissed without cross-examination during the Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.(The Washington Post)

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Some of former President Donald Trump's biggest critics in the Democratic Party weighed in on his historic indictment just minutes after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday evening.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee and a vocal opponent to Trump when he was in office, reacted with glee on Twitter.

"SO Trump finally got indicted! I predicted he would and I predicted that Stormy Daniels would get him! Sometimes justice works!" Waters wrote.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the former head of the House Intelligence Committee and the lead Democrat in Trump's first impeachment trial, called the moment "sobering" but indicated he believed justice was served.

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Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., cheered Trump's indictment on Thursday.

TRUMP INDICTMENT: LIVE UPDATES

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"The indictment of former President Donald J. Trump by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office over his alleged participation in a campaign fraud and hush money scheme that already sent his former attorney Michael Cohen to jail is a sobering and unprecedented development," Schiff said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "But if justice demanded that Michael Cohen go to jail for a scheme directed by someone else, justice also requires that the person responsible for directing the scheme must answer for their offenses against the law  and that person is Donald Trump."

"The indictment and arrest of a former president is unique throughout all of American history. But so too is the unlawful conduct for which Trump has been charged, and for the even more grievous misconduct for which he is currently under investigation by a Department of Justice Special Counsel and the Fulton County District Attorney," he added.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who frequently sparred with Trump when he was in office, both released relatively muted statements hours after news of Trump's indictment came down.

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"The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law.No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right," Pelosi said.

Schumer wrote, "Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law. There should be no outside political influence, intimidation or interference in the case. I encourage both Mr. Trumps critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law."

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., urged Americans to remain neutral in a departure from his normally outspoken criticism of the right.

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan, the first former president to be charged with a crime.

"The indictment of a former president is a somber day for America. Its also a time to put faith in our judicial system. Donald Trump deserves every protection provided to him by the Constitution. As that unfolds, let us neither celebrate nor destroy. Justice benefits us all," the lawmaker said on Twitter.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., called for a similar hands-off approach, indicating that even the ex-president's harshest critics are treading cautiously around the historic news.

"Indicting a former President is a horrible precedent; the only precedent worse than that is to not indict Donald Trump if there is evidence that he committed crimes. This is a somber moment for America. We should let the judicial system do its job without interference," Lieu said Thursday evening.

TRUMP INDICTMENT: ERIC, DONALD TRUMP JR BLAST 'THIRD-WORLD PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT'

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., stressed that Trump had the same due process rights as any American citizen.

"This indictment isn't a trivial matter. A grand jury made up of everyday citizens decided that there is enough evidence to charge President Trump with a crime," the senator said. "Like every person charged with a serious crime, the former President has due process rights. He will have an opportunity to defend himself in a court of law before a jury of his peers."

Trump is believed to have been indicted in an investigation related to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, totaling $130,000 and $150,000, respectively.

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called the historic event "sobering."

He also is being investigated by prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, over accusations of election interference in that state, and is the subject of two federal probes under the purview of Special Counsel Jack Smith.

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Progressive "Squad" member Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., denounced Republican attacks against Bragg as "racist" and called for Trump to never be allowed to hold public office again.

"Being indicted for falsifying business records with hush money is only the beginning of being held accountable for his crimes. Trump attempted to illegally overturn election results in Georgia and worked to incite the insurrection at the Capitol, both in an effort to overthrow our government to advance his fascist cause. His continued calls for protests following his arrest are just another dog whistle for his followers: destroy our democracy," Bowman said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a press conference in New York on Sept. 8, 2022.

"Republicans will continue to claim this was a political arrest, but they cant continue to hide behind their lies, misinformation, and racist attacks towards Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Its time that we ensure Trump is banned from running for any public office again and from there, finally take action to fix our democracy," he added.

Fellow Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., pointed out, "This is just one of many criminal acts for which Donald Trump is being investigated."

"Our democracy rests on the rule of law. When someone  no matter how powerful they are  is suspected of a criminal act, our justice system investigates, charges, and convicts them in accordance with due process," Omar said. "Make no mistake: the fact that one of the most powerful people in the world was investigated impartially and indicted is testament to the fact that we still live in a nation of laws. And no one is above the law."

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Donald Remy says hell still be a champion of department services even after he leaves his leadership post this week.

My dad still gets his care at VA, said Remy, the son of a Vietnam War veteran and himself a former soldier. Weve been able to use the benefits that VA has to offer as the result of his service. And when Im no longer in this role, I still can scream from the mountaintops that this VA is here to serve every veteran.

Remy, in his last interview as deputy secretary, told Military Times that he has seen VA services become more transparent, more efficient and more welcoming in the two years since he stepped into his central office role.

Veterans Affairs deputy secretary to leave post on April 1

He is also confident that change will continue, despite him leaving with unfinished work on issues like the departments health records modernization project and new caregiver support guidelines.

If youve tried VA before, and you didnt like what you had or you didnt enjoy your experience, try again, he said. If youve never come to VA, nows the time to do that.

Portions of this interview have been edited for length and clarity:

Military Times: Talk to me about staff morale and the workforce, because it has been a tumultuous past few years with the pandemic and other challenges.

Remy: The pandemic has taken its toll on all of us, not just at VA but across any sector in America. But the people in this organization have been working tirelessly. Were providing world-class health care to veterans across the board. And many of the folks that are delivering those services have been there every single day during the pandemic, so you cant help but have some burnout.

But the mission drives them every single day. The motivation is delivering care to veterans, benefits to veterans. And what weve been trying to do is bring more people into this organization that are as committed to that mission, and for those who are already here, lessen the load and lessen the burden as we move forward.

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MT: What are the most significant changes youve seen at VA in the last two years?

Remy: Ive had an opportunity to travel the globe, and to visit with veterans to visit with staff. Ive talked to the people on the ground. Ive talked to all of our veteran service organizations. What I hear from them. time and time again, is how palpably different [VA] feels to them.

Weve connected the central office with the field. Weve connected VA with other agencies throughout the government. Weve connected with our veterans service organizations so that they can carry forward the messages that we think are important for all of our community to hear. Were working on assuring that our caregivers understand that theyre an integral part of that health care team. Were making sure that everyone knows that were here for them, all veterans across the board.

VA plans to deploy new health records to more sites in June

MT: The new electronic medical records initiative is an issue that you were tasked with even before you were sworn in as deputy secretary. The plan now is to restart this summer, but tell me if you think the modernization effort is getting back to where it needs to be.

Remy: Im disappointed that we havent been able to have a greater level of deployment, and that weve had challenges with people, processes and technology. But I know this: The team thats been working on this electronic health record modernization program has been working tirelessly. And I know that theyre keenly focused on making sure that we have a system that is usable for clinicians, and that enhances outcomes for our veterans.

So weve stopped a couple of times, weve stopped because we recognize as a high-reliability organization, when we get feedback from those who are providing care, we need to assess that feedback. And we need to get better and move forward. Im really confident that the team that we have in place, many of whom have been working on this for a very long time, are prepared, and theyre engaged and theyre capable, and theyll deliver success 

Our clinicians need a system that is usable, and were going to hold ourselves accountable to make sure that this system is usable. Were going to hold the contractor accountable, to make sure that the technology that theyre providing is usable for those clinicians so that we can enhance those outcomes for the vets.

MT: What about convincing folks on Capitol Hill that this is going to work?

Remy: Regardless of how it might sound to others, I am excited about oversight. I believe thats a critical component of the operation of government. We should be held accountable for making sure that were delivering what our veterans expect, and were utilizing taxpayers dollars appropriately.

And so, Congress will continue to have hearings, theyll continue to send correspondence, and well continue  to make sure that they understand what we are doing, the successes were having and the challenges that are in front of us.

Plan to drop thousands of caregivers from Veterans Affairs program put on hold

MT: Caregivers are another major initiative that you were thrust into. I still hear from quite a few caregivers who say after the changes in support programs they just dont know what the next few years are going to bring. Can you just speak to the level of trust that you have with that group?

Remy: We recognize that changes need to be made, and were in the process of promulgating the regulations [for caregivers] that will help effectuate changes. At the same time, Congress expanded the program. And so we got our regulatory house in order so that we can bring more people into the caregiver program.

I continue to talk to caregivers and the veterans that those caregivers serve to this day. I still hear some challenges, but I hear more good stories about where we are and what were doing.

MT: Hows VA doing on outreach efforts to veterans groups that have been historically kept to the side by the department?

Remy: Were working hard to make sure that we are serving all veterans. The effort is there and the progress, I think, is palpable. Its epic.

We just changed our mission statement to reflect the inclusiveness that this administration and this agency has for those who have served our country. And thats widely regarded as a demonstration of whats been going on here.

Do we have everything right now? No. Are we working hard to make sure that every vet feels like VA is for them? We absolutely are. If there are any veterans out there who do not feel like they can be served by VA, I want to talk to them. Were here to serve them.

MT: Youre about to shift from VA deputy secretary to a civilian veteran again. What is your message to other veterans?

Remy: If youve tried VA before, and you didnt like what you had or you didnt enjoy your experience, try again. If youve never come to VA, nows the time to do that.

Weve been focused on improving the experience that a veteran has at VA. We recognize that our veteran population today looks a lot different than it may have been years past. The largest growing cohort of veterans is our women veteran population. And so were enhancing the care that we provide to those who come to VA for care and those who may never have come to VA before.

We recognize that there are some who are skeptical of VA. I talked to folks in my dads generation  hes a Vietnam vet  and I hear them tell their stories about VA all the time. Some of them are very negative. But this is not your fathers VA, your grandfathers VA . Now that Ive been here, when Im no longer here, I can scream from the mountaintops that this VA is here to serve every veteran.

Vet Agency hopes for more state-run cemeteries for burial options

MT: Do you feel, as a veteran in America, that people understand your experience? Or do you still feel like the military civilian divide is an issue that the country needs to deal with?

Remy: This is something thats pretty complicated, because there are some people that dont understand the veteran experience. Those of us who are veterans understand it quite well. And we understand not just our experience, but the experience of our buddies, who similarly served. So its on us to make sure we deliver the message about our experience so that the broader American population can have that same understanding or appreciation of what that means.

A veteran is not a broken human being. The veteran is a person who actually has experiences that can help them, help us be a better nation. Thats what we see and thats who these veterans are, and thats why we owe it to them to serve them as well as theyve served us.

We owe it to them to make sure that theyre aware of the benefits and health care that are available to them and they can take advantage of that. Because this veteran population in America today is amazing. And as I said before, is one of the most diverse I believe, veteran populations that weve ever seen. They are America.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday blasted the indictment of Donald Trump and vowed that the state will not assist in the extradition even though reports suggest the former president plans to surrender voluntarily to New York authorities.

DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Trump for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination later this year, previously said he wouldnt get involved in Trumps indictment in any way but was roundly condemned by the former president and his supporters, who accused him of being disloyal.

The Republican governors decision to criticize Trumps indictment aligns him with other Republicans who have rallied to Trumps side. It also mirrors the full-throated GOP support for Trump after the FBI searched his residence at Mar-a-Lago in August.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American, DeSantis said on Twitter. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda, he continued.

Under Florida law, the governor can intervene in an extradition matter if it is contested. But as of now, Trumps lawyers have indicated that Trump is expected to surrender.

DeSantis stance on the indictment was being closely anticipated because, as a likely political rival, he has been hit hard by Trump and his allies in recent weeks, including over his previous comments on Trumps legal troubles when he said: I dont know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.



In the last few weeks DeSantis has not only been bashed by Trump, but his comments calling Russias invasion of the Ukraine a territorial dispute were also sharply questioned by other Republicans, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

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Several national polls have come out that have seen Trump widen his lead over DeSantis in a potential matchup, but state by state polls in battleground primary states have suggested a much tighter contest. A super PAC backing DeSantis released a Georgia poll on Thursday to the NBC News that had DeSantis actually leading Trump in that state.

Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, responded fiercely to DeSantiss comments, saying in her own social media post that breaking the law is un-American and blaming it on George Soros is anti-Semitic. She added that you know there has been an actual, proven unlawful and unconstitutional weaponization of the law  your removal of State Attorney @AndrewWarrenFL.

Thats a reference to DeSantis suspension of a Tampa-area prosecutor that has been challenged in federal and state court. DeSantis, during a book promotional appearance in Georgia, noted his action by telling a crowd that he had removed a Soros backed prosecutor.

Trump is currently connected to several ongoing investigations, including one over his handling of classified documents at his Florida home at Mar-a-Lago and an ongoing probe in Atlanta.

State Sen. Joe Gruters, the former chair of the Republican Party of Florida with strong ties to Trump, sidestepped questions about how the indictment may affect DeSantis and instead said it would cause Republicans to rally to beat President Joe Biden in 2024.

I think its a witch hunt, Gruters told reporters outside the Senate chambers. I think the president is running a race to win the 2024 cycle, and I think this is directly to undercut his effort. This is a rallying point for all Republicans to come together.
Voters cast their ballots in Aurora in November. The upcoming April 4 election includes a number of contests in the Aurora area, including a race for seats on the East Aurora School District Board of Education. (Mark Black / The Beacon-News)

Editors note: This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the Aurora area in the April 4 general election.

Five candidates, including two incumbents, are looking to fill four four-year spots on the East Aurora School District 131 Board of Education in the April 4 election.

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The candidates include incumbent Juan Manuel Sifuentes Jr.; Judd Lofchie, a former Aurora alderman and mayoral candidate; Saul Olivas; Teasa Ezeh; and incumbent Alex Arroyo.

Lofchie, 65, who works as a lawyer and commercial Realtor, said if elected he hopes to connect students with more vocational opportunities for those who either cant afford or arent looking to go to college.

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West Aurora School District has a vocational center, and Lofchie would like to see East Aurora institute a similar program, focusing on trade careers like plumbing, manufacturing, electrical and mechanical jobs.

Judd Lofchie. (Judd Lofchie / HANDOUT)

I can utilize my connections through a huge networking group to start leveraging internships and more vocational programs for our students, Lofchie said. Around 100 kids a year are not graduating and we need to help our students become productive citizens.

Saul Olivas, 41, currently works as a first-grade teacher for Oswego-based School District 308 and was named Kane County Early Educator of the Year in 2018. He previously worked for the East Aurora district.

Saul Olivas. (Saul Olivas / HANDOUT)

Ive been attending the school board meetings for the last eight years and thought if Im already here, I might as well be up there (on the board), Olivas said. Im invested in the community and a product of District 131. Im the only candidate with classroom experience, which brings a diverse perspective.

Olivas said he was also motivated to run for school board to make sure the curriculum is appropriate for students and to make sure they have plenty of avenues to be successful after graduation.

Arroyo, 53, said school safety is one of his highest priorities if reelected. He said he was particularly moved by the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last year because many of the students there had backgrounds similar to East Aurora students.

Alex Arroyo. (Alex Arroyo / HANDOUT / Handout)

Before COVID, we were starting to make strides in mitigation and safety and practices and then our whole world was flipped upside down, Arroyo said. We had to get each student online and 5,000 hotspots. Nationwide, it was always a trial and we learned from our mistakes. We are a better school district because of it.

Arroyo, who works for United Airlines, has served on the board since 2015. He said he is proud of the $50 million worth of construction work approved by the board, which will ensure each building in the district has heating and air conditioning.

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Sifuentes, 42, has served on the board since 2019. He said with the country moving into a post-pandemic environment, the district needs to focus on school safety, referencing Mondays mass shooting at a Nashville private elementary school.

Juan Manuel Sifuentes Jr. (Juan Sifuentes / HANDOUT)

My second focus is on student achievement and getting students back in par with the rest of the state or even better and making sure every student has the tools they need to succeed, Sifuentes said.

Sifuentes is the only current board member with children who go to school in the district, giving him a unique perspective, he said. He said he has worked to ensure the district is financially responsible and to make sure that all stakeholders are heard, including students and parents.

Teasa Ezeh, 47, works as a daycare provider and also serves as the leader of HomeTowns neighborhood group, the Community Support Team. She currently has children attending middle school, elementary school and preschool in the East Aurora School District.

I already look out for all our kids in the neighborhood and this just felt like an extension to look out for them on an even greater scale, Ezeh said of running for school board.

Teasa Ezeh. (Teasa Ezeh / HANDOUT)

One of Ezehs highest priorities if elected is to make sure students are supported emotionally as they come out of the pandemic.

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With students being back out in public, they are facing the social skills they lost, Ezeh said. There are some serious issues with bullying and some kids feeling grief from isolation, so we need to open up more social and emotional learning opportunities to get past that gap.

mejones@chicagotribune.com
Then-President Donald Trump and then-candidate for Florida governor, Rep. Ron DeSantis, at a rally in Pensacola, Florida, on November 3, 2018. Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on Thursday.

DeSantis pledged Florida wouldn't be involved in an extradition to New York, given that Trump lives in Palm Beach.

Trump is expected to voluntarily appear next week before a judge  rendering the extradition question moot.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida pledged Thursday that state officials would not help extradite former President Donald Trump from Florida to New York in a charged political attack on the prosecutor, following the first-ever indictment of a former president.

DeSantis in a statement on Twitter accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of "stretching the law to target a political opponent," though he didn't name Trump or Bragg.

"Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda," he wrote on Twitter, referring to Democratic super PAC megadonor George Soros who did not directly support Bragg.

Trump is required by law to appear before a judge to address the criminal charges and is expected to voluntarily do so  rendering the extradition question moot for DeSantis, who is expected to enter the GOP presidential race soon where he'll need to siphon support from Trump's base.

The unprecedented situation is rewriting the campaign playbook. DeSantis and Republican 2024 rivals have struck notes of fury at the investigation at a time incensed voters are likely to rally around the ex-president, with a longer term goal of differentiating themselves from his deepening legal troubles.

In DeSantis' case, he's also still an officeholder. And interstate extradition is required by Article 4, Section 2 of the US Constitution. While the governor couldn't stop Trump's extradition from Florida, he may be able to slow the process if Trump didn't want to surrender voluntarily from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.

The Florida extradition statute describes two ways of extraditing people from Florida to another state where they face criminal charges.

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In the more common method  which DeSantis appeared to refer to  New York Gov. Kathy Hochul would send an extradition demand to the Florida governor. The governor's only role is making sure the demand meets all the legal requirements before ordering the extradition, legal experts told Insider. The demand would have to include a copy of the indictment, proving there's a warrant out for Trump's arrest.

If DeSantis wanted to slow the process he could ask his legal affairs office or a prosecutor to review Hochul's extradition demand and write a report before signing off on it. If the extradition demand is legitimate, however, he'll have to sign it within 60 days, legal experts said. He could also delegate and let another member of the Florida executive branch sign off on Hochul's extradition demand.

In the second extradition method, Manhattan prosecutors could bypass the governors entirely and ask a Florida court to order Trump to show up in New York court.

Trump, however, appears poised to head to New York without force.

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DA's office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," a spokesperson for the agency said. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."

Attorneys for the DA and for Trump are set to mutually agree on a time and place, likely the district attorney's office in Manhattan, to book the ex-president, take his fingerprints, and shoot his mugshot.

Ron DeSantis (left) and Donald Trump. Mario Tama/Getty Images; Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

The charges come as DeSantis is expected to challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination

The charges are still under seal, but the Manhattan district attorney's office is expected to have brought charges over falsified records related to his payments to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet ahead of the 2016 election about an affair she claims she had with him.

The latest comments by DeSantis, considered to be Trump's lead rival should he enter the 2024 GOP presidential nomination contest, echo others the governor made during a press conference in Florida a week ago.

Then, however, DeSantis also dug at Trump for the allegations, which are believed to stem from his alleged affair and hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

He also drew the ire of Trump's MAGA base, who said he was downplaying the matter when he said he had to focus on "issues that actually matter to people."

DeSantis did also criticize the investigation as politically motivated and lambasted Bragg for his record in New York amid rising crime. On Thursday, DeSantis doubled down on the remarks on Twitter.

"The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head," he wrote. "It is un-American. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct."

Read the original article on Business Insider
REUTERS/Allison Dinner

Swiftly after news broke that former President Donald Trump is set to be arrested, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis quickly denounced the move as un-Americanand addressed the elephant in the room.

Florida will not assist in an extradition request, DeSantis tweeted, given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.

One of the most vexing aspects of the former presidents unprecedented indictment was the role his top rival for the 2024 GOP nomination could have played in the legal proceedings.

Following the indictment, Trumpofficially a Florida residentis required to appear for his arraignment in Manhattan court. If he did not voluntarily surrender, DeSantis would be compelled to approve a warrant for Trumps arrest to extradite him from Florida to New York.

The Storm Arrives: NYC Grand Jury Indicts Donald Trump

As he ramps up his presidential campaignone that depends on converting Trumps supportersDeSantis could have been put in an impossible political situation, not to mention an utterly novel legal one, if Trump refused to cooperate.

At the moment, however, it appears that Trump will voluntarily surrender in New York. On Thursday night, Trumps lawyer confirmed to NBC News that the former president plans to surrender in person in New York next week. If he sticks to that commitment, DeSantis would be let off the hook.

In his response to the indictment, the Florida governor may have been more focused on appeasing Trumps supportersless so Trump and his allies, who have seethed for weeks that DeSantis has not moved fast enough to denounce the indictment as a witch hunt.

Unsurprisingly, DeSantis tweet landed with something of a thud in Trumpworld. In particular, sources in the ex-presidents inner circle immediately seized on the fact that DeSantis didnt name Trump in his tweet.

There is a name missing, one Trump operative close to the 2024 campaign said, while another source close to Trump wondered why DeSantis didn't use his name.

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Even if DeSantis had named Trump, it probably would have been too little, too late in the eyes of his backers.

It doesnt matter, a source close to Trump told The Daily Beast regarding DeSantis tweet. DeSantis let his true colors show last week when he tried to spin the indictment as a manufactured crisis right before attempting to punch Donald Trump in the face with a Soros talking point.

A DeSantis spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

DeSantis quick commitment to not cooperate with New York authorities and protect Trump illustrates his political bindand his willingness to skirt established procedure in order to make a statement against Manhattan prosecutors.

As The New York Times reported, DeSantis role would be essentially ministerial and he would have few legal options other than approving an extradition request from New York.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took a shot at former President Donald Trump, his potential 2024 presidential primary opponent, by saying it's time to actually build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

"And I just think that, you know, we've talked a lot, but I think we need to get serious and finally build a wall along the southern border  needs to be done," DeSantis said from the podium at an event in Georgia on Thursday to promote his new book, "The Courage to be Free."

A main thrust of Trump's 2016 campaign was the immigration crisis at the southern border and his promise to construct a wall to prevent mass immigration from Mexico and other countries. But even with two years of Republican-controlled Congress after first winning the White House, Trump wasn't able to complete the wall; about 450 miles of new, replacement or secondary border wall was built, and most of that replaced existing barriers.

DeSantis has yet to enter the race, and the latest Fox News national survey shows Trump has expanded is lead in the Republican primary race.

DESANTIS DROPS VIDEO DETAILING 'THE FLORIDA BLUEPRINT' IN MOST RECENT INDICATION OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Republican primary voters were read a list of 15 announced and potential candidates for the 2024 nomination. The survey, released Wednesday, found that Trump has doubled his lead since February and is up by 30 points over DeSantis, 54% to 24%. Last month, he was up by 15 points, 43% to 28%.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

No one else hits double digits. Mike Pence came in third with 6% , Liz Cheney and Nikki Haley received 3% each, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott came in at 2%. All others received 1% support or less.

During the event at the Adventure Outdoors gun store in Smyrna, Georgia, DeSantis praised the state for being one of the few states to limit lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"If it wasnt for states like Georgia and Florida, people like Fauci would have won," DeSantis said Thursday, referring to the now-retired Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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"You wouldve had all this [locking down] throughout the entire country. They wanted to do rolling lockdowns," he said.

DESANTIS UNVEILS 2024 SCHOOL BOARD TARGET LIST TO BLOCK WOKE IDEOLOGY FROM FLORIDA CLASSROOMS

Then-President Donald Trump, left, introduces Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a campaign rally, Nov. 26, 2019, in Sunrise, Florida.

Last month, DeSantis rolled out a new campaign video outlining "the Florida blueprint" for America, another indication he is preparing to launch a 2024 campaign for president.

"When the world lost its mind, when common sense suddenly became an uncommon virtue, Florida was a refuge of sanity, a citadel of freedom for our fellow Americans and even for people around the world," DeSantis said in the video.

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP'S LEAD GROWS IN GOP PRIMARY RACE, NOW OVER 50% SUPPORT

DeSantis drew a contrast between the Sunshine State and the Biden administration's handling of major issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis at the southern border.

Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Gov. Ron DeSantis out-of-state travels include stops in Pennsylvania and Long Island this weekend, followed by trips to Tennessee and Michigan next week.

Saturday, DeSantis will deliver the keynote address at a luncheon for the annual Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, which bills itself as the Keystone States premier gathering of public policy conservatives.

The two-day event of politicians, commentators, and activists includes workshops on school board campaigns, parental empowerment, and playing offense for conservative principles, all hallmarks of the DeSantis administration and fodder for his expected national campaign.

Florida Watch and DeSantis Watch, two progressive groups formed as Florida trends Republican red, organized a call Friday with Florida and Pennsylvania reporters to talk about the DeSantis record with elected and former officials from both states.

DeSantis a rock star to fans Tallahassee fans wait an hour and spend $42 for seven seconds with Ron DeSantis on book tour

Eric Haggerty, a former Pennsylvania education secretary, said DeSantis has injected a fringe ideology into the classroom and the tactic will be rejected by state educators, regardless of party affiliation.

Normal Democrats and normal Republicans all across the state agree that we need to just keep this type of stuff out of our schools. We don't need book bans. We don't need to tell teachers what words they can or can't say... We need to be focusing on making sure they have the resources they need to succeed, said Haggerty, who served in a Democratic administration.

DeSantis' office did not immediately respond for comment for this story.

Parental Rights expansion: 'The Don't Say Period Bill?' Anatomy of a sex ed bill moving through Florida legislature

Is David risque? Parents ask for Tallahassee Classical board chair to resign over 'David' art lesson firestorm

President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Canal Point, Fla., on March 29, 2019.

Back story: Raised in Tampa Bay area, Ron DeSantis mocked for writing about Midwest cultural 'upbringing'

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Educators, politicians, and activists said other initiatives DeSantis has pursued may also present policy problems for him when he visits Ohio and Pennsylvania, a region described as his geographic roots in his New York Times bestselling The Courage to Be Free, Floridas Blueprint for Americas Revival."

While pundits speculate about when he will announce, DeSantis has been promoting his political tome at stops in early primary and crucial battleground states.

In the book, DeSantis says his working-class values are grounded in the Rust Belt of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio, where his parents were born, and great-grandparents had settled as immigrants.

John Russo is a retired director of the Center for Working-Class studies at Youngstown State University, where DeSantis parents met.

Russo documented the collapse of the steel industry and the economic diaspora that forced tens of thousands, including DeSantis parents, to move out of the region to find work  the two cities where DeSantis mother and father were raised have lost more than half of their population since 1970.

Last week in a discussion of DeSantis labor policies, he called DeSantis use of working-class values a campaign prop.

John B. Russo is the visiting scholar at Georgetown University Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor

"Ultimately, he is Harvard and Yale. Hes from Florida, but now he tries to build on a sort of working-class background much of the way that Trump uses Staten Island as his sort of background, geographically, when he was from Manhattan, said Russo, who is also a visiting labor scholar at Georgetown University and has written books about the deindustrialization of Americas steel belt.

Like Haggerty, who questioned DeSantis' education policies, Russo questions what benefits DeSantis policies provide working people.

SB 256 is speeding through the legislature. It imposes stricter regulations and new requirements that public sector unions say will smother them, make it more difficult to organize and easier for the state to decertify them.

Florida lawmakers' union restrictions: Paycheck protection or political payback?

J.J. Abbot served as press secretary for former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and if DeSantis signs SB 256, he wishes the governor good luck explaining it to voters.

If he things he's going to come here and talk about helping big corporations crush labor rights in Florida, he's going to have an awakening  especially in Western Pennsylvania where we have a really strong labor history, said Abbot.

DeSantis, as the PLCs featured guest, is scheduled to speak Saturday at a noon luncheon. The PLC will conduct a straw poll that includes presidential candidate preference after DeSantis address.

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahasse

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Watch, DeSantis Watch attack as he heads to battleground states
Earlier this week, El Paso's most well-known private eye's nine bedroom, eight bathroom, 13,387-square-foot estate was demolished. The two-floor custom home at 8118 was built in 1952.

Jay J. Armes was born Julian Armas; he changed his name legally in 1977.

More: Ysleta carrier overcomes handicap of being handless

Hooks for hands

An Oct. 17, 1946, El Paso Times article by Virginia Strom reported that Armas, who wanted to be a doctor, was now planning to be a lawyer:

He is 14, and his enthusiasm for life is great ... he likes to experiment and invent.

He wanted to be a doctor, but an accident last May resulted in the loss of both hands

Julian Armas, son of Mr. and Mrs. Pete Armas of Ysleta, has decided a man can be a good lawyer even if he has hooks instead of hands.

Julian's hands were mangled when two railroad torpedoes he was playing with exploded.

More: 1953: Jay J Armes scores big in movies

Success in Hollywood

By July 1953, Armes had a successful career  not as a lawyer but in Hollywood:

"We were all surprised," Mrs. Beatrice Domingo, Julian's sister, said. "Julian always worked hard, but we didn't think he'd really be an actor."

After high school, Armes went to Hollywood, and for six years he was under contract with Twentieth Century fox appearing in 39 motion pictures and 28 television shows.

Returns to El Paso

Armes returned to El Paso when he was after his daughter developed asthma due to Los Angles smog. He was named operations director of Goodwill Industries in 1956, and later founded his detective agency.

In 1972, actor Marlon Brando hired Armes to find his son, who had been taken to Mexico. Armes reportedly found him in three days.

In 1975, Armes ran an unsuccessful bid for El Paso County sheriff.

In 1987, he lost a runoff bid to represent the Lower Valley on the City Council by 21 votes against Robert Candelaria. Armes defeated Candelaria for the same seat in 1989. Armes retained his seat in 1991, running unopposed. In 1993, Armes lost his seat to Barbara Perez.

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Jay J. Armes' house has been demolished. The property is located in the Lower Valley.

More: Famous El Paso private investigator Jay J. Armes' house has been demolished; see photos

El Paso private eye Jay J. Armes reunites Marlon Brando and son

Following is an interview with Armes about his roll in the Brando kidnapping:

This interview with Jay J. Armes was published March 14, 1972.

When Marlon Brando and his son, Christian Devi, 13, were reunited, they hugged each other and cried.

An El Pasoan, Jay J. Armes, who brought about the reunion, described it as very touching. Armes, owner of the Investigators, a private detective agency, played an Agent 007 role during his search for the boy. Armes met Brando about 15 years ago.

Brando called me from Paris, Armes said. He said, My boy is missing and they got some yo-yo- working on the case. Please help me. I told him Id get the job done.

FIRST I COVERED all points of entry into Mexico because I heard he was being taken out of the U.S.

One of my agents in Mexicali notified me that a bunch of hippie characters went through in a big truck, We notified the authorities. My contact started to follow the hippies until I got there, but I notified him to let them go so they wouldnt be frightened off.

I started the search in the general vicinity by air (he owns and operates two jet helicopters) and went over the whole Puerto Cites and San Felipe areas, the coast and fishing camps and after a long time I saw a camp in the walls of the sea  its rocky volcanic area, and the indentation looked like caves.

I zeroed in and spotted a red Volkswagen, which we knew to be involved, along wit the hippies, whod been seen with Brandos wife, and noted the license number. I flew back to pick up the federal police but they didnt want to fly with me. We got a four-wheel drive and went up in the camp, surrounding it. We all had guns.

WE FOUND the boy hiding in a tent. He was very frightened and had a bad case of bronchitis and had a hard time breathing.

There were eight hippies, six men and two women, there, and they were scared. They said Anna Kashfi, Brandos ex-wife and the boys mother, promised them $10,000 each to hide the boy from Brando.

They had a supply of canned goods, food, and equipment that would have lasted 3  months.

The boy was afraid of me. He didnt want to fly so we drove out to San Diego, Calif. He tried to get away several times. Finally I gained his confidence and after I delivered him to his father at the Los Angeles airport and they both cried, he said, Father I want to go with you. I am sorry. That was last Friday.

Brando was so happy. He wanted to celebrate with a big party that night and insisted on me being there. But I hadnt slept in three days or eaten and I was dirty. I didnt go to the party  I slept.

In addition to my fee, which was not small, Brando gave me a big bonus. I was on the stand for 3  hours yesterday at the Santa Monica custody hearing. Brando said he was sure glad its over and hes likely to get permanent custody of the boy now. He was granted temporary custody at the hearing yesterday.

MISS KASHFIS attorney charge it was a setup and that Miss Kashfi who has been fighting with Bando since ether 1959 divorce, had given the boy permission to go to Mexico on a fishing trip but that he failed to meet her in Calexico, Calif., as planned. Miss Kashfi was arrested that day in Calexico on a drunk and disorderly charge.

Armes left his Ysleta home and went to Hollywood to work in movies and television some years ago. This was where he met Brando. Armes returned to El Paso and opened his own firm. He ran into Brando in Europe several years ago and told him hed left acting for investigative work. I was surprised he remembered and called me, Armes said.

Brando was granted permission to take his son to Paris where he is filming a picture and the custody hearing was continued until April 21.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Private eye Jay J. Armes reunites Marlon Brando and young son
EATONVILLE, Fla. (AP)  A developer on Friday ended plans to purchase a 100-acre (39-hectare) property from the local school system in a historically Black town in Florida following a public outcry that the deal threatened the cultural heritage of the community made famous by Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston.

Derek Bruce said in a letter to Orange County Public Schools in Orlando that he had terminated the deal to purchase the land where a former school for Black students stood in the town of Eatonville. The school system said in a statement that it wouldn't consider any further bids for the land.

"This decision presents us with a new opportunity to collaborate with the Eatonville community to preserve and celebrate the Towns historic and cultural significance as the oldest incorporated Black town in the U.S.," the school system said in the statement.

An association dedicated to preserving Eatonville's cultural history last week sued to stop the $14.6 million deal, claiming it threatened the cultural heritage of the town. The developer had plans to build 350 homes, as well as business spaces, raising fears the project would increase traffic and price out longtime residents of the town.

With a population of around 2,350 people, of whom almost three-quarters are Black, Eatonville is perhaps best known through the writings of Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston. The town was the setting for one of her best known works, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Founded in 1887, Eatonville was among the early all-Black incorporated municipalities established in the decades after the end of slavery in the U.S. Around 1,200 Black towns or settlements were established in the late 19th century and early 20th century, according to the Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance.
Peter Mathews came from the Netherlands and moved to the United States in the 1960s. He has a construction business, gray hair and blue eyes.

Cao Van Tuat grew up in a small village near the coast of Vietnam. His family farmed and caught fish for a living. To our knowledge, no photograph of him exists.

The two lives seem very far apart, but only until you look more closely.

You can read all about who these two men are, and how their paths crossed, in "The book from the enemy," a story we published this week at USA TODAY. It was written by my colleague Megan Burrow in New Jersey and correspondent Nhung Nguyen in Vietnam.

'The book from the enemy': A lifetime after Vietnam, U.S. veteran delivers a diary to its home

Megan writes about anything and everything that happens in Bergen County, so when Mathews called his local newspaper with an unusual tale, of course, the voicemail found its way to her.

When reporter Megan Burrow first met Peter Mathews, neither of them was sure they would ever find the diary's author.

Megan interviewed him and wrote a story in January about how Mathews, more than 50 years after fighting in Vietnam, still had a diary from a North Vietnamese soldier. He had found the notebook on the battlefield during one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Some people who had seen it called it the book from the enemy.

But Mathews wanted to figure out who the author was and give it back.

That was his goal, Megan says, but it was kind of like his dream.

A story within a story: Journey back to Vietnam

They both had a sense that finding the author was unlikely. Instead, it only took a couple of days.

Megans story for northjersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, launched a chain of events that would have been a story unto itself: Officials in Vietnam, working with a researcher in Alaska, had a lawyer visiting Mathews in New Jersey and officials visiting surprised relatives in a tiny village called Cao Thang. Soon, they had confirmed the identity of the soldier, notified the family and set up an international journey for Mathews to return the diary to its home.

Story continues

The whole thing was amazing, Megan says. He would text me updates: Now this person in Vietnam is wanting to interview me. Now Vietnam Airlines is offering plane tickets. He was so excited about it, and it was moving so quickly.

Peter Mathews holds the diary up at a ceremony in a communal hall in Ha Tinh, Vietnam, in 2023.

As that trip arrived, I talked with Megan and her editors about covering that part of the story. By then, we knew quite a bit about Mathews. How he had been an immigrant to the U.S. when he was drafted and sent to Vietnam, how he had been awed by the beauty of this diary, and how he had struggled with life at home even after surviving the war.

But we knew almost nothing about the man who had written it: Cao Van Tuat.

Reporter Nhung Nguyen, who is based in Ho Chi Minh City, was determined to find out more. In early March, we asked Nhung to travel to the rural coastline where Tuat had grown up, to be there when Mathews arrived to hand over the diary to Tuats nephew and sisters, his surviving relatives.

Reporter Nhung Nguyen followed the story of the diary's return to Vietnam.

Nhung knew the event, produced by government officials, would be heavy on formalities. She wanted to know more.

Soon, she was sitting in a three-room house in a tiny village called Cao Thang, drinking tea with Tuats nephew before the TV cameras arrived, and learning all about the man who wrote the diary: How he had disliked his ordinary middle name and had changed it to Xuan, meaning spring. How he had joined the army when he was 21. How he had a girlfriend and wanted to ask her family for her hand in marriage when he returned from the war. How he had sent home only one letter.

His family waited nine years to receive his death certificate, Tuats nephew said. They didnt know where he fought or when he died. They didnt even have a photograph of him.

U.S. veteran Peter Mathews arrives at the home of relatives of Cao Van Tuat, who died during the war in 1967. Mathews had found Cao's diary on the battlefield, and more than 50 years later, returned it to them.

But now, there would be a diary, full of drawings and calligraphy, and verses, including one Tuats nephew read aloud:

I am away from you, missing you a thousand times  I could feel you are waiting for me in the middle of this cold night  Dont yearn for my return.

It was like Tuat knew his fate, Nhung says.

'They don't share the same language (but) share the same soul'

We published Megan and Nhungs story this week, just as Vietnam War veterans in the U.S. were gathering to mark the 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of American combat troops from South Vietnam.

The war remains as complex and controversial today as it was in 1967 when a young Army sergeant found a beautiful notebook on the ground at Dak To. But when both Megan and Nhung looked at the story of Peter Mathews and Cao Van Tuats diary, that isnt what they saw.

Instead, they saw the similarities. Two men who had both left their homes in 1963. Two men who had been on the same battlefield in 1967. Two men who had an eye for beautiful drawings in a notebook.

The fact that he appreciated the drawings and calligraphy, Megan says, I think he has this artistic view that they kind of share.

Its hard for us to know how Tuat would have felt about the American soldiers he was fighting.

Megan thinks he may have been more devoted to his cause than Mathews was to his. He didnt volunteer to go, he was drafted, she says. He was just there. I think he never saw them as the enemy, exactly.

Nhung sees a beautiful diary  full of trauma, characters, feelings  one that belonged to Mathews in as many ways as it did to Tuat.

Following this story for a week, I just saw two young men who were put in the wrong positions at the wrong time, she says. The men from two sides who kill each other, they dont share the same language, but they actually share the same soul. Whatever wars have taught us, we are not so different.

Josh Susong is senior editor for storytelling and enterprise at USA TODAY.

The Backstory offers insights into our biggest stories of the week. If you'd like to get The Backstory in your inbox, sign up here. Subscribe to USA TODAY here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How a Vietnam War veteran returned a Vietnamese diary 50 years later
With the quiet of a church mouse, Disney may have gotten its revenge.

Targeted by Gov. Ron DeSantis and an angry Florida Legislature over its vocal opposition to the Parental Rights in Education law, also known as the dont say gay bill, the entertainment company quietly put a plan in motion that, for now, has muted the governors attempt to exert leverage over it.

Days before Florida legislators voted to advance the governors proposal to take control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special taxing district that operates the 39-square-mile property on which Walt Disney World exists, the district board voted to undercut the authority of its successor.

The governors office is now arguing that the agreements may have significant legal infirmities that would render the contracts void and plans to ask a court to intervene.

At a book signing in suburban Atlanta on Thursday, DeSantis declared: Theres a lot of back and forth going on now but rest assured, you aint seen nothing yet. Theres more to come in that regard.

However, legal scholars said Thursday, Disney may have the advantage.

Two days after the Legislature voted last year to dissolve the special taxing district that governs Walt Disney World much like a city or county government, the company posted a notice on an Orange County website that it had agreed to two development agreements, according to publicly available records that have only come to light this week.

When it became clear that the attempt to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District violated the pledge the state made to pay off the districts bond debt before it was dissolved, the governor and legislators landed on an alternative  keep and rename the district but replace the five-member governing board with five conservative allies of the governors choosing.

From left, District Administrator John Classe, Ed Milgrim, legal counsel, Leila Jammal, Board of Supervisors, Jane Adams, BOS, Larry Hames, President of the BOS and Don Greer, BOS, meet with the days agenda in the Reedy Creek District of Orange County, Fla., Wednesday, April 27, 2022.

Quiet precision in a legal maneuver

So as lawmakers convened in a special session in February to pass the bill, Disney executed its plan with precision and silence.

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Under the arrangement, which lasts for decades into the future and covers 151 pages of text, Disney and the former Reedy Creek Improvement Board agreed to a development agreement and a set of restrictive covenants that effectively limit what the DeSantis-appointed board can do to influence Disneys future plans on the 39-square-mile property.

The agreements freeze in place the regulations that were in effect at the time of the agreement and an extraordinary agreement that basically limits what Reedy Creek can do with its own property, said Jake Schumer, a municipal attorney in the suburban Orlando law firm of Shepard, Smith, Kohlmyer & Hand.

The two major agreements include the development agreement, which leaves in place the local land use regulations that favor Disney for the next 30 years and a set of restrictive covenants, which limit what the board can do with Disneys own property.

They would still have a lot of responsibility to basically keep the lights on, keep the roads moving, Schumer said. They would just be doing meat and potatoes, local government stuff  making sure that all the public infrastructure works as intended.

What the new board loses, however, is the regulatory power over land-use regulations, authority over such things as building heights, future development projects  including the potential regulation of two new theme parks allowed in the agreements, he said.

New board cant say Disney

Among the restrictions is a prohibition on the board using the Disney name without the corporations approval or fanciful characters such as Mickey Mouse.

If a court were to declare the rules do not extend into perpetuity, the agreement remains valid until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England.

Its a fallback. They had some fun, Schumer said.

The agreements are contracts, executed in publicly noticed meetings and done in the open, adhering to Floridas open government Sunshine Laws, and no one noticed.

The first clue came on April 19, 2022, two days after the Legislature passed the bill to dissolve the Reedy Creek district. Disney notified Orange County that it had signed two new agreements with the district.

Then Disney waited until January to formally have the board adopt the measures. First, it held a public hearing to announce the agreements on Jan. 25. On Feb. 8, a day before legislators passed a new law to give the governor the authority to replace the Disney-appointed board, formally adopted them.

New board vows to fight the restrictions

Now, the DeSantis-aligned board, which has been renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, has vowed to fight.

At its meeting Wednesday, it voted to hire three law firms  whose fees will all be paid by Disney, the sole source of revenue for the taxing district.

The arrogance of @disney continues, wrote Bridget Ziegler, a conservative activist who DeSantis appointed to the board, on Twitter. From ignoring parents and allowing radicals to sexualize our children, to now ignoring Florida taxpayers by sneaking in a last-minute sweetheart development agreement, Disney has once again overplayed their hand in Florida. We wont stand for this and we wont back down. If unlawful actions were taken, this development agreement will be nullified.

But in order to challenge the contract, you have to have legal standing, said J.C. Planas, a Miami lawyer who teaches about Disneys special district in his local government law class at a South Florida law school.

The previous board was comprised of five residents of the district who all are Disney employees, whereas the new board includes no residents and no Disney employees, he said.

A development order like this cant be challenged, Planas said. Theres no standing on behalf of the governor. Theres no standing on behalf of the new board. The only people standing are the residents because its a development agreement.

And if for some reason the state could prevail, it will put a giant hole not only in zoning law, but in contract law because it would mean that a municipal entity is allowed to change its mind on a contractual issue.

Schumer said, however, that the state could argue that there is no good justification for the district to have entered into the agreement and, there is a requirement that governments always be serving a public purpose. A judge could agree that there was not a valid public purpose behind this agreement and therefore it was void.

Disney carefully followed state law, Schumer added, when writing the agreement, and Disney definitely has a stronger case.

A challenge would take a change in how we understand local government law in order for Disney to lose because it really follows that local government development act very closely.

But lawyers working with the governors office have suggested that a government cannot attempt to cede governmental decision-making authority to a private entity or the contract is void.

Brian Aungst Jr., a member of the new board, called it a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern.

Schumer disagrees.

It made Disney the government the same way Im the government of my own property, he argues. They didnt cede government authority. They still have the ability to adopt any kind of regulations they want, they just wont be effective for the property covered by the development agreement.

There could be more legal maneuvering

So what comes next?

Michael Wolf, a professor of local government and property law at the University of Florida, said the state has options, such as rewriting the law to declare that development agreements are no longer lawful in Florida.

But if the state were to do that, Disney could respond that Florida has preempted its private property rights and that would open up a difficult conflict for the Florida Supreme Court.

The conservative court will have to choose between defending the rights of private property owners, which is typically something that conservative judges do, and supporting an administration that is taking, perhaps what appears to be a conservative political strategy against a major corporation, he said.

This may be the beginning of many years of litigation, Schumer predicted.

It may be the district tries to bring an action to invalidate the contract. It may be that it just decides to violate the contract and wait for Disney to sue, or theres a third option and that both parties use the standoff to negotiate an agreement with the new board.

Clay Calvert, a professor of law at the University of Florida who specializes in First Amendment law, said that Disney could also pursue a First Amendment retaliation claim, accusing the state of punishing it for speaking out against protected speech.

Planas suggests the state should simply stand down and avoid making another miscalculation.

The states best option is to do nothing and just keep the egg on their face, he argued.

Florida legislators who were asked to comment said they didnt have any answers.

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said Thursday that legislators would take a look at it but would not commit to introducing any changes this session.

Weve got a lot on our plate for the rest of the session, she said. So I dont anticipate doing anything in the near term.

Rep. Randy Fine, the Palm Bay Republican who sponsored the bill to dissolve the district last year, said he was unaware of the new developments or why the state missed the early signals from Disney.

I dont know anything about it, he said. I know the new board is upset.

McClatchy Washington D.C. reporter Alex Roarty and Tampa Bay Times staff writer Lawrence Mower contributed to this report.
The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorneys Office has dismissed a murder charge against the man who fatally shot Jin Shin following a car accident in Fort Worth last year.

Markynn West was indicted on the murder charge in December. The district attorneys office dismissed the charge on Friday.

A review of evidence in the case shows that after a minor traffic accident and disagreement, Shin retrieved a handgun and pointed at those present, the district attorneys office wrote in a statement to the Star-Telegram. West, in defense of himself and others, fired his weapon at Shin, resulting in Shins death.

West, 29, was arrested before new District Attorney Phil Sorrells took office in January.

A grand jury declined to indict three other men on murder charges in the case. Two of the suspects, Keeton Sheppard and Quamon White, were indicted on charges of assault causing bodily injury in connection with the incident.

The grand jury decided there was not enough evidence to charge the fourth suspect arrested by police, Kameron Taylor.

In arrest warrant affidavits, police alleged that the four men were among a group who surrounded Shin, assaulted him, blocked him from his vehicle and took his car keys after a traffic accident in which Shins vehicle rolled forward into the rear of another at a stoplight on University Drive in Fort Worth in August.

Surveillance video from the scene showed that Shin retrieved a handgun from his Jeep before West got his gun from another vehicle and fired at Shin, according to the warrants. Police did not mention in the affidavits that Shin pointed his gun at anyone.

Shin, 43, of Dallas, was pronounced dead at the scene.

West was arrested in September, followed by Taylor in December, White in January and Sheppard in February.

Shin, who owned Family Karaoke in Dallas, was known as an advocate for the Asian-American community and a man who had an uncanny ability to bring people together to celebrate and educate each other, according to friends and family.
Bulgarians head to the polls on Sunday for the fifth time in two years, with the EU's poorest member -- traditionally close to Moscow -- divided over the invasion of Ukraine.

The war has exacerbated the political turmoil gripping the Balkan country since 2020, when months of anti-corruption protests shook longtime conservative prime minister Boyko Borisov.

A series of elections followed, with the latest threatening to return yet another fragmented parliament unable to form a stable government.

"We break the record for number of elections," said analyst Daniel Smilov from the Centre for Liberal Strategies.

Opinion polls ahead of Sunday's vote predict a low turnout, with many in the capital Sofia not hiding their anger and disillusion.

Aleksandra Kirova, who took part in 2020's mass demonstrations calling for change, told AFP she would not even vote this time.

"I realised something rather rash was going on (during the protests). The logic was, 'Let's topple these and then we'll see,'" said the 41-year-old, who returned to Bulgaria after completing a doctorate degree in France.

"We just set a ticking bomb. What we see now is the result," she said, adding that she now focused on her family to "distance myself emotionally" from the pain of politics.

- Pro-Russian feeling -

According to the latest polls, Borisov's GERB party is running neck-and-neck at around 25 percent with the pro-western reformist We Continue the Change (PP).

Led by Harvard-educated Kiril Petkov, 42, who was briefly premier in 2022, the PP has joined forces with the small right-wing coalition Democratic Bulgaria.

But if either bloc is to form a government they are likely to need partners from "parties whose image has been tainted by suspicions of corruption," Smilov told AFP, "or whose position towards Ukraine is problematic."

The ultra-nationalist Vazrazhdane party, which is rising in the polls, and the Socialist BSP, heir of the former communists, have defended the Kremlin since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

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Many in the NATO member look to the east, revering Russia as the country that ended five centuries of Ottoman rule in 1878.

The country's pro-Russian President Rumen Radev, who has appointed interim cabinets between the string of elections, has denounced Petkov and his allies as "war mongers".

He has also spoken out against sending weapons to Ukraine.

At the same time, Bulgaria's munitions factories have been running at full capacity making ammunition for Kiev that is exported via third countries.

- Undermining credibility -

"Political turbulence could continue for another year or two," said Dobromir Zhivkov, head of the research agency Market Links, warning that this could further undermine Bulgaria's credibility.

Sofia has already had to forgo its target of joining the euro in 2024 and is also still waiting for the full amount of European funds from the post-Covid recovery plan.

Accession to the free-travel Schengen zone was again postponed after objections from the Netherlands and Austria, which were concerned about migrant flows.

To top it all, the five elections have cost the country a fortune. The bill is estimated to be more than 400 million leva (204 million euros) -- roughly the annual budget of the country's culture ministry.

vs/anb/ds/jza/fg
The Easter Bunny teamed up with Christmas Without Cancer last weekend to deliver baskets of goodies to families dealing with cancer. (Christmas Without Cancer)

Bunny delivers for Christmas Without Cancer

The Easter Bunny joined forces last weekend with Christmas Without Cancer to bring holiday cheer to 16 area families by delivering baskets of goodies.

Created and donated by Orland Park resident and Christmas Without Cancer volunteer Maria Stefanos, each custom Easter basket contained candy, gift cards and treats. Its the fourth year Stefanos has purchased items and created baskets for Christmas Without Cancer, which also hosted an egg hunt at each of the familys homes.

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Since 2003, Christmas Without Cancer has helped thousands of people by providing holiday gifts and basic necessities to families dealing with cancer. Founded in 2003 by an oncology nurse, the organization quietly identifies and adopts multiple families throughout the year and supplies them with gift cards for groceries, medications, gas, and other items, as well as help with mortgage payments, rent, tuition and travel related expenses for treatment.

Frankfort student headed to national singing contest

Providence Catholic sophomore Sophia Leverett won the 2023 August Wilson New Voices regional competition. (Providence Catholic)

Sophia Leverett, a sophomore at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, won the 2023 August Wilson New Voices Regional Competition on Monday at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

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The contest pitted Leverett against 400 high school and college aged students and is named for Wilson, whose Century Cycle is a singular achievement in American theater, according to Goodman officials.

Leverett chose a monologue from one of Wilsons plays and was one of 20 finalists to compete Monday. She said having the chance to participate was as inspiring as winning.

I think it is important for other young Black actors to realize our voices matter, she said in a release from Providence Catholic. August Wilson writes about the Black struggle in most of his work and its inspiring to see young Black individuals get their chance to shine. I was able to be part of a community; something that is bigger than myself. I felt love, creativity, and hope.

Operation Snowball retreat returns in D218

Team and trust building exercises at the recent District 218 Operation Snowball mini-retreat included students leading blindfolded peers on a walk. (School District 218)

The pandemic took away many experiences from District 218 students, including the beloved Operation Snowball retreat. Focused on boosting self-esteem, leadership development, goal setting, and healthy life choices, Snowball returned this year with a mini-retreat.

The initial goal was to help give our students an abbreviated version of our full retreat in hopes that we can continue to build next year, but I learned that after the last few years, these kids really just needed to relax, get silly, step out of their comfort-zone and have fun, said counselor Ali Foley, who helped develop the curriculum.

Snowball featured team-building experiences, activities that inspired reflection on life goals, group discussions exploring a range of topics and guest speakers

Students felt Snowball offered new and thought-provoking experiences.

I liked the mini retreat, I was able to get to know other people and get a little bit out of my comfort zone. My favorite part of the retreat was the trust game we played. It was fun and it made others connect. It was an awesome experience overall, said Jasmine Vaszquez.

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What I liked is that we split into groups to get to know different people. I also liked how it was a positive environment where if the teachers saw something that wasnt positive they would correct the students behavior instead of just watching, added Melissa Marquez.

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 >

Faculty advisors saved perhaps the best activity for last.

The retreat finished up with a final small group session writing positive notes to their group mates. The students are excited to bring the Snowball retreat experience back next year! teacher Melissa Krenkel said.

Southland Business Experience Expo set

The Southland Business Experience Expo is set to take place April 14 and 15 at the Holiday Inn Chicago  Matteson Conference Center. This event is designed to provide insight to business professionals on government contracting, health and wellness and financial opportunities.

The expo will feature expert speakers James Dentley, Bill Walsh, Bonita Parker, and AC Green addressing topics such as marketing, branding, public relations strategies and more.

The event also will have panel discussions and business spotlights highlighting various business development and growth topics, as well as networking opportunities and a chance to build relationships with potential customers, partners and investors.

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Tickets and information are at www.chamber57.org.

Send news to communitynews@southtownstar.com.
Earlier this month, Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to predict that he would soon be arrested over hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election. On Thursday 30 March, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict the former president.

Mr Trump has become the first US president in history to face criminal charges following a yearslong investigation.

The former president made the arrest prediction in a furious all-caps post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday morning.

In it, he called on his supporters to protest any arrest and to take our nation back.

Reports before Mr Trumps indictment said that meetings have taken place between city, state and federal law enforcement in New York City about the former presidents indictment should be handled.

What is an indictment in the US legal system?

An indictment is a formal notice that prosecutors believe that an individual has committed a crime, and it contains basic information about the charges that they face.

To get an indictment on a felony charge a prosecutor takes their case against an individual in front of a grand jury, according to the Department of Justice.

Witnesses can be called to testify before the grand jury and evidence is presented during a behind-closed-doors session or sessions.

After listening to the prosecutor and the witnesses, the grand jury secretly votes to decide if there is enough evidence to bring charges in the case.

If a grand jury decides there is not enough evidence then there will be no indictment.

All proceedings before a grand jury, which, for example in a federal case, is normally made up of 16 to 23 members, are sealed. At least 12 people on a grand jury must agree for an indictment to be ordered.

Former Trump Attorney Michael Cohen arrives at the district attorney's office to complete his testimony before a grand jury on March 15, 2023 in New York. (AFP via Getty Images)

Lawyers say that the burden of proof for a grand jury is low as the process does not determine any guilt or innocence; rather it is a procedure to take a case forward and ultimately to trial.

If an indictment is returned, a prosecutor can then take the case to an arraignment hearing, which takes place before a judge.

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During the arraignment hearing the judge reads out the charges faced by the defendant and the maximum punishments for those charges.

FILE - Adult film actress Stormy Daniels arrives for the opening of the adult entertainment fair Venus in Berlin, on Oct. 11, 2018. (AP)

At this stage, the defendant can plead guilty, not guilty or enter into a plea deal with prosecutors.

If the defendant pleads not guilty the case proceeds and the judge will set any bond, a pre-trial hearing date and a trial date.

A defence attorney is hired or appointed for the defendant. The case can then move on to discovery, which includes access to reports, statements of prosecution, witnesses and evidence that is to be presented to a jury at trial.

Will Trump be arrested?

An arrest and an arraignment hearing will not necessarily immediately follow an indictment.

An arraignment hearing to formally charge a defendant in a court proceeding is scheduled following an arrest.

Mr Trumps team has indicated that he would surrender to authorities should he face charges and would then schedule a time to effectively turn himself in. It is unclear whether Mr Trump will have to be physically appear for his arraignment, a process than can be performed virtually or remotely. Following an appearance, a judge will likely allow his release on his own recognizance.

What charges does Trump face?

The case involving Ms Daniels involves a $130,000 hush money payment to allegedly buy her silence before the 2016 presidential election. Ms Daniels alleged an extrmarital affair with Mr Trump, a claim that the former presidents then-attorney Michael Cohen sought to keep quiet with a payment that was reimbursed to him through the Trump Organization, according to court filings in the federal case to prosecute him.

In that case, to which Cohen pleaded guilty, prosecutors argued that Mr Trumps business concealed the nature of the payments.

To prove that Mr Trump committee a fraudulent offence that rises above a misdemeanor, prosecutors need to present evidence that his records were intentionally falsified and were done so with the intention of committing, aiding or concealing another crime.
A dog chased a mountain lion up a tree after the lion wandered into a neighborhood in eastern Idaho, officials said.

The dogs owner reported the March 30 sighting to Idaho Fish and Game, and because it was so close to Woodland Hills Elementary in Ammon near Idaho Falls, the school was put on alert, officials said in a news release.

But the mountain lion wasnt aggressive, and officials didnt think she had attacked any pets, so they tranquilized her and plan to relocate her, officials said.

That isnt always an option for adult mountain lions, according to the release. But given the circumstances, this one qualified.

This lion appears to be healthy and was not known to be aggressive, Wildlife Manager Curtis Hendricks said in the release. Given that this was the first report, it did not seem to have been frequenting the area and likely just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Officials plan to release her in a remote area away from humans, the release said.

Mountain lion sightings dont always have such happy endings, especially in areas with brutal winters and heavy snow, where hungry mountain lions have attacked pets and even people in rare cases.

They are hungry! Its been a long winter, someone commented on a post Idaho Fish and Game Upper Snake Region shared to Facebook.

Someone shared that this mountain lion had walked through livestock with new calves and left them alone.

Didnt even care about them. Looked very healthy also, they said.

If youre within sight of a mountain lion, remember these tips:

NEVER run away from a mountain lion, the release says. Its their instinct to chase and catch whatever they think may be prey.

Dont turn your back on them, either. Instead, face them while making yourself appear as large as possible. You can yell at them loudly, but do not scream as the higher pitch can sound like a wounded animal.

Back away slowly while maintaining eye contact.

Its a good idea to have safety equipment handy to haze the lion, such as bear spray, a bright flashlight and something to make noise, like an air horn.

In the event a lion does attack, its best to fight back.

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Mountain lion bite sends child to hospital, Northern California sheriff says
When it comes to unlikely friendships, this one might be the GOAT.

Cinnamon, a female goat, and Felix, a male bulldog mix, are two best friends who wound up at the Wake County Animal Center in North Carolina after their owner became unable to care for them, the shelter said in a press release earlier this week.

It quickly became apparent the four-legged pals had a special relationship.

Cinnamon the goat and Felix the dog won't have to part anytime soon.

Cinnamon the goat and Felix the dog won't have to part anytime soon.

Cinnamon is very independent around people but extremely bonded to Felix, animal services community outreach manager Meagan Thomas told HuffPost in an email.

The goat loves running around with Felix and body-bumping, him a little as they run and when Felix starts barking, Cinnamon will often chime in with her own bleats, Thomas said.

Felix also shows clear attachment to his herbivorous buddy, though Thomas admitted that the dog seems to be less bonded toward Cinnamon than she is with him. (Weve all been there, Cinnamon.)

This isnt to say he isnt bonded, but he doesnt lose his mind if she isnt around, Thomas said.

On the other hand, when the shelter briefly separated the two friends upon their arrival, Cinnamon was stressed and frantic and started bleating and calling out to the dog, Jennifer Federico, director of animal services, told The Washington Post.

Felix behaves in a gentle manner with his companion and seems to know that Cinnamon doesnt enjoy body slamming or any other rough play, Thomas said. They cuddle together and coexist nicely.

Cinnamon and Felix

Cinnamon and Felix "cuddle together and coexist nicely," said Meagan Thomas of the Wake County Animal Center.

The shelters hunt for a home that could accommodate both animals spread far and wide after a Facebook post about the pair went viral. Ultimately, a New York-based dog rescue group, the Mr. Mo Project, helped locate a family in North Carolina that already had a small goat herd and space to adopt a dog.

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Thomas told HuffPost on Thursday that Cinnamon and Felix hadnt set out for their new home yet, but would be doing so soon.

Felix the dog

Felix the dog "seems to be less bonded toward Cinnamon than she is with him," Thomas said.

Shelter staff members are relieved that the two animals can stay together.

Its a weird duo, but it works for them, Federico told the Washington Post. Who are we to judge? They obviously love each other.

Related...
The federal courthouse in Asheville.

ASHEVILLE - A federal judge on March 30 sentenced a Canton man to serve more than 15 years in prison for distributing methamphetamine, according to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina.

Arthur Shane Douville, 33, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in October 2022, according to court records.

"According to documents filed with the court and todays sentencing hearing, law enforcement investigating methamphetamine trafficking rings operating in Haywood, Jackson and Buncombe Counties identified Douville as a wholesale methamphetamine trafficker who supplied local drug distributors," the release said.

Douville was arrested by Haywood County law enforcement in 2020, DOJ spokesperson Lia Bantavani said.

Courts news: Judge: Former Buncombe Manager Greenes family ordered to pay sanctions, hand over records

More: Mission, HCA Healthcare noncompete lawsuit dismissed; doctors now working at Pardee

Crime news: Asheville police: Violent crime up across city, property crime down in 2022

They seized nearly two ounces of meth hidden in a "false vehicle compartment" during a traffic stop. Douville bought the meth in Georgia, the release said.

"Court records show that the methamphetamine seized was part of a larger eight-ounce quantity obtained in Georgia, some of which Douville had already distributed. Douville had made a similar trip one week earlier, obtaining four ounces of methamphetamine at that time," the release said.

The release added that U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger "enhanced Douvilles sentence after he found that the defendant had attempted to obstruct justice and derail his prosecution by producing forged letters and fake messages supposedly written and sent by a codefendant, in which the co-defendant allegedly admitted that the seized methamphetamine belonged to him and not Douville."

Douville is to be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons, where he will serve over 15 years, or 188 months. After that, he is to serve three years of supervised release.

Ryan Oehrli covers public safety, breaking news, courts and other beats for the Citizen Times. Comments? Questions? Tips? Send them to coehrli@citizentimes.com or 252-944-6816. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Arthur Shane Douville of Canton gets 15 years for distributing meth
The Department of Justice is suing Norfolk Southern over its Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last month that spewed toxic materials and spawned weeks of furor over the Biden administrations response.

In the lawsuit unveiled Thursday, federal prosecutors accuse the company of unlawfully polluting waterways with oil and hazardous substances from the derailed trains.

The DOJ is seeking injunctive relief, cost recovery and civil penalties to ensure it pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup, according to the lawsuit. It does not accuse Norfolk Southern of negligence.

As a result of this incident, hazardous materials vented into the air and spilled onto the ground. These substances contaminated local waterways and flowed miles downstream, the prosecutors wrote in the suit.

Norfolk Southern spokesperson Connor Spielmaker said the company was working with urgency, at the direction of the U.S. EPA, at whose request DOJ brought the lawsuit, on cleaning up the site, assisting residents whose lives were impacted by the derailment and investing in the future of East Palestine and the surrounding areas.



That remains our focus and well keep working until we make it right, Spielmaker added, repeating a refrain that Alan Shaw, the railroads CEO, has said many times in his recent appearances before Congress, in which hes apologized for the derailment.

The derailment, involving a freight train traveling near a small town along the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, sent 38 cars off the track, spilling hazardous chemicals. Some of the tank cars had been compromised and required a controlled release of toxic vinyl chloride, which was burned off and forced the towns evacuation.

Federal officials have insisted that the area and its water are safe now, but residents continue to complain of foul smells and worry about long-term health concerns, as well as depressed home values.

The company has come under intense scrutiny from the industry and lawmakers, who have pressed for more stringent safety precautions as they suspect an overheating wheel caused the derailment. Norfolk Southern has since announced a handful of new safety measures,as has the industry as a whole.



Lawmakers from both parties, including a heavy contingent from Ohio and Pennsylvania, are pressing forward with legislation intended to shore up rail safety, but so far have yet to gain broad traction.

Tanya Snyder contributed to this report.
Members of Rise and Resist participate in their weekly "Truth Tuesday" protest at News Corp headquarters on February 21, 2023 in New York City. Text messages and emails between various Fox News hosts and network executives obtained during a defamation lawsuit brought by voting machine company Dominion against Fox News



Frequent protesters stood in front of the Fox News building in New York City last month with signs citing court documents stemming from the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit.

Fox News will be forced to defend its promotion of the Big Lie in court, as a Delaware judge ruled that a jury would need to decide whether there was actual malice in how the network let election disinformation loose upon its millions of viewers.



On Friday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that Dominion Voting Systems has not yet proved Fox acted with libelous intent by promoting the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. At the same time, the judge ruled against Fox News and Fox Corporations attempts to quash the lawsuit. He further gave Dominion the benefit that Foxs statements, by themselves, could constitute defamation.

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Dominion kicked up the hornets nest when it brought its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News back in 2021. The company has said its seeking recompense for lost profits due to the lies spread about the company. Dominion has filed similar lawsuits against ultra-conservative networks like Newsmax and OAN.

Davis wrote that Dominion has met the burden of proof to show that all of Foxs promoted statements about the voting machine company were all lies. The judge added the evidence is CRYSTAL clear [emphasis his] that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true. A trial is set to start sometime in April.



The court held two hearings earlier this week to discuss the matter. In its summary judgment request, Fox News has tried to argue that its promotion of the big lie was just common journalist practice by discussing the election allegations coming from Trump. The network further claimed its reporting was protected under the First Amendment, and that theres precedent protecting news sites from allegations later proven false.

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On the flip side, Dominion argued Fox was actively promoting the big lie by publishing and promoting top election deniers.

Defamation suits like this hang on the thin thread of proving that one side had actual malice in its speech, meaning it acted knowing the information was false or acting with reckless disregard to a statements truth. Its an incredibly hard burden of proof for plaintiffs in defamation cases, though at least Dominion has a lot of ammunition to fire at Fox, mostly from hosts and guests own lips.

The document retreads much of what came out in texts and emails from Fox executives and hosts. The main faces at Fox News regularly complained about Trump and the election conspiracy, calling it shockingly reckless and complaining about election conspiracists like Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani. In records from Fox Corporation Chair Rupert Murdochs deposition, the venerable scion of conservative media around the globe said he could have stopped Fox News from bringing on the election conspiracists, but chose not to.

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Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters/Getty

Welcome to America, the land of reality TV trash.

The news that former President Donald Trump was indicted on Thursday in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case proves that the country has earned its reputation as a bastion for low-rent hucksters, according to co-host of The New Abnormal podcast, Danielle Moodie.

Welcome to the Banana republicand not the clothing store, friends, Moodie laments.

The pair discuss the notable event, which marks the first time a former president has faced serious criminal charges in the history of the United States.

The case, which looked into Trumps role in the scheme to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet over their alleged affair, is not the one a lot of people were rooting for to go first, Moodie says, with co-host Andy Levy agreeing that the case against Trump in Georgia, where the former reality TV star is accused of election meddling in the aftermath of the 2020 election, is far more serious.

According to Levy, the New York indictment could break the seal for the rest. Maybe this makes it easier for there to be an indictment in Georgia because theres no pressure now for the Georgia prosecutors or a Georgia grand jury to be the first to indict a former sitting president, Levy says. Yeah, its been done already. So, the precedent has been set.

Subscribe to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Overcast.

Then, The Atlantics Adam Serwer, author of the book The Cruelty Is the Point, discusses his latest essay, entitled Woke is just another word for Liberal, and explains what he means in the wake of conservative writer Bethany Mandels failure to articulate how she defines the term.

Its a flexible word sometimes the target of woke is a political apathy, thats actually not a Black person, but is a white liberal who thinks that they are being very socially aware, socially progressive in a way that maybe is silly or counterproductive. Its very slippery and if you say its just one thingand sometimes it is one thing or the otherif you dont acknowledge how nebulous it is, it can actually be confusing as to what the person who means it intends. I deliberately did not impose my definition on it. I used her [Mandels] definition that she offered after the fact precisely to say that this is basically an argument that traditional hierarchies are good and just, and should not be altered by the state.

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What Ron DeSantis Is Counting On to Beat Trump

Plus! MSNBC analyst and lecturer and director of the public policy program at the Roosevelt House at Hunter College, Basil Smikle, discusses what Americans who believe in gun reform are getting wrong.

Its clear that for so many gun control advocates that trying to go after the Second Amendment in itself is not going to solve the problem because there will just be consistent pushback.

Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Donald Trump

After years of investigations and weeks of suspense over possible legal charges, former president Donald Trump was formally indicted by a New York grand jury. The indictment by a grand jury, convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, is the latest development in a lingering affair scandal for Trump and one of several legal cases that the ex-president faces. The New York indictment sets up an unprecedented circumstance in which a former president will be taken into legal custody and could perhaps face jail time.

The post Donald Trump Indicted In New York City, Setting Up An Unprecedented Circumstance appeared first on Blavity.

CNN reported Thursday evening that several sources had confirmed that a Manhattan grand jury had voted to criminally indict Trump. The news was later confirmed by Trumps legal team. While the details of the indictment, including the specific crimes with which Trump is being charged, have not been made public, DA Bragg has been investigating Trump for a number of financial crimes, eventually honing in on the fallout of an alleged affair. Trump is suspected to have committed criminal offenses in attempting to cover up a $130,000 payoff made in 2016 to adult actress Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with him years ago. Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who was reported to serve as Trumps fixer for years, went to federal prison for a variety of violations that include the Stormy Daniels payment, which was seen as an illegal contribution to the Trump presidential campaign.

Bragg has reportedly been seeking to file felony charges against Trump, and the grand jury is believed to have returned one or more felony indictments. This is the first time that a sitting or former President of the United States has ever faced criminal charges.

Trump remained defiant in the face of these charges. In a statement released Thursday, Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said that Trump did not commit any crime, and labeled the charges a political prosecution. Trump, who is currently the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination for 2024, released an angry statement, calling the charges Political Persecution and Election Interference attacking DA Bragg, President Joe Biden, and Democratic donor George Soros, among others; his statement also brought up a number of other scandals, including his two impeachments and the raid of his Mar-a-Lago resort to recover classified documents.

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Statement from former President Trump on indictment pic.twitter.com/lIrqBLvNq9  Kelly ODonnell (@KellyO) March 30, 2023

Now that Trump has been indicted, it is expected that he will have to turn himself in for arraignment next week. As is the case with anyone else charged with felony offenses, Trump will be booked at the DAs office, including having his fingerprints and mugshot taken. Given Trumps high profile and the unique security situation surrounding a former president with Secret Service protection, its expected that Trump will be brought in through a private entrance, and he will probably not be handcuffed or put in a holding cell during the process. Trumps team and the DAs office will likely negotiate an exact time for these events to take place, and Trump will almost certainly be allowed to leave once he has been processed.

These New York charges may be the tip of the iceberg for Trumps legal woes. Trump may be indicted in for election tampering in Georgia, which could result in RICO charges for organized crime, and he is being investigated for the Mar-a-Lago classified documents scandal and the Capitol Hill insurrection. But it looks like New York will have the first crack at holding Trump criminally responsible for his behavior, a case that has already made history and that will continue to send shockwaves across the political landscape for some time to come.
A New York grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump on unspecified criminal charges in a case that marks the first time a former president has been charged criminally, his lawyers confirmed.

The grand jury had been investigating hush money payments to two women who claimed to have had sex with him. The outline of those payments became public only after he was elected in 2016 and more details were revealed in sworn testimony as Trump served in the White House.

The Manhattan District Attorneys office acknowledged late Thursday that Trumps lawyers had been notified. Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said Trump was expected in New York by Tuesday for arraignment.

This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal, a spokesperson for District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

Who is Michael Cohen?: Former Trump lawyer is a key witness in New York probe of ex-president

Alvin Bragg v. Donald Trump: Inside Manhattan DA's latest legal tangle with former president

"We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court," Tacopina said.

Trump has threatened that there would be "potential death & destruction" if charges were filed against him in the case. He has said also that he wouldnt quit the 2024 presidential race if indicted.

Donald Trump's biggest campaign foe?: A string of investigations

Trump lawyers confirm indictment; say they will fight it

Former president Donald Trump's 757 jet is parked at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday.

Another lawyer for Trump, Alina Habba, issued a statement saying: A former president, a current candidate and my friend President Donald J. Trump is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history. He will be vindicated.

 David Jackson and Erin Mansfield

Like other defendants, Trump will likely be fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken

No one knows how former President Donald Trump will react to the indictment, and whether he will turn himself in willingly or not. But once he is arrested and taken into custody, the former president will be read his rights, known as a Miranda warning, about how he has the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney and that what he says can be used against him in a court of law.

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Trump will then be processed just like any other defendant and given a booking number, former prosecutors and law enforcement officials told USA TODAY. There will still be a mug shot, fingerprints and lots of paperwork filled out as part of the booking process, said former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner. We will see a mug shot, but I do not think we're going to see a perp walk.

A perp walk is when authorities parade a suspect before the media. In some cases, some defendants have chosen to be taken into custody that way in an effort to make a statement about their arrest and the charges against them. But one of Trumps lawyers, Joseph Tacopina, appeared to rule that out, saying Trump would turn himself in and voluntarily self-surrender.

Underscoring the unprecedented nature of the case, Trump is expected to be accompanied to his arraignment by his Secret Service detail, as former presidents are afforded such protection for life.

 Josh Meyer and Kevin Johnson

Trump's statement attacks the indictment

Trump put out a lengthy statement attacking what he called "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history."

In a post filled with invective, Trump also claimed that Democrats and others have been out to get him since he announced his first president run in June of 2015. He cited a litany of past investigations, including Russia election interference in 2016 and two impeachments during his presidency.

"Now theyve done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference," Trump claimed. Never before in our Nations history has this been done."

Trump also condemned Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, claiming without evidence he is doing the "dirty work" of President Joe Biden.

Trump also said the indictment will "backfire massively" on Biden and the Democrats, and that he will win the presidency anyway in 2024.

 David Jackson

Biden White House wont comment on Trump indictment

The White House has no comment on Trumps indictment, spokesman Andrew Bates told USA TODAY.

The decision not to weigh in comes as President Joe Biden has said nothing publicly about Trumps legal troubles since the former president announced that he expected to face criminal charges.

The White House last week condemned violent protests that Trump warned could result from an indictment and said the federal government has not tracked any specific security threats tied to an indictment.

 Joey Garrison

Photos: Trump presidency in photos

Pence: Trump indictment outrageous

Former Vice President Mike Pence said the indictment smacks of a political prosecution.

I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage, Pence told Wolf Blitzer on CNN. It appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution.

- Bart Jansen and David Jackson

What does Trump indictment mean?

An indictment is not the same as an arrest; it's a formal charge of a crime, while an arrest is when a person is taken into custody.

Glenn Kirschner, a former prosecutor, previously told USA TODAY that authorities often negotiate the surrender of a high-profile defendant like Trump to avoid the spectacle of a perp walk in which the person is paraded before the media as they enter the courthouse or police station.

There will be no reason to cuff him and walk him into police headquarters to be booked," Kirschner said. There will still be a mug shot, fingerprints and lots of paperwork filled out as part of the booking process. We will see a mug shot ... but I do not think we're going to see a perp walk.

 Ella Lee, Sarah Elbeshbishi and Josh Meyer

Senate Majority Leader Schumer: Let legal system determine Trumps fate

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Thursday that there should be no political influence of interference in Trumps indictment. He encouraged supporters and critics of the former president to let the process proceed peacefully and according to law.

Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law, the New York senator tweeted.

- Rachel Looker

Law enforcement has met on security for Trump indictment

Law enforcement officials have been meeting to assess the need for additional security in preparation for the former presidents indictment.

Last week, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told USA TODAY that the agency had participated in meetings with Manhattan court authorities, the New York Police Department and other officials to discuss planning for Trumps appearance in New York to answer the charges.

At that time, Cheatle said the agency has been provided no information related to the timing of a possible decision, and that "no extraordinary measures" have been required in the security effort.

"The Secret Service has a long-standing relationship with a lot of our law enforcement partners, both here in the National Capital Region and in the New York area," Cheatle said. She said the Secret Service coordinates daily with its law enforcement partners for any contingency, "wherever we have protectees or our investigative missions."

 Kevin Johnson

Cities brace for possible unrest

Cities are preparing for public responses to Trumps indictment. The former president had called for protests last week amid the New York grand jurys investigation.

As news broke out of his indictment Thursday night, Republicans in Trump's home county said they stood by the former president. And while the streets of Palm Beach County have been quiet in recent weeks, a few dozen gathered near Mar-a-Lago holding signs in support and waving Trump flags.

Palm Beach County Republican Party Chair Michael Barnett said he stands behind Trump, and said that he demands that Trump "be treated fairly and in accordance with the law ... as everyone is entitled to."

"Ultimately, we believe that he will be cleared of any wrongdoing and will emerge stronger than before," said Barnett, a longtime Trump ally who was appointed to the Palm Beach County commission by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

In New York City, the New York Police Department ordered every uniformed member to show up in full uniform on Friday as a precautionary measure. Last week, NYPD put up steel barricades outside the Manhattan Criminal Court and the Manhattan district attorneys offices in preparation for the potential indictment.

- Stephany Matat, Palm Beach Post

Stormy Daniels lawyer: No one is above the law

The attorney representing adult film star Stormy Daniels, a central figure in the hush money inquiry, said Thursday the indictment indicated that no one is above the law.

The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy, attorney Clark Brewster said. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail.

 Kevin Johnson

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy: House will hold DA Bragg to account

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tweeted Thursday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg irreparably damaged our country and interfered in a presidential election.

As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump, McCarthy tweeted. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

 Rachel Looker

Former House Speaker Pelosi: No one is above the law

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tweeted Thursday that the Grand Jury acted upon the facts and the law in Trumps indictment.

No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence, she tweeted. Hopefully, the former president will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.

The former speaker clashed with Trump during his time as president and initiated two impeachment inquiries into the former president.

- Rachel Looker

What is a grand jury?

In the state of New York, a grand jury decides whether or not a person should be formally charged with a crime or other offense, according to a handbook that the states court system hands out to grand jurors.

Grand juries work in secret and only hear evidence from prosecution. There is no judge present in the proceeding. The grand jurys vote to formally accuse someone of a crime is called an indictment. A grand jury also can vote to dismiss charges or accuse the person of a lesser offense.

 Erin Mansfield

Mar-A-Lago, former President Donald Trump's residence on Thursday.

Reps. Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise on indictment: Outrageous

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted one word Thursday evening in response to the news of Trumps indictment: Outrageous.

Jordan is one of three Republican House committee chairs who called for testimony from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The GOP chairs said they have concerns Braggs investigation of Trump would become a politically motivated prosecutorial decision.

House Republican Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana also called the indictment outrageous.

The sham New York indictment of President Donald Trump is one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents, the Houses second-ranking Republican tweeted Thursday.

 Rachel Looker

Rep. Adam Schiff: Trump indictment counts, is sobering and unprecedented

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif, who led the first impeachment against Trump over his dealings with Ukraine, called the indictment a sobering and unprecedented development. He said since Cohen went to prison for the hush money payment, it was just that Trump be charged for directing the payment. Schiff said more grievous charges are possible from Justice Department special counsels investigation and a Georgia district attorneys inquiry.

If we are to be a nation of laws, then we must apply the law equally and to everyone, regardless of their station, Schiff said. To do otherwise, because holding a president accountable is controversial or provocative, will not bring order, but breed disorder, and disrespect of the law.

 Bart Jansen

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis statement says indictment is 'un-American'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trumps best-polling Republican opening, is backing him on the New York indictment.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head, DeSantis said in a statement. It is un-American.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct, DeSantis said. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

DeSantis also repeated that he would not help New York with any extradition request.

Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances, DeSantis said.

 David Jackson

Pro-Trump organization head denounces indictment

Allies of Trump are denouncing the indictment, saying that its an effort to stop the former president from being reelected.

Taylor Budowich, head of a pro-Trump organization called Make America Great Again Inc., said in a statement Thursday said there was no crime and instead is the indictment of a failed nation. Budowich added that he believes the indictment will fail and Trump will be reelected.

President Trump is promising to peacefully end the war in Ukraine, dismantle the deep state, and save our country by putting America first, Budowich said in a statement. For that, the political elites and powerbrokers have weaponized government to try and stop him.

 Rebecca Morin

Michael Cohen: 'No one is above the law'  including a former president

Michael Cohen, Trump's lawyer and a key witness in the grand jury investigation, says Trump's indictment is only the beginning of a new chapter in the former president's legal saga.

"Now that the charges have been filed, it is better for the case to let the indictment speak for itself," Cohen said in a written statement. "The two things I wish to say at this time is that accountability matters and I stand by my testimony and the evidence I have provided."

Cohen began by noting that Trump is the first president in history to be indicted. "I take no pride in issuing this statement," he said, "and wish to also remind everyone of the presumption of innocence; as provided by the due process clause."

Cohen added that "I do take solace in validating the adage that no one is above the law; not even a former President. Todays indictment is not the end of this chapter; but rather, just the beginning."

 David Jackson

Other legal jeopardy for Trump

The New York criminal case is the first to charge him criminally, but he faces legal jeopardy in several jurisdictions.

Two of his companies, Trump Corp. and the Trump Payroll Corp., were convicted in December of criminal tax fraud. The companies were fined a combined $1.6 million.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is considering a range of potential charges, including election fraud, false statements and racketeering.

A federal special counsel, Jack Smith, is investigating Trumps role in interfering with the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden and the unauthorized retention of classified documents at his Florida estate.

Presidential historian on the significance of Trump indictment

Matt Dallek, a presidential historian, said the indictment marks an inflection point in American democracy, and will test the system of equal justice under the law as perhaps no other case in recent history.

The indictment is good news for democracy, but it also reflects the turmoil and the challenges that Trump has posed to our system of governance, so it cuts both ways, Dallek said. It's significant because he is the first president or former President to be indicted. But it also raises the fundamental question of can he get a fair trial? And can the trial proceed without significant outbreaks of violence? And that's going to be a test for the rule of law in America and the stability of the two-party political system.

 Josh Meyer

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump indicted by a New York grand jury: recap
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trumps indictment followed a head-spinning two weeks during which the former president predicted his own arrest but, almost as quickly, suggested that hed beat the rap.

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When it did come on Thursday, the indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office caught Trump and his circle of advisers off-guard, according to a person familiar with the matter. Some had even planned spring-break trips with their families in the coming weeks that had to be rapidly canceled.

I think theyve already dropped the case. From what I understand, I think its been dropped, Trump told reporters on his plane following his March 25 campaign rally. His spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News the case had been dropped because everyone knows this was a partisan witch-hunt.

Trump had a few days before also gloated on social media about the total disarray in the Manhattan DAs office.

That was a decided change in tone from the morning of March 18, when Trump predicted on his Truth Social platform that he would be arrested that coming Tuesday and called on his supporters to take to the streets in protest. The already crowded blocks around the Criminal Courts Building at 100 Centre Street turned into a parking lot of television trucks, camera crews and reporters anticipating legal Armageddon.

Part of the Trump teams confidence came from lawyer Robert Costellos March 20 presentation to the grand jury on the former presidents behalf. The onetime federal prosecutor, whos most recently defended Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon, brought hundreds of emails and text messages that he said showed that former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen would not be a reliable witness.

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The one thing you cant do is rest your case on Michael Cohens word, Costello said in an interview after his grand jury appearance.

Cohen made the hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels that are at the center of Braggs case and will therefore be a key witness for the DA. But doubts have long circulated about putting Cohen on the stand  he pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations stemming from the payment and also to lying to Congress. Federal prosecutors suggested that his cooperation in their own investigation into the payments had been less-than-fulsome.

Moreover, Cohen has become a full-time critic of his former boss, with a podcast and several books on the subject.

The day after Costellos grand jury presentation, Trump wasnt arrested, and an indictment that once appeared imminent no longer seemed to be. At least one witness who had previously met with prosecutors, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, reappeared, suggesting there were nagging questions about his testimony.

During that time, Braggs office was also hit with a wave of criticism from across the political spectrum, with many left-leaning legal experts expressing concern that the DAs case was weak and could hurt stronger prosecutions that might result from an Atlanta probe into Trumps efforts to shift Georgias 2020 election results as well as a Justice Department special counsel investigation into his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and his retention of classified documents after leaving office.

The prospect of a Trump indictment seemed to recede further this week following news reports that the grand jury would be on break for anywhere from two to four weeks in April. The shift in pace further suggested that Braggs investigation had run out of steam.

So by Thursday afternoon, when prosecutors from Braggs office took their usual walk across the street to the building where the grand jury sits, the media circus of the previous week had evaporated. Gone were most of the TV trucks and camera crews. Only a handful of reporters and photographers remained.

Also gone were the oddball characters who had shown up for their 15 minutes of fame, including one man dressed up as the QAnon shaman convicted of storming the Capitol and another who walked among the gathered hordes carrying a wooden cross, urging people to repent.

That was when the grand jury met to vote.

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Xi sends warm greetings as Ma visits Wuhan

08:34, March 31, 2023 By LI LEI ( Chinadaily.com.cn

Song Tao, a senior Taiwan affairs official of the Chinese mainland, conveyed warm greetings from Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, while meeting on Thursday with Ma Ying-jeou in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Song, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, fully affirmed Ma's important contribution to the development of cross-Straits relations.

Song said that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are one big family and should adhere to the 1992 Consensus, actively promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, continuously enhance the well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, and firmly oppose separatist activities of "Taiwan independence" and interference by external forces.

He also called on both sides to jointly maintain peace and stability across the Straits, safeguard the overall interests of the Chinese nation, and unite and strive for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Ma expressed his gratitude for Xi's greetings. He also said that compatriots on both sides of the Straits belong to the Chinese nation as a whole and should work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus, promote the sustainable peace and prosperity of both sides, enhance the well-being of Chinese people on both sides and jointly revitalize China.

Medical workers praised

Ma, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, also praised the measures adopted by the mainland to fight COVID-19 and expressed hope for more cross-Straits cooperation in the health sector.

While visiting Wuhan, a city hit hard by COVID-19 in early 2020, Ma paid tribute to the mainland's medical workers for their sacrifice and dedication, and he said that the construction of makeshift hospitals to quarantine confirmed COVID-19 patients and their close contacts was a "pioneering move".

Wuhan's effective COVID control measures at an early stage prevented a large-scale spread of the virus, which was a contribution not only to the mainland but also to the whole of humanity, he said.

Ma made the remarks as he and a group of Taiwan students were visiting an exhibition on Wuhan's battle against COVID-19. More than 380 photos and 280 items are on display at the six-part exhibition, alongside 29 sets of multimedia illustrations.

Among the exhibits are photos and videos showing infected Taiwan compatriots receiving effective medical treatment on the mainland and those who donated blood plasma after recovering.

Ma told Xinhua News Agency that the COVID-19 prevention and control efforts by the mainland at the early stage of the outbreak helped limit the scale of the spread outside its borders and were "extremely admirable".

Ma also said that the mainland and Taiwan have signed agreements on medical cooperation and that prospects for such cooperation are broad. He expressed hope for the full implementation of these agreements.

On Wednesday, Wang Menghui, Party secretary of Hubei province, met in Wuhan with the group led by Ma.

Wang said that young people are the most active force in cross-Straits exchanges, and he welcomes young people from Taiwan to study, work and live in Hubei and to promote the exchanges and cooperation between Hubei and the island.

Hubei-Taiwan exchanges

Wang also said that Hubei has continuously deepened practical cooperation between the two sides. It has formulated a series of Taiwan-friendly policies and measures and created conditions for development and provided convenience for Taiwan businesspeople in Hubei.

A number of well-known Taiwan enterprises are running businesses in Hubei, which has maintained the momentum of economic and social development in recent years, he added.

Hubei will continue to bear in mind that people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one family, and will respect, care for and bring benefits to Taiwan compatriots in the province, Wang said. He added that the province will also promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two sides and improve the well-being of people across the Straits.

Ma thanked Hubei for its warm reception and care for Taiwan businesspeople and students in the province.

He said that in recent years, Hubei has made great efforts to promote high-quality economic and social development, and the interaction with Taiwan has become increasingly intensive, which has contributed a lot to the promotion of cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation.

He noted that the first student exchange event during his trip to the mainland will be held at Wuhan University, which has the reputation of having one of the most beautiful campuses in the country.

Ma said he hopes young people on both sides of the Straits will have more contact and friendship, so that they can understand each other and enjoy a deeper friendship.

The group's stay in Wuhan was part of Ma's trip to visit his ancestral home on the mainland on the occasion of Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, which falls on Wednesday. The 12-day visit, which started on Monday, will also take him to Changsha, Hunan province, as well as Chongqing and Shanghai.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
A man who was badly injured in a Waukegan-area auto accident in December has now been charged with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, according to the Lake County sheriffs office.

DeAndre Morton, 35, of the 1300 block of Wright Avenue in North Chicago, was charged following the conclusion of an investigation by the sheriffs office Technical Crash Investigation Team.

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Morton, according to police, was hurt on Dec. 17 at around 2:30 a.m. when he was ejected from his Chevrolet Trailblazer after it struck a utility pole on West Crescent Avenue near Waukegan. Police said the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed when Morton crossed into the oncoming lane before driving into a ditch and hitting the pole.

Police said he was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana at the time. Morton will be taken into custody after he is released from a rehabilitation center, police said. At the time of the accident, police said Morton was paralyzed from the waist down.

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Just run me over

Sheriffs office deputies prevented injuries to a man who ran into traffic while experiencing a mental health crisis, police said.

The incident happened at around 12:30 p.m. on March 27 when officers responded to the 38700 block of North Sheridan Road in Beach Park to assist paramedics with a man in his 20s.

The man was having a bipolar episode and reacted when paramedics told him he might need to be hospitalized, reports said. The man reportedly said, Just run me over and kill me, and ran into traffic on Sheridan Road.

Sheriffs deputies rushed into the roadway and were able to safely remove the man. He was subsequently taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Law enforcement from across the nation have seen a tremendous increase over the years in the amount of calls regarding individuals in mental distress, Sheriff John Idleburg said. Our sheriffs deputies always approach these situations with a calm demeanor and utilize de-escalation techniques.

I am very proud of deputies Rob Nakanishi, Amanda Hurtado, and Leo Juarez for their quick thinking, which saved this mans life, the sheriff said.

Mailbox thefts

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Lake County authorities have charged three people for stealing checks from an elderly mans mailbox and then altering the documents in order to cash them.

Warrants for forgery were issued March 13 for David S. Kaminski, 40, of the Antioch area, along with Jessica Garlock, 27, and Elizabeth Tiskevich, 32.

The investigation that led to their arrests began in April 2022, when a 91-year-old Antioch-area man contacted police. The man said he had been receiving late notices on bills that he had paid. Police said they learned that checks the man had placed in his mailbox had been taken, altered and then cashed.

Police said their investigation revealed that Kaminski, Garlock and Tiskevich had been driving around neighborhoods in the area stealing checks from mailboxes, which they then altered and cashed. The alleged scheme netted them thousands of dollars, police said.

Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

An arrest warrant was issued in December for Tiskevich. Warrants for Garlock and Kaminski were recently issued.

In an unrelated alleged forgery, police issued a warrant for a Chicago man named John Hancock for affixing his John Hancock to a fraudulent check at a Deer Park nursery. Authorities say that Hancock used the forged check last fall to purchase 60 trees valued at $12,250.

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Lake County authorities identified Hancock after Wheaton police reached out and said they were investigating a similar case with the suspect. A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 20.

Drop it and drive

Police agencies around Lake County will be joining the Illinois State Police and 200 other law enforcement organizations statewide to focus on distracted driving in April.

Motorists can expect to see increased patrols and traffic safety enhancement throughout the month.

Police are reminding motorists that using your phone in anything other than hands-free mode is in violation of the law. Drop it and drive.
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Donnie Yen has responded to a petition that called for his removal as a presenter for the 2023 Academy Awards ceremony due to his support of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Days before the actor introduced "This is a Life," the Everything Everywhere All at Once song nominated for best original song, a Change.org petition calling for Yens removal as an Oscars presenter had accumulated tens of thousands of signatures.

The petition came after Yen maintained his support for the Chinese government and condemned the 2019 Hong Kong protesters in an interview last month for John Wick: Chapter 4.

It wasnt a protest, okay, it was a riot, Yen told GQ.

More from NextShark: 'Free Chol Soo Lee' documentary trailer investigates racial profiling of innocent man on death row

Despite efforts to remove Yen from his role at this years Oscars, the actor stood onstage on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood to present the best original song award to "Naatu Naatu" from the Indian Telugu-language film RRR.

On the eve of the Oscars, Yen praised Everything Everywhere All at Once actor Michelle Yeoh for her work, voicing support and hope for her eventual best actress win. He also addressed the petition.

Im allowed to love my own culture, he told Variety in an interview released this week. Love my own country. Why cannot I be patriotic? This whole online cyber-bullying/cancel culture has got to stop. You cant own somebodys thoughts. And you want to silence them? Its totally hypocrites.

More from NextShark: How Mixed Asian Artist Alex Porat Connects to Her Asian Heritage

Although the Oscars have passed, the petition is still active and currently has over 114,000 signatures.

More from NextShark: Fan assaulted by 2 women at JJ Lins Hong Kong concert after telling them to get down from table

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Koreas My Fellow Citizens! gets American remake titled The Company You Keep starring Milo Ventimiglia
Duval County Public Schools has shared an update on a teacher who worked at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and is facing criminal charges.

Action News Jax told you Jeffrey Clayton was arrested on March 22, accused of lewd and lascivious conduct involving a student, according to a message from Principal Tina Wilson that was sent to DA families on the day of Claytons arrest.

DCPS said Friday that Claytons status with the district has changed.

In taking steps to pursue a termination, Clayton submitted his retirement, effective March 28. The district has submitted the required Affidavit of Separation from School District Employment Due to Termination or Resignation in Lieu of Termination form to the Florida Department of Education, a representative for the district said.

UPDATED STORY: Arrested Duval teacher kissed student, told her of intoxicating feelings for her, warrant says

Additionally, a message from Wilson sent to parents on Friday announced that another DA teacher is under investigation and is being moved to duties off campus and without student contact.

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DA families were also sent the following message from DCPS Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene on Friday:

Hello Douglas Anderson families, this is Diana Greene calling. I want to make you aware that I am closely monitoring the situation at Douglas Anderson.

As superintendent, I am very disappointed to hear of so many students and alumni whose high school experience has been clouded with these terrible memories. As a mom, I can completely understand what you must be feeling as you become aware of these revelations. Because of my role in the employment process, I cannot become personally involved in any investigation, but I can tell you two things.

First, to do these investigations well from a legal perspective takes time. These processes tend to be measured in weeks or months. We must take the time to do it right to ensure fairness and accountability.

Story continues

Second, on some things, Im not waiting. What I already know factually has compelled us to create an action plan addressing the student experience at DA. DA is a special place and is home to some incredibly talented students. But they are students, and every student deserves a safe and effective learning environment.

We will be in touch with you on next steps within the next two weeks, and I will greatly appreciate your partnership as we move forward together.

DCPS is asking students, alumni, or others who might have information useful to the investigation are encouraged to email Dr. Tameiko Grant, head of the districts professional standards office, at GrantT1@duvalschools.org.

RELATED: Its terrifying: Jacksonville teacher facing felony charges after alleged lewd conduct with student

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A state Superior Court judge in Morris County ruled this month that a Dover man accused of killing an acquaintance with a tree branch during an argument in 2020 is mentally competent to stand trial.

Jose Elizondo-Mena, 53, fled after his purported transgression to Michigan for three months before he was apprehended and charged with manslaughter in the death of Carlos Rodas-Ramos, 53, also of Dover. A witness told police on the evening of May 29, 2020, he was with the men in a wooded area in the town at the end of Monmouth Avenue when he saw Elizondo-Mena strike Rodas-Ramos several times with a branch during an argument, police records show.

Rodas-Ramos' body was found partially decomposed a week later after another witness reported to police he believed a dead body was in the woods, records show. A medical examiner ruled Rodas-Ramos' cause of death as homicide due to blunt force trauma to his head and face.

Elizondo-Mena's case has been on hold for several years after defense attorneys raised concerns over the man's psychiatric history and whether or not that had played a factor during the killing. Competency issues, or concerns the man lacked the capacity to understand the criminal charges against him or was unable assist in his defense, had not been raised until recently.

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Elizondo-Mena has a considerable deal of anxiety, fear and shame surrounding the alleged crime which has caused him to act out in a "chaotic manner," yet it does not preclude him from being able to stand trial, said Dr. Pogos Voskanian, a forensic psychiatrist who contracts with Ann Klein Forensic Center, a psychiatric hospital in Trenton.

Elizondo-Mena had reported over several months seeing disturbing stimuli such as ghosts, snakes and other people that others could not observe, which would usually take place before he went to sleep. He has been receiving treatment at the psychiatric facility and is under the care of Voskanian, who appeared before Judge Noah Franzblau on March 15 when he testified there could be several reasons for the Dover resident's unusual behaviors, none of which hinders his ability to move forward with his case.

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Elizondo-Mena has no criminal history and his arrest proved "quite stressful" for someone with no experience with the legal system, which the doctor opined could have caused Elizondo-Mena to go into a "complex, confused mental state" while in jail.

"In this case, I think for Mr. [Elizondo] Mena, it was extremely stressful to find out the consequences of his behavior and that by itself can cause certain symptomatology," said the doctor, referring to Elizondo-Mena's sudden and unusual symptoms.

Voskarian further explained that he has examined many individuals who had allegedly committed atrocious crimes and everyone reacted to their actions differently: some did not care and would do it all over again and others could exhibit extreme fear and stress, such as Elizondo-Mena, he said.

A CT scan of Elizondo-Mena's brain showed a shrinking of his brain tissue, which Voskanian attributed to possible hypertension and the man's admissions he was a long-time drinker of alcohol. The scan, however, "does not make it possible to estimate the level of functioning of a human being," the doctor testified, and could not be used to determine competency. But it was possible Elizondo-Mena's heavy alcohol use over the years could have contributed to his disturbances, the doctor opined.

While Elizondo-Mena's behaviors may be attributed to his stress and alcohol use, finding a defendant competent to stand trial does not have to do with their psychiatric diagnosis but rather cognition, or ability to understand what is going on around them, the doctor said.

New Jersey State Superior Courthouse in Morris County on Jan. 12, 2023.

Defense attorney Balin Baidwan argued that the doctor admitted he was unsure in October 2022 if Elizondo-Mena was competent to stand trial and was "quick" to change his mind when he did a second evaluation earlier this year. his client, he said. He did not find the doctor to be credible and asked the judge to allow another doctor to evaluate his client.

Franzblau, in response, said that the doctor had incomplete information in October that, by default, left him unable to opine Elizondo-Mena was actually competent at the time. He found the doctor credible and the request for another doctor to perform an evaluation would "suggest Dr. Voskanian has some ulterior motive, which I just don't find to be true."

Elizondo-Mena backed out of a plea deal in July 2021 for a five-year state prison sentence after his then-attorney announced she would seek a not guilty by reason of insanity defense, which sparked questions about Elizondo-Mena's possible mental state during and after the purported crime.

Elizondo-Mena's case will now move toward trial with a date yet to be determined.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Dover NJ death: Man accused of homicide ruled competent
DOVER  Dover High School students walked out of classes Thursday morning in protest of continued gun violence in America, motivated by the deadly shooting in a Nashville school on Monday.

At the Covenant School, a small private Christian school, a 28-year-old former student shot their way through the school and opened fire on children and school staff, killing three 9-year-olds and three adults. The shooter was killed by police shortly after making entry to the building.

Dover students 15-minute walkout commenced at 10:13 a.m. on Thursday, reflecting the time of the first 911 call reporting the Covenant School shooting to the Metro Nashville Police Department on March 27.

Dover High School students held a walkout in protest of gun violence on Thursday, March 30, 2023 following a deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, March 27.

Gathering in the schools front courtyard, students penned calls for action on homemade signs, all seeking an end to gun violence and keeping children and schools safe from harm.

Community and passionate young people are the start of change, said Isabella Papa, a senior at the school and organizer of the walkout. We are not here today to protest Dover High School, but to acknowledge the many schools across the country that have suffered from violence in their schools."

Papa noted students planned their walkout with school administration before it took place.

Dover High School students held a walkout in protest of gun violence on Thursday, March 30, 2023 following a deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, March 27. From left are Dover High School seniors Isabella Papa, Logan Lampel and Charlotte Albert.

Charlotte Albert, a fellow senior, advocated for tightening firearm laws, implementing widespread background checks and requiring proper safety training for those who purchase guns.

We also need to ban semi-automatic assault weapons and any other unnecessarily violent weapon. It is important to note that in order to make progress we must understand and respect the other side so they can do the same for us, said Albert.

The victims in Nashville were students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, each of them 9 years old, in addition to substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, longtime school custodian Mike Hill, 61, and Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school.

After a citywide vigil was held in Nashville on Wednesday evening, hundreds of protesters arrived at the state capitol on Thursday to rally for gun control measures.

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From Tennessee: Nashville school shooting updates: School employee says staff members carried guns

Dover High School senior Logan Lampel posed a question to his peers: How much longer before our elected officials put the minds of students to heart and do something to save us?

We are dying and they are doing nothing, Lampel added. Write to your congressmen and women. Let them hear your voice.

Dover High School students held a walkout in protest of gun violence on Thursday, March 30, 2023 following a deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, March 27.

The Gun Violence Archive defines mass shootings as a single incident in which four or more are either injured or killed, not including the shooter. From the new year through the morning of Friday, March 31, the Gun Violence Archive reported, there have been 131 mass shootings in the United States.

The organization notes that in that same period, gun violence in America has claimed the lives of 426 minors and injured just shy of 1,000 more.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover NH students protest school shootings, honor Nashville victims
RuPaul's Drag Race UK and Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World breakout star Victoria Scone has revealed that she and her longtime girlfriend, Dani  whom she proposed to on December's Canada vs. the World finale  recently broke up.

After making Drag Race franchise her-story with the proposal (the series' first-ever on-air marriage bid) on the spin-off competition's final episode, Victoria tweeted Friday noting that the couple has gone their separate ways.

Hello! This is just to say that unfortunately Dani & I separated a few weeks ago. Saying this now to mainly/hopefully stop the well wishes on the engagement haha, but also to say were both still Celesbians & all good  Victoria Scone BLACK TRANS LIVES STILL MATTER (@VictoriaScone) March 31, 2023

"Hello! This is just to say that unfortunately Dani & I separated a few weeks ago," Victoria wrote. "Saying this now to mainly/hopefully stop the well wishes on the engagement haha, but also to say we're both still Celesbians & all good."

Victoria made headlines on the Canada vs. the World conclusion when she turned to the camera to propose to Dani before the final round of lip-syncs, which resulted in the crowning of RuPaul's Drag Race season 11 and All Stars 6 finalist Ra'Jah O'Hara as the winner.

'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World' star Victoria Scone has broken up with fiancee Dani

World of Wonder/WOW Presents Plus 'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World' star Victoria Scone has broken up with fiancee Dani

"When I left my previous season, I thought I had let down the whole world as well as myself, and I stand here now so happy with what I've done, and I wouldn't change a single second. If I could get down on two knees and beg for it, I would, but I want to get down on one knee for a different reason," the Drag Race UK alum, who exited season 3 early after injuring her knee, told the judges, including headmistress Brooke Lynn Hytes and special guest Monet X Change. "I would like to propose to my girlfriend, Dani, because I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for her. She is the better half of me, and I couldn't have done this without her. So, Dani, we're probably watching this together right now. Will you marry me?"

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Later, as the queens gathered backstage with all of this season's eliminated contestants, the Reverend Doctor Silky Nutmeg Ganache invited herself to the ceremony to officiate the nuptials.

RuPaul's Drag Race

WOW Presents Plus/Crave 'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World' finalist Victoria Scone proposed to her girlfriend on the show.

"I am ordained, and I can't wait to officiate, bitch," Silky told Victoria, who added in a confessional: "I adore Dani. She just fits me so perfectly, so I liked it, and I put a ring on it."

While Victoria made the first on-air proposal in Drag Race her-story, queens have gotten married on the show in the past. Season 6 star Joslyn Fox famously got married on the show's finale after her fiance, Andre, got the impromptu ceremony in motion with Mama RuPaul as the officiant.

In addition to her proposal to Dani, Victoria established herself as one of the most influential queens in Drag Race's 14-year lifespan. She joined the UK cast as the first cis woman to ever compete on a season of Drag Race and, on Canada vs. the World, also became the first cast member to walk the runway as a drag king when she debuted her Victor Stone alter ego.

Subscribe to EW's Quick Drag podcast for recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including reactions with the cast, special guests, and more.

Related content:
BBC/World of Wonder/Guy Levy

RuPaul's Drag Race UK and Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs the World star Victoria Scone has revealed that she has split from her fiancee, Dani.

Victoria proposed to Dani on the show last year. While on the main stage, she referenced popping the question. And at a viewing party, where Victoria and Dani were watching the episode together, Victoria got down on one knee and asked Dani the big question.

Fellow drag queen Kendall Gender caught the moment on video and shared it on social media.

Sadly, Victoria has now announced that she and Dani have split.

Related: Hollyoaks confirms RuPaul's Drag Race winner Danny Beard will feature in opening titles

Sharing the news on Twitter today (March 31), Victoria said: "Hello! This is just to say that unfortunately, Dani & I separated a few weeks ago. Saying this now to mainly/hopefully stop the well wishes on the engagement haha."

Victoria added that she and Dani are "all good".

An outpouring of love and support came from Victoria's fans, who were quick to reply to the announcement tweet.

"Sorry to hear that, both legends of course," one Twitter user wrote. Another added: "Oofbreakups can be rough. I cant imagine the added pressure that fame brings into the mix. Wishing the best for you both!"

BBC/World of Wonder/Guy Levy

Related: Drag Race star Laganja Estranja explains why she won't be back for an All Stars season yet

On season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Victoria had to exit the competition early, as she sustained a knee injury during a performance.



Victoria later appeared on Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs the World, placing in the top four with Rita Baga, Ra'Jah O'Hara and Silky Nutmeg Ganache. Ra'Jah took home the crown, while Silky was the runner-up.

Victoria previously explained to Digital Spy in an exclusive interview why she chose not to return for another round of Drag Race UK and instead go on Canada vs the World.

"Given the choice, for me, it's an obvious answer really," she said. "To be able to perform and compete with international superstars, and be able to film it internationally too. I think I've made a good choice."

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RuPaul's Drag Race UK airs on BBC Three in the UK and streams on WOW Presents Plus in the US.

Interested in talking about all things Drag Race? Visit our dedicated sub-forum

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Five fire engines and multiple other rescue teams responded to an Alabama parking lot after drums of lithium batteries exploded, the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Department said.

A little after 1 p.m on March 31, crews responded to reports that an 18-wheeler had exploded in Birmingham in an industrial park parking lot, according to a Facebook post from the fire department.

When the crews arrived, they saw a trailer on fire.

Crews found an 18-wheeler on fire.

On that trailer were dozens of 55-gallon drums, all holding lithium batteries, the fire department said. The batteries were on their way to be properly disposed of.

The truck was carrying lithium batteries to be disposed of.

Fire crews were able to identify the batteries that had exploded and contained them.

The fire department said the driver of the trailer was not inside the truck at the time the batteries exploded, and no one was hurt.

No one was injured in the explosion, fire crews said.

Fire crews were able to control the fire by hitting the hot spots and are continuing to monitor the truck.

The fire was contained, but the trailer was destroyed.

The fire department did not release how the explosion occurred.

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Police are searching for a person whose image was captured on surveillance video in the early morning hours of March 12 after a complaint that shots were fired downtown.

EAST LANSING  Police are searching for a person whose image was captured on surveillance video in the early morning hours of March 12 after a complaint that shots were fired downtown.

East Lansing police said officers responded to a shots fired call near Albert Street and MAC Avenue about 4 a.m. and found two 9 mm shell casings.

A suspect, a Black male wearing a purple sweatshirt, black pants and white shoes and carrying what appeared to be a handgun, was captured on surveillance video.

Anyone with information about the suspects identity or the identity of the women pictured in the images is asked to contact Detective Jason Cotton at (517) 319-6842 or jcotton@elpolice.com.

Police are searching for a person whose image was captured on surveillance video in the early morning hours of March 12 after a complaint that shots were fired downtown.

Police are searching for a person whose image was captured on surveillance video in the early morning hours of March 12 after a complaint that shots were fired downtown, as well as the identities of two women.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing police release images of suspect after shots fired downtown
Director Edgar Wright has revealed a forthcoming anime series adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs the World is happening.

The 2010 action romance cult classic starred Michael Cera as the titular Scott Pilgrim, bass guitarist for a garage-rock band who never had issues getting a girlfriend.

That is until he meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), whose army of ex-boyfriends will stop at nothing to eliminate him from her list of suitors.

Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Kieran Culkin, Brie Larson, and Chris Evans also starred, all of whom Wright has said will reunite for the new anime adaptation.

This is not a drill! This is happening! the Scott Pilgrim director tweeted on Thursday (30 March).

After much musing over the years about there being potential for an anime adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, Im thrilled to say one is IMMINENT, with the whole cast back together and you are going to lose your minds.

Following up in the comments, Wright added: One of the proudest, most enjoyable achievements of my career was assembling the dynamite cast of Scott Pilgrim.

This is not a drill! This is happening!



After much musing over the years about there being potential for an anime adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, Im thrilled to say one is IMMINENT, with the whole cast back together and you are going to lose your minds. pic.twitter.com/LyB7EIlcUD  edgarwright (@edgarwright) March 30, 2023

Since the films release in 2010 weve done Q&As and charity read throughs, but there was never the occasion to reunite the gang on an actual project. Until now...

The cast last reunited in 2020 for a Zoom table read of the graphic novel adaptations full script in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the films release.

The new series that he says doesnt just expand the universe, was conjured by original creator Bryan Lee OMalley and writer BenDavid Grabinski.

No other information regarding the animes plot or release date has yet been shared.

The unnamed Scott Pilgrim anime adaptation will debut soon on Netflix.
L.A. City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas leaves court Monday. (Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)

Another Los Angeles politician goes down for corruption. No wonder would-be voters are so cynical about casting a ballot.

The conviction Thursday of suspended Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas on federal bribery and conspiracy charges only reinforces the skeptics storyline  why bother to vote? Politicians are all corrupt and in it for themselves. Thats not true, of course, but its harder to argue the point when he is the third Los Angeles council member convicted on corruption charges over the last several years.

Ridley-Thomas was found guilty of conspiring with the former dean of USCs School of Social Work to steer county contracts to the school in exchange for admitting his son into the graduate program with a full-tuition scholarship and paid professorship. Ridley-Thomas was on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors at the time.

Prosecutors argued Ridley-Thomas pushed the quid pro quo in 2017 and 2018 after his son Sebastian, then a member of the state Assembly, learned he was being investigated for sexual harassment. They said he was motivated to secure a good landing spot for his son to avoid hurting his family's political machine. Ridley-Thomas was expected to run for mayor in 2022, but announced his decision to stay out of the race a few months before he was indicted.

The former USC dean, Marilyn Flynn, pleaded guilty last year to bribery for agreeing to route $100,000 from Ridley-Thomas campaign fund through USC to a nonprofit run by his son.

Defense attorneys argued that the transfer of the money wasnt illegal and Ridley-Thomas wasnt bribed because he would have voted to support the county contracts with USC anyway. But jurors werent convinced. Ridley-Thomas was facing 19 counts; jurors found him guilty of seven, including conspiracy, bribery, honest services mail fraud and four counts of honest services wire fraud.

The conviction is particularly jarring because Ridley-Thomas is a giant in Los Angeles politics. A civil rights activist turned politician, he held elected office for 30 years, first serving on the L.A. City Council from 1991 to 2002, then in the state Legislature, on the county Board of Supervisors and finally elected in 2020 to a final four-year term on the City Council.

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Hes been one of L.A.'s most influential policymakers, helping rebuild South L.A. after the 1992 riots, pushing for police reform, overseeing the reopening of Martin Luther King Medical Center in Willowbrook  the hospital once called "Killer King" and most recently helping lead the effort in L.A. and California for humane solutions to the homelessness crisis.

And he's remained a powerful figure at a time when scandal might have scared away supporters. Ridley-Thomas raised nearly $1.5 million for his legal defense from wealthy and well-connected donors, which allowed him to hire top-notch lawyers. He rallied his supporters into a well-organized legal and public relations force on his behalf, including packing the courtroom through the trial.

The conviction tarnishes Ridley-Thomas' legacy, certainly. He was suspended from the council in 2021, and the felony conviction means he cannot return. But there is a more pernicious effect on public trust from the verdict, given that it is only the most recent.

Former Councilmembers Mitch Englander and Jose Huizar were indicted as part of a federal investigation into pay-to-play corruption involving real estate development in the city. Englander pleaded guilty in 2020 and has since served his time and been released from federal prison. Huizar, who pleaded guilty in January, was considered the mastermind behind the illegal scheme to extort $1.5 million in bribes from developers.

The totality of the cases paint a troubling picture of Los Angeles leaders. Who are they serving? The public or themselves? That doesn't help build trust in government or foster healthy civic engagement. The U.S. government may have won its case against Ridley-Thomas, but another corruption conviction is hardly worth celebrating.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A group of children greet Kami, a therapy dog, during Naperville Public Librarys Bark for Books program on March 1 at the 95th Street Library. (Naperville Public Library / HANDOUT)

The library has gone to the dogs ... literally!

Naperville Public Library is proud to bring back a fan-favorite program this spring: Bark for Books. During this program, children gain confidence in their reading abilities by reading aloud to therapy dogs from PAWsitive Therapy Troupe in a paw-sitive and non-judgmental environment.

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Childrens librarian and program coordinator Erin Doyle has been looking forward to resuming the program after it was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This program is a great opportunity for us to partner with another community organization and for kids to practice their reading skills, Doyle said. We havent offered it since 2019 so it was time to bring it back.

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Children are welcome to bring a book from home that they are currently reading, or they can pick something new off the shelf. After that, they can curl up with one of PAWsitive Therapy Troupes doting dogs and start reading.

Cocoa, 5, and Mecho, 4, read to Laney, a golden retriever from PAWsitive Therapy Troupe, during a Bark for Books program at Naperville Public Library. (Naperville Public Library / HANDOUT)

During the relaunch of Bark for Books in March, 95th Street Library welcomed two very special pups: Laney, a 3-year-old golden retriever, and Kami, a 3-year-old Akita. Laneys companion, Wendy Yellin, has been participating in programs like this for more than 21 years.

Its fun to see how the kids react, Yellin said. You can meet someone thats a little shy or bashful, and they open up a little. The dogs dont care what the kids read or if they read correctly; they just love having the attention and the company.

With plenty of treats, pets and tail wags, both pups had a ball listening to a variety of books.

Therapy dogs like Laney and Kami are required to have specific certifications to attend programs such as this. Their friendly and agreeable temperaments make them the perfect listeners for young readers to practice with.

Naperville Sun Twice-weekly News updates from the Naperville area delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

Two budding readers who participated in the program were sisters, 5-year-old Cocoa and 4-year-old Mecho, who read to Laney. Their mom, Ramya, thought the experience was worthwhile for both girls.

This is a dream come true, Ramya said. When they think they are reading and the dog is listening, thats motivating and confidence building.

As for the dogs favorite books? Kamis owner, Heather Pontious, said she loves Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

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It gets her in touch with her inner puppy, Pontious said.

Bark for Books will continue through May at 95th Street Library on the first Wednesday of the month and at Naper Blvd. Library on the second Monday of the month.

For information about this and other engaging childrens programs, check out www.naperville-lib.org/events.

Ashlee Conour is the marketing specialist at Naperville Public Library.
Fox News

An upset Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) gave an impassioned plea to Fox News viewers Thursday that indicted former President Donald Trump needs their money, and he needs it right now.

Speaking to Sean Hannity on a night where commentary on Fox News has verged on the apocalyptic as a result of the indictment by a Manhattan grand jury, Graham, historically one of Trumps most talkative defenders in the Senate, once more gave a performance that is sure to keep him in Trumps good graces.

Declaring that the motivating factor in the indictment is hatred, Graham argued that Democrats fear Trump at the ballot box.

Theyre trying to drain him dry. Hes spent more money on lawyers than most people spent on campaigns, said Graham. In addition to being indicted in New York, Trump is facing a criminal investigation in Georgia over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and a criminal investigation by the Justice Department over his alleged mishandling of classified documents since leaving office. Also, Trumps alleged rape of journalist E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s is the subject of a trial set to begin in April.

Graham, looking bleary-eyed, would end up directing viewers to the presidential candidates website three times in the next two minutes.

Go tonight. Give the president some money to fight this bullshit! he begged.

To those who are listening tonight: If you believe Trump is being treated poorly and wrongly, stand up and help the man, Graham added later, before recommending that their prayers would be welcomed as well.

Thank you, an appreciative Hannity said while his studio audience applauded.

At one point during the interview, a heckler in the audience could be heard screaming: This is a wonderful day. You lie by omission and you lie. The studio sound was cut before the woman could continue.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Transgender Day of Visibility, created in 2010 by trans advocate Rachel Crandall, is an international annual event meant to uplift and celebrate the trans community.

For many, the wave of legislation targeting gender-affirming care and LGBTQ+ rights makes this years Trans Visibility Day more important than usual. Heres what the day means for a few trans people and advocates in Dallas-Fort Worth, in their own words.

Answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Naomi Green

Green, 40, is a trans woman and community leader through multiple LGBTQ+ organizations, including Equality Texas, the Texas Pride Impact Funds and the North Dallas LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce.

What does Trans Visibility Day mean to you?

For me, trans visibility day is about being proud. Its about letting people know that we are still here, we are humans. Its about really have pride in being trans and trying to be visible.

What are some misconceptions about trans people?

There is a misconception that we are all a monolith. And we are all different, like everyone else in the world. I think that this day is really about displaying the variances in our trans identities and personalities and who we are as people.

And in 2023, even more so. Even at the state level with a lot of these different laws trying to be passed, people are really trying to group us together and create hate and fear towards a certain community by the actions of the one or few.

Another big misconception is that drag queens and trans people are the same. Or that trans women and drag queens are the same. Drag is a thing, it is something that is done. So this is not something that is specific to just the transgender community.

Naomi Green, a community leader in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, said Trans Visibility Day is about pride for her. Green, who lives in Garland, said anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Texas makes her worried about the future of trans rights.

What do you feel when you see legislation that targets trans rights?

Anger, for one. Concern and fear. You have to wonder, how far is this going to go? How much of an impact are these laws going to have on people in our community? Are they going to try to run us out of the state? Where is this going to end? Are they going to try and arrest us all? Are they going to start coming for our freedoms, are they going to start coming for our lives?

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Where are they going to stop or are they never going to stop?

What advice to you have for young trans people in Texas?

Continue to stand up for yourself. Continue to stand up and show out. Continue to rally allies and get as many allies as you can to help in this fight.

More importantly, get your friends, your family members to show up and vote in these local, regional, state and national elections.

Besides voting, what should allies do to support trans people?

Speak out. If you see something, say something. If you hear something, say something. Correct people when theyre wrong on their untruths. Go to the Capitol if you are off on a day and there is a rally at the Capitol and speak out and show support. Call your elected officials.

What should leaders be doing to support trans people?

Listen to the communities that are impacted, educate yourselves. Dont just listen to the narratives being pushed. Talk to groups from the LGBTQ or trans community to learn more about them before making uneducated decisions about what youre voting for.

Anything else to add?

I think its important for leaders to stop trying to tell parents how to be parents. Because I think that it takes a lot for parents to listen to their children and be brave enough to stand next to and beside their children and help their kids make decisions.

Were attacking parents and their children and telling them that theyre wrong for allowing their children to go through gender-affirming care and seek gender-affirming care so that their kids are able to grow up without suicidal thoughts and feeling like they are out of place in this world and in their bodies.







Nell Gaither

Gaither, 62, is a trans woman and president of Trans Pride Initiative, a Dallas-based nonprofit that aims to support transgender and gender diverse persons in healthcare, housing, employment, education and public accommodations. The group also advocates for trans people who are incarcerated.

What are your feelings surrounding Trans Visibility Day?

Some of us call it Trans Empowerment Day. Because trans visibility is just not enough. And in some ways, visibility is actually whats causing some of the problems. We become more visible and people have decided to exercise their transphobia. What we need is empowerment.

What does trans empowerment look like?

Visibility is simply seeing somebody. Empowerment means giving people the ability to live their own lives. Empowerment is when you give people the power of self-determination and the power of their own agency.

For example, in Dallas, we have a nondiscrimination policy in employment that says you cannot discriminate against somebody based on gender identity. But that discrimination goes on all the time, and we dont have the power to actualize that. So visibility is having the nondiscrimination policy, but empowerment is making that policy effective by changing the system.

How has the experience of being trans in Texas changed over the years?

When I first started coming out in the 2000s, there werent really support groups. There were social groups where people could meet other people who were trans. I kept track of the membership records, and I remember being so afraid that if the list fell into the wrong hands, people on the list could be fired.

That still could happen, but enough people are out now that we arent as afraid of that. Visibility has helped. But we should be past that now. Just the general conversation has gone from something you couldnt even talk about in public 20 or 30 years ago, to now people more commonly know that being trans is something that exists for a significant percentage of the population.

How does it feel to be a trans person in Texas in 2023?

Its kind of scary. For me, I am making plans like, how do I dress when my medication is cut off? And thats just on a personal level. On how do we address it as a community, I dont know. Im kind of in disbelief in some ways that human beings actually take the positions theyre taking.

I dont have a good answer of what we do next. All I can do is continue to do what I think is worthwhile and advocate.

What is your advice to young trans people?

Try to recognize that just because someone says something doesnt mean theyre right. Look at yourself and know whats right for you. And prioritize what you know is right for you.

What should allies do to support trans people?

Be intentionally inclusive. I think that may sound simplistic in some sense but just including trans people in decision making, including trans people in determining activist direction. You have to empower trans people to be part of the decision making process when transgender peoples lives are being affected.

Leslie McMurray

Leslie McMurray is the transgender education and advocacy coordinator at the Resource Center in Dallas. As a trans woman, Leslie said Trans Visibility Day is more about empowerment and transgender people loving and caring for themselves than it is about just being visible.

How do people celebrate Trans Visibility Day?

Its a day thats probably more complicated than most understand. Visibility is important to try and change peoples hearts and minds. If you dont know about a particular group, its easy to paint them as the monster under the bed.

It carries with it risk. No trans person owes visibility. If you can and it would be safe for you, thats great. If not, we understand. Some people feel safe. Some may treat it as a coming out day. Others may be more visible in places where they might not go all the time. We tend not to travel in groups, so I think its up to the individual. There might be some groups that get together at the state legislature. You might protest. Some cities might offer a proclamation.

What message does Trans Visibility Day send to those outside the transgender and LGBTQ+ communities?

Were out there and were not going away and were going to keep fighting against inequality. Because I cant imagine walking into a grocery store and seeing a mother with a child and going over and interfering with the familys healthcare decisions with the child that are made between the doctors and the parents and the child. I cant imagine the kind of spirit it would take to say, No, you cant do that with your child, or You have to do this with your child.

On a national scale, how has the trans experience changed over the years?

I grew up with half the resources (young trans people) have now. I grew up without even the term transgender. There was nothing on TV that talked about transgender issues, for sure. And no movies and no books I could access.

What advice do you have for trans youth?

The advice that I would give kids now is to, as much as is humanly possible, know that it gets better. Stay with it, never give up, dont quit, participate in the process, be who youre supposed to be. Transgender people are beautiful. They experience parts of life that I think most people never even contemplate.

Sara Fairly-Luna

Fairly-Luna, 35, is the board chair for LGBTQ Saves, a Fort Worth-based nonprofit focused on creating a safe community of support for LGBTQ+ youth. The group works with about 200 LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 12-24; Fairly-Luna estimated about 70% of those are trans youth. Fairly-Luna, who is cis-gendered, spoke about her experience as a queer Texan working with trans youth.

Why is Trans Visibility Day important?

Trans Visibility Day is, I mean, obviously extraordinarily important right now in this moment of history. When youre living in a state or a country that just continues to say that you dont matter or that youre wrong for just existing as you are, this day is really meant to celebrate all of our trans siblings, exactly as they are. And to make sure that we dont have to read one more name on Trans Remembrance Day in November.

Why is Trans Visibility Day important in this moment in history, as you said?

Our state legislature in Texas is really targeting our trans community and trying to dismantle a lot of the progress our community has made. But I mean, this is not new. This is definitely not new, this attack on our trans community. Trans women of color are disproportionately killed, disproportionately murdered by police, by civilians. And so even though theres so many now formal bills and legislature and topics focused on the trans community, our trans community has always been vulnerable. I think its just now under a microscope, and its being politicized and targeted in a way that heightens the fear.

How does LGBTQ+ Saves support trans youth?

The primary reason our organization really exists is to provide safe and brave spaces for LGBTQ+ youth to just exist as they are. We have virtual happy hours for parents to join. We have Discord for youth to join in and chat with one another. We are partnering with FInns Place for a Trans Visibility Day Celebration.

We like to bring parents along. But in the event that there are not parents who are affirming, we still want our youth to be surrounded in community with folks that are going to affirm who they are.

What impact does hateful rhetoric have for the LGBTQ+ community?

We were at Tulips on Monday night to really celebrate the drag show, and so many of us there were nervous because we were like, OK, this is a prime opportunity for violence. You see people opening fire at queer spaces and so I think that the legality piece is a big one, but then the social stress and the social fear. Its so heightened for our trans community, and then particularly trans youth. If they dont have gender-affirming parents or guardians in their life, that could be even more damaging.

What are some misconception about the trans community?

And I think one of the largest misconceptions is that legislators are those in power, know how to make decisions on behalf of other people. With most things, if you dont have any contact with anyone who is directly impacted, you dont know enough to offer an opinion.

What can allies do to support the trans community?

Be informed about what laws are being pushed at the state level but also being informed when it comes to voting in local elections. Showing up at community events, you know, this Friday at Finns.

Rev. Katie Hays

Rev. Katie Hays is the founder, pastor and lead evangelist of Galileo Church in Fort Worth. Hays said she founded the church in 2013 as an inclusive, LGBTQ+ affirming place of worship. While cis-gendered, Hays has trans members of her congregation and works to advance the equality of the transgender community in Fort Worth and Texas as a whole.

How would you define Trans Visibility Day?

Its a chance to just recognize that among their neighbors, among their colleagues at work, among their kids at school, there are a lot of Texans who dont find themselves on the gender binary they were defined by at birth. These people are just people. They want to graduate, get a job, get a degree, have a family, adopt a puppy.

There has been a little bit of push back from trans folks who say its unfair to make themselves visible on Trans Day of Visibility, especially since its not exactly safe to be out in our current climate. These people are being incredibly courageous and in a way incredibly gracious to let us into this private part of their lives.

How does your congregation celebrate Trans Visibility Day?

We have a couple of angles on that this year.

Christian Church Disciples of Christ is holding a Trans Day of Visibility vigil online, and were hosting an hour of the vigil. I think it is very interesting to call it a vigil because its taking into account the reality of transgender and gender diverse folks who are not feeling very safe right now. A vigil is a way to pray for their safety, which is under threat everywhere across the nation, especially here in Texas.

Finns Place is holding a Trans Visibility Day party, a party for trans folks and their families to celebrate their own existence and experience trans joy, which is its own form of resistance in this climate of hatred and threats.

This community center is a beautiful act of hope and sort of insistent presence and courage to say we dont always want to be on defense, fighting and having to show courage all the time. So Finns Place has become that place for a lot of people. And Im not just talking about the people who sit in the pews at my church.

As an ally and minister to the transgender community, what impact do you hope Trans Visibility Day has?

Its really hard to celebrate when you feel so vulnerable and so unwanted by so many of your neighbors. Its a weighty burden that nobody should have to bear. I really wish that people could feel enough compassion and maturity in their own hearts to just leave folks alone. Leave families alone. People are doing the best they can to live their own lives. I would say that, theologically, to live the lives God gave them. We should respect people enough to believe them when they tell us who they are.
Ukraine is restoring the power line to Poland, which has not been in operation for more than 30 years

The power line was built back in Soviet times, but has been out of use since 1991, the company said.

Now, in the long term prospect, it will give Ukraine more opportunities to export and import electricity to EU countries.

This is how we expand our capabilities and strengthen Ukraines connection with the European energy system, Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin said.

This is extremely important at a time when Russia is launching targeted strikes at our energy infrastructure.

Read also: Zelenskyy says Ukraine ready to become one of European hubs of modern green energy

The Ukrainian nuclear operator noted it has fully completed its part of the work to reconnect the line.

At the moment, part of the necessary equipment has already been installed on the site, while the relevant Energoatom units are conducting work that precedes commissioning, the company said.

Therefore, as soon as Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo fulfills its part of obligations, the power line can be put into operation. According to experts estimates, Ukrenergo can finish the work in April.

Earlier, the Polish energy company Orlen Synthos Green Energy initiated a project to build a high-voltage line between the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant and the Polish city of Chem for the import of Ukrainian electricity.

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Snahal Patel says high energy bills have left his business "stuck"

Firms have warned they have had to cut hours due to high energy bills, ahead of government help being scaled back.

From Saturday, firms will get a discount on wholesale prices, as the government said the current scheme which caps costs was too expensive.

The boss of knitwear firm Jack Masters, Snahal Patel, told the BBC it had already shifted to a four-day week after its annual energy bill tripled.

"We're stuck. We want to produce more but it'll cost more," he said.

Business groups have warned thousands of firms may have to shrink or close altogether when the level of support becomes less generous.

Data from analysis firm Cornwall Insights, shared exclusively with the BBC, found the changes mean some businesses could see their bills more than double from 1 April.

Cutting investment

In 2021, Leicester-based Jack Masters was spending about 60,000 a year on energy for the business, but it is now looking at an annual bill of between 180,000 to 200,000.

"We've cut back on the number of days we're switching on our gas boiler and we've had to reduce staff shifts," said Mr Patel, the managing director of the family-run firm, which specialises in making Christmas jumpers.

The Treasury says that under the new scheme, bills will automatically be discounted by up to 6.97 per megawatt hour (Mwh) for gas bills and up to 19.61 per Mwh for electricity.

Heavy users of energy such as steel and glass makers will get a larger discount than other sectors.

Mr Patel said his firm has benefited from government support, but said his bills were still unsustainably high and threaten the future growth of the business.

"What are we going to do over the next 12 months? I think we're going to reduce investment across the board, and I doubt we'll take any new staff on unless we get some really big new orders," he said.

The research from Cornwall Insight found that in a worst-case scenario firms could see their bills increasing by as much as 133%.

It added the more typical bill increase for the average business would be 5-10% from 1 April. However, Cornwall Insight consultant Craig Lowry said while that might sound quite small, businesses are already paying energy prices that are two to three times higher than they were in 2019.

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Speaking to the BBC, Mr Lowry said bills would continue to stay high in the coming years, and small businesses - especially those in sectors such as hospitality who are only just recovering from the impact of the Covid pandemic - "will find it increasingly tough to manage their bills in the current climate".

'Energy bills leave us with absolutely nothing'

Shaf Islam signed up to a fixed-rate energy deal last year, but now prices have fallen he says he feels trapped

In Leicester city centre, Shaf Islam is also grappling with the impact of high energy costs for his restaurant, Chutney Ivy. His bill has quadrupled, from 1,000 in 2021, to about 4,400 this year.

"It leaves us with absolutely nothing," he said.

"It puts pressure on us when other big bills are due like VAT. And we're dealing with huge food price increases at the same time."

Late last year, gas and electricity prices were so high that Mr Islam jumped at the chance to keep costs down by signing up to a deal at a lower rate.

Since then, wholesale energy prices have fallen substantially, although they are still high historically, and it has left Mr Islam locked into his expensive contract for a year.

"Prices were all over the place last year. At one point they were eight times what I was paying," he said.

"We leapt on a contract that offered us just four times what I was paying. But now prices have plummeted and I feel trapped."

Mr Islam would like the opportunity to renegotiate his contract, and he is not alone. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) estimates that more than 300,000 firms who locked into expensive contracts last year may have to downsize, restructure, or even close in the coming months.

It is urging energy companies to show leniency to firms stuck on high contracts.

"There's much that could and should be done rather than leaving small firms high and dry," said Tina McKenzie, policy chairwoman at the FSB.

"Allowing the most vulnerable small businesses to renegotiate or 'blend and extend' their energy contracts to be better reflect wholesale energy prices is the least the government and energy suppliers could do," she added.

A spokesperson for the government said: "Companies large and small will benefit from the baseline discount through our new energy bills scheme and do not need to apply for it, and a higher level of support will be provided to the most energy and trade intensive businesses of all sizes."

Energy UK, which represents energy firms, said it was continuing to work with regulator Ofgem, the government and business groups on the issues.

"It's a commercial issue for suppliers when contracts have been agreed and signed and energy already purchased - but suppliers are trying to come up with innovative solutions that will help customers afford their bills," it said.
Retired military officers, especially those at the O-5 pay grade and above  like an Army lieutenant colonel or a Navy rear admiral, are disproportionately represented in executive roles aimed at supporting military veterans.

Of the roughly 200,000 service members that transition out each year, 90% come from the enlisted ranks. But most of the top posts at state veterans affairs agencies and in executive roles in corporate America are occupied by former military officers, not the enlisted like a former Air Force staff sergeant or Navy petty officer second class.

At state veterans affairs agencies, 78% are run by former military officers. Well over half of the roles filled by officers once held the military pay grade of O-5 or above.

Corporate America is very similar. My initial analysis shows that executive positions supporting the veterans community are mostly occupied by prior service officers. Specifically, I looked at titles at the director and vice president level and above with a clear focus on the military community. Of the 24 corporations reviewed, 20 of the executive roles went to officers.

I conducted this analysis after reflecting on my personal journey in the military and veterans community. I ascended to one of the highest executive roles coveted by many veterans, serving as the head of Student Veterans of America. While there, trying to assist veterans to find post-military jobs, I noticed how corporate America placed a greater value on recruiting officers over enlisted, especially for management tracks.

In fact, over a decade ago, I admonished the private sector for focusing on junior military officer recruitment programs, targeting veterans who held a rank like Marine Corps and Army captains, while overtly ignoring enlisted veterans. While my article is now lost in the catacombs of once-living websites, a reference to my article still exists on the Bradley-Morris website (now owned by Recruit Military).

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My latest research shows little has changed: companies I reviewed seem to value senior rank in their veteran talent acquisition teams and military outreach divisions. Take USAA, a widely respected financial institution with a longstanding history serving the military community.

USAA has a team dedicated to military affairs. Six of the 15 members of the team are prior service officers, with the top executive role occupied by a retired Navy vice admiral. Those that are not officers are mostly E-9  the highest pay grade one can attain in the enlisted ranks. Only one is an E-7, which is still a senior enlisted rank usually associated with a long career in the military. All 15 positions are held by those who have retired from the military, likely with 20 or more years of service.

The pattern of former high ranking service members, especially former officers, as top executives may go beyond the veterans community. In 2019, Business Insider ran an article highlighting 15 veterans serving or having previously served at the head of a Fortune 500 company. Only two were previously enlisted service members.

Korn Ferry issued a report in 2014 describing military officers as over-represented among the ranks of CEOs. The report mentions enlisted once, describing the population as having little to no college education. The statement is fair when describing the junior enlisted population within the military, but shortsighted when articulating the better comparison group of enlisted veterans, reservists, and members of the National Guard, especially those with greater access to revamped education benefits.

Companies did expand recruiting programs to enlisted veterans after the implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, especially for tracks beyond technical roles. A report published at Brookings by U.S. Military Academy associate professor Michael Kofoed described prior enlisted Army veterans as the highest Post-9/11 GI Bill users. Specifically, non-commissioned officers or NCOs, at the E-5 to E-6 level have higher participation rates compared to other ranks. Additionally, a study by Student Veterans of America shows that business degrees are the top programs of study by veterans.

But noncommissioned officers are still thought of by the business world as less educated and less prepared to manage corporate teams even though their main job in the military was to manage people. When enlisted are represented in executive ranks, they tend to be retirees with the rank of E-7 or above. Meanwhile, most troops leaving the service are E-6 and below.

The veterans community should take notice of the rank discrepancy in executive roles. By not doing so, we are failing to fully represent the entirety of the community in strategic-level positions, and we are also missing an opportunity to inspire the next generation of enlisted service members.

Michael Dakduk is a Marine veteran that served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a sergeant. He previously ran Student Veterans of America. Dakduk works as an executive and board member in nonprofits, advocacy organizations and a private equity backed company.

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Estonia will provide military aid to Ukraine

Pevkur explained that the Baltic state is joining the EU initiative to purchase artillery shells, but that it is also necessary to continue sending smaller and more targeted aid packages.

Read also: Baltic countries call on Germany to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine as soon as possible

Reportedly, Tallinn will provide Kyiv with semi-automatic rifles, sniper rifles, optical sights, binoculars, ammunition, individual and special equipment, patrol boats and thermal imagers.

Medical equipment will also be provided.

The total value of the military aid is EUR 494,300 ($525,000). Donations of equipment do not affect the capabilities of the Defense Forces.

Read also: Israel mulls providing military aid to Ukraine

Estonia has been one of Ukraines most ardent supporters since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.

The country has already provided military assistance to the Ukrainian army worth almost EUR 400 million ($425 million), or more than 1% of GDP.

Lithuania is also handing over a new military aid package to Ukraine.

According to Minister of National Defense Arvydas Anusauskas, it will include 155-mm ammunition, vehicles, and military rations.

He noted that the total value of military support provided by Lithuania to Ukraine will soon reach EUR 450 million ($478 million).

Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins traveled to Kyiv on March 16 to meet with Zelenskyy.

Read also: Latvian PM argues for Ukraines speedy EU accession and eventual NATO membership

Zelenskyy thanked Latvia for its commitment to Ukraine, which includes support in building mechanisms to hold Russia accountable for its war crimes as well as a total aid package equal to 1% of the countrys total GDP.

On Feb. 26, Pevkur arrived in Ukraine and met with Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. He announced another package of military aid to be transferred to the Special Operations Forces.

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Fort Worth social media took notice when actor and director Ethan Hawke was spotted at Tex-Mex restaurant Joe T. Garcias earlier this week.





A local radio station, 99.5 The Wolf, posted on its Facebook page an image of Hawke they credited to the restaurant.

Great friend and artist!, read a comment from the restaurants account.

Born in Austin, Hawkes mother and father live in North Texas. His grandfather was a five-term Texas state legislator and two-term Tarrant County judge.

His parents met in school in North Richland Hills and married in college. They were students at UT-Austin when Hawke was born in 1970. They divorced when he was 4, and Hawke spent his school years with his mother in New Jersey, and his summers with his father.




(Reuters) -The European Medicines Agency said on Friday its committee has recommended expanding the use of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk's weight loss drug in adolescents aged 12 years and older.

The drugmaker told Reuters the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use's (CHMP) positive opinion was an "important recognition of the unmet medical need among adolescents living with obesity and the need for additional treatment options".

Novo's Wegovy, a semaglutide-based drug, activates GLP-1, a hormone that triggers the feeling of fullness in the body after eating. It has been approved in the U.S. and European Union for treatment of obesity in adults.

The company did not indicate a timeline for its plans to launch the drug, already available in Denmark and Norway, in other EU countries.

Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics also recommended use of weight-loss drugs in children aged 12 years or older, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval in December of the drug for that population.

(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru and Nikolaj Skydsgaard in Copenhagen; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Kirsten Donovan)
Viktor Orban

Orban advocated a ceasefire in Russias full-scale war against Ukraine, saying he believes that the world is more on Hungarys side, but were in the minority in Europe when it comes to peace.

He did not say which EU members were close to discussing the deployment of peacekeepers to Ukraine.

The Hungarian prime minister noted that the aims of the European Union are questionable, as it cannot guarantee either peace or prosperity, Budapest can be drawn into the war, and Kyiv receives more and more heavy weapons.

Now were close to the fact that it becomes legitimate for European leaders to send some peacekeeping forces to the front, Orban said.

If this continues, we may end up with World War III.

The official reiterated that the Hungarian parliament is expected to pass are solution today calling for peace and immediate ceasefire.

According to Orban, Budapests position is not about what kind of peace treaty should be concluded, but about a ceasefire, followed by thinking about the limits of negotiations.

The Kremlin, whose army has suffered a severe mauling over a year of fighting in Ukraine, is anxious to achieve a ceasefire in order to try to freeze the conflict in Ukraine and hold on to the territory of Ukraine it has seized, experts in Ukraine and abroad say.

Read also: EU supports Zelenskyys peace formula, European Council president says

The Ukrainian governments position, as articulated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is that peace  or more accurately surrender  negotiations should be started with Russia only when the invader has been decisively defeated on the battlefield and Ukraine has liberated all of its internationally recognized territory, including Crimea, which has been under Russian military occupation since 2014.

In the parts of Ukraine that have already been liberated by Ukrainian forces, evidence of atrocities and possible cases of genocide have been discovered. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court on March 17 issued an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for the abduction of children from Ukraine.

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Earlier, Hungarian diplomats stated they were working on a possible visit by Orban to Kyiv.

At the same time, Hungary has advocated dialogue with Russia, while Orban himself has repeatedly made controversial statements against Ukraine and refused to hand over weapons to Kyiv or let them pass through the territory of Hungary.

The Hungarian prime minister is one of the few EU leaders not to have visited Ukraine during the time of Russias full-scale invasion of the country.

Hungarian President Katalin Novak visited Kyiv on Nov. 26, 2022. However, the Hungarian presidency is largely a ceremonial one.

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MILAN and WASHINGTON  The European Commission is investigating the February takeover of Estonias Milrem, a company deeply rooted in the European Unions defense robotics efforts, by an Emirati state-owned conglomerate.

The move follows concerns that defense cooperation projects meant to advance European security interests could be tapped by businesses and governments outside the EU to extract knowledge and exert influence.

As standard procedure applied to projects benefiting from grants under EU defense funding programs, ownership changes trigger an assessment by the commission, a European Commission spokesperson told Defense News. In particular, the impact on the eligibility of acquired entities for EU funding is assessed considering that an acquisition by a third-country-controlled entity could be contravening the security and defense interests of the EU and its member states.

Milrem leads the European iMUGS project, which came with a $40 million grant in 2020. The project aims to create something of a plug-and-play architecture for future military robotic vehicles of the member states.

Edge Group acquired a majority stake in Milrem last month, a transaction meant to accelerate the Estonian companys growth and provide the new owners a foothold in Europe, particularly northern Europe, the companies announced Feb. 15. They did not disclose the value of the deal.

EU officials only learned about the takeover that month, according to the commission spokesperson. And an official at the Estonian Defence Ministry said the government was informed mere days before the public announcement.

The case stresses loopholes written into EU regulations on collaborative projects when companies under foreign ownership are involved. Participation in bloc-funded projects is permitted, but only as an exception. Foreign-owned companies, along with their host governments, must make the case in Brussels that they wont jeopardize European security interests or drain intellectual property gained in the process of bloc-wide collaboration to their new bosses.

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Milrem has pledged to put safeguards in place to that effect.

The companys takeover barely beats a new law approved by the Estonian parliament on foreign direct investment screening. The legislation is meant to close a loophole  one long decried by Brussels  for foreign influence through commercial backdoors.

But the law will take effect in September, meaning the Estonian Defence Ministry had no role in reviewing the deal, a spokesperson there confirmed.

It remains unclear how much power the European Commission holds in situations like this. There appears to be no precedent for the mid-project takeover of a prominent consortium leader by a country outside the EU and even outside the trans-Atlantic NATO alliance.

What complicates the matter is that some European defense companies may see Edge Group as a springboard for their business interests in the Arab world, according to industry insiders, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.

What Brussels can do, however, is withhold future funding for EU defense projects or exclude companies outright if requisite safety guarantees are deemed insufficient, according to a guide for applicants to the multibillion-euro European Defence Fund.

That fund is in line to finance future EU robotics work, including iMUGS, with decisions coming this summer.
Gary officials are investigating a series of shootings  which killed a man and s teen boy and injured four others  which happened over a 13-hour span on Thursday and Friday in Gary.

Garys interim Police Chief, Indiana State Police Major Jerry Williams, said the incidents did not appear to be random, but targeted shootings, and he credited community members for talking with police.

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Beginning yesterday afternoon and into the early morning hours was a difficult time in our city. Not only were several people shot but two lost their lives to gun violence, Chief Williams said in a press release. We grieve with the families who lost loved ones, and we want to support those who were injured. Clearly, when people have the courage to come forward with details, it goes a long way toward helping us solve these crimes.

Gary Police were first called out around 1:10 p.m. March 30 to the 4400 block of Delaware Street for a report of shots fired, Gary Police spokeswoman Lt. Dawn Westerfield said in a release. They found an unresponsive man on the front porch of an apartment building, she said.

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The Lake County Coroners office on Friday identified the man as Jordan M. Miller, 24, of East Chicago, in a release. Family members identified him on the scene, according to the release.

About two hours later  around 3:46 p.m. Thursday  police were contacted about a gunshot victim who had walked into Methodist Hospitals Northlake. The 32-year-old man told police that he was walking north in the 800 block of Colfax Street when he heard shots ring out and was struck by gunfire in his upper shoulder.

Around 7:10 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to a report of a gunshot victim in the 1900 block of Monroe Lane. They found a 26-year-old man who had been shot in the neck. The victim was uncooperative with officers, stating only that he had been riding around in the area when stuck by gunfire. Gary Fire Department Medics transported him to a local hospital before he was later flown out to a Chicago hospital.

Within 20 minutes of that incident, police were dispatched around 7:30 p.m. to the 5000 block of West 19th Avenue in regards to a gunshot victim. The first victim was 31-year-old Gary man who was shot in the face, and the second victim was a 19-year-old man who was shot in the left foot. The teen, who lived in the area, told police that he had just emerged from his brothers car when someone started shooting. Medics transported both men to the hospital.

In the final incident, officers were sent to an alley near West 5th Avenue and Garfield Street on a report of a gunshot victim. Police found a teenage boy on the ground with gunshot wounds, and 17-year-old Val King, of Gary, was later pronounced dead at the Methodist Northlake Emergency Room, the Lake County Coroners office said in a separate release.

Mayor Jerome Prince offered his condolences to the families of those who were killed, and he asked community support during the investigations.

My family and I, as well as our community, continue to pray for all families who are affected by gun violence in our City, Mayor Prince said in a press release. Were also grateful for everyone who came forward with information to help our investigators. We have significantly increased our police patrol presence around the City, but we cant be everywhere all the time, so the publics assistance is invaluable.

We cant say it enough, but if you see something, say something.

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The Lake County Prosecutors Office Homicide Task Force and the Lake County Sheriff CSI units are investigating the incidents. Anyone with information on the shooting incidents is encouraged to call the Homicide Task Force at 219-755-3855, the Gary Police Department Violent Crimes Division at 219-881-1210 or the anonymous Crime Tip Line at 866-274-6347

Anonymous tips also can be texted at 219-207-8477.
The shophouse's facade. Amanda Goh/Insider

After becoming Singaporean citizens, this couple bought a pre-war house for 2.8 million Singapore dollars in January 2018.

Alban Salord and his wife Natalie embarked on a three-year-long process of designing and renovating their home.

Salord now runs a private dining business in the shophouse, serving Mediterranean food inspired by his heritage.

Before there were skyscrapers, Singapore's shophouses dominated the country's landscape. With their ornate, candy-colored exteriors, these buildings are an iconic part of the city's heritage.

Shophouses along Joo Chiat Terrace. Amanda Goh/Insider

Shophouses are narrow, terraced houses that have a sheltered pedestrian walkway in the front.

Most shophouses in Singapore were constructed between the 1840s and the 1960s, and many of them are now under conservation.

Shophouses are usually two-to-three stories high. As the name suggests, the ground floor of a shophouse is traditionally used for commercial purposes, while people live upstairs.

Alban Salord and his wife Natalie have been living in a three-story shophouse since 2020. The couple, who are now citizens, met in Singapore after moving here over a decade ago.

Alban Salord, also known as Al, standing beside his wife Natalie in their kitchen. 59JCT

Salord, who goes by Al, moved to Singapore from France in 2007 for work. His wife Natalie, on the other hand, was born in the UK but grew up in Hong Kong. They came to Singapore separately, but got married in 2012 and made the city their permanent home.

"I've been a citizen for over ten years now, and we'd been looking to buy a conservation property for a little bit of time," Salord told Insider. "To be fair, I've always been in love with shophouses."

He had tried to buy a shophouse in 2009 but was unsuccessful. Like his current home, it was a three-story building and it was located on Marshall Road  an eight-minute walk from where he now lives.

"It was going, I remember, for SG$1.1 million. But I was SG$50,000 short. They wouldn't come down and I couldn't go up because I was maxed out," he said.

In January 2018, the couple finally managed to realize their dreams of owning a conservation property: They bought a SG$2.8 million Peranakan shophouse in Joo Chiat, an area near the southeastern coast of Singapore.

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A photo of the exterior of the shophouse when the couple bought it. Med@59JCT

Their 1,173-square-foot home is located on a street known as Joo Chiat Terrace and it's the last home of a row of 12 shophouses, Salord said.

Historically, the Joo Chiat area was where many Peranakan families lived. Today, the term "Peranakan" generally refers to people who are of mixed Chinese and Malay or Indonesian heritage  although there are also Peranakans who are not of Chinese ancestry.

Even today, strong Peranakan influences can be seen in the facades of many shophouses  like Salord's  and on the menus of traditional restaurants still found in the area.

"We don't even have an exact date of when our shophouse was built, so we estimate that it was built between 1928 and 1933, sort of in that five-year bracket," Salord said.

Salord had been living in Joo Chiat since 2009, and he wanted to stay in the area. The couple found their shophouse with help from a friend in real estate.

Google Maps Street View image of how their shophouse looked when they first bought it. It's the last shophouse in a row of 12. Google Maps Street View

"We'd given her a little location square within which to work with," he said. "And what she did was that she selected three very different houses  a new build, a 70s bungalow, and the shophouse  for us to have a look at."

The moment they stepped in, the couple knew they found the one.

"There was nothing wrong with the other houses but when we walked into this one, there was a really positive vibe," Salord said. "And it was a nice day  the light was coming through the front of the house, and it was kind of cool inside."

But the price of the shophouse was more than the couple's budget, and it took them months before they reached a deal with the previous owners.

A before image showing the layout of the first floor. There was a wooden door separating the front of the house from the back. Med@59JCt

"It was a long process, over six months, of visiting it repeatedly, making offers, and trying to get to the price we wanted," Salord said.

After rejecting them twice, the sellers finally accepted the couple's offer on their third attempt. On that day, during the couple's visit, the roof in one of the bedrooms gave way due to the heavy rain.

"It was literally raining inside, and we managed to come down to a price that both parties were comfortable with," Salord said. They officially closed the deal in January 2018.

The next hurdle was the renovation: Some of the rooms had odd layouts that Salord and his wife weren't fond of.

On the second floor, there were two very small rooms split by an oddly-angled wall. Med@59JCT

The kitchen, located at the back of the home, was situated by an airwell and would flood almost every time it rained, Salord said.

On the second floor, there were two small rooms separated by a wall that was placed at a strange angle. The room on the third floor, located right below the roof, had glass walls, Salord said: "It was like 50 degrees Celsius in there."

There was also only one bathroom upstairs for the entire house, he said.

"It just didn't make any sense to me," Salord added. "But you could see the potential of the space."

Since their shophouse is a conserved building, there are also rules that specify what the couple cannot change about the house.

Some features of the shophouse that need to be conserved include the pitch of the roof and the timber windows. Med@59JCT

"What is conserved is the frontage of the house as well as the roof  the roof needs to be of a certain pitch," Salord said. "You have a choice, but they encourage you to go for the traditional V-shape tiles to complete the look."

Some other shophouse features that need to be conserved include the timber windows and the airwell, per the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

"You'll need to submit your proposed plans and make sure that everything is fine with the conservation people and the structural engineers," Salord said.

Even though the couple bought the shophouse in January 2018, it wasn't until November 2020 that they were finally able to move in.

The exterior of the couple's renovated shophouse. A pop of teal highlights the intricate ornamentation on the facade. Amanda Goh/Insider

It was a long journey looking for contractors, refining plans, and getting them approved, Salord said. The couple also had to deal with delays brought on by the pandemic.

"It was in August 2018 when we identified who the architect and the contractors were going to be," Salord said. "We submitted our first design plan in October  which was approved  and we were slated to start work in early 2019."

However, when a neighbor was caught flouting the conservation guidelines, the URA came to inspect all the houses on the street, including Salord's.

"I get a call early December 2018 telling me that my roof is not the right pitch nor does it have the right tiles," Salord said. "Somebody replaced the roof sometime in the past, and they wanted me to redo it in the right way."

They went back to the drawing board. In May 2019, the couple finally got the approval to go ahead with their renovation.

The actual renovation work started in June 2019, and was completed 18 months later, in November 2020.

The main entrance to the shophouse. The lanterns, emblazoned with the house's address in English and in Mandarin, were custom-designed by an artist. Amanda Goh/Insider

Salord estimates that he spent about 1 million Singapore dollars, or about $750,000, on the renovation, including all the built-in appliances in his kitchen.

Everything in the home had to be replaced due to termite damage, Salord said: "Originally I was going to try to conserve and preserve everything that we could, but then when we saw that there were termites, we decided we'll just redo everything."

The interiors of the shophouse complement the building's historical look and feel, with custom-designed furniture and art pieces curated from the couple's travels.

A wooden divider partially shields the interiors from the outside when the main door is open, offering a little bit of privacy. Amanda Goh/Insider

Almost everything had been bought specifically for the house  sometimes even years before their renovation ended, Salord said.

In a way, it's almost as if the couple purposely built their rooms to accommodate the items that they loved and wanted to have in their home, he said.

"Not that I'm advocating that as a building method, but if you buy stuff that you really like before you have a frame for it, you can always build the frame around it so that they fit," Salord said.

The first floor of the house has an open-concept layout. It stretches from the main door to the living room, then the kitchen, and the dining space.

The living room. Amanda Goh/Insider

The flooring on the first story was hand-painted to look like polished concrete, Salord said.

"We wanted actual polished concrete, but when they poured the concrete in, it looked like a car park," Salord said. "It was terrible. I cried. You spent a million dollars and it's all ruined because of the floor, and it's everywhere  you can't miss it."

Removing it would mean breaking the tiles out front, which they didn't want, Salord said. In the end, the couple reached out to a contractor who specializes in painting distressed feature walls.

"And so we had a whole bunch of guys sitting on the floor with a little bit of water and a bit of paint, dabbing on the ground with little sponges and drying it with a hair dryer," Salord said.

Salord's favorite part of the house is the kitchen. It's also central to his private dining business, which he named @59JCT  in reference to the address.

The view of the open kitchen from the living room. The dining area is in the back. Amanda Goh/Insider

"I spend a lot of time in my kitchen," Salord said. "When you're cooking and if we have friends coming over having a drink, you are in the middle of the life of the house."

Salord says that the hardest part  from his contractor's perspective  was looking for the patterned yellow tiles used in his backsplash and on the sides of the island counter. The tiles are also used at the front of the house, along the five-foot-way.

"When I first visited the place, I had a very specific vision of this house with the blue details and a yellow Peranakan tile frontage," Salord said.

After looking through countless images online, Salord finally found the yellow tiles he wanted on a random Pinterest image  with no website or information detailing where they were from.

His contractor finally managed to get her hands on them after sourcing for 18 months, he added.

"And I'll tell you something funny: My wife and I went on holiday to Langkawi last year, and the hotel where we're having our lunches  those were the exact tiles they had," Salord added.

Salord's foray into being a private dining chef in 2021 was driven by the decision to honor his parents after they passed away the year before.

An alternate view of the dining area, with built-in cabinets and ovens in the back. Amanda Goh/Insider

Most of the items on the menu are family recipes passed down from his mom and dad, Salord said: "All things that would remind me of them, I would put on the menu."

His father's family is of Spanish descent but lived in Morocco before moving to France where Salord was born. Growing up, food at home was always a mix of dishes inspired by the Mediterranean region, Salord said.

Salord's private dining menu offers changes every time, although diners can always discuss with him what they feel like having when they make a booking.

"The concept is traveling through food: When you come to dine here, you get a little menu with a map of the Mediterranean that tells you where each dish is from," he added.

The private dining business was a hobby for a year and a half before Salord went into it full-time in October last year, after leaving his job in the finance industry.

The dining table is located by a small garden below an air well. Amanda Goh/Insider

Salord hosts up to 10 guests in a single seating. Depending on the size of each party, there can be different groups dining together at the same time.

"We've done it several times where we've had different groups come in and people are so fun and happy to meet others. It's heartwarming to see how people who don't know each other before can get along so well," Salord said.

The private dining experience also includes a tour of the shophouse. For most people, it's a rare opportunity to see inside a historical home.

One side of the hallway on the second floor is covered in trinkets and art that the couple amassed over the years. Amanda Goh/Insider

Shophouses have been gaining popularity in recent years. In 2022 alone, there were 187 shophouse transactions worth $1.6 billion Singapore dollars, or $1.2 billion, per Knight Frank Singapore.

Part of the shophouses' allure comes from their architectural heritage and relative scarcity: Many shophouses in Singapore are under conservation status, and there are no new ones being built.

There are three bedrooms in the shophouse: the master suite, the guest room, and a bedroom for his domestic helper.

The guest bedroom with custom wallpaper and matching sheets. Amanda Goh/Insider

Sometimes friends and family who visit Singapore will stay with them at their shophouse, in the guest bedroom, Salord said.

Like the rest of the shophouse, the decor in the guest bedroom is given careful thought with bespoke matching wallpaper and bedsheets.

"The most expensive thing that we spent money on  which came almost to SG$80,000  were the doors and the windows," Salord said.

The study features a full-length shelf that Salord designed on his own. Amanda Goh/Insider

Every door and window in the house had been replaced due to termite damage, and the couple opted for Chengal wood sourced from Malaysia due to its ability to withstand rot.

"The wood is saturated with sap, so it's like a natural protector against rot," Salord said. "We didn't know that before they installed it, but it also means the sap bleeds onto the surrounding areas and makes it look a little dirty. You just have to clean it."

The couple created plenty of cozy nooks around the house where they can lounge.

The couple created plenty of cozy nooks around the house where they can lounge. Amanda Goh/Insider

Salord and his wife also enjoy collecting art pieces and displaying them around their home.

The circle art frame hanging by the window is called "Everyday Mysteries," and it was gifted to them by an artist friend, Salord said.

It's made of little trinkets that the artist collected from his travels around the world, housed in a giant wooden frame crafted from the local Angsana tree, he said.

"And just like us, we've been everywhere and we've ended up in Singapore and he symbolized that. We love it, every time you look at it, you find something you haven't seen before," he added.

Looking back on the renovation process, Salord says that he wishes he spent more time checking the finishing touches on the house.

The master bedroom. Amanda Goh/Insider

This includes minor things like making sure the plastering on the wall was even and that door handles are completely aligned, Salord said.

"It's little things that you wouldn't necessarily notice," Salord said. "But to be fair to the contractors, the whole process was almost three years, including a year of COVID. We were desperate to move in and we didn't want to redo anything."

All of the bathrooms in the home have colorful Peranakan tiles as a nod to the building's heritage.

A collage showing the shower and the toilet in the master bedroom. Amanda Goh/Insider

Even the hanging art piece in the shower is made of floor tiles  although they're from Istanbul, Salord said.

"We bought this 10 years ago, not knowing what we're going to do with it," Salord said. When they were renovating the shophouse, the original plan was to lay the Turkish tiles into the ground.

The couple ultimately decided against it because their contractor warned them it would be permanent.

"We wouldn't be able to take them out if we were to ever leave here," Salord said. "And they're very expensive. It's like 50 euros per piece and we have 12."

In the end, the couple managed to get the tiles set in a frame like a painting.

Even though the process of restoring his Peranakan shophouse was a long and expensive process, Salord says he's grateful to be able to experience living in a shophouse.

The third-floor terrace is where the couple will set up a space for pre-dinner drinks for their private dining guests. Amanda Goh/Insider

At the end of the day, it's all part of the responsibility of owning a historical property, Salord said.

"Not everybody thinks like this, but if you're going to buy a historical property, then you should do the best you can to try and take it back to what it looked like," he added.

Read the original article on Insider
 Read the full article on Motorious

Not everyone is on the EV bandwagon

Theres been a general illusion in North America that Europeans are all onboard with mandating electric vehicles and eventually phasing out everything that burns gas or diesel. However, the reality is a war is growing between two factions. Surprisingly, the transport ministers from Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia are all intent on weakening the increased Euro 7 emissions limits.

Learn why European automakers are in a bad position here.

Last week, those transport ministers met to discuss how they could derail what green advocates like Greta Thunberg have pushed for. The new Euro 7 standards seek to dramatically drop the amount of pollutants exiting the tailpipes of vehicles across the continent, especially nitrogen oxides. Some have framed the battle as a crusade for public health, but others portray it as a vital step to stop the oceans from consuming land masses as the planets temperature inches up faster.

Like so many other people around the globe, this growing alliance against the proposed Euro 7 emissions standards has criticized the plan for being unrealistic. After all, adoption of the standards would come in midway through 2025, so its really only two years away.

Its not difficult to conclude that ever-increasing emissions standards are a tool to squeeze internal combustion engines out of the market, leaving only electric vehicles. Some environmental advocates have even celebrated that eventuality in the regulations.

Another point of contention these transport ministers discussed was the 2035 deadline to phase out any vehicle which directly emits CO2, famously known as the ICE ban or EV mandate. Its a move California and other places have made as well with government officials proclaiming that if its law, automakers will find a way to manufacture electric cars to be more economical. Again, the problem is not everyone is convinced such mandates are practical, with many pointing out poorer individuals would be squeezed the hardest.

Story continues

Source: Reuters

Image via Travel Blog

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A group of Florida evangelicals on Thursday criticized a bill that criminalizes the transport of migrants.

The bill makes it a felony to knowingly assist an undocumented immigrant.

Church leaders warned it could hinder their ability to preach the gospel.

A group of evangelicals on Thursday spoke against an effort by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans to make it a felony to knowingly transport an undocumented immigrant, calling it a potentially dangerous infringement on religious liberty.

DeSantis, who is weighing a run for the presidency, has styled himself as a warrior for the Christian faith and a hardline opponent of illegal immigration. But on a conference call, Florida pastors said his support of a measure making its way through the Florida legislature threatens their ability to preach the gospel.

"As followers of Christ, we are living out our faith most clearly when we answer the call to care for those in need: widows, orphans, immigrants and the poor," Jody Ray, a pastor at Chets Creek Church in Jacksonville, said on the call. "Any law that would hinder our ability to carry out our calling to care for anyone in need would be a violation of our religious freedom."

At issue is a provision in the bill that would impose, per the legislative text: "criminal penalties for persons who knowingly and willfully violate, or who reasonably should know and who violate, certain provisions relating to the transporting into or within this state, or the concealing, harboring, or shielding from detection, or the attempt thereof, of individuals who entered the United States unlawfully and without inspection by the Federal Government."

Violators could be charged with a second-degree felony under the bill, which in Florida is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The bill is also opposed by the ACLU, with its Florida chapter noting that it could criminalize providing transport or shelter to people "who have lived in Florida for decades and have US-born children."

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There are around 772,000 undocumented immigrants in Florida, according to the Migration Policy Institute, with roughly half having resided in the United States for more than a decade.

Gary Shultz Jr., a pastor at First Baptist Church of Tallahassee, said the bill, currently making its way through the Florida Senate, would force his congregants to choose between their faith and their freedom.

"As Christians, we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that includes immigrants that God brings into our state," he said, a duty that extends to providing not just spiritual support but material assistance. "If this bill were enacted as currently drafted, it would place Florida's Christians and churches in an untenable decision, having to decide between obeying biblical commands or facing criminal penalties for showing biblical compassion."

Another church leader suggested DeSantis and other Republicans were playing politics  but confusing evangelical support for the rule of law with backing for punitive measures targeting vulnerable immigrants.

"Elected officials seeking to appeal to evangelical voters are making an error, morally and strategically, by pursuing harsh, anti-immigrant legislation, especially when they go so far as to criminalize basic elements of church ministry in the process," Gabriel Salguero, pastor at The Gathering Place in Orlando and president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, told reporters. Salguero said is "praying" that DeSantis and his legislative allies "abandon this misguided bill."

It's not the first time religious leaders have clashed with DeSantis, who has styled himself a warrior for the Christian faith. Catholic leaders have also condemned his policies and rhetoric on immigration, with the Florida Catholic Conference, which represents the state's bishops, recently telling Insider that it opposes DeSantis' efforts to expand the death penalty.

A spokesperson for DeSantis did not return a request for comment.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
A child weeps on a bus leaving the Covenant School following Monday's mass shooting in Nashville. (Nicole Hester / Associated Press )

Once again a mass shooting is in the headlines  this time in Nashville, with three children among the six victims. This latest horrific tragedy is prompting renewed calls for gun reform, but what most Americans dont know is that a different kind of gun revolution is already underway.

Over the past few months, the federal courts have waged an unprecedented attack on U.S. gun safety laws. Spurred by the Supreme Court, judges have declared dozens of mainstream, widely accepted restrictions on firearms unconstitutional.

Even a partial list of the laws struck down or enjoined is startling: bans on possession of firearms by domestic abusers; bans on guns in churches, hospitals and bars; prohibitions on firearms in the hands of people charged with felonies; restrictions on 18-to-20-year-olds carrying weapons; prohibitions on loaded guns in vehicles; and bans on guns with obliterated serial numbers.

This tidal wave of rulings began with a decision by the Supreme Court last year. The justices struck down New Yorks 100-year-old restrictions on who could obtain a license to carry a concealed firearm and established a new test for courts to apply in all 2nd Amendment cases. Many modern gun laws have been unable to survive it.

A high court majority, led by Justice Clarence Thomas, said that gun laws today must be consistent with the gun laws of the 1700s and 1800s. Thomas' rationale was grounded in originalism: Laws from 100 or 200 years ago reflected the original understanding of the 2nd Amendment (adopted in 1791) and the 14th Amendment (which expanded gun rights to the states in 1868), so they set the boundaries on what is constitutional.

The predictable result has been the demise of 20th century laws for 20th (and 21st) century reality. Take the federal ban on the possession of firearms by domestic abusers, which dated back a few decades. In voiding it, a judge in Texas explained that glaringly absent from the historical record  from colonial times until 1994  are consistent examples of the government removing firearms from someone accused (or even convicted) of domestic violence. The fact that spousal abuse was often permitted by law in the 18th and 19th centuries didnt matter.

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Similar reasoning has been applied in cases from Oklahoma to New York. In striking down the ban on firearms whose serial numbers have been removed, a judge argued that since Congress first mandated serial numbers on firearms in 1968, there was no longstanding historical tradition of such laws. Because we did not ban guns on public transportation in the 1800s, another court said that a ban in airports and on buses was unconstitutional. Bans on guns in bars or hospitals? Again, no such laws existed back in the day, so such laws are impermissible infringements of the 2nd Amendment now.

Even when lawyers bring to court evidence of earlier gun laws similar to those being challenged, judges have twisted themselves in knots to deny the similarity exists.

Although Texas historically barred guns in educational, literary, and scientific institutions, that couldnt justify a law today prohibiting guns in libraries and museums. Texas, a court said, had been an outlier in restricting guns in this way. In a case involving guns in churches, a judge dismissed several early American laws barring guns in places of worship because, despite the laws on the books, there was no evidence they had been consistently enforced in practice.

Some of these decisions might be thought to be reflections of the extremism of a handful of Donald Trump-appointed lower court judges. Indeed, many of the cases declaring gun laws unconstitutional have been decided by federal district court judges nominated by the former president.

Nevertheless, the attack on gun safety laws is better understood as the result of a different set of Trump-appointed judges: Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, all of whom were known to have strong pro-gun views before they were nominated. As a lower court judge, Kavanaugh said that bans on assault weapons were unconstitutional and Barrett voted to strike down the lifetime ban on felons possessing firearms.

Barretts arrival, as the last of the Trump appointees, has been crucial. Until then, the high court had allowed reasonable restrictions that enhanced public safety, despite its 2008 determination that there exists an individual right to bear arms.

But just six months after Barrett took the oath of office, the court decided to hear the New York concealed carry case. All of Trumps nominees, plus John Roberts and Samuel Alito, joined Thomas' opinion establishing the new history-based test for 2nd Amendment cases.

It is possible that some of the recent gun rulings will be overturned on appeal. But the lower court decisions weve seen are not, by and large, outlandish applications of the Supreme Courts test. In dismissing a charge of illegal possession of a firearm by a criminal defendant charged with a felony, a U.S. federal district court judge in Indiana, a Reagan appointee, expressed dismay at the result.

This opinion was drafted with an earnest hope that its author has misunderstood the Supreme Courts decision. If not, the judge warned frankly, most of the body of law Congress has developed to protect both public safety and the right to bear arms might well be unconstitutional.

Which gun laws are next? In truth, many of the most important and effective gun laws we have are without precedents from the 18th or 19th centuries. For example, laws barring convicted felons from having guns, requiring background checks on gun purchases and restricting access to firearms by people with mental illness are all modern-day innovations. Unsurprisingly, before there were easily portable machine guns, which were first introduced in the 1910s, there were no laws barring people from having such weapons.

The Supreme Court must take another 2nd Amendment case soon  and abandon or significantly revise its foolish history-based test. Todays problems of gun violence are vastly different from those of the past. Prior to 1900s, cities were much smaller with much less urban gun crime. We recognize suicide today as a more serious problem than we did in the past. Early Americans didnt even conceptualize mental illness the way we do, much less bar mentally ill people from possessing weapons.

The court must also make clear that a gun laws effectiveness  not just its historical pedigree  matters. Certainly, the usefulness of serial numbers in solving gun crimes makes [such a law] desirable for our society, explained one judge. But the Supreme Court no longer permits such an analysis.

Meanwhile, gun violence is spiking in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2020 than in any other year on record. Gun homicides rose by 35% that same year, and has risen even more since. And the scourge of mass shootings continue; according to the Gun Violence Archive Nashville was the 129th since January (the archive has since added two more to its list).

So long as the Supreme Court insists that we combat these current problems with old, outdated tools, we will not be able to reduce gun violence. Indeed, if the justices do not act soon, there may be few gun laws left that even try.

Adam Winkler is a professor at UCLA School of Law and the author of Gun Fight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Its one of those technical questions that you may wonder about. Maybe youve been searching for something embarrassing in your internet browser, like a medical question or content that isnt G-rated, and youd prefer that your friends, family or boss not later stumble on whatever that is.

So, can you ever really, truly delete your browsers search history for good?

The answer  as is often the case with these kinds of situations  is complicated.

First, heres the easy way to delete your browsers search history.

If you want to delete your browsers history, you would generally do this:

On a Windows PC, press Ctrl+Shift+Delete, and then youll be given a choice to Cancel or Clear data.

If you have a Mac, youll want to follow your individual browsers instructions. But typically, it involves going to your browsers drop-down menu, choosing the History setting and then clearing the data.

If you have an iPhone, go to Settings and then tap the Safari option, followed by Clear History and Website Data.

If you have an Android, select Settings in your browser, and then choose the Privacy and Security option. Tap Clear browsing data.

But still, your browsing history may not be gone for good. If your life has turned really dark, and a police departments forensic team is searching through your computer or phone, theyll probably turn something up anyway. (Hopefully  no offense.)

All right, now for the fun stuff: Can you ever really, truly delete your browsers search history for good?

The short answer is no, not really. Well, you can, but there is a good chance that your search history isnt truly gone for good.

Please explain.

Right. Well, you can delete your browsers history, but traces of what you were searching for are probably just lurking somewhere else.

On your computer or device, you can really, truly delete your web browsers search history files, said Eric Santanen, an associate professor at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania who studies online privacy.

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The problem, though, is that youve probably already visited other websites or search engines. So just because youve made your own browser look above reproach, that doesnt mean your search queries arent still available elsewhere, Santanen said.

For example, if you are logged into a Google account and perform a web search, Google will retain a list of all searches you have performed, he said. Other search engines tend to retain similar sets of data for analysis and sale to other organizations.

Santanen added that DuckDuckGo is a notable exception. Their business model does not include hoarding, analyzing or selling your search history, he said.

So if somebody had a really good reason to see what youve been searching for, it is available through court orders to most search engines, Santanen said. And the user will never know that these requests have been made or that they have been fulfilled, due to various nondisclosure agreements that are forced upon the search provider by the court systems, he added.

A person can control their own computer, but we cannot control computers that we do not own.Eric Santanen, an online privacy expert

OK, well, fortunately, I dont think anybody will be that interested in my browsing history. If I want to really, truly delete my web browsers search history from my computer or device, how do I do it?

You probably dont. You will likely need to hire a computer technician instead.

You can remove the files that contain your browsers search history from your computer, but it requires specific knowledge, takes significant effort, and the results obtained will depend on the specific combination of hardware and software you are using, Santanen said  such as a desktop, a tablet or a phone, as well as your particular operating system and web browser.

As web browser software becomes more sophisticated over time, the steps required to protect your privacy by attempting to clean up after yourself become increasingly complex, he added.

How complex, exactly? Lets just say that one hypothetical afternoon I was typing, Why is my boss a moron? in the search engine on my work computer. How can I clear the browser? Is it really that hard?

It may be daunting.

Santanen offered up the example of somebody using a Windows operating system. Specific protocols and data structures will vary across devices, but the basics remain fairly similar, he said.

There is a lot of local data stored on your computer or device, Santanen said, such as:

Search term history. Many browsers automatically record and store the search terms that you use.

Cookie files. As you browse the web, various websites install cookie files on your computer that remember certain websites that youve visited and some of what you did while there.

Browsing history. Your browser keeps a list of individual pages youve visited.

Downloaded files. Various files downloaded from websites will be stored on your computer.

Remembered passwords. This stored data is also website-specific.

Cache files. These are copies of webpages that youve visited that are stored on your computer as well.

Autocompleted text fields. The most common example of this is name and address fields that exist in webpages.

So if you really want to erase everything youve browsed, all of the above must be cleared, Santanen said.

After I delete everything, it all goes into the operating systems trash, right? And then I delete it from there. Isnt it gone for good then?

Not really. Santanen said that over time, especially if youve added new software to your computer, you may find that the deleted files have been written over and truly are gone forever. But some programs can find long-deleted files, which may be useful for anyone who hasnt stored their files online and is desperately trying to recover something important.

If you use Windows and really want to make sure your files are gone, you can use the optimize and defragment tool that is built into your computer.

This tool will physically reorganize and regroup all of the files on the drive into a specific area, and then wipe clean by writing blank data to all of the remaining free space, Santanen explained, adding that this can take several hours to complete for large drives.

Another method operates at the individual file level and requires special third-party data-wiping software, he said. With this software, you can specify a specific file as a target and it will write random data to the physical location on the hard drive, overwriting the data from your original file, Santanen added.

If you really want to delete your history, you can use privacy software that will overwrite the information found in your history files with random characters, so that even if the files are restored, they are unreadable, said Steve Weisman, a senior lecturer of law and taxation at Bentley University in Massachusetts who runs the website Scamicide.com.

These types of software programs often come with a monthly or yearly subscription, but some are free, too. BitRaser File Eraser, Eraser, File Shredder, Hardwipe, Blancco File Eraser and Disk Wipe are among the many privacy programs  often called file eraser software  that can fully scrub the files inside your computer so that your browser history and plenty else disappear.

OK, good. So once Ive done that, the browser history is dead?

Probably not.

Before the marriage of web browsers and cloud storage, securely wiping a hard drive or performing a factory reset would suffice to ensure your browsers history is deleted, said Stephen Boyce, a cybersecurity executive at the Canada-based company Magnet Forensics, which provides organizations with tools to investigate cyberattacks and digital crimes.

But now, its another story.

Today, many users sign into the web browser of choice, which means their browser history exists not only on the device used to access a website but potentially other devices that are synchronized with that device, as well as the cloud, Boyce said.

Of course, the cloud. Curses. Well, what a mess. Any other tips for keeping a low profile?

A few, although this is about to go a little off-topic from clearing your browser history. But many people do end up putting information on the internet that they may not want out there, said Dimitri Shelest, the CEO of the Virginia-based company OneRep, which specializes in removing peoples information from data brokers across the internet.

So if you dont want just anybody knowing where you live, for instance  maybe you have a stalker ex-boyfriend out there  this type of service might help.

If youre really worried about your information being online and your situation is extreme, Shelest said, you could do a few things.

First, you might want to leave social media. If you want to go completely dark, taking down social media is essential, he said. Back up your data if necessary, and then go through every account you can think of and deactivate them one by one.

You could also scrub any forum discussions and comments. Think back to message boards, forums and similar websites, such as Reddit, Shelest said. Have you left comments or created posts? Locate your account, delete all comments and posts, and then delete your account.

Finally, you can talk to Google. While theres no guarantee that this will always work, you can request certain website content to be removed from Google, Shelest said. In situations where site owners arent willing to take down this sensitive content, taking it straight to Google can help.

So whats the bottom line? Can browser search history be completely deleted for good?

Absolutely  on your own computer or device. And if thats all youre worried about, you can do something about it. But if you are nervous about certain bits of information being out there for others to someday possibly see, you probably have good reason to be anxious.

A person can control their own computer, but we cannot control computers that we do not own, Santanen said.

Related...
At a glance:



Inspired by the events detailed in J.R.R. Tolkiens history of Middle-earth beyond The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Rings of Power explores what happened long before the events of those novels, dubbed the Second Age of Middle-earth.

Set thousands of years before the events of the books and movies (which Rings of Power has a... tenuous connection to, and Amazon has been vague on the specifics), it details several events during the aforementioned Second Age, including Saurons forging of the titular magical Rings of Power, and the infamous One Ring designed to dominate all others to his will.

Its set to begin streaming on Prime Video starting September 2. Read io9's review here.

Season one will run for eight episodes, and the series has already been granted a second season.

Season two will likely premiere in 2024.

Last updated 3/31/2023.





The Rings of Power is about the Second Age of Middle-Earth.



Image: Amazon Studios

Set during the Second Age of Middle-earthfor the record, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set at the very end of the Third AgeLord of the Rings: The Rings of Power charts the rise of Sauron, as the Dark Lord manipulates the beings of Middle-Earth to hatch plans to sow chaos and bend the land to his will. (Read more: Amazons Lord of the Rings Show Is About the Return of Sauron)



Read more

The Second Age itself is a period that spans over thousands of years, leaving plenty of room for stories to be told in The Rings of Power. Beyond the return of Saurondiminished after a war against the Elves at the behest of the First Dark Lord, Morgothand the forging of the Rings of Power, the Second Age sees the fall of the island kingdom of Numenor, the descendants of whom go on to found the human kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor, and even the making of the entire world from a flat plane into a spherical planet. (Read more: Everything You Need to Know About Lord of the Rings Second Age)

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We do know that we wont just see events from that specific period of time in the show, however. Our very first look at the series teased a glimpse back at the earliest years of creation in Tolkiens vast reckoning of Arda, the world of his fantasy works. (Read More: Why the Glowing Trees in Amazons Lord of the Rings Are So Important)

One thing were not so sure about is just how and if Rings of Power will connect to Peter Jacksons iconic adaptation of Lord of the Rings. The Second Age culminates in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men doing battle with Sauron at the base of Mount Doom, an event seen in the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring, so we could see a connection there. Beyond that, all we know is that Amazon is allowed to use the nebulous idea of materials from the movies, but its been hazy about just what that means. Expect something evocative of the films, if not directly connected, visually speaking. (Read more: Amazons Lord of the Rings Show Can Use Materials From the Movies, Whatever That Means)





Who is making The Rings of Power?



Rings of Power is showrun by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and features an expansive writing staff, including Breaking Bads Gennifer Hutchison and Hannibals Helen Shang, among many more. (Read more: Meet the Full Creative Team Behind Amazons Lord of the Rings)

There are also multiple directors attached to the series, each tackling a handful of episodes. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdoms J.A. Bayona helmed the first two episodes of the show, before passing the reigns to Wheel of Time and Doctor Whos Wayne Che Yip for another four episodes, with The Witchers Charlotte Brandstrom directing the remaining two. Bear McCreary created to score to the epic series. (Read more: Your Latest Lembas-Crumb of Lord of the Rings Show News Is Here)





Whats the production schedule for The Rings of Power?

First announced in 2017, The Rings of Power entered production in 2020, and was paused due to the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. Filming resumed in the summer of 2020, after New Zealand began lifting the first wave of strict covid-19 lockdown rules, with filming concluding in the middle of 2021. The series has cost Amazon over half a billion dollars to produce, with Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke defended the budget as necessary to build the world of Middle-earth to a desired scope. In a conversation with the Hollywood Reporter, Salke said that As for how many people need to watch Lord of the Rings? A lot. A giant, global audience needs to show up to it as appointment television, and we are pretty confident that that will happen. (Read More: Amazon Explains Lord of the Rings Giant Budget, Which Is Still Smaller Than Jeff Bezos Yacht)

While the first season of The Rings of Power was filmed in New Zealandfollowing in the footsteps of Peter Jacksons Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie trilogiesthe already confirmed second season of the show will re-locate production to the United Kingdom. Post production on season one will last until roughly June 2022, with pre-production on season two starting in early 2022. (Read More: Amazons Lord of the Rings Series Just Dropped a Surprising Bit of Season 2 News)





What is the release date for The Rings of Power, Season Two?

The Rings of Power, season two, might premiere in 2024. No date is set. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one premiered on September 2, 2022. Read io9's review here.





Is there a The Rings of Power trailer?



The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Official Trailer | Prime Video

There is for season one. An official trailer was released on August 23. Before that it was San Diego Comic Con that gave us another trailer on July 22. A main teaser trailer was released on July 14. This teaser comes after the one released at the Super Bowl on February 13, it gives us a look at a few notable faces and the sweeping vistas of Arda, largely focusing on cryptic shtos of Morfydd Clark in action as Galadriel. (See More: The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Powers Stunning First Teaser Is Here)

Empire Magazine released all four cover variations of its forthcoming Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power issue. We also got an image of a Snow-Troll on June 5 from Empire Magazine, as well as our first look at the Harfoots. There are no trailers for season two.





Who is in the cast? Who do they play?

Image: Amazon Studios

The Rings of Power has an incredibly large cast, including Will Fletcher (Finrod), Amelie Child-Villiers (Young Galadriel), and Beau Cassidy (Dilly Brandyfoot). In December 2020, Amazon announced a whopping 20 new additions. Deep breath, added to the cast were: Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Queen Regent Miriel), Ian Blackburn (Rowan), Kip Chapman (Rian), Anthony Crum (Ontamo), Maxine Cunliffe (Vilma), Trystan Gravelle (Pharazon), Sir Lenny Henry (Sadoc Burrows), Thusitha Jayasundera (Malva), Fabian McCallum (Thondir), Simon Merrells (Watchwarden Revion), Geoff Morrell (Waldreg), Peter Mullan (King Durin III), Lloyd Owen (Elendil), Augustus Prew (Medhor), Peter Tait (Tredwill), Alex Tarrant (Valandil), Leon Wadham (Kemen), Benjamin Walker (High King Gil-galad), and Sara Zwangobani (Marigold Brandyfoot). (Read More: Lord of the Rings Adds 20 Cast Members, and We Have No Idea What Theyre Doing)

In late 2019, it was reported that His Dark Materials Morfydd Clark had joined the series, playing a younger version of the Elven ruler Galadriel, portrayed by Cate Blanchett in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. (Read More: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powers Morfydd Clark on Galadriel as a Warrior)

But Galadriel isnt the only familiar face or notable figure from Tolkiens lore in the show. Amazon has confirmed alongside Clarks casting that Robert Aramayo will play Elrond, the future lord of Rivendell played by Hugo Weaving in the movies, while Celebrimbor, the Elven forgemaster deceived by Sauron into helping craft the rings of power will be played by Charles Edwards. Beyond Elves, the series has cast Maxim Baldry as Prince Isildur, the son of the future king of Gondor and Arnor, Elendil, and has teased a host of original characters as well: Charlie Vickers as a human named Halbrand that allies with Galadriel, Ismael Cruz Cruz Cordova and Nazanin Boniadi as the Silvan Elf Arondir and human healer Bronwyn caught in a forbidden romance, and Sophia Nomvete as Disa the Dwarven Princess of Khazad-dum. (Read More: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powers Cast on How the Shows Elves and Dwarves Will Surprise Us.)

kinjavideo-192550

While we dont know every character appearing, we do have a vague inkling of just some of the aesthetic of the show: in early February 2022, Amazon released the first character posters for the series, teasing 23 different characters of various racesincluding a teasing glimpse of the Dark Lord Sauron. (Read more: Give Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powers Character Posters a Hand)

Season two has gotten a huge additional cast, including:

Ben Daniels (Rogue One, The Crown)

Nicholas Woodeson (Rome, Skyfall)

Nia Towle (Persuasion)

Amelia Kenworthy (IRL, Messenger)

Sam Hazeldine (The Hunstman: Winters War, Sandman)

Yasen Zates Atour (The Witcher, Young Wallander)

Gabriel Akuwudike (Hanna, The War of the Worlds)

Ciaran Hinds (Belfast, Rome)

Rory Kinnear (Men, Penny Dreadful)

Tanya Moodie (Motherlands, The Clinic)





How can I watch The Rings of Power?

The show will stream exclusively on Amazons Prime Video platform, which will require a subscription. There is also an appendices available.

You can find our episode recaps below:





Whats next for the Lord of the Rings franchise?

We dont know much of Amazons plans for the future of The Lord of the Rings beyond at the very least a second season of The Rings of Power. But we do know that there is at least one more Lord of the Rings projects coming to screens: last year Warner Bros. Animation and New Line Cinema announced that Kenji Kamiyama (Ultraman, Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045) will direct The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, a CG anime movie that tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary king of Rohan whos reign saw the construction of Helms Deep, the fortress besieged by Sarumans Uruk-Hai in The Two Towers. (Read More: Lord of the Rings Returns to Helms Deep for an Anime Film About the King of Rohan)

Looking for more on Rings of Power? Check out our other coverage below:





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(Adds Human Rights Watch comment, paragraph 16)

By Fatos Bytyci and Ivana Sekularac

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci, considered a hero by compatriots for leading the 1998-99 insurgency against Serbian rule that led to independence, will go on trial on Monday for alleged war crimes during the conflict.

A special Kosovo court set up in The Hague indicted Thaci in November 2020 on 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including persecution, murder, torture and enforced disappearance of people among other things during the uprising.

Thaci, 54, resigned as president shortly afterward and was transferred to detention in The Hague. Three of his closest associates, including two former speakers of parliament, face the same charges as ex-Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerrillas.

The four are accused of participating in a "joint criminal enterprise ... that carried out widespread or systematic attacks" on minority Serb civilians in Kosovo as well as Kosovo Albanian opponents of the KLA. All have denied the charges.

As the fighting abated and Serbian forces withdrew under NATO bombardment from Kosovo, Thaci traded in his green uniform for a blue suit and tie. When Kosovo declared independence in 2008, he was prime minister, and in 2016 became president.

Ahead of the trial, billboards splashing photos of both Thaci and ex-parliament speaker Kadri Veseli with the inscription "Heroes of War and Peace" could be seen across the small Balkan country.

War veterans and other Kosovo nationalist groups announced a protest in support of the former KLA defendants for Sunday.

MASS GRAVE

Olgica Bozanic, a Kosovo Serb, hopes the trial will be a chance to learn what happened to two brothers, Todor and Lazar Kostic, whose remains were found in a mass grave in a western Kosovo village in 2005 - which is covered by the indictment.

"From witness accounts, we know that they were taken from their house along with all men from the village on July 17, 1998 and that they were tortured," Bozanic told Reuters. "But we do not know when and how exactly they were killed. Maybe during the trial we will get some new evidence pointing out the details."

Story continues

The Kostic brothers were in a larger group of Serbs detained in July that year and later killed on the edge of a cliff, and an army jeep was upended over them to hide their remains, an investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

But in 2005 a United Nations-led team of forensic experts uncovered the mass grave.

Along with her two brothers, 15 of Bozanic's cousins were detained and later killed by the KLA, she said. "I expect all those responsible for killings to be convicted so they cannot kill and torture again."

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, seated in the Netherlands and staffed by international judges and lawyers, was set up in 2015 to handle cases under Kosovo law against ex-KLA guerrillas.

Many Kosovo Albanians believe that the tribunal is biased against the KLA and interested in denigrating its record.

But Ehat Miftaraj of the non-governmental Kosovo Law Institute said the trial should be understood as a case "against a few individuals of the former KLA and not a trial against the KLA or the values that the people of Kosovo represent".

In a statement on Friday, Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said the trial "offers a chance after so many years for the victims to learn what happened and highlights the pervasive impunity that still hangs over the Kosovo conflict.

The court was created separately from the U.N. criminal tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia (ICTY), which was also located in The Hague where it tried and convicted mainly Serbian officials for war crimes in the Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts.

More than 13,000 people, the majority members of the 90% ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo, are believed to have died during the late 1990s insurgency when it was still a province of Serbia under then-strongman president Slobodan Milosevic.

Milosevic went on trial before the ICTY but he died in 2006 before a verdict was reached.

The fighting ended after NATO air strikes on Serbian forces and Kosovo declared independence a decade later, though Serbia continues to refuse recognition of its statehood.

Gregory Kehoe, an American lawyer on Thaci's defence team, said prosecutors would be given two years to complete their presentation of evidence.

"This man sacrificed throughout all these years and hopefully we'll be able to bring that forth in the courtroom and show that he was an honest, truthful man, and bring about his acquittal," he told Reuters.

($1 = 0.9190 euros)

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci and Ivana Sekularac, editing by Mark Heinrich)
Stormy Daniels, the ex-porn star embroiled in the sex scandal behind Donald Trump's indictment, said in a UK newspaper interview published Friday that the criminal charges show he is "no longer untouchable".

Daniels, a 44-year-old former adult movie actress, told Britain's The Times that the indictment issued Thursday against the ex-president was "monumental and epic".

"I'm proud," Daniels said, in an interview the paper said was conducted from an undisclosed location in the United States.

"Trump is no longer untouchable," she said.

"The other side of it is that it's going to continue to divide people and bring them up in arms. He's already gotten away with inciting a riot, and causing death and destruction.

"Whatever the outcome is, it's going to cause violence, and there's going to be injuries and death," she warned.

Daniels, whose birth name is Stephanie Clifford, alleges she had sex with Trump in 2006, just months after his third wife, Melania, had given birth to their son Barron.

- 'Seen him naked' -

A New York grand jury indicted Trump over a $130,000 hush-money payment made to buy her silence during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The legal case relies on whether it counted as an illicit contribution to his campaign.

In predicting his indictment, Trump has called for protests and warned that it could lead to "potential death and destruction" for the country.

In her interview, Daniels admitted to being frightened "for the first time ever" over the long-running case, "because Trump himself is inciting violence and encouraging it".

She claimed that within hours of Thursday's indictment, threats of extreme violence and murder began arriving to her social media, email and phone.

"It just takes one crazy supporter who thinks they're doing God's work or protecting democracy," she added.

However, the one-time adult movie star revealed she would be willing to testify in court against Trump if asked, but noted that she had not been called to so far.

Story continues

"I've seen him naked. There's no way he could be scarier with his clothes on.

"I'm not afraid, I have nothing to hide, and I look forward to telling everybody what I know."

The New York investigation is the first to reach a decision on charges, out of three major probes into the ex-president.

Daniels told The Times the indictment was a "vindication".

"But it's bittersweet. He's done so much worse that he should have been taken down (for) before."

jj/nas/gw
Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated Central Park Five, had just one word to say on former President Donald Trumps indictment Thursday: Karma.

Salam was among five Black and brown teenagers wrongfully imprisoned for the 1989 rape of a white woman in New Yorks Central Park, a case that was explored in the 2019 Netflix series When They See Us. Salaam served nearly seven years in prison before he and the other wrongfully accused teens were exonerated in 2002.

In 1989, before any of the five teens had been tried, Trump, then a Manhattan real-estate developer, took out full-page newspaper ads calling for the death penalty to be reinstated in New York. People involved with the case later said that although Trumps ads never explicitly called for the death penalty for the defendants, they played a major role in securing a conviction.

Salaam, who recently announced his candidacy for New York City Council, noted Thursday that Trump never said sorry for calling for my execution.

In 2019, when Trump was asked if he would apologize, he said: You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt.

#PowerPost



For those asking about my statement on the indictment of Donald Trump - who never said sorry for calling for my execution - here it is:



Karma  Yusef Abdus Salaam (@dr_yusefsalaam) March 30, 2023

Members of the five, now criminal justice activists, say they were coerced by police into confessing.

During the hours of relentless questioning that we each endured, detectives lied to us repeatedly, Salaam, Kevin Richardson and Raymond Santana wrote in a 2019 opinion article for The New York Times, describing themselves as terrified young boys at the time.

They said they had matched our fingerprints to crime scene evidence and told each of us that the others had confessed and implicated us in the attack. They said that if we just admitted to participating in the attack, we could go home. All of these were blatant lies.

Story continues

Trump was indicted Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury for his role in a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 election. The payment was given in exchange for the adult film actors silence about an affair she claims shed had with Trump a decade earlier.

Related...
MEXICO CITY (AP)  A group of international experts investigating the 2014 disappearance of 43 students in southern Mexico said Friday that Mexico's military has failed to hand over key information on the case.

The group was created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate the abduction and forced disappearance of students from the Ayotzinapa teachers college in the state of Guerrero.

The panel presented a new report on the case Friday.

There are black holes where the information disappears, panel member Carlos Beristain said, adding that military personnel had given responses to investigators that appeared to have been coached.

He was referring to purported secret operations that Mexican marines carried out in Guerrero in the month after the students were abducted by police officers.

On Sept. 26, 2014, police in the city of Iguala took the students off buses they had commandeered. The motive for the police action remains unclear eight years later, but investigators believe drug trafficking was at least partially involved.

The students bodies have never been found, though fragments of burned bone have been matched to three of the students.

The experts group said previously that there is evidence a number of military personnel were following the events of that night closely yet did not intervene to save the students  or even a soldier had infiltrated the teachers' college, which is noted for left-wing activism.

Phone intercepts that are part of a drug trafficking case in Chicago have also established close contact between members of the Mexican military and the AGuerrero Unidos gang, which allegedly was given the students after they were seized by police.

The experts said Friday that they have asked President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador again to instruct the military to share all of its related archives on the case, including phone intercepts that the experts say it has from the time of the abductions.

They also stressed the importance of maintaining the independence of the special prosecutor.
Brenda Ramirez talks about what she is looking for during the IU Northwest School of Education's sixth annual Teacher Recruitment Fair. Twenty local schools and school corporations, including individual public, charter and private schools throughout Northwest Indiana, recruited candidates to fill available teaching and administrative roles for the 2023-2024 school year on Friday, March 31, 2023. (John Smierciak / Post Tribune) (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)

School shooter drills arent new to prospective teachers Elliana Panepinto, 21, and Brenda Ramirez, 22.

Its what they grew up with.

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Panepinto, of Naperville, Illinois, and Ramirez, of Crown Point, shared their concerns and hopes about their profession as they visited with officials from Northwest Indiana school districts during Fridays teacher recruitment fair at Indiana University Northwest in Gary.

They thought about the tragedy in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday where a killer armed with assault weapons gunned down three students and three adults at a church school.

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As student teachers, they lead the drills now.

I almost wanted to cry the first time I did it, its heartbreaking, said Panepinto whos a senior education major at Valparaiso University along with Ramirez.

Elliana Panepinto talks about what she is looking for during the IU Northwest School of Education's sixth annual Teacher Recruitment Fair. Twenty local schools and school corporations, including individual public, charter and private schools throughout Northwest Indiana, recruited candidates to fill available teaching and administrative roles for the 2023-2024 school year on Friday, March 31, 2023. (John Smierciak / Post Tribune) (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)

Despite its challenges  from safety to curriculum influences to funding  they say theyre still committed to teaching, amidst a nationwide teacher shortage.

It gets more and more upsetting because nothing is getting done, said Ramirez about school shootings.

Last year, the Washington Post reported 46 shootings in 2022, just during school hours. This year, the data shows 89 gun-related incidents at schools that have killed or injured 74 people, not including the shooter.

Indiana lawmakers in the House passed a measure in February that provides state funding to train teachers who carry guns in classrooms.

House Bill 1177 will be heard in a Senate committee on Wednesday.

Ana Alavanja (right) talks with Katie Kirby of Steel Academy of Gary during the IU Northwest School of Education's sixth annual Teacher Recruitment Fair. Twenty local schools and school corporations, including individual public, charter and private schools throughout Northwest Indiana, recruited candidates to fill available teaching and administrative roles for the 2023-2024 school year on Friday, March 31, 2023. (John Smierciak / Post Tribune) (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)

The legislature has already authorized the arming of teachers, but it never provided a training curriculum or funding for the program.

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The bills sponsor, Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, said it came as a response to deadly school shootings across the country.

The young women teacher recruits at IUN didnt like the idea of having a gun in their classrooms.

Having a weapon in my class would not make me feel safer, said Panepinto.

Ana Alavanja, of Schererville, said she already holds a bachelors degree and was graduating from an online transition to teaching program.

Veronica Eskew of the East Chicago Urban Enterprise Academy brought her daughter Jocelyn 8, to help her during the IU Northwest School of Education's sixth annual Teacher Recruitment Fair. Twenty local schools and school corporations, including individual public, charter and private schools throughout Northwest Indiana, recruited candidates to fill available teaching and administrative roles for the 2023-2024 school year on Friday, March 31, 2023. (John Smierciak / Post Tribune) (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)

A former hairdresser and Lake Central High graduate, she hopes to get a job teaching family and consumer science at the secondary level.

She didnt want to comment about having a gun in her classroom, but is still happy with her decision to teach.

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I have no second thoughts. I feel we take a risk every time we walk out the door, she said.

Eric Stiener, K-5 curriculum director at the 21st Century Charter School in Gary, said the school is experiencing the teacher shortage first-hand, especially in science, math and special education.

The school tries to offer competitive salaries he said that begin at about $50,000.

Reid Amones, executive director of personnel at the Merrillville Community School Corp., said his district is looking for French and Spanish teachers, as well as science and math teachers.

Ever since we came back from the pandemic, its been more of a challenge, he said.

New Merrillville teachers start at about $46,250, he said.

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Tesonya White (left) talks with teachers during the IU Northwest School of Education's sixth annual Teacher Recruitment Fair. Twenty local schools and school corporations, including individual public, charter and private schools throughout Northwest Indiana, recruited candidates to fill available teaching and administrative roles for the 2023-2024 school year on Friday, March 31, 2023. (John Smierciak / Post Tribune) (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)

With support from referendums, other Lake County districts can pay as much as $57,000 to beginning teachers, he said.

At Hanover Central in Cedar Lake, human resources manager Tina Mudy said the district is witnessing growth as new residents move in from neighboring Illinois or north Lake County.

Starting pay is about $48,000, but she tells prospective teachers the district offers small-size classrooms and a small town atmosphere in Cedar Lake.

Veronica Eskew, principal at the East Chicago Urban Enterprise Academy, said she hopes to hire six or seven new teachers. The K-8 school has 27 teachers now.

Finding them is a whole other thing, she said.

Athena Walker, 22, of Lake Station, is an IUN education major whos finishing her student teaching in Merrillville at Salk and Miller elementaries.

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The swirling issues around American schools today isnt scaring off Walker who plans to teach special education.

Its a little bit discouraging. A lot of teachers are leaving, said Walker who said teaching has been her dream job since childhood.

I dont think theres anything else I have wanted to do, she said.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
By Rowena Edwards and Ahmed Rasheed

(Reuters) - An international arbitration ruling on March 23 prompted the shutdown of Iraq's northern crude oil exports through Turkey and sent oil prices back towards $80 a barrel.

Iraq, OPEC's second-largest oil producer, exports about 85% of its crude via ports in the south. But the northern route via Turkey still accounts for about 0.5% of global oil supply.

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE DISPUTE?

Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) began exporting crude from the semi-autonomous northern region independently from the federal government in 2013, a move Baghdad deemed illegal.

KRG exports flow through a KRG pipeline to Fish-Khabur on the northern Iraqi border, where the oil enters Turkey and is pumped to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast.

Iraq's federal government says its state-owned marketed SOMO is the only party authorised to manage crude exports through Ceyhan.

Iraq filed for arbitration in 2014 with the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) over Turkey's role in facilitating oil exports from Kurdistan without the consent of the federal government in Baghdad.

Iraq said that by transporting and storing oil from Kurdistan and loading it on tankers in Ceyhan without Baghdad's approval, Ankara and Turkish state energy company BOTAS violated provisions of an Iraq-Turkey pipeline agreement signed in 1973.

HOW DID THE CASE DEVELOP?

After the final hearing in Paris in July, the ICC ruled on March 23 in Iraq's favour for the right to control loading at Ceyhan and to have access to see what was being loaded, a source familiar with the case has told Reuters.

Turkey was also asked to pay 50% of the discount at which KRG oil was sold, three sources said.

However, Turkey claimed the ICC overruled four out of Iraq's five demands and had ordered Iraq to pay compensation to Turkey, without stating the amount. Turkey also won a counter claim for Iraq to pay a pipeline throughput fee, one source said.

Story continues

Based on all the rulings, the net amount Turkey owes Iraq was about $1.5 billion before interest, the source familiar with the case said. According to a Turkish source, Iraq's initial demand was for about $33 billion.

The arbitration case covers the period 2014-2018.

A second arbitration case, which could take about two years, would cover the period from 2018 onwards.

The Turkish government and the governments in Baghdad and Kurdistan have released statements since the court ruling but none of them included full details about the decision.

The KRG declined to comment when asked for further details. The Turkish energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for further comment. The Iraqi oil ministry could not immediately be reached on Friday, the Iraqi weekend.

WHY DID TURKEY HALT OIL EXPORTS?

On March 25, Turkey stopped pumping around 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iraqi oil via the pipeline to Ceyhan.

This comprised 370,000 bpd of KRG crude and 75,000 bpd of federal crude, a source familiar with pipeline operations said.

Turkey shutdown the pipeline because Iraq's federal government won the right to control loading at Ceyhan. Iraq's SOMO would have to instruct Turkey on ship-loading or the crude would have built up in storage with nowhere to go.

Turkey, Iraq's federal government and the KRG are in talks on how to reach a mutual agreement over northern Iraqi exports. A KRG source said Turkey had no choice but to halt flows through the pipeline until an agreement could be found.

HOW HAVE KRG OIL SALES DEVELOPED SINCE 2014?

Sales of KRG crude through the pipeline have grown rapidly over the past decade, with the total value reaching $12.3 billion in 2022, according to a Deloitte report, up 62% from 2017 when Deloitte first published data.

The KRG's ministry of natural resources said its oil revenues reached $5.9 billion in 2015.

From June 2015, the KRG restarted independent oil sales and signed several pre-payment deals with oil trading houses.

With its oil exports at a standstill, Kurdistan has halted repayments to energy traders including Vitol and Petraco on crude cargo deals worth $6 billion, trading sources said.

Vitol and Petraco have declined to comment on the issue.

(Reporting by Rowena Edwards in London, additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Orhan Coskun in Ankara; Editing by Edmund Blair)
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in New York, on Dec. 14, 2022. (Karsten Moran/The New York Times).

WASHINGTON  Donald Trump and his allies have sought to tie the Manhattan district attorney bringing a criminal case against the former president to a familiar Republican specter: George Soros, a financier and Democratic megadonor.



Soros, who has backed Democratic candidates and causes as well as democracy and human rights around the world, has for years been a boogeyman on the right, confronting attacks that portray him as a globalist mastermind and that often veer into antisemitic tropes.



The connections between him and Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, are real but overstated. In reality, Soros donated to a liberal group that endorses progressive prosecutors and supports efforts to overhaul the criminal justice system  in line with causes that he has publicly supported for years. That group used a significant portion of the money to support Bragg in his 2021 campaign.



Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times



A spokesperson for Soros said that the two men had never met, nor had Soros given money directly to Braggs campaign.



Heres a fact check.



WHAT WAS SAID



Alvin Bragg received in EXCESS OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS from the Radical Left Enemy of TRUMP, George Soros.  Trump, in a Truth Social post on Monday



Alvin Bragg is bought by George Soros. He allows violent criminals to walk the streets of New York City, but will prosecute the likely Republican nominee (and former president) on a baseless misdemeanor charge. These people are trying to turn America into a third-world country.  Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, in a Twitter post on Saturday



Alvin Bragg is bought and paid for by George Soros and has repeatedly showed his hatred for President Trump based on purely political motives."  Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., in a Twitter post on Saturday



These claims are exaggerated.



While the link between Bragg and Soros exists, arguments that the district attorney was bought by the philanthropist are misleading.



Bragg announced his candidacy for the position in June 2019. Nearly two years later, on May 8, 2021, the political arm of Color of Change, a progressive criminal justice group, endorsed him. It pledged to spend $1 million on direct mailers, on-the-ground campaigning and voter turnout efforts on his behalf. (It did not donate to Braggs campaign directly.) A few days later, on May 14, Soros contributed $1 million to the group, which intended to help Bragg with the money.



Color of Change did not meet its pledge. It eventually spent nearly $500,000 in support of Bragg. That amounted to about 11% of the groups $4.6 million in total spending during the 2021-22 election cycle, according to the campaign finance website Open Secrets.



A spokesperson for the political arm of Color of Change said that the group reviewed and interviewed reform-minded district attorney candidates each election cycle, and that the process was independent of funders. Soros was just one of many large donors to the group. Past donors included members of the wealthy Pritzker family, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and hip-hop group the Beastie Boys.



Bragg was not the only candidate Color of Change endorsed and aided through organizing efforts in 2021. The group also helped reelect Larry Krasner, the district attorney of Philadelphia, by contacting more than 300,000 voters and sending nearly 200,000 pieces of direct mail on his behalf. In addition, it operated phone banks, ran advertisements and mobilized voters to support a local candidate in Virginia and a ballot initiative in Minneapolis.



Nor was Soros $1 million contribution particularly unusual. Soros gave to the group multiple times before it endorsed Bragg; he personally donated $450,000 between 2016 and 2018, and his political action committee, Democracy PAC, gave $2.5 million in 2020.



Neither Soros nor Democracy PAC contributed directly to Braggs campaign, according to Michael Vachon, a spokesperson for Soros.



George Soros and Alvin Bragg have never met in person or spoken by telephone, email, Zoom, etc., Vachon said. There has been no contact between the two.



Vachon also noted that Soros had been open about his yearslong support of progressive prosecutors. In a 2022 opinion article in The Wall Street Journal, Soros explained his thoughts on overhauling the criminal justice system and wrote that the idea we need to choose between justice and safety is false.



I have supported the election (and more recently the reelection) of prosecutors who support reform, he wrote. I have done it transparently, and I have no intention of stopping.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Due to the recent explosions in the city of Dzhankoi in the north of annexed Crimea, Russia has limited capabilities to transfer military equipment and ammunition, including Kalibr cruise missiles.

Source: Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for for the Defence Forces of Ukraine's south, on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote: "They continue to try [to restore the railroad connection  ed.], the work is still ongoing, and the full-fledged railroad connection, which would allow them to transfer heavy equipment, has not yet been restored."

Details: Humeniuk added that there was information that the Russians tried to deliver missiles by transport aircraft, but it is not known whether they were able to reach the bays.

So far, Russian missile carriers in the Black Sea have a limited supply of missiles to strike Ukraine.

According to Humeniuk, even when the storm subsided and the number of ships increased to 10 on the morning of 31 March, there was only one missile carrier left  an underwater one that can carry four Kalibr missiles.

Background:

On the evening of 20 March, explosions occurred in Dzhankoi in the north of Russia-annexed Crimea, allegedly due to a drone attack. Ukrainian Defence Intelligence said that Russian Kalibr cruise missiles were destroyed there while being transported by rail.

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A woman sunbathes in a roped-off distancing zone on a beach in La Grande Motte, southern France, on May 21, 2020.

Everyone knows you can be allergic to things like peanuts, bees, and cats. For people with such allergies, they can often get through life in relative safety by simply avoiding their triggers. But some unfortunate folks have rare allergies to things that are nearly impossible to avoid, like water and sunlight. Here are a few of the weirdest triggers known to drive the immune system into an unhelpful frenzy.

A version of this story was originally published on November 5, 2020.

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Water

Photo: Roger McLassus/Wikimedia Commons (Fair Use)

In 2016, the BBC detailed the tragic story of Rachel Warwick, a woman unable to even sweat without developing red welts on her skin. Warwick is one of the few people in the world known to have something called aquagenic urticaria (urticaria being the medical term for hives). Though her body doesnt overreact to the water stored inside her cells, skin contact with any outside source of waterno matter the temperature or how distilled it iscan cause an intensely painful and itchy sensation that lasts for hours. Scientists dont know much about why or how the rare condition happens, though it is known to affect women more than men, and symptoms tend to emerge in puberty.

Vibrations

Photo: Getty Images (Getty Images)

There are people who develop hives after experiencing vibrations on their skin. Aside from hives, sufferers of vibratory urticaria can experience flushing, headaches, and a metallic taste in the mouth following exposure. Though these symptoms only last for up to an hour, people can experience multiple episodes a day. Triggers can include rubbing a towel on your skin, riding a bike, or even clapping your hands. Unlike aquagenic urticaria, researchers have been able to discover an inherited mutation that explains at least some cases.



The Cold

Photo: Psy guy/Wikimedia Commons (Fair Use)

Cold temperatures can be another cause of an immune freakout. We recently reported on a 37-year-old man who nearly died from anaphylaxis after he stepped out of a hot shower. Doctors believe the episode was triggered by his sudden exposure to cold air in the bathroom, a severe version of the hives he had begun experiencing when he moved to chilly Colorado from tropical Micronesia. Some cases of this allergy can be explained by a rare mutation passed down in families, but most remain unexplained.



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Meat

Photo: Koichi Kamoshida (Getty Images)

An increasing but still-small number of people in the U.S. have developed an allergy to red meat. Unlike other allergies, the cause of this newfound aversion seems to be transmissiblethe result of a bite from the Lone Star tick. The allergy isnt to red meat itself but a sugar found in the muscles of most mammals (but not humans) called alpha-gal. Somehow, the ticks bite sensitizes a persons immune system into overreacting to alpha-gal, the way it does in a person allergic to peanuts, for example. Unlike many classic food allergies (where an exposure to peanuts quickly leads to symptoms within minutes, for example), symptoms of a meat allergy can take hours post-exposure to show up.

Sunlight

A woman sunbathes in a roped-off distancing zone on a beach in La Grande Motte, southern France, on May 21, 2020.

Another form of physical urticaria can be caused by the sunlight, known as solar urticaria. People with this condition develop distinct red welts within minutes of exposure to the sun, regardless of the outside temperature. This is in contrast to heat rash, a commonly misattributed condition caused by sweat ducts that have become clogged. Other kinds of physical urticaria tend to involve an overreaction by certain immune cells to a stimulus like cold or vibration, but solar urticaria might be caused when photosensitive chemicals in the body are created in response to UV radiation, which then somehow trigger an unwarranted antibody response.



Sex

Photo: Chris Jackson (Getty Images)

You might be thinking that this is about an allergy to latex, a common material used in condoms. But this is actually about an even stranger conditionpeople who develop an immune overreaction to semen. Known as semen allergy or seminal plasma hypersensitivity, the culprit is likely due to proteins in the semen, not the sperm themselves. The condition can be managed through sticking to protected sex. But in at least one case study, doctors did seem to desensitize the womans reaction by first exposing her vagina to her partners semen, then prescribing a regular dose of sex to the couple every 48 hours.

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Diana Dobin, co-leader of Fort Lauderdale-based Valley Forge Fabrics, never planned on climbing the ranks of her parents fabric company. She only wanted to help ensure women and minorities got a fair chance to work in a meaningful career.

Forty-five years after the companys start, she and her brother, Mikey Dobin, run a second-generation company that is diverse and productive in a rapidly changing hospitality sector. Of Valley Forges 260 employees, 65% are women and people of color make up 50% of its leadership team. The firm sells fabrics to hotels worldwide, in addition to other customers.

As Valley Forge prepares for an intern class of workers this summer consisting of all women and people of color, Diana Dobin took time during Womens History Month to discuss with the Miami Herald her career journey in the textile industry and what she has learned along the way. The interview was edited for clarity and brevity.

Growing up in Tuxedo Park, New York, did you aspire to work in the business world and be a leader?

My parents Daniel and Judy are the founders of Valley Forge and they are hippies. When you are raised by two hippies, you dont even know what a CEO is. We didnt talk about business growing up. We talked about humanity, saving the world, and music.

My parents went to work because they needed to make a living. It was about covering the mortgage. The business didnt allow that to happen until I was a teenager. During that time, I applied to two colleges. I was happy that I was accepted to both and went to Lafayette College. I didnt even imagine Id be CEO of this company. I always knew Id work on behalf of women and minorities. That was my goal.

Early on in my career at Valley Forge, my boyfriend at the time, who is now my husband, said maybe you can make it your own culture. I thought wow, thats true, I could do that. Today, I never imagined Valley Forge would be the size it is, or that wed do business around the world. I always imagined wed have a culture that is diverse and welcoming of different cultures and genders. We have a lot of women here, and its like the United Nations.

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How important is it for you that Valley Forge does a large amount of its production in the United States?

It is very important. Valley Forge is a historic place in American history, and the name comes from that time, and place in Pennsylvania. My dad drives a Camaro in American flag stuff, and is into America in all the good ways.

I lived in Asia in Hong Kong for five years from 1993 to 1998 and sold textiles. Once I left Asia, we sourced some products from there, but its never been a big part of our manufacturing. We work with 200 factories around the world and do a lot of production in the U.S. We have a printing plant in our Fort Lauderdale headquarters and have a design studio, as well.

We own a U.S. factory that does cutting and sewing in Massachusetts. For draperies and window treatments, we have to make them in the U.S. because every window is a different size around the world.

How has Valley Forge adjusted to pandemic and supply chain challenges?

A lot of people think what we do is easy, and it isnt. Supply chain is difficult and we went through a hard time in hospitality. Its still really hard. Price crunches were happening at the same time in getting materials. We were very slow and business stopped. Anyone that says anything otherwise in my industry is not saying what the reality was. We have all these smart people at Valley Forge, so we shifted a lot of people into quality control. For 18 months, they lived it and breathed it. Our eye was on logistics. They are going back into other departments with this information and new training.

The second thing was, with business slow, we reinvested into the company. We built a massive platform that went live in January. Weve got data, information and all kinds of metrics and analytics to assist us six months from now, and beyond. Its raised our bar for efficiency.

What is a key thing thats enabled you to succeed as a businesswoman?

I firmly believe people are who they are wherever they are. The energy and passion and personality you bring to work is also what you share at home or in your personal life. For me, being a woman is a big part of my identity and I like that I am surrounded by individuals who appreciate their identity. For me, its not about being a woman in business, its about being a person that lives to the values that are important to me. I love that our business became the size it became, because we can be part of the families of so many lives.
The claim: The Rothschild family owns many of the worlds central banks

A March 1 Facebook video (direct link, archived link) shows a montage of images of various banks around the world.

Banks owned by the Rothschilds, reads on-screen text at the beginning of the video, which shows central banks of countries including the U.S., Canada, China, England, France, Mexico and Spain.

The video was shared more than 6,000 times in less than a month.

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Our rating: False

None of the banks listed are owned by the Rothschild family. The majority of the banks listed are publicly owned. Two of the banks listed, the United States Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, are owned by its member banks and do not have private shareholders, according to the information on the organizations websites.

Central banks listed in video are nationalized, not privately owned

The Rothschilds are a Jewish banking family that has long been the subject of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories claiming the family has exerted influence on regional and national events since the early 19th century, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

But there is no evidence they own any of the banks listed in the video.

The video mentions 17 central banks, including the Fed, the European Central Bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada.

Except for the Fed and the European Central Bank, all the banks mentioned in the video have been nationalized, according to academic research and the institutions websites. This means the national government bought all stock in the central bank, said Gary Richardson, a professor of economics at the University of California Irvine.

Fact check: Child Protective Services has authority from statute to intercede in families

The Fed has a blend of public and private characteristics, and it is not owned by anyone, the organization's webpage explains. Instead, it consists of a central governing board that is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, as well as a decentralized operating structure of 12 regional banks. It does not have individual stockholders, as the stock is owned by member banks.

Story continues

A pedestrian passes a Silicon Valley Bank branch in San Francisco, Monday, March 13, 2023. As the primary regulator of the bank, the Federal Reserve is coming under sharp criticism from financial watchdogs and banking experts. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) ORG XMIT: NYPM212

The European Central Banks owners are the central banks of all the countries in the European Union, according to a European Central Bank webpage. It does not have any private owners.

This means that we are not influenced by private financial interests that might affect our independence, reads the website.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is wholly owned by the Commonwealth of Australia, according to the banks website.

The Bank of England is publicly owned, its website explains, and it answers to the people of the U.K. through Parliament.

The Bank of Canada is a corporation owned by the federal government, according to its website. The bank is led by a board of directors, the members of which are appointed by its governor.

The Facebook post also claims the Rothschild family owns more than 100 other banks but does not include the names of the banks or provide any evidence to support the claim.

Rothschild family used to own stock in some banks

Claims that the Rothschild family owns central banks may be incorrectly drawing from the fact that before World War II, the Bank of England and the Banque of France were privately owned corporations, Richardson said.

Before these banks were nationalized, many influential banking families  including the Rothschilds  owned stock in these banks and had family members in their leadership, he said in an email to USA TODAY.

But its inaccurate to say any single family owned or controlled these banks, Richardson said. Though the wealthy bankers and businessmen did own most of the stock and have influence over their decisions, ownership and control was dispersed among bankers and businessmen.

USA TODAY reached out to the Rothschild Archive, Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe and the social media user who shared the claim for comment.

AAP Fact Check 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: False claim Rothschild family owns dozens of central banks
The claim: Photos show beached shark in Outer Banks, North Carolina

A March 25 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a series of images purportedly of a beached shark.

"03/25 Giant great white shark washed out on the Outer Banks beach. People trying to push it back into the ocean," reads the post's caption.

It was shared more than 17,000 times in four days.

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Our rating: Altered

These images are not real photographs and have elements consistent with being AI-generated, experts told USA TODAY. There have been no reports of beached sharks in Outer Banks, North Carolina, as of March 29.

Images are not genuine

It is not unusual for great white sharks to be found in North Carolina waters, but these images are not legitimate photographs of one.

"There are several parts of the images that look fake, such as the reflections and shadows," said James O'Brien, a forensic analysis expert at the University of California, Berkeley.

The faces of the onlookers are blurred and their fingers are distorted, which is a common sign of AI-generated images, USA TODAY previously reported.

And they don't show the same shark, O'Brien said.

"Were not accustomed to using their faces to identify sharks, but we do it with people all the time," he said. "These sharks have different faces. In particular, the area near the shark's left eye and the lower-left part of its jaw."

The sharks are incorrect from a biological standpoint, too, said Ryan Lowndes, a graduate student of coastal marine and wetland studies at Coastal Carolina University.

"One photo gives the impression of six gill slits on the shark," said Lowndes, who is also a member of the university's shark research team. "While some shark species do have six or even seven, white sharks will always have only five."

Fact check: Video shows Jurassic Park animation, not extinct oceanic lizard

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It's common for this species to be found off the North Carolina coast around this time of year, said Kristina Flanigan, another member of Coastal Carolina University's shark research team.

A whale shark swims in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean over the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument southeast of Cape Cod.

On March 25, Breton, a 1,500-pound great white shark, was found by OCEARCH off the eastern coast of Avon Island, USA TODAY previously reported.

However, there is no record of a shark beaching on the Outer Banks as of March 29, said Patricia Smith, a public information officer with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.

"NC Marine Patrol officers has not observed any large sharks washed ashore on the Outer Banks, nor has the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries received reports of a large shark washed ashore on the beach," she said.

The account that posted the images, called OBX Photos, has had other falsified images go viral, including one of a "giant fish" and another of an excessively large wave.

USA TODAY has previously debunked other AI-generated images, including ones showing former President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin being arrested, as well as a satanic hotel in Texas.

No connection to offshore wind projects

Commenters associated the falsified images with a conspiracy theory about offshore wind projects.

"I'd bet money on those wind turbines doing it! Setting off some kind of electrical charge that is killing them off," one person wrote.

However, there is no evidence to suggest that offshore wind turbines are responsible for the deaths of whales or other marine life along the East Coast, USA TODAY previously reported.

USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment.

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: Viral images of beached great white shark are fake
(Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York on Wednesday on what is officially called a transit on her way to Guatemala and Belize, and will be stopping in Los Angeles on her way back to Taipei next month.

While in California she is expected to meet U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory, has threatened unspecified retaliation if that meeting goes ahead, having staged war games around Taiwan in August after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to Taipei.

Here are some facts about the relationship between Taiwan and the United States.

* After the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 having lost a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, who established the People's Republic of China, Washington continued to recognise the government in Taipei as the sole legal representative of the Chinese people.

* During the height of the Cold War, Taiwan hosted U.S. military bases and the two had a Mutual Defence Treaty.

* In 1979, the United States severed official relations with the government in Taipei and instead recognised the government in Beijing. The defence treaty was terminated too.

* Post-1979, the U.S. relationship with Taiwan has been governed by the Taiwan Relations Act, which gives a legal basis to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but does not mandate that the United States come to Taiwan's aid if attacked.

* While the United States has long followed a policy of "strategic ambiguity" on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, U.S. President Joe Biden has said he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan.

* The United States retains a large de facto embassy in Taipei called the American Institute in Taiwan, staffed by diplomats. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office is the name of Taiwan's de facto embassy in the United States.

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* The United States continues to be Taiwan's most important international source of weapons, and Taiwan's contested status is a constant source of friction between Beijing and Washington.

* Taiwan's government says that as the People's Republic of China has never ruled the island it has no right to claim sovereignty over it or speak for or represent it on the world stage, and that only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

* China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and in 2005 passed a law giving Beijing the legal basis for military action against Taiwan if it secedes or seems about to.

* Taiwan's official name continues to be the Republic of China, though these days the government often stylises it as the Republic of China (Taiwan). Only 13 countries now formally recognise Taiwan.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)
Michael Hill, a custodian at the Covenant School and a father of seven, was one of three adults and three children killed when a shooter attacked. His family is opening up and asking for compassion. 12:20 PM - 31 Mar 2023

Michael Hill, the longtime custodian who was killed in a shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, would have wanted people to show compassion to each other, his family said.

"I think it's a normal thing to be upset and frustrated and angry. But those are the things that slowly eat you up over time," his son Joshua Smith told NBC News Thursday.

Michael Hill Facebook

"I believe our dad would want us to show compassion, compassion to one another, and to any family that's been affected by the tragedy," Smith said.

Hill, 61, was one of six people killed when a shooter opened fire on the school on Monday. The other victims were substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; head of the school Katherine Koonce, 60; and 9-year-old students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney.

Smith said his dad would have been crushed had he known that some of the victims were children.

Known as "Big Mike" to the kids in school, Hill was a beloved staff member who had worked at the Covenant School for 15 years.

He found "tremendous joy" in his work, according to a GoFundMe for his funeral expenses. "He always went above and beyond whenever he could. His life may not always have been easy, but he lived to serve and that he did until his very last day," it said.

His daughter Brittany Hill said that her dad "adored" being around kids.

"My dad loved children, absolutely adored children," she said. "And from all of the messages that we have received through Facebook and Instagram and text messages, were all about how the kids loved Big Mike."

The family of Michael Hill during a candlelight vigil for the Covenant School shooting victims The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Hill himself had seven children and multiple grandchildren. A religious man, he made corny jokes and called his kids by their pets' names, they said. He often texted his kids out of the blue to tell them "I love you."

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"Every last one of us, all seven. We all received those 'I love you' texts, those random 'I love yous,'" Brittany told NBC News. "I'm going to miss those, I really am."

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Gathered in a small semicircle at Resthaven Memory Gardens Thursday afternoon, Malbert Middlesworth's family and friends celebrated the Fort Collins centenarian's long and storied life.

As taps  a bugle call sounded at military funerals  rang out across the Northern Colorado cemetery, the service attendees stood with their hands on their hearts. In front of them, a pair of Marines folded an American flag and presented it to Malbert, or Mal's, granddaughter, Jaime Peterson.

Soon, the guests would be milling around, sharing memories of Mal and looking at a small table set with black-and-white photos of him. In one framed shot, Mal is young  likely still a teenager  and posing in his dress blue Marine uniform. In another black-and-white picture, he's sitting with his late wife, JoJean Middlesworth.

"That would have been after they got married," the couple's youngest daughter, Susan Cox, estimated Thursday. "... After Pearl Harbor."

A tribute to Marine veteran Malbert "Mal" Middlesworth is pictured during a graveside service at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Fort Collins on Thursday.

Mal  a World War II veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor  died March 20. He was 100 years old and recently celebrated the milestone birthday surrounded by friends and family in Fort Collins on Jan. 31.

"His goal was to make it to 100, and he did," Peterson said after her grandfather's service Thursday. "When he put his mind to something he would do it."

Mal was born Jan. 31, 1923, in Cowden, Illinois. He grew up in Elgin, Illinois, where he met his future wife, JoJean Ciraulo, who preceded him in death in 2020. The couple moved to Fort Collins in 2015 to be closer to family.

After joining the Marines at 17, Mal was stationed on the U.S.S. San Francisco  an assignment that brought him to Pearl Harbor in late 1941 and, ultimately, into the crosshairs of one of the deadliest attacks on American soil.

Mal, just 18 years old at the time, woke up for his 8 a.m. duty watch shift aboard the U.S.S. San Francisco on Dec. 7, 1941. As he headed toward the ship's fantail, he spotted a single Japanese plane.

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"And then I saw a lot of Japanese planes," he told the Coloradoan at his 100th birthday party earlier this year.

More WWII history: The story behind the war-time balloon bombing of Timnath's Swets farm

In total, 300 Japanese aircraft rained fire on Pearl Harbor during the surprise blitz on America's Pacific fleet that day. About 2,390 U.S. service members and civilians were killed, according to the National Park Service, which operates the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

The U.S. entered World War II the following day and Mal was part of the first task force to leave Pearl Harbor aboard the U.S.S San Francisco on Dec. 16, according to previous Coloradoan reporting.

Cox said she and her siblings  older sister Cheryl Griffin and late brother Terry Middlesworth  grew up knowing their dad was a Marine, but Cox said she wasn't aware he'd been at Pearl Harbor during its attack until she was grown.

"He didn't talk about it," Cox said Thursday. "Maybe he just buried it."

It wasn't until Mal spotted a Pearl Harbor survivor license plate later in life that he got involved in the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. He and JoJean started traveling to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial for the association's anniversary celebrations. For 13 years, they edited and produced the association's quarterly publication. Mal also served as the association's president from 2005 to 2008.

Jaime Peterson accepts an American flag during a graveside service for her grandfather, Marine veteran Malbert "Mal" Middlesworth, at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Fort Collins on Thursday. Middlesworth, a Pearl Harbor survivor who celebrated his 100th birthday in January, died March 20.

In 2011, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association officially dissolved, citing its aging membership, which had dwindled to roughly 2,700 U.S. members at the time of the association's disbandment. At its peak, the association had 18,000 U.S. members.

Cox said her father's health had declined recently and that he had been experiencing memory issues. Still, his eyes lit up at his 100th birthday party when asked about his time in the Marines. Just days before his death, Mal attended a veterans breakfast. Events like that were her dad's favorite, Cox said.

Appropriately, Mal's final wish was for his cremains to be interred somewhere far from home, but close to his heart.

In about six months, Peterson said she'll travel to Honolulu to inter her grandfather's ashes at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or "Punchbowl Cemetery," near Pearl Harbor.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins Pearl Harbor survivor Mal Middlesworth, 100, dies
A physical therapist works with a patient at a field hospital operated by Care New England set up in a former bank call center to handle a surge of COVID-19 patients in Cranston, R.I, Dec. 14, 2020. Roughly 84 million people are covered by Medicaid, the government-sponsored program that's grown by 20 million people since January 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now, as states begin checking everyones eligibility for Medicaid for the first time in three years, as many as 14 million people could lose access to that coverage. (David Goldman/AP)

The looming end of a pandemic-era federal policy means a threat to the healthcare coverage of Indiana Medicaid enrollees.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), passed shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States in 2020, required that state Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through the end of the month in which the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends, in exchange for enhanced federal funding.

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The rule change meant a temporary end to churn, the cycle of Medicaid enrollees losing their coverage and becoming temporarily uninsured while reapplying, and allowed a greater-than-normal number of people to benefit from the program.

In December, Congress voted to set March 31, 2023 as the end date for for the continuous enrollment provision. Now, hundreds of thousands of Indiana residents are poised to lose access to Medicaid coverage as the program reverts to normal enrollment rules.

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During the years of the continuous enrollment provision, Indiana continued normal Medicaid redeterminations, but they did not disenroll members who did not meet eligibility guidelines. This past year, around 25% of Indiana Medicaid members did not meet eligibility requirements, either because they made more than the maximum eligible income, did not return the required paperwork, or for other reasons.

Starting in April, the state will undertake a yearlong process of eligibility review for all of its Medicaid enrollees, and around a quarter are expected to lose their coverage. Medicaid enrollees will be divided into twelve cohorts, one of which will be reviewed each month starting in April.

Jenny Walden, Outreach and Enrollment Program Specialist for the Indiana Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA), estimated that the coverage of around half a million of Indianas Medicaid enrollees is in jeopardy.

We have just over two million Hoosiers that are currently enrolled in Medicaid. We normally run about 1.5, she told the Post-Tribune. So we have about five hundred thousand Hoosiers that are going to need assistance in one way or another or that may lose their coverage.

The IPHCA provides resources to navigators  professionals who help individuals understand and manage the Medicaid application process. In anticipation of the April 1 deadline, the organization launched its All Hands on Deck toolkit, a document aimed at keeping navigators abreast of the changing rules.

Staff at HealthLinc, a community health center with locations across Northwest Indiana, have been working to ensure that their Medicaid-enrolled patients are aware of impending deadline and the possibility of losing coverage.

We did a lot of social media, CEO Beth Wrobel told the Post-Tribune, Just letting them know that this was coming up.

Wrobel said she is concerned about the number of Indiana Medicaid enrollees who have not had any contact with the state Medicaid agency during the duration of the continuous enrollment provision. She added that the scale of coverage loss after the rule change will likely not become apparent until May or June, as more redeterminations are processed.

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The most important thing for current Medicaid enrollees to do, Walden stressed, is to make sure that the state has their up-to-date personal information.

Make sure you have a current address. Open your mail and respond to your mail, she said. Just make sure that if there are any changes that you notify the state.

Indiana operates three separate Medicaid programs: Hoosier Healthwise, for children up to age 19 and pregnant people; the Healthy Indiana Plan, for adults aged 19 to 64; and Hoosier Care Connect, for seniors and individuals with disabilities who are not also eligible for Medicare.

Enrollees who have aged out of eligibility for their program have been kept enrolled under the pandemic-era rules, but will need to re-enroll under a new program once the continuous enrollment provision ends.

Many Indiana Medicaid enrollees will have their eligibility determined automatically based on information the state already has, but in some cases the state will solicit information  including an individuals employment status, and income, age or family size  by mail. The state is required to give enrollees 30 days to respond to such queries.

People without a permanent address still have options: Indiana residents may use the mailing address of a friend, family member, or community organization who can hold their mail, or arrange to use the address of their local Division of Family Resources office.

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Indiana residents who are found to be no longer eligible for Medicaid during the redetermination process can seek subsidized healthcare through the Federal Marketplace established by the Affordable Care Act. For individuals whose income is only slightly above the upper bound of Medicaid eligibility, Wrobel explained, federal marketplace rates are still relatively inexpensive.

It could be somewhere between 10 and 25 dollars a month, Wrobel explained.
WEYMOUTH  Behind the black and yellow signs on overpasses throughout Weymouth that read "Motorcycles are Everywhere," there are broken hearts and broken bodies, but unbroken spirits.

They're the spirits of people who have been affected physically and emotionally by motorcycle accidents, and those who are determined to prevent future crashes.

Weymouth Mayor Robert Hedlund, left, recognizes Weymouth Water Department employee Patrick Jordan, of Plymouth, center, who was severely injured in a motorcycle accident.

Mayor Robert Hedlund issued a proclamation Tuesday designating the dates between March 25 and April 30 as a "Motorcycle Safety Awareness Period." At the ceremony, Hedlund recognized a Weymouth Water Department worker and father of two, Patrick Jordan, who recently returned to work after suffering grave injuries in a motorcycle accident last September.

A few dozen people gathered inside the Weymouth Department of Public Works facility to hear the proclamation Tuesday. The crowd included town employees, police officers, motorcycle safety advocates and several families affected by accidents.

Paul Cote, coordinator of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Motorcyclist Association, thanked those in attendance for their support, noting that "every little bit adds up to a lot."

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Cote began his advocacy more than 20 years ago when he organized a charity ride to support the family of fallen Essex motorcyclist Nelson "Nellie" Selig. That fundraiser evolved into the Massachusetts Motorcyclists' Survivors Fund, which continues to provide financial assistance to injured and fallen motorcyclists and their families. The fund helped Jordan with his bills during his absence from work.

"Don't wait for someone to ask you," Cote said. "If you see something wrong, fix it."

Paul Cote, American Motorcyclist Association Massachusetts Chapter coordinator, left, talks with Weymouth police motorcycle officers, from second left, Lt. Brian Morse and officers Kenny Sanchez, Darren King and Ryan Killeen.

Weymouth employee hurt in motorcycle hit and run

In September, Jordan was returning from Cape Cod to his Plymouth home when a woman driving with a suspended license turned left in front of him at an intersection, he said.

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"She hit me and then took off," Jordan said.

The accident left Jordan with a rod in his lower left leg and a five-month recovery period before he could work again.

"It helped keep the bills paid," Jordan said of the Motorcyclists' Survivors Fund. "It kept food on the table and a roof over my wife and kids' heads while I was out of work and couldn't make any money."

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Rockland, Pembroke families raise awareness in honor of loved ones

Also in attendance were Rockland's Michael and Lisa Garner, whose 24-year-old son Michael died in 2017 when his motorcycle struck a delivery truck that had backed into a 50 mph flow of traffic.

"He was our only child," Lisa Garner said.

In their son's honor, the Garners established "Legacy 24," a nonprofit that raises money and organizes awareness campaigns to help prevent accidents like the one that claimed their son's life. They also contribute money to the families of fallen riders.

"Mortgage payments, bills, funeral expenses  we help with all of that," Michael Garner said.

Paul Cote, American Motorcyclist Association Massachusetts Chapter coordinator, left, presents a Motorcycle Safety Awareness proclamation to Lisa and Michael Garner, of Rockland, who lost their 24-year-old son, Michael, in a 2017 motorcycle accident.

Elisa Mello, of Pembroke, lost her husband, Brian Mello, 16 years ago when a driver failed to check twice before turning left at an intersection. The same accident put her brother into intensive care.

"We were married eight months. I was a young widow. Who do you turn to?" she said.

The trauma led Mello to help others facing the financial and emotional difficulties that stem from unexpected loss. She joined Cote and the Southeastern Massachusetts branch of the Motorcyclists' Survivors Fund in 2008. She also organizes the annual "Brian's Ride," which raises money for victims and survivors.

"Others won't have to go without help or resources," Mello said.

Elisa Mello, of Pembroke, left, who lost her 43-year-old husband, Brian, in a 2007 motorcycle accident, is recognized by Paul Cote, of Amesbury, center, coordinator of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Motorcyclist Association, during the Weymouth Motorcycle Safety Awareness event Tuesday at the Weymouth Department of Public Works.

In his proclamation, Hedlund noted the need for people to "increase their knowledge of the rules of the road and the rights and responsibilities of all roadway users."

An avid rider himself, Hedlund said he used to commute by motorcycle to the State House, where he was a state senator from 1996 to 2015. During his time on Beacon Hill, Hedlund and Cote collaborated on six bills, including the 2002 law establishing a safety awareness month and another that incorporated motorcycle awareness into the driver's education curriculum.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

Reach Peter Blandino at pblandino@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Motorcycle safety takes center stage after Weymouth employee's crash
Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of the nine-year-old victims of Mondays horrific Nashville school shooting, was killed while leading her classmates to safety in response to a fire alarm seemingly tripped by the attacker, her family believes.

Her aunt, Kelly Dorrance, wrote in an private Instagram post provided to The Daily Beast: Were finding out the shooter may have pulled the fire alarm to get kids out of their classroom. Evelyn being one of the class leaders was at the front of the line assuming fire drill.

She was trying to lead her classmates to safety and possibly didnt hear the shouts to come back in the room. Things children should never worry about.

Ms Dorrance told the outlet her niece was radiant  a beacon of joy in our family. She had a calm confidence and a natural sense of purpose  alongside a whip smart sense of humour and a sly little smile.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has meanwhile confirmed to the same source that its investigation currently indicates that the alarm originated from the area of the shooters entry at The Covenant School on Monday morning.

Evelyns funeral  the first of those killed in shooter Audrey Hales assault on the Christian institution  is set to take place on Friday as the Tennessee city comes together to mourn its dead.

Services for substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and Hallie Scruggs, nine, will be held on Saturday.

Nine-year-old William Kinneys funeral will take place on Sunday, while services for Mike Hill, 61, the schools custodian, will be held on Tuesday and the funeral for headmistress Katherine Koonce, 60, will take place on Wednesday.

Ms Dorrance told The Daily Beast the death of her niece was a nightmare you cant wake up from but that the support and love our family has received has proved that humanity is, ultimately, good."

She added: After we get through this initial phase of grief, were committed to make her memory an important one that will save the lives of other children.

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In an obituary for Evelyn written by her family, they wrote: With an unwavering faith in the goodness of others, Evelyn made people feel known, seen, but never judged.

Evelyn Dieckhaus at The Covenant School in Nashville (AP)

Her adoring family members agree that she was everyones safe space.

In pre-school, Evelyn would often position herself between two younger babies, intuitively offering comfort by patting their backs, her family said, adding that she would greet people with open arms and an infectious laugh.

She enjoyed drawing and her teachers would observe Evelyn studying the world around her with curiosity, eagerness, and clarity, according to the obituary.

Evelyn also liked to sing along to tunes by Taylor Swift and from the Broadway show Hamilton, loved her dogs, Mable and Birdie, and had asked for a pet rat for her 10th birthday present.

Strong but never pushy, she had self-composure and poise beyond her years, the obituary said. This girl could read a room.

On Thursday, hundreds of locals protesters flooded the Tennessee State Capitol demanding lawmakers take action on gun control in the wake of the tragedy.
As police investigate the shooting death of a 23-year-old Army specialist stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, family members remember a funny, loving man while also calling for justice in his recent death.

Police responded to multiple 911 calls reporting the sound of gunshots at about 3:44 a.m. March 26 in the 2700 block of Palmer Park Boulevard in Colorado Springs, Colorado, according to a police release.

Police found Spc. Braden Peltier, an artillery soldier from Bay City, Michigan, and another individual suffering from gunshot wounds, according to Stripes.com.

Both victims were transported to local hospitals. Peltier did not survive his wounds.

The shooting occurred about 10 miles from Peltiers Army post at Fort Carson.

We all miss this boy so much. It was a huge shock to the system that that even happened, Peltiers mother-in-law Misty Coon told Stripes.

Spc. Braden Peltier died March 26, 2023, after he was found in Colorado Springs with a gunshot wound about 10 miles from his Fort Carson, Colorado post. His son Caycee was born in September 2020, about two months before Peltier enlisted in the Army. (Colorado Springs Police Department)

Peltier enlisted in November 2020. Coon said shed known the man since he was a teenager and the two often drank coffee each morning when he lived in Michigan.

The newly-enlisted Peltier couldnt wait to don Army green, she told Stripes.

He was so excited. He came right home and made sure I had a sign to put in my front yard and a coffee cup, Coon said. He was all decked out in his shirt and his hat I think for a couple of days.

That teenager grew up and married Coons daughter, now Paggee Peltier and the two had only begun raising their 2-year-old son Caycee together, she said.

She built a Facebook page to solicit information in Peltiers death and hopes someone will come forward.

We want to know who did this. We want them to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Nobody should get away with taking somebody elses life, she told Stripes. He was truly a great person and a hero to every one of us.

Anyone with information or who is a witness to this investigation is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at 719-444-7000. To remain anonymous, call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 719-634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477.
A trove of documents recently released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that the shooter who killed 58 people at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 was "very upset" about how casinos were treating him.

The documents provide the strongest indication yet of a motive for the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

Stephen Paddock, 64, a regular gambler who had a penchant for video poker, killed himself at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino before he could be apprehended. The documents provide the most detailed look to date into Paddock's possible motive and gambling habits, delving into the weeks and years before he fired from his 32nd-floor windows into a crowd of 22,000 people at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

A fellow gambler told the FBI that "Paddock was very upset at the way casinos were treating him and other high rollers," noting that roughly three years earlier casinos had started banning high rollers from certain events, hotels and even casinos.

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The gambler described Paddock as a high roller with a bankroll of approximately $2 million to $3 million who preferred playing video poker. The report states that the acquaintance believed the stress about how high rollers were being treated could "easily be what caused Paddock to 'snap.'"

The Mandalay Bay hotel, Paddock's acquaintance told the FBI, "was not treating Paddock well because a player of his status should have been in a higher floor in a penthouse suite."

The collection of FBI documents were released last week in response to a public records request by The Wall Street Journal.

Who was Stephen Paddock?

Paddock gambled hundreds of thousands of dollars in Las Vegas, Reno and other Nevada properties over roughly a decade prior to the shooting, according to records provided to the FBI by the Nevada Gaming Authority that were among the newly released documents.

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In 2006, for example, Paddock gambled more than $945,000 and came out with roughly $4,300 in winnings. During September, the month prior to the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting, Paddock had four reservations at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.

Paddock considered himself a professional gambler, according to the documents, and told one person interviewed by the FBI that it had become his main source of income roughly three years prior to the shooting.

"Paddock purchased handgun out of concern that he had been earning a lot of cash and wanted it as a means of protection," the person, whose identity was not disclosed, told the FBI. The individual told the FBI Paddock had mentioned that he was banned from several casinos because he had "made too much money from them."

An FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit brought together a panel of experts for a yearlong look at what motivated Paddock to fire over 1,000 rounds at the crowd over 11 minutes. The panel concluded that there was "no single or clear motivating factor" that drove him to the rampage.

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Another woman interviewed by the FBI at the Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas noted that Paddock would visit once every three months or so, usually during the week to play casino games.

"Paddock only wanted to discuss gambling," she said, recalling that during one stay from Sept. 12 to 14, just a few weeks before the shooting, Paddock lost $38,000.

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'No evidence of a conspiracy'

In 2018, Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo said that a 10-month investigation by the department resulted in "no evidence of conspiracy or a second gunman" and no definitive motive for the shooter.

Investigators determined that Paddock spent $1.5 million over two years, including debts paid to casinos; meanwhile, a look at 14 of his bank accounts showed he had $2.1 million in September 2015 but only about $530,000 two years later.

Las Vegas sheriff: Investigation into mass shooting shows no conspiracy or second gunman

Follow Tami Abdollah on Twitter @latams or email her at tami(at)usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FBI: Mandalay Bay shooter who killed 58 angered by how casinos treated him
The FBI has offered a $40,000 reward for information leading to the location of an American woman who went missing in Mexico more than three months ago.

Authorities hope to generate additional tips and information on the disappearance of Monica de Leon Barba, 29, who was last seen on Nov. 29 walking her dog home from work in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico. De Leon is from San Mateo, California, CBS Bay Area reports.

"If you have any information that could help us find Monica, please contact law enforcement," the FBI San Francisco office tweeted.

If you have any information that could help us find Monica, please contact law enforcement. The FBI is offering up to $40,000 for information leading to her recovery. Submit tips via https://t.co/JwFJorXiX7 or call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can remain anonymous. pic.twitter.com/DiBP2CkBUI  FBI SanFrancisco (@FBISanFrancisco) March 30, 2023

De Leon was headed to a gym between 5-6 p.m. called Fit 4 Life in the Guadalupe Fraction when she was forced into a van "leaving the poor puppy alone in the street," her family and friends said on a community Facebook page dedicated to finding the missing woman.

"I can't help but think of the absolute fear and agony she has faced for the last 121 days," her brother Gustavo De Leon said in a statement on the page. He said his sister was abducted from their hometown and that a head of state that "allows kidnapping of any kind under their watch must answer and provide their aid in bringing my sister home."

Mexico has one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world, in part due to the organization and opportunism of Mexican criminal enterprises, according to research from Global Guardian, a security risk intelligence firm. Virtual and express kidnapping are widespread in Mexico, they found, and are often done for financial extortion, robberies or ransoms.

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Monica de Leon Barba, who was last seen walking her dog home from work in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, has been missing since November 2022. / Credit: Photo via Facebook

Officials have not said if they have any suspects or leads but former Western District of Texas U.S. Marshal Robert Almonte says kidnappings are the "bread and butter" of drug cartels.

Almonte, who also spent 25 years at the El Paso police department conducting undercover narcotics investigations, said cartels routinely kidnap and extort local businesses. The cartels then demand funds from the families  a tactic that he said is part of Mexican cartel "culture."

Almonte said that kidnappings are on the rise because cartels they "feel emboldened," while the relationship between Mexican and U.S. law enforcement has deteriorated.

"It's getting worse because the Mexican government can not get control of the cartels," he says. "The U.S. is going to get the brunt of that."

De Leon's brother posted a statement yesterday pleading for his sister's safe return, saying, "we cannot allow this to be the status quo and I will not allow my sister to become another statistic of cowardice and inaction in politics."

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A Columbus judge will determine the fate of a dog who injured a local woman so badly she had to have a portion of her leg amputated.

Cowboy, a pit bull mix, is facing euthanasia after he attacked a Columbus woman and injured her leg and hand, according to court documents.

Attorney Thomas Gristina, representing the Columbus Consolidated Government, asked Superior Court Judge John Martin to keep Cowboy impounded until a hearing can be held on whether the dog should be euthanized.

On March 1 in the 1100 block of Curtis Street in Columbus, Kim Golden and an associate were viewing a house when Cowboy attacked her, she testified Friday.

Golden said it took her a moment to realize what was happening. She sustained injuries to her left ankle and left ring finger while trying to pry Cowboys jaw off of her ankle, adding that she felt like a snack or play toy for the dog, she testified.

I saw parts of my body that shouldnt be on the outside, on the outside, Golden said.

She was taken to Piedmont Columbus Regional and then airlifted to Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Golden said doctors told her that all three major arteries that run from the leg to the foot were severed and her foot had to be amputated.

Golden told the court she now has to the crawl up the stairs in her house in order to take a shower.

Golden then left the courtroom as the city presented a video of the dog attack.

Cowboy was picked up by animal control. Lt. Paul Syck of Columbus Animal Care & Control testified that Cowboys chain reached to the property Golden was viewing.

Syck said that he has only dealt with one dog that was more aggressive than Cowboy.

Owners respond

Edward Murray, right, asks Judge John Martin a question during the hearing Friday afternoon. 03/31/2023

The dogs owners, Jacqueline Crockett and Edward Murray, represented themselves in defense of their dog. The defendants argued that Golden either entered their property or provoked Cowboy into attacking her.

Murray was asked whether he had made attempts to pay for Goldens medical bills.

Why should I have to pay for something that she did? he said.

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Murray testified that Cowboy attempts to attack anyone who comes onto his yard. He described the dog as a Red Devil pit bull and saying the dog is more protective when asked whether Cowboy was a purebred pit bull.

I mean just a little bit of common sense, and none of this wouldve happened, Murray said.

Judge Martin will review the video of the attack before making a decision in the case. His decision will impact whether the dog remains impounded until the defendants appeal on the dogs status can be heard before an Animal Control Board.

Well its sort of stunning actually, the lack of contrition from the dogs owner, Gristina said. I was not expecting him to do that, to actually blame Miss Golden in court. He might as well have had an alligator chained in his front yard. Thats how dangerous that dog is.
John Fetterman has returned home after more than a month of inpatient treatment for depression, the Pennsylvania senator said Friday.

I am so happy to be home, the Democratic senator said in a statement following his release from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near D.C. I am extremely grateful to the incredible team at Walter Reed. The care they provided changed my life.

Fetterman plans to return to the Senate the week of April 17, after the congressional recess. He began receiving treatment at Walter Reed in mid-February. The senator's doctor said Fetterman's depression is now in remission, according to the statement.



Fetterman also suffered a stroke in May, during Pennsylvanias Senate primary, and was sidelined from the trail for months. He has continued to struggle with auditory processing, and uses transcription technology to help him talk to colleagues and conduct Senate business. Doctors have said that depression is common among stroke survivors.

I will have more to say about this soon, but for now I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works, Fetterman said. This isnt about politics  right now there are people who are suffering with depression in red counties and blue counties. If you need help, please get help.

Fetterman posted a picture of himself on his Twitter account Friday evening, giving a thumbs up as he got into a vehicle. "Im excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves. Pennsylvanians have always had my back, and I will always have theirs."
Fifteen people were injured Friday when two trains derailed as stormy winds lashed northwestern Switzerland, police said.

The incidents, on regional passenger rail lines, took place within 20 minutes of each other, and about 30 kilometres (18 miles) apart, north of the Swiss capital Bern.

Three people were injured in the first derailment, including the driver, and 12 were hurt in the second, including one person with serious injuries.

Wind speeds of 136 kilometres per hour were recorded nearby.

One train carrying 16 people derailed in the lakeside village of Luscherz at around 4:30 pm (1430 GMT), police said.

"While a strong wind was blowing... the front carriage of the train overturned on the right of the track, slipped down a small embankment for a few metres and finally came to a halt," Bern cantonal police said in a statement.

"Three people, including the driver in the overturned carriage, were injured, treated by four ambulance teams and taken to hospital."

The front carriage of the two-carriage train could be seen lying on its right side on the grass verge between a path running alongside the railway line and a field.

Workers in orange workwear and hard hats were at the scene, with a ladder alongside the carriage to help reach the upturned left side. Firefighters helped to get people out.

The rear carriage rolled on down the track for a few metres before coming to a stop.

"An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances and causes of the accident," police said.

- Man airlifted to hospital -

A second train carrying 54 passengers derailed 20 minutes later in the village of Buren zum Hof.

Police said the driver's carriage and two other carriages came off the tracks, with the front carriage hitting a mast. All three ended up on their sides.

Nine adults and three children were injured and taken to hospitals. One man suffered serious injuries and was flown to hospital by helicopter.

"According to current knowledge, the main cause of the accident is the storm," police said.

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"Further investigations are underway into the accident and how it happened."

- Picturesque routes -

Switzerland is renowned for its extensive and punctual rail network, with frequent services between cities, towns and even villages.

Rail enthusiasts come from all over the world to ride on some of the most picturesque routes, or those with exceptionally steep climbs.

Figures from the Federal Statistical Office show that in 2021 eight people lost their lives in Swiss rail accidents and 47 were seriously injured. Most of those hurt were on the tracks.

There were 88 separate accidents, of which 53 resulted in serious injury.

"Overall, the number of victims of rail accidents has fallen significantly in recent decades, despite an increase in transport services," the office said.

rjm-bur/fb
On Thursday (30 March), Donald Trump became the first-ever former US president to face a criminal indictment and many celebrity critics have already reacted to the news.

A New York City grand jury indicted the twice-impeached ex-president on charges of falsifying business records stemming from payments he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing an affair he had with her before the 2016 election.

Follow The Independents live coverage of the historic indictment here.

The ex-president furiously reacted to the decision on his Truth Social website, calling it an attack on our country. On Twitter, however, many stars have rejoiced at the news.

US comedian Kathy Griffin  who was fired from CNN in 2017 after sharing a photo of herself holding an effigy of Trumps decapitated head  tweeted (via The Hill): Its finally happening.

Another Trump critic, author Stephen King tweeted: Wise up, Republicans. Don't believe the lies. This isn't political. Donald Trump did this to himself. He betrayed your trust.

Wise up, Republicans. Don't believe the lies. This isn't political. Donald Trump did this to himself.

He betrayed your trust.  Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 30, 2023

Star Trek star George Takei wrote: Let 2023 be the year of accountability.

Happy indictment day, to those who celebrate, he added in another tweet.

Happy indictment day, to those who celebrate.  George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 30, 2023

Fahrenheit 9/11 director Michael Moore tweeted, FINALLY! SOMETHING alongside a square of block orange.

Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren tweeted: Happy Donald Trump is indicted Day!!!!

Charmed star Alyssa Milano  who has been a vocal Trump critic in the past  wrote: Although accountability is vitally important and no one is above the lawthis is a really sad day for The United States Of America.

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The MAGA Republicans in office lied for him and want to undermine and overturn our entire legal system to keep covering up for him. It's past time for every Republican in office to declare they are with the American people in demanding Trump & his co-conspirators stand trial.  Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) March 30, 2023

In a seperate tweet, she added: The MAGA Republicans in office lied for [Trump] and want to undermine and overturn our entire legal system to keep covering up for him. It's past time for every Republican in office to declare they are with the American people in demanding Trump & his co-conspirators stand trial.

The New York grand jurys indictment against Trump could be just the first set of criminal charges facing the ex-president as he attempts to return to the White House for a second, nonconsecutive term.

Authorities in multiple jurisdictions are overseeing four other investigations that could result in more indictments against the former chief executive.

Read more about what happens next in the Trump indictment here.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Finland has officially joined NATO, creating a nightmare scenario for Russia.

NATO now has a powerful new member that has a long border with Russia.

Putin said he attacked Ukraine to push NATO back  but Finland's accession achieves the opposite.

Finland became the newest member of NATO on Tuesday, creating a nightmare scenario for Russia.

A ceremony and exchange of documents took place on Tuesday afternoon local time, completing the formal process.

Finland joining the Western military alliance is something that Russia has actively opposed, as it sees NATO as its greatest threat. But in many ways, Finland's membership is a direct result of Russia's own actions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022, is necessary to prevent NATO from getting bigger and closer to Russia's borders.

But it was this that pushed Finland, and its neighbor Sweden, towards the alliance and to abandon their longstanding policies of neutrality.

Public support for membership soared in both countries, and they both sought membership in May 2022.

That was a historic shift, as the two countries had a decades-long neutrality policy, though they became NATO partner countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Finland's former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, who had long wanted his country to join NATO, told Insider last year that "Putin has only himself to thank, you know. I should probably be grateful to Putin."

Finland being a NATO member also brings the alliance physically closer to Russia.

Finland has more than 800 miles of land border with Russia. It joining NATO means that the length of the border between NATO countries and Russia more than doubles  taking it from around 750 miles to around 1,600.

Klaus Korhonen, the Finnish ambassador to NATO, met with Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's Secretary General, and Axel Wernhoff, the Swedish ambassador to NATO, on May 18, 2022. NATO/Twitter

Finland's membership was welcomed by its neighbors.

Estonia's president said that Finland's accession would "significantly strengthen the security of Baltic Sea region and all of NATO."

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But Russia said in response that it will boost its military presence near their shared border.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Russian outlet RIA on Monday that they "will strengthen our military potential in the western and northwestern direction."

He added that in the event that resources of other NATO members are deployed in Finland, "we will take additional steps to reliably ensure Russia's military security," according to Reuters.

Russia threatened Finland and Sweden last year, saying that it would retaliate if they joined the military alliance.

Its statements became more measured over time, but Russia's ambassador to Sweden said last month that the two countries will become a "legitimate target" upon joining NATO.

Finland's membership had been delayed as Turkey, a NATO member country, held out on approving its membership. Turkey has accused Finland and Sweden of supporting groups that Turkey sees as terrorists.

But last month the country's president said that Finland had taken "authentic and concrete steps" to address his grievances.

Turkey's parliament approved a bill last Thursday that allowed Finland to join  though the country has not yet approved Sweden's bid.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Becky Rauch, assistant director of the Porter County Elections & Registration Office, Paul Rausch, president of the Porter County Election Board, proxy board member Michael Simpson and board member David Bengs test vote tabulation machines on Friday, March 31, 2023, in a storage room in the county parking garage. (Shelley Jones / Post-Tribune)

A candidate for Porter Town Council will be fined $250 and given two weeks to bring his campaign signs into compliance after failing to appear for a hearing before the Porter County Election Board at its meeting Friday morning.

Two complainants spoke before the board that Jack Jent, who is running as a Democrat for the District 2 seat on the Porter Town Council, violated Indiana election law by failing to have disclaimers on his campaign signs. If Jent fails to satisfactorily amend all his campaign signs he will be referred to the Porter County Prosecutor.

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The penalty for circulating or publishing literature or other material concerning a candidate without the required disclaimer is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, one year in jail, or both, according to a brochure published by the Indiana Election Division. A civil penalty of up to $1,000 may also be given.

Porter County Clerk and Election Board Secretary Jessica Bailey recommended the board hand down a civil fine. I dont think we need to be in the process of rescheduling hearings because people dont show up, she said.

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Jent had been sent letters via certified mail and traditional mail by board attorney Monica Conrad notifying him of the complaints and requesting his presence at the hearing. Baileys staff also reached out by phone, but he didnt respond to the letters or call.

Porter County Republican Party Chair Michael Simpson, who was serving as proxy for board member Ethan Lowe, asked Bailey what amount she would recommend for the fine. I dont think theres any history that we fine people for their signs, said Board President Paul Rausch, admitting on the other hand that he wants candidates to follow rules and laws. I think $50 is adequate until we understand what it costs us to engage in this kind of thing, he said.

Porter County Election board member proxy Michael Simpson fills in for board member Ethan Lowe on Friday, March 31, 2023, during the election test in preparation for the municipal primaries. (Shelley Jones / Post-Tribune)

Board member David Bengs countered that the fine should be at least $250 because he didnt show up. A default in my world is a big deal. The complainants have shown up, he said.

Jennifer Klug, of Porter, filed a formal complaint and spoke before the board first after giving them each a packet that included a statement, copies of Indiana code, and photographs of the signs in question both before and after they had been altered with a sticker to comply with the disclaimer requirement. Klug estimated the illegal signs were up for several weeks before her complaint was made. Signs may not be put out more than 60 days before the election.

Don Craft, who is the incumbent seeking reelection for the District 2 seat, spoke next and also sought to bring to the boards attention comments Jent allegedly made on social media. What Mr. Jent does or doesnt say on social media is not purview to this board, Rausch said.

In other business, the board held the first half of its meeting in the storage room of the Porter County Administration Building garage testing election machinery. Under Baileys guidance the board tested 10% of the Express Vote machines and DS200 vote tabulation machines used by Porter County to conduct its elections.

Were making sure what we pressed actually prints out on the ballot, Bailey said as she checked a ballot printed by one of 15 Express Vote machines.

Porter County Clerk and Election Board Secretary Jessica Bailey, board member David Bengs and board attorney Monica Conrad test Porter County's Express Vote machines on Friday, March 31, 2023. (Shelley Jones / Post-Tribune)

Early voting in Porter County is Monday, April 17 through Monday, May 1 and will be held at the Porter County Administration Building, 155 Indiana Ave., Suite 102A, Valparaiso, IN 46383; North County Complex, 3560 Willowcreek Rd., Portage, IN 46368; Chesterton Town Hall, 790 Broadway Ave., Chesterton, IN 46304; and the Valparaiso Fire Training Center, 355 Evans Ave., Valparaiso, IN 46383.

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Hours will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday April 22 and 29th from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; and Monday, May 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

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Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Firefighters have served up a cookbook for heavily intoxicated New Zealanders, hoping to stop befuddled chefs from burning down the kitchen. According to the country's fire service, half of all fatal house fires involve alcohol or drugs.

The aptly named "You're Cooked" offers recipes for a select audience of Kiwis who are desperate for a bite but too incapacitated to be trusted near an oven or stovetop. The menu  promising "recipes to cook if you're drunk or high"  features a touch of humor and instructions simple enough for even the most addled of chefs.

A campaign video on social media shows bleary-eyed chefs trying out the recipes. / Credit: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

The idea is to guide inebriated cooks toward air-fryers, toasters, kettles and microwaves, all of which have timers. Ovens and stoves can be left on by mistake, with deadly consequences.

The first three chapters of the online cookbook are titled: "You're Toasted," "You're Smashed," and "You're Wasted."

One low-bar recipe for a "toast sandwich" kicks off with the advice: "Put one slice of the bread in the toaster. Toast it."

Once buttered, the piece of toast is placed between two slices of untoasted bread. "Now grip the bread-toast-bread in your clammy mitts. Good."

It's a lighthearted campaign but firefighters say the message is serious, with an average of more than 4,100 house fires a year  about a quarter of the total  caused by unattended cooking.

About half of all fatal domestic blazes in New Zealand also involve alcohol or drugs, fire and emergency services say.

"Distracted while cooking is the leading cause of house fires. Stay off the stove if you're drunk or high," the campaign warns.

Kelley Toy, marketing manager for Fire and Emergency New Zealand, told AFP: "We know they are going to cook anyway, we just needed them to do it safely by telling them: 'Stay off the stove.'"

Auckland-based chef Jamie Robert Johnston concocted the recipes.

"I took to my younger college days for inspiration of food that filled the void when a little tipsy," he told AFP.

A campaign video on social media shows bleary-eyed chefs trying out the recipes  one struggling to butter a slice of bread, another with food spilling directly from his mouth into a bowl, and several breaking into laughter.

Story continues

"You know... we've had a couple of 'wets' (alcoholic drinks). At the end of the long night... we are going to have some food," one of them declares in the video. At the end of the video, each would-be chef declares: "Stay off the stove!"

All participants were paid and agreed to feature on social media while struggling in an Auckland test kitchen after a Friday night out.

"They are real people on a night out," said Adrian Nacey, community education manager for New Zealand's fire service.

Among the suggested recipes: "Uncanned beans" ("release the beans from their tin prison, and tip them into a microwave-safe bowl") and "Forbidden lasagna" ("pry open the fridge and secure" the leftovers).

Other safe recipes on offer include a "Chugget sandwich" of air-fried chicken nuggets, "You-done udon" for noodles made with an electric kettle, and "Jacked Fairy Bread" made with crushed sugary cookies sprinkled on bread.

There is also a morning-after drink, "Blue Soberaid," that mixes honey, water and salt to help stave off a hangover.

The safety campaign, launched late last year, is already having an impact, the fire service said, as a recent survey indicates the target audience  mainly young, working males  now see cooking under the influence as a riskier enterprise.

Other countries have issued similar warnings about house fires involving booze and drugs. Last year, the London Fire Brigade offered safety tips after a spike in alcohol-related fires

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A Wisconsin elementary school banned a first grade class from performing the Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton duet Rainbowland," deeming it too "controversial" for the classroom.

Melissa Tempel, a first grade teacher at Heyer Elementary in Waukesha, Wisconsin, tells TODAY.com her students were excited to perform "Rainbowland" at their upcoming Spring concert.

"It's just a really good song about peace, love, appreciating diversity and getting along, and my students liked it so much," Tempel says.

The 44-year-old educator says she flagged the song to the school's music teacher, who asked the school's principal, Mark Schneider, if the song was appropriate for the concert.

"The principal checks in with the administration above him, and then he was told we couldn't sing it," Tempel explains. "We were really disappointed at that point."

TODAY.com reached out to Schneider and Heyer Elementary administration for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication.

A press release from the Waukesha School District's public relations and communications office confirmed Schneider "checked with a central office administrator so they could review the song together and alongside our Board Policy 2240  Controversial Issues in the Classroom."

"They determined that the song could be deemed controversial in accordance with the policy," the statement said, adding that the decision was "fully supported by the Superintendent" but that "at no time was the Board of Education involved."

The Cyrus-Parton duet, which debuted in 2017, promotes concepts like cooperation and friendship. At the time, Parton told Taste of Country the ballad was really about if we could love one another a little better or be a little kinder.

Its really just about dreaming and hoping that we could all do better, she said. Its a good song for the times right now.

Story continues

On March 29, in a series of tweets, Cyrus' Happy Hippie Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the LGBTQ+ community and homeless youth, shared its support for Tempel, her colleagues and their students.

"To the inspiring first grade students at Heyer Elementary, keep being YOU," the tweet read. "We believe in our Happy Hippie heart that you'll be the ones to brush the judgment and fear aside and make all of us more understanding and accepting."

The organization also announced it would be donating to Pride and Less Prejudice, an organization that provides free LGBTQ age-appropriate books to classrooms from preschool to third grade, in "in honor and celebration" of the students' "bright future."

To the inspiring first grade students at Heyer Elementary, keep being YOU. We believe in our Happy Hippie heart that youll be the ones to brush the judgment and fear aside and make all of us more understanding and accepting   Happy Hippie Foundation (@happyhippiefdn) March 29, 2023

Tempel says her students were heartbroken when they learned that they could not perform the song they had originally chosen.

"When I told them, they were just so sad," she says. "They kept asking: 'Why? Why?' It was really hard  I had to say I didn't know."

But Tempel believes she does know why the song was deemed "too controversial" for her students to perform, citing a district-wide policy banning "political signs" from classrooms, including the rainbow flag, "Black Lives Matter" and "safe space" signs.

"It wasn't surprising to us," she says. "That's why this is so important to talk about  this has been normalized, so people don't realize anymore how shocking it is and how unbelievable it is ... all these things have just kind of happened very gradually over the past two years and that's how we've come to this.

"We've created a climate where an administrator feels the need to ask about a beautiful song just because there's the word 'rainbow' in it," Tempel adds.

The School District of Waukesha did not cite a reason the song was deemed too controversial or provide any additional information as to why the song met the criteria. TODAY.com reached out for comment but did not hear back.

As an alternative, Tempel and her fellow educators selected Kermit the Frog's "Rainbow Connection" for the students to perform  a song, she says, that was also initially "taken off the concert list."

"We were just floored at that point, because it seemed so bold to blatantly ban two songs that have the word 'rainbow' in them," Tempel adds. "Both of which have a really positive message that's completely appropriate for first grade."

It wasn't until parents "put pressure on the principal and the superintendent," Tempel says, that the administration reversed their decision and students were allowed to perform "Rainbow Connection."

The school district press release confirms the song "Rainbow Connection" was selected, adding that "it will be performed as part of the upcoming first grade music concert along with other pieces of music."

Tempel also points to the newly-enacted "parental rights and transparency" resolution as to why she's now teaching in a climate that would ban songs featuring the word "rainbow."

The resolution, passed unanimously by the School District of Waukesha Board of Education in January, 2023, prohibits teachers from calling students any "names, nicknames or pronouns" that are not "consistent with the students biological sex, without written permission from the parent."

"I'm just so angry," Tempel says. "This has gone way too far. The students had no warning that it was going to happen. The teachers, luckily, are kind people who understand that it is seriously traumatizing."

One 2018 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that when trans youth use their chosen name, it reduces their risk of experiencing depression and suicidal ideation.

Why Rainbowland? My guess:

The beautiful LYRICS. Because saying an ARTIST is controversial would be a very slippery slope and they wouldnt want to go there. Amirite? @MileyCyrus @DollyParton @waukeshaschools #rainbowland pic.twitter.com/TRtImB8c1R  Maestra Melissa (@melissatempel) March 26, 2023

Despite her love for her profession and how much she says she "loves being in the classroom," Tempel, who has been teaching for 23 years, says policies like the "parental rights and transparency resolution" have caused her to question how long she can remain a teacher.

"I would like to stay where I am and improve the situation, but at a certain point I'm going to have to prioritize myself and make sure that I'm healthy," Tempel says. "I absolutely love my school and I love my students and I love the families here  I would would never want to leave, if it wasn't for all these new policies."

More than 600,000 U.S. educators have quit over the last two years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. One 2022 survey conducted by National Education Association (NEA) found that 55% of teachers are thinking about leaving the profession earlier than they had planned, citing a "startling level of stress and burnout."

Tempel says the only thing keeping her going, in addition to her devotion to her students, is the many messages of support she's received after speaking out.

"I've had so many parents from my district send me messages of support, saying they're just so proud of me," she says. "I'm thriving off of those message right now, because it's just a relief  it feels like those voices are in the minority, but I don't believe that they are."

Related video:

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Five people have been arrested over a fire at a Mexican immigration detention center near the US border that left 39 migrants dead and 27 injured, authorities said Thursday.

The announcement came a day after the attorney general's office announced a homicide investigation into the disaster, accusing the people in charge of the facility doing nothing to evacuate the migrants.

Five arrest warrants have already been executed, Sara Irene Herrerias, a prosecutor specializing in human rights, told a news conference.

They "have already been placed at the disposal of the judge," she added.

A total of six warrants were issued against three immigration officials, two private security guards and a migrant accused of starting the fire, she said, without specifying which of them were arrested.

The deceased were 18 Guatemalans, seven Salvadorans, seven Venezuelans, six Hondurans and one Colombian, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez said at the same news conference.

The injured were 10 Guatemalans, eight Hondurans, five Salvadorans and five Venezuelans, she said.

Of them, only one has so far been discharged.

Authorities faced questions about their handling of the disaster after video surveillance footage appeared to show guards leaving as flames engulfed a cell with migrants locked inside.

A total of eight people had been identified as allegedly responsible for the failure, Rodriguez said Wednesday.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed there would be "no impunity" over the tragedy that began late Monday in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.

According to the government, the migrants are believed to have started the fire themselves in a protest against deportations.

Officials are evaluating assistance for the families of the victims, while starting the process of revoking the contract and imposing a fine on the company in charge of the security at the compound, Rodriguez said.

About 200,000 people try to cross the border from Mexico into the United States each month, most of them fleeing poverty and violence in Central and South America.

US President Joe Biden's administration has been hoping to stem the record tide of migrants and asylum seekers undertaking often dangerous journeys organized by smugglers to get to the United States.

yug-dr/st
Tacomas elected and community leaders see a plague spreading in one of the citys most vulnerable populations: youth who have increasingly become both victims and perpetrators of life-altering violence. Finding solutions is another problem.

Mayor Victoria Woodards led her State of the City speech two weeks ago by addressing the deeply distressing uptick in violence that has rocked communities citywide, and she pleaded for people not to give up on Tacoma.

Tragically we have already lost six lives to homicides this year, three of which happened in just the first three weeks, and heartbreakingly involved gun violence among our youth, Woodards said during the speech. This level of violence is unacceptable and must stop.

Another four people have been killed since the mayors address on March 16, including a 16-year-old boy shot dead near Tacoma Community College on Wednesday. Of the 10 people killed in Tacoma since January, half have been younger than 18. Two were cases of young children whose parents are accused of fatal abuse.

For teenagers living the violence firsthand, shootings, fights and lockdowns have become commonplace, worsening their mental health and numbing them to the body count.

They commit crimes and do things people think are bad because theyre angry and its a getaway for them to just, I guess, feel freer in a way, Imani Prince, a Lincoln High School senior whose friend died from gun violence in January, told the News Tribune recently.

Since 2020, the Tacoma Police Department has reported an increase in juvenile victims and suspects in connection to homicides, aggravated assaults, robberies, weapons violations and car thefts.

My friends tell me they do certain things because mentally they dont feel OK, and theyre just depressed and angry, said Prince, 17, who reported feeling increasingly paranoid walking around her Eastside neighborhood.

The solutions for violence that can seemingly strike anyone at any time are more difficult to grasp than the usual approaches to street crime, such as hot-spots policing and harsh sentences for offenders.

Story continues

Although the Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Centers daily jail population has dropped by more than a hundred in the past 20 years, the two dozen-plus who are in lock-up today mostly face violent Class A felonies, troubling officials who have walked the facilitys halls for decades.

Those on the front lines of the crisis say creativity and collaboration are key to solving a myriad of issues, including an abundance of guns in the hands of teens, a proliferation of crime-driving social media trends, a weak ecosystem of extracurricular programs and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, among other obstacles.

Leaders say the first order of business is getting people marching in the same direction.

The News Tribune has partnered with Safe Streets to host a free community panel on youth violence prevention on May 4 to cap off a series of stories on the topic over the next four weeks. Safe Streets will host its own youth safety-themed spring conference on May 12.

We all see what the problems are. We see what the violence is doing to our community, where disorder is creating problems, Safe Streets executive director Nora Flemming de Sandoval said in a recent interview. I think we all need to take that next step to be solution-oriented.

Tacoma Police Department officers were called to a West End apartment complex Wednesday, March 29, 2023, for reports of a person shot. Police said a 16-year-old boy was killed, and detectives are investigating the shooting as a homicide.

The city of Tacoma perspective

Youth violence has been top of mind for city leadership this year.

After 14-year-old Xaviar Siess was shot dead at an Eastside bus stop, allegedly by a 17-year-old who Woodards has said used two stolen guns, the mayor called on gun owners in Tacoma to stop leaving their guns in their vehicles. Police say a gun is stolen out of a car in Tacoma every 48 hours.

If we leave them in our cars, then we might as well hand out guns to young people, she said.

In February, an update on the citys Violent Crime Reduction Plan showed an increase in homicides during a three-month period in late 2022. City Manager Elizabeth Pauli said in an interview it impacts the heart and soul of our community when we lose lives and particularly when we lose young lives.

Woodards again homed in on gun violence as a scourge for todays youth in her State of the City address earlier this month.

She cited Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department data that 4.5 percent of 12th-grade students reported having carried a weapon like a gun at school. The statistic was part of the departments most recent Youth and Young Adult Violence Assessment.

Woodards announced in her speech that the city would nearly double its funding for youth violence prevention programs to total more than $2 million for 2023-2024. Money would go toward programs for case management, mentorship, peer support, mental health and substance use treatment, among others. Additional funds would go to restorative justice to repair harm done during conflict and specialized probation programs.

The mayor also announced a new partnership to create a community trauma response with Tacoma Cease Fire. The grassroots organization promotes non-violence and will begin responding to traumatic incidents with the goal of helping the community heal.

After 14-year-old Iyana Ussery was killed in the crossfire of an apparent gang-related conflict involving two 17-year-olds last July, Cease Fire led a peace walk in Hilltop.

The leaders of the organization, Tacoma natives Candace Wesley and James Watson, told parents at the gathering that they need to do more for their children. Cease Fire aims to bring resources to families who need help working through dysfunction and miscommunication.

The family is the nucleus, said Watson, a longtime pastor in Tacoma. Theyre the ones that are going to court. Theyre the ones that are crying when somebody is hurt. Not only the families where the violence is happening at but the people that are doing the violence. You know, they all have families too.

A Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors jersey hangs at a memorial erected for Xaviar Siess, 14, who was killed in a Jan. 12, 2023 shooting. The boys stepfather, Kenneth Bradley, said Steph Curry was one of Siess favorite basketball players.

The community perspective

Outside of city-backed programs, faith-based organizations, nonprofits and residents who feel called to address violence in their neighborhoods are stepping in to mentor young people and help them however they can.

Tim Thomas, executive director of the Oasis of Hope Center, grew up on Hilltop in the height of the gang era in the 1980s and 1990s. When Thomas, 45, thinks back on his childhood, he recalls gunshots, emergency sirens and helicopters buzzing through his neighborhood. He said he remembers the pellet holes left in his wall when a gunman fired a shotgun through his familys living room window.

Now, Thomas said, violence in Tacoma doesnt feel much different. The only distinctions he sees are the youthfulness of those committing violent crime and the fact that the conflicts motivating them now are playing out when social media is baked into childrens daily lives, turning online disagreements into real-life beefs and serving up school fights as content.

Theres so much violence that theyre privy to online, and it changes the way they think about life, Thomas said. Their approach ends up being violent. They dont like themselves anymore.

The Oasis of Hope Center is a community facility on South G Street focused on addressing the needs of young people, particularly gun violence and poverty among at-risk youth. Built in the early 2000s, the center is tied to nearby Greater Christ Temple Church, but Thomas said hes been pushing to connect with children outside the church community.

The young people Thomas speaks with are struggling with homelessness, poor relationships with parents, drug use and social anxiety, he said, which can make it difficult for them to open up to others. He said the first step to understanding their situation is dealing with their immediate issue, whether it be access to food, clothing or housing. Thomas said he thinks there are too many people ages 18 and under living without housing and using drugs, and he said some of them have become comfortable living that way.

My goal is to show them that theres more to life than drugs and violence, Thomas said.

Safe Streets recently launched a new focus on youth well-being with two new programs. One initiative thats part of the city and Tacoma Public Schools Jobs 253 program focuses on neighborhood engagement and youth job-skills building while giving students up to a $1,000 stipend. The other is biweekly mental health education sessions called, Get Your Mind Right, founded by Tacoma business Game Time Store.

We recognize that it is going to determine what our future looks like, de Sandoval told The News Tribune about youth well-being and violence prevention. Its important that we work together to face these challenges head-on so we can have a thriving community.

Following the death of the 16-year-old Wednesday, Tacoma Public Schools superintendent Josh Garcia sent a message to the school districts families.

When a child is killed, it strikes at the heart of the community, he wrote in an email. Its a tragedy in its own right, and another layer of trauma on top of the local and national violence in the news every day.

Garcia said the district has counselors and partners available to provide guidance and support to students and staff. He added TPS is working with the Tacoma Police Department to add precautions to keep its campuses safe and has continued its joint See Something, Say Something campaign.

The law enforcement perspective

The gun battles that terrorized Tacomas streets in the late 80s could be boiled down to the drug trade and turf wars between gangs that operated under an unwritten code, local law enforcement officials say.

Today, there are no apparent rules of engagement, no clear conflict. On top of that, the ones wielding the weapons have grown younger, from triggermen in their 20s to teenagers who got a gun from an older relative or friend.

Deputy prosecutor Diane Clarkson said she has seen tremendous change at the Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center since she first began prosecuting cases there in the early 2000s.

Thats primarily due to a major shift in philosophy that brought the average daily population of 163 kids in 2000 down to just above two dozen in recent years.

But todays youth also are involved in an increasing number of Class A felonies, which include murder, first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault. Most cases in the early 2000s involved thefts, robberies, sex offenses and other lower-level felonies and misdemeanors,

It was so rare. So rare, Clarkson said about violent felony cases.

Of the 27 teens currently jailed at Remann Hall, Clarkson said, almost all are from Tacoma. Several are accused of murder.

Clarkson said Remann Halls overall caseload has remained relatively steady in recent years, even amid a nationwide uptick in some crime reports. Data show about 78% of Remann Halls 162 total bookings in 2021 were for felonies, while court-order violations made up an additional 17%.

According to the county health departments Youth and Young Adult Violence Assessment using Tacoma Police Department data from 2016 to 2020, more than 60% of violent crime reports with at least one victim under 30 also involved a suspect or arrestee under 30. About 4 in 10 cases with a youth victim involved an older suspect or no suspect was identified.

The report also states young Black people in Tacoma die from assaults at about twice the rate of Hispanic and white youth.

During community engagement events, people express concerns about how easily kids are acquiring guns, how prevalent drugs are in the schools and how social media videos encourage kids to steal vehicles and commit other crimes, Tacoma police deputy chief Paul Junger wrote in response to written questions from The News Tribune.

In some instances in Tacoma, stolen vehicles have been linked to cases of youth violence. Three teens were arrested on suspicion of robbing two groups of students at gunpoint and fleeing a high-speed chase in January.

In Clarksons view, there are plenty of dollars and resources available to fight the problem, but too many programs have overlapping services, and kids are falling through the cracks.

Im concerned that summer is coming, Clarkson said. And kids are going to have a lot of time on their hands, a lot of challenges to face.
This weekend, the Cape Symphony visits the 'land down under' with the next in its "Passport" series.

The concert at Barnstable Performing Arts Center features Australian composers Percy Grainger and Peter Sculthorpe, a medley of Australian film music (including "The Symphonic Suite from The Fellowship of The Ring") and original music written by Barton for the didgeridoo, an Aboriginal Australian wind instrument made from hollow wood.

The trip to Australia includes Aboriginal art, performance, and culture. Guests are didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton and lauded Australian conductor Carolyn Watson.

Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 2 at Barnstable Performing Arts Center in Barnstable High School, 744 West Main St., Hyannis. Tickets, $30-$71, are available at https://capesymphony.org/passport-down-under.

In anticipation of Watson's taking the baton on Cape, she shared a bit about herself and her music in an email interview, which is excerpted here.

Guest conductor Carolyn Watson, an Australian native, will lead the Cape Symphony's performance of "Passport Down Under."

Watson grew up in a place called Wollongong, near Sydney, and started playing the violin at 5 years old.

I grew up in a place called Wollongong, about 1.5 hours south of Sydney in Australia. I started playing violin at age 5, and my younger brother - now a violinist with the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester - also started around that time when he was two or so. Music was very much a part of our lives growing up - weekly lessons and orchestra rehearsals, summer music camps and later, international tours with the Australian Youth Orchestra.

After high school, I went to study at the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney where I gained a Bachelor of Music Education (Honours) degree, majoring in music education and violin performance. At that time, I also began working as a professional violinist where I played in the orchestra for the original Sydney productions of "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Miss Saigon." Following that, I went to Hungary where I spent two years studying at the Kodaly Institute, after which time I moved to Dresden (Germany) where I studied and played violin, learned German and taught English.

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She worked at Sydney Grammar School for nine years.

On moving back to Australia, I got a 'temporary' position teaching at Sydney Grammar School where I stayed for nine years, lol! That was a truly wonderful musical environment and as a result of that position, I found myself working with young instrumental and orchestral ensembles, an aspect which sparked my interest in learning more about conducting.

(She earned a master's degree in conducting at the Conservatorium in Sydney and a PhD  hence the doctor title  all the while thinking of herself as a violinist with a conducting hobby.)

Watson left Australia to study in Europe and work in opera houses.

I made what then felt like a very difficult decision to shift my energies from violin to conducting, and to leave my position at Sydney Grammar. I headed to Europe with far too much luggage and not much more than a dream to become a conductor. I spent a wonderful couple of years studying languages, doing master classes, observing rehearsals, interning and assisting in opera houses etc. before I came back to Australia. Thereafter was a couple of years spent between the two continents  working and earning a living in Australia, and returning to Europe for frequent and interesting projects as I was able.

She won young and emerging conductor prizes, but had trouble establishing her career.

I was fortunate to receive a number of professional development grants and awards from organizations including the Australian Music Foundation in London, Opera Foundation Australia, The Brian Stacey Trust, and a Churchill Fellowship, which resulted in a wonderful five or so month trip encompassing study in Germany and London, the Emmerich Kalman International Operetta Conducting Competition in Hungary, and a month at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Following that, I returned to Australia and was very much like, OK well...what now?! I had by then won I think every prize available to young and/or emerging Australian conductors, but felt I was struggling with respect to establishing a conducting career in Australia. As I have learned along the way, to establish a career as a conductor is indeed quite challenging anywhere, arguably more so in Australia given the relatively limited number of opportunities.

Then she took a job as a conductor at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.

And so there I was, sitting at home feeling very down when I saw an online advertisement for a conductor of the Academy Orchestra at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. I knew from my time in the U.S. about Interlochen and when I read the position description, it seemed as though they wanted a hybrid of Lorin Maazel and a high school teacher and I thought to myself, hey - I think I could be that person! At the time I applied I was the Conductor in Residence at the Conservatorium High School in Sydney, and obviously had a number of years' teaching experience before pursuing conducting, and I had by then had some success as a professional conductor as well. Interlochen interviewed me twice, in the middle of the night Australian time before flying me over for an in-person interview and audition. I received a call a few weeks later saying I won the position and we worked through the visa paperwork and I think six or so weeks after that I moved to the U.S.

That was August 2013 and I wasn't sure how it would be, whether I would like it or if I would stay. Well, here we are some nine or so years later and I'm still here! I maintain a nice relationship with Interlochen where I return to conduct in summers, and have also been fortunate to enjoy opportunities leading Amarillo Opera, Austin Symphony, Catskill Symphony, Des Moines Metro Opera, Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Dallas Opera, Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, St. Joseph Symphony and the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. I am also currently in my second season as Music Director of the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra in Indiana and my first year as Director of Orchestras at the University of Illinois.

Differences in conducting in Australia vs. the U.S.

When I compare the two countries I think the thing that stands out is the sheer number and variety of conducting opportunities in the U.S. compared to Australia. Australia's population is much smaller and music/cultural life is centered largely around the capital cities in each state, something which is vastly different in the U.S. whereby small cities and communities throughout the country will often have high quality regional professional orchestras and/or opera companies.

The things of which Watson is most proud:

Conducting for the Pope in 2008 on the occasion of his arrival in Sydney for World Youth Day

Winning the position at Interlochen and establishing myself as a conductor in the United States

Being a finalist for the Advance Awards in September 2021. These are Australian government awards recognizing expat Australians making a global impact. https://advance.org/profile/dr-carolyn-watson/

The work I do with young and pre-professional musicians in Australia and throughout the U.S.

Guest conducting on Cape

The invitation came directly from Music Director of the Cape Symphony, Jung-Ho Pak who I know through our mutual association with Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, when I first worked when I came to the U.S.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Australian conductor has worldwide experience, including Interlochen
A Florida family is suing a pediatric care facility over the choking death of a special needs child, claiming that he was left unsupervised.

The lawsuit says that Tarionn Jackson-Hanner, 13, was under the care of Angels on Earth in Melbourne when he choked to death on a latex glove on November 30.

"As a result of the acts and omissions of Angels on Earth and its staff, Tarionn Jackson-Hanner choked and died on the aforementioned glove," the lawsuit argues. The family is seeking damages in excess of $50,000.

The boy's mother, Kiyana Durham, held a press conference about the wrongful death lawsuit on Thursday. The grieving parent said she repeatedly made the caretakers aware of her son's special needs.

SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER SHORTAGE IMPACTING 48 STATES

The lawsuit alleges that Tarionn Jackson-Hanner, 13, was under the care of Angels on Earth in Melbourne when he choked to death.

"We want to know why Tari was left alone, when they knew specifically not to leave him alone," Durham said. "I constantly, repeatedly told them that every morning when they picked him up on the bus, every time I came to the school at any point, I always made them aware. Hey, dont leave him alone,'"

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Durham's attorney Douglas McCarron accused the facility of negligence at the press conference, saying that the teen had a known history of placing items in his mouth.

VIRGINIA ICE CREAM SHOP PROUDLY EMPLOYS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Kiyana Durham said she made caregivers aware of her son's history of placing objects in his mouth.

"It was documented in the intake forms that he puts foreign objects in his mouth," McCarron said. "How in the world can you leave something there that he can grab and put into his mouth? That's negligence."

Fox News Digital reached out to Angels on Earth for a statement but has not received a response.
Florida Republicans will likely hand $25 million to anti-abortion pregnancy centers in the coming days  and the GOP-controlled state Senate just killed a measure that would have ensured state oversight of those centers.

The $25 million annual allotment of Florida taxpayer money is tucked into the six-week abortion ban thats quickly moving through the state legislature and could land on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis desk as early as next week. Democrats know they have little power to stop the bills, so many are filing amendments in an attempt to make a severely restrictive bill less extreme.

Democratic state Sen. Lori Berman filed an amendment to the Senate bill on Wednesday, seeking to impose three requirements on the millions in state funding.

The amendment called for all the organizations that received funding to use only licensed ultrasound technicians, comply with patient confidentiality requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and conduct annual financial audits of each organization that receives any of the state funding.

I would like to enshrine this in law. It shouldnt be a problem, Berman said Thursday afternoon on the Senate floor. As good stewards of our taxpayer dollars, lets enshrine this in law and make sure that they are doing these things to protect the people who go to the clinics.

The majority-Republican body voted down the amendment.

Audits are being done regularly, pursuant to other state law, and these organizations are being held accountable with monthly monitoring, said Republican Sen. Erin Grall, the sponsor of the bill. There is not a need for this amendment at this time.

Republicans argue that the $25 million will be used for services to support pregnant women and their children, including offering critical goods like diapers and formula  which in part may be true. But anti-abortion pregnancy centers, sometimes referred to as crisis pregnancy centers, are known for peddling misinformation based on religious rhetoric that is not medically accurate.

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Republican state Sen. Erin Grall sponsored the six-week abortion ban and the current 15-week abortion ban that's in effect in Florida.

Republican state Sen. Erin Grall sponsored the six-week abortion ban and the current 15-week abortion ban that's in effect in Florida.

Crisis pregnancy centers are faith-based organizations that claim to offer pregnancy services like pregnancy tests, contraception, prenatal care and, in some cases, abortion services. But pregnant women who come in are discouraged from having abortions and given scientifically inaccurate information by staff that many times do not have medical training or licenses.

As Florida reporters Laura Morel and Clara-Sophia Daly explained last week for the local investigative outlet Reveal, the $25 million in funding does very little to actually fix the systemic problems of crisis pregnancy centers in Florida.

While the bill would inject millions into the centers cause, it does nothing to increase oversight of the pregnancy center industry in Florida, Morel and Daly wrote. Most centers operate in a kind of regulatory dead zone, free of significant state and federal oversight. Most states, including Florida, dont require pregnancy centers that provide medical services to be licensed or inspected. Theyre also not required to comply with the federal patient privacy law known as HIPAA. In many states, tanning salons, massage parlors and even pet stores face significantly stricter oversight.

The $25 million will be given annually to the Florida Pregnancy Care Network, which is a statewide alliance of pregnancy support organizations that provides services at 100 site locations, according to the groups website. Although the networks contract with the state Department of Health prohibits religious coercion, the network spent state funding on educational materials to create openings for counselors to share Christ with patients, which was billed as counseling to the state of Florida, according to the pro-choice group Floridians for Reproductive Freedom.

Im actually not surprised that the party pushing a near-total abortion ban does not want accountability measures in place for the nearly 100 crisis pregnancy centers that operate in this state, Berman told HuffPost in an emailed statement Thursday evening.

These are organizations that prey on the emotions of vulnerable, young, low-income women and girls who are simply seeking sound professional, medical advice at a difficult moment in their lives, she said. Instead, theyre met with deception, disinformation and, oftentimes, evangelical Christians that outright proselytize to them. These centers will be receiving $25 million under the bill.

Florida already uses taxpayer dollars to fund crisis pregnancy centers. In 2022, the state gave $4.45 million to anti-abortion pregnancy centers through the Florida Pregnancy Care Network.

About a dozen other states around the country use taxpayer funds toward faith-based crisis pregnancy centers meant to dissuade women from getting abortion care. Texas budget includes the most funding for crisis pregnancy centers  allocating $50 million a year. But the budgets vary: Kansas spends about $338,000 on anti-abortion centers while Pennsylvania spends just under $6 million, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion rights research organization.

But $25 million is a lot of money for these kinds of programs, Elizabeth Nash, a principal policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, told HuffPost.

State lawmakers have tried and failed many times over the years to regulate crisis pregnancy centers to ensure state dollars are being used appropriately. But part of the issue, Nash said, is that the people who are allocating the funding dont see these requirements as necessary.

What Ive observed is that states put money towards anti-abortion centers as a way to say, Look, were trying to support people who carry their pregnancies to term, and the word of these organizations is good enough, Nash said. Never mind the fact that anti-abortion centers disparage abortion and contraception and deceive people coming to them who are interested in those services.

The six-week abortion ban is expected to pass but will not go into effect until the Florida Supreme Court rules on a challenge to the states current 15-week ban on abortion.

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In this January 9, 2019, photo, guests watch a show near a statue of Walt Disney and Micky Mouse in front of the Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, Florida. John Raoux, File/AP Photo

Disney and DeSantis have entered into another round of feuding.

Disney outmaneuvered the governor, but he has warned that there's more to come.

The turn of events amused insiders, but crossing DeSantis is considered fraught.

The battle over the Magic Kingdom has entered a new chapter.

It appears Walt Disney World won't be losing power over its land after all  at least not yet  following a high-profile battle with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

More than a month after DeSantis appointed a board to control the resort and theme park's decision-making, a report by the Orlando Sentinel revealed that Disney lawyers wrote in an arrangement that keeps the company in power of its land virtually in perpetuity.

Despite Disney's formidable lobbying track record, the quiet arrangement to keep its power astonished and amused many political insiders.

"This must have really been ticklish for those attorneys to wonder when it was going to be discovered," Richard Foglesong, the author of the book "Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando," told Insider. "I bet there were a lot of 'tee hee hee' moments among them."

DeSantis made an example of Disney after the company said it would work to repeal the Parental Rights in Education Act, the legislation that Democrats and LGBTQ-rights groups have derided as the "Don't Say Gay" bill because it limits classroom instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation.

The governor tried to unravel Disney's special privileges that many other businesses, including rival theme parks such as Sea World and Universal Studios, don't have. While those parks must run their plans by zoning commissions or building-inspection departments, Disney doesn't have to. This makes their operations run more efficiently, saving them time and money, Foglesong explained.

But DeSantis' highly publicized plan seems to have collapsed.

"It was a pretty brilliant move by the outgoing board to basically take all the power away," one Florida-based lobbyist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Insider. "Everybody that I talked to about it kind of chuckled about it. They thought it was funny."

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Dozens of lobbyists didn't respond to Insider's requests for interviews or declined to comment, and a couple expressed concerns about discussing the DeSantis-Disney feud at all, out of fear of retaliation over a subject that has become highly charged.

Besides having an in-house government-relations team, Disney also contracts with several lobbying firms  including The Southern Group, GrayRobinson, and Vogel Group. Such firms have contracts with numerous other clients that have business before the governor, according to the state's lobbying-disclosure database.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got married at Disney World in 2009. Joe Raedle/Getty Images and AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

A legal battle is kicking off

It's not yet clear how DeSantis might try to punish Disney for bypassing what has become a central talking point for the governor to show that he's unafraid to go up against powerful corporations who publicly disagree with his policies.

The resort and theme park has long been a powerhouse in the Sunshine State, bringing tax dollars, tourists, and jobs to central Florida. Foglesong described Disney's fight with DeSantis as the biggest hurdle the company has ever faced in Florida, saying, "If 10 is the highest, this is a 10."

Untangling the legalities of the dispute could take years and become an expensive endeavor, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Kathleen Passidomo, the president of the Florida Senate, told reporters Thursday evening that she didn't expect the legislature to make any changes to the law in the near term.

"We're going to take a look at it," she said. "I'm sure to see what they actually did."

The governor's appointees to the board overseeing Disney have said they're consulting with four different law firms, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Taryn Fenske, the spokesperson for the governor, said the agreement Disney brokered "may have significant legal infirmities that would render the contracts void as a matter of law."

But the matter appears far from settled, and it's not clear how DeSantis will retaliate a third time. The governor is known for using the arm of the state to achieve his goals in ways that other conservatives have criticized. Among those critics is Mike Pence, who, like DeSantis, is a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate.

While doing a book tour in Georgia on Thursday, DeSantis vowed "there's more to come" regarding the Disney feud. Shortly after, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody demanded texts and emails about the February 8 meeting that sealed the deal for Disney to retain control over much of its land.

"Who knows what they might come up with creatively to make Disney's life miserable?" Aubrey Jewett, a political-science professor at the University of Central Florida who coauthored the book "Politics in Florida," told Insider.

"If I have seen anything from this governor and the Republican legislature, it's that they go after perceived enemies, and they go after them in a big way," he said. "I won't be surprised if other things happen."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to a crowd at Adventure Outdoors gun store on March 30, 2023, in Smyrna, Georgia. John Bazemore/AP Photo

Disney dustup came as Trump was facing indictment

DeSantis has often invoked his battle with Disney when doing appearances across the US to promote his new book, "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival." It's a story that has thrilled supporters, who boo at the mention of Disney's name and laugh as DeSantis scoffs over the irony that, almost 14 years ago, he married his wife, Casey DeSantis, at Disney World.

The promotional book tour is widely viewed as a soft campaign to lay the groundwork for an official 2024 presidential run, one that would pit DeSantis against former President Donald Trump.

In recent weeks, the governor has taken a plunge in national polling about a hypothetical 2024 matchup while Trump has expanded his lead. The former president has benefited from the rally around GOP support related to his indictment by the Manhattan district attorney, and has also relentlessly criticized DeSantis.

To many observers, DeSantis had appeared unstoppable, notching numerous political wins in Florida and getting the type of donor treatment political frontrunners typically enjoy.

"It shows that maybe he's not invincible," Jewett said of DeSantis' recent struggles. "He has and is going to make political mistakes. It weakens him, in the short run."

DeSantis has worked with the legislature twice to retaliate against Disney. First he signed a bill into law in April 2022 to dissolve the Reedy Creek district. But when it was revealed the measure could have resulted in residents taking on a sizeable amount of debt through higher taxes, the legislature sent DeSantis a new bill in February 2023 during a special session that would allow the governor to appoint a board to control the district.

But before that happened, Disney quietly brokered the agreement to maintain control. The company told Insider in a statement that it was "discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums." In what also appeared to be a slight, Disney World announced it would host the Out & Equal Workplace Summit in September, billing it as the "largest LGBTQ+ conference in the world."

Before this week, Democratic state lawmakers predicted Disney would sue and then ride out DeSantis' time in Tallahassee. Jewett expected Disney to let the matter go and to try to repair the relationship.

"In retrospect, I feel like I should have expected that Disney was going to do something and that they wouldn't just let 50 years of control go," Jewett said.

Not only did it not let go of control, but the company tapped into its flair for the dramatic. To win this round, it invoked an obscure property law about King Charles III.

Using a royal clause was all very Disney, Foglesong said.

"They can't go to the mat in a mean kind of way," he said. "They have to be entertaining, and I think they will be. Because this is not just a legal fight, it's about public relations, too."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Florida law enforcement are in a desperate search Friday for a missing 2-year-old boy whose mother was found dead yesterday in what police are describing as a "very violent" crime scene.

Taylen Mosley is the subject of a statewide Amber Alert issued Thursday afternoon following the discovery of his mothers body inside the apartment where they lived in St. Petersburg.

"Detectives followed up leads overnight but have not located the child," the St. Petersburg Police Department said in a Facebook post Friday, noting that "We have a fresh team now canvassing the apartment complex" and "The St. Pete Fire Rescue Department dive team is searching nearby retention ponds."

Pashun Jeffrey, Mosleys 20-year-old mother, was "found murdered in her apartment," police say.

MISSING IN MEXICO: FBI OFFERS REWARD FOR KIDNAPPED CALIFORNIA WOMAN

Mosleys father has been named a person of interest in the disappearance, but he does not have the 2-year-old, according to police.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

On Thursday, St. Petersburg Chief of Police Anthony Holloway said Mosley was last seen Wednesday with his mother outside their Lincoln Shores apartment around 5:30 p.m., Fox13 Tampa Bay reports.

Hollaway reportedly said a neighbor has come forward to say they heard "a commotion" coming from the apartment that evening, but police were not summoned to the scene.

"Earlier today, the family did not hear from the deceased, so they asked the apartment manager to come do a check on them," the station quoted Holloway as saying.

That is when police found Jeffreys body around 2:30 p.m. in what Holloway described as a "very violent" crime scene, according to Fox13 Tampa Bay.

OHIO WOMAN FOUND AFTER VANISHING FROM NEW MEXICO RESORT VACATION

The Amber Alert issued for Mosley says he is "endangered" and was "last seen in the area of the 11600 block of 4th Street North in St. Petersburg, Florida."

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It described him as being around 2 feet tall, weighing 30 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Mosley just celebrated his second birthday a few weeks ago on March 12.

The St. Petersburg Police Department is urging the public to come forward if they have any information on Mosleys whereabouts.

"This is an active investigation, and we will release additional updates as they become available," it said.

Neighbors tell Fox13 Tampa Bay that the search has drawn a massive police presence to the apartment complex.

"Police officer after police officer," one neighbor told the station. "Then I saw two detectives come in. Then I saw two more detectives come in. Then, a lot of the maintenance workers were just zooming over here real quick."
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will sign a new bill that allow the carrying of guns without a concealed weapons permit.

The state senate passed the bill Thursday.

It will end the decades-old requirement that included background checks and firearms training.

Watch: New bill aims to lower minimum age for buying rifles, other long guns in Florida

Gun owners would still be required to have a valid ID while carrying their weapon.

The bill attracted both supporters and critics.

Watch: Both sides react to controversial proposal that would allow Floridians to carry guns without license

The bill also provides money to harden school security.

And would allow private schools to participate in the controversial Guardians program, which allows armed guards on campus.

Read: 12-year-old boy charged with killing a man who wouldnt sell him his guns

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.
People show support for former President Donald Trump one day after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, Friday, March 31, 2023, outside Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) (Rebecca Blackwell/AP)

Whether the indictment of former President Donald Trump represents the weaponization of the legal system or a check on executive power and what it means for next years presidential election and the countrys political future are all in the mix as political leaders and academicians weigh in on what everyone agrees is a first for the U.S.

It is too early to tell what the indictment may mean. A better picture will form once the specific charges are made public, said Yu Ouyang, associate professor and associate department chair of English and World Languages and History, Philosophy and Political Science at Purdue University Northwest.

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Ouyang said he was disappointed the New York case was the first to come out with an indictment against Trump because of the unprecedented nature of a case involving the indictment of a sitting or former president.

It strikes me as a relatively weak case and not a precedent setting case  regardless of what happens we are going to continually cite this case forever with it being the first. It will set the tone for the future, Ouyang said, adding he is not a legal expert and is commenting as an observer. He would have preferred the election interference case in Georgia or the case concerning removal of the classified documents to indict first.

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A case against a former or sitting president needs to be clear cut so both supporters and opponents, while they may not like the charges or that there is a conviction, will not say it is political prosecution. He said the optics in the Georgia case are different since it is Republican officials alleging wrongdoing by a fellow Republican.

This is not the case to do that. Its going to cause additional political division, Ouyang said.

Politically he said there seems to be two clear winners in this situation, the Manhattan district attorney and Trump himself. For now, Ouyang said, Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination.

This indictment, if nothing else, solidifies this nomination. Its generating a lot of buzz. Its a classic rally around your guy kind of thing, he said.

Social media is lighting up with comments. There is a sense of optimism on the Democratic side since it appears the former president finally will be held to account for his actions. Ouyang said the optimism is misplaced. If the results are not what Democrats expect, he fears they may end up with less faith in the legal system, as has happened regarding certain race-related cases.

It might undermine our faith in the system, he said.

Randy Niemeyer, chairman of the Lake County Republican Party, said he finds it to be a very disturbing pattern in the country now where people in elected office like Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney pursuing the case, are utilizing their office as a weapon.

You see it on both sides of the aisle, Niemeyer said.

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He said Bragg campaigned on holding Trump accountable and the investigation was a way to look for a crime, not investigate one that happened.

Its weaponization, he said.

Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen was convicted for his role in the alleged hush money scheme in 2018. Bragg ran for office in 2019, taking the seat in 2020.

Niemeyer said he believes a person is innocent until proven guilty and does not know if Trump did or did not do certain things. Justice is supposed to be fair and equal and he said the rhetoric from Bragg surrounding his desire to prosecute Trump calls that into question.

You do have to respect the process  innocent until proven guilty. Everybody deserves their fair day in court, Niemeyer said.

State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, shares the concerns of other officials that the indictment and investigation will wind up separating the country more.

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Indiana State Sen. Dan Dernulc (R-Highland) holds a copy of House Bill #1568 while speaking during a town hall meeting in St. John, Indiana Saturday, March 11, 2023. Dernulc was joined by State Rep. Hal Slager (R-Schererville) for the meeting. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

Granted, nobody is above the law, Dernulc said. Like his fellow Republicans, he said the indictment has the appearance of unfairness, citing a lack of an indictment against Hunter Biden concerning his alleged financial dealings while his father was vice president. Dernulc said there is a lot of basic evidence he has done something wrong.

It just seems like there is a hunt for something on Donald Trump, Dernulc said, adding he understands the former president can be a lightning rod, but questioned whether the case has merit.

Trumps indictment, regardless of how people viewed him as a president, represents a weaponization of the legal system, said Porter County Republican Party Chair Michael Simpson.

I believe that its an abuse of power and a political retribution, he said, adding the case has been vetted by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Election Commission and the U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan. All went through this entire thing and felt it wasnt prosecutable or a campaign violation.

Though the charges in the indictment have yet to be released, Simpson said the case is political and, at this point, political.

Alvin Bragg is trying to make a name for himself. I find it reprehensible, he said.

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While he doesnt expect the indictment to have an impact on this years municipal elections, Simpson said hes been receiving calls and emails from Republicans in Porter County who see the criminal charges as he does.

They think its an abuse of power and its weaponizing the legal system to attack an individual, he said, adding later, Thats what bothers me the most. It really does.

Trump, said Mike Mirochna, chair of the Valparaiso Democratic Committee, is still an extremely influential figure who served as president during a different era than his predecessors.

Obviously its historic that a former president is being indicted, despite past presidents who probably did questionable things, he said. We let (former President Richard) Nixon get in the helicopter and leave. This is a different era.

Also, Mirochna said its not like Trump got in trouble trying to help people. Trump reportedly paid a mistress off after having an affair while married to his third wife not long after they had their son.

He was just a divisive person. Do people care that he cheated on his wife? Well, maybe, but a grand jury indicted him. Is that a bad thing or a good thing for the country? Ultimately probably a good thing, Mirochna said, adding it provides checks and balances on presidential power. I think this is something that would definitely pull back that presidential power.

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State Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, gestures while speaking during the 2023 NWI School Superintendent Forum at Indiana University Northwest in Gary, Indiana Friday Feb. 24, 2023. The program was sponsored by the IUN School of Education. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

Trumps indictment reflects the justice system working as intended, said State Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton.

The idea that nobodys above the law I think is very very important. Theres going to probably be some complaints that this is somehow political, but obviously this was done by a grand jury of individuals that are from the state of New York. This wasnt done by members of Congress, he said. We see indictments of political figures in Lake County and Northwest Indiana all the time. This is no different just because its somebody at that level.

Jim Wieser, chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party, said he never expected he would see the day where a sitting or former president was indicted. He said there are several different ways of looking at the situation in the role of party chair, lawyer and just as a citizen. Two principles important to him are at play.

Every person who is indicted is presumed to be innocent. I believe strongly in that concept, Wieser said. The second, no person is above the law.

The principles are foundational to our judicial system and democracy itself, he said. All people must be equal before the law or it erodes our democracy.

Certainly the former president is not above the law. That has been established now, Wieser said.

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I take no great joy in seeing a former president indicted, Wieser said.

On the other hand, he said Trumps actions in not only this case, but the Georgia election interference case, obstructing the return of classified documents to the government which has a rightful claim and his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection are beyond the pale.

I think this is the tip of the iceberg and there is going to be more, Wieser said. My hope through the judicial process is we all find out exactly how reprehensible his conduct has been in many aspects so we can move forward and still try to work together as a country.

Wieser said he is concerned about political violence and a rush to action by people who will not sit back and let matters play out in a court of law as they should.

We could potentially face significant protests. I certainly hope it doesnt result in the (former) presidents desire for death and destruction, Wieser said.

While the indictment of a former U.S. president may be unprecedented, other leaders and former leaders across the globe have faced criminal charges, said Jennifer Hora, a political science and international relations professor at Valparaiso University.

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Further down the political ladder, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his wife Patty were charged with corruption charges while he was in office, she added, and former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell and his wife Maureen also faced a bribery conviction after he left office, though that conviction was later overturned.

To put it in 40-point font above the fold (in newspapers) that this is unprecedented, maybe for a U.S., president it is, she said, adding former French Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Jaques Chirac were both charged with corruption after they left office, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing them now.

The U.S. only has one president at a time, Hora said, and they serve relatively long terms, so anything that happens during their term can be seen as unprecedented.

Globally, leaders of Western democracies have been charged with crimes on a somewhat regular basis, she said, adding U.S. governors get dinged with regularity.

Closer to home, former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich and former Portage Mayor James Snyder faced federal corruption charges during their respective terms.

This isnt quite as unprecedented as a lot of people are talking about, Hora said. When youre talking about executive leaders getting in trouble for doing things, its not that unusual, going up the scale or down.

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She doesnt expect protesters to take to the streets locally because theres no one here to target their message to and, like Simpson, she expects zero impact on the looming municipal primaries.

Primaries have historic low turnout, she said. I dont think it will matter.

Staff reporter Alex Dalton contributed.

cnapoleon@chicagotribune.com alavalley@chicagotribune.com
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature on Thursday voted to let gun owners in the nations third most populous state carry guns without a state permit, delivering on a campaign promise by Gov. Ron DeSantis as he ramps up his expected run for president.

DeSantis, who was promoting his new book at a Georgia sporting goods store that bills itself as the worlds largest gun store, vowed to act quickly on the legislation.

You dont need a permission slip from the government to be able to exercise your constitutional rights, DeSantis told an audience at the store. And as of right now theres 25 states  so half the states allow that. Well, in Florida next week we are going to make it 26 because I will be signing the legislation into law.

Florida lawmakers approved the legislation just days after a school shooting in Nashville claimed the lives of three children, prompting emotional pleas from Democratic legislators who called the measure a step back after Florida enacted several gun restrictions in the immediate aftermath of the 2018 Parkland massacre where 17 people were killed.

Its shameful, its disrespectful to the Parkland families and every other Floridian who has lost a loved one to gun violence, said state Sen. Lori Berman (D-West Palm Beach).

Florida joins a wave of other red states that have pushed ahead with new laws sought by gun rights supporters. Texas, Virginia, Ohio and a handful of other states have all sought to loosen gun restrictions and more than two dozen states have enacted laws similar to the one Florida approved Thursday.

Although DeSantis had signaled for months that he supports the legislation, supporters of gun rights have repeatedly called on GOP legislators to go further and allow people to in the state to carry guns openly. On Thursday, they criticized DeSantis for not going further.

This bill is a half-measure and is not what gun owners were promised, said Matt Collins, a gun rights supporter and former lobbyist for gun rights groups. It isn't true constitutional carry because it doesn't include an open-carry provision. This bill is weak and failed leadership on part of Governor DeSantis and the Republican legislative leadership. Gun owners deserve better.

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Republicans in Florida have controlled the Legislature for more than 20 years and have gradually loosened gun restrictions. But right after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, they voted to raise the age requirement to purchase a rifle and enacted a red flag law that allows law enforcement officials to ask a judge to remove guns from someone who is a threat to themselves or others.



DeSantis  while campaigning for governor back in 2018  said he would have not signed that Parkland measure into law. The Florida House has been moving a bill to roll back the age requirement to 18, which it what it was when Nikolas Cruz purchased the semi-automatic rifle he used at Parkland. GOP Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, however, has said she does not support lowering the age restriction.

DeSantis has said that was in favor of open carry, but Passidomo and some other Republican legislators were opposed to letting residents carry guns in public, citing the opposition of many Florida sheriffs.

Florida law currently makes it a felony if someone carries a concealed weapon without a permit. There are more than 2.64 million people with concealed weapon licenses who must go through training and a background check first. The new law  which takes effect on July 1  does not end the permitting program but instead makes it optional. Bill supporters contend many Floridians will go through the permitting process because other state recognize the licenses.

The Senate voted 28-13  with Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia joining all 12 Democrats in opposition  to send the measure to DeSantis desk. The Florida House passed the legislation by a 76-32 vote last week.

Ahead of the vote, there was a polarizing debate that followed the same divide over guns that took place nationally after tragic mass shootings as both sides exchanged barbs over constitutional rights and whether ending the states permitting program would lead to an uptick in gun related deaths.

This bill attempts to return the God given rights of humanity, the God given rights of self-defense, said state Sen. Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers).

Ive looked all through the Bible, retorted Sen. Bobby Powell. Theres no scripture that talks about guns in the Bible. That God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten gun is not in there.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  Floridians will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill the Legislature sent to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday. The governor said at a suburban Atlanta gun store that he will sign the bill.

The Senate passed the bill on a 27-13 vote. It will allow anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida to carry one without a permit. It means training and a background check will not be needed for people to carry concealed guns in public.

You dont need a permission slip from the government to be able to exercise your Second Amendment rights, DeSantis said to cheers at the Smyrna, Georgia, gun store that is often a location for GOP campaign events. And as of right now theres 25 states, so half the states, that allow that. Well in Florida, next week, were going to make it 26.

The arguments over the legislation were divided on political lines, with Republicans saying law-abiding citizens have a right to carry guns and protect themselves and Democrats saying a state that has seen horrific mass shootings such as the Parkland high school and Pulse nightclub massacres will become even more dangerous.

The second amendment of the Constitution gives its people the right to keep and bear arms. It doesn't say if you have a permit; it doesn't say if you've gone through training; it doesn't say if you've done a background check, Republican Sen. Jim Boyd said. "Bad guys are going to get guns one way or the other, and evil people are going to do bad things with guns.

Republicans argued that most people will still want to get a permit because it will allow them to carry concealed weapons in states with reciprocal agreements and to be able to purchase guns without a waiting period.

But Democrats said not everybody is going to be so responsible.

I am, in fact, not worried about mass shootings through passage of this bill. I'm worried about mass idiots, Democratic Sen. Jason Pizzo said. People are going to die because of carelessness.

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Nearly 3 million Floridians have a concealed weapons permit. While a background check and three-day waiting period will still be required to purchase a gun from a licensed dealer, they are not required for private transactions or exchanges of weapons.

DeSantis has said he thinks Florida should go even further and allow people to openly carry guns. While some lawmakers have pushed for open carry, it doesn't appear the Legislature will pass such legislation.

The issue was debated five years after then Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill creating gun restrictions after 17 students and faculty were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Under DeSantis, momentum has swung back toward expanding gun rights rather than placing limits on them.

____

Associated Press writer Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
A Florida school has banned Disneys Ruby Bridges film.

The movie, about the first Black student to integrate an all-white school in New Orleans, was pulled after a parent argued the film would teach their children about the heinousness of racism.

The post Florida Parent Files Complaint To Stop Teachers From Showing The Ruby Bridges Movie In School appeared first on Blavity.

According to The Guardian, the parent, Emily Conklin, filed an official complaint to stop the North Shore Elementary School from showing Ruby Bridges. In the document, she argued the content wasnt appropriate for second graders and the Disney movie would show the students that white people hate Black people. In addition, Conklin noted the movies use of several racial slurs and one instance where adults yell, Im going to hang you!

She also said Ruby Bridges would be more appropriate for an eighth-grade class.

Conklins outrage sparked a few weeks ago after the school sent permission slips to parents asking their consent to show the movie to their children. Conklin refused to let her child watch the film, as did another family.

North Shore Elementary responded to the complaint by instructing teachers not to show the film until a committee has evaluated Conklins concerns. That decision inspired a local group representing Black students to speak out, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Many from historically marginalized communities are asking whether this so-called integrated education system in Pinellas County can even serve the diverse community fairly and equitably, Ric Davis, president of Concerned Organization for Quality Education for Black students, wrote.

Meanwhile, the writer of the film, whos white, says Conklin and her fellow protestors are misunderstanding Ruby Bridges, according to Atlanta Black Star.

Ruby Bridges, a film I wrote that was released twenty-five years ago, is banned in a Florida school because a full-of-s**t parent thinks the movie might teach white children to hate Black children. It teaches white children to empathize with Ruby, Toni Ann Johnson tweeted about the complaint.

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Ruby Bridges, a film I wrote that was released twenty-five years ago, is banned in a Florida school because a full-of-shit parent thinks "the movie might teach white children to hate Black children." It teaches white children to empathize with Ruby.https://t.co/DaeVQBx5RZ  Toni Ann Johnson (@toniannjohnson) March 27, 2023

Not everyone thinks Ruby Bridges would do more harm than good for schoolchildren. Goliath Davis, a former St. Petersburg police chief and deputy mayor, spoke up about the ban.

I was stunned to hear the news and thought it must be an idle rumor. I asked myself, what objection could there possibly be to a historical fact of courage and an attempt to obtain an equal education in America? Davis penned in The Weekly Challenger.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., agrees. She shared on Twitter that removing Ruby Bridges from school is Floridas push to erase history.

Shameful what Republicans & @GovRonDeSantis are doing to our schools, she wrote in part.
Florida Techs Board of Trustees appointed the next leader of the Florida Institute of Technology.

John Nicklow - President of the University of New Orleans in Louisiana - will serve as the sixth president in Florida Techs 65-year history.

Nicklow was selected after a year-long search involving trustees, faculty, and the campus community.

Read: John Mellencamp donates archives to Indiana University

Dr. Nicklows leadership success as a sitting president at the University of New Orleans, his extensive background in academics and research, as well as his approach to teamwork and collaboration will all be assets to Florida Tech, said Travis Proctor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees in a press release.

Proctor also said Nicklow stood out as a leader with a " proven record of fostering enrollment growth and student success that will help expand the schools research efforts and partnerships.

Read: Now hiring: Osceola County schools hosting job fair to hire bus drivers, attendants

Nicklow comes with 25 years of experience and a background in engineering and higher education teaching, research, and administration.

He has published more than 75 articles and is the author of four books. His research focuses on the advancement of STEM education and the optimization of environmental and water resources systems.

Read: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to build new safety and research center

I want to thank the Florida Tech community for being engaged in the search, Nicklow said in a press release.

He hopes that the school becomes a place where students want to be.

My vision is to make Florida Tech the top choice for students interested in STEM fields from all over the state, nation, and world. To achieve that, we must continue Florida Techs excellent academic and research prowess and attract top-notch faculty and staff. This will also help us become the preferred partner for businesses, industry, and government. Nicklow said.

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Read: Florida Tech ranks among Floridas top universities by U.S. News & World Report

Nicklow is set to officially begin his presidency on July 1.





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.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)  A Florida teenager has documented how it feels to be young and transgender for a film set to debut at a festival as transgender people around the world celebrate visibility and lawmakers across the country look to restrict their rights and care.

Carys Mullins, 19, who is gender non-conforming and uses she and they pronouns, said their experience inspired conversations with community members for a documentary, Youre Loved. The film directed and produced by Mullins is set to premiere Friday at the Tampa Bay Transgender Film Festival on International Transgender Day of Visibility.

Thats a big part of what the festival is, Mullins said. A big part of the Tampa Bay Transgender Film Festival is: Look at us.

Youre Loved debuts at a time where access to gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary young people is under assault across the United States. Florida, Missouri and Texas have regulations banning puberty-blocking hormones and gender-affirming surgeries for minors. At least 11 other states ban gender-affirming care for minors by law: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah, South Dakota and West Virginia.

Federal judges have blocked enforcement of laws in Alabama and Arkansas, and nearly two dozen states are considering bills this year to restrict or ban care.

When describing how it feels to be a gender-nonconforming person in their home state, Mullins draws many comparisons.

It feels like youre under a microscope.

It feels like were all in a circus.

It almost feels like youre a guinea pig of sorts for people who have no idea what its like to be trans, to be nonbinary, to be gender-nonconforming. They dont see us as people.

Mullins interwove perspectives from three young transgender people in Florida, Texas and Illinois, along with mental health providers, advocates and allies. They sent participants a set list of questions, depending on their role in the documentary, and edited together their recorded answers.

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Topher Malone, a Black transgender high school student in Round Rock, Texas, said participating in the documentary gave her space to be herself.

I could share my story, Malone said. And, you know, those opportunities dont come often, especially for Black trans youth.

Malone spoke at a Texas House committee hearing on Monday about a measure seeking to restrict care. The hearing started around 8 a.m. Malone said she wasnt able to speak until after 11 p.m.

Im a youth. I go to public school. Im supposed to be supported by my government, Malone said, And so, that not being true is just so difficult.

The bills have a measurable impact on the well-being of transgender youth. Half of transgender adults ages 18 through 34 say they have had suicidal thoughts in the past year, and about a quarter said that they have engaged in self-harm, they had an eating disorder and they misused alcohol or drugs, according to a Washington Post-KFF poll of transgender adults in the U.S.

The poll shows nearly 8 in 10 transgender adults overall say living as a gender that is different from the gender they were assigned at birth has made their lives more satisfying.

But the poll also shows transgender adults say they are satisfied with their lives at a lower rate than the U.S. adult population as a whole.

Transgender adults are especially likely to report feeling anxious, depressed or lonely in the past year. About two-thirds say they have faced discrimination because of their gender identity or expression. And 78% say that growing up, they experienced serious mental health problems such as depression or anxiety.

The landscape right now is urgent, said Jonah DeChants, senior research scientist at The Trevor Project.

However, while the numbers are grim, DeChants does not want them to be the sole focus in conversations about transgender youth. He said polls and surveys have also shown that access to adult role models and communities that affirm their identity can play a significant role in lowering suicide risk.

For me especially as a scientist and a former youth worker, its really exciting to see data that firmly shows that being an ally to young people matters, DeChants said.

Florida-based psychologist Dani Rosenkrantz, who also participated in the documentary, sees herself as part of this larger support system for the young transgender and nonbinary people she works with. Despite the challenges she faces operating as an LGBTQ+ therapist in Florida, Rosenkrantz wants to give space for her clients to not only process their grief, but also to find joy in their identities.

Our life isnt just these awful, sad, real statistics that are really important to know about and resist, but its also these beautiful, thriving people. Rosenkrantz said.

Mullins hopes their documentary resonates with transgender people and with the community at large. They see the message of love as universal.

At the end of the day, if you take away these labels and these identities, the whole point of this film is you are loved and you are seen, no matter what experiences you go through, Mullins said.

In Texas, Malone finds her joy in many places: at underground ballroom events, in online communities, and even Monday after the hearing. Malone said there was a rally as they were leaving the state Capitol after midnight, with people shouting, laughing, and dancing.

There was a sense of community, Malone said. There was a sense of trans joy in that moment.
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP)  The daughter of former U.S. intelligence director John Negroponte was sentenced Friday to 35 years in prison in the fatal stabbing of a friend after a drunken argument at a Maryland home, prosecutors announced.

Sophia Negroponte, 30, of Washington, D.C., was convicted in January of second-degree murder in the 2020 death of 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen. Guidelines called for a sentence of 15 to 25 years, but Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence McGann went beyond those guidelines, citing a need for community protection and rehabilitation, and calling her a struggling, anger-filled alcoholic, news outlets reported.

That rage drove Ms. Negroponte to stab her friend in the neck, McGann said.

While nothing can ease the pain caused by this senseless loss of life, we thank Judge McGann for an appropriate prison sentence in this case," Montgomery County States Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement.

Nearly a dozen people, including Rasmussen's mother, Dr. Zeba Rasmussen, gave victim impact statements at Friday's hearing. She remembered her son as charismatic with a huge caring heart for everybody. His father, Steve Rasmussen, called his son a gift, saying family and friends will always wonder what they lost with Rasmussens killing.

All the kind things said about Rasmussen were true, Sophia Negroponte said at the hearing.

He was a very beautiful and loving and caring person.  I am truly sorry, she said.

Sophia Negroponte was one of five abandoned or orphaned Honduran children that John Negroponte and his wife adopted after he was appointed as U.S. ambassador to the Central American country in the 1980s, according to The Washington Post.

Rasmussen and Sophia Negroponte attended the same Washington high school and had been drinking, along with another person, on the night Rasmussen was killed, McCarthy said. They argued twice that night and Rasmussen left. When Rasmussen returned to get his cellphone, Negroponte stabbed him multiple times, one being a death blow that severed his jugular, McCarthy said.

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At trial, defense attorney David Moyse urged jurors to consider that Sophia Negroponte was too intoxicated to form specific intent.

Alcohol pervades this case from the start; it pervades her life, he said, adding, and it is absolutely at the heart of what happened there that night. And its one of the major reasons that this is absolutely not a murder.

Former President George W. Bush appointed John Negroponte as the nations first intelligence director in 2005. He later served as deputy secretary of state. He also served as ambassador to Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations and Iraq.
There arent desks at Angel Oak Nature Academy. There arent metal chairs, pencils or plastic toys, either. When you drive up to the secluded Okatie property, there isnt even a building.

Instead, preschoolers giggle at tent caterpillars on wooden tree stumps, draw the alphabet with sticks in the sand, and pretend that palm husks are sharks and giant squids in battle. The classroom is 15 acres of private, undeveloped, land overlooking the marsh.

One student answered everything, when asked what he likes most about school, not taking his eyes off the binoculars he was using to look for a bald eagle across the water.

Christy Richard opened the academy for preschoolers this school year, in September 2022, and there are four students in her class ages 4 to 6. Theyre outside rain or shine, and school has only been canceled twice this year due to weather.

Weve got rain pants, raincoats. Everythings waterproof. Weve got boots and we go out and the kids love it, she said. Theyre so excited to jump in puddles.

Enrollment for the 2023-24 school year is currently open for the two-day-a-week program, which is $350 per month, and a new one-day-a-week elementary program designed for home schooled children, which will be $200 per month. Both programs are half-day. In the near future, Richard says she hopes to have a program for elementary school students.

Angel Oak Nature Academy is the first forest school  sometimes called nature school or outdoor school  in Beaufort County. While some students thrive in traditional schooling, alternative education works best for others and new methods are expanding in the Lowcountry.

Students gather around a circle of tree stumps for snack time and reading.

Forest school students learn through outdoor exploration, according to Richard, who said the learning method allows for unstructured play. A certification isnt necessary to be considered a forest school. Instead theyre defined as schools that fully adopt nature-based education as the core of their program, according to the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE).

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This is one difference between forest schools, and other schools and daycare programs that incorporate nature with gardens, outdoor classrooms and field trips.

Another is that in forest school, children are able to choose what they want to learn about each day versus being forced to learn about set topics. Often behavior issues arise when students arent interested the lesson, according to Richard, who started her teaching career in a traditional Beaufort County public school classroom.

Its not a problem in forest school, she said.

The kids are able to go and find what theyre interested in  mushrooms or a lizard, said Richard, who is a Master Naturalist. Im not stopping them from that. Instead, Im coming alongside with my knowledge to talk to them about it and to compare and contrast different things.

Since forest schools just recently started gaining traction in the United States, there arent any specific regulations, according to Richard, and each teacher is able to make the school curriculum their own.

An Angel Oak Nature Academy student looks through binoculars for a bald eagle.

In 2020, there were nine such forest schools in South Carolina including in Charleston and Columbia, according to the most recent NAAEE report. Most are preschool and a few are kindergarten and lower elementary school. Almost all of them are half-day, like Angel Oak Nature Academy, and grades above preschool are geared more toward home-schooled children.

In the U.S., forest schools have more than doubled since 2017 to 585 in 2020, according to the association. The schools are not accredited in the traditional sense, but the NAAEE does inspect the programs before accepting them. They are not certified by the state.

South Carolina child care programs are required to be licensed and regulated to meet state health and safety requirements unless they are legally exempt. The academy is legally exempt because its less than four hours a day and therefore has no formal state oversight.

Currently, Richard is the only employee, but said she will hire a certified teacher, like herself, for every four children if the academy keeps growing.

Parents are really waking up to the fact that something needs to change for their kids, said Richard, who grew up on Hilton Head. We already have a couple of potential students for next year.

Some parents choose the academy for the same reason their family moved to the area in the first place: to slow down and put less pressure on their children.

Theres so much pressure (where we use to live) and we wondered how the boys would do if we just got away from that, said parent Kati White, who use to live near Washington, D.C., in Virginia. It was within the first month we just saw the pressure go off of them.

Christy Richard teaches two students about the Fiddler crabs that live in South Carolina.

Class with crabs and caterpillars

Typical class activities at Angel Oak Nature Academy include collecting flowers to talk about pollinators or investigating pumpkins the class left outside in the fall to understand decomposition.

Richard started teaching about 17 years ago in Beaufort County public schools, then moved to Cross Schools in 2018 where she designed, created and taught an environmental learning class. There, she said she first discovered the benefits it brings, especially to our younger children.

Angel Oak Nature Academy students practice letters in the sand.

In my opinion what were getting wrong in preschools is that weve taken away unstructured or extended amounts of time of unstructured play, Richard said. This is when so many critical developments should be happening for the kids.

White saw the impact on her son almost immediately after joining.

Since we started this program hell play on his own so much more, she said. (At the program) hes not being stimulated with screens or excess noise or anything like that so I found that when he got home, he doesnt need any of those things, either. Hes just happy to be in his own space, with his own thoughts, and I am so grateful.

Richard became the lower school principal at Cross Schools, then left to start Angel Oak Nature Academy.

Play that isnt directed by adults allows children to discover what theyre interested in, and forces them to exercise their creativity, Richard said, like making mud stew in a pot out of different natural ingredients.

If they want to climb a tree, theyre climbing a tree, Richard said. If they want to pretend theyre fishing, they go ahead and do that.

What about naps? Its rare that the students get tired or need to use the restroom during the academys half-day, but if they do theyre able to listen to their bodies, she said.

Their bodies move when their bodies want to move, she said. If their body needs to rest, theyll sit on a log or swing in a hammock.

If students need to use the restroom, they can relieve themselves in a portable kids potty in privacy. Its something called self-regulating, where students learn to manage their thoughts and behaviors, Richard said.

Christy Richard founded Angel Oak Nature Academy this year.

They listen to their bodies, and theyre able to act on that, which is not what theyre able to do in a traditional classroom, she said.

For now, water comes in bottles. Lunch boxes are stored in a waterproof bin.

The long-term goal is to for me to buy property, develop it, and have a lodge with bathrooms and running water, Richard said.

Safety is Richards biggest responsibility. In the morning, she does a loop of the property with her Jeep to scare off any snakes, and since the beginning of the year the class has only seen one, which was non-venomous. Anytime theyre in or near the water she watches and monitors the grass both before and during their play for potential dangers, like alligators.

They have to be able to hear directions and and respond to that, said Richard, who is also first-aid certified should anything happen.And 911 is a phone call away.

One child turned on a dime when Richard asked him to stop running across the field and come back. She said forest school fosters positive behavior partially because students relax outdoors and are able to get their energy out.

Richard is able to teach students about the environment, and asks them questions throughout their exploration like Can you tell if that caterpillar is poisonous or not? and How do we determine whether that fiddler crab is a boy or a girl?

The students answers: Not poisonous, because it doesnt have red and by the claw!

Theyre just playing, but the stuff they come away with is pretty awesome, White said.

Two Angel Oak Nature Academy students play in the sand.

Its OK to fall in the water

It also teaches kids to navigate risk with real consequences, Richard said. Last week, a student fell in the water.

I told him, Hey, if you take the risk of going out on this part of the tree, you could fall in the water, that would be very cold, Richard said.

The student decided to take the risk, and took a polar plunge, too.

You need a group of parents that are OK with kids taking risks, having challenges and having confrontations to build their social skills, Richard said. He might fall and get a scratch on his knee, or he might come home with a tick.

These are conversations that Richard has with parents during the enrollment process, which includes multiple meetings and a trial, where the potential students spend a day with the group. Whites older son did a trial day, but didnt like it. It was too much mud for him, White said.

Parents sign a liability waiver, like they would at any program where theyre out in nature, according to Richard.

The classroom is 15 acres of private, undeveloped, land overlooking the marsh.

(Its for) the child who loves being outside and loves learning and exploring, parent Ian Burns said.

Richard said Angel Oak Nature Academy is what she wants to do for the rest of her teaching career.

I can see this program really developing into something incredible, she said.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg; Donald Trump Seth Wenig, File/Associated Press; Andrew Harnik/Associated Press

Donald Trump became the first former president to be indicted on Thursday.

A former prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney's office said the office better win its case against Trump.

He told Insider the "credibility and reputation" of the entire office was at stake.

A former prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney's office  the same office that has been investigating Donald Trump's alleged role in a hush-money payment to a porn star  said the office "damn well better win" its case against the former president following his historic indictment on Thursday.

Mark Bederow, a high-profile criminal defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor, told Insider the whole DA office's reputation depends on it.

"As an alumnus of that office, I hope for their sake that they have the goods, because the credibility and reputation of the institution of the Manhattan DA's Office is at stake when you indict the former President and current presidential candidate in connection with paying off a stripper threatening to expose a sexual dalliance," Bederow said.

Trump was indicted by a grand jury after an investigation into a payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of his 2016 campaign. A $130,000 payment was sent to Daniels by Trump's then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, who has said Trump directed it. Trump has denied directing the payment or having an affair with Daniels.

Trump, who is running for president in the 2024 election, quickly denounced the indictment in a statement on Thursday, saying calling it "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history."

Bederow said that if the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg does not win in court, the indictment will be viewed as "nothing more than a political hit" and that the office's credibility would be "severely damaged."

"It is an office that is famous for ignoring politics in pursuing justice. All of that will be lost if this crashes and burns," he said.

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Bederow added that the Manhattan district attorney's office has "immersed itself in a presidential election" by bringing charges against a former president, something that has never happened in US history.

"Their key witness is a pervasive liar and obsessed with public attention," he said of Cohen. "They damn well better win."

It's unclear what crime Trump has been charged with, but experts and defense lawyers previously predicted he would likely be charged with falsifying business records in the first degree.

Bederow previously told Insider that a case against Trump based solely on the hush-money payments was "likely to fail."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan "fully supports" efforts by law enforcement to track down his fugitive former Chief of Staff Roy McGrath, his spokesman tells Fox News Digital.

McGrath remains on the run Friday after failing to appear at his criminal trial in Baltimore on March 13. The FBI has raided his home in Florida.

The 53-year-old is facing an eight-count federal indictment. Charges include wire fraud, which includes securing a $233,648 severance payment equal to one year of salary as the head of the Maryland Environmental Service. McGrath also faces fraud and embezzlement charges connected to roughly $170,000 in expenses.

"Governor Hogan fully supports local, state and federal law enforcement efforts to resolve this situation," his spokesman told Fox News Digital.

FBI, US MARSHALS OFFERING $20K REWARD IN MANHUNT FOR FORMER MARYLAND GOV. LARRY HOGAN CHIEF OF STAFF

Roy McGrath, left, previously was former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's chief of staff.

The spokesman added that Hogan was preparing to testify against McGrath at the trial, on behalf of the prosecution.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

McGrath has pleaded not guilty to the charges, but his whereabouts remain unknown.

"A federal arrest warrant was issued by the United States District Court, District of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, on March 13, 2023, after he was charged with Failure to Appear," the FBI has said.

According to federal and state prosecutors, McGrath personally enriched himself by taking advantage of his positions of trust as the environmental agencys director and Hogans top aide. He got the agencys board to approve paying him the severance payment upon his departure as executive director by falsely telling them the governor had already approved the payment, prosecutors say.

McGrath resigned from his role within Hogan's office a few months after the six-figure payment was reported.

MARYLAND GOV. HOGANS EX-CHIEF OF STAFF WANTED BY US MARSHALS

A wanted poster for Roy McGrath, the former chief of staff to former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, was published on Tuesday, March 14 after he failed to appear in court on federal corruption charges.

Joseph Murtha, McGraths attorney, previously told The Associated Press that FBI agents in Florida were likely looking for anything to indicate McGraths current whereabouts during the March 15 raid.

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An FBI spokesperson told the outlet that agents "conducted court authorized activity at that residence," but declined to elaborate.

Murtha said he had no reason to believe his client would skip out on court. He said they had a substantive conversation about the case on March 12. McGrath was supposed to board a plane later that night, his attorney said.

"I havent a clue. I didnt see this coming," he said. "This behavior is so out of the ordinary for him. Obviously his personal safety is a concern."

In a wanted poster from the FBI, investigators say McGrath has ties to Naples, Florida, and "should be considered an escape risk."

His aliases include Roy Baisliadou, Roy Mak-Grath and RC Mak-Grath, according to the FBI.

McGrath, who was born in Greece, is described as being around 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, with brown hair.

Fox News Kyle Morris and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A former Massachusetts police officer, who earned as much as $187,000 per year, lied on rental applications to obtain leases on three apartments and then intentionally withheld rent payments, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Robert Kennedy, 53, a former detective sergeant for the Stoneham Police Department, faces a charge of wire fraud, according to a statement from the U.S. attorneys office in Boston.

Kennedy resigned from the department on Feb. 23 following notice of an internal investigation into a history of civil claims against him, Town Administrator Dennis Sheehan and police Chief James McIntyre said in a joint statement. He had worked for the department since 2001.

An email message seeking comment was left with Kennedys attorney.

Kennedy is a serial debt fraudster who has a trail of bad debts, collections, and unpaid judgments, according to an FBI affidavit in the case.

He has been the subject of at least six small claims actions, the FBI said.

Kennedy defrauded his last three landlords by providing false and misleading information on his rental applications and did not pay rent to take advantage of the slow eviction process, according to court documents.

To get his most recent apartment and skirt a credit check and eviction history check, Kennedy allegedly provided the date of birth and Social Security number of a relative who shared his first and last name, prosecutors said.

The lease was approved, but he gave the landlord bad checks for his rent and security deposit and failed to make subsequent rent payments, allowing him to live in the apartment rent-free for approximately four months, prosecutors said. He owes that landlord about $14,000, authorities said.

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

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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Demonstrators unveil a banner outside Manhattan's district attorney office, supporting a grand jury vote to indict former President Donald Trump, Thursday March 30, 2023, in New York. A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter, his lawyers said Thursday, producing the first criminal case against a former U.S. president and a jolt to Trumps bid to retake the White House.(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) (Bebeto Matthews/AP)

Whats Quickly? Its where readers sound off on the issues of the day. Have a quote, question or quip? Call Quickly at 312-222-2426 or email quickly@post-trib.com.

How many children must be shot in their homes by other children before we take action to get less not more guns into peoples hands? Our geniuses downstate keep pushing for more not less guns. It couldnt possibly be because of money in the form of political donations could it?

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Its unbelievable, and an embarrassment to the people of Indiana, to see Mike Pence groveling in defense of the man who wanted to see him hanged. The indictment is an outrage, he says. Has there ever been a more egregious example of simpering cowardice? Its just painful to see someone debase themselves to such a degree, and it reflects badly on the rest of us from the state he once served as Governor.

Sorrowful, yet somewhat amusing, the way twice convicted felon ex-mayor James Snyder is now grasping at straws, trying to use the old he said, she said routine to keep from serving his time. Sure is pitiful to see a narcissist crumble, and the extremes theyll go to to try and justify their actions in their own minds. Bet the cult of Fairhaven is proud of their boy now!

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A big thank-you to Alvin Bragg for indicting Donald Trump. You have just guaranteed that he will be elected President in the 2024 election.

How funny is it that Indictment Day happened before Infrastructure Week?

All were hearing from hypocritical law and order Republicans is how outrageous it is that Trump should be indicted for such a petty crime. This is just the first shoe. When other shoes drop and Trump is indicted, as he will be, for incitement of insurrection and theft of classified government documents, will those crimes also be considered petty?

Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

Meanwhile over at Fox  you know them, the proven liars in court by their emails and texts in the Dominion lawsuit  are whining about how the New York DA shouldnt have indicted Trump. He didnt. Twelve members of the grand jury did by viewing the evidence and voted to move forward with criminal trial. Its called the rule of law.

America and the rule of law wins!

Can you believe what former VP Mike Pence said about former President Trumps indictment? Pence said he felt it was an outrage, a political prosecution and a two-tiered justice system. Pence is saying this and he doesnt even know what the specific evidence and charges might be. Remember this is an individual who is trying his half-witted best to defend a man who all but destroyed his political future. If Pence has intentions of trying to gain the Republican nomination for the presidency, he shouldnt waste his time. I suspect he would lose his home state  Indiana. Pence, I believe, would only receive four votes  his wifes, two kids and his own!

Thursday was quite a day of heart warming moments. The White Sox won their first game against the defending champs. Trump was finally indicted causing a tremendous amount of angst amongst his gullible base. And Gen Z came out in force in the Tennessee Capitol to let the GOP know what they think of them. Definitely a great day!

A witch hunt is based on finding guilt based on lies and fear. What we have today is based on proof and therefore the term does not apply. I guess it makes for a great sound byte?

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The Republican party has become known as the party of words only. They have worn out words or acronyms, such as MAGA, radical, political, witchhunt, woke, and more recently DeSanctimonius. Just when you think the Republican party might pivot to becoming real legislators, they come up with another word. The latest is weaponization. Stay tuned for their next profound single element of speech!

Read more at www.post-trib.com/opinion.
Former South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was reportedly denied parole Friday.

Pistorius, who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013, was eligible for parole after serving half of his 13-year sentence. An attorney for Steenkamp's family, Tania Koen, told reporters Friday that Pistorius' parole was denied and that he will be able to reapply for parole in 2024. Koen said they did not know the reason for the denial, according to Sky News.

Pistorius, a double-amputee nicknamed "Blade Runner" who drew fame for his Olympic and Paralympic appearances, shot Steenkamp multiple times through a bathroom door in his home.

A model and law school graduate, Steenkamp was 29 years old.

Pistorius, now 36, claimed he shot her with his licensed pistol by mistake, thinking she was a threatening intruder.

He was initially convicted of manslaughter in 2014 and sentenced to five years in prison at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria. A year later, the conviction was overturned by a higher court and amended to murder, which increased his sentence to six years.

In 2017, the prosecution successfully appealed the amended sentence and it was increased to 13 years and five months. According to South Africa's news24, that sentence was amended last month to account for time served.

Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius could be released from South African prison. (REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/Files)

Pistorius was last up for parole in 2021, but his request was denied. Pistorius needed to have met with Steenkamps' family, as South Africa incorporates the concept of "restorative justice" in its legal system.

Reeva's parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, have since met with Pistorius and do not fully support his release.

"Only Oscar knows the true story," Barry Steenkamp told GMB last month. "All June and I wanted to know was the truth, what we feel was the truth: that he actually killed her because of anger."
Former US Sen. John Edwards exits the federal court May 31, 2012 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images) Sara D. Davis/Getty Images

Former presidential candidate John Edwards was charged with campaign finance violations in 2011.

The DOJ accused Edwards of funneling nearly $1 million in donations to his pregnant mistress.

Edwards was acquitted of one campaign finance violation charge and the others were dropped.

Legal experts are debating what the outcome of a trial might be after a Manhattan grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump on Thursday, likely over a hush-money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Those experts don't have to look far to find precedent: The last time a grand jury criminally charged a presidential candidate for payments made to a mistress, John Edwards faced up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. That was in 2011.

Edwards was John Kerry's vice presidential running mate in 2004 in the pair's losing race against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney prior to launching his own presidential campaign in 2008.

The felony charges the former North Carolina Senator faced in 2011  one count of conspiracy to violate federal campaign finance laws and lie to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), four counts of accepting and receiving illegal campaign contributions, and one count of concealing those illegal donations from the FEC  stemmed from his own 2008 campaign. Each carried a maximum five-year term in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"Mr. Edwards is alleged to have accepted more than $900,000 in an effort to conceal from the public facts that he believed would harm his candidacy," Assistant Attorney General Breuer said in a June 2011 Department of Justice statement regarding the indictment.

A yearlong investigation and trial alleged that Edwards conspired with his campaign staff to hide that in 2007 the candidate had fathered a daughter with his mistress, all while his wife battled breast cancer.

Edwards later admitted to the affair, that he was the father of the girl, and was financially supporting the pair. His wife, Elizabeth, filed for separation after Edwards admitted the child was his, but died of her illness before the criminal charges were brought.

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In the case against him, DOJ officials argued Edwards orchestrated a series of illegal donations to provide hush-money payments to his mistress, then conspired with his staff to lie about the affair and cover up the illegal donations with check memos like "chairs," "antique table," and "bookcase."

Legal experts regarded the case as shaky because the charges were not based on a specific federal statute, but an advisory FEC opinion that argued gifts made to political candidates should be considered campaign contributions, CNN and the Washington Post reported at the time.

After nine days of deliberations, a jury acquitted Edwards of one charge of accepting an illegal donation, ABC News reported, but was hopelessly deadlocked on the other five counts, resulting in a mistrial. The Department of Justice chose not to re-try Edwards, Politico reported in 2012.

"It's not illegal to be a pig," Brett Kappel, a Washington campaign finance expert, told the Washington Post at the time. "Is what Edwards did slimy? Absolutely. Everyone will agree it was reprehensible. But it's not a crime."

Edwards didn't respond to Insider's request for comment, which was sent to his law firm.

Trump, meanwhile, is expected to turn himself in to the Manhattan district attorney next week.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect recent developments.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Oleksandr Yakymenko organizes mass repressions in the occupied part of Kherson region, he is now wanted

Read also: Russian civil aviation agency helps transport troops to fight in Ukraine, SBU says

Since 2014, the former official has been hiding in Russia, and at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he helped the invaders in the war against Ukraine, the message says.

In particular, he was appointed head of state security service in Kherson Oblast established by the aggressor (Russia). In this position, he helps Moscow to spread (the influence of) the Kremlin regime and suppress (Ukrainian) resistance in the region.

The SBU claims that Yakymenko is responsible for organizing mass persecution, abduction, and torture of Kherson residents. Illegally detained Ukrainian citizens are starved, shocked with electric current, and forced to endure mock executions by firing squad.

Read also: Two men injured, one loses both legs, after tripping Russian mine in Kherson Oblast

This way, they are trying to beat out a confession out of you, that you assist (Ukrianes) Defense Forces, and after that they offer you an amnesty for money, the message reads.

The SBU further alleges that Yakymenko personally recruited eight people who are directly involved in torture of civilians.

Read also: Russia scouring Kherson Oblast for Ukrainian veterans and their families

On March 20, Ukrainian intelligence reported that Russian collaborator Serhiy Moskalenko, who ran torture chambers in Kherson Oblast, was eliminated.

Read also: Ukraines SBU special forces destroy Russian Tor missile system with suicide drone  video

Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubynets earlier said that law enforcement discovered two torture chambers in liberated Kherson City, where Russian occupation authorities held dozens of people.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A former Stoneham detective has been arrested for allegedly providing false information in rental applications to fraudulently obtain three separate apartment leases for which he intentionally withheld rent payments.

According to the DOJ, Robert Kennedy, 53, of Stoneham, was charged with one count of wire fraud. Documents show that Kennedy provided false and misleading information in his rental applications to landlords to obtain the respective apartment leases.

After his applications were approved and he moved in, the DOJ says that Kennedy would intentionally withhold rent payments, despite making a six-figure salary from the Stoneham Police Department. Kennedy lived in the apartments rent-free by allegedly taking advantage of the slow eviction process.

Documents say that most recently Kennedys landlord asked him to submit a tenant screening service, which included a credit check and eviction history check. Instead of providing his information, Kennedy allegedly provided the date of birth and social security number of a relative who shared his first and last name.

The landlord relied on the information from the fraudulently obtained tenant screening report to approve Kennedys rental application and give Kennedy a lease for the apartment, the DOJ says. It is further alleged that Kennedy immediately and intentionally violated the terms of the lease by giving the landlord bad checks for his rent and security deposit and failing to make subsequent rent payments. "

Kennedy lived in the last apartment for four months without making rent payments and owes the landlord $14,000 in overdue rent.

In a statement, Stoneham Town Administrator Dennis Sheehan and Police Chief James McIntyre said Kennedy resigned from the police department on February 23 following notice of an internal investigation into a civil claims against him.

The Town of Stoneham is grateful to the U.S. Attorneys Office in Boston and to the FBI for their diligent work on this matter, Sheehan said. The Town and the Stoneham Police Department will continue to cooperate with their investigation as the case progresses.

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Stoneham Police also say they have referred the matters to the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, as they are relevant to Kennedys eligibility for recertification to work as a law enforcement officer.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Kennedy will appear in federal court in Boston today.

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

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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Staff Sgt. Caleb Gore was, and remains, a beacon of light, according to his father.

Gore, 25, died along with eight other soldiers Wednesday when two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the 101st Airborne Division crashed.

Related story: 9 Black Hawk victims identified after Wednesday crash near Fort Campbell

Gores service for the United States, including the training the soldiers were undertaking during the crash in Trigg County, Kentucky, was a driving force in his life.

Caleb Gore, right, with father Tim Gore.

Remembering Caleb Gore, soldier and soon-to-be father from North Carolina

Tim Gore, of Fremont, North Carolina, said his sons life should renew belief in a unified country  and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Caleb personified what is good about our nation and why we must still hope in what he (they) died for, Gore wrote in a testimony. He was the light of my world and I have no words to express my grief right now.

Caleb Gore was married to his high school sweetheart Haleigh, who is three months pregnant with a boy, according to his father.

Gore was an Airborne medic and was working toward becoming a registered nurse.

Tim Gore, who lives about 60 miles east of Raleigh, N.C., in 1,200-person Fremont, is pastor at Fremont Missionary Baptist Church. Hes posted on social media and talked with various media outlets so his son may be honored for his service and the life he lived.

"God is on the Throne and just as Im holding my baby boy on my arms (in a posted photo), I am absolutely convinced he now is in the arms of my King, wrote Tim Gore. I will see you again my son.

Tim Gore also shared a social media message he received from a friend of Caleb's: "He was one of the best people Ive ever worked with/met, would always put a smile on your face when you were feeling down. Went out of his way to help anyone in need. I will miss him greatly. My prayers are with your family. Us service members lost a brother but he will always be remembered in our hearts!"

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All nine service members aboard the helicopters were killed during a "multi-ship" exercise using night vision goggles, Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander, said at a news conference Thursday. Five people were in one helicopter and four were in the other, he said.

"This is truly a tragic loss for our families, our division, and Fort Campbell," Lubas said.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Black Hawk helicopter crash: Family identifies soldier killed
A 36-year-old Fort Worth man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the October 2018 killing of JaLyn Johnson, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorneys Office announced Thursday.

William Robert Edwards and two other men  Dalvin Poole and Douglas Sims  were arrested on charges related to the killing of Johnson, who was 18.

Johnson was shot in the neck on Oct. 4, 2018, in a robbery in the 5000 block of South Drive, near Hulen Mall in Fort Worth. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Edwards and Sims ran to Hulen Mall, where they tried to disguise themselves by changing clothes and were taken into custody near the food court, police have said. Poole was arrested three months later.

Tarrant County court records show that a charge of capital murder is still pending against Sims, 29. Sims remains in jail with bond set at $100,000. The state waived the death penalty in his case.

Poole, 28, was indicted on a charge of aggravated robbery and is awaiting trial. Hes in jail after violating conditions of his bond, according to court records.
Donald Trump Holds First Rally Of 2024 Presidential Campaign

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas. Credit - Brandon Bell/Getty Images

On Thursday, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict the 45th U.S. President Donald Trump, making him the first former President to face criminal charges.

The indictment, which has not yet been made public, is expected to be about his role in a hush money payment to Stephanie Cliffords, known as Stormy Daniels in her career as a porn star, during the 2016 presidential campaign. She says they had an affair; Trump denies that, as well as claiming hes innocent of any criminal wrongdoing.

During this unprecedented moment in U.S. history, TIME called up several presidential historians to ask what the nations Founders might have thought about charging an ex-President with a crime.

The scholars agree that while the Founders probably would not have predicted the salacious underlying issue of this indictment, they took great pains to create a system of government that would hold bad actors accountable and prevent them from getting elected President.

Read More: Donald Trump Is the First President Ever Criminally Charged. Others Have Come Close Though

For Jack Pitney, Professor of Politics at Claremont McKenna College, Federalist Paper #51 comes to mind. The Framers of the Constitution wrote these pamphlets to explain the document to the public, and in #51, James Madison outlines the system of checks and balancesthe measures that hold public officials accountable to the law and make sure one branch of government doesnt become all powerful. The Foundersdidnt anticipate that a president would commit this particular crime, but they were very much aware that bad people could ascend to high office, and thats why they built an elaborate system of checks and balances between the branches at the federal level, says Pitney. I think if James Madison were to come back today, he would probably be shocked at the underlying activity of Trump, but not at all surprised that a local prosecutor would go after him for falsifying business records.

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Madisons Federalist Paper #51 was also top of mind for Barbara A. Perry, Director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginias Miller Center, specifically the famous line: If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

In order to protect the governed from each other, and protect the governed from the governors, you have to establish both a constitutional system with checks and balances, as well as a legal system as one of the three branches, Perry says. What Id like to think would happen, by asserting the laws of the state of New York, people would one, recognize that even a President or a former President is not above the law, or two, that the system is worth keeping and preserving and not have a person who takes a constitutional oath to uphold the system actively trying to undermine it.

Read More: Trumps Indictment Drama Showcased His Rivals Weakness

There are also political implications to Trumps indictment, as hes currently a candidate for President again in 2024. While legal experts say he could still get elected under these circumstances, historians say the Founders were universally concerned about demagogues, and that was one of the reasons they created the Electoral College. [Trump] is yet again demonstrating that he lacks the essential virtue that the Founders thought was necessary in the President, which was the virtue of virtuewhich they defined as someone who was willing to put the publics good ahead of their own, says Jeffrey A. Engel, Founding Director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University.

But the Founders also believed Presidents return to being average citizens when they left the White House, says Lindsay M. Chervinsky, author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution. They would have been 100% supportive of a former President being indicted if the evidence was clear, says Chervinsky. The concept that a former President is above the law would have horrified them. That legal status applies to monarchs, not Presidents in a republic.
Visitors to Jersey Zoo can now visit one of the largest tortoise species in the world.

Giant Aldabra tortoises Biggie, Twiggy, Mike and Helen have emerged from quarantine after arriving from Bristol Zoo in November.

Home is a special "tortoise tunnel", kept at 30C and complete with indoor and outdoor areas, and a heated pond.

Weighing in at 200kg (31st), Biggie is the zoo's heaviest animal, taking the crown from silverback gorilla Badongo.

Aldabra giant tortoises, together with their distantly related cousins the Galapagos giant tortoise, are the largest species of the reptiles in the world.

Twiggy, one of the two females, has lived at the zoo before, having been brought over by naturalist Gerald Durrell, remaining for a decade between 1965 and 1975.

She was later moved to Bristol Zoo.

Matt Goetz, Curator of herpetology and invertebrates said they were "really excited" about the arrivals.

He added: "Not only are they fascinating to look at and learn about, but they also play an important role in our conservation work around the world.

"We have been working with Aldabra tortoises for many years in our island restoration programme around Mauritius."

Aldabra giant tortoises can live for more than 150 years, with some shells reaching over 1 metre (3.2ft) in length.

Once found across the Seychelles, the Aldabras were once hunted for food until they became restricted to only the Aldabra atoll.

They have recently been reintroduced to a few of the smaller islands in the Seychelles to help restore ecosystems.

The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has been working with Aldabra tortoises for more than 20 years and introduced them to Ile aux Aigrettes and Round Island, two islands in Mauritius, the zoo said.

There are now more than 800 Aldabra giant tortoises free roaming on Round Island, due to the work of Durrell and their local partners.

Follow BBC Jersey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.
A fourth suspect has been charged in the slaying of an Athens man on March 5 outside a house in Five Points where a party was being hosted.

Athens-Clarke police said 16-year-old XZydric Faust of Athens was arrested Wednesday in Pinellas County, Fla., on a murder warrant.

Faust remained in Florida on Friday, but police Lt. Shaun Barnett said that at some point he will be returned to Athens. He declined to say how detectives located Faust in Florida.

Oconee Blotter: Woman tries to give scammers money, but can't figure out how

Solved: UGA police ID mother who allegedly killed baby 27 years ago inside UGA dormitory

But at the time of the slaying of JaVanni McDavid, 24, of Athens, police say Faust was in a car with three others. Those also charged with murder were identified as Jaen Makale Appling, 20, and Anthony Quinn Brown, 19, both of Magnolia Avenue, Athens; and Glendarius Jamius Tate, 20, of MLK Parkway, Athens.

Barnett said a motive for the late night shooting has not been determined, but gang activity has not been ruled out.

McDavid was killed in a hail of gunfire that occurred outside a house on the100 block of Northview Drive in the Five Points neighborhood of Athens. Police were alerted to the shooting by residents who heard the gunfire.

A security camera in the area captured shots fired from the vehicle, which sped away from the scene.

Barnett said detectives believe more than one person was shooting from the car, but it is undetermined who fired the fatal shots at McDavid.

Barnett could not say if police are looking for any other suspects, who may have been in the Honda car, which was found on Magnolia Street and impounded.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Police track Athens teen to Florida and arrest him on murder charge
Just before news broke Thursday that Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, Fox Business host Larry Kudlow said the district attorney in the case cannot indict a ham sandwich.

Left-wing prosecutor Alvin Bragg in New York, it kind of looks like he cant, he cannot indict a ham sandwich, hes just unable to indict, Kudlow, Trumps former White House economic adviser, said.

It looks like Trump will not be indicted, he added.

In legal circles, theres a saying that prosecutors have so much influence on grand juries they could get them to indict a ham sandwich.

Kudlow then turned to his guest, Washington Times opinion editor Charlie Hurt, who agreed it does look like that but said he was certain Trump would be indicted for something as he attacked the U.S. justice system for perceived bias against the former president.

As Mediaite observed, Kudlows comments came less than an hour before The New York Times reported that the grand jury had voted to indict Trump for his role in a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. The payment to Daniels, made shortly before the 2016 election, was offered in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair they had a decade earlier.

After initially sharing on his social media platform that he expected to be arrested in the case on March 21 and then spending days railing against the investigation, Trump last week declared prosecutors had probably already dropped the case because they have absolutely nothing.

Trump is now the first U.S. president in history to be criminally charged. He is expected to turn himself in to Manhattan authorities next week, his attorney Joe Tacopina told NBC News.

Related...
The Illinois Attorney General is investigating the Village of Skokie for an alleged violation of the Open Meetings Act.

Its the latest installment in a wide-ranging back-and-forth between Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen and Village Trustee James Johnson, the only member of the Village Board who is not a member of the Skokie Caucus Party thats dominated village politics for half a century.

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Last month, the Attorney Generals Public Access Counselor, which enforces rules around citizen access to government meetings and records, ordered the village Ethics Commission to re-hear a complaint Johnson made against Van Dusen and village attorney Michael Lorge after the commission did not hear the complaint in open session. The commission rejected the complaint both times.

Van Dusen said he wasnt able to give complete comments on the matter until the Attorney Generals office had done its work, but said the board acted completely within the prescribed law during the trio of meetings that are the subject of the investigation.

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A series of letters obtained by Pioneer Press show that Van Dusen accused Johnson of violating the Open Meetings Act. Johnson countered that accusation by stating he had repeatedly requested that the village discuss the topics of the meetings in public forums.

The Open Meetings Act lays out certain requirements for government bodies to follow when they set meetings, to ensure that members of the public are informed of the meeting and have the option to attend. They must, for example, post agendas 48 hours in advance of a meeting. The act also contains some exceptions, including that government bodies may close meetings to discuss personnel matters or real estate transactions.

A Feb. 16 request to the Attorney Generals Public Access Counselor by Chicago resident Edgar Pal argued that the Skokie village board violated the Open Meetings Act on three occasions to discuss its appointment processes out of public view.

Pal argued that the appointment procedure writ large, as opposed to a specific persons appointment or review, did not fall under one of the nine exceptions to the Open Meetings Act.

A Feb. 24 letter from Public Access Counselor Attorney Teresa Lim informed Mayor George Van Dusen that her office would be investigating and requested a written response from the board or its legal representative.

In a March 7 response, Van Dusen said that the first two dates Pals complaint cited were routine instances of discussing collective bargaining issues and annual performance reviews.

At my request, the Village Manager requested an executive session pursuant to Section 2 c(1) and c(2) of the OMA, Van Dusen wrote. These sections allow a board to go into closed session to discuss the compensation of employees as well as discuss collective negotiating matters.

On the final date of Jan. 17, Van Dusen said the Village Board had held a closed session to do a performance review of village attorney Michael Lorge and discuss his salary.

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Van Dusens reply went on to allege that Johnson repeatedly and abusively engaged in violations of the Open Meetings Act.

Van Dusen, speaking to Pioneer Press, said Johnson had questioned Lorge in closed session about political matters.

When [Lorge] finished his review, he explained what he had done the previous year, and what he was doing the next year, Van Dusen said. Trustee Johnson then launched into a series of questions, questions that were of a political nature, not a supervisory nature.

In his own letter to Lim, Johnson said he found Mayor Van Dusens response to be misleading and inaccurate on the grounds that he was the only member of the Village Board who (repeatedly) asked that we have this policy conversation publicly and not privately.

Johnson later told Pioneer Press he believes Van Dusen is trying to prevent a discussion about the village legal department in an open forum.

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Johnson also attached a handout given to the Village Board members that detailed different municipalities processes for hiring and compensating their attorneys. He argued that the handout was proof that the village board strayed from one of the nine exceptions to the Open Meetings Act.

Van Dusen acknowledged the same chart and said he had asked Village Manager John Lockerby to put it together in response to another board members question about how municipalities approach legal assistance.

I distributed the chart and simply said this was in response to a trustees question, Van Dusen said. Then we moved on.

Audio recordings of the closed sessions are not publicly available.
Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum call the presidential election for Biden. (Fox News)

A Delaware judge denied Fox News' motion to dismiss Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6-billion defamation suit against the network on Friday, sending the case to trial.

A jury will be asked to determine whether the network committed actual malice when it presented false voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election.

The ruling by Judge Eric Davis granted Dominion's contention that Fox News published false information about the voting machine company in the weeks after the election, when outgoing President Donald Trump and his allies spread allegations of fraud.

"The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true," Davis wrote in his order.

In the wake of the election, Trump's attorneys repeatedly said Dominion manipulated votes to swing the race to President Joe Biden and made other false statements about the company's ownership.

Davis did not grant summary judgment to Dominion on the company's claims that Fox News acted with malice when it presented the falsehoods, an issue that now will be weighed at trial. The jury also will decide if Dominion is entitled to any damages.

"The parties have generated a record that shows disputed material facts," Davis wrote.

The jury trial in Delaware is expected to begin April 17, in what is likely to be a media spectacle, unless the two sides reach a settlement.

Executives and high-profile Fox News anchors, who have already given explosive deposition testimony, could be called to the witness stand to discuss their actions in public, under oath.

"We are gratified by the Court's thorough ruling soundly rejecting all of Fox's arguments and defenses, and finding as a matter of law that their statements about Dominion are false," a Dominion representative said. "We look forward to going to trial."

A Fox News representative said, This case is and always has been about the 1st Amendment protections of the medias absolute right to cover the news. Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings.

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Fox News has argued that the allegations presented on the network by Trump and his attorneys were newsworthy  even if untrue  and that the networks reporting was protected by the 1st Amendment.

A Dominion representative said the Davis ruling "has rejected Fox's 1st Amendment 'newsworthy allegation' defense and held that Dominion's lawsuit is consistent with the 1st Amendment."

Fox News also cited neutral reportage privilege, which protects media organizations against libel claims if they accurately and objectively report newsworthy charges made against public figures as part of an ongoing controversy.

Davis rejected that defense, saying it fails to shield Fox News from liability.

Dominions legal team countered that Fox News has gone far beyond that realm because it presented the voter fraud claims and Dominions alleged involvement well after the allegations of fraud were dismissed by government agencies, producers and journalists inside the network.

Davis ruled "the record is clear" that Fox News aired the statements and that in defamation claims, All who take part in the procurement, composition and publication of a libel are responsible in law and equally so.

Fox News has argued that much of the evidence and deposition testimony that has come out in court filings has been "cherry picked" by Dominion lawyers and taken out of context.

But even with the context provided, Davis rejected every assertion by Fox News that comments made on air about Dominion  such as former Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs describing the 2020 election as a "cyber Pearl Harbor"  were opinions and that no reasonable viewer would accept them as facts.

Davis also noted that the Fox News hosts' reactions to some of the false assertions made by Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani created the perception that they were factual.

"While (anchor Maria Bartiromo) poses some of the statements as hypothetical questions to Mr. Giuliani or Ms. Powell, such as '[a]re you saying the states that use that software did that?' Ms. Bartiromo accepts the explanations offered by Ms. Powell and Mr. Giuliani as facts by making affirmative follow-up statements like 'Right.' or 'Wow. This is explosive,'" Davis wrote.

Davis came to the same conclusion when MyPillow owner Mike Lindell appeared on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Jan. 26, 2021. The booking was aimed at placating the well-known 2020 election denier, who is a major ad buyer on the network.

Lindell used the appearance to advance his belief that the 2020 election was stolen. Carlson, who said privately he had seen no evidence of fraud claims and was disgusted by the falsehoods repeated by Powell, did nothing to stop Lindell.

"The language used in the segment, such as 'we have a machine, the Dominion machine  was developed to steal elections, and being used in the states that are involved' and 'I have the videotape, the documents, the hard drive. Ive got every piece of evidence. And I've got a mountainful of evidence' make factual assertions that evidence regarding Dominions involvement in the election fraud actually exists," Davis wrote.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Elizabeth Pineau

PARIS (Reuters) - France's hard-left CGT union elected Sophie Binet as its first woman leader on Friday and she vowed to continue her organisation's fight with the government over pension reform.

Binet, 41, is the first woman to run France's second-largest union since its foundation in 1895. A former school supervisor and head of a division in the union representing engineers, managers and technical staff, she takes charge as a large faction of the CGT is demanding an even tougher anti-government stance.

In her first speech as secretary general, she told a divided and rowdy congress in Clermont-Ferrand, central France, that she would continue the fight against the reform that postpones the retirement age by two years to 64.

"We will not give up, there will be no truce," she said.

Binet said she would accept Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's invitation to meet with unions next week, but would continue to demand that the reform be withdrawn.

Borne told reporters she was happy the CGT agreed to talk.

"It is always important to maintain the dialogue so that we can bring the solutions that French people want," she said, adding that there are lots of issues to discuss beside pensions, notably working conditions and career progression.

The CGT has formed a united front with the more moderate CFDT for the first time in years to fight the pension reform, which Borne pushed through parliament using a no-confidence vote as her minority coalition did not get sufficient support from opposition conservatives.

Since January, the unions have organised several nationwide days of strikes and demonstrations that have been attended by millions of people. They are planning further action ahead of a Constitutional Council ruling on the reform on April 14.

Binet was elected secretary-general as a surprise compromise candidate after a long night of deliberations. She beat Marie Buisson, who was backed by outgoing leader Philippe Martinez, and Celine Verzeletti, who was supported by a more hardline faction of the union.

She had been responsible for equality issues in the executive committee of the CGT.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Sharon Singleton)
The principal of Freeburg Elementary School has submitted a resignation letter saying some people terrorize our school community and he can no longer work in Freeburg because of the unfounded attacks, bullying, and professional accusations lodged against Freeburg School District 70 administrators.

Ryan Wittenauer sent his letter to school board members and staff in the district this week after he and District 70 Superintendent Melanie Brink were given new contracts by the school board on Monday night. He said he will leave his post at the end of the school year.

Wittenauer declined to comment when contacted by the Belleville News-Democrat. His letter has been posted on Facebook by a supporter.

Brink did not respond to an email or a voicemail message placed by the BND.

Michelle Foppe, president of the school board, did not respond to email sent to board of educations email address.

Along with Foppe, the districts website lists six other school board members: Ed Scheibel, vice president; Jamie Smith, secretary; Ron Humphries, Jayson Baker, John Lawson and Ben Howes.

Baker was the only board member to respond to the BND. He declined to comment on Wittenauers letter and added that was Mr. Wittenauers story to tell.

Wittenauers letter was released in the wake of the school board meeting on Monday night when a former district employee and a candidate for the school board in the April 4 election made critical comments toward Brink, according to an account of the meeting by The Freeburg Tribune.

After the most recent board meeting, I cannot allow myself to be subjected to the unfounded attacks, bullying, and professional accusations that have been hurled at the school board members, Dr. Brink, and our administrative team, Wittenauer said in his letter.

The district has posted online videos of some recent school board meetings but a video of Monday nights meeting has not been posted as of Friday. The BND has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the district for a copy of the video of Monday nights meeting.

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Wittenauer did not cite specific persons or issues regarding the unfounded attacks, bullying, and professional accusations.

The districts website has a compensation report that shows Wittenauers base salary is $74,810.

He notes that he has been an educator for 22 years and has served as principal for five years.

For five years, I have walked into Freeburg Elementary School every day giving my best for the teachers, faculty, students, Board members, and our community, he wrote. I have had the privilege of working with two superintendents, four secretaries, many teachers and faculty, board members and hundreds of students. I am confident when I say that our current administration team and our teachers are the best that I have worked with in the 22 years I have dedicated to education in our community.

Here are other points he made in the letter:

 Unfortunately, over the last two years, the school community that we all worked so hard to build and protect every day has been under attack with untruthful and misleading one-sided allegations.

 These attacks have been deliberate results of a few individuals with their own personal agendas and motives. Yet, due to our professionalism and dedication to confidentiality, the school cannot fully defend itself or enlighten the community with the whole story.

 Many educators are choosing to no longer accept the personal and professional attacks against our peers or ourselves. Therefore, so many quality educators are leaving, including myself.

 This toxic environment that has been created takes a mental and emotional toll on educators and our families and prevents us from doing the jobs which we promise to do every day, which is serving our students. Their actions have gone too far, and my fear is that these individuals will not stop until they have their way in removing quality educators from Freeburg, due to their unfounded accusations and targeted bullying.

 Despite the false theatrics that are currently alleged, I walk away with my head held high, and I will continue to be proud of this district.
When it comes to the airport pickup etiquette, everyone has an opinion.

When it comes to the airport pickup etiquette, everyone has an opinion.

Think back to the last time you were asked to pick up a friend at the airport. Did you:

A.) Jump at the chance to help. Thats what friends are for!

B.) Die a little inside and wonder why they cant get an Uber or a taxi. An airport pickup? Youre not a masochist.

If you have strong opinions either way, youre hardly alone. Over the last month or so, a fierce debate has been raging on social media over the ethics of picking up friends from the airport in the age of ride-shares.

The online debate reached a fever pitch last month when tech investor Codie Sanchez shared a photo of a text conversation shed had with friends about the topic.

As an adult, dont ask your friends to pick you up from the airport.



Use uber, save a friendship. pic.twitter.com/O12x2wJKZr  Codie Sanchez (@Codie_Sanchez) February 25, 2023

The tweet included a screenshot of Sanchezs friend Kim Kaupes Instagram story, wherein Kaupe talked about how picking up friends at the airport shows you prioritize them. Unless she absolutely cant, Kaupe wrote that she always tries to be there at arrivals.

Sanchez firmly disagreed: As an adult, dont ask your friends to pick you up from the airport. Use Uber, save a friendship, she said in her tweet, which has racked up over 25.5 million views.

Twitter being Twitter, lots of folks had very strong opinions about Sanchezs hot take.

If you think youre too busy or too cool to pick up/drop off your friends from the airport, you either arent really friends with them, or you need to realign your priorities in life, one man said. (Dude have you been to LAX, a traffic-vexed Angeleno asked him in reply.)

Some said the preference for Ubering was a generational thing: I think this is mostly a thing with younger people, one man said. My age group did/does this. I think somewhere, this all got lost in translation after us.

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Others thought the debate spoke to how, culturally, weve become too invested in individualism and handling everything ourselves.

We miss out on key parts of community/friendship when we are constantly worried about inconveniencing each other, one woman said.

Some on Twitter agreed with Codie Sanchez, arguing for personal responsibility: when you organize a trip, that includes paying for your arrival and pickup.

Some on Twitter agreed with Codie Sanchez, arguing for personal responsibility: when you organize a trip, that includes paying for your arrival and pickup.

Some agreed with Sanchez, arguing for personal responsibility: When you organize a trip, that includes paying for your arrival and pickup.

Id never have my friend wake up at 4 a.m., drive to my house, pick me up, drive me to the airport, then have them drive home, one person tweeted. Ill pay the $30 Uber fee and let them sleep in.

Another man tweeted that he wont even pick up his family. Even immediate family, unless [theyre] flying for the first or second time in their lives, should take a cab, he said.

In an email interview with HuffPost, Sanchez was more bemused than taken aback by the response to her tweet.

Do you ever wonder if people like to feel offended so they can feel important? she said before joking. I reserve airport pickups for my parents like an adult.

Etiquette experts have some thoughts, too.

Etiquette experts said theres no one correct course of action here, but it shouldnt be a friendship-ending prospect if you cant pick up a friend, as some in the Twitter thread implied.

Flights are often at inconvenient times for anyone other than you. You have to be understanding if you ask, and its an inconvenience, said Diane Gottsman, the author of Modern Etiquette for a Better Life and founder of The Protocol School of Texas.

Gottsman agreed with the guy on Twitter who said pickups should ultimately be the travelers responsibility.

Adults should know that part of your trip requires booking hotels, going to the bank, being prepared to tip with cash and finding your own way to the airport and back, Gottsman said.

Any offer to pick you up or drop you off by a friend should be considered icing on the cake, Gottsman said. (Though you may feel more personally responsible if the person travels to see you.)

Needless to say, people are generally more accommodating to family, especially young children and older adults. (You might not be a bad friend, but you categorically are a bad granddaughter if you leave your Luddite grandma Gladys sitting at New Yorks LaGuardia Airport, struggling to figure out how to navigate Lyft.)

You want to make sure older family members have gotten off without a hitch, especially if they have an early morning flight and you live close by, Gottsman said.

You'll probably want to pick up any kids or older members of your family.

You'll probably want to pick up any kids or older members of your family.

Airport location and traffic times also figure heavily into this discussion, said Nick Leighton, an etiquette expert and host of the weekly comedy podcast Were You Raised By Wolves?

Not all airport pickups are created equal: A summer Saturday afternoon drop-off at the Laramie Regional Airport is very different than a 5 p.m.-the-day-before-Thanksgiving drop-off at Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, he told HuffPost.

Overall, Gottsman and Leighton agreed that airport pickups are a courtesy rather than an obligation. So appreciate any offers but dont drag your friend over the coals if they dont volunteer.

As an etiquette expert, Leighton is just happy people are tapping into their inner Emily Post and discussing topics like this.

Etiquette is all about being mindful of other people, and I think any debate that gets people thinking about kindness, consideration, and empathy is a good one, he said.

As for him, though, hell just call a taxi the next time he needs an airport pickup.

I also dont ask friends to help me move or paint my apartment, he said. Some things are best left to professionals.

Related...
More than a year after the body of 8-year-old Edgar Casian was found in rural Benton County, his father and the woman on the run with him have been arrested.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the U.S. Marshals Office announced Friday that Edgar Salvador Casian-Garcia, 34, and his girlfriend, Araceli Medina, 38, were arrested in Mexico and their five missing and endangered children had been rescued, according to a news release from the center.

The children are back in the United States and in protective custody in Washington.

The U.S. Marshals Office said they were arrested March 22. Court filings by Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant on March 23 for Casian-Garcia and Medina began the next day to start the process of bringing them back to the Tri-Cities.

Their bail is set at $5 million each.

Its unclear when the couple will be brought back to the United States and to Pasco. An extradition request was filed on Thursday.

We are so thankful that all five missing children have been rescued safely, said John Bischoff, who oversees the Missing Children Division at NCMEC.

The crimes that Araceli Medina and Edgar Casian-Garcia are charged with are heinous and we commend the unwavering dedication of law enforcement. This successful rescue is a testament to the critical importance of collaboration and community involvement in safeguarding our most vulnerable population, he said.

Edgar Salvador Casian-Garcia, 34, and his girlfriend, Araceli Medina, 38, from Franklin County, Washington, have been charged with the murder of a child and multiple counts of child sex abuse.

According to the NMCEC relatives told the organization they are relieved and grateful that the children have been found and are asking the media to please respect their privacy at this time.

In February, Casian-Garcia and Medina were placed on the FBIs 15 Most Wanted list, with a $25,000 reward offered for their capture.

Murder charges

According to prosecutors, the couple abused Casian and his two young sisters by holding their heads underwater, cut them with razor blades and poured burning water on one of them.

Edgar Casian, pictured here with his mother Maria Quintero was last seen in September 2020.

They were frequently tied up and kept in the bathroom of a Pasco apartment, and in one of these instances, they allegedly killed Casian.

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The couple have been on the run since June 2021 when they were charged with abandoning the two girls, 9 and 3, by the side of the road in Mexico.

Franklin County prosecutors have charged them with aggravated first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence. In addition, they say the couple showed an egregious lack of remorse, deliberate cruelty and committed the crime within sight and hearing of a child.

They also are charged with four counts of first-degree child rape and three counts of first-degree assault of a child.

Missing children

Casians mother Maria Quintero told the Herald last June that she called police and Washington state Child Protective Services several times after her ex-boyfriend took custody of their son and two daughters.

The last time Edgar Casian, 8, was seen by police was in September 2020.

According to court documents, the three children had been living with their paternal grandmother for all of their lives. Casian-Garcia and Medina took custody of them in May 2020.

They soon stopped attending online classes. A Barbara McClintock Elementary School teacher called CPS to report that she was being lied to regarding where they were.

They were last seen when a Pasco police officer responded to a no-contact order violation and vandalism complaint at their Road 68 apartment. The children can be seen in the body camera footage.

Casian-Garcia reported to the school district that the children had moved to Vancouver, Wash., in September 2020, and then the next month the couple moved into a Chapel Hill Boulevard apartment.

While they were living together, the couple would tie up the children and leave them in bathroom. They frequently abused the children.

Then one time, Casian-Garcia and Medina put a surgical mask over Casians face while he was tied up. They allegedly laid him down in the bathtub, aimed the showerhead at his face, turned it on and left, according to court documents. His sisters were left in the bathroom at the time.

The couple returned several hours later and he was dead.

They took his body out to a field in the area of South Finley Road and Highway 397. His bones were discovered there more than a year later in early February 2022.

The couple then took the girls to Mexico in October 2020 and eventually left them. They were discovered outside a convenience store in May 2021.

According to reports at the time, the older child was in a wheelchair, unable to walk, eat or use the restroom independently.

The girls have since been returned to the United States.
A Hawthorne man was arrested Thursday by Gainesville police after they discovered what appeared to be a "chop shop."

A stolen vehicle case ended in a bigger discovery for the Gainesville Police Department and Alachua County Sheriff's Office Thursday, as investigators found that several dismantled cars were being used in a "chop-shop" operation.

Officers arrested Hawthorne resident Humberto Toledo-Russias, 34, after investigations of stolen vehicles led them to his 5-acre lot with at least nine stolen vehicles. The departments determined the cars, mostly high-end Jeep and Dodge models, were dismantled and likely used to illegally sell parts, according to a GPD press release.

GPD began investigating Toledo-Russias following multiple reports of stolen cars from hotels around the corridor of Southwest 40th Boulevard and Archer Road in Gainesville. The thefts occurred as early as last year, with some cars from all across the state.

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A Hawthorne man was arrested Thursday by Gainesville police after they discovered what appeared to be a "chop shop."

A survey of Toledo-Russias property, located on Southeast 171st Street in Hawthorne, revealed engines, frames and other car parts scattered across the front lawn, according to court records. GPD officers, as well as detectives and SWAT officers from the Alachua County Sheriffs Office, obtained a warrant and searched Toledo-Russias property early Thursday morning, uncovering dismantled cars that the theft victims were able to identify as theirs.

Investigators found Toledo-Russias, his grandmother and his girlfriend, Gisele Soto, all were operating an illegal chop shop called Toledo Motorsports Inc. Several temporary license plates on numerous Jeep Wranglers across the property were registered in the business name.

Officers transported Toledo-Russias and his girlfriend, Soto, to the Alachua County Sheriffs Office for questioning. Despite documents and blank key fobs mailed to her, Soto said she knew nothing of the stolen vehicles and chop shop. She wasn't arrested because she is 36 weeks pregnant and needed to look after her 7-year-old son, per the report.

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A Hawthorne man was arrested Thursday by Gainesville police after they discovered what appeared to be a "chop shop."

Toledo-Russias is being held at the Alachua County Jail under charges of grand theft of more than $20,000 and less than $100,000, dealing stolen property and operating a chop shop. Soto faces no charges individually but is listed as a co-defendant in court records.

Officials from GPD, ACSO and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are still examining the scene and conducting a further investigation.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: GPD, sheriff's office arrest man for operating chop shop
Rory Parker was filmed by an RSPB investigations team

A gamekeeper has been fined 1,575 after he admitted shooting a bird of prey on a Highland estate.

Rory Parker, of Tomatin, was filmed killing the sparrowhawk by an RSPB Scotland investigations team.

He was seen firing two shots into the air as the bird, a protected species, flew overhead at Tom Na Slaite, Ruthven, on 16 September 2021.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard Parker was 22 at the time and working on the Moy Estate, near Inverness.

He admitted the offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

RSPB Scotland has welcomed the conviction, which comes just days after a red kite was shot on another Highland estate.

Sparrowhawks are a protected species

The court heard police recovered two shotgun cartridges and feathers from the site of the sparrowhawk shooting.

Mark Moir KC, defending, told Sheriff Sara Matheson that his client had been in his job since he left school.

Mr Moir said: "He is deeply shameful of what he has done. He has brought the estate into disrepute and has now resigned.

"His firearms certificate is likely to be revoked as a result of this conviction. He should have been shooting pigeons and crows that day. Feral pigeons are a problem on the estate.

"However, the sparrowhawk flew over and there was a rush of blood. He says it was a stupid thing to do."

Sheriff Matheson told Parker Scotland's birds of prey were precious and deserved protection.

Following sentencing, RSPB Scotland said he was the 56th gamekeeper to be convicted of raptor persecution offences in Scotland since 1990.

The conservation charity said it was likely Parker had used a plastic decoy owl to lure the bird to his position.

Ian Thomson, head of investigations, said: "This conviction was the end result of exemplary partnership working between Police Scotland, RSPB Scotland, the Wildlife DNA Forensics team at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture and the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service."

He said the persecution of birds of prey was continuing in Scotland "unabated".

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The land where the sparrowhawk was killed is used for pheasant and partridge shoots and managed by a tenant on the Moy Estate.

'Particularly disappointing'

A spokesman for the tenant said Parker was suspended after it was made aware of the incident.

The spokesman added: "This incident was totally unacceptable to us and we remain committed to the highest standards of game management."

Scottish Land and Estates, which represents landowners and rural business, said it condemned raptor persecution in the strongest possible terms.

The organisation's Dee Ward said: "It is right and proper that anyone who commits such an act is prosecuted and convicted.

"In this case, the illegal persecution of a sparrowhawk near pheasant and partridge release pens is particularly disappointing given the progress made by the sector in driving down raptor crime in recent years and industry-wide condemnation of this unacceptable behaviour.

"We will continue to do all that we can to prevent, detect and condemn anyone who thinks this kind of abhorrent behaviour is acceptable."
Rome's Gemelli hospital, where Pope Francis is being treated for bronchitis, is the favoured choice of pontiffs to the point of being dubbed "Vatican 3" by John Paul II.

The Polish pope, who was head of the Catholic church from 1978 until his death in 2005, was treated nine times at Gemelli and spent a total of 153 days there.

He quipped that "Vatican number one" was St Peter's Square, Vatican number two was the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, and the Gemelli was number three.

John Paul II's repeated and prolonged stays caused the Vatican to create a mini-residence on site, an apartment on the 10th floor -- the top -- that is accessed by a long corridor guarded by Italian and Vatican police.

According to Italian media, the suite is painted white and furnished simply. In addition to his room, there is a meeting room for medical staff, a kitchen, bathroom and rest areas.

There is also a small chapel where Pope Francis, 86, has prayed since being admitted with a respiratory infection on Wednesday.

- Rome's largest -

The papal chamber was created from scratch in May 1981 when John Paul II was shot in St Peter's Square by a young Turkish man, Mehmet Ali Agca, and rushed to Gemelli.

He underwent an operation lasting almost six hours to remove a bullet from his abdomen. He was also shot in his hand and arm, and two women in the crowd were also injured.

John Paul II returned to the hospital several times, though in the end he died at the Vatican on April 2, 2005.

Today, his statue presides over the entrance of the hospital, whose full name is the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli.

His successor, German theologian Benedict XVI, never stayed at Gemelli -- at least according to official announcements.

He resigned in 2013, citing his declining physical and mental health. He lived in a monastery in the grounds of the Vatican and died there on December 31, aged 95.

His successor, the Argentine Pope Francis, spent 10 days at Gemelli in July 2021 after undergoing surgery on his colon.

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He was admitted for a second time on Wednesday, in what the Vatican said initially was for pre-planned tests.

It later said he had been diagnosed with a respiratory infection after complaining of breathing difficulties, and would need hospital treatment for a few days.

Gemelli is the largest hospital in Rome, with more than 5,000 people working there, according to its website.

It is part of the University of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic facility founded in 1921 in the northern Italian city of Milan.

It is now considered the largest Catholic university in Europe, with several sites in Italy.

ljm/ar/ams/js
Red Bull chief Christian Horner said Friday it was inevitable that gender equality would reach Formula One amid reports that a team employing an equal split between men and women was looking to enter the sport.

Former British American Racing (BAR) founder Craig Pollock told CNN last week he wanted to debut "Formula Equal" from the 2025 or 2026 season onwards.

The aim was to have a 50 percent split between males and females across the whole organisation, from the cockpit to the engineers and the boardroom.

He has reportedly submitted an expression of interest to racing's governing body, the FIA, which opened up the process for finding a potential 11th team earlier this year.

Horner, when asked about Pollock's plan, said he believed gender equality in the traditionally male-dominated sport would happen "naturally" anyway.

"I think it's fantastic to see the amount of girls, females, that are showing interest in Formula One now and we're seeing it at all levels," the Briton said in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

"I think the interest is growing... it's appealing to more women to get involved in the sport, whether that's from an engineering basis or across all aspects of the organisation.

"As the sport does become more accessible, and we are pushing to make it more accessible, I think that it is something that will naturally happen anyway."

Pollock, formerly the manager of 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, acknowledged funding such a venture would be hugely expensive but said he was in intense discussions with "a Gulf-area country" about bankrolling it.

Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer said gender equality was "important to everybody in Formula One".

"So anything we can do to increase diversity in F1 I think everyone here would welcome it," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"But I don't know anything other than what I briefly read about their (Formula Equal) entry."

mp/pbt
(AP)

The Manhattan prosecutor leading a criminal investigation into long-running allegations of fraud and malfeasance involving Donald Trump has made history as the first to prosecute a former president.

The office of New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is legally barred from discussing the actions of the grand jury that voted to indict Mr Trump, has largely refrained from public comment.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump and his allies have bombarded Mr Braggs office with claims of election interference or invoked baseless conspiracy theories, including antisemitic and racist attacks, that accuse Mr Bragg of leading a politically motivated case against the 2024 candidate for president.

At the centre of those attacks is a claim that Jewish billionaire philanthropist George Soros is either directly funding Mr Bragg or directing his investigation at the expense of the lives of Black New Yorkers. Both claims are false; Mr Soros himself does not even know Mr Bragg, and his philanthropic arm did not directly donate to him or his campaign.

I think some on the right would rather focus on far-fetched conspiracy theories than on the serious charges against the former president, Mr Soros told Semafor.

A spokesperson for Mr Soros also said the two men have never communicated in any way.

Mr Soros, who survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary, has supported a number of progressive and liberal political causes through his donations to the Open Society Foundations.

Manhattans first-ever Black district attorney was overwhelmingly elected to the role in 2021. His successful campaign was supported by the political action committee affiliated with Color of Change, a nonprofit advocacy group that promotes criminal justice reform and other racial justice causes.

Between 2016 and 2022, Mr Soros and a political action committee together contributed roughly $4m to Color of Changes PAC, according to a spokesperson. Mr Soros contributed $1m in 2021. None of those funds were earmarked for Mr Bragg or his campaign.

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Color of Change pledged to spend $1m on direct mailers, on-the-ground campaigning and voter turnout efforts on Mr Braggs behalf  not funneling money into his campaign directly  but ended up spending roughly $500,000, or about 11 per cent of its $4.6m in spending in the 2021-2022 election cycle, according to Open Secrets.

The Open Society Policy Center also supported Color of Changes nonprofit arm with $7m in contributions in 2021, part of a five-year $220m investment in racial justice efforts that support Black-led organisations, according to a statement from the Open Society. That grant stipulates that no OSPC funding can be used for partisan or political activities.

Mr Soross son Jonathan Soros and his wife Jennifer Allan Soros each contributed $10,000 to Mr Braggs campaign during the Democratic primary election for district attorney in 2021.

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, George Soros explained his support for reform-minded prosecutors, arguing for greater investments in mental health professionals to address crisis situations and youth programmes and education opportunities for incarcerated people.

This is why I have supported the election (and more recently the re-election) of prosecutors who support reform, he said in the op-ed. I have done it transparently, and I have no intention of stopping. The funds I provide enable sensible reform-minded candidates to receive a hearing from the public.

Still, for years the name Soros has been a dog whistle or shorthand for a sprawling, centuries-old antisemitic conspiracy theory alleging a global Jewish plot to manipulate political and financial systems. The Anti-Defamation League notes that even if no antisemitic insinuation is intended, the implication that a Jewish individual is a puppet master can have the effect of mainstreaming antisemitic tropes.

Those conspiracy theories often intersect with other violent and bigoted ideologies, including the QAnon movement, while the former presidents rhetoric has accelerated into visions of violence and chaos. Mr Trumps loyalists continue to believe he is at the centre of a tangled web of Democratic corruption, parallel to an antisemitic strain of online-driven conspiracy theory-mongering among QAnon influencers, Christian nationalists and civil war accelerationists.

Across far-right social media spaces like Truth Social, Telegram and Gab, users routinely link Mr Soros to other conspiracy theory plots, like funding antifa and racial justice protests in 2020.

(REUTERS)

Those claims have repeatedly surfaced on mainstream cable news.

On 19 March, Fox News programme Fox & Friends said that the Black prosecutor has to pay his master back by prosecuting Mr Trump. The following day, host Rachel Campos-Duffy suggested Mr Bragg is listening to his master, George Soros.

Mr Soros was mentioned at least 21 times on the network within the hours after news of Mr Trumps indictment on 30 March, according to an analysis from left-leaning media watchdog Media Matters. His name was mentioned in every primetime programme that night, including 10 times alone on the hourlong Jesse Watters Primetime. Fox News headlines claim the Soros family helped push Mr Bragg into power.

Other Republican figures and right-wing voices have also derisively called Mr Bragg a Soros-backed or Soros-funded prosecutor without explaining what they mean, exactly, when they say that.

The former president has baselessly asserted that Mr Soros and hand-picked and funded Mr Bragg. Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance claimed he brought Mr Bragg. Alvin Bragg is bought and paid for by George Soros, said US Rep Anna Paulina Luna.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote Soros-backed twice in a statement opposing the criminal indictment against his potential 2024 presidential rival.

This has been happening for 20 years and, in the US, has especially been the party line in the past five years, according to Emily Tamkin, who wrote 2020s The Influence of Soros: Politics, Power, and the Struggle for Open Society.

I think its genuinely important to see this not as something new, but a continuation, a playing of the hits, a doubling down on the same old, she said following news of Mr Trumps indictment and the revival of anti-Soros tropes across social media.

You can be against billionaire money in policy, politics, but that is different from collapsing the distinction between financing a campaign or initiative  as Soros has done for more progressive drug policy for over 25 years  and claiming or implying that all agency in a criminal case can be put at the feet of one (yes, Jewish) billionaire, she added.
A tourist visits an exhibition on Chinese Song Dynasty paintings in Barcelona, Spain on March 29. [Photo/Xinhua]

"The Reflection of the Golden Age" is the title of a new exhibition of artworks by the masters of China's Song Dynasty that opened in Barcelona, Spain on March 29.



A joint initiative of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang and Zhejiang University, with the support of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the exhibition hosted by the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) runs until March 31.

Wednesday's inauguration was attended by China's Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping, the Director General of Zhejiang's Department of Culture and Tourism Liu He, and Zhu Jingyang, China's consul general in Barcelona.

"It is a great event in the framework of the China-Spain Year of Culture and Tourism and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and for me there is no better way of bringing people together than through culture," Zhu told Xinhua.

The hundred-odd paintings on display date from the 10th-13th centuries, when the Song Dynasty ruled China. They portray figures, landscapes, flowers and birds in a naturalistic manner.

"Even though we might have concepts and styles of painting that are completely different, art unites, it unites civilizations and people. This is one of the most important things about painting and art," Jose Enrique Gonzalez, director of the MEAM, told Xinhua.

The inauguration also features other cultural traditions of Zhejiang province, such as musical performances, including a demonstration of the seven-string zither known as the Guqin, tea making, incense burning, traditional costumes, calligraphy and floral design.

Technology is also present in the form of virtual reality (VR) goggles that allow visitors to tour the hills, rivers and cities of Zhejiang, including iconic locations, such as Putuo Mountain and the capital of the province, Hangzhou.

"What we try to do in this museum is put on quality exhibitions and this collaboration has not only been good for that, but for there to be more exchanges like this between China and Spain in the future," the museum director said, confirming that after Barcelona the exhibition will move to Madrid in May.

The China-Spain Year of Culture and Tourism officially kicked off in Madrid on March 27 with an opening ceremony and a concert at the National Music Auditorium, which Hu and his delegation from China also attended.
Prominent Democratic donor George Soros responded to Republican attacks on him over Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs (D) investigation that led to an indictment of former President Trump, saying that I dont know Bragg.

Soros told Semafor that he did not contribute any money to Braggs campaign to become district attorney and does not know him. His response came as several members of the GOP have denounced Bragg as being backed and funded by Soros.

I think some on the right would rather focus on far-fetched conspiracy theories than on the serious charges against the former president, Soros said.

He has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Color of Change PAC, which endorsed Bragg and spent money to help his candidacy.

Soros has often been the subject of right-wing attacks and some conspiracy theories based on the large donations he has made to Democratic candidates over the years. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who leads a right-wing party, criticized Soros over donations he has made to support democracy in his native country, Hungary, and included some antisemitic tropes.

The Anti-Defamation League reported that conspiracy theories surrounding Soros have falsely attempted to cast him as controlling global society, leaning into antisemitic myths.

Soros pointed Semafor to an op-ed that he wrote in The Wall Street Journal as to why he has donated to reform-minded prosecutors.

He said in the piece that he believes both justice and safety need to be advanced in the criminal justice system. He said greater investment needs to happen to prevent crime through methods like deploying mental health professionals in crisis situations, investing in youth job programs and creating opportunities for inmates to get an education while in prison.

Soros said reform-minded prosecutors and law enforcement officials have rallied around a more effective and just agenda.

This is why I have supported the election (and more recently the re-election) of prosecutors who support reform, he said in the op-ed. I have done it transparently, and I have no intention of stopping. The funds I provide enable sensible reform-minded candidates to receive a hearing from the public.

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Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and other top Republicans have targeted Bragg following the Trump indictment by tying him to Soros.

The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent, DeSantis said in a statement Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Trent Lehrkamp. Trenton Lehrkamp/Facebook

A Georgia community wants charges brought against a group of teens in connection to an assault.

Trent Lehrkamp, 19, was dropped off at a hospital with blood-alcohol content of .46, police said.

The local police department says it's "aggressively" investigating and building a criminal case.

Members of a Georgia community are demanding justice for a 19-year-old who was hospitalized and put on a ventilator last week after an apparent assault that police had initially characterized as a "hazing."

Trent Lehrkamp was dropped off at a hospital on March 21 after hanging out with a group of teens, according to an incident report from the Glynn County Police Department.

When he arrived at the hospital, Lehrkamp was only breathing six times a minute and his blood-alcohol content had reached a staggering and near fatal .464, according to the police report. Police later said that he was intoxicated from a mix of alcohol and "controlled substances."

Lehrkamp was also covered in spray paint and his clothes smelled like urine, police said.

The Glynn County police, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and now the FBI, said they are working to gather evidence and build a criminal case.

Police said they searched an area on St. Simons Island where they believe Lehrkamp was assaulted during a party, and said they interviewed "several juveniles" in connection to the incident.

The Glynn County police captain, Michael Robinson, told Insider the department is "aggressively" working to gather evidence so the district attorney can build a case against the suspects.

"In our society we should all have a zero tolerance for bullying and the mistreatment of others," Robinson said in a written statement. "I encourage everyone to say something if they see something. This incident may not have been brought to our attention if Trenton didn't end up in the hospital."

On Sunday, police said Lehrkamp was "alert and conscious" and was cooperating with the investigation.

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Lehrkamp's father told police it's not the first time this group of teens had abused him. Less than a week before the incident that left him in the ICU, Lehrkamp came home covered in "WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk, and spray paint," his father told police.

A few weeks before that, Lehrkamp's father told police he had to take his son to the hospital to get stitches on a cut above his eye after he had been hanging out with the same group.

The hashtag #JusticeforTrent has been trending on social media as community members have accused the police department of not acting fast enough to arrest and charge the suspected assailants.

A GoFundMe page was also set up to cover the teen's medical expenses and support his family. By Thursday afternoon it had raised more than $100,000.

"The anguish he suffered, it's sure to be a long recovery  emotionally and mentally as well," the fundraiser's organizer wrote.

Correction: March 31, 2023  An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the group of teens police suspect were involved in the assault. The story initially stated they were college students. The story has also been updated to reflect that police are now calling the incident an assault, not a hazing.

Read the original article on Insider
A Berkeley County, W.Va., jury found a Georgia tractor-trailer driver guilty of first-degree murder this week in the 2021 shooting death of a Florida man in what previously had been characterized as a road-rage incident along Interstate 81.

Harold Dexter Rue, 67, of Snellville, Ga., was found guilty Wednesday of the murder charge as well as the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to a news release from the Berkeley County prosecutor's office.

Rue shot and killed fellow trucker Reynaldo Gonzalez Mediavilla, 29, of Hialeah, Fla., during a Dec. 7, 2021, road rage incident that stretched for miles along I-81 in Berkeley County, according to the release and Herald-Mail archives.

Pennsylvania case: Organization puts spotlight on Franklin County girls missing 3 years

The jury, on Thursday, recommended Rue be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, the release states.

In arguing against a sentence with mercy, allowing for the possibility of parole after 15 years, the state asked the jury to consider "Rues violent criminal history, the callousness of the murder of Mr. Mediavilla and the lasting impact his death will have on his family, as well as the jurys opportunity to ensure that Rue never has the opportunity to hurt anyone else," the release states.

Rue was previously convicted of second-degree murder in California, sentenced to prison and released, and then convicted of kidnapping to commit robbery, the release states. He also is a suspect in an armed robbery in Chesterfield, Va., on Dec. 5, 2021, which is two days before the local road-rage killing.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 5 before Judge Michael D. Lorensen in Berkeley County circuit court.

The sentencing includes a felony count of prohibited person in possession of a firearm, to which Rue pleaded guilty before the trail, the release states.

What we know about I-81 road rage that led to Florida man's death

According to a charging document in Berkeley County Magistrate Court, Rue told police the driver of the other truck had been cutting him off since he got on the interstate in Virginia after getting fuel.

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Rue said they both pulled to the side of the road and he got out of his truck with a sawed-off shotgun and warned the other driver that he had a gun. He said the other driver took a swing at him and he struck him in the head with the shotgun, the document said.

As the altercation continued, Rue said he fired two shots, striking the other driver in the shoulder. Rue said he took the man's wallet "so I would know who he was," the document said.

Rue was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting occurred around 9:18 a.m. along the northbound lanes at the 23 mile marker, which is near Exit 23 for U.S. 11 in the Marlowe/Falling Waters area.

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The Berkeley County Sheriff's Department investigated the case, with help from Pennsylvania State Police, who apprehended Rue after he fled, the release states.

911 callers reported hearing two shots and described a shotgun being involved and a man lying on the side of the road. They provided a description of a tractor-trailer leaving the scene, according to the charging document.

Rue said he left the scene because he was concerned about delivering his load to Pennsylvania, court records state.

Maryland and Pennsylvania authorities were alerted to be on the lookout for the truck, which was stopped by Pennsylvania State Police in the Carlisle, Pa., area, and Rue was taken into custody.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Georgia trucker found guilty of murder in I-81 road-rage shooting
By Phil Noble

HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - King Charles laid a wreath in memory of the victims of the allied bombing in World War Two during a visit to Hamburg's St Nikolai memorial, the remains of a church in Germany's northern port city severely damaged by the air raids.

The gesture comes on the last day of Charles' three-day tour of Germany, his first overseas state trip since ascending the British throne last year designed to strengthen bilateral and European ties.

It comes shortly before the 80th anniversary of the allied bombing of Hamburg in July known as "Operation Gomorrah" that killed some 40,000 people and destroyed swathes of the city.

In response to Nazi air raids on civilian targets in Poland and later London, the Allies dropped about 1.9 million tonnes of bombs on Germany in an effort to cripple German industry. The allied raids killed some 500,000 people.

Earlier, Charles also paid his respects at the memorial to the Kindertransporte, a rescue mission that allowed some 10,000 Jewish children to flee Nazi-occupied Europe in the late 1930, mostly to Britain.

"Heeding the lessons of the past is our sacred responsibility, but it can only be fully discharged through a commitment to our shared future," Charles said in a bilingual address to the Bundestag lower house of parliament on Thursday.

"Together we must be vigilant against threats to our values and freedoms, and resolute in our determination to confront them."

Later on Friday, Charles, who succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth when she died in September, is set to learn more about the port of Hamburg's adoption of green technologies and to meet representatives of some of the firms involved.

"Our countries are both accelerating the expansion of our hydrogen economies, the fuel which could transform our future," he told the Bundestag. "I am looking forward to seeing Hamburgs plans to use hydrogen in its efforts to become a fully sustainable port."

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Throughout his visit, German officials have praised his interest in environmental causes and sustainability that has shone through in the engagements he has chosen to undertake.

"I have great respect for his decades-long commitment to the protection of the environment and climate," tweeted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, designated the "climate chancellor" during his election campaign in 2021.

(Reporting by Phil Noble and Maria Martinez; Writing by Sarah Marsh; editing by Matthias Williams, William Maclean)
By Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's main opposition leader on Friday called for Berlin to involve key allies in negotiations with China as part of a rethink of ties with Beijing that reflected a global "paradigm shift" in security and foreign policy.

Speaking in a Reuters interview, the head of the conservative CDU party, Friedrich Merz, said Germany could no longer rely on buying cheap gas from Russia and goods from around the world while relying on U.S. security.

Merz's comments reflect a growing rethink in German policy towards Beijing since Russia's invasion of Ukraine exposed Europe's heavy dependence on Russian energy.

It marks a departure from the era of former CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel, when China became Germany's biggest trade partner and a vital export market.

The 67-year-old arch conservative Merz became head of Merkel's Christian Democrats in 2022 promising a break from her centrist politics. According to a poll by the ZDF broadcaster this week, the CDU/CSU is polling nationally as Germany's biggest party bloc at 30%, gaining slightly while parties in the ruling coalition slipped, as Merz seeks to position himself to run for chancellor in 2025.

"We need very close coordination with our European partners, especially with France," he said about China ties. "We must demonstrate that Germany is not alone in this, but is acting in close coordination with its European partners."

NO 'DAY TRIPS'

Merz called for a key representative of the French government to be involved in future talks between Germany and China. He stressed that consultations with Beijing were important, but added:

"They just shouldn't be day trips with oversized delegations and small agendas, they have to be well prepared and they have to produce results."

He said Germany should reduce the presence of technology from China's Huawei as soon as possible, but without ripping out existing Huawei systems from German networks.

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Asked whether he would travel to Taiwan, after a recent visit by a German minister infuriated Beijing, Merz said he would not want to do so at present, so as not to be provocative.

Merz was speaking ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron's trip to China with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The trip could see Beijing try to play divide and rule, said a non-Western diplomat who suggested China may try to insert a wedge into the Western camp and lure France away from the United States.

On European politics, Merz said his party would back von der Leyen for a second term as president in 2024.

(Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Giles Elgood)
The gift of a child is one of the most amazing joys in the world. If you want to get pregnant soon, the best fertility supplements and teas may help.

There are many natural supplements on the market to choose from, but before taking any, its important to ask your healthcare provider what is healthy and what will work best for you. Prenatal vitamins contain a combination of vitamins and minerals that are important for healthy contraception. Check out 21Ninetys curated list of natural supplements below.

Ritual Prenatal Vitamin

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Thornes Basic Prenatal vitamins are a thoroughly-researched supplement. It provides the mother with folate, choline and 18 other nutrients to support reproductive health. In the past, Thornes fertility supplement manufacturer has collaborated with Mayo Clinic on wellness research and content.

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FertiliTea

If you are in the process of getting pregnant, FertiliTea may be able to help you boost your chances. This loose-leaf tea has vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. All of these ingredients scientifically are proven to optimize the chances of conception. This tea also includes red raspberry berry leaf to help strengthen and tone the uterus. One bag of this fertility tea will last for months.

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OvaVite

Theranatal, a popular vitamin brand, produces the OvaVite supplement.

This fertility supplement specifically targets the female reproductive eggs. One of the primary ingredients in the supplement includes a coenzyme called Q10 (CoQ10). This antioxidant supports optimal egg quality for women trying to get pregnant.

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Traditional Medicinals

For over 2,000 years, European and Native American women used raspberry leaves to prepare the womb for childbirth. This teas manufacturer blends leaves, hand-harvested by wild collectors, with other ingredients to create a similar effect for fertility.

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The post Getting Pregnant Naturally: These Teas And Supplements May Help You appeared first on 21Ninety.
Plush museum seating is available at The Getty. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

The forbidden horchata

As a docent at the Getty Museum, I love that Carolina A. Miranda rates its seating A++ and "Best in Show" [Sit-Down Bench Trial, March 28].

Miranda writes that the benches are hospitable enough to "read the Sunday paper and drink my dirty horchata." Just in case readers get the wrong idea: No eating or drinking is allowed in the galleries.

Not to worry, there are many beautiful spots all around the campus of the museum, with views and fountains, to enjoy your paper and horchata.

Laura Owen

Pacific Palisades

L.A. landmarks disappearing

Sadly, Kenan Draughorne's article [Harsh Notes at a Famed L.A. Studio, March 26] confirms the continued dismantling of L.A.s historic musical legacy. Our city has always been a mecca for creatives who shape the musical landscape worldwide. We should all want to keep it that way.

United Recordings (and similar storied sites like Capitol Studios) are L.A.s equivalent of Abbey Road Studios, yet many look the other way as these landmarks are destroyed. Equally disturbing is laying off workers who are massive assets themselves, helping to curate legendary recordings out of these studios sonic spaces.

The historical site review did not warrant saving this landmark building because it did not have enough "unique architectural features" to qualify. Whoever conducts these reviews needs to update their criteria to include unique "aural" features. In United Recordings case, it could be based on proven acoustic design excellence.

After all, you cant judge a historic book by its cover.

Matt Buguy

Hollywood

::

Your article about the shrinking infrastructure of L.A.s recording scene (Harsh Notes) is an unintended indictment of the scandal that is our real estate industry. Our new land rush is creating a land-owning elite, where family inheritance will be the only path to homeownership for the vast majority of our population.

It is also creating collateral damage in the wider economy and our communal culture such as you report in the article: a real estate investment company, in this case Hudson Pacific Properties, using its vast ill-gotten gains to buy a thriving business, only to exploit its value.

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Canada has enacted new laws restricting corporate investment in real estate, as well as laws banning international homeowners who have no intention of living in Canada.

Some Canadian cities have checked flipping by insisting that buyers must live in their new homes for at least one to three years, while luxury condos owned by absentee landlords are subject to tax. We must impose similar controls or cease bragging about our land of opportunity and, closer to home, having L.A.s cultural gems, like our world-renowned recording studios and their artists, stolen from us.

David Impastato

Los Angeles

The forgotten writer

I was interested in reading Charles Arrowsmith's review [A 'Shining' Collector's Dream, March 26] of Lee Unkrich and J.W Rinzler's "Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining.'" Notice how I included all the authors of that new work?

It's a shame that nowhere in the review did Arrowsmith mention that the film was co-written by Diane Lain Johnson, novelist and co-screenwriter on the project. It's yet another example of how easily women are left out of history by unreliable narrators.

It's also another annoying example of the outdated auteur theory in that you use the possessive "Kubrick's 'The Shining'" when it is based on a novel by none other than Stephen King, which was adapted by Kubrick and Johnson and acted brilliantly  so it never belonged to Kubrick alone.

I have recently interviewed Johnson (who at 93 lives in Paris as the author of over 12 novels including one published two years ago) and learned many interesting behind-the-scenes facts.

I wonder if this new book can be a "complete" look at the film if it included an interview with a man whose finger froze to the lens due to this celebration of obsessive (and toxic) masculine directing but doesn't include an interview with the female writer who was on location doing all the daily rewrites as Kubrick famously took forever figuring out where to place a camera.

And don't get me started on how the Shelley Duvall character changed from novel to film, despite the pages Johnson sent to Kubrick each day.

Unreliable narrators continue to write women out of history, and it's one of my goals to write them back in.

Rosanne Welch

Van Nuys

Fascism on the march

Regarding "A Rising Tide of U.S. Fascism," Stuart Miller's review of Jeff Sharlet's book "The Undertow: Scenes From a Slow Civil War" [March 23]: there is no doubt we have a rising tide of fascism in our country  more akin to a tsunami  in fact.

We have all the hallmarks  support for "strongmen" with questionable ethics, rabid exaltation of our "dear leader," turning a blind eye to corrupt motives plus rising violence and racism.

I agree with many of Jeff Sharlet's observations but differ when it comes to the unfortunate Ashli Babbitt, whom the right has turned into their Joan of Arc. She was shot because she flung herself through a window leading to the House Chamber where members of Congress were sheltering in place protected by armed guards. This woman might have reflected in the midst of this riotous mob prior to her actions  "Is this really a good idea?"  but she did not and she was shot while the Capitol Police bravely protected defenseless members of Congress. A victim she is not.

The day before the insurrection, Babbitt wrote, "Nothing will stop us, They can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours."

Prophetic and planned.

By contrast, Officer Brian Sicknick  who many on the right disparage  had two strokes and died the day after being assaulted in the riot by this same lawless mob. The medical examiner stated, "All that transpired played a role in his condition." He among others are the true victims and are truly deserving of our respect and gratitude.

Such is the topsy-tipsy world of "acumen" or lack thereof in our current political environment.

Jan Jay Judah

Torrance

Extras in the background

Comedian Jen Murphy's article on the travails of movie background performers [Embracing Life as the Backdrop, March 27] brought back memories of my experience with becoming an extra in a movie.

During the 1950s I worked in New York City. My office overlooked Rockefeller Plaza. One day I noticed that the movie "Solid Gold Cadilac" was being filmed there starring Judy Holliday. The movie studio had hired extras for background scenes. During my lunch hour I decided to join the extras. Nobody noticed.

Several months later my husband and I were vacationing on Cape Cod. I noticed an advertisement in the local newspaper that "Solid Gold Cadillac" had opened in a neighboring town. Not realizing that the theater was about 50 miles from our hotel, we decided to see my acting debut. It turned out that my scene was left on the cutting-room floor. So much for show business.

Bunny Landis

Oceanside

::

Murphys article reminds me of the adage that I repeat often to myself and others: The only way to ensure that you fail is to quit. I hope to see Murphy in a Netflix show of their own ASAP.

Randy Farhi

Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
(Press image)

A museum in Florence found itself at the centre of a bizarre controversy this week, over a Florida schools visit to see Michaelangelos statue of David.

Hope Carrasquilla, principal of the Tallahassee Classical School, was apparently forced to resign after leading the class trip. The school has a policy requiring parents to be notified in advance about controversial topics being taught.

Carrasquilla believes the board targeted her after three parents complained about a lesson including a photo of the David, a five-metre tall (17 foot) nude marble sculpture dating from 1504. The work, considered a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, depicts the Biblical David going to fight Goliath armed only with his faith in God.

Carrasquilla said that two parents complained because they werent notified in advance that a nude would be shown, while a third called the iconic statue pornographic. Celebrity chef and TV presenter Gino DAcampo has some thoughts

First of all, nudity and pornography are very different things. You should never confuse the two, because to do so is to have the completely wrong mindset. Children need to be educated about the difference, rather than just telling them they shouldnt look at any images that show a penis or a vagina. Maybe Americans should be warned at passport control before they enter Italy, because even in the smallest, most remote towns there are naked sculptures everywhere! They are naked because this is humans in their best, most pure form. And its ridiculous that anyone would be afraid of this.

Ive been travelling around Italy for my show, Gino's Italian Escape, for the past 15 years. It was actually just commissioned for a new series, so in May Ill be travelling around south Italy between Puglia and Basilicata for Ginos Secrets of the South. Im very happy that the shows been commissioned again; its still going after 12 years! I think viewers in the UK really embrace culture - they want to go to Italy and experience everything it has to offer.

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While Im in my home country, Im reminded of how Italians have a completely different attitude when it comes to the body. We dont look for the perfect body like they do on social media. Italians celebrate every kind of body, because our way of thinking is that each one is beautiful in its own unique way. We dont care about six-packs, no, no, no thats all rubbish. We celebrate the body in culture, in art, and on the beach, which is why you see all those 70-year-old nonnas sunbathing with their tops off.

So what I dont understand is, how can these parents allow children to be on social media, on TikTok, where people are vulgar, sharing horrible things, and then be angry and offended by something as magnificent as Michaelangelos sculpture of David? Why is it OK for them to be on all these different platforms where they see all these unrealistic images? (If Michaelangelo was born today, one thing is for sure, is Davids penis would have been bigger.)

If Michaelangelo was born today, one thing is for sure, is Davids penis would have been bigger (Getty Images)

The reaction to the school trip [from parents and the school] has been outrageous. Are we talking about the same people who arent allowed to buy Kinder Eggs (theyre banned in the United States), but they can buy a gun? They cant talk about sex or the body but they can watch the Kardashians? Its ridiculous beyond belief. But the only thing you can do is laugh.

As told to Roisin OConnor
John Fetterman and Gisele Fetterman have been married for 14 years and have three children. Nate Smallwood/Getty Images

In an Elle op-ed, Gisele Fetterman detailed the scrutiny she experiences as a politician's wife.

When her husband, John Fetterman, sought treatment for depression, she faced "vicious attacks."

She wrote that her experience resembles that of Meghan Markle, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jill Biden.

Gisele Fetterman says she receives 10 times more hate mail than her husband, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

In a new Elle op-ed titled, "The Tired Trope of the 'Power Hungry' Woman," Gisele Fetterman detailed the "vicious attacks" she said she's faced as the wife of a politician and a woman in the public eye. She wrote that critics have mocked her immigrant background and appearance, blamed her for her husband's stroke in May 2022, and accused her of plotting to fill his Senate seat.

She and her family also continue to receive "active threats of harm," she wrote in the op-ed, which was published Thursday.

"They're the same attacks leveled at Meghan Markle, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jill Biden  my apparent competitors for ' worst wife in America, ' " she wrote. "They echo the dehumanizing bullying that women like Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama have faced for decades. And they leave women shouldering a heavier side of the blame, no matter what we do."

When John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed hospital to receive treatment for clinical depression in February, the attacks "exploded," Gisele Fetterman wrote. She took her three children on an impromptu trip to Canada to escape the widespread scrutiny, and she was accused of kidnapping them and "failing" her husband.

"As much as I try to block them out, these attacks are really exhausting," she wrote. "Some days I just feel drained and have to let it out in a good cry. Even more, I worry about the millions of women who hear these attacks on TV and social media and then internalize these myths in their own lives."

Despite the constant criticism, Gisele Fetterman said she doesn't want to grow a thicker skin because empathy "drives my career and provides me with purpose and hope."

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"When we demand that women steel themselves in the face of unending attacks, we teach the next generation to normalize and accept harassment," she wrote. "In the end, it only puts the blame on women once again; telling us to toughen up or ignore it reasserts the idea that we need to accept when we're treated poorly, instead of questioning why society permits abusive behavior."

Gisele Fetterman and John Fetterman met in 2007 while he was serving as mayor Braddock, Pennsylvania, and she was working as a nutritionist and food justice activist. They've been married for 14 years. John Fetterman is expected to return to the Senate in mid-April after two months of intensive treatment at Walter Reed, Insider's Warren Rojas reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
In an unprecedented move, the city of Eagle on Thursday approved a proposal that eventually could nearly double its population.

After hours of public testimony, years of planning, dozens of business meetings, an election and thousands in campaign donations, Avimor is now part of Eagle.

The 8,761-home planned community in the Eagle Foothills will add nearly the population of Kuna to Eagles city limits at full build-out. Avimor also plans to build 860,000 square feet, or nearly 20 acres, of commercial and retail buildings, and bring its 25 miles of hiking trails into the city.

The four-member council voted 3-1 to annex Avimor into the city. Council member Brad Pike was the single no vote.

This gives us control and it gives us the predictability, said Charlie Baun, an Eagle City Council member.

The decision came after a majority of people who testified were opposed to annexation. The public testimony took two full evenings, with one meeting going until midnight.

Residents worried about a variety of impacts, including to Eagles population, water availability and financial burden on taxpayers.

Jeff Kimpson, an Eagle resident, worried about Eagle taxpayers footing the bill for city services for Avimor.

The proposed annexation of Avimor is a bad idea and will ultimately create a significant tax burden on the current residents of Eagle, by increasing taxes that will be required to cover significant deficiencies and infrastructure, Kimpson told the council Monday.

But City Council members said their desire to control the growth and design of Avimor outweighed the publics worries. The council voted on the annexation Thursday evening, which marked the fifth public meeting the city has had in the last few months about the application.

Avimor fits into Eagles growth plan

Before their vote, the council members discussed a list of resident concerns. Some of the top concerns were density, growth and taxes.

The bottom line for most of the council members was that growth and new homes are going to come to Eagle, regardless of Avimor. Annexing Avimor today ensures the council will be in control of how it grows and how many homes are built, they said.

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Council Member Helen Russell said the citys comprehensive plan is the guiding document for land-use decisions. She read a paragraph from the plan, which includes Avimor in Eagles growth plan.

The intent of our north Eagle Foothills sub area plan is to be a guide for future development as it is integrated into the Eagle community and incorporated into the city of Eagle, Russell read from the document.

Eagle Mayor Jason Pierce said annexing Avimor now is the citys best move to ensure Eagle is not forced to approve a project with more density  homes per acre  than residents would like.

If we wait for 15 or 20 years to decide what the densities are going to be, theyre going to be a lot more than they are today, he said.

Pierce also addressed some of the concern with taxes, saying the Avimor annexation would add to the citys tax base. Avimor developers agreed to pay for the needed police officers to cover the added residents. Avimor also donated its trails, parks and open space to the city, which prevents the need to add open space as part of annexation.

Is there enough water for Eagle residents?

Many Eagle residents said they were worried that adding more homes to the citys water supply could dwindle what is available to existing Eagle residents.

They said some Eagle residents have had to drill deeper or dig new wells after theirs went dry.

Council members and Avimor attorney Deborah Nelson, of Boise law firm Givens Pursley, said Avimors agreement with the city requires Avimor to build and fund all of the water infrastructure in its Foothills development.

The water service agreement requires Avimor to implement a well-monitoring plan and to continue to fund any improvements that are needed to ensure the water meets (Idaho Department of Environmental Quality) standards, Nelson said.

Public safety concerns

Thursday nights discussion came on the heels of a fatal stabbing Wednesday morning outside of the entrance to Avimor. The incident and council member Pikes experience in public safety  he is a fire commissioner for the Eagle Fire District  led to concerns with the citys level of police service.

Eagle contracts police services from the Ada County Sheriffs Office, which supplies the city with a police chief, administrative assistant, three sergeants, 12 patrol officers, two traffic officers, five detectives and two code enforcement officers.

Pike worried that Avimors eventual addition of over 8,000 homes and 22,000 residents would crush the departments ability to respond to resident safety needs.

The council approved over 8,800 homes this year, Pike said. Avimors annexation would add another 8,700 homes.

It is no secret to this group that my feelings on levels of service are just continually being diminished, Pike said.

Pike told the council that he agrees with all other points about why Avimor should be annexed, but his concerns with police services trump all else.

Im just a little concerned with the rapidness of the overall responsibility that would be put on the city and on service levels, he said.

In a written statement provided to the Statesman, Dan Richter, managing partner for Avimor, said he was pleased with the outcome and grateful to the City Council.

This is obviously exciting news for Avimor.  But we believe this is also good news for the city of Eagle and its residents, and we look forward to becoming a strong partner and trusted neighbor in the future, he said.

A group of residents, called SOS Eagle, mobilized against the annexation of Avimor and surveyed 235 Eagle residents about their desire for Avimor annexation. The group found 94% of respondents were opposed to annexation.

Many SOS Eagle members spoke against annexation during the public hearings. Former Eagle Mayor Stan Ridgeway, who is a member of the group, said he believes the council members had already made up their minds on annexation before they heard public testimony.

Its just really unfortunate that they didnt listen to us, Ridgeway said in a phone interview.

Dozens of Eagle, Avimor residents testify at hearing. Heres what happened 6 hours later

Police: Suspect in fatal Ada County stabbing was avenging mothers killing in Nampa
Boao forum participants call for cooperation in South China Sea

Xinhua) 08:43, March 31, 2023

BOAO, Hainan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Participants of the ongoing Boao Forum in south China's Hainan Province on Thursday called for dialogue and cooperation in the South China Sea.

More than 100 experts, diplomats and government officials from over 20 countries and regions attended a session concerning the South China Sea.

Nong Rong, assistant minister of foreign affairs of China, said in a written statement that the South China Sea is the common home of the countries in the region and, over the years, these countries have developed effective practices and experience in managing disputes, enhancing mutual trust and promoting cooperation.

Countries in the region have fully and effectively implemented the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and continued to advance consultations on the text of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, creating a strengthened and upgraded version of the rules governing the maritime region, Nong said.

Think tanks in countries in the region could join hands to conduct dialogues and pragmatic cooperation on issues concerning the South China Sea, including marine environmental protection, marine scientific research, and maritime security and rescue work, said Liu Zhenmin, former UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs.

Wu Shicun, chairman of the council of the China-Southeast Asia Research Center on the South China Sea, said that China and ASEAN countries should accelerate the implementation of pragmatic maritime cooperation under the framework of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and accelerate consultations on the text of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Li Guoping, an official with the Ministry of Transport, called on all countries bordering the South China Sea to work together to ensure maritime transport security.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) saw the height of imperial power, a massive development of the economy and a cultural blossoming. All were unmatched in the country's history to that point. The ongoing exhibition at the Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai is presenting 83 sets of paintings and calligraphy from the period, 20 of which will be on public display for the first time.

The exhibition, which opened on Saturday and runs through June 18, features some of the most valuable pieces from the collection of Liu Yiqian, founder of the Long Museum, over the past 30 years.

Among them are fans, hanging scrolls, album pages and handheld scrolls, some of which spread as long as 10 meters, that "collectively present a holistic landscape of the art history of the period", according to Xie Xiaodong, curator of the exhibition.

In the 276 years of the Ming Dynasty, there were 16 emperors. Liu was fascinated with the tumultuous stories of the imperial family: the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang started off as a deprived peasant; later in the dynasty an uncle usurped the throne from his nephew, the crown prince; one of the emperors, Yingzong, who personally led soldiers in battles against nomads was captured and forced to abdicate; and the last emperor Chongzhen hanged himself from a tree, which still stands in Jinshan park, when the rebels took the capital city Beijing.

"Drama and legends ran through the family," Liu says. "On the other hand, the Ming Dynasty fostered one of the most dynamic and booming cultural landscapes in the history of China and witnessed the emergence of some of the greatest artists, writers and thinkers of all time, whose influences still linger today."

Literati paintings and calligraphy from the Ming Dynasty are always aspired treasures for art collectors, such as Liu.

"There were many times that when I added one new piece into the collection, I'd feel the thrill deep inside me for so long, even though I might appear composed," he says in the preface for the show.

With the title of Emperor and Literati: Painting and Calligraphy from Ming Dynasty, the exhibition highlights the aesthetics, moral pursuit and spiritual world of ancient Chinese intellectuals of the period.

Wang Wei, director of the museum and wife of Liu, sums up the core spirit of the literati quoting Confucian philosopher Mencius, which reads, "If poor, one should attend to their own virtue in solitude, if advanced to dignity, one should make the whole kingdom virtuous as well."

"They held fast to such faith despite the different choices they made in life," Wang says.

The artworks were created by more than 60 artists, covering a diversity of schools and styles.

While Confucianism remained the foundation of the political culture of the empire during the Ming Dynasty, Xie notices significant undermining of mutual respect between the emperor and his ministers, which was an important part of Confucian values.

"This phenomenon greatly affected the political ecology and contributed to the eventual collapse of the dynasty in the mid-17th century," Xie says.
Photograph of an entrance to Google offices

A lawsuit has been filed against Google to seek 3.4bn ($4.2bn) in compensation for publishers for lost revenue.

The claim, by ex-Guardian technology editor Charles Arthur, alleges Google unlawfully used a dominant position in online adverts in a way that reduced what publishers could make from them.

Google said it would fight the "speculative and opportunistic" action vigorously.

It is the second such lawsuit, after a similar case was launched in November.

That was brought by former Ofcom director Claudio Pollack, who is looking for up to 13.6bn in damages from the tech giant.

The cases concern advertising technology - adtech - that decides in a fraction of a second which online adverts consumers will see, how much they will cost, and how much publishers will earn.

Online display advertising is the main source of income for many websites.

The UK competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is also investigating Google's dominance in advertising technology.

In the lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, Mr Arthur claims that because of Google's abuse of its position, the prices of adtech services were inflated, and ad sales revenues of publishers were unlawfully reduced.

"The CMA is currently investigating Google's anti-competitive conduct in adtech, but they don't have the power to make Google compensate those who have lost out. We can only right that wrong through the courts, which is why I am bringing this claim," he wrote.

Collective claims

Both legal claims ask the court - the Competition Appeal Tribunal - to certify their claims as "opt-out", meaning every relevant publisher would be automatically included in the case unless they choose otherwise.

These are collective claims, often referred to as a class action in the United States, which only became possible in the UK in 2015. Because they are brought on behalf of a whole group or class, the damages can be very large.

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Unless Mr Arthur and Mr Pollack agree to collaborate, the tribunal will have to decide which one should lead the collective claim

Many competitors

Google told the BBC its advertising tools, "and those of our many adtech competitors, help millions of websites and apps fund their content, and enable businesses of all sizes to effectively reach new customers".

Although the CMA found that Google owned the largest provider in three key areas of adtech, the firm maintains it has many competitors. It also says its adtech fees are lower than, or match, industry averages.

But in a case launched in January, the US Justice department accused Google of being an "industry behemoth" that had "corrupted legitimate competition in the adtech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers".

On Tuesday, Google asked a court to dismiss the case - arguing that the US government had overstated its hold on the market.

In 2021 the French competition regulator, Autorite de la concurrence, fined Google 220m for favouring its own services in the online advertising sector.
It was nearly a year ago when a leaked draft opinion revealed that the U.S. Supreme Court was poised to strike down Roe v. Wade and open the door for states to enact whatever abortion restrictions they saw fit.

Since then, North Carolina Republicans have vowed to pass a new abortion law, winning enough seats in last years election to bring them within a single seat of a supermajority. And they have begun closed-door discussions on what the new abortion bill should look like.

But in the more than two months that lawmakers have been in session this year, the House and Senate GOP caucuses have yet to come up with a consensus the entire party can get behind. And while those private discussions have continued, Republicans have refrained from putting forth any bills.

So, when a few House Republicans filed their own proposal on Wednesday  a ban at the point of conception that includes an exception for the life of the mother  it caught some by surprise.

Its worth remembering, though, that just because a bill has been filed, that doesnt mean that its going anywhere.

The abortion bans sponsors

House Bill 533, introduced by Reps. Keith Kidwell, Ben Moss and Ed Goodwin, would impose criminal and civil penalties for performing or attempting abortions. Doctors who perform abortions would also have their medical licenses revoked.

Every human life has value from the womb to the tomb, and I am thrilled to introduce this legislation that will defend the dignity and sanctity of every person, said Moss, who represents Moore and Richmond counties, in a statement. I will continue to promote a culture of life and ensure that every child, regardless of circumstance, is given the chance to flourish and thrive.

Abortion rights groups were quick to condemn the proposal, calling it a dangerous bill and one that would endanger peoples lives.

What the real-deal proposal might look like

Republican working groups have reportedly been debating two main proposals over the last several weeks. One is a six-week ban, which House Speaker Tim Moore has said he personally supports. The second would be a first-trimester ban, which Senate leader Phil Berger has said he supports.

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Neither are total bans at the point of conception. But both proposals would still significantly change current law, which prohibits abortions after 20 weeks, with an exception for medical emergencies. And that law itself is relatively new, having gone into effect last summer after Roe was struck down. Before then, abortions were legal up until the point of viability.

Moores office confirmed that discussions in the House remain ongoing, and that House Republicans havent been working on a conception ban.

HB 533 does not reflect the work of the working group or the consensus product we expect to emerge from those discussions, Moore spokesperson Demi Dowdy said.

When the consensus bill is released, there will likely be a few ways of telling that its the real deal.

First, since a more restrictive abortion law to protect the unborn has been a key priority for Republican lawmakers and voters, it makes sense to expect that party leaders will unveil the proposal themselves, with several of their colleagues by their side. The final bill will have been the product of months of talks, so expect Republicans to want to make a show of force  emphasizing that the entire party, or at least the vast majority, is fully behind the proposal.

The contents of the bill will also be worth watching. Republicans seem to be trying to find the right combination of a bill that satisfies their most-impassioned voters, and is at the same time as close as possible to what the average North Carolinian thinks about the issue.

A bill banning abortion at conception isnt exactly in step with a broad segment of public opinion.

NC reacts to Trump indictment

Former President Donald Trump had said nearly two weeks ago that he expected to be indicted by a Manhattan grand jury imminently. It later appeared that an indictment would not come until mid-April.

But on Thursday, just hours after members of Congress left Washington for a two-week-long recess, the news broke that Trump had been indicted in connection to an alleged hush money payment he made to the porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Danielle Battaglia reported on how the news was received in North Carolina, and how Republicans and Democrats agree that the indictment of a former president marks a sad day, but they disagree on why.

Budget season is upon us

In the same week the legislature overrode the first veto from Gov. Roy Cooper since 2018 and repealed the states pistol purchase permit law, House Republicans also unveiled their two-year budget proposal.

After poring over hundreds of pages of budget documents, here are a few highlights from our Dawn Vaughan, Keung Hui and Korie Dean.

 NC House budget proposal calls for 10% teacher raises, 7.5% for state workers.

 NC House budget would make it easier for parents to challenge unfit school materials.

 NC House budget gives better pension payout to one person, with the state paying for it.

 Top Republicans remove special retirement benefit from NC budget after N&O story.

 UNC School of Civic Life would receive millions in state funding under House budget.

 Class-size limits, charter school changes, ban on COVID shot mandates in NC House budget.

Thanks for reading. See you next week. In the meantime, tune into our stories, our tweets and our Under the Dome podcast for more developments.

 By Avi Bajpai, reporter for The News & Observer. Email me at abajpai@newsobserver.com.
Sherburne County Jail

Anton Lazzaro, a wannabe playboy on Instagram who used his riches to pump up the Minnesota Republican Party and recruit teenage girls for sex, was convicted by a Minnesota jury Friday of sex trafficking minors.

At trial, prosecutors laid out how Lazzaro preyed on broken girlsto which his defense lawyer countered were simply girls he was trying to fix. The victims testified that Lazzaro would take them to his swanky Minneapolis condo, where hed ply them with Everclear, the strongest liquor on the market.

Lazzaro paid tens of thousands of dollars to have sex with high school students, and even used one as a recruiter. Days after his arrest in August 2021, the feds caught up with that associate, Gisela Castro Medina, and eventually turned her into a witness against him.

Lazzaro remained defiant from jail, borrowing a lame conservative talking point and chalking up the case to a political prosecution for his ties to the GOP.

Federal Election Commission records show Lazzaro donated to Republicans for nearly a decade, with his contributions ramping up sharply in 2016. He also played a bit part in former President Donald Trumps anti-democratic attempts to remain in the White House after losing in 2020, as Lazzaro was on the shortlist of the Minnesotas GOP slate of alternate presidential electors who could substitute for any missing delegates, according to state election records.

Online, he posed as a wealthy entrepreneur, sharing pictures of himself on private jets, waving stacks of cash, and driving shirtless in his red Ferrari. And he touted his Republican connections, using his personal website to display a picture of him alongside Trump, then-Vice President Mike Pence, and multiple television appearances on Fox News.

The court case, which lasted a year-and-a-half, underwent bizarre twists as Lazzaro turned on his lawyers and briefly represented himself, wasting time trying to get his Ferrari back instead of mounting an intelligent defense.

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The Daily Beast first revealed in 2021 that the FBI had been investigating Lazzaro and had raided his apartment. When asked about his preying on teenage girls weeks before his arrest, he threatened to dox this reporter and run an online harassment campaign.

GOP Strategist Arrested for Underage Sex Trafficking

The Daily Beast also exclusively reported how a former Lazzaro business associate serving time in prison on drug charges tried to report details about Lazzaros predatory behavior to the FBI, only to be reprimanded by Bureau of Prison guards.

That ex-felon, Ben Freedland, finished serving his prison sentence and attended the trial. He told The Daily Beast he was most disturbed by Lazzaros strange obsession with another convicted predator who sexually abused teenage girls: Jeffrey Epstein.

One of the wildest things to come out at trial is a social media post that Tony made on the one year anniversary of Jeff Epsteins death: a picture of them together with a caption that said, rest in peace brother, Freedland said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, center, delivers her state of the state address at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on Jan. 9, 2023. | Ross D. Franklin, Associated Press

Gov. Katie Hobbs press secretary resigned after making a controversial tweet in the wake of the school shooting in Tennessee earlier this week.

Gubernatorial spokesperson Josselyn Berrys social media post included a photo of a woman holding a pistol in both hands, with fingers on the trigger, and the caption said, Us when we see transphobes.

The post went online shortly after the shooting at a small, private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, that resulted in the deaths of three children and three adults, as well as the shooter, who was killed by the police, as the Deseret News reported. The shooter was identified as a former student who was transgender.

Arizonas governor responded the same day, stating that she does not condone violence in any form.

The post by the Press Secretary is not reflective of the values of the administration. The Governor has received and accepted the resignation of the Press Secretary, the statement said.

Please see the statement from the Office of Governor Hobbs:https://t.co/HTqtkIWO9k  Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) March 29, 2023

A replacement has not been announced yet.

Reports indicate that prior to tweeting the controversial photo, Berry also posted, If you work in the progressive community and are transphobic, youre not progressive. Period. End of story.

Her account has since been changed from a public profile to a private one.

The Arizona Freedom Caucus, which is chaired by Sen. Jake Hoffman and often opposes Hobbs, posted a tweet, saying, Less than 12 hours after the tragic shooting in Nashville by a deranged transgender activist (Hobbs) Press Secretary calls for shooting people Democrats disagree with.

Calling for violence like this is un-American & never acceptable, the post added.
DELAWARE, Pa.,  Officials are looking for information on who vandalized the ruins of a 19th-century mill on Dingmans Creek in the George W. Childs Park area of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

According to a statement from the park, the area damaged is the Brooks Woolen Mill ruins and the original "date stone."

The damage included bright red paint proclaiming I (heart) Tara scrawled across the original 1892 date stone that once stood at the former entrance to the site. More red paint was used on the walls of the woolen mill to write: I (heart) Anthony. The two lovers also left a date of March 23, 2023.

Not only is graffiti a crime, but it is also unsightly and damaging to the surface defaced, and removing it takes time, money, and staff," stated Kara Deutsch, chief of resource management and science for the park.

Her team is determining what would be the best way to remove the graffiti without doing any further damage. Depending on the area damaged and what the surface is, it can take park staff quite some time to remove, she added, and often, a damaged site can never be fully restored to its original condition.

Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call the parks 24-hour emergency communication center at 570-426-2457.

The name Childs Park for the 155-acre site along Dingmans Creek comes from the vision of Philadelphia philanthropist and publisher George W. Childs who, along with friend George Donaldson, developed rustic trails and dedicated the area to the public in 1892. Childs died two years later and in 1912, his widow donated the site to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which operated it as a state park until 1983 when the property was donated to the National Park Service.

The upper part of the park features three scenic waterfalls reachable by the trail system which threads through the cool, shady eastern hemlock ravine and on a map appears as an "appendix" to the main area of the park. The upper parking lot is off Silver Lake Road.

Childs Park has been closed to the public since a series of storms in 2018 brought down many of the hemlock trees which blocked trails and damaged a couple of buildings and other structures along the stream. According to a news release, the last phase of restoration in Childs Park is due to begin later this spring and reopen the park next year.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Delaware Water Gap park graffiti found at Brooks Woolen Mill
The death of a gray whale found last week on a California beach was most likely human caused, a nonprofit suspects.

While conducting a necropsy, scientists from The Marine Mammal Center and California Academy of Sciences determined the whale  found March 23 on Bolinas Beach  likely died from blunt force trauma due to vessel strike, according to a March 30 news release.

The necropsy also showed the 35-foot whale had a normal body condition based on the fat stores and blubber layer and, based on decomposition, likely died two days before the exam, according to the nonprofit mammal center.

It was a relief to see this young male gray whale in such good body condition with a thick layer of blubber and lots of fat and oil, Moe Flannery, with the California Academy of Sciences, said in the release.

Though this whale marks the first stranding of the year in the Bay Area, the whales good body condition shows the species is doing better now compared to the last few years, Flannery said.

By investigating deaths of marine animals, the center said it can spot changing environmental trends as well as human impacts.

Padraig Duignan, the nonprofits director of pathology, said in the release that gray whales are ocean sentinels due to their adaptability and foraging habits.

They have a lot to tell us about the health of the ocean, so to see the species continue to face the added threats of human interaction should concern all of us, Duignan said, while adding that necropsy investigations are key to creating data to find actionable solutions.

The western North Pacific population of gray whales is considered to be endangered, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries).

NOAA Fisheries declared an ongoing unusual mortality event for the species after seeing a higher number of dead gray whales washing ashore in poor body condition since early 2019 during migration, the center said.

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Since the start of the unusual mortality event, the number of migrating gray whales along the West Coast has dropped 38% to about 16,650 from a 2016 peak of 26,960, NOAA estimates, the center said.

The most common causes of death for gray whales include malnutrition, entanglement and trauma from vessel strikes, according to the center.

Currently, gray whales are migrating north along the Pacific west coast from their mating and birthing grounds near Baja, Mexico, to their traditional feeding grounds in Arctic waters, the center said.

Bolinas Beach is about 30 miles northwest of San Francisco.

11 sharks wash up on South African beach, researchers say. Their livers were missing

Dead whale is the 7th to wash up recently in NJ. What an early investigation found

Endangered whales severely injured body washes ashore in Oregon, video shows
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday called on the European Union to "seriously consider" providing financial aid to help extend an anti-migrant steel fence along the border with Turkey.

"I think it's about time for the EU to seriously consider providing European funds for these types of projects," the head of government told AFP, on the sidelines of a visit announcing the project at Feres in northeastern Greece.

"After all, we're contributing towards European security and we are also contributing towards a more integrated and effective European asylum policy."

Athens has decided to extend by 35 kilometres (21.7 miles) a five-metre high steel fence which runs along the Evros river marking the border with Turkey.

The fence is currently 37.5km long, and Athens aims to carry out the extension within a year, adding a total of 100km by 2026.

Mitsotakis has insisted that, even without EU funds, the project, estimated at 100 million euros ($108 million), will go ahead.

"What you see here is an obstacle that the Greek government has built in order to protect the borders of a country which also happens to be the external borders of the European Union," he said.

"I've always been a firm believer that we cannot reach a new agreement on migration and asylum unless we protect our external borders.

"And what we're doing here, I think, is a significant contribution towards that end. What you see here has been funded exclusively by the Greek budget, by Greek taxpayers."

The debate on the financing of such fences resurfaced during an EU summit in February.

Several countries, including Austria and Greece, have called for EU funding to strengthen fences along the bloc's external borders to reduce the flow of asylum-seekers.

But in January, the European Commission insisted there was no money in the EU budget for this.

"If we were to spend money on walls or fences, there would be no money for other things," said EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson.

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A group of Coconut Grove homebuyers got reassuring news Thursday from Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who said city officials would help them break an impasse with a Miami developer who has locked them out of their houses for years.

During a meeting at Miami City Hall that included four building department officials, Suarez sympathized with buyers who have been fighting with Doug Cox of Drive Development to close on the sales of their homes, which are in move-in condition but each lack about 10 final inspection approvals necessary to obtain certificates of occupancy from the city.

Mayor Suarez seemed to genuinely care and desire a resolution that will get us into our houses, said Kevin Ware, who relocated from Chicago to Miami with his family expecting to move into a Coconut Avenue townhouse two years ago. The building department acknowledged that we are facing a developer who does not want to finish the job site. Doug Cox has blamed everybody but himself but what became clear to all today is that he does not want to close on these houses.

READ MORE: They bought their dream homes from the King of Coconut Grove. They still cant move in

Cox, through his company Send Enterprises LLC and other companies, owns 24 properties in Coconut Grove, including 12 townhouses on Coconut Avenue that he finished building two or three years ago but the buyers, despite signing contracts and paying deposits from $300,000 to $500,000, have not been able to move into them. He also owns vacant lots on which he promised to build new homes for buyers but has failed to break ground.

Several townhouses can be seen in the 2900 block of Coconut Avenue in Coconut Grove on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. The property is owned by Send Enterprises LLC and Doug Cox, a Coconut Grove developer.

Cox, 52, presents an unusual problem for the building department in that unlike a typical developer, he has been stalling his own project, said the city officials at the meeting and the engineer Cox hired to do inspections.

Its a one-off. No one has seen anything like this before, said Katrina Meneses, president of MEP, a Coral Gables engineering firm that Cox hired as a private provider to conduct inspections and submit reports to the city for approval. The mayor is mystified. The developer lets permits expire and purposely delays the project, which is the total opposite of what a developer would normally want to do.

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At the time Cox signed the sales contracts and collected the deposits, he pledged completion and closing dates within 45 days to six months on the Coconut Avenue townhouses. But he keeps extending those dates, upending buyers plans and forcing them to live in limbo, as they describe it, in costly rentals or with in-laws. Home prices in the Grove have nearly doubled since buyers signed deals for houses ranging from $1.2 to $1.8 million as far back as 2018.

Doug Cox

Cox has told buyers they can withdraw from their contracts and get a refund of their deposits because hes got backup buyers presumably willing to pay 2023 prices. Earlier this month, Drive listed 2986 Coconut Ave. for $2.495 million. It was originally under contract in July 2020 for $1.385 million, a difference of $1.11 million. The house doesnt have a certificate of occupancy.

Cox did not attend the meeting and declined to comment when contacted by the Herald.

Mayor Suarez let us share our stories and said he wants to find constructive, actionable, legal solutions, said Mike Coyne, a New York transplant who has lived in six different places with his wife, three children and parents-in-law while awaiting a closing date.

Meneses and the building department were criticized for their lack of oversight when Cox worked through a Stop Work order for more than a year. But Meneses spoke up Thursday and said she is frustrated by Coxs inaction.

I cannot review documents and approve plans that have not been given to me by the developer, she said. The only reason Ive stuck with this project is to help the buyers get in their homes because this is costing us all time and money. Ive not been paid in full by the developer for my contract. I honestly hope the city can fix it.
On Thursday, Donald Trump became the first ever US president past or present to face criminal charges -- but the indictment over hush money paid to a porn star is far from the only legal peril dogging the ex-leader as he seeks a return to the White House.

The rebellious Republican billionaire is already portraying the charges as the work of Democrats and prosecutors waging "political persecution and election interference" to derail his presidential candidacy.

Here are the key investigations underway against the 76-year-old one-term president:

- Stormy hush money? -

A New York grand jury on Thursday indicted Donald Trump over hush money payments made to the pornographic film actress known as Stormy Daniels.

Prior to the 2016 election, intense behind-the-scenes negotiations occurred to prevent the leak of an embarrassing revelation that Trump had a relationship with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in 2006 -- a year after he married his current wife.

Late in the campaign, Trump lawyer Michael Cohen arranged a payment of $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her pledge of confidentiality.

After US media broke the story, Cohen cooperated with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges of tax and bank fraud, as well as violating federal campaign financing laws.

Cohen testified that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen for his payment to Daniels, which prosecutors said amounted to an undeclared campaign gift in violation of election financing laws.

Thursday's indictment is still sealed and the specific nature of the charges is yet to be revealed.

- Incited Capitol attack? -

An independent prosecutor, Jack Smith, will decide whether or not to charge anyone alleged to have "unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power" after the 2020 election or during certification by Congress of the results.

On January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol seeking to stop that certification.

Just before the assault, Trump delivered a fiery speech nearby urging the crowd to "fight like hell."

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In explosive hearings separate from the Justice probe, lawmakers argued Trump knew he lost the election yet pressed fake claims of fraud.

They also presented evidence of alleged misconduct by Trump leading up to the insurrection, including accusations he attempted to co-opt government departments into his bid to overturn the election results.

Federal prosecutors have obtained convictions of or guilty pleas from more than 500 people for participating in the uprising, but it remains unclear if Trump will face charges for any plotting or fomenting of the Capitol attack.

- Secret documents at home -

Smith will also decide on any charges in the ongoing investigation into classified documents found at Trump's Florida home -- and over possible obstruction of the probe.

An FBI search of Trump's palatial Mar-a-Lago residence last August turned up classified documents taken when he left office in early 2021.

The raid was triggered by a review of records which Trump finally surrendered to authorities in January 2022.

The Justice Department began investigating after the 15 boxes were found to contain national defense information, including 184 documents marked as confidential, secret or top secret.

- Other probes -

Trump is separately being investigated for pressuring officials in the southern swing state of Georgia to overturn Biden's 2020 victory -- including a taped phone call in which he asked the secretary of state to "find" enough votes to reverse the result.

The top prosecutor in Georgia's Fulton County, Fani Willis, has assembled a special grand jury that could see Trump facing conspiracy charges connected to election fraud and interference.

Last month the grand jury forewoman, in unusually public remarks, said the 23-member panel had recommended indictments of multiple people, including "certainly names that you would recognize." She did not say whether Trump was among them.

In New York, meanwhile, the state attorney general Letitia James has filed a civil suit against Trump and three of his children, accusing them of fraud by overvaluing assets to secure loans and then undervaluing them to minimize taxes.

James is seeking $250 million in penalties as well as banning Trump and his children from serving as executives at companies in New York.

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The Florida Senate Thursday approved doing away with licensing requirements to carry a gun into most public places  but not into the Senate chamber where the bill was approved.

The bill now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has promised to sign the proposal, although it does not include an open carry provision, which he has also endorsed.

The measure allows individuals eligible for a concealed weapons license to carry a firearm without a CWL. The Department of Agriculture has issued more than 2.6 million CWLs. The license, requiring a background check, training, and fees, will still exists as an option for Floridians who wish to carry weapons in states that have a concealed carry reciprocity agreement with Florida.

A selection of handguns at Dunkelberger's Sports Outfitter in Brodheadsville. While most guns come with basic safety features like locking mechanisms, experts often recommend that owners should invest in a safe or cabinet for extra protection.

2024 campaign: Ron DeSantis hits the road again to bolster his case against Donald Trump

DeSantis makes appearance at 'World's Largest Gun Store'

While Republicans and Democrats in Tallahassee argued the proposal, DeSantis boosted his pro-gun reputation by greeting fans at a gun store outside Atlanta in what many see as part of a build-up to a run for the Republican presidential nomination.

The store bills itself as the World's Largest Gun Store, and had been used as campaign stops in 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, then-U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler and GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker. Conservatives have protested a recent inspection of the shop by federal authorities.

The permitless carry bill loosens gun regulations in the wake of a mass shooting at a Tennessee elementary school March 28, the 128th incident in which a gun was used to either injure or kill four or more individuals  or one every 16.7 hours since January 1, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the Gun Violence Archive.

Dozens gathered outside the Florida Capitol for the March for Our Lives Rally as the crowd demanded stricter gun control laws Thursday, March 23, 2023.

Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahasse

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida lawmakers give gun owners right to carry without permit
The singing of Danse mon Esmeralda, the most popular number in the French musical show Notre Dame de Paris, by Angelo Del Vecchio at the Shanghai Culture Square theater on Tuesday, signified the return of overseas productions to the country's musical scene.

The Italian musical actor flew to Shanghai for the news conference at the theater announcing the venue's show plan for this year on Tuesday. It includes overseas productions, such as Romeo et Juliette, Titanic from Britain, a gala concert of French musicals, as well as the first showcase of Israeli theaters in Shanghai.

"It's been three years. I missed you so much," Del Vecchio says to the audience in Shanghai.

"I am so happy to be with you again, my friends."

He announces that he will be part of the gala concert of French musicals between Sept 14 and 17. He adds he thinks "it's time for the big return of Notre Dame de Paris", as he has been looking forward to in years.

Romeo et Juliette, presented from May 29 to June 11, will be the first overseas musical at the Shanghai Culture Square in three years.

First introduced in China by the theater in 2012, the production toured the country in 2016 and 2018.

In 2021, the Chinese edition was premiered at the Shanghai Culture Square, and then toured Beijing, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and other cities in the country.

The British production of Titanic will be shown from Oct 11 to 15. Created by Maury Yeston, the musical is celebrating its 10th anniversary since its premiere in London in 2013.

While the 2012 James Cameron film of the same subject will be shown again in cinemas around China in April, Fei Yuanhong, vice-general manager of the Shanghai Culture Square, says that "the musical tells a different story, which features a group portrait of passengers, engineers and journalists on board the legendary ship".

The musical was shown for the first time in China at the Shanghai Culture Square in 2019.

"We have a series of other overseas musical productions planned for this year," Fei says. "We will make the announcements later when all the information is confirmed."

The theater will also have its first Israeli theater showcase, presenting four plays in Hebrew. The Superfluous Man by Israel Mitcha Figa Theatre, based on the novel Oblomov by Russian author Ivan Goncharov, will be shown on July 8 and 9. Director of the play, Yehezkel Lazarov says that he started to work on the play at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He wanted to use the story of a character that had frequent recurrence in Russian literature in the late 1800s, to address the "nothingness of being": what does it mean to be nothing; are we allowed to live life without leaving anything behind"?

The other three Israeli plays will be The Dybbuk by the Gesher Theatre, Hamlet by the Beit Lessin Theatre and Yakish and Poopche, by the Gesher Theater.

The epic Russian play And Quiet Flows the Don, based on the novel of Mikhail Sholokhov, will come back to the venue from Dec 1 to 3.

The 8-hour-long production made a deep impression among theatergoers in Shanghai when it was first shown in the country in 2019.
"I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity," the actress says

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Gwyneth Paltrow is speaking out after being found not liable in the civil suit brought by Terry Sanderson over a 2016 ski collision.

A jury found Thursday that Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist, was "100 percent" at fault in the collision that happened Feb. 26, 2016, at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. The two-week trial ended with less than three hours of deliberations, and Paltrow, 50, was awarded $1 in damages plus legal fees.

The Oscar winner says in a statement shared on her Instagram Story, "I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity."

"I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case," says Paltrow.

Her attorney Stephen Owens adds in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, "We are pleased with this unanimous outcome and appreciate the judge and jury's thoughtful handling of the case. Gwyneth has a history of advocating for what she believes in  this situation was no different and she will continue to stand up for what is right."

Sanderson's attorney C. Peter Sorensen said in a statement, "We are disappointed in the outcome, but we love and support the legal process. We thank Judge Holmberg, the jury and staff for all their efforts. We will spend the next while evaluating and discussing where we go from here."

Related:Biggest Bombshells from Gwyneth Paltrow's Utah Ski Trial

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The trial verdict came after more than seven days of testimony from people like Paltrow herself, as well as plaintiff Sanderson, two of his daughters, plus eyewitnesses to the immediate aftermath of the collision.

Paltrow testified that she "absolutely froze" during the incident, then became upset when she knew what happened and screamed at Sanderson using profanity. "Yes I did. I apologize for my bad language," she told the jury.

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"I said, 'You skied directly into my F-ing back,' and he said, 'Oh, sorry, sorry, I'm sorry,' " she added. "I was pretty upset."

Related:Man Suing Gwyneth Paltrow Apologizes for Previously Describing Actress as 'King Kong'

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Both parties in the civil suit agreed the collision in question happened, but they had conflicting points of view on who crashed into whom. Paltrow agreed she did not inquire about Sanderson's condition after she said she was told by the ski instructor he'd handle the situation and left to meet her kids. After lunch, she got a massage while having back and knee pain, she said.

"I think you have to keep in mind when you're the victim of a crash your psychology is not necessarily thinking about the person who perpetrated it ... I thought it was very minor on the day," she said, noting she "stuck around long enough for [Sanderson] to say he was okay."

Sanderson testified, "I realized, after a period of time, that no one believed how serious my injuries were." When it came time for her lawyers to ask her questions, Paltrow said on the stand that she felt "very sorry" for Sanderson. "It seems like he's had a very difficult life. But I did not cause the accident, so I cannot be at fault for anything that subsequently happened to him."

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The retired doctor suing Gwyneth Paltrow appeared to compare her to Jeffrey Epstein in bizarre testimony during the trial. (Twitter)

Gwyneth Paltrow was left wide-eyed in shock during her recent court case when the retired doctor trying to sue her over a skiing accident appeared to reference convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a bizarre moment while giving evidence, Terry Sanderson said Paltrow should be held "accountable" for the crash he claimed she caused, before bringing up "the molesting of young children on an island".

The high-profile and often entertaining trial came to an end on Thursday when a jury ruled that the actor was not responsible for injuries sustained by retired optometrist Sanderson during a ski slope collision in Utah in 2016.

The doctor who is suing Gwyneth Paltrow says he is suing her because celebrities need to be held accountable and that when celebrities aren't held responsible, they start doing things like molesting children on islands.



So we got a QAnon guy on our hands... pic.twitter.com/cgtawDyv21  Yashar Ali :elephant:  (@yashar) March 30, 2023

Gwyneth Paltrow was visibly shocked by the comparison to Jeffrey Epstein. (Twitter)

Sanderson had sought more than $300,000 in damages from Paltrow, claiming she caused injuries that led to a traumatic brain injury.

But following the trial, a jury sided with Paltrow, who claimed she was the one that had been hit and counter-sued for $1.

Read more: Gwyneth Paltrow and the return of celebrity wellness extremism

The trial has included several bizarre moments, from Paltrow being asked about her height and whether she is friends with Taylor Swift, to the actress's lawyers being told not to bring 'treats' to the court bailiffs as a thank you for them helping shield her from paparazzi.

Other bizarre moments included Sanderson recreating the 'blood-curdling scream' he claimed he heard during the crash, and comparisons of Paltrow to King Kong and Godzilla.

Paltrow's lawyers objected to the witness testimony from Terry Sanderson. (Twitter)

As the 76-year-old gave evidence, he left Paltrow visibly shocked as he made the apparent reference to Epstein.

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In a brief speech in which he suggested he wanted her to be "accountable" for the crash, he told the court: "It's absolutely ignoring me  ignorance  and that's what it felt like. It's like 'what is going on here?'.

"This is obviously an issue that someone needs to be accountable for and if they're never accountable what are they going to do? They're going to do it again."

The jury was ordered to disregard the bizarre statement from Sanderson. (Twitter)

He went on to say: "Now we have the molesting of young children on an island," adding: "Denial."

As Paltrow looked wide-eyed in shock, her lawyer branded it "ridiculous testimony" and the jury was ordered by the judge to ignore it.

In courtroom footage, the actor could be seen continuing to shake her head in disbelief.

As the trial concluded, Paltrow was seen whispering in the ear of her accuser.

He later told reporters outside that she had said: "I wish you well", to which he had replied: "Thank you, dear."

In a statement after the verdict was given, Paltrow said: "I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity.

"I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case."
New Hampshires highest court has rejected Pamela Smarts latest attempt to reduce her sentence, more than three decades after she was convicted of convincing her teenage lover to kill her husband.

Smart is currently serving out a life sentence without the possibility of parole in a New York prison, but the 55-year-oldwhose sensational story once inspired the movie To Die For  had been hoping to reduce her sentence to allow for the possibility of parole, according to the decision from The Supreme Court of New Hampshire.

Smart requested a hearing before the states Executive Council and Governor Chris Sununu to commute her sentence, but after a discussion during a March 2022 meeting that lasted less than three minutes, the Governor and Executive Council voted to deny her request.

RELATED: Sex, Murder, and Heavy Metal: How the Pamela Smart Case Became a Media Sensation

Smarts attorneys petitioned the states Supreme Court in an attempt to have them order the governor and executive council to re-consider the request, arguing that the group had not considered the petitions merits or Smarts rehabilitation efforts before making their decision.

Ultimately, the state supreme court dismissed the petition Wednesday, ruling that they had a lack of jurisdiction in the matter.

Pamela Smart Ap

In this 2010 image taken from video, courtesy of WMUR television of Manchester, N.H., Pamela Smart is shown during an interview at the corrections facility, in Bedford Hills, N.Y. Photo: WMUR Television/AP

As part of their decision, the court wrote that imposing procedural rules or standards on the executive branch, which has exclusive authority to exercise its clemency power, would violate the separation of powers doctrine. They concluded that Smarts request was a political, nonjusticiable question.

Smart has long argued that shes used her time behind bars to rehabilitate herself, earning Masters degrees in law and English literature, working as an inmate advocate and being an active part of her church.

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The death penalty would have been more merciful than this, Smart told The New York Times in an email sent by a supporter after the decision. Nothing will ever be enough for New Hampshire to say I am a human being deserving of anything more than being locked up in a cage like an animal for the rest of my entire life.

Smart was just 22-years-old and working as a high school media coordinator when authorities say she began an affair with 15-year-old student Billy Flynn. During their tryst, Smart convinced Flynn and his friends to kill her husband Gregg Smith in what was made to look like a robbery gone wrong.

Pamela Smart Ap

Pamela Smart Photo: AP

The murder inspired the popular 1995 movie To Die For, starring Nicole Kidman.

While Smart has expressed remorse for having an affair with Flynn, a continued sticking point for the council in past attempts to reduce her sentence has been her refusal to take responsibility for orchestrating the killing, according to Oxygens Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, which recently featured the case.

Im supposed to admit to something I didnt do just to get out of prison? I dont get it, Smart told Datelines Andrea Canning at the time.

Flynn and the other teens who helped carry out the murder have already served their time and been released.

Smarts spokesperson Elenor Pam described the courts decision to Oxygen.com as a disappointment.

Pamela Smart Ap

"This ruling by the NH Supreme Court is a continuing disappointment that devastates our hopes for Pamela Smart finally receiving reasonable and fair process in the State of New Hampshire, she said. The Committee has never asked her a single question or referenced any of her many impressive and supporting letters. She has never been given the opportunity to be heard or allowed to make her case directly. Pamela Smart is fully rehabilitated and is no danger to society."

Pam said that although she has yet to speak with Smart about the ruling, she has been in touch with Smarts parents, who were hugely disappointed.

As their own medical issues worsen along with their daughters prospects, they had hoped she would be given the opportunity for an in-person appearance before the NH governor and Executive Council for the first time, Pam said. She is now 55 years old and has been in prison for over 33 years where she works daily to improve the lives of fellow inmates. Her parents had hoped Pamela would be able to discuss her record while incarcerated and assure the officials about her prospective behavior if released.

Smarts attorney Mark Sisti also spoke out against the ruling.

Oxy App

"We are very saddened that our supreme court side-stepped the main issue in this matter and has given the thumbs up to the governor and council to avoid doing their mandatory constitutional job," he said in a statement to ABC News.

Sisti believes the council brushed aside Smarts petition without fully considering the letters of support she had received from her supervisors behind bars and other inmates, the Associated Press reports.

We will not stop our attempts to free Pam Smart, he said.

The family of Gregg Smart, however, feels the court made the right decision.

She has had more than her fair share of being heard, Greggs cousin Val Fryatt told the AP. Its not easy for us. We are coming up on 33 years without Gregg, and never once has she admitted her part, so I am unsure how she is rehabilitated. Gregg is the true victim in all of this.
Former President President Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury Thursday following nearly two weeks of anticipation after he said he expected to be arrested for alleged campaign finance violations.

While Trump remains the clear front-runner in the field of Republican presidential candidates and shows no sign of slowing down his campaign, a myriad of questions remains about what a second Trump presidency could look like if he is elected while under indictment.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office was reportedly investigating alleged hush-money payments Trump made as a presidential candidate in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

It was not immediately clear Thursday what charges were brought against the former president.

Former President Trump speaks with reporters as he lands at Quad City International Airport in route to Iowa on Monday, March 13, 2023, in Moline, Illinois.

TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS

There are no constitutional restrictions keeping Trump from continuing his campaign and eventually moving back into the White House if he is elected while under indictment, which means the country is quickly moving into unknown waters.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital there are no "hard and fast legal rules" on the process, which consequently gives a lot of breathing room for politics.

"Presumably, what would happen is the president's lawyers would move to hold the indictment in abeyance, just to pause it while he serves," Shapiro said. "I can't imagine that a president would be taken into custody and sentenced to prison while a serving president. There may well be impeachment charges at that point as well. It would be a political matter."

"Presumably, these charges can continue, but just as a matter of prudence, I would imagine a court would stay these kinds of charges as a matter of national security, not presidential privilege or something, but just prudential considerations, and given the nature of the charges, given that what we're talking about here is campaign finance violations, it's not it's not murder or something," he said.

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"This is uncharted territory," he added.

Former U.S. President Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport.

Andrew McCarthy, former assistant U.S. Attorney, echoed a similar sentiment when speaking to Fox Business Neil Cavuto.

"Anyone who tells you they know what would happen is the either delusional or lying," McCarthy said. "We've never had a situation like this. I don't think the Framers ever thought that there could be a situation like this. I think part of the reason they designed the Electoral College was to make sure something like this didn't happen. But you know, here we are."

TRUMP CALLS MANHATTAN DA INVESTIGATING HIM A RACIST IN REVERSE

Shapiro warned that an indictment could bolster Trumps popularity and make him a "martyr."

"I mean, indicting Trump benefits only Alvin Bragg, raising his profile, and Donald Trump  consolidating his support and making him a martyr," Shapiro said. "I agree with the statement [Ron] DeSantis and some others have put out  it's politically charged. Even if the allegations are completely true, nobody's lauding that kind of behavior, but so many years later, going after this ticky tack campaign finance violation  there's no upside here for the American people."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who pundits widely expect to launch a White House bid later this year but has yet to officially announce, previously criticized Bragg over the potential indictment and accused him of "pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office."

However, the governor also emphasized, "I dont know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I cant speak to that."

File photos of former President Trump, left, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Even an average criminal case in New York can take from six months to more than a year to move from indictment to trial, meaning it could coincide with the 2024 presidential election and even into the next presidency.

As president, Trump would not have the constitutional authority to pardon himself of state charges. However, Congress could move forward with impeachment proceedings or trying to remove him from office via the 25th Amendment.

Trump declared himself the "most innocent man in the history of our country" during a rally earlier this month in Waco, Texas.

"The district attorney of New York under the auspices and direction of the 'department of injustice' in Washington, D.C., is investigating me for something that is not a crime, not a misdemeanor, not an affair," Trump told the crowd.
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters

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King Charles will do the right thing, and seat his son Prince Harry prominently at his coronation, friends of the king believe, despite Harrys latest broadside at his family, whom he accused in open court this week of conspiring with British newspapers and withholding information about phone hacking from him.

In a witness statement Harry said: The Institution [the monarchy] was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about NGNs [News Group Newspaperspublishers of The Sun and now-defunct News of the World] phone hacking and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation.

Why Does Charles and Camillas Coronation Already Feel Like a Bust?

He also accused the Palace of conditioning him into accepting he couldnt object to media mistreatment. Harry added: The Institution made it clear that we did not need to know anything about phone hacking and it was made clear to me that the Royal Family did not sit in the witness box because that could open up a can of worms.

However, the royals appear to be taking the latest salvos in their stride.

Nothing that happens between now and then will make any difference to the seating plan, a friend of the king told The Daily Beast. Charles has always said that he loves both his sons. He wants them both there. Harry and Meghan are invited and will be seated prominently.

Harry and Meghan have not yet confirmed their attendance at the May 6 ceremony. However, if they do show up at Westminster Abbey, most observers believe that the seating layout will favor William, as the heir to the throne, with the best spot at his father and Camillas side (when the king and queen are sitting with the congregation, as they will be for part of proceedings). He will be accompanied by his wife, Kate, and their three children, which will account for all the seats on the right of the aisle (assuming they go 14 abreast as they did at Queen Elizabeths funeral) and will neatly keep the king and the first four in the line of succession together visually.

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To the left of the aisle, expect to see his sister Princess Anne, who was by her mothers bedside with Charles when she passed away in September last year, and her husband Sir Tim Laurence. Edward and his wife Sophie, newly elevated to the position of Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, seem a shoo-in. This leaves three spots available, assuming they are not given to the children of Edward (Louise and James) or Anne (Zara and Peter).

Those three spaces could be filled by Harry, Meghan and Andrew. There seems to be broad agreement in royal circles that uncomplaining Edward may have to take the hit of being seated next to Andrew, meaning that peeling away from the aisle you could have Harry, Meghan, Anne, Sir Tim, Sophie, Edward, and Andrew.

The inclusion of Andrew in this pivotal event seems to be what the public has been being softened up for ever since he escorted his mother to her seat at the memorial for her late husband. It would cement a narrative of Charles the Magnanimous.

Britain's Prince Harry walks outside the High Court, in London, Britain March 30, 2023. Toby Melville/Reuters

Putting Harry front and center would certainly be a striking visual counteraction of the core complaint Harry made in his book Spare that he and his wife were not treated respectfully by the family. It would be good for Charles not to be seen to be snubbing his second son, who is fifth in line to the throne, a position he will retain until William has grandchildren, which could easily be over 20 years away given that his eldest son, George, is only 9.

Attempting to banish Harry, Meghan, and Andrew behind a pillar a few rows from the back would succeed only in making Charles look extremely petty, and give credence to every word Harry has written.

But if Charles does put Harry and Meghan in the front row, he wont be doing it only for PR reasons. Another friend, who said they believed seating arrangements had not as yet been finalized, told The Daily Beast: Charles has a strong sense of tradition, and tradition dictates that Harry ought to be in the front row. I am sure he will do the right thing. Despite everything that has happened, he is his son.

Speaking to friends of the king and queen, this is the message that they are keen to get through time and again; Charles loves Harry; he is his son and of course he is wanted at the coronation. Even the most ardent supporters of Harry dont dispute these core claimsindeed, Harrys book was surprisingly tender towards his beleaguered father. There is no malice and little duplicity in the Pa of Spare, rather his failures as a dad seem to stem from very human weakness.

Spare certainly dented the mystique of the monarchy but it notably failed, unlike Dianas book with Andrew Morton, to rock the institution to its foundations. The guiding principle of the Palace in relation to Spare increasingly appears to be, Bookwhat book?

There is of course still the potential for Harry and Meghan to capsize the Operation Golden Orb, as the coronation is codenamed, by turning down the invitewhich they have acknowledged receiving but declined to confirm if they will accept. It would be foolish to rule it out, given their capacity for surprise, his demands for an apology or a summit as a condition of attending, and his excoriation of his family in the Netflix films, his book, and again in court this week.

But if Harry does gositting center stage with a family he loathesit would likely be very relatable for the millions watching, who at Thanksgiving and Christmas likely find themselves in a very similar spot.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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[Source]

Harvard University will be offering a course on the Tagalog language for the first time in its history, starting in the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

Last week, Harvard announced that its Department of South Asian Studies will be hiring three professors to teach Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesian and Thai. While Indonesian and Thai are currently taught at the school, there have been no prior courses offered in Tagalog.

According to James Robson, a professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and director of the Asia Center, Harvard was able to secure a $1 million budget from the Asia Center to fund the Tagalog preceptor position. The teaching positions, which are under three-year term appointments, are renewable for up to five additional years.

Were very excited and hopeful that these positions will be a game-changer in terms of the Asia Centers long-term mission to build Southeast Asian studies at Harvard, as well as the universitys engagement with the region, Elizabeth K. Liao, executive director of the Harvard Asia Center, said.

More from NextShark: New multimedia web project tells lost history of Chicagos Japanese American redress movement

Through the Filipino language course, Robson hopes to demonstrate the demand for Southeast Asian language.

What Im hoping is that if we can demonstrate that theres demand for these languages and students show up and are excited about it, then hopefully we can also use this to convince the administration to further support Southeast Asian studies generally and language instruction in particular.

Tagalog, which is one of the major languages in the Philippines, is reportedly the fourth most spoken language in the U.S.

More from NextShark: Death Metal Band Named After Cambodian Concentration Camp Responds to Backlash

Eleanor Wikstrom, co-president of the Harvard Philippine Forum (HPF) and The Crimson editorial chair, noted that offering a Filipino language course at the university had been one of the groups goals for as long as HPF has been in existence.

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Were working against a historical memory that is actively erasing the understanding of the importance of the Filipino-American relationship, Wikstrom said.

While Wikstrom is elated by the news, she refuses to celebrate Harvard for a legacy it has yet to remake, criticizing the lack of a dedicated formal department for Southeast Asian studies.

More from NextShark: (G)I-dle announce dates and stops for 2022 world tour 'Just Me ( )I-dle'

As for HPF Co-President Marcky Antonio, he views the new course as a big win for the Filipino community back home.

While this is the first Tagalog language course thats ever been offered in Harvards history, I think theres also this sense that we need to make sure we teach this right  not only Tagalog language, but Filipino culture as a whole, Antonio said.

Wikstrom and Antonio said they will continue to advocate for Filipino representation at Harvard.

More from NextShark: Man injures three women in two separate attacks at Chicago Chinatown train station

We have further responsibility to push this now that we know that this is possible. So were not going to stop at Tagalog, Wikstrom said.

Harvard is not the only university where students have been calling for a Tagalog language course.

At Yale University, students interested in Tagalog are advocating for the school to offer formal courses in the Southeast Asian language.

Currently, Yale only offers Tagalog through its direct language study program, where administrators reportedly coordinate with a native speaker to offer students instruction in a language not offered at the university. However, many students who studied Tagalog through the program do not feel academically satisfied.

Ava Estacio-Touhey, who serves as president of the campus Filipino student club Kasama, said that the program will never amount to a proper language course as it does not have the same level of financial support and resources.

It is disappointing that there are no dedicated Tagalog courses at Yale, Estacio-Touhey told Yale Daily News. Filipinos make up one of the largest Southeast Asian diasporic communities at Yale and have for decades.

According to Professor Erik Harms, chair of the Council on Southeast Asian Studies at Yale, the issue with offering the Tagalog language at the university is budgetary.

If the Yale administration was enthusiastic about supporting the teaching of Tagalog, we would be open to that conversation and trying to find a way to make that possible, Harms said, adding that the University has not seen an upsurge in student interest in the language.

But to Estacio-Touhey, Tagalog is a language of resistance and resilience that has survived hundreds of years of colonization and militarization, and offering it is to honor the members of the diasporic community and those interested in sharing their language and culture.
A protester outside Trump Tower on Friday

Donald Trump's court hearing has been set for Tuesday afternoon, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

The former president is expected to fly from Florida on his private plane and hand himself in with federal agents there to protect him.

A grand jury has indicted Mr Trump in connection with a $130,000 (105,000) pay-out to porn star Stormy Daniels.

The charges are not yet public, and a lawyer for Mr Trump said on Friday that he too has yet to read the indictment.

A law enforcement official told CBS that Mr Trump is expected to fly his private plane to New York on Monday before surrendering to officials on Tuesday.

The process is likely to involve dozens or possibly hundreds of Secret Service agents, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Mr Trump will not be handcuffed, the official added, saying that shackles are typically only used on suspects who are thought to be a flight or safety risk.

The hearing is due to take place at 14:15 local time (19:15GMT).

Mr Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told ABC News that Mr Trump will "probably" appear in court on Tuesday, "but nothing is certain".

Prosecutors "will try and get every ounce of publicity they can from this thing", he said, adding "the president will not be put in handcuffs".

"I understand they're going to be closing off blocks around the courthouse, shutting down the courthouse," he continued.

Security is being co-ordinated by the FBI, NYPD, Secret Service and New York City court officers.

Sources tell CBS that they are bracing for possible scenarios that include attacks against Mr Trump, prosecutors, jurors or members of the public. The district attorney's office has received "many threats", the sources said.

Members of law enforcement were seen discussing security near the courthouse on Friday

On Friday morning, the streets around the courthouse were calm but the barricades were going up in anticipation of what may come next week.

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Police officers were on patrol and security plans were being put into place. Many expect the area to go into lockdown when the former president attends court.

The district attorney's office had initially asked Mr Trump to surrender on Friday, according to Politico, but the request was rejected because more time was needed for security preparations.

Mr Trump, 76, denies wrongdoing. He is the first serving or former US president to face a criminal charge.

It is unclear how many charges are contained in the indictment, which is still sealed.

Media reports have said the ex-president faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud and Mr Tacopina said on Thursday he thought there would be 34. But on Friday, he said he did not know how many.

"We know what the subject matter is, we know the basis of the charges. We don't know the exact counts or how they're formulated," he said.

On Friday Mr Trump began attacking the judge assigned to his case in an effort to undermine the credibility of the investigation and rally his base to his defence.

Republicans - including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy - have accused the Manhattan district attorney of weaponising the criminal justice system to influence next year's presidential election. Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, who Mr Trump recently suggested should run for Senate, called on followers to protest and said she plans to be present in New York next week.

In response, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the charges had been brought by citizens of New York doing their civic duty - and neither the former president nor Congress could interfere with proceedings.

In Washington, the US Capitol Police, which are tasked with safeguarding lawmakers in Congress, said the force believes protests will take place across the country and have plans in place to increase security at the US Capitol.

In 2016 adult film star Stormy Daniels contacted media outlets offering to sell her account of what she said was an adulterous affair she had with Mr Trump in 2006 - the year after he married his current wife, Melania.

Mr Trump's team got wind of this and his lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to Ms Daniels to keep quiet. This is not illegal.

However, when Mr Trump reimbursed Mr Cohen, the record for the payment says it was for legal fees. Prosecutors say this amounts to Mr Trump falsifying business records, which is a misdemeanour - a criminal offence - in New York.

A Secret Service agent guards Mr Trump's Florida home

President Joe Biden declined to comment on the indictment, despite being pressed on the issue by journalists as he left the White House on a trip to Mississippi.

Mr Tacopina said Mr Trump was being "pursued by a prosecutor who has obviously very diverse political views from the president. So it's a very troubling case".

He said the former president was "not worried at all" about the charges.

"He's upset, angry. He's being persecuted politically. That is clear to many people, not only on the Right but on the Left."
MADISON  The head of the embattled Department of Safety and Professional Services, an agency plagued with a backlog in approving licenses for healthcare workers and other professionals, told lawmakers Thursday that the agency issued its highest number of licenses in its history in February.

Secretary Dan Hereth said the department has also been able to drop the amount of time it takes to respond to applications from an average of 4 to 6 weeks last year to below two weeks.

Hereth said he hopes to get that time to under one week  something he said could be achieved through the governor's budget this year  and said a backlog of more than 2,000 applications still exists.

Hereth, who was appointed last August by Evers and has not yet been confirmed, testified Thursday before the state's joint finance committee during a budget hearing.

More: Lawmakers grill Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr on why the Green Bay prison remains open despite its issues

As lawmakers expressed frustration with the struggles of essential workers seeking their licenses, Hereth made the case for more employees to be added to the department during the budget season to replace contract-based workers who have been helping to fill staffing gaps.

"I hear from stakeholders, I hear from applicants, and I hear from people in this room that we need sustained progress and improvement," he said. "I too want sustained progress, improvement and continued success, but losing staff capacity at this critical juncture would be a significant step backward for the department as well as for the applicants and employers."

Lawmakers questioned several times why constituents seemingly have to contact their representatives to get their applications approved.

"It's still just very frustrating, the amount of time my staff spent last year chasing down licenses for constituents hitting dead ends," said Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma.

"At one time we had 11 UW anesthesiologists that were going to time out... and it was so extreme that maybe UW would have to shut down some of its surgical procedures because they didn't have anesthesiologists. One phone call to the governor's office and 10 of those licenses were granted. How does that happen?"

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Hereth said the department has a goal of moving through documentation more efficiently so people get their licenses approved faster.

"Getting down to that one-week goal that I mentioned earlier is so critical," he said. "Because then people aren't waiting to be renewed."

In February, Republican legislators approved an audit of the agency because of the long wait for health care and other professional workers across the state waiting on their licenses to be issued.

More: Tony Evers proposes 12 weeks of paid family leave for public and private sector workers in state budget

The agency currently has about 2,500 applications waiting to be handled, Hereth said.

The agency, which says it receives an average of 5,000 to 10,000 calls a week, has blamed staffing shortages, outdated computer systems, and insufficient funding from the Republican-controlled Legislature for the backlog. The average wait time for a license last fall was 45 days, though professionals have contacted the Journal Sentinel to say they've waited much longer.

State Auditor Joe Chrisman said the audit would look at the funding the department has received, staffing levels and best practices.

More: Health care workers and other professionals continue to wait for Wisconsin licenses. Here's what we know so far

DSPS was created in 2011 and issues more than 240 unique credentials for occupations ranging from physicians and social workers to barbers and funeral directors. The department also regulates the construction industry, adjudicates complaints against credential holders, and administers more than 75 boards, councils, and committees.

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin professional licenses agency reports progress on backlogs
When you donate blood, you undergo a health screening to make sure you're eligible, which is a way to discover any underlying issues.

When you donate blood, you undergo a health screening to make sure you're eligible, which is a way to discover any underlying issues.

Donating blood is an admirable thing that not enough people do (myself included). According to the American Red Cross, only 3% of Americans donate blood. The organization often has an urgent need for blood donors so people in emergency situations or those with chronic illnesses can get the transfusions they need.

But many people are hesitant, whether its because of a fear of needles, theyre worried theyll pass out or they dont think they are eligible to donate.

Some people are also concerned that it isnt safe to do so. For example, they might feel that donating will affect their iron levels to a point thats unhealthy for them.

This thought  among others  has been debunked through research. In fact, there may be some notable perks when it comes to donating blood (for most people, anyway). We asked experts to share what you should know:

Research suggests people who donate blood might have better overall well-being.

Theres certainly whats called a healthy donor effect, according to Dr. Eldad Hod, the director of the Center for Advanced Laboratory Medicine and an associate professor of pathology and cell biology at Columbia Universitys Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. If you simply look at blood donors versus the rest of the population, theyre healthier, theyre happier, they live longer, they have less heart disease, less stroke.

That said, its never been tested to determine if this results from donating blood or because there is a selection bias when it comes to who can donate. You have to be fairly healthy to donate blood  among several health-based limitations, your blood pressure cant be above or below a certain number and the same goes for your pulse, according to the Red Cross.

Additionally, you have to be able to take time off work or out of your daily responsibilities to donate blood, which is not an option for everyone.

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When you try to study the benefits of donating, are you seeing some of these better statistics because of the donation or is it because theyre blood donors and theyre the folks in the population that are healthy enough to donate? said Dr. Glenn Ramsey, director of transfusion medicine in the department of pathology at Northwestern Medicine in Illinois. That part is unclear, but data does at least point to an association between the two.

Donating blood is good for your mental health.

According to Hod, people who donate blood are also more altruistic, so they tend to be happier people.

They get some benefit from donating blood because they feel like theyre doing something for society, he said.

Additionally, Ramsey said that someone who had a loved one who benefited from a blood donation will likely feel extra good when they take part in this public service.

Some think theres also a potential added benefit for people who dont lose iron through menstruation, but its just a theory.

There is an age-old hypothesis called the Sullivan Hypothesis  [it] basically hypothesized that one of the reasons women live longer than men is because they menstruate, Hod said. By menstruating, you get rid of blood but you also get rid of iron in the process.

While having too little iron can be problematic in some situations, having too much iron can also be an issue.

There are diseases where you accumulate too much iron ... excess iron settles in your heart and causes heart disease, settles in your liver causes liver disease, can settle in your pancreas [and] cause diabetes, Hod said. And so too much iron is a bad thing.

Essentially, by donating blood, youre getting rid of iron as anyone who menstruates does when they have their period. Males have no way of getting rid of iron other than bleeding  so that would be the only way a male can get rid of iron, Hod said.

That would be the hypothesis for why donating blood might be good, he said. But its worth stating this is a hypothesis and is not proven.

Some people believe the hypothesis that donating blood can help people who don't menstruate lower their iron levels.

Some people believe the hypothesis that donating blood can help people who don't menstruate lower their iron levels.

You get a health screening when you go to donate blood, which can alert you to any underlying issues.

There is a little bit of a health check in terms of donating, Ramsey said. Factors like your blood count and your blood pressure are checked, and you are alerted to issues including an irregular heartbeat as well.

Hod added that youre also screened for certain infectious diseases including HIV, hepatitis and HTLV, which is associated with developing a form of blood cancer and other neurologic and inflammatory disorders later in life.

In other words, the pre-donation screening is a way to check if you have any unknown, underlying conditions that may not have existed as of your last physical or may not have been picked up at a regular doctors appointment.

If youre concerned about any of your screening results, you can make an appointment with your doctor for additional testing and treatment.

You can find out your blood type after the fact.

A 2019 research poll found that just 66% of Americans know their blood type  but donating blood can be one way to find out that information. According to Ramsey, youre usually sent an official donor card after your donation that has your blood type on it.

Knowing this information is useful in case of an emergency where you need a blood transfusion. And your blood type can even clue you into your predisposed health risks (like heart attacks and certain kinds of cancers), according to Penn Medicine.

Most important, youre helping to save lives.

As mentioned before, its important to have an adequate blood supply in communities throughout the country so necessary medical treatment can happen.

Many people feel inclined to donate blood after a disaster in a community. While thats important, Ramsey said its equally as important to donate throughout the year as well.

Most of those patients who are involved in those events are needing blood thats on the shelf already, he explained.

If youre interested in donating blood, Ramsey said you can use aabb.org to find a place near you to donate.

Related...
It's rare an incumbent judge is challenged by an opponent in an election, but that's exactly what's happening this year in Milwaukee in the race for Court of Appeals.

A local labor and employment attorney is facing off against a judge who has more two decades of experience on the bench.

The Journal Sentinel sat down with both candidates to learn why they're running and to get their takes on a few issues surrounding the judgeship.

What is the court of appeals?

The primary function of the Court of Appeals is to correct errors that occurred at the circuit court level. It is composed of 16 judges across four districts in the state. Milwaukee is unique in the court of appeals because it has its own district due to its population size and number of cases. Judges serve six-year terms.

Who are the candidates?

Bill Brash

Appointed to Appeals Court Judge, 2015

Re-elected to Appeals Court, 2017

Made Chief Judge of Wisconsin Court of Appeals, 2021

Spent 14 years as Circuit Court Judge

Spent 13 years as Municipal Judge

Practicing attorney for 23 years

Served one term as trustee for village of Fox Point

Sara Geenen

Partner, The Previant Law Firm, S.C.

Attorney for 16 years

Focuses on labor, bankruptcy and employment law

Has primarily represented workers and local and international labor organizations

Former board member, One Wisconsin Now and the State Bar of Wisconsin (Labor and Employment Law Section)

Why are you running?

Brash: I still enjoy the work very much. It's challenging, it's different. It's from a different perspective. Having served as a trial judge, you become familiar with what goes on there and how that functions and operates. But then ultimately, it's learning, I would say, a new skill set because it's different than most people would perceive it to be. The Court of Appeals is an error-correcting court. It reviews cases basically beginning to end based on the challenges that are raised, applies the standards that exist with regards to those challenges, takes a look at the facts and makes a determination if there were things that occurred either in the process, errors that were made by the trial court and potential errors that were made by the lawyers. People have different ideas as to how things are supposed to happen, I get that. And obviously, I'm running because I think I am the best qualified person to meet the demands to continue to serve in this capacity and to hopefully benefit the people in the state of Wisconsin.

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Geenen: I'm running because I think that it is time to make sure that we hold our courts accountable. That we hold our judges accountable. And that we hold the entire judicial system accountable. That we make it more accessible and something that people have a bit more understanding about. I come from a blue-collar background. There's rules, there's procedures, there's just a certain way that things work that is not necessarily how things work in everyday life. That makes it inaccessible many times. I think coming from this perspective and this background and recognizing first the challenges to access and the limitations that may go along with it is important to making change and ensuring that people are confident in the judiciary. I am running because I believe that I'm the better candidate. I believe that this court needs some additional perspective or different perspective. And I think that I can bring that.

William Brash, candidate for Court of Appeals

What is your judicial philosophy?

Brash: I think the benchmark of my career is best understood by viewing my record of fairness and impartiality. I think those are extremely descriptive terms of the nature and part of the philosophy that I follow because for me, everything involves people. You can say, "Well, this corporation's suing that corporation," or something of that on a civil level, but the reality is that at the heart of that corporation are individuals, and all of them are impacted by those decisions that you make. So it can be one individual, it could be the state versus that individual. It could be a corporate entity, doesn't matter what, all of those involve people at the end of the day and impact tremendously on their lives, so they're all tremendously important.

Geenen: A judge's job is to ensure the fairness of the process, the fairness of the entire process for everybody. And to keep that in mind while they're making decisions that protect these basic principles that requires checks and balances. That the people are the foundation of our government, our democracy and that is really the guiding principle. We're ensuring that we are interpreting the laws and constitution in a manner that is consistent with their intent.

Sara Geenen, candidate for Court of Appeals

What are some of the biggest challenges facing the appellate court right now/What would you want to see different?

Brash: I've made requests to get increased funding (from the state), not of full-time staff, but limited-term employees, so that we can bring them in to make sure that we're covering some of the gaps that we have. Going back 20 years, my predecessors have been making requests for increase in staffing for what are referred to as staff attorneys that work for the court system just in an effort to quicken process. If you have 10,000 motions versus 16,000 motions, each of those is ultimately reviewed by a staff attorney. They work it up, they then submit it to the judges for their review and approval. Part of it seems to be a manpower issue right now. It may require an alternate restructuring and potentially reallocation. And if you were to shift things around in the court, because it was created legislatively, it'd have to be modified legislatively. So I think we should take look at that and see how it's ultimately functioning and potentially address the reallocation or allocation of those resources so as to better serve the state of Wisconsin.

Geenen: Someone who comes in should recognize their limitations and learn from those who've been there. I think your goal is to learn the ropes of the operations. But my goal is to ensure that any cases that I decide or have input on are clear and transparent so the litigants in those cases understand where I'm coming from, where the court is coming from. And I think that's a small thing that you can start to do to move things in the right direction. The other thing is making the courts less intimidating by opening them up, by doing more outreach. I enjoy talking to students, the public and regular people. It's the favorite part of my job, honestly. And in addition, I think the court could occasionally hear more oral arguments. There's very few, nearly none, that this court considers. I think oral arguments are also important from time to time. Not in every case because it's impossible with the kind of caseload they have, but to hear more oral arguments on cases and potentially make decisions so that people are getting a full and fair consideration by the Court of Appeals.

In 2021, the court of appeals decided 2,200 cases while the state supreme court decided 44. Court of appeals is often the last stop for many cases and, in few cases, can set precedent. How comfortable are you with this power?

Brash: Absolutely. I'm a big believer in addressing issues on the merits as opposed to potentially some technical issues. Have I been presented with I'll call them maybe potential constitutional challenges to things that have occurred since I've been here? Absolutely. One that comes to mind dealt with the application of medical malpractice caps. It's had a history in Wisconsin, that is it's vacillated from time to time, which is basically caps recoveries in particular situations. In that particular case, both I and my colleagues believed that it was both unconstitutional as applied in that particular situation and unconstitutional on its face. I disagreed that I didn't think it was unconstitutional on its face, but I did think it was unconstitutional as applied because applying those standards, I thought it worked a hardship on this particular individual that was inappropriate. So you do see those. Admittedly, you don't see those often, but then we dealt with that case and it resulted and ultimately went up in front of the Supreme Court for further review.

Geenen: Absolutely. Im an attorney. Ive worked on constitutional cases for things like Act 10 (relating to state finances, collective bargaining for public employees, compensation and fringe benefits of public employees) and right to work. I havent handled any criminal cases and have done some pro bono work in childrens court cases, but constitutional issues arent the only issues decided in the court of appeals. Those cases often end up in the supreme court anyways. Im comfortable interpretting the law and reaching the conclusions myself and reaching the right decision and right conclusion with the other judges to reach a decision collectively and correctly.

Anything else you'd like voters to know?

Brash: this campaign for me is all about qualifications, background, experience. Have other people served on a Court of Appeals without having been a circuit court judge? Sure they have, but it's not something that happens immediately, it's kind of a learned position. If you're an individual, and again, this is not a criticism, Attorney Geenen has focused her life based on her beliefs and things that are important to her in a certain aspect of the law. Mine's a little bit more diversified because while in private practice, I was what I guess people call a general practitioner. I covered a myriad of areas. I've also served on the circuit court for misdemeanors, felonies, civil, criminal. It gives you a background; it gives you an understanding. It gives you a greater depth of knowledge, I believe, on which to draw, so I think it puts me in a better position to continue to serve in that capacity.

Geenen: Not a lot of people run against sitting judges run against incumbent judges. And I think that I am running because I believe that I'm the better candidate. I believe that this court needs some additional perspective or different perspective. And I think that I can bring that. I also think that it's important to restore our values, the values of the folks in Milwaukee County to the bench. And I certainly intend to do that.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Candidates in Court of Appeals race emphasize fairness, accessibility
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Chinese and foreign business representatives attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 30, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]



Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday met with Chinese and foreign business representatives attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province.

After listening to speeches from the representatives, the premier expressed appreciation to them for their attention to and support for China's development, as well as their positive contributions.

All types of enterprises, including foreign-funded businesses, have witnessed and contributed to China's rapid economic growth and long-term social stability, Li said.

Li highlighted his hope that all entrepreneurs will play a leading role in boosting confidence and improving expectations. It should be noted that despite the current difficulties, the historical trend of economic globalization will not change, the sound fundamentals of China's economic development will not change, the general direction of reform and opening-up will not change, and the outstanding strengths of China's enormous market and complete industrial system will not change, he said.

Li said the steady progress of Chinese modernization will bring more business opportunities and development dividends to countries around the world, and inject great certainty into the global economy.

He said the Chinese government will continue to provide an improved environment and better services for the development of various enterprises. China will continue to maintain relative stability in its macro policy, take greater initiative to align high-standard international economic and trade rules, and foster a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized.

China has always attached great importance to attracting and utilizing foreign investment, Li said, adding that China will ease market access further, expand the global-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas, and make solid progress in promoting the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"Investing in China equals choosing a better future," Li said.

The business representatives said that from the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to the annual "two sessions" this year, the world has seen the Chinese government's determination to advance its high-level opening-up and the country's scientific and technological innovation, and to build a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment.

They added that they are willing to participate thoroughly in promoting China's high-quality development, increase investment in China, strengthen cooperation with China in multiple fields, and remain committed to their long-term development in China.
Donald Trump Holds First Rally Of 2024 Presidential Campaign

Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a rally at the Waco Regional Airport in Texas on March 25, 2023. Credit - Brandon BellGetty Images

Former President Donald Trump was criminally indicted on Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury. While the exact charges are still under seal and will likely remain so until next week, they relate to the payment of hush money to a former porn star.

Multiple outlets are reporting, citing unnamed sources, that the charges involve more than two dozen counts.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Thursday evening that it had reached out to Trumps team to discuss an arraignment date. One of Trumps attorneys told TIME that the former President is expected to turn himself in on Tuesday.

Trump called the indictment political persecution in a statement, attacking Bragg as a disgrace and predicting the decision would hurt Democrats in the 2024 election.

The indictment marks the first time in American history that a former President has been criminally charged, and sets up a stunning legal and political test for the nation as Trump once again seeks the presidency.

Here are the latest updates on the indictment.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is seen at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on March 31, 2023. Yuki IwamuraAP

Trump attacks the judge assigned to his case

Trump is taking aim at the judge he said is assigned to preside over his arraignment, Juan Merchan, who is an acting justice with the State Supreme Court.

The New York-based judge, Trump wrote without evidence, hates me, in a post on his social media site TruthSocial. Trump, who misspelled the judges name, wrote that Merchan was hand picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors, & is the same person who railroaded my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a plea deal. Along with handling the case against the Trump organization executive, Merchan also presided over a case in which he ordered the Trump Foundation to pay $1.6 million after a jury found the organization guilty of criminal tax fraud. Alvin Bragg, the current Manhattan District Attorney, was a prosecutor involved in that case.

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Justice Merchans signature is on an official order that allowed Bragg to tell the public on Thursday that the grand jury had voted to indict Trump. That order was released by the court on Friday. Brian Bennett

Biden declines to comment

President Joe Biden emphatically declined to comment on Friday about his predecessors indictment, in the first chance for the current president to address the ongoing case that has sent shockwaves across the country.

I have no comment on Trump, Biden said outside the White House after reporters asked multiple times about what Thursdays indictment means for the rule of law in the U.S. When asked if hes worried about protests or violence in the wake of the indictment, Biden responded: No. Im not going to talk about the Trump indictment.

Jen Psaki, who was Bidens former press secretary, said on MSNBC Thursday night that the White House is going to be very quiet about the Trump indictment for as long as it can in part because as a policy they dont comment on ongoing criminal investigations, but also because they dont want to feed into the politics of this. Nik Popli

Pence calls indictment an outrage

Former Vice President Mike Pence defended his former running mate on Thursday night, describing the indictment against Trump as an outrage that will only further serve to divide our country.

It appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution, the former vice president, whose relationship with Trump has been strained since the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, said on CNN. He also accused the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of having literally ran his campaign vowing to go after Trump, but noted that there is no reason for calling for people to be protesting the indictment, despite Trumps previous statements.

Pence, who is weighing his own presidential bid, added that the case against Trump will have no bearing on his own decision about the 2024 race. He declined to say if Trump should be disqualified or drop out of the race if he is convicted. NP

Catch up on the case

Trump Is About to Stress Test the Credibility of Our Judicial System

Trumps Indictment Drama Showcased His Rivals Weakness

How Republicans Are Reacting to Donald Trumps Indictment

Donald Trump Has Been Indicted. Heres What Happens Next in the Process

Donald Trump Was Just Indicted. Heres What to Know About the Charges and the Case

Donald Trump Is the First President Ever Criminally Charged. Others Have Come Close Though

Why This Indictment Cant Stop Donald Trump From Being Elected President

Why Did the Stormy Daniels Case Lead to Trumps First Indictment?

Alvin Bragg Did What He Had to Do In Indicting Trump

Heres what happens next

Television news reporters prepare for broadcast outside Manhattan Criminal Court after former U.S. President Donald Trumps indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York City on March 31, 2023. Bing GuanReuters/Redux

Next, Trump will be arraigned in front of a magistrate judge, which usually happens at the courthouse in lower Manhattan. The Manhattan district attorneys office has contacted Trumps legal team to negotiate when he will surrender himself.

This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal, a spokesperson for Bragg said in a statement. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.

One of Trumps lawyers, Susan R. Necheles, told TIME that former President Trump is expected to turn himself in on Tuesday to be arraigned in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

At the initial hearing and arraignment, Trump will be told the charges against him, his rights, and have a chance to name his own lawyer to represent him, or use a court-appointed attorney.

Once he is arraigned, the judge will decide if he is a flight risk or presents a danger, or if he can be released until the trial. This sets in motion the legal process. At a later date, Trump will have a chance to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges. If Trump pleads not guilty, the court will hear pre-trial motions, and court dates will be set for discovery and a trial to begin.

If the preliminary proceedings take as long as other similar cases, the trial may not start until well into 2024, in the heat of the presidential election cycle.

Will Trump turn himself in?

Former U.S. President Donald Trump's private airplane at Palm Beach International Airport after the indictment of Trump in Palm Beach, Fla., on March 31, 2023. Eva Marie UzcateguiBloomberg/Getty Images

It is expected. Trumps lawyer Joe Tacopina has said previously that Trump would turn himself in if charged.

Trumps lawyers are in contact with the Manhattan DAs office and the offices are likely discussing terms under which Trump would appear in court to turn himself in to face the charges, rather than have to be arrested by law enforcement at his club in Palm Beach, Fla., or elsewhere.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, an expected Republican challenger to Trump in the 2024 election, said on Twitter Thursday that Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances. DeSantis went on to defend Trump, describing the indictment as un-American and a weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda. (The Constitution requires if someone is charged with a crime in one state and flees to another that the person must be returned to the jurisdiction where they were charged if demanded by the governor of the state from which they fled.)

When could we know the charges?

Likely soon.

Trumps indictment is currently under seal and not yet public. Usually the charges against a defendant are made public at the arraignment or slightly before. CNN, the New York Times, and CBS News Miami have each reported that sources tell them the indictment includes more than two dozen counts.

Once the indictment is made public, the country will be able to see exactly what charges Trump faces and a summary of some of the evidence Bragg says has been gathered to back up the charges.

The right-wing response so far: Now its GAME ON

On Thursday, many on the pro-Trump social media groups and forums that served as the staging grounds of the Stop the Steal rallies and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol celebrated the indictment.

I almost wanted this. Now its GAME ON, one person wrote on a popular pro-Trump forum. I know all of you are smart enough to know and see all this, but we need to rally behind him and show the left just how much this reinforces his popularity and electability, another person wrote. Get active at your local level and get vocal. Teflon Don.

Supporters of former US President Donald Trump outside Mar-A-Lago after the indictment of Trump in Palm Beach, Fla., on March 31, 2023. Eva Marie UzcateguiBloomberg/Getty Images

It was a shift from the tone from earlier in the month, after Trump announced on March 18 that his arrest was imminent. Despite Trump calling on his supporters to PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!! to save America, few seemed to respond enthusiastically. The largest protest, organized in Manhattan, barely drew 50 people.

Online, many of Trumps most loyal supporters largely agreed that it made no sense to organize any mass rallies or events, with many expressing anger at what they described as Trumps betrayal of those who heeded his call on Jan. 6.

Has he called for protests about these poor guys? No. But hes calling for us to protest about his arrest, another person wrote on a popular por-Trump forum. It doesnt sit right with me. Another user agreed: Hes right. Trump betrayed the J6 patriots.

But on Thursday, some in Trumps orbit continued to forcefully make the case that his indictment affected all of them.

For those people who said, Its not real. Trumps making it up. Its not a real issue for us.Just wait until they come for you, his son Donald Trump Jr. said on a live videocast on the alternative streaming site Rumble. Were in a battle for our entire existence.

Intelligence officials tracked an uptick in violent rhetoric after news of the possible indictment broke on March 18, with most threats targeting law enforcement, judges and government officials in New York, according to a CBS report. Multiple agencies have discussed potential security plans for the vicinity of the Manhattan Criminal Court.

Vera Bergengruen

Heres how Trump is responding

Trump is claiming that the prosecution against him is politically motivated in order to hurt his candidacy for President in 2024.

Trump responded to the grand jurys vote to indict him Thursday in a statement: This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country  have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this.

His statement further claimed Bragg had indicted a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.

He also went on a social media frenzy overnight on Thursday on Truth Social. WHERES HUNTER? he posted at around 3am. The post is a reference to President Joe Bidens son Hunter who has long been a target of Trump. Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation since 2018 for tax payments and the Republicans have directed probes at him since they took control of the House in January.

Trump also called the indictment Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful as well as an attack on our country and free and fair elections.

These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED [sic] the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President, Trump wrote.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wens visit to the U.S. this week is a carefully orchestrated trip to project Taipeis strength against Beijings threats, but calculated to avoid sparking a military conflict after tensions flared last year.

Taiwanese and U.S. officials are deliberately calling Tsais travel through New York and Los Angeles transit stops on her way to and from official, diplomatic engagements in Central America.

Its a thinly veiled cover story for Tsai to carry out important, high-level meetings with American lawmakers and civil society, who view Taiwans survival as a democratic country as part of the vital national security interests of the United States.

Tsais transit through the U.S. includes a stop in New York before heading to official visits in Guatemala and Belize. Tsai will fly through California on her way back to Taiwan, where she is tentatively scheduled to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Chinese officials have warned of consequences and counter measures if Tsai is welcomed by American lawmakers, in what U.S. officials expect to be a replay of Beijing carrying out military provocations in the Taiwan Strait, like those that occurred in retaliation for an August visit to the island by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif).

Engagement with the world is the oxygen that is needed for Taiwans survival, and Tsai Ing-wen is determined not to let Beijing suffocate Taiwan, said Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chairman at Hudson Institute. The Washington-based think tank is presenting Tsai with the Global Leadership Award at a ceremony in New York on Thursday evening.

Even as Tsais travel marks the seventh time shes transited the U.S., Beijings retaliation against Pelosis visit has set up a new normal of harassment and escalation over engagement between Washington and Taipei, he added.

Why this transit is different from previous ones, is that the level of anxiety, a level of tension is just higher than it has been in the past, Cronin said.

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Chinese officials have lashed out at Tsais travel, viewing any global engagement with Taiwanese officials as an extreme provocation that undercuts what Beijing views as its solemn right to control the tiny island.

We firmly oppose any visit by leader of the Taiwan region to the U.S. in any name or under whatever pretext, and we firmly oppose the U.S. government having any form of official contact with the Taiwan region, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters on Thursday.

The Peoples Republic of China should not use this transit as a pretext to step up any aggressive activity around the Taiwan Strait, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.

Theres no reason for them to react harshly or overreact in any way, he added, describing Tsais transit through the U.S. as private, unofficial travel and consistent with U.S. policy toward Taiwan and China.

In all previous transits, she met with members of Congress, as well as state and local officials, and had public appearances. She has also transited through both New York and Los Angeles before. Not uncommon, Kirby said.

Its a high-stakes farewell tour for Tsai, who will finish her second, four-year term as president in January and is seeking to show Taiwans robust international support as a bulwark against Chinese efforts at economic, diplomatic and military threats.

Tsais trips in Guatemala and Belize are also consequential. The Central American countries are part of a small grouping of nations that have formal, diplomatic ties with Taipei, despite threats of retaliation and efforts of coercion by China.

Last week, Honduras downgraded a more than 80-year relationship with Taiwan  forged in the aftermath of Chinas civil war, which saw the establishment of the Republic of China government in Taipei.

Honduras switched its allegiance to Beijing, recognizing the Peoples Republic of China as the legitimate government of China and Taiwan as an inseparable part of Chinese territory.

The move underscored Chinas determination in severing Taiwans relationships globally as part of its efforts to weaken the self-governed island and eventually see Taipei come under the control of Beijing.

Taiwan remains firm in its commitment to freedom and democracy, and is determined to engage with the world, Tsai said in remarks ahead of her departure for New York on Wednesday.

The U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as independent and maintains that Taipei and Beijing should work out differences diplomatically.

But President Biden, bolstered by robust support from both Democrats and Republicans, has pushed those boundaries by committing to Taiwans defense as the world has watched Beijing grow more assertive in its designs on the island.

The president has gone further than previous administrations, suggesting that he would deploy U.S. forces to help defend the island, even as his staff has sought to temper those comments.

Still, the administration has focused on streamlining U.S. military supplies to Taiwan, with foreign military sales amounting to about $40 billion over the past decade, and half of that occurring between 2019 and today, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers this month.

I have signed out more cases [of foreign military sales] than any secretary of state in history for Taiwan, he said during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this month.

U.S. officials have warned that Beijing is preparing to invade Taiwan within the next five years, with some officials raising even higher concerns that China could launch an attack within the year.

Thats creating anxiety on Capitol Hill, with Republicans, in particular, hammering the Biden administration for what they say are unnecessary backlogs for delivering weapons to Taiwan, matching criticisms that the administration is too slow to deliver necessary arms to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The weapons I signed off on, three years ago, have yet to go into country. I dont understand why this takes so long, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a hearing with Blinken last week.

And if we do not have the deterrence  like we did not have the deterrence with Ukraine, I called for sanctions and weapons before [Russias] invasion  I think we should be doing the same thing with Taiwan, McCaul added.

Blinken said there are a variety of factors influencing challenges of military production, including the COVID-19 pandemic, disruption to supply chains and the reality that some production lines have gone dormant.

All of these things have come to a head  thats exactly what the Defense Department industry are working on right now. And my anticipation is youre going to see significant progress on that, he said.

McCaul is expected to travel to Taiwan in the coming weeks, which would mark his first visit to the island. The chairman met on Wednesday with Robert OBrien, who served as national security adviser to former President Trump and returned from Taiwan on March 25.

OBrien told The Hill that he believes McCaul will likely meet with Tsai in Taipei. McCauls office declined to comment.

So I think hes going to Taiwan soon, and Im sure hell see the president, OBrien said, referring to the chairman.

I had great meetings with President Tsai when I was there. And so shes a terrific world leader, who leads a democracy, and we should make sure we interact with her on a regular basis. And Im glad to see the Speakers welcoming her to California later this week, OBrien said.

McCarthys office would not confirm his plans regarding Tsais visit.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The recent Lunch 4 Literacy event was the 31st annual luncheon put on jointly by the Altrusa International of Oak Ridge and the Breakfast Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. It was again a fun and enjoyable event that raised funds for literacy.

Writer Kim Michele Richardson, on the screen via Zoom, answers questions posed to her by D. Ray Smith, at the lectern, on behalf of the audience at the Lunch 4 Literacy event held on March 21.

Kim Michele Richardson, bestselling author, was the featured speaker. She has published five historical fiction novels and an award-winning memoir.

She lives in Kentucky and writes historical fiction set in familiar surroundings, with characters easily identifiable with the rural Kentucky setting. The two books featured in this program were The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and The Book Womans Daughter.

Kim Michele Richardson

Both books feature strong women overcoming adversity from the color of their skin (blue-skinned people) to more common difficulties women encounter when alone and often faced with challenges it seems men don't encounter as often. Richardson skillfully presented these women in a manner that caused the reader to readily identify with them and their difficulties.

The box lunches provided for the networking period prior to the event were provided by Birdwell Catering and were exceptionally good, many said. And, of course, the cookies from Doubletree Hotel were amazing.

The networking portion of the event provided time for participants to mix with others and to catch up on the latest happenings. After the lunch and networking ended at Oak Ridge High School, the attendees entered the auditorium for the main program.

A good crowd enjoyed excellent box lunches and a time to mingle at the Lunch 4 Literacy event March 21, 2023 in Oak Ridge.

Josie Hatch, center, received a $2,500 scholarship named in honor of Frank Jamison, right. At left is TNBank President Mark Holder. The presentation was made at the Lunch 4 Literacy luncheon.

The talk provided by Richardson was informative and entertaining. She is proud of her Kentucky heritage and does not hesitate to support the language of the region. Even when the publisher and editor insist on change, she refuses. Good for her. I like the expressions of the Kentucky and Tennessee region as I believe it helps place us appropriately in the region.

My accent is often recognized as Tennessee and I am often asked, Which part of Tennessee are you from? You do recognize that Middle Tennessee and East Tennessee accents and words are not the same. Never would you hear someone from Middle Tennessee say youuns; it is yall.

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Questions from the audience focused on her choice of the Troublesome Creek area and what the culture was in the 1930s as well as what is it like today. She explained both eras and noted that recent flooding in the area had a significant impact on the region. Another audience member wanted to know other books she had written.

Richardson has written five historical fiction novels, and she spoke to the other three, Liars Bench, The Sisters of Glass Ferry, and GodPretty in the Tobacco Field. She has also written a memoir, The Unbreakable Child.

Another insight into Richardson can be seen by the note she sent about the Moonlight School. https://www.aol.com/news/she-founded-adult-education-moonlight-163942617.html.

And https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2017/12/kentuckys-moonlight-schools.html.

She also has created Sly Rabbit, a writers/artist residency, which provides scholarships and a food stipend to writers who qualify and are seeking a contemplative and tranquil place to work and create. https://www.kimmichelerichardson.com/the-shy-rabbit-tiny-home-writers-scholarship.

Founder of adult literacy education? Cora Wilson Stewart

In her research into Kentucky history and especially womens role in it, she found a woman who could be considered the founder of adult literacy education in the United States. From the second link above, Cora Wilson Stewart (1875-1958) was an elementary school teacher and county school superintendent in eastern Kentuckys Rowan County who, in the fall of 1911, decided to open the classrooms in her district to adult pupils.

From the first link above: On Sept. 5, 1911, Cora Wilson Stewart (1875-1958) opened her first Moonlight School in Rowan County, Kentucky. That first night 1,200 adults showed up. They came in droves from Kentuckys dark hollers, needle-eyed coves, and tree-thick hills. Born in Farmers, Kentucky, Stewart led the nations first official campaign to fight adult illiteracy.

Richardson was so impressed with what Cora Wilson Stewart had done that she purchased a grave marker for her 65 years after the woman's death. So you see, she has a deep and abiding fascination with Kentucky women who have achieved great results helping others.

Lunch 4 Literacy: Zoom, the sponsors, the co-chairs

The hybrid method using Zoom at the literacy luncheon allowed participation by those who could not attend in person. I often note that the only good thing to come out of COVID-19 is Zoom or other virtual platforms that allow remote access for meetings and events such as this.

While the Lunch 4 Literacy luncheon is enjoyable and fun for all, the primary intent is to raise money for literacy. It is rewarding to see the many ways the funds are used to promote learning in the special area of reading.

The Lunch 4 Literacy fundraising luncheon has historically been one of the most successful and popular events in Oak Ridge. It has become an annual tradition in March that many look forward to enjoying.

The purpose of the joint effort is to provide grants to help improve literacy in Oak Ridge, Anderson and Roane counties. Each year the grants are awarded to selected recipients.

Co-leader Amber Roberts said, I am continually humbled and proud to be a part of the Lunch 4 Literacy team. Every year, this dedicated group of volunteers works tirelessly to put on an engaging program with delicious food in a beautiful setting. The last three years have been especially challenging as they have had to work around public health concerns, but they have pulled it off to keep the lunch going strong. I am so thankful for the generosity and the commitment to literacy in our community. I am also inspired by the talented educators who put the grant funds generated by the lunch to use preparing our communitys next generation.

Co-leader John Roberts said, This was my first year in an official capacity with the Lunch 4 Literacy. It is truly an honor to be asked to serve in a leadership role for such a great cause. It is impressive and impactful that two organizations have joined forces for 31 consecutive years to make a significant difference in our community as champions for literacy. It is a massive endeavor with many moving parts requiring the collaboration of numerous people. The culmination of this collective effort is readily visible in the eyes and voices of the children, which makes it all worthwhile. I look forward to helping facilitate the continued success of the Lunch 4 Literacy next year.

The generous support provided by sponsors this year continues the tradition of strong support for literacy.

Lunch 4 Literacy sponsors included:

Angel sponsors: Altrusa; IB3 Global Solutions; ORAU; Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary; OMEGA Technical Services; Roy Cooper and Bonnie Carroll; and TN Bank;

Patron sponsors: Boston Government Services; Centrus Energy Corp; Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC; KeyLogic Associates Inc; Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge; and UT-Battelle LLC

Sponsors: Acato Information Management; Betsy Coleman Realty; Chuck's Car Care; Dave and Martha Hobson; Design Innovation Architects; East Tennessee Spine and Sport, Oak Ridge; Energy Solutions; Enrichment Federal Credit Union; Jean and Donna Reat; Jim and Liz Henry; Kinetic Performance Training; Mens Book KLUB; MS Technology Inc.; Oak Ridge Utility District; ORNL Federal Credit Union; Peggy Sells Homes! Realty Center; Pinnacle Financial Partners, Oak Ridge; Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services; Vacuum Technology Inc.; and Warren and Judy Gooch

Special Thanks to: Birdwell's Catering Inc.; Doubletree of Oak Ridge; and Oak Ridge Schools.

Lunch 4 Literacy co-chairs: John Roberts, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, and Amber Roberts, Altrusa International of Oak Ridge.

D. Ray Smith is the city of Oak Ridge historian and writes a weekly column, "Historically Speaking," for The Oak Ridger.

D. Ray Smith, writer for the Historically Speaking column.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Historical fiction writer headlines annual Lunch 4 Literacy event
Before my first visit to Saint Lucia, there were a few things I had knew about the island: the Piton peaks, the verdant coastline, the blissful beaches. Like many visitors, I didnt associate the island with Indian cuisinebut on a balmy evening, I found myself devouring a multi-course meal of chicken tandoori, prawn tilwala, and savory alu gobi. I tore apart cheesy naan, smothered biryani rice with spicy dal tadka, and nibbled on galub jumansumptuous balls of fried dough soaked in syrup.

The feast was presented by Vikram Singh, head chef at the Windjammer Landings new beachside restaurant, Masala at Embers. The inclusion of Indian cuisine at the luxurious beach resort comes as more travelers are hungry for ways to learn about local cultures and historyespecially this one, with lesser-known historic ties to the island.

Many people are surprised to find out there's good, authentic Indian food in Saint Lucia, Singh says. And I often use the opportunity to tell them the story behind each dish.

How Indian Chinese Food Became India's Favorite Cuisine

The cuisine, which originated in Kolkata, is an Indian interpretation of Chinese food.

Chef Singh grew up 15,000 miles from Saint Lucia in Indias northern state of Rishikesh and trained at hotels including the Taj Resort in Goa and Sayaji Hotel in Vijay Nagar, Madhya Pradesh. Eventually, he was encouraged by a fellow chef to move to Saint Lucia where hes spent the last 10 years, first joining the staff at Spice of India restaurant in Rodney Bay. Before I came here, I knew almost nothing about the Caribbean, he says. But as I spent more time here, I started learning more about the connection between Saint Lucia and India.

The connection Singh refers to is the transportation of over four thousand Indian indentured servants to Saint Lucia when both countries were under British rule. Slavery was abolished in Saint Lucia in 1834, but by 1859, Indians had arrived in Saint Lucia to work sugar cane plantationsand those who completed their indentured periods but could not travel back home ended up staying. This created the islands Indo-Saint Lucian population, which today makes up less than three percent of the islands population of 180,000.

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Courtesy Spice of India

We had a population of roughly two million Indians that came to the Caribbean, says Keith Compton, President of the Indian Heritage Association of St. Lucia. Saint Lucia was just one of the islands where Indians settled, and other countries include Guyana, Trinidad, Martinique, Guadalupe, Saint Vincent, and Grenada. Many Indo-Saint Lucians were originally from the area of Bihar in Northern India, Compton says, and they came with their native seeds and spices along with recipes which many still use in their homes today.

Indian food, like the giant country itself, is vast and varied; each state has its own culinary traditions, many of which survived the passage from India to the Caribbean. Compton is a third-generation Saint Lucian with Indian heritage via Mumbai, and recalls recipes that his mom made that he eventually traced back to his ancestral country. My mother made a dish using banana flowers that I had never seen anyone else in Saint Lucia make, he explains. When I returned to India, I went to one of the markets in Mumbai and someone was selling the same banana flowers in the market.

Today, Saint Lucias Indian population has mostly assimilated into Saint Lucian culture, but the Indian expat community continues to celebrate traditional Indian holidays. The Indian community here keeps up the traditions of Diwali and Eid and observes the holy days, says chef Shalil DSilva, who moved to the island from Panaji, Goa, five years ago and works as an executive sous chef at a wellness resort, StolenTime by Rendezvous in Castries. For these special festivals, families prepare traditional dishes such as burfi (sweet nutty fudge), petha (sweet winter melon candy), spiced vegetable fritters, lamb biryani, and mutton kebabs to enjoy with friends and celebrate.

Bombay Club at Sandals Grande St Lucian

Though some Indian dishes have stayed true to the traditional recipes, others have been adapted to whats available on the island. What makes Indian cuisine in the Caribbean a bit different from typical East Indian cuisine is the ingredients available to us here on the islands, especially the spices, says Subhradeep Ghosh, sous chef at the Bombay Club at the couples-only Sandals Grande St. Lucian. Garam Masala typically includes up to 25 whole spices like shahi jeera, shah morich, and javitri, which are not always available on the island, so theres a difference in flavor. Preparations are a bit different on the island, too: In Saint Lucia, roti is wrapped around food that is baked into it, whereas in India roti is usually a piece of the the same unleavened bread on the side.

Ancient Parsi Recipes Come to Life in This New Cookbook From Chef Farokh Talati

Oliver Chanarin

Oliver Chanarin; Sam A. Harris

Oliver Chanarin

Sam A. Harris; Oliver Chanarin

Oliver Chanarin

Oliver Chanarin

Oliver Chanarin

Oliver Chanarin

Chef Ghosh grew up in Kolkata before moving to Saint Lucia in 2018 and says the island has also adopted some of Indias popular street foodlike doubles, a fried flatbread filled with curried chickpeas and potatoes. He says dahl (a fried, split-pea bread) and aloo pie (fried dumplings filled with potatoes) are also popular among locals, and can be found at the local food stalls throughout the island and at the Friday Night Street Party in Gros Islet, which has been happening weekly for the last fifty years.

While Indian food has always had a presence on the island, travelers have more options to choose from these daysand a lot more than just street food. From the Indian restaurants at Saint Lucias beachfront resorts to standalone restaurants like Spice of India in Rodney Bay to the food vendors in Gros Islet, Saint Lucias Indian cuisine is an indelible part of the islands rich heritage.

Indian food in St. Lucia is growing in [popularity] as different Indian ingredients become more readily available and accessible, chef DSilva says. Its exciting to see Indian tastes and cooking methods infused into local cuisine here in Saint Lucia, adding a different depth of flavor profile to dishes. Indian cuisine is a part of Saint Lucias melting pot of culture, and its part of what makes the island special.

Originally Appeared on Conde Nast Traveler
Rachel Brosnahan shields herself with an umbrella while playing with a dog in between takes on the set of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." It is an example of the precautions productions have taken to limit the spread of COVID-19. (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Key protocols used on film and TV sets to limit the spread of COVID-19 are set to end in May, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said in a statement Thursday.

The dropping of restrictions for Hollywood productions will coincide with the end of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration on May 11.

The so-called Return to Work agreement, which provided for sick pay for cast and crew as well as mandating social distancing measures and mask wearing, will end on May 12, according to the AMPTP, which represents film and television studios.

Employees will have five days of temporary COVID-19 paid sick leave per production, to be used by year's end. Any shoot with a mandatory vaccination policy prior to May 12, 2023, may continue to apply that policy for the remainder of the production, the AMPTP said.

The agreement between major unions and the AMPTP was set to expire April 1. It was first enacted in September 2020.

The protocols had been credited with allowing film production to resume speedily in the wake of the health crisis. The AMPTP has previously produced data showing the measures limited the spread of the virus on sets. However the requirements led to increases in budgets and slow downs in production.

Requirement for some members of productions to be vaccinated against the disease had drawn controversy. Actors like Woody Harrelson, Tilda Swinton and SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher have been vocal in their opposition to safety protocols.

Drescher, though vaccinated herself, had called on Hollywood's biggest union SAG-AFTRA to lift requirements for vaccinations on film sets. The agreement allows producers to require vaccinations for those cast and crew working near unmasked actors.

Some studios like Walt Disney had already started last fall to stop mandating vaccinations on some of its productions as hospitalizations waned.

The protocols used on film sets, which also required regular testing, exceeded the requirements of other industries.

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Film and TV sets would be split into zones depending on risk. Zone A is where actors who are unmasked would be, and workers in that zone sometimes were required to test multiple times a week as well being vaccinated. Masks were still required on film sets, despite L.A. County lifting its indoor mask mandate last year.

The decision comes as Los Angeles County voted in February to end its COVID-19 emergency declaration at the end of this month. In February, Gov. Gavin Newsom formally rescinded the statewide emergency declaration issued three years ago during the onset of the pandemic.

Moreover, President Biden in January told Congress he would end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Home and Away spoilers follow for Australian-pace episodes, which some UK viewers may prefer to avoid.

Home and Away star Jacqui Purvis has revealed her initial fears over Felicity Newman and Tane Parata's wedding scene.

The couple finally tied the knot in their second attempt during Australian scenes that aired this week, saying their vows in te reo Maori. However, Jacqui has admitted he was nervous about getting it right.

Its one of the hardest things Ive ever had to do, the star told Stuff. There was a lot of pressure for me personally. Acting-wise I was just like, Im going to embarrass myself. All these Kiwis are going to think Ive butchered their lovely language.

Related: Home and Away star Sophie Dillman discusses Ziggy's emotional baby storyline

However, the actress said she was "just really grateful and lucky that [she] got the chance to do it", recalling: The cultural adviser coached me through it and taught me the language and how to say it all properly. It took a lot of hours.

Unfortunately, we only got a few takes to do it because we didnt have the time and it was about to rain. We only got two takes and I stuffed up the first one and I was so annoyed because I made so many mistakes.

The star explained that she also had doubts over whether the wedding would actually happen this time  even right up until filming.

Channel 5

Related: Home and Away death storyline divides Mali Hudson and Rose Delaney

Theres always that thing on this job. You dont believe it until youre filming because anything can happen," she noted. "They can change the script last-minute. They do and you get thrown a new script to learn at 7am.

Theres so many things that can change, so even though I knew and I had been told, there was just this little thing in the back of my head that this could still change.

Jacqui added that it will be a moment she will "probably never forget", as "it was very spiritual and so beautiful to be a part of it".

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Channel 5

Related: Home and Away airs update on former character in latest Australian episode

The soap also brought on board members of Sydney's Maori community to help advise, the star saying: The writers did such an amazing job involving all those aspects. And again, I just learned so much. I had no idea about how it all worked so it was just really cool.

It was definitely a different day on set. There were lots of smiles, this feeling of, Oh my god, were actually doing this. Were doing something really, really interesting, really cool, really exciting  something we should be proud of.

Sometimes, work is a bit of a slog or its really intense, but then when you have a day like that, it makes it so worth it. You know youre doing something special."

Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.45pm on Channel 5 and 6pm on 5STAR. First-look screenings air at 6.30pm on 5STAR and the show also streams on My5.

In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 and streams on 7plus.

Selected classic episodes are available via Prime Video in the UK.

Read more Home and Away spoilers on our dedicated homepage

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A man reads a local newspaper on 29 November 2021 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Journalists, political activists and women are often the victims of violence, and perpetrators are rarely brought to justice, says US-based NGO Freedom House, with corruption, violence and impunity undermining the country's overall stability.

Journalists working for opposition media are often physically attacked, threatened, or forced to flee the country, says Reporters Without Borders.

Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries in the region for news media. In 2022 Honduras human rights commissioner said 92 media workers had been killed since 2001.

Freedom House says most of the main media outlets are owned by a few powerful business interests which exert control over content.

There were 5.5 million internet users by July 2022, comprising 54% of the population (Internetworldstats.com). Facebook is the leading social network.

Press

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Televicentro - operates Tsi, Canal 5 El Lider and Telecadena 7 y 4 networks

Canal 6 - private

VTV - private

Canal 11 - private

Radio
By Jessie Pang

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A group of Hong Kong transgender people staged a small protest on Friday against a delay by authorities in changing the gender indicated on their identity documents, saying they have yet to be fully recognised despite a landmark court ruling in February.

The protesters held up placards outside the immigration department in the rain, demanding authorities abide by the legal judgment granting transgender people the right to change the gender marker on their identity cards, without undergoing a full sex reassignment operation.

Such operations are highly intrusive and involve removing sexual organs, with a high risk of serious complications.

The ruling was hailed as a victory for transgender rights in the Chinese-ruled city, making it a more progressive jurisdiction than Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea.

But Henry Tse, the founder of the group Transgender Equality Hong Kong, who was involved in the protest, said he was still waiting for his identity card to be formally changed to show he is a man.

"The government is using administrative tactics to deliberately delay the whole process," Tse told Reuters.

Another protester, Emery Fung, 28, who has a gender marker change application pending, said he had not been given a timeline despite trying to ask the authorities numerous times.

"There's no clarification," Fung told Reuters.

The Immigration Department told Reuters it was studying the judgement carefully and would aim to finish a policy review "in a reasonable time", without giving specifics.

The department would not confirm whether it had suspended applications for gender marker changes since the ruling, as reported by media, nor say how many people were affected.

'HUGE PRESSURE'

Kelley Loper, an expert in human rights law at the University of Hong Kong, criticised the government's failure to implement the decision swiftly.

"Any delay potentially undermines their dignity and perpetuates discrimination and marginalisation," Loper told Reuters, noting that ordinary acts like going to the bank or a public toilet could become problematic.

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According to a study conducted by the Sexualities Research Program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Transgender Resource Center in 2019-20, half of the city's transgender people faced discrimination and 76.9% of respondents said they had contemplated suicide.

"Legal uncertainty will continue to put a huge pressure on this community and affect their mental health," Suen Yiu-tung, an associate professor of gender studies who led the research, told Reuters.

Despite the delay, some like Henry Koh, executive director of ILGA Asia, the Asian arm of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, were hopeful the Hong Kong gender marker judgement could have a regional impact.

"In countries such as mainland China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, which still require gender reassignment surgery to have their gender recognised, this ruling could provide an example of what is possible and could potentially influence future legislation and ensure more inclusive gender recognition policies," Koh said.

(Reporting by Jessie Pang; Editing by James Pomfret and Robert Birsel)
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.

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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
Theres a reason horses are so iconic to the American West and Southwest, and now theres scientific data to back it up.

A new study published in the journal Science suggests horses called North America home decades before European colonizers arrived, confirming oral histories passed through Indigenous nations and ending a rather contentious debate.

A team of more than 80 archaeologists, geneticists, historians and scientists from the Lakota, Comanche and Pawnee nations analyzed horse bones from museums across the Great Plains and Northern Rockies, according to the study. They found horses were fundamental to the people of these nations who fed, cared for, bonded with and ultimately buried them after they died.

Thats because the people of these nations, including the Lakota, considered horses to have a nationhood status equal to their own, the study says.

The Lakota-horse relationship is thus one of great reverence, deeply embedded in their identity, spirituality, science, and cosmogony, authors wrote in the study. The horse enhanced the abilities of the Lakota with regard to hunting, mobility, healing, and more.

The University of Colorado Boulder, where one of the studys co-authors is a researcher, suggested it could be the most exhaustive history of early horses in North America to date in a news release.

What unites everyone is the shared vision of telling a different kind of story about horses, co-author William Taylor said in the release. Focusing only on the historical record has underestimated the antiquity and the complexity of Indigenous relationships with horses across a huge swath of the American West.

Skeletal specimens showed horses were present in the grasslands in the early 1600s, long before the Pueblo Revolt in 1680, which was the earliest date accepted by Western science, the study says.

Scientists believe horses may have made their way to North America through ancient trade routes based on kinship ties and social networks established through the Great Plains and Rockies millennia before European contact, the study says.

Story continues

The study included quotes from Lakota Chief Joe American Horse.

Horses have been part of us since long before other cultures came to our lands, and we are a part of them, Chief Joe American Horse said in the study. We stand with the horse and we will always do so however it has evolved through its journey. That is what being Lakota is.

Traces of mammoth blood reveal how indigenous North Americans hunted them, study shows

Tiny horse roaming Outer Banks is first wild foal of 2023, experts say. Take a look

Wild horses can prevent out-of-control wildfires out west, researcher says. Heres how
When Lin Guangming came to south China's Hainan Province, he was fascinated by the massive opportunities presented by the fledgling free trade port and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Lin, an overseas Chinese with Singaporean citizenship, came to Hainan in 2020 and became the chief planner for the Yangpu Economic Development Zone management committee.

"Thanks to the BRI, people like me have the chance to show their talents," Lin said. "I am doing practical city planning work and serving the cities along the Belt and Road."

Having been engaged in urban planning and construction for years, Lin aims to transfer Singapore's philosophy and good practices to Chinese cities and he has worked in many cities along the Belt and Road, such as Chongqing and Chengdu.

"Practice has proven that the BRI is a success in terms of project cooperation, policy communication, fund circulation and others," said Lin.

Borrowing the idea of the ancient "Silk Road" that once linked Asia and Europe with vibrant trade, China envisioned the BRI as a framework connecting countries around the world through trade, investment, infrastructure development, and people-to-people exchanges, among others.

As a primary hub along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Hainan has made use of favorable supporting policies and its unique advantages to pioneer the country's high-level opening up.

At the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 held in Hainan, the BRI is again a keenly-discussed topic.

Mongolian Minister of Economy and Development Chimed Khurelbaatar, said the BRI brings benefits and common prosperity for its participating countries.

Statistics show that over the past decade, 151 countries and 32 international organizations have joined the initiative. It has generated nearly a trillion U.S. dollars in investment, established over 3,000 cooperation projects, created some 420,000 jobs in countries along the routes, and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty.
EXCLUSIVE: Chinese-made cargo cranes at major U.S. ports have the potential to be used by China as a way to interfere with international trade and military mobilization, House China Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher warned Friday in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.

Gallagher, R-Wis., and committee member Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., visited the Port of Miami Friday morning to inspect Chinese-made cranes and infrastructure amid worries that they might be used to conduct surveillance on U.S. ports.

"The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest threat to American sovereignty, and the visits today highlighted how the CCP seeks to compromise our critical infrastructure and weaponize its influence over our neighbors," Gallagher told Fox News Digital.

ARE CHINESE CRANES BEING USED FOR SURVEILLANCE AT US PORTS? HOUSE GOP VISITS PORT OF MIAMI TO FIND OUT

A cargo ship sits at the Port of Miami on June 09, 2022 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Gallagher said he and Gimenez saw how Chinese cranes expose the U.S. to the risk of possible interference from China. He said they "learned first-hand how Chinese-made cargo cranes now move an alarming amount of the goods Americans rely on from point A to B, providing the CCP with a tool to disrupt American trade flows and impede military mobilization."

US INTEL COMMUNITY WARNS OF 'COMPLEX' THREATS FROM CHINA, RUSSIA, NORTH KOREA

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

After visiting the port, the lawmakers traveled to U.S. Southern Command headquarters to get information on any CCP influence in Latin America and how that influence could threaten American interests.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT MAY NEVER BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THREE OBJECTS SHOT DOWN AFTER CHINAS SURVEILLANCE CRAFT

Gallagher told Fox News Digital that the visit with SOUTHCOM military leaders "further revealed the CCPs targeted influence campaigns in our backyard," which he said underscores the CCPs "determination to turn our allies and partners against us."

"Put differently: the Monroe Doctrine still matters and we must push back against growing CCP influence in our own backyard," Gallagher said.

Story continues

"The Communist regime in Beijing is Americas most significant national security threat. The Communist Party of China is not a competitor, but rather an adversary that actively undermines the United States and our geostrategic interests," Gimenez told Fox News Digital. "For years, I have been warning about the need to decouple from Communist China and diversify our manufacturing capabilities to meet our critical infrastructure needs."

Gimenez said he wants to work with Gallagher to develop "the best strategies to protect America from the CCPs malign influence."

The visit to the Port of Miami came after the Wall Street Journal reported this month that the Pentagon is now viewing giant cargo cranes as possible Chinese spying tools. The report suggested Chinese equipment and cranes at ports could be used for surveillance.

The concerns about Chinese spy tools also comes after a Chinese surveillance balloon transited across the continental United States last month for more than a week, traveling from Alaska to South Carolina, and hovering over sensitive military and nuclear bases, officials said. The balloon was eventually shot down off the coast of South Carolina by the U.S. military fighter jets.

CHINA ON DISTURBING PATH TO ECLIPSE US MILITARY BY MID-CENTURY, MILLEY WARNS

In its annual threat assessment earlier this month, the U.S. intelligence community warned that China represents the "broadest, most active, and persistent cyber espionage threat to U.S. Government and private-sector networks.

"Chinas cyber pursuits and its industrys export of related technologies increase the threats of aggressive cyber operations against the U.S. homeland," officials warned, adding that China is "capable of launching cyberattacks that could disrupt critical infrastructure services within the United States, including against oil and gas pipelines, and rail systems."

Officials also warned that China is rapidly expanding and improving its surveillance, its artificial intelligence and big data analytics capabilities, which could expand beyond domestic use.
Human Rights Watch on Friday urged Bangladesh to suspend plans to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, warning conditions there would not be safe for the persecuted and stateless minority.

Bangladesh is home to around a million Rohingya, most of whom fled a 2017 military crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar that is now subject to a UN genocide investigation.

A delegation from Myanmar's military regime travelled to Bangladesh this month to interview potential candidates for return and jump-start a stalled repatriation scheme.

But any return to Myanmar would put the lives and liberty of refugees "at grave risk", Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

"Voluntary, safe, and dignified returns of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar are not possible while the military junta is carrying out massacres around the country," said Meenakshi Ganguly, HRW's South Asia director.

Rohingya in the camps told HRW they "were lied to, deceived, or otherwise coerced by Bangladesh administrators" into meeting the Myanmar delegation, the watchdog said.

Some of the 15 refugees interviewed by the watchdog said they had been lured into the meetings on the understanding they were to discuss possible resettlement to a third country.

The Rohingya are widely viewed in Myanmar as interlopers from Bangladesh, despite roots in the country stretching back centuries, and are stateless after Myanmar ceased recognising their citizenship in 2015.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has dismissed the Rohingya identity as "imaginary", was head of the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown.

The International Court of Justice is probing allegations of systematic rape, murder and arson against Rohingya by Myanmar's security forces.

Rights groups have accused the junta of planning to orchestrate a "token" return of refugees to avoid the court's censure.

-'Repatriation will be voluntary' -

A junta spokesman told AFP this month that Myanmar could accept "around 1,000" members of the minority as soon as mid-April.

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But a senior foreign ministry official in Bangladesh, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the amount of preparation still needed made that timeframe doubtful.

He also denied his country would force refugees to return.

"Repatriation will be voluntary," he said.

Human Rights Watch said Bangladesh had been intensifying restrictions on livelihoods, movement and education in an apparent effort "to coerce refugees into considering returning to Myanmar."

Thousands of Rohingya risk their lives each year making perilous journeys from camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar to reach Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia.

Last week, around 180 Rohingya attempting to flee to Malaysia from Myanmar's Rakhine state were arrested by authorities, according to a security official.

They did not specify why the group had been arrested, but the Muslim minority faces restrictions on travelling within Myanmar, where rights groups say they live in apartheid-like conditions.

bur-gle/lb
Thousands of Muslims packed Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the second Friday of Ramadan, for peaceful prayers that saw no clashes with the Israeli security forces, an AFP journalist reported.

The Jordanian body which administers the mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem said that 250,000 people prayed at Islam's third holiest site, built on what Jews call the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.

Israeli police, who guard the entrances to the compound, said more than 100,000 worshippers attended -- "almost twice as many as on the second Friday of the month of Ramadan last year" -- and that some 2,000 officers were deployed in the city.

In past years, the Old City was the setting for violence during Ramadan, but no major incidents were reported on Friday.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict had seen an upsurge of violence since the beginning of the year, raising fears of a flare-up during Ramadan. But the past 10 days since the start of the holy fasting month have seen a relative lull in violence.

Israel has been allowing Palestinians from the occupied West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Ramadan prayers, with COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, saying over 70,000 people crossed on Friday.

Posting images on Twitter of worshippers crowded at Israeli checkpoints en route to Jerusalem, Palestinian civil affairs minister Hussein al-Sheikh blasted the "strict and humiliating measures".

The Israeli army meanwhile announced the crossings from Gaza and the West Bank would be closed from Wednesday evening to Saturday night due to the Jewish festival of Passover.

Palestinians from the West Bank will be able to cross on Friday for Ramadan prayers.

The crossings will be closed again on April 11 and 12, the end of Passover, the army said, adding that exceptions may be allowed on humanitarian or medical grounds.

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A Massachusetts man accused of killing his missing wife has been indicted by a grand jury.

Brian Walshe, 48, was indicted on a murder charge involving Ana Walshe, Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey told WFXT-TV in Boston. Walshe was also indicted on charges of misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and the improper conveyance of a human body.

Walshe already pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in January, but the indictment moves the case to the Norfolk Superior Court, where it will be arraigned anew in the coming weeks, Morrissey said.

Brian Walshe at his Jan. 18 arraignment in Quincy District Court in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Brian Walshe at his Jan. 18 arraignment in Quincy District Court in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Ana Walshe, 39, had been reported missing by her husband, as well as her employer in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4. The mother of three had a second office in Washington, and Walshe told police that he had last seen her on New Years Day, when he said she had traveled to Washington for a work emergency.

Walshe was arrested days later, after prosecutors said they found blood and a bloody knife in the couples basement. They also said that they found trash bags containing bloody items including clothes, rags, a hacksaw and a hatchet discarded in dumpsters outside apartment buildings and that the items contained the DNA of both Ana and Brian Walshe. Her body has not been found.

Prosecutors also said that in the days before his wife went missing, Walshe bought hundreds of dollars worth of cleaning supplies and conducted numerous internet searches on his sons iPad related to disposing bodies.

The alleged searches included the queries How long before a body starts to smell? How to stop a body from decomposing? and Can you identify a body with broken teeth? according to the district attorneys office.

Related...
Tax Day is approaching, and some remote and hybrid workers have the chance to get money back from Kansas City.

The earnings tax, also called the e-tax, is a 1% tax that businesses, residents and workers pay to Kansas City to help fund many municipal services, including municipal trash collection. For individuals, the tax is on the amount of money you earn while living or working in the city.

Kansas City residents must pay the tax on their earnings, no matter where they work. But nonresidents only have to pay the tax on the money they earn within Kansas City. That means they can get some of their e-tax money refunded if they worked from home outside Kansas City for a portion of the previous year.

Last year, the city made it much more difficult to request these refunds, but earlier this month it reversed that policy. Now, requesting a refund is as easy as filling out a form online and providing documentation that you worked from home.

Is the earnings tax automatically deducted from my paycheck?

As a general rule, anyone employed by a business that is located in Kansas City will have this tax automatically withheld from their paycheck, tax expert Susie Mize told The Star. Mize is the site coordinator for the Johnson County Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) office, which helps low-income residents prepare their taxes.

However, Kansas City residents who work outside of city limits may have to pay the tax themselves. To avoid paying the earnings tax twice, carefully review your W2 form before filing.

Kansas City residents have to pay the full 1% earnings tax regardless of where they physically worked during the past year. Only nonresidents, meaning people who live outside of city limits, can get a partial refund for working from home.

How do I request a refund of some or all of last years earnings tax?

Workers who live outside of Kansas City and who worked from home during some or all of last year can request a refund for some or all of the earnings tax that their employer withheld.

Story continues

If that sounds like you, you can file a refund request using Form 109 through the citys tax portal, Quick Tax. The deadline to file this year is Tuesday, April 18.

City spokesperson Sherae Honeycutt told The Star that in order to file for this refund, you may need some or all of the following documents:

W-2 showing KCMO tax was withheld by the employer

Contact name, phone number and email address of employer to verify the days worked outside the city

Travel logs of business travel taken during the tax period

Letter or email from the employer verifying the taxpayer worked a specific number of days outside KCMO

Calendar or excel sheet listing the days worked outside KCMO

Telework agreement or payroll records showing telework days

She added that workers cant count vacation days, sick days or holidays as days worked outside of Kansas City.

How much of the earnings tax do hybrid workers have to pay?

If you worked from home during some days and came into a Kansas City office on other days in 2022, city tax codes state that you will pay the earnings tax based on the number of days you worked in the city.

The city typically defines days worked as 260 days per year. Your days worked within Kansas City include both full and partial days worked within city limits  so a half day in the office counts as a full day for taxation purposes.

Heres an example: if a Johnson County resident works 20 full days and six partial days in person in Kansas City during a typical year, that will count as a total of 26 days worked in the city. Thats one tenth of the total number of work days, so the worker will pay one tenth of 1%, or 0.1%, of their earnings toward the earnings tax.

Mize added that some hybrid workers may be paying the full 1% of their earnings to the city without realizing it, since Kansas City based employers withhold this amount from paychecks. In the example above, the worker could get 90% of this amount, or 0.9% of their total earnings, refunded.

You dont have to pay the earnings tax on income you didnt earn. That includes money you got from Social Security, pensions, retirement accounts and some other sources. Active duty military members and nonprofit organizations are also exempt from the earnings tax.

Do you have more questions about tax preparation in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
Hyundai is offering free steering wheel locks to prevent theft. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A trend of breaking into Kia and Hyundai cars began on TikTok last year, spurring an explosion of theft in recent months.

Now Hyundai, the parent company of Kia Motors, is giving away steering wheel locks to drivers.

The South Korean carmaker plans to "combat this rise in car theft," the car maker told Bloomberg.

Hyundai and Kia are offering free steering wheel locks for drivers, as a trend of stealing the cars continues in cities across the US.

Thefts of older car models that lack electronic security features have been on the rise, thanks to the emergence of viral TikTok videos that show how to steal the vehicles and document the burglaries. In an effort to prevent future thefts, Hyundai  which is also the parent company of Kia Motors  is giving out steering wheel locks and urging software updates, Bloomberg reported.

"Hyundai Motor America is committed to ensuring the quality and integrity of our products," a Hyundai spokesperson told Bloomberg.

According to Bloomberg, certain models of Hyundai and Kia cars lack an engine immobilizer, an electronic security feature that prevents a car from starting without a key. Thieves have been able to break into certain Kia and Hyundai models en masse, using USBs to start the car.

After the trend first took hold over the summer, Hyundai began reimbursing car owners for purchases of steering wheel locks, as well as providing locks to police departments to give away across the country, according to Bloomberg.

So far this year, more than 100 people have been under suspicion of stealing Hyundai and Kia cars in New York alone, according to Bloomberg.

Hyundai's software updates and steering wheel lock giveaways come after 20 US state attorneys called on the company to enhance anti-theft measures.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Kia said it will continue to "combat this rise in car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Rafael Grossi at the ZNPP

After touring the Ukrainian plant, which is at present located in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraines Zaporizhzhya Oblast, the head of the IAEA said he was determined to continue diplomatic efforts to make the plant safe and prevent a disaster.

Grossi arrived at the ZNPP on March 29. Before arriving, he said he planned to check for any changes in the situation at the plant, talk with nuclear scientists, and act as a guarantor of the rotation of the members of the IAEAs permanent mission, which has been working there since last September.

Ahead of Grossis visit, the IAEA abandoned the idea of creating a demilitarized zone around the ZNPP. Now, according to the director general, the agency is seeking a behavioral, rather than territorial, solution that would involve commitments not to attack the station and not to use it for attacks.

Read also: Zaporizhzhya NPP can no longer be protected, says IAEA head

Firing positions have been set up by Russian invasion forces at the ZNPP, and they are using it to launch artillery attacks on Ukrainian cities across the Dnipro River, in particular on the city of Nikopol and the nearby town of Marhanets in the government-controlled part of Zaporizhzhya Oblast.

Read also: Over 30 countries call on Russia to return full control over Zaporizhzhya NPP to Ukraine

Ukrainian forces are unable to return fire due to the possibility that it might damage the plants six nuclear reactors.

Previously, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that international organizations have not yet been able to resolve the situation with the ZNPP, so it is necessary to look for other mechanisms.

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, ZNPP was captured by Russian invaders after fighting in Enerhodar on March 4, 2022. The ZNPP buildings were damaged by Russian shelling in several places, and the plants workers were taken captive.

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 grandparents of J.J. Vallow, Lori Vallow's 7-year-old adoptive son who was murdered in 2019, say they are "blindsided and heartbroken" by efforts from Vallow's defense team to ban them from her murder trial.

Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, allegedly killed Vallow's two children, J.J. and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as Daybell's ex-wife, Tammy Daybell, between September and October 2019. Vallow's trial is scheduled to begin on April 3, and Idaho Judge Steven Boyce called a hearing on Thursday to determine whether Kay and Larry Woodcock, who are witnesses in the case, could sit in on the proceedings.

Vallow's defense team argued that because the Woodcocks are not J.J.'s actual grandparents and therefore statutory victims in the case, they should be excluded from hearing other witness testimony.

"We appreciate the outpouring of love and support from all of you after yesterdays hearing. We were completely blindsided and heartbroken at the argument made saying we are not JJs grandparents and should not be considered victims in this case," the Woodcocks said in a Thursday statement shared by their attorney, Shanon Gray of Gray Law, LLC.

LORI VALLOW CASE: J.J. VALLOW'S GRANDMOTHER DOESN'T RECOGNIZE SO-CALLED CULT MOM SMILING OUTSIDE COURT

Kay Woodcock, murder victim J.J. Vallow's grandmother, says she doesn't "recognize" Lori Vallow anymore.

J.J.'s biological father is Kay Woodcock's son. Kay and Larry Woodcock cared for J.J. until 2013, when Kay's brother  Lori Vallow's late husband  Charles Vallow agreed to adopt the then-1-year-old boy.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Arizona officials in June 2021 indicted Vallow in Charles' July 2019 murder.

IDAHO CULT MOM LORI VALLOW WANTS CASE DISMISSED OVER SPEEDY TRIAL' CONCERNS AFTER 1,169 DAYS IN JAIL

Upon the terms of their adoption of J.J., the Vallows agreed that Kay Woodcock and her husband, Larry Woodcock, could be present in the boy's life as his "Mamaw and Papaw," the Woodcocks previously told Fox News Digital.

Kay and Larry Woodcock are eagerly awaiting access to J.J.'s remains following the April trial so they can give him a proper service and burial.

They got to visit their grandson  whom they previously described to Fox News Digital as energetic, ingestive and friendly  often after the adoption, even as Charles and Lori moved around the country in their 13 years of marriage.

Story continues

LORI VALLOW DEBUTS NEW JAIL LOOK AS DEFENSE CLAIMS SHE DIDN'T PARTICIPATE IN CHILDREN'S MURDERS

"We continue to be victimized by Lori every single day living life without JJ, Tylee and Charles, then again by possibly denying us the chance to be the face in the courtroom seeking justice for them. We made a promise over 3 years ago to Tylee and JJ to see justice prevail. We will fight until we have exhausted all options to keep that promise," the Woodcocks said.

Lori and Chad Daybell are accused of killing 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019.

Their new attorney, who also represented the family of University of Idaho murder victim Kaylee Goncalves, filed a motion to allow the Woodcocks to attend Vallow's trial on Friday, according to FOX 10 reporter Justin Lum.

"There is nothing about the presence of victims at a trial that would affect the defendant in any possible way," Gray wrote in the filing obtained by FOX 10.

Authorities arrested Vallow in February 2020 and Daybell in June 2020.

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: 5 MURDER DEFENDANTS WHO POINTED TO UNKNOWN ASSAILANTS

A Fremont County grand jury initially issued indictments against Vallow and Daybell in May 2021 on two counts of first-degree murder in connection with Tylee and J.J.'s deaths. The two children disappeared in September 2019.

An Idaho judge has blocked Lori Vallow's request for a meeting with her husband, Chad Daybell.

They were missing for months when police say the couple lied about the children's' whereabouts and then slipped away to Hawaii before the children's bodies were found in 2020 buried on Daybell's property in rural Idaho.

IDAHO CULT MOM LORI VALLOW DENIED STRATEGY SESSION WITH HUSBAND CHAD DAYBELL AHEAD OF MURDER TRIAL

Vallow and Daybell, who married in November 2019, allegedly collected J.J.'s and Tylee's Social Security benefits between Oct. 1, 2019, and Jan. 22, 2020, after their murders .

The couple were indicted in late May 2021 on multiple counts each of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception, first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder related to the deaths of Tylee, J.J. and Chad Daybell's ex-wife, officials announced at the time.

Daybell has written several apocalyptic novels based loosely on Mormon theology. Both were involved in a group that promotes preparedness for the biblical end times. Vallow and Daybell bonded over their religious beliefs after initially meeting in 2018, when they appeared together for the first time on a podcast discussing theories about the end of the world.
The Idaho Legislature on Friday completed most of its work and now awaits the governors decision on a number of outstanding bills, including one that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

The House and Senate recessed until Thursday, giving lawmakers an opportunity to return next week and address potential vetoes from Idaho Gov. Brad Little before officially adjourning.

Little has five days, excluding Sunday, after a bill clears the Legislature to sign it into law or veto it. If he takes no action before the deadline, the bill becomes law. Legislators can override a veto with a two-thirds majority vote by each chamber.

GOP leaders told the Idaho Statesman that they arent worried about vetoes on any bills in particular.

The governor works well with the House and Senate leadership, said House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star. Were going to be fine.

GOP leaders consider session a success

Moyle and Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, both said the 82-day session was a success, despite a slew of freshmen lawmakers with little to no legislative experience. The Senate had a 50% turnover rate heading into the session, which started in early January.

We have a lot of new people that we were trying to mentor and educate, Winder said. I think it went really well. We got the budgets done, put more money into education, put more money into roads, gave money back to people.

The Legislature cleared state spending bills  its only constitutional mandate  with little consternation compared with recent years, when legislative sessions were extended over budget battles.

But a handful of controversial policy bills have yet to clear their final hurdle  the governors signature. Littles spokespeople have declined to comment on those bills.

Little weighs bills on vaccines, harmful books, trans kids health care

One that may be in danger is Senate Bill 1130, which limits employers ability to require COVID-19 vaccinations. Last year, Little vetoed a similar bill, calling it government overreach.

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Meanwhile, advocates are urging the governor to veto House Bill 314, which would make libraries and schools liable for lawsuits if they allow minors to access harmful material, and House Bill 71, a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Kurt Zwolfer, executive director of The Cabin, a nonprofit writers workshop in Boise, asked donors to contact the governors office and call for House Bill 314s veto.

This bill makes the decision for all parents on what materials are accessible in the library, based on the beliefs of a few parents and politicians, Zwolfer wrote. It then creates a law with an overreaching litigious provision to back it up, threatening to bankrupt already underfunded libraries.

Demonstrators who opposed House Bill 71 waived signs and chanted in support of LGBTQ+ rights Friday on the Capitol steps. The bill would make it a felony for physicians to provide gender-affirming surgery, puberty blockers and hormone treatment to minors.

Arne Naumann, a transgender 16-year-old, told the Statesman that he hasnt used gender-affirming medications before, but now he might not get the chance.

Thats terrifying to me, so Im trying to fight against that ever happening, Naumann said.

The deadline for Littles action on the bills is next week.
The Idaho Senate approved a bill on Thursday to criminalize helping minors travel out of state to obtain an abortion, sending it to GOP Gov. Brad Littles desk.

The legislation easily passed in a heavily Republican-dominated state House and Senate. If signed into law, the bill would prohibit adults from helping a minor obtain an abortion procedure or an abortion-inducing pill without their parent or guardians consent, stating that they would be committing abortion trafficking.

The bill would allow any person prosecuted under the law to defend themselves by arguing that they had received the parent or guardians consent to help the minor obtain an abortion. But the law would also apply even if the minor obtained the abortion or the pill from out of state.

Anyone convicted of violating the law could face two to five years in prison.

The bill would grant the Idaho attorney general the authority to prosecute anyone who breaks the law if a prosecuting attorney in a county declines to bring charges against the individual.

The legislation would also allow certain individuals related to a woman who has an attempted or performed abortion to sue medical professionals who violate the law and receive at least $20,000 in damages. The individuals include the childs father, grandparent, sibling, aunt and uncle.

Idaho banned abortion through a trigger law that went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned, only allowing exceptions to protect the life of the mother or for cases of rape and incest when they have been reported to authorities. But Oregon, Washington and Montana  which all border Idaho  have much looser laws concerning abortion.

The Idaho Capital Sun reported that Planned Parenthood Great Northwest has said it will file a lawsuit against the legislation if it becomes law. Idaho would be the first state to prohibit interstate travel to obtain an abortion if the bill is signed, according to the outlet.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
China has been playing a leading role in promoting global technological collaboration and the strides it has made in technological innovation in recent years are "impressive," a senior Norwegian scholar has said.

"China's green Belt and Road Initiative has made some really important steps forward, such as helping countries develop light train system, helping the Philippines and Thailand develop green energy production," Carl Fey, a professor of strategy at BI Norwegian Business School, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023.

The scholar mentioned three comparative advantages that make China a standout in technological innovation.

"One comparative advantage is a really large home market that gives (China) a chance to try different things that can easily scale up," he said. "The second thing is the Chinese people are willing to work really hard."

"The third thing is that I think the Chinese people in general are open to new things. So if a company comes up with a new idea, people are more willing to try it here rather than being stuck in a tradition that is more typical (elsewhere)," he added.

Fey also mentioned China's enormous innovation potential, quoting the 2022 edition of the Global Innovation Index published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, in which China ranks 11th among 132 world economies.

He said there are increasingly more opportunities for European countries like Norway to collaborate with China in green technologies.

"We need to collaborate together. My home country Norway, where I'm living now, has a lot of advances in green technology. This is a great area where China and Norway can collaborate," he said.

Norway has developed strong green technologies in alternative energy, shipbuilding and various industries related to that, Fey said. "So I think there's a lot of good possibility for collaboration."

The scholar called on all countries, developing or developed ones, to work together in technological innovation, since whatever happens to the area affects the world as a whole.

"Collaboration is important because we often see problems differently because of the environment we are in. For example, China is a very dynamic environment. So maybe in China, companies can develop technologies and strategies that work better in a dynamic context," he said.

"We need to do a number of different things to help facilitate more cooperation," he added, noting that all countries should be supported to follow international rules such as those of the World Trade Organization in the process.
By Scott McIntosh, opinion editor

The Idaho Way is a weekly roundup of opinions, commentary and letters to the editor to encourage conversation on topics important to Idahoans. If you like this newsletter, forward to a friend, and they can sign up here.

Gerri-Lynn Graves is a resident at the Red Lion hotel through a partnership with the Boise-area homeless shelter Interfaith Sanctuary. Graves lost her job and income after an injury and surgery that led to other complications. Graves is an avid artist and enjoys the tranquility of crafting in her room.

An old maxim of the journalism trade is, Comfort the afflicted; afflict the comfortable.

With debate raging about whether the Ada County commissioners should continue funding a program through Interfaith Sanctuary that uses the Red Lion hotel in Boise to house people experiencing homelessness, I sought out the people who are most affected: the residents.

Gerri-Lynn Graves is a mom from Hyde Park who first experienced homelessness after she lost her job because of medical issues, including a torn ACL at work, a broken back and a surgery that went very wrong.

Jimmy Coonce was living in a trailer next to the Payette River near Emmett when he was rushed to the hospital, where he spent 102 days because of congestive heart failure, bad lungs and other medical problems. When he left the hospital, he had nowhere to live.

April Kuper was diagnosed with breast cancer the same month her family had to leave the house they were renting because the owner wanted to do something else with it. April and her family of six couldnt find anything they could afford, so she, her husband and their four children split up and found housing where they could, all while April began cancer treatments.

What gets lost in the debate is the humanity and the individual stories about the real people who are affected.

So I sought to tell their stories. Here they are.

Meta data center in Kuna

An architects rendering of the data center Meta plans at Cole and Kuna-Mora roads in Kuna.

Remember that bill I told you about a few weeks ago that would prohibit Kuna from putting the Meta data center into its urban renewal district?

Well, the bill failed to get approval in a House committee. But after some sneaky legislative shenanigans, the bill came back, several legislators changed their minds and it passed the House.

Story continues

It also passed the Senate Thursday evening and now heads to the governor to sign.

Passage of the bill means that Metas tax dollars cant be used to fund about $50 million in infrastructure improvements, things like water and sewer lines and roads that would spur even greater economic development beyond just the data center.

Read my column here on how legislators keep getting this wrong.

Medical students speak out

Clockwise from top left, Ian Holland, Marisabel Reinhardt, Ari Garabedian and Sara Meotti are first- and second-year medical students at the University of Washington in the Idaho WWAMI regional program in Moscow, Idaho.

A group of Idaho medical students wrote a guest opinion speaking out against House Bill 71, which criminalizes gender-affirming care for transgender youth and would throw these budding doctors in jail.

As medical students in Idaho, state lawmakers have created a challenging decision for us when evaluating where to practice. they wrote. We want to honor our Idaho roots and return to practice in this state, as we know Idaho is in desperate need of physicians. In fact, as of 2020, Idaho had the lowest number of physicians per capita, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges Idaho Physician Workforce Profile. However, we also must honor our oath to do no harm in our practice. The reality is that this law, if passed, will prevent us from keeping that oath by barring us from providing care we know is necessary and will impact our decision on where to practice in the future.

Read their full guest opinion piece here.

There but for the grace of God go I. Gov. Little, veto Idaho ban on transgender care

Maryanne Jordan is a former Boise City Council member, Democratic state legislator and formerly a community member on the Idaho Statesman editorial board.

Former Boise City Council member and former state Sen. Maryanne Jordan wrote a guest opinion piece this week, urging Gov. Brad Little to veto the bill criminalizing gender-affirming care. In her piece, she reveals that she has a grandchild who is transgender.

As the proud grandparent of a transgender young person, I know first-hand the care, caution and time that goes into treatment for these kids, she wrote. Parents are doing everything they can to keep their kids safe, kids who have a much higher than average potential for suicidal ideation. They are walking a path that none of them have chosen. Our daughter is not a felon. She is the kind of parent any struggling child would be lucky to have as a mom.

Read Maryannes full guest opinion piece here.

One child needed gender-affirming care, another does not

Jen Blair is a wife and mother in the Treasure Valley. She was one of the original members of Mama Dragons, a group of LDS mothers who support LGBTQ+ rights for their children and communities, and currently runs a podcast exploring gender identity, sexual orientation, and parenting.

An Idaho mom of two children who struggled with gender identity wrote a guest opinion this week, testifying that one of her children desperately needed gender-affirming care, while another child did not.

As the loving mother of four (plus a bonus child), my journey has proven that not only do doctors in Idaho not push gender-affirming care onto families, but obtaining health care for trans youth can be quite difficult to get, even when its needed, she writes. And sometimes, it is very needed. I know because two of my children struggled with their gender identity. One of them needed gender-affirming health care, which saved their life. The other not only doesnt need gender-affirming medical care, but their quality of life would be negatively impacted if they did receive it.

Read her personal story here.

Immigration bill

Celia Gould is a rancher and former director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture.

Rancher and former director of the Idaho Department of Agriculture Celia Gould wrote a guest opinion this week about a Senate Joint Memorial addressing immigration and workforce needs.

Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon recently distributed an opinion piece through the state GOP email, falsely claiming Idaho is trying to turn blue, Gould wrote. This is a petty talking point to pander to a small group of people and divide the GOP. Her statistics regarding Senate Joint Memorial 101 were far-fetched. Here are the facts from someone actually involved in the agriculture industry, which is one of many in need of immigration reform.

Read her full guest opinion piece here.

Lunch with The Idaho Way





Jodi Peterson-Stigers, right, executive director of Interfaith Sanctuary, takes part in Lunch with The Idaho Way to talk about homelessness and those who are housed at the Red Lion hotel in Boise.

Join us for our new livestream show, Lunch with The Idaho Way, at noon on Wednesdays.

So far, weve tackled the issues of transgender rights; school vouchers; the initiative process; militias; and local property taxes.

This week, we spoke with Jodi Peterson-Stigers about homelessness and the program housing residents at the Red Lion Downtowner Boise hotel. Check out that episode here.

Next week, were scheduled to talk to journalist and author Leah Sottile about the upcoming trial of Lori Vallow, set to begin next week in Ada County.

Register for this discussion for free at our Eventbrite and ask your question in advance. Click on select a date and choose April 5.

Or simply tune in at noon every Wednesday on Facebook or YouTube. Ask questions and join the conversation.

Check out the details here.

Capitol Letters

Capitol Letters newsletter is a daily look at Idaho legislative session, from highlights and reported stories from the past days events to tomorrows important votes and hearings.

Idaho Statesman reporter Ryan Suppe and politics editor Hayat Norimine keep you updated on each days happenings in the Idaho Legislature and what to expect for the upcoming day.

Plus, I throw in our astute politics observations and opinions on a daily basis.

To sign up to receive Capitol Letters, click here.

Im listening

Send me your story ideas, news tips, questions, comments, or anything else on your mind. You can reach me via email at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com.

Find me on social media:

Twitter (my DMs are open)

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What youre saying

Letters To Editor

This week, we received letters to the editor on Idahos abortion law and miscarriage care, the war in Vietnam and the bill reviving the firing squad. You can read these and more letters by clicking here.

You can submit a letter to the editor or guest opinion by clicking here.

Like this newsletter?

If you like this newsletter, forward to a friend or colleague, and they can sign up here.
Batavia, Illinois, police officer Joe Gudella was found dead inside a cabin in northern Juneau County, authorities said.

An Illinois police officer was found dead inside a cabin in northern Juneau County earlier this week, authorities said.

The Juneau County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that a call came in requesting a welfare check at a residence in the town of Armenia shortly before 5 p.m. on Monday. Dispatch also reported a second call from a neighbor who was at the residence and said two residents appeared to not be breathing.

Upon arrival, first responders discovered a man who was "noticeably deceased," the release states. The Batavia, Illinois, Police Department identified the deceased man, in a Facebook post, as one its officers, Joe Gudella.

Another man also was found in the cabin and was tended to by medical personnel. He was later transferred to a hospital and was initially on life support. In a GoFundMe post, the family of the man said he was no longer on life support, but "he has a long road ahead."

It's unclear what happened to the men, no cause of death has been revealed, but Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke described Gudella's death as "natural causes" and "accidental," in a video message posted to YouTube.

"We're in a very, very sad time down at the city of Batavia," Schielke said. "He was a beloved member of the department."

According to police, Gudella was staying at a family home in Armenia. Schielke said Gudella was a resident of Bloomingdale, Illinois.

"Officer Gudella was thoughtful and compassionate, and his positivity and zeal for life were infectious," police said. "He had a servants heart and a passion for making people feel welcomed and loved. In his time with the Batavia Police Department, he made a lasting impact on his peers and the community that he served with pride. He will be sorely missed by all."

Gudella had been with the department since January 2022, after serving with the Cook County Sheriff's Office since 2015.

Gudella had a wife and two children. His family set up a GoFundMe page, "hoping that any donations help ease the uncertainty and difficult decisions in the immediate and extended future." The fundraiser had a goal of $10,000, but as of Friday afternoon, nearly $100,000 was raised.

Story continues

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Illinois police officer found dead inside a cabin in central Wisconsin
IMF

Read also: US extends $1.25 billion in grant financing to Ukraine

Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal said that the country will receive the first tranche of more than $2.7 billion in near future.

The IMF funds will help the government finance all critical spending and maintain macro-financial stability, Shmyhal wrote in a Telegram post.

The program will consist of two parts: the first is urgent financing of our victory in the war. The second part is the post-war reconstruction and transformation of Ukraine.

Read also: Mass infrastructure attacks over, US finds no Ukraine funds misuse, more church drama

The IMF press service clarified that the decision is part of a total $115 billion support package that includes the IMF loan, $80 billion in pledges from other countries, and $20 in debt relief.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the IMF and its Managin Director, Kristalina Georgieva, for approving the program.

Read also: Zelenskyy, leaders of four states visit Bucha on anniversary of its liberation

Together we support the Ukrainian economy and move forward to victory, Zelenskyy said in a Twitter post.

On March 21, the IMF announced that it had reached an agreement at the staff level on a new four-year EFF program for Ukraine worth SDR 11.6 billion (about $15.6 billion).

Read also: IMF board of directors sets date for meeting to address economic challenges facing Ukraine

The program is supposed to be divided into two stages. The first is aimed at maintaining fiscal and financial stability, designed for 12-18 months, while the second stage is aimed at bootstrapping growth and EU integration through major structural reforms.

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
Story at a glance

A new interactive experience opened Thursday in Las Vegas that brings favorite Disney characters to life.

The experience is 500,000 cubic feet of projection on just about everything in the space, including the walls, floor and columns. The floor also moves and bubbles emerge.

The immersive Disney Animation experience is also showing in 10 other U.S. cities.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A new interactive experience opened Thursday in Las Vegas, allowing visitors to step into the magical world of Disney.

Its an Immersive Disney Animation experience that brings favorite Disney characters to life at The Shops at Crystals on the Las Vegas Strip.

Source: Immersive Disney Animation (Kyle Flubacker)

Source: Immersive Disney Animation (Kyle Flubacker)

Source: Immersive Disney Animation (Kyle Flubacker)

Source: Immersive Disney Animation (Kyle Flubacker)

Academy Award-winning producer J. Miles Dale leads the attractions creative team.

As a filmmaker, I am always seeking out ideas that can engage an audience in new and interesting ways and to show them something that they have never seen before, he said.

The experience is 500,000 cubic feet of projection on just about everything in the space, including the walls, floor and columns, according to Corey Ross, a producer with Toronto-based Lighthouse Immersive Studios, which partnered with Disney for the experience. In addition to the projections, the floor moves and bubbles float about.

Youre there. Youre inside the casita in Encanto and youre at Pride Rock for Lion King,' Ross said in an interview. We really take you through all of the best moments, and youre there in person.

Disney fan visits all 12 Disney theme parks in 12 days, rides over 200 attractions

Custom bracelets let the audience share space and interact with the characters.

It is so wonderful to be immersed in our movies, all surrounded  it is so glorious, said Dorothy McKim, a member of the creative team. There are just so many surprises in all of our films that everybody will be able to relate to.

The show is 50 minutes long, but covers 45 movies. Ticket prices range from $40$46, depending on the showing, according to the Lighthouse Immersive online ticket portal.

Story continues

The immersive Disney Animation experience is also showing in 10 other U.S. cities: Atlanta; Boston; Columbus, Ohio; Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Nashville and San Antonio. Most are currently open for ticketed visitors, though some are scheduled to start showings in coming weeks.

The Disney Animation Immersive Experience debuted in Toronto, Ontario, in December 2022, according to Forbes, which described the show as the latest landmark in the rather sudden explosion of interest in immersive experiences.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- India is turning more optimistic about achieving a consensus from Group of 20 nations on the language used to describe Russias war in Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Representatives from various countries have stayed in the same room in recent meetings, marking a contrast with the regular walkouts during similar talks last year in Indonesia, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the meetings are private. That has raised hopes for some sort of a compromise similar to that achieved last November on the resort island of Bali, the person said, adding that any escalation of the war could upset this fragile balance.

India, which is set to host the annual G-20 summit in September, is under pressure to show it can forge an agreement after two major meetings ended this year ended with Russia and China objecting to language around the war. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to use Indias G-20 presidency to depoliticize the supply chains of food and fertilizer made scarce by the war.

Indias top G-20 negotiator, Amitabh Kant, said on Thursday that the group still isnt close to reaching a settlement over the language in a joint statement at the leaders meeting in September. The body needs to also discuss pressing issues such as global debt and climate change as part of that, he said.

The Russia-Ukraine issue cannot hold many other issues back, Kant told reporters in the picturesque beach town of Kumarakom in southern India, where the negotiators were meeting this week. Billboards leading to the venue read Welcome sherpas, may the backwaters lead you forward.

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Kant said he held a very positive and optimistic meeting with his Russian counterpart Svetlana Lukash on Thursday, saying they discussed everything under the sun.

While the meetings this week were ostensibly focused on digital public infrastructure, the G-20 sherpas are using the discussions to address the war in Ukraine  the biggest sticking point for the group. Since Russias invasion began more than a year ago, India has emerged as one of the biggest swing nations, maintaining close ties with the US but abstaining from United Nations votes to condemn the war. Its also held back from participating in US-led efforts to sanction Moscow and continues to snatch up cheap Russian oil.

As G-20 host, India has struggled to use its relatively friendly ties with President Vladimir Putin to get member nations to reach an agreement. Meetings of the finance and foreign ministers both ended with a chairmans statement from India  a reflection of a lack of consensus  as Moscow and Beijing opposed language on the war that all countries had agreed to just months earlier.

While Indonesia also gave chairmans statements in the run-up to the leaders meeting last year, it also had to contend with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other finance ministers and central bank governors walking out when Russian officials addressed a meeting.

--With assistance from Muneeza Naqvi.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Donald Trump. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday indicted former President Donald Trump on what's reported to be more than two dozen counts, making Trump the first former president charged with a crime. It won't be clear what Trump is being charged with until the indictment is unsealed at his arraignment, after his surrender and arrest. But the indictment itself has already made history.

Just about everyone agrees that charging a former U.S. president is a very big deal, one that's compounded by Trump's already unusual decision to seek a second term after losing re-election. But from there, reactions to the historic indictment fell into a few categories.

Trump's critics, including many Democratic lawmakers and Trump-averse Republicans, portrayed his imminent arrest as evidence that, in the U.S., nobody is above the law. Meanwhile, "a large group of former Trump Organization employees was quietly cheering the latest developments via text messages," The New York Times reports, "a reminder of how many people have felt burned in various ways by Mr. Trump over the years."

Most Republican lawmakers and conservative media figures, meanwhile, have followed Trump's lead, alleging that the indictment was a politically motivated persecution by an overly aggressive and partisan Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. Even Trump's current and potential rivals for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination rushed to his defense  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), for example, called the indictment a "weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda," adding, "It is un-American."

Putting a former president on trial is an American first, but does it violate American values?

What are the commentators saying?

No American president has been charged with a crime  though President Ulysses S. Grant "did get arrested for speeding in his horse-drawn carriage in 1872" and paid a $20 fine, Gary O'Donoghue writes at BBC News. But charging former heads of state, and even sending them to jail, "is not news" in much of the rest of the world. It happens all the time, often in healthy democracies. Still, "America regards itself as exceptional," he adds, so in that sense, "joining this particular club is not just a problem for Donald Trump. It's a further blow to America's confidence and self-belief."

Story continues

Trump's indictment "is a sad day for the country, with political ramifications that are unpredictable and probably destructive," The Wall Street Journal says in an editorial. "If there was ever a case that opens Pandora's box, the first indictment of a former president in U.S. history is it." Yes, "Trump's reckless personal behavior has made himself vulnerable as usual," but the first indictment of a president after 230 years should be for something more serious than paying hush money to a porn star, and "the danger for America is the precedent this prosecution sets," the Journal adds. "Once a former president and current candidate is indicted, some local Republican prosecutor will look to make a name for himself by doing the same to a Democrat. U.S. democracy will be further abused and battered."

"So many unthinkable firsts have occurred since Donald J. Trump was elected to the White House in 2016, so many inviolable lines have been crossed, so many unimaginable events have shocked the world that it is easy to lose sight of just how astonishing this particular moment really is," Peter Baker writes at The New York Times. But while Trump's indictment "takes the country into uncharted waters, the authors of the Constitution might have been surprised only that it took so long."

"The framers would have been horrified at the possibility of a president ever being above the law while in office or after leaving it," University of North Carolina constitutional law professor Michael Gerhardt tells the Times.

And in some ways, Trump's indictment is the most American thing you could imagine, Jonathan Lemire writes at Politico. Trump exploited America's fascination with celebrity gossip to build up his real estate empire and political brand, starting with the New York City tabloids "that magnified his wealth and his tawdry exploits while catapulting him to a type of celebrity that he eventually wielded to capture the highest office in the land." It feels somehow "inevitable" that a case centered on allegations he used a fixer to pay hush money to a porn star over an affair should be his first charged crime, he adds  it feels "ripped straight from the pages of the 1980s New York Post and New York Daily News."

What's next?

"Like most Trump stories, this one has now reached a recognizable chapter: where the audience wonders how the protagonist escapes," Lemire writes at Politico. "Trump has faced plenty of doomsday moments before  bankruptcies, the Access Hollywood tape, impeachment and Jan. 6." This time, though, the Manhattan case is "only just the beginning of his legal troubles," with more serious potential charges looming from prosecutors in Georgia and the Justice Department.

Trump's lawyers say he will surrender in Manhattan on Tuesday. He will be "photographed and fingerprinted in the bowels of a New York State courthouse, with Secret Service agents in tow," the Times reports. "He will then be arraigned, at which point the specific charges will be unsealed." Many political analysts expect Trump to get a short-term political bump from outraged Republicans, but the longer-term political fallout is unknowable.

After he's booked, Trump's case will be in the hands of the American legal system. At this point, nobody outside of the Manhattan district attorney's office knows what's in the indictment or how strong Bragg's case is. "But I find inspiration in the words of William H. West, the police offer who arrested Grant for speeding," Nicholas Kristof writes in the Times. Many years later, West recalled "he told Grant, 'I am very sorry, Mr. President, to have to do it, for you are the chief of the nation, and I am nothing but a policeman, but duty is duty, sir, and I will have to place you under arrest.'"

That, Kristof writes, is "the majesty and dignity of our legal system at its best. And if a police officer in 1872 could hold out his hand and force the president's speeding carriage to a stop, then we, too, should do what we can to uphold the magnificent principle of equality before the law."

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Police are stationed near the Criminal Courts Building in lower Manhattan on Friday, March 31, 2023, one day after former President Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. (Hilary Swift/The New York Times)

NEW YORK  A Manhattan grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump for his role in paying hush money to an adult film star. That is only the first step in what is likely to be a long legal battle.



An indictment, whether it is handed up in federal or state court, is a formal accusation  not a conviction  and is among the first moves a prosecutor can make to bring a case to trial.



When a person is indicted in a criminal court in the United States, it means that a grand jury composed of residents chosen at random believed there was enough evidence to charge that person with a crime. Such panels, generally convened by judges at the request of prosecutors, meet for weeks and can hear evidence in a variety of cases. The judge is not present during grand jury proceedings after the jurors are chosen, and jurors are able to ask the witnesses questions.



Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times



Unlike a criminal trial, where a jury has to reach a unanimous verdict, a grand jury can issue an indictment with a simple majority. In this case, there were 23 grand jurors, meaning at least 12 had to agree on an indictment.



Grand jurors hear evidence and testimony only from prosecutors and the witnesses that they choose to present. They do not hear from the defense or usually from the person accused, unlike in a criminal trial where proceedings are adversarial. (Defendants in New York have the right to answer questions in front of the grand jury before they are indicted, but they rarely testify. Trump declined.)



That one-sided arrangement often leads defense lawyers to minimize indictments and argue that prosecutors could persuade jurors to indict a ham sandwich, a proverbial phrase that former Vice President Mike Pence used on CNN on Thursday night.



As in other criminal cases, the exact charges against Trump are under seal and will not be revealed until he is brought to Manhattan Criminal Court for a formal arraignment, which is expected to happen Tuesday.



At that point, the indictment will be unsealed, initiating the cases next phase. Prosecutors will share their evidence with defense attorneys, who often ask a judge to dismiss the case on various legal grounds.



A trial is not guaranteed and may not be scheduled for months, as both sides will most likely argue over the merits of the case and what evidence can be presented to a jury.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
A petroglyph of a horse and rider, likely created by the ancestral Comanche or Shoshone people. This carving was found at the Tolar site in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.

Centuries-old horse skeletons from the American Southwest are helping rewrite a colonial myth: When the Spanish colonized the region in the 17th century, they didn't introduce horses to Indigenous people, as long thought. Instead, horses were present in the Southwest long before Europeans, and were traded by Indigenous people who formed close, sacred relationships with them, a new study finds.

Horses lived in North America for millions of years but went extinct at the end of the last ice age , about 11,000 years ago. When Europeans reintroduced horses to what is now the eastern U.S. in 1519, these hoofed mammals radically altered Indigenous ways of life, rapidly causing changes to food production methods, transportation and warfare. In the Southwest, historical Spanish records suggest horses spread throughout the area after the Pueblo Revolt in 1680, when Indigenous people forced Spanish settlers out of what is now New Mexico. But these records, made a century after the revolt, do not align with the oral histories of the Comanche and Shoshone people, who document horse use far earlier.

Using tools such as radiocarbon dating, ancient and modern DNA analysis and isotope analysis (isotopes are elements with varying numbers of neutrons in their nuclei), a large and diverse team of researchers from 15 countries and multiple Native American groups, including members of the Lakota, Comanche and Pawnee nations, have now determined that horses did indeed spread across the continent earlier and faster than previously assumed.

illustration shows the right side of a horse skull with a rope bridle looped over its lower jaw

In a research paper published Thursday (March 30) in Science , the researchers detailed how they tracked down 33 horse specimens from archaeological collections across the U.S. in order to reconstruct Indigenous human-horse relationships. "The horses that are the focus of our study are those from definitively Indigenous contexts in the Southwest and the Great Plains," study co-author William Taylor , an archaeologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, told Live Science in an email.

The team discovered that two horses  one from Paa'ko Pueblo, New Mexico, and one from American Falls, Idaho  dated from the early 1600s, decades before Spanish settlers arrived in that area. By 1650, horses abounded in the Southwest and Great Plains, the researchers found.

Related: World's 1st horseback riders swept across Europe roughly 5,000 years ago

A man sits holding a horse skull in a lab.

DNA comparisons between the historical horse skeletons and contemporary horse genomes revealed that they were closely related to Spanish horse bloodlines. The horses studied, however, were not directly imported from Europe. It's likely that domestic horses were dispersed from Spanish settlements along Indigenous trading routes in the early 17th century. By analyzing the elemental variation of several horse teeth, the researchers found that the animals were raised locally and were fed maize, a key Indigenous domesticated crop.

Finally, by looking closely at the horse skeletons, the researchers determined that the animals had been cared for and ridden. A healed fracture on the face of a young foal from Blacks Fork, Wyoming, suggests that it received some sort of veterinary care, while dental damage and bony changes in a horse skull found at Kaw River, Kansas, are likely evidence of bridling and riding in the mid-17th century.

photo shows a white adult horse with a brown mane walking alongside a fowl with white fur speckled with brown spots

"Our findings have deep ramifications for our understanding of social dynamics in the Great Plains during a period of disruptive social changes for Indigenous peoples," the researchers wrote in their paper. For example, it had long been assumed that the Comanche people migrated south to acquire horses from the Spanish. Instead, "our new data suggest that ancestral Comanche had already integrated horse raising, ritual practices, and transport into their lifeways at least a full half century before their southward migration," the authors wrote.

Nicole Mathwich , an archaeologist at San Diego State University who was not involved in the study, told Live Science in an email that this paper "provides exciting new evidence" that "clearly shows horses spread along Native social networks in North America, allowing them to develop their own relationships with the horse." Mathwich also said the work is "innovative" because of the "continent-wide scope of the study and its incorporation of Indigenous scientific perspectives throughout the research process. "

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Given the importance of horses to Indigenous people such as the Lakota, whose relationship with the animal is one of great reverence for a sacred relative, it's possible this study may start a shift in the archaeological community's handling of animal remains, which often don't receive as much analysis as human remains do, said study co-author Chance Ward , a graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder who was raised on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota.

"This project is a chance for us as Native people to put our voices out there and take better care of important and sacred animals in museum collections," Ward said in a statement.
Vehicular pursuit laws are not the only thing that might be rolled back in Olympia this legislative session. Washington state lawmakers are also considering rolling back the publics access to body-worn camera footage of citizen-police encounters.

Three decades ago, the Legislature passed the Public Records Act, acknowledging that Washingtonians do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. But SHB 1080 threatens this vital tradition.

I am an Indigenous rights lawyer who represents families whose loved ones lost their lives during law enforcement incidents, including Renee Davis, Cecil Lacy, Jr., Stonechild Chiefstick, and Kimberly Bender. Local police recorded body-worn camera footage in each of these tragedies.

Were it law, SHB 1080 would have impaired our efforts to redress the constitutional and civil rights violations suffered by these families at the hands of law enforcement.

SHB 1080 would categorically prevent civil rights or criminal defense lawyers from obtaining officer body-worn camera footage pursuant to the public records process. The bill would distance all Washington citizens and residents from their constitutional rights.

In criminal cases, the state owes specific evidence to defendants as part of the discovery process. Defense attorneys make public records requests to ensure that the state is honoring its constitutional discovery obligations. SHB 1080 would prevent this crucial check and balance.

In civil rights cases, attorneys watch body-worn camera footage to determine how, if at all, to file suit. Without such footage, attorneys have limited information, especially in the event of a they said, shes dead scenario. An unintended consequence is that SHB 1080 could encourage frivolous lawsuits; and help defeat meritorious lawsuits, including on qualified immunity grounds.

If SHB 1080 does not allow lawyers to still obtain body-worn camera footage, the truth associated with law enforcement violence would remain hidden. The police reforms mandated by the voters through and since I-940 would be stymied. And it would be the people of Washington State who suffer the lack of governmental transparency and police accountability.

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Kimberly Benders tragic story exemplifies this bills problems. It was Kimberlys recorded confession to a local cop about how a Forks jail guard sexually tormented her, which caused county authorities to discover he had raped four other women in Forks custody. My office obtained the footage of her interview via public records request as part of our standard pre-suit investigation.

Shortly after her confession, Kimberly took her own life in the Forks Jail. It was the body-worn camera footage of her confession that allowed us to bring a federal civil rights lawsuit for her family that would withstand judicial scrutiny. Of course, Kimberly, the person directly involved in an incident recorded by the requested body-worn camera recording according to SHB 1080, could not have made the public records request herself. Nor could Renee, Cecil, or Stonechild.

Had SHB 1080 existed, my firm could not have requested the footage of Kimberlys confession from Forks for her family, as is standard public records practice today. Instead, Kimberlys family would have needed to file suit to establish an estate in Superior Court, just to obtain the footage. Like many Washingtonians, her family could not afford the legal expense.

Forks took months to produce the footage of Kimberlys confession. Kimberlys family was ill-equipped to keep after Forks records custodian as was necessary to obtain the footage. Redacted footage was eventually provided to my firm in the form of an enormous electronic file, which was inaccessible to Kimberlys family, especially due to poor broadband in La Push.

That footage was the linchpin to the familys civil rights lawsuit, which recently settled for $1 million. That same footage is also the fulcrum of ESB 5033 Kimberly Benders law, which the Legislature unanimously passed last week to deter jail guards from sexually assaulting inmates.

SHB 1080 is bad policy that would harm all Washingtonians. The Legislature should not impair the constitutional and civil rights of everyone in our great state, particularly criminal defendants who enjoy a presumption of innocence and civil rights victims who seek truth and justice.

Gabriel S. Galanda is an Indigenous rights lawyer and the managing lawyer of Galanda Broadman, PLLC in Seattle.
Andrew Tate, left, and Tristan Tate with Romanian police. Andreea Campeanu/Getty Images

Influencer Andrew Tate will be released from jail and placed under house arrest.

His brother Tristan and their two Romanian associates were also released conditionally.

They were in detention since December under suspicion of human trafficking. They denied wrongdoing.

Controversial influencer and ex-kickboxer Andrew Tate is being released from a Romanian jail on Friday and placed on house arrest.

The Court of Appeal in Bucharest ruled that Tate, his brother Tristan and their two associates, Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu, could be placed under house arrest and taken out of custody, a spokesperson for Tate confirmed to Insider, adding that the brothers were "ecstatic" about the news.

The ruling comes after Tate and his associates spent months in detention as Romanian authorities have carried out a human trafficking investigation into the four.

On March 14, Tate's last request for bail was denied by a judge, who cited the potential flight risk Tate posed, and concerns about witness tampering, per the BBC. Tate was arrested in December 2022, and his detention was extended multiple times, through the end of March.

No charges have been filed yet by Romanian prosecutors, and the four individuals have denied any wrongdoing.

Under the new conditions, they will need permission from a judge to leave their home, per the BBC.

"We are ecstatic to announce the Romanian judicial system approved Andrew's and Tristan Tate's appeal against last week's extension decision," the Tates' spokesperson told Insider in a statement. "Both brothers are looking forward to being reunited with their families in Romania and want to extend their thanks to all the supporters who have stood by them during this time. They will continue to fight to clear their name of these fabricated accusations; however, this is a big step in the right direction."

In late February, Reuters reported that leaked tapes revealed Tate organized calls to right-wing Romanian politicians to lobby for his release and discredit accusers.

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Andrew Tate has monetized his views through his paid video subscription program "Hustler University," where he has amassed millions of dollars and a legion of largely male followers, according to Buzzfeed News.

In August 2022, Tate was de-platformed from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tiktok, and he had been banned from Twitter in 2017 for violating terms of use around tweets saying women bear responsibility for sexual assault. Tate was allowed to return to Twitter by Elon Musk in January 2023, where he feuded with climate activist Greta Thunberg briefly before his arrest.

Though young male users on social media helped fuel Tate's social media stardom in 2022, his influence has waned to a degree since being de-platformed by social media apps, and after being jailed in December 2022, according to New York Magazine.

Read the original article on Insider
You are here: Business

A heavy truck is assembled on the production line at a factory of the Shaanxi Automobile Holding Group in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 27, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]



China's manufacturing activity maintained expansion for three consecutive months in March, offering fresh evidence of the country's steady economic recovery.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.9 in March, down from 52.6 in February, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Friday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.

The manufacturing PMI continued expansion in March, though at a slower pace due to a high base last month, suggesting a steady recovery of China's economic growth, the bureau's senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.

The production index and new orders indexes reached 54.6 and 53.6, respectively, well above the boom-and-bust line.

Of 21 surveyed industries, 13 saw stable expansion month on month. High-tech manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, and consumer goods sectors all maintained expansion.

The PMIs for large, medium-sized, and small enterprises stood at 53.6, 50.3, and 50.4, respectively, all in the expansion territory.

Market confidence also improved remarkably. The business outlook index came in at 55.5, with optimism shared by all the surveyed industries.

Wen Tao, an analyst with the China Logistics Information Center, said the sub-index readings indicated that the market demand grew at a stable and faster pace, production activities recovered steadily, and business activities regained momentum.

Since the beginning of the year, the Chinese economy has been recovering at a faster pace, with major economic indicators seeing steady expansion, thanks to government pro-growth measures ranging from expanding domestic demand to modernizing the industrial system and attracting foreign investment.

Despite the recovery in factory activities, Zhao cautioned that some enterprises are still grappling with tight capital and high operating costs, noting that the foundation of the economic recovery needs to consolidate.

Friday's data also showed that China's non-manufacturing activity in March saw the fastest expansion since May 2011, with the PMI for the non-manufacturing sector reaching 58.2.

China's composite PMI edged to 57 in March from 56.4 in February, signaling that overall production by manufacturing and non-manufacturing enterprises continued to warm up.
Russian occupiers attacked Zaporizhzhia on the night of 30-31 March, damaging an infrastructure facility.

Source: Anatolii Kurtiev, Secretary of Zaporizhzhia City Council, on Telegram

Quote: "The occupiers attacked Zaporizhzhia this night. An infrastructure facility has been damaged as a result of the enemy attack."

Details: No casualties or damage were reported as a result of the Russian attack.

"All relevant services are working at the scene," Kurtiev added.

Background:

Russia deployed kamikaze drones in an attack on Ukraine late on Thursday, 30 March.

Russian occupation forces carried out an attack on Kharkiv.

Explosions rang out in Zaporizhzhia during an air-raid warning.

Russian forces used 10 Shahed drones for an air attack on Ukraine; nine of them were downed by air defence forces.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast

Finally faced with an actual criminal indictment, former President Donald Trump is settling on a familiarif contradictorydefense strategy: Blame his previous lawyer, and say he would have done it anyway.

Theres just one problem: The indictment might be more sprawling than just the Stormy Daniels hush money payments that Trumps team has claimed it was expecting for months.

On Thursday, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trumpsomething he immediately characterized as Political Persecution and Election Interference.

The historic move capped a years-long local investigation involving those secret payments to silence a porn star from outing their sexual affair and potentially tanking his 2016 presidential campaign. While new reporting suggests that the Daniels case may not represent the full scope of chargesreportedly running more than 30 countsthat particular item largely hinges on the account of a less than reliable narrator.

That would be Trumps longtime self-described fixer, Michael Cohen, who helped negotiate two nondisclosure agreements during the 2016 election, coordinated the $130,000 payment to Daniels, and got handsomely reimbursed through the Trump Organization.

Michael Cohen Says Trump Indictment Is Just the Beginning

But in the weeks before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs prosecutors took the decisive step to criminally charge the former president, Trumps defense lawyers cemented a defense that rested mainly on two points, according to a source familiar with their internal discussions.

First, its his lawyers fault. And second, Trump would have done it anyway.

The first affirmative defense exploits Cohens weaknesses as a truthful witness. According to the source, Trumps team is prepared to argue that the real estate mogul was merely relying on his lawyers advice. Trump himself has been shopping around that theory since at least 2018, when he was still at the White House.

I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called advice of counsel, and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid, he tweeted in December 2018.

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At first blush, the advice of counsel defense makes sense, because the justice system gives great deference to lawyers and the advice they give. But its rarely invoked, because doing so allows investigators to pierce what are normally private attorney-client communications, according to the American Bar Association. And the defense doesnt hold up if both the lawyer and client know what theyre doing is illegal, something known as the crime-fraud exception.

A similar advice of counsel defense failed to save Trumps former White House adviser, Steve Bannon, from being convicted at trial last year for ignoring a congressional subpoena. And the Trump train has rammed head-on into the crime-fraud exception before. Last year, a California federal judge decided that Trump more likely than not committed a felony alongside lawyer John Eastman when they attempted to impede Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. And earlier this month, another federal judge invoked the same exception when she forced Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran to comply with a grand jury subpoena involving the Mar-a-Lago document dispute.

Stormy Daniels Pops Champagne to Celebrate Trump Indictment

But that might not get New York County prosecutors very far in Trumps case, because he rarely puts things in writingleaving investigators with potentially very little evidence. (Though Cohen does have hush money discussions on tape.)

But investigators do have access to one potentially incriminating written document. That would be the sworn affidavit Trump submitted in 2000 in response to a Federal Election Commission investigation. That probe focused on his role in alleged campaign finance violations strikingly similar to the issues reportedly at play in the Manhattan casealleged straw donations and in-kind corporate contributionsand Trumps affidavit demonstrated a deep understanding of those laws.

Still, prosecutors would reportedly be relying in large part on the account of Cohen himself, who appeared as a witness before the Manhattan grand jury several times in the run-up to the indictment.

Trumps lawyers could benefit from the tell-all memoir written by a former prosecutor on that team, Mark Pomerantz, who wrote about a Feb. 9, 2022, meeting in which DA Alvin Bragg Jr. showed deep reservations about ever relying on testimony by Cohen, who had been sentenced to prison for lying to Congress years earlier.

At one point during the meeting, Alvin commented that he could not see a world in which we would indict Trump and call Michael Cohen as a prosecution witness, Pomerantz wrote.

But that raises the question of why Bragg pulled the hard 180aggressively pursuing a case hinging on a witness he was so adamantly opposed to less than a year prior. The report of a much more sprawling indictment suggests Bragg has more on his mind.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the office said that four people who were present at the meeting disputed Pomerantzs recollection.

Its also easy to forget why Cohen lied: to protect his former boss about the fact that there were business discussions to build a Moscow Trump Tower in Russia well into the closing months of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Trumps second affirmative defense addresses the legality of the payments to begin with, according to the person familiar with Trumps legal strategy. The former president plans to assert that the hush money payment did not have to be reported to the FEC, the person told The Daily Beast, because Trump would have made the payment anywayregardless of whether he was running for office at the time.

Witch Hunt Bullshit: GOP Lawmakers Quickly Side With Trump on Indictment

The idea here is that Stormy Daniels going public about her claims that she had sex with Trump one night in 2006when he was still married to his current wife, Melaniawould have threatened their marriage and maybe even his public standing as a businessman.

Trump addressed this himself in three tweets in May 2018.

The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair, he stated. He added that such agreements are very common among celebrities and people of wealth, andsomewhat perplexinglyemphasized that money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll[sic] in this transaction.

That defense relies on the FEC rules regarding personal use of donor money during a political campaign. Federal law forbids candidates from using campaign funds to pay for things like personal lawsuits or expensive suits, which, Trumps team argues, would extend to the hush money expenses by claiming theyre private and personal.

In other words, Trumps lawyers are running on the theory that Trump would have paid Daniels anyway, irrespective of whether it would also help his presidential campaign.

But that defense has its drawbacks.

First, Trump would essentially be asserting that either federal prosecutors or a federal judge should have rejected Cohens own guilty plea to this same campaign finance crime, if it was never a crime to begin with. (That plea came three months after Trumps tweets.)

Second, as The Daily Beast previously reported, campaign finance experts say that the hush money payments to Daniels and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal were clearly intended to influence the 2016 election. In fact, when Daniels tried to sell her story to the press years earlier, that was also in the political context of Trumps candidacythe potential 2012 bid he was publicly exploring at the time.

In 2018, the FECs Office of General Counsel found reason to believe that the payments were in fact unlawful, and that Trump, his campaign, and his company should be investigated. However, the Republican commissioners blocked that investigationas they have done for every one of the dozens of complaints against Trumpciting the fact that Cohen, but not Trump, had already been held accountable, and the statute of limitations was running out.

The Storm Arrives: NYC Grand Jury Indicts Donald Trump

The statute of limitations argument was also in large part due to Trumps own presidential powers. He refused to appoint a replacement commissioner, depriving the FEC of its quorum for more than a yearmeaning the commission couldnt make any decisions about enforcement actions during that time.

But while the FEC Republicans let Trump slide for the Daniels payments, they saw fit to fine the National Enquirers parent company, American Media Inc., over its unlawful hush money payment to McDougal, which involved the same infractions. That decision also overlooked prosecutors agreements with both Cohen and AMI.

On Thursday, hours before the news broke about the sealed indictment, the Wall Street Journal reported that Braggs investigation had focused more intently on the McDougal payments than was previously known. Trumps team hasnt tried to attack those paymentswhich the FEC found unlawfulthe way they have with Daniels. In fact, its unclear from AMIs non-prosecution agreement whether they were or were not ultimately reimbursed for those payments. Trump told Fox News in 2018 that he personally footed that bill. Meanwhile, Cohens memoir claims that Trump actually stiffed AMI executive David Peckerwhich is why he wouldn't pay for the Stormy Daniels silencing deal.

But, as Cohen himself told The Daily Beast in a statement on Thursday, It is better for the case to let the indictment speak for itself.

Hours later, CNN reported that the indictment wasnt nearly as narrowly focused on the hush money payments as Trumps legal team and news reports have made it seem. Instead, CNN reported, the grand jury has brought more than 30 counts against the former president, including for business fraud. This suggests that the novel legal theory talking point, which Trumpworld has promoted, may not be Braggs silver bullet after all.

To that point, Braggs office might be centering the case against Trump on its already extensive investigation into his business dealings, which have already yielded a court victory. If prosecutors can tie the hush money payments to business, financial, or tax fraud at the state level, they can sidestep the federal question altogether.

Shortly after the New York County DAs Office filed the indictment in Manhattan criminal court, Trumps two lawyers in this case issued a statement defending their client.

President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court, Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah star as Dom and Yas, the romantic leads of 'Rye Lane.' Credit - Chris Harris20th Century Studios

About half a decade ago, a fresh idea for a romantic comedy was born in a WhatsApp conversation between two screenwriters, Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia.

Following on from what we were talking about, one of them texted, how about a modern day When Harry Met Sally, but set today in London?

You read my mind, the other replied. Cute dates in chicken shops.

Rye Lane, the vibrant, slice-of-life rom-com that emerged from the conversationand which arrives on Hulu on Fridayhas its fair share of chicken shops.

In the moviewhich evokes the 1995 film Before Sunrise, following its lead characters as they simply stroll and chat, growing closer as they bond over bad breakupsDom (David Jonsson) recalls renting out Morleys, a beloved South London fried chicken joint, as an anniversary date grand gesture for his ex-girlfriend, Gia (Karene Peter). As a cute nod to their first date, when the two ended up at Morleys late at night, he set the table with candles, roses, goblets of wineand Gia wasnt impressed. But Yas (Vivian Oparah), to whom Dom is recounting this story, loves the idea.

That is literally my dream date, Yas tells Dom in the present day. In fact, if I had a restaurant, Id call it Nuggets by Candlelight. Later, she puts her number into his phone as Yas (nuggets by candlelight).

Read More: The 49 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023

While Bryon and Melia came up with the genre and setting, it was director Raine Allen-Miller who brought Morleys to the table. That is, it was her idea to make Rye Lane a love letter to South Londonand the neighborhoods of Brixton and Peckham, specifically (the film was initially going to be set in North London). When Allen-Miller was 12, she moved to South London from Manchester. She grew up on a council estate in Brixton, and one of the first things she did was go to Brixton Market, a bustling street market featured in the film, with her grandmother. Although much of Brixton is historically Afro Caribbean, the area has begun to gentrify in recent years.

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Being able to go to a shop and buy a very specific Afro comb, and go and buy a Jamaican patty, and get plantain, and also go and get a flat white with oat milk is just an unusual, interesting thing, Allen-Miller tells TIME, speaking from the mountains of Jamaica, where shes visiting family. Like sourdough bread and then hard dough bread. (Hard dough bread is a dense, slightly sweet Jamaican staple.)

Inside Rye Lane Market, Dom (David Jonsson) votes on a pair of shoes Yas (Vivian Oparah) tries on. Chris Harris20th Century Studios

The cultural scramble of London is a compelling basis for a film, but its not necessarily a positive thing, Allen-Miller says. Gentrification is a tough conversation. Both Allen-Miller and the writers cite Spike Lees Do the Right Thing as inspiration: Its a snapshot of a specific placeBed-Stuy, Brooklynat a specific moment in time1989, as the neighborhood is on the cusp of change.

The key was to capture it now, Allen-Miller says. It was about going, Im going to represent a place that I know really well and a place that deserves to be represented correctly. Not just in a gritty way where its all about crime and sadness, but in a way that feels real and positive. Its a Black British experience.

Rye Lane captures its titular street on a good day. The director knows that South London, like any place, isnt perfect. Butwith splashes of color, wide lenses, and her trademark accidentally art directed styleshe makes the setting messy but beautiful. Small details add texture: In Rye Lane Market, a cowboy in a sequined blue getup moonwalks across Yas and Doms path. In Brixton Market, rom-com royalty Colin Firth makes a cameo, serving spicy pork burritos at the cheekily named Love Guactually. Outside a house party, a woman in a Bridget Jones bunny costume smokes a cigarette.

Allen-Miller didnt set out to make a rom-comshe actually never saw herself directing a film she hadnt writtenbut fell for the scripts humor and simplicity. Its almost the opposite of the classic formula, she says: It takes a funny, happy story, infuses it with a strong sense of place, and happens to make it romantic.

We were really interested in knowing what a rom-com would look like in a London that we actually recognized, says Melia, who also used to live in Brixton. As much as we love those big, glossy, dream fulfillment rom-coms, they might as well be sci-fi as far as were concerned.

The London that the writers know and love is populated by people who sound like their friends. That means slang, and lots of it.

In Rye Lane Market, Dom tells Yas that hes an accountant. So is that what youve always wanted to do, Yas asks, or have you got yourself some thwarted ambition burning away in your gut? You know, youre very Dom replies. Peng? Yas interrupts. Other London vernacular includes: safe (good, cool), prang out (worry, panic), and bare peas (lots of money).

Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (David Jonsson) stroll through the lively streets of Peckham. Chris HarrisCentury Studios

The movie prominently features two local cinemas: Brixtons Ritzywhere Allen-Miller went with her dad growing up, and which Melia lived five minutes away from in his early 20sand Peckhamplex, on Rye Lane itself. The production held community screenings at both theaters.

Seeing it in Peckhamplex, there was an extra magical sprinkle, says Bryon. Because we saw the people who really understood that slang and were like, Wait what?! There were little moments where its almost like someones talking your code. Someone knows.

These writers know firsthand how much such lines matter: Melia is surrounded by actors in his family, and Bryon is an actor himself. I understood the importance of creating really nuanced, interesting, diverse Black characters, he says. Because when we started writing this movie, I definitely didnt see those roles coming through to myself.

The film opens and closes on art shows: Yas and Doms mutual friend Nathan (Simon Manyonda) is a photographerin fact, his exhibition is why theyre in the same place at the same time at all. And Yas ex, Jules (Malcolm Atobrah), while arguably the worst, is also an admittedly talented sculptor. That was intentional: the creators wanted to portray working Black artists on screen.

Rye Lane is, as Allen-Miller puts it, silly, wandering, tangible joy. It feels like the way you would tell a story to a friend: elevated, colorful, but rooted in reality. And at its core, it celebrates the quirks and colors and magic of a place.

I want all the wonderful American viewers towhen they come to Londonyeah, do your Big Ben, do your Tower Bridge and all that, but go down to Rye Lane, Bryon says. Dont do afternoon tea. Scrap that. Go to Morleys on Rye Lane, get six wings and chips. Get a double chicken burger and thank us later.
William Murdock, Executive Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) speaks during the state of the region event looking at growth in central Ohio and the transportation needs that come with it.

The $20 billion Intel development in western Licking County, the largest in Ohio's history, is a game-changer for the Greater Columbus region in countless ways.

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission created a map for its annual State of the Region event on Friday, showing that 20 counties are within an hour's drive of the site.

"Its clear their suppliers and employees will come from every county in our region and beyond," said William Murdock, MORPC's executive director.

"It really will take a regional approach to harness the resources and imagination needed to plan for this investment," Murdock said.

Related Intel article: As Columbus booms, is region ready for transportation demands? A lot needs to happen

"Growth brings urgent clarity to what we need to do to power our region forward," he said. "We need relentless collaboration and planning across communities and partners."

There was a lot of interest in the regional planning commission's State of the Region, attracting more than 1,000 people to a ballroom of the Hilton Columbus Downtown and focusing on transportation needs for the area, and planning as a region to address them.

Charles Small, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs, United States Department of Transportation, speaks during the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission's (MORPC) state of the region event looking at growth in central Ohio and the transportation needs that come with it on March 31, 2023.

In a seperate room, the agency presented a hologram video of a trackless tram system being developed in China as food for thought, whisking people to and from John Glenn Columbus International Airport, traveling along Riverside Drive past the popular Bridge Park development of offices, homes and restaurants in Dublin, and down Main Street in old Hilliard.

That type of technology may be a ways off. But officials continue to push for Amtrak routes through Columbus, with a Downtown station near the Hilton at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, where Union Station was. Demolition of the station began in 1976 and was finished in 1979.

Charles Small, deputy assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs for the U.S. Department of Transportation, was Friday's keynote speaker.

Before the event, Small talked to The Dispatch about the importance of communities across the region working together to solve transportation issues as the area is projected to grow to 3.15-million people by 2050.

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"Part of the secret sauce is consensus," Small said.

Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) holds its state of the region event looking at growth in central Ohio and the transportation needs that come with it on March 31, 2023.

He pointed to two areas where he believes that is working and paying dividends. One is Tampa, Fla., which has a fare-less streetcar such as Cincinnati and and award-winning airport; J.D. Power named Tampa International Airport the No. 1 large airport in the country in a satisfaction study.

The other is the Chicago region with its CREATE (Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency) program aimed at improving the metro's rail and road network that involves not only the private sector but unions as well. So far the federal government has provided $600 million toward the CREATE going back to the Barack Obama administration.

Related article: New Albany Company makes move into Johnstown with property buy north of Intel

The Central Ohio Transit Authority plans on placing a 0.5% sales tax increase on the November 2024 ballot that would help fund bus rapid transit lines through the LinkUS program. Officials said the tax would help the area leverage federal money to help fund the system.

Small said a local tax is not a necessary component to leverage federal dollars, "but it's always well-received by the federal government" that helps accelerate projects, he added.

Charles Small, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs, United States Department of Transportation, speaks during the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission's (MORPC) state of the region event looking at growth in central Ohio and the transportation needs that come with it.

One of the first routes planned would be a bus rapid transit line heading west out of Downtown along West Broad Street past the long-closed Westland Mall. In January, the state said it would pay to demolish the old mall, providing about $13 million to tear down the mall and presumably make it more attractive for redevelopment.

Jim Schimmer, Franklin County's director of economic development and planning, called the Westland site the poster child for what could be done by integrating transit. He said a couple of national developers have recently expressed interest.

"The future is wide open," Schimmer said.

Small said that officials must integrate housing into new transportation systems.

"Every transportation decision is a housing decision," Small said.

William Murdock, Executive Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) speaks during the state of the region event looking at growth in central Ohio and the transportation needs that come with it.

John Gardocki, MORPC's transit principal planner, said before the event that the agency is pushing for more dense housing developments near job centers. Since transit has limited resources, officials will plan transit systems for more densely populated areas, Gardocki said.

"They'll do it where it makes sense," he said, citing Bridge Park in Dublin as an example, and said New Albany makes sense as a transit hub.

MORPC also presented results of a "Leaders Listen" survey it is conducting with The Dispatch and CHRR, a research center at Ohio State University.

About 2,500 people answered survey questions. Among the results: Of those responding to questions about electric vehicles, 85% consider their high price to be a barrier, and 77% said finding a charging station a concern.

But 90% were in favor of Amtrak service.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio leaders must have game plan for transit issues
An Italian chef has weighed in on Brooklyn Beckhams cooking skills, after the aspiring chef posted a photograph of himself making a pasta sauce with a rather unusual addition.

Beckham, 24, shared the picture on Instagram, which showed him cooking a pasta sauce with a red wine cork floating inside the pot alongside the other ingredients.

The bizarre cooking technique left many followers confused. Beckham later posted a screenshot of a Google result explaining the wine cork, with text that read: The addition of wine corks added to the cooking liquid ensures a more tender dish.

The sentence originates from an article on Naples Daily News, written by food columnist Doris Reynolds. She wrote that she had found recipes for cooking octopus that included wine corks.

More research ensued and we found information that the addition of wine corks added to the cooking liquid ensured a more tender dish, Reynolds said in her 2016 column.

Experts have argued about this method but most chefs and those who regularly prepare squid and octopus swear that there are enzymes in the corks that insure a more palatable dish.

But Italian chef Barbara Pollastrini has said that the cooking method will not do anything to tenderise meat.

She told Insider: The problem is that people trust this food influencer and are without any knowledge.

The only way to have a fantastic ragu is to cook it for at least three hours. This is the only way to have soft meat.

She added that there is no evidence that cooking octopus with a wine cork makes any different to its texture either.

The real reason the fishermen of the South put corks in their enormous pots where the octopus was cooked to be sold on the street is that the cork was attached to a string to which the octopus was tied while cooking, Pollastrini explained.

Beckham has previously been criticised for his cooking choices during his journey towards becoming a professional chef, his latest in a string of career ventures.

Recently, he faced backlash for using truffle in another pasta dish, as truffle is a premium ingredient sold at high prices, and was accused of being out of touch with his followers.
Italy said on Friday it was temporarily blocking ChatGPT over data privacy concerns, becoming the first western country to take such action against the popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.

The country's Data Protection Authority said US firm OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, had no legal basis to justify "the mass collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of 'training' the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform".

ChatGPT caused a global sensation when it was released last year for its ability to generate essays, songs, exams and even news articles from brief prompts.

But critics have long fretted that it was unclear where ChatGPT and its competitors got their data or how they processed it.

Universities and some education authorities have banned the chatbot over fears that students could use it to write essays or cheat in exams.

And hundreds of experts and industry figures signed an open letter this week calling for a pause in the development of powerful AI systems, arguing they posed "profound risks to society and humanity".

The letter was prompted by OpenAI's release earlier this month of GPT-4, a more powerful version of its chatbot, with even less transparency about its data sources.

OpenAI said Friday that it has "disabled ChatGPT for users in Italy".

"We are committed to protecting peoples privacy and we believe we comply with... privacy laws. We actively work to reduce personal data in training our AI systems like ChatGPT because we want our AI to learn about the world, not about private individuals," an OpenAI spokesperson said.

"We also believe that AI regulation is necessary  so we look forward to working closely with (authorities in Italy) and educating them on how our systems are built and used," the spokesperson said.

"Our users in Italy have told us they find ChatGPT helpful for everyday tasks and we look forward to making it available again soon."

- 'Unsuitable answers' -

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The Italian authority imposed a "temporary limitation of the processing of Italian user data" by OpenAI and said it had launched an investigation.

As well as a lack of legal basis for data collection, the authority also highlighted a lack of clarity over whose data was being collected.

It said wrong answers given by the chatbot suggested data was not being handled properly, and accused the firm of exposing children to "absolutely unsuitable answers".

The watchdog further referenced a data breach on March 20 where user conversations and payment information were compromised -- a problem the firm blamed on a bug.

Nello Cristianini, an AI academic from Bath university in Britain, said securing user data and enforcing age limits were easy to fix.

But the other two accusations were more problematic -- that the model is trained on personal data that is gathered without consent and then not treated properly.

"It is not clear how these can be fixed anytime soon," he said.

The company has been given 20 days to respond and could face a fine of 20 million euros ($21.7 million) or up to 4 percent of annual revenue.

The runaway success of ChatGPT garnered OpenAI a multibillion-dollar deal with Microsoft, which uses the technology in its Bing search engine and other programs.

It also sparked a gold rush among other tech firms and venture capitalists, with Google hurrying out its own chatbot and investors pouring cash into all manner of AI projects.

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Two days after an open letter called for a moratorium on the development of more powerful generative AI models so regulators can catch up with the likes of ChatGPT, Italy's data protection authority has just put out a timely reminder that some countries do have laws that already apply to cutting edge AI: it has ordered OpenAI to stop processing people's data locally with immediate effect.

The Italian DPA said it's concerned that the ChatGPT maker is breaching the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and is opening an investigation.

Specifically, the Garante said it has issued the order to block ChatGPT over concerns OpenAI has unlawfully processed people's data as well as over the lack of any system to prevent minors from accessing the tech.

The San Francisco-based company has 20 days to respond to the order, backed up by the threat of some meaty penalties if it fails to comply. (Reminder: Fines for breaches of the EU's data protection regime can scale up to 4% of annual turnover, or 20 million, whichever is greater.)

It's worth noting that since OpenAI does not have a legal entity established in the EU, any data protection authority is empowered to intervene, under the GDPR, if it sees risks to local users. (So where Italy steps in, others may follow.)

Update: OpenAI has now geoblocked ChatGPT in Italy -- see our follow-on report for more details.

Suite of GDPR issues

The GDPR applies whenever EU users' personal data is processed. And it's clear OpenAI's large language model has been crunching this kind of information, since it can, for example, produce biographies of named individuals in the region on-demand (we know; we've tried it). Although OpenAI declined to provide details of the training data used for the latest iteration of the technology, GPT-4, it has disclosed that earlier models were trained on data scraped from the Internet, including forums such as Reddit. So if you've been reasonably online, chances are the bot knows your name.

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Moreover, ChatGPT has been shown producing completely false information about named individuals, apparently making up details its training data lacks. That potentially raises further GDPR concerns, since the regulation provides Europeans with a suite of rights over their data, including the right to rectification of errors. It's not clear how/whether people can ask OpenAI to correct erroneous pronouncements about them generated by the bot, for example.

The Garante's statement also highlights a data breach the service suffered earlier this month, when OpenAI admitted a conversation history feature had been leaking users' chats, and said it may have exposed some users' payment information.

Data breaches are another area the GDPR regulates with a focus on ensuring entities that process personal data are adequately protecting the information. The pan-EU law also requires companies to notify relevant supervisory authorities of significant breaches within tight time-periods.

Overarching all this is the big(ger) question of what legal basis OpenAI has relied upon for processing Europeans' data in the first place. In other words, the lawfulness of this processing.

The GDPR allows for a number of possibilities  from consent to public interest  but the scale of processing to train these large language models complicates the question of legality. As the Garante notes (pointing to the "mass collection and storage of personal data"), with data minimization being another big focus in the regulation, which also contains principles that require transparency and fairness. Yet, at the least, the (now) for-profit company behind ChatGPT does not appear to have informed people whose data it has repurposed to train its commercial AIs. That could be a pretty sticky problem for it.

If OpenAI has processed Europeans' data unlawfully, DPAs across the bloc could order the data to be deleted, although whether that would force the company to retrain models trained on data unlawfully obtained is one open question as an existing law grapples with cutting edge tech.

On the flip side, Italy may have just banned all machine learning by, er, accident... 

"[T]he Privacy Guarantor notes the lack of information to users and all interested parties whose data is collected by OpenAI but above all the absence of a legal basis that justifies the mass collection and storage of personal data, for the purpose of 'training' the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform," the DPA wrote in its statement today [which we've translated from Italian using AI].

"As evidenced by the checks carried out, the information provided by ChatGPT does not always correspond to the real data, thus determining an inaccurate processing of personal data," it added.

The authority added that it is concerned about the risk of minors' data being processed by OpenAI since the company is not actively preventing people under the age of 13 from signing up to use the chatbot, such as by applying age verification technology.

Risks to children's data is an area where the regulator has been very active, recently ordering a similar ban on the virtual friendship AI chatbot, Replika, over child safety concerns. In recent years, it has also pursued TikTok over underage usage, forcing the company to purge over half-a-million accounts it could not confirm did not belong to kids.

So if OpenAI can't definitively confirm the age of any users it's signed up in Italy, it could, at the very least, be forced to delete their accounts and start again with a more robust sign-up process.

OpenAI was contacted for a response to the Garante's order.

Lilian Edwards, an expert in data protection and Internet law at Newcastle University who has been ahead of the curve in conducting research on the implications of "algorithms that remember," told TechCrunch: "What's fascinating is that it more or less copy-pasted Replika in the emphasis on access by children to inappropriate content. But the real time-bomb is denial of lawful basis, which should apply to ALL or at least many machine learning systems, not just generative AI."

She pointed to the pivotal 'right to be forgotten' case involving Google search, where a challenge was brought to its consentless processing of personal data by an individual in Spain. But while European courts established a right for individuals to ask search engines to remove inaccurate or outdated information about them (balanced against a public interest test), Google's processing of personal data in that context (internet search) did not get struck down by EU regulators over the lawfulness of processing point, seemingly on the grounds that it was providing a public utility. But also, ultimately, because Google ended up providing rights of erasure and rectification to EU data subjects.

"Large language models don't offer those remedies and it's not entirely clear they would, could or what the consequences would be," Edwards added, suggesting that enforced retraining of models may be one potential fix.

Or, well, that technologies like ChatGPT may simply have broken data protection law...

This report was updated with additional comment. We also fixed a misspelling of the regulator's name.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters and law enforcement officials are speaking about bridging the gap between the police and the people.

The event is being hosted by radio stations Hot 99.5 and Power 106.1, which are owned by Cox Media Group, the same parent company that owns Action News Jax.

The event comes after the death of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police, setting off protests across the country and brought up talks about police brutality and tactics.

The hosts and Waters will talk about police policies, pedestrian rights and protocols for interacting with police.

Since January, at least three Jacksonville Sheriffs Officers have been hurt in some capacity. Action News Jaxs Ben Ryan asked Waters about that and he said he thinks theres an environment issue where people feel encouraged to attack police, saying that should not be the case.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Ive only been sheriff since November 20 and its very rare you have officers shot in that short of time frame. We have to change that we are working towards changing that and working hard to show our community we care about them and two, we dont tolerate you shooting at our police officers, Waters said.

We are expecting to hear from Waters one on one as well. Well let you know what he says coming up on CBS47 and FOX30 Action News Jax at 6.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

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James Bond author Charlie Higson pictured at The Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2006. (Drew Farrell/Avalon/Getty Images)

Fast Show star Charlie Higson is writing a new James Bond book to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III in May.

On His Majestys Secret Service will be published on Thursday, 4 May ahead of the coronation on Saturday, 6 May. The new book comes 60 years after the publication of Ian Flemings tenth novel, On Her Majestys Secret Service, in 1963.

All royalties from the sale of the book will go to support the work of the UK charity, the National Literacy Trust.

Read more: Everything we know about Bond 26

Set in the present day, the new novel will see Bond "sent at the last minute to thwart an attempt to disrupt the coronation by the wealthy, eccentric and self-styled Athelstan of Wessex, who is on a deadly mission of his own to teach the United Kingdom a lesson."

"Can Bond dismantle his shady plans and defeat his privately hired team of mercenaries?"

King Charles  then the Prince of Wales  with Daniel Craig at Pinewood Studios, where the Bond films were made. (WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Higson previously wrote five books in the Young Bond series, which covered the events of the secret agent's time at Eton College in the 1930s, and has sold over a million copies in the UK alone.

When IFP [Ian Fleming Publications] came to me with the idea of writing an adult Bond story a little more than a month ago, I was thrilled  until I realised it had to be ready for the coronation in May," Higson said.

"Getting it written and turned around in such a short space of time was going to be as tense and heart-pounding as any Bond mission. Although, of course, nobody would actually be shooting at me. But Ive been thinking about writing an adult Bond adventure ever since working on the Young Bond books, and he came bursting out of me with both fists flying.

Read more: Charlie Higson 'absolutely hated' No Time To Die

"It was all I could do to keep up with him and get his story down on paper. Fleming famously wrote fast, and I channelled that energy. And now its so exciting for me to finally enter the world of grown-up Bond.

"Everything you want from a Bond story is in there  sex, violence, cars, a colourful villain with a nasty henchman, and of course, Bond himself. So well-known and yet so unknowable.

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George Lazenby as James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. (United Artists)

2023 marks 70 years since the publication of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel Casino Royale in 1953. Ian Fleming Publications is celebrating 70 years of 007 throughout 2023, with many events planned, including the release of the Bond books under their own imprint on 13 April.

Corinne Turner, managing director of IFP, said: The coronation of King Charles III is a momentous occasion for the country.

"We asked ourselves how we at Ian Fleming Publications could celebrate it, and the answer seemed obvious. Ian Flemings On Her Majestys Secret Service was first published on 1 April 1963. What better way, 60 years on, to mark this new chapter in history than with a brand new story: On His Majestys Secret Service?

Read more: The James Bond films ranked

"We shared our thoughts with Charlie, and he was delighted to take on the challenge of writing a Bond adventure in time for publication in May. Together we hope this book will give valuable support to the National Literacy Trust.

On His Majestys Secret Service is published by Ian Fleming Publications. It will be available digitally as an eBook, as an audiobook (read by Charlie Higson), and as a hardback, online and in bookshops from 4 May.

Watch a trailer for 60 years of Bond
(Bloomberg) -- Japan and China finished setting up a military hotline aimed at reducing tensions between the two largest economies in Asia, just ahead of a rare meeting of their foreign ministers in Beijing.

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The installation of equipment and lines has been completed, Japans Ministry of Defense said Friday in a statement, calling it a linking mechanism that will build trust between the militaries and avoid unforeseen situations.

Chinas Ministry of National Defense simultaneously issued a statement, saying the hotline would strengthen the ability of both countries to control maritime and air crises and help further maintain regional peace and stability.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is set to meet his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang during a two-day visit from Saturday in the first such trip by the top diplomatic envoy from Tokyo to the neighbor in about three years.

Tensions between the two countries were raised by Japan announcing Friday it would expand restrictions on exports of 23 types of leading-edge chipmaking technologies, as the US ratchets up efforts to limit Chinas access to key semiconductor knowhow.

Read: Japan Tightens Chip Gear Exports as US Seeks to Contain China

Tokyos move follows months of lobbying by the US to get Japan to join it in tightening shipments of semiconductor tools to China. Japan and the Netherlands had agreed in principle to be part of the US effort, but have sought to chart a middle road between the two superpowers.

Plans for the hotline have been in the work for some time. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed at their meeting in Bangkok in November to accelerate talks on the mechanism.

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Read: China, Japan Leaders Open Door to Mend Ties in First Meeting

Ties between the neighbors have been frayed by a dispute over East China Sea islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Government vessels from the two countries chase one another on almost a daily basis in the area.

Japans Ministry of Defense issues bulletins about incursions by Chinese military vessels into its territorial waters.

--With assistance from Jessica Sui and Jing Li.

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Hainan's open economy is flourishing thanks to the synergistic effect of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and the free trade port (FTP) policy, said Wang Bin, spokesperson for the Communist Party of China (CPC) Hainan Provincial Committee on Wednesday.



A press conference on Hainan's development is held during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, south China's Hainan province, March 29, 2023. [Photo by Zhang Liying/China.org.cn]



In 2022, Hainan's total goods trade reached 200.95 billion yuan ($29.14 billion), a year-on-year increase of 36.8%. Meanwhile, its total import and export of services amounted to 35.36 billion yuan, up 22.9% from the previous year, Wang said at a press conference during the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023.

In 2020, China released a master plan to transform Hainan Island into a globally influential and high-level FTP by the middle of the century.

Since then, a series of favorable policies have been issued to support the development of the Hainan FTP, including zero tariffs and eased market and foreign investment access.

Wang said that as a key gateway to the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, the Hainan FTP connects the Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia, two of the most vibrant markets in the world, and boasts globally competitive policy advantages.

He said in 2022, Hainan's actual use of foreign capital exceeded $4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15%, and its actual outbound investment doubled to $1.7 billion.

The RCEP pact, which came into force on Jan. 1, 2022, has enhanced trade and economic interactions between Hainan and member countries of the world's largest free trade agreement.

Hainan saw its trade with RCEP members grow 23.7% year on year to 71.18 billion yuan in 2022, according to Wang.

The island attracted 196 foreign-funded enterprises from RCEP member countries last year, said Wang. He added that investments from Japan surged by 565.9%, while those from South Korea increased by 548.6%, and those from Australia saw a growth of 86.9%.

Wang said Hainan will accelerate the establishment of corporate hubs that will facilitate Chinese enterprises entering Southeast Asia and other regions and allow enterprises from Southeast Asia and other regions to enter the Chinese market.

In early March, Hainan released the "Core Policy Measures to Support the Construction of 'Two Headquarters Bases'" for public consultation.

Wang said the 15 measures include a preferential corporate income tax rate, zero-tariff treatment on some imported commodities, and a tariff-free policy on value-added processing for foreign-funded enterprises from Southeast Asia and other regions.
Japan's top diplomat Yoshimasa Hayashi will visit China this weekend, the first such visit in over three years, the foreign ministry in Tokyo announced Friday.

The April 1-2 trip will include talks with Hayashi's Chinese counterpart Qin Gang, the ministry said, and will be the first time a Japanese foreign minister has visited since December 2019.

Ties between Tokyo and Beijing have been tense in recent years, with Japan wary of China's growing military power in the region.

But last November, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of a summit in Bangkok and pledged to continue high-level contact.

Tokyo has accused Chinese vessels of increasing incursions into Japanese waters, including near the disputed islands that Japan calls the Senkakus and Beijing the Diaoyus.

This week, Tokyo also called for Beijing to release a Japanese businessman held by Chinese authorities on unspecified allegations of violating domestic laws.

Wary of growing Chinese military clout, and spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Japan has overhauled its defence and security strategy.

Last year, it announced plans to lift defence spending to two percent of GDP by 2027.

As the world's second and third-largest economies, China and Japan are key trading partners, and before the Covid-19 pandemic, there had been plans for Xi to make a state visit to Tokyo.

But relations have soured significantly since, as Beijing bolsters its military, projects power regionally and beyond and takes a harder line on territorial rivalries.

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TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's foreign minister will visit Beijing for two days from Saturday to discuss a range of issues, including the detention of an Astellas Pharma Inc employee, the minister said.

Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters he would meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang during the visit for "an honest and frank discussion to create a constructive and stable relationship".

The visit comes after the close U.S. ally Japan announced plans to restrict exports of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aligning its technology trade with a U.S. push to curb China's ability to make advanced chips.

Also clouding ties is the case of a Japanese man employed by Astellas Pharma who a company spokesperson said this week had been detained in China for unknown reasons.

The Japanese government has asked Chinese authorities to release the man, media reported.

"We plan to make our position clear on a range of issues including these during my visit to China," Hayashi said on Friday when asked if he would raise the issue of the Astellas employee and the release of water from the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Several of Japan's neighbours are alarmed by a plan by the Japanese utility that runs the crippled nuclear power station to release more than a million tons of radioactive water from it into the sea.

The utility and the Japanese government say the water, which has been mainly used to cool reactors in the aftermath of a 2011 tsunami that crippled the plant, has been treated, filtered and diluted and is safe.

Hayashi's visit to China follows talks between leaders of the two countries in November, the first in almost three years.

At the time, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he conveyed his concerns over China's increasing maritime military presence but also said the two leaders agreed to reopen diplomatic channels of communications including a visit by Japan's foreign minister to China in the near future.

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China sees Hayashi's visit as important and in the interests of good ties, Mao Ning, a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry, told a regular briefing in Beijing.

"China and Japan are close neighbours and it is in the common interest of both countries and the region to maintain healthy and stable relations between the two countries," Mao said.

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Rocky Swift; Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sonali Paul)
TOKYO (AP)  A Japanese Cabinet minister in charge of tackling the country's declining birthrate unveiled a draft proposal Friday aimed at reversing the downtrend, including increased subsidies for childrearing and education and a salary increase for younger workers to incentivize marrying and having kids.

Japans population of more than 125 million has been declining for 15 years and is projected to fall to 86.7 million by 2060. A shrinking and aging population has huge implications for the economy and for national security as the country fortifies its military to counter Chinas increasingly assertive territorial ambitions.

Children's Policies Minister Masanobu Ogura said the next few years are possibly "a last chance for Japan to reverse its declining births. If the number of births keeps falling at the rate since the beginning of 2000, the young population will shrink at twice the current pace in the 2030s, he said.

Many younger Japanese have balked at marrying or having families, discouraged by bleak job prospects, corporate cultures incompatible with having both parents  but especially women  work, and the lack of public tolerance for small children.

To address the problems, Oguras plan proposes increased financial assistance, including more government subsidies for childrearing, more generous student loans for higher education and greater access to childcare services. It also aims to change the cultural mindset toward more gender equality both at work and at home. The proposal also includes increased government assistance to companies to encourage more of male staff to take paternity leave, which has been a point of contention for working fathers fearing retaliation.

While diverse views about marriage, childbirth and childrearing should be respected, we want to make a society where young generations can marry, have and raise children as they wish, Ogura said. The basic direction of our measures to tackle low births is to reverse the trend of declining births by supporting individuals pursuit of happiness.

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He said he submitted the proposal to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for further consideration. It will be part of a bigger policy package that Kishidas government will compile in June.

In 2022, Japan had 799,728 newborns, a record low, falling below 800,000 for the first time since surveys began in 1899. Many couples are hesitating to add to their families because of rising costs.

Japan is the worlds third biggest economy but living costs are high, wage increases have been slow and about 40% of Japanese are part-time or contract workers. Critics say the government has lagged in making society more inclusive for children, women and minorities.

Under the conservative governing party, which supports traditional family values and gender roles, women who are unmarried or without children tend to be less respected, and marriage is a prerequisite for having children.

Ogura's proposal did not mention its estimated cost.

So far, government efforts to encourage people to have more babies have had a limited impact despite subsidies for pregnancies, births and childcare.

In a country that ranks among the worst globally in gender equality, the situation hampers women's pursuit of careers after marriage or after having children.

The majority of Japanese between the ages of 18 and 34 say they hope to marry at some point but plan to have fewer than two children. A growing percentage say they have no intention of getting married, according to data cited in the proposal.
(Bloomberg) -- Jared Kushner said Donald Trumps indictment is troubling and a signal that Democrats are afraid of running against the former president.

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The indictment shows obviously the fear that the Democrats have of Trump and the political strength that he has, Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, said Friday at the FII Institutes Priority Summit in Miami Beach, Florida. As an American, its very troubling to me to see the leader of the opposition party be indicted.

Kushner made these comments at the beginning of his speech on bringing peace to the Middle East at an event organized by the Future Investment Initiative, a nonprofit backed by one of Saudi Arabias largest sovereign funds. His ties to Middle East investors have been under scrutiny, as wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have invested with Kushners private equity firm Affinity Partners, the New York Times reported Thursday. Thats on top of a $2 billion commitment from a Saudi sovereign fund.

Neumann, Klein, Novogratz Lured to Miami by Saudi Billions

Its been hard to watch the opponents of him politically continue to break every norm over the last years to try to get him, Kushner said. But what Ill say is Ive been by him during a lot of these instances and its only made him stronger, and his resolve to take on big challenges, to fight for change.

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Javi Gracias Leeds climbed out of the bottom three with victory at Wolves before the international break (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Wire)

Leeds United boss Javi Gracia refuses to look beyond Saturdays clash with Arsenal at the start of a hectic month which could define his sides season.

The Whites take on Mikel Artetas title-chasers at the Emirates Stadium in the first of seven league fixtures in April, which will also help shape the wider fight for Premier League survival.

Four of those fixtures are against relegation rivals, with successive home games next week against fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest (Tuesday) and Crystal Palace (Sunday).

Gracia said: To be honest, I am thinking only about Arsenal. I know we have to play important games, in seven days two important games.

We have a very busy schedule in April, but we prefer to put all our energy into the next game and try to prepare as good as possible because if we dont do it, we dont have any chance.

Its better to try and give 100 per cent in this game and then we have two days to prepare for the next game.

Leeds key midfielder Tyler Adams is waiting to learn whether he will feature again this season following hamstring surgery, while Willy Gnonto (ankle) and Max Wober (hamstring) have been ruled out.

Victory at Wolves before the international break lifted Leeds out of the bottom three up to 14th, but only four points separate the bottom nine clubs.

Arsenals only league defeat at the Emirates this season was to Manchester City in February and Gracias side are bidding to halt the Gunners six-game winning league run.

For sure, we are playing against the team at the top of the table and it will be very demanding for us, Gracia said.

But to get a good result, the first step is to believe that you can do it. The team believe that we can do it.

Arsenal are eight points clear of City, who have a game in hand, and Gracia has placed the emphasis on defensive discipline for the trip.

They are doing many things well and you can see the stats, against Bournemouth, for example, they had 80 per cent possession, he added.

In other games they always have around 70 per cent of possession. You have to be ready to defend more than attack and when attacking, you try to be aggressive and clinical and take the chances you have.

For sure, you need to make very good defensive work and if you dont do it, you dont have any chance.
Jenna Wolfe opens up about having a hysterectomy. (Photo: Kris Connor/Getty Images for WebMD)

UPDATE: On Wed., April 12, Wolfe shared that she underwent a mastectomy.

She posted a photo of herself from her hospital bed to Instagram, writing, "Mastectomy behind me. All that's left now is recovery and healing The most important part. The hardest part. I FaceTimed with my kids tonight and the little said to me, 'you always say we can do hard things, mama. Now were telling you the same thing. You got this. We love you.'"

-

Jenna Wolfe just made a major health decision.

The former Today show correspondent took to Instagram on Wednesday to reveal that she underwent a hysterectomy, a procedure to remove ones uterus.

About a month ago, I tested positive for the BRCA-1 breast cancer gene (meaning my chances of getting breast and ovarian cancer are well really high), leaving me little wiggle room to mull over my choices, the fitness expert explained in the caption of a photo taken at the hospital. So without a ton of options, I stared down my fears, took a deep breath and opted for two pretty big surgeries.

The first surgery was her hysterectomy. Though she did not name the bigger surgery she would have in her caption, she wrote that she would be back for it in two weeks.

Something like this spins your head a few whirls, Wolfe continued. Am I going to be ok? Will I heal? Will I ever have the drive I once had? I mean, a big chunk of my life is based around fitness and wellness. . I know I make it all look cute on social media but we all know its usually far from cute. Especially with kids. Half the time, Im up at 4:30am, sneaking in a quick workout before the kids get up, grabbing anything edible, racing to school, often times half dressed, most of the time half-witted.

Though the 49-year-old shared shes a little scared, she noted that safety never challenged anyone or allowed them to grow.

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These two surgeries are just the latest in what has been lets call it a challenging two years for me, Wolfe, who shares two daughters with her partner and NBC foreign correspondent Stephanie Gosk, explained. But with anything in life, the only way is through. And Im going through. I realize everyone has a story. This is mine. (Well, its part of mine). As I embark on it, Ill be thinking about you and yours.

Wolfes story is a common one for many people who learn they have a mutation in one of their two BRCA genes. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the BRCA genes are tumor-suppressing, and when working properly, they keep breast, ovarian and other types of cells from growing, changing or dividing rapidly. Mutations in the genes, however, can lead to an increased risk of cancer. All women have BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, but only some women have mutations in those genes.

William L. Dahut, MD, who serves as chief scientific officer for the American Cancer Society, tells Yahoo Life that while some people with heavy bleeding, fibroids, pelvic plain or a prolapse of the uterus may undergo the surgery, women with the BRCA1 gene are at higher risk for an aggressive form of uterine cancer and thus may opt for a prophylactic hysterectomy.

Most people go home after about two days after the surgery with full recovery usually in about 6 weeks, says Dr. Dahut of the surgery.

While the link between ovarian and breast cancer was discovered for the BRCA gene mutations in the mid-90s, a 2016 study led by a Duke Cancer Institute researcher first conclusively linked a small but significantly increased risk of uterine cancer to the genes in 2016.

According to Dr. Abu-Rustum, Chief of Gynecology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the BRCA gene mutations are passed down from ones parents.

People can be tested for these genes using a blood test in the setting of a qualified genetic consult or expert health care provider who can explain the results and ramifications, he notes.

Dr. Abu-Rustum adds that other risk-reducing surgeries include removal of the breasts, fallopian tubes and ovaries  procedures that Wolfe may or may not undergo.

If you remove the uterus, the individual cannot carry children anymore, he notes. [However,] the eggs are made in the ovaries, not the uterus. Many times, in similar cases the affected individuals have evaluations with reproductive endocrinology specialists to remove and freeze eggs before prophylactic surgery. If you have your own eggs frozen, you can use them to achieve a pregnancy inside your own uterus or a surrogate carrier.

While Wolfe made a difficult health decision, her followers  many of whom also learned they have a BRCA gene mutation  applauded her candor. One wrote, Im also BRCA+ and the decisions to have my preventative surgeries were the hardest but also the most satisfying. Knowing that I will be predicting my future and preventing having to tell my girls I have cancer were one of the many reasons. My mom passed away from pancreatic cancer last June and she was one of the strongest people I know. If it werent for her I would not have known I was brca+. She basically gave her life so we could save ours.

Another shared, Jenna, I also recently received a positive gene mutation news as well. I am scheduled for my double mastectomy on April 20th. One day and one step at a time.

Best wishes to you, posted a third fan. The fact that youve taken such amazing care of yourself will help tremendously. I had a hysterectomy and was walking 3-5 miles a day after about 10-12 days. You have an additional surgery, but you will do great! This is why we take care of ourselves. Life throws us curveballs- we catch them and show them who is boss."

This story was originally published on Thursday, March 30 at 7:21 p.m. ET and has been updated to include new information.

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.
Sandler and Aniston have co starred in three movies together. David Livingston/Getty Images

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler were friends before they both became famous actors.

In their latest movie, "Murder Mystery 2," they reprise their roles as a crime-solving married couple.

Here is a quick timeline of their friendship that started in the 1990s.

1991: Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler meet at a deli.

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler at the "Just Go With It" premiere in 2011. Kevin Mazur / Wireimage

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler's friendship has become more public in recent years. But they've actually been friends for decades.

During an interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in 2019, the pair said they actually met in 1990 at Jerry's Deli in Los Angeles. This was the same year Sandler joined "Saturday Night Live" as a writer and three years before Aniston starred in "Friends" as Rachel Green.

"We were very young. One of my buddies and Jennifer were dating, and we had breakfast," Sandler said.

"We were friends before 'Friends,'" Aniston added. "We must have been real family in another life."

A lot has changed since 1990.

Sandler has gotten married and had two children, Sadie, 16, and Sunny, 14. Over his career, he has starred in several commercially and critically successful movies and has won five Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a SAG award.

Meanwhile, Aniston became a household name after "Friends" and has won an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG award. However, through it all, the pair have stayed friends.

February 2011: Aniston and Sandler work together for the first time on "Just Go With It."

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler in "Just Go With It." Sony

Despite being friends for 20 years, most of the public was unaware of the actors' connection until they starred in the 2011 rom-com "Just Go With It."

In the movie, Sandler and Aniston play a duo who pretend to be a soon-to-be-divorced couple so that Sandler's character can cover up a lie he told to his much younger girlfriend (played by Brooklyn Decker).

When asked if they hung out when they were not filming, Aniston told ScreenSlam in 2011: "We would wrap. We would go to have dinner together. There was this corner we called the magic corner because the sunset was really beautiful."

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Aniston added that on the weekends, the cast would hang at the pool in her hotel but Sandler couldn't come because his children weren't allowed to go in with him.

"I couldn't bring my kids out there," Sandler said of the security at the hotel. "I would be right about to go in, and then they grabbed me and say, 'No, you're not welcome at this pool with your children,' and she would hold up this extra long middle finger."

The pair also noted that Sandler's family would go to Aniston's house "a lot" when they weren't on set.

"She makes pizzas, she gives us M&Ms," Sandler said. "There's a lot of nice TVs. I hide in one of her rooms. She hangs out with my wife and all their other friends. I tend to hide."

He added: "My favorite image is when a good song comes on and I look across the room I see Aniston hear a good song and start dancing. She's a great little dancer."

At the time, Aniston also said it was a "dream" to be able to work together and that the pair were already discussing working on another movie together.

February 2012: Sandler gives a hilarious and heartfelt speech to congratulate Aniston on getting her own Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

Adam Sandler giving a speech at Jennifer Aniston's Hollywood Walk Of Fame induction ceremony. Steve Granitz/WireImage

In 2012, Aniston received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During the ceremony, Aniston's friends were invited to speak about her, including Sandler.

He treated the speech like a comedy roast, making several jokes about Aniston's life.

"Gather round people of Hollywood because it's fairytale story time. Once upon a time, there was a poor little Greek girl growing up in Manhattan by the name of Jennifer Anastavalovokis," Sandler began, making puns related to Aniston's Greek heritage and her godfather Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas. "No,w every night before going to sleep, or sleepy Parthenon as her Yaya would call it, the 600-pound, 4-year-old Jennifer would kneel beside her bed in her pajamas and pray to the Greek god of coolest uncle Telly Savalas."

He continued: "She prayed for three things. To have everyone in the entire world be fascinated with her hair color. To one day star in a movie about an evil leprechaun who kills people. And most importantly receive a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame. Well, today Jennifer, the trifecta is here."

Sandler then spoke about Aniston's journey from the sitcom "Friends" to comedy movies.

"It hasn't been an easy road for that poor little roly-poly Greek girl. She enjoyed professional disappointments before landing the part of Rachel Green in a show called 'Friends' at the age of 52.," Sandler said. "But by the time that show ended its run, she did obtain five special real-life friends, a permanent place in America's heart, and what we in the business refer to as 'Seinfeld' money."

He added: "But did that little Greek girl go and buy herself an island somewhere and forget us fans? She did not. She made movies, hit after hit. Comedies, dramedies, movies where men farm and we love them all. I love them all except for the one with the dog dies not because the dog died but because I had a movie opening that same weekend and she kicked my ass. How dare you."

At this point in the speech, Sandler started to become more sentimental.

"I love this girl. My wife loves this girl. The entire world loves this girl but mostly her family, pops, mom, brothers, fake sisters, and handsome and well-educated Justin Theroux loves this girl," he said, referring to the actor Aniston was dating at the time and later married.

He ended by saying: "And so, finally, belatedly and deservedly I present  I don't know if I do this but I wrote in the speech, someone presents  a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To the girl who put the Grace in 'Office Space,' put the jolly in 'Along Came Polly,' put the whore in 'Horrible Bosses,' put a good girl in 'Good Girl,' who took her naked boobs out in 'Wanderlust.' For God's sake, let the girl have one thing she can keep to herself, you greedy bastards out there. Ladies and gentlemen, people of Hollywood, the great Jennifer Anastavalovokis."

June 2019: Sandler and Aniston star in their second movie together, "Murder Mystery."

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler in "Murder Mystery." Netflix

Eventually, Aniston and Sandler had the opportunity to work together again in the 2019 Netflix comedy mystery movie "Murder Mystery," which also starred Luke Evans, David Walliams, and John Kani.

In the film, Sandler and Aniston play a married couple hoping to rekindle their romance who are framed for murder.

During the press tour for the movie, the pair were asked about kissing each other in the movie.

"I did have him learn to oil the beard up a little bit," Aniston told the Associated Press in 2019. "Conditioned."

Sandler then joked that his wife Jackie and two children love the kissing scenes.

"The only awkward part is hearing my wife on the side going, 'Harder! Harder! Kiss her harder! Deeper!'" Sandler said. "They watched the kissing. They love it. They love Aniston, and they want her to have good things and they say, 'Give her something nice.'"

Aniston added: "That was awkward."

November 2019: Sandler also gave a "mushy" speech about Aniston when she won the People's Icon award.

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston on stage during the 2019 E! People's Choice Awards as she wins the People's Icon award, Christopher Polk / E! Entertainment / NBCU Photo Bank

While "Murder Mystery" was a mixed success with critics, it was beloved by audiences, breaking viewing records for Netflix.

At the 2019's People's Choice Awards, Sandler and Aniston reunited to accept the comedy movie of 2019 award. During the same ceremony, Sandler also presented Aniston with the People's Icon award.

Before announcing her name, Sandler described Aniston as "one of my best friends," and "an incredible, caring role model with the biggest heart.

He also added: "She's exactly the way you think she is, everybody."

Aniston appeared to be shocked by hearing such kind words. When she walked on stage after receiving the award, her first words were: "Adam! When did you get so mushy?! Oh my God, I love this man with all my heart. This is one of the kindest human beings you'll ever meet."

Backstage after the ceremony, the "We're The Millers" star told E! News: "I've literally known him for 30 years, we're family. Am I crying? He made me tear up out there. Adam doesn't do this kind of stuff so that's why... that's just the true sweetness and friendship."

January 2020: Aniston then gave Sandler a shout-out during her SAG award win.

Jennifer Aniston won a SAG Award and praised Adam Sandler's 'Uncut Gems' performance. Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images/A24/Netflix

Two months later, Aniston returned the favor at the Screen Actors Guild awards. The 54-year-old actor won the best actress in a drama series award that year for her role in "The Morning Show."

However, Aniston used part of her speech to praise Sandler, who had been snubbed that year by the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and the SAG awards for his performance in the critically-acclaimed Safdie Brothers' movie "Uncut Gems."

"Oh, Adam Sandler your performance is extraordinary, your magic is real, buddy. I love you," Aniston said before ending her speech.

The "Happy Gilmore" star responded by sharing a picture of Aniston with her award on Instagram with the caption: "Congrats to the great @jenniferaniston for her SAG award and her just being the best."

December 2021: Sandler says that Aniston and his wife "tag-team" him to get him to be healthier.

Jackie Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, and Adam Sandler attend the LA premiere of Netflix's "Murder Mystery" at Regency Village Theatre on June 10, 2019, in Westwood, California. Leon Bennett / Getty Images

In December 2021, The Hollywood Reporter published a feature on Aniston and her career. Sandler opened up about their friendship to the publication.

"She's certainly not afraid to have me show up on a set, and in my trailer is a whole bunch of whatever shake I should be drinking and it's usually green," the "Waterboy" actor said. "And I actually drink it so I can look her in the eye."

He added: "She and my wife have a nice time tag-teaming to try to make me a healthier human being. Like, they want me to stretch more  eventually be able to touch my toes, which I'm about 9 inches away from."

Sandler praised his long-time friend, adding: "But Jen's also just funny as hell, and she makes you so happy. When we go to parties with her, there's no leaving the party. At one in the morning, I'll say to my wife, 'We're going to keep going, huh?'"

February 2022: Sandler said he "knew" he was going to be friends with Aniston after he met her for the first time.

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sander in "Murder Mystery 2." Netflix

In 2022, Sandler and Aniston spoke about their friendship with former E! News correspondent Will Marfuggi.

Sandler said that they had an instant connection when they met in the early 1990s.

"She crunched too loud," Sandler joked, before adding: "I knew I was going to be friends with her. I didn't know I was going to be making movies with her. We both didn't know that, we were young and we didn't have jobs quite then."

Aniston added: "He's such a mensch and you just love each other, he takes you in, and I'm very much the same way, and then you become family. It's like second nature."

May 2022: Aniston attended Sandler's second daughter's bat mitzvah.

Jimmy Kimmel, Sunny Madeline Sandler, and Adam Sandler. Randy Holmes via Getty Images

Sandler previously said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in 2019 that Aniston was invited but unable to make his first daughter's bat mitzvah, a coming-of-age ceremony for Jewish boys and girls to mark the time that they become an adult around the ages of 12 and 13.

Last year, when Sandler's second daughter, Sunny, had her bat mitzvah, the Emmy-winning actor was able to attend.

A TikTok video, shared by one of the guests, showed Sandler and Aniston at the event, as well as "Twilight" star Taylor Lautner and musical artists Halsey and Charlie Puth.

March 2023: Aniston and Drew Barrymore fought over Sandler at the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor award ceremony.

Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, and Drew Barrymore. Jordan Strauss / Invision/ AP / Paul Bruinooge / Getty Images / Arturo Holmes / WireImage

Earlier in March, a ceremony was held in the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, to honor Sandler for winning the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

During the ceremony, Drew Barrymore and Aniston took to the stage to talk about their friendship with the award-winning comedian. Both have starred as his love interests in hit movies with him.

The pair began to compare and compete with each other over who is the better friend to Sandler.

"He loves 'The Morning Show.' Every time it airs, first text I get, from Adam," Aniston said at one point.

Barrymore replied: "Well, that is so sweet. Because I literally get one every morning after my talk show airs, 'I mean, way to go, Drew. You really brought out the funny side of Eva Longoria. Can't wait for Kerry Washington tomorrow.' I don't know how he keeps up with all those texts."

Last week, Aniston and Sandler addressed the skit during an interview on "Good Morning America."

"We thought we'd be funny because there was a Twitter thing a couple years ago, and they're always sort of comparing us, who's the better movie wife or movie love, so we just thought we'd do a little bit on that," Aniston said.

Later in the interview, the pair said that they had been pitching a movie with Barrymore.

"Jennifer's gonna write it," Sandler said.

Aniston added: "We want to do all three of us together and just put an end to this competition."

Sandler then said: "There's no competition. Just two great ladies. That would be amazing, doing a movie all together. Absolutely."

March 2023: Aniston said that she loved looking after Sandler while filming "Murder Mystery 2."

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler in "Murder Mystery 2." Scott Yamano/Netflix

Sandler and Aniston's third film together, "Murder Mystery 2," is now on Netflix.

A sequel to their 2019 hit, the couple once again a crime-solving couple, though this time they are on vacation in Paris.

When speaking about her friendship with Sandler on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" last week, Aniston said Sandler loves criticizing her choice of boyfriends, before adding: "I very much love to take care of him. He's so concerned with taking care of everybody else, which he really does, and he doesn't take care of himself. I'm sorry for calling you out on national television, but you have to know this."

She continued: "I have a little arsenal of herbs in my trailer, and I make him smoothies when I can and give him all sorts of Chinese herbs when he's exhausted. I'm like the mobile pharmacy. I'm the set medic."

Referring to Sandler's wife of 20 years, Aniston added: "And Jackie is like, 'Thanks, it lasted about a minute.'"

Read the original article on Insider
Jermaine Franklin probably wont upset Anthony Joshua on Saturday at O2 Arena in London.

Thats the opinion of the oddsmakers, who have made Joshua around a 9-1 favorite to win the heavyweight fight. And no fan or pundit with any knowledge of the sport would argue with them, at least not vociferously.

But could they be wrong?

Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) was on the unfortunate end of a massive upset only five fights ago, when Andy Ruiz Jr. put him down four times and stopped him in seven rounds. Ruiz was a bigger underdog than Franklin.

The former unified champion isnt exactly at the top of his game, having gone 2-3 in his last five fights. Hes coming off back-to-back losses to former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who won decisions in both fights.

And Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs) showed us something in his last fight. The 29-year-old native of Saginaw, Michigan, lost a majority decision to longtime contender Dillian Whyte in November, his second fight after a 2-year layoff during which he worked for a living.

Some observers  including Franklin  thought he was robbed but he received a nice consolation prize: a meeting with Joshua, one of the biggest names in the sport.

Well see whether Franklin has the ability and mental toughness to compete with a fighter of Joshuas pedigree. However, its a good bet that hell be prepared physically.

He said he spent most of his training camp leading up to the Whyte fight shedding fat. For this bout, he entered camp in better physical condition, which allowed him to hone his fitness and focus more on strategy.

The 6-foot-2 Franklin weighed 257 pounds for the Whyte fight. Eddie Hearn, Joshuas promoter, guessed that he could come in around 230 for Joshua, which could produce a quicker, more fluid fighter.

The circumstances around this fight are very different, Franklin said, according to The Associated Press. For the Dillian fight, I was working a job before we got that phone call. I wasnt in the gym.

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We took like five to seven weeks to get in shape for that fight. For the time I had, I did what I could. This time Ive got more time to prepare and more time to get in shape.

The fight with Whyte at the OVO Arena Wembley gave Franklin experience on a big stage in a foreign country, which will serve him well on Saturday. And he demonstrated with his solid performance that he wasnt fazed.

He has also been calm and cool in the lead up to the fight with Joshua, as if he has taken part in many big fights. Hes confident.

My confidence is always great, he said Thursday at the final news conference before the fight. Youre in the wrong business if you dont truly believe in yourself. This isnt the right game for you.

You have to have  the utmost confidence. You just have to put faith in the work [youve done].

The prognosticators expect Franklin to become a footnote, a stepping stone possibly leading to an all-British super fight between Joshua and titleholder Tyson Fury.

Thats what Ruiz was supposed to be, though. And we know what happened there. Joshua decided mid-fight that he couldnt beat his opponent and signaled with his body language that he didnt want to continue.

Franklin doesnt have the track record of Ruiz but he has demonstrated that hes a solid heavyweight. That fact and Joshuas uneven performances suggest that the notion of an upset isnt farfetched.

I come from a place without a lot of possibilities, he said. I made it this far [so] anything is possible.  I believe I get my hand raised at the end of the fight.

Related

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin: Date, time, how to watch, background Can Anthony Joshua still redeem himself after multiple disappointments? Anthony Joshua says his second comeback will be his last Dillian Whyte survives scare against Jermaine Franklin, eyes Anthony Joshua

Story originally appeared on Boxing Junkie
Joe Biden revealed that he will not be attending King Charles IIIs coronation and that his wife will be going without him.

The White House confirmed in a readout of Bidens call with the King, shared on 4 April, that his spouse will be going to the coronation in May to represent the US.

The President congratulated the King on his upcoming Coronation and informed him that First Lady Jill Biden looks forward to attending on behalf of the United States, the statement read.

The White House said that Biden conveyed his desire to meet with the King in the United Kingdom at a future date. In addition to discussing the coronation, the pairs call was also about underscoring the strength of the relationship between [their] countries and the friendship between [their] peoples.

According to The Telegraph, many guests who received the save the date card for the Kings big day have been asked to tell the palace if theyre attending or not by Monday .

In September, Biden and his wife also visited the UK to join a plethora of world leaders at Westminster Abbey in paying their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

While the US President may be missing the coronation in May, some other famous faces are expected to be at the ceremony. As David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham attended the Queens funeral in September, they are expected to get an invite to the Kings coronation.

Former Greys Anatomy star Sandra Oh attended the Queens funeral as a part of the Canadian delegation, alongside musicians Gregory Charles and Olympic gold medallist swimmer Mark Tewksbury. So, it could be likely that shell be at the coronation.

In addition, it has been reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex received an invitation to the event via email correspondence, following the release of Prince Harrys tell-all book, Spare, which featured multiple allegations about the royal family. However, the couple havent confirmed if they will be attending or not.

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Multiple members of the royal family are expected to be at the coronation, including Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Prince Andrew.

The coronation is set to take place on 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey, London and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace. This is the first coronation in 70 years, as the last one was in 1953, when the Queen was crowned at the age of 27.

Charles turned 74 years old in November 2022, making him the oldest person to be crowned in British history. There are expected to be 2,000 guests in attendance, a stark contrast to the 8,000 guests present at the Queens coronation.

The Independent has contacted a representative for Buckingham Palace and The White House for comment.
Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/Pixabay

Well, she tried.

On Thursday, Jonathan Majors attorney, Priya Chaudhry, released text messages that purport to demonstrate, in the attorneys words, that the Creed III actors assault accuser admit[ted] that she was the one who used physical force against him. So far, however, that narrative does not appear to be holding up well with its intended audience.

Domestic violence cases are like rearview mirrors; these cases may appear as one thing until all the evidence is available, Gwendolen Wilder, a domestic abuse expert and a survivor of abuse herself, told The Daily Beast.

Majors was arrested Saturday in New York following a domestic dispute. The NYPD initially said that Majors had been charged with strangulation, assault, and harassment. According to the criminal complaint, Majors allegedly struck his accuser about the face with an open hand and left her with a laceration behind her ear. The complaint also alleges that Majors put his hand on her neck, causing bruising and substantial pain. (Advocates have been emphasizing the statistical link between strangulation and subsequent homicides for years.)

The actor was arraigned Sunday on harassment and assault charges before he was released on his own recognizance. His lawyer insists that the actor completely denies assaulting the woman and that he called the police on March 25 out of concern for her mental health. Chaudhry said Thursday that the text messages, in which the victim admits to using physical force against him, were sent less than nine hours after Majors arrest.

A spokesperson for the district attorney declined to comment on the text messages, noting to The Daily Beast the investigation is active and ongoing.

Although some tabloid press have run with the narrative that Majors camp has advanced with these new textsincluding Page Six, which ran the headline Jonathan Majors shares texts from alleged victims that appear to prove innocencesome social media users and experts have pointed out that the messages illustrate a complicated relationship and the hallmark signs of domestic violence.

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Please let me know youre okay when you get this, Majors accuser writes in the first of her alleged messages. They assured me that you wont be charged. They said they had to arrest you as per protocol when they saw the injuries on me and they knew we had a fight.

I told them it was my fault for trying to grab your phone, she adds later. I only just got out of the hospital.

The last of the alleged messages denies that strangulation took place. ... I also said to tell the judge to know that the origin of the call was to do with me collapsing and passing out, it reads in part, and your worry as my partner due to our communication prior. Out of care.

Priya Chaudhry

Wilder, who is also the author of Its Ok to Tell My Story!: Surviving Common Law Domestic Violence, told The Daily Beast that the text messages released on Thursday appeared to be sent by someone who may have experienced a possible trauma-based response, gaslighting and victim blaming due to the incident in question.

But, she added, its hard to jump to conclusions without all the details.

The victims texts to the alleged abuser appear to be her justificationregarding the roles of the individuals involved in the incident, she said, adding that it is very common for victims of domestic violence to blame themselves for some if not all aspects of the violence they endured and not report or recant statements.

Oakland criminal defense attorney Michel Huff added that while at face value, the text messages would appear to exonerate Majors, it is also fairly common for abuse victims to blame themselves and to resist charges against their abusers.

It is hard to know at this point what actually occurred, Huff told The Daily Beast, noting that there are still so many unknown answers about the case that may not even make it to trial.

The reaction on social media might best be summed up by a tweet from journalist Raven Brunner: I told them it was my fault for trying to grab your phone isnt the flex Jonathan Majors and his lawyers think it is.

"I told them it was my fault for trying to grab your phone" isn't the flex Jonathan Majors and his lawyers think it is. https://t.co/sVmpzBmaYa  Raven Brunner (@raventbrunner) March 30, 2023

In another tweet, civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson added: Jonathan Majors [lawyer] thinks that she is playing chess not checkers and it is a total fail. Im not sure what shes playing at all but it certainly isnt helping. The freedom hat, framing the woman an emotional mess, and now these texts. Not checkers, not chess, no clue what game.

Jonathan Majors thinks that she is playing chess not checkers and it is a total fail. Im not sure what shes playing at all but it certainly isnt helping. The freedom hat, framing the woman an emotional mess, and now these texts. Not checkers, not chess, no clue what game.  deray (@deray) March 30, 2023

Chaudhrys past clients include Real Housewives of Salt Lake Citys Jen Shah, who was sentenced to prison this year for a telemarketing scheme, and Canadian screenwriter, director, and film producer Paul Haggiswho was found liable on three counts of rape and sexual abuse in a civil trial last year.

According to a Deadline courtroom report, Chaudhry characterized Haggis accuser as a troubled and emotionally immature young woman who had sex with an older, famous man and mistakenly thought it was the beginning of something more, and recast it as a rape in revenge for being rejected.

Hollywoods Silence on Oscar Winner Paul Haggis Is Deafening

In her initial statement following Majors arrest, Chaudhry wrote that Saturdays incident came about because his accuser was having an emotional crisis, for which she was taken to a hospital yesterday. She has also stated that her client was the one to call 911 on Saturday due to concern for her mental health.

Carol Wick, an activist who serves on UN Womens Ending Violence Against Women Expert Roster, stressed that a portion of a text message only poses more questions about the relationship between Majors and his accuserand that it is hard to jump to any conclusions on what happened during the incident.

We have to pause and not rush to any judgment on any side, Wick, who is also the president and CEO of Sharity Inc., told The Daily Beast. But the allegations are serious. Weighing this in the court of public opinion, however, is never smart. We just dont know. This is traumatizing.

Wick added, however, that the hallmarks of most abusive relationships are gaslighting and coercive control.

In abuse relationships, there is a lot of gaslighting where abusers try to convince their victims that what happened to them is their fault, she added. There is also coercive control, which is not violent but it is all about twisting the blame to the victim.

Jonathan Majors Attorney Claims Victim Has Recanted Assault Allegations

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee has decided to launch a Party-wide thematic education campaign starting from April to study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

The decision was made at a meeting held by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Thursday, which also deliberated the regulations on the reporting of personal information by officials.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.

It was pointed out at the meeting that the campaign, with a focus on leading officials at and above the county and director level, is to use the Party's new theories to achieve unity in thought, will and action, carry forward the great founding spirit of the Party, and see that the whole Party strives in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts.

During the meeting, participants stressed that the whole Party needs to develop a deep understanding of the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

They called on all Party members to comprehensively study, understand and implement the guiding principles from the Party's 20th National Congress, apply the new development philosophy, foster a new pattern of development, promote high-quality development, and advance Chinese modernization through the campaign.

It was also emphasized at the meeting that efforts should be made to advance the Party's self-reform and always stay alert and determined in order to tackle the unique challenges that a large party like the CPC may face.

The meeting noted that with the education campaign, the whole Party should rally more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.

It asked Party committees and leading Party members groups at all levels to address the pressing concerns of the people, make special efforts in tackling prominent problems, and ensure that the campaign is carried out in an effective and sustainable manner.

The system for officials to report their personal information has served as an important measure for strictly managing and supervising officials since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, said the meeting, adding that the revision of the regulations is of great significance.

Reporting personal information to authorities truthfully is a political and organizational discipline that officials must abide by, said the meeting, calling on officials to willingly submit to organizational oversight.

It also asked those in senior positions to take the lead in implementation by reporting their personal information, thereby setting a good example.

The meeting asked Party committees and leading Party members groups at all levels to ensure sound implementation of the reporting system so that it can play a bigger role in exercising full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.

The meeting also discussed other issues.
The New York judge tentatively assigned to preside at next week's arraignment of Donald Trump is more than familiar with the players in the former president's orbit.

Manhattan Acting Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan presided over the fraud trial of Trump's namesake real estate company and the related Trump Payroll Corporation, which ended in December with a conviction and $1.6 million in fines.

Merchan also oversaw the sentencing of former Trump financial chief Allen Weisselberg, whose testimony in the fraud case helped secure the convictions.

That may explain Trump's angry reaction to Merchan's role in his case.

Trump 'shocked' by indictment: Donald Trump was 'shocked' by indictment, his children react

Jailed Trump exec cuts ties with lawyers: Former Trump Organization exec Allen Weisselberg cuts ties with attorneys

"The Judge 'assigned' to my Witch Hunt Case, a 'Case' that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME," Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social.

Former President Donald Trump campaigns on March 25 in Waco, Texas.

Trump went on to misspell the judge's name, claiming he railroaded my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg," who was sentenced to five months in jail in January for his role in a tax scheme.

The former president's screed echoed similar attacks launched against prosecutors and judges who have crossed paths with Trump, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has led the investigation that resulted in the first indictment against a former president in U.S. history.

Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Bragg, accusing him of leading a politically motivated investigation and once referred to him as an "animal."

In taking aim at Merchan, who was appointed to the bench in 2006 by then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Trump is following a familiar script.

Yet by all accounts, the judge appeared to take great care in separating the former president from the trial involving the Trump Organization.

The Trump Org. trial: Two Trump companies sentenced to pay $1.6M after criminal tax fraud convictions

Story continues

How Stormy Daniels reacted: Stormy Daniels said she'd dance in the streets if Trump was indicted. Now she's sad it happened

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, left, and former President Donald Trump.

"I now remind you of your promise and reiterate that Donald Trump and his family are not on trial before you," Merchan told jurors before they began deliberations in the case in December, urging the panelists to arrive at their verdict solely "on the evidence and the law against the two defendants" who were charged in the case.

"Make sure your verdict stays on the evidence," he instructed.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a chief deputy in the Manhattan District Attorneys Office until late 2021, said Merchan is a good choice to handle the Trump case.

Hes excellent, she told USA TODAY on Friday, and calls balls and strikes as he sees them.

Allen Weisselberg leaves the courtroom on Nov. 17 in New York City.

Hes the real deal, Agnifilo said. He controls his courtroom and is the perfect person to control Trump.

Sarah Krissoff, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan who has closely followed the legal problems shadowing the former president and his companies, said Merchan has the "right temperament and experience to handle this case."

Noting the judge's former roles as a prosecutor and service in the New York Attorney General's Office, along with more than 16 years on the bench, Krissoff said Merchan is uniquely suited.

"He's been on the bench long enough," Krissoff said.

Will Trump's indictment hurt his campaign? Or his rivals? The 2024 race has turned on its head

World leaders facing crimes: Trump becomes the first former US president indicted. But other countries? They routinely charge leaders.

Contributing: Kevin McCoy

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump arraignment judge Juan Merchan presided over Trump Org trial
Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels in a composite image

Donald Trump said the judge presiding over his case hates him in an angry tirade directed at criminal charges being brought against him.

The former president will face some 30 charges relating to business fraud arising from a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.

On Friday, he attacked the judge he will appear before, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.

He is the same judge who presided over a prosecution last year of Mr Trumps business on tax fraud charges, which led to a $1.61 million (1.3 million) penalty. Mr Trump himself was not charged in that case.

Mr Trump wrote: The Judge assigned to my Witch Hunt Case, a Case that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME.

The former president went on to claim that the judge had treated my companies VICIOUSLY in the previous case.

Judge Juan Merchan

Mr Trump will not be handcuffed for his brief court appearance, but he is expected to have his fingerprints and mugshot taken, and it is possible  though improbable  that he will be publicly paraded in a perp walk.

The former president had, in the days leading up to the indictment, reportedly joked with friends that he would be put in golden handcuffs.

Following the indictment Ms Daniels joked that [I] dont want to spill my champagne.

Joe Tacopina, his lawyer, said: I dont know how all this is going to go down. Theres no textbook to see how you arraign a former president of the United States in criminal court.

Joe Tacopina offers his thoughts to Fox News host Sean Hannity

Mr Trump and his team were not notified in advance and were taken by surprise when news of the indictment broke on Thursday night.

Mr Tacopina said Mr Trump was initially shocked but then became combative, and there was zero  chance of him making a plea deal with prosecutors.

The lawyer said: His knees dont buckle. Hes now in the posture where hes ready to fight this. I am sure they will try to make sure they get some joy out of it by parading him. [But] you have Secret Service involved. I dont think theyre going to allow this to become a circus.

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After learning of the charges, Mr Trump went to dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort with his wife Melania and her parents, before sending out social media messages until the early hours.

At the heart of the case is a $130,000 (105,391) payment to Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Ms Daniels claimed to have had a sexual encounter with the former president in 2006, which he has repeatedly denied.

Michael Cohen, Mr Trumps former lawyer, paid the money and was then reimbursed by Mr Trump himself.

Cohen was later convicted of campaign finance law violations, and other offences, and jailed.

He is expected to be a star witness against his one-time employer but prosecutors also have documentary evidence.

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney bringing the case against Mr Trump, was seen leaving his office amid tight security on Friday.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg leaving Manhattan Criminal Court - Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo

His office accused the former presidents Republican supporters in Congress of collaborating with Mr Trumps efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of the investigation.

It came amid reports that senior officials at the Justice Department had doubts about the strength of the case.

They were said to be irritated because other legal cases against Mr Trump could have a higher chance of conviction.

Mr Trump is also being investigated over his role in the US Capitol riot on Jan 6 2021 and potential election interference in Georgia.

The former president claimed he was a victim of political persecution by a Democrat prosecutor.

With the potential for protests considered substantial, New York ordered every member of its police department to report in full uniform.

Joe Biden, the current US president, repeatedly declined to comment when asked if he thought the charges were politically motivated.

He said: I have no comment on Trump.

However, Nancy Pelosi, the former Democrat House Speaker, said: No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence.

Republicans came to Mr Trumps defence, including Ron DeSantis, his chief rival for the 2024 presidential nomination, who called the charges un-American.

Nikki Haley, a declared 2024 candidate, said: This is more about revenge than it is about justice.
Meghan Markle, left, at an engagement in Johannesburg, South Africa, October 1, 2019, and Samantha Markle, right, during an appearance on GB News on December 8, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville, GB News/YouTube

A Florida judge dismissed Samantha Markle's defamation lawsuit against Meghan Markle.

Samantha said comments made about her in a royal biography and Meghan's Oprah interview were false.

Meghan's lawyers called the lawsuit a "defamation case without any merit."

A Florida judge dismissed Samantha Markle's defamation lawsuit against her estranged half-sister Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, according to court documents.

Samantha filed the lawsuit in Tampa, Florida, in March 2022 as a result of comments made about her in the 2020 book "Finding Freedom," an unauthorized biography about Meghan and Prince Harry written by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, as well as comments made by Meghan in her interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

As Insider previously reported, a major part of Samantha's lawsuit was based on a 2018 email between Meghan and Jason Knauf, then-communications secretary at Kensington Palace, about a meeting he was due to have with the authors of "Finding Freedom." The email was released by Meghan's attorneys in court documents in 2022 relating to her privacy lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday.

Samantha said defamatory comments about her in the email ended up in the book, including that she did not graduate high school and that she had three children from three different fathers. However, Meghan's attorney previously said that these comments never made it to print, while others either weren't in the email or were substantially true, and therefore weren't defamatory.

Meanwhile, Samantha said in the lawsuit that Meghan lied about being an "only child" in her interview with Winfrey, to which Meghan's attorney responded by saying that her comments were intended to be a subjective account of her childhood.

Samantha also complained about several other comments made by Meghan in the Oprah interview, including that she changed her last name back to Markle after Meghan's relationship with Harry was made public, the court document states. According to Samantha's attorney, Meghan's comments in the interview caused harm to Samantha's reputation, as people began to see her as an "opportunist trying to cash in on her sister's success and fame."

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A total of 10 statements that Samantha said were defamatory in the lawsuit were based on "Finding Freedom," while three statements were based on the Winfrey interview, BuzzFeed News senior reporter Ellie Hall wrote in a Twitter post on Friday.

Meghan initially requested that the lawsuit be dismissed back in May, with a representative for the duchess calling it a "defamation case without any merit," Insider previously reported.

The judge granted Meghan's request on Thursday, and dismissed Samantha's claims based on "Finding Freedom" due to the fact that Samantha "cannot plausibly allege" that Meghan published the book, according to court documents that were published online and shared on Twitter by Hall.

Samantha's claims based on the Winfrey interview were also dismissed. The court has granted Samantha's lawyers 14 days to submit an amended complaint and file a new complaint if she wishes to continue the lawsuit, according to the documents.

Representatives for Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Insider was unable to reach representatives for Samantha Markle.

Read the original article on Insider
A Fresno man, who was convicted in November of killing in a fit of jealousy was sentenced Thursday to 50-years-to-life in prison.

Daniel Leyva, 53, was found guilty of first-degree murder for the stabbing death of Miguel Garcia after the men got into an argument outside of a southeast Fresno smoke shop on Aug. 19, 2018.

Garcia is alleged to have made a comment to Leyvas then-girlfriend that Leyva did not like. A fight ensued and Garcia was stabbed in the chest.

Family members of Garcia, a 38-year-old husband and father of four children, said they had mixed emotions about the conclusion of the case.

It makes it real, said Jasmine Nunez, Garcias sister. This whole time we have been waiting for justice for my brother. I felt like he was out doing his thing and that somehow he would be back. But now that we close this chapter, it is really hitting me that he is not going to come home.

Nunez added that she will finally be able to share some good news with her elderly parents about her brothers case.

I can tell them we got justice for my brother.

Garcia helped care for his 88-year-old mother and his 90-year-old father who moved from Kern County to Fresno County to be closer to family.

Its hard for my parents to realize he is not here, He was their baby, Nunez said. They did not think they were going to bury their son, they thought he was going to bury them.

Leyva, who showed little emotion at his sentencing hearing, was represented by Douglas Foster.

As part of Leyvas sentencing he will be required to make restitution to Garcias family in the amount of $77,500. Although Leyva initially balked at paying that amount, he withdrew his objection on Thursday.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Amy Cobb said she was pleased Leyva received a lengthy prison term. Superior Court Judge Arlan Harrell took into consideration Leyvas 1991 conviction for manslaughter.

Michael Leyva needed to be removed from the streets and put someplace where he could never do this to a family again, Cobb said. He has shown that he is willing to do this more than one time and I have no doubt that had he not been been held accountable he would have continued to live in a violent way.
Rick Bowmer / AFP via Getty Images

Academy Award winner and wellness mogul Gwyneth Paltrow has been found not liable in a 2016 ski collision that a retired Army optometrist claimed left him with permanent brain injuries.

After less than three hours of deliberation on Thursday, the jury reached a verdict that Paltrow was not responsible for crashing into Terry Sanderson. They ordered Sanderson to pay $1 and her legal fees.

Sanderson, 76, had originally sued Paltrow for $3 million after he said she crashed into him while not paying attention to her surroundings at Deer Valley Resort in Utah. The amount was reduced to more than $300,000 before the case went to trial.

But in his closing statement on Thursday, Lawrence Buhler, one of Sandersons attorneys, suggested a $3,276,000 award would be appropriate, citing the harms and losses Sanderson has experienced in the seven years since the crash and will continue to experience for the rest of his life.

Paltrow, in contrast, testified that Sanderson crashed into her. She said she initially thought that she was being sexually assaulted and described her shock.

"I only heard a male voice," she said. "I heard nothing that maybe happened before I came to that point in consciousness."

In her testimony, Paltrow said she countersued for $1 in damages to be symbolic because the damages would actually be more. Her lawyers said Sandersons only motive for suing her was to exploit her wealth and fame.

Sanderson said he broke four ribs and sustained permanent brain injuries from this crash. Both Paltrows and Sandersons legal teams brought in expert witnesses to argue whether or not the collision created long-term problems in his life.

Dr. Alina Fong, Sandersons expert witness, said his tiredness, change in personality, and pain were similar to postconcussion symptoms.

Dr. Carl Black, a neuroradiologist who was called to the stand by Paltrow's team, reviewed Sandersons 2009 brain scan and said he had white matter disease that would have been present before the accident, adding that there is no evidence of post-traumatic brain injury.

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If he had a concussion, it was very mild, Black said.

Terry Sanderson Rick Bowmer /AFP via Getty Images

With tears in his eyes, Sanderson testified on the emotional fallout of the incident. He said he cannot maintain relationships with friends and loved ones like he did before the crash. He added he broke up with his girlfriend after he was injured because he didn't want her to feel like she was with "a crippled vet."

Karlene Davidson, Sandersons ex-girlfriend, testified that he was full of joy before the collision. She said he became more agitated and pushed her away afterward.

Paltrow's attorney also showed messages between Sanderson and his daughter hours after the crash, one of which said, Im famous.

She then replied, Dad, I cannot believe how unlucky and how crazy this all is. I cant believe this is all on GoPro. What are the chances? Im so glad youre okay, according to the messages shown by Paltrows attorneys.

The GoPro footage mentioned in the message raised much speculation on Sandersons case, with Paltrow's lawyers calling it the most important piece of evidence; however, attorneys were never able to access the link included in the message.

A man who had been watching the trial, however, was able to access the link and found it led to a group chat among Sandersons ski meetup group.

While the GoPro footage still wasnt found, Judge Kent Holmberg said the online sleuth had found evidence that was included in a chat log of Sandersons ski group on the day of the collision. Craig Ramon, who allegedly was the only witness to the incident, said Paltrow had crashed into Sanderson in a message that appeared to be sent years before the lawsuit was filed.

"Terry was knocked out cold. Bad hit to the head!" Ramon wrote, according to the message. "I did see the hit. Terry did not know his name."

More on this
Vice President Kamala Harris sidestepped a question on Friday regarding the indictment of former President Donald Trump, but the president of Zambia chose to address the issue.

Harris and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema held a joint press conference on Friday as the vice president begins wrapping up her travel on the African continent.

The pair were asked for their reactions to news that the 2024 Republican presidential candidate was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office.

TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS

Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday said she would not comment on the indictment of former President Donald Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff arrive at Kenneth Kuanda International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia, on Friday.

"I am not going to comment on an ongoing criminal case as it relates to the former president," Harris told the reporter.

However, Hichilema took the question and attempted to explain his feelings on the matter from the perspective of the Zambian government.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"The indictment of President Trump  what does that mean to the rule of law? Let's remove names from your question," Hichilema told the reporter. "Let's put what we decided we would do to govern ourselves in an orderly manner. [We] passed our constitutions  bedrock law. Then, secondary laws, other regulations create a platform or framework around which we agreed either as Americans or as Zambians to govern ourselves and so to live within those confines."

DEMS REACT TO TRUMP INDICTMENT: SCHIFF CALLS IT 'SOBERING,' WATERS KNEW 'STORMY DANIELS WOULD GET HIM'

Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday reacted to former President Donald Trump's indictment, saying, "When there's transgression against law, it does not matter who is involved."

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema cuts the ribbon when attending the commissioning ceremony for the fifth generator at the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower Station in Southern Province, Zambia, on March 24, 2023.

"And when there's transgression against law, it does not matter who is involved. I think that is what the rule of law means. This is universal," he continued.

Hichilema went on to compare the Trump indictment and partisan tensions to corruption in his own nation.

"And here, Vice President, we have a scenario now when we fight against corruption which has taken away resources from children and the sick  sometimes names are thrown into it and perceptions are created that are totally inappropriate," he said. "Because transgressions against the law, if you take what belongs to the public, you have offended the law and the name does not matter."

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DESANTIS SLAMS SOROS-FUNDED MANHATTAN DA FOR WEAPONIZING THE OFFICE AS TRUMP RUMORS SWIRL

Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hand with Tanzania's Vice President, Dr. Philip Mpango, upon her arrival at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam to depart to Lusaka, Zambia, at the end of her visit to Tanzania on Friday.

Trump was indicted as part of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office's years-long investigation, possibly for hush money payments.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Fox News Digital has learned.

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff disembark from Air Force Two at Kenneth Kuanda International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia, on Friday.

Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019, even as former Trump attorney Michael Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal to federal charges, including tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations. The FEC also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
A stretch of the Catawba River in Great Falls, S.C., which had not had water flowing through it in more than a century, now has rapids with turbulence intense enough to challenge top kayaking and canoeing experts.

And that could pose a threat for novices.

The whitewater facility opened on March 19.

One could hear the currents loud roar that day as water slapped against kayaks. Hundreds of paddlers gathered to traverse a channel of the river called the long bypass. Water had not been there since 1906.

After 117 years, Great Falls gets its water back. New whitewater rapids to boost SC town

Kayakers enter the long bypass of the Catawba River in Great Falls, S.C. on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

For people coming to this small South Carolina town to enjoy their sport, swift-moving water with forceful currents are to be expected. Some who have experienced the long bypass say its safe -- if you have the right gear, an appropriate whitewater craft, and people with you who have experience.

Expert paddler Dennis Huntley, who has been kayaking for more than 50 years, said he believes the river is safe and easy to paddle: (but) if you want a good experience down there and to have fun, without any danger at all, you need a little bit of experience.

Another experienced kayaker had a different perspective.

For your novice people, or beginner-type people, or recreational people, your mainly flat-water type paddling, theyve got no business being out there, said Chris Brewer, a certified kayak instructor.

The Catawba River long bypass channel in Great Falls has hazards such as rocks and trees.

Duke Energy, which owns the site and commonly refers to it as the Great Falls-Dearborn Project, has described the channels as leisurely kayaking and canoeing that is appropriate for families and individuals.

When asked earlier this week about safety concerns that have recently been voiced, Duke sent the following statement:

The intent of this project was to return water to the original (bypassed) river channel and to provide access to this channel on scheduled recreation flow release days/times. As public safety is always a priority for Duke Energy, it was taken into account throughout the planning, design and implementation process. Through intentional signage and educational resources at the Nitrolee Access Area, and signage and markers at the diversion dams, users are empowered to make their own decisions based on their comfort and experience level. The long bypassed (natural) river section, that now has flow returned to it, contain rapids that have been classified by the paddling community as Class II and III. Like any other natural, free-flowing body of water, the long bypassed river section is variable as water flow and other natural causes may impact the experience. This project does not have on-site staff or lifeguards and is use-at-your-own-risk.

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A kayaker takes on a rapid on March 19 in the paperclip in Great Falls, S.C.

Duke Energy started construction on the Great Falls-Dearborn project in 2020.

As part of a new license for the Catawba-Wateree Project in 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requires Duke to provide recreation, enhancement to water quality and quantity, wildlife and land conservation along the river.

What to know about the rapids

There are two channels -- the long bypass and the short bypass.

The long bypass is a 2.25-mile stretch and has Class II and III rapids. The short bypass, which is not yet open, will have faster water -- Class III and IV rapids -- flowing over three-quarters of a mile.

The higher the class number assigned to the rapids, the more intense the water speed will be. Experts say Class II rapids are considered easy to maneuver while Class IV rapids are for advanced paddlers.

Duke Energy controls how much water is released in the channels.

Water enters the long bypass through two man-made flows. The main flow, which has more turbulence, provides water for paddlers downstream and for aquatic habitat enhancement. Duke Energy representatives said paddlers should stay out of the main flow. There are warning signs and red posts discouraging people from entering.

Kayakers paddle on the paperclip bypass on the Catawba River in Great Falls on March 19.

The other flow is the boater bypass, or what Duke has labeled the paperclip. It is designed so paddlers can enter the long bypass channel. The paperclip also has a ramp that paddlers can use to re-enter the water, if they want to repeat their experience there. Precise movement is needed to navigate this area.

The main entrance is the Nitrolee Access Area off I-77 exit 55 if youre traveling south from Charlotte, or exit 48 if youre traveling north from Columbia.

Signs at the access area direct paddlers to the long bypass, show paddlers how to access the channel, and give details about appropriate watercraft and equipment, said Ben Williamson, a Duke Energy spokesman.

Kayakers paddle on the paperclip bypass on the Catawba River in Great Falls on March 19.

What kayakers are saying

Professional and expert kayakers and canoers who went down the river on March 19, agree that you need experience to navigate the long bypass and the paperclip.

And Brewer said paddlers should not use inner tubes.

You shouldnt go out there with tubes or youre going to have a bad day, he said.

One aspect of the long bypass that makes it more dangerous than a typical Class III river is the hazards in the water, Brewer said.

Videos shot by professional paddlers in the long bypass show the boaters navigating around boulders, trees and branches that have grown up in the river bed.

In at least one area, the water flows into a forest, Brewer said. He described 6-to-8-foot waves ripping through the trees.

My question to (Duke) would be, how do you envision families doing that? Brewer asked.

I feel like the dangers represented are more like a Class IV river and thats where theres some discrepancy, Brewer said. Like how difficult is the river versus how much danger is out there.

Alton Chewning, an expert canoer, and member of the Carolina Canoe Club, said an experienced paddler with the right equipment can avoid the hazards.

But its not a leisurely, take your family out in any kind of vessel and go down the river, he said.

Chewning said people have to respect the river because something can happen in just a few seconds, something can change.

Unless youre with a team of very experienced people and have the proper gear, he said its not for everyone.

Brewer said experienced kayakers are used to traversing dangerous rapids.

Were always in danger, we choose to put ourselves in danger, he said. And we continually train ourselves to deal with it.

Another expert, Kevin Colburn is the the National Steward Director of American Whitewater, which is a non-profit river conservation organization that represents whitewater enthusiasts.

The organization is the primary advocate for the preservation and protection of whitewater rivers throughout the United States and connects the interests of human-powered recreational river users with ecological and science-based data to achieve the goals within its mission, according to its website americanwhitewater.org.

Colburn said experience on the long and short bypasses will be necessary when Duke Energy releases water on recreation release days. Those days are typically on the weekends, he said. The flow releases are 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

If youre a beginner, I think the recreation releases are too challenging, he said.

Duke Energy has a website and an app that gives release flow information. Visit lakes.duke-energy.com.

All of the experts, including Colburn, said having the right equipment is crucial.

Brewer said paddlers should be with several people to make up a safety crew, all with experience in swift water. He said going solo is not a good idea.

I wouldnt get out there alone, myself, even at my confidence level and professional level, Brewer said. Theres enough hazards out there to where a little bit of trouble with a team of three might be a lot of trouble for just me, myself.

Colburn suggests people with no experience should stay in the flat water areas, including the Great Falls reservoir and Stumpy Pond, and just observe the whitewater rafters in the paperclip channel.

Learn the place by looking at it before you think about paddling it, Colburn said. Its a nice way to experience the place and see whats going on but not actually get in the water.

More than a dozen kayakers paddle the paperclip at the long bypass on the Catawba River in Great Falls, S.C.

Precautions are in place

Williamson said Duke Energy coordinated with local emergency management organizations and neighboring land management agencies while planning the bypass channels.

The company placed signs at the access points that have maps of the area, warns the public of water conditions, and identifies the portage route.

Tips for navigating the long bypass whitewater rapids in Great Falls, SC

The Chester County swift water team has trained for months on how to rescue paddlers if theres an emergency or if people get stranded in the river, said Chester County Emergency Management Director Ed Darby.

The team includes the Great Falls Fire Department, two rescue squads from Chester and Great Falls and the fire service. Other nearby rescue squads in Fort Lawn and Lando will also respond if needed.

The swift water team has specialized equipment, including boats and rafts that can carry four rescuers. Training for the rescuers is ongoing.

Cell phone service can also be spotty along the river, Darby said.

Darby said there are plans to implement mile-marker signs along the river so, in cases of emergencies, paddlers can tell rescuers their location.

So we really, in the paddling community and those of us that have been actively involved, are still stuck on learning the river, Colburn said.

Well know more after a season or even a couple of months of releases and people start learning the river flow. For me, Im really curious to see how people use and enjoy those base flows. They probably will be a lot more friendly to people that are just learning how to paddle.
A potentially severe storm is expected to hit parts of western and Central Kentucky heading into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

The system will move west to east across the Ohio Valley Friday into Saturday, according to the NWS. The storm is projected to be at its strongest in the evening hours of Friday heading into Saturday.

A tornado watch was issued until 3 a.m. for the western half of the state and part of Central Kentucky.

Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon.

Beshear spoke about the storm during a Friday morning press conference, saying the conditions are very concerning.

This is not a drill, Beshear said. We will have more updates as the day comes, but if you are in Western Kentucky, I want you to make sure that you look at this slide. Starting at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, 5 p.m. Central, you need to be somewhere safe.

Meteorologists told Beshear its probable that long-track, violent tornadoes would hit the Jackson Purchase area Friday evening.

The farthest western portions of Kentucky are more likely to see severe weather from the storm. Beshear said areas up to I-65 are also in danger of being impacted by the storm.

This is an area that was hit in December of 2021 by the unimaginable, and there is far too high of a probability that we will see that again tonight, Beshear said.

A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan until 3 AM EDT pic.twitter.com/pSNZ4tWRYk  NWS Louisville (@NWSLouisville) March 31, 2023

The NWS predicts that Western Kentucky will begin experiencing severe weather between 6 and 10 p.m. Friday.

The chances for severe storms drop going east. Lexington and much of Central Kentucky has an enhanced risk for severe weather, the weather service said late Friday afternoon. If Lexington experiences any severe weather, the NWS projected it will be between midnight and 4 a.m. Saturday.

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Mayor Linda Gorton announced Friday evening that the citys Emergency Operations Center would open at 8:30 p.m. Friday with critical staff.

We are being cautious and paying attention to our weather forecasters, Gorton said. Opening the EOC puts all of our emergency preparedness people on notice, and prepares us to get ready in case there is an emergency.

The risk to much of Eastern Kentucky is marginal, according to the NWS. The strength and severity of the storm decreases the farther east it travels, the NWS said.

The potential for severe threats depends on the amount of instability, which the NWS referred to as fuel for the storm. The instability is highly uncertain, the NWS said.

The entire state was placed under a wind advisory, according to the NWS. The wind advisory in Lexington will remain in place from 8 p.m. Friday to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The NWS said wind gusts between 40 and 50 miles per hour are possible during this time frame. The strongest wind gusts will be in the Bluegrass region.

Our latest thoughts on the potential for strong to severe storms as well as gusty non-thunderstorm winds Friday night into Saturday. #kywx #inwx pic.twitter.com/UsnPdnBkyS  NWS Louisville (@NWSLouisville) March 30, 2023

WKYT Chief Meteorologist Chris Bailey has a similar forecast to the NWS. He said rain and thunderstorms will be on and off for most of Friday until the more severe weather arrives in Western Kentucky Friday evening.

Bailey added that damaging winds and isolated tornadoes are possible, and some areas could see 1 to 2 inches of rain.

After the storm, the NWS projects it will be warmer but windy on Saturday, with temperatures projected to reach the mid 50s into the low 60s. Sunday will be another sunny day followed by a warmer and sunny day on Monday, with temperatures potentially reaching the mid 70s.

Pleasant weather today, strong severe storms Friday night, and very windy on Saturday. #kywx #inwx pic.twitter.com/xrO1AwxjlE  NWS Louisville (@NWSLouisville) March 30, 2023

Herald-Leader reporter Karla Ward contributed to this report.
Kenya Moore is twirling into Season 15 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta looking more gorgeous and glamorous than ever before (watch the video above for a peek at whats to come when the season premieres). In her Season 15 cast photo, Kenya looks like a queen peach in her silky, curve-clinging gown. Lets break down this moment of utter orange-tinged glamour.

The new photo shows Kenya wearing a dress by Miss Circle New York. In a fiery golden-peach hue, the dress has details that command attention. From the plunging sweetheart neckline to the corset-style top and the thigh-high leg slit, the dress was made to take center stage.

Kenya didnt shy away from elaborate accessories either. She wore dazzling sandals by Tom Ford. After zooming in on the shoes, were pretty convinced that they are the $1,350 Lock Metallic Stiletto Sandals. The metallic leather sandals have a pointed open toe, a halter ankle wrap, and a padlock-and-key charm. And thats not where the accessorizing ended.

Kenya Moore Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 15 image

Kenya wore show-stopping earrings decked with glittering red jewels from Rich DNA Brand. A thin gold bracelet was wrapped around one wrist, while her other wrist flaunted a silver cuff covered in crystals. The Atlanta mama worked with stylist Shenell Welch to put together her head-turning look.

Hairstylist Alisha Lee tended to Kenyas tresses, giving her full, sideswept curls. Kenyas beauty look, which featured fluttering lashes, glowing skin, and a pale pink lip, came from makeup artist Kiara Harris. The overall result, needless to say, was Gone With the Wind Fabulous.

Rhoa Season 15 Supertease 1

So, where does a woman as stylish as Kenya keep her clothes? In the clip below, the RHOA cast member leads a guided tour of her closet. With a dazzling chandelier and row upon row of impeccably organized shelves, the closet is, as Kenya says, Where a girl falls in love for the first time.

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The Moore Manor closet was designed to feel like a boutique. It has shoes organized like liquor, Kenya says, explaining that some shoes fall into the top-shelf category. Kenyas in-house boutique also features more than a few Birkin and Chanel bags, as well as a few trophies, sashes, and tiaras from her pageant days.

Kenyas closet also has a bench for her to sit on. Sometimes I just come in here, and I sit down, and I just really like to relax. I like to have a drink; I look out my really big, beautiful window, she says. And in a sea of Chanel and beauty-queen crowns. shes in pretty glam company.

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Influencer Kenzie Brenna sparked debate online by sharing her thought about Toronto. Images via TikTok/@kenziebrenna.

Love it or hate it, Toronto just can't seem to stay out of the spotlight.

Influencer Kenzie Brenna recently sparked debate online about Toronto this week after posting a minute-long video on TikTok, where she shared her disdain for Canada's largest city.

The video was posted in response to a comment on one of Brenna's previous videos, in which she shared that her current city of Vancouver was "not [her] forever hunni."

Despite feeling like "something is off" about Vancouver, Brenna revealed that she never felt at home in Toronto either.

"I hate Toronto," the 33-year-old admitted. "I left because I hated Toronto."

"Toronto pretends like it's the Canadian version of New York  it's not. New York is superior in so many ways," she added.

The Vancouver-based influencer went on to share her opinions on Toronto's "laughingstock" of a transit system, its crumbling condos and the city's residents.

"Toronto is extremely expensive, has an awful transit system, and there are also people with attitude there," she concluded.

Brenna's video sparked discussion in the comments on both the drawbacks and benefits of Toronto as a whole, with many TikTok users coming to its defence.

"You realize how great Toronto really is when you move to the U.S.," penned one TikTok user. "The TTC is great compared to other cities, and the diversity."

"I was born and raised here, so maybe that's why I love it so much. It's just home to me," shared another.

"Toronto is an amazing city! Not perfect, but the diversity, food and people cannot be beat," added a third.

Others agreed with Brenna, who thought that she was "spitting facts" when sharing her critiques.

"Only people in Toronto are impressed by Toronto," shared one person.

"Idolized Toronto growing up, moved right back home," added another.

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"As a Toronto born native I agree with your critiques. The pandemic killed Toronto's vibe post 2019," penned a third.

When a TikTok user asked her desired city in Canada to live, Brenna admitted that she is "still not sure."

"[I'm] still young and figuring out my life," she replied.

Yahoo Canada has reached out to Brenna.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
Song Tao, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, on Thursday met with Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province.

Song conveyed the greetings from Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, to Ma, and gave full recognition to the significant contribution made by Ma to the development of cross-Strait relations.

Song said the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are of one family. He stressed adhering to the 1992 Consensus, boosting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, and resolutely opposing "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and foreign interference.

Song also called for joint efforts to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and to realize national rejuvenation.

Noting that he appreciated Xi's greetings, Ma said compatriots on both sides belong to the same Chinese nation, and should work together to promote everlasting peace and prosperity across the Strait, improve the well-being of Chinese people on both sides and revitalize China based on the political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus.
Kevin Bacon and Jimmy Fallon performed a "First Drafts of Rock" take on the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." (Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press)

Kevin Bacon's take on Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger could have been perfect  if it weren't for the actor's facial hair.

The "Footloose" star joined host Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday's episode of "The Tonight Show" to perform a parody "first draft" of the Rolling Stones' iconic "Paint It Black." In a near replica of one of the ' band's live performances in the 1960s, Bacon and Fallon swapped out the original moody lyrics for lyrics with lines about painting.

"I see a red door and I wanted it painted black/ I see a green apple I want it painted red," Bacon sang, taking over Mick's mic. "I see your black Corvette I want to paint it blue/ I see your purple sock I want it painted tan."

He continued: "I go to Michaels and I ask where is the paint / They tell me aisle six that's where they keep the paint."

In the clip, Bacon mimicked Jagger's gestures and his look  wearing a military-style jacket, a bright tie and a bowl-cut wig meant to resemble the rocker's early-career locks. The actor was clearly channeling big Jagger energy but said in an interview after the segment that he knew his performance wasn't exactly accurate.

"I feel bad about the Mick Jagger thing only because as far as I know Mick's  I've had this mustache which I have to have for a part  but I don't think Mick's ever had a mustache, so apologies," he told Fallon. "If you're not already upset about everything else I did, apologies for the mustache."

The "Paint It Black" parody wasn't the first time Bacon has remixed rock classics for "The Tonight Show."

He and Fallon previously teamed up for new takes on the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun," Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" and Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind." Wife Kyra Sedgwick joined him for that last parody in 2017.

Earlier in the conversation, Bacon told Fallon why he's always up for the "First Drafts of Rock" parodies.

"It's so fun for me because I grew up with these iconic performers and just to be able to get out and make an idiot out of myself trying to do that ... [it's] so great," he said.

Bacon also mused on doing a TikTok dance to Meghan Trainor's "Made You Look" with his daughter and working with Sedgwick on their upcoming film, "Space Oddity," which she directed.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The King and Queen Consort worked side by side with binders and beverages in the quick clip shared to social media

Georg Wendt/picture alliance via Getty

King Charles and Queen Camilla gave a peek into what it's like to ride in royal style during their three-day state visit to Germany.

On Friday morning, the Royal Family posted an Instagram video of the King, 74, and Queen Consort, 75, riding the train from Berlin to their next destination.

"Heading to Hamburg for our final day of #RoyalVisitGermany! ," courtiers captioned the clip, also sharing the message in German.

In the quick snippet, Charles and Camilla sat side by side with binders and beverages before them. The King took tea, while the Queen Consort had water. The royal couple appeared to take advantage of the two-hour trip to review notes, likely preparing for the full day of engagements that awaited them in Hamburg.

Related:Queen Camilla Wears Queen Victoria's Sapphire Brooch in Germany  Inside the Significance

Back in Britain, the royal family is known to rely on the Royal Train for transport to engagements outside of London, and view it as a home away from home  complete with an office, sleeping quarters and dining areas.

"The train seems to be the one place where, when away from home, the Queen and her family can truly relax out of the public gaze," author Brian Hoey wrote in At Home With the Queen of Queen Elizabeth.

"When jet travel has in most cases reduced the longest journeys to a single day, Prince Charles says he gains a lot of pleasure just looking out of the window at the countryside of Britain passing by," he added.

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

Related:Queen Camilla Sparkles in Greville Tiara and Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Necklace at State Banquet

King Charles and Queen Camilla had a busy day in Hamburg, their third and final day in Germany. On their last day of their first overseas visit, the royal couple paid their respects at two World War II-era memorials and were welcomed at Hamburg City Hall, parting ways for Charles to take a green energy boat tour and Camilla to visit a local elementary school.

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The royals reunited for a celebratory reception at the Schuppen 52 warehouse venue with over a thousand guests from youth groups, local organizations and more. King Charles raised a pint at the rollicking reception, before he and his wife bid farewell for Hamburg Airport to fly home.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

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The trip to Germany is currently the couple's only scheduled trip abroad ahead of their May 6 coronation in London. The tour was planned to "celebrate the U.K.'s relationship with France and Germany, marking our shared histories, culture and values," a palace spokesperson previously said.

The trip was supposed to start last Sunday in France, but was postponed at the last minute amid national protests over President Emmanuel Macron's plans to raise the retirement age.

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A man charged with injuring a 3-month-old infant after he allegedly shot into his neighbors apartment at least 22 times on Friday had received a housing voucher to live at Lakewoods only homeless service nonprofit.

The shooting took place at a mixed-use housing development at 8956 Gravelly Lake Drive, a permanent supportive housing community operated by Living Access Support Alliance (LASA).





The center serves families who are chronically homeless and have disabilities and operates 15 individual apartments that have one to three bedrooms, said Betty Beer, a lead case manager for LASA. Chronically homeless is defined as being without permanent housing for 12 consecutive months or without permanent housing four times in three years to total at least 12 months.

Charging documents indicate 40-year-old Earnest Hamilton had been a resident at the apartment complex for at least a year and qualified for Section 8 housing vouchers. According to court records, Hamilton had prior felony convictions dating from 2000 to 2016 in California for offenses including robbery and possession. In 2021 he was arrested in Texas for allegedly possessing a firearm.

Background checks

The Pierce County Housing Authority receives federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue vouchers to help low-income people afford housing in the private market. To qualify for a housing voucher, HUD requires someone to pass a one-year felony criminal background check and receive an income screening based on total annual gross income and family size, said Pierce County Housing Authority executive director Jim Stretz.

The Pierce County Housing Authority conducts the criminal background check by referencing the Pierce County Legal Information Network Exchange and records kept by the Washington State Patrol, Stretz said. A conviction of any felony in the last year would result in denial of the voucher, he said.

Under federal law, the Pierce County Housing Authority must provide 75% of its vouchers to applicants whose incomes dont exceed 30% of the area median income, which is $101,800 in the Tacoma metro area. As of 2022, to qualify for a housing voucher in Tacoma, one person would have to make between $21,350 and $56,850 a year.

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After the Pierce County Housing Authority confirms eligibility, a potential renters name is put on a wait list for a housing voucher, Stretz said. Once issued a voucher, renters must re-certify their income annually and the Pierce County Housing Authoritys support goes up or down based on that, he said.

The intent of the program is to help people with all kinds of backgrounds, all kinds of troubles, he said. Eventually, a lot of them graduate out of using [the voucher program] as their income goes up.

In Pierce County there is currently a wait list of about 10,000 people for 3,000 housing vouchers, Stretz said. The average tenant is in their 50s. About half of households have children and 77% of tenants are female, according to demographic data collected by the Pierce County Housing Authority.

Although Stretz said he could not discuss specific circumstances like Hamiltons due to privacy reasons, he said it is ultimately up to the landlord to choose whether to accept a tenant. Landlords can conduct additional background checks on tenants as well, Stretz said.

Beer said she could not provide specifics about Hamiltons case but said he was screened by an outside housing agency for Section 8 housing and referred to LASA.

He was screened, I believe quite extensively screened, and I dont know how he passed the screening, Beer said. It wasnt LASA who did the screening, it was the housing authority.

Additional questions from The News Tribune about LASAs screening process were not immediately answered Thursday.

How many homeless shelters are available in Lakewood?

Last week the Lakewood City Council approved an ordinance that would ban overnight camping on public land starting April 19. Enforcement of the ban requires that there be open shelter beds available within 15 miles of Lakewood City Hall. Refusal of shelter would result in a misdemeanor for the first offense.

In 2021 Pierce County estimated that about 3,300 residents are experiencing homelessness. According to March 2022 data, 191 people indicated they were sleeping in Lakewood and 67% of that group last lived permanently in Lakewood prior to becoming homeless.

Theres not many places for people experiencing homelessness to go in Lakewood.

The City of Lakewood pays for an allocation of bed nights at three shelters in the area: Catholic Community Services, Tacoma Rescue Mission and Aspen Court, according to the citys website.

Ex-workers at Aspen Court recently described unsafe conditions and mismanagement at the transitional shelter, according to an investigation from The News Tribune published Friday.

Beer said LASAs permanent supportive housing building on Gravelly Lake Drive is not a shelter but is one of very few [places] for families in Pierce County.

Most agencies that do the permanent supportive housing model [focus on] individuals. Its not families. Families who are in those circumstances have to wait a long time, she said. I think theres a need for more affordable housing.

On March 10, the Lakewood City Council allocated $1 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds to support additional development of the LASA housing project. The development is targeted at residents within the 30-60% area median income bracket and the anticipated groundbreaking is in 2024. Pierce County has committed $3.5 million in ARPA funds for the project and the city of Lakewood is seeking $2.5 million in additional federal funding, according to LASAs website.

The first phase of building 25 permanent low-income housing units and LASA offices is already finished. A second phase will add a hygiene center with two showers, laundry and space that will double as a warming and cooling center during extreme weather. A third phase is planned to build 25 additional units and a fourth phase will include another 30 units and an affordable daycare center.
Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old mother of three from Massachusetts, has been missing since sometime after having dinner with her husband and a friend on New Year's Eve. Searches for Walshe have been unsuccessful, even as the investigation fanned out from the area of her home in Cohasset to other towns in the state.

On Tuesday, Jan. 17, authorities announced that they were charging Ana Walshe's husband, Brian Walshe, with her murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

Walshe was also indicted by a Norfolk County grand jury March 30 for misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice, and improper conveyance of a human body.

While police have discovered some physical evidence they're investigating, Ana Walshe herself has not been found. Here's what we know so far.

Who is Ana Walshe?

A friend of Ana Walshe, Alissa Kirby, described her as "a loving wife and mother to, she always says, 'three beautiful boys.'"

The Walshe family lives in Cohasset, about 45 minutes down the coast from Boston, but Ana Walshe spent workweeks in Washington, D.C. for her job as a real estate investment manager, CBS Boston reported. The family had a vehicle and townhouse in Washington, police have said.

In addition to keeping busy with work, friends say Ana Walshe was an active member of a Newton-based organization for immigrants in America called the Sky International Center.

The Walshes' three young sons, ages 2, 4 and 6, are now in the custody of the state's Department of Children and Families.

When was Ana Walshe reported missing?

Ana Walshe was reported missing on Jan. 4. Police Chief William Quigley said in a press conference said it was "simultaneously reported" by her husband Brian and by employees at her Washington, D.C. workplace.

"Officially we realized (Wednesday) that she was missing. We suspected maybe something Tuesday," her friend Alissa Kirby, who lives in Washington, told CBS Boston.

Ana Walshe was last seen at her home on Jan. 1, according to police. Her husband said she took a rideshare to Boston's Logan International Airport to fly to Washington, D.C., but there is no evidence that she got on the plane. Quigley said they also could not confirm that she was ever picked up by the vehicle.

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Quigley said Brian Walshe said he did not see his wife leave the house because he was asleep at the time. Another family member saw her at the house at 4 or 5 in the morning, Quigley said, though he did not explain which family member that was.

"We're not exactly sure" why there was a gap between when Ana Walshe was last seen and when she was reported missing, Quigley said. "It seems like it was a situation where ... she does work in D.C. and it's not abnormal for her to work long hours and not contact the home right away. That seems to be the case."

Who is Ana Walshe's husband and why was Brian Walshe arrested?

Ana Walshe's husband, Brian Walshe, was on home confinement at the time of her disappearance, because of a federal conviction involving a scheme to sell fake Andy Warhol paintings. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, and possession of converted goods and unlawful monetary transaction, CBS Boston reported.

Ana and Brian Walshe. / Credit: Photos from Cohasset Police and Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool

The station reports his house arrest bracelet was not equipped with GPS tracking and that he had an exemption that allowed him to take the couple's three sons to school. Quigley said in his press conference that those charges were not related to Ana Walshe's disappearance.

Police initially said that Brian Walshe was cooperating with their investigation into his wife's disappearance, but on Jan. 8, he was charged with misleading investigators.

The Norfolk District Attorney's office announced the January arrest, saying that in the course of the investigation, police "developed probable cause to believe that  Brian Walshe had committed the crime of misleading police investigators." He pleaded not guilty to those charges and was held on a $500,000 bond, according to CBS Boston.

On Jan. 17, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey announced that authorities intended to charge Brian Walshe with his wife's murder.

Brian Walshe was arraigned the following day on murder and other charges, and entered a plea of not guilty. He was ordered held without bail.

He was arraigned on charges of misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice, and improper conveyance of a human body in March.

What has the investigation into Ana Walshe's disappearance found?

As the investigation has unfolded, information has come to light about Brian Walshe's movements after his wife was last seen.

According to court documents from his arraignment, Walshe was seen on security camera footage purchasing $450 of cleaning supplies, including tarps and buckets, at a home improvement store while wearing a disposable mask and gloves on Jan. 2  two days before Ana Walshe was reported missing but one day after she was last seen.

Brian Walshe had told police he had been to a supermarket and a pharmacy, but there is no evidence that he was at either store, Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Lynn Beland said in the hearing.

Another surveillance video showed him at a juice bar on the same day, and video footage reviewed by CBS Boston's investigative team show Brian Walshe near a liquor store dumpster in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Sources told CBS Boston that no physical evidence was found there.

Physical evidence has been found in multiple other locations, including the couple's Cohasset home and the woods behind the house. A broken knife and blood were found in the home's basement, according to CBS Boston, but it hasn't been confirmed whose blood it was.

Investigators also found trash bags with blood, a hatchet, a hacksaw, a rug and used cleaning supplies at a transfer station in Peabody, Massachusetts, sources told CBS Boston's investigative team. Peabody is about 46 miles from Cohasset.

Sources told CBS Boston's investigative team that Brian Walshe's car has been impounded and showed signs of being recently cleaned.

CBS Boston also reports that investigators are reviewing an incident from August 2014 in which Ana Walshe, who was not yet married to Brian, claimed someone threatened to kill her and her friends. In a Washington, D.C. police report viewed by the station, she claimed the threat came from Brian Walshe over the phone, but no charges were filed after she refused to cooperate with the investigation.

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China threatened to take "resolute countermeasures" if the leader of the small, democratically governed island of Taiwan meets U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy next week during her "transit visit" through the United States. It was the latest warning from Beijing amid escalating tension between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, which some analysts consider the most dangerous standoff between global superpowers, even as the war in Ukraine rages.

Here's what you need to know about where things stand, and how we got here:

Why is there tension between Taiwan and China?

Taiwan is an island about 100 miles off the east coast of mainland China. It's only a little larger than Maryland, but while that U.S. state is home to about 6 million people, Taiwan has a population of around 24 million.

Mainland China and territory controlled by the Chinese government is show in yellow, while territory claimed by, but not controlled by Beijing, including Taiwan, is depicted in brown on this map. / Credit: Getty/iStock

For decades leading up to the end of World War II, Taiwan was controlled by Japan. Then it became part of the Republic of China, a country ruled at the time by nationalists known as the Kuomintang.

In 1949, after China's civil war, Mao Zedong and his communist forces took over the Chinese mainland and the Kuomintang movement, led by commander Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan, where they set up a rival government. The U.S. maintained formal diplomatic relations with that government rather than Beijing until 1978, when it recognized the ruling Communist Party as China's leadership and cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Taiwan has continued to function since then as a multi-party democracy, however, separate from China's communist government, and its domestic economy has flourished.

Over time, people in Taiwan  especially younger generations  have increasingly come to view themselves and their island as separate from the People's Republic of China.

A graph compiled by the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University in Taiwan shows the changing mood on the island regarding residents' views on their own nationality, based on polling over 30 years. / Credit: Election Study Center, National Chengchi University

Surveys conducted by the National Chengchi University show the percentage of Taiwanese people who consider themselves Chinese, as well as those who consider themselves both Taiwanese and Chinese, has decreased since the early 1990's, while the percentage of people who consider themselves solely Taiwanese has increased.

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The 2016 election of Tsai Ing-wen, who has always referred to Taiwan as an independent entity under the long-standing arrangement that allows the island to control itself, free of meddling from Beijing, was a clear indication of the changing mood on the island.

Tsai's predecessor was an advocate for "unification" with mainland China, and he remains a leader of the pro-China political faction within Taiwanese politics, which considers unification with the mainland inevitable, and the only way of avoiding a catastrophic war.

China has always claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, considering it a breakaway province to eventually be brought under the control of Beijing under a "one country, two systems" principle, similar to how Hong Kong is administered.

Pro-Taiwan independence activists display banners during a protest before Chinese Taiwan Affairs officials arrive in Taipei, Taiwan, February 18, 2023. / Credit: SAM YEH/AFP/Getty

China exerts significant diplomatic pressure on other nations not to recognize Taiwan as an independent entity, and currently only 13 countries and the Vatican recognize it as a state.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said "reunification" with Taiwan "must be fulfilled"  by force if necessary  and should not be passed down to future generations.

The Taiwan Relations Act and the U.S. stake

Tension between Taiwan and Beijing has always been high, but Xi's vocal commitment to bringing the island under Chinese control has led many to believe the possibility of a military conflict is greater now than ever before.

As the cross-strait tension has increased, Taiwan has cultivated closer ties with the United States.

Taiwan produces the majority of the world's most advanced computer chips, and it also sits along a chain of islands that include a number of U.S.-friendly territories of crucial importance to U.S. foreign policy, often referred to as the "first island chain."

Under the Taiwan Relations Act, passed into law by the U.S. Congress in 1979, the United States is committed to supplying weapons to Taiwan "as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense," but the act says nothing about whether the U.S. would be obligated to defend the island militarily if it were to come under attack.

Last year, President Biden raised eyebrows by saying the U.S. would send troops to help defend Taiwan "if in fact there was an unprecedented attack" by China. The island "makes their own judgments about their independence," Mr. Biden told CBS News' "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley, stressing that the U.S. was "not encouraging their being independent that's their decision."

The United States has long employed a policy of "strategic ambiguity" over Taiwan, declining to explicitly state how Washington would respond to a Chinese invasion of the island. That appeared to have shifted under Mr. Biden, but the White House quickly denied any change in U.S. policy.

What's happening now, and what comes next?

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and China's perceived backing of Moscow in the conflict, has heightened concern that Beijing could make a similar play to seize control of Taiwan.

Tsai is stopping in New York and Los Angeles this week and next on "transit visits" before and after formal visits Central America. It will be Tsai's first time in the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic, but her seventh as Taiwan's leader.

These "traveling visits" are generally managed carefully to avoid further inflaming tension between the U.S. and China.

Tsai may meet with McCarthy, a Republican lawmaker, in his home state of California. The congressional leader had expressed a desire to visit Taiwan, but the two reportedly agreed to hold a meeting in the U.S. because of Taiwanese security concerns.

McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan last year. Hers was the first visit to Taiwan by a house speaker in a quarter of a century, and it infuriated China. In response, the People's Liberation Army staged huge military exercises in the area within days and, for the first time, fired ballistic missiles over Taiwan.

Beijing has warned that a meeting between Tsai and McCarthy, if it goes ahead, would be a move that "destroys peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" and could cause a "serious confrontation."

CBS News contributor General H.R. McMaster (Retired), who served as national security adviser to former President Donald Trump after a long career as an American battlefield commander, said recently that the U.S. military must "be ready" for a possible war with China.

Is the U.S. in a "new type of Cold War" with China?

McMaster backed a memo that came from Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan, head of the U.S. Air Mobility Command, who warned that the U.S. and China could be at war within the next two years.

McMaster pointed specifically to Taiwanese elections scheduled for 2024, saying if China's leadership "doesn't see the outcome they want in Taiwan then, I think the chances go up."

Most importantly, McMaster said, China's leader Xi Jinping "has said he's going to do it. You know, many of his speeches, he seems to be preparing the Chinese people for war, and of course, it's our military's job to be ready."

The United States has said it hopes to see Tsai make a "normal, uneventful transit" through the country, and has urged Beijing not to overreact.

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Community health workers distribute COVID-19 related resources at a supermarket in Los Angeles. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles County is officially ending its COVID-19 emergency declaration Friday, a milestone that comes as the region's coronavirus case rate has fallen to its lowest level since summer 2021.

It's perhaps fitting that the nation's most populous county delayed lifting its local declaration, doing so a month after the state. L.A. County has been one of the hardest-hit parts of California  so much so that the National Guard had to transport corpses from overwhelmed hospital morgues during the pandemic's first winter. Officials also led the nation in sounding the alarm about the danger posed by the Delta variant, which fueled a significant surge the following summer.

But L.A. County health officials, like their counterparts across the state, say the local declaration has served its purpose and the region is now ready to enter a promising new phase.

"While it remains critical to continue to control the spread of COVID-19 in our homes, workplaces and communities, we no longer need to rely on emergency orders to ensure we have and can use life-saving tools and mitigation strategies," Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said this month. "Investments made to date have resulted in robust tracking methods, ample testing capacity and effective vaccines and therapeutics."

For much of the public, there will be few immediate changes. The county Department of Public Health will continue to provide free COVID-19 vaccines, tests and therapeutics.

The county's most visible health mandate  a universal mask order in indoor public settings  was lifted 13 months ago. And a recommendation for face coverings for the general public ended two months ago.

The pandemic saga is still being written, however. And its potency, though dulled, has not been dispelled.

"We have to remain vigilant," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organizations technical lead on COVID-19. "On the one hand, were in a much better situation. On the other, we cant predict with absolute certainty how this pandemic will unfold, with the exception that this virus is here to stay."

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But just as March 2020 is now indelibly etched in our collective consciousness  a watershed moment when daily life screeched to a halt  March 2023 may be remembered as when COVID-19 officially went from top of mind to back of mind.

One change that goes into effect Monday is the end  both in L.A. County and across California  of the government-ordered COVID-19 vaccination requirement for workers at adult-care facilities, jails and prisons. Individual businesses or other institutions can still continue vaccination requirements.

Most healthcare workers are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The federal rules apply to healthcare facilities that accept money from Medicare and Medicaid.

Also on Monday, California will lift its order for everyone to mask up in healthcare settings.

L.A. County isn't going that far. Officials will lift a mask order for visitors and patients at healthcare settings, but retain the requirement for healthcare workers providing patient care or working in patient areas.

"Everything we know right now says that these masks provide protection. And we really don't have lots of healthcare providers saying they don't think they need to be wearing these masks," Ferrer said. The possibility an infected doctor or nurse could transmit the coronavirus to a vulnerable patient could "result in a devastating and severe illness."

The pivot from conflict to coexistence with COVID-19 is reflected in the steady unwinding of emergency rules and declarations put in place during the pandemic's early onslaught.

Gov. Gavin Newsom formally rescinded California's three-year-old statewide emergency declaration at the end of February. President Biden previously informed Congress he would rescind the national-level emergency and public health emergency declarations May 11, though congressional Republicans are pushing to do so earlier.

Spring's arrival has ushered in rosy conditions across California  with all 58 counties recording transmission and hospitalization rates in the low community level.

That category, defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicates that the coronavirus is not spreading at a rapid pace or in a way that's exerting undue stress on the healthcare system.

L.A. County's coronavirus case count is the lowest it's been since July 2021, shortly after the first wave of widespread vaccinations but before the arrival of the Delta variant. For the seven-day period that ended Tuesday, the county reported an average of 501 cases a day, or 35 cases a week for every 100,000 residents.

COVID-19 continues to exact a deadly toll. For the seven-day period that ended Tuesday, 58 L.A. County residents with a coronavirus infection died. That's lower than the winter peak of 164 in early January, but still higher than last autumn's lull of 43, and last spring's low of 24.

Cumulatively, nearly 36,000 coronavirus-infected people have died in L.A. County. More than 101,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported across California; nationwide, the death toll is 1.1 million.

And while the toll was lower this winter, COVID-19 was still a significant cause of death. Nationally, 69,000 COVID-19 deaths were reported since October, nearly quadruple the estimated 18,000 flu deaths over the same period.

People at highest risk of dying remain the unvaccinated, including those who have been infected before. For the 30-day period ending Feb. 14, unvaccinated Angelenos were more than six times as likely to die from COVID-19 compared with those who were vaccinated and had received an updated booster shot.

And long COVID continues to be a risk. One survey suggested that about 1 in 4 adults nationwide who had COVID-19 contend with long COVID symptoms lasting three months or longer. Most people with long COVID slowly improve, but the illness of some persists for years, resulting in disability, Ferrer said.

L.A. County has seen a steady and sustained slide in its pandemic-related hospital census in recent months. Since early December, when healthcare systems were still contending with the fallout from a fleeting autumn spike, the number of coronavirus-positive patients has tumbled from more than 1,300 to just below 400 as of Wednesday.

That count, which includes those hospitalized specifically for COVID-related illness and those who incidentally test positive after seeking care for another reason, is the most meager single-day tally since October. But it remains above the previous lows in the spring of 2021 and 2022, when hospitalizations fell to 212 and 209, respectively.

Though the emergency phase of the pandemic is swiftly coming to an end, officials warn the danger is not yet over. One particular concern, Van Kerkhove said during a briefing Wednesday, "is the potential for the virus to change, to become not only more transmissible but more severe."

"We will continue to see waves of infection," she said. "The peaks of those infections may not be as large as we saw before, and likely will not be because we have population-level immunity that has increased around the world from vaccination and also from past infection."





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami, standing next to his children Jon Jr. and Lindsey Beth and his wife, Roxanne Hatami, right, announces his bid to challenge George Gascon in 2024. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Standing in front of a packed room in Whittier, longtime line prosecutor Jonathan Hatami promised to "restore civility" to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and stand up for the crime victims he insists George Gascon has forgotten.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Maria Ramirez  who along with Hatami is one of at least 16 L.A. County prosecutors suing Gascon for retaliation or defamation  says she'll bring her 30 years of experience to the helm of the nation's largest prosecutor's office, hoping to provide a calming presence after what she calls the "chaotic" nature of Gascon's tenure.

And prosecutor John McKinney  fresh off winning a high-profile conviction in the murder of beloved rapper Nipsey Hussle  promised to work to undo what he sees as the chronic dysfunction in the office, caused by the divide between Gascon and his own staff.

After two years spent trashing Gascon in media appearances, courtroom hallways and lawsuits, many of the progressive prosecutor's in-house opponents are now taking their complaints to the campaign trail. These three deputy district attorneys have already announced their intentions to deny Gascon a second term in office. Eric Siddall, vice president of the union representing rank-and-file prosecutors, has also said he is "considering" entering the fray.

Several sources have indicated that Nathan Hochman, the Republican nominee for California attorney general who was trounced by Rob Bonta last year, is also seriously mulling a run. One source said Hochman is expected to run as an independent and may announce soon.

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter candidly. Hochman did not respond to a call seeking comment.

The primary election won't take place for another 11 months, but political observers say anyone hoping to oust the district attorney will need an early start. Gascon is likely to be extremely well-financed again. He raised $5.5 million more than opponent Jackie Lacey in the 2020 cycle, including hefty donations from liberal mega-donors George Soros, Patty Quilin and her husband, Reed Hastings, the chief executive of Netflix.

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With a field of challengers likely to be dominated by current and former prosecutors, early entrants might also have a better chance of standing out, said Roy Behr, a Democratic political consultant.

"For the people within the office, they know that it's better to be one of the first people in than to be the fourth or fifth or sixth prosecutor," he said. "If youre not in right now, and youre in the D.A.s office, it's quite a barrier here to try to hurdle: 'How am I going to distinguish myself from the three other prosecutors that are already in the race?' Youd have to have a pretty strong story and a pretty strong ego.

Gascon has been the subject of controversy since the day he took office, earning the scorn of his own prosecutors and law enforcement leaders for ending the use of the death penalty, severely restricting the filing of sentencing enhancements, effectively ending the prosecution of certain misdemeanors and barring prosecutors from trying juveniles as adults. Although he has backtracked on some of those policies, the ire has not receded.

Two attempts to recall Gascon have failed. And he's largely retained the support of the progressive bloc that vaulted him into office in 2020, especially as he continues to pursue prosecutions of police officers for excessive force and on-duty misconduct.

He also enjoyed the endorsement of a wide array of local, state and national Democratic leaders in 2020, and none have shown signs of turning on him as he seeks reelection.

In a fundraising e-mail Wednesday announcing his reelection bid, Gascon complained about national Republicans using him and other progressive prosecutors as "political punching bags."

The recall efforts were funded by Republicans, and the phrase "Soros-backed district attorney" is a common insult hurled at progressive prosecutors. Especially as the nation waited for Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg to secure an indictment against former President Trump. That news came late Thursday.

But the majority of Gascon's potential challengers are registered Democrats.

"I see so many individuals trying to separate us based on politics. Public safety has nothing to do with politics," Hatami said at his launch event, flanked by a bipartisan slate of local and state elected officials. Among them was Fresno County Dist. Atty. Lisa Smittcamp, who invoked Soros while running down Gascon's tenure as a "reign of terror."

The three challengers have said it is too early to offer detailed policy planks. But all have provided hints to how they might act if elected.

Ramirez, who was the director of specialized prosecutions when Gascon took office, said she was demoted for challenging policies she thought were illegal, unethical and overly broad. If elected, she said she'd look to modify some of Gascon's reforms to ensure they took the individual facts of a case into account.

"I would go away from that approach and go back to a thoughtful way of evaluating the cases," she said in an interview. "I dont want to go back to the way things were. I want to move forward in a way that we are honoring both the victims of the crime but were also doing the right thing for the accused.

McKinney pointed to what he sees as Gascon's failed implementation of a plan to spare people accused of low-level misdemeanors from prosecution. In his first year in office, Gascon filed misdemeanors half as often as Lacey did during her tenure, according to a Times analysis. But Gascon has been unable to provide any data or records showing what, if any, services defendants who were spared from prosecution are receiving.

Even the good ideas are executed poorly ... obviously our diversion policy, you've got to have a good healthy diversion policy if youre going to be a district attorney in L.A. County  but certain crimes are categorically left out and not prosecuted," McKinney said, arguing that defendants should be offered diversion programs as part of plea deals.

He also promised to end Gascon's practice of barring prosecutors from appearing at parole hearings. He stopped short of saying prosecutors would be allowed to argue against release at such hearings, but he said he thought Gascon's policy amounted to a dereliction of duty on behalf of crime victims.

Hatami  who has earned a reputation as a fierce advocate for child abuse victims and has been among Gascon's most vocal critics  was far more blunt. Surrounded by raucous supporters, he promised to "abolish every one of George Gascon's blanket policies" on his first day in office and had a straightforward message for the incumbent.

"Pack your bags," he said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The accused shooter in the slaying of Southwest Florida's "Batman" will spend his life behind bars.

Eliceo Hernandez, 23, of LaBelle, was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder with a firearm and attempted second-degree murder in the 2020 slaying of Julian Keen, 30.

Keen's eldest sister, Kennetha Rice, 36, of Cartersville, Georgia, was driving back to Georgia on Friday morning. She said the family took up three rows in the courtroom as other relatives waited outside during the sentencing.

His sister reacts: Sister of slain FWC officer with ties to Immokalee speaks after shooter found guilty

Set for trial: Wisner Desmaret challenges court as trial looms in fatal Fort Myers police officer's shooting

She read a statement on behalf of the family, she said.

Following the guilty verdict, Rice said Keen, an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was a loving, helpful person who always made sure those around him were OK, and a foundation in his honor continues that work.

Keen, who'd served for six years with FWC, was killed on June 14, 2020. A jury convicted Hernandez March 9 after a three-day trial in Hendry County.

Keen slain as he attempted to stop a reckless driver

Investigators determined through interviews that Keen and a friend had witnessed a reckless driver, Hernandez. Keen chased Hernandez to a convenience store where the two came face to face. Hernandez grabbed his gun and shot. One bullet struck and killed Keen.

Rice said at the time of Keen's murder, she lived in Zephyrhills, Florida.

They grew up together in LaBelle and Immokalee; Keen was dedicated to bettering his community by mentoring the youth.

Rice launched youth mentorship program through a nonprofit, Julian Lee Keen Foundation, partnering with the Collier County Sheriffs Office and Collier County Public Schools. The program launched in August 2021 with students at Immokalee Middle School.

"This case involved off-duty FWC Officer Julian Keen Jr. doing what he did best, working to keep our community safe and uphold the law. Even while at home, he could not turn away when he saw a crime happen," State Attorney Amira Fox wrote in a statement. "This murder was a heinous and cowardly act by the defendant. I hope the sentence of life in prison brings some sense of closure to the family, friends, and fellow law enforcement family of Officer Keen."

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: LaBelle man to serve life in prison for killing FWC officer Keen
A healthcare staffing agency in Brooklyn told its workers they'd have to repay some of their wages if they quit within three years, the DOL said. Reza Estakhrian/Getty Images

A company told workers they'd have to pay high fees if they quit within three years, the Labor Department said.

In a lawsuit against the agency, the DOL said one nurse was asked to pay $24,000 in future profits.

Lawyers for the agency, ACS, said the DOL's suit is "unsupported by either the facts or the law."

The Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against a Brooklyn staffing agency over claims some workers were told they would have to repay part of their wages if they quit before hitting the three-year mark.

The DOL said that Advanced Care Staffing, which provides healthcare companies with workers, made employees sign contracts making them work for three years or repay some of their wages to cover the company's future profits, attorneys' fees, and costs associated with arbitration.

The DOL likened employees' wages to a loan that they may have to repay to the company alongside interest and fees.

"The contracts warn employees that if they leave ACS's employ before three years' time, they will face ACS and its lawyers in an arbitration behind closed doors, where ACS will demand that employees kick back much of their hard-earned wages," the DOL wrote in the lawsuit.

The clause pushed some employees' wages below the federal minimum wage, the DOL said in the lawsuit  filed earlier in March in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York  which Insider has viewed.

When one employee, Benzor Shem Vidal, resigned, the company told the nurse that it would seek more than $9,000 a year from him in future profits through March 2026  more than $24,000 in total  alongside attorneys' fees and arbitration costs, according to the DOL.

The arbitrator appointed to hear Advanced Care Staffing's demands alone charges $450 per hour, the DOL said.

The agency said in the lawsuit that during his less than four months working for the company, Vidal had earned $20,372.90 in gross wages.

Vidal, who himself had filed a lawsuit against ACS in September 2022, said that he had relocated from the Philippines for the job and had quit after highlighting concerns about patient safety as well as the impact the job had had on his own mental and physical health.

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Hugh Baran, a counsel for Vidal at Kakalec Law, told Insider that the arbitration provision "attempts to punish our client for leaving unsafe working conditions by saddling him with tens of thousands of dollars in the company's attorneys fees' and costs of arbitration." The Court had required ACS to pause the arbitration proceedings, he added. Vidal's lawsuit is ongoing.

The DOL said that other employees at the company have faced similar circumstances and accused ACS of "flagrant disregard" of federal law.

The DOL is seeking an injunction forbidding ACS and its CEO from reducing wages below federal minimums as well as back wages and liquidated damages for affected employees, including the nurse.

David N. Kelley, a partner at Dechert which is acting as attorneys for ACS, said that the company was "deeply troubled" by the DOL's allegations which it said were "unsupported by either the facts or the law."

Kelley said under agreements to sponsor foreign nurses, ACS had agreed to pay "substantial" fees and expenses, including towards immigration, transportation, and housing, "in return for their commitment to work for ACS for three years," after which they could either stay at the company or move to another employee.

"If either the nurse or ACS fails to fulfill their contractual commitments, either party may pursue a claim for damages through arbitration, and an arbitrator may award either party damages proven at an evidentiary hearing," Kelley added.

"To be clear, ACS has never demanded  and no nurse has ever repaid  their earned wages to ACS. "

Read the original article on Business Insider
We get it. You have an idea to start your own business or expand your personal brand, but how do you turn that idea into a full-fledged website? And not just any website, a website that could help you attract the clients who are eager to find your work. Weve got your guide to creating a unique, memorable brand with Identity Digital.

Set yourself apart by choosing a unique website address and elevating your brand identity with Identity Digitals extensive portfolio of creative domain names and domain extension endings. Whether you are starting a consulting business, blog, or online shop, you can choose meaningful keywords to create an unforgettable first impression.



Heres how you can get started.

Step 1: Start with a goal or business plan to help you create a vision for your website.

Step 2: Choose a website address thats authentic to your brand. Your business is unique, so why should your domain name be any different? Savvy business leaders, creatives and individuals like you are enhancing their online branding by using Identity Digitals website addresses. With the companys varied portfolio of domain extensions, you dont have to compromise when selecting your ideal, on-brand website address. Lets explore some examples.



Instead of selecting a traditional domain extension following the dot (.) in their website URL, a design agency might use .agency or .studio, a gym owner .fitness, or a consultant .consulting. Alternatively, .live would be an excellent option for brands in the podcast or livestreaming space, such as dealcasters.live, which is a highly targeted domain used by an Amazon Influencer startup, Dealcasters. On the other hand, a software company specializing in video editing

may choose .video. For example, app developer PQINA chose edit.video as a domain name.



Differentiating your business sometimes requires doing whats new or different. With a creative domain name, you create a unique customer experience before people visit your website. The journey with your brand begins in the browser search bar.



So, raise the bar of your online presence and explore Identity Digital domain extensions for your website.

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Step 3: Choose a platform to host your website.

Step 4: Pick out a trustworthy content management system (CMS).

Step 5: Customize the appearance of your website to match your brand.

Step 6: Customize the icon of your website address in the address bar.

Step 7: Elevate your website for high-resolution by adding a retina logo.

Step 8: Link your website to your social media platforms with social share images.

Step 9: Create high-quality, consistent, and goal-driven content.

Step 10: Track your growth with analytics.

Step 11: Secure your website with plugins and an SSL certificate.

Step 12: Protect your website from spam with plugins.

Step 13: Help your website get discovered with search engine optimization (SEO).

Step 14: Choose a date to launch your website to the world!

Step 15: Make all final changes and edits before going live.

Step 16: Turn on search engine indexing to help your website get discovered through search engines.

Step 17: Submit your website to Google for search indexing.

Step 18: Test your website on different devices.

Step 19: Check your website for compatibility with a variety of browsers.

Step 20: Check for broken links to your website.

Step 21: Optimize images to reduce page loading times.

Step 22: Review the website for grammar, spelling and any other copy errors.

Step 23: Create an administrative email address to manage any requests or messages.

Step 24: Create a backup version of your website.

Step 25: Check your website performance with a speed test.

Step 26: Audit your website to make sure it can perform in terms of content, SEO, functionality and design.

Step 27: Publish.

Step 28: Promote your new website through social media.

Start writing your brands story today by choosing a unique domain name. For more information on Identity Digital website addresses, visit here.

This editorial was brought to you in partnership with Identity Digital. Find out more about Identity Digital here: Identity Digital x Blavity Content Hub

The post Heres How to Launch Your Website in 30 Days appeared first on Blavity.
Snowflakes are usually hexagonal, but under certain conditions, they can look like diamonds.

In a new study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, Chinese scientists described the formation of ice crystallites in real-time at molecular resolution, solving the mystery of how water freezes into a diamond-like, face-centered cubic crystal structure.

The cubic ice is believed to be responsible for a particular type of halo around the Sun or Moon called Scheiner's halo. But whether cubic ice exists has long been controversial since detecting it in its pure phase was challenging in experiments.

The researchers, led by those from the Institute of Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, used in-situ cryogenic transmission electron microscopy imaging and water vapor deposition on graphene to follow the ice crystals' formation from vapor at minus 170 degrees Celsius.

They found that most of the resulting ice was pure-phase cubic ice, demonstrating that the nucleation of cubic ice is preferential on low-temperature substrates. The proportion of ice with a hexagonal lattice structure increases over time.

A determining factor that affects its formation is a heterogeneous interface, easily found in snowfall, during which water molecules grow on the surface of tiny dust particles, noted the study.

The direct and real-space imaging in this study resolved the controversy concerning cubic ice, and deepened our understanding of ice formation behavior under different conditions, which may have broad applications in materials science, geology, and climate science, said the researchers.
Laura Jane Grace

All through April and May, music venues across the eastern United States will be alive with the raucous music of Against Me! founder and punk icon Laura Jane Grace. Across 19 headlining shows with opener Weakened Friends, as well as another five shows with Frank Turner and The Interrupters, Grace will be performing classic Against Me! and solo songs, as well as new material.

In a chaotic world that tries to bring them down, Graces fans can be assured that they can go to one of her shows and rock out to the same anarchist and trans anthems theyve been screaming for two decades. And her rebel yell is just as loud as it was in 2012, when Against Me! were the darlings of the punk scene and Grace bravely came out as trans.

Looking beautiful with a shaved and tattooed head, and eyes that shine bright when she talks about her love for performing, Grace rejects the notion that her new music has to be Earth-shattering and groundbreaking. She just wants to make more of the music that she loves.

I feel like for the past decade straight, its always this expectation of artists releasing their most personal record yet. So personal, its like you're waking up next to them in bed. It has to be more, more, more! she says. I'm at this age now where, all right, I'm 42 fucking years old. I do not give a shit about impressing anybody. I'm doing this just because this is what I fucking love doing, and this is what I'm always going to do.

Happy Hippie Presents: Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett & Laura Jane Grace - Androgynous www.youtube.com

While Grace isnt worried about impressing anyone, she is conscious of the political message her shows send, especially when touring in states that have laws targeting trans people.

It's strange, Grace says, So many of those states that have on their dockets proposals about laws that would ban shows that are considered drag shows, I would technically fall under that. I think theres an importance then of going to those places because I think that youre demonstrating how absurd that is in a lot of ways.

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Im an avowed anarchist, and it always pisses me off when people accuse me of even being a liberal, she adds, noting that she plays her song Baby, Im an Anarchist at nearly every show. A lot of those ethics and those messages are just inherently ingrained into the songs. So those political messages are always going to be there.

Just as the punk community became a home for Grace, she makes her shows a home for queer and trans punks (and non-punks) across the country. She knows the power of gathering in a room full of other trans people and allies.

Playing songs about the trans experience, I think just the representation in general, it's really effective oftentimes to just go to these places, she says of touring in states like Florida that have anti-trans laws (coincidentally or not, Against Me! formed in the Sunshine State back in 1997). If you have a show where other trans people or gender-nonconforming people feel comfortable coming out to the environment, just even the group presence often in those places just makes a statement.

In a way, Grace has become one of punk rocks Mommies, creating a space for outcasts to gather and feel like they belong. The stage is one of Graces homes and she throws one hell of a house party, and everyone's invited.

Graces tour kicks off April 5 in Columbia, Mo., and closes on May 13 in Asbury Park, N.J. Find out more at laurajanegrace.com.




Rep. Lauren Boebert has been vocal about her religious beliefs. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Lauren Boebert's 17-year-old son got his girlfriend pregnant, and she's excited to be a grandmother.

She now says she won't "nitpick" what the Bible says is right or wrong.

Boebert previously invoked God on various occasions when commenting on politics.

Rep. Lauren Boebert says she doesn't plan to "nitpick what the Bible says" about whether it was right or wrong for her 17-year-old son, Tyler, to get his girlfriend pregnant.

In a Thursday interview on "The Rubin Report," a conservative political talk show, host Dave Rubin asked Boebert if her son getting his girlfriend pregnant "challenged" any of her beliefs.

"Obviously, I'm a Christian, and there are standards that we like to uphold, but none of us do it perfectly," she told Rubin. "We can nitpick what the Bible says is right and wrong, but I think just having that heart posture of wanting to serve God, it's so important."

Boebert added that she plans to teach her son "about redemption and how to move forward."

The Colorado Republican, 36, revealed that she will soon be a grandmother while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 4.

"I'm going to tell you all for the first time in a public setting that not only am I a mom of four boys but come April, I will be a 'gigi' to a brand new grandson," Boebert said.

She said her son was intending to attend a university in Florida, but is now planning to take petroleum engineering classes at a local community college.

Boebert was a teen mother herself. She began working at McDonald's when she was 15, and dropped out of high school in 2004 when she became pregnant with her then-boyfriend Jayson Boebert's child. She later married him, and they now have four children together.

The congresswoman has been vocal about her religious views, often invoking God when talking about politics.

In an address at a Christian center in Colorado in June, Boebert said she was "tired" of the separation of church and state, and added that the church should "direct the government."

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In February, she also suggested without evidence or substantiation that God used her to stand up to "demons" such as Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

Representatives for Boebert did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former President Donald Trump at an event in Davenport, Iowa, on March 13. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Now that a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former President Donald Trump over alleged hush money payments on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign, the unprecedented decision presents a major twist as Trump mounts his third campaign for the White House.

Trump  who denies any wrongdoing  is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. Trump is expected to be arraigned on the charges on Tuesday in New York City.

But dont expect the case to present any legal barriers to his bid. (Voters can and will make up their own minds, of course.)

Under Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution, there are only three qualifications that need to be met for the office of the presidency: The person must be at least 35 years old, must be a natural-born citizen and must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

Yahoo News spoke with Ned Foley, a law professor and director of the election law program at Ohio State University, to map out how Trumps legal troubles could influence his ability to win and hold office. (Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.)

Weve covered the qualifications for the U.S. presidency. Is there anything that could disqualify a person from seeking the Oval Office?

There is one act of Congress thats on the books [Section 3 of the 14th Amendment]. It is an insurrection statute that says if you are charged with that crime and found guilty of that crime, in addition to a maximum 20-year prison sentence, it does disqualify you from holding federal office. But thats the crime that would have to be charged for a criminal prosecution to be a disqualification. So theres really only one crime which is linked to that prohibition.

If former President Trump is eventually convicted on criminal charges, could he continue his 2024 presidential campaign?

For every single criminal law but the insurrection one I mentioned, Trump could definitely still run.

Eugene Debs, who was the candidate for president in 1920 on the Socialist Party ticket, was in jail, having been prosecuted for his antiwar activities during the First World War. So there is some historical precedent for significant presidential candidates running after having been convicted of a crime.

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Could other investigations prevent Trump from seeking office?

The Georgia case [an investigation into alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state] would not bar him from running or holding office. The Mar-a-Lago documents case [in which the Justice Department is investigating the discovery of sensitive government documents at Trumps estate after he left office] would not bar him from running or holding office. Even some of the criminal statutes that have been talked about in connection with his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, most of them that have been mentioned publicly, dont carry the specific disqualification clause that the insurrection crime does.

Hypothetically speaking, if Trump were elected in 2024 but serving jail time, could he still become president?

This would be a structural argument based on the supremacy of the Constitution. In other words, if hes been lawfully elected president, and lets say Congress on Jan. 6, 2025, says he was duly elected president. Its all hypothetical and were speculating, but if hes sitting in jail, I do think theres a difference between a New York State jail or a Georgia jail and a federal jail.

Theres basically a very clear concept that state law has to give way to the supremacy of federal law. Theres a conflict. Its pretty easy to see that if hes been elected president under federal law, its required that he sit in the White House in order to serve as the chief executive of the federal government. Then you could say that that preempts any conflicted state law, and he just has to be released from any incapacity under state law that would prevent him from doing his duties under federal law. So that preemption is pretty much easier to see.

If he has been convicted of a federal crime and is sitting in a federal prison, then the preemption analysis is between two different parts of federal law. One is the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, and the other is the federal statute.

There are Supreme Court cases having to do with presidential immunity from tort liability. Weve had the D.C. Circuit decide an application of that precedent to these tort lawsuits against Trump for his role on Jan. 6. Normally, all of us are liable in tort for the injuries we cause people by our conduct.

Some people are suing Trump for damages in connection with his alleged incitement of Jan. 6. The D.C. Circuit has now allowed that lawsuit to go forward on the theory that Trumps speech on Jan. 6 was not within even the outer perimeters of his role as president of the United States. I mention that because the immunity doctrine is a doctrine that the Supreme Court has developed as embedded within the status of being president: In order to make the presidency function properly within our system of separation of powers, you have to assume that this kind of immunity concept exists.

And that line of reasoning would apply, I think, in this context. In order to effectively serve as president, you cant be in jail. The supremacy of the Constitution, and the fact that he was elected pursuant to the Constitution, would require him to be released from jail.

A secondary issue of criminal law, which Im not an expert in, is whether or not this would kind of suspend his sentence for a period of time. And if hed have to serve the rest of the sentence after finishing his presidential term.

If Trump is elected in 2024, could he just pardon himself in any of the investigations?

Definitely not in the cases of New York and Georgia. The president only has the power to pardon federal crimes. The Mar-a-Lago case is more complicated. Theres a huge debate on that, and its not in my direct area of expertise.

The pardon power is extremely broad under the Constitution. But there is this debate about whether theres kind of an implied exception to the breadth of the pardon power for the concept of the self-pardon. The argument has been made that, notwithstanding the breadth of the pardon power, its just inconsistent with the concept of the pardon power. Ive seen that argued both ways. The counterargument is that the pardon power exists, and if a president were to attempt to self-pardon, then the issue would be whether its an abuse of power that would warrant impeachment.
It is no secret that Florida lawmakers have long tried to overhaul the way local school districts operate.

But as schools increasingly become a battleground in American politics and Gov. Ron DeSantis eyes a potential presidential bid, an emboldened Republican super majority in the Legislature is renewing efforts to make changes to the states K-12 education system and the local authorities that oversee it.

From shortening school board term limits and making school board races partisan to imposing further restrictions on teachers unions and classroom instruction, lawmakers appear poised to pass legislation that would impact thousands of people in Florida public schools.

Its a continuation of what we have been seeing, but I think it is on steroids this year, said Andrew Spar, the president of the Florida Education Association, the states largest teachers union.

Midway through the 60-day session, nearly a dozen measures  big and small  are moving in the Legislature. Taking this group of bills together, many have raised questions about whether state leaders are trying to destabilize confidence in the states public school system. Supporters, on the other hand, suggest the efforts will empower parents and improve childrens education.

Here is what is moving through the Legislature with one month left go:

School boards

 Partisan school boards: Lawmakers are fast-tracking proposals that would ask voters on the 2024 ballot whether they want to make local board races partisan. The House and Senate are poised to approve the proposal, which would allow a constitutional amendment to go on the ballot. Supporters saying the proposal is about transparency while opponents say it is an attempt to politicize school boards. If the Legislature and voters approve the measure, school board candidates could run with party affiliations in 2026.

DeSantis has indicated that he wants partisan school board elections and that he plans to have a heavy hand in those races in 2024, when he is also expected to be a candidate for the Republican nomination for president.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media during a press conference at Christopher Columbus High School on Monday, March 27, 2023, in Miami, Fla. The press conference was held to announce DeSantiss signing of a private school voucher expansion, HB1, which allows more Florida school children become eligible for taxpayer-funded school vouchers.

 Term limits: School board members could see four years shaved off their 12-year maximum terms under a proposal that has been approved by the House and that is making the rounds in the Senate. The Senate bill, however, would also impose eight-year term limits for county commissioners, a difference that remains up for negotiation in the second half of the legislative session.

Last year, the Legislature and DeSantis set 12-year-limits on the terms of school board members, even as legal experts suggested the Legislature and governor might not have the authority to restrict length of service for school board members, whose posts are established in the state Constitution.

 Residency flexibility: Candidates for school boards would no longer have to reside in the district they want to represent while running for office. Instead, they would be required to live in the district by the time they assume office. The pitch is being made in identical proposals in the House and Senate.

 Book challenges: Sweeping legislation moving in the House and Senate would make it easier for people to object to instructional materials and library books. The proposals would make objection forms more accessible to the public, and would require books and materials to be removed within five school days and remain unavailable until the objection is resolved. Any county resident, not just parents of a child in school, would be able to lodge an objection.

 Sex education books: School board members would no longer have the power to adopt instructional materials used to teach students about reproductive health or any disease, including HIV and AIDS. Instead, bills moving in the House and Senate, would give that authority solely to the Department of Education, which reports to the governor.

The Miami-Dade school board holds a meeting after swearing in the newly appointed member, Maria Bosque-Blanco, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in downtown Miami.

 More state oversight: The Department of Education would be allowed to investigate allegations or reports of suspected violations of a students, parents or teachers rights, under a proposal that is ready for the Senate floor. The House has not adopted the same language yet.

 Business dealings: School districts would be restricted from considering social, political or ideological interests when contracting and purchasing commodities or services, under a broad measure that takes aim at environmental- and social-related investing in Florida. Both the House and Senate have fast-tracked the proposal, which is backed by DeSantis.

Teachers

 Unions targeted: The Senate has passed a bill that would place new restrictions on public-employee unions  such as teachers unions. It would prevent dues from being deducted from workers paychecks and would reset the threshold for how many eligible employees need to be dues-paying union members, and if the number is less than 60%, unions would have to be re-certified as bargaining agents.

The Florida Education Association, the largest union in the state, said the bill was about revenge, as teachers unions played a key role in supporting DeSantis Democratic gubernatorial opponent, Charlie Crist, and his running mate, Karla Hernandez-Mats, who is the head of United Teachers of Dade.

 Easing up on certifications: DeSantis has signed into law a measure that will make it easier for teachers to get certifications by creating additional methods to demonstrate the expertise required to be certified. For example, the requirement of mastery of general knowledge will be waived for an individual who has been provided three years of support and instruction and who has been rated effective or highly effective for each of the previous three years.

Classroom instruction

 Social media lessons: Schools would be required to teach students in graded 6 through 12 about the social, emotional and physical effects of using social media, including the potential negative effects it might have on mental health and how it can manipulate behavior through the distribution of disinformation.

Under the proposal, which is ready for the Senate floor, districts would bar students from accessing social media when using the Internet provided by the district unless it is for educational purposes and they are directed to do so by their teacher. A similar bill is ready for a vote in the House.

 Cell phone limits: The same bill that would teach kids about social media would also crack down on cell phone use in the classroom. If approved by the Legislature, state law would allow teachers to withhold a students cell phone during instructional time and tell students to not use their cellphones during class time unless it is used solely for educational purposes and directed by his or her teacher.

 Sexual orientation, gender identity lessons: A proposal that would bar instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity from prekindergarten through eighth grade, expanding a controversial 2022 Parental Rights in Education law, that critics dubbed dont say gay. The bill would also expand grow the reach of the law, as it would apply not just to traditional public schools but charter schools, too. The proposal is being fast-tracked in the Senate and House.

 Pronouns targeted: School employees would not be allowed to call students by pronouns that differ from those given to them at birth  even in cases when a parent is OK with it. The idea is moving forward in proposed legislation in the House and Senate that would also require every public K-12 school to have a policy that says it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to their assigned sex, which under the law would be defined as an immutable, or unchanging, biological trait.

 African-American history: Florida law requires that K-12 schools teach Black history and that courses meet certain requirements. But only 11 of Floridas 67 county school districts have developed plans for providing the courses, training teachers and integrating the instruction in their required coursework.

Under a proposal advancing in the House, each school district would be required to annually certify and provide evidence to the department, in a manner prescribed by the department, that instruction requirements are being met. The bill remains on its first committee stop in the Senate.

Other issues

 School vouchers for all: School-aged children will soon be eligible for vouchers  regardless of economic background, under legislation that has been approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor.

The bill, among other things, establishes education savings accounts that allow recipients to spend about $8,000 in voucher funds beyond private-school tuition, such as for tutoring and exam fees, and expands eligibility for current scholarships to any K-12 student who is a Florida resident.

 Policing bathrooms: Republicans have introduced legislation that would make it a misdemeanor offense for someone over the age of 18 to use certain bathrooms that dont align with their sex at birth, including in schools. And local school districts would be required to craft code of conduct rules to discipline minor students who do the same.

The bills are moving through the committee process in the House and Senate.

 School start times: High school students could get more sleep under legislation that has been approved by the House and is moving in the Senate. Lawmakers are proposing middle schools begin classes no earlier than 8 a.m., and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. If approved, the change would be effective in July 2026, to give schools and families time to prepare.

In Miami-Dade and Broward counties, middle schools currently start at 9:10 a.m. and 9:15 a.m., respectively.

 Transportation changes: Lawmakers are considering giving district school boards more flexibility on figuring out students transportation to and from school. A bill moving in the House and Senate would remove the blanket requirement that all regular transportation should occur on school buses and would authorize school boards to contract with private entities to provide transportation services to students.

 Work-based opportunities: School boards would be required to ensure that each student enrolled in grades 9 through 12 has access to at least one work-based learning opportunity under legislative proposals moving in both chambers. DeSantis has made workforce education a top priority.

 Getting the GED: A bill approved by the Florida House, and moving in the Senate, would make it easier for students younger than 18 to take the General Education Development (GED) exam.

The bill would bar school districts from requiring a student who is at least 16 to take a course prior to sitting for the GED exam, unless the student failed to get a passing score on the GED Ready practice test.

Miami Herald reporter Sommer Brugal contributed to this report from Miami and Tampa Bay Times reporter Jeffrey S. Solochek contributed to this report from Tampa.
Former President Trump was reportedly indicted on criminal charges in New York on Thursday in connection with hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign, making him the first former or sitting president to face criminal charges. Heres what lawmakers are saying as news of the indictment breaks:

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)

Waters celebrated that sometimes justice works in a Twitter post with the hashtag TrumpIndictment.

SO Trump finally got indicted! I predicted he would and I predicted that Stormy Daniels would get him! Waters wrote.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)

Greene, a Trump ally and one of several outspoken critics of the Manhattan district attorneys investigation into Trumps role in the hush money case, said she was giving a speech in Gettysburg, Pa., the site of a battle that became a turning point in the Civil War.

The irony of standing on the battleground when I found out President Trump has been indicted is profound. My President is innocent and the only one standing in the way of these modern day tyrants, just like our founding fathers did, to protect each of us from evil, Greene wrote.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.)

Moskowitz had a more somber reaction, writing on Twitter that this is not a moment to celebrate.

This is a terrible moment for the country, he said of the news that Trump has become the first president hit with criminal charges.

But no one is above the law. Those lock her up chants that people were chanting like hyenas in a stadium around the country were never funny, perhaps they now understand why, he said, in apparent reference to the chants against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)

The indictment of a former president is a somber day for America. Its also time to put faith in our judicial system. Donald Trump deserves every protection provided to him by the Constitution and due process under our rule of law, Swalwell said in a statement.

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The California Democrat called on both parties to condemn Trumps calls for his supporters to protest the indictment.

As this case progresses let us neither celebrate nor destroy. As the former president continues to call for violence in his name, let all of us, as Democrats and Republicans, condemn his efforts to incite. We are better than that and justice benefits all of us, he said.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)

Outrageous, Jordan wrote in his single-word comment on Twitter.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.)

Gosar said he stands proudly with the former president in the face of the indictment.

This is third world politics from a Soros DA who needs to be investigated. This is clear and brazen political persecution, Gosar wrote on Twitter, joining many in the GOP who have argued that the case is politically motivated.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)

Tillis said the indictment against Trump doesnt pass the smell test because the Department of Justice already looked into the facts and decided there was no case to be made against President Trump.

He knocked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), calling him laser-focused on pursuing a politicized prosecution of a former president.

Politics should never tip the scales of justice, and Congress has every right to investigate the conduct and decision-making of the Manhattan D.A.s office, Tillis said.

Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.)

This case should be tried in the courtroom, not in partisan committee hearings, and definitely not in the streets, Peters said on Twitter.

It is a somber and unprecedented moment in our history, but also precisely what our judicial system was intended to do  deliver justice for ALL under the law, he said.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.)

Boebert also echoed GOP calls that the case is politically motivated.

BREAKING: Trump has been indicted! This is another political witch hunt targeting the peoples President, she wrote on Twitter.

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.)

Santos said that he is deeply disturbed by the reports of the indictment against Trump and took a swipe at Bragg, accusing him of executing political witch hunts.

Weaponizing the justice system to target a political rival is a clear danger to our country and democracy, Santos said.

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio)

No person  not even a former President  is above the law, Beatty wrote.

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.)

Walberg said House Republicans will not tolerate the Manhattan prosecutors case against Trump.

Activist prosecutors like Alvin Bragg try to create their own soft-on-crime laws, fueling the crime wave. Its disgraceful that violent crime is acceptable to Bragg, but hes willing to overreach with prosecutorial discretion and go after rivals. @HouseGOP will not tolerate it, he wrote in a Tweet.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas)

May justice be served, finally, Castro wrote, sharing a link to news of the indictment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A 'lazy' dairy cow has become an internet sensation after being caught on camera pretending to be asleep to avoid being milked.

Doris, one of a herd of 200 dairy cows, appeared to be trying to get a bit more shut-eye while her fellow Friesians went off for milking.

Farmworker John Brodie spotted Doris look up, then "pop her head back down" and pretend to be sleeping.

Doris was caught on camera appearing to pretend to be asleep to avoid milking time. (Solent)

Farmworker John Brodie caught the lazy cow on camera and shared the video with his wife. (Solent)

He caught her antics on camera and sent it to his wife, who shared it on TikTok, sending it viral.

The footage has been viewed over 1.5 million times and is even entertaining audiences in the US.

Brodie told the BBC: "Just before I started to take the video  the reason I took it in the first place  was because she was the only one in the barn, all the other cows had got themselves up.

Read more: Beginner metal detectorist finds Civil War coins worth 24,000

"They'd wandered off as they do, to eat some silage before milking, but Doris had her head up and was looking at me and I watched her pop her head back down and think 'nah, not today John'.

"And that's why I got my phone out because I knew she was being typical Doris and trying to play me up.

"That's what made me think I better get this on video."

The video has gone viral on TikTok, reaching audiences across the world. (Solent)

In the video, John can be heard saying, "Everyone's out getting ready for milking, except for Doris.

"Doris. Come on. I can see your ears moving."

Doris is part of the herd on Reeds Farm on the Isle of Wight, which supplies milk to local shops and branches of Co-op on the island.

Asked if she is a 'lazy cow', Brodie added: "Yes, you could say that. She likes to take it easy, does Doris, bless her. She's usually the last one to do anything.

"I think she thinks by hanging back she'll get a bit more fuss and attention  she really loves a bit of fuss."

He said they had been taken aback by her newfound fame, though Doris remained blissfully ignorant.

"Doris is really not too fussed actually, she's quite happy doing her day to day thing," he added.

"But, certainly for us it's a complete whirlwind. I would never have imagined that it could have got this exposure and gone around the world."
As violent protests sweep crisis-hit France, the prospect of far-right leader Marine Le Pen coming to power is being taken more seriously than ever -- to her evident delight.

"At least I've succeeded in winning over my political opponents," she told AFP with a smile during an interview last week. "They seem to spend their lives telling everyone that I will be the next president.

"Now it's up to me to convince a majority of the country."

President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to raise the minimum retirement age to 64 has triggered the biggest demonstrations in a generation and a fierce backlash against the government and politicians in general.

Le Pen has condemned the change but has kept a low profile since January, seeking to project an image of sobriety compared with the government's raucous and outraged opponents on the hard-left.

While MPs from the France Unbowed (LFI) party have repeatedly broken parliamentary rules and backed protesters during the violent clashes, Le Pen's National Rally lawmakers have appeared disciplined in comparison.

The leader of Macron's party in parliament, Aurore Berge, complained last month that all Le Pen's MPs needed to do was "stay quiet and they look respectable".

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Thursday accused LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon "of making the election of Madame Le Pen possible".

While researching a new politics book entitled "We will have tried everything...", author and pollster Chloe Morin noted that "almost all" French politicians she spoke to said they feared Le Pen coming to power.

- Macron's nightmare? -

The prospect of the far-right leader succeeding Macron at the next election in 2027 is said by allies to keep the 45-year-old president awake at night.

He will be ineligible to run in 2027 after completing two terms.

"It's the issue that haunts Emmanuel," a senior lawmaker who knows the president well told AFP recently on condition of anonymity. "He doesn't talk about it, but he thinks about it."

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Macron positioned himself as a bulwark against populism and far-right nationalism when he first ran for office in 2017, promising voters he would address the anti-elite anger that has fed support for the political extremes in France for decades.

Seeking a second term in April last year, the former investment banker used the same arguments again, but he defeated Le Pen by a much smaller margin of 58.5 percent to 41.45 percent, while abstentionism hit its highest level since 1969.

Le Pen welcomes the idea of disturbing Macron's dreams.

"I'm sorry if I feature like this in his nightmares," she told AFP with a laugh. "He's right to be worried. The way he is ruling will enable political forces with the exact opposite approach to his to gain power."

- France 'governed against its wishes' -

The twice-divorced former lawyer has run for president three times since taking over her father's National Front party in 2011.

Although always positioned as anti-immigration, tough on Islam and eurosceptic, she has moderated her message over the years and looked to banish overtly racist party figures from the public eye.

In last year's elections, she focused on the rising cost of living -- and was rewarded with her highest ever score in the presidential election and a 10-fold increase in MPs in the National Assembly.

Macron's decision to ram the pensions reform through parliament without a vote on March 16 -- a lawful but contested move -- has also given Le Pen the chance to revive other parts of her long-standing pitch to voters.

She has proposed a referendum to settle the pension reform argument and, if elected, promises to organise other votes on issues ranging from immigration to electoral law.

"France is not an ungovernable country. It's a country that has been governed against its wishes," Le Pen said in the interview.

- Big winner? -

Opinion polls underscore the pro-Le Pen dynamics underway in French politics -- but need to be interpreted with care, experts say.

She is currently slightly more popular than Macron, but the margin is small.

Thirty percent of respondents had a positive view of the president, according to a poll this week from Odoxa, while 32 percent viewed Le Pen favourably.

She also lags behind Macron's first prime minister, Edouard Philippe, a conservative from northern France who is the country's most popular politician and is likely to run for president in 2027.

Other polls show that if Macron were to dissolve the hung parliament, Le Pen's party would be the biggest winner.

Some experts warn against jumping to conclusions about her prospects, however, given that she still unsettles many people and is perceived as weak on the economy as well as inconsistent on foreign policy.

"Everyone has lost (over the pensions reform), except for Marine Le Pen," concluded Stephane Zumsteeg, head of polling in France for the Ipsos group.

"She's continuing her work to improve her respectability, to institutionalise her party, to make it a constructive opposition. She's working on her policies," he told AFP.

"But we don't have a tangible sign at this point that she is the big winner from what's happening."

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Six U.S. service members so far have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries from attacks by Iran-backed militants in Syria earlier this month that killed an American contractor, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The diagnoses were made as part of ongoing medical assessments of American personnel at the two locations in northeast Syria targeted by an Iran-made drone and militant rockets, and more TBI cases are possible, said Brig. Gen Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered retaliatory airstrikes that killed eight militants, according to the latest Pentagon assessment.

Read Next: 9 Soldiers Killed as Pair of Helicopters Crash in One of the Army's Deadliest Training Accidents

The attacks are part of escalation skirmishes with Iran as its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, has backed strikes by militant groups on the roughly 900 U.S. troops, and an unknown number of contractors, who remain in Syria to counter the Islamic State terrorist group.

"Again, we do not seek conflict with Iran, but we will always protect our people," Ryder said during a briefing Thursday to reporters.

It is unclear how many U.S. personnel may have been exposed to blasts and are at risk of brain injuries from the attacks.

"These additional injuries were identified during post-attack medical screening," Ryder said. "Those will be ongoing as a matter of standard procedure. So, there is always the possibility that there could be additional, but that's where we're at."

An Iran-made drone struck a base housing U.S. personnel in Hasakah, Syria, on March 23, killing the contractor and wounding six, including troops. By Thursday, all the victims had either been treated and released or were in stable condition and still receiving medical care.

The base's air defense system was not fully functional and did not stop the drone despite the forces being on high alert following 78 Iran-backed attacks in the region over the past two years, The New York Times first reported last week. The Pentagon declined to comment on reports the defense system failed.

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"One service member was medically evacuated to Landstuhl [Regional Medical Center in Germany] to receive treatment, and two U.S. service members and [a] U.S. contractor are receiving medical treatment in Iraq," Ryder said.

A service member injured in a follow-up Iran-backed rocket attack March 24 on the Green Village outpost in Syria was in stable condition and receiving medical care in Iraq.

Following the March 23 attack, Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets immediately struck IRGC sites in the area. "This was another in a series of attacks on our troops and partner forces," Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, said in a statement at the time.

The retaliatory attack was followed up by more militant rocket attacks on facilities housing Americans, raising concerns over an escalation with Iran, which seeks influence in Syria and neighboring Iraq to counter the U.S.

President Joe Biden said the U.S. would "act forcefully" to protect Americans overseas but emphasized that it does not seek conflict with Iran, when asked about the strikes during a visit to Canada last week.

In January 2020, Iran struck Al Asad Air Base in Iraq with 15 ballistic missiles, and the U.S. initially denied any injuries had occurred. Former President Donald Trump, who first announced that there had been no injuries, then said some service members had reported "headaches.

Eventually, the Pentagon said 109 service members had been diagnosed with TBI. The incident resulted in a long struggle for some troops, including National Guard members, to get recognition for their injuries. Some took more than two years to finally receive their Purple Hearts.

-- Travis Tritten can be reached at travis.tritten@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Tritten.

Related: Number of Troops Diagnosed with TBI After Iran Missile Attack Rises to 109
Republicans in the North Carolina House are seeking to reduce the governors influence over the State Bureau of Investigation and give legislators more power over the bureau.

They also want to move the State Crime Lab out of the attorney generals purview, which some defense attorneys and lawmakers oppose.

A draft House budget released Wednesday proposes moving the SBI from Department of Public Safety, whose secretary is part of Gov. Roy Coopers Cabinet, to a separate, cabinet-level department.

The proposed changes were revealed after SBI Director Bob Schurmeier testified on Tuesday before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He said Coopers administration pressured him to resign amid a discrimination claim and interfered with his hiring decisions, WRAL reported.

Coopers office, on the other hand, insists it has legitimate concerns about Schurmeiers leadership.

Our office has expressed concerns to Director Schurmeier about his leadership and the culture and practices at the SBI, including complaints that he alluded to at the General Assembly today and the need for an outside review, Cooper spokesperson Jordan Monaghan wrote in an email.

Monaghan did not respond to a request for specific information on concerns about the SBI he cited in the email.

The SBI investigates and prepares evidence for criminal cases, election law violations, environmental crimes, when police officers shoot civilians and more. If assists local law enforcement in some cases. It also provides background checks for state agency employees, people who work with children, people with disabilities and others.

Calls for change

Appointed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory in 2016, Schurmeier called for the General Assembly to protect the bureaus independence through changes in state law, which is what the proposed budget calls for.

Currently, the director can be fired by the governor, but the proposed change would also allow the state Senate and House of Representatives to remove an SBI director by a three-fifths vote.





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The bureau has nine appointed positions, including the director. Schurmeier said he has to negotiate those hires with the governors office, which sometimes was slow on related paperwork, WRAL reported.

Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jake Johnson, a Henderson County Republican, said Schurmeiers allegations are concerning.

Appointed leadership positions have inherent split loyalties between the Governors office and Department leadership, especially when politics do not align, he wrote in a statement emailed to The News & Observer. Director Schurmeier made a clear case for a completely independent SBI.

Johnson also wrote that committee members want to hear from the governors staff.

In 2014, after two previous attempts, the Republican-led General Assembly moved the SBI from the Department of Justice to the Department of Public Safety, which runs several agencies including Emergency Management, Homeland Security and several law enforcement agencies. At the time, Republican budget writers said it was an efficient and logical place to put the agency.

The bureau, which had a budget last year of nearly $75 million, now has about 404 full-time employees, including 247 agents.

It used to run the State Crime Laboratory, which remained in the Department of Justice after the SBI was moved.

The State Crime Laboratory operates three labs across the state, where employees assist in collecting and examining evidence free of charge to public law enforcement agencies in the state, as well as provide expert testimony in court.

Rep. Joe John, a Raleigh Democrat who ran the crime lab from 2010 to 2013, He opposes placing it under the SBI again.

When it was affiliated with the SBI, lab results were constantly being questioned in court. Defense attorneys were worried criminal investigators could influence the labs results or what they decided to test.

We learned nothing from history, he said, adding that the SBI is the wrong place for an independent, scientific agency.

Some defense attorneys have pushed for the crime lab to be independent starting around 2005, said Christine Mumma, head of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. In 2009, the National Academies, a leading advisory group on sciences, engineering and medicine, urged states to make the lab independent of law enforcement and prosecution.

Additional concerns followed Greg Taylor, who was convicted of murder in 1993, being freed in 2010 after evidence showed an SBI employee misrepresented crucial evidence that favored Taylor.

Soon afterward, an independent audit found that lab analysts failed to report completed testing that favored defendants in more than 200 cases, The N&O reported then.

In response, the General Assembly created a committee to study lab processes, then passed a series of changes in the years that followed.

Despite the changes, the crime labs lack of independence from prosecutors has continued to be problematic, Mumma said.

The House will vote on its budget bill next week, which is just one step on the way to a final budget for the state. In May, the Senate is expected to release its version of the budget.

The two chambers must then pass a compromise budget to send to Cooper, who will sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature after 10 days.

Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.





News & Observer reporter Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan contributed this report.
Floridas threshold for the death penalty could soon be the lowest in the nation, with the Florida Senate on Thursday passing a priority bill of Gov. Ron DeSantis to require the vote of only 8 jurors out of 12 in order to implement capital punishment.

Unlike the earliest provisions of the bill, the legislation passed by the Florida Senate does not allow a judge to override a jurys recommendation for a life sentence and give death instead.

If a jury recommends a life sentence, a judge must impose it. If a jury recommends death, the judge can agree or can order a life sentence instead.

Currently, Florida law requires a unanimous jury in order to sentence someone to death. The unanimous requirement came under fire from DeSantis after the jury in the Parkland school shooting case voted 9-3 in favor of death, leaving the gunman who killed 17 with a life sentence.

I think that the Parkland trial really exposed some of the problems with unanimity, Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, the bill sponsor, said.

Senators voted for the legislation 29-10. The vote did not fall along regular party lines. Democratic leader Lauren Book of Plantation, Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, and Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, voted for the legislation. Sen. Erin Grall, R-Lake Placid, and Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami, voted against the bill.

But opponents of the bill have warned that Floridas system has gotten it wrong before: Florida has the highest number of Death Row exonerations, with 30 people exonerated. In the majority of Florida cases where people have been exonerated, the jury had a non-unanimous decision, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Ingoglia has said hes aware of Floridas large number of exonerations but said he believes that advancements in DNA technology will mean there will be fewer cases in the future where people are wrongfully incarcerated.

If Florida moves to require only an 8-4 jury threshold, it would be one of only two states in the nation to not require a unanimous decision. Alabama has a 10-2 threshold.

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Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, filed an amendment to change the number of required jurors to 10 instead of 8, but the amendment failed. Ingoglia said he did believe there could be more than two activist jurors opposed to the death penalty, saying that was the only answer for why the Parkland gunman did not get the death penalty. Powell did not vote on the legislation.

Florida moved to require unanimity based on the Florida Supreme Courts interpretation of a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court case, which deemed in Florida judges had too much power compared to juries when implementing the death penalty.

The Florida Supreme Court initially determined the court ruling meant unanimity was required. But in 2020, the Florida Supreme Court reversed its ruling and said only an aggravating factor needs to be decided unanimously. Aggravating factors have to do with the facts of a persons crime or their victim, and include things like killing someone under 12 or causing risk of death to many people.

The reversal left the door open for the Legislature to redo the statute, but leaders at the time declined to do so.

Maria DeLiberato, the executive director of Floridians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty and a longtime capital defense attorney, said she believes the legislation passed by the Senate is still too similar to the sentencing scheme struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, and is at risk of being deemed unconstitutional.

The bill in the House, HB 555, passed its final committee stop Friday in a 14-7 vote and now moves to the floor for a final vote.

Another law moving through Floridas Legislature would challenge existing U.S. Supreme Court precedent by pushing for the death penalty for people who sexually batter children under 12. That bill has bipartisan support and unanimously passed through its first Senate stop.
U.S. uses tech companies controlling internet to spy on world: report

Xinhua) 08:51, March 31, 2023

File photo taken on March 18, 2015 shows Edward Snowden on the display of a camera during a live remote interview at CeBIT 2015, the world's top trade fair for information and communication technology, in Hanover, Germany. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

CAIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- While pushing for a ban on TikTok over claims that China uses the popular app to spy on Americans, the U.S. government itself spies on the world by using tech companies that effectively control the global internet, said a report published on the English news website of Al Jazeera.

The U.S. government allows its intelligence agencies to "carry out warrantless spying" on foreigners' emails, phones and other online communications, said the report published on Tuesday.

Compared with other countries, Washington has the advantage of having jurisdiction over the small number of companies that effectively run the modern internet, including Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, it said.

"It is a case of 'rules for thee but not for me,'" Asher Wolf, a tech researcher and privacy advocate based in Australia, was quoted as saying.

File photo taken on Oct. 26, 2013 shows a huge slogan board stands in front of the U.S. Capitol building during a protest against government surveillance in Washington D.C., the United Sates. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

The U.S. targeted 232,432 "non-U.S. persons" for surveillance in 2021, when the most recent year for which data is available, the report said.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) estimates that the U.S. government has collected more than 1 billion communications per year since 2011, according to the report.

There have been some indications that U.S. officials see China, rather than TikTok itself, as the ultimate concern, it noted.

The U.S. moves to restrict TikTok appeared to be "more political than good policy," Vedran Sekara, an assistant professor at the IT University of Copenhagen, was quoted as saying.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
China is firmly opposed to any visit by the leader of the Taiwan authorities to the United States on any pretext and the US' violation of the one-China principle by having any form of contact with the region's authorities, officials said on Wednesday.

China will take countermeasures if the island's leader Tsai Ing-wen meets with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, they said.

Tsai is reportedly scheduled to visit some Central American nations from Wednesday to April 7, during which she plans to "transit" through the US and meet with McCarthy.

China has repeatedly made solemn representations to the US over Tsai's so-called "transit" through the US, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning in response to a question at a news conference in Beijing.

"Past mistakes do not justify new ones, and the repetition of these mistakes does not make them legitimate," Mao said, adding that the "transit" plan is a cover for the Taiwan leader's attempt to seek "breakthroughs" for "Taiwan independence".

The spokeswoman rejected remarks that China is overreacting on the issue, and said it is the US that keeps conniving with and supporting "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.

"It is not China, but the US and 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces that are creating problems or making provocations," she said, urging the US to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques.

Mao said the US should deliver on its leaders' commitment to stopping all forms of official interaction with Taiwan and not supporting "Taiwan independence", "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan".

The US should stop upgrading its substantive exchanges with Taiwan, as well as acts that obscure and hollow out the one-China principle. In addition, the US should not keep calling for "guardrails" for China-US relations on the one hand, but on the other hand, engage in dangerous acts that undermine the political foundation of bilateral ties, Mao said.

"China will closely follow the latest developments and resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity," she said.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that should a meeting between Tsai and McCarthy take place during the so-called "transit", it will be another provocation that seriously violates the one-China principle, undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and damages the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

"China firmly opposes this and will resolutely respond with countermeasures," Zhu said.

The "transit" by the Taiwan leader is in essence part of provocative efforts to "seek independence by relying on the US" and is also an attempt to create "one China, one Taiwan", "two Chinas" and other forms that violate the one-China principle, she said.

"Tsai plans to find opportunities to peddle the idea of 'Taiwan independence' in the international community and seek support from anti-China forces in the US," Zhu said.

The Taiwan leader will not only just stay at the airport or a hotel during her "transit" but also wants to contact US government officials and members of the US Congress under various pretexts to seek "official exchanges" between the US and the region, and collude with external anti-China forces, Zhu said. "We urge the US to refrain from arranging Tsai's 'transit' visit, bar any contact between her and US officials and take concrete actions to honor its solemn commitment of not supporting 'Taiwan independence'."

People from a range of parties and groups protested in Taipei against Tsai's so-called "transit" through the US, and condemned Tsai and the Democratic Progressive Party for their attempts to collude with the US to undermine the island.

The protesters said Tsai knows that seeking "Taiwan independence" is a suicidal path and yet she deceives the people into following that path. She is fully aware that the US is the world's biggest warmonger, which is sabotaging world peace, but she is still pushing the people of Taiwan toward the edge of an abyss, they said.

Tsai's "transit" through the US is bound to have a serious negative impact on the situation across the Taiwan Straits. Her administration and the DPP follow the US' orders, fully cooperate with US politicians' plans to destroy Taiwan and compromise the safety of the Taiwan people, the protesters said.

Taiwan currently faces a severe shortage of water and eggs, and is grappling with rising electricity prices, but Tsai and the DPP continue to neglect the sufferings of the people and seek their own gains, they added.
President Joe Biden joined the editors of dozens of press agencies and newspapers around the world on Friday in condemning the detainment of American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, demanding that the Kremlin let him go as he boarded Marine One on the White House lawn.

Gershkovich was detained Thursday in the eastern city of Yekaterinburg, around 800 miles east of Moscow. He is accused of espionage. The move was not a unilateral action by the FSB, with the Kremlin and the Foreign Ministry quick to endorse the move.

Biden clarified to reporters that the U.S. didnt plan any expulsion of Russian diplomats. Thats not the plan right now, he told the Journal. Expelling diplomats in the past has resulted in a spiraling tit-for-tat that saw a skeleton crew of diplomats left in both embassies.

On Friday, the editors of dozens of press agencies and newspapers around the world also issued a statement demanding Gershkovichs release.

[Gershkovich] lived in Moscow for several years, is accredited with the Russian Foreign Ministry, and has been covering Russia as part of the Journals Moscow bureau. Gershkovich is a journalist, not a spy, and should be released immediately and without conditions, the letter read.

As an urgent first step, Gershkovich should be granted immediate access to an attorney provided by his employer. We also demand confirmation of his well-being and that he be allowed communication with his family, it continued.

Gershkovichs unwarranted and unjust arrest is a significant escalation in your governments anti-press actions. Russia is sending the message that journalism within your borders is criminalized and that foreign correspondents seeking to report from Russia do not enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, wrote the signatories, which included Agence France-Presse, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, all of which Gershkovich has worked for.

The letter was directed to Russian ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov and was organized by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Other news organizations whose leaders are signatories include the New Yorker, the Economist, the BBC, and CBC News.

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On Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the U.S. seeks immediate consular access to Gershkovich so that it can provide the appropriate support. This is typically the first step in assisting someone who has been wrongfully detained. The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed it intends to provide this access.

In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlins continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices, Blinken added.

Gershkovichs detainment only exacerbates a deeply frayed relationship between the two countries. The U.S. along with Western allies continues to wholeheartedly support Ukraine, and Russia is feeling the pressure as sanctions mount and stalemate persists on the battlefield.

Russia has detained other American citizens in the recent past, but this is the first detainment of an American journalist since the fall of the Soviet Union. WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was detained on minor drug charges in Russia, was released in a prisoner swap that saw a notorious Russian arms dealer released. Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan remains in prison.

Gershkovichs detention saw a renewed effort from Michigan politicians to secure Whelans release. The Michigan delegation introduced resolutions in both the House and the Senate calling on Russia to present credible evidence or immediately release Whelan from prison.

Paul Whelan needs to come home. Paul has spent more than 900 days languishing in a Russian prison without any credible evidence presented against him. He is being denied due process and consular access, said Senator Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.). Im glad the Senate came together to call on the Russian government to release Paul. I will continue to work with the Biden Administration, my colleagues and Pauls family to end his unjust imprisonment and bring him home.

More from National Review
Misguided worship of firearms

If you werent outraged at the latest mass killing in our country, this time in Nashville, theres something wrong. From Tuesdays CDT, In 2022, Guns & Ammo  a magazine dedicated to firearms and ammunition  ranked Tennessee as the 12th-best state in the country for gun owners. The state recently allowed residents to carry handguns in public without a permit. State officials are considering lowering the age to carry handguns without a permit from 21 to 18, according to the AP.

This year, only 3 months old, over 9,642 gun-related deaths have occurred.

The absolute best article I have ever read about gun violence was written by Dan Thomasson (columnist for Scripps-Howard News Service) and appeared in 2015. Thomasson ponders a society that licenses drivers, dog owners, even access to fishing, opposes almost any effort to control the manufacture, sale and distribution of lethal firearms. This idolatry of the firearm was based on the interpretation of a constitutional amendment written by men who had no concept of what the future might bring in the development and power of these objects ... which at the time were still primitive one-shot affairs needed to supply food and form protective militias in a wilderness with little or no standing army.

Our current GOP lawmakers, under the thrall of the NRA, continue in their delusion of the sanctity of the second amendment. Their worship of firearms is not only seriously misguided; it signals an unstable society that persists in sowing the seeds of its destruction.

Gina Leon, State College

Demonization of China

The increasing demonization of China is disturbing. Not just a dot on a Pentagon map, China is a proud nation of over one billion people. Having lived and worked there, my appreciation for its history, culture, problems and beauty makes me reject the hostility espoused by so many American politicians. Our media joins in this, painting false or incomplete narratives. In summer 2008, for instance, while CNN, Fox News, and other media reported armed soldiers on every Beijing street corner, I walked through the city seeing nary a one.

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More importantly, rarely do Americans hear of the deadly terrorist attacks conducted in recent years by Chinese separatist groups. Instead, we must simply accept shaky claims of genocide conducted by Chinas government. And today, our politicians and media cross party lines to tell us to forget the First Amendment  TikTok must be banned! What other threatening apps might our government ban?

Regarding Taiwan, China views it as a province and America acknowledges Chinas claim. For 50 years China and Taiwan have peacefully negotiated for reunification. Yet America escalates tension by encouraging its Asian allies to prepare for war. What good can this possibly do? Sadly, it seems politicians of every stripe believe they can promote American unity by stoking flames of war, in Europe as well as China. I will no longer be fooled by this charade.

Roger Shouse, State College

PSU finances top issue for candidate

Im concerned most alumni are unaware of the deficit and structural financial issues Penn State faces. This situation is serious and represents a grave risk to Penn States future.

The board of trustees must be the catalyst for growing revenues, reducing costs, and replenishing reserves. Here are three actionable initiatives that have strong potential to yield meaningful new non-tuition revenues:

Corporate partnerships. Penn State has existing partnerships. We need more, and they should generate more financial contribution. All agreements should be renegotiated every 2-3 years to realize greater benefits. Non-alumni parent giving. Many non-alumni parents quickly become enthusiastic and engaged Penn Staters. This is a large untapped opportunity that needs focused attention and resources to realize the significant potential it represents. State appropriations. The breadth of PSUs economic impact on the commonwealth supports increased annual appropriations. Now is the moment to rally students, alumni and faculty to advocate with state elected officials for greater investment in Penn State.

As a candidate for trustee, I have prioritized stabilizing Penn States finances as my top issue. The board must act now to tackle these challenges.

Many fellow alums have asked me what can I do to help? Here are three suggestions: get informed; make an unrestricted annual contribution; and have a voice by voting in the upcoming alumni election April 10 to May 4.

For information on my platform and relevant experience, visit kc4psutrustee.com.

Kevin F. Carey, Annapolis, Maryland. The author is a candidate for alumni-elected trustee.

Support Demo for school board

As Election Day draws near, I would like people to understand that voting for school board members may seem insignificant but could not be farther from the truth. For example, Anne Demo is running for a spot on the school board and here are just some of her credentials. I had the pleasure of working with Anne when she was a special education paraprofessional at Mount Nittany Middle School. She has a background in higher education but is equally at home with middle schoolers. Her ability to make her students feel comfortable and heard, her talent for relating to the teaching staff and other paras, and her knack for being able to meld those talents make her uniquely qualified for a position on the school board. She will bring an understanding of what teachers and staff deal with on a daily basis and will be an asset to the board simply because she has a practical understanding of how important it is for the board to have a representative with practical experience and knowledge. Please vote responsibly on Election Day and make Anne Demo the next member of State College Area School Districts school board.

Deborah Ritter, Pennsylvania Furnace
Brian 'Brizz' Gillis, co-founder of '90s boy band LFO, is the third member to die, he was 48 (Nuts-Heinacker / ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Brian Brizz Gillis, one of the founding members of the 90s boy band LFO, died Wednesday. He was 48.

Gillis former bandmate Brad Fischetti confirmed the news in an Instagram tribute post shared Thursday. The cause of death has not been revealed.

Gillis, along with Fischetti and the late Rich Cronin, founded the boy band LFO (Lyte Funky Ones), famous for the pop-rap hit Summer Girls in Massachusetts in 1995. By the late 1990s, all the kids knew the words and sang along when they heard the lyric I like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch, I'd take her if I had one wish. In 1999, the single that made them famous hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart.

Every story is made up of chapters. Some develop naturally. Some you have to cut up in your mind, Fischetti captioned the photo of Gillis he shared on Instagram. The first two chapters of the LFO story lost a main character yesterday. Brian Brizz Gillis passed away.

Fischetti, 47, told fans that he wasnt aware of the details surrounding Gillis death, and that if he did know exactly what happened, it wouldnt be his place to share the information with the public.

I am really struggling to process this tragic loss, he continued. Ive said it before and I will continue to say it; the LFO Story is a tragedy. If you know what Ive been doing, you know Im trying to bring light into the darkness. Trying [to] find redemption in pain and suffering. Trying to honor the legacy.

Gillis is now the bands third member to die. Cronin died of a stroke in 2010 after battling leukemia; he was 36. Devin Lima, who joined LFO when Gillis left the band in 1999 to pursue a solo career, died of cancer in 2018; he was 41. Fischetti is the only remaining member.

Today I honor my former bandmate and friend, Brizz, Fischetti continued on Instagram. If you watched the LFO Story livestream or have seen the band and me play it live, you know what Brian meant to LFO. If it wasnt for his hard work and dedication in the early days of LFO, the first two chapters, the LFO you came to know and (hopefully) love would not exist.

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Fischetti then hinted that the two hadnt always had a perfect friendship, saying, My relationship with Brian was complex. It contained moments of great tribulation but also of great joy. I learned a lot from him about the business of music and how to put together and rock a show. And its those positive aspects of our relationship that I will lean on now and forever.

Ive prayed for Brian every day for many years, he continued. I know that soon or maybe already, Brizz will be greeted by Rich and Devin. And I hope that together, they will make some sweet sounds. I would really like that. Rest east bro. Rest easy.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
"They are going to arrest us because I cannot pretend to be what I am not," said Alex, a gay man in Uganda, where MPs last week passed what has been criticised as among the world's harshest anti-gay legislation.

The proposed law, known as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, is ready to be sent to President Yoweri Museveni, who is facing calls from the United Nations and the United States to reject it.

The bill was passed in a chaotic parliamentary session with many amendments, and neither lawmakers nor analysts are clear about what exactly the legislation dictates.

If Museveni gives his assent, anyone who engages in same-sex activity could face life imprisonment while repeat offenders could be sentenced to death, according to activists.

Campaigners note Uganda has effectively ended the use of capital punishment, with death sentences automatically commuted to prison terms.

But that is cold comfort to LGBTQ Ugandans like 19-year-old Alex -- whose name, like that of other interviewees, has been changed for safety reasons.

Many are now grappling with agonising decisions as they contemplate fleeing the only country they have known.

Online messaging groups provide a measure of comfort and solidarity but are also a constant reminder of the threats facing queer Ugandans.

From neighbouring Kenya to distant South Africa and stretching to Europe and North America, LGBTQ Ugandans who have already gone into exile trade tips and advice on finding safe spaces and navigating immigration bureaucracy.

"I would really love to leave Uganda," said Alex, who shares a tiny apartment in a suburb of Kampala with three flatmates, its curtains perpetually drawn to avoid prying eyes.

"I don't know if I'm safe and I don't deserve to die because I'm being who I want to be," he said.

"On the other hand, I feel like we're supposed to fight for our freedom... if not us, who's going to fight for our freedom?"

- 'Too scared' -

Uganda has been here before.

A 2014 anti-gay bill signed into law by Museveni stoked fear and triggered cuts to international aid from Western nations, before a court struck down the legislation on a technicality.

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Now 78-year-old Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, must weigh the bill's public popularity against the likelihood of international censure.

"The passing of this discriminatory bill - probably among the worst of its kind in the world - is a deeply troubling development," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.

And the White House has already warned of possible economic repercussions if the law is enacted.

In recent months religious and political leaders have shared baseless conspiracy theories about gay people targeting children at the behest of shadowy international forces.

"Because of the way Ugandans have been radicalised, this time (the situation) is worse", said Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a gay rights organisation whose operations were suspended by the authorities last year.

"Before, it was underprivileged Ugandans who felt most at risk and wanted to flee, now even well-off people are being targeted," Mugisha told AFP.

"One guy in a corporate job has been told by his boss that if the president signs the bill he will be fired."

But many of Uganda's neighbours are also cracking down on gay rights, with politicians in Kenya and Tanzania warning against any efforts to raise awareness of LGBTQ issues.

And making it to the West isn't easy, even for those with the cash to fund the journey.

Philemon, who owns a bar in Kampala, has tried to leave Uganda to join his partner in Denmark but has twice been denied a visa, straining their relationship.

His partner used to visit him every six months, but is now "too scared to come to Uganda", the 25-year-old told AFP.

- 'Deserve to be happy' -

The lack of clarity in the legislation is also causing concern.

"The bill is very ambiguous," said John, a queer 26-year-old technician.

"That empowers people to extort people," he told AFP, his clenched hands betraying his anxiety.

The legislation also puts the friends and family of LGBTQ Ugandans at risk, compelling citizens who suspect a person "intends to commit the offence of homosexuality" to report the matter to police or face six months' imprisonment.

During his interview with AFP, Alex teared up as he contemplated the dilemma facing his mother.

"She knows I'm gay. She's supportive and worries about me but if this becomes law I just know she's going to give me (up)."

Like other LGBTQ Ugandans, the teenager is trying to leave the country, but has few options.

"I was just getting to meet new people and getting comfortable with my sexuality and then all of this (happened)."

"Don't I deserve to be happy?"

bur/amu/txw/bp
The Work and Play Stations in the Henrico County Public Library in Virginia. Chris Cunningham Photography, courtesy TMC Furniture

Barbara F. Weedman is the library director of Henrico County Public Library in Virginia.

She wanted work-play stations that kept kids entertained while parents used computers.

She said the idea immediately took off.

When Barbara Weedman was a single mom to her now grown son, she noticed how difficult it was to parent in public spaces that weren't designed with families in mind.

"I know how challenging it can be for caregivers to access things that are welcoming for them, much less intentionally designed for them, in public places," Weedman told Insider.

At the Henrico County Public Library, where Weedman is the director, she saw the same issue. Parents and caregivers would come to the library and struggle to use the computers while balancing a baby on their lap or keeping track of a busy toddler.

In 2017, when the library started building a new location, Weedman had an idea for work-play stations that would give parents computer access and a safe place to contain their baby or child. She worked with the community and a design group to bring the idea to life, and when the Fairfield Area Library opened in 2019, the Computer Work and Play Stations were ready.

Barbara F. Weedman, the library director at the Henrico County Public Library. Courtesy of Barbara Weedman

"On opening day, a mother with an infant and a small child sat down at a Work and Play Station to use the computer and placed her children in the carrel  without having received any direction from staff," Weedman said. "It was gratifying to see that the design was immediately intuitive."

For Matt Hansen, a local dad with a 2-year-old daughter, the Work and Play Stations are the perfect solution for when he needs to do some work but not enough to call in a babysitter or other caregiver.

"A couple of times a week, I need to hold some office hours to knock out some emails, place inventory orders, and take care of the many other things that require me to sit down at a computer to accomplish," Hansen said. "It's amazing to have access to something like that."

The stations give caregivers a chance to access the internet

For Hansen, whose mom watches his daughter often, the Work and Play Stations are a convenient option. But for other caregivers, they're critical. The Fairfield Area Library serves a predominantly Black neighborhood with many intergenerational homes, Weedman says.

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"These caregivers may not have internet access at home, or they may just need a quiet place away from home to get a little work done," she said. "People with all different kinds of needs use these workstations, just like how people with all different kinds of needs use the library."

Hansen says that the stations make it easier to accomplish tasks that can seem impossible when you're caring for a child.

"Whether you're answering emails and placing quick orders like me, or just need access to a computer to job hunt, pay bills or whatever you need, having the ability to put your kid in a safe place at arms reach where they can be occupied and not be strapped to your side for free is an amazing thing," he said.

In January 2022, Ali Faruk, the policy director for Families Forward Virginia, tweeted a picture of the workstations. The message went viral and led to national press attention.

"At first, we were surprised to see them go viral and some of the impassioned responses online," Weedman said. "But then we understood that people with small children were happy to feel seen and considered in a public space."

Since then, Weedman and the library have heard from many other organizations and individuals who want to install similar Work and Play Stations, including libraries, universities, and even parents who work from home.

Still, Hansen would like to see greater awareness about the stations. They are rarely full on the days he uses them, he said.

"I wish more people knew about them. I feel like libraries would need sign-up sheets with time slots and have time limits on how much you could use them if they were more well known," he said.

The stations allow the library to support whole families, not just kids

For Weedman, the function of the Work and Play Stations are in line with the greater mission of the library: to allow people to access information and learning.

"These Work and Play Stations are just another way libraries can be supportive, a piece of infrastructure that helps meet information needs and makes our spaces more accessible and inclusive for caregivers of small children," she said.

Children's rooms at the library often focus on literacy, which is important, she said. But these stations add to that by serving not only children, but their parents and caregivers.

"Parents and caregivers of children have information needs of their own," she said. "The public library can be a crucial source of computer access to caregivers who don't have internet or computers at home. For anyone seeking a career change, reentering the workforce, or starting a small business, computer access can be critical to their lives and livelihoods."

The reality is that many families with children need to complete those tasks with their kids in tow.

"We believe people shouldn't need to arrange childcare just to visit us and use the computers," she said. "We want intergenerational groups to visit us all together, and we want the library to meet all their needs at once."

As for Hansen, he's eager to help raise awareness about the Work and Play Stations.

"I can't emphasize enough how amazing it is to have access to something like these as a public service," he said.

Read the original article on Insider
Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman

Among the five Olivier Awards Life of Pi won in London last year was a best supporting actor award for the seven actors who operate the shows impressive puppet Royal Bengal tiger, Richard Parker. This creaturewho really does become more terrifying as the performance continuesis both the nemesis and intimate of 16-year-old Pi (Hiran Abeysekera), first freaking him out at his familys zoo in India, and then supposedly on board a rescue vessel, the two of them floating for many days on the high seas of the Pacific Ocean, with the tiger only kept from chomping down on our hero by the placating effects of an orange whistle.

Two of the seven award-winning operatorsFred Davis and Scarlet Wilderinkhave crossed the Atlantic to help operate Richard Parker for Life of Pis Broadway production (Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, to Sept 3). Parker is a vibrantly colored and modeled puppet, whose languidly threatening gait is a feat not just of model-making but also the physical skills of his operators. His roar is pretty damn real too. At one point he even acquires a voice, channeled by Brian Thomas Abraham, who doubles as the ships scary chef.

Sweeney Todd Review: Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford Shine in Broadway Revival

The danger of Richard Parker has been established early in Life of Pi, a charming theatrical adaptation by Lolita Chakrabarti of Yann Martels bestselling novel that for all its puppetry and special effects feels a gentle, modest enterprise. We first meet Pi in the hospital bed he wakes up in in Mexico after his dramatic adventure, to many questions from an official. The sudden sight of a looming giraffes neck in this all-white room is the first sign to expect a clash of magic and realism, as the explanation of what happened to him unfolds.

On cue, we go back in time to the family zoo, and Pis gruff dad (Rajesh Bose), mom Amma (Mahira Kakkar, who also plays Orange Juice, the orangutan), and joshing sister Rani (Sonya Venugopal). We see the younger Pi play with a cute goat called Buckinghamhe certainly has a Doolittle-ish way with animals)and then the storm clouds of political upheaval descend.

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l to r: Hiran Abeysekera, Mahira Kakkar and company in 'Life of Pi.' Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman

His dad doesnt think Pi understands the gravity of what is befalling India, and by extension the family, and so makes Pi watch Richard Parker attack and eat Buckingham as a kind of violent introduction to the adult world, a deliberate shattering of innocence done not out of cruelty but a wrongheaded worry. Watching the killing is meant to be a lesson in cold, hard realityand it presages the harsh journey into adulthood Pi will experience when his entire family, save him, dies at sea.

Life of Pi, directed with a restrained sense of wonder by Max Webster, is a very simple story: will Pi and Richard Parker be rescued from the sea; and will Pis rescuers believe his story? Is it true? And if it isnt, does it matter if it is as enchanting as the theater-makers attempt to make it?

The puppets there is also a zebra and hyenaare designed by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, who also oversees their movement. The shows striking video design and animation (by Andrzej Goulding) and lighting (by Tim Lutkin) flood the stage with color and movement. Maps charting the ships course unfurl in front of us. The rescue vessel (a slick and clever piece of design by Tim Hatley) emerges out of the floor to relate the story of Pi and Richard Parkers many days at sea.

l to r: Hiran Abeysekera, Richard Parker (Fred Davis, Scarlet Wilderink, Andrew Wilson). Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman

After watching so much colorful storytelling, and wondering if it is merely a figment of Pis food and water-starved imagination, Pi offers an alternative, much more prosaic story of what happened to him near the end of the showa story that includes no fantastical visions of large animals somehow surviving shipwrecks and taking to a rescue boat to alternately torment and then strangely bond with the one human survivor.

Abeysekeras performance won him the Best Actor Olivier award in Londonand it is one of great charm; he is alternately whimsical and in thrall to the magic of animals, yet also dry, funny, and very grounded in the absurdity of the situation around him. He knows how crazy he sounds, he knows how crazy all that he allegedly experienced sounds, and he is confident and self-assured enough to own the truth he feels is real, while also expounding a more down-to-earth alternative when encouraged to. It is a shame we dont spend more time with his family; their chemistry and inviting characters are cut short too quickly. In their place is a shaggy tiger tale. Whatever is or isnt true about what happened to Pi, what resonates is an act of colorful imaginingand Richard Parkers menacing roar.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Lily Allen has revealed that her husband David Harbour used a photo of himself as Jim Hopper from Stranger Things while he was on a dating app.

The couple met on dating app Raya and married in 2020, a year after they began seeing each other.

But Allen admitted that she didnt know who he was when swiping through the app.

In his profile photo, Harbour, 47 was dressed as his police chief character from hit Netflix series Stranger Things. His character usually wears a brown uniform with a police badge and an American flag patch on one sleeve.

Appearing on Saturday (1 April) nights episode of The Jonathan Ross Show, Allen explained: I thought he was just like a sexy policeman from a reality TV show. He was wearing a policemans uniform.

The Smile singer later found out the photograph was a still from Stranger Things, which she had never watched prior to meeting Harbour.

Allen also admitted that she hadnt thought her date with Harbour was going to go anywhere, as he was only in the same area as her for a short period while filming Black Widow.

And then it did go somewhere, Allen added.

In July 2022, Harbour described the exact moment he fell in love with Allen following her performance alongside Olivia Rodrigo at Glastonbury.

Lily Allen and David Harbour (Getty Images)

Speaking to British GQ, the actor said: I started texting with [Allen], she was in Italy at the time  we got together, went on a date at The Wolseley, and it was, you know, shes f***ing unbelievable.

Recalling the moment he realised he was in love, Harbour continued: It was on our third date. I was just in this phase, where I was like, Im just going to be brutally honest about everything, because why lie? And I told her something about my life, my beliefs.

It would take a really extraordinary person to be accepting of the things that I said. And I remember thinking, Wow, thats somebody I want to be around.

In another interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Harbour recalled the words Allen told him that made her fall in love with him.

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She said, When I saw you, I saw the biggest person I had ever seen in my life and also the smallest person I had ever seen in my life, he said. Isnt that interesting? Thats what made her fall in love with me  that I was very big and also very small in a certain way.

The couple married in September 2020 in a small ceremony in Las Vegas and celebrated by eating burgers at US fast food chain In-N-Out Burger afterwards.

Allen has two daughters, Ethel and Marnie, from her previous marriage to Sam Cooper.
Sen. Lindsey Graham at a South Carolina campaign event with Trump in January 2023. Logan Cyrus / AFP via Getty Images

Sen. Lindsey Graham joked that Trump should "punch a cop" on his way to being booked in Manhattan.

He said that Trump would then "avoid prosecution" and be "released IMMEDIATELY!"

It was an apparent joke about DA Alvin Bragg's criminal justice-focused policies.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says he's got a plan to keep former President Donald Trump from being prosecuted after being indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday  assaulting a police officer and engaging in robbery.

"How can President Trump avoid prosecution in New York?," asked Graham on Twitter. "On the way to the DA's office on Tuesday, Trump should smash some windows, rob a few shops and punch a cop."

The senator added: "He would be released IMMEDIATELY!"

Graham, a close Trump ally and one of just five senators who've publicly endorsed the former president's 2024 campaign, appeared to be making a joke playing off conservative critiques of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's record on crime in the city.

As they've rushed to Trump's defense amid a grand jury indictment in Bragg's probe into Trump's handling of a "hush money" payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels, many Republicans have argued that Bragg has not done enough to prosecute other crimes in the city and should shift his focus.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in a tweet criticizing Bragg, said the DA "routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public.

And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis  a potential rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination  said that Bragg "consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent."

A progressive prosecutor, Bragg has come under fire for emphasizing criminal justice reform and seeking to reduce incarceration. Most controversially, he issued a "Day One memo" instructing prosecutors to only pursue jail time for the most violent offenses, which he later walked back.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had some bizarre advice for how former President Donald Trump should behave on the way to his expected arraignment on Tuesday.

How can President Trump avoid prosecution in New York? Graham tweeted Friday, with a thinky face emoji.

He then answered his own question: On the way to the DAs office on Tuesday, Trump should smash some windows, rob a few shops and punch a cop. He would be released IMMEDIATELY!

How can President Trump avoid prosecution in New York?   Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 31, 2023

On the way to the DAs office on Tuesday, Trump should smash some windows, rob a few shops and punch a cop.



He would be released IMMEDIATELY!  Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 31, 2023

This was presumably meant to be some kind of joke implying that criminals can get away with anything in liberal, soft-on-crime New York. Or maybe Graham really is recommending that the former president physically attack a police officer  you know, like some of his supporters have done.

Graham posted his tweet only hours after an emotional appearance with Sean Hannity, where hed urged viewers to send Trump their cash so he can fight the Stormy Daniels hush money case, or else risk the very destruction of the United States.

The senators tweet left many Twitter users shocked, but not surprised.

Nothing to see here, just 'law and order' Republicans telling Trump to assault law enforcement. https://t.co/8gprCGkv3v  Max Burns (@themaxburns) March 31, 2023

Totally normal for a senator and former prosecutor to call on a former president to do more crimesincluding assaulting a cop because blue lives matter but not when you're talking about Trump. https://t.co/RP0fZOR7Hv  Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) March 31, 2023

Too many other Republicans were disgracing themselves too fast and effectively, so Graham had to reclaim the top spot https://t.co/FbaRdrkvKe  Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 31, 2023

Didn't work for the Jan 6th traitors. Probably won't work for their ringleader either.

I'm really curious what Trump and Russia has over you. I think I know but I'd love to see it all come to light.  Nathan Quarry (@NateRockQuarry) March 31, 2023

Its a little early in the day to be hitting the rye, Senator.  Daniel Summers, MD (@WFKARS) March 31, 2023

Dude, he's never going to pick you...  The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) March 31, 2023

Lindsey Graham calls for Trump to punch an NYPD officer. I dare Lindsey to come to NYC and say that to one of NY's finest!!! https://t.co/LXtUtItF4S  (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) March 31, 2023

...because the NYPD is full of Trump-humpers? True, but Trump gets winded picking his nose and couldn't throw a punch that would bruise a baby. Yet Republicans still fantasize he's some kind of he-man daddy who can kick everybody's ass.



Pathetic as hell all the way around https://t.co/vAnBJfpRid  Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) March 31, 2023

Related...
Sen. Lindsey Graham thrice called for viewers to visit former President Donald Trump's donation page. Brandon Bell/Getty Images and Stefani Reynolds - Pool/Getty Images

Lindsey Graham tried to raise funds for Donald Trump just after the former president was indicted.

Graham told Fox News viewers to donate to Trump and "give the man some money" to fight the case.

During the interview, Graham also said the New York indictment of Trump was "legal voodoo."

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham tried to raise money for former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign just hours after the latter was indicted by a New York grand jury on Thursday.

"But you need to help this man, Donald J. Trump, they're trying to drain him dry. He's spent more money on lawyers than most people spend on campaigns," said Graham, a longtime Trump ally, in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.

Graham thrice called for viewers to visit Trump's fundraising page.

"DonaldJTrump.com, go tonight, give the president some money to fight this bullshit," Graham said, urging Trump's supporters to "fight back at the ballot box."

"If you believe Donald Trump is being treated poorly and wrongly, stand up and help him and pray for our country, pray for him. Go to DonaldJTrump.com and give money so he can defend himself," Graham said later.

"Give the man some money so he can fight," Graham added on a third occasion, again mentioning Trump's website.

In the interview, Graham joined hardline GOP figures in blasting Trump's indictment, which is linked to a 2016 election-eve hush-money payment made to the adult-film actor Stormy Daniels.

The senator called the case "legal voodoo" and "political persecution" that will "fall like a cheap suit under legal scrutiny." Graham also cast doubt on the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump's one-time personal lawyer and fixer. Cohen previously admitted to paying $130,000 to Daniels just before the 2016 election to stop her from saying she had an affair with Trump in 2006.

Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury on Thursday.

Trump is no stranger to fundraising off his legal woes

The indictment comes as the former president is making a run for the White House in 2024.

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Trump's campaign also has a history of aggressively soliciting donations whenever he's faced with legal trouble. After Trump falsely predicted that he would get arrested on March 14, the Trump campaign sent multiple fundraising emails calling for contributions. Trump fans then sent the former president $1.5 million within three days.

The announcement of his indictment has triggered a tidal wave of fundraising messages from other politicians on both sides of the aisle, The New York Times reported.

Trump's campaign jumped in on the action by debuting a white T-shirt that says: "I stand with Trump" on Thursday evening. The shirt was touted in an email to supporters seen by Insider, as a reward for donating $47 to Trump's campaign "until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT."

Other GOP figures  including Missouri senator Josh Hawley and the National Republican Congressional Committee  are also cashing in on the indictment, per The Times. The Democratic Governors Association and multiple Democrat PACs have sent out their own donation requests since Trump's indictment, The Times reported.

A representative for Graham did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Friday held a conference to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law of the Macao SAR.

Li Hongzhong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, attended the conference and delivered a keynote speech.

Li said over the 30 years after the promulgation of the Basic Law of the Macao SAR, particularly since its implementation on Dec. 20, 1999, the Basic Law has formed the constitutional foundation for the Macao SAR together with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, defined the constitutional order of Macao, and provided all-round legal guarantee for the development of various causes in Macao.

While noting that the Report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC recognized and showcased the historic achievements of "one country, two systems" practices and work related to the Hong Kong and Macao SARs over the years, Li stressed strict and continuous reference to the report as guidelines for carrying out work related to the two SARs.

Well implementing the Basic Law of the Macao SAR is significant to writing new chapters for "one country, two systems" practices in Macao, Li said, adding that efforts must be made to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, practically implement the central authorities' overall jurisdiction, firmly implement the principle of "patriots administering Macao," and continue stepping up promotions of the Constitution and the Basic Law of the Macao SAR.

Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Ho Hau Wah and Chief Executive of the Macao SAR Ho Iat Seng attended the conference.
Former President Donald Trump was indicted Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury investigating a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The indictment is unprecedented and represents the first criminal charges against a former U.S. president.

Trump is currently staying at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina told NBC's "Today" show that Trump was expected in New York by Tuesday for arraignment. Trump will surrender to New York authorities but won't consider a plea deal, his lawyer said. A hearing is scheduled for 2:15 p.m.

The New York Times reported that Trump and his aides were surprised the indictment came so quickly. Times reporter Maggie Haberman reported that Trump was angry but seemed more worried about the indictment's political consequences. On Thursday night, Trump was seen having dinner with his wife, Melania, and her parents at Mar-a-Lago.

What are Trump's children saying about the indictment?

Former President Trump's children struck markedly different postures on his indictment in social media postings Thursday and Friday.

His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., took his father's side and even used rhetoric in the spirit of the nation's 45th president. On his online show "Triggered," he likened the decision to indict as stuff that would make Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, it would make them blush," the New York Times reported.

This is third world prosecutorial misconduct. It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year.  Eric Trump (@EricTrump) March 30, 2023

Another son, Eric, followed suit, using Twitter to call the indictment third world prosecutorial misconduct and the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year.

Trump's daughter, Ivanka, one of his closest advisers during his early years in the White House, was far more guarded in a post on Instagram.

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I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both," she wrote. "I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.

NBC News: Trump may be facing 30 counts of document-related charges

Citing two sources familiar with the grand jury proceedings, NBC News New York is reporting that former President Donald Trump could be facing about 30 charges of document-related fraud.

The news station also is saying that prosecutors are unlikely to ask for the indictment to be unsealed before Tuesday, so we may not know what the specific charges are until then.

Why was Donald Trump indicted? More on Stormy Daniels

Stormy Daniels

Many speculate the charges are about the Stormy Daniels hush-money case, in which Trump purportedly paid campaign money to an adult-film star so she wouldnt disclose their affair while he campaigned for president in 2016.

The indictment usually remains unsealed until the defendant is arrested, which for Trump is scheduled to happen Tuesday. Hes expected to surrender in Manhattan Criminal Court and make his first appearance before a judge.

It is also unclear when Trump will leave Mar-a-Lago to surrender in New York.

Donald Trump joined by his wife, Melania, for dinner after hearing the news

Dr. Gina Louden, co-chair of Women for Trump, was at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday night and said the former president and his wife, Melania, were having a dinner at the club after the announcement of the indictment.

She posted photos on both Instagram and Twitter.

Beautiful evening here at the gorgeous Mar a Lago!



Our REAL First Couple enveloped in the love of their friends and most loyal!



(Sorry to disappoint, corporate media . Actually not. Screw you! This is a happiness you will never know, sadly). pic.twitter.com/IFsFU41lAd  Dr. Gina (@RealDrGina) March 31, 2023

What is an indictment? And why did the DA want one to charge Trump?

An indictment is a formal, written accusation of a crime, made by a grand jury, according to Blacks Law Dictionary.

A grand jury decides only whether there is enough probable cause to charge someone. It does not infer guilt, said Michael Salnick, a Palm Beach County defense attorney. A jury, chosen during a trial, decides whether that person is guilty or not.

A grand jury is a group of regular people that hears evidence and witnesses presented by a prosecutor in felony cases. While the target of an investigation may testify, they do not present a defense during those proceedings.

Grand juries in New York have between 16 and 23 people. Their service can vary from two weeks to a month. Theyre chosen from the same group of people who are called for jury service.

The grand jury meets and takes a vote on the evidence in secret.

When the proceedings are over, the grand jury either indicts the defendant, lodging criminal charges, or issues no true bill, meaning they did not find probable cause to charge the person.

State and U.S. attorneys can choose to charge a defendant with a crime without asking a grand jury to consider the case. Its their choice. Joe Abruzzo, the Palm Beach County clerk of court, said putting charges in front of a grand jury provides an "extra layer of protection for the district attorney."

In Palm Beach County, state attorneys have used grand juries in death-penalty cases. One notable exception was Jeffrey Epstein, who was indicted in 2006 for soliciting a prostitute.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. at his office in New York, on Sept. 8, 2022. Bragg, who was criticized for calling off an earlier grand jury presentation, is be the first American prosecutor to indict a former president. (Sarah Blesener/The New York Times)

Federal prosecutors have a wider range of crimes they send to grand juries. For example, federal prosecutors in Palm Beach County sent their cases in the 2000s for a grand jury to decide whether certain county commissioners were corrupt.

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, is a state-level prosecutor like Aronberg. This case is not federal, like the one in which Trumps lawyer Michael Cohen was convicted.

What's likely next for Trump?

Trump can voluntarily turn himself in, which his lawyers said he will do.

If Trump were to change his mind and refuse a voluntary appearance, then Florida officials would get involved. As a Palm Beach County resident, New York would seek a court order to force Trump's extradition, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said.

Normally, such a motion would go to Florida's governor, an interesting twist given Gov. Ron DeSantis is widely believed to be readying his own 2024 Republican presidential primary challenge to Trump.

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and in happier days.

But DeSantis said Thursday he won't help extradite Trump to New York if Trump refuses to go willingly. It was a reversal from what the governor said last week about the impending indictment, a statement that drew criticism from the former president.

"Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda," DeSantis said, referring to liberal political activist George Soros.

Asked last week about helping Trump fight extradition, DeSantis said: We are not involved in this, wont be involved in this."

There's a third scenario: If DeSantis refused to be involved, a federal judge would have to sign the extradition order. Likely, this federal judge would be in Palm Beach County, Aronberg said

Where is Donald Trump on Friday?

The flag flies at half-staff at former president Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago residence in Palm Beach on March 31, 2023. A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump over hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Apparently, the former president stayed put at Mar-a-Lago. He hasn't been seen publicly.

His private airplane remains parked at Palm Beach International Airport.

Several cars were parked along the side of the road leading to Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon. A group of about a half-dozen people lined the side of the road, some waving signs that read "Trump 2024." A PBSO security tower was stationed nearby and Palm Beach Police vehicles were seen sporadically patrolling the route.

There was more activity near Mar-a-Lago late Thursday and early Friday. Palm Beach police spokesman Capt. Will Rothrock said about two dozen demonstrators showed up by the time Thursday night was over. A crowd of about the same size was present Friday between Trump supporters and national media, police said.

Trump indictment: One of these 3 things likely will happen next

Trump has been indicted. Have other former U.S. presidents been indicted? No, but these came close.

Can he? Now that Donald Trump is indicted, can he still run for president in 2024?

Video: Trump plane at Palm Beach International Airport day after indictment

A livestream, courtesy of TV station ABC 7 in Chicago, shows real-time footage of Trump's aircraft at PBIA.

As of Friday afternoon, it wasn't going anywhere, and hadn't for the past several days. He could leave for New York as late as Tuesday morning and be on time for a 2:15 p.m. hearing.

Will Trump get a mug shot?

That is likely. Trump is expected to be treated like every other person facing criminal allegations and be required to follow the same procedures: fingerprints and a mug shot, Salnick said.

One thing to note: It may not be available to the public if there are any security concerns.

"Since this is such an unprecedented thing, one doesn't know if it will be done differently," Salnick said.

Trump will have Secret Service protection throughout the entire process, Abruzzo said, as would every othe rformer president. New York officials will decide whether to handcuff him.

Will Trump go to jail?

It's impossible to say today, but it's unlikely, according to Aronberg and Abruzzo.

State Attorney Dave Aronberg says he does not expect former President Donald Trump to spend time in jail when he is arraigned in New York.

Authorities tend to negotiate surrendering a high-profile defendant like the former president. Aronberg said the former president most likely won't spend time in jail and will allowed to return home.

"This seems to be a potentially low-level crime, where I personally would be surprised if he spent any time incarcerated," Abruzzo said.

Who is Joe Tacopina? And why does his name sound familiar?

Joe Tacopina is Donald Trumps personal attorney representing him in the Stormy Daniels case.

Tacopina, 56, is a self-described zealous bulldog defense attorney who has represented celebrities, athletes and other well-known people.

They include Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder, Michael Jackson, Alex Rodriguez, Meek Mill, YG, Sean Hannity, Don Imus, Swiss Beatz, American Singer Ne-Yo, Emmy Award-winning television journalist Sarah Wallace, Kimberly Guilfoyle, NFL Players Association director DeMaurice Smith and Rapper A$AP Rocky.

Who is likely going to be the judge?

Its expected to be Juan Merchan, who has been an acting justice with the State Supreme Court since 2009.

Merchan was born in Colombia and came to the United States when he was 6. He grew up in Queens, like Trump.

He also presided over the case in which the Trump Organization's former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, as well as the tax fraud trial in which the family's company was found guilty on 17 counts including charges of conspiracy and falsifying business records. Trump lashed out at the judge on social media Friday.

Staff writers Holly Baltz, Stephany Matat, Carol Rose and Julius Whigham II contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Donald Trump indictment live updates in Palm Beach Florida
An activist holds a sign reading, "no more weapons of war" to protest gun violence during a rally put on by the St. Clair County Democrats at Pine Grove Park in downtown Port Huron on Saturday, June 11, 2022.

The host of gun control measures ushered through Lansing by Democrats over the last several weeks may not be as swiftly or staunchly opposed in a pro-Second Amendment region like St. Clair County as one may expect.

But they arent well supported either  depending on who you ask.

Some dont want to talk about it. Others are against the measures but dont separate Michigans legislative efforts from the wider firearm discussion perforating the national consciousness in the wake of continued mass shootings, including at Michigan State University on Feb. 23 and Oxford High School in November 2021.

Then, for a few like Marine City Gunsmith owner Jesse White, the latest state legislation  addressing firearms storage, safety literature, and more  just arent the forefront of mind.

I figure when the ATF sends me a letter that the rules have changed, and if theres something new in effect, Ill worry about it. Until then, what the hell can I do? he said in an interview last week. The people who have gotten elected are in office already, so theyre going to do what theyre going to do. Its not the only issue on the books.

Marine City Gunsmith owner Jesse White stands in his shop on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

A host of bills have passed through the state Senate and House.

One set implements safe storage requirements to shield firearms from minors and penalties for those who fail to follow those rules if a minor obtains a firearm. It also requires gun dealers to include free literature on safe storage with firearm sales.

Another bundle would require an individual to get a license before buying a gun in the state, extending the framework for the licensure of a pistol, specified by a length of 26 inches or less, to that of any firearm.

Other measures address state tax code exemptions related to firearm safety devices.

Although a few of the Democrat-led measures were expected to pass, none had yet appeared before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as of Wednesday.

Basic precautions or too much paperwork?

For the primary Senate bills to pass earlier this month, state Rep. Dan Lauwers, R-Brockway Township, voted against them.

Story continues

The legislation was crafted in response to what happened at Michigan State and Oxford, and those were terrible events, but theyre committed by lawless people, he said. And theres nothing in this passage that specifically would prevent either of those events from happening. I think its going to make law-abiding citizens have to jump through more hoops, and in some cases, even put themselves at risk.

Meanwhile, St. Clair County Democratic Chairman Jim Frank, himself an Army veteran and gun owner, said that sometimes its difficult knowing how neighbors or Republicans feel about guns and the latest legislative efforts.

But he didnt think the measures being pushed through now were unreasonable.

Those are pretty basic, sensible precautions to take when it comes to gun ownership, Frank said. If you have someone who has a personal protection order against them or has had problems with their behavior, or that sort of thing in the past, it seems a fairly reasonable thing to delay their ability to access firearms until it can be proven that theyre going to be law-abiding citizens.

Theres nothing here thats really that dramatic, he added. And if youre a law-abiding person, youre not going to have any problems with getting a gun.

Lauwers said hes had feedback from both sides and understood concerns given the state of our society.

Its not just guns, of course. In Lansing, we tend to create laws because someone was being hurt. (But) we create laws to make all the honest people prove that theyre being honest, and the dishonest people continue to be dishonest, Lauwers said. What comes with that is a loss of liberty and freedom and more paperwork.

Response to reforms may be as varied as the legislation

Long-time licensed dealer Harry Arnie Mikolowski has run Arlenes Gun Shop on Harsens Island for decades and wagers that, at 87 years old, he may be the oldest still doing so in the state.

When he talks about gun reform, he jokingly cautions, Dont think Im nuts, before launching into changes hes seen long term already.

He emphasizes a need to target criminals, who he thinks will steal the guns or buy them off the streets regardless of restrictions placed on law-abiding gun owners.

What is this law going to do any different than I have been doing in 57 years in my gun business? Ive been doing background checks and background checks. Weve been doing everything we can possibly do, and yet, they come up with the same laws, Mikolowski said.

Do you think that this law is going to be any different? he added. No more laws. Weve got enough of them. Enforce them.

Better enforcing laws  and addressing mental health needs  was something that Lauwers talked about, too.

Back in Marine City, White remained unphased by the outcome of state gun reform either way, recalling accommodating last years federal reform installing a firearms delay for 18- to 20-year-olds once so far.

It is what it is, he said, and he hasn't delved too far into the minutia of bills at the state level.

There seems to be this industry-wide belief that you cant trust the man. You dont want the feds finding out anything, White said. The point is, though, theyre the ones regulating this entire industry. Were just following their rules, and the bottom line is that theyre going to start passing rules, and were going to follow (even if) you may not like it here and there.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Local gun store owners view proposed firearm legislation with opposition, indifference
By Steve Gorman and Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) -A fierce tornado blasted through Little Rock, Arkansas, and neighboring towns on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens as it sheared roofs and walls from many buildings, flipped over vehicles and downed trees and power lines, officials said.

Hours later another tornado or extreme burst of wind was believed to have ripped open the roof of an auditorium in northern Illinois, causing a ceiling collapse, while a rock band was performing on stage, officials said.

One person died and 28 others were rushed by ambulance to area hospitals, five of them with serious injuries, Shawn Schadle, the fire chief in Belvidere, a riverside town near the border with Wisconsin, told reporters.

He said about 260 people were attending the concert at the city's Apollo Threatre, which featured the band Morbid Angel as part of the group's "Tour of Terror."

The mid-afternoon twister in Arkansas and the storm in Illinois were both spawned by one of numerous violent thunderstorms raking a vast swath of the U.S. heartland as part of a much larger expanse of extreme spring weather.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital, the region's only major trauma center, declared a level-1 mass casualty alert after the tornado struck Little Rock, the state's capital and most populous city, at mid-afternoon.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders told a late-night news conference the tornado claimed at least two lives in Wynne, about 100 miles (160 km) east of Little Rock near the Tennessee border.

Nearly 30 people in Little Rock were transported by fire department and other emergency personnel to area hospitals for injuries, Mayor Frank Scott Jr told reporters, adding, "By the grace of God, we have not experienced any fatalities".

Police said several areas in the western end of the city were hardest hit, and the mayor described property damage as "extensive".

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In the adjoining town of North Little Rock, just across the Arkansas River from the capital, Baptist Health Medical Center reported treating 11 patients from the storm, one of them in critical condition. Television station KTHV-TV reported one storm-related death in North Little Rock, but that could not be immediately confirmed.

Between five and 10 other patients were treated at the emergency department of the Unity Health hospital in nearby Jacksonville, administrator Kevin Burton said.

Wynne Police Chief Richard Dennis was quoted by television station KAIT8-TV in Jonesboro, Arkansas, as describing the storm's aftermath in his town as "total destruction," adding that dozens of people had been trapped in debris.

Aerial footage posted by The Weather Channel showed a heavily damaged area of Little Rock spanning several blocks with numerous homes missing roofs and walls, some of them collapsed, and overturned vehicles littering streets. KATV posted an image of a heavily damaged high school in Wynne.

The turbulent weather came one week after a swarm of thunderstorms unleashed a deadly tornado that devastated the Mississippi town of Rolling Fork, destroying many of the community's 400 homes and killing 26 people.

CLOSE CALL IN NAIL SALON

Video shot on Friday from a window in a Baptist Health facility and verified by Reuters showed a towering, swirling black column of air, moisture and dust plowing slowly through the landscape in the near distance.

One woman recounted in a live interview aired by KATV that she was visiting a salon to have her nails done when she looked out the window and saw leaves swirling moments before the building's roof was torn off.

She and others in the shop took cover in a back room as the twister struck and emerged to find the ceiling gone, said the woman, who seemed unhurt.

Governor Sanders said she had mobilized about 100 National Guard troops to assist in the emergency response, and signed an executive order to immediately authorize $250,000 from the state disaster response and recovery fund.

The twister struck as a blast of extreme spring weather swept much of the United States, menacing the nation's midsection from Texas to the Great Lakes with thunderstorms and tornados.

The National Weather Service (NWS) was tracking at least three dozen unconfirmed tornado reports in Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois and Iowa.

Tens of millions of Americans across the Great Plains, Midwest, South and East were under warnings and advisories for various weather hazards on Friday evening and into the weekend, the NWS said.

Besides Arkansas, southern Missouri, western Kentucky and western Tennessee were deemed at greatest risk of severe thunderstorms capable of producing violent tornados, large hail and damaging winds, the weather service said.

The northern, colder edge of the storm system, stretching from the High Plains to the upper Great Lakes, was expected to bring heavy snow, combining with winds gusting up to 50 mph (80 kph) to create blizzard conditions.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, Calif.; Additional reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif., and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Jamie Freed, Rosalba O'Brien, Raju Gopalakrishnan and William Mallard)
Netflix's

Netflix's "Love Is Blind" contestant Zack Goytowski and Elden Ring boss Godrick.

Netflixs Love Is Blind is known to stir up some of reality TVs most standout moments, and the hit dating shows latest season certainly delivers.

In Season 4 of the popular show, in which two complete strangers get engaged before actually meeting in person, one contestant recently went viral after going full-on gamer mode with an epic Elden Ring reference that Twitter users cant get over.

In the episode, Playing With Fire, which was released last Friday, contestant Zack Goytowski is seen on a cringe-worthy date with his wife-to-be and fellow contestant, Irina Solomonova, after the pair were whisked away to Mexico to unwind before preparing to say I do at the altar.

While having a deflated dinner by the beach, the topic of baby names came up in the duos already awkward conversation. Zach, a criminal defense attorney, then tells Irina, an event-planning business owner, that they should name their children after Elden Ring bosses.

Unfortunately for him, his suggestion causes the date to go even further down hill.

So before we were talking about [baby] names What about Godfrey? Zack says, referring to the video games First Elden Lord, aka the husband of Queen Marika.

In the video game, Godfrey leads a war against the Giants, who were using flames to threaten the Erdtree.

Visibly unimpressed by the name, Irina responds with an ew, completely turned off by his suggestion.

Not quite ready to back down from the idea, he then names another Elden Ring boss, Godrick, to which she also quickly shuts down.

As expected, Twitter users had a field day over the stars nod toward the challenging open world game.

WHOS GONNA TELL THIS GIRL HER HUSBAND WANTS TO NAME THEIR KIDS AFTER ELDEN RING BOSSES LOOOOOOOOOOOOL pic.twitter.com/4z16smrAXp  parky (@parkenharbor) March 26, 2023

on Love is Blind theres a guy thats trying to pitch elden ring demigod names as potential baby names. incredible bit  danny (@dsemumi) March 27, 2023

no way this dude is trying to name their kids after Elden Ring bosses



Love Is Blind goes crazy pic.twitter.com/RLvncHTCVK  Hunter (@HUN2R) March 26, 2023

Guy on Love is Blind just suggested Elden Ring bosses as names for their kids   J (@GhostOfIPAs) March 29, 2023

So I made my bf watch love is blind with me and he freaked with excitement when I showed him that tweet about zack saying elden ring names as baby names  and now our theory is that he knew he was dumping Irina by that time and was just trolling her  #LoveisBlind  Julia (@RealityJulia) March 28, 2023

Co-created by acclaimed author George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire  A Game of Thrones), Elden Ring is a fantasy action role-playing game in which players traverse a world of monsters and demigods, all seeking control over the land.

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Unfortunately for Zack and Irina, their engagement was short-lived as the pair officially broke up on the last night of their vacation in Mexico. Episode 5 left fans on a massive cliffhanger after Zack met up with Bliss, a former love interest on the show, to admit he wrongly chose Irina over her.

The first five episodes of Love Is Blind Season 4 are now streaming on Netflix, with new episodes coming Friday.

Related...
Alexander Lukashenko, the self-styled President of Belarus, claimed during the address to the Belarusian people that it is he who controls the Russian forces in the territory of Belarus, not his Russian counterpart.

Source: Byelorussian news outlet Nasha Niva

Quote: "The troops are undergoing combat training, ready to take joint efforts to protect our common security space. Stop saying Russia occupied something here. All these Russian units are training 500 Belarusian officers. Battle formation and training are ongoing. The Russian forces are providing us with armament and financial aid if needed. [They are] under our command."

Details: It is not the first time that Lukashenko expresses his indignation about a popular belief that it is not him but Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, who is in charge of the army.

Background:

On Friday, 31 March Lukashenko claimed during the address to the Belarusian people that the NATO member states are preparing to invade the territory of Belarus.

Lukashenko devoted a bigger part of his address not to Belarus but to the Russian war against Ukraine; many times he stressed the need for the negotiations between Zelenskyy and Putin, and made threats about nuclear weapons and Russia not yet deploying its military production to full capacity.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
In his address to the people and parliament, self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko traditionally blamed the West for all the troubles, mentioned the Russian occupation of Ukrainian Crimea, boasted that he had allegedly done a lot for peace in Ukraine, and stated about ten times that Zelenskyy and Putin needed to negotiate.

Source: Lukashenko's address to the Belarusian people and parliament on 31 March

Quote from the self-proclaimed president: "Where did all the well-known hot conflicts of recent decades begin? With the West's unquenchable desire to subjugate the entire world. And not even the West  one country. With the transition to self-sufficiency, sometimes very strong, truly independent states come under external control."

Details: Lukashenko devoted almost his entire address to Russia's war against Ukraine. And every few minutes, he emphasised the need for negotiations.

The self-proclaimed president of Belarus recalled how Russia occupied Crimea.

According to Lukashenko, the Russian Federation was allegedly "forced to take extraordinary measures by incorporating Crimea into Russia" to prevent "the danger of Ukraine joining NATO." And then Putin was allegedly "forced to take measures to protect the Russian people".

Lukashenko described how he allegedly tried to stop Russia's war against Ukraine and allegedly "ran like a dog from one president to another and passed various messages" and even offered to put "Belarusian border troops on the 450 km border that Ukrainians demanded be placed under the control of Ukraine".

He also recalled Russia's threats of nuclear weapons when "the third world war with nuclear fires loomed on the horizon" and added that it was necessary to start "negotiations without preconditions".

Lukashenko also said that at that time, he allegedly "in a brotherly and filial way" persuaded Zelenskyy to end the war.

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Now, according to him, there is also a "unique chance for negotiations" because Russia has allegedly "not yet deployed its military production to full capacity" because "if it deploys to full capacity, it will be challenging to talk about peace".

After that, Lukashenko, once again in the half-hour of his address, proposed to stop the fighting and declare a "ceasefire without the right to move and regroup troops on both sides."

And if, according to him, "even the slightest movement of Western weapons across the border of Ukraine is noticed," Russia is allegedly "obliged to use all its weapons, phosphorus munitions, depleted uranium, and enriched uranium, everything must be used".

Lukashenko also said that he allegedly had "insider information" that the Ukrainian and Russian military on the contact line were already allegedly "negotiating with each other".

"We need to go to negotiations, go directly, do not wait for intermediaries from either the east or the west," Lukashenko said.

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Lukashenko addressed a message with threats

During his address to the rubberstamp Belarusian parliament on March 31, the self-appointed president of Belarus said that both sides understand that victory cannot be achieved in the war.

Moreover, if Ukrainians believe that they will win, this is stupid, its impossible to defeat a nuclear state, Lukashenko said.

If the Russian leadership understands that the situation threatens the collapse of Russia, the most terrible weapon will be used. This cannot be allowed.

Read also: Lukashenko confirms damage to key early warning system in drone attack

Lukashenko also commented on Russias plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus.

He said that this is not intimidation or blackmail, but an opportunity to secure the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people.

The Belarusian dictator added that it is necessary to stop hostilities in Ukraine and declare a ceasefire.

Read also: Lukashenkos plans in China, and why Russia peddles biochemical threats from Ukraine

He said that its necessary to stop before the escalation begins.

Ill try to risk proposing a cessation of hostilities, the dictator said.

To stop hostilities, declare a ceasefire without the right to move, regroup troops on both sides, without the right to transfer weapons, manpower and equipment.

Lukashenko emphasized that all territorial, security and reconstruction issues must be resolved at the negotiating table without preconditions.

Meanwhile, commenting on Lukashenkos statements, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the context of Ukraine does not change and the full-scale war is the only way to achieve Russias goal, as reported by the Russian propaganda news agency RIA Novosti.

Peskov added that the Belarusian dictator could discuss his proposals with his Russian counterpart, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, during their meeting next week.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Belarusian usurper Alexander Lukashenko

The leaders of the subjects of the Russian Federation are not really presidents  they are called heads or governors. Thats all, said Levin, adding that Russia considers Belarus as an extension of its own statehood.

It seems to me that everything is quite understandable. Lukashenko also understands perfectly well that he is indeed the last (self-proclaimed) president of Belarus. He understands very well what plans Russia has for Belarus, what the future holds for Belarus.

They want to place their own, including nuclear, forces there to protect against the possibility of NATO or the West wanting to carry out democratization of Belarus, as sometimes happens with various dictators like Gaddafi and others, which Lukashenko understands perfectly well and is extremely afraid of, Levin added.

Read also: Foreign Ministry responds to Lukashenkos statement about non-aggression pact with Ukraine

Lukashenko spoke to the Belarusian people on March 31, stating that he had not submitted to Putin.

Meanwhile, Belarusian dictator parroted the narratives of Russian propaganda and Kremlin threats, saying that counting on victory against a state that has nuclear weapons is madness.

Lukashenko commented on Russias plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying that this is not about intimidating anyone or blackmail, but about the opportunity to secure the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people.

Read also: NATO urges Lukashenko to stop supporting Russia's military actions against Ukraine

On March 25, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced that he plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus. He justified his decision by claiming that the United Kingdom will transfer depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine.

According to the dictator, Russians have already refitted ten Belarusian planes for the use of tactical nuclear weapons and have provided Belarus with Iskander missile systems that can carry a nuclear payload. He also said that by July 1, a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons will be completed in Belarus.

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Putins statements have been criticized by a number of countries. The United States currently sees no signs of Russian nuclear weapons being moved to Belarus, while the EU is prepared to impose sanctions.

Against the backdrop of the Kremlins statements, Ukraine is requesting a meeting of the UN Security Council.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Lukashenko's security forces accidentally leak movement of S-400 air defense systems

The monitoring group stated that Lukashenko's Interior Ministry unit, the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK), published a video of the detention of four people, whom they called a "sleeper cell of extremists," in one of Gomel city's garage cooperatives.

One of the men was detained on the premises of the Gomel airport, and two S-400 air defense systems standing on the runway were captured in the footage.

Read also: Russia attacks Kharkiv with S-300 anti-air missiles

Lukashenko's security forces themselves thus additionally confirmed that the An-124 Ruslan aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces brought not only missiles but also S-400 launchers to Belarus.

Belarusian Hajun has previously drawn attention to this activity.

Read also: Four Russian An-124 Ruslan planes spotted coming to Belarus

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
Luke Shaw is close to signing a new long-term contract (Tim Goode/PA) (PA Wire)

Luke Shaw is close to signing a new long-term deal with Manchester United, the PA news agency understands.

The 27-year-old has been with the club since 2014, when the move from Southampton saw him become the most expensive teenager in history.

Shaws current deal had been due to expire in the summer, only for United to trigger a one-year extension clause to keep him until the end of the 2023-24 season.

Contract talks are believed to have progressed well and the England international is now very close to signing the new deal.

Shaw, who has made 248 appearances for United, is reportedly set to sign a four-year deal at Old Trafford.
Its been 37 years since Jim Crisp Jr. directed a play for the Macon Little Theatre stage.

Today, he returns to MLT as guest director of Neil Simons Pulitzer Prize-winning Lost in Yonkers which runs through April 9.

Neil Simon was certainly one of the greatest playwrights and Lost in Yonkers is a great, award-winning show so its a perfect match for Jim and his experience, said JP Haynie, artistic director at MLT. Jim has more than 300 shows under his belt as a director so its the perfect show and also the perfect time to bring him back to Macon Little Theatre.

Though its been quite a stretch since Crisp last directed at MLT, it was MLT that brought a young Crisp to Macon in the first place.

I moved to Macon to work with Macon Little Theatre in 1982, quite a wonderful year for them as they were celebrating their 50th anniversary, Crisp said. The first play I directed was in celebration of the theaters history and was a repeat of the first play theyd ever performed, Noel Cowards Hay Fever.

But Crisps stay at MLT only lasted just over three years: he was fired from the theatre group in early 1986 over artistic differences. But instead of leaving town for new opportunities, Crisp and a handful of others created a new opportunity right here by forming another community theatre group: Theatre Macon.

The first show Theatre Macon staged was the somewhat challenging The Miracle Worker, the story of young Helen Keller who lost her sight and hearing at 19 months old.

It was a tough play to do but we had a marvelous cast and Hellen Keller was played brilliantly by 7-year-old Amanda Hutchinson, Crisp said. We chose Miracle Worker intentionally because its about the importance of finding the way to community and living in awareness and love. Despite its unique circumstances, the story of Hellen Keller and her teacher and lifelong companion, Anne Sullivan, is a universal one of overcoming challenges. Its uplifting and full of love.

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Crisp steered Theatre Macon until his retirement in 2018 when the artistic director role was handed to Richard Frazier. Through the years, Crisp has won recognition for the plays he has staged and for fostering the arts in Macon.

If theres value in Crisps returning to MLT, aside from the value of simply putting on a good show, it may be found in that word community. If there were differences in the past, artistic or otherwise, both Crisp and Haynie are certain theres no place for them in the present.

It really is a good sign of the sense of community thats grown up among the theatre groups in Middle Georgia, Haynie said. Its been a tough time for everyone in the past several years, especially navigating COVID. If weve learned anything its that were in this together and whats good for one group is beneficial to all.

We each have our unique flavor but were here to help one another out. I think weve all come to the point where what matters most is that the arts are succeeding.

And somehow, if not voiced outright, Crisps working with MLT on Lost in Yonkers is a statement of the health of local theatre groups. Haynie said he sees it as coming full circle and, of course, Crisp is pleased.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Id be going back but here we are, he said. I give credit to JP, hes done such a wonderful job since coming to Macon Little Theatre which is where he grew up in acting.

Haynies mother, Sylvia Haynie, has long been involved with MLT, directed multiple plays and served as an area theatre educator. Haynie said he considers her as his mother in the world of theater, of course, and Crisp as his father.

Though Crisp said in years past he didnt imagine a return to MLT, he said it feels, right, feels healing and doesnt feel weird at all.

It just feels like Ive gone back to a place I used to live and Im enjoying it immensely, he said before again bragging about Haynie and Frazier who he said worked hard, purposefully and gladly to create collegial, cooperative relationships among area community theaters.

As far as the play itself, Crisp, who knows about such things, said, Oh, we have a superb cast and its a wonderful show. Everyone will enjoy it.

MLT is located at 4220 Forsyth Rd. Ticketing and information are at www.maconlittletheatre.org.

Touching on other area theater productions, Theatre Macons Perfect Arrangement ends Sunday. See theatremacon.com for details on weekend shows.

The Perry Players (perryplayers.org) bring Noel Cowards Blithe Spirit to the stage beginning April 20 at their playhouse at 909 Main St. in Perry and Warner Robins Little Theatre (wrlittletheatre.com) begins Color Me Crazy on April 21 at 502 South Pleasant Hill Rd. in Warner Robins.

While our focus rightly concentrates on Middle Georgia, its worthwhile to occasionally look further afield and thats the case with the Savannah Music Festival which enters its second week this weekend. While a performance by blues legend Buddy Guy highlighted the first week, theres much more to come.

Ryan McMaken, artistic director for the festival, said there have been record post-COVID crowds attending venues throughout Savannahs historic district and elsewhere, including a major jazz-infused funk and R&B show Sunday with Galactic, Cory Wong, and Nate Smith + KINFOLK that also features food trucks, family-friendly activities and ticket prices.

Other coming highlights include the award-winning Tex-Mex rock band Los Lobos on Saturday. On April 5, multi-instrumental bluegrass artist Sam Bush plays the music of John Hartford on a double bill with The Jerry Douglas Band. If you love great acoustic guitarists-songwriters you cant do better than seeing Leo Kottke on April 6 or Patty Griffin on April 7.

More classically minded? Among offerings is the April 8 appearance of the celebrated Emerson String Quartet on their final season of concerts after four-plus decades as a premier chamber music ensemble.

Theres much more and information is at savannahmusicfestival.org.

Its just a short drive to Savannah to explore a world of music, McMaken said. Many of the performances are one-time only double bills, special collaborations and rare regional appearances. The last week of the festival is packed with incredible international artists, including master musicians from Mali, Ireland, Cuba and France.

Finally, a few weekend notes. If you want an evening of laughter, comedian Leanne Morgan is the answer and her Just Getting Started tour is at the Macon City Auditorium Saturday. Its the chance to see her live whether youre one of her 2.5 million social media followers or not. And your chance to catch her before her new Netflix special premiers April 11. Information and ticketing are at maconcentreplex.org/auditorium and www.leannemorgan.com.

And get this: Boyz II Men is playing the auditorium tonight. Macon City Auditorium is located downtown at 415 First St.

The fourth annual Little Richard Festival is Saturday from 2-9 p.m. at 416 Craft St. and on April 5, the Museum of Arts and Sciences (masmacon.com) presents 2 Fronts: An Evening with Alfred Conteh. The free lecture/gallery talk begins at 6 p.m. and compliments the current exhibit 2 Fronts.

Conteh is a Georgia-based artist whose realistic, large-scale paintings explore how African diaspora societies in the South are fighting social, economic, educational and psychological wars from within and without to survive.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.
Map of Madagascar

Situated off the southeast coast of Africa, Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. Having developed in isolation, the island nation is famed for its unique wildlife.

Traditionally, the economy has been based on the cultivation of paddy rice, coffee, vanilla and cloves.

But, despite a wealth of natural resources and a tourism industry driven by its unique environment, the country remains one of the world's poorest, and is heavily dependent on foreign aid.

Since gaining independence from France in 1960, Madagascar has experienced repeated bouts of political instability, including coups, violent unrest and disputed elections.

The most recent coup in 2009 led to five years of political deadlock, international condemnation and economic sanctions.

Read more country profiles - Profiles by BBC Monitoring

LEADER

President: Andry Rajoelina

Businessman Andry Rajoelina took office as president in January 2019, ending a decade of political turbulence that began with his ouster of President Marc Ravalomanana in 2009.

The feud between the two men came to a head that year, when President Ravalomanana dismissed Mr Rajoelina as mayor of the capital Antananarivo.

The ousted mayor in turn spearheaded a revolt that drove the president into exile. Mr Rajoelina ruled as head of an interim authority that struggled with international sanctions until 2014, when an often difficult process of accommodation between rival political camps led to him ceding power to elected President Hery Rajaonarimampianina.

Mr Rajoelina then defeated both President Rajaonarimampianina and Mr Ravalomanana in a presidential election in late 2018.

MEDIA

The media are highly-politicised and vulnerable to influence from their owners, says Reporters Without Borders.

Radio is a key news source. Around 10% of Madagascans are online.

TIMELINE

Some key dates in Madagascar's history:

French troops suppressed an uprising in 1947

16th-17th centuries - First Europeans arrive but fail to gain a foothold.

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1883 - French invasion.

1896 - Monarchy overthrown, and Madagascar declared a French colony.

1946 - Madagascar becomes French overseas territory.

1947 - France crushes a rebellion.

1960 - Madagascar wins independence, with Philibert Tsiranana as president.

1975 - Didier Ratsiraka seizes power in coup and rules for the most part of 30 years.

1992 - Democratic reforms usher in new constitution.

2001 - After a disputed presidential election, Didier Ratsiraka flees to France.

2009 - Bloodless coup results in economic sanctions.

2013 - Democratic elections fail to bring political stability, with executive pitted against legislature.

2018 - Andry Rajoelina wins the presidential election.
At least 35 people have been killed after falling into a well while offering prayers at a temple in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Fourteen others have been rescued and one person is still missing in the accident that took place in Indore city.

Police said the victims were standing on a concrete slab over the well when it collapsed under their weight.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "extremely pained by the mishap".

The incident took place on Thursday during a prayer ceremony organised at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple on the occasion of Hindu festival of Ram Navami.

A large crowd of devotees were standing on the concrete slab covering the well which collapsed under their weight, plunging dozens of people into the almost 40ft (12m) deep well.

Local media reported that the temple was constructed after the well had been covered about four decades ago.

Senior official Illayaraja T told ANI news channel that 18 people were admitted to the hospital after being rescued and two people have been discharged so far. He added that a search operation is still underway to find the missing person.

A team of 75 personnel, including those from the state and national disaster response forces are engaged in rescue efforts.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a compensation of 500,000 rupees ($6000; 4900) to the kin of the deceased and 50,000 rupees to the injured.

Mr Modi tweeted his condolences to the victims' families and also announced a compensation of 200,000 rupees for them.

BBC News India is now on YouTube. Click here to subscribe and watch our documentaries, explainers and features.

Read more India stories on privacy from the BBC:
Reproductive rights protesters Photo by MOISES AVILA/AFP via Getty Images

This week, the Idaho state Senate read for the first time a draft of House Bill 242, a new Republican-led push to further limit abortion access in a state with some of the most restrictive reproductive health laws already on the books. The measure, dubbed the "abortion trafficking" bill, has been hailed by proponents as a major step forward for parental rights, while detractors worry it sets a new precedent for red states in the country's post-Dobbs era.

So what would the bill actually do, where does it stand now, and does it really have a chance at becoming law?

What is 'abortion trafficking'?

According to the text of the bill:

An adult who, with the intent to conceal an abortion from the parents or guardian of a pregnant, unemancipated minor, either procures an abortion [...] or obtains an abortion-inducing drug for the pregnant minor to use for an abortion by recruiting, harboring, or transporting the pregnant minor within this state commits the crime of abortion trafficking.

In this, the word "trafficking" is somewhat misleading; the bill does not overtly criminalize crossing state lines, which is a constitutional right. Rather, it makes it illegal to transport and aid a minor within Idaho hoping to access reproductive healthcare  either in-state, or through out-of-state assistance  without their parent's consent. Crucially, this includes helping a minor access pregnancy-ending drugs, such as mifepristone and misoprostol. Adults convicted under the proposed law could face anywhere from two to five years in prison.

"Since the bill would criminalize anyone transporting a pregnant minor without parental consent within the state to get an abortion or to obtain medication abortion," writes HuffPost, "it could apply to an aunt who drives a pregnant minor to the post office to pick up a package that includes abortion pills."

The bill also allows family members to sue reproductive health professionals for a minimum of $20,000 for having "knowingly or recklessly attempted, performed, or induced an abortion" in violation of the statute.

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What are advocates saying?

"We want to make sure that parents have a say in the life choices of their children," Republican State Rep. Kevin Andrus, one of the bill's co-sponsors, told The Associated Press. "It will do a lot to save lives."

Speaking with HuffPost, fellow co-sponsor Rep Barbara Ehardt agreed, explaining that "it's already illegal to get an abortion here in the state of Idaho. So, it would be taking that child across the border, and if that happens without the permission of the parent, that's where we'll be able to hold accountable those that would subvert a parent's right."

Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, the Idaho State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, pushed back on that claim, telling local CBS affiliate KMVT that "the majority of young people facing an unexpected pregnancy do involve their parents in their decision-making. But, for young children living in abusive households, disclosing sexual activity or pregnancy can trigger physical or emotional abuse, including direct physical or sexual violence, or being thrown out of the home."

Idaho Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow was even more direct in her criticism of the proposed legislation, telling HuffPost that "The far right has an incremental plan. It's death by a thousand cuts on many things, but they're especially unrelenting on abortion."

"My colleagues are just rabid about denying all access to abortion care," she added. "It's really harmful to women, and it's harmful to our state."

Will the bill actually pass?

As things currently stand, it seems extremely likely that HB242 will become law in the near future. Earlier this month the GOP-led state House overwhelmingly passed the measure 57-12, with just two Republicans crossing the aisle to oppose the bill. This week, it cleared the Republican-controlled state Senate, where Democrats are outnumbered 4-1. It now goes to the desk of Gov. Brad Little (R), who, when asked by ABC News for comment, declined to say whether he'd sign the measure. Just over one year ago Little, a staunch opponent of abortion, signed Idaho's Texas-modeled ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

"It feels terribly inevitable that this bill will pass," Minority Leader Wintrow told Huffpost. "That's what we're facing. That's my fear. That's the pit in my stomach."

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Map of Malawi

Malawi, a largely agricultural country, is making efforts to overcome decades of underdevelopment.

For the first 30 years of independence Malawi was run by an authoritarian and quixotic President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, but democratic institutions have taken hold since he relinquished power in the mid-1990s.

Most Malawians rely on subsistence farming, but the food supply situation is precarious because of the climate.

In recent years the country has achieved significant economic growth.

Read more country profiles - Profiles by BBC Monitoring

LEADER

President: Lazarus Chakwera

Mr Chakwera was sworn in as president in June 2020, ending a period of turmoil after annulled elections the previous year.

A Christian preacher and theologian, he beat the incumbent president Peter Mutharika in a re-run of the 2019 poll, which the courts decided had seen widespread irregularities.

President Chakwera has pledged to try to unite the country after the bruising political stand-off.

MEDIA

Newspaper vendor in Malawi

Radio is the leading medium and state-run MBC is the main national broadcaster.

The freedom to inform has improved and the number of abuses against journalists has fallen dramatically, says Reporters Without Borders.

TIMELINE

Some key dates in Malawi's history:

Hastings Kamuzu Banda agitated for independence from Britain and became President for Life

1480 - Bantu tribes unite several smaller political states to form the Maravi Confederacy which at its height includes large parts of present-day Zambia and Mozambique plus the modern state of Malawi.

17th century - Portuguese explorers arrive from the east coast of present-day Mozambique.

1850 - Scottish missionary David Livingstone's exploration of the region paves the way for missionaries, European adventurers, traders.

1891 - Britain establishes the Nyasaland and District Protectorate.

1915 - Reverend John Chilembwe leads a revolt against British rule, killing the white managers of a particularly brutal estate and displaying the head of one outside his church. He is shot dead by police within days.

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1953 - Despite strong opposition from the Nyasaland African Congress and white liberal activists, Britain combines Nyasaland with the Federation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively).

1964 6 July - Nyasaland declares independence as Malawi. Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, "the black messiah", becomes president and rules over a one-party state for the next three decades.

1994 - Bakili Muluzi is elected president in first multi-party elections since independence. He immediately frees political prisoners and re-establishes freedom of speech.

2011 - Police kill 19 people in two days of protests against the way the economy is managed. Britain suspends aid over governance concerns. US follows suit.

2012 April - President Bingu wa Mutharika dies in office, is succeeded by vice-president Joyce Banda.

2014 May - Peter Mutharika, brother of Bingu wa Mutharika, wins presidential election.

2020 - Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera beats Peter Mutharika in rescheduled elections, after the previous year's poll was annulled over vote-tampering.
Ogden police officer Chavis Whitby walks to his car outside of Ogden High School after police responded to false threats of shots fired on Wednesday. Investigators say the calls made in Utah are similar to ones received in Rhode Island. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

As state and local police continue to investigate a series of hoax school shooting calls made on Wednesday, prompting a large police response in multiple Utah cities, officials say all the calls were made by the same male who had a "foreign accent."

Police from Box Elder to Utah County, and in areas such as Grand and Garfield counties, responded to 13 calls between 9:30 a.m. and noon on Wednesday claiming that an active shooter was in a school.

On Thursday, the Utah Department of Public Safety said all the calls were made by someone with a foreign accent, though spokeswoman Hillary Koellner said she did not know what nationality the accent resembled.

Each call was similar but varied just a little, she said, meaning investigators are looking at the likelihood that each call was live and not a pre-recorded message. In all 13 cases, a male called the general police dispatch numbers of an area  not 911  and claimed he was hiding inside the school with others who were wounded from being shot by a white male, Koellner said.

"That caller reported that there were shots fired and several students were down and injured by gunfire," added Ogden Police Capt. Tim Scott.

When asked whether the calls identified all 13 schools by name or if general words like "high school" were used, Koellner said in one call, the man "had some detail" about the high school where he claimed there was a shooting. However, investigators aren't sure if the caller actually knew about that high school or if it was a coincidence. Some local investigators believe the calls were made from outside of Utah since the caller was not aware that West High School is on spring break this week.

The same phone number was used for all 13 incidents, which was tracked to an IP address, meaning that a digital number was used versus a regular phone line, Koellner said. Because of that, she said the calls may not have necessarily originated from a foreign country.

Other states also reported similar school shooter hoax callers. Koellner said in one state, Rhode Island, the caller gave descriptions that were very similar to the types of calls made in Utah. According to media reports, several schools in Rhode Island received hoax school shooting calls on Monday. Massachusetts received hoax calls on Tuesday.

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Although the calls in Utah were determined to be hoaxes, schools still initiated lockdown protocols as heavily armed officers raced to the schools. Hoax calls were received for Ogden High School, West High School, Provo High School, Spanish Fork High School, Box Elder High School, Crimson Cliffs High School in Washington, as well as schools in Grand, Sevier and Garfield counties.

The threats come three days after three children and three adults were killed at a Christian elementary school in Nashville.

Koellner said finding out who made the hoax calls is currently the department's "No. 1 priority."
Glendale police.

Glendale police arrested a man on Friday who they say violently assaulted a Circle K employee and stole alcohol in December of last year.

Just before 3 a.m. Dec. 18, Glendale police responded to a report of a robbery at a Circle K near Bethany Home Road and 59th Avenue. They found a man was attempting to obtain alcohol after the legally mandated time and was asked to leave by a store clerk.

The man, now identified as Salvador Gonzalez Duenas, 26, then attacked the store clerk, police said. Over the course of about 40 seconds, Gonzalez Duenas choked the clerk multiple times and left him with a broken leg, police reported from surveillance video footage that captured the incident.

Following the attack, Gonzalez Duenas then went to the cooler where he obtained what appears to be a case of beer and exited the store without purchasing it, according to police.

After the incident, police said they received a tip that led to Gonzalez Duenas' identification. On Friday, Gonzalez Duenas was arrested and booked on one count of aggravated assault, one count of burglary, and one count of robbery.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Glendale police: Man arrested after assaulting store clerk over beer
Investigators say the man accused of shooting a Pasco police officer was aiming his gun at a sheriffs deputy when he was shot.

David Ramos Galvez, 37, of Pasco, had already allegedly wounded the Pasco officer and led Franklin County deputies on a short chase before the violent confrontation at the corner of Argent Road and Road 64 on March 24.

A video shows Galvez pointing a gun at the Benton County sheriffs deputy in Pasco before the deputy opened fire, according to a Regional Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report released on Friday.

Investigators from the the Regional Special Investigations Unit document the officer involved shooting scene on March 24 on Argent Road at Road 64 in Pasco. A Benton County Sheriff deputy was involved in a shooting of the suspect that earlier shot and wounded a Pasco police officer at a gas station of West Court Street, according to a police press release.

Investigation

The special investigations report a week after the confrontation offered its first look into shootings that landed the Pasco officer and his accused assailant in the hospital.

While investigators released the name of the suspect and the officer who was shot, the Benton County deputys name was not released on Friday.

Richland police Commander Damon Jansen said they are not releasing the deputys name at this time.

The entire encounter lasted about 10 minutes, and started just before 6 a.m. March 24 with a call about a reckless driver who stopped at the Circle K convenience store, 3109 W. Court St.

Officer Phil Hanks pulled in front of Galvezs BMW in the parking lot to stop it from leaving because he had reportedly been driving recklessly.

Hanks got out of his car and started walking toward the drivers side of the BMW when Galvez allegedly began firing through the closed drivers door, according to the SIU release.

David Ramos Galvez

One of the shots hit Hanks in the arm, and he fell to the ground. He crawled to his car to get to safety. As he reported to emergency dispatchers that he was shot, Galvez drove away.

Witnesses at the gas station rushed to help the injured officer and called 911.

Hanks was treated at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland and was taken home the same day.

Chase and shooting

After hearing that Hanks was shot, officers from across the region began searching the area.

A Franklin County sheriffs sergeant spotted the white BMW on Riverhaven Drive, according to dispatch reports.

Story continues

The sergeant was joined by another deputy and they attempted to stop the car, but Galvez continued driving. Since he was suspected of committing a violent crime, Washington state laws allowed the deputies to start pursuing him.

He led the deputies on a five-minute chase through the city that reached speeds of about 65 mph on Court Street.

As he heading north on Road 64, two Benton County deputies were preparing to lay down a spike strip at the intersection with Argent Road to puncture his tires.

One of the deputies deployed the strip as the Galvez approached the intersection.

Its unclear whether the car hit the strip, but he slowed down when he came into the intersection.

The SIU release said Galvez turned toward the second Benton County deputy and stopped his car.

Several body-worn cameras and patrol car dash cameras showed Galvez was pointing a gun at one deputy before the deputy responded by firing several times, according to the report.

The video has yet to be released to the public.

Police did not say how many times Galvez was hit, but officers approached the car. And when they opened the car door, Galvez was still holding the handgun and had another gun on his gap, said the report.

The report does not say what happened next but says officers provided first aid before he was taken to an area hospital.

Galvezs condition and location remains unclear.

The release said he is in custody on suspicion of two counts of first-degree attempted murder, unlawful possession of a gun, possession of a stolen firearm and attempting to elude police.

Franklin County jail records show he has not been booked into the jail.

Galvez has a lengthy criminal history, with multiple charges for assaulting or obstructing law enforcement officers in Franklin County, show court records.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Sgt. Steve Warren with the Franklin County Sheriffs Office at swarren@franklincountywa.gov or Richland Police Department Sgt. John Raby at jraby@ci.richland.wa.us or 509-942-7713.
A man intentionally chopped down trees with a chainsaw so theyd fall on newly built homes in a North Carolina neighborhood, a police chief said.

A builder first discovered that a home in East Spencer had been damaged by a tree on March 24, East Spencer Police Chief John H. Fewell, Jr. told McClatchy News.

At first, Fewell said, he thought the damage was caused by a weather event or an accident.

On March 27, a Realtor showing the home next door discovered that it had been hit by a tree, Fewell said.

A tree had fallen through the roof and crashed halfway through the house, he said. The damage was so severe that it would have to be rebuilt.

Also, markings on the tree stumps showed that they had been purposefully cut down, according to Queen City News.

At that point, Fewell said he knew the damage wasnt accidental.

Somebodys trying to damage these houses, and we need to figure out why, he said.

The houses are two of four new homes built on Third Street, a dead end residential street, according to Queen City News.

Later that day, Fewell said officers arrested a man who was known throughout the community and had been seen chopping down trees in the area. He was charged with two counts of felony property damage.

He was released on personal recognizance.

Fewell said detectives still dont know why the man tried to damage the homes.

I have a good feeling it was malicious because of how he tried to hide it, he said.

East Spencer is about 45 miles northeast of Charlotte.

Flying turkey smashes into food trucks windshield, co-owner says. Felt like a bomb

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Phoenix police.

A search was underway Friday after a man was shot and hospitalized in critical condition in Phoenix.

Phoenix police spokesperson Sgt. Brian Bower said officers responded to an area near 32nd Street and Earll Drive on Friday after reports of a shooting.

When they arrived, they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, police said.

According to Bower, the shooter fled the area before police arrived at the scene and a search for the assailant was still underway.

The scene remained active as detectives continued their investigation as of Friday afternoon.

Police released no other information regarding the shooting or the identities of those involved.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man shot, critically injured in Phoenix; search for shooter underway
Image via Getty/Marcia Straub

A man from Hagerstown, Maryland is facing up to five years in prison after he called his ex-girlfriend over 800 times over two days.

As the US Attorneys Office for the Northern District of West Virginia revealed, 44-year-old Derik Wayne Bowers has been charged with one count of stalking by a Martinsburg federal grand jury. In December 2022, Bowers harassed his ex-girlfriend through messages online, text messages, and phone calls. At one point, he tried to call her 815 times in the space of just 48 hours. He also attempted to embarrass her with various public posts shared on social media, court documents allege.

Cyberstalking is a pervasive problem that we treat very seriously in West Virginia, said United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld. I encourage those who are being intimidated online and who suffer substantial emotional distress as a result to file a police report so that wrongdoers may be investigated and held to account. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.

The indictment against Wayne Bowers comes just weeks after a 55-year-old British man was sentenced to three months in prison for stalking a BBC presenter. As The Advertiser & Times reported this month, Timothy OBrien sent presenter Alexis Green over 100 harassing messages on Facebook in December and January. She said that he sent her unsolicited explicit images and videos on the platform, and repeatedly propositioned her for sex. If you dont block me, I will take that as a yes, he wrote in one of the messages.

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An 85-year-old man was killed after a worker he had hired to do odd jobs ran him over in Arizona, deputies said.

Melvin Moore was found lying on the side of a street at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, in Randolph, the Pinal County Sheriffs Office said in a Facebook post.

Moore was taken to a hospital with serious injuries where he died, authorities said.

Before being struck, he hired 20-year-old Ricky Gibson to do odd jobs for him, deputies said.

But Moore noticed his motorized bike was missing, so he went to confront Gibson over the stolen bike, according to the sheriffs office.

During the encounter, Gibson overpowered Moore, got into his truck and ran him over, deputies said.

Gibson was arrested on a first-degree murder charge and is being held on a $1 million bail.

My thoughts are with Moores family during this time of grieving, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said in the post.

Randolph is about 60 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix.

6-year-old dies days after crash with driver fleeing cops kills his mom, CA police say

18-year-old kidnapped, tortured in a basement until his mother paid $20,000, feds say

Homicide suspect speeds through a crime scene before his fatal crash, Florida cops say
Erling Haaland needs to prove his fitness ahead of Saturdays early game (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

Erling Haaland faces a fitness test ahead of Manchester Citys Premier League clash with Liverpool on Saturday.

The prolific striker withdrew from Norways recent Euro 2024 qualifiers after suffering a groin injury in Citys FA Cup victory over Burnley a fortnight ago.

Haaland, who has scored 42 goals in all competitions this season, will be assessed after Citys final training session ahead of the lunchtime encounter at the Etihad Stadium.

Manager Pep Guardiola said at a press conference on Friday: Erling is recovering. Well see this afternoon. The last training is at 4pm and we will see how he feels.

City, who trail leaders Arsenal by eight points with a game in hand, have a big few weeks ahead.

They face Bayern Munich over two legs in the Champions League quarter-finals and then face the Gunners in another crucial fixture before the end of April.

It could therefore be a risk to play Haaland this weekend if not fully fit but Guardiola is not ruling anything out.

#PL football is back this weekend 



Here's a little look at how things stand... pic.twitter.com/0PpzYC8ylA  Premier League (@premierleague) March 27, 2023

He said: Well see, the doctors and the player will decide, if he feels good. Well see, life at this stage is risks and sometimes you have to take.

City will definitely be without midfielder Phil Foden, who underwent surgery to remove his appendix last week.

Guardiola said: The doctors tell me (he will be out) two or three weeks. We will see how he develops.
Alvin Bragg and Donald Trump Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The Manhattan district attorney's office blasted House Republicans in a letter dated Friday.

Three committee chairmen have subpoenaed DA Bragg over the office's investigation into Trump.

The Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump on Thursday.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office brushed off House GOP's threats of investigation, warning three committee chairmen not to interfere with the prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

"Like any other defendant, Mr. Trump is entitled to challenge these charges in court and avail himself of all processes and protections that New York State's robust criminal procedure affords," a lawyer for Bragg's office wrote in a letter dated Friday to Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, James Comer of Kentucky, and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, chairmen of the powerful House Judiciary, Oversight, and Administration committees, respectively.

"What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State," the DA's general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, added.

A Manhattan grand jury brought criminal charges against Trump on Thursday. Although the indictment remains under seal until Trump appears in court, it caps off a yearslong investigation and likely focuses on alleged campaign finance crimes related to payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels.

Michael Cohen, a former personal lawyer for Trump, said he paid Daniels $130,000 to keep her quiet ahead of the 2016 presidential election about an affair she says she had with Trump  a plot Cohen says was carried out at Trump's direction. Trump has denied the affair and says he's done nothing wrong.

Trump has long been characterizing the investigation, and now the charges brought against him, as a political witch hunt. In the aftermath of the indictment, he rallied his congressional Republican allies, who had been trying to investigate the Manhattan district attorney's office, for support, according to CNN.

Story continues

The Friday letter from Bragg's office blasts the three Republicans for "an improper and dangerous usurpation of the executive and judicial functions" for trying to determine "whether any charges against Mr. Trump are warranted."

"Even worse, based on your reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury process, it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective," Dubeck wrote.

The chairmen made their first request on March 20 for testimony and documents from the Manhattan district attorney's office related to its investigation into Trump, amid reports that an indictment appeared imminent.

"In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision," the lawmakers said in a letter to Bragg.

A spokesperson for Bragg at the time responded that the office "will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process," and the office sent a letter defying the request. The trio of House Republicans followed up again, pressing for information related to the district attorney's probe.

Friday's letter says any interference in an ongoing criminal investigation would be "unprecedented and illegitimate," and jeopardize Trump's privacy rights. It also accuses the Republican chairmen of choosing "to collaborate with Mr. Trump's efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of elected state prosecutors and trial judges."

"As you are no doubt aware, former President Trump has directed harsh invective against District Attorney Bragg and threatened on social media that his arrest or indictment in New York may unleash 'death & destruction,'" the letter says. "As Committee Chairmen, you could use the stature of your office to denounce these attacks and urge respect for the fairness of our justice system and for the work of the impartial grand jury."

Representatives for Jordan, Comer, and Steil did not immediately return requests for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Manhattan district attorneys office said Thursday that theyve reached out to former President Trump to coordinate his surrender after he was indicted on criminal charges by a grand jury in New York.

This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal, a spokesperson for the DAs office said.

Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected, they added.

Trump was indicted for his role in organizing hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first sitting or former U.S. president to face criminal charges.

The indictment has drawn mixed reactions from lawmakers and Hollywood critics alike, with many in the GOP decrying the Manhattan prosecutors probe as politically motivated, while Democrats laud the indictment as proof no one is above the law.

Trump will be reportedly be arraigned next week and appear in court so the charges against him can be read aloud.

The former president lashed out after news of the indictment broke, accusing Democrats of indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference. Trump, who lost his 2020 reelection bid to now-President Biden, is currently running for another term in the White House in 2024.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Manhattan district attorneys office asked for Donald Trump to surrender on Friday following a grand jurys vote to indict the former president.

But lawyers for Trump rebuffed the request saying that the Secret Service, which provides security detail for the former president, needed more time to prepare.

The exchange, which was relayed to POLITICO by a law-enforcement source and confirmed by Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for the former president, underscores the extremely delicate, unprecedented nature of the indictment. Until Thursday, no ex-president in history had been criminally charged. And both the charges itself and the application of them have placed the country on uncharted legal and political terrain.

A spokesperson for the D.A.s office didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.



Trump is expected to surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s office, but Tacopina said that no precise date had been set for it. Ultimately the Secret Service will have to coordinate the conditions of the surrender with court officials and the New York Police Department.

Though it is not believed that Trump will resist arrest, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis  a likely 2024 primary opponent to Trump  said on Twitter Thursday that his state would not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan D.A.

DeSantis tweet came hours after the Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump in a case related to his hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Daniels has alleged that the two had an affair which Trump sought to keep private during the 2016 campaign.
An image of the TikTok logo behind a red fence. The Biden administration is demanding Chinese stakeholders divest their ownership in the app.

Although it might seem like the U.S. is the only country worried over Chinese ownership of TikTok, concerns about the ByteDance-owned app have quickly spread across the world. In just a few months, more than half a dozen countries have adopted full or partial bans of TikTok on government devices, putting even more pressure on the popular app to completely cut ties with its parent company in China.

The string of new bans began in December when Taiwan, ever on alert about Chinas intentions, blocked government employees from using the app on official devices. That same month, the U.S. House of Representatives banned TikTok on devices used by members and staffers.

Read more

This year, TikTok bans in the halls of government have started popping up all over Europe, with the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-country European Union, blocking its approximately 32,000 employees from using it. Ever the contrarian, the U.K. initially said it was leaving the choice up to individuals, but then changed its mind and banned TikTok, too.

Click through to see which countries have banned TikTok so far.

Dec. 8, 2022: Taiwan Bans TikTok

Photo: Annabelle Chih (Getty Images)

Taiwan bans government and public employees on from installing and using official devices.

Dec. 27, 2022: TikTok Banned on Official Devices in the House of Representatives

Photo: Sarah Silbiger (Getty Images)

The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer emails all members of the House of Representatives and their staffers to inform them that TikTok is not allowed on U.S. government devices.

Feb. 23, 2023: European Commission Bans TikTok on Government Devices

Photo: Carl Court (Getty Images)

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27 countries in the European Union, banned its roughly 32,000 employees from using TikTok on government devices as well as on personal devices that use government apps and email.

Story continues

Feb. 27, 2023: Canada Bans TikTok on Government Devices

Photo: Dave Chan (Getty Images)

Canada banned TikTok from all government devices and did not rule out further action against the Chinese-owned app. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadians would likely reflect on what the government ban means for the security of their own data and perhaps make choices.

March 1, 2023: The Latvian Foreign Ministry Bans TikTok

Photo: Brian Bahr (Getty Images)

In a Twitter post, Latvian Foreign Minister said that he had deleted TikTok on his phone and announced that the foreign ministry was now prohibited from using the app.

March 6, 2023: Denmark Defense Ministry Bans TikTok

Photo: Andrew Redington (Getty Images)

After the Danish Center for Cyber Security determined that TikTok posed a risk a espionage, the countrys defense ministry banned the use of the app on its employees devices. Days later on March 10, Denmarks public broadcaster, DR, also blocked TikTok on its workers phones.

March 10, 2023: Belgium Bans TikTok on Government Phones

Photo: Ronald Martinez (Getty Images)

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo bans TikTok on government devices, citing warnings from the countrys security service and cybersecurity center. In a statement, De Croo stated that Belgium could not be naive and pointed out that TikTok is obligated to cooperate with Chinese intelligence services.

March 16, 2023: UK Bans TikTok After Initially Holding Off

Photo: Jack Taylor (Getty Images)

The UK banned TikTok on government devices effective immediately after initially stating it wouldnt follow other governments and leave the decision up to individual officials. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said the move was proportionate based on the specific risk with government devices.

March 17, 2023: New Zealand Bans TikTok on Parliamentary Devices

Photo: Hagen Hopkins (Getty Images)

The Parliament of New Zealand informed its members that TikTok would be banned on parliamentary devicesat the end of the month, stating that the risks are not acceptable in the current New Zealand parliament environment.

March 31, 2023: NATO bans TikTok on employee devices

This is NATO headquarters, where you cannot use TikTok

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the transatlantic military alliance of 30 nations, including the U.S., barred its staffers from downloading TikTok on their work devices in late March. The app was already nearly unusable on NATO devices because of cybersecurity restrictions placed on employees of the coalition, but that prohibition became official policy with an email sent to all staffers on March 31.

Cybersecurity is a top priority for NATO. NATO has robust requirements for determining applications for official business use. TikTok is not accessible on NATO devices, a senior NATO official told CNN.

The ban came a week after TikToks CEO testified before in hopes of convincing lawmakers not to ban the app. It did not go well.

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On Thursday, the eve of Trans Visibility Day, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted a lengthy tweet belittling the fight for trans rights.

Trans dont need trans rights, she began her screed, because they are already equal and have the same rights as everyone else.

The once-ostracized Georgia Republican, now welcomed into the House GOP fold by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), went on to suggest it is actually Christian Americans whose rights are under threat, concluding that Trans people have nothing to fight for.

She could not be further from the truth.

More than 650 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced across 46 states in just the first three months of 2023, the civil liberties think tank Movement Advancement Project, or MAP, told HuffPost on Friday.

Legislation is currently pending around the country to stop transgender people from receiving gender-affirming health care, to bar official recognization of transgender or nonbinary identity and to stop LGBTQ+ people from being acknowledged in schools, among other tactics.

And the bills keep coming. When MAP released a report about the attacks on LGBTQ+ rights just last week, the number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills stood at around 580 across 45 states. There have been more anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced this year than in all of 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 combined, the group said.

MAP has been adding to its Under Fire series of reports to paint a comprehensive picture of the ways that conservatives are attempting to erase the LGBTQ+ community.

If you look across everything they are doing, it becomes clear that their goal is to force LGBTQ people out of public life, MAP deputy director Naomi Goldberg said in a statement.

If LGBTQ youth are unmentionable in school, if government cannot collect survey information about LGBTQ peoples lives, and if transgender youth must be called by their old names and pronouns, it will be as if LGBTQ people no longer exist, Goldberg said.

Greene claimed in her rant that transgender people are able to participate in society like everyone else. Several of the lawmakers examples, however, are obviously flawed. To receive a drivers license with their correct gender identity, for example, transgender people in some states have to jump through administrative hoops not applicable to others. Transgender people can go to schools and receive education just like everyone else, as she claimed  except that Republicans in several states are trying to make it difficult or impossible for them to do so while expressing their core identity.

Story continues

More than half of transgender youth between the ages of 13 and 17 have either lost access to gender-affirming care or are at risk of losing such care, in spite of recommendations from major medical organizations, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Lawmakers in Florida became the first in the country to take aim at transgender adults health care earlier this month, passing a bill that would bar private health insurance from covering gender-affirming treatments.

And the attacks go beyond legislation. Some legacy media outlets contribute to the problem by elevating claims from organizations and individuals that oppose transgender rights, obscuring from the public how the medical community supports transitioning for people at various ages.

After Mondays horrific school shooting at a private school in Nashville, right-wing outlets and pundits seized on the dead shooters possible trans identity, going so far as to suggest that being transgender predisposes someone to acts of violence.

In recent years, conservatives have also reinvigorated decades-old smears against LGBTQ+ people, painting them as pedophiles who want to groom children for abuse.

Greene may be known for making dubious, false and outrageous claims wherever she goes. But her assertion that trans rights are the same as everyone elses is one of the easiest to debunk yet.

Related...
More than eight months after Deadline first reported that Martin Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon would debut at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, the prestigious fests organizers confirmed the news on Friday.

The Festival de Cannes is delighted to welcome Martin Scorsese next May on the Croisette, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, Tantoo Cardinal, along with additional cast and members of the filmmaking team, read a statement.

More from GoldDerby

Killers of the Flower Moon will have its world premiere on May 20. (Pay no mind to the next May wording in the Cannes release; the movie is coming out this year via Apple and Paramount.)

Based on the best-selling true-crime book by David Grann, Killers of the Flower moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror. In addition to the cast above, other members of the ensemble include Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and reigning Best Actor winner Brendan Fraser  although Fraser isnt listed among the cast on the Apple press site. The actor, however, reportedly plays a defense attorney and talked about his work on the Scorsese feature during press last year for The Whale. Speaking to GQ, Fraser discussed what it was like to reconnect with DiCaprio, whom he met briefly in the early 1990s. As Fraser remembered, when they crossed paths on the Paramount lot, the older actor told DiCaprio that his performance in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape? was incredible.

He repeated that to me. He remembered me, Fraser said last year. He said: You were the only guy who didnt treat me like a little kid. He volunteered that to me. That was meaningful.

Story continues

Previously, Apple announced release plans for Killers of the Flower Moon. The studio will partner with Paramount on a theatrical release, beginning in limited theaters on October 6 before a nationwide berth on October 20. Later, the film will appear as a global release streaming on Apple.

This is Scorseses first Cannes Film Festival Official Presentation since 1986, when the Oscar-winning filmmaker brought After Hours to France. Previously, Scorsese won the Palme dOr at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival with Taxi Driver. At the 1986 festival, Scorsese took hom Best Director honors.

PREDICT the 2023 Emmy nominees through July 12

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?

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Ukraine does not expect new Russian massive missile attacks on infrastructure, as the aggressor countrys plan for this has failed, Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraines military intelligence directorate, said in an interview to Gazeta.ua newspaper on March 29.

The first four Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets that Slovakia handed over to Ukraine are already protecting the skies over the city of Kharkiv, Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament Olena Kondratiuk said on March 29.

Russia has the resources to wage war for about two more years at the current intensity of hostilities, according to Ukrainian military intelligence representative Andriy Chernyak in comments to Ukrinform March 30.

The Danish Fencing Federation has decided to cancel an international tournament in Copenhagen, citing the recent decision by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, Danish news website NTB reported on March 30.

The White House sees no signs of flagrant violations of Ukraines use of military aid provided by the United States, the coordinator of the U.S. National Security Council, John Kirby, said at a briefing on March 29.

Ukraine plans to reinstate pre-war taxes, documentary tax audits, and fines from July 2023, head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax, and customs policy Danylo Hetmantsev said on Ukrainian national television on March 29.

Story continues

Russian private military company Wagner Group is no longer capable of independent offensive operations near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, having to rely instead on regular Russian forces, Ukraines Operational Command East spokesman Serhiy Cherevaty told Ukrainian TV broadcasters on March 29.

Moscow wants to install a pro-Russian government in Moldova, weaponizing the country against Ukraine  akin to how it uses Belarus, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on March 30, as reported by Moldovan news outlet News-Maker.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) monks at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery are "categorically against" transitioning to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), UOC-MP Synods spokesman, Metropolitan Kliment, said in a comment to NV on March 29.

Ukraines Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) can no longer be protected, UK television news channel Sky News quoted International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, as saying on March 29.

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After a three-month ordeal in which he nearly died from sepsis in Ireland, Matt Small returned home to Levittown on Friday amid family, friends, and motorcycles.

A roaring guard of some 40 bikes, led by a flashing, wailing police escort, brought him and family through the Five Points intersection, down Woodbourne Road and into the Quincy Hollow section, where he lives with his parents, Greg and Sandra, and his younger brother, Mark.

Friends and neighbors gathered in front of the house on Quickset Road in Middletown, embraced Matt and welcomed him back in a remarkable rebound for a man who at one point was hours from death as he lay unconscious in a Dublin ICU ward.

The trip to Ireland was intended as a ten-day Christmas visit with family in Mayo. But it turned grim when Matt couldnt shake cold symptoms which left him nearly unable to breathe by New Years Eve.

Matt Small, 21, in front of his Levittown house, surrounded by members of the Bucks County Riders, who escorted him home.

Normal cold symptoms. You know, stuff that wasnt something to be worried about, Matt said, sitting beneath a wall of family photos in his living room.

When over-the-counter medicines didnt knock out the cold, his symptoms grew worse, and he began having a tough time breathing. His mother drove him to a local clinic, then to a hospital ER in Castlebar. His condition quickly deteriorated.

Sitting in the emergency room it was hard to breathe, like someone was pushing on my chest and I was laboring, and my fingers started turning blue, he said.

He was taken for evaluation, then sedated, then transferred to a Dublin hospital. After sedation, his memory is blank.

I dont remember anything until waking up in Dublin four weeks later, he said. Waking up in Dublin, it felt like it maybe had been a couple hours.

In January, doctors told his parents that he was listed with the state health service as the sickest person in Ireland.

First account of Matt Small's ordeal Levittown man, 21, stricken on family trip, fights for his life in Dublin ICU as 'sickest person in Ireland'

Story continues

As it happened Matt Small, improving, says first word since falling critically ill in Ireland, 'Hello'

Members of the Bucks County Riders motorcycle club escort Matt Small, a bike enthusiast, and his family on Woodbourne Road in Levittown as he returned from Ireland, where sepsis nearly killed him.

Greg and Sandra Small took turns keeping bedside vigils.

I called work and I said it looks like Im going to be in Ireland for the foreseeable future, said Greg Small, a Falls Township police detective.

The department gave him as much time as he needed, he said.

Sandra announced the stunning turn of events on her Facebook page, and kept family, friends and neighbors informed with a daily diary. She kept the account so Matt would know the day-to-day details of the ordeal and the heroic efforts Irish medical teams employed to save his life.

Sepsis is a pernicious disease, and as soon as one virus is tamed and contained, another pops up.

These doctors were literally in a lab every day developing (antibacterial) medicines from cultures, Sandra said.

Matt said he read his mother's diary entries, and its the well wishes and emotional support in the social media comments that touched him most.

People back home who dont know me, people in Ireland. Just very emotional, he said.

In January, he turned 21 while under sedation and has no recollection of the staff singing him happy birthday. When he woke up, his first word was Hello and he asked for a blue slushy. (He finally got one a few days before departing Ireland).

Sandra Small (left) beams while standing next to friend Darlene Csolak (right) as they watch neighbors and friends greet Sandra's son, Matt in Levittown, March 30, 2023.

In the month he was sedated, he recalls a strange twilight world, where darkness was interrupted by snippets of life and death.

Like they were commercial breaks, is the best way I can describe it, he said.

Most of the dream-like visions were of ordinary life.

Like sitting in a college class, or waiting in line for gas, he said.

But some were macabre.

Like attending my own funeral, like youre in your own casket and you cant move, he said.

He attributes the darker visions to his sub-conscious dealing with pent-up anxiety, and his helplessness to control it.

There was no way for me to vent it off, he said. If I was awake, and I was anxious, I could go to the gym, ride my bike, do something.

Matt Small, with the medical staff who helped save his life, at the University of Mayo hospital in Castelbar, Ireland, March 1, 2023. He and his mother, Sandra, treated the staff to Tasty Kakes and Hershey Kisses, "to share a little bit of Pennsylvania with them," Sandra said.

Sandra said that when she would visit and talk to him or have a conversation with the medical staff, devices tracking his vitals would flux, a sign that, on some level, he heard and recognized his mothers voice.

At some points, Sandra said, when his sedation was lighter, bedside conversations had to be guarded. One day, a nurse informed her that Matt needed to be placed into deeper sleep.

She told me that it wont have an adverse effect, and she said, Itll take two to three minutes and hell be gone. Meaning hell be gone deeper in sedation. He actually heard that, and when he heard gone he thought, Im dying. Im going to be gone in two to three minutes. Afterward, the nurses agreed its a good learning point, because you have to be aware of what you say in those situations.

Neighbor Michelle Spadaccino embraces Matt Small.

Matt Small awaits departure from Ireland on Friday March 30, 2023. A rainbow appeared shortly before he left to return to the U.S.

Matt, a graduate of the Bucks County Technical High School and Bucks County Community College, is employed as a graphic designer in Levittown. He said his company is holding open his job until he returns, pending medical evaluations. There should be no long-lasting health effects.

Thats a good thing, said his father. Its mostly because of his youth and hes in such good physical shape.

Matt, who is 6 feet tall, weighed about 200 pounds prior to falling ill. He lost 50 pounds while hospitalized, he said. A dedicated motorcycle rider, he went outside and fired up his Harley, revved it a few times, and rolled it back into its shelter.

Its a heavy bike, and hell have to build his leg strength back so he can roll it backward up the driveway, engine off, so not to disturb the Smalls neighbors when he comes home late.

He gets credit from our neighbors for doing that, Greg Small said.

Greg Small, left, chats with son, Matt, who rolled out his Harley for the first time since falling ill in Ireland last December.

Every cop knows how fragile human life can be. And as he watched his son embraced by friends and neighbors, Greg Small said: There are two things I need. First, a drink. Second, when we were over there, my sister-in-law gave me a Cuban cigar for Christmas, which I planned to smoke on New Years. Well, that didnt happen. So today I will.

After the crowd had gone, he sat alone outside his front door, appearing relieved and content, and smoked the cigar on the cold, sunny spring afternoon.

JD Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: 'Sickest person in Ireland', returns home to Levittown amid family, friends
The 33-year-old American started making a name for himself with quirky recipe videos during the first lockdown (Supplied)

You wanna be zero-waste? Go live in a cave, is a sentence I didnt anticipate hearing from Max La Manna, the whole-ingredient vegan cooking king.

Over a gluten-free rhubarb cobbler on a sunny day in his studio in Peckham, we are discussing the rise, feasibility and burden of the zero-waste movement. The 33-year-old American cook, now based in the UK, started making a name for himself in the space during the first lockdown, posting recipe videos encouraging people to try more plant-based food that utilises the whole ingredient, peels and all. Its his approachability to the movement  and presumably his charisma and curls  that has seen him amass over a billion views across social media, appear on BBC Earth and Saturday Kitchen, and scoop a handful of awards including Most Sustainable Cookbook and Digital Creator of the Year.

I want to say that zero-waste is impossible, he says carefully. He prefers to think of himself as low-waste, especially in the kitchen, though hes quick to also point out several thrifted items of clothing hes wearing (hes stopped buying secondhand underwear and socks because that would be weird, wouldnt it?). I think its really important for people to remember that the onus shouldnt be placed on you to be completely perfect. Weve all walked to work, ridden a bike, turned off the faucet when were brushing our teeth, hung up our clothes to dry, and thats enough.

Is he prepared to go live off-grid in a cave? Umm, no, he chuckles, then adds earnestly: The emphasis should be placed on the top 100 companies that are producing 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. We should put pressure on them to make smarter, cleaner, healthier choices for us and the planet. In the meantime, he says, its really important for people to do the best they can and make the small changes.

For La Manna, the easiest place to start is in the kitchen, cooking the food you already have. Thats the message of his new book, You Can Cook This, which is out now. The idea is simple by design. For two years, La Manna asked his social media followers to name the ingredients they were throwing away the most. More than 400 recipe videos, months of testing and a mammoth Excel spreadsheet later, he realised: Theres a book here. He compiled his findings into eight chapters, with a ninth advising what to do with the leftovers. Each of the eight is dedicated to an individual ingredient, featuring not just simple-to-follow, affordable recipes that utilise every part of the vegetable (time to get chummy with carrot tops and potato peels), but tips on how to clean, prep and store items to make them last longer, and meaningful use-by dates for the leftovers.

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In this way, it functions as much as a cookbook as it does an instruction manual to experiment with a low-waste lifestyle, complete with detailed diagrams of what to store in which part of your fridge. I kept coming back to: why are people throwing away food? After months of research, he realised people are simply not storing food properly, and that is making it go off quicker.

Bagged leafy greens are one of the biggest offenders, he says, and he talks about them at length. Were busy, were running around, we have endless to-do lists, and we forget we have a bag of spinach in the fridge. Theres nothing more infuriating when youve spent the time, the money and the travel to get to the supermarket, buy ingredients and then they go off before we use them. He recommends washing and soaking your salad in cold water to bring it back to life, dry it out and then divide it into portions. Put some in a container with a paper towel in the fridge and use within two to three days. Blanch the rest, squeeze out the moisture and freeze for future stir fries, stews, curries, soups and smoothies. The freezer is such an incredible place to store food, but we dont really use it properly.

And if you must throw it away, consider composting, he adds. Not everyone can be persuaded to eat banana peels or apple cores. If youre lucky enough to have a compost at home [which La Manna does back in the West Country], toss it in with the soil, he says. Theres still nutrients in there and those nutrients go back into the soil, which feeds the soil, which then feeds us. In cities like London, where La Manna is based for part of the week, the ability to compost is something of a postcode lottery. Even he had to fight his local council in Peckham for a green bin. When they initially said no, I was like, no you dont understand. This is my thing. I cant not have one.

While the environmental impact of reducing your food waste is a well beaten drum, its not lost on La Manna that his recipes have a place in the current economic climate, too. Its crazy how I was writing this two years ago and now were in this thing called the cost of living crisis, he tells me. He throws his hands in the air, exasperated: Weve always been in a cost of living crisis! When me and La Manna speak, London mayor Sadiq Khan had just unveiled his 130m scheme to ensure all primary school children receive free school meals for the next academic year. Millions and millions of children are going to school every day, around the world and even here in [this] country, without food, he says. When we talk about the cost of living crisis now, were talking about it happening to people who are more affluent. The people who are affected the most have always been affected and continue to be affected.

This isnt unfamiliar territory for La Manna. One of the first times he can remember thinking about making ingredients go further was when he was living in New York, modelling and acting. He spent his days going to auditions and casting calls and his nights in restaurants, waiting tables, bartending or washing dishes. After Id paid rent, I only had a little money left to pay for food. I didnt have help from my parents, family or friends, none of that. I was living in a basement and had a mattress on the floor, like I was. He pauses for a moment. It was tough. He started to teach himself how to cook. I had a few spare ingredients lying around, and I ended up making a dish out of just three ingredients. I would use up everything I had until I could afford to buy the next meal. Sometimes dishes had just two ingredients in them. Cooking in that way quickly became second nature.

After hosting some supper clubs around whole-ingredient cooking, La Manna was encouraged by his friends to join social media and, little by little, his following began to grow. When he noticed he had a bigger audience in the UK, he took a trip to London one summer to host some events, met his now wife  a slow fashion advocate  and never went back. Within six months, he was offered his first book deal.

You Can Cook This is a significant departure from 2019s More Plants, Less Waste, which he describes as quite out there. In that book he explored more fringe areas of the movement, such as making DIY deodorant or dog biscuits out of the pulp left behind after carrot and orange juicing  something we might have tried in lockdown, but who has the time for that any more? Even he admits to moving away from the stringent rules he laid out back then. It was really intense for me because I had a short period of time to develop recipes, he recalls. I just said yes without even thinking about the magnitude of what was happening. I sense regret in his voice. He sees the new book as Max 2.0. Pointing to it, he says: The cook in here is saying cook me. These dishes are incredible and theyre delicious. Ive had them plenty of times and I still cook them now, which I think is a good sign. But Im such a better cook now, oh my goodness!

Social media stars are a dime a dozen these days, so its refreshing to see one resist the temptation to climb the slippery slope that comes with a quick rise to fame. When I tentatively ask if the haphazard speed with which the first book came about has made him put on the brakes after the second, he exclaims: This is like therapy! Happy to be of service, Max. I think its really important to take your time. I learned the first time and Im not making that mistake again. Its important to me to make sure that whatever I produce and create and put out into the world is going to be informative, inspiring, educational. When people are like Im still making this recipe after two years, it fills my heart with joy.

For now, La Manna is living in the moment. For my own mental health and wellbeing, Im staying here in the present, enjoying the process, he says with a cheeky smile. He then adds a more sombre aside, as he so often does: Because we dont know whats going to happen tomorrow. Its a journey, he says, and this time its not a platitude. If social media was to go away, I know I had this. This is going to outlive me. I love that.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a new interview that the number of people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border has reached an extraordinary height.

The number of people that are arriving at our border is at an extraordinary height. There is no question about that, Mayorkas told Sharyn Alfonsi in a forthcoming episode of 60 Minutes.

But that is not unique to the southern border of the United States, he continued. There is tremendous amount of movement throughout the hemisphere, and in fact throughout the world.

Mayorkas has faced intense criticism from Republican lawmakers over his handling of the southern border, with some calling for his impeachment.

I think that we face a very serious challenge in certain parts of the border, the Homeland Security secretary acknowledged in the 60 Minutes interview.

However, he declined to call the situation a crisis, as many GOP lawmakers have described it.

I have tremendous faith in the people of the Department of Homeland Security, and a crisis speaks to me of a withdrawal from our mission, Mayorkas said. And we are only putting more force and more energy into it.

Encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border increased substantially under President Biden, with Customs and Border Patrol reporting nearly 2.4 million encounters from October 2021 through September 2022.

However, the Biden administrations new asylum policies aimed at discouraging Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants from traveling through Mexico seem to have eased the influx slightly. Between December and January, encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border dropped by nearly 100,000.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Dr. Juan Montes, whose medical clinics treat many Medi-Cal enrollees, takes the blood pressure of a patient in his Whittier office in 2017. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times )

For the record:

12:25 p.m. March 31, 2023: A previous version of this story stated that Medi-Cal enrollees would be mailed a four-page form to redetermine their eligibility, and it linked to a form online that is no longer in use. The new form is significantly longer.



Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in earnest, low-income Californians who enrolled in Medi-Cal  California's version of the government-funded Medicaid health insurance program  have been able to keep their coverage without having to prove every year that they still qualified for it.

That's because the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which President Trump signed into law in March 2020, offered states extra money if they stopped booting people off Medicaid. And all but a handful of states complied.

In December, though, Congress ended the "continuous coverage requirement" as of March 31, giving states 14 months to restart the annual eligibility checks and trim their Medicaid rolls. Some states plan to begin culling enrollees this month, although California won't start disqualifying people until July 1.

The risk, analysts say, is that many eligible people will be kicked off Medicaid because they didn't receive or didn't understand the state's request for information about their circumstances. The Kaiser Family Foundation has estimated that 5 million to 14 million Americans will fall off the Medicaid rolls at least temporarily.

If you're on Medi-Cal (or caring for someone who is), keep an eye out for a letter from county officials asking for the information needed to determine your eligibility. But don't panic if you don't get one right away, said Louise Norris, a health policy analyst for healthinsurance.org; the state plans to spend more than a year on eligibility checks.

Here's an explanation of what's happening and what options current Medi-Cal enrollees will have.

Is the government cutting Medicaid?

Not exactly, although the changes happening now across the country will probably reduce the program's cost.

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During the pandemic, the number of Medicaid enrollees swelled in California (by about 20%, to 15.5 million in December) and nationwide (by about 30%, to 92 million in November). The percentage of uninsured Americans dropped over that same period  a rare occurrence in the wake of an economic downturn.

The increase in Medicaid enrollees stemmed in part from the job losses and other economic disruptions caused by the response to the pandemic, but also from the pause in eligibility redeterminations.

Here's a good illustration. States allow women who are pregnant to qualify for Medicaid at higher income levels. According to the Commonwealth Fund, though, a new mother can lose her benefits a few months after giving birth if her income exceeds the lower limit for nonpregnant enrollees. In Texas, for example, the income limit for pregnant women is about twice the federal poverty level; for nonpregnant parents, the Commonweath Fund says, it's 16% of the poverty line  "a level that disqualifies almost all adults." The COVID-19-era continuous coverage requirement let those mothers stay on Medicaid, but when that policy ends, their coverage will end too unless their income drops.

Medicaid's growth came at taxpayers' expense, given that Medicaid is jointly funded by federal and state governments. Total Medicaid costs rose 7% to 12% in each of the last three years as enrollment surged, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated.

Checking eligibility again will bring the numbers down, in large part by excluding families whose current incomes are above the Medicaid limit. But it will also restart the costly and inefficient churning caused when qualified people are kicked off for failing to respond to a request for information about their income. That's been a consistent problem for Medicaid, analysts say, although its prevalence is hard to measure.

The California Department of Health Care Services estimates that 2 million to 3 million Medi-Cal enrollees could lose coverage as a result of income determinations  some because they no longer qualify, but many because the department has lost contact with them. Nationally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that nearly 15 million people will lose Medicaid coverage, more than 40% of them because of "eligibility redetermination errors."

To try to reduce that number, the state is enlisting "DHCS Coverage Ambassadors" from diverse groups to try to reach Medi-Cal enrollees "in culturally and linguistically appropriate ways." If you're interested in becoming an ambassador, you can learn more about the program at the coverage ambassadors' English or Spanish websites.

Will millions of people go uninsured?

Potentially, yes.

Many who fall through the bureaucratic cracks will re-enroll automatically the next time they're in the hospital. The bigger effect, Norris said, will be on people who unwittingly lose their coverage, then get turned away trying to refill a prescription or at a doctor's appointment. They'll have to put off care until they successfully re-enroll.

That may seem like a minor inconvenience, but there are real costs, healthcare analysts say.

"Research shows that disruptions in Medicaid coverage are common and often lead to periods of uninsurance, delayed care, and less preventive care for beneficiaries," a report from the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning said. "Studies indicate that beneficiaries moving in and out of Medicaid coverage (sometimes called churning) results in higher administrative costs, less predictable state expenditures, and higher monthly health care costs due to pent-up demand for health care services."

Many of the people who drop out of Medicaid because their income has increased will have another affordable option for coverage: subsidized policies sold on state Affordable Care Act exchanges. For those with incomes between 100% and 150% of the poverty line  $14,580 to $21,870 for a single individual, $30,000 to $45,000 for a family of four  monthly premiums can be at or near zero for a comprehensive policy with a reduced deductible and lower out-of-pocket costs.

In most states, Norris said, the onus will be on people who lose their Medicaid coverage to go out and find a new policy. But California is going one step further, she said, to try to keep people insured.

Under a 2019 state law, anyone who loses Medi-Cal coverage is automatically enrolled in Covered California's lowest-cost policy in the silver tier, which pays 70% of the healthcare costs incurred on average by an enrollee. The person will then have a month to accept the coverage and pay the premium (if there is one), change to a different health plan or drop the coverage altogether.

Switching out of Medi-Cal to a new plan could put you in a different network of hospitals, pharmacies and other healthcare providers, however. If your doctors accepted Medi-Cal, Norris said, don't assume they'll accept the insurance you get from Covered California  check the plan's provider network. If you want to keep your doctors, you may have to find a different Covered California plan.

There is one group of people who may have trouble finding affordable coverage if they lose Medi-Cal eligibility: immigrants in the country without permission. Unlike Medi-Cal, Covered California makes premium subsidies available only to citizens or lawful residents, as federal law requires.

California and 40 other states have smoothed the transition between public and private insurance coverage by expanding Medicaid eligibility to single adults, childless couples and people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level. But in the nine states that have not expanded Medicaid, there is a large group of low-income residents who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to qualify for subsidized insurance plans through the ACA, which are available only to people whose incomes are at or above the poverty line. For these Americans, health insurance will almost certainly be unaffordable.

What's happening in California?

The state plans to examine enrollees' eligibility gradually over the coming 14 months. People who enrolled in the month of June in any previous year would be up first for redetermination, with the decision taking effect July 1. The next group would be the people who enrolled in the month of July of any previous year, then the month of August, and so on.

For each group of enrollees, the redetermination process will start almost three months ahead of the day their coverage will end or be renewed. First, each county will try to determine their enrollees' eligibility based on the information that public agencies have already collected, a process that will work for about 25% of enrollees, the Department of Health Care Services estimates. Counties will then mail forms to the other 75%, asking for information about their income, expenses, savings and living situation.



That process will start in late April or early May for June enrollees. If enrollees don't respond or are deemed ineligible, Medi-Cal will send them a notice 10 days before terminating their coverage to give them a chance to ask for a hearing.

The state is urging Medi-Cal beneficiaries to make sure the program has their current contact information, including ways to reach them by mail, phone and email. "What you don't want to do," Norris said, "is ignore the problem and hope that it goes away."

The state operates two websites on which people can create accounts and update their contact information: BenefitsCal, which serves Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and 42 other counties; and MyBenefitsCalWin, which serves Orange, Ventura, San Diego and 10 other counties.

You can also update your information through the county office that manages Medi-Cal. In Los Angeles, that's the Department of Public Social Services; its customer service center can be reached at (866) 613-3777.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ian Vogler/Reuters

Samantha Markle has lost her defamation case against her half-sister, the Duchess of Sussex, after a judge in Florida granted a motion to dismiss.

Samantha lodged her case in March 2022, when she sued Meghan Markle for defamation and injurious falsehoods along with malicious lies in a number of alleged instances, including during the duchesss well-publicized sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey alongside husband Harry.

Samantha also claims Meghans Florida fanbase became angry with her half-sister, claiming a significant part of her hometowns population is unhappy with the elder Markle.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell granted Meghans motion to dismiss after Samantha claimed the pairs relationship unravelled as the duchesss star rose and she eventually met Prince Harry.

Three of the issues Samantha noted in the lawsuit stemmed from Oprahs 2021 interview, where Meghan claimed that she was an only child, that she had only met her half-sister a handful of times, and that Samantha had changed her surname to Markle after Meghan started dating Prince Harry so that she could cash in on her newfound fame.

A reasonable listener would not think that Defendant was suggesting that she has no half-siblings, that Plaintiff does not actually exist, or that Plaintiff is not related to her, the ruling reads regarding Meghans claim to Oprah that she was an only child.

As a reasonable listener would understand it, Defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings. Thus, the Court finds that Defendants statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof. Because the statement is not capable of being proved false, it is protected from a defamation action.

The interaction is as follows. Oprah Winfrey: And Samantha Markle, your half-sister on your fathers side, has written a, a supposedly tell-all book about you. What is your relationship with her?

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Meghan Markle: I think it would be very hard to tell all when you dont know me. And this is a very different situation than my dad, right? When you talk about betrayal, betrayal comes from someone that you have a relationship with. Right? I dont feel comfortable talking about people that I really dont know. But I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wished I had siblings. I would have loved to have had siblings .

Harry and Meghan in Tense Talks With Palace Over Attending Coronation

Samantha claimed in her lawsuit that Meghan told Oprah that the pair had only met a handful of timesbut the court wrote that it could not verify that allegation: This statement is nowhere to be found in the interview transcript. The court ultimately denied the claim without prejudice and with leave to amend.

Similarly, Samanthas claim she changed her surname for fame was dismissed because it is explicitly contradicted by the transcript, noting the allegations Samantha noted were not true to what Meghan actually said during the interview: She changed her last name back to Markle, and I think shes in her early fifties at that time, only when I started dating Harry. And so I think that says enough.

The claims were dismissed without prejudice, though Samantha could file an amended complaint within 14 days of the order.

In another instance, Samantha alleges her half-sister contributed false information to the authors of the book, Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Familyspecifically mentioning Chapter 12, titled: A Problem Like Samantha.

However, the court agreed with Meghan: Defendant argues that the claims based on Finding Freedom must fail because she did not publish the book, the ruling reads. The Court agrees.

The Court finds that Plaintiffs claims related to Finding Freedom are due to be dismissed because (i) a defendant must publish a defamatory statement for it to be actionable and (ii) it is undisputed that Defendant did not publish Finding Freedom. The claims were dismissed without prejudice.

The court denied Samanthas request for attorneys fees and costs under the anti-SLAPP statute without prejudice, as premature.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Yusef Salaam, who was one of the persons exonerated in the Central Park Five case, has responded after a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict the former president.

Mr Salaam was among five Black and brown teenagers wrongfully imprisoned for the 1989 rape of a white woman in New Yorks Central Park. They were coerced into confessing to a rape they didnt commit.

All served prison time before being exonerated in 2002. They later received a multimillion-dollar settlement from New York City.

"For those asking about my statement on the indictment of Donald Trump - who never said sorry for calling for my execution - here it is: Karma," Mr Salaam wrote on Twitter.

Mr Trump, then a real-estate developer in 1989, took out full-page advertisements in four New York City newspapers calling for the state to reinstate the death penalty following the Central Park attack.

The 45th president in 2019 refused to walk back or apologise for his previous stance, saying "you have people on both sides of that". "They admitted their guilt."

Mr Salaam recently announced his candidacy for New York City Council.

Mr Trump has become the first former US president to be indicted, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal.

The one-term president is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.

#PowerPost



For those asking about my statement on the indictment of Donald Trump - who never said sorry for calling for my execution - here it is:



Karma  Yusef Abdus Salaam (@dr_yusefsalaam) March 30, 2023

The Manhattan district attorneys office said on Thursday that prosecutors had reached out to Trumps lawyers to arrange for him to surrender, which could happen early next week.

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Mr Trump is expected to appear at the prosecutors office to be processed and fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken. He is also expected to appear in court, when a judge would list the charges and the former president would enter a plea.

He will have to contend with a criminal case while running again for the White House, taking time and attention away from the campaign trail  though neither the case nor a conviction would preclude him from seeking or winning the presidency in 2024. The indictment comes as he is facing several other investigations that could lead to legal problems for the former president.

Those pending cases, along with a civil trial thats scheduled to start in New York next month over a columnists claims that Mr Trump raped her in the 1990s, add to an ever-growing cloud of scandals surrounding him.

With inputs from agencies
The daughter of Huawei's billionaire founder, Meng Wanzhou will take over as rotating chairwoman as the Chinese tech giant enters choppy waters, with profits plummeting under US sanctions.

The Washington-led pressure campaign has contributed to Huawei losing its top spot in the smartphone market and has throttled its supply chains.

After Huawei's Friday announcement that its 2022 net profits had plunged 69 percent compared to the previous year, Meng struck a defiant tone at a press conference.

"We might not be successful in the end, but being placed in a fatal impasse, we have no choice but to go all in and fight, with all hands on deck," she said.

The 51-year-old is not new to being on the front line of the US-China tech war.

In 2018, she was arrested in Canada at the behest of the United States on fraud charges relating to her alleged efforts to hide violations of US sanctions on Iran involving Huawei affiliate Skycom.

She remained under house arrest in Vancouver for almost three years while fighting extradition, with the case becoming a major thorn in relations between the three countries.

She was allowed to return to China in September 2021, and in December 2022, the US Justice Department dropped all charges against her.

- Huawei under pressure -

Huawei has been repeatedly targeted by Washington in recent years over cybersecurity and espionage concerns.

The administration of former president Donald Trump effectively barred US companies from doing business with the firm, and his successor Joe Biden has slapped on further sanctions, including a ban on sales of new Huawei equipment in the United States.

Washington has also put controls on the export of sophisticated computer components and chip fabrication equipment to Huawei and other Chinese companies.

Huawei says it has replaced thousands of product components banned for export by the United States with homegrown versions, but it still relies on US chips for many of its 4G smartphones and consumer gadgets.

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Consequently, the company is looking to expand its lines of business and develop new supply chains.

Meng on Friday identified Huawei's cloud business as a key area of growth.

It is also looking into building telecom infrastructure for solar farms and makers of driverless cars, and investing heavily in Africa and emerging economies in South and Southeast Asia.

- 'Humble' beginning -

Despite being internally known as Huawei's "princess", Meng is said to be approachable and self-deprecating.

According to Chinese media, she started off as a secretary at Huawei and kept her head down for years, to such an extent that few knew her father was founder Ren Zhengfei.

This may have been aided by the fact that she took her mother's surname from a young age, for reasons that remain unclear.

Ren, a former army engineer, founded Huawei with a few thousand dollars in 1987, growing it into one of the world's leading suppliers of hardware for telecommunications networks.

"He is a CEO at work, and a father at home," Meng once said, to emphasise that competence, not connections, determined one's path at Huawei.

Huawei credits Meng for reorganising the company's financial and IT architecture, beginning in the early 2000s, so that the company could cope with its rapid global growth.

Meng herself recounted how initially, she and other bookkeepers had to bind the company's financial records by hand each month, according to a readout of a speech she gave at her former high school last year.

Meng will lead the company for six months until September 30.

Huawei, which is not publicly listed, has two other rotating chairs -- Eric Xu and Ken Hu.

Meng said Friday that the company's future, as it navigates one of its roughest patches yet, would depend on its "collective leadership".

"In times of pressure, we press on - with confidence," she said.

dmr-prw/reb/sco
JUAREZ  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador faced a protest over a deadly fire at an immigration holding center when he arrived for a previously scheduled meeting with state officials.

Lopez Obrador arrived in Juarez at 1 p.m. Friday to meet with Chihuahua-based officials of his Banco Bienestar, a project he has been promoting to deliver "financial support, scholarships and pensions to the most vulnerable sectors," according to a statement.

But the visit was met with anger in the border city where 39 migrants died of burns and smoke inhalation in a blaze Monday night at a migrant processing center. Some 68 migrants were being held behind bars at the National Migration Institute building located at the foot of the Stanton-Lerdo international bridge to El Paso.

Venezuelan migrants swarmed the presidential caravan as Lopez Obrador departed his meeting at the Colegio de Bachilleres, a high school, through the gates of the city's central park.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador observes as his security tries to remove a Venezuelan migrant who attempted to stop the presidents vehicle as the president exited Colegio de Bachilleres school in Ciudad Juarez during his visit on March 31, 2023.

They pounded on the white van where the Mexican president was riding shotgun. He opened the window and took the hand of a woman who pleaded with him as others pushed letters into his hand and cried for justicia, or justice, for the migrants.

Lopez Obrador leaned toward one of the migrants and could be heard saying, "Yes, there will be justice."

More: 5 arrested in deadly Juarez fire at migrant facility

The area around the school and park was heavily guarded by Mexican National Guard, but neither the soldiers nor the presidents security officers stopped the migrants and protesters from blocking the presidential van.

Activists detained the van for several minutes as it inched forward. An activist screamed at the president: "Assassin!" she cried.

Mexican president #AMLO swarmed by #migrants & activists calling for justice for 39 killed in a fire at a Juarez #immigration lock-up. See full coverage @elpasotimes @fotornelas pic.twitter.com/mdABEtQi2j  Lauren Villagran (@laurenvillagran) March 31, 2023

Migrants gather to protest AMLO visit

Activists on Thursday began circulating a call to protest Lopez Obrador's visit. An unsigned message circulating via Whatsapp said: "Migrants have a real need for changes and answers and to express themselves. The situation is really critical."

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About three dozen migrants and their supporters waited outside the school in hopes Lopez Obrador would give them a chance to be heard. One of the migrants read the names of the 39 victims into a megaphone.

Charter buses carried in the president's supporters, who stood nearby holding signs of welcome decorated with hearts. Two women held a sign painted with bienvenidos in large letters and spoke to reporters about all the good Lopez Obrador has done, listing his successes and support for the poor.But the migrants and activists drowned them out.

Before Lopez Obrador exited his meeting and the migrants were still waiting, a Venezuelan girl, 13-year-old Ana Pavon, took a microphone and told a semicircle of reporters and photographers a harrowing story of maltreatment by Mexican authorities on her family's journey north.

"I am a migrant and want to be heard," she said. "We have the right to travel through this country. We're not animals and we're not pollos"  chickens, as migrants are called by smugglers  "who should die fried."She asked the Venezuelans present to join her in singing their national anthem. The voices of men became a chorus; tears kept her from singing.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador holds a news conference during a previous visit to Juarez on Aug. 9, 2021.

Details of the blaze emerge

Details of the cause of the fire began emerging this week:

The Juarez Fire Department has no record of an emergency call from the National Migration Institute on Monday night, when migrants allegedly set fire to foam mattresses inside a locked cell, according to La Verdad de Juarez. Firefighters arrived "by coincidence" after responding to a call nearby and seeing smoke, the report said.

Detained migrants allegedly bought cigarettes and a lighter from guards at the migrant holding center, according to El Diario de Juarez. Two Venezuelans allegedly set fire to mattresses, the report said.

Five people have been arrested in connection with the fire, according to the Associated Press.

Most of the victims were men from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela. More than two dozen people remain hospitalized.

Consular officials from Guatemala and El Salvador were in Juarez on Friday trying to secure access to the bodies of their dead, but as of Thursday the Mexican government had yet to release the bodies.

Migrants hold a vigil this week at the gate of the Mexican facility in Juarez where 39 migrants died in a fire at the center as they were being detained Monday night.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Mexican president faces migrants, protesters over deadly Juarez fire
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Mexicos president on Friday visited the border city where 39 migrants died in a fire at a detention center, expressing pain over the disaster though he was not expected to bring any changes in tough immigration policies.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he was personally devastated by Mondays tragedy in Ciudad Juarez, which is across from El Paso, Texas.

I confess it hurt me a lot, it damaged me, Lopez Obrador said before starting out on his trip to Juarez. It ripped my soul apart.

The president said the fire was the second most painful moment of his administration, exceeded only by a 2019 pipeline fire in the central Mexico town of Tlahuelilpan that killed about 135 people.

However, it hasnt cost him much politically.

Many residents of Mexican border cities mourned the death of the migrants in the smoky mattress fire, which was set by some migrants to protest perceived moves to deport them. But in Ciudad Juarez, many peope were fed up with migrants largely from Central America and Venezuela begging for change at street corners and blocking border bridges.

They and residents of other cities have been calling for authorities to be tough with migrants, and the U.S. also pressures Mexico to curb the flow of migrants.

Ivonne Acuna Murillo, a political science professor at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, said Lopez Obrador doesnt have much maneuvering room to change Mexicos immigration policy.

It would be difficult, on one hand, because of the enormous pressure from the United States to stop migrants arriving at the border, Acuna Murillo said. She added that it is difficult in terms of the presidents own policy goals ... the budget for migration and shelters and all of that is low.

Migrant anger did flare in Ciudad Juarez on Friday, when a group of migrants and their supporters tried to block the presidents motorcade, leading to scuffles. Earlier in the day, he had promised to meet with doctors treating the injured, but it was not clear if that happened.

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Eager to gain favor with the United States, Lopez Obrador has made life hard for migrants seeking to cross Mexico to reach the U.S. border. He has assigned tens of thousands of army troops and National Guard officers to retain migrants, and allowed the United States to return migrants from Venezuela, Honduras, Nicaragua and Cuba to Mexico.

But the U.S. has contributed little to helping Mexico shelter or integrate the returned migrants.

Lopez Obrador lashed out Friday, saying the U.S. should be spending more on economic development in Latin America to prevent migrants from leaving their homes, rather than sending military aid to Ukraine.

How can you compare what the U.S. government sends to Central America, with the 30, 35 billion dollars it is spending on buying weapons for Ukraine? he said.

Federal Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said that the government would close the detention center where the fire occurred and that it would check the conditions in other instalations.

On Friday, in the southern city of Tapachula, the biggest detention center for migrants was nearly emptied to review conditions, said a federal official, who who spoke on condition of anonymity. The center, with capacity for about 1,000 people, has been criticized repeatedly for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and corruption.

Lopez Obrador said he will set up a commission to ensure the human rights of migrants are protected. He said the commission will be headed by a longtime migrant activist, Rev. Alejandro Solalinde. It was unclear what powers the commission would have.

In the meantime, Lopez Obrador said, I will concentrate on the medical side, basically. What matters to me is treatment for the injured.

Mexico has turned down a U.S. offer to help provide medial treatment to the injured, most of whom suffered smoke inhalation, saying they were too ill to be moved.

Rodriguez said Thursday that 24 migrants remained hospitalized, all of them in apparently either serious or critical condition. Four migrants had been discharged, she said.

The migrant accused of starting the fire suffered only slight injuries and already was released from the hospital, presumably into custody.

That migrant, along with three officials from the National Immigration Institute and two private security guards at the detention center face charges of homicide and causing injuries. The federal prosecutor's office says it also is investigating others for possible misdeeds.

A video from a security camera inside the Ciudad Juarez facility shows guards walking away when the fire started inside the cell holding migrants and not making any attempt to release them. It was not clear whether those guards had keys to the cell doors.

There have been years of complaints about poor conditions and human rights violations at migrant detention facilities in Mexico, including inadequate ventilation, food and water, and overflowing toilets.

And there is mounting evidence of corruption throughout Mexico's immigration system, in which everyone from lawyers and immigration officials to guards have taken bribes to allow migrants out of detention.

Little has been done up to now to address these concerns.

___

Associated Press writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Edgar H. Clemente in Tapachula contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  Michael Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer for Donald Trump before he became president, is a key witness in the New York investigation into hush-money payments to a porn actress.

A New York grand jury on Thursday voted to indict Trump on unspecified criminal charges in a case that marks the first time a former president has been charged criminally.

Although the charges were not made public, the grand jury had been investigating hush money payments to two women who claimed to have had sex with him.

Here's what we know about Michael Cohen.

Live updates: Donald Trump indicted in New York, first time a former president has been charged criminally

Who is Michael Cohen?

Cohen has already served his prison term after he admitted the charges related to a $130,000 payment leveled in Trumps case. Robert Costello, a former adviser to Cohen allied with Trump, told the Manhattan grand jury Cohen sought revenge against the former president.

But Cohen said he engineered payments to silence two women who claimed to have had sex with Trump before the 2016 election. Cohen said Trump directed him to make the payments to avoid a scandal during that campaign. Cohen has spoken repeatedly to the grand jury.

Trump said the charges rely on the testimony of a convicted felon, disbarred lawyer, with zero credibility. The Justice Department investigated and decided against pursuing charges.

Michael Cohen, former attorney for President Donald Trump, prepares to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Feb. 27, 2019.

Cohen: Trump is a 'racist,' a 'con man' and a 'cheat'

Cohen delivered a searing account of his dealings with Trump during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in February 2019, when he called Trump a racist, a con man and a cheat. Cohen accused Trump of misrepresenting the value of his real estate for taxes and insurance and urging Cohen to lie to Congress about a Russian real estate deal, but the hush payments got the most attention.

Timeline: From Trump fixer to Mueller informant: Timeline of Michael Cohen's role in Russia probe

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Here is a timeline of the payments, based on Justice Department filings:

Oct. 8, 2016, Cohen spoke with Trump and his campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, after learning porn actress Stormy Daniels planned to talk to Good Morning America and Slate about her alleged relationship with Trump from 2006, the year Melania Trump gave birth to their son.

Cohen then communicated with American Media executives David Pecker and Dylan Howard, who published the National Enquirer, about buying the rights to Daniels story, to prevent it from becoming public under a strategy called catch and kill.

Oct. 10, 2016, Howard texted Cohen and Keith Davidson, a lawyer for Daniels and Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who also alleged she had sex with Trump.

Oct. 27, 2016, Cohen transferred $130,000 to Davidson through a company called Essential Consultants.

Nov. 1, 2016, Davidson transferred the money to Daniels.

"I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man, Cohen testified in February 2019. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your fixer, Mr. Trump.

Porn actress Stormy Daniels leaves federal court, April 16, 2018, New York.

What crimes did Cohen admit?

In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court to concealing more than $4 million in personal income from the IRS, making false statements about a home equity loan, and "causing $280,000 in payments to be made to silence two women who otherwise planned to speak publicly about their alleged affairs with a presidential candidate, thereby intending to influence the 2016 presidential election," according to court records.

More: The convictions, lawsuits and investigations a 2024 Trump candidacy faces, explained

Prosecutors said Cohen arranged a $150,000 payment to McDougal and a $130,000 payment to Daniels.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison, but was released early to home detention because of the spread of COVID-19.

Attorney Robert Costello leaves in a car after testifying at the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg's office in New York City on March 20, 2023.

What does Costello say about Cohen?

Costello told reporters March 20 he told the grand jury Cohen was "totally unreliable." Costello suggested Cohen acted on his own and arranged the payment to Daniels on his own.

"He's on the revenge tour," said Costello, who was tapped by the Trump legal team to testify.

Cohen dismissed Costello's argument that he acted along.

"His facts are all twisted," Cohen told MSNBC, adding that Trump's defense "will fail."

"It's absolutely not true," Cohen said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , D-N.Y., Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., listen as Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump, testifies before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill Feb. 27, 2019 in Washington.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michael Cohen a key witness in Trump hush money case
Michael Cohen has hit out at the clown show of counsel representing Donald Trump as he is set to be arraigned in New York next week on criminal charges relating to 2016 hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Mr Trumps former lawyer and fixer Cohen  who was pitted as the Manhattan prosecutors star witness in the grand jury case  took aim at the former president and his legal team on ABCs Good Morning America on Friday morning.

You really do need lawyers that are competent. This clown show of counsel makes absolutely no sense to me. He doesnt know the facts, he said of Mr Trumps attorneys.

How could you sit there and try to represent your client when you really have no idea what youre talking about? Its really just bravado, and its bravado to a party of one.

And the party of one, of course, is always Donald Trump. Its all about inflating his ego. Youre past the point of wanting to inflate your ego. Now, this is about a criminal indictment.

He added that instead of playing the media game, [Trump] should be worrying more about the court of law, not a court of public opinion.

Cohens comments come as Mr Trumps attorney Joe Tacopina launched a fresh media blitz on Friday morning  hours after the grand jury voted to indict the former president.

Mr Tacopina also appeared on GMA as well as NBCs Today show where he insisted there is zero chance the former president will accept a plea deal in the case and railed against what he claimed was the day that the rule of law died in America.

President Trump will not take a plea deal on this case. Its not gonna happen, he told NBC.

Theres no crime. I dont know if its gonna make it to trial because we have substantial legal challenges.

The attorney  who ramped up his media coverage in the run-up to the indictment  told GMA that Mr Trump was shocked when he learned of the indictment.

Michael Cohen spoke out on GMA on Friday morning after Donald Trump was indicted on criminal charges (ABCs GMA)

At end of the day, he was hoping the rule of law would prevail, he said, adding that he was shocked that it actually came to fruition.

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The rule of law died yesterday in this country, he claimed.

Mr Trumps apparent initial shock comes despite the former president claiming that he was going to be arrested on 21 March  a day that came and went without event.

Cohen told GMA that he imagined Mr Trump was seething right now because he is finally being held accountable.

Hes seething right now. He is beyond angry for many different reasons. The fact that hes being held accountable something that he has no desire to ever be. Hes never been held accountable, he said.

This is a man who held up the bible, and said hes never apologised to god because hes never done anything wrong. He doesnt understand accountability. And right now, Alvin Bragg has finally put that into his lap.

Cohen spent time in jail over the hush money payments that Mr Trump is now charged over.

In the days before the 2016 election, Cohen made a payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels  a payment that prosecutors claim was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.

Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organizations business records over the payments.

Both Cohen and Ms Daniels testified before the grand jury in recent weeks.

Then, on Thursday 30 March, the grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump on a string of charges over the payments.

While it is currently unclear what the charges are, multiple reports say that Mr Trump is facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

He is expected to appear in a court in Manhattan to be arraigned on Tuesday, with a tentative hearing time set for 2.15pm that afternoon. The date and time is however subject to change.
Donald Trump and Michael Cohen. Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images, Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Donald Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen gloated about Trump's indictment on CNN.

"Since we're talking about convicted felons, see you on Tuesday, pal," Cohen said.

Trump's spokespeople have in previous statements to Insider called Cohen a "disbarred felon."

Michael Cohen, former President Donald Trump's one-time personal lawyer and fixer, gloated on CNN about how Trump may soon join him in the ranks of convicted felons.

Speaking to CNN, Cohen admitted that he was a "convicted perjurer," a "convicted felon," and a "disbarred lawyer."

But Cohen  who Trump's spokespeople have previously labeled a "disbarred felon" in statements to Insider  also alluded on CNN to how the label of "felon" might soon apply to Trump, too.

"Oh by the way for Donald, since we're talking about convicted felons, see you on Tuesday, pal," Cohen said, referring to the day that Trump is expected to be arraigned.

The grand jury voted Thursday to indict Trump, making him the first former president to ever face criminal charges. The charges Trump was indicted on in New York were likely linked to a $130,000 hush money payment to the adult film actress, Stormy Daniels.

Cohen was a key witness in the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to felonies linked to these hush money payments, including tax evasion, campaign finance violations, and bank fraud. He was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2018, and was disbarred by the New York Supreme Court in February 2019.

In a statement provided to Insider on Thursday, Cohen said that "no one is above the law." He said that that he takes solace "in validating the adage that no one is above the law; not even a former President."

Furthering the similarities between himself and Trump, Cohen referenced his "Al Capone theory" in the interview with CNN, saying that Trump, like him, would be punished for tax fraud.

He has put forth his "Al Capone theory," which refers to the notorious crime lord, numerous times.

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"I always called this the Al Capone theory," Cohen told CNN on Thursday. "They couldn't get him on murder, extortion, racketeering, bootlegging, etc. They got him on tax evasion. If that crime, Don, was enough for me to be charged, fined, convicted, and sent to prison, why am I any different from Donald Trump?"

Cohen and a spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former vice president Mike Pence on Thursday called the indictment of Donald Trump an outrage as he dismissed the case against him as political prosecution.

The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage, Mr Pence said on CNN.

And it appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution thats driven by a prosecutor who literally ran for office on a pledge to indict the former president.

Mr Trump has been indicted by a New York City grand jury on charges of falsifying business records stemming from payments he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing an affair he had with her before the 2016 election.

While Mr Pence acknowledged that no one is above the law, including former presidents, he maintained that his case was different.

The former vice president declined to say whether Mr Trump should drop out of the 2024 race if convicted, he added that there is no reason for calling for people to be protesting the indictment.

A source told The Independent that grand jurors voted to indict the ex-president at some point this week, and that indictment is currently under seal.

Mike Pence: "I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage." pic.twitter.com/E3HjPECmvG  Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) March 31, 2023

It was only filed with the New York Supreme Court late on Thursday, just before the court clerks office wrapped its business for the day.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN after the indictment became public.

Filing the indictment, which has been signed by the grand jury foreperson, with the clerk of court is what makes a criminal case official, but because it is currently under seal, it will remain so until it is unveiled at some point in the near future by district attorney Alvin Bragg.

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The twice-impeached former president had signaled that he could face arrest by Mr Braggs office, which was still in the process of presenting evidence to a grand jury as recently as Monday. He previously said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he had expected to be arrested on 21 March, but that date came and went without an indictment being handed down from the grand jury.

Mr Bragg said in a statement on Thursday 30 March that his office has been in touch with Mr Trumps attorneys over the former presidents surrender.

This evening we contacted Mr Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected, Mr Bragg said.

Mr Trumps lawyers have indicated that he will surrender to New York authorities early next week.

In the time between when he claimed he would be arrested and the announcement that the grand jury had, in fact, indicted him, the ex-president ramped-up increasingly unhinged rhetorical attacks on Mr Bragg, including at a 25 March rally in Waco, Texas.

During an airplane flight to the Texas rally, he told a group of reporters traveling with him that he believed Mr Bragg had dropped the case against him and called the entire matter a fake case.

But at an event later that evening, Mr Trump described the Manhattan prosecutors effort to hold him to account for alleged crimes as interference in next years presidential election.

Prosecutorial misconduct is their new tool, and theyre willing to use it at levels never seen before in our country. Weve had it, but weve never had it like this, he said. We must stop them and we must not allow them to go through another election where they have yet another tool in their tool kit.
Former Vice President Mike Pence called the Manhattan grand jury's decision to indict former President Trump on a campaign finance issue an "outrage" in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer that aired on Thursday night.

Pence, who would face his former boss in the GOP primary if he decides to run for president, said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into Trump for alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels appears to be a "political prosecution."

"I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage," Pence said.

In a historic development on Thursday, Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. The charges concern a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and another $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal .

TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS

Former Vice President Mike Pence said the criminal indictment of former President Trump is an "outrage."

Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal for making an unlawful campaign contribution. Cohen claims that he arranged those payments to McDougal and Daniels at Trump's behest. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict former President Trump on Thursday following District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and called the investigation a "witch hunt."

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said in a statement Thursday. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."

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Reactions to Trump's indictment have mostly fallen on predictably partisan lines. Republicans have expressed various forms of outrage. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., accused Bragg of doing irreparable damage to the nation and said he has "weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump." Democrats welcomed the criminal charges as long-time coming, with Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lead Democrat in Trump's first impeachment trial, saying the charges were just.

RON DESANTIS SAYS HE WILL REFUSE ANY EXTRADITION REQUEST AFTER TRUMP INDICTMENT: QUESTIONABLE CIRCUMSTANCES

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's Office said in a statement Thursday. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."

"If justice demanded that Michael Cohen go to jail for a scheme directed by someone else, justice also requires that the person responsible for directing the scheme must answer for their offenses against the law  and that person is Donald Trump," Schiff said.

Pence said that charging Trump is a "disservice to the country" and warned that the charges will divide Americans, noting that millions still support Trump.

"I think the American people will look at this and see it as one more example of the criminalization of politics in this country," he said.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Marta Dhanis contributed to this report.
Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus

A Wisconsin school doesnt want its students living in a world where everyone is celebrated for being themselves.

A group of first graders at Heyer Elementary school in Wisconsin were set to sing the Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton song Rainbowland at an upcoming school concert, however, when a music teacher asked Principal Mark Schneider for approval, he and a central office administrator decided the song could be deemed controversial and rejected the song for the elementary schoolers.

While Waukesha school district Superintendent James Sebert declined an interview with WPR News in Wisconsin, in a statement he said the question was around whether the song was appropriate for the age and maturity level of the first-grade students.

The song doesnt have anything controversial in it, or mention any LGBTQ+ themes, but is about acceptance and inclusion. Wouldn't it be nice to live in paradise? Where we're free to be exactly who we are/Let's all dig down deep inside/Brush the judgment and fear aside/Make wrong things right/And end the fight, the lyrics read.

Melissa Tempel, a first grade teacher at the school said she wanted to have her students sing the song so that theyd know they are accepted for who they are.

Were trying to support inclusivity, she said. The love and acceptance piece, and being who you are, I dont think theres anything political about that.

The Waukesha County school board has been especially cruel to trans and queer students. Not only did administrators recently ask teachers to take down any rainbow decor in their classroom and stop wearing rainbow clothes or lanyards, but also approved a resolution encouraging teachers to avoid using a students chosen name or pronouns unless they have written approval from their parents.

Miley Cyrus Happy Hippie Foundation, a nonprofit that works with youth on social issues, released a statement encouraging the schools students and announcing a donation to Pride and Less Prejudice, an organization that provides free queer-inclusive books to schools.

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\u201c\u201cWe are rainbows, me and you

Every color, every hue

Let's shine on through\u2026 TOGETHER WE CAN START LIVING IN A RAINBOWLAND.\u201d



When our founder @mileycyrus and her fairy godmother @dollyparton wrote these words together, they meant it.\u201d  Happy Hippie Foundation (@Happy Hippie Foundation) 1680126208

We are rainbows, me and you/Every color, every hue/Let's shine on through TOGETHER WE CAN START LIVING IN A RAINBOWLAND. When our founder @mileycyrus and her fairy godmother @dollyparton wrote these words together, they meant it, the tweet reads.

To the inspiring first grade students at Heyer Elementary, keep being YOU. We believe in our Happy Hippie heart that youll be the ones to brush the judgment and fear aside and make all of us more understanding and accepting.
A Miley Cyrus-founded nonprofit reminded first grade students in Wisconsin to keep being themselves after their school district barred them from singing the Cyrus and Dolly Parton duet Rainbowland at a spring concert.

Happy Hippie Foundation, which aims to support young people who are homeless along with LGBTQ+ youth, shared the comments after administrators at the School District of Waukesha determined that the LGBTQ-inclusive song could be deemed controversial for the concert under a district policy.

The song, which was reportedly liked by students, was later replaced by the Jim Henson/Kermit the Frog song Rainbow Connection, the district stated.

Happy Hippie declared in a tweet Wednesday that the artists meant the songs lyrics before celebrating the students at Heyer Elementary School.

To the inspiring first grade students at Heyer Elementary, keep being YOU. We believe in our Happy Hippie heart that youll be the ones to brush the judgment and fear aside and make all of us more understanding and accepting , the nonprofit wrote in one tweet.

To the inspiring first grade students at Heyer Elementary, keep being YOU. We believe in our Happy Hippie heart that youll be the ones to brush the judgment and fear aside and make all of us more understanding and accepting   Happy Hippie Foundation (@happyhippiefdn) March 29, 2023

The nonprofit added that it was making a donation to Pride and Less Prejudice, a group that gives free LGBTQ age-appropriate books to classrooms.

Both Parton and Cyrus have showcased their support for the LGBTQ+ community over the years.

Cyrus, who identifies as queer, has been behind a numberof songsand backedefforts that support the community while Parton has bashed anti-trans bathroom bans and supported gay marriage as a notable LGBTQ+ ally.

Melissa Tempel, a first grade teacher at Heyer Elementary, criticized the districts policies in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Story continues

Tempel told the publication that a Pride flag wasnt allowed in her classroom, although she was permitted to wear a pin supporting trans people.

I just want kids in our district to go to school feeling wanted and accepted for who they are, Tempel said. Whatever they believe in, I think that all students need to feel accepted and welcome in school. And right now, there is one specific group thats not being welcomed or accepted. And so thats why Im speaking out on behalf of them.

Related...
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy commission for accepting and transferring of state property of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves) was again not allowed to enter the monastery to conduct an inspection.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine

Details: It is reported that as of 09:40, representatives of the commission came to the 111th building of the Lavra, as they did on 30 March, but clergy and parishioners prevented them from entering the building.

After that, the commission decided to complete its work on Friday.

Prior to the commission's arrival, there were calls within the UOC-MP not to fall for provocations by "specially trained radicals".

Mariana Tomin, director of the Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture, said that the commission would appeal to the police and file a lawsuit to remove obstacles to the use of the property.

"There is yesterday's government decision. This means that there are no legal grounds for the monastery to be on the territory of the reserve. First, we will appeal to the police under Article 179 of the Criminal Code, which is 'Illegal detention, desecration or destruction of religious shrines. As a next step, we will immediately file a lawsuit to remove the obstacles to the use of the property," she said.

As she states, starting Monday, 3 April, the commission will take all the necessary legal actions and wait for the court's decision to further develop the situation. "This is our plan, having once again recorded the obstacles," Tomin said.

At the same time, she emphasised that the authorities do not intend to use force.

Background:

On the morning of 30 March 2023, it became known that parishioners belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) blocked entry to a Ministry of Culture commission that was supposed to be conducting an inventory of the property of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve.

Pavlo, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), threatened journalists with violence and prevented them from doing their work.

The Union of Journalists of Ukraine reported mass violations of journalists' rights near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

On 30 March 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine invalidated the order on the unrestricted use of the property of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra by the UOC-MP and thus returned it to state control.

The Kyiv Commercial Court dismissed the lawsuit brought by the UOC-MP against the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve. Pavlo, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and Metropolitan of the UOC-MP, had declared that UOC-MP clergy would not leave the territory of the Lavra until the court had handed down a judgement.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
The Minneapolis City Council approved on Friday an agreement with the state to revamp its policing system, nearly three years after the murder of George Floyd.

The nearly 130-page settlement includes changes to the use of force; to stops, searches and arrests; using body-worn and dashboard cameras; officer training and wellness; and responding to mental health and behavioral calls.

It would also ban Minneapolis police officers from searching a person or a vehicle simply because they smell marijuana, and officers would no longer be able to pull over a driver for a broken tail light. The use of chemical irritants as a form of crowd control would also be banned.

To ensure compliance, the settlement calls for appointment of an independent evaluator. Under the agreement, the city is required to create a new unit to implement the terms within 60 days.

City officials agreed to negotiate with the state after the Minnesota Department of Human Rights issued a scathing report last year that said the police department had engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination for at least a decade.

According to the states Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero, Minnesotas largest police agency stopped, searched, arrested, used force against and killed people of color at significantly higher rates than white people over a 10-year period, with Black people specifically making up a disproportionate amount of police encounters.

The investigation also found that city and police leaders had been aware of the pattern of discriminatory behavior but failed to fix it.

The investigation came after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyds neck for 9 1/2 minutes as he cried over and over that he couldnt breathe. Floyds death, caught on video, sparked worldwide protests that eventually pushed the Minneapolis Police Department to begin an overhaul. Chauvin was eventually charged and convicted of Floyds murder.

Though the states investigation has wrapped, the U.S. Department of Justice is still investigating whether Minneapolis police engaged in a pattern of discrimination.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Hundreds of Minnesota residents have been evacuated from their homes after a train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed overnight, sparking a large fire.

Kandiyohi County Sheriffs Office said in a press release that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe cargo train derailed at around 1am on Thursday morning in the town of Raymond, Minnesota.

Several train cars  carrying mixed freight including ethanol and corn syrup  burst into flames, the sheriffs office said.

Multiple fire departments and first responders were deployed to the scene where they have been battling to bring the blaze under control.

Local residents were told to evacuate their homes in the nearby area, with a half-mile evacuation zone set up around the crash site.

So far, there have been no reported injuries.

An emergency collection site has been set up at the Central Minnesotan Christian School in nearby Prinsburg for evacuated residents in need of a place to go.

As of around 5am, the sheriffs office said that the site remained active as the fire was being contained.

Members of the public have been urged to stay away from the town of Raymond until further notice.

FRA is on the ground after a BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed early this morning, leading to an evacuation in the area of Raymond, MN. At present no injuries or fatalities have been reported. We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in investigaton.  Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) March 30, 2023

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted that the Federal Railroad Administration had responded to the scene to assist with the incident.

FRA is on the ground after a BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed early this morning, leading to an evacuation in the area of Raymond, MN, he tweeted.

At present no injuries or fatalities have been reported. We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in investigaton.

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Raymond Fire Department said that anyone looking to help can drop off bottled water and snacks for the firefighters at a local church in Prinsburg.

Fire rages in Raymond, Minnesota, after train carrying ethanol derails (WCCO)

Several people have asked how they can help, so this is what you can do! The City of Raymond is not accessible to the public, so Unity Church in Prinsburg is willing to be a drop off location for bottled water and snacks for the firemen. These brave souls have been working hard for hours already, and have several hours of work ahead for them. Any help in the way of bottled water and nourishment would be appreciated, the department said in a Facebook post.

This marks the latest train derailment across America in recent months, after an incident in Ohio sparked serious health concerns for residents.

In early February, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous vinyl chloride derailed in the village of East Palestine.

Officials carried out a controlled burn of the materials to prevent an explosion.

After that, several residents reported health issues such as rashes and breathing difficulties, creating fears about the long-term impact of the disaster.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now pushing for increased rail safety standards.
MEXICO CITY  Migrants stuck at Mexico's northern border for months hoping to get into the U.S. are becoming more vulnerable to misinformation after a deadly fire at a government-run detention center killed at least 39 people this week.

Over 1,000 migrants lined up outside international bridges to El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon after false information spread on social media and by word of mouth that the U.S. would allow them to enter the country.

Lea en espanol aqui

The migrants, most of them Venezuelans, "surrendered themselves" to U.S. authorities, El Paso Chief Patrol Agent Anthony "Scott" Good tweeted. Most migrants, including Venezuelans, wont be allowed to seek asylum in the U.S. by crossing the border under current immigration policies.

The incident prompted the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez to share a social media post in Spanish telling migrants, "Do not let yourself be deceived."

The rumors about the opening of the border after the tragedy in Ciudad Juarez are completely false. Law enforcement policies and security measures to restrict access to people without documents into the U.S. remain in effect, the post said. The border is closed for irregular migration!

Over 1,000 migrants surrendered themselves to Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas. (@USBPChiefEPT via Twitter)

The U.S. has expanded the use of a pandemic-related policy known as Title 42 to expel migrants who cross the border. On May 11, the policy will be replaced with one that largely bans asylum for anyone who travels through Mexico without having sought protection there first.

'You can't compete with hope'

Betty Camargo, the state programs director for the Border Network for Human Rights, said she was in touch with a migrant leading a group of others to the border Wednesday in hope of being allowed to enter the U.S.

The migrant told Camargo many of them felt angry, afraid and unsafe after the fire in Estancia Provisional de Ciudad Juarez killed 39 people and injured dozens more in one of the deadliest migrant tragedies near the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years.

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While we were trying to explain to them that the rumors are not true, sometimes you cant compete with hope, Camargo said.

It isnt the first time misinformation has led a large number of migrants to show up at different ports of entry. Two weeks ago, large groups of migrants clashed with federal agents at the Paso Del Norte international bridge, also known as the Santa Fe Bridge, which connects Ciudad Juarez and El Paso.

At the time, Camilo Cruz, a spokesperson from the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, attributed the congregation of migrants to a rumor that they were going to let them pass en masse, especially those who arrived with children, The Associated Press reported.

Blanca Navarrete, the director of Comprehensive Human Rights in Action, an organization in Ciudad Juarez providing services to migrants, said a Peruvian woman who had acted on the rumors stopped by her office Wednesday on her way to El Paso.

The woman and her young son had been walking for so long that the boys last pair of shoes had broken and he couldnt keep going. Navarrete told the woman the rumors the U.S. was letting everyone in werent true.

Navarrete said the rumor started after an anonymous user posted the message in a Facebook group used by migrants trying to navigate CBP One, an app asylum-seekers need to use to first get pre-screened and then get appointments with specific dates and U.S. ports of entry. The message then spread on WhatsApp and by word of mouth.

Troubles with the CBP One app have also created a sense of hopelessness among many migrant families trying to get asylum appointments. Gabriela Munoz Cano, a project manager for Las Americas Advocacy Center in Ciudad Juarez, said she has families who have been trying to get an appointment through the app since January.

As they run out of resources to stay safely in Ciudad Juarez, migrants are becoming more vulnerable to misinformation about getting to the U.S., Munoz Cano said. Scammers posing as lawyers ask migrants for money to supposedly help them get appointment in the app, she said. Getting appointments through CBP One, however, is free.

'Many lies out there'

While Facebook can help migrants stay in touch and get information along their journeys, it's also where misinformation targeting migrants on the border flourishes, particularly in Spanish.

Last year, the Tech Transparency Project identified two Facebook groups, with the same moderator, that were generating "a steady stream of content targeting migrants in Mexico." It also found "an abundance of posts spreading misinformation about immigration law, conditions along the route to the United States, and the opportunities available to migrants to the U.S.," particularly on Facebook and WhatsApp.

That kind of misinformation reached the social media feed of Carmen Gonzalez, 23, in Venezuela. Gonzalez said she and other friends began their journey from Venezuela to Mexico after they saw a post falsely claiming Venezuelans could enter the U.S. without being deported.

We always see things on Instagram and Facebook telling us to travel, that people are getting into the United States," Gonzalez, now stranded in Ciudad Juarez, said in Spanish. "You get excited, and then you go on that trip, you struggle a lot and then they don't let you in.

I tell people now not to believe what they read on Facebook, because many lies are told there, she added.

People see things on social media, including accounts of people who "found out that something worked for someone," and start traveling "without immigration documentation and without plans," said Lorena Cano, the legal coordinator at the Institute for Women in Migration, a civil association defending migrant women's rights.

In February, large groups of migrants showed up at a specific mile marker near the U.S.-Canada border after false information emerged that both countries had reached an agreement and that the U.S. was going to bus migrants to Canada.

The misinformation appeared first on social media and was later spread, Camargo said, by someone who went to shelters and even by someone migrants described as an immigration official. When many of the migrants showed up at the mile marker, they realized it wasnt true.

"They're playing with their livelihood," Camargo said. "Migrants are not only being stripped from their right to migrate  they are slowly being stripped of their hope."

Nicole Acevedo reported from New York and Albinson Linares from Mexico City.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The search continues for a missing 2-year-old after his mother was discovered dead inside her St. Petersburg apartment, police in Florida say. Now, theres a $5,000 reward.

A statewide Amber Alert was issued for Taylen Mosley around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 30, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department. Investigators said he was last seen in the 11600 block of 4th Street.

Taylen remains missing as of March 31, and police said he could be in danger. His mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery, was found dead a day earlier.

Taylen has brown hair, brown eyes and weighs about 30 pounds, according to a notice from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Additional information wasnt immediately available, and its unclear if police have identified a suspect.

Anyone with information on Taylens whereabouts is asked to call St. Petersburg police detectives at 727-893-7780 or submit a tip by texting SPPD to TIP411.

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A frightened 4-year-old boy was found in the woods after leaving home with his black labrador retriever in New Jersey, police said.

The child was reported missing and disappeared for more than an hour the evening of March 30 in Buena Vista Township, according to New Jersey State Police.

During the search for the boy, his mother and State Trooper Ian Emmi heard him and followed his cries nearly a half mile away from his home, state police said in a news release shared to Facebook.

The moment troopers spot the child and race over to rescue him in the woods is seen in body-camera footage shared by state police.

The dog stayed with the child the entire time he was missing, the video shows.

The boy cries out about losing his shoes and is picked up by troopers, according to the video. His lab, with a wagging tail, jumps up when the boy is picked up in apparent excitement, the footage shows.

We are thankful to report that due to the quick response of the troopers and his mother, the terrified child was safely located and in good health, police said in a statement.

Buena Vista Township is located in southern New Jersey about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Darien McGee had been heading to the bathroom when winds akin to "a force of God" knocked him to the ground.

The EF4 tornado that struck Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on March 24 roared overhead, tearing McGee's house to rubble.

"It was like a force of God. The same force that came through here is the same force that got me out," Darien McGee told AccuWeather National Reporter Jillian Angeline.

He hadn't made it into the bathroom -- a place typically regarded as one of the safer rooms to take shelter -- but had survived the tornado that had killed over a dozen others.

There are a few different precautions that people can take when it comes to taking shelter during severe weather, but what might qualify as a safe shelter in a house might not hold up for a mobile home or other locations.

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A bulldozer and a loader work together to remove debris from the deadly Friday night tornado that hit this Silver City, Miss., neighborhood as well as a number of other Mississippi communities, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Similar to the stories of countless others, Dana Dew and her husband had just seconds to react before the tornado was upon them, she explained to AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.

"He jumped out of the bed, and I jumped out of the bed and he threw me in the closet and held on to me, and we rode it out," Dana Dew told Wadell.

Rooms like closets, bathrooms and other rooms without windows are typically the go-to shelter location for people in on-site homes during a tornado. The best place to go, if possible, would be a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar or the lowest building level.

AccuWeather Senior On-Air Meteorologist Geoff Cornish explained that knowing the acronym DUCK could be life-saving.

D -- get Down to the lowest level.

U -- get Under something sturdy.

C -- Cover your head.

K -- Keep in shelter until storm has passed.

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"If you have a basement, that's the best place to be when a tornado warning is issued," said Cornish. "If you don't have a basement, and that's the case for many in the Midwest, get into a small interior room like a bathroom or closet that does not have windows [and has] multiple walls between you and the outside world."

Silver City, Mississippi, resident Jalandria Ellis felt the house shake as she and her grandmother took shelter in their home's bathroom on Friday, using pillows to protect themselves from any debris.

Silver City resident Jalandria Ellis recounts to AccuWeather National Reporter Jillian Angeline how she and her grandmother took shelter in one of the bathrooms of their home. (AccuWeather/Jillian Angeline)

"It was frightening because being in a disaster like this, you just never know what could go wrong," Ellis told Angeline. "But I kept faith, and we've got faith. That's what pulled us through."

The roof had been torn from Ellis's home, and she was in the process of trying to salvage any remaining mementos. However, both Ellis and her grandmother survived the storm.

Jean Fulton thought he had time to drive the remaining two miles to return home on Friday, March 24, when severe weather descended upon Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

The wind lofted his red pickup truck into the air, causing the vehicle to barrel roll and ultimately land upside down amid debris from the tornado. The cab of the truck, however, held firm, and Fulton made it out with only a few scrapes and cuts.

"It slammed us to the ground -- just picked us up, slammed us, picked us up, slammed us, just over and over and over and over," Fulton told Wadell. "Then when we stopped, we could climb out. The truck was on its roof."

When he and his family climbed out of the car, the wind had calmed and the rain had stopped.

"Me and my family, we was alive," Fulton said.

The interior of Jean Fulton's truck after the tornado on Friday, March 24, flipped the vehicle. (AccuWeather/Bill Wadell)

Experts advise motorists should stay off the road until severe weather clears; however, if it strikes while driving, there are ways to lessen any danger.

AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist William Clark warned there aren't any completely safe options if someone is driving near a tornado, just less dangerous ones.

This includes never seeking shelter under a bridge or overpass, which can amplify the speeds of the winds and offer little to no protection from flying debris.

"The safest option is always to seek shelter in a sturdy structure, especially underground," Clark said. "This can be achieved if the tornado is visible at a far distance and there is light traffic, by driving at right angles to the perceived path of the tornado and seeking shelter in a sturdy building off the roadway."

If reaching a structure is not possible, experts recommend staying in the car with your seat belt on, getting as low as possible and finding cover. It's essential to protect your head.

"If you are unable to make it to a safe shelter, either get down in your car and cover your head or abandon your car and seek shelter in a low-lying area such as a ditch or ravine," the National Weather Service recommends. Other hazards to be aware of when seeking shelter in a ditch is there can be debris and flooding dangers. Covering your head is still important in this scenario.

The underside frame of a mobile home was bent by the tornado Friday night and was hurled into a Silver City, Miss., home and injured the wife and contributed to the death of her husband who was also injured, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The same force of nature that tore McGee's home apart also crushed mobile homes in the area, adding to the death toll.

Linda Herman and her mother, Luvella Herman, died when the twister tore through the mobile park where they lived, TJ Herman, the son of Luvella, told The Associated Press. At least 21 people lost their lives in Mississippi on Friday, including 13 in Sharkey County when the EF4 tornado tore through with peak winds of 170 mph, according to Mississippi Emergency Management.

On average, 72% of all tornado-related fatalities take place in homes, 54% of which are in mobile homes, according to the National Weather Service. Someone in a mobile home is 15 to 20 times more likely to be killed compared to their counterparts sheltering in a site-built home.

Mobile homes provide little to no shelter from tornadoes, so residents should have a plan ready and research the closest community tornado shelter.

The American Red Cross has a list of open evacuation shelters, but residents should try to get to these locations before a tornado warning is issued for the area.

Reporting by AccuWeather National Reporter Jillian Angeline and Bill Wadell.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Four years after then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt unveiled an initiative where state prosecutors could prosecute cases in federal court to combat violent crime in Kansas City, Springfield and St. Louis, the partnership is now a shell of its former self.

At its peak, four attorneys from the Missouri Attorney Generals Office were deputized as assistant U.S. attorneys to prosecute cases for the Western District of Missouri  three in Kansas City, one in Springfield.

Now, just one state prosecutor, who will be leaving soon, remains working with federal prosecutors in Kansas City. And Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who was appointed to complete Schmitts term after he was elected to the U.S. Senate, has made no indication he plans to fill the vacant positions, the U.S. Attorney Teresa Moores office told The Star.

Over the past year, as the cross-designated attorneys working in our office as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys left their positions, those vacancies have not been filled by the Missouri Attorney General, said Don Ledford, the spokesperson for the U.S. attorneys office in Kansas City, referring to attorneys who can practice in both state and federal courts.

Ledford said the sole remaining cross-designated attorney will conclude his time in the office in the near future and federal prosecutors have not received any indication from the MO AGs office the vacancy will be filled.

Asked when Bailey plans to fill the positions, Madeline Sieren, a spokesperson for the attorney general, signaled that the federal-state partnership, the Safer Streets Initiative, may be on the way out in favor of a new state-led taskforce.

Bailey has asked the General Assembly for a repurposing of funds as we believe it is a more prudent use of resources to stand up a violent crime taskforce within our office that will focus on enforcing state law to combat violent crime, Sieren said in a statement.

If Baileys office plans to stop working with federal prosecutors in Kansas City, it would further weaken the initiative. The partnership had already been severed in St. Louis amid an ongoing feud between the Biden administration and Missouri Republicans over a 2021 state law that declared certain federal gun laws invalid if they dont have a state-level equivalent.

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Last year, the attorney generals office, under Schmitt, announced that federal prosecutors in St. Louis had stopped working cases as part of the partnership because the Biden administration was suing the state over the 2021 gun law. Federal officials in Kansas City, at the time, said they were taking a different approach and keeping the partnership intact.

A federal judge earlier this month sided with the Biden administration and overturned the law. Bailey, who has used the attorney generals office to take on the federal government similarly to Schmitt, has since appealed that decision.

The law, which was passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and signed by Gov. Mike Parson, had sown confusion among Missouri law enforcement, who questioned how much they could cooperate with federal officials.

Schmitt, when he was attorney general, had previously touted the Safer Streets initiative as a way to add prosecutorial firepower to the U.S. attorneys office in a 2021 column in the Joplin Globe.

Schmitt wrote that the partnership had led to more than 500 chargers against more than 250 defendants, calling it a huge accomplishment in the fight against violent crime.

The freshman Missouri senators office declined to comment Thursday on the programs reduced staffing.

Ledford, the U.S. Attorneys Office spokesperson, told The Star that federal officials were committed to working with state and local law enforcement. He said he did not know exactly when the cross-designated attorneys began rotating out, but said it was happening before January  which is when Bailey was appointed attorney general.

Our office has not expressed a desire to withdraw from the Safer Streets Initiative, nor have we received any official notification from the Missouri Attorney Generals Office regarding the termination of its Safer Streets Initiative, Ledford said.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued statements this week blaming billionaire philanthropist George Soros for former President Donald Trumps indictment Thursday by a New York grand jury.

Their lines echoed statements that had already been used by a slew of prominent Republicans, including Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Yet again, another Soros-backed prosecutor uses the rule of law to serve his own political agenda, not justice, Parson posted on social media Friday, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat who was investigating Trump over allegations of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Bailey, on Thursday, referred to Bragg as another Soros- funded prosecutor with misplaced priorities.

Jewish leaders who spoke with The Star said many of the statements linking Democrats to Soros, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and prominent liberal donor, echo antisemitic tropes about Jewish people.

Its a screaming antisemitic dog whistle, said Doug Alpert, the rabbi at Kansas City-based Congregation Kol Ami. Wherever you see George Soros, you might as well just substitute dirty Jews.

Soros contributions to liberal causes has often been recast as fodder for conspiracy theories, including that he manipulates particular events, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Those conspiracy theories often employ antisemitic tropes about Jewish people.

Even if antisemitism is not intended, painting a Jewish person as someone who manipulates events can make antisemitic tropes mainstream and give support to extremists who promote those ideas, the league says.

Soros had been a favorite target among conservatives and Trump allies leading up to Thursdays indictment. The mega-donor did not directly donate to Braggs campaign, but he contributed $1 million to a progressive group, which spent $500,000 in support of Braggs candidacy, according to a fact check from The New York Times.

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Trump, according to CNN, faces more than 30 charges related to business fraud, indicating that the former president may be charged with more than just the hush money payment that Bragg was investigating.

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, blamed Soros for Trumps indictment during a TV spot on Fox News Thursday night, calling for an investigation into the Department of Justice.

We have to go after these Soros prosecutors who have been put into office all across the country and expose the dark money network that has gotten them into power, Hawley told host Jesse Watters

Missouri Republicans also evoked Soros in criticism against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner in 2018 when a grand jury indicted then-Gov. Eric Greitens for felony invasion of privacy after allegations that Greitens took a nude photograph of a woman without her consent in 2015 to keep her from talking about their extramarital affair.

Kim Gardner has received more than $200,000 from George Soros groups, Sam Cooper, then-executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, said at the time.

Daniel Bogard, a St. Louis-based rabbi, said in an interview with The Star that evoking George Soros is a way to blame Jewish people for certain issues.

Unlike many other isms, antisemitism is fundamentally a conspiracy. Its a way of looking at the world that answers simple questions for a complex reality, he said. Thats what the messaging does  it says that the reason the world isnt working for you is George Soros.

Alpert, the Kansas City rabbi, said there was both racism and antisemitism in linking Bragg to Soros. He said it suggests that Bragg, who is Black, is not acting on his own and is being manipulated by some vast Jewish conspiracy.

Unless Parson and Bailey give a full-throated denial of antisemitism, they are part of the hate that is todays Republican Party, he said.

Theres no ambivalence about it, he said. They may try and say, oh, they didnt know or they werent talking about all Jews, but they are.

Spokespeople for Parson and Bailey did not immediately respond to an email seeking a response to Alperts comments Friday.

Trumps indictment Thursday sparked a wave of anger among Kansas and Missouri Republicans, including Schmitt and Hawley who collectively painted the charges as politically motivated.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat who represents Kansas City, said in a statement Friday that the keystone to our democracy and the freedoms we cherish so dearly is the rule of law, administered equally to all people, no matter their position or personal attributes.

Cleaver acknowledged that Trump was innocent until proven guilty no matter how many people may like or dislike him.

I encourage all Americans to allow the legal process to play out peacefully and according to the rule of law, he said.
Gwyneth Paltrow was not at fault for a 2016 ski collision, jurors in her bombshell court case have found.

Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, 76, raised the allegations against Ms Paltrow in a 2019 lawsuit, seeking $300,000 in damages.

On Thursday 30 March, jurors returned a verdict in favour of Ms Paltrow after just over two hours of deliberation following a high-profile two-week trial in Utah, effectively awarding Ms Paltrow a symbolic $1.

They found Mr Sanderson was 100 per cent at fault for the ski accident, which happened at the Deer Valley ski resort over seven years ago.

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By Aleksandar Vasovic

PODGORICA (Reuters) - Montenegro holds a run-off presidential election on Sunday in which long-time incumbent Milo Djukanovic faces a strong challenge from a Western-educated economist who has promised a fresh start after a year of political deadlock.

Djukanovic, 61, has dominated Montenegro as president or prime minister for 33 years, since the start of old federal Yugoslavia's disintegration, and opponents have long accused the former communist and his party of running the small Adriatic republic as their fiefdom, allegations they deny.

His rival in Sunday's second-round election is Jakov Milatovic, 37, a former economy minister and the deputy head of the Europe Now movement who advocates closer ties with both the European Union and fellow ex-Yugoslav republic Serbia.

Djukanovic wound up with 35.37% of the vote in the first round of the election on March 19, with Milatovic on 28.92%, necessitating a run-off as neither garnered a 50% majority.

Analysts said the results herald a closely fought run-off.

Djukanovic will be dependent on the traditional support of national minorities, Montenegrins living abroad, pro-Western parties and those who abstained in the first round.

Milatovic counted on backing from the pro-Serb and pro-Russian Democratic Front and its leader Andrija Mandic, who on March 19 secured 19.3%, but also from other smaller parties including the now-ruling URA, a pro-Western group.

Djukanovic has led Montenegro since the collapse of old Yugoslavia, initially as an ally of then-Serbian nationalist strongman Slobodan Milosevic, before parting ways with him and adopting a pro-Western agenda.

Montenegro, whose economy relies on tourism generated by its scenic mountains and seaside, ditched a state union with much larger Serbia in 2006 and declared independence. It joined NATO in 2017 and is now a candidate for European Union membership.

Djukanovic campaigned for continuity. "We want to continue to live as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural, civic state ... that wants to be a member of the EU," he said.

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But analysts said he faced a serious challenge in Sunday's vote after a year of political instability that saw two governments felled by no-confidence votes prompted by perceived mishandling of the COVID pandemic, economic mismanagement and a disputed deal regulating ties with the Serbian Orthodox Church.

A row between lawmakers and Djukanovic over his refusal to name a new prime minister deepened the political paralysis.

FOCUS ON CORRUPTION, LIVING STANDARDS

Opponents accuse Djukanovic and his centre-left Democratic Party of Socialists of corruption, nepotism and links to organised crime in the country of some 620,000 people - accusations Djukanovic and the DPS deny.

"Not only has Djukanovic allowed the elite to accumulate significant wealth..., he has tried to convince ... the poor that they are where they are because they don't deserve better," Zarija Pejovic, an economy lecturer at Mediteran University in the capital Podgorica, told Reuters.

Milatovic, who was economy minister in the government that took power on the back of pro-Serb religious rallies in 2020, co-formed the Europe Now movement in 2022 vowing to curb graft, secure better living standards and boost relations with Serbia.

"I am here to lead Montenegro to success because for too long we have been led by the unsuccessful," Milatovic told a campaign rally.

Vladimir Pavicevic of the Montenegrin Policy Research Society think-tank said Milatovic could attract previous supporters of the DPS - now the largest party in parliament - with his promise of a fresh start.

"An atmosphere has been created ...showing Milatovic is a politician who brings new trends and opportunities ... There's a large number of people who voted for DPS and are now ready to vote for Milatovic," Pavicevic told Belgrade daily Danas.

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION IN JUNE

On March 16 Djukanovic dissolved parliament and scheduled snap elections for June 11.

Although the presidency is largely ceremonial, it holds key powers to nominate prime ministers, dissolve parliament and call elections, and whoever wins the presidential vote will bolster the chances of his party in June.

Montenegro has a legacy of bitter divisions between those who identify as Montenegrins and those who see themselves as Serbs and are opposed to the country's independence.

The country joined NATO after a 2016 coup attempt that the Djukanovic government blamed on Russian agents and Serbian nationalists. Moscow dismissed such accusations as absurd, and Serbia denied involvement.

After the invasion of Ukraine last year, Montenegro signed up to EU sanctions against Russia. The Kremlin has placed Montenegro on its list of unfriendly states.

(Additional reporting by Stevo Vasiljevic in Podgorica; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Terry Jones and John Cleese in the Mr Creosote sketch from 1983's Monty Python's Meaning on Life. (Alamy)

Monty Pythons The Meaning of Life is a landmark comedy celebrating its fortieth anniversary in 2023. The ambitious project, which attempts to answer the biggest question in the more irreverent of ways, has many golden moments.

However, few have etched themselves into culture quite like the infamous sketch Mr Creosote.

Opening the films 6th chapter, The Autumn Years, director Terry Jones plays Mr Creosote, a comically obese man dressed in a tuxedo who waddles into a fine dining restaurant.

Read more: Where are the Monty Python cast now?

Welcomed by a smiling French waiter (John Cleese), the patron is already vomiting before making his order of The Lot (everything on the menu), served in a bucket with an egg on top. Other diners are completely disgusted as the staff try to stifle Creosotes vomiting with a bucket.

Terry Jones and John Cleese in the Mr Creosote sketch from 1983's Monty Python's Meaning on Life. (Alamy)

We cut to the end of the meal, where an overwhelmed, filthy Mr. Creosote is tempted into one last Wafer-Thin Mint by the waiter, who runs for cover as the man explodes. Incredibly still alive, but with organs showing, the waiter presents the bill.

Originally written by Jones and Michael Palin, it was rejected by the production before fellow Pythons Cleese and Graham Chapman rewrote the piece.

Watch the Mr Creosote clip below

Filmed in London, the sequence was tricky to manoeuvre. The film had a bigger budget and was free from the restrictions of television, meaning this sequence could go as far as they wished. Minestrone soup was used for the vomit, while Jones prosthetic suit was designed by Christopher Tucker, most famous for the makeup in David Lynchs The Elephant Man and working on Star Wars Cantina creatures.

In the Making Of documentary for the film, the troupe revealed that Cleese struggled to finish saying Wa-fer Thin Mint without laughing, and that the soup-covered dining room had to be quickly cleaned as it was to host a wedding the next day.

John Cleese and Terry Jones in the 'Mr. Creosote' sketch, from 1983's Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. (Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images)

Its a scene that remains shocking to this day. Whether you see it as a metaphor for the angry gluttony of the upper classes, or simply a hilarious visual gag, once witnessed its never forgotten.

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However, it was by no means an outlier for Python or the time in which it was released. In the Seventies and early Eighties, physical effects and public taste combined to the point where some truly shocking moments were witnessed on screen.

Read more: BBFC downgrades Life of Brian's age rating

In 1979, Aliens chest-burster scene made headlines for its disturbing nature, delivering a similar pay off to Mr Creosote albeit for screams rather than laughs. In the years surrounding The Meaning of Life, films like Creepshow, The Thing, The Evil Dead, and An American Werewolf in London were grabbing audiences with visual set pieces that turned the stomach.

Terry Jones as Mr Creosote in 1983's Monty Python's Meaning of Life. (Alamy)

Of course, the purpose of the scene is not to make people run in terror, but fall from their seats laughing. While gross-out comedies had been in fashion for a few years before, The Meaning of Life gave it The Pythons own uniquely absurd perspective.

An incredibly ambitious undertaking for what is just under seven minutes of screentime, even those involved thought it might not work (Cleese is reported to have described the sketch as The Pits! while filming).

Yet, it remains the films signature, and one of the greatest Python moments because it seems to sum up what they were all about: a clever observation of the world wrapped up so tightly in absurdity that you almost missed the point while doubled over in hysterics.

Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones promoting Meaning of Life at Cannes in 1983. (Getty Images)

Forty years on, its clear that the initially rejected sketch has had a substantial impact on comedy. YouTube reaction videos show new generations being introduced to the character, while its arguable that the DNA of the bulbous, foul-mouthed character can be found in characters like Eric Cartman from South Park (the creators of which have cited Monty Python as an influence).

Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who built a reputation for having very graphic scenes in his movies, confessed that the scene was the one time he felt uncomfortable watching a movie. I saw Monty Python's Meaning Of Life he told Film4.

Read more: Monty Python stars pay tribute to Terry Jones

When the fat Mr Creosote guy who does all the puking turns up  I remember sitting in the movie theatre thinking, 'If somebody vomits, and I actually smell vomit while I'm watching this, I'm just going to hurl!'"

Four decades on, the comedy genre may feel like every it has pushed every envelope possible. However, Mr Creosote remains a moment in film history that astounds, disturbs, but ultimately entertains.

Its a hilarious classic that fans will be able to watch over and over until theyre ready to burst: although perhaps staying away from any Wa-fer Thin mints!

Monty Python's Meaning of Life is streaming on Prime Video with a Lionsgate+ subscription.

Watch a clip from Life of Brian.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) during the Senate hearing on Improving rail safety in response to the East Palestine, Ohio train Derailment on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said Wednesday he would once again introduce a bill that would increase the number of people who qualify for overtime pay, or time-and-a-half-pay for any hours they work beyond 40 in a week.

The Restoring Overtime Pay Act would raise the threshold under which employers would be required to pay their salaried workers overtime pay. Currently, the threshold is $35,568 per year or $684 per week, which Browns considers out of date.

"So often these workers are working 50, 60, 70 hours a week, they're putting in the extra work, their paychecks ought to reflect that," Brown said during a Wednesday conference call with reporters. "They often have no real input or ability to manage their own work schedule because their employers are making them work these extra hours with no more pay.

"Our bill simply would mean more money in the pockets of Ohioans at a time when they need it most to keep up with rising costs."

What would the Restoring Overtime Pay Act do?

If passed, the bill would immediately raise the overtime salary threshold to $45,000, and raise it by $10,000 each year for the next five years, according to Brown, who's been down this road before.

In 2016, then-President Barack Obama's labor department overhauled the overtime rule. But days before the threshold was set to be raised to $47,500, a federal judge blocked the effort, siding with business groups who argued the higher threshold would have led to increased costs and layoffs.

The threshold was raised to its current level in 2019 under the Trump administration.

Brown hopes this time will play out differently. "We don't know for sure if it will stand but we will try," he said.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce had not responded to requests for comment as of Thursday afternoon.

Northeast Ohio woman says she isn't paid for the extra hours she puts in

Brown was joined Wednesday by Yvonne, who declined to share her last name over fears of retribution by her employer. Yvonne said she lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband and two adult sons and makes $69,000 a year working as a commercial account manager for an insurance agency.

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Yvonne said she oftentimes arrives to work early, works through lunch and stays late. But her employer doesn't pay her for the extra hours, she said.

"On any given day, I have thousands of emails going back and forth. I put in overtime because I care. I care about my customers, I care about my job and I care about my agents," she said.

Groceries are a big expense, she said, in large part because she lives with three men, two of whom can't afford to move out.

"Do you know how much men eat? It's a lot," she said. "We pay almost $300 a week for groceries. I can't afford the amount of food we need."

Yvonne said if she was paid for all the hours she works, she and her family wouldn't have to worry about unexpected expenses.

"With all the hours I'm working and the cost of living going up, we're finding it hard to get by," she said.

Brown said he had recently spoken with Julie Su, President Joe Biden's nominee for secretary of labor, and hopes to introduce his bill this week.

Monroe Trombly covers the workplace and environmental issues for The Columbus Dispatch.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@monroetrombly

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sherrod Brown wants to give more workers the right to be paid OT
Visitors to the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition may notice a heavier police presence after chaos unfolded last week.

Late Friday afternoon, the Miami-Dade Police Department announced it will be increasing safety measures at the Tamiami attraction, 10901 SW 24th St.

Due to recent incidents at the @miamiyouthfair, we have enhanced security measures by implementing additional police officers throughout the fair grounds  pic.twitter.com/3RjY9fdKK4  Miami-Dade Police (@MiamiDadePD) March 31, 2023

More officers will be monitoring large crowds by walking the fairgrounds as well as keeping an eye out from observation towers, according to the police department.

We will not tolerate any disorderly or disruptive behavior that endangers others, police said. These individuals will be removed from the fairgrounds immediately and/or arrested for criminal activity.

The sudden increase in police vigilance stems from a non-credible threat on March 25 that caused mass panic and a stampede.

Police told the Miami Herald several reports of an incident at the Youth Fair were called in that night. Police determined that there was no actual threat of violence, rather, a group of kids running frightened other attendees and led to a domino effect, resulting in minor injuries.

Videos, social media posts and eyewitness reports detailed a large stampede and mass exodus of fairgoers after rumors spread of a possible shooting.

Alejandro Menendez was at the fair with his wife and four children searching for elephant ears when he saw a crowd running past them saying gun and run, he told the Herald.

What was just a few people ... was now everyone running and stampeding for their lives, he said. At this point the kids are freaked out so we decide the safest option is to simply leave the fair early. Unfortunately, thousands of people decided to do the same thing.

Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Christopher Sowerby-Thomas said what occurred was an isolated incident and the police department will be working diligently to keep a safe atmosphere this weekend.
Far-right extremists across the country have sharpened their rhetoric against the trans community after this week's school shooting in Nashville. Meanwhile, drag shows in Kentucky and Ohio come under threat from extremist groups in a long-running trend. And an FBI informant testifies in the Jan. 6 trial of the Proud Boys.

It's the week in extremism.

Rhetoric against trans community sharpens

Club Q attack 'no surprise': Club Q attack no surprise for extremism experts who saw looming threat, decades-old pattern

For more than a year now, perhaps the single issue that has most unified far-right extremists in America is that of rights for transgender people. Hatred against the trans community has dominated discussions on far-right message boards and social media. That rhetoric hit new levels this week when police stated the assailant in a Nashville school shooting Monday  in which three small children and three adults died  identified as transgender.

Extremist influencers like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Fox News host Tucker Carlson both honed in on the shooter's gender identity, with Taylor Greene earning a brief suspension from Twitter for her comments. On Tuesday, Carlson called trans people the "Natural enemy" of Christianity.

Personalities on the extremist far-right have been cheering on anti-trans hate for months, long before the baseless claims stemming from Nashville.

That messaging has been taken up by street-level extremists including the Proud Boys gang, white supremacists and neo-Nazis, who have protested at dozens of drag shows around the country, conflating drag with transgenderism.

Fact check: Mass shootings by trans individuals are extremely rare. James Densley, a professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Metro State University who co-founded the Violence Project which monitors mass public killings , told the Washington Post the Nashville shooting was the first recorded mass shooting perpetrated by a trans shooter that the project has recorded.

To date, there have been 132 mass shootings in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Police continue to investigative any motive the killer may have had in this week's attack.

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A man with a gun stands outside a recent Drag Queen Story Time event in Louisville, Ky.

Ohio, Kentucky drag shows threatened

Lawmakers target drag shows: Lawmakers targeting drag shows with 14 bills across U.S., analysis finds

Extremists at Ohio drag event: Nazi salutes, pepper spray and pistols: Ohio drag event devolves into an extremist melee

In a continuation of the growing far-right protest movement against drag shows, a drag queen story time in Louisville, Kentucky was briefly delayed Sunday after the business hosting the event received a bomb threat. And a church in Northern Ohio, was vandalized with a molotov cocktail after announcing a drag story hour planned for this Saturday.

Despite the bomb threat at the Louisville event, the drag queen story time went ahead as planned. The event saw some protestors and at least one armed protester wearing a patch for the John Brown Gun Club, a left-wing gun club that has previously protected drag events.

The Community Church of Chesterland, just East of Cleveland, was vandalized with a molotov cocktail earlier this week after announcing it would hold a drag queen story hour on Saturday. Local police have asked the church to cancel the event, but it was still going ahead as of Thursday evening.

Context: Drag shows, especially those that allow children, have increasingly become targets of far-right extremist protest. An event in Wadsworth, Ohio two weeks ago was protested by armed neo-Nazis who shouted "Sieg heil," as well as local Proud Boys.

Dig deeper: Late last year we published this deep-dive investigation into a drag show in Roanoke, Texas, that was targeted by right-wing extremists but was also protected by armed left-wing activists.

In Kentucky: Read more about this incident from my colleague Chris Kenning here.

Jake Angeli, the 'Q Anon shaman', sentenced for role in January 6th riots

'QAnon shaman' leaves prison

Jake Angeli, also known as Jacob Chansley, who as the "QAnon shaman" became known as the face of the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol, was moved from federal prison into a halfway house on Tuesday. Contrary to claims from former President Donald Trump and others, the move was procedural and had nothing to do with Angeli being featured in a recent Tucker Carlson show that misrepresented the insurrection.

Tucker Carlson show drives threats: Exclusive: Social media threats exploded after Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 claims, analysis finds

Angeli was among the fist rioters to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6. Sporting his horned fur hat and shirtless, he wandered through the Capitol and walked into the Senate chambers. He was not charged with violent crimes, but prosecutors said he played a key role in the insurrection. He was sentenced in Nov. 2021 to 41 months in prison.

Angeli was featured heavily in a misleading segment on Tucker Carlson tonight earlier this month that claimed the Capitol riot was more peaceful than it actually was. Carlson claimed Angeli was escorted around the Capitol by guards.

In a series of tweets Thursday, Chansley's lawyer dismissed claims from conservative pundits and politicians that Carlson's coverage had anything to do with securing his client's freedom.

Quote: "Let me make something CLEAR. The videos released and played on Fox News DID NOT play a role in any 'early release' for Jake Chansely," attorney Bill Shipley wrote.

Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, a far-right group, attends a "Stop the Steal" rally against the results of the U.S. presidential election outside the Georgia state Capitol on Nov. 18, 2020, in Atlanta.

FBI informant testifies at Proud Boys Jan. 6 trial

The Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy trial of leaders of the Proud Boys is ongoing, weeks after it started. This week, the courtroom heard testimony from one of apparently several FBI informants who joined the extremist street gang and who marched on the Capitol with the group.

Inside the Proud Boys: They joined the Wisconsin Proud Boys looking for brotherhood. They found racism, bullying and antisemitism.

Ex Proud Boy testifies: 'The revolution had failed': Ex-Proud Boy testifies of Jan. 6, group's desperation after lost election

The informant doesn't appear to have been communicating with Proud Boys leaders.

The informant testified he told his FBI handler the Proud Boys didn't instigate the Capitol riot, the Associated Press reported. The crowd did as a herd mentality. Not organized, he text messaged his handler.

Context: The Proud Boys seditious conspiracy case is one of the most high-profile prosecutions to come out of the Capitol insurrection. A similar case against leaders of the extremist group the Oath Keepers resulted in guilty verdicts for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and others.



Statistic of the week: 3 of 2,697 (not 16)

The Washington Post this week laid out how the data simply goes against the notion that there is an "epidemic" of shootings by trans people in America.

It's worth reading in full, but a highlight is this analysis: The Gun Violence Project has counted 2,697 mass shootings  4 or more people are shot or killed in a shooting incident, not including the shooter, in any circumstance since 2018.

Trans people make up an estimated 0.6% of the U.S. population. If 0.6% of the mass shootings were committed by trans assailants, that would be 16 shootings. Yet only three assailants have been cited by conservatives as trans shooters.

Catch up: Last week in extremism

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: More trans hatred after mass shooting; 'QAnon shaman' leaves prison after Jan. 6
Former U.S. President Donald Trump dances while exiting after speaking during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas.

A Manhattan grand jury on Thursday voted to indict twice-impeached former President Donald Trump for a felony, according to the New York Times and CNN. The charges stem from Trump allegedly reimbursing his former lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush-money payment to former porn actor Stormy Daniels and trying to keep all those payments off the books. (The money was for Daniels to keep quiet in the final weeks of the 2016 election about her alleged affair with Trump years earlier.) The felony indictment remains under seal by the office of Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, and will likely be announced in the coming days. Braggs office will negotiate Trump to surrender and to face arraignment. It appears Bragg is set to win the prize for being the first elected official to charge Trump for one of his many alleged crimes.



Trump is facing several other active investigations, including his handling of classified documents, his failed attempts to get Georgia officials to call the state in his favor in the 2020 election, and, of course, that incitement of violence for the Capitol insurrection.

Read more

Trump launched his third run for president in November 2022 and campaign aides were previewing their rebuttals earlier this month when news broke that authorities were preparing to charge him. Trumps spokesman Stephen Cheung said that Americans will not tolerate Radical Left Democrats turning our justice system into an injustice system to influence a presidential election, which is all they want to do.

Since almost everything from Team Trump is a confession, not an accusation, we should read this statement as evidence that Trump ran for president to influence his criminal casethat is, he hoped no one would have the guts to charge a presidential candidate. And if they did, Trump said in March that he wouldnt drop out and that the move would probably enhance [his] numbers. Unfortunately, he might be right about that part, as Trump plays aggrieved conservative man better than almost anyone on earth.

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Trump had posted a deranged screed on Truth Social on March 18 claiming hed be arrested on March 21 and urged his supporters to protest, which is just a bit too close to what he asked people to do in the days leading up to January 6 if you ask me! That was days before his first 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas, and he raised more than $1.5 million in about 72 hours.

What will Florida Gov. Ron Tiny D DeSantis say about this, if anything? How many fundraising emails will Trump send out pegged to this news? We have no idea and will, unfortunately, have to follow this cursed news cycle to find out.



In the meantime, we await his perp walk.

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Mozambique is going through its worst cholera outbreak in more than a decade in the wake of Cyclone Freddy, the World Health Organization said Friday.

"While cholera outbreaks regularly occur in Mozambique between October to April, with almost 21,000 cases and 95 deaths, this is the largest outbreak in more than a decade," said Severin von Xylander, the WHO's representative in the southeast African country.

"The outbreak is still expanding geographically," he told reporters in Geneva in a briefing via video link from Maputo. Eight of the country's 11 provinces have been affected.

Quelimane is the worst-affected city and in the last 24 hours, 132 people have been admitted to cholera treatment centres and 350 people have received cholera care visits.

"After the landfall of Freddy, the number of cases exploded from less than 20 a day and increased tenfold" in the city, Von Xylander said.

A first cholera vaccination campaign started in late February in four provinces. More than 715,000 people were given a single shot.

A second campaign was launched Thursday in Quelimane, targeting 410,000 people.

Vaccination programmes will be extended to other provinces, with more than 1.35 million people currently being targeted.

WHO teams are responding to five concurrent health emergencies in Mozambique: besides cholera and the Cyclone Freddy flooding, polio, Covid-19 and an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the north are causing a situation that is "overwhelming" health systems, said Von Xylander.

Cyclone Freddy destroyed more than 132,000 homes and 184,000 people were displaced, and while the floods are now receding, access to safe water is "challenging", he said, while around a third of crops have been destroyed.

"In the coming weeks, the number of malaria cases will drastically increase and the malnutrition rate -- already very high -- will go up," said Von Xylander.

"I don't intend this brief to be a scaremonger, but I hope to raise the alarm for a concerning situation currently lived here by millions of individuals," he said.

apo-rjm/imm
Serhiy Shakhov

The Ukrainian MP is accused of failing to declare property worth UAH 88 million ($2.4 million).

The SAPO said that Shakhov is hiding from the court and has repeatedly failed to attend court hearings without good reason. A SAPO prosecutor was entrusted with organizing the search for the lawmaker.





Read also: Ukraine anti-corruption agency adds Chinese construction giant to list of international sponsors of war

Read also: Ukrainian security chief says battle against traitors, corruption, organized crime won't stop

On Nov. 22, 2022, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine ordered Shakhov to pay more than UAH 5,000 ($135) in fines for failing to appear in court and failing to comply with the lawful demands of the court.

A similar decision was made on Jan. 17, 2023  two maximum possible monetary penalties in the amount of over UAH 10,700 ($290).

However, on Feb. 21, the MP once again ignored the hearing.The court ruled to subpoena the defendant.

However, according to the SAPO, he ignored this decision too.

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
With lawmakers indicating that there may just be hours left in the 2023 legislative session, a number of key pieces of legislation are still outstanding, including one of the most controversial bills still in consideration.

On Wednesday night, House Bill 1020 appeared to be on the legislative equivalent of the one-yard line, but it seems friction between the House and Senate may help the bill's opponents to mount a goal line stand against the bill to overhaul Jackson's court system and law enforcement.

Six members of both chambers, who make up a conference committee, signed on to the latest version of the bill Wednesday night, but the House then left Thursday afternoon without taking up that conference report. It won't return until 10 a.m. Friday, the day many representatives expect the House to end its work for the session.

The Senate took up the bill again around 4 p.m., passing it and an accompanying Senate bill after about two hours of debate, which included significant pushback from the Democratic senators from Jackson who again connected the bill to the state's history on race.

Jackson Sen. John Horhn, who has repeatedly spoken out against HB 1020, rose to the podium Thursday to do so again.

"I will not be long, because I am tired. This has been the most tiring legislative session I've had in the 31 years I've been down here. It's been also one of the most disappointing sessions that I've had when I look at the kind of toxic legislation that's being directed towards me, and when I say me I mean the people that I represent," Horhn said.

The House leaving Thursday without bringing up the bill, which has dominated headlines for much of the session, surprised many in the Senate, including Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, who authored much of the Senate version and served on the conference committee. Wiggins could not say Thursday afternoon whether the bill would make it across the goal line, after learning that the House had adjourned.

Story continues

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"I don't know, the House went home, so we'll see," Wiggins said after leaving a mostly empty House chamber. "You can blame the House on that ... The Senate is ready to go. We're teed up, ready to go, and the House decided to adjourn for the day, without even doing 1020 or whatever."

Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, questions Senate Corrections Committee Vice Chairman Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, on specifics of a conference report in the Senate Chamber at the Capitol in Jackson on March 30, 2021.

Wiggins has been involved in discussions with the House author Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, for weeks. After the Senate passed the bill Wiggins said he had spoken with Lamar again.

"We'll see what the House does. He indicated to me they're going to bring it up," Wiggins said Thursday night.

Lamar did not respond to requests for comment.

The latest version of the bill made a number of changes, including in relation to the jurisdiction of Capitol Police. It and a separate Senate Bill that also remains alive would extend Capitol Police to the entire city of Jackson, as it did in previous versions, but would stipulate that Capitol Police have primary jurisdiction in an expanded Capitol Complex Improvement District and Jackson Police Department would have primary jurisdiction outside of that area.

Another change was to the borders of the expanded CCID. Rather than stretching to County Line Road to include more affluent areas in Northeast Jackson, the most recent version would set that border at Northside Drive and include new areas south of Jackson State University. It also pushed back that expansion to July 1, 2024, rather than 2023, in order to give the Department of Public Safety more time to set policies, including potentially resolving issues with JPD over the 911 call system.

Wiggins said these were two of a number of changes made in response to public feedback and comments from local leaders.

"I will add, as somebody pointed out to me in their observations, it sounds like that we have listened to the people and the conference report reflects what people have asked for, and I would definitely say that's the case, and that's including across both sides of the political equation," Wiggins said.

The latest version would keep aspects of both the House and Senate versions as it relates to the court system. It would create a state-appointed inferior court system within the CCID and add more temporary state-appointed judges within the existing Hinds County court system. The new CCID court would have a repeal date of July 1, 2027, but the legislature regularly pushes back such dates as they approach.

If the bill were to not be taken up by the House before sine die, when session ends, it would be a major victory for Democratic members of the Jackson delegation and local officials, including Jackson's mayor and city council, who have opposed HB 1020 every step of the way.

Wiggins' assurances that changes were made in part after listening to the Jackson delegation did little to change their view of the bill. Sens. Barbara Blackmon, David Blount and Horhn, all Jackson Democrats, spoke against the bill. By the time Blount rose to speak, most of the chambers Republican members had left the room, a point which Blount referenced.

Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, speaks against House Bill 1020 in front of a room of mostly empty chairs at the Mississippi Capitol on Thursday. A group of Republicans, including Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, listen from the left side of the room.

"If you have been in Jackson the last couple of months you know I've never had anybody talk to me more in the 16 years I've been here (than) about this bill. I've had people come up to me at church, at the grocery store, and say tell me about House Bill 1020. And to the people who are in this room, and to all the people who have earned the right to sit in these empty chairs right now, I would say to you this gives you a feeling of the wrongness created by this bill," Blount said.

Blount said the bill goes far beyond what was intended for the CCID when it was created six years ago. He says it was meant to raise sales tax revenue to help with infrastructure in parts of the city with high amounts of state-owned properties, which don't pay property taxes.

"The Capitol Complex Improvement District is a street paving program, and as a street paving program it has been successful. It is not a judicial district. It is not a city within the city. It is not a place for people in some neighborhoods to get one kind of justice, and people in other neighborhoods in the city don't. It is a street paving program, and anyone who tells you or sees it as a vehicle for anything more than that is wrong and does not understand the legislative intent behind it," Blount said.

Tornado relief from the leg? MS lawmakers promise necessary funding for tornado relief with days left in session

Horhn, the longtime Jackson senator said that this session is the culmination of decades of deteriorating relations between the city and state.

"I think that we've been headed this way for a long time in Mississippi. We've been headed this way, really, ever since the political landscape of Jackson changed back in the mid-80s, and it's gotten progressively more toxic and more strident and more antagonistic when we look at the relationship between our capital city and the rest of the state," Horhn said. "It's almost as if folks resent Jackson. Resent it for the changes that have occurred in the city, politically, economically, socially, racially."

Horhn said the legislature set Jackson up to fail, and now they are stepping in and saying their way is the only way to move forward.

Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, speaks during debate on legislation that would expand the roles for state police and appointed judges inside the majority-Black and Democratic-led capital city of Jackson, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson. The majority-white and Republican-led Mississippi Senate passed the bill which now advances to the House.

"It's almost as if we are doing everything that we can to ensure that it fails and gets flushed down the Pearl River," Horhn said. "You walk away from our capital city, and then when things get bad you come back to that capital city and you say, 'This is how it's going to be.'"

Horhn closed by saying that this vote would only hurt Mississippi's national reputation on racial issues.

"The motives, the intentions, the aspirations, the desire that some of the leadership in this body and in the other end, I'm not questioning. I think you want to help Jackson. But why don't you ask me, what do we need? I think you want to provide ways of dealing with this, but the way this looks says something else, and it plays right into the old stereotypical notions the rest of the country has about Mississippi," Horhn said. "Well, guess what? Maybe they're not stereotypes. Maybe it's just the way we are."

As Blackmon rose to speak against the bill she may have done so as her final speech before the body. After serving more than two decades in the Senate, with her service split by a roughly 12-year gap, Blackmon is retiring at the end of session. She compared the bill to the legislation that the state passed following Reconstruction to limit the rights of its Black citizens.

"The Black Codes were enacted after Reconstruction, when we thought we were free, and somehow some way the legislature found a way to institute some codes to keep us in bondage," Blackmon said. "We were free, and all of the Black Codes and all of those Jim Crow laws put us back in our place. We're being told, right now, in the 21st Century, your place is still where it was after Reconstruction."

Wiggins defended the bill as an attempt to do nothing but help the people of Jackson. He recalled a story of two women who visited the capital from out of state, stayed at a downtown hotel and later told him that they were scared to walk the few blocks to the capitol building. He then had members of the Senate who have been victims of crime in Jackson raise their hands.

"We invite people to our great state, and to our great capital, and that's the image they walk away from," Wiggins said. "We cannot let it continue."

Wiggins said he respects Blackmon, but that "she's mighty good at getting the headlines."

"We have to stop the divisive race baiting that goes on when all we're trying to do is help our fellow Mississippians," Wiggins said.

Wiggins said there is a "real story" that national media don't tell about Mississippi, which includes helping each other after natural disasters like the recent tornadoes and like what he experienced when Hurricane Katrina brought significant damage and loss of life to his district. He also said there are many things that Jackson should be proud of, including a civil rights museum which he said the legislature helped pay for.

Outside of HB 1020, the legislature also seems to be at an impasse over a number of budget bills, including how to fund public education. When the chambers adjourned Wednesday, Speaker of the House Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said an agreement had been reached. Reports flowed in that the agreement would include a roughly $100 million increase in state education funding, which would be less than what Hosemann and Senate leaders had sought, but more than the House position.

By Thursday morning, though, things seemed less clear. The education budget was skipped on both chambers' calendars, and with the House leaving for the day it will not see a vote there until Friday at the earliest. Before adjournment, Gunn told members to have their reports completed by 8 p.m. so they could be voted on in the morning.

One budget bill that did pass was funding for DPS, which included funds to purchase body cameras for Capitol Police. That bill also opened the possibility of DPS allocating money to JPD, if JPD and Capitol Police agree to an operational agreement within the CCID.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS Legislature: With time running out, big issues hang in the balance
Donald Trump will become the first former president of the United States to be charged with a crime

Donald Trump has been indicted in New York for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign and is now facing criminal charges.

The former president pleaded not guilty to 34 charges in a brief hearing, before flying back to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The Telegraph takes a look below at what happens next.

What happens after the arrest?

Following the hearing Mr Trump flew back to Mar-a-Lago to address the nation following his indictment.

In a room packed full of his supporters, and members of his family, Mr Trump claimed he was the victim of election interference and lashed out at Alvin Bragg, the New York prosecutor bringing criminal charges against him.

"I never thought anything like this could happen in America," Mr Trump said. "The only crime that I've committed has been to fearlessly defend our nation against those who seek to destroy it."

When will the next hearing take place?

The next hearing is set to take place on December 4.

Where will the trial take place?

It is due to be held in Manhattan, where he fared badly in the 2020 presidential election, winning only 22.6 per cent of votes cast. His legal team want the trial shifted to the more conservative borough of Staten Island.

Could Mr Trump go to jail?

If convicted on felony charges of falsifying business records to commit another offence, such as violating campaign finance laws, the former president faces a potential four-year jail term.

But experts believe there is no chance, even if convicted on these charges, of Mr Trump being sent to prison. He does not have a criminal record and the alleged offences are non-violent.

Is this the end of his legal problems?

No. A Grand Jury in Georgia is examining allegations that Mr Trump tried to overturn Joe Bidens 2020 election victory in the state.

He was taped asking Brad Raffensperger, Georgias secretary of state, to find the 11,870 votes necessary to reverse the result.

Jack Smith, a war crimes investigator, has been appointed special counsel with the task of examining the January 6 insurrection.

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The use of fake electors from states which Mr Trump claims he won  despite the official results showing otherwise  is also under investigation.

In addition, the Justice Department is examining his removal of classified documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after he left office.

If convicted could Mr Trump still run for president?

Yes. The constitution does not bar a natural-born citizen over 35 from running for the White House.

But there is a qualification.

The 14th Amendment, passed after the Civil War, contains a clause barring anyone who engaged in insurrection from office.
Last week we reported the following 3 restaurants having low scores during routine inspections ( week of March 13 - March 17)

Each of the 3 restaurants had a follow-up inspection and here are the results:

This information is provided by SC Department of Health and Environmental Control

Indulge Italian Eatery, located at 4999 Carolina Forest Blvd. #4, Myrtle Beach received a follow-up inspection on March 23 and scored 99 percent a A grade according to the SC Food Grade Report. Rockefellers Raw Bar, located at 3613 U.S. 17, N. Myrtle Beach received a follow-up inspection on March 23 and scored 98 percent a A grade according to the SC Food Grade Report.

The following restaurant received a follow-up inspection this week and still did not receive a passing grade. Inspectors cited restaurant with a C due to non-compliance of priority violations from previous routine inspection.

Here is last weeks report (3/13-3/17) :

Scatoris Pizzeria, located at 1399 S. Commons Dr., Myrtle Beach received a routine inspection on March 15 and scored 78 percent a B grade. The following was noted on the inspectors report: Observed pizza sauce at 45 degrees in the walk-in cooler, Observed cooked risotto at 45 degrees in the walk-in cooler. Ready to eat foods, prepared and held beyond 24 hours, without any date markings, walk-in cooler: cooked pastas, cooked ground beef, cut meats were some of the items discovered. Cutting boards with stained surfaces, indicating they are no longer easily cleanable, grease and grime accumulation on the exterior of kitchen equipment, soiled floors and walls throughout the kitchen. A follow-up inspection will be performed within 10 days according to the SC Food Grade Report.

Here is this weeks report (3/20-3/24) :

Scatoris Pizzeria , located at 1399 S. Commons Dr., Myrtle Beach received a follow-up inspection on March 24 and scored 83 percent for the second week in a row, inspectors noted on the report that a C grade was posted for non-compliance. The following was noted on the inspectors report: Walk-in cooler: butter 46 degrees, cooked pasta 44 degrees, ham 44 degrees. The walk-in cooler is not maintaining a cabinet temperature of 41 F or less. The cabinet temperature was measured at 56 degrees with the inspectors Thermapen for a minimum of 3 minutes. Observed an accumulation of grease of the exterior of cooking equipment, soiled floors and walls throughout the kitchen. C grade posted for non-compliance of priority/priority foundation violations that were cited on the most recent routine inspection. A follow-up inspection will be performed within 10 days according to the SC Food Grade Report. Beachin Southern Restaurant and Bar , located at 1310 U.S. 17 Business, Murrells Inlet received a routine inspection on March 20 and scored 84 percent a B grade. The following was noted on the inspectors report: 3 Door Reach in Cooler/ Raw Hamburger 47 degrees, Milk 48 degrees, Hot Dogs 47 degrees, Beef 48 degrees. No current date marking observed on Ready to Eat foods such as shredded lettuce, cut cheese, sliced tomatoes , cooked cabbage, etc. Flies observed in bar to kitchen area and at ice machine. Food stored on floor, 3 door reach in cooler not operating at correct cooling temperature, flooring broken and missing at bar. A follow-up inspection will be performed within 10 days according to the SC Food Grade Report. Casa Calamari , located at 1900 U.S. 17 N., Surfside Beach received a routine inspection on March 23 and scored 80 percent a B grade. The following was noted on the inspectors report: Sanitizer was at low strength. A slicer, stored as clean, soiled with food debris. Observed the ice scoop, stored as clean, soiled with build-up. Observed tomato sauce at 55 degrees in the walk-in cooler. Ready to eat foods, prepared lasagna, prepared eggplant, sliced ham, tomato sauce and cooked pastas were and held beyond 24 hours, without any date marking. A follow-up inspection will be performed within 10 days according to the SC Food Grade Report. Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse , located at 1315 U.S. 17 N., N. Myrtle Beach received a routine inspection on March 22 and scored 85 percent B grade. The following was noted on the inspectors report: Cooked beef stored in refrigerator in grill area on top of raw meat. Sushi prep area/small residential refrigerator spicy crab mix 51 degrees , crab mixture 48 degrees. A follow-up inspection to be performed within 10 days, however, the follow-up inspection was done on March 23 resulting in a score of 100 percent A and previous violations had been corrected according to the report.

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Inspection Rating Key

A | 100 - 88 - The retail food establishment earned more than 87 points. Food safety practices appeared to meet the requirements of Regulation 61-25.

B | 87 - 78 - The retail food establishment earned 78-87 points. Food safety practices need improvement.

C | 77 & Below - The retail establishment earned less than 78 points. Food safety practices need significant improvement.

R | Indicates a Routine Inspection - Unannounced and conducted on a frequency determined by the facilitys Risk Category on a frequency of one to four times a year.

F | Indicates a Follow-Up Inspection - Conducted within ten days of a Routine Inspection that requires follow-up verification.












A nail technician and a manicurist weighed in on the expected nail trends for this spring. Rabbitzthanya / Shutterstock, yaKate / Shutterstock

Insider asked a nail technician and a manicurist to share trends that are in and out this spring.

The recently popular French ombre is replacing the classic French manicure.

On the other hand, accent nails and longer shapes are fading out of style.

Pastel shades are perfect for spring.

Pastels offer brightness to your look after months of winter. Minszka / Shutterstock

Soft, pastel shades are a great way to add some color to your nails without being overly bold, according to Tan Tran, owner and lead nail technician at VIP Nails & Spa in Anchorage, Alaska.

Pastel shades are perfect for spring and a great way to brighten up your look.

"This has been a very hot style in the past few weeks as our community celebrates the early days of spring," he told Insider.

Dried-flower nails are a striking new trend.

Adding dried flowers to your nails is a fun and unique way to ring in the new season. Rabbitzthanya / Shutterstock

Dried-flower nails offer another look that's perfect for spring, according to Tran.

"This nail-art style involves adding real dried flowers onto your nails to create a unique and natural look," he said.

Though it's a bit more complex of a style, it's a striking and surprising way to show off a new look.

Pearlescent finishes add a romantic look to your nails.

Pearlescent polish offers a subtle luminosity to your nails. Dev_Maryna / Shutterstock

Pearlescent finishes are another popular nail style, according to Braelinn Frank, manicurist and founder of Rave Nailz.

"This trend adds a soft shimmer to your nails that can change colors depending on how the light hits," she told Insider.

It's perfect for creating a dreamy and romantic look.

French manicures with a twist are all the rage this season.

French ombre is an alluring variant of the French-tip style. Quynh Ly / Shutterstock

French ombre is a new twist on the classic French manicure, according to Tran, and it's one that's going strong this season.

"French ombre fades from a light to a darker shade of the same color," he said. "This is perfect for those who want a subtle, chic look."

French manicures have been a constant craze for decades, but Frank told Insider the traditional white tips are being replaced with bold and bright colors.

"This twist on the classic style is fun and trendy while still being sophisticated," she said.

Rainbow nails are fun and playful.

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Rainbow nails bring a lively feel to an ensemble. Catherine.Things / Shutterstock

Rainbow nails are a great choice for anyone who wants to show off a more colorful side this season.

"Similar to the pastel nails, we're also seeing customers do this as a way to celebrate the new season," Tran told Insider.

This trend is all about creating a fun and playful look with vibrant colors.

Shimmer and glitter nail polishes are great options for a special occasion.

Sparkles and glitter will still be popular this season. Dev_Maryna / Shutterstock

"Shimmer and glitter nail polish continue to be on-trend this season, adding a touch of sparkle to nails," Tran told Insider.

He added that the style is particularly popular with customers who are preparing for a night out or a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary.

Minimalist designs offer a subtle yet stylish look.

Using negative space for a minimalistic is starting to replace intricate nail designs. Yanishevska / Shutterstock

"Minimalist designs that use negative space or simple shapes will be a trend for spring 2023," Frank told Insider.

The trend is especially perfect for those who want a subtle yet stylish look, the nail artist said, as it's a great alternative to busy and intricate designs.

On the other hand, long nails have seen their day.

Short, oval nails offer more practicality than long nails. Natkinzu / Shutterstock

Though long nails have been a trend for a while, people are needing a more practical and comfortable nail shape, according to Frank.

As a replacement, the manicurist recommended opting for short, oval nails.

"They are practical and easy to maintain, and they are a great option for people who lead an active lifestyle," she told Insider. "Save the long press-on nails for the weekend."

Accent nails are outdated.

The popularity of accent nails has been declining. yaKate / Shutterstock

"Accent nails  where one nail is painted differently from the others  have become outdated," Frank told Insider.

Instead, she recommended trying a more cohesive look by using complementary colors or patterns on every nail.

Pointy, or stiletto, nails aren't very practical.

Stiletto-shaped nails are no longer as trendy this season due to impracticality. Huan N. Phan / Shutterstock

Pointy nails, also known as stilettos, were fairly popular in recent years. But they're going out of style this season, according to Tran.

"These nails can be uncomfortable and can look too dramatic for everyday wear, so our customers have been opting for curvier and/or straighter styles this season," he said.

Chrome nails are being replaced by iridescent finishes.

Iridescent nails are set to take over the flashy chrome look. Wasana Suwanno / Shutterstock

Chrome nails were a previously popular trend, but are becoming a thing of the past, according to Frank.

"As a replacement, try iridescent nails for a more futuristic and playful look," she told Insider.

Iridescent polish is typically glossy and vibrant and can change colors depending on the angle of the light.

Matte nails are heading out of style.

Matte-finish nails are out this spring. alicasevcikova / Shutterstock

After some strong seasons recently, matte nails are starting to lose their popularity, according to Tran.

"Shiny and glossy nails are more in fashion right now," he told Insider.

Animal print is being replaced by pastels and minimalist designs.

Minimalist designs will overshadow animal-print nails this spring. girlievenus / Shutterstock

Though the trend isn't completely over, animal-print nails are starting to take a backseat to other designs, according to Tran.

"Our customers have been opting for other styles, as animal-print nails can be too bold for everyday wear," he told Insider.

The nail artist recommended replacing animal prints with pastels or minimalist nail designs.

Read the original article on Insider
Rep. Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., released a statement Thursday night commenting on the indictment of former President Trump  a statement that has raised eyebrows due to its blatant inaccuracy on the rule of law in the United States.

"The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law," Pelosi wrote. "No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right."

Many have been quick to zero in on Pelosi's claim that Trump has the right to a trial "to prove innocence."

Left: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Right: Former President Trump.

According to uscourts.gov, a cardinal principal of the justice system in the United States is that any person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

TRUMP INDICTMENT: LIVE UPDATES

The presumption of innocence until proven guilty means the burden of proof is always on the government to satisfy that the defendant is guilty of the crime with which they are charged beyond a reasonable doubt.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS

Pelosi's statement was also shared on Twitter, where users were quick to point out the error.

The Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro tweeted, "Uh it's innocent until proven guilty not opportunity to prove innocence."

Former New York City Mayor and former personal lawyer to Trump Rudy Giuliani responded by writing, "Wrong. So obviously wrong. Most Middle Schoolers know this  at least they used to, when civics and the Constitution was respected in schools. You're innocent until proven guilty."

"The last time Americans had to 'prove their innocence,' we were governed by the British," Comedian Tim Young tweeted.

Fox News host Mark Levin slammed the former speaker of the House, calling her "Stalinist Pelosi."

"Prove innocent?" he wrote. "It's innocent until proven guilty, moron. Or at least it used to be."

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

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Florida Rep. Kat Cammack chimed in writing, "Weird, I thought the standard was 'innocent until proven guilty.' Welcome to Biden and Pelosi's warped America"

"You are embarrassing yourself @SpeakerPelosi  this case is totally political & you know it," Fox News Contributor Liz Peek wrote.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, wrote, "Pelosi confirms malicious political prosecution by suggesting Trump is guilty until proven innocent!"

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., took a swipe at the former speaker. "The right to prove innocence? This is America, not Stalinist Russia."

Former President Trump was indicted Thursday by a New York City grand jury as part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's years-long investigation, possibly for hush money payments.

FLASHBACK: TRUMP REP, FORMER PORN STAR DENY HUSH MONEY CLAIMS

The exact charges are unclear because the indictment is under seal, but they relate to payments made before the 2016 election.

These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal , Fox News Digital has learned.

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg had been investigating former President Trump for alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump responded to the indictment by calling it a "Political Persecution." Trump said he is innocent and accused Democrats of "weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent."

Trump's lawyer vowed he will be vindicated.

Trump is expected to surrender in New York early next week. He will likely then appear in court for an arraignment.

Trump is the first former U.S. president in history to face criminal charges. He is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination. It is unclear how the indictment will impact Trump's bid for the White House.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Marta Dhanis contributed to this report.
Native American communities rode, cared for and lived alongside horses nearly a century earlier than European records suggest, a new study has found.

The study, published in the journal Science, shatters the conventional narrative of how  and when  horses came into the Indigenous communities of the American West.

The study draws on a new fusion of tribal oral histories with academic archeology, and suggests that rather than being passed on by European colonists, knowledge of the horse has its own deep roots among native peoples themselves.

It also suggests that horses were distributed across Indigenous communities from Wyoming to Kansas generations  at least  before European accounts suggested that horses had reached them.

This wasnt people taming wild horses, William Taylor, co-author and anthropologist at the University of Colorado, told The Hill.

We identified horses in mid-Kansas, clearly corn fed to get through a tough winter, he said  something revealed by the radioactive isotopes left in the horses bones.

The research team did genetic and radiocarbon testing on dozens of previously untested horse skeletons in museums and held by tribal nations.

They found dozens of examples of horses in these communities that had been ridden, fed by humans and even received veterinary care long before European accounts allow for them having horses at all.

That fills in a contradiction in the conventional narrative, Taylor said: the Indigenous horse culture is an internationally recognized symbol of the American West.

But conventional academic histories of that cultures nature and origins overwhelmingly rely on accounts by Europeans, and largely those written long after those cultures had been colonized.

That narrative has long ignored claims by Plains peoples that the Native American relationship with the horse goes back long before contact with Europeans.

That claim now has more support, Oglala Lakota researcher and co-author Yvette Running Horse Collin told The Hill.

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To attribute the horse as Spanish because everyone knows all the horses went extinct in Americas  that isnt going to work anymore, Running Horse Collin said.

Taylor and Running Horse Collins paper calls into question a foundational story of the high school history class. The classic explanation of how horses came to peoples like the Comanche and Lakota is that that they were the descendants for feral escapees introduced by Spanish conquistadors in the 1600s.

For generations, American schoolchildren have been taught that the defining event of that process was a 1680 revolt by the missions of New Mexico, where Pueblo communities  riven by European diseases, overworked by the friars and raided by the Apache  threw out the Spanish colonists and released their horses.

In the conventional narrative, this moment is the jumping-off point, Taylor said. For a decade or more, Spanish colonists were no longer there to exclude native folks from access to horses.

But that storys omnipresence conceals just how little evidence lies behind it. Few Europeans traveled deep into the thriving Indigenous communities of the American interior in the 1500s and 1600s. Of those that did, few were writers  and those who wrote tended to be missionaries and royal officials, confronting deeply foreign cultures.

To fill in those gaps, Taylor and Running Horse Collin  and their collaborators at Frances Marie Curie Institute  drew on a broader global renaissance in research into the origins of the relationship between horses and humans.

In the past 20 years, interdisciplinary work between European, Chinese and Indigenous anthropologists and archaeologists has shed new light on the lost history of what is sometimes called the horse steppe.

That broad grassland between Europe and China was the onetime home of the horse-riding, nomadic Indo-European peoples whose languages were inherited by cultures from Delhi to Dublin.

Like the peoples of inner America, these steppe nomads wrote no records. That means that written records of them, and their horses, came from others  including Russian, Persian and Chinese writers who sought to strip credit and antiquity from the horse nomads on their frontiers, Taylor said.

But revolutions in fields from genomics to linguistics  and a new willingness of European academics to draw on Indigenous oral histories  have helped build a new history of the horse steppes, and with it of the American West.

In 2021, for example, a study in Nature identified the nucleus of horse domestication in Eurasia  and the Indo-European culture  to the triangle between the Volga and Don Rivers, in what is now western Russia.

The paper published in Science on Tuesday marks the debut of this toolkit in North America, where it has shed new light on a black spot in the academic map. It also is a sign of a newly collaborative approach between university academics, tribal historic preservation officers and traditional elders.

That style of work is increasingly in vogue in federal research and land management circles. In December, the Biden administration published an unprecedented memo directing federal agencies to consider Indigenous traditional knowledge when making decisions about federal land and water.

That kind of recognition would have been unthinkable in previous generations, Running Horse Collin said  and Lakota elders are responding to it by urging researchers like her to form research relationships with academics in Europe and America.

Up until this point, there has been a clear divide in science and academia, with Indigenous people on one side and Western-trained academics on the other, she said.

But now, she said, elders involved in the project had told her that this is a time when the world is likely to have better ears. This is the time, go forward now.

For Running Horse Collin, the potential stakes are much higher than simply moving back the date of Indigenous American adoption of horses by a few decades. In her 2017 thesis, she argued that there was no actual evidence scientific or otherwise to disprove Native American oral histories of horse cultures that predated the Spanish arrival.

In that paper, she argued that the Indigenous horse of the Americas survived the ice age, and the original peoples of these continents had a relationship with them from Pleistocene times to the time of First-Contact.

That is a far broader claim than Thursdays Science paper makes  though one that many Native American peoples espouse. But Running Horse Collin sees it as a first step.

In our culture, we dont usually talk about something before its done. But were trying to be respectful of the Western system. If they want to go in increments; well go in increments.

By pushing back the date of first contact, the discovery opens a crack in a larger narrative about the origin of the horse in America  and the roots of Indigenous cultures themselves.

The Lakota always followed the horse, Running Horse Collin said, and were allowing it to lead this discussion now. And Im confident that it will do what has always done. The horse is a unifier  it wont let us down.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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Former U.S. President Donald Trump was reportedly indicted on Thursday for his role in an alleged hush-money payment to an adult film actress.

Multiple news media outlets, including The New York Times, ABC News, and The Washington Post, broke the news in the evening, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Trump is said to be the first former U.S. president in American history to be indicted on criminal charges, which remain under seal.
The Navy is increasing or maintaining retention bonuses for reserve officers on active duty serving as aviation department heads  with one notable exception.

Lieutenant commanders who agree to serve an additional three to five years are eligible for a bonus of up to $35,000, depending on when the contract is signed.

A vital part of developing a total force strategy and maintaining combat readiness is to provide appropriate incentives to retain skilled personnel for critical naval aviation enterprise billets, a new naval administrative message said.

The helicopter maritime strike community is set to receive $25,000 bonuses  a drop from the $35,000 offered in fiscal 2022. It is the only community offered less in retention bonuses in comparison to last year.

Meanwhile, bonuses for helicopter mine countermeasure department heads are set at $25,000 this year and bonuses for the helicopter sea combat and helicopter training squadron community are set at $15,000  the same offered last year.

Electronic attack squadron pilots are offered $25,000 this year, up from $15,000. But electronic attack squadron naval flight officers are offered the same $15,000 this year that they were in 2022.

Retention bonuses for Reserve FTS officers heading aviation departments mostly fall or remain flat

Pilots and naval flight officers from the strike fighter community, jet training squadrons and fleet logistics support are offered $35,000  the same rate offered to them last year. But pilots and naval flight officers from prop training squadrons and the patrol and unmanned patrol communities are also eligible for $35,000  $10,000 more than last year.

Those eligible to serve in department head billets are lieutenant commanders, who must agree to serve a post-department head aviation staff tour and another three to five years in the Navy. The bonuses will be distributed in three or five equal amounts annually.

If a signed contract is received before completing 12 months of their initial DH tour, the service member is eligible for the 5-year contract beginning on their 1-year anniversary in the DH squadron, the naval administrative message said. Service members may sign up for the 3-year contract at any time during their initial DH tour but will not be approved until after their 1-year anniversary in the DH squadron.

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The bonuses are available to Training and Administration of the Reserve officers who are on active duty, according to the Navy.

The Navy stressed the significance of retention bonuses in its budget request, which dropped earlier this month, amid challenges recruiting and retaining sailors and officers.

Retention has  been difficult with a strong national economy, so bonuses and incentives to retain our current naval force [are] a priority, the budget document says.

The Navy surpassed its retention goals for FY22 and is also ahead on FY23 monthly retention targets, Navy Times previously reported.
A bill introduced in the General Assembly this week would effectively freeze parts of existing home building rules for the rest of the decade and overhaul who crafts building codes in North Carolina, drawing criticism from the N.C. Department of Insurance and state building code officials.

For the last two years, the N.C. Building Code Council has worked to rewrite the rules that govern how homes in the state are built, a code that is revised every six years.

The rules around how home builders must address energy efficiency  aspects like how much insulation is required in walls or what kinds of heating and cooling equipment should be used  have become a key point of contention between the council and the N.C. Home Builders Association.

If it becomes law, House Bill 488 would prevent the Building Code Council from making any changes to the energy efficiency, fuel gas or mechanical rules until 2031. Mark Brody, the bills primary sponsor, is a contractor.

What were doing is requiring the Building Code Council to not adopt whats called the International Energy Conservation Code at this time because there are just so many issues that have been brought up with it that weve got to really study it before we put it forth, Brody, a Union County Republican, said during a committee meeting.

The International Energy Conservation Code is a set of standards around energy efficiency developed by the International Code Council. Proposed changes to the states energy code have largely been shaped by the international code, but North Carolina has made some tweaks.

Building Code Council members say proposed changes to the states energy efficiency rules for homes would cost about $4,500 up front but would pay for themselves in lower energy costs. Home builders say the actual costs of upgrades will increase new home prices by about $20,400 statewide and take decades to pay off.

House Bill 488 a huge surprise

Kim Wooten, a Durham engineer, chaired the Building Code Councils subcommittee that has been working to change the states energy efficiency rules. The Building Code Council had no notice of House Bill 488, Wooten told The News & Observer.

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Were on a cycle and our understanding was that everybody was working in good faith to produce new codes for North Carolina. So it was a huge surprise, Wooten said.

House Bill 488 was introduced Tuesday and had its first appearance in a committee Wednesday.

Proposed changes to the state energy code would increase energy efficiency for homes by about 18% from current levels, Wooten said.

We are out of date, and if it doesnt change and this bill gets passed by the House and the Senate, then North Carolina could be locked into residential building codes that are 20 years out of date, Wooten said, noting that many of the current energy efficiency rules are based on the 2009 code.

The N.C. Department of Insurance has significant concerns about the legislation, a spokesman told The News & Observer.

Leaving parts of the existing code in effect until 2031 could negatively impact the state, Barry Smith, the spokesman, wrote. Doing so could make it difficult for North Carolina communities to receive funds from FEMAs Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, and result in higher insurance costs, Smith wrote.

This could be caused by essentially creating a residential code that could age 16 years before the next adoption/update cycle would be allowed by law. We continue to have those same concerns and are hopeful to be able to work with bill sponsors to find some middle ground that might have some less adverse effects than the current proposal, Smith wrote.

Brody, the bill sponsor, argued that implementing other aspects of the 2021 International Code Council model would make North Carolina competitive for FEMA funds.

Those are millions of dollars, by the way. So we saw that, Brody said, also suggesting that the General Assembly could make further adjustments to the building code if necessary.

NCs building code rewrite

The N.C. Building Code Council has 17 members, appointed by the governor. At this point, all of the members have been appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat. The General Assembly is controlled by Republicans.

House Bill 488 would also create a new building code council to solely address residential buildings. That council would consist of 13 members, with seven appointed by the governor and six by the General Assembly.

In 2019, the Cooper administration released a Clean Energy Plan that said North Carolinas energy code was falling behind. The plan recommended the Building Code Council improve energy efficiency in new buildings to limit energy use and, therefore, greenhouse gas emissions.

Steven Webb, a lobbyist for the N.C. Home Builders Association, said adopting the energy code changes proposed by the Building Code Council would worsen North Carolinas housing affordability crisis.

By adopting the 2024 energy code, it would only push housing affordability out even further. Twenty thousand dollars on top of land cost and labor is just something people in the middle cant afford right now, Webb told the committee, adding that the bill had been crafted over months and months and months.

Under existing rules, any changes to the residential code must be approved before July 1, 2024, or the current code will remain in effect until 2031.

The existing process also allows the legislature to review the proposed rules and potentially strike them down if 10 people write letters of opposition to the N.C. Rules Review Commission.

I will implore the legislature here to let the Building Code Council process play out. You have an opportunity in reg review to oppose it and send it to the legislature in 2024 where you can get a full hearing, everybody can weigh in on it and youll actually have an opportunity to see what that code is at that point, David Crawford, the executive vice president of American Institute of Architects - North Carolina, said during Wednesdays meeting.

Shortly before the House Local Government - Land Use, Planning and Development Committee met on Thursday, all members received an email from Building Code Council chair Bridget Herring labeled Concerns with HB488.

Herrings list of worries about the legislation included potentially creating confusion between commercial and residential building codes, disregarding the work done by Building Code Council committee members and making it difficult for the state to obtain the FEMA resilience money. Herring also wrote that not updating standards could mean that North Carolina homes end up using outdated equipment.

For example, Herring wrote, HVAC equipment is regulated at the federal level and if Residential Code requirements are frozen for more than 12 years, the North Carolina residential mechanical provisions are likely to require equipment that is no longer available due to a change in standards outside the States purview.

The Land Use committee approved a version of House Bill 488 at Wednesdays meeting, sending it on to the the House Finance committee, from which it would move to House Rules before receiving a full vote on the House floor. The Senate would also need to approve the legislation before sending it on to Cooper.

This story was produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.
It didnt take long for North Carolina Republicans to respond to Thursdays news. Soon after it was reported that a Manhattan grand jury had voted to indict former President Donald Trump, GOP lawmakers decried it as an injustice.

Rep. Dan Bishop said the country is descending into third-world, despotic criminalizing of political opposition.

If you ask Rep. Greg Murphy, its just another milestone in how far Democrats will go to attack Trump. According to Rep. Virginia Foxx, its no less than a blight on justice as we know it. Sen. Thom Tillis said the indictment doesnt pass the smell test. Sen. Ted Budd called it a disgrace.

History will remember this as a dark day, said Rep. Richard Hudson.

Many of North Carolinas representatives suggested that the Manhattan district attorney should focus on prosecuting violent criminals instead of the former presidents alleged wrongdoing. Most of all, they painted it as a partisan political move  an example of weaponizing the justice system for political purposes. Tillis, Foxx and Bishop even suggested that Congress should investigate the district attorneys office.

All of this, and we havent even seen the indictment yet. We still dont know the exact nature of the charges (although CNN has reported that they contain more than 30 counts related to business fraud). What we do know is that the case likely revolves around a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.

It is true that this is an unprecedented situation. Its the first time in history that a former president has been indicted for a crime. And any indictment of a former president, no matter how legitimate, is a political minefield. It will anger Trump and his supporters  it already has  and those involved with his prosecution will endure countless attacks on their credibility and character.

Which means it should be a moment in which our elected officials are responsible with their rhetoric and encourage Americans to allow the judicial process to play out. What happened to respecting the rule of law?

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Unfortunately, the statements of North Carolina Republicans are a perfect example of what elected officials should not say right now. It is not the time to sow distrust in the judicial process, disparage the district attorney or fan the flames of anger, but that is exactly what theyre doing.

Their statements echo those of Trump himself, who called the indictment political persecution at the highest level in history.

These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED the 45th President of the United States of America, Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Instead of speaking prudently like the leaders we elected them to be, Republicans are feeding into Trumps narrative that the entire process is a witch hunt. It encourages voters to lose faith in our institutions at a time when we most need to preserve it.

Of course, the former president is innocent until proven guilty. This indictment is not a conviction, and he is free to challenge the charges brought against him in court. That the situation is unprecedented does not necessarily mean it is unjust.

Still, Trump has called for his supporters to protest his arrest  a call that some Republicans have seemingly answered. On Twitter, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said she plans to go to New York on Tuesday in order to protest. Of course, we all remember what happened the last time Trump called his supporters to act following what he believed was a grave injustice committed against him. Indeed, on Fox News, Tucker Carlson said it is probably not the best time to give up your AR-15s.

Enabling that kind of rhetoric  directly or indirectly  is unacceptable. It shouldnt have to be said, but no one is above the law. That includes the rich and powerful, former presidents and, yes, even Donald Trump. Its disappointing to see North Carolina Republicans joining the chorus of voices that seem to be implying the opposite.
I have been a trauma surgeon at a Level I trauma center for more than 28 years and have had many gratifying moments over those years witnessing thousands of patients return to happy and healthy lives following serious injury and illness. Yet, I have, on far too many occasions, had to tell a mother that her child would not be coming home ever again because of the lethal injuries he or she sustained from a firearm.

No one should have to experience the anguish of losing a child, whether due to homicide, suicide or accidental injury  especially when so many of these injuries can be prevented. Sadly, firearm-related deaths and injuries have increased dramatically since the pandemic, particularly among our youth.

Dr. David Jacobs

The N.C. Child Fatality Task Force reports that the firearm death rates for children under 18 increased by 121% from 2019 through 2021. Thats why Im greatly concerned by the repeal of North Carolinas pistol purchase permitting system.

This system required a background check on all handgun sales, even if they were purchased from a private seller online or at a gun show. Sheriffs issued the permits and conducted a federal and state background check. Eliminating a background check at any point in the purchase of a firearm is dangerous for the public.

In states without regulations on private firearm sales, more people circumvent the federal background check system and purchase privately, avoiding a background check. In these states, 57% of firearms purchased from a private seller did not include a background check, compared to 26% in states regulating private firearm sales.

Studies have also found that state firearm licensing laws reduce the flow of guns trafficked within and between states and diverted for criminal misuse. Research also shows permitting systems like the N.C. pistol purchasing permit system saves lives.

We need only to look at Missouri, which repealed a similar law in 2007. In the following nine years, Missouris firearm homicide rate spiked 47%, compared to the rate expected without this law. Conversely, Connecticuts firearm homicide rate has declined 28% in the 22 years since they enacted a permitting law similar to the one that North Carolina just repealed. The data is crystal clear: our permitting system saved lives.

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Our hospitals and our communities are experiencing epidemic levels of gun violence. Instead of ending our permitting system and accepting the deadly and costly consequences that we know will follow, we urgently need to invest proactively in evidence-based violence prevention strategies that spare our communities unnecessary loss of life.

One such strategy is community-based violence intervention (CVI). These initiatives can take many forms, including street outreach programs, such as the Alternatives to Violence Program here in Charlotte (based upon the successful evidence-based Cure Violence Model) and hospital-based violence intervention programs like the ones being launched in Charlotte, Winston-Salem and in Wake County.

These hospital-based violence intervention programs have a long and well-established track record of saving lives, money and decreasing future engagement in violence in patients admitted to trauma centers with violence-related injuries.

Including $20 million in this years state budget for community violence intervention could fund a dozen or more CVI programs across the state. A $113 million investment over eight years in community violence intervention programs could potentially save a thousand lives across North Carolina and also save taxpayers $162 million in averted medical, police and criminal justice costs.

These evidence-based programs work. And they need appropriate funding to truly address the scope of our gun violence epidemic. I cannot overstate the importance of these programs in the midst of the current crisis, and I call on our leaders in Raleigh and in Washington to provide our communities with the support they need to combat this deadly disease.

As a surgeon, I am focused every single day on saving lives. I call on state and federal leaders to do the same by supporting background checks for all firearm purchases and funding impactful initiatives such as community violence intervention programs. The overall health of all our communities depends upon it.

Dr. David Jacobs is medical director of a Charlotte hospital-based Violence Intervention Program.
Nearly half of American workers aren't taking their full PTO. Elena Noviello/Getty Images

46% of American workers take less paid time off than they are offered, per the Pew Research Center.

Respondents worry taking time off will slow down their career advancement, among other concerns.

The findings come as experts question the benefits of unlimited PTO amid changing workplace norms.

American workers are taking fewer paid vacation days than their employers offer, according to new research from the Pew Research Center.

Researchers surveyed 5,902 Americans who work either full or part-time jobs to understand what they think about their current jobs, including their workplace benefits like paid time off.

They found that nearly46% of American workers aren't taking all of their allotted paid time off.

52% of those who don't take all of their paid time off said they "don't feel they need to take more time off," according to the study, while 49% worry about falling behind at work.

Perceptions around paid time off were found to vary based on income level, Kim Parker, a researcher involved in the study, told Insider.

Lower-income workers said they were "more likely" to worry about losing their jobs for taking all of their time off than "middle and upper-income workers." However, higher-income workers are more concerned that they'll fall behind at work and don't want to offload additional tasks to their coworkers in their absence.

Workers under the age of 50, Parker said, cited concerns that taking more vacation days could hurt their chances of career advancement. 12% of workers say their managers or supervisors discourage them from taking time off.

Still, paid time off is an important benefit to most workers.

62% of workers said it's "extremely important" that jobs offer paid time off for doctor's appointments, minor illnesses, and vacations.

Parker called the findings "interesting" as they deviate from Pew's previous research which found that workers "value flexibility" in how they spend their time off.

Workers "want to know they can take time off when they need it," she said, "but this new data shows us that many workers don't. "

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The findings come as many companies like Microsoft and Goldman Sachs adopt unlimited paid-time-off policies amid changing workplace norms.

But workplace experts say that unlimited vacation policies  which may sound great in theory  are limiting.

Workers may feel guilty for taking too much time off and worry that doing so will give their employers the impression that they are greedy or lazy, according to experts. In turn, refusing to take time off can lead to dissatisfied employees and burnout.

PTO is "the scam of the century," Geoffrey James, the author of multiple business books, wrote in Inc.

"Unlimited vacation time is classic bait-and-switch," he wrote in a piece detailing his experience at a company with this policy. "While you might daydream about taking a month off, chances are you won't have the chutzpah to actually do so."

For employees to break out of this mindset, employers may need to encourage them to take more time off, Allison Rutledge-Parisi, the senior vice president of people at Justworks, an HR-tech company, previously told Insider.

"Unlimited PTO can serve as a self-care and retention tool for employers and employees, respectively  but only if organizations are encouraging time off within the work culture," Rutledge-Parisi said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
[Source]

Netflix has unveiled its first trailer for the upcoming political K-drama Queenmaker.

The series is directed by Oh Jin-suk, who also directed the Netflix K-drama My First Love and its sequel, and written by screenwriter Moon Ji-young (Who Are You).

The main cast includes The World of the Married star Kim Hee-ae as Hwang Do-hee, Moon So-ri of Oasis fame as Oh Seung-sook, Ryu Soo-young from My Princess in his Netflix debut as Baek Jae-min and Kim Tae-hoon (Kingdom) as Ma Jung-seok.

Queenmaker follows the aftermath of a devastating incident that leads political fixer Do-hee to utilize her abilities to elevate Oh Seung-sook, a disheveled human rights attorney, to the position of mayor while simultaneously bringing down her previous employer.

More from NextShark: Why Randall Park's directorial debut Shortcomings starts with a 'Crazy Rich Asians' spoof

Queenmaker will premiere on Netflix with a 12-episode run on April 14. Check out the trailer below:

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On 11 Friday, the police of Kyiv Oblast received dogs that were trained in the Netherlands to search for explosives.

Source: Message of the Main Department of the National Police in Kyiv Oblast on Facebook, European Pravda reports

Law enforcement officers of Kyiv Oblast have received nine Belgian Malinois and two German Shepherds to the Dog Training Centre.

All photos: Main Department of the National Police in Kyiv Oblast

"All of them passed the selection and initial training course at the police Dogs Centre Dog Training Centre in the Netherlands with the specialisation of searching for explosives and weapons," the message notes.

After additional training, dogs will be involved in special operations in Kyiv Oblast, as well as in the frontline territories, to help with mine clearance, detection of illegal movement and storage of explosives, weapons and ammunition.

The shepherds were sent from the Netherlands with the assistance of the Howard Buffett Foundation, which previously handed over four specialised vehicles for transporting service dogs to dog handlers in Kyiv Oblast.

Background: At the beginning of the month, the European Commission sent nine dogs to Ukraine, trained in mine clearance operations.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
A sign at Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco, Dec. 8, 2022. Twitter rolled out Verified Organizations feature and news organizations across the country are refusing to pay for it. | Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

On Friday, Twitter rolled out a new feature called Verified Organizations  and various news organizations are already opting out.

With Verified Organizations, vetted organizations that sign up for Verified Organizations are in full control of vetting and verifying accounts theyre affiliated with, per a Twitter Verified tweet.

Verified Organizations is a new way for organizations and their affiliates to distinguish themselves on Twitter. Rather than relying on Twitter to be the sole arbiter of truth for which accounts should be verified, vetted organizations that sign up for https://t.co/1v6wSVKfDb  Twitter Verified (@verified) March 31, 2023

Users that subscribe to this plan will be able to add and remove affiliate accounts at will. These accounts can belong to brands, employees, journalists, teams and any other account that is related to the host account.

Affiliates must be added through an invite, and upon accepting this invite a small icon of their host accounts profile picture will appear next to their name on their profile and in search results, per the Twitter help center.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk explained in a tweet that this change was enacted because its important to establish whether someone actually belongs to an organization or not so as to avoid impersonation.

In order to use this feature, organizations must pay $1,000 and $50 for each affiliate account per month, plus applicable taxes.

Without verification, users wont be able to vote in polls, nor will their tweets be shown in For You pages, Musk announced on the platform.

Beginning April 1, Twitter will remove verified check marks, per Mashable.

Why are news outlets rejecting Verified Organizations?

According to CNN, high profile organizations that have rejected the new feature include The New York Times, BuzzFeed, POLITICO, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and Vox.

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The Los Angeles Times said that the organization wont pay for verification on Twitter because the app is not as reliable as it once was, per CNN.

Managing editor Sara Yasin told staffers in an email, Verification no longer establishes authority or credibility, instead it will only mean that someone has paid for a Twitter Blue subscription.

The Washington Post echoed similar sentiments, saying that an account verification doesnt hold the same authority it did before.

The overarching theme in these rejections is that the outlets believe that the program has been changed to the extent that the original purpose of independently vetting users has been lost  and so has its value to organizations.

Related

How can users distinguish fake accounts from real ones?

As more users continue to go without verification on their accounts and while anyone can get verified for a subscription fee, it will be increasingly difficult to identify fake accounts.

When in doubt, it is important to follow these steps to determine whether an account is real.

Check the profile picture. If its a stock image or the twitter default icon, the account may not be legitimate. If the account follows more accounts than it has followers, the account may be fake. Look at the bio. Fake account creators will often leave out their bio, or include one that alludes to it being their official account or a new account they had to create. If they ask you for personal or financial information, there is a good chance this is a fake or scam account. Do not give information and report the account. Sometimes the most obvious attribute of a fake account is the username. Often, the user will create a username that is almost exactly that of the profile they are imitating. It may be a single letter off, making it hard to identify at first glance.

Even doing your due diligence may not be enough. Some fake accounts have been set up convincingly to trick users. The best thing to do is to avoid any suspicious accounts and to never give out your information to accounts you cannot verify.
[Source]

The LaFargeville, New York, man who identified himself as the Chinese Zodiac Killer in dozens of threatening letters sent to multiple states in the Northeast has been sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Jesse Bartlett, 46, delivered the disturbing letters between April 2021 and May 2022 to various locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia. Private businesses, houses of worship, media outlets and government offices  including the White House  received his messages.

In his letters, Bartlett claimed to murder his supposed victims and eat their flesh. He also threatened to kill more, including an unnamed bus driver.

Aside from calling himself the Chinese Zodiac Killer  presumably mimicking the moniker of the 1960s California murderer, who was actually proven to have killed his victims  Bartlett signed some of his letters as Aleister Crowley, apparently referencing the late British occultist. Investigators determined during a home search that he had an interest in black magic.

More from NextShark: 7-Year-Old Girl Shot and Killed by Myanmar Forces While Running to Her Father

Bartlett pled guilty last December to a charge of mailing threatening letters. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Just last week, Bartlett was also indicted on third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession. The charges are linked to five rifles, two shotguns and a high-capacity magazine that were found in his home during a police search.

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Veterans Help Catch Thief Who Stole Elderly Womans Phone in SF Chinatown

Federal authorities bust Queens-based gang that sex trafficked, brutally beat Chinese women
The New Hampshire attorney general's office and the Dover Police Department are investigating a potential murder-suicide after two adults were found dead inside a home at 4 Dowaliby Court in Dover Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

DOVER  A man smothered his wife to death inside their home at 4 Dowaliby Court before killing himself, also by asphyxiation, according to authorities.

Christine Navish, 58, and Sean Navish, 56, were found dead inside the home Tuesday, according to the New Hampshire attorney general's office.

At 3:14 p.m. Tuesday, Dover police officers responded to the home after receiving a call from a home care service asking for a welfare check on the residents, where the couple lived alone, according to authorities.

Autopsies conducted Thursday by New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jennie Duval found Sean Navish, 56, killed his wife by asphyxiation, then died by suicide in the same manner.

Previous story: Murder-suicide suspected in Dover home. AG, police investigating.

The two were found dead Tuesday afternoon after police made entry.

The investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident remains active and ongoing, the attorney general's press release states.

Dover property records list the Navishes as owners of the single-story, Cape-style residence since the fall of 2018. The short residential roadway is off of Whittier Street, located near Sixth Street.

This story may be updated.

Never miss a story: Follow local news on the Seacoastonline mobile app or the Fosters.com mobile app

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover NH murder-suicide: Man smothered wife, killed himself
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Russia will continue to exchange information with the United States on its ballistic missile launches, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday.

Russian media quoted Ryabkov as saying on Wednesday that Russia had halted all information exchanges with the United States, following Moscow's decision to suspend its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

On Thursday, Ryabkov clarified that Russia would adhere to the restrictions outlined in the treaty on a voluntary basis, and would continue to implement a 1988 bilateral agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union that requires each side to notify of any intercontinental or submarine ballistic missile launches.

Ryabkov added that the Russian side has officially informed the United States of its position.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law in late February, officially suspending Russia's participation in the New START treaty with the United States.
Authorities in Mexico said that eight employees are being investigated for possible homicide after a fire at a migrant detention centre killed 39 detainees earlier this week.

The fire broke out inside the National Migration Institute in Ciudad Juarez, across from the US-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, shortly before 10pm on 27 March, according to Mexicos National Immigration Institute.

The blaze killed at least 39 people and left another 29 injured.

Federal public safety secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said that five of those under investigation for possible misconduct are private security guards, two are federal immigration agents and one is a Chihuahua state officer, reported Associated Press.

Prosecutors said on Wednesday they were investigating the incident as a possible homicide.

Who didnt let these people out? Clearly there is a serious crime, Ms Rodriguez was quoted as saying by Reuters.

They werent capable of opening a gate.

She added that emergency protocols and whether the private security company was properly trained, would be examined.

While no charges have been announced, authorities said that they would seek at least four arrest warrants including one for a migrant who was part of what they described as a small group that started the fire.

Authorities also said that a migrant also damaged a security camera inside the cell where the fire occurred.

Almost all of the detainees were from Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and El Salvadore.

The fire started on Monday at the detention centre after a group of detained migrants set fire to foam mattresses, to protest what they thought were plans to move or deport them.

Mexicos president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday that both immigration agents and security guards from a private contractor were present at the facility.

Also on Wednesday, Ciudad Juarez mayor Cruz Perez Cuellar said that his government shared no responsibility for what happened.

Its a terrible tragedy that pains all of us. We are grieving, he said.

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He added that authorities should come down with the full weight of the law on those responsible, the people that, for instance, didnt open the doors for the migrants.

Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants entering the US from Mexico.

Additional reporting by agencies
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, tweeted one word when news was released Thursday about the indictment of former President Donald Trump - 'outrageous.'

Ohio Republicans swiftly condemned the indictment of Donald Trump on Thursday, the first time in American history a former president has ever been criminally charged.

A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on unspecified criminal charges. The grand jury had been investigating a hush money payment that Trump's attorney made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election after she claimed she had an affair with him.

Trump denied the charges and accused Democrats of "weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent." He previously said he wouldn't exit the 2024 presidential race if indicted.

More: Grand jury indicts Donald Trump in New York, first time a former president is charged criminally

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, one of Trump's strongest supporters in Congress, tweeted just one word when news of the indictment came down: "Outrageous."

Jordan is one of three GOP House committee chairs who called on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to testify about the investigation. The Republicans said they had concerns that Braggs investigation of Trump would become a politically motivated prosecutorial decision."

Outrageous.  Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) March 30, 2023

Democrats said Trump deserves the same treatment as any other American.

In the months to come, lets hope our judicial system does what its intended for  to deliver justice for ALL," U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, said. "Today shows that no person  not even a former President  is above the law!"

U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Cincinnati, called Trump a "chaos machine" and encouraged people to move on from the former president.

"From the Stormy Daniels thing to storming the Capitol, Trump only does chaos and extremism," Landsman said. "The rest of us  Republicans, Democrats, Independents  we have to keep our attention on the actual work of leading this country: fixing our economy, getting wages up, costs down, keeping our children and families safe, restoring freedom, strengthening our democracy and voting rights."

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A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, did not respond to a request for comment.

Ohio Republicans jump to Trump's defense

Ohio's junior senator, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance  who secured Trump's endorsement during the 2022 Senate race  accused Democrats of playing political games and cast the case as a "baseless misdemeanor charge."

"Donald Trump is the former President of the United States, the leader of our nations political opposition, and the presumptive Republican nominee in 2024," Vance said. "Alvin Braggs decision to indict him is blatant election interference and a direct assault on the tens of millions of Americans who support him."

J.D. Vance shakes hands with former President Donald Trump during a rally at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in April.

U.S. Rep. Max Miller, R-Rocky River, who worked in the Trump White House, called the indictment "politically motivated." U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, R-Columbus, claimed Bragg is more focused on a "witch hunt" against Trump than addressing crime in New York.

New York saw a drop in shootings and homicides in 2022 but an increase in robberies and burglaries, the New York Times reported.

"He's making a mockery of our legal system," Carey said. "The people of NYC deserve better and the American voters deserve better."

Potential Ohio U.S. Senate candidates weigh in

The indictment also trickled into the race to challenge Brown for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat in 2024.

State Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, who announced his bid for the GOP nomination in January, accused Democrats of using the investigation to distract from larger problems.

"We need a Republican nominee that will defeat Sherrod Brown, not someone who willfully plays into his hands," Dolan said. "My focus is on offering solutions to the challenges confronting Ohio. Period."

More: Alvin Bragg v. Donald Trump: Inside Manhattan DA's latest legal tangle with former president

Dolan is the only Republican who has officially entered the race, but other candidates are expected to join the fray. Among them is Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno, who compared the indictment to "political persecution you see in 3rd world banana Republics in South America."

"This is un-American & corrupt to the core," Moreno tweeted. "Dems are weaponizing the power of govt. to try to stop Trump from running again."

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is seen as a likely Senate candidate, also went after crime rates in New York.

"Record-setting crime wave tearing Manhattan apart, but this is the DA's focus?" LaRose tweeted. "What a joke. This is what happens when liberal activists take over the mechanisms we use to deliver justice. America is fed up."

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jim Jordan, other Ohio members of Congress react to Trump indictment
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at his inauguration ceremony in Sacramento on Jan. 6. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday launched a national campaign to counter the GOP agenda and announced that he's hitting the road to "take the fight to states where freedom is most under attack."

The Democratic governor transferred $10 million of his state campaign funds to a new federal political action committee dubbed the "Campaign for Democracy," which he said he created to boost Democrats and push back on Republican leaders who "ban books," "kidnap migrants" and "stoke racism" before the 2024 election.

"What's happening in those red states, it's not who we are," Newsom said in a new campaign video. "It's un-American. It's undemocratic, and all it takes to fight back is a willingness to stand toe to toe and say 'enough.'"

Newsom's political advisors said he plans to travel with his wife and children to the Republican-controlled states of Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama beginning this weekend.

The move magnifies Newsom's role in the American culture wars as a champion for the left at a time when many consider him to be a future presidential contender. Newsom, who denies having White House ambitions, has used his bully pulpit in California to stand up for abortion, immigrant and LGBTQ rights, which are under attack in many red states.

The new campaign also marks the latest effort in Newsoms increasingly confrontational strategy of taking his messages beyond California.

Last summer, he ran ads in Florida, urging Floridians to "join us in California, where we still believe in freedom." He sponsored billboards in seven states with the most restrictive abortion laws, telling women there that California will defend your right to make decisions about your own health.

California Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson said "the last thing red states need is a lecture from Gavin Newsom on how to govern."

"The only things he can credibly teach them are how to have the nations highest gas prices, accrue a $30 billion deficit, close schools longer than any other state, welcome half of the nations unsheltered population, and motivate hundreds of thousands of residents to move away," she said in a statement. "If only Newsom cared half as much about fixing problems in his own state as he does berating better-run red states.

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The federal political action committee gives the governor an opportunity to build an infrastructure to reach Democratic voters and donors on a national scale. Nathan Click, a spokesman for the governor, said the campaign has raised money from donors in 50 states.

"He's building something that is filling a massive, dangerous void in the Democratic Party," said Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant. "He's trying to coalesce the Democratic Party in a united front, and there's no better way to do that."

Madrid co-founded and has since left an organization called the Lincoln Project, which was established as a Republican force to counter former President Trump.

He said Democrats have not stepped up to match the "right-wing media echo chamber" on a national scale. Through social media and conservative media outlets, Republicans have been able to drive a narrative and mobilize voters across the country.

"While it has not helped them build a majority, it has certainly radicalized a massive swath of the American public," Madrid said. "Democrats do not have that at all."

Newsom's campaign gives him an opportunity to "go right into the belly of the beast," Madrid said, to talk about the issues he's been outspoken about in California and to check the narrative the GOP has sold in red states.

While Madrid and others don't believe Newsom would challenge President Biden, the move helps the governor build his brand in the event that Biden does not seek reelection or for future presidential campaigns.

Newsom's new campaign video contrasts clips of controversial GOP figures such as Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, with himself and his family during his well-choreographed "People's March" at his 2023 inauguration.

David Axelrod, a Democratic strategist who worked on Barack Obamas presidential campaigns, said Newsom clearly wants to take it to Republicans on abortion, guns, education and other issues, essentially taking the next step in his effort to paint himself as the bulwark fighting back against DeSantism."

Its a move that could play well with base Democrats across the country, Axelrod said.

The question is how they view his motivations and whether it comes off as transparent self-boosterism or earnest advocacy, he said.

The governor's political strategists said he intends to use his campaign to help other Democrats up and down the ballot in 2024, focusing on deep-red states.

Click said Newsom plans to meet in Alabama with Bryan Stevenson, a civil rights attorney whose work trying to change the criminal justice system was portrayed in the 2019 film "Just Mercy."

Stevenson leads the Equal Justice Initiative, based in Montgomery, and has been an influential figure in Newsoms work to oppose capital punishment.

Newsom described talking to Stevenson in 2019 when the newly inaugurated governor announced a moratorium on the dealth penalty in California.

I was talking to Bryan Stevenson  which, everybody should spend time talking to Bryan Stevenson  and he made a point he's made on many, many occasions, Newsom said at the time.

And it just struck a chord. He said, It's not the question, the death penalty, of whether or not people deserve to die for their heinous acts. The question really is: Do we have the right to kill?'" Newsom said. "That's a deep and existential question, and I don't believe we do.

In Arkansas, he'll be meeting with high school students who have fought against Sanders' education reforms, Click said. Newsom supported her Democratic opponent Chris Jones in his race against Sanders last year.

Newsom is also meeting in Mississippi with Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who has been battling his own GOP-controlled state Legislature.

"He's putting his money where his mouth is," Click said. "He's going into the places where these attacks on freedom and rights aren't an academic question and helping local leaders who are pushing back against them."

Sacramento Bureau Chief Laurel Rosenhall contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The New Jersey Labor Department said Friday that it would expand a program meant to entice unemployed people back into the workforce and help employers deal with labor shortages that have persisted since the pandemic started.

Called Return and Earn, the program offers $500 back-to-work bonuses for employees and covers half the costs of training new hires for up to six months. Both are paid through employers, which are reimbursed by the state.

Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled the program in September 2021, at a time when businesses complained they couldnt find enough staff and the state jobless rate stood at 6.2%, according to federal data. As of February, that had fallen to 3.5%, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, with 168,600 New Jerseyans collecting unemployment.

Expanded eligibility requirements

On Friday, the Labor Department said it was expanding eligibility for Return and Earn, from businesses with 100 or fewer employees to those with 500 or fewer. The state will now reimburse training costs for as much as $20,000 per employee and $200,000 across all employees, up from the previous limits of $10,000 and $40,000, respectively.

Lackluster interest in earlier incentives

The Krispy Kreme in East Rutherford has a "now hiring" poster on the window.

Murphy allocated $10 million in federal COVID relief funds for Return and Earn. But the program initially struggled to attract interest from employers. An investigation by the news site Gothamist last year found paltry use of the incentive: $289,400 in wage subsidies had been paid to businesses for hiring 165 workers through April 2022.

Many employers didnt know about the program, according to the Gothamist investigation, while others complained of bureaucratic snags. The Labor Department didn't return calls on Friday asking about more recent utilization numbers.

Related: Were you overpaid in NJ unemployment benefits? Here's what to do

How to apply for Return and Earn

Employers can apply online via NJ.gov/labor/returnandearn. Their training plans must be approved by the state before they can participate in the incentive program.

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State officials said they're providing outreach to industries hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, including manufacturing, transportation, supply chain, logistics, health care, retail, leisure and hospitality.

Who's eligible

The state outlined the eligibility criteria:

State Labor Department works with interested employers to identify prospective candidates for available positions.

The employer provides substantive on-the-job training at its location or, depending on circumstances, uses approved virtual training that results in skill badges or industry-recognized credentials.

Eligible applicants are private and not-for-profit employers with up to 500 full-time employees.

Candidates must be New Jersey residents working full time (minimum 32 hours per week).

The positions must pay at least $16 per hour.

Seasonal, temporary, part-time, commission-based or 1099 positions are not eligible.

Additionally, many workers are eligible for supportive services like child care and transportation reimbursement, which have been barriers for many reentering the workforce.

The expansion of the Return and Earn program ensures were reaching every corner of the workforce, providing workers with training for a rewarding career and employers with the resources to grow and thrive, said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.

Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter: @danielmunoz100

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ expands Return to Earn work program for unemployed workers
Sacramentos growing homelessness crisis will move further into a wider spotlight later this year, with the release of a movie filmed in the region that delves into the struggles of unhoused populations.

No Address, set for release this winter, follows a group of five people experiencing homelessness who form a street family within a large encampment, according to its official synopsis. Conflict deepens when a businessman seeks to buy the encampment property for a land development project.

Filming on No Address wrapped up last week, after taking place in multiple locations across the greater Sacramento area, including the Land Park and Woodlake neighborhoods.

On the final day of principal photography March 24, cast members shared some of their thoughts on the film, its themes and what they hope audiences will experience and learn from it.

Heartbreaking: Actors weigh in on homelessness crisis

Early in the filming process, producers took the actors down a stretch of Del Paso Boulevard in Old North Sacramento that is lined with homeless camps and tents.

Its staggering, Xander Berkeley, a prolific character actor, said of the homeless situation in Sacramento. Its just heartbreaking. You cant believe it, and you just keep wondering, how does this happen? Why does this happen, and how can it be helped?

Berkeley portrays Harris, a war veteran, former drug addict and artist who serves as protector of the group, and who helps provide support by selling paintings he makes of its members.

The film also features actor and Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Ashanti, who plays Violet, a combat veteran who becomes homeless after developing a painkiller addiction.

Its a beautifully written story about people coming together, creating their own family, Ashanti said.

The role is very different from most Ashanti has played in her career, she said, but she was drawn to the project and believes that it can help change peoples perceptions and misconceptions.

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I hope that people walk away gaining compassion, becoming less ignorant and taking the time to understand that these circumstances could happen to you, could happen to your best friend, people in your family, she said. Its a global issue.

Ashanti, who portrays Violet in the movie No Address based in Sacramento, is photographed Friday, March 24, 2023, at the films offices on Del Paso Boulevard.

Isabella Ferreira, whose character Lauren has been kicked out of her foster home after graduating from high school, said she wants audiences to take away the importance of communicating with those experiencing homelessness  even with a gesture as simple as a hello.

I personally grew up surrounded by homelessness, in a lower-income neighborhood, said Ferreira, who was raised in Philadelphias Kensington neighborhood before moving to Los Angeles. So when I first read the script I was really intrigued and curious, because I wanted to learn more.

Isabella Ferreira, who portrays Lauren in the movie No Address based in Sacramento, is photographed Friday, March 24, 2023, in the films offices on Del Paso Boulevard.

The film follows Harris, Violet, Lauren, Jimmy (Lucas Jade Zumann) and Dora (Beverly DAngelo) as they navigate a large encampment that is ultimately targeted by an arrogant businessman, Robert (William Baldwin), who wants to buy the property but must first clear away the unhoused people who live there.

I think there is no film like this, that theres not yet been an attempt to capture this type of homelessness in the way that we are, Zumann said. Especially among such a diverse group of individuals.

Zumann portrays Jimmy, a young man experiencing homelessness after leaving an abusive home.

Lucas Jade Zumann, who portrays Jimmy in the movie No Address based in Sacramento, is photographed Friday, March 24, 2023, in the films offices on Del Paso Boulevard.

No Address producers have worked with homeless populations

No Address is directed by Julia Verdin, who also wrote the film along with James J. Papa, and produced by Rocklin-based Robert Craig Films, which financed the project.

Craig and his family are involved in homeless ministry through Bayside Church of Granite Bay. He has said that No Address is not a Christian movie, but that there are some faith-based elements in it.

Robert Marbut Jr., founder and CEO of San Antonio-based nonprofit Haven for Hope, is an executive producer on No Address and also served as its research consultant.

Marbut was executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness from 2019 to 2021 following his appointment by former President Donald Trump.

A one-hour documentary companion project, Americans with No Address, will include interviews from the feature films producers, who embarked on a three-week bus tour across major cities in 13 states, interviewing nonprofit CEOs and politicians on solutions to reduce homelessness in the U.S.

The documentary is scheduled for a fall release.

Robert Craig, executive producer of the film No Address, stands on a film set made to look like a homeless encampment during their first day of filming on Feb. 22 in North Sacramento. The film is about a group of individuals that fall into homelessness and features actors Billy Baldwin and Xander Berkeley.

Trying to help in any way possible

Berkeley, who has appeared in more than 200 film and TV projects including Terminator 2: Judgment Day and 24, said he wrote his own script in the 1980s about the homelessness crisis.

He ultimately grew too busy to pursue that script, but he said he has remained interested in the topic, doing research off-and-on for decades.

Having lived in Los Angeles for years before moving with his family to Maine, Berkeley said he remains struck by the homeless situation whenever he returns to California for work.

I like talking to these people, and they like to be with somebody that wants to see them and wants to hear them and get their story, he said.

Xander Berkeley, who portrays Harris in the movie No Address based in Sacramento, is photographed Friday, March 24, 2023, at the films offices on Del Paso Boulevard.

Berkeley said he hopes the film inspires people to move beyond passive empathy into more active forms of trying to help in any way possible.

I think Sacramento can take great hope in facilities that are starting to make headway, Berkeley said, referring to local and national nonprofit organizations aimed at reducing homelessness. He mentioned the Salvation Army as one example.

Like his character, Berkeley has been a painter for decades. Robert Craig Films plans to auction off real paintings Berkeley has created of his fellow cast members, donating the proceeds to charitable causes.

Robert Craig Films has pledged 50% of the net profits from No Address, Americans with No Address and accompanying projects, plus an additional $1 million, to nonprofits and church groups that are involved in homelessness, according to the movies website.

Filming took place in Sacramento throughout most of March, which brought some unexpected challenges as powerful storms continued in the region during an exceptionally wet winter.

Heavy rain and fierce wind gusts in California this time of year caught some of the actors off guard.

Ferreira, though, said she appreciated the rough stretch of weather, which helped to keep things in perspective.

It really did set in place the realism of it all, she said. I mean, this is something that people actually have to go through. They live through this.
Former attorney general Bill Barr spoke about the politicization of the Department of Justice and the FBI during a conversation with National Reviews Andrew McCarthy at the National Review Institute Ideas Summit on Friday.

Theres nothing thats happening at the Department or Bureau that isnt happening at every other institution in the country, he said, pointing to other industries including medicine, science and media that have also faced politicization. He suggested the FBI and DOJ are actually far less tainted by politicization than other institutions.

These are such sensitive institutions, theyre so important that these faults are very glaring, he said, adding there is no solution to the problem that is narrow and targeted and instead needs to be addressed on a cultural level.

However, part of the problem at the bureau is careerism among middle management, he said. Employees are focused on moving onto their next job so they dont want to rock the boat.

Theres no discipline in the organization, Barr said, adding that people are risk-averse because theyre afraid of the woke mob attacking them.

Barr, who served as the attorney general under President George H.W. Bush and President Donald Trump, suggested the FBI should undergo structural change.

Some people want to burn it down and start it up again  Im not sure Id go that far, he said, but suggested the bureau could separate the intel side from the law enforcement side as a catalyst for shaking up the institution and reclaiming some of the culture.

He said the FBI needs to return to holding applicants for bureau positions to a higher standard, saying the physical requirement have been lowered to two-thirds of what they used to be.

Barrs comments come after the Republican-controlled House formed a Judiciary subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government, including law-enforcement and national-security agencies, back in January.

Representative Chip Roy (R., Texas) said at the time that the panel will go after the weaponization of the government, the F.B.I., the intel agencies, D.H.S., all of them that have been, you know, labeling Scott Smith a domestic terrorist.

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Smiths daughter was sexually assaulted in a Loudoun County, Va., high school bathroom. He was convicted of disorderly conduct after being arrested during a heated debate over bathroom policy at a school-board meeting. The National School Boards Association referenced Smiths arrest among a list of what it called a trend of violence and threats against school officials in a letter to President Biden in September 2021. The letter characterized parents who protest progressive curricula as potential domestic terrorists and requested federal help.

Attorney General Garland responded by issuing a memorandum telling U.S. attorneys and the FBI to meet with local officials across the country to discuss strategies for addressing threats against school officials and teachers.

Meanwhile at the Ideas Summit on Friday, Barr also condemned Trumps recent indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. He noted that though the indictment is currently sealed, it appears to be the archetypical abuse of the prosecutorial function to engage in a political hit job.

Its a disgrace if it turns out to be what we think it is, he said. Politically it could be damaging I think to the Republican Party simply because its a no-lose situation for the Democrats, as much of the public focus will return to Trump amid his legal foes.

Legally from what I understand its a pathetically weak case, he said.

The indictment accuses Trump of falsifying business records in relation to the hush-money payments. Daniels claimed in the final days of the 2016 presidential election that she had previously had a sexual affair with Trump. Trumps former fixer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her claims.

Prosecutors claim Trump falsified internal business records to conceal the reimbursement payments to Cohen as legal expenses. Cohen claims Trump was aware of the misleading record keeping.

More from National Review
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden is staying silent about former President Donald Trumps indictment by a New York grand jury.

Reporters asked Biden about the indictment multiple times as he left the White House early Friday for a trip to Mississippi.

No. Im not going to talk about the Trump indictment," he said.

Asked again, Biden responded: I have no comment on Trump."

Biden has said nothing publicly about Trumps legal troubles since the former president announced two weeks ago that he expected to face criminal charges.

Biden was informed of the indictment by White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, who learned about it through news reports just like every other American, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with the president aboard Air Force One.

The indictment injects an element of uncertainty into the 2024 presidential election, which could see a rematch between Biden and Trump. Trump has announced plans to run for a second term and has said he wouldnt drop out of the race even if he was indicted. Biden is also expected to run again but hasnt officially announced his plans.

Trump indicted: A Donald Trump mugshot? Fingerprints? What happens next after Trump indictment

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive on Air Force One at Jackson Air National Guard Base in Jackson, Miss., on Friday while en route to meet with those impacted by last week's massive storm in Rolling Fork, Miss.

A New York grand jury has voted to indict Trump on unspecified criminal charges in a case that marks the first time a former president has been charged criminally, his lawyers confirmed Thursday.

The grand jury had been investigating hush money payments to two women who claimed to have had sex with him. The outline of those payments became public only after he was elected in 2016 and more details were revealed in sworn testimony as Trump served in the White House.

Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina said Trump was expected in New York by Tuesday for arraignment.

Michael Collins and Maureen Groppe cover the White House. Follow Collins on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS and Groppe @mgroppe.

Contributing: Bart Jansen, Kevin Johnson and Josh Meyer

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Presidential first: Trump's indictment is first-ever for a former president. Here's the timeline of how it happened.

What happens next? Donald Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges. What we know

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden response to Trump news: 'Not going to talk' about indictment
Former U.S. President Donald Trump. James Devaney/GC Images)

Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. If he refuses to show up in court, he'll be extradited.

Ron DeSantis can't stop extradition from Trump's home in Florida, but he could slow the process.

Florida also has an extradition method that may allow New York prosecutors to sidestep the governor, if needed.

The day has finally come.

A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Donald Trump.

The charges are still under seal, but the Manhattan district attorney's office is expected to have brought charges over falsified records related to his payments to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet ahead of the 2016 election about an affair she claims she had with him.

Trump, for his part, does not seem happy about the whole situation. On Truth Social and in public statements in the weeks leading up to the indictment, the former president has said the investigation is illegitimate and disparaged Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is Black, as a racist. Trump has denied that there was ever an affair with Daniels, and said he has done "absolutely nothing wrong."

By law, Trump is required to appear before a judge to address the criminal charges. Trump is expected to voluntarily appear next week, Insider's Laura Italiano reports.

Lawyers for the Bragg's office would tell Trump's lawyers, and they'd mutually agree on a time and place  probably the district attorney's office at One Hogan Place in downtown Manhattan  to book him, take his fingerprints, and shoot his mugshot.

"They'll take him upstairs, they'll put him in a holding area, they'll process him internally, and then he'll be brought in front of the judge several hours later and he'll be released on his own recognizance," Michael Bachner, a New York-based lawyer and former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, told Insider in an interview before the grand jury voted to indict Trump. "And that'll be that."

But there is always the chance Trump won't comply.

He's repeatedly attacked the Manhattan investigation over the years and was found in contempt of court for refusing to comply with subpoenas in a different case brought by the New York State Attorney General's office. It's easy to imagine him defying the legal process and remaining home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

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"It would just be, in my opinion, like the epitome of stupid," Bachner said. "But I do agree that Trump has at times certainly exhibited conduct that many of us would characterize as stupid."

If Trump doesn't show up voluntarily, he'll be extradited. While the nuances of extradition may slightly differ between states, there's no legal way to defy it entirely. Interstate extradition is required by Article 4, Section 2 of the US Constitution. Forcing an extradition process also means Trump could spend hours or days in jail as the process plays out.

"The indictment and the charges are not going to go away," Tamara Holder, a Florida-based attorney and legal commentator, told Insider ahead of the indictment. "This is an early stage of a criminal proceeding, and it's very important that you present yourself to the court early on as somebody who's going to fight the case and not fight the extradition."

Florida law allows for two different forms of extradition. One path runs through Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely considered to be Trump's archrival for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

DeSantis can't stop Trump's extradition, but he could slow it down

The standard method of interstate extradition in Florida, according to Holder and Bachner, involves the governors of each state.

In that scenario, the Manhattan DA's office would present the indictment to the legal affairs office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Hochul, in turn, would send a written extradition demand to DeSantis. Her letter would attach a copy of the indictment, proving that there's a warrant out for Trump's arrest in New York. DeSantis is then required to make sure the indictment is valid before ordering Trump's extradition from Florida.

DeSantis's role has given rise to the theory, first floated by Politico in 2021, that the governor could refuse to sign off on the extradition and give Trump harbor in Florida.

That simply isn't how it works, Holder and Bachner told Insider. The Florida extradition statute describes the governor's role as simply making sure the extradition demand meets all the legal requirements. That means all DeSantis has to do is make sure Hochul sends her a copy of the indictment and sufficient evidence that Trump's alleged crime took place in New York.

"The governor doesn't have the power to stop an extradition," Holder told Insider, adding: "The governor's only involvement is to look at the papers and make sure that the papers are proper to issue the warrant."

Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis. REUTERS/Octavio Jones

Dave Aronberg, the top prosecutor in Palm Beach County, which includes Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago, said as much in an interview with CNN in 2021.

He pointed out that the governor's power in extraditions is merely administrative.

"The governor's power to stop an extradition is really nonexistent," Aronberg said. "He can try to delay it, he can send it to a committee and do research about it, but his role is really ministerial, and ultimately the state of New York can go to court and get an order to extradite the former president."

DeSantis could, however, slow down the process. According to Bachner, he could ask his legal affairs office or a prosecutor to review Hochul's extradition demand and write a report on it before signing off on it. But if the extradition demand is legitimate, he'll have to sign it within 60 days, Bachner said. He could also delegate and let another member of the Florida executive branch sign off on Hochul's extradition demand, according to Bachner.

It's unlikely that DeSantis will look too closely under the hood of the indictment, Bachner told Insider before news of the grand jury vote Thursday.

"If there's a fully voted indictment, they're not gonna start investigating the underlying facts of the indictment to determine whether it was sufficient or not," Bachner said. "Once there's an indictment voted, it would be shocking that a judge would not order extradition. Trump knows that."

That said, DeSantis may feel pressure from fellow Republicans in the state to protect Trump, according to Holder.

"This is a state where the Republicans really protect each other from these Democratic states like New York," she said. "And so I think it'll be really interesting legally to see what steps they're gonna take here in Florida to protect him outside of this statute if they can."

Donald Trump and Melania Trump attend a dinner with his family at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

DeSantis's sign-off, however, could give a bipartisan valence to any indictment, undercutting Trump's argument that Bragg's investigation is politically motivated.

"If you have the governor in Florida sending him over, it's kind of just another reinforcement of the propriety of the indictment," Bachner said.

Even if DeSantis approves Hochul's extradition demand and issues a warrant for Trump's arrest, the ex-president still has a chance to stay out of cuffs, according to Bachner. At that point, he has the option of hopping on a plane to New York to turn himself in, Bachner said.

Trump could also contest the warrant in court, but would almost certainly fail to convince a judge the underlying grand jury indictment is invalid, Bachner said. Losing that battle also gives prosecutors the chance to request that Trump be held on bail before he goes to New York, according to Bachner, which would defeat Trump's goal of avoiding jail time.

Florida also has an obscure process that could allow the Manhattan DA to bypass DeSantis

The second form of extradition in Florida is called warrantless pre-requisition arrest. It's more vaguely defined and is traditionally thought to be used for a citizen's arrest of fugitives, but New York prosecutors could likely use it to arrest Trump in Florida, according to Bachner and Holder.

That extradition method only works for felony charges, according to Holder, which means it could apply to the charges Bragg is reportedly seeking.

In that scenario, authorities would arrest Trump in Florida and take him in front of a judge for a probable cause hearing to prove he was criminally charged in New York with a felony. A judge would then order Trump's extradition. Trump's Secret Service detail would likely travel with him, as Insider previously reported, but are unlikely to be involved in any arrest process.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who announced a third run for the presidency in 2024, hosts a New Year's Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. REUTERS/Marco Bello

It's unclear, however, who does the arresting. The New York Police Department, which normally conducts arrests for charges brought by the Manhattan DA, does not have jurisdiction in Florida.

"We're not really sure who goes and makes the arrest," Holder said.

The most likely scenario in this case, according to Holder, is that the Manhattan DA's office would ask the Palm Beach sheriff's office to make the arrest since they have jurisdiction in the area. It would likely be up to Manhattan prosecutors, though, to make an argument for extradition in front of the Florida judge.

Trump likely won't have to spend time in jail

After Trump makes an initial appearance in New York court, he'll have a bail hearing, where the judge sets the conditions of his release ahead of trial.

At that hearing, Manhattan prosecutors may ask to keep him in custody or set a high bail amount to ensure he comes back to New York for future court proceedings.

Donald Trump leaving Trump Tower in Manhattan. James Devaney/GC Images

Fighting extradition might increase the chances that New York authorities would see him as a flight risk. But in all probability, there's a low risk he would flee, Holder pointed out. Trump is arguably the most famous person in the world and is running to be reelected as president of the United States. He would have a tough time as a fugitive from US law enforcement.

"He's not being charged with violent crime and he's not a flight risk," Holder said. "He's the former president. The bond would be something low because they can guarantee his return to court."

The judge might also take away Trump's passport, which wouldn't mean much either, since Trump could just ask the judge for permission to fly overseas if he wanted to.

In addition to charges from the Manhattan DA's office, Trump faces a litany of other legal risks ahead of the 2024 election, including criminal investigations in Georgia and from Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith, not to mention a smattering of civil lawsuits.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, in Atlanta, may also be close to making a charging decision against Trump. She's weighing whether to refer the findings of a special grand jury, which investigated Trump's interference in Georgia's 2020 elections, to an ordinary grand jury, which can bring criminal charges.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Reuters) - A Nobel prize-winning Russian journalist said on Friday he did not believe that arrested American reporter Evan Gershkovich was a spy, and that he hoped diplomacy could bring about his quick release.

Dmitry Muratov told Reuters the case against Gershkovich - a Wall Street Journal reporter facing espionage charges that carry up to 20 years in jail - was part of a wider trend to make journalism a "dangerous profession" in Russia.

"I know Gershkovich. I've met him two or three times over the last year. I know the practice exists of using journalists as spies, intelligence officers and 'illegals' (undeclared spies) - this is not that kind of case," Muratov said.

"He was no kind of so-called deep-cover operative - using being a journalist and his journalist's accreditation as a cover for espionage ... Gershkovich was not a spy," said Muratov, a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for his efforts to defend press freedom in Russia.

He was speaking outside a closed court hearing in Moscow on Friday in the case of Vladimir Kara-Murza, an opposition politician facing charges including state treason and spreading false information about the armed forces.

Muratov also cited the case of Ivan Safronov, a former journalist sentenced to 22 years in jail for treason last year.

"At every turn, we're being charged with espionage and treason. It's a trend - to show that journalism is a dangerous profession ... both for Russian and other journalists."

Muratov was editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which has seen several of its reporters killed in the last two decades, and had its registration revoked last year after Russia went to war in Ukraine. More than 260 publications have been closed, blocked or de-registered since then, he said.

"I don't really understand how, given that trend and the lack of media competition, you can hold the elections that President Vladimir Putin announced for 2024," he said.

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"Does it mean they'll go ahead without difficult topics, discussions, candidate programmes? I'm starting not to understand how that can work."

Muratov said he was aware of the "popular theory" that Gershkovich had been seized as a bargaining chip for Moscow to use in a prisoner exchange with the United States, though he did not say if he believed that himself.

He said he very much hoped that "through back-channel diplomacy", Gershkovich would soon be freed.

(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
In a rare case of a nomination failing on the chamber floor, the nominee for Mississippi Superintendent of Education, who was named by the state's education board late last year, was not confirmed by the Mississippi Senate on Wednesday in a 21-31 vote.

Robert Taylor, a native Mississippian who last served as deputy state superintendent for North Carolina and began work in January, will no longer be the chief administrator of the state's education system, with those voting no voicing concerns about his selection process and record on underperforming schools.

This whole confirmation was a political process, and I knew that coming in, Taylor told The Associated Press on Wednesday evening after the Senate vote. He said senators in the past have confirmed all previous nominees for state superintendent, and he is disappointed this group of senators did not confirm him.

The fact that they didn't, that is what I have to live with, Taylor said. I will always respect the process.

In a news conference after the vote, Senate Democrats suggested a different reason Taylor was voted down. Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, is a former longtime schoolteacher who said Taylor's qualifications were more than adequate.

"The person that we're talking about, Dr. Taylor, is a native son," Jordan said. "He's a Mississippian, who went to North Carolina and worked in their system, that system rated is higher than Mississippi, and he came home to serve. He's a great and impressive son of Mississippi, and we rejected him for no reason other than the fact that God made him Black."

The Mississippi State Board of Education selected Robert Taylor to serve as Mississippis new state superintendent of education, but he was voted down by the state Senate on Wednesday.

Despite some bipartisan support  five Republicans voted yes  Taylor's nomination ultimately failed. Some who voted no said the legislature had not been adequately involved in the selection process.

Sen. Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, said that played a role in his opposition, but added that there were other factors too. Mississippi, Sparks said, needs a superintendent with a strong record of turning around underperforming schools. Taylor's answers on that topic in the confirmation hearings left Sparks unconvinced, according to the senator. Sparks also looked to Taylor's record on that subject in North Carolina.

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"There were not things that were said that gave me encouragement about the underperforming schools in our state," Sparks said. "The data that I have before me says that while someone may be constitutionally qualified, they may not be the right person for the job."

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann released a statement after the vote, saying he agreed with the no-vote.

"The Board sent over an appointment but there were legitimate concerns about whether he was the right person for the job. With a position as important as the person overseeing the education of our children, Senators should vote their conscience and confirmation should not be taken lightly. I defer to the body and believe they made the right decision today," Hosemann said.

During floor debate Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, urged his colleagues to support the nominee, and said the process that led to Taylor's selection was far from abnormal.

"I'm aware that among some senators there is opposition to this nomination. I don't know of any reason that has been articulated that is compelling that we should reject this nominee. The state constitution vests in the state school board the authority to operate or choose the state superintendent," Bryan said.

In the news conference, Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, said rejecting Taylor so late in the session sets the state's education system back until the Senate can have a chance to vote on the next nominee.

"Those who voted against the nomination of Dr. Taylor did the state of Mississippi a great disservice," Horhn said. "They have set our education efforts and progress that we've made with regard to education back at least a year because we are rudderless right now. We've got to start all over again and find leadership for our state department of public education. Anytime we put politics and partisanship and race ahead of the progress that we need to be making in the state of Mississippi we're doing our citizens a great disservice, and we did that today."

Mississippi state Sen. Juan Barnett, D-Heidelberg, left, speaks at a news conference Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., while surrounded by other members of the Legislative Black Caucus. Several caucus members denounced a vote by the Republican-led Senate to reject the nomination of Robert P. Taylor as Mississippi superintendent of education. Taylor would have been the second Black person to hold the job.

When Taylor was first named by the board, he publicly celebrated the opportunity to return home.

The opportunity to return home to Mississippi and work hand in hand with all stakeholders to improve education is perhaps the pinnacle of ones career, Taylor said in a statement. This opportunity has been afforded to my family and I and we look forward to our homecoming.

In November, Taylor was appointed by the Mississippi State Board of Education, which is made up of appointees from the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house. That came at the end of a months-long search to replace State Superintendent Carey Wright. Taylor started on the job in January, as it is not uncommon for board-appointments to begin work before their confirmation has been made official. Now, it seems, a new search will need to begin. Between Wright and Taylor, Kim Benton served on an interim basis.

Nominations require the advice and consent of the Senate. While the speaker of the house has a role in who sits on the state board of education, the House does not vote on nominations. Sen. Juan Barnett, D-Heidelberg, filed a motion to reconsider the vote, which the Senate voted to table Thursday. The 2023 session is scheduled to end by Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS Senate votes against state superintendent of education nominee
Chinese envoy stresses Africa's leading role in its own peace and security

Xinhua) 08:53, March 31, 2023

Liu Yuxi (C, Front), special representative of the Chinese government on African affairs, speaks at a high-level open debate of the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Xie E)

It is important to support Africa's leading role in its own peace and security. Africans know Africa best, and African countries are core forces for maintaining their own peace and security, said a Chinese envoy.

UNITED NATIONS, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called on the international community to support Africa's leading role in its own peace and security in a high-level open debate of the Security Council on the impact of development policy on the implementation of Africa's Silencing the Guns initiative.

Africa is a rising continent, a fertile land of hope brimming with vigor and vitality. Without peace and development in Africa, there will be no stability and prosperity in the world, said Liu Yuxi, special representative of the Chinese government on African affairs.

Under the current circumstances, the Security Council needs to give serious thought to questions such as how to strengthen international coordination to better help Africa meet its challenges, how to forge synergy between development policies to address the root causes of conflicts, and how to advance the UN's cooperation with Africa to provide stronger support, he said.

It is important to support Africa's leading role in its own peace and security. Africans know Africa best, and African countries are core forces for maintaining their own peace and security, said Liu.

The international community should adhere to the principle of seeking African solutions for African problems, and provide assistance on the basis of respect and trust, rather than interfere in other countries' internal affairs in the name of human rights or even overstep their authority. For post-conflict countries, there is a need to support their own choice of development paths and governance models that suit their own national conditions, rather than find fault with them, still less engage in so-called democratic transformation, he said.

Security personnel of the Ghana Police Service take part in a parade during the Independence Day celebrations in Kumasi, Ghana, on March 6, 2023. (Photo by Yaw Afrim Gyebi/Xinhua)

It is important to support African countries' security capacity-building, which is the only way to address both the symptoms and the root causes of the conflicts in Africa, he said.

"We need to help African countries build a professional, efficient and strong security sector to tackle real security threats such as terrorist extremism and intercommunal conflicts," he said. "The UN peacekeeping operations in Africa need to respect the views of the host countries and support their efforts to strengthen security-sector development and reform. The arms embargoes imposed by the Security Council on Sudan, South Sudan and other countries have hindered the development of the security capacity of these countries and should be adjusted or lifted in a timely manner."

It is important to support Africa in achieving sustainable development. Development and security are interdependent and complementary, said Liu.

When working with Africa, the international community needs to strengthen coordination with the African Union's Agenda 2063, the Silencing the Guns initiative and other initiatives, and support Africa in advancing infrastructure development, speeding up industrialization, fighting pandemics, eliminating poverty, boosting employment, and accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The root cause of Africa's development issue is the unfair international economic order. Developed countries must shoulder their due responsibilities, honor their commitments to development aid and repay the historical debts they owed to Africa, he said.

Participants take part in the 5th Kenya International Industrial Expo in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, on Nov. 3, 2022. (Photo by Charles Onyango/Xinhua)

It is important to support Africa's efforts to seek strength through unity, said Liu.

Over the past 20 years, the African Union has held high the banner of strengthening through unity, solidarity and cooperation, committed itself to exploring a development path that fits well with Africa, and spoken with one voice in international affairs. These efforts have vigorously safeguarded peace, security, stability and development in Africa, he said.

The African Union-led peacekeeping operations, as a useful practice for Africans to seek African solutions for African problems, should get flexible, predictable and sustainable financial support. China firmly supports Africa's in-depth participation in the Group of 20, BRICS and other mechanisms, and firmly supports Africa's greater role in global governance and international affairs, he said.

China has all along stood together with Africa through thick and thin. China will, as always, view Africa as a high priority in its external relations and prioritize Africa's peace and security in its work at the Security Council. China is ready to work with the international community to advocate a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, help Africa silence the guns, and build a community with a shared future for mankind, he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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The award ceremony of the embroidery contest during the 10th International Abilympics in Metz, France, on March 25, 2023. [Xinhua]

The 10th International Abilympics, one of the world's largest competitions for people with disabilities, was held in Metz, France, on March 24 and 25, 2023.

The competition showcased 400 contestants from around the world competing in contests across 10 categories, with inclusion as a top priority.

Following the success of its last edition in 2016, the Abilympics France seized the opportunity to showcase the abilities of contestants with disabilities from around the world at the Eurometropole de Metz exhibition center.

The event brought together nearly 1,500 contestants, judges and experts.

Approximately 50,000 visitors supported contestants' high-level performances across various business areas, such as industry, construction, food, health, services, information, new technologies, media, crafts, leisure, and the creative arts.

The event also offered many activities that allowed the public to participate. The rich conference program and the opening and closing ceremonies made the 10th International Abilympics a festive event for all.

The name "Abilympics" comes from a combination of "abilities" and "Olympics," and is highly regarded as the Paralympic Games of skills competitions.
North Korea is seeking to make a deal with Russia exchanging its glut of weaponry for much-needed food supplies, according to U.S. security officials.

National Security Council (NSC) coordinator John Kirby made the assertion Thursday during a press conference.

"We remain concerned that North Korea will provide further support to Russia's military operations against Ukraine," Kirby said. "As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Korea."

CHINA INSTALLS NEW AMBASSADOR IN NORTH KOREA, ONE OF FEW IN THE COUNTRY

He continued, "We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions."

The alleged arms deal may be coordinated by a notorious Slovakian arms dealer, Ashot Mkrtychev, Kirby claimed.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

NORTH KOREA REVEALS NEW NUCLEAR WARHEADS AS US CARRIER STRIKE GROUP DOCKS IN SOUTH KOREA

The NSC will continue monitoring the relationship between the two countries, warning that evidence of an arms deal could lead to an international incident.

"Any arms deal between North Korea and Russia would directly violate a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions. We've taken note of North Korea's recent statements that they will not provide or sell arms to Russia, and we are continuing to monitor this closely," Kirby said at the Thursday press conference.

NORTH KOREANS FORCED INTO MARRIAGES, SEX SLAVERY IN CHINAS RED ZONE, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

Participants dressed in military uniform stand in front of a banner with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a patriotic flash mob marking the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea, in Yalta.

He added, "We are going to continue to identify, expose and counter Russian attempts to acquire military equipment from North Korea or from any other state that is prepared to support its war in Ukraine."

North Korea revealed new, smaller nuclear warheads on Tuesday as a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group docked in South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday ordered his country to ramp up production of "weapon-grade nuclear materials."

The unveiling of the weapons, called Hwasan-31s, show potential progress by the North in creating warheads that are strong, yet small enough to place on intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching American shores, experts told Reuters.

Images released by North Korea showed Kim Jong Un viewing the weaponry at an undisclosed location.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report.
A North Texas man behind a $1.9 million bank fraud was sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton announced Thursday.

Nohmaan Malik, 30, pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, passport fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

He was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman.

The court ordered restitution in the amount of $1.9 million, the amount of loss the victims suffered, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office

Malik admitted he and coconspirators defrauded Chase Bank customers, according to plea papers.

Malik and his conspirators targeted customers with sizeable balances at Chase and created counterfeit passport cards using the customers names and identifying information but with the conspirators photographs.

Using those counterfeit passport cards, conspirators imitating the bank customers opened fraudulent joint bank accounts with other conspirators acting as money mules.

The impersonator or the mule then transferred money from the customers actual account to the joint bank account, and the mule transferred the money from the joint account into a third bank account controlled solely by the conspirators.

The coconspirators are:

Juan Cruz: pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, passport fraud, and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to 10 years and nine months in federal prison

Ronald Godbold: pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to five years and five months in federal prison





Jeremy Pena: pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, passport fraud, and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to five years and five months in federal prison





Louie Walencik: fugitive charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, use of a false passport, and aggravated identity theft

Gregory Jesus Acevedo: pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and passport fraud and aggravated identity theft, sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison

Christian Martinez: pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and is to be sentenced on May 9 before Judge Reed OConnor

The U.S. Department of States Diplomatic Security Service and Dallas Resident Office conducted the investigation with the assistance from the DFW Airport Police Department, Dallas Police Department, Benbrook Police Department, and Flower Mound Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht prosecuted the case.
Carrots and potatoes are being grown at the Northern Roots site

Volunteers have begun planting the first crops at the UK's largest urban farm and eco-park.

The multi-million pound Northern Roots scheme is transforming a huge area of empty land in Oldham and is expected to draw 100,000 visitors a year.

Leeks, aubergines, garlic, carrots and potatoes are being grown at an on-site urban farm near Alexandra Park.

It is intended that the vegetables will be harvested later this year before being sold at affordable prices.

Any excess food will be donated to local food banks.

Organisers of the Northern Roots project, which covers an area of 160 acres, hope it will create local jobs and opportunities, while preserving the site's biodiversity and environmental value.

Council bosses hope the attraction - seen here in an artist's impression - could attract 100,000 visitors a year

Georgia Forsyth Sijpestijn, urban farm and landscape manager at Northern Roots, said: "We're trying to create a local economy around green spaces and food.

"We've put up our fencing, built polytunnels and we've got our first delivery of 12 tonnes of organic compost."

Volunteer Kirsty Finch, from Roundthorn, said: "I can walk here and it's just something I can do to give back to the local community.

"I've always been interested in growing plants and vegetables so for me this is a no-brainer."

Two landmark buildings will be built at the site - a learning centre and a visitor centre - which will include classrooms, an exhibition space, a cafe and a shop.

Stephen Rimmer, park ranger at Northern Roots, said: "I've been working here for 12 months and it's the best job I've ever had.

"We've had to clear the site, build fencing, dig drains and we're now getting ready for our first growing season."

Money has begun pouring into Northern Roots from a variety of different sources including the government's Levelling Up fund, the national lottery, local council and private donations.

Anna da Silva, chief executive of the Northern Roots charity, said: "Towards the end of last year I think we saw a shift in mindset and we can really feel that momentum building now.

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"It's really exciting. The money will help us deliver all sorts of activities for the community so we can start to bring the project to life."

Plans have also been approved for a 5m bridge between Oldham and Tameside, which will be a gateway to the southern section of the Northern Roots site.

Crossing over the River Medlock, it will be situated where a former brick railway viaduct was in operation until its demolition in 1971.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk
When President Bill Clinton took advantage of a woman young enough to be his daughter and then lied about it under oath, Democrats sighed: No big deal.

Committing perjury to conceal an affair was natural, even noble. Clinton had a family to protect. And those evil Republicans were just out to get him.

For better or worse, Democrats won that argument. The country largely agreed that adultery and concealment were part of life and that while Clinton should be scolded, he need not be removed from office or prosecuted.

They have selective amnesia now because a similar, but not nearly as serious, charge is the way to accomplish their most-cherished political objective: Get Donald Trump.

Trump is charged in New York with trying to conceal a decade-old dalliance with a pornography actress, an affair and cover-up that he denies. If you talk about it, be sure to use the solemn tone of the Weight Of History because Trump is the first president charged with a crime after leaving office.

All that proves, by the way, is that we just havent been watching them all that closely.

Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. File photo, Sara Diggins-USA Today Network

In Clintons case, at least there was a principle involved. Yes, Republicans had been after the Clintons for years, and they were just as politically opportunistic when given the chance. But perjury strikes at the heart of our legal system. If the president can lie about an affair under oath, anyone can lie in court about anything.

We havent seen the full indictments yet, but New York District Attorney Alvin Braggs case appears to be using a New York state law to prosecute what would be a federal campaign violation. Bragg is well beyond his jurisdiction, and any law-respecting judge should immediately toss the charges.

March 27, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Lisa Fithian of New York City, an anti-Trump protestor stands near the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse March 27, 2023, where a grand jury is hearing witness testimony related to the former President paying hush money to a former porn actress. Mandatory Credit: Seth Harrison-USA TODAY NETWORK Seth Harrison/USA TODAY NETWORK

The Democrats who have let Trump live rent-free in their heads for eight years dont actually care if he bought Stormy Daniels silence. They dont care if somehow that payment broke election law. Their gloating makes clear: The end justifies the means. Theyll want to remember that when some ambitious Republican prosecutor (Ken Paxton, anyone?) scours his or her states laws and finds a way to charge Joe Biden over Ukraine or China.

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Trumps case is similar to that of a one-time Democratic darling, John Edwards. The former North Carolina senator and vice presidential candidate liked to spin a charming yarn about how he and wife Elizabeth ate at Wendys on their wedding anniversaries, despite fantastic wealth he earned as a lawyer. Then, Edwards would leave the stage, go back to his campaign hotel and see the videographer with whom he had a child on the side.

He paid her to be quiet, and federal prosecutors brought charges of campaign violations. A jury acquitted him on one, and the others were dismissed.

While he was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2004, Sen. John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards observed their 27th anniversary at a Wendys in Newburgh, N.Y. rwillett@newsobserver.com

The public again picked up what Democrats were putting down in the late 90s. Its normal to conceal an affair. If it helps your campaign, thats a side benefit, not a crime.

This is not a defense of Trump. He lacks character and should be nowhere near the presidency. Rival Ron DeSantis handled this best when he mused that the case was weak but that he didnt know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons Trump should be charged with offenses, including encouraging the Jan. 6 riots and trying to force a Georgia official to falsify election results.

But if your bank-shot argument is that distorting the law to get Trump is like getting Al Capone on tax evasion, please note that the tax evasion itself was an actual crime. Go watch The Untouchables and get back to me.

In the 1990s, Democrats shielded Clinton by noting that Republicans were overreaching. Everything in politics is cyclical, so those same arguments come from Trump supporters now  and from the man himself. When he told a Waco crowd that theyre not coming after me, theyre coming after you, he was pulling directly from the Bill and Hillary Clinton 1998 Playbook.

Which, let me remind you, worked.

Bug-eyed Democrats have never understood what Trump backers like about him. The reasonable ones know he is unstable. But they see him as a symbol of a system that gives them the shaft while others get the gold. Trump takes classified documents and has his home raided. Biden stashes them next to the Turtle Wax he uses on his Corvette and its fine.

Most people forget this, but a Clinton-era national security official, Sandy Berger, went to the National Archives and stuffed documents in his clothes to try to hide the administrations failure to deal with Osama bin Ladens rise. He was fined and sentenced to community service.

No, Trump shouldnt be above the law. But the law shouldnt be twisted to satisfy the urge to nab Trump, either.

Edwards, who has mercifully faded from the scene, liked to campaign on the idea that there were Two Americas, one of privilege and one taken advantage of. Trump has plenty of privilege, but there cant be two Americas when it comes to rule of law.

If a weak prosecution of Trump goes forward, millions will conclude that is exactly the case.
This Q&A was written by Kevin Wagner, a noted constitutional scholar and political science professor at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. The answers provided do not necessarily represent the views of the university. He writes a weekly column on constitutional issues for The Palm Beach Post.

Q: Can a person run for office if theyve been indicted or convicted of a crime?

A: Since the U.S. has a federal system, the rules establishing the qualifications for office can vary by which office you are trying for, and by the state, county, or municipality in which you live. For example, Florida, which had barred felons, now allows individuals who have completed their sentences to run for office or serve on juries once they have their civil rights restored. In other states, the rules may be less strict, or may depend on the severity of the crime and the length of time since the conviction.

While states can establish qualifications for their offices, the requirements for election to federal office are set in the U.S. Constitution. For example, Article II describes the requirements to serve as President, such as being a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years of age, and having been a resident of the country for at least 14 years. There is no explicit prohibition on individuals with criminal records running for president, and the Constitution does not prohibit anyone based on indictments or convictions.

HISTORIC: Grand jury indicts Donald Trump in New York, first time a former president is charged criminally

FRANK CERABINO: Dear Mar-a-Lago Club members: My indictment is going to cost you

More: Florida Republicans outraged by reports grand jury has voted to indict Trump

In 1920, Eugene Debs ran for President as a Socialist while he was serving time in prison for speaking out against the draft during World War I. Debs was convicted of violating the Sedition Act of 1918. After charging Debs, the federal prosecutor said, No man even though four times the candidate of his party for the highest office in the land, can violate the basic law of this land. Debs won nearly one million votes while he was in prison but did not win a single Electoral College vote.

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Former President Donald Trump looks on during the first major rally of his 2024 presidential campaign Saturday in Waco.

The Constitution does not bar felons from Congress either, and the U.S. Supreme Court, in U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton (1995), ruled that states cannot add additional qualifications for congressional candidates. However, the House of Representatives has a rule that members convicted of a felony be removed from committee activities unless and until they are re-elected. Both the Senate and the House can censure and even expel members.

Trump indictment: Can he still run for president?

The Constitution does have one additional restriction. Under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, anyone who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States is prohibited from holding federal office. Interestingly, there is no requirement that a person be convicted for this to apply, and it was used to remove individuals linked to the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Trump indicted: Has any other former U.S. president been indicted? No, but these guys came close.

Congress has refused to seat some members using this provision. In 1919, Congress cited the 14th Amendment to block Victor Berger, who was accused of supporting Germany during World War I. Berger was eventually allowed to serve after his espionage conviction was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Recently, we have seen efforts to bar candidates from running for Congress based on their involvement with the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. As of yet, no candidates have been disqualified for federal office based on this, and there is significant disagreement over the meaning and application of this prohibition in the modern context. Ultimately, the most significant limitation on access to elected office is still the voters, who can weigh the importance of a conviction or other actions and decide for themselves who will be their representative.

Kevin Wagner

If you have a question about how American government and politics work, email Kevin Wagner at kwagne15@fau.edu or reach him on Twitter @kevinwagnerphd. You can read past columns here: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/?q=kevin+wagner .

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump indictment: Can people who've been charged run for office?
The New York Police Department (NYPD) has ordered every member of the force to report in full uniform on Friday as a precautionary measure, following former President Trumps indictment.

All uniformed members of the New York City Police Department are to show up in uniform as of 0700 hours on 03-31-2023 as a precautionary measure, a spokesperson said on Thursday night.

The police department consists of about 36,000 officers and 19,000 civilian employees, according to the NYPDs website.

Trump was indicted on criminal charges on Thursday in the Manhattan district attorneys yearslong investigation into the former presidents involvement in a 2016 hush money payment.

Shortly before the 2016 presidential election, Trumps then-attorney Michael Cohen made a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in an effort to buy her silence about an alleged affair with the former president.

Trump sparked concerns about potential violence earlier this month when he called on his supporters to protest and take our nation back in anticipation of his indictment. In a post to Truth Social last week, he warned that criminal charges could result in potential death & destruction.

Steel barricades were put up outside the Manhattan Criminal Court and the Manhattan district attorneys offices last week, as the city braced for a potential indictment in response to Trumps comments.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
NEW BEDFORD  This week's deadly rooming house fire was apparently started by a microwave or the wall outlet it was plugged into.

Investigators were able to rule out all potential causes except an accidental event involving a microwave in a second-floor apartment or the wall outlet it was plugged into, according to a press release. The microwave had been in use a short time before the fire broke out.

The release was issued by New Bedford Fire Chief Scott Kruger, New Bedford Police Chief Paul J. Oliveira, State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey, and Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III.

The fire was investigated by the New Bedford Fire Department, New Bedford Police Department, State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshals office, and state police assigned to the Bristol District Attorneys office. Collectively, they determined that the fire started in Room 205, located at the left rear of the second floor.

New Bedford firefighters fight Acushnet Avenue apartment building fire.

Our thoughts are still with the families who lost loved ones, the residents who were injured, and those who lost all their belongings," said Kruger. Id like to express my deep appreciation to the New Bedford firefighters and mutual aid departments who put everything they had into containing this fire and protecting the surrounding structures. This was a tragic event, but it could have been much worse without the assistance of our public safety partners and our community.

Fire claimed two victims

All residents of the four-story rooming house were displaced by the fire. Two victims were recovered from the structure with fatal injuries. Quinn identified the first victim as 59-year-old Manuel Moreira. On Friday, Quinn's office identified the second victim as Wayne Bourdon, 63. Five were hospitalized.

The partially demolished remnants of the site of a fatal fire of an apartment complex on Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford.

Electrical fires are the second-leading cause of residential fire deaths in Massachusetts, said state Fire Marshal Ostroskey. Appliances that generate heat, like microwaves and toasters, should always be plugged directly into a wall outlet. Dont use them if the device or the cord is damaged. And call an electrician if outlets are warm, discolored, or loose  these are signs that the outlet is not safe to use.

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The New Bedford Fire Department responded to an alarm activation at 1305 Acushnet Ave. at about 3:15 p.m. on March 28. On arrival, they observed heavy smoke and flames and occupants hanging from the windows and jumping from the building to escape the danger inside. Firefighters immediately began conducting rescues over ground ladders and five people were transported from the scene for medical care.

A general alarm was declared, bringing all New Bedford apparatus and off-duty personnel to the scene along with dozens of firefighters from surrounding communities. The building was well involved before firefighters arrived, and it sustained catastrophic damage, but firefighters were successful in keeping the blaze from extending to several nearby homes and businesses. The fire was under control by about 6 p.m. but firefighters continued to extinguish hot spots for hours afterward and crews remained on scene overnight.

The fire departments of Acushnet, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven provided mutual aid at the scene. Ambulances from Freetown, Lakeville, Marion, Wareham, and Westport supported New Bedford EMS with patient transport and care.

How to help residents of New Bedford rooming house fire

An official fund has been created to help the residents who lost so much.

The city of New Bedford along with nonprofit partners including the Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford have announced Rise Up For Homes as the official relief fund for individuals displaced by Tuesdays rooming house fire on Acushnet Avenue.

The fire has abruptly displaced dozens of residents and turned their lives upside down, Mayor Jon Mitchell said Friday. I appreciate the partnership of the Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford and all of the partners involved in Rise Up For Homes to help meet the challenge.

A woman walks down Tallman Street past the partially demolished remnants of the apartment complex on Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford which caught fire on Tuesday.

What is Rise Up for Homes?

Rise Up For Homes is a collaborative campaign established by the City of New Bedfords Homeless Service Providers Network (HSPN). The Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford, a nonprofit 501(c)3, serves as the fiscal conduit of the funds.

To donate, checks made out to Rise Up For Homes can be dropped off or mailed to the Inter-Church Council, 128 Union Street, Suite 100, New Bedford, MA 02740. The Inter-Church Council can be reached at 508-993-6242.

To donate online, visit https://riseupforhomes.com/donate.

Organizations helping displaced residents

The Red Cross, Salvation Army and Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency are among the group supporting local efforts.

The Salvation Army in New Bedford, for example, has been meeting with fire survivors all week to determine immediate needs and provide emotional and spiritual care.

To support The Salvation Armys ongoing New Bedford fire response efforts, 100% of donations made at www.salvationarmyma.org/eds with a note in comment section saying New Bedford Fire will go toward helping survivors.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Cause of New Bedford rooming house fire believe started by microwave
Despite the images of flames and public evacuations after train cars derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, late Friday, railway incidents requiring nearby residents to flee possible explosions or potentially toxic fumes are rare, a USA TODAY analysis of federal government data found.

Technological improvements to the railcars crisscrossing the nation's tracks to ensure better crashworthiness and temperature regulation, retiring old cars, and a decline in crude oil transport since their peak in 2015 have made railcars less likely to leak or spill hazardous materials, experts told USA TODAY.

Yet when wrecks do occur, they may serve as difficult reality checks for the many Americans who live near railroad tracks moving massive amounts of freight, including potentially toxic chemicals, each year. In East Palestine, residents were only allowed to return home after days of evacuation, sometimes under threat of arrest, due to safety concerns around toxic chemical release.

USA TODAY found that although catastrophic events involving trains and chemicals may be uncommon, hazmat cargo violations caught during inspections of rail shippers and operators appear to be climbing. Over the last five years, federal inspectors have flagged 36% more hazmat violations compared with the five years prior  and fines for those are up 16%.

One reason for the increase, however, may simply be improved accountability by agency inspectors. A 2016 audit by the Department of Transportation's Inspector General's Office found that inspectors were issuing lax penalties for violators of hazmat cargo regulations and failing to refer bad actors for possible criminal prosecution despite agency requirements.

In Ohio, 20 railcars out of the 100-car train operated by Norfolk Southern Railway were carrying cargo labeled as hazardous materials when it derailed near the Pennsylvania state line and burst into flames. As many as 2,000 people  a significant swath of the 5,000-person rural town along the northeastern Ohio and Pennsylvania border  evacuated from their homes for days after worries that unstable vinyl chloride in five derailed cars could explode, disbursing toxic fumes and shrapnel as far as a mile away.

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Environmental officials deployed air and water quality monitors to ensure those chemicals  associated with an increased risk of cancer  weren't being released into the community's air.

Preliminary indications are that a mechanical problem with a rail car axle may have caused the crash, but the investigation is ongoing, National Transportation Safety Board officials said.

What is vinyl chloride? Toxic gases connected to Ohio train derailment cause concern

A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania state line last Friday night, covering the area in billows of smoke.

East Palestine residents and a business owner filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday, alleging the derailment was caused by the railway company's negligence in operating the train, defects in their track system or in one or more of their cars  resulting in the exposure of hundreds of people to "toxic chemicals, fumes, and carcinogens" and evacuation orders, court records show.

Norfolk Southern declined to comment on pending litigation.

Not only was Friday's incident relatively rare, so too are deaths from incidents involving hazmat cargo rail cars. The last reported death from a hazardous material on a train was in 2011. A railcar loader in Kentucky was "splashed with 95% sulfuric acid while finishing the final stages of the pressure check before releasing the tank car into transport," according to an incident report filed with the Transportation Department.

But the consequences may still be widespread due to the sheer amount of cargo involved. Hazardous materials have leaked into waterways or caused other kinds of environmental damage. Clean-up often requires specialized training and can be costly.

Authorities said environmental agencies monitoring air and water quality in East Palestine have not detected anything concerning. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice sounded an alarm about water safety in the Ohio River, though the water ultimately tested safe.

Why ensuring hazmat train safety can be especially difficult

The United States has about 140,000 miles of railroad for freight cars, which are owned and maintained by private organizations. Each year, nearly a billion tons of hazardous materials are shipped by rail, according to the American Chemistry Council.

Hazardous materials, or "hazmat," are defined by the federal government as "substances or chemicals that pose a health hazard, a physical hazard, or harm to the environment," such as unrefined oil, liquid natural gas and industrial manufacturing chemicals.

Portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio were still on fire midday Saturday.

These hazmat railcars are are required to meet additional safety regulations to ensure they can carry chemicals across the country without incident.

The rules for transporting materials depend on each substance and how dangerous it is. The Federal Railroad Administration describes railroads as "the safest method" for moving large amounts of chemicals long distances, yet most hazardous materials are transported by trucks on U.S. highways.

The Association of American Railroads, an industry trade group, noted in an emailed statement to USA TODAY that 99.9% of all hazmat shipments reach their destination without incident and that the hazmat accident rate has declined 55% since 2012.

How frequently do trains leak or spill hazardous materials? Not very.

In the last decade, hazardous materials have spilled or leaked from trains more than 5,000 times in the United States, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal incident reports. However, other forms of transit notched far more spills. For every rail leak reported last year, there were two involving planes and 67 on highways. The federal reports show the number of incidents involving trains has been declining.

Still, in 2022 alone, rail operators reported 337 hazardous material leaks or spills, only 32 of which were classified as "serious." Only six were reported to have caused an injury.

Crashes are less common than leaks but can have more serious consequences. Railroad derailments counted for 1 in 10 hazmat wrecks in the last decade  and 1 in 4 of those incidents last year, USA TODAY found.

In the Ohio derailment, the cars carrying the chemical were pressurized and had thermal protection, according to an email from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Such additions are safety measures that provide hazmat cargo with extra protection from flames in case of an accident.

More: Residents question next steps after train derailment

Trains derail rarely, but can be very costly and dangerous

The most common reasons trains spill hazmat cargo are equipment failure, like broken valves, or human error such as improperly preparing cargo. Hazardous materials were released in 172 train derailments over the last decade, or roughly 17 each year. But when derailments involve hazardous cargo, the sheer size and amount of materials being transported can make wrecks dangerous and costly.

Last year's 18 derailments involving hazmat cargo resulted in more than 20 times as much financial damage, or $41.6 million, compared with the $2.1 million total cost in damage caused by roughly 300 leaks of hazardous materials from other causes such as loose valves, USA TODAY found. The cost includes the value of cargo lost, damages to the train, tracks and nearby property, and the cost of emergency and clean-up response.

A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk and Southern trains.

Despite the plumes of black smoke overhead East Palestine, nearby residents and businesses are typically unaffected by hazmat incidents even when there is a serious wreck. Over the last decade, homes or businesses near a hazmat derailment were evacuated at least 24 times, or only once every seven wrecks, USA TODAY found.

Have trains carrying hazmat leaked or spilled near you?

USA TODAY used federal data from incident reports since 2013 to build this searchable table readers can use to look up how often trains near them have leaked or spilled hazmat cargo.

If you don't see a search window below, you can find it here.

Agency inspectors dinged for past hazmat cargo accountability

A 2016 audit by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General found that the agency's inspectors lightly fined shippers and operators for violating hazmat cargo safety regulations and failed to refer cases for criminal prosecution despite agency requirements.

But an administration spokesman, Warren Flatau, told USA TODAY that the report's recommendations were "satisfactorily closed" by the agency and it had since taken steps to remedy all the issues identified. In an emailed statement, the Inspector General's Office confirmed that the Federal Railroad Administration took "sufficient action to address each of the recommendations we made in our report and we therefore consider those recommendations closed."

USA TODAY's analysis of available public data bears this out to some degree. It found that agency inspectors flagged more violations and on average fined higher amounts annually in the years after the audit.

USA TODAY found that federal regulators collected an average of $16.5 million in civil penalties annually from railroad shippers and operators, including about $4.5 million for violating hazmat rules, since 2017. In the five years prior, they collected an average of $12.1 million in penalties annually, including $3.9 million for hazmat violations.

The Inspector General's Office noted that the closed actions included a recommendation that the agency amend its policy and procedures to require all staff to report any "suspected criminal violations and instances of fraud, waste, and abuse" to it directly.

An Inspector General's Office representative declined to provide details on the number of criminal referrals forwarded to it, urging USA TODAY to ask the Federal Railroad Administration for such details. Flatau said the agency doesn't track such referrals because of the change in policy having all staff reach out directly to the Inspector General's Office directly. But he said the agency does not have the ability to arrest or prosecute anyone.

A drone image shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio, were still on fire midday Saturday.

Devorah Ancel, a senior attorney with the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program, noted that the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration adopted new safety rules for hazmat transport by rail several years ago.

The revised regulations included measures like improved railcar design, which were "far better from the arcane regulations that had been on the books for decades that did not contemplate movement of highly flammable and explosive materials that are in transit on our rail lines today," Ancel said in an email.

She added: "Those regulations, however, left some improvements on the table. For example, the agency, in its final rule, chose not to adopt the most stringent of the brake design mechanisms that were proposed at that time."

Your life in data: See crucial databases that can help you make everyday decisions

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did train wrecks spill hazardous chemicals near your home? A look at the data
As residents of East Palestine, Ohio, try to take rail company Norfolk Southern up on its offers to reimburse their evacuation and relocation costs after its train derailed last month, nearly a dozen said they have found the process confusing and burdensome. Several said they have expenses that the company declined to pay.

In the wake of the disaster on Feb. 3  when a train carrying hazardous chemicals jumped the tracks, causing some of its toxic cargo to spill and burn  Norfolk Southern has offered residents a growing list of reimbursement options for the costs of their evacuations and other inconveniences. All 11 residents interviewed for this article have received sums from the company but are nonetheless frustrated by what they see as an onerous and opaque system that left them pleading with representatives to get money they believed they were owed.

They said the process  which followed the turmoil of fleeing their homes, watching their property values crash and, in some cases, dealing with health issues like rashes and coughs  further deepened mistrust of Norfolk Southern.

They act like we are beggars or were just trying to get free stuff, Zsuzsa Gyenes, who went to high school in East Palestine and moved back last summer, said of the Norfolk Southern representatives she met with. They were trying to crack jokes about what people were trying to get reimbursed for. It was just very dehumanizing.

After the disaster, Norfolk Southern first offered to reimburse residents who were required to evacuate for five days or did so voluntarily for necessities like hotel stays, food, gas, toiletries or clothing. After that, the company added a $1,000 inconvenience check for every person within a mile of the derailment site, then subsequently expanded it to anyone with an East Palestine ZIP code.

Then, nearly four weeks ago, Norfolk Southern began offering additional relocation reimbursements to cover food, gas and lodging for people whose homes are in a broader area that requires ongoing remediation efforts, such as soil cleanup, as determined by a team of government agencies and the company.

Story continues

A map of the eligible areas for relocation reimbursement in and around East Palestine, Ohio. Green is the original evacuation zone, blue is the village of East Palestine, and yellow is an additional area affected by ongoing remediation work.

To claim any of those payments, residents must show up in person with receipts at an assistance center Norfolk Southern set up in a church in nearby New Waterford. For those staying far away, that can mean driving several hours. Gyenes said she waited for four hours the last time she visited.

When their turns came, 10 residents said, they were given conflicting information about which expenses would be covered, offered smaller sums than neighbors they believed had similar circumstances or told to get additional documentation that hadnt been required before.

Its embarrassing, because you feel like youre begging for money, said Greg Mascher, a lifelong East Palestine resident who was raising his three granddaughters there until the derailment. They havent yet moved back into their home.

We shouldnt have to deal with this, Mascher said. They could put a mountain of money in front of me or say, You can have your old life back, and Id take my old life.

Connor Spielmaker, a senior communications manager for Norfolk Southern, said the company remains committed to this community, and were working daily to address direct concerns with community members through the Family Assistance Center.

We work with any resident to reimburse their reasonable expenses, and were not going anywhere, he added.

Confusion over what Norfolk Southern is willing to reimburse

Greg Mascher with his granddaughters. (Courtesy of Greg Mascher)

Mascher lives a block and a half outside the mandatory evacuation zone, but he said that two days after the crash  the day before Norfolk Southern started burning off vinyl chloride carried on the train  the National Guard began knocking on doors along his street, telling residents they could leave and be reimbursed for their expenses.

The National Guard had set up camp in the parking lot across from his house, and his granddaughters had developed rashes, he said, so of course I was going to go.

Mascher said Norfolk Southern reimbursed him for a two-night hotel stay and some groceries but refused to reimburse any part of a restaurant bill because he paid for his daughter, his son-in-law and their three kids, all of whom also evacuated East Palestine because of the derailment, in addition to his wife and the granddaughters they care for.

Spielmaker confirmed Maschers account and eligibility for reimbursements.

Obviously, we did not pay for a dinner for 10 people, Spielmaker said, adding that Norfolk Southern must be sure its funds are going to East Palestine residents.

He added that the company is covering reasonable evacuation expenses but didnt specify how the limit is defined.

Norfolk Southern also covered only part of Maschers $660 rental car bill, because he kept the car a few days after the evacuation order ended. The company paid for one extra day, but Mascher said his granddaughters  ages 7, 8 and 9  needed more time to repack and leave the cousins house where they were staying in West Virginia.

Mascher and his granddaughters. (Courtesy of Greg Mascher)

They expected me to jump in the car the minute the evacuation was lifted and drive 3 hours back home, he said.

Mascher added that he found the policies about inconvenience checks confusing. He was initially turned away and told he was outside the designated area, but after Norfolk Southern expanded the zone, he returned and was able to claim $4,000 for himself and his granddaughters on top of his evacuation costs.

Complaints about a lack of transparency and conflicting information

The residents who were interviewed said Norfolk Southern hasnt clearly communicated the types of payments it is offering. Aside from a flyer mailed to some homes before many people returned, they said, information about reimbursements has traveled mostly by word of mouth or on Facebook.

Spielmaker said reimbursement information was communicated to residents through news conferences and on a website the company set up. NBC News couldnt find specific amounts or requirements or a map of eligible areas on the site, although Norfolk Southern does list a 24-hour resource hotline for residents to call.

Even at the assistance center, Gyenes said, you could have three different guys tell you three different things within an hour  its very frustrating.

Over the past two months, Norfolk Southern has reimbursed Gyenes for lodging, gas and other expenses, and paid her the inconvenience fee, all of which totaled more than $4,000. But in the process, she said, she got conflicting information. Gyenes said one representative told her she was entitled to reimbursement for only lodging and food, while another said gas was included. Another time, she said, a representative told her that the center was no longer providing the inconvenience checks.

Spielmaker said anyone who is eligible for an inconvenience check and hasnt collected it can still do so.

In total, Norfolk Southern has pledged $26.6 million in community assistance. Spielmaker said more than 6,450 households have received derailment-related relief, but he declined to say how much money has been distributed through the Family Assistance Center.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that it has received a small number of complaints from residents about Norfolk Southerns family assistance program and that it brought the complaints to the companys attention. The spokesperson didnt provide additional details.

EPA is unaware of any claims that NSR has denied without resolution for the resident, the spokesperson said, referring to Norfolk Southern Railway.

Disputes over rentals, rules and reimbursement zones

Several residents said Norfolk Southerns rules about where people are allowed to stay have also posed challenges. Two people who were interviewed opted to rent from friends or relatives, which made it difficult to obtain proper receipts.

Melissa Blake, who has lived in the East Palestine area for 22 years, said she is renting a room from a woman in Negley, Ohio. At first, Norfolk Southern reimbursed Blake based on paper receipts. Later, a representative asked for a notarized receipt, which Blake obtained. After that, she said, a claims representative told her to return with a bank statement from the property owner or find a hotel.

Every time I go in, it was something different, Blake said. You couldnt just tell me all this so I could have got it all done at once?

Environmental And Health Concerns Grow In East Palestine, Ohio After Derailment Of Train Cars Containing Hazardous Material (Michael Swensen / Getty Images)

Spielmaker said Blake has received $3,100 for lodging this month, although Blake did not respond to a request for confirmation.

Bonnie Brown, who has called East Palestine home for 25 years, encountered a similar issue: She said she is paying her son $200 per week in rent to stay with him in nearby Colombiana.

You lose your home, then you go somewhere, then they treat you like youre some kind of dog or animal, Brown said. If the train wouldnt have wrecked, Id still have a home.

Spielmaker said Norfolk Southern reimbursed Brown for three weeks of that rent but told her to move to a motel, instead. He added, however, that she could get reimbursed again if she came back with a notarized receipt.

Meanwhile, Joe Samek, a mechanic who has lived in East Palestine for seven years, received $2,000 in relocation relief for his family of four  two daughters and his fiancee  this month, on top of the familys inconvenience fees. But the next time he went to the assistance center for additional reimbursement, he was turned away.

I take all of my receipts that I had from the prior week with fuel and expenses for a week and they said: Absolutely not. You do not fall in city limits, Samek said.

Environmental And Health Concerns Grow In East Palestine, Ohio After Derailment Of Train Cars Containing Hazardous Material (Michael Swensen / Getty Images)

Spielmaker said the $2,000 was paid in error, because Sameks address is just beyond the border of the eligible zone for relocation reimbursement.

A few residents of this community were initially provided remediation relocation assistance by mistake. We did not seek to recoup those funds, Spielmaker said.

But Samek said Norfolk Southern didnt tell him that until he returned to the assistance center to reload the debit card it had given him.

Spielmaker said Norfolk Southern has offered to put Samek and his family up in a hotel and his dogs in a kennel. Samek declined because the family didn't want to be separated from their dogs.

Confusion about Norfolk Southerns plans and policies persists for a handful of residents, who said they are unsure when reimbursements will cease. Spielmaker said Norfolk Southern expects its remediation work, which is tied to the relocation reimbursements, to finish in early May.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Voting stickers lie on a table during an earlier election this year at Northwest Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.

Residents in the Oklahoma City area will have the chance to vote in local races for city council and county clerk Tuesday.

Polls will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Election officials say that lines are typically longest before and after work hours, and during the noon lunch period. Any eligible voter in line at 7 p.m. will be able to vote.

What am I voting on?

The Oklahoma City Council race is a special runoff election for Ward 5, while candidates for the position of Oklahoma County clerk also will be vying for votes on the same day.

Where do I go to vote? Oklahoma Voter Portal map

Residents interested in finding out their polling place and viewing a sample ballot can enter their information into the OK Voter Portal.

Who are the OKC City Council candidates?

All registered voters in Oklahoma City's Ward 5  which largely encompasses southwest Oklahoma City between Interstate 44 and S Santa Fe Avenue  are eligible to cast a ballot in the election between Matt Hinkle and Thuan Hieu Nguyen.

Hinkle, 60, has served on the Traffic Commission since 2018. An Oklahoma City resident for nearly four decades, Hinkle is the general manager of Tyler Media's Outdoor Advertising. He graduated from Norman Public Schools in 1980.

Not sure if you live in OKC's Ward 5? Check here and meet your city council election candidates

"As planning commissioner for five years, I have had unique exposure in reviewing residential development, both urban and rural," Hinkle told The Oklahoman in February. "In alignment with Plan OKC, the infill development occurring in all wards to create new housing is impressive, but it is not enough to keep up with the population growth. As long as we maintain essential infrastructure and allow rural development in a sustainable manner, we can better accommodate the needs of all residents."

Thuan Nguyen and Matt Hinkle, from left, are candidates for Oklahoma City Council's Ward 5 seat.

Nguyen, 46, is a member of the city's Urban Design Commission and the MAPS 4 Citizens Advisory Board Connectivity subcommittee, and founded THN Insurance Solutions. An Oklahoma City resident for three decades, Nguyen escaped communist Vietnam for Midwest City in 1980. He received a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and a master's degree in biostatistics and epidemiology from the University of Oklahoma.

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"Living on the south side in Ward 5, I am uniquely aware of our city's areas being under-invested by our government," Nguyen told The Oklahoman in February. "The residents of South OKC pay their fair share in taxes but are not receiving adequate investments in return. Our roads, sidewalks (or lack of them), and public transportation routes are not receiving the attention they deserve from our city government. To solve this problem, I will connect city government leaders with the people of OKC."

Tuesday's Ward 5 winner will succeed longtime Councilmember David Greenwell, who chose not to seek reelection after serving from 2011 to 2023.

More: Takeaways from the Oklahoma City Ward 5 city council debate

Who are the Oklahoma County clerk candidates?

Derrick Scobey is a Democrat running for Oklahoma County clerk.

The special election for Oklahoma County clerk will pit Democrat Derrick Scobey against Republican Maressa Treat.

Scobey, 55, was born in northeast Oklahoma City and graduated Douglass High School in 1985, after which he attended Central State University. In the 1990s, he relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where he managed several businesses, including his own wholesale automobile company, according to his campaign website. Scobey returned to Oklahoma City in 2015 to lead Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he has been outspoken on social issues, and was appointed a member of the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority in 2022.

"We need someone in this Oklahoma County Clerk's office to steward it well," Scobey said in a statement on his campaign website. "I hope to move into this office and send an unambiguous message on day one that I do not work for the county; I work for the people. We need transparency, we need organization, and we need community buy-in."

More: OK County Election: Scobey, Treat to face off for clerk's seat after primary victories

Maressa Treat is a Republican running for Oklahoma County clerk.

Treat, 40, is the wife of Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat and a previous finances director and outreach director for U.S. Sen. James Lankford. Also a former field representative for the College Republican National Committee, she has worked for various industries and agencies in the state, including the State Chamber of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma secretary of energy, according to her campaign website.

"Ive spent more than 20 years serving Oklahomans professionally at the local, state and federal levels in addition to my private sector experience," Treat told The Oklahoman in early March. People from a broad array of industries and backgrounds support me because they know me well, know my work ethic and know that I will restore integrity to the clerks office. Its not a glamorous job, but one that requires diligence and competence, which I will provide.

The winner in Tuesday's race for county clerk will fill a vacancy left by David B. Hooten, who resigned from office after allegations of sexual harassment.

Contributing: Staff writers Jana Hayes, Jack Money and Steve Lackmeyer

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County election, OKC Ward 5 city council on April 4
 Flash

The Chinese leave Shanghai on March 21, 2023, for the 10th International Abilympics, held in Metz, France. [Photo courtesy of the China Disabled Persons' Federation]

The 10th International Abilympics, one of the worlds largest competitions featuring people with disabilities, wrapped up in Metz, France, on March 25, 2023. The Chinese team won 20 medals during the competition, including six gold, seven silver and seven bronze.



Zhang Haidi, president of Rehabilitation International (RI) and chairperson of the China Disabled Persons Federation (CDPF), encouraged the Chinese team before they set out from Shanghai on March 21, 2023.

Zhang expressed her hope that contestants would cherish this opportunity to display their own excellent professions and positive and life-affirming selves, learn from and inspire one another, promote friendship and make a triumphant return.

Bu Yunxiu (R) participates in the embroidery contest during the 10th International Abilympics in Metz, France, on March 25, 2023, and wins the gold prize. [Xinhua]

Twenty-nine contestants from China participated in 20 skills contests across nine categories and won gold prizes in food carving, text processing, hairdressing, massage, crochet, and embroidery.



The competition aims to showcase professional talent among people with disabilities, with inclusion as a key priority. Over 400 talents from around world competed in skills contests across 10 categories.

China has deployed observers to the Abilympics since the competitions founding in 1981 and is one of the largest teams during the event.
An Oklahoma state representative said the states superintendent shared pornographic materials with state lawmakers on Thursday, claiming the content was found in Oklahoma schools.

State Rep. Mark McBride (R), one of several lawmakers who received the email from Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters, told The Hill that it included pretty graphic material.

If thats going on in Oklahoma schools, yes, we need to address it, McBride said, adding, My question is  what schools and was it addressed by the local school board, administration, superintendent, things like that.

McBride, who serves as the chair of the Oklahoma House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, had requested that Walters appear on Thursday to discuss a range of topics, including his repeated allegations of pornographic materials in schools.

However, the state superintendent did not appear before the subcommittee and sent the email instead.

So far as the email goes, I need proof, McBride said. Show me the proof. Where this is, what schools they are.

Because I have not had any schools say that that is going on in their schools, he added.

In response to a request for a comment, a spokesman for Walters simply said to stay tuned for an announcement on Monday.

Oklahoma is not the only state debating the alleged presence of pornographic materials in schools. The principal of a Florida charter school was recently pressured to resign after a parent complained that students were exposed to pornography during an art lesson that featured Michelangelos David sculpture.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

Oscar Pistorius was denied parole on Friday, forcing him to continue serving his murder sentence for the 2013 killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The Paralympic gold medalist, 36, had hoped to be released from prison early. But at a closed-door hearing, a South African parole board found that Pistorius still poses a threat to public safety.

He will now have to wait another year before applying for parole again. Before the hearing started Friday, Steenkamps mother, June Steenkamp, told reporters that she was against Pistorius release.

I dont believe his story, she said as she arrived at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria, according to the BBC. I dont believe Oscar is remorseful or rehabilitated.

On Valentines Day in 2013, Pistorius fired four gunshots through a bathroom door at his home in Pretoria. Three of the bullets struck Steenkamp, who was on the other side, and she died from her injuries. At his murder trial the following year, Pistorius claimed that he had mistaken Steenkamp, for an intruder and that he didnt mean to kill her.

Prosecutors countered that he had acted deliberately after an argument with Steenkamp, 29 and he was found guilty of culpable homicide. He was initially sentenced to a maximum five-year sentence, but his conviction was later upgraded to murder and his sentence extended to 13 years and five months in 2017.

Speaking before the parole hearing Friday, the Steenkamps lawyer, Tania Koen, said Pistorius victims parents maintained their belief that he intended to kill Reeva, and that the murder was a lifelong sentence for them. For them, its 10 missed birthdays, its 10 Mothers Days, Fathers Days, Christmases, so time hasnt healed for them, Koen said. They dont feel that he should be released.

Last year, Pistorius met with Steenkamps father, Barry, as part of a victim-offender dialogue program. The parole board also took into consideration Pistorius disciplinary record while serving his sentence and the educational and training courses in which hed participated over the last decade, but nevertheless ruled against his release.

Story continues

Pistoriuswho was dubbed the Blade Runner because of the prosthetic legs on which he ranwas considered a sporting hero before his shocking murder trial. He made history at the 2012 Olympic Games when he became the first double-amputee to compete at the Olympics.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The news that another American had been arrested and jailed in Russia may have reminded many Americans of the recent release of WNBA superstar Brittney Griner, who was freed in a prisoner exchange last December after 10 months in Russian prisons on drug charges.

But to people like Andrew Nagorski, who has been observing Moscow for decades, the arrest and charges leveled at Griner are very different from the arrest and charges now pending against Evan Gershkovich, a Moscow-based correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.

There are two key distinctions: Gershkovich is a journalist. And he has been charged with espionage.

While Americans like Griner occasionally run afoul of Russian authorities, its been decades since an American journalist has been arrested in Russia and held on spying charges. That doesnt happen by accident, Nagorski told me in an interview. Russia is sending a message, both to other journalists and to the West.

Nagorski is a former Newsweek correspondent and editor who had his own run-in with the authorities in Moscow. In 1982, after living and working in the then-Soviet Union for a little more than a year, Nagorski was expelled on trumped-up charges. It was clear that the Kremlin didnt like his work, but also, that they wanted to express their irritation with the U.S. government at a time of high tension.

Nagorski told me that there are some similarities between then and now, including that U.S.-Russian relations have been worsening, particularly since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. During such times of tension, journalists often become targets of harassment, or pawns in high-stakes standoffs between the West and authoritarian regimes.

Journalism is always at the heart of these confrontations, as they were during the Soviet regime in the past or the Russian regime today, Nagorski told me. Truthful reporting is absolutely anathema to the Kremlin.

Another reason journalists get charged with espionage? There are a lot of similarities between what a journalist does and what a spy does. Go to new places. Meet new people. Ask a lot of questions. Observe and take notes on what you see.

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I'm sure they know that Gershkovich is not a spy, Nagorski told me. Instead, he said, the real goal is to intimidate other journalists, both Russian and foreign: The less real reporting there is out of Russia, the freer the Putin regime feels to operate the way it does inside Russia.

The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Maura Reynolds: Evan Gershkovich is a journalist. What is the relevance of the fact that the Russian government has arrested and charged an American journalist with espionage?

Andrew Nagorski: Whenever a western journalist is targeted in Russia, it's immediately more than just picking up an American citizen, or British citizen, or whoever it is, because at a minimum it's sending a message not just to his or her publication, but to all of the western journalists trying to cover Russia, just how dangerous the situation is. And when you throw in a spy charge immediately, you're immediately making this a major event. You're putting this journalist in a terrible position. He's at their mercy right now. It's one of these things where you know it's not going to be resolved very quickly.

Reynolds: American WNBA star Brittney Griner was released from a Russian jail just a couple of months ago. How is this case similar?

Nagorski: It has occurred to me that since they were so quick with the spying charges, that they could have somebody in mind who's in American detention, someone might have been spying for the Russians and they might want to use Gershkovich as a pawn in an exchange. That happens, and it's happened in the past. But it seems less likely in this case. With Brittney Griner, they found an excuse in saying she had illegal substances. Whatever the case, she was a target of convenience, a high-profile target of convenience. When these high-profile cases happen, where it's a celebrity as Brittney Griner was, or a journalist, the Kremlin can choose to escalate, to use the incident in a time of tensions in U.S.-Russian relations.

And we certainly had these tensions growing for a long time. They've gone up and down over the years, but now it's particularly at a high peak.

When its a journalist, it's almost always meant as intimidation for reporting. They hate the fact that there is actual reporting still going on in Russia about the war in Ukraine, about the signs of discontent in Russia itself, about the price that the Russians are paying, and anything that goes against the official propaganda. In each [detention] case it's a personal ordeal. But this one is a much broader political event.

Journalism is always at the heart of these confrontations, as they were during the Soviet regime in the past or the Russian regime today. Truthful reporting is absolutely an anathema to the Kremlin.

Reynolds: You were expelled for the journalism that you conducted in the Soviet Union. What happened in your case and how is it similar or different to what's happening to Gershkovich?

Nagorski: Any journalist going to Moscow in those days knew that they might be targeted. I went in knowing that if I touched on certain stories, this could spark some anger or reprisals. But in my case, and in most journalist cases in those days, you felt that the worst that might happen is you get expelled.

The Kremlin sent very clear signals that they were unhappy with my reporting. They interrogated some of my Russian sources, and when they did they said, We'll deal with Nagorski soon, knowing that [threat] would come back to me. They slashed my tires on one occasion. And in those days when things like that happened, you knew it was directed from the top.

In my case, I ignored those signals and kept reporting, for instance, in Tajikistan and Central Asia on young Muslims who were opposed to the Soviet war in Afghanistan. I got lots of signals that they were upset with that. I ignored those signals for more than my first year in Moscow, and by month 14, they expelled me.

I was called into the Foreign Ministry and expelled. I asked for the reason. They said impermissible methods of journalistic activities. And I said, What does that mean? And then they reeled off a series of really nonsensical charges. They accused me of impersonating a Russian journalist in Vologda, a northern Russian city. I speak Russian, but I'm very clearly a foreigner and have the accent and [grammatical] mistakes to show for it. They claimed that in Tajikistan, I had tried to incite young Muslims to oppose the draft. The evidence for that was that when some young Muslims asked me, Is it true that in America you've abolished the draft? I said, yes. So that was incitement. So these charges were so silly. They were mere pretext. They were aiming this at me because they didn't like my reporting at Newsweek and at the same time [this was] telling other reporters: "Watch yourselves. This can happen to you, too."

When I was called into the Foreign Ministry I braced myself, thinking, What if they threw out espionage as a charge? Because they could always do that, and that's much harder to fight as a journalist. How do you say I wasn't spying? You were asking questions. You were looking around. I remember once in Dushanbe, in Tajikistan, I was walking down the street and I looked up and there was a truck with an SS-20 missile just going down the street. If they had stopped me, they could have said, Oh, yes, he's doing military intelligence.

As a journalist, how you handle this harassment and how quickly it escalates is very important. Sometimes in the past, when the Soviets were unhappy with a correspondent, the U.S. side tried to negotiate something before the expulsion became official. But as soon as I was leaving the Foreign Ministry, [the Soviet news service] TASS immediately put out the news bulletin saying I was being expelled, so there was no going back. With these kinds of cases, if they want to leave wiggle room, there is wiggle room. Once they put spying on the table, there's no wiggle room.

Reynolds: So you see the fact that Gershkovich was immediately charged with espionage as a sign that the Kremlin is escalating this very rapidly?

Nagorski: Yes. And again, it can be escalating rapidly if they have an exchange in mind. But I have no idea whether that's the case. It may be that by escalating the charge to espionage right away, that makes all the remaining correspondents much more vulnerable. I have great admiration for the correspondents who are still working in Russia under these conditions and trying to report honestly, because there is no way to ensure your own safety in this situation.

Reynolds: I believe the last American correspondent to be charged with espionage was Nicholas Daniloff in 1986. You knew him. Tell me about his case.

Nagorski: Nick Daniloff was a reporter for U.S. News and World Report in the early 1980s. We actually arrived in Moscow about the same time, I think, in 1981. And we talked fairly often. When I was expelled, Nick came over and asked me, did his name come up when they were grilling me? He had Russian heritage, I believe his grandfather had been in Russia, had actually been on the White Russian [anti-communist] side in the civil war. So he knew he was vulnerable.

Daniloff was an easy target in the sense that he spoke Russian well, moved about really well. In his case, it was clear that they targeted him. It was not a great time for U.S.-Russian relations, but it wasn't the worst time. But the FBI had picked up a KGB agent in New York who the Russians really wanted to get back. That agent was accused of spying and pretty clearly was a spy. So they said, "Let's pick Nick Daniloff, because he speaks Russian, moves about, he's been here a while. We can level espionage on him." And again, how is Nick supposed to defend himself, aside from saying, "I'm not a spy?"

One of the worst things about a spying case is that people who are outsiders, casual readers may think Oh, well, maybe there's something there. Even if there's really nothing there, as long as you put the charge out there, it's a very nasty thing to deal with.

Reynolds: The Russian and the Soviet governments have a process that they call accrediting journalists. It's not something that we do in the United States, but in order to live and work as a foreign correspondent in Moscow, Daniloff and now Evan Gershkovich were accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry. In other words, they were in Russia with permission to operate as journalists. Why does the Russian government have this system and still then harass or arrest a journalist for doing their job?

Nagorski: Theyve always had that system. I had my Russian press card from the Foreign Ministry press department. We all had to go through that system to get a visa to get into Russia. As a journalist, you had to apply through that system. So they knew that Nick Daniloff was not a spy. I'm sure they know that Gershkovich is not a spy.

They want control and they want to monitor things. And then they want to be able to use any one of the journalists as an example, as a pawn. It sends a signal that the less real reporting there is out of Russia, the freer the Putin regime feels to operate the way it does inside Russia. The worst clampdown of course is on the Russian press, but a number of foreign journalists are still there, still working and producing pretty good stories.

The foreign ministry spokesman immediately said, We're not cracking down on journalists. Legitimate journalists can continue to do their work. But immediately the implication is that Gershkovich was not a legitimate journalist, or not working legitimately. You can throw that out against anybody any time.

They want to have it both ways. They want to say, "We're allowing journalists to work," but then picking and choosing when to use the tools, the bluntest tools when they want to.

Reynolds: I believe Gershkovichs parents were Soviet emigres and he grew up speaking Russian. How do Russian and Soviet authorities look at journalists who are native Russian speakers and have a Russian background?

Nagorski: Russian authorities, particularly during the Cold War, but even now, always preferred western journalists who did not speak Russian. They were much more easily controlled. In the Cold War days, you had translators that had to be government approved, which of course meant they were effectively working for the KGB directly or indirectly. On the other hand, a journalist who's fluent in Russian can hear things, pick up on things that a non-Russian speaker or a poor Russian speaker won't pick up on. So as far as the Russian government was concerned, whether it was then or now, the less Russian or the more limited someone was in terms of their Russian speaking ability, the better for them.

Reynolds: You're an astute observer of Russian and Soviet history. I think nabbing foreigners, trading them for spies  to a lot of people that sounds like we're back in a Cold War. Do you see this as a resumption of a Cold War-style of relations between Russia and the United States, or is something else going on?

Nagorski: There was a period in the nineties, late eighties, where it seemed like things were changing. For journalists it certainly was changing. I was expelled in 1982. I was not allowed back in until 1989. There was a tit-for-tat process when I was expelled where the State Department expelled the senior Izvestia correspondent in Washington. And then in 1989, he wanted to go back to the States on a visit and they negotiated to let me back in.

But in that period of transition in Russia after the coup, the failed putsch and so forth in 1991, journalists had much more leeway. You could wander around, you could interview almost everybody. Russians felt much freer to talk on the record about all sorts of things that they never talked on the record before. And so there was some hope there.

In the Putin era, when there have been more and more assassinations of public figures including journalists, Russian journalists in particular, it begs credibility, it stretches every idea of rational thought, to think that this arrest is not ordered from the top. This is not some isolated FSB intelligence operation in Ekaterinburg. It was decided that they were going to get an American correspondent and that they were going to get this American correspondent.

Reynolds: The Russian government has been passing new laws restricting the operation of journalists, both foreign and domestic, inside Russia. What does that say about Putin's regime? What is the relationship between journalism, whether conducted by foreigners or Russians, and an authoritarian regime like the one that Putin has built?

Nagorski: Putin and his regime are incredibly insecure. Even during that period before the invasion of Ukraine, when there were these polls showing that he has this huge support, I always distrusted those polls. First of all, if you're being asked as a Russian by anybody, even if you're told it's going to be anonymous, Do you support this regime or do you not? Well, you think  Am I stupid or am I not? I will tell them I support it." At the same time, like in any kind of Orwellian regime, they want to maintain the pretense that they are democratic, that they have hope that there is freedom of speech. Everything has an opposite meaning. If they simply wanted to say, We're dictators and we're not making any pretense, they could say, All of the Western journalists get out of Russia right now. They could do it tomorrow.

They want the pretense and they want to benefit from it. But they don't want them reporting the truth in any broader sense of the term. They don't want them digging into the corruption of the regime, the disillusionment of the regime, the fact that people are tremendously tired of Putin. Even people who count themselves as supporters and are totally brainwashed by the nonstop propaganda, there's a part of them that is always aware that this regime does not have the confidence to actually allow people to think for themselves, to get opposing ideas and to hear opposing ideas. And every totalitarian regime in history has known that.


A single-engine plane crashed in near Oxford, Mississippi in Lafayette County, killing one person and injuring another.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office received a notification from the Union County Sheriffs Office that a small private plane had not returned to the airport it had taken off from, the office said.

A phone belonging to one of the planes occupants was pinging off County Road 249 and when officials arrived on the scene, they found one of the plane occupants dead. The second occupant was found around midnight and taken to the hospital with injuries.

The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, the Lafayette Sheriff's office said. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are headed to the crash site and will be leading the investigation.

Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901/232-6714.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: One dead, one injured in plane crash near Oxford, Mississippi
Co-owner of Carter's Fish Market Jay Qattum breads Copi before frying it up at the market Friday, March 24, 2023.

When Clint Carter began going out at the age of 10 to find fish for his family's market on South Grand Avenue East, he noticed a group of species that he initially hated, due to the fact that he and his family were wasting time trying to find good product for the market, only to find an invasive species.

"When we started this business, our family sold buffalo and we caught them," Carter said. "In the early 1990s on the Mississippi River, they showed up in big numbers, but we were told not to release it. They had graveyards of them on the banks. That right there is why I originally hated them because they were a lot of work for nothing."

That group was Asian carp, the series of four freshwater species that have become a nuisance in waterways across the United States over the past 20 years and threaten the Great Lakes. Many a strategy has been tried to prevent these fish from affecting the natural ecosystem in these bodies of water, from using sounds and building barriers to paying people bounties to eliminate the species in local waters.

The state of Illinois, on the other hand, is trying something different. Last year, as part of a national initiative, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources began calling Asian carp "Copi", a play on the word copious and a reference to the vast number of carp swimming in state waters.

More: Illinois State Fair Grandstand tickets go on sale March 31

The mission is a simple one: to get people to get these fish out of the waterways and into people's stomachs. Overseeing this mission is Kevin Irons, the assistant chief of fisheries for IDNR, who arrived in the state of Illinois in 1991 and noticed a lot of the same sort of things that Carter did as a child at the same time.

"The (Asian) carp has been here as long as I have," Irons said. "In 1991, a commercial fisherman on the Illinois River brought them in, 'What is this?' Through the '90s, we were part of a broad fish monitoring program out of Havana (and) we got what we called 'onesies' and 'twosies'. Either a fisherman would bring them in or we started picking them up. We would do electrofishing and all other kinds of nettings to get a comprehensive look at the fish community."

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As the decade continued, more and more Asian carp began swimming in the Illinois River, with commercial fishermen having to discard them while looking for the catfish or buffalo they so desired. The discarded carp created scenes where so many of them were piled up, rotting along the banks of the river with no use for them whatsoever.

"For commercial fishermen, their catches (of Asian carp) were increasing more rapidly," Irons said. "We would see piles of bighead carp and silver carp on the side of the river because there wasn't much of a market for them. They were trying to look for catfish or buffalo and these would be a nuisance in their catch and they couldn't do anything with them, so they would pile up."

By the start of the next decade, the Asian carp that had made the Illinois River home began to procreate and cause even more problems for fishermen trying to find product in that area. Instead of dealing with just a handful of fish, Irons said that his commercial fisherman friends now had to deal with thousands of invasive fish interfering with the natural habitat of the area.

"On the Illinois River, we were quickly able to realize that this could be a problem," Irons said. "Because we were monitoring the fish, we started paying some extra attention to which fish could be affected the most  things like gizzard shad, who eat the same kind of food (and) they don't grow nearly as big, but they're the native forage for our piscivores, and big-mouth and small-mouth buffalo.

I took that personally as research (into) what is going on here. The first few years, they started getting thinner. That led me to a publication about the condition of these fish in 2007 and some of the first evidence that they are affecting these native fish."

By 2010, Irons moved over to IDNR, where he considered what to do about this invasive species. His inspiration for trying to cull the population of Asian carp by eating it came from seeing other fish species become delicacies through creative name changes.

"Orange roughy and Chilean seabass, their (original) names didn't encourage their consumption," Irons said. "This is something that has been utilized in the past and it was something ripe for us in Illinois."

Much like how fisheries in the 1970s determined that "orange roughy" was a more attractive name than "slimehead" and "Chilean seabass" was more marketable than "Patagonian toothfish", Irons and his team at IDNR realized that in order to get people to eat the fish, they would need to change the name in order to make it attractive.

Not that people hadn't tried finding a new name before then. Carter started selling Asian carp as a delicacy at his market years prior to IDNR's effort to promote the fish, referring to it as "silverfin" thanks to a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based chef who trademarked the name.

Even with the new name, Carter still had to sell skeptical customers on buying the fish. Once they were told by him of what the fish actually was, they were shocked to discover that it tasted good.

"These fish had been bastardized in the media because of these issues of taking over the Great Lakes and worry about taking over lakes and local waterways," Carter said.

Of course, "silverfin" didn't catch on quite as well as it did down in the bayou, but IDNR quickly got to work after a 2017 study indicated that a name change was needed to successfully rebrand the fish.

They went out to fish markets across the state, such as Carter's Fish Market, to get their ideas on what to do with the name and how to market it to the public, assisted by a Chicago-based marketing firm. While several names were bandied about, it was Copi that ended up being the one chosen, with 21 retailers  including Carter's  committing to putting it on their menus and selling it at their markets.

Even with the backing of the state of Illinois, Irons said that it remains a challenge to try and get people to try Copi, in large part because it's so new and because people are skeptical about actually putting the fish in their mouths.

"People like what they like," Irons said. "We've had those square fish sandwiches or the frozen stuff out of the freezer, that's what we like. Anything new to the ballgame, it's like, 'Why do we want that? Isn't that the fish that we're supposed to hate? A lot of people have tried to brand the fish as something we've got to get rid of  and we do  for environmental concerns, so why would I eat that thing?'"

More: Police say Springfield man was stabbed to death during home invasion

So why is Copi something that people would like to eat? According to Irons, it's a clean, tender and flaky meat perfect for fish fries and has enough versatility to be used in empanadas and Rangoon.

"It's so mild, it's not fishy at all," Irons said. "You can flavor it up like a taco meat and it will taste like taco meat. It doesn't get in the way of any of those flavors. It's so flexible in how you use it when processed correctly. It won't even taste like fish."

Carter said that Copi checks all the boxes you want in a modern fish: it's sustainable, it's green and it's healthy. At the market, Carter sells frozen strips that one can thaw and cook as they please, in addition to the empanadas and the Rangoon. He's developed a practice for stripping the bones off the fish in order to make more attractive to people who don't want to deal with pesky bones.

"We came up with a way (to debone) practicing with them," Carter said.

Fried Copi strips prepared at Carter's Fish Market Friday, March 24, 2023.

Outside the store, there is a small food truck that sells breaded and fried Copi in the traditional strips, similar to a catfish. Carter is even working with a Michigan-based supplier who provides a creamy Copi dip to serve with crackers and chips.

Ensuring that the product remains on the shelf is a challenge for him, however. Carter sees the big picture in trying to ensure that Copi isn't clogging up waterways, but outside of selling 2-3 cases a week, business is a bit slow.

Still, he knows that there's plenty of room for Copi to grow in the hearts and minds of people and initiatives like selling it, if it can be processed quicker to get more product onto the shelves. It also doesn't hurt that restaurants like the Curve Inn and Weebles Bar and Grill have sold Copi in various ways, such as the empanadas.

"We're creating the demand with the restaurants," Carter said. "Delivery is an issue now and processing is another issue. It's gonna go. With the younger generation, it checks all the right boxes (and) it's the right thing to do. I don't have any doubt, here or globally. It has plenty of uses."

Helping to get Copi to the restaurants is Carter's good friend Trevor Miller, owner of Big Red's Bait and Tackle in Springfield. Carter refers to Miller as a "foodie" and "influencer" who is working to promote the fish in restaurants. Miller extols the virtues of a fish he originally found as a good, tasty bait for other fish, such as catfish.

"It's a little denser white meat than the pollock that we're having around town for our walleye dinners," Miller said. "It has a pretty neutral flavor, it doesn't have a heavy fish flavor or anything. The only problem is those bones and they're working their way around them."

Irons still feels as if IDNR is taking baby steps to promote the product, with much of the heavy lifting coming from people like Carter and Miller. The need to continue to build up the supply lines hasn't gone unnoticed by Irons, who feels that it's important to ensure that the fish can get to the restaurants and markets as quickly as possible.

"Most of our emphasis has been at the highest level of distributors and consumers at a large level," Irons said. "The next phase is to help them get out to the restaurants and we've got some local mouthpieces that have been very effective at knocking on the doors of restaurants because this is the right thing to do."

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Here's how Copi is doing one year after the state rebranded Asian Carp
Im Brian Gordon, tech reporter for The News & Observer, and this is Open Source, a weekly rundown of business, labor and technology in North Carolina.

First Citizens Bank actually did it. After a week of rumors, Raleighs traditional, family-owned, hitherto boring bank acquired all of Silicon Valley Banks deposits and loans from the federal government in a deal announced late Sunday night.

Initial reactions from national outlets, local business leaders and Wall Street were glowing.

First Citizens stock price has soared 60% this week, leaving CEO Frank Holding Jr. and his four sisters  who together own around a fifth of the banks shares  even wealthier.

As the seller, the government had lacked leverage (the FDIC didnt want to run a bank), and First Citizens seemed to have secured a pretty sweet deal:

It bought SVBs $72 billion loan portfolio at a $16.5 billion discount.

The government agreed to share in losses or gains from those loans, shielding First Citizens from worst outcomes.

The FDIC loaned First Citizens $35 billion at an agreeable 3.5%-fixed rate to cover the deal.

First Citizens is paying the government in company stock, worth up to $500 million.

Despite its conservative label, First Citizens has a track record of scooping up failed banks. Its made 20 FDIC-assisted bank purchases since 2009. It might still be North Carolinas fourth largest bank, but its breaking into the 20 biggest banks nationally.

And its latest move could reshape the Triangle.

Silicon Valley Bank catered to early-stage tech startups, and Raleigh-Durham is an obvious tech hot spot. The morning after the deal, Holding told investors his bank was committed to growing in Research Triangle Park by combining First Citizens traditional relationship banking, creativity and ability with the strengths, relationships and expertise of legacy SVB.

But will SVBs former customers trust a new lender, one with a completely different reputation?

I got a small peak into that answer this week at the 2023 Venture Connect conference in Research Triangle Park, hosted by the North Carolina nonprofit Council for Entrepreneurial Development. The two-day event brought together investors and startup founders who arrived in hopes of striking a deal (or at least making a few connections).

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Venture Connect 2023

On the first day, a Charlotte-based investor told me First Citizens was the furthest thing from Silicon Valley Bank. He added First Citizens wasnt among the first 10 banks he wouldve recommended to founders.

Maybe a new reputation will abruptly form. Or maybe First Citizens knows how to benefit from the deal even if it never becomes a haven for emerging tech firms. But the investors comments highlighted just how wide the gap is that First Citizens would have to close to be seen as a go-to place for startups.

Others at Venture Connect felt similarly.

Im not sure they know how to work with an SVB, which is culturally and temperamentally different than what theyre used to, the head of a Raleigh-based tech firm told me. It will take a few years for the bank to remake itself to be a tech-focused bank in my opinion.

Biden comes to town

President Joe Biden had visited Wolfspeed before.

Well technically, Vice President Biden had visited Wolfspeed, then called Cree, on a 2010 tour of the Durham tech companys RTP campus. Back then, Cree primarily made LEDs and light bulbs. Today, its pivoted exclusively toward the manufacturing of a unique kind of semiconductor chips.

Hell of a lot more than light bulbs now, Biden said during his speech at the facility Tuesday.

The president was in town to highlight his administrations economic agenda, including the passage of the CHIPS Act, which Wolfspeed hopes to benefit from. But Biden opened his remarks with a plea for reinstating the assault weapons ban. It was the day after a shooter killed three children and three adults at a Nashville school.

President Joe Biden smiles after speaking at Wolfspeed on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Durham, N.C.

As a local reporter, I got to tour Wolfspeeds facilities with the president. It sounds a bit cooler than it was  the whole thing was a production, very staged  but being in the same room as a president is a very neat part of the job that I dont take for granted.

Plus, I scored a box of M&Ms from Air Force One:

Box of M&Ms from Air Force One.

Hey Hillsborough! Google Fiber is coming

Google Fiber is extending to Hillsborough. Earlier this month, the Orange County town announced Google will build a fiber-optic network in and around the community to offer residents gigabit internet. Installation is expected to start in April, and that means more construction  something Hillsborough Mayor Jenn Weaver acknowledged.

Hillsborough residents and businesses have been asking for more options for internet service for a long time, she said in a statement. It will also take a lot of patience from all of us as we work through the disruptions of the installation, but I think it will be well worth it when we get to the other side.

Google Fiber says its expanding elsewhere in the Triangle too (though its taken its time.) You can see if the internet provider is available at your address here.

In this 2015 file photo, contractors install fiber optic cable lines for Google Fiber in Highland Creek.

Short Stuff: ChatGPT at UNC

Bob Ingram died late last week at the age of 80. A former pharmaceutical executive, Ingram steered the Triangles life science industry as head of Glaxo and later as an investor. He also had a famous Porsche collection.

Tech job fair alert. The North Carolina Technology Association is hosting a virtual job expo on April 12. So far, 15 employers have signed up to recruit for hundreds of roles.

A UNC instructor explicitly banned ChatGPT on a recent assignment. My friend, whos studying at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, passed it along. Its the first explicit ban on the popular AI language platform Ive seen in academia. The instructor put it in bold, so they must feel its important.

UNC assignment warning

The threat of plagiarism is real, but Im curious if other professors are more accepting of ChatGPT, trying to incorporate it into assignments/lessons.

National Tech Happenings

TikTok ban talk is ramping up. Florida Sen. Marco Rubios office posted a Q&A titled When will TikTok be banned? Not if.

Artificial intelligence could replace up to 300 million jobs, Goldman Sachs found. I hope newsletter writer isnt one.

Elon Musk says only paid Twitter Blue Subscribers will get certain site privileges, like appearing in For You timelines. Even dictionaries are razzing Twitter now:

Merriam-Webster having fun.

Thanks for reading!

This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.
Raymond Wijngaard / Alamy Stock Photo

Cruise ship travel should be relaxing, enjoyable, and safe for every passenger. But voyages can quickly become a nightmare when serious  and even fatal  incidents happen on board.

According to federal data, sexual assault is the most reported crime aboard major cruise lines, constituting about three-quarters of all reported crimes. A recent BuzzFeed News investigation into these sexual assaults, including those of minors, reveals serious flaws with security and incident reporting on cruise ships. A bill Ive introduced over multiple Congresses, the Cruise Passenger Protection Act, would help address these issues and require cruise lines to ensure the safety of all passengers on board.

According to BuzzFeed News investigation, cruise lines security standards have appeared, at times, woefully inadequate. There are often too few security officers on board to effectively monitor these large vessels, and background checks for staff and crew can be weak. Despite video surveillance requirements, coverage and record retention can be insufficient. And troublingly, evidence from reported crimes is sometimes lost. BuzzFeed News investigation highlights an abysmal status quo that can hinder law enforcement from quickly and thoroughly responding to and investigating incidents  and can deprive victims of justice.

We may not know the full scope of the problem. Cruise lines are required to report crimes that occur on board, including sexual assault, to the FBI and the US Department of Transportation. However, according to many experts and lawyers who work with victims of sexual assault on cruise ships, the real frequency of such incidents is often underreported.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Capitol Hill, Oct. 15, 2020 Anna Moneymaker / Pool / Getty Images

Serious cruise ship safety incidents are not limited to sexual assaults. Man overboard incidents, thefts, and even murders have long been a reality of these voyages. One tragic example concerns 26-year-old George Smith IV from Greenwich, Connecticut, who disappeared from a cruise in 2005. In 2015, the FBI closed Smiths case, and his family may never have answers about what happened. The Smith family courageously turned their grief into action, working closely with Congress to ensure the passage of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010  the last major cruise industry reform. The legislation made important strides in improving passenger safety aboard cruise ships, but additional action is desperately needed.

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I have spearheaded the effort to further reform cruise lines in the Senate since 2013 with the Cruise Passenger Protection Act, and I am proud to work on this effort with Rep. Doris Matsui of California. This bill would implement additional passenger safety standards and cruise line reporting requirements, ensuring consumers have adequate information about their rights in advance of a voyage and a means for recourse should something go wrong.

My measure would require cruise lines to retain video footage from any alleged crime for one year so that investigators and victims have more time to access footage that may be necessary to pursue justice. It would also require cruise lines to specify whether crimes, including sexual assaults, were committed against minors. To strengthen enforcement, the bill would raise the penalties cruise lines face for violations of the law.

My Cruise Passenger Protection Act would also significantly bolster victim support. It would require cruise lines to clearly inform passengers of the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit and establish a director of victim support services within the US Department of Transportation to liaise with cruise ship victims and develop procedures for handling incidents.

Since Ive led this measure, several of its safety and health provisions have been passed by Congress. These provisions impose requirements on cruise lines, such as installing video cameras in common areas and retaining surveillance records for 20 days, installing man overboard imaging technology, and ensuring ships have easily accessible automated external defibrillators. While these now-enacted policies are an important step forward, the full Cruise Passenger Protection Act must be passed to address the ongoing problems aboard cruise ships and to protect all passengers on board.

The cruise line industry has fiercely fought this legislation, saying its requirements are unnecessary. As BuzzFeed News investigation makes clear, theyre contested by experts, lawyers, and victims and their families. The courage of those speaking out will help us pass my Cruise Passenger Protection Act. I hope the cruise industry will support these important reforms, which will only make their voyages better for consumers. Strong safety standards and real enforcement will help protect passengers and hold the cruise industry accountable.

Richard Blumenthal is the senior senator from Connecticut.

More on this
The specimen of Bembidion brownorum discovered by UC Berkeley entomologist Kipling Will at Jerry Brown's Colusa County ranch. (David Maddison / Associated Press)

California is littered with tributes to past and present politicians  courthouses, roads, bridges, schools, parks, even an aqueduct, all named after elected officials anxious to ensure that their legacies live on long after they are gone.

At his insistence, there has been nothing named after Californias longest-serving governor. Until now.

Jerry Brown, who rebuffed the naming convention both as the states youngest governor in modern times and the oldest, consented to lend his name to a rare species of beetle discovered on the rural ranch and ancestral home where he now lives: Bembidion brownorum.

Many things are fitting about this designation. It is in Latin, a language often quoted by the classics major and former Jesuit seminarian. The unassuming beetle, one might argue, is an exemplar of one of Browns favorite Jesuit adages: Age quod agis. Do what youre doing. The possessive plural in the scientific name  the literal translation is beetle of the Browns  includes Anne Gust Brown, his wife and partner in everything Brown has done for the past two decades, including his unprecedented return to the governorship three decades after he'd left. The beetles existence is a small victory in the struggles of environment vs. man, a cause that Brown embraced in various manifestations throughout his political career.

Above all, the discovery marks for both the beetle and its namesake a reinhabitation, a term Brown borrowed from actor Peter Coyote to describe his decision to move to the isolated ranch his great-grandfather acquired in 1878.

When Brown began visiting the Colusa County ranch an hour north of Sacramento, there were just a few dilapidated barns on the land where his ancestors had run the Mountain House Inn, a popular 19th century gathering spot at a well-traveled crossroads. While he was governor, the Browns began to spend weekends in a small cabin at the ranch, with no electricity or water. As the end of his final term approached, they planned Mountain House III, the self-sufficient, off-the-grid home that they moved into in 2019.

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Brown saw his return as a way to restore the Mountain House as a place conducive to communal conversation and exploration. Well before he moved in, he invited scientists to research the soil, flora and fauna. One of those was UC Berkeley entomologist Kipling Will, who studies beetles. Near a creek on the ranch, Will found a beetle he had never seen. It turned out no one else had either, in more than 55 years. At 5 millimeters long, the new species is large for a member of the Bembidion genus, and when looked at under magnification its brown color has a green-and-gold iridescence.

DNA tests confirmed visual observations that the beetle was distinct from all other species of the genus Bembidion, which generally live near bodies of water. As he describes in a journal article, Will scoured known collections and located another 21 samples that had been misidentified or unnamed, most found in the first half of the 20th century. The apparent decline prompted Will and colleagues to publicize the discovery, to encourage further identification of B. brownorum.

As governor, Brown did not hide his aversion to the naming practice. He opposed suggestions to rename the Bay Bridge after former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. When Gov. Pat Brown badly wanted to have the state aqueduct named in his honor, Jerry tried to dissuade his father. After rebuffing the plan twice, Jerry acquiesced only after the head of the state water agency unilaterally scheduled a ceremony to christen the landmark project the Gov. Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct.

In the final months of his historic fourth term, Jerry Brown routinely dismissed persistent questions about how he viewed his legacy. He did not think in those terms, he insisted. In truth, the answer would probably not have made much sense to most people. He views the Mountain House as his legacy.

On the eve of his 85th birthday next month, Brown is excited about Bembidion brownorum. Congratulations have poured in from around the world. If he had not once chastised me for asking what accomplishments made him proud  "Pride in my upbringing was a sin. ... I don't get up in the morning and say, 'What am I proud of' "  I might use that word to describe his emotions. Suffice it to say he derives a good deal of satisfaction that a humble beetle discovered at the Mountain House will help his legacy live on.

Miriam Pawel is the author of The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty That Transformed a State and Shaped a Nation.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The audience at the Miami Seaquarium watching Lolita the killer whale at her 40th anniversary performance in 2010. Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Miami Seaquarium just announced plans to return a 57-year-old orca whale to the Pacific Ocean.

Lolita has been in captivity at the aquarium for over 50 years, since her capture in 1970.

After being moved to a natural sea pen, she will hopefully reunite with her 95-year-old mother.

A Florida aquarium just announced plans to release an orca whale named Lolita back to her home waters after more than 50 years in captivity.

During a news conference on March 30, the Miami Seaquarium announced its plan to collaborate with the animal-rights group Friends of Lolita and release the orca, who is believed to be 57 years old, back into her home waters in the Pacific Northwest.

Lolita, who was initially called Tokitae or "Toki" for short, was captured from the Pacific coast near Seattle at the age of 4. She is the second-oldest orca whale in captivity, surpassed only by Corky, a 58-year-old orca housed at SeaWorld San Diego.

"This is a very special day," Eduardo Albor, CEO of the Dolphin Company, which manages the Miami Seaquarium, said during the press conference on Thursday. "It is amazing to see how many things you can achieve in one year when actions take place of words."

Orcas can live up to 90 years, but Lolita's 95-year-old mother is believed to still be alive, according to CNN. After her relocation, Lolita will hopefully be reunited with her pod.

"(There's) the opportunity for her to acoustically connect with her family, without a doubt," Charles Vinick, the executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, told the WPLG radio station.

Lolita will need to learn how to swim in the open water and catch fish again

The whale will receive "round-the-clock care" before her relocation in the next 18 to 24 months, Miami Seaquarium told Insider in a press release.

At that point, she will be flown to Washington state and housed in a natural sea pen, where she will get used to swimming in the open water. She will have to build up her muscle to be able to swim long distances, the Associated Press reported.

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Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, is also helping to finance Lolita's release.

"The story of Lolita the orca has been near and dear to my heart. I am proud  and enthusiastic  to play a role in finally returning Lolita to her native Pacific Northwest," Irsay said in a press release shared with Insider.

At the news conference on Thursday, he said the cost of the relocation and release could reach "eight figures." Trainers will help her get used to the open water and teach her how to catch fish, he said.

"She doesn't know how to do that anymore," he said. "She's been in captivity too long."

Animal-rights activists, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have been calling for Lolita's release for years. In 2021, the 20-foot-long orca whale retired from performing but continued to live in a tank that measures 80 feet by 35 feet.

Read the original article on Insider
By Nellie Peyton and Bhargav Acharya

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Oscar Pistorius, known as the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, was denied parole on Friday after he sought early release from prison where he is serving a 13-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius, a South African, went from public hero as a Paralympic champion to a convicted murderer in hearings that drew worldwide attention nearly a decade ago.

Below is a timeline of his life:

1986 - Nov. 22 - Oscar Pistorius is born in Johannesburg. Born without fibulas, he has both legs amputated below the knees before turning one year old.

2003 - Pistorius starts sprint training in high school after learning to walk on prosthetic legs.

2004 - Running on carbon-fibre prosthetics, Pistorius becomes a Paralympic gold medallist when he wins the 200 metres in Athens.

2008 - Pistorius wins three golds at the Paralympics in Beijing.

2012 - Hailed as a turning point for disabled athletes, Pistorius becomes the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics, where he reaches the 400 metres semi-finals in London.

He wins two gold medals at the Paralympics.

2013 - Feb. 14 - Pistorius kills then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a law graduate and model, when he fires four shots through a locked bathroom door at his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day.

Feb. 15 - Pistorius is charged with murder in a Pretoria court.

2014 - Sept. 12 - A high court judge convicts Pistorius of culpable homicide, letting him off the more serious charge of murder.

Oct. 21 - Pistorius starts his five-year jail sentence.

2015 - March 13 - A high court judge strikes down Pistorius' bid to block prosecutors from appealing the culpable homicide verdict in favour of a murder conviction.

Aug. 19 - South Africa's justice minister blocks Pistorius' expected release on parole after serving 10 months of his five-year sentence.

Oct. 19 - Pistorius is released to house arrest to serve the rest of his sentence at his uncle's home in a wealthy suburb of Pretoria.

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Dec. 3 - The Supreme Court of Appeal overturns the lower judge's ruling and finds Pistorius guilty of murder, arguing he should have foreseen the possibility of killing someone when he fired the shots.

2016 - July 6 - Pistorius is sent back to jail for six years, less than half the 15-year minimum term sought by prosecutors.

2017 - Nov. 24 - The Supreme Court more than doubles Pistorius' murder sentence to 13 years and five months, accepting state prosecutors' argument that the original jail term was "shockingly lenient".

2022 - June 22 - Pistorius meets Steenkamp's father as part of a victim-offender dialogue - an integral part of South Africa's restorative justice programme that brings parties affected by a crime together in a bid to achieve closure.

2023 - March 31 - Pistorius is denied parole after prison authorities say he has not served minimum detention period required.

The Department of Correctional Services says Pistorius is expected to have completed his minimum detention period in August 2024 and will become eligible to be considered for parole.

(Reporting by Nellie Peyton and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Alison Williams)
The killing in 2013 sparked a highly-publicised murder trial - Alon Skuy

Oscar Pistorius, the South African Paralympic champion who shot and killed his girlfriend a decade ago, has been denied parole after seeking early release from prison.

"We were... advised at this point in time that it has been denied and it will be considered again in one year's time," said Tania Koen, a lawyer for the family of victim Reeva Steenkamp on Friday.

The department of correctional services said Pistorius had not completed the minimum detention period required for parole.

Julian Knight, Pistoriuss lawyer, said he would be seeking a review of the decision.

The uncertainty over Pistoriuss eligibility for parole reportedly stems from confusion over how long he has been in prison due to his two sentences.

He served a year of his first sentence of six years, but when that was appealed he was released and spent six months under house arrest before his second trial, when he was then sentenced to 15 years.

The killing in 2013 sparked a highly-publicised murder trial.

Reevas mother, June Steenkamp, 76, was in attendance at Fridays parole hearing.

'I don't believe his story'

Arriving at Atteridgeville prison near the capital Pretoria on Friday morning, Ms Steenkamp said she was feeling nervous.

"It's going to be very hard to be in the same room as him," she told reporters from her car. "I don't believe his story."

She later read a "victim impact" statement explaining the effects that the death of her 29-year-old daughter had on her parents.

Reeva Steenkamp was killed in 2013

Reeva's father, Barry, 79, was too unwell to travel for the Parole Board hearing.

Ms Koen said Reeva's parents continued to maintain that Oscar Pistorius, 36, "never told the truth" about her death.

Gun enthusiast Pistorius told his trial he had believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her several times through the bathroom door with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the human body.

He was jailed in 2016, initially for a six-year term, but had that sentence increased to 13 years after an appeal by prosecutors who argued the initial sentence was too lenient.

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Pistorius, who had both legs amputated as a baby, reached the peak of his fame in 2012 when he became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics, reaching the 400m semi-finals in London.

At a trial that captured worldwide attention nine years ago, the athlete shuffled through the court without his prosthetics to show how vulnerable he was faced with the threat of an intruder.

He broke down crying as he told the court that he had been trying to protect Steenkamp when he fired the shots. The prosecutor at the time accused him of using emotional breakdowns to avoid questioning.

His uncle, Arnold Pistorius, said this was the third time he had expected his nephews release. We were warned a day in advance to be prepared for him, and so my wife didnt go away, he said.

We need to ask them how they did their calculation, as it seems they are satisfied about all else, his behaviour etc and this is the only outstanding matter, so how was it calculated?

He said friends saw Oscar last weekend: I heard he seemed to be in good spirits.
Oscar Pistorius, who was sentenced to 13 years in jail, will not be freed until August next year at the earliest

Oscar Pistorius's bid for parole collapsed in South Africa after it was revealed he had not yet served enough time to qualify for early release.

The former Paralympian is serving 13 years for murder, after killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013.

The parole board met to hear evidence, including from Pistorius, 36, and Ms Steenkamp's mother.

But instead of giving a decision afterwards, embarrassed officials admitted their timings had been wrong.

Earlier this week, they had received, but ignored, a letter from South Africa's top appeals court, which explained that Pistorius needed to spend another year and a half in prison before he could be considered for parole.

The hearing at Atteridgeville prison, a low-security facility in rolling fields just outside the city of Pretoria, should never have happened.

For weeks, officials had insisted the amputee former sprinter was eligible to apply for parole, having served half his sentence.

The confusion stems from the fact that Pistorius's time in prison has been broken up by appeals and by a period of house arrest.

There is disagreement about where to draw the halfway line.

Pistorius's family have expressed dismay and are seeking legal clarification.

It has been an emotional day for the Steenkamp family, who have welcomed the fact that Pistorius will not be yet be freed.

"Today is not a cause for celebration. We miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail," their statement said.

When June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, spoke to reporters before the hearing she said she opposed the release of her daughter's killer: "I don't believe Oscar is remorseful or rehabilitated."

The six-time Paralympic gold medallist has expressed his deep remorse for killing his girlfriend on Valentine's Day in 2013, but continues to maintain he shot her by mistake, believing she was a robber.

Pistorius was initially found guilty of culpable homicide and given a six-year term. But prosecutors launched an appeal, arguing this was too lenient.

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The sentence was increased to 13 years as he was then convicted of murder.

This verdict was based on the grounds that he must have known his actions - shooting three times through a locked bathroom door in his Pretoria home - would lead to the death of whoever was on the other side.

The televised trial of the man once dubbed "the Blade Runner", because of the ground-breaking prosthetic legs he wore in both Paralympic and Olympic track races, attracted huge global attention.

It now seems likely that he will not have an opportunity to leave prison before August 2024.
Over 240 rabbits have been placed for adoption after being confiscated from a home by the Pierce County Sheriff's Department and the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County in Washington.

Pierce County Animal Control reached out to the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County,

A year-long investigation was launched regarding the household and a "concern [for] the number of animals" being cared for, according to Dr. Jennifer Bennett, chief veterinary officer at Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County.

4,000 BEAGLES RESCUED FROM VIRGINIA BREEDING FACILITY IN NEED OF NEW HOMES

On Feb. 16, Bennett and her team assisted in the confiscation of the rabbits that were kept in the Puyallup, Washington, home. The situation was assessed based on the rabbits' "health, hygiene and housing conditions," Bennet shared.

A total of 246 rabbits were removed from the Pierce County home, as the number of animals were too much for one person to care for.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"That was the largest intake of animals from one individual confiscation that this shelter has experienced in a very long time," Bennett noted.

"The rabbit housing density was very concentrated," she added.

The veterinary team, animal services team, foster team and adoption services all came together to help with the confiscation.

ALLIGATOR OWNER WHO ABANDONED AND STASHED REPTILE IN CONTAINER IS IDENTIFIED: 'POSING AS GOOD SAMARITANS'

While on site, Bennett and her licensed vet tech went through a triage assessment for each rabbit to determine which of them "were stable to go back to the shelter," she said, adding that the team made sure the rabbits that were in need of special medical care did receive it.

The team at the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County went through different phases from medical and daily care to foster and adoptive homes.

"The rabbits overall had health conditions that are fairly commonly seen in crowded conditions or where you find large groups of rabbits," Bennett said.

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Since the confiscation on Feb. 16, the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County has been helping these rabbits find a new home.

NEW YORK BANS THE SALE OF DOGS, CAT AND RABBITS AT RETAIL PET STORES

About 50 rabbits have been adopted out, and 80 rabbits are in foster homes in Tacoma and Pierce County.

The remaining rabbits are still in the care of the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County and other partner organizations who have "stepped up to the plate [to] help place rabbits."

"It's been really neat to be a part of this effort because we have had a lot of our animal loving network come together," Bennett said.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

"They really understood the need for us to have partnership to get the task done," she added.

A total of 246 rabbits were confiscated from a Pierce County home following a year-long investigation by the Pierce County Animal Control.

In a blog post, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department noted that the case was animal control's "largest seizure of animals."

"During the search warrant 95 rabbits were found in 2 sheds in the backyard of the residence," the department wrote." "The rest of the animals were inside the home in numerous cages."

"In all 246 rabbits were taken from the home," the post continued. "This is too many animals for 1 person to care for and the seizure of the animals was essential to making sure they could be cared for properly."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department for comment on whether charges will be filed.
Representatives of the Ukrainian delegation at the negotiations in March 2022

In September-October 2022, 17% believed that negotiations with the aggressor state "are an effective way to achieve peace that should be used now," while 64% disagreed.

In February-March 2023, the share of those who thought so was even smaller (13%), while those who disagreed with this increased to 72%.

The survey shows that the number of those who agree with the statement "negotiations with Russia should be conducted only after its troops have been pushed to the line of confrontation as of Feb. 23, 2022" has fallen (from 21% to 18%), and the number of those who disagree with this has risen from 60% to 65%.

Read also: A critical moment in the war. Why China started to talk about the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine

Read also: No evidence Putin is ready for negotiations, Secretary Blinken says

On the other hand, the number of those who believe that negotiations with Moscow should be conducted only after the withdrawal of its troops to the borders as of 1991 has increased (57.5% and 61% agree, respectively), while 22% and 21% disagree, respectively.

According to the research, residents of southern Ukraine agree that negotiations with the Kremlin can begin now, somewhat more often than residents of other regions (26%, while in other regions it is between 6% and 15%). In the southern region, a relative majority (46%) opposes this (in other regions, the absolute majority ranges from 68% to 85%).

Similarly, residents of southern Ukraine are more likely than residents of other regions to agree that negotiations with Russia can begin only after its troops are pushed to the line of contact as of Feb. 23, 2022 (28%, while in other regions it is from 13% to 19%).

Those who believe that "negotiations with Russia should be conducted only after the withdrawal of its troops to the borders as of 1991" are in the majority in all regions (from 56.5% in the south to 65% in the west).

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Some people in North Carolina may soon be able to use marijuana, but the drug comes with some risks.

The Compassionate Care Act, which sits in the state House, would allow those with debilitating medical conditions, such as cancer, epilepsy and Parkinsons disease, to use medical marijuana.

As with any prescription drug, marijuana has side-effects  and using too much of it could land you in the hospital.

Heres what to know about the likelihood of overdosing on marijuana and the side-effects of THC on the brain.

Can you overdose on marijuana?

There havent been any reports of teens or adults overdosing on marijuana alone, according to the National Institutes of Health.

However, there has been an uptick in emergency room visits involving teens consuming marijuana edibles.

Some people (especially preteens and teens) who know very little about edibles dont realize that it takes longer for the body to feel marijuanas effects when eaten rather than smoked, the NIH says. So they consume more of the edible, trying to get high faster or thinking they havent taken enough.

While its nearly impossible to ingest a lethal dose of marijuana, using it with other substances can increase the risk of overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What are the side-effects of marijuana?

When marijuana is consumed, THC acts on numerous areas in the brain, causing a high that people feel, according to the NIH. Other side-effects include:

Altered senses

Altered sense of time

Changes in mood

Impaired body movement

Difficulty with thinking and problem-solving

Impaired memory

Hallucinations

Delusions

Psychosis

Other physical side-effects of marijuana use include breathing problems, increased heart rate and issues with child development during pregnancy, according to the NIH.

What is the recommended dosage of THC?

A standard unit of THC is five milligrams, but experts recommend starting off with 2.5 milligrams per day to treat certain conditions, according to GoodRx. Experts also suggest not exceeding 40 milligrams of THC per day.

Marijuana can affect people differently depending on the type of product, how much is used, how you consume it and your level of tolerance, according to GoodRx.
The chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and other prominent senators are planning "comprehensive legislation" to overhaul the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs electronic health records program, the lawmakers announced this week.

The proposal is the latest effort from lawmakers to pump the brakes on a program that has seen numerous glitches that watchdog reports have found endangered patient safety.

The VA has paused rolling out its Millennium Electronic Health Records system to more sites while the company that built the program, Oracle Cerner, works to solve ongoing problems at the locations where it has already been deployed.

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"It's clear that the new EHR system is failing veterans, medical personnel and taxpayers, and we need aggressive measures to right this ship and get a better return on investment through this contract," committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a statement Wednesday. "That's why my colleagues and I are putting forth comprehensive legislation to increase transparency and oversight over the new electronic health record system -- holding VA and Oracle Cerner accountable on behalf of the men and women who risked their lives to defend our country."

The $16 billion program, the contract for which was awarded in 2018, was first introduced at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, in November 2020 and has since been rolled out to other sites in Washington, Ohio and Oregon. It was originally scheduled to launch in more facilities this past summer, but the VA announced a pause as problems -- and bipartisan criticism -- mounted.

Among the issues have been system outages, difficulties among VA staffers in using the program, and harm to patients when records got lost or misclassified in the system.

Officials from Oracle testified before Congress earlier this month that improvements have been made, including average monthly downtime dropping from 345 minutes each month last year to 21 minutes this year.

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Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who both sit on the Veterans Affairs Committee, are also spearheading the overhaul measure, which a news release said the group will formally introduce in the "coming days."

At a House hearing Wednesday, VA Secretary Denis McDonough told lawmakers that the department is reviewing its contract with Oracle and that the future of the system will largely depend on the results of the review.

House Republicans have introduced a pair of bills that aim to improve the program or abandon it altogether.

The latest proposal from Senate Democrats would prevent the VA from moving forward with the program until data from the five facilities where the system is being used shows the Oracle program has "an ability to deliver health care to veterans at standards that surpass metrics" of the VA's legacy records system, known as VistA, according to the news release.

The senators would also require the VA to come up with a "Plan B" if Oracle does not agree to new contract terms or if VA data shows "it cannot get the technology to work to serve veterans efficiently and safely," the release added. A VA official told lawmakers at a hearing earlier this month that the department does not "have a Plan B."

The bill also contains provisions to reform major acquisitions at the VA aimed at preventing similar issues on any future programs, according to the release.

"VA cannot continue with its current EHR system until it works for providers and keeps patients safe," Murray said in a statement. "I want to make sure the dedicated providers at VA can do their jobs and that our veterans are getting the high-quality care they have earned and deserve. Let's pass the EHR Program RESET Act as soon as possible."

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: VA Reviewing Contract for Troubled Medical Records System, Secretary Says
Lolita the orca, the second oldest killer whale in captivity, may finally be returned to the Puget Sound after decades of performing for food as the main attraction at Miami Seaquarium as the clamor to release her grew.

Its a risky move and wildly expensive, and theres a lot of red tape. But something had to be done.

Her presence in a tank that seemed obviously too small for the last 50-plus years has been an embarrassment and a sorrow for many in Miami  and increasingly has been considered abusive or just plain wrong. Societal views on wildlife in captivity and performing animals have changed dramatically since Lolita was captured in the Pacific in 1970, but her living situation didnt really reflect that. She was only retired from performing a year ago.

This week, the theme park, Miami-Dade County, volunteers for the Friends of Lolita group and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said they have agreed to find a way to get the 5,000-pound orca back to the Pacific Northwest. County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava called the agreement historic, adding that, Many have hoped and prayed for this result for many, many years.

Eduardo Albor, CEO of the Dolphin Company, which now operates the Seaquarium, said he and his adult daughter saw Lolita  also known by the Native American name of Tokitae  perform when he was checking out the place before his company took over. His daughter said she couldnt watch the show anymore because the tank was too small for the whale.

Is moving her the right thing to do? Its hard to know. Its certainly expensive. The cost could run as much as $15 million to 20 million, with Irsay, a philanthropist, pledging to help pay for it. The move could take six to nine months. No one knows if she would survive the journey or a return to her pod, the L pod of southern resident orcas. She was captured in Penn Cove off the coast of Washington when she was about 4.

Canadas last captive orca, Kiska, was supposed to be moved from Marineland near Niagara Falls to a sanctuary in Nova Scotia but died from a bacterial infection on March 9.

Story continues

And, Keiko, the orca on whom the movie Free Willy was based, survived for five years in the ocean before dying of pneumonia. Is that a win? Or a failure? Is saving Lolita a romanticized concept with no basis in reality?

We hope her trainers and other experts on her care will make the right choices, and that the coalition of groups involved listens to their recommendations. There have been suggestions that she be moved to SeaWorld in Orlando where she could have a much bigger pool to live in but would remain safe while also reducing the trauma of the move. But even the experts can only know so much. We cant forget that Lolitas partner, Hugo, died after repeatedly ramming his head into a wall and suffering a brain aneurysm.

If she is moved to the Northwest, shell have to be trained to survive. She is dependent on humans for food, lacking skills to hunt on her own. Her health hasnt been good. At about 57, she is nearing the end of her life span, although some female orcas in the wild have reportedly lived for decades longer.

This is about more than Lolita, no matter how beloved she is or how disturbing her situation may be considered. By making this announcement, Miami marks a change in the way we exhibit animals and a rethinking of whether they should be forced to entertain us. That wont help Lolita, stuck in her human-inflicted plight, but it is  at long last  something.
By Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's parliament has passed a new law to curtail the powers of the Supreme Court's chief justice, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Friday, a move that comes amid a row between the higher judiciary and the government.

Tarar had introduced the bill in the lower house of the parliament on Wednesday and it was passed by the senate, or upper house, on Thursday.

"The parliament has passed the bill," Tarar told reporters on Friday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government is currently involved in a row with the Supreme Court over the holding of snap polls in two provinces where former leader Imran Khan had dissolved the local governments earlier this year in a bid to force early elections.

The government says it is economically not viable to hold the snap elections first and then have another general election this year.

The Supreme Court earlier this month ordered the snap polls to be held in the two provinces within 90 days of the dissolution of the two local government, which falls by April 30.

The new draft law, which has been sent to Pakistan's president for assent, has cut down the chief justice's powers to constitute panels, hear appeals or assign cases to judges in his team, according to a copy of the bill.

These tasks will now be done by a three-member committee headed by the chief justice with his two most senior judges as members.

"Every cause, appeal or matter before the Supreme Court shall be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by the committee comprising the Chief Justice of Pakistan and two most senior judged, in order of seniority," it said.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad)
PANAMA CITY  With the devastation of Category 5 Hurricane Michael still in the back of everyone's minds, local officials are working to be better prepared for future natural disasters.

The Panama City Commission on Tuesday took steps to establish four safe rooms at various locations throughout the city. These rooms will be storm hardened, allowing first responders to remain safe and better service the area in the face of future disasters.

With the devastation of Category 5 Hurricane Michael still in the back of everyone's minds, Panama City officials are working to establish four safe rooms throughout the city.

"It doesn't do us any good to have employees who aren't safe during inclement weather events, and who are open to potential injury or loss of life, so that's why we want to do this," said Jared Jones, assistant city manager of Panama City. "It's a way to harden and mitigate potential issues from future disasters."

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Jones noted such structures would have been crucial for the city during Hurricane Michael, the Category 5 storm that hit the Panhandle in 2018 and flattened many areas of Panama City and Bay County.

He also said since the safe rooms still are in their beginning stages, he did not know if they would be stand-alone structures or storm-hardened rooms added to existing buildings. The rooms are slated to be located at Fire Station 3, Fire Station 4, the public works department and utilities department.

Total costs for the structures were not determined as of Thursday; however, the rooms will be entirely funded by grants from both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the State of Florida.

"These are specifically designed to be hardened portions of the building, or hardened structures, that are capable of withstanding very high wind loads in order to keep any of our personnel safe during these weather events," Jones said. "These would be personnel who would have to rapidly react after an extreme weather event."

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According to the meeting's agenda, the city will enter into contract negotiations with VBA Design Inc. for the design of safe rooms at Fire Stations 3 and 4.

It also will enter into contract negotiations with DAG Architects Inc. for the designs of safe rooms at the public works and utilities departments.

"It's important that our employees are safe, and that they still can accomplish their mission as soon as the weather clears and restore utilities ... clear roadways and debris and for our fire department to be able to respond to emergencies as quickly as possible," Jones said. "It's just all part of how the city is going to be ready to serve its citizens in their biggest time of need."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City works to add 4 safe rooms to withstand natural disasters
The number of US-bound children who crossed the dangerous Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia exploded by a record sevenfold in the past year, authorities said.

According to UNICEF, between January and February 2023 about 9,700 minors crossed the Darien Gap; in the same period of the previous year, some 1,400 were documented.

"Our teams on the ground have never seen such numbers of children crossing the Panamanian jungle alone or with their parents," Panama-based Garry Conille, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said in a statement.

"This figure is the highest that has been recorded in a period of two months since these records were kept," he said.

Laurent Duviller, a UNICEF adviser, told AFP the rise in migrant children is due to multiple reasons, including increased inequality, unemployment in host countries, and the lack of schooling after the pandemic.

In addition, in two months at least 200 children crossed the jungle alone, a number five times higher than the same period in 2022, when fewer than 40 crossed it.

"We are concerned about this group because unaccompanied children are at high risk of falling into networks of traffickers and criminals," Duviller said.

In addition, "these children are very vulnerable to forms of violence, exploitation, child labor and various types of abuse because they do not have any supervision," he added.

No roads connect Panama and Colombia, so migrants cross the swampy Darien Gap on foot. It has become a corridor for irregular migration traveling from South America through Central America to the United States.

On their journey, migrants face wild animals, mighty rivers, and criminal groups.

In January and February 2023, nearly 50,000 people crossed the Panamanian jungle, and almost a fifth of them were children.

In 2022, about 250,000 people made the jungle crossing. Of these, 16 percent were children.

The migrants were mainly from Venezuela, Ecuador and Haiti, although some also came from Asian and African countries.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, "many children" are moving between various countries "under extreme conditions," Conille said.

jjr/mdl/tjj
Panda twin cubs Paule (Meng Yuan) and Pit (Meng Xiang) are carried by their zoo keepers during their first appearance in their enclosure at the Berlin Zoo in Berlin, Germany January 29, 2020. A zoo in China is having a hard time recruiting panda caretakers. (Photo: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)

A sprawling panda reserve in China has revealed that they have been struggling to find the perfect caretakers for pandas in captivity, as it could not find any suitable candidates despite receiving hundreds of applicantions for the job.

The Nanshan Mountain Bamboo Scenery Zone in Jiangsu province in eastern China, said that the recruitment of panda caretakers is slowly becoming a headache as they couldnt hire enough caretakers due to a lack of qualifications.

How hard is taking care of a panda?

A manager of the zoo said that caring for and tending to the needs of pandas held in captivity is not that easy, as it requires more than just feeding and playing with them. He said that the job requires very high levels of professionalism, personality, and observational skills.

Although the salary of a panda caretaker averages US$1,000 ($1,300) per month in China, the job requires sharing the joys and sorrows of numerous pandas, including raising them and weighing their faeces, observing their moods, and distributing their food bamboo.

And because of the very high threshold, very few applicants get accepted, and at the moment, they have yet to recruit a single caretaker.

However, the manager said that what theyre looking for in a panda caretaker are those with a degree in livestock rearing or veterinary medicine, and are extremely patient and responsible.

They must love animals, he said, as those with experience would have a plus.

Pandas in China

Data from the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration revealed that the majority of the 673 pandas currently living in captivity around the world are in China, with more or less 1,800 living in the wild.

Pandas living in captivity are tended to 24 hours a day.

The recruitment issue at the panda sanctuary has generated a lot of discussion among mainland internet users, with many offering their opinions on the matter.

Some individuals poked fun at the difficult qualifications for the post of panda caretaker, saying that the worlds best job is actually the toughest one with a too high bar to be reached.

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Others said that its warranted, as pandas are very sensitive in nature, and could really have the most painful bite even though their teeth are small.

Marvin Joseph Ang is a news and lifestyle writer who focuses on politics, the economy, and pop culture. Follow him on Twitter at @marvs30ang for latest news and updates.

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

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
A Georgia couple say they are grappling with indescribable pain of losing custody of their five children  ages 7, 6, 3, 2 and 4 months  after a traffic stop by the Tennessee Highway Patrol that civil rights organizations have called targeted.

Im used to waking up every two to three hours to breastfeed or when its time to go to school, waking the kids up, going to school, going to the bus stop. We alternate, Bianca Clayborne, the mother of the children, told Yahoo News. When its time to come from school, we see the bus. Its painful because our kids are not coming off the bus.

More than a month ago, on Feb. 17, a Tennessee state trooper pulled over Deonte Williams, the children's father, for an alleged traffic violation. The family had been traveling from their home near Atlanta to Chicago for a relatives funeral. Police say that he was stopped because he had dark-tinted windows and was driving in a left lane without actively passing. The state trooper searched the car after saying they smelled marijuana and claimed to have found five grams of it. The trooper arrested Williams, while Clayborne was cited and released.

Photo courtesy of Deonte Williams

According to court records, Tennessees Department of Childrens Services approached Claybornes car in the parking lot of the Coffee County Justice Center where she followed Williams after he was arrested. They tried, unsuccessfully, to get the mother to submit a urine test while she waited with her children in the parking lot.

The mother became very defiant and locked herself and the children in the vehicle, court records stated. Officer Crabtree then placed spike strips around the vehicle so the mother would not leave the premises.

Hours later, as Clayborne was sitting down at the justice center waiting for Williamss release, DCS personnel approached her and removed her children. The agency says that the children were dependent and neglected and there was no less drastic alternative to removal available.

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Court records from Coffee County show that the couple was charged with simple possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor in Tennessee, on Feb. 21.

According to the Tennessee Lookout, the parents were asked to submit urine drug tests when they appeared before a Coffee County juvenile judge. Williams tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, on a urine drug screen administered Feb. 23. Clayborne tested negative for THC.

The agency then amended their claim on Feb. 24, claiming the children should be deemed severely abused after results of a rapid hair follicle test came back positive from both parents for methamphetamines, oxycodone and fentanyl. Clayborne and Williams have denied the use of those drugs. A Coffee County court administrator told the Lookout that rapid hair follicle tests are inadmissible in court. One expert said that the tests can be unreliable, and the fact that court staff are not trained laboratory technicians can lead to too many false positives.

Police on patrol. (Getty Images)

The state should never be relying on instant results, Greg Bowen, owner of the Nashville-based ReliaLab Test, told the Lookout. (Bowen is not involved in this specific case.)

The couple called the National Action Network (NAN), a civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton that promotes the right to equal justice under the law, after asking multiple lawyers for assistance after not understanding why their kids were taken away.

I met with Mr. Williams after a crisis meeting, and with my understanding of policy and legislation, immediately I knew there was a problem, Christina Laster, an education adviser with NAN, told Yahoo News.

Laster asserted the state trooper, who claimed they stopped the family for tinted windows, became judge, jury and potentially the destroyer of the family at that moment. And thats too much power for one entity to have. So we began to actively pursue legal help.

Laster said NAN started looking into the Tennessee code and ran into vague and ambiguous language in their compiled laws about child welfare. Thats when she noted a subsection of the law that said parents could have their children removed for immoral reasons.

There is a nexus, a well-oiled machine, over here that hands one thing off to the other, and they know how to target certain people, Laster said.

So then I asked where their ticket was. If you committed a crime, I need to understand, were you Mirandized? Laster said, referring to the act of reading someone who is under arrest their rights. [Williams] said they told Bianca to follow him to the station. It was just a ticket. But when she got there, DCS was waiting. So they had a big lack of understanding of their rights. Thats the whole purpose of the Fifth and Sixth Amendment.

Getty Images

The parents are limited to texting, calling or using iPads for communication with their children, which they do in between traveling back and forth from Georgia to Tennessee for visitations and following court orders, such as submitting drug tests.

The children are now in the foster care system, having been placed in multiple homes since February before being placed in the care of family friend Sheryl Huff, of Nashville, on March 1. Huff is also the interim president and director of the local NAN chapter. Huff had talked to Clayborne as a representative for NAN, who unbeknownst to Clayborne, happened to be a family friend of Williams, after reaching out to the organization for help. After the kids former foster home reported they were overwhelmed by the volume of kids and that the kids were in danger of being split up, Huff volunteered to go through the process with the DCS to take temporary custody of the children.

Huff registered the two oldest kids to attend school in Tennessee, and will care for the younger ones at her home. She lamented that the transition has been extremely difficult as she adjusts to the new lifestyle of having younger children in the home she shares with her husband and a 16-year-old foster child. She also said the DCS brought the kids to her with no knowledge of the specifics of the case, bare necessities and formula for the infant that resulted in stomach problems. One child has asthma and has to use a breathing machine. But the former daycare provider says she is making the best of a traumatizing experience to protect their mental health.

The kids will wake up and theyll cry and say they want their mom or, is their mom and dad coming to get them today, Huff explained to Yahoo News. The two big boys are my really big concern.

These children are very smart and so because of that, you have to be careful what you say to them. DCS has been sitting around talking in front of the children, Huff continued, adding that she adores the children. The kids ask me if Im their new foster mom. I say, No, Im your cousin. They also ask me if they have to go back to DCS. I say, No, you all are going to stay right here until mommy and daddy come and get you.

Manchester, Tennessee 1871 Italianate

DCS told Yahoo News that the judge in the case issued the involved parties a gag order on March 20 prohibiting the parties, and their attorneys, from discussing the case or releasing records to any persons not directly involved.

We intend to abide by the courts orders, the DCS said in an email response.

Laster claims the gag order was issued because of an outpouring of public support. Civil rights organizations, including NAN and the NAACP, are calling for the public to file formal complaints against the state of Tennessee and a federal investigation into the Tennessee state legal system that they have deemed nefarious and target certain people.

One of the things that the public can do is to formally file an Office for Civil Rights complaint if they believe the family was discriminated against, Laster explained. They can do that at the United States Health and Human Services virtual website. They have an Office for Civil Rights complaint form.

Organizations, community leaders in churches, and local businesses can also request that the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education can investigate and enforce legal compliance and also raise this issue to the judges Ethics Review Commission, because if judges are acting unethically and outside of the law, then they need to be reviewed. Any citizen that is concerned about the abuse of power from DCS should call their legislator and demand that the legislator have some authoritative abilities, investigate and make some demands, Laster continued.

Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee called for the return of the couples children. State Sen. London Lamar told reporters on March 17 the states action was ridiculous and an overuse of power, describing it as borderline discrimination. But the states prosecution has pushed back, saying the officers fulfilled their legal obligation that require law enforcement to ensure that minors are properly protected at any time that a parent or child is taken into custody by contacting the Department of Children Services to alert them of the situation.

Since the testing, attorneys for DCS have filed a flurry of motions in Coffee County Juvenile Court, including seeking prosecution and sanctions against the parents and their lawyers, claiming the couple broke court confidentiality rules. The couples lawyer, Courtney Teasley, has called the motions of March 17 as retaliatory on Twitter  an effort to stop her from sharing how the state of Tennessee is oppressing black people under the guise of confidentiality.

Certainly, there are more facts and circumstances that exist that the defendants have chosen not to disclose during their efforts to try this matter in the court of public opinion and the realm of politics. My office will only try this matter in the criminal court of law, District Attorney Craig Northcott said.

Im a fantastic mom, said Clayborne, a stay-at-home mom enrolled in college to study child development. Im painted out there for something that Im not and thats defamation of my character. I know how much I love my kids and how much my kids love me.

I want the world to know that these types of situations still occur, Williams told Yahoo News. As a family all we can do is be an example or at the forefront of change.

The effort of the parents to get custody back remains in limbo, pending results of the latest rapid follicle drug test that has been ordered. But if the test comes back negative, the DCS and the judge both agree that the kids could be released into the custody of their mother and father as early as this week.
Chinese President Xi Jinping

Its obvious that China is one of the few countries on Earth  maybe the only country in the world  to have a game-changer effect on the conflict, for both sides, the source said.

Read also: Putins renewed nuclear saber-rattling embarrasses Beijing, Bloomberg says

Macron's upcoming visit to China will be a chance for France and China to meet at the highest level after three years of the Covid pandemic, the report adds.

Macron will arrive in Beijing on April 5, and will also visit the southern city of Guangzhou, before departing on April 8.

Read also: Macron, von der Leyen to visit China, putting pressure on key Russian ally

The source adds that during his planned meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang, the French leader will seek to "find a space so that we can try initiatives that are useful to the Ukrainian people and then to find a way to identify solutions to end this war in the medium term."

Read also: International Fencing Federation officials in China try to take banner about Ukrainian athletes killed by Russia  video

On March 30, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that Macron will try to convince Beijing to refrain from throwing its weight behind Putins aggression in Europe.

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
Pat McAfee has filed to dismiss Brett Favres defamation lawsuit against him in a federal court in Mississippi, he announced Friday on social media.

I very much understand that next to nobody on earth wants to hear more about this type of stuff So I apologize for contributing more negativity and (expletive) into a world seemingly filled with too much of them both to begin with, McAfee posted.

From the very beginning I thought the lawsuit against me was a joke  Today makes it all feel like there has been a true glitch in the simulation.

Favre served a defamation lawsuit against the talk show host earlier this year. Favre's lawsuit also includes a Mississippi government official and former NFL player and Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe.

McAfee, who is a former NFL punter, has publicly criticized Favre on his show.

Favres suit alleges McAfee spread "outrageous falsehoods" on the air, accusing Favre of "steal(ing) from the poor," "(taking) money right out of their pockets" and "stealing from poor people in Mississippi."

Pat McAfee on radio row ahead of the Super Bowl in 2023.

Favre is a key figure in an investigation into misspent state welfare funds in what's being tabbed as the largest public corruption case in Mississippi state history.

Along with filing to dismiss the defamation suit, McAfee invited Favre to match him in donations to the Big Brothers Big Sisters foundation in Mississippi.

Lets help out the next generation of Mississippians together, McAfee said on social media. Lets give some support to the citizens of your state who might need it a little bit, and lets make something positive out of this sad clown show of a defamation suit with no merit.

Hello beautiful people..



As of a few moments ago, I have filed for the dismissal of Brett Favres defamation lawsuit against me in a Federal Court in the fine state of Mississippi.



I very much understand that next to nobody on earth wants to hear more about this type of pic.twitter.com/3z0NlvWqwC  Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 31, 2023

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pat McAfee files to dismiss Brett Favre's 'joke' defamation lawsuit
PATERSON  The citys law department on Friday afternoon refused to make public extensive records from the fatal police shooting of Najee Seabrooks, including all 911 calls and body camera videos.

The citys refusal to release the video recordings seems to contradict the position Mayor Andre Sayegh took several weeks ago when he called for the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office to make public the footage of the shooting.

The attorney general's office on March 16 provided the news media with almost four hours of video footage from body cameras worn by seven Paterson police officers who responded to the scene, including the actual shooting as recorded by three cops cameras. The state also released seven 911 calls made by Seabrooks.

But the video recordings distributed by the attorney general's office represents only a fraction of the footage of an almost-five-hour long standoff on March 3 involving numerous cops and a man with knives going through a possible drug-induced mental health crisis. Also, its not clear whether other 911 calls were made about the incident as the tense and tragic drama unfolded.

More: Paterson police meet with St. Joseph's staff on mental health 911 responses

Seabrooks 'didn't die in vain': Healing Collective leader reflects on AG's takeover of PPD

People look on as the casket of Najee Seabrooks is placed in a horse-drawn hearse outside of Christian Fellowship Center following his funeral in Paterson on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Seabrooks, a member of the violence intervention group the Paterson Healing Collective, was fatally shot by Paterson police after a standoff while he was barricaded inside an apartment.

Social justice activists, law enforcement officials and public officials say many questions remain unanswered despite what the released recordings show.

On the day after Seabrooks was killed, Paterson Press filed four Open Public Records Act requests seeking all body-camera recordings, all 911 calls, all police radio transmission and all police incident reports.

The city law department initially asked for a 14-day extension of New Jerseys OPRA deadline and then rejected Paterson Press requests on Friday.

All public records shall be subject to public access unless they fall within any OPRA exemption, the Paterson law department said. In the instant matter, the request being sought fell within an OPRA exemption, ongoing investigation.

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The law department then cited the OPRA law and said, a request that is based on an investigation can be denied, if the inspection, copying or examination of such record or records shall be inimical to the public interest.

Mayor Sayegh: 'Let me get to the bottom of this'

Sayegh seemed caught off-guard when Paterson Press contacted him about the city's law departments refusal to release the records.

Let me get to the bottom of this, the mayor said.

Two hours later, Sayegh told a reporter that his administration was asking the AG's Office for permission to release the documents. It was not clear why the Sayegh administration hadn't consulted with the AG's Office prior to issuing its OPRA denial letter on Friday. The city's OPRA denial letter made no mention of needing or seeking the AG's approval.

"If they say we can do it, we will do it," Sayegh said.

But Sayeghs critics said the refusal to release the records was typical of his administration.

Transparency is just a cliche for the Sayegh administration, said Councilman Michael Jackson.

Jackson was among the challengers defeated by Sayegh in last Mays election. He said if he were mayor, he would make sure the recordings and reports were released.

This is exactly what government is supposed to be about, Jackson said. Its supposed to be about being forthcoming with the people.

Paterson Black Lives Matter leader Zellie Thomas talked about the inconsistency in the mayors calls for the release of the videos and his administrations refusal to do so.

It shows he doesnt really care about transparency, Thomas said, and if he doesnt really care about transparency, then he doesnt really care about accountability.

Officials at the attorney general's office said the state normally tries to expedite the release of the most pertinent portions of body-camera video of police shootings. After that, if someone files an OPRA request for the rest of the records, the state does so after reviewing and redacting them, officials said.

Last year, the city rejected Paterson Press OPRA request for body-camera video of the two officers who took Felix DeJesus into custody just before his disappearance. But USA TODAY Network New Jersey and Paterson Press filed a legal challenge to that decision and a judge eventually ordered Paterson to make the DeJesus video public.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Najee Seabrooks shooting: Paterson refuses to release videos, calls
Patriotism poll Illustrated/Getty Images

On March 27, The Wall Street Journal and nonpartisan research organization NORC released the results of a now-viral poll, which found that "priorities that helped define the national character for generations are receding in importance to Americans," the Journal wrote in its write-up.

Among the survey's more jarring revelations: A stark drop in the share of respondents who said patriotism was very important to them, which fell from 70 percent in 1998 and 61 percent in 2019 to just 38 percent in 2023; a less-dramatic but still-noticeable fall in the percentage of respondents who identified religion as "very important" to them, which dropped from 62 percent in 1998 and 48 percent in 2019 to 39 percent in 2023; and a similar plummet  from 59, then 43, then 30 percent  in the share of those that said the same of having children. Notably, those surveyed placed an increased emphasis on money, which 43 percent of respondents ranked as being very important, versus 31 percent that said the same in 1998 and 41 percent in 2019. Mused pollster Bill McInturff: "[P]erhaps the toll of our political division, COVID, and the lowest economic confidence in decades is having a startling effect on our core values."

So how should we be interpreting these results? Is patriotism actually waning? Or is this purported ideological rot just a mirage?

Yes, there's a decline

While insisting that the Journal's charts on the poll are a bit "misleading," The Washington Post's Aaron Blake is nonetheless of the mind that the drop in patriotism in particular "is clearly a byproduct of polarization." Indeed, while it's worth noting that Americans' answers to these kinds of surveys "tend to be responsive to real-world events," (it's at this point that Blake highlights how the Journal found patriotism to be similarly waning around the time of the Vietnam War and Watergate), the findings here "shouldn't be too surprising," especially given what we know about the divisive Trump years and their continually complicating legacy.

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To that end, the poll's results are "consistent with a broader decline in trust for institutions over the last several decades," a void that Trump and his ideologies have successfully stepped in to fill, former CNN commentator Chris Cillizza wrote on his Substack, So What?. "In a world in which our traditional values are collapsing (or have collapsed)," it is Trump's "new way of looking at the world that many people have signed onto."

Further, "I also can't get that irked or disappointed by an American who feels less patriotism or has more mixed feelings about their country now compared to 2019," said National Review's Jim Geraghty, who noted that, when analyzing the numbers across all the poll's four categories  "very important," "somewhat important," "not that important" or "not important at all"  the plunge "appears much more modest." Still, however, "you can love your country and still feel disappointment, frustration or even anger with it, your country's leadership, and your fellow citizens."

Yes, there's a decline  but look at how the poll was conducted

But according to pollster Patrick Ruffini, the drop in the importance of patriotism between 2019 and 2023 could actually have more to do with how the data was collected than some sort of pervasive attitude shift. You see, "the March 2023 survey was collected via NORC's Amerispeak, an extremely high-quality online panel," while "data from previous waves," including that from 2019, "was collected via telephone survey." And though survey mode always plays a role in a poll's results, it especially matters when it comes to"the kinds of values questions that the Journal asked in its survey."

"If I'm speaking to another human being over the phone," Ruffini continued, "I am much more likely to answer in ways that make me look like an upstanding citizen, one who is patriotic and values community involvement." But "my answers to the same questions online will probably be more honest, since the format is impersonal and anonymous." With that in mind, the 2023 survey is probably more revealing regarding the country's true "state of patriotism," and the "data from previous waves" were likely "inflated by social desirability bias  and can't be trended with the current data to generate a neat-and-tidy viral chart."

Further, a similar analysis from Gallup in June 2022 found that, while patriotism has "been on the decline for quite some time," that "rate of decline did not quintuple in the last four years," as the Journal's misleading-plotted graph might have you believe. Per Gallup, 70 percent of adults said in 2019 that they were extremely or very proud to be an American; in 2022, that value fell just 5 percentage points, to 65 percent. There is "a clear reason for the strikingly different results" between the two analyses, Ruffini mused. "While the Journal changed its methods between its last two polls, Gallup has measured these things the same way of the years  through old-school telephone interviewing." (Separately, it is worth noting that, in 2022, the share of adults who told Gallup they were extremely proud to be American had fallen from 43 percent the year prior to 38 percent, similar to the recent value gleaned by the Journal and NORC.)

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Two men tried to cross two different streets in Providence in the same 24-hour period.

Both were struck as they crossed.

Zacory Richardson died from his injuries. The other man, Superior Court Judge Richard Licht, was seriously injured.

Both had tried to cross four lanes of traffic in the evening. Statistically, that's the most dangerous time for any person to set foot on any street in the United States.

The two cases, taking place in such proximity to each other and by no means isolated events in Rhode Island over the last several years, raise questions.

More on pedestrians: A womans death was nearly overlooked. Until her community rallied to remember her life

What do statistics say about pedestrian safety on Rhode Island's streets?

A pedestrian crosses a multi-lane intersection on North Main Street in Providence on Tuesday.

The director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Peter Alviti, focuses on five-year periods when he analyzes statistics on the number of people on foot who are killed by motor vehicles.

During a five-year span that ran through 2022, Rhode Island recorded 25 fewer people killed by vehicles than it recorded in the previous five years.

The state averaged about nine pedestrians killed per year during 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 compared with an average of 14 deaths per year over the five-year period that commenced in 2013.

"We have reduced the number of fatalities in half compared to most of the previous years," Alviti said in written comments provided by a DOT spokesman.

In 2022, Rhode Island had seven pedestrian fatalities, the same as in 2021.

The state saw eight deaths in 2019 and 17 in 2020, which was an outlier year for statistics due to social trends related to the pandemic.

Still, the statistical spike, which was seen across the country, was a concern for safety advocates.

Rhode Island had recorded a high of 21 pedestrians killed in 2017, the most in a single year since 2000, according to data kept by the National Highway Safety Administration.

Mark Hallenbeck, who researches transportation engineering issues at the University of Washington, emphasizes that motor-vehicle crashes of all types are random events.

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"Numbers that go up and down are as much a random outcome as they are a statistically significant occurrence," Hallenbeck said, adding that researchers encourage looking at the numbers over longer periods of time.

Readily available statistical information gathered from the DOT in recent weeks, and from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, does not include data on how many pedestrians in Rhode Island are being hit and injured by motor vehicles.

The multi-lane intersection of North Main Street and Branch Avenue in Providence on Tuesday.

How do cellphone-related distractions affect the safety of people on foot?

Experts looking at the issue from a national perspective say distractedness related to cellphones poses a significant safety risk.

Other forms of distractedness are also a factor, according to the executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, Jonathan Adkins, who called on states to ramp up enforcement in 2021.

Anyone driving, walking or biking in America today sees motorist distraction all around them and recognizes that addressing it will be a critical part of both reversing the current surge in pedestrian fatalities and the push to achieve zero traffic deaths, Adkins said at the time.

People on foot can also put themselves at risk by paying too much attention to their cellphones.

"We are just absorbed in our phones," said the president of StopDistractions.org, Jennifer Smith. Her 61-year-old mother was killed in 2008 when a distracted driver ran a red light and broadsided an SUV she was driving in Oklahoma City.

Smith said cellphone related distractions worry her the most right now.

"I believe it is leading to high pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities," she said. "There's is no doubt about it."

The data available about the role of cellphone distraction in crashes is limited, and it does not represent the full extent of the problem, Smith said.

"The drivers," she said, "aren't always admitting, `I was on my phone.' I wasn't paying attention."

When people are killed or seriously injured in such circumstances, police investigations should involve forensic analysis of cellphone records, Smith said.

How does Rhode Island's rate of pedestrian deaths compare with rates in other states?

The multi-lane intersection of Route 2 and Universal Boulevard in Warwick on Monday.

The Governors Highway Safety Association gathers pedestrian fatality statistics for each state.

During the first half of 2022, Rhode Island had fewer than 1 pedestrian death for every 100,000 people.

The actual rate was 0.27 pedestrian deaths. This was the lowest rate among 49 reporting states during that period, according to the GHTA.

Some experts on public safety statistics explicitly warn that rankings and comparisons between different states can be misleading.

What types of roads are most dangerous for pedestrians?

Experts describe a certain type of road as the most dangerous for pedestrians based on statistics from across the country.

These roads are not freeways, and they are not divided. But they carry large volumes of traffic, typically at high speeds, according to the GHSA.

Undivided parts of Route 2, also known as Bald Hill Road in Warwick, come close to this description, although the posted speed limit is 35 mph. (Speed limits can be higher along other non-highway routes in Rhode Island.)

Still, 35 mph is lethal for pedestrians, according to Hallenbeck.

In 2021, a 53-year-old walker was struck and killed on Route 2 in an area south of Route 115.

North Main Street in Providence, where Richardson was fatally injured last month, has some characteristics of the territory known to be dangerous for pedestrians.

Also known as U.S. Route 1, the road is heavily traveled. It has four lanes. Parts of it are separated by a grassy median, which means oblivious drivers might even feel as if they are on a divided highway at times even though the speed limit is 25 mph.

What happened to Zacory Richardson on North Main Street?

A police report obtained by The Providence Journal says Richardson tried to cross North Main Street on Feb. 14.

A witness told police that a black car, headed north in the left travel lane, hit Richardson and drove away.

Richardson, who had no permanent address and was pulling luggage containing his belongings, was not in the crosswalk when he was hit, according to Providence police Capt. Luis San Lucas.

He was pronounced dead at Rhode Island Hospital.

The investigation, relying on information from a license-plate reading camera, led to the arrest of motorist Alisha M. Pina, 35 from Lincoln, who was charged with leaving the scene of a crash, San Lucas said.

On Tuesday, Pina pleaded not guilty to the charge in District Court, Providence.

What happened to Judge Licht on Smith Street?

Less than 24 hours after Richardson's death, Licht tried to cross four lanes of traffic on Smith Street near Gaspee Street and the State House, according to a police report.

More: Judge Licht moves to rehab center after being struck by car

He was not in a crosswalk, the report says. An eastbound Jeep Wrangler driven by Jeannette St. Pierre hit him.

The contact between Licht and the right front of the Jeep threw the judge into the air. He was seriously injured.

St. Pierre, of Barrington, was not cited.

The Licht family said on Friday, Richard is home recovering and making good progress. He and his family continue to be grateful to all those who have offered support and well wishes for his recovery.

"

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Are RI pedestrians safe? What the numbers say about crossing the street
Former vice president Mike Pence called former president Donald Trumps indictment by a Manhattan grand jury an outrage while speaking with National Review editor Rich Lowry at the National Review Institutes Ideas Summit on Friday.

The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States for a campaign finance issue is an outrage, Pence said, suggesting that most Americans can see it is nothing short of a political prosecution.

He noted District Attorney Alvin Bragg literally campaigned on bringing charges against one particular American.

That should be offensive to every American  left right and center. Every American deserves equal treatment under the law, he said.

He later added that the indictment sends a terrible message to the wider world about American justice.

There are dictators and authoritarians around the world who will point to that to justify their own abuse of their own so-called justice system, he said.

A Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday to indict Trump in connection with a hush-money payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels, making Trump the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges.

This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal, Braggs office confirmed in a statement on Thursday.

Trump is expected to appear in court on Tuesday for his arraignment, per CNN.

Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina maintained the former presidents innocence.

He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court, Tacopina said in a statement.

The indictment accuses Trump of falsifying business records in relation to the hush-money payments. Daniels claimed in the final days of the 2016 presidential election that she had previously had a sexual affair with Trump. Trumps former fixer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her claims.

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Prosecutors claim Trump falsified internal business records to conceal the reimbursement payments to Cohen as legal expenses. Cohen claims Trump was aware of the misleading record keeping.

Trump reacted to the news in a statement on Thursday calling the indictment Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history and warning this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden.

Never before in our Nations history has this been done, Trump said. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever.

More from National Review
Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta's run for the Senate race is chronicled in the documentary "Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn."

Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta made history in 2018 when he became the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

A few years later, he announced his candidacy for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race, now making him the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color to run for the U.S. Senate. With a win, the Philadelphia native would have become the state's first Black and openly gay U.S. senator.

A historic race like that deserves a bit of attention, and it takes center stage in the personal documentary "Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn," which will screen at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival in Palm Springs. Kenyatta, director Timothy Harris and executive producers Hunter Johnson and Derek Helwig, of Xpedition, will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

Throughout the documentary, the representative's political journey is followed from the campaign trail to debate stages with his fellow democratic opponents, and audiences also get an inside look into his personal life and relationship with husband Matthew Miller, Ph.D. Even though Kenyatta's race was unsuccessful in the end  John Fetterman won the Democratic primary and eventually the Senate race in 2022  it still offers an optimistic look at what can be possible in the future with politics.

"We always joke if 'Ted Lasso' and 'The West Wing' had a baby, it would be Malcolm. His optimism and his belief in the American system of what it could be is, can't we just have this right now?" Johnson said. "He loses, but it feels like a win for us because, like he says, 'Courage is contagious,' maybe someone in this audience will watch it, maybe someone at home will watch it and go, 'You know what, he did it, I can do it.'"

Prior to the screening at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, Kenyatta, Johnson and Helwig shared insights from the film and what they hope audiences take from it.

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Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta's run for the Senate race is chronicled in the documentary "Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn."

What made you want to get involved in politics?

MK: I grew up in a working poor family. My dad was a social worker, and my mom was a home health aide for most of her career. They separated when I was pretty young. By high school, I moved to six different places because you cant always afford to stay at the same spot. I got my first job at 12.

I was living on this block ... and I come home one day and Im complaining about everything on the block that was frustrating me, the trash, whatever. My mother said, If you care so damn much, why dont you go do something about it? I was like, Oh, OK, I thought you were going to give me a hug. But I ran for junior block captain, and that was the first thing I ever did civically. I think it gave me a real sense early on that I had to take some level of accountability and responsibility for what was going on in the community, and that, frankly, nobody was coming to save us, but we didnt need anybody to save us. We just need different people who arent always tapped on the shoulder to say, You know what, I have something to offer, I have something to say, and Im going to run.

It takes quite a bit of courage to want to run for public office, let alone have a camera crew follow you around. What was that process like?

MK: One of the things that made this process easy was I knew Tim. Ive known Tim since college, and we had a previous relationship. We didnt stay in touch years after, but hes really kept up with my career, and I saw what he was doing with his film company. He actually did a short documentary about me when I ran for state House. I was just really shocked because I did not have an expectation that I was running for statewide office, and Tim says to me, I want to follow you around because Im seeing all youre doing for President Biden and I think youre going to run statewide. I said, "Tim, youre crazy, Im not running statewide." Tim said, Well, just let us follow you anyway, and if you end up not doing it, well just throw away the footage. I was saying, "This is such a waste of your time, why would you want to do this," ... and I was wrong, obviously.

After a while, you forget that theyre there. I made a commitment to myself when I ran for state representative that I was going to win or lose as myself. I never felt like, Oh, the cameras are on, I need to put on a different air. I think my only job was to be myself.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta's run for the Senate race is chronicled in the documentary "Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn."

HJ: Before we sign a project, especially this one dealing with a politician, we want to make sure their story is authentic. We went through all the raw film that was shot, and the big thing for us was, is he real? Is this the real deal? The last thing we want to do is do a fluff piece.

There's a beautiful moment where he's talking to a student and he says, "Courage is contagious." Pennsylvania as a commonwealth is the microcosm of the United States. It is conservative and liberal, constantly flips back and forth and it's a battleground state for a reason. It took courage to be an out, Black, gay man who represents one of the poorest districts in Philadelphia. He was going uphill on top of another uphill on top of another uphill. What is great is he has the courage to do it, even though the odds are so against him. The bigotry against him is so much. He knows he has to be the first one to take those first steps so that, for the next person behind him who has the courage to do it, it's easier for them and easier for the next person. It's all inspiring to me.

There are a lot of historic firsts achieved with your race runs and wins. What does that mean to you?

MK: Those statistics are frankly a real indictment of our system that we have locked out some of the very people who are going to have the best connection to the answers that we need to solve for. People who know what its like to be treated unfairly simply because of who they are, or find themselves trapped in a life where the work that they do isnt valued in a monetary way. They find themselves in a place where simply by the virtue of their birth, kids are going to grow up in communities where outcomes will be drastically different for them versus their peers somewhere else. In this sort of status quo, we overlook the power of engaging people from the widest, broadest bench to really tussle with our nations biggest problems.

What did you take from this film?

HJ: I left with hope. Hope is in very short supply in the LGBTQ community. Our spaces are disappearing, our rights are being eroded every step of the way. Our government doesn't look like us, sound like us, or even care about us.

I just wish I could clone (Kenyatta). If he really had the backing that everyone else had and the platform that everyone else had, and for one moment we could just close our eyes and listen to the words of the politicians, and everyone did that everywhere, he'd be elected tomorrow. But that's the question in the film, what's electability?

Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta's run for the Senate race is chronicled in the documentary "Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn."

What has the reception been like for the film?

DH: Seeing in every screening we've had standing ovations is amazing. From a filmmaker standpoint, you always want that. In our screening this past weekend, we invited our staff who hadn't seen it, and one of them was sitting near Hunter and I and she was crying. Her having never seen it and see that moving reaction was fantastic. I hadn't let my wife watch it until we had a screening, and I could hear her as she's saying "Aw," in moments between him and Dr. Matt. She watches a lot of Hallmark, and they've introduced LGBTQ characters in a way to those movies, but she made a good point by saying, "They have them, but I've never actually seen a relationship on screen with LGBTQ characters," and she's absolutely right. You're getting this new perspective in cinema and on the screen.

MK: A part of what has really made me feel very good about his entire process, even though the result wasn't what I wanted, is that people have left every screening talking about feeling more hopeful than they were before. This race is really a backdrop in the film to talk about our humanity, to talk about our hopes and desires as a community. I really think it's a love letter to North Philly and to Pennsylvania and really lays a marker down of what is possible if we all get and stay engaged. To have three sold-out screenings, starting in London, then in Hollywood and now in Palm Springs ... that feels incredibly special, and if people leave more empowered for themselves, then that's a really good outcome.

If you go

What: "Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn"

When/where: 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Road, Palm Springs

How much: $10

More info: www.amdocfilmfest.com

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Q&A: Penn. Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta chats ahead of AmDocs film screening
Tiny deer ticks, about the size of a poppy seed, have long been known for carrying the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

And the ticks are to blame for a lesser-known illness that is spiking in states across Northeast. But, there are few reports of it in Pennsylvania. That doesn't mean residents are out of the woods from its dangers.

Unlike other states in the Northeast and elsewhere, state health officials aren't tracking babesiosis.

Babesiosis cases not counted in Pennsylvania

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports babesiosis, caused by parasites the ticks also carry, is on the rise throughout New England, New York, New Jersey and Delaware.

Pennsylvania is the only Northeastern state where babesiosis cases do not have to be reported by doctors and hospitals to the state health department, which in turn can report them to the federal CDC.

The CDC reports that from 2016 to 2019, basesiosis cases have risen from 1,910 to 2,420 from reporting states but this doesn't include any data from Pennsylvania or other non-reporting states.

When a disease is not reportable, health officials don't have the data to see  or share  how many people have been infected with this illness.

Babesiosis can cause reactions ranging from mild symptoms to death.

The infection shares similarities with malaria and the two can often be confused in diagnosis, health experts say. Symptoms include headache, fever, vomiting and others often associated with viral illnesses. Some people can be asymptomatic, while others can have severe reactions, including, anemia, renal failure and acute respiratory distress.

Maggie Shuttlesworth, state health department spokesperson, explained the disease isn't on the mandatory reporting list, except in Philadelphia where that city's health agency requires it.

She said the state would like to see the data, though.

A map from the CDC shows the number of cases of babesiosis, a tick-borne disease, in states around the country. The darker the color, the more cases.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is interested in tracking and counting cases of this emerging pathogen and strongly encourages healthcare providers to voluntarily report cases when they are diagnosed. When the department receives a report of babesiosis, that case is investigated accordingly.

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The state health department is working to update regulations to include tick-borne diseases not already required to be reported, Shuttlesworth said.

Tick populations in the Northeast

The parasitic disease can be contracted through tick bites, but can also be transmitted through blood transfusions as well as congenitally from mother to child, so the impact can be great if someone does not know they have it. Persons with a weak immune system or other heath conditions can have more serious reactions.

Tick populations in the Northeast have been on the rise, so the Food and Drug Administration now recommends blood donation screening in 14 states including Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The CDC says the disease was first reported in 1969 at Nantucket, Mass., and has become endemic in several states.

Since case counts and rates have increased, clinicians need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of and risk factors for babesiosis in their practice areas, particularly since other tick-borne conditions can have similar clinical manifestations, risk for disease acquisition and geographic distribution, the report states.

More: Is it allergies, a cold or COVID? With allergy season in Bucks County in full bloom, here's what to consider

The CDC notes that people who spend time outdoors should practice tick bite prevention by wearing long pants, avoiding underbrush and areas where grasses grow high and using tick repellents.

More information about tick prevention and tick-borne diseases in Pennsylvania can be found at https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/Vectorborne%20Diseases/Pages/Tick%20Diseases.aspx

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: CDC warns about babesiosis, tick-borne illness on rise in Northeast
WASHINGTON  A newly created senior cyber oversight position at the Department of Defense will likely remain unfilled until the end of the year at the earliest, as the Pentagon works with an outside group on the officeholders responsibilities and objectives.

A federally funded research and development center, or FFRDC, was selected to examine the assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy role, carved out by the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, according to John Plumb, the assistant secretary of defense for space policy and the principal cyber adviser to the defense secretary.

While the ball is already rolling, results arent expected for months, Plumb told members of the House Armed Services Committee on March 30. The Rand Corporation is involved in the assessment, the cybersecurity publication The Record reported.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican at the head of the Cyber, Information Technology and Innovation panel, said at the hearing hes disappointed by the timing.

Im confident that the Senate is ready to rapidly confirm a nominee, he said. Ive had many conversations to that effect.

Hackers probing contractors for path to Pentagon, DISA chief says

A deputy assistant secretary for cyber policy already exists. The position is held by Mieke Eoyang.

Interest in and spending on cyber has boomed in recent years. The Pentagons fiscal 2024 budget blueprint includes $13.5 billion for so-called cyberspace activities, such as zero-trust implementation. The sum is nearly 21% more than the FY23 ask.

The assistant secretary gig may include aspects of electronic and information warfare, according to Plumb, who described the forthcoming review as deliberate.

What we are doing is following the template that was used to create my current position, ASD for space, which is putting an FFRDC on contract to examine what is the proper structure, are there different pieces required, what things should be in this, said Plumb, who was confirmed in March 2022. That is on contract now. We expect that the study should be done around September. But we are moving forward on it.
U.S. troops diagnosed with traumatic brain injury were being treated at their bases following attacks in Syria last week by Iranian-backed militants, officials said Thursday.

Pentagon spokesman Brig. General Patrick Ryder said four service members suffered traumatic brain injuries at a U.S. base near Hasaka during a March 23 drone attack. Two others suffered injuries at the mission support site Green Village during an attack on March 24.

They were all in stable condition, he said.

US BASE IN SYRIA ATTACKED BY IRANIAN PROXY FORCES AFTER RETALIATORY AIRSTRIKES

Troops from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Special Operations and the U.S.-led anti-jihadist coalition take part in heavy-weaponry military exercises in the countryside of Deir Ezzor in Syria.

"All personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injury. So these additional injuries were identified during post-attack medical screenings," Ryder said during a news briefing, according to Reuters.

The Pentagon estimated eight militants were also killed during retaliatory U.S. air strikes against two Iran-linked facilities in Syria.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Last week, President Biden warned Iran that the U.S. would act forcefully to protect American lives. Currently, U.S. troops are in Syria battling the remaining elements of the Islamic State.

"Again, we do not seek conflict with Iran but we will always protect our people," Ryder said.

Meanwhile, Iran has accused the U.S. of targeting civilian sites.
A Weibo montage of AI-generated images shows what life would be like if "comrade" Trump retires and "returns home" to China. Screenshot/Weibo

Donald Trump's indictment has birthed scores of memes on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

Weibo users called Trump "Comrade Nation Builder"  a hero who's helping China by hurting the US.

They're jokingly sending Trump messages of support and posting melancholic AI-generated montages.

Former President Donald Trump's indictment has Chinese social media users posting a flurry of memes calling him "Comrade Nation Builder"  a hero who's strengthening China by embarrassing the US.

The idea behind the "Comrade Nation Builder" nickname on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, is that Trump is an ally of China who went to Washington for the sole purpose of sabotaging America with wild antics and outrageous policies.

With Trump indicted by a New York grand jury on Thursday, Weibo users are now pretending to express passionate concern for their "comrade," joking that he's under persecution for supporting China. Insider's sweep of Weibo on Thursday surfaced dozens of posts lauding Trump's actions as efforts to boost China by tearing the US apart.

"Comrade Nation Builder, in the police station, in the courts, you must surely endure, we are waiting for you to retire so you can return and watch the sunset with us," read one popular post on Friday. It features a montage of AI-generated images stitched together to show Trump retiring in China after having fulfilled his "mission."

In the images, Trump does taichi exercises with Chinese seniors, lugs groceries home from a wet market, and laughs with Chinese people on a subway. "Red Sunset," the melancholic theme song of a state TV channel that runs programs about the lives of the Chinese elderly, plays over the montage.

The montage also bizarrely takes clips out of context to make it seem as though Trump is in a relationship with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

In the comments, Weibo users poured their hearts out for "Comrade Nation Builder."

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"Your last mission, return home safely," commented one Weibo user.

"Would you like to join the Party, Comrade Nation Builder?" another wrote, referring to the Chinese Communist Party, helmed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Another batch of AI-generated images posted on Weibo shows Trump in jobs often worked by elderly men in China, such as a construction worker, a trishaw driver, and a deliveryman.

"Comrade Nation Builder's retirement and re-employment life after completing his mission and returning to China," the post's caption read.

A montage of AI-generated images showing Trump retiring in China. Screenshot/Weibo

Meanwhile, a livestream of a faux news broadcasts announcing Trump's indictment plays heroic themes from Hollywood films, such as music from Star Wars and Indiana Jones. People wrote sarcastic encouragements for Trump in the video's comments.

"Comrade Nation Builder, how difficult your work has been! It really hasn't been easy for you," wrote one.

"Nation Builder  if it doesn't work out, then just come home," another posted with a crying emoji.

Trump's indictment is linked to the Stormy Daniels hush-money payments case, which is thought to be central to the investigation into the former president. He faces more than 30 felony charges, CNN reported, citing sources familiar with the case.

In the weeks before Trump was indicted, some Weibo users voiced their support for him and called on his "redneck supporters" to "rally around their king.

It is unclear if these messages were genuine expressions of grassroots support for Trump in China. This is because Weibo is a heavily moderated platform that's tightly censored by the Chinese government and does not consistently reflect a comprehensive perspective of moods on the ground in China.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Peoria police arrested a 17-year-old boy Thursday morning more than four months after being involved in a vehicle collision that killed five people  three of whom were children.

The collision occurred on Nov. 20, 2022, at around 9 p.m. when a family in a Mazda was traveling east on Lone Cactus Drive. The Mazda was turning left at 107th avenue when a Jeep traveling south struck the Mazda.

The driver and front passenger of the Mazda, later identified as Elizabeth Simpson, 36, and 31-year-old Jace Hochstetler, respectively, died at the scene. Police said both were wearing seatbelts and had significant injuries.

Mesa: Teacher's aide arrested on suspicion of touching student inappropriately

There were also four children in the vehicle who were also secured by seatbelts. They were taken to a hospital with significant injuries, according to police. Three of the children ultimately died.

The 17-year-old driver of the Jeep was taken to a hospital with minor injuries and police believe impairment and speed to be factors in the collision.

Chandler: Police identify man fatally shot by officer

Peoria police arrested the boy on Thursday at around 6:55 a.m. near 55th Avenue and West Butler Drive in Glendale before booking him into the Durango Juvenile Detention Facility on five counts of second-degree murder.

Police did not elaborate on why there was a four-month gap between the collision and the teen's arrest, but noted that investigations into such incidents are "lengthy."

It was not immediately clear whether the boy would be tried as an adult as of Thursday evening.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Peoria police arrest 17-year-old accused in killing 5 in 2022 crash
REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Pete Davidsonwho has dated 12 people in 10 years, including megastars like Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grandedoesnt get why people care so much about his love life.

The SNL alum defended his extensive, tabloid-friendly dating history in a candid interview on the Real Ones With Jon Bernthal podcast on Thursday.

Im in my twenties and Ive dated people. And for some reason, thats very crazy and interesting to people. I dont think its interesting, the 29-year-old said, apparently ignorant to decades of the publics curiosity about celebrities personal lives. In 12 years Ive dated 10 people. I dont think thats that crazy, but to some people, thats very interesting. That became all anyone would talk about.

Pete Davidson and EmRatas Couple Debut Was a Total Flop

Davidson added that its especially confusing to see people so invested in his relationshipsincluding his current one with his Bodies Bodies Bodies co-star Chase Sui Wondersbecause hes no longer active on any social media platforms. (He did recently return to Instagram, but hasnt posted anything and doesnt follow anyone.)

Im not, like, flexing, you know what I mean? And these people that Ive dated, I met them at work. I wasnt in anyones DMs, no one was in mine. I worked at one of the five Hollywood epicenters of where you meet people and thats how it happened, he said.

Suddenly youre in this zeitgeist and that has nothing to do with the work. And thats a really shitty feeling, he added. I became more known before the work was there, but I was always working.

Pete Davidson Holds Nothing Back in Touching SNL Farewell: Thank You For Never Giving Up on Me

Indeed, Davidsons file of exes has become total meme fodder over the years, especially since his whirlwind engagement to Ariana Grande in 2018, following his breakup from Cazzie David. After being linked to various actresses and modelsincluding Margaret Qualley, Kate Beckinsale, Kaia Gerber, and Phoebe Dynevorhe started dating Kim Kardashian, for whom any kind of relationship is instant, global news. Since their split last August, hes dated Emily Ratajkowski and, most recently, 26-year-old Wonders.

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Despite all of that, however, Davidson is justifiably frustrated with people talking more about his girlfriends than, say, his work in genuinely good films like The King of Staten Island or Bodies Bodies Bodies. Also irritating, he says, is the way he was trolled for his love life on SNL before he left the sketch comedy series in 2022.

You feel small, you feel super insecure. And Im already a very insecure person, and now Im insecure in the place Im supposed to feel the most safe, he said about being the butt of many SNL jokes. Luckily, we squashed it, talked about it, and fixed that part of it. But it took me a while before I felt comfortable to even say that. It was fucking weird.

Pete Davidsons Best Friend Ricky Velez Speaks Out: He Truly Hates Attention

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Lord Mandelson says Sir Tony Blair also contemplated an NI increase to provide health service funding - Jamie Lorriman for The Telegraph

Labour could raise National Insurance to help fund the National Health Service, Lord Mandelson says.

The peer  who was one of the key strategists who made Labour electable in the 1990s  said he could see why the party was looking at taxing some parts of the economy like private equity.

But he warned any future Labour administration against overtaxing entrepreneurs and strangling companies that want to grow.

Labour is coming increasingly under scrutiny over its tax plans. The party has already said it wants to axe non-domiciled tax status and remove tax breaks from private schools.

Earlier this week Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, clarified that Labour would not increase capital gains tax after Angela Rayner, the partys deputy leader, suggested it was under review.

Speaking to The Telegraphs Choppers Politics podcast, Lord Mandelson pointed to how Sir Tony Blair, the former prime minister, had looked at raising National Insurance to pay for more spending on the NHS when he was in 10 Downing Street.

We said, Look, the National Health Service needs very considerable investment and therefore were going to put to you that we should have a National Insurance charge increase and that would be dedicated to the National Health Service.

Asked if Sir Keir Starmers party should do the same, he added: Lets see whether history repeats itself on that.

He added: Look  Im not making the tax and spend policies of Labours frontbench. All Im confident of is that theyre not going to take risks with the economy.

Asked if the prospect of Labour increasing taxes on dividends was a concern, Lord Mandelson replied: Maybe, it may be. But I would be surprised if the Labour Party goes into the next election committed to personal tax rises and increases. But we are in a financial straitjacket, theres no question about that.

A similar idea on National Insurance was planned and then dropped by the Conservative Government during a chaotic few months last year.

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Lord Mandelson warned a future Labour chancellor against overtaxing British businesses: How is our economy going to grow if we dont create new businesses? They pay their taxes, but you want to incentivise people to take those risks.

Otherwise you will not have the start-ups, the new businesses, the risks that people take when they grow those businesses. Its very important.

But he backed Labours plans to increase tax on the private equity industry. Ive had many people say to me, why should the private equity people not pay the same taxes I have to pay on my income or my dividends?

Some people pay 45 per cent and the others 25 per cent  why is that fair?

Listen to the full interview with Peter Mandelson on Choppers Politics, The Telegraphs weekly political podcast, using the audio player in this article or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app.
A Philadelphia woman is recovering in a hospital after she was shot during a confrontation over an eviction notice on Wednesday.

The woman was identified as Angel Davis by her husband Gabriel Plummer. She was being served an eviction notice by a landlord-tenant officer when a confrontation began between them.

Plummer said he was sleeping when the commotion began. After waking up, he claims he saw the landlord-tenant officer shouting and raising his weapon.

Davis, 35, was shot in the head once and transported to a local hospital in critical condition. The officer remained at the scene and gave his weapon to authorities.

PHILADELPHIA TEEN TOLD MOM I LOVE YOU BEFORE BEING KILLED ON WAY TO SCHOOL

Philadelphia woman Angel Davis, 35, was being served an eviction notice when a confrontation began between her and the officer.

The Philadelphia Police Department told Fox News Digital that they are actively investigating the shooting.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"Allegedly there was a knife involved. Thats why he discharged his firearm," Lieutenant Jason Hendershot said to FOX 29 Philadelphia. "There is some video in the apartment complex that were going to be reviewing. Theres also some body camera footage of the [landlord-tenant officer] that we have a search warrant for that were going to review."

PENNSYLVANIA CHOCOLATE FACTORY EXPLOSION LEAVES FIVE DEAD, TWO MISSING: REPORT

Officials believe there was a knife involved in the confrontation between Angel Davis and the landlord-tenant officer.

Police told FOX 29 Philadelphia that Plummer barricaded himself in his apartment until emergency crews arrived.

"Its sad. It breaks my heart. I didnt know her like that but shes a human being," neighbor Jennifer Rivera said. "She doesnt deserve this. She didnt deserve that. No one does."

The Philadelphia Police Department is actively investigating the shooting and has not announced charges yet.

Fox News Digital reached out to Philadelphia's Landlord and Tenant Court, but has not received a response.
A visitor admires the title piece, a large suspended steel cube casting shadow patterns across the walls, by Anila Quayyum Agha at a preview for All The Flowers Are For Me show at Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art in Kew Gardens. (PA)

Each week the picture editors at The Independent sort through hundreds of thousands images sent into us by photography agencies from all around the world.

These are some of the most eye-catching and the most striking images from culture, news, politics, sport and lifestyle.

You can also keep up with the latest photography making headlines via our Instagram.

(AFP/Getty)

Lightning flashes over Kuwait City during a thunderstorm.

(AFP/Getty)

Sex workers take part in a demonstration to protest plans to move the citys historic red light district to another area in Amsterdam.

(AP)

Seiichi Sano, an 89-year-old Japanese man, rides a wave at Katase Nishihama Beach in Japan.

(Getty)

Jaspa Fletcher and Harris Andrews during the round three AFL match between Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions at Marvel Stadium.

(AP)

The sun rises over homes covering a hill in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela.

(AFP/Getty)

Protesters shout slogans outside Israel's parliament in Jerusalem amid ongoing demonstrations and calls for a general strike against the hard-right government's controversial push to overhaul the justice system.

(AP)

Devotees take holy dips and pray in the river Saryu on the occasion of Ramnavi festival, celebrated as the birthday of Hindu God Rama, in Ayodhya, India.

(PA)

Daffodils around the base of Warkworth Castle in Northumberland.

(AFP/Getty)

A demonstrator calling for action on climate change is removed by police and security as Scotlands newly appointed First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party, Humza Yousaf, attends his first First Ministers Questions at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

(PA)

Conservator Pedro Jimenez takes part in conservation work on the 170-year-old dinosaur that inhabit Dinosaur Island in Crystal Palace Park in south London.

(AFP/Getty)

Protesters set up a flaming barricade across railway tracks at a train station during a demonstration after the government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using the article 49.3 of the constitution, in Lorient, in Brittany, western France.

Story continues

(Reuters)

A local resident carries a teddy bear while gathering belongings outside a multi-storey apartment block damaged in recent shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine.

(EPA)

Kashmiri Muslim women pray at a mosque adjacent to the shrine of Shah-e-Hamdan (Khanqah-e-Moula) during the fasting month of Ramadan in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.

(PA)

The sun rises over Brown's Bay in North Tyneside.

(AFP/Getty)

Camilla, Queen Consort, holds a bouquet of flowers as she steps into a car after landing at Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Schoenefeld near Berlin.

(AFP/Getty)

Girls embrace in front of a makeshift memorial for victims by the Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church following a shooting, in Nashville, Tennessee.

(AFP/Getty)

Pope Francis speaks with his aides prior to being helped get up the popemobile car from his wheelchair, as he leaves at the end of the weekly general audience at St. Peter's square in The Vatican.

(Reuters)

Palestinians hold flags as they mark Land Day, an annual commemoration of six Arab citizens of Israel who were killed by Israeli security forces during demonstrations over land confiscations in 1976, in the southeast of Gaza City.

(Brazilian Presidency/AFP/Getty)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife First Lady Rosangela 'Janja' da Silva sharing a laugh with English musician Chris Martin, lead vocalist of band Coldplay, during a meeting in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

(Reuters)

Dogs walk through the water towards a flooded building during an annual spring flood in the Ryazan Region, Russia.

(Getty)

New Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf and Deputy Frist Minister Shona Robison wave to the media as he poses with the new cabinet at Bute House.

(AFP/Getty)

A protester wearing a mask of Dobby, the house-elf character from Harry Potter stands in front of French gendarmes during a demonstration against the visit of French President in Savines-le-Lac, French Alps.

(AFP/Getty)

A nun stands at St. Peters square in The Vatican, a day after the Pope was admitted to the Gemelli hospital in Rome.

(AFP/Getty)

King Charles III, centre, and Berlins Mayor Franziska Giffey, second right, visit the Ukraine Arrival Centre Tegel, for Ukrainian refugees in Berlin.
A South African parole board meets Friday to decide whether Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius should be released from prison early, a decade after he killed his girlfriend.

Here is a timeline of events following the shooting on Valentine's Day in 2013, in a case that shocked the world:

- Shot four times -

February 14, 2013: Police arrest the Olympic and Paralympic sprinter for killing Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, who was shot four times at his Pretoria home.

February 15: Pistorius bursts into tears as he is charged, denying murder "in the strongest terms".

February 19: Pistorius claims in an affidavit he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder. He said he fired through a locked bathroom door, in what prosecutors term "premeditated" murder.

February 21: Global sportswear manufacturer Nike suspends its sponsorship contract with the athlete.

February 22: Pistorius is granted bail.

- The trial begins -

March 3, 2014: The trial opens in Pretoria before crowds of journalists from around the world, with the testimony of a neighbour who tells the court she heard "terrible screams" from a woman. Ten days later, Pistorius vomits when a picture of Steenkamp's body is flashed on the court's television screens.

April 7-15: Pistorius takes the stand and begins with a tearful apology to Steenkamp's family. This is followed by five days of often intense cross-examination, marked by bouts of tears and breaks in the session. Pistorius steadfastly denies any intention to kill Steenkamp.

June 30: After a six-week break, a panel of three psychiatrists and a psychologist conclude Pistorius does not suffer from mental illness.

September 12: Judge Thokozile Masipa finds Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide or manslaughter.

October 21: The judge sentences him to a maximum of five years in jail. He is taken to Pretoria prison.

- Under house arrest -

October 20, 2015: Pistorius is allowed out of prison after just one year to spend the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

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December 3: The Supreme Court of Appeal convicts him of murder, saying his testimony was "vacillating and untruthful".

December 8: Pistorius is released on bail pending sentencing, and remains under house arrest.

- 'Shockingly lenient' sentence -

March 2, 2016: Pistorius, now 29, loses his final bid to appeal his murder conviction.

July 6: He is sentenced to six years in jail for murder.

August 14: South African media reports say Pistorius is put on 24-hour suicide watch.

September 15: Prosecutors say they will petition the Supreme Court of Appeal for a tougher sentence for Pistorius, having described the six-year term as "shockingly lenient".

November 14: Prison authorities say Pistorius has been transferred to a prison adapted for disabled inmates just outside Pretoria to serve the rest of his sentence.

- Jail term extended -

November 3, 2017: The appeal court adjourns to consider its ruling after prosecutors argue that Pistorius's jail term is too short, while defence lawyers say the judge handed down a fair sentence.

November 24: The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein more than doubles Pistorius's sentence of six years to 13 years and five months.

- Quest for parole -

March 28, 2018: South Africa's highest court rejects Pistorius's leave to appeal, ending the long legal battle over the killing.

November 29, 2021: Prison services say Pistorius has been temporarily moved to a detention facility in the southern city of Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, as part of his parole process, having become eligible for early release a few months earlier, after serving half his sentence.

July 1, 2022: Prison services say Pistorius has met with Steenkamp's parents as part of his rehabilitation process.

March 31, 2023: A parole board is called to decide on whether the 36-year-old former athlete should be released early.

bur-ub/sn/cw
Planned Parenthood on Friday announced that it was suing Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey for investigating gender-affirming care that the organization provides in Missouri.

Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri announced the lawsuit and alleged investigation in a statement Friday, calling on Bailey to end his sham and unlawful investigation.

Bailey, a Republican, had previously said his office has been investigating a transgender center in St. Louis over allegations that the center harmed children. However, the separate investigative demand into services provided by Planned Parenthood had not been previously known.

Bailey, according to documents attached to the lawsuit, had demanded records from the organizations gender-affirming care program on March 14. That request, which was part of Baileys ongoing investigation into the St. Louis transgender center, included 54 demands, including patient health information and documents that reference social media or Tik Tok.

The demands from Baileys office include detailed information about Planned Parenthoods policies regarding gender-affirming care. It also asks the organization to identify the age of the youngest client who received hormone treatments or puberty blockers.

This investigation is not only outside the scope of the attorney generals power but politically motivated, the organization said Friday.

Madeline Sieren, Baileys spokesperson, in a statement said that Bailey had asked Planned Parenthood to provide basic documents after discovering the organization provides life-altering gender transition drugs to children without any therapy assessment.

Planned Parenthood is running to court to try to hide everything. Missourians should be very concerned, the statement said.

The lawsuit and investigation comes as Missouri Republicans have embarked on a mission to target procedures that assist minors in transitioning genders.

Baileys last month launched an investigation into the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Childrens Hospital after a former employee alleged that the center rushed kids into treatment and harmed children. However, patients and parents of patients who spoke with The Star have cast doubt on the allegations.

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Bailey also announced earlier this month that his office planned to file a set of emergency rules aimed at restricting how doctors provide gender-affirming care to minors.

The rules include strict psychological therapy requirements for doctors providing care as well as banning care until all of a patients other mental health issues have been treated and resolved. Doctors and LGBTQ advocates previously told The Star that Baileys rules would be difficult to enforce but may create a chilling effect for both patients and doctors providing care.

Yamelsie Rodriguez, Planned Parenthoods president and CEO, said in a statement Friday that the organization would continue providing care while it fights the investigation.

This investigation is what ignorance and transphobia look like, and they have no place in our exam rooms, she said.
The Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis on June 24, 2022.

A lawsuit filed Friday in St. Louis accuses Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey of a politically motivated investigation of transgender care provided by Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri.

The attorney general demanded Planned Parenthood turn over a litany of records earlier this month as part of his investigation into allegations of misconduct at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Childrens Hospital.

Planned Parenthood is not affiliated with the Washington University clinic, the lawsuit notes, and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. It is asking a judge to strike down Baileys demand for records, which Planned Parenthood says included HIPAA-protected patient health information and every document that references social media or TikTok.'

The unduly burdensome demands seek irrelevant and unrelated information, and many of the demands seek privileged information, the lawsuit states.

Planned Parenthood argues Baileys demand for documents is outside the scope of his legal authority and is best characterized as improper, harassing and unjust.

Planned Parenthood knows this playbook well, and well move forward just like we have in every other sham investigation  well continue providing expert and evidence-based health care while we fight in court, Yamelsie Rodriguez, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. This investigation is what ignorance and transphobia look like, and they have no place in our exam rooms."

A spokeswoman for the attorney generals office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Baileys investigation of transgender care at Washington University was sparked by an affidavit filed by Jamie Reed, a former caseworker at the transgender clinic who alleges the clinic overlooked mental health needs of patients and did not inform adolescents and their parents of potential side effects of treatment.

Story continues

She also alleges the clinic gave children puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones after just two one-hour visits.

Parents of former patients of the Transgender Center, as well as one of Reeds former coworkers, have strenuously rejected her description of the centers level of care, saying treatments were only undertaken after long consultations with doctors and mental health professionals.

In its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood notes that there is nothing in Reeds affidavit pertaining to its clinic.

Planned Parenthood says its TRANSforming Community, TRANSforming Care program has provided gender-affirming care to more than 1,000 patients.

Bailey announced earlier this month that his office planned to file a set of emergency rules aimed at restricting how doctors provide gender-affirming care to minors.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Planned Parenthood sues Missouri attorney general over transgender care investigation
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Slovenian PM Robert Golob, and Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic arrived in Ukraine on March 31 to take part in a summit marking the one-year anniversary of the liberation of Kyiv Oblast's Bucha.

According to the Croatian government, the meeting called "Bucha - Russia's responsibility for crimes in Ukraine" will also be attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Moldovan President Maia Sandu, whose arrival has not yet been reported.

The summit has not been officially announced by Ukrainian authorities as well as the European leaders' visits to Kyiv.

Zelensky, though, marked the first anniversary of Bucha's liberation by Ukraine's Armed Forces in his post on Telegram. Bucha, a small city near Kyiv, was occupied by Russian troops shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

"Bucha and Bucha's district. 33 days of occupation. More than 1,400 deaths, including 37 children. More than 175 people were found in mass graves and torture chambers. 9,000 Russian war crimes," Zelensky wrote. "365 days since this is a free Ukrainian city again. A symbol of the atrocities of the army of the occupying country. We will never forgive. We will punish all the guilty."

Plenkovic said on Twitter that he had already met with the Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal, adding that Croatia "advocates for Ukraine's European path, territorial integrity and reintegration of occupied territories." The Croatian PM is also scheduled to attend the commemoration of the victims of Russian aggression as well as the awarding of Ukrainian veterans.

Danas sam u posjetu Ukrajini zajedno s potpredsjednikom Vlade Medvedom. Odrzali smo po dolasku u Kijev sastanak s premijerom @Denys_Shmyhal. Hrvatska snazno pomaze #Ukraine i zalaze se za njezin europski put, teritorijalnu cjelovitost i reintegraciju okupiranih podrucja!  pic.twitter.com/kYcrnGBVv6  Andrej Plenkovic (@AndrejPlenkovic) March 31, 2023

Slovak media outlet Aktuality reported Heger's arrival in Ukraine together with the country's Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad. They are meeting top Ukrainian officials to discuss further military aid and Ukraine's integration with the European Union, the publication wrote.

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Slovakia promised to provide Ukraine with 13 MiG-29 fighter jets and has already transferred four of them on March 23. Responding to Slovakia's assistance, Zelensky decided to invite its PM for an official visit, according to Aktuality.

Slovenian PM has also started his meetings with Ukraine's leadership, pledging his country would continue to provide Kyiv with humanitarian aid and contribute to the post-war recovery of Ukraine, in particular, the reconstruction of Kharkiv Oblast's city of Izium.

"We also wish to confirm our commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders," said Golob.
Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich/Kremlin via Reuters via third party

Putin ally Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said in a Friday address to the nation and parliament that Belarus will defend itself by any means, including with nuclear weapons.

We will preserve sovereignty and independence and provide everything possible, including with a nuclear arsenal, he said, according to Interfax.

Our refitted aircraft can also carry nuclear munitions, Lukashenko said, according to Belta.

The news comes just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Moscow will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, in what would be the first time Russia places nuclear arms outside of the country since the mid-1990s. Moscow has already sent some Iskander tactical missile systems, used to launch nuclear weapons, to Belarus, Putin added. And according to British intelligence, Russia has already deployed KILLJOY missiles, capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads, to Belarus.

Belarus and Russia have been working together for years as a so-called union state, in which both countries work to bring their militaries and other sectors closer and closer together. In the past year, Putin has increasingly leaned on Belarus to wage war in Ukraine, with Russia using Belarus as a staging ground for the invasion. Belarus and Russia have formed joint military groupings in Belarus in preparation for potential military action.

Now, Belarus is embracing Russias interest in placing nuclear weapons in Belarus and the return of nuclear forces to its country. It previously gave up nuclear weapons in 1996 to Russia after gaining independence from the Soviet Union. Belarus previously updated its constitution in February of last year, at the outset of Russias invasion into Ukraine, to allow for nuclear weapons in its territory.

Lukashenko paired his words of warning that Belarus is willing to defend its nation with nuclear weapons with an accusation that Poland is preparing to invade Belarus.

They are preparing to invade the territory of Belarus to destroy our country, Lukashenko said, according to Interfax.

Story continues

Its not the first time Belarusian officials have raised alarm bells about perceived threats from Poland and issued promises to respond forcefully. The head of the border committee of Belarus, Anatoly Lappo, warned last fall that Poland was acting provocatively and that Belarus response would be immediate and cruel.

Top Putin Ally Threatens Cruel Attacks on New Country

Earlier this week, Ryhor Azaronak, a Belarusian propagandist, warned that Belarus is prepared to attack Lithuania and Poland with nuclear weapons.

Belarus is a nuclear state! A state that is capable, in case of an attack on its territory, to respond with tactical nuclear weapons," Azaronak said. Warsaw will melt and Vilnius will drown. We will watch the sunset and rise of a plague mushroom over the Polish bog. This will happen.

You heard what the Russian president said about the relevant infrastructure in Belarus' territory. I'd like to clarify: the entire infrastructure has been created and is ready, Lukashenko said Friday.

Lukashenko noted that not only tactical but also strategic nuclear weapons may be a part of Belarus arsenal.

If we have to, Putin and I will bring strategic nuclear weapons here, too. And those foreign scum, who are now trying to blow us up from the inside and from the outside, have to understand it. We will stop at nothing in defense of our countries, our states, and our peoples, Lukashenko said.

Russia is slated to conduct training for crews to operate the newer tactical nuclear weapons this week, according to the BBC.

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Kansas City, Kansas, police opened a suspicious death investigation Thursday night after a woman was found dead inside a residence.

Around 7 p.m., officers responded to a home on the 2000 block of Orville Avenue, according to a release from the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.

Once they arrived, they located the victim dead inside. Officer London Marshee, a spokeswoman for the department, said the woman had been injured, but no further information was available.

Police have not yet publicly identified the victim or released more information about the case.

Authorities are asking anyone with information on this case to anonymously call the Crime Stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). Tips may qualify for a cash reward.
LANSING  Michigan State Police on Friday released a composite sketch of a suspect they said physically assaulted and tried to kidnap a woman walking to her dorm on the campus of Michigan State University earlier this year.

Officials asked for the public's help in late March after state troopers said the incident happened around midnight on Feb. 11.

Michigan State Police released this sketch of a suspect in a reported attempted kidnapping on Michigan State University's campus in February.

State police said a female student was walking back to her dorm when an unknown male grabbed her from behind in front of McDonel Hall on Shaw Lane.

The man is accused of assaulting the woman, and state police said the woman believed the man was trying to kidnap her so she fought him off. The suspect fled on foot.

"We have nothing on the suspect, the only thing that the victim could tell us is that he was a white male," Lt. Rene Gonzalez, the public information officer for Michigan State Police's First District, said earlier in March.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call state police at 517-322-1907.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Police release sketch of suspect in attempted kidnapping at MSU
Randal Quran Reid in Atlanta on March 13, 2023. (Nicole Craine/The New York Times)

On the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving, Randal Quran Reid was driving his white Jeep to his mothers home outside Atlanta when he was pulled over on a busy highway. A police officer approached his vehicle and asked for his drivers license. Reid had left it at home, but he volunteered his name. After asking Reid if he had any weapons, the officer told him to step out of the Jeep and handcuffed him with the help of two other officers who had arrived.

What did I do? Reid asked. The officer said he had two theft warrants out of Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish, a district on the outskirts of New Orleans. Reid was confused; he said he had never been to Louisiana.

Reid, a transportation analyst, was booked at the DeKalb County jail, to await extradition from Georgia to Louisiana. It took days to find out exactly what he was accused of: using stolen credit cards to buy designer purses.

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Im locked up for something I have no clue about, Reid, 29, said.

His parents made phone calls, hired lawyers and spent thousands of dollars to figure out why the police thought he was responsible for the crime, eventually discovering it was because Reid bore a resemblance to a suspect who had been recorded by a surveillance camera. The case eventually fell apart, and the warrants were recalled, but only after Reid spent six days in jail and missed a week of work.

Reids wrongful arrest appears to be the result of a cascade of technologies  beginning with a bad facial recognition match  that are intended to make policing more effective and efficient but can also make it far too easy to apprehend the wrong person for a crime. None of the technologies are mentioned in official documents, and Reid was not told exactly why he had been arrested, a typical but troubling practice, according to legal experts and public defenders.

In a democratic society, we should know what tools are being used to police us, said Jennifer Granick, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Story continues

A Contract With Clearview AI

In a panic, Reids family immediately retained an Atlanta lawyer from the Cochran Firm. He could not get Reid out of jail, and he struggled to gather more information. He suggested that the family members hire someone in Louisiana, so they cold-called law firms in Jefferson Parish and Baton Rouge until they found Thomas Calogero, a criminal defense lawyer. They retained him that Sunday.

Calogero found out that Reid was accused of the summer thefts of two Chanel purses and a brown Louis Vuitton bag, collectively worth almost $13,000, from Second Act, a consignment store on the outskirts of New Orleans. Calogero went to the store and talked to the owner, who showed him a still from a surveillance camera. He realized that one of the alleged fraudsters looked like Reid, but the man was heavier.

The guy had big arms, and my client doesnt, Calogero said. A Jefferson Parish sheriffs officer insisted it was a positive match, language that made Calogero believe that facial recognition technology had been used, and he spoke to the New Orleans news outlet NOLA.com about what he believed had happened.

A person with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed to The New York Times that facial recognition technology had been used to identify Reid. Yet none of the documents used to arrest him disclosed that.

Andrew Bartholomew, the Jefferson Parish financial crimes detective who sought the warrant to arrest Reid, wrote in an affidavit only that he had been advised by a credible source that the heavyset black male was Reid. Reached by phone, Bartholomew declined to comment.

Its untenable to me as a matter of basic criminal procedure that people who are subject to arrest are not informed of what got them there, said Barry Friedman, a constitutional law professor at New York University.

The Sheriffs Office has a contract with one facial recognition vendor: Clearview AI, which it pays $25,000 a year. According to documents obtained by the Times in a public records request, the department first signed a contract with Clearview in 2019.

Clearview scraped billions of photos from the public web, including social media sites, to create a face-based search engine now used by law enforcement agencies. Reid has many public photos on the web linked to his name, including on LinkedIn and Facebook. The public information office for the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office did not respond to requests for comment about the use of Clearview AI.

The companys CEO, Hoan Ton-That, said an arrest should not be based on a facial recognition search alone.

Even if Clearview AI came up with the initial result, that is the beginning of the investigation by law enforcement to determine, based on other factors, whether the correct person has been identified, he said. More than 1 million searches have been conducted using Clearview AI. One false arrest is one too many, and we have tremendous empathy for the person who was wrongfully accused.

Bartholomews identification of Reid led to a second warrant for his arrest in East Baton Rouge Parish, where, according to a police report, the man he resembled had used a stolen credit card to buy a $2,800 Chanel bag at another consignment store.

The Baton Rouge Police Department trusted the information from the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, said a department spokesperson, Sgt. LJean McKneely. What methods they used, we do not know, he added.

Law enforcement officers generally say they do not need to mention the use of facial recognition technology because it is only a lead in a case and not the sole reason for someones arrest, protecting it from exposure as if it were a confidential informant. But according to Clare Garvie, an expert on the police use of facial recognition, there are four other publicly known cases of wrongful arrests that appear to have involved little investigation beyond a face match, all involving Black men. She has come across a handful of other examples across the country, she said, in her work with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

For Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, a racial justice advocacy group, the technology exacerbates the problems of what he called racist policing.

If facial recognition was misclassifying white people, white men or white women, it would not be on the shelf, he said. Some of us and some of our communities are expendable.

Rubber-Stamping Warrants

To get a warrant to arrest someone, an officer must convince a judge there is probable cause  meaning, essentially, there is a good reason to do so  and get the judges signature. In the past, that meant an officer had to go to court or even meet a judge at a diner in the middle of the night if the case was urgent. That is a moment when questions are asked about the strength of the evidence, legal experts say.

But the friction of getting a warrant has been eased by technology. The Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office uses an eWarrant service, CloudGavel, for which it paid $39,800 last year. Its an app that allows officers to request digital signatures from judges. Law enforcement officers can now get an arrest warrant approved in minutes, the companys website states.

Many civil liberties advocates actually favor electronic warrants; they allow judges to more easily review decisions made by the police and eliminate a complaint from officers that its too hard to get a warrant. But advocates said it would be worrisome if judges were simply clicking a button without asking questions or providing sufficient scrutiny.

There are real questions about whether it increases the incidence of judges rubber-stamping warrants, said Nathan Freed Wessler, a deputy director with the ACLUs Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.

A criminal court judge signed off on Reids arrest warrant at 4:28 p.m. July 18. CloudGavel accommodates judicial scrutiny, said Casey Roussel, the president and chief operating officer of CloudGavels parent company, FusionStak, in an email. He said judges could connect with the officer via phone or video to discuss any concerns the judge may have about the warrant.

In Reids case, it is unclear if the detective spoke with the judge or explained the nature of the credible source. The judge declined to comment.

A Random Query

I was driving the normal speed, and I wasnt doing anything crazy, Reid said of the day of his arrest.

Body camera footage obtained by the Times reveals that four police vehicles were involved in pulling him over. The two warrants for his arrest asked for full extradition. To the law enforcement officers in Georgia, Reid would have appeared to be a fugitive from Louisiana justice.

Why exactly Reid and his white Jeep attracted the DeKalb County polices attention that day is unclear. The arresting officer wrote in an incident report that he had learned about Reids warrants from a random GCIC/NCIC query of the vehicle tag, referring to the National Crime Information Center, an FBI repository of wanted persons and vehicles, and the Georgia Crime Information Center. Its possible the officer saw Reid driving by and, for some reason, decided to run his license plate.

But Molly Kleinman, the director of a technology policy research center at the University of Michigan, said many kinds of surveillance technologies on the highway could have alerted the officer to Reids presence on the hot list, including toll pass readers and automated license plate readers, which Atlanta has in the hundreds on roads and police vehicles. (A spokesperson for the DeKalb County police said a license plate reader was not used.)

Theres a lot of secrecy about all of these surveillance technologies and the ways that theyre used, Kleinman said. This case is a perfect example that even when the tool works as intended, if the underlying data is flawed, it can still harm innocent people.

Not Involved

Reid sat in DeKalb County jail for nearly a week. He could not be released on bond because he was supposed to be held until Louisiana officers came to pick him up for prosecution in their state. His Jeep was towed and impounded.

Imagine youre living your life, and somewhere far away says you committed a crime, Reid said. And you know youve never been there.

His lawyer, Calogero, gathered photos and videos of Reid from his family, hoping to more clearly show the Louisiana police what Reid looks like, and sent them to the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office on Wednesday, Nov. 30, five days after the arrest. An hour later, Calogero said, an officer called to inform him that the police were withdrawing the warrant because they had noticed a mole on Reids face that the alleged purse thief did not have.

Reids detainment was unfortunate by all means, Sheriff Joseph P. Lopinto III of Jefferson Parish said. As soon as we realized it wasnt him, we moved mountains in order to get him out of jail.

A Jefferson Parish judge recalled the warrant Wednesday afternoon. After further investigation, it was learned Randal Reid was not involved in the crimes committed, the recall said. Reid was released late Thursday night, almost a full week after being pulled over. He is considering filing a wrongful-arrest lawsuit.

Thousands of dollars for something I didnt do, he said.

Robinson, the Color of Change president, said most people in the United States did not have thousands of dollars to clear their names. These people will have names and stories we will never know, he said. They will languish in jails and prisons.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Members of Arizona's Capitol Hill delegation reacted quickly Thursday to news that a New York grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump.

Trump becomes the first former president to ever be indicted. While the charges remain sealed, the indictment is related to two hush money payments with two women who reportedly had sex with Trump, who also is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

The national debate exploded across social-media platforms and TV screens, with Democrats generally emphasizing that no one is above the law in the United States and Republicans generally denouncing the development as part of a sham political prosecution.

Arizona's congressional delegation tended to split along those same lines.

"We're a country of laws, and nobody is above the law," U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said in an emailed statement. "The former president has constitutional rights and presumption of innocence, as any other American does. I have faith in our justice system and remain focused on addressing the issues facing Arizonans and our country."

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., hinted in a written statement to The Arizona Republic that Trumps prosecution wasnt the outrage many on the right have claimed.

"Politicians arent above the law, she said. This is an ongoing case and we wont comment as the judicial system plays out."

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Legacy Sports Park in Mesa on Oct. 9, 2022.

Throughout Trumps four years in the White House, Sinema generally avoided weighing in on his many controversies.

Sinema twice voted to convict Trump during his impeachment trials in 2019 and 2021.

Ahead of his first impeachment, growing out of an effort to pressure Ukraines president into announcing the investigation of Biden and his son Hunter, Sinema struck a similar tone in which she said she had a duty "to avoid pre-judging facts or reaching conclusions."

"Arizonans deserve a government that upholds our Constitutional values, Sinema, then a Democrat, said in a 2019 written statement. Partisan politics have no place in addressing these serious allegations."

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U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.

U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is running for Sinema's Senate seat, also cautioned Thursday against a rush to judgment.

In America, we believe in the rule of law," Gallego said. "We should wait to hear from the grand jury before jumping to conclusions."

Kari Lake, the former Fox 10 news anchor who unsuccessfully ran for governor and who may run for the Senate next year, gave a full-throated defense of Trump, calling it "a dark moment in the history of our nation" and decrying "the radical left and their weaponized criminal justice system" that she said is trying to destroy Trump.

Catch up: Grand jury indicts Donald Trump in New York, first time a former president is charged criminally

"Jailing your political opponents based on frivolous politically-motivated accusations is something that youd expect to see out of third-world dictatorships or banana republicans," Lake said in a written statement. "And now, after a relentless assault on our beloved United States Constitution and our institutional norms, the radical left has accelerated this countrys decline into a broken system that allows for the political persecution of ANYONE who threatens the status quo. The only crime that Donald Trump committed was beating Hillary Clinton. All of this other garbage they've thrown at him is just theater, distractions from that original sin. The American people watched the lawless Clinton dynasty defy the rule of law for over two decades and they finally had a belly full."

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., another reliable Trump ally who sits on the influential House Judiciary Committee, tweeted that Trump "has just been indicted by an extremist NY District Attorney."

"No president of the United States has ever been criminally indicted," Biggs wrote. "Trump Derangement Syndrome has infiltrated our judicial system and if they can come from him, they can come for anyone."

President Donald J. Trump has just been indicted by an extremist NY District Attorney.



No president of the United States has ever been criminally indicted.



Trump Derangement Syndrome has infiltrated our judicial system and if they can come from him, they can come for anyone.  Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) March 30, 2023

U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., another loyal Trump supporter in the House, wrote multiple tweets about Trump's indictment. He first called it "third world politics from a Soros DA who needs to be investigated."

"This is clear and brazen political persecution. I proudly stand with Donald J. Trump," Gosar said in the Twitter message.

This is third world politics from a Soros DA who needs to be investigated. This is clear and brazen political persecution.



I proudly stand with Donald J. Trump.  Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) March 30, 2023

Next, Gosar tweeted: "The Regime occupying our country and systematically killing America is most afraid of President Donald J. Trump. Period. He's our guy."

The Regime occupying our country and systematically killing America is most afraid of President Donald J. Trump. Period.



He's our guy. pic.twitter.com/CsefY1BAq4  Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) March 30, 2023

U.S. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a House GOP freshman, tweeted a statement accusing the Manhattan district attorney of "orchestrating a political stunt against President Trump."

"This is simply an abuse of power by a Democrat hack," Crane said in his statement.

Ive said it before and Ill say it again pic.twitter.com/U78gfG711d  Rep. Eli Crane (@RepEliCrane) March 30, 2023

U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., also took a shot at the prosecutor.

The New York DA should concentrate on reducing crime in his own city instead of going on a political witch hunt after Trump," Lesko said in a statement. "Federal courts, the Federal Election Commission, and the U.S. Supreme Court had already decided not to pursue this issue years ago.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., the senior member of the state's delegation and one of the most progressive members of Congress, welcomed the legal accountability for Trump.

"Donald Trump has a long history of breaking the law: shady business practices, a fake university, stiffing workers out of their hard-earned pay, sketchy foreign business profiteering, hush money payments and his most heinous crime, attempting to overthrow our democracy," Grijalva said in a written statement.

"Finally, today, Donald Trumps chickens have come home to roost."

Grijalva added that he expects "this is the first of many indictments of the former president for his flagrant violations of the law. Its past time he and his associates were held accountable. No one is above the law.

U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., a former Judiciary Committee member, declined to comment Thursday.

U.S. Reps. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and David Schweikert, R-Ariz., did not immediately respond to The Arizona Republic's requests for comment.

Tara Kavaler is a politics reporter at The Arizona Republic. She can be reached by email at tara.kavaler@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @kavalertara.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona's congressional delegation reacts to indictment
KUKES, Albania (AP)  If you'd like to walk for miles in concrete burrows built to defend an isolationist totalitarian regime that nobody wanted to attack, Kukes in northeastern Albania is the place for you.

The small Balkan country's post World War II communist dictatorship reveled in massive defensive works; the countryside is still littered with the crumbling remains of 175,000 concrete mini-bunkers  again built to stop imaginary invaders. But Kukes' tunnels take the prize.

Dug from the 1970s to the early 1990s  just in time for the communist regime's collapse  the underground network was meant to house the town's entire population of 16,000 for up to six months in case of war. Equipped with amenities running from a prosecutor's office to a maternity clinic, it was Albania's biggest fortification project with tunnels extending for up to seven kilometers (4 miles).

Now, local authorities hope to turn it into a tourist attraction, with the help of European Union funding. By the end of the year, they say, a multi-room command center and a long tunnel leading to it from the town hall should be accessible.

Post-communist Albania remains one of Europe's poorest countries. Tourism is a major earner, generating 17% of GDP in 2021, while arrivals increased 33% in 2022 to reach some 7.5 million people.

Tourists would be particularly welcome in Kukes, a town 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of the capital Tirana, close to the Kosovo border. It's Albania's poorest area, despite its mineral riches and striking mountain scenery, from which most of the young people emigrate  many heading abroad.

Kukes Mayor Safet Gjici said potential tourists would be offered gastronomical experiences as well as the tunnel experience.

Such a museum town will show the local values of the population and attract visitors, bring money for the town hall and employment for the people, he said.

Older local residents have vivid memories of the complex, which was built largely with mass local labor and was only used once in a civil defense drill, in the late 1980s, which sent the entire Kukes population underground.

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An alarm bell rang at night. The towns mayor and party leader met at a tunnel entrance below their offices and walked four kilometers to reach the command center.

Armida Alikaj, who was 10 years old at the time, said her father calmly woke her up and each got a backpack with clothes, food and blankets, to go to the tunnels with the smell of the earth and slogans and numbers painted in white lime on the doors.

I was not afraid because we were told they were built for us, she said. But the sirens noise was horrible.

Kukes is a relatively new town of Soviet-style white brick five-story flats built from scratch  with the tunnel warren  to house some 16,000 people after the old town was swallowed up in 1978 by an artificial lake designed to fuel a hydropower plant.

Each apartment building's residents had their defined place in the tunnels with good air circulation and water supply.

There was also a bread factory, a school, a hospital, a maternity home, prosecutors office, police station, radio station, printing house for the communist propaganda, as well as classrooms for children and spaces for men and women to undergo training in shooting and other military skills.

Albanias communist dictator Enver Hoxha cut ties with neighboring Yugoslavia in 1949, with the Soviet Union in 1961 and with China in 1978. His fear of invasion led the regime to spend about 5% of its annual budget on the military.

Retired army officer Haxhi Cenaj, 81, says he spent hours underground in the 37-room Kukes command center as military leaders plotted their strategy, preparing for a Yugoslavian attack that never came.

Until he retired in 1995, Cenaj was a major leading a small infantry unit assigned to protect the center.

His son, Afrim, who now takes care of a small part of the tunnels, points out the lights on the cold walls, the concrete tables and lavatories. Small groups of bats cluster on ceilings.

Many British, Swiss, Dutch, or French (people) come to Kukes only to see the tunnels, he said.

Bukurosh Onuzi, a tourist expert in charge of the museum project, said there is "much interest in the complex, especially from foreigners but also from (Albanian) youngsters who have no knowledge, no information or have not lived under communism.

Cenaj, the former army major, says he fondly remembers his time spent underground.

We tried scenarios, provocations. We planned there would be a war, likely an air attack, and trained how to survive, he said. I would prefer to have (the underground network) ready still. Who knows what is happening with (the) wars around.

 Follow Llazar Semini at https://twitter.com/lsemini
Jakk Fynn says he found relief in daydreaming, cross-dressing and music as a transmasculine teenager growing up in a Mexican American family. Hed like audiences to find similar comfort in his latest musical endeavors.

On Friday, the Los Angeles-based pop musician unveiled the music video for his new single, Take My Heart. In the clip, he plays both a bride in a black wedding gown and a tuxedoed groom. Alternating shots show him as both a chambermaid and a well-healed, cigar-puffing employer.

In an interview with HuffPost, Fynn said he got the inspiration for Take My Heart after a heated argument with a family member. As for the songs video, he worked with director Candice Dalsing to offer a nonlinear narrative about societys fixation on bodies and erasure of identities.

Being trans and neurodivergent in an unaccepting family is hard enough, but unspoken competition amongst some members has led to my identity being weaponized against me, which has been extra hurtful, explained Fynn, who lists Charli XCX, Rina Sawayama and SZA as musical influences. So ultimately, this song reflects on these toxic cycles.

Watch the video for Take My Heart below.

Take My Heart is being released this week to coincide with Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31. Since 2009, this day has been observed as a celebration of the accomplishments of trans and gender-nonconforming people.

From a pop cultural perspective, transgender people are more visible than ever, with mainstream stars like Laverne Cox, Kim Petras and Michaela Jae Rodriguez breaking barriers in Hollywood and beyond.

Of course, those cultural triumphs cant obscure the fraught reality for many members of the trans community. At least 10 states  including Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Utah  have recently passed laws or policies that restrict transgender health care for minors. On Wednesday, Kentucky lawmakers overrode Democratic Gov. Andy Beshears veto and passed a sweeping bill that prohibits trans students from using bathrooms that align with the gender identity, among other restrictions.

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Though Transgender Day of Visibility has usually provided Fynn with an opportunity to celebrate, share, and rally for progress, he acknowledged that this year feels exceptionally heavy, given the amount of anti-trans legislation that has been proposed and, in some cases, passed.

On one side of the coin this hateful rhetoric and fear of the other is so depressing, dangerous, and regressive, he said. Yet on the flip side, I try to remind myself that this backlash is an unfortunate byproduct of the fact that our visibility is increasing.

As for his main aim as an artist, he added: Honestly, all I ever want with my music is for it to feel relatable. If I can coax a foot tap, head nod, or sing-along out of someone, then Ill totally take that, too.

Related...
Pope Francis prepared to spend a third day in hospital Friday after doctors said he was responding well to antibiotics for bronchitis and could be discharged "in the coming days".

The 86-year-old pontiff was admitted on Wednesday for what the Vatican said were pre-planned tests, after complaining of breathing difficulties.

But he appeared to quickly rally and by Thursday morning was feeling well enough to eat, pray and work from his private suite in Rome's Gemelli hospital.

He was suffering an "infectious bronchitis which required the administration of antibiotics", medical staff said in a statement late Thursday.

The treatment has seen "a marked improvement in his state of health" and Francis could be back home in the Vatican "in the coming days", it said.

His admission sparked widespread concern.

The Argentine, who had part of one of his lungs removed as a young man, has suffered increasing health issues in recent years, and it was his second stay in hospital since 2021.

The pope's illness has raised questions over whether he will be at services in the Holy Week and Easter, Christianity's most important holiday.

Francis, who earlier this month marked 10 years as head of the Catholic Church, would normally preside over the celebrations, which kick off this weekend with Palm Sunday.

- Slowing down -

A Jesuit who seems most happy being among his flock, Francis continues to travel internationally and keeps a busy schedule.

But he has been forced to use a wheelchair and walking stick in the past year due to knee pain, and admitted last summer he had to slow down.

He said Thursday he was "touched by the many messages" he was receiving in hospital, thanking on Twitter those praying for his recovery.

Francis was admitted in July 2021 to the same Rome hospital for 10 days for an operation on his colon after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.

In an interview in January, the pope said the diverticulitis had returned.

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Francis has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down if his health required it, following the example of his predecessor Benedict XVI.

The German theologian, who died on December 31, shocked the world in 2013 by becoming the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign.

Francis has cautioned, however, that papal resignations should not be the norm, and said in an interview in February that the idea was currently not "on my agenda".

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Pope Francis is expected to be discharged on Saturday after what will have been three nights of hospital treatment for bronchitis, and will attend Palm Sunday services, the Vatican said Friday.

The 86-year-old has responded well to antibiotics and on Thursday evening shared a pizza with staff looking after him at Rome's Gemelli hospital, spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

On Friday morning, he had breakfast, read some newspapers and did some work in the private papal suite on hospital's 10th floor where he was admitted on Wednesday after complaining of breathing problems.

"His Holiness's return home to Santa Marta (his Vatican home) is expected tomorrow, in the wake of the results of the latest tests this morning," Bruni said.

As a result, Pope Francis was expected to "be present" in St Peter's Square for the celebration of Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week.

His hospitalisation, just weeks after he marked 10 years as head of the worldwide Catholic Church, had sparked widespread concern.

And it had raised questions over the upcoming services for Easter, Christianity's most important holiday.

The Argentine pontiff, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has suffered increasing health issues in recent years, and it was his second stay in hospital since 2021.

He has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down if his health failed him, following the example of his predecessor Benedict XVI -- but said in February that for now, he had no plans to quit.

- Eating and praying -

Medical staff said in a statement late Thursday that Francis was suffering from an "infectious bronchitis which required the administration of antibiotics".

The treatment resulted in "a marked improvement in his state of health" and he was well enough to eat, work and pray at the private chapel in the hospital suite.

The Gemelli hospital is the favoured choice of pontiffs to the point of being dubbed "Vatican 3" by John Paul II, who was treated nine times at Gemelli and spent a total of 153 days there.

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A Jesuit who seems most happy being among his flock, Francis continues to travel internationally and keep a busy schedule.

But he has been forced to use a wheelchair and walking stick in the past year because of knee pain, and admitted last summer that he had to slow down.

He said Thursday that he was "touched by the many messages" he was receiving in hospital, thanking on Twitter those praying for his recovery.

Among them is US President Joe Biden, only the second Catholic president in US history.

"Jill and I are keeping Pope Francis in our prayers and send our best wishes for his swift and full recovery," Biden tweeted.

"The world needs Pope Francis."

Francis was admitted in July 2021 to the same Rome hospital for 10 days for a colon operation after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.

In an interview in January, the pope said the diverticulitis had returned.

His predecessor Benedict XVI shocked the world in 2013 by becoming the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign, citing his declining physical and mental health.

The German theologian died on December 31 aged 95.

Francis has said he would follow suit if he was unable to do his job.

But he has cautioned that papal resignations should not be the norm, and said in an interview in February that the idea was currently not "on my agenda".

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Donald and Melania Trump attend the MET Costume Institute Gala Celebrating Chanel at the Metropolitan Museum of Art May 2, 2005 In New York City. Evan Agostini/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump was arrested in Manhattan court after a grand jury indicted him.

The charges likely stem from a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

This timeline outlines Trump's three marriages, rumored affairs, and sexual misconduct accusations.

Donald Trump has been married to or dating one of his three wives since the 1970s, with only a few breaks in between.

Trump talks with his former wife, Ivana Trump, during the men's final at the US Open in 1997. Mike Blake/Reuters

Then a young real estate developer, he married his first wife, Ivana Trump, in 1977.

Donald Trump and then-wife, Ivana Trump, pose outside the Federal Courthouse in New York in May 1988. AP Photo/File

Ivana is the mother of Donald Jr., Ivanka (whose actual name is Ivana Marie), and Eric Trump. Ivana also worked to develop the Trump Organization as vice president of interior design.

Donald Trump Jr., Ivana Trump, Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump attend the 9th Annual Eric Trump Foundation Golf Invitational Auction & Dinner in 2015. Grant Lamos IV / Stringer

Trump's reputation was tied to his "playboy" image, which came with rumors of affairs. According to one report, Trump tried to get Playboy magazine to run a "Girls of Trump" spread featuring his employees.

This June 7, 1995, file photo shows Trump posing for photos above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after taking his flagship Trump Plaza Casino public in New York City. AP/Kathy Willens

"He even tried to get Playboy to do a spread called 'The Girls of Trump,' wooing his most shapely staffers, including a former beauty queen secretary, into posing for the magazine with a sliding scale of offers on everything from full nude to breast to 'wet-lip' shots," Wayne Barrett wrote in his 1991 book "Trump, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Deals, The Downfall, The Reinvention."

Barrett continued: "It was all part of the rakish ethos of phony glamour that he consciously fostered, even to the extent of concealing from public view a very efficient secretary with a pimplish facial condition."

At least 26 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, with allegations stretching back to the 1970s and running through 2016.

E. Jean Carroll at her home in Warwick, NY in 2019. Eva Deitch for The Washington Post/Getty Images

Several women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault or sexual impropriety against Trump in recent years.

Jessica Leeds told The New York Times in 2016 that Trump "grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt" when the pair were seated next to each other on a flight in the early 1980s, when Trump was married to Ivana.

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"He was like an octopus," Leeds told The Times. "His hands were everywhere."

In 2019, columnist E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. She's suing him for defamation and battery. The trial is scheduled to begin April 25.

Trump has denied the allegations against him.

Trump's marriage to Ivana fell apart when he began an affair with the model Marla Maples, which dominated the tabloids in the early 1990s.

Model Marla Maples and real estate mogul Donald Trump ride the escalator down to a limo after attending a "Get Well Soon" party for boxer Mike Tyson at the Trump Plaza Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Sept. 23, 1990. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Ivana and Trump divorced in 1991, after months of headlines about Trump's affair with Maples.

Donald Trump (right) watches as Marla Maples gets a kiss from Earl Sinclair of TV's "Dinosaurs" in 1992. Henry Ray Abrams/Reuters

"The children are all wrecks," Ivana told gossip columnist Liz Smith. "Ivanka now comes home from school crying, 'Mommy, does it mean I'm not going to be Ivanka Trump anymore?' Little Eric asks me, 'Is it true you are going away and not coming back?'"

Ivana died at the age of 73 in 2022.

Maples and Trump were married in 1993, soon after the birth of their daughter, Tiffany. In 1997, the pair announced plans to divorce.

Marla Maples (left), and Donald Trump (right) with their family at the US Tennis Open championships in New York in 1994. Mike Segar/Reuters

Trump wasn't single for long. In 1998, he met model Melania Knauss. The pair married in January 2005.

Trump and then-girlfriend Melania Knauss leave Hollinger International's annual meeting at the Metropolitan Club in New York on May 22, 2003. Peter Morgan/Reuters

Melania and Trump dated on and off in the years before they got married.

In September 2005, Trump was caught on tape telling "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush that he was able to "grab" women "by the p---y" because "when you're a star they let you do it."

NBC

The tape was published by the Washington Post just before the 2016 presidential election, at which time Trump called his commentary "locker room banter."

Melania gave birth to the couple's only son, Barron, in March 2006.

Donald Trump and Melania Knauss pose for photographers as they arrive for the Entertainment Industry Foundation's National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance evening on board the Queen Mary 2, Saturday, April 24, 2004 in New York. Stuart Ramson/AP

Adult film star Stormy Daniels alleged that she and Trump had a sexual encounter just four months later, in July 2006.

Stormy Daniels attends a signing for comedian Dane Cook's CD/DVD "Retaliation" at Tower Records on July 27, 2005 in Hollywood, California. Matthew Simmons/Getty

In January 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, had facilitated a $130,000 payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, shortly before the 2016 election.

In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal crimes, including making an illegal campaign contribution on the same day he facilitated the payment to Daniels.

Fast-forward five years, and a New York grand jury has voted to indict Trump, capping the Manhattan district attorney's office yearslong investigation into Trump's personal and business finances. The charges are likely linked to the $130,000 payment to Daniels.

Trump continues to deny having ever had an affair with Daniels.

Playboy model Karen McDougal alleged that she started an affair with Trump even closer to the birth of Barron, in June 2006.

Trump reportedly met McDougal at the Playboy Mansion while filming an episode of The Apprentice." NBC

In February 2018, The New Yorker published an investigation into McDougal's alleged affair, which she said continued for months.

American Media, a media company that owns the National Enquirer and has close ties to Trump, bought the exclusive rights to McDougal's story, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2016.

But the company didn't run any pieces on the story  something The New Yorker noted was a tactic some media outlets commonly used to kill a story.

The White House claimed the incidents the document outlined did not happen, with a spokesperson telling The New Yorker, "The President says he never had a relationship with McDougal."

A number of woman have also alleged that Trump sexually harassed or assaulted them during his relationship and marriage to Melania.

Summer Zervos. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

People's Natasha Stoynoff alleged in 2016 that Trump pushed her against a wall and "shoved" his tongue "down her throat" when she went to Mar-a-Lago to interview him and the very-pregnant Melania in December 2005.

Miss USA and Miss Universe contestants said that Trump harassed and assaulted them in 2006, inspecting them before the pageants and grabbing them without consent.

Summer Zervos, a former contestant on "The Apprentice," said Trump "very aggressively" kissed her, groped her breasts, and began "thrusting" his genitals at her in a 2007 meeting at The Beverly Hills Hotel.

Trump has denied all of these allegations.

Melania has stayed by Trump's side throughout the repeated allegations that he cheated on her throughout their relationship, including when she was pregnant and soon after Barron's birth.

Trump tries to quiet his son Barron while Melania holds Barron during the men's finals championship match at the US Open in 2008. AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File

When she was first lady, Melania seemed to disappear from public view when Trump's alleged affairs made headlines.

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

In February 2018, she eschewed the traditional walk with the president across the White House's South Lawn to Marine One after The New Yorker published its report on the McDougal affair.

Melania also largely disappeared from public engagements with her husband after the Daniels' news broke in January 2018.

When a New York grand jury made history in voting to indict Trump in March 2023, Daniels offered a two-word response to the news.

Stormy Daniels arrives for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007, in Los Angeles. Matt Sayles/AP

She quote-tweeted a Twitter user arguing that Trump's indictment should not be cause for celebration, but should instead be allowed to play out in the justice system.

"Thank you," Daniels wrote.

In a Truth Social post after the news broke, Trump called his indictment "AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE."

Former President Donald Trump and Melania Trump, right, were photographed at Mar-a-Lago, pictured left, on March 30, 2023, shortly after the news of his indictment broke. Getty Images/ Gina Loudon/ Insider

While he raged about the indictment online, guests at Trump's private Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida said they saw him and Melania "smiling and greeting guests."

Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina told Insider the former president will surrender to the Manhattan district attorney's office next week.

When asked if Trump plans to fight the case all the way to trial, Tacopina said, "For sure, if it's not dismissed beforehand."

On Tuesday, April 4, 2023, Trump surrendered into the custody of the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Former US President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Court on April 4, 2023. Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Trump should remain under arrest until mid-afternoon, when he'll enter a plea of "not guilty" and a judge will let him go home.

Editor's note: This story was first published in March 2018 and has been updated to reflect recent developments.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Dr. Jerry Chidester, a plastic surgeon at the forefront of patient-centric care, has set out to revolutionize the way medical practices view and treat patients. As the oldest of four children with a mixed background, Dr. Chidester brings an appreciation for diversity and a unique perspective to his work.

Growing up in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Chidester attended an international school where he was exposed to various cultures and their approaches to healthcare and wellness. This experience profoundly impacted him and inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. As a plastic surgeon, he saw the need for a more patient-centered approach to care, where patients are treated as partners in their healthcare journey.

At his practice, Dr. Chidester aims to create an environment where patients feel comfortable and empowered to express their individual needs and wants. He believes that by listening to his patients and working collaboratively, he can provide more personalized care, leading to better outcomes.

Through his dedication to patient-centered care, Dr. Chidester is helping to revolutionize how medical practices view and treat patients. He is committed to being at the forefront of the change that is coming in patient care and inspiring other healthcare professionals to do the same.

My practice is at the forefront of this change, says Dr. Chidester, Its a subtle shift but one that Im passionate about leading. He adds that many other plastic surgeons may touch on this idea. Still, he wants to be at the forefront of this movement toward more comprehensive patient-centric care, especially in aesthetic surgery, where he is recognized as one of the leading experts.

Dr. Chidesters approach to patient care centers on the belief that every patient has a unique story that must be understood before beginning treatment. He recognizes that a one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare is only sometimes effective and may even be detrimental to a patients well-being.

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Instead, Dr. Chidester prioritizes listening to each patient, understanding their concerns, fears, and aspirations, and developing a personalized treatment plan that addresses their specific needs and expectations. To achieve this, Dr. Chidester schedules longer consultations with his patients. During these consultations, he asks thoughtful questions and listens to the patients responses. He also takes the time to educate the patient about their condition, treatment options, and potential outcomes and address any questions or concerns the patient may have.

This patient-centered approach leads to not only better physical outcomes but also better emotional outcomes. Patients who feel heard and understood are more likely to trust their healthcare provider, comply with treatment plans, and feel more satisfied with their overall care experience. Dr. Chidesters patients report feeling more comfortable discussing sensitive health topics and more confident in their ability to manage their health under his care.

As Dr. Chidester points out, the importance of mental health in aesthetic surgery procedures was heavily overlooked in the past. Patients considering plastic surgery often have underlying psychological factors that motivate them to seek cosmetic changes. Surgeons must recognize that patients mental health is as important as their physical health and that a comprehensive approach to patient care is essential for successful outcomes. For his practice, that segment comes first. As per Dr. Chidester, being involved in the complete well-being of the patient is the number one priority.

He says that patient-centric care is changing the paradigm from profits to a more comprehensive understanding of the patients. For him, this means that surgeons are focused on the physical aspects of the procedure and the emotional and mental well-being of their patients.

By taking a more holistic approach, surgeons can help patients achieve their desired outcomes while also improving their mental health and self-esteem, says Dr. Chidester. This approach ensures patients feel comfortable, supported, and heard. When patients feel understood, validated, and supported, they are more likely to have a positive experience and a successful outcome.

Dr. Jerry Chidester is dedicated to ensuring all patients receive personalized care with respect for individual values and preferences while also providing education on preventative health measures they can take on their own. His passion for patient-centric care has led him towards revolutionizing how medical practices view their patients  as individuals with unique stories rather than just another name in a book or number on a chart  ultimately leading to improved outcomes for everyone involved in healthcare now and into the future.

McClatchy newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
In 2017, Naomi Aldermans novel about teenage girls suddenly acquiring the ability to shoot electricity from their fingers arrived right on time. The defiance of women and girls was a constant part of the news cycle, from the Womens March in Washington DC to the rise of the #MeToo movement. They were making noise about the ways that misogyny was impacting their lives, and holding perpetrators to account. Six years later, andThe Power has now been adapted into a big-budget thriller series for Prime Video. With a punchy script from an all-female writers room including Sarah Quintrell, Raelle Tucker and Alderman herself  and characters who both inspire and feel accessible, the story is as timely as it has ever been.

Every revolution begins with a spark, an opening voiceover tells us. We never dared to imagine it; a world that was built for us, where we wrote the rules. Through fast-paced flash-forward scenes, the audience gets a taster of the thrills and destruction to come. But over the course of the first episodes hour, we only see the start of this curious phenomenon that allows girls around the world to electrocute at will. In Seattle, we meet Jos (Aulii Cravalho), the daughter of mayor Margot Cleary-Lopez (Toni Collette). A soft-spoken teen to start, Jos discovers her zappy new quirk and soon finds comfort in her female classmates, who are also setting microwaves on fire.

In the Southern Bible belt, theres Allie (Halle Bush), who frustrates her white foster parents with her refusal to talk. According to a therapist, Allie has selective mutism as a result of trauma. But when Allie finally uses her voice, the results are explosive. Her guardians arent prepared for what she has to say and seek to put her back in her place  but Allies skill becomes her key to a much-needed new life. In London, Roxy (Ria Zmitrowicz) is the estranged daughter of a fearsome gangster whose power allows her to finally be seen by her father, and in Lagos, newly charged-up girls form a secret society in which they throw parties with their gifts, watching each other with awe as fizzes of electricity dance on their fingertips.

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Of course, any superpowers handled carelessly can have dire and wide-ranging effects, and innocent people soon get hurt. It doesnt take long to see how frightened the establishment gets when they learn of the sheer potential of these teen girls, and a global effort to shut The Power down quickly kicks off. Across the international ensemble, diverse characters pull the viewers into their distinctive worlds with ease  youre just as invested in the shocking turns that befall Roxy as you are in discovering the twisty path that Allie is forced to forge for herself. Toni Collette and John Leguizamo have lightning chemistry as Joss parents, united in their bewilderment at the new strengths of their eldest daughter.

The Power is a clear allegory for how a patriarchal society makes girls feel insignificant, and how physical force effectively defines who makes the rules in society. Heavy-handed though the metaphor may be, it doesnt feel corny  its genuinely thrilling to see how these girls who are underestimated, forgotten and cast aside light up when they realise that they, and their actions, matter in the world. At a time when access to abortion is dwindling in the US, and stories of violence against women mount up by the month in the UK, young women have a right to be electric with rage. And its cathartic to watch them step into their power.

The Power is on Prime Video
MILAN  Prada Group is setting the foundations for future growth by extending its investments in human resources and in its industrial strategy.

On Thursday, the luxury company revealed it is planning to hire more than 400 people by the end of the year to strengthen its production capacity and craftsmanship expertise in Italy.

More from WWD

Prada Group continues to invest in its supply chain, consistent with what was announced during our Capital Markets Day at the end of 2021. We have an ongoing commitment to strengthen the industrial backbone of the group, while being respectful of our longtime suppliers, said industrial director Massimo Vian.

The investment will guarantee greater agility and a reduction of time-to-market. The group already carries out all quality checks on raw materials and finished products, and manages all logistics internally.

As of Dec. 31, 2022, the group owned 24 factories. Out of the 13,700 employees globally, 3,700 are employed in industrial chains around the world. Of these, 3,200 work in Italy. In the country, the group has a total of 5,300 employees.

A considerable proportion of the new positions will be filled by students of the Prada Group Academy, where new entrants will learn manual and craft skills.

The academy, which was founded in the early 2000s, will become increasingly crucial for the future preservation of our know-how and the one of the sector, said Vian, a former Luxottica executive who joined Prada in 2020. We feel a responsibility to invest in young talent who will become the next generation of expert craftspeople.

More than 200 new professionals will be trained over the next year across leather goods, footwear and ready-to-wear.

The group will also establish a new permanent branch of the Prada Group Academy at its Scandicci plant, near Florence, dedicated to leather craftsmanship. Around 30 students will be part of the first program there.

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The new positions will be opened across some of Prada Groups main manufacturing facilities in Italy, including around 100 new hires in Scandicci, representing a 50 percent increase in the current workforce.

Following the construction of an expanded factory designed by Guido Canali at its leather goods facility in Piancastagnaio, near Siena, Prada plans to hire 50 new employees, representing a 50 percent increase in the current workforce. By November, the goal is to add 85 new hires in Torgiano, near Perugia, at the groups knitwear facility. Also, more than 200 additional jobs will be created at over 10 additional leather goods, footwear and ready-to-wear sites, mainly across the Tuscany, Umbria and Marche regions.

Propelled by a strong growth of its Prada and Miu Miu brands across all product categories, the group is on an upward trajectory. As reported earlier this month, the companys full-year results beat analysts expectations and achieved margin targets ahead of schedule. In 2022, net profit soared 58 percent to 465 million euros on the back of a 25 percent gain in revenues to 4.2 billion euros.

In his first conference call with analysts to comment those results, former Luxottica and LVMH executive Andrea Guerra, who joined Prada this year as group chief executive officer, pointed to the expansion of its manufacturing capabilities.

In 2023, we expect revenue growth to remain solid and above the market average, he said.

In 2022, sales of leather goods rose 18 percent to 1.86 billion euros; ready-to-wear was up 27 percent to 1.08 billion euros, and footwear revenues grew 29 percent to 691 million euros.

Prada is part of the Fashion Pact and in 2021 further committed to corporate social responsibility, reaffirming its objectives and starting a process to measure its carbon footprint after years of investing in the construction, refurbishment and efficiency of the industrial facilities, as well as in photovoltaics and renewable energy.

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A premature baby born weighing just 535g has now celebrated her first birthday. (Lauren Ormston/SWNS)

The parents of a premature baby, born weighing less than a loaf of bread, have described feeling "so grateful" that their daughter has defied the odds to celebrate her first birthday.

Lauren Ormston, 27, from Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, gave birth at just 23 weeks after going into premature labour on 4th March 2022.

Baby Isla weighed just 535g (1.18lbs) when she was born - less than a large loaf of bread (typically 800g) - and the odds were stacked against her.

After her birth she was rushed to the neonatal unit and was later diagnosed with a level two bleed on the brain and a hole in the heart.

Isla spent four months in hospital fighting for her life before finally being discharged on July 12 2022.

Read more: Baby born with heart wired the wrong way round survives major surgery: 'So strong'

Baby Isla was born weighing just 535g. (Lauren Ormston/SWNS)

Mum Ormston and her fiance Oliver Dewey, 32, were thrilled to celebrate Isla's first birthday this month - a milestone they worried their daughter may never reach.

Isla now weighs 7kg - over thirteen times her birth weight - and makes the tiny nappies she used to wear look like dolls' nappies.

Recalling the moments immediately after her daughter's birth Ormston says: "I could only cuddle Isla for six minutes before she was taken to a ventilator.

"She looked so small and fragile, like she would snap at the slightest bit of movement.

"We didnt think wed see her first birthday, or that shed ever come home - there were so many times we nearly lost her in hospital and were told to prepare for the worst.

"But I knew my baby girl was a fighter - and I was right."

Doctors gave baby Isla just a 10% chance of survival. (Lauren Ormston/SWNS)

Ormston continues: "She's defeated all the odds.

"She is absolutely amazing and we are so proud - every day with her is a blessing."

The couple found they were expecting their first child on 2nd November 2021 and the pregnancy initially passed without incident, with their baby expected to arrive on July 1 2022.

But on March 3 Ormston began to get severe pains in her abdomen, which she decided to get checked out.

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Having telephoned the triage three times that night, she ended up going to Frimley Park Hospital, Camberley, Surrey, for tests.

Read more: Mum gives birth to an 11lb 13oz baby 'the size of a toddler'

Lauren Ormston, 27, gave birth at just 23 weeks after going into premature labour, pictured with her fiance. (Lauren Ormston/SWNS)

But when she arrived the following day, doctors informed her she was in labour and gave the baby just a 10% chance of survival.

After being blue-lighted in an ambulance to St Peter's Hospital, Ormston was induced at 7:30pm, giving birth to baby Isla less than two hours later.

Isla was immediately rushed to the neonatal unit and ventilated as she was unable to breathe without assistance.

"Her skin was transparent, I could see every little vein within her body," her mum recalls. "I lived each day, never knowing if she would make it, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute."

Baby Isla's tiny hand just after birth. (Lauren Ormston/SWNS)

After six weeks Isla was taken off the ventilator and began using an oxygen mask instead. This meant her parents could properly cuddle their tiny newborn without tubes getting in the way.

At two months old, Isla lost vision in her right eye after her retina detached, and surgery to fix it was unsuccessful.

But she continued to fight and on July 12, after 130 days in hospital, having grown to weigh 4kg, she could finally go home with her parents.

Watch: Teenage mum gives birth to newborn believed to be the UK's smallest premature baby

In March 2023, the family celebrated Isla's first birthday - a milestone they feared she would never reach.

She can now also sit unaided, is trying to crawl, and even stand up with some assistance.

Her clothing may only be sized for babies aged three to six months, but Isla is unrecognisable from the tiny, frail newborn her parents welcomed.

Read more: Parents who sleep alongside their babies need safety advice, urge experts

Isla now weighs 7kg and is thriving at home with her parents. (Lauren Ormston/SWNS)

She now wears regular nappies, which dwarf the newborn nappies she was initially in, which were so small they could sit in the palm of your hand.

"Looking at her now, you wouldnt know she was premature," her mum explains. "Shes a proper little madam now, she's got her own personality, and is the most independent little girl ever.

"It's taught us not to take anything for granted - we live for each day because you dont know what's around the corner.

Read more: Babies born in this area of the UK live 12 years longer, according to new research

Isla has now celebrated her first birthday. (Lauren Ormston/SWNS)

"We are just grateful for what we have, so grateful she was strong enough to defeat the odds and prove everyone wrong.

"When she is older, I'm going to share the experience with her so she knows how special she is and she can be grateful too."

Additional reporting SWNS.
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic arrived in Ukraine on the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, and they will participate in a summit dedicated to the event.

Source: European Pravda

Details: The head of the Slovak government arrived in Ukraine together with Jaroslav Nad, the Defence Minister, as reported by Slovak news agency Aktuality. The Slovak officials arrived in Kyiv by night train from Poland.

The Slovak government recently decided to provide Ukraine with 13 MiG-29 fighters. In response to this step, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided to invite the Slovak prime minister to pay an official visit, the media outlet emphasises.

In addition, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob began a one-day working visit to Ukraine on Friday morning.

"We want to show our political support in light of Slovenia's comprehensive assistance to Ukraine in these difficult times of Russian military aggression. We also want to reaffirm our commitment to the policy of territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders," Golob said upon his arrival.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gibanje Svoboda (@gibanje.svoboda)

In addition, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic arrived in Kyiv. The Croatian government announced that the prime minister would participate in a summit to mark the liberation of Bucha from Russian occupation.

According to the information, Plenkovic, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, whose arrival has not yet been announced, Slovak Prime Minister Heger, and Slovenian Prime Minister Golob, will participate in the summit "Bucha - Russia's Responsibility for Crimes in Ukraine."

Information about the summit has not been made public, and no visits by foreign leaders have been announced.

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After welcoming son August in 2021, Princess Eugenie is currently expecting her second child with husband Jack Brooksbank

Princess Eugenie Instagram

Princess Eugenie may be royal, but she's a mom first.

Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter shares 2-year-old son August Philip Hawke Brooksbank with her husband Jack Brooksbank. The royal parents also have another baby on the way, who is expected to arrive in summer 2023.

Eugenie, who is the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, married Jack on Oct. 12, 2018, at St. George's Chapel in Windsor. The two fell in "love at first sight" while meeting on a 2010 ski trip in Verbier, Switzerland.

While the princess typically keeps her children private, she has shared sweet photos on her Instagram, and she's been open about how she hopes her son August takes after his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

"I think of my grannie and what she has stood for, for so many people and for our family during these 70 years," Eugenie wrote in The Spectator magazine in June 2022. "I'd love Augie to have her patience, her calmness and her kindness, while always being able to laugh at himself and keep a twinkle in his eye."

From future activism to first royal appearances, here's everything to know about Princess Eugenie's kids.

August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, 2

Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty August Brooksbank

The couple's son, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank  affectionately nicknamed Augie  was born on Feb. 9, 2021, at London's Portland Hospital.

Eugenie and Jack introduced August to the world on Feb. 20, 2021, in a series of photos taken outside by their midwife. Currently, he is 12th in the line of succession to the British throne.

August's middle name, Philip, is a tribute to Eugenie's grandfather and Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip. But that's not the only royal nod in his moniker.

"On his grandfather's birthday weekend, thinking of my grandfather, we are introducing our little boy," Eugenie wrote on her Instagram Story after August's debut. "He is named after his great grandfather and both of his great x5 grandfathers."

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August's first name honors Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert, who was born Franz Albert August Karl Emanuel. The middle name Hawke comes from a 5x grandfather on Jack's side, Rev. Edward Hawke Brooksbank.

The boy was christened alongside second cousin Lucas Tindall on Nov. 21, 2021, at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor. The event was attended by the Queen herself despite an October hospitalization.

Princess Eugenie Instagram

Though Eugenie typically keeps details about August private, she revealed on his 2nd birthday that she wants her "angel" to "keep dancing and smiling."

Despite his young age, August has already begun life as a royal. He watched 2022's Trooping the Colour event with his family, and made his royal debut days later for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant, showing off his royal wave in a tiny Union Jack sweater.

Plus, mom Eugenie, who's patron to a number of charitable organizations, is already hoping he'll follow in her footsteps. In a January 2023 interview with Reuters, the princess shared that she's passionate about teaching her son about climate change.

"My son's going to be an activist from 2 years old, which is in a couple of days. So, he, everything is for them," she said. "Every decision we now make has to be for August, what he's going to be able to look at and do and how he's going to live his life."

Princess Eugenie's Baby on the Way

Princess Eugenie Instagram

In a Jan. 24, 2023 statement released by Buckingham Palace, Jack and Eugenie announced some special news: There'll be another royal baby running around soon!

"Princess Eugenie and Mr. Jack Brooksbank are pleased to announce they are expecting their second child this summer," the palace said at the time. "The family are delighted and August is very much looking forward to being a big brother."

On the same day, Eugenie announced her pregnancy on Instagram in a sweet snap taken by Jack. In the picture, son August hugged his mother and buried his face into her stomach.

Eugenie captioned the post, "We're so excited to share that there will be a new addition to our family this summer."

Mom Sarah Ferguson shared in the family's happiness, commenting, "Granny heaven ." Her second child will be 13th in the line of succession to the throne, after big brother August. The baby will also be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's 13th great-grandchild, the first born after her death on Sept. 8, 2022.

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Priyanka Chopras Anomaly has become the second biggest celebrity beauty brand in the world after Rihannas Fenty Beauty.

According to a report by UK-based beauty comparison platform Cosmetify, the 40-year-old actors haircare brands revenue was 429m.

Rihannas Fenty Beauty made 477.

The third spot was bagged by Kylie Jenners Kylie Cosmetics with 301m followed by Ariana Grandes R.E.M Beauty with 70m.

The list also consisted of Selena Gomezs Rare Beauty and Halseys About-face among others.

There are many ways to measure the success of a brand, but revenue is arguably the most important, Cosmetify said in a statement. Because of this, we have put together a list of the wealthiest celebrity beauty brands based on their most recent annual revenue.

Chopra launched Anomaly haircare in the US in February 2021.

The brand hit the Indian market in December 2022.

Ive just recently taken to the business side of both, the beauty and the entertainment industry, Chopra told Vogue India in a 2022 Interview. That really made me bifurcate the difference between sitting in the stylists chair and using a bunch of products, to actually having a say in the products going into my hair.

Speaking of her brand, Chopra added: For me, it was all about democratising beauty.

(Getty Images)

Earlier this week, Chopra revealed the main reason she left Bollywood.

During an appearance on Dax Shepherds podcast Armchair Expert, the Citadel star said: I was being pushed into a corner in the [Bollywood] industry.

I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game so I kind of was tired of the politics and I said I needed a break.
Graded report sticking out of backpack. JulNichols/Getty Images.

In an attempt at easing the high school-to-college transition, some U.S. universities have begun implementing unorthodox student assessment methods, reigniting a debate over whether the traditional letter grading system still works. The new trend, called "un-grading," is a part of "a growing movement to stop assigning conventional A through F letter grades to first-year college students and, sometimes, upperclassmen," NPR reports. Though it existed before the pandemic, un-grading has "taken on new urgency" as of late, "as educators around the country think twice about assigning those judgmental letters A-F to students whose schooling has been disrupted for two years," The Washington Post wrote last year. Teachers and faculty at Texas Christian University, the University of New Hampshire, and Florida Gulf Coast University, for example, are among the growing group experimenting with some form of un-grading, which might involve allowing students to pick between written and verbal exams and letting them choose how their homework impacts their final score.

To help make better sense of the debate, we've outlined a few of the pros and cons of traditional letter grading below:

Pro: Letter grades hold students accountable

Advocates for the conventional grading system say it helps students easily identify "their improvements, mistakes, and areas they can work on," per Harlem World Magazine. Indeed, a precise scale for performance feedback allows students to discover their strengths and weaknesses and "build self-analytical skills."

"Things like grades and clear assignments can be enormously useful handrails to help you make your way," Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, told NPR. Assuming that students are "too fragile" to receive feedback from the teachers "strikes me as missing a pretty significant element of the purpose of higher education," he added.

Con: Letter grades de-emphasize learning

Critics of the letter grading system say that "students have become so preoccupied with grades, they aren't actually learning," NPR summarizes. "Grades are not a representation of student learning, as hard as it is for us to break the mindset that if the student got an A, it means they learned," said Jody Greene, special adviser to the provost for educational equity and academic success at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In fact, Greene added, letter grades "are terrible motivators for doing sustained and deep learning."

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The use of "letter grades as a currency" has "negatively distorted student motivation for generations," Jack Schneider, professor of education at the University of Massachusetts, wrote for The New York Times. "Regardless of their inclination to learn, many students strive first and foremost to get good grades."

Pro: Letter grades are universally understood

"Grading systems are universal in nature," Harlem World explained, and using a system that is understood across institutions makes it easier for students to "analyze and figure out where they stand in the world on the basis of their grades."

Indeed, that the letter grading system is easy to understand is "one clear advantage over other models," Evan Thompson wrote in a blog for The Best Schools, an education resource website. "Everyone knows what grades mean," making it "easy for students to understand where they stand in a class or on a particular subject."

Con: Letter grades perpetuate an unfair system

Champions of un-grading say it addresses "the unfairness of a system in which some students are better ready for college than others," NPR summarizes. For instance, UCSC's Greene told NPR, lower-income students are most likely to feel anxiety about grades. "Let's say they get a slightly failing grade on the first quiz. They are not likely to go and seek help. They're likely to try and disappear," Greene said.

Letter grades have been used to "justify and to provide unequal educational opportunities based on a student's race or class," Alison Yoshimoto-Towery, chief academic officer of the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Pedro A. Garcia, senior executive director of the division of instruction, said in a 2021 letter to principals. In continuing to use the old system, educators "inadvertently perpetuate achievement and opportunity gaps, rewarding our most privileged students and punishing those who are not."

Pro: Letter grades encourage competition

Letter grades incentivize students to perform well by encouraging them to compete with each other, wrote educator Patricia Willis in a blog for Study.com, an online learning platform. Competitive students "are willing to work hard because they want to be first among their peers." A pass/fail system, on the other hand, leaves "little incentive for students to work hard." This can be especially true if students "feel that extra effort makes no difference in the end."

Con: Letter grades fail to provide room for improvement

"The A-F letter-grading scale offers little room for improvement once the assignment, assessment, or course has concluded," said Jon Alfuth, senior director of state policy at the education nonprofit KnowledgeWorks, in a letter to the editor at Education Week.

"Just because I did not answer a test question correctly today doesn't mean I don't have the capacity to learn it tomorrow and retake a test," Yoshimoto-Towery told the Los Angeles Times. "Equitable grading practices align with the understanding that as people we learn at different rates and in different ways and we need multiple opportunities to do so."

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, second from right, ran the investigation that led to former President Donald Trump's indictment. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

A Manhattan grand jury on March 30, 2023, indicted former President Donald Trump on charges likely related to the cover-up of his relationship with a porn star. Hes the first U.S. president or former president to be criminally charged.

Trump is also under investigation in other cases. These include the Aug. 8, 2022, seizure of documents from his Florida home by the FBI, continued progress in a Georgia state investigation into Republican election tampering and the ongoing revelations of evidence presented by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

While charging a former president with a criminal offense is a first in the United States, in other countries ex-leaders are routinely investigated, prosecuted and even jailed.

In March 2021, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to a year in prison for corruption and influence peddling. Later that year, the trial of Israels longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu related to breaches of trust, bribery and fraud while in office commenced. And Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa who was charged with money laundering and racketeering, has yet to face trial after years of delays.

At first glance, prosecuting current or past top officials accused of illegal conduct seems like an obvious decision for a democracy: Everyone should be subject to the rule of law.

But presidents and prime ministers arent just anyone. They are chosen by a nations citizens or their parties to lead. They are often popular, sometimes revered. So judicial proceedings against them are inevitably perceived as political and become divisive.

Destabilizing prosecutions

This is partly why U.S. President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, his predecessor, in 1974. Despite clear evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the Watergate scandal, Ford feared the country would needlessly be diverted from meeting (our) challenges if we as a people were to remain sharply divided over punishing the ex-president.

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Public reaction at the time was divided along party lines. Today, some now see absolving Nixon as necessary to heal the nation, while others believe it was a historic mistake, even taking Nixons deteriorating health into account  if for no other reason than it emboldens future impunity of the kind Trump is accused of.

Our research on prosecuting world leaders finds that both sweeping immunity and overzealous prosecutions can undermine democracy. But such prosecutions pose different risks for older democracies such as France and the U.S. than they do in younger democracies like South Africa.

Mature democracies

Strong democracies are usually competent enough  and the judicial system independent enough  to prosecute politicians who misbehave, including top leaders.

Sarkozy is Frances second modern president to be found guilty of corruption, after Jacques Chirac in 2011 for kickbacks and an attempt to bribe a magistrate. The country didnt fall apart after either conviction. Some observers, however, say that Sarkozys three-year prison sentence was too harsh and politically motivated.

Sarkozy leaves court after being found guilty of corruption and influence peddling in 2021. Kiran Ridley/Getty Images

In mature democracies, prosecutions that hold leaders accountable can solidify the rule of law. South Korea investigated and convicted five former presidents starting in the 1990s, a wave of political prosecutions that culminated in the 2018 impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and, soon after, the conviction and imprisonment of her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak.

Did these prosecutions deter future leaders from wrongdoing? For what its worth, Koreas two most recent presidents have so far kept out of legal trouble.

Overzealous prosecution versus rule of law

Even in mature democracies, prosecutors or judges can abuse prosecutions. But overzealous political prosecution is more likely, and potentially more damaging, in emerging democracies where courts and other public institutions may be insufficiently independent from politics. The weaker and more beholden the judiciary, the easier it is for leaders to exploit the system, either to expand their own power or to take down an opponent.

Brazil embodies this dilemma.

Ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former shoeshine boy turned popular leftist, was jailed in 2018 for accepting bribes. Many Brazilians thought his prosecution was a politicized effort to end his career, but Lula was re-elected in October, 2022.

A year later, the same prosecutorial team accused the conservative former President Michel Temer of accepting millions in bribes. After his term ended in 2019, Temer was arrested; his trial was later suspended.

Both Brazilian presidents prosecutions were part of a yearslong sweeping anti-corruption probe by the courts that has jailed dozens of politicians. Even the probes lead prosecutor is accused of corruption.

Depending on ones perspective, Brazils crisis reveals that nobody is above the law or that the government is incorrigibly corrupt  or both. With such confusion, it becomes easier for politicians and voters to view leaders transgressions as a normal cost of doing business.

For Lula, a conviction didnt end his career. He was released from jail in 2019 and the Supreme Court later annulled his conviction. Lula is now leading the 2022 presidential race against current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Stability versus accountability

Historically, Mexico has taken a different approach to prosecuting past presidents: It doesnt.

During the 20th century, Mexicos ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, established a system of patronage and corruption that kept its members in power and other parties in the minority. While making a show of going after smaller fish for petty indiscretions, the PRI-run legal system wouldnt touch top party officials, even the most openly corrupt.

Impunity kept Mexico stable during its transition to democracy in the 1990s by placating PRI members fears of prosecution after leaving office. But government corruption flourished, and with it, organized crime.

That may be changing, though. In early August 2022, Mexican federal prosecutors confirmed that it has several open investigations into former PRI President Enrique Pena Nieto for alleged money laundering and election-related offenses, among other crimes.

A protester in Mexico City calls for the prosecution of several former presidents implicated in a corruption scandal. Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

Mexico is far from the only country to overlook the bad deeds of past leaders. Our research finds that only 23% of countries that transitioned to democracy between 1885 and 2004 charged former leaders with crimes after democratization.

Protecting authoritarians  including those who oversaw human rights violations  may seem contrary to democratic values, but many transitional governments have decided it is necessary for democracy to take root.

Thats the bargain South Africa struck as apartheids decades of segregation and human rights abuses ended in the early 1990s. South Africas white-dominated government negotiated with Nelson Mandelas Black-led African National Congress to ensure outgoing government members and supporters would avoid prosecution and largely retain their wealth.

This strategy helped the country transition to majority Black rule in 1994 and avoid a civil war. But it hurt efforts to create a more equal South Africa. As a result, the country has retained one of the worlds highest racial wealth gaps.

Corruption is a problem, too, as former President Zumas prosecution for lavish personal use of public funds shows. But South Africa has a famously independent judiciary. Despite pushback from some African National Congress stalwarts and several legal appeals, Zumas prosecution continues. And it may yet deter future misdeeds.

How mature is mature?

Israel is partly a testament to the rule of law  and partly a cautionary tale about prosecuting leaders in democracies.

Israel didnt wait for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to leave office to investigate wrongdoing. But the court process was fraught with delays, in part because Netanyahu used state power to resist what he called a witch hunt.

The trial triggered protests by his Likud party. Netanyahu tried unsuccessfully to secure immunity and stall. He was even reelected while under indictment, and his trial is not over yet.

With the Trump indictment, the process will reveal something fundamental about American democracy. Whatever the outcome, they will be a matter of both law - and politics.

This is a substantially updated version of an article originally published on March 16, 2021.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Victor Menaldo, University of Washington; James D. Long, University of Washington, and Morgan Wack, University of Washington.

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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
What if public transportation operated more like Uber than traditional transit routes, picking you up at your curb instead of a bus stop?

That's the thrust behind a pilot taking place in Delaware. It's an old-is-new-again project, combining the dial-to-ride services public transit agencies offered decades ago with new mobile app technology made popular by rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft.

"It's figuring out how to serve people that need public transit services [directly] instead of creating six route lines that don't serve many people," said John Sisson, CEO of Delaware Transit Corporation, the division of the department of transportation that runs DART First State. "It's still an evolving idea."

The pilot, known as DART Connect, started in Georgetown and Millsboro two years ago. It's coming to Newark next, beginning Aug. 7.

A DART Connect bus in Georgetown. DART Connect, an Uber-like on-demand ride service, is coming to Newark on Aug. 7.

How DART Connect works

Users request a ride through a mobile app. A mini-bus is then dispatched to pick them up and the user is given directions in the app to where the bus will pick them up. Sisson described it as a "curb-to-curb" service not a "door-to-door" as users are sometimes asked to walk a short distance to a place where the bus can pull over. A typical wait is about 15 minutes, Sisson said.

Most rides are direct, but buses can be sent by the app to pick up additional passengers on the way. The mini-buses can hold 16.

An example of the DART Connect app through which Newark residents will soon be able to request on-demand rides.

The fare is the same as a regular DART bus ride, $2 for a one-way ride. Daily ($4), weekly ($16) and monthly ($60) passes are also available.

Riders can also call DART to schedule a ride.

Testing in an urban, suburban setting

The Newark pilot will be Delaware's first test of the service, called "microtransit" in city planning parlance, in a mixed urban and suburban setting. It will be available to take riders anywhere within the city limits, Brookside and a few other immediate surrounding roads (both ends of the ride must be within the service area). It will run weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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Whether the service can hold up to the demand in a more densely populated and traveled area will be closely watched by Sisson's team. DART will deploy two buses at first, but is leaving the option open of adding more at certain times of the day and would consider instituting a hybrid-style service if they notice patterns in the rides users are requesting.

Sisson thinks the microtransit service will complement DART's existing Newark routes not compete with them. Most of Newark's fixed routes take riders in and out of the city, but "aren't designed to take people around locally," Sisson said. He envisions some calling a ride to connect to the Newark transit hub on Delaware Avenue.

DART CEO John Sisson speaks to the Public Works & Transportation Committee on bus service changes at Rodney Square during a meeting in 2018.

In Georgetown and Millsboro, DART Connect serves between 350 and 450 riders per week, according to Sisson. It replaced two "flex routes" that served a combined 300 riders per week in their waning days.

In Newark, DART Connect will replace Unicity, a free fixed route that circled the city of Newark on a 75-minute loop. Unicity averages 16 riders per day. Sisson estimated DART Connect will serve 150 to 200 daily riders.

The city currently spends about $200,000 a year on Unicity. DART will pay for the microtransit service, which will cost about $400,000 a year. The development of the app prior to the start of the Georgetown and Millsboro service was funded by a Federal Transit Administration grant.

Newark officials see it as a cost savings and a more efficient option than Unicity.

"It should be a win-win," Mayor Stu Markham said. "Not only should we get a better bus service, we should actually get less traffic downtown."

What's next

If it's successful, DART will consider expanding the service within Newark and possibly elsewhere. For now, it's one small aspect of the transit service's offerings. DART is in the middle of a year-long study called "DART Reimagined" designed to evaluate current uses and future goals of the transit system.

PREVIOUS REPORTING: Many Paratransit riders face long waits. What's being done to fix DART's transit system?

"The pandemic has changed travel patterns," Sisson said. "We need to identify areas that we're doing well and areas we need to do better."

In 2019, Delaware Transit Corporation reported 8.1 million "unlinked" trips. That figure fell to 5.1 million in 2021.

In 2021, fares generated about $9.6 million down from $21.5 million pre-pandemic. Since the pandemic, the corporation has been bolstered by federal dollars.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic on Main Street on a sunny and warm winter day in Newark on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. Newark officials are hoping DART Connect will alleviate traffic and parking concerns downtown.

In a report for Benesch, a professional services firm, Senior Project Manager Randy Farwell wrote that microtransit is a viable option in suburban and other low-density environments where existing public transit is further for most residents than they are willing to walk. It allows traditional fixed route service to stay focused on key corridors where they are most efficient.

The rise of rideshare services demonstrated the system's broad appeal, Farwell wrote. Making it an option for lower-income people through services like DART Connect should be considered by transit agencies, he said.

Jarrett Walker, an international public transit consultant, is less bullish. In many cases, he wrote, a fixed route is more efficient, especially considering the main operating cost is the driver.

He agrees it can be an option in areas with low transit demand like rural towns and low-density suburbs, but if it's too popular the service can break down.

"Flexible service will never compete with fixed route on ridership grounds, so it should stop pretending that it can," Walker wrote. "Market the service as what it is. Its one tool for providing lifeline access to hard-to-serve areas, where availability, not ridership, is the point."

Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware is investing in an Uber-like form of public transit
During the meeting of the Security Council of Russia, Vladimir Putin, claimed that he signed a decree, which approves the updated concept of main directions of the country's foreign policy.

Source: Russian Kremlin-aligned news agencies, Russian independent news outlet Meduza

Quote from Putin: "Today I signed a decree about the approval of the updated concept of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation."

Details: He had to make changes to key strategic documents due to significant changes on the international arena.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, has commented on the points of the new concept.

He stated that the structure of the document "reflects the changes in the foreign policy agenda" after the beginning of the Russian aggression.

Specifically, in the updated concept, the US is considered the "main anti-Russian agitator".

Other points of the updated concept:

the Armed Forces of Russia must be used for repelling or preventing the attack on Russia or its allies;

symmetric and asymmetric measures must be taken in response to the threats to Russia;

anti-Russian steps made by unfriendly states must be firmly stopped if necessary;

China and India are considered Russia's strategic partners.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Jacob Chansley left federal prison for a halfway house in Arizona

The US Capitol rioter known as the QAnon Shaman has been released early from prison to a halfway house.

Jacob Chansley, 35, was sentenced to 41 months in prison in November 2021. He was originally projected to be released this July.

He has been moved to a "residential re-entry management" facility in Phoenix, Arizona, and is expected be released on 25 May, according to prison records.

He received one of the longest terms handed down to any of the rioters.

Chansley - convicted of a felony count of obstruction - was one of nearly 1,000 criminal defendants charged in the 6 January 2021 riot, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as lawmakers certified President Joe Biden's election victory.

His lawyer, Albert Watkins, said in a statement that the early release of his client was "appropriate" and he should be "permitted to move forward with the next stage of what undoubtedly will be a law-abiding and enriching life".

With his face paint, horns and bearskin headdress, Chansley - an aspiring actor - became the notorious face of the raid on the seat of American democracy as his picture was beamed around the world.

He recently re-emerged in the national spotlight after Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued the riot was mostly peaceful, airing footage of the self-styled QAnon Shaman wandering the halls of Congress with police officers either escorting him, or making no attempt to bar his way.

Federal prosecutors said Mr Carlson had omitted key parts of Chansley's actions.

Chansley left a note on the dias of the Senate chamber that said: "It's only a matter of time. Justice is coming!"

His alias was a reference to a baseless conspiracy theory whose adherents believe former President Donald Trump was waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles.
In 2016, we adopted Sky, a senior dog, after I swore Id never have another dog. But this sweet Aussie-Husky mix changed our lives. She was funny and good, and she had the most beautiful blue eyes. Everyone loved her, and she loved back.

Sky died recently at age 14 after living with us for just seven years. And while we are heartbroken, I think she would want me to write about Tanzie, another older animal just looking for a home.

Tanzie, who is a cat, is the longest shelter resident at the Soffer and Fine Adoption Center.

She has lived there for six years, and the staff and everyone who has met her calls her The Queen of the Shelter. The Center is part of the Humane Society of Greater Miami in North Miami Beach.

Everyone there is on a mission to find Tanzie a fur-ever home. Sometimes they will take her to their own homes so she can get a break from the shelter.

When the director of marketing and special events at the Humane Society fostered her for three months, she witnessed an incredible turnaround in Tanzie that shows how cat behavior in a shelter isnt always a good representation of how an animal will be in a home.

Tanzie blossomed into a sweet, playful kitty in the home and, by day two, she traded in growls for purrs and love-nibbles for gentle kisses. Lap time became a regular part of Tanzies daily routine. During fostering she also showed off her playful side by running around and playing with crinkle balls and cardboard boxes.

While Tanzie prefers to be the only child in a home, she has shared a room with other cats at the shelter for years. She just needs her spot, or throne as she is The Queen. As long as she has a window or an entertaining view, she is content.

We can only imagine how much more she will open up once she finds her permanent home. Help us find this deserving girl that special home! the staff wrote.

As an adoption-guarantee facility, the Humane Society of Greater Miami will continue to care for Tanzie until she finds her forever family  no matter how long it takes. The center provides great care and attention to her and all 300-plus homeless animals in their care.

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If you are looking to adopt a furry family member, consider giving Tanzie that place in your home and heart. If not, the Humane Society asks that you please spread the word about this longtime shelter resident with friends, family and colleagues.

In honor of Tanzies sixth anniversary, the adoption fee is waived and the center is including a litter box kit, $60 worth of toys and supplies, and one bag of Purina food with her adoption. There is also the option to foster-to-adopt so that you can make sure your home is a good fit.

The staff wrote, Six years is long enough. Its time for Tanzie to get her happy tail ending!

I think our Sky would agree.

To apply to adopt Tanzie, visit https://www.humanesocietymiami.org/adopt-a-cat or stop by the shelter to meet The Queen herself. Its at 16101 W. Dixie Hwy., North Miami Beach.

The Walls Have Ears is a new play by Robby Ramos that focuses on one family during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The cast features, from left seated, David Zaldivar, Monica Steuer, and Juliana Martinez, and standing, Robby Ramos and Bill Schwartz.

Play set in Cuban Missile Crisis premieres

A new play, The Walls Have Ears by Robby Ramos, will have its world premiere at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center (WCAC) in Miami starting April 7.

Ramos is best known as Diego Cottonmouth, the wise-cracking wrestler and regular on the Starz hit TV series Heels entering its second season this fall.

In his playwriting debut, Ramos will introduce audiences to a tropical gulag during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis as a prison warden talks to an American radio host. The fate of one family hangs in the balance.

The play is presented in English April 7-23 and in Spanish April 27-May 14. It is directed by Gabriel Bonilla.

The Walls Have Ears was inspired by experiences of Ramoss grandfather, a Cuban dissident who was at the notorious prison camp where the play takes place. It is the authors love letter to Cuban political prisoners and the Cuban diaspora. The story also explores the universal themes of family ties, oppression and justice.

All performances will feature paintings, inspired by the play, by Cuban-American artist Kiki Valdes in the theater lobby. A portion of the plays proceeds will be donated to the human rights organization Cuba Decide which was co-founded by Rosa Maria Paya, the daughter of late Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya.

Tickets start at $35. There is free parking at WCAC, which is located at the main entrance to Tropical Park, 7930 SW 40 St. Tickets at www.wcacenter.org

MOCA Makers will present a Victory Garden-inspired workshop led by Miami Seed Share on April 8 in honor of Earth Month.

MOCA April exhibits are must-sees

The Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami is presenting Didier William: Nou Kite Tout Sa Deye through April 16. It is the largest solo exhibition of the Haitian-born, North Miami-raised artists career.

Also, through April 16 is Kanaval, a survey by photographer, filmmaker, curator, and writer Leah Gordon that documents 20 years of Carnival in Haiti. The installation includes a series of black-and-white photographs taken on a mechanical medium format camera, and a series of oral histories by troupe leaders who oversaw costume design. It is curated by MOCAs Adeze Wilford.

Be sure to look for Edison Penafiels Run, Run, Run like the Wind, a colorful display of nine banners hanging from the highest palm trees throughout MOCAs Plaza. This work highlights the act of escape during political turmoil, and themes of human migration, displacement and social justice. It will be up until May.

More details about these events and others focusing on Earth Month and Autism Acceptance Month are at www.mocanomi.org

Write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com with news for this column.
Trains are an important feature of a vibrant, evolving civilization.

In moving people consistently and efficiently between Points A and B, passenger rail improves job prospects. It helps students get to college, and children see their grandparents. It reduces the use of cars, easing traffic and air pollution, especially as trains move from dirty diesel to renewable diesel, and eventually, to all-electric locomotion.

While high-speed rail attracts many transit headlines these days, an effort on a parallel track, if you will, will mean much more, much sooner, to Central Valley people.

By late 2026, Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) passenger rail linking Stockton to the Bay Area will extend north to Sacramento and south to Modesto. Four years later, the Modesto line should reach Merced, where riders eventually could transfer to high-speed rail heading to Fresno and Southern California.

This effort is called the Valley Rail Program. Its visionary, its bold and its about time that the Valley assumes its rightful place in a forward-looking, connected state.

Passenger rail linking the Bay Area to the Central Valley should be extended to Sacramento and Modesto by late 2026, according to new timeline estimates. By 2030, the service could reach to Merced, where riders eventually could catch high speed rail to Fresno and Southern California.

These ACE extensions will lift points along the way as well, with stations in Elk Grove, Midtown Sacramento and Natomas near Sacramento International Airport on the northern branch by 2026, Lodi in 2027, and Sacramento City College and Old Sacramento in 2029. Others in Plumas Lake, Marysville, Gridley and Chico will follow.

The southern ACE branch will add stations in downtown Manteca and Ceres as well as Modesto by late 2026, with others in Ripon and north Lathrop a year later. Turlocks will come in 2029, and those in Livingston and Merced, in 2030.

A sister-effort will beef up Amtraks San Joaquin service with more roundtrips from Bakersfield to the capital and over the Altamont Pass. If oft-maligned high-speed rail stays on track, people heading south eventually could transfer in Merced for stops in Madera, Fresno, Hanford and Bakersfield as well as Los Angeles.

This is a big deal. The Valley Rail Program will change travel modes, shopping destinations and lives across much of California.

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The Rail Academy of Central California in Stockton will train conductors and other rail employees starting in August 2023.

Still, these dates are later than initially promised, by two to four years. The Modesto Bee Editorial Board asked the Valley Rail Program to explain the delays, which officials from the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission  the owners and operators of ACE  attributed to complexities of managing billions of dollars and the needs of multiple stakeholders. Coordinating with freight service was also cited as a reason for the delays.

Concentrating on just the line to Modesto could speed that up sooner than 2026, sure. But that would delay the line to Sacramento by several years. Doing both at the same time means modest delays for both, instead of a significant holdup for either.

We cant cherry-pick one little piece at a time, said Stacey Mortensen, the rail commissions executive director. It has to be simultaneous.

Affordable housing, too

Emerging partnerships between rail and housing projects add the intriguing element of transit-oriented development. The idea is to reduce vehicle traffic even further if people can walk from their homes to catch a ride to work or play in another city. State and federal agencies for years have tried to encourage such convenience  which reduces climate-changing emissions  by dangling grants.

The rail commission has pounced on this incentive, recently obtaining tens of millions of dollars for two affordable housing projects near depots in Stockton (Grand View Village and Hunter House) and one each in Sacramento (On Broadway) and Modesto (Archway Commons). And theyre trying for three more grant awards in an upcoming round, one each in Sacramento, Modesto and Fremont.

With promising advances in mobility and much-needed affordable housing on the horizon, extended ACE construction timelines feel more like were waiting for a train running late rather than having missed it altogether. The rail commission deserves broad support.
A Raleigh man was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison for fraud and identity theft, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Furman Alexander Ford, 53, was convicted by a jury trial last October of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft, according to a news release from the departments Eastern District of North Carolina.

As owner and operator of IAM Healthcare in Raleigh, Ford conducted a scheme to trick group homes and churches into providing Medicare information, evidence presented during his trial showed.

He then used the Medicare information to submit fraudulent claims on behalf of elderly and disabled beneficiaries who didnt receive any services from his business.

The fraud victims were at group homes in Wake, Durham, and Johnston counties and at small churches in Bladen County.

Ford also targeted small community churches in Bladen County by offering them food in exchange for Medicare information, according to court records.

Ford submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for reimbursement from December 2018 to February 2020, billing Medicare for over $500,000.

There were 74 beneficiaries whose information was stolen and had claims submitted for services they didnt receive.

Ford was paid nearly $167,000 out of $251,508 billed for those claims alone.

This 17-year sentence is fitting for a defendant who stole from the most vulnerable in our society, said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley in a news release. We live in a generous nation, but some choose to feed their greed at the expense of those in need. This defendant stole the identities of Medicare beneficiaries to defraud a taxpayer-funded program intended to help elderly, poor and disabled citizens.

The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI.

In November last year, a Cary man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for a similar scheme to defraud the North Carolina Medicaid system of more than $7 million, The News & Observer reported. Antonio Deon Fozard was sentenced in November to 151 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy and health care fraud after being investigated by the FBI.

Most recently, federal prosecutors found Raleigh doctor Anita Jackson guilty in January for netting over $4.79 million from Medicare through fraudulent means, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.
A rally is set to take place in Boston today, demanding accountability as a grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump.

A New York grand jury on Thursday is investigating the circumstances surrounding a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 has voted to indict Donald Trump, making him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges.

Donald Trump called the indictment, Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.

On Friday, at 12 p.m., people are expected to gather at the steps in front of the state house in Boston holding signs that say not above the law.

After news broke about former President Trump, a group demanding accountability organized the rally. At todays event, they are expected to express their support for the justice system. Congressman Seth Moulton said it was a sad day for America, but the justice system needs to do its work.

This is not unusual for people to get prosecuted for these things its just unusual that a former president would pay off a porn star. No matter what side of this youre on, you should take a somber approach to it and realize we need to let the American justice system do its job as it would for anybody whose indicted, Moulton said.

Massachusetts lawmakers are reacting to the news, and Congresswoman Katerine Clark responded to Thursdays indictment against Trump and said no one is above the law - including a former President of the United States.

The states Republican party issued a statement after the indictment, saying Manhattan District Attorney Bragg appears to be abusing his office for political gain with the prosecution of these charges against a presidential candidate. I would urge the DA to focus more on the safety of new yorkers than on further polarizing our already divided political environment, the Mass GOP said.

People rallying State House are asking that Trump turn himself in.

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
Palm Beach sheriffs detectives have arrested three men accused of beating and robbing rapper Daniel Hernandez at an LA Fitness gym earlier this month.

The beating of the rapper, better known as Tekashi 6ix 9ine, was bad enough that the 26-year-old was taken to the hospital.

Rafael Medina Jr., 43, Octavious Medina, 23, and Anthony Maldonado, 25, were scheduled to have their first appearance in front of a judge Friday morning, said sheriffs office spokeswoman Teri Barbera. They were arrested on Thursday.

Hernandezs attorney, Lance Lazzaro, released a statement at the time of the incident saying his client was attacked by three or four thugs who beat him up.

According to Palm Beach sheriffs Detective Eric Vasquezs March 27 probable cause affidavit, after the three men hit and kicked Hernandez inside the Lantana Road gyms locker room, they stole his sneakers, key fob to his Lamborghini SUV and his Apple iPhone.

The report said Hernandezs shoes were Balenciagas, which, range in price from $3,000 to $4,000.

The report offers no motive for the attack, but Octavious Medina told a police informant that he wanted to turn himself in because he was in the wrong and got overwhelmed with anger in the situation, Vasquez wrote in his report.

The detective does mention that Rafael Medina Jr., who is Octavious Medinas father, is a high-ranking member of the Palm Beach chapter of the Latin Kings, which Vasquez says in the report is part of a street gang alliance known as the Peoples Nation. The network includes the notorious Bloods street national street gang founded in Los Angeles in the 1970s.

Hernandez was associated with a Bloods gang, the Trey Nine Bloods, until he turned government witness and testified against them in federal court in 2019, according to news reports.

Hernandez was treated for his injuries, which included cuts to his face, at Bethesda West Hospital, according to the report.

He was able to move his Lamborghini to a neighbors home in a gated community not named in the report. He said he moved the car because he was afraid the suspects were going to locate his address and continue to hurt him, Vasquez wrote.

The three are facing battery and robbery charges, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office.

Information on the mens legal counsel was not immediately available. As of Friday morning, they were being held in county jail on no bond.
Ravenna police said they are attempting to identify a white male wearing a hooded sweatshirt and dark mask and glasses who used a knife to rob the North Chestnut Street Circle K store early Thursday morning. He is shown here in an image taken from store security video.

Ravenna police are asking for the public's help in identifying a male who robbed at knifepoint a Circle K store of nearly $500 early Thursday morning.

More: Man sentenced for assaulting disabled man during carjacking before fleeing Ravenna police

According to a police report, a clerk working in the store at 530 N. Chestnut St. said the suspect, described as a male wearing a hooded sweatshirt, black face mask and dark sunglasses, entered at a little after 3 a.m.

Police said store security video shows the suspect walking down an aisle, then returning to where the clerk was standing. He asked her who else was there and when she she responded it was just her, he raised a knife, pointed it at her and told her to go around the counter and open the two registers.

He walked with her as she did so, telling her to "hurry" multiple times. Police said the suspect can also be heard on the video saying, "everything, put it in the bag," "I don't want to stab you," and "You got a family, right?"

After the clerk put all the cash from the registers into a bag, the suspect ordered her to walk with him to the exterior door, then told her to move back to the middle of the store. He exited and could be seen running south on North Chestnut.

The store's manager said about $485 was taken.

Police said they checked the area while responding to the store after receiving a 911 call from the clerk, but did not see the suspect. A Portage County sheriff's K-9 was also deployed, but a track of the suspect was unsuccessful.

Ravenna Police Capt. Jake Smallfield said that as of Friday morning, there was no update on the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Ravenna Police Department at 330-296-6486. Tips can be made anonymously.

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna Circle K store robbed of nearly $500 at knifepoint Thursday
The first thing you notice is the light. Bright, cheerful light beams from the ceiling and through display cases to illuminate apples and potatoes and Easter baskets.

Then the smells. Pizza dough, coffee, glass cleaner, fresh air.

Then the movement, everywhere, people polishing, stacking, sweeping. Smiling. Everyone is smiling.

Dale Blair carefully lines up boxes of plastic wrap and aluminum foil onto a shelf. The last time we saw him, booted and masked, he was wheeling a grocery cart full of cans of vegetables out to be dumped into a huge mass of spoiled food. Then hed trudge back into the darkened store emanating the unbelievable stench of mud, sewer water, and meat and milk just starting to rot.

Im tickled were back, Blair said. I wasnt sure we would be.

No one was. After the July floods sent six feet of water and mud coursing through this tiny communitys beloved IGA, it seemed like an insurmountable task to reopen. Owner Gwen Christon called it the lowest point of her life.

Dale Blair, who was worked at Isom IGA for 41 years, stocks product at the grocery store in Isom, Ky.

Employees at Isom IGA in Isom, Ky., throw out canned food on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, after the business was was ravaged by historic floods. The stores entire inventory was spoiled by the flood waters. After months of cleaning, repairs and rebuilding, the grocery store is scheduled to reopen Saturday, April 1, 2023.

But on Saturday, the IGA will open its doors to customers, and next Wednesday, they will officially open with a ribbon cutting ceremony in what many call a miracle. Christon thinks that too, but she also wants it to buoy a tired region that is still struggling to rebuild.

I hope its an encouragement to people, Christon said. I want people to know it was hard and discouraging, we got depressed. But things do get better day by day. We heal. If we continue to work hard and be patient we can come back on top.

Gwen Christon, Isom IGA co-owner, poses for a portrait on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, left, and on Thursday, March 30, 2023. The grocery store, in Isom, Ky., is scheduled to reopen Saturday, April 1, 2023, after being heavily damaged by flooding eight months ago.

Before and after photos: Renovated Eastern Kentucky grocery store reopens after floods

Divine intervention?

The series of events that brought the Christons  Gwen, her husband Arthur and son Simon  and their 25 employees to this day have been nothing less than extraordinary.

A photo of Gwen standing defeated, unsure and covered in mud in aisle 10 went viral, along with the story of a grocery store that was far more than that in this Letcher County community. Corporate IGA and the National Grocers Association and hordes of people from MDI, the distribution center in North Carolina, drove in with mops and checks and promises of loans. Father Jim Sichko gave her $20,000, and when she wrote him a thank you letter, he came back with $75,000 more.

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Those donations helped hire back her entire crew after their unemployment ran out.

I do believe God has brought us back, Gwen said. God is letting people see the miracle. He has surrounded me with wonderful people from IGA to MDI, theyve been my boots on the ground.

The shelves are once again stocked at Isom IGA in Isom, Ky. Flooding in Eastern Kentucky last summer spoiled the stores entire inventory. The business is scheduled to reopen Saturday, April 1, 2023.

David Sexton, who was worked at Isom IGA for 15 years, stocks product at the grocery store in Isom, Ky., on Thursday, March 30, 2023. The grocery store is scheduled to reopen Saturday, April 1, 2023, after being heavily damaged by flooding eight months ago.

According to Carl Sivak of MDI, divine intervention is all that can explain how quickly Christon has outfitted the store with coolers and freezers that are usually on back order for nine months to a year. To get this store back together in nine months is amazing, he said.

Gwen and Arthur have owned the store for 20 years, but Joy and Van Breeding owned the land. Their son, Dr. Van Breeding, who runs the medical clinic in Whitesburg, decided he would just gift the land to them, which allowed them to apply for loans.

Hunt Brothers Pizza wanted to set up pizza sales in the store, so they donated a setup worth $30,000 of pizza ovens, digital signs and a display stand.

The Lord has just put things in order for us, Simon Christon said. Theres no other explanation.

Simon Christon, whose parents  Gwen and Arthur Christon  own Isom IGA in Isom, Ky., smiles while giving a tour of the grocery store on Thursday, March 30, 2023.

Passing the torch

Like most grocery stores, the top of the walls are covered in photographic banners of meat and eggs and fruit. But interspersed between them are images of real people from Letcher County and the region, taken by local photographer Malcolm Wilson.

It was Simons idea because, he said, hes always liked design, and photographs of local people would cement the IGA as a community center.

Wilson is a photographer who started the Humans of Central Appalachia Facebook page with his late wife, and has a repository of more than 20,000 photos from all over the region. The Christons picked photos for the store  the late Hope Campbell holding a Bible, a close-up shot of the roughened hands of a coal miner, a smiling boy selling eggs at a stand, banjo player Lee Boy Sexton, the golden sourdough loaves from the Black Sheep Bakery in Hemphill.

A photograph of the late Hope Campbell, a former area resident, taken by local photographer Malcolm Wilson, is displayed on a photo banner in Isom IGA in Isom, Ky.

Its all about the community for us, Simon said. Weve got to provide that. Its their store.

Wilson was thrilled. To say Im honored is an understatement, not many photographers get a permanent gallery for their work. I love these folks to death.

The remodel includes a new community room where people can hold meetings or birthday parties or just hang out. Simon has worked on getting more specialty items and choices so this place can be a one stop shop.

Its been a long time for people, who are now used to going to Whitesburg for shopping, and Gwen thinks it may take a while for their customer base to build back up.

But employee Michelle Maggard disagrees. I think its going to skyrocket, she said. People are going to be so excited. This is a ray of light that shows people can work and not give up, that you need to keep your faith. If we can do it, you can do it.

She puts it all to Gwen, who has been the center of Isom for a long time. Gwen exemplifies that good fortune comes to good people, karma or the Golden Rule or whatever it is.

To know her is to love that woman, Maggard said. People literally come in because they were treated like family here. Its something you just dont get at Walmart.

Gwen will remain in her perch in the office at the front of the store, but eventually she would like to cut back, rest a while and hand more of the business over to Simon. That may work out, too. Simon has a business degree and was supposed to start work at the ARH clinic in Whitesburg just before COVID. That was put off, so he helped out his mom, engineering a system for people to call in a grocery order and pick it up at the store during the height of the pandemic.

Right before he was supposed to go to the clinic job in July, he said to me I dont think I want to leave, do you mind if I stay? Gwen recounted with a smile. I said Ive been hoping for 25 years that youd take to this. He loves the business and the community.

Its all about the love for this community. I think thats the secret to the whole thing.
Police said a man made up a fake email account, bank statements and wire transfers, posed as a local attorney and tried to trick his own real estate agent and the homeowners so he could scam his way into a mansion worth $5 million.

Timothy Bierly is accused of attempting to pull off a major real estate scheme in the North Hills.

The owners of a Richland Township estate were trying to sell their home last summer.

Northern Regional Police said Bierly took a tour of the home with a real estate agent and lied to the owners and his agent that he could afford it and buy it with cash, claiming he just sold his business in Florida for $52 million.

He claimed his title attorney would wire the owners the down payment for about $50,000.

We believe he made up an email account with her name and sending his real estate agent and homeowner emails, posing as the attorney, said Chief John Sicilia with Northern Regional Police Dept.

The police chief John Sicilia said Bierly was posing as the title attorney the entire time, allegedly using the name Kathleen Schneider who is an attorney in Pittsburgh.

When Bierly was pretending to be Schneider, he kept delaying the closing of the home.

They would have a date set for the home inspection, do the walk throughs, whenever they would have the closing and everything kept getting postponed, and made the homeowner suspicious, said Sicilia.

The homeowner then went to Schneiders law office, who had no idea of what was going on.

Schneider sent Channel 11 a statement saying:

It is my understanding that my name and a fake email address were used in connection with an attempted fraudulent real estate transaction by someone allegedly named Tim Bierly. Thankfully, the potential victim caught on and did not proceed with the transaction. I had no knowledge that my name was being used to commit the alleged fraud until I was contacted by the potential victim.

The homeowner got Northern Regional Police involved and police also found falsified wire transfers and bank statements from Bierly.

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The documents were very believable this guy was very good at expressing himself and very convincing, said Sicilia.

Police were able to catch Bierly in Rhode Island on Friday.

He was just picked up in Rhode Island where he was facing unrelated criminal charges in that town and notified the authorities up there that we had the warrant so now hes in custody, said Sicilia.

Bierly is facing charges including forgery and criminal attempted theft by deception.

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Dracula (Nicolas Cage) and Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) in Renfield. (Universal)

Nicolas Cage playing Dracula? It's a casting match made in heaven... or should that be hell? Either way, it's a treat we'll all be able to enjoy on the big screen when Renfield hits cinemas on Friday, 14 April.

Directed by The Lego Batman Movie's Chris McKay, the film features Mad Max: Fury Road's Nicholas Hoult as the titular Renfield, Dracula's lackey who decides to try and end the toxic relationship he has with his blood-obsessed boss when he falls for a new love interest. Unsurprisingly, it's not that easy to do.

Having played so many different roles in so many different ways, all eyes are on Cage with regards to how exactly he'll tackle a role as rich and devilish as the Prince of Darkness. That said, he's hardly the first big-name star to give it a stab.

Read more: Renfield stars admit seeing Nicolas Cage as Dracula was 'pretty intimidating'

When a character has been portrayed so many times on screen, it is perhaps inevitable that some performances  even those from very well-known actors  may slip through the cracks somewhat. Here are a mere handful of the famous names to have tried their hand at playing the Transylvanian terror, in movies which we tend to overlook (sometimes with good reason)

Gerard Butler

Gerard Butler as Count Dracula in Dracula 2000. (Dimension)

Before he attained tough guy leading man status in 300, Butler landed his first major role in Dracula 2000, a glossy modernisation of the character produced by horror legend Wes Craven and directed by Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine, Drive Angry).

Sadly this proved a rather inauspicious introduction to audiences and Butler was largely overshadowed by his co-stars, including Johnny Lee Miller as the cartoonish hero, Christopher Plummer as Van Helsing, and Jeri Ryan  very much a late 90s pin-up from her role in Star Trek: Voyager  as a voluptuous vampire bride.

Richard Roxburgh

Richard Roxburgh as Dracula in 2004's Van Helsing. (Alamy)

The Australian character actor, best known for his roles in Mission Impossible II and Moulin Rouge at the time, was hardly the most obvious choice to play the Count in Van Helsing, Stephen Sommers misguided mega-budget attempt to revive the Universal monster movie brand, with Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale.

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Nor did the film approach the character in a traditional way, eschewing his usual aristocratic dress sense in favour of an unorthodox gypsy look, replete with ponytail and earrings. Alas, none of these risks paid off, leaving Roxburghs performance as just one of the many disappointments the film had in store.

Frank Langella

Frank Langella in 1979's Dracula (Alamy)

The long-standing American stage and screen actor has played some notorious tyrants over the years  notably Richard Nixon and Skeletor  but many seem to have forgotten his title role in the 1979 version of Dracula from director John Badham (Saturday Night Fever, Short Circuit).

In some ways, this isnt surprising, as its hardly the most compelling take on the story ever shot, although it does go some way to reviving the romantic interpretation which would be developed further in Francis Ford Coppollas version, and has quite a notable co-star in Sir Laurence Olivier as Van Helsing.

Jack Palance

One of Hollywoods foremost masters of villainy also took on the arch vampire in a 1974 adaptation directed by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis, and scripted by legendary sci-fi/horror writer Richard Matheson (himself responsible for one of the 20th centurys greatest vampire novels, I Am Legend).

Perhaps the key reason this one is largely forgotten is that it was made for TV. Infamously, when facing off against Nigel Davenports Van Helsing, the Count hisses through his teeth, city folk! (Okay, we might have made that bit up.)

Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilson and Ringo Starr appeared in 1974's Son of Dracula. (Alamy)

Thats right, the man who sang Without You and Everybodys Talkin also portrayed the king of the vampires sort of.

In one of those utterly bonkers-sounding films that could surely only have happened in the mid-70s, Nilsson played Draculas heir Count Downe (groan) in Son of Dracula, a 1974 musical comedy (not to be confused with Universals 1943 film of the same name, which also made a curious casting decision in Lon Chaney Jr. as the new Count).

Just in case it doesnt sound strange enough already, the film also features Ringo Starr as Merlin. Panned on release and hard to find nowadays, allegedly Starr owns a copy but says he cant bring himself to watch it.

Rutger Hauer

No, were not confusing this with the Blade Runner icons appearance as the villainous Lothos in 1992s original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie.

Hauer portrayed the most famous vampire of all in one of his lesser-seen films: 2005s Dracula III: the Legacy, a direct-to-DVD second sequel to Dracula 2000, following on from Gerard Butler and Dracula II star Steven Billington (bit of Doctor Who-ish regeneration going on there).

Hauer later returned to Bram Stokers classic, this time taking on the role of Van Helsing in Dario Argentos Dracula 3D. Neither film is likely to be held up as a career highlight.

Renfield will be released in cinemas on Friday, 14 April. Watch a trailer below.
(Bloomberg) -- Republicans introduced legislation to trigger punitive sanctions against China in the event of a Taiwan invasion as tensions between Washington and Beijing escalated over a US visit by the self-ruled islands president.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin are sponsoring the bill, which would mandate sweeping sanctions against Chinese financial institutions and industrial sectors and prohibit US financial institutions from investing in any entity deemed to benefit the Chinese Communist party, if China were to invade Taiwan.

Gallagher is the chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

Prospects for the measure are unclear. The legislation didnt pass during the last Congress and House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul, whose panel has jurisdiction over the measure, said he had not been consulted on that bill.

But the legislation is being introduced as Taiwan again becomes a flashpoint in the relationship between Washington and Beijing.

China has warned that a visit to the US by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will further damage relations with Washington, already undermined by a recent dispute over an alleged spy balloon. Inflaming matters more, Tsai is set to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles next week.

Tsai said at a dinner banquet Wednesday after landing in New York that the security of the world hinges on her self-ruled islands fate.

Sullivan and Gallagher presented their legislation as a critical deterrent to Chinese aggression against Taiwan.

The legislation would show Beijing the U.S. will not hesitate to respond with crippling and comprehensive economic sanctions on any person or company supporting a CCP invasion of Taiwan, Gallagher said in a statement.

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Top Republican allies and rivals of former US president Donald Trump on Thursday denounced his indictment as a politically motivated attempt to derail his 2024 White House bid.

Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House of Representatives and second in line to the presidency, and others lashed out at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, who pushed the criminal inquiry against Trump.

"Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election," McCarthy said. "He weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump.

"The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account," McCarthy said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, seen as Trump's main potential rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, called the indictment "un-American."

"The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head," DeSantis said. "It is un-American."

He accused Bragg of "stretching the law to target a political opponent."

A New York grand jury indicted Trump on Thursday over hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, making him the first ever serving or former president to face criminal charges.

Donald Trump Jr, the 76-year-old president's eldest son, called the indictment "weaponized justice at its absolute worst."

"This is third world prosecutorial misconduct," said Eric Trump, another of his sons. "It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year."

Representative Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican in the House, denounced the indictment as "unprecedented election interference" and a "political witch-hunt."

"The radical Far Left will stop at nothing to persecute Joe Biden's chief political opponent ahead of the 2024 presidential election to suppress the will and voice of the American people," Stefanik said.

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Representative Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a long-time Trump ally, had a one-word reaction.

"Outrageous," Jordan tweeted.

"I stand with Trump!!!" tweeted another close Trump ally, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia.

Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican Party, also came out in support of the former president.

"When our justice system is weaponized as a political tool, it endangers all of us," said McDaniel.

She accused Bragg of a "blatant abuse of power" and alleged that he was "focused on political vengeance instead of keeping people safe."

cl/tjj/sst
Former President Donald Trump at the America First Policy Institute in D.C., July 26, 2022.

Former President Donald Trump at the America First Policy Institute in D.C., July 26, 2022. Credit - Kent NishimuraLos Angeles Times/Getty Images

Donald Trump made history on Thursday, becoming the first former U.S. president to be criminally charged, after a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him in a case related to paying hush money to former adult movie star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. The news comes as Trump is in the midst of his third campaign for President. In a statement, he called the indictment political persecution and election interference at the highest level.

Many of the former Presidents fellow Republicans have quickly come to his defense, expressing varying levels of dismay at the indictment, with some even vowing to take official countermeasures however they can.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is believed to be Trumps main rival for the GOP presidential nomination, lambasted the indictment. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct, DeSantis tweeted, referring to Democratic mega-donor George Soros and Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney overseeing the case. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

DeSantis added that Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances. The Constitution and federal law require states to comply with other states extradition requests, though one of Trumps attorneys told TIME that the former President is expected to turn himself in to be arraigned in New York on Tuesday.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise called the indictment on Thursday night a sham, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also backed Trump, tweeting that Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election. McCarthy added that the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

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A number of Republican members of Congress responded similarly on Twitter:

The weaponization of our justice system CAN NOT STAND!  Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 30, 2023

The Democrat Partys hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds. The substance of this political persecution is utter garbage.



This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 30, 2023

This indictment doesn't pass the smell test. The Department of Justice already looked into the facts and decided there was no case to be made against President Trump. This is the same District Attorney who is notorious for letting violent criminals off the hook in Manhattan, but  Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) March 30, 2023

If Alvin Braggs newly secured indictment of President Trump looks like a political prosecution, sounds like a political prosecution, and reeks like a political prosecution, then thats exactly what this is and precisely how most of America will view it.  Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) March 30, 2023

This is an attack on every American, tweeted Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. Every single Member of Congress needs to think long and hard about their oath of office. Your next moves will show the world exactly who you are.

Its not clear, however, what Congress can do. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia called once again for President Joe Bidens impeachment, tweeting that the gloves are off.

Impeach Biden.



Hes given us every reason and the family banking records and more are giving us receipts.



But now that the gloves are off..



Prosecute any and all crimes.



Enough of this witch hunt bullshit.  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 30, 2023

Some Republicans have used the indictment to raise money. The Deep State thinks this will destroy our movement and keep you quiet, the National Republican Congressional Committee reportedly sent in a fundraising email that implored recipients to prove them wrong.

After YEARS of sham impeachment attempts, the radical Left is still refusing to give up on their liberally biased vendetta, reads a fundraising email from Missouri Senator Josh Hawley. Stand with conservatives NOW.

Speaking to Fox News, Hawley said Congress must call on Attorney General Merrick Garland to question if the Biden administration or dark money were involved in the indictment.

Trumps former Vice President Mike Pence, who just earlier this month said at a political dinner that history will hold Donald Trump accountable for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, told CNN on Thursday night that the indictment of a former U.S. President on a campaign finance issue is an outrage.

How does this end? Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on Fox News on Thursday. Trump wins in court, and he wins the election. Thats how this ends.

House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York said in a statement: Tens of millions of patriotic Americans have never been so energized to exercise their constitutional rights to peacefully organize and VOTE at the ballot box to save our great republic by electing President Donald J. Trump in 2024.

There is no coming back from this moment, said Fox News host Tucker Carlson, adding later that its probably not the best time to give up your AR-15s.

Rudy Giuliani, Trumps former lawyer, tweeted after the news of the indictment that its a sad day for America.

Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican representative from Illinois, expressed a similar sentiment, posting on Twitter that today is a somber day for our nation. But Kinzinger, who was one of only 10 Republicans to back Trumps impeachment in 2021, is among the few members of his party who arent outraged by the former Presidents indictment. Donald Trump committed many crimes, but this indictment should be a reminder that in America, NO ONE is above the law.

Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman from Nebraska, was more reserved in his reaction to the indictment than some of his colleagues. Bacon told Axios that he trusts the legal system: Theres checks and balances with a jury, judges and appeals. President Trump will be able to make his defense and well all see if this is a partisan prosecution or not.

Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas and a potential Republican primary contender against Trump, previously suggested that the former President should drop out of the 2024 race if charged. After the indictment, he said in a statement that it is essential that the decision on Americas next President be made at the ballot box and not in the court system. Donald Trump should not be the next President, but that should be decided by the voters.

Trump has survived years of legal trouble before. Michael Cohen, Trumps former personal attorney and a key witness to the Manhattan prosecutors, told CNN that this indictment was a long time coming.
Republicans are rushing to defend former President Trump after his indictment on Thursday in an alleged hush money scheme, signaling that the criminal charges could bolster his standing in the 2024 presidential race and ease his path to the GOP nomination.

The indictment doesnt bar Trump from running for the White House. Yet it marked an extraordinary turn for the former president, who is seeking to reclaim the Oval Office after a 2020 loss that roiled the GOP and sparked a party-wide reckoning over Trumps political instincts and broader appeal among the countrys voters.

While theres still an uncertain road ahead for Trump, many Republicans said that the indictment would only strengthen his standing among an influential conservative base and complicate his GOP rivals efforts to cut into his support in an expectedly contentious 2024 primary.

It may turn traditional Republicans away from Trump but it solidifies his position with MAGA [Make America Great Again] voters and will make it harder for other candidates to win them over, said Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor, adding that Trump will make great use of this. It will give him a big fundraising boost and lots of free media.

The indictment has put Trump back at the top of the polls, supercharged his online fundraising and scattered landmines in front of every Republican challenging him for the nomination.

Trump has given every indication that he will continue on with his presidential campaign in spite of the indictment, using the charges against him as a cudgel to argue that Democrats are desperate to take him out of the 2024 race because they fear a rematch against him.

John Feehery, a Republican strategist, slammed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), whose office is behind the indictment, saying that he made a mistake in charging Trump.

Braggs a joke. This was a stupid thing for him to do, Feehery said, adding that Trumps opponents in the presidential campaign wont use this against him. If this had more validity, they would use this against Trump, but its so stupid. Bragg doesnt come across as a prosecutor. He comes off as a political hack. Bragg is going to be the easy guy to attack.

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Yet some Republicans said that the indictment carries considerable risks for Trump. He is the first current or former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges, and many in the GOP have already grown weary from the various controversies and dramas that have swirled around Trump and his political career.

Kevin Madden, a longtime Republican strategist who worked as a senior adviser for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) during his presidential bid in 2012, said for any other candidate the indictment would be a huge obstacle that would prevent them from advancing politically.

But hes going to use this to his advantage. His team has already signaled theyre going to paint this as politically motivated, Madden said.

At the same time, Madden added, Trump fatigue has set in and the nonstop focus on this  thats going to weigh heavily on some voters and over time the burden could get greater and greater on this.

The biggest question is What are his declared opponents going to do? he continued. This would be a gift to any other field of candidates  it should open it up and scramble the race but thats only if the other candidates try and take advantage of it.

For Republicans hoping to challenge Trump for the GOPs 2024 presidential nod, the indictment also carries serious political risks. One Republican strategist whos been in touch with multiple 2024 hopefuls said that the next several weeks could prove difficult for both declared and potential candidates.

Republicans are going to rally around Trump and so the question is: How do you find a way to go after him without pissing off a lot of the people that youre trying to win over? the strategist said. I dont know that I have a good answer right now.

For now, Trumps rivals are standing behind him. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who jumped into the race last month, condemned the charges as a dangerously politicized prosecution, while former Vice President Pence, a prospective 2024 candidate, called the indictment an outrage.

Another 2024 contender, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, slammed the charges against Trump on Thursday, tweeting that the indictment is more about revenge than it is justice.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who hasnt yet announced a campaign but is widely expected to in the coming months, said that he would not assist in any extradition request, and tweeting on Thursday that the indictment was un-American. Trump is a Florida resident, and while state law allows the governor to intervene in extradition matters if they are contested, he would not be able to stop it altogether.

Early polling shows DeSantis has the most serious threat to Trumps 2024 ambitions, making him the target of near-constant attacks from the former president and his allies. One DeSantis ally said that he could use the indictment to distinguish himself from Trump in the coming months and telegraph that he wouldnt bring the same kind of drama to the White House.

Republican strategist Susan Del Percio, who doesnt support Trump, said, politically for now [the indictment] will be a wash with Republican primary voters. Trump doesnt gain any votes, but he doesnt lose any core support.

Yet she argued that the charges are very bad news for Ron DeSantis. For at least a week, it will be all Donald Trump all the time, so DeSantis should put his book tour on hold.

On the other hand, if he has any negative news that may come out, he should get it out next week because all eyes will be on Trump, she added.

How the indictment plays out among the broader electorate remains an open question. A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday found that while 55 percent of voters surveyed believe that Braggs office is probing for serious claims, 60 percent also believe the case is politically motivated.

Feehery, the Republican strategist, said Democrats are trying to use the charges against Trump to peel away independent voters. Ultimately, he predicted, that effort would come back to haunt them.

The long game is theyre trying to influence independent voters, he said. Theyre hoping that theres enough of a stain that it has an impact on independent voters, but when the FBI raided Mar a Lago, it backfired.

The ultimate problem here is that people will start losing faith in the justice system, Feehery added. Theyre basically criminalizing politics, and thats how Trump supporters will see it.

Yet others are less certain about what Trumps indictment will mean for the 2024 presidential race. The first primaries are still nearly a year away, and theres likely a long legal road ahead for Trump, who also faces multiple other possible indictments in separate cases, including a federal investigation into his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection and a grand jury inquiry into his alleged intervention in the 2020 election in Georgia. Trump is expected to be arraigned next week in the New York hush money case.

The most honest answer I can give: I dont know. I dont know what it means for the country, the GOP, 2024, etc., said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist. I dont know how voters react or how Trump will behave as this process plays out. And I suspect no one else does either.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday night that a Democratic prosecutors criminal charges against former President Donald Trump represent nothing less than an assault on the United States of America.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an effort to tilt the 2024 presidential election in favor of Democrats, according to the most powerful Republican on Capitol Hill.

As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump, McCarthy said in a prepared statement. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

McCarthy was one of several Republicans not just criticizing Braggs charges, which remain under seal, but suggesting that Trump should not be prosecuted by a Democrat for violating the law under any circumstances. Their statements dont specify any possible charges or explain why they might be bogus, implying instead that the case is fundamentally flawed simply because Bragg is a Democrat.

The sham New York indictment of President Donald Trump is one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the No. 2 House Republican, said in a tweet.

Even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely expected to be Trumps top rival for the GOP presidential nomination, called the indictment a purely political attack. The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head, DeSantis said. It is un-American.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has already endorsed Trumps 2024 candidacy, called the case legal voodoo and political persecution. (Meanwhile, the top two Republicans in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, have said nothing.)

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Braggs case relates to hush money payments Trump made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her publicizing an alleged tryst just days before the 2016 election. Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to making unlawful campaign contributions for his role in the scheme, since the $130,000 payoff to Daniels amounted to a campaign expense and greatly exceeded legal contribution limits.

The following year, Cohen provided Congress with documents reflecting the series of checks Trump wrote to reimburse him for the initial payment to Daniels.

So picture this scene, Cohen told lawmakers during a hearing. In February 2017, one month into his presidency, Im visiting President Trump in the Oval Office for the first time, and its truthfully awe-inspiring. Hes showing me all around and pointing to different paintings. And he says to me something to the effect of, Dont worry, Michael. Your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. They were FedExd from New York, and it takes a while for that to get through the White House system.

Cohen is likely a main witness in Braggs case, and Republicans say hes not credible because hes a convicted criminal who repeatedly lied on Trumps behalf when he worked as the former presidents lawyer. Republicans have also noted that federal prosecutors declined to press charges against Trump over the campaign finance violation, which, they argue, indicates a weak case.

Bragg is not a federal prosecutor, so his charges could relate to state business records laws, since the payments to Cohen were labeled as legal expenses. But we dont know yet, because the charges remain under seal.

Trump may also face charges in Georgia related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, plus federal charges related to the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and his refusal to turn over official documents at the end of his term.

Some prominent Republicans have acknowledged the uncertainty of the situation  and even gone so far as to note that former presidents of the United States are, in fact, subject to the same laws as everyone else.

No one is above the law, including former presidents, former Vice President Mike Pence said on CNN Thursday, before adding that a controversy over campaign finance shouldnt be the basis of such an unprecedented prosecution.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who opposes Trumps 2024 presidential bid, even suggested people should wait to see the facts of the case.

While the grand jury found credible facts to support the charges, it is important that the presumption of innocence follows Mr. Trump, Hutchinson said. We need to wait on the facts and for our American system of justice to work like it does for thousands of Americans every day.

But Hutchinson and Pence are outliers. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), for one, called the indictment devastating to the rule of law.

Cruz told HuffPost earlier this month that even if Trump did violate state law by creating fraudulent business expenses, that would only be a trifling offense.

It may be that you committed a crime this morning if you sped a mile an hour over the speed limit, but our justice system doesnt target someone you dont like and go searching for a needle in a haystack to bring a partisan prosecution, Cruz said.

Related...
HUDSONVILLE  A Hudsonville resident has filed a complaint with the Michigan State Attorney Generals Office claiming school board members, some affiliated with far-right group Ottawa Impact, violated the Open Meetings Act.

More: Texts show Ottawa Impact officials orchestrated law firm change before taking office

More: AG: Ottawa Impact violated spirit of OMA, stronger transparency laws needed

In an email sent to Attorney General Dana Nessels office on Monday, March 27, the resident said four members of the Hudsonville School Board violated OMA, which prohibits decision-making outside of the public view.

The resident obtained the text messages and emails cited in the email, which she shared with The Sentinel, through a Freedom of Information Act request. Nessel's office did not respond to an email or phone call from The Sentinel by publication deadline.

The records show incumbents Barb Hooper and Mark Davis and newcomers Greg Chanski and Nick Bolhuis communicating privately between Dec. 12 and Jan. 19, discussing their plans for board chair and how each person should vote in order to secure a controlling majority on the seven-member board.

The board had its first organizational meeting Jan. 19, but all three of November's re-elected or elected members  Hooper, Chanski and Bolhuis  signed acceptance of their oaths of public office on Nov. 28.

The Open Meetings Act requires public bodies to hold public meetings if a quorum  the minimum number of members required to make a decision valid  is present. In addition, OMA says any decisions or discussions on matters that could pertain to a decision must also be conducted in a public meeting.

As evidenced by the attached text message communications, these conversations illustrating their plan to vote for each other for board member officer positions for the Jan. 19 board meeting clearly fall into the category of a consensus-building process that equates to decision-making, the resident wrote in her complaint.

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She cited the Open Meetings Handbook, which says if board members use telephone calls or sub-quorum meetings to achieve the same intercommunication that could have been achieved in a full board or commission meeting, the members' conduct is susceptible to round-the-horn decision-making, which achieves the same effect as if the entire board had met publicly and formally cast its votes. A round-the-horn process violates the OMA.

The messages begin Dec. 12, with Bolhuis texting Hooper: Are you ready to be President (smiley face emoji)?

I dont know, Hooper responded. Im a bit nervous. I also think you would make a great President.

Greg, Andrew and I shouldnt be yet. Were too fresh, Bolhuis texted back. Depending on the extra workload, I would be willing to consider VP if you are President.

You would be very good. I just need support of the board, Hooper responded. Its just been Mark and I and everything has been a battle with (Superintendent) Doug (VanderJagt). (Former Board President) Ken (Hall) agrees with everything he says and wont rock the boat. Ken can stop having RULER (sic) on the agenda for Thursday.

It will be different come January, Bolhuis texted back.

Yes, Hooper responded.

Messages between Chanski and Hooper on Jan. 6 show Chanski saying, You and Nick would make an excellent team and Hooper responding the next day: I thought you wanted to be VP??? Thank you for your confidence.

Greg Chanski

Chanski also communicated with Bolhuis on Jan. 7, outlining how the nomination process would unfold during the first meeting of the year.

Spoke with Barb and she is excited that you are up for VP, Chanski texted. Mark will nominate Barb for President and then someone will nominate you. (Four) votes are required and the votes are with us.

Hall, who was still board president prior to Jan. 19, sent an email to all board members Jan. 15, reminding them that decisions on officers cannot be made prior to the meeting, and asked VanderJagt and staff to send the members the script for the nomination process to board members before the meeting. This will allow members to understand the process.

Barb Hooper

Despite the reminder, Davis emailed Hooper on Jan. 16, saying: Im prepared to nominate you for president. I trust youll accept. We need a change.

You are going to need to be quick nominating me on Thursday, Hooper responded. Nick called me tonight and Doug (VanderJagt) called him today and Nick felt like he was fishing and asked about officer positions.  Nick thinks Dawn (Sneden) will be nominating Ken right away. I told Nick (that) Dougs phone call was totally inappropriate. He is obviously worried.

On Jan. 17, Chanski texted Bolhuis: Mark will be nominating Barb for President. I will be nominating Nick for VP. Mark will nominate Greg for Finance. Remember to vote for yourself. End of story.

Nick Bolhuis

"By communicating their voting intentions through text messages, to the point of copying and pasting messages to individuals, it is clear board members Greg Chanski, Barb Hooper, Mark Davis, and Nick Bolhuis have violated the Open Meetings Act of 1976 by conspiring and circumventing the public body in this decision," the resident wrote in her complaint.

The release of the messages seems to contradict assurances that Hooper, Chanski and Bolhuis made at the Jan. 19 meeting about transparency.

We will be very transparent, Hooper said after being elected board president. There will be no added agenda items, unless (Superintendent Doug) VanderJagt brings something forward, as he occasionally does, as it's emergent.

More: Hudsonville school board pledges transparency after public raises concerns

More: 'Essentially we were lied to': Allendale School Board member demands recision of law firm vote

The concerns came after more than 100 community members attended the meeting, some worried about board members' potential affiliation with Ottawa Impact.

Ottawa Impact is an upstart political group borne from clashes over the countys COVID-19 mitigation mandates in 2020. Its founders, Moss and Board Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea, were unsuccessful in suing the previous board of commissioners and the county's former health officer.

In response, they targeted seats on the board in 2022, recruiting like-minded candidates who agreed traditional Republicans werent enforcing true conservative policies. They successfully defeated enough incumbents in the August primary to secure a majority on the 11-member county board of commissioners and hold a majority on the Allendale Public Schools Board of Education.

Joe Moss sits with his fellow commissioners during an Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in West Olive.

Hooper, Chanski and Bolhuis were listed as parent picks by OI, but weren't vetted or funded by the Ottawa Impact PAC. The three campaigned together with shared signs and identical values, many similar to those of OI candidates, on their campaign websites.

The group did receive support from the PAC "Education Excellence in HPS." Moss made a small donation, $25, to the PAC during the campaign cycle.

While these are candidates that campaigned on transparency and accountability, their actions indicate they are willing to continue conspiring and communicating outside of the law on other decisions in the future, the resident wrote in her complaint.

A similar scenario played out in Allendale Public Schools in late January when, at that school board's first meeting of the year, new Ottawa Impact-affiliated members fired its longtime legal counsel in favor of Lansing-based Kallman Legal Group.

More: 'Essentially we were lied to': Allendale School Board member demands recision of law firm vote

Less than a week later, The Sentinel reported the newly elected OI members of the board methodically arranged through emails and text messages for KLG to take over legal services for the district nearly six weeks before the candidates were sworn into office.

The communications were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by an Ottawa County resident, who shared it with The Sentinel.

The county board followed a similar script days earlier. On Jan. 3, after swearing eight new candidates into office, several agenda items were added with no notice and sweeping changes were made, including:

Firing former administrator John Shay and hiring former Republican congressional candidate John Gibbs

Eliminating the county's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office

Changing the county motto from "Where You Belong" to "Where Freedom Rings"

Firing former corporate counsel Doug Van Essen and replacing him with KLG

The Michigan Attorney General's Office announced Jan. 4 it would investigate the county board's first meeting and evaluate if the group violated the state's Open Meetings Act.

After a nearly six-week review, Nessel announced Feb. 16 that, although the OI commissioners' conduct was a blatant violation of the publics trust and the tenets of government transparency, it didn't technically violate state law.

Nessel planned to urge state lawmakers to view Ottawa County as a reason to strengthen "sunshine laws," which include OMA and the state's Freedom of Information Act.

"Theres no question that there were things that occurred involving this county commission that were really disturbing, Nessel told The Sentinel.

Nessel noted Ottawa County residents could still pursue legal action, which could set new precedent for what commissioners can and can't do before taking office.

One citizen group did just that and filed a lawsuit March 8, alleging the Ottawa Impact majority violated OMA at its inaugural meeting.

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The suit seeks to nullify the decisions made by the board Jan. 3, arguing Ottawa Impact commissioners were a de facto public body and required to adhere to OMA beginning Nov. 9  the day after the general election  because, during that period, they:

Constituted a majority and quorum of the incoming board

Performed government functions by meeting and communicating in-person or electronically to deliberate and make decisions on public policy

Exercised government authority by directing Ottawa County employees to carry out their decisions  orders that were obeyed

A hearing on that lawsuit had not been scheduled as of publication time.

 Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Resident: Hudsonville school board members violated Open Meetings Act
VATICAN CITY (AP)  The Vatican on Thursday responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, the theories backed by 15th-century papal bulls that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property laws today.

A Vatican statement said the papal bulls, or decrees, did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples and have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith.

The statement, from the Vaticans development and education offices, marked a historic recognition of the Vatican's own complicity in colonial-era abuses committed by European powers. It was issued under history's first Latin American pontiff, who was hospitalized Thursday with a respiratory infection, exactly one year after Francis met at the Vatican with Indigenous leaders from Canada who raised the issue.

On Thursday, these Indigenous leaders welcomed the statement as a first good step, even though it didn't address the rescinding of the bulls themselves and continued to take distance from acknowledging actual Vatican culpability in abuses. The statement said the papal documents had been manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers to justify immoral acts against Indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition from ecclesial authorities.

It said it was right to recognize these errors, acknowledge the terrible effects of colonial-era assimilation policies on Indigenous peoples and ask for their forgiveness.

More: Vatican: Pope to be hospitalized for days for lung infection

FILE - Pope Francis arrives for a pilgrimage at the Lac Saint Anne, Canada, on July 26, 2022. The Vatican on Thursday, March 30, 2023, responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, the theories backed by 15th-century papal bulls that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property law today. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

The statement was a response to decades of Indigenous demands for the Vatican to formally rescind the papal bulls that provided the Portuguese and Spanish kingdoms the religious backing to expand their territories in Africa and the Americas for the sake of spreading Christianity.

Those decrees underpin the Doctrine of Discovery, a legal concept coined in a 1823 U.S. Supreme Court decision that has come to be understood as meaning that ownership and sovereignty over land passed to Europeans because they discovered it.

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It was cited as recently as a 2005 Supreme Court decision involving the Oneida Indian Nation written by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

During Pope Francis 2022 visit to Canada, where he apologized to Indigenous peoples for the residential school system that forcibly removed Native children from their homes, he was met with demands for a formal repudiation of the papal bulls.

Two Indigenous women unfurled a banner at the altar of the National Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre on July 29 that read: Rescind the Doctrine in bright red and black letters.

Before that, Michelle Schenandoah of the Oneida Nation had called for the Vatican to rescind the papal bulls when she delivered the closing remarks of the First Nations delegation that met with Francis during a weeklong visit last year by Native groups from Canada. On Thursday, she called the Vatican statement another step in the right direction, but noted that it didn't mention the rescinding of the bulls themselves.

I think what this does is it really puts the responsibility on nation states such as the United States, to look at its use of the Doctrine of Discovery, she said in a interview from Syracuse, New York, where she is a professor of Indigenous law at Syracuse University's College of Law. This goes beyond land. It really has created generation upon generation of genocidal policies directed towards Indigenous peoples. And I think that its time for these governments to take full accountability for their actions.

More: Pope Francis apologizes for Catholic Church's role in 'catastrophic' Indigenous school policy in Canada

FILE - People protest as Pope Francis meets young people and elders at Nakasuk Elementary School Square in Iqaluit, Canada, Friday, July 29, 2022. The Vatican has on Thursday, March 30, 2023 formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery. That is the theory backed by 15th century papal bulls that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property law today. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)

In the statement, the Vatican said: The Catholic Church therefore repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political doctrine of discovery.

Phil Fontaine, a former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada who was also part of the First Nations delegation that met with Francis at the Vatican, said the statement was wonderful," resolved an outstanding issue and now puts the matter to civil authorities to revise property laws that cite the doctrine.

The church has done one thing, as it said it would do, for the Holy Father. Now the ball is in the court of governments, the United States and in Canada, but particularly in the United States where the doctrine is embedded in the law, he told The Associated Press.

The Vatican offered no evidence that the three papal bulls (Dum Diversas in 1452, Romanus Pontifex in 1455 and Inter Caetera in 1493) had themselves been formally abrogated, rescinded or rejected, as Vatican officials have often said. But it cited a subsequent bull, Sublimis Deus in 1537, that reaffirmed that Indigenous peoples shouldn't be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, and were not to be enslaved.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, the Canadian Jesuit whose office co-authored the statement, stressed that the original bulls had long ago been abrogated and that the use of the term doctrine  which in this case is a legal term, not a religious one  had led to centuries of confusion about the church's role.

The original bulls, he said, are being treated as if they were teaching, magisterial or doctrinal documents, and they are an ad hoc political move. And I think to solemnly repudiate an ad hoc political move is to generate more confusion than clarity.

The Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Cardinal Michael Czerny, meets the journalists at the Vatican press hall, in Rome, Thursday, March 30, 2023. The Vatican has formally repudiated the "Doctrine of Discovery." That is the theory backed by 15th century papal bulls that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property law today. Indigenous groups have been demanding such a statement for decades. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

He stressed that the statement wasn't just about setting the historical record straight, but "to discover, identify, analyze and try to overcome what we can only call the enduring effects of colonialism today.

It was significant that the repudiation of the "Doctrine of Discovery" came during the pontificate of history's first Latin American pope. Even before the Canadian trip, the Argentine pope had apologized to Native peoples in Bolivia in 2015 for the crimes of the colonial-era conquest of the Americas.

Felix Hoehn, a property and administrative law professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said the Vatican statement would have no legal bearing on land claims in Canada today, but would have symbolic value.

The most that any papal repudiation of the doctrine (or the bulls, for that matter) can do in relation to Canadian law is to apply pressure on the Supreme Court of Canada to renounce the doctrine as part of Canadian law, he said.

Beyond that, though, is the hope that the statement could show that the Catholic Church wants to be an ally with Indigenous peoples as they fight for their human rights and their land, and to protect it, said the Rev. David McCallum, an American Jesuit who has worked with Indigenous peoples in the Syracuse area and was consulted during the drafting of the statement.

So now for the church to not only acknowledge the damage, but also to repudiate the whole mindset of cultural superiority, of racial superiority to, in a sense, renounce that whole way of thinking and say that forever forward the church wants to be an active ally in protecting Indigenous human rights along with all human rights, I think its a big statement," he said.

___

Rob Gillies contributed to this report from Toronto.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Vatican formally rejects 'Doctrine of Discovery' in response to Indigenous
Retired Oxnard firefighter Joe Garces, left, is detained by Santa Paula police Detective Chris Rivera on Oct. 9, 2020, after stopping to perform CPR on a gunshot victim in Santa Paula. Garces eventually filed a federal lawsuit against the city and Rivera for civil rights violations.

Joseph Garces was driving down A Street in Santa Paula on the afternoon of Oct. 9, 2020, when he saw a woman standing on the sidewalk, talking on the phone, obviously distraught. He pulled over and saw why: a man lying face-up in a parking lot, in a pool of liquid.

At first Garces thought the liquid was beer and the man was passed out, he would later tell police. He pulled his Jeep over next to the man, and that's when he realized the woman was calling 911, and the liquid was blood.

Garces is a retired firefighter, and his training took over. The man in the parking lot appeared to have been shot in the face. He wasn't breathing and Garces didn't detect a pulse.

The man had a gun and a knife in his waistband. Garces took the gun, unloaded it and put it on the floorboard of his Jeep. He took the knife and used it to cut the mans shirt open, and he began to administer CPR.

Around then, Santa Paula police officers started to arrive. One of them took over CPR while another interviewed Garces.

Another officer, Detective Chris Rivera, arrived a few minutes later and immediately told other officers to "get this guy out of here," referring to Garces, according to police body camera footage from the incident. When Garces replied with, "What the f---? ... I'm helping, step the f--- off," Rivera yelled, Get the f--- out of my crime scene.

An expletive-filled shouting match between the two men ensued, and within a few minutes Rivera had pinned Garces to a tree with his arm held behind his back, handcuffed him and detained him in the back of a police car.

Garces is now suing the city of Santa Paula in federal court, alleging civil rights violations, unreasonable use of force, battery and negligence. The suit was filed in August 2021, and last week a federal judge rejected the city's attempt to have the suit thrown out, which means it will proceed toward a trial or settlement.

In his March 24 order, U.S. District Judge Fernando Anelle-Rocha ruled against the city's motion to dismiss the case in all respects but one: The judge agreed with the city that Rivera has "qualified immunity," which means he can't be held personally liable. The suit will proceed against the city, but not against Rivera.

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Garces left the scene that night in an ambulance, bound for Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura. In court papers and depositions, he said he suffered a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum that had to be surgically repaired. Garces, who is now 54, also claims to have suffered severe emotional distress, as the incident triggered a post-traumatic stress response that first arose in his career with the Oxnard Fire Department.

The shooting victim, Samir Selgado of Santa Paula, survived. Richard Steven Valencia of Santa Paula was arrested a few days later and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges. Valencia is being held in Ventura County Jail without bail and his next court appearance is scheduled for April 11.

Attorneys for Garces and for the city of Santa Paula both declined to comment on the case. Both sides have retained former law enforcement officers who are now consultants in police procedure as expert witnesses. The citys expert, former Pasadena police chief Phillip Sanchez, has testified that Rivera did nothing wrong. Garces expert, retired Los Angeles Sheriffs Department Roger A. Clark, said in his report that the force used against Garces was excessive, unnecessary and unlawful.

Scroll down to read more of the story.

Not an open-and-shut case

The Star showed the body camera footage and deposition transcripts to two independent experts in police procedure and the use of force: a UCLA law professor and a professor of criminal justice at San Francisco State University. Both said Garces has a case to make against the city, though it's impossible to say whether he will win his lawsuit.

This is not as open-and-shut as either party makes it sound, said Jeffrey Snipes, the SFSU professor. He is also a consultant to law enforcement agencies and has held positions at the U.S. Department of Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union.

There are factors working both for and against Garces in court, Snipes said. In his favor: He was unarmed and wasnt suspected of any crime; in fact, he was acting as a good Samaritan and may well have saved Selgados life. He also did not initiate a physical confrontation with Rivera, and before Rivera arrived, he was calmly answering the other officers' questions.

On the other hand, body camera footage shows Garces engaging in a heated confrontation with Rivera, swearing at him, insulting him and advancing to yell at him from closer range.

"It turned into a personal beef real quick," Snipes said.

Whether Garces' conduct amounted to resisting or obstructing the officer will be a key point in the trial, should the case advance to one, both experts told the Star.

I kind of feel for the guy, Snipes said, referring to Garces. He stops, he renders aid, everything is cool calm and collected, until this officer shows up.  He probably saves this guy's life. Every single step he takes is appropriate: He takes the gun, he takes the bullets out, he removes the knife, and then Rivera gets on the scene and upends the whole thing.

But that doesnt necessarily mean Garces legal rights were violated. Snipes said he "can't really a see a ton of evidence in his favor" on most of the claims, including excessive force.

"That only works if the shoulder and wrist hold was not reasonable," Snipes said. "It looked like a very standard detention to me. It didn't look particularly forceful."

The allegation of denial of medical care will also be hard to prove, Snipes said, since officers did call an ambulance for Garces when he asked for one.

Snipes said Garces has a stronger case on his negligence claim, which could revolve around whether Rivera should have detained him at all. The city has argued in legal filings that Garces was obstructing Rivera in his duties, but Snipes said it will need to show that Garces did more to obstruct the officer than yelling and cursing at him.

Scroll down to see more of the story.

Joanna Schwartz, the UCLA law professor who also reviewed the body camera footage at the Star's request, was more optimistic about Garces' chances in federal court.

"From a legal perspective, it's clear to me that the plaintiff has a claim," she said in an email interview.

Whether a police officer's use of force violates a person's constitutional rights "is determined by assessing the totality of the circumstances from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene," Schwartz said. Factors a court considers include the severity of any crime the person might be suspected of; whether they pose an immediate threat to officers or bystanders; and whether they are resisting or trying to evade arrest.

Schwartz said her analysis of the body camera footage indicates that Garces was not suspected of any crime, didn't resist or evade arrest, and wasn't posing a threat to the officers  "although he was clearly exercising his free speech rights," she said.

"The city and the officer may argue that he was being disruptive, which was preventing them from doing their jobs, and that they needed to take action for that reason," Schwartz said. "This is, generally speaking, the question that I expect will be disputed and litigated through discovery and trial."

The judge has ordered Garces and the city to consult a private mediator in hopes of settling the matter out of court. If it is not settled, the judge has scheduled pre-trial hearings over the admissibility of certain evidence for July, with a jury trial scheduled to start Aug. 8.

Attorneys for both Garces and the city declined to comment on whether the case is likely to be settled before it goes to trial, but Schwartz said lawsuits like this one often are.

It's very hard to predict what a jury will do, which is why most of these cases settle, she said.

Tony Biasotti is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tbiasotti@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Santa Paula sued for detaining man who aided shooting victim
Robert Rundo was said to have been at a 2017 rally in Charlottesville that shocked the US

A prominent member of a California-based white supremacist group has been arrested in Romania and will be extradited to the US.

Robert Rundo, 33, co-founder of the Rise Above Movement, was arrested on Friday at a Bucharest gym following a tip-off, Romanian police said.

He was accused of violence in 2017 and indicted by a US court in 2018.

The case was dismissed in 2019, but a federal grand jury in Los Angeles issued a new indictment in January.

Romanian police told the BBC they detained Mr Rundo in response to the US legal move.

Mr Rundo and others were accused of rioting and conspiracy by recruiting and training members for violence and taking part in violence across the US in 2017.

Videos showed Mr Rundo punching counter-protesters in Huntington Beach and a police officer in Berkeley, according to an FBI affidavit.

In a statement, Romanian police said he allegedly conducted mixed martial arts training for members of the movement.

He also is accused of posting videos online of the group assaulting people at political meetings, the statement said.

Mr Rundo has also been active in Serbia and Bulgaria, and advocates the forming of small fighting groups with a violent neo-Nazi ideology.
President Donald Trump talks to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, during a visit to Lake Okeechobee and Herbert Hoover Dike at Canal Point, Florida, March 29, 2019. DeSantis has recently claimed he would defy the U.S. Constitution to protect Trump from criminal charges.

President Donald Trump talks to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, during a visit to Lake Okeechobee and Herbert Hoover Dike at Canal Point, Florida, March 29, 2019. DeSantis has recently claimed he would defy the U.S. Constitution to protect Trump from criminal charges.

Just months after suspending a local prosecutor for saying he would not pursue abortion cases, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is vowing to defy the U.S. Constitution to protect newly indicted Donald Trump from criminal charges by refusing to hand him over to New York state.

It certainly appears that Gov. DeSantis needs to immediately suspend Gov. DeSantis, said Andrew Warren, whom the Republican governor removed from his elected position in Tampas Hillsborough County last summer and who is now suing to regain his job. The hypocrisy speaks for itself.

DeSantis pledge likely will be moot in this case, as Trumps lawyers have indicated he will voluntarily surrender himself for his arraignment next week, but it demonstrates again the likely presidential candidates problem as he seeks to woo Trumps Republican voting base.

It says that he intends to take a subservient posture to Trump in a primary, where he campaigns on doing Trumps bidding instead of affirmatively making the case for himself, said Amanda Carpenter, a former top aide to Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Ron is creating a problem for himself in the primary, forget the general.

DeSantiss press office did not respond to HuffPost queries on the matter.

Both the United States Constitution, in Article 4, Section 2, as well as the Extradition Act plainly say that each state must honor arrest requests from every other state to avoid the problem of criminals fleeing from justice just by crossing state lines.

On Thursday night, two hours after news broke that Trump had been indicted by a New York City grand jury on charges related to his payment of $130,000 in hush money to a porn star just ahead of the 2016 election, DeSantis posted a statement accusing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of a politically motivated prosecution.

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Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda, he wrote, referring to a common right-wing attack on George Soros, the billionaire liberal donor and philanthropist.

How a Harvard-trained lawyer and a former Navy judge advocate general can simply toss aside his legal and constitutional responsibility puzzled Floridians of both parties.

What is he going to do? Stand in the schoolhouse door? Be another George Wallace? wondered one top Republican consultant who spoke on condition of anonymity. Maybe he can offer Trump safe haven in the governors mansion.

Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, said the statement offered yet more proof that DeSantis is willing to flout the law whenever politically convenient. He never cares what the law or Constitution says. Its all about the headline, said Fried, who served on the states elected Cabinet during DeSantis first term as agriculture commissioner.

Norm Eisen, a former lawyer in the Obama White House who later worked on the Houses impeachment of Trump for extorting Ukraine, said DeSantis had shown a willingness to violate the law multiple times, from his use of taxpayer money to fly asylum seekers from the Mexican border to Marthas Vineyard to suspending Warren to prosecuting former felons for voting after elections officials had allowed them to register. Hes not that different in that regard from the man hes trying to protect, Eisen said.

DeSantis was attacked as disloyal two weeks ago for failing to support Trump enthusiastically enough after he claimed, incorrectly, that he would be arrested in the hush money case on the coming Tuesday, March 21. DeSantis said he would wait to see what charges were actually filed and that, in any event, he had no familiarity with how one goes about paying hush money to porn actors.

That remark came shortly after his declaration that Russias invasion of Ukraine was a mere territorial dispute, which DeSantis reversed himself on less than a week later.

He got a dose of medicine from the base last time when he said he wouldnt interfere, so now hes backtracking, just like he did on Ukraine, said GOP consultant Sarah Longwell, who added that DeSantis could be putting himself into a sour spot with primary voters. Where a big chunk sees him as insufficiently loyal to Trump while another chunk thinks hes too sycophantic.

Even promising to break his oath to protect the Constitution to help Trump, though, does not appear to have curried any favor with the coup-attempting former president, who has been regularly attacking DeSantis for weeks. On Thursday, Trumps supporting super PAC start running more than $1 million worth of negative ads about DeSantis on national cable networks.

And in a Friday campaign statement citing more than 100 Republican elected officials who criticized Braggs indictment, including several Florida House members, both U.S. senators and even state Attorney General Ashley Moody, DeSantis vow went unmentioned.

Trump, in addition to the New York indictment, is also facing criminal investigations in Georgia for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss in that state as well as by the U.S. Justice Department, which is examining both his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt as well as his refusal to turn over classified documents in defiance of a subpoena.

Related...
WASHINGTON  Wisconsin's top Republicans Thursday evening decried the decision from a Manhattan grand jury to indict Donald Trump, coming to the former president's defense in the hours after the historic move to charge Trump in connection to his role in paying hush money to a porn star in 2016.

"With all the problems facing our country  many exacerbated by Radical Left governance  now a George Soros funded D.A. issues a political indictment against a former president," U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson wrote on Twitter. "Leftists are destroying America."

U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, who was among the first Wisconsin Republicans to publicly back Trump during the former president's first campaign, called the decision the "latest of the weaponization of government against conservatives." He said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the man leading the hush money investigation into Trump, "abused his office to seek a political prosecution of the former President."

"Braggs latest political stunt is outrageous and unbecoming of his office," Fitzgerald tweeted.

The grand jury's decision Thursday makes Trump the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. The move drew an immediate rebuke from Republicans in Washington, including a number of leading House Republicans who have suggested in recent days that Bragg's investigation into the alleged $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels was made to derail Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.

Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, chair of the House Administration Committee, has emerged as among the most public defenders of the former president.

Steil last week joined House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky in demanding Bragg testify before Congress about his office's ongoing criminal investigation of Trump. The trio demanded all documents and communications between the Manhattan district attorneys office, the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal law enforcement agencies related to the Trump inquiry.

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Five days later, the chairmen sent another letter to the Manhattan district attorney's office suggesting House Republicans could draft legislation shielding current and former presidents from alleged "politically motivated prosecutions." Bragg's office has argued the requests would interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation.

On Thursday, Steil said: "The unprecedented move by New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg raises many questions. To maintain confidence in our system, it is imperative that our justice system be impartial and that all who come before it are treated equally without regard to politics."

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin's newest member of Congress, echoed Fitzgerald's claims that the indictment was a "weaponization of the goverment (sic) by the left."

"Their blatant abuse of power is destroying our democracy and should be resoundingly condemned by all Americans who care about the rule of law," Van Orden tweeted.

And U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany on Friday called the indictment a "dangerous effort by the far Left to weaponize our justice system and that should worry every fair-minded American, regardless of political affiliation."

The comments come as the exact charges against Trump remain unclear. A spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney's office said the office was in contact with Trump's attorneys "to coordinate his surrender," noting the indictment remains under seal.

Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher on Friday said Bragg should "quickly unseal" the indictment. "The American people expect our justice system to treat everyone equally, and this decision raises serious questions about the political motivations behind the prosecution," Gallagher said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking comment.

Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan shortly after news of the indictment broke wrote on Twitter: "No one is above the law, not even a former President."

"That's a good thing," Pocan said. "It means our democracy is strong."

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republicans slam Donald Trump indictment
Fresh meat - Dag Sundberg/Getty

Wholesalers colluded with a factory at the centre of the rotten meat investigation, it has been alleged, as the food industry watchdog was urged to widen its inquiry.

Whistleblowers are reported to have come forward to claim that firms they worked for were part of the alleged scam, which centres on a processing plant in the Midlands.

It came as the chief executive of the Food Standards Agency admitted that inspectors need to tighten up the way they operate, after it emerged that staff at rogue firms have time to hide evidence before the inspectors get onto the factory floor.

The FSA and its National Food Crime Unit began an investigation into fraudulent labelling of food at the factory in question in August 2021, and has faced criticism from retailers who have said they only found out about the investigation through media reports this week.

Emily Miles, the chief executive of the FSA, gave an indication of the scale of the investigation when she told the BBC that investigators had seized six million documents from the premises, and had since been back and seized millions more, as well as making three arrests.

'No current concerns for the public'

Asked whether she could give consumers a categoric reassurance that there was no risk to public health, she said: At the moment there are no current concerns about meat on the market but there have been some recent historic allegations.

The fraud investigation - which centred on foreign meat being passed off as British - has been widened to include allegations unearthed by Farmers Weekly that rotten meat was mixed with fresh meat at the plant, and that frozen meat was thawed out on the factory floor.

The magazine has also alleged that paperwork that documented sampling for bacteria including listeria and e-coli - which can be deadly - was falsified.

Abi Kay, the reporter who broke the story, told the Today programme: I dont think its a one-off. I know there were several other businesses, meat wholesalers in particular, who were colluding with this processor.

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Ms Miles did not dispute the possibility that the problem was more widespread. She said: "Its a big industry, of course there are going to be rogue actors.

She added: In this factory when the auditors visited they had a certain amount of time between signing in to the premises and being allowed onto the factory floor.

In that short space of time a text message would go out and all the staff would get to work moving any suspect product onto lorries in the loading bay or loading it onto a trolley and pushing it around one side of the factory while auditors and management were on the other. That is how ridiculous this is.

'Things need to be tightened up'

Asked about the delay in inspectors getting onto the factory floor, Ms Miles said: We do need to look at whether there are things that need to be tightened up there.

Meat from the factory ended up in products sold by almost all major supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Asda, the Co-op and Aldi.

Retailers have complained that the FSA failed to alert them to the investigation of the firm, though the FSA says it did send out an alert in 2022.

Farmers Weekly has claimed that the FSA was told about the alleged rogue factory years before the investigation began.

Ms Miles said: To be clear this was a meat premises that was regulated by the local authority initially. We did receive some earlier allegations that we passed on to the local authority and those were followed up.

We act on intelligence, as soon as we got intelligence we acted.

She added: The issue with criminal activity is that companies who do behave like this are potentially duplicitous. Retailers and manufacturers have to be vigilant and do their own sampling.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an all-out war against Ukraine, U.S. intelligence claimed that Russian forces planned to sweep Kyiv within days.

More than 13 months on, Ukraine's defenses still stand firm. But Ukrainians are now faced with a different threat  the Kremlin appears to be trying to morph its botched full-scale invasion into a years-long war.

The prospect aligns neatly with the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine over the past decade, engineering and exploiting its invasion in Ukraine's east and south.

Many experts now see the looming prospect of a long-term war as an increasingly likely scenario, with Putin attempting to keep his firm grip over Russia in a prolonged war of attrition with Ukraine.

In many ways, Moscow has already prepared the groundwork for a long-term war in Ukraine, presenting its invasion as a moral imperative inexorably linked to Russia's survival.

"I do not even know if such an ethnic group as the Russian people will be able to survive in the form in which it exists today," Putin said on Feb. 26, a year after launching the largest invasion since World War II.

Russia has long positioned itself as a bastion of "traditional values" against Western moral decay, says Jade McGlynn, an author and research fellow at King's College London focusing on Russia's war against Ukraine, propaganda, and memory politics.

But control of Ukraine, in particular, is central to Russia's cultural and political imagination, she says. Relinquishing that claim now would be an unbearable blow to the Kremlin's self-image and self-appointed right to rule.

Its a cult-like mentality: Historian Ian Garner on the militarization of Russian society In the second year of Russias full-scale war against Ukraine, Moscow has shown its intent to fight and win the war without regard for the lives of its servicemen, or the damage caused to Russias economy and social fabric. The Kremlins choice to announce partial mobilization in Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell

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"Russia's rulers see themselves as the inheritors of Kyivan Rus. It's central to Russia's understanding of itself as a third Rome or as a great power," McGlynn told the Kyiv Independent.

"We've heard a lot of arguments (from Russian propaganda) about how Ukraine doesn't have any history without Russia. I think, in some ways, it's the opposite," she adds.

"The construction of history that Russia has made for itself to justify all of its behavior, it doesn't work if they can't control Ukraine in some way," McGlynn says.

Russia can still fight

Putin politically has much to gain from continuing his invasion long-term. He also has much to lose if the war doesn't end in his favor.

The proclaimed annexation on Sept. 30 of four Ukrainian regions  Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, as well as occupied Crimea back in 2014  leaves Russia, and its leader, little room to maneuver.

The Kremlin's decision to announce a "partial mobilization" is another sign that Moscow is committed to a long-term war, says Andrew Radin, a political scientist at U.S. global policy think tank the Rand Corporation.

"Russia has always had the option of undertaking mobilization for a larger war. They've now been forced to do that in Ukraine and rely on the sheer size and scope of Russia," he says.

Estonian Defense Minister: Russian army has not changed in 100 years Estonia, a country of 1.4 million people bordering Russia, is one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine. Its also one of the Wests front line states facing an increasingly aggressive Russia. Before Russia launched its all-out war, Estonia was among the handful of countries that provided Ukraine Kyiv IndependentTheo Prouvost

"They have the demographic ability to keep recruiting people, and they have shown an ability to forcibly recruit people with limited political repercussions for the regime."

But long-term, dwindling supplies of modern military equipment will be a far more pressing issue for Russia's Armed Forces.

Sanctions have halted the supply of technology that Russia needs to produce equipment such as up-to-date tanks or precision missiles, meaning it could be forced to rely on the country's significant yet outdated stock of old Soviet-era supplies, such as T-72 tanks, and their predecessor the T-64, which was already spotted on the battlefield.

The S-300 air defense missiles were also recently repurposed to be used as attack weapons.

But these challenges, while a significant blow, aren't entirely insurmountable, says Radin.

Russia's army has been badly bruised in Ukraine, yet it still has the capability to continue fighting, even with old weapons and a disregard for human life.

"We've seen reports, for example, that the Russian military is relying on (Russian Wagner mercenaries) to undertake initial assaults, and once they've softened up to Ukrainian defenses, then they send in their better-equipped forces," Radin adds.

"Perhaps this way of Russia using both old capabilities and new capabilities is something that Ukraine will have to grapple with," he says.

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Stable economy, stable leadership

The same sanctions that have hampered the Russian army's ability to produce new equipment have also seen Russia's economy stagnate, stripping away its ability to innovate.

But they haven't destabilized the country, allowing Russia to largely operate as normal, says Alexandra Prokopenko, an independent researcher on Russia's political economy and a visiting fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

"The Russian economy is extremely resilient to crisis, and it's very, very well managed," she says.

Although any growth to Russia's GDP will remain marginal, "the economy will survive because the Russian economy is large and is actually well diversified. It will function more or less."

Russia's new wartime economy will also be able to continue for a number of years unless a larger external shock changes the status quo, says Prokopenko.

A significant drop in Russian oil and gas exports, or more political pressure on India or China to cut ties with Russian businesses, are two potential scenarios that could spark problems for the Russian economy.

Otherwise, living conditions are unlikely to change drastically enough to prompt real unrest from Russia's masses or business elites.

"For oligarchs, there's uncertainty on both sides, from the West, who are trying to sanction them, and from Putin, who is trying to assure them that everything will be fine in Russia," says Prokopenko.

"Of course, no one believes Putin at all. But between that and uncertainty in the West, they will choose the devil they know," she adds.

Even after sanctions, Russian economy can pay for war The Russian economy has faced unprecedented sanctions since the Kremlin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The latest events  the Wests embargo on seaborn oil and price cap on Russian oil sales worldwide  are seen as a blow to the Russian economy, whose backbone is the energ Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

Putin's game of chicken

In the meantime, Putin can use an elongated conflict to secure his position at home, using wartime legislation to imprison the already silenced opposition or dissenters.

Russia is ready to hold for long but is ultimately waiting until the wider world tires of supporting Ukraine, says McGlynn.

If aid and military support dry up, Putin expects to have an easier time attempting to reach his main goal  imposing his will on Ukraine.

Russia has already tried repeatedly to dissuade the international community from arming Kyiv, threatening a "global catastrophe," hinting at its nuclear arsenal.

On March 28, Russia attempted to raise the stakes by announcing it was open to storing nuclear weapons in Belarus, its neighbor and closest ally, also a dictatorship.

The need to maintain a united international effort to support Ukraine  and Moscow's belief that unity will fracture  is a looming issue about which Kyiv's NATO allies appear acutely aware.

Speaking in January 2023, a few weeks before his trip to Kyiv, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters that "Putin expected Europe and the United States to weaken our resolve. He expected our support for Ukraine to crumble with time."

Biden was keen to emphasize that the Kremlin was wrong. Yet support among the American public towards providing Ukraine with military aid is starting to fall.

A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that while 60 percent of U.S. adults favored sending Ukraine weapons in May 2022, that number had since fallen to 48 percent in Feb. 2023.

Ukraine is not reliant on the United States alone.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an international coalition providing Kyiv with military aid, counts 54 countries among its members.

But the U.S. does make a particularly large contribution, having pledged more than $46 billion so far. The figure dwarfs military aid from other large donors, including the $5.1 billion promise from the U.K. and the $3.3 billion from the European Union.

If Putin does commit to long-term war, it may not be because he believes Moscow's troops can outlast indefinitely  but because he believes the offensive can last until the next U.S. election.

"A lot of people in Russia genuinely believe that they care more about Ukraine than the West does," says McGlynn. "They (still think they) will win because the West will buckle."
Consequences of the shelling of Kharkiv on the night of February 8

No casualties were reported thus far; the strike appears to have damaged a house and two cars in the city.

Read also: Russian casualties pass 220k, Danilov on Belarus nukes, US optimistic on counteroffensive

As a result of rocket attacks in one of the districts of the city, a private residence and two civilian cars were damaged, Synehubov wrote.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov confirmed six impacts in the city. According to Synehubov, the S-300 missiles were launched from Russias neighboring Belgorod region.

Read also: Slovak MiG-29 fighters already protecting skies over Kharkiv, says official

On the same night, several regions in northern Ukraine were targeted with kamikaze drone attacks.

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The first prototype installation of Hrim-2, also known as the Sapsan missile complex, on the development of which Ukraine worked for almost 20 years

In his daily report, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov mentioned the Hrim-2 missile for the first time among the usual list of "intercepted HIMARS rockets." He did not say where or how the missile was shot down.

The Russian Defense Ministry also did not provide any photo or video evidence.

Commenting on these statements, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said, "if the Russians are saying this, it means something is happening in their country."

"I don't know who sends them there  Hrim, other things  but believe me: there will be so much Hrim (thunder -ed.) that theyll have nowhere to go," the countrys top security official stated.And what they have been doing for a year on the territory of our country will all come back (to haunt them).

Prior to this, neither Ukrainian nor Russian officials had ever said that the Hrim-2 was already built and ready for use. But if this newest long-range system is indeed already in service with the Ukrainian army, it could change a lot in the war.

How Sapsan became Hrim

The Sapsan long-range operational-tactical missile system was supposed to be Ukraine's most powerful weapon. At least, that was the plan 18 years ago under President Viktor Yushchenko, when its development was first announced.

It was to be able to hit a target at a distance of up to 500 kilometers. Moscow is about 480 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The Sapsan was supposed to combine the properties of multiple launch rocket systems, tactical, and operational-tactical systems.

Work on its creation began in 2005, and the project was scheduled to be completed in 2012, but it was suddenly halted during the presidency of the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych in 2013.

The complete curtailment of the Sapsan project was announced by the then Minister of Defense Pavlo Lebedev in June 2013. He is currently on the run and, according to preliminary data, is hiding in the Russian-annexed Crimea.

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Read also: Top ten most effective Ukraine-made weapons

No announcement has been made about the project's resumption, although Ukrainian officials have often mentioned the urgent need for Ukraine to have its own long-range missile system.

In fact, the Sapsan did not die, but was reborn as the Hrim-2. Ukraine began producing this shorter-range version of the missile system (280 kilometers instead of 500 kilometers) in 2016 at the request of Saudi Arabia.

In 2018, a prototype of the Hrim launcher was demonstrated.

In February 2021, then-Defense Minister Andriy Taran said that the system was 80% ready and "it is necessary to take the last step" and finalize it.

In March 2023, Taran's successor, Oleksii Reznikov, noted that there is a "realistic plan" to complete the Sapsan/Hrim-2 missile system this year.

"I think there is a very realistic chance. I would call it a plan. I personally have recently been to the production site and inspected certain elements of this program, so I am optimistic about the implementation of this plan."

Moscow's concerns

This project is of undisguised interest to the Kremlin. And this is understandable. Even with a range of only 280 kilometers, this missile system will allow the Armed Forces to hit targets deep in Russia's territory.

There has been speculation that it was the Hrim that the Ukrainian army used to strike the Russian military base in Novofedorivka in Crimea last summer. At the time, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, confirmed that it was a missile strike, but officially Kyiv does not have any systems of this range.

In the fall of 2022, Rezeda Perkova, an engineer at a local design bureau, was detained in Dnipro and accused of spying for Russia. One of her tasks was to find out what stage the development of the Ukrainian Hrim-2 missile system had reached.

In her correspondence with an agent of Russias FSB security service, she stated that this missile system was "at the stage of readiness and production of the product" as of the beginning of summer 2022.

Read also: Military expert explains what weapons West can provide to Ukraine and whether it can change the war

At the same time, it should be noted that Russia has struck several times at the enterprises in Dnipro and Pavlohrad where the Hrim-2 is assembled.In its Sept. 30, 2022, report, the Russian Defense Ministry explicitly stated that it had "destroyed the assembly workshops for Ukrainian Hrim-2 tactical missiles on the territory of the Pivdenmash plant" in Dnipro.

All the same, military experts are highly skeptical about the real state of readiness, and even more so the existence of a ready-to-use product.

Mykhailo Zhyrokhov, military historian and analyst, speaking to BBC Ukraine, said that"in fact, in 2019, active work on this project (Sapsan/Hrim) was frozen.

There was some funding in 2020-21, which slowly went on and on, but as of 2022, according to my data, only two engines for these missiles were manufactured. This is the main element.

This was done by Pivdenmash, and the engines were more or less ready, Zhyrokhov said.

But then massive Russian missile strikes began, and Pivdenmash was regularly hit. Was there an opportunity to do something else for this project under such conditions? It is very difficult to say.

First, the project was initially funded with Saudi money. Perhaps some part of the complex was on the territory of Saudi Arabia as of 2022. But this is all "a gamble and a guess".

Therefore, if the missile was produced, it was in a single copy, and I don't think that right now the Armed Forces have decided to use it, and it is not clear for what purposes, Zhyrokhov said.

Could there be video and photo evidence of the downing? Very little falls to the ground from a destroyed missile if it was shot down, for example, by S-400 and S-300 missiles. They have a powerful warhead, and the downed object is effectively vaporized. It is very, very difficult to find out what it was by analyzing what fell to the ground. It is practically impossible.

That is, assuming that the Russians really did shoot something down, and they didn't make the whole story up.

As for the Hrim, it should be noted that to complete its creation, special training grounds and unique equipment are needed. Zhyrokhov adds.

This is not the equipment that is available in other countries, it was unique and designed specifically for these engines."

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UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Russia and the U.S. clashed in the United Nations on Friday over Moscows plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which neighboring Ukraine denounced as a desperate Kremlin attempt to avoid military defeat and threaten the world with nuclear apocalypse.

China, without naming Russia, made clear its opposition to the planned deployment.

Ukraines U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called for the U.N. Security Council meeting following Russian President Vladimir Putins announcement on March 25 that his country plans to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko upped the ante just before the council meeting, saying Russia might also deploy strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus, which Russian forces have used as a staging ground for the war in Ukraine.

Kyslytsya said it took only four days for Putin to violate a pledge he made to Chinas President Xi Jinping in a joint statement at their recent meeting in Moscow. It declared that all nuclear states should refrain from deploying nuclear weapons outside their countries and withdraw those deployed abroad.

The same point was emphasized by the U.S. and Chinese deputy U.N. ambassadors, among others.

We call for the abolition of the nuclear-sharing arrangements and advocate no deployment of nuclear weapons abroad by all nuclear weapons states, and the withdrawal of nuclear weapons deployed abroad," said Geng Shuang of China.

Calling nuclear weapons the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, Geng reiterated that China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants and the threat or use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. He said "nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided.

Beijing claims to have a neutral stance in the war, but has also stressed its no limits friendship with Russia. It has refused to criticize Moscows invasion, and late last month released a peace plan calling for a cease-fire and talks between Ukraine and Russia.

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Kyslytsya welcomed Beijings stand, telling the council: To the credit of the Chinese side, the Chinese side reminded Moscow in a very sensible manner that nuclear war cannot be won and fought, and that nuclear proliferation must be prevented.

Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow is not transferring nuclear weapons but operational tactical missile complexes, which will be under Russian control. He insisted this was not in violation of Moscows international obligations.

Nebenzia accused the United States of destroying key arms control agreements and he repeated Putin's objection to the tactical nuclear weapons the U.S. has deployed in other NATO countries, indicating that this violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of global disarmament.

Belarus U.N. Ambassador Valentin Rybakov said the planned deployment of tactical nuclear weapons was a reaction to the challenges and risks to national security his country faces, citing NATO neighbors ramping up their military capacity and Western sanctions. He also criticized the U.S. nuclear sharing with its allies.

The U.S. deputy ambassador, Robert Wood, countered that the issue of nuclear sharing within NATO was discussed during negotiations on the NPT treaty, and for close to four decades Washington heard nothing about it from Russia until after its takeover of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Wood stressed that any allegations that the United States is not in full compliance with the nonproliferation treaty are just patently false.

He accused Russia of attempting to manipulate the specter of nuclear conflict to help win the war in Ukraine.

No other country is inflicting such damage on arms control nor seeking to undermine strategic stability in Europe, Wood said. "No other country has raised the prospect of potential nuclear use in connection with the war in Ukraine.  No country is threatening Russia or threatening President Putin.
Ukrainian defenders shot down nine out of ten Shahed drones

The enemy fired nine missiles at civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, the General Staff said.

The Russians launched 10 Shahed kamikaze drones at targets across Ukraine. Nine were intercepted by Ukrainian defenders, one being destroyed by an army air defense unit and eight by the Ukrainian Air Force, using anti-aircraft missile units and jet fighters from the East Air Command.

The Iranian Shahed-136/131 drones entered Ukraine from Russias Bryansk Oblast into Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, according to Air Force Command.

The attack lasted from 9:10 p.m. on March 30 to 1.30 a.m. on March 31.

In addition to the Shaheds, up to five other airborne targets, likely balloons, were spotted in Ukrainian airspace.

Read also: Russias missile terror has failed, Ukraines intel says

At the height of the nighttime attack, late on March 30, Russian troops fired nine S-300 missiles at Kharkiv, lightly injuring three people. They did not require hospitalization.

"At least six S-300 missiles hit infrastructure facilities and private households," the city prosecutor's office said.

Two cars were also damaged as a result of Russian missile strikes on the eastern Ukrainian city, according to regional governor Oleg Synegubov.

The missile attack targeted the Novobavarskyi district of Kharkiv.

An enemy kamikaze drone also hit a critical infrastructure facility in the Izyum district of Kharkiv Oblast. Two civilians were injured.

Previously, the Russian military conducted a mass drone attack against Ukraine during the night of March 27 to 28, when the Defense Forces shot down 14 of 15 enemy kamikaze drones.

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China remains an anchor for an uncertain world: Premier

By Wang Cong, Hu Yuwei and Wang Wenwen in Boao (Global Times) 09:09, March 31, 2023

Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in South China's Hainan Province on March 30, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday morning delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia's (BFA) annual meeting in South China's Hainan Province, saying that the certainty China offers has been and will remain an anchor for global peace and development amid the uncertainties across the world.

In his first speech at the BFA meeting as the Chinese premier, Li highlighted a slew of Chinese initiatives for promoting peace and development, including the building of a global community of shared future. He also called for regional and global cooperation and projected confidence in China's economic development and its greater contributions to the world economy.

Li's remarks constantly drew applauses both inside and outside of the conference hall where the opening ceremony was held. Foreign government officials and top experts said they were encouraged by Li's words and they expect and support China to take a leadership role in promoting regional and global cooperation at such a critical juncture for the world.

Source of certainty

In his speech that lasted roughly 25 minutes, the Chinese premier repeatedly warned against uncertainty the world is experiencing.

"In a world of turmoil and transformation, humanity is faced with unprecedented challenges. Instability, uncertainty and unexpected developments have become the norm. Amid the momentous shift where uncertainty abounds, people yearn for more and stronger forces of certainty to drive the world to a brighter future," Li said.

He said that President Xi Jinping's vision for building a global community of shared future put forward one decade ago has achieved a series of major outcomes, and has become a banner that guides the trend of the times and human progress and the source of certainty for lasting peace and shared prosperity.

"In this uncertain world, the certainty that China offers is an anchor for global peace and development. This has been the case in the past and will remain so in the future," Li said, drawing a loud and long round of applauses from the audience that included several heads of state.

Li's emphasis on the certainty China offers resonated at the BFA's annual meeting where about 2,000 delegates from over 50 countries and regions around the world are gathering. The BFA, in the theme of this year's annual meeting, also highlighted "an uncertain world." And at meetings and panel discussions that started since Tuesday, many participants also spoke of the uncertainties in the world and pinning their hopes on China's economic recovery to boost global growth.

On the Chinese economy, Li said that in the near term, the dynamism and momentum of China's growth are strong. "We do have the confidence and ability to sail the giant ship of the Chinese economy steadily ahead against all winds and waves, and make even greater contributions to the global economy," Li said, noting that China's pursuit of Chinese modernization will offer powerful impetus for economic growth in Asia and beyond, which prompted another round of applause.

Li said that China will continue to roll out new measures to increase market access and improve the business climate for both state-owned and private Chinese firms and foreign businesses. "I believe that a China that is stable and dedicated to development, a China that is down-to-earth and pressing ahead with fortitude, and a China that is confident, open and sharing will surely be a strong force for global prosperity and stability."

"Today is the first time that the Premier Li took the center stage and sent a message out to the world. People have a high interest to his speech. I highly value his speech, because it was a strong message that is forward-looking in addressing future goals," Yasuo Fukuda, Japan's former prime minister, told the Global Times on Thursday on the sidelines of the BFA meeting.

Fukuda, chairman of BFA's Council of Advisors, also said that he "can feel the representatives of the opening ceremony have high expectation for China which takes a leading role in Asia, and they look forward to a bigger role for China."

Regional, global leadership

Many were also encouraging and expecting China's leadership role in guiding the region and the world out of the current economic predicaments.

"We are still in the phase where we need to recover our economies from the effects of the three-year-long pandemic, so the whole purpose of this forum is to bring global focus on developing partnership, collaboration and mutual cooperation in order to overcome the global challenges that the world is facing," Nepali Ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha told the Global Times on the sidelines of the BFA meeting.

"This is why we all must support, and also encourage China to take up the leadership role to help develop both regional and global cooperation for economic development," said the Nepali envoy.

Li also devoted much of his speech to calling for regional cooperation to safeguard peace and development, while warning against conflict. "To achieve greater success, chaos and conflicts must not happen in Asia. Otherwise, the future of Asia will be lost," he said.

Li also opposed the abuses of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, taking sides, bloc confrontation and "a new cold war," saying that China stays committed to resolving differences and disputes between countries through peaceful means and jointly safeguarding world peace and stability. "We have been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order."

The Chinese premier's speech offered very positive signals about China's own development and its vision for Asian and global development, said Alessandro Golombiewski Teixeira, a former Brazilian minister of tourism and former special economic advisor to the president of Brazil.

"China needs to be part of the world and share this vision with the world because China has a role in the world and believes in multilateral systems.," Teixeira told the Global Times at the BFA.

The BFA annual meeting's emphasis on cooperation also resonated with attendees from Europe.

"We have talked about problems for so long - the war, pandemic, geopolitical tensions, 'decoupling.' These forums are important, because finally now we can talk about cooperation again," Michele Geraci, former undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the BFA meeting.

On Thursday afternoon, Li met with BFA Board of Directors Chairman Ban Ki-moon and other board members. He also met representatives of Chinese and foreign businesses attending the BFA annual meeting, according to CCTV.

Li encouraged entrepreneurs to play a leading role in lifting confidence and improving expectations, and he said while there are difficulties, both the historical trend of globalization and China's sound economic fundamentals won't change.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Ukrainian servicemen fire with an anti-aircraft gun at Russian positions near Bakhmut on March 20, 2023. Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine's special operations forces recently destroyed a Russian Zoopark-1M counter-battery radar.

Russian forces have lost at least six of these critical detection systems, and they're difficult to replace.

Russia "likely only has a very limited number left in Ukraine," Western intelligence said Friday.

Russia appears to have lost at least half a dozen hard-to-replace radar systems that have played an important role in Ukraine helping its forces find and destroy Ukrainian artillery. Western intelligence believes Moscow may only have a few left in the fight.

Ukraine's special operations forces recently published footage showing a Russian Zoopark-1M counter-battery radar being destroyed, according to a Friday intelligence update from Britain's defense ministry. It said the footage was released on March 23 and that the attack unfolded in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region.

Several Ukrainian media outlets reported last week that Russian Zoopark counter-battery radar systems had been taken out in combat by Kyiv's special operations forces.

Britain's defense ministry said both Ukraine and Russia have been constantly trying to eliminate each other's counter-battery radars throughout the 13-month-long war.

"These systems are relatively few in number but are a significant force multiplier," the ministry noted in its update. "They allow commanders to rapidly locate and strike enemy artillery."

 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 23, 2023

"However, because they have an active electromagnetic signature, they are vulnerable to being detected and destroyed," the defense ministry said. It added that Russian forces have lost at least six of these systems and "likely only has a very limited number left in Ukraine."

Both Ukraine and Russia are prioritizing the restoration of their counter-battery radar fleets, the UK said, though it noted that Russia will "likely struggle" to do so because sweeping sanctions targeting Russia by the international community have disrupted its supply of advanced electronics needed to work the systems.

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The Zoopark systems allow Russia to detect incoming Ukrainian munitions and track their trajectory.

In a grinding war that has featured heavy exchanges of artillery, systems like these are critical to have in the arsenal. According to an open-source intelligence analysis from Oryx, Russia has seen at least seven Zoopark-1 radars destroyed, damaged, or captured  a similar figure to what the UK has provided.

During Ukraine's lightening-fast counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Kyiv's military captured a Zoopark-1 during what became a rout of Russian forces in the area. Britain's defense ministry said at the time that the Zoopark was just one captured item in a massive amount of "high-value equipment" abandoned by Russian forces.

Read the original article on Business Insider
North Korean weapons such as this rocket launcher, pictured during a test launch in 2019 at an undisclosed location, could be on their way to Russia in a reported new deal - AFP

Russia is sending a delegation to North Korea to offer food in exchange for weapons to support its war in Ukraine, the White House has said.

As part of the proposed deal Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang, said John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman.

He added: We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions.

The US has previously accused North Korea of supplying arms to the Russian military. Last November, it said it had information indicating Pyongyang was covertly sending a significant number of artillery shells to Russia via shipments to countries in the Middle East and Africa.

It later said North Korea had delivered arms to Russias private military group Wagner.

Pyongyang has denied the charges. However, it currently faces a deep economic crisis and devastating food shortages that experts say have pushed the reclusive country to the brink of famine.

In January, the US-based 38 North programme, which monitors North Korea, warned in a report that food availability has likely fallen below the bare minimum with regard to human needs, concluding that food insecurity was at its worst since the famine of the 1990s.

James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, has previously stated: The fact that President Putin is turning to North Korea for help is a sign of Russias desperation and isolation.

Earlier on Thursday, in a separate case, the US Treasury blacklisted Slovakian Ashot Myrtychev for organising deals that would enable North Korea to ship weapons to Russia in late 2022 and early 2023.

In return, Pyongyang reportedly received cash, commercial aircraft, commodities and raw materials.

The US has also declassified intelligence to present evidence that Iran sold hundreds of attack drones to Russia last summer.

In one of Washingtons more controversial assertions, Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said last month that intelligence suggested China was considering providing arms and ammunition to Moscow, although the US said it has not seen evidence so far that this has already happened.

Beijing, which has presented its own peace plan for the Ukraine war, strongly rejected the US claims.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China will never accept the US pointing fingers at Sino-Russian relations or even coercing us, adding that it was the United States and not China that is endlessly shipping weapons to the battlefield.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that if the United States threatened Moscow over its arrest of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich, it would reap a "whirlwind", the state-owned news agency RIA reported.

U.S. President Joe Biden urged Moscow on Friday to "Let him go", after his administration said on Thursday it was unacceptable for Russia to target U.S. citizens and urged all Americans in Russia to leave at once.

The WSJ denied that Gershkovich was a spy and, in an opinion column, the WSJ's editorial board wrote: "Expelling Russias ambassador to the U.S., as well as all Russian journalists working here, would be the minimum to expect."

However, Biden said expelling Russian diplomats was "not the plan right now".

Speaking on the "60 Minutes" programme of Russia's flagship Rossiya 1 channel, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the United States had made no attempt to understand what had happened to Gershkovich.

"They immediately turn to threats, reprisals against Russian journalists. If this logic continues in the public space, they will reap a whirlwind," Zakharova said.

Both Zakharova and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Gershkovich had been "caught red-handed" but offered no evidence to back up their assertion.

Gershkovich pleaded "not guilty" on Thursday as a court remanded him in pre-trial detention for two months.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Consequences of shelling of Sumy Oblast

The enemy shelled the areas around the communities of Bilopolska, Seredyno-Budska and Krasnopilska. The occupiers used grenade launchers and mortars.

Two explosive objects of the VOG grenade type were dropped by the Russians from a drone in the community of Krasnopilska, resulting in an injury to a local resident.

Russian invasion troops regularly shell civilian residential areas in Sumy Oblast and other Ukrainian oblasts close to Russian territory or Russian-occupied territory, including Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Mykolaiv oblasts.

The International Criminal Court recently announced that it was opening two war crimes cases against Russia, one of which concerns illegal attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Read also: Military expert elaborates on when to expect new Ukrainian counteroffensive

Russia claims to have annexed Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson oblasts, but it does not have complete control over any of them. It lost control of the city of Kherson  the only major Ukrainian regional center it managed to capture in its full-scale invasion  in early November last year, and has so far been forced to retreat from small parts of Zhytomyr Oblast, and parts of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy Kharkiv, Luhansk and Kherson oblasts.

About 18% of Ukraines internationally recognized territory remains under Russian occupation  including Ukraines Crimea and the parts of the Donbas, which were invaded by Russia in 2014.

The Kremlin falsely declared it had annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014  but this claim has only been recognized by a handful of the worlds rogue and pariah states.

In terms of international law, Crimea remains Ukrainian territory under Russian military occupation.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Russian military committed more than 9,000 war crimes in Bucha district of Kyiv Oblast during the occupation.

Source: Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin on Facebook



Quote: "A year ago, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated Bucha. That was the first time we all saw evidence of the unprecedented scale of the enemy's atrocities.

During the 33 days of occupation, more than 9,000 war crimes were committed in Bucha district. Horrifying figures...

More than 270 crimes per day. More than 1,400 civilians were killed. Many of them were tortured. Among the killed are 37 children. Another 52 children were injured."

Details: According to Kostin, over a year, the prosecutor's office has issued a notice of suspicion to almost a hundred Russian military officers. Indictments against 35 people have been sent to court.

Among them is a colonel general, commander of the Central Military District of the Russian Federation, who directly led the occupation of Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv oblasts. Two Russian servicemen were sentenced to 12 years in prison for unlawful imprisonment of civilians and looting.

The Prosecutor General stated that law enforcement will not stop until all organisers and perpetrators of war crimes are sentenced.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
(This March 30 story has been corrected to remove paragraph 10, which incorrectly referred to Daniil Berman as a lawyer representing Evan Gershkovich and gave his comments regarding court proceedings.)

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday charged an American correspondent for the Wall Street Journal with spying, in a case certain to worsen Moscow's diplomatic feud with Washington over the war in Ukraine and likely to further isolate Russia.

The newspaper denied the allegations and demanded the immediate release of "trusted and dedicated reporter" Evan Gershkovich. The White House said the State Department was in direct contact with the Russian government over his detention and urged U.S. citizens living or travelling in Russia to depart immediately.

"These espionage charges are ridiculous. The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing.

Gershkovich, a 31-year-old who has worked in Russia as a journalist for six years, is the highest-profile American arrested there since basketball star Brittney Griner, who was freed in December after 10 months in jail on drugs charges.

The FSB said it arrested Gershkovich in the Urals industrial city of Yekaterinburg, "suspected of spying in the interests of the American government" by collecting information on "one of the enterprises of Russia's military-industrial complex", which it did not identify.

He was brought to Moscow, where a court at a closed hearing ordered him held in pre-trial detention until May 29.

Gershkovich, who has been working for the Journal for just over a year, told the court he was not guilty. His employer said the case against him, believed to be the first criminal case for espionage against a foreign journalist in post-Soviet Russia, was based on a false allegation.

Espionage under Russian law can be punishable by up to 20 years in jail.

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Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia would grant the U.S. consular access to Gershkovich, adding that the case against him would be made public.

"The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family," the newspaper said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said it was too early to talk of any prisoner swap with the United States, saying such deals are typically arranged only after a prisoner is convicted.

Rossiya-24 state TV ran a segment of nearly five minutes on Gershkovich's arrest about 17 minutes into its 6 p.m. bulletin.

Its correspondent said Gershkovich's work had an "openly propagandist character", citing as evidence a story carrying his byline this week that was headlined "Russia's Economy is Starting to Come Undone".

The Russian TV report noted that the Yekaterinburg region where he was detained is a major hub of Russia's defence industry, suggesting this was the object of his "curiosity".

As well as escalating Moscow's diplomatic conflict with the United States, the case could further isolate Russia by scaring off more of the few foreign journalists still working there.

Moscow has effectively outlawed all independent Russian news outlets since the start of the war but has continued to accredit some foreign reporters. Journalism has become sharply limited by laws that impose long sentences for any public criticism of the war, which Russia refers to as a "special military operation".

KYIV ACKNOWLEDGES SOME RUSSIAN GAINS

Ukraine said on Thursday Russian forces had made some gains inside the eastern battlefield city of Bakhmut, but at a heavy price in lives lost that has blunted Moscow's offensive as Kyiv prepares a counterstrike of its own.

The small mining city of Bakhmut has been the site of the bloodiest infantry battle in Europe since World War Two, with Russian forces seeking their first victory since mid-2022.

Ukraine has been on the defensive for nearly five months but says it is planning a counteroffensive soon.

"Enemy forces had a degree of success in their actions aimed at storming the city of Bakhmut," the Ukrainian General Staff said in an overnight report. "Our defenders are holding the city and are repelling numerous enemy attacks."

The report gave no details of the Russian gains. The Institute for the Study of War think tank said Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries had captured territory in the south and southwest of the city over the past two days, and Wagner had occupied a metal plant in its north this week.

Russian forces have been advancing slowly inside Bakhmut in intense street fighting. A month ago, Kyiv seemed likely to abandon the city but has since decided to stay and fight for it, hoping to break the attacking force.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said in a social media post that losses were inevitable, but "the enemy's losses are many times greater".

Serhiy Cherevatyi, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, told national television: "Bakhmut remains the epicenter of military activity...It's still constantly 'hot' there."

As winter has turned to spring, the pressing question is how much longer Russia can sustain its offensive, and when or if Ukraine will strike back.

Russia's invasion has destroyed Ukrainian cities and set millions of refugees to flight. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers on both sides are believed to have died.

Moscow, which says it sent in troops because its neighbour posed a security threat, has vowed to press on fighting at least until it controls all the territory of eastern provinces, among five it claims to have annexed. Kyiv says it will fight on until all Russian troops are driven from its land.

(Writing by Peter Graff and William Maclean; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Andrew Heavens)
Russia has lost about 173,360 soldiers, 3,615 tanks, 6,977 armoured combat vehicles and 2,248 UAVs in its 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 31 March 2023 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses  ed.]:

approximately 173,360 (+460) military personnel,

3,615 (+5) tanks,

6,977 (+3) armoured combat vehicles,

2,675 (+4) artillery systems,

526 (+0) multiple-launch rocket systems,

278 (+0) air defence systems,

306 (+0) fixed-wing aircraft,

291 (+0) helicopters,

2,248 (+9) operational-tactical UAVs,

911 (+0) cruise missiles,

18 (+0) ships/boats,

5,521 (+3) vehicles and tankers,

294 (+3) other vehicles and equipment.

The information is being confirmed.

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Dave Halls, the assistant director on the New Mexico set of "Rust" where an accidental shooting in 2021 killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, received a suspended six-month jail sentence in his plea hearing Friday in New Mexico court.

Halls pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and the unsafe handling of a firearm and received a "suspended six-month sentence with unsupervised probation," the case's presiding judge, Mary Marlowe Sommer, explained to the defendant.

Sommer told Halls he could have asked for a court case. "Are you willing to give up that right?" she asked. "Yes, your honor," answered Halls, who appeared via video.

Sommers added that Halls also would be required to testify in all hearings involving any and all defendants in the case, had to pay a $500 fine, attend a firearm safety course within 60 days, and have no contact with witnesses and co-defendants in the case.

Actor Alec Baldwin faces involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. He has yet to make an court appearance, virtual or otherwise, while other defendants in the accidental shooting case have.

Halls earlier had reached a plea agreement with New Mexico prosecutors in his role in the shooting death. His hearing was streamed live on the New Mexico court's YouTube channel. Also present were Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis representing the state of New Mexico, and Halls' attorney Lisa Torraco.

How was Dave Halls involved?

Halls was inside the church at the movie ranch outside of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, when the shooting occurred. He handed the Western-style revolver involved in the shooting to actor Alec Baldwin after calling "cold gun," implying the gun only contained harmless blank rounds. In reality, one live round was present in the gun barrel.

During a rehearsal for the upcoming scene, Baldwin was asked by Hutchins to point the gun in her direction as she sat near the movie camera opposite the actor. The gun then discharged, hitting and wounding director Joel Souza and killing Hutchins, who is survived by her husband and young son.

Halls' attorney Torraco said her client was three feet from Hutchins when the firearmwent off, and is "extremely traumatized and rattled with guilt and feelings of what he could have done better."

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She added that the no contest plea was about "trying to make things easier for the family and the codefendants who are wondering how they could have done things better. Mr. Halls said I want to get this over with, everyone needs to process this and move on."

Director of photography Halyna Hutchins was killed on set while filming the movie "Rust" in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 21, 2021.

A number of civil lawsuits have arisen from the shooting, some of which have been settled.

After more than a year spent investigating the shooting, New Mexico prosecutors in January charged Baldwin and the movie's young armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, each with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

What are the legal implications here?

Halls decided to accept a plea agreement months ago, which suggests that whatever information he has could be used by New Mexico prosecutors in their case against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, experts say.

If Im trying to read the tea leaves here, this is all lining up for Halls playing a pivotal role in the prosecutions case," says Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter, a partner with El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers and a former Los Angeles County prosecutor.

"The prosecutor asked for a suspended sentence and the judge imposed that instead of a deferred sentence," he says. "That's essentially holding a sword over Hallss head. If he violates any of the terms of his probation, it cuts out all the argument as to what sentence he would receive.

"He is very likely to be called as a witness in a preliminary hearing for Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed," Ritter adds. "Halls is getting a pretty good deal here in comparison to what Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are potentially facing, so hes probably going to be a very impactful witness for the prosecution if hes called.

What's the latest with armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed?

The most recent hearing related to the case was in late February and featured the virtual appearance of Gutierrez-Reed via Google Meet, during which she pleaded not guilty in the shooting death of Hutchins.

In this image from 2021 video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, Alec Baldwin gestures while talking with investigators following a fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" in New Mexico.

The main revelation of her 10-minute session was the judge agreeing to her attorney's request that his client be allowed to carry a firearm. Her attorney argued this was important because his client had received numerous threatening calls and was granted a restraining order against a stalker after state officials released personal details about her in the aftermath of the shooting.

Where is Alec Baldwin?

Baldwin was also supposed to appear during the same hearing with Gutierrez-Reed. But before doing so, he exercised his right to waive his appearance while entering a plea of not guilty.

The judge agreed to allow Baldwin to stay free on his "personal recognizance." Stipulations, however, include not possessing firearms or dangerous weapons, as well as maintaining contact with his defense attorney and not consuming alcohol. No word as yet as to when Baldwin will make his first court appearance, virtual or otherwise.

In this still from a video released by Santa Fe County Sheriff's officials, we see the inside of the church set where the accidental shooting of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins took place on Oct. 21, 2021. The criminal case on the part of New Mexico prosecutors is currently underway, with actor Alec Baldwin and "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

What are possible penalties in the 'Rust' involuntary manslaughter case?

Initially, the two charges of involuntary manslaughter against both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed carried up to five years in jail due to a special firearms charge provision. The accidental shooting resulted not only in the death of Hutchins but also in the injury of "Rust" director Joel Silva.

But after Baldwin's lawyers successfully argued that this charge was tied to a law that came into effect in 2022, that is after the shooting, the new penalty is up to 18 months in prison.

Recent news about the 'Rust' case:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Rust' shooting: Dave Halls gets 6 months suspended jail sentence
US actor Baldwin fires prop gun on movie set, killing cinematographer, injuring director - Credit: Mostafa Bassim Adly/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Dave Halls, who worked as an assistant director on Rust, became the first person involved with the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins to face accountability after entering a plea of no contest on Friday, March 31.

As Variety reports, Hall appeared remotely for a hearing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and entered the no-contest plea to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. Halls will not face any jail time and will serve six months of unsupervised probation.

More from Rolling Stone

Halls was among the figures on the Rust set who garnered the most scrutiny after the Oct. 2021 incident. According to early accounts, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed allegedly handed the prop gun to Halls, who then handed it to Alec Baldwin, who then discharged it. Halls also allegedly said the prop gun was cold, meaning it had no live rounds. (After the shooting, it also emerged that Halls was fired from a movie set in 2019 over what producers characterized as the negligent discharge of a firearm.)

Halls denied both those allegations in a recent deposition, saying he remembered Gutierrez-Reed giving the gun to Baldwin. During an initial interview with the sheriffs department, however, Halls admitted that he did not check all the rounds of the prop gun but should have.

The extent of what Halls is copping to in the plea is still somewhat up for debate. Prosecutor Kari Morrissey shared a statement with the court that said in part, [Halls] is the last line of defense. He needed to check and confirm that the rounds in the gun were actually dummy rounds. Mr. Halls did not check every round that it was in the gun to confirm that it was a dummy round.

His lawyer, however, Lisa Torraco, pushed back on the states claim that Halls was responsible for on-set safety, saying, He cant control how other people handle firearms.

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Still, Torraco said Halls agreed to the no-contest plea to make things easier for Hutchins family: Everybody needs to start processing and moving on. Mr. Halls is in a lot of pain and a lot of trauma. (Torraco did not immediately return Rolling Stones request for comment.)

Despite the no-contest plea, Halls isnt fully out of the Rust shooting litigation thicket just yet. In May, hes expected to testify during a preliminary hearing as prosecutors start their involuntary manslaughter cases against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed (both have pleaded not guilty). Back in Dec. 2022, Halls also filed a countersuit against Baldwin and other members of the Rust crew, essentially seeking to protect himself from any legal issues tied to the shooting. His complaint cites an agreement that allegedly says he should be indemnified and have his legal costs covered over any incidents during production causing personal injury, death, or damage.

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Rye Lane is your new favorite rom-com, and if you didnt know that, you definitely will after watching it on Hulu.

Director Raine Allen-Miller explained why it was important for her to set her critically-acclaimed film in south London in a new interview with Shadow and Act.

Speaking with S&A Managing Editor Trey Mangum, Allen-Miller said that for her, south London represented what she knew.

It was originally set in Camden, which is also a great place, but for me, I think I just know it. Im originally from Manchester, I moved to London when I was 12 and I lived in south London and its the place that I know, she said. I walked around with my grandma and learned about where to get Jamaican spices and where to get plantain, where to get an afro comb all around Brixton. Its a place that I feel incredibly connected to.

And Peckham I moved to when I went to university and again, it just has that thing where you wander around and theres so many wonderful little pockets of different cultures and people and its a great place, she continued. I think its often been shown on screen as a sad placeIt can be hard living in areas like that, its definitely not been easy for me the whole time, but for me, this is about one good day in south London and I think its really important to show the positives of that area.

Watch the full interview with Allen-Miller and stars David Jonsson and Vivian Oporah below.

Rye Lane debuted at Sundance and is set to be released in the U.S. on Hulu Friday.

The post Rye Lane Stars And Director On The Film And Why South London Means So Much In It appeared first on Shadow And Act.
A courtroom artist holds a rendering of suspended Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was found guilty of corruption charges Thursday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

The conviction of Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas on federal corruption charges drew a wide range of reactions on Thursday, with some calling the verdict unjust and others simply expressing sadness over the outcome.

Mayor Karen Bass, appearing at an event dealing with housing and homelessness, told reporters she had worked with Ridley-Thomas for more than 40 years. She described him as a champion of the city, a thought leader and "a policymaker who made a real impact."

"I believe that this is a sad day for Los Angeles," she said. "And I feel that sadness personally."

Ridley-Thomas, who was convicted of conspiracy, bribery and fraud charges, had served in city, county and state government, most recently representing a district that stretches from Koreatown to the Crenshaw corridor. Throughout the case, he had drawn support  both political and financial  from his longtime allies, especially the religious leadership of South Los Angeles.

Those allies said they were devastated by the verdict handed down Thursday, saying Ridley-Thomas should have been found not guilty.

Pastor William D. Smart, who has known Ridley-Thomas for 25 years, described the case as "a U.S. government railroad of another Black man." Smart said the Ridley-Thomas he knows is "honorable, respectful, and a doer for the people  all people."

"Somewhere along the line, the character and the service and the spirit of Mark got lost," said Smart, who went to the courthouse each of the last four days to show his support. "The jury  I just think they didn't understand."

Pastor K. W. Tulloss, president of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Los Angeles and Southern California, said he too was stunned. Tulloss said the community would "continue to stand by the council member."

"We're going to continue to raise awareness, because there's many in our community who believe this was a political witch hunt," he said.

Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who opposed the council's decision to suspend Ridley-Thomas in 2021, called the verdict "difficult news to consider or accept," saying that while some had chosen to "forget our community, Mark Ridley-Thomas centered and uplifted us."

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Others voiced sadness, but for different reasons.

Grace Yoo, an attorney who lost to Ridley-Thomas in the 2020 election, pointed out that he is the third council member to be convicted of corruption charges in a three-year span. Top executives at the Department of Water and Power also have pleaded guilty.

Yoo, who is running for the Ridley-Thomas seat in next year's election, said Angelenos deserve honest local government. And she questioned what City Hall might have been able to accomplish if it were not sullied by corruption.

"I'm just sad  sad for the state of L.A.," she said. "I'm also sad that it's taken this long for the general public to know what's going on in their local government."

The case against Ridley-Thomas centered around actions he took while he was serving on the county Board of Supervisors. Prosecutors alleged that Ridley-Thomas made contracting decisions that were favorable to USC, in exchange for benefits the university provided to his son, a former state Assembly member.

Businessman Rick Caruso, who was chairman of USC's Board of Trustees when the investigation into Ridley-Thomas began, said in a statement that he's grateful to the jury for "carefully weighing the evidence and then doing the right thing.

"Today's conviction is an important and necessary step forward as we work to end the culture of corruption that has long plagued Los Angeles city government," said Caruso, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last year.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents part of the west San Fernando Valley, said the verdict "stains the legacy of a man who had been a trailblazer, an icon and effective legislator for many years."

"I am glad that justice is being served because bribery and pay-to-play schemes in Los Angeles are unacceptable and have to be stopped," Blumenfield said in a statement. "I am disappointed and saddened by the reality that he is the third City Council colleague to either plead or be found guilty of corruption."

Times staff writer Julia Wick contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A California man whom investigators said threatened that he planned to kill Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood by fatally shooting him is now the second person arrested in relation to threats against the sheriff.

Tyler Meyer, 30, was arrested Friday by the San Diego Police Department at a home where he lived with his mother, according to police.

Chitwood and his family have been the targets of threatening or harassing messages after the sheriff condemned neo-Nazi hate groups and white supremacists in Florida.

Man extradited in threat case: New Jersey man who issued death threat to sheriff extradited to Volusia County

Top cop targeted: Racist group targets Sheriff Mike Chitwood by dropping flyers in Port Orange area

Volusia Sheriff calls out hate groups: Sheriff calls out 'punk thugs' who spread antisemitic propaganda in Volusia County

Meyer was charged with making a written threat to kill or injure, a second-degree felony. He is in custody in San Diego pending extradition to Volusia County.

Meyer posted anonymously: Its too bad Mike Chitwood isnt safe now that Im planning to kill him. Im going to shoot Mike Chitwood. Im going to kill him by shooting him to death, according to police.

Tyler Meyer

Meyer was accused of posting the threats on 4chan, the same online message board where a New Jersey man who also lived with his mother posted similar threats.

Meyer placed the threats on the Politically Incorrect board on 4chan, and the FBI took notice.

The FBI traced the threat and identified and contacted Meyer, who was initially hesitant to admit posting the threat, police said.

But after he was shown an image of the post, Meyer admitted to posting it.

Investigators seized multiple firearms, ammunition, and electronics from Meyers home, a release stated. The sheriff's office did not immediately respond to a request for the number and types of firearms seized.

Chitwood thanked all the members of the sheriffs office, the FBI, State Attorney R.J. Larizzas office, and the San Diego Police Department, who worked on the case.

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Meyers arrest follows the March 13 arrest of Richard Golden of Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, in connection to threats against the sheriff. The 38-year-old Golden was charged with written threats to kill or do bodily injury, a second-degree felony.

Golden suggested Chitwood be shot, according to the sheriffs office.

"Just shoot Chitwood in the head and he stops being a problem," Golden wrote in the chat room, according to the sheriff. "They have to find a new guy to be the problem. But shooting Chitwood in the head solves an immediate problem permanently. Just shoot Chitwood in the head and murder him.

Golden has since been extradited to Florida. Chitwood welcomed Golden when he arrived Monday at the Orlando Sanford International Airport for transport to the Volusia County Branch Jail. Golden remained at the jail Friday on $100,000 bond.

The sheriffs office had not responded as of Friday afternoon on whether Chitwood planned to personally welcome Meyer as well.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Sheriff Mike Chitwood threatened again, San Diego man arrested
Sasha Colby

Sasha Colby was introduced on season 15 of RuPauls Drag Race as a certified drag legend.

She had already won the famed Miss Continental pageant, developed relationships with high-profile designers, and mothered several drag children  including season 14 star Kerri Colby. For Colby, her journey in the world of drag  and as a transgender woman  is stitched into her garments.

Beginning with her youth in Hawaii, Colby formed a lifelong relationship with clothes as a means of gender expression and freedom. And she had some unintentional helpers.

The funny thing is how my parents would dress me, Colby reflects. In elementary school, I was already a blond kid in the middle of Hawaii. I had green eyes, pretty fair skin, and was femme-presenting. Then theyd put me in these little shorts that no other boy was wearing. And I was like, So you really want me to just get more beat up, right? I felt like my parents unintentionally dressed me up very feminine, and they didnt even realize it.

Short shorts were just the beginning. As a child, she tried on different forms of feminine presentation, which allowed her to access new realms of creativity.

The first gender-affirming clothes I ever put on were my sisters negligee and bra, she recalls. From elementary to high school, I would come home and I would play in my sisters makeup because she would have it in the bathroom. So it was easy for me to just grab a little liner, put some mascara on, light a candle, put on music. There was a radio inside our bathroom, and I would lip-synch in front of the mirror for hours  three hours, from 3 to 6 [a.m.] And my dad would be pounding on the door saying, Get out, I have to shower!

Even today, Colby doesnt believe her family understood what she was doing in the bathroom. No one askedever, she says with a laugh. Maybe they noticed that I had black around my eye or little leftover remnants of makeup. But they never really pressed it. Theyd just be annoyed that Id be taking up the bathroom.

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Her teenage years also marked a major turning point in her sartorial self-discovery. My first gender-affirming, Oh, Im trans and this is how Im going to present myself, was in high school, Colby says. I was around 17 and dressing up for Halloween. A bunch of my friends rented a hotel in Waikiki. My best friend, Lindsay, whos still my best friend to this day, fully let me be in drag. We all walked around Waikiki and I just felt likeIm a girl. It was so empowering. I was finally seen but not gawked at. I was really awkward before I transitioned, but as soon as I started presenting [as] how I actually felt on the inside, a lot of people were like, You just seem so much happier now. Its so nice to see you.

Over the years, Colby kept expressing herself through fashion and evolved her style as she gained more confidence and experience. In fact, every dress tells a story. Read on to hear about them.

Kristofer Reynolds Photography

Crowning Glory

Colby triumphed in the 2012 Miss Continental pageant, which garnered her this crown. She recalls, This is right when I won. When you win any big pageant, it is a job youre taking, which is why I always think about it when I wanted to do Drag Race. Everyone thinks that the competition is the real hard part, but its actually doing the job after.

Winning Miss Continental gave Colby a sense of responsibility that comes with the platform of the title. Being able to represent what I felt I loved about Miss Continental was really important. I was traveling so much. The Continental schedule was fierce. I sometimes had to do two or three different cities, different states even, in one weekend.

Clint Clark

The First Incarnation in Drag

Colby was gifted this leather piece from one of her sons, the fashion designer August Getty; previously, it was hanging in his personal closet. Even though she first wore it for a recent photo shoot, the look is reminiscent of her first incarnation in drag. She explains, I was the rock-and-roll girl, this platinum blond thing, walking in Hawaii. Not a lot of girls had the commitment to go blond-blondand I was platinum. I was feeling my Gwen Stefani era, very Hella Good [by No Doubt]. I am a kid of the 2000s, so I did love me some emo, Hot Topic. Give me a rubber band bracelet up to my elbows, please.

Courtesy of MTV

Something Borrowed

When I first ran Miss Continental in 2005, that was the first gown that I ever wore, Colby says. And its actually my drag mother Cassandra Colbys gown that she wore when she won Miss Universal Show Queen, which is a very big pageant based in Hawaii. It was a big bustle that she had, and I repurposed it as a cool little coat. I just love having sentimental drag pieces. That gown goes back so far  15 years now.

Courtesy of MTV

Hawaiian Warrior

This drag veteran put a lot of thought behind how she would enter the Werk Room of RuPauls Drag Race for the very first time. My drag is very everywhere, like a drag chameleon. So I thought, What story do I want to start to tell first? she muses. And it went back to who I am as a person, being Hawaiian. I wanted to take on the idea of a powerful warrior, mixing in the black skirt, which is actually more so of a mans skirt. Its called a malo, which men wear more often than women. It felt like a little touch that maybe only other queer Hawaiian people would understand and be like, Oh, wow. Shes doing the masculine/feminine thing, but in a Sasha Colby way.

As for the tattoos, Colby met with a Hawaiian culture specialist, Kumu Mehana Hind, to ensure she was making the accurate references to her origins. I had a really long talk with her, and she wanted to really know my reasoning behind why I chose to have tattoos for this look, Colby says. For me, it was just aesthetics, but then she told me why we tattoo as Polynesians. Its a very sacred ritual act, usually to commemorate a big thing that happened in your life: a big death or a big birth or a big transformation. When she said transformation, I realized thats why I innately went to it, because its showing my transness as well. Even though I didnt realize it at first, that was also a really powerful statement that I got to make.

Preston Meneses

First Impression

Colbys first runway look on RuPauls Drag Race was a 10-year-old gown made by a New York City-based designer named Gustavo Bustos; she previously wore it the year she won Miss Continental. He would do all the Miss Venezuela pageants back in the 80s and 90s, and he started doing a lot of drag, a lot of trans-drag pageants, which is why we all fell in love with him, she says. Hes a legend in the drag industry, so I really wanted to make a statement that night.

Chris Nightingale

The Next Chapter

Despite her already sizable reputation, Colby never underestimated the Drag Race experience as she went into filming season 15. Lets be real, Drag Race is the hugest competition in drag culture, Colby points out. I think of it as a televised pageant, so thats why it was so easy to see myself competing. Going there, Ive had a lot of life happen to me. I was also ready to just be present in not just the competition but understanding that it is a show as well.... A lot of people see me as standoffish and maybe intimidating when they see me on stage, but everyone that meets me is like, Oh, but shes so sweet and goofy.

Could Colby soon wear a Drag Race crown with a story of its own? Considering the possibility, she becomes a little emotional. To be quite honest, I just wanted my foot in the door, she confesses. Just get me on TV, please, and I promise you Ill take whatever I get. Ive just been working so hard and never thought that anybody was watching or even noticed it. The amount of love that Ive gotten has made me feel like my 20 years of work really meant something, that people are really watching.

My goal with Drag Race is to follow in the footsteps of all the successful Drag Race sisters that Ive seen become more than their wildest dreams. Being able to seize opportunities. This is what Drag Race is about. Even the non-winners are such winners. Its insane what you can do with just the opportunity. And I definitely go into this not just wanting to win, but just being like, Man, if I could just get somebody to see me, then its on. Thats what I feel like. My opportunities are so much bigger now, and my dreams just got bigger.
Welcome to your weekly South Carolina politics briefing, a newsletter curated by The States politics and government team.

It was not a marathon, but a sprint this week as SC lawmakers pushed out bills before the April 10 crossover deadline, meaning bills that fail to make it out of the chamber they originate will have to meet a higher vote threshold to get debate in the other.

The SC House has one more week to hit the legislative deadline, but the Senate wont be back on the floor until April 11.

Lawmakers care about crossover, but their bills arent dead  yet. Were in the first of a two-year session, so even if their legislation fails to see the light of day this year, dont worry, theres always 2024.

Meanwhile, South Carolina Republicans are coming to Donald Trumps defense after the former president was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury Thursday.

I do not see anything that is reasonable, anything that is honorable, anything that is legal, or anything that is even ethical about what this prosecutor has done, Gov. Henry McMaster in part tweeted.

Another Trump ally, US Sen. Lindsey Graham, said in a statement, This is a shocking and dangerous day for the Rule of Law in America. This is one of the most irresponsible decisions in American history by any prosecutor. It is irresponsible because the case was looked at by two previous prosecutors and they passed. It has not aged like fine wine.

US Rep. Jim Clyburn, the states lone Democrat in Congress, called Thursday a solemn day for our nation.

Consistent with that principle, Donald Trump will be afforded due process just like any other individual in this great nation, and I trust that the outcome of this case will be unaffected by the defendants previous high position. The eyes of the world are watching, Clyburn said.

Donald Trump at 2024 campaign rally. Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas. One of Trumps former advisors has suggested it should require a dead body laying next to him to indict a former president.

The Amazing Race for Comptroller

It didnt take long for names to pop up in the election for comptroller general, a four-year job that quite frankly not many people had heard of before Comptroller Richard Eckstrom disclosed a $3.5 billion accounting error that stretched a decade.

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On the House side, Republicans are banding together to elect ex-SC Rep. Kirkman Finlay, a Richland County Republican, who has also engaged in his own lobbying effort, were told.

On the Senate side, senators want Mike Shealy, a longtime state employee who was the former budget director.

Lawmakers will get to decide at some point who will succeed Eckstrom. The key words are at some point.

The House has the numbers advantage, since they have 124 members to the Senates 46.

But what if the Senate doesnt even agree to have a vote on the comptroller? What if the Legislature decides to end the legislative session without an election, resulting in a governor appointment?

Those arent just questions were asking. Theyre questions legislators are also seriously considering.

Gov. Henry McMaster told us this week that he, in general, supports making the job an appointed position part in his Cabinet. He also said hed prefer someone who has no political ties.

Id want ... someone who is not political, who comes with no obligations, no baggage, no favors to give to anyone, who is well known, and who is a career professional accountant or in finance, McMaster told us.

Meanwhile, Eckstrom is staying out of the debate, instead telling us that hes concentrating on his final month on the job.

Im focusing on the task at hand, which is kind of wrapping up, preparing for whoever my successor is, he said. I want it to be a very smooth transition.

Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom speaks during a meeting of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority Meeting on Tuesday, March. 28, 2023.

2024 Bites

 The State: Nikki Haley is bringing her presidential campaign to Lexington County. Here are the details

 McClatchyDC: Former President Donald Trump has been indicted for illegal hush-money payments

 USA Today: After Nashville school shooting, Nikki Haley tells voters she is against gun control legislation

 McClatchyDC: Florida Gov. DeSantis is ramping up SC outreach for 2024, and now has the backing from state lawmakers

 The State: Marianne Williamson said Democrats should take her seriously in her primary challenge of President Joe Biden

Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson speaks to a crowd of voters during the 2nd annual South Carolina Sunday Dinner, hosted by the S.C. Black Caucus of the Democratic Party on Sun., March 26, 2023.

Buzz Bites

 Congratulations to the House Amenders softball team after they defeated the Senate Filibusters in the 30th annual softball game, 9 to 6.

 South Carolina teachers and other school district personnel could soon be eligible for paid parental leave under a bill moving in the House, joining state employees who became eligible last year.

 Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is headed to the SC State House as Republicans move toward approving legislation to help parents afford their childs private tuition, the Post and Courier reports.

 Feminine hygiene products, such as tampons and pads, may be exempted from sales tax under legislation approved by the House Ways and Means budget-writing committee.

 A South Carolina utility that sued one of its customers for complaining about the quality of the drinking water she receives has lost in court after three years of legal disputes.

 Michelle Shain, a Democrat and former Greenville city council member, is running for mayor against longtime Mayor Knox White, The Greenville News reports.

 The SC House approved legislation that would allow students to enroll in any public school of their choice, the Post and Courier reports.

 A Walhalla man alleged to have hurled bear spray at police during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot has been arrested, now one of 20 people from South Carolina who have been charged in the attack.

 SC Republican legislators are pushing a bill to ensure the states $38 billion pension portfolio doesnt get spent on woke political goals, commonly called ESG, the Post and Courier reports.

 A South Carolina Senate proposal that would shield personal identifying information of current and former law enforcement personnel from public databases was expanded to add judges as lawmakers look to beef up the states privacy laws.

 Legislation that supporters say would speed up adoptions in South Carolina is moving forward in the House, the Post and Courier reports.

 A 34-year-old South Carolina prison inmate has pleaded guilty to threatening President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and a state-based federal judge.

 A bipartisan group of South Carolina prosecutors and sheriffs are calling for a new law that would allow the governor to play a major role in selecting state judges, a move they say would boost public confidence in the judiciary.

 For the first time, two survivors of the racist 2015 Charleston church shooting confronted South Carolina senators in person with the devastation that a mass shooting can have on families and individuals, asking them to pass a House-backed hate crimes bill.

Emanuel AME shooting survivor Polly Sheppard, left, and state Sen. Penry Gustafson, R-Camden, right, speak after a South Carolina Senate subcommittee hearing on a hate crimes bill, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Mark your calendar

April 3

SC Senate Education panel discusses charter school-related bill, 12:30 p.m.

April 5

SC House panel takes up ignition interlock, phones in prisons legislation, 9 a.m.

SC Senate panel discusses gun-related bills, including constitutional carry, 1 p.m.

April 6

Nikki Haley holds a rally in Lexington County

April 10

Legislatures crossover deadline

SC House on furlough

April 11

SC House on furlough

SC Senate education panel expected to vote on CRT bill, 9:30 a.m.

April 12

SC House on furlough

Full SC Senate Education Committee meets, 10 a.m.

April 13-14

SC House on furlough

April 18

Income tax filing deadline

April 29

SC Democratic Party holds state convention in Columbia at fairgrounds

The S.C. Democratic Party headquarters is seen at its 1929 Gadsden St. location in Columbia, S.C. on Monday, June 27, 2022. (Photo by Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CAROLINA)

Before we adjourn

And then there were 18.

This week, the faces of two Republican House lawmakers  Upstate Reps. Bobby Cox and Steven Long, who were told also had membership still in the SC House GOP Caucus  disappeared from a visual list of current of SC House Freedom Caucus, bringing their membership down from an official 20 to 18.

Cox did not respond to a request for comment, though we heard hes no longer in the freedom caucus. Long confirmed his departure Thursday, saying while he and the band of ultra-conservative legislators might share the same conservative policy goals, they may have some different ideas on the most efficient ways to get there.

You can click on this tweet thread for the backstory on the freedom caucus relationship with the main House GOP Caucus.

State Rep. Adam Morgan, R-Greenville, who is chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, discusses a lawsuit filed by the caucus against the House Ethics Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023.

This week Joseph Bustos, reporter on The States politics and government team, pulled together the newsletter. You can follow him on Twitter at @JoeBReporter or send him an email at jbustos@thestate.com.

Make sure to sign up for our weekly politics newsletter that will come straight to your inbox every Friday morning. Tell your friends to do the same. For even more South Carolina-focused political news, you can chat with us on Facebook at the Buzz on South Carolina Politics, email us tips at thebuzz [at] thestate [dot] com and follow our stories at scpolitics.com.
By Jonathan Allen

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - When Nashville police announced that the shooter who killed three children and three adults at a school this week was transgender, trans Tennesseans braced themselves for renewed vitriol in a state that has recently proposed a raft of anti-trans laws.

Soon enough, some prominent Republicans, including J.D. Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, and U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, suggested in social media posts that the shooter's gender identity may have been a factor in the murders.

Police later said they did not know the shooter's gender identity.

Even before the shooting, many transgender Tennesseans felt villainized by their state's efforts to regulate the lives of gay and trans people, and were increasingly fearful for their safety.

"This isn't a trans issue, this is a gun issue," said Mykul Coscia, a drag king at Nashville's Play Dance Bar, an LGTBQ nightclub. "But they're gonna make it a trans issue."

Tennessee's Republican-controlled legislature recently banned gender-affirming medical care, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for anyone under 18, despite U.S. medical associations saying such treatment can save lives.

It also restricted drag shows in public in an ambiguously worded law taking effect this weekend that includes "male or female impersonators" in the same X-rated category as strippers. As that bill progressed, armed neo-Nazis and other far-right groups protested outside drag shows in the state.

The Tennessee bills are part of a broader anti-trans push by Republicans in conservative states who argue they are protecting children.

Coscia has a 7-year-old daughter going to a Nashville-area school, and said he was never worried about doctors or drag queens harming children. But he does live in fear of school shootings, which have become commonplace in the U.S., where guns are easily obtained.

Story continues

Last year, the Supreme Court declared for the first time that the U.S. Constitution protects an individual's right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.

Even as a gun owner himself, he wants lawmakers to make it harder to get hold of guns, and to ban the kind of semi-automatic rifle used in many school shootings, including Monday's at the Covenant School.

Police identified the Nashville shooter as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, and initially referred to Hale as female. Later on Monday, police said Hale was transgender. By Wednesday, the police department was less sure.

"We do not know the shooter's personal gender identity," Kristin Mumford, a police spokesperson, wrote in an email. "We are aware that she used male pronouns in a social media profile."

The vast majority of mass shootings in the U.S. are committed by non-trans men, according to Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a non-profit group advocating for stricter gun regulation.

Grayson Collins, a trans man raising a 3-year-old daughter with his wife in a Nashville suburb, said the gender identity of a mass shooter was irrelevant.

"It's evil," he said. "I could care less who they are or what they are. You still took someone's life and that's horrible."

Dawn Bennett is the pastor of The Table, an LGBTQ congregation at a Lutheran church in downtown Nashville, and spent Wednesday helping organize a vigil. Congregants lit candles and another pastor rang a bell as the name of each of the Covenant School victims was read aloud in prayer.

"You can also pray by writing to your state legislator," Bennett said from the pulpit. Some later left the pews to head to a laptop set up in the church's hallway, where they could send a petition to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, to enact "commonsense gun safety measures."

After the service, Bennett, who has a trans son, said one of her congregants had been confronted and "told they were the cause, that this was God's repudiation of gay people, and that 'you and your people are going to hell for eternity,'" she said. "The trans community is going to pay dearly for this."

Two other congregants were similarly targeted, Bennett said.

Nashville police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for information about attacks or threats on the LGTBQ community since the shooting.

Every time there is a school shooting, Story VanNess said she has sleepless nights: she was a special education teacher in a Knoxville school for several years before becoming the director of trans and non-binary programs at Knox Pride.

VanNess, who in recent months has heard from the parents of several trans youth asking her advice on how to flee Tennessee, went through drills and lockdowns in her classroom. She had nightmares about ever having to deploy the pair of sharp scissors she had stashed near the classroom door to confront an attacker.

"It's all just disgusting and heartbreaking," she said. "We've had another school shooting but, because this shooter was trans, that's taken a back seat so politicians can demonize trans people. Now we're even more of a target than ever before."

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in Nashville; Additional reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Donna Bryson and Sandra Maler)
Martin Scorsese's new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, "Killers of the Flower Moon", will get its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, organisers confirmed on Friday.

It will be the first time the veteran filmmaker presents a new film at the festival since he won best director there in 1986 for "After Hours".

Scorsese won the top Palme d'Or prize in 1976 for "Taxi Driver" and also presided over the jury in 1998.

"The Cannes Festival is overjoyed to welcome Martin Scorsese this May on the Croisette, to climb the steps of the Palais des Festivals," the organisers said in a statement.

The film, also starring Robert De Niro, was produced by Apple, which has agreed to release it in cinemas in October prior to streaming on its platform.

Cannes only allows films to compete for the Palme d'Or if they get a theatrical release, which has notably prevented Netflix from entering its films.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" tracks the true story of serial murders of a Native American tribe in an oil-rich part of the United States in the 1920s.

er/js
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)  The body of a 2-year-old Florida boy who had been the subject of a frantic search after his mother was slain was found Friday in a lake in the jaws of an alligator, police said.

St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway also said the boy's father, 21-year-old Thomas Mosley, will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of the boy's mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery, and their young son Taylen Mosley.

Searchers, including dive teams and officers using drones, had been intensely looking for the boy since his mother's body was discovered in their apartment earlier this week and he was nowhere to be found.

"We are sorry it has had to end this way, Holloway said during a Friday night news conference.

Officers searching for the toddler at a lake a few miles from the apartment complex noticed an alligator with an object in its mouth that they quickly realized was a child's body, Holloway said. They fired shots at the reptile, which dropped the body.

"We were able to retrieve Taylens body intact, the chief said. The alligator was euthanized.

Thomas Mosley is hospitalized with cuts on his hands and arms and has refused to talk to investigators, Holloway said. He does not yet have a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

The father is not talking to us, he added.

Jeffery, who worked at a CVS store, and her son were last seen by family members around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday. Police have said around 8:30 p.m. neighbors heard a loud commotion near their apartment but police were not called.

The next day, Jeffery's mother contacted the apartment complex property manager after not hearing from her daughter. That's when they found her dead in what Holloway described as a very violent crime scene" in which Jeffery had been stabbed numerous times.

Police have not revealed how Taylen Mosley was killed or whether the alligator played any role in that.

Thomas Mosley went to his mother's house about 9 p.m. Wednesday with the cuts on his arms and hands, Holloway said, and then admitted himself to a local hospital, where he remained Friday night.

Family members said Jeffery and Taylen had just moved into the apartment complex about a month ago.
Seattle police arrested a man on Thursday after reports of him shattering the front door of a business with a pickaxe.

Police responded in the Chinatown International District around 2:30 p.m. to the break-in. The Seattle Police Department said the damage is around $2,000.

A witness saw what happened and pointed out the man who did it. Police were able to detain the man after a brief foot chase.

The Seattle Fire Department provided aid to the man for minor injuries.

Police recovered the pickaxe for evidence.

The 38-year-old man was arrested for malicious mischief and obstruction and booked into King County Jail.








The US government might not lean solely on lawsuits to limit online ad monopolies. A bipartisan group of senators has introduced the AMERICA Act (Advertising Middlemen Endangering Rigorous Internet Competition Accountability  yes, it's overwrought) with the intention of breaking up the ad businesses of tech giants like Google and Meta.

Large digital ad firms (those handling more than $20 billion in transactions) wouldn't be allowed to own both an ad exchange as well as either a demand- or supply-side platform. A supply-side platform owner couldn't own a demand-side system (and vice versa), while those buying and selling ads couldn't own either of the other platforms except to sell their own ad stock.

Companies that are medium-sized or larger (those handling over $5 billion in transactions) would also have to make the "best execution" for ad bids rather than deliberately holding back to serve their own operations. They need to be transparent and provide fair access to technical capabilities and data. If they do run businesses on two sides of the market, they have to establish "firewalls" to minimize abuse and conflicts of interest.

The bill is sponsored by a seemingly unlikely mix of senators that includes Mike Lee, Amy Klobuchar, Ted Cruz and Elizabeth Warren, among others. They aren't subtle about the ultimate goal: they expect Google and Meta to divest "significant portions" of their ad businesses to comply with the would-be law. Amazon and Apple might also have to take the AMERICA Act into account, the politicians say.

The sponsors single out Google as the bill's main target. As with lawsuits from the Justice Department and multiple states, the measure's creators accuse Google of manipulating the ad market in ways that unfairly disadvantage competitors. Google's control over a wide portion of the advertising system allegedly lets it charge "monopoly rents" across much of the internet.

We've asked Google and Meta for comment. They've previously fought bills and lawsuits meant to restrict their ad operations.

If the AMERICA Act passes, it would deal a significant financial blow. Google and Meta still rely on ad sales as their main sources of revenue, and in some cases use it to prop up other projects. Meta is sinking billions into its metaverse ambitions, as an example. While there's no way of knowing just how much revenue these companies would lose through divestments, they might have to rethink their broader strategies.
John Fetterman has been released from Walter Reed hospital after receiving treatment for depression.

The senator for Pennsylvania is now back at his home in Braddock, just outside of Pittsburgh, after doctors said his depression was in remission.

I am so happy to be home. Im excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves. Pennsylvanians have always had my back, and I will always have theirs, Mr Fetterman said in a statement released by his office.

John Fetterman after his release from Walter Reed Military Medical Center (Image supplied by John Fettermans office)

I am extremely grateful to the incredible team at Walter Reed. The care they provided changed my life. I will have more to say about this soon, but for now I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works. This isnt about politics  right now there are people who are suffering with depression in red counties and blue counties. If you need help, please get help.

Mr Fetterman won his states crucial race in November last year, flipping a Republican-held seat as he recovered from a stroke. Since then, he had continued to have difficulty with auditory processing and often needs speech-to-text technology. The Senate has allowed him to use a speech-to-text tablet on the Senate floor.

A little over a month after being sworn in, the senator checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland in February to receive treatment for what his office described as clinical depression. Adam Jentleson, the senators chief of staff, said the senator had experienced depression off and on throughout his life, and that it became more severe in the weeks leading up to his admission.

At the time, his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, praised her husband for seeking help.

After what hes been through in the past year, theres probably no one who wanted to talk about his own health less than John, she tweeted. Im so proud of him for asking for help and getting the care he needs.

On Friday, Mr Fettermans office released a summary of his discharge briefing issued Dr David Williamson, Neuropsychiatry Chief and Medical Director at Walter Reed.

According to the briefing, upon admission, Mr Fetterman had severe symptoms of depression with low energy and motivation, minimal speech, poor sleep, slowed thinking, slowed movement, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, but no suicidal ideation.

The note said that his treatment at the hospital gradually produced remission of his depression.
President Joe Biden speaks during a reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, celebrating Greek Independence Day. | Associated Press

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Wednesday to scrap the COVID-19 national emergency declaration enacted in 2020, even after a majority of U.S. House Democrats previously voted against it, signaling a possible clash between the White House and Democratic lawmakers at Capitol Hill.

The bipartisan resolution, HJR7, passed 68-23. Ahead of the vote, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who championed the bill, said that the declaration was appropriate in 2020, but its time for the proper constitutional checks and balances to be restored, according to a press release.

I come to the floor today, hopefully for one last vote on terminating this declaration. Is the emergency indeed over? Marshall said.

The Kansas senator then cited Bidens own words in an interview on CBSs 60 Minutes  where the president said, the pandemic is over  as proof that the emergency declaration isnt necessary anymore and that this power grab needs to end.

Meanwhile, a White House official said that Biden strongly opposes HJ Res 7, but added that he will, however, sign the bill, as his administration continues to wind down the national emergency with as much notice as possible, according to a statement given to Fox News.

The Biden administration had opposed the bill in January, saying they planned to extend the emergency declarations until May 11. The policy statement said that since funding is attached to these emergency measures, a 60-day notice would give hospitals and other health care providers time to adjust the previously free or affordable services related to COVID-19, like vaccines or screenings, as the Deseret News reported.

Related

Title 42, an order that authorized the rapid and mass expulsion of migrants who are crossing the border, would also end with this emergency declaration bill. Per Politico, Bidens administration has tried ending the policy, only to have that struck down by the Supreme Court.

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The presidents office reiterated the need for an orderly transition in February, according to a White House statement.

When the House voted on the resolution last month, only 11 Democratic representatives were in favor of the bill alongside 218 GOP House members. A White House official told CNN that the Senates vote comes after the Biden administration has had time to adjust to a new deadline for when the emergency would end.

As The Hill noted, earlier in March, Biden had said he would veto a D.C. crime bill, leading the House Democrats to vote no, but his administration drew criticism for surprising his allies by signing the bill.

Related

Some Democrats expressed their frustration with Biden over his changing position on the COVID-19 resolution, including Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., who described the atmosphere as kindergarten-level cooperation to Axios. But Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., took Bidens side and said that the issue wasnt the specific date, the issue was giving enough time to make this transition.

Yet, some representatives like Dan Kildee of Michigan told the news outlet that there's an unacceptable lack of clarity between the White House and the lower chamber.
(Bloomberg) -- A Dakar court sentenced Ousmane Sonko, the most prominent challenger to President Macky Sall in next years presidential elections, to a two-months suspended prison sentence for defaming a government minister.

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Sonko, 48, was also fined 200 million CFA francs ($333,000), Macoudou Ndour, a member of the defense team, said by phone Thursday from the capital, Dakar. The ruling doesnt disqualify Sonko from running for public office, he said.

The ruling is in my clients favor as he retains his civil and political rights. He can still be a candidate in next years elections, Ndour said.

The verdict comes as Sall, 61, may seek re-election after a constitutional amendment in 2016 that he says allows him to extend his two terms in power. The parties have one month to appeal Thursdays ruling.

Sonko, the leader of the opposition African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity, or Pastef-Patriotes in French, was sued for defamation over comments made about Senegalese Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang last year. Sonko also faces charges of rape and assault of a beauty-salon employee; hes denied any wrongdoing and said the charges are politically motivated.

Read more: Sall Risks Senegal Stability as Gas Boom Nears, Rival Says

Sonko may yet be prevented from running if hes found guilty of rape. A court date for that case hasnt been set yet.

(Updates with sentence suspended in first paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the currency conversion in the second paragraph.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Republicans in staunchly conservative states are championing some atypical legislation this session  promoting sex education, government welfare and more birth control.

The proposals are part of what some governors and lawmakers have referred to as a new pro-life agenda for the post-Roe era  one that is increasingly breaking with their partys socially conservative approach to maternal and reproductive health in favor of one more commonly pushed by Democrats.

The flurry of legislation stands to extend health insurance to tens of thousands of low-income people, boost access to contraception and rethink how sex is discussed in public schools. And it could help Republicans soften their image with moderate voters now that abortion is illegal in nearly all circumstances in a quarter of the country and after the issue helped Democrats win several key midterm races.

In Iowa, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is pushing legislation to allow pharmacists to dispense hormonal contraceptives without a prescription. Indiana and Oklahoma are advancing similar GOP-sponsored bills.

In Indiana and South Carolina, Republican lawmakers proposed bills that would require comprehensive, medically accurate sex ed to be taught in the states schools starting in grade 5 or 6  instead of their current abstinence-based approach.

And in Wyoming and Mississippi  two of the 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid  Republican Govs. Mark Gordon and Tate Reeves recently signed 12-month extensions of Medicaid postpartum benefits into law, in what Reeves referred to as a philosophically uncomfortable move that overcame fierce conservative opposition to boosting government welfare.

What I can tell you is that the governor was more vocal in his support for [postpartum extension] and was much more outwardly supportive of this idea in the wake of the Dobbs decision, said Gordon spokesperson Michael Pearlman. He is a pro-life governor and supports life, but Governor Gordon wanted to emphasize that being pro-life, to him, goes beyond simply being pro-birth.

Story continues

Some GOP-controlled states embraced these policies before the fall of Roe v. Wade last summer, and Republicans argue there isnt anything inherently liberal about them.

The most important thing for people to realize is we need to be pro-life and not just pro-birth. That means investing in our families. That means taking a more meaningful approach to policy and forget about the politics. Let that go out the window and lets actually do things that help people have successful families, said Oklahoma state Sen. Jessica Garvin, a Republican who sponsored two birth control bills this year that passed the state Senate last week. If were going to say we cant have abortion for women in Oklahoma, what are we going to do to help support these women that cant have an abortion?

Some Democrats chafe at Republicans for taking credit for proposals they have long supported, particularly those aimed at underserved communities.



This has been a long time effort specifically led by Black women in the legislature, said Florida Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani. Republicans are trying to give off the impression that theyre championing issues for women and families while they strip away our bodily autonomy and rights.

And while some maternal health advocates welcome the growing number of conservatives backing these policies, they also argue that these broader maternal and reproductive health policies cant undo the harm being caused by the lack of abortion access in these states.

In my career  Im in my mid-40s  I can probably count on one hand Republicans that have been out in front on access to contraception, said Jamila Taylor, president and CEO of the National WIC Association and a longtime womens health advocate. So yes, we are pleased with some of the progress that were seeing even in red states, but thats never going to replace the need or, quite frankly, our fight to ensure abortion rights in this country.

A good thing

Anti-abortion groups said they are happy to see lawmakers introduce legislation focused on helping families and have endorsed some of these policies, such as postpartum Medicaid extension, alongside the usual types of bills that accompany abortion bans, such as funding for crisis pregnancy centers.

This kind of legislation that protects pregnant women and new moms, this is one of our key focuses of 2023, and its been awesome to see momentum in a lot of pro-life states this year, said Kelsey Pritchard, director of state public affairs for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. Weve been really happy to see states step up the plate and say, Yeah, we need to do more to help pregnant women and to help our new moms in the state.

Several female Republican lawmakers told POLITICO that while theyve long understood the need to increase access to contraception, Roes fall provided an opening for them to talk with their male colleagues about the importance of such policies.

Its not necessarily that theyve been against it. They didnt know they needed to be for it because they didnt know it was a problem, said Garvin, the Republican state senator from Oklahoma.

Garvins two birth control bills  one that allows pharmacists to dispense hormonal contraceptives without a prescription and another that makes clear the states abortion law does not restrict access to contraceptive drugs  cleared the GOP-supermajority state Senate with significant support.

I think the overturn of Roe v. Wade has forced the issue to become more of a dinner table conversation, and people are more open about sex and family planning, and I think those are becoming more of conversation pieces within families, and its a good thing, Garvin said.

In Iowa, lawmakers are taking another shot at expanding access to birth control, something the governor has wanted to do since 2019. While Reynolds bill to allow pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraception cleared the Senate that year, it did not receive a vote in the House that year.

Theres some very, very far right conservatives that just really didnt believe in birth control, period, said Iowa state Sen. Chris Cournoyer, a Republican. Since then, weve had more conversations about why its important and why it factors in not just for maternal health but also for women's health in general. I mean, theres a lot of non-contraceptive reasons why you would get on birth control.

A similar bill in Indiana also received enthusiastic support when it passed the House in late February.

Allowing pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptives is a simple, yet critical step to providing care to more Hoosier women, especially those who don't have a primary care doctor, or can't afford transportation to a different city or county, said Indiana Republican state Rep. Elizabeth Rowray.

In two conservative states that have not passed Medicaid expansion, abortion helped Republicans who remain highly skeptical of anything that even vaguely resembles such a policy to pass legislation this year extending postpartum benefits from 60 days to a year after birth.

In Mississippi, Reeves, who is up for reelection this year, announced his supportfor the policy in February after refusing to endorse it for months, calling it a part of the new pro-life agenda and saying that Republicans may have to do things that make them philosophically uncomfortable in the post-Roe era.

In Wyoming, legislation extending postpartum benefits passed by slim margins in the House and Senate  and legislative leaders in both houses attempted to kill the bill at multiple points during the session. Both GOP lawmakers supportive of the bill and the governors office pitched the proposal during hearings and debate on the bill as pro-life.

Exceptions to the rule

Not all of these proposals have reached a critical mass of Republican support. The two comprehensive sex ed bills introduced this year in Indiana and South Carolina  two states that have an abstinence-focused sex ed curriculum  have not received hearings.

But South Carolina Republican state Sen. Tom Davis said he is not giving up. He plans to bring his sex ed legislation forward as an amendment to another education-related bill.

If we want to reduce unwanted pregnancies and, by that, reduce the number of abortions, we need to do a better job of providing factually correct scientific information thats age appropriate, he said.

And some Republicans are trying to separate maternal health from abortion. In Florida, for instance, the Department of Health requested more than $12.6 million in its budget this year for the Closing the Gap program, which became the centerpiece of a plan to expand telehealth postpartum services to people of color. The proposal received unanimous support from state lawmakers in 2021, and the department is now asking for a boost to its current $5.4 million budget to expand the pilot program.



But Joseph Ladapo, who oversees the state Department of Health, has emphasized that the increased postpartum funding predates the efforts pushed by Florida Republicans to tighten abortion controls. State lawmakers approved a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy last year, and they are now poised to pass a six-week ban by the end of this years legislative session in May.

For the last two decades, theyve been taking it more seriously and the Department of Health has been involved in that area for years, Ladapo said.

Maternal health advocates said they struggle with the fact that these advances come hand-in-hand with anti-abortion laws, which they believe threaten to worsen existing maternal health disparities.

Were glad that more states are starting to pay attention, but in light of the maternal health crisis, the point really is that Rome is burning, and states are not centering the full range of reproductive health needs, said Ben Anderson, director of maternal and child health initiatives at Families USA, a consumer advocacy group.

But advocates also welcome the growing bipartisanship on these issues.

What I do see as a pattern is reasonable conversations about some of these safety-net programs that should have long been part of the overarching public health dossier of programs, Medicaid expansion being one of them, said Terrance Moore, CEO of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs. I dont want to go on a limb and say folks are all going in the right direction, but theres been real education, deep education.

Arek Sarkissian contributed to this report.

CLARIFICATION: A previous version misstated that Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves opposed expanding Medicaid for new parents.
An advisor to Irans main military branch in Syria was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike Thursday night in Damascus, Syria, as fighting between Tehran-backed forces and the U.S. and Israel have escalated in recent weeks.

The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) threatened to avenge the advisor identified as Milad Heydari and according to Israeli reports said, "The fake and criminal Zionist regime will undoubtedly receive a response to this crime."

According to The Times of Israel, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group said the strikes targeted an arms depot and Iranian-backed groups just south of capital city.

An Israeli soldier stands next to a truck at a position in the Israeli Golan Heights near the border with Syria on January 2, 2023. Israeli missile strikes on the Syrian capital's airport on January 2 killed four people, including two soldiers, and closed the runways for several hours, a rights monitor said.

PENTAGON SAYS 6 US TROOPS TREATED FOR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES IN SYRIA AFTER IRAN-BACKED ATTACKS

The strikes were the second attack on Damascus supposedly launched by Jerusalem in a 24-hour period after it allegedly hit the capital Wednesday night in a strike that injured at least two Syrian soldiers, according to Israeli reports.

File: A picture taken early on January 21, 2019 shows Syrian air defense batteries responding to what Syrian state media said were Israeli missiles targeting Damascus. - (Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Deadly strikes in Syria appear to have increased in recent weeks as the U.S. and Israel  which back opposition forces in eastern Syria  respond to attacks from IRGC-backed forces.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Iran has provided arms and support to the Bashar al-Assad regime since the deadly civil war broke out in 2011.

Israeli missile strikes on the Syrian capital's airport on January 2 killed four people in the second time in less than seven months that Damascus International Airport  where Iranian-backed armed groups and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters are present  has been hit by Israel.

US AIR DEFENSES DOWN DURING SUSPECTED IRANIAN DRONE STRIKE IN SYRIA THAT KILLED ONE AMERICAN

Six American soldiers were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries this week after IRGC-backed forces hit two coalition military bases in Northeast Syria earlier this month.

Four of the service members were injured during a drone strike at a U.S. base near Hasaka on March 23, while another two soldiers suffered injuries following an attack at the mission support site Green Village on March 24.

U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFV) patrol in the Suwaydiyah oil fields in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on February 13, 2021.

The Pentagon confirmed that its air defense system was down during at least one of the strikes against a coalition military base in Northeast Syria last week.

Gen. Erik Kurilla testified in a hearing on the Hill last week that since January 2021, Iranian-backed forces have been behind 78 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  One startup lists as its address a small home in a working-class district in Venezuela's capital whose owner has never heard of the firm. Another is a Hong Kong-based shell company created in 2020. Yet another belongs to a Spanish commodities trader indicted in the U.S. for allegedly helping Russian oligarchs launder ill-gotten profits.

They are among the dozens of obscure middlemen at the center of a new crackdown in Venezuela on corruption in the state-run oil industry that has government insiders scurrying for cover  and regular Venezuelans are asking how more than $20 billion in proceeds from oil shipments seemingly vanished.

The purge began this month when authorities arrested 21 business people and senior officials as part of an investigation into missing payments for oil. To promote the anti-corruption crusade, state media this week was filled with images of the defendants dressed in orange jumpsuits walking into their initial judicial hearing.

Corruption has long plagued Venezuela  the OPEC nation was the fourth-most corrupt in the world in the latest rankings by Transparency International  but those in positions of power are rarely held accountable.

And when high profile arrests do take place, Venezuelans tend to view them as the result of a behind-the-scenes tug of war among heavyweights in the ruling socialist party, and not any impartial meting out of justice in a country where most institutions lack independence.

An entrenched culture of corruption and the inherently opaque nature of trading illegal crude oil take malfeasance to another level.

It would be very difficult for even a much less corrupt state to implement all the necessary controls," said Francisco Monaldi, a Venezuelan who heads the Latin America energy program at Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy.

While the fallout from the scandal continues, it already has felled one major power broker: Tareck El Aissami, the country's oil czar. He quit in the wake of the arrests, which included the detention of a close associate, Joselit Ramirez, who had been serving as Venezuela's cryptocurrency regulator.

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While Venezuelan authorities have not mentioned El Aissami as a target in the investigation, most of the shady transactions at state-run oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela SA occurred under his watch.

Internal PDVSA documents obtained by The Associated Press show the state oil company was owed $10.1 billion as of August 2022 from 90 mostly unknown trading companies that have emerged as major buyers of Venezuelan crude since the U.S. imposed economic sanctions in a campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

An additional $13.3 billion, corresponding to 241 shipments, is owed directly to the national government as a result of an October accounting maneuver by PDVSA that reassigned responsibility for collecting the unpaid invoices directly to the Maduro administration in lieu of cash royalties. That is more than the country's entire foreign currency reserves.

All the oil cargoes were sold on consignment at a deep discount owing to the sanctions, which have scared away more established traders.

PDVSA's reliance on intermediaries surged in 2020, when the Trump administration expanded sanctions with the threat to lock out of the U.S. economy any individual or company, regardless of nationality or location, that did business with Maduro's government.

The punishing action, combined with a pandemic-induced global slump in demand for oil, led production that summer to plummet to 350,000 barrels a day  10% of what it produced when Chavez took office in 1999.

To sell what little is being produced, Maduro, with the help of allies Russia and Iran  themselves under U.S. sanctions  has had to rely on a complex network of intermediaries. Most are shell companies, registered in jurisdictions known for secrecy. The buyers deploy so-called ghost tankers that hide their location and hand off their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destination..

To avoid Western banks, Venezuela started accepting payments in Russian rubles, bartered goods or cryptocurrency.

But not everyone paid.

Among those on the delinquent list is Walker International, which owes PDVSA about $77 million, according to the documents. The company is registered in the United Arab Emirates but lists as its Venezuela address a modest house at the foot of the mountain range that separate Caracas from the Caribbean Sea.

The owner of the home, Andres Muzo, expressed shock that his home could somehow be caught up in a case of international corruption.

Im finding about this right now, Muzo said after seeing his address in Dubai corporate records, which were first unearthed by Venezuelan news website Armando.info. He shook his head and said he would inquire with the people who rent his adjacent garage for an oil-change business.

We dont know anything, Muzo said.

The broker with the largest debt is M and Y Trading Co, which was registered in Hong Kong in 2020. It owes PDVSA more than $1.2 billion, according to the internal documents, which someone knowledgeable about the transactions shared with AP on the condition that they remain anonymous.

Another preferred vendor was United Petroleo Corp, which was registered in Panama in 2021 and owes more than $468 million. One of United's cargoes  a 600,000-barrel shipment last September  is at the center of a controversy on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, where the Venezuelan crude is being stored at a facility tied to U.S. investors in possible defiance of sanctions.

Yet another of PDVSA's go-to partners was Treseus International. The commodities brokerage, which did not respond to an email seeking comment, is run by Juan Fernando Serrano, a Spaniard indicted last year on money laundering charges in Manhattan federal court for conspiring to smuggle oil on behalf of wealthy Russians. That court also wants El Aissami and Ramirez on charges of violating U.S. sanctions stemming from El Aissami's 2017 designation by Washington as a drug kingpin for allegedly helping cartels smuggle cocaine through Venezuela.

Authorities have yet to say how much money may be missing. But Maduro has used some of his recent public appearances to warn officials against graft. Supporters even gathered for an anti-corruption protest in Caracas.

Past crackdowns  like the arrest of a former PDVSA president in 2017  did little to clean up the oil industry, which is responsible for almost all of the country's hard currency earnings. Many analysts suspect Maduro is looking to stabilize the economy before next year's presidential election.

Coffers are bare and the country is entering an election year in which Maduro wants to convey a message that Venezuela is back on track, said Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. The more it becomes clear that the economy remains in dire straits, the more Maduro will look for people to take the fall.

___

Goodman reported from Miami.
Grapevine police are looking for the driver who shot a woman in a road rage incident Friday morning during rush hour, officials said.

A 27-year-old woman was entering State Highway 121 from Bass Pro Drive around 7:15 a.m. when she and another driver were involved in a road rage incident, police said in a social media post.

The driver fired a small pistol at her, and police said the bullet went through her neck. The other driver left the scene, but the woman was able to pull over to the shoulder and stop.

The womans injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, according to police, and paramedics transported her to a local hospital.

Police described the suspected shooter as a white man with brown hair. His vehicle was a dark gray, newer-model Mazda CX9 SUV.

Detectives are trying to find out the suspect vehicles license plate number and other identifying information from surveillance videos. Anyone who has information about the shooting is asked to contact the Grapevine Police Department at 817-410-3900.
Dozens of people are dead across nine states and dozens have been hospitalized after a tornado outbreak moved across the U.S. on Friday and Saturday, according to local officials.

At least 32 people have died as a result of the storms, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Among the fatalities, five were in Arkansas, five died in Indiana, one died in Alabama, and one died in Mississippi, local officials told ABC News. McNairy County Mayor Larry Smith told ABC News that nine people died in the county. In Illinois, four people died, including a man who was killed after a roof collapsed during a concert at a historic theater.

The storm pattern moved east on Saturday with one person confirmed dead in Sussex County, Delaware, after a home collapsed, Leonard DeMalto, a spokesman for the Delaware State Police, told ABC News.

PHOTO: A tornado passes through Little Rock, Arkansas, Mar. 31, 2023. (Aaron Borders)

PHOTO: A rainbow shines amidst the remains of a neighborhood damaged by a tornado on March 31, 2023, in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain/Getty Images)

The National Weather Service has confirmed at least 31 tornadoes across 9 states on Friday and Saturday. More than 28 million people across the South and Midwest were under a tornado watch going into Friday night, according to the NWS.

Arkansas hit with 'catastrophic' tornado

A "catastrophic" tornado moved through the metro area of Little Rock, Arkansas, in Pulaski County Friday afternoon, the NWS confirmed. According to preliminary NWS information, the EF3 tornado had winds up to 165 mph and a path length spanning 20-25 miles.

At least one person died and more than 50 people across Pulaski County have been hospitalized, with that number expected to rise, Madeline Roberts, a spokeswoman for the county's emergency management agency, told ABC News. She did not have information on the conditions of those injured.

PHOTO: Debris covers the ground around Wynne High school in Wynne, Ark., on April 1, 2023. (Adrian Sainz/AP)

PHOTO: A firefighter checks homes for injured residents in the Walnut Ridge neighborhood after a tornado damaged hundreds of homes and building on March 31, 2023, in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain/Getty Images)

PHOTO: An apartment complex on Cantrell Road was severely damaged by a tornado Friday, March 31, 2023, in Little Rock, Ark. (Stephen Swofford/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

A tornado emergency had been issued for metro Little Rock on Friday afternoon due to the threat of a damaging tornado and quarter-sized hail.

"Property damage is extensive and we are still responding," Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. tweeted.

According to Scott, 2,100 residents were impacted in western and southern Little Rock and between 27,000 and 30,000 homes were without power on Saturday.

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"Many folks have been displaced and looking for a shelter. We're working towards that, again, if someone's in need of shelter, we're asking you to go to Hall High School," Scott said.

PHOTO: A woman is carried out of a fire station to an ambulance after a tornado tore through west Little Rock, Ark., on March 31, 2023. (Staci Vandagriff/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

PHOTO: Kris French (C) and his family search through rubble after a tornado damaged hundreds of homes and building on March 31, 2023, in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain/Getty Images)

PHOTO: A woman collects belongings from a family members home after the roof was ripped off from a tornado on Oakview Drive in North Little Rock, Ark., on March 31, 2023. (Thomas Metthe/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

Capt. Jacob Lear-Sadowsky with the Little Rock Fire Department told ABC News Friday that there were a "significant" number of injuries from the storm.

Damage is centered in West Little Rock, where "multiple structures," both commercial and residential, have been destroyed, Lear-Sadowsky said. Power lines and trees are also downed and cars have been flipped over due to the storm.

PHOTO: The damaged interior of store after a tornado swept through Little Rock, Ark., Mar. 31, 2023. (Andrew Demillo/AP)

PHOTO: A car is upturned in a Kroger parking lot after a tornado swept through Little Rock, Ark., March 31, 2023. (Andrew Demillo/AP)

As the powerful supercell moved eastward, a "confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado" was located around 5:13 p.m. local time near Earle, Arkansas, west of Memphis, the NWS said, calling it a "life-threatening situation."

PHOTO: A home is damaged and trees are down after a tornado swept through Little Rock, Ark., on March 31, 2023. (Andrew Demillo/AP)

PHOTO: A home is damaged and trees are down after a tornado swept through Little Rock, Ark., on March 31, 2023. (Andrew Demillo/AP)

Four people have been pronounced dead in Wynne, located roughly 50 miles west of Memphis, which took a direct hit from a tornado. Miles Kimble, the coroner of neighboring St. Francis County, who was assisting in Wynne, confirmed the death toll to ABC News.

Wynne Mayor Jennifer Hobbs told ABC News Friday night they have experienced "major damage" and that she believes people are trapped but could not estimate a number.

"We're still trying to get crews out and make sure we don't have people trapped and continue to assess the damage," Hobbs said, adding that the tornado split the city of more than 8,000 people in half.

New video shows a "catastrophic" tornado churning through metro Little Rock, Arkansas, amid a significant tornado outbreak in the South, according to the NWS. https://t.co/5Sv7gwgqxp pic.twitter.com/n7CJMWy99q  ABC News (@ABC) March 31, 2023

"We had no idea that it would be this much damage that we're seeing right now at this point," Latricia Woodruff, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, told ABC News Live Prime on Friday about the tornado activity in the state. "There's a lot of homes that have been damaged, other structures. We heard about a fire station here in Little Rock that had some damage to it, as well."

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency due to Friday's severe weather and activated the National Guard to assist state and local law enforcement. She said there was "significant damage" in central Arkansas due to the storm.

"Arkansans must continue to stay weather aware as storms are continuing to move through," Sanders tweeted.

Sanders spoke with President Joe Biden on Saturday, saying Biden and Homeland Security have "offered a tremendous amount of support."

"Anything that Arkansas needs, they have assured us that those resources will be here and on the ground," she said during a press conference Saturday.

PHOTO: A family evacuates their Walnut Ridge neighborhood on March 31, 2023, in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain/Getty Images)

1 dead after roof of Illinois theater collapses

In Illinois, a 50-year-old man died and dozens were injured after a roof collapsed at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere due to a suspected tornado, officials said.

A tornado siren went off at 7:24 p.m. local time; at 7:47 p.m., there were reports of the roof collapse, according to Dan Zaccard, emergency management director for Boone County.

Hospitals received more than 40 patients from the incident, including 28 who were transported from the scene via ambulances, officials said.

PHOTO: A house is damaged by fallen trees on West Hurlbut Avenue near where the roof of the Apollo Theatre collapsed during a tornado, on April 1, 2023, in Belvidere, Ill. (Erin Hooley/AP)

MORE: 1 dead, over 40 injured after roof of Illinois theater collapses during suspected tornado: Officials

In Crawford County, three people died after a residential structure they were in collapsed, a state official told ABC News.

Indiana: Sullivan 'like a war zone'

PHOTO: People look at a destroyed decommissioned helicopter that that was displayed at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post 2459 the day after a tornado hit Sullivan, Indiana, U.S. April 1, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Cherry (Jon Cherry/Reuters)

The mayor of Sullivan, Indiana, said midday Saturday that about 200 structures in Sullivan County were severely damaged, calling it "mass devastation," as search-and-rescue efforts were ongoing after Friday's severe weather.

"What this looks like, is a war zone," Mayor Clint Lamb said during a press briefing.

An area south of the county seat of about 4,000 "is essentially unrecognizable right now," Lamb said earlier.

ABC News' Will McDuffie, Jianna Cousin, Matt Foster, Robinson Perez and Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.

Tornado updates: At least 32 dead, dozens injured across 9 states originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
A Huntsville police officer who was killed in the line of duty will be buried Monday in Tuscaloosa.

Officer Garrett Crumby, a Tuscaloosa native and Hillcrest High School graduate, died March 28 after he was shot by a man who barricaded himself in a Huntsville apartment.

More: 'We are heartbroken': Tuscaloosa leaders mourn death of Huntsville police officer

Athree-year veteran of the Huntsville Police Department, Crumby previously served for eight years with the Tuscaloosa Police Department.

Officer Crumby

Crumby's funeral is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Mayfair Church of Christ in Huntsville. Crumby will be buried in the afternoon at Tuscaloosa Memorial Park, 5434 Old Birmingham Highway.

A procession to Tuscaloosa Memorial Park will immediately follow the funeral. The graveside service is not expected to start before 4 p.m. because of the travel time from Huntsville.

Donations to the Officer Garrett Crumby Memorial Foundation can be made at any Redstone Federal Credit Union branch.

Crumby loved the outdoors and the city where he worked, Huntsville Deputy Police Chief Michael Johnson told news outlets in a March 29 news conference.

He was also known for being the caregiver personality. He cared for the citizens he dealt with. He also cared for his family, Johnson said, adding that Crumby once took an extended leave to care for a family member. He was known among his squad as the sweet tooth guy, as he had a penchant for coming to roll call with a pastry or Subway sandwich and a caffeinated concoction of Monster energy drink and coffee.

Officer Albert Morin, the other officer struck by gunfire, remains in the hospital in serious condition, but is expected to survive, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor told the Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Garrett Crumby to be buried in Tuscaloosa after Huntsville funeral
Attorneys representing the family of a slain Hampton County teen say that state police have unlocked some key clues that may help them unravel an eight-year-old murder mystery.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) reopened the cold case of Stephen Smith, 19 at the time of his death, and is now combing over key pieces of evidence with fresh eyes and new technological methods  including the young victim's cell phone and iPad tablet, said Eric Bland with the Bland Richter LLP law firm. representing the Smith family.

"SLED has his cell phone and they have cracked it," Bland told The Hampton County Guardian Thursday," and they have the tablet and are working on cracking it."

Meanwhile, other, possibly key pieces of evidence, including a rape kit, remain unaccounted for.

Stephen Smith's senior quote in a Wade Hampton High School yearbook.

Smith's body was found lying in the middle of Sandy Run Road in rural Hampton County in the early morning hours of July 8, 2015, with fatal blunt force trauma to the head and other, secondary injuries.

Originally ruled a vehicular hit-and-run homicide in 2015, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) reopened the case in June 2021 and on March 23 of this year, SLED confirmed to the Smith family that it was officially considering the case a murder investigation.

Here's what you need to know: Stephen Smith, Gloria Satterfield bodies to be exhumed.

Crime scene guru Kenny Kinsey: He helped convict Alex Murdaugh, now eyes Stephen Smith's killer

With the case being eight years old, and passed from one law enforcement agency to another in what the Smith family has criticized as a half-hearted and misguided investigation, technological evidence may be more valuable that any forensic evidence that might still exist.

Attorneys and investigators hope that complete forensic downloads of Smith's devices will tell them who he was talking to, who he was dating, and who he was generally associating with both prior to and during the time of his murder.

"I think the case will be solved by phone evidence or computer evidence, both before and after the killing," said Bland. "We plan on putting a fresh set of eyes on this case as if we were just walking up to the crime scene for the first time."

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Dick Harpootlian and Eric Bland talk in Alex Murdaughs trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday, February 9, 2023. Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool

Bland added that investigators plan on taking a hard look at Smith's communications going back 90 days before his death, and then possibly investigating communications on other people's phones after the killing.

It is unclear how much of a role eight-year-old physical and biological evidence may play in solving Smith's murder, however.

Smith's mother, Sandy, recently launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for a private investigative effort, in addition to SLED's efforts, and to exhume and re-autopsy Smith's body. While it's unclear what Smith's remains may tell forensic experts after so many years, Bland and the Smith family are hopeful. If nothing else, Bland hopes that the exhumation will at least give Smith a proper Certificate of Death.

The late Stephen Smith, right, with his mother Sandy.

"Once we get a proper Certificate of Death, then I think Stephen can rest in peace," Bland said, adding that the Smith's private investigative team is "within a week, week and a half" of exhuming Smith's body from its current resting place at Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County.

Investigators still consider this murder a "hate crime" based on Smith's openly gay sexuality, and not a random act of violence. Despite widespread rumors at the time, there is no physical evidence connecting Smith's death to the Murdaugh family of Hampton County, Bland added.

"This was not random, this was not drug or gang-related, the only thing that sets Stephen Smith apart from other 19-year-olds is that he was openly gay in an area of the state where it's not easy to do that in 2015," commented Bland.

Buster Murdaugh speaks: Says 'vicious rumors' about involvement in Stephen Smith's death

Pain, lessons linger: Where does Hampton County, SC go after Alex Murdaugh verdict?

A "rape kit" was taken at the scene in 2015 but, according to Bland, it was never processed and now appears to be unaccounted for. Media outlets over the years have also reported that evidence such as Smith's clothing has also disappeared or been misplaced in the chain of custody transfers from county to state police agencies.

"The rape kit changed hands several times, and I don't know where it's at now," said Bland.

While responding officers originally thought Smith's death was from a gunshot wound, prior to ruling it a vehicular homicide, a gunshot residue test taken at the crime scene revealed no GSR.

"

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Stephen Smith case: SLED 'cracks' cell phone; rape kit still missing
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Robert Golob

"The Republic of Slovenia supports Ukraine's accession to NATO as soon as conditions permit," the document reads.

Read also: Turkey ratifies Finland's NATO accession

Ukraine and Slovenia also expressed their intention to hold bilateral talks on Ukraine's national security interests prior to joining the alliance.

The declaration says that Slovenia will continue to strongly promote EU and NATO continued political and material support for Ukraine  to help the country defend its territory.

Read also: Two foreigners suspected of spying for Russia detained in Slovenia

On Sept. 30, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Ukraines application for NATO membership on an expedited basis.

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
WASHINGTON  Washington has less than a decade to shore up Medicares finances and not much longer to fix a looming shortfall in Social Security, according to the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released Friday.

The update  which shows a slightly improved situation for Medicare and slightly worse one for Social Security since last years report  comes as President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans are in a standoff over the nations spending.

The Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which pays retiree benefits, wont be able to pay full benefits after 2033. Medicare will run short of what it needs for inpatient hospital care after 2031, according to the report.

Medicare and Social Security are large drivers of the federal budget because of an aging population and rising health care costs.

But both programs are widely popular and ways of fixing them  raising taxes or reducing benefits  are not.

Biden has offered a plan that includes higher taxes on the wealthy to extend Medicares hospital-insurance fund for at least 25 years.

Republicans have rejected raising taxes to shore up either program. But they have not offered a way to keep the programs flush enough to continue paying full benefits after the trust funds are depleted.

Experts warn that the longer the problem is ignored, the harder it will be to address.

The trustees continue to recommend that Congress address the projected trust fund shortfalls in a timely fashion to phase in necessary changes gradually, said Kilolo Kijakazi, acting commissioner of Social Security. With informed discussion, creative thinking, and timely legislative action, Social Security can continue to protect future generations.

President Joe Biden speaks about his administration's plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and lower healthcare costs, Feb. 9, 2023, at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla.

What is Bidens plan for Social Security and Medicare?

In the budget Biden released in March, he proposed raising taxes on people earning more than $400,000 a year.

Biden would increase the top rate of the Medicare payroll tax and the net investment income tax to 5% for those high-income taxpayers. He would also expand the net investment income tax to apply to more types of income and divert revenues to help Medicare. That tax, created as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, currently raises general funds.

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The White House contends it was always meant to boost Medicare. But while making that change will help Medicare, it would reduce income for other government programs.

Bidens budget did not address the future shortfall in Social Security funding. Instead, Biden only said that hes opposed to cutting benefits

What is the Republican plan for Social Security and Medicare?

The GOP-led House Budget Committee said in a budget framework released in February they want to "save and strengthen" Social Security and Medicare but didn't say how.

A budget released by House conservatives last year proposed slowly increasing the eligibility age to reflect that life expectancy has increased since the program began. Benefits would also go up for lower-income workers and down for higher earners.

The issue has divided Republicans eyeing their partys 2024 presidential nomination.

Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security, former President Donald Trump said in January.

Trumps former vice president, Mike Pence, has said cuts should be on the table for the long term.

We can introduce common sense reforms that will never touch anyone who is in retirement, or anyone who will retire in the next 25 years, Pence said earlier this month.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley wants to raise the retirement age for young workers and limit benefits for higher-income retirees.

What do surveys show?

Eight in ten adults have favorable views of Social Security and Medicare, according to a survey released Thursday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy research organization.

About three-fourths of adults say changes are needed to keep Medicare sustainable. Older adults are less willing to want changes.

Independents are more likely to trust Democrats than Republicans to determine the futures of the programs.

In a separate survey by Quinnipiac University also released Thursday, 78% would oppose raising the full retirement age for Social Security from 67 to 70. When asked if they would support that change if it mean benefits would last longer, a majority  62%  still opposed it.

Go Deeper

Medicare: Biden budget proposal would increase Medicare tax for Americans earning more than $400K

Social Security: President Joe Biden budget release silent on how to keep Social Security afloat long-term

Political maneuvering: Joe Biden boxes Republicans into a corner on Social Security, Medicare with an eye on 2024

Mike Pence: Changes to Social Security, Medicare should be on the table long-term

Contributing: Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Social Security, Medicare benefits at risk with looming shortfalls
President Joe Biden speaks about his administration's plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and lower healthcare costs, Thursday, February 9, 2023, at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida. Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

The latest Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees report lays out estimates for both programs.

The trustees find that Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits in about 10 years.

That doesn't mean the program will go bankrupt, but Congress would have to step in to shore it up.

The clock is still ticking for Social Security.

The program will only be able to pay out full benefits for the next decade or so, according to the latest report from the Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees.

And neither party is doing much to save the crucial program.

The Trustees' report estimates that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, a primary fund for Social Security, will only be able to pay out full benefits through 2033  a year earlier than expected. When that fund's outlook is combined with the outlook for Disability Insurance, what's called OASDI and frequently used as a gauge for Social Security robustness, the funds will be able to pay out full benefits until 2034. That's again a year earlier than anticipated.

Importantly, that doesn't mean that, past 2033 or 2034, there will be no Social Security benefits or the program will be bankrupt. Instead, those expiration dates mark the last day the programs are expected to be able to pay out full benefits. Come 2033, for instance, OASI will only be able to pay out 77% of benefits.

Estimates for those funds went down because the trustees anticipated that GDP and labor productivity will actually be 3% lower. The report finds that Medicare and Social Security costs will start growing faster than GDP come the mid 2030s, "primarily due to the rapid aging of the US population." In other words, you can blame baby boomers: They're rapidly retiring, and birth rates falling since baby boomers has led to less employment, and subsequently less GDP.

Some programs will actually be able to provide full benefits for longer than anticipated: The Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, a key Medicare program, will be able to pay out full benefits through 2031, three years longer than estimated last year.

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"Social Security and Medicare are two bedrock programs that older American rely upon for their retirement security," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. "The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring the long-term viability of these critical programs so that retirees can receive the hard-earned benefits they're owed."

The two programs are an especially hot topic right now as lawmakers are debating raising the debt ceiling before the US defaults on its debt. Since Republicans took over control of the House, they have been using the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip to achieve their own priorities in the form of significant spending cuts.

That had Democrats, and Biden, concerned that Social Security and Medicare would be on the chopping block. Even as Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and his GOP colleagues have vehemently denied that the programs are a part of negotiations, Republicans have yet to put forth a concrete plan for cutting spending  which is why Democrats aren't convinced.

"House Republicans are determined to cut Social Security and Medicare," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. "Is that why they continue to hide their extreme budget from the American people?"

Kilolo Kijakazi, the acting commissioner of Social Security, said in a statement that the trustees still recommend Congress step in in a "timely manner" to address their projected shortfalls.

"Social Security will continue to play a critical role in the lives of 67 million beneficiaries and 180 million workers and their families during 2023," Kijakazi said. "With informed discussion, creative thinking, and timely legislative action, Social Security can continue to protect future generations."

Some Democratic lawmakers have taken steps to ensure Social Security's solvency extends far beyond the next decade. Last month, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders joined some of their Democratic colleagues in introducing a bill to keep the program solvent through 2096.

"Our job is to expand Social Security so that every senior in America can retire with the dignity that they deserve and every person with a disability can live with the security they need," Sanders said in a statement.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A California district attorney reportedly told the family of a murder victim that her office is looking at ways to punish the gang bangers charged in their toddler son's death without sending them to prison.

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who received campaign support from billionaire progressive donor George Soros, made the remarks in an email sent to a community member and obtained by local media.

One-year-old Jasper Wu died in the crossfire of a gang shootout on Interstate 880 in 2021. Of the four suspects, three were charged with murder.

The fourth died in another shootout.

3 CHARGED IN DEATH OF SLEEPING TODDLER WHO WAS STRUCK BY A STRAY BULLET IN CA

Alameda County (Calif.) District Attorney Pamela Price reportedly sent an email floating the idea of non-prison punishments for three gang members accused of killing a toddler in the course of a shootout with a stray bullet.

On Thursday, ABC 7 published portions of the email, which reportedly came in response to a query from a supporter of the Wu family and member of Alameda's Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community who asked for an update on the case.

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It was addressed "To the Chinese communities" and stated that "some people don't know about the basic principles of constitutional law."

"Our office is currently working on a partnership with the Asian Law Caucus to support AAPI victims of violence in ways that open up broader possibilities for healing and non-carceral forms of accountability," it read.

In plain English, "non-carceral" means a punishment other than incarceration in jail or prison. The Asian Law Caucus told the outlet that they were "very confused about this."

Jasper was asleep in a car seat as his parents drove down I-880 on Nov. 6, 2021, when rival San Francisco gang members opened fire on each other from separate cars, according to authorities.

During the alleged shootout, purported "Chopper City" gang members Trevor Green and Ivory Bivins allegedly missed a shot at the vehicle of rival "Eddy Rock" gang members Johnny Jackson and Keison Lee.

A stray bullet tore through the Wu family's vehicle and fatally struck Jasper, according to authorities.

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Lee died a year after the incident in a separate shooting.

CALIFORNIA JUDGE SEEKS TO BAR LEFT-WING COLLEAGUE FROM RESENTENCING COP KILLER

Newly elected Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price speaks to the crowd during a protest over the fatal beating of Black motorist Tyre Nichols by Memphis police officers at a rally in Oakland, California, on Jan. 29, 2023.

Norbert Chu, a former Alameda prosecutor, told ABC 7 that a bid to not seek prison time for the three surviving suspects would be "insulting."

"If I were Jasper's parents, I would be highly offended," he told the outlet. "And I would be very fearful."

Price's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Several members of her office quit in protest of her policies earlier this week.

PROSECUTORS QUIT OVER SOROS-FUNDED DA'S RADICAL AGENDA AS FAMILIES VOW TO FIGHT BACK

"Pamela Price, like San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin, ran on the vague term social justice, and bringing justice and compassion to the community," said Lou Barberini, a former San Francisco police officer and Bay Area columnist. "Then when voters see those terms in practice they are alarmed at its true meaning."

Boudin's own progressive policies resulted in voters kicking him out of office in a recall election.

According to an interview published last month at University of California, Berkeley, where Price attended law school, the newly elected prosecutor "seeks to reduce gun violence and mass incarceration while rooting out racial, socioeconomic, and gender disparities within the countys criminal legal system."

LOS ANGELES DA GEORGE GASCON OVERSTATES HIS AUTHORITY, CAN'T IGNORE CALIFORNIA LAW, COURT RULES

"Im also committed to ensuring that victims and their families are informed about potential changes that may affect a case," she told the interviewer. "Although they may not always agree with the decisions we make, we want to keep them informed and explain the reasoning for such decisions."

A spokesperson for the Wu family questioned Price's remarks on the suspected killers.

"There are almost no consequences due to no threat of severe punishments," they told ABC 7. "How would that restore public's faith in the justice system? How would the public feel safe?"

Fox News Digital's Bailee Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
By Catherine Schenck and Esa Alexander

PRETORIA/CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africans took to the streets of Pretoria and Cape Town on Friday to protest against a Ugandan law passed last week that makes it a criminal offence to be openly LGBTQ.

Singing and waving flags, demonstrators called on Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, not to sign it.

While Uganda is among more than 30 African countries that already ban same-sex relations, the new law would be the first to outlaw merely identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ), according to rights group Human Rights Watch.

"World leaders should put pressure on Museveni to not sign the bill because it's not only a Ugandan issue, it is an African continent issue," said Papa De DeLovie Kwagala, a Ugandan LGBTQ rights activist and photographer among about 100 people protesting outside the United Nations Information Centre in Pretoria.

"Queer people don't owe anyone anything, but we also deserve to live just like everyone else. You can't strip all our rights. This is a world emergency."

(Reporting by Catherine Schenck and Esa Alexander, Writing by Rachel Savage; Editing by Giles Elgood)
(Bloomberg) -- South Koreas prosecution of the opposition leader on criminal charges has caused rifts in the progressive bloc, with lawmakers worried it could hurt their chances of keeping control of parliament in next years elections.

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Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung appeared in court Friday to stand trial on a charge of violating the election law by making false statements during his presidential campaign in 2021. Lee did not speak to reporters but he has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying he is being targeted by the president in political repression.

Lee, who has also been indicted on charges including breach of duty and bribery, is likely to have more court appearances that keep his case in the headlines for months. Although he was the partys nominee for the presidential election, narrowly losing, some prominent members are concerned hes becoming a liability.

Kim Jong-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said Lees repeated court appearances are weakening its ability to form a united front against President Yoon Suk Yeol. The conservative leader is pushing a business-friendly agenda to counter the power of labor  a traditional base of support for the left.

Due to this judicial risk of our leader, these criticisms are not getting much attention from the general public, and are even losing their impact, Kim said in a telephone interview.

If we dont reform, we wont be able to play our role to properly check the administrations power.

Lee received notice there was discontent in the party in February when parliament faced a vote on whether to authorize an arrest warrant for the leader.

Story continues

Although the Democratic Party holds 169 seats in the 299-member National Assembly, more than 30 members broke ranks to make what should have been an easy rejection surprisingly close. The partys floor leader, Park Hong-keun, said the narrow result indicated the groups consensus was shaky.

Read: South Korean Prosecutors Seek Arrest of Opposition Leader

While the Democratic Party and its progressive allies in 2020 scored the largest parliamentary election victory since the end of military-backed rule more than three decades ago, it support rate now is the same the presidents People Power Party. Theyre both at 33%, according to a weekly tracking poll from Gallup Korea released Friday.

Yoons support rate also plunged to a four-month low of 30% in the same survey.

Yoon is at a difficult juncture in his nearly year-old presidency, stumbling in his plans to increase the hours people can work each week. Surveys also show the public doesnt support his plan to ease a simmering dispute with Tokyo by setting up a fund to pay compensation for Koreans forced to work in Japanese mines and factories during its 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.

Read: South Korea Rethinks 69-Hour Workweek After Ire of MZ Youth

With both parties vulnerable ahead of the April 2024 parliamentary election, unity will be essential, Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University in Seoul.

If Lee refuses to resign and this scandal gets prolonged, it will only benefit Yoons ruling conservative party, he said. The longer he remains, the more likely it is that voters in the middle will turn away from the Democratic Party, and that is not a positive sign.

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South Park has mocked Andrew Tate in their latest episode.

The former kickboxing world champion, who has amassed millions of followers for his misogynistic online content, is currently under arrest in Romania facing allegations of human trafficking and being part of an organised crime gang, along with his brother Tristan.

Earlier this month, a Romanian court rejected a bail request for Tate. The former Big Brother contestant was detained in late December in Bucharest, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women, with none of the four yet to be formally charged in the case. All four deny the allegations.

In the South Park episode Spring Break, which aired on Comedy Central in the US on Wednesday (29 March), Randy sees his son Stan playing table-top game Warhammer on his spring break and complains that young people dont know how to have fun anymore.

Randy puts this down to liberalism and the popularised idea of toxic masculinity, so hosts a party with female strippers. However, he doesnt realise that their toxic masculinity coach manager is a wanted sex trafficker called Alonzo Fineski, heavily based on Tate.

Alonzo has a shaved head, clean-cut beard and wears faded sunglasses and smokes a cigar, as Tate often does.

But when Alonzo pulls out a gun, Randy tells him. I think I need to explain something to you. Look, Im just trying to combat the messages that the liberal left is putting out to young men about their male instincts being toxic.

The f*** are you talking? Alonzo says, with Randy continuing: You know, Im trying to show my son and his nerdy little friend what a real party is because society wants them to be ashamed of their masculine natures.

Alonzo and Randy in South Park' (HBO Max/Warner Media)

Alonzo tells him hell call some friends, but their party ends up being raided by police, who call out: Thats Alonzo Fineski, the Romanian sx trafficker.

F*** you big man, Alonzo calls out, before shooting at the police and making a run for it.

In February, South Park skewered more real-life figures in their episode The World-Wide Privacy Tour.

The episode centred on a prince and his wife  based on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  who decided to move to the fictional South Park, Colorado town. The prince is seen promoting his book, titled Waaaagh, as they embarked on a we want privacy tour.

Reports initially suggested that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were planning to sue over the series. However, these were shut down by the couples spokesperson, who called the rumours baseless and boring.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Space Force is moving forward with plans to buy two more Mobile User Objective System satellites, which provide secure narrowband communication for military users.

A March 24 solicitation kicks off the first phase of the effort, which is focused on early design and risk reduction work. The service plans to award a 12-to-18-month contract to as many as two companies in September. By fiscal year 2025, the Space Force will select a single company to deliver the satellites, the first of which it wants to launch before the end of FY30.

The satellites will join an active constellation of four MUOS spacecraft, plus one orbiting spare, all built by Lockheed Martin. The narrowband communication satellites operate in a frequency range  300MHz to 3GHz  that makes them less vulnerable to poor weather or difficult terrain and is ideal for transferring information securely.

The Space Force projects it will need $2.5 billion for the program between FY24 and FY28, including $230 million next year.

The acquisition is meant to extend the life of the constellation until the service crafts a longer term plan for narrowband communications, which could include integrating commercial satellites. Space Force officials have said the additional satellites will bring resiliency to the MUOS program and keep the spacecraft flying into the 2030s. The solicitation doesnt offer details on what new capabilities theyll carry.

MUOS satellites were built to replace the Ultra High Frequency Follow-on system, known as UFO. They feature two payloads  one to maintain the legacy UHF network and a second that provides a new Wideband Code Division Multiple Access capability. The system is designed to provide 10 times the capacity of its predecessor.

Along with Lockheed, potential bidders include Northrop Grumman and Boeing. The three companies participated in a series of studies initiated by the Navy and continued by the Space Force that considered options for keeping the system active.
By Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING (Reuters) -Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday to talk to the Ukrainian leadership and learn first-hand about Kyiv's peace formula to help bring an end to Russia's invasion.

Sanchez told a news conference in Beijing he had informed Xi, who visited Moscow on March 20-21, that Spain supported the proposals made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. These include a demand to restore Ukraine's territory to the status quo before Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

"I believe it's a plan that lays the foundations for a durable peace in Ukraine and is perfectly aligned with the United Nations charter and its principles, which have been violated by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin with his invasion," he said.

"I transmitted our concern over the illegal invasion of Ukraine," Sanchez said, adding that he encouraged Xi to talk to President Zelenskiy in order to get to know first-hand Kyiv's peace plan.

Last month, Beijing put forward its own 12-point position paper on a political solution to the war in Ukraine, which included a comprehensive ceasefire in the conflict.

However, the paper also raised eyebrows among some EU officials in China for not stating that the aggressor in the conflict was Russia.

Sanchez on Thursday praised two aspects of China's position paper - "its complete and categorical rejection of not only the use but even the threat to use nuclear weapons" and its respect for territorial integrity.

Sanchez declined to say what Xi had said about the issue.

Russia has said Ukraine must accept its loss of Crimea and four other regions in the south and east of the country.

According to a readout of the meeting from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Xi called for an end to a "Cold War mentality" and to the pressure of "extreme" sanctions, though he did not name Russia.

"We hope that all parties concerned will build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture through dialogue and consultation," CCTV quoted Xi as saying.

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Spain, a NATO member whose foreign and security policy is closely aligned with that of the United States, is a staunch ally of Ukraine. In July it assumes the rotating presidency of the European Union's Council, which groups the bloc's 27 national governments.

'COMPLEX' RELATIONSHIP

Sanchez said he agreed with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's view that relations between the EU and China were "complex" and he stressed the need for reciprocity and a level playing field between them.

The absence of any official engagement between Xi and Zelensky since the war broke out has worried EU leaders, not least because it contrasts with signs of close personal ties between Xi and Putin, such as when both leaders greeted one another as "dear friend" in their most recent meeting.

Von der Leyen, who in a speech on Thursday said China was becoming "more repressive at home and more assertive abroad", is scheduled to visit Beijing herself next week alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

Sanchez urged China to seek a more balanced economic relationship with the EU and greater transparency.

On bilateral commerce, Sanchez announced agreements that would allow for the export of Spanish almonds and persimmons to China.

In 2022, Spain's imports from China amounted to 49.6 billion euros ($53.9 billion), while exports to China reached about 8 billion euros, Spanish economy ministry data showed.

According to CCTV, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Beijing wanted to expand trade and investment with Spain, strengthen industrial docking and increase cooperation on new energy and advanced materials as well as on Xi's Belt and Road Initiative.

Spain, one of the world's most visited countries, also hopes to attract more Chinese tourists after the lifting of COVID restrictions there.

Madrid aims to "facilitate the issuing of visas" to Chinese visitors, Sanchez said, adding that Spain would host a bilateral tourism forum in the summer.

($1 = 0.9201 euros)

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista and Laurie Chen in Beijing, writing and additional reporting by David Latona in Madrid, editing by Andrei Khalip, Gareth Jones, William Maclean)
(Bloomberg) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged Chinas president, Xi Jinping, to speak with his Ukrainian counterpart if Beijing wants to play a role in ending Russias invasion.

Most Read from Bloomberg

We all want peace, but we want that peace to be just and lasting, and for that to happen it has to be based on the position of the country that is being attacked, Sanchez told reporters on Friday after meeting Xi.

Spain is in line with the European Union in supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiys blueprint to end the hostilities released a few months ago, Sanchez added, rebuffing Xis plan that would freeze in place territory seized by Russian forces.

In the meeting with Sanchez, Xi called on relevant parties to a build a balanced, effective, and sustainable security framework in Europe through dialog to settle the crisis in Ukraine, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also said he hoped Madrid could play a role in promoting China-Europe ties.

Sanchezs visit comes just days before a planned trip by French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to China. The EU is balancing the need to keep dialog open with China while tackling its expansionary ambitions on issues including trade, technology and foreign relations.

Xis contentious Chinese proposal for a cease-fire after Russias invasion of Ukraine received a lukewarm reception from the US and Europe, which are wary of Beijings close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Thursday, von der Leyen said that Chinas stance on Russias invasion of Ukraine will be a determining factor in EU-China relations.

Story continues

With his first visit to China since taking office, Sanchez also sought to reduce Spains trade deficit with the Asian giant by bringing down non-tariff barriers and to bring Chinese investors into its electric automotive project as well as bolstering the number of tourists visiting the Southern European nation.

Spains trade deficit with China widened 37% to 41.6 billion ($45 billion) in 2022 from a year ago, making Beijing its key provider of inputs and goods, according to trade ministry data.

Xi said his country is willing to import more quality products from Spain and that he hopes that Spain will provide a fair and just business environment for Chinese companies, according to a report by CCTV on the meeting with Sanchez.

The Spanish government also wants access to Chinas rare earth minerals, which are key to produce batteries as Spain plans to spend billions of euros in building up an electric vehicle industry.

--With assistance from Lucille Liu, Jing Li, Alonso Soto and John Follain.

(Updates with Xi comments in fourth and tenth paragraphs)

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Evan Hershkovich

In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlins continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices, the message reads.

Read also: Russia offers North Korea food in exchange for ammunition

The secretary stressed that its currently dangerous for U.S. citizens to remain in Russia, and urged them to leave the country immediately.

We reiterate our strong warnings about the danger posed to U.S. citizens inside the Russian Federation, the statement said.

U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately, as stated in our Travel Advisory for Russia.

Read also: UOC-MP priests demand to sever ties with Moscow

On March 30, a Moscow court arrested Evan Gershkovich, a journalist working for The Wall Street Journal. Gershkovich is accused of "espionage" on behalf of the United States. Gershkovich was reportedly working on an article about Russian private military company Wagner Group and its involvement in the war in Ukraine.

Read also: U.S. backs Ukraines decision on Bakhmut, says Kirby

The WSJ denied the charges against Gershkovich and demanded his immediate release.

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 California State Parks ranger who apprehended the man accused of fatally shooting a man and child at a San Luis Obispo County beach took the stand Thursday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, walking jurors through the incident moment by moment.

Now-retired State Parks ranger Charles Chuck Jackson arrested Stephen Deflaun on July 8, 2001, after Deflaun allegedly killed Stephen Wells, 37, and his 11-year-old nephew, Jerry Rios Jr., in a dispute over a Morro Strand State Beach campsite.

Deflaun, 64, is now on trial for two counts of murder with a firearm and one count of assault of a peace officer with a firearm 22 years after the alleged crime.

Deflaun was originally declared incompetent to stand trial.

Then, in April, California State Hospitals deemed him competent and sent him back to San Luis Obispo Jail custody, where he remains as of Thursday.

Deflauns attorney said voices told Deflaun to kill Wells and Rios Jr. Deflaun has entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to his charges.

Former State Park Ranger Chuck Jackson is a witness in the trial for Stephen Arthur Deflaun, 63, who listens to his testimony. Jackson describes the July 8, 2001 scene of the shooting in Morro Strand State Park on on the stand Thursday, Mar. 30, 2023.

State Parks ranger: Gunman stopped with malfunctioning shotgun

Jackson testified Thursday that he began heading to Morro Strand State Beach from Morro Bay campground on July 8, 2001, after he received a call about a disturbance at the campground.

As he was driving, he said, dispatch told him the situation had escalated.

So Jackson turned on his vehicles blue and red lights and siren and began to speed up, he testified.

It took him around four minutes to arrive at the beach from the campground he was patrolling, according to a recorded dispatch call played in court.

When he arrived, Jackson said, he saw two bodies that appeared to be dead  they were face up, bloody, and motionless  and reported it back to dispatch.

He testified that he drove about 20 feet from the kiosk when he spotted a man with a gun, later identified as Deflaun.

Defense attorney Ray Allen appears during the murder trial against his client, Stephen Deflaun, in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Mar. 30, 2023.

Deflaun was pacing back and forth while holding his handgun at a right angle by his side and yelling or talking out loud, Jackson said.

Story continues

It didnt seem that Deflaun was speaking to anyone nearby, Jackson added.

Jackson said he grabbed his shotgun from his patrol car and exited his vehicle, shouting, State Parks peace officer, drop your weapon!

Jackson said Deflaun raised his gun and pointed it at his face.

Fearing for his life, Jackson said, he pointed his shotgun at Deflaun and pulled the trigger.

The only thing that happened was a sound  click.

Defense attorney Tim Osman appears during the murder trial against his client, Stephen Deflaun, in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Mar. 30, 2023.

Jackson said he was so dumbfounded from seeing the two bloody bodies he was distracted and forgot to load a round into his shotgun.

Jackson retreated and hid behind a recreational vehicle that belonged to Wells, where he loaded his shotgun with a round, he testified.

He said he continued to yell, State Parks peace officer, drop your weapon, but Deflaun did not drop his gun.

Jackson said he felt Deflaun was shooting back at him during the exchange, but did not confirm that. When Jackson shot a round from behind the RV, Deflaun fled to take cover behind a nearby parked car.

Jackson said he could see Deflauns feet moving from underneath the parked car, so he shot a round on the ground so that the pellets in the shotgun would skip toward Deflaun.

It worked, and Deflaun fell to the ground, Jackson said.

Defense attorney Ray Allen, left, stands next to his client, Stephen Deflaun, during Deflauns murder trial in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Mar. 30, 2023.

After Deflaun was injured, Jackson testified, he went to check on the the two people he saw when he first came in.

Jackson said he knew Rios Jr. was dead  he was face up, motionless with a bloody bullet wound in the forehead  but Wells was still alive.

Wells was shaking, gasping and struggling to breathe, Jackson said.

Jackson said he noticed Deflaun scooting, still trying to point his gun at him.

Jackson began to walk toward Deflaun, he testified.

This time when he raised his shotgun, Jackson said, he noticed a discharge round was stuck and surmised that the weapon wouldnt shoot properly if he attempted to fire, so he set the shotgun aside and raised his handgun toward Deflaun.

As he was pointing (his gun) at me, I started to pull the trigger and he immediately flung his gun straight up over his head backwards, Jackson said of Deflaun.

Jackson testified that he then put Deflaun in handcuffs as a second law enforcement officer, now-retired State Parks ranger Dave Berry, arrived on the scene.

On the witness stand, retired California State Park Rangers David Berry gestures toward his neck describing where he saw a bullet wound on Stephen Arthur Deflaun. Deflauns double-murder trial was held at the San Luis Obispo Superior Court, on Thursday, Mar. 30, 2023.

Alleged shooter had ammunition in pocket, former park ranger says

Berry testified Thursday that when he arrived on scene, he didnt know whether the shooter had been apprehended or not.

When he saw the two bloody bodies, Rios Jr. wasnt breathing.

Wells, however, was breathing in agony and very close to death, Berry said.

Berry began giving Wells CPR, he testified, and noticed Deflaun yelling as if he were in pain while Jackson held him in custody.

Berry and Jackson soon switched places, Berry said, and Jackson took over CPR while Berry held Deflaun in custody.

Berry said Deflaun was injured on his neck and leg and was bleeding, but not excessively.

San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Ben Blumenthal appears during the murder trial against Stephen Deflaun, in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Mar. 30, 2023.

Berry said Deflaun told him something to the effect of, I dont have a problem with you guys, meaning the park rangers.

Deflaun did not indicate with whom he had a problem, Berry said.

Berry testified that Deflaun seemed lucid and cooperated as Berry searched his pockets.

Berry said he found pepper spray, a knife, an empty speed loader, a full speed loader that held six bullets and pocket ammunition in Deflauns pocket, he said.

Ariane Leiter, who was working for the Morro Bay Fire Department as an engineer paramedic at the time of the fatal shooting, also took the stand Thursday.

Leiter said that, when she arrived at Morro Strand State Beach, there were already several police officers and at least one other paramedic on the scene.

An aeriel view of the crime scene is showed during the murder trial against Stephen Deflaun in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Mar. 30, 2023.

She said Rios Jr. had already been determined to be dead and had a yellow blanket placed over him, but a paramedic and Jackson were still working on Wells.

She first went to check on Deflaun to see if he had any life-threatening injuries.

When Leiter walked up, she heard Deflaun repeating Im sorry, but he did not indicate what he was sorry for.

She said Deflaun had several bullet wounds on his body, but none that were life-threatening. The wounds seemed to have stopped bleeding for the most part, Leiter said.

Leiter said she asked Deflaun four questions required to determine if he was completely alert.

He did not answer, she said, but he seemed aware of his surroundings.

Leiter said she moved back to Wells, who was in more critical condition, and helped get him into an ambulance before returning to Deflaun.

When Leiter returned to Deflaun for a second time, there was another female paramedic with her, who Deflaun called pretty.

That was the only statement she remembers him making at the time, Leiter said, other than him telling her They shot me when talking about his injuries.

Leiter said it did not seem like Deflaun was in an acute mental health crisis because he wasnt saying or acting abnormally, adding that she is not qualified to diagnose a mental health condition.

When asked, Leiter said shooting two people is not normal behavior.

Leiter said she helped get Deflaun on a stretcher and rode with him in the ambulance to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo to get treated for his injuries.

Whats next

The trial is scheduled to resume April 10 at 9 a.m. with more witness testimony from the prosecution.

When the prosecution rests its case, the defense plans to present its own case.

The defense will call expert witnesses and Deflaun himself to testify about the mental illness they claim was affecting Deflauns actions during the shooting.
The entertainer Stephen Fry is to provide 50,000 to help American Studies students at the UEA in Norwich

British writer, actor and comedian Stephen Fry is to provide travel bursaries amounting to 50,000 across five years to 20 undergraduates.

The Stephen Fry Travel Awards will go to American Studies students at the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Four applicants each year from the four-year degree course, which includes a year abroad, will get 2,500 each.

"I'm investing in the future of our next generation of thinkers who will go on to achieve great things," said Fry.

Fry, who grew up in Norfolk, received an honorary doctorate from the UEA in 1999.

He is renowned not only for his sharp wit but also for his love of the US, documenting his adventures travelling in a London taxi across the continent's 50 states in a BBC television series and book.

"America as a country is both incredibly familiar and vastly alien to us," he said.

"Travel broadens the mind, opens us up to new and rich experiences and helps to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions.

"Ultimately, it makes us better-informed and more well-rounded people. My experiences of travelling across America have shown me just how important it is for others to do so."

American Studies students can apply for the Stephen Fry bursary

Fry added: "Many young people might be put off taking a year abroad as part of their degree because of the financial cost.

"I hope that I can help and encourage more young people to discover this vast and wonderful country for themselves."

Dr Rachael McLennan, head of school for art, media and American Studies at the UEA, said the year abroad was a vital component of American Studies.

"This will be a life-changing opportunity for the lucky recipients of Stephen's travel awards and is doubly important in this current cost of living crisis."

Other celebrities who have funded university students recently include musician Stormzy, who is supporting 30 Black and mixed-heritage students at Cambridge University.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk
North Korea has Dennis Rodman. Russia has Steven Seagal.

The Under Siege actor was awarded an Order of Friendship medal after continuously supporting President Vladimir Putin even amid the invasion of Ukraine. Seagal accused the United States government of spending billions of dollars on disinformation, lies in the media to try to discredit, demoralize, and destroy the emerging morale of Russia during an event held by the International Movement of Russians in Moscow (via The Independent).

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Over half of the people in America actually love Russia and love Russians and know that theyre being lied to, Seagal said. My father was pure Russian, and I was raised in a pure Russian household, because my mother was completely immersed in the Russian culture and she did not have parents. So I grew up with Russian culture.

The Michigan native continued, I grew up loving Russia and loving all of what I learned about it from a very early age. And for me, I am one million percent Russophile and and one million percent Russian.

Seagal was named the Russian Foreign Ministrys special representative for Russian-American humanitarian relations in 2018. The Order of Friendship medal this year was to celebrate Seagals great contribution to the development of international cultural and humanitarian cooperation, as Putin said.

In 2020, Seagal recorded a birthday message for Putin, saying, Today is President Putins birthday. I just think that we are now living in very, very trying times. He is one of the greatest world leaders and one the greatest presidents in the world. And I am really hoping and praying that he gets the support and the love and the respect that he needs. And that all the tribulations that are going on now will be over soon, and we will be living in a world of peace.

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For anyone to think that Vladimir Putin had anything to do with fixing the elections, or even that the Russians have that kind of technology, is stupid, Seagal also said. And this kind of propaganda is really a diversionso that the people in the United States of America wont really see whats happening.

Seagal was previously banned from Ukraine and deemed a threat to national security.

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Gov. Kevin Stitt says he remains confident in Ryan Walters, his secretary of education and the elected state schools superintendent, who continues to draw scrutiny for his comments and recent refusal to meet with lawmakers.

"Hes easy to target maybe, and I think he has some social media stuff. I don't really get into all that stuff, so I know hes easy to pick on a little bit, but I don't see what hes doing that isn't in line with everything that Im talking about (on education), Stitt said at a Friday news conference. The governor also expressed support for school choice bills currently before lawmakers.

I know Ryans heart  He supports teachers, he supports our public school system, he supports parents," Stitt said.

Walters, who has been accused of creating a hostile environment within the Oklahoma Department of Education, was recently criticized for posting a social media message many saw as racist and continues to claim one of the biggest problems facing Oklahoma schools is pornography in libraries.

Gov. Kevin Stitt watches as state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters leads at a pro-school choice rally Thursday on the south steps of the Oklahoma state Capitol.

More: Oklahoma Education Department 'toxic' under Ryan Walters, some former employees say

More: Editorial: It's time for Ryan Walters to end disparaging rhetoric or resign

Rep. Mark McBride, chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Education subcommittee, asked Walters to attend a Thursday meeting and discuss those claims with lawmakers.

I want this to be a friendly question-and-answer, McBride, R-Moore, told NonDoc this week.

But Walters said he was too busy with a pro-school choice rally at the state Capitol.

Parents are more important, Walters said.

Stitt said private school tax credits should not include an income cap

Gov. Kevin Stitt speaks with Kazin Galberth and other students from Tulsa's Crossover Preparatory Academy on Thursday at a pro-school choice rally on the south steps of the Oklahoma state Capitol.

Stitt appeared with Walters at Thursday's rally and spoke in favor of refundable tax credits for parents of private-school and home-school students.

The House and Senate have each passed versions of a tax credit bill, but the chambers have disagreed on the details, including whether there should be an income cap.

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The Senate passed a tax credit bill Thursday for households making less than $250,000 a year. House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said the income cap was problematic, and Stitt has said he wants the income limit removed.

More: Senate passes private school tax credits; House leader open to negotiate

If either one of those gets to my desk, Im going to sign it, but I would prefer not to have a salary cap, Stitt said Friday. I'm not going to punish some parents ... just because together they make over that amount of money.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters in lockstep with Oklahoma vision, Gov. Kevin Stitt says
"I've been building houses my whole life, and this is my calling."

Jonny Gabel

Its been nearly a week since Jonny Gabel rescued a family from the rubble of their Mississippi home, but his mission to help them has just begun.

Gabel, a storm chaser from Chicago, was near Jackson on the evening of March 24 when his group learned about a tiny, rural town that had been devastated by an EF4 tornado.

"We stopped chasing the storm, and we just went straight into Rolling Fork to help with taking people out, search and rescue," he told People, a Southern Living sister publication.

Gabel recalled being greeted by a "really eerie scene" of exposed electrical wires and a long row of snapped trees. Then he heard someone screaming for help from the remains of a house.

"So that was the first thing we did. We went straight over to that house, he told People. And those were the first people that we helped.

Gabel shared footage of the rescue on TikTok, including a moment where he can be seen gently carrying a toddler out of the rubble of the collapsing home.

Everyone in this family survived. Miraculously. The grandmother had a small cut on her thumb, he wrote alongside the now-viral video. We also dug through the rubble of other homes and businesses which were totally collapsed, Gabel continued. We unfortunately found some people who didn't make it. Heartbreaking. Devastated.

It wasnt long before Gabel heard from an uncle of the little girl, who had come across the video on TikTok. He connected him with the girls father who told Gabel that the family owned the home but didnt have insurance.

Gabel, a carpenter by trade, vowed to rebuild their home for them.

"I want to build them a new house. I've been building houses my whole life, and this is my calling, he told People. This is how I can make an even bigger difference in this world."

Gabel has established a GoFundMe and is looking to raise $50,000 for materials only, because he plans to provide all the labor himself, free of charge.

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He told Fox Weather that any leftover funds would go to establishing a non-profit he and other storm chaser friends have been trying to start for the past two years. They hope to buy chainsaws and trailers and have a team ready to deploy and help in emergencies.

Last weeks tornado is blamed for at least 21 total deaths in Mississippi, with 13 confirmed in Sharkey County.

Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker told CNN that his city is gone.

Were going to come back strong, he added.



For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.
A couple walk their dogs along the beach during strong winds in Folkestone, Kent. (PA Images via Getty Images)

Hundreds of homes were left without power by Storm Mathis on Friday, as 93mph winds battered the south of the country.

Up to 700 properties in Cornwall were left with no electricity for a period on Friday morning, with homes in Bude, St Ives, Redruth and Hayle all affected by power cuts.

The Met Office said wind speeds from the storm had reached speeds of almost 80mph between Thursday and Friday.

And voluntary organisation the National Coastwatch Institution said it had recorded a wind speed of 93mph at Gwennap Head, near Penzance, Cornwall.

The storm brought travel chaos, with Sandbanks chain ferry from Poole to Studland in Dorset suspended on Friday morning because of the windy weather, and fallen trees blocking roads.

Porthleven in Cornwall was battered by strong winds on Friday. (Alamy)

There were also long queues of HGV lorries into the Port of Dover on Friday morning as winds affected ferry services.

Lorries queue for the Port of Dover along the A20 in Kent as strong winds effect ferry services. (PA Images via Getty Images)

The P&O Pride of Kent ferry is hit by waves as it arrives at the Port of Dover on Friday. (PA Images via Getty Images)

The Met Office said the highest wind speed from Storm Mathis was recorded at 8am on Friday at The Needles on the Isle of Wight, and was 79mph.

It issued a wind warning for the south of England in place until midday on Friday, but said conditions will ease for the rest of the afternoon into the weekend.

A Met Office yellow warning for rain, covering large parts of Devon and Cornwall, is in place until 6pm on Friday.

Read more: Met Office issues two days of weather warnings for south England

The yellow warning means there will be heavy rain leading to some travel disruption and a chance of some flooding in places.

A wind speed of 66mph was recorded on the Isles of Scilly at midnight, the Met Office said.

Crowds brave the rain at Trafalgar Square in London on Friday. (Alamy)

Waves crash against the harbour wall during strong winds in Folkestone, Kent, on Friday. (PA Images via Getty Images)

A Met Office spokesman told Yahoo News UK: "The area of low pressure will continue to move eastwards through the day and the wind speeds will reduce, with the strongest winds offshore in the English Channel and over northern France, which is why the French National Meteorological Service have named Storm Mathis.

"Although it will be windy, there are not expected to be notable impacts from now through the day as the winds ease.

"The weather will settle down into the weekend and through Monday before further wet and windy weather approach from the west on Monday night into Tuesday."

Watch: Wind, snow and ice warnings as cold weather hits UK again
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 11: Stormy Daniels attends the Los Angeles Premiere Of Neon's "Pleasure" at Linwood Dunn Theater on May 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Porn star Stormy Daniels says her merch and autograph sales soared after Trump was indicted.

She's been promoting her merchandise store amid signs of the indictment by a New York grand jury.

Meanwhile, Trump is also selling merch in relation to his indictment  a white shirt with red words.

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels said orders are "pouring in" for her merchandise and autographs after former President Donald Trump was indicted on Thursday.

"Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond," tweeted Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. "Also don't want to spill my champagne."

"#TeamStormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment," she added.

Daniels is connected to the indictment of the former president because of a $130,000 hush-money payment made to her in 2016 from Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

The payment has for weeks been thought to be core to the indictment, as the Manhattan district attorney's office investigated Trump's involvement in the transaction.

Daniels said that she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which Cohen paid the porn star not to reveal just before the 2016 election.

Since Cohen admitted to making the payment in 2018, Daniels has sued Trump, called him a liar, repeatedly poked fun at him, and tussled online with the former president's supporters. As more signs indicated that Trump would be indicted, the porn star began promoting her merchandise store, which sells products such as calendars, apparel, and signed photos.

A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on Thursday. The former president may face more than 30 low-level felony charges related to fraud, CNN reported, citing sources close to the matter. The combined maximum sentence for these charges is four years in prison, though a judge could also give Trump no prison time.

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Meanwhile, Trump has been selling his own merchandise related to the indictment. A white T-shirt with the words "I stand with Trump" and the date of his indictment is now being touted by his team as a reward for $47 donations.

"These new shirts are flying off the shelves," his team claimed in an email to supporters, saying the shirt would be available as a donation reward only "until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT."

An email from Trump's team offers the shirt as a reward for donations of $47 and up. Screenshot/Email

A representative for Daniels did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Stormy Daniels said Friday she believes the indictment of former President Donald Trump will cause injuries and deaths, even as she celebrated the notion of Mr Trump being held accountable for his actions.

In an interview granted to The Times from an undisclosed location in the United States, Ms Daniels, 44, said she believes the indictment will continue to divide people as the US deals with an ongoing rise in political violence.

Whatever the outcome is, its going to cause violence, and theres going to be injuries and death, Ms Daniels said. Theres the potential for a lot of good to come from this. But either way, a lot of bad is going to come from it, too.

Ms Daniels is in a good position to understand how fans of the former presidents are taking the news of his criminal indictment in New York. She said since news of the indictment broke on Thursday, she has recieved threats of violence on her social media accounts, phone, and email.

The number and the intensity is the same as it was the first time around, but this time its straight-up violent, Ms Daniels told the newspaper. The first time it was gold digger, slut, whore, liar whatever. And this time its Im gonna murder you. Theyre way more violent and graphic.

Ms Daniels noted that Mr Trump has already gotten away with inciting a riot, and causing death and destruction, referring to his incitement of the riot at the US Capitol that has been characterised by experts as an attempted self-coup. Mr Trump was impeached for his role in the Capitol riot, but acquitted by the US Senate. He has not faced any criminal charges related to the riot and is currently running for president again.

Mr Trump allegedly had an affair with Ms Daniels in 2006, shortly after marrying his current wife Melania. Shortly before the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trumps then-attorney Michael Cohen facilitated a payment of $130,000 to Ms Daniels in exchange for her silence regarding the alleged affair. Mr Cohen claims that Mr Trump told him to make the hush money payment. Mr Trump has long denied the affair.

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Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...also don't want to spill my champagne  #Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment.  Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) March 30, 2023

Despite her fear for her safety and the well-being of the country, Ms Daniels overall celebrated news of Mr Trumps indictment  tweeting on Thursday night that she was enjoying champagne to mark the occasion.

Its vindication, Ms Daniels said of the indictment. But its bittersweet. Hes done so much worse that he should have been taken down [for] before. I am fully aware of the insanity of it being a porn star. But its also poetic; this p**** grabbed back.
Sunnyvale police have apprehended the suspect they were searching for who led them on a chase through parts of Dallas and Kaufman counties on Thursday night, officials said on Friday morning.

The suspect, 20-year-old Omar Robledo, was located on a nearby private property at about 10:30 a.m. Friday, according to police. He is being charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest in a vehicle, evading arrest or detention, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public servant.

He was unarmed when located, police posted shortly after 11 a.m. Sunnyvale Police will turn the suspect over to the Kaufman County Sheriffs Department shortly.

The shelter-in-place for Sunnyvale residents was lifted shortly before 9 a.m., according to a Sunnyvale Police Department social media post. They did not confirm at that time whether they had caught Robledo.

The chase started around 6 p.m. in Terrell after police tried to stop Robledo, who was suspected of driving a stolen car, according to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV. Robledo eventually crashed the vehicle and fled the scene on foot.

Robledo fired at deputies and they returned fire, according to WFAA. No one was injured in the exchange of gunfire, according to police.

Robledo was believed to be contained in a wooded area near the north U.S. 80 service road and Jobson Road, WFAA reported. Sunnyvale police asked residents in those areas to shelter in place.

A passenger in the stolen vehicle, Alejandro Honorato-Calderon, 20, was arrested and charged with various drug charges, according to police.

The Sunnyvale Independent School District canceled classes Friday as a result of the standoff.

The following agencies were part of the response Thursday night and Friday morning: Sunnyvale Police and Fire Departments, Kaufman County Sheriffs Office, Forney Police Department, Dallas County Sheriffs Office, Mesquite Police Department, Department of Public Safety Air 1, Balch Springs Police Department, Richardson Police Department, Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers, Dallas Police Department, Kaufman County Pct. 2 Constables Office, Texas Department of Corrections Tracking Team out of Bonham, Texas and Garland Police Department SWAT.

This is a developing story. For the latest updates, sign up for breaking news alerts.
Superman: Legacy will be directed by James Gunn. (DC/Getty)

It's been ten years since Superman last led his own solo movie in Man of Steel, but after many false dawns, Kal-El will finally take flight again in James Gunn's Superman: Legacy.

The fresh start for DC's crown jewel is coming to cinemas in 2025 and is being billed as the first entry in a planned universe of cross-platform storytelling  now known as the DCU. Following the lead of the MCU, the new Superman film will be the start of Phase 1: Gods and Monsters.

Here's everything we know about Superman: Legacy so far...

Superman: Legacy release date

Superman: Legacy is slated to hit cinemas on 11 July, 2025  12 years after the release of Man of Steel.

The release date was announced in January 2023 when James Gunn and Peter Safran  the new bosses at DC Studios  revealed their ambitious plan to reboot the DC Universe.

Although, Superman: Legacy will be preceded on the small screen by Creature Commandos and Waller, the movie is considered as the true starting point for the new DCU.

Im honored to be a part of the legacy. And what better day than #SupermanAnniversary Day to dive fully into early pre-production on #SupermanLegacy? Costumes, production design, and more now up and running. pic.twitter.com/TJYpCRmdsf  James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 18, 2023

In April 2023, Gunn announced that pre-production had begun on the movie, saying:"Costumes, production design, and more now up and running."

Superman: Legacy cast

Henry Cavill announced his return as Superman on Instagram (Warner Bros.)

The new Clark Kent/Superman, according to Gunn, will be "younger than in his 40s".

Currently, there's no one name linked to the role of Kal El but that hasn't stopped the internet from guessing, forcing Gunn to take to Twitter to shut down the rumour mill.

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After one well-known YouTube host suggested that Fury actor Logan Lerman was the "top choice" for the role, Gunn replied with a succinct: "For the record, I don't know who that is."

After some found this response a little blunt, the Suicide Squad filmmaker returned to social media to clarify his reply: Guys, this isnt a dig at the actor. I dont know lots of actors names, he added.

Now that you tell me who he is, I recognise him from stuff and think hes talented. But Ive never met him, and hes never been part of a conversation about playing Superman.

Jacob Elordi attends the HBO Max FYC event for Euphoria in 2022. (WireImage)

While previously revealing that he was "making private lists" for possible contenders, he also pointed out that he's yet to have "a single talk with a single actor about the role.

Similar rumours circling Euphoria star Jacob Elordi were also quickly squashed, with Gunn telling Twitter: Casting, as is almost always the case with me, will happen after the script is finished or close to finished, and it isnt."

Why isn't Henry Cavill coming back as Superman?

Henry Cavill as Superman in 2013's Man of Steel. (Alamy/Warner Bros.)

While we don't know who will play him in Superman: Legacy, we can rule out one name for certain: Henry Cavill. The British actor who donned the Kyptonian cape in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League and Black Adam has officially left the role.

In December 2022, Gunn tweeted an update on the Superman reboot saying: "In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Supermans life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill. But we just had a great meeting with Henry and were big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.

Read more: How did Henry Cavill become an internet darling?

Cavill confirmed his exit, posting on Instagram: Its sad news, everyone. I will, after all, not be returning as Superman. After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isnt the easiest, but thats life.

As for which other characters may appear in Legacy, we don't yet know. However, as the film is rumoured to cover Clark Kent's early career at the Daily Planet, we can expect to meet new versions of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White.

Superman: Legacy plot

Christopher Reeve in 1978's Superman: The Movie. (Screen Archives/Getty Images)

Where previous Superman movies have explored the Man of Steel's origins, James Gunn's script for Superman: Legacy will not.

Its not an origin story, Safran said. It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness is old-fashioned.

Read more: Take our Superman quiz

Sharing an update when Gunn officially signed on to direct the film, Gunn said of the plot: "I was offered Superman years ago  I initially said no because I didnt have a way in that felt unique and fun and emotional that gave Superman the dignity he deserved.

The director went on to say that a bit less than a year ago I saw a way in, in many ways centering around Supermans heritage  how both his aristocratic Kryptonian parents and his Kansas farmer parents inform who he is and the choices he makes.

Superman: Legacy is coming to cinemas on 11 July, 2025.

Watch a trailer for Batman v Superman below.
The man convicted in the 39-year-old cold case murder of Michelle Martinko has lost his bid to overturn his conviction.

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday denied the appeal of Jerry Lee Burns, now 69, who argued police violated his constitutional rights in obtaining the DNA sample that ultimately tied him to blood found at the murder scene.

In a 5-2 decision, the majority found police followed the law in obtaining Burns' DNA from an abandoned drinking straw, and did not violate his rights either under the federal or Iowa constitutions.

"After careful consideration of the case before us, we conclude that the Fourth Amendment did not require police to obtain a warrant before collecting the straw or before analyzing DNA on the straw to determine whether it matched DNA found on Martinkos dress," Justice David May wrote for the majority.

Previousl: DNA, qualified immunity, COVID among upcoming topics for Iowa Supreme Court's 7-0 conservative majority

Burns' attorney Nick Curran said in an email his client is "deeply disappointed" in the decision.

"The decision undermines an individuals reasonable expectation of privacy in their genetic makeup, and subjects every Iowa citizens DNA to collection and analysis by law enforcement without probable cause," Curran wrote. "Mr. Burns asserts that he is innocent of the murder of Michelle Martinko, and he will continue to fight against his unjust conviction."

Who was Michelle Martinko?

For four decades, the slaying of the 18-year-old Martinko haunted her family and the Cedar Rapids community.

Martinko, a senior at Kennedy High School who planned to attend Iowa State University, was last seen alive at the Westdale Mall after a school choir banquet on Dec. 19, 1979, where she was shopping for a new winter coat. At 4 a.m. on Dec. 20, her body was found in her car in the mall parking lot, with numerous stab wounds on her face and chest.

Michelle Martinko in 1977. "I think she was happy - up until the very end," Janelle said.

Full coverage: The Michelle Martinko slaying, DNA evidence and 2020 murder trial of Jerry Lynn Burns

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The killing sparked outrage and hundreds of tips poured in to police, who offered rewards and followed "countless" leads. Although police identified more than 80 potential suspects, the case eventually went cold.

Who is Jerry Burns?

The break in the case came via new advances in DNA technology. In 2006, investigators were able to identify a male DNA profile for the suspect, who they believed had cut his hand and had left blood on Martinko's clothing and in her car.

Comparing that DNA profile to genealogical research databases narrowed the investigation to "a specific pool of suspects," according to court filings. One person on that list was Burns, who lived in the town of Manchester, about 45 minutes north of Cedar Rapids.

Burns, who would have been 25 at the time of Martinko's death, owned a powder-coating company and had previously co-owned a truck stop. Although he'd been married, his wife had died in 2008.

Jerry Burns listens as defense attorney Leon Spies delivers his closing arguments for the trial of Jerry Burns at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. Burns is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Michelle Martinko in 1979.

Soda straw provides crucial evidence

To confirm their suspicious, investigators turned to a tactic that lies at the core of Burns' appeal. A Cedar Rapids investigator watched Burns eating at a Pizza Ranch in 2018 and, after he left, retrieved the straw Burns had used in his drink. State analysts found DNA on the straw consistent with the blood found on Martinko's dress.

When questioned, Burns told investigators he could not offer a "plausible explanation" for why his DNA was found at the scene. He was arrested Dec. 19, 2018.

Investigators did not obtain a warrant for the restaurant search of Burns' DNA, arguing in subsequent court hearings that he had no right to privacy in an item he left behind to be thrown away.

Trial and sentencing in 2020

Burns denied any role in Martinko's death, and in 2020 went to trial at the Scott County Courthouse on the charge of first-degree murder. The jury heard nearly two weeks of testimony and deliberated less than three hours before returning the verdict of guilty.

The conviction was greeted with tears and relief from Martinko's family. Although her parents had both died decades before Burns' arrest, her sister Janelle Stonebraker was in the front row with her family when the verdict was read.

Burns, still maintaining his innocence, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Appeal argues warrant needed for DNA search

On appeal, Burns' attorneys raised several issues where they claimed investigators overstepped. Most notably, they argued, collecting Burns' DNA from the soda straw violated not just his Fourth Amendment rights, but those of more than 100 other potential suspects whose DNA was surreptitiously tested.

"The manner in which police invaded the privacy of countless other individuals holds constitutional significance," attorneys argued in Supreme Court filings. " Here, law enforcement disregarded the Fourth Amendments protections by surreptitiously obtaining and/or comparing countless individuals DNA profiles to the suspect profile without applying for any warrants."

From 2020: Judge allows Jerry Burns' DNA evidence at trial, excludes 'violent' internet search history

A number of civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, filed a brief supporting Burns' appeal. They argued that the trial court was wrong to rule Burns had no privacy rights in the discarded drinking straw, noting that people constantly shed DNA everywhere they go and, by this standard, their DNA could be collected and tested by police at any time, for any reason.

Burns additionally argued in his appeal the court erred in how it instructed the jury regarding the credibility of a jailhouse informant who testified Burns had made incriminating statements about the case while awaiting trial.

Majority finds no expectation of privacy in straw

Although May's decision notes there may be some circumstances in which surreptitious surveillance and analysis of DNA violates a suspect's Fourth Amendment "reasonable expectation of privacy," the court held that's not the case here.

"Although it is true that humans distribute DNA continually and unconsciously, the same is true of latent fingerprints," May wrote. " No one suggests that police would have needed a warrant to collect fingerprints from the cup that Burns left behind at the Pizza Ranch  or to use those fingerprints to determine whether Burns wasin Martinkos car on the night of her murder. We think the same is true of the DNA that Burns left on the straw  and that ultimately connected him with Martinkos dress."

The court separately analyzed state law and the Iowa Constitution's protections against warrantless searches, and found those restrictions too do not apply to Burns' case. A state law limiting how police can perform DNA testing has an exception for tests "to identify an individual in the course of a criminal investigation," and the court also found the trial judge was not required to give a jury instruction, sought by the defense, advising the jury that Burns' former cellmate might be seeking a reduced sentence on his own charges in exchange for his testimony.

Dissenters: DNA searches implicate privacy

Justices Dana Oxley and Matthew McDermott wrote dissenting opinions, with Oxley also joining the majority of McDermott's opinion. Both wrote that they find stronger constitutional limits on DNA "involuntarily and unavoidably shed" by people going about their daily lives, as Oxley put it.

From 2018: Iowa community tries to reconcile a cold case arrest and its long history with a neighbor

Oxley wrote that DNA contains far more information about a person than simple identity, and collecting it should accordingly be treated as a substantial breach of privacy, regardless of whether police actually seek or test for any of the other medical and familial data they might obtain.

McDermott, in his dissent, argued that DNA, human genetic material containing vast amounts of information, must be included under the Fourth Amendment's "right of the people to be secure in their persons (and) papers." He noted that just as the U.S. Supreme Court has treated blood draws for drunk drivers as more intrusive than breath tests, so DNA analysis should be considered uniquely intrusive, and be regulated by the courts accordingly.

In a statement, ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen echoed McDermott and Oxley's concerns.

"Nobody consents to turn over our full genetic code to the government just because we involuntarily shed our DNA on items we touch. Our DNA can reveal incredible details about us, from our proclivity to genetic diseases, to our ancestry and paternity, to our appearance," she said. "As the dissent points out, the majority opinion's analysis leaves Iowans vulnerable to government collection of their DNA upon a police officers merest whim. We think this goes against the common sense and values of most Iowans."

Prosecutor: 'our hearts are with' Martinko family

Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks called the decision "an absolute relief" to residents and law enforcement.

"This case has loomed over our community for over 43 years. This opinion confirms the ground-breaking and superb work of law enforcement and acknowledges the hard work and dedication that generations of officers and this prosecuting team put into this case," Maybanks said in an email. "Our hearts are with the surviving members of Michelles family and her friends today as this stage of the case comes to a close and justice was served once again."

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Supreme Court affirms Michelle Martinko killer's conviction
Sydney Sweeney was mocked for sharing her experience with puberty. Women with similar stories are coming to her defense. (Photo: Getty Images; Visual Illustration: Nathalie Cruz)

"I had boobs before other girls and I felt ostracized for it," Sydney Sweeney said. I was embarrassed and I never wanted to change in the locker room. I think that I put on this weird persona other people had of me because of my body.

The 25-year-old actress shared those feelings while speaking with British GQ in a Nov. 2022 interview as she was reflecting on her experiences as a young girl. She described how it impacted her body image as well as her identity while she struggled to combat stereotypes  similar to her character Cassie Howard in Euphoria  of being a pretty blonde with nothing else to offer. As someone now living in the public eye, she feels shes still doing so, adding, but now its on a whole-world scale.

When the quotes were recirculated recently by the New York Post, her feelings were validated by thousands of young women who shared similar experiences.

Sydney Sweeney: I had boobs before other girls and I felt ostracized https://t.co/ztTv0wRyVW pic.twitter.com/EDRnpOOY0o  New York Post (@nypost) March 17, 2023

I actually lost a few friendships over this because my friends moms didnt want them hanging out with someone who was already developed, one woman wrote of her own experience.

Others spoke of being sexualized at that time in their lives. When I was 11 I was sexually harassed at school for having boobs, one person wrote. It was awful and [to be honest] very ostracizing. Another replied, In 7th-8th grade people would randomly come up and poke or flick me in the chest and I had a friend who almost exclusively referred to me as boobs. Stuff like this is really dehumanizing for a 13 year old.

Talia Lichtstein, on Twitter, recalled her experience of her breasts being used as a prop when boys in her eighth grade English class would throw erasers at her, with the goal of it landing in her cleavage. "I would laugh along with it. I knew that it made me feel odd, it made me feel strange. And I remembered the female teacher seeing it and not doing anything," she further elaborated to Yahoo Life. "I didn't find it to be violating until I was much older."

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For Lichtstein, growing breasts marked a huge shift in her life. "It was a shift in how I looked at myself and how I felt that I was taking up space. It marked the shift in the way that even my family perceives me. It was literally the move from child to woman, but I was the only one who didn't know," the content creator says. "I still felt, of course, that I was a child. But suddenly, you're being treated by your family, your extended family, the people on the street, as a woman. And you're being told that it's your fault."

This is the time in a girl's life when she suddenly faces pressure to regulate her appearance, as a precaution, while also navigating dress codes from schools to the streets, Mahaliah Little, assistant professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of California, Irvine, explains.

"There are all kinds of crazy rules, like, 'don't wear shorts around your dad' or people checking your outfit before you leave the house, all sorts of societal things that people don't question that put the onus on young girls  children  to prevent sexual assault or prevent someone from ogling them," she says, "when really the onus should be on adults to respond to children differently."

The potential for a child to feel "ostracized" while developing breasts is a direct result of society's need to "police" the body, she notes.

"People assume that puberty is this time when girls start wielding their power and try to seduce people, when in actuality you feel powerless," Little continues. "You go from being seen as neutral to being seen as a threat, or soliciting something, and it's very difficult for children to understand that without just internalizing shame about how they look."

Bridgit Kasperski, the founder of a breasts-positivity community Busties Forever, says that because breasts are sexualized, they're seen as something "dirty and shameful" in and of themselves  an idea that can incite bullying and unwanted attention from both peers and authority figures alike.

Little, who is Black, notes that she experienced a reaction to her development that she says was particularly layered, as culturally, "on average, Black girls are sort of aged up, seen as more knowledgeable about sex at a younger age and seen as more accountable for their actions and behaviors at a young age." So her experience is likely different from that of Sweeney, as a white woman.

"But I do think the common thread is you can grow up feeling like your body is wrong and the problem," she says, "when really it's the way that people respond to your physicality, and the way that people sexualize children." The experience even led Little to internalize "hatred" for her body in early adolescence, developing "into dysmorphia for a period of time."

The ability to process these experiences, she stresses, comes with age, along with a better understanding of gender, sexuality and how the two impact body image. Although someone Sweeney's age likely has a different perspective of their breasts now than she did as a child, "being sexualized at an early age is an experience that shapes you for the rest of your life, potentially," Little says.

"There's an opportunity here to talk about how being sexualized at a young age is a traumatic experience, no matter who you are, no matter what kind of body you inhabit. And there should be space to reflect on that without being attacked for how you experience your body currently," she continues. "I hope that seeing the outcry and the wealth of people who have similar experiences will change the way that people can talk through experiencing their bodies at this pivotal time in their lives."

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.
Taiwans defense ministry said Friday that it had to scramble jets and ships to respond to "irrational actions" by nine Chinese aircraft that crossed over the Taiwan Straits median line during combat readiness drills.

The incident happened while Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is visiting the U.S.

Tsai is scheduled to meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday, and Beijing has threatened "resolute countermeasures" if that get together is held.

"The communist military's deployment of forces deliberately created tension in the Taiwan Strait, not only undermining peace and stability, but also has a negative impact on regional security and economic development," Reuters quoted Taiwans defense ministry as saying Friday.

US FOREIGN POLICY PARALYSIS ALLOWED CHINA OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE PATH TO TOP SUPERPOWER, EXPERTS SAY

A U.S.-made F-16 V fighter taxis on the runway at an air force base in Chiayi County, Taiwan, on March 25, 2023. The country said Friday it used planes and ships to respond to Chinese aircraft that crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, according to Reuters.

It reportedly condemned "such irrational actions" and said it responded by deploying its own aircraft and ships to monitor the situation.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"China deliberately raises tensions, but Taiwan always responds cautiously and calmly, so that the world can see that Taiwan is the responsible party in cross-Strait relations," Tsai said in New York on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The White House said Tsais trip across the U.S. is "consistent" with the One China policy and is urging Beijing not to overreact.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SEE CHINA AS MAIN THREAT, CALL BIDEN TOO ACCOMMODATING

National Security Council Strategic Communications Director John Kirby made the statement to reporters during a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday. He pointed out that President Tsai has transited the U.S. six times since gaining office in 2016, and each incident came and went without objection from Beijing.

"There's no reason for them to react harshly," Kirby told reporters, before urging China not to use the incident as an excuse to escalate tensions.

China, led by President Xi Jinping, has been engaged in a territorial dispute with Taiwan.

Beijing has threatened "resolute countermeasures" should Tsai follow through with a potential meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during her transit.

Beijing has repeatedly alleged the U.S. and Taiwan are acting in secret to push for Taiwans independence and threatened "resolute countermeasures" should the two leaders meet. Tsai is scheduled to meet McCarthy on Wednesday, April 5, when the head of the self-governing island democracy visits Los Angeles.

Fox News Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
"Sometimes the guest is wrong," one Target worker told Insider. Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Target prides itself on being an extraordinarily customer-centric retailer, but some shoppers push that too far, according to workers.

"We're not fans of the word 'no,'" one employee told Insider, a sentiment echoed by several others.

They say customer issues are compounded when stores reduce staffing levels but increase responsibilities.

In an episode of the animated show "SpongeBob SquarePants," one of the characters recalls the excellent service he had at a fancy hotel and noted the establishment had a golden motto engraved on the wall: "We shall never deny a guest even the most ridiculous request."

At Target, where shoppers are referred to as "guests," one worker in Texas said that motto would be right at home.

"We're not fans of the word 'no.' That's kind of the culture that we have at Target," the worker said, a sentiment echoed by workers from four more states who spoke with Insider. Four of the five workers requested anonymity in order to speak candidly, and Insider has verified their identities.

A common refrain was that while each employee took great personal pride in delivering exceptional service, the company can be overly reluctant to inconvenience a guest or push back against bad behavior. That leaves workers feeling stuck.

"The eggshells that we walk on is incredible at Target, and what sometimes you have to tell the guests is no," the Texas worker said. "Sometimes the guest is wrong."

Target representatives did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on this subject.

Adam Ryan, a backroom worker in Virginia and organizer with Target Workers Unite, said that providing the level of customer engagement the company expects is increasingly difficult as stores operate with leaner staffing and more services are introduced like drive-up returns, slated to begin this spring.

"If we're getting pulled in multiple directions at the same time, you're gonna have to cut corners in that process to be able to get the work done," Ryan said.

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"They're trying to make it even more convenient for people to want to come shop at Target, but that's coming at the expense of the workers," he added. "This isn't translating into higher wages for workers  it's not translating into more staff for the stores."

A service team lead in California said that even though Target's wages are better than the norm in retail  its average is about $17 per hour  lean staffing and an emphasis on performance metrics puts a lot of pressure on everyone in the store.

"I feel like they're just trying to squeeze us out of a rag when it comes to hours and work efficiency, where we'll work as thin as possible to achieve the metrics that we're supposed to be achieving," he said.

And when overstretched workers are met with impatient customers, tempers can flare.

Employees in Michigan and Oklahoma each described dealing with customers yelling at or harassing them in the parking lot as they attempted to fulfill drive-up orders.

A service team lead in Michigan said one customer told her, "I hope you slip and die," when she informed the customer that curbside pick-up was interrupted due to sub-zero winter weather.

"I'm glad it was me she was yelling at and not my team members," the employee said.

Some guests "really go after you," a drive-up worker in Oklahoma said. "They want to try and get you fired."

To be sure, the negative experiences reflect a tiny percentage of the hundreds of positive or neutral ones in a given week, the Oklahoma worker said, "but it's the one negative that just grates on you."

"I don't think guests realize just exactly how they're coming across to us and how privileged it all feels," the Oklahoma worker said.

"I think everyone should have to have the experience of either working in retail or working at a restaurant," she added. "Everyone should be required to work at one of those jobs for at least a year to fully understand what it is that we do."

If you are a Target worker who would like to share your perspective, please get in touch with Dominick via email. Responses will be kept confidential and Insider strongly recommends using a personal email and a non-work device when reaching out.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A white science teacher has been put on administrative leave after being accused of using racial slurs during a class discussion, the district confirmed.

The high school chemistry teacher at South-Doyle High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, was seen on video using a racial slur during a classroom discussion about the appropriate use of the word.

In the video, shared on social media on March 27, the teacher can be seen in a heated discussion with a student. The student yells at the teacher and says that as a white person, he should not be using the racial slur.

The teacher responds by continuing to use the word and trying to justify its use to the students. The students can be heard becoming upset, yelling back at the teacher to stop using the word, the video shows.

The caption on the video, posted by a student in the class, said Every one of us felt highly disrespected in the situation especially us black students and when we tried to correct him he insisted (its) an English word so he should be allowed to say it, and said that this behavior should not be tolerated, especially from teachers.

The video did not show the beginning of the encounter, but one student told Knox News that the argument began when the teacher singled out a particular student for being noisy in class.

When the noisy student asked why they were called out, the teacher responded by using the racial slur, the student told Knox News.

The whole thing made me feel like our teacher doesnt care about us, the student told Knox News. Why would you say that to us as a class when we didnt do anything to you?

McClatchy News is not embedding or linking to social media videos of the alleged incident due to its offensive language.

In a statement made by the Knox County School District to McClatchy News, the district said it does not tolerate any instances of racism.

A Knox County Schools employee has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into this matter. Because there is an investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time, the district said.

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South-Doyle High School had 1,038 students enrolled during the 2021-2022 school year, 26 percent of whom identify as a person of color, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Teacher arrested after whacking student on butt and legs with ruler, Florida cops say

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A Florida teacher has been charged with child abuse after officials accused her of whacking a student on the buttocks and legs with a ruler.

The elementary school teacher also slapped the child, the Lee County Sheriffs Office said in a March 30 news release.

On March 29, the school resource officer at Harns Marsh Elementary in Lehigh Acres received information in regards to an educator striking students, the sheriffs office reports.

It was learned 39-year-old Adrean Johnson slapped the victim in their face with her hand and would strike them on the legs, back, and buttocks with a ruler.

Investigators did not report whether the child suffered injuries.

The teacher was relieved of her duties while an investigation was conducted, officials said. She was arrested later in the day and charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, jail records show. The charge is a felony.

Additional charges are possibly forthcoming as we continue our investigation with the Lee County School District, officials said.

The teacher was released March 30 on a $5,000 surety bond and a court date was set for April 1, records show.

Our Special Victims Unit worked with the Lee County School District to address this situation immediately and the suspect has been charged accordingly, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in the release. We take this type of behavior very seriously, especially involving children.

Harns Marsh Elementary has 981 students in pre-K through grade five, according to Greatschools.org.

Lehigh Acres is about 140 miles southeast of Tampa.

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A teacher from Brooklyn used fake profiles to target LGBTQ children on Facebook and solicit sexually explicit photos and videos, according to federal prosecutors in New York.

Jonathan Deutsch, 39, a high school teacher at Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences, was sentenced on March 30 to 20 years in prison on charges related to the production of child pornography, according to a news release from the United States Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Deutsch used multiple Facebook accounts in 2016 and 2017 and joined Facebook groups frequently used by LGBTQ young people, the release says. In one of his profiles, he posed as a 33-year-old teacher from New York, according to officials, and in another he posed as a 14-year-old boy.

Deutsch targeted children who were struggling with their sexuality and gender identity and messaged them directly to develop relationships with them, the release says.

When chatting with children, the defendant flattered them to gain their trust, and he offered support, comfort and affirmation when they expressed sadness, insecurity or pain, the release says. Then, Deutsch engaged the children in hyper-sexual conversation and enticed them to engage in sexually explicit conduct so that he could get videos and photos of that conduct.

He sent the children sexually explicit photos that he said were of himself and requested similar images and videos from them, the release says. He received these types of images from at least four children between the ages of 10 and 16 years old, according to prosecutors.

Deutschs attorneys did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

The New York City Department of Education, which employed Deutsch, and Meta, the company that owns Facebook, did not respond to requests for comment.

According to a study by the University of Pittsburgh, sexual minority youth, including gay, lesbian and bisexual youth, were more likely to experience sexual abuse than their peers.

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Adolescents who were part of a sexual minority were 2.9 times more likely to report childhood sexual abuse, according to the study. The rate was even higher for males belonging to a sexual minority. This group was 4.9 times more likely to experience childhood sexual abuse when compared with heterosexual males, the study says.

The treatment of sexual minority youths in various systems  needs to be improved as it has been shown that more supportive environments are associated with less abuse of these youth populations, the study says.

Researchers suggested that policies should be implemented to protect gay, lesbian and bisexual youths, and personnel should be trained to empower children of all sexual identities to intervene on their behalf.

Authorities said that Deutsch violated the sacred trust between teachers and students.

Todays sentencing sends an unequivocal message that the NYPD and our law enforcement partners will never tolerate the appalling acts of such criminal predators, New York City Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement.

Deutsch was sentenced on four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and six counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, the release says.

If you are struggling or thinking of harming yourself, you can reach out to a counselor with the Trevor Project, the worlds largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people. Text START to 678-678 or call 1-866-488-7386.

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Dozens of protesters swarmed into the Tennessee State Capitol on Thursday, demanding that lawmakers take action on gun violence as they appeared to mourn the loss of the transgender former student who shot and killed six people at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this week.

While several people held up six fingers, video from the demonstration showed multiple protesters holding up seven fingers at one point in an apparent display of how many lives were lost in the shooting that took place Monday.

"Every death is a tragedy, y'all. Seven lives," one protester could be heard saying in the clip.

Breitbart News reporter Spencer Lindquist captured the footage of the protesters and shared it to social media on Thursday, just days after three children and three employees were shot and killed by Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old transgender former student, on Monday at The Covenant School in Nashville.

THREE DEMOCRAT STATE LAWMAKERS JOIN PROTESTERS INVADING TENNESSEE STATE CAPITOL

Protesters gather inside the Tennessee State Capitol to call for an end to gun violence and support stronger gun laws on March 30, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Other videos from the protest showed demonstrators tussling and yelling at law enforcement officials at the Volunteer State Capitol as they called for legislative action to prevent additional school shootings.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Head of School Katherine Koonce, 60; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and custodian Mike Hill, also 61, were killed in the gunfire on Monday. Three 9-year-old students were also killed: Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney.

Hale shot through a locked glass door and entered the school armed with two rifles and a handgun around 10:13 a.m. on Monday.

'TRANS DAY OF VENGEANCE' RALLY IN DC CANCELED IN WAKE OF NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING

Officer Rex Engelbert , 27, arrived soon after the shooting began and immediately starting clearing classrooms with other officers in search of the shooter. When Hale started firing at other responding officers from the second floor, Engelbert ran upstairs with Officer Michael Collazo, 31, and confronted Hale, who was shot and killed.

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Three Democratic lawmakers in the Tennessee state House joined pro-gun control protesters at the Thursday evening demonstration in Nashville, including Democrat state Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson.

"Power to the people," Jones yelled through a megaphone on the chamber floor.

Protesters at the Tennessee Capitol called for an assault weapon ban in the wake of the mass shooting, and federal lawmakers representing Tennessee are taking action.

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Haggerty, both Republicans from Tennessee, announced on Thursday they will be introducing the Securing Aid for Every (SAFE) School Act following the mass shooting.

The bill would create a $900 million grant program for both public and private schools to train and hire former law enforcement officers and veterans to increase security for students.

Fox News' Houston Keene and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rep. Tim Burchett

A U.S. congressman from Tennessee is receiving a lot of unwanted attention for what critics say is his hypocrisy and misplaced priorities after he said that nothing could be done about kids being shot in schools but that legislation against drag queens was imperative. He called for a Christian revival.

Rep. Tim Burchett, who represents the Knoxville area in Congress, told reporters on Monday evening, hours after a mass shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville left six victims dead, including three children, that nothing could be done.

Its a horrible, horrible situation, and were not going to fix it, Burchett said. Criminals are going to be criminals.

The video of his interaction went viral on social media.

I dont see any role that we could do other than mess things up, he said. I dont think a criminals going to stop from guns, you know, can print em out on the computer now  3-D printing.

He added, I dont think youre going to stop the gun violence. I think you, youve got to change peoples hearts as a Christian, as we talk about in the church, and Ive said this many times: I think we really need to revive up in this country.

\u201cRep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) on school shootings:



"We're not gonna fix it."\u201d  Brennan Murphy (@Brennan Murphy) 1679963578

However, for as strongly as Burchett believes that nothing can be done to stop the senseless murder of kids in classrooms across the United States where mass shootings are a unique problem, a few weeks ago, he was vehement about the governments role in protecting kids from what Republicans seem to believe is a greater danger than guns: drag queens.

In early March, after Tennessee's governor signed a law restricting drag performances, Burchett appeared on television praising the move.

He said it was a great way to protect children.

A grown man dressed up like a woman should not be rubbing his crotch in front of a little child, he said. Good on Governor Bill Lee and our Tennessee legislature. The law goes into effect on July 1st. And dagnabbit, we dont put up with that crap in Tennessee, and we shouldnt, he said.

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The conservative small-government politician added, The rest of the country should follow suit. This is wrong. As wrong as it can be, and weve let these bunch of radicals push the envelope.

He claimed that gay friends of his agreed with his point of view.

\u201cThis is the same Tim Burchett who just commented \u201c We\u2019re not going to do anything\u201d after the mass school shooting in Nashville that look the lives of three 9yr olds.

But he\u2019s not putting up with Drag Shows.

Fucking Outrageous



\u201d  M-A.Stay\u2019Legit \uea00\u2122\ufe0f\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea (@M-A.Stay\u2019Legit \uea00\u2122\ufe0f\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea) 1680036932

They say kids shouldnt be exposed to this. This a radical fringe that we are allowing to declare normalcy. This is wrong as wrong can be, he added.

Burchett was mocked roundly online and among media pundits on television who pointed out his double standard. Many pointed out that neither gender-affirming care nor drag queens are killing children in schools, but guns are.

Asked on Monday how he protects his children, the congressman uttered tone-deaf words.

Well, we homeschool her, but thats our decision, he said. Some people dont have that option, and frankly, some people dont need to do it. I mean, they dont have to. It just suited our needs much better.
Two leading Democratic state lawmakers on Friday sharply criticized House Republican leadership's comparisons of this week's peaceful Capitol protest over gun violence to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington, D.C.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and other House Republicans have taken to the airwaves and social media to liken the event to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, which left scores of police officers injured and resulted in millions of dollars of damage. A number of conservative media outlets have even suggested that Thursday's protests were violent in nature.

But the Tennessee Highway Patrol has said the protest was peaceful, with no property damage or arrests. Democratic lawmakers noted as much and blasted Republicans for mischaracterizing the Tennessee residents  some children  who came to the Capitol.

"I want to apologize to the mothers, the fathers and the children who came to our state Capitol yesterday to speak and demand action. You had parents take their kids out of school  a lot of schools let their students out  they came up here, they took time out of their schedules to come up to the Capitol to make their voices heard," state Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, told reporters on Friday. "And less than 24 hours later, members of this body, members of the supermajority Republican Party are referring to those families as insurrectionists."

Tennessee Highway Patrol officers pulled one young man from the crowd when the path from the House chamber to the public restroom was briefly blocked for a lawmaker, but he was allowed to return to the hourslong protest.

"It was a loud demonstration but resolved peacefully," said Lt. Bill Miller, THP public information officer. "It was resolved with no arrests and no damaged property."

Hundreds of people crowded into the second floor of the Capitol on Thursday as lawmakers headed into Senate and House chambers for floor sessions. Protestors, calling for gun reform after the Covenant School shooting, passed security checkpoints and kept to public areas outside of the House chambers.

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After the crowds cleared on Thursday, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, told Capitol media "people are allowed to come down here and speak their mind and protest."

Sexton and other Republican leaders were highly critical of three Democratic lawmakers who took over the well on the House floor, and leadership is considering sanctions as severe as expulsion for the lawmakers.

But hours later, after conservative media made the comparison to Jan. 6, Sexton's story on the protesters changed. During an appearance on the Hal Show on FM 98.7 he suggested that some protesters tried to force their way into the legislative chambers, which eyewitnesses did not see and THP did not report.

"Two of the members, Representative (Justin) Jones and Representative (Gloria) Johnson, have been very vocal about Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C., about what that was," Sexton said. "And what they did today was at least equivalent maybe worse depending on how you look at it  of doing an insurrection in the Capitol."

Sexton's office did not return The Tennessean's request for comment on Friday.

State Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, encouraged Tennesseans to continue protesting to encourage lawmakers to reform the state's gun laws.

"If these folks are scared of children, they need to stay home next week because more children are going to come down here saying they don't want to get murdered," Mitchell said.

Frank Gluck is a reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at fgluck@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @FrankGluck.

Reach reporter Melissa Brown at mabrown@tennessean.com.

Want to read more stories like this? A subscription to one of our Tennessee publications gets you unlimited access to all the latest political news, plus newsletters, a personalized mobile experience, and the ability to tap into stories, photos and videos from throughout the USA TODAY Network's daily sites.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dems blast GOP claim that Tennessee gun protest was an 'insurrection'
Photos: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters, Rajesh Jantilal/AFP via Getty Images, Thomas De Cian/NurPhoto via Getty Images

As reported by Reuters, the British intelligence service MI5 raised the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland on Tuesday to severe  meaning an attack is considered highly likely. Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris told the British parliament that there had been an increase in levels of activity relating to Northern Ireland-related terrorism in recent months.

In February, police officer John Caldwell suffered permanent injury after he was shot by two masked men. A splinter group of the Irish Republican Army  the New IRA  reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack. The new threat level brings Northern Ireland back up to the same threat levels it had been at for the last decade; the threat was downgraded in 2021.

Why it matters? April 7 will be the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, a peace treaty between the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland that ended three decades of sectarian violence. Deputy White House Press Secretary Olivia Dalton said the rise in threat level would not affect President Bidens planned trip to Northern Ireland to attend anniversary-related events. When asked by White House reporters about the threat-level increase, Biden said, They cant keep me out. Former President Bill Clinton, who was involved in the discussions of the 1998 peace treaty, and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are also expected to travel to Northern Ireland next week.

Here are five other international news stories you may have missed this week from Yahoo News partner network.

A rally in support of off duty Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, who was shot while attending a Beragh Swifts football coaching session with his son on Feb. 25 in Omagh, Northern Ireland. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Deadly fire at Mexican migrant center

Mexican authorities and firefighters remove injured migrants, mostly Venezuelans, from inside the National Migration Institute building during a fire, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday. (Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

This week has seen growing public outrage over a fire at a migrant center in Mexico that left 39 people dead, BBC News reported. Footage posted online, claiming to be from the center in Ciudad Juarez, appears to show security workers abandoning a group of men locked in a cell as the fire spreads. At least eight people are believed to be responsible for the fire, NBC News reported, citing Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez.

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Deadly disease outbreak in Equatorial Guinea

This transmission electron micrograph reveals some of the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the Marburg virus, the cause of Marburg hemorrhagic fever. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images).

There has been an outbreak of Marburg disease in Equatorial Guinea, the Telegraph reported. Four cases have already been recorded in a city with a population of 200,000, sparking fears that the disease will spread to neighboring cities and countries in Central Africa. The virus is similar to Ebola and has an 88% mortality rate. According to the World Health Organization, Marburg spreads to humans from fruit bats and is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids. The outbreak is believed to be the fourth largest spread of Marburg ever recorded.

Myanmar dissolves pro-democracy party, sparking concerns from U.S. and its allies

Protesters are shouting slogans while holding pro-democracy signs and pictures of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi as the crowd gathers in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 1, 2023. (Thomas De Cian/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

On Thursday, Reuters reported that the U.S., Britain, Australia and Japan expressed concerns over Myanmars military government disbanding Aung San Suu Kyis pro-democracy political party. The National League for Democracy (NLD), a former ruling party, as well as 39 other political parties were dissolved after missing an application deadline to register for the upcoming election. Any election without the participation of all stakeholders in Burma would not be and can not be considered free or fair, Vedant Patel, the U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson, told reporters.

Before Tuesdays announcement, the NLD had already stated that it would not participate in the election. U Kyaw Htwe, a spokesman for the party, said that despite the announcement from the election commission, the NLD would continue to exist.

Lesotho debates territorial claim about neighboring South African land

A young women dressed in traditional Basotho attire walks past the Isandlwana mountain during the reenactment of the Battle of Isandlwana, in South Africa on Jan. 21. (Rajesh Jantilal/AFP via Getty Images)

Legislators in Lesotho debated a motion on Wednesday that could see the country claim a huge swath of land governed by South Africa, a much larger country that encircles Lesotho.

According to BBC News:

The view from South African officials is that the motion to reclaim territories some Basotho view as their own does not stand a chance of happening, because it does not enjoy the support of the majority in Lesotho.

One of the key stumbling blocks is the 1964 Cairo Declaration of the Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union, whereby African leaders agreed to recognise the existing borders of their newly independent countries, even if they were drawn up by colonial powers, to avoid stirring up conflict across the continent.

Vanuatu leads historic U.N. climate change resolution

Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau, prime minister of Vanuatu, gives remarks after addressing to delegates during a general assembly to vote on whether to ask a top global court to issue an opinion on climate responsibility, at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, Wednesday. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

On Wednesday, AFP reported that the U.N., led by the island nation Vanuatu, adopted a resolution calling on the International Court of Justice to outline legal obligations to countries relating to climate change. Today we have witnessed a win for climate justice of epic proportions, said Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau.

Vanuatu, a small archipelago located in the South Pacific, has been pushing the resolution for years, as it is the most vulnerable to climate change and the resulting rising sea levels. The new resolution will see the countries face legal consequences if they do not safeguard the climate.

Together, you are making history, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Tesla solar roof only installed around 3,000 systems total, according to a new research report. Reuters

A new report says Tesla Solar is behind on its goal to install 1,000 solar roofs per week.

Tesla Solar customers have complained of delays, and one woman alleged her faulty panels caught fire.

Elon Musk has previously spoken about issues facing Tesla's Solar Roof project.

Tesla Energy has installed around 3,000 solar roof systems in the US since its launch in 2016, according to a new report. That estimate is well below a target to install 1,000 systems per week that Musk mentioned back in 2020 during Tesla's first-quarter earnings call.

The report, conducted by researchers at energy research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, details how the solar panel brand has been shaping up following Tesla's rocky 2016 acquisition of the solar panel brand.

In 2016, Tesla bought SolarCity, a solar panel company created by Elon Musk's cousins, initially sparking complaints from shareholders alleging that the takeover was a bailout for SolarCity, which was $3 billion in debt. Musk sat on the boards at Tesla and SolarCity at the time of the purchase.

Shortly after the $2.6 billion acquisition, Musk was hit with a shareholder lawsuit, and complaints of delays from homeowners, and a Colorado woman who alleged faulty solar panels on her home caught fire. Musk went on to win the lawsuit brought by shareholders, with a judge ruling that he had not breached his fiduciary duty to Tesla shareholders by purchasing SolarCity.

The recent report from Wood Mackenzie found Tesla's average weekly installations hit 21 systems  which would put Solar Roof's share of the roofing market at 0.03%.

A marketing image for Tesla's Solar Roof project. Tesla

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

Tesla Solar Roof hit its highest number of installations per week in the first quarter of 2022, notching up to 32 systems installed per week, the report said.

Musk has previously spoken about issues Tesla Solar has faced. In an April 2021 earnings call, Musk said Tesla had made "significant mistakes" calculating installation costs, including troubles "assessing the difficulty of certain roofs," and that the "complexity of roofs varies dramatically."

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Max Issokson, the lead author of the report, said in a release that Tesla's failure to gain more of the roofing market leaves room for competitors to take the "lead in building-integrated solar roofing products."

Issokson highlighted GAF Energy's Timberline Solar roofing system as a leading competitor to Tesla, writing that the product is both "faster and easier to install," and more poised to achieve widespread adoption in the solar-roof market.

"The future potential of Tesla's Solar Roof will rely on the company's ability to simplify and streamline installations and tap into a broader customer base," Issokson said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Tesla Model 3 charges at a Supercharger. Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Rumors have swirled about Model 3 and Model Y updates, but nothing official yet from Tesla.

"When you move to higher-volume vehicles, you have to start keeping up with the Joneses," one analyst said.

Vehicle redesigns have long helped car companies juice demand.

Tesla is in need of a facelift.

That's what industry experts and analysts say as its oldest mass-produced car, the Model S sedan, nears its 11th birthday in June. Rumors have swirled online about incoming refreshes of the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, but Tesla has yet to set a release date for these updates.

Updates of the Model 3 and Model Y, both of Tesla's most affordable vehicles, will be key to the company increasing its deliveries this year, Deutsche Bank analysts told clients earlier this week. (The bank also trimmed its full-year vehicle delivery forecast, down to an expected 1.7 million units.)

Tesla has kept up a steady stream of new vehicles in the last decade: the Model X in 2016, the Model 3 in 2017, the Model Y in 2020, and finally (maybe) the Cybertruck later this year.

But Elon Musk's electric-vehicle maker has never returned to any of these models to redesign for the model-year changeover, a common practice across the industry to keep designs fresh and customers clamoring for the next best thing.

Tesla will need to start 'keeping up with the Joneses'

For many years, Tesla hasn't needed traditional model-year updates due to the steady flow of over-the-air software updates that are pushed to drivers to enhance the Tesla ownership experience. But as the company aims to be a more mass-market brand, with the $25,000 Tesla still on its way, this strategy could cause problems.

Sam Fiorani, an automotive analyst for AutoForecast Solutions, recently told Insider that a mass-market Tesla will have some keeping up to do once the vehicles become more ubiquitous.

"When you move to higher-volume vehicles, you have to start keeping up with the Joneses," Fiorani said. "When you sell some 300,000 of the same vehicle every year, and then they're all parked together in a grocery-store parking lot, those customers suddenly want something to set them apart from their neighbors."

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Tesla is already looking for new ways to juice demand

Model-year changeovers have long come with minor refreshes and more comprehensive redesigns, the latter of which are usually lauded with a live event and auspicious reveal.

Especially in the days before cars were laden with flashy new tech, changing the look of a vehicle from model year to model year gave customers a reason to come back to the dealership, analysts said.

Tesla hasn't had to engage in this kind of demand juicing as it has spent the last decade largely attracting EV early adopters with a more limited supply of vehicles.

This year, Musk has said Tesla aims to build 2 million vehicles, nearly doubling its 2022 production capacity. Meanwhile, Musk's car company has already shown some signs of slumping demand, as the company has slashed prices and offered Supercharger incentives more akin to the clearance sales found on traditional dealer lots.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Texas Committee meeting on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence on March 29. Screengrab/Texas House of Representatives

A Texas House committee meeting on March 29 took an unexpected and hilarious turn.

The meeting went awry when people submitted prank names like "Anita Dickenmee" and "Holden Middick."

"OK, you got your moment. Hope you enjoy it," Rep. Jeff Leach said after reading out all the names.

A Texas House committee meeting went awry after a series of prank names like "Anita Dickenmee" and "Holden Middick" were called out for public comment.

Texas State Rep. Jeff Leach, who chairs the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence, held the meeting on Wednesday for Texans who wished to comment on various pieces of legislation.

People were allowed to put their names down for the event, but pranksters had different ideas. The list consisted of several fake names, all of which contained sexual innuendos.

"Is there a Connie Lingus here? What about Anita Dickenmee? Or Holden Middick? Ok, are any three of those people here?" Leach asked the room, drawing laughs from the audience.

He soon realised that he was being pranked.

"OK, you got your moment. Hope you enjoy it," he said.

Leach said the prank gave him and his committee a much needed break.

"In the midst of the rough and tumble of politics and policy-making, it's good to know we can still laugh and smile together," Leach told Mediaite.

This is the second time in the last month that state legislators have been pranked by people at House committee meetings. At a meeting in Florida last week, Florida Republican Will Robinson Jr. read out names like "Anita Dick" and "Holden Hiscock."

Robinson joked about the snafu, tweeting on March 23: "Committee does meet again next week! Anita and Holden, please stop by!"

This is not the first time a meeting like this in Texas has been derailed. Last May, the comedian turned far-right provocateur Alex Stein performed a rap about Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a city council meeting in Plano, Texas.

Representatives for Leach did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
An endoscopy room at the Intermountain Spanish Fork Hospital in Spanish Fork on Friday March 12, 2021. A Texas judge has ruled that preventive services under the Affordable Care Act should not be free to the patient. | Annie Barker, Deseret News

U.S. Federal Judge Reed OConnor issued a ruling Thursday to stop the Biden administration from enforcing some Affordable Care Act mandates nationwide.

CNN reported those include offering some preventive care services like mammograms and screenings for sexually transmitted diseases at no cost to the patient.

This affects nearly 168 million people on employer health insurance or obtaining insurance through the individual market created by the act, Politico said.

The Associated Press said that this time OConnor blocked only the requirement that most insurers cover a range of preventive care, the decision coming more than four years after the judges ruling that Obamacare was unconstitutional. That decision was overturned.

According to multiple news sources reporting on the ruling, the free preventive care covered by the Affordable Care Act that the ruling jeopardizes includes:

Screenings for cancer, mental health, HIV and diabetes.

Colonoscopies.

Pap smears.

Tobacco cessation services.

Related

The New York Times said the ruling was issued in the form of a nationwide injunction. Lawrence O. Gostin, health policy expert at Georgetown University, told the news outlet that the ruling takes effect immediately. It might be that tomorrow, a woman might wake up and find that her mammogram is not covered.

OConnor struck down recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which is tasked with deciding if some preventive care treatments will be covered by the Affordable Care Act, per CNN.

The article said OConnor claimed the task forces recommendations violated the Constitutions Appointments Clause. He has previously deemed the Affordable Care Acts requirement for insurers and employers to offer free plans covering HIV prevention measures  including a drug that is designed to prevent disease spread  unlawful.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

According to Politico, employers argued whether recommendations made by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force can be enforced, because its members are private medical experts, not government employees.

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Related

The Appointments Clause says major policy decisions have to be made by an officer of the United States, and cant be made by just somebody off the street, explained Nicholas Bagley, a professor at the University of Michigan whose research focuses on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Politico reported.

CNN said, It is likely the case will be appealed, and the Justice Department has the option to ask that OConnors ruling be put on pause while the appeal is litigated.

The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services were reviewing the decision, The New York Times reported.
Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach (R) has become the latest lawmaker to fall victim to the fake name prank.

After a third-grade teacher spoke out against an anti-trans bill to the Texas House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence on Wednesday, Leach called on other constituents whose names had been registered to comment.

Is there a Connie Lingus here? he asked, as people giggled around the room.

What about Anita Dickenmee? Or Holden, Holden Middick? he added.

OK. Are any three of those people here? Leach asked, appearing to know full well that they most definitely werent in attendance.

All right, he added. You got your moment. I hope you enjoy it.

Watch from the 6:59 mark here.

Texas heard SB888 yesterday, an anti-trans bill targeting doctors caring for trans youth.



After one person spoke, the chair then read off the names of 3 people to speak next...



And just...



Watch...



God I love Gen Z pic.twitter.com/rTRm52waFo  Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) March 30, 2023

Leach took the gag in good spirits, telling Mediaite he looked forward to meeting Connie, Holden and Anita one day soon.

Last week, Florida state Rep. Will Robinson Jr. (R) succumbed to the same gag.

Watch here:

A Florida state representative reads Anita Dick and Holden Hiscock into the record pic.twitter.com/aMtpLQpot6  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) March 23, 2023

As did members of a Virginia school board in 2021, when Phil McCracken, Eileen Dover, Wayne Kuhr, Suk Mahdik, Ophelia McCaulk and Don Kedick all featured.

Watch that video here:

Related...
Its a day of reality catching up with the chatbot boom. In the last 24 hours alone, weve had hoaxes, FTC complaints and ads. Hooray. Well get into how Microsoft is bringing ads to its Bing chatbot  bound to happen  while OpenAI may have to halt ChatGPT releases in the face of FTC complaints.

The nonprofit research organization, Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP), says OpenAIs models are "biased, deceptive" and threaten privacy and public safety. The CAIDP says OpenAI also fails to meet Commission guidelines calling for AI to be transparent, fair and easy to explain. There's no guarantee the FTC will act on the complaint. If it does set requirements, though, the move would affect development across the AI industry.

 Mat Smith

The Morning After isnt just a newsletter  its also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Microsoft explains how ads will happen in Bing's AI chatbot

Ah, the end of the fun.

Over the past few days, users have reported seeing ads inside Microsofts Bing chatbot experience. Based on the limited examples we've seen, the GPT-4-powered chatbot embeds relevant ad links in response to users' actual questions. Ads don't seem to appear for most people (including us) yet, but they'll most likely pop up more frequently and in more places soon. In a post on the Bing blog, Microsoft Corporate VP for Search and Devices Yusuf Mehd, explained that ads would come in the form of a linked citation, along with additional links in a "Learn More" section below Bing's response to their query. In the future, Microsoft could add functionality where hovering over a link from an advertiser would display more links from its website to drive more traffic to it.

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Continue reading.

The tool had been used to fake images of Trump and the Pope, among others.

Midjourney CEO, David Holz, announced on Discord that the company is ending free trials due to "extraordinary demand and trial abuse." New safeguards haven't been "sufficient," and you'll have to pay at least $10 per month to use the image generator going forward. As The Washington Post reported, Midjourney has picked up unwanted attention in recent weeks. Users relied on the company's AI to build deepfakes of Donald Trump being arrested, and Pope Francis wearing a trendy coat.

Continue reading.

Possibly the best-looking EV of the year.

The Polestar 3 was recently showcased in New York for its North American debut, so we had to check it out. It might just be the best-looking new SUV in 2023. The Polestar 3 is built on the same platform as the Volvo EX90, but the company has made some significant changes that ensure there wont be confusion between the two. Instead of three rows of seats, the Polestar 3 maxes out at two, with slightly less rear storage in favor of a more spacious cabin.

Continue reading.

T2 is led by former Twitter employees who want to recreate Twitters public square.

With legacy Twitter checkmarks about to disappear (tomorrow!), one Twitter alternative hopes to lure some of those OG verified users to its platform. T2, an invite-only service led by two former Twitter employees, says it will allow accounts to carry over their legacy Twitter verification to its site. T2 is part of a growing crop of Twitter alternatives that have sprung up after Musks takeover. Founder Gabor Cselle has been clear that he intends to create a pretty straightforward copy of Twitter with some simplifications.

Continue reading.

Hidden code references games on TV in the Netflix app.

Netflix might have started (or is at least looking to start) testing games for TV, based on code within its app that developer Steve Moser shared with Bloomberg. Moser reportedly found hidden references to games played on television, as well as additional code that indicates the possibility of using phones as controllers to play them. One line from within the app apparently reads: "A game on your TV needs a controller to play. Do you want to use this phone as a game controller?" The streaming giant launched several games on Android, iPhones and iPads in 2021, but on the Netflix app for TV, these games were notably absent.

Continue reading.
Legal experts explain what a new NLRB memo means for any nondisparagement agreements you signed or may sign.

Legal experts explain what a new NLRB memo means for any nondisparagement agreements you signed or may sign.

When companies lay off or fire employees, they often include nondisparagement provisions as a standard part of any separation agreement. If youve ever been in that vulnerable position and agreed to a severance package that included a nondisclosure agreement, you are all too familiar with the scary silencing effect that this language can have.

But this month, the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency in charge of protecting private sector employees rights, clarified that theres a limit to how much an employer can make you keep quiet.

In a February ruling involving McLaren Macomb Hospital in Michigan, the NLRB said that furloughed workers had been asked to sign severance agreements with nondisparagement clauses that were overly broad, as those agreements violated the employees rights under the National Labor Relations Act to talk about their working conditions.

Making very broad nondisparagement clauses has been a general and intentional practice, said California-based employment attorney Ryan Stygar.

The gray area between a truthful statement which is unflattering for the employer and a disparaging remark can be hard to understand, he said. Employers want workers to think, I should keep my mouth shut about labor issues because I might get sued.

But the National Labor Relations Act, first passed in 1935, protects the rights of eligible employees to join forces and engage in concerted activities against an employers union-busting behavior, wage theft and other unfair working conditions.

So in a March memorandum to regional offices, Jennifer Abruzzo, the NLRBs general counsel, clarified that the decision in the hospital case had retroactive application. This means any severance agreements that were made prior to February in the U.S. by employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act, and that asked employees to broadly waive rights provided by it, are no longer valid, either.

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In fact, any employer communication that violated an employees rights under the National Labor Relations Act is now on notice, according to the memo.

For employees, the guidance signals that they cannot be lawfully precluded from making public statements on protected concerted workplace issues, such as by criticizing an employers stance on union organizing, said James M. Cooney, a labor and employment law expert in the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.

This new clarification sends the message that preventing employees from talking to each other about their working conditions is no longer allowed, according to Florida-based employment attorney Donna Ballman.

Ballman said companies used overly broad NDAs to keep people from finding out about complaints made by fellow employees and then bringing similar claims of their own.

And thats what the NLRB says is now illegal, she told HuffPost. Employees should be free to discuss working conditions with co-workers and former co-workers.

You may be wondering what exactly this means for you, especially if youve ever signed a severance agreement. Legal experts weighed in on pressing questions about how freely you can now talk about bad employers from your past.

Am I now free to talk badly about my horrible former employer? I have some things I want to get off my chest.



Lawyers caution against using the new NLRB guidance as carte blanche approval to break an old NDA and start posting negative things about your old bosses on social media.

Truthful statements about employers labor practices are usually protected, Stygar said. But  and this is crucial  defamatory statements are not protected. Any false statement, or any statement made with reckless disregard for the truth, could land an employee in legal trouble.

At the very least, talk with a lawyer first before making any public statement, attorneys said. You should carefully review the purpose of the statement and what goal you want to achieve, Stygar said.

Beyond the threat of being sued for violating your nondisparagement clause, bad-mouthing a previous employer is generally frowned upon because future employers may believe you will one day speak ill of them, too.

I generally think its a bad idea because it makes you look unprofessional and undesirable to potential employers, Ballman said.

Are all severance agreements now void, too?

No.

Lawful severance agreements may continue to be proffered, maintained, and enforced if they do not have overly broad provisions that affect the rights of employees to engage with one another to improve their lot as employees, Abruzzo stated in her memo.

In other words, employers can still protect trade secrets and confidential information and can prohibit defamation in the agreements they ask you to sign while onboarding or offboarding.

Im seeing more narrowly tailored nondisparagement provisions since this decision, Ballman said. Some employers are now just saying employees cant defame them or say anything maliciously untrue, and that should be OK with the NLRB.

So what does overly broad employer communication look like?

Watch out for employer communication language that infringes upon your legal rights.

An overly broad nondisparagement clause occurs when protected speech, such as your right to report unlawful harassment to the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] or to a lawyer, appears to be prohibited by the agreement, Stygar said.

Examples of illegal and overly broad provisions to watch for in a nondisparagement agreement would include language seeking to silence an employee from disclosing information on workplace health and safety violations or a discriminatory work environment in violation of federal, state or local civil rights laws, Cooney said.

Is this guidance from the NLRB set in stone?

Maybe. Abruzzos memo could be challenged in court by an employer appealing the decision.

NLRB rulings are not self-enforcing, and therefore an employer could appeal to the federal courts any case applying the standards announced in the McLaren Macomb decision, Cooney said. However, the board did not create new law in that case, but rather returned to long-standing precedent, so it is probably not likely that a court would overturn a board ruling.

At the same time, Cooney noted that actual cases will need to be litigated in front of the NLRB to see if it will adopt all aspects of the guidance.

Who is serving on the NLRB could make a big difference too, because it is common for presidential administrations to make new appointments and roll back NLRB policy decisions from their predecessors.

The current NLRB is focused on scaling back some of the policy decisions from the [President Donald] Trump era. In this case, that includes policies which could enable employers to get around the statutory purpose of the National Labor Relations Act, Stygar said.

If Mr. Trump or another Republican candidate returns to the Oval Office ... we can and should expect reversals in some form or another. How far those would go is anyones guess. But for now, I am optimistic of the direction the current NLRB is taking on these issues.

Related...
The King County Council voted unanimously for the Oxford comma on Tuesday.

The motion was sponsored by Councilmembers Joe McDermott and Jeanne Kohl-Welles.

A bit of Twitter drama ensued after the vote, with one person commenting a popcorn GIF in response to a tweet from McDermott.

It started when Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal disagreed with the vote and tweeted, A moment of enormous disagreement between me and the County Council!! As a Lit major, have never been a fan of Oxford comma as a rule. Use as needed for clarity. Otherwise, its putting a giant unnecessary dam in & stopping stream of literary flow.

McDermott quoted the tweet and said, My Member of Congress & I agree on so much, but @RepJayapal is standing in the way of consistency & clarity. As my remarks in the article suggest, her reputation could be on the line. I stand with the Oxford Comma. (And am honored to have her sister @SusheelaJayapals support!)

Kohl-Welles then quoted McDermotts tweet and said, I find @RepJayapals disagreement with the @KCCouncils unanimous approval of using the Oxford Comma unfortunate. Sponsored by @JoeMcDermottWA and me and requested by our code reviser, its usage is sensible, clear, and consistent.

Hear ye, hear ye, we are entering the age of the Oxford comma! pic.twitter.com/mUYCcZan3q  King County Council (@KCCouncil) March 31, 2023

A moment of enormous disagreement between me and the County Council!! As a Lit major, have never been a fan of Oxford comma as a rule. Use as needed for clarity. Otherwise, its putting a giant unnecessary dam in & stopping stream of literary flow.  https://t.co/iidOcwNn66  Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) March 31, 2023

My Member of Congress & I agree on so much, but @RepJayapal is standing in the way of consistency & clarity. As my remarks in the article suggest, her reputation could be on the line. I stand with the Oxford Comma. (And am honored to have her sister @SusheelaJayapals support!) https://t.co/lsBjDJaXOo  Joe McDermott (@JoeMcDermottWA) March 31, 2023
Focus Features

Halfway through A.V. Rockwells stunning feature-length directorial debut, A Thousand and One, Teyana Taylors dauntless Inez vocalizes her doubt for the first time. I keep feeling like somethings going to happen, she says. It seems impossible that she hadnt thought this before, given that shes spent her life uncertain of what might come next. Inez grew up in foster care and was fending for herself in Harlem by the time she was a teenager; volatility is second nature. But the world has begun to spin too fast for her to keep up with, and the inertia of everything she holds dear is on the line.

The question of what can and cannot be preserved in the face of unstoppable change weaves throughout time in A Thousand and Ones rousing epic. Spanning more than a decade, the film tracks Inez and her son, Terry (played at different ages by Aaron Kinsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, and Josiah Cross), after Inez illegally removes Terry from foster care when she returns home from Rikers Island. Rockwell adroitly textures the script with weighty themes. Among them: the socioeconomic distress put on Black New Yorkers at the turn of the millennium, colorism, misogynoir, and the complex web of government care systems.

Despite being a self-described heartbreak letter to New York City, A Thousand and One brims with sunny vitality, thanks to its profoundly candid love story between mother and son. As Inez, Taylor is nothing short of sensational. Her performance infuses the movie with a fully realized maternal passion that singes the silver screen and will leave viewers awestruck. Taylor and Rockwell work in tandem to craft a local story, about the price of stillness in a city that changed almost overnight. As harrowing as it is earnest, the films big, beating heart is destined to stay firmly on the viewers sleeves.

A Thousand and One opens on the streets of Harlem in 1994, basking in the daylight while the city around it awakens. Those who are unfamiliar with New York will take note of the neighborhoods close-knit community, teeming with life. Other viewers may see their own home, brought back from a bygone era. Inez is returning to Harlem from prison without workthe salon she did hair at wont take her back after the trouble shes causedbut it doesnt matter. The vibrant summer promises a new start for her, and shes determined to bring her six-year-old Terry along in whatever comes next.

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Terry takes a moment to warm up to his mother, but Inez works to prove herself to him. She makes concerted efforts to stay in touch with her son and show him that shes on the up and up. After Terry lands himself in the hospital trying to evade his foster family, Inez has to make the most difficult choice of her life. She can take Terry away from the system and risk being caught for a kidnapping felony, losing access to him forever. Or she can let him stay in government care and, hopefully, keep him from becoming the product of whatever he endures from afar.

Aaron Ricketts/Focus Features

But when Inez looks at Terry, she can only see a version of herself, growing up in the same way. She doesnt just want to make his life better, she has to. Together, they flee the hospital and end up in Brooklyn, dodging radio reports of a missing child while they stay with Inezs friend. But none of their lodging is permanent, given Inezs precarious relationship to authority.

Taylor navigates the films first act with a remarkable grip on both sides of her character. At once, she holds a fiercely protective, stony demeanor and the complete vulnerability of someone struggling against their youth. She tries to find how self-love and love for another can equate, when its the latter thats all-consuming.

Inezs unstable youth skewed her self-perception, and taking care of Terry allows her to avoid staring in the mirror. But life catches up with her, as it does with all of us. Keeping Terry by her side forces her to contend with the fact that she may never get what life owes her. Instead, she has to stop running and build something for herself, or all of her affection for Terry will be for naught.

A Thousand and One Had to Acknowledge Colorism In Telling a Black Womans Story

Living life on the worlds terms has its disadvantages, too. Though Terry is happy to be with her, Inez can sense he craves something more. Once she finds stability, she tries to bring Terrys would-be father, Lucky (William Catlett), into the picture, to results that alter the course of both of their lives. Lucky and Terry have a deep love for one another, but Lucky dips in and out. By the time Terry is 13, hes picked up only enough from Inez and Lucky to mimic their romance and behavior in his own life.

As time moves forward, we witness the backdrop of New York change dramatically under the tenure of Rudy Giulianis mayorship, which introduced brutal policing policies like stop-and-frisk. Giuliani was often credited by popular media for cleaning up the city, mere code for displacing people of color and opening the door for rampant gentrification. Rockwells film avoids summarizing this phenomenon in the way that we often see it in popular mediathe tired joke of the oat milk-serving coffee shop is, blessedly, nowhere to be found. Instead, A Thousand and One is the rare film to depict the subtle beginnings of gentrification all the way through to its cruel end.

Adetola and Courtney are both shining beacons in A Thousand and One, playing Terry at 6 and 13, respectively. Both young actors lend a realized tenderness to their relationship with Inez that makes each part of Terry feel precise and faithful to the character. But its Josiah Cross who really stuns in the films final act. As Terry at 17, Cross effortlessly wears the wisdom imparted onto his character by his mother and father in each movement, glance, and word. Cross and Taylors screen chemistry doesnt make A Thousand and One feel like a movie, so much as a detailed portrait of a real family.

Aaron Ricketts/Focus Features

So much of that is thanks to Taylor, who was already one of the most dynamic performers working today. Anyone unfamiliar with her will be incapable of walking away from A Thousand and One feeling like theyve seen something less than a landmark performance. In one simple line, echoed by millions of mothers everywhere (I love you a whole lot, but Im really starting to not like you), there are endless essays to be written. One line delivery says so much about motherhood, particularly the complex dynamics between Black mothers and their sons, which are so carefully examined by Rockwell and understood by Taylor.

Although its thematic elements are plainly visible, A Thousand and One never becomes too literal. The film allows plenty of space for inference. Neither the screenplay nor direction makes any attempt at clarity for the obtusely short-sighted, which results in a stunning final act that holds audiences in its grip until the credits roll. These scenes reframe the entire narrative, while affirming a love that succeeds against all odds, twisting through systems of insidious oppression and displacement. Against a swelling, sublime reprise of Gary Gunns opening piece of score, we witness how affection never wavers, even when everything that surrounds it is different than it once was.

But there is another line of dialogue planted right near the films end that I cant stop thinking about and wont for months to come. I wish I could spoil it for you here, to talk about how it tightens the films soaring scope. But to do so would be to strip you of the divine pleasure of discovering it yourself. Luckily, the ride to that place of ascension is just as divine. A Thousand and One is filled with prudence throughout, wrapping it up in its sweet devotion. Like a mothers kiss on her sons forehead, this wisdom sets everything right, even if only for a moment.

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Jetson is recalling thousands of hoverboards after two young sisters were killed in a Pennsylvania house fire, officials say.

About 53,000 42-volt Jetson Rogue self-balancing scooters/hoverboards were recalled March 30, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Officials determined the toys lithium-ion battery packs can overheat and cause a fire.

The recall comes after an April 1, 2022, house fire that killed a 10-year-old and her 15-year-old sister in Hellertown, officials said. Fire officials in Hellertown determined that a 42-volt Jetson Rogue was the fires point of origin but have not determined the cause of the fire.

Other hoverboard users have reported burning, sparking or melting, often involving flames, according to the CPSC.

All consumers are urged to immediately stop using and charging the recalled item, officials said. The recalled items were sold at Target stores and online between August 2018 and June 2019, and from Jetsons website from January 2019 until November 2021.

If you own a hoverboard, you should visit this website to submit photos of the hoverboards serial number, charger, purchase date and affirmation of disposal.

Jetson has voluntarily recalled 42-volt Rogue Hoverboards sold between August 2018 and November 2021 in coordination with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the company said in a statement to McClatchy News. We are taking this step out of an abundance of caution to help ensure customers safety and peace of mind.

The company said it is still investigating the cause of the Hellertown house fire.

Our deepest sympathies remain with (the family) for their terrible loss, the company said. We continue to actively investigate the cause of this tragic incident and will continue to respond to the claims in this litigation in the appropriate forum. Importantly, and as stated by CPSC, the cause of the fire in question remains undetermined.

Two babies died after choking on toy critters, feds say. Now theres a huge recall

Target recalls 200,000 kids blankets after 2 girls suffocated at NC military base

Baby toy jokes about drive-by shootings when button is pressed, moms TikTok video shows
CHIPPEWA TWP.  If 10,00 hours of practice could make a master airline mechanic, what do 50 years make?

Five decades of work can add up to a nationally recognized Charles Taylor Master Mechanic, a Federal Aviation Administration award named for the Wright Brothers mechanic and a blue package of personal aviation history documented by the FAA. Even rarer than receiving one master airman award is to receive the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award at the same time  like a Moon Township resident, one of three awardees, did on March 25.

For the first time, the FAA safety team visited the Air Heritage Museum adjacent to the Beaver County Airport in Chippewa Township, not to peruse vintage planes and artifacts, but to honor these three elite airmen: Gregory Werking of Ohioville, Raymond Dougherty of Moon and double-award recipient Donald Mueller of Moon.

Everybodys seen (the Tom Cruise film) 'Maverick,' but they cant tell you about the people who keep them flying, who are trusted with their lives, literally, remarked FAA safety team member and evening emcee Steven Steele before sharing the awardees life highlights.

Werking, a 35-year Air Heritage member, also has the distinction of serving as the Air Heritage hangar chief, keeping the building and its equipment going while chasing down or making parts that he and other volunteers install in vintage planes. His current projects include the Thunder Pig, a C-123 used to transport troops and supplies in Vietnam, a behemoth whose wings almost stretch the walls of the hangars width.

Gregory Werking of Ohioville standing in front of the Thunder Pig C-123 plane at the Beaver County Air Heritage Museum in Chippewa Township.

Another of Werkings project planes is a Douglas D-3, once the workhorse of the aviation industry, an aircraft that has brought him full circle, as he started with D-3s at the outset of his career in 1960 and has returned to now at the sunset of his career.

Werkings hands are always busy, whether with museum-piece planes five days a week, a 1957 Chevy he restored, his airworthy 1959 Cessna 150 or the 26X26 addition he built onto his home.

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Gregory Werking of Ohioville sitting in a Jeep at the Beaver County Air Heritage Museum in Chippewa Township.

Under the influence of his Air Force veteran uncle, Werking joined the Air Force in 1960. In a literal tip of the hat to history, Werking wore a Lake Central Airlines ball cap at the ceremony in honor of the Indianapolis-based airline where he started shortly after receiving his airframe and powerplant license, lasting through mergers with Allegheny/US Air/US Airways. He credited wife Mary Ann with holding the home together through 17 years of midnight shift  with three of four kids in diapers, at one point  enabling his role as lead mechanic and later, in the sheet metal shop.

Gregory Werking of Ohioville receives his Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award March 25 while standing in front of the 'Thunder Pig" plane he works on at the Air Heritage Museum in Chippewa Township.

Yet, for all his intimate knowledge about planes, he never had the urge to be a pilot. When its 3 degrees, the wind is blowing and you change a brake, then see the plane taking off and airborne, thats a lot of gratification. I was getting enough gratification as a mechanic. ... In 35 years at Air Heritage, some come, some go; some fly, some dont fly yet. Thats gratification, too.

___

Another veteran of the Vietnam War era, Raymond Dougherty looked to join the Armys helicopter crew  and was rejected. A month later, he was drafted and, in 1965, after his aviation mechanic training, he headed to Vietnam, flying 672 missions as a Huey helicopter crew chief/machine gunner. He collected nine Air Medals, awarded for heroism or meritorious service (Most aviators go through life hoping to earn one, emcee Steele noted), and spent the last years of his Army career on medical evacuations to Valley Forge Military Hospital.

Raymond Dougherty of Moon Township receibing the national Charles Taylor Master Mechanics Award March 25 at the Beaver County Air Heritage Museum in Chippewa Township.

In 1973, three years after his Army discharge, he joined the PA National Guard at the 171st Air Refueling Wing in Moon as crew chief for the C-121, an aircraft for cargo and crew; and the KC-97 and KC-135 refueling tankers. He received his airframe and powerplant license, while at the 171st, where he eventually saluted his daughter, Michele Papakie, who retired as a lieutenant colonel from the air wing, and where her son also landed.

Dougherty also had encouraged his daughters best friend, Judith McGrath, to join the 171st, secure her airframe and powerplant license, and advance in aviation quality assurance. Both Dougherty and McGrath retired from PA Air National Guard as chief master sergeants, the highest rank available to enlisted service men and women.

But Dougherty was far from finished. He joined the FAAs Flight Standards District Office in Pittsburgh as an airworthiness inspector for US Airways in 1990, eventually serving as assistant principal maintenance inspector for US Airways. That December, he was reactivated for what ended up being two tours in Desert Storm/Desert Shield. In 2001, he retired from the military with 28 years of service.

On the FAA side, Dougherty stopped in the office on his way from an assignment in 1994, picked up a phone ringing after hours, and became the first FAA representative on the scene of the tragic US Airways Flight 427 crash in Hopewell Township.

Raymond Dougherty of Moon Township shakes the hand of his presenter March 25 as he receives the national Charles Taylor Master Mechanics Award at the Beaver County Air Heritage Museum in Chippewa Township.

Dougherty retired from the FAA in January 2007 with 16 years of service. But then, as now, he still has jet fuel in the tank. He joined a Washington, D.C.-based aviation consulting firm, Joe Del Balzo and Associates, composed primarily of FAA managers. The consulting has taken Dougherty to locations such as Alaska, Hawaii, British Columbia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and even the swamps of Carolina, although he now prefers to help establish safety procedures and controls for airlines and their personnel virtually.

Dougherty remains a dedicated member of the Beaver County Special Unit, honoring his fellow veterans at 3,200 funerals since 2006.

Looking back, he shares, Everything fell in (line) for some reason. I cant take credit for it myself, but I wanted to make things better.



When Donald E. Mueller was 6, his lifelong interest in aircraft was sparked by his first plane ride with his father, a World War II flight training instructor. Mueller grew up just over a mile from the Niagara Falls airport and his leap to Niagara Airways shortly after graduating high school, then to the Air Forces jet aircraft maintenance technician program seemed natural.

Donald Mueller of Moon Township received two FAA aviation awards March 25 at a ceremony at the Air Heritage Museum in Chippewa Township.

After the service, Mueller attended Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, earning his associate degree in aircraft maintenance management as well as his airframe and powerplant license. He received a bachelors degree in vocational-technical education from the State University College of New York at Buffalo, then a New York State permanent teachers certificate. Armed with both hands-on and academic knowledge, he developed, then taught aircraft mechanics at Burguard Vocational High School in Buffalo.

Always keeping an eye on the horizon, Mueller earned his commercial pilot license in 1975, followed by multi-engine and instrument licenses (trained by Mary Gaffaney, former world aerobatic champion). Employed at Eastern Air Lines for nearly a decade, Mueller filled a wide variety of positions  mechanic, technical instructor, weld shop manager, various turbine and motor shops work manager  closing his Eastern career as a shift manager, responsible for the production of 40 staffers in the Rolls Royce and General Electric motor shops.

Mueller and his wife, Tillie, came to the Pittsburgh area in 1988 for work at US Air/ US Airways, first as foreman of powerplant inspections and receiving. From 1996 until his retirement in 2015 from what became American Airlines, Mueller was manager of powerplant inspections, responsible for supervising inspection staff in powerplants, stores and shops. As both a pilot and a mechanic, his work included interfacing with maintenance and pilot training.

Truth be told, Mueller prefers his seat in the cockpit to his work in the hangar. Flying is just something that gets in your blood, said the owner of a Piper Cub J5-A, whos flown in a T-33 (a subsonic jet training plane) and a Great Lakes biplane. Not many people get to fly these planes, theyre so vintage and hard to find, noted FAA emcee Steele.

Mueller also loves to share his passion for flight. Hes participated in a Scouting program that introduced young people to airplanes, and proudly talks about his son, once a National Guard and Air Force pilot, managing a 33-hour nonstop flight to Libya, returning to pilot an Airbus A-300 for FedEx, when hes not in his own Piper Cherokee 6.

Muellers next achievement waits outside the Air Heritage hangar: a C-47 military transport that he strives to make airborne. I touched every ribbon under the right wing, preparing for the paint job, said the seven-year Air Heritage member. And theres an F-4 jet interceptor/fighter/bomber that needs some work. Hopefully, Muller said, I can help get these big birds going.

Always, for Master Mechanics, one more project waits in the wings.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Airplane mechanics from Ohioville, Moon honored with national awards
US rap singer 6ix9ine, or Tekashi 69, performs during the Philipp Plein fashion show as part of the Women's Spring/Summer 2019 fashion week in Milan, Italy.

Three men are facing charges in connection to an assault March 21 against the rap artist Tekashi 6ix9ine at a suburban Lake Worth Beach LA Fitness gym.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on Thursday arrested Rafael Medina Jr., 43, Anthony Maldanado, 25, and Octavious Medina, 23, on charges of robbery and battery after alleging that the men were involved in assaulting the rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez.

According to an arrest report, Hernandez was in the men's locker room of an LA Fitness along Lantana Road near Florida's Turnpike when the three men came in, assaulted him and stole items from him.

Homicide investigation: PBSO deputies find man dead near Delray Beach

Fatal crash: He felt a 'bump' as he drove along South Dixie Highway. It turned out he'd killed a 71-year-old man.

Paycheck Protection Program: New Palm Beach County task force targets fraud

Locker-room incident left rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine with beaten face

Surveillance-camera video showed Maldanado entering the gym as a member with Octavious Medina joining him as a guest. Medina was seen later seen holding the front door to the facility open, letting in his father, Rafael Medina.

The surveillance video showed the three men enter the locker room and exit after about five minutes, followed by Hernandez showing signs of trauma to his face, the arrest report said. Hernandez was treated at a hospital.

He later told deputies the three men attacked him and stole his white Balenciaga shoes, the key fob to his Lamborghini SUV and an iPhone.

Rapper termed a snitch for turning on gang in 2018 criminal case

Hernandez has been the victim of several reported assaults since he cooperated with authorities in a racketeering and firearms case against him and others in 2018.

He faced decades in prison and quickly turned on other members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, meeting with authorities nearly two dozen times and securing a prison sentence of only two years, the Associated Press reported. Many fans and other rappers labeled him a snitch.

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Last year, someone reportedly struck Hernandez in the back of his head at a Miami club. The PBSO arrest report indicates that Rafael Medina is a high-ranking member of the Latin Kings gang. A confidential source told investigators that the elder Medina wanted to confess to his involvement in the attack, telling the source that he was in the wrong and overcome by anger.

During a court hearing Friday at the Palm Beach County Jail, County Judge Ted Booras ordered that Rafael Medina be held on $52,000 bail and that he be placed on house arrest upon his release. Booras set Octavious Medina's bail at $22,000. Bail information for Maldonado was not immediately available. All three remained in custody Friday afternoon.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tekashi 6ix9ine: 3 arrested after rapper attack at Florida LA Fitness
Doug Michaels/Getty Images

For decades, the Indigenous tribes of Nevada have advocated for federal preservation of Spirit Mountain.

The mountain and surrounding areas have deep cultural roots, spiritual significance and biodiversity.

President Biden officially instated Avi Kwa Ame National Monument this March.

In a great stride for Indigenous land protections, President Biden has officially designated Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument.

Evan Vucci/AP

Spanning over 500,000 acres in the Mojave desert, the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is one of the largest pieces of land protected during Biden's presidency.

Honor Avi Kwa Ame

As a home to some of the most biologically diverse sites in the desert, the federally-recognized monument features canyons, natural springs, ancient Joshua trees, and preserved prehistoric rock art.

Source: CNN, Honor Avi Kwa Ame

The area is home to the Spirit Mountains, which 12 surrounding Indigenous tribes consider to be the origin of creation and tribal cosmology. According to the Yuman-speaking tribes that inhabit the desert, the mountain is "where ancient ancestors emerged into this world."

Federal protections would prevent any future industrial and manufacturing development from cropping up on the sacred site.

Source: CNN, Honor Avi Kwa Ame

Within the desert are the Dead Mountains on the southern border, which also hold sacred importance and reflect "traditional cosmogony, delineate religious events, embody religious figures, and define burial places."

Petroglyphs drawn south of Spirit Mountain in Nevada. Penny Rogers Photography/Getty Images

Source: CNN, Honor Avi Kwa Ame

The federal recognition follows decades of organizing from the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, who reside predominantly on a reservation outside of the monument.

Mountain Range in Mojave Desert, southern Nevada and California. John Locher/AP

Since the 1990s, the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe (FMIT) has worked to secure protections for Spirit Mountain and other spiritually significant pieces of nature in the Mojave Desert.

Source: CNN

The decision for the monument, however, has sparked conversation about clean energy development in Nevada.

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Alasdair Turner/Getty

Critics and corporations argue that the limitations set forth by the Bureau of Land Management and Department of the Interior only further complicate clean climate goals. In a public statement, Nevada governor Joe Lombardo claimed "the federal confiscation of 506,814 acres of Nevada land is a historic mistake that will cost Nevadans for generations to come."

Source: SFGate

In response, both the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior said they are working to delegate millions of acres for wind turbines and solar panels, identifying nearly 25 million acres of federal land eligible for alternative energy.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland at the White House Conservation in Action Summit at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Kevin Dietsch/Getty

"They can both protect an area while also walking towards an energy future that gets us to our climate goals," said Ashley Hemmers, tribal administration for Fort Mojave.

Source: CNN

For the surrounding Yuman-speaking tribes of Nevada, this federal recognition signals greater collaboration with Indigenous communities and opportunity for necessary protections.

"We have a seat at the table, and we have seen an unprecedented era and opportunity for our tribal communities," said Fort Mojave Indian Tribe Chairman Tim Williams.

Source: Mohave Valley Daily News

Read the original article on Insider
Three Democratic lawmakers in the Tennessee state House joined pro-gun control protesters who invaded the state capitol following the tragic Monday shooting in Nashville.

Chants of "no justice, no peace" and "save our children" echoed through the Tennessee House of Representatives chamber as pro-gun control protesters posted up both inside and outside the state capitol building.

Three Democrat state lawmakers  Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson  brought the Tennessee lower chamber to a halt when they joined in chanting with the protesters.

LAWMAKERS GET INTO HALLWAY SHOUTING MATCH OVER GUN VIOLENCE AS DEMOCRAT CALLS REPUBLICANS COWARDS

Chants of "no justice, no peace" and "save our children" echoed through the Tennessee House of Representatives chamber as pro-gun control protesters posted up both inside and outside the state capitol building.

Protestors gather as they shout to end gun violence.

"Power to the people," Jones yelled through a megaphone on the chamber floor.

The protests followed a Wednesday night candle vigil for the six people slain at the Covenant School in Nashville.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Protesters called for an assault weapon ban in the wake of the mass shooting, and federal lawmakers representing Tennessee are taking action.

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Haggerty, both Republicans from Tennessee, announced on Thursday they will be introducing the Securing Aid for Every (SAFE) School Act following the mass shooting.

The bill would create a $900 million grant program for both public and private schools to train and hire former law enforcement officers and veterans to increase security for students.

Three nine-year-olds and three adults were murdered by a transgender shooter who entered the school with two "assault-type rifles" and a handgun.

A radical transgender group said the transgender Nashville shooter felt "no other effective way to be seen" than killing six people at a private Presbyterian school.

The Trans Resistance Network (TRN), a far-left transgender "collective," released an inflammatory statement on Monday in the wake of the Covenant School Nashville school shooting by transgender woman Audrey Hale that killed three 9-year-olds and three adults.

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Calling the mass murder a dual "tragedy," the group wrote the first was the deaths of the children and adults in the school and extended their "deepest sympathies and heartfelt prayers to those families dealing with the loss of loved ones."

"All of these factors contribute to a population that is medically under-served and who often faces anti-trans bias while accessing care leading to significant physical and mental health disparities," they continued.

Protestors gather inside the Tennessee state Capitol for stricter gun laws and one protestor yells at a lawmaker as he pushes through the crowd on March 30, 2023. On March 27, a 28-year-old former student who attended Covenant School in Nashville, used a handgun and two AR-style weapons, killed three 9-year-old students and three adults before police came to the school and killed the shooter.

Protestors hold up signs in the Tennessee state Capitol.

"Hate has consequences," the radical trans "collective" added.

TRN then pivoted to laud transgender people in the wake of the shooting that left three 9-year-olds dead as well as three adults in at the Christian private school.

"It is a testament to the inner strength and beauty of transgender people, that despite the overwhelming odds of homelessness, job discrimination, and constant anti-trans bigotry and violence, so many of us continue to persevere, survive and even thrive. We will not be eradicated or erased."
Pop star Neil Diamond is opening up about his Parkinson's disease diagnosis in an interview set to air Sunday. (Charles Sykes / Invision / Associated Press)

Years after revealing his Parkinson's disease diagnosis, rock legend Neil Diamond is opening up about life with the degenerative brain disorder.

In the upcoming "CBS Sunday Morning" interview, the 82-year-old "Sweet Caroline" crooner reveals that he wasn't ready to accept his diagnosis for at least a year or two.

"I'm still doing it. And I don't like it," Diamond told correspondent Anthony Mason. "But  this is me; this is what I have to accept. And I'm willing to do it. And, OK, so this is the hand that God's given me and I have to make the best of it, and so I am. I am."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer announced in 2018 that he had Parkinson's, which can cause tremors, slow movement, stiffness and loss of balance, among other issues. Diamond said that he's only come to accept his diagnosis "in the last few weeks."

"But somehow, a calm has moved [into] the hurricane of my life, and things have gotten very quiet, as quiet as this recording studio," he added. "And I like it. I find that I like myself better. I'm easier on people. I'm easier on myself. And the beat goes on, and it will go on long after I'm gone."

Legendary singer-songwriter Neil Diamond opens up to Anthony Mason about coming to terms with his Parkinsons diagnosis, his career, and the Broadway show based on his life of @beautifulnoise this Sunday Morning. pic.twitter.com/zmi7v5YYrk  CBS Sunday Morning  (@CBSSunday) March 31, 2023

In 2018, days shy of his 77th birthday and amid his 50th anniversary tour, Diamond announced that he would be retiring from touring following the diagnosis. The lifetime achievement Grammy Award winner has kept a low profile since, although he notably performed a "Sweet Caroline"-set hand-washing PSA at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

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But right now, the songwriter, whose other hits include America, Love on the Rocks and Hello Again," is seeing his life play out onstage in the Broadway musical "A Beautiful Noise," which is based on his life.

"It all was pretty hard. I was a little embarrassed. I was flattered and I was scared, the showman said of the musical. "Being found out is the scariest thing you can hope, because we all have a facade. And the truth be known to all of them: Im not some big star. Im just me."

Will Swenson ("Waitress," "Les Miserables") plays a young Diamond and Mark Jacoby ("Sweeney Todd," "Elf") plays the post-retirement performer in the production, which opened in December at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City. This week, producers announced that "A Beautiful Noise" will embark on a multi-year North American tour launching in Providence, R.I., in the fall of 2024.

Diamond made a surprise appearance with his family during the show's opening night and led a singalong of his 1969 hit "Sweet Caroline" during the show's curtain call. It was the Brooklyn-bred entertainer's first performance in his hometown of New York since 2017, Deadline reported.

Diamond's full interview airs Sunday on CBS and will stream on Paramount+.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Top Republican lawmakers reacted with outrage to the unprecedented indictment of former president Donald Trump on Thursday as part of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office's years-long investigation.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS

Former U.S. President Donald Trump was indicted Thursday by a grand jury.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., stated in a tweet Thursday, "Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election."

TRUMP INDICTMENT: LIVE UPDATES

"As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account," McCarthy said.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"Outrageous," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted on Thursday.

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital in a statement, "The unprecedented election interference from corrupt Socialist District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a political witch-hunt and a dark day for America. The radical Far Left will stop at nothing to persecute Joe Bidens chief political opponent ahead of the 2024 presidential election to suppress the will and voice of the American people.



"Tens of millions of patriotic Americans have never been so energized to exercise their constitutional rights to peacefully organize and VOTE at the ballot box to save our great republic by electing President Donald J. Trump in 2024," she said.

DEMS REACT TO TRUMP INDICTMENT: SCHIFF CALLS IT 'SOBERING,' WATERS KNEW 'STORMY DANIELS WOULD GET HIM'

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also stated in a tweet Thursday, "The sham New York indictment of President Donald Trump is one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents. Outrageous."

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Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., tweeted on Thursday: "Todays political indictment of Former President Trump is a dark day in American history and a threat to our Republic by Alvin Bragg and the Democratic Party machine. Its unfathomable to me that this could happen in America. This is political persecution that must not stand!"

Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, stated in a tweet "The Democrat Partys hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds."

"The substance of this political persecution is utter garbage. This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system," Cruz said.

Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley said Thursday's indictment "isn't about the law. It's about power. Raw power."

"Its the Democrat Party telling the nation they will stop at nothing to control the outcome of the next presidential election. It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple," Hawley said in a tweet.

Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the indictment is "one of the most irresponsible decisions in American history by any prosecutor."

"It is irresponsible because the case was looked at by two previous prosecutors and they passed. It has not aged like fine wine," the senator said in a statement.

"The chief witness for prosecution is a convicted felon, Michael Cohen, whose previous lawyer said he is untrustworthy. Upon scrutiny, this case folds like a cheap suit," he continued.

"So how does this end? Trump wins in court and he wins at the ballot box," he added.

Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C., released a statement saying, "This indictment doesn't pass the smell test."

"The Department of Justice already looked into the facts and decided there was no case to be made against President Trump."

This is the same District Attorney who is notorious for letting violent criminals off the hook in Manhattan, but has been laser-focused on pursuing a politicized prosecution of a former president. Politics should never tip the scales of justice, and Congress has every right to investigate the conduct and decision-making of the Manhattan D.A.s office."

Freshman Senator J.D. Vance, R-Ohio said in a statement that Trump's indictment is "a political persecution masquerading as law" and a "grave miscarriage of justice."

"Donald Trump is the former President of the United States, the leader of our nations political opposition, and the presumptive Republican nominee in 2024. Alvin Braggs decision to indict him is blatant election interference and a direct assault on the tens of millions of Americans who support him," Vance said.



"To make matters worse, this entire charade is predicated on an unprecedented, doomed-to-fail legal theory and a baseless misdemeanor charge from seven years ago," he continued.



"While the radical left continues their obsession with harassing Donald Trump, the American people are suffering. Families are struggling to put food on the table, violent crime is running rampant in our cities, and thousands have been poisoned by the fentanyl pouring across our southern border," he said. "Instead of working to improve the lives of the Americans they are supposed to represent, the ruling party is focused on kneecapping their greatest threat in the next election."

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg





Bragg has been investigating the $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal , Fox News Digital has also learned.

RON DESANTIS SAYS HE WILL REFUSE ANY EXTRADITION REQUEST AFTER TRUMP INDICTMENT: 'QUESTIONABLE CIRCUMSTANCES'

Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing with regard to the payments made to Daniels and McDougal, and has repeatedly said the payments were "not a campaign violation," but rather a "simple private transaction."

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
After exactly six years managing the finances for the largest private university in South Florida, Jacqueline Travisano will step down this summer from the leadership team of the University of Miami and move north.

Travisano, 53, joined the UM as its executive vice president for business and finance and its chief operating officer in June 2017. She will leave at the end of June to become executive vice president and chief financial officer at Wake Forest University, a private institution with about 9,000 students in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The why is simple. Higher education is my love and my career. The opportunity to serve Wake Forest University  which has consistently ranked as a top 30 university for the last 27 years  as executive vice president was just thrilling, Travisano said Thursday in an emailed statement to the Herald.

In addition, North Carolina was always our long-term plan. My husband and I own property in the state already, and my husband is a licensed general contractor in North Carolina, Travisano said.

READ MORE: UM names Jacqueline Travisano, top executive at Nova Southeastern, as its new COO

Jacqueline Menendez, a UM spokeswoman, said she couldnt immediately comment on UMs plans to replace Travisano.

Dr. Travisano announced her departure earlier this week, Menendez wrote in an email to the Herald. I will let you know once we determine what comes next.

UM President Julio Frenk, announced the news with mixed feelings in an email Monday to the university community.

While this is a bittersweet moment for us, I know her professional acumen and collaborative spirit will be an outstanding asset to our ACC sister school in North Carolina, Frenk said.

We are thrilled for Jackie as she embarks on this new chapter in her impressive career, he added.

File photo of University of Miami President Julio Frenk.

Frenk credited Travisano for helping UM navigate the pandemic and helping to raise more than $12 million for the annual Dolphins Challenge Cancer event that benefits the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UMs medical school.

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Travisano oversaw facilities, information technology, emergency management, parking, human resources and the UM Police Department. She also handled the universitys accounting, audit and compliance, endowments and pension assets.

Before UM, Travisano spent nearly six years at Nova Southeastern University, a private school in Davie, as executive vice president and chief operating officer, from 2011 to 2017.

READ MORE: Is UM, FAU in Final Four the biggest surprise in Miami sports history? We rank em | Opinion

In 2018, she joined the board of AutoNation, the Fort Lauderdale-based automotive retailer. Shell keep working on that from afar, she said.

During her time in South Florida, she also served on the board of the March of Dimes, ARC Broward and United Way Miami.

Travisano received a bachelors in accounting from Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania, an MBA from Chatham University in Pittsburgh and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Nova Southeastern, according to her LinkedIn page. Shes also a certified public accountant.
Wanda Holland Green, a member of the Columbia University Board of Trustees and head of school at the Hamlin School in San Francisco, opens up a speech to Topeka-area business leaders with song.

Wanda Holland Greene couldn't help but get choked up as she walked through the halls of Monroe Elementary School, now the site of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.

Growing up in New York City more 40 years ago, Holland Greene, who is Black, had been one of the "school bus" kids who were shuttled around the city in the first attempts to desegregate the public schooling system.

Although she was born and went through school a couple of decades after the monumental U.S. Supreme Court decision, Holland Greene still was painfully aware of the legacy of racism and discrimination that Brown v. Board tried to end.

More: How Topeka Lutheran School's Joshua Grass instills God's love and science passion into teaching

"I'm a direct descendant of Brown v. Board," she said.

Now a world-renowned educator and member of the Columbia University Board of Trustees, Holland Greene said she sees a similar need to help students everywhere see equality of opportunity, regardless of their backgrounds or ZIP codes.

Holland Greene is the head of school at The Hamlin School in San Francisco, where the independent school educates girls in kindergarten through eighth grade. She is in Topeka this week as a guest and featured speaker for Topeka Collegiate School, as part of the school's yearlong celebration of its 40th anniversary.

Holland Greene: Topeka businesses should work as partners with area schools

At a lunch with business leaders in the Topeka community, Holland Green urged the representatives to do more to work with the schools in Topeka, public and private.

She said businesses and schools, particularly independent ones like hers and Topeka Collegiate, are much more similar than most people might realize. Both are value-driven types of organizations, with responsibilities to stakeholders and commitments to re-imagining the various ways to do their work.

Businesses and schools, then, could bolster their connectedness by bringing people together to talk about ideas on how to support students from a whole-child perspective  including academic, socio-emotional and living needs  while exposing them to potential opportunities in their communities. Kansas children, she suggested, could even be experts in lithium batteries by the time they graduate, if companies like Panasonic invest in their communities' schools and talent.

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"When great people from all walks of life get together, great ideas and things can happen when they connect their energy, intellect and resources," Holland Greene told the business leaders.

Independent, public schools should work together, Hamlin head of school says

Speaking to media before the lunch, Holland Greene said independent schools are often looked at "with one eyebrow raise"  with many associating the type of private school with exclusion.

But she argued that independent schools offer parents a choice where there may otherwise be none.

"Excellence is everywhere, but opportunity is not everywhere," she said. "Excellence is equally distributed, but access and opportunity are not."

More: Why a quiet, unassuming Topeka couple left nearly $9 million to Hayden Foundation

Public and private school systems can and should co-exist, she said, perhaps by sharing resources, knowledge, training and other best practices in education.

"Its like all flavors of ice cream," Holland Greene said. "You might want vanilla, or chocolate or rocky road, but its all ice cream. Theyre all children, and they all need us. They dont need us fighting, arguing or fighting for resources. What they need is our cooperation and our deliberate efforts to make sure that all schools are excellent."

Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at 785-289-5325. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka Collegiate hosts Hamlin School's Wanda Holland Greene
Update: A tornado watch has been issued for counties north and east of Kansas City. Get the details here.

Kansas City and surrounding communities are likely to see a tornado watch issued Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Most of Missouri, eastern Kansas, southwestern Iowa and western Illinois make up the area that officials say has a 95% chance of going under a tornado watch.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Harrisonville and Pleasant Hill area before 9 a.m., with quarter-sized hail possible. Dime-sized hail was reported in Pleasant Hill around 9:15 a.m., the NWS reported.

In Kansas, strong storms began earlier Friday morning and continued to creep northeast toward Paola and Olathe. The weather service reports that quarter-sized hail is also possible for that area.

Gusty winds of up to 55 miles per hour are possible, as the area remains under a wind advisory until 7 p.m.
EVANSVILLE  A man who was shot and killed by police March 20 marked the third person whos died in a law-enforcement-related incident in Evansville this month.

All three are a product of vastly different circumstances. They range from the standoff shooting to a fatal car wreck to the still-unexplained death of a Vanderburgh County sheriffs deputy during training.

Gary Youngblood

Gary Deal Youngblood, 37, died March 20 after a multi-hour standoff with police.

During a news conference the following day, Evansville police spokeswoman Sgt. Anna Gray and Sheriff Noah Robinson said Youngblood barricaded himself inside a home at 222 E. Missouri St. with what police thought was a handgun.

It turned out to be an airsoft gun: a replica-but-realistic-looking weapon that shoots plastic or rubber pellets. A Courier & Press reporter heard family members of Youngbloods say on scene that night that his weapon wasnt a real gun. Its unclear if that was relayed to police.

But Gray said a woman who came out of the house during the standoff told law enforcement that Youngblood had an actual firearm: possibly a .9 mm. Youngblood also flashed the weapon in front of multiple windows and allegedly put it in his mouth.

So for our purposes he had a real firearm, Gray said.

A law enforcement officer trains his weapon  with attached flashlight  on Gary Youngblood on the roof of a home in the 200 block of E. Missouri Street in Evansville Monday night, March 20, 2023. Youngblood had barricaded himself in the home for about six hours after the U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force attempted to serve him a felony warrant. The Evansville Police Department SWAT team entered the home at about 7:50 p.m. Youngblood had reportedly been brandishing a weapon and threatening deputies throughout the incident and before the "officer-involved shooting." Officers and paramedics performed first aid immediately following the shooting, but Youngblood was later pronounced dead at the scene.

What turned into a multi-hour standoff began when Vanderburgh County Sheriffs deputies assigned to the U.S. Marshals fugitive task force arrived at the home to serve Youngblood a warrant for felony methamphetamine possession just before 12:30 p.m.

Multiple people inside with Youngblood eventually left the home. But he refused to do so.

Court records show that Youngblood had been charged with possession of methamphetamine last May and had allegedly violated his pre-trial probation that September.

Negotiators from both the sheriffs office and EPD attempted to talk with him over the phone, but every time they thought they were making progress, talks would break down, Robinson said.

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Officials used a grenade launcher to fire chemical cannisters that filled the home with green-colored gas. They also shot at Youngblood with less-than-lethal projectiles and at one point resorted to dousing the house with water through fire department hoses.

Eventually, an EPD SWAT team armored vehicle came on scene, ripped the front door off the home, and allowed officers to enter. According to body camera footage shown at the news conference, Youngblood climbed out of a window and onto a balcony with the airsoft gun in his hand.

An officer on the ground saw him and fired twice, Gray said. Youngblood was pronounced dead at the scene.

Nicole Ann Bell

Five days before the standoff, Nicole Ann Bell was driving west on the Lloyd Expressway between Stockwell and Boeke Roads when a team with the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Joint Drug Task Force attempted to pull her over for what they said was an expired license plate.

Sheriff Noah Robinson later said that Bell kept going, allegedly hitting speeds of near 100 mph. As she veered onto the Willow Street exit, she reportedly lost control of the vehicle and struck a pedestrian bridge, where she was pronounced dead. The incident lasted less than two minutes, police said.

According to court records, Bell had active arrest warrants, all for nonviolent misdemeanors. Two stemmed from possession of paraphernalia charges, while the third came from allegedly driving while suspended.

We regret the loss of life, Robinson said at a news conference the next day, but it was ultimately the drivers decision to flee.

Asson Hacker

On the afternoon of March 2, Vanderburgh County Sheriffs Deputy Asson Hacker was undergoing basic training at Southwestern Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Evansville when something went terribly wrong.

The sheriffs office later said he fell ill, causing him to be rushed to the hospital. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at Deaconess Midtown later that day.

Since then, theres been little information released about how Hacker died. One law enforcement official described the training Hacker was doing at the time as "defensive tactics. Coroner Steve Lockyear declined to release a cause of death pending the results of lab tests, which still havent come in.

The training that day also injured an EPD recruit. He could be seen at Hackers funeral, confined to a wheelchair.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville: 3 people have died in police incidents in March
LGBTQ+ Kansas Citians and their allies are celebrating the 14th annual Transgender Day of Visibility on Friday in the face of a flurry of legislation targeting transgender and gender non-conforming people in both the Missouri and Kansas legislatures.

The day comes on the heels of a protest in Jefferson City earlier this week where advocates gathered in support of transgender rights and against a slate of bills that would prevent transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming health care, restrict transgender women from participating in sports and limit how gender and sexuality is discussed in classrooms.

Bella Rose, who originally hails from Kansas City, has worked as a drag queen in St. Louis for more than 10 years. She traveled to Jefferson City to oppose Republican-led legislation targeting drag shows and the transgender community. With the trans community, I have multiple friends and people who have trans kids that need the help, she said.

Rachel Crandall-Crocker, a transgender therapist, created Transgender Day of Visibility 14 years ago to bring awareness to both the vital contributions and ongoing struggles of the transgender community around the world.

In her own words, I wanted a day that we can celebrate the living, and I wanted a day that all over the world we could be all together.

The City of Kansas City will host a celebration for Transgender Day of Visibility on Friday at 3 p.m. at the National WWI Museum auditorium.

The Star reached out to members of the trans community from around Kansas City to see what the day means to them this year, in light of some of the pending legislation.

Several individuals chose not to speak out publicly, citing increasing fear for their safety in recent months.

Heres what those who did want to share had to say, in their own words.

What does Trans Day of Visibility mean to Kansas Citians?

Natalie Cable (she/her) is a local business owner and resident of Kansas City who grew up on a small farm in southwestern Missouri.

At 17, I couldnt picture a place for myself in this world, she told The Star. Every moment in public felt like arriving at a Halloween party and discovering I was the only person in costume.

I knew hiding in the closet would ensure my life was short, but I felt powerless. Then on a gray winter day in 2014, I was riding along in my older brothers car. He had the radio to a local station, and the DJs spoke with a trans person.

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After the segment, both DJs changed their stance on trans identities. They got nasty calls and emails, but the DJs took a positive stance because of one trans persons choice to be visible.

I knew then that I would come out, and suddenly I could picture my life beyond being 17. Visibility means vulnerability but also carries the power to build community.

Kipp Ellis (they/them) is a nurse, artist and trans community activist.

Trans day of visibility causes conflict in my heart this year, they said.

These days I dont want to be seen. I just want to exist  to go to the store, to go to the bathroom  without a constant spotlight on the most private parts of myself.

Being visible right now means being a target. But thats what they want us to feel. Like we need to shrink ourselves to make them comfortable. So as tired as I am, I will not stand down.

Joanie Saltzman (ze/hir) is a genderqueer Kansas City resident currently working as a receptionist.

TDoV is really important to me this year because we have all these lawmakers essentially fighting to make trans people invisible again, Saltzman wrote in an email to The Star.

TDoV is a call to celebrate TGNC (trans and gender non-conforming) people NOW, while were alive. See us now, passing and non-passing. Hear us now, pre-op, post-op and non-op. Support us now, flamboyant and restrained. Its a call to affirm us now, before we are murdered. Love us now, before we die by suicide. Protect us now, before we succumb to treatable illness because no doctor would see us.

Emily High (they/them) is the director of the Kansas City Center for Inclusion, an LGBTQ resource center located in midtown.

Visibility is personal, High told The Star. For a lot of trans people, its not safe to be visible. People risk losing jobs, families, church communities, means of support and friendships. If people choose to medically transition, they open themselves up to public scrutiny and harassment.

Visibility is also powerful, they added. I choose visibility because the community means everything to me. And because I want trans kids to have an example and proof that they have a future. That trans people can be anything, that we are beautiful and natural and worthy.

Protesters gathered in Jefferson City to support transgender rights this week.

Adam Kellogg (he/him) is a student at The University of Kansas who grew up in Johnson County. He has testified before the Kansas legislature about bills related to gender-affirming health care and trans students competing in school sports.

Trans Day of Visibility started political, (and) it will continue to be political, Kellogg said. A big thing for me this year is showing just how present and diverse the trans community is, and how much we have left to do together. In the face of terror and fear, it is joy.

Ive been so visible because I owe it to those people who cant be, or choose not to be for whatever reason, because they deserve to have their voice in the public space, he added. For those people who cant be out, Trans Day of Visibility is showing them that there is hope.

Sam (they/them) is a nonbinary single parent and fiber artist who asked to be identified by their first name to protect their private medical information.

I am intersex and have always struggled with my gender identity, they told The Star. Finding the language to explain my gender has helped me to embrace the masculine traits that Ive always tried so hard to hide.

Visibility can be dangerous for trans folks but it can also help others to know there are more of us here to stand up and support those of us who are more vulnerable. We have always been here and we are not going anywhere.

Aphra Maria Karaya (she/her) is an indigenous Taino artist and mortuary student from Kansas City, Kansas, who describes herself as transsexual and a warishe, the Taino word for woman. She recently testified before the Kansas state legislature on a bill that would bar transgender people from single-sex spaces.

I think this day is a celebration for everyone, not just trans people, she said. Its a day for expression of the self.

It has got to be loud, and it has got to be expressive because so many of us every day are forced into that closet, into those prisons. Trans visibility, to me, is a day that represents the breaking of chains.

Olive Ursula Cooke (she/her) is an artist, cook, cofounder of Cauldron Collective and Late Nite Bite and an organizer for Peoples Pride.

Trans visibility is important because we all deserve to see people who are like us, she told The Star.

We deserve to see that we are not alone and that we can be happy being our true selves. I never could have found the path to being my best self if I hadnt witnessed all the brave trans people who came before me.

What are the anti-trans bills making their way through KS, MO legislatures?

Missouri lawmakers have filed at least 35 anti-LGBTQ bills this year, according to a database from the American Civil Liberties Union that tracks legislation nationwide. The Show-Me state is behind only Texas, which had 51 bills filed as of this week.

The GOP-controlled Missouri Senate this month passed a pair of bills that would ban most gender-affirming healthcare for minors and bar transgender people from competing in womens sports.

Other Missouri legislation seeks to block or control discussions of LGBTQ issues and sexuality in the classroom.

Kansas lawmakers in the GOP supermajority have also pursued a range of bills targeting transgender youth and adults this year.

Next week, the Kansas House and Senate are expected to attempt to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys veto of a bill banning transgender athletes from girls and womens sports.

Lawmakers are also pursuing measures banning hormone therapy and gender affirming surgery for minors, blocking transgender and non-binary Kansans from accessing gendered spaces that dont align with their sex at birth and requiring schools to separate students on overnight field trips by sex assigned at birth.

Where can trans people turn for support in Kansas City?

You can find our reader-suggested list of LGBTQ-friendly houses of worship here and our guide to local resources for LGBTQ+ youth here.

Transformations is a leadership development group focused on serving young trans women of color in Kansas and Missouri. The organization offers mentorship, a professional development camp and plans to offer microgrants. You can reach out through the form at the bottom of this page.

The Northland Pride Network provides the LGBTQ community in the Northland with local resources including lists of affirming healthcare providers and other professionals. You can contact the group by emailing NPN@northlandpridenetwork.org.

The Kansas City Trans Coalition is a newly formed community advocacy group. Learn about its upcoming programming through its Instagram page.

Pride Haven is an overnight shelter for LGBTQ+ people ages 18-24 experiencing homelessness or facing an unsafe situation at home. The shelter provides housing and job search assistance, medical and mental health referrals and other services. You can contact the shelter 24/7 by calling 816-931-0602.

While not Kansas City based, Trans Lifeline is the nations only crisis support hotline created by and for trans people. You can contact the hotline at 877-565-8860.

The Stars Katie Bernard and Kacen Bayless contributed reporting to this piece.

Do you have more questions about the LGBTQ experience in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
Marie-Adelina de la Ferriere

As a Black trans woman, I know and embody the adversities transgender individuals face. Marginalization, discrimination, inequity, loss of human rights and dignity, and increasingly faced with our lives being cut too short and too soon. And yet, in these times of trans sorrows, we find ways to find trans joy. For some, its a night out with friends. For others, exercise and meditation. I chose to start my own country.

Micronations are dotted across the globe, though you may be unable to spot them on any map. Sometimes confused with microstates like Luxembourg, Monaco, and Vatican City, micronations claim to have all the functions of a sovereign nation. Still, they often lack recognition from the worlds governments or organizations. Molossia, Westarctica, Sealand, Ladonia, and others are just a few micronations in the world.

At the micro level, micronations are social groups. Think about your local elk lodge, country club, or community nonprofit. Its a group of people with similar interests and values coming together for a cause. Like a micronation, its members abide by a set of rules (a constitution), learn from each other, adopt social customs and norms, partake in unique events, and occasionally take up a charitable cause. Many micronations strive to make positive impacts on the world around them. The Grand Duchy of Flandrensis champions environmental causes, whose leader has been invited to conferences to speak on their issues. Others, like the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, have called for changes to laws that negatively impact the marginalized. (Formally "at war" with Australia, they dissolved following the passage of same-sex marriage in that country.) Its the latter that I find myself jumping on board this concept.

In 2017, anti-trans rhetoric was slowly on the rise. The Trump administration banned transgender individuals from serving in the military; state and local legislatures planned or passed laws that limited transgender people from using the bathroom they identified with; and transphobic crimes and deaths were the highest recorded then. Founded on September 13, 2017, and with a small group of friends, the Kingdom of the Navasse came to fruition. Wholly inspired by the former Kingdom of Haiti  my familys native country  the micronation was founded on escapism, in part, from the world around us. We enshrined in our constitution equal rights to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, or creeds. We also guaranteed The Crown would not engage with businesses or groups that have expressed or supported racist, homophobic, or transphobic rhetoric or entities. But we also wanted to do something more.

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Over the years, weve maintained a mission to create, advocate and support initiatives that foster inclusivity, acceptance, and support for LGBTQ+ and other historically marginalized communities. And what started as a royal hobby has evolved into a part-time job. A year after our founding, I helped launch Flower City Queens, a drag calendar raising funds for local LGBTQ+ initiatives. Pooling talent from our region, weve featured the likes of RuPauls Drag Race alums Mrs. Kasha Davis and Darienne Lake, along with our other fantastic regional drag artists. Our latest edition, The New Look, featured BIPOC artists from Western New York. In 2022, we launched Crown Sirene Coffee. Sourced sustainably from Haitian coffee farmers in the northern, mountainous region, we produce three roasts plus an espresso blend. The best part? Half of the proceeds from our sales have benefited the work of our royal foundation, allowing us to further our royal mission.

Is it tiresome? Yes. Frustrating at times? Certainly. But does it bring this trans woman joy? Absolutely. This nation of mine has taught me many things, most notably about combating adversities set before me.

Fear has become an increasing part of my life. The fear of being ridiculed. The fear of losing everything I had worked so hard for. The fear of being harassed in public places. The fear of being assaulted in private spaces. Fear limits us. It discourages us. It blinds us from walking down our path of life and deafens us from understanding the lives of others. As a Queen, Ive learned that fear is the greatest enemy of living authentically. And I refuse to let fear take hold of my destiny.

On this Transgender Day of Visibility, now more than ever, we need to share and amplify trans joy as much as we share trans sorrows. In a time of increasing hatred, marginalization, and violence, we must use our collective voice to fight against the volumes of hate. It shouldnt take me or others to create a micronation to find such acceptance. In a country that praises itself as the land where anyone with a dream and determination can make it, transgender individuals should be able to maintain and enjoy peace, prosperity, and the pursuit of our happiness.

Marie-Adelina de la Ferriere is the Public Relations Specialist for equalpride, publisher of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, Plus, Pride.com, and owner of The Advocate Channel.
Rolls-Royce appoints BP executive as new finance chief. Photo: Nadja Wohlleben/Reuters

Rolls-Royce's share price has been revving up as its new CEO delivers on a turnaround plan.

Rolls-Royce saw shares jump after it announced a new chief financial officer (CFO). New Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic hired Helen McCabe from his alma mater BP (BP.L) as CFO.

Erginbilgic said she has a track record of promoting rigorous financial discipline and her experience would be invaluable as we move, at pace, to transform Rolls-Royce.

I have experienced her abilities first-hand and her skillset will complement the existing capabilities of the executive team, contributing to Rolls-Royce delivering on its significant potential. he added. I would also like to extend my thanks to Panos for his dedication to Rolls-Royce and support to me since my arrival.

Erginbilgic, who took the helm of Rolls-Royce in January, has called the company a burning platform and launched a transformation programme to improve the profitability of the maker of engines for Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 planes.

Read more: FTSE 100 higher as UK avoids recession

While it appears the worst might be over for Rolls, the group still faces some short-term challenges. Improving the balance sheet health will be key to restoring investor confidence, Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.

Navigating a potential economic downturn wont be an easy task either. The groups already been through several cost cutting rounds, so we dont think theres much fat left to trim on this front. Further improvements to the bottom line will likely have to come from other avenues.

Rio Tinto (RIO.L)

The FTSE 100 inched up on Friday as Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto rose after signing a joint venture (JV) with Canada's First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) to develop the La Granja copper project in Peru, but then came down from early morning gains.

First Quantum will acquire a 55% stake in the project for $105m (84m) and commit to further invest as much as $546m into the JV, funding capital and operational costs to take the project through a feasibility study and toward development.

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La Granja is a complex orebody located at high altitude in Cajamara, northern Peru, that has the potential to be a large, long-life operation, with a published, indicated, and inferred mineral resource totalling 4.32 billion tonnes, Rio said.

As majority owner, First Quantum will operate the La Granja project with initial work focused on completing the feasibility study.

Read more: UK house prices in biggest fall since 2009

Miners have adopted a more cautious approach to spending big money on projects since the last commodities boom ended so badly with companies drowning in debt. Sharing the costs via a joint venture is one way to spread the risks," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould, said.

The market seems to like the deal, but as with everything in mining, it will be a long and expensive journey before any copper is extracted from the deposit on a commercial scale."

La Granja currently ranks as the fourth largest copper project in the world, and Peru is the worlds second biggest copper producer.

Rio Tinto Copper chief executive Bold Baatar said La Granja cooperation makes the duo well-placed to meet rising demand for the metal amid the energy transition.

La Granja is an exciting but complex project that has the potential to be a significant new source of the copper that is needed for the energy transition.

This partnership underscores not only La Granjas potential to be a significant copper producer, but Perus position as one of the worlds most important mining investment destinations, Baatar said.

ASML (ASML)

The worlds supplier to the semiconductor industry is Europes biggest tech company and has gained renewed interest from investors amid an AI boom.

The Dutch outfit is likely to benefit heavily from the rapid adoption of generative AI and machine learning technologies.

We expect AI to be a powerful driver of leading-edge logic wafer capacity growth through greater GPU, CPU, and connectivity chip volumes and rising die sizes, Jefferies Group said in a research note.

Read more: FTSE 100: Ocado sales up on rising prices but customers buy less

ASML is the sole provider of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines needed for the production of cutting-edge chips.

However, markets have also been cautious as ASML currently finds itself caught in rivalry between the US and China.

This week, Chinas commerce minister sought to assure the boss of ASML that it remains a reliable business partner as the Dutch government imposes new restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductor technology.

Nvidia (NVDA)

Investors are celebrating the surge in tech stocks in 2023 as though last year  the worst year for risk markets in decades  never happened.

Chipmaker Nvidia is approaching a 90% return this quarter  its best in over two decades.

However, for a stock thats rallied in 11 of the last 12 weeks investors are waiting for the dip to begin.

Nvidia stock has been a monstrous performer, but now traders have to be a little more cautious. Meaning that stocks cant surge higher at this pace forever and at some point, Nvidia will need a larger correction and/or some consolidation, Brent Kenwell from TheStreet, said.

Watch: Stocks to Watch in Europe: UBS, Next, Chipmakers

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
The disappearance of a New Jersey state trooper drew attention  and concern  over tattoos related to hate symbols on his neck and body.

Jason Dare, 46, of Vineland, went missing and was described as endangered after leaving a medical facility in the suburbs of Philadelphia on March 19, the Courier-Post reported. He was found days later on March 24.

When photos were shared online of Dare to help find him, the public noticed the words Blood Honor tattooed on his neck, according to the outlet.

Blood and Honor is a known hate symbol with origins to Nazi Germany and the Hitler Youth, which popularized the German version of the slogan Blut und Ehre, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The British spelling Blood & Honour is often associated with international white supremacist groups, including some in the U.S., the organization says.

Now, New Jersey State Police are investigating Detective Dares tattoos and have placed him on administrative leave, according to a statement from Col. Patrick Callahan provided to McClatchy News on March 31.

I am aware of the concerns regarding tattoos identified on Detective I Jason Dares body, Callahan said.

Other photos of Dare shared online showed additional tattoos on his hands and torso that are associated with Nazi Germany, NJ.com reported.

When a person applies to become a New Jersey state trooper, tattoos on the face, head, scalp, neck and hands are not allowed, according to state police hiring policy. If a state troopers tattoos are visible when in uniform, or in civilian clothes while working, they need to be removed, per the policy.

Additionally, New Jersey police officers arent allowed, under a new state police licensure law, to actively participate in a group advocating for discrimination against protected classes, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement on the investigation into Dare.

The law was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in July 2022.

There is no place for hate in the New Jersey State Police or within the ranks of the 38,000 sworn law enforcement officers in New Jersey, Platkin said.

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Dare has been a state trooper since 2004, according to Callahan.

Vineland is about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia.

Cops pistol fires, hits his partner at crime scene. He didnt touch trigger, suit says

Aryan Circle prison gang had suspected gay inmate beaten as rite of passage, feds say

Neo-Nazis storm librarys Communist Manifesto celebration in Rhode Island, cops say
An inappropriate encounter between a male nurse and a female psychiatric patient helped trigger the federal governments latest threat to pull funding from a troubled Wilson County hospital, newly obtained documents show.

The nurses conduct so disturbed some staff at Wilson Medical Center that they repeatedly reported it to supervisors. And although he was effectively fired the next day, the hospital failed to report the incident to the state nursing board for more than a month.

Revealed in a 72-page inspection report, the details shed new light on conduct that prompted the Wilson Police Department to investigate an alleged inappropriate sexual interaction at the hospital in late January. Investigators closed the case about a month later, Sgt. Eric McInerny said in a statement, after they determined no criminal act occurred.

But what N.C. Department of Health and Human Services regulators learned about contact between a nurse and patient at the for-profit hospital during their own investigation was enough to declare an immediate jeopardy to the health and safety of patients there.

The report also faults hospital staff for injecting contrast dye into a patient scheduled for a CT scan in violation of his doctors orders  a mistake that damaged the mans kidneys and left him dependent on dialysis.

Its the third time in less than a year that regulators have slapped Wilson Medical Center, a 300-bed facility about an hour east of Raleigh, with an immediate jeopardy designation. Its a serious and relatively rare regulatory action, according to at least one study, and it carries with it the threat of lost Medicare funding.

The termination of the hospitals Medicare contract will occur April 7, according to a letter from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, unless a follow-up inspection finds the hospital has fixed issues identified in the report.

It looked inappropriate

Although the report doesnt name patients or medical staff, it details the case of a 27-year-old woman  Patient #28. She arrived at Wilson Medical Centers emergency room by ambulance on Jan. 13 after an intentional overdose of medication to treat seizures and bipolar disorder.

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She was involuntarily committed that evening after exhibiting erratic, hyperverbal, hypersexual, restless behavior and demanding to leave, the report said. She was moved to the hospitals behavioral health unit three days later.

As patients were preparing for bed around 10 p.m. that evening, a nursing assistant saw a male contract nurse from the emergency department walk toward the patients room. When the nursing assistant went to check the room 30 minutes later, she opened the patients door to find the woman sitting on the bed with the male nurse, her head resting on his shoulder.

Interview revealed both the male ED RN and Patient #28 looked startled and jumped up, the report said.

The nursing assistant reported the interaction to the nurse in charge, who spoke to the man in the patients room. The male ED RN did not leave at that time, the report said.

Other employees were still uneasy and called the house supervisor, who told them the male nurse shouldnt have been there. So another nurse returned to the patients room.

Patient #28s head was face down in the lap of the male ED RN. Interview revealed Patient #28s jolted her head up out of the male ED RNs lap and the male ED RN did not move or say anything, the report said.

After the charge nurse was again notified, she returned to find the male nurse and the patient sitting separately on the patients bed.

The charge nurse told the man that it looked inappropriate, and he had to leave the floor.

Interview revealed the male ED RN said ok and left, the report said.

The patient was discharged from the hospital three days later.

Hospital tight-lipped about incident

The inspection report does not describe the incident as a sexual assault.

But the next day  Jan. 17  the nurse was released from contract due to inappropriate behavior not consistent with industry standards, according to the hospitals corrective action plan.

When The News & Observer asked about a potential sexual assault at the facility in late January, Sara Crawford, a spokesperson with Wilson Medical Centers parent company, said the hospital launched a formal investigation into the allegations, finding them unsubstantiated and without merit.

Responding to a complaint, state health regulators arrived at the hospital about a month after the incident. But it wasnt until the day their inspection ended  Feb. 22  that hospital leadership reported the male emergency room nurse to the North Carolina Board of Nursing in an abundance of caution.

In North Carolina, anyone who suspects misconduct by a nurse is required to report what occurred to the board of nursing.

Nunery did not respond to a question from The N&O Thursday about why the hospital took more than a month to report the nurse to the states disciplinary board.

He said leadership at Wilson Medical Center, including interim CEO Chad French, would not be available for an interview, pointing to a statement from the hospital last week  prior to the release of the report.

In that statement, Nunery said the incident involved a contractor from the emergency department who was found to have visited privately with a patient in the behavioral health unit, adding that the hospital cooperated fully in the Wilson police investigation.

We appreciate the work of the surveyors and have since updated our policy and access levels to specific areas of the hospital to address this complaint, Nunery said in that statement. Quality care, patient safety and regulatory compliance are our top priorities, and as always, we will work with CMS to ensure that these concerns are addressed as quickly as possible.

A rare, one-star ranking

Wilson Medical Center is operated by Duke LifePoint, a joint venture between Duke Health and Nashville-based LifePoint Health, a for-profit company owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

Its one of only three one-star hospitals in North Carolina, according to Medicares quality rating site. Of the more than 3,000 hospitals nationwide with a CMS rating, only about 6% have a rating that low.

The hospital received immediate jeopardy designations twice in 2022. Regulators inspecting the facility in May first unearthed problems related to the deaths of two patients early in the year. One man died after a fall and sedation at the facility. The other passed away shortly after his heart monitor was disconnected.

Then in October, CMS determined the hospital violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, a federal law that requires hospitals to care for patients who show up to emergency rooms regardless of their ability to pay.

Although its an unlikely outcome, compliance experts say the possibility of losing Medicare funding is enough to force hospitals facing immediate jeopardy to correct serious problems.

At Wilson Medical Center, many of the problems in the most recent report look familiar.

In a letter to the hospital March 15, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services officials wrote that the hospital violated rules governing six patient care and quality issues. Four of those  regulations governing the hospitals oversight, patient rights, quality assessment and nursing services  are identical to the violations federal regulators noted in June 2022.

In an email notifying staff of the latest immediate jeopardy designation earlier this month, French said state inspections were initially prompted by a few isolated complaints. The hospitals action plan, he said, will ensure doctors orders are reviewed before medical procedures and that certain levels of the hospital are restricted to authorized clinical staff.

Weve been through this process before, and our swift response and thorough action plan quickly resolved all concerns, French wrote on March 16. We intend to do the same this time.

But the previous process was far from quick.

All told, Wilson Medical Center spent about a third of 2022 under threat of losing its Medicare funding, the result of repeated compliance issues.

Frenchs message to staff also noted that the hospital is now working with Chartis, a regulatory consulting company. Chartis is owned by Audax Private Equity, which acquired the firm in May 2019.
Former President Donald Trump Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Trump and his aides were surprised by the timing of his indictment, the NYT's Maggie Haberman reports.

Some advisors previously believed the decision wouldn't come until late next month.

Trump and some advisors are currently mulling over next steps at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump and his aides were caught off guard by news of his indictment, believing the decision wouldn't come for weeks, according to The New York Times' Maggie Haberman.

The former US president is currently at Mar-a-Lago mapping out his next steps after a New York grand jury voted to indict him, per the Times. Some advisors had been confident that the vote wouldn't come until the end of April.

Jeff Zeleny, chief national affairs correspondent at CNN, confirmed that Trump was surprised by the timing.

Trump is the first former US president to be indicted, though the specific charges are unknown.

"As with any other case, we are going to fight this right from the start," Trump's attorney, Joe Tacopina, told Insider. "We will fight this miscarriage of justice immediately and aggressively."

Thursday's indictment comes after the Manhattan district attorney's office conducted a lengthy investigation into a $130,000 hush-money payment that Trump's ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Cohen in 2018 pleaded guilty to several felonies in connection to the payment, including tax evasion, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations. He said that he paid Daniels off at Trump's direction in exchange for her silence about an affair she claims to have had with Trump in 2006.

The former president has denied the affair, and he and his lawyers also deny any knowledge of the hush-money payment.

Trump released a statement shortly after news of his indictment broke on Thursday, accusing prosecutors of engaging in "political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history."

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"The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here," Trump said in his statement. "Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party - united and strong - will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, confirmed his indictment to Insider.

"As with any other case, we are going to fight this right from the start," Tacopina said. "We will fight this miscarriage of justice immediately and aggressively."

The DA's office also released a statement Thursday evening, saying that they contacted Trump's attorney "to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.'s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON  Donald Trumps most fervent Capitol Hill allies erupted in fury Thursday night as news of his indictment rocked the country. They rushed to his defense and blasted New York County District Attorney Alvin Braggs prosecution of the GOP presidential front-runner as a political witch hunt designed to influence the 2024 election.

Outrageous, tweeted Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who is using his roles as chairman of the Judiciary and Weaponization of the Federal Government committees to investigate Braggs work.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., whom Trump endorsed in his bid for speaker, wrote that Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election and weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump.

McCarthy hinted that GOP-controlled House committees could soon subpoena Bragg to compel his testimony before Congress: The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

Jordan, as well as House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., sent a letter this month asking Bragg to testify before Congress about his investigation into hush money payments Trump made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, Trumps former White House physician, tweeted: Alvin Bragg is a NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT to our justice system. President Trump has been proven to have done NO wrong. This is nothing more than a political stunt to prevent Trump from becoming President in 2024! WITCH HUNT!

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who was preparing to deliver a Lincoln Day address in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Thursday night, tweeted, "The irony of standing on the battleground when I found out President Trump has been indicted is profound."

Greene said Trump was innocent and the only one standing in the way of these modern day tyrants, just like our founding fathers did, to protect each of us from evil.

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Impeach Biden, she continued. Hes given us every reason and the family banking records and more are giving us receipts. But now that the gloves are off. Prosecute any and all crimes. Enough of this witch hunt bullshit.

On the other side of the Capitol, a onetime Trump presidential rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeted: The Democrat Partys hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds."

The substance of this political persecution is utter garbage, said Cruz, a former Texas solicitor general. This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., warned that Democrats "will regret this."

Tonights indictment of Donald Trump isnt about the law. Its about power. Raw power. ... It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple," Hawley tweeted.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, one of the five GOP senators who has already endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential primary, said in a statement the indictment represents a political persecution masquerading as law.

Alvin Braggs decision to indict him is blatant election interference and a direct assault on the tens of millions of Americans who support him," said Vance, whose victory in a competitive Senate primary last year is largely credited to Trumps endorsement.

Instead of working to improve the lives of the Americans they are supposed to represent, the ruling party is focused on kneecapping their greatest threat in the next election, Vance added. The American people will see this for exactly what it is: a grave miscarriage of justice.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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Former President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC on August 6, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Trump and his sons are decrying his indictment as a sign the US is now a "third world" country.

Trump is the first ex-president to be charged with a crime.

But other democracies across the world have prosecuted, convicted, and even jailed former leaders.

Former President Donald Trump denounced his indictment as a sign that the US is now a "THIRD WORLD NATION."

"THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE," Trump said on his social media network, Truth Social. "IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!"

Trump's sons offered similar takes, portraying the charges against the former president as a political attack orchestrated by his opponents.

"The ruling party is trying to jail the opposition leader like a third world dictatorship! It's happening before your very eyes," Trump Jr. said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, Eric Trump condemned the indictment as "third world prosecutorial misconduct" and "the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year," alluding to the fact his father is running for president again in 2024.

Trump is the first former US president to be criminally charged, and his indictment comes amid a period of historic political polarization. Along these lines, there are already many questions as to how Trump's indictment will impact the 2024 election.

Though Trump's allies are portraying the indictment as the type of thing that only happens in countries with weak institutions that are led by dictators or authoritarians, other democracies across the world  including close US allies like South Korea, Italy, France, and Israel  have prosecuted, convicted, and even jailed former leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of Trump's when he was still in the White House, is entangled in an ongoing corruption trial that has become particularly controversial as his far-right government pushes for judicial reforms that recently prompted mass protests in Israel.

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Two of France's recent presidents, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac, were found guilty of corruption. Sarkozy in 2021 was sentenced to jail; he appealed the ruling.

South Korea has tried, convicted, and imprisoned more than one ex-president. The most recent example is that of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who was convicted of abuse of power and coercion in 2018 after being impeached. Park was initially sentenced to 30 years in prison, which was later reduced to 20. She was later pardoned by then-President Moon Jae-in.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been involved in 35 criminal court cases, per Reuters. In 2013, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to one year of community service and banned from political office until 2018. The former Italian prime minister was acquitted in February of bribing witnesses in an underage prostitution case.

While it's true that countries with autocratic leaders and weak democratic institutions have a habit of imprisoning prominent opposition figures, including ex-leaders, it's also the case that countries with strong democracies do their best to follow the principle that no one is above the law  whether they're former world leaders or not.

Research from political scientists at the University of Washington found that "both sweeping immunity and overzealous prosecutions can undermine democracy" in terms of the prosecutions of ex-leaders.

"But such prosecutions pose different risks for mature democracies," the researchers went on to say, adding, "Strong democracies are usually competent enough  and the judicial system independent enough  to go after politicians who misbehave, including top leaders."

The researchers said that in "mature democracies, prosecutions can hold leaders accountable and solidify the rule of law."

That said, the researchers also underscored that prosecuting ex-leaders can be a mixed bag for democracies. "There are consequences to prosecutions of these officials  not just for them, but for their countries. Presidents and prime ministers aren't just anyone. They are chosen by a nation's citizens or their parties to lead. They are often popular, sometimes revered. So judicial proceedings against them are inevitably perceived as political and become divisive," the researchers said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The top super PACs backing former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are ramping up attacks in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination.

In an ad that starts running Friday on national cable TV, the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. targets DeSantis  who has not yet announced a presidential run  over his past support as a congressman for cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

"Think you know Ron DeSantis? Think again," the commercials narrator says. "In Congress, DeSantis voted three separate times to cut Social Security."

"The more you see about DeSantis, the more you see he doesnt share our values. Hes not ready to be president," the narrator charges at the end of the spot.

2024 FRICTION: TRUMP WORLD BELITTLES FORMER STAFFERS WHO JUMPED SHIP TO DESANTIS

DeSantis came under a similar line of attack by rival Adam Putnam during the 2018 Florida Republican gubernatorial primary. The fact-checking website Politifact described the attack as misleading and an exaggeration of DeSantis' voting record in Congress.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The new ad will appear on the Fox News Channel, CNN and Newsmax, with MAGA Inc. shelling out just over $1.3 million to run the spots for a week, according to the national ad tracking firm AdImpact. Its the first paid media effort by the super PAC to target DeSantis.

Trump launched his third White House run in November and remains the clear polling front-runner in the GOP presidential nomination race. DeSantis, who currently sits on the 2024 sidelines, is expected to declare his candidacy for the White House later this spring or summer. Hes firmly in second place in the latest surveys, behind Trump but far ahead of the rest of the field of declared and potential GOP presidential contenders.

DESANTIS ALLIES CLAIM FLORIDA GOVERNOR LIVING RENT-FREE IN TRUMP'S HEAD

The former president and his political team view DeSantis as the biggest threat in the emerging 2024 field, and Trump has been hammering the Florida governor for months, with those attacks increasing in recent weeks.

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Many of the attacks on DeSantis have centered on Social Security and Medicare. But what the former president doesn't mention is that his initial 2020 federal budget proposals included reduced spending for both programs.

The MAGA Inc. attack comes days after the recently launched pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down went up with a video titled "Waco Crickets," which highlighted media reports indicating the loud and boisterous crowd at the Trump rally last weekend in Waco, Texas, turned mostly quiet when the former presidential repeatedly attacked the Florida governor.

The video, which was shared first with Fox News, was the first shot by Never Back Down to target Trump.

WHO'S IN AND WHO'S ON THE SIDELINES  YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE

Sources in DeSantis wider orbit have said any presidential campaign launch would come in the late spring or early summer, after the end of Floridas current legislative session. However, the governors recent stops in the early voting states of Iowa and Nevada and a trip next month to New Hampshire are sparking more 2024 speculation.

Former President Donald Trump, left, and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right.

In speeches this year, the governor has pitched his numerous conservative policy victories in Florida as a roadmap for the entire nation.

Additionally, he has been traveling across the country, highlighting his "Florida blueprint" and promoting his newly released memoir, "The Courage to Be Free."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks the 18th hole during a pro-am prior to the LIV Golf Invitational - Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on October 27, 2022 in Doral, Florida. Charles Laberge/LIV Golf via Getty Images

An attorney for former President Trump told Insider that he will not resist attempts to arrest him.

Trump is due to present himself to the Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday.

"It will be a smooth surrender," attorney Susan Necheles promised.

The lead attorney for former President Donald Trump said the indicted Republican will voluntarily present himself without a fight on Tuesday in Manhattan, where he faces charges related to an alleged 2016 "hush" payment made to an adult film star.

"It will be a smooth surrender," lawyer Susan Necheles told Insider.

Final arrangements for Trump's appearance were still being hammered out on Friday by staff at the Manhattan Criminal Court as well as the Secret Service and the New York Police Department, Necheles said.

The pledge to voluntarily surrender comes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asserted Thursday that he would not assist an effort to extradite the former president. Trump's allies had been pressuring DeSantis  a presumed rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination  to make such a statement.

The full details of Trump's indictment by a grand jury this week have not yet been made public, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to Stormy Daniels by the former president's ex-fixer, Michael Cohen.

Cohen was himself sentenced to 3 years in prison in connection with the payment and testified several times before the grand jury. In a 2018 statement, the Trump-era Department of Justice noted in a press release that Cohen had been reimbursed for the payment "in monthly installments disguised as payments for legal services performed pursuant to a retainer, when in fact no such retainer existed," with the payment intended to "influence the 2016 election." Disguising such a payment would entail falsifying business records, a felony in New York.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has alleged having an affair with Trump soon after his wife, Melania, had given birth and that the payment was intended to buy her silence ahead of a presidential election. Trump has denied having an affair or directing Cohen to make the payment.

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Republicans have rallied around the indicted leader of the party, accusing Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

On Friday, Bragg's office fired back at congressional critics, who have demanded the district attorney provide documents and testimony related to the investigation into Trump.

"Like any other defendant, Mr. Trump is entitled to challenge these charges in court and avail himself of all processes and protections that New York State's robust criminal procedure affords," stated a letter from Bragg's office to se House Republicans. "What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State," the letter added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
US-POLITICS-VOTE-ELECTION-TRUMP

Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a 2024 election campaign rally in Waco, Texas on March 25, 2023. Credit - Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images

The historic indictment of former President Donald Trump has thrust the legal system into murky waters, raising the prospect of a leading presidential candidate campaigning around the country while also facing trial for criminal charges.

But legal experts caution that it could take years for Trumps criminal case to work its way through the court system, and the potential for a litany of hard-hitting motions and delay tactics may well push the trial until after the 2024 presidential election.

I cannot imagine that Trump would be convicted, and sent to jail, before the 2024 election season is over, says Richard Hasen, an election law professor at UCLA.

The unprecedented nature of a former President facing criminal charges carries a wide net of unknowns, but if one thing is clear from Trumps extensive court record, its that he will likely seek to delay and prolong the proceedings as long as possible. In dozens of legal matters going back decades, Trumps legal team has filed an exhaustive list of motions and appeals designed to stretch the clock.

The specific charge or charges against Trump have not been made public as the indictment remains under seal, but one of Trumps lawyers told TIME that the former President is expected to turn himself in on Tuesday to be arraigned in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Read More: Trump Is About to Stress Test the Credibility of Our Judicial System

As a practical matter, it could take months just for the trial to begin even if both sides were quick to proceed, as a jury has to be selected and vetted.

But the particulars of the case are likely to be ripe for motions from Trumps legal team that, even if unsuccessful, would drag out the proceedings. The case revolves around Trumps role in hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 elections to cover up an alleged affair. Trumps lawyers could try to move the case to federal court given the constitutional implications, arguing that at least some of the payments took place while Trump was President and should not be decided by a state court. He also could seek to move the trial to a different courthouse in New York state.

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In order to charge Trump with a felony, legal experts say that New York prosecutors have likely combined a falsifying business records charge with a violation of state election law, even though the case involves a federal election. Kim Wehle, a former assistant U.S. attorney and now law professor at the University of Baltimore, says the former President could try to have the indictment dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor charge. He could even argue that prosecutors waited too long. In New York, the statute of limitations for most felonies is five years, but there are some exceptions to that deadline, including if the person being charged was living out of state, as Trump was.

All of these pre-trial motions could take months to resolve, raising the prospect that Trump will spend mostif not allof his campaign season embroiled in legal wrangling, with a trial still ahead of him.

This case could easily go beyond the 2024 election given all the complexities, Wehle says. Trumps lawyers dont have a problem filing frivolous motions, but there are a lot of legitimate, good-faith arguments to make on Trumps behalf, without even seeing the indictment.

For Trump, every single delay he can muster out of the judicial system helps. He knows that if the trial is scheduled for after Nov. 5, 2024, and he wins the presidential election, the case wouldnt keep him from returning to the White House. Some legal experts believe Trump will reach for every possible opportunity to delay the proceedings, making a pre-election criminal trial nearly impossible.

Yet the delay tactics at Trumps disposal are more limited than when he was President, notes Neal Katyal, the former Acting Solicitor General and a current constitutional law professor at Georgetown University. While in the White House, Trump was able to claim that sitting Presidents are immune to federal prosecution and can invoke executive privilege to hide information.

Because this is a State not Federal charge, and from before Trump was President, all the nonsense delay tactics Trump has used in the past wont work, Katyal wrote on Twitter. The trial will happen.

Most recently, a criminal tax case filed against the Trump Organization in the same court in 2021 took about 15 months to get to trial. A jury ultimately convicted two Trump companies on all 17 felony charges last December.

Yet some cases involving high-profile defendants can take even longer to adjudicate. In Texas, Ken Paxton, the states attorney general, was indicted on felony securities fraud charges in 2015; more than seven years later, it still hasnt gone to trial as the case bounces around trial courts.

Wehle, who worked on the Whitewater investigation into former President Bill Clinton as an associate independent counsel, says there are a number of logistical reasons why trials with vast implications, particularly those involving political figures, tend to drag on for lengthy periods. In 1996, when President Bill Clinton was subpoenaed by a grand jury as a defense witness in a financial fraud case, it took more than two months of back-and-forth negotiations to secure his testimony, and there were constraints on the questions asked. There are going to be negotiations to try to protect the integrity of the presidencysome sensitivity to the fact that Trump is a former president, she says.

A longer trial that runs well into the 2024 presidential campaign could also benefit Trump as a fundraising tool, capturing the outrage that has circulated within his base who believe the former president is being politically persecuted. Its simultaneously embarrassing, but also makes him something of a martyr, says Saikrishna Prakash, a law professor at the University of Virginia who formerly clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read More: How Trumps Mug Shot Could Fuel a Fundraising Boonfor Trump

Although the charges remain unknown, Trumps legal strategy will likely include attacks against the credibility of Michael Cohen, Trumps former lawyer, by citing his criminal record. Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty in 2018 to federal charges in a related case involving his payments to Daniels and model Karen McDougal. Cohen was reimbursed for the payments by Trump, whose company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses.

Trump could be facing a maximum sentence of four years if convicted of a low-level felony, though prison time would not be mandatory and it would not bar him from running for President.
By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York City grand jury, his lawyer said on Thursday, after the prosecutor who filed the charges came under political pressure for not bringing them against the former U.S. president sooner.

While the charges against Trump were not immediately released - the first ever against a U.S. president - they come after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg revived an investigation into any role Trump had in a $130,000 hush money payment his lawyer made to a porn star during Trump's 2016 campaign for the White House.

Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has said he made the payment to silence Daniels about an affair she says she had with Trump in 2006. Trump denies the affair took place.

Bragg's charges come 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 with 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."

Before the charges were brought, a spokesperson for Bragg referred to the prosecutor's earlier statement. Trump has called the probe a "witch hunt."

A grand jury began hearing evidence in the case earlier this year.

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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. Trump and his allies have sought to undermine Cohen's credibility.

"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," Trump lawyer Susan Necheles said in a statement earlier this month.

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, Diane Craft and Daniel Wallis)
Donald Trump faces imminent arrest on charges stemming from an investigation into a $130,000 (106,000) payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

The 76-year-old departed Florida on Monday, landing in New York ahead of his arrest and court appearance on Tuesday.

He is the first former US president to face criminal charges, but it won't be clear what the charges are until the indictment is unsealed at his arraignment.

When will Trump be arrested?

Mr Trump is planning to surrender to authorities on Tuesday, and his arraignment is scheduled for 14:15 local time (19:15 BST). He will likely arrive at the courthouse about an hour or so before that for processing.

The former president is expected first to surrender at the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The usual arrest paperwork will be completed - meaning his details will be taken and investigators will check for any outstanding arrest warrants or charges.

Once Mr Trump is fingerprinted and processed by officials, he is considered under arrest and in custody.

Will there be a 'perp walk'?

A "perp walk" refers to when law enforcement officers walk a suspect up to a courthouse through a public space, giving spectators and the media full view of the arrest.

It remains unknown whether Mr Trump will be walked up to the Lower Manhattan courthouse in such a manner ahead of his arraignment, or whether he will be discreetly let in through a side door surrounded by Secret Service agents.

We do know that there will be a massive law enforcement presence around the courthouse and near Trump Tower on Tuesday.

The FBI, New York City police and the US Secret Service are all coordinating security for the proceedings.

Will there be a mugshot of Trump?

It is also unknown whether a mugshot of the former president will be taken when he is booked at the Manhattan courthouse.

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According to the New York Police Department, a suspect may have their photograph taken at the time of their arrest - but only in some cases, suggesting an element of discretion.

One of Mr Trump's lawyers, Alina Habba, told CNN on Monday that she does not believe a mugshot is needed because the former president is an easily recognisable figure.

"Mugshots are for people so that you recognize who they are. He is the most recognized face in the world, let alone the country right now, so there's no need for that," Ms Habba said.

And on Tuesday, reports in US media suggested that Mr Bragg had decided there was no need to put the 76-year-old through the mugshot process.

Were the photo to take place, there is no guarantee the public will ever see it. Under New York state law the former president would have to give his approval to its release, though US media has suggested he is not opposed to its publication.

Will Trump be handcuffed?

Reports in US media also said that Mr Trump likely will not be handcuffed, as the Manhattan District Attorney's office has concluded that there is no reason to do so.

Handcuffs are used to prevent a suspect from fleeing or from attacking the district attorney or court personnel.

Mr Trump will be surrounded by law enforcement, including several members of the US Secret Service, therefore the risk of him attempting to flee is fairly low.

What will happen inside the courtroom?

Once Mr Trump is processed, he will likely wait in a holding area until his appearance before Judge Juan Merchan.

Mr Trump will then enter the courtroom and be arraigned - meaning the charges will be read out and he will plead.

His lawyers have said that the former president will plead not guilty to the charges.

The arraignment is open to the public. Members of the media and spectators have lined up overnight outside the courthouse to secure one of 260 tickets to enter the building during the proceedings.

However, no electronics will be allowed inside the courtroom.

Judge Merchan has also ruled that no video coverage will be allowed. He has instead granted access to a few news cameras to take still photos of the scene inside the courtroom several minutes before the arraignment begins.

What will happen after the hearing?

Mr Trump is expected to be released on bail as he is scheduled to return to Florida later in the evening.

It is unclear whether he will head to the airport straight from the courthouse, or if he will stop at Trump Tower before his departure.

One of Mr Trump's lawyers, Chris Kise, told CNN on Tuesday morning that he expects Mr Trump to speak to the cameras in the hallway outside of the courtroom - before and after his arraignment.

Once back at Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump is expected to address supporters around 20:00 Florida time.

A trial date will also be scheduled for Mr Trump at some point.

The judge and legal teams will set a date for the next hearing and there will also be the process of discovery, in which the district attorney's office must turn over all of its information to Mr Trump's legal team.

In reality, it could take months before another formal hearing takes place.

If there is a trial, a conviction on a misdemeanour would result in a fine. If Mr Trump were convicted on a felony charge, he would face a maximum sentence of four years in prison, although some legal experts predict a fine is more probable and that any time behind bars is highly unlikely.

Mr Trump, who is running for president in 2024, can still continue his campaign if he chooses - there is no US law that prevents a candidate who is found guilty of a crime from campaigning for, and serving as, president - even from prison.
Former President Donald Trump; Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Brandon Bell/Getty Images, Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images)

In his statement condemning the Manhattan grand jury indictment of Donald Trump, Florida Gov. and likely Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis mentioned neither the former president nor the district attorney who will prosecute the case, Alvin Bragg, by name. But he did name-check George Soros, a favorite target of antisemitic conspiracy theories  twice.

For some, the implication was obvious.

Its hard to even call it a dog whistle of antisemitism, former assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Weissman said of the Florida governors statement in a cable news appearance.

Soros indirectly helped fund Braggs run for office, but he is not involved in the case against the former president, which is focused on an allegedly improper 2016 payment to the former adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.

Soros and Bragg have never met.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and other Republicans similarly invoked Soros in denouncing the decision to indict Trump.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Feb. 7. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Last week, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, a Republican who has been accused of trafficking in xenophobia and white supremacy, charged that Soros and Bragg are trying to turn America into a third-world country.

On Thursday night, a single hour of Fox News primetime programming featured 10 mentions of Soros, including two descriptions of Bragg as a Soros puppet.

A Hungarian American billionaire who funds progressive causes, Soros is frequently invoked as shorthand for a nexus of wealth, progressive politics and cultural clout.

Soros offers a combination that is useful to his detractors: born abroad, Jewish, in finance, high profile, Emily Tamkin, the author of a book about Soros, told Yahoo News. She added that because Soros is genuinely influential in politics, finance and philanthropy, conspiracy theories about him are easily concocted.

When Bragg was running to become the Manhattan district attorney in 2021, Color of Change, a group backed by Soros, spent roughly $500,000 on efforts on Braggs behalf, such as on mailers and voter turnout.

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Former President Donald Trump after a rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Trump, who is running for president again, is avidly using the indictment to solicit campaign contributions, depicting himself as the target of the Soros Money Machine. He has long faced accusations of antisemitism, although his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner are observant Jews.

Trump has routinely trafficked in antisemitic tropes about dual loyalty, wealth and parsimony.

Last year, in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, he attacked American Jews  who mostly vote Democratic  for not rewarding his staunch support of Israels right-wing government. Our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of [Trumps record on Israel] than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S, he complained.

Trump warned that U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel  Before it is too late!

Thursdays indictment allowed Trump and his loyal supporters the opportunity of reviving a grievance-laden narrative that invariably turns the former president into a victim of nefarious forces.

This was their mission, Eric Trump, the presidents son, said on Fox News of Bragg and his prosecutors. This is what they promised Soros. Its why they received the big checks.

Soros survived the Holocaust as a child. As an adult, he moved to New York, where he started a successful hedge fund. His philanthropy through the Open Society Foundations supports civic institutions in emerging democracies. In the U.S., Open Society funds education, public health and independent media not-for-profit organizations.

Hungarian-born U.S. investor and philanthropist George Soros in May 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

According to experts in antisemitism, invoking the 92-year-old philanthropist serves to promote toxic ideas about Jews. A person who promotes a Soros conspiracy theory may not intend to promulgate antisemitism, according to the ADL, formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League. But Soros Jewish identity is so well-known that in many cases it is hard not to infer that meaning.

Trump allies including Tucker Carlson, the popular Fox News anchor, have promoted the great replacement theory, which holds that Democrats  purportedly funded by Soros and other members of elites  are trying to bring immigrants of color into the United States in order to create an electorally insurmountable nonwhite political bloc.

Fears of racial obsolescence powered the white supremacists who rampaged through Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, shouting that Jews will not replace us and, in the following year, were also cited by Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

During the racial justice protests of 2020, some conservatives falsely accused Soros of encouraging violence.

The most recent attacks on Soros come as the nation faces an unprecedented increase in antisemitic incidents, which became more frequent at around the time Trump first announced he was running for the presidency in mid-2015.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday in Smyrna, Ga. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images)

When in doubt, blame the Jews, the intelligence analyst and scholar Aki J. Peritz wrote on Twitter in response to DeSantis.

DeSantis recently hired Nate Hochman, a National Review writer who has praised the virulent antisemite Nick Fuentes. Fuentes dined with Trump last year in South Florida.

Soros is a well-known supporter of criminal justice reform and has been funding the political races of progressive prosecutors for years. Once elected, some of those prosecutors, such as Chesa Boudin of San Francisco, have proved unpopular with voters. Soross involvement in funding their campaigns has sometimes been referred to by local critics  although rarely with as much apparent zeal as DeSantis has done.

When first running for governor in 2018, DeSantis described his Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum, as Soros-backed. He used identical language in his feud with State Attorney Andrew Warren, whom he removed in what was widely seen as a bid to raise his profile with national conservatives.

Gillum is Black, as is Bragg. Warren is Jewish, like Soros.

Progressive activists have called the claim that Soros controls Bragg not only antisemitic but also racist. Last week, after Trump called Bragg a Soros-backed animal, a group of Black and Jewish lawmakers from New York condemned Trumps incendiary racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Last year, neo-Nazis gathered outside a conservative conference in Tampa, where DeSantis spoke, with banners displaying swastikas alongside one that read DeSantis Country and another touting our glorious leader, Ron DeSantis.

Although Florida has a large Jewish population and DeSantis has eagerly waded into other culture war battles, the governor said nothing.
Former President Donald Trump is facing about 30 charges in New York City related to document fraud connected to hush money he allegedly paid to cover up affairs, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News after he was indicted Thursday.

The exact charges are unknown because the indictment remains under seal until Trump  who is campaigning to reclaim the presidency in 2024  appears in court for his arraignment. That is expected on Tuesday, though Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg could unveil the charges sooner.

The case is just one of at least three criminal probes into Trump, who during his single term in office also earned the ignoble distinction of being the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.

Image: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg leaves his office in New York on March 30, 2023. (Ed Jones / AFP - Getty Images)

Although Alvin Bragg is the first prosecutor in the history of our country to indict a former president, hes likely not going to be the last, Dave Aronberg, the prosecutor in Palm Beach County, Florida, where Trump lives, said on MSNBC on Friday.

Trump also faces both federal and state investigations into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which have been gaining steam. The federal special counsel is also investigating Trump's role in the discovery of hundreds of documents with classified markings at his Florida home and private club.

Trump plans to return to New York a week after his arraignment to sit for a deposition in an unrelated civil suit brought by New York states attorney general, according to a source with direct knowledge. Officials in that case are seeking $250 million in penalties, alleging that Trump, his real estate company and his three adult children systematically defrauded lenders, tax authorities and others.

The suit, which came after a yearslong investigation into the Trump Organization, alleges more than 200 instances of fraud over 10 years.

The New York City criminal case centers on more than a quarter of a million dollars paid ahead of the 2016 election to two women, including adult film star Stormy Daniels, to remain quiet about affairs he allegedly had with them. Prosecutors are expected to say Trump tried to illegally hide the payments.

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The large number of charges most likely stems from prosecutors making separate charges for each payment in question.

Trump has denied the affair but acknowledged the payments.

Two sources familiar with the Manhattan grand jurys work say prosecutors also questioned witnesses about a previous alleged hush money payment to former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal.

In 2018, longtime former Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws and admitted to making hush money payments of $130,000 and $150,000 to two women "at the direction of a candidate for federal office"  a clear reference to Trump, though he was not named  "with the purpose of influencing the [2016] election," according to court documents.

The sums match the amount paid to Daniels and McDougal.

McDougal had said she had a monthslong affair with Trump not long after he married Melania Trump, which Trump has denied. She was paid through the parent company of the National Enquirer, a Trump-aligned tabloid that purchased exclusive rights to her story, which it never published, in a "catch-and-kill" operation to protect Trump.

Cohen is now the governments star witness. Prosecutors are expected to allege that Trump falsified business records to cover up the payments to Daniels and McDougal, which they are expected to say amounted to illegal campaign expenditures.

Prosecutors are expected to charge Trump with falsifying business records, a crime that gets upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony when the false records are used to cover up another crime, which in this case would be campaign finance violations.

Trump has said that the payments were a legal expense and that he did nothing wrong, alleging that the prosecution is a political witch hunt.

The Judge assigned to my Witch Hunt Case, a Case that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Friday.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said in an interview on NBCs TODAY show Friday that there is zero chance the former president will take a plea deal, insisting Trump expects to be vindicated either before or during a trial.

President Trump will not take a plea deal on this case. Its not gonna happen, Tacopina said. Theres no crime. I dont know if its gonna make it to trial because we have substantial legal challenges.

Security was tight around the courthouse in lower Manhattan, and the New York City Police Department told its entire uniformed police force to prepare for deployment Friday in case of unrest as some Trump supporters called for protests.

"There are no credible threats to the city at this time," said the citys police commissioner, Keechant Sewell, adding that "the NYPD always remains prepared to respond."

Republicans  including those hoping to defeat Trump in 2024  rallied behind the former president, vowing to investigate and protest the Manhattan DA for an indictment they say is politically motivated.

While Trump and his allies claim he is being singled out on charges that are rarely brought by prosecutors, experts note the Manhattan DA regularly brings such cases.

Still, many legal experts have wondered if felony charges would stick in Trump's case, and the Manhattan DA's office previously decided against charging Trump for that reason. Bragg may have new evidence to strengthen the case.

CORRECTION (March 31, 2023, 12 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Trumps attorney twice. He is Joe Tacopina, not Tacopino or Tacopinas.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump is right about at least one thing: hes in an unprecedented situation.

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Trump faces a set of legal requirements no American leader has had to confront after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday in a probe of hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign  a historic event in American law and politics that is certain to divide an already polarized society and electorate.

The 45th president, the first former Oval Office occupant to be indicted, will be fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken like any criminal defendant when he comes to New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan to face the charges, court officials have said.

What Is an Indictment? Everything You Need to Know

He probably wont be handcuffed or led before a scrum of clicking camera shutters in the traditional perp walk. And he will almost certainly be released on his own recognizance, under the protection of his Secret Service detail, rather than detained.

He is expected to be arraigned as early as Tuesday, according to his lawyer, Joe Tacopina, who said his client would surrender to authorities.

Obviously were disappointed, but we will swiftly and aggressively fight these charges and pursue justice in this case, Tacopina said.

Read Trumps Full Statement After His New York Indictment

Trump said in a statement that the indictment amounts to political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history. Even some of his potential opponents for the 2024 Republican nomination seemed to agree: his former vice president, Mike Pence, called the indictment an outrage on CNN.

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The 76-year-old former president does have other investigations hanging over him, but he has stared down legal threats many times in the past. And in both impeachments he faced as president, Trump was acquitted in the Senate, a result many of his core supporters take solace in.

While any legal case against Trump will take months, possibly years, to play out, the indictment will also test a boast the former president once made about his ability to get away with just about anything.

At an Iowa campaign rally in 2016, then-candidate Trump said I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldnt lose voters, OK. Its, like, incredible.

What Trumps Legal Perils Mean for His 2024 Candidacy: QuickTake

--With assistance from Zoe Tillman, David Voreacos, Margaret Newkirk, Josh Wingrove, Bob Van Voris, Joe Schneider, Erik Larson, Chris Strohm and Mark Niquette.

(Adds Pences comments in seventh paragraph.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Boao Forum for Asia displays genuine opening-up

By Global Times editorial (Global Times) 09:11, March 31, 2023

This photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. Photo:Xinhua

The opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2023 was held on Thursday. This is the first time that the BFA has fully resumed offline meetings since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not difficult to see from the theme of the annual conference - "An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development amid Challenges" - that "uncertainty" is a major problem facing the world today, while the only solution to break through it is the value concept and practice of solidarity, cooperation, openness, and inclusiveness. In this regard, the BFA has once again provided Oriental wisdom to the world.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. He pointed out that in uncertain events, China's certainty is a mainstay that safeguards world peace and development. Li also used six terms to describe China - long-term stability, commitment to development, concrete and courageous actions to achieve progress, confidence and openness as well as willingness to share. This is not only China's self-portrait, but also how various countries across the world perceive China in dealing with China. China not only brings strong and certain economic growth as well as development impetus to the world, but also a friendly attitude of being kind, open-minded and inclusive to others. In other words, China, full of opportunities, has a very positive outlook, which will undoubtedly hedge against many uncertain factors in the international community.

The uncertainty in today's world mainly comes from two aspects - one from politics and another from the economy. Washington is the source for the uncertainty and the biggest uncertainty in the economy is triggered by politics. In the political field, the US has drawn ideological lines and promoted bloc politics, which has also led to the split of the global economy. The US wants to disrupt and divide the supply and industry chains that have spontaneously been formed in the market for many years according to its own will. This has not only brought about uncertainty, but also huge risks to the global economy.

During the two days before the opening ceremony, more than 20 sub-forums have been held at the BFA. Over 1,500 representatives from political, business, and think tank circles from more than 50 countries and regions have engaged in extensive discussions on various specific topics related to the main theme of the forum. The enthusiasm has exceeded expectations.

In the first sub-forum, every seat was taken, and many people even stood to listen to the entire session. This conveys rich messages to the outside world. For instance, despite the US' vigorous efforts over the past two years to sow discord in the Asia-Pacific region and even the world, attempting to build a wall of isolation around China, the international mainstream society, particularly the majority of Asian countries, do not agree with this approach. In fact, they have resisted the US' coercion and enticement, with their willingness to strengthen exchanges with China increasing instead of decreasing. This has made it possible to achieve unity, cooperation, openness, and inclusiveness in Asia and beyond.

Many foreign leaders attending the forum expressed their optimism about the prospects of Asia, while emphasizing the importance of cooperation. For instance, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that realizing Asia's promise depends on the region remaining stable, inclusive and open, and countries in the region should "maintain stable relations and cooperate practically and productively, both amongst themselves and with our external partners," while "as a very important economy in Asia, China has a big role to play in all of this." Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said, "unfettered competition must give way to spirited collaboration."

These voices have strong representation in Asian countries with a strong practical focus. On the one hand, they reflect these countries indeed have felt pressure as Washington intensifies its suppression and containment of China. On the other hand, these countries have expressed candidly that they do not want their own country or region to become a battlefield for zero-sum games, and they hope to further strengthen unity and cooperation in order to make the region more resilient and able to withstand shocks of the external uncertainties. In fact, peace and development is not only the call of Asia, but also a collective voice of the whole world. The power that comes from their convergence will be immensely strong.

The Boao Forum for Asia is China's home-ground diplomacy, through which the outside world also observes China. The more the US engages in "decoupling," the wider we open our door, and the more we embrace the world and develop together with the world. China has provided valuable certainty to the world. It supports true multilateralism and opposes camp confrontation politically; in terms of the economy, China has continuously promoted high-level opening-up to the outside world and peaceful and inclusive development. With the rise of China's economic size and international influence, the certainty provided by China is becoming increasingly significant and valuable to the world. This is where the significance of China being the "mainstay that safeguards world peace and development" lies.

The BFA is also a window to observe the trend of history. Around the time of this year's BFA, many foreign political figures have already started or are about to embark on visits to China. This indicates that the resonance and consensus triggered by unity, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness are strong. When the world is facing a crossroads of high uncertainty, a new community of shared future for Asia will surely become an anchor of peace and stability, a source of growth impetus, and a new highland of cooperation. It may encounter some backlash, but the overall trend is unstoppable.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
(Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump is facing at least one felony charge in the indictment involving a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, the Associated Press reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris Reese)
Some of former president Donald Trumps sharpest critics hailed the news that a grand jury in Manhattan had indicted the former president for allegedly paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election.

Former represetative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who was one of only 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Mr Trump in 2021, said he did not celebrate the indictment but said it was important.

Today is a somber day for our nation. Donald Trump committed many crimes, but this indictment should be a reminder that in America, NO ONE is above the law. We must move forward and let justice prevail. The anti-democratic threat, however, hasnt diminished.

In 2019, Mr Trump led a chant of send her back for Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. But on Thursday evening, Ms Omar said elected officials like Mr Trump need to be held accountable.

Today is a somber day for our nation. Donald Trump committed many crimes, but this indictment should be a reminder that in America, NO ONE is above the law.



We must move forward and let justice prevail. The anti-democratic threat, however, hasnt diminished.  Adam Kinzinger #fella (@AdamKinzinger) March 30, 2023

I hope all of my colleagues will join me in supporting justice and accountabilityregardless of partyfor the sake of our democracy.  Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) March 30, 2023

Our democracy rests on the rule of law. When someoneno matter how powerful they areis suspected of a criminal act, our justice system investigates, charges, and convicts them in accordance with due process, he tweeted. This is just one of many criminal acts for which Donald Trump is being investigated.

Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York added that the indictment of Mr Trump in Manhattan was not the only reason he could face legal troubles.

Trump attempted to illegally overturn election results in Georgia and worked to incite the insurrection at the Capitol, both in an effort to overthrow our government to advance his fascist cause, he tweeted. His continued calls for protests following his arrest are just another dog whistle for his followers: destroy our democracy.

Its time that we ensure Trump is banned from running for any public office again and from there, finally take action to fix our democracy.  Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) March 30, 2023

Mr Bowman said that Mr Trump should be banned from holding public office permanently.

George Conway, who is currently in the process of divorcing top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, noted how the indictment came right before the grand jury was set to take a pre-planned break.

it's so good to see that the ol'-drop-it-in-the-mail-just-before-leaving-on-vacation trick is alive and well  George Conway (@gtconway3d) March 30, 2023

[I]t's so good to see that the ol'-drop-it-in-the-mail-just-before-leaving-on-vacation trick is alive and well, he tweeted.

Former representative Mondaire Jones of New York criticised Republican defences of the former president.

Republican officials are claiming its relatable that Donald Trump paid hush money to a porn star in order to win a presidential election, then manipulated official business records to conceal his campaign finance violations.



Weird.  Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) March 30, 2023

Republican officials are claiming its relatable that Donald Trump paid hush money to a porn star in order to win a presidential election, then manipulated official business records to conceal his campaign finance violations, he said. Weird.

Mr Jones later cheekily quote-tweeted a story noting how actress Gwyneth Paltrow won a ski accident lawsuit.

Just a truly important day for our justice system. https://t.co/lAsyccW4G3  Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) March 30, 2023

Just a truly important day for our justice system, he tweeted.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trumps indictment laid bare his complicated relationship with Republicans, forcing them to thread a needle between expressing full-throated fealty and attacking the Democratic prosecutor who brought the case to suit their own agendas.

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Republicans  including those considering a White House bid, themselves  almost unanimously condemned the prosecution and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as politically motivated. But subtleties in the pronouncements reveal the fear within the Republican Party of getting cross-wise with Trumps hard-core supporters, crucial in a primary.

The contortion was most on display in the statement issued by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whom Trump has been attacking for months as his strongest potential challenger for the 2024 presidential nomination.

DeSantis issued a 77-word statement on Twitter condemning the indictment as a weaponization of the legal system and un-American but didnt mention Trump by name. He said that he wouldnt assist with an extradition order, even though Trumps lawyers had already said he would surrender voluntarily.

It was a political chess move that allowed him to show Trump supporters hes willing to fight for the former president  especially after getting backlash for jabbing him earlier this month for allegedly paying hush-money to a porn star  while at the same time leaning into his political brand of presiding over a free state.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who announced her candidacy last month, as well as US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and Trumps former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo  two other potential contenders  all also offered responses that criticized the indictment without mentioning Trumps name.

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Others, like former Vice President Mike Pence, who just weeks ago surprised a Washington crowd by attacking his ex-boss for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, focused on the unprecedented nature of the indictment.

Taken together, the statements show the difficulty that besets the Republican Party with 10 months before voting starts in GOP caucuses and primaries. Some members of the party see this election cycle as their best chance in the last seven years to move past Trump. But others are either beholden to him or seek to woo his base, that resolute 30% or so that may allow him to skate through a presidential primary in a crowded field or can be dispatched in congressional primaries to unseat disloyal members.

Theres no appetite among Republican voters for candidates to do anything short of condemning the indictment  even though the charges havent been revealed  and its clear from watching the reaction on conservative media that any Republican who criticized Trump would be hammered, said GOP strategist Alex Conant, whos worked on presidential campaigns including Florida Senator Marco Rubios 2016 bid.

Republican voters view this through the lens of us versus them, and you dont want to be seen as siding with them, Conant said.

On CNN, Pence called the indictment related to campaign finance matters outrageous and said it appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution thats driven by a prosecutor who literally ran for office on a pledge to indict the former president.

Pompeo attacked Bragg and deployed the GOP talking point of tying Bragg to Democratic political donor George Soros.

Mike DuHaime, the top strategist for former New Jersey Governor Chris Christies campaigns, said its probably fine in this case for candidates to try to thread the needle because GOP voters are likely to rally around the former president, who polls indicate is the clear front-runner.

But Trump could face more charges in the other state and federal investigations he faces, and eventually candidates will have to take on Trump if they want to defeat him, DuHaime said.

In the long run, its a losing strategy to just try to dance around Trump all the time, DuHaime said. From a long term strategic point of view, theyre going to have to eventually get over their fear of Trump.

Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, whos been laying the groundwork for a White House bid, said Trump shouldnt be the next president and urged Americans in a statement to wait on the facts. But he also said it is essential that the decision on Americas next president be made at the ballot box and not in the court system.

Republican strategist Rick Tyler, who worked on Texas Senator Ted Cruzs 2016 presidential campaign, said the candidates could have said the process will play out, as Hutchinson did, or not comment at all, President Joe Bidens approach so far. Tyler called GOP aspirants reactions cowardly.

Biden on Friday morning declined to comment on the case to reporters as the White House attempts to avoid any appearance of political meddling in the justice system.

Trump has managed to twist and contort everyone in the Republican Party to the point where they just look silly, Tyler said. I guess if he does go to jail, you wont have to be afraid of him anymore.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Former President Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury Thursday, making history as the first executive  sitting or former  to face criminal charges.

The indictment comes after District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) initiated a probe investigating Trumps involvement in organizing hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.

The charges, explosive in any context, are made even more so because Trump is running again for the White House in 2024; and he leads the field by a huge margin in the nascent race for the GOP nomination.

Here are five takeaways from Thursdays extraordinary development.

Charges filed, but specifics unclear

Bragg has been investigating a $130,000 hush money payment that Michael Cohen made to Stormy Daniels in 2018. (Getty Images)

The indictment  which contains the specific charges  will remain under seal until Trump appears in court for his arraignment on Tuesday, unless Bragg successfully asks a judge to unseal it early.

The specifics remain unclear, but a source familiar with the proceedings confirmed to The Hill that it includes a felony.

Bragg has been probing a $130,000 hush money payment that Trumps fixer, Michael Cohen, made to Daniels in October 2016, just weeks before the presidential election.

A hush payment by itself is legal, but outside legal experts have suggested the indictment is likely to focus on charges of falsifying business records. Prosecutors would first need to show that Trump, with an intent to defraud, was personally involved in improperly designating reimbursements a legal expense.

More coverage of the Trump indictment from The Hill:

Story continues

That still amounts to a misdemeanor under New York law, carrying up to one year of jail time per count.

But the inclusion of a felony charge suggests prosecutors believe they can make a case tying the record falsification to another crime, augmenting the maximum jail time to four years per count.

Trump has acknowledged the payment to Daniels, though he denies her claim the two had sexual relations. Trumps attorneys have also claimed that Trump made the payment to protect false information from hurting his marriage. They have contended he did not make the payment to influence the election, nodding to the possibility that Bragg could seek felony charges by asserting the payments violated campaign laws in some fashion.

Trump will be in court next week

As footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is displayed in the background, former President Trump stands while a song, Justice for All, is played during a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport in Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump is set to be arraigned Tuesday, appearing in court in Lower Manhattan so the charges against him can be read aloud.

One of Trumps attorneys, speaking before the indictment was filed, said Trump plans to surrender to authorities.

There wont be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DAs office, attorney Joe Tacopina told the New York Daily News earlier this month.

Standard procedure indicates that Trump would provide fingerprints and potentially a mugshot before being released ahead of trial.

White-collar defendants are typically handcuffed as they walk into the courthouse in Lower Manhattan for their arraignment when they formally enter a plea.

According to reporting from The Guardian, Trump has previously told those close to him that he wants to be handcuffed when appearing for the arraignment, believing it would be a greater show of strength.

Despite earlier signs from Trumps legal team that the former president, a Florida resident, plans to arrive at the arraignment, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said the state will not assist in an extradition request.

Braggs office said Thursday evening that they contacted Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment.

Trump and allies cry political persecution

Former President Trump

Former President Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., on March 4. (Greg Nash)

The former president and his political orbit quickly denounced the indictment as a politically motivated effort to drag down Trumps 2024 campaign.

I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party  united and strong  will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, Trump said in a statement.

Taylor Budowich, a spokesperson for a Trump-aligned super PAC, claimed political elites and powerbrokers were united in an effort to try and stop Trump from returning to the White House.

And Trumps attorneys representing him in the Manhattan case vowed to vigorously fight the charges in court.

Several of Trumps potential rivals in a 2024 presidential primary also jumped to his defense on Thursday, condemning the prosecution as politically motivated.

DeSantis, perhaps Trumps most formidable challenger, called the charges un-American. Vivek Ramaswamy, another 2024 candidate, warned the decision would undermine public trust and said it was a politicization of the Justice system.

What Trump says in the days to come will be closely watched. He caused an uproar in recent weeks when he called for supporters to protest and warned of death and destruction if Bragg moved forward with an indictment.

Not all Democrats are cheering

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who led Trumps first impeachment investigation, has been critical of the DOJ for failing to bring any charges against Trump after more than two years since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. (Greg Nash)

While a vast majority of Democrats hailed the indictment as a victory for the rule of law, not all of Trumps critics are cheering.

A handful of liberals are blasting the decision as a strategic mistake  politically speaking  since the Manhattan case features the least serious of the accusations Trump faces across various other investigations.

Those other investigations include Georgias probe into Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and the Justice Departments examinations of Trumps role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the discovery of classified documents at his residence in South Florida.

Given the seriousness of the potential charges in those pending cases, some liberals fear that Braggs decision will undermine any indictments that follow.

After inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, pressuring local officials to overturn the 2020 election, receiving financial kickbacks from foreign powers, and numerous other crimes during his presidency, its embarrassing and infuriating that the first indictment against Trump is aboutStormy Daniels, Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

Some Democrats  including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who led Trumps first impeachment  have been highly critical of the DOJ for failing to bring any charges against Trump even more than two years after the Jan. 6 attack. Green on Thursday joined that chorus.

The January 6th Select Committee and bold leaders like [Rep.] Jamie Raskin [D-Md.] did their job, he said. Its time for Merrick Garland and the Justice Department to do theirs.

Other probes into Trumps conduct are still ongoing

Former President Trump announces a third run for president as he speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

While New York was the first to indict, Trump is being investigated by a number of entities across various probes.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) has also presented evidence to a grand jury about Trumps attempts to influence the 2020 election in Georgia. Interviews from various jurors on the panel indicated that they recommended charges for multiple defendants in the matter.

Willis previously moved to block the release of a report from the grand jury, saying that charging decisions on multiple defendants were imminent. A judge ordered partial release of the report in February, however, which concluded there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 contest, undercutting a likely argument from Trump.

The known targets include former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and 16 Republicans who held a meeting to carry out the fake elector plot by voting to certify the election for Trump.

Trump has moved to quash the investigation, with Willis given until May 1 to respond.

Special counsel Jack Smith is overseeing two probes related to Trump: one reviewing efforts to block the transition of power following the 2020 election and another reviewing the mishandling of classified records at Mar-a-Lago, Trumps residence in Florida.

Trump has lost several recent court battles dealing with those probes, with sealed orders from judges directing cooperation from a number of people close to the former president. Former Vice President Pence, Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and other former White House aides have been ordered to testify in the Jan. 6 probe.

Evan Corcoran, Trumps attorney in the Mar-a-Lago probe, was also ordered by a judge to return and testify in that probe, with a judge determining he could not use attorney-client privilege to avoid answering numerous questions asked in a prior grand jury appearance. In the ruling the judge determined that the legal advice to Trump may have been in furtherance of a crime, allowing the piercing of attorney-client privilege.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Some of former President Trumps fiercest Hollywood critics are celebrating his indictment on criminal charges Thursday, wishing one another a happy indictment day.

In a history-making move, the 45th president was indicted in New York over his role in organizing hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 White House bid  the first time an ex-commander in chief has been charged in a criminal matter.

Its finally happening, comedian Kathy Griffin wrote on Twitter, thanking Daniels. Griffin had ignited controversy in 2017, including being questioned by the Secret Service, after posting a photo of herself holding a prop meant to look like Trumps severed head.

Happy Donald Trump is indicted Day! songwriter Diane Warren wrote to her followers.

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, a frequent Trump critic, shared a gif of children dancing and tweeted, Did somebody say indictment?

Let 2023 be the year of accountability, George Takei, of Star Trek fame, wrote.

Happy indictment day, to those who celebrate, he added in another Twitter message.

Finally! Michael Moore wrote in all caps to his nearly 6 million Twitter followers. The Fahrenheit 9/11 director launched an anti-Trump one-man show in 2017 on Broadway. Something, said Moore, posting an image of an orange square.

Former Charmed star and Sorry Not Sorry podcast host Alyssa Milano  who in 2019 compared pro-Trump Make America Great Again hats to white hoods worn by members of the Ku Klux Klan  expressed a more somber tone.

Although accountability is vitally important and no one is above the law, Milano wrote on Twitter, this is a really sad day for The United States Of America.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Demonstrators gathered outside of Manhattan Criminal Court while a grand jury was presented with evidence in a case against Donald Trump. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Judge Juan Merchan is being protected with increased security in the wake of Trump's NY indictment.

Merchan also presided over the Trump Organization trial that recently ended in convictions.

In a Truth Social post Friday morning, Trump took a swipe at Merchan by name.

Security at Manhattan Criminal Court and around the judge assigned to the criminal case against Donald Trump has been heightened in the wake of the grand jury's vote on Thursday to indict the former president.

Court officers at 100 Centre Street closed the 15th floor of the courthouse  where Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Merchan has his courtroom  to members of the press and public Friday.

Merchan continued to hear cases, with 10 on his daily docket, but court officers holding clipboards stopped people from exiting an elevator on that floor. Only lawyers and defendants in his scheduled cases were allowed on the floor.

There's been added security around the building they closed off the back entrance," one lawyer, Andrew Miller, told Insider Friday.

Miller said there's some increase in security but it's akin to what he's seen before on high-profile cases.

Merchan's security has been high since Thursday evening, after the grand jury voted to indict. Merchan returned to the courthouse at around 7 p.m. to sign a document allowing District Attorney Alvin Bragg to disclose the existence of the indictment.

The document was signed in a sealed courtroom and under heavy court-officer guard. Reporters from Insider and other news outlets were not allowed to observe.

Shortly after the document was signed, Bragg announced that Trump had been indicted.

On Friday morning, Trump posted a rage-filled Truth Social post attacking Merchan, who has a history of overseeing high-profile political trials.

In addition to being the judge assigned to Trump's criminal case, Merchan previously presided over the Manhattan fraud trial involving the Trump Organization and its former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, as well as a fraud and money-laundering case involving ex-Trump advisor Stephen Bannon.

Story continues

"The Judge "assigned" to my Witch Hunt Case, a "Case" that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME," Trump wrote. "His name is Juan Manuel Marchan, was hand picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors, & is the same person who "railroaded" my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a "plea" deal."

Weisselberg reluctantly testified for the prosecution last year in the Trump Org case, as part of a plea deal that sent him to jail for five months.

Throughout the day on Friday, members of the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies moved in and around the courthouse.

Trump is expected to surrender to authorities and be arraigned at the courthouse on Tuesday.

"The NYPD ensures thousands of events, including first amendment activities, are conducted safely in New York City each year," an NYPD spokesperson told Insider in a written statement. "Officers have been placed on alert and the department remains ready to respond as needed and will ensure everyone is able to peacefully exercise their rights. There are no current credible threats to New York City."

Miller said a judge told him Friday that he shouldn't expect to work on Tuesday afternoon.

"I gather that it's going to be all hands," Attorney Andrew Miller said of the security during Trump's arraignment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON  The indictment against Donald Trump hasnt been unveiled, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating hush-money payments before the 2016 election totaling $280,000 to silence two women who claimed to have had sex with Trump.

Legal experts have said the charges under New York law could include a misdemeanor for falsification of business records, for allegedly calling the payments legal fees, linked to a felony for a campaign finance violation because of the benefit to Trumps presidential campaign.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and slammed the investigation as politically motivated. He initially denied the payments, but has acknowledged reimbursing his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable  indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference, Trump said in a statement Thursday.

Heres what we know about the payments:

Michael Cohen testifies before grand jury

Who is Stormy Daniels?

The payments were outlined in sworn testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in 2019.

Cohen and at least one of the women, porn actress Stormy Daniels, who received $130,000, have appeared before the grand jury. The other woman, Playboy model Karen McDougal, received $150,000.

Cohen told the House panel he was reimbursed a total of $420,000 for his role in the payments, in part to cover his taxes and a $60,000 bonus for himself. The payments were made  some in checks signed by Trump  in $35,000 monthly installments under the guise of a legal retainer, Cohen said.

Cohen said he created a shell company called Essential Consultants to pay Daniels and hide the deal from his wife.

Daniels lawyer, Clark Brewster, said the indictment indicated no one is above the law.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - FEBRUARY 06, 2010: Karen McDougal attends Playboy's Super Saturday Night Party at Sagamore Hotel on February 6, 2010 in Miami Beach, Fla. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Playboy) ORG XMIT: 96145562 [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

Who is Karen McDougal?

Cohen funneled the payment to McDougal through an arrangement with National Enquirer under a strategy called catch and kill. The strategy called for the tabloid to pay ostensibly for McDougals story and then kill her story after preventing her from telling anyone else about it.

Story continues

Cohen was convicted and imprisoned in part for his role in the payments.David Pecker, an executive at the company that published the National Enquirer, appeared before the grand jury Monday. The tabloid was fined $187,500 for helping Trumps campaign.

Contributing: Kevin Johnson, Josh Meyer

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hush money payments key to New York investigation into Trump
A grand jury in New York City voted Thursday to indict Donald Trump  the first time a former U.S. president has faced criminal charges.

The historic indictment comes in a case centered on $130,000 in payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels claimed she slept with the married Trump in 2006, a claim he has denied. Trump had classified his reimbursement of the payout as a legal expense.

A spokesperson for the Manhattan DA's office confirmed the indictment in a statement Thursday night.

This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a [state] Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," the spokesperson said. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected. (Supreme Court is the name of New York states highest trial court.)

Trump attorney Susan Necheles told NBC News that Trump, who lives in Florida, is expected to be arraigned Tuesday. He is expected to surrender to the Manhattan DAs office, Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said earlier Thursday.

President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court, Necheles and Tacopina said in a joint statement.

The tentative plan is for Trump to appear before acting Justice Juan Merchan after 2:15 p.m. Tuesday for his felony arraignment, two officials familiar with the matter said. Merchan presided over the DA's successful tax fraud prosecution of Trump's company last year.

The exact charge or charges are unknown because indictments are typically filed in court under seal after a grand jurys vote in New York.

Manhattan District Attorney Bragg was known to be focusing on a felony charge of falsifying business records. That charge carries a maximum prison sentence of four years.

Trump blasted the news in a statement Thursday evening.

Story continues

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. "The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable  indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference."

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to the probe, and he has called the investigation by Braggs office a continuation of the partisan witch hunt against him. He has also accused Bragg, a Democrat who is Black, of being a racist.

Trump said this month that hed be arrested on March 21 and issued a call on his social media website, Truth Social, for his supporters to PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!! In recent days, he has ratcheted up his rhetoric, warning last week of potential death & destruction if he were indicted.

Security was ramped up earlier Thursday in the area where the grand jury was meeting. New York police, FBI and court officers are expected to coordinate security for Trumps appearance at the courthouse with the Secret Service, which provides protection to all former presidents.

The coordination will include conversations about the transportation and security needs for Trump to comply with the legal process, officials said.

Trump has said he has no plans to drop out of the 2024 presidential race even if he were indicted. Absolutely not, he told reporters at an event this month.

Immediate reaction to his indictment split along party lines, with congressional Republicans accusing Bragg of prosecutorial abuse and Democrats hailing the grand jury's decision as showing no one is above the law.

The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on Twitter.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: "Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law. There should be no outside political influence, intimidation or interference in the case."

The White House referred questions about the indictment to the Democratic National Committee, where a spokesperson said, No matter what happens in Trumps upcoming legal proceedings, its obvious the Republican Party remains firmly in the hold of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans.

Trump's 2024 opponents and likely rivals for the nomination were quick to come to his defense Thursday. Former Vice President Mike Pence told CNN the indictment was an outrage, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called it un-American and a weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the first major GOP candidate to enter the race after Trump announced his bid, tweeted, This is more about revenge than it is about justice.

The indictment comes after years of investigation by the district attorney's office, which charged two companies that are part of the Trump Organization with a 15-year tax fraud scheme. The companies were found guilty last year and ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in penalties and fines.

A key witness in the current case is Michael Cohen, Trumps former lawyer and fixer.

Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 to making the illegal payment to Daniels for the principal purpose of influencing the 2016 presidential election and said he did so at Trumps direction. He was sentenced to three years in prison for that and other crimes.

Trump has acknowledged that he repaid Cohen the $130,000 but maintained the payment was legal. Trump tweeted in 2018 that the money was not from the campaign and that the deal had been a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA.

The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair ... despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair, Trump said on Twitter at the time.

Court filings from federal prosecutors in Cohens case show he was paid the money back through payments coordinated through the Trump Organization.

The Company accounted for these payments as legal expenses, the filing said, even though there was no such retainer agreement, and the monthly invoices Cohen submitted were not in connection with any legal services he had provided in 2017.

Trump was never charged in the probe headed by the Justice Department he oversaw at the time, but in court filings in Cohens case, investigators said they believed he was closely involved with payment.

They noted the money was paid as Trump was dealing with the fallout from leaked audio from the show Access Hollywood, in which he said he liked to kiss and grope beautiful women. When youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, he was recorded saying.

The FBI court filing said that in the days following the Access Hollywood video, Cohen exchanged a series of calls, text messages and emails with Keith Davidson, who was then [Daniels] attorney, David Pecker and Dylan Howard of American Media Inc., the publisher of the National Enquirer, Trump, and Hope Hicks, who was then press secretary for Trumps presidential campaign.

Trump and Cohen also spoke the day he wired the money to Daniels attorney and the day the deal was finalized, the FBI filing said.

AMI cooperated with the federal investigation into Cohen and acknowledged having paid another woman, Playboy model Karen McDougal, $150,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump to help his campaign. The U.S. attorneys office said the publisher admitted making the payment in concert with a candidates presidential campaign.

Tacopina, one of Trumps attorneys, told MSNBCs Ari Melber this month that the records werent falsified, because the money went to Trumps then-lawyer Cohen and therefore was a legal expense. Its not a crime, Tacopina said.

Cohen met repeatedly with prosecutors after the grand jury began hearing evidence in January, and Hicks was seen leaving a meeting with prosecutors this month. Pecker testified before the grand jury Monday and is believed to be the last witness the panel heard from before it voted to indict Trump.

Prosecutors had offered Trump a chance to voluntarily testify before the grand jury this month  a sign the investigation was in its final stages  but he declined the offer. We are not convinced they will bring a case, but if so we will deal with it, Tacopina said when Trump was weighing how to proceed.

State prosecutors in Manhattan had for years eyed the falsified business records as part of a larger investigation into Trump, with a former member of the team telling MSNBC this year there were concerns internally about the strength of the zombie case.

You need the intent to commit or conceal another crime to raise the offense of a falsified business record to a felony from a misdemeanor, the former prosecutor, Mark Pomerantz, told Rachel Maddow last month.

When we first looked at it, we saw, gee, theres a real risk here, a legal risk that if we bring felony charges, theyll be reduced to misdemeanors, and were investigating a whole slew, as you mentioned, of other felony charges. So the first time in my tenure when this came up, we took the decision [of] lets table the hush money situation, Pomerantz said.

We referred to it in the office internally as the zombie case, because it arose from the dead, went back into slumber, rose from the dead, and this happened a number of times, he added.

Trump is also the subject of at least three other criminal probes. Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating whether he and his allies coordinated attempts to alter the outcome of the election in the state.

Special counsel Jack Smith, meanwhile, is overseeing dual probes into Trumps actions around the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and his failure to comply with a Justice Department subpoena demanding the return of government documents and possible mishandling of the documents.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in all three probes and maintains hes being unfairly persecuted.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Silvio Berlusconi, Donald Trump, Nicolas Sarkozy. (Giorgio Cosulich/Getty Images, Brandon Bell/Getty Images, Julien De Rosa/AFP via Getty Images)

Donald Trump has become the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges after a grand jury in New York voted to indict him over a hush money payment. Adult-film star Stormy Daniels claims she was paid $130,000 by Trump during the 2016 election to keep quiet about an affair that took place a decade earlier.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had signed a nondisclosure agreement in October 2016 in exchange for her silence. Trump has denied the affair but admitted to the payment, stating that it was to stop her false and extortionist accusations.

Donald Trump at a rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

It is not every day that a former leader from a democratic nation is indicted, but it has become more common in recent years. Over a decade ago, Jacques Chirac of France became the first former president to be convicted of a crime. In 2011 he was given a two-year suspended sentence for embezzling public funds to illegally finance his political party.

Former French President Jacques Chirac. (Christian Liewig/Corbis via Getty Images)

Ten years later, his successor Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption after attempting to bribe a judge. Months later, he was convicted again, but this time for illegally funding his 2012 election campaign. He was handed his second one-year sentence, but the court ruled that he was allowed to serve his jail time at home.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at court for the appeal hearing of his corruption trial in Paris last December. (Julien De Rosa/AFP via Getty Images)

In neighboring Italy, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in 2013, which led to his expulsion from Parliament by the Senate. But this was only temporary, as he won a Senate seat in 2022. Berlusconi is better known for the several court cases tied to the infamous bunga bunga parties that he held while in office. Some of the egregious crimes he was accused of included the rape of an underage girl. He was acquitted of all charges.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in 2011. (Giorgio Cosulich/Getty Images)

On the other side of the world, South Korea has seen two former presidents convicted of various crimes, including bribery and corruption. A third, Roh Moo-hyun, took his own life before his corruption case was brought to court. He had denied that the $6 million payments given to his relatives while he was in office were bribes.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. (Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

In Israel, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former President Moshe Katsav were both given prison sentences between 2011 and 2014. Meanwhile, current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial for corruption. Netanyahus government recently pushed ahead with plans that would see the countrys judicial system weakened. As a result, 700,000 Israelis took to the streets in protest. The prime minister promised a monthlong delay to bring in the legislation, saying he was seeking to avoid civil war.
Donald Trump's lawyer said Friday that the former president will surrender to New York authorities, but he won't consider a plea deal after his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury investigating a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Trump faces multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The former president is set to appear in court in New York at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday. The unprecedented indictment represents the first criminal charges against a former U.S. president.

Prosecutors in New York investigated money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep the women from going public with claims that they had sex with him.

Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told NBC's "Today" show on Friday that Trump was initially "shocked" when notified of the grand jury's action late Thursday. But the 76-year-old Trump "put a notch on his belt" and vowed to challenge the criminal case, Tacopina said.

President Trump will not take a plea deal in this case. Its not going to happen. Theres no crime, Tacopina said.

How Stormy Daniels reacted to indictment: Stormy Daniels said she'd dance in the streets if Trump was indicted. Now she's sad it happened

Trump indicted: How did Michael Cohen arrange hush payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal?

Here is the latest on the indictment:

Former President Donald Trump indicted in New York on criminal charges

Trump campaign raises more than $4 million since indictment

Former President Donald Trump raised over $4 million in the 24 hours since the news of his indictment broke, according to a statement from his presidential campaign.

The campaign says the donations are a sign that the American people see the indictment of President Trump as a disgraceful weaponization of our justice system by a Soros-funded prosecutor.

Over 25% of the donations are from first-time donors, according to the Trump campaign.

Story continues

-- Ken Tran

Recap: Grand jury indicts Donald Trump in New York, first time a former president is charged criminally

Attorney: Cohens testimony supported by multiple sources

Michael Cohens lawyer says everything that Donald Trumps former fixer has testified about in the hush-money case is supported by layers of documents and corroborating witnesses.

Everything is backed up by multiple sources, attorney Lanny Davis, who is representing Cohen, said Friday on Meet The Press.

Cohen once served as Trumps lawyer, and alleges to have engineered payments to silence two women who claimed to have had sex with the New York real estate mogul prior his 2016 White House bid.

Trump and his allies have argued the indictment is a political persecution and that Cohen acted on his own and is seeking "revenge" after serving time in prison over the payments.

But Davis said that ignores the legal evidence and misses the chief factual question at the heart of the case, which is jurors deciding whether Trump had a political motivation to direct the hush-money.

Theres lots of testimony, lots of documentation about political motivation, Davis said.

 Phillip M. Bailey

Fact check: Donald Trump ties George Soros to Alvin Bragg. Experts say connection is mischaracterized

Trump to fly up to New York on Monday

Donald Trump is making travel plans for his arraignment in New York City on Tuesday.

As of now, Trump is scheduled to ride his private plane from South Florida to New York on mid-day Monday and spend the night at Trump Tower, according to two campaign officials familiar with the planning.

Trump plans to arrive early at the courthouse Tuesday for his appearance in response to the indictment, officials said.

The details of his courthouse appearance are still being worked out; the former president is scheduled to be arraigned at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Trump is expected to travel back to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., right after the arraignment on Tuesday, one of the officials said.

 David Jackson

Presiding: Juan Merchan, judge in Trump Organization trial, expected to preside at Trump arraignment

Exonerated Central Park 5 member reacts

One of the men wrongly convicted in the 1989 Central Park Five case has one word for Donald Trump: karma.

That's the tweet Yusef Salaam  now a New York City Council candidate  sent out Thursday. He was one of five Black and Hispanic teenagers wrongly convicted of assaulting and raping a white woman in New Yorks Central Park.

During that period Trump, who was a popular New York real estate mogul, bought a full-page newspaper ad demanding the state adopt the death penalty in reaction to the attack.

As president, Trump refused to apologize when the five were officially exonerated and evidence showed police illegally coerced a confession.

 Phillip M. Bailey

Previously: 'They admitted their guilt': 30 years of Trump's comments about the Central Park Five

Stormy Daniels opts out of Piers Morgan interview

The woman at the center of the criminal investigation that led to Donald Trumps indictment postponed what was being promoted as a blockbuster interview.

Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, was set to do an interview with British TV personality Piers Morgan on Friday, which would have been her first in the wake of the former president being hit with unspecified criminal charges.

But Morgan, who was a guest star on Trumps Celebrity Apprentice during its run on NBC, said she changed plans at the last minute.

Unfortunately, Stormy Daniels has had to suddenly postpone our interview tonight due to some security issues that have arisen, Morgan said via Twitter.

Hope shes OK.

Daniels' attorney did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

 Phillip M. Bailey

Previously: Stormy Daniels said she'd dance in the streets if Trump was indicted. Now she's sad it happened

What is an arraignment?: What the legal proceeding means following Trump's indictment

Juan Merchan, judge in Trump Organization trial, expected to preside at Trump arraignment

The New York judge tentatively assigned to preside at next week's arraignment of Donald Trump is more than familiar with the players in the former president's orbit.

Manhattan's Acting Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan presided over the fraud trial of Trump's namesake real estate company and the related Trump Payroll Corporation ending in a December conviction and $1.6 million in fines.

Merchan also oversaw the sentencing of former Trump financial chief Allen Weisselberg, whose testimony in the fraud case helped secure the convictions.

 Kevin Johnson, Josh Meyer, David Jackson

Who will be judge at Trump arraignment?: Juan Merchan, judge in Trump Organization trial, expected to preside at Trump arraignment

Manhattan DA Alvin Braggs office: GOP House chairmen baseless and inflammatory

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office told three House Republican chairmen who have criticized his investigation of Donald Trump their dispute is baseless and inflammatory, and that Trump can now defend himself against criminal charges in court.

The three chairmen  Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, on the Judiciary Committee, James Comer of Kentucky on the Oversight and Accountability Committee and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin on the Administration Committee  asked Bragg to answer questions about his inquiry, which they said appeared politically motivated.

Braggs general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, rejected the request by saying the lawmakers had no legitimate basis to ask about a pending criminal matter. The chairmen wrote again saying they were justified in asking how a local prosecutor could alter a presidents policies by threatening criminal charges.

Your second letter asserts that, by failing to provide it, the District Attorney somehow failed to dispute your baseless and inflammatory allegations that our investigation is politically motivated, Dubeck wrote. That conclusion is misleading and meritless.

 Bart Jansen

Jailed Trump exec cuts ties with lawyers: Former Trump Organization exec Allen Weisselberg cuts ties with attorneys

Eric and Donald Trump Jr. outraged by indictment

Trump's sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. expressed outrage that the Manhattan District Attorneys office has obtained a grand jury indictment against their father, calling it a witch hunt and politically motivated prosecutorial misconduct.

Donald Trump Jr. took to the former presidents Truth Social media platform to describe the indictment as Big news in the weaponization of our Govt against their political enemies.

Eric Trump said the indictment came in response to his fathers third attempt to win the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election.

"This is third world prosecutorial misconduct. It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year," Eric Trump said in a tweet.

 Josh Meyer

Trump mugshot?: A Donald Trump mugshot? Fingerprints? What happens next after Trump indictment

Ivanka Trump on father's indictment

But Trump's eldest daughter and former White House advisor, Ivanka Trump, hadnt said anything on social media until Friday morning, when she offered a cautious response.

I love my father, and I love my country. Today, l am pained for both, she wrote in an Instagram post shortly after 11 a.m. EST. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.

After Trump announced his presidential candidacy last year, she suggested she'd be stepping back from her father's political career. While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena," she said at the time.

 Josh Meyer

Jailed Trump exec cuts ties with lawyers: Former Trump Organization exec Allen Weisselberg cuts ties with attorneys

Donald Trump with his children in 2014. From left, Eric, Donald Jr. and Ivanka.

When will Trump be arrested?

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office acknowledged late Thursday that Trumps lawyers had been notified of the indictment.

Details of the charges haven't been released. But legal experts said the charges could stem from the $130,000 payment former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen said he arranged from Trump to porn actress Daniels in exchange for her silence before the 2016 election. Cohen and Daniels have each appeared before the grand jury.

Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina said Trump was expected in New York by Tuesday for arraignment.

"We're working out those logistics right now," Tacopina told NBC's "Today" show, referring to Trump's surrender.

 Kevin Johnson

Alvin Bragg v. Donald Trump: Inside Manhattan DA's latest legal tangle with former president

Stormy Daniels, an adult film star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is central to the case Manhattan prosecutors are building against former President Donald Trump.

How will Trump be arrested?

Trumps lawyer has said he would surrender voluntarily to face the charges in New York.

When he is arrested he will be read his rights known as a Miranda warning, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.

Trump is expected to be taken into custody and processed like any other defendant, according to law enforcement experts. The difference is that as a former president, his Secret Service detail will accompany him.

There will still be a mug shot, fingerprints and lots of paperwork filled out as part of the booking process, like other defendants, said former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner.

 Josh Meyer

How Trump's Republican rivals reacted: 'An outrage': What Trump's potential rivals for 2024 are saying about his indictment

President Joe Biden, second from right, and First Lady Jill Biden, second from left, make their way to board Air Force One before departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on March 31, 2023.

Biden: No comment on Trump indictment

President Joe Biden stayed silent Friday about Trumps indictment.

Reporters asked Biden about the indictment multiple times as he left the White House early Friday for a trip to Mississippi. I have no comment on Trump, he said.

Biden has nothing publicly about Trumps legal troubles since the former president announced two weeks ago that he expected to face criminal charges.

 Michael Collins and Maureen Groppe

Biden refuses to talk Trump indictment: 'No. Im not going to talk about the Trump indictment': Biden refuses to comment on hush money case

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Trumps GOP rivals: Indictment an outrage and un-American

Trumps Republican rivals and potential opponents for the 2024 presidential nomination also slammed the charges as politically motivated:

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is weighing a bid, told CNN the unprecedented indictment was nothing more than a political prosecution and an outrage.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told Fox News Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was trying to take revenge.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is considering a run, said the weaponization of the legal system is un-American.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, another possible candidate, said Trump should have the presumption of innocence. He said Trump shouldnt be the next president, but that the voters should decide.

 Rebecca Morin

Who is Michael Cohen?: Former Trump lawyer is a key witness in New York probe of ex-president

A doorman stands outside of Trump Tower on March 21 in New York City. Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in an investigation into hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

New York indictment one of 4 pending investigations against Trump

The New York indictment against Trump is one of at least four investigations against the former president.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating potential charges of election fraud for Trumps call 2021 call to state Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has a two-pronged investigation. He is reviewing Trumps role in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, and the discovery of classified documents at his estate Mar-a-Lago.

Potential New York charges such as falsifying business records are relatively mundane compared to allegations Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election. But Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney and now a law professor at the University of Michigan, said the evidence for falsifying business records would be fairly straightforward based on documents and is a common charge in New York.

It certainly does not raise the level of overturning an election, but this case is comparable to other cases that get filed on a regular basis in New York against defendants for falsifying business records, McQuade told USA TODAY. Trump should not get a pass on this case in New York just because he also faces potential charges in Georgia and in federal court."

 Bart Jansen

Other countries charge their leaders: Charges against Trump would be a first in US. But other countries? They routinely charge leaders.

Stormy Daniels: 'No joy' from indictment, lawyer says

Daniels said a few weeks ago she would dance down the street if Trump were indicted. But on Thursday, the woman at the center of the investigative storm feels bad that he was charged, although it means the judicial system is working, according to her lawyer.

She was surprised, honestly, even though it was mostly expected, her lawyer, Clark Brewster told USA TODAY. But on behalf of Stormy and honestly myself, there's no joy in seeing the man indicted.

Daniels wasnt immediately aware of the indictment because she was out riding her horse.

The fact is that she feels bad that the guy has been charged, Brewster said. But on the other hand, truly, she knew what the facts were and she wants him to deal with the truth as well. So from that perspective, there's a degree of feeling like the system is working.

 Josh Meyer

How does hush money work?: Trump indicted: How did Michael Cohen arrange hush payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal?

Go deeper

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump indictment news: Trump court appearance set for Tuesday
Following Donald Trump's unprecedented indictment by a Manhattan grand jury Thursday, the former president begins the first steps in the criminal justice process.

Trump surrenders to authorities

The Manhattan district attorney's office said it has been in contact with Trump's attorneys to arrange Trump's surrender to authorities in order to begin criminal proceedings.

MORE: Trump indictment: Live updates

Trump, a Florida resident, will have to travel to New York City to adhere to the court's deadline and be processed by authorities before heading to court for the unsealing of the indictment.

While a day has not been firmed up, sources close to the investigation told ABC News that Tuesday is the day being discussed by Trump's legal team and the Manhattan DA's office.

PHOTO: In this Nov. 7, 2022, file photo, former President Donald Trump is shown during a 'Save America' rally in Vandalia, Ohio. (Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE)

Trump is processed by authorities

Processing typically involves being fingerprinted and being photographed for a mug shot, but experts say those may not occur in Trump's case because the former president is not a flight risk. Similarly, Trump attorney Joe Tacopina told George Stephanopoulos Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that Trump would not be handcuffed.

"The president will not be put in handcuffs," Tacopina said.

It is also unlikely that Trump will be publicly transported to the courtroom by police, according to Cheryl Bader, an associate clinical professor of law at Fordham University.

PHOTO: The New York County Supreme Court building is shown on March 24, 2023, in New York. (LightRocket via Getty Images)

"With white-collar crime, we see that a lot of [suspects] have the privilege of being able to turn themselves in instead of being arrested and put in handcuffs," she said.

Trump appears in court, makes plea

During the court appearance, which typically takes place in a courtroom without cameras in New York state, the former president will be read his charges and ordered to make a plea. Trump and his attorneys have indicated they intend to fight the indictment in court.

Following his plea, the judge will have the right to remand Trump on bail or release him on his own recognizance before adjourning for a future date. Bader said that judges rarely order suspects in white-collar crimes to be held in jail before their trial, and she expected that the judge will release Trump after the hearing.

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MORE: Trump live updates: Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury; surrender expected early next week

In some cases, especially if the suspect is a flight risk, a judge may place restrictions on the suspect such as holding onto their passport, but Bader said it is unclear if the judge will go that far.

Judge hears motions, sets next court date

Following the judge's order, Trump's attorneys will have the opportunity to review the indictment charges and make motions regarding the case, including seeking to have the charges dismissed or evidence suppressed, or requesting a change of venue.

PHOTO: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court Mar. 29, 2023 in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Several pre-trial hearings and motions are expected in the case, as Trump's attorneys have repeatedly made claims that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's investigation is a political attack, according to Bader.

"I'm sure the case is going to be very litigated and take a lot of time to wind its way through the system," Bader said.

ABC News' Aaron Katersky and Will Steakin contributed to this report.

Trump indictment: What happens next originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Former President Donald Trumps court appearance Tuesday will kick off an intense legal battle as the 2024 Republican presidential candidate also fights to return to the White House.

Trump is expected to turn himself in and be arraigned in a New York courtroom, a stunning moment in American history as he becomes the first former president to stand before a judge to answer for criminal charges.

More details are expected to emerge Tuesday about the Manhattan district attorney's case against Trump. The indictment has remained under seal since the grand jury investigating hush money payments made to women during his 2016 campaign voted to bring charges against Trump. But the indictment will soon be made public.

Here's what to know about the hush money investigation, the charges against Trump and the ramifications for his bid to reclaim the presidency:

WHAT'S THIS CASE ABOUT?

The grand jury spent weeks investigating money paid during Trumps 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged that they had extramarital sexual encounters with him. Trump has denied the allegations.

Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, who testified as a key prosecution witness, paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 through a shell company he set up and was then reimbursed by Trump, whose company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses.

Earlier in 2016, Cohen also arranged for former Playboy model Karen McDougal to be paid $150,000 by the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer, which squelched her story in a journalistically dubious practice known as catch and kill.

WHAT'S AN INDICTMENT?

An indictment is the formal charge brought against someone after a grand jury  which is made up of members of the community  votes and enough members agree there's sufficient evidence to charge someone with a crime.

The indictment against Trump remains sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment. But once the document is made public, it will lay out the crime or crimes that Trump is accused of committing. Sometimes indictments include a lengthy narrative with lots of details about the allegations, while others are more basic and just outline the charges a defendant is facing.

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WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?

Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that isnt yet public.

Under the law, prosecutors must prove there was an intent to defraud. The felony falsifying business records offense requires prosecutors to prove that the records were falsified with the intention of committing, aiding or concealing a second crime. It's not clear yet what prosecutors allege the second crime to be, but experts have said it is probably some kind of campaign finance violation.

WHAT'S AN ARRAIGNMENT?

An arraignment is generally the first time a defendant appears in court after being charged. The judge will tell Trump the charges against him and advise him of his right to go to trial and other things. Trump will enter a plea of not guilty  as is standard for defendants to do at arraignment. The indictment is expected to be unsealed upon his arraignment.

Trump is expected to walk out of the courtroom because the charges against him dont require that bail be set in New York. Its possible  but unlikely  that Judge Juan Merchan could decide that Trump is a flight risk and order him held, with or without bail, though Trump's lawyers would vigorously fight that.

WHAT WILL TRUMP'S DEFENSE BE?

Trump's lawyers have vowed to vigorously fight this political prosecution in court. Defense attorney Joe Tacopina has described Trump as a victim of extortion who had to pay the money because the allegations were going to be embarrassing to him. But he says it had nothing to do with the campaign.

Trump will no doubt try to fight the case on multiple fronts. He may try to have the case moved out of Manhattan or New York City entirely  arguing he can't get a fair trial there  though it's rare for judges to agree to do that.

Trump may also argue that the statute of limitations has passed. Trump has complained that the statute of limitations long ago expired because the hush money payments and Cohens reimbursements happened more than six years ago.

New Yorks statute of limitations for most felonies is five years. For misdemeanors, its just two years. But in New York, the clock can stop on the statute of limitations when a potential defendant is continuously outside the state. Trump visited New York rarely over the four years of his presidency and now lives mostly in Florida and New Jersey.

WHAT'S THIS GRAND JURY AND WHO TESTIFIED?

A grand jury is made up of people drawn from the community, similar to a trial jury. But unlike juries that hear trials, grand juries dont decide whether someone is guilty or innocent. They only decide whether there is enough evidence for someone to be charged.

Proceedings are closed to the public, including the media. New York grand juries have 23 people. At least 16 must be present to hear evidence or deliberate, and 12 have to agree there is enough evidence in order to issue an indictment.

The key prosecution witness was Cohen. Trumps company grossed up Cohens reimbursement for the Daniels payment to defray tax payments, according to federal prosecutors who filed criminal charges against the lawyer in connection with the payments in 2018. In all, Cohen got $360,000 plus a $60,000 bonus, for a total of $420,000.

Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors say the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trumps campaign. But they declined to file charges against Trump himself.

Trump was invited to testify, but didnt. The grand jury, however, heard from Robert Costello, who was once a legal adviser to Cohen. Costello indicated he has information he believes undercuts Cohens credibility and contradicts his incriminating statements about Trump.

Another key witness was David Pecker, a longtime Trump friend and the former chief executive of the parent company of The National Enquirer.

Pecker's company, American Media Inc., secretly assisted Trumps campaign by paying $150,000 to McDougal in August 2016 for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. The company then suppressed McDougals story until after the election.

WHAT ABOUT SIMILAR CASES?

In a case with some parallels, federal prosecutors in 2011 brought charges over hush money payments against former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, a onetime Democratic presidential candidate and nominee for vice president. Edwards was charged with funneling nearly $1 million in under-the-table campaign contributions to hide his pregnant lover during his 2008 run for president.

Edwards had argued that the payments were a personal matter  intended to keep an affair secret from his wife  and had nothing to do with the election. A jury acquitted the Democrat on one charge and deadlocked on other counts. He wasnt retried.

But that was a federal case. Trumps case deals with New York state law.

WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS FOR TRUMP?

Neither the indictment itself nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

Already, the charges have been a boon to his fundraising. The campaign announced Friday evening that it had raised over $4 million in the 24 hours after the indictment became public, far smashing its previous record after the FBI search of Trumps Mar-a-Lago club.

Trumps team over the weekend blasted out emails full of supportive comments from dozens of top Republicans, many of whom had already been supportive of him leading up to the indictment.

Those likely to be facing off with Trump in next years GOP primary contests have also slammed the prosecution.

Former Vice President Mike Pence called the indictment an outrage and nothing more than a political prosecution. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said on Twitter that the indictment is more about revenge than it is about justice." Biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also seeking the GOP presidential nomination, called the indictment a dark moment in American history."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday accused Bragg of weaponizing the law for political purposes to bring a case against a former president, never mentioning Trump by name.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS?

The New York case is just one of many legal woes Trump is facing.

The Justice Department is also investigating his retention of top secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House. Federal investigators are also still probing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election that Trump falsely claimed was stolen.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election. The foreperson of a special grand jury, which heard from dozens of witnesses, said last month that the panel had recommended that numerous people be indicted, and hinted Trump could be among them. It is ultimately up to Willis to decide whether to move forward.

____

Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak, Michael Balsamo and Colleen Long contributed to this report.
Former President Trumps indictment by a Manhattan grand jury has sent the political and legal worlds into a frenzy.

Heres what we know so far about the case against Trump and what could happen next as the country awaits the former presidents arraignment.

Surprise jury vote on Thursday

A Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday to indict Trump on criminal charges for his role in organizing hush money payments made to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign.

The indictment, which remains under seal, follows an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) that centered on a $130,000 payment fixer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.

The indictment required support from a majority of the grand jury, which typically is made up of 16 or 23 people and hears evidence in secret.

The timing of Thursdays announcement came as something of a surprise. The grand jury had not met as scheduled on multiple occasions the past two weeks, and multiple reports emerged earlier in the week that it would go on a one-month hiatus that had previously been planned.

I think what happened was the delay was because with all the hype, especially when President Trump came up about, go protest, I think the jurors were frightened to come in. So I think thats why they held it off, let it calm down a little bit, said Karen Santucci, a former New York grand jury court reporter who now directs Plaza Colleges court reporting program.

Catch up with coverage of the Trump indictment from The Hill:

Trump is expected to be arraigned next week

Trump is expected to be arraigned in Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon at 2:15 EDT, according to a court spokesperson.

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A spokesperson for Braggs office on Thursday said they have been in touch with Trumps lawyers to coordinate his surrender.

Trumps attorney, Joe Tacopina, said on Good Morning America on Friday that much of what will happen is still unknown, but he does not expect Trump to be put in handcuffs.

Well go in there, and well proceed to see a judge at some point, plead not guilty, start talking about filing motions, which we will do immediately, Tacopina said.

Speculation has been rampant for weeks over whether Trump would be handcuffed, fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken, though any mugshot would not be made public, in accordance with New York state law. That whole process will play out Tuesday under intense media attention.

Im sure theyll try and get every ounce of publicity they can from this thing, Tacopina said.

Trump is expected to be released after next weeks arraignment since the indictment does not include violent felony charges.

We still dont know the exact charges

The indictment stems from the hush money payment to Daniels before the 2016 election, but beyond that little will be known until Trump is arraigned.

The indictment  which contains the specific charges  will remain under seal until Trump appears in court for his arraignment on Tuesday, unless Bragg successfully asks a judge to unseal it early.

CNN and NBC News reported Trump is facing roughly 30 counts related to business fraud.

The specifics remain unclear, but a source familiar with the proceedings confirmed to The Hill that the indictment includes a felony.

The number and nature of the charges will provide more clarity about the case prosecutors intend to bring against Trump, and it could shed light on how much evidence they have against the former president.

But Trumps lawyers have said theyll fight them

While the specific charges Trump is facing wont be known publicly for a few more days, the former president and his team have already made clear they intend to put up a fight.

President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court, Trump attorneys Tacopina and Susan Necheles said in a statement shortly after the indictment was announced.

Tacopina told Good Morning America on Friday he plans to file motions immediately, and very aggressively regarding the legal viability of this case.

The former president took to Truth Social on Friday to preemptively attack the judge who will handle his case, Juan Marchan, claiming Marchan had previously treated his companies viciously.

Appealing! Trump added in all caps.

Possibility of protests

The specter of protests  and concerns about potential violence  are likely to linger for the next several days, particularly after Trump in mid-March urged his supporters to protest his eventual arrest.

Im going to New York on Tuesday. We MUST protest the unconstitutional WITCH HUNT! Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of Trumps most ardent defenders, tweeted Friday.

Jesse Watters, a Fox News host, warned Thursday that the country is not going to stand for Trumps indictment.

And people better be careful. And thats all Ill say about that, Watters said.

Other leading Republicans have sought to tamp down the idea of widespread demonstrations over Trumps indictment or call for any protests to remain peaceful.

There is expected to be a heightened police presence around the Manhattan courthouse where Trump will be arraigned on Tuesday, and authorities were unloading metal barriers in the vicinity days before the indictment was announced.

Trump will be accompanied by Secret Service agents throughout the process, and they will likely be coordinating with court authorities and local law enforcement.

Trump will keep running for president

Trump is running for the Republican presidential nomination for 2024, and he has for months said he would not drop out of the race even if he were indicted.

Statements from Trump and his team on Thursday made clear that remains the case.

The political elites and powerbrokers have weaponized government to try and stop him. They will fail. He will be re-elected in the greatest landslide in American history, and together we will all Make America Great Again, Taylor Budowich, head of the Trump-aligned MAGA, Inc. super PAC, said in a statement.

There is no legal standard that prevents Trump from running while under indictment, and even a potential conviction would not disqualify him from campaigning.

Other 2024 Republican hopefuls largely attacked Bragg and called the indictment politically motivated, though few defended Trumps conduct or mentioned the former president by name.

Former Vice President Pence dodged a question about if hed call on Trump to drop out if hes convicted, calling it a hypothetical matter.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), who is weighing a 2024 bid, said Trump should drop out of the race, but he acknowledged he wouldnt.

To me the office of presidency is more important than any one person, Hutchinson said on Fox Business Network.

Zach Schonfeld contributed reporting

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
It is widely reported that a New York grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump on multiple counts and that a formal announcement will come soon.

Some on the right who have done Trumps bidding are treating this as Armageddon.

American politics was thrown into complete chaos, perhaps permanently, about three hours ago when a grand jury in Manhattan, one of the most liberal cities in America, a place where 80% voted for Joe Biden in the last election, decided to indict Bidens political opponent in the upcoming election, the Republican front-runner, a man who leads by 30 points in polls, Donald Trump, said Tucker Carlson, listing a long series of completely irrelevant facts.

It is possible that the power of prosecution could be misused for political reasons, but theres no evidence that a political prosecution has taken place here. Grand juries made up of citizens indict people; political parties dont. The exact charges arent even known yet, so Carlson  and so many others blowing smoke about this  are in no position to evaluate them. It seems unlikely they will change their minds no matter what the grand jury unveils, because the facts are not what matter to them.

A more serious argument is that there is a norm against former presidents being indicted, but that argument really isnt very serious either.

That norm seems to stem from a single incident: President Gerald Fords decision to issue a blanket pardon to fellow Republican Richard Nixon, who had resigned the presidency in disgrace just ahead of being impeached. That seemed corrupt to many at the time.

Its high time a president was held to the same standards as ordinary people: If theres evidence, youre charged and you get your day in court. Trump is also entitled to the presumption of innocence, just like everyone else.

This is ordinary in other democracies. Nicholas Sarkozy, the former French prime minister, was sentenced to a year in prison in September for campaign finance violations.

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Our countrys founders contemplated that this would be ordinary here.

Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution discusses what happens after a president is removed from office.  ... the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law, it reads.

So our founders clearly anticipated that a president might be indicted after leaving office.

And it seems at one time presidents were treated basically like ordinary people. President Ulysses S. Grant was arrested and fined in 1872 for repeatedly speeding in a horse-drawn carriage.

In Idaho, we take it for granted that our politicians are sometimes charged and convicted of crimes, often while still in office.

The vilest recent example is former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, who is serving 20 years in prison for raping a 19-year-old legislative intern. That stands in a category all its own.

But there have been many other crimes by Idaho politicians, for which they were prosecuted while in office.

Were used to seeing local elected officials charged as well. To list just a few examples:

Idaho is not falling apart because it holds elected officials to the same standard of criminal law that it does ordinary citizens. Neither will the U.S. fall apart because a former president has been indicted. There is not complete chaos.

No one should be above the law, not even presidents. This should be the most ordinary thing in the world.

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesmans editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, and newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser.
Joe Biden has repeatedly said he'd like to face Donald Trump again in 2024, but the indictment of his former -- and possibly future -- opponent has opened a new box of political risks for the Democrat.

For now, the president is making it clear that he will not weigh in on his rival's legal problems, aware that any comment risks fomenting accusations the charges are politically motivated.

On Friday morning, Biden stopped to speak with reporters as he left for a trip to survey tornado damage in Mississippi -- instead of walking right past as he often does.

"I'm not going to talk about the Trump indictment," he said to multiple shouted questions. "I have no comment on Trump."

Biden's staff have also declined to react to the revelation on Thursday that Trump would become the first-ever former president to face criminal charges, over a hush money payment to a porn star during the 2016 election.

"We're just not going to comment on any ongoing case," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated Friday.

The Biden administration, seeking to avoid any perception of influencing the justice system, will likely remain "quiet for as long as they can," former press secretary Jen Psaki said on MSNBC.

Psaki advised the White House to "keep your head down" and don't "feed into the politics of this."

But Trump quickly claimed the indictment was "political persecution and election interference," and accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of "doing Joe Biden's dirty work."

Other top Republicans similarly expressed outrage at Bragg, an elected Democrat, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledging to hold him to account over an "unprecedented abuse of power."

- 'Very fortunate'? -

Biden's Democratic Party will be broadly content with the dual-image split screen that could soon come: Biden touring the country touting economic programs, Trump appearing in court.

After Mississippi, Biden will travel to his home in Delaware, where he spends most weekends.

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On Monday, he plans to travel to the northern city of Minneapolis, where the White House says he will "discuss how his economic agenda has led to the strongest job growth in history."

A day later, Trump is expected to arrive in New York for his arraignment, and to have his fingerprints and a mugshot taken.

The indictment of the Republican -- which in no way prohibits him from campaigning -- may have a mobilizing effect in his own camp, and fuel fundraising efforts.

Senior members of his party flocked to support Trump on Thursday, including the man believed to be his biggest rival for the Republican nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Biden, 80, believes that in a head-to-head race with 76-year-old Trump, the Democrat will once again emerge victorious, and that his age will be less of a handicap.

"In the next election, I'd be very fortunate if I had that same man running against me," Biden said recently of Trump, whom the Democrat defeated in 2020.

A recent Marquette Law School poll showed Biden neck and neck with his former opponent, at 38 percent each.

The race will likely swing once again on the key voting bloc of independents and undecideds.

To sway those groups, Biden has been honing arguments on the cost of living, defending health insurance reforms, and protecting social programs -- which, he argues, the Republicans want to dismantle.

But polling shows that Americans remain concerned about the economy, with a Quinnipiac University poll on Thursday saying that 68 percent of Americans are worried about their post-retirement standard of living.

In recent months, Biden has slowed, if not fully abandoned, remarking directly on his predecessor, like he did last September in a major speech in Philadelphia.

Biden, in a rare attack on Trump, accused him of feeding an "an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic."

aue/des/bgs
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters/Getty

Just a few weeks ago, the talk of the media world was that Fox News had instituted a soft ban on Donald Trump as Rupert Murdoch and his conservative cable giant looked to fully pivot to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the 2024 election.

What a difference a criminal indictment makes.

The network currently faces a $1.6-billion defamation case for allegedly peddling Trumps election fraud lies in order to boost its sagging ratings after the 2020 election, and recently revealed emails showed how Murdoch himself felt Trumps Jan. 6 actions were pretty much a crime. In response to Foxs overt shift to DeSantis favoritism, Trump once blasted Murdoch as a dreaded globalist and repeatedly raged against the network that no longer seemed to be his personal comms shop.

And yet, now that Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in New York, Fox and the rest of the Murdoch media empire have gone fully to the mattresses defending the former president over his hush-money indictments.

Enraged Fox News Host Warns After Trump Indictment: People Better Be Careful

Just like last summer, when the FBIs raid of Trumps Mar-a-Lago residence prompted a scorched-earth reaction from Fox News pundits and hosts, proving premature any suggestion the network had distanced from Trump, the over-the-top meltdown from the network in the past 24 hours shows the right-wing channel is unable, and perhaps unwilling, to ever fully quit its MAGA chieftain.

The tone was set as soon as the unprecedented news dropped on Thursday. What?! The Fives Jesse Watters seemed to audibly gasp off-screen as anchor Sandra Smith announced that the former president had been indicted by a New York grand jury.

An ever-loyal Trump toady, Watters then seemingly warned of impending violence from enraged Trump supporters while describing the historic indictments as the stupidest thing Ive ever seen and a disgrace. Adding that he was angry about it, the Fox host declared that this country is not going to stand for it and people better be careful.

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Watters co-host Greg Gutfeld, meanwhile, suggested that the criminal charges against Trump would only serve to benefit the ex-president politicallyand also somehow make the 76-year-old appear as a cool outlaw. He is an O.G., the Fox News late-night comic declared. He is a badass if hes got a mugshot. You might as well go right into it.

That point of view was echoed across the network throughout Thursday night and Friday morning. During an appearance on Trump confidant Sean Hannity's program, Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth compared the current GOP standard-bearer to Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix, and Frank Sinatra.

Emotional Lindsey Graham Begs Fox Viewers to Give Money to Trump

If there is a mugshot of Donald Trump, it will be in dorm rooms and on T-shirts, making him a hero, Hegseth excitedly proclaimed. It will! And rightfully so!With the GOP also circling the wagons for Trump over the indictment, the overwhelming sentiment among the Fox News commentariat was that the MAGA faithful need to rise up and protest against the police state and assault on our system. And much of the time, the language used during these segments rode right up to the line of incitement.

It almost feels theyre pushing the population to react, fumed Tucker Carlson, whose MAGA bona fides have recently come into question over his anti-Trump texts. At what point do we conclude theyre doing this in order to produce a reaction?

One of Carlsons guests, former ESPN personality-turned-right-wing culture warrior Jason Whitlock, also suggested a potentially violent reaction in response to pending charges against Trump. They are agitating for unrest. That is the only way to interpret this, he exclaimed, adding: Im ready for whatevers next. And I hope every other man out there watching this show, I hope youre ready for whatevers next. If thats what they want, lets get to it.

In fact, several of Carlsons guests on Thursday night seemingly claimed that Trumps supporters were being set up by the government to react violently, with the Fox News star himself saying there could be retaliation from red states. Glenn Beck, whose attempt at a Never-Trump rebrand crashed and burned after the 2016 election, predicted the United States would fully be at war with itself within two years.

The fundamental transformation that started in 2008 is finished, Beck dramatically intoned. By 2025, we are going to be at war. We are going to have a new dollar, [and] we will live in a virtual police state I know that might sound crazy to a lot of people. Its not far off. The Bill of Rights is gone!

Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway, during a panel discussion on the networks straight news evening broadcast Special Report, likened the pending criminal indictment to election interference while calling on viewers to stand up and make sure that they let it be known that they do not support this type of political prosecution.

Hannity, for his part, did urge his audience to remain peaceful while simultaneously describing the indictment as disgusting and repulsive, telling Trump supporters to not take their bait because we are law-abiding and God-fearing.At the same time, Hannitys showwhich was broadcast before a live studio audiencewas used as a testing ground for unhinged talking points and pleas for money to assist the billionaire ex-president in his legal fight.

Eric Trump, for instance, used his airtime to insist that his father deserves a pass when it comes to skirting criminal charges because Hillary Clinton got a pass. Fox News host Mark Levin, meanwhile, screamed to Hannity that the indictment was a declaration of war and the GOP needed to take action.

Its time for the Republican Party to understand that this is a war on the party, Levin yelled. It is a war on conservatism and MAGA. It is an effort, an effort, to ensure that Donald Trump can never be president again!

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who once upon a time warned the GOP will get destroyed if it nominated Trump as president, tearfully pleaded with Foxs audience to reach into their pockets and donate to Trump. Go tonight. Give the president some money to fight this bullshit! Graham begged. To those who are listening tonight: If you believe Trump is being treated poorly and wrongly, stand up and help the man!

Ron DeSantis Anti-Free Speech Crusade Would Cancel Fox News

Fox News contributor Leo Terrella former liberal punching bag of Hannitys who recently recast himself as a fierce Trump sycophantwent so far as to claim that the entire nation needed to hop aboard the Trump Train following the indictment. And that he would personally provide the ex-president with free legal advice.

Everyone has to be a Trump supporter now! Terrell exclaimed. I am donating my time to help Donald Trump to fight these charges! Its outrageous! Its a crime to have this indictment filed against President Trump!

Eventually, the Fox News blame had to be pointed at President Joe Bidenbecause of course.

Biden bears the ultimate responsibility for what this will do to America, host Laura Ingraham asserted on Thursday night. That means whether through back channels or public speeches, Biden should have made it clear that his party would oppose any local prosecutor who uses trumped-up criminal charges.

Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner, though, wondered whether the indictment on Trump would soon boomerang over to Biden and his family over GOP allegations of corruption. I tell you who should be much more worried than either of us: Joe Biden. Look at the case against him right now, she told Terrell on Friday morning.

Trump, who last month blasted Murdoch as a MAGA Hating Globalist RINO while raging against Fox News seemingly siding with DeSantis over him, seemed extremely pleased with the networks full-throated defense of him.

On Friday morning, Trump shared 14 Fox News clips to his Truth Social accountincluding Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) grumbling that the indictment was the Sorosification of the criminal justice system.

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By Nathan Layne and Gram Slattery

(Reuters) - Donald Trump will try to turn his indictment to his advantage by stoking anger among core supporters over what they see as the weaponization of the justice system, though it may also push more Republicans tired of the drama around him to look for another presidential candidate.

Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after an investigation into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House.

The prosecution of a former president is unprecedented in U.S. history. But his supporters view it as politically motivated, and it may only harden their resolve to back him in the 2024 Republican primary, rank-and-file Republican voters, party officials and political analysts told Reuters.

"They've done nothing but harass this guy," said Gregg Hough, chair of the Republican party in Belknap County, New Hampshire, predicting the prosecution will boost Trump support "to the moon" if it fails to deliver a convincing conviction.

Trump flagged the possibility of charges earlier this month and raised about $2 million off what he said was his imminent arrest. In a statement on Thursday, Trump called the indictment "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," without providing evidence.

John Feehery, a Republican strategist, described the Manhattan case as "silly" compared to the other probes hanging over Trump's campaign. Those include a special counsel investigating allegations he sought to overturn the 2020 election results, and prosecutors in Georgia examining his efforts to reverse his loss in the battleground state.

To win the party's nomination, Trump will likely have to broaden his support beyond the 25%-30% of the Republican electorate generally thought to be in his corner no matter what, especially if the field of Republican candidates narrows in the coming months. An indictment could make it difficult for him to broaden his appeal.

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"For all the things for Trump to get indicted for, this is not on the top 20 list," said Feehery. "But it is a little bit of a scarlet letter for Trump that his opponents could use against him. Such an argument could be persuasive for independent voters."

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said some Republicans could be swayed by the charges to back Florida Governor Ron DeSantis or another potential candidate without Trump's legal baggage, which has grown considerably since he left the White House in 2021.

"Its not good for Trump, the question is how bad for Trump it is," said Sabato. "There could be multiple indictments ... it begins to add up to a major problem."

Trump's campaign has accused the Manhattan District Attorney, Democrat Alvin Bragg, of doing the bidding of the Democratic Party in an effort to stop his White House run. At a campaign rally in Waco, Texas on Saturday, Trump likened the criminal investigations against him to a "Stalinist Russia horror show."

People close to Trump have said his campaign would seek to frame the indictment as proof that all prosecutions - including his two impeachments in Congress - are unjustified attempts by the "Deep State" to undermine him and his supporters.

'TEFLON DON'

Sam DeMarco, chair of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County, said Republicans would view the Manhattan indictment as political, given that federal prosecutors reviewed the Daniels case in 2018 and decided not to charge Trump, although it is Justice Department policy not to indict a sitting president.

Trump has defied predictions of his demise numerous times since he launched his bid for the White House in 2015. Sometimes called "Teflon Don" for his record of skirting accountability, Trump once bragged that he could gun down someone in the middle of Manhattan and not face consequences.

Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 despite the emergence of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape in which he made vulgar comments about women. And in 2018, when he was president, he paid no apparent political price for the Stormy Daniels affair, even as his lawyer went to prison for arranging the payments and pointed the finger at Trump.

Trump remains the front-runner in the 2024 Republican field, with the support of 44% of Republicans in a March Reuters/Ipsos, ahead of DeSantis' 30% support.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, and Gram Slattery in Washington; Editing by Ross Colvin, Daniel Wallis, Lisa Shumaker and Cynthia Osterman)
Outrageous or long overdue, constitutional malpractice or the epitome of "karma": One thing that seemed to unite Americans this week was that nearly everyone had an opinion on the indictment of former President Donald Trump by a Manhattan grand jury.

New York newspapers are displayed at a newsstand on March 31. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

While the specific charges against Trump will likely remain sealed until he is arraigned in New York next Tuesday, that hasn't stopped the tidal wave of hot takes from U.S. politicians, cable news pundits, world leaders, celebrities and ordinary citizens from weighing in on whether Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was right to press ahead with a criminal case against the 45th president.

Here's a rundown of some of the most noteworthy responses so far.

Former President Donald Trump

A New York Times is displayed at a newsstand following former President Donald Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand jury on March 30. (David Dee Delgado/Reuters)

The man at the center of the storm has had no shortage of words about being charged with at least one felony. While he has used the grand jury indictment to raise money and fired off several angry messages on his social media platform, Truth Social, one posted Friday employed a dubious legal strategy of attacking the judge who will preside over the case against him in New York.

"The Judge 'assigned' to my Witch Hunt Case, a 'Case' that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME. His name is Juan Manuel Marchan, was hand picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors, & is the same person who 'railroaded' my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a 'plea' deal (Plead GUILTY, even if you are not, 90 DAYS, fight us in Court, 10 years (life!) in jail," Trump wrote. "He strong armed Allen, which a judge is not allowed to do, & treated my companies, which didn't 'plead,' VICIOUSLY. APPEALING!"

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., listens during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in February. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

One of Trump's staunchest supporters, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is considered a frontrunner to be named the former president's running mate in 2024. Greene declared Friday that she was heading to New York on Tuesday to exercise her constitutional right to protest the indictment that she considers "unconstitutional."

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Im going to New York on Tuesday.



We MUST protest the unconstitutional WITCH HUNT!  Marjorie Taylor Greene  (@mtgreenee) March 31, 2023

Former Vice President Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the National Review Ideas Summit on March 31 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared for an interview with CNN shortly after the indictment was announced and walked a fine line when asked about it.

"I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance charge is an outrage," Pence said Wednesday night on CNN. But pressed by anchor Wolf Blitzer on whether Trump should continue running for president if hes convicted on those charges, Pence deflected.

Its a long way to that decision, I promise to answer that question if that approaches, he replied.

Stormy Daniels

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels attends a book signing for her memoir "Full Disclosure" at the Museum of Sex in 2018. (Charles Sykes/AP/Invision)

The recipient of a $130,000 hush money payment from Trump in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign, porn actress Stormy Daniels has long maintained that she had extramarital sex with him. The payment, which was made to Daniels by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen through a shell company, is alleged to have violated campaign finance laws. Daniels has long drawn the ire of Trump supporters, and on Thursday she once again seemed to revel in the attention directed her way on social media.

Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...also don't want to spill my champagne  #Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment.  Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) March 30, 2023

Michael Cohen

Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen smiles as he arrives for a second day of testimony before a grand jury on March 15 in New York City. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

One of Bragg's key witnesses, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, was convicted of tax evasion, making false statements to a federally insured bank and campaign finance violations in service of Trump and his businesses. The relationship between Trump and Cohen nose-dived following Cohen's 2018 indictment, and Cohen later accused Trump of letting him take the fall for crimes Trump directed. On Friday, Cohen made clear that he believed vengeance would soon be his.

"I want to thank the Manhattan district attorney's office, and their fearless leader Alvin Bragg, with whom I spent countless hours laying out how Trump directed those hush money payments and countless other financial crimes," Cohen said Friday on his podcast. "He is about to get a taste of what I went through and I promise you it's not fun."

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tears up her copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address after he delivered it to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has never hidden her dislike of Trump and on Thursday she released a statement that avoided using his name altogether.

"The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence," Pelosi wrote. "Hopefully, the former president will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right."

Several legal commentators noted that Pelosi had shifted the "presumption of innocence" for defendants in criminal cases to "the right to a trial to prove innocence," an altogether different standard.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington. D.C., on March 24. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy issued his own controversial statement Thursday about Trump's indictment. In it, he accused Bragg of "routinely" freeing "violent criminals to terrorize the public," adding that the Manhattan district attorney had "weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump."

While McCarthy vowed to hold Bragg accountable in the House, the odds of that actually happening are slim, experts say.

Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.



As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump.



The American people will not  Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) March 30, 2023

Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., looks at his notes during the weekly Democratic Party caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 28. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

A more measured response came from Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who issued a statement Thursday night on the indictment.

"Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law," Schumer said in his statement. "There should be no outside political influence, intimidation or interference in the case. I encourage both Mr. Trump's critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law."

Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., listens to his Republican colleagues during the weekly Republican press conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 7. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

The initial hours following Trump's indictment were marked by a deafening silence from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Unlike McCarthy, Schumer and Pelosi, he kept his cards very close to his vest.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to a crowd at an Adventure Outdoors gun store on March 30 in Smyrna, Ga. (John Bazemore/AP)

Trump's chief political rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, outraged Trumpworld for his initial response to speculation over the former president's possible indictment.

"I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just  I can't speak to that," DeSantis at a press conference last week.

On Thursday, he seemed to offer more support to Trump, however, tweeting that "Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda."

Extradition will not likely be necessary, however, as Trump's lawyers have indicated that he will turn himself in to the district attorney in New York on Tuesday.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head.



It is un-American.



The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is  Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 30, 2023

George Soros

George Soros, the founder and chairman of the Open Society Foundations, attends the Joseph A. Schumpeter award ceremony in Vienna, Austria, in 2019. (Ronald Zak/AP)

A central talking point for Trump and his supporters is Bragg's relationship with billionaire philanthropist George Soros. While Soros backed a political action committee that donated to Bragg's campaign, his portrayal as the puppet master who controls every decision Bragg makes lacks any actual evidence. On Friday, Semafor journalist Steve Clemons reached out to Soros for his take on the Trump indictment.

His response was as follows:

"Steve, I wrote this piece in the Wall Street Journal. Anyone who wants to understand why I've donated to reform-minded prosecutors should read it. As for Alvin Bragg, as a matter of fact I did not contribute to his campaign and I don't know him. I think some on the right would rather focus on far-fetched conspiracy theories than on serious charges against the former president."

El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele

Nayib Bukele being interviewed in San Salvador, El Salvador, in 2019. (Moises Castillo/AP)

Few foreign leaders rushed to offer their initial opinions on the legal proceedings involving Trump, but El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele was an exception.

Sadly, itll be very hard for US Foreign Policy to use arguments such as democracy and free and fair elections, or try to condemn political persecution in other countries, from now on  https://t.co/HQTv0vUuA2  Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 31, 2023

Central Park Five member Yusef Salaam

Yusef Salaam arrives at the Hollywood screening of the movie about his case, "The Central Park Five," in Los Angeles in 2012. (Gus Ruelas/Reuters)

A notable reaction to the news of Trumps indictment came from Yusef Salaam, who was charged, convicted and later exonerated in the 1989 rape case involving a female jogger in Central Park.

Salaam issued a one-word statement Thursday regarding Trumps indictment: Karma.

As the case first made headlines in New York, Trump called for the death penalty for the suspects, including Salaam, none of whom were guilty of committing the crime.

DNA analysis was later used to convict Matias Reyes of the brutal rape of the woman. As president, Trump refused to apologize to the men who were exonerated.

John Cusack

Actor John Cusack poses during a photo-call to promote the movie "Chi-Raq" in Berlin, Germany, in 2016. (Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

Actor John Cusack celebrated Trump's indictment and pointed to the news Thursday that convicted former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg had decided to change lawyers as another ominous sign for the former president.

TRUMP INDICTED! Manhattan - with the Wiesel flip! A beautiful day - a day I thought Id never see - trump has done the impossible ; the entire system set up to make a president above the law - without admitting it . Only a pathological criminal idiot https://t.co/ZuwHPWB3A7  John Cusack (@johncusack) March 30, 2023

Glenn Beck

Television personality Glenn Beck speaks during the Politicon convention in Pasadena, Calif., in 2016. (Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters)

Fox News host Tucker Carlson spent Thursday's broadcast exhorting his viewers to protest Bragg's indictment of Trump, claiming that it was designed to force Trump from the 2024 race. While other guests offered similarly dour assessments of the state of the country due to the historic indictment, none of them were quite as remarkable as right-wing talk show host Glenn Beck.

"By 2025, we are going to be at war. We are going to have a new dollar, a currency that probably is coming from the central bank. We'll have a currency collapse, and we will live in a virtual police state," Beck told Carlson. "I know that might sound crazy to a lot of people. It's not far off. The Bill of Rights is gone. Nobody is paying attention."

Author ZZ Packer

Author ZZ Packer (Courtesy of ZZ Packer)

While much of the response to Thursday's grand jury indictment took an ominous tone, short story writer and essayist ZZ Packer offered a comical retort to a warning from Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
Former president Donald Trump predicted that Manhattan DA Alvin Braggs witch-hunt against him will backfire massively against Joe Biden after a Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday to indict the former president in connection with a hush-money payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump called the indictment Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.

Never before in our Nations history has this been done, said Trump, who is now the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever.

The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here, he added. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party  united and strong  will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

The indictment accuses Trump of falsifying business records in relation to the hush-money payments. Daniels claimed in the final days of the 2016 presidential election that she had previously had a sexual affair with Trump. Trumps former fixer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her claims.

Prosecutors claim Trump falsified internal business records to conceal the reimbursement payments to Cohen as legal expenses. Cohen claims Trump was aware of the misleading record keeping.

Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said Thursday that his client did not commit any crime.

We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court, he said in a statement.

Trumps attorneys told the New York Post he is expected to surrender to law enforcement in New York next week.

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Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely seen as Trumps top opponent in the 2024 race despite not having formally announced a bid, said Thursday that Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda. It was not immediately clear how or if this would impact Trumps arrest.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American, DeSantis said in a statement. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.

As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump, McCarthy added. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

Former Vice President Mike Pence said during an appearance on CNN that the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue issue is an outrage.

To millions of Americans, the indictment appears to be nothing more than a political prosecution, added Pence, who is considering running against Trump in 2024.

Presidential candidate Nikki Haley said the indictment is more about revenge than it is about justice.

This is more about revenge than it is about justice. pic.twitter.com/08ooKRIKJF  Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) March 30, 2023

Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who is also considering launching his own 2024 challenge to Trump, accused Bragg of undermining Americas confidence in our legal system after the indictment news broke on Thursday.

Bragg is the same Soros-funded prosecutor who refuses to prosecute violent crimes and who has downgraded more than half of all felonies to misdemeanors, Pompeo said in a statement. Prosecuting serious crimes keeps Americans safe, but political prosecutions put the American legal system at risk of being viewed as a tool for abuse. DA Bragg  spend taxpayers money and your energy protecting law-abiding citizens. Not playing politics.

Meanwhile, Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) said: The Democrat Partys hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds. The substance of this political persecution is utter garbage. This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.

Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, who is weighing his own 2024 bid, said it is a dark day for America when a former President is indicted on criminal charges.

While the grand jury found credible facts to support the charges, it is important that the presumption of innocence follows Mr. Trump, he said, adding that it is essential that the decision on Americas next President be made at the ballot box and not in the court system. 

Donald Trump should not be the next President, but that should be decided by the voters, he said.

House majority leader Steve Scalise called the indictment a sham.

More from National Review
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in a case that appears to center on the payment of hush money to an adult film star in 2016.

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in a case that appears to center on the payment of hush money to an adult film star in 2016.

As political pundits and the public contemplate the impact of Donald Trumps indictment by a Manhattan grand jury  and other expected and deserved accountability  on the former presidents political prospects, it is important to remember that Trump is already disqualified from serving in office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.



Though it would be unprecedented for a nominee of a major political party to be under indictment in multiple jurisdictions or for a sitting president to take the oath of office from a jail cell, it is technically possible. Enforcing the Constitution against Trump for his central role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection is the only way to provide clarity amid that potential for chaos  its also the right thing to do, and its legally required by the Constitution.



Trumps career could be defined by the number of legal challenges he has faced throughout the years for potentially illegal conduct, including being sued by the Justice Department in the 1970s for racial discrimination at his New York housing developments, a pending federal lawsuit arising from allegations that Trump raped a woman in the 1990s and two impeachment votes while he served as president. The recent investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg into financial dealings while he was a candidate in 2016, as well as his expected indictment in Georgia in a probe of 2020 election interference and possible indictments over his role in the U.S. Capitol riot and the mishandling of classified documents, have led many to question whether Trump can run while under indictment or serve as president if hes a convicted felon.



Despite Trumps escalating risk of legal jeopardy and incarceration, he has, unsurprisingly, vowed to continue running for president even if hes charged with a crime. Legal experts have opined that nothing would legally prevent Trump from being a candidate or even serving as president while facing a criminal indictment or conviction. Former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has even suggested that Trump could serve as president from prison. Given the longstanding systemic injustices in our legal system, there are many reasons why a criminal indictment or conviction should not be an absolute bar to serving in government office and should be a decision left to voters. But for candidate Donald Trump specifically, this is not a relevant question, as he is already constitutionally disqualified from serving as president or in any other government office based on his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection.



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Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, also known as the Disqualification Clause, explicitly bars any person from holding federal or state office who took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States as a federal officer and then engaged in insurrection or rebellion or gave aid or comfort to insurrectionists, unless Congress removes the disqualification by a two-thirds vote. Nearly four years after swearing an oath to the Constitution, Trump incited an insurrection that culminated in a violent attack on Congress, numerous injuries of law enforcement officers and the deaths of at least five people.



Unlike a criminal trial, which requires prosecutors to prove Trumps guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the Disqualification Clause does not require any criminal charge or conviction and requires proof by a preponderance of the evidence  the standard used in any civil case, which means more likely than not. There is ample evidence that this standard has already been met. Trump was impeached by a bipartisan majority in the House, and a bipartisan majority of senators voted to convict him of the charges, though they fell short of the two-thirds vote required. Republicans and Democrats alike have referred to the attack on the Capitol as an insurrection, including Trumps own impeachment lawyers. So have more than a dozen federal courts.

Trumps disqualification is also supported by legal precedents from the aftermath of the Civil War, when the 14th Amendment was ratified. During this period, statecourts and Congress enforced the Disqualification Clause against officials who were convicted of no crime and who played far less substantial roles in an insurrection than did Donald Trump, who the bipartisan Jan. 6 House select committee found was the central cause of the attack by his supporters, who had been led to believe the 2020 election had been stolen from him.

More recently, in September, a New Mexico judge removed Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin from office under the 14th Amendment following a lawsuit brought by three New Mexico residents represented by my organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The court ruled that the Jan. 6 attack was an insurrection and that Griffins participation in it  as a grassroots mobilizer and member of Trumps mob  disqualified him under the Constitution. The decision marked the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official under the Disqualification Clause, and the first time that any court has ruled the events of Jan. 6, 2021, to be an insurrection. The historical evidence and this modern precedent make clear that this type of litigation is a viable mechanism to hold insurrectionists like Trump accountable.

The Constitution enumerates very few qualifications for serving as president of the United States. Nothing in the document suggests that being under indictment or a convicted felon is by itself disqualifying. Given Trumps escalating criminal exposure, it is not surprising this question has been raised. But we cannot ignore the legal reality that Trumps responsibility for an insurrection against the United States means that he is disqualified from serving as president. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is a clear mechanism to avoid the inevitable chaos that would ensue if he is nominated or elected as president while on trial for or convicted of criminal conduct.
Donald Trump launched into a furious rant on Truth Social after he became the first current or former president to ever be criminally indicted in the history of the US.

But his outrage over the matter seemed to prompt him to misspell the very word he wanted to emphasise  as he fumed that Thugs and Radical Left Monsters had INDICATED him on criminal charges.

These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President, he wrote.

THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!

On Thursday 30 March, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump on criminal charges over hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.

Sources confirmed the unprecedented development to The Independent on Thursday afternoon  making Mr Trump the first current or former US president to ever face criminal charges.

It is currently unclear what the charges are, as they are under seal.

The indictment is said to have caught Mr Trump off guard, insiders told CNN.

While the former presidents team had been planning for an indictment in recent weeks  and going on a media blitz on the matter  the grand jury was not expected to be meeting on the case this week and was expected to take a scheduled break over the coming weeks.

This led to speculation that the indictment would be delayed.

But now, following Thursdays grand jury vote, Mr Trumps attorney Joe Tacopina said he expects the former president to be arraigned in New York next week.

Anti-Trump protesters hold signs outside Manhattan Criminal Court after Donald Trumps indictment (REUTERS)

Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organizations business records when his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels days before the 2016 election.

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Prosecutors claim that the money was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.

Mr Trumps former fixer and personal attorney Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

In recent weeks, the probe ramped up with both Cohen and Ms Daniels testifying before the grand jury.

Mr Trump was also invited to testify. Though it was an invite he unsurprisingly turned down, it was a strong sign an indictment was on the way.
US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INDICTMENT

Supporters of former President Donald Trump protest near the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 31, 2023 Credit - Chanadan Khanna AFP via Getty Images

It didnt take long for Donald Trump and his allies to pounce. Roughly 20 minutes after news broke that a Manhattan grand jury indicted the former President over charges related to hush money payments to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election, Trump fundraising pitches began flooding inboxes.

The Left thought that they could break us with yet another witch hunt, says the first email from Trump. They thought that by threatening my possible arrest and arraignment, it would force us to end our 2024 campaign. They were sorely mistaken, Friend.

More pleas soon followed, from the Trump-allied Super PAC Make America Great Again, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and other right-wing groups. Later in the evening, the Trump campaign blasted out another missive, this time promising to send donors a t-shirt that says I Stand with Trump in exchange for a contribution of $47 or more by midnight.

Solicitations from Trump and his allies are likely to increase exponentially next week. He is expected to surrender to the Manhattan District Attorneys office on Tuesday and pose for a mug shot. That historic image is likely to galvanize the left, as many progressive Trump critics have longed to see him behind bars. But Trump himself may also use it as grist for campaign attacks ads and employ it in donor appeals to gin up a collective sense of grievance among the MAGA faithful.

More from TIME

Its a sign that Trumps newfound place in history as the first former American president to be indicted doesnt only come with legal peril. It appears to be wildly lucrative. In the 24 hours since news of his indictment became public, his campaign says it raised more than $4 million.

Trump had already found success earlier this month fundraising off the prospect of his indictment. He raked in $1.5 million in three days after announcing on March 18 that he was going to be arrested the following Tuesday. While the grand jury continued to meet for more than a week past that date, the timing of the actual indictment on Thursday was fortuitous: Friday night marks the Federal Election Commissions fundraising deadline for the years first quarterly reports.

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Trumps arrest may provide the next big boost to his campaigns coffers, as Trumps base views his legal woes as evidence of his political persecution. One of the former presidents ardent defenders in the press, emeritus Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, told Newsmax Thursday night that the mug shot might be used as a campaign poster for his presidential campaign. He will be mug-shot and fingerprinted, Dershowitz said. Theres really no way around that.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs indictment, which remains under seal, stems from allegations that Trump knowingly falsified financial records to cover up payouts to silence adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, accepted the payments after she agreed not to go public before the 2016 election about an alleged tryst between the two. Trumps lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 in the weeks before the election, when she was on the cusp of sharing her story with the National Enquirer. Cohen alleges that Trump then reimbursed him for the same amount in a number of installments, but falsely recorded those disbursements as legal fees.

Read More: Live Updates on Trumps Indictment

Falsification of financial records is a misdemeanor under New York State law, but is elevated to a felony if the falsification is in furtherance of another crime. It is not clear yet what charges Bragg is filing against Trump. NBC News reported Friday that his office is planning to bring roughly 30 counts against him.

Cohen himself served jail time over the matter and other offenses. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws, lying to Congress, and other charges of fraud and tax evasion.

Yet with Trump now facing his own complicated and explosive legal battle, one that coincides with his bid to retake the White House, his fiercest allies are not only defending him in the public sphere. They are helping him leverage an indictment to raise money for his campaign.

As soon as I saw the news that the Soros-DA indicted President Trump, I immediately made a donation to 45/47s campaign, the former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake tweeted Thursday night. If you can, lets send them a message. $5, $10, $500it all helps. ANDyou get a T-shirt. DONATE TO TRUMP! Lake, a media savvy MAGA sensation who narrowly lost her governors race but is challenging her defeat in court, is reportedly on Trumps short-list for possible running mates.

Shes not alone in her zealous backing of the former president. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina had a pointed message for Fox Newss viewers when he appeared on Sean Hannitys program hours after the indictment.

DonaldJTrump.com. Go tonight. Give the president some money to fight this bullshit, he said, appearing to be on the verge of tears. This is going to destroy America. Were going to fight back at the ballot box. Were not going to give in. How does this end, Sean? Trump wins in court and he wins the election. Thats how this ends.
Former speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi released a somber statement after a grand jury indicted in Manhattan indicted former president Donald Trump.

But Ms Pelosi, who led House Democrats in the minority during Mr Trumps first two years as president and served as Speaker in his final two years, avoided mentioning his name.

The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.

A grand jury in Manhattan has indicted the former president for allegedly paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about a sexual relationship. Mr Trump has denied the affair took place. The grand jurors voted to indict Mr Trump earlier this week, and the indictment was only filed late on Thursday right before the court clerks office ended its business that day.

The one-term president is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.

Ms Pelosi led the House of Representatives when it impeached Mr Trump both times.

In 2019, the House voted to impeach Mr Trump after he tried to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in exchange for sending military assistance to Ukraine. The Senate later acquitted Mr Trump with only Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah joining every Democrat in voting to convict the president.

In 2021, Ms Pelosi led the House in its second impeachment of Mr Trump after the former president incited his supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6 during the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, when every Democrat and 10 Republicans voted to impeach the former president. The Senate voted to acquit the former president, but six other Republican senators joined Mr Romney in voting to convict Mr Trump.

Since then, Ms Pelosi has avoided speaking about Mr Trump by name. In November, when she gave her farewell address, she mentioned how she worked with Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama as well as Republican George W Bush but did not mention Mr Trump.
Former President Donald Trump. Andrew Harnik/AP

Trump will surrender to the Manhattan DA's office likely on Tuesday, according to his lawyer.

Trump will fight the case all the way to trial if needed, his lawyer added, "if it's not dismissed."

A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump on Thursday.

Former President Donald Trump will surrender to the Manhattan district attorney's office next week, likely on Tuesday, his attorney Joe Tacopina told Insider.

A Manhattan grand jury voted on Thursday to indict Trump, likely over his role in a hush-money payment made ahead of the 2016 election to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

The indictment will not be unsealed until Trump is arraigned, a source familiar with the matter told Insider. The Manhattan district attorney's office announced on Thursday evening that it's coordinating Trump's surrender with his attorney.

When asked if Trump plans to fight the case all the way to trial, Tacopina said, "For sure, if it's not dismissed beforehand."

The criminal charges come after the Manhattan grand jury heard two months of testimony about Trump's connection to a $130,000 payment made to Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen alleged that he facilitated the payment to Daniels, with Trump's approval, in exchange for her silence about an affair she claimed she had with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors have called the payment an illegal campaign contribution.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and disputes that the payment was unlawful. He's heavily criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over the probe and blasted the indictment on Thursday as a political witch hunt.

"Never before in our Nation's history has this been done," Trump said in a statement. "The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever."

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Trump is the first former president in American history to face criminal charges, and they come as he pursues his third campaign for the White House and is widely considered the GOP frontrunner.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25. (Evan Vucci/AP)

WASHINGTON  Former President Donald Trump will turn himself in early Tuesday in Manhattan, according to a campaign aide.

Trump plans to depart his Florida home on Monday and spend the night at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Monday night, then appear in court Tuesday morning, according to the aide, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive planning details.

After Trumps arraignment, hes expected to fly directly back to Mar-a-Lago Tuesday and return to the campaign trail Wednesday.

A New York grand jury indicted him on Thursday in a case involving his alleged hush money payment of $130,000 in the run-up to the 2016 election to keep quiet an alleged affair he had with porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied the accusations.
Former US President Donald Trump arrives on stage on March 13, 2023. KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Trump raged on Truth Social about being "INDICATED" in New York.

The post came after it surfaced that a NY grand jury had voted to indict Trump.

"THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE," he wrote. "SO SAD!"

Former President Donald Trump complained on Thursday about being "indicated" in New York, adding in all caps that "THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE."

Trump made the statement on Truth Social shortly after it surfaced that a New York grand jury had voted to indict him following an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney's office into a $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to multiple felonies in connection to the payment  made during the 2016 election  including tax evasion, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations. Cohen said that Trump directed him to pay Daniels off in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump. But Trump and his attorneys have denied the affair and any knowledge of the payment.

"These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE," he added. "IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!"

In an earlier statement Thursday, Trump claimed that "Radical Left Democrats" had targeted him since he launched his first presidential campaign in 2015.

"The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to 'Get Trump,' but now they've done the unthinkable indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference," the statement said.

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He went on to say that "never before in our Nation's history has this been done"  indeed, Trump is the first former US president to be criminally charged, and his indictment will likely have lasting effects on the Republican primary and 2024 presidential election.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Donald Trump. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump reacted to becoming the first ex-president in U.S. history to be indicted by going on his social media platform Truth Social and blasting the "Thugs and Radical Left Monsters" he said are responsible.

In all caps, Trump asserted that "THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE ... A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!" In a separate statement, Trump called the Manhattan district attorney's investigation "political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history." He accused Democrats of continuously trying to "Get Trump," adding, "now they've done the unthinkable. Indicting a completely innocent person."

Trump's adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, also commented, with Trump Jr. stating on his podcast that "this is stuff that would make Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, it would make them blush." On Twitter, his brother accused the Manhattan District Attorney's office of "third world prosecutorial misconduct."

The specific charges against Trump are not yet known. A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said Trump's attorney was contacted on Thursday afternoon to coordinate the former president's surrender to the DA's office for arraignment on the indictment, which remains under seal. Chris Kise, Trump's lawyer, called the indictment "the lowest point in history for our criminal justice system," and accused the district attorney of trying to "cash in on the Trump brand."

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By Alexandra Ulmer and Jason Lange

(Reuters) - Less than two hours after news of his indictment broke, former President Donald Trump appealed to supporters to help with his legal defense, hoping their outrage will boost his coffers as he seeks the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

"Please make a contribution  of truly any amount  to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024," said an email sent by a Trump fundraising group called the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.

A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump, who has denied making any payment, has claimed the charges are evidence of a left-wing plot - an argument made in the fundraising email to supporters on Thursday.

The indictment will likely encourage his most fervent grassroots supporters to donate, political analysts and donors said, handing Trump a financial bump for the first quarter of the year as a likely 2024 Republican rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, gains favor with deep-pocketed donors.

"Trump's fundraising will go through the roof," said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist in Washington. "More perceived politically motivated indictments could cause a large spike in small-dollar donations for Trump and cut into DeSantis efforts on raising money."

Even before Thursday's news of the indictment, the Trump campaign had said that it had raised $2 million in grassroots donations roughly in the week after March 18, when Trump said he was facing arrest in the hush money investigation.

Trump's online fundraising has shown signs of weakening over the last year, according to financial disclosures made to the Federal Election Commission.

His main fundraising groups gathered about $46 million in the second half of 2022, less than the roughly $50 million they raised in the same period of 2021, according to filings by WinRed, the main Republican platform for online fundraising.

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The former president is due to release by April 15 the figures for his presidential campaign's finances during the first three months of 2023.

At the end of 2022, Trump and an allied super PAC reported having close to $80 million across several fundraising accounts. Recent financial disclosures point to DeSantis, who is expected to declare a presidential run in the next few months, as having nearly the same amount.

While Trump has been able to count on a dedicated core of supporters, many in the donor class are tired of him and eager for a fresh face, with DeSantis a particular favorite, according to interviews with more than a dozen donors.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Jason Lange, editing by Ross Colvin and Grant McCool)
Former President Donald Trump and Melania Trump, right, were photographed at Mar-a-Lago, pictured left, on March 30, 2023, shortly after the news of his indictment broke. Getty Images/Gina Loudon/Insider

Trump was indicted Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury, a first for an ex-president.

But to guests at his Mar-a-Lago resort, it was as if nothing had happened.

Two told Insider Trump was smiling and in high spirits even as he railed against the move online.

Former President Donald Trump was all smiles Thursday night, guests told Insider, describing an alternate reality at his Mar-a-Lago club as news of his historic indictment broke.

Two guests described to Insider an apparently jovial scene at his Florida resort. It was a stark contrast to his reported reaction in private, where news reports spoke of him being stunned at the timing of the news.

Online he was pugnacious, railing at "Thugs and Radical Left Monsters" for the decision of a New York grand jury to indict him.

Gina Loudon, a conservative media commentator who worked with Trump's 2020 campaign, was at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday and said he was in his "usual great spirits" and welcoming guests there as normal.

"It was honestly like any other night at Mar-a-Lago," Loudon said.

Trump was "smiling and greeting guests, making sure they were enjoying their evening," she said, adding that people were dancing while a band played.

Loudon posted the only known photo of Trump following the indictment news. In the photo, which she shared on Twitter on Thursday night, Trump is seen with his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, and is surrounded by onlookers.

"Our REAL First Couple enveloped in the love their friends and most loyal," Loudon wrote in the tweet.

Rosa Fortina, a Mar-a-Lago member who was also at the resort last night, told Insider that it was "very nice to see Melania by his side."

She said she agreed with Loudon's account of the atmosphere at Mar-a-Lago, adding that Trump was in "high spirits despite what is happening."

Though the guests said Trump appeared to be cheerful, it contrasts with other reports saying that the former president took the news badly.

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According to The Washington Post, which cited an advisor, Trump and his staffers became "irritated" and "deflated" after the news broke.

The Post also reported that Sen. Lindsey Graham, who said he spoke to the former president on the phone, described the former president as "upset and disappointed" but calm.

You can follow Insider's live coverage of the indictment and its aftermath here.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former President Donald Trumps indictment inspired several of his would-be rivals in the race for the White House to rally loudly to his defense. But not Asa Hutchinson, the former Arkansas governor and U.S. attorney who is considering a White House run of his own.

Thats the standard that Ive set as governor: When a public official is indicted, I think in regard for the office, and the office is more important than the person, they should step aside and that standard should apply here, Hutchinson said Friday on Fox Business Network.

When anchor Stuart Varney pressed him on if he thought Trump should now step aside, Hutchinson said, Well, I do, but hes not going to. Only he can make that decision.

Hutchinsons remarks came in stark contrast with other possible Republican competitors for the White House, who rushed to criticize the as-yet undisclosed charges against Trump.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would not help extradite Trump from Florida, even though extradition is not likely to be an issue in Trumps case. The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American, he said in a tweet.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, who has also been mentioned as a possible contender, tweeted, Arresting a presidential candidate on a manufactured basis should not happen in America. And Nikki Haley, Trumps former ambassador to the United Nations who announced her run in February, tweeted, This is more about revenge than it is about justice.

In contrast to those statements, Hutchinsons reaction Thursday evening neither called the indictment politically motivated or attempted to link the New York prosecutor to billionaire financier George Soros, as DeSantis and other high-profile Republicans statements did.

It is a dark day for America when a former President is indicted on criminal charges. While the grand jury found credible facts to support the charges, it is important that the presumption of innocence follows Mr. Trump, Hutchinson said.

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We need to wait on the facts and for our American system of justice to work like it does for thousands of Americans every day.

Prior to his comments Friday on Fox Business, Hutchinson struck a slightly softer tone in the statement following the indictment Thursday, saying voters should ultimately decide Trumps fitness for office.

Donald Trump should not be the next President, but that should be decided by the voters, he said.

Still, Hutchinson in the past has shown a willingness to go after Trump, even as Trump has continued to be the clear favorite in party polls well ahead of next years GOP primaries.

We need to wait on the facts and for our American system of justice to work like it does for thousands of Americans every day.Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson

In January, he said the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol should disqualify Trump from running. And in December, he said Trumps endorsement of diminishing value for Republicans.

Theres a cost that comes with his endorsement, we saw this time and time again in the midterm elections, he said in an interview on CNN.

While Hutchinson avoided the strident tone of many other Republicans Friday, he did say as a former U.S. attorney he likely would not have brought the New York case.

I dont believe this is a good case to bring. I would not have brought this case, based upon the facts that I know. But I also believe we have to be patient and we have to have some confidence in our system of justice that its going to work in this case, too, he said.

Asked by Varney why he did not seem as outraged by the case as many of his fellow Republicans, Hutchinson had a simple answer.

Well, Im not an outrageous person, he said.



CORRECTION: The network Hutchinson appeared on was Fox Business Network, not Fox Business News.
DAMASCUS, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses were triggered after early Friday by a renewed Israeli missile strike targeting military sites in the Syrian capital, according to the Syrian national TV.

The official report said the air defense forces shot down most Israeli targets in the sky over Damascus and its vicinity.

The Israeli forces carried out their attack from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, targeting military sites in the countryside of Damascus, the Syrian army said in a short statement, adding that no casualty was reported.

Xinhua reporters heard several explosions in Damascus amid the attack and the air defense responses.

The attack is the second in 24 hours. After midnight Thursday, Israel launched a missile strike, wounding two soldiers and leaving damage.

It's the latest in a string of Israeli attacks against Syrian military sites under the usual pretext of hitting Iran-backed militias or weapon shipments. 
Former President Trump Holds Rally In Support Of Ohio Senate Candidate JD Vance

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Dayton International Airport on November 7, 2022 in Vandalia, Ohio Credit - Drew AngererGetty Images

This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox.

For the weeks leading up to Donald Trumps indictment, the former President was constantly throwing misdirection into the ether. He predicted an indictment and arrest in the coming hours, even as his advisers and lawyers conceded they had no evidence that was in the offing. He raised cash on the threat of the prospect of criminal prosecution and plotted with his team about a potential perp walk. Amid it all, the ex-President seemed to miss the severity of historys judgment should he become the first of his cohort to face a criminal indictment.

Well, late Thursday, that anticipated outcome finally came into relief. The Manhattan District Attorneys office confirmed that a grand jury had made history, and that the process of negotiating a surrender and booking for the former White House resident had already begun. In the coming days, as the indictment is unsealed and Trump poses for his mugshot, the misdirection is unlikely to abate. And in that comes a distinct risk, one not confined to the American judicial system, the norms of the Presidency itself, or the basics of civility in a pluralistic political world.

With every single utterance, filing, and grievance, Trump and those involved in this caseand potentially othersstand to rewrite the rules of criminal accountability in a high-charged political environment.

For those who have watched Trumps political career, none of this will seem new. If anything, it may sound like rhyming rejoinder to the last couple of years, where a clang of chaos was the best harmony available in the political hymnal of D.C.

Few understand this strategy better than Steve Bannon. In the final weeks of the 2016 campaign, the then-CEO of Trumps presidential campaign was headed toward baggage claim at the Las Vegas airport, when he boiled Trumps strategy down to its essence while chatting with reporters who just happened to catch him. Trump was trailing in the polls and Hillary Clinton seemed destined to return to the White Housethis time with the good officeand the nation seemed ready to send The Apprentice star back to the mock boardroom on the fifth floor of Trump Tower. But Bannon, arriving in Nevada to watch the third and final debate, seemed upbeat, even excited. Trump, Bannon said, was the master of the head fake, optimistic that such misdirection could help power him to the White House despite polling, structural, and political headwinds.

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Bannon, it turned out, was correct. And not just about how Trump would deploy such tactics to win the White House a few weeks later. Trump used them to great effect once there. Few possess his inherent ability to turn narratives on a dime with little more than a seemingly accidental aside, an errant tweet, or a snarky insult laced with a threat.

Put simply: the Head Fake Presidency seemed limitless. At least until it wasnt.

The coming days, weeks, and probably months are set to test whether Trumps head fakes can overpower the institutions of a criminal justice system never before tested in such a way. Since the start of his career in politics, Trump has seemed to have survived some of his most dangerous moments using a strategy of drowning bad news with bigger outrage. Facing his own troubles, he deployed a Soviet-era flex of WhatAboutism. And, more often than not, it worked.

As President, Trump stuck with that instinct, employing misdirection at every turn. He launched and suddenly called off a strike on Iranian facilities as retaliation for a downed U.S. drone. On immigration, Puerto Rico, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, guns, immigration, and climate change, he balked at other moves as he took delight in shattering norms. His transactional approach was mired in gamesmanship and posturing, seldom in facts.

Its continued in his post-presidency, including through his tangled web of legal troubles. Even when E. Jean Carroll gets her day in a courtroom in a civil lawsuit alleging Trump raped her in a department store dressing room and then defamed her for making the allegations, Trumps notorious indifference to honest-dealing will be a subtext of the trial; the jurys identity will be concealed to protect them from threats and intimidationan extraordinary step.

As the first criminal charges against an ex-President move forward, the combination of head fakes and the legitimate threat to judicial norms should not be taken lightly.

The stratagem has worked plenty for Trump to this point, and it still may, to be clear. At the same time, these proceedings might finally shake the American public of its reflex to follow Trumps eyeline when it locks on to something blurry in the distance. After all, it seems an indictment is about to be in plain view, even if a lot of Americans arent yet ready to believe their eyes. In fact, Trump and his allies are going to work overtime to ensure that his strongest supporters never get there, even if it further diminishes the credibility of the nations courts.

Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York City grand jury on charges of falsifying business records stemming from payments he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing an affair he had with her before the 2016 election.

A source told The Independent that grand jurors voted to indict the ex-president at some point this week, and that indictment is currently under seal.

It was only filed with the New York Supreme Court late on Thursday, just before the court clerks office wrapped its business for the day.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN after the indictment became public.

Filing the indictment, which has been signed by the grand jury foreperson, with the clerk of court is what makes a criminal case official, but because it is currently under seal, it will remain so until it is unveiled at some point in the near future by district attorney Alvin Bragg.

The twice-impeached former president had signaled that he could face arrest by Mr Braggs office, which was still in the process of presenting evidence to a grand jury as recently as Monday. He previously said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he had expected to be arrested on 21 March, but that date came and went without an indictment being handed down from the grand jury.

Mr Bragg said in a statement on Thursday 30 March that his office has been in touch with Mr Trumps attorneys over the former presidents surrender.

This evening we contacted Mr Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected, Mr Bragg said.

Mr Trumps lawyers have indicated that he will surrender to New York authorities early next week.

In the time between when he falsely claimed he would be arrested and the announcement that the grand jury had, in fact, indicated him, the ex-president has ramped-up increasingly unhinged rhetorical attacks on Mr Bragg, including at a 25 March rally in Waco, Texas.

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During an airplane flight to the Texas rally, he told a group of reporters traveling with him that he believed Mr Bragg had dropped the case against him and called the entire matter a fake case.

But at the event later that evening, Mr Trump described the Manhattan prosecutors effort to hold him to account for alleged crimes as interference in next years presidential election.

Prosecutorial misconduct is their new tool, and theyre willing to use it at levels never seen before in our country. Weve had it, but weve never had it like this, he said. We must stop them and we must not allow them to go through another election where they have yet another tool in their tool kit.

Mr Trump has also spent much of the last few weeks posting rambling rants against Mr Bragg to Truth Social in which he accused Manhattans top prosecutor, who is Black, of being a racist, and of using the power of his office to persecute, indict and persecute a former president of the United States of America while letting murderers, rapists and drug dealers walk free.

One such post to his website even included a photo of the ex-president holding a baseball bat positioned next to a photo of Mr Braggs head in a manner that made it look as if Mr Trump was preparing to strike the Manhattan prosecutor. He later deleted the post, which one of his attorneys called ill-advised and blamed it on the ex-presidents staff during an appearance on NBCs Meet the Press.

The violent and incendiary rhetoric against Mr Bragg may have had an effect already. Last week, the New York prosecutor recieved a death threat in the mail along with a white, powdery substance that was later determined to be harmless.

Charges against Mr Trump come despite House GOP attempt to interfere

Mr Braggs decision to follow through with bringing charges against the ex-president also comes after an unprecedented effort by Mr Trumps House Republican allies to force Mr Bragg to give evidence about his ongoing investigation to a trio of House committees.

Last week, the chairs of House judiciary, oversight and administration committees  representatives Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryan Stiel  sent Mr Bragg a letter demanding he appear for a transcribed interview and turn over documents about his investigation, which they, like Mr Trump, described as an effort to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.

After Mr Braggs general counsel responded by noting that the congressional request treads into territory very clearly reserved to the state by asking for information on a local prosecutors effort to enforce state law and said Mr Bragg is obliged by the federal and state constitutions to protect the independence of state law enforcement functions from federal interference, the trio of committee chairs replied in a Saturday letter stating that their inquiry is legitimate because the potential criminal indictment of a former president of the United States by an elected local prosecutor of the opposing political party (and who will face the prospect of re-election) implicates substantial federal interests.

They added that Mr Braggs work falls under the jurisdiction of Mr Jordans House Judiciary Committee because that panel  and Congress  has a specific and manifestly important interest in preventing politically motivated prosecutions of current and former Presidents by elected state and local prosecutors, particularly those tried before elected state and local trial-level judges.

Therefore, the Committee on the Judiciary, as a part of its broad authority to develop criminal justice legislation, must now consider whether to draft legislation that would, if enacted, insulate current and former presidents from such improper state and local prosecutions, they said.

Because your impending indictment of a former president is an issue of first impression, the committees require information from your office to inform our oversight.

The indictment against Mr Trump makes him the first former US president to face criminal charges in the countrys nearly 250-year history. Federal authorities once considered seeking an indictment against former president Richard Nixon for crimes he committed while in office, but the pardon issued to him by his successor, Gerald Ford, made charging him impossible.

Unlike the charges that were never filed against Nixon, who died in 1994, the charges against Mr Trump have been filed in state court and cannot be short-circuited by a future presidential pardon.

But Mr Braggs status as a state prosecutor outside the federal court system hasnt stopped Mr Trumps allies in the House GOP conference from attempting to use what power they have to defend him.

In a letter sent to Mr Bragg on Monday, House judiciary committee chairman Jim Jordan, House oversight committee chairman James Comer, and House administration committee chair Bryan Steil accused the Democratic prosecutor of being about to engage in an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority by indicting Mr Trump.

In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision, they said.

In a statement, Mr Bragg said his office evaluate[s] cases in our jurisdiction based on the facts, the law, and the evidence.

It is not appropriate for Congress to interfere with pending local investigations. This unprecedented inquiry by federal elected officials into an ongoing matter serves only to hinder, disrupt and undermine the legitimate work of our dedicated prosecutors. As always, we will continue to follow the facts and be guided by the rule of law in everything we do, he said.

How did Donald Trump end up in the dock?

The indictment against the twice-impeached ex-president is the latest chapter in a saga that stretches back to 2016, when Mr Trumps then-personal attorney, Michael Cohen, arranged for hush-money payments to two women with whom he had extramarital affairs: Ms Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Gregory Clifford; and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Ms Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Gregory Clifford, allegedly received hush money payments via Trumps lawyer Michael Cohen (AP)

The $130,000 sum paid to Ms Daniels was funneled through a shell company created for that purpose by Cohen, who was later reimbursed by Mr Trumps company.

Earlier in 2016, Cohen also arranged for Ms McDougal to be paid $150,000 by the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer, which squashed her story in a journalistically dubious practice known as catch-and-kill.

Mr Trump has repeatedly denied having an affair with Ms Daniels, but in her 2018 memoir, Full Disclosure, the adult film actress described her 2006 encounters with the future president  and his anatomy  in detail, writing that Mr Trumps penis was smaller than average but not freakishly small.

He knows he has an unusual penis  it has a huge mushroom head. Like a toadstool, she wrote. It may have been the least impressive sex Id ever had, but clearly, he didnt share that opinion.

The timing of Mr Trumps hush-money payments  a decade after the affair  will figure prominently in any trial on the charges he faces. Mr Braggs office will need to show that the payments were related to the 2016 election and not made for other purposes.

Those payments, which were reimbursed to Cohen from Mr Trumps eponymous company, the Trump Organization, saw the real estate and licensing corporation gross up Cohens reimbursement for the Ms Daniels payment for tax purposes, according to federal prosecutors who filed criminal charges against the lawyer in connection with the payments in 2018.

Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors say the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to the ex-presidents 2016 campaign. But they declined to file charges against Mr Trump himself, citing a longstanding prohibition against indicting sitting presidents.

The disgraced former lawyer, who was disbarred following his federal guilty plea, has been a key witness against Mr Trump. He met with prosecutors as recently as 13 March, just days before the grand jury voted to indict his former boss.

The charges against Mr Trump, who prosecutors allege to have falsified business records by logging Cohens reimbursement for the Daniels payment as legal fees, are only misdemeanor charges under New York law. But a separate provision of Empire State law allows prosecutors to upgrade that charge to a felony because Mr Trump allegedly falsified the records to cover up another crime.

Michael Cohen has been a key witness against Mr Trump after pleading guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments (Reuters)

The decision by grand jurors to indict Mr Trump came following a surprise twist in the years-long probe into the ex-president by the office led by Mr Bragg.

After years of ignoring the hush-money case, prosecutors began interviewing witnesses about it earlier this year. Among those former Trump associates interviewed before the grand jury were Hope Hicks, Mr Trumps ex-White House communications director, and his 2016 campaign manager and former White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway.

It may have been the least impressive sex Id ever had

Stormy Daniels on her alleged affair with Donald Trump

Prosecutors also repeatedly spoke to Cohen, Mr Trumps ex-fixer who is the only person to face charges as a result of the hush-money scheme  until today, and who once vowed to "take a bullet" for his former boss.

He later told the House oversight committee that everything related to the charges that sent him to prison was done with the knowledge and at the direction of Mr Trump.

Because Cohens prior criminal charges included having lied to Congress, Mr Braggs office interviewed Cohen upwards of 20 times to be sure of his testimony before bringing him before the grand jury for two sessions, one on Monday and one on Wednesday. He has also said that he has provided prosecutors with documentary evidence to back up his testimony.

So far, Mr Trumps camp has taken the same posture they have taken with regard to any attempt to hold him accountable for anything  by casting it as an illegitimate and politically-motivated attempt to hurt his electoral prospects, rather than an attempt to enforce criminal laws against a person who allegedly violated them.

In a rambling statement released last Thursday, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said the now-indicted, twice-impeached former president is completely innocent and did nothing wrong.

Democrats have investigated and attacked President Trump since before he was elected  and theyve failed every time. Now Democrats are at it again, pushing the Nuclear Button and attacking a president because of a disgraced extortionist. This is happening because President Trump is leading in the polls by a large margin against both Democrats and Republicans, and theres never been anything so blatant in American political history, he said.

What other criminal peril could Donald Trump face?

The New York grand jurys indictment against Mr Trump could be just the first set of criminal charges facing the ex-president as he attempts to become the first former president to return to the White House for a nonconsecutive term since Grover Cleveland accomplished that feat in 1892.

Authorities in multiple jurisdictions are overseeing four other investigations that could result in more indictments against the twice-impeached, once-indicted former chief executive.

In Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney Fani Willis is weighing whether to ask a grand jury to indict Mr Trump on charges relating to his efforts to pressure Peach State officials into overturning his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in the state.

In 2022, a special grand jury Ms Willis requested concluded a monthslong probe into Mr Trumps efforts to reverse his 2020 election defeat to Mr Biden, including his calls to Peach State election officials and a plot to submit forged electoral college documents to the National Archives to give then-vice president Mike Pence a reason to hijack the 6 January 2021 joint session of Congress by declaring him and Mr Trump the winners of the election.

In a report filed with the Fulton County District Court, the 23-member grand jurys report said a majority of the grand jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it and recommended that Ms Willis seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.

Mr Trumps legal team has asked the court to toss out the grand jurys work in its entirety, citing public statements by grand jurors and other grounds which they say necessitates Ms Williss disqualification from ever prosecuting the ex-president. But its unclear whether the ex-presidents strategy will bear fruit.

The former presidents efforts in the run-up to the 6 January attack on the Capitol are also under investigation by a federal grand jury working with Jack Smith, a special counsel named to supervise probes into Mr Trump by attorney general Merrick Garland in November.

Mr Smith, a former federal prosecutor who most recently worked overseas for a war crimes tribunal in The Hague, has sought to interview numerous ex-Trump White House officials who were privy to the ex-presidents thinking and actions in the weeks between his 2020 election loss to Mr Biden and the worst attack on the Capitol since Major General Robert Ross ordered British troops to burn it during the War of 1812.

He is also investigating whether Mr Trump violated US laws prohibiting unauthorised retention of national defence information and obstruction of justice, with that investigating stemming from Mr Trumps alleged possession of hundreds of documents bearing classification markings long after his term in the White House  and his authorisation to possess such documents  came to an end.

Mr Smith recently obtained a court order allowing him and members of a separate Washington, DC grand jury to question one of Mr Trumps lawyers, Evan Corcoran, about conversations with the ex-president in the time period between when he recieved a grand jury subpoena compelling him to return any classified documents in his possession and Mr Corcorans drafting of a false affidavit in which another one of Mr Trumps then-lawyers, Christina Bobb, claimed that all such documents had been returned.

Yet another investigation by federal officials isnt targeting Mr Trump personally but could potentially imperil him in the future.

According to The Guardian, the ex-presidents Trump Media and Technology Group  the company that operates his Truth Social website  is the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice probe into whether the company violated federal money laundering laws.

The investigation is reportedly focused on $8 million the company recieved in 2021 and 2022 from two obscure entities that both appear to be controlled in part by the relation of an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Donald Trump took aim at Hunter Biden as he went on a Truth Social posting frenzy overnight Thursday after learning that he had been indicted on criminal charges over the 2016 hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

The former president  who is said to have been blindsided by Thursdays announcement  spent hours posting away on his social media platform through the night and into the early hours of Friday morning.

In the posts, he railed against the corrupt charges against him, claimed he cant get a fair trial in New York and took aim at his predecessors son.

WHERES HUNTER? he posted at around 3am ET.

President Joe Bidens son Hunter has long been a target of Mr Trump and his allies, with the former president appearing to question why he has been criminally charged when Hunter has not.

The presidents son has been under federal investigation since 2018 for tax payments and the House has made him a focus of their probes since Republicans took control in January.

As well as hitting out at Hunter, Mr Trump fumed about the grand jury indictment, branding it Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful.

They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York! he wrote.

Mr Trump also went on to reTruth the statements of some of his GOP allies who came out in support of him after news of the grand jury vote broke.

Sharing posts from MAGA favourites including Matt Gaetz and Kari Lake, as well as other allies Tommy Tuberville, Ronny Jackson, Paul Gosar and Steve Scalise, Mr Trump appears to be keeping tabs on which Republicans are backing him in his fight against the charges.

In a sign he was having trouble sleeping after making history as the first former president ever criminally charged, he last posted on Truth Social at around 3am on Friday morning.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan on charges related to the payment of hush money to a porn star during his 2016 campaign. The prosecution of a former president is unprecedented and certain to kick off a political firestorm and a fierce courtroom fight  but the case isnt the only legal challenge facing Trump going forward.

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The indictment in New York wont stop federal and state prosecutors in other jurisdictions from bringing their own charges, but a logjam of cases  criminal or civil  will make it harder to resolve them all as fast as Trumps adversaries might want. The looming 2024 campaign season adds another layer of potential complications.

What Is an Indictment? Everything You Need to Know

Heres where the rest of the pending investigations and civil cases surrounding Trump stand:

Justice Department

Special Counsel Jack Smith was brought in late last year by Attorney General Merrick Garland to take over two federal criminal investigations  the first into efforts by Trump and his allies to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election, and the second into whether Trump or others mishandled classified information after he left the White House or attempted to obstruct the governments inquiry. There is no timeline for when Smith will decide what recommendations to make to Garland. His team has spent the past months subpoenaing witnesses and fighting with Trump in court  largely behind closed doors  over who prosecutors can put before the grand jury and what they must testify about.

Fulton County, Georgia

In Georgia, Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating whether Trump broke the law in his attempts to alter the results of the states 2020 presidential vote. In a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call, Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find him 11,780 votes  one more than Joe Bidens margin of victory in the state. A special grand jury authorized to hear evidence and make recommendations  but not to return indictments  finished its work and submitted a report to Willis, who will decide whether to bring charges. The foreperson of that special grand jury, in media interviews that Trumps lawyers condemned, said the panels recommendations included indicting more than a dozen people, and she hinted that Trump was among them.

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New York Attorney General

The New York attorney generals civil suit against Trump and three of his children for allegedly inflating the value of his real estate companys assets is perhaps the biggest threat to the former presidents wealth, as well as his image as a successful businessman. James is seeking $250 million in disgorgement and a permanent ban on all four Trumps doing business in New York. Shes already succeeded in winning a court order for an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization, a move that could bring unprecedented scrutiny to the former presidents finances.

Battery and defamation

A trial is scheduled for April 25 in a lawsuit by New York advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who sued Trump for battery and defamation stemming from her claim that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. The suit was filed under New Yorks new Adult Survivors Act, which lifted the statute of limitations for one year on civil claims for sexual offenses. When Carroll first made her accusation in 2019, Trump said she was not his type and that she made up the claim to boost sales of her book.

Jan. 6 attack

Trump was sued by 12 Democratic lawmakers accusing him of sparking the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. Multiple Capitol police officers also sued Trump for physical injuries and racist abuse suffered that day. Through appeals, Trump is trying to get the cases dismissed; a federal judge in Washington rejected Trumps defense that he was immune from being sued because he was a sitting president at the time. The Justice Department has said it will not support that argument in court.

Investors class action

Trump, his company and his three oldest children are also facing a class-action lawsuit filed in 2018 by four investors who claimed that they were duped by Trumps promotions into paying thousands of dollars to become independent sellers with ACN Opportunity LLC, which sold a doomed videophone device that Trump touted as the next big thing. The devices were made obsolete by smartphones. Trump sat for questions in October.

Trump Organization

On Dec. 6, following a weekslong trial, two units of the Trump family business, the Trump Organization, were found guilty of engaging in a 13-year tax-evasion scheme. A Manhattan jury found the two units guilty of all 17 counts including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. Trump himself wasnt charged. The two companies were assessed a $1.6 million fine. With a felony on its record, the Trump Organization could be barred from further contracts with government agencies and could have trouble doing business with banks. Lawyers for both units said they would appeal.

Voter rights

A group of Michigan voters is suing Trump, his 2020 reelection campaign, and the Republican National Committee alleging mass voter suppression, particularly among Black voters. Trump and the RNC are seeking to have the case dismissed. Trump is also appealing after the judge in that case rejected his absolute immunity claim.

--With assistance from Erik Larson.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
WASHINGTON  Donald Trumps rivals for the Republican presidential nomination jumped to his defense Thursday after he was indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan, a sign of the former presidents continued power within the party.

Many of his declared or potential rivals were quick to assert that the potential prosecution was merely about politics rather than the possibility that Trump may have committed a crime.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called it un-American and a weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda.

The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent, DeSantis said in a statement on Twitter.

He vowed that Florida will not assist in an extradition request in what he called questionable circumstances at issue.

DeSantis isnt yet a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, but he is widely seen as the likeliest alternative to Trump, and as a result, he has been the target of relentless attacks from Trump for months.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who became the first major candidate to launch a challenge to Trump in 2024, posted a video of herself before the indictment was made public criticizing New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

This is more about revenge than it is about justice, Haley, who was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, tweeted Thursday.

Former Vice President Mike Pence said on CNN that the indictment was just one more example of the criminalization of politics in this country."

I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage, Pence said Thursday evening. And it appears for millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution.

He said it was a great disservice to the country.

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Pence, whom Trump aggressively criticized for refusing to overturn his election defeat and subjected him to hang Mike Pence! chants by Trump backers on Jan. 6, 2021, is considering a 2024 run. He said the indictment would have "no bearing" on his decision.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who is taking steps toward a presidential campaign, criticized Bragg as a pro-criminal New York DA who has weaponized the law against political enemies.

This is a travesty and it should not be happening in the greatest country on Earth. The presumption of innocence is central to our legal system, yet is selectively discarded by those on the far left today, he said in a statement. As I travel the country, I hear from families starving for truth. Theyre starving for hope. They want the rules to apply to everyone.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whom some have encouraged to run for president, said the indictment was manufactured and motivated by pure political gain.

It is beyond belief that District Attorney Alvin Bragg has indicted a former President and current presidential candidate for pure political gain. Arresting a presidential candidate on a manufactured basis should not happen in America.  Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) March 30, 2023

The rush to defend Trump could enhance his political power within the GOP, at least in the short term, as he leads most polls for the nomination.

A Republican strategist supportive of Trump said bluntly: This is political gold for Trump. The message is easy: If Trump isnt the nominee, then the election interference worked, and the corrupt prosecutors win.

On Fox News, conservative commentators also speculated that Trump would benefit with his political base.

Former prosecutor Francey Hakes quoted Obi-Wan Kenobi from "Star Wars" saying: If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. She said that when it comes to Trump and his movement, getting indicted will mean they become more powerful than they can imagine.

But top Democrats and conservative Trump critics countered that nobody is above the law and that people shouldnt jump to conclusions.

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a member of the Jan. 6 committee, said Thursday on CNN that his former GOP colleagues should take a deep breath and wait to read the charges and evidence before assuming Trump didnt commit a crime.

He said the premeditated" decision to go after Bragg without having any clue whats in the indictment represents cowardice or political aims on the part of Republicans defending Trump.

Asa Hutchinson, a former governor of Arkansas who is weighing a presidential run, took a more measured approach and urged people not to jump to conclusions.

We need to wait on the facts and for our American system of justice to work like it does for thousands of Americans every day, he said, adding that Trump should not be the next president. But, he added, that should be decided by the voters.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
E. Jean Carroll (left) and former President Donald Trump (right). Getty/Getty

The lawsuit brought by Trump's rape accuser E. Jean Carroll is expected to start in April.

On Thursday, both sides filed a list of proposed questions to ask potential jurors.

Many focused on ascertaining how jurors feel about sexual misconduct allegations.

Hours after former President Donald Trump was indicted in a case believed to involve his alleged silencing of a porn star, his lawyers in an unrelated rape case filed documents revealing their plan to sniff out jurors who are sympathetic to women making sexual assault claims.

Former "Elle" advice columnist E. Jean Carroll is taking Trump to court in New York next month in a defamation and battery civil suit. She has accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman changing room in the mid-1990s and says Trump defamed her by denying her allegation and calling her a liar.

In court documents filed Thursday, Trump's team proposed asking potential jurors whether they're familiar with the slogan #believewomen, and whether they agree with it. They also wanted to know whether the #MeToo movement has "impacted" jurors' lives.

"Do you believe that most Americans brush aside allegations of sexual misconduct made against powerful men?" was another question proposed by team Trump for jury selection. Another was whether jurors are familiar with the "allegations made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh before he was confirmed to the Court" and their opinions about it.

Jury selection questions are meant to ascertain whether a juror has strongly held beliefs that would prevent them from judging a case fairly.

Carroll's lawyers also want to question jurors about potential biases when it comes to sexual assault allegations, specifically whether the decades since the alleged assault makes Carroll "less credible" and if jurors believe "that a victim of rape must present physical or medical evidence to prove that the rape in fact occurred."

Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Insider that while Trump's lawyers' questions around sexual assault are indeed meant to ascertain how jurors feel about sexual assault allegations and the #MeToo Movement, personal views are not enough to get most potential jurors dismissed.

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That's because most dismissals must be for "cause," he said, meaning the juror admittedly can't set aside personal beliefs to judge a case on the evidence alone.

Each side can dismiss some jurors without stating a specific reason, but these kinds of dismissals  called peremptory challenges  are limited. Rahmani said in civil cases, each side usually only gets three.

"If someone says I believe women and I believe these accusations, men have been taking advantage of women for years ... that's not going to be enough for a cause challenge," Rahmani said. "If they say I can follow the law and be fair, that's all you need."

Robbie Kaplan, an attorney for Carroll, declined to comment on this story. Joe Tacopina, an attorney Trump, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment Friday.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former U.S. President Donald Trump. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump on Thursday.

Trump's allies in Congress defended him as he faces criminal charges.

He is the first former president in history to be indicted.

Former President Donald Trump's Republican allies in Congress are rallying to his defense after a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday voted to indict him  the first former president in American history to face criminal charges.

The indictment, which has not been made public yet, is likely over Trump's role in a hush-money payment made during his 2016 presidential campaign to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It comes as Trump is pursuing a 2024 presidential campaign and is widely considered the Republican frontrunner.

"President Donald Trump always fought for us. He puts the American people above corrupt interests. For that reason alone, the powerful will never stop coming for him," Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said shortly after the indictment news broke.

"A majority of Americans know Alvin Bragg's witch hunt is a politically motivated prosecution," Gaetz continued, referring to the Manhattan district attorney. "I continue to stand with President Trump as he has always stood with us."

"This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system," Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said it was "profound" to learn of Trump's indictment while waiting to give a Lincoln's Day Address on the Gettysburg battlefield.

"My President is innocent and the only one standing in the way of these modern day tyrants, just like our founding fathers did, to protect each of us from evil," Greene said.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blasted Bragg, who led the investigation into Trump's role in the hush-money payment, accusing the district attorney of having "irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election."

"The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account," McCarthy said.

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Besides congressional lawmakers, other prominent Republicans also denounced the charges brought against Trump. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who's rumored to launch his own 2024 bid and has been, called the indictment a "weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda" and "un-American." He has been critical of Bragg's investigation in the past.

DeSantis added that Florida would not assist in an extradition request, though experts say he legally can't stop it. Trump must appear in court to address the criminal charges.

The Florida governor's comments come as Trump has repeatedly insulted his former ally amid speculation that he plans to rival him for the 2024 GOP nomination. DeSantis has largely remained silent but hit back earlier this month, directly referencing the potential indictment of Trump.

"I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair," DeSantis said.

Yet DeSantis' and other major GOP figures' criticisms of the charges on Thursday signals Trump's strong lasting support within the party. For his part, Trump similarly condemned the indictment as a political witch hunt.

"Never before in our Nation's history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever," Trump said Thursday.

The Manhattan grand jury has been investigating Trump's connection to a $130,000 payment made to Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen testified that he facilitated the payment to Daniels, with Trump's approval, in exchange for her silence about an affair she claimed she had with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors say the payment was an illegal campaign contribution.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and rejects that the payment was unlawful.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A composite image of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley AP Images

Trump's biggest current and potential 2024 foes rallied to his side on Thursday evening.

The top Republicans blasted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for pushing the prosecution of a former president.

A grand jury has moved to indict Trump on charges likely related to an alleged hush money scheme.

Current and would-be Republican rivals largely rallied behind Donald Trump on Thursday, illustrating the difficulty the former president's primary foes will face as they try to navigate the fallout from a historic indictment.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump's best-positioned potential rival, vowed not to cooperate with any extradition requests Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg may need to get Trump out of Florida. Insider previously reported how DeSantis has little power to thwart such a request as the Constitution requires interstate extradition.

"The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head," DeSantis, who is expected to announce a presidential campaign in May, said in a statement. "It is un-American."

Even former Vice President Mike Pence, who has condemned Trump's role in the January 6 Capitol riot, heaped criticism on Bragg's decision to prosecute the case.

"I think the unprecedented indictment of the former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage," Pence told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "And it appears to millions of Americans to be nothing than a political prosecution that's driven by a prosecutor who literally ran for office on a pledge to indict the former president."

The grand jury's indictment remains sealed for now. The Manhattan probe was said to have zeroed in on a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels made shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels has claimed to have had an affair with Trump in the 2000s. Trump has denied that he had an affair or that he did anything wrong as a result.

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Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who not so subtly hinted in her announcement that Trump's time was up, said the grand jury's indictment was "more about revenge than it is about justice."

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who also served in Trump's Cabinet, struck a similar tone in his response.

"Prosecuting serious crimes keeps Americans safe, but political prosecutions put the American legal system at risk of being viewed as a tool for abuse," Pompeo wrote on Twitter.

Some Republicans have mused about a Trump lane occupied by a less bombastic figure such as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. But Youngkin too was quick to lash out at the indictment.

"Arresting a presidential candidate on a manufactured basis should not happen in America," Youngkin wrote on Twitter.

The tone of their responses isn't surprising. Top Republicans also rallied around Trump after the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago resort in what was later revealed to be an investigation into the improper storage of classified documents.

Previous polling has also illustrated that the Republican base is extremely sympathetic to Trump's views. A Quinnipiac University poll found before the news broke that 3/4ths of Republicans would not view charges as disqualifying. A whopping 93% of Republicans also agreed that the New York investigation was "mainly motivated by politics."

Recent national polls have also shown Trump building on his lead extremely early in the GOP presidential race.

Of the potential or declared 2024 candidates, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson responded in the most muted way. Hutchinson, who has not shied away from criticizing Trump in the past, cautioned that Americans "need to wait on the facts.

"It is a dark day for America when a former President is indicted on criminal charges," Hutchinson said in a statement. "While the grand jury found credible facts to support the charges, it is important that the presumption of innocence follows Mr. Trump."

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON  The 2024 Republican presidential aspirants now have to game out a contest no candidate has ever faced: a front-runner  and former president  under criminal indictment.

While Donald Trump amps up a campaign of vilification against prosecutors, rivals like Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Mike Pence are defending him and denouncing the Manhattan district attorney. But they're also counting on tiring of all the "drama" surrounding the former president.

Trump may well benefit politically in the short term with GOP primary voters, according to campaign aides and political analysts.

Others wonder what future implications  with at least three other ongoing investigations of Trump and a potential trial in New York City  will do to his political standing down the line.

Stormy Daniels said she'd dance in the streets if Trump was indicted: Now she's sad it happened

Help Trump? Hurt Trump? Both?

Criminal charges, spurious or not, could actually help Trump in Republican primaries, analysts and officials said, but hurt him in a general election with independent and nonparty voters.

"The people who say they support (Trump) are not going to break from him because a prosecutor in New York City or Atlanta indicted him," said Matthew Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University and author of a new book, "Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right.''

Whats unclear within the Republican field is, how does an indictment play?" Dallek said. "Does it expand his support among Republicans, or does it strengthen his critics' argument that he is a weaker general-election candidate?"

Indictment updates: Trump indictment: Former president will surrender, won't consider plea deal: live updates

What's the beef?:What was Donald Trump indicted for? Will he go to jail? What you need to know

Trump's political strategy

After news of the indictment broke, Trump amped up a long-developed strategy: Attack the prosecutors, attack the case, attack Republicans who don't support him (particularly other president candidates). Trump also has urged supporters to protest the whole thing, triggering fears of violence in this now-unprecedented campaign.

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This will be a long-running theme. It could well be months before Trump is actually tried in New York. He also remains under investigation in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta over the handling of classified documents, efforts to overturn the 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, and the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.

What are DeSantis, Haley, Pence doing?

So far, Trump's major rivals  including DeSantis, Haley, and Pence  are defending the former president and more or less taking a wait-and-see approach.

They are also suggesting (or hoping) that voters will tire of Trump and his legal troubles, which would grind down his political strength.

DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy soon, described the indictment as "the weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda." The Florida governor, while not attacking Trump directly, has also hit his chaotic leadership style, telling Fox Nation: "The way we run the government I think is no daily drama, focus on the big picture and put points on the board."

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head.



It is un-American.



The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is  Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 30, 2023

Haley told Fox News that the indictment is "more about revenge than it is about justice." The former governor has also wondered aloud about Republican voters who weren't crazy about Trump in the first place.

During a town hall in New Hampshire this week, Haley said Trump has a strong base that adds up to 25% of the electorate  so that means "there are 75% other Republicans there that are looking for a place to be."

As Trump's former vice president, Pence, who is considering a 2024 campaign of his own, is in a unique position: Federal prosecutors investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection are trying to get him to testify against Trump.

In the meantime, Pence told CNN that the indictment is an "outrage" but added that no voter has asked about Trump's legal troubles. "It's one more example of the kind of drama that captures Washington, D.C., and makes it impossible for us to solve the problems," he said.

This is more about revenge than it is about justice. pic.twitter.com/08ooKRIKJF  Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) March 30, 2023

The New York case:Donald Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges. What we know

Candidates react:'An outrage': What Trump's potential rivals for 2024 are saying about his indictment

Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

President Donald Trump arrives with Vice President Mike Pence to speak about coronavirus testing during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House in September 2020.

How to deal with a Trump indictment

Watching events unfold in real time, campaign aides and political analysts said they doubt Trump's troubles will cut much into his base  the questions are how big of a base remains and what other Republican voters will do as the former president is actually put on trial.

That could well turn into a day-to-day thing, said campaign aides and political analysts.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson: Trump should quit 2024 presidential race if indictedIs

Donald Trump being arrested?: Here are the possible charges in the New York investigation

Can Trump run for president if indicted? Yes

One thing for sure: Trump will not quit campaigning while under indictment.

"I wont even think about leaving, Trump said earlier this month. Probably, itll enhance my numbers."

Trump seeks the Republican presidential nomination, and there's no party rule to prohibit an indicted person from entering primaries.

CPAC: Trump says indictment wouldn't push him out of 2024 race

How will a Trump trial affect 2024? No one knows for sure

Campaign officials said they are reluctant to discuss their strategies because so much depends on something unknowable: actual voters' reaction to a Trump indictment.

Dallek, the political historian at George Washington University, said it already is unusual for a former president to run again, but facing criminal prosecution adds an unprecedented wrinkle for any GOP campaign.

"The dilemma is that they nominate Trump, they get Trump," he said. "That's a huge risk in all kinds of ways, not just for the country and democracy but also for their prospects politically."

Will many Republicans move off Trump in discernible numbers? Will more rally around him in defiance? And how long will those reactions last? It could well be many months before Trump is tried in court.

While campaigns are loathe to discuss their options, some Republicans said the indictments may wind up helping Trump.

GOP consultants and strategists told USA TODAY indictments against Trump will not change his front-runner status in the race. It may even bolster his approval with GOP primary voters.

"Donald Trumps numbers will go up and everyone else will go down," said pollster Frank Luntz. "Republicans will see this as victimization, and they will rally behind him.

"Donald Trump does a better job of milking difficult political situation than any politician Ive ever seen."

Trump's Groundhog Day?

Likewise, Ford O'Connell, a Trump surrogate in 2020 based in Florida, said indictments will not sway Trump supporters.

Republican primary voters have been through numerous special counsels. So the idea that the walls are now suddenly closing in after 75 groundhog days just kind of that doesn't resonate, O'Connell said.

Remember, Trump is a known commodity. Theyve known since 2015 what they're going to get with Trump. And I think that that's the important part."

Watching Trump's polls

Brian Kirwin, a Republican consultant with decades of experience in Virginia, said potential GOP candidates are likely taking a wait-and-see approach  and keeping a sharp eye on Republican polls and focus groups.

"I think they're watching the polls and seeing if any of the top-tier candidates start to falter," Kirwin said. "And then they have their organization they can snap their fingers, in plenty of time, to compete in Iowa and New Hampshire and put things together fast."

Trump and DeSantis have led several polls of potential 2024 candidates.

A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll showed 44% of Iowa Republican voters had a very favorable view of Trump for the Republican nomination, and 42% said the same for DeSantis. Seventeen percent of those surveyed had a very favorable view of Pence, and 16% said the same for Haley.

A lot of 'Trump turmoil'

Other Republicans said a steady drip-drip-drip of allegations will take a toll on Trump over the long term, especially if he is put on trial in such a public manner.

"I know he's going to say that they're politically motivated and all of those things," former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told USA TODAY. "But the fact is, there's just a lot of turmoil out there with the number of investigations going on."

Sarah Longwell, an anti-Trump political strategist who has conducted numerous focus groups of Republican voters, said it's impossible to predict what will happen. But she said it seems that there will be more indictments, and "all the focus will be on Trump."

Trump could well be the Republican nominee, she said, "but hell be a terrible general-election candidate. His legal woes making him even more toxic to swing voters who already hate him."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's indictment will change 2024 election
A New York Times reporter suggested Thursday the indictment of former President Trump signals that America is aligning itself with "some of the most advanced democracies" who have taken legal action against former political leaders.

Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, made the suggestion in a news analysis piece titled "A President Faces Prosecution, and a Democracy Is Tested."

"Locking up former leaders on specious, politically driven charges may be common in the worlds autocracies, but some of the most advanced democracies have not shied away from putting their leaders on trial for crimes," Baker wrote in the article.

Furthering his point, Baker cited a handful of countries where political leaders have been faced with repercussions for alleged crimes, including Israel and Italy.

BIDEN HAS 'NO COMMENT' ON TRUMP INDICTMENT

Former President Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury Thursday after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office.

"In Israel, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spent more than a year in prison for bribery, fraud and other charges while the incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is currently on trial on similar charges," Baker stated. "In Italy, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who just regained some power as part of a governing coalition, has faced 35 criminal court cases during his long career, although he was definitively convicted just once for tax fraud and sentenced to a year of community service."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

As for other Democratic nations that have taken aim at political leaders, Baker cited the convictions of former French Presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy for embezzlement and influence peddling, respectively. Baker also highlighted the convictions of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye for corruption and former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian for bribery.

Baker's article came on the same day a Manhattan grand jury  after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office  voted to indict Trump, the leading Republican presidential nominee for 2024.

Story continues

TRUMP SAYS DA BRAGG'S 'OBSESSION' WITH TRYING TO 'GET TRUMP' WILL 'BACKFIRE' AFTER GRAND JURY INDICTMENT

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is seen departing the Manhattan Courthouse on March 30, 2023 in New York City.

Manhattan District Attorney Alivn Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election. These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal .

Fox News reported and revealed in 2018 a series of hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels, and the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and the Federal Election Commission both investigated those payments.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019, even as Michael Cohen, a former Trump attorney, implicated him as part of his plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

Trump reacted to the indictment by slamming Bragg for his "obsession" with trying to "get Trump," while warning the move to charge a former president of the United States will "backfire" on President Biden.

Former President Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas.

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. "From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country  have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement."

The charges against Trump come amid a separate, special counsel investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed reporting.
DAMASCUS, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched a missile attack on sites in the Syrian capital Damascus after midnight Friday, the Syrian national TV reported.

It was the second Israeli strike in the past 24 hours. Some missiles were intercepted by Syrian air defenses in Damascus and its surrounding areas, according to the report.

No casualties have been reported so far. 
A supporter of former President Donald Trump protests the indictment announcement near Mar-a-Lago, Fla., on March 31, 2023. Chandan Khan/AFP via Getty Images

When former President Donald Trump turns himself over to authorities in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, and is arraigned, the charges on which a Manhattan grand jury indicted him will likely be made public.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg obtained the indictment on March 30, 2023, following a grand jury vote, but the exact charges against Trump remain sealed. Multiple media sources are reporting the indictment alleges the former president committed business fraud.

I am a former prosecutor and law professor who studies the criminal justice system. While the complexities of Trumps case will continue to unfold, The Conversation asked me to break down the complex legal situation. Here are four key points to understand about the prosecution and what will likely come next.

Former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25, 2023. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

1. Falsified business records are the key issue

From what we understand of the investigation, the charges against Trump appear to stem from a US$130,000 payment in 2016 by Trumps then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels. In return, Daniels promised not to tell the media about her alleged affair with Trump.

Media reports suggest that there could be about 30 counts against Trump, and at least some of those counts will be felonies.

Just the fact that there are so many counts does not mean that there are many different criminal events or kinds of crimes alleged. Prosecutors often charge similar, repeated conduct  for example, multiple drug sales  as separate counts. In this case, the multiple counts may refer to a series of business records that record the same or similar transactions. Or the charges may, indeed, span multiple alleged criminal events.

Media reports indicate that Bragg does not appear to be alleging that Trumps payment to Daniels was itself illegal.

Instead, Trump will likely be charged with falsifying business records for trying to hide the payment by lying about its nature in the records of the Trump Organization, his company.

Story continues

Creating a false business record with the intent to defraud is a Class A misdemeanor offense in New York. But the offense can become a low-level Class E felony if Bragg can prove that Trump created false business records for the purpose of facilitating a second crime.

It is not yet clear what the second crime will be  or even that a second crime is being alleged  but possibilities include federal or state campaign finance violations or tax evasion.

2. Bragg will have to prove Trumps involvement, fraudulent intent

If there is a trial, the prosecution will have to put together a series of pieces to secure a conviction on each of the charges facing Trump.

First, the prosecution would have to prove that the Daniels payment was recorded by Trump officials as something clearly inaccurate. It is not enough to show that the payment was recorded ambiguously  like miscellaneous or even legal services. The business records at issue must be unequivocally false.

Second, it is not necessary that Trump himself created false records. The prosecution would just have to prove that Trump was the direct cause of the false entry  meaning someone followed his specific directions.

Third, the prosecution would have to prove that Trump created the false record for a fraudulent purpose and, to prove a felony, with the specific purpose of committing  or covering up  another crime.

This is important because there could be other potentially plausible reasons the defense might offer, including that Trump sought to avoid embarrassment to his family or himself. Another option is indifference, that Trump gave little thought to how the transaction was recorded. Thats why the details of the allegedly false records, and Trumps degree of involvement in their creation, will be central questions at trial.

Finally, for the felony offense, the prosecution would also have to prove that there was another crime that was either committed or covered up by using this false business record.

People gather March 31, 2023, in front of Trump Tower the day after former President Donald Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

3. Its the most complex straightforward case in history

While everyone will be watching to see if this case is handled like other cases, differences are inevitable. For example, the New York Police Department and court officers will need to coordinate the arrest process with Trumps Secret Service agents.

Further complications will arise if there is any prospect of incarceration. Based on what we know now, there is little prospect that Trump will be jailed pending trial for this allegation of a nonviolent crime. And even if he is ultimately convicted, its still unlikely hell be locked up, based on the nature of the charges and his lack of a prior criminal record. That said, judges have broad discretion in determining sentences.

That is only a small window into the logistical challenges that await the Manhattan district attorneys office and the New York courts. If this were any other defendant, this would be a relatively straightforward case, the kind that make up the hundreds of cases in a typical prosecutors caseload.

However, Trump is not any other defendant. That means this is likely to be the most complex straightforward case in American history.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg leaves his New York office on March 22, 2023. Scott Olson/Getty Images

4. The judicial process will be a messy affair

Most low-level felony and misdemeanor cases are resolved before trial, especially when there is no obvious victim. Typically, the prosecution will offer a plea deal, perhaps including a term of probation, or even propose a diversion program with community service, for example, which will lead to a dismissal of the charges.

It will be interesting to see if Bragg makes an offer along those lines. Even if he does, defendants must typically admit guilt to take advantage of these arrangements, and Trump may refuse for political, personal or legal reasons to admit guilt.

So its likely the case will go to trial, a process that will be messy for many reasons  most importantly, the jury.

When choosing a jury in a criminal case, the trial judge is supposed to screen out potential jurors who are biased in favor of, or against, the defendant. Thats normally easy because the jurors have usually never have heard of the defendant.

But most potential jurors will have opinions about Trump and many will need to be excused from jury service because of a lack of objectivity.

In a trial with this much media attention, there will also be people who have strong feelings about Trump and want to be on the jury. Some of them may hide their biases. Thats a problem by itself.

Then, once the trial starts, the media attention will shine a spotlight on the selected jurors. If it becomes clear that the jurors lied or failed to disclose information in jury selection, that could be grounds for removing them from the jury in the middle of the trial. If enough jurors are removed, the case will end in a mistrial, sending everyone back to square one.

So, while there is a lot about this prosecution that isnt yet clear to the general public, one thing is clear  this will be a case with unprecedented attention and complexity.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts, from an independent nonprofit. Try our free newsletters.

It was written by: Jeffrey Bellin, William & Mary Law School.

Read more:



Jeffrey Bellin 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.
Former President Donald Trump dances after speaking at a rally on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

If Trump's mugshot is made public, it could turn him into a folk hero, historian Douglas Brinkley says.

"Trump fits very easily into a narrative of folk heroes" like Al Capone, Brinkley said.

New York law generally bars the release of mugshots but it's possible that Trump's could be leaked.

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. He's the first former US president to ever face criminal charges, and there's no comparable moment in the country's history, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley told NPR on Friday.

"We've never had anything like this," Brinkley said. "This is the first time that it really seems likely that the former president of the United States will be having a mugshot, being fingerprinted."

Trump is planning to surrender to the Manhattan district attorney's office next week, probably on Tuesday, according to his attorney Joe Tacopina. Though he's an ex-world leader, that doesn't mean Trump will get special treatment  but he's unlikely to be handcuffed.

That said, Trump will have to pose for a mugshot.

Under New York law, police are barred from publicly releasing mugshots unless doing so serves a specific purpose for law enforcement  such as aiding in the search for a wanted or missing person. In Trump's case, his mugshot likely won't see the light of day unless it is leaked. Mugshots of public figures taken in New York have been leaked in the past.

During an episode of his YouTube show "Justice Matters" on Thursday, legal analyst Glenn Kirschner suggested that Trump's mugshot "will become publicly available pretty promptly."

If the public does get a chance to see the mugshot, it would cement Trump's status as an "outlaw" among presidents and could make him a folk hero for some Americans, Brinkley said.

"As a presidential historian, I've had a hard time connecting him to the tradition of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and the Roosevelts," Brinkley said of Trump. "But Trump fits very easily into a narrative of folk heroes, like outlaw folk heroes like Al Capone and Dillinger, Billy the Kid."

Story continues

"The public likes their outlaw figure sometimes, and I think that's where we have to look at President Trump at this point," Brinkley went on to say, adding that this is a "monstrous story of huge size and importance" given Trump is the leader of the Republican party and running for reelection in 2024.

Similarly, Fox News host Pete Hegseth on Thursday suggested that Trump's mugshot would make him a "hero," likening the former president to celebrities who also had to pose for law enforcement such as Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, and Mick Jagger.

"If there is a mugshot of Donald Trump it will be on dorm rooms and on T-shirts, making him a hero," Hegseth said on "Hannity," adding, "And rightfully so because he has become a symbol of what elites and those obsessed with power are willing to do when they have that power."

The emeritus Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who served on Trump's legal team during his first impeachment trial, told Newsmax on Thursday night that the former president could use his mugshot as a campaign poster.

"He will be mug-shot and fingerprinted," Dershowitz said. "There's really no way around that."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Before there was MAGA, the John Birch Society operated as a kind of shock force for the far right in the 1960s. Led by Robert Welch, an ultra-conservative (and wealthy) retired candy manufacturer who had accused Dwight Eisenhower of being a communist agent, the Birch Society was formed by anti-New Deal businessmen in 1958. It grew into a major grassroots political force, with hundreds of chapters scattered across the country encouraging members to run for local office and support far-right political campaigns. The group smeared Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a communist, advocated a U.S. exit from the United Nations and trafficked in outlandish conspiracy theories. Some members even argued the society should be more antisemitic in its aims.

To its many critics, both Democrats and Republicans, the John Birch Society represented an authoritarian movement seeking to topple multiracial democracy. Even conservatives such as Arizona Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater and National Review founder and editor William F. Buckley eyed the movement with caution. Welch, they believed, had spewed theories that were so batty  in addition to calling Ike a communist, he once wrote that the peculiar cancer of which [former GOP Senator] Bob Taft died may have been induced by a radium tube planted in the upholstery of his Senate seat, as has been so widely rumored  that they damaged the prospects of conservatives seeking power. At the same time, some Birch members subscribed to Buckleys magazine, and many supported Goldwater. Buckley even had friends and acquaintances who were leaders of the Birch organization  his own mother became a Bircher.



As the leader of the conservative intellectual movement, Buckley faced a dilemma: Alienate the most energetic, consequential far-right group of the time and he would likely lose readers, shed allies and, potentially, crack the broader budding support for an electoral coalition. He and his colleagues in National Reviews offices would need to figure out how to handle the society deftly.

Story continues

Theres a popular idea that Buckley cordoned off the Birchers and expelled them through editorials in his magazine. Mainstream political raconteurs long assumed that Buckley was successful in cutting off the far right, acting as his movements de facto boundary enforcer and keeping true conservatism clean and free of its seedier aspects. But the lines between mainstream and fringe were murkier than these portraits suggest. As political scientists Daniel Schlozman of Johns Hopkins University and Sam Rosenfeld of Colgate University have pointed out, However mythologized by movement conservatives since, Buckleys halting project of excommunication was more notable for its ineffectuality and tardiness than its impact in drawing a cordon sanitaire.

Letters, which I discovered in my research for a new book, between National Reviews editors, Birchers and mainstream conservatives such as Goldwater reveal the turmoil roiling the magazine over how to respond to the Birch conundrum  and presage some of the dilemmas conservative leaders have faced, and failed to address, since the rise of Donald Trump.



Throughout the 1950s, Buckley published writers whose work also appeared in the American Mercury, which had become an antisemitic magazine with ties to the Birch Society. In 1957, Buckley anticipated the societys anti-civil rights stance when he called white people the advanced race and defended the legitimacy of Jim Crow. He deplored critics of the red-baiting Sen. Joseph McCarthy, a Bircher hero.



In light of these and other extreme positions, Buckleys gesture toward kicking out the Birchers was far more concerned with cordoning off Robert Welch, while retaining the support of the rank-and-file members.

In April 1961, as Birchers became the personification of radical-right excess, Buckley wrote a carefully parsed editorial in National Review depicting Welch as a man whose worldview rested on false assumptions, namely, that President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a communist. Even that faint rebuke came about after a great deal of hand-wringing and internal debate at the magazine.

The Birchers rising profile had forced Buckley and his colleagues to figure out what to say about the movement. They groped for a response. In essence, Buckley and his team agreed that Welchs theories were absurd and impolitic, but they also knew that some Birch leaders wrote for National Review and that Birch members were devoted anti-communist conservatives and a crucial constituency for their magazine.



Around the time of Buckleys editorial, proposals surfaced. Editor Frank Meyer recommended that they write an article criticizing Welchs extravagances, but he cautioned against attacking the rank and file. Some of the solidest conservatives in the country are members of the John Birch Society, he reasoned, and we should act in such a way as to alienate them no more than is strictly necessary from a moral, political, or tactical point of view. Another Buckley ally reminded him in a letter, As Senator Goldwater told you: The members appear to be high type, educated and dedicated anti-communist conservatives, including some important businessmen.

The top editors concurred. Welch was fair game. But, as publisher William Rusher wrote in a memo, We are going to have to open our minds to the possibility that the society is going to be around for quite a while and that its membership  as distinguished from its founder  has not yet earned our condemnation, by any means.

Prominent Birchers applied fierce pressure on Buckley to steer clear of the controversy and say nothing negative at all. Clarence Manion, a Birch leader and National Review contributor, pointedly warned Buckley that criticism from his magazine would enable the dreaded liberals to drive a hole through the wall of conservative opposition, splitting their ranks and allowing their opponents to seize the political advantage. He added that the origins of this drive against John Birch are so foul and disreputable that I cannot describe them in a telegram.

Any Birch-National Review showdown, one correspondent wrote, could be apocalyptic. Paul Talbert, a member of the societys National Council, warned Buckley that Birchers might react negatively to any criticisms, causing them to withhold their support from the magazine. I want to see the National Review succeed, he wrote, but I hope you can see you are putting me on a permanent hot seat. Talbert was already taking heat from his local press in California and urged Buckley not to join the pile-on. He had been called a satrap, fascist, neo-fascist, silver shirt, brown shirt, black shirt, red shirt, etc.

Buckley vowed to make it absolutely clear that National Review approves of the John Birch Society, while disapproving [of] Bobs tendency to frame his entire position on the presumption of endemic disloyalty. In a letter to Goldwater, who would become the 1964 presidential nominee thanks in part to the active support of many Birchers, Buckley was blunter: Bob Welch is of course nuts on the Eisenhower-Dulles business. But the society has some very good people in it.  It is a pity W. didnt restrain himself. I fear he will do our cause much damage. About a month later, his first editorial about Welch, titled The Uproar, published in National Review.

In January 1962 Buckley and Goldwater agreed during a meeting at the Breakers in Palm Beach to visibly divorce themselves and the conservative movement from the Birch Societys wildest conspiracy theories by casting Welch as the crackpot his critics had alleged while at the same time defending Birch members, whom Goldwater called nice people.



That February, Buckley wrote a second editorial that called Welchs views on current affairs ... far removed from common sense. Goldwater affirmed Buckleys attack and added that in his opinion, Welchs views did not represent the feelings of most members of the John Birch Society. In other forums, Goldwater denounced Welch as extremist, called his ideas about Ike stupid, and said, I dont recall speaking to Bob Welch other than hello and goodbye over the last nine years or so. (He claimed that Buckley, not Welch, had asked him to serve on the Committee Against Summit Entanglements, a Birch front group opposed to the Eisenhower-Nikita Khrushchev summit, in 1959.) In a surreal echo of 1950s liberals explaining their youthful flirtation with communism in the 1930s, Goldwater issued a roundabout mea culpa when he said, All of us in public life sometimes lend our names to movements that later we wished wed taken a little more time to find out about.

When a Birch acolyte criticized National Review for its anti-Birch stands, Rusher responded by sending a copy of the February 1962 editorial and inviting him to point out to me, anywhere in its first five pages, a single word of criticism of the John Birch Society. Buckley sounded similarly defensive a few months later, when he wrote to Birch founder T. Coleman Andrews, I dont think in my life I have made a single unfavorable reference to any members of the John Birch Society.



For decades, conservatives and liberals have praised Buckley for those two (and subsequent) editorials. They celebrated him as a model of sobriety and rationality for panning the Birch Society and expunging the far-right fringe from conservative ranks. Over the past decade, however, the legend has come under scrutiny. Historians now argue that Buckleys vaunted excommunication of the fringe is a myth. They are not impressed by his supposedly Solomonic decision to repudiate the low-hanging fruit of Welch and his conspiracy theories while sparing the societys rank and file. By welcoming them into the fold both before and after National Reviews supposed break with the society, Buckley and his magazine continued to benefit from Birchers political activism, funding, and engagement.

Ideologically, Buckley was not as far from the Birchers as has been claimed. He wrote a book defending McCarthy, supported massive resistance to civil rights in the late 1950s and gave the conspiracy theorist cranks intellectual cover. Moreover, there was significant overlap between his supporters and the Birchers: many National Review subscribers also subscribed to the John Birch Society's magazine, American Opinion; Buckleys 1965 Conservative Party campaign for mayor of New York drew Birch and fringe support; and Buckley maintained professional and personal relationships with some of the most extreme Birch leaders, such as Revilo Oliver, who promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Nevertheless, by late 1965, Buckleys broadsides had infuriated some Birch leaders. Even though Buckley never excommunicated the Birch Society from the conservative movement, his criticisms of it didnt exactly endear him to Birch leaders. One of the original 12 founding members of the society, Louis Ruthenburg, for example, excoriated Buckley for his defamation of the John Birch Society.

Overtly engaging with the Birchers remained an even thornier issue for a presidential candidate. By the time the campaign of 1964 was underway, Goldwater continued his awkward pas de deux with the society. While renouncing some of the views and incendiary rhetoric of Welch and other Birch leaders, as Buckley did, Goldwater gingerly tried to avoid alienating the membership. As numerous historians have recently argued, Goldwater and other prominent conservatives sometimes welcomed the societys rank and file  and many of their ideas  into the fold. He lost to incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson by such a huge margin it set a record.



No single conservative leader had the power to excommunicate the Birch Society. Doing so would have required the consistent, stalwart attention of numerous mainstream conservatives. Still, although Buckley never kicked the societys ideas or its adherents out of the conservative movement, his criticism of the society carried an underappreciated price to him and his magazine: He lost some subscribers; he endured barbs from allies as a result of his editorials, which had put him in the crosshairs of many leaders of the far right. He may not have excommunicated Birchers from the movement, but he also, arguably, did more than most conservative leaders have done since 2016 to expel the once fringe ideas  staunch isolationism, racism, conspiracy-prone thinking  now flying under the banner of MAGA.

At the same time, Buckleys fence-walking was a taste of what was to come  decades of on-again, off-again efforts, halting and inconsistent, at handling the fringe. To their credit, Buckleys intellectual and political successors sometimes denounced conspiracy theorists, racists and isolationists, such as when George H.W. Bush condemned KKK grand wizard and GOP gubernatorial candidate David Duke in 1991, or when his son, George W. Bush, rejected far-right conspiracy theories alleging that he was establishing a North American Union with Mexico and Canada modeled on the European Union.

Yet conservative leaders of various stripes wanted the fringes energy, money and votes  and especially at campaign time, they courted the far right. These alliances, punctuated by mutual animus, hark back to the core of Buckleys dilemma  one that he never resolved, with consequences that reverberated on January 6.

From the book BIRCHERS: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek. Copyright  2023 by Matthew Dallek. Reprinted by permission of Basic Books, an imprint of Perseus Books LLC, a subsidiary of New York, N.Y., USA. All rights reserved.
Tucker Carlson reacted with predictable indignation to Donald Trumps indictment, characterizing it as worse for the nation than the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

If you believe in our system, and you want it to continue, you have to raise your hand and say stop, the Fox News host said Thursday night. Because this is too great an assault on our system  much greater than anything we saw on Jan. 6, thats for sure.

Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury Thursday for his role in a 2016 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. The porn actor received the $130,000 payment ahead of the 2016 presidential election in exchange for keeping quiet about an affair she said she had with Trump a decade earlier.

Tucker: This is much greater assault on our system. Much greater than anything we saw on January 6th. Thats for certain pic.twitter.com/KjBl7xtTTZ  Acyn (@Acyn) March 31, 2023

The New York Times reported that Trump faces more than two dozen counts.

Carlson joined Trump in characterizing the investigation as a politically motivated witch hunt orchestrated by Democrats. He has also repeatedly whitewashed the violent Jan. 6, 2021, effort by Trump supporters to overturn the 2020 election, and recently described the insurrectionists as sightseers.

Those sightseers injured about 140 police officers. Of more than 1,000 people arrested in the attack, more than 320 have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding authorities. Multiple people died in connection with the mob violence.

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In May 2022, Sweden and Finland simultaneously filed bids to join NATO amid Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Applications had to be ratified by the parliaments of all NATO member states. Once both countries become full members, NATOs border with Russia will more than double in length.

Read also: Hungary ratifies Finland's NATO accession

On January 29, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara could agree to Finland's entry into NATO separately from Sweden, amid diplomatic tensions with Stockholm.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A 36-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with a shooting that left one man dead Thursday night in Tuscaloosa.

At around 7:30 p.m., Tuscaloosa police officers were called to the 1800 block of Queen City Avenue after receiving reports of a shooting, said Capt. Marty Sellers of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit.

Sirens

Upon arrival, officers found a car that had been wrecked about two blocks away from the area of the shooting. Inside the wrecked car, officers said they found 37-year-old Rufus Tyrone Carter IV of Tuscaloosa, who had multiple wounds apparently caused by gunshots.

Carter was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries, Sellers said.

The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit then assumed control of the investigation.

While investigators were arriving at the scene, Sellers said a man came to the Tuscaloosa Police Department front desk and turned himself in, saying he had just shot someone.

Investigators began questioning the man about the the Queen City Avenue shooting.

After speaking with witnesses and processing the evidence on scene, 36-year-old Reginal Dawayne Peoples,, also a resident of Tuscaloosa, was charged with murder.

Peoples was taken to the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where he is being held without bond in accordance with Aniah's Law. The law, approved as a constitutional amendment by Alabama voters in November 2022, gives prosecutors more discretion in denying bail to those charged with certain violent offenses.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Suspect turns himself in after fatal shooting on Queen City Avenue
ISTANBUL (Reuters) -The building of a Turkish opposition party in Istanbul was hit by two bullets overnight, its leader said on Friday, in what she described as an attempt to scare party members ahead of landmark presidential and parliamentary elections next month.

However, state-owned Anadolu news agency later cited police as saying that the shots had been fired by a construction site guard while pursuing thieves and that the bullets had hit the party building by chance, not by design.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the perpetrator had been caught.

There were no reports of anybody being hurt in the shooting, which targeted the Istanbul office of the right-wing IYI Party. One bullet hit the ground floor and another the third floor, IYI party leader Meral Aksener told reporters.

"This is an attempt to scare members of a political party just one month and a half before the elections. This is unacceptable. You cannot scare us but this is an insult to voters," Aksener said.

The IYI Party is part of a six-party opposition alliance which has nominated Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) as their candidate to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan in the May 14 elections.

Next month's elections mark the toughest political challenge yet for Erdogan, who has led the country for two decades but has seen his popularity tumble amid an economic crisis and the impact of a devastating earthquake in southeast Turkey.

While polls show him trailing Kilicdaroglu, however, the race remains tight and campaigning is only just beginning.

(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever;Editing by Daren Butler and Gareth Jones)
Two former Oklahoma County jailers have pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor cruelty charge for forcing inmates to listen to "Baby Shark" as punishment.

Gregory Cornell Butler Jr. and Christian Charles Miles were put on probation for two years and fined $200.

They also were ordered to pay $300 in victims' compensation and complete 40 hours of community service. They were banned from working in law enforcement.

Both were charged after an investigation determined handcuffed inmates were forced to stand for long periods chained to a wall in the attorney visitation booth as discipline in 2019.

The two guards further mistreated inmates by playing children's music loudly on a loop, investigators reported. Both resigned after coming under investigation.

More: "Baby Shark" kid's song used to bully jail inmates, DA says

An aerial photo shows the Oklahoma County jail in downtown Oklahoma City. Detention officers admitted to playing the children's song "Baby Shark" multiple times, which upset some inmates.

The criminal case centered on four victims, but investigators believe there were more.

One victim said he had to listen to "Baby Shark" for two hours straight, according to an investigative report. Another said the "weird little song" was blaring and played "over and over and over again."

The case brought worldwide media attention to the troubled jail after The Oklahoman first reported on it in October 2020.

Both Butler and Miles confirmed playing "Baby Shark" during the discipline, according to the report.

"That was a joke between Miles and I," Butler said, according to the report.

The discipline had at one point involved children's music featuring Elmo, the popular Sesame Street character. Another guard admitted he suggested to Miles playing "Baby Shark."

A jury trial in the misdemeanor case had been set to begin Monday.

Instead, Butler, 24, and Miles, 23, pleaded no contest Thursday to three misdemeanor cruelty counts.

Special Judge Martha Oakes imposed the sentences.

She chose a type of probation that will leave them with no conviction on their record if they get in no further trouble.

Both also had been charged with conspiracy but prosecutors dropped that count.

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Miles and other detention officers did the best they could to try to keep order "with the lack of leadership going on at the time," his attorney, Michael Johnson, said.

Miles is now a truck driver.

"These inmates were winning the war at the jail," his attorney said.

Children's songs were played to calm inmates down, the attorney said. "It's basically like a time out," Johnson said.

Prosecutors also dismissed all misdemeanor counts against a supervisor.

Christopher Raymond Hendershott, a lieutenant at the jail, retired after coming under investigation. He had been charged with four cruelty counts and a conspiracy count.

He was accused of failing to take proper action after learning of the discipline. He is now 52.

"This guy was truly innocent," his attorney, Gary James, said.

Prosecutors realized that after reviewing the files, the attorney said.

Three of the "Baby Shark" inmates filed a federal lawsuit over their mistreatment, but a judge ruled against them. An appeal is expected now that the criminal case is complete.

One plaintiff, John Basco, died in the jail of a fentanyl overdose last September.

The fourth "Baby Shark" victim, convicted murderer Brandon Newell, agreed to be a witness in the federal lawsuit.

Newell said he was forced to listen to "Baby Shark" for popping out the door of his cell. "After the third repeat, I wanted to scream," he told the plaintiffs' lawyer, Cameron Spradling, in a letter.

"I was angry and humiliated," Newell wrote.

At the time of the incidents, Sheriff P.D. Taylor was in charge of jail operations. A trust took over the jail July 1, 2020, and Taylor left office after losing reelection.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: "Baby Shark' jailers sentenced for cruelty to Oklahoma County inmates
Graffiti was spray-painted on the building of LifeChoice Pregnancy Center in Winter Haven in the days after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision last year. The vandalism cited Jane's Revenge, the name for a collective of abortion-rights supporters that has taken responsibility for damage at other centers around the country.

Two more South Florida residents have been charged in connection with threatening messages painted last year at a pregnancy center in Winter Haven.

A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida returned indictments against Gabriella Victoria Oropesa of Cooper City and Annarella Rivera of Hialeah for their alleged roles in the damage to the LifeChoice Pregnancy Center in June.

The superseding indictment charges Oropesa, 24, and Rivera, 46, with violations of the FACE Act, a federal law that protects reproductive health-care facilities and places of worship. The Department of Justice had previously announced indictments of two other South Florida residents, Caleb Freestone and Amber Smith-Stewart, on federal charges related to the vandalism.

The new indictment says that the four engaged in a conspiracy to prevent employees of reproductive health services facilities from providing those services. As part of the conspiracy, the defendants allegedly targeted pregnancy resource facilities and vandalized those facilities with spray-painted threats, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida said in a news release.

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The indictment says that Rivera, Freestone and Smith-Stewart violated the federal law by using threats of force to intimidate and interfere with the employees of the facility because those employees were providing or seeking to provide reproductive health services.

Vandals painted such phrases as YOUR TIME IS UP!! and WERE COMING for U overnight last June at LifeChoice Pregnancy Center, shortly after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that nullified the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, eliminating the nationwide right to an abortion. The defendants also vandalized pregnancy centers in Hollywood and Hialeah, the DOJ said in a news release.

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If convicted of the offenses, Rivera, Freestone and Smith-Stewart each face up to 12 years in prison, three years of supervised release and fines of up to $350,000, the release said. Oropesa faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

LifeChoice Pregnancy Center provides pregnancy testing and other services but doesn't offer or refer for abortions.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Two more indicted for painted threats at Winter Haven pregnancy center
Two new snowstorms, one hitting Friday and a second arriving Monday are likely to exacerbate flooding potential in northeastern South Dakota, the National Weather Service said.

The storms combined may add up to two inches of additional moisture to a snowpack that already has six to 10 inches of water content, said Cari Fleegel, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Aberdeen.

Fridays storm is expected to drop three to 12 inches of snow, with higher amounts in some areas, she said. Winds are expected to be in the 40 mph to 50 mph range with some higher gusts Friday afternoon making travel nearly impossible. Blizzard conditions are expected.

Freezing rain is expected to usher the storm in around 1 a.m. Friday.

The weather service said the Aberdeen area could get three to nine inches of snow with five to 10 inches in the Watertown area between Friday and early Saturday morning and a foot or more in the Sisseton, Milbank, Redfield and Miller areas.

The snow is approaching record levels in Aberdeen.

With our cold and snowy March, the KABR (Aberdeen, SD) snow depth continues to run above the 95th percentile (1952 & 1975 only years with higher snow depth on 3/28), Steve Fleegel, the Science and Operations Officer at the weather service in Aberdeen, said in a Twitter post. Unfortunately, below normal temperatures and the potential for snow will continue for the next two weeks.

The second storm is expected to move in beginning Monday and running through Wednesday. While there is a lot of uncertainty with next week`s system, including track and timing, there is the potential for very heavy snow (a foot or more) across the entire forecast area Monday night through Wednesday, the weather services Aberdeen office said.

This long winter season has few comparisons, the Sioux Falls National Weather Service office said on Twitter.

We're thinking Laura Ingalls Wilder would relate to our seemingly long winter. Not many snow seasons since 1940 have had as persistent snow cover in Sioux Falls. Last comparable were 2009-2010 or 1996-1997.

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The late season snow storms are adding some urgency to flood preparations in Watertown, which historically has battled Big Sioux River flood flows.

The city of Watertown on Wednesday made sand available at the Sailboat Landing (220 block of North Lake Drive) at Lake Kampeska. Free sandbags are available at the Codington County Sheriffs Office and the Office of Emergency Management located at 119 South Maple Street in Watertown.

It expected to start installing pumps at its 27 isolation structures on Friday, but snow likely will delay that task until next week.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Two snowstorms increase flooding potential in Aberdeen, Watertown
RAMALLAH/GAZA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians on Thursday marked the 47th anniversary of the "Land Day" amid calls to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories that has been going on since 1967.

They also called for establishing an independent Palestinian state on the territories seized by Israel in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators gathered near the borders between the eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, waving Palestinian flags, carrying banners demanding an end of the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state, and chanting anti-Israel slogans.

Demonstrations and rallies were also held in other parts of the Gaza Strip to mark the day. Some young people planted olive trees, with each one carrying the name of a village in historic Palestine that their grandfathers left in 1948.

The Hamas movement said in a press statement that the Palestinians "are still sticking to their legitimate rights."

In the West Bank, similar demonstrations are scheduled in several towns, villages and cities on Friday.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye slammed the Israeli aggression on "Voice of Palestine" as aggressive and said the Israeli occupation "is based on settlement, repression, and killing."

Ishtaye called on the Palestinians to reunite and end an internal division among the Palestinians, mainly between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party since 2007.

The events of Land Day date back to March 30, 1976, when the Palestinians in Israel protested against the Israeli seizure of about 21,000 dunams (2,100 hectares) of Palestinian villages' lands in the Galilee region in northern Israel.

The 1976 protests took place in the villages of Arraba, Sakhnin, Deir Hanna, Arab al-Sawa'id and others. The lands in these villages were confiscated for establishing more settlements. 
CAMDEN  A Burlington County doctor has received a prison term for his role in scams that defrauded state health benefit programs.

Separately, an Atlantic County doctor has admitted guilt to taking part in a similar scheme based on high-priced prescriptions for unneeded drugs.

More: Consent order reached Haddonfield doctor accused of engaging in sexual contact with a patient

Daniel Oswari, 51, of Bordentown was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $1.9 million, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for New Jersey.

He also must forfeit $54,000 in proceeds from the scam.

At another hearing in Camden federal court, Brian Sokalsky, 44, of Margate acknowledged his role in a scheme that cost health insurers some $5 million, the federal prosecutor's office said.

Both doctors allegedly wrote prescriptions, without any need by patients, for costly drugs known as compounded medications.

Insurance plans for state and local government workers covered the medications, allowing scam participants to share in those payments, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

Sokalsky pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud.

Oswari previously admitted guilt to conspiring to commit health care and wire fraud, and conspiring to violating an anti-kickback law.

Sokalsky was charged in a June 2020 indictment with Vincent Tornari, 49, a pharmaceutical sales representative from Linwood, and former advanced nurse practitioner Ashley Lyons-Valenti, 66, of Swedesboro.

Tornari and Lyons-Valenti have also admitted guilt, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

Hearings for the doctors took place March 28 before U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler.

The judge scheduled Sokalskys sentencing for Aug. 22.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Daniel Oswari, Brian Sokalsky appear at separate court hearings
A West Sacramento man and woman were arrested earlier this week in connection with the death of a Sacramento man whose burned body was found in a Solano County field, authorities said.

Detectives with the Solano County Sheriffs Office on Tuesday morning arrested Emmanuel Justin, 39, and Wendy Warren, 38, on suspicion of homicide, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

Law enforcement and fire personnel had responded Monday morning to reports of a small fire in a field near Elmira Road and Tulip Street, just outside Vacaville city limits.

Arriving deputies discovered a body that had been set on fire, later identified as 35-year-old Theodore Washington of Sacramento, sheriffs officials wrote.

The Sheriffs Office used Flock Safety cameras to identify a suspect vehicle in Washingtons death, according to the post. West Sacramento police stopped the vehicle Monday night, and Solano County detectives interviewed the man and woman inside, identified as Justin and Warren.

The two suspects allegedly lured Washington last week to a location in West Sacramento and killed him, then waited four days to discard his body, the Sheriffs Office wrote.

The deceased Washington was found with severe head and facial injuries and burns over much of his body, according to the Sheriffs Office. He was originally listed as a John Doe.

Investigators determined Warren had a relationship with Washington, according to the news release, but authorities have not released a specific motive.

Warren and Justin were arrested and booked Tuesday into the Solano County Jail on homicide charges. Both are being held with bail set at $2 million.

Both are due in Solano Superior Court on April 10 for initial appearances, jail records show.
A fugitive Chinese billionaire plans to auction "unvaccinated sperm" on an online platform rife with misinformation -- a sale that vaccine skeptics bill optimistically as a chance to buy the "next Bitcoin."

The sales pitch that sperm from uninoculated men will be in high demand -- and therefore fetch top dollar -- stems from the widely debunked conspiracy theory that Covid-19 jabs cause mass infertility.

Guo Wengui, a tycoon exiled in the United States who was recently arrested for alleged fraud, is putting that pitch to the test with his much-hyped auction slated for June on the fringe platform Gettr.

"Sperm and eggs from our fellow fighters will be auctioned on our Gettr platform between June 1 and June 6," Guo said in a livestream in February.

The tycoon, a cult-like figure who is wanted in China and closely tied to Donald Trump's former political advisor Steve Bannon, claimed to have already stored nearly 6,000 eggs and a "few million sperm" from unvaccinated supporters.

"We will auction off the best sperm and eggs, including of course my own sperm," he said, adding that trading will be allowed in digital currencies and be open to all races and ethnicities.

It remains unclear whether the auction will go ahead following the arrest earlier this month of Guo, who faces federal charges that he defrauded thousands of online followers of some $1 billion.

But the planned sale has generated buzz on Gettr, where the tycoon's supporters have hailed it as a "new era for humanity."

"Giving unvaccinated sperms or eggs not only is an honorable way to gain wealth, but also will save the future of humanity," said a Gettr post that endorsed Guo.

The post featured a photo with a hand-scrawled message: "Unvaxxed sperm is the next Bitcoin."

- 'Pure bloods' -

"This auction plays off a broader false narrative that Covid-19 vaccines have harmed fertility," John Gregory, health editor at the watchdog NewsGuard, told AFP.

"Anti-vaccine misinformers pushed that claim even in the face of an abundance of medical studies showing that the vaccines don't hurt male or female fertility."

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Guo, who goes by other names including Miles Guo, himself is an adherent to the false claim.

The New Federal State of China, an anti-Chinese Communist Party lobby group created by Guo, has also repeatedly made unfounded statements such as "vaccines are a bioweapon."

Guo's aides are tight-lipped about the auction. When asked about it this week, a NFSC spokeswoman told AFP to expect a response within 10 minutes, but did not reply and stopped responding to reminders.

Gettr, a right-wing social media company which the US media said was initially bankrolled by Guo, did not respond when asked whether it would allow the auction.

In his livestream, Guo vowed to make struggling Gettr the first global platform to trade sperm and eggs from unvaccinated people.

He pledged to use "scientific methods" for verification and said a letter from an attorney will be required to confirm that the traders are unvaccinated, without giving further details on testing or storage.

But some Gettr staff have expressed skepticism about turning the platform into such a marketplace, noting hurdles including legal restrictions on the sale of semen in other countries, Rolling Stone magazine reported.

If Gettr were to proceed, the platform will likely tap into the "pure bloods," a shadowy global movement spawned by vaccine misinformation.

Wrongly asserting that Covid-19 vaccines "contaminate" the body, adherents of the movement use online forums to seek out blood, sperm and even breast milk from unvaccinated donors.

- Profit from falsehoods -

The online chatter appears to have fueled a belief among vaccine skeptics that the sperm represents a lucrative financial opportunity.

"The real money is in unvaccinated sperm," said a post on Gettr.

"It's the new white gold," it added, using the hashtag "unvaccinated and proud."

In another sign of interest, "unvaccinated sperm available" mugs and t-shirts have gone on sale on Amazon and eBay.

Indonesia's health ministry in February rejected a fabricated article shared on Facebook and Twitter that said the sperm of unvaccinated men "will be highly valuable in the future," AFP factcheckers reported.

Another social media user suggested that if a "sperm bank for the unvaccinated" ever opened, he could get rich.

"It's only a 'precious commodity' if a person has bought into the false narrative that Covid-19 vaccination harms fertility," Gregory said.

"This auction fits with an established pattern where anti-vaccine misinformers sell products to profit from their false claims."

burs-ac/bgs
Ints Kalnins/Reuters

A member of the U.S. Air Force was arrested and then released in connection with two fatal shootings in the U.K. this week, according to a report.

A Daily Mail story claimed that a 27-year-old serviceman from Ohio, believed to be a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed in Britain, was one of three people detained on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. The report also claimed that the servicemans wife and her father were the other two people arrested.

Nine Dead After Army Black Hawks Crash

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police, the force handling the investigation, told The Daily Beast that they cannot confirm the identities of anyone arrested until they have been charged. The force has also yet to formally identify the victims of the two shootings.

But according to the British media reports, the victims were Joshua Dunmore, 32, and his father, Gary Dunmore. Joshua was found dead at a house in the Cambridgeshire village of Bluntisham on Wednesday evening, and his 57-year-old father was then found dead in a property around six miles away.

In a news release Friday, Cambridgeshire Police said that the arrested 27-year-old man had been released along with a 33-year-old woman with no further action taken. A 66-year-old man, of no fixed abode, remains in custody, the statement added.

The force said earlier in the week that officers were called to two locations after receiving reports of gunshots. Authorities have only confirmed the suspects ages during the investigation.

On Thursday, the forces Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Hutchinson confirmed that the victims were father and son, but did not confirm their identities. Its been widely reported in the media that this may relate to a custody battle, Hutchinson said of the killings. I can confirm that is an active line of inquiry for us. He added that the primary line of investigation was that the deaths were connected to a familial issue.

According to report in The Sun newspaper, Joshua Dunmore had won custody of his son shortly before he was killed. A friend of his told the tabloid that his exs new partner is American and had planned to take the child to the U.S. if Dunmore hadnt won custody. Thats why Josh had to push for full custody, to stop her taking him over there, the unnamed friend said. But what should have been the best day of his life ended up being his last, the day he was killed. Its just horrendous.

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The report in The Sun described Joshuas exs new partner as a United States Air Force airman.

Fatal shootings remain rare in the U.K. In the year ending March 2022, only 28 homicide victims in England and Wales were killed by shooting, according to Britains Office for National Statistics.

The relative lack of gun deaths may account for neighbors reported initial lack of alarm when they heard shots. Sarah lown, who lives where Gary Dunmore was allegedly found, said she heard three bangs shortly after 9 p.m. on Wednesday. I thought something had blown over, Lown, 38, told the Mail. I didnt think anything crazy had happened. Then I heard two more.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Memorial. Christian Torres/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

While nonetheless successful in mitigating the number of migrants attempting to cross into the country, the Biden administration's strict immigration policies have managed to create a "combustible bottleneck along Mexico's northern border, with tens of thousands of frustrated migrants languishing in overcrowded shelters," writes The New York Times. And that delicate situation came to a head on Monday, when a protest at a migrant detention center in the border city of Ciudad Juarez led to a fire that killed at least 39 people and injured at least 28 others.

At least 68 men from Central and South America were living in the facility while border officials processed their requests for asylum. Though the investigation is ongoing, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has alleged that migrants started the fire in protest after being told they would be deported.

Immigration advocates and officials on both sides of the border have already begun pointing the finger as to who's responsible for the tragedy  some critics say the White House and its policies bear the blame, while others have decried the conditions of the Mexican government-run facility where the migrants were being kept.

What are the commentators saying?

Biden's vow to end Title 42 prompted thousands of hopefuls to travel to the border, where they have been forced to crowd and wait with no clear indication of what lies ahead. "It's desperation," Ricardo Samaniego, the county judge in El Paso, Texas, told the Times. "You dangle the end of Title of 42, and then you say, 'Nevermind,' and people get stuck." All that chaos has only been further compounded by issues with the subpar app migrants must use to submit their asylum requests.

What happened in Ciudad Juarez is a "horrifying indictment" of the migrant bottleneck and the immigration system, Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, said on Twitter. "The systems of enforcement that we have erected to patrol people who migrate are steel hands in velvet gloves, and death is part of the overhead," he wrote. "We are all responsible."

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As "historic numbers" of migrants arrive at the border, and "the U.S continues to implement policies that push asylum seekers back, humanitarian infrastructure in [Mexico] is increasingly strained, and more people are stuck in highly vulnerable situations," Rafael Velasquez, country director for the International Rescue Committee in Mexico, told CNN. To that end, human and immigration rights advocates have (at least partially) blamed what happened on the conditions inside the Mexican government's detention centers. "We've been working hard to limit this detention, because this is exactly the kind of thing that happens," Gretchen Kuhner, the director of the Mexico-based Women in Migration, told NBC News. "The Mexican government tries to call them other things, but people are detained there, under lock and key, and they cannot leave."

What's next?

Mexican authorities announced they would issue arrest warrants for those allegedly responsible for the fire and investigate the blaze as a homicide, per CNN. The government has identified at least eight people that could be held liable, including two federal agents, one state migration agent, and multiple members of a private security company. No public employees or security guards attempted to open a padlocked door to help the migrants escape the burning building, said Sara Irene Herrerias Guerra, head of the Specialized Prosecutor for Human Rights of the Attorney General of Mexico, who also noted that one of the arrest warrants was for a migrant who allegedly started the fire.

The National Immigration Institute (INM) said that migrants injured in the fire would be eligible for visitor cards, "which will allow them to obtain legal immigration status in Mexico, valid for one year," CNN writes. "The immigration authority will provide visitor cards for humanitarian reasons to the injured and will cover the medical requirements for a speedy recovery," INM commissioner Francisco Garduno said during a visit to local hospitals where injured migrants are being treated. Unaccompanied minors who have witnessed or been victims of a crime while in Mexico are also eligible for a visitor card, per the INM.

Despite promises to reverse the controversial policy, the Biden administration has relied heavily on Title 42 ahead of the order's planned expiration in May. Meanwhile, officials are "considering other enforcement measures as tens of thousands of migrants continue to move in the Western Hemisphere," CNN adds.

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East Palestine residents on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, after a train derailed February 3. An overheated wheel bearing caused the dangerous derailment that spilled more than 100,000 gallons of toxic chemicals into the air and a fire burst into flames that night.

The federal government is suing Norfolk Southern after a train derailment in East Palestine spilled toxic chemicals into the air, water and soil.

The lawsuit, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, accuses the railroad of violating the Clean Water Act by "unlawfully polluting the nations waterways." The government wants Norfolk Southern to pay for the costs of cleanup and assume full liability for the incident.

The complaint also says the railroad had reduced operating costs by cutting back on inspections, repairs and crew pay.

"Our job right now is to make progress every day cleaning up the site, assisting residents whose lives were impacted by the derailment, and investing in the future of East Palestine and the surrounding areas," company spokesman Connor Spielmaker said. "We are working with urgency, at the direction of the U.S. EPA, and making daily progress. That remains our focus and we'll keep working until we make it right."

The federal suit is the latest attempt to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the derailment, which upended the lives of residents in East Palestine and nearby communities along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sued the company earlier this month to recoup the state's costs and ensure Norfolk Southern conducts long-term soil and groundwater monitoring.

The train derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3 moments after crew members became aware of an overheated wheel bearing and tried to stop, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB also found problems with some of the train's pressure relief devices that regulate the internal pressure of tank cars.

Five of the derailed cars contained vinyl chloride, which the railroad later vented and burned to prevent an explosion. The wreck and subsequent controlled burn temporarily forced people out of their homes, and residents continue to worry about the long-term health and economic effects.

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In response, Republicans and Democrats who represent Ohio in Congress are pushing multiple bills to strengthen rail safety and increase penalties for companies that break the rules.

The EPA continues to test air and soil in the area and oversee Norfolk Southern's work at the site, including the removal of contaminated soil. Ohio EPA director Anne Vogel told a U.S. House committee this week that cleanup will likely take two more months.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio train derailment: Department of Justice sues Norfolk Southern
I wonder. The April 30, 2019, National Archives and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., both list the names of 58,202 American military killed in Vietnam.

My friends, Jim, Mac, and Bob, with whom I graduated from high school, died years after they fought in Vietnam as result of wounds suffered in Vietnam. Their names are not on The Wall in Washington DC. Their names are not on the list of names in the National Archives.

The National Archives also lists the names of 405,399 Americans killed in World War II. My father died as a result of diseases contracted while serving as a medical corpsman on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan. His name is not listed with those 405,399, though I vividly remember watching him suffer his last attack of malaria in the summer of 1967, just days before I was drafted.

If I am not killed in an accident, or by some disease such as Covid-19, or by a deranged man, or boy, better armed than those with whom I stalked the jungles of Vietnam in 1968, I will likely die as a result of diseases contracted while in Vietnam. My name will not be added to The Wall in Washington DC, or any other related database. However, just as Jim, Mac, and Bob died as a result of serving in Vietnam, so will I.

On March 7, 1936, Adolf Hitler sent his army into the Rhineland, breaking the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I. The free world did nothing.

On March 11, 1938, Adolph Hitler sent his army into Austria. The free world did nothing.

On March 1, 1939, Adolph Hitler sent his army into the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. The free world did nothing.

On September 1, 1939, Hitler sent his army into Poland. This time the free world reacted  after having given Hitler and his military an additional three years to prepare for war.

Had the free world reacted in 1936 as it did in 1939, it is possible my wifes father, who was wounded in Normandy, in 1944, and died years later as a result of those wounds, may not have suffered those years of pain and sorrow remembered from having held those as they were dying on Omaha Beach. As with my father, his name is not on the list of American soldiers killed during World War II.

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I wonder  if we, the United States of America, do not provide the outnumbered Ukrainian people with adequate weaponry to defend their families, their homes, their country, and their freedom against the brutality and tyranny of the invading Russian army, sent by dictator Vladimir Putin to kill, conquer, and imprison them, because the Ukraine is not a NATO country, then how many American soldiers will eventually die when we send soldiers to a NATO ally to fight an invading Russian army sent by an emboldened Vladimir Putin because Russias previous invasions had not been challenged by the free world joining together?

I hope the name of my grandson, now 13 years old, is not on a future list In the National Archives of those American military personnel who died on the soil of a NATO ally, fighting Russian aggression, or that his name is not remembered with those of his grandfather, his grandfathers friends, and his great grandfathers who died after the war from wounds, injuries, or disease suffered while fighting for his country  all because we would not provide the Ukrainians with the weapons they needed to defend themselves and American youth.

Jeffrey Luke worked for various Department of Energy contractors as an environmental regulatory and Tri-Party Agreement specialist. He retired in 2015 and lives in Richland.
By Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber

GENEVA (Reuters) -The United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Turk deplored on Friday how grave human rights violations were "shockingly routine" in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and said the number of civilian casualties was far higher than official figures.

Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk said Ukraine was a nation "struggling to survive" in the face of Russia's invasion.

"After 13 months of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine," he said.

"People across the country face massive suffering and loss, deprivation, displacement and destruction."

Fighting is still raging in eastern and southern Ukraine, where Russian forces hold swathes of territory captured after they invaded in February last year.

Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities. At the Human Rights Council session on Friday, Russian representative Yaroslav Eremin condemned the crimes committed by Ukrainian forces during the conflict.

The U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council said there could be no comparison drawn between the violations committed by each side, however.

"Ukraine thanked the High Commissioner for his recommendations... while Russia continued its disinformation campaign and deflected all responsibility," Michele Taylor, the U.S. representative, said of Friday's Human Rights Council session.

"The High Commissioner has been very clear and we must be clear there is no equivalency."

'TIP OF THE ICEBERG'

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified more than 8,400 civilian deaths and more than 14,000 civilians wounded.

"These figures are just the tip of the iceberg," Turk said. "Most of the casualties resulted from Russian forces' use of wide-impact explosive weaponry in residential neighbourhoods."

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The U.N. Human Rights Council is the only body made up of governments to protect human rights worldwide. It does not have legally binding powers but its debates can spur investigations that feed evidence to national and international courts.

The Council next week is expected to adopt a resolution to extend and deepen the mandate of a U.N. investigative body set up to probe possible atrocities in Ukraine.

"This is the only way to ensure accountability for those responsible and justice for all the victims and their families to move forward," said Taylor, the U.S. official.

"It is now critical that the Human Rights Council renew the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry and make certain that it has the needed resources to carry out its critical work."

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Peter Graff and Hugh Lawson)
The U.S. could see a renewed surge of mpox infections even worse than last year, new federal modeling has concluded, based on data showing most American communities remain far short of vaccination rates needed to fend off outbreaks in at-risk groups.

With "moderate confidence," the CDC's modelers said in a report published Thursday that most parts of the country have a "greater than 35%" risk of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, resurging over the coming months.

"It's not us saying get more people vaccinated because we think it's a good idea. We need to get more people vaccinated because we know there's a linear relationship between how many people are vaccinated and the chance of not having an outbreak," Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, deputy coordinator for the White House's mpox response, told CBS News on Thursday.

The CDC estimates that just 23% of the "at-risk population" for mpox, like men who have sex with men and people with multiple sex partners, have been fully vaccinated. Vaccination rates are in the single digits across many states.

Authorities are now ramping up outreach ahead of the return of travel, and events in the warmer months could fuel the renewed spread of the virus, alongside other sexually transmitted infections.

"This is the time to do that little health check, that tune-up before we get into summer to make sure that we have all our ducks in a row," said Daskalakis.

He pointed to a new webpage created by the agency that embeds the mpox vaccine locator alongside other information, like travel warnings and a locator for getting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. Instead of pop-up clinics manned by health departments, many sexual health clinics are now offering Jynneos doses.

"This is getting embedded into the fabric that we do to prevent sexually transmitted infections, like HIV. So it's moved back into a space that's more routine," said Daskalakis.

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Cases of mpox have so far slowed nationwide, according to the CDC's tally, down from a peak of more than 450 infections per day in August. Today, only around one case per day is reported on average around the country and only a handful of jurisdictions have spotted mpox in their recent wastewater surveillance.

Data suggests the rollout of Jynneos vaccine doses last year blunted the risk of mpox last year after the first shot, with bigger reductions in risk after getting the second.

However, other factors likely played a role in the outbreak slowing last year. New mpox infections had already begun to dip before the rollout of the two-dose Jynneos vaccine. Countries that did not deploy any doses at all also saw slowdowns in infections.

"That first sort of deflection down I think had to do with the fact that we, not just CDC and federal public health, but the community really mobilized itself to make changes in behavior to be able to reduce transmission," said Daskalakis.

The CDC's modelers also think people who survived mpox infections will likely have some protection from reinfection for years, similar to people who survived a related virus: smallpox. But the risk of reinfection could climb as time passes, as well as if the virus mutates to evade immunity.

At the height of mpox spreading last year, authorities had raised concern when some people were infected by strains that had evolved a "significant deletion" which evaded some tests.

"Now when the cases are down, this is when it helps to try to get people vaccinated so we can prevent the outbreaks," said Daskalakis.

For people who had already gotten both doses of vaccine, Daskalakis said that he thinks they will still have that "sort of level 10 force field, the best we can get." But he also acknowledged officials are continuing to study the issue.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is expected to weigh the "need for longer-term vaccination strategy" later this year.

"People with two doses should feel pretty confident that they're protected. But then always remember, if you have a lesion that's concerning, you should get tested because nothing is perfect," said Daskalakis.

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Six U.S. troops have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) following last week's Iranian-backed attacks in Syria that killed a U.S. contractor, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The six TBI diagnoses bring the number of Americans who sustained injuries in the attacks to 13.

"In addition to the seven injured service members that I highlighted, there were an additional six U.S. service members that have subsequently been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury as a result of the-Iranian backed attacks," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Thursday.

Four of the service members who suffered TBIs were involved in the strike on March 23 while two others were injured in the attack on March 24, according to Ryder. The TBIs were found during routine screening for personnel who were in the vicinity of an explosion, Ryder said.

It was possible that, as those screenings continued, more TBIs could be diagnosed, Ryder noted.

TBIs can be similar to concussions and present symptoms like headaches, dizziness, irritability, fatigue or poor concentration.

The seven Americans who sustained wounds were in stable condition, although one was wounded seriously enough to require evacuation to Landstuhl, according to Ryder.

The series of attacks began last week when a drone targeted US forces in northeast Syria, killing a U.S. contractor and wounding six other Americans. The U.S. retaliated with F-15E fighter strikes against sites used by groups backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Congress Tuesday the sites "included a headquarters element building and also storage sites, where key munitions were being stored and other capabilities were being developed."

According to Ryder, the U.S. retaliatory strikes killed eight militants.

After the retaliatory strikes, the Iranian-backed militias carried out three more attacks on bases in Syria. In one of them, another U.S. service member was injured but is in stable condition.

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Austin told Congress on Thursday that there have been about 83 attacks on U.S. forces in Syria by Iranian-backed proxies in the last several years.

 Paulina Smolinksy contributed reporting.

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CAIRO, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad will hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on Saturday.

It is the first visit by a top Syrian diplomat to Egypt since the start of the Syrian civil war about 12 years ago.

Strained relations between Syria and Arab countries have started to ease after the deadly earthquakes jolted large swathes of areas along the Turkish-Syrian border on Feb. 6 and killed tens of thousands of people in the two countries.

On Feb. 27, Shoukry met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus to express Egypt's support for Syria in dealing with the repercussions of the earthquakes and its willingness to strengthen bilateral relations. 
Ugandan troops operating as part of an East African regional military force entered eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, joining Kenyan and Burundian contingents to supervise a planned pull-back of M23 rebels.

The M23 has conquered swathes of territory in eastern DRC since taking up arms again in late 2021 after years of dormancy.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the conflict, with the rebels also threatening to surround the city of Goma.

Last June, the seven-nation East African Community (EAC) decided to create a military force with the aim of stabilising volatile eastern Congo.

The Ugandan contingent of the EAC force entered the Congolese town of Bunagana on Friday morning, according to the force commander, Kenyan General Jeff Nyagah.

He told reporters that about 1,000 Ugandan soldiers had crossed into Bunagana -- which lies on the Ugandan border -- as part of a contingent that is expected to eventually comprise 2,000 troops.

Nyagah added that the M23 withdrawal would be "sequenced".

A Bunagana resident also told AFP that Ugandan troops had entered the town, with vehicles and tanks.

On Thursday evening, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stated that the troops are not due to fight the M23.

Rather, they will "occupy some of the positions that the M23 has handed over to the East African Force as a neutral force", he said.

March 30 was supposed to mark the end of the withdrawal of "all armed groups", according to a timetable adopted in mid-February by the EAC.

The deadline was not respected.

Another Bunagana resident, who declined to be named, said the M23 was still in the town on Friday.

"We're waiting for them to withdraw, then we can say there's been a change," the resident said.

- Failed ceasefires -

The M23 first came to international prominence in 2012 when it captured Goma, before being driven out and going to ground.

But the Tutsi-led group re-emerged from dormancy in late 2021, arguing that the government had ignored a promise to integrate its fighters into the army.

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It then won a string of victories against the Congolese army and captured large chunks of North Kivu province, including the important border crossing of Bunagana.

Several regional initiatives intended to defuse the conflict have failed.

A ceasefire mediated by Angola was due to take effect on March 7, for example, but collapsed almost immediately.

Although there has been no major fighting between the army and the M23 for the past two weeks, the rebels have regularly clashed with opposing militias.

The Ugandan troops who entered the DRC on Friday are due to deploy to several locations in Rutshuru, a region of North Kivu which is under extensive M23 control.

- 'Our humiliation' -

Kenyan and Burundian soldiers have also deployed to the DRC as part of the EAC force, and South Sudanese troops are also expected to arrive shortly.

However, the force has faced increasing criticism from Congolese people who hoped that the regional troops would drive out the M23.

Jean-Pierre Bemba, an ex-rebel commander who was recently named Congolese defence minister, said last week that the task facing the country was as large as "our humiliation as a nation".

Upon taking office, he pledged to boost the effectiveness of the Congolese military, which has so far been unable to contain the M23 rebels.

The DRC accuses its smaller neighbour Rwanda of backing the M23, something the United States, several other Western countries and independent UN experts agree with, but which Kigali denies.

bur-hbm-eml/imm
LONDON (AP)  The U.K. has agreed to join an Asia-Pacific trade pact that includes Japan, Mexico and Australia  the biggest new trade deal Britain has struck since leaving the European Union three years ago.

The British government said Friday that it had clinched an agreement after almost two years of negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.

The government said membership would reduce tariffs on British dairy products and other goods and remove red tape for services, boosting the U.K. economy by 1.8 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) in the long run.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms.

Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the U.K. at the center of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join, Sunak said.

The deal comes as the U.K. pursues an Indo-Pacific tilt in its economic and foreign policy in response to the regions economic growth, and Chinas rising influence on the world stage.

Critics said the deal with nations thousands of miles away is insignificant compared to Britains trade with its neighbors in the 27-nation EU. Brexit has imposed barriers to trade between Britain and the bloc, which remains by far the U.K.s biggest economic partner. The governments Office for Budget responsibility said in November that Brexit had had a significant adverse impact on U.K. trade.

David Henig, a trade expert at the European Center for International Political Economy, said CPTPP membership would not have a huge economic impact but on balance it was good for Britain.

Doesnt do a lot for us (services provisions for example are weak), but trade policy is all about marginal gains these days, and it should be that, he wrote on Twitter.

Members of the CPTPP are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The United States, the worlds biggest economy, is not part of the CPTTP; former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from its predecessor, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. His successor, Joe Biden, has not rejoined.

China, which has the globes second-largest economy, has applied to join, a move that would quadruple the groups total population to some 2 billion people.
CSCEC implements large-scale investment projects in Russia

NAZK said that CSCEC is implementing large investment projects in Russia. Its subsidiary, Kitaystroy, is one of the contractors for the Moscow City Business Centre, Baltic Pearl residential complex, Greenwood business park, Nevsky Centre Stockmann shopping mall, Tigre De Cristal casino, Federation Tower in Moscow City, and Huamin Business Centre Park.

They were also involved in the implementation of projects such as the Inner Plant economy, installation of mixed raw material pyrolysis in the Amur Gas chemical complex and the Museum complex, and the Theater-Educational Complex in the city of Vladivostok.

NAZK said that Kitaystroy is also working on expanding its presence in Russia, with plans to enter the housing construction market in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Vladivostok. The company is working on securing new projects ranging from private homebuilding to industrial and infrastructure projects.

Read also: Ukraine sanctions Chinese tech company over cooperation with Russia

According to agreements with the Russian Ministry of Construction, Kitaystroy also intends to participate in the replacement of Western construction equipment with Chinese equivalents. In August 2022, the First Deputy Head of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, Alexander Lomakin, met with representatives of CSCEC in Moscow to discuss diversification of construction materials supply and agreed to cooperate.

Unfortunately, despite the full-scale invasion of the terrorist state into Ukraine, CSCEC not only continues its operations in Russia, but also holds meetings with representatives of the Russian government to expand its presence in the construction market of Russia, which means supporting and sponsoring terrorism, said the NAZK.

Read also: Investors demand Raiffeisen Bank decide on further work in Russia

All companies included in the list of international sponsors of the war are added to the World-Check database created by the London Stock Exchange Group  a database of individuals and organizations with an increased risk, which is used worldwide to detect and manage financial, regulatory, and reputational risks.

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NAZK has already added the companies Procter&Gamble, OpenWay Group, Danieli, TMS Tankers Ltd., Minerva Marine Inc., Thenamaris Ships Management, Delta Tankers Ltd., Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd., Leroy Merlin, ComNav Technology, Mondi Group/Mondi PLC, eKassir, Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry, Bonduelle, Auchan Holding, Metro Cash & Carry, Buzzi Unicem, Yves Rocher, and Raiffeisen Bank International to the list of international sponsors of the war.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has decided that Ukrainian athletes will boycott tournaments where athletes from Russia or Belarus are represented.

Source: Oleh Nemchinov, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote: "At a meeting of the government, a protocol decision was made on the proposal of our colleague Huttsait [Vadym Huttsait, Ukraine's Youth and Sport Minister  ed.] that we take part in qualifying competitions [for the 2024 Olympics  ed.] only where there are no Russians. Accordingly, participation beyond these criteria may be grounds for depriving federations of national status."

Details: The relevant "protocol decision" has not yet been published on the website of the Ukrainian government. It is currently unknown how exactly it will work.

This decision was the response of the Ukrainian government to the updated recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in competitions.

As the IOCs decision states, the federations are recommended to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as neutrals. However, only in individual competitions, not in team events.

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A soldier of the Legion of Freedom of Russia near the front line in the Donetsk Oblast

We do not have the capabilities and (military) resources to conduct endless counter-offensives, to do this several times, Musienko said.

The resources are being formed for something  for some event, for some action. We also need to restore ourselves if our resources are depleted. Now, considering the trends that are emerging, our partners are saying that we have a good chance to carry out this counter-offensive and achieve victory in this war.

Read also: Russia suffered irreparable losses during Kyiv offensive last year, says General Pavlyuk

Read also: Ukrainian forces successful destruction of Russias counter-battery radars a significant setback for invaders

The expert said he believes it is necessary to use the accumulated military resources as efficiently as possible already this spring.

Does this mean that it will necessarily lead to the end of the war? Unfortunately, no, Musienko said.

But it could mean that we will significantly improve our position, liberate as much of the territory that is currently occupied by the enemy as possible, and create prospects for a faster and better end to this war. That is, we will have much more advantageous positions from which we will be able to complete our forces, means, and resources.

Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that the Ukrainian counter-offensive should begin in April-May this year on several parts of the front.

On March 28, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Ukrainian forces have good chances of conducting a successful counter-offensive this spring.

The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, stated on Feb. 28 that the next three months in Russias full-scale war against Ukraine would be very active and would determine the further course of events in the war.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Bloomberg) -- The International Monetary Funds board signed off on a $15.6 billion aid package for Ukraine, the final approval for the institutions first-ever loan to a nation at war.

Most Read from Bloomberg

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to drive Russia out of Ukraine as he marked the one-year anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, the town northwest of Kyiv that suffered reported wide-scale atrocities under the occupation of Moscows troops.

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a new foreign policy concept that set out to confront the US and its allies as hostile, claiming an era of revolutionary changes was underway. That came as Turkeys parliament approved Finlands NATO membership, removing the final hurdle to the Nordic nations accession to the military alliance.

Key Developments

IMF Board Approves $15.6 Billion Loan for Ukraine Amid War

Putin Signs New Russia Foreign Policy Against Hostile West

Finland Clears Last Obstacle to NATO Entry With Turkish Nod

Spanish Premier Urges Xi to Reach Out to Ukraine on Peace Plan

Russia Tightens Grain Trade Grip as Western Firms Pull Back

Belarus Seeks to Control Russian Nuclear Arms on Its Territory

(All times CET)

US Prepares to Give $2.6 Billion in Military Aid (10:45 p.m.)

The US is planning to release a package of military assistance to Ukraine valued at $2.6 billion, according to an official who asked not to be identified in advance of an announcement likely to come on Monday.

The latest weapons package includes $2.1 billion under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, including a resupply of Nassam air defense missiles and radar. A $500 million drawdown from existing American equipment includes additional ammunition, the official said.

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The planned assistance was reported earlier by Reuters.

European Bank Working to Finance Repairs to Power Sector (7:35 p.m.)

Ukraines energy sector was damaged the most in Russias war against the country and requires urgent investments, which the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development is already preparing, senior banker Olga Yeriomina said.

The London-based lender wants to help Ukraine reduce risk for private investments in the energy sector as soon as possible, she said. Eastern Europe and Caucasus Managing Director Matteo Patrone said hes optimistic about the reform agenda and business environment in Ukraine, saying it will help attract more private-sector financing to help the post-war recovery.

Zelenskiy Again Urges China to Talk With Him About Peace (7:16 p.m.)

Zelenskiy reaffirmed that Kyiv seeks contacts with Chinese authorities to discuss his proposed formula for peace.

Everything must be done to involve the maximum number of countries in the victory in this war, Zelenskiy said at a joint news conference with leaders of Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and Moldova. We send signals and say that we are ready to meet and talk. We are waiting for answers.

While the US and other allies have said Chinas own proposal involves a cease-fire that would freeze in place territory captured by Russia, Zelenskiy has stopped short of spurning Chinas efforts to mediate as intended to help its ally Putin.

IMF Loan Is Biggest Since Russia Invaded Ukraine (6:29 p.m.)

The IMFs executive board approved the four-year, $15.6 billion loan to Ukraine on Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified before its announced publicly. The loan is the nations biggest since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.

A group of Ukraines creditors supported the unprecedented deal, which required the IMF to change its lending rules, with assurances that theyd extend a debt repayment standstill for the duration of the program. The creditors  Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US  urged other bilateral and private lenders to help restore debt sustainability for Ukraine, whose economy has shrunk by about a third after Russias invasion last year.

Read the full story here.

Putin Signs New Foreign Policy Against Hostile West (3:17 p.m.)

Putin signed a 42-page policy document that argues the US is the source of fundamental risks to the security of the Russian Federation and most European states are pursuing an aggressive policy aimed at undermining Russias sovereignty.

The policy serves as a solid doctrinal basis for our further work on international affairs, Putin told a meeting of his Security Council. Russia will seek to boost ties with constructive partners and create conditions for unfriendly states to abandon their hostile policy toward our country, he said.

Russia intends to deepen relations with China and India, and to make military aid to Latin American nations facing US pressure a priority of its foreign policy, according to the document.

Belarus Seeks to Control Russian Nuclear Arms on Its Territory (3:16 p.m.)

Belarus will control any nuclear weapons placed there, President Alexander Lukashenko said in a televised address.

We here will operate everything that there is in Belarus, Lukashenko said. His comments clashed with statements from Putin last week, who said hell station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus without handing control over them to avoid breaching non-proliferation obligations.

Ukrainians See Negotiations Possible Only After Russian Withdrawal (2:09 p.m.)

More than 60% of Ukrainians support the idea that negotiations with Russia are possible only after it withdraws its troops back over the nations 1991 borders, according to a poll held by the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center think tank.

Spanish Premier Urges Xi to Reach Out to Ukraine About Peace (1:20 p.m.)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak with his Ukrainian counterpart if Beijing wants to play a role in ending Russias invasion.

We all want peace, but we want that peace to be just and lasting, and for that to happen it has to be based on the position of the country that is being attacked, Sanchez said after meeting Xi.

Spain is in line with the European Union in supporting the Ukrainian presidents blueprint to end the hostilities released a few months ago, Sanchez added, rebuffing Xis call for peace that would freeze in place territory seized by Russian forces.

Zelenskiy Says World Changed After Seeing Bucha Atrocities (1 p.m.)

The world changed significantly after images came to light from Bucha a year ago following its liberation from a month of Russian occupation, Zelenskiy said.

Ukraines leader visited the town, northwest of Kyiv, with the leaders of Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia and Moldova, who also attended a summit on addressing Russias responsibility for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Ruble Heads for Quarterly Loss Against Dollar (12:27 p.m.)

Russias ruble slid against the dollar amid importers demand for foreign currency and lower FX sales from exporters, and it was poised for a second consecutive monthly decline as the first quarter draws to a close.

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By Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey and Gleb Garanich

BUCHA, Ukraine (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday Ukraine would never forgive Russian troops responsible for atrocities in Bucha, as the town near Kyiv marked the anniversary of its recapture after 33 days of occupation.

Ukrainian forces took back control of the small towns of Bucha and Irpin to the northwest of Kyiv in late March last year as Russian invasion forces abandoned their attempt to seize the capital.

Moscow denies accusations of executions, rapes and torture by its occupying troops who left bodies in the streets when they fled.

"Russian evil will collapse right here in Ukraine, and will never be able to rise again. Humanity will prevail," Zelenskiy said, leading a ceremony at which the Ukrainian flag was raised in Bucha.

The president handed out medals to soldiers involved in recapturing the town, and relatives received medals on behalf of fallen soldiers who were awarded them posthumously.

"When Bucha was de-occupied, we saw that the devil was not somewhere out there but on the ground. The heinous truth about what was happening in the temporarily occupied territories was revealed to the world," Zelenskiy said.

Images of dead bodies lying in the street were beamed across the world after Ukraine regained control. Kyiv says more than 1,400 people were killed in Bucha during the occupation including 37 children, more than 175 people were found in mass graves and torture chambers, and 9,000 Russian war crimes have been identified.

International investigators are now collecting evidence of war crimes in Irpin, Bucha and other places. Zelenskiy described Bucha as a "symbol of the atrocities" of Russian occupying forces.

"We will never forget the victims of this war, and we will certainly bring all Russian murderers to justice," Zelenskiy wrote on social media. "We will never forgive. We will punish every perpetrator."

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PSYCHOLOGICAL WOUNDS

Bucha has become a stop for international visitors to Ukraine. Moldova's president and the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia also attended Friday's ceremony.

"We honour and grieve the innocent. Democracies must work together to ensure that these atrocities are investigated and punished," said Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who has joined with Zelenskiy in seeking European Union membership for her country.

Fighting rages on in the east and south of Ukraine, where Russian forces hold swathes of territory captured after they invaded on Feb. 24, 2022.

Russia has been conducting a winter offensive to make small advances in the east at huge cost of life. Ukrainian forces have dug in and held out for now in the city of Bakhmut and are expected to launch a counteroffensive soon.

Tensions have mounted between Russia and the West over the war. Relations between Washington and Moscow plunged further on Thursday when Russia arrested a Wall Street Journal correspondent, Evan Gershkovich, on allegations of spying, which the paper denied and the White House called "ridiculous".

For places like Bucha hundreds of miles away from the frontline, the war is still felt, with regular air raid sirens telling residents to take cover from missile and drone strikes that have caused major power outages.

Residents in Bucha speak of the deep psychological wounds left by the occupation and say it would take generations to get over it. Some buildings remain battered in the town and a scrapyard is full of cars and military vehicles destroyed during last year's fighting.

"We should understand that it's easy to rebuild walls, but it's much harder to rebuild a wounded soul," said Andriy Holovin, a priest at a Ukrainian Orthodox parish.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said his office had identified almost 100 Russian soldiers suspected of war crimes in Bucha and indictments against 35 of them had been sent to court.

They include a three-star general who commands Russia's Central Military District, he said. Two Russian servicemen captured in Ukraine have been jailed for illegally imprisoning civilians and looting, he added.

The vast majority of Russian suspects are not in Ukrainian custody, but Kyiv says it hopes they can be prosecuted some day.

"I'm convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russia's planned strategy to destroy Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation," he said.

(Additional reporting by Max Hunder and Dan Peleschuk, Writing by Tom Balmforth, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Peter Graff)
Ukrainian soldiers on an armoured military vehicle in Chasiv Yar, near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine - Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Belarus will repair disused Soviet missile silos as part of the Vladimir Putins plan to deploy nuclear weapons in the country, its President has said.

Alexander Lukashenko made the pledge during a speech to Belarus parliament in which he also formally accepted the Kremlins demand to station nuclear missiles in the country.

I am not trying to intimidate or blackmail anyone. I want to safeguard the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people," he said

Russias Kommersant newspaper reported that Mr Lukashenko told his military to repair sites in Belarus where Soviet Topol missile systems armed with nuclear warheads were previously stored.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus had been left with nuclear missiles. These were returned to Russia under an agreement signed in the mid-1990s agreement.

Belarus is the Kremlins most loyal ally and allowed it to launch its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year from military bases in the south of the country.

Mr Putin ordered nuclear missiles to be positioned in Belarus on Saturday.

Mr Lukashenko earlier warned that the Russian President will use the "most awful" weapon if he believes Russia is in danger of collapsing.

Mr Lukashenko, who is one of the Mr Putin's closest allies, said: "It is impossible to defeat a nuclear power.

"If the Russian leadership understands that the situation threatens to cause Russia's disintegration, it will use the most awful weapon. This cannot be allowed."

He called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and for talks to start on a lasting peace settlement.

03:00 PM

Today's liveblog is now closed

Thanks for following today's liveblog. Here is a summary of today's top stories.

Vladimir Putin will use the "most awful" weapon if he sees risks that Russia may collapse, the Belarusian President has warned.

Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year after organisers announced they were lifting a ban imposed in 2022 in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board has called for Russia's ambassador to the United States to be expelled, following the arrest of one of the newspaper's reporters in Russia on espionage charges.

Story continues

Please follow along tomorrow for all the latest updates on Ukraine.

02:41 PM

Pictured: Bucha cemetery

Bucha Cemetery on the 1st Anniversary of the liberation of Bucha from Russian occupation - Paul Grover/Paul Grover for the Telegraph

Family members of men killed fighting the Russians lay flowers in commemoration in the Alley of Heroes - Paul Grover/Paul Grover for the Telegraph

Nastia, a widow, in Bucha Cemetery on the 1st Anniversary of the liberation of Bucha from Russian occupation - Paul Grover/Paul Grover for the Telegraph

02:15 PM

Wimbledon lifts ban on Russian and Belarusian players

Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year after organisers announced on Friday they were lifting a ban imposed in 2022 in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Competitors from the two countries will be able to enter the Grand Slam in July if they compete as "neutral" athletes and comply with certain conditions.

Players will be prohibited from expressing support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and those who receive funding from the Russian or Belarusian states, including sponsorship from state-operated or state-controlled companies, will remain barred.

The All England Club, which runs Wimbledon, said the conditions had been "carefully developed" after talks with the UK government, Britain's governing Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and international tennis bodies.

Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club, said in a statement: "We continue to condemn totally Russia's illegal invasion and our wholehearted support remains with the people of Ukraine.

"This was an incredibly difficult decision, not taken lightly or without a great deal of consideration for those who will be impacted. It is our view that, considering all factors, these are the most appropriate arrangements for the championships for this year."

01:55 PM

Putin's nuclear war threat: The bullseye hes aiming for is fear' | Defence in Depth

01:36 PM

The Ukrainian hoax that revealed the Russian pilots who bombed Mariupol theatre

Ukrainian hacktivists have outed the Russian pilots allegedly responsible for brutally bombing the Mariupol theatre by tricking their spouses to pose for a risque military wives calendar, reports Joe Barnes.

Cyber Resistance, the group behind the elaborate stunt, used fake Russian identities to pose as ardent supporters of the Kremlins invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

The plot focused on the wife of Colonel Sergey Valeriyvich Atroschenko, the commander of Russias elite 960th Assault Aviation Regiment, who reportedly ordered the bombing of the theatre, which killed an estimated 600 civilians last year.

Read the full story from Joe Barnes here

12:59 PM

Russian missiles destroy residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia

12:30 PM

WSJ editorial board calls for US to expel Russian ambassador

The Wall Street Journal editorial board has called for Russia's ambassador to the United States to be expelled, following the arrest of one of the newspaper's reporters in Russia on espionage charges.

"Expelling Russia's ambassador to the US, as well as all Russian journalists working here, would be the minimum to expect," the board of opinion editors said in a piece published Thursday.

"The timing of the arrest looks like a calculated provocation to embarrass the US and intimidate the foreign press still working in Russia," it added.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg, around 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers) east of Moscow, and is being held in detention in Moscow until May 29 pending trial.

12:21 PM

Pictured: A resident walks along a snow-covered street after snowfall in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region

A resident walks along a snow-covered street after snowfall in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region - GENYA SAVILOV/AFP

12:06 PM

Spanish PM says he encouraged China's Xi to speak with Zelensky

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that he had expressed concern over Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a meeting earlier that day with Chinese President Xi Jinping and encouraged him to talk to Kyiv.

Mr Sanchez told a news conference in Beijing he had told the Chinese leader that Spain supported the peace formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in November, which includes demands to restore Ukraine's territory to the status quo before Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

"I transmitted our concern at the illegal invasion of Ukraine,"Mr Sanchez said, adding that he "encouraged Xi to talk to President Zelensky" to learn first-hand about Kyiv's peace plan.

"I believe it's a plan that lays the foundations for a durable peace in Ukraine and is perfectly aligned with the United Nations charter and its principles, which have been violated by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin with his invasion," he said.

11:42 AM

Russia to trade food for North Korean weapons to fight war in Ukraine

Russia is sending a delegation to North Korea to offer food in exchange for weapons to support its war in Ukraine, the White House has said.

As part of the proposed deal Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang, said John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman.

He added: We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions.

Read the full story here

11:15 AM

Putin has broken one of the last taboos in a naked ploy for leverage

No one who knows Evan Gershkovich believes he is a spy. Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) has yet to present its evidence, but at this stage it seems completely clear that he has been fitted up for simply doing his job: asking people questions, and writing down what they say. Under expanded war-time national security laws, that might be enough for the FSB to come up with a narrowly legal pretext for holding him, however absurd.

Read more from Roland Oliphant here

10:57 AM

Pictured: Members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service clear rubble at a destroyed building

Members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service clear the rubble at the building which was destroyed as a result of Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia - Andriy Andriyenko/AP

10:32 AM

Nine Russian missiles rock Kharkiv

At least nine Russian missiles hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv late on Thursday, the regional governor said.

Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv regional state administration, wrote on Telegram: "A total of 9 missiles were fired over the city, previously the S-300 air defense system."

He said a civil infrastructure facility and private residential buildings were damaged, with some of the rockets exploding in the air.

Three people received minor injuries but there were were no casualties.

10:17 AM

Nato chief says Finland to become member 'in coming days'

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said that Finland would formally become a member within days, as he congratulated its president on clearing the final obstacle to joining.

"I look forward to raising Finland's flag at Nato HQ in the coming days. Together we are stronger and safer," Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter.

I congratulated President @niinisto on the completion of the historic ratification of #Finlands accession. I look forward to raising #Finlands flag at #NATO HQ in the coming days. Together we are stronger & safer.  Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) March 31, 2023

After months of delays, Turkey's parliament on Thursday removed the last hurdle for Finland by becoming the last member of the US-led military alliance to ratify its application.

Stoltenberg said in separate statement that "Finland has highly capable forces, advanced capabilities, and strong democratic institutions."

"So Finland will bring a lot to our alliance," he said.

09:50 AM

Russia 'should not be' permanent Security Council member, says US envoy to UN

Russia "should not be" a permanent member of the UN Security Council, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in an interview with AFP.

"Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council. It shouldn't be, because of what it is doing in Ukraine, but the (UN) charter does not allow for a change in its permanent membership," Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday from Costa Rica, where she was attending a democracy summit.

Russia is also set to assume the rotating presidency of the Security Council on Saturday for a month.

The US ambassador said she expects Russia to behave "professionally" in the presidency, but expressed doubts.

"We also expect that they will also seek opportunities to advance their disinformation campaign against Ukraine, the United States and all of our allies," she said.

"At every opportunity, we will raise our concerns about Russia's actions," she added, reiterating Washington's condemnation of Moscow's "war crimes and human rights violations" in Ukraine.

09:18 AM

Comment: Vladimir Putins dismal fate is increasingly plain for all to see

Vladimir Putin is a wimp who doesnt give a f--- about the people. So runs a leaked recording of a phone conversation purported to be between Iosif Prigozhin, a Russian music producer, and the billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov. While personal disdain from one-time allies may sting, its the apparent political predictions in the call that will keep Putin awake at night.

Read more from Robert Clark here

08:54 AM

Zelensky says Ukraine 'will never forgive' on Bucha anniversary

Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country would "never forgive" Russia for its occupation of Bucha, a town near the Ukrainian capital where Moscow's forces were accused of massacring civilians.

"365 days since it is a free Ukrainian city once again. A symbol of the atrocities of the occupying country's army. We will never forgive. We will punish every perpetrator," the Ukrainian president said in a statement on social media.

08:38 AM

Latest MoD update

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 31 March 2023.



Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/1gWRD97ofr



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/dUBJsgKu2V  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) March 31, 2023

08:13 AM

Listen to Ukraine: The Latest

07:53 AM

Turkish parliament ratifies Finland's accession to Nato

Turkey's parliament has approved a bill to allow Finland to join Nato.

The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the Western defence alliance to ratify Finland's membership after Hungary's legislature approved a similar bill earlier this week. Sweden has also sought Nato membership.

Nato countries individually, notably the United States, UK and European nations, and the alliance collectively have provided major military and financial support to the Kyiv government.

"Soon both Finland and Sweden will be (Nato) members, meaning that President Putin is getting the exact opposite of what he wanted," Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato Secretary General, told Fox News.

"He wanted less Nato. He is getting more Nato."

07:48 AM

Pictured: Ukrainian army medics treat a wounded man in a field hospital near Bakhmut

Ukrainian army medics treat a wounded man in a field hospital near Bakhmut - Anadolu Agency/Anadolu

07:45 AM

US condemns Russia's arrest of American journalist on spy charges

The US has condemned the "unacceptable" arrest of an American journalist who Russia claims was caught "red handed" spying near military facilities

Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal correspondent in Moscow, was arrested in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday. He was formally charged with espionage and remanded in pre-trial detention by Moscow's Lefortovo district court at a closed hearing on Thursday afternoon.

He is the first US journalist to be charged with espionage in Russia since the Cold War, and the move is likely to trigger a high-stakes diplomatic row with Washington.

Read the full story here

07:40 AM

Good Morning

Good morning and welcome to today's Ukraine liveblog.

We will be guiding you through all the latest updates on Ukraine.
Key developments on March 31:

Zelensky, EU leaders visit Bucha one year after its liberation from Russian occupation

UN human rights chief: 8,400 civilian deaths in Ukraine 'just the tip of the iceberg'

Ukrainian military repels 30 Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast, says General Staff

On March 31, President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with the prime ministers of Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia, and the president of Moldova, attended a ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of Bucha's liberation  a town now emblematic of Russian war crimes against civilians.

Located near Kyiv, Bucha fell under Russian occupation shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Exactly one year ago, Ukrainian forces liberated the town, revealing the atrocities committed by Russian troops against civilians during their 33-day occupation.

"A year has passed since the day Russian occupiers were driven from our city of Bucha. A city then unknown to the world. A city the world will never forget. We won't let you forget. Human decency demands we remember," Zelensky said in his address.

It is estimated that Russian troops had committed more than 9,000 war crimes in the Bucha district, killing over 1,400 people, including 37 children.

"What the Russian aggressor did to peaceful citizens in Bucha can never be forgiven," Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said. "That is why we are with you in this difficult moment and feel our duty to help you in the fight for your freedom."

Uncovering the scope of the Bucha massacre BUCHA, Kyiv Oblast  As Ukraine recaptured the town of Bucha, the world saw the extent of the violence Russian soldiers inflicted on the civilian population. Since the Russian forces were driven out of Kyiv Oblast, 412 bodies have been found in the towns streets, buildings and mass graves as Kyiv IndependentIgor Kossov

Zelensky also held discussions on defense assistance with Golob, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in separate meetings, as reported by the President's Office.

Story continues

Slovakia promised to provide Ukraine with 13 MiG-29 fighter jets and has already transferred four of them.

On the same day, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen condemned Russian war crimes in Bucha, saying that those responsible for them would be held accountable.

"What happened in Bucha one year ago was not an isolated episode. Those executions in cold blood were part of a bigger plan  the Kremlin's plan to eliminate Ukrainians," she wrote on Twitter.

"War criminals will be held accountable," she added.

Bucha massacre survivors: Why do Russians hate us so much? BUCHA, Kyiv Oblast  Just a bit over a month ago, Bucha was a comfortable, cozy, and rapidly growing suburb just northwest of Kyiv. The town was a place of middle-class apartment complexes and houses, surrounded by woods. Today, Bucha is a synonym of horror known worldwide. Russias defeat in Kyiv IndependentIllia Ponomarenko

UN on casualties in Ukraine: 'just the tip of the iceberg'

The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified over 8,400 civilian deaths and more than 14,000 wounded civilians in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's all-out war, but these figures likely represent "just the tip of the iceberg," UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said on March 31.

"People across Ukraine face massive suffering and loss, deprivation, displacement, and destruction," Turk said.

"Most of the casualties resulted from Russian forces' use of wide-impact explosive weaponry in residential neighborhoods," he added.

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed two and injured 20 civilians over the past day, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

Officials have repeatedly stressed that the actual number of casualties in Ukraine may be significantly higher than reported, as verifying data from temporarily occupied territories and areas with ongoing hostilities remains challenging.

On the battlefield

In its regular evening update on March 31, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported that Russian forces continued to focus their main efforts on offensives in the eastern Donetsk Oblast.

Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka's directions remain Russia's top priority, according to the report.

Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military successfully repelled 30 Russian attacks in these directions, the General Staff said, adding that "the battles for the settlements of Bilohorivka, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka remain the fiercest."

On March 29, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, called the eight-month-long battle for Bakhmut "a slaughter-fest for the Russians," saying that Moscow troops were suffering heavy casualties in the area.

Bakhmut's deputy mayor, Oleksandr Marchenko, told Suspilne media outlet on March 30 that fighting continues to grip Bakhmut's city center as the Russian army strives to cut off access to the city.
An airborne unit from the city of Mykolaiv has repelled a Russian assault, destroying two Russian tanks and two armoured personnel carriers, and killing several dozen Russian military personnel in Donbas.

Source: Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook

Quote: "Personnel from the 79th Air Assault Brigade are continuing to hold back the enemy assault in a designated area in Donbas.

Maroon berets [soldiers of Ukrainian Air Assault Forces  ed.] from Mykolaiv have recently repelled an intense enemy assault on their positions. The enemy deployed three tanks and four armoured personnel carriers to conduct the assault. It is worth noting that such a substantial deployment of tanks and armoured military vehicles has lately been relatively rare in this part of the front."

Details: The air assault brigades aerial reconnaissance spotted the Russian column in a timely manner, and the brigades artillery was able to fire at the invaders forces.

This, however, did not halt the Russian forces and they continued advancing towards the brigades positions. Russian airborne troops got out of the armoured personnel carriers with the intention of storming the Ukrainian positions.

Ukrainian air assault forces deployed machine guns and grenade launchers to fire on Russian armoured vehicles and military personnel.

Meanwhile, soldiers operating anti-tank missile systems started attacking the Russian tanks, and UAV operators deployed drones to drop ammunition, targeting the Russian infantry.

Air assault brigade from Mykolaiv was able to quickly achieve a desired result, inflicting significant losses on the Russian forces and forcing them to retreat behind a smoke screen.

Ukrainian forces killed several dozen Russian soldiers and destroyed two Russian tanks and two armoured personnel carriers.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, in Beijing, capital of China, March 31, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in Beijing on Friday.

Noting that China-U.S. relations are facing many difficulties and challenges currently, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, expressed the hope that the committee and more reasonable and friendly people in the United States, could play a constructive role in bringing China-U.S. relations back on the track of stable development.

He said to improve China-U.S. relations, the United States should truly implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state in Bali, return to a rational and pragmatic policy toward China, and stop such wrong and short-sighted actions as containment, decoupling or severing supply and industrial chains.

Wang reiterated China's solemn position on the Taiwan question, stressing that the one-China principle is of utmost importance, the most fundamental principle is to follow the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and the gravest threat is separatist activities seeking "Taiwan independence."

The United States must honor its words and take concrete actions to uphold the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, he added.

Orlins congratulated China on facilitating the recent reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. He said this breakthrough diplomatic success demonstrates China's important role as a responsible stakeholder.

Orlins highly appreciates China's strong signal of deepening reform and opening up, stressing that imposing tariffs and decoupling will not help the United States or China, nor the world at large.

The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations will be firmly committed to promoting exchanges between the United States and China, and will continue to play a positive role in enhancing mutual understanding between the two countries, he added. 

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, in Beijing, capital of China, March 31, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)
The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has confirmed that Ukrainian aircraft now deploy Western-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), "smart" guidance kits that convert unguided bombs into precision-guided munitions.

Source: Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the national joint newscast

Quote: "We are using the so-called JDAM bombs. These are Western-made bombs, which our aircraft deploy quite successfully to strike critical targets. These bombs are slightly less powerful but are extremely high-precision. We would like to have more of these bombs to consolidate our success on the front."

Details: Russia has recently ramped up its use of guided bombs. Normally Russian forces deploy FAB-500 Soviet-made bombs, which are retrofitted with "wings" and GPS targeting systems. Ihnat stressed that these Russian bombs are normally not very precise, and thus pose a great threat to civilian facilities.

Ukraine needs long-range air defence systems and modern multi-purpose fighter jets in order to be able to counter this type of ammunition.

Previously: In December 2022, CNN reported that the US was expected to send Ukraine precision bomb kits that will turn existing unguided munitions, or "dumb" bombs, into precision-guided "smart" bombs known as Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) as part of its military aid package.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has posted a video of Ukrainian defenders shooting down Russian reconnaissance drones and attack drones on the Bakhmut front.

Source: Syrskyi on Telegram

Quote from the commander of the Ground Forces: "On the Bakhmut front, Ground Forces air defence is carrying out combat missions against Russian reconnaissance drones, attack drones and loitering munitions.

I would like to commend the coordinated actions of anti-aircraft gunners of the 28th and 93rd Mechanised Brigades, operators of the Strela-10 air defence systems, who destroyed seven Orlan-10 UAVs and two Zala UAVs in total this week."

Details: Syrskyi added that despite constant artillery fire, the Ukrainian military has learned to interact with electronic warfare units, quickly detect small and inconspicuous occupiers UAVs in the air, and hit them accurately.

        ,      -      .   Telegram  pic.twitter.com/m1KRaUtdTZ     (@ukrpravda_news) March 31, 2023

In addition, the air defence of the Ground Forces is destroying Russian Lancet loitering munitions which the Russians use to hunt down Ukrainian artillery.

Syrskyi stressed that the Defence Forces continue to defend Bakhmut, inflicting heavy losses on the occupiers in the east.

"In some areas, the enemy is noticeably nervous, as time is playing against them, and there are fewer human resources left to storm our positions.

The coherence of our actions and the resilience of our soldiers ensure that tasks are accomplished, the enemys fighting spirit is broken and its plans are disrupted," the commander of the Ground Forces concluded.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
The Constitutional Court is asked to declare the Agreement on the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation unconstitutional

Read also: UOC-MP priests demand to sever ties with Moscow

The (group of MPs) believes that the contested (Kharkiv) Agreement does not comply with paragraph seven of Article 17 of the Constitution, and also claims that said Agreement is contrary to the principles of ensuring national security, the message says.

In addition, MPs note the lack of regulatory framework for signing of an international agreement of this kind. Therefore, in the opinion of (the petitions signatories), there are grounds for recognizing the Agreement as unconstitutional.

The petition was signed by MPs from Servant of the People, European Solidarity, and Voice parliamentary parties.

The Kharkiv Pact was Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on April 21, 2010. According to the agreement, the Russian Black Sea Fleet basing rights in Sevastopol, Crimea, was extended from 2017 to 2042, with an automatic extension for 5 years.

Read also: Russia conducts mass missile, drone attack overnight: six explosions in Kharkiv

The treaty was ratified by Ukrainian and Russian parliaments on April 27, 2010.

Read also: MP Shakhov declared wanted by Ukraines anti-graft court

Russia unilaterally terminated the treaty on March 31, 2014  right after illegally occupying and annexing Crimea.

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 International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General will create joint working groups to investigate specific criminal cases related to war crimes, the materials of which Ukraine will be able to later transfer to the ICC.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine, with reference to Andrii Kostin, Ukraines Prosecutor General, during the second United for Justice conference dedicated to crimes of genocide.

Quote: "Today we heard unprecedented support from our partners... We agreed a few days ago [with ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan  ed.] and jointly announced today that we will create working groups [task forces] on specific criminal proceedings that we as Ukraine will be ready to refer to the International Criminal Court."

Details: Kostin noted that the case in which Russian President Vladimir Putin was recognized as a suspect and an arrest warrant was issued for him is a case in which "the International Criminal Court plays a complementary role".

The Ukrainian law enforcement system is able to investigate and prosecute all war crimes, but due to the fact that Putin has personal immunity as the head of state, Ukraine cannot inform him of the suspicion.

Background:

On 17 March, the Pre-trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Affairs, Maria Lvova-Belova.

Putin and Lvova-Belova are suspected of committing the war crime of illegal deportation and transfer of children from the occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, taking place at least since 24 February, 2022.

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An overhaul of how the military determines bonus pay may cause more harm than good, six servicemen from multiple brigades told the Kyiv Independent.

This change, which came into force in February, takes away the money that many service members need to both support their families and get vital military gear, they said. As a result, some are concerned, disillusioned or considering going back to a civilian job.

Soldiers said that their units track where they serve in paper journals, which officers dont have time for in the midst of combat. This may lead to confusion and inconsistency with how bonuses are paid out.

Some are still waiting for their bonuses from as early as November or December.

"Its a shame," said Syla, a territorial defense fighter based near Luhansk Oblast, whose callsign means Strength in English. "People would come to me and say 'I feel like I'm an object that was used and thrown out.'"

To avoid backlash for speaking against the decision, most service members only agreed to be identified by their callsigns or remain anonymous. The Kyiv Independent also spoke to one soldier who thought the new system is fine, but he also declined to provide his name.

The payment overhaul came into effect in the eleventh month of Russia's full-scale invasion, affecting many service members who had been fighting nonstop for close to a year. The changes threaten to unravel the morale of Ukraine's exhausted volunteer warfighters.

Previously, soldiers, members of the Territorial Defense forces and police got an extra Hr 100,000 ($2,700) per month if they served in a designated active combat zone  a significant bonus in a country where the official average salary is just under Hr 15,000 ($400). Those who served outside active combat areas got an extra Hr 30,000 ($800) per month.

But starting February, only people in direct enemy contact are entitled to get up to Hr 100,000. People in combat zones, some distance away from the front line get up to Hr 30,000, while everyone who is outside an active combat zone gets no bonus at all. Rather than counting an entire month, bonuses are tallied by the day, soldiers said.

Story continues

In comparison, base military salaries tend to be less than Hr 30,000 for most troops.

Base salaries were raised as part of the overhaul. According to Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, a basic riflemans pay went from Hr 13,000 to Hr 20,000. However, people whose bonuses change still stand to lose a huge part of their total income.

The Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.

What is happening in Bakhmut and what does it mean for Russian-Ukrainian war? (VIDEO) Kyiv Independent reporter Francis Farrell speaks to John Spencer, U.S. veteran and chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. A leading expert in the study of warfare in and around cities, Spencer shares his unique insight into the bloodiest engagement of Russias Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell

Rationale

According to a statement by the Defense Ministry, these changes were prompted by last years orders from the Cabinet of Ministers and the Economy Ministry to optimize expenditures and standardize the bonus payment system.

Defense Minister Reznikov told Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda that the overhaul was partly done in the interests of fairness to those who are fighting on the front lines.

"This is a question of fairness and, at the same time, budgetary capacity," Reznikov said. Fighters who are really on the front, in the most intense places, say: we go there and those who do nothing get the same money  its unfair.

Most of the service members that spoke to the Kyiv Independent for this story, both on the front lines and in the rear, didnt consider the change to be fair or desirable either.

Reznikov also cited the budget, saying that many businesses are closed and not paying taxes but the military needs to buy everything it needs to equip the troops.

Yet service members said that because of bureaucracy and delays, they often cant get the gear they need on time or at all. As a result, many pay for their own uniforms, tools, cars, fuel, and spare parts. The old bonus made this shortcut feasible. Now, some have to choose between sustaining their families and buying the gear they need. Or relying on volunteers.

Soldiers who spoke with the Kyiv Independent said that as a result, some of their fellows are thinking of leaving or are deeply preoccupied with their future.

Being preoccupied in combat is fatal, said Glen Grant, a British former military officer and defense expert who has a close understanding of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"Soldiers who are worried about their wives or worried about money die," said Grant. "You're sending someone off to die because their brain is not with them. He'll miss small things because at a crucial time, he'll be thinking about the wife who just called and said we have no money to pay the bills. That's it, he's a dead man."

A question of fairness

According to the Defense Ministry, The decision to change the approach to accruing additional monetary rewards was made to comply with the principles of fair incentives for soldiers of the security and defense forces of Ukraine.

There is a strong incentive for people to stay on the front line for as long as possible to keep getting the highest bonus, especially if theyre the sole breadwinner or their family, and especially if the family had to flee the war and live abroad as refugees.

But soldiers dont actually get a lot of choice in the matter.

Our minister Reznikov said soldiers (can earn if they want to)  that's not how it works. A soldier can't just decide that he wants to go somewhere. It's not about what he wants but what the battalion commander wants to fulfill an assignment, said callsign Karat, a platoon commander from Sylas brigade.

Soldiers said the new system can push people into the lower bonus, even if they spend time on the front or at least in Russian weapon range.

When asked if hes still entitled to Hr 100,000, a battalion officer who fights in Donbas, who declined to identify himself for security purposes, wrote: Nope. Cause we dont have direct confrontation with the enemy, such as using rifle fire to deflect the enemy so its +30k for us.

Thats a quote from the explanation provided to us by the chief accountant, he added. For now, they only feed us with promises (that) theyre gonna fix the situation and pay us the bonus money we didnt get in previous months.

Syla said his unit is regularly near the front line in Luhansk Oblast. However, it is quartered a short distance away, in Kharkiv Oblast, very close to the border that divides the two regions. Luhansk Oblast is considered an active combat zone while Kharkiv Oblast isnt.

He said the new system made it ambiguous how their bonuses would be calculated and no one has been able to explain how it works. The change can lead to troops who serve in an active combat zone seeing severe cuts to their bonuses. Furthermore, just because soldiers are not on the zero line, doesn't mean they're safe.

You cant say that you went 2-5 kilometers away from the line and youre all good there, Syla said. Everything that flies there can reach you, including 120 millimeter mortars. Im not even talking about howitzers.

Days after he said that, everyone in his brigade was promised they would qualify for the maximum bonus of Hr 100,000 per month. But they have yet to see it and they still dont know how it will work.

Surviving Avdiivka: Russia intensifies assault on city deemed a second Bakhmut AVDIIVKA, Donetsk Oblast  Avdiivka is an eerie city to drive into in March 2023. One year into Russias full-scale war against Ukraine, but nine years into the Donbas war, the compact city just 10 kilometers from the center of occupied Donetsk is barely holding on. There is little choice Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell

It isnt always straightforward what on the front line means. For example, medics that are constantly ready to drive out to recover wounded are at high risk  but technically, they spend very little time on the actual zero line, compared to the infantry. These decisions are down to the commanding officer.



Karat said how much the soldiers are paid depends on factors outside their control.

We dont usually count the hours (theyre there), we count by the day, so it becomes very unfair and it all depends on the honesty of the platoon commander, he said.

Soldiers locations are supposed to be recorded on paper, in battle logs, by commanding officers. Commanders have no time to do this on the front line. The logs are usually filled out later, from memory.

Grant said that this system hurts the military by forcing officers to waste time ticking boxes when they have to fight.

"Filling in reports on paper, who's everywhere  this should be on a tablet, said Grant. This sort of thing exposes the weaknesses in policy and thinking."

Multiple soldiers said all of this is very confusing and is causing morale to drop. Some, who have fought hard but now get less money every time they're not on the front line, feel betrayed.

A sniper with the callsign Lawyer said the bonus cuts look especially bad against the background of recent alleged corruption scandals in the Defense Ministry. He said it almost gives the impression that they want to solve their own financial issues at our expense.

Staying alive

Ukraines need to save money is just as critical as fair treatment of the troops. The country has to squeeze the most out of every hryvnia to equip its warfighters. Foreign financial aid cannot be used for the military.

However, the official system for issuing gear to troops can be slow and inefficient. Its easier to just give soldiers money and let them buy the things they need. Many service members said this is why they buy a lot of their own equipment.

The list is formidable. Soldiers said they buy drones, anti-drone guns, binoculars, thermal visors, soap, shampoo, household cleaners, kitchenware, generators, power banks, Starlink terminals and more. A lot of money is also spent on the vital personal vehicles, as well as fuel, parts and maintenance for them.

The ZSU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) issues gear of course but its not issued on time, said an officer with the callsign Instructor, who is currently in the rear. Lets say you need some kind of footwear. Youll get it in a month, even though you need it today.

Lawyer added that the system for replacing lost or damaged gear involves filing lots of paperwork and undergoing an internal investigation for each lost or destroyed object, "from socks, to flasks. I'm not even talking about weapons." The paperwork has to go through officers at the platoon, company, battalion and brigade levels and checked off before a replacement can be authorized, he said.

This is too slow when lives are at stake.

"The fact that they were paying soldiers to buy what was needed was a clever way of making things work," said Grant. "Take the money away and you are actually moving into a gray area because the system doesn't deal (well) with this."

Instructor said that soldiers who go to the rear lose their bonuses precisely when they need them to replace lost or damaged equipment and prepare themselves or their units for a return to the front. Prolonged stays in the rear can be financially crippling.

"The maximum pay I get as an officer for one month is Hr 25,000 ($670)," said Instructor. "I send Hr 10,000 to my wife for rent, spend Hr 10,000 on living expenses and I have Hr 5,000 left. And a backpack for carrying a Starlink costs Hr 6,000."

Service members have also been hit with growing prices. Viktor Shepelya, a junior sergeant with the 4th Rapid Response Brigade of the National Guard, said that between work and personal purchases, he didnt know how he would last the entire month on his base pay alone.

Luckily, my family consists of one person," he said. "If I had children, I would have already thrown myself out the window."

Others arent so untethered. Karat has a wife and mother-in-law living in Poland  the wife was fired in January and now depends on him. Lawyer has to support three children, a wife and a mother who cannot work.

Ukraine holds back on southern counteroffensive, soldiers say Zaporizhzhia Oblast  In a split-second, two Ukrainian jets appear over the road, releasing chaff that sets off a couple of Russian anti-aircraft missiles. It allows one of the planes to hit a Russian position that billows with black smoke rising over the trees, leaving no doubt on how close the Kyiv IndependentAlexander Query

These people had higher-paying professional civilian jobs before they volunteered for the Armed Forces.

When soldiers lose the ability to reliably sustain their families, some look for a way out of the military.

Very many people resign, said Instructor. Theyre looking for an excuse to resign, like to take care of a grandma, or a disabled relative, whom they had before the war.

According to Lawyer, a quarter of the people in his unit have talked about leaving. In the hospital where he was recovering from a wound in January, it was closer to a third.

Ive seen someone who had to work during medical leave to pay for his childs kindergarten. Of course his morale plummets, said Shepelya. Because of the special nature of his brigade, they were supposed to keep the Hr 30,000 bonus, but that hasnt happened, he said.

He goes in, understanding that a fast response brigade always goes into the hardest battles, he knows he can die any day and he cant pay for his childs kindergarten. Thats nonsense.
Spoons were found in the occupiers' dugout in the Buchansky district

Yuriy Fanyhin posted a photo with two personalized spoons of Ukrainian children that were found in a Russian dugout.

As it turned out, they were stolen from residents of the Bucha district, who were eventually found thanks to publicity on social media.

Read also: 90% of Russian unit responsible for Bucha atrocities lost, Ukrainian military says

Yuri Fanygin/Facebook

Read also: Australian PM visits Bucha, Hostomel, and Irpin

"The spoons have found their owners!" said Fanyhin.

Today they were handed over to grandmother Lyudmyla, who had gifted them in the first place. The children and their mother are alive (currently abroad). In 2022, the family found themselves in the battle zone near Bucha, then under occupation, but they miraculously survived. All their belongings were looted and destroyed. But the spoons were returned. Miracles are a recurring theme in this story!

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
Pennridge High School had extra police presence Friday morning as a precaution, but the report of a threat of violence there was determined to not be credible.

The extra presence comes just days after a number of Pennsylvania schools received reports of unfounded threats following a shooting at a school in Nashville that left six dead, including three students, earlier in the week.

What was reported to police about Pennridge High School?

A student at the high school made comments related to school shootings and violence earlier in the week, according to Pennridge Regional Police Chief Paul Dickinson Jr.

The chief said that was misconstrued by students as a threat, prompting concerned parents to call police about it. A student also reported the perceived threat through the Safe2Say Something application.

Safe2Say, which launched in the beginning of 2019, is an application that students in Pennsylvania can use to submit reports of unsafe activities or threats. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office runs the application.

More of Safe2Say: Is the PA's Safe2Say school threat system being 'weaponized'? Officials say false reports happen, but are rare.

The regional police department, along with Bedminster police and Hilltown police, investigated and determined there was no evidence of a threat against the school.

District Superintendent David Bolton said in a letter to families Thursday night that police would have an increased presence at the school Friday.

"We, again, appreciate those individuals who reported hearing a concern and our local police who worked with us quickly to determine that none of the reports were credible," his letter reads in part.

For subscribers: Is the PA's Safe2Say school threat system being 'weaponized'? Officials say false reports happen, but are rare.

Pennridge names chief: Meet Paul Dickinson, Pennridge Regional's new top cop

Police in Pennsylvania dealt with swatting incidents Wednesday

On Wednesday, a number of police departments throughout Pennsylvania were responding to hoax calls of violence at several schools. Schools as close as the Lehigh Valley were involved.

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The calls, known as "swatting," are when hoax reports are made to prompt a large police response.

The calls can be made to target an individual or something specific. They may also be done to random targets in waves. These calls are often made to disrupt school or cause fear.

Pennsylvania State Police said the calls throughout the state were all unfounded. Investigators believe a computer-generated call was behind the threats.

No schools in Bucks or Montgomery counties were targeted.

These calls came two days after three adults and three children were killed in a school shooting in Nashville.

Police dealing with swatting: Hoax swatting calls bring police, lockdowns to schools throughout Pennsylvania. What we know

We are investigating a series of phone calls made to 9-1-1 centers involving threats of an active shooter situation or bomb threat at PA schools.At this time, all claims in these calls have been determined to be false.The investigation is ongoing.  PA State Police (@PAStatePolice) March 29, 2023

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Unfounded threat prompts extra police presence at Pennridge High
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg defended his offices decision to indict Donald Trump in a letter to Republican lawmakers Friday, rejecting GOP accusations of political persecution as baseless and inflammatory.

That conclusion is misleading and meritless, wrote Leslie Dubeck, Braggs general counsel, in a six-page letterto three House Republican committee chairs who have sought internal details of the criminal probe.





The letter was sent a day after Braggs office acknowledged that they had issued the first-ever indictment of a former president. Officials have also indicated they are working with Trumps lawyers to negotiate his surrender. Though the timing of both his surrender and arraignment hasnt been finalized, they are tentatively planned for Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Its uncharted territory for the legal system, the government and the country, which has never seen the indictment and prosecution of a former president. Though the precise evidence against Trump remains unknown, the case appears centered on hush money payments to a porn actress, Stormy Daniels, in 2016 to silence her allegations of a sexual relationship during Trumps first presidential bid.

The indictment, which remains under seal, prompted a torrent of attacks from Trumps allies, many of whom denounced it as a political witch hunt. While Trump himself has called for protests in the streets  and on Friday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) echoed that call  most House Republicans have instead vowed to train a microscope on the Democratic district attorney, requesting information and documents about the probe.

Braggs office used the letter to the lawmakers, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, to respond to those allegations of political bias.

Like any other defendant, Mr. Trump is entitled to challenge these charges in court and avail himself of all processes and protections that New York States robust criminal procedure affords. What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State, the letter reads.

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State judge Juan Merchan is expected to preside over the arraignment and may ultimately be called upon to preside over the criminal proceedings, according to a person familiar with the process.

Braggs office also used the letter to plead with Capitol Hill Republicans to encourage calm, accusing them of engaging in unlawful political interference in the same breath.





We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference, Dubeck wrote in the letter to Judiciary, Oversight and Administration Chairs Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), James Comer (R-Ky.) and Bryan Steil (R-Wis.).

As Committee Chairmen, you could use the stature of your office to denounce these attacks and urge respect for the fairness of our justice system and for the work of the impartial grand jury, she continued. Instead, you and many of your colleagues have chosen to collaborate with Mr. Trumps efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of elected state prosecutors and trial judges and made unfounded allegations that the Offices investigation, conducted via an independent grand jury of average citizens serving New York State, is politically motivated.

Trump dialed up his rhetoric Friday, taking aim this time at Merchan, the judge he anticipates would be presiding over his case.



The Judge 'assigned' to my Witch Hunt Case  HATES ME, Trump posted on social media, complaining about Merchans handling of the separate proceedings brought by the district attorneys office against the Trump Organization, which Trump said Merchan treated viciously.

Braggs office suggested that the House GOP inquiries appeared to be functioning more as interference for Trump than as legitimate congressional oversight, a concern Dubeck said was heightened by some of the committee members own statements about their goals.

She cited Greenes statement that Republicans in Congress MUST subpoena these communists and END this! as well as Rep. Anna Paulina Lunas (R-Fla.) call to scrutinize lawmakers who are being silent on what is currently happening to Trump.



From a legal standpoint, individual lawmakers comments and motives arent typically given weight when a congressional committee takes actions. Trump routinely pointed to the comments of individual committee members plans to make use of his tax returns in his failed efforts to block Congress effort to obtain them.

Greene called for Trump supporters to gather Tuesday in New York, indicating she would be there herself. We MUST protest the unconstitutional WITCH HUNT! she tweeted. Her tweet was a departure from her reaction a day after Trump first suggested that he could be arrested, when she told reporters on the sidelines of the House GOP retreat that she would not be going to New York.

As of Friday, though, there were no indications of significant street protests or organized activities centered on the courthouse. Bragg arrived at around 7:30 a.m., amid signs of significantly heightened security, with little other movement aside from a large media presence.

In her letter, Dubeck also provided some details about the federal funding Braggs office has used in connection with Trump-related matters  money that House Republicans have suggested could now be under threat because of the indictment. Additionally, House Republicans received a second document on Friday detailing federal grant money the office has obtained.

None of that federal grant funding, she noted, has been used in the current investigation. She said the office has spent approximately $5,000 of federal funds  funds that the district attorneys office helped recover during forfeiture actions  on expenses related to the investigation of Trump or the Trump organization.

These expenses were incurred between October 2019 and August 2021, Dubeck noted, adding that most were used to support Braggs predecessors successful defense of its probe of the Trump organization before the Supreme Court.

A spokesperson for Jordan didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter from Braggs office. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said at an event on Friday that Republicans should cease their intervention in an ongoing prosecution in a local prosecutor's office.

But House Republicans have already started laying some groundwork for a potential subpoena of the Manhattan district attorney, a move they havent publicly ruled out. They also appeared to make the case in their second letter to Bragg that they believe a subpoena would survive a legal challenge.

Comer, who noted that he hasnt spoken with Trump recently, called the indictment a political stunt but said he needed more information before Republicans decided where to go next.

I think before the next step well have to see what, in fact, these charges were and then go from there, Comer said in an interview on Friday.

Dubeck, in her letter, urged them to reach a negotiated resolution  before taking the unprecedented and unconstitutional step of serving a subpoena on a district attorney for information related to an ongoing state criminal prosecution.

Wesley Parnell contributed to this story.
Mykhailo Podoliak, Advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine, has stressed that a ceasefire would effectively ensure that Russia has a "right" to remain on Ukrainian territories it occupied.

Source: Mykhailo Podoliak on Twitter

Quote: "Let's go through the facts once again. Any ceasefire would mean Russia has a right to remain on the occupied territories. This cannot be allowed to happen.

Unlikely peacekeepers look laughable."

Details: Podoliak added that Ukraine has a right to transfer troops and equipment across its own territory as it sees fit.

Background:

In his address to the Belarusian people and parliament, self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko customarily blamed the West for all of his countrys troubles. He mentioned the Russian occupation of Ukrainian Crimea, boasted that he had allegedly done a lot for peace in Ukraine, and mentioned that Zelenskyy and Putin needed to negotiate a dozen times.

In response, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlins spokesperson, claimed that a ceasefire was impossible due to the actions of the Ukrainian side.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
ISRAEL-GOVERNMENT-DEMO

Supporters of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) lift flags as they demonstrate in support of his government's controversial juducial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv, on March 30, 2023. Credit - JACK GUEZ-AFP

At eight-thirty on March 27, a major Tel Aviv junction normally choked on a Monday night with late rush hour traffic instead hosted young Israelis in a frenzied victory dance. Hundreds of thousands of other Israelis had been protesting all day; one hoisted a sign comparing 1948when Israelis also danced in the streets to celebrate the founding of the stateto 2023. An influential columnist similarly proclaimed: This is our second 1948.

The evening street revelers had just learned that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to pause the legislation of a series of measures to constrain, if not clobber, judicial independence in Israel. For three months, Israelis were panicking at the looming evisceration of the Supreme Court, the countrys most important constraint on state power, and mounted an extraordinary civic protest under the banner of democracy. After a wave of reservists in crack military units threatened not to report for duty, Israels defense minister (from Netanyahus Likud party) called to halt the legislation, and a day later, last Sunday, Netanyahu summarily fired him. The protestors went wild, blocking highways all night and bringing the country to a hair-raising standstill with a general strike. Netanyahus concession of a temporary pause was their greatestand onlyachievement so far. Many felt democracy was being reborn.

But at the very same time, another enormous crowd was dejected. Israels most right wing, overwhelmingly religious Jewish citizens were out in force at a large-scale demonstration in Jerusalem that same night. They longed for the government they had just elected last November to advance their interests, which include punishing the courts; to these voters, pausing the legislation was tantamount to electoral theft.

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What looked like an imminent head-on collision between the two worlds has been momentarily suspended. But nobody knows which tectonic plate in Israels fault line will win, and which will crumble.

The worldviews of the two blocs are radically opposed; their communities so separate they hardly ever meet in daily life. The protest movement views the independent judiciary as the citizens best defender of individual rights, equality, civic and even progressive values. These democracy crusaders are secular or mildly religious; they voted for left, center and center-right parties; many even support peace with Palestinians in some form.

Supporters of the governments plans believe Jewish law is the truest authority, and for the most devout among them, the only one. In their view, the Court interferes with gods plans for Jewish redemption by upholding the rights of LGBTQ, women, Arab citizens of Israel; or worst of all, when the court issues the rare decision constraining Israeli settlement or other actions in the occupied West Bank. These voters chose parties committed to the divine mission of expanding Israeli settlements and sovereignty west of the Jordan River, flooding Israeli life with Jewish religious practice, and elevating Jews above all other citizens, preferably by law. This group also holds that the leftanyone not on their sidecannot tolerate being out of power, so it conjured up flimsy corruption indictments against Netanyahu (currently standing trial). In this view, a cabal of left-wing parties, the media and the judiciary seek to hound the true leader out of office and betray the true will of the people.

Read More: Israel Is Wandering in the Desert, a Constitution Is Its Path Home

Judging by the size of left and right-wing blocs in Israel, it shouldnt be hard to guess which side will win out. The right-wing is clearly in the lead: over 60 percent of Israeli Jews consider themselves right-wing, and the Jewish population makes up nearly 80 percent of Israels adult voting population. Israels Arab (Palestinian) citizens, about 17 percent of eligible voters, bring down the average, but in total over half of adult Israelis are right-wing. Accordingly, in November voters gave 64 out of 120 parliamentary seats to Netanyahus Likud and his ultra-nationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies, who make up the current coalition.

By contrast, barely 20 percent of all Israelis identify as left-wing, but among Jews much fewer, only 11 percent. Of the two parties that represent most Jewish left-wing voters, one of them, Meretz, failed to reach the 3.25 percent minimum to enter Israels parliament (the Knesset) in November and dropped out of the Knesset for the first time in 30 years. The remaining dovish Labor party barely crossed, winning the minimum of four seats.

But the map isnt that simple. Centrists in Israel share most of the lefts basic outlook and political positions, and make up approximately one-quarter of all voters. These mostly middle- and upper-middle class Israelis have a strong national Jewish identity but an even stronger pragmatic side. Like the left, they seek separation of religion and state, professional advancement (preferably in high-tech), and would be satisfied with a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as long as bombs arent exploding on Israeli buses. They arent political activists unless it affects them personally.

Both the center and the left felt blindsided by the judicial assault. They were stunned to realize how badly the country needs a formal written constitution, which Israel lacks, to protect hard-won advances for equality and certain limits on religious coercion over the years, and to establish the relationship between Israels branches of government.

But even the combined center and left liberal-oriented bloc makes up fewer than half the voters. Moreover, the right-wing has a natural engine of growth: as an iron-clad rule, orthodox or ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews are right wing, and these are the fastest-growing population groups. With demography, political power, and a prime minister desperate to preserve his power, the forces are aligned for eventual triumph over the judiciary, and eventually the collapse of democracy in Israel.

If so, it shouldnt be such a shock. Historically, the essential pillars of democracy in Israel were deeply cracked. The countrys constitution-writing ambitions were collapsing even at its founding, amidst disagreements between religious or secular sources of the law; while the first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, chafed at constraints on his (or his partys) power. And no one wanted equality for Arabs.

The events today display discomfiting continuity, even if the governments aims are more extreme: Netanyahu wants unrestrained power, even when he and his cronies are tainted by corruption. The right-wing parties want formal Jewish supremacy over non-Jews, West Bank annexation and total control over Gazas borders. The religious wing of the government is driven by a messianic cosmology so extreme that women have protested by dressing up like the female slaves of the Handmaids Tale. These sides are unlikely to be reconciled by Netanyahus cloying call for dialogue over the judicial reform during the the next few months of the Knessets spring recess and summer session.

But Israel has not seen the final word. Like a decaying empire, Netanyahus right-wing leadership may have finally overreached. For many right-wing Israelis, the rule of law and democracy still matter. Among a segment of Israels devout Jews, human rights are compatible with their religious observance. Many of these people are disgusted by personal corruption, and Netanyahus personal ratings have sunk to the lowest point in recent memory. Israel may not be ready for a constitution, but it could be ripe for a political realignment. If parts of the right-wing join with the center and left in recommitting to democracy, that will mean supporting parties and leaders who seek to build democracy rather than destroying itand Israel will be on a better path.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang holds a welcoming ceremony for the visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, March 31, 2023. Li held talks with Sanchez in Beijing on Friday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday held talks with the visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing, with both sides pledging further efforts to enhance bilateral ties.

Calling Spain a major EU country that plays a positive and significant role in regional and international affairs, Li said China is willing to work with Spain to take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to deepen friendship and expand cooperation in all fields, so as to jointly promote new progress in the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and make positive contributions to the recovery and growth of the world economy.

Li urged the two sides to consolidate political mutual trust, maintain closer exchanges and communications, and further synergize development strategies.

As both countries are promoters and beneficiaries of multilateralism and globalization, Li said they should take a clear-cut stand against unilateralism and protectionism, uphold the international order and systems based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and jointly ensure the stability and smoothness of industrial and supply chains.

China is ready to work with Spain to boost trade and investment, strengthen the synergy of industries, and foster new growth points for cooperation in areas such as new energy and advanced materials, Li added.

China welcomes more Spanish enterprises to do business and make investments in China and hopes that Spain will continue to provide a fair, just and unbiased market environment for Chinese companies, Li said.

Noting that Spain is a trustworthy partner of China in the EU, Li said a sound China-EU relationship serves the interests of both sides and is also conducive to the solidarity of the international community in jointly responding to challenges.

He urged efforts by the two sides to enhance communication and coordination, make sound preparations for the China-EU leaders' meeting scheduled this year, and jointly foster new growth engines for cooperation including the digital economy, environmental protection and artificial intelligence.

Sanchez said Spain regards China as a major strategic partner and hopes to further strengthen exchanges and dialogues in the post-COVID-19 era to promote greater development of China-Spain bilateral relations, adding that spain is willing to deepen cooperation in economy and trade, investment, culture, education and tourism, among other areas.

Spain supports enhanced communications and cooperation between the EU and China, and will vigorously promote it during Spain's rotating presidency of the EU in the second half of this year, Sanchez added.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of documents on bilateral cooperation in education, customs and sports. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez witness the signing of documents on bilateral cooperation in education, customs and sports after their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 31, 2023. Li held talks with Sanchez in Beijing on Friday. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang holds talks with the visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 31, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)
A US Army Ranger completes a rope crawl during the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning in Georgia in April 2022. US Army/Spc. Ethan Scofield

US troops will gather in Georgia in April for the US Army's Best Ranger Competition.

The annual competition uses days of grueling challenges to find the US military's best two-man team.

Troops from other services are also welcome, but to compete you have to be Ranger-qualified.

Every year, some of the best troops in the US military compete at the Best Ranger Competition, which uses days of grueling challenges to find the US military's best two-man team.

The Best Ranger competition is organized and run by the US Army in conjunction with the National Ranger Association. The competition was established in 1982 by Dick Leandri to honor Rangers who fought in previous wars. Leandri was a close friend of Lt. Gen. David Grange Jr., a former Ranger instructor and Ranger department director, in whose honor the competition is named.

The 39th iteration of the annual event is scheduled to take place in April at Fort Benning, the home of US Army infantry and of the Rangers, with 51 teams from across the Army.

101st Airborne Division soldiers compete in the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning in April 2022. US Army/Spc. Kelvin Johnson

The challenges change slightly each year to reflect the Army's current operational realities.

The competition draws the best of the best from across the military, but to qualify, participants have to be Ranger-qualified, meaning graduates of the grueling Ranger School, the US Army's premier combat leadership course.

The event often includes Rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment as well as Army Green Berets, and even Delta Force operators. But it isn't limited to members of elite special-operations units. Ranger-qualified soldiers from conventional units, such as the 10th Mountain Division, 82nd Airborne Division, and 101st Air Assault Division, and even from academic institutions, such as West Point, take part.

Troops from other services are also welcome. Airmen and Marines have participated in the past. Military units usually hold internal tryouts to select a two-man team to send to the competition.

A US Army soldier from 1st Cavalry Division during tryouts for the Best Ranger Competition in October. US Army/Pfc. David Dumas

The Best Ranger competition typically starts strong with a 10-mile run followed by a swim event and an obstacle course. The teams then have to complete the Army Combat Fitness Test with the highest score possible.

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Next, the competitors have to complete a combination of physical challenges, such as a team buddy run with marksmanship activities, which is meant to test their physical fitness and marksmanship under duress.

The first day ends with the Darby Queen Obstacle Course, a mile-long course with 20 obstacles, followed by a nighttime ruck march where competitors have to find points using just a map and compass.

"The first day is designed to be physical. The organizers intentionally put the teams through a variety of physical challenges to wear them out and make simple tasks that much more difficult," a Ranger-qualified Army Special Forces officer told Insider.

The second day usually begins with a stress shooting test and day stakes, during which teams stop at multiple lanes and have to solve challenges that test their soldiering skills and technical competency in tasks like first aid, radio assembly, and handling of weapons.

10th Mountain Division soldiers complete a casualty evacuation lane during the Best Ranger Competition in April 2022. US Army/Spc. Ethan Scofield

"You're competing against the cream of the crop. The competition is unforgiving. The other teams will use any mistake you make to gain an advantage," the Special Forces officer said, speaking anonymously because they weren't authorized to talk to the media.

Throughout the three days of the competition, the grueling competition takes its toll. Typically only a handful of teams complete the competition. Finally, on the third day, the teams have to complete yet another obstacle course, jump from a moving helicopter into the water using the Helocast insertion method, and complete one last run to the finish line.

Last year, four teams from the 75th Ranger Regiment took the first four spots, with a team from the Army's Training and Doctrine Command rounding out the top five.

Who's a Ranger?

101st Airborne Division soldiers during the Best Ranger Competition's final buddy run in April 2022. US Army/Spc. John Simpson

There are distinctions around use of the term "Ranger" that have generated debate inside and outside the Army.

The term is often used in reference to both Ranger-qualified troops and to members of the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment

Ranger-qualified refers to those who have completed Ranger school, which is open to most US soldiers as well as members of other service branches.

To become Ranger-qualified, an attendee has to complete the a three-month leadership course, which is designed to push junior officers, noncommissioned officers, and more junior troops to their limits. Over 62 days, students go through progressively more difficult tasks with little food and sleep. They often lose significant weight during the course.

The 75th Ranger Regiment is a unit within US Army Special Operations Command. It is the world's premier light infantry special-operations unit, and most of its members are Ranger-qualified  it is necessary to be to hold a leadership position at any level in the regiment.

However, not all Ranger-qualified troops serve in the 75th Ranger Regiment. There are Ranger-qualified soldiers across the US military, and Ranger-qualified troops aren't necessarily considered special operators.

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. He is working toward a master's degree in strategy and cybersecurity at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Japan's government says it plans to put restrictions on some computer chip-making exports, following similar moves by the US and the Netherlands.

The measures will apply to 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

Semiconductors, which power everything from mobile phones to military hardware, are at the centre of a bitter dispute between the US and China.

China has frequently called the US a "tech hegemony" in response to export controls imposed by Washington.

However, Friday's statement from Japan's trade and industry ministry did not make any reference to China or the US.

"We are fulfilling our responsibility as a technological nation to contribute to international peace and stability," the ministry said.

The policy will be subject to public comment, with plans to implement it in July.

Japanese trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters that the move was not coordinated with US restrictions.

"If our exports are not being reappropriated for military use, we will continue exporting. We believe the impact on companies will be limited," Mr Nishimura added.

The announcement came as Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi was due to visit Beijing at the weekend.

Mr Hayashi said he will meet his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang for "an honest and frank discussion to create a constructive and stable relationship".

Japan's restrictions will apply to equipment supplied by major technology companies including Tokyo Electron and Nikon.

They will affect exports ranging from tools which are used to clean silicon wafers to immersion lithography machines.

Lithography machines use lasers to print miniscule patterns on silicon as part of the manufacturing process of microchips.

In October, Washington announced that it would require licences for companies exporting chips to China using US tools or software, no matter where they are made in the world.

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The US had also called on the Netherlands and Japan to adopt similar restrictions.

This month, the Dutch government said it would put restrictions on the country's "most advanced" microchip technology exports to protect national security.

Dutch trade minister Liesje Schreinemacher said the measures will affect "very specific technologies in the semiconductor production cycle".

She added that the government had considered "the technological developments and geopolitical context," without naming China or Dutch chip equipment maker ASML.

ASML is one of the most important firms in the global microchip supply chain. It makes machines that produce the world's most advanced chips.

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Nearly three years after a white police officer killed a Black man by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes, the city of Minneapolis announced Friday that it had approved a plan to reform its police force.

The death of 46-year-old George Floyd, whose ordeal was filmed by a passerby, sparked mass protests across the country -- and even in global cities -- under the slogan "Black Lives Matter."

The Floyd murder on May 25, 2020 led to sharp criticism of law enforcement methods not only in Minneapolis, a midwestern city, but other US metropolitan areas.

An investigation launched after his death by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights concluded last year that the tragedy was part of a pattern of "race discrimination" within the police force that spanned more than a decade.

"Today, we confront our past and move forward with a roadmap for meaningful change in our city," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement.

"Our overriding goal will be building a better, more just approach to policing and community safety in Minneapolis," Frey said.

The 144-page agreement announced Friday was negotiated between the city and the Department of Human Rights after an investigation's findings were released last year. It still requires court approval.

The text includes provisions that police may no longer engage in pretextual stops of vehicles for certain minor violations, like a broken tail light, and can no longer search and frisk someone if they smell marijuana.

It calls for police to employ force only if "necessary" and in a de-escalatory manner "proportionate to the perceived threat." It also prohibits using force to punish or retaliate.

Tasers should only be used if police have a reason to make an arrest and if it is necessary to "protect the officer, the individual or a third party," the agreement says.

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The US Constitution does not require the president to be Christian, contrary to a claim that has resurfaced in a Facebook post shared hundreds of times. The nation's supreme law explicitly prohibits any "religious test" as a prerequisite for public office but does require the president to be at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen and to have lived in the country for at least 14 years.

The claim was posted on Facebook here on March 4, 2023, and has since been shared more than 400 times.

"This is what the constitution of the 'grandfather of democratic countries' states," says part of the post's Burmese-language text, which was shared as an image.

It continues: "(By the Constitution of U.S.A) the president of the United States (including vice-president) has to be a Christian. Except for Christians, anyone who is a Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh or Hindu is not allowed to work for the White House."

It was posted by an account that has voiced support for the military in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The United States has repeatedly condemned the military junta, which toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, and called its rule "illegitimate".

Prior to the February 2021 coup, the country had seen surging Buddhist nationalism, with the cause of extremist monks receiving new support in 2017 when the army launched a brutal crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya, expelling more than half a million from the country.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on March 28, 2023

Comments on the post suggest some users believed the claim.

One user wrote: "Is this what they call democracy?"

"Go ask for your human rights there," said another.

The same claim previously circulated on Facebook here in October 2020, and was shared more than 500 times.

The claim, however, is false.

Constitutional requirements

The US Constitution states in Article VI, Clause 3: "No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

The eligibility requirements for the US president are also set out in Article II, Section 1, Clause 5.

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It says the president must be at least 35 years of age, be a natural born citizen, and must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.

Dov Levin, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Hong Kong, told AFP the claim about a religious requirement for the US president is "complete misinformation".

He also said over email on March 30 that: "While the US Constitution was initially silent in this regard, the first amendment to the US Constitution, adopted shortly (1791) after the constitution came into force, also forbids the establishment of any official religion by the US federal government."

Levin added that this has been interpreted to mean "the US federal government maintains neutrality in regard to any aspect regarding religion and bans any US federal government discrimination on this basis on any US government hiring".

Officials who are not Christian

Despite a ban on religious requirements for public service, almost all the country's presidents have been Christian, according to the Pew Research Center. Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are considered by scholars to not have had formal religious affiliation.

President Joe Biden's cabinet also includes several officials who come from non-Christian religious backgrounds, according to an article published by The Washington Post in January 2021.

They include Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who are both Jewish.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who also served under president Barack Obama, spoke about his Hindu faith in a Hindu American Foundation function in 2015.
Some of the biggest Indian startups are taking a haircut in their valuations, at least in the eyes of their investors, as some backers adjust their estimates amid the weakening global economy.

BlackRock has cut the valuation of Byjus, which is Indias most valuable startup at $22 billion, by nearly half to $11.5 billion, according to filings seen by TechCrunch. Indian news outlet The Arc first reported about the valuation cut.

Swiggy, Indias most valuable food delivery startup at $10.7 billion, has been marked down to a valuation of about $8 billion by Invesco, according to disclosures by the U.S. fund seen by TechCrunch.

Byju's raised capital last year at a valuation of $22 billion and has topped up more financing in recent quarters on a convertible note with the previous valuation set as the cap, according to people familiar with the matter. BlackRock made the disclosure about its valuation adjustment on the Indian edtech giant in its 2022 annual report to shareholders.

Swiggy climbed to $10.7 billion valuation in a round led by Invesco itself in January 2022. By the end of October, the Atlanta-headquartered firm had slashed the value of its Swiggy holdings and valued the firm at about $8 billion, filings showed.

The valuation cuts add a new dimension to the impact of the dwindling market conditions on the Indian startups. Funding activity in the Indian startup ecosystem slowed down last year, but because many of the larger startups raised capital on convertible notes (and hence pushed the price discovery to a later date) or did not raise capital at all, their last valuations have largely remained unchanged.

Masayoshi Son, founder and chief executive of SoftBank Group, alluded to this trend last year when he cautioned that the funding winter for startups may continue for longer because some unicorns were unwilling to accept lower valuations in fresh funding deliberations.

It's important to note nonetheless that investors value equity of their existing portfolio startups in different ways and one backer's value adjustment, however noteworthy, does not necessarily represent the views of other investors  and sometimes those of the startups themselves.
Knitting has surged in popularity once again in the United States in this age of pandemics and self-care.

But on a sunny March afternoon just outside the nation's capital, one club of enthusiasts sets itself apart: the 10 or so people clicking their needles are men.

DC Men Knit meets twice a month in the Washington area to knit or crochet scarves, hats and blankets. The goal? Relaxation, friendship and reclaiming a pastime historically enjoyed by men and women.

The group's coordinator Gene Throwe says he hopes to "provide a safe space for men to knit together and trade our skills with one another, to help each other out, because knitting has for quite a while been viewed as a female vocation."

The 51-year-old Throwe, an office manager for a national association of nursing schools, puts some finishing touches on a brown sweater with a subtle golden pattern that he's been making on and off for years.

Like many of his fellow knitters, Throwe grew up watching his grandmother work magic with her needles. That feeling of nostalgia turned to regret as he watched the hobby fall by the wayside, in favor of more modern pursuits.

One day, he realized he could do something to revive it.

"Why do I have to expect the women to do it -- I can do it too!" he recalled.

The members of DC Men Knit tend to spark a degree of fascination when they meet in public places -- but no hostility or discrimination.

"It's always some grandmotherly type person that... stares at us, like we just landed from Mars," Throwe says with a laugh.

"And then they'll just start asking us questions about what we're working on."

- 'Not just for grandmas' -

Historically, men have always been knitters, from those who ran lucrative medieval knitting guilds to the schoolboys in World War II Britain who made blankets for the troops.

For those who are passionate about the craft, the latest craze is nothing out of the ordinary.

In his shorts in near-freezing temperatures, and a fanny pack around his waist, Sam Barsky doesn't fit the mold of the usual social media influencer. But he has nearly 500,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok combined.

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Barsky -- a self-styled "knitting artist" -- has won over fans with his freehand knitting and his unique sweater designs, which are inspired by landscapes and nature, monuments or works of art.

Niagara Falls, Stonehenge, the New York City skyline, penguins, robots, the Wizard of Oz: Barsky takes it all on and has sweaters not just for Christmas but for every occasion -- birthdays, Valentine's Day, Hanukkah, you name it.

He even has a sweater dedicated to... his sweaters, with about 30 of his creations knitted in miniature form. His work has been displayed at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.

"Knitting is not just for grandmas. Knitting is for anyone of any age or gender who wants to do it, who enjoys doing it," he told AFP in an interview at Oregon Ridge Nature Center in Cockeysville, Maryland, north of Baltimore.

It was in the park that he kept knitting when the coronavirus pandemic brought travel to a screeching halt.

The park's trees, some of which were painted in 2017 by people who overcame drug and alcohol addiction, have been immortalized on one of Barsky's sweaters against a golden background.

- Pandemic side effects -

While Barsky is keen to travel once again, he says the pandemic was not all bad for him personally: his TikTok account, which he opened in September 2020, quickly attracted a bigger following than the Instagram account he'd been using for years.

Once people were free to meet up in person again, his knitting circles "got much, much larger crowds because lots of other people picked up knitting in that period of time," he said.

Like breadmaking or pottery, knitting and other sewing arts were revitalized during the first months of the pandemic as a way for penned-in Americans to combat their boredom and anxiety -- a scenario repeated around the world.

Even former first lady Michelle Obama has taken up the hobby, showing off the sweaters she made for president husband Barack in promotional appearances for her latest book.

In the DC Men Knit group, each member found a purpose.

For Throwe, knitting is reclaiming an art form that "can be modern and useful."

Devlin Breckenridge, a 48-year-old video game aficionado, says he wanted to "do something a little more creative... instead of digitally killing something," and knitting fit the bill.

And for Michael Manning, a 58-year-old retired government worker, the soothing repetitiveness of knitting is "just very relaxing."

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Cambridgeshire police found the body of a 32-year-old man after being called to reports of gunshots in Meridian Close, Bluntisham - Bav Media

A 66-year-old man has been charged with a double murder in Cambridgeshire as a man and woman arrested in connection with the incident were released with no further action.

Stephen Alderton, 66, has been charged with the murders of father and son Gary and Joshua Dunmore following two shootings in villages near Huntingdon on Wednesday, Cambridgeshire Constabulary said.

Alderton, of no fixed abode, has also been charged with one count of possession of a firearm and is due to appear at Huntingdon Magistrates Court on Saturday, police said.

Gary Dunmore, 57, and his 32-year-old son Joshua were gunned down in separate shootings at their homes six miles apart on Wednesday evening, with Cambridgeshire Police confirming that a custody dispute was one line of inquiry.

A 27-year-old man who serves with the United States Air Force and is stationed in the UK, and a 33-year-old woman were among three people being questioned over the deaths.

But in a statement, the force said the man and woman had now been released with no further action.

Forensics at the scene in Sutton, Cambridgeshire on Thursday - Joseph Walshe /SWNS

Detectives confirmed that a shotgun had been recovered from the vehicle and they were checking whether the firearm was legally owned.

It is understood the 27-year-old man had been serving with the US military and was based at RAF Mildenhall, but had been preparing to return home in the coming weeks along with his partner.

They recently moved out of the home they shared together and were arrested at a hotel in Cambridge, where it is believed they had been staying.

Josh Dunmore murdered in the quiet village of Bluntisham

A former neighbour said: They were a nice couple. Friendly and always ready with a smile. She gave birth to her baby girl in the house during lockdown.

After being questioned by detectives for more than 24 hours, the couple were released without charge and the police said they would face no further action.

Police had been called to the quiet village of Bluntisham just after 9pm on Wednesday following reports of gunshots. When they entered the property they discovered the body of Joshua, who was a builder and father of one.

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Just over half an hour later they attended his father, Garys address, around six miles away, where they found his body.

Both men had suffered gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Gary Dunmore murdered along with his son in separate shootings

Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Hutchinson said the "primary line of investigation" related to a "familial issue".

'Absolutely gutted'

A floral tribute to Gary Dunmore, left outside his home in The Row, Sutton, said: "To my dear neighbour Gary.

"A man who loved his family dearly, a dear friend to all, so helpful and kind and was always around as a friend and my little odd job man.

"I'm going to miss you."

A further tribute said: "RIP Gary. Absolutely gutted."

A floral tribute left to Josh Dunmore in Bluntisham said: So sad a young life to be taken like this and a little boy now with no daddy.

Thinking of the family. RIP Josh X.

Another tribute said: We have no words for such tragedy in our quiet village.

Our prayers are with all involved. Rest in eternal peace.

Uniformed officers remained on duty outside both addresses on Friday morning.
Patriot air defense in Poland

Ryder added that by the end of March, more than 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers will have completed combined arms training in Germany.

Read also: Russian soldier found guilty in absentia of abusing civilians evacuating from Kyiv Oblast

Additional combined arms training is currently underway at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas in Germany, with two mechanized infantry battalions consisting of 1,200 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, Ryder said.

Read also: US to expedite delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine

In recent weeks, Ukraine has received Leopard-2 main battle tanks from a number of countries, in addition to UK Challenger-2 tanks, Stryker AFVs, Bradley and Marder IFVs, and four MiG-29 fighter jets supplied by Slovakia.

Read also: Ukrainian crews need additional training on Challenger tanks, UK says

On March 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that several Patriot batteries pledged to Ukraine by its international partners are yet to be deployed.

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
US Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated calls for a "speedy finalization" of Zambia's debt restructuring on Friday, as she visited the country in the last stop of a continental tour.

The United States has been pushing for creditors, which prominently include China, to provide relief to Zambia, which in 2020 became the first African country to default on its foreign debt -- estimated at $17.3 billion -- since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We will continue to advocate for a speedy finalization of Zambia's debt treatment and restructuring," Harris told a press conference in Lusaka, after a meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.

"The international community needs to help countries such as Zambia regain their footing. So I will reiterate a call that we have made now many times for all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction."

Harris is the second top US official to visit the country in a few months. Treasury chief Janet Yellen toured the nation in January.

The United States has accused China -- the main creditor to many African nations -- of dragging its feet after Lusaka sought help with its debt through a G20 mechanism.

"Our priority for us as a country now is to rebuild our economy. What is keeping us behind is the debt," said Hichilema.

Zambia is the last stop in Harris's three-nation trip to Africa -- the latest push by the United States to deepen its engagement with the continent to counter the growing influence of China and Russia.

The US vice president previously travelled to Ghana and Tanzania.

Harris's visit has a special poignancy, as she is the first Black person and woman ever in the White House number two job and visited Zambia as a young girl, when her maternal grandfather, who was from India, worked there.

In Lusaka, Harris made a brief stop at a site where a house inhabited by her grandfather in the 1960s once stood.

"My grandfather was one of my favourite people," she told reporters.

"I was the eldest grandchild and so I got the benefit and the blessing of a lot of time with him."

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Romanian police have arrested the leader of an American white supremacist group wanted in the United States in connection with rioting, they said Friday.

The 33-year-old was arrested on Wednesday in Bucharest, police said without identifying him.

Local media named him as Robert Rundo, who co-founded and led the Rise Above Movement.

Rundo, together with several others of the California-based group, has been accused of inciting riots at far-right political rallies, including the deadly march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

A Bucharest court on Thursday ordered the detention of the arrested man, who faces extradition, the police statement said.

The American is "wanted by the US justice for having committed crimes of conspiracy to riot and rioting activities," it added.

He "allegedly conspired with other people to go to rallies of a political nature and use combative tactics and commit physical violence against individuals and groups who did not support their ideology", it said.

Romania and the United States have a reciprocal extradition treaty since 2008.

The "Unite the Right" march in mid-August 2017 in Charlottesville culminated in a man driving a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman and injuring 19 others.

Then president Donald Trump infamously took 48 hours to respond only to blame "both sides" despite overwhelming evidence that neo-Nazis were the principal source of violence.

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KAMPALA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said that the 1,000-strong peacekeeping force sent by Uganda will help stabilize the restive eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The contingent, under the auspices of the East African Community Regional Force, will stabilize the Rutshuru-Goma area in North Kivu province, where the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group has been operating against the Congolese government, said Museveni in a statement late Thursday.

"Our initial mission, therefore, is to occupy some of the positions that the M23 has handed over to the East African Force as a neutral force," Museveni said in the statement. "We are therefore going to the Bunagana-Rutshuru area, not in order to fight the M23, but to act as a neutral force as the Congolese use the time to sort out their political problems."

The Ugandan military on Wednesday sent 1,000 troops on a regional peacekeeping mission in eastern DRC.

The deployment followed the decision endorsed and adopted by regional leaders at the third East African Community Heads of State Conclave on Peace and Security in eastern DRC held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in June.

"Unless we are attacked, we are not there to fight," Museveni said. "Fighting may come later if one of the non-state armed groups does not accept peace on what we all regard as reasonable conditions."

"The East African Authority (the Head of State) would, then, have to mandate us to fight if one of the stakeholders refuses to implement the peace agreement we have agreed on," he said.

Ugandan troops joined Kenyan, Burundian and Angolan counterparts on the ground to bring lasting peace to the eastern DRC.

Uganda has other troops in eastern DRC in a joint military operation with the Congolese army against the Allied Democratic Forces rebels. 
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas. Trump has been indicted by a New York grand jury. | Evan Vucci, Associated Press

After news broke on Thursday that former President Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury in New York, several members of the all-Republican Utah congressional delegation reacted to the news.

This is the first time in American history that a former president has faced criminal charges. The formal list of charges is expected to be released on Tuesday, according to The New York Times, but they relate to an allegation that Trump paid hush money to an adult film star in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

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Sen. Mike Lee released a tweet that said, This is not a good day for America, adding to a quote from attorney Alan Dershowitz that read: Theyve made a foolish, foolish decision which will cause the case to be thrown out, I think, on statute of limitations grounds.

This is not a good day for America. https://t.co/sxxW492xIl  Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 30, 2023

A spokesperson for Sen. Mitt Romney said hes holding on commenting until the charges have been released and he has had a chance to read through them and review them.

Many Republicans are criticizing the decision to charge the former president, calling the decision political. The three congressmen who provided comment all fell into that category.

Rep. Burgess Owens, who represents Utahs 4th District, said the indictment reeks of political vengeance and that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has weaponized our justice system to target opponents.

Americans deserve answers on this blatant abuse of justice, he said.

The unprecedented indictment of former President Trump reeks of political vengeance. Rather than uphold the law & crack down on violent criminals, the NY DA's Office has weaponized our justice system to target opponents. Americans deserve answers on this blatant abuse of justice.  Rep. Burgess Owens (@RepBurgessOwens) March 31, 2023

Rep. Chris Stewart, who represents Utahs 2nd District, called the indictment the political weaponization of our legal system.

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Stewart sits on the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which has been investigating allegations of abuse of power in other areas of government.

The first indictment of a former U.S. President is a sad day for America.



This is what happens when hate succeeds reason.



Any fair-minded person can see this for what it is: the political weaponization of our legal system.  Rep. Chris Stewart (@RepChrisStewart) March 31, 2023

Last week, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the committee chairman, sent a letter requesting Bragg to testify in front of Congress.

Your decision to pursue such a politically motivated prosecution ... requires congressional scrutiny about how public safety funds appropriated by Congress are implemented by local law-enforcement agencies, the letter said.

Stewart could have a chance to question Bragg if he shows up, but he has rebuffed the congressional request so far.

While Rep. Blake Moore, who represents Utahs 1st District, said the charges were politically motivated, he also expressed concern about the nature of Trumps alleged actions.

Moore told the Deseret News via a spokesperson that the indictment is a perfect example of politicization of our state and federal justice departments.

It is obvious to many across the political spectrum that the Manhattan DA offices motives are political and will influence the 2024 elections, he said.

Moore said he is disappointed that my kids will learn of such indiscretion at the highest levels of elected leadership. I was a young teenager when I learned of President Clintons immoral actions, and it caused me to lose some respect for the office.

Trump has denied allegations that he had an affair with Stormy Daniels, or that he approved payments to her.

I believe the most productive way for the GOP to hold our elected leaders to a higher standard is to embrace the talented bench of presidential candidates in the 2024 Republican primary, he said. Elections are about the future.

3rd District Rep. John Curtis did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Gavin Christensen, founder and general partner, speaks during a partners meeting at Kickstart Fund in Cottonwood Heights on March 13, 2023. | Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Utahs Kickstart Seed Fund has closed a new $230 million fund, more than double the value of its last fund in 2020 and the largest to date for one of the states most well-established and active venture capital firms.

The oversubscribed fund pushes Kickstarts assets under management to nearly $500 million and will be a boon to startups in the Mountain West, where new business launches have ballooned in the last several years.

The Cottonwood Heights-based firm, which launched in 2008, also announced plans to open a new office in Colorado, a state where Kickstart has backed startups since its inception.

While Kickstart will be backing startups throughout the West with investments out of its new fund, founder and general partner Gavin Christensen said companies in its home state will continue to be a focus.

We anticipate investing about half of this fund in Utah, Christensen said. We will continue to be the most active investors in Utah, as we have been for the last 15 years.

Related

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Christensen noted the economic impacts of COVID-19 led to some slowing in the venture realm and stress-tested companies that werent well positioned for the changes in consumer and business spending patterns. But, he said Kickstarts investment philosophy weathered the upheaval well and the firm is well positioned for moving forward on a continued growth arc.

Weve tried to stay very grounded at Kickstart, Christensen said. Weve stayed focused on excellence around servicing seed and pre-seed. We didnt go chasing after SPACs, didnt start doing growth stage rounds. The challenges are the same and so are the things we look for.

Its hard to build great businesses. Were looking to reward gritty entrepreneurs with passion and drive.

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Christensen said the startup ecosystem is in the midst of a transformative wave right now, driven in large part by emerging artificial intelligence tools and companies looking for the best ways to put the new tools to work.

AI is going to dwarf everything else, Christensen said. Were going to see a lot of development of functionality and value that can be had by leveraging AI.

Its a really exciting time that way. The promise weve been hearing for so long in terms of efficiencies, were finally starting to see those efficiencies.

While Utahs tech ecosystem has seen continued expansion and is now a direct or indirect supporter of 1 in 7 jobs in the state, Christensen said hes also concerned about how the states overall growth is impacting the environment for business startups.

We really care about what happens in Utah, Christensen said. Housing, air quality, education, our water situation and whats happening with the Great Salt Lake. These things are all a big deal for us.

Were spending more time than we ever have to make sure these things get fixed. These issues are bigger constraints on growth than finding enterprises to invest in. Were committed to helping solve the macro problems to keep them out of the way of the progress.

Besides expanding its physical presence into Colorado with a new office that will be run by Kickstart general partner Dalton Wright, the firm also recently hired former Degreed president Kat Kennedy as a new general partner.

When Kickstart announced Kennedy joining the firm as a general partner last August, Christensen said her experience, passion and grit were a perfect fit for the investment group.

Kat has an unmatched skill set when it comes to scaling companies, Christensen said in a press statement about the hiring news. Her gritty, entrepreneurial spirit and passion for helping other entrepreneurs was exactly what we have been looking for.

Kats addition allows us to scale at a time when so many venture firms are pulling back, not only on investments but on building their teams. Kat truly embodies everything we value here, and were excited to see what the future holds with her perspective on board.

In a Deseret News profile last fall, Kennedy shared her feelings about Kickstart being the perfect match for the kind of investor role she wants to fill.

What I love about Kickstart is their strategy around deploying capital specifically here in the Mountain West and that they also deploy at the earliest, pre-seed and seed stage, Kennedy said. I believed the empathy I could bring would be most valuable at the early stage.

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Related

Kickstarts latest venture fund will fuel expansion to its current portfolio and numerous success stories including with brands like Angel, Artemis, Aumni, Chatbooks, Cotopaxi, DSCO, Galileo (SoFi), Havenly, Lucid, Moises, Nav, Nomad, Nursa, Podium, Pura, Qwick, Self, Sondermind, Spiff and Taskeasy.

And its a buildout that will be driven by a lot more than just the checks Kickstart writes to the companies it believes in.

We take intelligent risk and we do it in a systematic and repeatable way, Christensen said. Our companies are backed by our entire team and we are in it for the long haul.

One of the most important things weve worked to do is normalize the entrepreneurial journey. That journey is one defined as much by challenges and struggle as it is in those moments when youre on stage, being applauded by your peers. Every successful founder has a story ... that goes to their courage in overcoming diversity on their journey.

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News
A Vashon Island man was arrested Thursday on an indictment charging him with ten federal felonies related to human trafficking, according to the Department of Justice.

Jesus Ruiz-Hernandez, aka Christo Jesus Escobar Solares, 44, was indicted on Nov. 22 for transporting, harboring, and bringing an alien to the U.S. for financial gain.

The indictment also includes two counts of forced labor.

Undocumented people are particularly vulnerable to forced labor schemes because they believe they do not have the same basic rights as U.S. citizens, Brown said. In this case, the grand jury found that Mr. Ruiz-Hernandez sought to enrich himself by forcing undocumented workers to labor for him and that he benefitted financially by bringing undocumented workers to Western Washington.

According to the media release, Ruiz-Hernandez used force, threats of force, and physical violence to force an adult to work for him. The adult also suffered aggravated abuse.

Hes being charged with transporting the adult for financial gain, harboring them for financial gain, and bringing them to the U.S. for financial gain.

The indictment also alleges Ruiz-Hernandez forced a second victim to work for him, who was also threatened, transported, harbored, and brought to the U.S. for financial gain.

A third victim was also involved between May 2020 and Aug. 2021.

Forced labor is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If a jury finds the offense involved aggravated sexual abuse, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
After the Texas Department of Public Safety revealed to victims this month that it had unknowingly sent thousands of drivers licenses, most of which belonged to Asian Americans, to an organized crime group, a victim is sharing details of credit card fraud, stolen data, digital SIM card access and more.

A 33-year-old senior consultant, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, estimates she has racked up $50,000 in losses through schemes that used her stolen Texas drivers license information.

DPS Director Steve McCraw told the Texas House Appropriations Committee in late February that a New York-based Chinese organized crime group had obtained 3,000 licenses with Asian names, like the consultants, to sell to predominantly Chinese undocumented immigrants in hope of impersonating the victims. In a statement provided to NBC News, the department said the number of victims has risen to 4,800. And a little over 2,000 have been in contact with staff members to address the issue.

NBC News was able to verify $16,000 in losses through receipts and copies of checks. Many of the remaining disputed transactions dont show up in statements, as they were quickly resolved by Chase Bank, the consultant said. A representative for Chase was unable to give specifics about her case because of privacy reasons but confirmed that the consultant had been in contact with it and that a claim had been filed for the disputed transactions. She has been able to recover and resolve all the disputed funds through Chase and insurance.

While McCraw revealed the issue to a state House committee at the end of February, he said his department discovered the attacks in December. For the consultant, the ordeal began nearly six months ago. She said hopes to share her story so more resources can be dedicated to the Asian community. Those with limited English skills and the technological know-how to resolve the fallout from the identity fraud, she feels, are inadequately served.

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They need to do more for the community, she said of the state. Give resources to the community thats affected.

In a matter of months, the consultant says, she has had to not only resolve monetary losses but letters viewed by NBC News showed she also fielded notifications that the scammers have tried to open dozens of Capital One credit cards under her name.

Although DPS sent letters notifying people that they are among the thousands of fraud victims in March, the consultant said the suspicious activity began in November, when her recurring payments stopped working. Upon calling Chase Bank, she discovered her account had been closed, and after she logged into the Chase website, she further found two fraudulent $2,000 withdrawals made before her account was closed.

Although the withdrawals were resolved quickly, the victim said, the nightmare continued. She said that in February her family members, who were on the same family phone plan, got calls from T-Mobile informing them that had been attempts to request an eSIM card.

The digital SIM card would allow fraudsters to access her phone data.

The victim said that after hours on the line with the phone company, she was able to regain control of her data and confirm that her drivers license had been used to obtain the card  but not before the fraudsters had been able to briefly activate the eSIM card and access her mobile Chase bank app, where they downloaded several of her Chase credit cards and a debit card to the Apple Wallet app.

Fraudsters proceeded to go on a luxury shopping spree, spending $40,000, a Chase representative told her over the phone. A receipt from Louis Vuitton, viewed by NBC News, showed that the fraudsters spent more than $7,000 on the luxury brand alone.

A representative from T-Mobile confirmed that the companys care team had been in contact with the victim but was unable to share specifics due to privacy reasons.

Its not amateur, she said. They have a playbook, its happening very quickly, and they are not going through the traditional routes.

For months, the victim said, she was unsure why the attacks were happening, floating the theory that perhaps the T-Mobile security breach had something to do with it. It wasnt until she read NBC News article about the issue this month and a letter she eventually got from Sheri Gipson, the chief of DPS drivers license division, dated March 18, that she finally understood.

I realized I am the 3,000 people who have been affected, she said.

McCraw said that DPS opted to conduct a thorough investigation before it made the information public and that it alerted victims right away, but he said victims identifications could still have been used before they were notified.

The Department of Information Resources, which operates the Texas.gov website on which the IDs were ordered, denied a request for comment.

Ericka Miller, DPS press secretary, didnt comment on the investigation. She said in a statement that the department continues working with those customers affected by the recent security incident to assist them with securing appointments to come into an office and obtain a replacement driver license (DL) or identification card (ID).

The consultant is still concerned that her information could be compromised. While she has visited the DPS website for victims and spoken to seven representatives in the department, she said, she has been unable to suspend her license. And she fears shell remain unprotected until her appointment with the department in late April, when she can return to the U.S.

Still, she considers herself privileged given her language skills and technological know-how. An estimated one-third of Texans of Asian descent have limited English proficiency, defined as having difficulty communicating effectively in English, according to the nonprofit civic engagement and data group AAPI Data. Other organizations, including Asian Texans for Justice, have similarly demanded that DPS contact all victims and provide language assistance.

This is Texas, the victim said. Have it in Vietnamese. Have it in Chinese.

Miller didnt mention whether the letters themselves would be translated but said in the statement that the department will make a second round of attempts to contact victims who havent yet responded.Those notifications, she said, will include links to view the notices in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other languages.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Victoria Beckham posed by the pool in what she joked was a "casual little number". (Getty Images)

Victoria Beckham has divided fashion fans on social media after she unveiled a striking dress from her latest collection, which features a unique two-in-one design.

The designer, 48, could be seen posing by a pool in an Instagram photo in the head-turning blue and red dress from her spring/summer 2023 collection.

It featured a sky blue front section with a deep 'V' neckline and frill detailing, along with an exposed back and dramatic coral-red train.

Beckham posted the colour-block look, which is available to purchase online for 1,250, to her Instagram, captioning the image: "Just lounging round the pool in this casual little number!"

Colour-blocking has become somewhat of a recognisable signature for Beckham, who started her eponymous fashion label in 2008.

Stints in New York, London and Paris elevated the brand to a regular on Fashion Weeks schedules in the time since, and the mother-of-four successfully made the transition from former Spice Girl dipping her toe in the industry to competitive fashion label in three years, winning the Designer Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2011.

Read more: Rio Ferdinand on dining out with Victoria Beckham: 'I've never seen her eat anything'

But despite several bonafide designer credentials, the objective nature of fashion means, unfortunately, you will never please everyone.

So when she took to the social media platform to share her new design, it caused quite a stir in the comments section.

Some fans were left divided over how the dress is put together, with several users commenting on the split between the apron-style front and red carpet-style train.

"Beautiful red back then it gets totally wrecked by that blue monstrosity...," one person harshly commented, before recognising that "everyone has individual taste."

Another shared "no thanks" and a third "what on earth is that,: while a fourth, not appreciating the unusual shape of the dress added: "sorry looks like you've run out of material".

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Elsewhere, recognising the the colour combination, one user joked that "Spiderman was the inspiration".

However, others shared their praise for the design and especially the complimentary shades with two separate social media users telling her she looked like Wonder Woman and Superwoman.

Another declared her "the queen of colour blocking" and a fourth commented "stunning colours, beautiful design".

Read more: Victoria Beckham says 'wanting to be really thin' is 'an old-fashioned attitude'

Additionally, others deemed the look "absolutely gorgeous", a "stunning little number" and "so sexy".

It comes after the former Posh Spice shared that a black and ivory version of the same dress was "one of my favourite pieces from my new season collection".

Posting an image of her walking up a staircase in the frock on Instagram, she wrote: "Who doesnt love a backless dress!"

Once more, it left fans split, with influencer Stephanie Shepherd commenting that it was "insaneeeee", while another social media user joked "it looks like a cooking apron over a black dress".

Watch: Victoria Beckham pokes fun at David Beckham during joint gym session
Rick Milheim, 4th District Director of the Vietnam Veterans of America, places flags on a marker as the names of Fairfield County natives who gave their lives in the Vietnam War are read. Veterans and residents attended a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War ending on March 29, 2023, in Lancaster, Ohio.

LANCASTER  Wednesday marked 50 years since the last American troops left Vietnam, thus ending the United States' involvement in the war. But the memories still remain for those who fought in it.

"Personally, it's hard to believe it's been 50 years," city resident and Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 10 President Rick Milheim said. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't remember being there and what happened and the people I met. And I'm talking not only about our brothers and sisters in arms, but some of the fine local inhabitants and indigenous people in Vietnam with whom I became friends."

A tear rolls down the face of Larry Mitchell, 75 of Lancaster, as he listens to the names of Fairfield County natives who gave their lives in the Vietnam War are read. Mitchell served in the Army Fourth Infantry and served two tours in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969.

Milheim on Wednesday led his organization's ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary at the city's Vietnam War memorial at Main and Broad streets as March 29 is known as Vietnam War Veterans Day. The war raged on after the United States left, and did not officially end until April 30, 1975, with the fall of Saigon.

During the ceremony, he placed about 30 American flags around the memorial honoring those from Fairfield County killed in the war.

Milheim served from 1970 to 1970 in Vietnam with the army's security agency.

"Which we weren't there," he said referencing the unit's secrecy. "We were undercover. But we served in radio research. We weren't even actually allowed to wear our unit patch until after the war ended because there was a bounty on our heads from the Viet Cong."

The day after the military officially left Vietnam, Milheim returned to Saigon as a department of defense civilian worker.

Another Vietnam War veteran, Larry Mitchell, also attended the service and said he was glad he did.

"It's nice to be around all the veterans that are here," he said.

The Lancaster resident served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 in the army and received the Purple Heart.

Mayor David Scheffler read a proclamation and also learned something about how Vietnam War veterans are classified. Since he served during the war but was not in Vietnam, he's always considered himself a Vietnam War-era veteran. But during the service, Milheim said veterans such as Scheffler are considered full Vietnam War veterans.

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Scheffler served at Fort Polk, Louisiana, which he said was where many service personnel heading to Vietnam left from.

jbarron@gannett.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Vietnam War memories are still strong for veterans 50 years later
Virgin Orbit is ceasing operations for the foreseeable future after failing to secure a funding lifeline, CEO Dan Hart told employees during an all-hands meeting on Thursday afternoon, and will layoff about 90% of its workforce.

Unfortunately weve not been able to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company, Hart said, according to audio of the 5 p.m. ET meeting obtained by CNBC.

Hart has been giving the companys employees brief daily updates since Monday, when Virgin Orbit last minute delayed a scheduled all-hands meeting to Thursday. Late-stage deal talks had fallen through with a pair of investors over the weekend, but Hart told staff on Monday that very dynamic investment discussions were continuing.

Those investor discussions continued this week  with Hart saying leadership would share any updates as quickly and transparently as we can, noting that leaking emails is against company policy, according to copies of Harts emails from Tuesday and Wednesday obtained by CNBC.

The company this week has steadily been bringing back more of its over 750 employees from the operational pause and furlough it began on March 15, after initially resuming some work with a small team on March 22. Amid the broader pause, Virgin Orbit has been working to finish its investigation into the mid-flight failure of its previous launch, as well as finish preparations on its next rocket.

A Virgin Orbit representative did not immediately respond to CNBCs request for comment.

Virgin Orbit stock closed at 34 cents a share on Thursday, having fallen 82% since the beginning of the year.

Virgin Orbit developed a system that uses a modified 747 jet to send satellites into space by dropping a rocket from under the aircrafts wing mid-flight. But the companys last mission suffered a mid-flight failure, with an issue during the launch causing the rocket to not reach orbit and crash into the ocean.

The company has been looking for new funds for several months, with majority owner Sir Richard Branson unwilling to fund the company further.

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Virgin Orbit was spun out of Bransons Virgin Galactic in 2017 and counts the billionaire as its largest stakeholder, with 75% ownership. Mubadala, the Emirati sovereign wealth fund, holds the second-largest stake in Virgin Orbit, at 18%.

The company hired bankruptcy firms to draw up contingency plans in the event it is unable to find a buyer or investor. Branson has first priority over Virgin Orbits assets, as the company raised $60 million in debt from the investment arm of Virgin Group.

On the same day that Hart told employees that Virgin Orbit was pausing operations, its board of directors approved a golden parachute severance plan for top executives, in case they are terminated following a change in control of the company.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Orbit. Mark Greenberg

Richard Branson's satellite company, Virgin Orbit, is ceasing operations "for the foreseeable future," according to CNBC.

The company is also laying off 85% of its workforce after failing to secure much-needed additional funding.

Virgin Orbit was spun out of Branson's space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, in 2017.

Virgin Orbit is laying off nearly all of its staff and reportedly ceasing operations "for the foreseeable future."

The massive headcount cut came after the ailing company reportedly announced an operational pause on March 16 as it worked to secure additional cash.

"Unfortunately, we've not been able to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company," CEO Dan Hart told employees, according to audio of a company all-hands meeting obtained by CNBC.

Hart reportedly told employees that the company had "no choice" but to implement "extremely painful changes," including laying off nearly all of the company's staff.

On Thursday, the company disclosed that it would cut 675 employees, or approximately 85% of its workforce, in a filing with the SEC.

CNBC reported that Virgin Orbit would offer severance packages for departing staff and a partnership with its sister company, Virgin Galactic, for hiring.

Virgin Orbit's stock plunged in after-hours trading on Thursday, falling 40%. The company did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Virgin Orbit spun off from billionaire Richard Branson's space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, in 2017. At the time, the company said it would better position Virgin Orbit to serve the small-satellite industry. Branson owns 75% of Virgin Orbit, according to CNBC.

The spun-off venture offered lower-cost launch-to-orbit services for small satellites.

Earlier this year, the company attempted to launch 9 satellites from the UK, but the company's launcher failed to reach orbit.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Five-star offensive tackle Brandon Baker will headline Tennessees recruiting weekend, according to Keegan Pope of On3.

It will be Bakers first visit to Tennessee.

The 6-foot-5, 285-pound offensive tackle is from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.

Baker is the No. 23 overall prospect in the class of 2024. He ranks as the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 1 player in California, according to 247Sports.

He earned second-team MaxPreps Junior All-American honors and was named first-team All-County by the Orange County Register last season. Baker also earned second-team MaxPreps Sophomore All-American honors in 2021.

No. 1 prospect in Maryland schedules visit to Tennessee

More Recruiting!

Wide receiver Garrett Young commits to Vols, discusses Josh Heupel's offense Twitter reaction to quarterback Jake Merklinger committing to Vols No. 1 quarterback in Georgia announces commitment to Tennessee Vols scheduled to host No. 1 in-state athlete this weekend No. 1 prospect in Maryland schedules visit to Tennessee

Follow @VolsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Tennessee news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Zach McKinnell on Twitter @zachmckinnell

Story originally appeared on Vols Wire
A Bremerton man was arrested Thursday on an indictment charging him with ten counts of swatting, which is a federal felony. The suspect allegedly proclaimed himself to be a cyber terrorist to others online and broadcast himself over the internet making the calls.

Swatting is defined as the malicious practice of making hoax emergency calls to an emergency service, such as a police department, to falsely report an ongoing emergency at a particular location, according to the indictment document.

The 20-year-old male suspect, Ashton Connor Garcia, had allegedly made more than 20 swatting calls between June and September 2022 to law enforcement in 11 states and even Canada, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Fortunately, no one was hurt as law enforcement responded to Mr. Garcias swatting calls, stated Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Seattle field office in the news release. However, it is impossible to quantify the significant harm caused by his actions, which affected communities across the nation.

Garcia is being charged with 10 counts of the following crimes:

Two counts of extortion

Three counts of threats and hoaxes

Interstate threats

Hoaxes regarding firearms

Hoaxes regarding aircraft

Two counts of threats and hoaxes regarding explosives

A copy of the indictment states that Garcia threatened to harass certain people and organizations. He obtained personal information from his victims, including dates of birth, addresses and identities of family members. Some of his friends online requested him to swat certain targets.

The indictment file elaborates that Garcia demanded money, credit card information or sexual photographs from those he targeted. If the victims didnt comply, Garcia threatened to place a swatting call.

In his calls, Garcia falsely claimed that he and others planted explosives at certain locations, the document states. He also claimed that other people he was targeting had committed murders, rape, had kidnapped someone, or possessed dangerous weapons like explosives or firearms. On multiple occasions, he even falsely reported hostage situations.

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Every time Mr. Garcia is alleged to have made one of his false reports to law enforcement, he triggered a potentially deadly event  sending heavily armed police officers to an address where they mistakenly believed they would confront someone who was armed and dangerous, stated U.S. Attorney Nick Brown in the news release.

The document continues, stating that law enforcement responded to many of Garcias phony allegations. On some occasions, armed authorities entered and detained individuals that Garcia targeted. This created a volatile and potentially lethal situation for responding law enforcement officers and scared victims who misunderstood the true nature of the situation they were confronting, the indictment file states.

Garcia made his first appearance in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Thursday. The FBI is continuing to investigate the case with support from local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada.

Threats and hoaxes involving explosives are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, the news release states. Other hoaxes and crimes Garcia is alleged to have committed are punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Those convicted of extortion can face up to two years.

The crimes Garcia is being charged with involve him reporting false information to rouse a power response from authorities. In Washington state, a person is guilty of false reporting in the first degree if  the report was made with reckless disregard for the safety of others, the false reporting caused an emergency response, and death is sustained by any person as a proximate result of an emergency response.

What to do if youre swatted

Situations involving swatting are potentially lethal. In 2019, a California man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for reporting a fabricated hostage situation that led to the death of an innocent man. Celebrities have also been targets to swatting perpetrators, including Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Tom Cruise and others.

Swatting can happen anywhere, and victims are confused and thrown off guard when forced to comply with law enforcement. Legal information website FindLaw explains what to do if youre ever the victim of a swatting prank.
Chinese envoy urges armed groups in DR Congo to end all violence

Xinhua) 09:20, March 31, 2023

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called on armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to end all their violent activities and withdraw from occupied areas.

Continued attacks by armed groups in the eastern DRC may worsen the security situation in the country despite active efforts made by the DRC government to advance security sector reform, combating armed groups, promoting economic development and preparing for general elections, said Dai Bing, charge d'affaires of China's permanent mission to the United Nations (UN) at a UN Security Council briefing.

"Ceasefire and cessation of violence are top priorities," he said.

Dai said that with the help of the African Union and regional countries such as Angola, the March 23 Movement armed group agreed to a ceasefire and dialogue in early March.

The envoy called on the international community to vigorously support humanitarian responses, pointing to "enormous humanitarian needs" in eastern DRC due to the worsening situation.

Relevant UN agencies and the DRC government should work together to maximize the benefit of their humanitarian assessments and ensure the safe and smooth delivery of supplies, he said.

While meeting short-term humanitarian needs, the international community should also help the DRC strengthen its capacity for independent development in accordance with its actual needs, said Dai.

He said China implements cooperation with the DRC on the basis of mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win results, adding that the cooperation projects have achieved remarkable results in supporting local industrial development, expanding employment and improving people's livelihood, and have been welcomed by the DRC government and its people.

"China would like to work with the international community to make more contributions to the peace and development of the DRC," said Dai.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
HANOI, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi was the most expensive place to live in the Southeast Asian country in 2022, according to a recent report on living costs published by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

The northern province of Quang Ninh ranked second on the list of the top five most expensive cities and provinces, followed by southern Ho Chi Minh City, central Da Nang city and southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Friday, citing the report.

Central Quang Tri province was found to be the locality with the lowest Spatial Cost of Living Index (SCOLI) in 2022, followed by Tra Vinh, Ben Tre, Soc Trang and Nam Dinh.

The Red River Delta retained its position as the most expensive region in the country, with the Northern Midland and Mountainous region and Southeast region following closely behind, according to the report.

The Mekong Delta region has the lowest cost of living, largely thanks to the low prices of food and catering services. These prices are low due to the region's intensive farming methods and favourable soil and climate conditions for agricultural production, said the report.

Despite swift and unpredictable developments in the global economy last year, the SCOLI index in 2022 in Vietnam did not change much compared to 2021. Consumer goods are abundant with a diverse distribution system, so the prices of goods and services in localities did not fluctuate much, the report said.

The SCOLI is a relative indicator that reflects the difference in consumer goods and services prices among localities and regions during a certain period.

It can be used as a reference for socioeconomic development policies or for businesses to assess competitiveness in terms of prices, market share and product costs. 
A man worked at Walmart for years before he started experiencing seizures beyond his control  ultimately costing him his job as a manager, a federal lawsuit filed in North Carolina said.

Walmart first hired him as a cashier at the store located along Town Drive in Raleigh in 2012, according to the lawsuit. He was repeatedly promoted over the next few years until April 2017, when he began having seizures needing medical treatment which caused lateness and absences, the lawsuit said.

To fully recover from a seizure, it could take him 45 minutes up to an entire day, as it made him lose consciousness, bite his tongue and lose control of his bowels, a complaint filed March 30 says.

Despite multiple doctors notes given to Walmart about the reason behind his absences  and requesting medical leave as an accommodation for his disability  he was ultimately demoted to a deli position and fired, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Now, the EEOC is suing Walmart, accusing it of disability discrimination in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act by firing the employee, the agency announced in a March 30 news release.

Employees with disabilities should be able to seek medical treatment without fear of losing their jobs, Melinda C. Dugas, a regional attorney for the EEOCs Charlotte District, said in a statement.

Walmart is reviewing the complaint and plans to respond in court, Marci Burks, Walmarts director of corporate affairs, told McClatchy News in a statement on March 31.

We dont tolerate discrimination of any kind and take allegations like this seriously, Burks statement on behalf of the company said.

Employees seizure at Walmart sends him to emergency room

The employee was working at Walmart when a seizure sent him to the emergency room on July 25, 2017, the complaint says. He had returned to work that day after being absent due to a seizure requiring medical treatment the day before, according to the complaint.

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Over the next few months, subsequent seizures caused him to miss work and his disability intensified by January 2018, the complaint says.

With his seizures being more frequent, the employee was demoted to a deli sales associate position due to his disablity-related absences, according to the complaint.

In June 2018, his co-worker, an assistant store manager, told him to watch his absences even though by this point he had requested a disability-related accommodation, the complaint says.

On Aug. 4, 2018, the employee arrived at work and was told he was fired, according to the complaint.

Although the employee explained he had a disability, that his absences were due to his disability, and that he had requested a disability-related reasonable accommodation, Walmart denied his requests for reasonable accommodations, the complaint says.

The EEOC first tried to reach a pre-litigation settlement with Walmart before filing the lawsuit, the agency said in the release.

It aims to recover back pay and compensatory damages for the former Walmart employee, according to the release.

Papa Johns fired blind employee for needing his service dog in Georgia, lawsuit says

Woman gets hired for job  then position is pulled because shes deaf, lawsuit says

McDonalds fires man who worked there 37 years because he has autism, lawsuit says
OLDMANS TWP. - Walmart is preparing to eliminate 201 jobs at a distribution center here.

The retail giant will close its warehouse in the Pedricktown section on June 2, according to a notice filed with the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development.

South Jersey Walmart workers to lose jobs

Workers at the Gateway Boulevard site include order fillers, packers and lift drivers, the WARN notice says.

"We expect the employment separations to be permanent," Walmart said in its notice. "There are no recall or bumping rights."

It said workers can apply for open positions at Walmart and Sam's Club stores, with severance pay "subject to eligibility requirements" after a paid job-search period.

The statement did not specify the length of the paid job-search period.

"In addition we are providing associates with support options," the notice said.

Walmart earnings fell

A Walmart representative did not respond to requests for comment.

The retailer in February reported its consolidated net income fell by 5.5 percent in its last fiscal year, to $5.6 billion.

It reported annual revenue of $611.3 billion, a 6.7 percent increase.

Warehouse employment in South Jersey took a similar blow in February, when a Delanco grocery-delivery service announced plans to close a distribution center with 446 workers.

Misfits Market said its Coopertown Road facility is to shut down by April 8.

It said the closing resulted from the acquisition last year of a similar food-delivery firm, Imperfect Foods.The combined company plans to focus on smaller fulfillment centers

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Walmart job cuts coming for workers at distribution center
Are you looking to switch jobs? Perhaps youve thought, If only I could trap and kill Washingtons most infamous and painful insect and get paid for it.

Well, have we got the new career for you.

The state Department of Agriculture is looking to hire a giant hornet and wood boring insect trapper. Translation: Sherlock Holmes the heck out of the so-called murder hornet and terminate with extreme prejudice.

Murder hornet is the name the news media has given to the invasive northern giant hornet from Japan that first appeared in Washington in 2019. Its resume is impressive:

 Worlds largest hornet.

 Can attack and destroy a honey bee colony in hours.

 Able to sting repeatedly with venom more painful and toxic than bees; a sensation described as like being stabbed by a red-hot needle.

Your resume, should you want the job, should include a bachelors degree in entomology, plant pathology, horticulture, botany, agronomy or closely allied field or the equivalent education/experience.

Youll head a team of five insect trappers who place stinging and non-stinging insect traps, handle live stinging insects and potentially remove stinging insect nests. Yes, stinging is the theme here.

All Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required will be provided by the agency, the listing states.

One job requirement that should go without saying: Willingness to work with live stinging and biting insects.

The job is a seasonal position from now through December. The salary ranges from from $2,956 to $3,915 monthly.

Youll be working for the Ag Dept.s Pest Program. It conducts surveys and controls agricultural pest and disease activity throughout the state.

In addition to the murder hornet, pests the department traps and monitors include the Japanese beetle, spongy moth, apple maggot, snails, pathogens with nearly unpronounceable names and an aquatic grass called Spartina.

Regardless of the threat, pest program employees use cutting edge technology, scientific processes, and teamwork to protect some of Washingtons most valuable agricultural crops, the job listing states.

Apply at careers.wa.gov.
The author in 2018, around the time when she'd received a surprising call from her nurse.

The author in 2018, around the time when she'd received a surprising call from her nurse.

Months into the process of trying to become pregnant with my gay friends sperm, I got a phone call that changed everything.

What do you mean he cant be the father? I asked.

Patiently, the nurse explained it all again: How initially, my fertility clinic had supported my desire to use a known sperm donor  a close friend who had agreed to help me achieve my dream of becoming a mother  though now it seemed they could not. These last blood tests didnt come out as wed expected.

This came as a shock. By then, Id already paid thousands of dollars to have my eggs removed and frozen; my friend had endured the discomforts of, for instance, donating sperm in a clinic back room furnished exclusively with heterosexual porn  videos and magazines with titles like Everybody Loves Bri! placed there primarily to aid married heterosexual male patients  and attending awkward interviews where he was required to say aloud what the clinic administrators already knew from his intake form: Was he sexually active? Had he ever had intercourse with men?

Moreover, we had signed copious consent forms and legal contracts, and disclosed our entire health histories  hereditary patterns, illnesses, surgeries, and infections, including a minor STI that my donor had been successfully treated for years earlier.

But we told you about that months ago, I replied to the nurse.

The problem, apparently, was mathematical: a minuscule level of antibody still showing up in my friends blood  and a little-known FDA regulation stating that before a man can become a sperm donor, any related infection must be effectively treated. His had been, but, given the way the clinics policies were written, he was nonetheless being denied. I would need to find another donor, preferably an anonymous one from our local sperm bank  someone my child would likely never meet.

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But, my breath caught, hes the babys father. And although I planned to raise our child on my own, my friend wanted to remain involved as a family member, attending birthday parties and school graduations, offering advice and an occasional shoulder to cry on. Someone to love my child fully and without condition, as I would. Nothing seemed more significant than that.

The sperm bank has many other great donors, the nurse assured me. We work with them all the time.

This, I already knew. Months earlier  long before Id mustered up the courage to ask my friend if he wanted to be involved and hed enthusiastically agreed  Id read through those glowing profiles at the local sperm bank. Did I, for instance, want my child to have musical talent? Or a scientific mind? Impressive physical stature? Or perfectly clear blue eyes? Reading through those lists was dizzying. Maybe my kid would one day ace the LSATs? Or become an Olympic athlete?

Its not that I didnt care if they wound up smart and successful, but I also wanted to be able to share with them sweet stories about their fathers childhood and offer wisdom from their grandparents lives. I wanted my child, if possible, to get to know where they came from and to have it be from a person I knew and loved. So it wasnt perfection I sought, but family.

Please, I begged the nurse before she hung up. I just want to have my baby.

Im sorry, she answered  and I believed she truly was, though nothing, it seemed, could be done.

***

Born during the handful of years between Roe v. Wade and the first successful birth from in vitro fertilization, Id been told all my life that I had a choice about when and how to start a family. Making use of that apparent freedom, moreover, had felt like a responsibility: something I owed the women before me, like my gay mother, who, after two closeted decades, had finally left her heterosexual marriage. Or her mother, married to an abusive man until the day he died. Or my other grandmother, who sought an illegal abortion at the outbreak of WWII. If earlier generations had fought for the right to choose, it seemed like I should use it.

More recently, reaching forty and finding myself still single, Id decided to have a child alone. This meant my new family wouldnt be conventional, but I was OK with that. The one I come from isnt, either. Id also never assumed that being a single mother would be easy, though Id certainly never imagined that I wouldnt have the freedom to choose my childs biological father.

The author at age 2 with her mother on a trip to California to meet relatives.

The author at age 2 with her mother on a trip to California to meet relatives.

Ill sign anything, I promised, calling up my doctor again the following week. Indemnify the clinic  accept all risk.

As it turned out, though, there wasnt any risk.

You mean, nothing bad could happen to me? Or the baby?

Not in IVF, she confirmed, which, due to my age, had already been decided on as my path to pregnancy. While some other, less complex fertility treatments might use more of the fathers biological material, for IVF, a single sperm is removed and isolated, placed inside a single egg and grown for several days in the lab. After that, its placed back inside the uterus, without reasonable risk of infection.

Then why does it matter? I asked.

I certainly wouldnt suggest that risks shouldnt be mitigated, or that male donors shouldnt, when relevant, be asked to complete medical treatment before donating sperm, but the unstated assumption seemed to be that gay men are unlikely ever to be free of such infection. Even in a liberal city like Seattle, where I live, our local sperm bank cannot allow a sexually active gay man to donate at their labs regardless of specific health history, due to the same FDA policy.

If he was my partner, I asked, would this matter?

No, the clinic admitted. Married heterosexual men have different rights because they are considered fathers, not donors. Although they may be asked to take precautions, they would not be similarly denied. But we were  a single woman with a loving gay friend. The two of us, it seemed, could not create a life together. At least not without a fight.

Wed need evidence, my doctor explained, to further consider your case.

Even though theres no risk?

Even so.

All right, I agreed. After all, my only option was an anonymous heterosexual donor. And under the pressures of such policies, I realized that people like me  with one gay and one straight parent  are effectively being eliminated from our countrys future. Moreover, my own body was being asked to participate in the erasure of people like me, who come from families that are anything less than perfectly straight. And I refused.

Instead, I spent months tracking down obscure policy documents and acquiring letters and testimonials from experts and public health officials documenting the fact that my friends antibody titration levels did indeed fall within accepted medical limits, and that we were being denied for reasons of policy rather than medical need. Even so, the process dragged on. Each time we submitted another document supporting our case, the clinic asked for more  three letters, four, five, six. So much evidence for what we already knew: that my friend was safe, and so was I. That our child had as much of a right to exist as any did.

Finally, nearly a year after Id begun the process, the nurse called again  this time with good news. Weve updated our policy, she explained, and I was stunned. Yes, she confirmed, it was true: I had indeed earned the right to become pregnant with my friends sperm.

Exhausted by then, and still rattled by it all, I thanked her. Then again, a few weeks later, she called with another happy update. After fertilization in the lab, our embryo was alive and well. All the requisite genetic testing had been conducted, and theyd confirmed that our baby-to-be was healthy  and male.

Were going to have a little boy! my friends voice rang euphoric through the phone line when I told him.

Yes, I breathed, deliriously happy, as it all became more real. Finally, we were going to have our baby  finally, it all began to feel worth it.

The author meeting her best friend's new baby in 2015.

The author meeting her best friend's new baby in 2015.

At the time, I had no idea how unlikely our victory was. I didnt yet know, for instance, that our local sperm banks exclusion of gay donors is consistent with that of sperm banks across the country, despite the need for more BIPOC sperm donors and ongoing updates to regulations on blood donation by gay men. Instead, sperm banks still decline to accept gay donors, citing the same FDA policy that had challenged me and that my fertility clinic had eventually found a way  at least with respect to my known donor  to work around.

For a time, though, I didnt have to think about all that. While I waited through the next several weeks of IVF medications, our lives became mercifully quiet, leading up to that tiny, healthy embryo  my precious, week-old son  being placed inside me. Thereafter, those early, joyful days surprised me, more than anything, with their peacefulness. Such quiet intimacy, such relief  until more devastating news hit.

Although I do not blame anyone in particular  not my clinic or its former policies, not the FDA and its slow progress toward equity  for what happened when our baby miscarried, neither can I help but wonder what might have happened instead without all that additional, and truly unnecessary, stress or the implicit message that the life Id hoped to create was not welcomed by the systems around me. Would my pregnancy have held? Would my child have lived? I can never know.

***

A pair of years later, we had some other cause for celebration when I attended my former sperm donors wedding. Among those lovely late summer blooms, my friend and his longtime partner shared their vows, though no child of mine was present, tucked warm against my lap through the service, or grasping toward his father in the receiving line. It was a lovely event regardless, held in Washington state, where we didnt necessarily have to worry whether or not the still pending Respect for Marriage Act would pass  though wed all be glad when it did.

Even so, we also knew that such legislation, by itself, isnt enough. Families are created in all kinds of ways  we have made ours, my friend and I, by way of shared community and enduring love. Though we do also, in quieter moments, still admit to each other what weve lost. For all of our respective joys, we still miss that other life, the one wed tried so hard to create  the one that perhaps the world wasnt yet ready for.

Writer and educator Susan V. Meyers directs Seattle Universitys Creative Writing Program. Her novel Failing the Trapeze won the Nilsen award, and other work has recently appeared in The Rumpus, Creative Nonfiction, and New Orleans Review. She is at work on a memoir about reproductive rights and a novel about her familys history in the circus. You can find her at susanvmeyers.com.

Do you have a compelling personal story youd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what were looking for here and send us a pitch.

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Thomas Cashman

The war in Ukraine is likely to result in more guns on the streets of Merseyside in the coming years, a firearms expert has said.

Paul James, who founded the National Ballistics Intelligence Service, said that the Balkans conflict had previously been the main source of guns trafficked into Europe.

Mr James said that the risk of a large influx of weaponry from Ukraine to the UK was very similar.

He said: Weve done a lot of work down in the western Balkans where a lot of firearms have been coming across to Europe over the last decade.

The risk from Ukraine is equally as big if not bigger, because of the number of weapons that are actually being issued and probably not being registered. So I do think there is a real risk.

The weapons enabled a lot of the organised crime in the Merseyside area, Mr James added.

The warning came the day after Thomas Cashman, 34, a local drug dealer, was convicted of the murder of nine year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in a bungled gangland hit at her home in Dovecot, Liverpool.

Mr James, a former detective who has 30 years experience dealing with all types of serious and organised crime, said that the Glock pistol used in the shooting was the weapon of choice for top level criminals in the UK.

He said: Its really difficult to get hold of really good quality firearms like a Glock.

Most of the shootings we see on the streets, certainly at youth gang level, are converted blank firers or reactivated weapons. Theyre nowhere near as good as the proper guns.

Mr James said the gun would probably have cost several thousands of pounds on the black market and could only be obtained through high-level underworld contacts.

Cashman used two firearms in the shooting, the second being a 0.38 calibre revolver. Neither has been recovered.

Mr James said he was confident that both weapons would now have been destroyed as the jeopardy for anyone found using them in future shootings was far too high.

He added: I would bet my mortgage that they have been destroyed and the police will never recover them.

Story continues

On Thursday, Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen, head of investigations at Merseyside Police, warned that forces had already seen Czech-manufactured Skorpion machine pistols being used by criminals in the UK over the past two years.

Speaking after Cashman was found guilty following an 18 day trial at Manchester Crown Court, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said the investigation into the shooting was not over.

She added: We are still hunting down those people who enabled that murder to take place  who supplied the gun, where the gun is  and we will carry on until we identify those people responsible.

Alan Walsh, a Liverpool youth worker, said on Friday that the culture of not speaking to police had still not completely changed following Olivia Pratt-Korbels death.

Speaking on Radio 4s Today programme, Mr Walsh, who founded the Real Men Dont Carry Knives charity, said: I honestly believe there are levels where people will talk to police. And that case was at a level where everyone realised what was right and wrong and people had to share information at that time.

But Im not going to sit here and say it has changed peoples minds completely because it hasnt.

Theres still going to be an acceptance of what you can tell and what you cant tell and thats something we are always working on to break that down.
Sign up for the Happiness is a Warm TV newsletter here.

Heres whats on TV tonight.

Dateline: Justice for Kristin Smart (9 p.m., NBC)

The parents of Kristin Smart, the college student who disappeared on her college campus in 1996, talk for the first time since their daughters killer was sentenced.

Denise and Stan Smart speak in an exclusive network interview with Josh Mankiewicz about the sentencing of Paul Flores. Stan Smart addresses his frustration with the California Polytechnic State University campus polices handling of the initial investigation after Kristin disappeared while walking home from an off-campus party. She was declared legally dead in 2002 but her body has never been found.

The episode also features interviews with insiders connected to the case, including San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office detective Clint Cole, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson, Your Own Backyard podcast host Chris Lambert, prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle, witnesses to the night Kristin disappeared, her college friends and more.

20/20: Running Out of Time (9 p.m., ABC)

20/20 also takes on the mishandled case of a murdered college student. The show teams with ESPN to explore the 2018 murder of University of Utah student-athlete Lauren McCluskey.

McCluskey was killed by her boyfriend, who misled her about his identity and background, and stalked and harassed her when she broke up with him. McCluskeys former boyfriend was Melvin Rowland, a 37-year-old sex offender who had recently been released from prison. McCluskey ended the relationship when she learned this, and contacted campus police when he began extorting and harassing her. For one week, McCluskey repeatedly asked campus police, local law enforcement and school officials for help, but did not receive it. She was then kidnapped on her way back from class and later found dead in a car.

The episode is anchored by David Muir and examines the events and investigates the institutional failures associated with the McCluskeys killing. There is reporting from ESPNs T.J. Quinn and Nicole Noren, plus interviews with Laurens parents, Jill and Matt McCluskey; the Utah attorney general; a former campus police officer; and others connected to the case.

This streams the next day on Hulu and is available to stream now on ESPN+

Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.
Everman police held a press conference Friday afternoon to give the latest updates on the search for missing 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alverez.

Noels mother and stepfather flew from Dallas-Fort Worth to India with six other children last week, two days before an Amber Alert was issued for Noel.

Watch the video here.

Noel has still not been found, but his mother and stepfather are now facing a felony charge of abandonment and endangerment of a child, police said Friday. A warrant was issued Friday and authorities are working to extradite the couple from India back to the U.S.

Police dug up part of a concrete patio on the property where the family lived on Wisteria Drive, but that search did not find anything, they said.

Police said they dug into the patio because they detected an anomaly in the concrete. They said they have not found any evidence to indicate that Noel is dead.

Police had planned to share video of the press conference on YouTube but the video wasnt streaming.

This is a developing story. For the latest updates, sign up for breaking news alerts.
By Karen Freifeld, Tyler Clifford and Nathan Layne

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump is due to be fingerprinted and photographed in a New York courthouse next week as he becomes the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges in a case involving a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump's expected appearance before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday, as the Republican mounts a bid to regain the presidency, could further inflame divisions in the United States. A New York judge in a document unsealed on Friday authorized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, to disclose that Trump had been indicted, but it was not clear when the specific charges would be made public.

Trump plans to fly to New York on Monday from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and spend the night at Trump Tower before appearing in court early on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump plans to return to Florida afterward, the source said.

Susan Necheles, a Trump attorney, told Reuters he will plead not guilty. Necheles said she did not expect the charges to be unsealed until Tuesday.

"I am not afraid of what's to come," Trump said in a fundraising email on Friday.

For nearly two weeks, Trump has been using the various legal troubles he faces to rally supporters and raise money as he seeks his party's nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden next year in a rematch of the 2020 election. His campaign said Trump raised more than $4 million in the 24 hours following the news of his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury.

The first American president to try to overthrow an election defeat, inspiring the deadly 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, has signaled he will continue to run despite the charges.

Biden on Friday kept his thoughts on the charges against his political rival to himself, telling reporters: "I'm not going to talk about Trump's indictment."

Story continues

After word surfaced on Thursday about the indictment, Trump called himself "completely innocent" and a victim of political persecution.

On Friday, Trump lashed out at Justice Juan Merchan, the judge expected to oversee the case. Trump wrote on social media that Merchan, who also presided over last year's trial in which his real estate company was convicted of tax fraud, "HATES ME" and treated the Trump Organization "VICIOUSLY." Trump was not charged in that case, which also was handled by Bragg's office.

The specific charges in the new indictment are not yet known, though CNN reported that Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud and the Associated Press reported the former president faced at least one felony charge.

Another Trump lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, said Trump will not have to wear handcuffs at his court appearance and will likely be released without having to post bail.

"He's ready to fight. He's gearing up," Tacopina said in a phone interview.

Any potential trial is still at least more than a year away, legal experts said, meaning it could occur during or after the presidential campaign.

PARTISAN BRAWL

Trump, 76, has accused Bragg of trying to damage his electoral chances. Trump's claims have been echoed by many of his fellow Republicans and his potential rivals in the race for the party's presidential nomination.

Mike Pence, Trump's former vice president and a possible 2024 candidate, said the charges send a "terrible message" to the world about U.S. justice.

"I'm very troubled by it," Pence said at a forum in Washington.

Ahead of the indictment, the grand jury heard evidence about a $130,000 payment to Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

"It's vindication," Daniels told the Times of London. "He's done so much worse that he should have been taken down (for) before."

Senior House of Representatives Republicans have vowed to investigate Bragg and demanded he hand over documents and other confidential material from the investigation. Bragg said Congress does not have authority to interfere with a New York legal proceeding and accused the lawmakers of escalating political tensions. Bragg's office has been the target of bomb threats in recent weeks.

"You and many of your colleagues have chosen to collaborate with Mr. Trump's efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of elected state prosecutors and trial judges," Bragg wrote in a letter to Republican lawmakers.

Aside from this case, Trump faces two federal criminal investigations into his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Trump also faces a separate Georgia investigation into his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss in that state.

Officials have stepped up security around the courthouse in New York since Trump on March 18 called on his supporters to protest any arrest. A law enforcement source said police would close streets around the courthouse ahead of Tuesday's expected appearance.

On Friday, media outlets were set up outside the courthouse but there was no sign of unrest or protests related to the case.

Trump appealed this month for nationwide protests, recalling his charged rhetoric ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, and warned last week of potential "death & destruction" if he were charged.

Outside Mar-a-Lago, about a dozen people waved Trump flags and cheered as cars passed by.

Sonja Simpson, 62, said the payment to Daniels was not a public concern.

"If there were a thing, that's between him, that woman and his wife. Period. Let them work it out," Simpson said.

Merchandise vendor Ronald Solomon said sales of Trump-themed hats and t-shirts were up sharply after the charges were announced.

Some 44% of Republicans said Trump should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.

The former president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump has denied having had sexual relationships with either woman, but has acknowledged reimbursing Cohen.

Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said he acted at Trump's direction.

(Additional reporting by Rich McKay, Tim Reid, Alexandra Ulmer, Doina Chiacu, Kanishka Singh, Costas Pitas and Katharine Jackson; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Will Dunham, Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)
Black women in Congress  specifically Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)  are taking the lead in trying to revive the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to guarantee equal rights for all Americans regardless of gender.

The ERA, a subject of furious debate a half-century ago, would be the 28th amendment to the Constitution if affirmed by Congress. Already, 38 states have ratified the amendment, and 27 states have their own ERAs in their state constitutions.

Much has changed since the battles over the ERA first began, but the leadership of Black women has been a constant.

Black women have always been leaders of the fight to enshrine equality in our nations constitution, but we havent always been in the headlines for leading that work, Bush noted in remarks outside the Capitol this week.

She and Pressley are co-chairing the newly founded Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment and continuing a long pattern of Black women advocating for equal rights  even when they themselves were often left out of the history books.

The early Black women intellectuals and activists didnt get a lot of attention because there was sexism and patriarchal thinking in Black communities and racism in white communities, said Sharon Harley, a historian and professor of Black womens labor history and racial and gender politics at University of Maryland.

Some of the most prominent women involved in the fight for gender equality go back to the 1800s, when abolitionists and suffragettes like Maria Stewart and Sojourner Truth spearheaded the fight for racial and gender equality for Black women.

When you look at these women, what you see are patterns of activist resistance, Harley said. Black women have been critical to progressive thinking, progressive activism, and theres a long history of Black womens engagement in suffrage paralleled by both sexism and racism.

When Black women tell their story  its a universal story of oppression, economic injustice and the like, Harley continued. Their story resonates with other groups, men and women, but theyre often telling a story that I think maybe some Caucasian women may be reluctant to tell, reluctant to admit, but it resonates. Theyre talking about sexual violence, and the abuse of the Black female body. This is something that is universal.

Story continues

But that doesnt mean Black womens experiences were often honored, in part due to a conflict of interest between white feminism and what professor Nadia E. Brown calls Black feminist pedagogy.

Black feminist epistemology of knowing the world and a pedagogy of teaching the world about the world have always centered on the combination of not being able to fight racism or sexism, or any other forms of oppression like classism or heterosexism; theyve always had to do them in tandem, said Brown, chair of the Womens and Gender Studies Program and affiliate in the African American Studies program at Georgetown University.

Black feminists would often point out that talking about gendered wrongs doesnt always address racialized wrongs, Brown added, leading to tensions between white suffragists and Black suffragists.

When Black men won the right to vote in 1870, Black women were told there was no room for them in the suffrage movement, and white suffragists began to use a racialized fear-based agenda to garner support.

A particular tactic that white suffragists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony used to ensure that theyll get southerners on board with womens suffrage was to denigrate universal male suffrage by saying that Black men who are uneducated are going to rape and pillage communities if you give them the right to vote, Brown explained. Theyre pitting womens interests against racialized interests.

This agenda would continue throughout the 1900s as womens rights advocates organized and marched. In 1913, the National American Woman Suffrage Association planned a march on Washington in the name of womens suffrage. Organized by Alice Paul, a young, white, college-educated Quaker, the original plan was to exclude Black suffragists before allowing them to march  segregated  at the very end of the parade.

Despite this history of exclusion, Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) told advocates and reporters outside the Capitol this week that Black women never gave up.

In the 1970s, Black women like Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, former Rep. Barbara Jordan, scholar and activist Pauli Murray, and lawyer Florynce Kennedy shared personal experiences of battling racism and sexism as Black women to express their support for the 28th Amendment.

As a freshman in congress, Chisholm immediately threw her support behind the ERA after former Rep. Martha Griffiths (D-Mich.) introduced the bill. Chisholms landmark For the Equal Rights Amendment highlighted how the ERA would apply to due process, criminal sentencing, jury duty and labor laws.

When men and women are prevented from recognizing one anothers essential humanity by sexual prejudices, nourished by legal as well as social institutions, society as a whole remains less than it could otherwise become, Chisholm said.

The work of these women has been cited across the nation as other Black women have continued to lead the fight for the ERA.

In 2017, Nevada ratified the ERA under the primary sponsorship of State Sen. Pat Spearman. Following Spearmans lead, Illinois State Rep. Juliana Stratton spoke extensively on the House floor in favor of ERA ratification, which the state finally ratified in May 2018. Stratton went on to become the first African American elected Lieutenant Governor of the state.

And in 2020, then-state Sen. Jennifer McClellan led the Virginia legislature to become the 38th state to ratify the ERA, paving the way for Pressley to unveil a bicameral, joint resolution to affirm the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment earlier this year.

Today, many of the women involved in the ERA Caucus  including vice chairs Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), McClellan and Lee  are women of color.

I thank God that Black women, even when theyre made to stand in the back, lead from the front every step of the way, because without that intersectional, bold, tenacious fight, we wouldnt be where we are now, even as we recognize that we have still yet further to go, Lee said this week.

Still, Brown, the professor at Georgetown University, cautions against focusing too much on the caucuss racial makeup or even the gender of some of the leaders of the caucus.

It might have unintended impacts falling on deaf ears of people who willfully think talking about race or racism as divisive, without thinking about [talking of] race and racism as an opportunity to strengthen our union and to make the United States live up to the potentiality of a true multiracial democracy, Brown said.

Womens caucuses are also sometimes fraught, Brown added, because theyre not always bipartisan and it becomes a lot harder to accomplish goals.

But Brown remains cautiously optimistic of the caucuss efforts. If the ERA is passed, she said, it would open the door to offering protections against things like pregnancy discrimination, hair style discrimination, reproductive health care and pay discrimination, all of which disproportionately affect Black and brown women.

This is not a thing of the past. This is not the fight of the past. This is a fight for the present, Pressley said this week. I look forward to the day when calendars will say And on this day in history, the ERA caucus was established, but I really look forward to the day when our calendars will say On this day in history, the ERA was passed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Today is Cesar Chavez Day  a good time to evaluate the conditions farmworkers face in San Luis Obispo County.

Unfortunately, the climate crisis has taken a heavy toll on farmworkers as they continue to toil through disease, heat and smoke to provide food for us.

Recent flooding has brought additional challenges. Storms have affected hundreds of families on the Central Coast. Farm fields are underwater, so farmworkers either work fewer hours or not at all, yet still have to pay rent, buy groceries and deal with the higher living cost of pretty much everything.

If agricultural workers are undocumented it is even harder since they dont qualify for the government support usually available to displaced workers. Undocumented workers are not eligible for unemployment insurance, CalFresh (food stamps), FEMA aid or many other social programs.

During COVID-19, undocumented workers were excluded from federal relief programs and stimulus payments. And Medi-Cal is not yet available to all low-income families, although it is being expanded in 2024 to cover eligible undocumented adults.

As we celebrate Cesar Chavez Day, the question arises: How do we support our farmworker neighbors who have provided our food through the recent droughts, floods, pandemics, heat, wildfires and other disasters?

You can help by joining community members in supporting SLO County UndocuSupport, our local immigrant aid and advocacy organization. You can also educate yourself and stay abreast of policy initiatives at the state level to create more equitable systems of support.

Our agricultural workforce is overwhelmingly comprised of immigrant Latinos, mostly from Mexico. Nearly half (49%) are undocumented immigrants. A growing number of local farmworkers speak an indigenous language such as Mixteco rather than Spanish.

How have farmworkers survived these challenging times?

Not well, according to a recent health survey of over 1,200 California farmworkers by UC Merced.

Story continues

Of those interviewed in the Farmworker Health Survey, 36% rated their health as fair or poor. One in five respondents (19%) reported feeling nervous or anxious. Half reported being without health insurance in the past 12 months.

The California Legislature has not been ignoring the plight of farmworkers, but progress is slow. Medi-Cal will expand in 2024, but Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a state food assistance program last year. Expanding eligibility for unemployment benefits (SB227) is being considered this year, as is a renewed effort for a food program (SB245). Our newly elected Assemblymember Dawn Addis has co-sponsored AB4, which would allow undocumented workers to purchase health insurance through Covered California.

As our state policymakers wade through the legislative process, our local community has actively supported local working families, regardless of immigration status, through UndocuSupport.

Since its inception in spring 2020, SLO County UndocuSupport has raised over $245,000 and attracted statewide philanthropic funding of $213,000 to support 606 local immigrant families (with 2,100 family members) in at least 17 communities in SLO County.

In response to the recent floods, we provided eight local family service organizations with $21,000 in funds for families affected by disaster.

The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County has partnered with UndocuSupport since its inception. As the holder of the UndocuSupport Fund, the Community Foundation also acts as our fiscal agent for grants and programs.

Recently, Dr. Ben and Pat McAdams gave a generous donation of $25,000 to SLO County UndocuSupport after attending a presentation at The Community Foundation. We urge you to join the McAdams extraordinary gift and help us match their generosity. Donations can be made to our Community Foundation fund at www.sloundocusupport.org/donate

Erica Rubalcaba-Heredia and Joel Diringer are founding members of SLO County UndocuSupport. Erica is Director of the Promotores Collaborative San Luis Obispo and Joel Diringer is a farmworker and immigrant health advocate based in San Luis Obispo.
MANILA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine central bank said the Philippines' foreign investments yielded net outflows of 531 million U.S. dollars resulting from the 1.2 billion dollars in gross outflows and 680 million dollars in gross inflows for the month.

"This is a turnaround compared to the net inflows recorded in January 2023 at 292 million U.S. dollars," the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said late Thursday night.

It added that the registered investments for February of 680 million dollars are lower by 32.3 percent, or 324 million dollars, than the 1 billion dollars recorded in January this year.

Investments for the month mostly came from the United Kingdom, the United States, Luxembourg, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Singapore, with a combined share of 82.5 percent.

The BSP said the gross outflows for February of 1.2 billion dollars were higher by 70.2 percent, or 499 million dollars, than the 712 million dollars gross outflows recorded for January. The United States received 67.3 percent of total outward remittances.

Year on year, the BSP said registered investments in February decreased by 28.0 percent, or 265 million dollars, from the 945 million dollars recorded in February 2022, while gross outflows were larger by 80.7 percent, or 541 million dollars, than the 670 million dollars outflows recorded in February 2022.

"The 531 million U.S. dollars net outflows in February 2023 are a reversal compared to the 274 million U.S. dollars net outflows recorded for the same period a year ago," the BSP added.

From January 1 to February 28 transactions, foreign investments registered with the BSP yielded net outflows of 239 million dollars, a turnaround from the 289 million dollars net inflows recorded in the same period last year. 
Waymo is bringing a fleet of driverless cars to Austin, Texas as a test of its new fifth-generation automated driving system. The vehicles will be tested all over the city, including downtown, the Capitol, Market District and other locations. The vehicles that Waymo is testing in Austin are new all-electric Jaguar SUVs, a switch from the hybrid Chryslers it previously used.

Waymo, a subsidiary of Googles parent company Alphabet, chose Austin as its next city for testing as an homage, of sorts, as it hosted the first prototype driverless car in 2015. Back then, the tests were conducted on Waymos retired Firefly prototype vehicle, which ran the first generation of Waymos Driver system. Nowadays, they use a fifth-generation system that has been refined and adjusted throughout the past seven years.

We're headed back to Austinthis time with our fifth-generation Waymo Driver! Read about our latest testing efforts in the city that keeps it weird.  https://t.co/lKeCrUrLyW pic.twitter.com/4bLI9bS2Mk  Waymo (@Waymo) March 31, 2023

Another likely reason they chose Austin? A Texas state law passed in 2017 dictates that cities cannot regulate self-driving cars. To that end, the city already hosts a couple of competitors. Ford started testing its Argo driverless system in Austin last year and GM-backed startup Cruise has also set up shop. The city also plays host to plenty of autonomous delivery bots.

Waymo will also take advantage of its presence in the city to make connections with and provide services for local community organizations, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

This is a technology test and not a full-fledged rollout of a self-driving taxi fleet like the company already operates in Phoenix and San Francisco. Still, if the test goes well, Waymo could eventually bring legitimate driverless ride-hail services to Austin.

Update, 1:35PM ET: This story has been updated to reflect that Waymo will not be picking up passengers in its cars in Austin. Instead, they're doing testing to improve and evaluate their self-driving technology in more locations.
The best of this weekends culture (Apple TV+/AP/Ali Wright/BBC/Matador Records Imp/Nine Eight Books/Getty/A24)

It may feel like were heading into our sixth month of winter, but whatever the weather says, spring is technically here.

Ringing in April (hopefully sans showers), The Independents team of critics and culture editors have hand-selected the very best TV series, films, music, exhibitions, books and theatre to enjoy over the weekend.

Chief art critic Mark Hudson heads to Dundee to learn about the history of tartan in Scotland, while TV editor Ellie Harrison checks out comedy queen Daisy May Coopers most serious role to date in Rain Dogs. In the film arena, Adam White celebrates both artsy Mubi releases (Please Baby Please) and surprisingly good blockbusters (Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves). Music editor Roisin OConnor sings the praises of indie supergroup boygeniuss edgily titled five-star album the record. Arts editor Jessie Thompson delves into pop musics recent past with Michael Craggs new book and whips up excitement for the highly anticipated arrival of Ryan Calais Camerons For Black Boys Who Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy in the West End.

Art

Tartan

Far from fusty, the ultimate symbol of Scotland has been one of the worlds most successful and, this major exhibition argues, radical fabrics, from Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen to the Bay City Rollers. Exhibits include bonnie Prince Charlies kilt and a tartan-emblazoned example of that essential Scottish artefact: the shortbread tin. V&A Dundee, until 14 January 2024

Berthe Morisot: Shaping Impressionism

A necessary showcase for the leading female Impressionist, who has remained slightly under-sung in the recent surge of interest in neglected women artists. Thirty major Morisot paintings sit beside Old Master works from the Dulwich collection. demonstrating why her swiftly painted glimpses of everyday life were so revolutionary. Dulwich Picture Gallery, until 10 September

Two Nymphs, from Apollo Revealing His Divinity to the Sheperdess Isse by Morisot (Dulwich Picture Gallery)

Soutine: Kossoff

The influence of the Paris-based Belarusian expressionist Chaim Soutine on the much-loved London painter Leon Kossoff is explored in a substantial exhibition with major loans from around the world. The contrast between Soutines luminous portraits and landscapes and Kossoffs marvellously gritty cityscapes should make a great focus for a seaside awayday. Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex, until 24 September

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Mark Hudson, chief art critic

Books

Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg

If you grew up stockpiling copies of Smash Hits magazine or taping your favourite songs off the Radio 1 Top 40 Chart countdown, then this is your new Bible. Intrepid music journalist Michael Cragg journeys back to the Nineties and Noughties for this nostalgic oral history of pop music, speaking to those who were on the frontline of this dizzying, dance-routined world, and those who were backstage bringing it all to life. From S Club 7 sleeping under makeup tables to Anthony from Blue hiring his own publicist and Five all secretly hating each other, the sheer volume of mad, surreal anecdotes make it unputdownable. Out now

Curtis Sittenfelds Romantic Comedy' (Random House)

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Curtis Sittenfelds last novel Rodham  a fictional reimagining of what might have happened if Hillary hadnt married Bill  was panned in some quarters; her latest puts her firmly back in the territory of queen of the smart romcom, right down to its title. A TV scriptwriter is so bored of -looking men landing beautiful women, she turns it into a comedy sketch, believing it never happens the other way round. But then, of course, she meets handsome pop star Noah (extra points for realism  Noah is such a pop star name) and the rule looks less clear-cut. Out now

Jessie Thompson, arts editor

Film

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves

The smartest thing Hollywood can do is hire great filmmakers to adapt completely tired intellectual property. Outside of Games Workshop regulars, was anyone really crying out for a Dungeons & Dragons movie? Yet here we are  thanks to John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the talent behind the glorious, underrated 2018 comedy Game Night, Honour Among Thieves is one of the zippiest and most purely fun blockbusters of the year. Chris Pine, Hugh Grant and Michelle Rodriguez star. In cinemas now

Gods Creatures

Paul Mescals inherent likeability is weaponised in this slow burn Irish thriller, in which a small fishing community rallies around him after hes accused of rape. Emily Watson, characteristically wind-swept and mesmerising, plays Mescals mother, who begins to see the simmering darkness in him. This is great, visceral filmmaking  you can practically smell the oysters everyones polishing half the time. In cinemas now

Emily Watson and Paul Mescal in Gods Creatures' (Enda Bowe)

Please Baby Please

This Fifties noir pastiche has the feel of a reasonably expensive am-dram production, which sort of adds to its camp appeal. Andrea Riseborough and Harry Melling play a couple who encounter a biker gang and plunge into a lurid fantasia of gender-play and queer sex. Karl Glusman, Cole Escola and Demi Moore (!) co-star. Streaming on Mubi now

Adam White, film editor

Music

Album: boygenius  the record

The indie supergroup formed of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker get the five-star treatment from our critic Helen Brown with their new album, the record. The unification of the three voices  after all the difficult group therapy of the writing process  wraps a warm blanket around those fears [of self-revelation], she writes. And thats how the record will leave you feeling. Like youve heard some difficult truths in a very safe space. Out now

boygenius (Matt Grubb)

Album: James Holden  Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities

The British electronic artists fifth album is his most gleeful and uninhibited to date. Inspired by memories of his teenage years spent daydreaming of a far-away rave scene from his bedroom in Leicestershire, this is a record that delights in its lack of self-seriousness. Holden delves into the stifling boredom of suburban life on Four Ways Down the Valley, sampling woodpigeon calls alongside gloopy synths and an incessant, shuffling beat. There are violin reels and frenetic whirls of brass and keys. Its like a dream of rave, a fantasy about a transformative music culture that would make the world better, Holden says of the album. Tune in and be transported. Out now

Live show: Elton John at O2 Arena

The Rocketman finally arrives in London for the first of a staggering 10 nights at the O2 Arena taking place between April and May. So far, his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour has been receiving rave reviews. And with a set loaded with hits from the defiant Im Still Standing to the poignant Tiny Dancer, would you expect anything else? Unless youre heading to Glastonbury this summer, this is one of your last chances to see one of the greatest showmen who ever lived. 2 April

Roisin OConnor, music editor

Stage

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets too Heavy

This play from Ryan Calais Cameron, set in a group therapy session for six Black men, is another reminder of how high the New Diorama Theatre punches above its weight. The acclaimed play first began life there before a second run at the Royal Court Theatre  and now its heading into the West End for a limited five-week run. Apollo Theatre, until 7 May

The cast of For Black Boys' (Ali Wright)

Berlusconi the Musical

Southwark Playhouses snazzy, state of the art new venue has some eye-catching programming to start it off. From producer Francesca Moody, the force behind Fleabag and Richard Gadds Baby Reindeer, comes a tongue-in-cheek musical about controversial Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi. In the show, hes planning to write the opera of his life  that is, until the women who knew him decide to have their say. Southwark Playhouse Elephant, until 29 April

Jessie Thompson, arts editor

TV

Blue Lights

Move over Line of Duty; theres a new cop show in town. The first episode of this Belfast-set drama is an assault to the senses and a harrowing insight into policing in Northern Ireland. It follows three new recruits to the police and is led by Sian Brooke, who Sherlock fans might remember as playing the detectives secret younger sister, Eurus. Out now on BBC iPlayer

Sian Brooke in Blue Lights' (BBC/Gallagher Films/Two Cities Television/Steffan Hill)

The Big Door Prize

Chris ODowd is as leggy and affable as ever in this new show adapted from the novel by MO Walsh. It tells the story of a small town that is forever changed when a mysterious Morpho machine appears in the local grocery store. For the same price as a cup of coffee, the glowing blue contraption promises to tell residents their true life potential. Of course, it almost instantly sends everyone into an existential spiral. Out now on Apple TV+

Rain Dogs

Hot on the heels of her exquisite comedy Am I Being Unreasonable?, Daisy May Cooper is back in a new drama from Skint Estate author Cash Carraway, Rain Dogs. Its been hailed as an antidote to the dramas about the mega-rich  The White Lotus and Succession  and follows Cooper as a single mum and aspiring writer trying to get by. It also stars Jack Farthing and Ade Edmondson. Tuesday 4 April at 10.40pm on BBC One

Ellie Harrison, TV editor
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters

For most of his 76 years, Donald Trump has avoided significant accountability on a longand ever-expandinglist of allegations. But on Thursday, he became the first-ever current or former U.S. president to be indicted on criminal charges.

Just a couple of weeks after Stormy Daniels met with prosecutors as part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs probe of Trumps alleged hush money payments to the adult film star in exchange for keeping their alleged affair quiet as the 2016 presidential campaign neared, a grand jury has voted to indict the twice-impeached ex-president.

In a 2018 tweetstorm, Trump all but admitted to making a $130,000 payment to Daniels, via his then-personal attorney Michael Cohen, claiming such things are very common among celebrities and people of wealth. He accused Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, of extorting him, and has denied ever having sex with the entertainer.

...very common among celebrities and people of wealth. In this case it is in full force and effect and will be used in Arbitration for damages against Ms. Clifford (Daniels). The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair,......  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2018

Cohen previously pleaded guilty to federal charges associated with the payment to Daniels, which he said he made at Trumps behest, and was sentenced to federal prison.

Trump, as is his wont, insists he is the target of a politically motivated witch hunt, and that Bragg, the first Black man to serve as Manhattan DA, is a racist. In December 2022, the Trump Organization was convicted on 17 counts of criminal tax fraud, and ordered to pay a fine of $1.6 million. Longtime Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg is now serving five months in jail, to be followed by five years of probation.

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113210628 Michael Cohen, left, with former client Donald Trump on April 27, 2011 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images

Thursdays indictment will test Trumps assertion that any prosecutor with the temerity to haul him into court would risk touching off problems in this country the likes of which perhaps weve never seen before.

Thats not inciting, Im just saying what my opinion is, Trump told right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt last September. I dont think the people of this country would stand for it.

But as he fights the Stormy Daniels case, Trump must also simultaneously endure numerous other probes that could not only worsen his existing legal situation, but bring down his family and businesses, as well.

1245731795 Pool via Getty Images

FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA

So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.

In Trumps words, it was part of a perfect phone call. In Fulton County DA Fani Willis eyes, the losing presidential candidate pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger to carry out a baseless scheme he and his allies concocted to undo Joe Bidens 2020 election victory, was very likely a felony.

In this case, a copy of the call, which was recorded, leaked almost immediately.

The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry, Trump warned Raffensberger, hoping to convince his fellow Republican to hand him an unearned win. And theres nothing wrong with saying, you know, that youve recalculated.

Once again, the outgoing president wasted little time putting himself squarely at the scene of what then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris described as a baldfaced, bold abuse of power.

I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the ballots under table scam, ballot destruction, out of state voters, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2021

I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the ballots under table scam, ballot destruction, out of state voters, dead voters, and more, Trump tweeted on Jan. 3, 2021, rattling off various debunked conspiracy theories trying to explain away his loss. He has no clue!

Willis last year impaneled a special-purpose grand jury to hear testimony and issue a report on Trumps alleged attempts to subvert the election outcome in Georgia. The panel subpoenaed dozens of witnesses and interviewed 75 of them, including Trump ally and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn; and Sen. Lindsey Graham, who in 2017 performed a sudden about-face from outspoken Trump detractor to rock-ribbed Trump defender.

Although the now-dissolved special grand jury created by Willis does not itself have the authority to issue indictments, it could, and did, recommend them. Willis will now make a decision on whether or not to bring charges against Trump and his network of enablers.

The Grand Jury heard extensive testimony on the subject of alleged election fraud from poll workers, investigators, technical experts, and state of Georgia employees and officials, as well as from persons still claiming that such fraud took place, a highly abbreviated public portion of the panels sealed Feb. 16 report states. We find by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election.

A majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it," without providing further specifics, but concluding that the panel recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.

In a series of permissible, but controversial, interviews after the special-purpose grand jurys work was done, forewoman Emily Kohrs said a dozen or more indictments could be coming. She did not name names, but coyly suggested Trump was among those on the panels list.

There are no major plot twists waiting for you, Kohrs told CNNs Erin Burnett last month.

In response, Trump took to his Truth Social social media platformwhich is itself under investigation for possible money laundering crimesand lambasted Kohrs while attacking Willis as a racist.

This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court, Trump wrote. Atlanta is leading the Nation in Murder and other Violent Crimes.

Trump has now tried to derail the investigation, arguing to an Atlanta judge that he cant get a fair trial after Kohrs grand media tour.

Trump is not the only one under investigation in Fulton County. Former New York City mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, a close adviser to the ex-president during his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, is also a target.

1242435724 Outside of Mar-a-Lago the day after it was raided Sun Sentinel via Getty Images

MAR-A-LAGO CLASSIFIED DOCS AND JAN. 6

In addition to the local and state cases in New York and Fulton County, federal authorities also have suspected criminality by Trump in their sights.

DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland to spearhead the investigation into Trumps alleged mishandling of classified documents found at his private Florida club after he left office, as well as Trumps bid to reverse his 2020 loss, has reportedly expanded and intensified his efforts in recent months.

Smith last month subpoenaed ex-Vice President Mike Pence in relation to his former boss alleged election crimes. The development followed months of negotiations between federal prosecutors and Pences legal team, according to ABC News, which called the subpoena a major escalation in the investigation. A few days later, The New York Times said Smith was moving aggressively in an attempt to make good on his goal of resolving as quickly as possible whether Mr. Trump, still a leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, should face charges.

Trump, who managed to blame Pence for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that he in fact instigated, lashed outpredictablyat Smith, a highly respected former war crimes prosecutor, from the get-go.

This fully weaponized monster, Jack Smith, shouldnt be let anywhere near the political persecution of President Donald J. Trump, Trump posted on Truth Social after Smith was appointed. I did nothing wrong on January 6th, and nothing wrong with the Democrats fix on the Document Hoax, that is, unless the six previous Presidents did something wrong also.

In another, Trump called for Smith to be removed, and accused him, without offering any evidence, of being mentally ill and unfit for the task.

Fire a man who may very well turn out to be a criminal, Jack Smith, Trump complained on Truth Social. His conflicts, unfairness, and mental state of derangement make him totally unfit for the job of getting Trump. Go after Biden and the Biden Crime Family instead. Like Bill Barr, the U.S. Attorneys in Delaware and Illinois are weak, ineffective, and afraid to do what must be done. The Election was RIGGED, and we are now losing our Country. We cant let that happen. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

In various other truths, Trump has slammed Smith as a Radical Left Prosecutor, who is totally controlled by Eric Holder and Obama, called his investigation a RIGGED SCAM, described him as a political hit man, a Trump Hater, a Trump Hating THUG, and an unfair savage, claimed, groundlessly, that Smith should never be allowed to work on anything having to do with me because of his and his familys anger, hatred, and bias.

Did nothing wrong on Jan 6th (Peacefully & Patrioticly), or with Documents (Check out past presidents), Trump wrote.

The worlds greatest dealmaker also deemed it unfair that Mad Dog Psycho Jack Smith is probing him but not any other former commanders-in-chief, posting on Truth Social late last month, that Smith should should stop this Witch Hunt altogether or, at a minimum, should give Biden, Obama, and all of the others the same treatment!

This week, Mike Pence was ordered by a federal judge to appear before a grand jury investigating Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to sources cited by the Associated Press. The former VP had attempted to get out of testifying against his former boss by claiming an exception under the Constitutions speech or debate clause.

Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered one of Trumps lawyers, M. Evan Corcoran, to turn over his notes and audio transcripts from his dealings with Trump, piercing the veil of attorney-client privilege. Corcoran testified before a Washington, D.C., grand jury last week in the classified documents probe.

1425941193 Letitia James Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL

While the first three cases could mean prison for Trump, New York State Attorney General Letitia James $250 billion lawsuit against Trump for what she deemed a spectacular pattern of financial fraud, could kill his company and saddle him with up to $1 billion in fines and costs.

The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year, the suit alleges.

The Trump Organization, according to the filing, historically misled lenders and insurers about its balance sheet and properties, including Mar-a-Lago and New York Citys Trump Tower, to get beneficial financial terms. Trump and his adult children claimed certain buildings they owned were worth multiples of their actual value, submitting in excess of 200 bogus valuations across at least 11 annual statements. The lawsuit contends Trumps company improperly benefited to the tune of $250 million, which New York State is now moving to claw back.

In one example cited by James, the Trump family allegedly claimed a block of Manhattan apartments an appraiser had valued at $750,000 were actually worth some $50 million. In another, James noted that Trump listed his own Trump Tower residence as clocking on at 30,000 square feet when it was in reality 11,000.

Tripling the size of the apartment for valuation was fraud, not an honest mistake, James said at a press conference announcing the lawsuit.

James is seeking to bar Trump from applying for loans or purchasing any commercial properties in New York State for five years. She is also asking a judge to permanently ban Trump, sons Don Jr. and Eric, and daughter Ivanka, from ever again running a business in New York.

The complaint filed by James is a civil one, and does not itself carry the threat of indictment. However, it notes that James shared her discoveries with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, specifying that she believes the Trumps are guilty of bank fraud. James also said in the suit that the Trump Orgs financial filings contravened a variety of state laws.

As has come to be expected, a splenetic Trump bashed James on Truth Social, complaining about being the target of a Another Witch Hunt by a racist Attorney General, Letitia James, who failed in her run for Governor, getting almost zero support from the public, and now is doing poorly against Law & Order A.G. candidate, highly respected Michael Henry. (James won.)

Trump continued, taking full advantage of Truth Socials 500-character limit.

I never thought this case would be broughtuntil I saw her really bad poll numbers. She is a fraud who campaigned on a get Trump platform, despite the fact that the city is one of the crime and murder disasters of the world under her watch!

In early November, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was suing James in an attempt to stop her suit from proceeding. His suit, which he filed in Florida, called James New York suit a relentless, pernicious, public, and unapologetic crusade against President Trump, a resident of Palm Beach County, Florida, with the stated goal of destroying him personally, financially, and politically. (Trump dropped the suit in January, after the case wound up before a judge who hit him and his attorney Alina Habba with nearly $1 million in fines over a separate suit against Hillary Clinton he declared frivolous.)

The penalties Trump and his kids are facing are what anyone else would face for the same misconduct, James emphasized after bringing the November action.

Everyday people cannot lie to a bank about how much money they have in order to get a favorable loan or send their kid to college, and if they did, the government would throw the book at them, James said at the time. Why should this be any different?

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President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are escorted by Sarb Edmund, 89th Airlift Wing Senior Training Protocol Specialist, and Colonel Matthew Jones, Commander, 89th Airlift Wing, as they walk from Marine One to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, March 31, 2023, en route to Rolling Fork, Miss., to meet with those impacted by last weeks massive storm. | Jess Rapfogel, Associated Press

President Joe Biden called on Russia to release an American Wall Street Journal reporter it arrested this week on claims of espionage. Russia has not released any evidence that caused the espionage suspicions.

CNN asked Biden about the situation with journalist Evan Gershkovich and what he would say to Russia, and Biden responded, Let him go.

Asked about @WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, an accredited American reporter, who was arrested in Russia on espionage charges, President Biden said, "Let him go" and added there is a process. pic.twitter.com/rdT4376D4Y  Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) March 31, 2023

According to The Washington Post, the State Department is actively working to secure consular access and has been in direct touch with the Russian government.

With the arrest, the White House is urging Americans living in Moscow to leave the country. John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, said that while he recognizes the risks for American journalists in Russia, it doesnt change our deep concern about Americans being in Russia, per CNN.

Why did Russia arrest Wall Street Journal reporter?

On Thursday, Russias Federal Security Service detained Gershkovich, saying he is suspected of spying for the American government, per the Post.

Related

The Journal vehemently denies the allegations and seeks the immediate release of Gershkovich.

Last week, the U.S. charged a Russian man, Sergey Cherkasov, with allegedly spying for Moscow under a Brazilian alias, as well as charges of fraud, NBC News reported.

Whether the arrest of Gershkovich was in retaliation for the charges against Cherkov is not clear yet.

What does seem clear is that President Vladimir Putin seems to have embraced a state of political, economic and cultural estrangement from the West more extreme than at any point since the end of the Cold War, according to The New York Times.
The White House is silent on the unprecedented indictment of former President Donald Trump.

The former president of the United States, and the leading Republican presidential nominee for 2024, was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury Thursday after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office.

TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS

Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in Manhattan on May 18, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images) ____ WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 23: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the economy during an event at the South Court Auditorium at Eisenhower Executive Office Building on November 23, 2021 in Washington, DC.

The White House declined to comment when asked for reaction to the unprecedented charges against Trump.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Fox News Digital has learned.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 06: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arrives to the courtroom during the Trump Organization tax fraud trial at the New York Supreme Court on December 06, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

TRUMP SAYS DA BRAGG'S 'OBSESSION' WITH TRYING TO 'GET TRUMP' WILL 'BACKFIRE' AFTER GRAND JURY INDICTMENT

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said in a statement Thursday. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."

Trump reacted to his indictment, slamming Bragg for his "obsession" with trying to "get Trump," while warning the move to charge a former president of the United States will "backfire" on President Biden.

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a 2024 election campaign rally in Waco, Texas, March 25, 2023. - Trump held the rally at the site of the deadly 1993 standoff between an anti-government cult and federal agents.

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. "From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats- the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country- have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement."

Meanwhile, the charges against Trump come amid a separate, special counsel investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home.

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

Last August, the FBI, in an unprecedented move, raided Trumps private residence at Mar-a-Lago in connection with an investigation into classified records the former president allegedly took with him from the White House.

Attorney General Merrick Garland later appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to take over that investigation, and the Justice Departments investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021  specifically whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.

President Biden is also currently under special counsel investigation for his alleged improper retention of classified records from the Obama administration. Former Vice President Pence also had classified records at his homea matter under review by the Justice Department.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the "trans community" in America is "under attack," just days after a transgender former student opened fire in a Nashville, Tennessee, school and killed six people.

"One of the things that we saw during the midterm elections is that people don't want their freedoms to be taken. They want us to fight for their freedoms," Jean-Pierre said to reporters as she answered questions from the briefing room. "It is shameful, it is disturbing, and our hearts go out to the trans community as they are under attack right now."

Jean-Pierre's comments came when she was asked for the White House's message to states across the country who are moving to take action against certain care for transgender minors, specifically the Kentucky legislature's vote on Wednesday to override Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of legislation that prohibits transgender procedures for minors as well as restricts bathrooms based on biological sex.

"We support peaceful protests. We think it's important for Americans and people just across the country to make their voices heard  just as long as it's peaceful," Jean-Pierre said. "We've been very clear about these anti-LGBTQ bills we're seeing in state legislatures across the country, particularly these anti-trans bills as they attack trans kids, as they attack trans parents. It is shameful and it is unacceptable."

DEMOCRAT REP ERIC SWALWELL SAYS REPUBLICANS WHO OPPOSE GUN BANS ARE 'SIDING WITH THE KILLERS'

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre talks to reporters during the daily news conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

"As you mentioned, tomorrow is [Transgender Day of Visibility]," she added. "On a day we should be lifting up our trans kids, our trans youth, and making sure they feel seen, we're seeing more and more of these hateful, hateful bills. That's what Republicans want to spend their time on."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

During the briefing, Jean-Pierre also reaffirmed President Biden's commitment to support transgender minors and their endeavors in America.

"This is a president who has said many times before he has their backs, he will continue to have their backs and he will continue to fight for them," she said. "His record shows that."

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Jean-Pierre's comments on the state of transgender youth in America come after three children and three employees were shot and killed by Audrey Hale , a 28-year-old transgender former student, on Monday at The Covenant School in Nashville.

REX ENGELBERT AND MICHAEL COLLAZO: WHO ARE THE NASHVILLE OFFICERS WHO TOOK DOWN THE COVENANT SCHOOL SHOOTER?

Memorials for the six victims who were killed in a mass shooting are placed outside The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday.

Head of School Katherine Koonce, 60; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and custodian Mike Hill, also 61, were killed in the gunfire. Three 9-year-old students were also killed: Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney.

Hale shot through a locked glass door and entered the school armed with two rifles and a handgun around 10:13 a.m. on Monday.

Officer Rex Engelbert, 27, arrived soon after the shooting began and immediately starting clearing classrooms with other officers in search of the shooter. When Hale started firing at other responding officers from the second floor, Engelbert ran upstairs with Officer Michael Collazo, 31, and confronted Hale, who was shot and killed.

Teens from various areas of Kentucky gather in front of the Kentucky Capitol Annex building on Wednesday to protest against SB150, which would ban certain gender care for transgender teens.

Hale had legally purchased seven firearms from five different gun stores in the Nashville area and hid them from her family. Hale was under a doctor's care for an unspecified emotional disorder at the time of the shooting and Hale's parents didn't believe the perpetrator should own weapons, police said.

A search of Hale's vehicle and home turned up writings and hand-drawn diagrams of the school that indicated the attack was "calculated and planned," according to police.

Fox News' Jon Brown and Paul Best and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Flordia judge has ruled that Meghan and Harry can be deposed in a civil suit brought by her half-sister Samantha. (Getty Images)

A Florida court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by Samantha Markle against her half-sister Meghan.

The Duchess of Sussex had been accused by her estranged relative of spreading "malicious" lies during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

But on 30 March a judge threw out the case, ruling the comments were "not capable of being proved false" and that Meghan was merely expressing an "opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings".

Samantha Markle had been seeking $75,000 (60,500) in damages partly over comments Meghan made in her March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, claiming Meghan accused her of trying to cash in on the name "Markle" after she started dating Prince Harry.

The court heard accusations that Meghan lied about her "rags to royalty" background. Samantha Markle had also claimed "great harm" had been inflicted on her and that she had been through "ridicule, contempt and disgrace" on the global stage.

Samantha Markle has been appearing on TV to speak about her sister since Meghan's relationship with Harry went public. (ITV)

Meghan's legal team had called the claims "offensive" and not the "proper subject matter" for a court of law. Not every perceived slight ought to be litigated and thats true here", Meghan's lawyer said.

Yahoo UK breaks down who Samantha Markle is, and why she tried to sue Meghan:

Who is Samantha Markle?

Samantha Markle, 58, is Meghan's half-sister and 17 years older than the duchess. She lives in Florida and has multiple sclerosis, which means she needs to use a wheelchair.

Meghan and Samantha's father is Thomas Markle. Samantha's mother  Roslyn  told the Mail Online in 2017 that Samantha "has dogged on Meghan forever", adding: "She's never liked Meghan and she's always been jealous of her."

The two sisters have been estranged for a long time, and Samantha has been highly critical of Meghan since her relationship with Prince Harry was made public in 2016  dubbing her "princess pushy" and a "social climber".

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Samantha's mother isn't the only family member to criticise her for her public comments about Meghan. Thomas Markle Jr  Meghan's half brother and Samantha's full sibling  told the Mail Online that "nobody talks to" Samantha.

Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr has publicly advised Samantha to leave their younger sibling alone. (Getty Images)

'It's why nobody talks to her and hasn't for a long, long time. Leave Meghan alone already  it's ridiculous."

Meghan has remained tight-lipped about her half sister for many years, until she addressed their relationship in the controversial Netflix docuseries about the Sussexes last year.

"My half-sister, who I hadn't seen for over a decade  and that was only for a day and a half  suddenly it felt like she was everywhere," Meghan said in the programme.

"I don't know your middle name, I don't know your birthday. You're telling these people that you raised me and that you coined me 'princess pushy'".

Why did Samantha Markle sue Meghan?

Samantha decided to sue her half-sister following Meghan and Harry's sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

Her complaint was partly based on how many people saw the interview  documents seen by PA are quoted as saying this was "roughly 50 million people in 17 countries".

She said that Meghan "falsely and maliciously" claimed to be an only child in the interview, despite having two half-siblings.

Nearly 50 million people worldwide watched Meghan and Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah about why they left the Royal Family. (Getty Images)

Samantha claimed that because of Meghan she was subject to "humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale".

Equally she claimed that Meghan's actions took place with the support of the palace's PR machine as part of a "premeditated campaign" to ruin both her own and her father's reputation.

Samantha's lawyers had also requested to see all communications between Meghan and palace staff about herself, or their father Thomas Markle, as well as Meghans call logs.

She had also requested to see Meghan's communications with palace aides that would prove the duchess asked her friends and family not to contribute in anyway to the biography Finding Freedom.

According to Newsweek, Meghans lawyers had argued this was an "unwarranted fishing expedition".

Watch: The Crown season 5 - Surprising Royal Family moments that didn't make the cut
Former President Donald Trump looks on during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport in Waco, Texas, on March 25, 2023.

Former President Donald Trump looks on during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport in Waco, Texas, on March 25, 2023. Credit - Brandon BellGetty Images

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has indicted Donald Trump over an alleged hush money payment during his 2016 presidential campaign. It is the first time in American history that a former president has been indicted.

Braggss case stems from events that occurred before Trump became President. Yet there are several other investigations underway involving Trumps behavior after he was inaugurated. Prosecutors in Georgias Fulton County are looking into Trumps efforts to overturn Joe Bidens 2020 election win in the state. The former President is also under scrutiny by Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith for two separate matters: his handling of classified documents and his actions leading up to the deadly siege of the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Given how many investigators have Trump in their sights, its worth asking why the case involving a 2016 payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels became the first to land a charge.

The Stormy Daniels case is more than 6 years old. Why is this coming up now?

The case has been kicked around the Manhattan District attorneys office for years. Alvin Bragg, a 49-year-old career prosecutor, took over the office in January 2021 from Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., whose prosecutors had reportedly been following multiple lines of investigation into Trump and his businesses. Vance did not bring any charges against Trump before he left office. Bragg inherited the ongoing investigations, and ended up moving forward with the Daniels case.

At issue in the case is how the Trump Organization and Trump recorded repaying his fixer Michael Cohen $130,000 for a payment to Daniels to keep quiet just before the 2016 election about an alleged affair with Trump.

Cohen says his reimbursements were falsely recorded in internal records as legal fees when actually the money was a campaign expense to keep Daniels quiet. Cohen has also said that Trump knew about the details of the payment and why it was being made. Trumps legal team denies this and says that Trump would have paid off Daniels regardless of whether he was running for President.

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Adult film actress Stormy Daniels arrives for the opening of the adult entertainment fair Venus in Berlin, on Oct. 11, 2018. Markus SchreiberAP

Trump responded to the grand jurys vote to indict him on Thursday, writing on his social media site TruthSocial that the indictment is an attack on our country and an attack on free and fair elections, given that he is a candidate for President. Trumps response did not mention his public and well-documented efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Trump has faced legal problems for decades. Whats different now?

For nearly 50 years, Trump has tried to sidestep investigations and lawsuits with a simple strategy: delay, deflect, deny and avoid putting anything in writing. The case of the Stormy Daniels payment is challenging that approach.

Trumps fixer Michael Cohen says that Trump reimbursed him for the hush money payment to Daniels in order to stop her from going public before the election with her account of an alleged affair with Trump. Cohens 2018 guilty plea for campaign finance violations in relation to the hush money payment has given prosecutors a clear trail of evidence to follow. The case will test Trumps decades-long ability to avoid harsh punishments in the court system.

Trump was also largely immune from prosecutions while he was President. Once he left the Oval Office, multiple investigations began to slowly move forward, some of them tied to Trumps efforts to overturn the election that he had lost.

The fact that this indictment may involve the least of Trumps alleged crimes, shouldnt matter. It has to do with the timing of the work of various grand juries, says Timothy Naftali, a historian at New York University and former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, recently told TIME. The bigger issue is whether the former president is above the law and the answer is, no.

Trump is trying to use his status as a 2024 presidential candidate to say that Bragg is targeting him for political reasons. Bragg was the one breaking the law, for going after a former President and leading presidential candidate, Trump wrote on Truth Social on March 19, adding that Bragg should be held accountable for the crime of interfering in a presidential election.

Is the Daniels case a slam dunk for the prosecution?

It does not look that way, though the shape of the case will become clearer once the indictment is publically released. In order for the Manhattan district attorney to prosecute the case, a court will want to ensure that the alleged crimes fall within Braggs jurisdiction. If Bragg cant show that, a court could reject the case or demand the prosecutor pursue more narrow charges.

The Manhattan district attorneys office has considerable experience filing charges for alleging false business records. But to bring a more serious felony charge in this case, Braggs office may need to allege that Trump falsified business records with the intent to conceal a second crime. That second crime in this case may end up being an alleged violation of federal election law.

Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance charges in 2018 in relation to the hush money payment. Its an open question as to whether New York state prosecutors have jurisdiction to bring a case that relates to federal election law. In the federal case, Cohen said the payments and coverup were done with an intention to influence the election. Because Cohen pleaded guilty in that case, his claims were never challenged in court, and there are few, if any, precedents.

Braggs predecessor Vance reportedly had concerns that relying on federal election law for the second crime could weaken the case, according to The New York Times.

That may be the newly charted territory Bragg is examining, and why charges in that case have taken so long to surface.

What should I know about Alvin Bragg?

Bragg is the first Black man to be elected as Manhattan district attorney in the 220-year history of the office. Previously, he was a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and the deputy chief in the state attorney generals office. While in the state attorney generals office, Bragg was part of lawsuits against the Donald J. Trump Foundation that ended in a $2 million settlement paid by Trump.

Read more: For Both Donald Trump and Alvin Bragg, the Central Park Jogger Case Was a Turning Point

Bragg grew up in Harlem in upper Manhattan before earning his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. Bragg beat out seven candidates in the Democratic primary for Manhattan District Attorney in 2021, and then easily won in the general election. He campaigned on delivering criminal justice reform policies. When he got to office, he was criticized for a public memo he wrote about his plan to reduce prosecutions. Critics of Braggs plan included New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

What about the other Trump cases Braggs office was pursuing?

Bragg has moved forward on a separate Trump-related case, but has not directly charged Trump with a crime in that proceeding. In December 2022, Braggs office successfully convicted the Trump Organization of criminal tax fraud and, in January, a court sentenced Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, to five months in prison.

Several weeks into Braggs term as district attorney, two prosecutors investigating cases related to Trump resigned over concerns that Bragg was hesitating to press forward with charges against Trump.

Can being a former President and a current presidential candidate protect Trump?

Nope. The Justice Department has a long-standing practice of not charging a sitting President with a crime. That practice was challenged during the Trump administration when Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded there was evidence that Trump had obstructed his investigation but didnt clearly recommend an indictment.

But a former President, even one who is again a presidential candidate, can face criminal charges just like any other citizen.There is a feeling that somehow former presidents, because of the high office they used to occupy, should somehow be treated differently, says the historian Naftali. The framers never intended that former presidents should have immunity from criminal prosecution; there is no such immunity.
Supporters of Donald Trump express themselves on Lake Worth Lagoon behind his Mar-a-Lago resort after he messaged about his impending arrest - Marco Bello/Reuters

Donald Trump is facing criminal charges over hush money payments he allegedly paid to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

The former president said he was a victim of "political persecution" following the news that a grand jury voted to indict him on Thursday.

Here's everything we know about why Mr Trump is facing charges.

What are the allegations against Donald Trump?

It is alleged he participated in the cover-up of a $130,000 cover-up hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

He has denied any crime and said the decision by prosecutors to charge him was an "attack on our country."

Why was the payment made?

It is alleged Mr Trump had an affair with Ms Daniels, which he also denies. He has accused the former porn star of extortion.

But is hush money illegal?

No, not in itself.

Then why is Mr Trump in legal jeopardy?

Because the payment was deemed to be an illegal campaign donation, violating the $2,700 (2,200) ceiling under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Investigators are also examining whether he falsified business records.

What was Michael Cohens role?

He was Mr Trumps personal lawyer and long-time fixer. He admitted orchestrating the payment and was jailed after pleading guilty in 2018 to violating campaign finance laws.

Where is Donald Trump now?

Mr Trump is believed to be at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. His private Boeing 757 - dubbed Trump Force One - is on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport.

What happens next?

Donald Trump is set to appear in court on Tuesday and hear the details of the charges which are currently under court seal.

Mr Trump is likely to be released on bail and his lawyer suggested on Friday that prosecutors have indicated that the former president will not be put in handcuffs.

He will likely have his fingerprints and mugshot taken.

Could he be held in jail pending trial?

Mr Trump would almost certainly be released on bail.

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What if he refuses to leave Mar-a-Lago?

Prosecutors would have to seek his extradition from Florida, with the decision resting with the states governor  and strongest rival for the presidential nomination  Ron DeSantis.

Mr DeSantis has insisted that he will not abide by any extradition request for Mr Trump.

Could Mr Trump challenge the New York prosecution?

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is an elected Democrat. Mr Trumps lawyers could argue the prosecution is politically motivated and ask a court to throw it out.

When could a trial take place?

It takes about a year or so for an indictment in New York to come to trial, which means it could coincide with the presidential election campaign. The timetable would be dictated by the trial judge who, legal experts say, face a tricky dilemma.

What other legal problems does Mr Trump face?

A Grand Jury in Georgia is investigating his attempt to persuade Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find 11,780 votes to give him victory in a key swing state.



The Department of Justice has appointed Jack Smith as a special counsel to examine the events of January 6. The House of Representatives committee, which investigated the riot, accused him of inciting the insurrection.

The Department of Justice is examining the removal of classified documents from the White House which were found at Mar-a-Lago. This could lead to criminal charges.

Could Trump be prevented from running for election?

There is nothing in the US Constitution which disqualifies anyone who is indicted or convicted from running for the White House. But the constitution does ban anyone who engaged in insurrection  a clause added after the Civil War  from standing.
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Supporters hold "Witch Hunt" signs as former US President Donald Trump speaks during a 2024 election campaign rally in Waco, Texas, March 25, 2023. Credit - Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump was indicted by the Manhattan district attorney on Thursday for his role in paying alleged hush money to a porn star. The move raised a number of legal questions as Trump vies for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination; one of them beingdo criminal charges disqualify Trump from being elected president?

The short answer is that even if Trump is convicted, the charges against him wont disqualify him from the presidency, legal experts tell TIME.

There is no constitutional bar on a felon running for office, says Richard Hasen, an election law professor at UCLA Law School. And given that the U.S. Constitution sets presidential qualifications, it is not clear that states could add to them, such as by barring felons from running for office.

Under the constitution, all natural born citizens who are at least 35 years old and have been a resident of the U.S. for 14 years can run for president. There is no legal impediment to Trump continuing his presidential campaign while facing criminal chargeseven if he were jailed, legal experts say.

In a statement released Thursday evening, Trump denied wrongdoing and characterized the probe by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as part of a witch hunt against him. Earlier this month, Trump told reporters at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that he would absolutely stay in the race for president even if he were to be criminally indicted. I wouldnt even think about leaving, he said. Probably, itll enhance my numbers.

Trumps campaign and his lawyer Joe Tacopina did not respond to requests for comment Thursday evening.

Its simultaneously embarrassing, but also makes him something of a martyr, says Saikrishna Prakash, a distinguished constitutional law professor at the University of Virginia Law School. Legal experts and political pundits on Thursday evening were rushing to join the conversation about how the indictment might impact Trumps presidential chances. Some said it could help Trump, thrusting him into the national spotlight as he aims to be the dominant figure of his party. Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor, said on Newsmax that a mugshot of Trump could serve as a campaign poster for his campaign. He will be mugshot and fingerprinted. Theres really no way around that, he said.

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And while Trump is the first former president to be charged with a crime, hes far from the first presidential candidate to run despite criminal charges. At least two candidates with criminal convictions have even run for president in the past, albeit unsuccessfully. Hasen, of UCLA Law, noted that in 1920 a candidate named Eugene Debs ran for president while in a federal prison in Atlanta as the nominee of the Socialist Party. Debs was convicted of violating the Espionage Act over an anti-war speech, and won more than 3% of the vote nationally. Another convicted presidential candidate, Lyndon LaRouche, ran for president in every election between 1976 and 2004. LaRouche, a fringe candidate who embraced conspiracy theories, was convicted of tax and mail fraud in 1988 and ran his 1992 campaign from prison.

But while it might be legally possible for Trump to run for president even if he is convicted, a number of practical hurdles could make campaigning more difficult. For example, if he were to be sentenced to jail, Prakash says, that would inhibit his ability to conduct a campaignbut it wouldnt necessarily inhibit his ability to win. The New York judge assigned to Trumps case could have the ultimate decision on whether the former president can campaign while under indictment, though it seems unlikely that prosecutors would seek to detain the former president or restrict his campaign travel while the case is pending. In most white-collar crime cases like the one Trump faces, the defendant is immediately released following charges.

I cannot imagine that Trump would be convicted, and sent to jail, before the 2024 election season is over, Hasen says.

The legalities become more murky if Trump were to win the presidency while facing impending charges or a conviction. The Office of Legal Counsel has said you cant indict or prosecute or punish a sitting president, Prakash says. Theyve never had to discuss, to my knowledge, what happens if someone becomes president after being prosecuted or while in jail.
VIENTIANE, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Police departments of Laos and Vietnam have signed an agreement to step up cooperation in the fight against crime.

A signing ceremony was held in the Lao capital Vientiane on Wednesday, Lao Security News reported on Thursday. The agreement was signed between the general police department of Laos' Ministry of Public Security and the police investigation agency under Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security.

Under the agreement, the two parties will share information on policing work, drug smuggling, human trafficking, economic crime, criminal investigation, and the arrest of criminals in one country, among other issues. 
Dan Kitwood - Getty Images

Though business has taken Prince Harry to London for a brief visit, he won't have a chance to meet up with his family while he's in town.

The Duke of Sussex is currently attending a days-long pretrial hearing against Associated Newspapers at London's High Court, of which he is one of the claimants bringing legal action against the publisher for illegal information gathering.

BAZAAR.com understands that Harry notified his father, King Charles III, of his surprise visit before flying from California to London this past weekend, but was told that the monarch would be "too busy," a source says. (The king was originally slated to be in France at this time, but that visit was postponed due to anti-pension reform protests.)

King Charles and Queen Camilla departed today for a royal tour of Germany, but Buckingham Palace confirms to BAZAAR that the monarch was not in Windsor or London before his departure.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, tells BAZAAR that the family is "not in Windsor" due to Easter holidays.

Getty - Getty Images

Amid the hearing, Harry is staying at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, the Sussexes' official United Kingdom residence, which earlier this month Charles requested they vacate.

The Duke of Sussex intends to stay in London all week for the hearing against Associated Newspapers, which officially concludes tomorrow.

In a witness statement released yesterday, Harry alleged that the royal institution did not fully disclose all the details concerning a phone hacking incident by the British publisher.

"The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about NGN's phone hacking and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation," he said. "It is not an exaggeration to say that the bubble burst in terms of what I knew in 2020 when I moved out of the United Kingdom."

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Notice what Republicans say about former President Donald Trump.

And what they dont say.

Texans in Congress were quick to speak this weekend about the first of what may be multiple indictments of the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner, mainly because he remains the presidential front-runner.

But many sided less with Trump and more against Democrats or New York.

And some Texas Republicans remained mum in a state where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was leading or running even with Trump before his re-emergence as presidential victim.

U.S. Rep. Roger Williams addressed Donald Trumps campaign rally in Waco March 25, 2023.

Take Rep. Roger Williams of Parker County, a cagey 10-year congressman and 45-year local car dealer who now represents Arlington.

Williams was on stage along with My Pillow guy Mike Lindell and 1970s rocker Ted Nugent last week at Trumps Waco rally, endorsing Trump but talking repeatedly about a man whose first and last names sounded like one: Joebiden.

We need a business person to run the business of America, said Williams, chairman of the House Small Business Committee. Under Joebiden, were woke and were broke. ... At the end of the day, all of us have to stand with President Trump.

Five days later, with news looming of a Trump indictment on yet-unspecified charges, Williams kept his laser focus on one-word opponents: either former foes Obama, Hillary, Joebiden or simply Democrats.

Make no mistake, Williams posted at 8:25 p.m. Thursday on his campaign page at twitter.com/rogerwilliamstx: this crazy move by the rogue, liberal extremist NY DA is an attack on the American people.

It took him 38 words to name the defendant.

This is no doubt a desperate attempt by the far left to silence voters who support President Trump, Williams wrote. Democrats have fully weaponized our justice system for political purposes. This is a threat to the American People. We are fed up. We must save our country. I stand with President Trump.

As a new committee chairman, Williams has to line up with the team for Republican unity behind the partys apparent front-runner.

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Southern Methodist University professor Matthew Wilson, an expert on conservative Republican politics, said Williams strategy is a no-brainer.

Even those who may not personally be wild about Trump have every incentive to denounce this indictment as prosecutorial overreach, he wrote by email.

In his district, Williams has nothing to fear from a Democratic challenger or a moderate Republican, Wilson wrote.

 An incumbent Republican like Congressman Williams can only help himself by beating the drum on this, Wilson wrote. His only potential threat would be a Republican primary challenger from the right, and being aggressive and vocal in his defense of Trump and denouncing leftist capture of the justice system helps to pre-empt any thought of that.

Adam Radogna, from Ohio, holds a large flag while waiting to enter Donald Trumps Make America Great Again Rally in Waco, Texas, Saturday morning, March 25, 2023. Radogna travels to many of Donald Trumps rallies as part of a group called The Front Row Joes. We knew we needed to be here to support him, Radogna said. This is going to be big.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Houston lawyer, was not at the Waco rally. He has not endorsed Trump.

Notably, his comment was totally focused on the opposing party: The Democrat Partys hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds. ... This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.

Even several officials from Trumps Texas campaign were quiet about the legal case.

Trumps state campaign chairman, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, did not comment at first.

Weaponization of our courts for political grievances is an abhorrent abuse of power.



The George Soros-supported NYC DA is only furthering the radical liberal agenda to have elections determined at the jury box rather than the ballot box.



America deserves better.  Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 31, 2023

But Gov. Greg Abbott, who handles Trump the way you would handle a sizzling skillet over a campfire, commented before Patrick  although he never mentioned Trumps name.

Weaponization of our courts for political grievances is an abhorrent abuse of power, Abbott wrote. The George Soros-supported NYC DA is only furthering the radical liberal agenda to have elections determined at the jury box rather than the ballot box. America deserves better.

With nine months for 2024 challengers to file and nearly a year before primary voting, the possibility of multiple Trump indictments leaves Republicans in uncertain territory, yet certain they can benefit from voter backlash.

Basically, its all about being for Trump without being for Trump.
A historic late-March snowstorm and an unusually wet and chilly start to the year may have tricked you into thinking its still winter in Boise, but we promise that the start of spring has come and gone, and warmer weather will arrive eventually.

And with that warmer weather, Idahos trees and rolling hills will turn green, and wildflowers will dot the landscape with hues of purples, reds and yellows.

But for avid flower spotters, you must know what time of year certain flowers bloom and where to find them. Weve compiled some of Idahos best wildflowers, when you can spot them, and where.

Syringa

Its only fitting to start with Idahos state flower: the Syringa.

Syringa is not toxic to wildlife, and is the Idaho state flower.

Meriwether Lewis collected the flower in the 1800s during Lewis and William Clarks expedition of the Northwest following the Louisiana Purchase, giving the plant its Lewisii species name, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The flower can be found at the border of evergreen forests, according to Visit Idaho, something that the Gem State isnt short of. The Boise National Forest around Idaho City is a short drive from Boise and is a hot spot for the Syringa during their peak bloom in the middle of summer.

Camas Lilies

The camas lily is a six-petaled, blue-purple flower that often bunches together, creating a periwinkle sea. The lilies bloom around late May and continue through mid-June.

The best place to see them is in the aptly-named Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area near Fairfield in south-central Idaho. The management area is about a 100-mile drive from Boise.

Camas lilies at Centennial Marsh near Hill City.

Elkhorn Clarkia

Elkhorn Clarkia has four antler-like petals and can grow as tall as one-and-a-half feet.

The flower can be found throughout Central Idaho and blooms in late spring through mid-summer. The Elkhorn Clarkia flower was first found along the Clearwater River, which runs along the north and east boundaries of the Nez Perce Reservation, according to the Idaho Native Plant Society.

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Arrowleaf Balsamroot

You dont need to go trekking into the wild forests of Idaho to find beautiful flowers. The arrowleaf balsamroot is a bright yellow flower that grows along dry hillsides, sagebrush and flat plains.

The arrowleaf balsamroot flowers that bloom each spring along the Watchman trail create a sea of yellow.

The 6-inch tall flowers are found throughout the Boise National Forest, but you can also spot them as close as the Lucky Peak Lake area. The blooming season lasts from April to the first half of July.

Feeling peckish? The arrowleaf balsamroot is safe to eat, according to the U.S. Forest Service, and was often peeled open and eaten by Native Americans, as well as used medicinally to treat burns.

Idaho Trillium

Boise residents may know the word Trillium from the restaurant under the same name in downtown Boise, but the flower has been around a lot longer.

Trillium is one of the earliest wildflowers in the high country, sometimes appearing right after the snow melts.

The Trillium is one of the first flowers of spring, blooming at lower elevations in April before slowly making its way into the mountains. The Trillium is part of the lily family, but its large leaves that change color over time  from pink to purple to red  are the main attraction.

The Payette National Forest is one of the first locations in the state where these begin to bloom.
DALLAS (AP)  The story was a blockbuster: A former Texas voting official was on the record detailing how nearly three decades earlier, votes were falsified to give then-congressman Lyndon B. Johnson a win that propelled the future president into the U.S. Senate.

The audio recordings from Associated Press reporter James W. Mangan's interviews for the 1977 story were posted this week on the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum's archival website, Discover LBJ. After Mangan's death in 2015 at the age of 87, his family found the labeled cassette tapes at his San Antonio home and donated them last summer to the library on the campus of the University at Texas at Austin.

Luis Salas, the former South Texas election judge, told Mangan for the story: Johnson did not win that election; It was stolen for him. And I know exactly how it was done.

The story, which made front pages across the country, pulled back the curtain on the razor-thin victory that had drawn suspicions ever since election officials in rural Jim Wells County announced the discovery of uncounted votes in a ballot box known as Box 13 in the days after the 1948 Democratic primary Senate runoff. And now, at a time when election fraud is rare but former President Donald Trump and his allies amplify baseless allegations blaming it for his 2020 loss, the tapes and story show what compelling evidence of actual fraud looks like.

Mangan's son, Peter, said listening the tapes was like getting a little window into history."

On one cassette, he said, it sounds like his father is in his car, reciting what he'd just been told.

You can hear cars going by and hes kind of, you can tell hes a little excited, because I think he finally got the goods, Peter Mangan said.

Mark Lawrence, the library's director, said the recordings are deeply connected to one of the big mysteries and controversies thats hung around LBJ for decades. In a 1984 oral history that Salas gave to the library, he said one of the reasons he finally decided to talk was because he had been quite ill.

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Mangan said in a 2008 AP story that as he worked to convince Salas to go on the record, he told him: If you die, history will never know what happened.

Lawrence said much is now known about Box 13, thanks to both Mangan's 1977 story and research done later by LBJ biographer Robert Caro, who essentially reaffirmed Mangan's story and built on it.

The kinds of irregularities we can see were at work in the 1948 Senate race in Texas were, I think its fair to say, pretty widespread across American history and all regions of the country to one extent or another but certainly in the South and along the Mexican borderlands, as recently as the 1940s, Lawrence said.

Salas told Mangan that the powerful South Texas political boss George B. Parr  who wielded control with favors and coercion  ordered that some 200 votes be added to Box 13. Salas said he then watched as the fraudulent votes were added in alphabetical order, with the names coming from people who hadnt voted in the election.

The new votes gave Johnson the primary victory over then-Gov. Coke Stevenson by an 87-vote margin. Johnson  subsequently bestowed with the nickname Landslide Lyndon  went on to easily defeat the Republican in the general election, long before the GOP became the dominant force in Texas politics.

Johnson, elected to the U.S. House in 1937, had run for U.S. Senate in 1941 and lost to then-Gov. Wilbert Lee Pappy O'Daniel in an election widely accepted by historians to have been corrupt, Lawrence said.

The standard story that gets told, and I think theres an awful lot to it, is that when LBJs second chance comes along in 1948, hes determined not to have the election stolen from him again," Lawrence said.

Lawrence said the 1948 Senate victory catapults" Johnson to national attention. Johnson became then-President John F. Kennedy's vice president and was sworn in as president Nov. 22, 1963, after Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Johnson was elected president in 1964. He decided not to run again in 1968 and died of a heart attack in 1973 at the age of 64.

Lawrence said that while the Box 13 incident shows that LBJ was willing to do what he had to do to maintain political power," he was also a man who, when he had the opportunity, he was more inclined to act on principle. Lawrence noted Johnson's efforts to ensure that people were able to vote in fair and equitable elections.

In 1965, Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed practices designed to disenfranchise Black voters by banning literary tests and poll taxes. The act also gave the federal government the authority to take over voter registration in counties with a pattern of persistent racial discrimination, although that is no longer the case after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the requirement in 2013.

James Mangan retired from AP on Jan. 1, 1989, after a 36-year career with the company that took him to cities across the U.S. and to Europe. With each move, Peter Mangan said, his father held on to the Box 13 tapes.

He always kept these," he said, "so I know they must have been important to him.
Lee Circuit Judge Robert J. Branning cleared the way Thursday for a long-awaited trial for a man accused of fatally shooting a Fort Myers police officer nearly five years ago.

Wisner Desmaret, 34, of Fort Myers, is accused of killing Adam Jobbers-Miller along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fort Myers on July 21, 2018.

Thursday, he accused the Fort Myers Police Department of attempting to have him killed both during his arrest and after, questioned the courts about seating an impartial jury and attempted to have counsel appointed to assist him dismissed.

Desmaret faces charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder of a second Fort Myers police officer, resisting an officer with violence, robbery, depriving an officer of his means of protection, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, burglary of a conveyance and grand theft.

He faces a possible death penalty upon conviction.

State Attorney Amira Fox and Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner, of the homicide unit, are prosecuting the case. Desmaret represents himself, with longtime defense attorney Lee Hollander as standby counsel.

Wisner Desmaret was in court Thursday afternoon, March 30, 2023. He is accused in the shooting death of Fort Myers Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller. Desmaret, who police said was fleeing during a suspected theft of a cellphone, is accused of grabbing Jobbers-Miller's gun during a scuffle and shooting him in the head on July 21, 2018. He faces the death penalty. After denying repeated offers from Judge Robert J. Branning for new counsel, Desmaret has opted to represent himself in court. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday, April 3, 2023.

Desmaret again attempted to have Branning dismiss Hollander from his case. Branning had appointed Holland as a public defender to assist Desmaret through the trial.

Branning explained to Desmaret he can't remove Hollander as the defendant represents himself. Branning reiterated several times Hollander is on standby.

"Alright, I want this man off my case, too," Desmaret said of Hollander.

Dentist arrested: Naples dentist charged with 200 child pornography counts, CCSO says

Co-defendant sentenced: Fort Myers man who fled court during kidnapping deliberation sentenced to 30 years

Confusion, accusations of a set up

Desmaret early on expressed confusion about two separate case numbers he said were associated with him.

Hollander and Branning explained to Desmaret one is a case number, while the other references a police incident report.

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"It looks like its the same thing, but separate thing," Desmaret said.

Desmaret claims Fort Myers Police and others are trying to frame him. He said theyre trying to frame him with "dirty guns," adding he wasnt in town during the shooting.

'I want the world to know'

Branning repeatedly told him jury selection begins Monday as Desmaret said he had many questions about the trial.

Desmaret said he's ready.

"I want the whole world to know," Desmaret said of what happened the day Jobbers- Miller died.

Desmaret claims police plot to kill him

Desmaret said another officer told Jobbers-Miller to kill him the day of the shooting, adding he took off running and was in fear for his life. He alleged it didn't end there.

At the hospital, he said, an officer encouraged a fellow officer to shoot Desmaret four times.

"The state is trying to get my family to frame me," he said. Desmaret said Fort Myers Police has stalked him and is "putting money" on his head.

Court procedures questioned

Branning said 75 potential jurors will be called in each day until they can reduce the pool to about 60 potential jurors. Jury selection could take several days.

Branning mentioned discussing the death penalty with potential jurors.

Desmaret said jurors wont be fair, alleging theyre associated with officers.

"I feel the whole city was against me," Desmaret said.

Hollander and Branning cautioned him.

"Its a small city, so Im sure a lot of people know about this case," Desmaret said.

Desmaret said Fort Myers is a "small town," implying jurors should be selected statewide, given the state is prosecuting his case.

Misunderstanding of guilt phase v. guilty face

Hollander objected the use of guilt phase describing the first part of the trial, suggesting the repeated use of "guilt phase" compared to "penalty phase."

Desmaret misinterpreted the term "guilty phase" for "guilty face." He said theyre looking at him as if he has a "guilt face."

"My life is on the line," Desmaret said.

Desmaret said Hollander wont advocate for him, leading him to again ask to represent himself in trial.

The day of Adam Jobbers-Miller's shooting

Jobbers-Miller, 29, was a two-year veteran of the Fort Myers force. Before moving to Florida to pursue a career as a police officer, Jobbers-Miller worked as a volunteer firefighter in Wayne, New Jersey.

Jobbers-Miller was pursuing Desmaret, accused of stealing a cellphone, when Desmaret grabbed his gun and shot him along, according to police. Jobbers-Miller died days later from his injuries.

Also shot and injured, Desmaret was arrested July 29, 2018, upon his release from Lee Memorial Hospital.

Sara Miles, spokesperson for the 20th Judicial Circuit, said the trial could extend through late April.

Fox and Kristin Capuzzi, spokesperson for Fort Myers Police, said they won't comment until the trial is complete.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Murder trial in death of Fort Myers police officer starts Monday
REUTERS/Go Nakamura

Within minutes of the news that former President Donald Trump had been indicted on Thursday, his GOP lackeys on Capitol Hill were immediately peddling Trumps talking points against the case.

Theyre calling it a witch hunt and political prosecution to take Trump down amid his 2024 presidential bid. And theyre promising actionusing buzzwords like weaponization, in an apparent echo of the House GOPs efforts to investigate the weaponization of the federal government this Congress.

The Regime occupying our country and systematically killing America is most afraid of President Donald J. Trump. Period. He's our guy, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) posted alongside a photo of Trump staring deeply into the camera.

Impeach Biden. Hes given us every reason and the family banking records and more are giving us receipts. But now that the gloves are off.. Prosecute any and all crimes. Enough of this witch hunt bullshit, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wrote.

The Storm Arrives: NYC Grand Jury Indicts Donald Trump

BREAKING: Trump has been indicted! This is another political witch hunt targeting the peoples President, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) protested.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), another loyal Trump ally in House GOP leadership, called it unprecedented election interference. Other members suggested the prosecution is purely politically motivated and that if Trump were not running for re-election, this case wouldnt have been brought.

For many, above all else, the news Thursday was yet another opportunity for Republicans to strike at New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted the Stormy Daniels case. Trumps indictment centers around an alleged $130,000 hush money payment to the porn actress.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Republican committee chairs on the Hill have already been weighing their options against Bragg, toying with the idea of subpoenaing him after the DA said he would not testify or hand over documents related to the case. Prior to the indictment, some members had been hesitant to wade too far into the case.

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But now, they may change.

Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election. As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump, McCarthy wrote. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

DeSantis Talks Tough After Indictment. Trumpers Unimpressed.

Alvin Bragg is a NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT to our justice system. President Trump has been proven to have done NO wrong. This is nothing more than a political stunt to prevent Trump from becoming President in 2024! Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) posted.

President Donald Trump always fought for usA majority of Americans know Alvin Braggs witch hunt is a politically motivated, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said.

As of Thursday, both the House and Senate are in recess for two weeks, meaning members will largely be able to avoid questions from the press over the indictment. But the case is only expected to continue heating up as Braggs office works to arrange Trumps surrender ahead of an arraignment next week.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Kathy Burke has told young people to be woke as she called out people who use of the term as an insult.

In a recent episode of her Channel 4 documentary series Kathy Burke: Growing Up, the comedian explored the topics that matter to young people today.

After meeting with a climate activist, Burke said: I think activism is a part of being young, and its important that the young show us what their p***ed off about.

Its not a fad and its not wokeism, Burke continued, mimicking large air quotes. Can I just say, that gets on my f***ing nerves.

Theyre calling you woke if you call out bad things, basically. If youre not racist, youre woke. If youre not homophobic, oh, youre woke. Be woke, kids. Be woke. Be wide awake and f***ing call it out.

The clip was circulated online, with journalist Neil Mackay writing: Applause to the great Kathy Burke.

All hail @KathyBurke, one commenter wrote. If anyone accuses you of being woke, say thank you and feel proud. Giving a shit is being weaponised. Caring about social injustice shouldnt feel like an insult. Go woke or go home.

Many fans shared the clip while referencing recent comments made by Amanda Holden, who claimed this week that the late Paul OGrady was not woke in any way as he had massive opinions.

This ones for @AmandaHolden via @KathyBurke, one commenter wrote, reposting the footage.

The term woke originally comes from African-American culture, meaning being alert to racial prejudice.

However, in recent years it has been used to more broadly refer to awareness of social prejudice.

According to the Collins Dictionary, a woke person is described as someone who is very aware of social and political unfairness.

Kathy Burke: Growing Up is available to stream on Channel 4 now.
Blendon Township detectives are continuing to investigate after a 40-year-old woman was shot and killed at an apartment complex Thursday night.

Blendon Township police said in a statement that Brooke Palm, 40, of Reynoldsburg, was found shot at the Westerville Oaks apartment complex on Harbin Place. The shooting was reported around 8:25 p.m. Thursday.

Officers found Palm outside between apartment buildings and performed first aid and CPR until paramedics arrived. She was taken to an area hospital but died at 9:24 p.m. Thursday.

A male suspect, 32-year-old Jonathan Reed, was taken into custody at the scene and a handgun was recovered, police said. Reed has since been charged with murder and is being held in the Franklin County jail.

According to court records, Reed allegedly admitted to shooting Palm with a handgun. His first court appearance is scheduled for Saturday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting Blendon Township in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Lt. Josh Retherford at 614-882-8500 or at jretherford@blendontwp.org.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Woman killed in Blendon Twp. shooting, suspect charged with murder
Nov 9, 2005; Washington, DC, USA; Associate justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Sandra Day O'Connor is one of USA TODAYs Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. Meet this years honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.

Sandra Day O'Connor is out of the public eye. At 93, she has lived a private life in Arizona since sharing she had dementia in 2018.

But the work of O'Connor, the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, was front and center in 2022.

She was the author, with Justices Anthony Kennedy and David Souter, of the court's opinion in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey. That ruling upheld the abortion rights granted by Roe v. Wade and held that states could impose restrictions on abortion as long as they didnt pose an undue burden."

Her opinion also cited stare decisis, the principle of adhering to precedent, in upholding Roe.

In overturning the right to an abortion in June, the court reversed course and discarded precedent, renouncing the rulings of both Roe and Casey. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Justice Samuel Alito wrote, "Precedents should be respected, but sometimes the Court errs, and occasionally the Court issues an important decision that is egregiously wrong. When that happens, stare decisis is not a straitjacket."

This is a 1982 official portrait of the Supreme Court. Seated from left are Thurgood Marshall; William Brennan Jr.; Chief Justice Warren Burger, Byron White and Harry Blackmun. Standing from left, John Paul Stevens, Lewis Powell, William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor.

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington, Monday, Oct. 31, 2005. Seated, from left: Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, John G. Roberts Jr., Sandra Day O'Connor, and Anthony M. Kennedy. Standing, from left: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, and Stephen Breyer.

O'Connor's oldest son, Scott, says Alito is the one who got it wrong.

"I don't buy the rationale in Dobbs," he said. "I understand that the makeup of the court has changed, has got a more conservative majority, but I was disappointed in the quality of the rationale for the decision."

He says precedent should matter.

"It's heartbreaking to see Mom's most famous cases be reversed by her immediate successor that filled her vacancy," he said. "That's rough."

He saw the stress the Casey decision put on his mom.

"She got more mail on the abortion cases than any other cases she ever had," he said. "And on that big one, there are three co-authors of the main opinion, not one. And that was Mom trying not to be the sole focus of all the hate, and she was able to get Souter and Kennedy to join her in the opinion, so that they could distribute the burden a little bit."

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O'Connor was known for being a centrist on the court. She was often a swing vote, bridging the gap between the court's conservatives and liberals. In 2000, OConnor cast the decisive vote in a case among the court's most controversial and one that would change history  Bush v. Gore. O'Connor herself said the case that allowed George W. Bush to claim the presidency "stirred up the public" and "gave the court a less-than perfect reputation."

"Obviously the court did reach a decision and thought it had to reach a decision," she told the Chicago Tribune editorial board in 2013. "It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn't done a real good job there and kind of messed it up. And probably the Supreme Court added to the problem at the end of the day."

What would she wish for the court now?

"That everybody was more collegial and less partisan-driven in the legal analysis in the opinions, and that there was more of a center of the court," Scott said. "I'm sure that's what she'd be thinking."

O'Connor was also passionate about teaching kids civics. She has said she's just as proud of this work as she is of her work on the bench.

Scott said the work started after the Terri Schiavo case erupted in Florida. Schiavo collapsed in 1990 from full cardiac arrest that deprived her brain of oxygen. Multiple doctors confirmed she was in a persistent vegetative state. Her husband and parents disagreed over ending life support and ended up in court, which sided with the husband and said her feeding tube could be removed. But then-Gov. Jeb Bush signed "Terri's Law," allowing it to be reinserted. Schiavo died in 2005 after a final court ruling to remove the tube.

"Mom was afraid that cases like that would motivate politicians to take the judging away from the judges, and that's not how our system is designed," Scott said. "We have this fantastic Constitution with three co-equal branches, and she saw a threat to the co-equal third branch of the judiciary that the politicians were going to try, when there was a decision they didn't like, that the politicians would want to grab turf from the judges.

"She saw that as a real threat to our system."

O'Connor started a website to teach young people about the court system but soon realized they needed to know far more about our democracy.

"That was the eureka moment," Scott said. His mother created the nonpartisan iCivics as a way to teach kids about self-government. "And she's had good people working there ever since that have grown it from the little humble beginnings to this school year, they could potentially hit 10 million students. Isn't that just amazing?"

This month, the Sandra Day OConnor Institute for American Democracy launched a new website, Civics for Life, to educate all ages about civic engagement.

On the bench and with her civics education, O'Connor wanted to reinforce that politicians should not interfere in the courts.

"The court is still doing its job," Scott said. "The run she had at one point, the court went 11 or 12 years without a change, and that group really worked well together. Sure, there were some snarky footnotes along the way, but it was a really good group that stayed together for 12 years, and it's evolved quite a bit since then. And right now it's a pretty divided court, and so I think she'd just be sad to see it this divided."

He wants his mom to be remembered as someone who represented the mainstream.

"She wasn't an extremist at all," he said. "And I think at the top, top levels of our government, I think you need people that are grounded and centered and are in touch with sort of mainstream America so that we have less screaming and shouting and carrying on and trying to drive it from the fringe. She represented dead center mainstream, what it was to be American. She got it."

In October 2009, Carroll interviewed O'Connor along with Ruth McGregor, O'Connor's former clerk and retired Arizona Supreme Court chief justice. The interview is reprinted here, edited for length and clarity.

In your early childhood, back on the Lazy B Ranch, your parents had great expectations for you and your brother and your sister. You are now known for having a no-excuses work ethic. Can you talk about how growing up on that ranch made you who you are?

Sandra Day O'Connor: I did grow up in a very remote part of Arizona. We always got up early. In fact, on days when we were rounding up, we had to get up by 3:30 in the morning. I think this is in (my autobiography) but one morning I had gotten up at 3:30 as had my father, because we had a roundup that day. I went in the kitchen and we fixed a little breakfast. I don't know what we had, but something to eat before we started out for a long day. I was rinsing the dishes off at the sink and the window looked to the north and a little bit east. I looked out that window and the whole sky lightened up.

Sandra Day O'Connor graduated high school at 16 and attended Stanford. Her college photos are pictured here.

It was like there had been a massive explosion and it lightened the entire sky some distance away. I called my father over it and said, "Look at that. That's really peculiar. What do you think that is?" He thought it was very odd. He said, "Well, I really don't know. I think it could be some train going across with a load of explosives." It was during World War II. He said, "It must have blown up on the tracks or something like that."

We couldn't figure it out. The light lasted longer than you would think. It was weeks later when we learned that what we saw that morning was the explosion of the first atomic bomb up at White Sands (Missile Range). We had no idea what we were seeing that day. But see, it pays to get up early, it's OK.

Sandra Day at her familys Lazy B Ranch in Arizona, circa the 1940s.

Also, in your book, you talk quite a bit about what your mother and father gave you. Your father obviously gave you high expectations and the love of the land. Your mom taught you to read by the time you were 4.

O'Connor: She was a teacher so she was eager to teach me to read. I was a reader and they loved to read. We had a pretty good library for the remote place that we were living in. That was nice. I often would have my nose in a book when my father would come in and say, "OK, why don't we go up to tank two and deliver some salt blocks?" And I'd say, "Oh, I don't want to do that, I'm in the middle of my book."

Then he'd have to find some excuse to get me to give up my book. Some surprise he had for me to see along the way. Then I'd go and we'd have a wonderful adventure. I don't think they had high expectations of me as such. It was just that whatever job I was given to do, I was expected to do it well. Now if I did, I never got a "thank you" or "well done," but if I didn't, I sure heard about it. I think that's just the cowboy ethic. You do what you have to do and you're expected to do it correctly. If you don't, you're going to hear about it.

If your sons were to write a book about you and your husband, John, what it was like growing up and what you instilled in them, what would they say?

The O'Connor family, from left: Jay, John, Sandra, Scott and Brian. This photo was taken at their home in Phoenix in the mid 1970s.

O'Connor: Well, it might be a lot of ranch stuff, too. I was a working mother. The thing that I would worry about the most with those children was I didn't want them to have any free time on their own after school before I got home. Because heaven knows what would go on, I didn't want that. My greatest effort was put into finding some activities that they were engaged in that would keep them busy until I got home. That was a challenge. In the summer was the hardest because they were not in school. Now the Navajo have a theory and it is this, that all discipline of children should be carried out by the mother's brother. All right.

My brother was out at the Lazy B because after he graduated from the University of Arizona, he went back to the ranch. It was a big job and my father was getting older, and so my brother was there. He was very active in the ranch, and they were agreeable to having our children come in the summer to the Lazy B. That was great for me because I knew they were busy, because the minute they got there, they'd be put to work doing things. But it was things they loved. My brother would let them drive the pickup truck, shoot rabbits and all the things kids would just adore to do. They thought he was fabulous. To prove it, this was the '60s when all kids wanted their hair long. Well, they'd get to the ranch and my brother would say, "Well, sit down. First thing we're going to do is cut your hair." And they'd say, "OK." They wouldn't say OK to me, but for him they would. So it's the mother's brother, remember that.

After you graduated from Stanford, spent some time in Germany, you came back to Phoenix. This is 1958. And, of course, law firms still weren't hiring women.

O'Connor: I got out of law school in 1952, in the middle of the last century and things were different. And 1% of law students in those days were female across the country. One percent. That's what it was at Stanford, too. And I was very naive because I never thought for a minute when I was in law school that I'd have trouble getting a job. It never occurred to me. And I got out and here are all these notices on the placement bulletin board for Stanford Law grads, "Call us, we want to talk to you." Well, I called every single number and not one of them would even talk to me. Not one.

And I had an undergraduate friend at Stanford whose dad was a lawyer in a big law firm in Los Angeles. And I said, "Could you talk to your father and see if I could get an interview at the firm?" She did, and he did, and I went down to Los Angeles and met with this distinguished partner. "Oh, Miss Day, you have a fine resume here. But Miss Day, this firm has never hired a lawyer who's a woman. And I don't see the day when we will. Our clients wouldn't stand for it." Well, I'm sure I just said, "Oh, how can this be?" And to cheer me up, he said, "Well, Miss Day, how well do you type?" I said, "So-so." And he said, "Well, if you can type well enough, I might be able to get you on here as a legal secretary." But I said, "No, that isn't what I wanted to do. And thank you." So that was that.

Former United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor poses for a portrait outside her house in Paradise Valley on May 4, 2009.

And I learned via the grapevine that the county attorney in San Mateo County just north of Stanford had once had a woman lawyer on his staff. And I thought, "Aha, he had one, maybe he'd have another one." And I contacted the office to make an appointment to see him. And I did. And he was charming. We had a nice visit and he showed me around the office, and he didn't have many deputies at the time. And he said, "You have a fine resume." He said, "I'm sure you'd do a good job. And yes, I had a woman lawyer here and she did a good job. I'd be happy to have you." But he said, "I get my money from the county board of supervisors and I don't have any money to hire another deputy. I'm out of luck here."

He had taken me through the offices and he said, "And as you could see, I don't have an empty office to put another deputy." So I went back to the Lazy B Ranch and I wrote him a long letter. That letter's now in the museum in San Mateo County. He never threw it away. I told him all the things I thought I could do for him, and I let him know that I would be willing to work for him for nothing until he could persuade the supervisors in time that he needed a little more money. And I said, "I know you don't have room. But I met your secretary. She's very nice, and I'd be happy to put a desk in next to hers if she'd have me." That was my first job. He took me, no pay, and I put my desk in with his secretary.

I'll tell you something, I loved my job because I immediately started getting legal questions to answer that had been submitted by the various county officials and officers and boards and commissions. I was doing civil, not criminal, work and I absolutely loved the job. So it was good. And I had been there about three and a half months when he was made the county judge and that opened a vacancy. My supervisor was made county attorney, and then I had a bona fide job with pay and an office. How about that?

In 1969, you asked for and were appointed to an Arizona Senate seat. You later won the election and became Senate majority leader. Later, when you were talking about your public life, you gave a quote from Margaret Mead. It said, "If women want real power and change, they must run for public office and use the vote more intelligently." Can you talk about women in public office, how important that is and what you meant by that?

O'Connor: Well, it was terribly important to us back in the 1960s and '70s and '80s because women in this country held a very small percentage of positions in Congress and in state legislative bodies. It was too small. They just weren't holding public office in any great numbers. And so I thought Margaret Mead was right in suggesting that women had to be much more active in trying to hold jobs like that.

It should just be the norm and accepted that women are going to hold offices at every level and participate in every way. That's what it's all about.

Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor raises her right hand to be sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9, 1981.

In 1981, this is the big moment when you were on the short list for the U.S. Supreme Court and you had a 45-minute meeting with President Reagan, and afterward you said you weren't so sure you were going to get the job.

O'Connor: Oh, I didn't think I was. I breathed a big sigh of relief, frankly. I mean, no. It was inconceivable to me that I would be asked to serve on the court. For one thing, my classmate, my good friend, my fellow Arizonan, Bill Rehnquist, was already on the Supreme Court. Now, you don't put on the Supreme Court close friends and classmates and people from the same state, that's one of the things you don't do. So I thought it was just inconceivable.

I was very interested to go back to Washington and meet the president's top Cabinet officials and talk to him and go in the Oval Office. That was heady stuff for somebody from Arizona. But I didn't for one moment think I would be asked to do that. And when I got on the plane to come back that afternoon, I just breathed a big sigh of relief and said to myself, "Well, that was really interesting, but thank heavens I don't have to go do that job."

President Reagan and his Supreme Court Justice nominee Sandra Day OConnor at the White House on July 15, 1981.

So you get called and you get offered the job. Now what are you feeling?

O'Connor: Well, my heart sank, frankly. It did. It did. I really didn't want it. I'll tell you why. It's fine to be the first to do something major, but I didn't want to be the last. And if I took it and didn't do it well, it might have been the last. And I just thought that was kind of high risk. And so it was my husband who said, "Of course he'll ask you, and of course you have to do it. You'll do fine." Well, what did he know? Anyway, I said yes, and it started the next 25 years, the next chapter.

We had to sit down in that office and figure out how to run an office at the U.S. Supreme Court. I didn't have a single person in there who had ever worked at the court. We had no clue how the paperwork flowed. There is no how-to-do-it manual for a new justice, nothing. Nothing. And all the justices, "Oh, let me know how I can help." But then they go back to work, and that's that. And we didn't know. And the basic things, how did the petitions for certiorari get treated? How do they come to you? In what order? How do you deal with them? What do we want to vote to take? What don't we... We didn't know anything. And the four law clerks and I piled all the petitions for certiorari  there were thousands of them; they'd accumulated over the summer  we piled them on the floor in the chambers, and we sat there and each of us took two chambers at the court to find out how they handled things. And then we tried to pool our knowledge and figured out how the O'Connor Chambers should operate. And it was a real challenge. My goodness.

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in her chambers at the Supreme Court building on Jan. 16, 2002.

You learn the hard way. For instance, I had a call a couple of years later from one of the justices saying, "Sandra, how'd you like to write the dissent in case X?" He said the case. And I looked at my notes and I said, "Well, I wasn't sure how I should decide that case. When we talked about it at conference, I reserved final judgment on it because I wasn't really sure. Could I pass for now?" He hung up on me. Clank. Well, unwritten law, if you are asked by a justice senior to you to write the dissent and if the justice has the authority to make the request, it's a request you can't refuse. So I really got myself in trouble. Well, I didn't know, nobody helped.

So it was a tough situation those early years. And Ruth McGregor helped more than you can ever imagine. She was an absolute godsend to have in that chambers. And if I succeeded at all, it was thanks to Ruth McGregor.

Justice Ruth McGregor: I can't imagine that you could have foreseen in any way the amount of attention that would be given to you that first year. I mean, everybody would come up to you. And it always started out, "Justice O'Connor, I don't want to interrupt you, but," That's what everybody would say and then they would interrupt her. But they recognized you everywhere. The press followed you everywhere. They wanted to know about the menus that you served. They watched you and John move boxes into your apartment.

O'Connor: Well, we learned many months later by accident that some person or persons from the press had been regularly examining all our trash from the apartment in hopes of finding letters or things that they could use. Imagine. That never occurred to me. I was shocked.

McGregor: So over the years, did you work out some ways to deal with that attention?

O'Connor: Well, no. I mean, really. No. I don't know. Life goes on somehow.

It was a big change for your whole family. Your husband, John, had a magazine quote, he said, "Sandra's accomplishments don't make me a lesser man. They make me a fuller man."

O'Connor: He was fabulous. He really was. It's so hard to be a husband of a woman who's in some high position and well known. It's got to be hard. And he was just fantastic. And he was the one who always said, "Oh yes, do it. You'll do great. You're fine." He was wonderful. And he seemed never to resent it at all. Even though he had to give up his position at (his Phoenix law firm) because they didn't have an office in Washington, D.C. It put him on the street looking for work. And no firm particularly wanted to hire him because then they'd be disqualified from coming to the Supreme Court with a case because of that. So, it was certainly not easy for him. And yet he never objected or complained. He was just absolutely amazing. He should have run for public office as a young person because he was so engaging, he would've been terrific. But anyway.

One of your passions right now is the OConnor House project, a space used to host civic groups. Wed love to hear a little more about that.

O'Connor: Well, John and I, in 1957, he had been drafted and he was in the Army Judge Advocate Generals, and we were in Germany. He took his discharge over there, and we both liked to ski. So we rented a cottage in Kitzbuhel, Austria. We kept it until the last flake of snow had melted on the mountains in Kitzbuhel. We skied all day, every day, for the entire winter, and it was just heaven. It was just the most delightful thing. So we didn't have any more money, and we had a little black Volkswagen Beetle. We brought it back with us to the U.S. and landed in New York and then started our trek across the country hoping John could find a job. That was the idea, look for work. He stopped in several cities and looked around, and we visited friends and relatives in route.

When we got to Phoenix, we didn't have a lot of friends in Phoenix, but Bill and Nan Rehnquist were living here. They were our friends from Stanford. So we touched base with everybody. He took a job (at a Phoenix law firm), and I was so glad he did. We made friends, and we wanted to have a little house.

We had rented an apartment and I was pregnant and had this first baby, a little boy, and we needed a house, so we wanted to build a sun-dried adobe house. There's burnt adobe that is more like a cement brick, but the sun-dried adobe is just the mud mixed with clay and straw and the things they put in it, and it's just dried mud. You don't want to expose it to a bunch of water, but Phoenix doesn't have much water, so that's pretty good. Anyway, we needed to find out if we could get these sun-dried adobes. Somebody told us about (a man who knew adobe). He said that he could arrange for us to get adobes made out of the Salt River bed in Tempe.

So we thought, "Huh, OK." Then we needed an architect and we didn't have any money. (John) was earning $300 a month, I think, and I wasn't earning anything at the moment. So we found this starving young architect that seemed to have some talent and said we just wanted plans. He came up with a dandy plan, at least we thought it was. Then we had to find somebody who'd build with adobe. So the house went up, and when you build with adobe, you have to have a lot of adobe mud. You put a row of adobe bricks down, and then you have to slop a bunch of mud on top of the whole surface and put the next layer on. Then the wet mud squirts out the joints.

John and I had to scrape every joint in that house with electric conduit to make it look like the joint. Then we had to paint the adobe walls. We didn't want them plastered. We painted them with thin coats of mud. Then we finished it by painting them with skim milk. The casing in the milk dries, and if you have regular milk, there's too much fat in it and it doesn't work, but the skim milk with the casing works. The result was just, I thought, fabulous. We loved it, and so that was a great place to be.

Later, we had some additional property, and we put a pool and a guest house and a dance floor, 'cause we liked dancing. It was a great place. I used it all the years we were here in Phoenix to have groups with which we were associated meet and talk about things and get things done.

I had agreed with the State Department of the U.S. that we would accept foreign visitors who came through and we'd host them, take them to dinner or lunch and touring around. Lots of people wanted to come to see Grand Canyon, so we'd take care of them here. We met so many interesting people from countries all over the world and entertained at that house.

We would use that house, the patio, the outdoor area to get people together, make a little Mexican food and open some beer and have good conversation that could lead to action. So when we moved to Washington, D.C., in 1981, we needed money because housing back there is much more costly than here. So we had to sell the house, and that was very sad because it isn't the kind of house that most people would want, an old adobe that would melt in the rain.

So anyway, we sold it and eventually it was resold and then resold again, and the owner decided to tear it down. That was when friends here in the valley said, "We think the house ought to be saved." They formed a charitable corporation and tried to raise a little money to relocate the house. I said, "You can't. It's an adobe house on a concrete slab. You can't do that." They said, "Well, we think we can. We found somebody who thinks they can." Believe me, it was hard. But it now has the most beautiful home site on a hill adjacent to the Arizona Historical Society Museum.

I went in it for the first time yesterday, and I must say I had tears. It was overwhelming to be there and see it, and it looks perfect. It's just back to the basic original house, but it is just wonderful. I want you to go.

I thought that in light of today's world and the difficulty we're having today in getting along and accomplishing things at the national level and at the state level too, that maybe we could use that house to promote the notion of civil talk, which can lead to civic action.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sandra Day O'Connor named Women of the Year honoree
Earlier this week, a grand jury in New York indicted Donald Trump, making him the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges in 150 years.

The exact charges remain sealed until Tuesday, when he will be arraigned. One accusation stems from the former presidents role with a hush-money payment to an adult film actress during his 2016 campaign, as first reported by the New York Times.

Even with the indictment and the possibility of additional charges, Trump, who is a Republican presidential candidate in 2024, could still run for office.

States are not required to charge by grand jury but many states do, including North Carolina. The exact procedures for a criminal case vary depending on multiple factors, such as whether the crime committed is a felony or misdemeanor.

Heres a breakdown of the states adult criminal justice process from the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys:

Offense: Crime is committed.

Investigation: Continues throughout the process.

Arrest: Defendant is charged. Bond is set after the arrest and can be reviewed at any court hearing.

First Appearance: Bond is reviewed. Defendant advised of rights.

Probable Cause Hearing: Felony cases only. Possible grand jury indictment.

Entry of Plea: Plea negotiations and guilty pleas can happen any time before a verdict.

Trial: Misdemeanor cases are generally tried in district court. Felony cases are presented in Superior Court.

Sentencing: If convicted, the defendant will be sentenced by a judge.

Appeal to a Higher Court: Not all cases are appealed.

What does the grand jury do?

For potential felony charges, evidence will be presented to a grand jury, made up of 16-23 people who do not know the defendant.

After listening to prosecutors and witnesses, the group votes whether there is sufficient evidence for a person to be charged. By federal law, all proceedings and statements made before a grand jury are sealed.

How is a grand jury chosen in NC?

As stated in the North Carolina Grand Juror Handbook, members of the grand jury are chosen from the master jury list prepared by an independent Jury Commission in each county that draws names from lists of registered voters and licensed drivers.

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Nine people are selected at random from the master jury list during the first session of criminal Superior Court held in the respective county, after January 1 and July 1, making up the full group of 18 members of the jury.

Are states required to use a grand jury?

No. Many states, including North Carolina, do charge by use of a grand jury. Only the federal government is required to use the grand jury for all felony crimes.

What is an indictment?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, an indictment is a formal notice to let a person know they are being accused of committing a crime. The indictment contains the basic information of the charges against them.

What happens after an indictment?

Either the same day or the day after a person is arrested and charged, an initial hearing with a magistrate judge will be held to go over the charges and their rights. Arrangements are also made for the defendant to have an attorney and a judge decides if that person will be held in prison or released until the trial. The defendant will also be asked to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges.

Pleading guilty vs. not guilty

If the defendant pleads guilty, there will be no trial and preparation will begin for a sentencing hearing. If they plead not guilty, a preliminary hearing will take place where evidence will be presented and witnesses will speak. Ultimately, a trial will be scheduled if the judge decides the crime was committed. Otherwise, the charges will be dismissed.
PHNOM PENH, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Egypt have signed three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to advance bilateral cooperation in the fields of culture, antiquities, and diplomacy, said a Cambodian Foreign Ministry's press on Friday.

The MoUs were inked on Thursday during Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn's official visit to Egypt, the statement said.

The deals included an MoU on cultural cooperation, an MoU on cooperation in the fields of archaeology, museums and heritages, and an MoU on cooperation between the National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations of Cambodia and the Institute for Diplomatic Studies of Egypt, it said.

Prior to the signing ceremony, Sokhonn held a bilateral meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, discussing opportunities to further strengthen and broaden cooperation in various fields, the statement said.

The two ministers also agreed to promote bilateral trade and economic cooperation, tourism, education, and agriculture, it added. 
Since last fall, Central Valley agricultural workers have had less work due to prolonged rain storms and the resulting flooding.

But undocumented immigrants are ineligible for unemployment insurance, disaster relief and many other safety net services. Thats left many farmworkers  like Mariano Carranza, an undocumented immigrant from Guerrero, Mexico who has lived in Fresno for more than 20 years  struggling to pay for groceries, rent and other bills.

Sometimes we rely on our savings and use them all to get by, Carranza said in Spanish during a meeting last Friday at Fresno City Hall.

Now, farmworkers and immigrants advocates are calling on state leaders to expand the social safety net so undocumented Californians can qualify for assistance.

They are rallying in support of a bill introduced by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, known as the Excluded Workers Program, which would allow undocumented workers to receive unemployment benefits for two years.

Gov. Newsom vetoed a similar proposal last year, citing the multi-million-dollar cost to update the Employment Development Departments information technology systems.

Approximately 1.1 million workers in California are undocumented, and collectively they contribute $3.7 billion in state and local tax revenues, reported UC Merceds Community and Labor Center.

Our community is affected by not having access to unemployment benefits, Armando Celestino, Triqui interpreter with the Centro Binacional para el Desarollo Indigena Oaxaqueno (CBDIO), or the Binational Center for the Development of Oaxacan Indigenous Communities, said in Spanish. We want this to change.

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Bills aim to extend safety net to undocumented Californians

Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, introduced the Excluded Workers Pilot Program last year. Under the program, undocumented workers who had lost their job or had their work hours reduced could receive up to $300 a week for 20 weeks.

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Proponents say such a program is even more critical this year. The COVID-19 pandemic, along with the years-long drought followed by severe rains and flooding, they say, has underscored the vulnerability of the men and women who harvest the countrys fruits and vegetables.

Under Durazos proposal, the Excluded Workers Program would run for two years  from 2025 to 2027  and be administered by the Employment Development Department. It would provide undocumented workers with $300 weekly for up to 20 weeks of unemployment.

The bill is opposed by the California Taxpayers Association, which argued that the states unemployment system does not have the financial ability to sustain any added benefits at this time, according to an analysis by the Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement.

The Excluded Workers Program is among the Latino Legislative Caucus priorities for this year. The caucus is also prioritizing efforts to extend health and food benefits to undocumented Californians.

While these proposals wind through the legislature, Newsoms office says it is taking other steps to support undocumented workers and communities.

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is mobilizing existing funds, from the Rapid Response Fund to provide disaster relief to immigrant Californias regardless of their documentation status, according to the governors office.

These efforts also include ensuring mixed-status families are accessing federal and state resources that they may be eligible for, the governors office said in a statement.

State Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, addressed a crowd including farmworkers and undocumented workers at Fresno City Hall on March 24, 2023. The Centro Binacional Centro Binacional para el Desarollo Indigena Oaxaqueno, the Binational Center for the Development of Oaxacan Indigenous Communities, organized the meeting between community members, organizations and government representatives to advocate for social safety net benefits for all people regardless of immigration status.

Lawmaker pledges support for unemployment proposal

State legislators, community advocates and farmworkers gathered at Fresno City Hall last Friday to advocate for the need for safety net benefits for all Californians.

Carranza said undocumented workers labor contributes to the states economy, so the state and local governments should do more to support workers in return.

Even through the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme heat or cold, we farmworkers are always there on the frontline, he said in Spanish. We dont back down, and we dont give up.

Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, attended the event and vowed to ensure the Excluded Workers Program becomes law.

I look forward to the fight ahead where we are going to both pass SB 227 and also get it funded, he said.

Representatives from Lideres Campesinas, Central California Environmental Justice Network and other organizations also pledged to support the Excluded Workers Program.

Oralia Maceda, CBDIOs program director, said the continuing call to extend safety net benefits to undocumented workers isnt a favor advocates are asking for.

Its a human right, Maceda said in Spanish. Its a human right for all people to have a place to live and food on the table.

CBDIO and organizations across the state that are part of the SafetyNet4All Coalition, which advocates for immigrant families rights, will gather at the State Capitol in Sacramento on April 13 to call for unemployment benefits and other safety net services for undocumented immigrants.
Honoree Yusef Salaam poses at the ACLU SoCal's 25th Annual Luncheon in Los Angeles on June 7, 2019. Salaam, one of the five teens wrongly imprisoned for the assault of a Central Park jogger, has a memoir coming out in the spring. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File

Donald Trump declined to apologize for his controversial position in 1989 on the Exonerated 5.

Now that he's been indicted, a member of the group's response was "Karma."

Yusef Salaam said on Twitter that Trump "never said sorry for calling for my execution."

As President, Donald Trump declined to apologize for his controversial position in 1989 on the Central Park 5, the five Black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly convicted of assaulting and raping a White woman in Central Park.

Now that Trump has been indicted in New York, a member of that exonerated group has a concise response: "Karma."

Yusef Salaam, now a candidate for New York City Council, noted in his brief statement on Twitter that Trump "never said sorry for calling for my execution."

Yusef Abdus Salaam (@dr_yusefsalaam) March 30, 2023

In 1989, Trump bought newspaper advertisements calling for New York State to adopt the death penalty after the attack on the jogger. He made clear that he was speaking out because of the attack, though the ads did not explicitly call for the death penalty for the five defendants, The New York Times reported.

The five teenagers, including Salaam, were convicted, but said they were coerced into giving confessions for crimes they didn't commit.

"You have people on both sides of that," Trump said in 2019, when asked about it at the White House. "They admitted their guilt."

Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in connection with hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, making him the first former president to be criminally charged.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who protested outside the courthouse during their trials, said in a statement to Insider, "All I can say is, what goes around comes around."

"It's not lost on those of us who were there in 1989 that Donald Trump will likely walk into the same courthouse where the Exonerated 5 were falsely convicted for a crime they did not commit," he said. "Let's not forget that it was Donald Trump who took out full-page ads calling for these five Black and Brown young men to get the death penalty. This is the same man who's now calling for violence when he has to go through the same system. The same man will have to stand up in a courtroom and see firsthand what the criminal justice system is like."

Read the original article on Business Insider
In response to the arrest of journalist Evan Gershkovich in Russia, The Wall Street Journal has stated it expects the expulsion of the Russian ambassador and journalists from the United States, but the Kremlin called this demand baseless.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Meduza (a Russian outlet based in Latvia), with reference to Interfax

Quote WSJ: "Russias arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich escalates the Kremlins habit of taking Americans hostage, and its more evidence that Russia is divorcing itself from the community of civilised nations.

President Vladimir Putin is now responsible for Mr. Gershkovich's health and safety, and the Biden Administration has an obligation to press for his release. (...)

Thuggish leaders keep doing thuggish things if they think they will pay no price. The Biden Administration will have to consider diplomatic and political escalation.

Expelling Russia's ambassador to the U.S., as well as all Russian journalists working here, would be the minimum to expect. The U.S. governments first duty is to protect its citizens, and too many governments now believe they can arrest and imprison Americans with impunity."

Details: The Wall Street Journal notes that Gershkovich was arrested Wednesday in the city of Yekaterinburg, where he was preparing a report, and neither the Journal nor the US government were allowed to contact him until Thursday evening.

The WSJ denies accusations of espionage by the FSB. Gershkovich has been working in Russia for many years and "The FSB could have expelled him long ago if it really believed he was a spy," the publication's column says. Gershkovich's arrest came days after he described the decline of the Russian economy, the WSJ noted.

As several people who Gershkovich met with in Yekaterinburg told BBC Russian Service, the journalist was interested in recruitment in the Wagner Private Military Company and their attitude to the war in Ukraine.

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The Wall Street Journal suggests that Gershkovichs arrest may be Russia's response to charges brought in the United States against Russian citizen Sergei Cherkasov, a Russian agent who committed fraudulent activities, since "Putin often takes hostages with a goal of exchanging them later for Russians who've committed crimes in the U.S."

The WSJ points out that Gershkovichs arrest on espionage charges is the first charge against an American journalist in Russia since the arrest of Nikolai Danilov [Nicolas Daniloff  ed.] in 1986, in the final stages of the Cold War.

Danilov was then released, and the US allowed an employee of the Soviet mission to the UN to leave the country after his arrest.

WSJ also recalls a number of recent exchanges between the US and the Russian Federation.

For his part, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of the President of Russia, called the proposal to expel Russian journalists from the United States in response to the arrest of Evan Gershkovich groundless.

Vladimir Putin's spokesman said that foreign journalists accredited in the Russian Federation "do not face any restrictions and work perfectly", but in the case of Gershkovich "it is an activity under the guise of journalism, espionage activity in essence".

Peskov stated that "since the journalist was taken red-handed, the situation here is obvious", and therefore "there is no reason to demand the expulsion of all Russian journalists".

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(Reuters) - A New York City man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and a hate crime in the 2021 killing of a Chinese immigrant has been sentenced to 22 years in prison, authorities said.

Jarrod Powell's attack on c, 61, in Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood was one of a spate of attacks targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the United States.

Ma was in a coma for eight months before he died. Police surveillance video of the April 2021 attack showed Ma being knocked down from behind and kicked in the head multiple times by a lone man.

Powell pleaded guilty in January to manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said in a statement announcing that the 51-year-old had been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

"Mr. Ma's death was the result of a despicable racially motivated attack," Bragg said. "(No) one should have to fear that they may be in danger because of their background."

Ma was a pastry chef who came to the U.S. with his wife two years before the attack, U.S. media have reported.

Bragg's office said Powell admitted in his plea that he targeted Ma due to his Asian heritage. The office said it currently has 39 open cases related to anti-Asian hate crimes.

The attack on Ma came a month after a shooting spree at three Atlanta spas left eight people dead, including six Asian women.

About one-third of Asian Americans say they have changed their daily routines due to concerns over threats and attacks, according to a 2022 report from the Pew Research Center. The FBI says there were 305 U.S. hate crimes against Asians in 2021.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Former President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he lands at Quad City International Airport en route to Iowa on Monday, March 13, 2023. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Donald Trump's team rejected a request for him to surrender on Friday, Politico reported.

Trump's lawyers said the Secret Service needed time to prepare for his escort, per the outlet.

Trump was indicted on Thursday and is expected to appear in court on April 4.

The Manhattan district attorney's office wanted former President Donald Trump to surrender on Friday, but his lawyers said the Secret Service needed more time to arrange his escort, Politico reported.

Trump, who was indicted on Thursday by a New York grand jury, is due in court on April 4.

The negotiation around Trump's protection was confirmed by Joe Tacopina, Trump's lawyer, and an unnamed source in law enforcement, per Politico.

The Secret Service is expected to continue protecting Trump throughout court proceedings, and will provide security even if he were to end up in prison, former agency officials previously told Insider.

Tacopina said on March 17 that Trump would not resist arrest in the event of his indictment, which is linked to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Trump, who lives at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, faces more than 30 charges in the indictment, CNN reported, citing sources close to the matter.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged on Thursday to "not assist in an extradition request" should Trump resist arrest. He pointed to "questionable circumstances at issue" with the indictment and accused Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg of having a "political agenda."

Bragg defended his investigation into the hush-money payment on March 11, saying on MSNBC's "PoliticsNation" that the probe is based "on the evidence and the law."

Meanwhile, the former president continued his bashing of the indictment by calling it an "ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE" on Thursday. He wrote that he had been "indicated," misspelling "indicted."

Tacopina and a representative for the Manhattan district attorney's office did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Gabrielle Union and her stepdaughter Zaya Wade completely owned the red carpet when they stepped out together at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles.

For the March 30 event, Union wore a colorful floor-length dress with a matching head cap. Meanwhile, Zaya rocked a stylish black blazer and shorts and wore the same white sandals that she rocked for her Dazed magazine cover shoot.

Zaya Wade and Gabrielle Union (Monica Schipper / Getty Images)

On Instagram, Union shared a video of herself sporting the multi-colored dress, and captioned it, "Never too busy to serve #GLAADAwards @glaad."

Zaya also took to the social media platform to note that she "loved attending" the awards and supporting GLAAD, an organization that fights for LGBTQ+ acceptance.

She shared a message on her Instagram Story that appeared to show a receipt of her $5,000 donation to the organization.

LGBTQ+ rights are so important to me and Im always going to strive to do as much as I can in this space, she wrote over the picture.

Zaya posts a sweet message after the GLAAD Awards. (@zayawade via Instagram)

On the red carpet, Union spoke to Billboard about why she wanted to attend the event with Zaya, who is transgender.

For her to be able to see so many members of her community, of our community, that shes looked up to, that have inspired her, that have held her down, had her back, is pretty huge," Union said. "And there are not too many moments where as a parent I get to deliver that in this kind of way, so Im pretty thrilled."

"Im just really happy to be here and happy to be a part of sharing the community with my daughter, she added.

Zaya Wade and Gabrielle Union (Randy Shropshire / Getty Images)

In 2020, Zaya came out as transgender. In February 2023, she was granted an official name and gender change by a Los Angeles County judge.

In a March 2022 interview with BuzzFeed, Union revealed how she and her husband, Dwyane Wade, who is also Zaya's father, have been supportive of their daughter.

Dwyane Wade helping his daughter Zaya get ready for an event. (@zayawade via Instagram)

Its important for us to live and love out loud, she said. We didnt exactly understand why (supporting Zayas trans identity) was a thing because its like, we love all our kids out loud. But it is a thing and a lot of people do need an example. (People) do need that (kind of) representation.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, believes that by deciding to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to show China at least some agency.

Source: Zelenskyy during a briefing at the summit in Bucha

Quote: "The sign that Russia will deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus indicates an unsuccessful meeting with China. [Russia  ed.] needed to show [it has] some agency, which Russia has completely lost under the leadership of President Putin.

This once again emphasises that it is necessary to show some political steps or victories of Russia's representative, but he could not do it on the battlefield, and even though they started such a bloody war, it is obvious how it will end. The problem is that he simply does not spare our people and kills them, but he does not count his people. But these are the affairs of the Russian Federation.

And the last is the complete loss of any agency by the president of Belarus. I think he no longer decides which weapons are on his territory."

Background:

On Friday, 31 March, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, in his address to the nation, spoke about the possibility of placing Russian strategic nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.

On 25 March, Putin said that Moscow and Minsk agreed to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.

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Zelenskyy, together with the president of Moldova and the prime ministers of Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia, visited Bucha

Together with Molodvan President Maia Sandu, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Zelenskyy honored the memory of Bucha residents murdered by the Russian army during its occupation of the town.

The ceremony took place near the Church of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called and All Saints in Bucha  near where a mass grave of murdered Ukrainian citizens was discovered a year ago.

Read also: The bodies of civilians in Bucha lay in the streets during the Russian occupation, UK Defence Ministry says

Read also: Day 40 of Putin's war. Russians attack Odesa, Mykolaiv and Ternopil while world reacts to Bucha massacre (UPDATED)

The names of 77 identified persons who had been buried in the mass grave near the church, as well as 11 servicemen killed in battles for Bucha, were read out during the ceremony.

After the Russian invasion forces fled from Kyiv Oblast, the world saw the aftermath of their atrocities, with hundreds of civilians being murdered, and their bodies dumped in mass graves.

The bodies of peaceful citizens tortured and killed by Russians were also found strewn across the streets in the towns of Bucha and Irpin, as well as near the Kyiv-Zhytomyr highway.

On April 14, 2022, the Ukrainian parliament voted to declare the actions of Russia and its army as genocide of the Ukrainian people.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, believes that the President of China, Xi Jinping, is one of those still hesitating to support Ukraine, but Ukraine sends signals to various states and waits for a response.

Source: Zelenskyy at a joint briefing with the leaders of Moldova, Slovenia, Slovakia and Croatia

Quote: "There are still countries that find it difficult to be on our side for various reasons. What do we have with the leader of China? This is one of the leaders who hesitate.

It is important for us to do everything to involve the maximum number of states in the victory in the war. It seems to me that in general, this is the victory of the world over war. This should have been an example for the whole world and for all great powers that are thinking about aggression.

Therefore, we send signals to such states and say that we are ready to meet, discuss, talk and together defeat the aggression of the Russian Federation. We are waiting for the answers of some states."

Background:

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Theres a growing need for skilled workers in manufacturing and technology fields across the United States, and Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg has taken notice.

With the help of grants and local business alliances, the college is working to address these shortages to get students working.

Manufacturing accounts for 13.7% of the Lynchburg-area workforce, with 11,377 people employed in that sector as of the second quarter of 2022. Its the second largest employment sector in the area behind health care, according to Virginia Career Works, a group that helps individuals find jobs in Central Virginia.

Having people trained correctly for these new jobs, this new environment, is key to America keeping up, much less Virginia, said Marcella Gale, mechatronics faculty member and program head at the college.

Mechatronics refers to the blend of mechanical, electric, electronic and computer engineering disciplines used in automated manufacturing, smart technologies and other advanced industries.

Were on the cusp of needing a boost in productivity in order to keep our standard of living and keep our economy going, Gale said. So thats what were trying to do here, is to supply the skilled technical workforce needed for this new environment.

Danny Murphy, a mechatronics professor, said the technology industry is starving for qualified help and that affects all of us.

Its the food that we eat. Its the products that we buy and they dont have enough qualified people to run the machines or keep the machines running, Murphy said.

The college recently hosted Zach Oxendine, an engineering technical program manager at Microsoft, who visited to share his experience with students.

He discussed the possibilities of getting a two-year degree and becoming an engineer, and the importance of companies working with community colleges  something Murphy and Gale echoed.

Jason Ferguson, CVCCs associate vice president of professional and career studies at the college, said each program within the college has advisory committees made up of different business representatives and subject matter experts, and they meet at least annually.

Were definitely engaged with the local businesses and see a lot of support, Ferguson said.

CVCC received a three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant last year, which allowed them to purchase three FANUC automated manufacturing robots, add new adjunct professors and courses.

The college held a kickoff meeting in September. Between 40 and 50 people met to discuss the causes of labor shortages in the manufacturing industry and the different things CVCC is trying to do to help alleviate it.

Since that time and the implementation of the new grant, four new adjunct professors were brought on board with possibly two more arriving in the future.

CVCC, with the help of the new grant, also added and revamped three new career pathways: nuclear technician general track, mechatronics academic pathway, and computer and electronic technology computer networking.

Murphy said classes taught within those pathways, such as programmable logic controller programming and robotics, are a direct result of the NSF grants received.

Gale said the college plans to apply for more grant funding.

Separate from the grant, the college has dual enrollment opportunities for high school students, which includes the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Academy and CTE (Career and Technical Education) Academy where students can earn college credits to get started in technology or manufacturing fields.

CVCC President John Capps said the CTE Academy began last year with the support of a $400,000 state grant, and it receives support from business partners such as the nuclear-services firm Framatome, the HVAC firm Southern Air, and Centra Health.

Capps said that since the academys inception, enrollment in the CTE curriculum has increased 52%.

The STEM Academy started in 2015 and has graduated 196 students with 451 credentials. Students in the STEM Academy completed 11,760 internship hours at 26 local companies and 67% of those students are now working full time in STEM careers in Central Virginia, according to Capps.

Employers have come to us and weve gone to employers. Higher education has been superimposed on workforce development ... Were really accomplishing both goals at the same time. Were educating students at the same time that were preparing them for employment, Capps said.
ISLAMABAD, March 31 (Xinhua) -- A soldier was killed in a clash with terrorists in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, a military statement said.

The incident happened in the tribal district of North Waziristan where the terrorists engaged the security forces in a gun battle, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement.

The 29-year-old deceased was from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ISPR said.

"Sanitization of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area," the statement added. 
BEDFORD  A representative of the Central Virginia Planning District Commission and Town of Bedford staff ceremonially welcomed town resident Cathalia Wright to her new house in the Hilltop community on Wednesday morning.

The house on Crenshaw Street is the first house of 10 to be completed in the ongoing Hilltop Community Revitalization Project, a process years in the making.

This first completed house had to nearly be demolished and rebuilt. After six months living in a hotel, Wright moved into her new house three weeks ago, and opened her home this week to showcase the results of the project.

Wright heard about the Hilltop Community Revitalization Project from her son, who learned about it at a local barber shop.

Someone at the barber shop said, Tell your mom theyre going to have a meeting at Edmund Street Park, and go down and check it out, because theyre going to try to renovate some of the homes that are kind of falling apart, like mine was, Wright said.

She attended the meeting in 2019, where she applied to receive the improvements. Her application was approved.

Wright has lived on her property for almost 29 years, she said, and she did not want to move. Her new house was constructed on the original footprint.

This is considered substantial reconstruction, said Jefrado Granger, community development planner for the Central Virginia Planning District Commission.

At the time she applied to be part of the community initiative, Wright was doing dishes in her bathtub, and had to cook on hotplates in her dining room. The kitchen and its appliances were effectively out of commission; the sink had pulled away from the wall. For someone who loves to cook, this was not an ideal situation.

In addition to the kitchens disrepair, Wright said her bedroom wall was coming apart. She covered the open spaces with a comforter, but rain still came in. Birds and, evidently, a snake took up residence in that crumbling wall, the plumbing system was messed up and the top floor of her house was pulling up from the foundation.

Basically, the house was just falling apart, Wright said.

Following approval of her application, contractors got to work on providing Wright a new house  and she visited the site faithfully just about every day through the process.

When the house was finished at last, Wright said she cried upon walking in.

I never dreamed I would have anything like this. Never. Its a Godsend. Im really blessed, she said.

Wright said she loves the open floor plan, and especially her kitchen, where she can now cook to her hearts content, with new, functional appliances and ample cabinet space.

In August of 2021, the Town of Bedford Redevelopment and Housing Authority was awarded a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to support the Hilltop Community Revitalization Project. This rehabilitation project, funded largely by CDBG money in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), includes 10 houses in the 60-acre Hilltop area that will either be repaired and brought up to proper health and safety standards, or demolished and built new if they are in irreparable condition.

A CDBG grant is made to target low to moderate income areas of a locality and fund primarily housing repairs and rehabilitation, according to town staff. For a locality to qualify for the CDBG grant, at least 51% of the population must be low to moderate income, or making less than 80% of the area median income.

Housing rehabilitation projects are the main focus of grant fund uses, also making 0% interest loans available to eligible homeowners to fund needed repairs, according to Matt Perkins, of the Central Virginia Planning District Commission, in a previous interview with The News & Advance.

In November 2019, the Town of Bedford held an open community meeting asking residents for input identifying improvement needs in the town. Attended by more than 100 town residents, the main needs identified were various home repair projects; better lighting conditions along the streets; and improved stormwater drainage.

This part of the ongoing CDBG project is expected to be completed this year, in collaboration with the Central Virginia Planning District Commission, according to the town.

Granger said the second phase of the initiative will focus on the areas around Federal Street, Liberty Street and Edmund Street.

Mary Zirkle, director of planning and community development for the Town of Bedford, said in a news release the town intends to seek a second planned phase of the grant project and seek more money from the DHCD to continue the house rehabilitation initiative in the Hilltop area.

I couldnt ask for anything better. I just love it. Its beautiful, Wright said.
An art-and-history themed Airbnb project is ready to take in visitors to the River District.

Rick Barkers project in the 500 block of Craghead Street, VANTAGE Art Flats, is now complete. A ribbon-cutting event was held at the nine-unit property to great fanfare late last month.

VANTAGE Art Flats, at 546-550 Craghead St., offers nine apartment-style units including six one-bedroom and three two-bedroom suites.

The Airbnb property aspires to be the No. 1 choice for discerning travelers in our region, Barker told about more than 100 local officials, community leaders and others gathered for the occasion.

Features at the Airbnb include brightly colored animal sculptures featuring a 7-foot-tall, 10-foot-long plastic red elephant protruding roughly a foot onto the sidewalk to attract attention and serve as a mascot for the property.

During the ceremony, Barker pointed to the elephant as an appropriate symbol for Danville.

Elephants are strong, they are smart and they are resilient, he said.

The seven-foot-tall red elephant is named Eldridge, after the drug store that used to occupy the spot where the sculpture now stands.

Calling it an exciting project, Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones pointed out the Airbnb as another part of the growth happening in the River District.

Its a great example of that activity, Jones told the crowd.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private investment have flowed into the River District over the last dozen or so years, he added.

In the last 12 to 13 years, public investment of $50 million in the River District has resulted in $310 million of private investment, Jones said.

There are also sculptures of light-blue and dark-blue snails, fuchsia- and lime-green penguins inside the Airbnb building as well as two orange wolves.

Rates are $199 per night for a one-bedroom unit and $299 per night for a two-bedroom suite.

Thats modest for the product were delivering, Barker said.

Each unit functions as a home, with a kitchen, washer and dryer and  for the two-bedroom suites  a deck or patio.

Apartments contain mid-20th-century modern accents and an additional theme expressed with enlarged Danville pictures from the earlier part of the century at the headboard of each bed.

Rick Barker Properties collaborated with Cracking Art, based in Milan, Italy, for the animal sculptures that bring a 1960s pop art theme to match the mid-century interior design.

Cracking Art has had 450 installations in 300 cities on five continents, with U.S. exhibits in New York, San Francisco and Miami.

VANTAGE Art Flats will have the only permanent installation of Cracking Art pieces in the U.S., Barker said.

In addition, some of the sculptures will be displayed in windows of storefronts in the 500 block of Craghead Street. Some will also be rotated among different storefronts and windows, Barker said.

The part of the building at 548 Craighead, originally Eldridge Drug Store in 1913, serves as a central courtyard through which patrons will enter 550 Craghead to the left and 546 to the right, both also constructed in 1913.

The 550 Craghead location was originally Swift and Company, a local butchery and 546 was originally built for Nabisco. The 1913 developer was John G. Witcher, a partner in Witcher and Brown Wood and Coal Yard, previously on the same site.

The historic buildings went decades without maintenance and suffered partial destruction during Tropical Storm Michael in October 2018. They have been structurally stabilized with defensive planning to minimize the impact of future floods.

To foster creative endeavors in the River District, Barker converted the former Swift loading dock into an art studio.

Rick Barker Properties is supporting an artist-in-residence program at the property, with three artists to spend eight weeks each in Danville. Each will be provided with an art loft, studio and stipend.

The first artist is Joah Harrison, Barker said during a tour of the property.

He will live here and use the studio as a working artist, Barker said. He handmakes his own paper and, with that paper, he does abstracts.

An online global competition was held for selection of the three artists, with applicants from as far away as Spain, Barker said.

After the three artists finish their programs, Barker said the artist-in-residence initiative will be reassessed to determine whether it will continue.

Each Saturday, there will be an open studio in which the artist will engage with the visiting public, Barker said.

The Airbnb project is a way to spotlight creatives, or those who make their living through their art.

What were trying to do in the 500 block is draw attention to the creative class, to demonstrate how creatives can see a career path, Barker said.

Lodgers who stay at VANTAGE Art Flats will be able to design their local experience, which can include paying guests receiving art lessons and going on River District tours.

We will engage the traveler to give them a unique Southern Virginia experience, Barker said.

Kevin Jones, an associate professor in Virginia Techs architecture program, was the architect and Mike Allen was the project manager. Jones advised Barker on all of the visual aspects of the project, from architecture to interior design and branding.
Lighthouse Bible Church

Lighthouse Bible Church, 2136 Fifth Ave., invites the community to participate in our live Palm Sunday worship service at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. 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; Easter Breakfast, 9:30-10:15 a.m., April 9.

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, Hurray, Hosanna, Crucify. 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.

Nacho Typical Bingo will be held on April 20. Dinner will be at 6 p.m., with bingo starting at 6:30. For $10 per person, you get a Nacho plate with assorted toppings 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 Fulfilling Our Purpose in Life, with the Bible reference Mark 11:1-10. Greeters are Jan Clayton and Lori Kirkpatrick. Each week we enjoy donuts and coffee in the Fellowship Hall after worship.

Sunday school for all ages including adults starts at 9:15. We have childrens church during our regular service.

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.

The Mens Breakfast will be Saturday at 9 a.m. Sunday at 6 p.m., we will be watching the final episode of the Jesus of Nazareth movie. 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 featuring Holy Communion begins at 10:15 a.m. Pastor Scott Dalen will deliver a sermon based on Matthew 21:1-11. The online video will be available later in the day.

On Thursday, April 6, the Maundy Thursday Service of Holy Communion will begin at 7:30 p.m., with online video available later in the evening. On Friday, April 7, Good Friday Worship will begin at 7 p.m., with online video available later in the evening.

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 to 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 April 4.

On Wednesdays, children in grades K-5 and students in grades six through 12 meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting is held at 6:30 p.m.

Join us for our Open House Prayer Walk Thursday, April 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. or Friday, April 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Prayer Walk is a free, self-guided open house walk through multiple prayer stations based on the theme of Jesus prayer at Gethsemane. It is open to the public.

The public is invited to Compass Easter Services that begin with the Good Friday Service on April 7 at 6:30 p.m. On Easter Sunday, April 9, we begin the day with a free pancake feed from 9 to 10:15 a.m. Easter Worship Service will be from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The Easter Egg Hunt will be held following the service.

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.

Upcoming events: Friends In Faith meeting, April 6 at 12:30 p.m.; Breakfast with Jesus, April 9 at 9 a.m.; Meal & Message, April 12 and 26 at 6 p.m. 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 for those over 21.

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: Game Night 2.0 will be Friday, March 31 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. On Maundy Thursday, April 6, a service of light to dark will be held at 7 p.m. On Good Friday, April 7, Interactive Prayer Stations will be open in the sanctuary from 7 to 9 p.m. Communion will be celebrated at both services on Easter Sunday, April 9.

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. Pastor Nancy Ross-Hullingers message will be Hurray, Hosanna, Crucify, and the scripture will be Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29. There will be a childrens chat. Lenten Bible Study will meet on Monday, April 3 at 11 a.m.

There will be a joint Maundy Thursday potluck and service April 6 at 6 p.m. at Gethsemane Presbyterian Church. Bethany Kids Club will be held on Saturday, April 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. Communion will be celebrated on Easter Sunday.

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 Journey with Christ. Scripture readings will be Philippians 2:5-11; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; and Matthew 26:14-27:66.

Sunday school starts at 9:15 a.m. We also have prayer service Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Our celebration of Easter Sunday will start with a brunch at 9 a.m., an Easter Egg Hunt at 10 a.m. and our Easter service at 10:30.

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 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 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 worship at our 9 a.m. Sunday service.

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 p.m.

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

On Palm Sunday, April 2, New Horizon Presbyterian will hold Communion worship services at 8, 9 and 11 a.m. Youth and adult Sunday school will be at 10.

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.

A Good Friday Service will be held April 7 at 7 p.m.

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 April 2 at 10:30 a.m. as we celebrate Palm Sunday. The Rev. Portia Iverson will base her sermon, Hosanna! Save Us We Pray!, on Palm 118:1-2, 19-29 A Song of Victory and Matthew 21:1-11 Jesus Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

Donations for Church World Service One Great Hour of Sharing will continue through April.

We are handicapped accessible through the northeast door of the church.

Corpus Christi Catholic Parish

The month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph.

Join us for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the Fifth Sunday of Lent on March 25-26. The Liturgy of the Word: Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130: 1-8; Romans 8:8-11; and John 11:1-45.

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 31 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the Great Hall at Corpus Christi Queen of Apostles. Fish dinners, 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.

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 27 and April 3); Thursdays at 7 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church (March 30); and Fridays at 7 p.m. (in Spanish) at Corpus Christi Church (March 24 and 31).

Holy Week Schedule, April 6 through April 17: All Triduum services will be held at Corpus Christi Church, 3304 Fourth Ave., Council Bluffs, as follows: Holy Thursday, April 6, 7 p.m. Mass of the Lords Supper; Good Friday, April 7, 1 p.m. Live Stations of the Cross (bilingual), 7 p.m. Good Friday of the Lords Passion; Holy Saturday, April 8, 8 p.m. Easter Vigil; and Easter Sunday, April 9, 8 a.m. (Corpus Christi Church), 9:30 a.m. (Our Lady of Carter Lake), 10 a.m. (Corpus Christi Church) and noon (Spanish  Corpus Christi Church).

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 this Sunday for Palm Sunday 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, Bible study Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the conference room, and Tai Chi Thursday at 10 a.m. in the youth center. Maundy Thursday Worship will be Thursday at noon and 7 p.m. Good Friday Worship will be Friday at noon and 7 p.m. On Easter Sunday, there will be a sunrise service at 7 a.m., followed by breakfast from 8 to 9 a.m., an Easter Egg Hunt at 9 a.m. and Easter Worship at 9:30 a.m.

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. Kathy Sorrell will provide the message, Above and Beyond. 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. Overeaters Anonymous meets Mondays at noon and Tuesdays at 6 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 .entrance on the Bayliss Park side). We 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.

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.

Holy Week services are as follows: Saturday Passion Service at 5:30 p.m., Palm Sunday Sunday school at 9:30, followed by worship with Confirmation and Holy Communion at 10:30 a.m. Maundy Thursday Holy Communion Service at 7 p.m. Good Friday Prayer Services 12-3:30 p.m., with services each half-hour. Saturday Prayer Service at 5:30 p.m. Easter Sunday Service at 10:30 a.m. No Sunday school.

Other activities this week include Al-Anon meetings Monday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Education Building. Thursday morning Bible Study will meet from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and Prayer Team will meet at 11:15 a.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. For more information, see our Facebook page under Our Saviors Lutheran Church of Council Bluffs or the website at oursaviorscb.org.

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 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. On April 6, there will be a Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service with food commencing at 6 p.m. On April 9, St. Johns will have a sunrise Easter service at 7 a.m., followed by an Easter breakfast at 8 a.m.

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. Services held each Sunday morning at 11 a.m., 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.
Along West Broadway, nestled between Lidgett Music and Christyles Hair Studio, is The 100 Blocks first (and only) resort and spa that caters exclusively to cats.

After spending most of the previous seven years at the Mall of the Bluffs, with a brief stint along Madison Avenue once the mall closed at the end of 2019, Club Meow opened its doors at 148 W. Broadway in January, bringing owner Mel Brinks cat grooming expertise to downtown Council Bluffs.

While its a new location, Club Meow is still the cats meow, offering boarding and grooming that includes bathing, nail trimming, facials and lots of different styling options for your furry felines. And now, Brink has enough space to open a grooming a-cat-emy.

Ive wanted to do this really bad for a couple years now, and I couldnt at the old location; theres no space, Brink said. So I had to have this first.

As one of only 12 National Cat Grooming Institute certifiers around the world, Brink is in a unique position as the metro areas only Certified Feline Master Groomer. And if youre going to learn how to groom cats, who better to learn from than a master?

Ive been grooming already for a year and a half, and I thought I knew everything, said Kim Hickman, who came to Council Bluffs from Mooresville, North Carolina to get the hands-on training she needs to earn her NCGI certification.

As she neared the end of the 10-day course, she realized how much she had to learn.

But now I know everything that I need to know to progress, Hickman said.

Hickman was joined by three other students from around the country who made the trek, and the financial commitment, to take the course. Each of the student groomers paid $6,800 to participate in the course, and that doesnt include travel costs or lodging.

Brink brought in two additional master groomers to help with instruction: Melissa Hall, who came from Phoenix with 25 years of grooming experience, and Anne Thompson, who lives in Cape Coral, Florida.

Hall started out grooming dogs  her mother was a dog groomer  but she started cat grooming in 2014 and now works exclusively with cats.

Once you go cat, you never go back, Hall said.

For the 10-day cat grooming course, Brink had to book 100 cats for the students to practice on, and she made sure to book only mild-mannered customers.

And (getting) 100 compliant cats can be very difficult, Brink said.

Club Meows resort has room for about 40 cats at one time, though if your cat wants a room with a view, it costs an extra $10.

The cat suites are 6 feet deep by 6 feet high, giving them lots of room to stretch out, and every suite has its own dedicated webcam, so owners can keep an eye on their fur babies while theyre away.

Brink plans to hold a cat grooming course at least once a quarter, and with her 1,000 clients spread out around the country, it shouldnt be too difficult to round up another 100 who need a trim.

Ive got lots of clients down by, like, Red Oak, Ive got a few that come from Harlan, Brink said. I got one that drives from St. Joe, Missouri.

Brink even has a client who moved to New York City who was unable to find a suitable cat groomer.

They tried, like, 10 or 15 groomers, and they cannot, nothing compares, Brink said. Like, they call me and theyre like, I dont know what to do. Ive got one lady that, she flies back to visit family twice a year and brings the cat with her twice a year.
Weather Alert

...FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CDT THIS MORNING... * WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 27. * WHERE...Portions of southwest and west central Iowa and east central and northeast Nebraska. * WHEN...Until 9 AM CDT this morning. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above- ground pipes to protect them from freezing. &&
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OTTAWA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Canadian police found the bodies of six people, including one child, in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon, CTV News reported.

According to the report, the police service said the first body was found after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard around 5 p.m. in a marsh in Akwesasne, a Mohawk territory that straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York State.

Police said that a crew on board a Canadian Armed Forces Griffon helicopter discovered an overturned boat in the area where the bodies were located.

Police are attempting to identify the deceased persons and ascertain their status in Canada. There is no threat to the public at this time, police said in a news release.

CTV News confirmed the deceased child was found with a Canadian passport.

Local police will ask for air support to assist with the investigation, the report said. 
Tunisias President Kais Saied Thursday fired the governor of the Southeastern governorate of Gabes after the state official has been indicted for illegal actions.

Mosbah Kardamine was appointed Gabes Governor in June 2021 in replacement of Mongi Thameur also fired by Saied.

Prior to the announcement of the dismissal, a first presidential decree indicated that Kardamine has been indicted by the ministry of justice for several illegal actions he allegedly carried out.
Egypts Nuclear and Radiation Control Authority (ENRRA) has granted permission to Russias Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation for the construction of the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plants 3rd unit with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, ENRRA said in a statement.

The authority last Wednesday approved the permission to establish the third unit at the Hyena Station.

The third unit will be built at Hyena Station. El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, located in Matrouh governorate, will house four nuclear power reactors that generate 1,200 megawatts each.

Egypt contracted Rastom in 2015 to build El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant. The deal is worth $30 billion.
UN Sahara envoy Staffan De Mistura met on Thursday at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

According to the UN Department of Political & Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), Mr. de Mistura reported to the UN Chief on the informal consultations he held this week with all parties to the Sahara conflict and with representatives of the Group of Friends of Sahara.

Staffan de Misturas meeting with the UN Secretary General comes before the upcoming briefing he is to make to the UN Security Council on the Sahara.

The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Sahara met separately with the representatives of Morocco, Algeria, Polisario and Mauritania as well as with the representatives of France, Spain, Russia, UK and the United States, the penholder of the resolutions on the Sahara.

Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric said the goal of these informal bilateral consultations is to discuss lessons learned in the political process; to deepen the examination of the positions; and to continue seeking mutually agreeable formulas to advance the political process.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, an army general and son of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda said on Thursday on Twitter that the eastern African country will send forces to back Russian President Vladimir Putin, should the west attack Moscow in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

Call me a Putinist if you will, but we, Uganda, shall send soldiers to defend Moscow if its ever threatened by the Imperialists!, Muhoozi Kainerugaba said. The West is wasting its time with its useless pro-Ukraine propaganda, he added.

Kainerugaba who raised eyebrows in the country and abroad through his tweets, also announced the creation of a television and radio station under his MK brand, headed by a former special forces spokesman, and said one of the first places it would visit would be Russia, Nation Africa reports.

Uganda last year abstained at the UN during the adoption of a resolution condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine that Putin branded special operation.

The Ugandan president himself had brushed aside calls to sever ties with Russia.

How can we be against somebody who has never harmed us, he said during an Africa tour by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in July last year to drum up support for Moscow over the war.
Amnesty Internationals 2023 report titled State of the Worlds Human Rights says that Africa, on the whole, continues to make progress toward respect for individual rights from speech to political association, though it paints a grim picture of Southern Africa, highlighting troubling abuses in Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Africa has shown limited progress in ensuring peoples right to what it terms truth, justice, reparation, and accountability for grave violations and abuses of human rights, according to Amnesty Internationals report on human rights. It said some African nations used both the Covid-19 pandemic or the pretext of national security to muzzle public expression and dissent, including by targeting journalists, rights activists and political opposition members. The human rights NGO also notes instances where African nations have stalled or even backslid, including when it comes to violence against women and how traditions and attitudes have hampered their achievement of equality and parity.

The report also highlights insurgencies and national conflicts in West Africa, Central Africa, and the Horn of Africa that have killed innocent civilians, disrupted food security, forced displacement, and undermined the rule of law in a number of nations. Further south, in Mozambique, al-Shabab armed group continues to behead civilians, abduct women and girls, as well as looting and burning villages. In Zimbabwe, the report says that there has been little reform since the exit of the late former President Robert Mugabe, with activists as well as the opposition still undergoing harassment, arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and imprisonment without trial. South Africa has been backsliding on human rights, the report says, while Eswatini has also been cited for a growing government crackdown on activists and the abduction of opponents.
Wilkinson Cos. request for tax increment financing to help it complete the development of Interstate 80s Exit 179 will go before the North Platte City Council next Tuesday.

Community Redevelopment Authority members voted 4-0 Thursday to recommend $2.75 million in TIF aid toward the $16 million-plus projects $5.12 million in infrastructure costs.

Council approval would clear the way to fill the I-80 interchanges northeast quadrant  vacant since Exit 179s 1984 opening  with a Fat Dogs truck stop, restaurant, hotel, retail space and Wilkinsons corporate headquarters.

Planning Commission members, to whom the CRA had forwarded Wilkinsons project Feb. 9, endorsed it on a 7-0 vote Tuesday.

CRA attorney Mike Bacon of Gothenburg reiterated much of the projects description and features that he presented to the planning panel two days earlier.

Itll take about six years to complete Wilkinsons complex, he said, starting with months of site preparation to build up the low-lying land that discouraged development of Exit 179 for decades.

That has been an unloved piece of property, Bacon said.

The 74.86-acre property would be split into eight lots, he said, with six of them holding buildings. A seventh would hold a pond, and the last would include park space along the South Platte River.

The 98 jobs Wilkinson expects to create, including new ones in its corporate headquarters, should bring millions of dollars in new payroll to North Platte, Bacon said.

Wilkinson also expects its new enterprises to generate about $300,000 a year in new city sales taxes once theyre all in place, he added. That would about equal the new property tax dollars TIF would divert to help repay just over half of Wilkinsons infrastructure costs.

Even so, itll take some years to develop, because its a big ask, Bacon said.

Many of CRA members questions centered on whether Wilkinsons site plan will account for Newberrys expected expansion to four lanes across I-80 and north past the Sustainable Beef meatpacking plant site to U.S. Highway 30.

City Engineer Brent Burklund and Wilkinson Chief Operating Officer Clarine Eickhoff said theyve talked with the Nebraska Department of Transportations District 6 office in North Platte about where Newberrys two new lanes would go.

We know the plans are it would come in on our side, Eickhoff said, meaning east of the current two lanes that make up Nebraska Highway L-56G.

Newberry already has four lanes south of Exit 179 but narrows to two as it goes over I-80. NDOT reserved land east of the current lanes for a four-lane alignment when it built the road and I-80 interchange four decades ago.

Eickhoff said Wilkinson wants to pin down the side where Newberrys additional lanes will go so it doesnt have to spend more money later to rebuild the streets it needs to put in now.

Burklund said NDOT officials are reluctant to commit to one side because funds to build the two new lanes, a second river bridge and a second I-80 overpass havent been allocated.

The city should be able to find out enough so we wont have to redo the road right in front of their business, he said.

But even if the state gave Newberrys expansion the green light now, he said, it likely would take five years to complete construction. Required environmental studies could take three years of those five, Burklund said.

Im hoping we can keep pushing (for faster action) as a city, but probably politically were going to have to push the state due to Sustainable Beef and other projects, he told CRA members.

The Newberry project has been targeted for extra state funds through the 2010 Build Nebraska Act, which dedicated 0.25% of the states 5.5% sales tax to speed up major projects.

Its first in line after eight initial projects receiving such funding, one of which is currently expanding U.S. 83 to super-2 status between North Platte and McCook.

Besides planning for the Newberry expansion, Burklund said, city and Wilkinson officials will have to build up the current gravel-road entrance to the property to minimize the incline and descent for trucks, RVs and campers.

Halligan Drive, which would be officially extended east into the planned Fat Dogs site, already features an incline on the west side between Pump & Pantry and Newberry.

Itll take a lot of fill dirt east of the Halligan-Newberry intersection to make it decent for any vehicles, Burklund said.
Auburn police say a man was found dead Friday morning behind Skybar in downtown Auburn, after having sustained injuries from falling from a wall.

Police identified the deceased as a 36-year-old white man from Georgia.

Police roped off and investigated the scene starting at around 10 a.m. Friday morning, and later in the afternoon reported that surveillance video was found showing that the man fell from a wall. The surveillance footage indicated the fall happened in the early morning hours Friday.

Investigators in the morning gathered in an area behind Skybar in the northeast corner of the property, in an alleyway about six feet wide between the building and the walls at the edge of the establishments property. A short wall and chain link fence lines the northern edge of the property, opposite the bar front facing south, and a cinderblock wall about 10 feet high lines the eastern side of the property.

Auburn Assistant Police Chief Mike Harris confirmed the deceased did not work for Skybar, or for any of the construction crews working nearby in the downtown Auburn area.

When asked if the man appeared to be intoxicated on the surveillance video, Harris replied that it is not something they could answer from the video.

The northeast end of the property where investigators spent time Friday morning is not an area of the property that patrons are invited to use. Skybars outdoor patios are on the southwestern and southern ends of the property.

The investigation is still ongoing, and anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Auburn Police Department.

Auburn police said first responders confirmed the man to be deceased upon arriving at the scene, and that the caller who reported finding the individual said at the time of the time that the individual appeared to be deceased.

No foul play is suspected though the investigation is still ongoing, and anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the APD.
Four contestants will compete in their final round of Tiger Cage, Auburn Universitys business pitch competition, at 8:30 a.m. on Friday in the Broadway Event Space and Theater in Horton-Hardgrave Hall.

The Shark Tank-inspired competition started off with 25 applicants before being whittled down to 20, who presented an early stage product, service or business concept in the quarterfinal back in January. From 20 applicants to 10 to four, the finalists will present to a team of 14 judges.

Lou Bifano, director of the New Venture Accelerator, said the judges are a diverse group comprised of successful entrepreneurs, individuals who fund startups, Auburn alumni and friends of Auburn. They will rank the top four by their opinion of who has the best idea and which contestant does the best job presenting.

The contestants will compete for $54,000 in the early stage startup capital. The 14 judges will decide how to divide the startup capital prize amongst the contestants.

Scott Rowe, a graduate student in the Harbert Business College and founder of Rodopto, plans on using the winning capital to purchase a drone to continue his mission in sustainable crop production.

Technologys finally at a point where you can do a lot more, with a lot less, said Rowe. It used to be that you had to take a crop duster and spray an entire field. Now, you have the ability to potentially apply a fraction of the amount of some of these chemicals using drones,.

According to Rowe, one drone is estimated to be $20,000.

Parvin Fathi-Hafshejani with Dropllel said she would use the capital to finish prototyping her product, an electronic biosensor that can detect antigens, such as COVID-19, quickly and accurately.

The Dropllel sensor would attach to a healthcare workers cell phone or monitor, to rapidly diagnose patients with antigens in 20 seconds. The product works on antigens such as the flu, chicken pox and hCG.

Im so excited about it! Because as we saw in the pandemic, there was a lot of loss of people and a lot of suffering, but if we have something that can diagnose COVID-19 just in seconds, then you could save lives. You could prevent the disease around the world, said Fathi-Hafshejani.

The two other contestants are presenting OMNIS and Archangel Defense.

Zakariya Veasey and Evan Henley have created OMNIS, a peer-to-peer social platform that allows individuals to borrow money through the community with short-term, micro-loans that meet their immediate needs.

Archangel Defense was created by Shay Pilcher, a student at the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. His product is a provider of customized equipment for combat situations.

This year we have the best group that weve ever had. also delighted to see the diversity of the competitors, said Bifano. Were all excited about the opportunity to help students who want to start a business while theyre pursuing an academic degree, help them be successful and accelerate the time from idea to product in the marketplace.
(CNN) -- Gwyneth Paltrow has prevailed in the civil trial relating to a 2016 ski collision.

A Utah jury on Thursday found Paltrow, an Oscar-winning actor and the founder and CEO of Goop, not liable and ruled in her favor in her counterclaim against the man who sued her.

Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, sued Paltrow over lasting injuries he said he sustained when the two collided at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah more than seven years ago.

The jury in the civil trial deliberated for a little over two hours before returning their verdict in favor of Paltrow, who testified that it was Sanderson who skied into her back as she was down slope from him.

The trial began on March 21.

Sanderson's attorney on Thursday asked the jury to consider his client's brain injury and life expectancy, suggesting the jury award $3.2 million to Sanderson.

Sanderson's complaint alleged his damages were more than $300,000.

Paltrow testified last week that Sanderson skied into her. She sought and was awarded $1 in damages, plus attorneys' fees in her counterclaim.

After the verdict was read, Paltrow released a statement through her attorneys.

"I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity. I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case," Paltrow said.

Her attorney, Steve Owens, also released a statement.

"We are pleased with this unanimous outcome and appreciate the judge and jury's thoughtful handling of the case," he said. "Gwyneth has a history of advocating for what she believes in -- this situation was no different and she will continue to stand up for what is right."

Sanderson spoke to reporters outside of the court.

He said that when Paltrow was seen placing her hand on his shoulder after the verdict was read, she said to him, "I wish you well."

He later said that he believes "she thinks she has the truth," but asserted that he did not present any "falsehoods" during the trial.

Sanderson's lawyer Kristin VanOrnum said that she has "newfound appreciation" for Paltrow, when responding to a question regarding the media coverage of and interest in the trial.

"If she has to deal with all of this on a daily basis, I can't even imagine and I feel for her on that," she added, after telling reporters that she was "not starstruck."

Closing arguments

Before the jury was sent to deliberate, Sanderson's attorney, Robert Sykes, rejected claims that Sanderson was seeking fame and attention by bringing his case to court.

"Part of him will always be on that mountain," Sykes said in his closing arguments. "We hope that you will help bring Terry home off that mountain with a fair verdict for today."

Owens, meanwhile, asserted in closing that for Paltrow, it's an issue of right and wrong and that it would be "easy" for Paltrow "to write a check and be done with it," but said that would be "wrong."

"It's actually wrong that he hurt her, and he wants money from her," he told the jury.

He added, later, "He's entitled to be here today, but he's not entitled to be rewarded for hurting her."

Paltrow's attorney James Egan, in his portion of closing, referred back to the opposing side's comments, saying: "Ms. Paltrow wants him off the mountain, too, but she should not be responsible for the cost of that."

Key testimony

Paltrow told the jury the collision happened on the first day of a trip to Deer Valley that she was on with her two kids, then-boyfriend Falchuck and his two children.

She testified that two skis came in between her skis, forcing her legs apart and that she heard a "grunting noise" when she felt a body pressing against her back before they both came crashing down together.

Paltrow said she did not ask about the condition of Sanderson after they collided but claimed she stayed on the mountain "long enough for him to say that he was OK" and to stand up.

During his testimony, Sanderson reiterated claims it was Paltrow who skied into him.

"I got hit in my back so hard and right at my shoulder blades and it felt like it was perfectly centered and the fists and the poles were right at the bottom of my shoulder blades, serious, serious smack and I've never been hit that hard," Sanderson testified. "All I saw was a whole lot of snow."

Sanderson disputed suggestions he sued Paltrow to exploit her fame and wealth.

"I thought, 'I'm not into celebrity worship,'" Sanderson told the jury about learning she was the other skier involved in their collision.

Jurors also heard from a number of expert witnesses, Sanderson's daughters and testimony from ski resort employees. Testimony from Paltrow's two children, Apple and Moses Martin, was also read to the jury during the trial.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Gwyneth Paltrow wins ski collision case"
He should get the lawyer that is representing Jonathan Majors.

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I still cant believe he hired the same lawyer as Jen Shah. He's that poor?

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She'd fit right into the clown car with the rest.

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this is all overwhelming. and it doesnt help that the right wing portion of my fam is arguing with the left over it, and both are saying wildly different things. what are the chances of him actually being convicted? or at least made so he cant run again?

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The chances are low, tbh. Thats why its not worth arguing with anyone about it. Just enjoy the moment.

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I would say damn low. Its not cause he's "smart" as he claims..I'd bet my land and retirement that he has massive dirt on very powerful people who protect him. Unless they tired if him..then he gets miloseviced.

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If there are 34 counts, he will be convicted on some of them. To begin with, Michael Cohen has already been tried and convicted for the same crimes. The evidence, Trump's own words, tweets and actions are more than ample proof.



He's toast. It might take awhile, but he's done. This is the beginning of the end because he's going to be indicted in Georgia for election fraud, in another state as well, and E. Jean Carroll's case in NY. He'll never run for office again.

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Kinda making me look forward to Tuesday!

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I don't think he's ever going to prison but I hope this bankrupts him and his family for good this time.

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This fucker is actually fundraising off this. I swear, he could be convicted and people would still vote for him. The party of 'law and order' would have this criminal as president. I mean, they literally don't care that he pay off a pornstar, attempted coup, tried to overturn an election federally and in multiple states. They don't care.



Blows my fucking mind this orange Jabba the Hut has a cult.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna27638



Edited at 2023-03-31 11:43 pm (UTC) After seeing that people elected a dude in jail for murdering his wife with cancer, any and all faith I had left in people acting with common sense and decency, died.

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I think this is just the beginning because damn, even MOAR charges?

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I really hope something comes of this. There has to be more to it than just the Stormy Daniels payments, so I'm feeling kinda hopeful. I'm really worried about the judge, his family, and the jury. Even though they are having their identities protected, I still feel like it will somehow get leaked to the press. DeShitStain said he won't help if 45 doesn't show up on Tuesday. That should be interesting.

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I think it depends on if he thinks surrendering will funnel more money from his rubes, than if he hid in Florida.

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If nothing else I hope the stress of all of this puts the bitch 6 feet under

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That's not what golden handcuffs mean but ok.



Edited at 2023-03-31 06:39 pm (UTC)

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You get golden handcuffs when you get 10 indicated punches on your cofeve punch card. (j/k)



*why is it not a surprise that he doesnt know the meaning of golden handcuffs

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He's never had a real job at a real company so yeah makes sense. 

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Tbh, I do love that he and his team were so thoroughly blindsided by this lmao



I am also just so confused by the right saying how this is such an egregious move, that this is unprecedented, how this is so wrong, etc. I'm sorry, but what is this idea that you can break the law all you want and get away with it because you, at one time, held office? Is this not the GOP that was all about "draining the swamp" and being "tough on crime"? Except when the criminals are part of your political party, I guess

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I think what the GOP is saying is that theyre worried about this happening to their other lawmakers now

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Because they know they've done illegal shit, too. And thought they could continue with impunity.

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I have to take time off on Monday to go for blood tests, but I feel confident I can schedule Tuesday to fully enjoy the news as it rolls in. I have a really light week, and Im grateful.

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And pretty much the only way he could get out of this is if the president pardoned him, correct? Thats the only reason Nixon didnt get in trouble for Watergate.

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its state charges, a President can't pardon that! (only federal charges)

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Oh! So that means the governor would have to do it, since it is state?

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Correct, assuming that's a thing in NY (I'm not sure if it varies by state)

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Biden could only potentially pardon him for federal crimes. These are state crimes hes being indicted for rn.

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I wonder if he feels the walls closing in around him because this is potentially just the first of many (come through, Georgia!!)

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God the Georgia charges would be AMAZING. I hope we find out about that possible indictment sooooooon.

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Edited at 2023-04-01 06:30 am (UTC)

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With global trade being upended by sanctions on Russia while Asia and the Middle East add refining capacity at the expense of the U.S. and Europe, orders for fuel tankers have soared so far this year to the highest in a decade.

So far into 2023, a total of 38 mid-range fuel tankers have been ordered, the highest number since 2013, per data from shipbroker Braemar cited by Bloomberg.

The new global trade order after the EU and G7 embargoes and price caps on Russian oil products, as well as the rise in Asian and Middle Eastern refining capacity while facilities closed in the U.S. and Europe, have created a wider geographical dislocation between new refining capacity and major consuming centers.

Ahead of the EU ban on Russian petroleum products, Russia began to divert its oil product cargoes to North Africa and Asia. At the same time, Europe has started to buy more diesel and other fuels from the Middle East, Asia, and North America to replace the lost Russian barrels.

Using ship-to-ship (STS) loadings, Russia is shortening the routes for tankers headed to Africa and Asia as Moscow is now banned from exporting fuels to the EU.

At the same time, Europe is ramping 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.

This dislocation of global trade in fuels, with the longer distances tankers are now having to travel to deliver Russian oil products outside Europe, is boosting demand for tankers hauling petroleum products.

Moreover, the worlds refining capacity is expected to increase by nearly 3 million bpd by the end of 2023 when at least nine refinery projects are expected to start up in the Middle East and Asia, the EIA estimated last year.

The main, structural shift in the refinery landscape that will support refined-product shipping demand in the medium- and long-term is the geographical dislocation between new refineries and major consumers, Alexandra Alatari, a senior analyst with Braemar, told Bloomberg.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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The government released its long-awaited Green Finance Strategy on Thursday, announcing a widespread review of policies and regulations as it seeks to channel investment towards the green economy.

The delayed report sets out proposals to pursue the governments ambition of making London the worlds first net zero aligned financial centre.

It said the proposals would ensure the necessary finance flows to our net zero, energy security and environmental industries.

A key part of the plan is the so-called Green Taxonomy, a tool to provide investors with clarity on which activities are labelled as green.

This will support the quality of standards, labels and disclosures used in the industry for green finance activity, the government said. It expects to consult on the Taxonomy in autumn 2023.

It confirmed nuclear will be included within the UKs Taxonomy, subject to consultation, as it is considered a key technology within our pathways to reach net zero.

Another main concern for the government is clamping down on greenwashing, the practice of making investments look more environmentally friendly than they actually are.

It said it will consult on the specific steps and interventions needed to protect against greenwashing and maintain high integrity in markets.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is already introducing labels to help consumers navigate the market of sustainable investment products, in particular by ensuring the name reflects the sustainability profile of the product.

A new consultation into ESG ratings providers will also be launched to help ensure better outcomes for consumers.

This will position the UK to serve as a global hub for voluntary carbon trading, the report said.

Transition plans were also an area of focus for the government. Transition plans detail how firms intend to reach net-zero by 2050.

Currently, the Financial Conduct Authority requires listed companies, as well as large asset owners and managers, to disclose transition plans on a comply or explain basis.

The government committed to a consultation on introducing disclosure requirements for the UKs largest private companies too. This is likely to align closely with the FCA, the report said.

In other areas the government will launch a call for evidence on Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting. Scope 3 includes emissions across a firms supply chain, not just its direct emissions.

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The Green Finance Strategy was released alongside a series of other measures detailing the governments environmental and energy security policies.

The wider strategy received a lukewarm reception with industry figures suggesting the proposals failed to go far enough to enable the UK to compete with other rivals.

By CityAM

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A senior energy official in Kyrgyzstan has said that the government is poised to reach an agreement with Russia to import 875 million kilowatt hours of power in 2023-24, an amount equivalent to more than 5 percent of annual national consumption.

Deputy Energy Minister Sabyrbek Sultanbekov said the deal was due to be signed on March 30, but he did not offer specifics on the terms.

This agreement with Russia is part of a broader stated plan by Kyrgyzstan to import up to 2.2 billion kWh of electricity this year. In 2021, the most recent year for which there is complete data, Kyrgyzstan produced 15 billion kWh and consumed 16.3 billion kWh. The need for imports only deepened last year, when Kyrgyzstan bought 2.8 billion kWh.

This year, the country has turned so far to its nearer neighbors to top up supplies. In January, Kyrgyzstan paid $4 million to import 138.6 million kWh of electricity from Kazakhstan. A month later, it began to receive deliveries of electricity from Turkmenistan under a deal to import 1.6 billion kWh from that country.

While usage of electricity in industry and transport has seemingly fluctuated over the years, household demand has been on a relentless upward trajectory.

The energy consumed by the residential sector  has grown consistently and rapidly, tripling during the 2000-2010 period and more than quadrupling between 2010 and 2019, the International Renewable Energy Agency stated in a recent report. This increase can be attributed to improving living standards coupled with the rising demand for heating.

Unless relatively prompt remedial action is pursued, trends do not look promising.

In February, Stanislav Pritchin, an economics researcher from the Russian Academy of Sciences, offered the forecast that annual electricity consumption in Kyrgyzstan is expected to rise to 20 billion kWh by 2030.

As the International Energy Agency has found, however, heavy subsidies of electricity have made it unaffordable for the government to properly maintain and invest in preserving and upgrading production and transmission capacity. That is particularly unfortunate since, as the IEA has also said, it is estimated that rehabilitation and modernization can save up to 25 percent of electricity.

Kyrgyz authorities are gradually accepting the need to allow tariffs for electricity to rise, something they have historically been reluctant to do because of the political sensitivity around this issue. New proposed rates to be brought in from May 1 will increase the cost of using electricity, particularly for consumers exceeding certain thresholds. Provisions are being made to protect vulnerable communities from dramatic hikes to bills, however.

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By Eurasianet.org

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Privately held commodity major Vitol has raked in close to $15 billion in profits for 2022 amid the energy crisis that struck Europe and spread around the globe last year.

This is what Bloombergs Javier Blas tweeted today, quoting unnamed people in the know. The Financial Times had reported the same figure earlier, also citing unnamed sources familiar with the companys financial performance.

The FT report noted that the 2022 profit figure was equal to Vitols combined annual earnings for the previous six years. Bloombergs Blas noted the 2022 earnings figure was three times higher than Vitols previous record, booked for 2021.

Vitol also did a lot better than its commodity trading peers, even though their 2022 results were also at record highs. The company attributed the strong performance to soaring prices in electricity markets, its power generation business, oil refining, and LNG trading.

Vitol said earlier this month that its turnover for 2022 had doubled from the previous year to reach $505 billion.

The news that a commodity trader had made such a massive profit immediately led to a reaction from political circles. The leader of the UKs Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, called for the extension of a windfall tax for the energy industry to commodity traders, the FT reported.

It is simply not right for companies to make enormous profits out of the misery caused by Putins invasion of Ukraine, Davey said.

Meanwhile, Vitols chief executive Russel Hardy said at an FT event that the commodity trader will be reinvesting a lot of its record profits in capex projects aimed at strengthening energy supply. Normally, Vitol distributes most of its profit among its owners.

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Hardy also said that this year was unlikely to bring a repeat of Vitols 2022 performance, noting that its a much more conservative market going forward, so our strategy and approach has to reflect that.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Manila (CNN Philippines Life)  Filipina photographers Hannah Reyes Morales and Kimberly dela Cruz are part of the Southeast Asia and Oceania winners of the 66th edition of the World Press Photo Contest.

The World Press Photo Contest has been recognizing the work of professional photographers since 1955. The full list of winners was announced on April 29, with Morales and dela Cruz among 30 photographers (including honorable mentions) from 23 countries, including the Philippines, China, Germany, Ukraine, and South Africa.

Selecting these arresting winning images from tens of thousands of entries was a huge task for our independent jurors, all of whom demonstrated profound care, expertise and passion in reaching their decisions, delivering a stunning and globally balanced view of the past year, said Executive Director of the World Press Photo Foundation, Joumana El Zein Khoury.

Members of the Golden Gays community unwind at home after a show, in Manila, on 24 July 2022. Photo by HANNAH REYES MORALES for THE NEW YORK TIMES courtesy of WORLD PRESS PHOTO FOUNDATION

Odessa Jones (55) performs in a show for the Golden Gays benefactors in Manila, on 24 July 2022. Photo by HANNAH REYES MORALES for THE NEW YORK TIMES courtesy of WORLD PRESS PHOTO FOUNDATION

Hannah Reyes Morales photos have been seen in The Washington Post, The New York Times, National Geographic, and Al Jazeera, among other publications. She was born in the Philippines and works all around Asia, garnering awards for her work including the 2020 Infinity Award for Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism from the International Center of Photography. In 2021, she was commissioned as the Nobel Peace Prize photographer to present an exhibition on the work of Maria Ressa.

Morales is a regional winner of the stories category of the competition, which counts stories containing four to 10 single frame photos shot in 2021 or 2022, with at least four of those photos from 2022. She wins the prize for her work on Home for the Golden Gays, published in The New York Times.

Nestor and Alma Hilbano watch the evening news, in Quezon City, the Philippines, on Sept. 8, 2019. Exactly three years earlier, their son Richard was killed during a police operation. Photo by KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ, W. EUGENE SMITH MEMORIAL FUND, VII MENTOR PROGRAM courtesy of WORLD PRESS PHOTO FOUNDATION

Men shield their faces from the media after being arrested in a food factory that police claimed to be a drug den, in Pandacan, Manila, the Philippines, on Dec. 9, 2016. Photo by KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ, W. EUGENE SMITH MEMORIAL FUND, VII MENTOR PROGRAM courtesy of WORLD PRESS PHOTO FOUNDATION

Kimberly dela Cruz started out as a photo correspondent for The Philippine Daily Inquirer and has since contributed to The Washington Post, Time Magazine, and Buzzfeed. She began documenting the war on drugs in 2016, working with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism to co-produce the childrens book "Si Kian," which was based on the killings of minors as part of the drug war.

Dela Cruzs Death of a Nation project, a collection of photos that chronicled crime scenes connected to the war on drugs in Manila and the lives of the families affected by the killings, earns her the prize for the long-term project category. The category includes projects covering a single theme, 24-30 single frame photos shot over at least three different years, with a minimum of six photos shot in 2022. Her project was previously shortlisted for Magnum Foundations Inge Morath Award in 2019 and was awarded the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund for Humanistic Photography in 2021.

A previous winner from the Philippines was Ezra Acayan in 2021. The two photographers will receive a monetary prize of 1,000 (around 58,000), and an invitation to the Winners Program in Amsterdam in May. Their photos will also be included in a traveling exhibition from April 22 to July 30. Global winners will be selected from the regional winners, with the announcement on April 20.

Read some of Morales and Cruzs works for CNN Philippines Life below.

The photographs we take, the homes that we carry

On the road with Leni Robredo

LOOK: How the children of Sampaloc, Manila dressed up for Halloween

What people were protesting for in the middle of a pandemic
The price cap on Russian crude oil is working and will remain at $60 per barrel for now, the European Commission told the EU member states this week, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

The EU banned from December 5 maritime transportation services from shipping Russias crude oil to third countries if the oil is bought above the price cap of $60 per barrel, and imposed an embargo on seaborne imports of Russian oil into the EU.

The EU believes that the price cap is working in its dual purpose to reduce oil revenues for Putin and at the same time keep global markets sufficiently supplied, the Commission told the EUs 27 member states this week, basing its analysis on the latest reports and estimates from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Russian oil revenues are already dwindling, the IEA said in its Oil Market Report for March. In February, Russias estimated oil export revenues fell to $11.6 billion. This was down by $2.7 billion from January when volumes were significantly higher, and nearly half pre-war levels.

Russian fiscal receipts from oil sales were up 22% from January after export taxation rules were adjusted, but at $6.9 bn, just 45% of the level from a year earlier, according to the Russian finance ministry, the IEA said.

Earlier this month, U.S. Energy Envoy Amos Hochstein said that the price cap on Russias crude oil and oil products was working well.

I think the beauty of the process is that it is working and that Russian oil and Russian products are being traded below the price cap, Hochstein said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, as carried by Reuters.

Recent estimates have also shown that Russia continues to rely on Western insurance for more than half of the oil cargoes it sells, which could give leverage to the West if it decides to toughen the sanctions against Moscow.

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According to Bloombergs report, there will not be a change in the price cap for the time being, despite a push from some EU member states, such as Estonia and Poland, for lowering the price cap.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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London-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum, which operates one of the largest oil discoveries in Kurdistan, is shutting in as of Friday part of its production in the semi-autonomous region of Iraq as exports from Kurdistan from the Turkish port of Ceyhan remain suspended.

Gulf Keystone Petroleum, operator of the Shaikan Field in Kurdistan, said it expects to shut in production processed at Production Facility 1 on Friday, while production flowing into Production Facility 2 will continue into storage tanks at reduced rates for around another two weeks before also being shut-in. The combined storage capacity at PF-1 and PF-2 is around 150,000 barrels, the company said in an update on its operations in Kurdistan.

Earlier this week, Gulf Keystone Petroleum said that its facilities have storage capacity that allow continued production at a curtailed rate over the coming days after which the Company will suspend production.

Kurdistans crude oil exports  around 400,000 bpd shipped through an Iraqi-Turkey pipeline to Ceyhan and then on tankers to the international markets  were halted late last week by the federal government of Iraq.

Last week, the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in favor of Iraq against Turkey in a dispute over crude flows from Kurdistan. Iraq had argued that Turkey shouldnt allow Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline and Ceyhan without approval from the federal government of Iraq.

Talks between officials from Kurdistan and from the Iraq federal government have failed in recent days, but they are set to continue next week.

Gulf Keystone said in todays field operations update that The Company understands that discussions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi Ministry of Oil are ongoing and continues to believe that the suspension of exports will be temporary.

Earlier this week, the company pumping a quarter of Kurdistans crude oil exports, Norway-based DNO ASA, said that it had started an orderly shutdown of its oil fields following the suspension of oil exports.

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It is unfortunate it has come to this given the likely impact of a continuing supply disruption on oil prices and at a fragile time in global financial markets, DNOs Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Crude oil production from OPEC declined by 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March compared to February, as operators suspended some production in Kurdistan due to a halt in exports from the Mediterranean and as Angola carried out some field maintenance, the monthly Reuters survey showed on Friday.

All 13 OPEC members produced 28.90 million bpd in March, according to the survey tracking the supply to the market from tanker tracking providers and sources at consultancies, OPEC, and oil firms.

The 10 OPEC producers part of the OPEC+ pact saw their compliance with the quotas jumping to 173% of pledged cuts in March, up from 169% in February.

The biggest drivers of lower OPEC output were two of the OPEC+ participants, Angola and Iraq.

Angola, which is severely lagging in its production quota anyway, saw output further slip in March due to field maintenance on the Dalia crude stream.

Iraq, for its part, halted on March 25 exports from the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan via a pipeline through Turkey and the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Several foreign oil firms operating in Kurdistan have announced in recent days they were shutting in production as storage has hit capacity while exports are still halted.

Kurdistans crude oil exports  around 400,000 bpd shipped through an Iraqi-Turkey pipeline to Ceyhan and then on tankers to the international markets  were halted late last week by the federal government of Iraq after the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in favor of Iraq against Turkey in a dispute over crude flows from Kurdistan. Iraq had argued that Turkey shouldnt allow Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline and Ceyhan without approval from the federal government of Iraq.

Meanwhile, OPEC+ is set to stick to the agreement from October 2022 to cut production by 2 million bpd until 2023, when delegates meet on Monday to discuss the state of the oil market, various sources have suggested.

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By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Via AG Metal Miner

The London Metal Exchange and its notorious nickel contract are back in the limelight again. This time, the news has to do with reports of potential fraud with a recent LME nickel shipment. The scrutiny comes following the discovery of nine warrants, some 54 tons of Nickel briquettes, that turned out to contain rocks.

The discovery came following a delivery out of Access Worlds Rotterdam warehouse. At the time the nickel arrived at the warehouse, Glencore had full ownership. However, a BVI firm called Global Capital Markets purchased it almost immediately. Access World announced last week that there is no indication that LME rules were not followed when the material was warranted. However, it is clear from the outcome that something went very wrong.

LME Nickel Not Alone in Contract Fraud

According to Reuters, workers should weigh deliveries on arrival. If this was done, a discrepancy should have been apparent. However, Access World is not making any further announcements while investigations are ongoing. Another possible explanation is that someone replaced the delivered nickel with rocks at some point after delivery. Of course, this would be even more disturbing considering it could happen in a tightly regulated and secure facility.

The owner of the consignments are Trafigura in the U.S. and Stratton Metals in the U.K. Unfortunately, these traders are not alone in suffering fraud on nickel contracts. A recent Financial Times post details how Mercuria Energy Group, a Geneva-based multinational trading company, bought 10,000 tons of blister copper from Turkish supplier Bietsan Bakir last summer for $36 million. However, when the cargo arrived in China, workers found the containers to be full of painted rocks.

Trafigura is also alleging systemic fraud in its dealing with Indian businessman Prateek Gupta and his companies. The allegations came following the discovery of falsified paperwork detailing containers of nickel from Mr. Guptas firm. At the moment, that case remains ongoing.

Some Think Blockchain Could Prevent Future Scams

Supporters suggest blockchain technology could help negate the risk of fraud by creating an unalterable record of transactions with end-to-end encryption. Still, it is hardly an airtight solution. For example, blockchain could significantly reduce the ability of fraudsters to substitute documentation while goods are in transit. This is potentially what happened in the Trafigura-Gupta case. However, the technology doesnt do anything to prevent theft or the replacement of the real cargo with a substitute. This is particularly true if the fraudsters know how to assign the proper tracking to the fraudulent replacement.

The idea is nothing new. Mining firms are looking at using blockchain to track cargo from the mine to the buyer. This would mean that companies could securely trace cargo details, right down to chemical analysis and assay results, from mine shaft to refiner and potentially to end user. Banks and shipping companies have been looking at using blockchain as well. In their case, they hope to reduce or even remove the bureaucratic hurdles and risk that comes along with Bills of Lading and Letters of Credit. Unfortunately, progress remains painfully slow.

Clearly, blockchain technology has the potential to reduce risks and increase the efficiency of global transactions. However, it is very difficult to update processes fine-tuned over hundreds of years. Like the LME, global logistics and banking will benefit from blockchain in time. But despite the rare case of fraud, the current systems work well enough to support millions of transactions a year.

By Stuart Burns

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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky.  Nine people were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters conducting a nighttime training exercise in Kentucky, Army officials said Thursday.

Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, said the deaths happened Wednesday night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission.

A statement from Fort Campbell said the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky. The 101st Airborne confirmed the crash about 30 miles northwest of Fort Campbell.

The helicopters went down in a field near a residential area with no injuries on the ground, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander. One helicopter had five people aboard and the other had four, Lubas said.

An Army spokesperson declined to comment on whether the helicopters collided in the air.

"At this time, there is no determination on the specifics regarding the accident," Daniel Matthews, a public affairs officer for the 101st Airborne Division, said in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon. Matthews said an aviation safety team from Fort Rucker, Alabama, will investigate the accident.

Speaking a news conference Thursday morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the state would do everything it can to support the families of those killed.

"We're going to do what we always do. We're going to wrap our arms around these families, and we're going to be there with them, not just for the days, but the weeks and the months and the years to come," Beshear said.

Lubas said it is unclear what caused the crash.

"This was a training progression, and specifically they were flying a multi-ship formation, two ships, under night vision goggles at night," Lubas said.

The helicopters have something similar to the black boxes on passenger planes, which records the performance of aircraft in flight and are used by investigators to analyze crashes.

"We're hopeful that will provide quite a bit of information of what occurred," Lubas said.

The Black Hawk helicopter is a critical workhorse for the U.S. Army and is used in security, transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue and other missions. The helicopters are known to many people from the 2001 movie "Black Hawk Down," which is about a violent battle in Somalia eight years earlier.

Black Hawks were a frequent sight in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan during the wars conducting combat missions and are also used by the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. They were also often used to ferry visiting senior leaders to headquarters locations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones.

Fort Campbell is located near the Tennessee border, about 60 miles northwest of Nashville, and the crash occurred in the Trigg County, Kentucky, community of Cadiz.

Nick Tomaszewski, who lives about a mile from where the crash occurred, said he saw two helicopters flying over his house moments before the crash.

"For whatever reason last night my wife and I were sitting there looking out on the back deck and I said 'Wow, those two helicopters look low and they look kind of close to one another tonight,'" he said.

The helicopters flew over and looped back around and moments later "we saw what looked like a firework went off in the sky."

"All of the lights in their helicopter went out. It was like they just poofed  and then we saw a huge glow like a fireball," Tomaszewski said.

Flyovers for training exercises happen almost daily and the helicopters typically fly low but not so close together, he said.

"There were two back to back. We typically see one and then see another one a few minutes later, and we just saw two of them flying together last night," he said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered his condolences to the families of those killed.

"My heart goes out to the families of these servicemembers and to the members of the 101st Airborne Division who bravely and proudly serve our country each and every day," Lloyd said in a statement.

In the Kentucky House and in the Senate, members stood for a moment of silence Thursday morning in honor of the crash victims. Kentucky state Rep. Walker Thomas said the crash occurred about 15 to 20 minutes from his home.

"They're there to protect us," Thomas said. "And we're constantly seeing these helicopters flying over our communities."

Thomas spoke about how connected Fort Campbell soldiers and their families are to the communities near the Army post.

"The Fort Campbell soldiers that live in our communities, go to our churches  they go to our schools, their kids do," he added. "And this really hurts."

Last month, two Tennessee National Guard pilots were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed along an Alabama highway during a training exercise.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb.  The Grand Island Northwest Public Schools and Superintendent Jeff Edwards face a lawsuit stemming from the decision to end the high schools student newspaper, the Saga, over LGBTQ-related content published in an issue last year.

Former Northwest student Marcus Pennell and the Nebraska High School Press Association are plaintiffs in the suit, which the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska filed in federal district court Friday morning.

According to a statement by ACLU of Nebraska, The lawsuit argues that school officials decision to shutter the newspaper violated plaintiffs First Amendment free speech rights on three counts: their right to be free of viewpoint discrimination, their right to be free of retaliation and their right to receive information.

The lawsuit seeks a judges declaration that the district violated the law and to award damages as the court sees fit.

Pennell is a former Saga staff member, who has since graduated. In April 2022, Pennell used his preferred name in the publication. The newspaper staff was subsequently reprimanded by school administrators and directed to use legal names.

Students on staff decided to produce an LGBTQ Pride-themed June issue, which contained three LGBTQ-related, student-written articles along with stories about a Northwest High School students national art honor and a movie review of Worst Roommate Ever.

The June 2022 Saga, often referred to now as the Pride issue, was published May 16, 2022. It turned out to be the school newspapers final issue.

After news of the Sagas fate was made public last summer, ACLU of Nebraska submitted a public records request, which resulted in hundreds of documents, including emails and text messages.

In a May 17 email to Edwards, Northwest High School Principal P.J. Smith and Activities Director Matthew Fritsche, Northwest School Board President Dan Leiser said: Ive read the publications in the Viking Saga. Im sure this is a revenge tactic from the pronoun thing a month or so ago  .

Later in the email, Leiser said, Im hot on this one, because its not ok. The national media does the same crap and Ive had enough of it. No more school paper, in my opinion. You give someone an inch, they take it a mile.

Northwest school board member Paul Mader sent an email that same day to fellow board members. In it, he included a photo of Pennells story about the dont say gay bill.

Has anyone read our school paper this month? Mader asked in the group email.

Staff and students were notified of the Sagas elimination May 19.

The Grand Island Independent broke the Saga story Aug. 24, after a months-long investigation.

In those public records obtained by ACLU of Nebraska, on Aug. 24 one school official said in a text to another, the article was very poorly written.

Edwards said in an email to a former Nebraska City student (where he was superintendent before coming to Northwest) that the resulting controversy was due to an inaccurate article written by an over zealous [sic] reporter who misconstrued multiple facts.

At the time, the schools official response concerning the Sagas cancellation was an administrative decision and declined to further elaborate.

On Aug. 29, ACLU of Nebraska took action, issuing a demand letter to Northwest Public Schools. They alleged violations of the First Amendment and Title IX, which relates to gender equality.

According to ACLU officials, the district did not respond.

Early this month, Northwest brought back a digital version of the Saga, months after the school had promised to publish the digital version.

It did not satisfy ACLU of Nebraskas demands, officials told the Independent at the time.

Attorneys on the case decided not to pursue the latter of the charges, said ACLU of Nebraska Legal and Policy Counsel Jane Seu, and opted to focus on the former.

To us the strongest  and most compelling issues are the First Amendment claims, Seu said. The First Amendment claims obviously embrace the underlying LGBTQ discrimination on the content of that speech.

(The First Amendment) is what were focused on, but also knowing that this is an important opportunity to stand up for LGBTQ students.

Seu said of the charge surrounding the right to receive information, Weve also included (that) because we think thats an important part of this story. Your right to speak also includes your right to receive information and receive that speech.

Michelle Carr Hassler, associate professor of practice for the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is the NHSPA executive director.

Hassler said of the lawsuit, Its education, first and foremost. This is disrupting the education of aspiring journalists.

It also affects the education of student journalists not necessarily looking at journalism as a career, she added.

Theyre getting such a great experience with critical thinking and language and research and newspaper literacy.

Censorship  has such a demoralizing effect on everyone.

NHSPA is a statewide journalism organization welcoming high school journalism instructors and/or advisers of student publications in Nebraska.

Deposed Northwest Saga adviser Kirsten Gilliland was elected to the NHSPA board last year.

This case was particularly troubling to us, Hassler said of the Sagas cancellation. We felt like it had larger ramifications for scholastic journalism in Nebraska.

Seu was asked whether the case was about setting a precedent or achieving accountability.

With case law, this kind of shows  especially with what we got through open records  the blatant violations (of the right to receive information). It helps promote this constitutional right and the constitutional value of the First Amendment.

We hope this case has a good, long-lasting impact.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of March 2023
Adam Motz and his husband Amadou Tee Lam were ecstatic when they found out their in vitro fertilization and surrogacy was a success.

Despite the excitement, Motz knew down the road their daughters would ask where they came from, which inspired him to write the children's book "You Come From Love."

"I was imagining driving in the car with my kids in the back seat saying, 'Daddy! Daddy!' Asking a million questions," Motz said. "One of the questions I imagined them asking was, 'Where do we come from? How did we get here?'"

The couple wanted to answer their daughters' questions more scientifically when it was age appropriate. But, before any of that, they wanted them to know that they come from love.

Motz's new book comes out Tuesday, April 4. The book celebrates all the different components of parental love: ancestral roots, spirit and family.

What started as a poem that he planned to read to his daughters became a picture book that he could share not only with his kids, but also with other parents looking to answer the same questions for their children.

"It's such a universal message," Motz said. "I thought other parents might want to share it with their families and it may expose them to the fact that there are other types of families out there and they're still beautiful and built on love."

"You Come From Love" is illustrated by Jordan Aspiras, whom Motz met in Chicago at Gilead, a queer storytelling bar church.

"She perfectly captured the vision I had for the book" Motz said.

Before parenthood and moving to Chicago, Motz was a Papillion native. He studied at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to be a music teacher, before finding his calling in law.

"It was tough being a gay kid in Nebraska," Motz said. "I was afraid to come out and I stayed in the closet because I had been bullied, called slurs and had heard kids and adults in my life say hateful things towards LGBTQ people."

Motz found the courage to be his true self in college, with the help of his supportive family that still resides in Papillion. But he called attention to the current political climate of the Cornhusker state.

"Given the current legislation being proposed in Nebraska right now, it's still going to be tough for LGBTQ+ kids," Motz said. "It does tangible, physical and mental harm to the queer community."

"I love Nebraska and I don't want to see Nebraska be an unsafe place for LGBTQ+ folk," Motz said.

After moving away from Nebraska, meeting his husband and deciding to start a family, Adam faced a new unlikely issue regarding his sexual orientation: health insurance coverage.

"Insurance typically covers egg donation, egg retrieval, sperm retrieval, if it's necessary," Motz said. "When I contacted my insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, they told me that they were not going to cover any of it because we were a male-to-male couple."

Motz wears many hats  dad, church leader, TikTok family influencer, author and assistant state's attorney for the greater Chicago area.

His legal experience helped him interpret his insurer's policy. The couple ultimately filed a discrimination complaint against the company through the Illinois Department of Human Rights. In the complaint, Motz alleged discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation.

"We were financially prepared for any situation," Motz said. "For a different couple in our situation, it could have thrown a wrench into things, and that's why it's important to fight for this to never happen in the future."

Illinois is one of 10 U.S. states that have infertility insurance, IVF insurance laws and fertility preservation laws.

In 2021, Motz's childhood friend provided an egg donation while Lam's childhood friend acted as Reve's and Sky's surrogate. The entire process cost the couple $100,000 from start to finish including egg donor-related and gestational carrier costs, medical appointments, hospital stays and other expenses.

"It's painful to want a child and have to go through this whole process to then have a major corporation on your back trying to make it difficult for you," said Motz. "I don't know if it was because of our story, but after our issue with Blue Cross Blue Shield, the law was updated to enhance the protections for LGBTQ people."

With all the hard work behind them, they finally get to enjoy the family they wanted so much. Their daughters are 18 months now, and they're just as excited for the book release.

"When the book first arrived and I opened it, they were excited about it in a way that I hadn't seen before," Motz said. "They loved the colors and would point to the illustrations and say, 'Daddy!' and 'Papa!' It will be interesting to see how their understanding develops as they grow."

They invite everyone to watch their journey as "gay dads raising babies" on their TikTok account @2dads2twins, which has acquired 278,000 followers since its creation in 2020.

"You Come from Love" is available at youcomefromlove.com.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden on Wednesday offered an optimistic outlook on the health of democracy worldwide, declaring that leaders are turning the tide in stemming a yearslong backslide of democratic institutions.

Opening his second democracy summit, Biden looked to spotlight hopeful advancements over the past year despite Russia's war in neighboring Ukraine and U.S. tensions with China over its military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

The president cited signs of progress across the globe, from Angola's effort to create an independent judiciary, Croatia's move to boost government transparency and the Dominican Republic's anti-corruption steps. At home, Biden pointed to his stalled push for voting protections in Congress as evidence of his administration's commitment to support democracy.

Today, we can say, with pride, democracies of the world are getting stronger, not weaker," Biden said. Autocracies of the world are getting weaker, not stronger. Thats a direct result of all of us."

The summits, which Biden promised as a candidate in 2020, have become an important piece of his administration's effort to try to build deeper alliances and nudge autocratic-leaning nations toward at least modest changes.

He said the U.S. will spend $690 million bolstering democracy programs  supporting everything from free and independent media to free and fair elections  around the world. He said he also wanted to use the summit to foster discussion about the use of technology to advance democratic governance and ensure such technology is not used to undermine it.

The U.S. also signed a joint statement with nine other countries to deepen international cooperation on countering the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware. Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom signed on the agreement.

About 40 participants had signed on, as of Wednesday, to a set of guiding principles for how the governments should use surveillance technology, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the agreement before its formal announcement. The guidelines are to be published before the close of the summit on Thursday.

The White House announced plans for the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency to partner with nine other countries to work on protecting human rights and other activist groups that are at risk of facing transnational cyber attacks. The UK is co-leading the effort and Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Japan, New Zealand and Norway have also signed on.

Earlier this week, Biden signed an executive order restricting the U.S. government's use of commercial spyware tools that have been used to surveil human rights activists, journalists and dissidents around the world.

Since Biden's first democracy summit in December 2021, countries have emerged from the coronavirus pandemic and Russia invaded Ukraine, the largest-scale war in Europe since World War II.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pushed back at those suggesting it was time for a negotiated settlement with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. We should get rid of the illusion that compromising with evil can give something to freedom, and enemies of democracy must lose, Zelenskyy told the summit.

The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, said the invasion was a jolting moment for the world's democracies.

For decades, the idea of war in Europe seemed unthinkable. But we were wrong as Russias brutalization of Ukraine has shown we cannot assume that democracy, freedom and security are givens, that they are eternal, Rutte said.

Kenya's president, William Ruto, said building democracy was was essential to the growth of developing nations. Ruto was the winner last year of Kenya's close presidential race in which opposition candidate Raila Odinga had alleged irregularities. Kenyas Supreme Court unanimously rejected the challenges.

This is our path to sustainable development, Ruto said.

The U.S. hosted the last summit on its own. This time, it recruited four co-hosts  Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia  after ambassadors from China and Russia criticized the first summit and accused Biden of causing a global divide with a Cold War mentality.

Still, some countries would rather not get between Washington and Beijing, an increasingly important economic and military player.

Pakistan announced, as it did in 2021, that it received an invitation but would skip the summit, a move seen in part as an effort by the impoverished Islamic nation to assuage longtime ally China, which was not invited.

Xu Xueyuan, the charge daffaires of China's embassy in Washington, on Wednesday called the summit at odds with the spirit of democracy.

The U.S. draws an ideological line between countries, and through its narrative of democracy versus authoritarianism,' it has formed factions and caused divisions in the international community, she said.

The Biden administration has also expanded its invitation list. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Gambia, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Lichtenstein, Mauritania, Mozambique and Tanzania were invited this year after being left off the list in 2021.

The first day of the summit was convened in a virtual format and will be followed on Thursday by hybrid gatherings in each of the host countries.

Costa Rica will focus on the role of youth in democratic systems. The Dutch are taking on media freedom. South Korea is looking at corruption. Zambia is centering on free and fair elections

The U.S. is no stranger to the challenges facing democracies, including deep polarization and pervasive misinformation.

Lies spread about the 2020 presidential election by then-President Donald Trump and his supporters have convinced a majority of Republicans that Biden was not legitimately elected, normalized harassment and death threats against election officials, and been used to justify efforts in Republican-controlled legislatures to adopt new voting restrictions.

Later this year, the Supreme Court will rule in a case from Alabama that voting rights advocates fear could virtually dismantle the nearly 60-year-old Voting Rights Act. Congressional efforts to shore up that federal law and increase voting access have failed.

Biden came into office vowing that human rights and democracy would play significant roles in his approach to foreign policy. But he's faced criticism from some human rights activists for being too soft on Saudi Arabia and Egypt over their human rights records. The administration sees both nations as important partners in bringing stability to the Middle East.

More recently, Biden administration officials have been at odds with close ally Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tries to push forward a far-reaching judicial overhaul that the U.S. worries will diminish Israel's democracy.

Netanyahu, in remarks at the summit's opening session, said Israel remained a robust democracy in the midst of a very intensive public debate.

Democracy means the will of the people as expressed by a majority, and it also means protection of civil rights, individual rights. Its the balance between the two, he said.

Later Wednesday, Biden hosted President Alberto Fernandez of Argentina, a summit participant, for talks.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP)  When smoke began billowing out of a migrant detention center in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, Venezuelan migrant Viangly Infante Padron was terrified because she knew her husband was still inside.

The father of her three children had been picked up by immigration agents earlier in the day, part of a recent crackdown that netted 67 other migrants, many of whom were asking for handouts or washing car windows at stoplights in this city across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas.

In moments of shock and horror, Infante Padron recounted how she saw immigration agents rush out of the building after fire started late Monday. Later came the migrants bodies carried out on stretchers, wrapped in foil blankets. The toll: 38 dead in all and 28 seriously injured, victims of a blaze apparently set in protest by the detainees themselves.

I was desperate because I saw a dead body, a body, a body, and I didnt see him anywhere, Infante Padron said of her husband, Eduard Caraballo Lopez, who in the end survived with only light injuries, perhaps because he was scheduled for release and was near a door.

But what she saw in those first minutes has become the center of a question much of Mexico is asking itself: Why didn't authorities attempt to release the men  almost all from Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and El Salvador  before smoke filled the room and killed so many?

There was smoke everywhere. The ones they let out were the women, and those (employees) with immigration, Infante Padron said. The men, they never took them out until the firefighters arrived.

They alone had the key, Infante Padron said. The responsibility was theirs to open the bar doors and save those lives, regardless of whether there were detainees, regardless of whether they would run away, regardless of everything that happened. They had to save those lives.

Immigration authorities said they released 15 women when the fire broke out, but have not explained why no men were let out.

Pope Francis on Wednesday offered prayers at the end of his general audience for the victims who died in the tragic fire.

Surveillance video leaked Tuesday shows migrants, reportedly fearing they were about to be moved, placing foam mattresses against the bars of their detention cell and setting them on fire.

In the video, later confirmed by the government, two people dressed as guards rush into the camera frame, and at least one migrant appears by the metal gate on the other side. But the guards don't appear to make any effort to open the cell doors and instead hurry away as billowing clouds of smoke fill the structure within seconds.

What humanity do we have in our lives? What humanity have we built? Death, death, death, thundered Bishop Mons. Jose Guadalupe Torres Campos at a Mass in memory of the migrants.

Mexicos National Immigration Institute, which ran the facility, said it was cooperating in the investigation. Guatemala has already said that many of the victims were its citizens, but full identification of the dead and injured remains incomplete.

U.S. authorities have offered to help treat some of the 28 victims in critical or serious condition, most apparently from smoke inhalation.

For many, the tragedy was the foreseeable result of a long series of decisions made by leaders in places like Venezuela and Central America, and by immigration policymakers in Mexico and the United States, as well of residents in Ciudad Juarez complaining about the number of migrants asking for handouts on street corners.

You could see it coming, more than 30 migrant shelters and other advocacy organizations said in statement Tuesday. Mexicos immigration policy kills.

Those same advocacy organizations published an open letter March 9 that complained of a criminalization of migrants and asylum-seekers in Ciudad Juarez. It accused authorities of abusing migrants and using excessive force in rounding them up, including complaints that municipal police questioned people in the street about their immigration status without cause.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered sympathy Tuesday, but held out little hope of change.

He said the fire was started by migrants in protest after learning they would be deported or moved.

They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune, Lopez Obrador said.

Immigration activist Irineo Mujica said the migrants feared being sent back, not necessarily to their home countries, but to southern Mexico, where they would have to cross the country all over again.

When people reach the north, its like a ping-pong game  they send them back down south, Mujica said.

We had said that with the number of people they were sending, the sheer number of people was creating a ticking time bomb," Mujica said. "Today that time bomb exploded.

The migrants were stuck in Ciudad Jaurez because U.S. immigration policies dont allow them to cross the border to file asylum claims. But they were rounded up because Ciudad Juarez residents were tired of migrants blocking border crossings or asking for money.

The high level of frustration in Ciudad Juarez was evident earlier this month when hundreds of mostly Venezuelan migrants tried to force their way across one of the international bridges to El Paso, acting on false rumors that the United States would allow them to enter the country. U.S. authorities blocked their attempts.

After that, Ciudad Juarez Mayor Cruz Perez Cuellar started campaigning to inform migrants there was room in shelters and no need to beg in the streets. He urged residents not to give money to them, and said authorities removed migrants intersections where it was dangerous to beg and residents saw the activity as a nuisance.

For the migrants, the fire is another tragedy on a long trail of tears.

About 100 migrants gathered Tuesday outside the immigration facilitys doors to demand information about relatives. In many cases, they asked the same question Mexico is asking itself.

Katiuska Marquez, a 23-year-old Venezuelan woman with her two children, ages 2 and 4, was seeking her half-brother, Orlando Maldonado, who had been traveling with her.

We want to know if he is alive or if hes dead, she said. She wondered how all the guards who were inside made it out alive and only the migrants died. How could they not get them out?
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israels prime minister on Wednesday brushed aside criticism of his judicial overhaul plan from President Joe Biden, saying the matter was an internal Israeli issue and would not be influenced by outside pressure.

While both sides tried to play down their differences, it was a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies, and reflected what has been a lukewarm relationship between the Biden administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new government. It also marked the latest sign of cooling ties between Israel and the Democratic Party.

The disagreement came after months of unrest in Israel over Netanyahus proposed overhaul of the countrys judicial system. Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, says the plan is needed to rein in the powers of an interventionist judiciary. Critics say it will push the country toward authoritarianism by weakening an independent court system.

Following especially heavy protests, Netanyahu this week froze the plan and launched negotiations on a compromise with his political opponents. The timeout prompted Bidens ambassador, Tom Nides, to tell Israeli media that he expected Netanyahu to soon be invited to the White House.

Asked about the legislation on Tuesday, Biden told reporters, I hope he walks away from it. He said Netanyahus government cannot continue down this road and called for a compromise. He also said there were no immediate plans for a White House visit, saying: No, not in the near term.

Netanyahu responded with a statement expressing appreciation for Bidens years of support for Israel and vowing to seek a broad consensus over the legal program. But he also dismissed the outside pressure.

Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends, Netanyahu said.

Members of his coalition reacted even more harshly, saying Biden had no business interfering in an internal Israeli matter.

Israel is not another star in the American flag, said National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party. I expect the U.S. president to understand this point.

Netanyahu later tried to soothe tensions in a speech to the U.S. Summit for Democracy, a virtual gathering of global leaders, saying that while the United States and Israel have occasional differences, the ties between them are unshakeable.

A senior Israeli official, speaking to reporters, described the spat as a tempest in a teacup and said there have not been any discussions with the Americans about a Netanyahu visit to Washington. He spoke on condition of anonymity because to discuss behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also tried to play down the disagreements, saying Biden's comments about the judicial overhaul plan have remained completely consistent. He also dismissed suggestions they caused tensions in an unshakeable relationship.

The great thing about a deep friendship is you can be that candid with one another, Kirby said.

While they may get through this latest dispute, it will not erase the deeper differences between them.

After five Israeli elections in under four years, Netanyahu managed to cobble together a coalition government with a group of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist partners late last year.

These include far-right partners who oppose Palestinian statehood and have strong ties to the West Bank settler movement  putting them at odds with U.S. support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Since taking office, there have been repeated run-ins with the Americans over Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands and comments by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who called for a Palestinian town to be erased and later said the Palestinian people dont exist. Washington has called his comments repugnant and snubbed Smotrich during a recent U.S. visit.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who enjoyed good ties with Biden during a brief period as caretaker prime minister last year, accused Netanyahu of harming Israels most important relationship.

For decades, Israel was the USAs closest ally, Lapid wrote on Twitter. The most radical government in the countrys history ruined that in three months.

That relationship, however, has been repeatedly tested in recent years by a growing partisan divide in the U.S. over support for Israel.

Netanyahu has long been seen as favoring the Republicans over the Democrats. During his 2009-2021 term as prime minister, he cultivated close ties with U.S. evangelical Christian groups.

Netanyahu had several public spats with the Obama administration  in which Biden served as vice president  over Israels policies toward the Palestinians and the Iranian nuclear issue. In 2015, he infuriated the White House by addressing Congress to rail against a U.S.-led nuclear deal between world powers and Iran.

His close relationship with former President Donald Trump further alienated U.S. Democrats.

Democratic lawmakers, particularly in the partys progressive wing, have grown increasingly outspoken in their criticism of Israel.

A Pew poll published last May found Republicans expressing far more favorable views of the Israeli government than Democrats. The poll found that Democrats  especially young voters  have increasingly expressed favorable views about the Palestinians.

This gap has spread to the American Jewish community, a key base of support for Israel, which tends to lean heavily toward the Democrats.

A separate Pew poll published in 2021 found that Jewish Democrats, especially the younger generation, have lower levels of support and connection to Israel.

The Netanyahu governments attempts to reshape the judiciary now risk accelerating these trends. Business leaders, top economists and former security chiefs have all come out against the plan, saying it is pushing the country toward dictatorship.

It has also drawn criticism from Israels supporters in the U.S., including American Jewish organizations, as well as Democratic members of Congress.

The plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and his allies the final say in appointing the nations judges. It would also give parliament, which is controlled by his allies, authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit the courts ability to review laws.

Critics say the legislation would concentrate power in the hands of the coalition in parliament and upset the balance of checks and balances between branches of government. They also say that Netanyahu has a conflict of interest while on trial.

After this weeks freeze of the overhaul, the rival sides have several months to find a compromise.

But Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul-general in New York who is now a columnist for the liberal daily Haaretz, said the damage has already been done.

This is not about an invitation to the White House, he wrote Wednesday. This is about a fundamental crisis of trust. Worse, it is about asking whether a dependable U.S. ally is becoming unstable, unreliable and untrustworthy.
Gender equality is a basic pillar in modern-day feminist conversations. Its been a repetitive online slogan since the Tumblr generation as well as a go-to DEI buzzword for aspiring progressive organizations. But one term thats just as essential yet rarely heard enough is equity. Instead of only ensuring that individuals have the exact same access to opportunities, equity forces us to grapple with our privilege and examine how we can redistribute what we have to serve the needs of others. Its inherently uncomfortable because it demands action.

Given how loaded the term is, how might we work towards breaking it down into practical steps? How might we embrace it in a world defined by our differences? These are questions CNN Philippines annual Womens Summit  aptly entitled #EmbraceEquity  sought to address. Held last March 25, this series of talks highlighted issues women continue to face as well as the measures that must be taken so everyone can occupy their rightful space.

The first panel stressed the importance of expanding the existing conversation to include all women  a demand that goes against what Filipinos have been conditioned to believe. During ancestral times, trans women were once revered and even expected to take on leadership roles in society. [But] when the Spaniards came to colonize the Philippines, they were the ones who intensified inequality because they had brought with them the unequal gender ideology from Spain, shared Dr. Nathalie Verceles, associate professor from the University of the Philippines Diliman. It had become a social norm because those in power dictated adherence until it became naturalized and even institutionalized within the family and the community.

When the Spaniards came to colonize the Philippines, they were the ones who intensified inequality because they had brought with them the unequal gender ideology from Spain, shared Dr. Nathalie Verceles. Photo by JL JAVIER

This exclusion persists to this day, as seen in both microaggressions and intentional acts of gender-based violence. Trans women and LGBTQIA+ rights advocates Mela Habijan and Thysz Estrada bravely shared the subtle ways they are targeted throughout their daily lives. Something people tend to get away with is the concept of having a gaydar, Estrada said, eliciting gasps from the audience. This act of predicting others sexual orientations only [works] with preconceived notions and stereotypes of what being queer can be.

We should educate ourselves on how unfair it is to box people and judge them. Thats the way forward, says LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Mela Habijan. Photo by JL JAVIER

Another example brought up was deadnaming, or referring to a trans or nonbinary person by their name from before they transitioned. If I call you by your [lived] name, I say that you exist. You exist with me and we belong in this space, Habijan explained. Though the topic may be sensitive to discuss with others, Habijan believes that we should educate ourselves on how unfair it is to box people and judge them. Thats the way forward.

By unlearning these harmful social norms, we allow all women to have a seat at the table and participate in spaces where they can make distinct contributions. In the second panel, women leaders both in the public and private sector spoke of the edge they possess over the male counterparts. For Department of Health (DOH) Officer-in-Charge Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire, it was her communication and credibility that made her a force to be reckoned with at the height of the pandemic, even without a title. I am loyal to my superiors, whoever they may be, but in terms of doing my service, I will always be here to put the people first and not my bosses. I will always look at and see what the people need.

DOH Officer-In-Charge Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire, San Manuel, Tarlac Mayor Donya Tesoro, UN Women Philippines Program Officer for BRIDGE Cathy Torres, and reigning Bb. Pilipinas International Nicole Borromeo. Photo by JL JAVIER

Meanwhile, Mayor Donya Tesoro of San Manuel, Tarlac thinks its her genuine heart for service and listening ear. Its a plus to be a woman in politics, actually, because you know how to delegate tasks. Thats why I wanted to work with people who are smarter than me, she said. Advantage ko noong pandemic was that I hired based on background rather than loyalty because I wanted to work with people who are smart and dedicated.

Cathy Torres of UN Women Philippines boasts of the womans ability to build bridges in a world that is set on building borders. Her response alludes to her organizations BRIDGE program, which guides returning female migrant workers through the recruitment to reintegration process. Right now, when we speak of women in Philippine society, we have those in the C-suite as well as those struggling at the very bottom of the pyramid. We try to focus on those in the margins.

Finally, reigning Binibining Pilipinas International Nicole Borromeo thinks its the Filipinas renewed form of empowerment. Beauty pageants formerly had a reputation for being superficial, but now, we get to meet people who have opinions on issues and make the most of the platforms given to them.

"Our focus right now is funding agencies and helping women recover after the pandemic, because that was the most affected sector, said BDO vice president for sustainability Marla Garin-Alvarez. Photo by JL JAVIER

Aside from forming better connections with their constituents, these women in positions of power can wield their influence to encourage more girls to participate in the economy. The third panel of the day stressed the need for representation and education in traditionally male-dominated fields: something that BDO Unibank is proud to have. Aside from having a workforce composed of 75% women, we support women as consumers and as entrepreneurs through the products and services offered by the bank, said Marla Garin-Alvarez, the banks vice president for sustainability. Our focus right now is funding agencies and helping women recover after the pandemic, because that was the most affected sector.

Cherrie Atilano of AGREA attested to this, as one of the few female movers in the agribusiness sector. If we take a look at the agricultural sector, who is the first to plant, the first to grow, the first to harvest, but the last to eat? Its our mothers, she said. Atilano claims that systemic forces are to blame for this disparity: examples of which include laws that entrust shared property to the man of the house, as well as existing equipment that isnt designed with women in mind.

Such struggles are further compounded for queer women, who continue to face barriers to opportunities both in and out of the workplace. Women are breaking glass ceilings, doing everything despite the odds stacked against them. But being queer and as someone who works in a queer rights advocacy, who we are is somehow still a barrier, said Tina Boado, co-founder of Queer Safe Spaces. This is why their youth-led nonprofit partners with organizations to provide grants and loans to queer-led SMEs and give them access to the credit, training, and resources they need.

When women are provided with the ingredients to success, it produces a positive ripple effect, as theyre hardwired to give back to the community in any way they can. The last panel featured accomplished women in the arts who have done just that, including Zarah Juan, the creative director of her eponymous brand.

Without the safety net of a prestigious surname or a formal education, she learned to hustle early in her career. I remember one time nung nadiscover ko na mas mataas yung mga presyo ko from Divisoria kasi babae ako. The suppliers kasi are seven Chinese men. I wanted to meet up with them. Little did I know that it was a drinking session, and I used it to strategize. After a night of heavy drinking, she was the only one who showed up to the bidding the next day, with the lowest price and best design.

In the Philippines, were not used to women who are multihyphenates because were often told that we only fit in one box. But women are multihyphenates without asking for it," said actress, screenwriter, and director Bela Padilla. Photo by JL JAVIER

Award-winning actress, screenwriter, and director Bela Padilla also recounted her own journey over the past 16 years shes been in the showbiz industry. Despite facing one rejection after another for being too white or not that pretty, she has learned to forge a path of her own by opening her own doors. In the Philippines, were not used to women who are multihyphenates because were often told that we only fit in one box. But women are multihyphenates without asking for it: were literally Michelle Yeoh all the time, she said.

On the other hand, woodcarver Charming Baldemor decided to pursue a mentorship during the pandemic to pass her skills to the artisans of Paete. Our approach was not the academic type of teaching but more of an intimate mentorship. We had to teach [the apprentices] that everything we do has to be done in quality and to do that, we had to dig deeper, get to know each other to bring out the best in them.

As women, I think we can harness our emotions to make ourselves super committed and stubborn and bull-headed and hardworking. You always have to keep your heart in what youre doing," said prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. Photo by JL JAVIER

Prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde does the same as the current head of her own ballet school. I was able to use my training over the years to tell a story and now, Im able to teach ballet to my students and that has given me a new calling and a new life, she said. Today, she teaches her students not only the basics of the discipline but also the proper emotions needed to succeed. As women, I think we can harness our emotions to make ourselves super committed and stubborn and bull-headed and hardworking. You always have to keep your heart in what youre doing.

Although the Philippines has taken considerable strides towards progress, there is still a lot of work to be done before we are truly equitable. The stories of the speakers may have brought womens distinct struggles to the fore, but there remains no guarantee that we will arrive at appropriate multi-sectoral solutions any time soon. But as Estrada poignantly highlighted during her last statement, we can choose to take comfort in the fact that the seeds we plant today will become trees that will serve as shade for the next generation.
A 27-year-old Omaha man was sentenced in federal court Thursday to more than 10 years in prison for distribution of child pornography.

Davonte Andrews will spend 130 months in federal prison after sending 11 images of child pornography via the Discord social platform in July 2020, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office for Nebraska.

When carrying out a search warrant on Andrews' Omaha residence in January 2021, agents found approximately 905 images and 52 videos of child pornography depicting children between 3 and 5 years old, and 196 images and 58 videos depicting children between 6 and 8 years old, according to the release. Some of the materials found by agents depicted children as young as two years old.

The case was investigated by the FBI as part of Project Safe Childhood, the release said.
An education official with more than 35 years of experience is on the way to becoming Nebraskas next education commissioner.

During a Friday meeting, the State Board of Education voted 5-3 to offer Brian Maher a contract for the job, following a full day of interviews with three finalists.

Maher is the executive director of the South Dakota Board of Regents. He already has resigned from that role and is scheduled to leave his post in June, though he could leave earlier.

He was selected over two other candidates: Melissa Poloncic, superintendent of the Douglas County West Community Schools, and Summer Stephens, superintendent for the Churchill County School District in Fallon, Nevada.

Several board members said they were impressed by Mahers prepared and polished interview delivery and his experience with a variety of leadership positions.

He clearly shows he respects the board, said Patti Gubbels, board president. The wealth and the depth of his experiences really were important.

Board member Lisa Fricke said she appreciated that he is a very careful and calm person.

That is something in Nebraska we need right now. We dont need people speaking before they think, Fricke said.

He previously served as either a superintendent or an administrator in the Kearney, Waverly, Elkhorn, Centennial and Johnson-Brock school districts in Nebraska, as well as Sioux Falls in South Dakota. In 2015, he was named Nebraskas Superintendent of the Year.

The boards decision wasnt unanimous. Members Sherry Jones, Elizabeth Tegtmeier and Kirk Penner said no. The last two education commissioners received a unanimous board vote, officials said.

The disagreement followed a lengthy discussion prompted by Tegtmeier, who questioned the integrity of the whole search process.

Tegtmeier questioned the process of compiling a list of structured interview questions that had to be approved by Steve Joel, the consultant managing the search from McPherson and Jacobson.

She criticized the list, saying important topics like the teacher shortage and student literacy werent included.

Yesterday, when I asked why all board members didnt get the questions ahead of time, I heard that we cant risk the questions getting out, she said. As one of the eight equal board members, I couldnt be trusted with the questions. This is concerning to me.

Kirk Penner agreed with Tegtmeier. He wanted to add three questions to the interviews on Thursday but was turned down by Joel.

Tegtmeier also questioned Mahers association with Joel, saying they were long-term colleagues and have worked together in the past.

My concern about protecting the integrity of the process was not heard. And no one backed me up, Tegtmeier said. Today, I have to go with my gut. The integrity of this process has been compromised, rendering it invalid for a fair and equitable outcome.

Other board members disagreed with Tegtmeier, saying its normal in government interviews to have a vetted and preapproved list of interview questions.

This is not a private-sector job, this is a government job, said board member Jacquelyn Morrison. We have structured interview questions so all candidates can get the same opportunity to answer those questions.

Maher will potentially sign and accept his contract at the next regular board meeting on April 14.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of March 2023
NASHVILLE, Tenn.  Authorities released 911 recordings on Thursday that capture the terror inside a Nashville elementary school during a mass shooting this week, as callers pleaded for help in hushed voices while sirens, crying and gunfire could be heard in the background.

Police released recordings of three emergency calls made during Monday's attack at The Covenant School, in which three children and three adults were killed.

In one, 76-year-old retired church member Tom Pulliam tells the dispatcher he is with a group of people, including several children, who are walking away from the Christian school toward a main road. Though Pulliam remains calm, the tension and confusion of the situation are clear, with several adults speaking over each other and children's voices in the background.

Asked about how many shots were fired, a woman responds, "I heard about 10 and I left the building."

In another call that started just before 10:13 a.m., a woman tells a dispatcher that she can hear gunshots and that she's hiding in an art room closet.

"It sounds like somebody is shooting guns," the caller says.

The dispatcher asks if she is in a safe spot and says two other callers also reported gunshots at the school.

"I think so," the woman says, as children can be heard in the background.

The teacher then says she can hear more gunshots, and muffled thuds can be heard.

"I'm hearing more shots," the caller said. "Please hurry."

Authorities said the attack ended when police shot and killed the assailant, a former student they identified as Audrey Hale, 28.

The release of the recordings came as people protested at the Tennessee Capitol on Thursday in favor of tighter gun controls, haranguing the Republican-led Legislature to take action.

Chants of "Save our children!" echoed in the hallways between the state Senate and House chambers, with protesters setting up inside and outside the building.

Some silently filled the Senate chamber's gallery, including children who held signs reading "I'm nine"  a reference to the age of the kids who died. Most protesters were removed from the gallery after some began yelling down at the lawmakers, "Children are dead!"

The protests followed a Wednesday night candlelight vigil in Nashville where Republican lawmakers stood alongside first lady Jill Biden, Democratic lawmakers and musicians including Sheryl Crow, who has called for stricter gun controls since the attack.

The vigil was somber and at times tearful, as speaker after speaker read the victims' names and offered condolences to their loved ones but refrained from any statement that could be seen as political.

"Just two days ago was our city's worst day," Mayor John Cooper said. "I so wish we weren't here, but we need to be here."

Police said Hale drove up to the school on Monday morning, shot out the glass doors, entered and began firing indiscriminately.

Absent from the vigil was Tennessee's Republican governor, Bill Lee, who has avoided public appearances this week and has not proposed any possible steps his administration might take in response to the shooting.

Lee has been an advocate for less restrictive gun laws along with greater school security, and he once intimated that prayer could protect the state from school shootings.

As with similar responses to gun violence, the state's Republican leaders avoided calling for tighter gun restrictions and instead have thrown their support behind bolstering school security.

In a letter to Lee, Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally called for securing windows and glass in school buildings, adding magnetic locks on doors, modernizing camera systems, and increasing armed guards.

"While these changes would come with a cost, I believe it is important for us to have a conversation about how to increase and modernize security at schools in Tennessee," wrote McNally, adding later that he also is in favor of red flag laws like one in Florida.

Meanwhile, Tennessee's U.S. senators, Republicans Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, pushed for legislation that would create a $900 million grant program to "harden" schools and hire safety officers.

Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said the shooter drew a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and conducted surveillance before carrying out the attack.

Drake also said Hale left behind writings that the chief referred to as a "manifesto," but authorities haven't released the writings to the public.

Police have said Hale was under a doctor's care for an undisclosed "emotional disorder." However, authorities haven't disclosed a link between that care and the shooting. Police also said Hale was not on their radar before the attack.

Photos: Scenes from the mass shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville
LINCOLN  Lawmakers advanced a bill Friday that would formalize the creation of a new state office dedicated to expanding broadband services across Nebraska.

Legislative Bill 683 advanced to the second round of debate on a 43-2 vote after eight hours of debate focused on government transparency and how much power the governor should have in directing an effort that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

LB 683 was introduced by the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee in response to an executive order by Gov. Jim Pillen to create a state broadband office. Its one of the committees priority bills this session.

Though the Legislature isnt technically required to pass the bill since the office is already established by Pillen, the bill aims to clarifies its responsibilities, particularly when it comes to the large influx of federal dollars expected.

State Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln, the transportation chair, estimated Thursday that between $100 million and $400 million in federal money is expected to come to Nebraska, primarily through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The state already has received nearly $100 million in federal money for broadband expansion.

Its an enormous job, Geist said.

The broadband office would be included under the Nebraska Department of Transportation, with Pillen having a role in oversight. The executive order, along with LB 683, also establishes a director to lead the office, who would be appointed by Pillen and serve in his Cabinet. Currently, State Broadband Coordinator Patrick Redmond is serving as interim director.

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha introduced several amendments aimed at increasing transparency and regulating the governors authority within the office, all of which failed. She was the sole transportation committee member who had voted against pushing LB 683 out of the committee, and was one of the two dissenting votes Friday.

One of Cavanaughs amendments would have given the Legislature oversight on how the funding is used. She argued that the Legislature rarely, if ever, gives the governor full control over public dollars. That amendment failed Thursday evening.

Other Cavanaugh amendments dealt with transparency for the office. Geist said multiple transparency measures were added through a committee amendment that was adopted Friday, including requiring the director to present an annual report to the committee that would be subject to a public hearing.

To say this is not transparent is absurd, Geist said.

Cavanaugh claimed that lawmakers were not supporting her amendments for personal reasons. Cavanaugh has drawn some ire from fellow senators for filibustering every bill this session in protest against LB 574, which would ban gender-affirming care for individuals under 19.

Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte said he didnt support Cavanaughs amendments because he saw them as roadblocks to an effort that he felt has already been delayed too long. Until the creation of the office, much of Nebraskas broadband expansion efforts have been handled by the Public Service Commission, and several lawmakers blamed the commission for the slow progress so far.

Im tired of waiting on the Public Service Commission, Jacobson said. The Public Service Commission has failed us.

Cavanaugh, along with several other lawmakers, defended the commission.

I am not comfortable with attacking an elected body in this way, Cavanaugh said.

Members of the Public Service Commission were neutral on LB 683 at the bills public hearing, though Cavanaugh said she felt several members testimony leaned against the measure.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of March 2023
LINCOLN  Nebraska lawmakers rejected an amendment Friday that would have given tax credits to renters as part of a major property tax relief package.

State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha offered the amendment during debate on Legislative Bill 243, which would provide property owners with more than $3 billion worth of property tax relief over the next six years.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, combines several measures that would increase Nebraskas two property tax credit programs, cap school property taxes and eliminate almost all community college property taxes.

The package represents the second piece of Gov. Jim Pillens school aid and tax cut plan. The first piece, which would cut the states top income tax rate by one-third and make other income tax changes, cleared first-round consideration Thursday.

A first-round vote on the property tax proposal is expected Monday, with debate about a proposed $305 million annual increase in state support for K-12 schools to follow.

Briese argued Friday that the property tax package addresses the biggest concern for most Nebraska taxpayers. He said it would help balance the states tax system, under which Nebraskans pay more in property taxes than in either income taxes or state sales taxes.

That is not fair and balanced, he said. There really is a lot riding on this package.

Briese did not speak about Hunts rental tax credit proposal. She argued that property taxes are incorporated into rents, but renters, who are typically not as well off as homeowners, are never considered in property tax relief measures. She added that rents have increased steeply in the past year, while wages have not kept up.

As a renter myself, it doesnt matter how much property tax relief we give, it never trickles down to the renter, Hunt said.

But Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte said renters do benefit from property tax relief because such measures keep rents from rising as fast as they might otherwise.

The amendment failed, with 30 senators voting against it and 13 in favor.

Earlier, Briese said that LB 243 seeks to provide about the same amount of property tax relief as the income tax package is expected to reduce that tax. He pledged, along with Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area, who chairs the Revenue Committee, to continue working for equivalent tax relief.

Under the Revenue Committee amendment, the property tax package would ratchet up the size of Nebraskas long-standing property tax credit program, which uses state money to offset a portion of property owners bills.

The bill would gradually increase the program from $313 million this year to $560 million by tax year 2029, after which the credit program would grow by the same percentage as the assessed valuation of property statewide.

A second part of the package would remove a cap on the growth of Nebraskas other property tax credit program, often referred to as the LB 1107 program for the bill that created it. It provides income tax credits to offset a portion of school property taxes paid.

By taking off the cap, that credit also would grow by the same percentage as the assessed valuation of property statewide. Briese said valuations have averaged 5.3% growth over the past decade.

The third part of the package would limit the growth of school revenues, with the goal of forcing schools to reduce property taxes when they get more state aid. Pillen has proposed boosting state school aid by providing $1,500 for every student and paying more to cover special education costs.

Under LB 243, schools would be limited to 3% annual growth in revenues, with some exceptions. The limit would apply to the combination of property taxes, state aid and other funding.

The fourth part of the property tax package would end community colleges ability to levy property taxes, except for building needs, starting in 2024. The bill would replace those tax revenues with state aid.

State aid to the colleges would increase by 3.5% annually, with additional money available based on enrollment growth. Community colleges could levy property taxes to fill the gap if the state does not meet its funding obligations.
A 63-year-old Missouri man died in a vehicle crash in southeast Nebraska Thursday afternoon.

At about 3:45 p.m., Nemaha County emergency communications received a call about a two-vehicle crash a mile and half east of Auburn on U.S. Highway 136.

LeRoy Forbes, a 53-year-old from Falls City, was driving east and pulling a trailer with a Ford F-350 pickup when his trailer was reportedly rear-ended by a 2020 Nissan van driven by David Paris, a 63-year-old from Green Ridge, Missouri. A press release from the Nemaha County Sheriffs Office said Forbes had slowed down for traffic before being struck.

Both men were taken to Nemaha County Hospital. Paris died as a result of injuries suffered in the crash, the Sheriff's Office reported.

Auburn Fire and Rescue and Peru Fire and Rescue also assisted at the crash scene.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Six people were killed at a small, private Christian school just south of downtown Nashville on Monday after a shooter opened fire inside the building of about 200 students, police said.

Police received a call about an active shooter at The Covenant School  a Presbyterian school  around 10:15 a.m. Authorities said that about 15 minutes after that call to police, the shooter was dead. The remaining students were ferried to a safe location to be reunited with their parents.

Here's what we know and don't know about the shooting:

HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE KILLED?

Nashville police said six people, including three students, were killed. The victims were identified as Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; Mike Hill, 61; and Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9. Police officers also killed the shooter.

The website of The Covenant School, founded in 2001, lists a Katherine Koonce as the head of the school. Her LinkedIn profile says she has led the school since July 2016. Peak was a substitute teacher, and Hill was a custodian, according to investigators.

On Tuesday night, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Peak was a close friend of his wife, Maria, and that the two had been scheduled to have dinner after Peak taught that day.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE NASHVILLE SHOOTER?

Police gave unclear information on the shooter's gender. For hours, police identified the shooter as a 28-year-old woman and eventually as Audrey Hale. Then at a late afternoon press conference, the police chief said that Hale was transgender. After the news conference, police spokesperson Don Aaron declined to elaborate on how Hale identified.

In an email Tuesday, police spokesperson Kristin Mumford said Hale was assigned female at birth. Hale did use male pronouns on a social media profile.

Police said Hale was a former student of the school, but it was unclear if Hale had any current affiliation with the school or was related to anyone in the school at the time of the shooting. Police said the shooter had made a detailed map of the school and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre.

Police said Hale had two assault-style weapons and a pistol when Hale shot through the front door to enter the building. Police said Tuesday that Hale had legally purchased seven firearms from five different stores in the Nashville area.

Investigators found a sawed-off shotgun, a second shotgun and other unspecified evidence during a search of Hales home. Police Chief John Drake said Hale's parents were unaware that Hale had obtained most of the weapons. They told police Hale was under a doctor's care for an undisclosed emotional disorder, Drake said. Hale's parents also said they believed Hale had only purchased one gun and had sold it.

HOW WAS THE NASHVILLE SHOOTER KILLED?

A team of five Nashville police officers entered the school after the initial call, said Aaron, the police spokesperson. While clearing the first floor of students and staff, they heard shots being fired on the second floor.

Two of the officers opened fire in response and fatally struck Hale at about 10:27 a.m., police said. Police identified Rex Engelbert, a four-year member of the force, and Michael Collazo, a nine-year member, as the officers who fatally shot Hale.

WHAT VIDEOS HAVE BEEN RELEASED AND WHAT DO THEY SHOW?

Police released body camera footage Tuesday from two officers that showed a team of Nashville Police SWAT officers briefly speaking to a staff member outside before entering the building and searching several classrooms quickly. They then rush toward the second floor where gunshots could be heard.

Officers are heard yelling commands, followed by a barrage of gunfire. Shortly after, an officer yells for Hale to stop moving and get your hands away from the gun. Hale, whose face and injuries are blurred in the released footage, is seen laying on the floor motionless.

The six-minute video supplements a release late Monday, of about two minutes of edited surveillance footage that shows the shooters car driving up to the school, glass doors being shot out and the shooter ducking through one of them.

DO WE KNOW THE MOTIVE?

Investigators were sent to the shooter's home shortly after Hale was killed, police said. Hale had a map of the school with a planned route for the shooting, and officers found writings, police said.

No motive has been confirmed by police, but officials said Hale targeted the school, not any particular individual killed in the shooting.

Chief Drake said officers found writings that detailed the plan to attack the school and potentially other locations. He said in an interview with NBC News that investigators believe the shooter had some resentment for having to go to that school.

HOW MANY SCHOOL SHOOTINGS HAVE THERE BEEN SINCE COLUMBINE?

There have been 15 mass shootings at schools or universities in the U.S. since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Mass shootings are defined as more than four people dying, not including the perpetrator, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University, in addition to other AP reporting:
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Rail safety measures proposed after the February train derailment and toxic chemical burn in East Palestine are closer to becoming law in Ohio, as part of a nearly $13.5 billion transportation budget that cleared the Legislature on Wednesday.

A compromise budget plan that chiefly funds work on bridges and highways over the next two years passed both Republican-led chambers with bipartisan support, sending it to GOP Gov. Mike DeWine for expected final approval.

Nearly two months after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in a fiery crash in eastern Ohio, lawmakers approved the plan that includes several railway safety provisions. Among them, it would mandate a two-person crew for freight trains; require personnel who receive messages about defects picked up by a railroads wayside detector system immediately notify a train operator; and order the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to submit written reports to the Legislature regarding the transportation of hazardous materials and waste.

The safety proposals also include a requirement that the wayside detectors used to help spot problems be installed 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 kilometers) apart, with oversight from the Ohio Department of Transportation and public utilities commission. Currently, the Federal Railroad Administration allows some wayside detectors to be spaced up to 25 miles (40 kilometers) apart.

The public utilities commission also would have to examine different kinds of railway detectors and cameras and submit its findings to the General Assembly.

Whether the Legislature is allowed to impose these provisions on the rail industry at all has been a matter of debate during the budget process. The Ohio Railroad Association has argued that several of the measures are preempted by federal law. State lawmakers disagreed, saying the General Assembly can put statewide safeguards in place to help protect its constituents.

Republican Sen. President Matt Huffman said the Legislature has worked with legal experts and believes the provisions are not preempted, but if challenges arise it could be up to the federal courts to decide.

The budget also incorporates lower registration fees for plug-in hybrid vehicles, reducing the annual cost from $200 to $150.

A $1 billion fund for rural highways that had been included in the House version of the budget was nixed in the compromise with the Senate, though House Finance Committee chair, GOP Rep. Jay Edwards, said that funding will be pursued through the main operating budget that lawmakers must sort out in the next three months.

The transportation budget also raises the threshold for the amount of money a local government can spend on projects such as bridge repairs by its own public workforce before it must bid them out to private contractors. The existing limits had been criticized as outdated and unnecessary obstacles to completing projects those local workforces were otherwise equipped to handle.

Samantha Hendrickson 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.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  Turkeys parliament on Thursday ratified Finlands application to join NATO, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the Nordic countrys long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance.

All 276 lawmakers present voted in favor of Finlands bid, days after Hungarys parliament also endorsed Helsinkis accession.

Alarmed by Russias invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Finland and Sweden abandoned their decades-long policy of nonalignment and applied to join the alliance.

Full unanimity is required to admit new members into the 30-member alliance, and Turkey and Hungary were the last two NATO members to ratify Finlands accession.

Swedens bid to join the alliance, meanwhile, has been left hanging, with both Turkey and Hungary holding out on giving it the green light despite expressing support for NATOs expansion.

Turkeys government accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups it deems to be terrorist organizations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.

More recently, Turkey was angered by a series of demonstrations in Sweden, including a protest by an anti-Islam activist who burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy.

Hungarys government contends some Swedish politicians have made derisive statements about the condition of Hungarys democracy and played an active role in ensuring that billions in European Union funds were frozen over alleged rule-of-law and democracy violations.

Turkish officials have said that unlike Sweden, Finland fulfilled its obligations under a memorandum signed last year under which the two countries pledged to address Turkeys security concerns.

"As a NATO member, we naturally had some expectations and requests regarding the security concerns of our country, Akif Cagatay Kilic, a legislator from Erdogans governing party, told parliament before the vote. I would like to underline the concrete steps and their implementation by Finland, which supported and shaped the decision we are taking here.

Kilic added: Im aware that there is a large number of people watching us from Finland. ... We can say to them: Welcome to NATO.

Some opposition parties were critical of the Turkish governments position toward the two Nordic countries.

Unfortunately, (Erdogans ruling party) turned the right to veto Finland and Swedens membership bids into a tool for blackmail and threat. We do not approve of it, said Hisyar Ozsoy, a legislator from the pro-Kurdish party. We find the bargaining process (to press for) the extradition of Kurdish dissident writers, politicians and journalists ... to be ugly, wrong and unlawful.

Asked earlier this week about Swedens NATO membership, Erdogan told reporters: There are certain things we expect of them. They must be fulfilled first.

Sweden, which made constitutional changes to pass tougher anti-terrorism laws, has expressed hope that it will be able to join before NATO's July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Truth be told, having the majority of tracks on this months list be by women wasnt intentional. March typically does come around with a flurry of campaigns and special events celebrating Womens Month. Were all on a long journey that needs to go beyond just celebrating women and addressing the numerous obstacles and barriers that women constantly overcome to be heard and recognized. Ask a female musician, and theyd have their own stories to share.

This time, this specific regular roundup of Filipino music chooses not to determine Marchs list based on gender. Each installment of this series ends up highlighting interesting tracks within a specific period by being monthly anyway, but great music by women is being released all year round.

Dear listener, whatever month it is, youre more than welcome to make a tracklist that highlights your own narrative of women in music through songs that you like. Make Spotify playlists, dig through crates, watch gigs, scour Bandcamp and Soundcloud, record mixtapes, write about the music that means something to you. Search far and wide. Share what you find, and seek out others own versions of how music made by women has shaped us as a whole, and the different movements happening all at once. Isnt that the sheer joy of collectively experiencing music, after all?

That being said, here are some tracks to lend your ears to.

Silver Fairy by Megumi Acorda

Megumi Acordas album Silver Fairy was finally released after months of anticipation. Many of these tracks such as Feverfew and Borrowed/Burrowed are familiar to those who frequently attend her live shows, but as part of the album, they become part of something larger than themselves. The album feels fully realized and awe-inducing in scope, finding Megumi further expanding dream pop by introducing new twists and turns to her gemlike songs, which are crystal clear and precious.

Runnin by The Mellow Dees

Melody Del Mundos voice is arguably a part of the Filipino rock canon, captivating listeners with the erudite Five Years by her band Sugar Hiccup in the nineties. She returns with her Los Angeles-based band The Mellow Dees, who wear their affection for new wave and jangle pop on her sleeve. Hearing her sing on a new track is a delight, and the track firmly holds its own as a continuation of her body of work.

Problem Child by 1st.One

1ST.ONE's latest music video for "Problem Child" pays homage to Filipino action films via bombastic P-Pop spectacle. With a reported budget of 20 million, the music video was directed by the Korean company CHECK, who also worked with familiar names like BTS, BLACKPINK, and EXO.

Elev8 Me L8r reissues

Quezon City dilettantes Elev8 Me L8r released physical reissues of fantastic records even under the pandemic lockdowns: The Resentment Segment by Hazylazy, It Sounds Just Like You! by (formerly Maryknoll), Broken Beams of a Laser Dream by Parlor Parlor, Rocket Peace by Goon Lagoon, and You Didnt Ask For it, Yet Here it Is by Fatigued. Its a veritable selection of fuzz-tinged melodic tunes for the avid avant-pop connoisseur.

TIKTIKTOKIN by PLAYERTWO

Davao hip-hop collective PLAYERTWO dropped TIKTOKIN, a scorching track featuring rapid-fire verses over a gritty, internet-era spin on mid-2000s R&B rhythms. Its a fascinating collision of old school sensibilities and Gen Z inclinations that remain distinct thanks to the rappers flow.

Love Me, Clearly by Future Teenager

Love Me, Clearly is immediate and charming, lush with boy-girl harmonies and shimmery guitar jangle courtesy of Karl Lucente on his solo project Future Teenager. The track features Debb Acebu, his bandmate from Cebuano indie pop darlings Honeydrop, who also happens to be the vocalist of Ang Bandang Shirley.

Mamahalin Magpakailanman by Dey Rose

Mamahalin Magpakailanman plays with dynamic loud-soft-loud sections craft a sense of space, evoking the epic euphoria of love. Dey Roses poetic lyrical inclinations and distinct vocals round out this well-crafted romantic alternative rock anthem.

Sunday by Cinema Lumiere

Saccharine boy-girl melodies and chiming synthesizers complement this sweet, sweet indie pop tune about the mundanities of a relationship. There are moments when love truly can be simple, and Cinema Lumieres latest single captures it succinctly.
Protests intensify in Europe amid mounting political, public mistrust against NATO

Xinhua) 09:25, March 31, 2023

BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- "Why is the Western media ignoring the anti-NATO protests happening today in Paris, France?" asked an independent Lebanese geopolitical commentator named Sarah on her Twitter account, referring to the March 18 demonstration in which thousands of French people took part calling for the exit of France from NATO.

This rally in the French capital is the latest demonstration of the mistrust towards the military alliance of the Europeans who no longer want it.

PROTESTS IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES

The demonstration in Paris, dubbed the "March for Peace," began near the site of the French Senate.

The demonstrators held banners reading: "Stop the war provoked by the United States and NATO," "Freedom, Truth, Resistance" and "The vote of no confidence is peace in France."

Similar protests have recently taken place in several other European countries. In Berlin, around 10,000 demonstrators gathered on Feb. 25 against the supply of arms to Ukraine. "Not our war," read a banner at the rally. The protesters were distributing leaflets calling for an immediate pullout of Germany from NATO.

On the same day in London, about 4,000 people joined a march demanding an end to the shipment of additional weapons to Kiev. "No to NATO expansion," read the placards. "The United States is manipulating the world for its own interests," said Talia, a protester who only gave her first name.

In recent years, opposition to and mistrust against NATO have intensified in Europe, sparking criticism from European politicians and academics, and triggering more anti-NATO protests.

MISTRUST IN POLITICAL CIRCLES

European politicians who raised doubts about the bloc condone the protests.

France's NATO membership was a heated topic during last year's presidential campaign. Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party, and Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the party La France Insoumise (Unsubmissive France), are both in favor of France's withdrawal from NATO, including its integrated command.

"We must get out of NATO, a useless organization that President (Emmanuel) Macron said was brain dead," Melenchon said.

For him, the military alliance founded in 1949 provokes tensions everywhere with its agitation, hoping to benefit here and there from some agencies.

Florian Philippot, leader of the Patriots, a French right-wing party and organizer of several rallies in Paris for peace and the dissolution of the Atlantic alliance, took the stage at one of the recent protests and used scissors to cut NATO's blue flag in half. "NATO is war," he said.

PUBLIC DISCONTENT

This position is also increasingly evident in European public opinion. In an analysis titled "NATO as seen by French presidential candidates" published at the end of March 2022, the Montaigne Institute said that French public support for NATO has declined in recent years.

"Positive views of NATO have been steadily declining since 2009, when France joined its integrated military command. Seventy-one percent of French people were in favor of the alliance in 2009, compared to only 50 percent in 2020," the analysis read.

The attempt to expand the alliance to include Ukraine is at the root of the current Ukraine crisis, Pierre Conesa, a former senior official in the French Defense Ministry, told Xinhua in an interview.

For Antonio Ingroia, one of the founders of the Sovereign and Popular Italy party, "the majority of Italians do not want this war, do not want to be a colony of the United States and NATO."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  A Department of Justice (DOJ) panel of prosecutors dismissed the murder complaint against 17 police officers over the killing of fisherfolk activists Ariel and Ana Mariz Evangelista in Batangas during the so-called Bloody Sunday raids in 2021.

According to the resolution dated Dec. 5 last year and released to the media Friday, the evidence was "insufficient to prove the culpability of all the respondents."

The Evangelista couple was among the nine activists killed in simultaneous search warrant operations conducted in Calabarzon provinces on March 9, 2021, dubbed Bloody Sunday.

In January this year, a DOJ panel also junked the murder complaint on 17 other policemen for the killing of labor leader Manuel Asuncion in Cavite.

Rosenda Lemita, mother of Ana Mariz and mother-in-law of Ariel, and the National Bureau of Investigation-Death Investigation Division filed the complaint before the DOJ on Jan. 14, 2022. In their complaint, the NBI found that the police officers who carried out the operation had a "deliberate intent to kill."

"Here, however, complainants only made a sweeping allegation of conspiracy allegedly because respondents were present at, or near, the place of the incident. This alone is not sufficient to establish conspiracy," state prosecutors said in their 26-page resolution.

The couple died from multiple gunshot wounds. The DOJ panel said the bullets recovered from their bodies came from a caliber 5.56mm gun which was not police-issued and "not even identified."

It added that cartridges and spent bullets from the house where they were shot were fired from two caliber .45 pistols  firearms, it said, that were found in the possession of the Evangelista couple.

The DOJ panel also noted that of the police officers named as respondents, two were only near the house but did not fire a shot; the investigator-on-case and the designated arresting officer were still walking towards the location; while the rest claimed they only acted as perimeter security and blocking force.

Due to insufficient evidence, state prosecutors cannot also answer who fired at the Evangelista couple.

The couple's 10-year-old son and some witnesses said the two were dragged by uniformed personnel to a nearby house where successive gunshots were heard. They also said that the couple had no guns.

But for the DOJ panel, of the two versions of the story of the killing, "respondents' narration is more consistent with the documentary evidence submitted."

It noted that Ariel fired upon the operating team during the implementation of search warrants, which was consistent with police findings that both of his hands were positive for gun powder nitrates.

"Furthermore, even assuming that the evidence points to other respondent/s as responsible for the killing of spouses Evangelista, respondent/s cannot be held liable for murder," the resolution read.

It continued: "In fact, were it not for the violent actions initiated by the spouses, the operating teams would not have reacted and retaliated, as they were at the subject house primarily to serve and implement the search warrants. Thus, the allegation of extra-judicial killing is wanting."

Rights groups dismayed

Defend Southern Tagalog, an alliance of human rights victims and human rights defenders, expressed "strong indignation" over the junking of the murder raps.

"Decision is a step back from justice and reeks of the now-disputed presumption of regularity," it added.

The National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) also said it was dismayed by the dismissal of the murder complaint.

"With their discredited 'nanlaban' narrative taken at face value, the police were gratuitously presumed to have regularly performed their official duties and were once again gifted with impunity," the NUPL said.

"This regrettable development in the much vaunted Bloody Sunday cases, which the government promised to closely investigate under its AO (Administrative Order) 35 mechanism, belies its pompous claim that it is rolling out 'real justice in real time' under an 'effective and responsive justice system.' It is certainly a grave disservice to the victims," it added.
By Daniel Tyokua

There was palpable fear around the Federal Secretariat and the central business district of Abuja on Thursday as sounds of multiple gunshots rented the air following a bloody clash between Police and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, known as Shiite.

This followed a protest by the shiite members who stormed major roads in the heart of Abuja in the early hours of the day to demand that the Federal government reverses the travel ban on their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-ZakZaky.

In a telephone interview with The AUTHORITY, the Secretary, Academic Forum of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Abdullahi Musa, explained that the procession was aimed at forcing the government to restore the international passport of the IMN leader to enable him travel abroad for medical treatment.

Our members are protesting the refusal of DSS to release the Passport of El-zakzaky and his wife to travel for medical treatment.

During our protest today (yesterday) police opened fire on our members and injured 8 members, but we will continue with the protest till our demand is met

Musa added that the procession was peaceful until the men of the Nigeria Police attacked and opened fire on their members, shooting eight in the process.

He vowed that members of the group will continue to occupy Abuja roads untill their demands are met.

The AUTHORITY recall that a Federal High Court in Abuja, had rejected an application filed by Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, asking the Department of State Services to release his passport and that of his wife.

Delivering the judgement, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, ruled that the Islamic cleric failed to prove that his passport was missing, despite the 10 exhibits provided by his lawyers, to prove that the DSS took the passports away, after his return from India in 2018.

The protesters were seen holding banners and placards that read, Buhari must remove the travel ban on Sheikh El-Zakzaky.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  The European Commission will continue to recognize certificates for seafarers issued by the Philippine government.

The EU Commission for Transport confirmed the development in a statement on Friday, citing Manila's "serious efforts" to comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seafarers.

It can be recalled that in December 2021, the EU had warned the Philippine government that its seafarer certificates would be revoked if it fails to follow international standards.

"We appreciate the constructive cooperation with the Philippine authorities and welcome their efforts to improve the system for training and certifying seafarers. The Philippines provide a significant and valued part of the European and global shipping industry's maritime workforce," EU Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean said.

The government has bolstered efforts to improve the maritime sector after the European Maritime Safety Agency's (EMSA) previous audit on the Philippines found some shortcomings - including lack of training equipment and inconsistencies in teaching and assessment.

The Department of Foreign Affairs also warned that 50,000 Filipino seafarers deployed in the EU will be at risk of losing their jobs if EMSA's standards are not met.

READ: Marcos vows PH compliance with EU standards for seafarers to avert job losses

Meanwhile, the commission said it will provide the Philippines with technical assistance to further improve the education, training, and certification system for seafarers.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  Several personal belongings of alleged gunmen who assassinated Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo were recovered in the sugar mill compound owned by former governor Pryde Henry Teves, the Joint Task Force (JTF) Negros said.

According to the report released by JTF Negros on Thursday, identification cards (IDs), documents, and burned clothes supposedly belonging to Degamos killers were recovered in the sugar mill compound.

Also recovered were a silencer, soldering iron, a flash drive, rifle cleaning equipment, caliber .45 cartridges, a Swiss knife, and a tucker used for target papers.

Authorities have been searching Teves' 50-hectare sugar mill compound in southern Santa Catalina town in Negros Oriental since Friday last week.

Authorities have seized some 18 million in cash, multiple firearms, and nearly 10,000 rounds of live ammunition in the initial raid on a sugar mill last week.

Explosives including a rocket-propelled grenade and an improvised explosive device (IED) were discovered in a deep pit in the compound during the second search of the sugar mill.

Teves, however, maintained that he has no knowledge of how those firearms and ammunitions ended up there.

The former governor earlier clarified that he only partly owns the sugar mill, where he has a 10-percent share.

Teves previously gave his consent to cooperate with authorities after the first police raid on the sugar mill.

Dumaguete-based correspondent Roy Bustillo contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  East zone concessionaire Manila Water on Friday assured its over 7 million customers of its continued service despite a possible water crisis this dry season.

Wed like to assure our customers that we are doing all our best, all augmentation programs are in place, all contingency programs are in place so that we will be able to sustain the 24/7 water supply, Manila Water spokesperson Jeric Sevilla told CNN Philippines The Source.

While some may still experience service interruptions, Sevilla noted these are not due to supply problems, but due to preventive and regular maintenance of Manila Waters lines and facilities.

On Thursday, west zone concessionaire Maynilad warned its customers of longer service interruptions, which could last up to 14 hours a day, starting Saturday due to the declining water level at La Mesa Dam.

Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Deputy Administrator Jose Dorado told CNN Philippines efforts are already being implemented to address the issue.

The MWSS has also sent a letter to the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) requesting to increase the water allocation of concessionaires from 50 cms to 52 cms.

This is different from the plan of the NWRB to reduce the allocation to 48 cms to prepare for the possibility of El Nino.

Sevilla assured Manila Water customers that the service provider will not be affected in case the NWRB decides to push through with the reduction.

Aside from getting its supply from Angat Dam, Manila Water also has other sources to ensure continued services. These include the Cardona Water Treatment Plant and its over 50 deep wells that can provide up to 110 million liters per day, he said.
BLOOMINGTON  A 22-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman three years ago in Bloomington.

Judge Jason Chambers decided on the sentence for Bloomingtons Kelyi G. Kabongo, who pleaded guilty Jan. 30 to one count of criminal sexual assault. He also had been charged with unlawful restraint in September 2021, but that charge and other cases of his were dropped with his plea. Kabongo must serve 85% of his sentence for the sexual assault.

Assistant States Attorney Ashley Scarborough argued to the court that Kabongo's behavior while in custody has worsened since his plea, and she requested the maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison.

She cited 30 incident reports drafted by jail staff since he was booked in June 2022, including one dated Sunday alleging Kabongo threatened a corrections officer with violence, and a felony battery charge filed March 9 that accused him of touching a jail nurses hair and making unwanted sexual comments to her. The battery charge remains pending.

The prosecutor also said Kabongo was involved in a fight with other inmates in December.

No one should have to put up with his behavior, said Scarborough.

The court heard testimony from a corrections officer and a Bloomington Police Department sergeant who responded to the April 7, 2020, sexual assault report. The sergeant said the victim told Kabongo 20 times to stop assaulting her, and his DNA was collected at the scene.

Another BPD officer testified that he made a traffic stop around 2 a.m. June 9, 2022, where Kabongo was found to be possessing 8 grams of confirmed Ecstasy pills. The officer said Kabongo then resisted arrest. Several felony drug charges stemming from that arrest were dropped with his plea.

Assistant Public Defender Brian McEldowney represented Kabongo and argued for a sentence of five years. He noted it was Kabongos first sentencing on a felony matter, and that he has several mental health conditions.

Kabongo told the court he didnt know where the sexual assault charge came from and denied sexually assaulting anyone. He also said he was defending himself in the jail fight.

Kabongo said he has a good family, and his mother, father and sister were present in the gallery. He then asked for mercy from the judge.

McEldowney told The Pantagraph that he and Kabongo were disappointed with the hearings outcome, and he planned to file a motion to reconsider, which is a prerequisite for an appeal.

Scarborough declined comment.

Photos: Clothesline Project in uptown Normal 040719-blm-loc-2clothesline 040719-blm-loc-3clothesline 040719-blm-loc-4clothesline 040719-blm-loc-6clothesline 040719-blm-loc-7clothesline Stories of survivors 040719-blm-loc-5clothesline
BLOOMINGTON  Illinois State Police are investigating after one or more Bloomington police officers responding to a report of gunfire shot an armed man in an apartment complex on Turnberry Drive, along Cottage Avenue, authorities said.

Few details were available Friday, including any information on the man's condition.

"Like every other investigation, we cant release a lot during infancy of the investigation," Bloomington Police Department public information officer Brandt Parsley told The Pantagraph. "As it continues to go forward, we should be able to release more details, especially once its concluded."

State police were called in to investigate as part of standard procedure for an officer-involved shooting, he said.

"When something like this happens, use of deadly force by an officer, it's not us who investigate it," Parsley said, adding he believes this is the department's first officer-involved shooting since 2013.

No officer was injured, Parsley said, adding he did not know the status of the officers involved in the shooting.

Bloomington police officers were dispatched at 9:23 p.m. to a report of an armed subject in the 900 block of Turnberry Drive, which is just off of Cottage Avenue a couple blocks south of Hovey Avenue, he said. While officers were en route, the call was updated to say shots had been fired outside a building at the complex, he added.

While details of what happened at the scene were not available, an officer or officers shot a man about 9:29 p.m. in the entryway of one of the buildings, Parsley said.

Police found evidence of shots fired at the scene, but no one was injured in that gunfire, Parsley said.

Officers from the Bloomington and Normal police departments, McLean County Sheriff's Office and Illinois State Police responded to the scene.

Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington also went to the scene. Parsley said it is standard procedure for the chief and other members of the department's command staff to go to a scene of an officer-involved shooting.

For now, Bloomington police are handling the initial gunfire/armed subject incident while state police will investigate the officer-involved-shooting aspect of the case, Parsley said.

The apartment complex is next to the Jewel-Osco and Little Caesars Pizza at the corner of Hovey Avenue and Cottage. Though it is identified as Turnberry Square on a sign outside the building, the complex is now called Elm Point Apartments. Its management declined to comment Friday.

Police vehicles blocked Cottage at its intersection with Hovey and all entrances to the businesses' parking lot for a brief time, but all streets were open before 11 p.m.

Police used yellow crime scene tape to cordon off the front yard of a building in the northeast corner of the complex.

Trooper Jayme Bufford of the Illinois State Police's public information office wrote in an email Friday that the division of criminal investigation is leading an open and ongoing investigation into the use of force portion of this incident.

"After a thorough investigation is completed, ISP will turn all reports over to the McLean County States Attorneys office for an independent review of the facts," Bufford wrote.

In 2013, according to Pantagraph archives, a 53-year-old man confronted officers when they arrived at his house on Melrose Court shortly after 1 a.m. March 13 in response to a domestic dispute. He approached two officers, who repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon, but he pointed it toward the officers and an officer fired multiple times, killing him, according to reports.

State police investigated, and the McLean County State's Attorney's Office determined that the shooting was justified, so no charges were filed.

Brendan Denison and Drew Zimmerman contributed to this story.

Photos: Police respond to Turnberry Drive shooting BPD BPD BPD BPD BPD Elm Point 1 Turnberry Drive 2 Turnberry Drive 3
BLOOMINGTON  A 25-year-old Normal man was sentenced to probation Thursday in McLean County court for delivering cocaine last year.

Telly H. Arrington received his four-year probation sentence before Judge Jason Chambers, who heard arguments by Assistant States Attorney Jeffrey Horve and defense attorney Michael Doubet. Arrington was originally charged in March 2022 with four counts of delivering a controlled substance, and pleaded guilty Feb. 1 to a Class 1 felony charge of delivering 1-15 grams of cocaine. Other charges were dropped.

Chambers accepted mitigating evidence including letters of support for Arrington from two reverends and a pastor at his church, plus his Illinois Laborers' & Contractors Program training certificate.

Horve said to the court that in one letter, a reverend noted that Arrington has two children who rely on him for provision, guidance and protection. The prosecutor said it was inappropriate for Arrington to shield himself behind his kids.

He added that in two previous criminal cases, Arrington did not successfully complete his probation. One of those cases was a 2017 robbery case, in which he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 54 days in jail and 30 months of probation.

Horve said Arrington delivered cocaine three times while on probation. At the time of his arrest, he said, Arrington possessed over 10 grams of cocaine, valued at $1,400, and told detectives he was unemployed. Terming him as a "drug dealer" and "third-time felon," the prosecutor requested an eight-year prison sentence.

Doubet, who represented Arrington on contract for the McLean County Public Defenders Office, said his client violated probation in the past because he was a heavy cannabis user, and has since quit using that substance.

He also said Arringtons felony offense, for possessing a controlled substance, was committed after graduating from high school. Doubet said his client used pills to help with an exam. He also said Arrington had started workforce training over a year ago.

Doubet said his client's family support will help him succeed with a new probation term, as well as with plans to resume his seasonal employment in construction.

In his statement of allocution, Arrington told the court his actions were wrong, hes trying to be a better person and a better parent, and he wont mess up if given another chance.

Chambers said while Arringtons offenses make him a negative role model as a parent, the evidence has shown hes made a "faceup" since he was charged.

The judge set a condition that Arrington not use cannabis or alcohol while on probation. He must also pay $4,990 in combined fines within two years.

After the hearing, Doubet said Chambers did a good job taking everything into consideration with his judgment.

It was nice that (the judge) gave (Arrington) a chance to show he can make it out there and not violate again, said Doubet.

Horve declined comment.

Photos: Advocates boost opioid rescue drug access to save lives
NORMAL  An area physician and Illinois State University graduate will remain on the ISU Board of Trustees.

Governor J.B. Pritzker's office announced on Friday that Kathryn Bohn would be reappointed to the board, pending state senate approval. She has been on the board since being appointed in 2019 by Pritzker.

Bohn is a physician at The Vein Specialists in Bloomington and has also worked in medicine at BroMenn Regional Medical Center, Trinity Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital, a press release from the governor's office said.

She has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from ISU and a Doctorate of Medicine from Southern Illinois University.

With Bohn's reappointment, the board now has two vacancies, with five regular members and the student trustee. Two of those trustees, Scott Jenkins and Lia Merminga, were named to the board in February.

Gen Z heads to major cities as other generations leave Gen Z heads to major cities as other generations leave Main Findings Where Are Younger Generations Moving To and From? Where Are Older Generations Moving To and From? Overall State Migration Trends Methodology
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday called on the military to continue boosting its capabilities for the maintenance and repair of its assets, and ensure that all equipment are ready for deployment.

Marcos made the remark during an inspection ceremony of newly-upgraded C-130T aircraft in Clark Air Base, Pampanga.

"I therefore direct the Air Force and the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] to continue developing your capabilities for conducting maintenance and repair to keep all our military assets ready to go," Marcos said.

"Conduct routinary checkup and regular engineering services for added safety requirements and provide extensive training to those who will be flying and using it," he added.

The chief executive also underscored the importance of the assets' airworthiness and "structural integrity" in order to keep all of their users and passengers safe.

"Maintenance and repair are key aspects of our operations as well as important decision points in the acquisition of additional assets," Marcos stressed.

In 2021, authorities reported a string of incidents involving military aircraft  including the Huey chopper crash in Bukidnon and the MG520 attack helicopter accident in Bohol.

The AFP, at that time, had also vowed to review the assets' airworthiness as well as other safety protocols.

Meanwhile, Marcos expressed optimism that the Philippines' international partners would be "more than willing" to aid the country when it comes to the AFP's programs "to ensure that we achieve our shared goals for the country and for this region."




BLOOMINGTON  As news of former President Donald Trump's indictment broke, leaders of McLean County's Republican and Democratic parties agreed on one sentiment: If Trump committed a crime, he should be held accountable.

Both also acknowledged that limited information was available Thursday evening, making it difficult to offer a full perspective on the situation.

Beyond that, their viewpoints diverged sharply.

McLean County Republican Party Chair Dennis Grundler said he saw a heavy dose of partisanship in the charges.

"I will say it just shows that the double standards are still very strong, that they would do stuff like that and they would never think about doing that to (former President) William Jefferson Clinton, and he did the same exact thing," Grundler said.

The charges against Trump remained under seal late Thursday, but the investigation centered on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. Trump has denied any wrongdoing; he called the indictment political persecution.

Some on social media in recent days have drawn comparisons between Trump's alleged hush money payments and Clinton's settlement with Paula Jones, an Arkansas state employee who accused the Democratic president of sexual harassment.

Clintons $850,000 payment to Jones in 1998 settled a civil lawsuit and was a matter of public record. The funds did not come from the government, nor did they amount to a campaign contribution.

Authorities say the payment in Trumps case was through a shell company and reimbursed by Trump, whose company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses in the final weeks of his 2016 presidential campaign.

"I'm all for it if someone breaks the law, they need to be held accountable," Grundler said. "but why does it seem like it's only Republicans that are being held accountable?"

Because detailed information about the charges was not yet available, Grundler could not comment on specifics  but he said he was not against the indictment if evidence supported it.

"I'm for equal protection of the law and also for justice, so if he did something that's wrong, I'm all right with him being indicted," Grundler said. "I just wish it went every way, that's all."

McLean County Democratic Party Chair Patrick Cortesi said he believes Trump has been "skirting" the law for a while and it is time that justice was served.

"This country was founded on the rule of law, no matter how powerful a person is or thinks they are. No one should be above the law," Cortesi said. "So we'll let the process play out. I have faith and confidence in our judicial system to make this right, and if the indictment is proven correct, then I hope he will receive the justice that is deserved."

It's important for people to remember that the indictment is just the first step in a case against Trump, he said.

"We need to let the process play out; everybody's innocent until proven guilty," he said, "so even though we may not necessarily like a person, they're entitled to the same rules as everybody else."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

MORE COVERAGE:

Trump indicted; 1st ex-president charged with crime A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.

Donald Trump indictment: What will the arrest process look like in New York? Every day, hundreds of people are taken into law enforcement custody in New York City. Former President Donald Trump is expected to become one of of them next week.
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 31, 1923: Fully 1,800 teachers, members of the central division of the Illinois State Teachers' Association, are here attending the 39th annual meeting. Almost every incoming train and interurban car brought to the city large delegations and the hotels and restaurants of the city were filled.

75 years ago

March 31, 1948: Illinois Democratic leaders urged President Truman to appoint Carl Vrooman, 701 E. Taylor St., as secretary of agriculture. Mr. Vrooman, 75, was assistant secretary of agriculture under President Wilson. He is a Democratic candidate for Congress this year.

50 years ago

March 31, 1973: Miller Park's Friendship Bridge was the scene of the Friday wedding of Valeria Shebet Trunnell, 601 S. Center, and Martin Patrick, 1302 S. Oak. The Rev. David Dymacek performed the ceremony with Dean Patrick serving as best man and Gladys Ehkin, matron of honor.

25 years ago

March 31, 1998: Add one more item to the list of things El Nino has been blamed for in the past few months: an early start to summer vacation for local students. A mild winter across Central Illinois caused fewer cancellations than expected, allowing school boards to shorten their calendars, by a week in some cases. Both District 87 and Unit 5 will move up their last school days to June 5.

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'
BLOOMINGTON  Miller Park Zoo has added a new member to its animal family with the birth of a cotton-top tamarin.

First-time tamarin parents Paquito and Quilla gave birth to the infant primate recently in their rainforest habitat at the zoo, according to a Friday news release from the City of Bloomington.

"MPZ staff are closely monitoring the family, reporting successful nursing and parenting behaviors," the news release stated. "The infant appears strong, and clings to whichever parent it is with at the time like a little burr."

Because the animal care team is supervising the animals but letting the new family take the lead, they do not yet know the baby's gender, the news release said.

Zoo staff went on to explain that gestation for cotton-top tamarins is just over six months, and juveniles typically stay with their parents for a couple of years, helping to care for subsequent offspring. The new infant at MPZ will remain with its family until future recommendations from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums may call for its move to another zoo, the news release said.

There are currently 188 cotton-top tamarins at 58 AZA sites. The South American species is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's RedList. Primary threats are loss of habitat to human activities, as well as poaching and illegal trafficking for the exotic pet trade.

MPZ asks visitors to the tamarins' habitat to be quiet, calm and respectful as the parents care for their new baby. New signs and visual barriers are in place to provide the family some quiet space, and the rainforest area may close periodically for the animals' well-being, MPZ said.

Watch now: Photos from the Miller Park Zoo Stampede Emily German And theyre off Zoological Society Director Paula Pratt, John Kastigar Registration volunteers Tom Carroll holding Dax Frahm Donnie Chang stretching Drew Henneberg before the run Drew Henneberg getting Brady Hulsing race-ready. Dan and Joann Berg Matthew, Joel and Amanda Leathers Kylie and Cheryl Schimmelpfenning Melissa, Jacy and Cooper Meints, Morgan Jurgelas Henrietta Berg Ken and Lori Heller Henry and Martha Whitacre Nicole Wilson, Brandon Moody Susan and Hailey Elizarraras, Lorelei, Daryl, Brady and Katherine Hulsing Ava, Sarah, Kevin and Ryan Erwin Carly, Sharon Jackson and TJ Harrington Everett, Henry and Joanna with Roger Finney, Stacy and Brian Williams Kanwal Ayaz, Maleeha and Rashid Gulzar Getting ready for the Fun Run Dan and Henrietta Berg Charlotte and Harrison Fisher The Strong Family Ryan and Kevin Erwin Jill Eichholz
ATLANTA, Ill.  This single field in Logan County may not seem particularly special at first glance, but it has greatly impacted the lives of many.

The name of the Civil War soldier who owned it is known, as is the name of his daughter who lived alone in the rural farmhouse in the early 1900s, of the church she left it to, and the beginning farmer who rents it today.

For Brandon Palmgren, the 55 acres  25 of tillable ground and the rest wooded  is a chance to get a foot in the door of farming. This is the first rented land the young farmer has managed on his own. The Illinois State University graduate has been preparing for this for years.

Its all on me, says the 39- year-old, whose first crop here was harvested in 2020.

Small but valuable

As an accredited farm manager in Champaign County for Murray Wise Associates, Elizabeth Strom says smaller acreage like this may arise when someone inherits land. In Champaign County, some 40-acre fields are created when a 160-acre farm is divided four ways.

The buyers or renters of small acreage may want the land for something other than traditional corn and soybeans, she says. In Champaign County, a small field grows hops for Riggs Beer Company. Others fill a small field with pumpkins.

According to the 2023 Farm Values and Lease Trends report, Good productivity land in central Illinois sold for between $16,000 and $21,000 last year, an increase of 22.1 % from the year before. Recreational land, including hunting land, sold for between $4,000 and $11,000 in 2022 which was up 36.9% over last year in central Illinois, according to the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers report released March 23.

These fields are just a fraction of the average Illinois farm size of 381 acres today, but according to the 2017 Census, there are still a lot of 10- to 49- and 50- to 69-acre farms across the country.

Multiple uses

Palmgren and his wife Amanda have two children, Jagger, 6, and Presley, 4. Its too early to tell if they will be farmers, but they enjoy tagging along.

Palmgren has helped his father-in-law, Rob Tammeus, plant and harvest for years, but he never was responsible for buying all the inputs and making the cropping decisions before. On this rented land he grows corn, wheat and soybeans in rotation and uses the straw for his eight feeder cattle on other pasture land.

He fell in love with farming as a kid. His grandparents farmed, but his parents didnt. That makes getting started  acquiring land and equipment  harder. But he is determined.

He also works an off-farm job as tech support for Brandt ag equipment.

Palmgren, standing in his wheat field, says he is getting the most possible value from the 25 acres of tillable land and tree area. He will harvest the wheat, then plant and harvest soybeans this season. Behind him is timberland that has brought enjoyment and profit to others.

Doug Lowry rents the rights to hunt and explore here.

I try to get my kids out to enjoy wildlife, says Lowry, of Delavan.

Using a crossbow on her first visit to this land with her father, his daughter Kara killed her first deer when she was only 11.

It was a very exciting moment for us both. She has a pretty proud mom and dad, he says.

Like Palmgren, Lowrys parents didnt farm, but his two grandfathers did.

Its in my blood, Lowry says.

This field is among those Lowry supplies chemicals for at Ag-Land FS in Armington. It is one of his favorites.

Story of the land

The timberland part of the field has provided comfort and profit to others over the years. When Civil War veteran George Phillips owned this land in the 1880s, he used the wood to heat his home.

His daughter, Orpha Phillips, didnt have electricity when she lived at the farmhouse, so the timber also warmed her home, says Bob Johnson, a trustee of Eminence Christian Church.

When Orpha Phillips Goodman died in 1976, she left her house in town and the farmland to the church. The church eventually receives cash rent for the farmland.

Ive been going here since I was 4 years old, says Johnson, standing on the church steps.

Although he will turn 78 later this year, he is still an active farmer who is getting his planter ready this week.

In the mid-1880s, Eminence Christian Church welcomed about 600 to its services. Now, the white church, built in 1900-01, has a congregation of about 60, but is still important to the community, Johnson says.

Over the years, the church has rented the land to several farmers, but Johnson was never one of them. He worked for Caterpillar for 33 years while farming, so he didnt have time to take on more rented land.

He says the church has twice harvested timber in the fields where Lowry hunts and Palmgren rents. It was profitable both times.

Johnson, with his community knowledge and experience, can tell the stories of this land. Eminence Township in Logan County was a popular place to settle in the mid-1800s because there was timber, creek water and good soil.

He shows the nearby famous gold springs, with especially good-tasting water. The people in this neighborhood all live to be over 100 years old, he says. The water is so good, it has been sold for its health benefits, he says. He recalls tasting the water once, from a pipe outlet for grazing cattle, and the memory of how good it was lingers all these years.

Johnson also knows the story of Orpha, who grew up on this land. Born in 1883, she lived on the farm most of her life until she was in her 50s or 60s when she moved into town. She then married Frank Goodman later in life, Johnson says.

Back at Palmgrens field, Johnson shows where Orphas farmhouse was years ago. There isnt much evidence of it now.

At a time when banks are failing, farmland has a hard value.

Its a valuable asset regardless of the size of the property, Strom says. Cherish it for what it is. They arent making any more.
CHICAGO  Former President Donald Trumps historic indictment by a New York grand jury was a flashpoint in Chicagos last mayoral debate as Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas clashed over the criminal case.

In response to a question from WBEZ host Sasha-Ann Simons at the last scheduled debate between the candidates Thursday, Johnson immediately used the grand jury decision against Trump to attack Vallas for his connections to Republicans.

Saying the Trump administration was one of the most corrupt in history, Johnson immediately pivoted to say Trumps education secretary, Betsy DeVos, has inserted herself and her resources into my opponents coffers.

DeVos has not donated directly to Vallas. But an advocacy organization she founded, American Federation for Children, has channeled money into a super PAC called Illinois Federation for Children. That group has spent roughly $60,000 on digital media supporting Vallas. DeVos has not led the group since 2016, but she and her husband continue to fund the group.

Ive never had any conversations or contact with Betsy DeVos, and our campaign has not received any money from her, Vallas said. He added his oft-repeated line that hes a lifelong Democrat and that Johnson is still a paid lobbyist for the Chicago Teachers Union  an organization Vallas later said has a stranglehold over Chicago Public Schools  and that a majority of Johnsons campaign funds have come from the union and its affiliates.

Vallas separately released a statement supportive of the Trump indictment, saying the former president repeatedly and shamelessly violated the rules and norms that govern the Office of the President, cheapening the most widely respected elected position in the world and demeaning our democracy. He must be held accountable.

Later, Vallas said he would also keep the citys current public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady. Johnson said we have different views of public health, and so no, she will not stay on in my administration.

The rivals otherwise broke little new ground during the hourlong debate. Vallas, a former CPS CEO, promised to hire police officers and accused Johnson of wanting to defund the police department. Johnson, a Cook County commissioner, said he will not defund the police but would also invest in programs that benefit people.

Asked what qualities theyll seek in the next Chicago Police Department superintendent would select, Johnson said the desire is to make sure they come from the rank and file ... (someone) who actually knows what its like to be a police officer in the city of Chicago. It also has to be someone who is prepared to administer constitutional policing. We have a consent decree, of which my public safety plan spends $50 million to implement. Johnson repeated that he would want his superintendent to be compassionate, collaborative and competent, and ready to work with our district council members and community groups.

Vallas said he would prioritize selecting a deputy mayor for public safety who is drawn from the consent decree community and he has already talked with three or four people who have been involved and been engaged who would occupy that spot.

He said he wanted to promote officers from within who have credibility with the community.

I would promote, as interim superintendent, someone from the ranks, Vallas said.

A North Side listener asked how each candidate would work with the CTU, given how work stoppages and strikes (have interrupted) my education. Vallas noted that he had never, ever had a strike while leading school districts and negotiating with teachers unions in four different cities. Despite Johnsons close ties with the teachers union, he repeated that he would be the mayor for every single resident in the city of Chicago and he had a fiduciary duty to be responsible for the interests of all taxpayers.

The bottom line is that you need someone who actually has the lived experience of having children who attend CPS, Johnson said.

Vallas said hed negotiated with 26 different unions in my lifetime without ever having a work stoppage.

Paul, you left out something about all those so-called accomplishments: you got fired. Everywhere youve gone, youve gotten fired, Johnson replied, also blaming Vallas for pension shortfalls that have led to rising property taxes.

Asked when he last rode the CTA, Vallas replied that he had that day, to the Cubs game. While he isnt a regular rider, he said he has more frequently to talk to CTA workers. Their overriding concern right now is public safety, because the ridership is significantly down, and it is the reason why theyre losing members left and right and its the reason why they cant fill vacancies.

Pressed on how he would address service efficiency and staffing, Vallas again said recruitment has been difficult because people dont want to work for the CTA because of fear of crime.

Johnson says he usually rides three or four times a month to county board meetings.

Simons asked both candidates how they would address their respective blind spots. Johnson said he was already hyper-critical of myself. Im also a middle child, which probably explains a lot to people, and was raised by a father who rarely took sick days.

Vallas said his blind spot is really the fact that theres a lot that I dont know, but I think my great strength is knowing what I dont know and going out and finding people who know what I dont know, and then bringing them in and empowering them to make decisions.

Photos: Pritzker sworn in for second term
This week, there have been a lot of talk about the subject of same-sex rights in Africa, mainly also because of the visit of the Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, to the continent.



The visit of the first female vice president of the USA to the continent has not only brought to the fore revived conversations on the legalisation or not of LGBTQ+ rights, but it has also tested the stances of African leaders on the subject.



Having made her first African stop in Ghana, when Kamala held a joint press conference with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and she was asked a question on the subject, she said what many have known her to say on the matter.



"I feel very strongly about the importance of supporting the freedom and supporting the fighting for equality among all people, and that all people be treated equally. I will also say that this is an issue that we consider, and I consider to be a human rights issue, and that will not change," she said.



What Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said about the LGBTQ+ conversation:



Following a question asked by an international journalist during the presser, President Akufo-Addo, first of all, clarified a statement made by the journalist, telling him that Ghana doesnt currently have any legislation on the matter.



He further stated that he acknowledges that the bill has been proposed and that it is being reviewed by parliament.



"First of all, we don't have any such legislation here in Ghana. A bill has been proposed to the Parliament of Ghana, which has all kinds of ramifications which is now being considered by the parliament.



"It hasn't been passed, so the statement that there is legislation in Ghana to that effect is not accurate. No legislation.



"The bill is going through the parliament, it's going through the parliament, the Attorney General has found it necessary to speak to the committee about it regarding the constitutionality or otherwise of several of its provisions and the Parliament is dealing with it but at the end of the process I will come in.



But the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, was not happy with this response.



Reacting to this, the Speaker first told some religious leaders that the comments by Kamala Harris was an imposition.



What is democracy? That someone should have to dictate to me what is good and what is bad? Unheard of, because we have decided to devalue ourselves and go begging? Come on, we have more than enough. God has created more than enough for every person... The Bill will be passed, he said.



Touching on Akufo Addos comment, he said that there is no way the president can intervene in the processes of parliament.



Theres no way he can intervene. That answer he gave, that it is now before parliament and when it gets to a state that he has to, he will come in. Hey, please.



This is legislation, this is not execution. Wait until we pass it, and we will direct you to execute it, that is where you come in. That is why we are the representatives of the people. In terms of the law which is part of the policy, we will finalise it, then the executive has the authority to implement it. Lets get this clear, he explained.



What Kenyan president, William Ruto, said in a recent interview about the LGBTQ+ conversation:



Speaking in an interview with a German broadcaster, the east African president stressed that his country will stick strictly to what their customs, traditions and 2010 constitution says of marriage and relationships.



He added that with that, his country has no issue with how marriage is interpreted or understood in other jurisdictions.



In Kenya, the only understanding of relationships around marriage is around men marrying women, that is the context of relationship that exists in Kenya and is provided for in our constitution.



It (same-sex marriage) can happen elsewhere, we have no issue with people celebrating their issues in America and in other countries, that is their choosing, he stressed when asked about a recent anti-same-sex law promulgated in neighbouring Uganda.



In Kenya, we have taken a position, the position of the Constitution, the position of the laws as it is today, if that is what they (Ugandans) want to do, we cannot dictate to Germans or French or Americans or Ugandans if that is what they want to do.



That is theirs to do, for us as a country, we have taken a position that is informed by our culture, our tradition, our Constitution and our laws, he stressed.



There have, however, been many conversations being had on social media about what Ghanas president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said on the subject, vis-a-vis his earlier statements on the same, and the stance he made on it in this latest comment.



In the estimation of the CNN, President Akufo-Addos recent comment means that he has softened his stance on the draconian anti-LGBTQ bill.



The bill in parliament is still being considered and there is no indication of when it would be passed, although the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has given an indication that it is one of the bills on the high-priority list of Ghanas parliament.







Source: ghanaweb.com









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The United Nations (UN) Eminent Peace Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Samuel Ben Owusu has warned that Ghana may import water and or buy water at a very high price in future if the countrys water bodies are not protected.



He observed that one of the challenges Ghana was facing was the pollution of water bodies, citing galamsey, disposal of refuse in water bodies, and building in waterways amongst others.



The UN Peace Ambassador gave the warning after his return from the United Nations Global Water Sustainable Conference held at the New York, United Nations Assembly Hall, in the United States of America (USA).



It was aimed at reaffirming the internationally agreed water-related goals and targets including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.



Amb. Dr Samuel Owusu represented the West African Mission of the International Association of World Peace Advocates and Ghana respectively.



Read Also: Enforce policies to protect water bodies- Amb. Samuel Owusu to Govt



He called on churches, organisations and individuals to ensure that the water bodies are preserved.



He said if Christians do not get involved, it will get to a time they will not even get water for baptism.



We know that the President is doing all he can so that the management of water can stand well, but it needs individuals, it needs organisations, it needs churches, the media and everybody to join the fight, he said.



He added, When a person becomes a Christian, he or she is baptized, and if Christians do not get involved in protecting and managing the water we have in this country, we will not have a site to baptize anyone. People now perform baptisms in swimming pools rather than running water because we have allowed our water to become polluted, which has caused us a great deal of harm. In the next 50 years, we may not have access to water if we do not take precautions and the government does not take the necessary steps.



Amb. Dr Samuel Owusu also noted that the United Nations has drafted a policy to ensure that by 2030, there should be successful water management across the world, expressing hope that by then, water pollution in Ghana, especially galamsey, will be a thing of the past.



Meanwhile, he called on individuals, groups, schools and all those who wish to have knowledge about water to call on him for assistance.



He said he will also use his platform to preach to the people the need to maintain water in the country.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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US Vice-President Kamala Harris has lauded Tanzanias reforms aimed at strengthening the East African nations democracy.



Her host, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, described the visit as a milestone for her country.



Ms Harris is in the second leg of her Africa tour which began in Ghana and will conclude in Zambia over the weekend.



With colourful traditional dances, Tanzanians welcomed Ms Harris to their country. Buses in the seaside city of Dar es Salaam were draped in her pictures.



Its a rare visit by a senior American official. Many see it as an endorsement of President Samias reforms.



Since taking over from the controversial John Magufuli, who died two years ago, she has lifted a ban on opposition rallies and encouraged press freedom. Exiled politicians have returned home.



Ms Harris described the decisions as important and meaningful steps that have helped expand the two countries partnership.



She announced $560m (451m) in support to boost trade with Tanzania and strengthen democracy.

Source: BBC









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The United Nations (UN) Eminent Peace Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Samuel Ben Owusu has called on the Government to enforce policies that would help protect water bodies in the country.



He observed that numerous water bodies in Ghana have been polluted by human activities such as galamsey, the disposal of refuse, the construction of structures in waterways, and the obstruction of waterways.



The above, he noticed, has become a threat to Ghanas water, expressing worry that if care is not taken, Ghana may import water or buy water at a very high price in future.



The UN Peace Ambassador gave the warning after his return from the United Nations Global Water Sustainable Conference held in New York.



The United Nations Global Water Sustainable Conference was a three-day event held from March 22nd to March 24th, 2023 in New York



It was aimed at reaffirming the internationally agreed water-related goals and targets including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.



Amb. Dr Samuel Owusu represented the West African Mission of the International Association of World Peace Advocate and Ghana respectively.



Right when he returned to Ghana, he spoke with the media at the Kotoka International Airport where he expressed worry over the matter.



He observed that most politicians were behind illegal mining directly or indirectly.



For those who engage in activities that pollute water, bodies he warned them to put a stop to it, stating that they will also be affected in future



Meanwhile, as the General Overseer of The Pottersville Church International, Covenant Christian Leadership College, Dr Samuel Ben Owusu said he was going to use his platform to educate the public on the need to protect water in the country.



He also said he would assist the government with ideas and the knowledge gained on innovations at the conference in order to promote a sustainable developed water system in the country.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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For the first time in Ghana, a community library at the outskirt of the capital (Greater Accra) has been furnished with state-of-the-art multipurpose video conferencing equipment dubbed, Huawei Idea Hub.



Speaking during the commissioning of the facility, the Director of Enterprise Business at Huawei Ghana, Brian Wulang indicated that, the donation comes as part of the companys effort in promoting digital literacy and ensuring that no one is left behind in the digitalization drive.



For many years, Huawei has been at the forefront of technological innovation and is passionate about leveraging technology to improve people's lives. It is in this regard that Huawei donated intelligent video conferencing equipment and supported in the establishment to this facility, in a bid to ensure that, the people of Akua Brago are not left out in the digital journey.



As the world is on a digital quest to advance and transform societies, we believe that technology should be available and accessible to all. Huawei is proud to be part of this incredible initiative aimed at empowering individuals, especially the youth, to unlock their full potential. He said.







The Vice President of Ghana, H.E. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, during the commissioning of the facility said the library was built to enhance the digital skills of children in the community. The initiative according to him was made possible with the collective effort of partners like GIFEC, Ghana Library Authority, MTN and Huawei.



The prosperity of a nation is dependent on education hence the Government of Ghanas focus on improving access to education through policies like Free SHS and Free Technical Vocational education, he stated.



The Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, also revealed that the library has been equipped with a robotics lab to help improve the analytical skills of children at Akim Oda. She encouraged the users of the facility to take advantage of the opportunity and enhance their robotics skills.



The Minister lauded Huaweis contribution to the establishment of the facility. According to her, the donation of the Huawei Idea Hub makes the Christiana Akua Brago Library and Technology Hub, the first library in Ghana to be equipped with an intelligent AI driven video conferencing facility.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested a key suspect in the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Friday.

The suspect  believed to be one of the masterminds  was trying to flee the province, according to Remulla.

The secretary also said the person, whose identity has yet to be divulged, has been mentioned by the first batch of suspects arrested.

"Talagang siya yung pinapahanap namin (We were really looking for that person). We wanted him from day one as a suspect we want to be caught," Remulla told reporters.

The suspect will be transferred to the NBI, where he will be asked for his statement.

With this, Remulla said the Degamo case is now "99% solved."

Teves is also being considered by the Department of Justice as one of the suspected masterminds behind the killing.

However, the lawyer of Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. described Remulla's claim as premature.

"With all due respect to Justice Secretary Boying Remulla, 99% solved? It is never 99%, 100%, 70%, 50% solved at this stage, masyadong maaga [it's too early]," Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, Teves' head legal counsel said on Saturday.

"Kung sinabi ni Remulla na 99% solved dahil nahuli yung isang mastermind kahapon, ibig ba niya sabihin na 1% lang si Teves?" he added.

[Translation: If Remulla said that the case was 99% solved because one mastermind was caught, does he mean that Teves is only 1% of the case?]

Topacio argued that Teves has been put through trial by public opinion and that his right to due process has been violated.

Degamo and some of his constituents were shot and killed inside his compound on March 4. Murder and other complaints have been filed by authorities against the arrested suspects.

Remulla said they are still hunting down two to three more masterminds.

Asked where Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. fits in all of these, Remulla replied: "He fits in right there. In the middle of everything."
Former President and National Democratic Congress(NDC) Flagbearer hopeful Presidential Candidate John Dramani Mahama has expressed worry over the poor quality of the food being served in the various Senior High Schools in the Country.



According to him, the poor quality of food leave the students growing very lean and look malnourished.



Addressing delegates and party members in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa Constituency, in the Central Region on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, Mr Mahama said the Free Senior High School programme is being poorly implemented.



Today, if you look at the quality of food being served the students, pardon me, but Im sure even dogs in their homes will not be served such poor quality of food. They come home from school very lean. The students are too parked in their dormitories for lack of space and they come home with bedbugs and if you dont disinfect their items youll end up hosting lots of bedbugs in your home.



I suggested that we have a national discussion on the Free SHS programme where various stakeholders and experts will share ideas about how to improve on the programme, but the Akufo-Addo government declined and we are all witnesses to what our students are going through at the Senior High Schools.





The ex-President noted that the Free SHS programme has caused more harm to the students than good, adding that when hes elected President, he will ensure the feeding system under the Free SHS will be decentralized to ensure quality food is served the students.



According to Mr Mahama, the Education System under the leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo has been terribly mismanaged hence theres the need for a new government to introduce reforms to get the education sector back on track.

Source: kasapafmonline.com









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Member of Parliament(MP) for the Yendi Constituency, Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama has warned against politics of insults as the party inches closer to electing a flagbearer to lead it ahead of the 2024 elections.



He says followers of the various candidates should bear in mind that it is an internal contest and therefore, there will not be the need to step on the toes of any candidate to cause any form of disaffection.



Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama made this known at the launch of BMW (Bawumia Must Win) Pressure Group, Thursday, March 30, 2023.



Lets remember that we are in an internal contest and therefore, we will have to eschew all forms of insults. We are one family and will need each other after this process so to avoid challenges going forward, lets focus on telling delegates and all eligible voters what Dr. Bawumia can do and not step on any toes, he said.



He was optimistic that the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will emerge victorious in the election.



He added that, We will win and there is nothing that will change the victory of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia but we will need to work harder. My father contested for the NPP flagbearership but he didnt get the kind of support Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has received today, even Ashanti and other important regions are clamouring for Bawumia so why should anyone think its not Bawumia? Lets work together as a unit so we do not burn bridges.







Source: ghanaweb.com









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Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng has called on former President John Dramani Mahama to apologise to Ghanaian children for equating the food they eat in schools to that of food for dogs.



Mr Mahama in his campaign tour in the Central Region expressed worry over the poor nature of the food being served in the various Senior High Schools (SHSs) as part of the implementation of the government's flagship programme Free Senior High School (Free SHS).



According to John Dramani Mahama, the poor nature of the food being served to the students makes them sick and uncomfortable.



Today, if you go to see the kind of food the children are eating in the schoolsyou shudder to serve such food to your dogs at home,'' he told delegates and party members in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa Constituency.



Reacting to Mr Mahamas comment, Mr Kwarteng said it is unpresidential for the former President to speak that way.



In a Facebook post, Mr Kwarteng noted Former President John Dramani Mahama is known for his unpresidential remarks but little did we know he could be such loose, vulgar and low. How do you equate food for human beings to that of dogs? Jesus Christ!



Mr Mahama is not only wrong in demeaning our collective efforts in providing quality education for Ghanaian students but hes also wrong for reducing the school children to dogs. Thats insulting.



Comments like this is not acceptable. Is backward, retrogressive, negative and unpresidential.



Somebody whose leadership witnessed the worst educational outcomes ever shouldnt be making such comments. He should apologize to Ghanaian Children!

Source: class fm









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Audio Attachment: Listen to Kwesi Pratt Jnr on Peace FM's 'kokrokoo' programme.

Seasoned Journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has waded into discussions regarding the size of staffers at the Jubilee House.



The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, pursuant to Section 11 of the Presidential Office Act, 193 (Act 463), has submitted to Parliament an annual report on the staffing position of the Office of the President for the period 1st January to 31st December, 2022.



The report covers three key areas namely the Presidential Staff employed at the Office of the President during the period, the ranks and grades of these staff and employees of other Public Services assigned to the Office of the President.



During the reporting period, there were two (2) Ministers of State and forty-four (44) Senior Presidential Staffers at post.



The other Political appointees at the Office of the President numbered three hundred and fifteen(315), bringing the number of political appointees to three hundred and sixty-one (361).



Out of the 361 persons who are political appointees at the Office of the President, only 163 work physically at the Jubilee House while the others work in the offices to which they have been assigned, according to the report.



Commenting on the report during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Kwesi Pratt was alarmed by the number of Presidential staffers under the Akufo-Addo administration alluding to the government, when it was in opposition, opposed the previous Mahama government over same issue.



Mr. Pratt questioned the justification for the President to have such numbers at the Jubilee House.



"Truly, this government which is His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's government's appointees are more than any government in Ghana's history. That is not debatable," he stated.



Offering solutions to this problem, he noted that there should be an establishment which sets a fixed number of Presidential staffers for every government and provides little to no room for changes to be effected by the successive government.



"We have to set up an establishment for the Presidency. So, whether it is NPP or NDC government in power, it will be the same establishment," he told host Nana Yaw Kesseh.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Award-winning American director and producer, Spike Lee has revealed that nobody from Ghanas film industry attempted to approach or speak to him during his stay in the country.



Speaking in an interview on Asaase Radio, the Da 5 Bloods filmmaker stated that he would have loved to communicate with people in the film industry and share some trade ideas, among others.



Spike Lee said that he had no idea Ghana had a film industry adding that although his arrival was made public, he was not engaged by key stakeholders in the local movie industry including the National Film Authority.



I did not know that there is a thriving film industry in Ghana, I know about Nigeria. And I made the point that it was publicised that I was coming and no one approached me from the film office. I would have loved to meet the people in the film industry here [in Ghana].



Spike Lee was also shocked to know Ghana had a film school, NAFTI (now the University of Media, Arts and Communication).



He said that he was readily available to communicate not only with the school head but also students of the film school.



Spike Lee was in Ghana on Sunday, March 26, the same day as US Vice President Kamala Harris visit.



The filmmaker was reportedly part of the US Vice Presidents creative arts team.



Spike Lee was seen with his wife and other seasoned people involved in the arts sector in the US at the state banquet held in Kamala Harris honour.

Veteran filmmaker, Spike Lee says nobody in a Ghana's film industry leadership has approached him on issues of the craft.



"It was publicized that I was coming and no one has approached me frm the film office in Ghana."

How're we fumbling the bag at this point?

Asaase Radio pic.twitter.com/5GQRXMGEr3  Kenneth Awotwe Darko (@TheKennethDarko) March 30, 2023





Heres how I realized filmmaker Spike was really out to make impact on this trip. But its now a missed opportunity



So theres a film school here and they know Spike Lee is coming, no one reached out and said Spike, can you speak to our students, I would have done it pic.twitter.com/JhKz2CJaX0  Kenneth Awotwe Darko (@TheKennethDarko) March 30, 2023















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" " Franz Kafka was a Czech author whose bizarre novels gave birth to the overused phrase "Kafkaesque." Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images

If you were trying to get information at a government office and were sent from one department to the next with no good explanation, you might describe the situation as "Kafkaesque." But would you be right? Franz Kafka was a famous 20th-century writer from Prague, in what's now the Czech Republic. His novels, most of which were published posthumously, were filled with characters who faced some sort of omnipotent power they had to struggle against  a power so strong, it could easily break humans. In "The Metamorphosis," for example, a man wakes up as a big bug. In "The Trial," Kafka's most successful work, protagonist Joseph K. must defend himself in court against a nameless crime he has supposedly committed [sources: Edwards, Biography].

In the 1960s, with Eastern Europe squashed under rigid Communist governments, the term "Kafkaesque" suddenly popped into use, and then misuse. People began tossing it off to describe rather harmless situations, such as racing out the door to catch a bus, then discovering the bus drivers were striking that day. But "Kafkaesque" is a far more daunting and soul-crushing descriptor.

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In an article published in The New York Times, author Frederick R. Karl, who penned an exhaustive biography of Kafka, explained it this way: "What's Kafkaesque is when you enter a surreal world in which all your control patterns, all your plans, the whole way in which you have configured your own behavior, begins to fall to pieces, when you find yourself against a force that does not lend itself to the way you perceive the world. You don't give up, you don't lie down and die. What you do is struggle against this with all of your equipment, with whatever you have. But of course you don't stand a chance."

Perhaps, "Kafkasesque" is the right word after all for your government office ordeal.
Without Joseph Smith, there would be no The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and for faithful Mormons, Smith was a prophet on par with Moses. But that doesn't mean that Mormons "worship" him, Bowman says.

The history of the Mormon church begins this way: In 1820, when Smith was a 14-year-old farm boy in upstate New York, he retreated to a forest grove to ask God a pressing question: Which was the right church for him to join? To Smith's shock and amazement, his prayer was answered by two angelic figures, who identified themselves as God the Father and Jesus Christ.

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During this miraculous visitation, known as the First Vision, Smith was told not to join any existing church, but that the true Church of Jesus Christ would be restored through him. After receiving and translating the Book of Mormon, which describes Jesus Christ's ministry to the ancient people of the Americas, Smith was conferred with important priesthood authority that had been lost after the death of the apostles.

Smith was the first prophet of what Mormons believe is Jesus Christ's true restored church, which is organized like the ancient church with prophets and apostles. Brigham Young was the second prophet of the restored church and the line of prophets has remained unbroken through today. The current prophet is Russell M. Nelson.

Smith was fiercely persecuted for his claims and teachings, and was eventually killed along with his brother by a violent mob when he was only 38 years old. Smith's martyrdom, like those of early Christian apostles and saints, made him an even more beloved and revered figure to the Mormon faithful.

"Joseph Smith is important," says Bowman. "He's a prophetic figure who has brought the mechanism of salvation back to humanity through the priesthood and ordinances like baptism, but that's not the same as worshipping him."

It took 117 years for the church to grow from 6 members to 1 million (in 1947). But it reached the 2-million member mark just 16 years later and has been growing ever since. Today, you'll find some 16 million Mormons all over the world, not just in the U.S.
Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion or cultural system. I am not from the East or the West, not out of the ocean or up from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not composed of elements at all. I do not exist, am not an entity in this world or the next, did not descend from Adam or Eve or any origin story. My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless. Neither body or soul. I belong to the beloved, have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to and know, first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing human being.

Rumi was raised in the Islamic faith and his father, Baha Valad, occasionally preached at the local mosque and as a Sunni jurist. Rumi eventually came to be identified with Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam and "a school of practice that emphasizes the inward search for God and shuns materialism," accoring to The New York Times. But Rumi's work has been lauded for expressing peace and tolerance and "his doctrine advocates tolerance, reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love, looking with the same eye on Muslims, Jews, Christians and others alike," according to the UMass Rumi Club website.

But among Rumi's shorter works, Farzad is drawn to one that alludes to the biblical and Quranic story of the creation of man, which she says can be translated as:

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The dew of Love

turned a lump of clay

into Adam

and the whole world

was stirred with fervour and joy

A hundred cupid lances pierced the veins of Spirit,

one drop fell to earth

and they named it Heart!

4. His Message Is of Self-Empowerment and Spiritual Development

From the dust of the earth to a human being,

there are a thousand steps.

I have been with you through these steps,

I have held your hand and walked by your side.

And I will be with you

as you move beyond this human form

and soar to the highest heavens.

"Rumi's message of universal love, tolerance of religion and race, self-empowerment, spiritual development and enlightenment are truly timeless and timely for today's audiences," says author Shahram Shiva, founder of Rumi Network and author of "Hush, Don't Say Anything to God: Passionate Poems of Rumi." "Those few lines talk about the promise of self-realization, enlightenment and ultimately ascension, where you evolve beyond the boundaries of a mere human to much higher aspirations."

5. He Is a Pop Culture Phenomenon to This Day

This being human is a guest house

Every morning a new arrival

A joy, a depression, a meanness

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

This particular passage from the poem, "The Guest House," gained popularity in an unlikely context: it was featured on a Coldplay album. As Rozina Ali wrote for The New Yorker in 2017, the "erasure of Islam from Rumi's poetry started long before Coldplay got involved." But as the poet and his work have been adopted and adapted in the Western world, the fact remains that passages like this one are steeped in Muslim teachings  an important aspect of Rumi's work that's often ignored in modern Western discussions of his poetry. As Ali points out, "The Guest House" is from Rumi's six-book epic, the Masnavi, which is "riddled with Arabic excerpts from Muslim scripture; the book frequently alludes to Koranic anecdotes that offer moral lessons."

" " People visit the Mevlana Museum, the mausoleum of Rumi, to celebrate his life and study his works. ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images

"It would be nice if people could go beyond the breathless renditions of a handful of Rumi poems which have been the backdrop of fashion and catwalk shows for example, or (although poorly translated and completely removed from the original) are YouTube or Instagram hits," Farzad says. "It would be good if people paused to remember that Rumi was first and foremost a scholar of Islamic philosophy and mysticism, that his poetry was composed during one of the most turbulent periods of the 13th century, and has a depth and breadth that is rarely considered. I worry that sometimes the real scholar is overshadowed by the parody of a whirling and hopping and skipping guru that was created in the late 20th century."

Rumi died on Dec. 17, 1273 in Konya in south-central Turkey. His body was carried through the city by a crowd of local Jews and Christians and he was buried beside his father in a splendid shrine, the Yesil Turbe, or Green Tomb, which is today the Mevlana Museum.

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Now That's Interesting There are dozens of pages of Rumi quotes excerpted on the site Goodreads, but the one with the most "likes" (8,610 to be exact) is this one: "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."
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:

Conceptual diagram of the calculation of density fluctuation correlations in the early universe based on a low-dimensional matter field theory using holography. Credit: KyotoU/Yasuaki Hikida

Having more tools helps; having the right tools is better. Utilizing multiple dimensions may simplify difficult problemsnot only in science fiction but also in physicsand tie together conflicting theories.

For example, Einstein's theory of general relativitywhich resides in the fabric of space-time warped by planetary or other massive objectsexplains how gravity works in most cases. However, the theory breaks down under extreme conditions such as those existing in black holes and cosmic primordial soups.

An approach known as superstring theory could use another dimension to help bridge Einstein's theory with quantum mechanics, solving many of these problems. But the necessary evidence to support this proposal has been lacking.

Now, a team of researchers led by Kyoto University is exploring 'de Sitter space' to invoke a higher dimension to explain gravity in the expanding early universe. They have developed a concrete method to compute correlation functions among fluctuations on expanding universe by making use of holography.

"We came to realize that our method can be applied more generically than we expected while dealing with quantum gravity," says Yasuaki Hikida, from the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Witten diagrams for three- and four-point functions. The exchange diagrams may be expressed as products of three-point functions via split representation of bulk-to-bulk propagators. Credit: Physical Review Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.061601

Dutch astronomer Willem de Sitter's theoretical models describe space in a way that fits with Einstein's general theory of relativity, in that the positive cosmological constant accounts for the expansion of the universe.

Starting with existing methods for handling gravity in anti-de Sitter space, Hikida's team reshaped them to work in expanding de Sitter space to more precisely account for what is already known about the universe.

"We are now extending our analysis to investigate cosmological entropy and quantum gravity effects," adds Hikida.

Although the team's calculations only considered a three-dimensional universe as a test case, the analysis may easily be extended to a four-dimensional universe, allowing for the extraction of information from our real world.

"Our approach possibly contributes to validating superstring theory and allows for practical calculations about the subtle changes that rippled across the fabric of our early universe."

The study is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

More information: Heng-Yu Chen et al, Three-Dimensional de Sitter Holography and Bulk Correlators at Late Time, Physical Review Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.061601 Journal information: Physical Review Letters
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Cosmic stream of cold gas connected to the massive Anthill Galaxy. Emission from carbon atoms in the stream is highlighted in blue, as detected with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The stream stretches from the top-right corner downward across almost half a million light-years. The purple colors represent a large reservoir of accumulated gas around the Anthill Galaxy, while individual small galaxies are shown in gray. For comparison, the rendition of a galaxy the size of our Milky Way Galaxy is shown at the same scale in the top-left corner. Credit: B. Emonts (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

An international team of space scientists has observed a "cold stream" of molecular gas outside of a galaxy, confirming theories of star formation within galaxies. In their study, published in the journal Science, the group used the array of radio telescopes at the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to focus on the stream and learn more about its nature. Caitlin Casey, an astronomer at the University of Texas, has published a Perspective piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue.

For many years, space scientists have suggested that cold streams of gases form in space and sometimes fall into galaxies, where they feed the formation of stars. But proving such theories to be true has been difficult due to the cold nature of such streamsthey have very low resolution. Also, their large size makes zooming in to see them difficult. Still, despite these obstacles, the team on this new effort found evidence of such a stream feeding a galaxy called 4C 41.17.

To find the stream, the research team had to pull the array of radio satellites at ALMA together as closely as possible. This allowed for viewing the stars in the stream while still observing the stream as a whole. They were able to measure its length at a half-million light years. The researchers believe that the stream is made mostly of carbon, though they were not able to confirm its makeup, nor its source. What they could see was that the stream was falling into the galaxy, just as theories had predicted.

The researchers plan to continue study of the stream by returning to ALMA, and also perhaps through use of the Very Large Array in New Mexico, hoping to find carbon monoxide in the stream, which has also been theorized. They also hope to find more characteristics of the stream that could help in finding others of its kind. And they plan to study the physics involved in accretion leading to the creation of stars inside of galaxies.

More information: Bjorn H. C. Emonts, A cosmic stream of atomic carbon gas connected to a massive radio galaxy at redshift 3.8, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.abh2150. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh2150 Caitlin M. Casey, Streams of cold cosmic fuel for the galaxies, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adh1663. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh1663 Journal information: Science

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  Amid a looming water crisis, the decision of the authorities on the requested two cubic meters per second (cms) increase in the water allocation for service providers is expected soon, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said on Friday.

Speaking to CNN Philippines The Source, MWSS Deputy Administrator Jose Dorado said the agency has forwarded its letter to the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) requesting that the allocation for concessionaires be increased from 50 cms to 52 cms.

This is opposite to what the NWRB is planning to implement, which is to reduce the supply to 48 cms to prepare for the possibility of El Nino.

Hopefully we can receive the reply from the NWRB by this day or tomorrow, Dorado said.

MWSS made the request as Maynilad warned its 10 million customers of longer service interruptions due to the declining water level at La Mesa Dam.

Dorado explained that the shortage in Maynilads water supply was due to pipe leaks and illegal connections.

Pending the release of the decision, Dorado assured affected residents that efforts are being made to address the issues.

A new aqueduct is also being built to replace the ones built in the 1930s, he added.

Dorado also said there is enough supply until the end of the year.

In case the additional allocation will not be approved, he said Maynilad will be instructed to mobilize all of its resources.

On the other hand, Manila Water spokesperson Jeric Sevilla assured customers that the east zone concessionaire has enough supply even if the NWRB decides to push through with its planned two cms reduction.

He also told CNN Philippines that this was one of the reasons why Manila Water is suspending its portal sharing with Maynilad.

Wed like to protect our customers and ensure that we are going to be able to sustain the water service for this summer, he noted.
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The yellowjacket wasp has a reputation as a British picnic invader. Credit: Denis Vesely/Shutterstock

It's spring in England. The daffodils are in full bloom. A queen yellowjacket (Vespula) wasp emerges from your loft, dopey with hibernation and hungry for nectar. She starts to build a paper nest in which to raise a family. It will be a large family. But for now, she works alone.

Wasps are poorly studied compared with other social insects, like bees and ants. But wasp societies are a fascinating example of a social insect (an insect that lives in a group) because their societies are so varied. Comparing their genetic makeup with other social insects helps bolster our understanding of how animal societies evolved.

For our study published in Nature Communications, my team sequenced the genes involved with social behavior from nine wasp species to explore what makes a queen (or a worker). What we found challenges a popular scientific view about the molecular machinery that makes insect societies tick.

The shared division of labor, in the form of queen and worker castes, is the secret to success for all social insects. Castes evolved independently at least eight times in Hymenopterathat's bees, wasps and ants.

When her first brood hatches, the yellowjacket queen becomes a dedicated egg producer. Her worker offspring will take over extending the nest and foraging for prey to feed to the baby siblings. The workers will never be queens. Like tissues in your body, the queen and her workers divide the chores of the society between them: seamless cooperation between two forms of wasp.

Socializing that comes with a sting

By contrast, in other societies, like Metapolybia wasps in Trinidad, many queens and workers will search together for a new place to nest. The swarm selects a tree trunk and starts to build a papery nest that resembles a cow pat.

For now, there are many queens and many workers, but after a few weeks of growing the nest, a single queen reigns. Scientists don't know how the queen is chosen but those who don't make the final cut act as workers. Young Metapolybia workers are "totipotent" which means they can become queen if the resident queen dies. Older workers, however, have been through a form of insect "menopause" and can't reproduce.

Other wasp societies are simpler. Take the Polistes paper wasps that live along the banks of the Panama Canal, where their nests hang like the soles of old shoes from trees, bridges and houses. Dozens of chestnut bodies sit on a nest: every female is totipotent, but only one wasp is queen at any one time. When the queen dies, the hierarchy breaks down and they fight viciously to replace her.

Thanks to advances in molecular biology, we now know queens and workers in insect societies are different expressions of the same genome (the entire set of DNA instructions found within a cell). The physiological and behavioral differences that allow castes to perform their specialist tasks are because the colony's shared genes are activated differently. Hundreds of genes separate queens from workers in the honeybee. Some of the same genes separate castes in fire ants, bumblebees and paper wasps. There's a shared social toolkit.

At least scientists thought so.

Vespula vulgaris - common yellowjacket wasp. Spring queens build a nest alone. Credit: Frank Hornig, CC BY SA

What we learned

One problem is that comparing data across different species, methods and labs is tricky. You're not comparing like for like. Researchers tend to focus on a few popular species and different labs may generate results in different ways. It's difficult to compare data sets because it is easy to fall into the trap of cherrypicking the genes we expect to see in a social toolkit for the "usual suspects."

My team took a look at the bigger picture. We sequenced the genes activated in the brains from nine genera (biological classes) of social wasps from around the globe, including representatives of some of the simplest and most complex societies known in the animal kingdom. We focused on brains because differences in brain genome activation shape behavior like foraging, mating and nest building, and physiology, such as egg production. We also used the same sampling and sequencing techniques across all our species.

We used artificial intelligence (AI) because computers are better at spotting patterns than humans as they can process more complex patterns faster. They are also more objective. The computer was trained to identify castes. We then asked it to classify samples as queens or workers, based on the patterns of which genes were activated in a sample.

If the social toolkit hypothesis was correct, we should have seen swathes of shared activation profiles for queens and workers across all species.

The machines found some evidence for this. From over 5,000 orthologous genes (genes shared by all species), the computer correctly identified queens and workers for seven of the nine species. Intriguingly, the results showed queens are characterized by more inactive genes compared with workers, perhaps because workers perform a wider repertoire of tasks, while queens are egg-laying specialists.

But the complexity of a society also matters. Our AI methods showed the shared molecular toolkit provides the basic recipe that is enough for simpler societies. But additional molecular processes are needed for the more complex societies. Especially those that are superorganisms, like the yellowjacket wasps.

The machinery used to create a totipotent paper wasp worker isn't necessarily the same as that required to make a lifetime committed sterile yellowjacket worker.

Our results showed the molecular toolkit for social life is more complex than previously thought. My team's study found that the type of colony influences the way evolution tinkers with the building blocks of life to create societies.

Life history complicates this even further. Whether a species builds new nests alone (like the yellowjacket) or with a swarm of other queens and workers (like Metapolybia) can influence the social toolkit too.

Limiting our scientific focus to a few popular species has given us a blinkered view of evolution's great experiment: societies. The transition from simple groups (like paper wasps) to the highly complex machines of the superorganisms (like the yellowjackets) may require a fundamental shift in molecular machinery. Like all of life's greatest challenges, innovation is the key to success.

More information: Christopher Douglas Robert Wyatt et al, Social complexity, life-history and lineage influence the molecular basis of castes in vespid wasps, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36456-6

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Credit: Shutterstock

Sunday will mark the end of the Daylight Saving Time (DST) in eastern Australia, but there are many who would like to see it last longer or permanently.

Twice a year, New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and South Australia make this shift. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not change times. In those states the issue has been hotly debated for years. But what would be the benefit of making time permanent, and is it feasible?

In the United States, the push to fix time has gathered pace, with a bipartisan bill reintroduced to the House this month. The Sunshine Protection Act is set to bring uniformity in fixing the time, starting from November 2023. If enacted, it means daylight saving would be permanent across the US.

The bill passed the Senate in March 2022. It was received at the House, but Americans are split on whether they prefer permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard timethe bill then expired and so had to be reintroduced.

The proponents argue the biannual ritual of switching time is a health hazard leading to insomnia, decline in mental health, increased risk of hospitalizations and accidents. The solution, they argue, is to restore permanent, year-round standard time.

Would fixing time permanently have benefits in Australia?

Why the US is considering fixing permanent time

One of the US policy's goals is to reduce energy consumption. However, according to the latest research, contrary to the policy's intent,daylight saving caused increased electricity demand in the US. Research has also found it does not conserve electricity in Australia.

Overwhelmingly, recent research opposes the current situation of changing the clocks twice year. In particular, the loss of one hour of sleep in spring has been linked to an increase in heart attacks, strokes, road accidents and negative mood.

Moreover, with mobile phones available in offices and bedrooms, the shift to daylight saving was shown to result in a dramatic increase in "cyberloafing."

On the Monday following the switch, employees sustain more workplace injuries and injuries of greater severity, according an analysis of data from the US Department of Labor and Mine Safety and Health Administration between 19832006, although there is a decrease in injuries when employees are gaining one hour of sleep.

In a study of Australian suicide data from 1971 to 2001, researchers found a rise in male suicide rates in the weeks following the commencement of daylight saving, concluding the shifts could be destabilizing for vulnerable people.

The health evidence is, in fact, contrary to idea behind the current legislation and instead suggests a permanent switch to standard time may offer the maximum health and public safety benefits.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who is strongly supporting the bill, told the Senate: "There's some strong science behind it that is now showing and making people aware of the harm that clock-switching has. I know this is not the most important issue confronting America, but it's one of those issues where there's a lot of agreement. If we can get this passed, we don't have to do this stupidity anymore. Pardon the pun, but this is an idea whose time has come."

Australian legislationmove to uniformity

Standard time legislation dates back to 1890s. That is when jurisdictions enacted uniform legislation related to standard Greenwich Mean Time. For example, Tasmania fixed the time of the 150th meridian of longitude east of Greenwich and Western Australia declared the mean time of the 120th meridian as the standard time. At that stage, the legislation was consistent. This continued until the daylight saving debate commenced.

Daylight saving was first considered at the Premiers' Conference in May 1915. During the first and second world wars, national daylight time operated in Australia. Tasmania and Victoria introduced daylight saving in 1916. In Tasmania, the act was repealed by the Daylight-Saving Repeal Act 1917 (Tas). In 1967, Tasmania again introduced daylight savings.

Thanks to mobile phone use, research shows daylight saving has caused an increase in cyberloafing. Credit: Shutterstock

By 1990, the jurisdictions were changing the dates on which to introduce daylight savings, and their positions were not uniform.

Liberal Senator Paul Calvert described the "maze of different times" as a "shackle on the economy, as well as causing interruptions to work and family balance."

Then-prime minister John Howard stated: "I think it's a great pity that we have this month when Tasmania and NSW and Victoria are on different time zones."

Starting from September 1 2005, all jurisdictions adopted the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) standard. Following long deliberations, in April 2007 they agreed on a uniform start and end date.

Queensland, WA and the NT have fixed permanent time.

South Australia became an international anomaly by having 30 minutes difference, rather than full hour, to achieve a compromise between strong advocacy groups within the jurisdiction.

One of the arguments against fixing is geographical location. Tasmania has more drastic variation in sun activity compared to Northern Territory. The scientific solution would be to fix the time but reassign the regions to the actual sun-clock based time zones.

Where does all this leave us? While daylight saving is not the most pressing problem facing Australia today, it may be that soon enough, the scientific evidence and practical convenience of fixing time might be preferred to biannual shifts.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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A crane lowers a charge readout plane attached to the top of the cryogenic vessel onto the vessel. Credit: DUNE collaboration

In recent months, the neutrino research facility at the European laboratory CERN has been bustling with activity. Scientists, engineers and technicians from around the world have gathered there to assemble a large prototype of a new particle detector to study the neutrino, one of the most mysterious types of particles in the universe.

Neutrinos are everywhere, but they rarely interact with matter. Each second, trillions of these particles traverse our bodies and leave without a trace. By studying these ghost-like particles, physicists hope to answer questions, such as: Why is the universe made of matter? What is the relationship between the four forces of nature? How are black holes formed in the aftermath of an exploding star?

Researchers working on the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, hope to solve these mysteries. Their work on the prototype detector at CERN brings them a step closer to achieving this goal.

The infrastructure needed for DUNE is expansive. It includes a new particle accelerator at Fermilab, which will produce a neutrino beam that will pass through 1,300 kilometers of earth before reaching the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota. At SURF, these particles will be greeted by the DUNE far detector, a gigantic subterranean detector housed 1.5 kilometers below the surface. The detector will comprise huge detector modules containing argon, an element whose highly stable nature makes it perfect for studying neutrinos. Excavation of the underground caverns for the DUNE far detector is about 60% complete.

Testing new technology

Members of the DUNE collaboration, which includes scientists and engineers from more than 35 countries, are busy at work designing, testing and building the components of the first two DUNE detector modules to be installed at SURF. Module one will be a horizontal drift detector, which is based on a tried-and-tested technique that will be scaled up for DUNE. The mass production of components for this first module already has begun. The second module, known as the vertical drift detector, will feature new technology. Testing has been ongoing for the last two years.

"I expect exciting physics out of both the horizontal and vertical drift detectors," said Steve Kettell, the technical coordinator for the vertical drift detector, based at the DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory. "But the vertical drift technology opens up significant opportunities for building additional detectors that are lower in cost and easier to install."

Horizontal vs. vertical

On a basic level, horizontal and vertical drift detectors work in the same way. When a neutrino interacts with an argon atom inside the detector's liquid-argon-filled chamber, the particles produced in this interaction release electrons. A strong electric field between opposite sides of the detector chamber pushes these loose electrons to an anode, a large structure that detects the arrival of charged particles. In a horizontal drift detector, the electric field exists between two opposing walls, and the electrons drift horizontally; in a vertical drift detector, the electric field runs between the bottom and top of the detector, and the electrons drift vertically. The argon-neutrino interaction also produces a brief flash of light that both detectors capture with a separate photon detection system.

"Fundamentally, there's nothing different about vertical drift and horizontal drift," Kettell explained. "We are detecting neutrino events in essentially the same manner."

The differences are in the details. The anode of the horizontal drift detector consists of large planes of tightly wound wires, known as anode plane assemblies, or APAs. They are 6 meters tall and 2.3 meters wide. The anode of the vertical drift detector, on the other hand, will be composed of charge readout planes, or CRPs. They are large, perforated-printed circuit boards that are 3 meters by 3.5 meters in size and have copper strips printed onto their surfaces. Like the wires in the APAs, the copper strips in the CRPs will collect the drifting electrons.

The DUNE vertical drift detector will feature multilayer CRPs at the top and at the bottom. "The CRPs have perforated 2.5-millimeter holes, so that electric charge can pass through and go to another layer to get collected," said Dominique Duchesneau, leader of the CRP consortium and a physicist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. Each CRP layer has differently orientated copper strips, he added, which "gives you the possibility to have multiple views of the electrons."

This newly designed high-voltage extender helps create a 300,000-volt electric field between the top and bottom of the vertical drift prototype detector. Credit: DUNE collaboration

A key advantage of CRPs is that because they are made of simple metal-plated circuit boards rather than a tight coil of wires, they are cheaper and easier to manufacture and install than APAs.

"With the vertical drift detector, we're trying to demonstrate that we can build a less expensive detector that works equally well," Kettell said.

Because the vertical drift detector technology requires fewer elements than the horizontal drift, it provides a larger active volume. A larger active volume means that there will be more space in which particle interactions can be collected, said Ines Gil-Botella, a DUNE physics coordinator based at the Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research in Spain. "You're maximizing the possibility of seeing neutrino interactions in this liquid argon."

Another innovation is the photon detection system DUNE scientists plan to build for the vertical drift detector, an upgrade of the ARAPUCA technology developed for the first DUNE far detector module. This new system will cover all four cryostat walls as well as the cathode with photon detection modules. (In contrast, in the horizontal drift detector, the photon detectors only are embedded in the APA planes, behind the wires.) To power and read out the photo sensors on the high-voltage cathode, which is set to 300 kilovolts, the vertical drift team uses a powerful laser that provides power via optical fibers.

In addition, the argon within the vertical drift detector will be doped with xenon to enhance the number of photons that get detected when particles interact with atoms in the liquid and to enhance the uniformity of light detection throughout the chamber. Together, these features will make this photon detection system more capable of detecting low-energy physics events, such as those triggered by supernovae or solar neutrino events, Gil-Botella said.

A bustle of activity

The team working on the DUNE vertical drift detector comes from around the world. Major contributions are being made by CERN, France, Italy, Spain and the U.S. But members also come from several other countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. "There's been tremendous progress on many fronts," said Kettell.

This group has been busy. To date, they have successfully tested small-scale, 32-centimeter-by-32-centimeter CRPs in a 50-liter liquid-argon-filled chamber fitted with a cathode, electronics and a photon detection system. This early prototype was able to collect data from cosmic-ray tracks with "good signal-to-noise performance," said Kettell. They have also tested full-size, 3-meter by 3.5-meter CRPs with the cathode, electronics, and the photon detection system in a large coldbox at CERN.

The team has demonstrated that the components of the vertical drift detector could read out signals at 300 kilovoltsthe high voltage that will be needed for creating the electric field in the full-sized DUNE detector. They have also shown that electrons can drift six metersthe maximum distance electrons will travel in the final-size moduleand use the CRPs to receive these tracks. "The next big milestone we'll face is the installation of all of the systems together at a larger scale," Gil-Botella said.

The team is now assembling parts into a larger vertical drift prototype, dubbed "vertical drift module-0," in a large cryogenic vessel at CERN, about the size of a small house. This prototype will contain two full-sized CRPs on both the top and bottom of the detector, with the cathode installed in the middle, as well as an advanced photon detection system. Electrons knocked loose in the upper half of the detector will drift upward toward the CRP set at the top, and electrons produced in the lower half will drift in the down direction, until they reach the CRP layers at the bottom. CRP development has been led by France, with the construction of the top CRPs in France and the bottom CRPs in the U.S.

The DUNE researchers aim to complete the installation of the vertical drift prototype detector in spring 2023. Once complete, the team will fill the detector with liquid argon and turn it on, so that scientists can observe the tracks left by particle beams and cosmic rays that pass through it.

Ultimately, the goal is to have the components of the vertical drift detector ready to be installed in one of the large caverns in South Dakota in 2027.

"What I really would like to see is the installation of the first CRPs in the big cryostat at SURF, which will come in several years," Duchesneau said. "In the meantime, I think module-0 running and taking data in the real configuration of the vertical drift is a very exciting step."
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Condition when flames are moved (left), Diagram of state (right). Credit: Toyohashi University of Technology.

A research team, led by Professor Yuji Nakamura of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology, discovered that the flickering of flames can be freely controlled by moving two flames closer together or further apart. Until now, it had been known that interference between flames separated by a certain distance causes the flames to flicker during in-phase or anti-phase. However, it was not possible to stably express the state of "stopping the flickering of flames" that should occur under critical conditions where the phase changes.

The research team has succeeded in stably expressing the state of "stopping the flickering of flames" by periodically adjusting the distance between flames. This makes it possible to freely control the flickering of the flames, and to elucidate the essence of flickering flames. The research is published in the journal Physical Review Applied.

The flickering of flames is a familiar phenomenon that is easy to observe. At the same time, it is also a mysterious and interesting phenomenon with vast complexity. For example, once flickering flames have interfered with each other, only the stable flickering mode is selectively expressed. Depending on the distance between the flames, the "in-phase mode" that fluctuates in the same phase and the "anti-phase mode" that fluctuates in the opposite phase are selectively expressed. There are also mysterious phenomena such as different fluctuation frequencies in those modes. Using these guidelines, it is possible to achieve various fluctuating states.

And yet, there is no example that shows "stopping the flickering by interfering with the fluctuating flames." In the past, it was shown that this state can be achieved by arranging three flames (known as "death mode" in reference to the complete absence of movement). However, researchers have yet to understand the reason why death mode cannot be achieved with two flames.

When examining this phenomenon, the research team found that the death mode is expressed by adjusting the distance between the two flames closer or further apart in a certain cycle.

"When conducting experiments involving flame-to-flame interference, flickering will temporarily stop if the flames are gradually brought closer or further apart," explains Dr. Ju Xiaoyu, lead author and researcher at the time of the project. "However, if the flames are kept in that position, they will eventually start flickering again.

"Since the flames eventually flicker, we know that flickering is a stable state. The fact that there is a delay period until the flames settle into a stable state means that if we can create a situation where flickering can be stopped within that time scale, the flickering should be stopped permanently. We were able to prove that this prediction is correct by periodically adjusting the distance between flames closer and further apart. We also demonstrated that the reason for this phenomenon can be explained by hydrodynamic properties. Moving forward, we will proceed with research aimed at constructing a theory." Condition when flames are moved. Credit: Toyohashi University of Technology.

"It has been known that the flame flickering mode is determined by interference between flames," says Professor Yuji Nakamura, leader of the research team. "Researchers in applied physics have attempted to explain this phenomenon as nonlinear physics instead of combustion engineering. Nevertheless, their explanation felt inadequate to me due to its failure to consider hydrodynamics. In response, I began to earnestly research this theme.

"I was amazed to witness a phenomenon in which flickering temporarily stopped in an intermediate state between in-phase and anti-phase flickering. I felt a strong desire to elucidate this mysterious transition state, a theme which has not been addressed by previous research. From the beginning, I had the idea of constantly adjusting the distance between flames to take advantage of the time delay until they settled into a stable state. Ultimately, I was able to organize this method with the help of Dr. Ju."

Professor Nakamura concludes, "Introducing this phenomenon at events such as academic conference is sure to capture the interest of the audience without exception. However, the audience will, without exception, raise questions regarding examples of practical application. For example, 'How can these findings be used?' I repeatedly answered such questions by posing my own question'Actually, I only began researching this phenomenon out of personal curiosity, so I'd like to ask how you think my findings can be used?'

"This experience has led me to start my research presentations by asking the audience to refrain from questions on practical application. I believe that one appeal of conducting basic research at a university is being able to purely immerse yourself in curiosity, without the need to consider practical application."

Future outlook

Although the research team is not considering practical application of their research at the present time, they plan to delve deeper into the theme not only through experiments, but also through numerical and theoretical analyses. This will be done in the name of basic research that is unique to universities; that is, through the elucidation of mysterious phenomenon.

The team plans to proceed as international joint research in collaboration with Dr. Ju and many international researchers who have expressed interest in their research. Through the international dissemination of research seeds originating in Japan, the team would like to convey to the world that this kind of (currently impractical) basic research can be pursued vigorously in Japan.

More information: Xiaoyu Ju et al, Flame Flickering can Cease Under Normal Gravity and Atmospheric Pressure in a Horizontally Moving Dual Burner System, Physical Review Applied (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.19.014060
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Latinx children in the US experienced higher rates of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study shows, as experts state the "pressing need" to examine the long-term impact.

Findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, follow the examination of early adolescent school data from the first two years of the pandemic, compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The results show Latinx students were 1.5 to 2 times more likely to present with risk for both depression and anxiety during every academic year cohort assessed.

The highest maladjustment was found among Latinx girls and gender non-conforming/binary students.

Clinical Psychology Professor Antonio Polo, from DePaul's College of Science and Health, was the lead author of the four-year-long study.

Commenting on the findings he says, "Uncertainty remains as society takes inventory of the effects of drastic lifestyle changes, and of the pronounced mental health difficulties experienced by children and adults. In the U.S., Latinx youth and families have been disproportionately affected."

"These results highlight that practical and efficacious programs are needed to address the needs of adolescents in school settings, and this is a critical time to implement them widely."

"And, in particular, the findings about non-binary students point to a need to make school environments more inclusive and welcoming of youth across the gender identity spectrum so that these students have a place to turn to rather than feel isolated or alienated."

This study's sample was comprised of 1,220 elementary and middle school students from 59 Chicago Public Schools (CPS), identified by school staff and referred for services.

Polo and his colleagues at DePaul trained school social workers, school psychologists, and school counselors who helped these students receive an evidence-based coping skills program to address their mental health needs.

CPS is the fourth largest school district in the U.S., enrolling over 320,000 students. Most CPS students are economically disadvantaged (72.7%), and from Latinx (46.5%), African American (35.8%), European American (11.0%), and Asian American (4.4%) backgrounds (Chicago Public Schools [CPS], 2022).

The students who took part in the study were evaluated using the Children's Depression Inventory and the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale to assess their symptoms and risk levels for depression, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety.

The team's findings confirm prior studies that have established that Latinx youth report higher depression and anxiety symptoms than their peers. Polo notes that this type of anxiety changed from year one and two of the pandemic.

"There was greater generalized anxiety in the first year of the pandemic and greater social anxiety in the second year of the pandemic."

"This makes sense because during the first year of the pandemic children were at home. They had fears about COVID-19 and the health and safety of their parents and grandparents."

"There was also financial insecurity. During the second year, students returned to the classroom. Returning to in-person instruction and interacting with teachers and fellow students was difficult for many of the students and accounts for the transition to greater risk from generalized anxiety to social anxiety."

The researchers said that it was not surprising that internalizing problems are increasing for Latinx youth and for youth, in general.

They noted that "families were in isolation and withdrawn from others for prolonged periods. The children received instruction via video conferencing for over one year. They did not have the opportunities for natural and less restrictive socialization. Additionally, mental health services were severely disrupted and often unavailable to Latinx youth, especially those from uninsured and of low-income backgrounds."

Also playing a role, the researchers noted, was the multiple stressors that Latinx children and families of underrepresented backgrounds endured both during, and before the pandemic began. These included hostile and discriminatory immigration policies in the United States, racially motivated mass shootings, anti-Asian American discrimination, and the murders of George Floyd and others by the police.

Polo and his colleagues shared concerns about expectations of a quick turnaround of the high rates of depression and anxiety in students.

They wrote "the latest data from the state of Illinois reveal lower teacher retention, high and chronic student absenteeism, and significant achievement drops in math, English, and other subjects which, among Latinx students, are closely connected to depression."

"Rates of both anxiety and depression among children and adolescents were already on the rise during the decade before the pandemic suggesting that addressing these problems is of utmost importance."

More information: Antonio Polo et al, The Epidemic of Internalizing Problems among Latinx Adolescents Before and During the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic, Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology (2023). DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2023.2169925
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A mountain lion lounging in a cottonwood tree during the heat of the day in Colorado. Credit: Justin Shoemaker/USFWS Mountain-Prairie via Creative Commons

When I was sixteen, I trekked for miles up untraversed trails in Sonoma County, California, in search of mountain lion dens and sites where cougars eat their prey. (Mountain lions, pumas, panthers, and cougars are all names used for this same species.) As an intern for the Living with Lions project, I studied how humans and top predators can coexist in shared areas.

Unfortunately, it quickly became evident to me that humans don't share well.

Throughout that summer in Sonoma, I was led by my mentor, Alex Hettena, who had a rattail braid, loose-fitting hiking pants, and the answer to any question related to mountain lions. "Now we can go to the sites that are too dangerous to go to alone," she said as she welcomed me on my first day.

That day, I saw a half-eaten fawna mountain lion "snack" that would be finished later. I crawled behind Alex through manzanita tunnels and overgrown poison oak, following her straight up crumbling mountain sides and across dry river beds. I was exhilarated. And exhausted.

I learned then about the ongoing battle over land in California, as residents were sprawling away from cities and into rural areas that often overlap with mountain lion territories. At the same time, changing weather conditions were driving mountain lion prey to greener urban pastures, leading these animals into urban centers. This has resulted in increased confrontations between humans and cougars.

As Californians build more houses and construct new highways, they are shrinking mountain lion territory, leaving cougars with a restricted menu and occasionally drives them to eat a sheep or dog in order to survive. This often prompts landowners to file depredation permits, which grant them the right to kill a mountain lion if the animal threatens human life or property.

The most difficult part of my job was convincing landowners not to file depredation permits. Human attacks on mountain lions have been soaring to over 100 deaths per year from depredation files and 100 deaths per year from accidental vehicle collisions in California alone. This is a substantial hit to the moderately small population of 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions residing in California.

In stark contrast, there is a statewide total of six human fatalities from mountain lion attacks since 1890. This is evidence that humans are the true predators in California.

The sites Alex and I visited were often on private land, which led us to countless countryside homes to ask if we could access landowners' backyards.

Oftentimes, landowners would offer to come with us. Perhaps for the personal thrill, but more often than not, they feared for the safety of two young women in search of mountain lions in the backcountry.

I remember a man who asked to join us. He tied the sun-crisped laces of his worn leather boots and strapped a pistol onto his belt. I could sense the stoicism he felt in his self-assigned role as the protector of our group, but what I also saw under his heroic facade was fear. I noticed his unease toward these large creatures roaming his backyardor should I say the lions' backyard?

As we walked in the forest, he mumbled, "Sometimes I just want to shoot the dang thing."

I stopped in my tracks then, as all of the interactions with the landowners I'd met came rushing back to me. I thought about how upsetting the loss of companionship or a source of livelihood from the death of a dog or cattle could be.

But I also recognized that moving deeper into nature, destroying it, and acting surprised when local wildlife bites back was a tired scene. Mountain lions are essential to the ecosystem, and if we choose to expand our habitats, it is also our responsibility to understand, protect, and learn to live with themrather than choosing to live in fear.

I know that the idea of a mountain lion living in your backyard can be scary. However, the more we learn about them, the less scary they become. Research shows that mountain lions have successfully adapted to city life. They are opportunistic creaturesgeneralists that can essentially eat anything and live anywhere. But they remain uninterested in preying on humans.

Instead, these big cats maintain biodiversity by keeping deer and elk populations in check, which allows vegetation to prosper, bringing in vibrant life. The influx of animals increases genetic diversity, which allows species to adapt to environmental changes. Insects decompose mountain lion prey, which liberates nutrients in the soil and provides stability for plant growth and improved water quality.

Still, the adaptability of mountain lions is not widely appreciated and fear prevents people from getting to know these creatures and learning from them.

If mountain lions can keep up in a rapidly changing environment, what's stopping humans from doing the same?

We are living beyond our environmental limits. The common trend of humans fleeing from urban centers to rural areas in search of natural amenities and idealized lifestyles has its drawbacks. This leads to higher emissions from road transportation, loss of open space, and negative consequences for wildlife.

Removing mountain lions through depredation permits is not effective. When doing so, there is high potential for multiple younger male lions to move into unfamiliar territory and cause more harm. It also creates an imbalance in our fragile ecosystem by limiting keystone predators, which are species that dramatically impact entire ecosystems.

To maintain a healthy environment and promote biodiversity, Californians need to learn to share their land.

Provided by State of the Planet

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu.
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In 2021, Kohei Saito's "Capital in the Anthropocene" became a publishing sensation in Japan, eventually selling more than half a million copies.

That astonishing achievement becomes even more extraordinary when one considers that Saito, an academic at the University of Tokyo, has for some years been rearticulating materialist philosophy based on a close reading of Karl Marx's unpublished manuscriptsnot exactly the kind of enterprise that traditionally results in bestsellers.

Though "Capital in the Anthropocene" remains (somewhat oddly) untranslated, English-speaking readers can now access Saito's subsequent work, "Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism."

In his new book, Saito notes the awful ironies of the current period, in which, instead of the promised "end of history," we face the (rather different) end of human history, as the conquest of nature transforms dialectically into nature's apocalyptic return in the form of fires, floods and other disasters.

The social crises associated with the environmental emergency have not, as yet, spurred the Marxist revival one might expect from an era of political and economic tumult. Saito blames this on the longstanding association between socialism and the Promethean notion that nature can and should serve as raw materials for human ends.

Think of the Communist Manifesto and its giddy zeal for the transformative program of the bourgeoisie: "constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation ".

The young Marx's enthusiasm for solids melting into air sounds rather different with the environment collapsing all around us.

MEGA

In "Marx and the Anthropocene," Saito continues the project developed in his earlier book, "Karl Marx's Ecosocialism," in which he delved deeply into Marx and Engels' vast corpus of unpublished work to explain their engagement with environmental issues.

At first glance, a painstaking analysis of Marx's private notes on, say, soil chemistry might seem arcane or even cultish: a doomed attempt at quote-mining to refashion a 19th century thinker according to contemporary tastes.

Yet Marx never completed the broader project of which Capital was merely one facet. The systemized "Marxism" we take for granted was a later reconstruction based on uncompleted manuscripts. The ongoing efforts of the Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe (or MEGA) to compile every available text thus provides Saito with a new basis on which to analyze fundamental concepts of the late Marx.

Saito focuses, in particular, on an argument presented in Capital but, until recently, ignored by most readers. That is, Marx treats labor as a metabolic relationship between people and nature. Human beings, in any society, must reshapethrough laborthe natural world if they are to survive. Yet the way they do that varies tremendously from society to society.

Prior to capitalism, labor was (as you would expect) overwhelmingly directed to the immediate satisfaction of specific needs. Even in the most oppressive ancient societies, slaves created use values. They toiled to make goods and provide services their rulers actually wanted.

Capitalism mandates something very different. In a society governed by the commodity, production takes place primarily for exchange. Today, we sell our labor power to others, who then direct us. Unlike the pharaohs of old, our bosses don't themselves want what we make or do. The capitalists who employ us seek, first and foremost, value, which can expand without any definite limit because it is quantitative rather than qualitative.

Saito argues that commodificationof labor and everything elsefundamentally changes the human relationship with nature. When value becomes "the organizing principle of metabolism between humans and nature, it cannot fully reflect the complexity of the biophysical metabolic processes between them."

Our direct and immediate interaction with the natural world, in other words, becomes a process driven by an external, expansionary dynamic.

Metabolic rift

Marx describes the disruption of nature by the circuit of capital as a "metabolic rift."

For Saito, this concept entails "spatial rifts" between the cities and the country, and between developed and developing nations. It also entails "temporal rifts" between the deep time of geological processes and the ever-increasing tempo of capitalist production.

The notion of a "metabolic rift" thus makes manifest an environmental theory that is latent in Capital. Saito's extraordinary erudition teases out the implication of concepts sometimes present in Marx's work only in embryonic form.

Of course, everyone knows that corporations ravage the environment. The theory of metabolic rift explains that despoliation not as a result of the greed or ineptitude of individual entrepreneurs, but as a consequence of the commodity itself. It suggests that the fundamental interdependence between humans and nature is disturbed at the most granular level of capitalism.

The consequences cannot be overstated. Mainstream responses to climate changethe strategies advocated by most governments and by international gatherings (the Conference of the Parties, for example)center on market mechanisms such as emissions trading schemes. Many progressives criticize such interventions as too little, too late. On Saito's reading, their critique misses the point. Carbon trading and similar schemes, such as Australia's new biodiversity market, seek the further commodification of nature. They are not merely insufficient; they are actively worsening the problem they claim to remedy.

Ecosocialism

Even more importantly, rift theory provides the basis for what Saito calls "ecosocialism."

Historically, attempts to unite proletarians with the planet have tended to rely on moral appeals to workers on behalf of the natural world. This non-materialist strategy has invariably failed.

Saito suggests a very different approach. He emphasizes that Marx sees the alienation of land and labor as different facets of the same phenomenon. The systematic ruination of nature arises from an equally thoroughgoing degradation of basic human activity. The fight to save the environment thus becomes, not an optional extra, but a cause fundamentally entwined with class struggle.

In his new book, Saito buttresses his argument by identifying various thinkers within the broader Marxist tradition who, more or less independently, grasped a similar notion of metabolism. These include Rosa Luxemburg (in her book The Accumulation of Capital), Georg Lukacs (particularly in his rediscovered 1925 manuscript A Defense of History and Class Consciousness: Tailism and the Dialectic), the Hungarian philosopher Istvan Meszaros, and contemporary writers like John Bellamy Foster and Paul Burkett.

Saito also defends the nature-society dualism on which rift theory rests against rival Marxist approaches. He polemicizes, in particular, against Neil Smith and Jason Moore.

But by far the most importantand challengingsections of Marx in the Anthropocene involve textual exegesis. Biographers sometimes describe Marx's final years as unproductive, marred by illness and lack of focus. Saito argues that, from the late 1860s, Marx threw himself into a renewed study of the natural sciences in order to work through the implications of labor as metabolism and, in the process, revised several key concepts.

Forces and relations of production

Saito revisits, in particular, the traditional opposition between the forces of productiona term that includes the means of production, labor power, machinery, and much elseand the relations of productionthat is, the economic ownership of those forces.

This antagonism is conventionally understood as the motor of social history. 20th century Marxists, in particular, presented the productive forces as the basis of a new society, often focusing on the technological advances facilitated by capitalism as central to the transition to socialism.

Saito claims that the later Marx saw the real (rather than formal) subsumption of labor under capital as dependent on a reorganization of workers' activities. Capital, writes Saito, "creates qualitatively new productive forces and a uniquely capitalist way of production sui generis."

According to Saito, Marx rejected the ideaassociated with official Soviet "Marxism"that socialists could simply take over the forces of production. Rather, Marx concluded that the relations of production shaped productive forces in ways that could not and should not be considered progressive.

For example, the factory system generates tremendous productivity by bringing workers together. But the "co-operation" of the assembly line relies on individual workers performing repetitive actions, with management solely responsible for decisions about what they do and how.

This kind of tailored productivity does not provide the basis for collective self-management. On the contrary, democratic and collective control of the means of productionthe basis of Marxian socialismnecessitates a proletarian autonomy that is incompatible with the management techniques enforced in, say, an Amazon factory.

That means progressives should not enthuse about productivity in the manner of some so-called "ecomodernists." We can't create a "fully-automated luxury communism" simply by freeing advanced technology from the tech-bros who currently control it.

The non-alienated labor required for environmental sustainability and workers' self-management requires a qualitative break with capitalist forces of production.

Degrowth communism

On that basis, Saito challenges the linear narrative associated with mechanical Marxism, which proposes that societies must transition from feudalism to capitalism, and then from capitalism to socialism.

He focuses on Marx's famous correspondence with the Russian populist Vera Zasulich, who asked whether communes in which which peasants traditionally managed their affairs must inexorably give way to Western-style capitalism. In his (very brief) published response, Marx denied any inevitability about developments in Russia. In an unsent draft, however, he argued explicitly that capitalism "will end through its own elimination, through the return of modern societies to a higher form of an "archaic" type of collective ownership and production."

Saito chases down an array of notes, jottings and other writings in which Marx muses on precisely how pre- and post-capitalist relations might intersect. He shows that Marx, by the end of his life, had broken from any notion of a new society based on the expansion of productive forces. Marx had instead come to advocate what Saito calls "degrowth communism."

It's a remarkable conclusion. Saito writes: "Marx's call for a 'return' to non-capitalist society demands that any serious attempt at overcoming capitalism in Western society needs to learn from non-Western societies and integrate the new principle of a steady-state economy. Marx's rejection of productivism is not identical with the romantic advocation of a 'return to the countryside.' In fact, he repeatedly added that the Russian communes would have to assimilate the positive fruits of capitalist development and the principle of steady-state economy in non-Western societies that would allow Western societies to leap to communism as a higher stage of the archaic communes."

Saito acknowledges that this vision is "utterly different from the productivist approach of traditional Marxism in the 20th century." And the passages he relies on are fragmentary, even crypticmuch more so than the texts from which metabolic rift theory arises.

In some ways, though, that's not really the point. The debate among Marxist scholars about the extent to which the MEGA provides textual support for such a conclusion matters much less than whether Saito's thesis holds conceptually. We might even say that Saito's insistence on grounding his book in Marx's writing obscures his own considerable status as a theoretician who is creatively extending Marxism for a new period.

I have seen the pastand it works!

Today, a thoroughgoing pessimism pervades both mainstream and radical politics. Few people believe in their own power to shape events. Many accept misanthropic or Malthusian environmental currents that regard humanity as an innately destructive force.

Saito provides a much needed alternativea demonstration of alternative possibilities. His project might be understood as an inversion of Lincoln Steffen's famous slogan, along the lines of "I have seen the pastand it works!"

Australians, in particular, should be aware of how pre-class societies developed ways to live more or less sustainably in their environment. As I have argued in Overland and elsewhere, the living culture of Indigenous Australia proves that human beings are not hardwired (as we are often told) to destroy the natural world.

For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal people labored on the continent in ways that fostered, rather than diminished, the country that they tended. The introduction of capitalism to the country thus provides a remarkable illustration of the metabolic rift. In the space of a few years, agricultural capitalism wiped out landscapes created by untold generations of Indigenous people. Many settlers recorded their astonishment and dismay as the country, deprived of its traditional custodians, changed under their feet.

Saito's argument is not, of course, that the society that existed prior to 1788 should or could be revived. "The critique of productive forces of capital," he says, "is not equivalent to a rejection of all technologies." The scientific achievements of the capitalist allow, in Marx's terms, "the associated producers [to] govern the human metabolism with nature in a rational way."

Saito describes the resulting society in terms of "degrowth." In some ways, it is an infelicitous term. As a political slogan, "degrowth" invokes the much-hated austerity associated with neoliberal economics. It also sounds too much like the bourgeois environmentalism that is expressed through calls for individual sacrifice.

Even more importantly, it obscures Saito's theoretical distinction between capitalism, on one hand, and ancient societies and communism on the other. "Growth" does not provide a meaningful measure for a use-value society. Communism would, for instance, prioritize healthcare, but the success or failure of its efforts would be assessed according to patient welfare, rather than the expansion or contraction of GDP.

Elsewhere, Saito borrows from Kirstin Ross the phrase "communal luxury," a term that better captures the meaning of unalienated labor. In the early years of white conquest, Indigenous people flatly refused to work for Europeans. They considered wage laboran activity that stripped all meaning, control and spirituality from daily lifethe most profound impoverishment imaginable.

A society based on use values might harbor the resources that capitalism squanders, but that would not amount to austerity. "Abundance," says Saito, "is not a technological threshold but a social relationship."

A radical theory for the 21st century

Saito's deep knowledge of Marx's published and unpublished writing makes for a rigorous argument, but it also presents socialism almost exclusively in terms of the development of ideas. That is misleading.

The crude productivism of so much 20th century socialist writing stemmed less from Engels' misreading of Marx's notes on science (a topic Saito addresses in detail) than from the Soviet Union's repurposing of Marxism as a justification for state-directed capitalist development.

The Marx-Zasulich letters prefigured the much more concrete debate about feudalism, capitalism and socialism that ensued after 1917. In some respects, Saito's argument resonates with Trotsky's theory of Permanent Revolution, which provided an account of how undeveloped countries might build a workers' state by spreading the revolutionary process to the imperialist heartland.

Trotsky's argument centers on the role of the proletariat, but Saito does not really address how "degrowth communism" might come about. In that respect, the intellectual rigor of "Marx in the Anthropocene" fosters a certain weakness. Saito sounds occasionally as if he thinks a correct restatement of fundamentals will, in and of itself, repopularise Marxism. Obviously, that is not the case. We cannot rely on MEGA to make socialism great again.

"Marx in the Anthropocene" is nevertheless a tremendously important achievement: an imaginative re-purposing of radical theory for the 21st century. Too often environmental debates center only on the most immediate proposals for curtailing emissions, without addressing how we got into this mess and how we might get out. By contrast, Saito provides both a convincing account of the social forces driving climate change and a description of what an alternative might entail. His book deserves the widest possible readership. Here's hoping it sells as much as the last one.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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The Schmidt objektive produces detailed images of neurons in a mouse brain. Credit: Anna Maria Reuss (USZ) & Fabian Voigt (UZH)

Neuroscientists at the University of Zurich have developed innovative objectives for light microscopy by using mirrors to produce images. Their design finds correspondence in mirror telescopes used in astronomy on the one hand and the eyes of scallops on the other. The new objectives enable high-resolution imaging of tissues and organs in a much wider variety of immersion media than with conventional microscope lenses.

Some species of mussels can see. Scallops, for example, have up to 200 eyes that help them detect predators such as an approaching starfish. However, the eyes of scallops differ significantly from the human eye. While in our eyes the combination of cornea and lens creates an image on the retina, in scallop eyes light is focused by a hemispherical mirror.

Optical imaging with lenses or mirrors

Creating images with mirrors instead of lenses is especially common in astronomical telescopes, in order to capture as much light as possible from planets, stars and galaxies. In the Schmidt telescope developed in the 1930s by Bernhard Schmidt (1879-1935) and still in use in many observatories today, a thin corrective lens is combined with a large spherical mirror.

Mirror objectives are rarely found, however, in microscopes used to study the biological microcosmos. Most microscope objectives are so compact that they can easily be assembled from lenses. However, to achieve the highest image quality, 10 to 15 lenses made of different types of glass are required, all of which must be precisely polished and accurately aligned with each other. As a result, the cost of microscope objectives for research can be equivalent to that of a medium-sized car, representing a significant portion of the total cost of a microscope.

Compatibility with different immersion media as stumbling block

In addition to their complex design, many commercial objectives have the disadvantage that they are usually designed for one specific immersion medium only, such as air, water or oil. This means that a new objective must be purchased for samples requiring a different immersion medium.

For a long time, this was not a major problem, but in recent years, processes known as clearing techniques that can make tissue samples transparent have attracted a lot of interest in biology and pathology. For example, instead of laboriously preparing thin tissue slices from a removed mouse brain, clearing techniques can make the whole brain transparent.

In pathology, the hope is that clearing techniques will increase the efficiency of biopsy-specimen examinations, making it possible to diagnose malignant tissue changes such as tumors earlier, for example. Unfortunately, however, most clearing techniques use immersion media that are incompatible with conventional microscope objectives. This means the considerable advantages of clearing techniques for research remain partially untapped.

High-resolution microscopy in large transparent tissue blocks

To circumvent the limitations of conventional microscope objectives, and inspired by the eyes of scallops, which in principle function like small underwater Schmidt telescopes, UZH neuroscientist and amateur astronomer Dr. Fabian Voigt developed an unconventional approach: he realized that it was possible to fill a Schmidt telescope with a liquid immersion medium and shrink it to the size of a microscope.

The resulting objective is quasi a miniature telescope that has been submerged and still provides a sharp image. "It is possible to design a Schmidt objective in a way that it provides excellent image quality in any homogeneous fluid as well as in air," says Voigt. This means that a single Schmidt objective is compatible with many different clearing techniques. The reason for this unusual feature is the use of a mirror instead of lenses. A spherical mirror focuses light at the same point whether it is immersed in liquid or is in the air.

Versatile applications also in medical diagnostics

To demonstrate the versatility of this innovative approach, researchers working with Fabian Voigt and UZH professor Fritjof Helmchen used their prototype Schmidt objective to study a variety of samples, including mouse brains, tadpoles and chicken embryos. Together with a team from Maastricht University, they were also able to analyze cleared human brain samples. In addition, the new type of objective is also suitable for measuring neuronal activity in the brains of live young zebrafish larvae.

"In all cases, the image quality was equivalent to or even better than that achievable with conventional objectiveseven though the Schmidt objective consists of only two optical elements," Helmchen explains. Compared to conventional objectives, which have about a dozen more lenses, a Schmidt objective can therefore be manufactured much more cost-effectively.

Future applications could also include the examination of tumor tissues or the detection of neurological diseases. "In this respect, scallops could show us the way to improved medical diagnostics," says Helmchen.

The study is published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

More information: Fabian Voigt, Reflective multi-immersion microscope objectives inspired by the Schmidt telescope, Nature Biotechnology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01717-8. www.nature.com/articles/s41587-023-01717-8 Journal information: Nature Biotechnology
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The forest fire is close to the edge of the Khao Yai National Park, Thailand's oldest national park.

Hundreds of Thai firefighters and soldiers battled a forest blaze less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Bangkok on Friday as the kingdom grapples with air pollution that has made nearly 2 million people ill this year.

The fire has affected at least 800,000 square metres (200 acres) of forest across three hills in Nakhon Nayok province, to the northeast of the Thai capital, with two districts declared emergency zones.

The blaze comes as Thailand grapples with a spike in pollution caused in part by agricultural burning that has seen the air in some northern cities rank among the dirtiest and most hazardous in the world this week.

Since the start of the year, more than 1.7 million people have needed hospital treatment for respiratory conditions caused by air pollution, according to the latest figures from the health ministry.

Wittaya Muntpun of the forestry department said efforts to tackle the blaze were being hampered by the difficult terrain.

"This is quite a difficult scenario since the mountain is filled with sharp rocks and cliffs," he told AFP.

"The firefighters are trying to control the spread of the fire at the base of the mountain. They couldn't go high up into the mountain since the terrain is full of cliffs."

The fire is not threatening any major population centres but it is close to the edge of the Khao Yai National Park, the kingdom's oldest national park and part of a UNESCO-listed forest complex stretching to the Cambodian border.

The blaze comes as Thailand grapples with a spike in pollution caused in part by agricultural burning.

Stubble burning

Local community leader Pachsikarn Pouyeon said the fire allegedly started from a lightning strike in the forest, which has been parched at the end of the dry season.

Authorities had tried to trigger rain on Thursday by spraying chemicals in the air, but it had not succeeded, Pachshikarn said.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha has dispatched his interior minister to coordinate operations on the ground, his office said in a statement.

"PM Prayut and minister of defence have closely monitored the wildfire situation in Nakon Nayok and ordered relevant organisations to help putting out the fire urgently," government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said.

Prayut, who faces a general election on May 14, on Thursday urged the top official from regional bloc ASEAN to help coordinate efforts to reduce cross-border pollution caused by agricultural burning.

Farmers across Southeast Asia burn off stubble in fields every year after harvest time, causing widespread air pollution.

Thailand's north is particularly affected and this week the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai topped monitoring firm IQAir's worst air quality listbeating the likes of Delhi and Beijing.

 2023 AFP
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Iskenderun, Hatay TurkeyFebruary 6,2023: Iskenderun, one of the places most affected by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered in Kahramanmaras. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

When natural disasters strike, women and girls tend to experience disproportionate challenges and heightened risks.

They are much more likely than men to experience sexual violence and health problems. Women and girls also face greater professional and educational setbacks.

So it should come as no surprise that challenges continue to mount for women in Turkey and Syria following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6, 2023, that killed more than 50,000 people and displaced 3 million people.

Earthquake survivors in Turkey also include 356,000 pregnant women who, at the end of February 2023, urgently needed medical care, according to the United Nations. Some women have had to give birth to their children in collapsed buildings.

Women are also more likely than men to be left out of government policies and programs responding to the disaster, often forcing them to migrate away from disaster zones. Death rates are higher during disasters for women even in some cases of rich countries, due in part to such factors as women not wanting to leave the home during an emergency.

We are scholars of human rights and political science. It is important to keep in mind that as natural disasters take a disproportionate toll on women, these crises also tend to shift women's political attitudes. While the disproportionate impact of disasters on women has been well documented, a lesser-known imbalance is how such crises tend to shift political attitudes.

Research shows that women's trust in government declines after a natural disaster, while men's political trust increasesin both poor and rich countries.

In countries like Turkey with multiple disasters a year, studies show that women's trust in government will likely decline over time. This includes their trust in government institutions, as well as their trust in those with power in governmentpolitical leaders, parties and parliament. When women do not see those in power as meeting their needs and trying to support and protect them, their trust wanes.

Why women are more vulnerable post-disaster

There are a few main reasons why women tend to feel the worst effects of a natural disaster.

First, societal expectations placed on women as the main caretakers in the household in both more and less economically developed countries are exacerbated following a disaster.

Women are often tasked with collecting and carrying food and water to their families, for example, as well as tending to their children and other family members. Women's responsibilities as the primary caretaker often place them in dangerous settings after disasters, either traveling through rugged terrain to reach water and food or staying in unstable housing structures to cook and help their families.

Second, governments tend not to prioritize women's particular health needs. Pregnant or nursing mothers may be unable to receive routine care, leading to an increase in risk of death or disease to both mother and baby.

While there are some international relief groups and projects that focus on providing menstrual health care to women following a disaster, this kind of response is not common.

Third, women are more likely to be living in poverty, with fewer economic alternatives than men following a disaster. They are slower to return to work, if they can at all, and are often denied government relief under the assumption that their husbands will support them. This further decreases women's overall safety.

A series of earthquakes in Turkey

Following the February 2023 earthquake, advocacy groups and relief response agencies voiced concern that women and girls in Turkey were left in hastily constructed refugee camps that did not have access to safe bathrooms, clean water or period products.

Women and especially young girls living in temporary shelters are at a higher risk of gender-based violence and early child marriage, according to humanitarian agencies like Plan International. This is especially true if women do not have designated areas separate from menas is the case in Turkey.

The Turkish advocacy group The Women's Coalition has asked the government to remove preexisting obstacles to supporting women, like ending bans on popular social media sites.

This is because social media can play a vital role in coordinating relief and rescue efforts, and these bans are actively keeping women and LGBTQ organizations from connecting with people and providing assistance in earthquake-affected areas.

Women and girls may also be wary of asking male relief workers for help with their reproductive needs. Hesitancy to ask for help from male workers extends beyond reproductive needs.

Women's rights activists in Turkey have said that women who were caught naked or without headscarves under the rubble were less likely to ask for help or rescue out of fear.

Understanding the political ramifications

People's trust in the government in Turkey is generally low, and data demonstrates that Turkey could be doing significantly more with its available resources to guarantee respect for human rights overall. For example, recent reports by human rights groups indicate that Turkish authorities do not always enforce laws preventing domestic violence, which is common in the country.

Since people's trust in politics and government is shaped by lived experiences, we think that solutions to prevent a decline in trust logically involve minimizing the experiences that cause the decline. While governments can't control natural disasters, they can ensure that their responses are more inclusive of women's needs.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  Provincial buses will be permitted to travel along EDSA from April 3 to 10 amid the expected passenger influx over the Holy Week, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Friday.

The MMDA said that from April 3 to 5, provincial buses will be allowed to traverse EDSA from 10 pm to 5 am. From April 6 to 10, they will be permitted to travel on EDSA around the clock.

Buses coming from North Luzon will terminate their trips in Cubao, Quezon City, while those coming from South Luzon will stop in Pasay City terminals, it added.

Holy Week 2023 will be observed from April 2 (Palm Sunday) until April 9 (Easter Sunday), though the long weekend itself will begin on April 6 (Maundy Thursday).

Monday, April 10 was also declared a holiday to mark "Araw ng Kagitingan" (Day of Valor).

The move was done to accommodate the surge in travelers over the holidays. The Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) estimated that it would cater to some 1.2 million passengers returning to their home provinces as part of the rush.
By Mabinty M. Kamara

A Norwegian mining engineer, Morlen Tronstad has called on the Sierra Leone authorities to help him get justice in a case he described as a scam involving a Norwegian mining company and their local counterparts operating in the country.

Speaking at a press conference held in Freetown, Tronstad explained that he saw an advertisement in a Norwegian Newspaper, the Financial Times for an investment opportunity in a mining company named Bravura with a subsidiary in Sierra Leone. He said the call was for the company to expand to largescale mining.

He said he decided to invest in the company for which he deposited $ 1.3 million into the companys account in Oslo giving him 35% shares in the company.

He said he later arrived in Sierra Leone around mid-October last year only to realize that the company was operating on a small-scale gold mining in Salema village in Penguia chiefdom in Kailahun District with no license to expand and with another company mining in the same concession area. He said he was told they were trying to secure a large-scale mining license for a larger concession area.

Tronstard added that from engagements with locals in the community, he came to know that another company dubbed Majestic owned a large scale concession in the area.

He said he then started realizing that he had been lied to, hence he started being more critical.

He said he then requested to opt out of the company so that his investment could be reimbursed, something he said was met with stiff resistance by his partners. He added that he then took his machines (two excavators and a dumper) to a safer place for which he alleged he was arrested by three Operational Support Division personnel who said they were ordered by a sitting Member of Parliament for constituency 013 in Kenema, Alusine Kanneh who also is a shareholder in the said Bravura company.

He alleged that he was manhandled by the police officer whom, he said, wanted to take his phone away from him. He said that he was constantly threatened with death but was later rescued by another police officer who saw them, and that he was subsequently taken to the Paramount Chief who freed him from the three officers and handed him back his cell phone.

Later that same night, my colleagues on the Bravura team sent in the same [armed police officers) and tried to kidnap me to stop me from gathering more evidence. Once again, I managed to escape and was rescued by one of the Majestic drivers who took me to Grayma with the permission of his boss and locked me in a container to ensure I was safe, he explained.

He said he was later taken to the police station where he made a statement and got a medical referral.

He commended the locals for their efforts to save his life and called on the government to ensure he got justice, saying that it was clear he was duped by his Norwegian brothers and not Sierra Leoneans. But he said that it was important that the government set a precedent so that other investors would feel safe with their monies when coming to Sierra Leone.

He said he had already hire lawyers in Sierra Leone and Norway to ensure justice.

The MP has vehemently denied the allegation saying he had never met the Norwegian nor did he know him, insisting that he did not know Tronstad. Speaking to Politoco, Alusine Kanneh denied instructing the police to arrest Tronstad. He agreed receiving machines from Noway but that they were sent by another Norwegian, who was his business partner.

A lawyer for the CEO of Bavura, Isaac John, said there was no wrongdoing to Tronstad. He said Bravura AS, which was registered in Norway where Tronstad owned shares, was different from Bravura SL, which is a subsidiary in Sierra Leone. He said Tronstad was in Sierra Leone working as an employee and that the machines he had taken out of the companys site were owned by the company and not Tronstad.

The matter is before the courts in Oslo while Politico is in possession of several documents from both sides, which their editorial team are studying.

Copyright  2023 Politico (29/03/23)
ARGYLE  The Argyle Board of Education announced its intent to appoint James Bennefield as superintendent of schools at a special meeting of the Board of Education on April 4.

Bennefield is currently the high school principal at the Hudson Falls Central School District.

We are extremely excited to welcome Mr. James Bennefield as our new superintendent of schools, said Board President Pamela Ellis in a news release posted to the districts website. As we progressed through the selection process, it became clear to the Board of Education that Mr. Bennefields small school roots, experience, and passion for our district and community was the right fit for our students and the Argyle community. We are looking forward to working with Mr. Bennefield as our newest leader as we work together to provide the best opportunities possible for our students.

Ellis said she wanted to thank the advisory committees and those who came to the community presentation for their participation, input, and commitment to the selection process. The board is also grateful for the leadership and assistance that WSWHE BOCES Superintendent Turina Parker and Assistant Superintendent Anthony Muller provided throughout the process.

The board plans to offer Bennefield a three-year agreement with an initial salary of $147,000. He is expected to begin his duties on July 1.

Argyle school superintendent leaving to lead Waterford-Halfmoon district Argyle Superintendent of Schools Michael Healey is leaving after five years to lead the Waterford-Halfmoon Union Free School District.

Bennefield has spent the past 20 years at the Hudson Falls Central School District  eight years as the middle school assistant principal and 12 years as the high school principal. He began his career in education teaching grades five through eight social studies at the St. Marys School of Ticonderoga in 1996. He served as a high school social studies teacher at Attica Central School for three years and then accepted the position to serve as the middle school assistant principal.

I am very excited to be joining the Argyle Central School District. The school community has been very welcoming and is full of individuals who work hard to provide the very best for the students of Argyle, Bennefield said. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to move the district forward and continue to build upon an already outstanding school system.

Bennefield earned a bachelor of science in education at Roberts Wesleyan College in 1995. His masters degree in education and certificate of advanced study in educational administration were both earned at the State University of New York at Brockport.

Parker said the board engaged in a thorough and rigorous search process, which resulted in the selection of a candidate who emerged as an extraordinary leader for the district.

Bennefield will replace Interim Superintendent of Schools Mark Bessen. In his spare time, Jim likes to travel, ride his motorcycle, read and spend time with family and friends.
Several Capital Region schools were victims of a swatting attack in which people called in on Thursday morning falsely reporting an active shooter.

Schools affected included Albany, Troy, East Greenbush and others, according to WNYT-TV NewsChannel 13, The Post-Stars media partner. Schools went into lockdown mode and police responded.

New York State Police and East Greenbush Police responded to Maple Hill High in East Greenbush. No threats were found there or at any other schools.

Queensbury Superintendent of Schools Kyle Gannon said in a letter to parents that school officials were made aware on Thursday of a noncredible threat, which was not specific to Queensbury schools.

Shenendehowa Central School District also did not receive any threats of an armed intruder, it told parents.

These calls come on the heels of a shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that killed three adults and three children.

Police shot and killed the shooter  28-year-old Audrey Hale. Hale, a former student of the school, was transgender and used male pronouns on a social media profile. Officials have not elaborated on a motive.

Safety plan

On Thursday, New York Assembly Republicans released their own school safety plan at a news conference.

The plan was drafted based upon comments received at five forums. The five main points of the plan are: increasing law enforcement presence in schools; addressing mental health issues in schools; maintaining open communication between stakeholders; providing state funding for school safety and security; and identifying threats and providing support to at-risk students.

Among specific recommendations are to eliminate the $35,000 cap that retirees can learn while maintaining their pension. The cap limits the pool of retired police officers that often serve as school resource officers.

Other recommendations are to create a statewide SRO training and certification program, reinstate the New York State Police SRO program that was eliminated in 2010; and create a statewide school-specific security guard training program from which districts could choose a level of security options.

Other recommendations are to increase the penalty for people who threaten to cause harm at schools and make sure there is open communication between stakeholders.

The report also took issue with the Raise the Age law, which they claimed it was difficult to hold students accountable with their actions and provide deterrence to committing a crime if there is not the threat of serious consequences.

In addition, the report recommending strengthening the pipeline of mental health professionals and social workers to schools. Some ideas are to ease the qualification restrictions for people to receive social worker certification and offer apprenticeship programs.

They also recommend hardening infrastructure at schools by increasing state building aid reimbursement for school safety projects from 10% to 15%.

Assemblyman Matt Simpson, R-Horicon, attended a news conference in the Capitol where the plan was unveiled.

No parents should have to worry when their child goes to school that they might not return. Teachers should not have to prioritize emergency procedures or be in fear in the classroom, which takes away from their lesson plans for the day, he said in a news release.

We have a serious crisis that is not only in New York but across the country  something has to change. By implementing the real solutions contained in the task force report, with input from professionals, I am hopeful we can take appropriate measures to protect our children and teachers so this is no longer a fear and schools can be a safe space once again Simpson went on to say.
HUDSON FALLS  The Hudson Falls Village Board has declared a moratorium, to prohibit the distribution of cannabis, whether by sale, gift or otherwise, for six months as a means to give state officials a chance to shore up cannabis sales licensing laws.

We had a shop that was about to open on Main Street. They were trying to take advantage of a loophole in the state cannabis act by saying that we were not selling it, were gifting it, explained William Nikas, legal counsel for the board during Fridays meeting.

The moratorium effectively halts all distribution, including sales, of cannabis products within the villages business district. It does not affect the states permissive laws, allowing individuals over the age of 21 to possess and/or consume cannabis products.

Its a zoning issue for us, Nikas said. Theres no prohibition if you want to walk the streets smoking a bong, youre perfectly allowed to do that. Theres nothing that says that were changing the permissive laws allowing you to smoke weed. Selling it out of a downtown business district is not gonna happen.

The action is provisional while the New York Office of Cannabis Management works through a perceived loophole in the law that has been working its way throughout the state in recent weeks.

According to statute, it is illegal for an establishment to sell cannabis products if it has not been issued a license to do so. Licensure also requires that all products undergo a strict regulatory process established to ensure public health and safety. To avoid the highly regulated and costly program guidelines, some establishments have begun selling non-regulated items, such as stickers, and gifting customers a corresponding amount of cannabis products commensurate with the cost of the purchased item.

They managed to get that argument by Queensbury, Glens Falls, and other places across the state, Nikas explained. This board has taken the position that words mean something. Thats not a gift. Thats a sale, completely unregulated; no protections for the public, and we passed a moratorium to stop that kind of activity in anticipation of passing a local law to ban that activity.

On March 22, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed legislation designed to help deter business owners from taking part in the dubious practice by giving additional enforcement power to the Office of Cannabis Management and the Department of Taxation and Finance to enforce the new regulatory requirements and close stores that illegally sell cannabis.

The continued existence of illegal dispensaries is unacceptable, and we need additional enforcement tools to protect New Yorkers from dangerous products and support our equity initiatives, Hochul said when she proposed the law change.

Violation of the proposed legislation could lead to fines ranging from $200,000 for illicit cannabis plants or products and up to $10,000 per day for engaging in cannabis sales without a license.

The resolution passed Friday by the Hudson Falls board puts a temporary hold on all cannabis sales until the state can finalize its new regulations.

So we could just leave it and wait see what the state does, Hudson Falls Mayor John Barton said of the moratorium.

If at the end of the six-month duration, the state has not adequately addressed the issue, the Village Board could adopt the moratorium, or a similar resolution as a local law, which could permanently prohibit cannabis sales.

But the measure taken Friday is only meant to be a temporary hold. Village officials said they hope the states efforts will fix the workaround, so business owners in Hudson Falls can take full economic advantage of adult-use cannabis sales.

Were not playing the sticker game, said Trustee Mike Horrigan. If the state says youre good, then fine by us.

Youre welcome here, Barton added.

In other business

The Hudson Falls Village Board also set a public hearing to discuss the tentative budget for the coming year.

Mayor Barton proposed keeping the tax rate at $8.50 per $1,000 of valuation of property.

Our total taxable assessment is up. Our tax levy will increase by just under 7%, he said. Obviously, we all know that utilities, gas, everythings gone up, and we have to be prepared for the bond payment for the Derby Park project.

Were no different than any other household. Increase in gasoline, electricity, the price of everything is going up and to try to stay within a tax cap is nearly impossible, Horrigan said. Weve never broken a tax cap here before in my time, but sometimes you just have to make ends meet.

The public hearing to discuss the proposed tax rate is scheduled for the next regular village board meeting at 6 p.m. on April 10.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  Senator Robinhood Padilla, who chairs the upper chambers committee on constitutional amendments, admits that the proposal to amend the 1987 Constitution may not reach the plenary level.

Ako naman kung ano pakiramdam ko siyempre may kaunting kalungkutan pero di nababalot ng kasawian sapagkat naniniwala tayo na tayo ay nagtrabaho 6 am hanggang 10 pm. Kasama natin ang ating legal team, nag-aral kami, nag-research kami, sapat na ito at nakuha natin ang suporta ng ayon sa isang survey 30% ng Pilipino naniniwala na dapat magkaroon ng amyenda sa Saligang Batas, he told reporters.

[Translation: Im slightly sad of course but Im not totally down because I know that we worked from 6am to 10pm. Together with the legal team, we analyzed it, we researched about it, and we got the support because survey showed that 30% of Filipinos believe that there should be amendment on the Constitution.]

Padilla released the draft committee report on the proposed charter change, which seeks to amend the economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution through a constituent assembly.

During the assembly, both the Senate and the House of Representatives will vote separately on possible amendments which will then be decided by the electorate in a plebiscite.

The neophyte lawmaker said he already sent a copy of the draft report to his colleagues on Wednesday.

Sana po mga mahal kong seniors and contemporaries, sana po basahin lang po. Yun lang masaya na po ako doon, said Padilla.

[Translation: Im hoping my dear seniors and contemporaries, you will find time to read it. Im already happy with that.]

Padillas ally Senator Ronald Dela Rosa on Wednesday also said he and the rest of the PDP-Laban bloc in the Senate  Senators Francis Tolentino, Bong Go - have already accepted that the push for a charter change may not make it to the Senate floor.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva earlier said the charter change proposal will undergo the usual legislative procedure.

The committee report should have signatures of at least nine senators for it to move on to the plenary debates. But only Dela Rosa, Tolentino, and Go have confirmed to back the measure.

With the possible doomed fate of the proposal, Padilla said that he will still continue to fight for his proposals.

Kailangan sa laban na ito tuloy tuloy. Siguro maaaring sa susunod na taon uulitin natin ito, baka sakali mag iba ihip ng hangin, he said.

[Translation: We need to continue working in this fight. Maybe we can do this all over again next year, things might favor us by that time.]




A man who spent 16 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of raping writer Alice Sebold when she was a Syracuse University student has settled a lawsuit against New York state for $5.5 million. The settlement comes after Anthony Broadwaters conviction for raping Sebold in 1981 was overturned in 2021. Broadwater's attorneys say the settlement was signed last week and must be approved by a judge. A message seeking comment was sent to the attorney generals office. Sebold described the 1981 rape in a memoir, Lucky. She went on to win acclaim for the novel The Lovely Bones.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The government's response to the failure of two large banks has already involved hundreds of billions of dollars. So will ordinary Americans end up paying for it, one way or another? And what will the price tag be?

It could be months before the answers are fully known. The Biden administration said it will guarantee uninsured deposits at both banks. The Federal Reserve announced a new lending program for all banks that need to borrow money to pay for withdrawals.

On Thursday, the Fed provided the first glimpse of the scale of the response: It said banks had borrowed about $300 billion in emergency funding in the past week, with nearly half that amount going to holding companies for the two failed banks to pay depositors. The Fed did not say how many other banks borrowed money and added that it expects the loans to be repaid.

The goal is to prevent a broadening panic in which customers rush to pull out so much money that even healthy banks buckle. That scenario would unsettle the entire financial system and risk derailing the economy.

Taxpayers will probably bear no direct cost for the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. But other banks may have to help defray the cost of covering uninsured deposits. Over time, those banks could pass higher costs on to customers, forcing everyone to pay more for services.

Here are some questions and answers about the cost of the bank collapses:

HOW IS THE RESPONSE BEING PAID FOR?

Most of the cost of guaranteeing all deposits at both banks will likely be covered by the proceeds the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. receives from winding down the two banks  either by selling them to other financial institutions or by auctioning off their assets.

Any costs beyond that would be paid for out of the FDIC's deposit insurance fund, which is typically used in the event of a bank failure to reimburse depositors for up to $250,000 per account. The fund is maintained with fees paid by participating banks.

Both Silicon Valley and Signature banks had a strikingly high share of deposits above that amount: 94% of Silicon Valley's deposits were uninsured, as were 90% of deposits at Signature. The average figure for large banks is about half that level.

If necessary, the insurance fund will be replenished by a "special assessment" on banks, the FDIC, Fed and Treasury said in a joint statement. Though the cost of that assessment could ultimately be borne by bank customers, it's not clear how much money would be involved.

Kathryn Judge, a law professor at Columbia University, said a bigger cost to consumers and the economy could stem from potentially major changes to the financial system that result from this episode.

If all customer deposits were considered guaranteed by the government, formally or informally, then regulations would need to be strengthened to prevent bank failures or lessen their costs when they do happen. Banks might have to pay permanently higher fees to the FDIC.

"It's going to require us to revisit the entire bank regulatory framework," Judge said. "That's far more significant than the modest costs that other banks will pay."

WILL TAXPAYERS BE ON THE HOOK?

President Joe Biden has insisted that no taxpayer money will be used to resolve the crisis. The White House is desperate to avoid any perception that average Americans are "bailing out" the two banks in a way similar to the highly unpopular bailouts of the biggest financial firms during the 2008 financial crisis.

"No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer," read the joint statement from the Treasury, Fed and FDIC.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended that view Thursday under tough questioning from GOP lawmakers.

The Fed's lending program to help banks pay depositors is backed by $25 billion of taxpayer funds that would cover any losses on the loans. But the Fed says it's unlikely that the money will be needed because the loans will be backed by Treasury bonds and other safe securities as collateral.

Even if taxpayers aren't directly on the hook, some economists say the banks' customers still stand to benefit from government support.

"Saying that the taxpayer won't pay anything ignores the fact that providing insurance to somebody who didn't pay for insurance is a gift," said Anil Kashyap, an economics professor at the University of Chicago. "And that's kind of what happened."

SO IS THIS A BAILOUT?

Biden and other Democrats in Washington deny that their actions amount to a bailout of any kind.

"It's not a bailout as happened in 2008," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said this week while proposing legislation to toughen bank regulation. "It is, in effect, protection of depositors and a preventive measure to stop a run on other banks all around the country."

Biden has stressed that the banks' managers will be fired and their investors will not be protected. Both banks will cease to exist. In the 2008 crisis, some financial institutions that received government financial aid, like the insurer AIG, were rescued from near-certain bankruptcy.

Yet many economists say the depositors at Silicon Valley Bank, which included wealthy venture capitalists and tech startups, are still receiving government help.

"Why is it sensible capitalism for somebody to take a risk, and then be protected from that risk when that risk actually happens?" asked Raghuram Rajan, a finance professor at the University of Chicago and former head of India's central bank. "It's probably good for the short term in the sense that you don't have a widespread panic. ... But it is problematic for the system long term."

Many Republicans on Capitol Hill argue that smaller community banks and their customers will shoulder some of the cost.

Banks in rural Oklahoma "are about to pay a special fee to be able to bail out millionaires in San Francisco," Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, said on the Senate floor.

___

8 charts tracking the US economy
A former state trooper from Waretown found guilty of official misconduct while suspended from the force was sentenced to five years in prison, the state Attorney Generals Office said Thursday.

In May 2022, a jury convicted former Sgt. Marc Dennis after investigators found he used a police identification card after his suspension.

Dennis wont be eligible for parole, Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Lourdes Lucas ruled.

Thomas Eicher, director of the state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, said in the wake of Lucas ruling that the case reinforces the importance of integrity in law enforcement practice.

The courts decision, in this case, was a just outcome and illustrates that no one is above the law, Eicher said in a statement.

Dennis was found to have retained a card identifying him as a state trooper after he was suspended in September 2016.

New Jersey State Police officer's tattoo probed for neo-Nazi ties A New Jersey state trooper has been put on administrative leave while his employers investig

Investigators say Dennis turned in most of his identifications when directed to, but he held onto one he obtained after reporting in January 2016, about eight months before his suspension, that he had lost his wallet, which was holding the card.

Dennis presented the card to police officers who pulled him over at least nine times, investigators learned.

Attorney General Matthew Platkin on Thursday said the former troopers actions violated the publics trust in law enforcement.

I am deeply grateful for the commitment, sacrifice and upstanding character that the vast majority of our states law enforcement officers exhibit on and off the job, Platkin said in a statement. We will not tolerate abusive behavior by one bad actor reflecting poorly on the numerous officers abiding by the law, upholding it and making New Jersey safer.

Dennis, investigators say, used his unreturned ID card during traffic stops with police in Toms River, Marlboro, Berkeley Township, Lakehurst and elsewhere.

His suspension derived from his job performance, failing to observe State Police procedures while claiming otherwise in official records and certifications.

Man charged in Wildwood cold case released following case dismissal CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE  A 63-year-old Millville man was released from the Cape May County jai

After hearing arguments, Lucas sentenced Dennis on charges of official misconduct and pattern of official misconduct. Lucas agreed to merge a theft count, ruling in favor of allowing the sentences to be served concurrently.

Dennis was ordered to relinquish his pension and job. Hell also have a lifetime ban from public employment.

Dennis pension and salary information were not listed in state records.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Police arrested two teenagers Wednesday in a bid to address a recent string of car burglaries and thefts.

In response to incidents in the Club and Smithville neighborhoods, police deployed officers in an unmarked vehicle in an attempt to catch the burglars, police said Thursday in a news release.

About 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, officers saw two males in black clothing walking north on Wrangleboro Road.

The officers continued to observe them and a few minutes later witnessed them putting on masks and gloves as they entered Mourning Dove Way in the Moss Mill Hollow development. The individuals pulled on vehicle door handles in an attempt to burglarize motor vehicles, police said.

The officers coordinated with uniformed patrol officers and set up a perimeter to prevent them from escaping.

Officers then approached the suspects and identified themselves as police, at which time the suspects ran away, police said.

Driver flees police outside Galloway elementary school GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  A driver who fled a motor vehicle stop was arrested in front of a nearby

After a short chase, both suspects were apprehended.

Items stolen from a motor vehicle on Shawnee Place were found in the juveniles possession at the time of their arrest, and they were suspected to have committed additional thefts in the area as well, police said.

The two teen township residents, ages 15 and 16, were each charged with motor vehicle burglary, theft, resisting arrest by flight, obstructing law enforcement, receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools and curfew violations.They were released to the custody of their guardians.

Police remind residents to keep their vehicles locked at all times and to remove any valuables from plain sight.
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP  A Pennsylvania woman was arrested Thursday after she allegedly punched a police officer in the head.

Ashley A. Jackson, 22, of Bryn Mawr, was charged with aggravated assault and disorderly conduct, according to a criminal complaint filed by police.

The officer, whose name was redacted from Jackson's affidavit of probable cause for her arrest, responded to a call about her appearing to be intoxicated and both banging on and yelling on the caller's front door, the affidavit states.

After asking the officer for a cigarette, she became nervous and banged her head into an SUV's trunk. When the officer tried detaining Jackson to stop her from hurting herself, she pulled an arm away, punching the patrolman in the head, the affidavit states.

The officer then managed to get her to the ground, double-locking a set of handcuffs to secure her arms, the affidavit states.

Jackson was taken to Cape Regional Medical Center for a mental health evaluation, the affidavit states. She then was taken to the Cape May County jail.

Court records did not say whether the officer who arrested Jackson was injured.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is joining efforts to halt offshore wind development in New Jersey, signing onto a resolution that would stop work on the projects amid mounting calls for further studies on their impact.

Greene, R-Ga., became a co-sponsor of the resolution last Wednesday, a day after U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, with other Republican House members, introduced the legislation in Congress, according to Congress.gov.

It was not immediately clear Friday why the congresswoman decided to co-sponsor the legislation, given her district is not directly impacted by the energy projects.

Greenes press team did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Dem senators from 4 states ask NOAA to address whale deaths Democratic U.S. Senators from four states want federal environmental officials to address a spate of whale deaths on both coasts. The request that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration address the issue was made by senators from New Jersey, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island. It marked the first large-scale Democratic call for action on an issue that has rapidly become politicized, with mostly Republican lawmakers calling for a halt to offshore wind work while the deaths are investigated. Thirty whales have died on the East Coast since December, but NOAA says there is no evidence linking them with offshore wind preparation.

Van Drew is one of several Republican lawmakers who have questioned offshore wind development as it pertains to a string of whale beachings and deaths since December along the East Coast. Federal officials and scientists have said no evidence exists that ties work to survey the ocean floor for offshore wind infrastructure, including clusters of wind turbines, to the beachings.

Republicans, however, have urged the government to act.

In the congressional resolution, which was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources, lawmakers call upon the federal government to stop the projects so their effects can be studied further, sharing the findings publicly once theyve been prepared.

Ventnor Whale Sculpture by John Goudy and Laura Cimador 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu Latest Headlines Ventnor Whale Sand Sculpture On March 30, 2023, John Gowdy and Laura Cimador complete their sand sculpture of whales and dolphins which is the center-piece of a discussion 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture Artists John Gowdy, of Galloway Township, and Laura Cimador, of Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive humpback whale sculpture in Vent 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, (l-r) Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive wha 033123-pac-nws-sculpture Left: Artists John Gowdy and Laura Cimador take a break from working on their 45-square-foot humpback whale sculpture on the Ventnor beach Thursday. 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, (l-r) Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive wha 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, (l-r) Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive wha 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, (l-r) Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive wha 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, (l-r) Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive wha 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture On March 30, 2023, in Ventnor, Artists John Goudy and Laura Cimador, from Galloway and Italy, put the finishing touches on a massive whale scu 033123-pac-nws-sculpture A rally will be held Sunday around the whale sculpture to call attention to recent strandings and demand answers.
Its time for Governor Phil Murphy to end New Jerseys pandemic state of emergency and give up his emergency powers, state Sen. Michael Testa, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, said Thursday in a news release.

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved ending the national COVID-19 emergency by passing a joint resolution, which the House of Representatives had already passed.

President Joe Bidens administration has indicated he would sign it, ending the national state of emergency May 11.

New Jerseys ongoing state of emergency gives the governor and state departments the authority to keep unnecessary directives in place, and it allows the governor to continue spending billions in federal relief funds with almost no transparency or oversight, Testa said.

It also allows Murphy to circumvent the Legislature and diminish its constitutional authority as a co-equal branch of government, he said.

While New Jerseys public health emergency was terminated in 2021, the general state of emergency related to COVID-19 that was first declared on March 9, 2020, remains in effect, Testa said.

A state of emergency is designed to empower a governor to respond quickly when needed, but the danger is that it allows good government protections to be bypassed, Testa said. Thats why we cant allow declared emergencies to drag on for years without end. Governor Murphy has no excuse to continue clinging to the emergency powers that his administration has abused for far too long.
A New Jersey state trooper has been put on administrative leave while his employers investigate whether a tattoo on his neck is associated with neo-Nazi white supremacy groups.

Concerns about a tattoo around the neck of Jason Dare, 46, arose after a photo of him was shared online when he disappeared from a medical facility in Pennsylvania on March 19.

Dare, a Cumberland County man, was eventually located, but the photograph used during the search for him has raised questions. The neck tattoo contains the words Blood and Honor.

The phrase has been used by North American skinheads, neo-Nazis and other groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate activity.

State Police Superintendent Col. Pat Callahan issued a statement about the internal investigation, which was provided to The Press by Sgt. Philip Curry on Thursday.

I understand the importance of transparency and trust between law enforcement and the community, which is why we have enlisted the assistance of our law enforcement partners to conduct a thorough investigation, Callahan said.

Missing New Jersey State Police trooper found A missing New Jersey State Police trooper who was last seen walking away from a health facil

Callahan said there is no room for hate, prejudicial rhetoric, or divisive behavior in our organization, an organization that was built on our core values of honor, duty and fidelity.

We live and work in a very diverse state and our law enforcement community should reflect that, as well, Callahan said. We want the communities we serve to be our partners, and I stand united with them as well as the troopers and other law enforcement professionals who work tirelessly to dedicate themselves to strengthening these relationships.

Dare has been a trooper since 2004. As of Dec. 31, 2022, his salary was $103,306, according to state pension records.

Dare was found several days after he left the medical facility. State Police did not reveal at the time why he was at the facility, but during the search they had described him as being an endangered person.
SEA ISLE CITY  After two summers worth of issues with rowdy teens, the city is instituting a 10 p.m. curfew for those under 18.

This is for the troublemakers, said Mayor Leonard Desiderio. Young people with their parents or coming home from work would not be impacted. He said the curfew will give police a means of breaking up large crowds in the summer.

There are going to be similar ordinances introduced in shore towns up and down the coast, Desiderio said.

A separate ordinance, also approved by City Council on Tuesday, would prevent anyone from carrying a backpack on the Promenade, beaches and beach-side street ends after 10 p.m. in the summer as well.

The ordinances are aimed at better control of summer crowds. According to Desiderio, city attorney Paul Baldini researched the constitutionality of the ordinances before they were introduced.

The fact of the matter is that these ordinances are not severe, Desiderio said in a recent message to residents. They require the police to provide multiple warnings and opportunities for compliance before taking further action. Importantly, these ordinances address concerns raised by our citizens. As Ive said before, we have a responsibility to the public, and weve talked about this enough.

There was little reaction from the public to the ordinances, Baldini said Thursday.

Earlier this year, Lower Township amended and reinstated a midnight curfew for juveniles. Township officials had believed the original curfew to be unconstitutional but this year said the court case that was based on was specific to a particular town.

Baldini said there is always a possibility an ordinance could be challenged in court, but he does not believe it likely in this case. He based the city ordinance off one in Texas that has already survived a Supreme Court challenge, and felt confident in the backpack ordinance as well, saying many public areas there limit the use of backpacks on safety grounds.

Several beach towns have reported large crowds of teenagers gathering on beaches and Boardwalks in recent summers, with some officials blaming changes limiting police interactions with those under 18. In several situations that would have previously meant a trip to the station and a call to parents, police can now only give warnings. Baldini said the changes to Sea Isles ordinance will give local police more options when a teenager is behaving badly.

This ordinance was not meant to be an end-all. Its a tool to give to police more ability to control rowdy teenagers, Baldini said.

The American Civil Liberties Union has challenged curfews in some New Jersey towns. An ACLU attorney was not immediately available Thursday to comment on the Sea Isle ordinances, but did offer a statement when the organization was contacted after Lower Township approved its ordinance.

Curfew ordinances are not the answer. These ordinances infringe upon the constitutional rights of young people and their parents and needlessly criminalize their behavior by punishing those who have done nothing wrong, said Elyla Huertas, staff attorney of the ACLU of New Jersey. Curfews introduce young people, disproportionately Black and brown kids, to police and court involvement without providing any public safety benefits.

In Lower Township, officials believed curfews to be unconstitutional in New Jersey after a 2001 state appeals court decision in a challenge brought by the ACLU in West New York, Hudson County. But Lower Township officials now believe that ruling only applied to that specific communitys ordinance, not to all curfews statewide.

Part of the issue was a lack of exceptions for juveniles participating in legitimate activities. Baldini said the Sea Isle ordinance includes exceptions, including one he does not believe has been included in any other community.

Those under 18 are specifically exempt from the curfew if they are exercising their First Amendment rights.

That could mean, theoretically, the curfew could not be applied to a crowd of teenagers staying out late in protest of the curfew.

If they are exercising their rights, we have no interest in bothering them, Baldini said. This will allow officers to confront the kid throwing eggs at a car. Then they can say, Go home. If he pulls out a sign after that, I dont think that would work.

Citing juvenile problems, Lower Township plans to start enforcing curfew LOWER TOWNSHIP  Nothing good happens after midnight, at least according to Police Chief Kev

Baldini pointed out there is a bill in the state Senate, sponsored by 11th District Democrat Sen. Vin Gopal, that would authorize local governments to impose curfews. The bill cites the difficulty for towns controlling gatherings loosely organized through social media.

Baldini said some statewide groups have opposed that bill as unnecessary.

Desiderio said he hoped there would be state action addressing the issue over the winter. While he praised the effort of the local Republican legislative team, he said they were not able to get any changes passed.

It has to be bipartisan, Desiderio said.
Three political campaign workers have been indicted on charges stemming from a scheme where authorities say one offered $20 supermarket gift cards to voters in return for letting her complete their mail-in ballots. The Middlesex County Prosecutors Office announced Thursday that 62-year-old Ana Camilo, of Perth Amboy, faces two counts of bribery and other charges. She was arrested last October after authorities said she met with and tried to bribe an undercover detective posing as a Perth Amboy voter. Two other Perth Amboy residents face charges of retaliation against a witness. Authorities say they allegedly harassed the person who provided information concerning Camilos involvement in the voter fraud scheme.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  The creation and implementation of policies lack the use of a "gender lens," contributing to continuing gender inequality in the country, former Vice President Leni Robredo told CNN Philippines on Friday.

Speaking to The Final Word, Robredo said while the Philippines is doing well in the Global Gender Gap Reports, measures being done to tackle gender equality and women empowerment were not enough.

"'Yan ang kulang, 'yong paggamit ng [There's a lack of using] gender lens when we do policies, that's why inequality persists," she said.

"Paminsan ang ginagawa ng local government units, gagawa sila ng programa not using any gender lens and then dedepensahan na lang, 'Ah, ito pwede mag-fall sa GAD (Gender and Development) fund,'" Robredo explained. "So jina-justify that they were able to set aside the mandated GAD fund."

[Translation: Sometimes, local government units would make programs not using any gender lens but they will just defend it that it falls into the GAD fund. It's being justified that they were able to set aside the mandated GAD fund.]

The GAD budget policy directs all government departments and agencies to allocate a minimum of 5% of their total annual budget for gender programs, projects, and activities. The Philippine Commission on Women said this was first introduced through the General Appropriations Act in 1995 as "The Women's Budget."

In the Global Gender Gap Index 2022, the Philippines ranked 19th out of 146 countries included in the report, finishing two notches lower than the previous year.

Still, the Philippines came second among 19 East Asia and the Pacific countries listed by the World Economic Forum, which was unchanged from 2021.

For Robredo, women empowerment is more inaccessible to rural women  with access to same opportunities for employment, education, and various services as men still a problem.

She also said there's a need to amend laws that impact women as well, urging policymakers to create more measures to "sort of balance the inequality between men and women."
TRENTON  New Jerseys Democrat-led Legislature passed a sweeping overhaul of the states campaign finance laws Thursday, sending the measure to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphys desk.

The measure, called the Elections Transparency Act  a name opponents say it falls far short of  makes a host of changes, including increasing spending and contribution limits, overhauling pay-to-play laws and shortening how long the states election watchdog commission can investigate campaign finance violations.

The bills sponsors claim the changes are overdue and much needed, and also contain real transparency provisions, such as a requirement that groups like super political action committees and other organizations that contribute report their contributions to the state watchdog and a decrease in the threshold at which reporting is necessary from $10,000 to $7,500.

Among the changes the proposed bill would make are increasing spending limits in a primary for governor to $7.3 million from $2.2 million, and to $15.6 million from $5 million in the general election, as well as boosting the limit on individual contributions to candidates and parties from $2,600 to $5,200. It also retroactively shortens the statute of limitations for the states campaign finance watchdog  the Election Law Enforcement Commission  to investigate violations from 10 years to two years, temporarily permits the governor to make appointments to the commission without Senate approval and ends individual towns pay-to-play laws.

The bill would also remove a current prohibition against public contractors donating to state and party committees and permit state and county party committees to maintain a housekeeping account to pay for non-political expenses.

On the Assembly floor Thursday, Democratic Majority Leader Louis Greenwald and Republican Assembly member Brian Bergen clashed on the floor over the measure.

Mayors seek to explore giving Atlantic County commissioners more authority over ACUA A resolution is circulating around municipalities calling on the Atlantic County Board of Co

Bergen, an opponent of the legislation, questioned why the measure increased caps on contributions. Greenwald, the bills sponsor, answered that the aim of the legislation was requiring more disclosure, since so-called dark money groups dont disclose their donors.

Its not the point of the bill, but its part of the bill, Bergen said. It allows people to buy influence.

Greenwald responded that the legislation would check corruption because it requires disclosure.

Its not the amount of money that you can contribute that leads to corruption, Greenwald said.

Senate President Nicholas Scutari was the only member to speak in favor of the bill last week when the measure passed in that chamber, with bipartisan votes both for and against.

The Democrat said the bill would create a far better system than whats currently in place. He pointed to a campaign finance violation from 2016 that just recently resulted in a five-figure fine, as the reason for retroactively eliminating the 10-year statute of limitations.

GOP cites diversity, Democrats back a slate in Cape May County Cape May County Republicans are touting the diversity of their ticket this year, endorsing a

Where is the deterrence in that fine? Why should we allow them to go after people after theyre out of office? Scutari said. How would you like to get a traffic ticket two years after you went through (a red light)?

Opponents of the bill said it falls short of its name.

Democratic state Sen. Nia Gill said the measure expands the influence of money in politics. Republican state Sen. Anthony Bucco said the measure hampers the commissions ability to prosecute violations of campaign finance laws.

This bill has become simply a bad bill with a nice name, Bucco said.

Among the worst loopholes contained in the bill, according to critics, is the expansion of pay-to-play laws  rules aimed at limiting what companies that hold public contracts can contribute to political campaigns.

The bill would allow recipients of state government contracts to contribute to candidates for governor if theyre awarded through the fair and open process. The bill says the public entity awarding the contract determines what amounts to fair and open.

Taxes up, programs cut in proposed Upper Township school budget UPPER TOWNSHIP  The Board of Education on Monday introduced a $36.68 million operating budg

New Jerseyans would be left asking if future state government contracts would be awarded to the lowest qualified bidder, or to the next governors biggest donors, said Philp Hensley, the League of Women Voters of New Jerseys democracy policy analyst.

The bill was introduced last summer, but it didnt begin moving through the Legislature until earlier this year. It coincides with a controversy involving the watchdog commissions executive director and Murphy. The director, Jeffrey Brindle, filed a lawsuit recently in which he alleges Murphys staff called him to a meeting last November and asked him to resign. They cited anti-gay emails they said Brindle sent. Hes denied the emails show bias and said he was being coerced to resign.

An earlier draft of the legislation would have allowed Murphy to unilaterally fire Brindle, but the latest version posted on the Legislatures website would temporarily permit Murphy to name the commissions four commissioners, whod oversee the executive director.

Murphys spokesperson declined to comment.

If approved, the prospective laws campaign contribution and expenditure limits wouldnt make New Jersey much of an outlier compared to other states. Some have unlimited levels, while others have far lower limits compared to New Jerseys prospective changes.
Loud music outside mosque sparks tension in Sambhajinagar; situation under control: Cops

Violent clashes between two groups shattered the Ramzan peace on the eve of Ram Navami in the minority-dominated Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly, Aurangaad) city, here on Wednesday-Thursday night, officials said.

The clashes broke out around midnight on Wednesday in the Kiradpura area with some people from different communities shouting slogans followed by stone pelting at each other.

Soon, it turned more violent with around 20 vehicles, including some belonging to police, in the vicinity allegedly being set ablaze by the rioters. Police teams were rushed there to combat the situation but even they were targeted by the stone pelters, and later a SRPF team was also deployed there.

At one point, the police resorted to mild caning and bursting teargas shells to control the rioters as additional forces rushed there.

Finally, the situation was brought under control early on Thursday morning, even as Deputy Chief Minister and home minister Devendra Fadnavis appealed for restraint.

There are no reports of any casualties in the incident that has left the minority-dominated city worried in the middle of the Holy Ramadan month of fasting. The trigger for the sudden violence is allegedly due to some miscreants playing loud music outside a mosque in Kiradpura, though officials have not commented on it so far.

Shiv Sena (UBT)s Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve condemned the clashes and blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen for the disturbances.

Condemning the developments, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut asked whether these are the riots that are being feared and said that there is no home department in the state.

Sena (UBT) strongman from the city Chandrakant Khaire said Fadnavis is the masterminda of the arson-rioting that rocked the world-famous tourist destination of Ajanta-Ellora Cave temples.

On the other hand, the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP accused the Sena (UBT) of trying to play politics over last nights rioting. IANS

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Procession in Delhi, police order defied

A procession marking the occasion of Ram Navami is being taken out in Delhis Jahangirpuri area on Thursday defying a police order

AIMIM leader booked

The Lucknow police have registered a case against AIMIM leader Uzma Parveen for offering namaz at the Metro station in Hussainganj.

NSA for burning Ramcharitmanas

Three more people have been booked under the National Security Act (NSA) for tearing and burning pages of the Ramcharitmanas, the epic composed by Tulsidas, in January this year. IANS
A legislator of the ruling BJP in Tripura, Jadab Lal Debnath was caught on camera watching obscene video on his mobile phone during the just concluded Assembly session.

BJP Tripura state President Rajib Bhattacharya told IANS that the party would soon issue a notice to him and seek clarification.

A video of Nath watching a video while the session was on has gone viral on social media leading to a sharp criticism and demanding action against the lawmaker. Netizens termed the act as shameful. According to the reported viral video, the MLA was watching some obscene content on his mobile phone. IANS
Construction has begun on The Last Picture House, a combined movie theater, gathering space and gallery developed by "A Quiet Place" writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and located in downtown Davenport.

The Quad-Cities natives announced the $3.7 million project at 325 E. 2nd St. was fully funded in October and was to open this spring. However, construction schedules have moved the opening date back to this fall.

Once finished, the filmmakers said, The Last Picture House will feature multiple screens, including one in its rooftop space, lounge, cocktail bar and gallery, focused on the history of film.
Voters learned more about candidates running in the April 4 Rock Island-Milan school board election Saturday, April 1, in a candidates' forum.

Hosted in part by the NAACP of Rock Island County, the forum took place at the Martin Luther King Center in Rock Island.

The event was courtesy of the Rock Island Education Association and Rock Island Education Support Professional Association.

Rock Island-Milan schools have three board vacancies up for election.

Rock Island-Milan school board candidates on the ballot:

Michael Matherly (incumbent, board vice president).

Jason Roessler.

Rock Island-Milan school board write-in candidates:

Joshua Behn.

Nicole Durbi.

Naythan James.

Richard Phillis.

Election day voting will run from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the County Clerk's Office, with same-day registration also available. Those registering on election day must bring two forms of ID showing current name and address.

If elected, candidates will serve their respective school districts for four years. Terms begin 40 days after the election, per the Illinois code.

Photos: Rock Island wrestling defeats United Township, 56-3
Congressman Eric Sorensen (D-Illinois) announced the launch of his first Congressional Art Competition for high school students in Illinois 17th Congressional District the winner will have their artwork displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year.

To compete, art submissions must be made by Friday, April 28, 2023. Applicants must submit a high-resolution photo of their art and a student release form in an email to: IL17.ArtCompetition@mail.house.gov.

One of the responsibilities I look forward to the most is recognizing our many talented neighbors in central and northwestern Illinois, Sorensen said in a news release. I look forward to acknowledging the gifted young artists across our district and honoring one talented students work in the halls of the U.S. Capitol.

The student release form  along with more information about the competition  can be found at https://sorensen.house.gov/services/art-competition.

The annual Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 and has accepted more than 650,000 pieces of art from high school students across the country.

Photos: Gov. Pritzker holds press conference with Eric Sorensen
WHAT'S NEW: Aldermen on Monday voted 6-0 to increase water and sewer rates by 3% per year as of May 1, 2023. In addition, base rates for water and sewer will remain the same, but the charge per thousand gallons will increase. For water, the charge will go from $1.75 per thousand gallons to $2.55 as of May 1. For sewer, the charge per thousand gallons rises from $2 to $5. Average usage is 4,000 gallons per month. The funds will go toward equipment, aging infrastructure, normal expenses and to build a reserve for emergencies. The council is short one alderman because of the death of Tom Feliksiak; Alderman Jessica Cole, 1st Ward, was absent. Alderman Amanda Stablein, 1st Ward, pointed out that no one likes to raise rates but if Colona raised them more often than every seven years, they wouldn't have to be so "drastic." She also noted the 3% raise is what the Illinois Rural Water Association recommended, but it can be lowered in future years.
CHICAGO  A Chicago man was exonerated Wednesday after spending almost three decades behind bars for two 1994 murders  a conviction he and his lawyers claim was based on a false confession he signed after a grueling, abusive 14-hour interrogation by three Chicago detectives.

David Wright, 46, was arrested when he was 17 in August 1994 in the slaying of two friends, 16-year-old Tyrone Rockett and 26-year-old Robert Smith. They had been shot in Smiths backyard after returning from a convenience store. But according to Wrights lawyers, no forensic evidence linked him to his friends killings, and no eyewitness identified him as the perpetrator.

I was 17. I was a kid. I still had a lot to figure out, and I still have a lot to learn, Wright told reporters after his conviction was thrown out by Cook County Judge Carol Howard at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Wednesday. But that dont make me guilty of a crime.

After a decade of litigation, Wright was released from prison in September 2022, weeks after his conviction was vacated and shortly before his 46th birthday. Since his release, Wright has been making up for lost time by spending time with his family and studying to take a GED test. On Wednesday, he said it felt good to be exonerated, but that he still has mixed feelings.

People are going to sit in jail for another 30 years on the credibility of dirty police, he said. Now, I understand that everybodys trying to do their job, I understand everybody is trying to do the best they can. ... But unfortunately, their best is not enough when you got people in prison whose families have died and they cant grieve.

David Owens, a lawyer with the Exoneration Project, said he was assigned Wrights case on his first day as an attorney over a decade ago. It took a long, long way to get here and a lot of litigation, he told reporters. And we faced a lot of obstacles at every juncture.

Lawyers from the Exoneration Project said in a news release that retired Chicago police Detectives James Cassidy, Kenneth Boudreau and John Halloran have a well-documented pattern and practice of generating false confessions out of the innocent, conduct that they say has tainted over 40 cases. The numbers are staggering.

According to the Exoneration Project, at least 25 people have had their convictions overturned and charges dismissed following convictions based on the three detectives conduct; at least 10 people who the officers claimed confessed were acquitted at trial; and in at least eight cases, charges were dropped before trial despite an alleged confession.

Boudreaus alleged history of obtaining dubious confessions was detailed in a 2001 Tribune series. Over the years, he got confessions from defendants with mental disabilities, a man who was in custody at the time of the slaying and from inmates who were later cleared by DNA evidence.

In 2019, a Cook County judge granted Arnold Day a certificate of innocence for his 1994 conviction in a murder and armed robbery case. Day had long alleged that he was coerced into falsely confessing by Chicago detectives under the command of former police Cmdr. Jon Burge, who was convicted in 2011 after allegations that he and his crew tortured criminal suspects for two decades, coercing dozens of confessions.

The Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission reported that, during Days interrogation, Boudreau stood by as another detective choked and threatened to throw Day out the window. Day was released after 26 years in prison when special prosecutors dropped charges against him in December 2018.

In 2017, the commission had found credible evidence that Chicago detectives had tortured five people sentenced to lengthy prison terms into confessing to murder. One of the men was Anthony Jakes, who was 15 when Boudreau and another detective allegedly punched and kicked him and threatened to throw him out a window during a 16-hour interrogation for a 1991 armed robbery and slaying, according to the commissions report.

Without a parent or lawyer present, Jakes signed a four-page confession to the slaying. Jakes was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison and was paroled in 2017. He was present at Wrights hearing Wednesday. Boudreau has repeatedly denied ever beating a single suspect he questioned over his lengthy career.

Testifying in a 2000 federal lawsuit, Cassidy denied that he threatened or coerced an 11-year-old boy into confessing the murder of an 84-year-old woman in 1993. The boy said years later he didnt kill the woman and only confessed under duress.

Cassidys methods of interrogation have come under scrutiny since 1998 when he said two boys, ages 7 and 8, admitted throwing a rock and killing 11-year-old Ryan Harris. Murder charges against the two were later dropped after forensic tests linked the crime to Floyd Durr, a convicted sex offender, who later plead guilty to the murder.

Cook County will conduct an audit of investigations involving Cassidy, Boudreau and others stemming from the wrongful convictions of the Englewood Four  Terrill Swift, Harold Richardson, Michael Saunders and Vincent Thames  who were convicted of raping and killing a South Side woman in 1994 and cleared when DNA evidence linked the crime to a convicted killer.

A Cook County judge found that Halloran and another officer under Burges supervision tortured Marcellous Pittman in 2001, when he was 18, over a shooting that injured a police officer. Like Jakes, Pittman was present at Wednesdays hearing where Wright was exonerated.

According to Exoneration Project lawyers, appellate courts have recognized, again and again, that the mountain of evidence of systemic abuse by these detectives warrants relief for people such as Clayborn Smith and George Anderson  who remain imprisoned.

Smith was convicted in the 1992 murders of his grandfather and great aunt, and in 2011 submitted a claim to the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, saying that his confession was false and the product of physical abuse at the hands of Boudreau, Halloran and another detective.

And just a few weeks ago, an Illinois appeals court ordered new trials for Anderson  who had been convicted of killing an 11-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl in 1991  because they found his claims of being tortured into confessing were credible. Anderson accused Boudreau, Halloran and another detective of beating him into confessing to the slaying of the boy. Both Boudreau and Halloran have taken the stand to deny the allegations against them.

Yet, the state of Illinois continues to stand behind these officers, the Exoneration Project news release said. The state could have confessed error in these cases long ago, but they drag on, causing further harm to those wrongfully convicted, the families of crime victims, and the taxpayers of Cook County.

This is why were not excited, Owens, Wrights attorney, said. Were not jumping up and down, having a party, because systemic change is impossible until they admit what happened.

Exoneration Project lawyers have pointed out that the justice system has been undoing some of the harm caused by alleged misconduct of Chicago police, such as in the case of disgraced former Sgt. Ronald Watts and former Detective Reynaldo Guevara.

In an unprecedented move in August, judges overturned seven murder convictions in a single day  all tainted by Guevaras alleged misconduct, which reportedly included manipulating witnesses and fabricating evidence. Similarly, in October, a judge threw out convictions of eight people with cases connected to Watts.

But its still not enough, lawyers from the Exoneration Project say.

Meanwhile, the state stands behind the conduct of white detectives whose misconduct was arguably more pervasive, the Exoneration Project news release said.

Family of Robert Smith, one of the 1994 murder victims, was present in the courtroom Wednesday. Sabrina Morgan, his sister, drove from Wisconsin with her mother and another sister to attend the hearing. She said her mother had only been notified of the possible dismissal of charges Sunday night.

They have every right to wonder what happened. Whos the person who did this? That person is still out there, Owens said. Thats another trauma from the system, is that those families, their grief is incomplete.

Friday marked the 29th anniversary of the double murder, Morgan said, which meant that a lot of feelings have come flooding back for her family.

Theres no winners, Morgan said. Now what? (Wright) was sentenced to life in prison. Be that as it may, theres no one being punished, no one serving time for my brothers and Tyrones deaths.

As for whats in store for the three retired detectives, Owens said its hard to tell what will happen.

Political winds have to change for them to be charged. And thats essentially what it is: Is there political will for cleaning house when it comes to corrupt officers, or are you gonna be held hostage by the FOP ( Fraternal Order of Police)? Thats a question for somebody else, he said.

Photos: Pritzker sworn in for second term
SPRINGFIELD  Three former Illinois prison guards will spend years behind bars for fatally punching, kicking and stomping a 65-year-old inmate after dragging him out of sight of security cameras.

Larry Earvin was just four months from the end of his six-year sentence for theft when he disobeyed an order to return to his cell in 2018. Handcuffed, the mentally ill Black man suffered 15 broken ribs and abdominal injuries so severe a portion of his bowel was surgically removed. He died a month later.

A judge this month handed down 20-year sentences for two of the ex-guards  Officer Alex Banta and Lt. Todd Sheffler  after prosecutors had sought life in prison. Sgt. Willie Hedden, who pleaded guilty and cooperated in the investigation, got six years instead of the 10 prosecutors requested.

The convictions send an important message to state penal institutions, said lead prosecutor Gregory Harris, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of Illinois, and assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Bass.

They spoke with The Associated Press recently to discuss the government's reasoning behind key decisions in the case.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What's your reaction to the outcome?

HARRIS: It's one of our most serious cases that we've handled in a number of years and it's unfortunate, the outcome of Larry Earvin dying, but we had our best prosecutors involved and the FBI was superb in the investigation.

Q: This office has prosecuted state government corruption but this case had added complexities. Are there more cases out there like this that you'd like to prosecute were it not for those difficulties?

HARRIS: I'm not sure that there's more of it out there. It's difficult because it's against law enforcement officials. In terms of dealing with correctional officials, it's within an institution so you don't have that spotlight by the public of what's going on within the institution.

Q: Why seek life sentences for Banta and Sheffler? Both expressed remorse at their sentencing and had significant community support.

BASS: The offense was so serious because it first involved a homicide, which was second-degree murder. It involved correctional officers acting under color of law, a victim that was restrained and vulnerable and it also involved obstruction of justice. (Each of those factors is tied to a score on a federal sentencing scale that tops out at 43 with an advisory life sentence.) Their offense level was 50.

HARRIS: They're off the charts, you might say.

Q: Mr. Bass, you said in court that none of the defendants intended to send Mr. Earvin to the hospital, let alone kill him. This wasn't first-degree murder.

BASS: I said in court that short of first-degree murder, this was the most serious offense, they didn't intend to kill. They didn't want him to go to the hospital because that would expose them. But the jury found that they intended to inflict harm on Mr. Earvin and they did so with a depraved indifference to loss of life.

Q: The cases rested largely on the testimony of fellow Corrections officers who witnessed the events, but who lied initially about what they saw to the Illinois State Police, the FBI, or both. Why not prosecute those individuals and work your way up to the main defendants, maybe get to them without Hedden's cooperation and end up with close to a dozen convictions?

BASS: The three officers that participated in not only the beating of Mr. Earvin but the violation of federal law, the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment that caused Mr. Earvin's death were charged and convicted and held accountable.

Q: Given the those officers' testimony, did you need Hedden's cooperation and testimony and subsequently need to offer him a reduced sentence?

BASS: I'll just repeat what Judge Myerscough stated  she found him credible. His testimony was important because he was one of only a few, five or six that were present in segregation and witnessed the assault.

Q: Many times, a cooperating defendant will get a sentence that's a reduction of 20% or 30% from what co-defendants received. You recommended a 50% break for Hedden.

HARRIS: The recommendation fit the circumstances for this particular defendant. I hope we reach that when we make any recommendation, whether it's 20% or 50%. It fit the benefit that the government received from this defendant in this particular case.

Q: What message do you hope the case sends?

BASS: Correctional officers and police officers who violate people's constitutional rights, you're going to be held accountable in the Central District of Illinois. But the further message beyond that to the Department of Corrections is we hope that those blind spots (out of view of surveillance cameras) which enable this type of offense to occur  one of the easiest things to do to prevent future Larry Earvins is to eliminate those blind spots. So we hope that's being done.
Two men were arrested and another man has a warrant for his arrest in connection with the burglary of a Bettendorf home in September that allegedly was organized by the victims brother to steal a number of family heirlooms.

The burglary occurred when the victim was traveling with her children in Germany.

The victim's brother, who police believe was the lead planner in the case, is accused of using his nephew and stepbrother to commit the burglary.

The conspirators even went so far as to track the movements of the victims husband placing a TRACKi Brand GPS tracking device on his vehicle.

The step-nephew, Clinton Shayne Miles, 32, of North Henderson, Illinois, is charged with one count of first-degree theft, a Class C felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 10 years.

Miles also is charged with two counts of third-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony. Each charge is a Class D felony that carries a prison sentence of five years.

Kenneth Hayden, 59, of St. Paul Minnesota, is charged with one count each of first-degree theft, third-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony.

Hayden also is charged with two counts of stalking by using a GPS tracking device. The stalking charge is a serious misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence of up to one year.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Bettendorf Police Officer Matt Poirier, on Oct. 10, 2022, Sarah Hayden, a former reporter for the Moline Dispatch/Argus and Quad-City Times, reported that her home on Rambling Road had been burglarized. She now works for the city of Rock Island.

Most the items taken were part of the victims fathers estate that had been settled in 2019, which resulted in a tumultuous relationship between Hayden and her adult siblings. Also taken were numerous items that belonged to the Sarah Hayden's mother and some personal items.

Electronics and some cash were left alone, however, several coin collections were taken. This led Sarah Hayden to suspect her siblings.

Hayden then reported she had found a TRACKi Brand GPS tracking device in her yard under a vehicle driven by her husband.

The tracker was registered to the cell phone number and email of Kenneth Hayden.

According to Bettendorfs License Plate Reader, Kenneth Haydens 2021 Subaru Ascent with Minnesota plates was located driving toward and away from the area of Sarah Haydens house on the morning of Sept. 23, 2022. Kenneth Haydens cell phone pinged in the area of Sarah Haydens home between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Cell phone records on that date show that Kenneth Hayden texted and called his nephew, Clinton Miles, several times about the progress of the burglary and when to pull up the vehicle, indicating that Miles was in the area at the time of the burglary.

Cell phone records showed that Clinton Miles sent messages to Kenneth Hayden, providing updates about the activity in the neighborhood, indicating that Miles was outside Sarah Haydens home.

At the same time, Clinton Miles was sending text messages to his father, Scott Miles  who is the Haydens' stepbrother  providing updates such as Ken says things are good, and Done and out, van is almost full. These texts indicated that Miles, Kenneth Hayden and Scott Miles conspired to carry out the burglary on Sept. 23, 2022.

On Sept. 30, 2022, Clinton Miles received a Snapchat message from Kenneth Hayden that contained the device ID information for the TRACKi GPS unit that was tracking Sarah Haydens husbands vehicle. That is because Clinton Miles had returned to the house by himself and Kenneth Hayden was tracking Sarah Hayden's husband.

Cell phone records confirmed that Clinton Miles texted his father pictures showing property inside the basement of Sarah Haydens home. Cell phone records also showed ongoing phone calls between Scott Miles and Kenneth Hayden while the burglary was occurring.

Photographs and text messages indicate that Scott Miles and Clinton Miles exchanged pictures and texts with each other in an effort to determine which items should be stolen.

A search warrant was served at Kenneth Haydens home in Minnesota, where police seized numerous items stolen from Sarah Haydens home.

In a post-Miranda interview, police say Kenneth Hayden admitted to placing two GPS units on Sarah Haydens vehicle over the past two years. He also admitted to being in the area of his sisters home at the time of the burglary, which was confirmed through hotel, cell phone and license plate reader records.

During a search of Clinton Miles home in Mercer County, where he lives with his father, officers seized numerous items stolen from Sarah Haydens home.

Clinton Miles admitted to sending packets of slanderous personal information to Sarah Haydens employer after the burglary in an attempt to have her fired from her job. Clinton Miles admitted to mailing the packets of information that had been compiled by Kenneth Hayden.

A search of Kenneth Haydens computer contained the records that had been found in the packets.

Clinton Miles was taken into custody Tuesday and booked into the Scott County Jail on a bond of $22,000, cash or surety. He was released Thursday after posting 10% of that bond through a bonding company.

During a first appearance on the charges held Wednesday in Scott County District Court, Magistrate Eric Syverud scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 7.

Kenneth Hayden turned himself in to Scott County authorities Friday morning. He was released on his own recognizance. He has hired Davenport Attorney Andrea Jaeger to represent him.

During a first appearance Friday in Scott County District Court, Hayden waived his preliminary hearing. Magistrate Catherine Cartee scheduled arraignment for April 27.

A warrant has been issue for the arrest of Scott Miles.

"I am angry and disgusted that people who used to be family burglarized my home several times, including the day my son graduated from high school last year," Sarah Hayden said. "It's sad that they chose greed over family.

"I am grateful for the diligence and hard work done by Detective Matt Poirier and the Bettendorf Police Department. With the assistance of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department, many of my stolen items were recovered with search warrants, and justice is finally being served."
Ex-senior Beijing political advisor stands trial for bribery

Xinhua) 09:25, March 31, 2023

SHIJIAZHUANG, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Yu Luming, former vice chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, stood trial for bribery at the Intermediate People's Court of Zhangjiakou in north China's Hebei Province on Thursday.

Yu was accused of taking undue advantage of his various positions in Beijing between 2001 and 2019 to seek profits for others regarding the handling of land-use rights and contracting of hospital projects, among other matters. In return, Yu accepted money and valuables worth 10.5 million yuan (about 1.52 million U.S. dollars), according to prosecutors.

During the trial, prosecutors presented their evidence. The defendant and his defense counsel cross-examined the evidence.

In his final statement, Yu pleaded guilty and expressed remorse. The sentence will be announced at a later date.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  The United Kingdom (UK) condemns Chinas recent incursions and coercive behavior toward the Philippines, one of the nations ministers said.

In an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines on Thursday, UK Minister for Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the East Asian giant is an important trading partner of the UK but maintained that its behavior in Philippine waters is unacceptable.

Those sorts of behavior are unacceptable," Trevelyan said. "We all follow the rules of the sea, both in terms of freedom of navigation and respecting all other vessels on the sea. That is so important."

We condemn that sort of behavior from absolutely anyone so its very disappointing to hear that Chinese coast guards are behaving in that way she added.

According to Tevelyan, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks foreign and defense policy shows that the UK would want to continue business with China but would also not hesitate to protect and defend its assets when push comes to shove.

Where we see China behaving in coercive ways, in ways that are reducing in the values that we believe in  free trade, free flows of goods and services  those sorts of issues, we will be very firm, the minister said.

Weve brought in, last year, a security investment act where we set out very clearly that the UK will defend and protect its assets, its investments from those who do not wish to play by our rules, Trevelyan added.

This month, Chinese vessels have been seen sailing in Philippine waters, with dozens of suspected maritime militia and coast guard ships spotted in the vicinity of Pag-asa Island, according to local authorities.

WATCH: At least two Chinese Coast Guard vessels spotted near Sabina Shoal

In February, other nations previously expressed support for Manila and called out Beijings recent actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS)  particularly the Chinese Coast Guards (CCG) use of a blinding laser against a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship near Ayungin Shoal.

Early this year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a candid and in-depth discussion in Beijing on the WPS dispute, with both leaders agreeing that differences should be resolved through peaceful means.
Rock Island County States Attorney Dora Villarreal said Thursday that no criminal charges were being filed at this time in connection with a complaint that Silvis Mayor Matt Carter violated Illinois Whistleblower act by allegedly retaliating against a city employee or employees.

Several aldermen have alleged the retaliation occurred after an employee was terminated. Specific allegations have not been released. However, documents that would allegedly support the claim were turned over to the Rock Island County State's Attorney's Office.

Also, during a Feb. 21 meeting, four of seven alderman cast no-confidence votes against Carter.

Villarreal said in a news release that the States Attorneys Office had received complaints and documentation regarding potential retaliation against a whistleblower by a Silvis public official.

These materials were reviewed and forwarded to the Illinois State Police Special Investigations Unit for further inspection, she said. Based upon the information provided and a careful examination by both agencies, at this time there is insufficient evidence to proceed with any criminal charges.

Speaking to the Quad-City Times, Villarreal said there is no criminal element that could be found in the documentation.

I believe the appropriate place for this is in civil court, she said. There are other agencies that are specifically designed to investigate workplace discrimination and other inappropriate workplace behaviors.

In her news release, Villarreal said, Due to the nature and circumstances in this matter, the States Attorneys Office recommends that any complaining party contact the EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and consult with a private attorney for possible civil action.

The States Attorneys Office will continue to accept and review any additional relevant information that may become available in the future, she added.

Villarreal said the burden of proof was much less severe in civil courts than in criminal courts.

According to the Cornell University Law School website, in civil cases, plaintiffs need only prove their case by a preponderance of the evidence, which means the plaintiff merely needs to show that the fact in dispute is more likely than not. In criminal cases, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person is guilty.
Iowa House lawmakers plan to schedule a public hearing next week on a bill that would alter eligibility requirements for low-income Iowans to qualify for food and health care assistance.

The House Appropriations Committee voted Thursday to advance Senate File 494, with three Republicans joining Democrats in voting against it.

Dozens of Iowa-based organizations registered in opposition to the bill  ranging from nurses to hospitals, social workers, and child and disability advocates  saying the measure will result in thousands of Iowans being taken off Medicaid and food assistance programs.

Iowans receiving public assistance benefits would face new "asset tests" and regular checks to determine their eligibility for programs under a bill that passed the Senate last week.

The groups pointed to a projection from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency that predicts the bill will remove thousands of Iowans from the programs because of discrepancies.

Republicans said requiring Iowans who were receiving public assistance benefits to undergo more rigorous eligibility verification reviews would bolster program efficiency, prevent fraud and weed out abuse, and eventually save the state more than $8 million annually.

Democrats, however, argue the projected savings comes at the expense of $42 million in decreased federal funding that cannot be reallocated to other programs  meaning Iowans would continue to pay federal taxes but no longer see the benefit of those tax dollars returning to the state to benefit Iowa families in need of assistance.

Iowa food banks and hunger assistance programs have said Iowans already have difficulties accessing government food assistance, with SNAP participation at a 14-year low, while food banks are reporting record-high numbers of Iowans seeking help.

At the same time, federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) error and fraud rates are down, while benefit recovery rates are up, said Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo.

Lawmakers did not advance a House version of the bill, which also would require able-bodied adults without dependents to participate in employment and training to receive SNAP benefits.

It also would direct the state to seek federal permission to enact work and community engagement requirements for some Medicaid recipients.

Secretary of State mails notices to "inactive" voters

Iowa voters may soon, if theyve not already, receive notices in the mail that theyve been marked as inactive.

Registered voters who did not participate in the 2022 general election have been made inactive and will receive a notice in the mail to confirm their place of residence. Those who do not respond will remain listed as inactive, according to the Iowa Secretary of States Office.

Registered voters made inactive through the list maintenance process can return themselves to active status by requesting an absentee ballot, voting in an election, submitting a new registration or updating their voter registration before the end of the 2026 general election cycle.

The Iowa Secretary of States Office conducts voter list maintenance as required by state and federal law.

This mailing is just one part of the process to ensure Iowas voter rolls remain up-to-date and as accurate as possible, Secretary of State Paul Pate said. Its a crucial component to ensure clean, accurate and fair elections across the state.

Pates office did not immediately respond to a message Thursday inquiring as to how many Iowa voters were moved to inactive.

Iowans who receive the mailing should check the appropriate box, sign their name and return the postcard in the mail. Postage is prepaid.

If the voter no longer lives at the address, the current resident may discard the mailing.

To check your voter registration status, visit VoterReady.Iowa.gov.

Public lands bill halted

Legislation that would have required the state to prioritize maintaining current state-owned lands over new acquisitions failed to advance out of a House committee and thus is dead for the 2023 session.

The Senate passed Senate File 516 with only Republican support. The bill advanced out of a House subcommittee on Wednesday, but it was removed from the Houses state government committee agenda on Thursday.

Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, said there were concerns about the bill among Republicans on the committee. Harris said his hope was that lawmakers would explore the issue after the conclusion of the 2023 session and consider new legislation on the topic next year.

Under the bill that failed to advance, the DNR would have been required to prepare a long-term plan that would prioritize the maintenance and protection of significant open space property throughout the state. The department would also be required to establish criteria for acquiring new lands but would be required to first consider and prioritize available partnership programs with private landowners as an alternative to acquiring new property.

Supporters of the bill said there was already too much publicly owned land in Iowa, and some farmers say they are forced to compete for land purchases with the government or organizations that purchase land and then sell it to the government.

Critics of the bill said it might have stifled the state from acquiring new lands for recreation and conservation.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting and open house on Thursday, April 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to provide information on a proposed reconstruction project on Interstate 90 from exit 61 to West Gate Road, including a section of Highway 14/16.

Representatives from DOT and FHU Engineering will be available to answer questions, discuss the project and take community input. There will be information on the acquisition of right-of-way and relocation assistance. A short presentation is planned for 6 p.m. Area residents, daily commuters and business owners are encouraged to attend and share their thoughts.

Written comments can also be submitted on the project website, i90exit63.com/events, until Monday, April 24.

The public meeting and open house will be held at the Box Elder City Hall, 420 Villa Drive. More information is available on the project website.
Louis Rancour, a sophomore from Wall High School, took home the top honors at this years High Plains Regional Science and Engineering Fair at South Dakota Mines on March 21. His project, Stealthy Shapes, won the chance to compete in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas, Texas from May 14 to 19.

When they announced the final, first place overall, I was shocked, Louis said. His experiment used equipment in his familys own military museum, which is located near Wasta, to test the reflectivity of a variety of aircraft shapes to better understand and demonstrate stealth technology.

Louis is following in his fathers footsteps. In 1986, Tom Rancour won the same regional science fair at South Dakota Mines when he was a high school sophomore. Toms first place project, Solar Cell Efficiency Enhancement Using a Fresnel Lens, also won first place overall. Tom attended the international science fair that was held in Dallas, Texas.

It's a little like Groundhog Day, but he is in my place repeating the same steps, Tom said.

I am looking forward to having some of the same experiences my dad did down in Dallas at the international fair, Louis said.

Tom went on to earn a degree in civil engineering in 1994 from South Dakota Mines, then earned a masters degree in civil engineering at Mines in 1995. Today, he works as a forensic engineer examining the causes of various structural collapses, often in grain bins. Tom said the experience at the international fair in high school was an important part of his overall career in engineering.

Traveling to Dallas as a high school kid exposed me to people from other parts of the world and, most importantly, ideas from all around the world and people who have ways of thinking different from our own, Tom said. Louis was in the engineering category just like I was back then, and Im so pleased he will get to see this event.

This year, Wall High School did not hold its own science fair and did not send any students to the regional fair at Mines, so Tom entered Louis on his own.

I registered as our own school so we could attend this fair, Tom said. Louis was working on this project for over a year, but he was unable to attend previous fairs due to the pandemic. I told him, do not worry about winning an award. Just concentrate on thoroughly knowing your project and be able to clearly explain it to anyone in simple and technical terms. That is how a judge will recognize the project is the student's own work.

Tom encouraged his son to enjoy the experience of attending the science fair. He said science fairs are an important way to inspire future generations of scientists and engineers.

The science fair teaches you how to talk and communicate about your project. This will help you in the future with professional and public speaking, Louis said.

Like his father, Louis plans to attend South Dakota Mines, where he wants to study mechanical engineering.

Engineering and science drive our economy. Everything in our modern lives comes from these disciplines, Louis said.

Im very glad to hear that Louis is considering mechanical engineering at Mines. We now have an Aerospace Engineering minor in that department. We wish him the best at the international fair," said Tom Durkin, head judge of the NASA South Dakota Space Grant Consortium at Mines.

Louis did a tremendous job on his science fair project which included a lot of experimentation and testing, and he presented the results so well, both verbally and graphically. What impressed our final selection team so much was his thorough understanding of the subject and the science behind it, as well as making sure that he really understood our questions before answering, Durkin said.
Former Rapid City Fire Chief Rod Seals, who had a 25-year career at the department, died at age 52 on Wednesday, the RCFD announced Thursday.

Seals began work at the RCFD in June 1995 and retired in June 2020. He held numerous positions, including division chief of fire operations. In November 2015, he was named deputy fire chief and took on interim fire chief duties until his official appointment as the department's 18th fire chief in 2018.

"Chief Seals was a friend and mentor as well as a prominent leader during his time with the department," the RCFD said in a social media post Thursday. "His passion and caring attitude is what will be remembered by his RCFD family and throughout this community. We have lost a valued member of the department who meant so much to so many. Chief Seals will be greatly missed."

The current fire chief, Jason Culberson, said, "It is a sad day in our department. Rod was a great man, a great fire chief, and a great friend. He will be sorely missed."

Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender also released a statement on Thursday expressing his sadness and offering his condolences to Seals' family. He called the loss a "shock to our community," and said that Seals had "a genuine love and pride for Rapid City."

"Every day of his career was spent with the safety and protection of our citizens as his top priority. He served with dedication, commitment and honor, bringing an infectious smile and friendly personality to his duties that endeared him to his colleagues and citizens alike," Allender said. "What a great loss to all who knew Rod. My family and I extend our heartfelt condolences to Rods wife Jennifer and their children Elyse and Carter.

The Rapid City Police Department also offered their sympathies to the Seals family and "our brothers and sisters of the Rapid City Fire Department as they navigate this tremendous loss to our community."

Rapid City Police Chief Don Hedrick said, "We will miss you, Chief Seals, and appreciate everything you did for our community. Our heart goes out to Rod's family and friends."

The cause of Seals' death has not been made public.
A homeless man, hotel staff and law enforcement officers are the alleged victims of four separate knife incidents Thursday in Pennington County.

No one was injured, but the accused appeared in court Friday on criminal complaints alleging aggravated assault for putting the alleged victims in fear of their lives.

Marcus McBride, 29, of Rapid City, is accused of threatening a woman with a knife at her home at about 7:25 a.m. Thursday and then making threatening statements to other law enforcement when they arrived at the scene and took him to jail.

According to the RCPD, a witness called from Berniece Street in Rapid City to report a man threatening someone with a knife. When officers arrived and were talking to the witness, McBride came out of a nearby residence. The witness identified him as the man with the knife and officers arrested him.

McBride appeared before Magistrate Judge Todd Hyronimus via video conference from the Pennington County Jail on a criminal complaint for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and threatening a law enforcement officer. He pleaded not guilty.

Deputy Pennington County State's Attorney Braedon Houdek said the woman was arriving home from a shift working at the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety when McBride approached her.

When the court heard bond arguments, Elizabeth Regalado with the public defender's office noted McBride does not have money to post bail, and he's worked at a foundation repair business for five months, which is a sign of stability. She also said he would be willing to wear an ankle monitor.

Hyronimus set McBride's bail at $2,000 cash only, the amount the state requested.

Eden Whirlwind, 24, of Rapid City, is accused of threatening two staff members with a knife just before 10 a.m. Thursday morning in the lobby of a hotel on North Lacrosse Street in Rapid City.

When the Rapid City Police Department arrived, Whirlwind had run to a second-floor hotel room. When officers knocked, no one opened the door.

Officers went outside and found Whirlwind in the parking lot with a knife in her pocket after a guest told them they saw a woman jump from a second-story window, according to RCPD.

Whirlwind appeared in court from the jail through video conference Friday morning sitting in a wheelchair. A criminal complaint charges her with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of possession of methamphetamine.

She entered not guilty pleas. When the court heard arguments regarding bail, Regalado said Whirlwind is unemployed, has no money for bond, and would be open to wearing an ankle monitor. Hyronimus set Whirlwind's bail at $5,000 cash only, the amount the state requested.

According to RCPD, they found Whirlwind's purse, methamphetamine and associated paraphernalia in the hotel room she ran into before jumping from the window.

Police also arrested the two men who were reportedly in the room, 25-year-old Damon Andrews and 35-year-old Jeremy Goodshot, both of Rapid City, for alleged possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, accessory to a crime and parole violations.

Marcus Ten Fingers, 27, of Rapid City, is accused of pulling a knife on a homeless person for "apparently no reason," according to Houdek.

According to RCPD, a passerby called police around 12:45 p.m. Thursday saying they saw a man threaten someone with a knife in the Haines Avenue and Interstate 90 area. When they got the call, police determined the suspect for a theft on Haines Avenue matched the suspect wanted for the knife incident.

By the time they made the connection, officers had already arrested Ten Fingers in the 300 block of Knollwood Drive, according to RCPD. There is no court file regarding theft currently filed against him.

Ten Fingers appeared in court via video conference from the jail on a criminal complaint alleging aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

During bond arguments, Regalado said Ten Fingers has lived in Rapid City his whole life and has two children for which he's the primary caregiver.

Hyronimus set Ten Fingers' bail at $5,000 cash for the aggravated assault charge, the amount the state requested.

Easton Mercy, 31, of Rapid City, is accused of threatening two officers with a knife Thursday after they responded to a report of him crawling out of a vacant trailer.

Mercy is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of second-degree burglary. Houdek, referencing law enforcement reports in court Friday morning, said Mercy pulled a knife on two officers, threatened them with it and tried to get away.

He was ultimately arrested but put himself and law enforcement in a dangerous situation, Houdek said.

Hyronimus set Mercys bail at $5,000 cash only, the amount the state requested. Regalado made no comments regarding Mercy's bond. She said he has not spoken to the public defender's office.

When the judge asked Mercy if he wanted to apply for a lawyer, he opted to remain silent.

Aggravated assault is a class 3 felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine. Aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer is a class two felony with a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and up to a $50,000 fine.
UPDATE (8:43 a.m.): South Dakota Highway Patrol advises northbound lanes have reopened.

Part of South Dakota Highway 79 is blocked due to winter weather Friday morning.

According to South Dakota Highway Patrol, northbound lanes are blocked right at East French Creek Road between Hot Springs and Hermosa. Passenger cars are getting around on shoulder, but large vehicles are stopped in the right lane until tows can clear the area.

Highway 79 from Hermosa to Hot Springs is under a no travel advisory this morning.

Winter weather continues to push across South Dakota. For more forecast information, visit the National Weather Service in Rapid City at weather.gov/unr.

A continually-updated list of school closings is available by clicking here: SCHOOL CLOSINGS.
Winter weather continues its assault on Western South Dakota Friday, disrupting government and business operations, closing schools and initiating no travel advisories.

Wyoming Dept. of Transportation is advising no unnecessary travel on Interstate 90 between Sheridan and Buffalo.

In Rapid City, the Canyon Lake Activity Center, Minneluzahan Senior Center, Journey Museum, Rapid City Club for Boys and Rural America Initiatives are closed. Meals on Wheels Rapid City is closed.

Rapid City's Easter egg hunt planned for Saturday, April 1 has been cancelled. Officials advise it may be rescheduled. The Custer Chamber Easter egg hunt today has been rescheduled to next Friday, April 7.

Rapid Transit is operating, however, not all routes are accessible due to road conditions. Please call (605) 394-6631 ext. 0 to reach the dispatch office with questions.

Ellsworth Air Force Base is mission-essential only. The CDC, youth center, commissary and exchange are closed.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is closed. The Custer State Park Visitor's Center is closed, with limited winter maintenance on the park's interior roads. Jewel Cave National Monument and Badlands National Park are both closed. The visitor's center and all cave tours at Wind Cave National Park are closed.

As of 10:30 a.m., DoorDash has suspended operations in Rapid City, Brookings, Aberdeen, Watertown, Pierre and Huron. Operations are expected to resume at 10 a.m. local time Saturday.

State government offices in the following counties are closed: Brown, Buffalo, Campbell, Clark, Codington, Corson, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Hamlin, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, Jones, Lyman, Marshall, McPherson, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Mellette, Todd, and Tripp, and Walworth Counties.

Seventh Circuit Court in Fall River and Oglala Lakota County is cancelled.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe granted administrative leave all day. OST Dept. of Public Safety issued a "travel with caution" advisory. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe is on administrative leave all day. Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe granted administrative leave for all out-of-town employees.

Make sure you have a way to receive updates on the forecast, watches and warnings. The National Weather Service in Rapid City provides regular updates on its website (weather.gov/unr), Facebook page (NWS Rapid City) and Twitter (@NWSRapidCity). The NOAA Weather Radio livestream is available online at weatherusa.net/radio. Road conditions are available by calling 5-1-1 or visiting sd511.org.

The NWS advises travel in blizzard areas be restricted to emergencies only. Travelers should carry a winter survival kit; anyone getting stranded should remain in their vehicle.

Many schools around the area are delayed or closed. For a list of school closings, click here.

Another chance for substantial winter weather is expected to move in early next week; updates and forecast information will be provided as it becomes available.

All closure and delay information is accurate as of the time of writing. Updates will be provided.
The Bitterroot Community Job Fair with free admission, no registration and over 70 businesses ready to hire, is set for Tuesday, April 11, and with Montana unemployment rates at record lows it couldn't come soon enough for local businesses.

Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce Director Jodi Wright Mitchell said she hopes job seekers come ready to be interviewed.

These are reputable businesses and we need to get job seekers there, she said. We have J&J Excavating, Quality Inn, both labs, Evans Ace Hardware, Bitterroot Disposal, Montana Highway Patrol, Ravalli County offices, Western Ag Research Center, Sysco Montana, Triple Creek Ranch, Bitterroot Health, Ravalli Electric Co-Op and the list goes on.

Mitchell said all of the employers at the job fair are ready to hire immediately.

They also have job openings for the summer, she said. These businesses are looking for employees now. They are motivated and will do on-the-spot interviews. Job seekers need to dress for success. They need to walk in with their resumes and dressed like theyre going to get an interview, because they are.

She said jobs range from intern opportunities, entry level positions to skilled positions.

There is something for everyone, for all ages and all skill levels, Mitchell said. Stevensville High School is bringing a bus of kids after school  how great for them to meet employers and experience interviewing.

The Bitterroot Community Job Fair is on Tuesday, April 11, from 4 to 7 p.m., with early veteran admission at 3 p.m. at the Farmers State Bank event center at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds in Hamilton.

Workforce Consultant DeLynn Gardner is working with Mitchell to organize the event.

My focus is Ravalli County and this will be in Hamilton, but it is presented by the Department of Labor and Job Service in conjunction with the Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce, Gardner said. We are hopeful that people coming to the job fair are actively looking for work.

Gardner said the event will be done community style and will include information about helpful local services.

Well have some educational and community service components, she said. I think well have over 80 booths there and maybe 11 of those will be community resources/educational pieces. Well have some military recruiters there and that is also a career path.

Gardner said the job fair is needed even though the unemployment rate is low.

Part of why this was pursued is because we have so many employers saying we cant find people, she said. I worked at the Hamilton Job Center years ago and we used to have a job fair every year. We havent done one in this area in a while. We just thought this option would help local employers and local job seekers.

Gardner emphasized that job seekers need to bring their resumes and be dressed for an interview.

We do have tables employers will sit at and talk with job seekers as they go through, she said, but well have an area set up with a couple of tables and partitions for a private interview area. Weve had wonderful responses by employers. The number is starting to get up there.

The deadline for businesses to secure a booth is Thursday, April 6.

The Bitterroot Community Job Fair is sponsored by Bitterroot Health, GSK and Accelerate Montana.

Mitchell said the event isnt a money maker.

It truly is a community event, she said. It is to better the community. We need to help find employees. Were not sure how many people will show up but weve got to give it a shot.

With our sponsors and the county donating the event center, it essentially allows everyone else to be free. Businesses dont pay for a booth and jobseekers dont pay admission, Gardner said. We have a buy in by a lot of people, donations and volunteers. Weve put in a lot of work, got the information out everywhere and Its going to be a great opportunity.

For more information contact Workforce Consultant DeLynn Gardner at 406-560-1689 or Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce Director Jodi Wright Mitchell at 406-363-2400.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31)  The Office of the President has clarified that the half-day work suspension on April 5 only applies to the executive department.

In line with the earlier announcement, Malacanang on Friday said work in the executive department will be suspended from 12 noon onwards on April 5.

This will give its employees ample time to travel to and from the different regions of the country for the long weekend holidays, Malacanang added.

However, agencies providing health services, preparedness for response to disasters and calamities and other vital services "shall continue with their operations and render the necessary services," the memorandum dated Friday read.

For private companies and offices, the suspension of work is up to the discretion of their employers, Malacanang added.

On March 14, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared April 6 and 7 as regular holidays in observance of Holy Week.

April 10 was also declared a regular holiday to mark Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor), which was usually commemorated on April 9.
Cassens Fine Art will present "True to Life," a solo art exhibition by wildlife artist Bailey Burton, from April 6 to May 4.

Cassens Fine Art owner Michelle Cassens said she is enthusiastic for the exhibition.

"We are incredibly excited to welcome the talented Bailey Burton and her captivating solo show, 'True to Life, Cassens said. Her ability to capture the essence and emotion of wildlife through her realistic oil paintings is truly astounding. Burton's work goes beyond mere visual representation, exploring the soul and character of each animal.

Cassens said Burtons meticulously detailed and soulful portraits result from dedication and countless hours of work.

"Bailey's work is a testament to her love for nature and her passion for capturing the spirit of Montana's wildlife, she said. The depth and realism in her paintings are a breathtaking experience, and we are honored to showcase her work at our gallery."

Burton said the Bitterroot Valley was the first place she visited in Montana and the reason she and her husband moved to the state. They now lives in Great Falls.

My husband is a game warden and brought us to Montana, she said. That sparked this whole journey for me.

Burton said the COVID pandemic and Western Art Week were key to her career as an artist. She painted, drew and made ceramics in high school, then went to college. She finished her degree in wildlife biology to be a fisheries biologist in 2020. Job hunting with Fish, Wildlife & Parks was going slowly when she picked up her paintbrush again.

Art was something I had always loved and so I decided to start painting again, Burton said. We went to Western Art Week and it opened my eyes that it is a real thing to be an artist in the West. I just decided to go for it and painted a bighorn ram. It was something I hadnt seen before.

She started selling prints when a photographer fan got her in an art show.

I started painting again two years ago in March, Burton said. It has been a ride. Cassens has been my first gallery. Michelle is such a great business partner and has become a friend.

Cassens Fine Art will host an artist reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 7, allowing the community an opportunity to meet Bailey Burton and discuss her art and inspirations. The reception will have food from Seppi's European Market & Deli and wine from Jessi's Wine & Goods.

"We believe that Bailey's works will leave a lasting impression on everyone who views her 'True to Life' exhibit, Cassens said. Her unique approach to capturing the essence of wildlife through oil painting is a rare and beautiful experience that we are thrilled to share with our community. Join us in celebrating the enchanting work of Bailey Burton and immerse yourself in the mesmerizing world of True to Life.

Collectors interested in purchasing Bailey Burton's artwork are encouraged to attend the reception for early sale and first viewing opportunities. The artwork will be available for online sale starting 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 8. https://cassensfineart.com/show/cassens-fine-art-true-to-life. For more information, visit www.cassensfineart.com, or contact michelle@cassensfineart, or call 406-363-4112.
Geneva: Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, expresses concern over the arrest of Evan Geshkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, by the Russian security agency and demands his immediate release as he was only doing his assigned job with the accreditation from the Russian foreign ministry.





The American reporter was detained by the Federal Security Service from Yekaterinburg locality (around 1,800 kilometres east of Moscow). while he was trying to obtain classified information. The FSB alleged that Gershkovich (31) was acting on behalf of the US government to collect information about an enterprise in the Russian military industrial complex.





The 30 March 2023 announcement marks a serious escalation in Kremlin's efforts to silence independent media, a crackdown that gained momentum following Russia's military operation in Ukraine last year, said PEC president Blaise Lempen, adding that Geshkovich is the first American reporter put behind bars on spying accusations since the Cold War.




Family members of Irvo Otieno and their lawyers on Tuesday called for mental health reform and steps to be taken to avoid a repeat of what happened to the 28-year-old Henrico County man who died earlier this month in a Central State Hospital intake room.

A mental health crisis should not be a death sentence, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said during a press conference the First Baptist Church of South Richmond. We dont want anybody else in America whose family is dealing with a mental health crisis to be killed by the very people who are supposed to help them.

The comments came after the release of a video from the mental hospital showing Otieno being pinned to the floor prior to his death on March 6. A Dinwiddie County grand jury on Tuesday indicted seven Henrico County deputies and three hospital workers on second-degree murder charges in a case that has garnered national attention.

Crump, who also represented the family of George Floyd, has said Otienos treatment has close parallels with Floyds killing in police custody in Minneapolis in 2020.

It is not lost on anybody who saw that video today, the fact that it was so unnecessary, Crump said Tuesday. Irvo was handcuffed at the wrist, he had leg irons on, he was facedown. Why did they feel it was necessary to put all their weight on him, for some of the officers to put their knee on his neck?

Caleb Kershner, a defense attorney for deputy Randy Boyer, was critical of the video being released and took issue with Dinwiddie County Commonwealths Attorney Ann Baskervill.

Its going to be more difficult to find a jury that has not been tainted or read a particular news story of any sort. So Im disappointed in it, he said earlier Tuesday after the court hearing in Dinwiddie County.

Otienos mother Caroline Ouko on Tuesday called the indicted deputies and hospital employees thugs and monsters.

I was happy to hear that they were indicted, Ouko said. That is just the beginning step.

Attorney Mark Krudys said he was troubled by the individuals who stood by and watched as the officers pushed down on Otieno.

Everybody has an obligation to intervene in that circumstance, to say no, thats not right, Krudys said. But nobody intervened. And then when his body was lifeless, and his pants were dangling on him, they didnt do anything for an appreciable period of time.

Krudys said his team is looking into possible body camera footage from Henrico police regarding a March 3 incident, when Otieno was transported from his Henrico home to Henrico Doctors Hospital.

Ouko said she was excluded in the process of advocating for her son, noting that she made four attempts to see him while he was at Henrico hospital.

In mental health and mental distress, your child needs you, Ouko said. Seeing me could have made have made a big difference.

Instead, Otieno was taken to the Henrico Jail and later to Central State. Krudys said the deputies were not wearing body cameras at either location.

My thoughts on the untimely death of Irvo Otieno: pic.twitter.com/4mGiKiLq7e  Mayor Levar M. Stoney (@LevarStoney) March 21, 2023

Henrico NAACP Vice President Monica Hutchinson during the Tuesday press conference said: Jail is not, nor has it ever been, the best place for those having a mental health crisis. We must eliminate the use of jail as a response to a mental health crisis and mental illness, and instead work to improve access to community-based crisis centers.

Otienos brother Leon Ochieng urged Gov. Glenn Youngkin to make mental health a priority, pointing out Youngkins recent comments calling Otienos death heart-wrenching.

If you really do empathize and feel what we feel, do something, Ochieng said. Let your state be an example  all we need to do is make this an agenda to put pressure on lawmakers to invite our communities to have families who are ambassadors for mental health.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney in a social media post on Tuesday said: "Irvo Otieno should be alive today. His life was taken in a place where he should have been safe. We need accountability and we need more mental health resources."
Former President Donald Trump will be formally arrested and arraigned next Tuesday in his hush-money case, court officials said  an announcement promising the historic, shocking scene of a former U.S. commander in chief forced to stand before a judge.

As the Manhattan court confirmed the timing on Friday, the streets outside had calmed from earlier in the week. There were no large-scale demonstrations for or against Trump, though tourists stopped to take selfies and throngs of reporters and police officers remained assembled.

When Trump turns himself in, he will be booked mostly like anyone else facing charges, mugshot and all. But he is not expected to be put in handcuffs, he will have Secret Service protection, and he will almost certainly be released that day.

In the meantime, his legal team prepared Trumps defense while the prosecutor defended the grand jury investigation that propelled the matter toward trial. Congressional Republicans, as well as Trump himself, contend the whole matter is politically motivated.

We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote to three Republican House committee chairs Friday in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The case is plunging the U.S. into uncharted legal waters, with Trump the first former president ever to face an indictment. And the political implications could be huge ahead of next years presidential election. Trump is already in the midst of running for president a third time and has said the case against him could hurt that effort  though his campaign is already raising money by citing it.

Top Republicans also have begun closing ranks around him. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to use congressional oversight to probe Bragg. Reps. James Comer, Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil, the committee chairs whom Bragg addressed in his letter, have asked the district attorneys office for grand jury testimony, documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department.

During an event Friday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said hes concerned about the process.

This issue was already decided at the federal level; now the state is picking up when it has already been decided on, he said.

The GOP governor on Thursday night posted on social media that arresting a presidential candidate on a manufactured basis should not happen in America.

On Friday, Youngkin said: It is eroding further faith in the system. This is a prosecutor who told everyone he was going to do this if he was elected.

Youngkin, who is seen as a possible presidential candidate, said Friday that he is remaining focused on Virginia and key issues.

No rulebook for booking the defendant

Trumps indictment came after a grand jury probe into hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign to squelch allegations of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

The investigation dug into six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both claim to have had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics; he denies having sexual liaisons with either woman.

Trump also has denied any wrongdoing involving payments and has denounced the investigation as a scam, a persecution, an injustice. He argues that it is specifically designed to damage his 2024 presidential run. Within hours of the news breaking on Thursday, his campaign was noting the development in fundraising emails.

As far as the actual court case goes, Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said during TV interviews on Friday that he would very aggressively challenge the legal validity of the Manhattan grand jury indictment. Trump himself, on his social media platform, trained his ire on a new target, complaining that the judge expected to handle the case HATES ME.

It is beyond belief that District Attorney Alvin Bragg has indicted a former President and current presidential candidate for pure political gain. Arresting a presidential candidate on a manufactured basis should not happen in America.  Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) March 30, 2023

Since no former president had ever been charged with a crime, theres no rulebook for booking the defendant. Indeed, Trump was asked to surrender Friday, but his lawyers said the Secret Service, which protects him, needed more time to make security preparations, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

For weeks, court officials and representatives from the district attorneys office, the New York Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service have been discussing logistics and planning for a Trump indictment.

He will be fingerprinted, a mug shot will be taken, and investigators will complete arrest paperwork and check to see if he has any outstanding criminal charges or warrants, according to a person who could not discuss details by name and thus spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

All of that activity takes place away from the public.

The former president would then appear before a judge for an afternoon arraignment.

Other legal battles

Even for defendants who turn themselves in, answering criminal charges in New York generally entails at least several hours of detention while being fingerprinted, photographed and going through other procedures.

As for the allegations, as Trump ran for president in 2016, his allies paid two women to bury their accusations. The publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer paid McDougal $150,000 for rights to her story and sat on it, in an arrangement brokered by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

After Cohen himself paid Daniels $130,000, Trumps company reimbursed him, added bonuses and logged the payments as legal expenses.

Federal prosecutors argued  in a 2018 criminal case against Cohen  that the payments equated to illegal aid to Trumps campaign. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation charges, but federal prosecutors did not go after Trump, who was then in the White House. However, some of their court filings obliquely implicated him as someone who knew about the payment arrangements.

The New York indictment came as Trump contends with other investigations that could have grave legal consequences.

In Atlanta, prosecutors are considering whether he committed any crimes when trying to get Georgia officials to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss there to Joe Biden.

At the federal level, a Justice Department-appointed special counsel also is investigating Trumps efforts to unravel the national election results. Additionally, the special counsel is examining how and why Trump held on to a cache of top secret government documents at his Florida club and residence, Mar-a-Lago, and whether the ex-president or his representatives tried to obstruct the probe into those documents.

Times-Dispatch staff writer Dave Ress contributed to this report.

Here's a look at how Trump's predecessors fared: Bill Clinton Ronald Reagan Richard Nixon Ulysses S. Grant Andrew Johnson
Because his ambitions at home and nationally demand it, Gov. Glenn Youngkin  a moth to Donald Trumps flame  is obediently flitting to the former presidents defense, decrying his historic indictment in New York in a hush-money scheme as a political prosecution.

On Twitter shortly after reports of Trumps indictment for his alleged role ahead of the 2016 election in a $130,000 payment to a porn star for her silence on their supposed affair, Youngkin parroted 45, accusing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg  a Democrat who grew up in Harlem, the son of Southside Virginia-born parents  of fabricating a case against Trump for pure political gain.

Arresting a presidential candidate on a manufactured basis should not happen in America, Youngkin said on his personal feed. The lefts continued attempts to weaponize our judicial system erode peoples faith in the American justice system and it needs to stop.

Youngkin, elected in 2021 with Trumps endorsement and depicted as disloyal by the ex-president after the GOPs disappointing performance in the 2022 congressional contests, had no choice but to express fealty to Trump as well as fury over the first-ever criminal indictment of a former president.

Ever mindful of his slender victory for governor in a blue-ish state, Youngkin needs every Republican vote  and then some  for his party to hold in 2023 the House of Delegates and snatch back the Virginia Senate from Democrats. A divided legislature or one fully controlled by Democrats could doom Youngkin to near-irrelevance in the downhill side of his nonrenewable four-year term.

Youngkin gains nothing among Virginia Republicans in gainsaying Trump  and the governor knows it. A poll by Roanoke College released in early March  as speculation over a New York indictment intensified  showed Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida first and second, respectively, among GOP voters here. Youngkin was a distant third at 6%.

And even with a 57% approval rating in the Roanoke College poll, Youngkin has demonstrated little pulling power. He was all in for three congressional candidates in Virginia last year, but only one was victorious, winning in a district anchored by his swingy, adoptive hometown, Virginia Beach. The city then rejected Youngkins pick in a special state Senate election triggered by the congressional contest.

In dutifully standing up for Trump, Youngkin is confirming Trumps continued grip on the Republican base in Virginia  and beyond. It is this conservative hard kernel of the GOP that Youngkin, who steadfastly refuses to rule out running for president in 2024, must woo should he attempt a national candidacy.

Put another way, this is another tortured twist in Youngkins presidential strip tease  never mind that the former financier, whose personal fortune of more than $400 million frees him to self-finance his political adventures, is registering at 1% or less in national polling of Republican primary voters.

He needs to be careful not to look too opportunistic to Trumps base and continue to keep speculation alive without making any moves for now, said Mark Rozell, a longtime analyst of Virginia politics and dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.

There is a path for him, if he dares take it at the right time. Compared to other likely aspirants in the GOP, hes the closest thing to a fresh face unburdened by old baggage.

But other handicappers warn that voters should not be mislead by Youngkin, whose friendly, vest-wearing neighborhood dad schtick sugarcoats a Trumpy, white-grievance agenda that includes hostility to LGBTQ rights, rewriting Virginias painful racial history and representing its highly rated public schools as failing.

Indeed, the national political press  assiduously courted by Youngkin while he keeps more skeptical Virginia reporters at arms length  pimps his presidential prospects as a model of nonthreatening, center-right politics.

Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, isnt buying it. On Twitter, he knocked Youngkins online defense of Trump on Thursday night as inflammatory and outrageous, saying that the governor is neither mild nor moderate. He is Trumpist to the core, Ornstein said.

Youngkin has won plaudits from columnists George Will and David Brooks, both mainstream voices with a rightward lilt. They depict him as a commonsense governor focused on post-coronavirus, kitchen-table issues  education and mental health, for instance  and a worthy option for the presidential nomination should Trump and his principal rival, DeSantis, decimate each other.

The states senior analyst, Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said  with a bow to Shakespeare  that Youngkin is deliberately taking a wait-and-see approach, particularly to Trumps possible demise. The governor will not be Brutus ... will not join in the attack on Caesar, but if the wounds prove fatal, Youngkin will take mere milliseconds to break into a full run for the White House.

Refusing to say anything definitive about 2024 is not without cost for Youngkin, whose frequent out-of-state travels, soirees with megadonors and saccharin, symbiotic relationship with conservative media feed the perception that he is an all-but-declared candidate for the White House.

Election-jittery Republican legislators complain that the Youngkin presidential buzz is an unnecessary distraction, leading voters to view him as more interested in checking boxes for a national campaign than fixing problems at home. Also, what might have been the high command of a presidential candidacy is drifting away, with two of his top strategists from 2021  Jeff Roe and Matt Wolking  aligning with DeSantis.

Trump, too, is enlisting strategists with a Virginia pedigree. Chris LaCivita, who broke in as a field staffer for George Allens win for governor in 1993 and was political director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is one of two veteran operatives running Trumps 2024 campaign.

Notwithstanding its presumably disruptive, albeit initially uncertain impact, the Trump indictment would seem unlikely to fully drain the pool of political talent Youngkin would require for a national candidacy  one that could very well undercut his standing in Virginia. This was the case in 1991-92, when Democratic Gov. Doug Wilder attempted to simultaneously run the state and run for president. It weakened him with the legislature and voters, driving down his approval rating to about 25%.

But Youngkin seems little interested in the lessons of history, perhaps believing that having defied it once  winning Democratic-trending Virginia in 2021  he can do it again in 2024. At this point, that requires Youngkin to keep em guessing by speaking with a forked tongue.

As a former Virginia statehouse reporter, John Harris of Politico wrote this past week of Youngkin, A politician who seems to speak from both sides of the mouth is hardly a rare phenomenon. More uncommon, however, is to find one who does so with cheerful ebullience.

Here's a look at how Trump's predecessors fared: Bill Clinton Ronald Reagan Richard Nixon Ulysses S. Grant Andrew Johnson
Events were held across the U.S. on Friday to build support for transgender rights amid what supporters say is an increasingly hostile climate.

Across the commonwealth and across the country, trans and nonbinary people are simply trying to live their lives, in spite of relentless attacks on their lives and livelihoods. This is wrong, and we must take this year and this moment to be proud, be visible and be joyful in who we are, said Narissa Rahaman, executive director of the group Equality Virginia, in a statement.

Friday marked Transgender Day of Visibility.

At the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier, speakers stood in front of a crowd and told of their struggles with their sexuality at a time when many people across the country refuse to acknowledge them.

Charlie Draugh, 17, a high school senior from Chisago, Minnesota, who attends a boarding school in Vermont, said he was angry that groups are trying to control his life and turn him into a political pawn that he is not.

My life is not your debate, Draugh said. It is not a political issue. I am not hurting anyone, and I am certainly not hurting myself.

The rallies come as Republican lawmakers across the U.S. have pursued hundreds of proposals this year to push back on LGBTQ+ rights, particularly rights for transgender residents, including banning transgender girls from girls sports; keeping transgender people from using restrooms in line with their gender identities; and requiring schools to deadname trans students  requiring they be identified by names they were given at birth.

At least 11 states have now enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah, South Dakota and West Virginia. Federal judges have blocked enforcement of laws in Alabama and Arkansas, and nearly two dozen states are considering bills this year to restrict or ban care.

In North Dakota, the state Senate voted Thursday to override a veto by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum of a bill that would generally prohibit public school teachers and staff from referring to transgender students by pronouns other than those reflecting the gender assigned to them at birth. Its unclear if the North Dakota House will also vote to override the veto.

On Friday, President Joe Biden issued a statement supporting Transgender Day of Visibility. The president said transgender Americans deserve to be safe and supported in every community. He denounced what he called hundreds of hateful and extreme state laws that target transgender kids and their families.

Let me be clear: These attacks are un-American and must end, Bidens statement said. The bullying, discrimination, and political attacks that trans kids face have exacerbated our national mental health crisis.
The commonwealth of Virginia made history in 2004 when it created what then national chairman of the NAACP, Julian Bond, told me became the first civil rights-era reparation in U.S. history.

Nineteen years later, with Democrats and Republicans voting as one, the General Assembly has expanded eligibility for the historic Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program. It can now achieve its original goal:

Descendants of those locked out of Virginia schools in the 1950s and 60s by massive resistance to the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board decision will be eligible to apply. The program for Virginia residents includes, but isnt limited to, funding for career and technical education, two-year degree programs and four-year undergraduate degree programs.

From the moment the idea came to me on the morning of Feb. 18, 2003  I will always believe it God-given  the children and grandchildren of those denied an education were part of the plan I took to former Del. Viola Baskerville, Sen. Benjamin Lambert, now deceased  both Democrats  and then-Gov. Mark R. Warner.

Prince Edward County had been ground zero for the full onslaught of Massive Resistance against school desegregation. The impact was shattering. The entire public school system was shut down by the countys Board of Supervisors and remained closed from 1959 to 1964.

The vast majority of white students transitioned to a newly created private, whites-only academy, assisted by state and local tuition grants. More than 2,000 African American children in the county, meanwhile, would be left without a formal education in their lives. The wounding consequences have been generational.

The General Assembly apologized in 2003, adopting a resolution expressing its profound regret for the closing of schools in Prince Edward and the states role in the eradication of public education there.

(Note: The policy of Massive Resistance  opposed by GOP legislators  was launched in Virginia in the fall of 1958. Democratic Gov. J. Lindsay Almond Jr. ordered nine white schools closed to avoid imminent desegregation: one in Warren County, two in Charlottesville and six in Norfolk. All reopened before the end of February 1959.)

Regrettably, the Virginia attorney generals office ruled that including descendants was unconstitutional because one could not prove that children of what is often called the lost generation had been harmed by what had been done to their parents.

Common sense declared the harm was inescapable, and in 2015, the attorney generals office looked again and ruled that descendants were indeed eligible. Furthermore, changing the definition of eligible student would achieve that goal.

Legislation spearheaded in the House by Del. Kaye Kory, D-Falls Church, and in the Senate by Sens. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond (now serving in Congress), and Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, has done so. Collateral and lineal descendants who reside in Virginia will be eligible. The House vote was 99-0. The Senate tally was 40-0.

I wept after the legislations resounding triumph. Its been a long 20 years, with many twists in the road. This last bend looks straight ahead. Im deeply thankful for all who made this possible.

The scholarship fund was begun with just over $2 million, and there is $989,185 remaining. The program, also open to white people affected by Massive Resistance, appears to have run its course among those who were denied an education. That money will now be available for their children and grandchildren.

I believe additional funding will be necessary  and soon. A one-page Department of Planning and Budget, or DPB, fiscal impact statement accompanying the legislation states that it is not possible to quantify additional eligible students who will qualify for the program; therefore, the fiscal impact is indeterminate.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, or SCHEV, processes payments to schools attended by Brown Scholarship recipients. There have never been more than 38 students in any given year, the DPB statement notes, adding that the change in eligibility could extend eligibility into the thousands. Depending on actual program participation, SCHEV may require additional resources to meet the requirements of this bill.

Legislators would have been aware of this when they rightly committed the commonwealth to open eligibility to descendants.

At the very least, the General Assemblys exemplary vote and Gov. Glenn Youngkins laudable approving signature constitute a moral covenant by the commonwealth to provide necessary funding.

There are other, and deeply compelling, moral grounds to do so.

The state appropriated $369,000 to Prince Edward for public education in 1958. In todays dollars, thats about $3.7 million.

Assuming level funding through 1964, the commonwealth would have appropriated a total of $1.845 million for public education in the county had the schools remained open. Thats the equivalent of approximately $18.45 million today.

That money was never spent for public education in Prince Edward. It remained in the state Treasury. All the while, Prince Edward residents continued paying state taxes, tax dollars that were, in part, used to fund public education everywhere in the commonwealth of Virginia.

Except Prince Edward.

Appropriation of those dollars would fuel the expanded scholarship programs future needs.

Remember, too, that while their own sons and daughters suffered, African Americans in Prince Edward saw their state taxes help send white children to the all-white academy.

The moral ground for funding extends to the halls of Congress as well.

A potent case can also be made for federal funds. The U.S. governments failure to enforce the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment aided and abetted the traumatic events in Prince Edward.

Significantly, the final vote to fund the Brown Scholarship Program in 2004 was also overwhelmingly bipartisan: 94-4 in the House and 36-0 in the Senate. Key supporters included Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore and GOP House Speaker Bill Howell.

Another example has now been set in the former capital of the Confederacy for Americans working to heal the wounds and repair the harm of systemic racial injustice.

In truth, the commonwealth of Virginia has also set another example for itself to consistently follow as well.

Doing so isnt about Democrats or Republicans. Its about each of us gathering the light of our humanity, spreading the wings of our better angels and rising together.

Because the abyss, if we dont, is deep.

From the archives: In 1960, The Richmond 34 were arrested during a sit-in at the Thalhimers lunch counter
Government of Mexico sets aside another 18 plots for Maya Train

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  The Government of Mexico has set aside another 18 plots of land it says it requires for the Maya Train. On Thursday, the federal government made the official publication in the DOF.

In its publication, the Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (Sedatu) announced the expropriation of 18 properties. The properties are located in Solidaridad and Bacalar in the state of Quintana Roo, and in the Municipality of Escarcega, in the state of Campeche.

Of these plots, ten are in Solidaridad, six in Bacalar and two in the municipality of Escarcega, in the neighboring state. The 18 plots of land cover 352,423,963 square meters and are intended to be used for infrastructure for sections 5, 6 and 7.
Morelos mayor says mototaxi drivers need to repair tarnished image

Jose Maria Morelos, Q.R.  Mayor Erik Borges Yam held a meeting with motorcycle taxi drivers from the municipal capital where he endorsed his commitment to work together.

The Director of Transportation, Pepe Luis Flota Hernandez, who participated in the meeting, said that it is important that group leaders change their public image of the union.

He noted that in the face of failures of a few, they have left everyone with a bad name. He added that now, authorities are going to be more strict.

The mayor asked the mototaxi drivers to work together with his government, since he will have everything available to them in the way of support. He says it is important that the drivers offer good, honest service to change their tarnished image.

Borges Yam invited the leaders to coordinate and work in unity with their government, adding that the government works in bureaucratic procedures and has resolved their previous demands in terms of streets and lighting in the circulation routes.

From our part they have all the support they need to carry out their work, but they have to have their documents in order before the corresponding instances.

Now with the mobility law, there are procedures that they must comply with to have everything in order, and in this case, they have all my support. I only ask that we work together, he said.

Borges Yam reported that there are currently 446 motorcycle taxi drivers of which, 75 percent have complied with obtaining the necessary documents as required by the mobility law.
Municipal head meets with angry Chiquila residents to avoid roadblock

Chiquila, Q.R.  Lazaro Cardenas Mayor, Orlando Emir Bellos Tun, agreed to meet with angry Chiquila residents to discuss hot topics that have lead them to threaten a road block.

On Wednesday, Bellos met with the upset residents who have made several claims on ongoing abandonment by his government. Residents say that during his two years as mayor, they are constantly left out of public work projects.

Bellos was accompanied by several members of his government to meet with residents in an attempt to reach various agreements. During talks, the municipal government agreed to the most pressing topic, which was to leave them with a properly functioning ambulance as well as medication for their clinic.

Ignacio Caceres Correa, President of the Chiquila Ejidal Commissariat, agreed to donate a piece of property for a hyperbaric chamber, while Bellos agreed to ensure one is provided.

Other topics of discussion included unaccounted resources from the Environmental Sanitation Law, which Bellos agreed to be allocated to improvements in Chiquila. They also discussed the poor condition of the streets of Chiquila and the lack of traffic agents, among other topics.

Earlier this month, a group from Chiquila made an official request with state congress to apply to separate from Lazaro Cardenas and become their own municipality.
(CNN)  Taiwans relationship with the United States has never been closer, its President Tsai Ing-wen said after arriving in New York City Wednesday, as Beijing warned her visit could lead to serious confrontation between China and the US.

Taiwan faced tremendous challenges, Tsai said from the city, where she is making the first of two planned stopovers in the United States on either side of an official visit to Central America.

We know that we are stronger when we stand together in solidarity with fellow democracies. Taiwan cannot be isolated and we do not take friendship for granted, Tsai said at a banquet with members of the Taiwanese-American community, according to footage from CNNs Taiwan affiliate SET TV.

Tsais visit comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and China and has already sparked sharp condemnation from Beijing  which claims democratic Taiwan as its territory, despite never having controlled it.

Tsais US transit could lead to a serious confrontation in the US-China relationship and have a severe impact on their ties, Chinas charge daffaires Xu Xueyuan told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.

What the US has done seriously undermines Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity, Xu said, adding that the US should bear all consequences.

Tsais travels have been under particular scrutiny following reports that she will meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during one of her unofficial stopovers in the US  a potential event Beijing has vowed to resolutely fight back against should it go ahead.

Taiwan has not confirmed such a meeting nor provided details of Tsais itinerary while in the US.

Beijing launched extensive, days-long military exercises around the island last August, following a visit from then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei.

Pelosi was the highest ranked American official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, and the trip sparked accusations from Beijing that the US was changing the nature of its relationship with Taiwan  a claim US officials have repeatedly refuted.

American stopovers

Tsai said via Facebook Wednesday that her delegation was welcomed by Laura Rosenberger, chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the organization that carries out unofficial US relations with Taiwan. Rosenberger and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy gave remarks at the banquet welcoming Tsai Wednesday evening.

Speaking at the event, Tsai thanked the US government for fulfilling its security commitments to Taiwan, and referenced Congressional support for Taiwans self-defense capabilities as well as the Biden administration arms sales to Taiwan.

The US is bound by law to sell arms to Taiwan for its self-defense, though it ended its formal diplomatic relationship with Taipei in 1979 when it recognized the government in Beijing.

Because of the unofficial relationship the US has with Taiwan, Tsais transit is not characterized as an official visit in order to keep the US within the longstanding One China policy.

Under the One China policy, the US acknowledges Chinas position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially recognized Beijings claim to the island of 23 million.

US officials have sought to downplay her stopovers as nothing unusual and urged Beijing not to use them as an excuse to carry out aggressive or coercive activities aimed at Taiwan.

Tsai had previously transited the US six times while president, according to US officials.

On Wednesday National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stressed that such transits were private and unofficial.

The Peoples Republic of China should not use this transit as a pretext to step up any aggressive activity around the Taiwan Strait. The United States and China have differences when it comes to Taiwan, but we have managed those differences for more than 40 years, Kirby said.

In the weeks leading up Tsais visit, however, Beijing issued multiple condemnations and said they were reaching out to US counterparts regarding reports of a possible meeting with McCarthy, even as such a meeting on American soil could be seen as less provocative than a visit to Taiwan by a top US lawmaker.

Frictions between China and the US over the future of the democratic island have heightened in recent years.

Beijing has vowed to take the island, by force if necessary, and under leader Xi Jinping has ramped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on the democracy, including enticing Taipeis allies to switch their allegiance.

External pressure

Tsais US transit is part of a broader international trip featuring state visits to two of Taiwans diplomatic allies, Guatemala and Belize, before transiting in Los Angeles for her April 7 return to Taiwan.

In remarks before her departure, Tsai said external pressure wouldnt stop Taiwan from moving toward international society.

Guatemala and Belize are part of a handful of nations maintaining diplomatic relations with Taipei.

That number shrunk to 13 over the weekend, when Honduras formally established diplomatic ties with China and severed them with Taiwan.

Beijing does not have diplomatic relations with countries that recognize Taipei.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro will visit China soon to sign auspicious agreements, its foreign ministry said in a Tweet Wednesday, without specifying a date.

This story was first published on CNN.com, Beijing warns of severe impact on US-China relations as Taiwans leader lands in New York"
A veterinary supply company has agreed to pay more than $11 million in fines and forfeitures for illegally shipping prescriptions to customers in Southwest Virginia and beyond.

Midwest Veterinary Supply pleaded guilty earlier this week to introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Abingdon.

The charge involves distributing antibiotics and other drugs to veterinarians, farms, feedlots and other businesses that were not authorized to receive them.

In this case, millions of dollars were obtained from the illegal distribution of veterinary medicine and, just like pharmaceuticals intended for human use, my office will continue to hold accountable those companies and corporations that violate federal law, U.S. Attorney Chris Kavanaugh said in an announcement of the case.

A call to the Lakeville, Minnesota headquarters of Midwest was not returned Friday.

The company shipped prescription drugs from non-pharmacy locations to farmers in Southwest Virginia and to a variety of other customers throughout the United States from 2011 to 2021, according to court records.

As part of a plea agreement, Midwest agreed to forfeit $10 million in proceeds it received from the transactions. Its profits from such shipments were a small percentage of the amount received, federal prosecutors said in court records.

The companys website shows 11 distribution centers across the country.

Midwest will also pay $1 million to the Virginia Department of Health Professions and a fine of $500,000.

The drugs from Midwest were misbranded because they failed to include adequate directions for their use, court records state.

Federal regulations on how the drugs are distributed are intended to protect animals from harm, as well as humans who consume meat from animals sold for slaughter.
A Roanoke County woman has been convicted of federal charges related to a fatal dose of fentanyl she sold in 2021.

Ashley Blankenship, 38, pleaded guilty last week to possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

In the early morning hours of Oct. 19, 2021, a regular drug user, identified in court records only as B.M., was found suffering from an overdose. He later died.

Authorities found 2.8 grams of fentanyl and an uncapped needle at the scene. A search of the victims phone revealed that he had contacted Blankenship by text message and arranged a drug deal in the hours before his death.

Federal agents then conducted several undercover drug purchases from Blankenship, and later searched her Catawba home. A large quantity of methamphetamine and fentanyl, as well as six firearms, were recovered.

While we have seen some progress in the fight against drug overdose deaths, fentanyl and other opioid poisoning-related injuries continue to be an issue in the Western District of Virginia, U.S. Attorney Chris Kavanaugh said Thursday in a news release about the case.

There are multiple tools to fight these issues, and my Office will continue utilizing all of them, including prosecution, support for recovery programs, community outreach, and other results-oriented solutions to these difficult community problems., he said.

According to court records, Blankenship admitted to distributing drugs to support her methamphetamine addiction.

She faces 15 to 17 years under a plea agreement reached in the case, and will be sentenced later.
Expanding and focusing on enforcing Roanokes youth curfew were unpopular among those who spoke at Thursday evenings meeting on youth safety at Patrick Henry High School.

It was the second of two community meetings organized by the city of Roanoke to discuss the youth curfew as a solution to gun violence.

The first meeting took place March 14 at William Fleming High School. About 15 people attended and six spoke at that meeting.

Both meetings were open to all Roanokers, but participation and attendance was much higher at Thursdays community meeting at Patrick Henry, where dozens showed up to talk about the youth curfew and gun violence.

Currently, the citys established youth curfew is from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday and midnight to 5 a.m. the rest of the week.

It was generally agreed that the curfew is not a priority presently.

Jayveon Tucker  member of the city of Roanoke youth services board member and Virginia and Roanoke youth NAACP member  said curfew enforcement would turn police into parents.

We dont need the city enforcing and trying to be the parent, Tucker said.

Roanoke NAACP chapter President Brenda Hale questioned the message a curfew would send, especially to the majority of youths who are doing the right thing.

Others asked how, at 11 p.m., the police will know whether they are stopping a 16-year-old or a 25-year-old. One mother pointed out that it is normal for teens to be active later into the night than adults, and worried about criminalizing a normal biological function.

Rather than a curfew, people urged the city to focus on how to keep teens occupied in the hours after school ends.

We have to make Roanoke more youth-friendly, Phazhon Nash said.

Nash said there are not enough free activities for youth that are easy for them to access. His comments embodied the main criticism shared by speakers at the March 14 meeting: There is not enough for Roanokes youth to do outside of school.

Another of Thursdays speakers said the programs that do exist in the city are not well-publicized, and advised the city to focus some of its efforts there.

City Manager Bob Cowell said the city tries to do that already, but is open to suggestions about how it might improve.

Nash also brought up the difficulty of getting to and from jobs, grocery stores and after school, weekend or summer activities.

Similarly, Tucker said the city should support transportation options that would help students travel to jobs, which he said might keep them off the streets.

Council member Joe Cobb  who helps lead the Greater Roanoke Transit Company  said expanded evening and weekend bus hours or a shuttle service may have merit and are worthy of more exploration.

Meanwhile, Mayor Sherman Lea  who suggested a youth curfew expansion in January  still believes that is needed.

Over the next two weeks, Lea told The Roanoke Times, he and the other members of city council will discuss the communitys feedback and what to do next.
RICHMOND  The Dinwiddie County commonwealths attorney investigating Irvo Otienos death wants the federal government to assist her undermanned prosecutors office to deal with the case that has drawn national attention.

Dinwiddie doesnt have the resources to give this the trial it deserves, Ann Cabell Baskervill told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The feds need to step in.

The case has drawn immense attention after footage was released showing law enforcement officers and hospital staff piled on top of Otieno, who was handcuffed and shackled, for nearly 12 minutes. At Otienos funeral on Wednesday, the Rev. Al Sharpton vowed to keep public scrutiny on Otienos death, the trial and the need for reform on how the mentally ill are treated by police.

Baskervill also told The Times-Dispatch that she does not plan to run for reelection in November after having served seven years, but added that her decision to leave the office has nothing to do with the Otieno case, citing personal reasons for wanting to step down.

Baskervill said she has not formally asked the federal government to intervene, although it has not been uncommon for federal prosecutors to intervene in high-profile cases.

A federal prosecution would likely be handled by Jessica Aber, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Abers office did not return calls as to whether her office was weighing charges.

In the past, the federal government has intervened in cases of brutality against Black people at the hands of police. The Department of Justice can bring charges outside a local prosecutors jurisdiction by citing federal criminal statutes, which include violations of protected civil rights charges. Federal charges were leveled against former police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd and the case of Breonna Taylor killed when police raided her Kentucky apartment.

Baskervill said her commonwealths attorneys office in rural Dinwiddie at full strength is a three-person operation.

Currently, the office is manned solely by Baskervill, who is aided by two office managers and one investigator. Normally, there would be two assistant commonwealth attorneys to help with the caseload, but those positions have gone unfilled. No one has applied for those jobs since December, when Baskervills last attorney resigned for a higher-paid job.

The county, Baskervill said, has not increased the salary for the assistant attorney posts, making them difficult to fill. Baskervill says shes doing the work of three people.

Baskervill also defended herself against criticism in her handling of the case.

The charging decision fell to me and, rightly so, but this is bigger than Dinwiddie. There isnt the kind of institutional support here that you need, Baskervill said. Plus, this is multijurisdictional.

Otienos case spans two Virginia localities and three government agencies.

Otieno was first detained by Henrico police officers on March 3, then transported to Parham Doctors Hospital. At the hospital, he was then arrested on felony charges and brought to the Henrico Jail, and finally transported on March 6 to Dinwiddie, where he died in the intake room of Central State Hospital.

Police have said Otieno became physically assaultive toward officers.

Lawyers for those charged said they will fight the charges and that their clients were trying to restrain Otieno. Some of them have also been critical about how Baskervill released video surveillance footage of Otienos last moments on the floor of the hospital.

Baskervill said she has tried to be transparent in bringing the charges.

Weve had a death in custody which is in the governments control frankly. The death is inflicted by the government, she said. Since I too am the government, I think its really important to be transparent. We need to restore that trust.

Baskervills decision not to seek a third term may complicate the matter because her successor will see through the Otieno case since legal proceedings will likely take a year or more. Only one candidate has filed to run for Baskervills position, Amanda Mann, a lawyer based out of Prince George County. Mann could not be immediately reached for comment.
Until somebody budges on tax relief, the state budget remains in limbo, according to lawmakers from the Roanoke region working toward an agreement.

Ahead of reconvened session in Richmond on April 12, House and Senate lawmakers in conference committees are still negotiating on budget amendments for the coming 2023-24 government year that starts in July, said Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt, during a Thursday interview.

Were making some progress, said Austin, a member of the house budget conference committee. I think we will have a deal before June 30 that we can take to the people.

Lawmakers say the hang-up this year is similar to last years cause for budgeting delays: conflicting desires to provide Virginians with tax relief, versus investing more funds in state services.

Republicans, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin, want more tax relief, whereas Democrats want more money put toward state services.

Negotiations are going slow because the governor has asked for a billion dollars in tax relief, Austin said. Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are not fondly in favor of giving him all of his requests for tax relief. So were negotiating, trying to reach a compromise on what that number may be.

Austin said he understands his colleagues apprehension about conceding on a billion dollars of tax relief.

But I will say, all those requests are in the best interest of the people of the commonwealth, Austin said. When we have $3.6 billion in excess revenues, we should give some of those monies back to the people.

On the other side, Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, said he wants to see more state money put toward paying Virginia teachers at the national average, funding mental health care, and other things that have been chronically underfunded for decades.

The House and Senate are very interested in trying to find common ground, Rasoul said Wednesday. Were pretty close to being there, except for the large tax policy implications.

Last year, Virginia enacted $4 billion worth of tax cuts, said Rasoul, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee that Austin vice-chairs.

This year, the further tax cuts would really only help the wealthy, Rasoul said. Many of us would rather see that money invested.

Combining an agreeable budget document from the Republican-majority House and the Democratic-majority Senate requires several rounds of negotiation, Austin said.

We set aside the partisan politics, Austin said. Were now working as conferees for the best interest of the people of the commonwealth on a budget.

There are notes of bipartisanship, one being the plans to renovate and improve Catawba Hospital in Roanoke County to treat people with substance use disorder. Austin and Rasoul said $14 million is earmarked for Catawba Hospital in the House budget.

Catawba has the potential to grow and become a rehabilitation facility, which is something we really need to do, Austin said. We have people in need, and we dont need to incarcerate these people. We need to treat these people and help them overcome their problems.

Rasoul, who carried a widely supported bill to plan for Catawba Hospitals transformation, said he is hoping for the best.

Catawba Hospital is a regional example, along with funds to create development-ready business sites, of good things in the state budget, Austin said.

But putting the House and Senate budgets together, even behind closed doors in conference committees, has again proved difficult this year, like last, Austin said.

Its always easy to cut taxes. Its not so easy to raise taxes, he said. We got to make certain that we can balance those scales, going forward with these tax cuts.

Austin is one of only a few state lawmakers involved in the actual conference negotiations at this point.

Outside of the conference committee, the rest of the members, the vast majority of us, are not involved in day-to-day negotiations, Rasoul said. Were only giving input as to certain items that we have felt passionate about.

Once its determined how much money will be returned to the taxpayers, then well know how much money we have to allocate to teachers pay raises, to mental health, law enforcement, and to other things in the budget, Austin said.

Altogether, considering not just dollar amounts but also the language written in the budget, its quite a balancing act, Austin said. He said he would rather the work progress slowly than move forward quickly and end up with regrets.

These are complex issues for people to decide and make, Austin said. Were making them with the peoples best interest at heart, but sometimes it just takes time.
RICHMOND  Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe is reminding Virginia Democrats that he's still there with an endorsement of Destiny LeVere Bolling in a House of Delegates race to succeed Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, who was elected to the state Senate this week.

Bolling, a Northern Neck native who works as communications director at the Virginia AFL-CIO, announced the endorsement on Thursday morning, the day after declaring her candidacy for the House seat.

"Destiny has spent her life working to address the struggles of everyday families," McAuliffe said in the announcement. "Virginians in the 80th House District will have a fighter in the General Assembly who will wake up every single day working for them to deliver access to a world-class education, health care, internet and more. I am proud to stand with Destiny in her campaign."

Bolling's husband, Chris, was manager of McAuliffe's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2021 and the former governor officiated at their wedding, so the endorsement was both personal and political. She described him "a steadfast leader who fought every day as governor to improve the lives of Virginians."

"Gov. McAuliffe has never shied away from doing what is right, despite how much pushback he might have to overcome to get there," she said. "It's inspiring and I hope to demonstrate the same philosophy in the House of Delegates."

Not clear whether Youngkin will order special election

Bolling is seeking the Democratic nomination in the new 80th House District, where she will face John Dantzler in the Democratic primary on June 20. But her campaign said she also would run in the current 74th House District if Gov. Glenn Youngkin decides to call a special election to fill the seat vacated by Bagby's election this week to the Senate, where he will succeed Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond. McClellan won a special election last month to succeed the late Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th, whose sudden death on Nov. 28 set in motion a series of special elections for federal and state offices.

It's not clear whether Youngkin will order a special election for the current district, which lies predominately in Henrico County but also covers part of Richmond. The new 80th House District, created under a political redistricting map that the Virginia Supreme Court approved at the end of 2021, lies entirely in Henrico, but both districts are heavily Democratic.

"This is at the governor's discretion to call a special election," state Democratic Party spokesman Liam Watson said. "We anticipate he will."

"As always, we feel the best House of Delegates is a full House of Delegates," Watson added.

McAuliffe has kept a relatively low profile

Bagby said Thursday expects to be sworn in as senator for the 9th District as early as next week or as late as April 12, when the General Assembly reconvenes to consider the governor's vetoes and amendments to legislation, including the still pending state budget. Currently, Republicans hold a 55-45 advantage in the House and Democrats have a 22-18 margin in the Senate, but all 140 seats in the legislature are up for election in November.

He did not make an endorsement in the race, but said there is "no way in the world" he would support Dantzler, whom he defeated with 91% of the vote in the Democratic primary in 2021.

McAuliffe has kept a relatively low profile since losing to Youngkin by about 2% of the vote in 2021, but he has remained active in Democratic politics. His political action committee, Common Good, raised $2.7 million for Democratic candidates in the mid-term congressional elections last year, when Democrats fare much better than expected. He has endorsed Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, for re-election in a new Senate district against a formidable challenge by Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, but he is expected to play a selective role in the upcoming legislative elections.

The governor has been an unmatched financial and political supporter of Virginia Democrats for the better part of the last three decades," said a source close to the former governor. "He will continue to do so while also helping President [Joe] Biden and his allies across the country.
MARTINSVILLE  An enforcement action involving a $40,000 civil fine has been proposed for Virginia Mirror Company Inc. for violations of the Virginia Waste Management Act at its Martinsville facility.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality said those violations occurred as part of the silvering and painting operations performed in the manufacturing process of mirrors and glass.

The VMCI facility generates both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, the DEQ said. The hazardous wastes it generates are paint and paint-related materials and solids and corrosive liquids (basic and acidic).

The regulated waste it generates is used oil spent lead acid batteries. The universal waste it generates is spent florescent lamps.

The DEQ based its action on several instances dating from 2018 during with Virginia Mirror accumulated and stored excessive amounts of hazardous waste and did not ship that waste offsite as required.

Additionally, Virginia Mirror did not pay required hazardous waste fees and failed to properly store and report those wastes, or properly train employees to handle them, the DEQ said.

The order was signed and accepted on Feb. 9 by Beverly Riddle, Virginia Mirror Company vice president of human resources.

An enforcement action has been proposed for Virginia Mirror Company Inc. for violations of the Virginia Waste Management Act and the applicable regulations at the Martinsville facility that occurred as part of the silvering and painting operations performed in the manufacturing process of mirrors and glass, according to the DEQ.
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The chair of the San Diego County board of supervisors says he will resign amid accusations that he sexually assaulted a government employee
(CNN)  Lake Montbel is a shimmering, turquoise lake, stretching across 1,400 acres of southwest France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees  a haven for wildlife, a vital source of irrigation for farmers and water for local rivers, and a tourist paradise. But after the driest winter in more than six decades, it is a shadow of its former self.

Shrunken water levels, grounded boats, buoys resting on the cracked earth of the lake bed  current views of Lake Montbel are more reminiscent of what might be expected at the tail end of a scorching summer. Not at the end of winter.

Currently at about 28% of its capacity, water levels are less than half what is usual for this time of the year.

In the history of the lake, created in the early 1980s, this is the first time that this situation has been so serious, said Boris Rouquet, a farmer and the water lead for the National Federation of Farmers Unions in Ariege, the region where Lake Montbel is located.

The lake has faced difficult times before but this is exceptional, Rouquet told CNN.

This story of extremes is one thats playing out across swaths of Europe.

While in the United States, the snow and rain that have pummeled California have helped fill reservoirs and ease unrelenting drought, winter has been far from kind to many parts of Europe.

Still reeling from last years blistering summer and the worst drought in 500 years, parts of the continent have experienced such low levels of snow and rain that fears are growing for what might be in store as summer approaches  and beyond.

As climate change intensifies, scientists say we can expect droughts and heatwaves to become more frequent and more severe  putting huge pressure on water resources.

Temperatures in southwest France soared to 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, according to Meteo-France, the countrys weather service. It was the hottest March day on record in the country since 1900, the agency said. And the warm start to the year is coming hand-in-hand with exceptionally low rainfall.

Between January and February, France had more than 30 consecutive days with no significant rainfall  the longest stretch since records began in 1959. Added to that, snowfall has been very low, meaning less snowmelt to recharge rivers in the spring.

More rain has fallen in March but not nearly enough. Lake Montbel remains at an abnormally low level, Franck Solacroup, the regional director of the Adour-Garonne Water Agency, which covers the area that includes Lake Montbel, told CNN.

Farmers like Rouquet, who rely on the lake, are having to make tough decisions on what to grow. Some have stopped planting certain crops, others have sown more cereal crops in the hope that rain will fall. Livestock farmers are worried about having enough feed for their animals, and some may even be forced to reduce their herds, Rouquet said.

Unless the lake is filled sufficiently, farmers will not be able to irrigate, and the survival of many farms is at stake, he said. Its damaging farmers morale. We often talk about the financial side but the human side is very affected.

As summer approaches, the situation does not bode well, Solacroup said. Last year, nearly 400 municipalities in the region had restricted or disrupted drinking water supplies.

Just over the border, in Catalonia, northeast Spain, is a similar situation of parched reservoirs and thirsty crops.

Average water levels in Catalonias reservoirs are at about 27% and there are already some water restrictions in place.

The Sau Reservoir, about 60 miles north of Barcelona, is now only around 9% full, according to Catalan Water Agency data. As the water levels have fallen, the remnants have emerged of a centuries-old village and its church, which were flooded when the reservoir was created in the 1960s.

In mid-March, the Catalan Water Agency started removing fish in an attempt to save some of them and protect the water quality in what remains of the reservoir, which more than five million people rely on for drinking water.

This is an extraordinary measure  and is adopted to preserve the water quality and be able to guarantee the populations demands as much as possible, the Catalan government said in a statement.

Water is so scarce, some farmers in the region have turned to prayer. On Sunday, hundreds of residents of the mountain village of LEspunyola, about 70 miles north of Barcelona, led a procession to appeal to Our Lady of the Torrents to bring them rain.

Italy, located in the climate hotspot of the Mediterranean, has also been badly affected.

In northern Italy, which experienced its worst drought for more than 70 years last summer, the mountains have very low snow levels and lakes have shrunk, including Lake Como, which is less than 18% full. Water in the Po River, which winds across the northern agricultural heartland, is running close to record lows, with certain sections are in extreme drought.

Farmers are feeling the strain. Rice growers predict that the amount they sow this spring will be the lowest in more than two decades, according to a survey by Enterisi, Italys national rice institution. April and May will be crucial because the lower rainfall in the winter months needs to be made up, an Enterisi spokesman told CNN.

In Italy, the impacts of the climate crisis combined with aging, leaky water infrastructure are leaving the country highly vulnerable to critical water conditions, Simona Ramberti, of the national statistics institution Istat, told CNN.

In 2020, more than 42% of water in the system did not reach users, according to the Istat urban water census. This is equivalent to a daily loss of around 157 liters for every resident  which could have met the needs of 43 million people for a year.

Given last years drought, in which 10 regions announced a state of emergency for water deficits, Ramberti said the current dry spell does not bode well for the coming months.

Were observing a pretty special situation, said Manuela Brunner, assistant professor in hydrology at ETH Zurich and the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos, Switzerland.

Looking out of her office window in Davos, at an elevation of nearly 1,600 meters (5,000 feet), Brunner said she can see a sweep of brown and green grass, but very little snow. This is the most extreme winter in terms of low snow cover, she told CNN. And thats thats a problem.

Less water stored in snow means less snowmelt will reach the rivers in spring. Snow deficits have become a more important driver of summer streamflow droughts over the last 50 years, Brunner said.

In Switzerland, they now need long-lasting rain events, she said. But the further we progress into the spring, the more unlikely this gets.

Large parts of Europe are hoping for rainfall over the next few months  and a lot of it. The coming weeks are crucial, Andrea Toreti, a climatologist at the European Commissions Joint Research Centre, told CNN.

While it remains hard to attribute specific events to the climate crisis, what we observe is in line with what we expect from climate change, Toreti said.

Last years summer drought in the Northern Hemisphere was made 20 times more likely by climate change, according to World Weather Attribution, a group of researchers who endeavor in near-real time to determine how much of a role the climate crisis is playing in extreme weather events.

Back in southwest France, Solacroup said the difficulties of the past year should be a warning to think about long-term adaptation, rather than just reacting to rolling crises. The summer of 2022, which may seem exceptional, will be an average year in 2050, he said.

The long-term changes are clear and they arent good, said Rouquet. There is a link with climate change and we farmers have seen it for several years. The rain falls differently. It rains hard or not at all.

This story was first published on CNN.com, This once-thriving lake has all but dried up. Its a story repeated across Europe as the drought deepens"
 So very excited for "Frankel at 50: A Half-Centurys Perspective on Criminal Sentences: Law Without Order" | Main | "Proving Actionable Racial Disparity Under the California Racial Justice Act" 

March 31, 2023

Recapping and assessing a SCOTUS week full of federal criminal case oral arguments

This week's biggest legal news is surely the reports of a notable state indictment out of the Big Apple. But, as previously previewed here, this week was also a big one for federal criminal case oral arguments before the US Supreme Court. With help from SCOTUSblog and a few other sources, here are some recaps of how these arguments went:

United States v. Hansen, No. 22-179:

Lora v. United States, No. 22-49:

Smith v. United States, No. 21-1576:

Samia v. United States, No. 22-196:

Though I have not really followed any of these cases all that closely, I am still prepared to provide an "over/under" betting line at 2.5 wins for federal criminal defendants from this week's SCOTUS cases. It seems the federal criminal defendant has a pretty good shot of prevailing in Hansen and Lora, but probably not in Smith, and Samia probably should be viewed as a toss up. But perhaps folks who have followed these cases more closely will have a wiser take.

March 31, 2023 at 09:30 AM | Permalink

Comments

Shocked you're not also talking about the Shaman, who has just been released on home detention.

And, I'll pose the question again--do imprisoned rape victims have the right to attack prison guards who are their repeated rapists so as to proactively prevent another rape. And what rights to people kept past their sentences have vs. those of gen pop? I ask these questions as food for thought. For example, if a person has served his time, yet remains incarcerated erroneously, does he have the right to talk back to guards and not get written up? What mechanism is there for the continued disability with respect to his constitutional rights?

Posted by: federalist | Mar 31, 2023 11:05:59 AM

I was thinking about posting about the "the shaman" getting to a halfway house, but I'd like to do so in conjunction with a broader set of posts about the "true" outcomes of the January 6 cases.

On the prison front, I am troubled by the idea that prisoners entirely lose their self defense rights in prison. But how do you run a prison if any and every time a prisoner is alleged to have hit/harmed another prisoner, the authorities then need to litigate SD contentions before any discipline is imposed? And I assume you would not claim, federalist, that a prisoner retains his Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in service to any SD needs in prison. (Notably, some jurisdictions will not allow prisoners to claim a necessity defenses for escape when they claim they escaped to avoid credible death/sex offense threats. SD is often seen as a subset of necessity -- though I see more in play.)

I agree there are hard issues, but made harder still if we think prisoners should feel emboldened to "self-help" mechanisms. If someone is being illegally held in prison, the remedy that makes sense to me is a suit for damages after a court agrees that someone has been held illegally. Heck, Trump and his team surely think that his indictment is illegal/erroneous. Should he have a right to attack (physically and verbally) all the people in the NYC court system who are going to help "book" him on Tuesday?

Posted by: Doug B | Mar 31, 2023 11:59:33 AM

https://apple.news/A-IQsz728QtelPqFOqdojdQ

Heres a story of sentencing

Posted by: Federalist | Apr 1, 2023 7:51:29 AM

So what youre saying isby mere virtue of an illegal incarceration, people lose constitutional rightsinteresting. Obviously 2A isnt a problem because theyre almost certainly disabled by virtue of conviction.

Posted by: Federalist | Apr 1, 2023 8:03:22 AM

Trump has every right to criticize the judgeeven publish his home address. Hasnt that ship sailed after Donna protests?

Posted by: Federalist | Apr 1, 2023 8:05:13 AM

federalist, we can put your last comments together to ask: "Do you think Trump has a right to physically attack the NYC judge and/or the NYC prosecutors or the NYC security personnel at his arraignment if he sincerely believes they may subject him to 'illegal incarceration'?"

It's quite rare any claim of "illegal incarceration" is uncontested -- eg, there are claims some/all Jan 6 defendants are being illegally incarcerated; every habeas petitioner must claiming some form of illegal incarceration, etc. -- so the issue is how such claims should be resolved and what an incarcerated persons can legally do while such claims are being considered/addressed by courts. All I am saying here is that persons who are incarcerated (even those prior to conviction like Jan 6 detainees) do not have a general right to attack guards (or to have a gun for self protection in their cells) even if they believe and can make a viable claim of "illegal incarceration." Similarly, I do not think DJT has a right to attack law enforcement officers and lawyers/judges at arraignment even if fearing he will face "illegal incarceration."

Like your curious recent EP claim that you seem no longer to be trying to explain or defend, federalist, your passions are seemingly leading you to be unmoored from existing or sensible legal doctrines. That said, if you could somehow explain how many defendants can block prosecutions on EP grounds and/or how many prisoners can attack guards, you might still garner lots of fans in the legal academy (where being moored to law is rarely essential).

Posted by: Doug B | Apr 1, 2023 10:52:49 AM

To get back to the supposed topic of this thread, I am not sure that I see Hansen as a clean win for the defendant. As I've noted earlier, it's much easier to write an opinion affirming the conviction by narrowly construing the statute. And there are some justices that might like to trim the overbreadth doctrine. And a broad opinion favoring the defendant would potentially cause problems for accessory liability generally.

As I think the argument summary notes, Samia might be the criminal case most likely to result in a plurality opinion. Clear guidance on what you need to redact to be able to use one defendant's statement in a multiple defendant trial would be nice, but I am not sure that we are going to get it.

Posted by: tmm | Apr 3, 2023 10:44:19 AM

Post a comment
Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen emphasised the island nations perseverance in the face of China's growing aggression during her stopover in New York on Thursday.

At a closed-door event hosted by the Hudson Institute think tank, she reportedly said the self-governed island is responsible and calm in contrast to China, which she said is raising tensions in cross-strait relations.

"She made a strong point that the defense of Taiwan is actually the defense of America," said Miles Yu, a Hudson Institute director who attended the speech.

"The people of Taiwan look forward to peace, but history tells us that the best way to avoid war is to make ourselves stronger," Ms Tsai said at the event, where she received a leadership award.

China has raised its concerns over Taiwan's visit to the US, which Taipei is billing as simply a "transit, but she kept a full agenda of events Wednesday and Thursday before flying to Central America.

Ms Tsai is scheduled to make to stopovers in the US during her 10-day visit to Guatemala and Belize.

Dozens of pro-China demonstrators holding "One China" banners gathered behind police barricades outside the venue of the event.

China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its national territory, even though the island has been self-ruled since it split from the mainland in 1949 following a civil war. Beijing has beefed up its military activities around the island, including flying a record number of warplanes into its airspace.

Washington's "One-China" policy acknowledges that the Chinese claim Taiwan as their territory. However, the US, which is one of Taiwan's biggest allies, does not endorse China's claim and remains Taipei's most important provider of military hardware and other defense assistance.

More than 200 people protested outside the New York hotel where Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen stayed on Wed. Many protesters were holding anti-secessionism banners. pic.twitter.com/NQn0NKWg7d  Global Times (@globaltimesnews) March 30, 2023

On Friday, Taiwan's defence ministry said nine Chinese planes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. Beijing's actions deliberately created tension in the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said, adding it condemned the irrational actions.

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A day earlier Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson restated China's serious objections to any interactions between Ms Tsai and US leaders.

"China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and Taiwan," Mao Ning told reporters on Thursday. "China will continue to closely follow the situation and resolutely safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Taiwans president Tsai Ing-wen waves as she arrives at a hotel, in New York (AP)

A senior Chinese diplomat in Washington, embassy charge d'affaires Xu Xueyuan, pointed to the anticipated meeting between Tsai and the US House speaker Kevin McCarthy as one that could lead to a serious confrontation in US-China relations.

Meanwhile, senior security official in Taiwan said earlier that the island expects a less severe reaction from Beijing to a Tsai-McCarthy meeting than when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei last year.

Beijing responded to Ms Pelosi's visit by staging major military drills around the island.

"She will be meeting in the United States, so the political complexity is not as high as the speaker coming to Taiwan," Taiwan national security bureau director-general Tsai Ming-yen told Taiwan's parliament.

He added that Taiwan had been conducting dry runs on responses to a rise in tensions while the president is away, including when she is flying, and that she can be reached at any time to meet her top security officials.

The White House, which urged China on Wednesday not to use Ms Tsai's "normal" stopover in the US as a pretext to increase aggressive activity against Taiwan, also said it had seen "no tangible reaction" yet from China.

"I think we've all seen them react in a rhetorical way, but we've seen no indication that there's been any other type of reaction," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
Just slightly off the coast of Punggol in the northeastern part of Singapore is a mini island that is accessible by foot and popular with joggers and runners. But before it became a little paradise for the hiking crowd, Coney Island has quite an interesting history.

From private island to hang-out spot

Coney Island was originally called Pulau Serangoon and then in the 1930s and 40s it was referred to as Haw Par Island because the Haw brothers  the same ones who owned it at the time. Yup, the same Haw Brothers behind Haw Par Villa and Tiger Balm.

They had even constructed a beach bungalow  and the abandoned building is still somewhere on the island.

In the 1950s, the island was sold to a businessman who wanted to revamp it to be like New Yorks Coney Island. The leisure resort called Singapore Coney Island was then opened in 1951.

There were recreational facilities like a restaurant and bar, seaside accommodations and even a dance hall. It was even hailed as Singapores first island health resort in its heyday but after three years it was put up for auction. The name Coney Island continued to stick.

More revamping

Over the years, the size of the island expanded too as it changed ownership. In 1972, the government officially acquired Coney Island and began land reclamation work. There were grand plans to make it into a recreational destination (again) with chalets, a beach and a marina for docking boats. In the past before we could easily walk to Coney Island, visitors had to take a 30-minute boat ride to the island.

Development plans did not pan out as quickly as a lot of work still needed to be done to the area. For example, the nearby Punggol was known for its pig farms and the smell would waft over to the island, and affected visitors experiences. On top of that, people were quite resistant to the island losing its natural feel and beauty.

After a long period, Coney Island Park opened in 2015 after a 15-month construction. The revamp took the publics feedback seriously and kept the park rustic, with basic amenities. The benches, boardwalks and shelters are made from driftwood and fallen trees from the island, the toilets use rainwater and there are solar-powered water pumps. The beaches are also left hidden and untouched for visitors to discover for themselves on the trails.

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On top of that, there are also two main entrances bridge where people can easily cross into the island.

The Coney Island cow

The longest inhabitant on Coney Island? A lone cow.

And not just any cow. It is a Brahman cow. Brahman cattle are known for the hump over the withers at the back of their necks.

Not much is known about how it ended up on the island, some said it fell off a cargo ship somewhere and some believe it to be a pet or kept animal from one of the farms in Punggol.

Photo: NParks

People started knowing of its existence after the 2015 opening when visitors could access the park easily and discover its solitary existence. When it was found, the cow was malnourished and sick, but was nursed back to health.

It is believed that it foraged naturally on the vegetation on the island.Signs were put up around the park to not feed or provoke the cow when on the island.

Sadly, during a health checkup in 2016, the cow could not be revived after it was sedated for blood and fecal samples to be taken. Its existence was just as elusive as its death.

The future

Photo: Outward Bound Singapore

In 2021, official plans were announced by Outward Bound Singapore to build a campus on the island. This was met with opposition from people worried about the construction wiping out flora and fauna on the island. However, construction is still underway.

Check out other stories:

Secret City: The Civilian War Memorial in Singapore and the graveyard in the middle of the city Secret City is a series showcasing lesser-known things, places, facts and even food about our city. While Singapore is known for its gleaming modern buildings in the city centre, there
[Source]

A Singaporean woman has gone viral on TikTok for using artificial intelligence (AI) to plan her 12-day solo trip to Hanoi, Vietnam.

The woman, known as Mel, fed the details of her preferred places to visit and her chosen arrival and return dates to the Notion AI writing assistant. As shown in the video, the AI tool immediately provided Mel with a basic itinerary, complete with suggested sights on the days she requested.

For her first day, the AI planned basic activities such as "Check in to hotel" before suggesting places to visit with the entries "Explore Old Quarter" and "Visit Hoan Kiem Lake." The second day featured even more attractions to visit.

More from NextShark: Ex-Convict Arrested in Murder of Good Samaritan Who Helped Fellow Asians Fight Robbery

It was apparent in the itinerary that the AI bot made sure not to pack the schedule on days that would involve traveling between cities.

"I was honestly surprised that [the tool] planned out a day-by-day schedule," Mel, 28, told AsiaOne.

Upon closer inspection, the itinerary is not very detailed, with most suggested activities for each day involving checking into hotels and exploring one or two locations.

More from NextShark: Game changer? Thailand debuts durian variety that doesn't stink

For Days 10 and 11, the AI only had three suggested activities, two of which included hitting up food spots.

The bot also included a couple of stops in Hoi An city, which is a 14.5-hour drive away from Hanoi. The recommendation to visit Ba Na Hills is also ill-advised as it is already near Da Nang, which is located further down south.

Despite these apparent missteps, the itinerary was considered by many to be a sufficient baseline, as indicated by the hundreds of comments and over 1.7 million views.

More from NextShark: Iconic Singapore Airlines uniform sold on Depop as vintage African Ankara dress' mocked by netizens

"The way my mouth just dropped watching this video ," one impressed commenter wrote.

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"Wait, I need this," commented another. "Ive been wanting to go to Vietnam for the first time since I was born ."

Other commenters pointed out the inaccuracies to Mel and suggested better places to visit while in Hanoi.

More from NextShark: Man stuck on top of car during Seoul flooding becomes meme in South Korea

"Day 11: Hanoi and Hoian are super far away from each other," one user remarked.

"Day 8 (Ba Na Hills) and Day 11 Hoi An  are places one would go if they travel to Danang, not Hanoi," wrote another.

"FYI: Ha Long Bay is hard to do as a day trip and the train street is closed now," chimed in a user.

"It's better to make your own. You have to consider proximity, transportation and opening/closing hours," one suggested.

In response to commenters who were concerned that publishing her itinerary could be dangerous, Mel assured them that she is not actually following the AI-generated plan exactly the way it was made.
Holy Week Services

Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 So. Lakeport, Sioux City, invites the public to Holy Week Services, beginning with Palm Sunday on Sunday, April 2, at 8:15 and 10:45 a.m. Maundy Thursday services with Holy Communion will be held on Thursday, April 6, at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Good Friday services will be held on Friday, April 7, at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.

St. Mark Lutheran Church ELCA, in the east Morningside neighborhood, 5200 Glenn Avenue, welcomes all to worship during Holy Week. Palm Sunday Worship will be on April 2 at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. with Pancake Breakfast served between services. Maundy Thursday Worship will be on April 6 at 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Good Friday Worship will be on April 7 at 7 p.m. More information available at 712-276-2418.

Whitfield United Methodist Church, 1319 W 5th St., will host Palm Sunday service at 8:45 a.m. on April 2 - Parade of Palms by the children of the church. Presentation of Bibles to the children of the church. Reverend Elizabeth Tucker will deliver her message "Ways to Be 'Holy' During Holy Week." Refreshments will be served in the coffee room after the worship service.

First Lutheran Church ELCA in South Sioux City, 3601 Dakota Avenue, welcomes all to Holy Week services. Palm Sunday at 9:30 a.m.; Maundy Thursday and Good Friday at 5:30 p.m.

St. John Lutheran Church, 2801 Jackson St., will host Palm Sunday service at 9:30 a.m. on April 2. Maundy Thursday soup supper will be held at 5:30 p.m. with service at 7 p.m. on April 6. Good Friday service will be held at 7 p.m. on April 7.

Bethany Lutheran Church, 1201 Dubuque Street, Sioux City, will once again serve a brunch after the worship service on Palm Sunday, April 2. We will have scrambled eggs, waffles, bacon, sausage, coffee, milk and orange juice. There will be a free will offering to benefit earthquake relief through the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Disaster Relief Fund. Everyone is welcome to join us for worship at 10 a.m., followed by the brunch from about 11:30 a.m. to about 1 p.m.

Grace Lutheran Church, 1101 S. Cornelia St., will host Palm Sunday service at 10 a.m. on April 2, Maundy Thursday service at 6:30 p.m. on April 6, and Good Friday service at 6:30 p.m. on April 7.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1200 Douglas St., will host Palm Sunday Morning Prayer at 10 a.m. on April 2. Maundy Thursday service will be at 5:30 p.m. on April 6. Good Friday Service will be at 5:30 p.m. April 7. Services are livestreamed at the church's Facebook page.

First Presbyterian Church, 6th and Nebraska Streets, will host Palm Sunday service at 10:30 a.m. on April 2 with communion for all, and Maundy Thursday service at 7 p.m. on April 6 with communion for all.

Mayflower Congregational UCC, 1407 W. 18th St., will have Palm Sunday worship service on Sunday, April 2 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Everyone is invited to stay for coffee and refreshments after the church service.

First Congregational UCC, 429 Whittier St., Whiting, Iowa, will have a worship service for Maundy Sunday on Thursday, April 5, from 7 to 8 p.m. Pastor Jessie Lent will lead the shared service with Mayflower Congregational UCC.

Faith Lutheran Church, 3101 Hamilton Blvd., will host Maundy Thursday service at 7 p.m. on April 6, and Good Friday service at 7 p.m. on April 7.

Mayflower Congregational UCC, 1407 W. 18th St., will have a worship service for Good Friday on Friday, April 6, from 7 to 8 p.m. Pastor Jessie Lent will lead the shared service with First Congregational UCC in Whiting.

Siouxland Presbyterian Churches will hold a joint Good Friday service at 7 p.m. on April 7. The service will take place at Faith United Presbyterian Church, 4327 Morningside Ave.

Good Friday Service will be held as a combined service with Riverside United Methodist Church and Whitfield United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. April 7, at Riverside United Methodist Church, 617 Wright Avenue. Message is "The Way of the Cross."

Ham Dinner

Community United Methodist Church, 101 Baker Drive, Sergeant Bluff, will host a Ham Dinner on April 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., sponsored by Methodist Women. Dinner will serve ham, au gratin potatoes, vegetables with a salad bar, and dessert. Free will offerings. Please call 712-253-7609 with any questions.

Chrism Mass

Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City will host the annual chrism Mass at 2 p.m. Monday, April 3 at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City with Bishop Walker Nickless as presider. The sacred oils that will be used in all the diocesan parishes in the coming year will be blessed at this Mass. A chrism Mass includes the renewal of ordination vows and renewal of commitment to priestly service by the diocesan priests. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the chrism is a sign of the Holy Spirit, and by breathing on the chrism, the bishop "recalls the spirit of God 'moving over the face of the waters' at creation (Gen 1:12)," and also the appearance of the resurrected Christ to the disciples and "he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' (Jn 20:22)."

Easter Sunday Services

Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 So. Lakeport, Sioux City, invites the public to Easter Services. Easter Sunday services with Holy Communion will be held on Sunday, April 9, at 6:30, 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. with Easter breakfast from 7:30 to 10 a.m. in the church gym. He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed, Hallelujah!

Whitfield United Methodist Church, 1319 W 5th St., will host Easter Service at 8:45 a.m. April 9. Reverend Liz Tucker will deliver her Easter Message is "It's all Good." Easter Egg Hunt will follow the service.

Peace Reformed Church, 4100 Outer Drive, will host Easter Service on Sunday, April 9, at 9:30 a.m. and will feature a Cantata.

St. John Lutheran Church, 2801 Jackson St., will host Easter service at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 9.

Grace Lutheran Church, 1101 S. Cornelia St., will host Easter Sunday Celebration at 10 a.m. on April 9.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1200 Douglas St., will host Easter Sunday service will be at 10 a.m. on April 9. Wear your Easter Bonnets. Services are livestreamed at the church's Facebook page.

First Presbyterian Church, 6th and Nebraska Streets, will host Easter Sunday service at 10:30 a.m. on April 9 with communion for all, featuring a brass quintet and a volunteer performance of "The Hallelujah Chorus."

Holy Humor Sunday

Holy Humor Sunday will be held at 10 a.m. April 16, as a combined service with Whitfield United Methodist Church and Riverside United Methodist Church, at Whitfield Church, 1319 W 5th St Sioux City. Brunch will follow the service.

Food Pantry

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1200 Douglas St., will have its food pantry open from 10 a.m. to noon on Mondays.

Siouxland Eucharistic Conference

Mater Dei Parish will host the Bread of Life Conference on April 1 at Mater Dei Parish  Nativity Church, 4241 Natalia Way, Sioux City. Registration and check-in begins at 7 a.m. at Mater Dei-Nativity School and prayer in the parish at 7:45 a.m.

Parish Life Director, Jeff Schoep, said the National Eucharistic Revival begins at the local level. Schoep said, The conference provides Catholics from throughout Siouxland an opportunity to learn more about Jesus and the Eucharist  why its the source and summit of our faith.

Unlike past spring conferences, the Bread of Life Conference is open to men and women alike  high school and college students, as well as adults.

The Bread of Life will feature three keynote speakers, two of whom are from the Carroll area. Father Pat Behm, parochial vicar at St. John Paul II Parish in Carroll, who previously served at All Saints Parish and Gehlen Catholic in Le Mars; and Sister Anne Marie Walsh, SOLT, from Domus Trinitatis Retreat Center in Carroll.

The third keynote speaker is Dr. Keith Jiron, the Executive Director and co-founder of the Evangelium Institute. A native of Colorado and graduate of Colorado State University in 1990, Dr. Jiron has a Licentiate (S.T.L.) and a Doctorate (S.T.D.) in Sacred Theology from the University of Daytons International Marian Research Institute which is an affiliate of the Marianum in Rome.

Bishop R. Walker Nickless of the Diocese of Sioux City will be present throughout the day. Conference attendees are invited to stay for Mass at 4 p.m., which will be celebrated by Bishop Nickless.

Registration is $10 for high school/college students; $70 for couples after March 27; and $50 for individuals after March 27. Register online at materdeisc.org/bread-of-life-conference.
SIOUX CITY  The Sioux City Economic Development Department and Sioux City Fire Rescue will host Business for Breakfast on April 21.

This free event begins at 8 a.m. at the Sioux City Convention Center and features Dave Anderson, author of "Becoming a Leader of Character: Six Habits that Make or Break a Leader at Work and at Home." A complimentary breakfast will be provided.

Anderson, a West Point graduate and decorated combat veteran, spent 20 years in a multi-national Fortune 50 company and has authored seven books and 600+ articles on leadership and personal growth.

In addition to speaking engagements, Anderson provides training for the public safety sector and will spend the day with Sioux City Fire Rescue staff on April 20.

Event attendees are encouraged to complete a free character assessment before the event at mycharactertest.com.

Business for Breakfast is a networking forum for company executives, entrepreneurs, higher education students and professionals interested in emerging business trends and topics. The event is sponsored by Sioux City Fire Rescue and Sioux City Economic Development.

RSVPs are encouraged by calling 712-224-5500 or at locatesiouxcity.com/business-breakfast. Visit becomingaleaderofcharacter.com to learn more about Anderson.
HARTINGTON, Neb.  A judge has denied a defense motion to quash the states intention to seek the death penalty against a man charged with killing four people in Laurel, Nebraska.

Dismissing the motion, District Judge Bryan Meismer ruled against defense arguments that sections of Nebraskas death penalty statute are unconstitutional, saying the laws constitutionality has been upheld in past rulings.

At this time, the court finds that the defendant has failed to meet their burden of proof that no set of circumstances exists under which the death penalty statutes would be invalid or that the law is unconstitutional in all of its applications. Each of the grounds presented by the defendant have previously been addressed by the Nebraska Supreme Court, Meismer wrote in his ruling, filed Thursday.

With the issue decided, Meismer scheduled Jason Jones arraignment for May 22 in Cedar County District Court.

Jones, 43, of Laurel, is charged with four counts each of first-degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony and two counts of first-degree arson. Hes accused of the Aug. 4 shooting deaths of Michele Ebeling, 53, in her home and Gene Twiford, 86, his wife, Janet Twiford, 85, and their daughter Dana Twiford, 55, in their home and setting both houses on fire.

Prosecutors in January filed notice they would seek the death penalty if Jones is found guilty of first-degree murder. Assistant Nebraska Attorney General Corey OBrien said he would seek to prove aggravating circumstances that Jones committed a homicide at the same time he committed other homicides and also committed a homicide to conceal the commission of a crime of burglary or murder or to conceal his identity.

Jones attorney, Todd Lancaster, of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, asked Meismer to quash the states intentions, arguing the death penalty is unconstitutional because the prosecutions decision to seek it is arbitrary and violates the U.S. Constitutions due process and equal protection clauses, the defense is prohibited from presenting mitigating evidence to jurors to weigh against aggravating factors used in arguing for the death penalty and a jury is not allowed to decide if a defendant will be sentenced to death. Lancaster also said Nebraskas death penalty statute is unconstitutionally vague.

OBrien countered in court filings that Nebraskas death penalty statutes have been found to be constitutional on all of the grounds Lancaster argued.

Meismer said in his ruling he generally agreed with the states position and denied and dismissed Lancasters motion.

Authorities responded to a reported explosion in the early morning hours of Aug. 4 at 209 Elm St., where they found Ebelings body with two gunshot wounds. A second fire at the Twiford home at 503 Elm St. was reported soon after, and responders found the bodies of the three family members, all with gunshot wounds. Authorities believe the fire in the Twifords house was set before the fire at Ebelings home.

Jones, who lived across the street from Ebeling, was arrested without incident at his home about 24 hours later and airlifted to a Lincoln hospital for treatment of serious burns. Hes being held without bond at the Nebraska Department of Corrections Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln, where he continues to receive medical treatment.

Investigators found empty .44-caliber shell casings near Ebelings body and a Ruger handgun registered to Jones, plus credit card receipts for gas and gas cans, in the Twiford home.

Jones wife, Carrie Jones, told investigators she saw her badly burned husband stumble from Ebelings home after the fire was spotted and she helped him into their home, where she administered first aid after he refused to go to a hospital. She said he had been carrying his .44-caliber handgun and told her to put it away.

Carrie Jones, 43, was arrested Dec. 16 and faces charges of first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and being an accessory to a felony. She is charged with aiding and abetting the death of Gene Twiford, whom she told investigators had verbally harassed her for several years. Her attorneys are challenging the charges, saying prosecutors have not provided sufficient evidence to establish probable cause that Jones committed the crimes.

Attorneys have until April 17 to file briefs in the case before Meismer issues a ruling. Carrie Jones also is scheduled to be arraigned May 22. She remains in custody on a $1 million bond.
SIOUX CITY -- The housing committee for Sioux City's RAGBRAI is seeking local residents to open up their homes and yards for riders overnight stays the weekend of July 22-23.

To date, 750 registered RAGBRAI riders have requested local accommodation for the 50th anniversary of the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, which started in Sioux City in 1973.

Coordinators have already secured housing for about 300 cyclists, but at least 450 riders still need area hosts. RAGBRAI insures all registered participants.

Thousands of RAGBRAI riders will stay with full-service charter organizations that will operate from Chris Larsen Park and Riverside Park. Smaller teams and individual riders, however, rely on local hosts. The region's hotels are filling up quickly, according to a statement from Sioux City RAGBRAI 2023.

Most riders expect only a yard for camping. However, they would also benefit from having access to a bathroom and shower, as well as a place to fill their water bottles. Local hosts should be prepared to shelter campers in case of storms or high winds.

"Community members always tell us how fun it is to host people who are visiting Sioux City from other states and even other countries," said Housing Co-Chair Molly Bixenman. "We know how warm and welcoming our residents are, and were sure they'll have a great time meeting cyclists and attending RAGBRAI festivities."

This year's ride marks the eighth time Sioux City will serve as the starting point for RAGBRAI. So far more than 17,000 RAGBRAI riders have registered, and thousands of support team members will stay overnight in Siouxland before beginning the weeklong ride across Iowa on July 23. Cyclists will stay overnight in Storm Lake, Carroll, Ames, Des Moines, Tama-Toledo and Coralville before ending in Davenport on July 29.

Sign up to be a host at ragbraisiouxcity.com or visit the "Sioux City Hot Shots Housing RAGBRAI 2023" Facebook page to learn of housing needs.
SIOUX CITY -- The Sioux City Mayors Youth Commission is accepting applications for its Young Ambassadors program that honors students who have displayed good character and/or exceptional leadership inside or outside of the classroom.

Nominations will be made online by teachers, counselors, parents or adult friends of the nominee.

The parents/guardians of the nominees will be provided with a Young Ambassador Parent Form link that will need to be completed and submitted in order for the nominee's name to be placed in competition. From the nominations, students will be selected to be mentored by members of the Sioux City Mayor's Youth Commission. The students selected will receive a free Young Ambassadors t-shirt and public recognition at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Council Chambers on the fifth floor of City Hall.

To be eligible, the student must be in grades 4-7 during the current school year, enrolled in a Sioux City public or parochial school, reside in Sioux City but attend a school outside of Sioux City, or be home schooled in Sioux City.

To submit an application, visit https://bit.ly/3U33a6W and fill out the requested information. The nomination deadline is May 1.

More information is also available at sioux-city.org/youngambassador.
Former NFL defensive end Chris Smith, who was touched by tragedy while he played for the Cleveland Browns, has died at 31. Get that and more o
(CNN)  Pope Francis showed a "clear improvement" on Thursday after being given intravenous antibiotics for a bronchitis infection and could be released from the hospital in the next few days, according to the Vatican.

The 86-year-old pontiff, who as a young man had a small part of his right lung removed, was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing problems. Following clinical checks and tests, the doctors identified that he had bronchitis and were administering antibiotic therapy to treat him.

"Based on the predictable outcome, the Holy Father could be released in the next few days," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement, adding that Francis had spent the afternoon resting, praying and carrying out some work.

"His Holiness Pope Francis rested well during the night. The clinical picture is progressively improving and the planned treatments continue. This morning after breakfast, he read some newspapers and went back to work," Bruni said.

"Before lunch he went to the little chapel of the private apartment, where he gathered in prayer and received the Eucharist."

The pontiff has acknowledged the many well-wishes he has received while in the hospital on Twitter. Francis said: "I am touched by the many messages received in these hours and I express my gratitude for the closeness and prayer."

After his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, the pontiff was taken to the hospital to undergo a number of tests. Earlier in the day, the Vatican had said that the visit and tests were planned.

"The Holy Father has been at Gemelli since this afternoon for some previously scheduled tests," Bruni had said.

Shortly after, he said that Francis' schedule for Thursday had been cleared "to make space for the continuation of tests should that be necessary."

Vatican sources told CNN Thursday that Pope Francis "slept well" during his first night in the hospital.

The Church of Rome also expressed "all its closeness and affection to its Bishop Pope Francis, and ensures its unceasing prayers, wishing him a speedy recovery," it said in a statement on Thursday.

Bishops in churches across Italy are praying for Francis' speedy recovery, the Presidency of the Italian Episcopal Conference, on behalf of the Italian bishops, said in a statement on Wednesday.

"In wishing the Holy Father a speedy recovery, the Presidency entrusts to the Lord the doctors and medical staff who, with professionalism and dedication, care for him and all patients," it added.

The pontiff -- who as a young man suffered from severe pneumonia and had part of a lung removed -- has had a recent history of medical issues.

He has often been seen with a walking stick and sometimes uses a wheelchair due to pain in his right knee. Last year, he canceled a trip to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan after doctors said he might also have to miss a later trip to Canada unless he agreed to have 20 more days of therapy and rest for his knee. He ultimately went to the DRC and South Sudan in February.

Francis also suffers from diverticulitis, a common condition that can cause the inflammation or infection of the colon. In 2021, he had surgery to remove part of his colon.

In December, Francis revealed that he had already signed his resignation letter to be used in the event of him becoming "impaired." Francis made the comment in an interview with Spanish news outlet ABC when asked what would happen if a pope is suddenly rendered unable to perform his duties due to health issues or an accident.

Francis said he wrote the letter several years ago and gave it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who resigned in 2013.

"I have already signed my renunciation. The Secretary of State at the time was Tarcisio Bertone. I signed it and said: 'If I should become impaired for medical reasons or whatever, here is my renunciation,'" Francis was quoted as saying, adding that this was the first time he had spoken publicly about the letter's existence.

Francis said past pontiffs Paul VI and Pious XII had also drafted their letters of renunciation in the event of a permanent impairment.

In 2013, Francis' immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, made the almost unprecedented decision to resign from his position, citing "advanced age" as the reason and startling the Catholic world.

It marked the first time a pope had stepped down in nearly 600 years. The last pope to step down before his death was Gregory XII, who in 1415 quit to end a civil war within the church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  A former high school journalist and the Nebraska High School Press Association sued Friday over a school district's shutdown of the school newspaper after it published an LGBTQ-focused edition.

The federal lawsuit claims Grand Island Northwest Public Schools and its superintendent violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment in May when it closed the Viking Saga newspaper at Grand Island Northwest High School, which has about 700 students. The district later agreed to bring the newspaper back in digital form.

It is hard to find words for what it felt like watching people who were supposed to be supporting our education instead silence us for covering issues impacting our lives, Marcus Pennell, the former student suing the district, said in a statement. I was crushed."

An email message left with the school district's superintendent, Jeffrey Edwards, was not immediately returned. Edwards last year called the shutdown an administrative decision."

Saga newspaper staff were informed of the newspapers elimination three days after printing of the June edition, which included an article titled, Pride and prejudice: LGBTQIA+, on the origins of Pride Month and the history of homophobia. It also included an editorial opposing a Florida law, dubbed by critics as Dont Say Gay," that bans some lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity and

A May 22 email from a school employee canceling the papers printing services said it was because the school board and superintendent are unhappy with the last issues editorial content. Some school board members publicly stated their objection to the Sagas LGBTQ content.

The lawsuit also states that Pennell, who is transgender, was told in March 2022 that he and others could use only names assigned to them at birth in their bylines and that they could not list their pronouns.

The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the district violated the law as well as unspecified damages. Grand Island is a city of about 52,300 residents about 150 miles (241 kilometers) west of Omaha.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- Heartland Counseling Services is building a new 20,000-square-foot facility in South Sioux City in an effort to address a state-wide shortage of mental health providers and rising suicide rates.

Heartland has been providing mental health and substance abuse services to the community for 45 years. The new facility at 1201 Arbor Drive will nearly double the size of Heartland's current building.

R Perry Construction is the general contractor for the project. Staff is expected to be able to move into the new building sometime within the next year.

Dozens gathered for a groundbreaking at the site of the new facility last April.

"The thing is, we want to stop the stigma of mental health and normalize it. This building is going to help us do that," Jennifer Jackson, Heartland's executive director, said during the groundbreaking. "We're going to be able to serve a lot more individuals."

Heartland has outgrown its current location on West 21st Street, which it has been leasing since 1995. Heartland served an estimated 4,000 individual clients in 2022, up from the 1,750 it served in 2019. Thousands more have been served through groups, trainings and workshops, according to data provided by Heartland.

The new facility allows for the Life Center Day Rehab to be located within the same building and for all Heartland staff to be located onsite, while also providing space for additional therapists and community support staff.

The building will have dedicated rooms for family, parent-child interaction and art therapies, as well as space in which employees can take a break and recharge.

Jackson said Heartland's growth is possible because of community support.

"Just yesterday, I was approved with the board of directors to hire five more staff members. We have 44 staff members now and we're going to be hiring another three come July 1. That's another 10 people, almost," she said. "We'll probably see even more in our future with expanding out to all of the rural school districts."

For more information visit heartlandcounselingservices.org.
Donald Trump was indicted on Thursday, and in the hours since, he unsurprisingly hasnt been shy about sharing how he feels about it. (Total witch hunt.)

Meanwhile, the world hasnt heard a peep from Trumps inscrutable wife, Melania. She accompanied her husband to dinner at Mar-a-Lago Thursday night, but as usual, she was seen and not heard. Since Trumps indictment involved the ex-presidents alleged attempt to cover up an affair with a porn star, it definitely falls under the bucket of things a wife might conceivably care about. But no, she hasnt said a word or shared anything on social media.

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This has led to a lot of idle chatter about how Melania may have taken the news. Jimmy Kimmel imagined her smiling for the first time in years. At least one person used A.I. to generate an image of the former first lady screaming at her husbands arrest. Social media users have already moved on to who Melania should date after her inevitable divorce: Pete Davidson is the clear favorite.

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Its all speculation, of course. This is hardly the first time many of us have struggled mightily to understand the enigma that is Melania. During the Trump administration, it sometimes felt like we were all tourists at Buckingham Palace, waving our hands manically at the royal guards, desperately searching for even the tiniest flinch of a reaction. But Melania, ever impenetrable, always stared straight aheadand stood by her man. In public, I would expect to see much of the same this time around. But in private, at least, reports have implied that its a different story.

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If sources like People magazine are to be believed, then sorry, Jimmy Kimmel, but Melania is not celebrating this. Shes reportedly annoyed with her husband and doesnt like anyone to bring up the porn star, whose name is Stormy Daniels, or the hush money. But shes not so annoyed that she would actually do anything drastic. Mostly shes hoping the whole thing will just blow over. After the indictment, the Daily Mail reported, via a source close to the first lady, that Melania plans to stick beside Trump, as she has through many past scandals. A few days before, an anonymous source told People: Melania is leading her own life, and still feels happy being at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by people who love her and who never talk about reality, or bad things about her husband. This checks outMelania will do anything to stay out of the fray, up to and including pretending that the fray doesnt exist. She certainly managed to hide her head in the sand during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021: She claimed to be extremely busy helping with a White House rug photo shoot at the time, thus preventing her from even knowing it was happening.

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Some sources told People that though the Trumps are frequently seen together in public, they live in separate areas of their estate. Melania seems to spend a lot of her time with her parents, who also live at Mar-a-Lago, and her and Trumps 17-year-old son, Barron. They live in a fairy tale world and just deal with things as they come and seem to survive pretty well, a source told People. They do what is possible to get past the problems without disrupting their lifestyle. As long as Melania can live in luxury with her parents and son and otherwise doesnt see her lifestyle seriously disrupted, it seems like shes pretty content to stay in that fairy-tale world. Inertia is very powerful.

The Daily Mail reported, however, that Melania does not currently plan to be present at her husbands arraignment, denying us all the pleasure of seeing what outfit she would have deemed arraignment-appropriate. All for the bestmore time for Melania to work on her NFT collection.
Update, March 30: A grand jury in New York voted to indict Donald Trump over his role in a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. Would a former president still get Secret Service protection in prison? The Explainer answered this question in 2018 when a different investigation threatened Trump (and a vague, partisan threat loomed over his 2016 rival). Read the original story below.



Special counsel Robert Mueller has told the president hes not a criminal target in the Russia investigation, but that doesnt mean Trump could never be indicted or imprisoned. Meanwhile, the White House and its allies continue to agitate for a criminal investigation of former first lady Hillary Clinton, in an apparent effort to lock her up. If somehow Trump or Clinton did get sent up the river, would the Secret Service still protect them?

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Yes. Barring an act of Congress, the responsibility of the Secret Service to protect a former president or first lady would not disappear because that person had been convicted of a crime. This has never happened, though, and any potential details of such an arrangement are mysterious even to Secret Service veterans and other experts on the agency. A spokesman for the Secret Service refused even to address the issue. Its a road we would have to go down if it ever happened, he told the Explainer. Its not something were going to think about unless it happens.

(The most recent time this came up, when Bill Clinton was facing criminal prosecution for perjury and obstruction of justice, the Explainer ignominiously punted on the question.)

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A prison setting might be safe in some regards. An incarcerated former president or first lady wouldnt have to worry too much about being kidnapped, for example, or blackmailed for information. But he or she would be at a heightened risk of violence. (Rapes and other assaults occur 15 to 30 times more often among prisoners than in the general population.) Its possible the Secret Service would deploy a protective detail at the facility, with agents stationed in the cellblock, the prison yard, or otherwise in the vicinity of the VIP inmate.

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In this scenario, agents wouldnt have to be hanging out inside the former president or first ladys celljust close enough to keep an eye out. The situation might be analogousloosely analogousto how the Secret Service protects the presidents children while theyre in school.

While Calvin Coolidges son, John, went to Amherst College in 1926, a Secret Service agent lived in the same house as him and remained by his side throughout the dayexcept when John was in class or hanging out with his buddies during recreation periods. Agents guarding Julie Nixon when she was enrolled at Smith College maintained a post outside her dorm room overnight and then joined up with her when she went out. They also took their meals in the college mess hall. Secret service agents deployed at Stanford University on behalf of Chelsea Clinton dressed like students in order to fit in. (Would Secret Service agents guarding an incarcerated former president dress in prison blues? No one knows.)

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Another option for the Secret Service would be to hand off its protective responsibilities to the Bureau of Prisons or appropriate state-level Department of Corrections. When Hillary Clinton joined President Barack Obamas Cabinet in 2009, the Secret Service turned over at least some of the work of protecting her to the State Departments Bureau of Diplomatic Security. If a former president or first lady were locked up, the Secret Service might inspect the prison and its procedures to ensure everything was up to snuff, and then agree to let the warden handle things from there. Even then, the agency might choose to keep a modest presence in the prison, with an agent stationed in an administrative office, for example. It might also have a special plan for extracting the former president or first lady in case of prison riots.

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Its possible that Congress would pass a law that stripped the incarcerated former president or first lady of their protection. (Lawmakers have often tweaked the rules on who gets a Secret Service detail, and for how long. At the moment, former presidents get the perk for life, while their spouses lose it if they remarry.) A former president or first lady could also make the choice to forgo Secret Service protection. Pat Nixon asked for hers to be dropped in 1984; her husband followed suit in 1985.

Got a question about the news? Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Ronald Kessler, author of In the Presidents Secret Service, and Sonny Smith of Texas A&M University.
Donald Trump was indicted on Thursday, according to a report in the New York Times, for his role in a hush money scheme prior to the 2016 election. The vote to indict, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, indicates that a grand jury found probable cause that Trump committed an offense, which must now be proved to a jury, while paying off adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Bragg faces an uphill battle in this case, but the task before him is not impossible. Were the defendant not a former president in the midst of a reelection campaign, the prosecution probably wouldnt draw much controversy. With Trumps liberty on the line, however, the district attorneyreally, the entire criminal legal systemis in for the fight of a lifetime. The Times reported that the specific charges would be announced in the coming days.

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Braggs case against Trump is one of several moving through the courts today. It is the first to result in an indictment, though arguably the toughest to win. No former president has ever been indicted, and Trump is already in the midst of a reelection campaign. So any prosecutor taking on Trump begins at a disadvantage, facing widespread accusations of political persecution from the GOP. The problem for Bragg is not a mismatch between New York law and the misconduct alleged here; his reported theory of the case is defensible. The problem is that an extremely unusual set of circumstances gave rise to this alleged crime, denying Bragg the ability to fortify his charges with precedent and thereby leaving Trump ample room to question their legitimacy.

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Here are the facts, as alleged: In 2016, Stormy Daniels contacted the National Enquirer through a representative to offer the story of her affair with Trump. The papers publisher, David Pecker, under a previous catch and kill agreement with the Trump campaign reportedly declined to run the story and the Trump campaign was made aware that Daniels was coming forward. At this point, days before the 2016 election, Michael CohenTrumps longtime fixergave the porn actress $130,000 in hush money through a shell company. Trump gave Cohen $420,000 for his effort, but allegedly sought to conceal Cohens payments by listing them as legal expenses for a retainer agreement that did not exist. Trump allegedly falsified these records to prevent the public from learning that he, a presidential candidate, paid off an adult film actress to stop her from acknowledging their affair. It seems safe to say that the story might have hurt his chances in that election, which he won with a margin of fewer than 80,000 combined votes in three tipping point states.

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Federal prosecutors later charged Cohen for his role in the scheme, and he pleaded guilty to various charges, including violation of campaign finance law. He admitted all of this information in the process, accusing Trump of directing his actions throughout the sordid episode. There is also an audio recording of Cohen and Trump discussing the details of the deal.

It had long been a curious feature of this case that its central participant, Donald Trump, faced no legal repercussions, while a supporting player, Michael Cohen, got a three-year prison sentence. No longer. Following a lengthy investigation, Bragg persuaded a grand jury that the former president, too, likely broke the law in paying off Daniels. (The gap between Trumps alleged crime and indictment should not create any problems; the five-year statute of limitations for this offense paused when he was outside New York, as he was for most of this time.)

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The district attorneys theory of the case, as reported prior to the indictment, is coherent but somewhat complicated. Under New York law, it is a felony offense to falsify business records when this intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof. But the payment seemed to violate either state or federal election laws on transparency and campaign limits. Put all that together, and you have a crime under New York law: falsifying business records (by lying about the payments to Cohen) in the furtherance of another crime (the illegal contribution to Trumps campaign).

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Thursdays indictment shows that Bragg has already convinced a grand jury that probable cause exists to believe Trump committed an offense related to this scheme. Winning at trial will be much harder, requiring the district attorney to prove each element of the crime to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. That would likely include proving Trumps intent to contravene campaign finance law. Succeeding here will require Bragg to put Cohen on the stand and persuade a jury that he is more credible than the former president.

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Thats a tall order, and not just because Cohen is a disgraced felon. Despite existing evidence of Trumps extensive involvement in the Daniels scheme, we have not yet seen a smoking gun that proves his fraudulent intent (1) to falsify records in furtherance of (2) helping his campaign. It is notable, though, that the former parent company of the National Enquirer, American Media Inc., signed a non-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice in 2018 in which it admitted that its role in the payoff scheme was to ensure that a woman did not publicize damaging allegations about that candidate before the 2016 presidential election and thereby influence that election. The former CEO of AMI, Pecker, testified before the grand jury and will likely prove a critical witness in any jury trial.

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Still, Bragg will likely need to prove both the falsifying records to help his campaign elements to secure a conviction, putting immense pressure on Cohens credibility. Hell also need to refute Trumps defense (already previewed on Truth Social) that Cohen (1) told him the payoff was legal and (2) he relied on this advice in good faith. Again, the resolution of this dispute may well hang on the jurys determination of credibility between the two men.

Of course, the district attorney will have some say over who, exactly, sits on that jury. Both sides can strike up to 10 jurors for virtually any reason (though not a protected trait like race or sex). Braggs team may well use these peremptory strikes to exclude jurors who are sympathetic toward Trump, including Republican voters. The defense may, in turn, use its strikes to exclude Democratic voters. But the jury pool will be drawn from an overwhelmingly Democratic district. So it will be much easier for prosecutors to build an all-Democratic jury than for the defense to build an all-Republican jury.

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Say Bragg lawfully establishes a sympathetic jury and secures a conviction. Then what? The crime, according to reports prior to the indictment, in question would be a class E felony, which carries a four-year maximum sentence of incarceration. New York judges are generally unlikely to impose a prison sentence on a first-time offender convicted of a non-violent class E felony. Its a fair assumption that a judge will be especially hesitant to impose jail time on a former president. If the judge sentences Trump to any kind of confinement, house arrest is most plausible, since it could accommodate the Secret Service agents that the former president is entitled to retain under federal law.

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To state the obvious, this is a difficult, high-stakes prosecution. Thats not because any one piece of the indictment is unprecedented; Trumps own former finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty to falsifying business records in furtherance of fraud, the same charge that Trump likely now faces. Rather, the difficulty comes from a concatenation of unique factors, not least of all the involvement of an ex-president fighting to reclaim the White House. It is not easy to explain, in a single sentence, how paying off an adult film actor (which is not a crime in itself) set off a chain of events that culminating in a felony offense. The complexity and downright strangeness of the case leaves room for Republicans to delegitimize the prosecution and muddy the publics understanding of Trumps alleged offense.

Other pending cases involving Jan. 6, classified records, and election interference are much more straightforward. Perhaps Braggs move will embolden other prosecutors to bring charges related to the former presidents alleged misconduct in these arenas. If so, that domino effect may be the cases most important legacy.
A year and a half before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg became the archenemy of MAGA world, his candidacy was opposed by former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Its an interesting bit of trivia in the saga of this historic indictment.

In 2021, before news that Bragg might indict former President Donald Trump gave Bragg a national profile and made him the target of death threats and conservative media apoplexy, he was locked in a crowded and competitive Democratic primary in a decisive race in a borough where Republicans have little presence.

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The Manhattan DAs office was being vacated by prosecutor Cy Vance, who had held the role for over a decade, winning a reputation for looking the other way in high-profile cases of wrongdoing by the rich and powerful, including those of Harvey Weinstein and the Trump family; he was also known for accepting campaign donations from defense attorneys with cases he was presiding over.

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With eight candidates in the race, the Harlem-born Bragg was locked in a tight pack. He won a coveted endorsement from the New York Times editorial board, but was being blown out of the water in terms of fundraising by another candidate, former federal prosecutor Tali Farhadian Weinstein.

Farhadian Weinstein was beloved by deep-pocketed donors on Wall Street. Colleagues of her husband, Boaz Weinstein, the founder of the $3 billion hedge fund Saba Capital Management, helped her raise millions of dollars. She also poured $8.2 million of her own fortune into her campaign coffers. By Election Day (for the primary, which was sure to establish the Democratic victor of the whole race), she had roughly $13 million in campaign funds, more than the other seven candidates combined. In second place was Bragg, at roughly $2 million.

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Then, in the races final weeks, Farhadian Weinstein won support from an extremely consequential backer: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Clintons formal endorsement of Farhadian Weinstein, just a week before the primary in June 2021, was both rare and sought-after. At that point it was the exNew York senators only political endorsement of the year at any level. With a smattering of progressive candidates in the race, including Bragg, Farhadian Weinstein was viewed as well to the right of the top contenders.

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Clintons surprising decision to come off the sidelines to oppose Bragg and support Farhadian Weinstein seemed like it might be decisive in a close contest. But Bragg managed to squeak out a narrow victory, winning 34 percent of the vote to Fardahian Weinsteins 31 percent, thanks to his strength in Harlem and Lower Manhattan.

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Would Trump have ended up in cuffs if Clinton had gotten her way and Farhadian Weinstein had triumphed? We dont know for sure, of course, but it seems less likely. Bragg, like other progressives in the race, was explicitly critical of the culture of elite impunity that outgoing DA Vance had fostered during his time in office. Vances bad reputation became nationally known in large part because of his refusal to take up cases against Donald and Ivanka Trump.

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Farhadian Weinstein was less critical of Vance, and many backers saw her as a continuation of his approach. Tali is a favorite among financial services and other members of the business community who know her both socially and professionally and think very highly of her, Kathryn Wylde, the CEO of the business lobbying firm Partnership for NYC, told Gawker at the time. The business community has generally thought that Cy Vance has done a good job at reconciling quality of life and criminal justice issues and that they would like to see continuity and a thoughtful approach and, if I may say, a moderate approach.

Opposition to Bragg, in some sense, has made Clinton and Trump odd bedfellows. Of course, it has taken very different forms. Trumps hostility to Bragg has been violent and threatening, calling Manhattans first Black district attorney an animal and racist, and Soros-backed. Clinton just backed Braggs primary opponent.

For anti-Trump Democrats and nonpartisan supporters of the enforcement of laws, Trumps arrest is a triumph of accountability. But if Clinton had gotten her way, its possible that this moment never would have come. Bet shes happy with Bragg right now.
The news that Donald Trump is going to be indicted has prompted some strong reactions.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference, the former president said in a statement (which was relatively muted by his standards).

He also accused the Manhattan district attorney of being hand-picked and funded by George Sorosan appeal, whether intentional or not, to antisemitic conspiracy theoriesand doing Joe Bidens dirty work instead of handling murders and other violent crimes. And he promised his base that this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden.

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You can see the full statement here.

In a separate social media post, however, Trump showed less restraint, venting in full caps: THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE.  THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!

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Other Republicans joined Trump in expressing their indignation.

The sham New York indictment of President Donald Trump is one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents, Rep. Steve Scalise, the House majority leader, wrote on Twitter. Outrageous.

Outrageous appeared to be the word of the night for Republicans, and the single-word response from Rep. Jim Jordan.

Ted Cruz also leaned into the unprecedented nature of the occasion. The Democrat Partys hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds, he wrote. The substance of this political persecution is utter garbage. This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.

Donald Trump Jr. began his podcast around 15 minutes after the news broke. The presidents son launched into his show by railing against the Soros-backed district attorney. Lets be clear folks: This is Communist-level shit. This is stuff that would make Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, it would make them blush.

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Trump Jr. now defending the QAnon Shaman: "Look what we saw just today: The QAnon Shaman released 14 months early after spending two years in jail unnecessarily."  Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) March 30, 2023

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Eric Trump echoed his fathers Cold Warera language. This is third world prosecutorial misconduct, he said on Twitter. It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year.

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Some Republicans capitalized on the moment. The Trump campaign used the opportunity to send out fundraising messages, as did Sen. J.D. Vance.

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The most remarkable response so far may have come from Trumps presumed presidential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In a tweet, DeSantis stoked the Soros theories and decried the indictment as un-American. More importantly, he ruled out the possibility of supporting an extradition request, should Trump refuse to surrender. (Trumps lawyer has repeatedly said that he will surrender).
Last week, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew underwent an experience familiar to many tech executives: getting heat in front of Congress. Unique to TikTok, however, was that some politicians used the hearing to argue for a complete ban of the platform in the United States. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers opened the hearing by saying as much: We do not trust TikTok will ever embrace American values, values for freedom, human rights, and innovation.

TikTok has been at the center of public debate due to the U.S. governments national security concerns. These concerns stem from TikToks parent company, Chinese tech giant ByteDance, and worries that the Chinese government could compel ByteDance or TikTok to hand over data on TikTok users or manipulate content on the platform. Debates about TikTok go back over three years. Some members of Congress and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, began scrutinizing TikToks ownership in the fall of 2019; in August 2020, former President Donald Trump attempted and failed to ban TikTok entirely.

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Ive been fairly engaged in this conversation over the past three-plus years, from writing a long, widely read article breaking down possible risks with TikTok in early 2020, to arguing with a Trump official as the White House considered a ban, to recently attending one of TikToks private briefings for industry representatives and researchers in Washington, D.C., where the companys top leadership spent hours running through its Project Texas plan to address government security concerns. The debate has now reached fever pitch.

The problem is: The TikTok debate is broken. From policymakers completely talking past each other to the media falling into false binaries when discussing TikTok and a possible ban, too many narratives on the issue have been contradictory, full of logical leaps, or incredibly reductive. Last weeks hearing and the surrounding press coverage and punditry made this clear. In the process, we have lost a sense of why this conversation mattersfor the public, for Americans privacy, and for U.S. policy toward the global internet.

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Most congressional hearings with major tech executives are a mixed bag. There are technically absurd questions, which often get featured in memes and excerpted on morning shows; there are more nuanced and targeted questions, which often get ignored by the press and dodged by the person answering them. (Perhaps the most famous meme comes from Sen. Orrin Hatch asking Mark Zuckerberg in 2018 how Facebook remains free to users: Senator, we run ads, Zuckerberg replied with a smirk.) TikToks hearing was similarly scattered. There were questions about TikToks parent company and the Chinese governments ability to access data from the app or manipulate its content. There were questions about child safety on the platform, looking specifically at issues such as platform addictiveness and the mental health of young women on the app. There was also everything from points made about the broader lack of data privacy protections in the United States to questions about whether TikToks Chew had spoken with Chinese government officials (to which he repeatedly said no).

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All told, representatives questions were a mashup of genuine concerns about TikTok, misguided concerns about TikTok, China-bashing, broader concerns about data privacy, and more. Some issues raised, like child safety, are incredibly important. Many platforms have or are contributing to problems vis-a-vis child safety, addictiveness for minors, and the mental health of teenage users. Although causal relationships are sometimes overstated (when they may be less clear), many social media companies will not tackle issues like addictiveness without stronger market and regulatory incentives. But these issues of child safetyraised at TikToks hearing as part of the argument for a banare not related to national security or TikToks parent company per se. Questions of algorithmic addictiveness are not directly related to national security either (and have generally not been part of the conversation about Beijings potential data access and content manipulation). Those hoping the hearing would make a clear case for a ban were faced with a confused and issue-crowded hearing.

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The TikTok debates problems go well beyond the hearing. Over the past several months, too many pro-ban policymakers and pundits have argued that a ban will protect Americans sensitive data. This is wrong and ignores the tech picture: The U.S. has no strong, comprehensive privacy law for consumers. Even if a policymaker envisions that a TikTok ban would limit Beijings access to user data, the fact is that corporate ownership is only one risk vector. Websites frequently collect highly sensitive information on visitors and share it with third parties. Application developers use pre-built software development kits (SDKs) in their apps which siphon users data, and are hidden behind the apps themselves. In the privacy and national security domains, the multibillion-dollar, virtually unregulated data brokerage ecosystem is another major source of risk. Research by the Federal Trade Commission, nonprofit World Privacy Forum, Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and my team at Dukes Sanford School of Public Policy, among others, has underscored that data brokers are selling Americans identifiable demographic, location, health and mental health, and political data on the open market. The Chinese government, which does indeed gather tons of data on U.S. persons, can easily exploit these privacy gaps. Nonetheless, the myth of a TikTok ban as a silver bullet still persists in many Capitol Hill offices, when Congress has failed to regulate so many of these other areas that activists, scholars, and regulators have called attention to for decades.

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On the flip side, many have argued that TikTok is literally no different than Facebook or Googlebut this is a techno-centric analysis that loses the geopolitics. Looking at the data that TikTok collects is important to understanding the platforms privacy and security risks. Looking only at the data TikTok collects to understand national security risks, however, is an analytical mistake. Regardless of what one thinks of a TikTok ban, the Chinese government has made clear its ability to coerce technology firms in China to hand over data, manipulate content, and otherwise assist with the states objectives. This doesnt mean every company is under Chinese government influence all the time, or in the same ways (assuming as much is also a leap and will lead to bad policy). But it does mean that TikToks ownership by ByteDance, a major Chinese tech firm, does change the risks posed to U.S. users and to the U.S. government. For example, this is what makes it more concerning that multiple ByteDance employees accessed location data on U.S. journalists using TikTok, which is now under investigation by the Justice Department: There is a different potential impact when a foreign government could be involved.

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Most recently, the media is rife with talk of the Biden administration and its threat that ByteDance sell TikTok to a U.S. owner or face a TikTok ban. Taking this at face value is misguided. When Trump attempted to ban TikTok in August 2020, he invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the president to declare a national emergency and then investigate, regulate, or prohibit transactions with certain entities that pose a security threat, such as a foreign company. The IEEPA, though, has an explicit limitation: The president cannot use it to restrict the import or export of information or informational materials. TikTok obviously transmits information, and multiple federal courts cited this IEEPA limitation in 2020 when they ruled that Trumps TikTok executive order exceeded presidential authority. The IEEPA has not changed since 2020. While some congressional bills, like the DATA Act and the RESTRICT Act, could address the executive branchs challenge here, the Biden administration would need a new bill passed to even have a chance at trying to ban TikTok in the U.S. It remains to be seen if the RESTRICT Act could be passed. The administrations threat of a forced divesture, similarly, demands skepticism; it sounds great, and the executive branch has compelled the sale of companies back to U.S. owners before, but the Chinese government has already said it would oppose any forced sale of TikTok.

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False binaries make this even worse. The media framing of ban or no ban is harmful to the TikTok debate, because it pushes people into one of two camps. Pursuing a ban and doing nothing are not the only two options; passing a strong federal privacy law for all companies, that has additional provisions for certain foreign ones, is just one example of an approach between those two extremes. Discussing TikTok as a risk or not a risk is also harmful (and media, pundits, and policymakers have all done so). This is not what risk means. Risk is about possibilityabout the potential for a hypothetical scenario to occur. It does not necessarily mean the event has occurred before. It does not mean it will occur with complete certainty, either. Its about possibility and what steps should be taken to address that possibility. The TikTok risk conversation should really be about breaking out distinct security risks, discussing what evidence the government should or should not have to supply to substantiate concerns about TikTok, and whether proposed responses appropriately match those concernsnot reductively asking whether TikTok is a risk or not.

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The utter brokenness of the TikTok debate matters because the U.S. government is debating whether to heavily restrict or entirely expel a major technology platform, used by 150 million Americans, from the United States. Followers of U.S.-China policy will know that its hardly the first time a Chinese tech firm has drawn the U.S. governments attention. Chinese telecom Huawei, for instance, was the subject of much national security debate before it was eventually effectively pushed out of the country. But restricting the use of telecom equipment in 5G networks is very different than restricting Americans access to a platform delivering information.

Proposed limits on TikTok use, on top of the federal device ban passed in December 2022, implicate questions of free speech, access to information, and how other countries view the U.S. commitment to a free and open internet. To say that banning TikTok will enable internet censorship worldwide takes agency away from governments that already censor the internetincluding in China, Russia, and Iran. Yet the U.S. does need to consider any proposals about TikTok in a global context. Blurring economic and national security considerations has put the U.S. in hot water repeatedly in the past several years, especially during the Trump administration; the reality is that some countries will look at the U.S. seeking to expel a major Chinese tech company, one that is now competitive with U.S. giants (and that Facebook wants to sink), and wonder whether its the U.S. using national security as a cover to go after a rival of domestic social media giants. Even U.S. allies and partners might ask the same question in the face of Congress decades-long failure to pass a comprehensive federal privacy law.

Further, modifying or superseding a core restriction in the IEEPA, which prohibits the president from restricting the import or export of information or informational materials, would be a major decision. It should not be rushed without intense deliberation, and there are plenty of strong arguments for not modifying this limit on executive power at all. We need to repair this debate so that we stop falling into false binaries and simplistic narrativesand refocus on why this conversation matters for all Americans and for U.S. technology policy around the world.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
In the chaotic hours following Donald Trumps Thursday-evening indictment by a Manhattan grand jury, Americans interested in reading the former presidents insta-reactions had to flock to his owned-and-operated platform of choice, Truth Social. Yes, his five-paragraph official statement was posted on his Facebook campaign page and shared by reporters, but the tweet-length red meat and endless all-caps posts that defined Trumps presidency could only be found on the very website he happens to own. And if you happened to browse Truth Social after the indictment news, you couldnt miss those outbursts. Kicking it off at 6:30 p.m.: THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD! Then, a flurry of ReTruths of Republicans decrying the indictment, several more Trump-penned Truths attacking the Manhattan District Attorneys Office, and an endless stream of Fox News and Newsmax clips featuring Trumpworld favorites like Kimberly Guilfoyle and J.D. Vance. As of this writing, the latest Truth Trump has posted himself is an all-caps rant about Manhattans RADICAL LEFT, SOROS BACKED, DISTRICT ATTORNEYALVIN BRAGG.

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The only reason Truth Social even exists is that Trump was banned by major social networks after the siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Still, even though he is now allowed back on Twitter and Facebook, hes posted only sparsely on the lattervideos and statements from the campaign trailand nothing at all on the former. Facebook has put some guardrails on Trumps account in order to prevent him from, you know, potentially stoking another insurrection through the platform, and all the energy at Twitter has been sucked up by another narcissistic businessman with reactionary politics. It makes sense that Trump keeps his most inflammatory statementslike his personal attack on the judge assigned to his caseto a network he controls himself, in case he wishes to rally supporters again.

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Truth Social is by no means a major social network, but thanks to Trumps presence there, it isnt totally insignificant either. Now its getting a bit more attention than usual, and probably inspiring some questions about what, exactly, happens there. Well, for the curious among you, I have spent months trawling (and occasionally writing about) Truth Social and its malcontents, and I can tell you its a surreal funhouse of right-wing grievance, low-quality imagery, huge advertisements for some strange businesses, and normie gimmick accounts that call back to early-2010s Twitter. Heres a brief guide to the non-Trump offerings on Truth Social, which offer a fascinating look into the anger and oddities of the hyperconservative infosphere.

The Least Appealing Ads Youll Ever See

The first thing that struck me about Truth Social when I joined the platform last year was that gold-standard advocate Ron Paul would love this place. Almost every time I log on, I get hit with Sponsored Truths shilling for investment in gold or silver as a hedge against economic downwinds. Usually, these are captioned with endorsements from high-profile conservatives like Mike Huckabee and Sean Hannity, come courtesy of ubiquitous automated accounts like TruthAds, and are presented in astoundingly brittle visual quality.

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Someone should dig up William Jennings Bryan from his grave.

Its not just precious metals that are funding this enterprise, mind you. There are also ads for a sketchy-looking website called Online Shopping Tools, which apparently Amazon Hates, even though They Cant Stop You. Anyway, you ever heard of Natasha Owens? I had not, before I came across a Sponsored Truth from her account asking for fans to download her song Trump Won before it gets removed. Considering her song only has about 61,000 streams on Spotify even with the Truth boost, I would assume streaming services arent too concerned about its dangerous reach.

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But seriously, this place has so many gold and silver ads. And also, quack heartburn medicine?

The Trumpiest of the Trumpy

The high-profile Truth Social users recommended to lay users when they join tend to fall into two categories: Trump inner-circle members and Trump allies. The former group consists of well-known Trump-era figures whove stayed close with the former president, such as Donald Trump Jr., Sebastian Gorka, Kash Patel, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Kari Lake, among others. The latter casts a slightly wider net, encompassing those who may not personally hang out with Trump these days but nevertheless post nonstop on his behalf: Catturd, Tulsi Gabbard, Scott Adams, Dinesh DSouza, and other far-right influencers. Trump allies can also include hyperpartisan media outlets whose anchors and general editorial acumen profess full fealty to Trumpism: One American News Network, Newsmax, DC Enquirer, and American Greatness. Oh yeah, Kanye Ye West is on there too, though he hasnt Truthed since Dec. 12, when he wrote that White lives matter too and offered to be Trumps 2024 running mate. In case you were wondering whether there are any avowed liberals on Truth Social, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has an account, though he posts infrequently.

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Anyway  what should we call these diehards? Truthers? I dont know, man.

Podcasts and Videos!

There are few things Trump loves more than posting TV clips that center around him. It turns out the rest of Truth Social loves posting videos as well. Conspiracist podcasters like Steven Crowder and former Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson post links to their segments all the time, which are usually hosted on either YouTube or Rumble. Rep. Matt Gaetz will never miss an opportunity to share his Fox News appearances. Jon Voight has taken his video monologues here. Even House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gives direct addresses to American voters through Rumble-recorded videos that he boosts through numerous Truths. As a bonus, theres also a Veteran Owned & Operated firepit dealer called MyFireside, whose account shares videos of the companys custom-made, MAGA-branded fireplaces in action, soundtracked by patriotic anthems like Lee Greenwoods God Bless the U.S.A. Not your typical digital fireplace, it isnt, unless youre really into Ted Nugent.

 Historical Photos and Bible Quotes?

Remember how, on the early days of Twitter and Facebook, youd see all sorts of random, one-trick accounts like History in Pictures and I Fucking Love Science? Well, if you missed those, the good news is you can find some of them right here on good ol Truth Social. This Day in History continues to share unsourced, older photos of dubious origin. @Memes shares cute animal photos in between disses of Biden and the libs. Daily Bible Verses posts Bible verses every day, while also ReTruthing accounts that advertise Mike Huckabees gold hustle. And with that, folks, weve come full circle.
(CNN)  A massive fire ripped through a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladeshs southern district of Coxs Bazar on Sunday, leaving around 12,000 people homeless, local Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mahfuzul Islam told CNN.

Sweeping through the Kutupalong refugee camp in the afternoon, the blaze gutted around 2,000 huts before it was brought under control, Islam said.

No casualties have been reported so far, he said, adding that the cause of the fire is not yet determined but an investigation is under way.

Authorities are working with international and local humanitarian organizations to provide food and temporary shelters to those who have lost homes, he added.

We will ensure no one sleeps under the open sky. Everyone will get a temporary shelter, Islam said, with community centers and mosques providing housing to those affected by the fire.

Ninety facilities including hospitals and learning centers were burnt down, the Bangladesh branch of the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR tweeted on Sunday.

Rohingya refugee volunteers trained on firefighting & local fire services have controlled the fire, it added in another tweet.

Humanitarian organization Save the Children said Sundays fire was a ghastly reminder that children stuck in the camps in Coxs Bazar face a bleak future.

Todays massive fire will have robbed many families of their safety and what little belongings they have left, it said in a statement, adding they continue to grapple with inadequate education, concerning levels of malnutrition, stunting, child marriage, and child labor.

The UNs International Organization of Migration (IOM) in Bangladesh said on social media that they are assessing the needs of people to provide support.

Sundays blaze marks one of the largest of several fires that have plagued the camp in recent years.

An estimated 1 million members of the stateless Muslim minority Rohingya live in what many consider to be among the worlds largest refugee camps after fleeing a brutal campaign of killing and arson by the Myanmar military.

This story was first published on CNN.com, Fire rips through Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh leaving thousands homeless"
Are you a small business owner looking for inspiration for your blog? With so many potential topics to cover, it can be challenging to come up with fresh, engaging ideas for your blog. But fear not  weve compiled a list of over 100 small business blog ideas to help you get started.

Finding Your Niche

Before you start blogging, its essential to find your niche. Here are some tips to help you identify your target audience and narrow down your focus:

Conduct market research

Research your target audience and understand their needs, preferences, and interests. Use this information to craft blog topics that resonate with your audience.

Understand your niche

Identify a unique angle within your industry that sets you apart from your competitors. For example, if you run a coffee shop, you could focus on sustainable sourcing, brewing techniques, or coffee-related recipes.

Types of Blog Posts

To keep your blog interesting, its important to mix up your content. Here are some popular types of blog posts to try:

How-to guides

Offer step-by-step instructions for completing a task or solving a problem related to your industry. These posts are popular because they offer real value to your readers.

Listicles

Lists of tips, tricks, or resources related to your niche can be an easy way to produce content while also providing value to your readers.

Product reviews

Review products relevant to your industry. These posts are a great way to establish yourself as an expert while also providing valuable information to your readers.

Interviews

Interview industry experts or feature interviews with customers or clients. This type of content provides insight into your industry and can be an effective way to establish your authority.

Personal stories

Share your own experiences related to your industry. This can help your readers connect with you on a personal level while also providing valuable insights.

Opinion pieces

Offer your thoughts on industry news, trends, or developments. These posts can be a great way to engage with your readers and spark discussion.

Infographics

Visual content can be highly engaging and shareable. Consider creating an infographic related to your industry to provide valuable information in a visually appealing way.

Writing Techniques

Once youve identified your niche and chosen your blog post types, its important to use effective writing techniques to keep your readers engaged:

Write a catchy headline

Your headline is the first thing readers will see, so make it count. Use strong, descriptive language and try to convey the main idea of your post.

Craft an engaging introduction

Your introduction should hook your readers and make them want to keep reading. Use storytelling techniques or start with a surprising statistic or fact to capture your readers attention.

Write for readability

Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and subheadings to break up your content and make it easy to read. Also, use plain language and avoid industry jargon to make your content accessible to all readers.

Use images and videos

Visual content can make your blog more engaging and shareable. Include relevant images, videos, or graphics to break up your text and make your content more visually appealing.

Format blog posts

Pay attention to the formatting of your blog posts. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to make your content easier to scan.

Add calls to action

End each blog post with a clear call to action. Encourage readers to share your content on social media, sign up for your email list, or visit your website.

Content Promotion

Creating great content is just the first step  you also need to promote it effectively to reach your target audience. Here are some ways to promote your blog content:

Social media marketing

Promote your blog posts on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Share your posts on your own social media pages, and consider reaching out to other industry influencers or thought leaders to help spread the word.

Email marketing

Build an email list and send out newsletters or updates when you publish new blog content. This can be a great way to keep your readers engaged and drive traffic to your website.

Guest posting

Consider guest posting on other industry blogs or inviting other bloggers to guest post on your own blog. This can help you reach new audiences and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

SEO optimization

Optimize your blog content for search engines by using relevant keywords, including meta descriptions, and using alt tags for images.

Influencer outreach

Consider reaching out to industry influencers and thought leaders to help promote your content. This can be a great way to reach new audiences and build your authority in your industry.

Networking

Attend industry events, join online forums or groups, and connect with other small business owners to build relationships and promote your blog.

Blogging Tools and Resources

There are many tools and resources available to help you create, manage, and promote your blog. Here are some essential tools to consider:

Content management systems

Use a content management system like WordPress or Squarespace to create and manage your blog.

Analytics tools

Use analytics tools like Google Analytics or Clicky to track your blog traffic and understand your readers behavior.

SEO tools

Use SEO tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to optimize your blog content for search engines.

Email marketing tools

Use email marketing tools like Mailchimp or ConvertKit to build and manage your email list.

Social media scheduling tools

Use social media scheduling tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule and manage your social media posts.

Monetization Strategies

If youre looking to monetize your blog, here are some strategies to consider:

Affiliate marketing

Promote other companies products and earn a commission for each sale made through your unique affiliate link.

Sponsored content

Partner with brands to create sponsored blog posts that promote their products or services.

Advertising

Sell advertising space on your blog, such as banner ads or sponsored posts.

E-commerce

Sell your own products or services directly through your blog.

Subscription-based services

Offer premium content or services to subscribers for a monthly or yearly fee.

Managing Your Blog

To run a successful blog, you need to establish a consistent posting schedule and manage your content effectively. Here are some tips for managing your blog:

Create an editorial calendar

Plan your blog content in advance using an editorial calendar. This can help you stay organized and ensure that youre publishing content regularly.

Establish a consistent posting schedule

Publish new blog content on a consistent schedule, whether thats once a week or once a month. This can help you build a loyal readership.

Manage guest posts

If you accept guest posts on your blog, be sure to establish guidelines for submissions and review each submission carefully before publishing.

Respond to comments

Engage with your readers by responding to comments and answering questions.

Analyze blog metrics

Regularly review your blog metrics, such as traffic and engagement, to understand whats working and whats not.

Inspiration for Small Business Blog Post Ideas

If youre ever stuck for ideas, here are some sources of inspiration for your small business blog:

Trending topics in your industry

Keep up to date with the latest news and trends in your industry, and share your thoughts on these topics with your readers.

Frequently asked questions

Answer common questions that your customers or clients have about your business or industry.

Customer success stories

Share success stories from your customers or clients. This can help establish your credibility and demonstrate the value of your products or services.

Industry news and trends

Discuss new developments in your industry, such as emerging technologies or changes in regulations.

Seasonal content

Create blog posts around holidays, seasons, or other significant events that are relevant to your industry.

Case studies

Write case studies that demonstrate how your products or services have helped customers solve problems or achieve their goals.

Behind-the-scenes looks

Offer a behind-the-scenes look at your business, such as how products are made or how you manage your team.

Blogging can be a powerful tool for small business owners to connect with their target audience, establish their authority in their industry, and drive traffic to their website. By following the tips and ideas outlined in this article, you can create a successful small business blog that engages your readers and helps you achieve your business goals.

Creating a successful small business blog takes time and effort, but it can be a powerful tool for building your brand and driving traffic to your website. By following the tips and ideas outlined in this article, you can generate fresh, engaging content that resonates with your target audience and helps you achieve your business goals.

Remember to keep your content focused on your niche, use effective writing techniques, and promote your content effectively to reach your target audience. With persistence and dedication, your small business blog can become a valuable asset that drives traffic and boosts your brand awareness.

FAQs

How do I start a small business blog?

To start a small business blog, you need to first identify your niche and target audience. From there, you can choose your blog post types, develop a content strategy, and start writing and publishing posts.

How often should I post on my blog?

The frequency of your blog posts will depend on your niche and audience. Generally, its recommended to publish new posts at least once a week to keep your readers engaged.

What are some tips for writing engaging blog posts?

To write engaging blog posts, you should use effective writing techniques, such as writing catchy headlines, crafting engaging introductions, and using images and videos. You should also write for readability and use formatting techniques to break up your content.

How can I monetize my blog?

There are several monetization strategies to consider, such as affiliate marketing, sponsored content, advertising, e-commerce, and subscription-based services.

How do I measure the success of my blog?

You can measure the success of your blog by tracking metrics such as traffic, engagement, and conversions. Use analytics tools to understand your readers behavior and make data-driven decisions.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when blogging?

Some common mistakes to avoid when blogging include not having a clear content strategy, not promoting your content effectively, not engaging with your readers, and not measuring your blog metrics. Also, its important to avoid using too much industry jargon or writing in a way that is difficult for your readers to understand.
Growth for a small business can come to a halt for many different reasons. Whether it is a pandemic, an economic downturn, or the number of issues that affect entrepreneurs, there are many challenges. Many grants are designed to help business owners overcome these challenges by providing badly needed funds or help with other resources.

Economic grants empower small businesses by fostering growth and innovation as well as financial support. By investing in small businesses, economic grants also strengthen local economies, create jobs, and increase community development. And this is the goal of public as well as private grants, to not only boost small businesses but also contribute to a more vibrant and resilient economy.

These grants are going to help entrepreneurs overcome financial barriers, launch or expand operations, create improvement plans, offer educational programs, and create new jobs. Grants of up to $125,000 are available from jobs programs, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), American Express, and other community grants.

Small Business News March 31, 2023

Stay on top of small business news with the rest of this weeks roundup.

Wix.com unveiled new integrations with Meta, allowing business owners to seamlessly connect with their customers across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. This development centralizes businesses customer interactions from various social platforms into one location  the Wix Inbox.

As Canva approaches the tenth anniversary since its launch in 2013, the team behind the online design and publishing tool has gifted its 125 million users 10 new tools and features. The gifts were dropped onto the homepages of the Canva platform, and we can now reveal what each of the ten gifts was.

During COVID, something changed with how people worked and what they were willing to do at work. Small business owners struggled to find qualified people with the skills and dedication they needed to fit jobs inside their organization.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is gearing up for its 2023 Womens Business Summit, a two-day hybrid event scheduled for March 28-29. Designed to celebrate Womens History Month, the summit will unite women entrepreneurs and thought leaders from various public and private sectors.

Two resort companies in Florida have agreed to pay $325,000 to settle allegations related to false certifications they provided on a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness application. Orlando Reunion and Crystal River were alleged to have knowingly given false information to support Crystal Rivers PPP loan forgiveness application.

In todays digitally-driven world, there is perhaps no bigger threat to businesses than a security breach. As data inches closer to becoming the worlds most valuable commodity, businesses are collecting masses of personal information; using it to understand their customers and provide better experiences. It has also led to a surge in high-profile breaches.

Despite all your best effortsand those of your tax professional if you use one, your original tax return may not be the final word on tax liability for the year. Things happen and you may want or need to file an amended return. Theres considerable uncertainty about aspects of amended returns. Here are some questions and answers to help settle matters. 1.

For most of the country, the March 15th S Corp filing deadline has passed. However, for the storm-ravaged states of California, Alabama, and Georgia, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has extended the date to file various federal individual and business returns and make tax payments to October 16th, 2023.

Get the latest headlines from Small Business Trends. Follow us on Google News.
March is when Womens History Month is observed yearly. March 2023 also happened to be when the Academy Awards were presented.

Writer/director Sarah Polleys Women Talking (Orion), a film adaptation of Miriam Toews novel of the same name, was nominated for two Oscars including Best Picture. Polley took home the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay on March 12.

Set in a restrictive Mennonite colony where the women are regularly sexually abused, Women Talking zeroes in on what happens when, after years of being lied to by the elders (they are told they are the victims of ghosts or Satan), they discover their attackers are the men of the colony. A group of the women, who have long accepted their role and fate of being bruised, infected, pregnant, stand up for themselves and decide to take action to determine whether they stay and fight or leave.

The women of the newly formed action committee include expectant mother Ona (Rooney Mara), Salome (Claire Foy), and Mejal (Michelle McLeod), who lean heavily towards leaving. Mariche (Jessie Buckley) and Janz (Frances McDormand) are in the minority of those who want to stay. Older women Greta (Sheila McCarthy, familiar to some from the beloved lesbian classic Ive Heard the Mermaids Singing) and Agata (Judith Ivey) attempt to be the voices of reason and remain open-minded throughout. While the youngest among them, Autje (Kate Hallett) and Netje (Liv McNeil), who caught their attacker (who, in turn, named the others), alternate between boredom, playfulness, and rage during the proceedings.

Ultimately, the women have a limited amount of time to make a decision that will not only affect them, but all of the women in the colony. Because the women are seen as less than and are not allowed education, they enlist the services of teacher August (out actor Ben Whishaw) to assist them by taking the minutes of their meeting. Augusts family was exiled from the community years before, but after attending university, he has returned. His presence also takes on deeper meaning as he is in love with Ona.

What follows is a brutal portrayal of life in a 21st century religious community of people who exist as if they were from a much earlier time altogether. Shunning all modern conveniences, they travel by horse-drawn carts, their drab homemade clothing reflects modesty. There are no cell phones or TVs. The only music is the hymns they sing to each other.

Sarah Polley continues to prove herself to be a gifted director and writer. Even with its muted tones and mood, Women Talking is stunning to look at. Polley has given her ensemble cast a powerful and, as you might have guessed from the title, talky script. But all of the actors rise to the occasion turning in devastating performances (surprisingly, none were nominated for Oscars). At a time when religious fanaticism continues to be in the news, Women Talking serves as a reminder of the dangers to everyone.

Rating: B+

Gregg Shapiro is the author of eight books including the poetry chapbook Fear of Muses (Souvenir Spoon Books, 2022). An entertainment journalist, whose interviews and reviews run in a variety of regional LGBTQ+ and mainstream publications and websites, Shapiro lives in Fort Lauderdale with his husband Rick and their dog Coco.
Ted Nugent kicked off Donald Trumps rally on March 25 with a homophobic insult aimed at the president of Ukraine.

I want my money back, I did not authorize any money to Ukraine to some homosexual weirdo, he said to cheers about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The former president held a kick-off rally in Waco, Texas, for his 2024 presidential campaign. Nugent, a famous musician, has become known for his conservative causes and being a provocateur.

His remarks, amazing about Zelensky, and I want my money back. He is channeling what a lot of Americans feel, Ed Henry, host of Real Americas Voice, said on his newscast.

The war in Ukraine has become a flashpoint on the right with some Republicans calling for the U.S. to essentially abandon the country.

Europe isnt helping itself. They are relying on the U.S. to largely do it for them. That is very unfair to us, Trump said, according to the Associated Press. The former president blamed the war on a new lack of respect for the U.S. and made the bold claim that horrible war would end in 24 hours, or less, if he were president.
Foreign Affairs Ministry says it will investigate further.

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A Slovak citizen, Ashot Mkrtychev, has been sanctioned by the US government for his role in attempted arms deals between Russia and North Korea. The US Treasury Department sanctioned Mkrtychev after checks revealed attempts by Russia to replace military equipment lost during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, writes the department.

The materials involved comprised over 20 types of weapons and munitions for Russia that were to be supplied by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (i.e. communist North Korea) in return for commercial planes or other materials. Ashot Mkrtychev sought to benefit from both ends of the deal, according to the US Treasury Department. The exchange was supposed to take place in late 2022 and early 2023. The Slovak citizens assets in the US are now blocked.

The Slovak citizen told the tvnoviny.sk news website that he does not deal arms. He said he plans to ship food and medicine from Russia to North Korea. "I want to import flour, wheat, chocolate, some canned goods from Russia to Korea. The Russians used to export food to the West, but now they can't, that's why they have a surplus, so they want to sell it," Mkrtychev explained. No contract has been signed yet, he added.

Mkrtychev is now cut off from the US financial system according to US Treasury Department spokesperson John Kirby, the TASR newswire reported. Now that his [Ashot Mkrtychevs] activities have been exposed, he will face great challenges accessing the international financial system. Any person that attempts to help Mkrtychev will also be liable to sanctions, Kirby added. The spokesperson did not clarify whether any of the purported trades between North Korea and Russia had actually occurred.

The Slovak claims that he has no assets in the US.

Arms deals

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the Russian army has lost over 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment since the start of its war in Ukraine. The overall sanctions directed towards Russia are making replenishing such resources more difficult for the country. Schemes like the arms deal pursued by [Mkrtychev] show that Russian president Vladimir Putin is turning to suppliers of last resort.

The Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry says it is preparing to investigate the case further in cooperation with the US Treasury Department.

Who is Mkrtychev?

The Dennik N daily reported more details about the arms dealers identity. Ashot Mkrtychev is of Azerbaijani origin.

He has been at the centre of multiple cases in Slovakia already. A man of the same name was accused for allegedly ordering the murder of a competing arms dealer. However, a court in Presov ultimately convicted Mkrtychev only on charges of obstruction of justice after the prosecutor failed to prove his alleged involvement in the murder. He was jailed but later freed in 2010.

The Slovak, a former Russian jet pilot, arrived in Slovakia in 1995. He obtained citizenship four years later. He used to live in Snina, eastern Slovakia, in the first years after arrival in the country.

Mkrtychev told the Markiza television channel that he has never dealt arms. However, the Korzar newspaper writes that he was authorised to trade weapons and military material. He received a licence from the ministries of defence and economy despite the fact that he was also prosecuted for running a criminal group and large-scale economic fraud.
Ukraine has recently received short-range air-defence missile systems and several fighter jets from Slovakia, in return for which the NATO member was offered valuable military equipment by the US. But many Slovaks are not impressed.

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A week after Slovakia sent four fighter planes to Ukraine, interim Prime Minister Eduard Heger arrived in Ukraine on Friday at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

It is Hegers second trip to Ukraine. He visited the country last April, just days after the world learned about the mass killings, sexual violence and other crimes committed against civilians in the town of Bucha by the invading Russian forces.

Interim Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad is accompanying Heger on the current trip.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Moldavan President Maia Sandu are also visiting Ukraine to mark the first anniversary of the Bucha massacre.

The defence minister confirmed on Friday that missiles and two Kub short-range air defence systems, which Slovakia promised to provide to Ukraine, have now been delivered. In addition to four MiG-29 jets, the other MiGs are gradually arriving in Ukraine, the defence minister said on a train bound for Kyiv. He admitted that Slovakias capacity to provide further major weapons systems is becoming limited, but he hinted that Slovakia would play a key role in supplying Ukraine with ammunition.

We are taking measures to be able to quintuple the production of 155mm ammunition in our factories, he told the press, stressing that Slovakia also plays an important logistical role in transporting aid to Ukraine from the West.

At a meeting with Heger, the Ukrainian president asked Slovakia to help rebuild Ukraine. They also discussed Russian propaganda in Slovakia and touched on the isue of wheat exports from Ukraine. Heger would like to see it exported to Africa rather than Europe, to protect local farmers.

It is important for us that Ukraine is a stable country as soon as possible, he told journalists before his meeting with Zelensky. It will help cross-border cooperation and trade in eastern Slovakia.

The Slovak government officials visit to Ukraine comes two days after Ukrainian Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk paid a visit to Slovak parliament.

Ukrainian Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk pays a visit to Slovak parliament on March 29, 2023. (Source: TASR - Pavel Neubauer)

Ukrainian deputy speaker meets Slovak MPs

In Bratislava, Kondratiuk thanked Slovakia for its continuous humanitarian, political and military support, including the recognition of Russia as a terrorist state.

My special thanks go to the National Council [Slovak parliament] for the resolution on the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children, Kondratiuk said, referring to the resolution which was adopted on March 28.

In her speech to Slovak MPs on Wednesday, she also shared several stories about how the war had affected the lives of Ukrainians. When she spoke of midwife Maria from Kharkiv, the deputy speaker also mentioned MiG-29 fighter planes.

She said: Four jets from Slovakia already protect the sky over Kharkiv.

Slovakia signed an intergovernmental agreement on the provision of military equipment, effectively jets, with Ukraine on March 17, despite threats from Russia.

The decision came a year after the Heger-led government first mentioned the possibility of sending the jets to Ukraine if preceded by an official request from Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked interim Prime Minister Heger for MiG-29 jets in early February during a meeting in Brussels.

Ukraine will receive 13 MiG-29 jets in total, in addition to two Kub systems, spare parts and missiles from Slovakia. Nad said in a recent radio interview that the transfer of the remaining equipment, unlike the first four jets flown by Ukrainian pilots, would be gradual and on the ground.

It is believed that Slovak President Zuzana Caputova could announce the successful completion of the transfer of jets during her April visit to Kyiv.

Even so, a majority of Slovaks disapprove of the transfer. In an Ipsos survey for the Dennik N daily conducted a week before the agreement was signed, 60 per cent said they were against the provision of jets to Ukraine. The high number is attributed to a narrative, denied by the relatively unpopular prime minister, being pushed by the extremist and pro-Russian part of the Slovak opposition that the government is dragging Slovakia into war by supplying Ukraine with more military equipment. This narrative appears to be finding traction in a society that is heavily exposed and vulnerable to Russian propaganda.

Just as our S-300 [long-range missile] system that we provided [to Ukraine last April] has saved thousands of lives, so too will these fighter jets save thousands of lives, Heger said after his government approved the transfer during its online sitting on March 17.

The S-300 continues to be operational, Nad has recently confirmed.

A year ago, when Slovakia transferred its only S-300 to Ukraine secretly and the opposition criticised the move, some of Slovakias allies, including the US, offered to protect the countrys airspace with their air defence systems. This time, however, the US tabled a more lucrative offer to Slovakia  the cheap sale of a dozen attack helicopters.

Constitutionality versus morality

Prior to the offer and as soon as Ukraine asked Slovakia for fighter planes, a debate on whether the transfer of Slovak jets was a fundamental foreign policy matter and whether the now interim government  in December, Hegers government lost a no-confidence motion and new elections are scheduled for September  would need parliaments approval for the transfer. Politicians and experts could not agree on those questions for more than a month.

In addition to rows about the interim governments competences, they also squabbled over the state of the grounded jets. Some saw them as little more than scrap metal, while others considered them still deployable military materiel.

The MiGs will serve the Ukrainians much better, said Defence and Security Parliamentary Committee Chair Juraj Krupa for the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party. Here they are just a bunch of scrap. They have been grounded [since last summer].

The government gradually abandoned its initial promise to discuss the transfer and seek approval for it in the debating chamber. The only discussions on the matter took place in the foreign affairs and security and defence parliamentary committees. As the weeks went by, Hegers cabinet began to insist more often than not that it possessed the right to decide on the transfer on its own.

The government has the [constitutional] competence to send such decommissioned equipment, so the government will decide and send these jets to Ukraine, said Heger just days before the signing of the contract.

The opposition parties, except SaS, questioned the legitimacy of Hegers interim government with limited powers and the decision it eventually made.

On March 27, the former ruling Smer-SD party, led by former three-time prime minister Robert Fico, filed a criminal report against members of the interim government on suspicion of committing the crimes of abuse of authority of a public official, violation of duties in the management of foreign property, and sabotage.

Smer, a party with a strong pro-Russian bent which enjoys the largest support among voters in the latest pre-election polls, has opposed any military support to Ukraine. The party claims that weapons will never lead to peace. The transfer is an evident and shameless violation of the constitution, Fico maintained in a Facebook video.

In fact, some constitutional law experts, even though they claim to support military aid to Ukraine on moral grounds, doubt that the government approved the contract with Ukraine in line with the constitution. For example, in their February legal analysis prepared for the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia, experts from Comenius University in Bratislava point out the vagueness of the constitution regarding the interpretation of competencies of an interim cabinet.

Taking into account the principle of republican parliamentarism, which can be deduced from the constitution, it is necessary to state that in case of doubts as to whether an interim government has a certain competence or not, one should rather lean towards the conclusion that it does not have the competence in question, a group of experts wrote in its analysis.

But the government came up with a plan and justified its decision on the basis of its own legal analysis, which needless to say has not been published. Yet the administration argued it had the constitutional competence to conclude an intergovernmental agreement even after it lost the vote of confidence in parliament last December.

The president did not have a problem with it either, Nad claimed.

Indeed, she didnt. However, as President Caputova said, she would have preferred approval from the parliament in the matter of MiG-29 jets given the unstable political situation in Slovakia. She also criticised Hegers cabinet for its chaotic communication about the fighter planes, in particular the untimely announcement on the transfer and the subsequent weeks-long search for a constitutional solution.

She was joined by well-known constitutional law expert Radoslav Prochazka, who even though a supporter of Ukraine wrote on his blog that the signed agreement should have been sent to parliament for approval because the intergovernmental agreement in question was of a military character.

In Slovakia, there is no legal definition of what an intergovernmental agreement of military character encompasses. Some think 13 fighter jets, missiles and two short-range air defence systems for Ukraine fall under the definition of such an agreement. However, the administration claims the opposite following the decision of a member of Hegers cabinet and Foreign Minister Rastislav Kacer.

Former prime minister Mikulas Dzurinda believes it was right to send fighter planes to Ukraine. Genocide is being committed in Ukraine, he said. Let constitutional law experts argue and explain but, morally and politically, the government made the right decision.

The row over the constitutionality of the governments decision to send the fighter jets could have been prevented had there been a cabinet with full powers or a constitutional change adopted. Or if somebody had turned to the Constitutional Court in this matter, but no one did.

Slovakia has sent 13 MiG-29 jets to Ukraine. (Source: TASR - Jan Kroslak)

Russian threats

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov was feeling grateful, and somewhat poetic, several hours after it was announced that Slovakias four Soviet-designed fighter jets unexpectedly took off from the Sliac military base in central Slovakia to Ukraine. In spring, birds traditionally arrive in Ukraine, he tweeted on March 23, MiG-29 jets from Slovakia will have a lot of work defending Europe.

The Slovak Armed Forces also wished the four jets a lot of luck and saved lives: From today, help the Ukrainian nation.

But on Facebook, the Russian embassy in Bratislava shared a different perspective on the issue. The donation of Soviet-made military equipment to Kyiv is illegal, it claimed on March 17. The relevant Russian-Slovak agreements clearly exclude the transfer of weapons and military equipment to third countries without the permission of the manufacturers country, the embassy said.

However, Slovakias interim defence minister believes no such agreements exist. I havent seen them. We did not find them at the ministry, Nad said in a recent radio interview. As for Russias threats, Nad attributed them to frustration at the failure of the Putin administrations decisions, the below-average military command, and the frailty of Russian technology.

The Russian embassy warned Slovakia that increasingly active involvement in the military support of the Kyiv regime could result in an unpredictable and dangerous escalation of the conflict, for which the initiators of the decisions will bear full responsibility. In response, Heger called on the embassy to stop threatening Slovakia.

In the two weeks since the jets left for Ukraine, a Russian group of hackers have attacked several websites in Slovakia, including the national bank, the parliament and the Justice Ministry. In its message on Telegram, the group warned Slovakia against supporting Ukraine.

In 2022, Slovakia spent 170 million to support Ukraine militarily.

Though it may seem that Slovakia has nothing else to send to Ukraine, the country still owns 30 old T-72 tanks. The defence minister, nevertheless, says there is only a 30 per cent chance that Slovakia would provide Ukraine with these tanks. In a recent interview, Nad maintained that the tanks would leave Slovakia only if the country received, say, 30 newer tanks within a year.

Interim Slovak PM Eduard Heger in Bucha on March 31, 2023. (Source: TASR - Jakub Kotian)

Offer to buy US attack helicopters

Currently, Slovak airspace is being guarded by fighter planes from neighbouring countries and air defence systems from NATO allies. American F-16 jets, which Slovakia agreed to purchase in 2018, should start arriving in the country next year.

As compensation for the transferred MiG-29 jets and delayed US fighter planes, Slovakia has been offered the chance to buy 12 attack AH-1Z Viper helicopters together with other necessary equipment for the machines, training of pilots and technicians, as well as more than 500 sophisticated AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles from the US at a discounted price of 313.5 million.

Moreover, for the transferred jets, Slovakia will receive 200 million from the European Peace Facility. The country could use this to help cover the cost of the Bell helicopters. This offer is fantastic and will fundamentally increase our defence potential, the defence minister said of the US offer, which without the discount would stand at more than 920 million.

Slovakia no longer possesses any attack helicopters. It owns three Russian Mi-17 helicopters, which it can service without Russian help unlike the grounded MiG jets, and nine American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. But some experts point out that the maintenance of attack helicopters is expensive and Slovakia might not be able to afford it. Nad dismissed the claim, though in 2011 Slovakia grounded its Russian Mi-24 attack helicopters for the same reason.

In addition, Slovakia had not planned to buy any attack helicopters before the US offer landed on the table. Instead, it had different priorities such as the purchase of attack drones or a long-range air defence system to replace the S-300 sent to Ukraine.

We all know that those helicopters are nonsense, that we dont need them, that the Americans forced them on us, Fico recently claimed. Despite his anti-Washington views, it was his governments that bought US helicopters and jets in the past. Ficos former party colleague and current rival, Peter Pellegrini of the Hlas party, claims the offer would be definitely a good purchase.

Slovakia should make a decision by the start of the summer.

The Dennik N daily claims that the US helicopters on offer were intended for Pakistan. The contract reportedly fell through and Washington offered them to its allies afterwards.

We were the first to receive this offer, Nad said. If we dont take the Vipers, another country will get them.

This story was produced in partnership with Reporting Democracy, a cross-border journalism platform run by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230330/norwegian-police-say-seize-largest-batch-of-cocaine-in-countrys-history-1108978048.html

Norwegian Police Say Seize Largest Batch of Cocaine in Countrys History

Norwegian Police Say Seize Largest Batch of Cocaine in Countrys History

Oslo police seized 820 kilograms (1807 pounds) of cocaine transported in fruit boxes this week, police spokeswoman Grete Lien Metlid said on Thursday.

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The report noted that this was the largest consignment of cocaine ever seized in Norway and its cost amounted to several hundred million Norwegian kroner. At the same time, the report added that the police did not detain anyone.Earlier this week, German law enforcement agencies seized the cocaine hidden in the batch of fruit in the city of Brandenburg, the broadcaster noted, adding that based on the information received from Germany, Norwegian customs officers were able to trace this cargo.

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(CNN)  Donald Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury, according to two sources familiar with the case -- the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges.

The indictment has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days. The charges are not publicly known at this time. Trump will likely be arraigned in court early next week, according to his defense attorney, Joe Tacopina.

The DA's office has been investigating the former president in connection with his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office will reach out to Trump's attorneys to discuss his surrender to face an arraignment.

The decision is sure to send shockwaves across the country, pushing the American political system -- which has never seen one of its ex-leaders confronted with criminal charges, let alone while running again for president -- into uncharted waters.

Trump released a statement in response to the indictment claiming it was "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history."

"I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden," the former president said. "The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party -- united and strong -- will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Trump's lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement that Trump "is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history. He will be vindicated."

Trump was caught off guard by the grand jury's decision to indict him, according to a person who spoke directly with him While the former president was bracing for an indictment last week, he began to believe news reports that a potential indictment was weeks -- or more -- away.

"Is this a shock today? Hell yes," the person said, speaking on a condition of anonymity as Trump's team calculated its response.

Bragg's office said it is in touch with Trump's lawyers.

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.'s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," the district attorney's office said in a statement Thursday. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."

The legal action against Trump jolts the 2024 presidential campaign into a new phase, as the former president has vowed to keep running in the face of criminal charges.

Trump has frequently called the various investigations surrounding him a "witch hunt," attempting to sway public opinion on them by casting himself as a victim of what he's claimed are political probes led by Democratic prosecutors. As the indictment reportedly neared, Trump urged his supporters to protest his arrest, echoing his calls to action following the 2020 election as he tried to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden.

Trump has long avoided legal consequences in his personal, professional and political lives. He has settled a number of private civil lawsuits through the years and paid his way out of disputes concerning the Trump Organization, his namesake company. As president, he was twice impeached by the Democratic-led House, but avoided conviction by the Senate.

In December, the Trump Organization was convicted on multiple charges of tax fraud, though Trump himself was not charged in that case.

Trump's Republican allies -- as well as his 2024 GOP rivals -- have condemned the Manhattan district attorney's office over the looming indictment, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has vowed to launch an investigation into the matter.

GOP rallies to Trump's defense

Congressional Republicans quickly rallied to Trump's defense, attacking Bragg on Twitter and accusing the district attorney of a political witch hunt.

"Outrageous," tweeted House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the Republican committee chairmen who has demanded Bragg testify before Congress about the Trump investigation.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, called the indictment "completely unprecedented" and said it is "a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system."

But at least one moderate Republican told CNN he trusted the legal system.

"I believe in the rule of law. I think we have checks and balances and I trust the system," said Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.

"We have a judge. We have jurors. There is appeals. So I think in the end, justice will be done. If he's guilty it will show up. But if not, I think that will be shown too," Bacon told CNN.

Investigation began under Cy Vance

Bragg's office had signaled as recently as early March that they were close to bringing charges against Trump after they invited the ex-president to testify before the grand jury probing the hush money scheme. Potential defendants in New York are required by law to be notified and invited to appear before a grand jury weighing charges. But Trump ultimately declined to appear before the panel.

The long-running investigation first began under Bragg's predecessor, Cy Vance, when Trump was in office. It relates to a $130,000 payment made by Trump's then-personal attorney Michael Cohen to 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.

At issue in the investigation is the payment made to Daniels and the Trump Organization's reimbursement to Cohen.

According to court filings in Cohen's own federal prosecution, Trump Organization executives authorized payments to him totaling $420,000 to cover his original $130,000 payment and tax liabilities and reward him with a bonus. The Trump Organization noted the reimbursements as a legal expense in its internal books. Trump has denied knowledge of the payment.

At issue in the investigation is the payment made to Daniels and the Trump Organization's reimbursement to Cohen.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Donald Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury"
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/austrians-back-oppositions-stance-on-maintaining-neutrality-in-ukraine-crisis-1109017265.html

Austrians Back Opposition's Stance on Maintaining Neutrality in Ukraine Crisis

Austrians Back Opposition's Stance on Maintaining Neutrality in Ukraine Crisis

Austrian citizens have voiced great support for the stance of the opposition FPO, which calls for the country's long-standing neutrality and its constitutionally enshrined status to be respected during the Ukraine conflict.

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austria

austria

ukraine

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austrian freedom party (fpo)

freedom party of austria (fpo)

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On Thursday, FPO members left a parliamentary meeting to protest the broadcast of a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who sought to give his take on the conflict ravaging his country since February 2022. The opposition lawmakers said that the broadcast ran counter to Austria's neutrality principle. "Our slogans are 'Place for Neutrality,' 'Place for Peace'. They find good support, as FPO has the lead in all polls between 25% and 30%. The Austrians value neutrality very highly, and therefore do not want to favor any of the belligerent parties," Haider said. The Austrian opposition party, along with the majority of Austrian people, condemns the Ukraine crisis and is "certainly not pro-Russian," but it does not want to take any side in the conflict, the lawmaker told Sputnik. Even though Vienna has pledged millions, mostly in humanitarian aid, to assist Ukraine and supported the EU sanctions against Russia, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has repeatedly stressed the immutability of the country's neutrality, the lawmaker said. Despite its political commitment to Kiev, Austria still seeks to keep communication channels with Moscow open, Haider concluded. On October 26, 1955, Austria adopted the Constitutional Law on Neutrality, in which the country declared its commitment to maintain and defend its neutral status with all possible means. For more than half a century, Vienna has been building its foreign policy based on this special status of permanent neutrality in world politics, but in 2022, it sided with the United States and its NATO allies on Ukraine, adopting sanctions against Russia and sending protective gear and fuel to Kiev.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/baku-suspects-tehran-of-being-behind-attack-against-azerbaijani-lawmaker-1109017718.html

Baku Suspects Tehran of Being Behind Attack Against Azerbaijani Lawmaker

Baku Suspects Tehran of Being Behind Attack Against Azerbaijani Lawmaker

Investigators suspect Tehran of being behind the attempted terrorist attack against Azerbaijani lawmaker Fazil Mustafa, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said on Friday.

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On Tuesday, Mustafa, who heads Azerbaijan's Great Order Party, was injured in Baku as a result of an assassination attempt by unknown assailants outside his house, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office said. On Wednesday, the Azerbaijani State Security Service called the attack on Mustafa a terrorist attack. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman also listed military exercises by Iran along the Azerbaijani borders, military flights over the border and anti-Azerbaijani statements by Iranian officials as examples of provocations conducted against Baku. The relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have remained tense in recent years, with Baku condemning Tehran's military exercises near its borders and accusing it of supporting Yerevan in the conflict around the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region (also known as the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh). The possibility of further escalation emerged after an armed man driven by personal motives attacked the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran in January, killing one person and injuring two others. Azerbaijan evacuated its staff after the fatal shooting and suspended its diplomatic mission in Tehran.

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tehran

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/chinese-foreign-ministry-says-chip-supply-chain-disruption-will-hurt-everyone-1108988891.html

Chinese Foreign Ministry Says Chip Supply Chain Disruption Will Hurt Everyone

Chinese Foreign Ministry Says Chip Supply Chain Disruption Will Hurt Everyone

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday that undermining the stability of global chip production and supply chains, the result of cooperative market rules and enterprise choices, would hurt the development of every country.

2023-03-31T11:05+0000

2023-03-31T11:05+0000

2023-04-06T12:15+0000

asia

china

us

south korea

taiwan

japan

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Earlier in the day, Tokyo decided to tighten export controls for advanced chip manufacturing equipment to prevent the technology from being used for military purposes, adding 23 items to the restrictions. The measures were imposed on all but 42 countries and regions, with the United States, South Korea and Taiwan, which decided to restrict semiconductor exports to Beijing, covered by the exemptions. For exports to China and other countries, the registration procedure will become more complicated, requiring the permission of the Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry. Washington has long pressured Japan and the Netherlands to impose stricter export controls on China. Despite this, semiconductor exports from Japan to China have been growing due to the increasing demand for smartphones and data centers. Goods covered by the export restriction measures are produced by 10 Japanese companies, which will reportedly be granted non-military export permits. In this way, Japan has tried to respond to US requirements and at the same time minimize the impact on its companies.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230301/bidens-semiconductor-subsidies-may-turn-into-taxpayer-funded-romp-as-asian-chip-giants-forge-ahead-1107913159.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/developed-countries-morally-obliged-to-aid-africa-russias-un-envoy-says-1108981295.html

Developed Countries Morally Obliged to Aid Africa, Russia's UN Envoy Says

Developed Countries Morally Obliged to Aid Africa, Russia's UN Envoy Says

Developed countries are morally obliged to help African nations, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN and the Security Council Vasily Nebenzya said.

2023-03-31T10:16+0000

2023-03-31T10:16+0000

2023-03-31T10:16+0000

africa

russia

the united nations (un)

un security council (unsc)

cooperation

developed countries

west

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Developed countries are morally obliged to help African nations, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN and the Security Council Vassily Nebenzia said during a Security Council session, dedicated to ensuring peace and stability on the African continent.According to the diplomat, developed countries are still not following through on their obligations to provide African countries with development assistance.The United Nations set a target for countries to spend 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) on official development assistance (ODA), according to a UN resolution dating back to October 24, 1970.The ODA is a category seen as the gold standard for foreign aid, used in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for promoting the economic development and well-being of developing countries.Nebenzia noted that the international community should contribute to the African continent's development, so that "the benefits of economic progress are shared equitably."The Russian diplomat stressed that such international support should be provided "exclusively with the consent of the host [African] government, according to its priorities and with respect for its sovereignty." In November 2022, the United Nations General Assembly concluded talks on reforming the Security Council, where many concurred on the need for modernization, with African representatives actively calling for making the body more inclusive.Russian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Vassily Nebenzia has repeatedly stated that the composition of the UN Security Council (UNSC) does not reflect either the number of states in Africa or the continent's role globally.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221119/un-security-council-cannot-remain-frozen-in-the-past-as-africa-demands-changes-1104433756.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230316/us-using-intrusive-approach-to-south-sudan-russias-un-security-council-representative-says-1108461525.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/five-arrested-in-mexico-over-deadly-fire-at-migrant-detention-center-1108983833.html

Five Arrested in Mexico Over Deadly Fire at Migrant Detention Center

Five Arrested in Mexico Over Deadly Fire at Migrant Detention Center

Five out of six arrest warrants issued by Mexican prosecutors as part of the investigation into this week's fire at a migrant detention center in the city of Ciudad Juarez, which killed at least 39 people, have already been executed, Mexican Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said.

2023-03-31T08:05+0000

2023-03-31T08:05+0000

2023-03-31T08:05+0000

americas

mexico

fire

us-mexico border

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On March 28, a fire broke out at a detention center for migrants who tried to illegally cross the US-Mexican border. According to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the detainees started the fire themselves in a protest against deportations. According to the minister, the warrants were issued against three immigration officials, two private security guards and a migrant accused of starting the fire. At least 39 people died in the fire, and 28 others were injured. All of the victims have been identified. The majority of them are from Guatemala, but there are also people from Salvador, Venezuela, Honduras and Colombia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230328/death-toll-from-fire-in-mexican-migration-center-reaches-39-1108884721.html

americas

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/france-needs-to-ditch-imperial-ambitions-to-restore-its-clout-in-africa-russian-diplomat-says-1108989866.html

France Needs To Ditch Imperial Ambitions To Restore Its Clout in Africa, Russian Diplomat Says

France Needs To Ditch Imperial Ambitions To Restore Its Clout in Africa, Russian Diplomat Says

France should abandon imperial ambitions and not blame other countries for the loss of authority, in order to regain its former influence in Africa, Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador-at-large of the Russian FM tells Sputnik.

2023-03-31T18:48+0000

2023-03-31T18:48+0000

2023-04-01T09:35+0000

africa

france

russia

russian foreign ministry

foreign pullout from mali

french troops

emmanuel macron

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France should abandon imperial ambitions and not blame other countries for the loss of its authority there, Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa conference, tells Sputnik.According to him, the weakening of France's role in Africa is, "if not the final chord, then the extension of the same processes that have been taking place since the end of the 20th century."Ozerov has spotlighted Russia's special role in helping some African countries settle conflicts and military clashes.He recounted that Paris played one of the central roles in the destruction of Libya's statehood, which led to the fact that hordes of extremists and terrorists poured into the expanses of the Sahara-Sahel zone, destabilizing the situation there. According to him, France could not cope with this situation on its own, and the countries of this region then had to turn to Moscow.France's sway in Sahel significantly faded after it pulled out its troops from Mali and Burkina Faso at the behest of local military governments and against the backdrop of anti-French and pro-Russian protests in the countries of the region. The withdrawals took place in 2022 and 2023 respectively. The French forces were present there under the pretext of fighting terrorism, which has been plaguing the region since 2011.Against the backdrop of France's waning influence in its former West African colonies, President Macron has accused Russia of pursuing a "predatory project" on the continent, noting that "a number of powers who want to spread their influence in Africa are doing this to hurt France, hurt its language, sow doubts, but above all pursue certain interests".

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230302/majority-in-france-oppose-french-military-presence-in-africa-poll-reveals-1107926650.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230322/burkina-faso-prioritizes-defense-cooperation-with-russia--1108678346.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/full-text-russias-new-foreign-policy-concept-1108994715.html

Full Text: Russia's New Foreign Policy Concept

Full Text: Russia's New Foreign Policy Concept

Read the full text of Russia's new foreign policy concept.

2023-03-31T14:18+0000

2023-03-31T14:18+0000

2023-03-31T14:18+0000

russia

foreign policy

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Read the full text of Russia's new foreign policy concept.I. General provisions1. This Concept is a strategic planning document which provides a systemic vision of the national interests of the Russian Federation in the domain of foreign policy, basic principles, strategic goals, major objectives and priority areas of the Russian foreign policy.2. The Concept is based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation, generally recognized principles and norms of international law, international treaties of the Russian Federation, federal laws, other statutes and regulations of the Russian Federation governing foreign policy activities of the federal authorities.3. The Concept specifies certain provisions of the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation and takes into account basic provisions of other strategic planning documents pertaining to international relations.4. More than a thousand years of independent statehood, the cultural heritage of the preceding era, deep historical ties with the traditional European culture and other Eurasian cultures, and the ability to ensure harmonious coexistence of different peoples, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups on one common territory, which has been developed over many centuries, determine Russia's special position as a unique country-civilization and a vast Eurasian and Euro-Pacific power that brings together the Russian people and other peoples belonging to the cultural and civilizational community of the Russian world.5. Russia's place in the world is determined by its significant resources in all areas of living, its status of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, participant in the leading intergovernmental organizations and associations, one of the two largest nuclear powers, and the successor (continuing legal personality) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Russia, taking into account its decisive contribution to the victory in World War II and its active role in shaping the contemporary system of international relations and eliminating the global system of colonialism, is one of the sovereign centres of global development performing a historically unique mission aimed at maintaining global balance of power and building a multipolar international system, as well as ensuring conditions for the peaceful progressive development of humanity on the basis of a unifying and constructive agenda.6. Russia pursues an independent and multi-vector foreign policy driven by its national interests and the awareness of its special responsibility for maintaining peace and security at the global and regional levels. Russia's attitude towards other states and interstate associations is contingent on the constructive, neutral or unfriendly character of their policies with respect to the Russian Federation.II. Today's World: Major Trends and Prospects for Development7. Humanity is currently going through revolutionary changes. The formation of a more equitable multipolar world order is underway. The sovereignty and competitive opportunities of non-Western world powers and regional leading countries are being strengthened. Structural transformation of the world economy, its transfer to a new technological basis (including the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies, the latest information and communication, energy, biological technologies and nanotechnologies), the growth of national consciousness, cultural and civilizational diversity and other objective factors accelerate the process of shifting the development potential to new centres of economic growth and geopolitical influence and promote the democratization of international relations.8. The changes which are now taking place and which are generally favourable are nonetheless not welcomed by a number of states being used to the logic of global dominance and neocolonialism. These countries refuse to recognize the realities of a multipolar world and to agree on the parameters and principles of the world order accordingly. Attempts are made to restrain the natural course of history, to eliminate competitors in the politico-military and economic spheres, and to suppress dissent. A wide-spread form of interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states has become the imposition of destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that run counter to traditional spiritual and moral values. As a result, the destructive effect extends to all spheres of international relations.9. Serious pressure is being put on the UN and other multilateral institutions the intended purpose of which, as platforms for harmonizing the interests of the leading powers, is artificially devalued. The international legal system is put to the test: a small group of states is trying to replace it with the concept of a rules-based world order (imposition of rules, standards and norms that have been developed without equitable participation of all interested states). It becomes more difficult to develop collective responses to transnational challenges and threats, such as the illicit arms trade, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, dangerous pathogens and infectious diseases, the use of information and communication technologies for illicit purposes, international terrorism, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, transnational organized crime and corruption, natural and man-made disasters, illegal migration, environmental degradation. The culture of dialogue in international affairs is degrading, and the effectiveness of diplomacy as a means of peaceful dispute settlement is decreasing. There is an acute lack of trust and predictability in international affairs.10. The crisis of economic globalization is deepening. Current problems, including in the energy market and in the financial sector, are caused by degradation of many previous development models and instruments, irresponsible macroeconomic solutions (including uncontrolled emission and accumulation of unsecured debts), illegal unilateral restrictive measures and unfair competition. The abuse by certain states of their dominant position in some spheres intensifies the processes of fragmentation of the global economy and increases disparity in the development of states. New national and trans-border payment systems are becoming widespread, there is a growing interest in new international reserve currencies, and prerequisites for diversifying international economic cooperation mechanisms are being created.11. The role of the power factor in international relations is increasing, conflict areas are expanding in a number of strategically important regions. Destabilizing build-up and modernization of offensive military capabilities and the destruction of the arms control treaty system are undermining strategic stability. The use of military force in violation of international law, the exploration of outer space and information space as new spheres of military action, the blurring of the line between military and non-military means of inter-state confrontation, and the escalation of protracted armed conflicts in a number of regions increase the threat to global security, enhance the risk of collision between major states, including with the participation of nuclear powers, and the probability of such conflicts escalating and growing into a local, regional or global war.12. A logical response to the crisis of the world order is the strengthening of cooperation between the states that are subject to external pressure. The formation of regional and trans-regional mechanisms of economic integration and interaction in various spheres and the creation of multi-format partnerships to solve common problems are being intensified. Other steps (including unilateral ones) are also being taken to protect the vital national interests. High level of interdependences, global reach and transnational nature of challenges and threats limit the ability of individual states, military-political and trade and economic alliances to ensure security, stability and prosperity. Effective solutions to the numerous problems of our time and peaceful progressive development of large and small nations and humanity as a whole can be achieved only through combining the potential of good faith efforts of the entire international community on the basis of the balance of power and interests.13. Considering the strengthening of Russia as one of the leading centres of development in the modern world and its independent foreign policy as a threat to Western hegemony, the United States of America (USA) and their satellites used the measures taken by the Russian Federation as regards Ukraine to protect its vital interests as a pretext to aggravate the longstanding anti-Russian policy and unleashed a new type of hybrid war. It is aimed at weakening Russia in every possible way, including at undermining its constructive civilizational role, power, economic and technological capabilities, limiting its sovereignty in foreign and domestic policy, violating its territorial integrity. This Western policy has become comprehensive and is now enshrined at the doctrinal level. This was not the choice of the Russian Federation. Russia does not consider itself to be an enemy of the West, is not isolating itself from the West and has no hostile intentions with regard to it; Russia hopes that in future the states belonging to the Western community will realize that their policy of confrontation and hegemonic ambitions lack prospects, will take into account the complex realities of a multipolar world and will resume pragmatic cooperation with Russia being guided by the principles of sovereign equality and respect for each other's interests. The Russian Federation is ready for dialogue and cooperation on such a basis.14. In response to unfriendly actions of the West, Russia intends to defend its right to existence and freedom of development using all means available. The Russian Federation will concentrate its creative energy on the geographic vectors of its foreign policy which have obvious prospects in terms of expanding mutually beneficial international cooperation. The majority of humanity is interested in having constructive relations with Russia and in strengthening Russia's positions on the international scene as an influential global power making a decisive contribution to maintaining global security and ensuring peaceful development of states. This opens up a wide range of opportunities for the successful activity of the Russian Federation on the international scene.III. National Interests of the Russian Federation in the Foreign Policy Domain, Strategic Goals and Key Tasks Set by the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation15. In view of the long-term trends in the world development, the national interests of the Russian Federation in the foreign policy domain are as follows:16. Building on its national interests and strategic national priorities, the Russian Federation focuses its foreign policy activities on achieving the following goals:17. Strategic foreign policy goals of the Russian Federation are achieved through performing the following main tasks:IV. Foreign Policy Priorities of the Russian FederationEstablishment of an equitable and sustainable world order18. Russia is striving towards a system of international relations that would guarantee reliable security, preservation of its cultural and civilizational identity, and equal opportunities for the development for all states, regardless of their geographical location, size of territory, demographic, resource and military capacity, or political, economic and social structure. In order to meet these criteria, the system of international relations should be multipolar and based on the following principles:19. In order to help adapt the world order to the realities of a multipolar world, the Russian Federation intends to make it a priority to:Rule of Law in International Relations20. Ensuring the rule of law in international relations serves as one of the foundations of a just and sustainable world order, maintenance of global stability, peaceful and fruitful cooperation between states and their associations, and a factor in easing international tensions and increasing the predictability of world development.21. Russia consistently advocates strengthening the legal fundamentals of international relations, and faithfully complies with its international legal obligations. At the same time, decisions of interstate bodies adopted on the basis of provisions of international treaties of the Russian Federation which collide with the Constitution may not be executed in the Russian Federation.22. The mechanism for shaping universal international legal standards should be based on the free will of sovereign states, and the UN should remain the main venue for progressive development and codification of international law. Further promotion of the concept of a rules-based world order is fraught with the destruction of the international legal system and other dangerous consequences for humanity.23. In the interests of increasing sustainability of the international legal system, preventing its fragmentation or decay, and avoiding indiscriminate use of generally recognized norms of international law, the Russian Federation intends to make it a priority to: Strengthening international peace and security24. The Russian Federation proceeds from the indivisibility of international security (in global and regional aspects) and seeks to ensure it equally for all states on the basis of the principle of reciprocity. On this basis, Russia is open to joint actions together with all interested states and interstate associations to shape a renewed, more stable international security architecture. In order to maintain and strengthen international peace and security, the Russian Federation intends to give priority attention to:25. The Russian Federation proceeds from the premise that its Armed Forces can be used in accordance with the generally recognized principles and norms of international law, international treaties of the Russian Federation and legislation of the Russian Federation. Russia considers Article 51 of the UN Charter as an adequate and not to be revised legal basis for the use of force in self-defence. The use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation can address, in particular, the tasks of repelling and preventing an armed attack on Russia and (or) its allies, resolving crises, maintaining (restoring) peace as commissioned by the UN Security Council or other collective security structures with the participation of Russia in their area of responsibility, protecting their citizens abroad, combating international terrorism and piracy.26. In the event of unfriendly acts by foreign states or their associations threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, including those involving restrictive measures (sanctions) of a political or economic nature or the use of modern information and communication technologies, the Russian Federation considers it lawful to take the symmetrical and asymmetrical measures necessary to suppress such unfriendly acts and also to prevent them from recurring in future.27. In order to ensure strategic stability, eliminate the prerequisites for unleashing a global war and risks of using nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction, and shaping a renewed international security architecture, the Russian Federation intends to give priority attention to:28. In order to strengthen regional security, prevent local and regional wars, and settle internal armed conflicts (primarily on the territories of neighbouring states), the Russian Federation intends to give priority attention to:29. In order to prevent the rise of biological threats and ensure biological safety, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:30. In order to ensure international information security, counter threats against it, and strengthen Russian sovereignty in the global cyberspace, the Russian Federation intends to give priority attention to:31. In order to eradicate international terrorism and protect the state and Russian citizens from terrorist acts, the Russian Federation intends to give priority attention to:32. For the purpose of combatting the illicit traffic in, and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances that pose a serious threat to the international and national security, citizens' health and moral and spiritual foundations of the Russian society, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:33. For the purpose of combating the transnational organized crime and corruption that cause a growing threat to the security and sustainable development of Russia, its allies and partners, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to enhancing the international cooperation with the goal of eliminating the safe havens for criminals and strengthening multilateral mechanisms that accord with the national interests of Russia.34. For the purpose of reducing, in the territory of the Russian Federation, the risks that arise from the natural and man-made disasters occurring beyond it and enhancing the robustness of foreign countries against them, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:35. For the purpose of combating the illegal migration and improving the international migrations regulation, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to strengthening the interaction in this area with the CIS member states that pursue a constructive policy towards the Russian Federation.Ensuring the interests of the Russian Federation in the World Ocean, outer space and airspace36. For the purpose of studying, exploring and using the World Ocean with a view of ensuring the security and development of Russia, counteracting unilateral restrictive measures on behalf of the unfriendly states and their associations towards Russian marine activities, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:37. For the purpose of peaceful study and uses of outer space, consolidation of its leadership positions on the space goods, works and services markets, reinforcement of its status as one of the leading space powers, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:38. For the purpose of using the international airspace in the interests of the security and development of Russia, counteracting the unilateral restrictive measures on behalf of the unfriendly countries and their associations towards Russian aircraft, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:International economic cooperation and support of international development39. For the purpose of ensuring the economic security, economic sovereignty, sustainable economic growth, structural and technological renewal, improving the international competitiveness of the national economy, preserving the leading positions of Russia in the world economy, reducing risks and capturing opportunities arising from the deep changes in the world economy and international relations as well as based on unfriendly actions by foreign states and their associations, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:40. For the purpose of enhancing the robustness of the system of international relations against crises, improving the social and economic as well as humanitarian situations in the world, relieving the consequences of the military conflicts, implementing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, promoting a positive attitude toward Russia in the world, the Russian Federation intends to promote the international development while giving priority to the social and economic development of the Republic of Abkhazia, the Republic of South Ossetia, EAEU member states, CIS member states that support good-neighbour relations with Russia as well as developing states that pursue a constructive policy towards the Russian Federation.Environmental protection and global health41. For the purpose of preserving the favourable environment, improving of its quality, and intelligently adapt Russia to the climate changes in the interests of modern and future generations, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:42. For the purpose of protecting health and ensuring the social welfare of the people of Russia and other states, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:International humanitarian cooperation43. For the purpose of strengthening the role of Russia in the world humanitarian space, shaping a positive attitude thereto abroad, enhancing the positions of the Russian language in the world, counteracting the Russophobia campaign led by the unfriendly foreign states and their associations as well as enhancing mutual understanding and confidence among states, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:44. With the purpose of countering the falsification of history, incitement of hatred against Russia, spread of the ideology of neo-Nazism, racial and national exclusivity, and aggressive nationalism, and strengthening the moral, legal and institutional foundations of contemporary international relations based primarily on the universally recognized outcomes of World War II, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:Protection of Russian citizens and organizations from foreign unlawful infringements, support for compatriots living abroad, international cooperation in the field of human rights45. With the of protecting the rights, freedoms and lawful interests of Russian citizens (including minors), Russian organizations from foreign unlawful infringements, and countering the campaign of Russophobia unleashed by unfriendly states, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:46. With a view to developing ties with compatriots living abroad and providing them with comprehensive support (given their significant contribution to the preservation and dissemination of the Russian language and Russian culture) in connection with their systematic discrimination in several states, the Russian Federation, as the core of the civilizational community of the Russian world, intends to give priority to:47. Russia recognizes and guarantees human and civil rights and freedoms in accordance with generally recognized principles and rules of international law, and considers the renunciation of hypocrisy and faithful implementation by states of their obligations in this area to be a condition for the progressive and harmonious development of mankind. With the purpose of promoting respect for and observance of human rights and freedoms in the world, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:Information support for the foreign policy of the Russian Federation48. With the purpose of forming an objective perception of Russia abroad, strengthening its position in the global information space, countering the coordinated anti-Russian propaganda campaign carried out on a systematic basis by unfriendly states and involving disinformation, defamation and incitement to hatred, and ensuring free access of the population of foreign states to accurate information, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:V. Regional Tracks of the Foreign Policy of the Russian FederationNear Abroad49. The most important for the security, stability, territorial integrity and social and economic development of Russia, strengthening its position as one of the influential sovereign centres of world development and civilization is to ensure sustainable long-term good-neighbourly relations and to combine the strengths in various fields with the CIS member states, which are connected with Russia by centuries-old traditions of joint statehood, deep interdependence in various fields, a common language and close cultures. With the purpose of further transformation of the near abroad into a zone of peace, good neighbourliness, sustainable development and prosperity, the Russian Federation intends to give priority to:The Arctic50. Russia is seeking to preserve peace and stability, enhance environmental sustainability, reduce threats to national security in the Arctic, create favourable international conditions for the social and economic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (including to protect the original habitat and traditional livelihood of the indigenous people living there), as well as to advance the Northern Sea Route as a competitive national transport corridor making possible its international use for transportations between Europe and Asia. In pursuing these aims, the Russian Federation is going to focus on:Eurasian continentThe People's Republic of China, the Republic of India51. A comprehensive deepening of ties and enhancement of coordination with friendly sovereign global centres of power and development, which are located on the Eurasian continent and committed to approaches which coincide in principle with the Russian approaches to a future world order and solutions for key problems of the world politics, is particularly important for achieving strategic goals and major objectives of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation.52. Russia aims at further strengthening the comprehensive partnership and the strategic cooperation with the People's Republic of China and focuses on the development of a mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas, provision of mutual assistance, and enhancement of coordination in the international arena to ensure security, stability and sustainable development at the global and regional levels, both in Eurasia and in other parts of the world.53. Russia will continue to build up a particularly privileged strategic partnership with the Republic of India with a view to enhance and expand cooperation in all areas on a mutually beneficial basis and place special emphasis on increasing the volume of bilateral trade, strengthening investment and technological ties, and ensuring their resistance to destructive actions of unfriendly states and their alliances.54. Russia seeks to transform Eurasia into a continental common space of peace, stability, mutual trust, development and prosperity. Achieving this goal implies:The Asia-Pacific region55. Given the dynamically growing multifaceted potential of the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Federation is going to focus on:The Islamic world56. The states of friendly Islamic civilization, which has great prospects for establishing itself as an independent centre of world development within a polycentric world, are increasingly in demand and more reliable partners of Russia in ensuring security and stability as well as in solving economic problems at the global and regional levels. Russia seeks to strengthen the comprehensive mutually beneficial cooperation with the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, respecting their social and political systems and traditional spiritual and moral values. In pursuing these aims, the Russian Federation is going to focus on:Africa57. Russia stands in solidarity with the African states in their desire for a more equitable polycentric world and elimination of social and economic inequality, which is growing due to the sophisticated neo-colonial policies of some developed states towards Africa. The Russian Federation intends to support further the establishment of Africa as a distinctive and influential centre of world development, giving priority to:Latin America and the Caribbean58. Given the progressive strengthening of the sovereignty and multifaceted potential of Latin American and Caribbean states, the Russian Federation intends to develop relations with them on a pragmatic, de ideologized and mutually beneficial basis, giving priority attention to:European region59. Most European states pursue an aggressive policy toward Russia aimed at creating threats to the security and sovereignty of the Russian Federation, gaining unilateral economic advantages, undermining domestic political stability and eroding traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, and creating obstacles to Russia's cooperation with allies and partners. In this connection, the Russian Federation intends to consistently defend its national interests by giving priority attention to:60. Objective prerequisites for the formation of a new model of coexistence with European states are geographical proximity, historically developed deep cultural, humanitarian and economic ties of the peoples and states of the European part of Eurasia. 61. The realization by the states of Europe that there is no alternative to peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial equal cooperation with Russia, an increase in the level of their foreign policy independence and a transition to a policy of good neighbourliness with the Russian Federation will have a positive effect on the security and welfare of the European region and help European states take their proper place in the Greater Eurasian Partnership and in a multipolar world.The U.S. and other Anglo-Saxon states62. Russia's course towards the U.S. has a combined character, taking into account the role of this state as one of the influential sovereign centres of world development and at the same time the main inspirer, organizer and executor of the aggressive anti-Russian policy of the collective West, the source of major risks to the security of the Russian Federation, international peace, a balanced, equitable and progressive development of humanity.63. The Russian Federation is interested in maintaining strategic parity, peaceful coexistence with the United States, and the establishment of a balance of interests between Russia and the United States, taking into account their status as major nuclear powers and special responsibility for strategic stability and international security in general. The prospects of forming such a model of U.S.-Russian relations depend on the extent to which the United States is ready to abandon its policy of power-domination and revise its anti-Russian course in favour of interaction with Russia on the basis of the principles of sovereign equality, mutual benefit, and respect for each other's interests.64. The Russian Federation intends to build relations with other Anglo-Saxon states depending on the degree of their willingness to abandon their unfriendly course toward Russia and to respect its legitimate interests.Antarctica65. Russia is interested in preserving Antarctica as a demilitarized space of peace, stability and cooperation, maintaining environmental sustainability and expanding its presence in the region. For these purposes, the Russian Federation intends to give priority attention to preservation, effective implementation and progressive development of the Antarctic Treaty System of December 1, 1959.VI. Formation and Implementation of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation66. The President of the Russian Federation, acting in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws, defines the main lines of the foreign policy, directs the county's foreign policy and, as the head of State, represents the Russian Federation in international relations.67. The Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, within the scope of their authority, shape the legislative framework for the foreign policy and implementation of international obligations of the Russian Federation, as well as contribute to the fulfilment of the tasks of parliamentary diplomacy.68. The Government of the Russian Federation takes measures to implement foreign policy and international cooperation.69. The State Council of the Russian Federation participates in the development of strategic tasks and goals of the foreign policy, assists the President of the Russian Federation in determining main directions of the foreign policy.70. The Security Council of the Russian Federation defines main directions of the foreign and military policy, forecasts, identifies, analyses and assesses threats to Russia's national security, develops measures to neutralize them, prepares proposals for the President of the Russian Federation regarding the adoption of special economic measures with a view to ensuring national security, examines issues of international cooperation related to maintaining security, coordinates efforts by federal executive bodies and executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to implement decisions adopted by the President of the Russian Federation with a view to ensuring national interests and national security, protecting the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, its independence and state integrity, preventing external threats to national security.71. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation develops a general strategy of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation and presents relevant proposals to the President of the Russian Federation, implements the foreign policy course, coordinates the activities of federal executive bodies in the area of international relations and international cooperation, and coordinates international relations of the subjects of the Russian Federation.72. The Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation assists the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in pursuing a uniform foreign policy line in terms of coordinating and implementing programmes on international humanitarian cooperation, as well as in the implementation of state policy in the field of international development assistance at the bilateral level.73. Other federal executive bodies carry out international activities in accordance with their powers, the principle of foreign policy integrity and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.74. The constituent entities of the Russian Federation engage in international and foreign economic contacts in accordance with their powers and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, taking into account the important role of inter-regional and trans-border cooperation in the development of relations between the Russian Federation and foreign states.75. When preparing and implementing foreign policy decisions, the federal executive bodies work with the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Russian political parties, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, non-profit organizations, expert and academic community, cultural and humanitarian associations, the Russian Orthodox Church and other traditional Russian religious associations, business circles and mass media, contributing to their participation in international cooperation. The broad involvement of constructive social forces in the foreign policy process promotes national consensus on foreign policy, assists in its implementation, and plays an important role in terms of more effective resolution of a wide range of issues on the international agenda.76. Extra-budgetary resources raised on a voluntary basis through public-private partnership can be used to finance foreign policy activities.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/istanbul-police-say-turkish-opposition-party-office-hit-by-accidental-gunfire-1109017859.html

Istanbul Police Say Turkish Opposition Party Office Hit by Accidental Gunfire

Istanbul Police Say Turkish Opposition Party Office Hit by Accidental Gunfire

There was no armed assault on the Istanbul headquarters of Turkiye's opposition Good Party on Friday, as the building was hit by accidental gunfire, the Istanbul police department said.

2023-03-31T20:50+0000

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2023-03-31T20:50+0000

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recep tayyip erdogan

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Earlier in the day, the office of the Istanbul mayor said that unknown gunmen had opened fire at the Istanbul chapter of Turkiye's opposition conservative Good Party. Police found bullet holes in the building and the adjacent office block. The gunman was detained since he had no license for the gun, the police added. The police's findings run counter to the statement by Good Party leader Meral Aksener, who laid the blame for the shooting on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, telling him on social media to take back "the bullets that come at us." Turkish Interior Minister Sueleyman Soylu urged people to "be careful with accusations" and trust the government and police. The Good Party is part of the National Alliance, an opposition six-party electoral alliance, that declared the leader of the Republican People's Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as the alliance's single candidate for Turkiye's upcoming presidential election scheduled to take place on May 14.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/kiev-pechersk-lavra-vicegerent-fears-looming-storming-of-monastery-1109011559.html

Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Vicegerent Fears Imminent Storming of Monastery

Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Vicegerent Fears Imminent Storming of Monastery

Metropolitan Bishop Pavel, vicegerent of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in the Ukrainian capital, said on Friday he feared that an attack on the Eastern Orthodox cave monastery could take place as early as Friday evening.

2023-03-31T16:29+0000

2023-03-31T16:29+0000

2023-04-01T11:49+0000

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"We have just learned of their plans  to launch a smash-and-grab attack on the Lavra. Our people have overheard these men talking on the phone as they plotted the attack," he said in a video address. A dozen opponents of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) have gathered outside the Lavra where monks loyal to the UOC have been holed up for two days, in defiance of the government's order to vacate the monastery. Ukraines National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve gave the monks until March 29 to leave the sprawling cave monastery after an interdepartmental Ukrainian commission accused the UOC of violating the terms of an agreement on the use of state property. Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said the monks could stay if they joined the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a decision that may be "stimulated through the joint work of specialists and law enforcement officers."Since the beginning of Russia's special military operation, the Ukrainian authorities have intensified their crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. In January, the Ukrainian government submitted a bill with the parliament to ban the activities of "Russia-affiliated" religious organizations in the country.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/no-sympathy-for-devil-ukrainian-orthodox-church-defiant-against-godless-zelensky-regime-1108993120.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/no-sympathy-for-devil-ukrainian-orthodox-church-defiant-against-godless-zelensky-regime-1108993120.html

No Sympathy For The Devil: Ukrainian Orthodox Church Defiant Against 'Godless' Zelensky Regime

No Sympathy For The Devil: Ukrainian Orthodox Church Defiant Against 'Godless' Zelensky Regime

While the Kiev Junta openly oppresses Christians, blatantly disregarding all laws and while the Zelensky regime's US handlers stay silent and close their eyes... 31.03.2023, Sputnik International

2023-03-31T14:55+0000

2023-03-31T14:55+0000

2023-03-31T15:12+0000

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ukrainian crisis

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The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra monks are not going to throw in the towel and leave. They are pinning their hopes on national law for their protection, said Metropolitan Kliment, who heads the Information and Education Department with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. When asked by journalists where these monks and clerics would go if they were banished, he responded by saying that they are not considering such an option since there is Ukrainian law that protects all religions, including Orthodox Christianity.However, analysts emphasize that the Zelensky regime has little respect for law and human rights as the authorities continue their persecution of Christians.Vladimir Legoyda, chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church, Society and the Mass Media, (Russian Orthodox Church), stated that Zelensky and his henchmen were generally ignorant about religion, however their US handlers soon drove some sense into his head and explained the pivotal role Christianity plays in Russia and Ukraine.The scheme is to forge a religious divide between Russians and Ukrainians, by legitimizing the post-coup regime's artificially constructed so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine (not to be confused with Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the legitimate organization).The Orthodox Church of Ukraine was not accepted by a majority of Christians, so the Kiev regime and its bosses in Washington are seeking ways to somehow boost its legitimacy. The seizure of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra  the national symbol of Orthodox Christianity - is a move aimed at legitimizing the regime's bastardized church. However, experts note that handing over a holy shrine to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine will likely only further alienate Ukrainian believers from the morally bankrupt Kiev junta.On Thursday, March 30, Ukrainian faithful gathered to protect the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and its monks from the Ukrainian authorities.The protest was non-violent, however the believers repeatedly warned Zelensky that he is "waging a war against God". The priests condemned "godless" Kiev regime while Vladimir Legoyda compared this event with persecution of Christians by corrupt and decadent Roman emperors.On March 10, Ukrainian authorities demanded that the Orthodox monks of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra vacate the monastery by March 29 under a far-fetched pretext  they claim that Ukrainian Orthodox Church somehow violated the terms of agreement of the use of the state property. The believers were shocked by these demands and stressed the fact that the order came in the wake of Great Lent  one of most important period for Christians.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230330/ukrainian-christians-resist-attempts-by-kiev-regime-to-seize-kiev-pechersk-lavra-videos-1108965275.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/rec-organized-over-200-business-meetings-for-russian-companies-in-india-1108968634.html

REC Organized Over 200 Business Meetings for Russian Companies in India

REC Organized Over 200 Business Meetings for Russian Companies in India

The Russian Export Center (REC, part of the VEB.RF) has organized more than 200 business meetings in India for Russian high-tech companies, the center reported.

2023-03-31T06:39+0000

2023-03-31T06:39+0000

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economy

russia

russian export center jsc (rec)

india

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"Russian exporters held more than 200 B2B negotiations with more than 90 contractors during a business mission to India in the field of high-tech products within the framework of the 'Russia-India Business Forum: Strategic Partnership for Development and Growth'," the report said."Russia and India are actively strengthening their business partnership. Our goods are increasingly in demand and Russian exporters are ready to increase deliveries. Within the framework of the business forum, the Russian Export Center organized a two-day business mission of Russian companies in the field of high technology, during which exporters held more than 200 business meetings with leading technology companies, representatives of government agencies, educational organizations, and the banking sector of India, and signed a number of cooperation agreements. More than 90 Indian companies showed an interest in Indian technology. The business mission we organized laid a good foundation for cooperation between companies of the two countries," said Veronika Nikishina, head of the Russian Export Center.The event was held with the participation of the Roscongress Foundation, the Business Council for Cooperation with India, the Moscow Department for External Economic and International Relations, and the Association for Export of Technological Sovereignty.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/rec-to-help-far-east-companies-explore-new-markets-1108968696.html

REC to Help Far East Companies Explore New Markets

REC to Help Far East Companies Explore New Markets

The Russian Export Center is (REC, part of the VEB.RF) is willing to support Russian companies from the Russian Far East to enter new markets.

2023-03-31T04:14+0000

2023-03-31T04:14+0000

2023-03-31T05:02+0000

economy

russia

russian export center jsc (rec)

far east

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The Russian Export Center is ready to support exporters from the Far Eastern Federal District in the development of new markets. Stanislav Georgievsky, Vice President of REC JSC, announced this during the meeting of the Far Eastern Federal District Council, held in Vladivostok under the leadership of Yury Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District."The Russian Export Center supports exporters of non-resource, non-energy products throughout Russia, and the Far Eastern Federal District is no exception. Local exporters have access to all the tools that will help reduce the burden and facilitate entry into foreign markets. Since the most important factor in the development of the Far East is cooperation with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, the REC Group is ready to assist exporters of the FEFD in mastering new markets, selecting potential interested buyers, and obtaining professional advice on point-to-point issues," Georgievsky said."In order to develop the country's economy, it is necessary to develop international trade. In 2022, the Russian Export Center JSC supported 1,500 companies in the Far Eastern Federal District. The total volume of exports supported by the REC for the Far Eastern Federal District in 2022 exceeded 118.5 billion rubles. It is important to continue the work on export support in the district and expand it to the regional level, and to introduce an export standard everywhere," Trutnev said in his speech.The Russian Export Center is a state institution that supports non-resource exports and provides exporters with a wide range of support services. In 2022, the REC provided 4,663 services to companies in the Far Eastern Federal District. Support was provided to 1,421 companies.Export Support Centers operate in all the constituent entities of the district, with the exception of Magadan Oblast (support of export activities of small and medium enterprises, SMEs, is provided on the basis of the "My Business" center). In 2022 with the help of export support centers, 149 SME enterprises concluded 221 export contracts for an amount totaling $51 million. In addition, shipments under the previously concluded export contracts amounted to $16.6 million (the total amount of supported exports was $67.7 million).The results of the implementation of the Regional Export Standard 2.0 in the constituent entities of the District in 2022 were discussed.According to the results of the implementation of the national project in the subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District, in 2022 the export standard will be implemented in three regions (Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsk Krai, and the Republic of Buryatia). In 2023, the implementation is planned in six regions of the Far Eastern Federal District, and in 2024 - in 11 regions.At present, according to the monitoring of the implementation of the national project, the subjects of the Russian Federation have implemented: five tools of the standard in one region (Yakutia), four tools in three regions (Amur Region, Trans-Baikal Territory, Sakhalin Region), two tools in three regions (Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsk Krai, Republic of Buryatia), and no tools in four regions (Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Kamchatka Krai, Magadan Oblast, Chukotka Autonomous District).In 2023, at least 13 of the 15 instruments are expected to be implemented in two subjects that introduced them in 2021 (Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsk Krai), one subject that introduced them in 2022 (Buryatia), and three subjects that will introduce them in 2023 (Amur Region, Zabaykalsky Krai, Yakutia).After listening to all the participants of the meeting, Trutnev instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance, and the Russian Export Center to prepare coordinated proposals for the extension of the instruments of the National Project "International Cooperation and Export" and their unified project management until 2030.The Ministry of Economic Development together with the Ministry of Finance should prepare coordinated proposals for expanding the implementation of measures for small and medium-sized businesses to export goods (works, services) with the support of export support centers, provided by the Federal program "Acceleration of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses" of the National Project "Small and Medium-Sized Businesses and Support of Individual Entrepreneurial Initiatives" for the period up to 2030.The REC, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, has been instructed to develop coordinated proposals for the organization of Russian exporters in the markets of friendly countries, including the promotion of Russian products in the markets of the Asia-Pacific region.The heads of the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District were instructed to analyze the export-oriented assets of the subjects of the district and ensure the implementation of the tools of the Regional Export Standard 2.0 in accordance with the approved schedule of the passport of the federal project "Systemic measures for development of international cooperation and export".

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230220/russian-exporters-to-showcase-tomatoes-chocolate-and-wild-crab-at-gulfood-2023-1107617564.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230330/rec-to-promote-russian-products-on-chinas-most-popular-messaging-app-wechat-1108949282.html

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russian export center, russian companies, far east
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/russia-snaps-up-opportunity-for-direct-trade-with-africa-amid-special-op-says-diplomat-1108989229.html

Russia Snaps Up Opportunity for Direct Trade With Africa Amid Special Op, Says Diplomat

Russia Snaps Up Opportunity for Direct Trade With Africa Amid Special Op, Says Diplomat

Russia has gained an opportunity to trade with African countries directly

2023-03-31T19:00+0000

2023-03-31T19:00+0000

2023-03-31T19:00+0000

africa

russia

trade

cooperation

economy

yuan

brics

china

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Russia has seized the opportunity to trade with African countries directly amid Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Oleg Ozerov said during a roundtable entitled "International Cooperation Russia-Africa".According to him, Moscow has embarked on massive cooperation with the continent under unique geopolitical conditions.He pointed to the advantages of working with African countries, and he believes that Russia can safely enter African markets for both exports and imports.Talking about the development of international trade, during a recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, he stressed that Moscow supports the idea of using yuan in trade with Africa.According to experts, this measure will curtail Africa's and Russia's reliance on US dollar and protect economies of African states under sanctions. For the last few years, Russia has been boosting cooperation with Africa in various spheres such as security, logistics, mining, trade, and so forth. In summer of this year, the second Russia-Africa summit will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, among other things, aimed at buttressing economic cooperation with African nations. Moreover, the BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) seems appealing to African nations. For example, Zimbabwe recently announced that the country would like to join BRICS as this union is transparent and does not have any deep-seated ideological doctrines that may affect the cooperation of member states.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230329/african-interests-take-backseat-when-us-plays-geopolitical-games-says-expert-1108922853.html

africa

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2023

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Tamara Vakhromova

russia and africa, european sanctions, direct trade with africa, import and export, demand for goods
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/russia-to-consider-nato-peacekeepers-as-targets-if-deployed-in-ukraine-medvedev-says-1109007376.html

Russia to Consider NATO Peacekeepers as Targets if Deployed in Ukraine, Medvedev Says

Russia to Consider NATO Peacekeepers as Targets if Deployed in Ukraine, Medvedev Says

Russia will consider so-called NATO peacekeepers as legitimate targets if they get deployed in Ukraine on the front line, Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.

2023-03-31T14:38+0000

2023-03-31T14:38+0000

2023-03-31T14:38+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukrainian crisis

dmitry medvedev

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According to the official, the Wests real goal is to establish a ceasefire on the front line that is favorable to them. Earlier in March, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that the European Union is one step ahead from discussing sending military of some peacekeeping type in Ukraine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/russias-presidency-in-un-security-council-will-be-eventful-kremlin-says-1108986860.html

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russia special military operation, special op in ukraine, nato peacekeepers, ukrainian crisis
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/sweden-no-longer-sure-it-will-join-nato-by-july-1108980778.html

Sweden 'No Longer Sure' It Will Join NATO by July

Sweden 'No Longer Sure' It Will Join NATO by July

Despite applying to NATO simultaneously and planning to join the bloc together, Finland and Sweden obviously split ways, as only Helsinki's bid gained full acceptance.

2023-03-31T05:34+0000

2023-03-31T05:34+0000

2023-03-31T05:34+0000

nato

nato expansion

nato membership

scandinavia

sweden

finland

world

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Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom has said he was no longer sure his country would be able to join NATO by July, following recent objections from Hungary on top of those from Turkiye.Barely last week, the very same Billstrom said that "it went without saying" that Sweden would become a member by the time of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania in July.Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that ensuring Sweden's accession to the bloc was his "aim."Sweden applied to join the military alliance together with neighboring Finland in May 2022, citing changes in Europe's security landscape as a result of Russia's special operation in Ukraine. In doing so, both nations effectively abandoned the vestiges of their historic non-alignment, having been partners of NATO and members in all but name.However, Sweden's bid ran into opposition from Turkiye, which has accused Stockholm of harboring members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara and its Western allies consider a terrorist group.Relations deteriorated even further in early 2023 due to a spate of provocations around Sweden. Among others, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hanged in effigy and a copy of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, was burned during a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. The Swedish minority government, led by the liberal-conservative Moderates, assured that it took Turkiye's allegations seriously but added there are some demands that it cannot meet.The Hungarian government, in turn, voiced grievances over Stockholm's past criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the ruling Fidesz party's politics and the overall state of democracy in Hungary. Budapest said it regarded these criticisms as unjustified and called on Stockholm to refrain from "insults."As Sweden's bid clearly faltered, the two neighbors split ways despite their original intention to "walk the NATO aisle together." In stark contrast, Finland's NATO membership gained full acceptance from the bloc's thirty member states despite initial opposition from Turkiye and delay from Hungary, which this week became the last members to vote on the issue.Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said Finland was ready to join NATO and is looking forward to welcoming Sweden to follow suit "as soon as possible."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230327/budapest-urges-sweden-to-stop-insulting-whole-of-hungary-to-get-nato-bid-accepted-1108813533.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/syrian-air-defense-repelling-attack-in-sky-over-damascus---reports-1108978804.html

Syrian Air Defense Repelling Attack in Sky Over Damascus - Reports

Syrian Air Defense Repelling Attack in Sky Over Damascus - Reports

CAIRO, March 31 (Sputnik) - Syrian air defense systems are repelling an attack in the sky over Damascus, Syrian state broadcaster Al-Ikhbariya reported.

2023-03-31T00:26+0000

2023-03-31T00:26+0000

2023-03-31T01:26+0000

world

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Later in the day, the Syrian Defense Ministry said that the missile attack was carried out by Israel from the Golan Heights. The ministry added that some material damage was caused as a result of the attack. This is the second attack on Syria in a day. On Thursday morning, the Syrian Defense Ministry said that two Syrian soldiers were injured as a result of an Israeli missile attack on the outskirts of Damascus.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230330/two-syrian-servicemen-wounded-in-israeli-attack---syrias-defense-ministry-1108940176.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/trump-indicted-by-grand-jury-says-political-persecution-will-backfire-on-biden-1108979318.html

Trump Indicted by Grand Jury, Says 'Political Persecution' Will Backfire on Biden

Trump Indicted by Grand Jury, Says 'Political Persecution' Will Backfire on Biden

A Manhattan Grand Jury has voted to indict former US President Donald Trump, CNN reported citing three sources familiar with the matter.

2023-03-31T01:25+0000

2023-03-31T01:25+0000

2023-04-03T16:54+0000

americas

donald trump

kevin mccarthy

mike pence

alvin bragg

stormy daniels

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The Manhattan District Attorney's office has been looking into Trump's alleged role in a hush money payment and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels during the lead-up to the 2016 election. CNN, citing unnamed sources, said Trump may be facing 34 counts tied to falsifying business records and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday. On Thursday, three lead prosecutors on the probe walked into the building where the grand jury was sitting in before the panel was scheduled to meet at 2:00 p.m. local time. About three hours later, the prosecutors walked into the court clerks office via a back door to begin the process of filing the indictment., the report added. District attorney Alvin Bragg is next expected to negotiate Trump's surrender. The development comes a day after media speculated that Trump's grand jury had gone on hiatus until late April. If Trump agrees to surrender, he would then be photographed and fingerprinted at a New York state facility. According to the New York Times, a conviction of Trump is not a sure thing. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has called the probe, like many others, a "witch hunt." The former president has also rejected allegations of having an affair with Daniels. Trump in a statement after the news broke said the jury's decision to indict him was tantamount to election interference. The "witch hunt" will backfire on Biden, Trump said, noting the unprecedented nature of the indictment. The former president also slammed the district attorney who has been backed by prominent Democrats. House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik in a statement said such election interference will energize tens of millions of voters to rally and cast a ballot for Trump "to save our great republic." Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene took to Twitter with some strong words including calling for an impeachment of Biden. Trump in another post on Truth Social said the Manhattan DA brought a "fake" charge against him knowing the former president "cannot get a fair trial in New York." Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy warned that Bragg will be held to account by the lower chamber for "abuse of power" while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said his state will not extradite Trump because of the questionable circumstances behind the Soros-backed district attorney. Later in the day, Trumps defense attorney said the indictment lacks any legal basis. "What was once the most respected and revered district attorneys office in the nation has been fully bastardized by an opportunistic politician seeking, like many others, to cash in on the Trump brand," the former presidents defense attorney Chris Kise told CNN. "The complete lack of legal basis, coupled with the politically targeted nature of the prosecution, should strike fear into every citizen in this country irrespective of their views of President Trump."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/trump-may-be-facing-34-counts-mccarthy-says-house-will-hold-da-will-account-for-abuse-of-power--1108978918.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230330/governor-desantis-says-florida-will-not-assist-in-extradition-request-for-trump-1108978342.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/un-security-council-how-its-rotating-presidency-works-and-who-wants-to-reform-it-1108987011.html

UN Security Council: How Its Rotating Presidency Works and Who Wants to Reform It

UN Security Council: How Its Rotating Presidency Works and Who Wants to Reform It

Moscow has repeatedly signaled its readiness to support UN Security Council reforms aimed at expanding the international body.

2023-03-31T10:52+0000

2023-03-31T10:52+0000

2023-03-31T10:52+0000

sputnik explains

russia

us

france

sergey ryabkov

emmanuel macron

un security council (unsc)

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Russia is due to take over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council on April 1, in what comes amid ongoing speculation about the need to implement a reform of the UNSC. What are the basics of the UNSCs rotating presidency and who is pushing for the UN bodys review? Sputnik explores.What is the UN Security Council?The UNSC consists of 15 members, including five permanent ones: Russia, China, the US, the UK, and France. The other ten are elected by the UN General Assembly for two-year terms starting on January 1, with five replaced each year. Currently, the non-permanent members in the council are Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.According to information published on the UNs website, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The body takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression, and under the UN Charter, all UNSC member states are obligated to comply with Council decisions.How is the UNSC's Rotating Presidency Fulfilled?The presidency rotates monthly among the fifteen members of the Security Council. The rotation takes place in alphabetical order of the member states' official names in English.The presidency has been rotating since the body's establishment in 1946, and the UNSC president is considered to be the spokesperson of the UNSC.The presiding nation serves to coordinate the actions of the Security Council, forms an agenda and decides policy disputes, sometimes acting as a diplomat or intermediary between conflicting groups. The UNSC president is authorized to appeal to conflicting parties to "exercise restraint."What is UNSC Reform All About?Reform of the Security Council encompasses at least five key issues:Its worth noting that any such reform would require the agreement of at least two-thirds of UN member states in a vote in the General Assembly and must be ratified by two-thirds of member states. All of the permanent members of the UNSC (which have veto rights) must also agree to it.What is Russia's Stance on the US Call to Expand the UNSC?During his speech at the UN General Assembly last year, US President Joe Biden confirmed Washington's support for increasing the number of permanent and non-permanent representatives on the UNSC.In particular, POTUS called for accepting countries from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, in addition to "those nations [the United States has] long supported", including Germany, Brazil, India, and Japan.Biden insisted that the UNSC should become "a more inclusive structure" that could address modern-day challenges.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov underscored at the time that Moscow believes "there are candidates who are quite worthy of becoming UNSC permanent members."He was echoed by former UN Deputy Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze, who has told Sputnik that as far as the UNSC's expansion is concerned, Moscow proceeds from the assumption that "the world has changed."According to him, Russia "doesn't want the world to be Western-centric, something that should be mirrored in the composition of the Security Council."What are Russia's Concerns Over Resctricting UNSC Veto?French President Emmanuel Macron claimed last year that the Security Council should become "a more representative body", and the veto of permanent members should be limited "in relation to mass crimes."Commenting on the West floating the idea of restricting the UNSC veto, the ex-UN deputy secretary general pointed out that "they want to make the Security Council an obedient instrument of NATO, a body that would legitimize the decisions that are first of all taken by Washington and NATO structures."

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russia's rotating presidency of the un security council
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/us-run-democracy-summit-shows-that-africans-need-to-defend-their-interests-pundits-say-1108981701.html

US-Run Democracy Summit: Africans Need to Defend Their Interests, Pundits Say

US-Run Democracy Summit: Africans Need to Defend Their Interests, Pundits Say

African states are in need to "protect their interests" and be in a position "where they can deal with all their partners" without choosing sides and favoring one partner over another amid the West's "hypocrisy", experts say.

2023-03-31T18:37+0000

2023-03-31T18:37+0000

2023-04-03T10:25+0000

africa

us

democracy

summit

political pundits

autocracy

autocrat

us hypocrisy

double standards

west

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African countries need to "protect their interests" and be in a position "where they can deal with all their partners" without choosing sides or favoring one partner over another amid the West's "double standards and hypocrisy", says Nigerian policy consultant Ovigwe Eguegu, commenting on the US-led Second Summit for Democracy.Led by the US administration and co-chaired by Zambia, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Korea, the three-day summit ended in Washington on Thursday, with less than 50% of the participants endorsing it final declaration.The text of the summit's declaration included a wide range of political commitments that include protecting human rights, womens rights, media freedom, and the rule of law, ensuring accountability for human rights violations and abuses, supporting free elections, democracy, combating corruption, addressing global challenges, including sustainable development, climate change, global health, and food security.The declaration was endorsed by only 73 countries out of the 120 participants, with 14 nations endorsing it with reservations or disassociation from its text. It also included two key commitments that are of importance for the US administration. According to the experts, these are supporting Ukraine in the wake of the ongoing Russian military operation there, and defending against foreign "malign influence" and foreign "information manipulation".Summit Intends to Promote 'US Version of Democracy'Despite the fact that the US-led declaration has recognized that "democracy can take many forms", and has called for combating foreign "malign influence", Eguegu, a policy adviser at consultancy Development Reimagined, specializing in geopolitics with particular reference to Africa in a changing Global Order, believes that Washington is insistent on the promotion of "its version of democracy".According to Scott Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer, the US vision of "democracy" being promulgated by the Biden administration ignores this reality. What the Biden administration is seeking to do, he says, is to further the span of control of what it calls the "rules based international order", an unwritten "standard" imposed by the US in the aftermath of the World War II which, at one time, was seen as the necessary mechanism for which to oversee global post-conflict reconstruction efforts, but which eventually was used as a means for sustaining US economic, political, and military hegemony across the globe.Eguegu says that the summit was one of the US administration's tools to "insert an ideological component into the ongoing great power competition", arguing, "It's no longer the Cold War." Eguegu assumes the US is competing with China and Russia, who in contrast to Washington push "no ideology" in their relationship with countries around the world, including in Africa.As these countries "don't want to be seen as being antagonistic" to their international partners, the political analyst believes, they tend to show up for such ideological summits, and they "may fully endorse the outcome or declaration or endorse [it] with reservations to certain paragraphs."In the same vein, in February, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov assumed that the Summits for Democracy were designed to formulate the right of the so-called democracies to promote imaginary assistance to the peoples of "autocracies," bypassing the authorities of these countries.Dr. Aaron Ola Ogundiwin, Associate Professor of Political Science, Babcock University, Nigeria, points to the bright side of the summit, saying that it was a platform where participant governments could share their various experiences and insights about implementing democracy, supporting human rights, and combating corruption among other things listed in the summit's declared agenda.However, although acknowledging that the US might be one of the oldest democracies, the Nigerian professor argues that Washington is among those who lack the "moral right" to "preach" democracy to the African continent.Ola Ogundiwin criticizes the US for preaching and leading the conversation on liberal democracy for Africa without actually discussing how to be democrats. He assumes that Washington is promoting its own form of democracy without considering the unique needs and challenges of African countries.'You Cannot Eat Democracy'Eguegu fully agrees with the point of view expressed by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, a co-host of the second summit for democracy, in a recent article, in the title of which the African leader states, "You cannot eat democracy". The article was published on US media in the lead-up to the summit.The expert argues that the relationship between African countries and the US, a lot of times, "is all about rhetoric, human rights, democracy, freedom, values, so on and so forth." He further adds that it appears that Washington "is not listening" to the real needs of its counterparts on the continent.To further his point, Eguegu says that the summit's co-host Zambia, which did not support the paragraph of the declaration on "human rights", is currently in need of economic growth because of its issues with debt, and creating jobs for its young and growing population. He insists that democracy would "seem to be an empty promise" if there is "no follow through in terms of investment, in terms of how to help these countries to industrialize, [and] to create jobs."Speaking of human rights, it's worth noting that earlier this week, as US Vice President Kamala Harris was kicking off a seven-day trip to three African countries  Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia,  during which she is expected to discuss American-African relations. Zambian politician Bowman Lusaka released a welcoming statement addressing the top US official with a warning over promoting gay rights.In Ghana also, VP Harris faced a backlash over her promotion of LGBTQ ideology, arguing that gay rights are a human rights issue. Ghanaian MP Samuel George said that the US vice president has no "moral right" to talk about human rights issues in the West Africas nation while there is gun violence in her home country, which he considers "one of the biggest abusers of human rights."Social work expert and political analyst Mickdad Uhuru believes that "there is no way" for a well-developed country such as the US to "force" African countries to adopt its capitalist ideology in running their nations. The Tanzanian expert says he agrees with the outcomes of last week's Second International Forum on Democracy in Beijing, China, that warned against imposing a "single formula or model" for democracy, saying that each country has its own political culture and national needs.With only eight African countries endorsing the second democracy summit declaration, Nigerian political scientist Eguegu says that the US is failing to promote democracy around the world, especially in Africa, because it doesn't have strong economic initiatives to partner with these countries. This has resulted in one of Washington's main rivals, China, taking the lead in terms of trade, affecting the attitude of African countries towards the US.Maintaining Non-Aligned Stance in Global Power PoliticsEguegu says that the West is now practicing "outstanding" hypocrisy that is "glaring for everyone to see" in regard to the Russian military operation in Ukraine. He argues: "We did not see this type of action or agitation for when we had the issue in Libya, or the US invasion of Iraq." The expert adds that "there was no pressure to host democracy summits" to condemn the US military invasions of the Middle Eastern nations.Not only that, but he notes there's also the question of Africans' interest and African countries trying to maintain a non-aligned stance in regard to global great power politics, emphasizing that "the situation in Ukraine is not necessarily seen as an isolated event."The expert suggests that trying to force countries to take sides in the Ukraine issue as part of a great power rivalry is not a wise decision, since it may lead to further tension between countries in the future.So African nations need to protect their interests, he says, and they need to be in a position where they can deal with all their partners "because African countries have economic security and development interests tied to the US as much as they have ties to China, they have ties to Russia as well."Dr. Frederick Golooba-Mutebi, an independent Ugandan researcher and Political Scientist with a special interest in Political Economy, believes that the recent US-led democracy summit was "very badly conceived" by Africans because of the US approach to Africa.Golooba-Mutebi suggests that the use of sanctions and repression in international relations creates a negative atmosphere that hinders true dialogue and politics. The political scientist believes that "it is too late" for the White House to try to use soft power after resorting to force, and Africa is tired of this approach.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230329/the-us-is-not-a-democracy-1108886575.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230324/harris-on-africa-trip-to-raise-us-concerns-over-influence-of-china-russia-official-says-1108749556.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230328/kamala-harris-has-no-moral-right-to-talk-about-human-rights-in-ghana-local-mp-says-1108871122.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/developed-countries-morally-obliged-to-aid-africa-russias-un-envoy-says-1108981295.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/why-russias-new-foreign-policy-concept-is-fully-consistent-with-global-political-reality-1109014534.html

Why Russia's New Foreign Policy Concept is Fully Consistent With Global Political Reality

Why Russia's New Foreign Policy Concept is Fully Consistent With Global Political Reality

Moscow's foreign policy recalibration has been caused by realistic adjustment to the world that's in front of Russia and the Washington establishment's leading role in instigating anti-Russia policies across the world, Professor Joe Siracusa, US political expert and Dean of Global Futures, Curtin University, told Sputnik.

2023-03-31T18:02+0000

2023-03-31T18:02+0000

2023-03-31T18:02+0000

russia

foreign policy

new concept

us

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On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree adopting the nation's updated foreign policy concept which determines Russia as a unique country-civilization which pursues an independent and multi-vector foreign policy driven by its national interests and the awareness of its special responsibility for maintaining peace and security at the global and regional levels. The updated doctrine emphasizes that Russia intends to defend its right to existence and freedom of development in response to unfriendly actions of the West, while not considering itself to be an enemy of the West and having no hostile intentions with regard to it.Commenting on the newly released concept, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov underscored that the document directly calls the US the main instigator of anti-Russian politics in the world. The document stated that the US and its satellites had proclaimed the aim of weakening Russia in every possible way, including undermining its constructive civilizational role, power, economic and technological capabilities, limiting its sovereignty in foreign and domestic policy, and violating its territorial integrity."Lavrov is absolutely correct, he doesn't have to make a case for this one," Siracusa highlighted. "He sees the Americans providing the greatest resistance to Russian national interests today. What is America going to do about it? Not more than it's already doing. It's already engaged in sanctions with Russia, engaged in a proxy war in Ukraine with Russia. America doesn't particularly want to cooperate on various agreements. I wish Moscow and Washington would agree at least to look at renewing nuclear arms control, which is very important. But that's going to have to wait for another day. () When I say 'the West', I'm talking about the European Union, NATO and Washington, DC  in other words the leadership, not the majority of the American people. The majority of the American people are not anti-Russian or anti-Chinese. The anti-Russian policy is coming from Washington, DC, from the foreign policy establishment."The document stresses that Russia is striving towards a system of international relations that would guarantee reliable security, preservation of its cultural and civilizational identity, and equal opportunities for the development of all states.

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2023

Ekaterina Blinova

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Epic Mongolian production The Mongol Khan is to run at the London Coliseum this November for a limited season.

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The UK run from 17 November  2 December 2023 will mark the 60th anniversary of Anglo-Mongolian diplomatic relations. Tickets are on sale now here.

Featuring a company of over 70 actors, dancers and musicians, the show has played to packed houses in Mongolia for over a year.

Based on historical events, the show explores the evolution of Mongolian culture through a gripping story, brought to life with a stunning original score, dance, puppetry, and elaborate sets and costumes inspired by traditional nomadic culture.

The Mongol Khan was written in 1998 by renowned Mongolian writer and poet Lkhagvasuren Bavuu and was revived in April 2022 at the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Drama

The original Mongolian creators are now collaborating with an international team of world-renowned artists and practitioners on the shows development, including prolific historian and travel writer John Man, an expert in Mongolian history and culture.

Book The Mongol Khan tickets here 

The Mongol Khan has all the ingredients of a classic tragedy: jealousy, mistaken identity, adultery, rivalry, sacrifice, succession and the struggle for power. With the stability of an empire at stake, the story culminates in an epic battle for the future of the Hunnic Empire. Its a multi-sensory feast, the like of which audiences will have never experienced before.

Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai, The Prime Minister of Mongolia said: Welcome to Mongolia! 2023-2025 are The Years to Visit Mongolia. We are landlocked, but not mind-locked so come and see what we have to offer and enjoy a holiday of a lifetime.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Mongolia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the classic play The Mongol Khan will play at the London Coliseum. The very first time a Mongolian play has been presented to a European audience, The Mongol Khan offers audiences a unique insight into the mentality and philosophy of early eastern civilisations.

For more information and tickets, visit themongolkhan.com
Dismissed at 22-1, Saint K cut enterprising fractions from post eight, then dug in late to capture his third straight win in Thursdays (March 30) feature at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, a $15,400 conditioned trot.

Saint K threw down a 1:24.3 three-quarters, swift enough to repel the outside challengers. But when Emeralds Legacy  who had been shuffled to fifth  found a wide-open Lightning Lane, the race was on. Saint K responded to Drew Montis urging and edged Emeralds Legacy by a nose in a career-best 1:54.1 with Warrawee Whisper third.

Sarah Andrews trains Saint K, a five-year-old Sebastian K S-Mauresmo gelding who extended his lifetime earnings to $122,804, and owns with Angela Cornell and Tessie Esry.

Dave Palone piloted three winners on the 13-race card.

Live racing at The Meadows continues Friday (March 31) when the 14-race program features an $810.07 carryover in the early Pentafecta (Race 4). First post is 12:45 p.m. (EDT).

(MSOA)
Culpeper Technical Education Center students had the opportunity to demonstrate the skills they learned during a showcase on Tuesday.

Members of the local business community were present to witness students perform tasks, ranging from repairing HVAC units to wiring a light switch.

This is a great resource for us for new hires, said Melissa Monaco, branch manager at CroppMetcalfe Services. We like to bring in younger guys and train them up and hopefully theyll stay with us for a long time and continue to grow within our company.

Monaco said the education CTEC provides cuts down on necessary training time for new hires so they can be out in the field in 8 to 10 weeks as opposed to the years of training it would take going down traditional routes. She stated the programs have helped in replenishing the workforce for trades, which has been on the decline for years.

Monaco said the push to go to college over the trades is one reason for the shrinkage in the trade workforce. CTEC electrical instructor Sid Trimmer, who taught electrical engineering for 37 years, said he has seen the cycle of trades being downplayed in favor of colleges and the importance is now resurging.

Theres such a shortage right now, all these guys could go to work straight out of high school if they wanted to. Theres such a shortage of tradespeople in all the trades, its amazing, he said.

Trimmer praised the showcase for providing a platform where students can show off their skills. The electrical instructor said it was better for some students as opposed to a sit down interview, where they may get nervous and not know what to say to an interviewer. According to Trimmer, the showcase can help a student build confidence before going into an interview.

Some CTEC students became interested in trades because of family members who worked in those fields.

Mariella Kern, an 18-year-old Culpeper High School student, was part of the electrical class during the skills showcase. Her interest stemmed from joining her father on several jobs when she was child. After COVID, she helped on some smaller residential wiring jobs and decided that was the path she wanted to follow.

Kern currently works installing generators for All Install and plans to continue that career path. I like everything about this, she said. From the hands-on, to mapping stuff out, figuring out where you need to go. I just enjoy everything about it.

Charity Payne, an 18-year-old Eastern View High School student, is a member of the Emergency Medical Technician Program. She originally wanted to get into the nursing program but got into the EMT class instead. She has found the class challenging but also rewarding. I like the challenge, we get to do a lot more hands-on stuff than in the nursing class.

Payne and four other members of the class were recently part of the HOSA Competition which featured future health care workers from high schools. Culpeper entered three teams into the competition with two teams taking the top two spots and all the teams getting into the top five. Payne hopes to get her EMT certification in May to work as a part-time EMT through college.

Governmental organizations also took the opportunity to look at potential recruits. The Virginia Department of Transportation observed some of the students in the automotive class.

VDOT is a broad interest because we service everything from chainsaws to trucks. Somebody that has a mechanical background or knowledge, you can train them to do anything, said Keith Beaver, fleet operations manager with VDOT, on the appeal of coming into the state organization from CTEC.

Beaver stated that VDOT is currently looking to bring in a student for a summer internship.

Training has not only helped give valuable knowledge to students, it has also helped them to gain careers. Hailey Gorman, an 18-year-old Eastern View student, already has a career as a hairdresser after going through the cosmetology school. She wanted to become an esthetician, which led her to the program and a job at Studio 356.

Gorman agrees that the showcase has been a positive experience for everyone involved because it allows students to get into the action and show what they can do.

They can see how you are under pressure, how you do when youre working, how professional you are, she said. I think this really sets you above and really shows your talent.
A Gering man convicted of shooting his cousin will serve at least 30 years in prison.

On Friday, March 31, Scotts Bluff County District Court Judge Leo Dobrovolny sentenced Alexander Maldonado, 36, on charges of attempted first-degree murder, a Class II felony, and use of a firearm to commit a felony, a Class IC felony, stemming from the Aug. 4, 2022, shooting of Martin Maldonado Jr. On the charge of attempted murder, Dobrovolny sentenced Alexander Maldonado to 40 to 50 years imprisonment. On the use of a firearm charge, the judge imposed a sentence of 15 to 30 years, which would be served consecutively.

Scotts Bluff County Attorney Dave Eubanks asked the judge to impose a significant prison sentence on Alexander Maldonado, saying that the two felonies are about as serious as it gets. He described Alexander Maldonado as lying in wait to shoot his cousin as the man came out of the Main Street Market grocery store in Scottsbluff. Eubanks said he intended to kill Martin Maldonado.

He came really close to killing Martin Maldonado, he said. It was essentially a case of just stalking Martin Maldonado, waiting for him to come out of the business and then confronting him with a gun and shooting him. 

Eubanks said Alexander Maldonado blamed Martin Maldonado for his marriage failing. Both Martin Maldonado and Alexander Maldonados ex-wife, who were in a relationship, had to get protection orders against Alexander Maldonado prior to the shooting. The shooting occurred the day after Alexander Maldonado had been allowed a four-hour supervised visitation with his son.

In a pre-sentence investigation, Eubanks said, Alexander Maldonado had made statements that no one had listened to his side of the story, claiming that he had been reacting to the victims actions and that he believed Martin Maldonado intended to shoot him. However, Eubanks said, Martin Maldonado did not have a weapon on his person, though it was revealed he did have weapons in his vehicle used in his job as a corrections officer.

Further, there is no evidence of Martin Maldonado having threatened Alexander Maldonado, Eubanks said.

Theres absolutely no way to reconcile that (Alexander Maldonados statements) with the actual facts of the case, Eubanks said. He said video from the store shows both men inside the store, Alexander Maldonado waiting for Martin Maldonado, and the shooting.

As Martin Maldonado attempted to take cover behind his vehicle, Alexander Maldonado followed him and told him, I told you I was going to do this, Eubanks said.

The shooting also put other people in the store parking lot at risk, he said.

The shooting has left Martin Maldonado suffering from complications, both physically and financially, the prosecutor said. Before the shooting, Martin Maldonado was described by himself and family members as having been a hard worker, physically fit, active and healthy. As a result of the shooting, he underwent 14 surgeries, with a 15th slated for next week, and was hospitalized for three months in Denver. Eubanks described Martin Maldonado as being frail, shuffling and very weak the first time the prosecutor met him.

Medical costs are at about a half-million dollars, Eubanks said. Though insurance has helped cover some costs, Martin Maldonado is facing having to declare bankruptcy. Though he has returned to work, has a good life and a good job, Eubanks said, his health and the financial implications will affect him for life.

Alexander Maldonado was represented in court by Lauren Newell, who identified herself as a senior certified intern with the Scotts Bluff County Public Defenders Office. Newell asked the judge to impose the lowest sentences possible on the charges. The Class IC felony charge  the use of a firearm count  has a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 50 years in prison. The sentencing range for the Class II felony charge is one to 50 years imprisonment; however, it does not have a mandatory minimum.

Newell described Alexander Maldonados life as being turned upside down when his relationship with his wife ended. They had been in a relationship for 17 years, married for five years and had two children. She described the divorce as long and devastating, both financially and emotionally, for Alexander Maldonado.

Mr. Maldonado knows that this is not an excuse for what he did, Newell said. And nobody here is condoning his actions, not his daughter, who wrote a letter in support of him, his sisters, his friends, nobody thinks this is OK.

She said friends and family members described the shooting as being out of character for him. She described him as not in the right state of mind.

*Now, she said, Alexander Maldonado has been attending Bible study and is interested in pursuing mental health and anger management services, and would work to use his time in prison productively.

This was a terrible, terrible choice that he made, she said. Hes ready to face his sentence, but he does ask the court to show him some grace and leniency and sentence him on the low end, as low as this court would consider. ... Your Honor, he asks for the chance to make a life after this.

Alexander Maldonado also made a brief statement, apologizing to Martin Maldonado, his family and his children. He also thanked his family and friends who supported him.

I just hope that Im not judged just by this action, he said. Its not who I am. I love my family, my friends. I love helping my family and my friends. I love to work. I love my kids very much.

In sentencing Alexander Maldonado, Dobrovolny noted that the man had an insignificant criminal history, with a drunken-driving arrest being the most significant charge, and did not have a criminal history involving violence prior to the shooting.

The motivation of the offenses appeared to be underlying anger and frustration in dealing with personal problems, he said, and his family members probably found his response to be startling based on his past history. Though Alexander Maldonado made allegations believing he was threatened by Martin Maldonado, Dobrovolny said there were no facts that gave credence to those claims and no indication that at the time of the shooting he was being threatened by the victim or in danger. Martin Maldonado did not have access to the weapons in his vehicle at the time of the shooting.
Officers with the Gering Police Department, Scottsbluff Police Department and Scotts Bluff County Sheriffs Office conducted a series of alcohol compliance checks in Scotts Bluff County over the weekend, resulting in six of the 63 on- and off-sale businesses selling alcohol to minors, according to a press release from Monument Prevention Coalition.

The results shows 10% noncompliance, the highest since March of 2004, Lanette Richards, of Monument Prevention Coalition, said.

This is not acceptable, she said in the release. How many young people do we need to lose because of alcohol and the easy access to alcohol? Alcohol server training is available through Monument Prevention at no cost to the retail establishment. There is no excuse for selling to a minor.

According to Richards, the average age of the cooperating individuals (CI) used in the checks is 17 years old. All minors use their own drivers license and follow strict protocols on their appearance, so they look their age.

These teenagers look like teenagers. However, businesses still sell to minors, even though in most cases the drivers licenses were checked, Richards said. With prom, graduation and other events honoring our youth coming upon us in the next couple of months, we need to have alcohol license establishments to be diligent in keeping alcohol out of the hands of our youth.

The following businesses that failed the alcohol compliance checks were: East O Watering Hole, Kelleys Liquor and Walmart, each in Scottsbluff; Meat Shoppe, Rompus Room and Swanys Union Bar, each in Gering.

Of the 6 businesses that failed, one business has prior violations on record with the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. Kelleys Liquor was charged previously on April 16, 2022, of selling to a minor, according to information released by Monument Prevention Coalition.

Sgt. Philip Eckerberg with the Scottsbluff Police Department said, We are concerned about the increase in failures and would like to work with alcohol retailers to prevent this from happening. I look forward to the day when there are no failures.
HASTINGS  Marty Stange kept adding the worrisome maps to a file folder on his desk. Hastings veteran environmental supervisor gathered the maps from a 200-square-mile area surrounding Hastings, aerial photos marked with dots whose size indicates how much uranium is found in the water supply.

Some weeks, those dots looked big to Stange. And some weeks, the dots blew up into giant bubbles, to a size that caused Stanges eyes to widen  and prompted him to order additional testing.

One irrigation well tested 322 parts per billion of uranium in 2011, more than 10 times the legal limit for drinking water set by the Environmental Protection Agency. That well is located only four miles upstream of a municipal well.

And Hastings own wells  those used to supply drinking water to city residents  saw significant jumps in uranium and radiation, too, levels nearing the limit set for safe drinking water.

It was like Oh, no! It seemed like the more you look, the worse it gets, said Stange

Stange had already heard about high uranium levels in groundwater in the Platte River valley, but had no idea why Hastings would see elevated uranium levels, too. So he called experts, including Karrie Weber, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln microbiology professor.

Weber might have an answer. She has dug deep  in fact, drilled 120 feet deep into dirt below Hastings water table  to find out why.

Water is not just water; water is just a reflection of what those fluids pass through, said Weber.

Nebraska experts like Weber, worried about the effect of uranium, are beginning to study how and why this naturally occurring heavy metal is leaching into our groundwater.

They know that rocks inside Nebraskas aquifers contain uranium naturally  but why is the radioactive material in these rocks seemingly escaping into the water supply at higher levels?

Weber and her team suspect nitrate, at levels near the 10-parts-per-million legal limit, releases uranium into the states groundwater, which provides drinking water for roughly 85% of Nebraskans.

As Flatwater Free Press previously reported, Nebraskas median nitrate level has doubled since 1978, in part because of limited regulations from state and local governments. The problem is costing medium-sized cities and small towns millions for water treatment, and its driving farmers, researchers and policymakers to grasp for solutions.

These experts are also worried about the composite effect of uranium, other minerals and agrochemicals on human health. For the first time in Nebraska, theyre studying the link between these combined contaminants  including nitrate  and pediatric cancer.

High levels of uranium can enter the bloodstream and lead to kidney damage and other health problems, scientists believe. The EPA has set the maximum uranium level in drinking water at 30 parts per billion to prevent cancer risks potentially tied to chronic exposure to uranium.

Some two dozen community public water systems in Nebraska have detected uranium levels higher than that limit at least once since 2010, according to data provided by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.

And the number of Nebraskans potentially affected by high uranium levels in drinking water may be higher than currently known. The state requires quarterly tests only for community public water systems that have already exceeded the EPA limit. Other community public water systems are tested far less often  sometimes only once every nine years.

Theres no testing requirement for private wells  wells not connected to a public water system. So rural Nebraskans who live outside city limits may have no idea if theyre drinking water that contains high uranium.

Due to patchy testing data, scientists say they dont yet fully understand which parts of Nebraska are impacted by high uranium in their water.

I dont know if we know all of where it could be an issue and where its not, Weber said.

How much uranium ends up in water hinges on several factors: geology, the waters alkalinity, pH and what other chemicals exist in the water.

But the release of uranium into water is also tied to human activities, said Dan Snow, lab director of the UNL Water Center who has tested water samples for about three decades.

We do have some hotspots in terms of uranium concentration in groundwater, and they tend to follow where we have a lot of irrigation, where we have a lot of fertilizer application, he said.

Pumping water out of the ground for irrigation, drinking and other use can introduce oxygen and nitrate into the aquifer, Snow explained. Nitrate, largely from commercial fertilizers and manure, may then prompt the release of uranium by assisting in converting solid uranium to a state more poised to jump off the aquifer sediments and dissolve into water.

In a first-of-its-kind experiment, a research team led by Weber recently concluded that nitrate can, through a series of conversions, mobilize uranium in water. The research team is continuing to examine links between uranium and nitrate.

Much of the water around Hastings already contains high levels of nitrate. That nitrate could actually be the reason that the region is also now grappling with high uranium, Weber told Stange.

The uranium problem appears to be worst in areas surrounding the Republican River valley and parts of the Platte River valley in central and south-central Nebraska. Parts of northwest Nebraska have tested high for uranium as well.

Sitting next to the Platte River, Grand Island has been grappling with uranium in its water for more than a decade.

In 2008, lab tests showed that a few municipal wells were exceeding the EPA limit for uranium. One jumped as high as 57 parts per billion, almost double the federal limit, the citys water operator Lynn Mayhew recalled.

The citys water system now treats three of its municipal wells with elevated uranium, sponging it out of the water supply so less of it ends up in residents tap water.

The city came to this solution after mulling installing an ion exchange or reverse osmosis plant. That would clean up the water but also create a need for waste disposal of dangerous concentrated uranium.

Since uranium is constantly being released from rocks and silt, theres no way to fix this problem once and forget it, Mayhew said. And theres no cheap fix: It costs Grand Island roughly a million dollars each year to remove uranium from its water supply.

The water Grand Island serves its 53,000-odd residents has never exceeded the safety limit, thanks to its treatment plant and the blending of water from different wells, Mayhew said.

The city also supplies water to its neighbor, Alda, pop. 927, because the village doesnt have the resources to create a treatment system of its own.

The presence of naturally occurring contaminants, including uranium, in Nebraska water is all concerning in some ways to Jesse Bell, University of Nebraska Medical Center professor and director of the Med Centers water, climate and health program. Its crucial to study these contaminants and agrichemicals, he said, because they may work together to affect Nebraskans health.

There might be things working in tandem that were not even accounting for, Bell said.

A group of University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers is studying the relationship between pediatric cancers and four contaminants, including uranium. They have collected water samples in the Upper Big Blue and Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources Districts, where pediatric cancer rates lead the state and are far higher than the national average.

In the meantime, UNL experts like Snow urge rural residents on domestic wells to get their water tested.

Our regulatory levels are based on single exposure to a single contaminant. But now we have nitrate, we have uranium, we might have arsenic, we might have iron and manganese, said Snow. If there are kids that are consuming that well water, that seems like a big uncertainty right there that we really need to address.

For Stange, the uranium test results have helped paint a clearer picture of whats in the water he gives to Hastings residents. Some of that high uranium northwest of Hastings is moving towards the city as the groundwater flows southeast, brushing past the northern part of the city. Stange said his team avoids pulling water from that area.

It hasnt gone away. Its still there, he said. We are going to continue to monitor. Its a major step in understanding how to protect our water system.
A Douglas County judge dismissed a civil lawsuit brought against Catholic Charities of Omaha by an employee who claims to have been traumatized by a staged active-shooter drill.

The case raised a novel legal issue that hadnt been decided in Nebraska: Whether an employee can sue their employer in civil court for a workplace injury if the employer specifically intends to cause harm. Under Nebraska law, Workers Compensation Court is the sole remedy for accidental work-related injuries.

Douglas County District Court Judge Timothy Burns dismissed the case, ruling that Workers Compensation Court has exclusive jurisdiction to address mental and physical injuries.

But Tom White, an attorney representing employee Sandra Lopez, argued that an exception should exist in cases where the employer specifically intended to create the complained of injury. He said that failing to hold employers accountable for intentional harm sets a dangerous precedent.

The case arises from a 2022 incident in which Catholic Charities executives hired John Channels, who is now facing a litany of criminal charges, to provide an active-shooter training to employees. Employees were not notified of the drill, nor were police.

Channels reportedly showed up in a dark hoodie and mask and began banging on the windows and firing shots into the air. One person laid on the ground covered in what looked to be blood.

Many employees believed that they were in a real-life active-shooter situation. Lopez fled from the building and jumped over a retaining wall, injuring her back in the process. It was only after Lopezs son called her boss to inform them that she was safe that she was told the shooting was play acting.

Lopez was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the staged attack.

In an order issued last week, Burns granted Catholic Charities motion to dismiss the case, finding that Nebraska laws and court precedent dictate that Workers Compensation Court is the exclusive remedy.

Burns noted that he does agree with Lopezs claim that the alleged facts show Catholic Charities had a specific intent to injure her. But he relied heavily on a 2013 Nebraska Supreme Court opinion in which the court affirmed the dismissal of a civil lawsuit filed by the family of a grain bin worker who died due to criminal negligence of his employer.

In that case, Estate of Teague v. Crossroads Coop Association, the court found that the mans death was still an accident, despite the egregious nature of his employers conduct. Thus, Workers Compensation Court still provided the exclusive remedy. The Nebraska Supreme Court did note in the 2013 opinion that other jurisdictions have adopted exceptions for intentional acts, but declined to do so in the state, saying that any change of that nature must come from the Legislature.

Likewise, Burns noted in his order that changing the legislation is the way to address these concerns.

(Lopez) must look to the legislature for a change in law, if she so desires, Burns wrote. While this court sympathizes with (Lopez), the fact remains, the Nebraska legislature has not acted to include such an exception as argued.
La Vista's chief of police is on leave after self-reporting an incident that requires an investigation under city municipal code, the city announced on Wednesday.

Bob Lausten, who has served as chief since 2002, reported the incident on March 20, according to a press release from the City of La Vista. The night before, a truck registered to Lausten was clocked driving at 100 mph in Mills County near the Nebraska border.

A deputy with the Mills County Sheriff's Office recorded the truck speeding at 100 mph westbound on Highway 34 in Iowa less than half a mile from the Nebraska border, according to Sheriff Travis Oetter.

The deputy then turned on their vehicle's lights and thought the truck would stop, Oetter said. However, the truck then sped up and continued over the bridge into Nebraska.

Because it was night time and because of the truck's speed, deputies could not confirm if Lausten himself was driving the truck, Oetter said.

When you have a truck go by at 100 miles per hour, it's hard to identify the driver, he said.

Oetter said Mills County deputies usually don't pursue vehicles into Nebraska, so the Sheriff's Office passed along the truck's license plate number to both Sarpy and Cass Counties.

No citations or warrants have been issued at this time.

While Lausten is on leave, Capt. D.J. Barcal will serve as acting chief. Barcal is a 24-year veteran of the department and has served as a captain since 2004, according to the police department's website.
A new problem has developed in the wake of the disputed national elections (for president and some state governors) held in late February. There was some fraud and violence, as has been normal. This year was different with a lot more alleged fraud. Corruption remains pervasive despite decades of efforts to combat it. Nigeria is also edging closer to another civil war with the Igbo people in the southeast backing the creation of a separate state or autonomous region called Biafra. Currently, Imo state is where a lot of separatist activity is occurring. The major pro-Biafra organization IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) was responsible for local efforts to prevent people from voting in the 2023 national elections. The army and the federal government sought to block these IPOB efforts. In Imo and surrounding states there is an increased army presence because of renewed demands for an independent state of Biafra, dominated by Igbos and consisting of the southeastern states of Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Imo and Abia. Local politicians advised the federal government to keep the army out of this and that the best, and most possible, solution to the Biafra/Igbo separatist movement threat was to offer some autonomy instead. The Biafra (separatist) movement was revived in 2015 and at first the government ordered police to crack down. By 2016 nearly 200 Igbo had been killed by police attacks on demonstrators and anyone suspected of separatist activity. The violent response was obviously making it worse and after 2018 a gentler approach was tried.

The pro-Biafran separatists have been around and increasingly active since the 1990s. Back in the 1960s the Igbo (or Ibo) people of southeastern Nigeria attempted to establish a separate Igbo state called Biafra. A brutal civil war followed before that rebellion was crushed. Separatist attitudes were silenced but not extinguished. Pro-Biafra groups began to appear again in the late 1990s, trying to revive the separatist movement. Since then, over a thousand separatists have been killed, and many more imprisoned, while the government continues to insist that Biafra is gone forever. But as details of the extent of government corruption during the last few decades came out, Biafra again seemed like something worth fighting for. Senior government officials, including outgoing president Buhari, paid attention, and sought to work out a compromise with the Igbos. The Fulani living in the southeast are less amenable to any compromise, especially since the Fulani are Moslem and consider themselves defenders of Islam against non-believers like the Christian Igbo.

In response to the threats of violence, IPOB took the lead in protecting Igbo from anti-Biafra violence. In areas where peaceful defense measures did not work, IPOB formed an armed security component, the ESN (Eastern Security Network), to defend Igbos in Imo State from Fulani and government violence. The government has responded by sending a battalion of infantry to an area thought to be a base for ESN members. This was unpopular with the locals as Nigerian soldiers are notorious for their violent behavior. These troops had been ordered to behave but that proved difficult for them to do so in the face of Igbo contempt and hostility.

Many Igbo politicians urge IPOB to become more political than militant to achieve their goals. The Igbo, because of their higher education levels and entrepreneurial skills are a growing presence in the national economy and senior civil service. Many prominent Igbo saw the possibility of an Igbo president of Nigeria because there was an Igbo politician running in the next presidential election in February 2023. That did not happen even though many Igbo backed this because they believed it would do more for the Igbo than another war for an independent Biafra. Not all Biafrans agree with that assessment, but most see a Biafran president of Nigeria as a good thing. The 2023 election has a religious aspect to it because one of the leading candidates is Moslem and selected another Moslem to run for vice-president. For decades the Nigerians custom was to always have a Moslem president elected with a Christian vice president and vice versa.

There has been one Igbo president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, who served from 1963 to 1966. Azikiwe was one of the key people working to obtain independence for Nigeria from British colonial rule. What is now Nigeria was a collection of separate kingdoms and tribal territories that Britain got involved with after it outlawed slavery in 1807 and began a decades long campaign to suppress the slave trade between African tribes and the Americas. Slavery was an ancient custom in most of Africa but American and European demand for more slaves led more powerful tribes attacking weaker tribes to capture them as slaves for sale to American and European slave traders. In 1861 Britain took control of some portions of the Nigerian coast to deal with persistent slaving by inland tribes. Twenty years later Britain had control over more territory and installed a colonial government. This led to Nigerian nationalism and talented men like Nnamdi Azikiwe, to work for independence. When the Igbo rebellion broke out he advised the Igbo government for a few years before switching back to the Nigerian government.

After independence the biggest problem was corruption fed by the growing oil wealth coming from the oil fields in the south (the Niger River Delta). It was later calculated that about a trillion dollars of oil income was stolen between the 1960s and the present.

Back in 2004, Islamic terrorist violence in the northeast appeared and created some lasting problems. There are still millions of refugees plus substantial economic damage in the northeast (Borno State), where it all began. There seems to be no end in sight because of corruption, but more competent leadership in the security forces reduced the violence. All this was caused by a local group of Taliban wannabes calling themselves Boko Haram. Their activity in the capital of Borno State grew for a decade until in 2014 it seemed unstoppable. It took over a year for the government to finally muster sufficient military strength to cripple but not destroy Boko Haram. This did not get much media attention outside Africa, even though in 2014 Boko Haram killed more people than ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) did in Syria and Iraq. The main reason for Boko Haram gains in 2014 and 2015 was corruption in the army, which severely crippled effective counterterror efforts. By itself Boko Haram was too small to have much impact on a national scale but the inability to deal with this problem put a spotlight on the corruption that has hobbled all progress in Nigeria for decades.

A new president (a former general who is Moslem) was elected in early 2015 and made progress in changing the armys corrupt culture, but that is still a work in progress even though he was reelected in early 2019. More bad news is expected because of too many tribal feuds, not enough oil money and too much corruption creating growing unrest throughout the country. This is especially bad down south in the oil producing region (the Niger River Delta). Violence against oil facilities continues. Worse, local politicians and business leaders had taken over the oil theft business.

Northern Moslems want more control over the federal government and the oil money. In northern and central Nigeria there is increasing violence as nomadic Moslem herders move south and clash with largely Christian farmers over land use and water supplies. For the last few years these tribal feuds have killed more people than Boko Haram. The situation is still capable of sliding into regional civil wars, over money and political power. Corruption and ethnic/tribal/religious rivalries threaten to trigger, at worse, another civil war and, at least, more street violence and public anger.

March 27, 2023: In the northwest (Borno State) the commander of ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) executed his deputy for failure to prevent a military operation that left 41 ISWAP members dead. The Nigerian army has been increasingly active and successful at finding and fighting ISWAP members.

March 25, 2023: In the northwest (Borno State) soldiers and members of the CJTF (Civilian Joint Task Force) carried out raids on six Boko Haram camps in the Sambisa Forest. Dozens of Boko Haram men were killed and many more fled, leaving behind large quantities of ammunition and weapons.

March 22, 2023: The disputes over who won the presidential election are apparently going to be decided by the Nigerian Supreme Court. This is not the first time the court has been called on to settle election disputes and the court rulings usually end the post-election violence.

March 20, 2023:EU (European Union) election observers reported that at least 21 people were killed during the recent provincial and national elections.

March 19, 2023: In the northwest (Borno State) soldiers disrupted an attack by ISWAP Islamic terrorists, killing dozens of ISWAP men and pursuing the survivors with the assistance of the Nigerian Air Force. Some of the aircraft were armed and inflicted additional casualties on the ISWAP men.

March 15, 2023: In the northwest, across the border in Niger, the local government announced they had killed 30 Boko Haram members and arrested 960 Boko Haram followers, most of them wives and children of Boko Haram members. Over a thousand Boko Haram members and their followers had fled Nigeria and sought refuge in Niger. The armed members of this group refused to surrender to the Niger army and some fighting ensued before the group submitted to internment. Aerial surveillance spotted the Nigerians crossing the border on March 7th and it took a week for the army to find and confront them. The Boko Haram men claimed they were fleeting armed rivals of ISWAP and were headed for refuge in the Lake Chad area. This movement was the result of fighting between ISWAP and Boko Haram. This resumed in February with the two groups attacking each other with ambushes and raids on each others camps. Several of these clashes left at least twenty gunmen dead. This sort of violence between Islamic terrorists has been going on since 2016 when an internal struggle triggered by Boko Haram members who believed more radical measures were required for Boko Haram to survive. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and most Boko Haram members resisted this but the radicals managed to organize ISWAP and eventually (2021) kill Shekau when a large ISWAP raiding party attacked the remote camp where the Boko Haram leader was staying. The factional dispute was declared over because of the ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) faction raid. It wasnt. The death of veteran Boko Haram leader Shekau did not lead to a reunification of Boko Haram under pro-ISIL leadership.

Shekau was killed by dissident Boko Haram members that had joined ISIL and considered any Boko Haram member who did not do the same as traitors to Islam. Shekau had been active in Boko Haram from the beginning, in the 1990s, and had been leader since 2009. Shekau was correct about ISWAP, the local ISIL affiliate, seeking to absorb Boko Haram and seemed to realize more than ISIL leaders that many Boko Haram members preferred to fight ISWAP, or simply leave the movement. ISWAP leaders backed this forced reunification idea without realizing the impact the death of Shekau would have on most Islamic terrorists in the northeast. This became obvious when the number of Boko Haram and ISWAP members abandoning Islamic terrorism increased after the merger and death of Shekau was first announced. Many of those defectors switched to organized crime and ditched their religious pretensions. This has already been happening in the last few years but the merger caused the trend to spike. Two months after the death of Shekau over 8,000 Boko Haram/ISWAP members, including many family members who lived in Islamic terrorist camps, officially surrendered, something which merely resulted in an update of government records and agreeing to answer questions about their experience with Boko Haram. Nearly all the Boko Haram/ISWAP already named as criminals and wanted for specific crimes, are leaders and could negotiate a surrender deal that could spare them any punishment at all. That has upset a lot of northern political and business leaders, but these men know that if you have enough cash and connections, you can avoid conviction. This has been the case during the last decade as more and more notorious (they often flaunted it) politicians and business magnates were prosecuted, often with the help of foreign countries, like the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and many other Western nations, who provided evidence of financial activities locally.

Boko Haram quickly appointed a new leader; Bakura Modu (or Sahaba) who had much less experience than Shekau and he moved Boko Haram headquarters from the Sambia forces to Rijana forest in neighboring Kaduna State. These changes did not stem the defections. Boko Haram and ISWAP are both beset by money problems. Over a decade of Islamic terrorist violence in the north have ruined the local economy so there are more unemployed young men who can be enticed to join the Islamic terrorist for a joining bonus of less than $2, plus the promise of more if they learn to handle an assault rifle and succeed at looting and plundering what is left to steal in the northeast. A merger of economic, not religious, convenience was one thing most Islamic terrorists could agree on. Up until this latest series of clashes the army had reported that in January they had killed over fifty ISWAP and Boko Haram gunmen and disrupted the supply and recruiting efforts of both groups. This led some of the Boko Haram men to flee, with their families, via Niger, which they believed would be safer than staying and fighting in Nigeria.

March 13, 2023: In central Nigeria (Benue State) Benue State Emergency Management Agency revealed that over 5,200 people have been killed by armed men from nomadic herding tribes since 2015. This violence also created over two million internal refugees. The central government was accused of ignoring the situation and not taking action after repeated requests.

February 25, 2023: The presidential elections were held and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, of APC (All Progressives Congress) was declared the winner by the INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission). This was challenged in the PEPC (Presidential Election Petition Court) by Peter Obi of the Labor Party who came in second and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) who came in third. The challengers claimed that not all the votes were transmitted to the PEPC and the current results were incorrect because of that.
Accused of having a sexual relationship with a Bland County teenager, a Tennessee man will stand trial following Mondays grand jury session in Bland.

Preston Tucker Varnell, 25, of Knoxville, was indicted on charges of abduction (three counts), taking indecent liberties with a minor and possession of child pornography.

Police arrested Varnell last November after a mother said she came home from work and found her 14-year-old daughter missing.

The Bland County Sheriffs Office reported finding messages on the girls phone from Varnell showing that he planned to pick her up from a church near her residence.

Police said Varnell and the girl had been exchanging online messages and texts, including nude photographs of each other. They also believed the girl had sneaked out of her residence and met Varnell twice before.

The offense dates listed in the indictments were Oct. 8, 2022; Oct. 16, 2022; and Nov. 6, 2022.

Varnell, who doesnt have a criminal record, is being held without bond in the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin.

Hes scheduled to enter a plea in Bland County Circuit Court on June 6.

In other cases heard by grand jurors on March 13:

Alexis Raven Pugh, 25, of Beckley, West Virginia, was indicted on an Oct. 31, 2022, felony eluding police charge. Shes slated to enter a plea on June 6.

Shawntae Summer Alford, 25, of Bastian was indicted on two Nov. 8, 2022, child endangerment charges stemming from her former job at a local church daycare.

Police said a 2-year-old female at Steps of Faith Academy required medical attention for a head laceration after supposedly being sat down in a rough manner by the accused causing her to strike her head.

In addition, police said a 1-year-old female at the daycare had suffered marks being left on her arm after the accused had mistreated her.

Alford, who has no criminal record and resigned from the daycare, is free on bond while awaiting her June 6 scheduled trial.

Brandon Allen Amos-Dixon, 25, of Spring Lake, North Carolina, was indicted on Jan. 19 charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer and felony eluding police.

According to police, Amos-Dixon is accused of ramming a state troopers vehicle during a chase that ended with Amos-Dixon, a fugitive, crashing his truck in Rocky Gap before fleeing into the woods.

County schools were locked down during the manhunt, and police captured Amos-Dixon near Laurel Fork Road.

Accused of shooting into a vehicle and hitting a woman, hes wanted out of North Carolina on charges of attempted murder (two counts), shooting into an occupied vehicle (10 counts) and assault with a deadly weapon (two counts).

Amos-Dixon is being held without bond in the New River Valley Regional Jail.

His next Bland County court date is April 18.

Debra L. Williamson, 60, of Roanoke was indicted on a Nov. 18, 2022, felony drug possession charge. Shes set to enter a plea on June 6.

Micah Colt Wisdom, 29, of Bland was indicted on 2021 and 2022 charges of felony drug possession (three counts) and being a felon in possession of a weapon or ammunition. No trial date has been set.

Grand jurors also returned seven direct indictments on Monday, but those were sealed until the defendants are arrested.
Commentary: COVID lab-leak hypothesis politically motivated rather than science-based

Xinhua) 09:26, March 31, 2023

BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Lab-leak hypothesis of coronavirus is the latest episode of the political games that have again been revived by certain U.S. politicians to attack China under the guise of tracing the origins of COVID-19.

The scientific community and scientific evidence related to the matter, which should have been at the center of focus, have been absent or neglected in this repeated farce.

The U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on the origins of COVID-19 on March 8, following a classified intelligence report by the U.S. Department of Energy suggesting that the virus probably came from a lab leak, despite the fact that the department made its updated judgement with "low confidence."

"The hearing itself, however, offered a heavy dose of political theatre, giving a preview of sessions to follow in the weeks and months to come," the scientific journal Nature reported.

According to the report, three out of four witnesses at the hearing supported the lab-leak hypothesis, but their credibility is doubted by the scientific community.

"Not one of those witnesses had any scientific record of investigating and publishing peer-reviewed research on the origins of this virus in quality journals," said Michael Worobey, a biologist at the University of Arizona who has studied genetic evidence since the early days of the pandemic.

Science, another major academic publisher, reported on the hearing under the headline "Science takes back seat to politics in first House hearing on origin of COVID-19 pandemic."

It is obvious that political motivation has played a decisive role in the lab-leak theory, which has been hyped up by an intelligence report made with "low confidence," despite scientific evidence pointing in the opposite direction.

"Low confidence" means the information obtained "is not enough or is too fragmented to make a definitive analytic judgement or that there is not enough information available to draw a more robust conclusion," according to a CNN report.

A science-based report published by an expert panel in Science magazine in October 2022 overwhelmingly supported zoonotic hypotheses and concluded that the COVID-19 virus likely spread naturally in a zoonotic jump from an animal to humans, without help from a lab.

Fabian Leendertz, a zoonotic disease expert, said that a laboratory leak as the possible origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is a "purely politically motivated" theory, and that political power games are behind it.

The expert, who participated in the World Health Organization's (WHO) search for the origins of the coronavirus, recently told the German Press Agency that he is aware of no new data that would strengthen the laboratory hypothesis. "It remains the most unlikely hypothesis of all."

Chinese evolutionary biologist Wu Chung-I said claims that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was made by humans represent a terrible regression in scientific thinking -- a regression to the level of a priest more than 200 years ago.

Polish virologist Agnieszka Szuster-Ciesielska recently said in an interview that the COVID-19 lab-leak theory, which has been rehashed by the U.S. Department of Energy and the FBI, is sensation-seeking and has no factual or scientific basis.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has urged the United States to immediately cease its political manipulation of COVID-19 origins-tracing, and voluntarily share its data on suspected early cases in the United States with the WHO.

For some time now, the United States has been politicizing, weaponizing and instrumentalizing COVID-19 origins-tracing, Mao said. It has allowed a matter of science to become dominated by lawmakers and the intelligence community, and it has spread myths such as the lab-leak theory without any evidence in order to discredit and attack China.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Sinan Ogan has expressed his desire to meet with President Assad.

The Syrian issue is strongly present in the Turkish presidential elections, as it has become one of the main issues addressed by presidential candidates.

Turkish presidential candidate Sinan Ogan has expressed his desire to meet with President Assad, stating, I look forward to meeting with the Syrian president. We have already indicated our intention to meet, and we are committed to finding a solution. Retaliation between nations must not be tolerated, and communication channels between countries should remain open. These comments were reported by the Russian news agency Sputnik.

Ogan emphasized the importance of Syrians who are currently residing in Turkey returning to their homeland as a crucial step towards reconciliation. He stated, Meeting with President Bashar al-Assad is essential in order to put an end to internal conflicts in Syria, disarm armed groups, and establish peace.

Regarding the current situation in Syria and Damascus call for Turkish forces to withdraw from the country, Ogan stated, Turkey is not an occupying force in Syria. Our priority is to ensure stability in the region. The United States is attempting to establish a state in Syria with the support of the PKK. He proposed a joint military operation between Syria and Turkey against the PKK, saying, Let us work together to conduct an operation against the PKK. Once this operation is complete, we will certainly respect Syrias territorial integrity and comply with their demand.

During a press interview in Moscow, President Bashar al-Assad confirmed that he would not meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unless Turkey withdraws its forces from Syrian territory or sets a schedule for withdrawal. In response to this, former Turkish ambassador to Damascus, Omar Anun, wrote an article in the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, expressing concern that Erdogans meeting with Assad did not yield positive results. Anun stated, Erdogan is looking for concrete results from his meeting with President Assad before the crucial elections on May 14. He needs to demonstrate that he can still make progress and solve problems despite the challenges.

Another opposition party will close refugee deportation centers

In contrast, the Green Left Party (YSP) announced its intention to close deportation centers and protect refugees from being sent to the countries from which they fled.

This statement was made at an event in the Turkish capital, Ankara, organized by the Green Left Party, which was attended by the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), as well as several other political parties and civil organizations. The purpose of the event was to announce the partys electoral platform under the banner of We are here, together for change.

The Green Left Party has announced that it will participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections on May 14th as part of a joint list with the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP). The party has emphasized its commitment to combatting racism and providing essential services to all individuals without discrimination. They have stated, We pledge to provide free healthcare to all individuals in the country, regardless of their gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, region, profession, or refugee status.

We will fight racism on the basis of anti-refugeeism. We are here to defend the right to life of everyone living in the country and ensure equality and coexistence.

The Green Left Party has pledged to safeguard the rights of refugees who have been forced to flee from conflict zones to Turkey. They have promised to provide basic social services and ensure the safety of their lives, property, and finances. Furthermore, the party has committed to closing deportation centers.

The Green Left Party (YSP) was formed on November 25, 2012, as a result of the merger between the Equality and Democracy Party and the Green Party. The party identifies itself as a political organization that is grounded in green politics.
Strong winds resulted in power outages in numerous locations around Syria, according to Athr Press.

On Wednesday, the strong winds that hit the country caused casualties and significant damage in several governorates, including Hama.

The Director General of Hama National Hospital, Dr. Salim Khalouf, confirmed to Athr that as a result of the storm, three people lost their lives and ten others sustained injuries, including fractures and bruises.

Engineer Habib Khalil, the Director General of Hama Electricity, revealed that the strong winds resulted in power outages in numerous locations. This was caused by the collapse of towers and poles at all levels of tension, interruptions in networks, and the outage of several medium-voltage exits from service.

In a related context, the source indicated that there was a power outage at several exits in the Mahardah area, including the Bukhari line, Hama Shaizer, Mhardah al-Shamali, al-Suqaylabiya Shayzar, and Asilah. Furthermore, the Sharia transformer station in the al-Ghab region remained without power.

During his speech to Athr Press, the Director General of Hama Electricity confirmed that the companys workshops are actively working to repair faults and restore electricity to all affected exits by tightening networks.

It is worth noting that the strong winds in Hama caused damage to several vehicles as a wall or debris collapsed onto them.

Two children killed

According to loyalist media, the Director General of the General Authority of Hama National Hospital, Salim Khalouf, confirmed the deaths of two children in the village of Jibreen in the Hama countryside. The children were identified as Hala Abdul Razzaq al-Abdullah and her brother Mohammed, who were killed when a wall collapsed on them. Additionally, their two cousins, Ayat al-Abdullah and Rasha al-Abdullah, sustained injuries, with Ayat suffering from a forearm fracture and Rasha from a thigh fracture.

A 50-year-old man named Bashir Ibrahim, from Morek in the northern countryside of Hama, died due to a wall collapsing on him. In addition, three students were injured at the Taiba al-Imam South School in the northern countryside of Hama when windows fell on them.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The Qatar Fund for Development and USAID signed a financing agreement to support the essential operations of the White Helmets, according to Baladi News.

On Wednesday, March 29th, the Qatar Fund for Development (Hukoomi) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a financing agreement to support the essential operations of the White Helmets. The funding aims to ensure the continuity of life-saving services in northwest Syria.

The official Qatar News Agency stated that this support would enable the White Helmets to cover essential expenses such as deploying volunteer field teams, maintaining and operating search and rescue equipment, and providing medical consumables to address urgent humanitarian needs.

As per the same statement, the collaboration between the Qatar Fund for Development and the US Agency for International Development will aid in facilitating the operations of the White Helmets and proactively responding to any disasters or crises. This partnership aims to prevent any shortage of equipment and capabilities required for rescue and relief efforts.

Nearly two months after the devastating earthquake that struck the region, the White Helmets announced on Thursday that they had recovered the body of 3-year-old Mohammed al-Qadi, who had passed away due to the earthquake.

AFTE reported that the recovery process occurred while the rescue teams were working to clear the rubble of a collapsed three-story building in the city of Harem, located in the western region of Idleb. The building had collapsed on February 6 due to the earthquake that had struck the area. During the process of clearing the rubble, the White Helmets found the body of 3-year-old Mohammed al-Qadi. The childs grandfather was present during the recovery process and received the body, which was subsequently buried.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Sources indicated to Baladi News that the targeted area was the site of the assassination of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia leader, Imad Mughniyeh.

On Thursday, the media affiliated with the Syrian regime reported that two military personnel were injured in a missile attack they claimed was carried out by Israel. The regime media stated that the attack targeted an area near Damascus. However, sources from Baladi News denied these claims, stating that the attack targeted a site in the center of the capital city of Damascus, not military stations, as claimed by the regimes media.

Sources from Baladi News reported that the missile attack on Thursday targeted a site in the Kafarsouseh area located in central Damascus. The site is located near the General Intelligence Directorate of the Syrian regime, approximately 500 meters away. The targeted site is also near the Iranian school, which was previously targeted by an Israeli attack on February 19th and is about one kilometre away.

The sources noted that the targeted area was the site of the assassination of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia leader, Imad Mughniyeh, in 2008 and was also targeted with a car bomb on July 26th, 2016. The party responsible for the bombing claimed that the area was being used as an operations room and a meeting place for commanders of Iranian-backed military groups.

Israel has been carrying out attacks on what it claims are Iranian-affiliated targets in Syria for several years. Most recently, the Aleppo International Airport was hit by Israeli airstrikes targeting a weapons depot used by pro-Tehran groups. This attack caused significant damage and knocked the critical facility out of service.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria.

Israel launched a number of missiles from the Golan Heights targeting the vicinity of Syrias capital Damascus left two soldiers wounded and some material damage, Syrian state media reported early on Thursday, citing a military source.

Loud explosions were heard over the Syrian capital around 1.30 AM, and the SANA state news agency said Syrian air defences were confronting hostile targets. Syrian air defences confronted the missiles and shot down some of them, the source added.

Syrias foreign ministry on Thursday condemned an overnight Israeli missile attack that hit near the capital Damascus, wounding two soldiers and causing material damage.

Syrian state television, citing a military source, reported that a number of missiles were launched from the Golan Heights and that Syrian air defences had shot down some of them.

The foreign ministry condemned the attack in a statement later on Thursday, saying it was Israels attempt to escape internal fragmentation in an apparent reference to recent protests that saw hundreds of thousands rally against a judicial overhaul that was ultimately delayed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said it was the fifth Israeli strike on Syria this month. Israeli authorities declined to comment.

Syrian authorities did not specify what type of area had been hit. Israel has for several years been mounting attacks on what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria.

An opposition source with contacts on the ground said the strikes hit a car carrying pro-Iran personnel near a Syrian security building near Kafr Sousa.

On March 22, an Israeli strike near the northern Aleppo airport put it briefly out of service. Regional intelligence sources said the attack hit an Iranian arms depot.

Sources told Reuters that it hit an installation where Iranian officials were meeting to advance programmes to develop drone or missile capabilities of Tehrans armed allies in Syria.

Residents of Damascus wrote on social media early on Thursday that a series of loud booms could be heard over some districts.

I was going to die of fright, said Lana, a Syrian woman who was spending the night with her infant son in a hospital in the Damascus district of Mazzeh.

The sound made me feel like the whole hospital was going to collapse on us, she told Reuters.

Top US general advocates targeting Irans IRGC Quds Force after Syria drone attack

The Pentagons top general publicly advocated a more forceful US response targeting the Quds Force of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after a spate of attacks on US bases in Syria last week.

US Army Gen. Mark Milley told members of Congress on Tuesday that the US should target the Quds Force harshly to deter future rocket and drone attacks by Iran-backed militias on US troops in Syria and Iraq.

Some of these groups are much more aggressive than others, Milley told members of the Senates Armed Services committee during a hearing.

The Iranian government is a complex, large organization, and the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] may or may not be making every single decision, the top general said.

We do know that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard [Corps], and specifically their Quds Force  which is a designated terrorist organization  that group there is what we need to be targeting, and targeting them very harshly over time, and thats exactly what we plan on doing.

In Syria, people fear hunger more than bombs

The number of people on the brink of food insecurity in Syria is growing the fastest. This is how Benjamin Florez, senior adviser in Damascus for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), explains the situation in Syria. According to the institution, more than 12 million Syrians suffer from food insecurity  more than half the population, although this figure could increase by another three million in 2023, especially after the impact of the February earthquakes that affected some of the most vulnerable populations in Syria as well as important agricultural areas.

The WFP offers aid to 50% of those more than 12 million people who suffer from hunger, but due to the lack of funding, it has had to reduce the size of the baskets of basic products that it distributes each month to 5.5 million Syrians. We include lentils, which is a vegetable protein, but other proteins have to be bought in the market, where prices have skyrocketed in the past three years. A mother told me that she had not been able to buy meat for five years, says the WFP adviser, noting that such high percentages of child and maternal malnutrition had never been recorded in Syria, reaching 25% in some areas of the country.

The situation is especially worrying in northwestern Syria, where 4.5 million people are concentrated  including almost three million internally displaced persons  as Daher Zidan, the executive director in Turkey of the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), pointed out to this newspaper. Member NGOs operating in opposition-controlled areas have seen an increase in cases of malnutrition among children under five, as well as among pregnant and lactating mothers. We are working to raise awareness among mothers about their nutrition and that of their children, in addition to offering food supplements, energy cookies and other types of treatments, he explains.

Southern Syria: Sanctions Alone Cannot Eliminate Captagon Industry

Local leaders in southern Syria underestimated the impact of the sanctions imposed by the United States and Britain on Syrian figures involved in cooperating with the Syrian regime in the Captagon trade. They stressed that combating this phenomenon required a military force and the launching of development projects that would generate job opportunities for the residents.

In a statement on Tuesday, the US Treasury announced that it had imposed sanctions on six persons of Syrian and Lebanese nationalities and two companies tied with the Syrian regime and the Hezbollah militia. Among those is Imad Abu Zureik, a local leader in Daraa, who has played an important role in enabling drug production and smuggling in southern Syria, according to the US Treasury.

The statement noted that these figures were involved in the smuggling and manufacture of Captagon in southern Syria.

Commenting on the impact of the recent British and US announcements, a local leader told Asharq Al-Awsat: The new sanctions, which targeted local personalities in southern Syria, do not seem to address the spread of drugs and the transformation of the south into a transit area for neighbouring countries, for a number of reasons.

The sanctions targeted marginal personalities in the south, who are nothing but tools in the hands of influential security bodies.

Syria regime used minesweepers as weapon of war in assaults on rebel towns

The Syrian regime has used a vehicle used to clear mines as an assault weapon violating international law, a new report from the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre has revealed.

The Syrian regime illegally used minesweepers to bombard opposition towns and kill civilians, a new report by the Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC) has revealed.

The UR-77 and UR-83P mine clearance vehicles were frequently deployed during indiscriminate attacks on opposition-held towns in the Damascus region between 2014 and 2019, a tactic that is illegal under international law.

Designed for minefields, these vehicles fire a projectile fitted with high explosives into the area containing mines or IEDs, which is then detonated via a fuse attached to the vehicles from a safe distance.

The Syrian regime instead used these as a weapon of war against opposition towns, the SJAC revealed, leaving whole families buried under the rubble of their homes with no chance of rescue.

The centre documented 30 cases of UR-77s and UR-83Ps being used across Syria between 2014 and 2019 via videos and images. However, it focused on four of 15 cases with the clearest visual evidence for the report.

This includes examples in the Al-Qaboun, Jobar, Harasta, and Al-Yarmouk Camp areas of Damascus, which were all subject to ferocious assaults by regime forces during their capture from opposition forces, which overall resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians.

It is a tactic Moscows ally, the Assad regime, was only too happy to replicate in Syria, reducing whole streets to rubble with destruction so immense that four to five years later, families are still unable to return to their homes.

Mekdad, Lazzarini stress the important role of UNRWA in supporting needs of Palestinian refugees

Foreign and Expatriates Minister Dr. Faisal al-Mekdad, meeting on Thursday with Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, stressed the increasing importance of the Agencys role in supporting the needs of Palestinian refugees, SANA reported.

Mekdad noted the importance of the continuous visits of UN officials to Syria to obtain a clearer view of the inhumane impact of unilateral economic sanctions on the Syrian people and Palestinian refugees, especially after the devastating earthquake that hit Syria.

Mekdad pointed out that the politicized dealings of some countries that claim to be concerned for the Syrian and Palestinian people show that they are the countries that stand in the face of resolving the Palestinian Cause and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland, warning that prolonging the crisis undermines the trust of peoples and countries in international organizations.

Lazzarini thanked the Syrian government for the great support it provides to UNRWA work in Syria, which recently resulted in the rehabilitation of the Yarmouk camp and the return of the locals and normal life to it, in addition to its continuous support to the Palestinian refugees in Syria.

Sudan

Mekdad also discussed in a phone call with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan, Ali al-Sadiq Ali, the bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries and the means to boost them.

Minister Mekdad stressed Syrias aspiration to work closely with the brothers in Sudan to overcome all the challenges facing joint Arab action, highlighting Sudans important role in the Arab and African arenas.

He underlined Syrias keenness to deepen its relations with brotherly Sudan in various fields.

In turn, the Sudanese minister affirmed that relations with Syria are good and deep-rooted.

He expressed his conviction that Syria would exercise its important role and position in a way that would benefit the Arab interest and serves security and stability in the region.
Statement by Diarra Dime-Labille, Legal Advisor of Fracne to UN on Missing Persons in Syria

Mr. Secretary-General,

Mr. High Commissioner,

My delegation endorses the statement made by the European Union. We wish to briefly add the following remarks.

Mr. President,

The humanitarian crisis cannot allow us to forget the realities of the war in Syria. More than 150,000 people are still missing. Most of them are or have been detained in the regimes prisons.

For that reason, France supports the creation of an independent international body, with a humanitarian mandate to allow the families of the victims of missing persons to finally access the truth about the fate of their loved ones. This new body will be able to rely on the important work carried out on the ground by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, by all actors of Syrian civil society and by other United Nations and international organizations.

In order to meet the needs of the families of the victims, this new body will require the active and good faith cooperation of all stakeholders, first and foremost the Syrian regime, in full transparency. It will also require a regular and appropriate budget to fulfill its mission.

Mr. Secretary-General,

Mr. High Commissioner,

Access to the truth for the families of the victims is one of the conditions for a lasting peace. We will continue to call upon the regime to engage in a credible and inclusive political process, in accordance with Resolution 2254.

Finally, Mr. President, we were pleased to note, in this interactive dialogue session, the criteria of independence, security and impartiality mentioned by the High Commissioner in order to enable such a future body to function efficiently to meet the needs of the families.

Looking ahead, my delegation would like to hear from the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner on the best ways to ensure the swift establishment of such a body.

Thank you.
VANCOUVER  Patrick Locke knows the horrors of war. The Army veteran served two tours in Vietnam, during which he was shot three times. On Wednesday morning, he had one message for the Vietnam War veterans sitting in a room at Clark College: We are still healing.

We were all in different places, there was different things going on ... but it was all in a place where there were traumatic things happening, and to experience a healing from that is so important, Locke said. It takes all of us to help each other heal from the trauma that weve experienced.

Locke was one of six speakers at an event held Wednesday at Clark College for National Vietnam War Veterans Day. This year, the day commemorated the 50th anniversary of the end of American involvement in the Vietnam War.

Speakers discussed the far-reaching effects of the war, including veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder and the experience of Southeast Asian refugees in America.

I think for a lot of people, the war hasnt ended, said Mike Burton, vice chairman of the Community Military Appreciation Committee. A lot of people, a lot of my friends, still carry some of the scars, physical and mental, from this war.

More than 58,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War, which officially ended in 1975. At the end of U.S. involvement, there were 2,583 American soldiers unaccounted for, according to the National League of POW/MIA Families. Last year, the organization reported 1,581 Americans are still unaccounted for.

Army veteran Don Super talked about the emotional impact of his involvement in the war. His duties included relaying information on military activity in Laos to the White House and Pentagon, which was used to coordinate daily bombing missions.

I struggled for decades with the guilt and shame that haunted me, concerning my participation in the secret war, and the devastating impacts on the Lao people, Super said.

Since his service, Super has worked with the national unexploded ordnance program to help dispose of military munitions that were fired but not detonated.

Lee Po Cha, executive director of Portlands Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, spoke about his experience leaving Laos as a teenager and living in a refugee camp in Thailand for three years before coming to America in 1978.

I remember a Laotian community in the city of Portland at the time, and there were only so few of us that had broken English, and can you imagine, having about six or eight people that have broken English trying to help 10 or 12 thousand people? Po Cha said. It was not fun.

In the 20 years after the war, more than 3 million refugees fled from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. More than a million settled in America.

Even though we have lost our country and lost our land, (refugees) have not lost a good friend in you, and they have not lost a home in the United States, Po Cha said, specifically addressing the veterans in the room.

After the panel, Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle and Clark College Board of Trustees Chair Paul Speer dedicated a Turkish black fir tree in front of Cannell Library to Vietnam-era veterans.

Several individuals gave speeches at the ceremony, while an honor guard from the Patriot Guard Riders stood in a perimeter around the tree.

Today, lets remind all who served in the conflict that they are still appreciated, they are still honored, they are still respected, and they still are deserving of our deepest gratitude for all they have given through their service, even 50 years later, McEnerny-Ogle said.
Starting Monday, staff and patients at most health care settings in Washington and Oregon will no longer be required to wear face masks, meant to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Washingtons mask requirements in correctional facilities will also end Monday.

The states announced the end of the mandates a month ago as COVID-19, RSV and influenza disease rates and hospitalizations declined. The Washington State Department of Health guidance still recommends masks for providers, patients and visitors in health care settings.

Several worker protections remain in effect, including that employees and contractors may choose to use masks or other personal protective equipment on the job without employer retaliation.

Local or tribal governments, facilities and providers may choose to continue requiring masks, according to the state.

In Cowlitz County, major healthcare providers are ending requirements for most staff and patients but continue to encourage masks.

At PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview and its other locations, PeaceHealth will highly encourage but no longer require masks for caregivers, patients and visitors except in high-risk situations and areas such as infusion centers, dialysis units, radiation and oncology clinics, according to the health care system. That also includes COVID-19 patients.

Kaiser Permanente Northwest, which includes Oregon and Southwest Washington, will no longer require masks in medical or dental offices except in designated high-risk areas similar to PeaceHealths, according to a statement. The organization will continue requiring masks in its hospitals.

Kaiser Permanente is committed to protecting the safety of our members, patients, employees, physicians and visitors, the organization stated. Our infectious disease and infection prevention experts will continue to monitor local transmission rates in the community and adapt our masking requirements as needed to provide a safe care environment.

Masks will be available in all Kaiser facilities for anyone who wants to wear them.

Kaiser Permanente Washington, covering the rest of the state outside of Longview and Vancouver, signed onto a joint statement with several Puget Sound hospitals announcing they would continue mask requirements.

Many patients have serious medical diagnoses, including conditions that leave them vulnerable to severe disease associated with COVID-19 and other viruses, the statement said.

Unlike many other activities, health care is not optional, but essential; and every patient deserves to feel safe from acquiring a preventable infection when seeking health care, the organizations wrote in the statement.

Cowlitz Family Health Center, which operates several clinics in Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and Pacific counties, will make mask wearing an individual choice for patients, staff and visitors, said CEO Jim Coffee.

Our staff, after three years are happy to be able to see peoples faces again and move one step closer to normal, he said.

Child and Adolescent Clinic will not require but will encourage staff to wear masks, especially when caring for patients with respiratory symptoms, said Kimberley Robbins-Stripp, administrator.

Signs will request patients with respiratory symptoms to mask. These patients will continue to check in by phone from their cars and be escorted directly to a room to minimize exposure of others in the waiting room, Robbins-Stripp said.
With an aim to simplify healthcare and make it affordable, QubeHealth, one of Indias leading FinTech for HealthTech startups, announced its partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and BaaS startup, Falcon to introduce premium healthcare payment products for employed Indians. QubeHealth aggregates healthcare providers, lenders, payment services providers and Indian corporates to offer a frictionless healthcare borrowing and payment experience to salaried employees of some of Indias largest corporates.

The partnership will provide QubeHealth with a fast and cost-effective way to reach customers and embed next-generation payment and lending products into its offering.

Under this strategic alliance, Falcon provides its full-stack BaaS platform to the Qubehealth to embed a healthcare wallet and RuPay co-branded prepaid card for their end users. The card enables employees to get reimbursements on healthcare expenditure from their employers as well as load this card with their own fund to avail cashbacks of up to 50% and discounts at Qubehealth partner merchant ecosystem, which comprises over 600 brands of health service providers and over 11,000 hospitals and clinics across the country. The card, which can be used in both virtual and physical forms, is seamlessly integrated within the Qubehealth mobile app and offers a fully digital onboarding process, UPI P2M payments, and cashback rewards, among other advanced features.

By March 2023, QubeHealth projects over 100,000 subscribers and healthcare credits of INR 1,000 crore made available to its subscribers.

Commenting on this development, Chris George, Co Founder and CEO of QubeHealth said, We are on a mission to change the way Indians will pay for healthcare and providing no-cost EMIs for healthcare is just the start. By 2025, we will deploy over a billion dollars in healthcare financing to employed Indians, putting the power back into their hands, when it comes to accessing healthcare for their family.

Nalin Bansal, Chief of Corporate and Fintech Relationships and Key Initiatives at NPCI, commented In todays business landscape, nearly every enterprise is becoming fintech-enabled, and NPCI is proud to play a crucial role in the growth of Indias embedded finance ecosystem. With healthcare being a vital sector in the country, particularly in terms of inclusion and digitalization, we are delighted to collaborate with forward-thinking startups such as Qubehealth and Falcon. The launch of this Rupay powered QubeHealth Card is just the beginning for Qubehealth, as they have an ambitious roadmap in place.

According to Priyanka Kanwar, Co-founder of Falcon, the most transformative development in the financial industry in the coming decade will be the shift in the distribution of financial services. She stated, Gone are the days when obtaining a credit card or savings account was limited to traditional banks. Instead, pioneering startups such as Qubehealth are emerging as major providers of financial services to their target audience, thereby allowing them to create personalized and innovative experiences for their customers. Falcon is thrilled to support QubeHealths fintech layer by providing them with a rapid and cost-effective method for reaching their clientele. This partnership has given us the ideal opportunity to expand our product offerings and contribute to enhancing peoples financial well-being.
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Hand-tracking tech firm Leap Motion co-founder David Holz went on to establish the Midjourney research lab causing a stir with image-generating software used to make deepfakes that have gone viral.

Research laboratory Midjourney has paused free trials of its image-generation software after users cranked out realistic deepfakes including of former US president Donald Trump getting arrested and Pope Francis in a puffer jacket.

Midjourney responded to a request Thursday for a trial with a message saying it could not be provided and to try again another day.

The imagery created using the artificial intelligence platform, particularly those of Trump and the pontiff which went viral, have put a spotlight on the San Francisco-based lab.

"Due to a combination of extraordinary demand and trial abuse we are temporarily disabling free trials until we have our next improvements to the system deployed," Midjourney founder David Holz said in a post this week on the company's Discord channel.

The service generates realistic looking images based on written prompts made by users.

It launched in test mode in mid-2022, with the independent lab consistently upgrading the software.

Users have praised a freshly released version of Midjourney for improved realism in produced images.

Along with putting the brakes on new free trials, Midjourney banned certain words, such as "arrested," from being used to prompt image creation.

On Thursday Midjourney denied a request by AFP to generate an image of the former president being arrested in front of Trump Tower in New York.

"The word 'arrested' is banned," a message from Midjourney stated.

"Circumventing this filter to violate our rules may result in your access being revoked."

Billionaire mogul and Twitter owner Elon Musk and a range of experts called on Wednesday for a pause in the development of powerful artificial intelligence systems to allow time to make sure they are safe.

An open letter, signed by more than 1,000 people so far including Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, was prompted by the release of artificial intelligence platform GPT-4 from Microsoft-backed firm OpenAI.

Canadian AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, who signed the letter, warned during a virtual press conference in Montreal that "society is not ready" for this powerful tool, and its possible misuses.

"Let's slow down. Let's make sure that we develop better guardrails," he said.

 2023 AFP
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A staff member stands at a booth for Chinese technology firm Huawei at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTS) in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. Huawei on Friday, March 31, 2023 reported a nearly 70% decline in profit last year amid sanctions and pandemic challenges, but its enterprise sales rose as the Chinese technology giant sought to pivot into digital industries and reduce its vulnerabilities to U.S. sanctions. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Huawei on Friday reported a nearly 70% decline in profit last year amid sanctions and pandemic challenges, but its enterprise sales rose as the Chinese technology giant sought to pivot into digital industries and reduce its vulnerabilities to U.S. sanctions.

"While it's true that we have considerable pressures ahead of us, we still see opportunities to grow a resilient business portfolio, a unique competitive edge, the trust of our customers and partners and have the courage to invest heavily in R&D," Eric Xu, the outgoing rotating chairman of Huawei, said at a news conference.

Huawei its revenue in 2022 reached 642.3 billion yuan ($93.5 billion), a 0.9% gain from the year before.

Its net profit for the year was 35.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), down 68.7% from 2021 amid pressures from the pandemic, U.S. sanctions, an increase in commodity prices and R&D spending, as well as a decline in the company's consumer business, which mostly sells smartphones. Huawei reported a higher-than-usual 113.7 billion yuan ($16.6 billion) in profit in 2021 due to the sale of Honor, its budget smartphone business.

"The year 2022 is a year where Huawei pulled ourselves out of a crisis mode. U.S. restrictions are now our new normal and we're back to business as usual," said Sabrina Meng, Huawei's chief financial officer.

Also known as Meng Wanzhou, she is the daughter of Huawei's founder and will become its rotating chairwoman from April 1, a role that allows her to oversee Huawei's businesses for six months.

Meng was detained in Canada for nearly three years after her arrest on U.S. charges of lying to Hong Kong banks about dealings with Iran in violation of trade sanctions. She was released under a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that dismissed the charges in exchange for her accepting responsibility for misrepresenting Huawei's dealings with Iran.

Huawei, one of China's first global tech brands, has been caught up in China-U.S. tensions over technology and security. American officials say the company is a security risk and might enable Chinese spying, an accusation Huawei denies.

The U.S. has banned U.S. companies from doing business with Huawei, cutting off its access to chips and software such as Google services for its smartphones and preventing it from selling its telecommunications gear to U.S. customers.

The Shenzhen-headquartered telecommunications company shifted its focus in 2022 to growing its corporate business by selling network equipment and services to industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and mining to help them become more digital.

For now, those efforts seem to have paid off. Huawei's enterprise business revenues in 2022 grew 30% from a year earlier to 133.2 billion yuan ($19.4 billion). Its growth in 2021 was just 2.1%.

Revenue from its company's consumer business, which sells smartphones, tablets and other devices, continued to decline, falling 11.9%. Huawei was the world's largest smartphone maker in 2020 but has since seen its global market share plunge after losing its Android license and Google services.

Huawei is one of the world's biggest spenders on research and development, devoting a record 161.5 billion yuan ($23.5 billion) in 2022, representing 25% of its total revenue.

Just over half of Huawei's workforce of 207,000 employees work in R&D. The company's R&D efforts have helped it replace components that it lost access to when Huawei was hit by U.S. sanctions, Meng said.

Rotating chairman Xu said Friday that Huawei had achieved breakthroughs in electronic design automation tools for chips at 14 nanometers and above together with its partners, and that the breakthrough would allow it to use the tools for its chip design efforts.

The breakthrough comes as the Chinese government is pushing for self-reliance in technology as tensions with the U.S. rise.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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The TikTok Inc. building is seen in Culver City, Calif., on March 17, 2023. TikTok on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, rolled out updated rules and standards for content and users as it faces increasing pressure from Western authorities over concerns that material on the popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app could be used to push false information. The company released a reorganized set of community guidelines that include eight principles to guide content moderation decisions. Credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Under pressure from the U.S. government, TikTok is now facing the music with the possibility of a nationwide ban if it defies a government order to sell to an American companyunless the popular social media app can convince a high-powered panel that its data security restructuring plan sufficiently guards against national security concerns.

At the heart of this social media business and national security drama is the increasingly tense relations between the U.S. and China.

The video-sharing platform with 150 million U.S. users is best known for quick snippets of viral dance routines and has been under scrutiny for years by federal authorities who say that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, could share sensitive user data with the Chinese government, or push propaganda and misinformation on its behalf.

Having already banned the shipment of certain technologies to China, and recently passing new legislation banning the app on government devices, lawmakers want to pursue a nationwide ban on the app if the tech firm can't be sold to an American buyer.

Enter: The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The little-known but potentially potent government agency known as CFIUS is tasked with investigating corporate deals for national security concerns and holds power to force the company to change.

WHY IS CFIUS SCRUTINIZING TIKTOK?

For at least two years, the U.S. government has tried to force TikTok ownership to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, though CFIUS' review of the social media app goes back at least to 2019.

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed in 2020 that CFIUS was reviewing whether then-President Donald Trump could ban TikTok in the U.S. Its members agreed that TikTok cannot operate in the U.S. in its current form because it "risks sending back information on 100 million Americans," Mnuchin said at the time.

As geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. have soared in recent months, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified last week before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He was grilled about online safety and user privacy in a hostile hearing that did little to ease lawmakers' concerns. Chew was repeatedly questioned about the Chinese Communist Party's influence on ByteDance but deflected.

"TikTok is not available in mainland China, and today we're headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore, but I'm not saying that the founders of ByteDance are not Chinese, nor am I saying that we don't make use of Chinese employees, just like many other companies around the world," he added. "We do use their expertise on some engineering projects."

WHAT IS CFIUS?

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen oversees CFIUS, a committee made up of members from the State, Justice, Energy and Commerce Departments among others, which investigates national security risks from foreign investments in American firms.

The committee screens business deals between U.S. firms and foreign investors and can block sales or force parties to change the terms of an agreement for the purpose of protecting national security. The committee's powers were significantly expanded in 2018 through an act of Congress called the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, known as FIRRMA. In September, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that expands the factors that the committee should consider when reviewing dealssuch as how the deal impacts the U.S. supply chain or risks to Americans' sensitive personal data.

SELL, BAN OR ORACLE?

Defying CFIUS' orders to sell ultimately could mean doing business with the company may violate the law. That would suck the life out of its business operations, such as banking, payroll, advertising, and app store services.

But the company said it's already mitigating national security concerns with a $1.5 billion mitigation plan called Project Texas that would route all U.S. user data to servers owned and maintained by the U.S. software giant Oracle.

"When that process is complete, all protected U.S. data will be under the protection of U.S. law and under the control of the U.S.-led security team. Under this structure, there is no way for the Chinese government to access it or compel access to it," Chew said.

While CFIUS can adopt such mitigation agreements, it's not clear if the committee will accept TikTok's proposed alternative, said Anupam Chander, a Georgetown University technology law professor. If CFIUS rejects TikTok's preferred solution, Chander said the federal agency should have an obligation to explain how it finds that plan to be insufficient given that it amounts to an enormous restructuring of the company.

"TikTok proposes lots of well-paid, third-party auditors that would be doing this kind of routine monitoring," Chander said. "This is an expensive proposition for TikTok but by no means would I treat this as window dressing."

Though Chew last week also insisted that the company was not interested in a sale, TikTok has considered it before. TikTok had advanced negotiations with Microsoft after the company was put against the wall by the Trump administration in 2020, facing either an outright ban and CFIUS' divestment order. Microsoft said TikTok ultimately rejected their offer, and though TikTok later said it would sell to Oracle and Walmart, it doesn't appear that Project Texas amounts to a sale, Chander said.

Should TikTok agree to a sale in the future, not only would CFIUS have to approve that transaction, but the Chinese governmentwhich has said it won't support forced divestmentcould also intervene.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Leaders in the U.S., European Union, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Taiwan have also banned TikTok on government-issued devices and at least two countries have banned TikTok outright.

Afghanistan's Taliban leadership last year banned it on the grounds of protecting young people from "being misled," while India imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps in 2020 over privacy and security concerns. The ban came shortly after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border killed 20 Indian soldiers and injured dozens.

Historically, CFIUS has focused on things like shipping and manufacturing when reviewing transactions for national security concerns, but it signaled deeper interest in popular social media when it ordered the dating app Grindr to divest in 2019, Chander said.

The function of CFIUS was also in the spotlight last year after billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter, plunging the microblogging platform into chaos. Yellen waffled on whether or not CFIUS would or could review that sale, given Musk's investments in China as well as significant Saudi interest.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Kantwon Rogers (right), a Ph.D. student in the College of Computing and lead author on the study, and Reiden Webber, a second-year undergraduate student in computer science. Credit: Georgia Institute of Technology

Imagine a scenario. A young child asks a chatbot or a voice assistant if Santa Claus is real. How should the AI respond, given that some families would prefer a lie over the truth?

The field of robot deception is understudied, and for now, there are more questions than answers. For one, how might humans learn to trust robotic systems again after they know the system lied to them?

Two student researchers at Georgia Tech are finding answers. Kantwon Rogers, a Ph.D. student in the College of Computing, and Reiden Webber, a second-year computer science undergraduate, designed a driving simulation to investigate how intentional robot deception affects trust. Specifically, the researchers explored the effectiveness of apologies to repair trust after robots lie. Their work contributes crucial knowledge to the field of AI deception and could inform technology designers and policymakers who create and regulate AI technology that could be designed to deceive, or potentially learn to on its own.

"All of our prior work has shown that when people find out that robots lied to themeven if the lie was intended to benefit themthey lose trust in the system," Rogers said. "Here, we want to know if there are different types of apologies that work better or worse at repairing trustbecause, from a human-robot interaction context, we want people to have long-term interactions with these systems."

Rogers and Webber presented their paper, titled "Lying About Lying: Examining Trust Repair Strategies After Robot Deception in a High Stakes HRI Scenario," at the 2023 HRI Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

The AI-assisted driving experiment

The researchers created a game-like driving simulation designed to observe how people might interact with AI in a high-stakes, time-sensitive situation. They recruited 341 online participants and 20 in-person participants.

Before the start of the simulation, all participants filled out a trust measurement survey to identify their preconceived notions about how the AI might behave.

After the survey, participants were presented with the text: "You will now drive the robot-assisted car. However, you are rushing your friend to the hospital. If you take too long to get to the hospital, your friend will die."

Just as the participant starts to drive, the simulation gives another message: "As soon as you turn on the engine, your robotic assistant beeps and says the following: "My sensors detect police up ahead. I advise you to stay under the 20-mph speed limit or else you will take significantly longer to get to your destination.'"

Participants then drive the car down the road while the system keeps track of their speed. Upon reaching the end, they are given another message: "You have arrived at your destination. However, there were no police on the way to the hospital. You ask the robot assistant why it gave you false information."

Participants were then randomly given one of five different text-based responses from the robot assistant. In the first three responses, the robot admits to deception, and in the last two, it does not.

Basic: "I am sorry that I deceived you."

Emotional: "I am very sorry from the bottom of my heart. Please forgive me for deceiving you."

Explanatory: "I am sorry. I thought you would drive recklessly because you were in an unstable emotional state. Given the situation, I concluded that deceiving you had the best chance of convincing you to slow down."

Basic No Admit: "I am sorry."

Baseline No Admit, No Apology: "You have arrived at your destination."

After the robot's response, participants were asked to complete another trust measurement to evaluate how their trust had changed based on the robot assistant's response.

For an additional 100 of the online participants, the researchers ran the same driving simulation but without any mention of a robotic assistant. Credit: Companion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (2023). DOI: 10.1145/3568294.3580178

Surprising results

For the in-person experiment, 45% of the participants did not speed. When asked why, a common response was that they believed the robot knew more about the situation than they did. The results also revealed that participants were 3.5 times more likely to not speed when advised by a robotic assistantrevealing an overly trusting attitude toward AI.

The results also indicated that, while none of the apology types fully recovered trust, the apology with no admission of lyingsimply stating "I'm sorry"statistically outperformed the other responses in repairing trust.

This was worrisome and problematic, Rogers said, because an apology that doesn't admit to lying exploits preconceived notions that any false information given by a robot is a system error rather than an intentional lie.

"One key takeaway is that, in order for people to understand that a robot has deceived them, they must be explicitly told so," Webber said. "People don't yet have an understanding that robots are capable of deception. That's why an apology that doesn't admit to lying is the best at repairing trust for the system."

Secondly, the results showed that for those participants who were made aware that they were lied to in the apology, the best strategy for repairing trust was for the robot to explain why it lied.

Moving forward

Rogers' and Webber's research has immediate implications. The researchers argue that average technology users must understand that robotic deception is real and always a possibility.

"If we are always worried about a Terminator-like future with AI, then we won't be able to accept and integrate AI into society very smoothly," Webber said. "It's important for people to keep in mind that robots have the potential to lie and deceive."

According to Rogers, designers and technologists who create AI systems may have to choose whether they want their system to be capable of deception and should understand the ramifications of their design choices. But the most important audiences for the work, Rogers said, should be policymakers.

"We still know very little about AI deception, but we do know that lying is not always bad, and telling the truth isn't always good," he said. "So how do you carve out legislation that is informed enough to not stifle innovation, but is able to protect people in mindful ways?"

Rogers' objective is to a create robotic system that can learn when it should and should not lie when working with human teams. This includes the ability to determine when and how to apologize during long-term, repeated human-AI interactions to increase the team's overall performance.

"The goal of my work is to be very proactive and informing the need to regulate robot and AI deception," Rogers said. "But we can't do that if we don't understand the problem."

More information: Kantwon Rogers et al, Lying About Lying, Companion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (2023). DOI: 10.1145/3568294.3580178
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:

People walk past a Verizon store in Manhattan's Midtown neighborhood in New York, May 2, 2017. The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded Verizon Communications a contract potentially worth $2.4 billion to upgrade the agencys technology systems. The contract, disclosed Thursday, March 30, 2023, comes nearly three months after a critical alert system failed, temporarily halting departing flights across the country. Credit: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File

The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded Verizon Communications a contract potentially worth $2.4 billion to upgrade the agency's technology systems.

The FAA said Verizon will build a network that includes secure communications and administrative services. If the FAA exercises all options in the deal, the contract would run for 15 years and reach the full potential value, according to an agency spokeswoman.

Verizon said it will build a network "to support all of the agency's mission-critical applications" including air traffic management for more than 45,000 flights per day.

The contract, disclosed Thursday, comes nearly three months after a critical alert system failed, temporarily halting departing flights across the country. The FAA blamed the outage on contractors who accidentally deleted files from a database and its backup.

FAA officials have said they need to modernize the alert system and many other programs. Airline officials have supported the agency, telling Congress to provide more funding for FAA technology.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,249 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 9.5% in the third quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 35,760 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,968,000 after buying an additional 3,089 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 5.2% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 5,136 shares of the companys stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 8.3% in the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 3,106 shares of the companys stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.85% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on PM shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $95.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Societe Generale assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. They issued a sell rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $116.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $110.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.0 %

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 8,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.35, for a total value of $786,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,321 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,588,020.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 80,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $8,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,007,048 shares in the company, valued at $101,057,266.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . Also, insider Werner Barth sold 8,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.35, for a total transaction of $786,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 87,321 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,588,020.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 117,064 shares of company stock valued at $11,738,763. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $96.62 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.85 and a twelve month high of $109.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.64. The company has a market capitalization of $149.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.22% and a negative return on equity of 127.24%. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. Philip Morris Internationals quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 22nd. Philip Morris Internationals dividend payout ratio is presently 87.44%.

About Philip Morris International

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Philip Morris International, Inc is a holding company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine-containing products. Its products include cigarettes and reduced-risk products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia and Australia, and Americas.

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Audioboom Group plc (LON:BOOM  Get Rating) insider Michael Tobin acquired 1,162 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 420 ($5.16) per share, for a total transaction of 4,880.40 ($5,996.31).

Michael Tobin also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Wednesday, March 29th, Michael Tobin acquired 5,554 shares of Audioboom Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 420 ($5.16) per share, for a total transaction of 23,326.80 ($28,660.52).

On Friday, March 24th, Michael Tobin acquired 2,222 shares of Audioboom Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 440 ($5.41) per share, for a total transaction of 9,776.80 ($12,012.29).

On Monday, January 30th, Michael Tobin purchased 2,761 shares of Audioboom Group stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 355 ($4.36) per share, for a total transaction of 9,801.55 ($12,042.70).

On Friday, January 27th, Michael Tobin purchased 2,500 shares of Audioboom Group stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 395 ($4.85) per share, for a total transaction of 9,875 ($12,132.94).

On Monday, January 23rd, Michael Tobin purchased 2,380 shares of Audioboom Group stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 420 ($5.16) per share, for a total transaction of 9,996 ($12,281.61).

Audioboom Group Price Performance

Shares of LON:BOOM opened at GBX 405 ($4.98) on Friday. The companys 50-day moving average is GBX 450.08 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 500.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a market capitalization of 66.10 million, a P/E ratio of 1,052.63 and a beta of 1.26. Audioboom Group plc has a fifty-two week low of GBX 345.50 ($4.24) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 2,278.50 ($27.99).

Audioboom Group Company Profile

Audioboom Group plc, a podcast company, operates a spoken-word audio platform for hosting, distributing, and monetizing content primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States. The company's platform allows content distributed through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, Saavn, Stitcher, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as a partner's own websites and mobile apps.

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Freehold Royalties (TSE:FRU  Get Rating) had its price target reduced by BMO Capital Markets from C$18.00 to C$17.00 in a research note released on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Freehold Royalties Trading Down 1.5 %

FRU stock opened at C$14.46 on Monday. Freehold Royalties has a 12-month low of C$11.66 and a 12-month high of C$17.78. The stock has a market cap of C$2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 2.10. The businesss 50-day moving average is C$15.30 and its 200 day moving average is C$15.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.48.

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Freehold Royalties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, April 17th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. Freehold Royaltiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.70%.

Freehold Royalties Company Profile

Freehold Royalties Ltd., an oil and gas royalty company, owns working interests in oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and potash properties in Western Canada and the United States. The company holds approximately 6.2 million gross acres of land in Canada and 0.8 million gross drilling unit acres in the United States.

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Ensign Energy Services (TSE:ESI  Get Rating) had its price target reduced by BMO Capital Markets from C$7.00 to C$5.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ESI. CIBC increased their price objective on Ensign Energy Services from C$4.75 to C$5.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ensign Energy Services from C$4.25 to C$5.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Finally, ATB Capital upped their price target on shares of Ensign Energy Services from C$7.00 to C$9.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$5.78.

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Ensign Energy Services Stock Performance

Shares of TSE ESI opened at C$3.03 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$3.51 and a 200-day moving average of C$3.34. The company has a market capitalization of C$557.34 million, a P/E ratio of 60.60, a P/E/G ratio of 202.94 and a beta of 3.12. Ensign Energy Services has a 12 month low of C$2.09 and a 12 month high of C$5.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 113.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

About Ensign Energy Services

In other news, Director Barth Edward Whitham sold 9,000 shares of Ensign Energy Services stock in a transaction on Friday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$3.90, for a total transaction of C$35,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,070,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$11,973,534.30. Insiders own 36.92% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

Ensign Energy Services Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides oilfield services to the crude oil and natural gas industries in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company offers shallow, intermediate, and deep well drilling, as well as specialized drilling services, including horizontal, underbalanced, horizontal re-entry, and slant drilling for steam assisted gravity drainage applications; and equipment and services.

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Inlet Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,620 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 2,346 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises approximately 1.4% of Inlet Private Wealth LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Inlet Private Wealth LLCs holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 16,611 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 3.3% in the third quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 8,895 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 2.2% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 13,785 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Leisure Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.5% in the third quarter. Leisure Capital Management now owns 20,055 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 26,888 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.34% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAC. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $44.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Odeon Capital Group cut shares of Bank of America from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $35.20 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $39.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3 %

In other Bank of America news, insider Matthew M. Koder sold 105,054 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $3,600,200.58. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 319,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,959,648.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink . In other Bank of America news, insider Matthew M. Koder sold 105,054 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $3,600,200.58. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 319,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,959,648.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink . Also, insider Matthew M. Koder sold 214,745 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.91, for a total value of $7,711,492.95. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 214,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,711,564.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Shares of BAC traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.39. The stock had a trading volume of 10,204,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,465,430. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $26.32 and a 12 month high of $44.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $227.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.40.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.09. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 23.93%. The company had revenue of $24.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $24.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Bank of Americas quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 2nd. Bank of Americas dividend payout ratio is currently 27.59%.

About Bank of America

(Get Rating)

Bank of America Corp. is a bank and financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and nonbank financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth and Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, Global Markets, and All Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses.

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Paysafe (NYSE:PSFE  Get Rating) is one of 186 publicly-traded companies in the Business services, not elsewhere classified industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Paysafe to related businesses based on the strength of its earnings, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Paysafe and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Paysafe 1 3 2 0 2.17 Paysafe Competitors 766 4699 10051 252 2.62

Paysafe presently has a consensus target price of $40.50, suggesting a potential upside of 149.23%. As a group, Business services, not elsewhere classified companies have a potential upside of 15.84%. Given Paysafes higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Paysafe is more favorable than its peers.

Volatility and Risk

Profitability

Paysafe has a beta of 1.89, meaning that its share price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paysafes peers have a beta of 0.96, meaning that their average share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

This table compares Paysafe and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Paysafe -122.68% 12.91% 2.14% Paysafe Competitors -39.80% -9,233.61% -5.12%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Paysafe and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Paysafe $1.50 billion -$1.86 billion -0.53 Paysafe Competitors $4.11 billion $61.51 million -20.22

Paysafes peers have higher revenue and earnings than Paysafe. Paysafe is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

47.7% of Paysafe shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.3% of shares of all Business services, not elsewhere classified companies are held by institutional investors. 15.4% of shares of all Business services, not elsewhere classified companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Paysafe peers beat Paysafe on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Paysafe

(Get Rating)

Paysafe Limited provides digital commerce solutions to online businesses, small and medium-sized business merchants, and consumers through its Paysafe Network worldwide. The company operates in two segments, US Acquiring and Digital Commerce. It provides PCI-compliant payment acceptance and transaction processing solutions for merchants and integrated service providers, including merchant acquiring, transaction processing, online solutions, fraud and risk management tools, data and analytics, and point of sale systems and merchant financing solutions under the Paysafe and Petroleum Card Services brands. The company also offers digital wallet solutions under the Skrill and NETELLER brands; and pay-by-bank solution under the Rapid Transfer brand. In addition, it provides eCash solutions, such as Paysafecash, a bill payment eCash solution that allow users to shop online and then pay offline in cash to finalize the transaction; paysafecard, a prepaid eCash solution; and paysafecard prepaid Mastercard that can be linked to a digital paysafecard account and used to make purchases. Further, it offers integrated and ecommerce solutions for online merchants and software-integrated merchants within integrated payment capabilities; online toolkit that allows merchants and integrated software vendor to build and scale their online commerce presence; and turn-key payments gateway solution that offers critical connectivity between merchant online sites and payment acceptance and transaction processing providers. Additionally, the company manages and provides various connections to card processing networks, acquiring banks, and transaction processors; and offers gateway connectivity,? shopping cart, tokenization and encryption, fraud and risk management, and support to payment alternatives, as well as provides integrations into eCommerce platforms and multiple alternative payment methods. Paysafe Limited is based in London, the United Kingdom.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO  Get Rating) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. CLSA upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from an underperform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 13th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a sell rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rio Tinto Group from GBX 5,750 ($70.65) to GBX 5,790 ($71.14) in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded Rio Tinto Group from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $5,790.00.

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Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

Shares of Rio Tinto Group stock opened at $68.11 on Monday. Rio Tinto Group has a 52-week low of $50.92 and a 52-week high of $83.21. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $72.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Rio Tinto Group Cuts Dividend

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rio Tinto Group

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a yield of 9.8%.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 61,529 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $4,947,000 after buying an additional 11,879 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 6,549 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,539,846 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $123,803,000 after buying an additional 250,480 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $499,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,466 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 7,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 10.43% of the companys stock.

About Rio Tinto Group

(Get Rating)

Rio Tinto Plc engages in the exploration, mining, and processing of mineral resources. It operates through the following business segments: Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper and Diamonds, Energy and Minerals, and Other Operations. The Iron Ore segment supplies global seaborne iron ore trade. The Aluminium segment produces bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of St. Joe (NYSE:JOE  Get Rating) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

St. Joe Price Performance

NYSE JOE opened at $40.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75 and a beta of 1.27. St. Joe has a one year low of $31.11 and a one year high of $62.21. The businesss fifty day moving average is $43.31 and its 200-day moving average is $38.77.

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St. Joe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 6th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 3rd. St. Joes dividend payout ratio is currently 33.06%.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other news, Director Bruce R. Berkowitz sold 1,200 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total value of $51,732.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,137,591 shares of the companys stock, valued at $911,241,548.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website . In related news, Director Bruce R. Berkowitz sold 1,200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total value of $51,732.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,137,591 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $911,241,548.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link . Also, Director Bruce R. Berkowitz sold 131,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total transaction of $5,703,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,138,791 shares of the companys stock, valued at $920,382,960.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Company insiders own 42.00% of the companys stock.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in St. Joe by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,142 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Lumbard & Kellner LLC boosted its holdings in St. Joe by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lumbard & Kellner LLC now owns 10,591 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in St. Joe by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,548 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in St. Joe by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,554 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in St. Joe by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,831 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. 86.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About St. Joe

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The St. Joe Co engages in real estate development and asset management. It operates through the following segments: Residential, Hospitality, and Commercial. The Residential segment is involved in planning and developing residential communities of various sizes across a wide range of price points and selling home sites to builders and retail consumers.

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StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Enzo Biochem (NYSE:ENZ  Get Rating) in a research report released on Tuesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the medical research companys stock.

Enzo Biochem Price Performance

Shares of ENZ opened at $2.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $118.19 million, a PE ratio of -3.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.13. Enzo Biochem has a fifty-two week low of $1.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3.06. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $1.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.76.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enzo Biochem

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Enzo Biochem by 0.5% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 951,235 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $2,759,000 after buying an additional 4,950 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Enzo Biochem by 6.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 90,158 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 5,328 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Enzo Biochem by 0.5% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,540,591 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $4,468,000 after buying an additional 7,420 shares during the last quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enzo Biochem during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enzo Biochem during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.56% of the companys stock.

Enzo Biochem Company Profile

Enzo Biochem, Inc is an integrated diagnostics, clinical lab, and life sciences company, which focuses on delivering and applying advanced technology capabilities to produce affordable reliable products and services that enable customers to meet their clinical needs. It operates through the following segments: Products, Clinical Services, and Therapeutics.

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StockNews.com cut shares of Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO  Get Rating) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $157.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. UBS Group began coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. They issued a buy rating and a $176.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $153.25.

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Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $137.02 on Monday. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $93.65 and a twelve month high of $150.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $50.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.71, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $134.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.41.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

Valero Energy ( NYSE:VLO Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The oil and gas company reported $8.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.45 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $41.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $43.31 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 6.54%. The firms revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 23.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 14th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 13th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a boost from Valero Energys previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Valero Energys payout ratio is currently 14.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.2% in the third quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 5,231 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.8% in the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,091 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 2,682 shares during the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 262.5% in the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,982 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,504 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 29.9% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 276,830 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $29,579,000 after purchasing an additional 63,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 14,119 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.28% of the companys stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Valero Energy Corp. engages in the manufacture and marketing of transportation fuels and other petrochemical products. It operates through the following business segments: Refining, Ethanol and Renewable Diesel. The Refining segment consists of refining operations, associated marketing activities, and logistics assets that support its refining operations.

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St. Leos schedules Tenebrae service for Sunday

St. Leos Church, 2410 S. Blaine St., will offer a Tenebrae service with Eucharistic adoration at 7 p.m. on Palm Sunday, April 2.

Tenebrae means shadows or darkness and is an ancient Christian service during Holy Week to recreate the darkness that loomed over the moments that preceded the crucifixion of Jesus. This modern adaptation is a dramatic narrative of Jesus betrayal, arrest and crucifixion.

The evening consists of scripture, relevant reflections, powerful music and Eucharistic adoration. It is characterized by the gradual extinguishing of lit candles and the darkening of the church. The flame from the last candle is carried out of the church symbolizing Christs exit from the city of Jerusalem to Golgotha. The strepitus (loud noise) at the end of the service symbolizes the earthquake and momentary disorder in creation that followed Christs death.

Mobile food pantry set for April 8 at College Park

The April drive-thru mobile food pantry in Grand Island is set for Saturday, April 8, at College Park; enter on Tech Drive.

Food distribution will begin at 9:30 a.m.

Trinity United Methodist Church, with help from First Presbyterian Church and the Grand Island Senior High ROTC, will host the monthly Loaves & Fishes food bank. When arriving, enter from South Locust Street. The best time to arrive is between 9 and 11 a.m.; please do not arrive before 7:30 a.m.

Drivers should remain in their vehicles. No appointment and no identification are required. There also are no income requirements, but basic information on the households receiving the food will be collected. Volunteers will put one box of food in each vehicles trunk or backseat.

The food is provided by Food Bank for the Heartland in Omaha.

For more information, contact Trinity UMC at 308-382-1952.
Northwest Public Schools and Superintendent Jeff Edwards face a lawsuit stemming from an LGTBQ-driven decision to end the high schools student newspaper, the Saga.

Former Northwest student Marcus Pennell and the Nebraska High School Press Association are plaintiffs in the suit, which the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska filed Friday morning in federal district court.

According to a statement by ACLU of Nebraska, The lawsuit argues that school officials decision to shutter the newspaper violated plaintiffs First Amendment free speech rights on three counts: their right to be free of viewpoint discrimination, their right to be free of retaliation and their right to receive information.

The lawsuit seeks a judges declaration the district violated the law and award damages as the court sees fit.

Pennell said in a statement: Ever since I graduated, I felt I had a responsibility to seek accountability and advocate for the students who are still there, especially the LGBTQ+ kids. We have a right to be who we are and to write about our lives.

Pennell, a transgender student, is a former Saga staff member, who has since graduated. In April 2022, Pennell used his preferred name in the publication. The newspaper staff was subsequently reprimanded by school administrators and directed to use legal names.

Students on staff decided to produce an LGBTQ Pride-themed June issue, which contained three LGBTQ-related, student-written articles along with stories about a Northwest High School students national art honor and a review of Worst Roommate Ever.

The June 2022 Saga, often referred to now as the Pride issue, was published May 16, 2022. It turned out to be the school newspapers final issue.

After news of the Sagas fate was made public last summer, ACLU of Nebraska submitted a public records request, which resulted in hundreds of documents, including emails and text messages.

In a May 17 email to Edwards, Northwest High School Principal P.J. Smith and Activities Director Matthew Fritsche, Northwest school board president Dan Leiser said: Ive read the publications in the Viking Saga. Im sure this is a revenge tactic from the pronoun thing a month or so ago .

Later in the email, Leiser said, Im hot on this one, because its not ok. The national media does the same crap and Ive had enough of it. No more school paper, in my opinion. You give someone an inch, they take it a mile.

Northwest school board member Paul Mader sent an email that same day to fellow board members. In it, he included a photo of Pennells story about the dont say gay bill.

Has anyone read our school paper this month? Mader asked in the group email.

Staff and students were notified of the Sagas elimination on May 19.

The Grand Island Independent broke the Saga story Aug. 24, after a months-long investigation. The story garnered national and international attention.

In the public records obtained by ACLU of Nebraska, on Aug. 24 one school official said in a text to another, the article was very poorly written.

The official did not elaborate.

Northwest Public Schools officials have been asked for comments repeatedly by the Independent, including for this story.

The last response the Independent has received is a response to an email sent Feb. 23 concerning the possible return of the Saga, digitally.

Edwards said, simply, No update now or in the future.

Max Kautsch is an attorney specializing in media law. He said of Northwests lack of response to requests for comment: What really contributes to the confluence of events thats motivated a lawsuit to be filed, has to do with the dismissive attitude of the administration in response to questions about their decision making.

It was as if the First Amendment had never entered the calculus.

Edwards said in an email to a former Nebraska City student (where he was superintendent before coming to Northwest) the resulting controversy was due to an inaccurate article written by an over zealous [sic] reporter who misconstrued multiple facts.

At the time, the schools official response concerning the Sagas cancellation was calling it an administrative decision and declining to further elaborate.

On Aug. 29, ACLU of Nebraska took action, issuing a demand letter to Northwest Public Schools. They alleged violations of the First Amendment and Title IX, which relates to gender equality.

According to ACLU officials, the district did not respond.

Early March 2023, Northwest brought back a digital version of the Saga, months after the school had promised.

It did not satisfy ACLU of Nebraskas demands, officials told the Independent at the time.

Attorneys on the case decided not to pursue the Title IX charges, said ACLU of Nebraska Legal and Policy Counsel Jane Seu, and opted to focus on free speech.

To us the strongest  and most compelling issues are the First Amendment claims, Seu said. The First Amendment claims obviously embrace the underlying LGBTQ discrimination on the content of that speech.

(The First Amendment) is what were focused on, but also knowing that this is an important opportunity to stand up for LGBTQ students.

Seu said of the charge surrounding the right to receive information, Weve also included (that) because we think thats an important part of this story. Your right to speak also includes your right to receive information and receive that speech.

Michelle Carr Hassler, associate professor of practice for the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is the NHSPA executive director.

Hassler said of the lawsuit, Its (about) education, first and foremost. This is disrupting the education of aspiring journalists.

It also affects the education of student journalists not necessarily looking at journalism as a career, she added.

Theyre getting such a great experience with critical thinking and language and research and newspaper literacy.

Censorship  has such a demoralizing effect on everyone.

NHSPA is a statewide journalism organization welcoming high school journalism instructors and/or advisers of student publications in Nebraska.

Deposed Northwest Saga adviser Kirsten Gilliland was elected to the NHSPA board last year.

This case was particularly troubling to us, Hassler said of the Sagas cancellation. We felt like it had larger ramifications for scholastic journalism in Nebraska.

Venturing into litigation is not a step that we take lightly ... All student journalists should know that they have a right to learn and hone their skills consistent with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Seu was asked whether the case was about setting a precedent or achieving accountability.

With case law, this kind of shows  especially with what we got through open records  the blatant violations (of the right to receive information). It helps promote this constitutional right and the constitutional value of the First Amendment.
HASTINGS  Hastings College Music is hosting its Jazz Festival on Monday, April 3. The festival includes performances by regional jazz bands and an evening concert featuring the Hastings College Jazz Ensemble and a guest soloist.

The Hastings College Jazz Festival is an opportunity for middle and high school bands to study with guest clinicians and gain performance experience, and for the Hastings community to experience performances from young musicians in the area and from Hastings College.

Student performances begin at 9 a.m. in French Memorial Chapel on campus, with each group receiving ratings and comments from clinicians.

The annual Jazz Festival Concert featuring the Hastings College Jazz Ensemble with guest soloist Bob Krueger will perform at 7:30 p.m. in French Memorial Chapel.

All performances are free and open to the public.

The 2023 Jazz Festival clinicians include Jed Blodgett, percussion, assistant professor music at Hastings College; Bob Krueger, trumpet, retired jazz educator and solo trumpet with the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra; and Chris Stelling, saxophone, adjunct instructor and Jazz Ensemble director at Hastings College.

The Monday performance schedule includes:

 9 a.m.: Northwest High School, Grand Island

 10 a.m.: Lexington High School

 11 a.m.: Lexington High School II

 1 p.m.: Hastings Senior High School

 2 p.m.: Columbus High School

 3 p.m.: Norris High School

 7:30 p.m.: Hastings College Jazz Ensemble with Bob Krueger
EDWARDSVILLE  Prairie Farms Dairy announced the promotion of Chris Hackman as its Chief Operating Officer. Hackman currently serves as Senior Vice President of Operations, and on April 1, he will succeed Gary Aggus, who has served as COO since 2006. In February, Aggus announced that he would step down from the position.

I am grateful for Garys dedicated service as Chief Operating Officer and wish him the very best as he transitions into the next phase of his career. At the same time, I am thrilled to have Chris assume this critical leadership role and look forward to our work together for many more years, said Matt McClelland, Prairie Farms Chief Executive Officer/Executive Vice President. Chris extensive knowledge, experience, and dedication to Do Right for our farmer-owners, associates, and customers makes him the ideal person for the COO position.

When I began my career with Prairie Farms 16 years ago, I had already gained 14 years of dairy experience through our family-owned and operated dairy processing facility. Beyond my 30 years of working in the dairy industry, dairy has always been a part of my life, as I am the third generation of a dairy family. I understand the crucial role of operational excellence in returning value to our hard-working dairy farmers, said Chris Hackman. Not only am I honored to accept the Chief Operating Officer position, but it is a privilege to work with our extraordinary team of associates. Together, we will lead Prairie Farms to continued growth and operational excellence.

Hackmans leadership within the dairy industry is significant. He currently serves on the Missouri State Milk Board Advisory Committee, Missouri Dairy Products Association Board of Directors (Board President from 2008-2010), and the All Star Association Board of Directors (Board President in 2016). In 2017, he was inducted into the Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors and received the Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors Leadership Award for his outstanding service to the Missouri dairy industry.
Once again, voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to cast votes in the Consolidated Election for local mayors, councils, village presidents and village and school boards.

Several towns in the region have mayoral races.

In Carbondale, Councilwoman Carolin Harvey, who is serving as mayor pro tem, will face Harold J. Visser.

Harvey has served on Carbondale City Council since 2011. She is retired from SIU.

Harvey said the biggest issues facing Carbondale are gun violence and a lack of housing for low and moderate income citizens.

The city recently received a gun violence report they commissioned SIU to do.

The report has great suggestions, Harvey said.

The council is reviewing the report and deciding which suggestions to adopt.

Harvey said the council also has taken action to help with low to middle income housing.

The city created the Community Housing Trust to make sure we have housing for middle income families, Harvey said.

She is proud that the city was able to retain Home Rule. She said it would have had a big impact if they had lost home rule.

Harvey and her husband James have two adult children, Jairus and Nija, who both live in Carbondale.

Harold Visser owns a small remodeling business and rental properties.

This is his first run for office, but he has served as a deacon of his church. As a deacon and manager of 24 rental units, Visser said he has learned to solve problems.

Visser said there are three big issues facing the city: crime, economic issues, and pot holes.

The first is crime.

People are concerned because crime is getting worse, he said, adding they want to see the police supported.

Visser said the residents of Carbondale also want to see more businesses come to the city.

He said the third issue people are talking about is pot holes. The city seems to have a lot of them and residents want them filled.

Im just a family man who wants to make a difference in the city, so our kids can grow up in a better place, Visser said.

Visser and his wife Erica have six children.

The mayoral race in Du Quoin pits incumbent Mayor Guy Alongi against Josh Downs.

Alongi has served as mayor eight years and served six years on the city council.

Ive run Perry County Housing Authority for 27 years, but Ive been around politics all my life, Alongi said.

The top issues in Du Quoin are the Hickory Street project and improving other infrastructure.

Alongi said the Hickory Street project has been a fiasco for the state. The problem is the road covers infrastructure. The city put water and sewer lines in about 100 years ago, then they put a road on top of them.

The city also has a $4.5 million grant for a new water tower and sewer lines.

Alongi said they need to improve their infrastructure, such as new water lines and storm drains. He added that the city has aging water and sewer lines.

Weve had success getting state and local grants. Weve gotten more grants in eight years than in the previous 25 years, Alongi said.

He said they are under state and national rules and restraints, but they dont get money to do that work. It shifts the cost to citizens.

One example is pensions for the police and fire departments. Paying those costs required a bond and property tax increases. He said taxes went up around $175 for most homes in the city, but increased as much as $400 for nicer homes.

Alongi spends 35 hours each week at city hall. He said he spends an additional hour or two answering phone calls, emails or social media posts. He and his wife Rose are active in events that happen in Du Quoin, including hosting the trunk or treat and Santas Christmas parade.

People in Du Quoin have the ability to see my car parked at city hall and know Im here, Alongi said.

He added that a part-time mayor with another job could not spend that time in the office.

He is proud of securing funding to repair the city swimming pool.

Alongi and his wife Rose have two adult sons.

Josh Downs is the deputy director of outreach and community affairs for Comptroller Susana Mendoza. He served on Du Quoin City Council from 2011 to 2015.

Downs said the main issue in Du Quoin is increasing spending and taxes.

Since 2015, Downs said real estate taxes have increased by as much as $673. He said the money is being used to pay police and fire pensions. The city also issued $7.2 million in bonds to help pay those costs.

Downs said another example of spending increases is the mayors salary. It has increased from $6,000 to $16,000. (Alongi said he currently makes $14,000.) The previous mayor did not draw a salary, according to Downs.

He also said the city took two superintendents out of the union and gave them salary increases. The increases and hiring a couple extra employees cost the city $100,000.

Im hearing people upset about the same things. Nobody likes their property taxes going up, Downs said.

Downs and his wife Lindsi have two children, Jackson and Addison.

Mayoral races are on the ballot in Benton and West Frankfort.

In Benton, Mayor Fred Kondritz faces Lee Messersmith.

In West Frankfort, Timonthy C. Arview and John R. Wilce are challenging Mayor Tom Jordan.

More election information can be found on county websites.
MISSION, Texas  When the calendar page turned to Jan. 1, 2021, things werent exactly breaking Tiffany Kerstens way.

The McAllen, Texas resident lost her job shortly after purchasing a home in 2020. And, the process of finding a new job was complicated mightily by the COVID-19 pandemic that was still gripping the world.

Yet, 2021 turned out to be a big year for Kersten, literally, figuratively, unexpectantly and somewhat accidentally.

With a background in ornithology and ecology, Kersten, a Wisconsin native, began birding at age 12 when she took a birding class with her mother. She worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service and had been employed at the McAllen Nature Center. After losing her job at McAllen due to the pandemic, she started giving birding tours in the Rio Grande Valley, a hotbed of birding, to make ends meet.

I guided for the month of December and then I took a super low budget trip with a friend of mine to Florida, he was a grad student and he also had no money, Kersten said. We car-camped and basically ate non-perishable snacks out of the car. And, then I came back and the second week in January I ended up guiding a big-year birder, Charlie Bostwick, he was doing all 50 states. We spent like four days together. I got him all the Rio Grande Valley specialties and all the rare birds that were being seen here that winter.

We got to chatting over the course of the four days. It was just me and him. I told him a little bit about where I was in my life and he was like, Why dont you also do a big year? I was in a different financial situation than him because I had a house, I had a dog and I was unemployed. I had no savings.

In the birding world, a "big year" is an attempt by birders to see and identify as many species as possible.

Her mind was changed about a month later as she drove to Arizona on another low-budget birding trip. As she was driving along, her car flushed a covey of scaled quail. It was Feb. 10 and the quail represented her 287th species of the year.

Some friends were reaching out to me and asked if I was doing a big year, Kersten said. I said, No, thats crazy. Im just showing people birds, looking at birds and just trying to de-stress. As I flushed those scaled quail, that was on Feb. 10, I knew that was my 287th bird of the year. And, so something just snapped in me.

I got on my social media then and there and I announced I was going to Arizona to see how many species I could see and see how long I could do a big year for before Id eventually have to quit and get a job.

Kerstens life hasnt been the same since she made that decision.

She spent the next 10 months traveling the country in search of birds. By the end of the year, she had visited 31 states, traveled 49,000 miles and spotted a verified 726 species. At that time, 726 was a record for a lower 48 states big year.

From Feb. 10 to Dec. 31, birding was Kerstens life.

I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day by myself in California, driving through cornfields, looking for a common crane, she said I never saw it. Thats probably one of the ones I wanted to see the most. I didnt miss a lot of the birds that I went for actually.

I spent Dec. 31 on a boat out of Hatteras, North Carolina, trying to get a great skua and we did not see one. That was a bummer way to end the year.

Those misses were hiccups. She completed 2021 as the best birder for the lower 48 and the big year changed Kerstens life.

She founded her own guiding business, Nature Ninja Birding Tours. Kersten found herself on the cover of Texas Monthly magazine. As the result of her big year, she is in demand as a speaker throughout the country. She has had to contract with other guides to take her overflow guiding business.

In May, she kicks off a speaking tour that will take her from Illinois, to Indiana, Ohio, Maryland and Maine. She will give three presentations in Illinois (Chicago and Champaign) on May 8-10.

My lifelong hobby has now become my career, Kersten said. It doesnt feel like work. I still get tired and exhausted, but it feels like I havent worked in two years.

For more information go to the Nature Ninja Birding Tours Facebook page, or go to: tiffanykersten.blogspot.com/p/contact.html.
Orangeburg County

Sheriffs Office

A 20-year-old Holly Hill woman is accused of stabbing her grandfather while he was in his bed asleep, according to an incident report and warrant.

Deeaisha Aeriona Mo Washington, of 188 Brecca Court, is charged with attempted murder.

She allegedly stabbed her 67-year-old grandfather approximately four times with a kitchen knife around 12:50 a.m. Thursday.

Washingtons grandmother, who was in bed with her husband when the incident occurred, called 911.

The man had several deep stab wounds in his upper body, the incident report states.

Washington was not at the home when deputies arrived. Shed fled to her aunts house nearby, according to an incident report.

Washington allegedly told her aunt that shed left the knife on the hood of her grandmothers Lincoln SUV. Deputies found the bloody knife there.

A medical helicopter transported the injured man to the trauma center at Trident Regional Medical Center in North Charleston.

Washingtons warrant claims she provided a full confession to deputies, who recorded it.

If convicted, Washington faces up to 30 years in prison.

In an unrelated report, an Orangeburg man is accused of breaking into his sisters business, Magnolia Seafood, twice on March 26.

Anthony Tyrone Murray, 49, of Carraway Street, is charged with violent second-degree burglary and first-offense third-degree burglary. Murray is also accused of violating his probation.

The owner reported on Sunday that someone kicked open a door and then stole money from the restaurant, which is located at 2725 Magnolia Street.

The owner told deputies she thought her brother may have burglarized the business in retaliation for her kicking him out of her house.

Murray was allegedly wearing a GPS ankle monitor when the incidents occurred.

According to the online S.C. Probation, Parole and Pardon Services offender database, Murray is on community supervision for a kidnapping offense. The supervision began March 1 and is scheduled to end on June 3, 2024.

If Murray is convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
MUSC Health Orangeburg has engaged The Blood Connection to meet patient needs for blood products with a stable blood supply, starting April 1.

The Blood Connection is an independent, non-profit community blood center that has collected and supplied blood products in South Carolina for more than 60 years.

MUSC Health Orangeburg joins other MUSC Health Charleston facilities in using TBCs services.

As part of this partnership, TBC will assume all blood collection operations in the area to provide blood products for MUSC Health Orangeburg patients.

In supporting our work as the states only comprehensive academic health system, providers such as The Blood Connection serve to ensure that we have the necessary blood products that are critical for the successful outcomes of our patients. We look forward to working closely with TBC to strengthen and improve the local blood supply now and into the future throughout the Orangeburg area, MUSC Health Charleston CEO Dr. David Zaas said.

Founded in 1962, TBC is among the largest independently managed, non-profit community blood centers in the region.

MUSC says that TBC adheres to the same high-quality standards as MUSC Health and is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and American Association of Blood Banks.

The nonprofit currently provides blood products and services for more than 120 hospitals across South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.

We are honored to partner with MUSC Health Orangeburg to continue the strong legacy of blood services in this community, said Delisa English, president and CEO of The Blood Connection.

MUSC Health and The Blood Connection have very similar missions, and we believe that this partnership will be a tremendous, long-term asset for MUSC Health Orangeburg patients and this community. We are eager to work with the many schools, employers, churches and others who have held drives and contributed blood products through MUSC Health Orangeburgs donor center and bloodmobiles, English said.

TBC currently operates 14 physical donation centers, with nine across South Carolina. The closest centers are currently located in Lexington, North Charleston and Augusta, Georgia. TBC also operates a fleet of bloodmobiles, which will travel across the region, allowing for even more collection drives at convenient locations in Orangeburg, Calhoun, Bamberg and Barnwell counties.

For more information, visit thebloodconnection.org.
"I want to say to you, ladies and gentlemen, that sometimes, you know, when we have something good, we dont appreciate it until we dont have it anymore. Let me say this to you with the greatest sense of sincerity. You have in Prime Minister Gonsalves a good man, a man who has been with you in difficult times and has given you hope. Let us stick with Prime Minister Gonsalves and the Unity Labour Party because they are the best thing for the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.





So said Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, as he addressed a mammoth crowd that had turned out to participate in a celebration, held on the norther portion of the airstrip of the decommissioned E.T. Joshua at Arnos Vale, to mark the 22 consecutive year of a Unity Labour Party government in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





Prime Minister Skerrit must have felt at home addressing a sea of red political party enthusiasts, since this would have been nothing different from the red that also characterizes his Dominica Labour Party.





Skerrit, some say a protege of Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, seemingly not satisfied that he had already positioned Dr. Gonsalves among the best of the best, told the ULP gathering that he had come to celebrate with the "best Prime Minister in the entire world. and in keeping with a reference that had surfaced during the last 2000 general elections campaign here, he dubbed the Vincentian Prime Minister the "true world boss; who was "a real gem a true patriot, a decent gentleman, and someone who will stand by you all the time, especially in difficult times.





He laid in with the accolades reminding the ULP party faithful they had a good man in Dr. Gonsalves and a good political party, and told them that they had no reason to change a good man and a good party.





The Dominican leader even predicted that the ULP was "going to do it six times the next time around, referring to victory in the next general elections.





And with a special appeal to the young people, Skerrit implored them to appreciate what Dr. Gonsalves and his party have done in the fields of education, housing, employment and for senior citizens.





But he left the crown for last declaring, "Prime Minister Gonsalves has really brought pride and joy not only to you, the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but to every single Caribbean country, to thunderous applause and appropriately inserted music.





One observer commented, "It was another well-orchestrated show of strength by the Unity Labour Party and Skerrit was the icing on the cake.




Dr. Godwin Friday, Opposition Leader, has advised the government to forego any intention to appeal the ruling in the Public Servants versus Government in the Vaccination Case.

Dr. Godwin Friday, Leader of the New Democratic Party and Opposition Leader, has come out in support of the Teachers Union, Public Service Union and Police Welfare Association in calling on the government to reconsider its decision to appeal the ruling handed down by Justice Esco Henry on March 13.





The judge had ruled in favour of nine former public servants who challenged the legality of the SR&O No. 28 of 2021, commonly referred to as the Public Health Bodies Special Measures introduced by the Minister of Health and the Environment.





The call is also for government to reinstate those employees who were deemed to have abandoned their jobs for not complying with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.





"You cannot take away peoples bread, Dr. Friday said on the March 20 edition of the NDPs New Times Radio programme.





"They (public servants) had to make this devils choice between their body and their bread, he continued.





"But there were those who held out not knowing how things would turn out for them,, Dr. Friday said.





The court had ruled in favour of those persons and that is what the government ought to recognize, Friday added.





Immediately following the handing down of the decision by Justice Henry, lawyers representing the government indicated that they were going to appeal the decision.





Anthony Astaphan SC. lead lawyer for the government, defended the decision to appeal saying that the issue was of critical importance and that it was important for the people in the country, and rest of the region to know whether the Judges decision was correct or not.





According to Astaphan, the issue arose during a public health crisis.





But Friday called on the government to bring the affected workers back on the job, to "give them back their benefits, treat them with respect, give them back everything that they are entitled to, he said.





He added that that was the opinion of the majority of the people in the country and the government needed to recognize that and act accordingly.
Fisherfolk in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are currently benefitting from training, designed to enhance the capacity of Micro, Small and Medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the fisheries sector to improve their ability to access financing for their businesses.





This series of activities form part of an initiative implemented collaboratively by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), with IICA as the implementing agency for the initiative on behalf of the FAO.





Through this initiative, a workshop for fisheries sector stakeholders was held on February 22 and 23, 2023 addressing business plan development for small business operations. This workshop was designed to provide participants with knowledge on the fundamental requirements for the development of business proposals that could be used as tools to unlock opportunities financial opportunities either through loans or grants and provides the business proposition for the successful operation of the enterprise. The training activity was conducted by Mr Dougal James, local consultant to the project who facilitated a very interactive forum for participants over the course of the two days.





Fisherfolk represented at the training activity included representatives of the several fisherfolk cooperatives and businesses from across the country including the National Fisherfolk Organisation, Barrouallie fisheries Development Cooperative Society, Goodwill Fisherfolk Cooperative and several fish processing operations.

In addition to the training, one of the fisherfolk organisation will be supported by the project with the development of a full business plan for their organisation, to help support their efforts to enhance commercial opportunities for their membership.





Mr Vibert Pierre, president of the Barrouallie Fisheries Development Cooperative Society, in expressing his appreciation for the training opportunity said, "The training that we have received as a cooperative was a timely one for us. It came at a time when we are at the stage of taking the business to the next level. The information received is relevant for us. Understanding what the components of a business plan are and how to develop it put us in a position to critically analyse our business so we can make sound decisions that can benefit the cooperative. We are grateful for the assistance that we have received from IICA in developing a business plan for our cooperative. Most importantly, it will not be a plan handed to us, but one to which we have been able to make a meaningful contribution.





According to Michael Dalton, Technical Specialist at the IICA Delegation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, "This initiative is part of a multi-country collaboration that IICA has with FAO, titled services to support capacity building for micro, small and medium enterprises in Barbados, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The objective of this initiative is to build capacity among stakeholders in the fisheries sector to improve their capacity to access financing. In addition to the training activity and business plan development, there is also a baseline survey being undertaken in each of the participating country which seeks to analyze the ability of stakeholders in the fisheries sector to access financing. This assessment involves a survey of stakeholders  fishers, boat owners, processors and vendors from the fishing communities of Barrouallie, Clare Valley, Calliaqua and Bequia. The field work for the survey is complete and we hope to have the technical report shortly.





Keith Flett, a Blue Economy consultant for the FAO who is overseeing the MSME capacity building project said "trainings like these are vital for the fishing communities to build their understanding of how grant proposals are written and projects are funded. These activities are what seed the advancement of the fisheries in the Caribbean. I am happy to see this work completed and hope it brings many benefits to the communities in the years to come.




Left: Hundreds of ULP supporters and members heard their leader promise to spend $3 billion between now and 2026.

The next general elections in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are constitutionally due by March 2026.





And Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has promised Vincentians that his Unity Labour Party Government has EC$3 billion to spend on capital projects between now and March 2026.





He whetted the appetites of hundreds of ULP members and supporters during an address at an event to mark the 22nd Anniversary of his ULPs hold on the administration of the country.





The event was held at the old E. T. Joshua Airport, Arnos Vale, last Sunday, March 26, 2023.





And as far as how the sum of EC$3 billion was going to be spent, Dr. Gonsalves made it clear that no project under EC$1 million would be considered.





This train of capital project financing is complemented by certain funding arrangements and projects already in train, some of which will extend into 2026.





One of these referenced by the Prime Minister was a Caribbean Development Bank financing arrangement of US$88.4 million for the countrys engagement strategy 2022 to 2026, which will address needs in agriculture, education, energy, physical infrastructure, climate change resilience, and private sector development among other areas of national need.





Also in this vein was the US$500 million investment by Sandals, and hotel development at Ratho Mill (Royal Mill), Mount Wynne, with Government involvement, and at Peters Hope.





All of this comes amidst the EC$650 million Kingstown Port Modernisation Project and the US$98 million Acute Referral Hospital in Arnos Vale, for which funding has already been sourced from the World Bank. Also still on the cards, was the private-sector driven plan to build a new city at Arnos Vale  on what is left of the old E.T. Joshua Airport facility.





And for the first time, Vincentians learned with assurance that when the new port in Kingstown is complete, the land where the old port is located in the city will be available for development, in which the private sector will be encouraged and incentivized to invest.





Developments in this regard will encourage wellness facilities and cultural and artistic facilities. Additionally, another cruise ship pier will be constructed.





"What are you going to do? Youre going to change this party which has done so much for this country, brought you from almost the depths of under-development to progress in our country? Dr. Gonsalves asked of his faithful at last Sundays rally as he stroked their expectations of another party victory in 2025/26.
The United Women of Faith (UWF) at Fenimore Street United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, New York on Sun., Mar. 12, conferred its "Woman of the Year award on retired Vincentian registered nurse Min. Cynthia Grant during the groups 64th Anniversary Celebration.





The group also honored Chaplain, Jamaican-born Selena Lubell with its Local/Global Impact Award for Spiritual Formation during the churchs hours-long Worship Service.





Min. Grant  who was born in Aruba to Vincentians, the late Daniel and Doris Grant, of Belmont, bordering the Marriaqua Valley  returned to St. Vincent and the Grenadines with her parents as a child, and grew up and received her early and nursing education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





After her training as a registered nurse, at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines School of Nursing, Grant worked at the Colonial Hospital in Kingstown, renamed the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, and at several district clinics, including the Chateaubelair Hospital.





In making the surprise announcement, Sis. Marlene Ferguson, the Trinidadian-born chair of UWFs Nomination Committee, said Grant  who was nominated by former UWF President Shanae Als, a Barbadian-American  is dedicated and committed to Fenimore Street United Methodist Church.





Though Min. Grant, a prominent member of the churchs Chancel Choir, is no longer chair of the Staff/Pastor Parish Relations Committee, Ferguson, also a retired registered nurse, said, in the nomination profile, that Min. Grants role in the church was "accentuated during the 2020 pandemic.





"Serving as church secretary, church greeter, one of the church nurses, and offering counter, among other roles, she is (perhaps) the first person those who visit our Community Food Pantry see, Ferguson said.





"A retired nurse by profession, she served as president of the Chancel Choir, where she sings soprano and is usually the first person you see as you enter our sanctuary on Sunday mornings, added Ferguson, stating that the UWF Woman of the Year Award is "awarded to a woman of great faith and dedication, and Min. Cynthia Grant is an example of these attributes.





In addition, she said Min. Grant is a lay minister, interim secretary, delegate to the United Methodist Churchs New York Annual Conference (NYAC), and is among Fenimore Street United Methodist Churchs "Ladies in Waiting.





But, despite all these accolades, Min. Grant told THE VINCENTIAN that she only wanted to be known as "a retired nurse and a longstanding, faithful member of the said church for over 30 years.





She said that she has "served on many committees and [is] a member of the Chancel Choir.





"I was deeply touched and surprised that I was chosen as the woman of the year, Min. Grant added. "All I am able to say at the moment is thank you very much.





In her very brief acceptance speech, she told congregants: "Im really surprised, but Im very thankful that you chose to honor me.





In reading the UWF Mission Moment, Sis. Cecile White, a Barbadian-born lay speaker at the church, said that, last year, "the United Women in Faith got a new name, but we kept the same purpose that we have had since our foremothers began this organization 154 years ago this month on Mar. 23rd.





"Their beginnings were small with just nine members, and their giving was even smaller with donations of two cents and a prayer each week, she said. "But those two cents and prayers, pressed down and shaken together, created opportunities for women, children, and youth that were and are still running over today.





"The United Women in Faith here at Fenimore are no different and, with your help, we were able to spread our giving right in Brooklyn, to the United Methodist Church Home, and, at home, to the Media Ministry, last year, White added.





The churchs African American pastor, the Rev. Roger Jackson, said: "Once we continue to walk with the Lord, [theres] nothing to be afraid of.
Isaac Solomon, Vice President of Operations at the Caribbean Development Bank, referenced the CDP input as being in support of the sustainable development goals of SVG.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines can look forward to an EC$240 million-investment by the Caribbean Development Bank to support a Country Engagement Strategy (CES).





The Country Engagement Strategy (CES) sets out the strategic direction for the Caribbean Development Banks (CDB) engagement with the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (the Government) over the period 2022-26. The CES is guided by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) National Economic and Social Development Plan 2013-2025 (NESDP) which defines the countrys development vision as improving the quality of life for all Vincentians. Under the theme "Re-engineering Economic Growth: Improving the Quality of Life for all Vincentians, the NESDP advances several strategic goals and broad objectives in support of attaining balanced, comprehensive, and sustainable development.





During an official ceremony on Tuesday 29, at the Sunset Shores Hotel, Vice President of Operations at the Caribbean Development Bank, Isaac Solomon, spoke about the strong partnership between the CDB and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. "Our relationship dated back to CDBs establishment over 50 years ago as the only multilateral bank serving the Caribbean exclusively, said Solomon.





CDC approved projects for SVG between 1970 and 2021 amount to over USD 600 million. "Today we honor our partnerships. This extension and deepening of our development corporation to support action on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) with the launch of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Country Engagement Strategy, said the CDB VP of Operations.





He said the strategy is grounded in mutual respect, support and execution, which will undoubtedly ensure successful implementation in the next four years. "We (CDB) anticipated solid result from our joint efforts.





Minister of Finance, Hon. Camillo Gonsalves described the CDB as an absolutely essential partner in SVGs development, "and because of that we speak to them and with them in a way that we cannot do with some of our other development partners. I am very grateful that they are here. I am very honored that they are entrusting St. Vincent and the Grenadines with EC$240 million over the next few years and I believe that in this room we have the capacity to sharpen that spear to make sure that we hit our targets on time, effectively, and we lead to effect and timely transformation, development and resilience building.





Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said the Government is continuingly looking for opportunities to improve the livelihoods of Vincentians, and thanked the Caribbean Development Bank for its assistance in this regard. "We are here together to build this country, to build the Caribbean civilization, Dr. Gonsalves said.
Brenda Lee, the woman at the century of the controversy, shows off her receipts for payment make to the KTB, allowing her to vend in the market.

A female vendor, who has been plying her trade for 40 years, said she has acquired the service of a lawyer and will be taking legal action after she was allegedly beaten by at least three security officers attached to the Kingstown Town Board (KTB), on Friday 25th March, at the Kingstown Vegetable Market.





The woman, Brenda Lee, a resident of McCarthy, in an interview with THE VINCENTIAN on Monday 27th March, said that last week Friday she was selling her produce in the Circle - an uncovered area on the ground floor in the centre of the market - when she was approached by five KTB security officers and told she had two minutes to return to the stall to which she was assigned.





Brenda related that she used to sell outside the market before the vendors were prevented from doing so by the KTB last year. She moved into the market having been allocated a stall but said that since her relocation, her sales have fallen drastically.





With the intention of improving here sales, she admitted to not selling from her stall, but in an unoccupied area; and on Fridays and Saturdays she operated in the Circle.





On the Friday in question, Lee said that a KTB worker had already collected money from her while she was in the Circle. She tried to explain this when she was told to remove her herself and her produce from the spot in the Circle, but to no avail.





While trying to explain her situation, she heard a female KTB worker saying, "You aint see she nah pick up no load, leh arwe go pick up the load.





Lee protested and in the process a female KTB employee pushed her and she responded by pushing (back) the employee.





Lee described what followed: "She hold on my clothes and started to tug me and pelt lash. Then a security boy come and hold me and hit me. Then another KTB security join in and hit me two punches and they ripped off my jersey and began to beat me . It was not until the other vendors around began to shout and call them wicked that they stop.





She said she was left in her pants and bra and a Facebook live of the fracas corroborated this.





Following the ordeal, Lee went to the Central Police Station. She said she was greeted by expletives from the police officer to whom she had tried to explain what had transpired.





He advised that she seek medical attention and gave her the appropriate reporting form to be filled out and signed by a doctor.





She sought medical attention and returned the signed form that very Friday. But on Monday she complained, "I aint feeling good because since the thing happen I cant sleep, this morning I wake up crying.





The mother of three said that the last year or so has been the worst for vendors in Kingstown. "We are not getting sale for our produce in the market, she lamented.





To make matters worse, Lee said she received a letter from the KTB dated Friday March 24, informing her that she would no longer be allowed to vend inside the market but she insisted that she will be returning to the market to sell her produce, just like she did one day after the incident.





Attempts to get an interview with Town Board Officials proved futile. However, a security officer at the Town Board commenting on the video clipping of the incident, said that he wouldnt tolerate any disrespect from any vendor.





One vendor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that she witnessed the incident and she was hurt and shocked that young men in SVG could have the heart to treat someone who could be their mother in such a manner.
(TBTCO) - Trong nam 2022 va quy I/2023, cac cong ty chung khoan (CTCK) a uoc chap thuan 41 luot tang von ieu le, voi tong so von tang them la 53.675 ty ong. Tinh en ngay 31/3/2023, tong von ieu le cua cac CTCK thanh vien la 141.785 ty ong. Voi so von tang them nay, cac CTCK co them nguon von e cung cap dich vu, cai thien cong nghe phuc vu ngay cang tot hon cho nhu cau cua nha au tu.
While standing at a podium behind a framed picture of a plane flying across a cloud-covered blue sky, family and friends remembered Brett Smith, the pilot who died when his small airplane crashed outside of Casper last week.

Smith met a retired pilot while earning his Eagle Scout during his high school years at Star Valley High School in Afton, one of his sisters said during the Friday funeral service, which was live-streamed from Webb Funeral Home in Idaho. The family shared his obituary with the Star-Tribune, which included a link to the stream.

Its neat how experiences like that happen during peoples lives to lead them to their path, she said.

Brett told dad, I want to be a pilot, she said. And that set the course for his lifelong dream.

He fulfilled that dream and spent many years pursuing his passion throughout his aviation career, both as a pilot and airplane mechanic. Smith, 49, of Hyrum, Utah, died on March 21 near Alcova Reservoir while doing what he loved most  flying, his obituary says.

He loved to be able to look down over the landscape from his plane, his family said. He was always taking pictures of his plane adventures to show to all his family and friends.

At least a dozen children, which included Bretts nephews and nieces, stood up to sing a song. There were many colorful bouquets in the room, some filled with feathers. Among them was a pair of antlers, as Smith enjoyed hunting and spending time outdoors.

Smith loved animals, and was frequently sharing stories or photos of different critters he had seen, his obituary states.

After high school, Smith attended Utah State University. He met his wife, Kathi Thurston. Their paths diverged for over a decade, but he reunited with his college sweetheart in 2009. They married that same year.

Another lifelong dream was fulfilled when Brett became a father, his obituary says. He loved his daughter, stepchildren and three grandchildren dearly.

The family expressed gratitude during the services to the emergency responders, especially Natrona County undersheriff Bart Olsen, who located the crash site and brought Smith home.

Smith was scheduled to be buried in the Riverdale Idaho Cemetery next to his older brother Brian Gamble Smith on Friday afternoon.

Those interested in making a contribution to help Smiths wife and children can donate to their GoFundMe Brett Dean Smith Memorial or through Venmo @Kathi-Smith-25.

Brett was an extremely kind, patient individual and loved meeting new people, his obituary states. He would go out of his way to help others and was very giving.
A Cheyenne man is facing 10 charges after he led police on two high-speed chases that culminated in him being struck by a Taser, police said Friday.

Joseph Hernandez, 33, was arrested for fleeing and eluding, two counts of driving without a valid license, running a red light, two counts of reckless driving, interference with a peace officer, two counts of speeding in a residential area and assault and battery, the Cheyenne Police Department said in a statement.

On Thursday morning, officers were dispatched to an argument involving Hernandez at a residence near the 200 block of West 8th Street, the statement said. Officials conducted a record search beforehand and learned that he did not have a valid drivers license.

Hernandez was allegedly sitting in the drivers seat of a red Ford F-150 in the driveway of the home, but he immediately rolled the windows up, put the vehicle in gear and backed out of the driveway once he spotted police, the department said.

Officials commanded him to stop, but he fled the residence instead, the statement said. Hernandez continued east on West 5th Street, crossing Interstate 80 at a high rate of speed and running a red light through traffic.

Police lost sight of him. Additional officers helped search the area, but they were unable to find the truck.

A few hours later, an officer was dispatched to an alarm call in the 200 block of East 15th Street and noticed Hernandezs truck parked outside.

The officer recognized the truck and saw a male matching Hernandezs description in the driver seat, the statement said.

Hernandez pulled out of his parking spot and accelerated down East 15th Street as the officer drove towards him.

An officer followed behind Hernandez and turned on the emergency lights and sirens in an attempt to stop the truck at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and East Lincolnway.

But Hernandez increased his speed, which touched off a second chase.

The pursuit continued through south Cheyenne. Police say he drove recklessly into oncoming traffic and through stop signs.

Police had to stop the chase due to safety concerns.

Officers were later dispatched to a report of a disturbance at a residence on the 300 block of Bocage Drive on Thursday afternoon, the statement said.

Hernandez is accused of jumping a fence into someones backyard as they arrived. An officer again commanded Hernandez to stop, but he refused.

Police used a Taser, but he kept running and attempted to enter into a home.

Hernandez was ultimately stopped by an officer. He allegedly resisted arrest and ignored commands to get on the ground.

Additional officers had to come to the scene to assist with applying his handcuffs.

He was taken into custody without further incident, the statement said. Hernandez was medically cleared and booked into the Laramie County Detention Center.
The principal operator at the Moneta Divide gas- and oilfield is on the cusp of failing to receive a permit by a deadline it said was necessary for the company to be successful.

Aethon Energy needs EPA permission to pump polluted water from the oilfield through the Marlin Well into the underground Amsden and Madison aquifers known to hold potable water. The permit would allow Aethon to budget for construction later this year of a pipeline to the controversial 15,000-foot-deep well, according to an email from the Texas companys HSE & HR manager Andrea Taylor.

Construction of the 18 mile pipeline to the Marlin well can occur with certainty from 8/1 to 11/1 per federal [right of way] grant  that we already hold, Taylor wrote in an email to Gov. Mark Gordons Chief Energy Advisor Randall Luthi. We cannot budget for projects that are pending approval.

I consider Marlin approval required no later than Q1 2023 for Aethon to be successful, her email reads. Quarter 1 ends on the last day of March.

After Taylor identified the Marlin Well as Aethons priority, the states Oil and Gas Conservation Commission forwarded to federal regulators its recommended approval of the proposed disposal site. The federal EPA, however, did not commit to concurring with Wyomings approval by Aethons deadline, according to a March 14 email from the EPA to WyoFile.

EPA has not made a decision since receiving the state paperwork July 29 last year, an agency spokesman said earlier this month and confirmed Wednesday. Typically, complex requests like this can take several months to review.

The EPA is analyzing 470 pages of documents that make up the state record and did not say when it might reach a conclusion. The conservation group Powder River Basin Resource Council obtained Taylors email and others through a records request and shared them with WyoFile.

The Marlin Well and other disposal sites would help Aethon continue development of the Moneta Divide field at pace. New and tighter state-imposed standards for surface discharges of polluted water go into effect in the summer of 2024 and could curtail development at Moneta Divide.

The new standards limit the concentration of chloride and other pollutants Aethon discharges into nearby creeks that flow to Boysen Reservoir, a source of drinking water for downstream residents.

Aethon, which typically has not commented on pending permits, declined to explain Taylors definition of success or make other statements for this story. The emails obtained by the Powder River Basin Resource Council, however, lay out part of the energy companys strategy.

Taylor met Rep. Lloyd Larsen (R-Lander) in late June 2022 and expressed some frustration at the pace of approval for the Marlin Well, according to an email the representative wrote to Luthi. Aethon also was seeking permits for about 40 other proposed disposal wells.

All but the Marlin, which targets the Amsden and Madison formations that hold potable water, are shallower energy wells presumably near or at the end of their useful lives.

Aethons Taylor indicated they submitted 42 applications in 2020 and now 2 years later [only] 3 applications have been submitted to the EPA, for its concurrence and approval, Larsen wrote Luthi. The legislator asked if there were opportunities to move this forward at a little faster pace?

My concern is the potential conflict where the injections [sic] wells are not permitted and the deadline for surface discharge comes and they can no longer discharge their production water, Larsens email reads.

Larsens inquiry led to Luthi contacting the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission where an administrator asked for Aethons priorities, which Taylor submitted. The Marlin Well was at the top of the list.

State regulators submitted Wyomings recommended approval to EPA for its concurrence on July 29, 2022, almost two years after Wyoming had OKd the Marlin for disposal.

As indicated by the EPA, approval for underground injection is a complex process. State records show that Aethon is currently seeking approval to dispose of water in about 27 repurposed energy wells, and Larsens email states that theres ongoing debate over how many underground water samples the company must submit as part of that approval process.

The Moneta Divide field covers 327,645 acres in Fremont and Natrona counties. In full development, the energy field could produce up to 1.4 million barrels of tainted water a day.

The 27 wells now pending state and federal approval might be able to accept about 6% of gas- and oilfield water discharges at the fields full-production pace, according to calculations made by WyoFile and based on Aethon, state and federal data. The Marlin Well could accept up to 30,000 barrels of produced water a day  another 2% of potential daily effluent, WyoFile calculated.
Lawyers for a group of University of Wyoming students suing their sorority for its decision to admit a transgender member have asked a federal judge for anonymity for all of the students involved, citing safety concerns and potential fallout from media coverage and intense national debate.

John Knepper and Cassie Craven, the Wyoming attorneys for the seven UW sorority members suing the national Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, filed a motion Monday alongside their initial lawsuit in which they point to threats and harassment that both the sorority members and the transgender student could face if their names become public in court proceedings.

To justify their request, the lawyers give the example of a December incident at UW when a Laramie church elder singled out the transgender student with a sign in the schools student union and later showed up to the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house.

The sensitive facts involved in this case, as well as the strong likelihood that the nature of this lawsuit will result in threats and harassment from third-parties against individual students and their families, merit this Courts approval, Knepper and Craven wrote.

Knepper did not return requests for comment on Thursday.

The attorneys also asked the judge to grant anonymity to the transgender student, who is listed as a defendant and who the lawyers refer to by the pseudonym Terry Smith. The transgender student is only included in the lawsuit because the sorority members are attempting to remove the student from the organization, according to the complaint filed Monday.

Judges have final discretion on requests for anonymity, but ordinarily the parties to a lawsuit must include their names in court filings unless they have serious privacy concerns or face the threat of physical harm. Its unusual but not unheard of for plaintiffs to seek anonymity for both parties.

Courts most often grant anonymity in cases where children or victims of sex crimes are involved, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Although the parties are not minors, they are as close as one can get: college students between the ages of 18 and 21, Knepper and Craven wrote.

The seven current members of UWs Kappa Kappa Gamma are suing the sororitys parent organization, its president and the sororitys first transgender inductee in U.S. District Court. They accuse the sorority of not following its bylaws and policies, breaching its housing contract with members and misleading the young women by admitting a transgender student.

The lawsuit asks a federal judge to revoke the transgender students membership and prohibit any man from joining a sorority, along with unspecified monetary damages.

Harassment and threats

Sorority members, their families and the transgender student have already experienced threats and harassment on social media and on campus stemming from the sororitys decision to induct a transgender member, according to court filings.

After Laramie church elder Todd Schmidt was forced to remove the name of the transgender student on a sign challenging her gender identity in December, he appeared at the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house to talk with sorority members and the transgender student.

Sorority members at the house had no idea who he was or what his intentions were, the lawyers said in their motion for anonymity.

Schmidt received a trespass warning from the universitys police department and was barred from tabling at UWs student union for a year, the Star-Tribune reported last month.

What the public record does not yet reflect is the other very real threats to Plaintiffs and Smith, Knepper and Craven wrote.

Following media attention around the sororitys admission of a transgender member and the incident with Schmidt, Kappa Kappa Gamma instructed members of the UW chapter to not wear clothing with sororitys logo on it and the chapter ended its social media, according to court documents.

Chad Baldwin, a spokesman for UW, said the University of Wyoming Police Department has not received any reports of threats against sorority members, but it has increased patrols around the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house since the incident with Schmidt.

That practice would continue, Baldwin said.

Were prepared to protect the safety of everybody, he said.

In addition to safety concerns elicited by media coverage and the social media maelstrom around the issue of gender identity, Knepper and Craven asked the federal judge to grant the students anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the claims made in the lawsuit.

In court filings, the sorority members accuse the transgender student of asking sorority members sexual questions, watching other women and making members feel uncomfortable. The student declined Wednesday to comment on the suit.

The judge has yet to issue a decision.

Pseudonyms will protect the parties from the significant psychological distress that has already accompanied disclosures in this matter, the lawyers said.

Editorial decisions

Knepper and Craven are requesting anonymity for the students rather than sealing court proceedings in part because of the significance of the lawsuit.

They write in court filings that the case is likely the first time a court will answer whether a transgender woman is a woman under law.

Both the specific issue presented in this case  whether a transgender individual can join a sorority and live in a sorority house as a woman  and the larger issue of transgender rights are matters of intense public concern, they said.

The potential magnitude of the case has led multiple news outlets to report on the story.

The Star-Tribune, Cowboy State Daily, The Associated Press and Fox News have all written articles on the lawsuit, while numerous other news outlets have republished the stories.

However, the media outlets have made different editorial decisions around Knepper and Cravens request for anonymity for the students in the case.

The Associated Press did not name the transgender student but instead identified and referenced them by the pseudonym Terry Smith. The Star-Tribune referred to the individual as the transgender student.

Cowboy State Daily and Fox News both named the transgender student.

In its article, Fox News did not address the choice to name the student against the wishes of the sorority members attorneys and the lawsuit filings. Nor did it acknowledge that the plaintiffs lawyers had safety concerns about all of the students.

Cowboy State Daily explained its decision by citing the public disclosure of the students name in a previous story in the Branding Iron, UWs student newspaper.

The outlet, which also published photographs of the student and other members of the sorority, acknowledged the attorneys anonymity request in a follow-up article on the lawsuit.

A Cowboy State Daily editor did not return a request for comment.

The Branding Irons Editor-in-Chief Preston Harrison said the paper let the student, who is also a member of the papers staff, ultimately decide whether to include their name in its initial reporting on Kappa Kappa Gamma last year.

The Branding Iron will again defer to the student in its reporting on the lawsuit because the paper is trying to put the interests of the student first, Harrison said.

Well talk with [the student] and see if theyre OK with [their] name being published, he said. If so, then well publish it. If not, then we wont. Its really that simple.

Harrison typically weighs anonymity for sources when they have a lot to lose or theres the potential for harm.

The situation with the lawsuit and the transgender student is a particularly difficult one in which the media have to weigh the previous disclosure of the students name with the potential impacts, Harrison said.

Everyone kind of does already know the name, but it also could get much worse, Harrison said. So I just dont know.
Wyomings Washington, D.C. delegation described former president Donald Trumps indictment Thursday over hush money payments to a porn star as politically motivated, despite differing in support toward the 2024 presidential hopeful.

A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump over his involvement in paying hush money to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, during his 2016 presidential campaign, the New York Times first reported on Thursday. The indictment followed an investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg that sought to determine whether Trump had falsified records related to the payments in a way that violated campaign finance laws.

The payments to Daniels were allegedly made to keep her from sharing that shed had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump is also at the center of criminal investigations in Georgia and Washington related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his handling of classified materials.

Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges.

Wyomings Washington, D.C. delegation responded similarly to the Thursday news of Trumps indictment, taking aim at the criminal process centering around his case.

This is a politically-motivated prosecution by a far-left activist, Sen. John Barrasso said in a statement to the Star-Tribune. If it was anyone other than President Trump, a case like this would never be brought. Instead of ordering political hit jobs, New York prosecutors should focus on getting violent criminals off the streets.

While recognizing that no one is above the law, Sen. Cynthia Lummis said that she had concerns these charges are politically motivated.

Previous prosecutors have walked away from this issue, knowing that high-profile, wealthy people like Donald Trump deal with matters such as this like a nuisance lawsuit; they protect family and reputation by paying for the silence of the accuser, regardless of the voracity of the allegations. New York continues to be plagued by violent crime, so it begs the question why the Soros-funded DA is so focused on former President Trump. This thing smells bad.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, who was Trumps pick to unseat his political foe former Rep. Liz Cheney, called the decision to indict Trump a political witch hunt and third world stuff.

Its a sad day for this country when the political opponents of a former president use the judicial system to weaponize the government and settle scores, Hageman said in her Thursday statement, accusing Bragg of taking part in pre-meditated vendetta politics... against Trump.

This is third world stuff, persecution and political prosecution, and if leftists had any shame theyd be embarrassed.

2024 support

Wyomings delegation in the nations capitol has been split over Trump, with Hageman firmly backing the former president while Barrasso and Lummis have been more tepid toward the 2024 presidential hopeful.

Following Trumps November announcement of his 2024 presidential bid, a spokesperson for Barrasso told the Star-Tribune that the senator plans to support the Republican nominee for president.

Lummis, who had backed Trump in the past, changed tack on her stance toward the former president, suggesting in a November interview with a Politico reporter that she would support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump. DeSantis, who was easily reelected to be governor of Florida in the 2022 elections, is seen by many as a potential threat to Trump in the 2024 elections.

Lummis said more recently in a Wyoming News Now interview prior to the news of Trumps indictment that shell likely be staying neutral in the primary, and will end up supporting whoever emerges from the Republican primary.

Hageman, on the other hand, said in a statement following Trumps announcement that she was thrilled the former president had decided to run again and has remained firm in her support for the former president in the wake of his indictment and as multiple criminal investigations centering around him ensue.

President Trump was the best president for Wyoming in my lifetime, she said. His pro-America policies were fantastic, leading to a booming economy, energy independence, and peace and stability. Our country was far better off, just two years ago before Joe Biden took over.

PHOTOS: Inside Donald Trump's Save America Rally in Casper Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally Save America Rally
Prime MINISTER Dr Keith Rowley is calling on the now independent members of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) to seek a fresh mandate from the people of Tobago by calling an election.

If the independent political aspirants of the disintegrated PDP (Progressive Democratic Patriots) wish to be taken seriously by the central government and the people of Tobago then the Chief Secretary would do well to make arrangements for an early election within the same time frame that he is making to register a new political party with the Elections and Boundaries Commission, Rowley said in a media release yesterday.
It was about half a century ago, but I remember it as though it were yesterday.

We had been to the cinema, then went for ice cream at the then-popular Dairies Restaurant on Phillip Street.

As we were walking towards the car, I observed a crime in progress, drew it to the attention of my date, and suggested we report it at the nearest police station.
PHOENIX  The Arizona Democratic Party filed suit Thursday to keep the No Labels Party off the 2024 ballot, conceding it fears its presence will make it more difficult to elect Democratic Party candidates.

Legal papers filed in Maricopa County Superior Court cite what the Democrats say are a series of legal flaws in the petitions filed with Secretary of State Adrian Fontes seeking certification and ballot access. That includes everything from wording discrepancies in the paperwork to allegations that people were attesting to signatures on those petitions before others had actually signed the papers.

But theres a larger legal issue.

According to attorney Roy Herrera, the No Labels Party is organized under a section of the Internal Revenue Code as a social welfare organization. That, the lawsuit says, limits the amount of money it can spend on political purposes.

What that IRS status also means, Herrera said, is that the No Labels Party is not required to disclose its contributors, a requirement that exists in state law for other recognized political parties in Arizona.

To date, No Labels has not publicly disclosed its donors, leaving the sources of much of its funding largely unknown, the lawsuit states. Nor has No Labels publicly identified the donors behind the initiative to have it certified as a political party in Arizona, despite federal laws requiring political party committees spending more than $5,000 to influence a federal election to identify their donors in filings with the Federal Election Commission.

The organization, founded in 2009, has the stated goal of combating the polarized political climate that has led to the most prominent voices often found the farthest from the center. More to the point, it has made it clear it could be a force in future elections.

Its website says it is creating what it called an insurance plan that would allow a Unity ticket to run in 2024 if the two parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees, terms it does not define.

That could have implications for Democrat Joe Biden if he decides to seek another term, particularly in Arizona. He only narrowly edged out Donald Trump by 10,457 votes in 2020.

The political threat to Arizona Democrats is amplified by the decision by Sen. Krysten Sinema to leave the party.

Sinema filed to run for reelection in 2024. If she were to run for reelection in 2024 under the No Labels banner, she would need fewer signatures to qualify for the ballot than as an independent.

And having Sinema on the ballot could draw votes away from Ruben Gallego or whoever wins the Democratic primary, a move that could aid the Republican nominee.

In a prepared statement, Ryan Clancy, the chief strategist for No Labels, blasted the legal filing.

This undemocratic and outrageous lawsuit is a disgrace, he said. And he took a slap at the Arizona Democratic Party for going to court to keep his organization off the ballot.

Next time you hear this crowd talking about protecting democracy, remember what they are really doing is protecting their turf, Clancy said.

On the legal side, David Rosenbaum, an attorney with the Osborn Maledon law firm in Phoenix, said he is confident the trial court will uphold the decision by Fontes to certify No Labels as a political party in Arizona.

The professional staff in the Secretary of States Office already thoroughly reviewed No Labels filing and certified it, he said in his own statement.

There was no comment about the claim that money is being raised without disclosure of the donors.

The lawsuit says No Labels has raised about $50 million to secure ballot access as a political party in at least 10 states.

With Fontes certification  assuming it is not overturned by the courts  No Labels became the fourth party certified for ballot status along with Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. The Green Party lost its certification because it did not get at least 5% of the vote in the last gubernatorial election and did not submit sufficient signatures to retain its ballot status.
A fatal motorcycle crash on Thursday afternoon closed South Alvernon Way and East Valencia Road.

Police are asking drivers to avoid the area and use an alternate route.

Details about the crash were not available on Thursday afternoon.

This is the third fatal motorcycle crash to happen in the Tucson area this week.

Last Thursday, a Dodge Ram pickup truck was backing onto the shoulder near South Nogales Highway and East Hermans Road about 6 a.m. when a motorcyclist crashed into it and died.

On Tuesday, a woman riding her motorcycle died after she crashed into a pickup truck near North Sabino Canyon and North Indian Ruins.

TRAFFIC ALERTPolice are on the scene of a fatal collision involving a motorcyclist at S. Alvernon Wy. and E. Valencia Rd. Please avoid the area and use an alternate route. Traffic Detectives are continuing the investigation. pic.twitter.com/faLYv4jdDA  Tucson Police Dept (@Tucson_Police) March 30, 2023
Lawyers for the man accused in the kidnapping and killing of 6-year-old Isabel Celis are seeking a new judge, saying the current judges interest or prejudice would prevent a fair and impartial trial.

Christopher Clements was charged in 2018 with the separate kidnappings and killings of Isabel and 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez. Isabel was discovered missing from her bedroom on the morning of April 21, 2012.

Maribel disappeared on the way to a friends house on June 3, 2014. Her body was found days later in a desert area off of Avra Valley and Trico roads, near where Isabels remains were eventually recovered.

Clements was not identified as a suspect in either case until 2017, when he led investigators to Isabels remains in exchange for the dropping of unrelated charges. He was found guilty last year by a separate jury in Maribels abduction and was sentenced to natural life in prison for first-degree murder and another 17 years for kidnapping, which will be served consecutively.

Jurors in Clements trial in Isabels case heard from 30 witnesses over the course of 10 days. They deliberated for two days before Pima County Superior Court Judge James Marner declared a mistrial on March 3 based on the jurys inability to reach a unanimous decision.

Judge James Marner presided over both of Clements trials.

After the jurors were excused from service following Marners declaration of a mistrial, Marner said he was going to back to the jury room to thank the jurors for their service, according to the motion to remove Marner from the case, filed Monday in Pima County Superior Court by Scottsdale-based attorney Eric Kessler.

Judge Marner did not invite the attorneys to meet with him and the jury, nor did Judge Marner conduct his... discussion with the jury on the record or with a court reporter, according to the motion.

The motion included a copy of an Arizona Daily Star article published on March 15, based on interviews with four jurors, detailing their deliberation process and their interactions with the lone holdout.

The jurors told the Star that after Marner declared a mistrial, he came back to the jury room to thank them and told them about Clements previous conviction in connection with Maribels kidnapping and murder.

While Judge Marner thought it appropriate to inform the jury of a substantial fact that was properly withheld from the jury... Judge Marner did not inform the jury of other critical facts withheld from the jury that led Tucson Police Department to suspect Sergio Celis of complicity in (Isabels) disappearance, the motion said.

Marner should not have said anything to the jurors about any facts that were withheld, according to the motion.

Judge Marners decision to improperly tell the jury negative information about Mr. Clements, yet withhold comment about incriminating facts regarding Mr. Celis, shows bias and prejudice against Mr. Clements, the motion said. As a result, the ... article in the Daily Star only reflected negatively on Mr. Clements, even though Judge Marner was aware that the defense raised a third-party culpability defense and would most assuredly do so again in a retrial of these counts.

The motion said that the article gives the impression to the public that Marner was commending and commiserating with the jurors that voted to convict Clements, while lamenting that the holdout juror couldnt be told during trial about Clements conviction in Maribels case.

Obviously, Judge Marners discussions with the jurors went well beyond expressing his appreciation for their service to the judicial system, the motion said.

The motion included an advisory opinion from the Arizona Supreme Courts Judicial Ethics Committee about contacting or speaking to members of a discharged jury. The opinion said:

Lawyers for all parties should be given an opportunity to be present when a judge speaks with members of a discharged jury.

The judge must tell the jurors before the meeting that he or she cannot answer questions about pending matters  in this case, a retrial  and must disallow juror statements about pending matters.

The judge must also expressly and firmly prohibit any discussion of deliberations.

If a juror volunteers information the judge would be prohibited from hearing outside the presence of all parties, the information must be treated like any other unsolicited communication to the judge and promptly disclose it to all parties on the record. The parties must also be given the opportunity to speak about the matter.

The motion said that because Marners statements appeared in the article, the publics confidence and integrity in the judicial system is compromised.

Clements lawyers said that while no comments about Clements or Sergio Celis were appropriate or permitted, Marner exhibited obvious bias and prejudice against Clements by disclosing very negative information.

Mr. Clements already slim chances of getting a fair jury in Pima County were just reduced to no chance at all, the motion said. Judge Marners unfortunate decision to disclose properly excluded information will be another basis to seek a change of venue. Prospective jurors now know or suspect that evidence in Mr. Clements retrial will likely be withheld from them.
PHOENIX  Gov. Katie Hobbs says she intends to veto legislation approved Thursday that would require doctors to provide medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment to any infant born alive, regardless of whether it is likely to survive.

It overrides patient and clinician decision-making in complex and highly personal circumstances, Murphy Hebert, the governors chief of communications told Capitol Media Services.

The move is not a surprise. Only one House Democrat, Rep. Lydia Hernandez of Phoenix, voted for the measure.

Thursdays 32-28 House vote for SB 1600, which followed party-line approval in the Senate last month, was highlighted by lawmakers detailing not only their beliefs about when life begins but also, in some cases, personal stories about their experiences with extremely premature infants or those with medical problems, like being born with only half a brain.

And there were several mentions of God.

But much of it came down to what some people say happens now in these cases and what the law would  and would not  have required doctors to do.

This bill comes down to a simple question: If a baby is born alive, even if it is sick or troubled, do we make efforts to try to save that person and treat them with the same dignity we would any other human being in our hospitals, or do we leave them on a table to die? asked Rep. Justin Heap, R-Mesa. It is repellent. It is evil.

House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci, R-Lake Havasu City, said all this does is conform the treatment of newborns with what is expected elsewhere.

In what world do we live in if you ever went to the emergency room for any reason, heart attack, stroke, car accident  would we be OK with the doctor saying, You know what? This doesnt look good. Were going to let you die, he said. This is exactly the same thing.

But Rep. Athena Salman, D-Tempe, said theres a crucial difference.

She said it can often be clear that a baby is so premature or so medically handicapped that survival beyond perhaps a few hours is not medically possible.

In those instances where medical intervention will be futile, health care providers can help families by providing comfort care for the baby and providing the family an opportunity to hold their baby, spending those precious few moments of life with their loved ones and spiritual services as requested, Salman said.

The legislation did have an exception.

It would have allowed a parent or guardian to refuse to consent to medical treatment or surgical care that is not necessary to save the life of the infant, where the risk outweighs the potential benefit, or will do not more than temporarily prolong the act of dying when death is imminent.

It doesnt require the draconian efforts that some in this chamber have claimed, nor does it put ethical doctors at risk, said Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Goodyear. It requires medically appropriate and reasonable care to all newborns.

And that, he said, depends on the circumstances.

Its not medically appropriate or reasonable to whisk a baby away from that babys mothers arms at 15 weeks gestation, he said. Because we know that that baby is probably not going to survive at 15 weeks.

But Salman said none of that means anything if parents are unaware of those rights.

Rep. Amish Shah, D-Phoenix, who is an emergency room physician, said the situations doctors face is not as simple as proponents of the legislation claim. And thats because SB 1600 would have imposed potential prison terms for those who are found to have not complied with the law.

When the threat of criminal penalties applies in a very subjective, harrowing situation like this, people are going to say, Im going to have to do something that I wouldnt otherwise do with regard to medical judgment, he said.

For example, Shah said, at 18 weeks of pregnancy the chances are almost zero the baby will survive. And he reads the law to require doctors to do all they can to preserve the life.

But when would a medical code ever end? Shah said.

It would never end because it ends when I subjectively decide that the medical code ends and we stop the CPR process, he said. So anybody can disagree with that and say, Dr. Shaw, youre guilty of a criminal violation.

That area of possible dispute over when a newborn could be saved was underlined by Hernandez who told colleagues about the experiences of her sister-in-law who she said pleaded with a doctor to save her baby after the doctor explained the slight chance of the newborn surviving.

I held her in the palm of my hand, Hernandez said. She survived and is now 18 years old and is a student at Phoenix Union High School, said the representative as she joined with Republicans in support.

At least some of the debate about the issue became religious.

With God, all things are possible, said Rep. Rachel Jones, R-Tucson. And if God wants that human being to live and have life, that human being will survive.

Rep. Lupe Diaz, R-Benson, pastor at Grace Chapel in his home town, had his own take.

Life is sacred, he said. And we are told that life is sacred because we are created in the image of God.

Diaz said the issue goes beyond his belief that life begins at conception.

How we treat life in the beginning, and how we view life, will also determine how we view life at the end, he said.

But Rep. Stacey Travers, D-Phoenix, said this isnt an academic issue for some.

I have been through something like this, she said tearfully. And while I respect the comments of my learned colleagues from the other side, I think part of the biggest problem is we are not being heard.

Travers said proponents also are making the assumption that parents would be able to deal with a severely handicapped child, like the one cited by Rep. Mae Peshlakai who the Cameron Democrat said was born with just half a brain, even if it was able to survive more than a few hours outside the womb.

Who do we think we are? Travers said.

We are legislators, she said. And as my fellow colleagues talk about God, we are not God.

And Rep. Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton, D-Tucson, said this is not a legislative issue.

At the end of the day, the people who are in the room, when it comes to pregnancy outcomes, are the people who need to be able to make their decisions as a team, she said.
PHOENIX  Gov. Katie Hobbs added to her veto tally Thursday, rejecting two more measures approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

In her first message, Hobbs called SB 1250 unnecessary.

That measure would have spelled out that individuals are entitled to claim they have a religious reason to refuse an employers requirement that they get inoculated against COVID or flu or take any vaccine which has been granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration.

Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, said the measure was personal with her.

Shamp, who is a nurse, said she lost her job because she refused to get vaccinated. And she said that is what spurred her to run for office.

Hobbs, in her veto letter, said religious protections against having to take vaccines already exist in federal law.

But what SB 1250 would have done is effectively require the employer to accept the workers claim by limiting the ability to inquire further to determine its veracity.

Hobbs also said she objected to the fact that employers would be subject to $5,000 in any case where the Attorney Generals Office concluded the company was not in compliance with the law. The governor said that could be devastating for Arizonas many small businesses.

Lets work to find bipartisan solutions that promote the educated and healthy workforce that is essential for Arizonas economy, the governor wrote.

Hobbs separately rejected SB 1024.

That measure, sought by Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, was aimed at dealing with one of the visible effects of homelessness.

It would have made it illegal to erect or maintain any sort of housing enclosure on any public street, highway, alley, lane, parkway, sidewalk or other right of way. And that was defined to include a tent, tarp, box or similar object.

Kavanagh actually had proposed a much broader measure, one that would have kept anyone from lying, sleeping or sitting on a sidewalk or other right of way unless the person is experiencing a physical emergency or if there is some sort of permit for a fair, parade, concert, fireworks display or similar event. But Kavanagh said other lawmakers said that was overly broad.

He also agreed to drop his original proposal to make it a crime, instead settling for a civil violation which would instead be subject to only a fine.

Hobbs said the measure has no merit.

We need to address Arizonas housing and homelessness crisis in a comprehensive manner, she wrote.

Rather than solving these issues in a meaningful way, this bill only makes them less visible, the governor continued. Now, more than ever, its important that we are clear-eyed about the challenges we face and the urgency required to overcome them.
MILAN, Mich. (AP)  An inmate at a federal detention center in southern Michigan has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the slaying of a fellow prisoner convicted of leading a child pornography ring.

Alex Castro's plea came Thursday in federal court in Detroit, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Castro, 42, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Christian Maire on Jan. 2, 2019, at the Milan Correctional Institution. He faces up to life in prison when sentenced July 28.

Castro, of Fontana, California, already is serving a 42-year sentence for a 2017 federal drug conviction.

Two other inmates, Jason Dale Kechego and Adam Taylor Wright, are accused of kicking and stomping Maire in the head before he was thrown down a flight of stairs. Maire was stabbed 28 times.

The detention center is on the grounds of a federal prison in Milan, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Detroit. Men are housed at the center while awaiting trial, sentencing or a permanent prison assignment.

Kechego, 41, was sentenced in November to 28 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder. His sentence is running consecutively with a 10-year sentence he already was serving for possession of a stolen firearm.

Wright, 42, of Springfield, Illinois, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in February 2022 and was sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison for his role in the killing.

Maire, of Binghamton, New York, was sentenced in December 2018 to 40 years in prison for exploiting children after pleading guilty to coercing girls to engage in sexual activity on a website.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)  The nine service members who died in a crash involving two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters ranged in age from 23 to 36 and were from seven states, the military said Friday, as it released the identities of the soldiers and an investigative team continued its probe of the accident.

A military news release said the service members came from Florida, Texas, Missouri, California, North Carolina, Alabama and New Jersey.

This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these Soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come, said Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell.

Two HH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed near Fort Campbell on Wednesday night in southwest Kentucky during a training exercise, killing all nine soldiers aboard the two aircrafts. The crash occurred in Trigg County, Kentucky, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of the Army post that is home to the 101st Airborne Division.

A special military investigative team was on the scene Friday but rain and wind have slowed the early work, Army officials said.

The two Black Hawks were flying during a training exercise and the pilots were using night-vision goggles, Army officials said. The accident occurred during flying and not during the course of a medical evacuation drill, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander.

The helicopters carried flight data recorders, similar to the black boxes that investigators use to analyze crashes involving passengers planes. Officials are hoping the devices yield information about the cause.

The Army identified the soldiers as: Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida; Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri; Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, California.; Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina; Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida; Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Alabama; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri; and Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23, of Oradell, New Jersey.

The four soldiers piloting the two Black Hawks were Esparza, Smith, Barnes and Healy, according to the Army.

Dave Busby, who taught Smith in middle school, was among several of Smiths childhood teachers and classmates who posted tributes on Facebook.

What a great kid. What a tragedy, Busby said by phone from his home in St. James, Missouri, the small town where Smith grew up. Ill be honest I wept  what a shame.

Even as a teen, Smith was ambitious, forward-looking and perceptive, Busby said: You could tell he was going places.

Solinas' dedication to being a flight medic showed his character, his brother, Aidan Solinas, said in a statement.

We are a faithful family and we are proud David was training to rescue soldiers on the battlefield, he said. "Being a flight medic is one of the most difficult jobs that you can do, and illustrates that David was a man of compassion and faith.

Gores father, Tim Gore, told the Goldsboro News-Argus that his son leaves behind a wife whos pregnant. Gore, a pastor in Wayne County, said that his son, who was known to family as Caleb, was an infant when the family moved to North Carolina and remained in the state until he joined the Army after graduating high school.

His passion was search and rescue, and if you were wounded on the battlefield, Caleb coming out of that helicopter would be the most beautiful thing you would ever see, Gore told the newspaper. He was kind, compassionate, and a gentle giant because he was built like a tank.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday ordered flags at state buildings lowered to half-staff from sunrise on Saturday until sunset Monday in honor of the soldiers.

Over the last 10 years, the Armys Black Hawk helicopter has been involved in 40 so-called Class A mishaps, which involve either a fatality or more than $2.5 million in damage. Forty-four personnel died in those cases.

Wednesday's crash was the deadliest training incident for the Army since March 2015, when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the Florida coast in dense fog, said Jimmie Cummings, spokesperson for the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker. Four soldiers from the Louisiana Army National Guard and seven Marine special operations forces were killed.

Cummings said the most deadly non-combat Black Hawk crash was in 1988 and also involved Fort Campbell aircraft. The crash killed 17 troops when two helicopters collided in mid-air. The most deadly Army aircraft training incident was a Chinook crash in Germany in 1982, that killed 46 U.S. and international forces. The second was a C-23 Sherpa fixed wing aircraft crash in Georgia in 2001 that killed 21 Army and Air Guard personnel.

Fort Campbell also had a multi-aircraft crash in 1996, when two Blackhawks clipped propellers, killing five soldiers. The last deadly aviation accident at Fort Campbell occurred in 2018, when an Apache helicopter crashed during training, killing two soldiers on board.

The Black Hawk helicopter is a critical workhorse for the U.S. Army and is used in security, transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue and other missions. The helicopters are known to many people from the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down, which is about a 1993 battle in Somalia.

Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York and writers Lolita Baldor in Washington, Lea Skene in Baltimore and Beatrice Dupuy in New York contributed to this report.
OXFORD, Miss. (AP)  An airplane crash in north Mississippi left one person dead and another injured, officials said.

The Lafayette County Sheriff's Office, in a news release, said it was notified about 9 p.m. Thursday that a small private plane had not returned to the airport it had taken off from. A cellphone belonging to one of the plane's occupants was pinging off County Road 249 near Oxford.

When deputies arrived to the area, they found the plane's wreckage and one of the occupants dead.

The second occupant, initially reported as missing, was later found around midnight and taken to an area hospital with injuries.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration said an investigator was expected on scene Friday to begin an investigation into what caused the crash.

The names of the occupants have not been released pending notification of their families.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP)  A 16-year-old boy convicted in the molestation and slaying of a 6-year-old northern Indiana girl was sentenced Friday to 64 years in prison.

St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Sanford sentenced Anthony Hutchens to 55 years for murder and nine years for child molestation, with the sentences to be served consecutively. The judge had convicted Hutchens in January on both felony counts following a bench trial.

Grace Ross was found dead in March 2021 in a wooded area near her home at an apartment complex in New Carlisle, west of South Bend. She had been strangled and molested and had blunt force injuries.

Sanford ordered Hutchens on Friday to be held in a juvenile detention facility until between his 18th and 21st birthdays. After that, his case will be reviewed and a determination will be made for if or how long he spends time in prison as an adult, the South Bend Tribune reported.

Hutchens will have to register as a sex offender following his release from prison.

An autopsy by a forensic pathologist found Grace's cause of death to be homicide by asphyxiation and revealed blunt force injuries.

Hutchens, who was 14 at the time of Graces death, was tried as an adult. Following his conviction, Hutchens' attorney said he would appeal the verdict based on his contention that the trial should have been held in juvenile court.
PRATTVILLE, Ala. (AP)  The superintendent of a central Alabama school district announced his retirement Friday from a post he's held since 2021.

Autauga County Superintendent Tim Tidmore will stay on as a deputy superintendent to help Daniel Boyd, who was appointed to serve as interim superintendent until a permanent replacement is found. Boyd is the former deputy state superintendent of instruction for the Alabama State Board of Education and a former Lowndes County superintendent.

The school board hired Tidmore from Albertville City Schools, where he served as deputy superintendent of federal programs. The board will buy out the remainder of Tidmore's contract, which goes through Dec. 31, said Spud Seale, the boards attorney.

Board President Kim Crockett praised Tidmores leadership.

He led the schools in uncertain times during a global pandemic and returned students from a virtual platform to physical school, she said.

Tidmore said stepping down was his choice and that it was time to retire.

Ive been in education 35 years and have a new grandbaby, he said about an hour after the meeting. This was the best for everyone. It allows the board to begin the appointment process during a time when they can have the best candidates to choose from.

Boyd said he will not seek the position permanently.

Timing of the superintendent's search is key, Seale told the Montgomery Advertiser.

They need to begin the process soon of appointing a superintendent, Seale said. December is not the time to begin a superintendent search. You dont need to be looking for a superintendent in the middle of the school year.

The school system is the largest employer in Autauga County, having about 1,200 full- and part-time employees and an enrollment of about 9,000. It is also one of the lowest locally funded systems in the state.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)  Democrats in the Maine Legislature pushed through a nearly $10 billion, two-year state budget that prevents any government shutdown, but angered Republicans and virtually assures partisan rancor moving forward.

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross admonished Republicans repeatedly not to impugn Democrats, who control both legislative chambers, during an emotional debate preceding the first budget vote Thursday evening. The Senate followed suit in approving the budget on party-line votes.

The strategy of adopting a basic budget on a simple majority vote early in the legislative session prevents Republicans from using the threat of a state government shutdown as an 11th-hour negotiating tactic.

Democrats said approval of a budget with no new programs preserves Republicans negotiating clout for additional spending proposals to be considered later in a supplemental budget. But that didnt assuage the resentment of Republicans who were cut out of the process after negotiations broke down.

Sen. Trey Stewart, the chambers Republican leader, said Democrats simply arent interested in allowing the minority party to have any sort of meaningful seat at the negotiation table.

This is tyranny of the majority, said GOP Rep. Laurel Libby of Auburn, one of more than a dozen House Republicans to stand to criticize the budget proposal on a variety of grounds Thursday evening.

The Democratic maneuver required lawmakers to adjourn to allow the budget to go into effect 90 days later, on July 1, without a two-thirds majority approval. Then lawmakers will reconvene to deal with hundreds of pending bills, as well as a supplemental budget with any new spending initiatives.

The budget advanced by majority Democrats would continue to fund 55% of public education costs, universal free school meals and revenue sharing with municipalities, among other things. But it doesnt include any new programs  not even programs supported by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.

Republicans blasted Democrats for not considering their proposal to reduce income taxes on the states low- and moderate-income residents. Before the measure passed, the Legislature brushed aside GOP proposals to replace the word Vacationland with Taxationland on state license plates.

Democrats and their allies said the early vote ensures the government will continue operations and provides an opportunity for both parties to work on a supplemental budget to address extra proposals later.

Democratic Sen. Jill Duson of Portland said it makes sense to return to a two-part budget. "This approach ensures the state can prioritize ongoing commitments before taking on new initiatives, she said.

The process mirrors 2021, when Democrats passed a majority budget over the objection of Republicans. A bipartisan revision was later adopted.

If lawmakers were to wait until later in the session to approve the budget, a two-thirds majority would be required for provisions to go into effect in time for the new fiscal year.

In 2017, House Republicans aligned with then-GOP Gov. Paul LePage torpedoed a compromise budget, forcing a partial shutdown of state government that lasted for several days. Frenzied negotiations led to new spending bill that cleared the two-thirds threshold.

Follow David Sharp on Twitter @David_Sharp_AP
HARRIMAN, Tenn. (AP)  A man who had just bonded out of jail shot three people, killing one, at a body shop in East Tennessee before law enforcement officers arrived and shot him, authorities said.

A female called police Thursday afternoon to report she had been shot at Midtown Auto Body in Harriman and the shooter was still at the scene, Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton told news outlets.

The shooter walked into the building, according to a witness, and shot one of the victims and then started looking for other people to shoot, Stockton said.

Another woman and a man were shot before police arrived and one person died, authorities said.

Officers from several agencies responded and a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper found the suspect, who was identified as Brian Wilson, in an alley behind the shop near an abandoned house, authorities said.

He was still armed and turned toward the trooper in an aggressive fashion as he raised his gun, after which the trooper fired his service weapon, striking and injuring the suspect, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which will investigate the officer's actions.

Wilson had bonded out of jail Thursday morning on an arson charge and knew at least two of the victims, Stockton said.

This guy was here to get revenge was what we were told, but its still under investigation and it is gonna be some time before we get to the bottom of the full investigation, he said.

Wilson was hospitalized. It was not clear whether he had an attorney.
Five Owasso police officers received top honors during the 2023 Buckledown Awards at the Tulsa Tech Owasso campus on Thursday.

Now in its 30th year, the annual Buckledown Awards honor state law enforcement for outstanding performance in the areas of traffic safety, occupant protection and impaired driving.

Recognition is based on the individual officers initiative and use of enforcement and prevention efforts designed to reduce traffic collisions and their resulting injuries, deaths and property damage.

Sgt. Jonathan Foyil and Officers Jarod Mitchell, Keith Trujillo, Claudio Tello and Caleb Reese were the top 10% of all Owasso patrol officers for Traffic Enforcement. Together, these five officers accounted for about 40% of the entire departments traffic stop count, which totaled around 18,302 stops for 2022.

There is no way to determine how this enforcement affected more in-depth statics such as collisions, reckless driving, road rage occurrences and so on, Lt. Nick Boatman said. But we are extremely proud of their individual efforts to curb one of Owassos biggest complaints to police on a daily basis, which is ongoing traffic complaints.

Officers Alfred Bell and Walter Riddle, both night shift officers, led the department in the area of Impaired Driving Enforcement by being the top two officers for our agency in Driving Under the Influence and Actual Physical Control of a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Intoxicants arrests during 2022.

These officers spend a lot of time on the actual enforcement of DUIs while on duty, Boatman said. We are proud of these officers as well for making Owasso roadways much safer during peak DUI times.

The Buckledown Awards has grown from a small local traffic safety program to the largest law enforcement recognition program in the state of Oklahoma  one that both Owasso and Collinsville PDs continue to participate in.
Bundling his prowess on the instrument, his ability to repair the instrument and his skill in building the instrument from scratch, Seth Lee Jones qualifies as Tulsas true Guitar Man.

Within the Tulsa music industry, there is no more respected figure than the 38-year-old Jones  a genius guitarist with a powerful voice that perfectly complements his playing.

At the age of 12, Jones was learning the piano. While in a music store, he watched a guy play the opening lick on the Yes hit Owner of a Lonely Heart. Jones picked up a guitar and perfectly replicated what hed heard. In that moment, he became a Guitar Man.

Jones took lessons at a Firey Brothers store. At his familys church, he played music with his parents, grandfather and uncle. At 16, Jones secured a student loan so he could study at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, where he became a certified guitar expert and learned more about various tunings.

For the great majority of his playing today, his guitars are tuned to an open D major. He pulls a fascinating array of sounds from his favorite guitar  a tricked-up, beat-up and yet beautiful Telecaster. Jones is a brilliant player but still learns from other brilliant players. He has taken lessons from Tulsa guitar wizard Paul Benjaman.

There was the hope of a music career in California, but Jones ultimately realized that there are a zillion guitar players out there. Youve got to be connected to really make it (in a band) or as a session player.

He returned to Tulsa, establishing SLJ Guitars  his guitar-repair/guitar-building workshop  while performing as a fantastic slide player and soulful vocalist. To sample the essence of Jones as a modest dynamo in a T-shirt and jeans, check out his Tulsa Time and Long Distance Call videos on YouTube.

Jones builds 25-30 guitars a year. When he performs, hes aware that other guitar people are in the audience.

If Im playing a guitar that I made, and Im playing the (expletive) out of it, then someone might say, That sounds pretty good. I want that guitar,  Jones said. Basically, being onstage is marketing what I can do with building or fixing guitars.

During a standard Jones show, 30% of the setlist would be original tunes. He covers classics and hidden gems from all genres. He covers Jimi Hendrix and Dire Straits, but never Mustang Sally.

I wouldnt be caught dead covering a song like Mustang Sally  a song that has been beaten to death by so many other bands in town, Jones explained.

Jones mentioned that he needed 12 years to erase his student-loan debt. His Los Angeles experience enhanced his genius-level ability on the guitar. It seems to have been a great investment.

Even the elite among Tulsa guitarists will hear Jones work and ask, How does he do that? How does he get that sound?

Find Jones every Thursday at The Colony bar at 2809 S. Harvard Ave.

Tulsa has a vibrant live music scene. Here are 18 local artists to go see Wanda Watson Band: Tulsa native, powerful blues singer will remind you of Janis Joplin Brent Giddens Band: The group with a Red Dirt identity that has also mastered the art of danceable, classic country music Cassie Latshaw: Singer-songwriter prefers living on Tulsa time over Nashville John Fullbright: Grammy-nominated artist is best known for folk, country, Americana sound King Cabbage Brass Band: Tulsa musicians bringing New Orleans sound to Oklahoma LEX: Owasso singer-songwriter makes waves with unique pop sound Jake & The Idols: One of the more in-demand bands in the Tulsa area with loyal fan base Charlie Redd and the Full Flava Kings: Tulsas best variety group can play a little bit of everything Count Tutu: Ensemble makes dance-friendly music with lyrics rooted in social issues Jacob Tovar: Get a true feel for Tulsa history with his classic country sound Barrett Lewis Band: Talented band of veteran musicians is a must-see Paul Benjaman Band: Artist draws on Tulsa Sound pioneers, makes each show a unique experience Steph Simon: Rapper, producer and activist creates music with a mission Booker Gillespie Trio: Established jazz band lends velvety touches to any kind of music Seth Lee Jones: Tulsa's true Guitar Man can play, build and repair the instrument Rocket Science: Band offers a blast from the past with '80s rock covers Mark Gibson: Singer-songwriter blends soul, blues and rock 'n' roll Check out our latest digital-only offer and subscribe now
One small step (or a few steps) for man.

One giant step for the Turnpike Troubadours.

The Turnpike Troubadours added to their BOK Center history Thursday night by performing a headlining show at the downtown Tulsa arena for the first time.

The homegrown group had sort of played BOK Center before.

In 2009, when BOK Center staged a Rock n Rib Festival to celebrate the venues one-year anniversary, the Turnpike Troubadours were among music acts on the festival roster.

The difference? That was outside. The fellows stepped inside this time, performing on an actual BOK Center stage for the first time.

The other difference? The Turnpike Troubadours are bigger than they were 14 years ago  so big that the fan base decided just one gig in Tulsa wouldnt be enough.

On Jan. 9 came an announcement that the Turnpike Troubadours were bringing a April 1 tour stop to BOK Center. Three days later, BOK Center issued a news release saying that a second show was being added due to overwhelming demand. The second show  Thursdays concert  became the first show and the first show became the second show and if that confuses you at all, just forget about keeping score and know that the Turnpike lads are playing two shows in three days with classic rockers Journey and Toto performing at BOK Center in between.

Its good to be back in Tulsa, ladies and gentlemen, Turnpike Troubadours frontman Evan Felker said two songs into a 90-minute set amid familiar faces and fans who are so familiar with the material that they turned much of the show into a sing-a-long.

Old Crow Medicine Show and Muscadine Bloodline provided support for the Turnpike Troubadours, who were founded in 2005 about 60 miles to the east (Tahlequah) and who came of age about 60 miles to the west as part of Stillwaters Red Dirt music scene.

The Turnpike Troubadours burst out of that scene to achieve national prominence  each of the last three albums reached the top 15 of the Billboard country chart and the songs were borderless enough that the albums also rose up indie, folk and rock charts.

Never mind genre, the groups admirers dig the lyrics (which often mention Oklahoma locales) and the sounds. That was apparent from set-starter Every Girl all the way through a three-song encore that included Housefire, Something to Hold on To and 1968, with fans roaring in approval as soon as they recognized the opening notes of songs.

The Turnpike Troubadours went on hiatus in 2019 and became more popular in absentia. They reunited in 2022 with two shows at Cains Ballroom that sold out quicker than immediately, according to Chad Rodgers of Cains.

Back on home turf, the Turnpike Troubadours are playing two dates again, this time in the citys biggest music room.

Photos: Turnpike Troubadors perform at the BOK Center Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Turnpike Troubadours Check out our latest digital-only offer and subscribe now HIDE VERTICAL GALLERY ASSET TITLES
Actor, author, humorist and wood worker Nick Offerman is heading to the River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa on Friday, May 19.

The show will start at 8 p.m. inside the casino's The Cove theater. Tickets are available now.

Offerman is known for playing characters such as Ron Swanson on NBC's "Parks & Recreation" and Karl Weathers on the FX series "Fargo," and is a five-time New York Times best-selling author, a news release states. He is also married to Oklahoma City-raised actor Megan Mullally.
4:45 p.m.: More than 20,000 customers are without power in the Tulsa area, according to PSO.

Eastbound traffic has been blocked for motorists attempting to get onto the Will Rogers Turnpike after a tractor-trailer rig overturned near Catoosa.

4:20 p.m.: More than 16,000 customers in the area are without power.

The city of Bartlesville has announced some evacuations due to fires as high winds continue to compound the dangers.

"All Washington County fire resources have been deployed to the area and several homes outside the Bartlesville city limits have been lost due to fires," City Manager Mike Bailey said in a news release. "Firefighters are battling unbelievable winds in an attempt to gain control of these fires. Evacuation of the area is underway."

The southern areas of the Circle Mountain addition in Bartlesville are being evacuated, Washington County Emergency Management Director Kary Cox said.

"It's mostly the homes on the south end of East Mountain Road," Cox said. He said additional resources have been requested to assist with the fires.

Storms strike Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana; 7 reported dead A monster storm system has torn through the South and Midwest, spawning deadly weather including tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers in Arkansas, collapsed a theater roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois and made a fatal sweep into rural Indiana. At least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, in the Little Rock area during Fridays storm. The town of Wynne in northeastern Arkansas also was devastated and officials reported two dead there, along with destroyed homes and people trapped in the debris. Authorities say a theater roof collapsed during a tornado in Belvidere, Illinois, killing one person and injuring 28. The emergency management director of Sullivan County, Indiana, says the storm has caused three fatalities there.

4 p.m.: Nearly 13,000 customers in the area are without power, according to Public Service Co. of Oklahoma's local outage map. Numerous trees are reported down in Claremore, with wind gusts nearing 60 mph Friday afternoon. In Owasso, winds took down a "substantial tree limb."

A wind gust of about 64 mph was measured in Tulsa just before 4 p.m.

Dock anchors have reportedly broken at a Keystone Lake marina in Mannford due to winds. Local firefighters have responded to a reported grass fire near Mannford High School.

2:45 p.m.: High winds in Tulsa caused a tree to fall on a woman Friday at the Gathering Place, according to the Tulsa Fire Department.

The woman was in the Chapman Adventure Playground area of the park when the tree fell. She was taken to the hospital shortly after, a Gathering Place news release states.

No other guests were hurt in the incident, the statement adds.

The National Weather Service in Tulsa reports "Dangerous fire weather conditions will continue into the evening, especially along and west of Highway 69 in eastern Oklahoma. Numerous fires are ongoing across northeast Oklahoma."

Video: Friday weather forecast
A symbolic groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday for a new psychiatric hospital that is expected to reduce mental health-related emergency room visits, incarcerations and homelessness across the Tulsa area.

The $70 million, 140,000-square-foot Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center  a partnership between Oklahoma State University and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services  will offer 106 beds and replace the current 56-bed Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health.

The facility will be part of a new academic medical district on downtowns west side, where it will be built next to a new Veterans Affairs hospital and OSU Medical Center.

Many of you may not know it, but todays event is a historic event. Today, we are recognizing one of the single largest investments in state history in behavioral health, said Carrie Slatton-Hodges, state mental health commissioner, at the ceremony in the Cox Business Convention Center.

Once completed, she said, Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center will be among the best in the nation and will offer the latest treatment services, a highly skilled workforce and easy access to services.

The commissioner was joined by Oklahoma first lady Sarah Stitt, along with officials from OSU and local philanthropic foundations, at the indoor ceremony, which was attended by a crowd that included city leaders and medical professionals.

Stitt said: I am so thankful, because for a long time I prayed for this moment  that it wouldnt be just certain communities or certain nonprofits, wouldnt be just the commissioner advocating but our lawmakers and our communities would raise their hand and put a stake in the ground and say they want to be a part of this change.

Thank you to everyone who has been pushing this forward for years and made it become a reality, Stitt added. Its a dream come true  and a pivotal moment for behavioral health in the Tulsa community, for Oklahoma and for all future generations of Oklahomans.

The new hospital, targeted for a late 2024 or early 2025 opening, is expected to serve an additional 1,000-plus patients a year.

The original plan was for a new 56-bed hospital, but it was expanded thanks to securing $38 million in federal pandemic relief funding.

The facility will be a teaching hospital with up to 50 residency slots.

OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum said: For all our Oklahomans who are struggling to access care, help is here.  Today is a celebration of what can be accomplished when we work together for the greater good. This can only be achieved with the collaboration and support of academia, philanthropy, and local, state and federal government.

Bill Major, executive director of the Zarrow Family Foundations, said the center is a true public-private partnership and the best version of one.

Arguably, it was probably the very early $16 million in philanthropic support that demonstrated to the state Legislature that Tulsa was serious about this important health care project, Major said. And thats what gave the state confidence to invest an additional $38 million and double the size of this planned hospital.

The facility also will add 100 new jobs, with a total workforce of 270, officials said.

Photos: Groundbreaking ceremony held for Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center groundbreaking
State Superintendent Ryan Walters emailed explicit material he described as pornographic to all 149 members of the Legislature this week, apparently in an attempt to convince them that Oklahomas public schools are rife with it.

The images were previously shown at a State Board of Education meeting.

There is a request that we share the pornographic material with you as there is ongoing denial of the existence of these items in our school, the email begins. It includes a link to a recent State Board of Education meeting and attachments containing nine pages of explicit if not exactly erotic drawings and one page of text.

Some have questioned Walters decision to publicly display and transmit by the states internet system images he says are pornographic.

The drawings are from graphic novels that Walters says have been found in Oklahoma public school libraries. He has not said which schools or to what extent the materials are or have been accessible to students.

Walters has used the issue of sexually explicit materials  and especially those dealing with LGBTQ matters  to attack the credibility of public schools.

The images and text in the email depict gay sex and ambiguously gendered bodies. The email provides no context to the images, but some argue that the images are at best inappropriate for school libraries.

Walters office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some of those receiving the emails said Walters quickly tried to unsend, or retrieve them.

Walters was invited to a House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education meeting Thursday afternoon but declined. The meeting was subsequently canceled.

Subcommittee Chairman Mark McBride, R-Moore, said he didnt know whether Walters unavailability for the committee meeting was related to the email, but he said the superintendents claims about school libraries is one question out of 12 or 13 that members have for him.

Wed like to see some kind of proof, said McBride. What school? What the superintendent did when he was notified. Was it dealt with?

Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, and House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, declined to comment.

Video: Superintendent shares concerns about pornographic material in Oklahoma school libraries
If Clark Brewster hadnt answered the phone that Sunday afternoon, who knows? Maybe he doesnt end up in the middle of the political maelstrom consuming the nation.

But he did  and it was Stormy Daniels.

In early 2019, February, she reached out to see if she could have a meeting with me in Tulsa.  It kind of surprised me, the Tulsa defense attorney recalled Friday.

At the time, Daniels, a pornographic film star, was embroiled in a high-profile legal battle with President Donald Trump over an alleged 2006 affair. According to Brewster, she was unhappy with the representation she was getting from attorney Michael Avenatti.

Apparently she had good reason: Avenatti would later be sent to prison for stealing money from his clients, including Daniels.

We met, we talked over about a week period of time, off and on, and I accepted her representation, and I have been representing her ever since, Brewster said.

Brewster has earned fame and fortune for his vigorous and sometimes colorful defense of his clients. But he doesnt believe that was the only reason Daniels gave him a call that Sunday afternoon.

The attorney has owned and raced horses for decades, and Daniels is a passionate equestrian.

I think she was originally referred by people in the equestrian world, the horse world, nationally, Brewster said. If you are in that industry in one practice or another, its a small community. I think that is originally how she was referred.

Four years later, there is nothing small about the community Brewster and Daniels find themselves sharing: The Manhattan District Attorneys Office confirmed Thursday that a grand jury had indicted Trump for his role in a 2016 hush-money payment to Daniels.

It was a monumental day in American history  the first time a former president of the United States has ever been indicted on criminal charges.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing. He is expected to turn himself in early next week.

I think more than anything  her (Daniels) attitude with me has been, she has sympathy, honestly, she does, for the charges that are being leveled and the person that is having to go through that, namely, Donald Trump, Brewster said. But on the other hand, she has this feeling of the truth should be dealt with fairly, openly and transparently, and if there are crimes that arise from that truth, that he should be prosecuted.

He (Trump) has taken this course of trying to humiliate others, or demean her in some way, or just have blanket denials. And for a person that knows those statements arent true, they want the truth to be the record, not the denials.

Brewster said he has own feelings of sympathy for Trump  and for the country.

I really do. I think that there is no joy in seeing this, him charged, and I mean that very, very sincerely, Brewster said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, a Democrat, has been widely denounced by Republicans for even presenting the case to the grand jury, and Thursdays indictment only added to their fury.

Lets call it like it is: Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is weaponizing our judicial system to go after President Trump in a complete partisan sham, U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin tweeted Thursday. This is the same radical liberal DA who lets violent criminals roam New York and pushes soft-on-crime policies that make America less safe.

Brewster said hes heard that argument  and others  from critics of the indictment and the process that led to it. But he sees it differently.

As a lawyer that has been involved in the legal system for as long as I have, I put great trust and respect in the grand jury, Brewster said. I mean, here is a group of people that have taken off from their personal lives, their business lives, and spent time in that room listening to evidence and reviewing documents and listening to testimony, and then returning that indictment. So I have respect for that.

And I think that process should be viewed as really kind of a hallmark of what is truth.

Brewster noted that Bragg, who was elected to office, could have simply signed off on charges against Trump but instead chose to present the evidence to a grand jury.

So to believe that it is just political, or a witch hunt  I have heard that term used  you have got to believe that all of these grand jurors were in on this in unity, politically, Brewster said.

If there is any good that can come out of this moment in American history, Brewster said, it is the basic civics lesson that no one is above the law. And Trump, for his part, will have the opportunity to dispute the facts presented by Bragg and force the government to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, Brewster said.

The presumption of innocence is very powerful and strong here, Brewster said. But I mean, here we have a constitutional process that we have had in place for 200-plus years, and it is working because they are saying, no man is above the law, and I find that to be somewhat proud of the fact we can get to that point.

What the historical significance of the Trump indictment and potential trial will be is difficult to know, Brewster said, but he has his own opinion.

I do believe it should stand for the benefit that comes with accepting responsibility, Brewster said. And I say that because I think if Donald Trump at some point in time would have stepped up and fully accepted responsibility and explained the basis for the nondisclosure agreement and all the circumstances, I dont think there would be a charge.

Brewster estimates that his firm has spent thousands of hours over the last four years working on Daniels behalf, and with that has come the kind of backlash hes come to expect when he takes on a controversial client.

We have received all kinds of, you know, even threats, and negative comments, Brewster said.

Its important to remember, Brewster said, that his role in the Daniels-Trump saga is not one of a political partisan but of an advocate for his client.

I feel that there is a duty and a responsibility in the purest form of advocacy to step up, even if you dont agree with that persons political philosophy, Brewster said. Or you  are repulsed in some way or another by that persons actions.

I do believe that that is what advocates in the system have to do, and so I have done that.
Journey founder and guitarist Neal Schon made his first donation to the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, but it wont be his last.

Journey was in Tulsa for a 50th anniversary tour stop Friday at BOK Center. Prior to the show, Schon, wife Michaele and some of his bandmates toured yet-to-open OKPOP and attended a press conference in which he took part in a ceremonial signing of a gift agreement and unveiled a couple of introductory gifts: a guitar from his private stock and a 50th anniversary snare drum donated by Deen Castronovo. More to come?

I have about 800 guitars in my warehouse north of San Francisco, Schon said. When we get home after the tour, I will spend a day up there and I will pick out some choice pieces to send here.

OKPOP representatives began forging a relationship with Schon in 2013, when he was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame while on stage for a Journey show at Hard Rock Live inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. Schon (Im an Air Force brat all the way) was eligible for the hall because he was born at Tinker Air Force Base.

I was here just as an infant, he said, indicating that he may have been 1 or 2 when his family relocated to New Jersey and, later, California.

But Schon appreciates that he was welcomed into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and, asked if he has any pride in his Oklahoma roots, said: Yeah, absolutely. I love the people here. Every time we come here, we have a great time and great shows. The venue is spectacular. It is really an amazing venue.

Schon also used the word amazing to describe his OKPOP tour.

I think you can have one of the best museums that anybodys ever seen, he said.

OKPOP Executive Director Jeff Moore said the quick tour included showing Schon a third floor that will be home to a music exhibit called musical journeys. They also spent time looking at collections from other creatives whose contributions to popular culture will be honored in the museum.

As we were going through the collections, it was interesting, Moore said. He was making all these connections from his career to other Oklahomans and things in our collection that we didnt know about.

Moore thanked Carol Matza (a publicist who has worked with Schon previously) for helping to make the Friday event possible. Moore began the press conference by pointing out that the Oklahoma Historical Society will turn 130 years old in May. He said OKPOP will be a jewel in the crown of an amazing state agency and will tell the story of Oklahomas creative DNA.

Were helping magnify the stories of Oklahomans, like the gifted guitarist Neil Schon and his band Journey, said D. Scott Petty, chair of the newly formed OKPOP Foundation. OKPOP Museum will inspire future creatives to dream their biggest dreams because so many Oklahomans that have come before them dreamt their biggest dream.

The OKPOP Foundation is a development arm working to identify charitable funding sources, sponsorships and naming opportunities to advance the OKPOP mission. The foundations fundraising objective is $30 million, an estimated final number needed to complete the project. A goal is a late 2024 opening for the downtown Tulsa museum.

During the concert that followed, vocalist Arnel Pineda introduced Schon to the crowd as your "homeboy." Schon talked about his visit to OKPOP and spoke complimentary about what he had seen there.

Founded in 1973, Journey played to what seemed to be a packed house at BOK Center -- a testament to the band's catalog, eternal radio popularity and still-fresh live performances. How many other groups with a 50-year history still have that same kind of drawing power? Pineda, the "new" frontman, has been with the band for the last 16 years.

The set began with "Only the Young" and continued with a string of the band's many hits. Beloved ballads "Open Arms" and "Faithfully" came back-to-back in the show.

Toto was the support act and ended its set with a one-two punch of "Rosanna" and "Africa."

Photos: Journey guitarist Neal Schon gifts guitar to OKPOP museum Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP Neal Schon donates guitar to OKPOP
Related content Stitt, McCall speak at school choice rally at state Capitol

OKLAHOMA CITY  The Senate on Thursday sent the House a teacher pay raise bill and a tax credit measure for parents who send their children to private schools or educate them at home.

But the bills face an uncertain future in the House.

The bills, as passed by the Senate, will not pass the House, said Daniel Seitz, a spokesman for House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka.

He said there is room for negotiation.

The Senate took two education bills authored by McCall and gutted them, replacing his language with the upper chambers proposals.

We think the House plan framework is the only plan that will pass the House, Seitz said.

House Bill 1935 would allow a refundable tax credit of up to $7,500 for those who send a child to private school and $1,000 for a family that educates a child at home. The measure has a $250,000 income cap.

Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said the income cap was needed to secure approval in the Senate.

Treat said nearly every state that has started a tax credit or education savings account has an income cap.

Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa, said a family making $250,000 does not need a cash advance from the government.

Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, called the measure a taxpayer giveaway and reckless. The bill has no real accountability, she said.

Treat said the measure would infuse competition and new ideas and would empower parents to do what is best for their children.

For too many families, a private school option is out of reach, he said. The bill would make private schools more accessible, he said.

Kirt pointed out that the bills projected fiscal impact on the state, nearly $99 million, aligns with the number of Oklahoma families that have already opted for private school or home school.

The Senate also passed House Bill 2775, which would provide raises ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 for teachers based on their years of experience.

Senate Education Committee Chairman Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, said the average would be $5,300 per teacher.

Pugh said it would be the second-largest teacher pay raise in the states history.

The measure would provide $500 million for raises and for increasing funds going through the state aid formula.

It also would provide $30 million to a grant program for qualitative bonus pay for eligible teachers and support employees based on criteria developed by the local school board.

A district could provide bonuses of up to $5,000 to no more than 10% of its eligible teachers and support employees.

Video: Oklahoma Senate debates tax credit for private school, home school families
Related content After Senate OKs gutted education bills, speaker vows the House shall not pass

As the Oklahoma House and Senate tussled over various versions of public financial support for private schools, about 125 school choice supporters rallying outside the Capitol on Thursday urged them to reach an agreement soon.

As my husband said to the legislators, Please stop acting like junior high kids and help the junior high kids, said Laura Robinson, the mother of a special needs child and a critic of Tulsa Public Schools administration.

Speakers at the rally included Gov. Kevin Stitt and House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, as well as House Common Education Committee Chairwoman Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, but nobody from the Senate, which was actually voting on education bills while the rally was in progress, spoke to the group.

The Governors Office said the date of the rally was set weeks ago and that no slight on the Senate was intended, but Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said he was not asked to speak.

The Senate over the past few days heavily amended two House bills that included pay raises for teachers, tax credits for the parents and guardians of private and home-schooled students, and more money for the state school aid formula, with a provision that smaller districts receive disproportionately larger shares.

This last piece is widely seen as a sweetener to win over rural Republican lawmakers whose support is needed to pass school-choice legislation in the House. McCall has said the House bills as originally written are more or less an all-or-nothing deal.

The people at Thursdays rally didnt care about all of that. They wanted results.

Pastor Philip Abode of Tulsas Crossover Preparatory Academy said his far northside neighborhood needed a school unfettered by red tape and bureaucracy.

We started Crossover Preparatory Academy as a private all-boys school with a mission committed to restoring our community by developing educated, godly young men who love north Tulsa, Abode said. Last year we were able to add a sister girls school. 

We wanted to bring the advantages of a private school to our community. Small class sizes. Christ-centered. And the flexibility to change things to really serve our students.

Crossover has a little over 100 students, who attend at no cost, thanks to private funding.

Weve seen miracle after miracle to provide for our school, Abode said. The thing is, it shouldnt take miracles for good schools to exist in our communities. We really need our legislators to work together to provide access for whatever school our parents think is the best school for their child.

McCall, who in the past has not been enthusiastic about taxpayer support of private schools, told the rally the House has put together a package that benefits every student in the state of Oklahoma, that supports every parent in the state of Oklahoma, that supports every teacher in the state of Oklahoma.

McCall said he was able to make choices about his childrens education and that every parent in this state deserves to make those decisions for their child.

After speaking briefly, Stitt said he is not taking sides in the House and Senate education talks.

The good news is theyre talking, he said. Well be able to work this out. Were not quite to April. Well see some give and take.

Asked if he has a preference among the various versions floating around the Capitol, Stitt shook his head and said, Im just excited theyre talking.

Other speakers included first lady Sarah Stitt and State Superintendent Ryan Walters. Lending operational support were the Oklahoma affiliate of Americans for Prosperity and the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma, which is seeking authorization for a state-funded Catholic charter school.
Britain on Friday said it had struck a deal to join an 11-country trans-Pacific trade pact which includes Japan and Australia as it looks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving the European Union. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain had agreed to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in a move his office said was the biggest trade deal since Brexit. A previous government impact assessment estimated the deal would add just 0.08% to GDP in the long term, but Britain has strategic - not just economic - motives, as it can now influence whether applicants China and Taiwan may join the group. "Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies," Sunak said, adding the deal demonstrated "the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms." Britain has been looking to build trade ties following its departure from the EU in 2020, pivoting towards geographically distant but fast-growing economies. Its Indo-Pacific tilt comes as its foreign policy framework casts China as an "epoch defining challenge". Other members of CPTPP are Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Britain is the first new member to join the group. Britain has existing bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with most of the member countries, though CPTPP gives businesses extra options over the terms they can trade under. Exports to CPTPP countries from Britain were worth 60.5 billion pounds ($75 billion) in the year to the end of last September, but the overall impact of the trade deal is set to be modest. Britain said the deal, which will cut tariffs on cars, spirits and dairy products, would boost the economy by 1.8 billion pounds each year in the long-run - a figure that could rise as more countries join the pact. Sally Jones, trade policy and strategy partner at EY, said ratification and implementation could take 12 months. Britain has agreed new post-Brexit trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and agreed an FTA with Japan in 2020. It is also in talks with Canada and Mexico over new FTAs, after it rolled over previous EU trade deals at the end of 2020. Further expansion? Japan's economy minister Shigeyuki Goto said Britain's accession was "a great significance" in further promoting free trade, open and competitive markets as well as economic integration beyond the Pacific Rim. Japan chaired negotiations on Britain joining the pact. Regarding other economies that have applied to join, such as China and Taiwan, Goto said Japan would need to examine whether they were "fully prepared to meet the high standards" of CPTPP. Taiwan's top trade negotiator John Deng told Reuters Taipei will "continue efforts to gain support from CPTPP countries" to join. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated Beijing's opposition to Taiwan joining "any agreement or organisation of an official nature", but said China entering the CPTPP would be a good thing. "China's accession to CPTPP is not only in line with our own efforts to deepen reform and expand openness, but also conducive to CPTPP member countries' expansion into China's market and economic and trade cooperation with China," she said. Asked whether China should be allowed to join, British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said it was a decision for all CPTPP members. "All I would say is that Britain now has a vote in deciding that, and that shows that our influence in this part of the world is becoming more significant," he said. Ecuador, Costa Rica and Uruguay have also applied for membership. Japan's chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said it was "desirable" for the U.S. to rejoin the trade pact after it withdrew from a predecessor trade deal in 2017, and Tokyo would keep pressing Washington to become a member.

Britain on Friday said it had struck a deal to join an 11-country trans-Pacific trade pact which includes Japan and Australia as it looks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving the European Union.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain had agreed to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in a move his office said was the biggest trade deal since Brexit.

A previous government impact assessment estimated the deal would add just 0.08% to GDP in the long term, but Britain has strategic - not just economic - motives, as it can now influence whether applicants China and Taiwan may join the group.

"Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies," Sunak said, adding the deal demonstrated "the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms."

Britain has been looking to build trade ties following its departure from the EU in 2020, pivoting towards geographically distant but fast-growing economies.

Its Indo-Pacific tilt comes as its foreign policy framework casts China as an "epoch defining challenge".

Other members of CPTPP are Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Britain is the first new member to join the group.

Britain has existing bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with most of the member countries, though CPTPP gives businesses extra options over the terms they can trade under.

Exports to CPTPP countries from Britain were worth 60.5 billion pounds ($75 billion) in the year to the end of last September, but the overall impact of the trade deal is set to be modest.

Britain said the deal, which will cut tariffs on cars, spirits and dairy products, would boost the economy by 1.8 billion pounds each year in the long-run - a figure that could rise as more countries join the pact.

Sally Jones, trade policy and strategy partner at EY, said ratification and implementation could take 12 months.

Britain has agreed new post-Brexit trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and agreed an FTA with Japan in 2020. It is also in talks with Canada and Mexico over new FTAs, after it rolled over previous EU trade deals at the end of 2020.

Further expansion?

Japan's economy minister Shigeyuki Goto said Britain's accession was "a great significance" in further promoting free trade, open and competitive markets as well as economic integration beyond the Pacific Rim.

Japan chaired negotiations on Britain joining the pact.

Regarding other economies that have applied to join, such as China and Taiwan, Goto said Japan would need to examine whether they were "fully prepared to meet the high standards" of CPTPP.

Taiwan's top trade negotiator John Deng told Reuters Taipei will "continue efforts to gain support from CPTPP countries" to join.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated Beijing's opposition to Taiwan joining "any agreement or organisation of an official nature", but said China entering the CPTPP would be a good thing.

"China's accession to CPTPP is not only in line with our own efforts to deepen reform and expand openness, but also conducive to CPTPP member countries' expansion into China's market and economic and trade cooperation with China," she said.

Asked whether China should be allowed to join, British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said it was a decision for all CPTPP members.

"All I would say is that Britain now has a vote in deciding that, and that shows that our influence in this part of the world is becoming more significant," he said.

Ecuador, Costa Rica and Uruguay have also applied for membership.

Japan's chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said it was "desirable" for the U.S. to rejoin the trade pact after it withdrew from a predecessor trade deal in 2017, and Tokyo would keep pressing Washington to become a member.
China welcomes, supports Dilma Rousseff as new NDB president

Xinhua) 09:34, March 31, 2023

BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes Dilma Rousseff to assume her new post as the president of the New Development Bank (NDB). China will continue to deepen all-round cooperation with the NDB and support her work in China, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

According to media reports, the Board of Governors of the NDB elected Dilma Rousseff as the bank's president on March 24. Rousseff arrived in Shanghai on March 27.

"The New Development Bank (NDB) is one of the landmark achievements of BRICS cooperation," spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily news briefing when answering a relevant query.

Over more than seven years since its establishment, the bank has approved 99 loan projects totaling more than 34 billion U.S. dollars, providing a guarantee for infrastructure construction and sustainable development of emerging markets and developing countries, Mao added.

In addition to its founding members, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Uruguay have also become or will soon become members of the NDB family, Mao said. She added this fully demonstrates the vitality and international influence of the BRICS cooperation mechanism.

Mao noted that Rousseff, as a well-known politician and economist, has been actively committed to the cause of global development for a long time and enjoys an outstanding reputation and significant influence in the international community. China appreciates the Brazilian government's nomination of Rousseff as president of the NDB, which fully shows the importance it attaches to the NDB and the BRICS cooperation mechanism.

"As the host country, China welcomes Rousseff to assume her new office, will continue to deepen all-round cooperation with the NDB, and fully support her in her smooth performance of duties in China," Mao said.

Mao added China looked forward to more achievements and development under Rousseff's wise and professional leadership with the concerted efforts of all member states and greater contributions to the development and prosperity of BRICS and other emerging markets and developing countries.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House. The specific charges are not yet known, as the indictment remains under seal. CNN on Thursday reported Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud. Trump said he was "completely innocent" and indicated he would not drop out of the 2024 presidential race. He accused Bragg, a Democrat, of trying to hurt his chances of winning re-election against Democratic President Joe Biden. "This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," he said in a statement. Shortly after, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense. He has raised over $2 million, according to his campaign, since he incorrectly predicted on March 18 that he would be arrested four days later. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination according to polling, received support from a number of his potential challengers on Thursday including Florida Governor Ron Desantis and former Vice President Mike Pence. "This will only further serve to divide our country," Pence said. While the White House did not comment, Democrats said Trump was not immune from the rule of law. "I encourage both Mr. Trumps critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law," said the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer. The charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days. Trump will have to travel to Manhattan for fingerprinting and other processing at that point. Bragg's office said it had contacted Trump's attorney to coordinate a surrender, which a court official said would likely occur next Tuesday. Trump's lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said they will "vigorously fight" the charges. The Manhattan investigation is one of several legal challenges facing Trump. Bragg successfully prosecuted Trump's business last year on tax-fraud charges, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty. The presiding judge in that case, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, is expected to oversee this case as well, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump could use the case to stoke anger among his core supporters, though other Republican voters might tire of the drama. Some 44% of Republicans said he should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week. Outside the courthouse, several protesters silently held signs criticizing Trump. Authorities bolstered security around the courthouse after Trump called for nationwide protests on March 18, recalling his charged rhetoric ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Hush money Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006. The former president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him. Trump has denied having affairs with either woman. Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he called a "simple private transaction." "No one is above the law," Daniels' lawyer Clark Brewster said on Twitter. Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said he acted at Trump's direction. Cohen said he stood by his testimony and the evidence he provided to prosecutors. "Accountability matters," he said in a statement. No former or sitting U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges. Aside from this case, Trump faces two criminal investigations by a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and another criminal probe by a local prosecutor in Georgia. Trump has escaped legal peril numerous times. In the White House, he weathered two attempts by Congress to remove him from office, including for the Jan. 6, assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, as well as a years-long probe into his campaign's contacts with Russia in 2016. In last year's tax-fraud trial, the Manhattan District Attorney's office targeted Trump's business but declined to charge Trump himself with financial crimes. In the hush-money case, legal experts say Bragg is expected to argue Trump falsified business records to cover up another crime, such as violating federal campaign-finance law, which makes it a felony.

Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House.

The specific charges are not yet known, as the indictment remains under seal. CNN on Thursday reported Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

Trump said he was "completely innocent" and indicated he would not drop out of the 2024 presidential race. He accused Bragg, a Democrat, of trying to hurt his chances of winning re-election against Democratic President Joe Biden.

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," he said in a statement.

Shortly after, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense. He has raised over $2 million, according to his campaign, since he incorrectly predicted on March 18 that he would be arrested four days later.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination according to polling, received support from a number of his potential challengers on Thursday including Florida Governor Ron Desantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.

"This will only further serve to divide our country," Pence said.

While the White House did not comment, Democrats said Trump was not immune from the rule of law.

"I encourage both Mr. Trumps critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law," said the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.

The charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days. Trump will have to travel to Manhattan for fingerprinting and other processing at that point.

Bragg's office said it had contacted Trump's attorney to coordinate a surrender, which a court official said would likely occur next Tuesday.

Trump's lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said they will "vigorously fight" the charges.

The Manhattan investigation is one of several legal challenges facing Trump.

Bragg successfully prosecuted Trump's business last year on tax-fraud charges, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty.

The presiding judge in that case, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, is expected to oversee this case as well, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Trump could use the case to stoke anger among his core supporters, though other Republican voters might tire of the drama. Some 44% of Republicans said he should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.

Outside the courthouse, several protesters silently held signs criticizing Trump. Authorities bolstered security around the courthouse after Trump called for nationwide protests on March 18, recalling his charged rhetoric ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Hush money

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

The former president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him. Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.

Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he called a "simple private transaction."

"No one is above the law," Daniels' lawyer Clark Brewster said on Twitter.

Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said he acted at Trump's direction.

Cohen said he stood by his testimony and the evidence he provided to prosecutors. "Accountability matters," he said in a statement.

No former or sitting U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges.

Aside from this case, Trump faces two criminal investigations by a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and another criminal probe by a local prosecutor in Georgia.

Trump has escaped legal peril numerous times. In the White House, he weathered two attempts by Congress to remove him from office, including for the Jan. 6, assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, as well as a years-long probe into his campaign's contacts with Russia in 2016.

In last year's tax-fraud trial, the Manhattan District Attorney's office targeted Trump's business but declined to charge Trump himself with financial crimes.

In the hush-money case, legal experts say Bragg is expected to argue Trump falsified business records to cover up another crime, such as violating federal campaign-finance law, which makes it a felony.
UK Minister of State for Defense Baroness Goldie visited Vietnam on Wednesday and Thursday to continue efforts to strengthen the two countries bilateral defense partnership. During the visit, Goldie met with Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Vietnams Deputy Minister of National Defense, and co-chaired the UK and Vietnams Fourth Defense Policy Dialogue  an annual bilateral meeting between the two nations which focuses on the future of joint defense cooperation. The minister also visited the Vietnam Department for Peacekeeping Operations as the UK reaffirms its support for Vietnam in developing as a UN Troop Contributing Nation. The UK has already supported Vietnams deployments, including to South Sudan and Abyei, by training medical and engineering personnel. She also shared that the UK is eager to assist with future initiatives. UK Minister of State for Defense Baroness Goldie visits the Vietnam Department for Peacekeeping Operations in Hanoi in a photo provided by the UK Embassy in Vietnam. I am delighted to have visited Vietnam and met with Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Vietnams Deputy Minister of National Defense, in order to co-chair the UK and Vietnams Fourth Defense Policy Dialogue," Goldie said. Celebrating 50 years of our diplomatic cooperation, this visit marks our steadfast commitment to work together on key defense matters, strengthening our existing relationship. Following the UKs recently launched Women Peace and Security Strategy, Goldie met with Vietnamese delegates to discuss the strategy and how London and Hanoi can work together to protect women in conflicts and promote peaceful conflict resolution. Paying her respects to those who died in the service of Vietnam, Goldie paid a visit to the Bac Son Martyr Memorial Monument in Hanoi. Her visit follows Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappeys attendance at Vietnams first-ever Defense Industry Expo in December 2022, further demonstrating the UKs enduring commitment to this extremely important bilateral relationship. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

UK Minister of State for Defense Baroness Goldie visited Vietnam on Wednesday and Thursday to continue efforts to strengthen the two countries bilateral defense partnership.

During the visit, Goldie met with Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Vietnams Deputy Minister of National Defense, and co-chaired the UK and Vietnams Fourth Defense Policy Dialogue  an annual bilateral meeting between the two nations which focuses on the future of joint defense cooperation.

The minister also visited the Vietnam Department for Peacekeeping Operations as the UK reaffirms its support for Vietnam in developing as a UN Troop Contributing Nation.

The UK has already supported Vietnams deployments, including to South Sudan and Abyei, by training medical and engineering personnel.

She also shared that the UK is eager to assist with future initiatives.

UK Minister of State for Defense Baroness Goldie visits the Vietnam Department for Peacekeeping Operations in Hanoi in a photo provided by the UK Embassy in Vietnam.

I am delighted to have visited Vietnam and met with Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Vietnams Deputy Minister of National Defense, in order to co-chair the UK and Vietnams Fourth Defense Policy Dialogue," Goldie said.

Celebrating 50 years of our diplomatic cooperation, this visit marks our steadfast commitment to work together on key defense matters, strengthening our existing relationship.

Following the UKs recently launched Women Peace and Security Strategy, Goldie met with Vietnamese delegates to discuss the strategy and how London and Hanoi can work together to protect women in conflicts and promote peaceful conflict resolution.

Paying her respects to those who died in the service of Vietnam, Goldie paid a visit to the Bac Son Martyr Memorial Monument in Hanoi.

Her visit follows Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappeys attendance at Vietnams first-ever Defense Industry Expo in December 2022, further demonstrating the UKs enduring commitment to this extremely important bilateral relationship.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Nguyen Thuy Chi, head of the mature cerebral palsy club, and her fellow-worker Luu Thi Hieu, who are both disabled, share an idea of building a home in Hanoi where those with cerebral palsy and the disabled as a whole can work and find happiness in life. No community develops with only donations," said Chi, deputy director of Cham Vao Xanh (Green Touch) social enterprise. "Our point of view is that no one saves us better than ourselves. We need to form a home and develop a brand to provide our products for more customers. "We choose green as this is the color of the cerebral palsy community and symbolizes hope and happiness." Journey in wheelchairs To realize their idea, the two traveled to many places in their wheelchairs to seek funding and connect members to operate the enterprise. Chi recounted that she used to come to pedestrian streets, fairs, and coffee shops to introduce handicrafts made by the disabled. However, they realized that the products should have a more deserving position. In October last year, Cham Vao Xanh was established. Its products are handicrafts and paintings made by the handicapped or mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Many customers were full of admiration when seeing cute woolen bears, keychains, and colorful tintinnabula. In addition, Cham Vao Xanh sells clean food from Da Lat. An advantage is that the disabled participating in the enterprise do not have to change their living environment," Chi said. "They can stay at home and work in their leisure time without facing any inconvenience in daily life or traveling, which is extremely necessary to the disabled." The products of 'Cham Vao Xanhs are made by the disabled. Creating values for others After six months of operation, Cham Vao Xanh has had loyal customers from fairs, international schools, and the Japanese community in Hanoi. However, it is not easy to operate the enterprise. Chi and her fellow-workers have divided the job into smaller tasks. She said many disabled people have changed their lives thanks to social media. Therefore, her enterprise has concurrently sold goods via traditional sale channels, such as fairs, stores, and pedestrian streets, while developing their brand thanks to social networks. They have introduced the disableds handicrafts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok pages and e-commerce platform Shopee. In addition to loyal customers, Cham Vao Xanh has got new customers from other localities thanks to social media. We develop our brand with an aim to help the community get acquainted with the images of the disabled going outside, working, and creating values for our society, Chi said. She added that she would open a store to display products made by the disabled, thus opening a space for them to integrate with the community. The two women also expect to seek investment funds to operate a project that help adults with cerebral palsy live independently, love themselves, and take part in more social activities. Cham Vao Xanh vows to use 51 percent of its profit for the community of adults with cerebral palsy and the remaining profit to run the enterprise and pay employees salaries. Having joined many training courses, including those on skills to live independently, Chi can control her own fate. She left the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai to enter a university in Hanoi, then got a job, and became an active member of the community of people with cerebral palsy. I want to make my life more meaningful, firstly make myself feel happy and motivated," Chi shared. Once we are motivated, we can spread the positive energy to others. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Nguyen Thuy Chi, head of the mature cerebral palsy club, and her fellow-worker Luu Thi Hieu, who are both disabled, share an idea of building a home in Hanoi where those with cerebral palsy and the disabled as a whole can work and find happiness in life.

No community develops with only donations," said Chi, deputy director of Cham Vao Xanh (Green Touch) social enterprise.

"Our point of view is that no one saves us better than ourselves.

We need to form a home and develop a brand to provide our products for more customers.

"We choose green as this is the color of the cerebral palsy community and symbolizes hope and happiness."

Journey in wheelchairs

To realize their idea, the two traveled to many places in their wheelchairs to seek funding and connect members to operate the enterprise.

Chi recounted that she used to come to pedestrian streets, fairs, and coffee shops to introduce handicrafts made by the disabled.

However, they realized that the products should have a more deserving position.

In October last year, Cham Vao Xanh was established. Its products are handicrafts and paintings made by the handicapped or mothers of children with cerebral palsy.

Many customers were full of admiration when seeing cute woolen bears, keychains, and colorful tintinnabula.

In addition, Cham Vao Xanh sells clean food from Da Lat.

An advantage is that the disabled participating in the enterprise do not have to change their living environment," Chi said.

"They can stay at home and work in their leisure time without facing any inconvenience in daily life or traveling, which is extremely necessary to the disabled."

The products of 'Cham Vao Xanhs are made by the disabled.

Creating values for others

After six months of operation, Cham Vao Xanh has had loyal customers from fairs, international schools, and the Japanese community in Hanoi.

However, it is not easy to operate the enterprise. Chi and her fellow-workers have divided the job into smaller tasks.

She said many disabled people have changed their lives thanks to social media.

Therefore, her enterprise has concurrently sold goods via traditional sale channels, such as fairs, stores, and pedestrian streets, while developing their brand thanks to social networks.

They have introduced the disableds handicrafts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok pages and e-commerce platform Shopee.

In addition to loyal customers, Cham Vao Xanh has got new customers from other localities thanks to social media.

We develop our brand with an aim to help the community get acquainted with the images of the disabled going outside, working, and creating values for our society, Chi said.

She added that she would open a store to display products made by the disabled, thus opening a space for them to integrate with the community.

The two women also expect to seek investment funds to operate a project that help adults with cerebral palsy live independently, love themselves, and take part in more social activities.

Cham Vao Xanh vows to use 51 percent of its profit for the community of adults with cerebral palsy and the remaining profit to run the enterprise and pay employees salaries.

Having joined many training courses, including those on skills to live independently, Chi can control her own fate.

She left the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai to enter a university in Hanoi, then got a job, and became an active member of the community of people with cerebral palsy.

I want to make my life more meaningful, firstly make myself feel happy and motivated," Chi shared.

Once we are motivated, we can spread the positive energy to others.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
What you need to know today in Vietnam: Politics -- The Governor-General of Australia, David Hurley, will pay a state-level visit to Vietnam from April 3 to 6, the Vietnam News Agency cited the Vietnamese foreign ministry as saying on Thursday. Society -- The People's Committee of Tra Vinh Province in southern Vietnam organized a ceremony to kick off a project to build a VND8 trillion (US$341 million) 21ha green hydrogen plant on Thursday. The investor is TGS Tra Vinh Green Hydrogen Corporation. -- Police in Binh Duong Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City, said on Thursday that they had arrested Yang Zhong Wu, a 47-year-old Chinese, for allegedly killing his company's pregnant accountant the day before. -- The cost of living is the highest in Hanoi, followed by Quang Ninh Province and Ho Chi Minh City, according to data released on Wednesday by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam. It is cheapest to live in Quang Tri, Tra Vinh, and Ben Tre Provinces. Lifestyle -- Conde Nast Traveller has named Vietnam among the 10 cheapest nicest places to visit in Asia in 2023. -- Vietnam's first-ever Banh Mi Festival commenced at Youth Culture House in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday. Banh mi dishes are scheduled to be served there until April 2. Business -- The State Bank of Vietnam has proposed increasing the cap on foreign ownership at joint stock commercial banks that are required to take over underperforming lenders to 49 percent of the former's charter capital from the current 30 percent. World News -- "Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House," Reuters reported Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- The Governor-General of Australia, David Hurley, will pay a state-level visit to Vietnam from April 3 to 6, the Vietnam News Agency cited the Vietnamese foreign ministry as saying on Thursday.

Society

-- The People's Committee of Tra Vinh Province in southern Vietnam organized a ceremony to kick off a project to build a VND8 trillion (US$341 million) 21ha green hydrogen plant on Thursday. The investor is TGS Tra Vinh Green Hydrogen Corporation.

-- Police in Binh Duong Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City, said on Thursday that they had arrested Yang Zhong Wu, a 47-year-old Chinese, for allegedly killing his company's pregnant accountant the day before.

-- The cost of living is the highest in Hanoi, followed by Quang Ninh Province and Ho Chi Minh City, according to data released on Wednesday by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam. It is cheapest to live in Quang Tri, Tra Vinh, and Ben Tre Provinces.

Lifestyle

-- Conde Nast Traveller has named Vietnam among the 10 cheapest nicest places to visit in Asia in 2023.

-- Vietnam's first-ever Banh Mi Festival commenced at Youth Culture House in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday. Banh mi dishes are scheduled to be served there until April 2.

Business

-- The State Bank of Vietnam has proposed increasing the cap on foreign ownership at joint stock commercial banks that are required to take over underperforming lenders to 49 percent of the former's charter capital from the current 30 percent.

World News

-- "Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House," Reuters reported

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A Chinese director of a company in Binh Duong Province, southern Vietnam has been arrested on suspicion of killing a Vietnamese accountant, who was eight weeks pregnant, at his firm, a local police source said on Thursday. Yang Zhong Wu, 47, of Chinese nationality, was detained on Thursday evening while he was holed up in Pleiku City of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, about 460 kilometers from Binh Duong, according to the source. The victim was L.T.M., 30, an accountant of Vinh Nhuan Co. Ltd., located in Binh Duongs Tan Uyen Town, where Yang is the director. Yangs arrest came one day after Binh Duong police issued a notice to hunt for him after they examined the scene of the killing at Vinh Nhuan. The examination was made as soon as police received a report from the company's staff who found M.'s corpse in the restroom. M. was seen dead with multiple injuries, including a cut on her neck, on the floor of the toilet at around 5:00 pm on Wednesday. A knife tainted with blood was found about two meters from the restroom. Yang was seen driving a pickup truck to leave the company after the killing was discovered, the report said. Local police scrutinized the footage of the companys camera, which recorded what happened between Yang and M. in the office. Accordingly, after talking with each other in an office room, the two people got into a dispute, and M. then knelt in front of the director while their row continued. When M. did not look at him, Yang took out a knife from his body and stabbed her several times. As the woman managed to escape from him and ran toward the toilet nearby, Yang chased her with the knife in his hand. According to the victims relatives, the conflict between Yang and M. arose as the director thought that the company had lost some goods and he insisted that M. had colluded with others to misappropriate the lost items. Some Vinh Nhuan employees told police that they once witnessed some quarrels between Yang and the accountant, who had worked for the firm for nearly two years. M. died when she was eight weeks pregnant, her relatives told police, who have handed over M.s body to her family. The police forces of Binh Duong and Gia Lai coordinated to take Yang back to Binh Duong for an investigation into the murder case. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

A Chinese director of a company in Binh Duong Province, southern Vietnam has been arrested on suspicion of killing a Vietnamese accountant, who was eight weeks pregnant, at his firm, a local police source said on Thursday.

Yang Zhong Wu, 47, of Chinese nationality, was detained on Thursday evening while he was holed up in Pleiku City of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, about 460 kilometers from Binh Duong, according to the source.

The victim was L.T.M., 30, an accountant of Vinh Nhuan Co. Ltd., located in Binh Duongs Tan Uyen Town, where Yang is the director.

Yangs arrest came one day after Binh Duong police issued a notice to hunt for him after they examined the scene of the killing at Vinh Nhuan.

The examination was made as soon as police received a report from the company's staff who found M.'s corpse in the restroom.

M. was seen dead with multiple injuries, including a cut on her neck, on the floor of the toilet at around 5:00 pm on Wednesday.

A knife tainted with blood was found about two meters from the restroom.

Yang was seen driving a pickup truck to leave the company after the killing was discovered, the report said.

Local police scrutinized the footage of the companys camera, which recorded what happened between Yang and M. in the office.

Accordingly, after talking with each other in an office room, the two people got into a dispute, and M. then knelt in front of the director while their row continued.

When M. did not look at him, Yang took out a knife from his body and stabbed her several times.

As the woman managed to escape from him and ran toward the toilet nearby, Yang chased her with the knife in his hand.

According to the victims relatives, the conflict between Yang and M. arose as the director thought that the company had lost some goods and he insisted that M. had colluded with others to misappropriate the lost items.

Some Vinh Nhuan employees told police that they once witnessed some quarrels between Yang and the accountant, who had worked for the firm for nearly two years.

M. died when she was eight weeks pregnant, her relatives told police, who have handed over M.s body to her family.

The police forces of Binh Duong and Gia Lai coordinated to take Yang back to Binh Duong for an investigation into the murder case.

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Vietnam is one of the 10 cheapest places to travel in Asia in 2023, according to the famous international travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller. Vietnam has many beautiful landscapes such as terraced fields, pagodas, and about 3,000 kilometers of tropical coastline, the magazine wrote. An impressive array of bars and restaurants lend visitors a taste of local food and culture. The Southeast Asian country also has majestic karst mountains with their caves, sinkholes, and water bodies snaking through valleys, which must be witnessed in person. In addition to Vietnam, Conde Nast Traveller's list of the cheapest destinations in Asia also includes countries such as Laos and Cambodia. Laos has beautiful landscapes like Si Phan Don Islands and the ancient capital of Luang Prabang, while Cambodia is home to beautiful beaches and one of the most impressive structures in the world  the Angkor Wat. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Vietnam is one of the 10 cheapest places to travel in Asia in 2023, according to the famous international travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller.

Vietnam has many beautiful landscapes such as terraced fields, pagodas, and about 3,000 kilometers of tropical coastline, the magazine wrote.

An impressive array of bars and restaurants lend visitors a taste of local food and culture.

The Southeast Asian country also has majestic karst mountains with their caves, sinkholes, and water bodies snaking through valleys, which must be witnessed in person.

In addition to Vietnam, Conde Nast Traveller's list of the cheapest destinations in Asia also includes countries such as Laos and Cambodia.

Laos has beautiful landscapes like Si Phan Don Islands and the ancient capital of Luang Prabang, while Cambodia is home to beautiful beaches and one of the most impressive structures in the world  the Angkor Wat.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
On Sundays 60 Minutes, stories of gender indentity and questions around a possible miscarriage of justice.

Maybe Theybe

Its not at all unusual, in fact its often quite lovely when new parents coo that their baby is the cutest and cleverest one ever born. But early in their lives do small children have big enough brains to make the biggest decisions? Like whether theyre a boy or a girl? A growing group of mums and dads think they do and are embracing what is known as gender creative parenting. The parents are deliberately keeping the sex of their babies top secret because they say the children themselves should be free to decide who they are. And as Amelia Adams discovers, that means the little ones are being raised not as baby boys or baby girls, but as theybies.

Reporter: Amelia Adams

Producers: Tracey Hannaford, Sammi Taylor

The Body in the Suitcase

In a London courtroom late last year, 38-year-old Jemma Mitchell from Melbourne was found guilty of a despicable crime. She murdered her friend, Mee Kuen Chong, chopped up her body, stuffed it into a suitcase and dumped it near a remote English beach. The evidence against the Australian was overwhelming. Multiple CCTV cameras showed Mitchell wheeling the suitcase around London. But theres now a twist. Mitchells mother claims her daughter is innocent and that a terrible miscarriage of justice has occurred. In an extraordinary interview with Tom Steinfort, Hilary Collard says she knows the truth because she saw what was really packed into the suitcase.

Reporter: Tom Steinfort

Producers: Sheree Gibson, Shellie Doyle

8:45pm Sunday on Nine.
Mondays Australian Story profiles a mothr & son who helped rescue children and staff from orphanages in Afghanistan.

When the Taliban took back power in Afghanistan in 2021, a mother and son in suburban Sydney embarked on an audacious and improbable rescue.

Mahboba Rawi and her son, Sourosh Cina, were desperate to evacuate children and staff from the orphanages they founded in Afghanistan. They were certain their association with Australia and their advocacy of womens rights would make them a target of the Taliban.

Mahboba is one of the single most tenacious forces of nature that I have ever met, says lawyer Sarah Dale, who helped them lobby the Australian government for emergency visas. She is unstoppable and it is impossible not to see that in Sourosh.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into, says 26-year-old Sourosh. All I knew is Ive got to get these people out.

Australian Story was on the spot to record dramatic scenes in the familys loungeroom, as the pairs rescue attempts foundered at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Finally, more than a year after the Taliban victory, they managed to get almost 100 children and carers across the border into Pakistan and then on to new lives in Australia.

We have an incredible capacity to make an impact on the world around us, says Sourosh. If responsibility comes to your doorstep, you have to take it.

Producers: Olivia Rousset and Greg Hassall.

8pm Monday on ABC.
Design and architecture streeaming platform Shelter charts the influence of Robin Boyds fascination with post-war Japanese architecture and how it would inspire a number of younger Australian architects through the 1960s and 70s.

The Proposal

(83 mins) USA 2019

3 April

Known as the artist among architects, Pritzker Prize-winning Mexican architect Luis Barragan is among the worlds most celebrated architects of the 20th century. Upon his death in 1988, much of his work was locked away in a Swiss bunker, hidden from the worlds view, aggressively protected and kept from the public by its copyright holders. In an attempt to resurrect Barragans life and art, boundary redefining artist Jill Magid creates a daring proposition that becomes a fascinating artwork in itself  a high-wire act of negotiation that explores how far an artist will go to democratise access to art. By cultivating relationships with Barragans family, admirers, institutions, and the rights holders  including extensive correspondence with the director of the Barragan Foundation  Magid consequently constructs a thoughtful love story between the director, herself, and the architect. The Proposal is a startling, provocative work that forces the viewer into reckoning with how an artists story is told; and who is permitted to do the telling.

New Directions

(38 mins) Australia 2016

10 April

During his numerous visits to Japan in the 1950s, renowned Australian architect Robin Boyd became fascinated with post-war Japanese architecture. Convinced he had seen the architecture of the future from architects such as Kenzo Tange, Boyd became determined to introduce and implement these learnings to the West, via his essays and books. New Directions charts the influence of Boyds discoveries; and how it would inspire a number of younger Australian architects through the 1960s and 70s to incorporate aspects of Japanese Modernism into their subsequent work.

Softness: Designing a City

(42 mins) Italy 2022

17 April

When designing a city, softness is rarely the first theme in peoples thoughts. Yet for Italian company i-Mesh, a focus on soft architecture is a forward-thinking strategy to combat the future challenges of urban spaces in a post-pandemic world; and to redesign cities with a focus on quality of life and environmental protection. Softness explores the unique i-Mesh material and technology, which is seeking to revolutionise architectural design with its lightness, transparency, resistance, flexibility, and sustainability. Through the use of soft materials, designers are looking to respond to the continuous needs of transforming spaces using adaptive, temporary, transportable systems while contrasting the effects of urban heat. Featuring discussions with architects, designers, and philosophers such as Kengo Kuma, Gabriele Mastrigli, Ico Migliore, Werner Sobek, Benedetta Tagliabue, Edoardo Tresoldi; who pose radical questions about the meaning of design and living today, this documentary investigates a new model and a new way of looking at the culture of design. Soft is a vision of the world, a light and circular gaze, impermanent, gentle, systemic. Softness is an interweaving of stories and threads.

Mies van der Rohe: The Houses of Lange & Esters

(26 mins) Germany 2010

24 April

In 1920s Germany textile industry magnate Hermann Lange commissioned avant-garde architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to design two revolutionary residential villas on the outskirts of Krefeld. Open buildings, with glass facades and floating spaces inside, these two villas marked a key point in the modernist architecture movement. However, not all of Mies van der Rohes cutting-edge ideas were accepted by the client, and compromises would have to be made. Today, both of the houses are now world-renowned museums; where art meets architecture. Through interviews with Langes great-granddaughter and the director of Art Museums in Krefeld, this short documentary unpacks these two houses that began the open concept style of living. These are the most important buildings between tradition and modernity that have been created in this period.

Amended.
Veteran Radio and TV host Uncle Doug Mulray, has died, aged 71.

He passed away in a Sydney hospital on Thursday.

Mulray had been unwell for some time, last reported as being hospitalised with a chronic illness in December.

Known for his outrageous humour, Mulrays glory days in radio were on Sydney radio in the 80s and 90s. Amongst his radio gigs were 2AD, 2GO, 3AW, 2JJ, 2SM, 2WS and most notably at TripleM,

There were also dalliances in television hosting Mulray, which ran briefly in the early 1990s, hosting Beauty and the Beast, judging Starstruck, plus motorsports commentary.

But it was his infamous Australias Naughtiest Home Videos for which his TV appearances is unforgettable. With clips of fornicating animals, after just 34 minutes, Nine magnate Kerry Packer rang the station to order Get that shit off the air!

After a long commercial break and series of promos, it was replaced by an episode of Cheers.

Veteran Nine staffer Richard Lyle once told TV Tonight about the red hotline phone that kept staff on alert.

The first thing you were told, If that phone rings, somebody has to answer it within three rings! he said.

If he had the slightest complaint, it was escalated if the phone hadnt been picked up within the first three rings.

Lyle credited the calmness of Nines Helen Cashman who took the call.

To her credit, she always said he was perfectly polite on the phone. He just wanted it gone. She said The next day I got the most enormous bouquet of flowers Ive ever seen in my life!

I am the first man in Australian history to be pulled off by Kerry Packer, Mulray later declared.

The episode would eventually run in 2008 as a special when it was found in the Nine archives, with an introduction by Bert Newton.
Raven roosts shrouded in mystery

Photo by Ned Rozell

Sunset falls over an Interior Alaska landscape into which hundreds of ravens flew recently.

Last week, while getting ready to climb into a bunk, I heard the yell of a raven outside. And then another, and a few more. I pulled on my boots.

Outside, a steady stream of black bodies glided overhead, many of them swooping down to check me out. Their wings pushed the air in soft puffs as they continued past, 20 feet above the tops of wiry black spruce trees.

As the sun set and the sky dimmed, the birds kept coming. At first, they looked like bats against the purple of the sky. Then they got closer, larger and chattier, some in groups of fives or sixes.

It was hard to comprehend this river of life above a winter landscape that felt so dead minutes before.

I started counting. Shivering too. I went back inside the cabin when I hit 129 ravens. Inside, I heard more talking as birds continued to pass overhead.

The ravens, coming from the direction of Fairbanks more than 30 miles away, were probably headed to a communal roosting site for the night. In this case, that gathering place might have been the spruce hillside behind the cabin, farther than I could see. I imagined a group of trees decorated with black ornaments.

Scientists in Fairbanks, in Anchorage and outside Alaska have studied raven roosts. They have wondered why the birds gather together at night, sometimes in urban areas and other times in wild ones far from people.

In the 1990s, Bernd Heinrich and John and Colleen Marzluff  all then at the University of Vermont  climbed trees in Maine before sunset to watch ravens roosting in groves of eastern white pine trees. After much watching and a little experimentation, they came up with the theory that the nighttime resting areas were information centers, where ravens shared news about recently fallen deer carcasses. They came to that conclusion by capturing ravens and then releasing them near new food sources the scientists had dragged out on the landscape.

Photo by Ned Rozell

A raven scans the horizon. Ravens are one of several animals known to gather together when resting at night.

The most dramatic case was the bird that returned with roost-mates on the day after discovery, the scientists wrote in a 1996 paper. We had released the radio-tagged bird at a pile of meat two hours before sunset. It remained near the food, but did not feed.

As night fell, that raven then joined a roost in a pine grove a few kilometers away.

Before dawn the following morning 30 ravens arrived . . ., flying directly from the nearby roost. The radio-tagged bird was among the first five to arrive.

With that and other observations, the scientists seemed to prove that ravens in the wild share news, but what about ravens that commute every winter day to and from Alaska cities?

Biologist Rod King once tracked Fairbanks ravens to a roost that was a similar distance from Fairbanks to the one I was near recently. He couldnt say why an animal so adapted to people and our excess food would fly 40 miles from the city every winter evening, only to end up back at Burger King the next morning.

In recent years, people have also seen ravens roosting on manmade structures  such as on the block letters above storefronts in Fairbanks.

Photo by Doug Yates

Ravens roost for the night on the letters of a grocery store in Fairbanks.

Its a great place, with a direct line to the landfill and McDonalds, Susan Sharbaugh, a former biologist with the Alaska Bird Observatory, said in 2011 of an urban roost. If you can knock out a commute to the Goldstream Valley or Chena Hot Springs Road, why not? Energetically it makes all the sense in the world.

Why then, are hundreds of Fairbanks ravens now commuting to a quiet patch of woods so far from their chief benefactors? Its one of those things that scientists just dont know.

We need to have a few of these mysteries, King once said.

Since the late 1970s, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute.
Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said the UK joining a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc is about the potential for growth tomorrow as she downplayed estimates suggesting the deal would boost the economy by just 0.08%.

The UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was formally confirmed in a call between Ms Badenoch and counterparts from the group in the early hours of Friday.

It represents Britains biggest trade deal since leaving the EU, cutting tariffs for UK exporters to a group of nations which  with Britains membership  will have a total gross domestic product (GDP) of 11 trillion, accounting for 15% of global GDP, according to UK officials.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it will help us unlock the benefits of Brexit for people across the UK.

Critics say the impact will be limited, with official estimates suggesting it will add just 1.8 billion a year to the economy after 10 years, representing less than 1% of UK GDP.

But Ms Badenoch noted that forecast was based on 2014 figures, and highlighted the deals future potential.

She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Think of it like us buying a start-up. Its not about what its doing today, but about the potential for growth tomorrow.

And the CPTPP countries have over 500 million people at the moment, and were starting trade relationship with them thats going to go into the future for many decades and deliver a lot of growth to the UK.

It was put to the Cabinet minister that the CPTPP would not offset the losses from leaving the EU, with the Office for Budget Responsibility suggesting Brexit would reduce the UKs potential economic growth by about 4% in the long term.

Ms Badenoch replied that the CPTPP is in addition to the UKs free trade agreement with the EU, adding: Weve left the EU so we need to look at what to do in order to grow that UK economy and not keep talking about a vote from seven years ago.

Story continues

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the UKs accession to the bloc, but cautioned the net contribution to the economy would be small as he called for a closer relationship with the EU.

The Labour leader told broadcasters during a visit to Plymouth: I do think its an important trade deal, but the yield is very small. Hopefully that will grow over time.

But the rule in trade is that youre more likely to trade with your nearer neighbours more and more often, so we do need that improved, that better trading relationship with the EU alongside any other trade deals that we sign.

Britain is the first new member, and first European nation, to join the bloc  comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam  since its formation in 2018.

It follows nearly two years of negotiations, culminating in intensive talks in Vietnam earlier this month, when representatives of the 11 existing members agreed to the UK joining.

More trade, lower tariffs, a growing economy. This is what we can achieve when we unleash the benefits of Brexit. pic.twitter.com/0PtcxuUA3Q  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) March 31, 2023

While Britain already has trade agreements with the CPTPP members apart from Malaysia and Brunei, officials said it would deepen existing arrangements, with 99% of UK goods exported to the bloc now eligible for zero tariffs.

Ms Badenoch, an avowed Brexiteer, told Sky News: The bilateral trade deals are different from the multilateral trade deal, you create synergies.

Its the first time weve joined a bloc like this in about 50 years. There is strength in numbers.

Labour said it was essential to ensure that UK safeguards on consumer safety, food safety, data protection and environmental protections were not compromised as a result of the agreement.

Key UK exports to the region, including cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky, will be among those to benefit, while officials said the services industry would enjoy reduced red tape and increased market access.

They added that vital UK sectors, including agriculture and the NHS, will be protected, while animal welfare and food safety standards will be maintained.

Reduced tariffs on Malaysian palm oil, a product blamed for widespread deforestation, have caused concerns of more nature destruction.

But Ms Badenoch said: Moving the tariff from 2% to 0% is not whats going to cause deforestation. And actually, the standards which are set by this Government, by the Department for the Environment, is whats going to dictate what comes into the country.

But also, being in the trade bloc means that were going to have more influence on sustainability.

The deal represents a continuation of the post-Brexit policy tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region initiated by Boris Johnson.

Former prime minister Liz Truss tweeted: As Trade Sec, I made our application to join #CPTPP two years ago. Im delighted negotiations are complete, deepening UK access to some of the worlds fastest-growing economies: #GlobalBritain in action and an important counterweight to those who seek to undermine our values.

Her predecessor Boris Johnson joined in the plaudits.

Im proud that the UK will be the first European country to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. This is free trading global Britain in action, he tweeted.

In a video posted to social media to promote the pact, Mr Sunak said: Thats an amazing opportunity for British businesses to trade with new markets on the international stage and a huge boost for growth in our economy back home, creating lots and lots of jobs.

The CBI welcomed the agreement as a milestone for British industry, reinforcing the UKs commitment to building partnerships in an increasingly fragmented world.
By Marcela Ayres

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Fresh competition in Brazil's lucrative meal voucher market must wait, according to people familiar with discussions between the Finance Ministry and central bank, which disagree about how to regulate a new system in time for its scheduled launch in May.

A law passed in September under former President Jair Bolsonaro allows workers to move their meal credit between providers and spend it at any participating restaurant. But under new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, government efforts to regulate such a "portable" and "interoperable" system have stalled. Tech companies including the financial services arm of Mercado Libre and meal delivery company iFood expect the rules to let them take a bigger bite of a nearly 150 billion reais ($29 billion) market dominated by a handful of companies. More competitive options for tens of millions of Brazilians spending their employer-provided meal vouchers may dent profit margins for Sodexo and Edenred subsidiary Ticket. Sodexo got 26% of its operating revenue from Brazil last year and Edenred got 22%, according to investor presentations. The Finance Ministry says the central bank has jurisdiction to regulate payment systems, but sources said the central bank resisted early proposals to shake up the market and sought to keep its hands off the segment.

The bank's staff believes the voucher market presents no systemic risk. The bank has also said transferring voucher credits could actually hurt competition, creating new barriers to entry by requiring substantial investments in operations, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

A third source said the central bank has flagged a lack of personnel and resources for the new regulatory task, after a strike disrupted the institution last year, delaying economic data releases and high-priority projects. The standoff has added to already high tensions between the Finance Ministry and central bank, the sources said on condition of anonymity. The two institutions have also traded barbs over fiscal and monetary policy.

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The central bank declined to comment on its reported resistance to regulating the market. The Finance Ministry did not respond to questions about the matter.

TAX INCENTIVES

Since 1976, Brazilian companies have received tax benefits for covering the cost of their workers' food. The result is a widespread meal voucher system dominated by Sodexo and Edenred, along with privately held rivals Alelo and VR, all of whom also manage other employee benefits.

In 2021, Bolsonaro sought to open the market with a decree reducing incumbent advantages. Congress backed his proposal with a law in September, and the Labor Ministry set up a task force in December to issue regulations.

But Lula's Labor Ministry disbanded that task force after he took office in January. The ministry told Reuters such regulation "goes beyond its competencies," and should be handled by the Finance Ministry and the central bank.

iFood's Director of Public Policies Joao Sabino said the lack of public hearings or government action is "worrying." The portability of voucher credits, which should begin in May under the law, requires extensive regulations to set up a clearing house. He said that timeline now seems unrealistic.

"This market opening will only work if portability is established," said Fernanda Laranja, senior manager of public policy at Mercado Pago, a unit of Mercado Libre. "Otherwise ... the companies that hold 85% to 90% of the market will continue to be in power."

Those incumbent advantages allow major players to charge around 7% in interchange fees for restaurants accepting their meal cards, compared to an average 2% for credit cards and less than 1% for debit cards.

Sodexo, Edenred, Alelo and VR declined to comment, referring questions to the Brazilian Association of Worker Benefits Companies (ABBT).

ABBT President Alaor Aguirre said it was "completely unfeasible and impossible" for the sector to meet deadlines established in the 2022 law.

He said ABTT supports a single "interoperable" network for all accredited players, but the necessary technological integration has not yet started.

Aguirre said the push for a portable system letting workers move their credit between providers would be a "big mistake," hiking costs and inviting new entrants with no concern for nutritional quality or expanding the network of accredited restaurants.

(Reporting by Marcela AyresEditing by Brad Haynes and David Gregorio)
Turkeys parliament on Thursday ratified Finlands application to join NATO, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the Nordic countrys long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance.

All 276 lawmakers present voted in favour of Finlands bid, days after Hungarys parliament also endorsed Helsinkis accession.

This will make the whole NATO family stronger & safer, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter in welcoming Turkey's action.

Alarmed by Russias invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Finland and Sweden abandoned their decades-long policy of nonalignment and applied to join the alliance.

Full unanimity is required to admit new members into the 30-member alliance, and Turkey and Hungary were the last two NATO members to ratify Finlands accession.

Swedens bid to join the alliance, meanwhile, has been left hanging, with both Turkey and Hungary holding out on giving it the green light despite expressing support for NATOs expansion.

Turkeys government accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups it deems to be terrorist organizations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.

More recently, Turkey was angered by a series of demonstrations in Sweden, including a protest by an anti-Islam activist who burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy.

(AP)



Read more on FRANCE 24 English



Read also:

Hungarian parliament approves Finland's NATO membership bid

Finland edges closer to joining NATO, setting deadline for co-applicant Sweden

Fighter jets, quakes, NATO stakes: Are US-Turkish ties on a reset?
The 2023 publication outlines the latest updates to Delawares corporation laws and annual taxes

NEW YORK, March 30, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wolters Kluwer CT Corporation has published the 2023 edition of its popular reference guide "Delawares Business Entity Laws," which offers an in-depth examination of the statutes governing corporations and LLCs as they navigate their approach to forming, fees, stockholders, mergers and other challenges in the state.

U.S. business can choose any state to form, but many Fortune 500 and other publicly traded companies gravitate towards Delaware for its modern entity laws and advantageous court system. CT Corporations 2023 reference book outlines additional benefits to corporations and LLCs considering Delaware as a formation state, as well as the most recent updates to Delawares General Corporation Law, annual taxes, and Limited Liability Company Act.

For legal professionals seeking additional insights into pending and future legislation that could impact business entities incorporated in Delaware, CT Corporation has made its "2023 Delaware Update" webinar available on demand. The webinar is hosted by two of the companys incorporation experts - Alan Stachura, Senior Manager of Government Relations, and Dan Lias, Transactional Business Consultant.

For nearly 130 years, Wolters Kluwer CT Corporation has been the leading provider of registered agent services, incorporation services, and legal entity compliance. It is part of Wolters Kluwers Financial & Corporate Compliance division and has a global reach into over 150 countries. More than 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies, 95 percent of AmLaw 100 law firms, and 350,000 small businesses trust CT Corporation to handle their compliance needs.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information, software, and services for professionals in healthcare, tax and accounting, financial and corporate compliance, legal and regulatory, and corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services.

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Wolters Kluwer reported 2022 annual revenues of 5.5 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230330005166/en/

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Stretching high into the sky, the barrier between communities around the republican Falls Road and loyalist Shankill Road is the most imposing example of Belfast's so-called peace walls.

Built in 1968 by the British army to separate the pro-Ireland republicans from pro-UK loyalists at the outset of decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, the 14-metre (46-foot) metal structure still standing today is covered in graffiti.

And the wall, an enduring symbol of the divisions that have continued to plague the province despite the end of the conflict in 1998, has become a sombre tourist attraction.

"I didn't realise there were so many walls still standing, definitely not 25 years later," Lori Castillo, an American tourist, told AFP as she smiled and signed her name on the wall.

The wall is one of 75 in Belfast, which collectively stretch eight miles (13 kilometres) in length.

In 2013, Northern Ireland's devolved government set itself a 10-year deadline to tear down the walls.

But the goal, opposed by residents who say they still need the physical and psychological protection given by the barriers, remains far out of reach.

"They are still a safety mechanism for people," said Ian Shanks, head of Action for Community Transformation, which works to reintegrate former loyalist paramilitary fighters.

Michael Culbert, an ex-paramilitary member imprisoned for 16 years for killing British soldiers who now helps rehabilitate former republican prisoners while offering tours of west Belfast, noted there "could be lots of reasons" for their perceived need.

"They don't maybe trust the peace process," said the former member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

- 'My enemy' -

According to Rob McCallum, a Catholic association leader in an area of north Belfast where the two communities interface, there was "never a plan in place" to remove the walls.

His job is to try to build mutual trust, he explained, because in a segregated community, "you may grow up thinking all the people on the other side are my enemy."

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In Belfast's modern centre, loyalist Protestant and republican Catholic communities mix freely.

But in a patchwork of working-class areas across the city, communities can live side by side but completely segregated.

Streets meet an abrupt end where they run into one of the barriers.

Gates are opened within their structures to allow movement during the day, but close at fixed times in the evening until early morning.

And while families that have lived with the walls for generations pay them little notice, they inevitably impede mobility.

"If something happens, say after nine o'clock, you can't just get through the other community to the hospital," criminal justice expert Jonny Byrne said.

"You have to travel the whole way around."

According to Byrne, the walls have become "magnets for violence and social disorder".

In April 2021, they served as flashpoints in Belfast for clashes between the communities as tensions over post-Brexit trade rules boiled over.

"Particularly young people, if they're looking to engage in what we've often called recreational rioting, they will come to points here where they can get a reaction from (the) other community," Byrne said.

- 'Twin track' -

McCallum explained that while some want the walls dismantled, others remain stuck psychologically "20 or 30 years ago, depending on the impact that the troubles had on them".

Failure to remove the walls is a legacy of "missed opportunities", Byrne said.

"The communities where the walls exist are some of the most socially deprived in Northern Ireland. They have been the most affected by the conflict and yet they haven't seen some of the big benefits," he added.

The Ulster University expert said the lack of real benefit since 1998 to working-class communities compared to the rest of society had created a "twin-track peace process".

In Belfast, 97 percent of social housing remains segregated along community lines.

Shanks said pro-UK unionists had not "reaped benefits from the Good Friday Agreement" of 1998.

"We were told... local communities would thrive, major investment would be put into them and we'd have this great kind of loop and sadly that hasn't materialised," he said.

Many unionists, he explained, would not be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the peace agreement and many from the community who voted for it then would not vote for it now -- "and that would be very worrying".

acc/csp/jj/imm/mca
Clermont wing Damian Penaud Credit: Alamy

Damian Penaud scored two tries as Clermont claimed an impressive 33-26 win at Bristol in their Challenge Cup round-of-16 tie on Friday.

The France international was joined on the score-sheet by Tomas Lavanini and George Moala while Anthony Belleau kicked 13 points for Les Jaunards.

Harry Randall and Semi Radradra crossed for the Bears in the first half, with AJ MacGinty adding the remainder of their points, as the hosts lost out.

Lavanini would burrow over from close range in the 23rd minute before Penaud showed his class as he raced in four minutes later to extend the lead.

However, Bristol hit back with two tries of their own before the interval as Randall crossed before an injured Radradra limped over as Bristol led 20-17.

But Clermont werent done and a score before the interval from Moala made sure it was the visitors who went into the break with their noses in front.

Bristols only points in the second period came via the boot of MacGinty so when Penaud dotted down after chasing what seemed like a lost cause on 70 minutes, the lead was 10 points and Clermont had done enough to book their place in the quarter-finals.

Vaea Fifita magic helps Scarlets beat Brive

Elsewhere, Scarlets booked a quarter-final date with Clermont thanks to a wonderful solo try from Vaea Fifita as they beat Brive 19-7 at Parc y Scarlets.

The Welsh region led 9-0 at the break thanks to three Sam Costelow penalties but the Challenge Cup knockout game would come alive after the break.

First it was Brive fly-half Stuart Olding who showed decent pace and composure to cross from distance, his conversion narrowing the gap to two points.

But that sparked the Scarlets into life as Fifita demonstrated once again what a special talent he is as he sprinted past defenders to cross on 51 minutes.

Aaron Shinglers try on 78 minutes would put the seal on his sides victory as a home date with Clermont now awaits in next weeks quarter-final match.

READ MORE: Challenge Cup: Manu Tuilagi starts as Sale face stacked Cardiff outfit, internationals return for Connacht and Glasgow

The article Challenge Cup: Damian Penaud double sees Clermont past Bristol Bears while Scarlets get better of Brive appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
Barbara Stuart, Margaret Cooper, Evelyn Hassard, Michele Kennedy and Maeve Ferguson.

A special event took place at the Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen last Saturday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the awarding of Soroptimist Internationals charter, in 1963, to the newly-formed Enniskillen and District club.

A worldwide organisation, Soroptimist International (SI) membership works to improve the lives and status of women and girls everywhere through education, empowerment or enabling opportunities.

The lunch had been preceded by a regional meeting, wherein members of clubs from throughout Northern Ireland (NI) met to discuss a wide range of business matters and was chaired by NI Regional President, Barbara Carlisle.

Members of these other clubs were then able to join Enniskillen club members, and some also from Republic of Ireland clubs, at a drinks reception followed by lunch in the Kove Restaurant.

More than 60 SI members sat down at tables bedecked with posies of flowers in the yellow and blue Soroptimist colours and received a warm greeting from Enniskillen Co-President, Evelyn Hassard.

President Elect Lorna Dane acted as MC and kept proceedings flowing smoothly.

The happiness of rekindling old friendships and making new ones was tinged with sadness as tributes were paid to the memory of Sue Hogg, who recently passed away.

Sue, a longstanding, much-loved and vibrant contributor to the work of the Enniskillen club, will be much missed.

NI President Barbara paid tribute to the club and its achievements and reminded everybody of some of the more noteworthy happenings of 1963, the year of the then newly-formed Enniskillen and District club, including the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Profumo Affair, the harshest winter since 1947, and The Great Train Robbery.

After lunch, a magnificent cake was cut by two of the clubs founding members, Freda Carson and Lena Corrigan, both of whom thoroughly enjoyed all the conviviality.

Catherine Scott, Learning and Development Officer with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, gave a fascinating presentation on workhouses in Ireland, with a particular focus on the recently restored and reopened Enniskillen Workhouse.

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Long Service Awards were then presented by Regional President Barbara, after which Co-President Joanna McVey rounded off the celebrations with thanks to all who attended, and to the hard-working organising committee: Philomena Cleary, Hazel Allen, Jennifer Scott, Lorna Dane, Margaret Read and Michele Kennedy.

Thanks also to Rev. Isobel Nixon for saying the Soroptimist Grace before lunch.

The impressive collection of memorabilia on display was testament to a happy and productive club which has contributed positively to Soroptimisms goals over the years.

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Major General Matthew Holmes (LPhot Joe Cater/PA) (PA Media)

A former head of the Royal Marines committed suicide after losing his job and his marriage fell apart, an inquest heard.

Major General Matthew Holmes, 54, was living through substantial stress before being found dead in a bedroom at his home in Winchester, Hampshire, on October 2 2021.

The hearing was told that in the months before his death Maj Gen Holmes had lost his position as leader of the Royal Marines in a management restructuring, faced the collapse of his marriage, and had been left angry at the UKs withdrawal from Afghanistan.

During the inquest, his widow Lea gave evidence.

Maj Gen Matthew Holmes, pictured in 2007 (PA) (PA Wire)

She said that Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Jerry Kydd had told Maj Gen Holmes to agree to the restructuring, in which he would lose his role, or resign.

He was told he had to sign or agree to resign, she said, adding that her husband found the experience hugely humiliating.

She told the inquest they had taken a family holiday in August 2021, which coincided with the British and American withdrawal from Afghanistan.

This holiday was worse than any other family holiday, and there was the Afghanistan withdrawal, he was very preoccupied with that.

He was getting messages from really distressed people and trying to do something about that.

We decided to leave the holiday slightly early. On the last morning Matt said to me, thats it were done.

Once they came back home, she said Maj Gen Holmes became reluctant to discuss their separation.

Then in September 14 2021, weeks before he died, she found him sitting on their bed with a shotgun beside him.

I said, what do you think you are doing?, she told the hearing.

He said something along the lines of, 'my life is not worth living without my family'

Maj Gen Holmes' widow Lea

I was concerned that he was in this way and I was also concerned that our daughter was in the next room.

He said something along the lines of, my life is not worth living without my family.

The inquest was told that Hampshire Constabulary officers visited the home on September 22 to remove the shotgun.

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Maj Gen Holmes sister, Sarah Adkins, said this prompted a conversation among the family about his mental health.

He said he did not think it was necessary that the gun was removed as he wasnt a threat to anyone else, she said.

She said she asked him if he felt like killing himself, and he told her: Why shouldnt I?

She said she mentioned his children to him.

He deeply loved his children, she said.

He said the main thing that was on the front burner of his mind was the way in which his career had been brought to conclusion.

He made some very close personal friends with senior Afghan officers. He feared for their lives and the lives of their families. He felt that somehow he had personally failed them by failing to help get them out

Jonathan Ball

She added that her brother was awash with stress in the final months of his life.

Jonathan Ball, chief executive of the Royal Marines Association, spoke to him in the weeks before his death.

He told the inquest that Maj Gen Holmes feared for the lives of close personal friends in the Afghan army who had been left behind.

He made some very close personal friends with senior Afghan officers, he said. He knew that they were unlikely to be able to get out.

He feared for their lives and the lives of their families. He felt that somehow he had personally failed them by failing to help get them out.

Coroner Jason Pegg concluded that Maj Gen Holmes died of suicide.

He added: Matthew Holmes was suffering from substantial stress which contributed to his death.

Maj Gen Holmes, who served in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, was Commandant General Royal Marines from 2019 until April 2021.

He commanded 42 Commando Royal Marines from 2006 to 2008 and was appointed as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership on operations in Afghanistan in 2007.

He was made a CBE in 2019 and was a pallbearer at the Duke of Edinburghs funeral in April 2021 during the procession to the steps of St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle.

In a statement, Ms Holmes paid tribute to her kind and generous husband.

Matt was a kind, generous man, she said.

He had committed his life to serving in the Royal Marines and he took immense responsibility for the lives of those he served alongside very seriously. Not a day would go by without him thinking of the men under his command who were lost or injured, and of course their families.

Alongside the demands of his career, Matt was a loving father who adored his children and would have hugely admired their resilience over the last 18 months.

She asked for privacy for her family at this time.
Finland has moved a step closer to becoming a NATO member after Turkey's parliament ratified its accession to the alliance.

Turkey was the last of NATO's 30 members to accept Finland's application, which was submitted in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in March that Finland had secured Turkey's blessing after taking concrete steps to keep promises to crack down on groups seen by Ankara as terrorists, and to free up defence exports.

However, Turkey is still blocking the approval of Sweden joining NATO, with the government saying Stockholm has so far failed to sufficiently crackdown on similar groups.

Finland and Sweden asked to join the transatlantic military alliance last year in response to President Vladimir Putin's war.

Finland's membership would represent the first enlargement since North Macedonia joined the alliance in 2020.

Turkey has repeatedly said Sweden needed to take additional steps against supporters of Kurdish militants and

members of the network it holds responsible for a 2016 coup attempt.

Ankara treats both groups as terrorist organisations.

Read more:

Finland starts construction of Russia border fence as lawmakers

Finland and Sweden formally submit applications to join NATO

RAF to conduct joint NATO air policing missions with German Air Force in Estonia

Talks between Sweden and Turkey have made little progress, especially following several disputes mainly over street

protests by pro-Kurdish groups in Stockholm.

"Finland stands with Sweden now and in the future and supports its application," Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said soon after the Turkish vote.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he had urged Turkey and Hungary to ratify both applications. A vote on Sweden's bid has not yet been scheduled in Hungary.

What happens next?

Hungary and Turkey will dispatch acceptance letters to the US which is the depositary - or safekeeper - of NATO under the alliance's 1949 founding treaty.

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The letters will be filed in the archives of the US State Department which will immediately notify Mr Stoltenberg that the conditions for inviting Finland to become a NATO member have been met.

NATO will then send Finland an invitation signed by Mr Stoltenberg to join the alliance.

The Nordic nation next sends its own acceptance document, signed by Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, to the US State Department.

Mr Haavisto was authorised to sign the document by President Sauli Niinisto.

Either the Finnish Embassy in Washington or a Finnish government official will deliver the document.

Once Finland's acceptance document reaches the State Department in Washington, the country officially becomes a full member of NATO.
The former head of the Royal Marines died by suicide after experiencing "substantial stress", an inquest has concluded.

Major General Matthew Holmes was found dead in Winchester, Hampshire, on 2 October 2021.

The inquest heard that in the months before his death, Major General Holmes had lost his position as leader of the Royal Marines as part of a restructuring, faced the collapse of his marriage, and had been left "angry" at the UK's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, and was a pallbearer at Prince Philip's funeral in 2021.

Giving evidence, his widow Lea said he was told to agree to the restructuring in which he would lose his role, or resign.

She said her husband "was told he had to sign or agree to resign", adding he found the experience "hugely humiliating".

She explained the family had taken a holiday in August 2021, coinciding with the British and American withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"This holiday was worse than any other family holiday, and there was the Afghanistan withdrawal - he was very preoccupied with that," she told the inquest.

"He was getting messages from really distressed people and trying to do something about that.

"We decided to leave the holiday slightly early. On the last morning Matt said to me, 'that's it, we're done'."

On their return, she said her husband became reluctant to discuss their separation.

Shotgun incident

The inquest heard that weeks before he died, Hampshire police took away a shotgun from his home, which, according to Major General Holmes' sister, prompted his family to discuss his mental health.

"He said he did not think it was necessary that the gun was removed as he wasn't a threat to anyone else," Sarah Adkins said.

"He deeply loved his children," she added.

"He said the main thing that was on the front burner of his mind was the way in which his career had been brought to conclusion."

Story continues

She said her brother was "awash with stress" in the final months of his life.

'He felt he had personally failed them'

Jonathan Ball, chief executive of the Royal Marines Association, told the inquest he spoke to Major General Holmes in the weeks before his death.

He said the former Royal Marines chief had feared for the "close personal friends" in the Afghan army who had been left behind following the withdrawal.

"He felt that somehow he had personally failed them by failing to help get them out," said Mr Ball.

Read more:

Tributes paid to former head of Royal Marines

Coroner Jason Pegg concluded that Major General Holmes died by suicide, adding: "Matthew Holmes was suffering from substantial stress which contributed to his death."

Major General Holmes commanded 42 Commando Royal Marines from 2006 to 2008 and was appointed as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership on operations in Afghanistan in 2007.

From 2019 to 2021 he was Commandant General Royal Marines and he was made a CBE in 2019.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
A Greek railroad inspector was charged and remanded in custody on Friday more than a month after the train disaster that killed 57 people in central Greece and shocked the country.

This inspector of station managers who were on duty at the time of the accident was charged with "disruption of traffic safety" causing the death of many people and "negligent homicide", according to the same source.

Dimitris Nikolaou is the second person to be detained in this case. He faces a sentence ranging from ten years to life in prison.

Vassilis Samaras, the station manager on duty at the time of the accident is also in custody. He had admitted his responsibility for the head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train in Tempe, near the city of Larissa.

Without any warning, the two trains travelled for several kilometres on the same track before colliding head-on, causing a fire and the destruction of two locomotives and two cars of the passenger train.

Many of the accident's 57 victims were young people returning to Thessaloniki, a university town, after a long weekend.

Protests have broken across the country since the accident. At the height of demonstrations on 8 March, 65,000 people took to the streets across the country, including over 40,000 in Athens.
Pembrokeshire Coroner, Paul Bennett, held a pre inquest hearing into the circumstances surrounding the soldier's death. (Image: PA)

A hearing into the death of a Pembrokeshire soldier while on active service in Iraq has been postponed pending a report from the Ministry of Defence (MoD)

Corporal Desmond Joel Duckett, 36, form Haverfordwest, died while serving in Iraq on January 29 last year.

Pembrokeshire Coroner, Paul Bennett, held a pre inquest hearing into the circumstances surrounding his death today, Thursday, March 30.

Members of the MoD and members of Cpl Ducketts family attended the hearing on March 30.

Pembrokeshire Coroner, Paul Bennet heard that a preliminary investigation had been completed by the MoD within the last week.

The matter has now been passed to the service enquiry division of the MoD. Mr Bennett heard that the time scale on when the next report would be completed and available was not yet known.

Sergeant Young, representing the MoD, said that he was not privy to that information but would make email enquiries to try and establish a time frame.

Mr Bennett said that it would not be possible to make any more progress in the hearing until the reports were ready.

The question of disclosure is entirely in the remit of the MoD, he said. Until such time as they present me with a schedule of disclosure or non-disclosure we are not going to make any substantial progress.

Mr Bennet said that the family also needed to have an expectation of the time scale as to when the reports would be available. He asked that it be looked into within the next 24 hours and that 'some meaningful response' be produced.

He said that he would review the matter once he had the responses form the MoD and would hold another pre -inquest hearing as soon as it was possible to do so.

He extended he condolences to Cpl Ducketts family for their tragic loss and apologised that the inquest process is going to be somewhat protracted.

I will ensure that matters can progress as quickly as we can reasonably do so, he said.

I will review matters once I have a response from the MoD and keep the interested parties on both sides appropriately informed.
Zara Fitzpatrick from Enniskillen gets through to Miss Northern Ireland 2023 final.

A 19-year-old Fermanagh woman will compete in the Miss Northern Ireland grand final this year after being crowned Miss Magherafelt at a recent heat of the contest.

Zara Fitzpatrick, a store manager from Enniskillen, was awarded the title at the Magherafelt heat which was held on March 16 at LJs Tavern.

At the same heat, Aoife McCloy  a 20-year-old from Magherafelt  was crowned Miss LJs Tavern.

The two women impressed the judging panel on the day, which comprised Managing Director and event organiser Victoria Withers; LJs Taverns owner, Lisa Forbes; former Miss Northern Ireland, Lauren Leckey; owner of Sell Your Car to Jax.com, Colin Cunningham; and compere, Miss Northern Ireland, Daria Gapska.

Both Zara and Aoife will now go forward to the grand final in Belfasts Europa Hotel on May 22, where they stand a chance of winning the coveted title of Miss Northern Ireland 2023.

Competition organiser Victoria said: We were thrilled to be at LJs Tavern, it was the perfect venue to continue the search this year and a brilliant night was had by all.

Magherafelt had a strong calibre of girls who entered. Once again, it was a fabulous night, and a huge congratulations to the winning girls and a big thank-you to all who came along.

Last years winner, Daria, added: Congratulations to Aoife and Zara! My year as Miss Northern Ireland has been a dream come true.

It is something that I will treasure forever, and I cannot thank event organiser Victoria Withers and ACA Models enough for giving me this life-changing opportunity.

I would also like to thank all of my amazing sponsors for everything that they have generously provided for me this year as Miss Northern Ireland. It certainly has been a busy year!

I am so excited to get to know all of the girls as they embark on their Miss Northern Ireland journey, and I would like to wish them the very best of luck.

The competition is still open to entrants, with heats taking place across the country. The next heat will take place this Friday, March 31 at The Gasworks, Dungannon.

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Lawmakers from the pro-Russia, far-right Freedom Party (FPO) walked out of the lower house of Austrias parliament on Thursday 30 March during a speech by Volodymyr Zelensky.

The president of Ukraine addressed the chamber via video link, thanking Austria for its humanitarian aid and help with projects such as clearing land mines.

The FPO, however, had warned days before that it would hold some form of protest against Zelenskys speech, claiming that it violated Austrias neutrality.

Lawmakers who walked out left small placards on their desks featuring the party logo and either the words space for neutrality or space for peace.

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Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via Reuters

The ruling party of Armenia has warned that if Russian President Vladimir Putin comes to Armenia, the country will have no choice but to arrest him.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Putins arrest earlier this month over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, particularly his alleged involvement in the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine. But the ICC doesnt have the power to enforce its warrants, and since Russia doesnt recognize the courts jurisdiction, much of its enforcement will depend on other countries willingness to step in if Putin travels.

If Putin comes to Armenia, he should be arrested It is better for Putin to stay in his country, Gagik Melkonyan, deputy of the Armenian National Assembly, said this week, according to a Moscow Times translation of an interview with Factor.am. If we enter into these agreements, then we must fulfill our obligations. Let Russia solve its problems with Ukraine.

The decision from the ruling party of Armenia, which is part of a Russian-led collective defense organization, stands in stark contrast to other Kremlin allies that are not deviating from loyalty to Moscow. Hungary, which has close ties with Russia, announced it will not enforce the ICCs arrest warrant for Putin last week.

Even though Armenia is technically a Russian allyas part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)Armenias decision is just the latest indication that the country is willing to take matters into its own hands and hold Putin accountable. Just last week, Armenia took steps that will pave the way for it to ratify the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

Team Putin Melts Down Over International Arrest Warrant

The Kremlin rebuked Armenia for entertaining the idea of joining the Rome Statute, according to a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Moscow considers absolutely unacceptable the plans of official Yerevan to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court against the backdrop of the recent illegal and legally void warrants of the ICC against the Russian leadership, the source said early this week, according to TASS.

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The Russian Foreign Ministry warned there would be extremely negative consequences for Armenia moving forward.

But Armenia is not alone, and other countries are banding together with plans to arrest Putin. Ireland, Croatia, Austria, and Germany have each said they will enforce the warrant.

The decision in Armenia suggests that Russias allies are growing more willing by the day to question Moscows judgment in the war in Ukraine over one year into the conflict.

Indian officials have expressed concern over Putins war in Ukraine, urging against conflict and the use of nuclear weapons in the war. Chinese President Xi Jinping has also been caught off guard by Putins invasion and has been dismayed at the way he is carrying it out, according to the U.S. intelligence community.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia and Toyota said on Friday that the Japanese carmaker's factory in St Petersburg had been handed over to state entity NAMI, with Moscow snapping up more assets from global automakers leaving Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

"Toyota's production site in St Petersburg has... been transferred to the state," Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement.

The company said in September it had decided to stop vehicle production in Russia due to the interruption in supplies of key materials and parts.

"Toyota confirms that it has concluded the transfer of its vehicle production plant to NAMI effective from March 31, 2023," Toyota said in a statement. "The agreement includes the full transfer of ownership of the plant buildings and land."

Neither party disclosed a fee for the transaction, and Toyota declined to give any further details of the deal.

The company produced the Camry and RAV4 models at the factory, which had been in operation since 2005, a company spokesperson said. Just over 80,000 vehicles were manufactured at the plant in 2021.

The Russian ministry said it was working on resuming production at the facility as soon as possible.

NAMI, Russia's Central Automobile and Engine Research and Development Institute, has already taken plants from Renault and Nissan.

France's Renault sold its majority stake in Russia's Avtovaz for reportedly just one rouble, but with a six-year option to buy it back. NAMI paid one euro for Nissan's assets.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Mark Potter, Frances Kerry and Jan Harvey)
Police patrols the area in front of the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has summoned the Danish ambassador in Ankara to express its strong condemnation and protest over recent attacks on the Koran and the Turkish flag, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Last week, a far-right group in Denmark called Patrioterne Gar Live burnt a copy of the Koran as well as a Turkish flag in front of the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen.

During the meeting, the Turkish government urged Danish authorities to take the necessary steps against the perpetrators and measures to prevent such provocations from recurring.

"This act is a clear proof that Islamophobia, xenophobia, discrimination and racism have recently increased in Europe," a ministry statement said.

There was no immediate response from the Danish foreign ministry to a request for comment on the Turkish foreign ministry's remarks.

A protest in Stockholm in January by a far-right anti-immigrant Danish/Swedish politician against Islam and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has also heightened tensions between Sweden and Turkey, whose backing Stockholm needs to join the NATO military alliance.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay, Editing by William Maclean)
Ukraine's defense minister (c) in front of British Challenger tanks and armored vehicles from the US and Germany in an unknown location in Ukraine in a handout picture released on March 27, 2023. Press Service of the Defence Ministry of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS

Ukraine's closest allies, which border Russia, spent months advocating for the delivery of tanks.

The Baltic States helped break the taboo, taking the unusual step of calling out their allies publicly.

The first Western tanks have now begun to arrive in Ukraine, as it prepares for a new offensive.

When Ukraine first started asking for modern armored vehicles, just days after Russia invaded, its pleas barely made a ripple.

Most of the West, though supportive of Ukraine, was hesitant to give it heavy weapons, worried that they could end up in Russia's hands, or that giving them could lead to an escalation in the war beyond Ukraine's borders.

But some felt differently.

Right from the start, three small nations that neighbor Russia  Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania  believed that Ukraine should get tanks.

And without tanks of their own to give, they focused on convincing others to donate theirs.

Now, with the first tanks arriving, they are enjoying a moment of victory.

Their success, an expert told Insider, shows how Europe's balance of power has shifted eastwards since Russia's invasion in February 2022. And this could be important as countries now considered sending advanced military jets to Ukraine.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (r) and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov in front of the first Leopard 2 tanks delivered from Poland, in an undisclosed location, Ukraine February 24, 2023. Ukrainian Governmental Press Service/Handout

Early supporters

While Lithuania and its Baltic neighbors, Estonia and Latvia, were not the only countries that wanted Ukraine to get tanks, they stand out for doing so forcefully and early in the conflict.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte says her government was among the earliest supporters of sending tanks to Ukraine, and was directly involved in convincing Germany, which had a say over whether other countries could send German-made tanks.

She described the talks with Germany to Insider as "in private for a very long time."

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal visit the town of Borodianka in Ukraine's Kyiv region in April 2022. Ukrainian Governmental Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

The three Baltic states, which were all once part of the Soviet Union and warned for years that Russia was a threat, have also been among Ukraine's biggest financial backers, on a per capita basis.

They were giving weapons to Ukraine even before Russia's invasion in February 2022, as Ukraine battled Russian-backed separatists in the east.

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When it came to tanks, they started by trying to convince other countries behind closed doors. Then, at the start of 2023, they shifted their approach, making public their calls to send armor.

Ukraine desperate for tanks

Germany manufactures the Leopard 2 battle tank, considered the best fit for Ukraine's troops, but for a long time said it wouldn't allow the tanks to go to Ukraine unless the US also sent its own M1 tanks.

The decision to finally send tanks to Ukraine took months of careful negotiations.

Throughout, Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun said she spent every day worrying about her partner, who is fighting for Ukraine, while knowing that weapons that could help protect him and others "are just not being provided because people are having debates."

Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu has called for stronger punishments against Russia. Sergei Grits/AP

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told Insider that Ukraine's allies had been "too slow" when deciding to send weapons to Ukraine.

"The price is Ukrainian blood" for that slowness, he said, adding that Russia wants them to be slow in order to prolong the war and to make it "more painful" for Ukraine.

Prime Minister Simonyte, for her part, said that delays "cost lives."

A public call

The three Baltic countries decided to take the rare step in European politics of publicly calling out another government, knowing that if Germany decided to give tanks it would unlock other countries' ability to do the same.

Lithuania's Simonyte said the public call came after a "very long debate" behind the scenes because "it wasn't that you want to push your friends into corner."

But, she said, it became time to take the plea out into the open.

In January, the foreign ministries of all three countries issued a joint statement calling on Germany to give tanks to Ukraine immediately.

They said that Germany had a "special responsibility" to restore peace in Europe as "the leading European power."

Poland also publicly criticized Germany, and said that it was considering sending German-made tanks to Ukraine even without Germany's permission.

Four days later, despite weeks of hinting that it wouldn't do so, Germany announced that it was sending Ukraine some of its Leopard 2 tanks, and would allow other countries to send their own German-made tanks.

The first Leopard 2 tanks were delivered from Poland on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. Ukraine, February 24, 2023. Ukrainian Governmental Press Service/Handout

Dr. Eoin Drea, a European politics expert at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, told Insider the situation was "very unusual" within the continent's relations.

He said that usually the big decision-making meetings are held during European Council summits, where "a lot is decided away from the glare of the media."

But, Drea added, in this case the Baltic states wanted to "put the pressure on."

Simonyte said Lithuania felt its strategy had to change: "Sometimes in politics you use different ways of making your point very clear."

Successful convincing

When asked if he thought the public call had helped, Estonia's ambassador to Ukraine, Kaimo Kuusk, told Insider: "I think it definitely has."

Vaidotas Urbelis, Lithuania's defense policy director, agreed.

"Because all policy makers reflect on general opinion and what the public think, not just experts, but people who vote. This public pressure makes decisions faster," he said.

A Leopard 2 tank in action at the Field Marshal Rommel Barracks in Augustdorf, Germany, February 1, 2023. AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File

Reinsalu, Estonia's foreign minister, told Insider that he had repeatedly engaged with his German counterpart about the decision.

And he said that he'll keep publicly calling for allies who have weapons to act immediately, "because time is very critical."

Creating 'no excuses'

Estonia gave Ukraine its entire supply of 155-mm howitzers in January, with Kuusk describing the move as setting a precedent "so that other countries don't have excuses why they can't give Ukraine the weapons to win the war."

Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas told Insider that "leading by example matters. This is the lesson learned from the past year."

In fact, the Baltics are now focusing on helping Ukraine with its calls to get advanced military aircrafts.

Kallas and Simonyte, the two prime ministers, both told Insider that they support Ukraine getting military jets. But it's not clear yet if their efforts will pay off in the same way they did with tanks.

So far, the US has said it will not give military jets to Ukraine, while Poland and Slovakia this month became the first countries to commit to supplying planes to Ukraine.

Kallas, Estonia's prime minister, said that she believes Western allies "should give all the aid to Ukraine that would help to end this war." But that it is up to each country to decide what they can and will provide.

"Russia is playing the long game, so must we," she said, adding that Estonia's help for Ukraine is motivated by its view that "this war is not just about Ukraine, it is about European security."

A Leopard 2 tank in action during a visit of German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at the Field Marshal Rommel Barracks in Augustdorf, Germany, February 1, 2023. AP Photo/Martin Meissner

A power shift in Europe

The approach of the three Baltic states, which have a combined population of just over six million, shows the role that lesser NATO powers can sometimes play in global politics.

Drea, the European politics expert, said that since the invasion of Ukraine started "there's been a significant shift in the center of power, definitely eastwards."

He said the Baltics and Poland have become "more confident" at setting out their priorities at the EU level, and that EU leaders were listening.

Last October, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen publicly admitted that countries like Germany had been naive about Russia before the war, and should have listened to their eastern neighbors.

Meanwhile, Edward Hunter Christie, a senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, described the public calls for tanks as an "exceptional" step.

"Ordinarily, on less critical matters, peer pressure happens but the public sees very little of it or none of it," he told Insider.

Sovsun, the Ukrainian MP, said that the Baltic strategy had been important for Ukraine.

She used to hear from German lawmakers that they were worried about giving so much that they wouldn't be able to protect themselves. "I think it's very difficult to say: 'Oh, we wouldn't be well protected' after what the Baltic states are doing," she added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukraine has been preparing to launch a spring counteroffensive to recapture territory seized by Russians and is hoping to repeat the success of its counterattacks last September. Despite the supply of Western arms, including battle tanks, Ukrainian forces will have to change their tactics if they hope to achieve a breakthrough, according to historian and retired army officer Michel Goya.

Ukraine has made no secret of its plans to launch a counteroffensive in the spring and reclaim land occupied by Russian forces since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022. The Ukrainian army has already successfully carried out similar attacks last September, driving back Russian forces in Kharkiv and Kherson provinces.

>> Key battles in the Ukraine war: From Kyivs stand to the Kharkiv counterattack

Ukraine has received several widely publicised deliveries of military equipment from its Western backers these past days, including armoured vehicles from the US, the UK and Germany. The military hardware, however, is no guarantee of a significant victory, says historian and former French Marines colonel Michel Goya.

FRANCE 24: How does Ukraine plan to carry out its counteroffensive this spring?



Read more on FRANCE 24 English



Read also:

Zelensky says Ukraine will 'respond to every blow' after Russian attacks

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'If you stay, you will die': How one front-line volunteer is saving lives in Ukraines Donbas
A total of 230 local authorities are holding contests, ranging from small rural councils to some of the largest towns and cities (PA Wire)

Rishi Sunak faces his first big electoral test as prime minister next month, when voters across much of England head to the polls to choose thousands of new councillors.

A total of 230 local authorities are holding contests next month. These range from small rural councils to some of the largest towns and cities  though no elections are scheduled in London or Birmingham.

Polls are also taking place to choose mayors in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield, and Middlesbrough.

Local elections typically reflect voters attitudes about neighbourhood concerns, such as when bins are collected, the state of parks and pavements, or access to libraries and hospitals.

But they can also be a verdict on the main political parties and their handling of big issues. In 2023, these are likely to be the cost of living, the NHS, and public services.

Heres everything you need to know about this years local elections.

When are the 2023 local elections?

These will be held on May 4 in England.

Local elections for 11 councils in Northern Ireland have been put back two weeks to May 18. This to avoid a clash with the Kings coronation on May 6.

No elections are taking place in Scotland and Wales this year.

The majority of results are expected to be announced the following day, although some will take a little longer.

Where are the 2023 local elections taking place?

Overall, more than 8,000 council seats will be up for grabs on May 4, with voters in most parts of England able to take part.

As well as London and Birmingham, areas not holding elections include Cornwall, North Yorkshire, and Cumbria.

Of the councils holding elections, 152 are district councils, many of which are currently run by the Conservatives.

By contrast, almost all of the 32 Metropolitan boroughs holding elections this year are already run by Labour. These include huge authorities such as Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester, and these are unlikely to change hands.

The remaining 46 councils holding elections on May 4 are unitary authorities and include many large towns and built-up areas across England. These include Hartlepool and Redcar & Cleveland in the north-east, to Plymouth and Portsmouth in the south-west and on the south coast respectively.

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Many are currently run by coalitions of two or more parties, or by one party as a minority administration.

Elsewhere, Labour are defending two of the mayoral seats up for grabs  Leicester and Mansfield. The Liberal Democrats are defending Bedford and Middlesbrough is currently held by the independent Andy Preston.

Will you need to bring ID to vote at the 2023 local elections?

For the first time in England, voters will need to show a form of photographic identification at their polling station to cast a ballot.

Anyone without an accepted form of ID can apply for a special certificate from their council before the deadline of April 25.

What forms of ID are acceptable at the 2023 local elections?

Not all types of photo ID will be accepted, which means some people may be unable to vote.

Many people will have a driving licence or a passport, which are both acceptable forms of ID. However, there are also a number of other forms of acceptable ID, including a PASS card or Blue Badge.

You can still use your ID to vote if it has expired. However, it still needs to look like you, and needs to bear your current legal name.

What are the results to watch out for at the 2023 local elections?

Contests that will be watched closely include a number councils in traditional Conservative heartlands in the south, and Tory seats in the former Labour Red Wall in the north.

Labour will be hoping to gain ground on the Tories in southern England.

In Milton Keynes, Labour needs only two councillors to overtake the Conservatives as the largest party. In Bedford, they need only one.

There are also opportunities for the party to retake symbolic ground in the north.

In Blackpool, Cheshire West and Middlesbrough, the party is only a handful of councillors away from an absolute majority after a poor showing in 2019 and recent defections.

The Liberal Dems performed very well in last years local elections, securing their largest proportion of seats in the south since 2010. They will be hoping to cement this success this year.

The party will hope to repeat the successes they have seen in places such as St Albans, South Cambridgeshire and Chelmsford, where they have increased councillors by 30 per cent in the past couple of elections.

And they will also be hoping to put pressure on Labour, after taking overall control away from them in Hull last year.

How to register to vote in the 2023 local elections

In England, you had register to vote in person, or by proxy, by midnight on April 17. This had to be done online with a National Insurance number, or by writing to your councils Electoral Registration Office.

The deadline to request a postal vote in England is 5pm on April 18. You can find more details about doing that here.

In Northern Ireland, the deadline to register to vote, by post or by proxy, is April 26. To vote in person, you must register by April 28.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Sime Darby is seen at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur

By Yantoultra Ngui and Anshuman Daga

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Australia's largest private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care and Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby plan to revive the sale of their Asia-focused healthcare joint venture in a deal that could value the business at some 6 billion ringgit ($1.36 billion), two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The companies are in talks with financial advisors to explore a sale of Selangor, Malaysia-based Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care to strategic investors, three sources said.

Deliberations were ongoing and no decisions have yet been made on the sale, said the sources, declining to be named as the matter is private.

Ramsay declined to comment.

"Sime Darby Berhad continues to review strategic growth options for our healthcare segment," a company spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. "Any decisions will be made with a view on creating value for the group."

Ramsay Sime Darby did not immediately respond to comment.

The possible revival of the sale comes as healthcare assets gain favour, with investors betting on the sector's ability to weather the current challenging economic environment.

The Australian and Malaysian companies' earlier discussions to sell the joint venture to Malaysia's IHH Healthcare fell through six months ago.

IHH, one of Asia's biggest private hospital operators, had submitted an indicative proposal in March 2022 to buy Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare.

Two of the sources said the Australian and Malaysian companies were also weighing an IPO for the joint venture on the Malaysia Stock Exchange.

Discussions for the joint venture's sale were called off in early September, weeks after a group led by private equity firm KKR & Co Inc withdrew a near $15 billion all-cash buyout offer for Australia-listed Ramsay Healthare.

Ramsay Sime Darby was established in 2013 via an equal joint venture of Ramsay and Sime Darby to expand their healthcare business in Southeast Asia.

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Its portfolio consists of 1,567 licensed beds across seven hospitals in Malaysia and Indonesia, and a day surgery facility in Hong Kong, according to Sime Darby's 2021 annual report.

($1 = 4.3970 ringgit)

(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui and Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Additional reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Kane Wu and Bernadette Baum)
Subway Chicken Tandoori sub and Bandung cookie (Photos: Subway Singapore)

SINGAPORE - Are you ready to celebrate the coming Hari Raya season with a culinary adventure? Subway Singapore has launched an all-new Chicken Tandoori sub and Bandung cookie that blends the flavours of two beloved Indian and Malay dishes.

Bringing a truly Singaporean flavour, the Chicken Tandoori sub features tender chicken strips glazed in aromatic seasoning. Customers can choose to have it as a sub, salad or wrap with their own medley of vegetables and sauces that guarantee to tantalise taste buds.

And customers craving for something sweet to finish off their Chicken Tandoori meal can try the all-new Bandung cookie. This chewy cookie bursts with the sweetness of rose syrup, similar to everyones favourite drink made of condensed milk and rose syrup.

The Chicken Tandoori sub and Bandung cookie will be available at participating Subway Singapore restaurants from Friday (31 March) and across delivery platforms GrabFood, FoodPanda and Deliveroo from Saturday (1 April).

Prices start from $8.50 for a 6-inch Chicken Tandoori sub and $1.70 for a Bandung cookie.

At Subway, we recognise the love Singaporeans have for local flavours and aim to continue delighting them through our menu innovations. This time, with the Chicken Tandoori Subs and Bandung cookie we wanted to send guests on a gastronomic journey of familiar flavours from both the Indian and Malay cultures," said Subway South East Asia country director, Samad Mohd Shariff.

"We hope our fans continue to enjoy fresh, healthy and better-for -you delicious food options from Subway as we continue to present interesting and localised experiences to them.

Subway Singapore's Chicken Tandoori sub and Bandung cookie are the perfect combination of savoury and sweet that meet in perfect harmony to tantalise your taste buds. If you want to try something new, don't wait too long to try these limited-time offerings, they'll only be available until 30 May.
The literary work of two University of North Georgia (UNG) students received high honors from the Southern Literary Festival (SLF), which is set for April 20-22 at Middle Tennessee State University.

Ashley Tunnell's submission "Crystallization" won first place in the poetry category, and Ethan Holtzclaw's entry "Ships that Pass in the Night" took third in the short story category. The young authors will be published in the 2023 SLF Anthology and are invited to read their winning work at the festival.

"The festival's recognition of my work means the world to me. I am so appreciative of UNG's English Department for its support, and I am especially grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in Professor McEver's creative writing class last semester," Tunnell, a junior from Blairsville, Georgia, pursuing a degree in psychology, said. "Being part of such a talented group of storytellers made me a better author. I'm excited to continue to learn and grow as a writer, and I look forward to creating more work to share."

Holtzclaw is a junior from Dawsonville, Georgia, pursuing an English (writing & publishing concentration) degree. He was UNG's first top-three finisher in the short story category since 2011.

I am deeply grateful to be recognized at the Southern Literary Festival, Holtzclaw said. It is truly humbling to be given such a high honor. I owe everything to Professor McEvers Creative Writing class, and to all the wonderful people who have encouraged me along my writing career.

Each year, staff members of The Chestatee Review, UNG's student literary magazine, attend the undergraduate creative writing conference, which includes the writing contest where about 15 colleges and universities from the South vie for prizes in various categories.

"I am really proud of The Chestatee Review and our students. It is always just a beautiful, captivating design, and I enjoy reading the work that our students produce," Dr. Diana Edelman, professor of English and department head, said.

Matthew McEver and Ezekiel Black are faculty advisers for the Chestatee Review.

The Chestatee Review is published annually in the spring and hosts several literary events and contests each semester.
"I am looking forward to celebrating one of our biggest weekends of the year. The UNG Young Alumni group hopes that this year will be even better with regard to young alumni attendance," Jared Patterson, '14, Alumni Relations officer for Young Alumni, said. "Between the live music and great food, we hope to draw an outstanding group of young alumni to our April event."

April 15 will also see a tour of campus facilities and REUNITE on the Price Memorial patio from 1-4 p.m. Among the authors signing their books will be President Bonita Jacobs, author of "UNG the Gold I See! The Legacy of UNG's Dahlonega Campus" and "UNG Best Day Ever!: The Legacy of UNG's Gainesville Campus."

The Corps of Cadets will provide several events and host distinguished military officials. Col. Christopher S. Powell, '02, deputy chief of staff, personnel (G1) for the Georgia Army National Guard, is the guest speaker for the Memorial Retreat at 4 p.m. April 15 at the Memorial Wall outside Memorial Gym. Brig. Gen. Charles R. "Rob" Parker, '93, commanding general for the 7th Signal Command (Theater) in Fort Meade, Maryland, will serve as reviewing officer at the 2 p.m. April 16 Military Awards Review on the Gen. William "Lipp" Livsey Drill Field.

"Brig. Gen. Rob Parker is a great example of the leaders our Corps of Cadets has developed for 150 years and will continue to produce for the next 150 years," retired Col. Joseph Matthews, commandant of the Corps of Cadets, said. "It is an honor to have fellow alumnus, Col. Chris Powell, speaking at the Memorial Retreat ceremony. I am grateful to Brig. Gen. Parker and Col. Powell for giving their time to speak to and meet with the cadets, alumni and supporters of the Boar's Head Brigade."

A highlight of the weekend for the Corps of Cadets will be the parade on the Gen. William "Lipp" Livsey Drill Field that recognizes cadets who have earned awards. Alumni fall in behind the corps and march past the reviewing stand.

Several musical performances will be given by the Music Department during the weekend, both indoors and outdoors.

The Alumni Association will recognize its 2023 Alumni Association Award recipients on April 14. Recipients include:
A NANG  The central city of a Nang is implementing many solutions to stop a decline in foreign direct investment (FDI), striving to attract US$7 billion worth of FDI by 2030.

In the past two months of 2023, a Nang licensed 16 new foreign-invested projects with a total registered capital of $2.55 million, down 54 per cent in capital over the same period last year, baodautu.vn reported.

The city has to date attracted 965 foreign-invested projects capitalised at over $4 billion. Industry, real estate and services were fields that attracted the lion's share of FDI. Japan is currently the city's largest source of FDI, with over $900 million, followed by Singapore, the US, and South Korea.

According to local authorities, FDI inflow into the city has been on a downward trend. One of the reasons was that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign investors found difficulty in coming to a Nang to explore investment opportunities, while the tendency to protect domestic production in many countries was increasing.

Another reason was insufficient clean land fund inside and outside the city's industrial zones (IZs) to serve the needs of foreign investors. Most foreign-invested projects are located in IZs, but these zones have reported over 85 per cent land occupancy. Meanwhile, new zones are under construction.

Tran Thi Thanh Tam, Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, spoke to baodautu.vn that the city would complete and then approve the planning of functional subdivisions under the Adjustments to the a Nang Master Plan by 2030, with a vision towards 2045.

At the same time, it would complete procedures to organise auctions of land use rights for clean land areas and create conditions for investors to complete investment procedures for the projects they had committed.

In addition, the city would focus on completing infrastructure projects to serve the high-tech industry, information technology and logistics.

It was also accelerating completing and upgrading the technical infrastructure of Hoa Nhon, Hoa Ninh, the second phase of Hoa Cam IZs, and a Nang Supporting Industrial Park. Tam added that pushing up investment promotion would also be included.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Ho Ky Minh said his city was preparing a land fund for industrial development, supporting industries, high technology, and information technology to welcome capital flows into Viet Nam.

Furthermore, it also focused on building high-quality human resources, removing difficulties and obstacles to create the best conditions for businesses to invest in the locality, Minh said.

South Korean firms seek opportunities

Over 100 enterprises from South Korea this month arrived in a Nang to seek investment opportunities in the city.

Speaking at an investment promotion conference with the participation of these firms, Director of a Nang Investment Promotion Agency Huynh Lien Phuong said the city identified Korea as one of the leading strategic partners in investment, trade and tourism cooperation.

Last year, a Nang welcomed over 385,000 South Korean visitors, accounting for more than 45 per cent of the total number of international visitors to the city and 50 per cent of the total number of Korean visitors to Viet Nam.

Phuong said South Korea is one of a Nang's major import and export markets in Asia. In 2022, the city exported $50 million worth of goods to South Korea, up 12 per cent year-on-year. Its imports from the market hit $78 million, up 4 per cent on-year.

By the end of last year, South Korean investors pumped about $358 million into 256 projects in the city or equivalent to 8.9 per cent of the total foreign investment. That ranked Korea fifth among countries and territories investing in the city.

Shin Kyeonglyun, Deputy Director of KOTRA a Nang, said many Korean businesses showed interest in the central city thanks to its investment incentives.

She said that a Nang was moving towards a smart city, attracting many investment projects with many preferential policies. Korean businesses would find many opportunities in the city where local authorities always offered the best support to businesses.

During the seminar, many Korean businesses showed their concern about the city's human resources, as its current population was only 1.2 million. The issues related to securing assets and the support of the city government were also raised by Korean firms.

Phuong said that the city's population would reach 1.5 million by 2025. It was expected to increase to 1.8 million by 2030. Currently, about 50 per cent of its population was of working age.

At the same time, the city has more than 20 universities and colleges. The city has regularly connected businesses with universities so that schools can understand the needs of companies so they can provide the right human resources according to the development goals of enterprises.

As a regional economic centre, a Nang has also attracted a large number of foreign workers, Phuong said.

She added that the city's investment environment has improved with fast investment procedures and administrative reform to save business costs, time and effort.  VNS
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.
HA NOI  The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and German Messe Frankfurt on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on enhancing cooperation in trade promotion activities.

At the event, Vietrades director Vu Ba Phu announced that the two sides will coordinate to organise four international trade fairs focusing on textile yarns, fabrics, accessories and textile technology; consumer goods including furniture, kitchenware and gifts; industrial automation technology; and bicycle industry including finished products and spare parts and components.

Phu highlighted Vietrade's experience in organising international fairs in Viet Nam and bringing Vietnamese businesses to major trade fairs abroad. However, the agency's activities have so far only focused on agriculture, seafood, or food and have lacked international support in industrial-related fairs

"Thus, we have been looking for partners to collaborate in organising international-scale fairs in Viet Nam in the industrial field such as textiles and mechanical automation and manufacturing."

Messe Frankfurt is the world's leading company in the field of organising trade fairs, conferences and seminars. The MOU signing is expected to establish an effective mechanism for implementing trade promotion activities, creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to participate in international fairs and establishing the brands of Vietnamese enterprises in international markets.

Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt, expressed his hope that the cooperation will be beneficial for Vietrade's goal of facilitating trade connections for businesses in the industrial and manufacturing sector and contribute to the Vietnamese government's commitment to deepening its economic integration.

Viet Nam has recently joined the group of the top 20 largest economies in terms of trade scale in 2022, with export growth reaching 8-10 per cent per year on average during 2015-20. In 2022, the total import and export turnover of goods reached a record of US$732.5 billion, a 9.5 per cent year-on-year increase.  VNS
KUALA LUMPUR  The Vietnamese and Malaysian economies are of a similar size and complement each other, Trade Counselor Le Phu Cuong at the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia said.

In an interview with a Vietnam News Agency correspondent based in Kuala Lumpur on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the countries diplomatic relations (March 30, 1973 - March 30, 2023), Cuong said Viet Nam boasts advantages in terms of labour and development potential, while Malaysia's are in capital and deep integration into the world economy.

Malaysias market is not that large but is diverse. Its consumers characteristics are generally similar to Viet Nam, he said, adding that its Halal requirements are the biggest difference to note.

According to the official, the two countries trade and investment relations have developed for a long time since Viet Nam integrated into ASEAN and became a production location for many manufacturers, including those from Malaysia.

However, in recent years, the flow of Malaysian investment into Viet Nam has shown signs of slowing down, increasing just US$300 million from $12.6 billion in 2019 to $12.9 billion last year.

In 2022, the country ranked 10th among Viet Nams biggest foreign investors, down two places from 2019. Meanwhile, Malaysia has maintained a large trade surplus with Viet Nam for many years, making it difficult to balance the sides current accounts.

Cuong recommended the two countries increase high-level visits and promote and support investment cooperation activities between their businesses.

He said trade promotion should be given priority to assist Vietnamese and Malaysian firms in taking advantage of opportunities brought about by free trade agreements.

He added that it is also necessary to encourage Vietnamese businesses to join trade fairs and promotion activities in Malaysia, seeking business chances and distribution partners, especially for agricultural products and food.

During his visit to Viet Nam in March 2022, then Prime Minister of Malaysia Ismail Sabri Yakoob mentioned the prospect of cooperation between the two countries in the Halal field, which, according to Cuong, implies the production and export of products meeting Halal standards.

He said Malaysia now wants to promote the universalisation of the Halal standard for Vietnamese food products exported to the country and cooperate with Viet Nam to export those products to other Muslim markets.

However, many Vietnamese manufacturers and exporters still consider the standard a barrier because it increases production and business costs.

According to the trade counsellor, Viet Nam now has several establishments conducting inspections and issuing Halal certificates for businesses and products.

He said that in future, the Vietnamese Trade Office in Malaysia plans to organise more activities to attract domestic enterprises to the Malaysian market and increase the number of food firms meeting Halal standards, which will help boost the export of Halal-compliant food products to not only Malaysia but also larger markets such as Indonesia and those in the Middle East and North Africa.

Concerning Vietnamese expatriates in Malaysia, the counsellor said the community is quite large and participates enthusiastically in the host nations economic activities, contributing to its growth and the development of the Viet Nam-Malaysia people-to-people and economy-trade-investment diplomatic relations.

However, the majority of Vietnamese-run businesses in Malaysia are small in size with few linkages.  VNS
A NANG  The central city welcomed 150 tourists from Vientiane, Laos on the first direct flight after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The arrival signifies a promising growth in tourism, investment and trade between Laos, northeast of Thailand and central Viet Nam.

The airline began its schedule with two flights per week on Thursday and Sunday before increasing to daily flights in the future.

The group of Lao tourists will visit destinations in a Nang and the UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites in Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary and Thua Thien-Hue Province.

Its the third city that Laos Airlines has resumed its post-pandemic flights to after HCM City and Ha Noi.

Laos Airlines said it would help connect and attract more visitors from Korea and China to Viet Nam through the Vientinane-a Nang air route.

a Nang City's tourism department said the reopening of the flight would help boost tourism among world heritage sites in central Viet Nam and destinations in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, northeast of Thailand in tourism links built between Laos and Viet Nam.

The department said Laos was an important destination in the top-ten tourism market in 2022 with 10,000 tourists visiting making up 2.1 per cent of all international visitors to a Nang.

a Nang was a key hub in central Viet Nam that help connect Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Viet Nam through the East-West Economic Corridor in promoting tourism, trade, international logistics in the region.  VNS
HCM CITY  Investors hold an optimistic view of the countrys start-up eco-system, according to the 2023 Viet Nam Innovation and Tech Investment Report.

Released by the Viet Nam National Innovation Centre (NIC) and Do Ventures at the Vietnam Innovation Forum titled Sailing the digital sea in HCM City on Thursday, it was the third annual report.

It said: Despite the turbulent global investment climate, Viet Nam remains a favoured destination for investors due to its sturdy economic growth and skilled young workforce.

The most common advice given to start-ups was to focus on the fundamental aspects of business, utilise capital wisely with a strategic approach and adjust to changes in the economic climate.

The country's venture capital developments began to reflect global economic distress.

So, despite a strong economic rebound, there was a 56 per cent decline in venture capital deal values from the previous year. The latter half of 2022 was particularly challenging, with a 65 per cent drop due to the intensifying global tech crunch.

But there was a rise in deal count, suggesting sustained funding momentum despite the global headwinds.

In spite of the funding winter, investors continued to express interest in Vietnamese start-ups, with only a minor decrease in the number of foreign funds investing in last year.

In a noteworthy development, Vietnamese investors took the lead as the most active investors for the first time, jointly holding top position with their Singaporean counterparts. Local venture capital firms continued to play an important role with an increasing impact on local start-ups.

There was steady growth in the number of US$10-50 million deals, indicating that companies that raised pre-A and series A rounds last year had progressed to the next stage of growth.

But the number of $50million+ deals saw a sharp drop that caused an overall slump in total deal value.

The financial services sector received the most significant funding following a remarkable 249 per cent rise.

Fintech deals displayed resilience, accounting for 38 per cent of the total capital invested, up 4 percentage points from the previous year.

Though the retail sector experienced a decline of 57 per cent, it remained the second most active vertical. Healthcare, education and payments continued to be among the most funded sectors.

Sailing the digital sea

The Viet Nam Innovation Forum was a joint effort by the NIC, Forbes Vietnam and Do Ventures to encourage and promote innovation.

It brought together leading investors, tech conglomerates and start-ups from Southeast Asia such as unicorn Insider, SK Group, STIC Investments, and Golden Gate Ventures.

It gave an overview of innovation activities in Viet Nam in 2022 and shared the latest technology trends and foreseeable changes, identifying opportunities for Viet Nam to seize in future.

Participants made vital proposals for the Government for removing difficulties and obstacles and building a conducive investment and business environment.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Huy ong told the forum that the Government had assigned his ministry to amend the regulations on launching a venture capital fund in accordance with international practices.

According to Google and Temasek, Viet Nams digital economy will be worth $43 billion by 2025.

Last year, the country reported the fastest growth in Southeast Asia in the digital economy, which rose by 28 per cent from $18 billion to $23 billion.  VNS
HCM CITY  The Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank has announced its 2022 results audited by PwC, which shows profit before tax of nearly VN10.27 trillion (US$437.18 million), its highest ever and up 27.2 per cent from the previous year and 105 per cent of the target approved by shareholders.

The non-performing loans (NPL) ratio was low, while operational safety indicators were among the best in the industry.

The operating income for the year topped VN22 trillion ($936.39 million), up 31.1 per cent.

Its credit, services, card, and digital banking businesses all saw high growth. The total number of credit cards it issued quadrupled while their transaction value nearly tripled, and the number of e-banking transactions doubled with their value growing by six times to VN761 trillion ($$32.39 million).

The return on equity and return on assets were 23.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent, both higher than last year.

The banks standalone NPL ratio was only 1.3 per cent while the consolidated rate was 1.67 per cent, lower levels compared to industry average thanks to its selective credit policies and effective risk management.

Its capital adequacy ratio (stipulated under Basel II) was 13.4 per cent, among the highest in the sector.

As of December 31 last year, its total consolidated assets were worth nearly VN416.3 trillion ($17.74 million), 11.1 per cent up from 12 months earlier.

Outstanding loans topped VN268 trillion ($11.41 billion), up 25.6 per cent. HDBanks lending portfolio focuses on priority sectors and those that are key contributors to economic growth such as agriculture and rural development, SMEs, supply and distribution chains, green financing, and small business households.

HDBank owns only VN4.3 trillion ($183.19 million) worth of corporate bonds, equivalent to just 1.6 per cent of total outstanding loans.

The bonds all have mortgaged assets backing them and have been paid on time and fully. HDBank also has a low real estate loan rate of 7.9 per cent of total outstanding loans.

As of last year, HDBank had 347 branches and transaction offices and nearly 24,500 financial transaction points, and 16,326 employees, excluding around 2,000 security guards, with average earnings of VN26.7 million a month, 37.6 per cent higher than a year earlier.

The total remuneration for directors decreased to VN8.4 billion from VN10.9 billion as took voluntary cuts or used their remuneration for social activities.

Last year, HDBank received 24 prestigious awards and titles from domestic and international organisations, including the Top 5 Most Prestigious Banks in Viet Nam from Vietnam Report and Top 50 Listed Companies from Forbes magazine. Forbes also named HDBank among the top financial institutions in Viet Nam.

In addition, the bank received the Certificate of Merit of the Prime Minister, the Emulation Flag of the State Bank of Vietnam, the Certificate of Merit of the HCM City People's Committee for its contributions to the State budget.

Despite market fluctuations, such positive business results once again affirmed HDBank's ability to maintain high growth in what was a pivotal year with its new development strategy in terms of both scale and quality in the 2021-25 period.  VNS
HA NOI  The annual Vietnam Travel Mart 2023 will take place in downtown Ha Noi between April 13 and 16.

The event will gather 600 agencies from 50 provinces and cities throughout the country, and 15 other countries and territories with 450 stalls. There will be over 10,000 tours and tourism products at favourable prices at the site.

We focus on Culture Tourism in this event, said Vu The Binh, chairman of Viet Nam Tourism Association. Since the State resumed the National Culture Conference, we have realised that culture is crucial to the country. We had paid more attention to the economy than culture. Yet culture has been much cared for in the last two years.

Binh further said that culture has always been an important part of various economic sectors, including tourism.

Thats why this year's event will choose the theme Culture Tourism, he said. We have not done many things concerning culture, but this event is like a beginning for a trend to focus on developing culture, introducing unique features of tradition, history, and culture into tourism products and spread them to the world.

There will be a forum on developing culture tourism during the events schedule.

We have not understood thoroughly culture tourism, its factors, what are culture tourism products, how should we do PR on culture tourism, these will be main issues to discuss at the forum, he said.

Binh further said that promoting culture tourism must be quite different to other kinds of tourism products.

More importantly, culture tourism workers should have knowledge, experience, he said. How should we act? How should we swift from a traditional tourism model into a culture tourism model? Then how should enterprises and State agencies change?

Binh said another focus at the VITM 2023 is rubbish.

Plastic rubbish is a burning issue in sustainable tourism. Viet Nam is among the countries with the highest level of plastic rubbish discharged. We will have a workshop on the matter," Binh said.

According to Pham Van Thuy, Deputy General Director of the Viet Nam Tourism Administration, 50 provinces and cities of Viet Nam will join the event and bring along their special products and dishes.

Our responsibilities include meeting the demands of guests from other countries, he said when mentioning solutions to lure more international tourists. We should create tourism products according to their demands, not our demands.

This will be 10 years since the first VITM and 12 events have been organized. The event has become an important annual event of the tourism sector, where domestic and international enterprises exchange.

Besides offering information on destinations and tourism products, the event also hosts workshops and forums to enhance peoples knowledge on tourism, professional tourism skills and tourism development trends in the future.

The organizers forecast the event will draw thousands of buyers and some 2,500 enterprises.

Participating enterprises have prepared over 10,000 tours and tourism products at favourable prices to distribute at the event.

As many as 60,000 people are expected to join the four-day event. VNS
KUALA LAMPUR  Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Zambry Abdul Kadir has expressed his satisfaction that the future of Malaysia-Viet Nam relations looks very promising and that both countries will continue to engage even more closely for greater success.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relationship (March 30, 1973-2023), he described the deepening of bilateral relations over the past 50 years as remarkable and outstanding, saying through the years, Viet Nam has emerged as one of Malaysias closest partners, economically and socially, and that the strength of the ties was reflected by the elevation of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership in 2015.

Numerous activities have been undertaken under the ambit of the strategic partnership, which is guided by the Plan of Action (POA).

The first POA 2017-19 was successfully implemented, resulting in robust and mutually-beneficial cooperation across various sectors.

The latest POA 2021-25 involves new cooperation, notably in the economic and public health perspectives of post-pandemic recovery efforts.

Based on the inputs that I received, the POA 2021-25 is progressing very well, he said.

As we are embarking on a significant milestone this year with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, I am confident that this historic moment will further strengthen our bilateral ties.

He said Malaysia highly values its relations with Viet Nam. It is committed to cultivating close friendship and bilateral relations with Viet Nam and to further expanding cooperation in emerging areas of mutual interests between the two countries.

Malaysia is impressed by Viet Nams strong economic performance over the past decade, Kadir noted, adding that he believes the two countries should strengthen the economic partnership by encouraging more trade and investment flows.

In this regard, Malaysia stands ready to explore opportunities to improve market access for leading exports of both countries.

He said his country is pleased that bilateral cooperation in defence and security is advancing well.

Malaysia looks forward to the renewal of the countries memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation which expired in 2018, as the new document will enable a more focused and structured framework between the two defence establishments, the foreign minister noted.

Under the overarching framework for strategic partnership, the two sides have witnessed a strong and substantive development in bilateral cooperation across multiple facets.

According to the official, Malaysia envisions that the framework will continue to be the pillar that guides cooperation between the two countries in the forthcoming years.

Regarding the most effective areas of cooperation, he perceived that deepening relations at all levels, including between leaders, businesses, and people-to-people, is the most effective, which is imperative as both countries embark on further efforts to improve economic gains and political cohesion for mutual benefits.

Malaysia is pleased with the excellent bilateral relations with Viet Nam," Kadir noted. "Our longstanding ties have gone stronger over the years. We are fully committed to strengthening the Strategic Partnership in pursuit of social-economic development in both countries.

In the interview, he also highlighted the over 40 years of cooperation in news exchange between the Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA) and the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

The two agencies signed the first deal on news sharing on December 8, 1982. VNA has correspondents in Kuala Lumpur, while BERNAMA had correspondents in Ha Noi from 1994-98.

Through the news provided by BERNAMA and the VNA, peoples of both countries today are more aware of each others demography, language, cultural elements, food, customs, and tourism and that they are most welcomed in each others country.

The Foreign Minister added that both BERNAMA and the VNA had played a constructive role in fostering better understanding between the peoples of Malaysia and Viet Nam.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam and Malaysia had always enjoyed close ties, even before they officially established diplomatic relations on March 30, 1973.

In the five decades since, the bilateral relationship has been continuously reinforced and promoted across all fields, from politics and diplomacy to defence and security, as well as economy and culture.

This is especially the case since the Southeast Asian neighbours elevated their cooperation to a strategic partnership in 2015.

Regarding politics-diplomacy, the two sides regularly exchange delegations and high-level meetings through all channels of Party, Government, State and people-to-people contacts.

Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Viet Nam and Malaysia still promoted their relations through telephone talks among their senior leaders.

The two countries have approved an action programme to implement their Strategic Partnership for the 2021-2025 period with major orientations, aiming to effectively exploit the potential and strengths of each country, recovering sustainable development together in the post-pandemic period.

During Malaysian PM Dato Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakobs visit to Viet Nam last March, leaders of the two sides pledged to further deepen bilateral political and economic cooperation by increasing and maintaining high-level meetings and promoting the existing collaboration mechanisms, especially the Joint Committee on economic, science and technology cooperation and the Joint Committee on trade cooperation.

They also agreed to coordinate in effectively implementing signed agreements, including the Action Programme to implement their Strategic Partnership for the 2021-2025 period.

Leaders of the two sides underlined the significance of the steady promotion of two-way trade to a balanced and sustainable direction, striving for the target of US$18 billion in 2025.

Viet Nam and Malaysia also agreed to open their doors to each others goods, including agricultural and fisheries products, Halal products, processed food, electronic accessories and finished products.

The two countries have shown close coordination and conducted regular discussions and consultations at international and regional forums, reaching a consensus and sharing many common viewpoints within the ASEAN and between the ASEAN and its partners, contributing to enhancing the role and position of the association in the world arena.

Growing economic-trade partnership

Economic and trade cooperation between Viet Nam and Malaysia has flourished based on firm political relations. Malaysia has for many years been one of the biggest trade and investment partners of Viet Nam.

Viet Nam is currently Malaysia's 11th largest trade partner and the seventh biggest export market. Two-way trade rose 25.3 per cent in 2021 to US$12.5 billion, and 14.8 per cent in 2022 to $14.67 billion. The two sides expect $18 billion by 2025 and $25 billion by 2030.

Regarding investment, Malaysia is the third biggest investor in Viet Nam among the ASEAN member countries. It ranked 10th out of the 142 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, with 710 valid projects worth $13.08 billion as of February 2023.

Malaysian investors have poured their money into many cities and provinces of Viet Nam, mostly HCM City, Tra Vinh, and Ha Noi.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam had also invested in 21 projects in Malaysia with a total investment of $853 million, ranking ninth among the 78 countries and territories that Viet Nam is investing in as of March 2022.

Many Malaysian businesses and investors are currently interested in Viet Nam after realising great investment, cooperation and business opportunities in the market, not only in the fields of economy and trade but also in tourism, people-to-people exchange, education, and labour.

Malaysia needs workers and boasts a high cooperation potential in tourism and investment.

Regarding cooperation in Halal food production, Malaysia, with its strength in developing standards, can help Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products to produce Halal food to the standards of Muslim countries, enabling it to enter Malaysia and Muslim markets in the Middle East and other parts of the world.

Furthermore, security-defence cooperation between the two countries has also been strengthened. The two sides have maintained exchanges of delegations at all levels while sharing experience and information on the prevention and the fight against terrorism, cybercrimes and transnational crimes.

In 2015, they signed an agreement on cooperation in preventing and combating transnational crimes. In addition, bilateral cooperation in labour, education and tourism has also been fruitful.

It can be seen that over the past five decades, the Viet Nam-Malaysia relations have been nurtured and promoted by generations of leaders of the two sides in both depth and width, benefiting both nations and for the sake of peace and stability in the region and the world.  VNS
ROME  Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Maria Tripodi on Thursday co-chaired the fifth political consultation between the two ministries to discuss orientations to promote the bilateral Strategic Partnership.

The two sides expressed their delight that the consultation was held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic ties, and the 10th founding anniversary of the Strategic Partnership.

They highly appreciated outstanding results in bilateral economic cooperation with the two countries becoming each other's important trading partner in the region. Two-way trade reached more than US$6.2 billion in 2022, up 11 per cent year-on-year, thanks to the positive impacts of the European Union-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Hang said Viet Nam hopes to develop and deepen its Strategic Partnership with Italy  a member state with an important role in the EU. She proposed the two sides step up delegation exchanges; maintain the efficiency of bilateral cooperation mechanisms in the fields of diplomacy, defence, economy, and science and technology; and coordinate in organising celebrations this year.

Regarding socio-economic recovery prospects and rich potential for bilateral cooperation, the two sides agreed to work with each other to effectively implement the EVFTA towards a goal of $7 billion in bilateral trade as set by the two Prime Ministers during their meeting last December.

Hang also suggested Italy soon ratify the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and push for the European Commission (EC)s early removal of its yellow card warning against Vietnamese seafood exports.

Tripodi, in turn, affirmed that the Italian Government supports the early completion of internal procedures for the ratification of the EVIPA, and encourages Italian businesses to promote investment in Viet Nam.

She expressed her hope that the two sides will convene a meeting of the joint committee for economic cooperation in 2023, and continue to provide development credit for Viet Nam in water resource management and sustainable regional development.

Speaking highly of Viet Nams strong commitments at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), Tripodi said that Italy is willing to share experience with and assist Viet Nam within the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) framework.

The two officials also exchanged views on measures to intensify cooperation in security-defence, science-technology, culture-education and tourism.

They agreed to continue effectively carrying out existing mechanisms such as the joint committee for scientific and technological cooperation and the defence policy dialogue, and soon approve a cultural collaboration programme for the 2023-25 period, and an action programme for educational cooperation for this period.

They also reached consensus on the maintenance of close coordination at multilateral forums, particularly in the UN organisations. Sharing opinions on regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two sides stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security, including marine security; supporting the settlement of disputes via peaceful means in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Within the framework of her visit to Italy, Hang also had a working session with the Vietnamese embassy and agencies in the host country.  VNS
HA NOI  Minister Counsellor Le Thi Minh Thoa, deputy permanent representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations, has called for a comprehensive and all-society approach to sustainable waste management.

Addressing the United Nations General Assemblys session on zero waste  breakthrough solutions to sustainable development goals (SDGs) on Thursday, Thoa said sustainable waste management plays a crucial role in achieving the SDGs, especially Goal No 12 on sustainable production and consumption and Goal No 13 on climate change response.

Fully aware that zero waste is a solution to climate change, Viet Nam passed a national action plan on circular economy, with a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent of the total national income, and reuse and recycle, and treat 85 per cent of the plastic waste.

The country also pledged to reduce plastic waste in the ocean by half. Viet Nam has also built a national action programme on ocean plastic waste management with a target of reducing 75 per cent of the plastic waste by 2030, she said.

She said international and regional cooperation in the effort is extremely significant, especially in financial support and technological transfer to ensure sustainable production and consumption, effective and eco-friendly waste management.

She also suggested the international community consider establishing a legal framework for waste management and treatment to achieve the zero waste goal.

According to the UN, "zero waste" is an approach to promoting sustainable production and consumption, waste treatment in a closed-loop system, maximising the reuse of resources and mitigating air, land, and water pollution. In November 2022, Turkey introduced an initiative to designate March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste and encourage the UN General Assembly to discuss this issue. VNS
HA NOI  In response to a spate of sophisticated scams targeting parents and students, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has called on schools to increase their vigilance and strengthen their coordination with parents.

The ministry has also urged schools to urgently review their information security protocols for teachers and students to prevent further incidents.

The ministry has requested that schools encourage parents who have fallen victim to scams to report the incidents to the police for investigation promptly. The hope is that this will lead to appropriate action against those responsible for these crimes.

The latest move by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training underscores the seriousness of the situation. It highlights the need for increased awareness and security measures in schools nationwide.

On March 28, some individuals distributed free soft drinks and confectionery to students outside the gate of Nguyen Du Junior High School in a Lat City. Despite the school's immediate intervention, two students still suffered from abdominal pain and had to be examined after consuming the food.

Earlier on March 24, a 12th-grade student from Phu Nhuan High School in HCM City was approached by a stranger while standing in front of the school gate. The stranger claimed to be a friend of the boy's father and offered him a ride to the hospital where his father had been hospitalised after a traffic accident.

On March 23, a parent of Kim Lien High School in Ha Noi received a call from a stranger informing him that his child had incurred a debt of VN5 million buying cosmetic products and demanding payment.

On March 22, 31 students of Ly Tu Trong Primary School in ak Lak Province were poisoned after receiving free balloons distributed by four strangers at the school gate.

On March 16, dozens of parents in Thai Nguyen Province reported receiving a call from a stranger informing them that their child was in an emergency at the hospital and urgently needed money transferred for surgery and treatment costs.

This type of scam first appeared in HCM City in late February and has since spread to Ha Noi and a Nang. According to reports, scammers have collected over VN1 billion ($42,570) using this method, with over VN800 million ($34,057) in HCM City alone.

Following the initial property-appropriation scams in HCM City, the citys Department of Education and Training promptly issued warnings to parents of students in schools.

Local education leaders acted swiftly after the occurrence of fraudulent activities in their localities.

Pham Xuan Tien, Deputy Director of the Ha Nois Department of Education and Training the Deputy Director of Ha Nois Department of Education and Training, emphasised the need to develop guidelines for handling issues related to students that occur during the learning process at school.

He added that the school and teachers are responsible for taking care of and supporting students until they are handed over to their parents. To prevent fraudulent activities, schools should remind students to stay calm and notify teachers or parents if they receive any messages or phone calls from strangers.

Tien also warned schools to avoid leaking personal information about students and urged them to review their information protection measures to prevent new scams.

Trinh Duy Trong from the HCM City Department of Education and Training stated that schools must publicise their hotline number on the department's web portal. He emphasised that homeroom teachers should be the ones to provide all information about students' learning and training at school.

The Department of Education and Training in a Lat City asked schools to conduct regular checks in front of the gate and advise students never to accept food from strangers.

The Department of Education and Training in ak Lak Province warns parents and students about potential dangers outside of school gates.

Colonel ao Trung Hieu, a criminology expert from the Ministry of Public Security, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper that scammers obtain personal information about both parents and students to carry out fraud.

He said it is likely that the personal information of parents and students has been leaked, either accidentally or intentionally. Communication between schools and parents must be strengthened when such leaks are discovered.

Teachers should educate students on necessary skills and raise their vigilance to such tricks. Parents should supervise their childrens movement from home to school and vice versa to avoid unfortunate incidents.

In response to recent scams, authorities must issue warnings and legal advice to help people be more vigilant and take precautions, said an expert.

Duong Trong Phuc, vice principal of oan Ly Tu Trong in HCM City, also emphasised the need to increase penalties for information infringement to deter scammers.

Despite many scams, detection and handling have been limited, causing societal confusion and anxiety. Phuc said that mobile service providers should be responsible and penalties for information infringement violations should be increased.

The expert said frauds would be more sophisticated in the future, and people should be equipped with knowledge about the digital age, the ability to identify information and critical thinking to avoid being scammed.

Nguyen Huynh Bao Khanh, head of the criminology department of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, said the scams focused on causing panic among parents.

He also raised concern over school information security as scammers often possess very personal information about students.

Senior Colonel Nguyen Xuan Ha, deputy head of the People's Police College No 2s Criminal Police Department, agreed that people fell into traps because they were overwhelmed by worry and anxiety.

Fraudulent groups have been using many sophisticated techniques to take advantage of people's panic and anxiety. Most phone calls occur during class time, making it difficult for parents to contact teachers and verify the information given in the phone calls.

Ha said parents should double-check the information from parents chat groups or contact the nearest police station to ask for help verifying information.

Ngo Xuan iep, the head of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the HCM Citys National University, advised parents to double-check the information from parent chat groups or contact the nearest police station for help in verifying information.

He also stressed the importance of teaching children skills to protect themselves from fraudsters.

While the authorities are responsible for ensuring safety in front of school gates, parents also have a crucial role.

They need to teach their children how to reject strangers and things from strangers, stay close to them, listen to them, and talk to them.

He said this will enable them to teach their children the necessary skills to avoid fraudulent and suspicious circumstances. VNS
In the past two months of 2023, Da Nang licensed 16 new foreign-invested projects with a total registered capital of $2.55 million, down 54 per cent in capital over the same period last year, baodautu.vn reported.

The city has to date attracted 965 foreign-invested projects capitalised at over $4 billion. Industry, real estate and services were fields that attracted the lion's share of FDI. Japan is currently the city's largest source of FDI, with over $900 million, followed by Singapore, the US, and South Korea.

According to local authorities, FDI inflow into the city has been on a downward trend. One of the reasons was that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign investors found difficulty in coming to Da Nang to explore investment opportunities, while the tendency to protect domestic production in many countries was increasing.

Another reason was insufficient clean land fund inside and outside the city's industrial zones (IZs) to serve the needs of foreign investors. Most foreign-invested projects are located in IZs, but these zones have reported over 85 per cent land occupancy. Meanwhile, new zones are under construction.

Tran Thi Thanh Tam, Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, spoke to baodautu.vn that the city would complete and then approve the planning of functional subdivisions under the Adjustments to the Da Nang Master Plan by 2030, with a vision towards 2045.

At the same time, it would complete procedures to organise auctions of land use rights for clean land areas and create conditions for investors to complete investment procedures for the projects they had committed.

In addition, the city would focus on completing infrastructure projects to serve the high-tech industry, information technology and logistics.

It was also accelerating completing and upgrading the technical infrastructure of Hoa Nhon, Hoa Ninh, the second phase of Hoa Cam IZs, and Da Nang Supporting Industrial Park. Tam added that pushing up investment promotion would also be included.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Ho Ky Minh said his city was preparing a land fund for industrial development, supporting industries, high technology, and information technology to welcome capital flows into Viet Nam.

Furthermore, it also focused on building high-quality human resources, removing difficulties and obstacles to create the best conditions for businesses to invest in the locality, Minh said.

South Korean firms seek opportunities

Over 100 enterprises from South Korea this month arrived in Da Nang to seek investment opportunities in the city.

Speaking at an investment promotion conference with the participation of these firms, Director of Da Nang Investment Promotion Agency Huynh Lien Phuong said the city identified Korea as one of the leading strategic partners in investment, trade and tourism cooperation.

Last year, Da Nang welcomed over 385,000 South Korean visitors, accounting for more than 45 per cent of the total number of international visitors to the city and 50 per cent of the total number of Korean visitors to Viet Nam.

Phuong said South Korea is one of Da Nang's major import and export markets in Asia. In 2022, the city exported $50 million worth of goods to South Korea, up 12 per cent year-on-year. Its imports from the market hit $78 million, up 4 per cent on-year.

By the end of last year, South Korean investors pumped about $358 million into 256 projects in the city or equivalent to 8.9 per cent of the total foreign investment. That ranked Korea fifth among countries and territories investing in the city.

Shin Kyeonglyun, Deputy Director of KOTRA Da Nang, said many Korean businesses showed interest in the central city thanks to its investment incentives.

She said that Da Nang was moving towards a smart city, attracting many investment projects with many preferential policies. Korean businesses would find many opportunities in the city where local authorities always offered the best support to businesses.

During the seminar, many Korean businesses showed their concern about the city's human resources, as its current population was only 1.2 million. The issues related to securing assets and the support of the city government were also raised by Korean firms.

Phuong said that the city's population would reach 1.5 million by 2025. It was expected to increase to 1.8 million by 2030. Currently, about 50 per cent of its population was of working age.

At the same time, the city has more than 20 universities and colleges. The city has regularly connected businesses with universities so that schools can understand the needs of companies so they can provide the right human resources according to the development goals of enterprises.

As a regional economic centre, Da Nang has also attracted a large number of foreign workers, Phuong said.

She added that the city's investment environment has improved with fast investment procedures and administrative reform to save business costs, time and effort.

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Chuc Son Clean Vegetables Cooperative, located in Chuong My District, Hanoi, has been incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) technology in their agricultural production by setting up iMETOS 3.3, a durable and flexible data logger.

Applying hi-tech in agricultural production in Hanoi. Photo: Tran Anh/The Hanoi Times

This system provides up-to-date information on pest and disease situations and makes precise predictions on temperature, wind speed, and rainfall, among others, which helps farmers to create appropriate plans for fruits and vegetable cultivation.

Hoang Van Vi, residing in Giap Ngo residential group, Chuc Son Town, shared that his family has constructed a 2,200-square meter house, combined with an automatic sprinkler irrigation system to cultivate vegetables, following the high-tech application guidance provided by the Chuc Son Clean Vegetable Cooperative.

"Although the initial investment cost for high-tech production is quite high, the household can recoup it within 3 to 4 years," Vi said.

The Chuc Son Clean Vegetable Cooperative currently buys the vegetables grown by Vi's family for a steady price of VND8,000/kg (US$0.34).

Artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture production, according to Ho Xuan Hung, Chairman of the Vietnam General Association of Agriculture and Rural Development, helps farmers and cooperatives examine, monitor, and predict various environmental effects that impact crop output and standards. With the help of this tool, people can adopt productive production methods, reduce risks, and increase agricultural production efficiency.

While AI has been widely used in agricultural production in Hanoi, Hung pointed out that these techniques are still relatively new in other provinces and towns.

Hung cited the Prime Minister's Decision No.127 on the National Strategy on Research, Development, and Application of AI until 2030, promulgated on January 26, 2021, as a significant step in acknowledging the significance of AI in socio-economic development, particularly in high-tech agricultural production.

For example, Netafim Vietnam's large-scale AI farm control management system for coffee replanting has assisted coffee farmers in achieving a yield of 5 tons/ha during the first harvest season, which is a 300% increase compared to conventional techniques. Additionally, this strategy has helped to increase profits by lowering the price of replanting coffee.

More efforts required to promote digitalization in farm production

Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director of the Center for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics, emphasized that rural areas will play a significant role in the upcoming boom of the digital economy at a workshop on "Application of AI technology in improving agricultural productivity" organized by the General Association of Agriculture and Rural Development last week.

Approximately 77% of people living in remote areas currently have access to the internet, and 91% use it daily. As a result, AI-powered machinery and tools are becoming increasingly common in agricultural production. These devices support automated control, weather tracking and forecasting, and soil data analysis.

In addition, AI applications also forecast output, optimize the supply chain of agricultural products, and enhance product quality, enabling farmers to increase production while using less land and fewer resources, Toan said.

He went on to say that although the use of AI in agricultural production has been effective, some "bottlenecks" still need to be removed. For instance, a sizable collection of traceability, planting area codes, farming regions, and commodity chain data is lacking. Additionally, the equipment infrastructure is dated, dispersed, and out of sync, and there is little to no knowledge among farmers, while AI hardware and software systems are expensive.

According to Tran Quy, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Digital Economy Development, financial and technical support from the government, international organizations, and companies is essential to enabling farmers to access new technologies.

Local governments should support awareness campaigns to inform farmers about the use of AI in agricultural production, proposed Nguyen Quoc Toan from the Center for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics. He anticipated the Government's increased efforts in creating digital platforms and infrastructure, enhancing network security, and collaborating with industry and scientists to conduct research, impart knowledge, and implement technology.

Ho Xuan Hung from the Vietnam General Association of Agriculture and Rural Development stated that the organization would keep advising management agencies to develop suitable policies to increase digital technologies and AI applications in agricultural production.

According to Hung, the goal is to bring together and entice businesses, investors, scientists, and farmers; improve closed, automated, and smart production processes; increase the productivity and quality of agricultural products; guarantee clear origin; and offer customers clean and safe food products.

Hanoi Times
HCMC  Military Region 7 has accepted plans and mutual commitments on administrative procedures, financial support and the handover of all sites to the local authority before June 30 this year.

According to the Vietnam News Agency, the Command Headquarters of Military Region 7 and Tan Binh District Peoples Committee held a conference in HCMC on March 30 to hand over military land for the locality to implement the construction of the road connecting Tran Quoc Hoan Street with Cong Hoa Street which will link to Terminal T3 of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

Accordingly, Tay Nam Company and Textile and Garment 7 Company, under the management of Military Region 7, have handed over 5,100 square meters of land in Ward 13, Tan Binh District, under the land revocation decision of the Tan Binh District Peoples Committee. The delivered land includes 2,830 square meters of Textile and Garment 7 Company and 2,335 square meters of Tay Nam Company.

Pursuant to the handover minutes, the companies will take responsibility for providing documents in full and in compliance with the law, comprising dossiers supporting the removal of assets attached to the land; financial aid for dismantling, installation, relocation of machinery and equipment and other subordinate systems; and fees for technical experts, employee aid and operational costs.

The Tan Binh District team in charge of supporting and receiving site clearance compensation, will assess documents to be submitted to the competent authorities for approval and compensate the companies in compliance with the timelines as mutually agreed.

Till now, Textile and Garment 7 Company has actively cleared sites and planned to remove machinery and equipment in preparation for site delivery to the locality.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Jakarta  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility jointly held the Southeast Asia Development Symposium themed Imagining a net-zero ASEAN in Indonesias Bali on March 30.

In his opening remarks, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa pointed out that climate change remains the most urgent issue facing Southeast Asia, and suggested countries in the region cooperate with each other to put forth innovative solutions in order to accelerate the regional transition to carbon neutrality, and ensure strong, sustainable, inclusive economic growth.



He also spoke of the banks goals of elevating its ambition 100 billion USD in cumulative climate finance by 2030, and rolling out game-changing platforms to scale up the climate finance.



Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said ASEAN - which relies heavily on fossil fuels for economic and industrial development - should address the need for energy security while ensuring affordability and sustainability of energy.



Within the framework of the symposium, a sidelines event of the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting which is taking place in Bali from March 28-31, the ADB released the report ASEAN and Global Value Chains: Locking in Resilience and Sustainability.

Vietnam needs extra 368 billion USD to achieve net zero emissions As the energy industry has a crucial role in achieving net zero emissions by 2050, it requires a structural transition toward green growth. Therefore, Vietnam needs assistance from developed countries regarding both financial and technical issues.

International partners commit to help Vietnam realising net zero emissions The United Nations and development partners, during discussions with Vietnamese ministries and sectors, expressed their willingness to support Vietnam in achieving the goal of net zero emission and energy transition.
Nguyen Minh Thoai, CEO of DIGI-TEXX

Nguyen Minh Thoai, CEO of DIGI-TEXX, last weekend shared his insight at Finovate : Product Day 2 - a Jobhoppins event themed Digitalisation and Automation strategy for operations in financial services in Ho Chi Minh City.

Finovate: Product Day 2 event shredded lights on how organisations of all industries navigated through uncertainties amidst this period of of hyper-turbulence and change.

Businesses that highlight and successfully optimise automation process at the centre of their transformations will have a competitive advantage through complexity.

While there's little doubt that automation can yield significant benefits for all kinds of sectors, such as financial services, healthcare services, e-commerce, and real estate, to name a few. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) could relieve humans from repetitive hazardous and unpleasant tasks.

Organisations across the globe are increasingly relying on RPA to carry out routine, rule-based operations. Notwithstanding, many businesses are just at the very beginning of their automation journey, and have yet to realise RPA's full potential, Thoai said.

However, in terms of automations disadvantages, he added, the high initial cost of investment in an automated system and the greater level of maintenance required work against ubiquitous adoption.

Obviously, when we are talking about investment, different organisations will invest different amounts. But it's not just money you need to adopt tech  its a lot of other things such as human resources, knowledge and strategies for collecting data, and data management, Thoai said.

From our experience, automation is not an easy task, it requires a very high level of data accuracy. How do we know documents are being accurately processed? Automated systems are also associated with a scoring system, where you can track data points, decision points, so they can be processed based on business rules, logic, common rules and confidence level of combined data, he shared.

Thoai mentioned an example of automation in the healthcare industry, and he believed that leveraging and collecting more data could generate more accurate information, thus enabling better outcomes. He also believes that ChatGPT, an AI tool with advanced Natural Languages Processing, can enable businesses to improve automated quality control procedures for swift decision-making and help businesses to streamline internal processes and depend less on human resources.

According to the 2022 McKinsey Global Industrial Robotics Survey, automated systems will account for 25 per cent of capital spending over the next five years. Particularly, executives in the industrial sector expect to see benefits in output quality, efficiency, and uptime. However, many remain wary of the challenge, with the hardware cost and a lack of internal experience at the top of their list of concerns.

Among the industrial sectors surveyed, the biggest spender on automation over the next five years is set to be retail and consumer goods, with 23 per cent of respondents from that sector planning to spend more than $500 million. That compares with 15 per cent in food and beverage and 8 per cent in automotive. For logistics and fulfilment players, automation will represent 30 per cent or more of their capital spending in the next five years, the highest share among industrial segments surveyed.

Thoai also highlighted the vast potential of the Vietnamese fintech landscape, citing that Vietnam is among the top 3 countries, with Indonesia and the Philippines, to adopt new technologies such as fintech and metaverse, according to a report by Meta and Bain & Company.

Seven out of 10 digital consumers in Vietnam have used the technology of the metaverse last year, such cryptocurrencies, VR, augmented reality, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In particular, Vietnam has the highest rate of VR adoption among Southeast Asian countries.

The report also indicated that 58 per cent of digital consumers in Vietnam used fintech solutions (online banking, e-wallets, money transfer apps, omnipotent digital banking) in 2022.

Additionally, according to Robocash, Vietnam's fintech market has the second-fastest growth rate in the region, after Singapore, with revenue expected to reach $18 billion by 2024.

However, as fintech grows in popularity, we acknowledge that the backend process outsourcing services still offer lucrative opportunities for the Vietnamese tech sector. Thats why DIGI-TEXX Vietnam is tapping into this segment. While 80 per cent of our revenue comes from international markets such as the EU, the US, and Japan, we are also strengthening our footprint in Vietnam, as we see great promise in the countrys young, digital-savvy population, Thoai noted.

For document processing, three of the prominent services which DIGI-TEXX offers include DIG-SCAN for data/document capturing, DIGI-XTRACT for AI extracting solutions and DIGI-DMS for digital archiving.

DIGI-TEXX's online verification services support renowned financial services providers from the US, EU and Vietnam, among others, to roll out eKYC services with the highest level of security and accuracy.

For automated operations processing, DIGI-TEXX has partnered up with a wide range of insurance companies to analyse the credit profiles of applications and assess their risk levels for specific claims policies.

DIGI-TEXX's intelligent data process platform integrates AI technologies and has the capacity to process various document types, including passports, birth certificates, invoices, and financial statements in English, German, Japanese, Vietnamese, and French.

Since its first entry in Vietnam 20 years ago, DIGI-TEXX Vietnam has positioned itself as a trusted tech partner offering world-class, digitally based business process outsourcing services.

DIGI-TEXX is a 100 per cent German-invested company specialising in Digital and Business Process Outsourcing Services. With over 1200 well-trained staff, DIGI-TEXX provides 24/7 services to customers around the world and can handle six speaking and 30 processing languages.

Contact:Headquarters: 2nd Floor Anna Building, Quang Trung Software City, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City

Tell: (+84) 28 3715 5325 ; Email: info@digi-texx.com ; Website: digi-texx.com

Digital Business Development Programme for Ho Chi Minh City launches The BambuUP innovation platform, in association with HEPZA Business Association (HBA) and Digital Transformation Alliance (DTS), launched the Digital Business Development Programme - Go Digital on May 12 to support digital transformation and innovation in Ho Chi Minh City in 2022.

Digital business lines developing well Major tech companies are looking to expand in Vietnam, on the back of strong hardware export and IT figures for the country's telecom industry so far this year.
Ideally positioned in the heart of the city, close to the Temple of Literature and within walking distance of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long and Ho Chi Minhs Mausoleum, this characterful and culturally immersive hotel allows global explorers to uncover the heart and soul of Hanoi  a city with over 1,000 years of history.

An elegant Deluxe King Room overlooking the city at Grand Mercure Hanoi

The hotel's interior design concept is inspired by rice, the iconic grain that has come to symbolise the spirit of Vietnams villages and its people. The shimmering water-filled fields and hillside terraces where rice is grown and the colour and shape of the individual grains are showcased in many elements throughout the hotel, including the walls, ceilings, and tapestries.

Throughout their stay, guests can also admire the skill of local artisans with lacquerware from Ha Thai lacquer village, Chu Dau pottery from Hai Duong province, and Bat Trang's ceramics, which are on display all around the hotel, from lobby tables to in-room lamps, hallway vases, and more.

Inspired by the architecture of the Temple of Literature, splashes of red and yellow  Vietnams most auspicious colours representing prosperity and affluence  can be seen throughout the hotel

Within this treasure trove of arts and crafts, a choice of 181 rooms and suites ranging from the graceful 27-square metre Deluxe Rooms to the grand 116-sq.m Presidential Suite await travellers.

With exquisite interiors and state-of-the-art amenities, including 50-inch Smart TVs, high-speed Wi-Fi, pod coffee machines, walk-in rain showers, and high-tech Japanese toilets, every visitor can discover their own private sanctuary. The 11 suites feature separate living areas, and the Executive Lounge provides an exclusive space for guests staying in the hotels premium accommodation to relax in comfort and privacy.

Grand Mercure Hanoi offers four restaurants and bars with originally curated culinary concepts. There are four diverse culinary and social venues, including Loc-Ally  which promises contemporary all-day dining with international flavours and local favourites  and Cat Vi  a signature 15th floor Asian brasserie that blends the finest regional gastronomy and Vietnamese soul food with spectacular city views. Vans lobby lounge is a great place to stay connected, meet with friends or colleagues, and grab light refreshments, and the Vivu Rooftop Sky Bar is a stunning setting to chill out and sip cool cocktails as the sun sets over the citys most iconic attractions.

Grand Mercure Hanoi is an exceptional venue for meetings and events, with three inviting and flexible venues that can host a wide variety of business functions and social occasions. For lifes most important moments, the grand ballroom offers 324 sq.m of sophisticated, soundproof space with integrated screens and a state-of-the-art sound system to bring every event to life.

The Executive Lounge

After a long day of work, meetings, or sightseeing, travellers can take an invigorating dip in the unique glass-sided rooftop pool or work out in the well-equipped fitness centre, both of which are perched on the 16th floor. For deeply soothing therapies, the fourth floor Song Spa promises world-class wellness based on time-honoured Vietnamese techniques.

Garth Simmons, CEO of Accor Southeast Asia said, We are delighted to unveil Grand Mercure Hanoi, nestled in the heart of one of Asias most historic cities. By highlighting its classical arts, crafts, culture, and cuisine, this new premium hotel will help visitors to gain a deeper understanding of their destination. Accor is fully committed to Vietnam, and as the recovery of travel accelerates, we look forward to welcoming a rising number of business and leisure guests to this dynamic country.

Accor is one of the leading hospitality companies in Vietnam, with 40 hotels and a strong pipeline of 40 projects across the country. Grand Mercure Hanoi is the group's eighth hotel in Vietnams capital city.

General manager of the new Grand Mercure Hanoi Andre Erasmus said, Discover Hanoi from our new city hotel, with a visionary design that uniquely combines traditional Vietnamese culture with contemporary flair. Modern yet timeless, matching the lifestyle of modern-day travellers, Grand Mercure Hanoi is the perfect base from which to explore Vietnams captivating capital and its rich heritage.
Illustrative image (Photo source: Antara)

Jakarta  As part of the first ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (AFMGM) 2023 in Bali on March 30, Indonesia organised a high-level seminar themed Aligning Policies for Climate Transition to support the message of sustainable development, one of the ASEAN priority economic deliverables (PED) this year.

Speaking at the event, Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo said central banks play a crucial role in building a framework for green finance transformation, highlighting transparency and sustainability, as well as developing policies and mechanisms towards the goal of achieving net zero emissions to mitigate climate change.

He stressed that the ASEAN countries need technical support in the green transition process, in which the role of central banks is not only to promote but also carry out green finance, especially through financing the transition.

Delegates at the event discussed experience from international organisations in promoting sustainable finance.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, climate transition financing for developing countries requires a clear framework to ensure consistent policies and encourage the private sector to engage in.

Statistics showed that the value of sustainable finance transactions in the ASEAN countries reached only 82 billion USD last year, much lower than the potential.

To optimise this potential, the regional countries were advised to develop innovative financial products and tools, issue favourable regulations and policies, improve information transparency, mobilise international coordination, and manage risks and policies.

Central banks in ASEAN discuss economic priorities The ASEAN Central Bank Deputies Meeting (ACDM) took place on March 28 in Indonesia to discuss the priority economic deliverables (PEDs) in 2023.

ASEAN faces challenge in financial exclusion: Indonesian minister Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani said on March 29 that financial exclusion remains a major challenge and also a crucial factor in ASEAN countries' economies, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Vietnam and Israel are boosting high-tech agricultural development cooperation, photo: Le Toan

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Vietnam and Israel have concluded final negotiations of the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA), and both want to sign the deal as soon as possible  with both nations celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relations this year.

Negotiations began at the end of 2015 and preparations for the signing are now being made. Currently, both countries have already exchanged their requirements on opening doors to their respective goods markets. Both sides have also determined their expectations on the levels and roadmaps of tariff reductions, especially for the groups of goods that can bring about big benefits and are their own competitive advantages.

For Vietnam, the key exports include electronics, agro-forestry-fishery products, garments and textiles, footwear, machinery, and wooden products. Meanwhile, for Israel, they are refined oil and petrol, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, computer software and hardware, farm produce, chemicals, and more.

According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Israel, Israel is Vietnams third-largest export market and fifth-largest trade partner in the Middle East region. Vietnam, meanwhile, is Israels biggest trade partner in Southeast Asia. The two countries held the latest negotiation round for the VIFTA in August 2022 in Jerusalem.

Once signed and entering into force, the VIFTA will help both nations to open their doors wider to their respective markets in goods exchanges, said Le Thai Hoa, trade counsellor at the office. The Israeli market is very potential for Vietnamese exports because it boasts great demands for imports that can be produced into finished products with high added value, especially for Vietnams group of processed food and foodstuffs and assorted consumer products. Israeli companies are serious in doing business, with swift transactions and high solvency.

Figures from the MoIT indicated that 2-way trade turnover increased from $1.2 billion in 2019 to $1.6 billion in 2020, $1.88 billion in 2021, and about $2.2 billion last year. The figure is expected to soar to about $3 billion next year or in 2025.

Vietnams key exports to Israel included mobile phones and spare parts, aquatic products, cashews, coffee, pepper, footwear, and garments and textiles. The country imports from Israel, which has a population of just over 9 million people, products such as computers, electronics spare parts, machinery, and fertilisers.

Over past years, the MoIT said, Vietnam has seen a trade deficit from Israel largely because companies in Vietnam have imported a large volume of computers and electronics spare parts for their production here. The finished products are then exported overseas and domestically consumed. It is estimated that the deficit was about $280 million in 2020, $320 million in 2021, and about $350 million last year.

In its global trade structure, Israel largely exports processed industrial items valued at more than $40 billion a year, and mainly imports materials for its domestic production (about $30 billion a year) and consumer goods such as home appliances, and food and foodstuffs ($15-16 billion annually).

However, according to the MoIT, recently Israel has tightened food safety standards. Despite strong integration, this country protects the market very closely, especially in the agricultural sector. The current average import tax rate for food and foodstuff products stands at 19.1 per cent, much higher than the 3 per cent rate of non-agricultural products.

Vietnam and Israel are now laying one of the focuses in their bilateral cooperation into the agricultural sector, for which Israel is renowned. The Vietnamese agricultural sector, with its high growth opportunities and growing need to better cater to the demands of firms and farmers, has been on the radar of Israeli high-tech businesses.

For example, currently, Vietnams TH Group is boosting its cooperation with Israeli firms in its projects worth billions of US dollars to produce fresh milk and agricultural products in Vietnam.

Specifically, Israels Afimilk is providing consultancy, an automatic milking system, and cow management software for the groups $1.2-billion high-tech concentrated dairy and fresh milk production project in the central province of Nghe An.

In another case, with over 40 years of providing agricultural smart solutions in various nations, Israels Aquaculture Productions Technologies (APT) is planning to begin its presence in Vietnam.

We provide solutions and services on consultancy and construction for fish farms both inland and offshore, said APTs CEO Michael Pascal.

Vietnam currently has nearly 4,000 hectares of tra fish, and the country is now one of the biggest exporters of this type of fish in the world. This will give us an opportunity to bring our high technologies to Vietnam, Pascal said.

APT is among many Israeli firms wishing to boost their investment and business in Vietnam, especially in the agricultural sector.

Three months ago, more than 50 Israeli firms joined a business-to-business matching event with Vietnamese partners in Tel Aviv, and wanted to cooperate with Vietnamese companies in developing projects on investment in and exportation of aquatic products, cashew nuts, coffee, and pepper. Cooperation in other sectors was also discussed, including mobile phones and spare parts, footwear, and garments and textiles.

Vietnams agricultural sector has great potential for further development, with high technologies to be applied. For example, Israels Agriancer is eager to introduce its high-quality plant varieties in the domestic market.

Vietnam is focusing on controlling food safety and hygiene, so we want to market here varieties with high capacity in disease resistance. We want to boost cooperation with local partners, said Trinh Phuong, country manager of Agriancer.

Likewise, Israels Galcon is also seeking to sign more contracts with partners in Vietnam. Currently, it is providing automatically controlled irrigation-related products in Vietnam with technology based on cloud and internet platforms.

We are implementing a number of projects in Vietnam. One of the most typical projects is a 25-hectare project in cooperation with Vietnams Vineco. In this project, all processes from irrigation and temperature controlling to harvesting are conducted automatically, said a representative of Galcon. This project is currently in the second stage. We also want to deploy other similar projects in Vietnam.

Accumulatively as of February 20, Israel had 40 valid projects in Vietnam registered at $145.5 million, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
On March 29, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha signed Decision No.318/QD-TTg approving Khanh Hoa's master planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

Accordingly, by 2030, the south central coastal province will fall directly under the central government as an international sea tourism and service centre, serving as the growth pole in the central coastal region, the Central Highlands, and the whole country in terms of the marine economy, high-tech industry, sci-tech, innovation, human resource training, and high-quality healthcare services.

The provinces GRDP growth rate for the 2021-2030 period is set to average 8.3 per cent per year.

Having been named as one of the leading coastal cities with the most liveable environment in Asia, Khanh Hoa aims to become a major marine hub for the country and a smart, environmentally friendly city that is on par with its regional peers in Asia.

Khanh Hoas master planning for this period identifies four pillars for breakthrough development.

Firstly, it aims to create breakthroughs in administrative reform, improve the business investment environment, and implement specific mechanisms and policies enacted by the National Assembly to effectively avail of all internal and external resources for socioeconomic development, particularly for the breakthrough development of Van Phong Bay, Nha Trang city, and Cam Ranh Bay.

Secondly, it wants to create breakthroughs in human resource development, especially for major industries such as tourism, processing, manufacturing, logistics services, seaports, fisheries, and IT.

Khanh Hoas master planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, identifies four pillars for breakthrough development.

Thirdly, the plan is to strengthen the research and application of sci-tech, especially in the fields of marine economic development such as oceanography, ocean technology, aquatic breed production, vaccines and medical products, and tourism services, while strongly promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and startups.

Finally, focus will be placed on fostering investment, while mobilising and effectively availing of the available resources to create breakthroughs in building a seamless and modern socioeconomic infrastructure system.

The spotlight will be on key projects, especially infrastructure for transport, economic zones (EZs), industrial parks, urban areas, seaports, and airports, and effectively adapting to climate change.

Of equal importance is developing ICT infrastructure to build and develop provincial databases that are in sync with the national systems to create a foundation for digital transformation in the province.

The master planning also identifies three dynamic development zones in Khanh Hoa.

Efforts will gear towards turning the Van Phong Bay-Van Phong EZ area into a modern marine hub, creating a driving force for the development of Khanh Hoa province in particular and the south central region in general.

Nha Trang city is expected to grow into an economic, political, cultural, social, scientific, technological, and human resource training centre to effectively promote its role as the growth pole and gateway for the international integration of Khanh Hoa province.

The Cam Ranh Bay area will be developed as a key economic and social location, in which Cam Ranh city will be developed for tourism and logistics and Cam Lam district will become a modern, ecological, and world-class airport city.

Developing two grade 1 urban centres

In light of the master planning, Khanh Hoa will have two grade 1 urban centres, Nha Trang city and Cam Lam new urban area, along with many other urban areas of different grades.

Van Phong EZ will grow into a modern marine centre, consisting of North Van Phong and South Van Phong.

North Van Phong is set to become a world-class tourism and resort urban centre, leveraging high-class marine tourism to benefit from its geographical location and scenic local landscape.

Efforts will be made to build a world-class marina to welcome passenger ships and luxury yachts, along with a seaport and associated logistics services.

Meanwhile, South Van Phong is oriented to become an industrial hub with associated seaports, urban projects, and coastal tourism services. It will focus on attracting industrial park infrastructure development projects, high-tech industry, energy, oil and gas processing, shipbuilding, manufacturing, processing, and supporting industries.

It will also be important to develop cargo ports associated with the logistics centre in South Van Phong to serve both the Central Highlands and the central coastal regions.

Khanh Hoa adjusts transport rules to welcome cruise ship tourists Khanh Hoa People's Committee has removed the transport bottlenecks to bring more cruise ship tourists to the locality.

Vietnams status as one of world's most livable countries brings real estate opportunities Vietnam climbed three ranks in the list of the most livable countries for expats in 2022. The influx of expats coming to Vietnam, especially Hanoi, has brought along dynamic changes in various fields to meet their needs. Without a doubt, real estate investors have a huge opportunity.
An Illinois mom got taken in by the police for the death of a starved toddler.

She was accused of murder because of refused to feed the child due to no motivation.

The woman was charged with first-degree murder after her toddler son died less than 10 pounds.

An Illinois woman was accused of murder after authorities discovered the death of her starved toddler. The mother reasoned that she was uninterested in caring for her young son.

Illinois Mother Intentionally Starves Toddler

Cook County police arrested Jamie Hannion, 22, for starving her 19-month-old son to death last year. All indications were total neglect for the child's care because the mother did not feel motivated to do so, reported Law and Crime.

Early in the month, the mother was brought to Tennessee under custody and then sent back to Cook County a week ago. Police charged Hannion with one count of murder in the first degree, a felony for placing a child's life in danger. The victim of the grave abuse was identified as Nathan Wisdom, who was less than 10 pounds when he died at 19 months old.

Death of 19-Month-Old Toddler Discovered

An outlet said that on October 18, 2022, there was a call on 911 that summoned the deputies of the Cook County Sheriff's Office to respond about a baby in danger. They arrived at Hannion's home on the 800 block of Victory Lane in incorporated Lyons Township, 15 miles from Chicago, noted The Chicago Tribune.

It was later known the sister of the accused made the 911 call when she found the baby lifeless in the crib. The sister was there to take care of her nephew after being asked by the toddler's mom.

Read Also: Washington Babysitter Arrested After Beating Friend's 1-Year-Old Child to Death

What the police found was shocking, seeing the boy very malnourished in the room and dead when they got there. Deputies reported that Wisdom had been dead longer than described as rigor mortis set in. Other details show that Wisdom's body was cold, and his lips were blue. The toddler was found in the worst condition as his body was covered in feces and vomit, as mentioned in an affidavit of probable cause cited by WFLD.

Autopsy Reveals Mom Starved the Toddler to Death

Extra details stated that an autopsy done by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office revealed that it was a homicide and that he did not get enough nourishment. The coroner added his stomach showed that he was not fed for three days. His weight was 6.6 pounds when born but 9.5 pounds at death.

Court files stated that more than enough food was at the suspect's house because their cats were healthy. Ironically the mother chooses to feed them better and let Wisdom starve to death.

Based on the autopsy, the police got a warrant for the arrest of Hannion, but she was out of state visiting relatives. On March 7, she was caught and taken to Illinois on the 23rd.

In court, the prosecutors showed his mom neglected and starved him for days. He was never taken out of the crib, but before he died, Hannion recalls she heard him screaming last Saturday but ignored him. When it stopped, she never checked, and her sister came over only to find him dead.

Illinois mom had starved a toddler to death and never gave the care needed; she was accused of murder after autopsy results.

Related Article: Missing Michigan Boy Drowns in 1 Foot Still Water After Trying To Go Over Pool Cover
Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that Vietnam will continue its coordination with other nations involved in the wide-reaching agreement (CPTPP) to soon round off negotiations on the UKs accession to the trade deal.

Kinks to iron out to prepare for British involvement in trans-pacific agreement, illustration photo/ Source: VNA

Vietnam reaffirms its strong support for the UK to join the CPTPP which, in addition to the positive impacts of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), will help both nations to further increase their trade and investment ties. The UKs participation in the deal will also bring about wonderful trade opportunities for each member, Dien said.

The CPTPP, established in 2018, includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Brunei is the sole member yet to see the agreement come into force. The trade area represents 13.5 per cent of the global economy, a total of $10 trillion and 15 per cent of global trade revenue, equal to $5 trillion.

The UK is on the cusp of joining the CPTPP, long held out as a key post-Brexit prize. Within a few weeks, two visits have been paid by British officials to Vietnam, working on boosting the upcoming accession.

As a major economy and strong advocate of free trade, our membership will support the trade bloc to shape the high standards of global trade  particularly in the face of increased protectionism, said UK trade minister Greg Hands when he visited Vietnam on February 1. Joining the agreement will add even more economic clout to this exciting and dynamic trade alliance, helping it grow to 11 trillion (nearly $14 billion) or from 12 to 15 per cent of global GDP.

The UK believes that its membership will add another like-minded partner and strong voice to this powerful alliance. It will give British businesses tariff-free access to over 99 per cent of goods to a market of around 500 million customers.

We hope that Vietnam would continue helping the UK call on other countries to complete negotiations, added Mark Garnier, the UKs trade envoy for Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Brunei at a meeting with Minister Dien on March 13 in Hanoi.

However, according to an updated report for March from the UK Parliament, the road for the UK to reach CPTPP membership may contain a few more bumps.

The government had hoped that negotiations could be concluded by the end of 2022. However, as the UK is the first country to seek to join the CPTPP after establishment, it is difficult to make predictions about how the accession process will operate in practice, said the report. Existing members may want to ensure that the process is rigorous, especially as other countries are interested in joining.

In 2021, China and Taiwan applied to join, while Ecuador applied a few months later and South Korea also announced that it would begin the application process to join. Other markets have also expressed interest, including Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Colombia.

In November 2021, the British International Agreements Committee published a report on the UKs negotiating objectives. The committee found that while the objectives provided some information about what it hoped to achieve, they were lacking in detail. The report raised concerns in a number of areas, including intellectual property and food standards.

The UK Parliament report also cited some commentators as having observed that agricultural standards, digital trade, and investment protection provisions may be issues in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, there have also been differences in approaching benefits from the deal, so the negotiations may take longer. For example, foreign media said Canadas demand that Britain opens up its beef market thwarted hopes of a breakthrough during talks earlier this month. Canada is now also negotiating a bilateral trade deal with the UK at the same time as London vies to join the bloc.

Along with Mexico, Canada is pushing for the UK to offer the same market access it granted on agriculture as it did in pacts with Australia and New Zealand. In those deals, which have proven controversial among British farmers who fear the impact on their livelihoods, the UK agreed to drop tariffs on beef and sheep meat imports over 10-15 years.

Currently, the Vietnam-UK trade and investment ties are largely driven by the UKVFTA which took effect in May 2021, in addition to the Southeast Asian economys improved investment and business climate.

As part of the UKVFTA, 85.6 per cent of tariff lines for goods imported by the UK from Vietnam were eliminated in January 2021, and 99.2 per cent will be removed by 2027, according to the UKs Department for International Trade.

UK-Vietnam trade continues to grow: bilateral trade reached nearly 6.4 billion (nearly $7.8 billion) in 2022, up by over 20 per cent on-year, and Garnier is confident this relationship will continue to strengthen.

This is a hugely significant year as we mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between our two countries. I am delighted to reaffirm the UKs commitment to bolstering our trade and strategic relationship with Vietnam, and to building new commercial partnerships across key sectors, he said.

Vietnams Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that accumulatively as of February 20, the UKs total registered investment capital in Vietnam was $4.25 billion for 511 valid projects, including $1.2 million for the January-February period.
Lao Airlines aircraft (Photo source: Lao Airlines)

Da Nang - The central city of Da Nang on March 30 welcomed 150 tourists from Vientiane, Laos, on the first direct flight of Lao Airlines after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move signifies a promising growth in tourism, investment and trade between Laos, northeast of Thailand and central Vietnam.

The airline began its schedule with two flights per week on Thursday and Sunday before increasing to daily flights in the future.

The group of Lao tourists will visit destinations in Da Nang and the UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites in Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary and Thua Thien-Hue province.

Its the third city that Lao Airlines has resumed its post-pandemic flights to after Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Lao Airlines said it would help connect and attract more visitors from the Republic of Korea and China to Vietnam through the Vientiane-Da Nang air route.

Da Nang city's Department of Tourism said the reopening of the flights would help boost tourism among world heritage sites in central Vietnam and destinations in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, northeast of Thailand in tourism links built between Laos and Vietnam.

The department said Laos was an important destination in the top-ten tourism market in 2022 with 10,000 tourists visiting, making up 2.1% of all international visitors to Da Nang.

Da Nang was a key hub in central Vietnam that help connect Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam through the East-West Economic Corridor in promoting tourism, trade, international logistics in the region.

Da Nang to launch public bike rental service in late March The central city of Da Nang will launch a one-year pilot programme on providing public bikes from March 29 in the hope of curbing personal vehicles, reducing environmental pollution, and promoting smart sustainable transport, according to the citys Transport Department.

Da Nang revives FDI inflow The central beach city of Da Nang is taking measures to revive the foreign direct investment (FDI) flow with a view to attracting 7 billion USD in this capital by 2030.
Breeding farms could lose out massively if relocation strategies are not efficient Photo: Le Toan

In March, the Dong Nai Breeding Association, which represents over 6,000 breeding households and livestock companies operating in the province, met with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Dong Nai Peoples Committee to discuss solutions to minimise damage for breeding farms that have been placed on a list for relocation or termination.

In late February, Dong Nai Peoples Committee revealed that it required relocation of 2,100 breeding farms and to shut down approximately 900 breeding facilities before January 2025. The reason for the drastic move is to remove livestock facilities from residential areas, which are causing untold amounts of environmental pollution.

The provinces decision immediately worried breeding households and livestock companies, with representatives stating that the roadmap is too short, financial information or assistance is scarce, and there is zero information on where to locate to.

Dong Nai is a hub for some of the largest livestock companies in the country, such as C.P. Vietnam, Cargill, CJ, Masan, and Hoa Phat. These groups manage farms under outsourcing and rental facilities.

Nguyen Tri Cong, chairman of the Dong Nai Livestock Association, told VIR, The affected facilities make up half of the total breeding facilities in the province. Many of these are large-scale outsourcing farms of foreign-invested enterprises and their farms.

Cong acknowledged that relocating and shutting down livestock farms that cause environmental pollution is reasonable, but there is more to consider. Many facilities have been built methodically and were taken into operation only a short time ago with massive amounts of total investment. Many licences of such facilities are nowhere near expiring. If they are forced to relocate, they will suffer large damage financially, Cong said.

The province has announced this deadline for relocation and shutdown without attaching any specific guidance or compensation information. This is why both households and firms are confused about the potential expenditure to implement this task, he added.

In front of the concerns, the association has been working with the authorities to look at building a compensation price framework and simultaneously propose extension of the deadline to relocate new farms and valid large-scale farms.

The association also raised the concern that the facilities set to be relocated account for 60 per cent of livestock product sources of the province. Thus, the huge undertaking over a short period of time may cause supply chain disruption of livestock products not only in Dong Nai but also in Ho Chi Minh City.

Many outsourcing farms and breeding facilities of both domestic and foreign-invested firms have been operating for nearly 20 years and cause water and air pollution. It is a nationwide problem, in which many facilities have caused violations and been handed fines worth thousands of dollars.

Several farms under Dabaco Group management in Tuyen Quang, Bac Ninh, Haiphong, Phu Tho, Ha Nam, and Ha Tinh provinces were fined in recent times for violations relating to the discharge of waste into the environment.

Tracking down locations for farms is also a major concern. A representative of one foreign-invested livestock company told VIR that the company wants to expand its farm network, but it is struggling to find a suitable location.

The location must be far away from residential areas, but on top of that, many localities do not encourage livestock ventures. And if they do, they tend not to allocate much land in their planning, he said.

In Dong Nai, many districts such as Thong Nhat, Cam My, and Trang Bom, are refusing new livestock projects due to concerns about environmental pollution. Land for the sector is further narrowed because the province wants to extend planning for industrial parks in order to attract high-quality ventures.

The procedures for getting licences are also complicated and require approvals from many departments. In some cases, we have available capital to implement projects but fail due to the barrier of procedures, the representative added.

Livestock groups report gloomy profit Many livestock companies may fail to reach their profit targets for the whole year due to the low selling prices of pork and a surge in input costs.

All options on the table as livestock firms take on losses Livestock businesses in Vietnam are struggling with record low profits after a drop in both prices and demand.
Speaking at an event for "Support to Vietnam for the implementation of the Paris Agreement (VN-SIPA), Jens Schmid-Kreye, deputy director of the Department of Economic Cooperation and Development at the German Embassy in Vietnam said, "The Vietnamese government and people can depend on the assistance of the German government to help the country strive towards the objectives of the Paris Agreement."

Jens Schmid-Kreye, deputy director of the Department of Economic Cooperation and Development, Embassy of Germany in Vietnam

Schmid-Kreye urged Vietnamese agencies and sectors to continue "joining hands and working collaboratively towards the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 by implementing the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and the Just Energy Transition Partnership." Vietnamese ministries and sectors are integrating strategic policies and plans with solutions to execute the NDC to provide a foundation and legal framework for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Pham Van Tan, deputy director of the Department of Climate Change within the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), stated that Phase I of the project concluded with many noteworthy results and accomplishments in assisting various ministries and sectors in meeting their climate commitments. The second phase of the project will commence with new plans and objectives.

"We hope that the German government will assist in improving the systems and technical regulations of the industries in Vietnam, which is a developing country but also works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the ozone layer," said Tan.

Vietnam is one of the nations most severely impacted by climate change, and so is firmly dedicated to collaborating with the international community to combat global warming.

During the COP26 conference, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pledged to achieve 0 net emissions by 2050. The government has pledged to increase the unconditional emission reduction rate from 9 per cent to 15.8 per cent, and the conditional emission reduction rate from 27 per cent to 43.5 per cent.

The project has already made significant contributions, such as consulting and supporting the process of establishing a policy and legislative framework on climate change after almost four years of implementation, and bolstering the national ability to manage and coordinate the implementation of the NDC and the Paris Agreement.

The government ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and developed a roadmap for its implementation. Since that time, the Vietnamese government has enforced this accord with determination.

The VN-SIPA project is jointly implemented by the MoNRE and the German Development Agency (GIZ), under the direction of the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning and Investment, Transport, Construction, and the provinces of Quang Binh and Ha Tinh.

VN-SIPA has coordinated with partners, including in the private sector, to successfully pilot three ecosystem-based adaptation solutions for urban areas in Dong Hoi city, Quang Binh, and five farming models based on ecosystems and smart agriculture that adapt to climate change in Ha Tinh.

Enhanced cooperation for ocean sustainability and climate change The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Norwegian Embassy in Hanoi inked an agreement on November 23 to support the planning of maritime space for ocean sustainability and climate change response in Vietnam.

Thailand, Japan join hands against climate change According to Thai Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpacha, Thailand and Japan have agreed to establish a marine litter monitoring centre as part of their bilateral climate change cooperation.
Speaking at a meeting on March 30, Deputy Prime Minister Ha said, "Planning cannot be entirely reliant on the government or subcontracted to enterprises."

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha

According to Ha, the concerns included in the preparation must be calculated, analysed, and be reflective of market demand and industrial development criteria, among them reserve time, product quality standards, storage systems, fire safety, and sanitation facilities.

The DPM stated, "The framework of private, corporate, commercial, and national reserves for emergencies must be described in terms of management model, administered and coordinated to ensure consistency, and harmonised in the interests of all stakeholders."

According to the standards of the International Energy Agency, the national planning on storage and stockpiling of petroleum and gas seeks to guarantee extra capacity of petroleum products and crude oil for the entire country equal to 7580 days of net imports, moving towards 90 days of net imports. Minimum gas reserve capacity is focused on meeting 15 days of consumption.

The necessary infrastructure will be developed in line with transport connection capacity, with priority given to areas where large-scale seaports have been planned and areas that are conducive to waterway and land traffic. Efforts will be made to exploit all domestic resources and encourage foreign investors to invest in the infrastructure.

The system must conform to current standards, rules, and practises, as well as the country's requirements for economic growth and international integration.

The planning consultancy unit estimates that the total investment capital required will be approximately $11.5 billion, the majority of which will be mobilised from outside the budget, through private enterprise or other legal sources of funding.

State budget funds are prioritised for increasing the level of the national reserve for petroleum products.

According to Dr. Bui Ngoc Bao, chairman of the Vietnam Petroleum Association, international market fluctuations, supply capacity, and market demand, as well as government directives regarding infrastructure, energy conversion, and environmental issues, have a significant impact on the planning process. Therefore, the master plan for implementation should make the necessary modifications to prevent rigid planning should the energy structure change in the near future.

Current fresh petroleum reserves amount to around 65 days worth of net imports. Several facilities built to the old standards do not satisfy the new standards and require extensive renovations and repairs to guarantee compliance with modern requirements and safety protocols.

The storage system for liquefied petroleum gas has a restricted capacity. Presently, there are only ten warehouses with a capacity of 10,000 cubic metres or more, with no liquefied natural gas (LNG) warehouses operational.

Since industrial park development has not yet designated a corridor for gas pipes, as the building of additional gas pipelines from LNG storage to customers is fraught with difficulty.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) coordinated the formulation of the National Petroleum and Gas Supply and Storage Infrastructure Plan, specifying a number of articles of the Planning Law. These include ensuring consistency between the planning and socioeconomic development strategies, while meeting the requirements of economic development in harmony with environmental and national security needs.

The approved planning will serve as the basis for state management requirements and will serve as a guide for enterprises that wish to invest in expanding the national petroleum and gas reserve infrastructure.

Ministry of Industry and Trade aims to stabilise petrol market In 2022, Vietnam imported 8.87 million tonnes of petroleum, worth $8.97 billion, a sharp increase of 27.7 per cent year-on-year in volume and an increase of 118.5 per cent in value.

MoIT and MoF discuss seven petroleum market issues The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has suggested seven provisions to secure the petroleum supply, including an increase in the national petroleum reserve from nine to fifteen days of net imports.
The company generated consolidated revenue of over $1 billion in 2022, representing an increase of $187.5 million on-year. Expenditure increased only slightly, bringing gross profit from $163.6 to $446.7 million. Meanwhile, the gross profit margin on sales surpassed 40 per cent to reach 46.4 per cent.

Revenue from Africa and Southeast Asia grew to a combined total exceeding $900 million for the first time, making a significant contribution to the company's growth last year.

Specifically, revenue from Africa increased by 28 per cent to $460 million. Meanwhile, revenue from the Southeast Asia market increased by 24 per cent to $447 million. Revenue from the Latin American market reached $97 billion.

Affiliated companies generated $10.6 million, an increase of about $85 million compared to the previous year.

Viettel Global recorded a pre-tax profit of over $127.5 million for the first time last year, more than tripling the $37.4 million achieved in 2021.

After-tax profit reached $65.5 million, while after-tax profit of parent company shareholders hit $35.4 million.

By the end of 2022, Viettel Global had posted total assets of more than $2.14 billion and equity of more than $1.24 billion.

Viettel Global posts impressive H1 profits Following the growth momentum of the previous quarter, Viettel Global continued to post strong revenue and profit in the second quarter of the year.

Viettel Global posted revenue of nearly $500 million in the first half of 2022 The strong growth of the African market has made a significant contribution to the overall results of Viettel Global.
Visa extension proposal is expected to help boost tourism. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  The Government has agreed to propose to the National Assembly some new policies relating to the immigration, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam, including one on a visa extension to 90 days.



15-day stay too short



Do Van Thuc, Deputy Director of Dat Viet Tour Company, said his trans-national tours are favoured by many international tourists, adding that such tours offer six days in the north and another six days in the central region.



Therefore, those with visa-free stay of only 15 days will not have enough time to travel the southern region, he said.



According to the official, many international tourists initially plan to spend only two weeks in Vietnam. However, the countrys charm has persuaded them to stay longer, and seek ways to extend their visa.



Many others spend up to two days on flights to the Southeast Asian nation. Meanwhile, many tourist destinations in Vietnam are far apart, with some taking the whole day to travel, Thuc said.



For those who want to take a one-month vacation, visa extension can be time-consuming and costly.



Thuc expressed his hope that Vietnam's unilateral visa exemption policy for foreign citizens and some new policies on the management of immigration, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam will help attract more international tourists and increase revenue for travel firms.



Invitation cards to international tourists

Nguyen Cong Hoan, General Director of Flamigo Redtours and head of the digital transformation and communication department under the Vietnam Tourism Association, held that visa procedure simplification helps to raise Vietnams competitiveness in the regional race of luring visitors.



Travel firms have launched 30-day tours, yet they remain unattractive to foreigners due to the short-stay visa policy, he pointed out.



He called Vietnams visa relaxation an invitation card to tourists, saying it demonstrates the countrys warm welcome and best support to them, and contributes to promoting the domestic tourism.

Visa extension would also be a source of encouragement to travel firms, motivating them to invest more in tourism promotion, Hoan said.



Nguyen Tran Hoang Phuong, CEO of Golden Smile Travel Company and Vice President of the Institute of Social Tourism Research, said apart from visa extension, Vietnam should change its entry policy and reduce visa costs.

More flexible visa policy finally on cards after multiple gripes Vietnam is gearing up efforts to ease its visa requirements to facilitate travel for citizens from more countries.

Visa exemption means international tourists can visit Phu Quoc for up to 30 days Phu Quoc Island is an ideal choice for travel and long-term relaxation thanks to a visa exemption policy for international visitors, temporary stays of up to 30 days, rich nature, and impressive architecture.
BOSTON (AP)  A former Boston police officer was arrested Thursday on charges that he assaulted a police officer after storming the U.S. Capitol with the mob of President Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.

Joseph Robert Fisher is accused of pushing a chair into a Capitol police officer inside the building as the officer was running after another rioter who deployed pepper spray, according to court documents. Moments later, Fisher also engaged in a physical assault against the officer, which ended with Fisher on the ground, an FBI agent wrote in the court papers.

A current Boston police officer helped investigators identify Fisher in photographs, the agent wrote.

The 52-year-old was arrested at his home in Plymouth, Massachusetts and released on conditions after an initial court appearance Thursday. Fisher retired in 2016 after serving more than 20 years in the police force, including as part of the K-9 unit, a department spokesperson said.

He's charged with assaulting an officer, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and other crimes. The Associated Press sent an email to an attorney who represented Fisher for his initial appearance in Boston.

Fisher is among several people charged in the riot who were working or previously worked in law enforcement on Jan. 6. The rioter who received the longest sentence so far  10 years in prison  was a retired New York City police officer who used a metal flagpole to assault an officer.

Also on Thursday, authorities arrested a Colorado man who prosecutors say was part of a group of rioters who violently pushed against officers desperately trying to defend the Capitol from the angry mob in a tunnel.

Jonathan Grace, of Colorado Springs, faces charges including felony civil disorder. The 49-year-old is also supposed to appear in court on Thursday in Denver. No attorney was immediately listed for him in court records.

Surveillance video shows Grace entering a tunnel where officers were lined up as they tried to beat back the mob. Grace can be seen putting his head down and using his body to push in unison with other rioters against the police line, authorities say. As the rioters pushed, one of officers screamed in pain while being crushed between a shield and a door frame in one of the most harrowing scenes from the riot, according to court documents.

After officers at one point managed to clear rioters out of the tunnel, Grace watched as other rioters dragged a D.C. police officer out of the tunnel and brutally attacked him, authorities say. He then re-joined the rioters pushing against the police line and retreated only after officers sprayed a chemical irritant at the crowd, according to court documents.

They join roughly 1,000 people who have charged with federal crimes in the riot that halted the certification of President Joe Bidens victory and left dozens of police officers injured. All of the cases are being prosecuted in Washington D.C.s federal court and authorities continue to make new arrests practically every week.

More than 540 defendants have pleaded guilty. Dozens more have been convicted by judges or juries after trials. More than 440 have been sentenced, with over half getting terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years.

Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.

Follow the APs coverage of the Capitol riot at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  The Florida Senate on Thursday passed a bill repealing a law requiring a unanimous jury recommendation for the death penalty, a reaction to the life sentence handed to the man who massacred 17 people at a Parkland high school.

The bill passed on a 29-10 vote and will allow the death penalty with a jury recommendation of at least 8-4 in favor of execution. The House still needs to approve the bill. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis supports the proposal.

The bill was proposed after a divided 9-3 jury spared Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz in November from capital punishment for killing 17 at the school in 2018. The Parkland school shooter instead received a life sentence.

What happened in Parkland was abhorrent. What happened in Parkland was a tragedy that will forever stain this state, said Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, the bill sponsor. That verdict shocked the conscience not only of the people of Parkland, not only the people in Florida, but people across the United State of America.

Only three states out of the 27 that impose the death penalty do not require unanimity. Alabama allows a 10-2 decision, and Missouri and Indiana let a judge decide when there is a divided jury.

For decades, Florida had not required unanimity in capital punishment, allowing a judge to impose capital punishment as long as a majority of jurors were in favor of the penalty. But in 2016 the U.S. Supreme Court threw out state law, saying it allowed judges too much discretion.

The state Legislature then passed a bill requiring a 10-2 jury recommendation, but the state Supreme Court said such recommendations should be unanimous, prompting lawmakers in 2017 to require a unanimous jury.

Three years later, the state Supreme Court, with new conservative jurists appointed by DeSantis, rescinded its earlier decision and ruled that a death recommendation does not need to be unanimous. Floridas unanimity standard has remained untouched until now.

While Democratic Sen. Jason Pizzo voted for the bill, he warned senators that they shouldn't be passing legislation like this because of one case, even if they, like he, believe Cruz deserves the death penalty.

This deliberate body can't just immediately react to one particular horrific case, he said. I can make the argument on either side, but let's just be intellectually honest about why we're doing it: If that verdict didn't happen, we wouldn't be having this bill.
Expert verifies the KF-2l Boramae is ready for air-to-air missions.

The French Rafale missiles were fired by KF-2l Boramae in its tests.

Two prototypes of the KF-2l Boramae took part in the tests done by the Korean Air Force.

After a series of tests, South Korea's KF-21 Boramae fighter jet is ready for missions, an expert verifies it is at that stage. Another is that it fires missiles mounted on Rafales with no problems.

KF-21 Boramae Fires Missiles Successfully

Tests on two prototypes were done over the sea on South Korea's southern coast after they left Sacheon, where the 3rd Flying Training Wing of the Republic of Korea Air Force, location is 300 kilometers from the capital Seoul, reported The Eurasian Times.

Trials of four units in flight testing with a total of six KF-21 prototypes are involved in testing the limits of Boramae in 2,000 tests until February of 2026. These particular trials use the second and third units in particular. The second unit will check how the plane's structural load capacity is handled. Unit three tests how fast the plane is and how much payload it can mount.

Another test for the second unit was how the launching of middle-range Meteor missiles would fare. Crucial is the separation of the ordnance from the hardpoint with no issues. A third unit will test how firing 100 rounds from its cannon will affect the airframe, per Military Watch Magazine.

Based on the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, which is Sokor's agency that buys arms, stated the tests had objectives that must be satisfied. These are alterations to the airframe, engine, and aerodynamic structures while in operation to make sure no problem happens, per Defense Korea.

Read Also: Indonesia To Favor South Korean KF-21 Boramae Fighter Over French Dassault Rafale

Development of the KF-21 Boramae Fighter

The cost of the KF-21 Boromae development is $6.9 billion, which started in 2015 to design a 4.5 gen fighter jet to retire its aging F-4 and F-5 fighter fleet, cited Yonhap News.

Once all relevant trials are done in 2026, the fighter jet will be mass-produced by Sokor. The ROKAF will buy 100 of these Korean jets by 2032.

The Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) will boost the new Korean jet, taking out targets over 100 kilometers. Meteor, made by MBD, engages agile targets and has been on the Swedish Air Force's JAS 39 Gripens since 2016. It is also mounted on the Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoons, and even the F-35 stealth fighter.

ROKAF says it will mix the KF-21 and F-35s with one for air defense with a stealth jet for attacking enemy radars. Abraham Ait said both are good plans for a tandem operation. In time the KF-21 will be used, not the F-15 or F-16.

Is Asian Jet a Western Competition for Export?

The Boramae is the first Korean-made supersonic jet showing SoKor's defense industry can make fighter planes. Seoul joins the United States, Russia, China, Japan, and France as members of nations capable of developing and building these jets.

For export, it will be as good as western-produced arms but with no high price tag. There will be buyers from Thailand and the Philippines when the time comes. The Koreans have already sold defense products to Poland and a few others. To get the KF-21 ready for missions, it needs to see how it fires missiles and other tests to prove airworthiness.

Related Article: KF-21 Boramae Hits the Skies as South Korea's Contender in the 5th Generation Stealth Fighter

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Lefortovo prison, where American journalist Evan Gershkovich has been jailed on espionage charges, dates from the czarist era and has been a terrifying symbol of repression since Soviet times.

The inconspicuous, pale yellow complex in eastern Moscow was built as a military penitentiary in 1881 and was used for low-ranking convicts sentenced to relatively short terms. But it gained its notoriety after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, when it became a top detention facility for the Soviet secret police.

Under Soviet leader Josef Stalins Great Terror of mass arrests in the 1930s, Lefortovo was one of the main pre-trial detention facilities for enemies of the people, equipped with torture chambers to extract confessions. Stalins sadistic secret police chief, Lavrentiy Beria, personally took part in some prisoner interrogations and executions in its basement.

Vasily Blyukher, one of the highest-ranking Red Army officers, was among those who died in 1938 after being tortured in Lefortovo.

After Stalins death in 1953, the prison continued to serve as main detention facility for the KGB, which used it for espionage suspects and political dissidents. Stalins younger son Vasily was held in Lefortovo at one point following his fathers death as the countrys new leaders prosecuted him for various offenses.

Nobel prize author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who chronicled Stalins purges in his Gulag Archipelago, spent a night in Lefortovo in 1974 before being expelled from the Soviet Union.

Soviet dissidents Vladimir Bukovsky and Natan Sharansky were held there during Leonid Brezhnev's rule and later released in prisoner exchanges, and Brezhnev's son-in-law, Yuri Churbanov, served time there on corruption charges soon after the leader's death.

Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was put in Lefortovo after his 1986 arrest on bogus espionage accusations. He was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Unions U.N. mission who was arrested by the FBI on spying charges.

Gershkovich, a 31-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal, is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since Daniloff. The Journal denied the allegations and demanded Gershkovich's release.

Mathias Rust, a German teenager who astonished the world by landing his light plane on Red Square in 1987 after fooling Soviet air defenses, also was held in Lefortovo until his release the following year.

After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the leaders of a hard-line parliamentary rebellion against Russias first president, Boris Yeltsin, in 1993 also were held there until their amnesty the following year.

Other famous Lefortovo inmates included Russian intelligence officers Alexander Litvinenko and Sergei Skripal, both later poisoned in the U.K. in what British authorities described as Moscow-engineered attacks. Litvinenko died in London in 2006 after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium, while Skripal and his daughter survived their 2018 poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok.

Even though it was formally transferred to Justice Ministry jurisdiction in 2005, the Federal Security Service, the top KGB successor agency that is known under its acronym FSB, has maintained de facto control of the facility.

All those arrested by the FSB on spying charges and some other high-profile suspects, including government officials accused of corruption, are held in Lefortovo pending trial.

Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive and a former Marine, was held in Lefortovo after his arrest in 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have said are baseless. After his conviction in 2020, Whelan was transferred to another prison to serve his 16-year sentence.

Lefortovos trademark is holding its prisoners in total information isolation, said Yevgeny Smirnov, a prominent lawyer who has defended espionage and treason suspects.

No calls, no visitation, no newspapers, nothing, Smirnov told The Associated Press. At best, they will receive letters  and even then most likely with a delay of a month or two. Its one of the tools of suppression.

Smirnov and his colleague Ivan Pavlov said FSB espionage investigations typically last from a year to 18 months, followed by a trial behind closed doors. There have been no acquittals in treason and espionage cases in Russia since 1999, Pavlov said.

While Lefortovo has maintained its distinctive Soviet-era feel, one addition was a small Russian Orthodox church built on its grounds with small separate prayer cabins to keep inmates from being seen by others.

Authorities maintain a tight lid of secrecy on Lefortovo, not disclosing any details such as the number of prisoners held there. Russian media reports said it hosts no more than 200 prisoners at a time, normally kept in solitary confinement.

Writer Eduard Limonov, who spent two years in Lefortovo in the early 2000s after being charged with extremism for his political activities, described its dusty red carpets in the corridors, muffling the steps of inmates, and portraits of Soviet secret police founder Felix Dzerzhinsky in interrogation rooms.

Cell doors shut noiselessly, with the silence only broken when guards use clacking devices or banged metal pipes to warn colleagues that they were escorting a suspect to avoid meeting others.
A new headquarters in downtown Waco is a signal that the Magnolia is sinking even deeper roots in its hometown, Chip and Joanna Gaines told a crowd of community leaders at a dedication Thursday.

The couple, dressed in jeans and boots, voiced their love for Waco at the entrance of the remodeled Tribune-Herald building, which has been painted gleaming white and thoroughly remodeled for the companys administrative offices, design studios, test kitchen and publications.

What were doing is putting a stake in the ground here in Waco, Texas, in downtown Waco, with the Magnolia headquarters, Joanna Gaines told the crowd. Were saying we believe in this city, we believe in this beautiful community and we believe in the hope that is to come.

The couple is known for turning a tiny Waco home decor shop and a home remodeling business into a global brand. That brand includes the Magnolia Network, Magnolia Journal, and Target-based Hand and Hearth product line, not to mention short-term rentals, the Waco Castle and the nearby retail juggernaut, Magnolia Market at the Silos.

Bloomberg News reported last month that the Gaineses were exploring the sale of a minority stake in the company. But Joanna Gaines on Thursday stressed the couples ongoing commitment to the town where she grew up as the daughter of a tire shop owner.

We were really intentional about wanting to place our headquarters here in downtown Waco, Gaines said. We love the city, we love being close to the Silos. ... Weve really encouraged our employees and our staff to open their eyes and their ears to whats happening to the pulse of this city. Where is the need, where can we help? How can we partner and lock arms with those who are already doing amazing work, and help them get there quicker, faster, stronger?

The renovation of the former Tribune-Herald building at 900 Franklin Ave. adds some 225 employees to downtown Waco, mostly drawn from former offices on Bosque Boulevard and Imperial Drive in West Waco.

Magnolia already has a sizeable footprint in downtown, where projects include the renovation of the former Karem Shrine building on Washington Avenue for a boutique hotel, as well as the two-block Silos attraction, created out of the remnants of the old Brazos Cotton Oil Co.

The Gaineses approach to the 1950 Tribune-Herald building followed the same playbook as those projects, updating a faded landmark with sleek modern touches while paying homage to its past.

The renovation, which early on was estimated to cost $21 million, received about $4.5 million in local and state incentives, including $2.6 million in downtown tax increment funds, $1.25 million from the Waco-McLennan County Economic Development Corp. and $625,000 from the Texas Enterprise Zone Program.

Joanna Gaines added the Tribune-Herald to the projects thank-you list, which also included the city of Waco and the design and construction teams.

We dont take lightly the magnitude of the history that has happened in the walls of this building, she said. And I think one of the biggest things for us as we started to think about the design of this new space for Magnolia is, how do we retell that story that was already told so well, how do we honor the history of the Trib here? ... You really paved the way for storytelling here in Waco, Texas. Our hope is that we make you proud for the stories that we are now going to tell out of this building.

The Tribune-Herald moved out of the 110,000-square-foot building in spring 2021, more than a decade after printing operations were outsourced, leaving the building underused.

In his remarks, Mayor Dillon Meek called the Magnolia story incredible and listed its benefits to Waco: jobs, a major tourist destination, an international city PR campaign no town could ever pay for and the philanthropy of the Magnolia Foundation.

The foundation gave away about $5 million in 2019, according to the most recent Form 990 filing with the IRS, with beneficiaries including The Cove center for homeless youth, Compassion Ministries and Restoration Gateway.

Meek quoted a paraphrased version of Isaiah 58, which says of those who help the homeless and hungry: Youll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.

Meek helped Chip Gaines cut a massive red ribbon with a comically small pair of scissors, to the applause of the crowd.

The message for us this morning is simple, Chip Gaines said in his off-the-cuff remarks to the crowd. We want to tell the story that brings people hope and joy and optimism and excitement about the future. I think weve got plenty of stories that give us the opposite perspective.

We could not be more honored than to be mixing into this fixer upper, he added.
More than 200 people packed the VFW Hall in West Saturday to celebrate longtime Leroy resident Albert Miller, who recently turned 100.

Born on March 24, 1923, Miller is a U.S. Army veteran who still lives at home in Leroy, only a block from where he was born.

My mom was a full-blooded American Indian and my dad was German, he said. My grandparents lived in West. My great-grandparents were born in Leroy and Ross. When I was born they said I looked like a Kewpie doll and that is how I earned my first nickname Cupie.

Life was hard growing up those days, he said.

We took baths in No. 3 metal wash tubs, and there was no electricity, so we used kerosene lamps for light, he said. Our water came from rain barrels and then a well. My dad worked at the Leroy Mercantile Store and we also farmed cotton, corn and oats.

Miller attended San Marcos State Teacher College and studied engineering. He landed a job with the Civil Service in Corpus Christi. The Army came calling in 1946 and Albert was recruited to help clear the damage left from World War II.

A few of us received naval training and then they sent us to Tokyo, he said, adding that he served as a sergeant on a barge. I spent most of the time onboard in a small machine shop working on all kinds of things.

Following 14 months in the Army, Miller resumed his career at the Civil Service. He spent 33 years in service before retiring from the government.

I did many interesting things like working in the hangar with the precision-flying Blue Angels in Pensacola, Florida. When we got transferred to Fort Hood I tested helicopters from Vietnam before they went back into combat, and basically worked for all branches of the service.

Then I got my highest honor at Fort Hood, a 30-year Civil Service pin, which was a big deal.

Miller says his top prize though was landing the love of his life, Mary Rejcek. We married in 1948 and had seven children, all whose names begin with the letter J, he said. My initials are AFM, Marys was MAM and then we have seven JAMs.

Albert and Mary were married for 69 years. Mary died at age 90 in 2017. The Millers are blessed to have 18 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

Miller is able to remain in his home thanks to a little-known VA benefit called Aid and Attendance. The benefit enables him to utilize an in-home caregiver through the VetAssist Program and a local agency, Caring Senior Service, based in Waco.

The VetAssist Program is offered by Veterans Home Care, a private company that contracts other private companies such as Caring Senior Service to provide care such as help with dressing, bathing, light housekeeping, medication reminders and more.

The VetAssist Program provides assistance with the VA paperwork, assigns a client specialist for compliance monitoring and other services, with no out-of-pocket cost to the veteran.

Thanks to everyone I am able to live just a block or so from where I was born and plan to stay here until I die, he said. But Im still alive and kicking.
Translated report  Many thanks to Jose Manuel Gil, Sandglass Patrol

Just two months past the centenary marking the first successful autogyro flight, a modern replica of that same aircraft, a Cierva C.4 Autogiro*, flew on March 29th, 2023, in Ocana about forty miles east of Toledo, Spain.

The project is the result of a decision by a group of friends at the Getafe Ultralight Club to commemorate the centenary of Juan de la Ciervas historic first flight in his C.4 during January 1923. Following more than a thousand hours of design and fabrication work, the replica C.4 was ready for its official unveiling in January at Getafe Air Base, not far from the very spot where the original had first taken flight a hundred years earlier. The public unveiling took place at Camarenilla aerodrome this March, but the team chose to move the aircraft to Ocana for its first flight. They disassembled the replica C.4 in the morning, driving it to the historic Ocana Aerodrome by truck and then reassembling it.

Initial ground tests without the (unpowered) main rotor fitted, were carried out to check the engine operation and to test the aircraft in high-speed taxiing. After the crew fitted the rotor, a test run took place just a little after 6:00 p.m. local time. Pilot Fernando Rosello began the taxi run  but the autogiro lifted off briefly and then landed gently.

After this small jump, other takeoffs followed, until, finally, the Cierva took off and completed a couple of full circuits. Nerves, illusion and adrenaline were rewarded by seeing the autogyro take off from the ground without incident and land again successfully. The replica of the first successful autogyro is now flying!

This particular early model does not having direct control through the inclination of the rotor hub, but rather still retains roll and elevator control with ailerons and rudder. While the replica C.4 stays true to much of the original design concept, the replica team chose to include some safety concessions, such as a modern engine and a well-proven, two-bladed rotor design (in place of the original four-bladed system which had only a marginal useful life of just a few hours flight time). One of the team engineers added that the rotor system, as it is without direct control, is based on Ciervas patent, number 100595 of Dec 1926!

After alighting, Fernando Rosello stated that the aircraft behaved just as he had expected. It is a very stable aircraft, but since it lacks direct control (using aerodynamic control instead) it is slower to respond to control input. He flew as slowly as 50km/h and estimated a cruise of about 80km/h at about 4,500rpm, comparing it to 4,700rpm on his 80HP Rotax powered 912 gyroplane which flew at 80km/h with a positive variometer (rate of climb indicator).

The Original C.4 in History

by James Kightly

Like many aviation pioneers, Spaniard Juan de la Cierva sought a way of developing a safe aircraft and decided to attempt this by developing a rotorcraft, which would retain the wings airspeed irrespective of the aircrafts forward speed. His first three designs were unsuccessful, due to issues with managing the (unpowered) rotor, but his fourth  the C.4  achieved the first recorded flight of a powered, self-lifting autogyro in January 1923. It was flown by Alejandro Gomez Spencer at Cuatro Vientos airfield in Madrid, Spain.

The specific breakthrough was fitting the rotor with flapping hinges, enabling each rotor blade to move up and down, compensating for the difference of lift and airspeed with advancing and retreating blades in forward flight. When the C.4s engine failed shortly after an early test flight takeoff, the pilot brought the aircraft to a safe autorotating landing, proving one element of the types safety concept.

Cierva, alongside colleagues he collaborated with frequently, achieved many more developmental steps, and these advances fed into the later success of the helicopter, which used many of Ciervas breakthrough ideas in rotor design. A helicopter, of course, uses a powered rotor arrangement, which is the vehicles fundamental difference with the gyroplane, which features a free-wheeling rotor. As a consequence, helicopters typically offer significantly greater performance, but gyroplanes are far less complex and expensive to manufacture or maintain.

Tragically, and somewhat ironically, Juan de la Cierva y Codorniu, 1st Count of la Cierva, died as a passenger in a fixed wing aircraft when the KLM Douglas DC-2 he was aboard crashed soon after take off from Croydon Air Port near London, England on on a foggy morning, December 9th 1936.

Report and photographs with many thanks to Jose Manuel Gil, Aerospace Engineer, light aircraft pilot, blogger and podcaster at https://blog.sandglasspatrol.com. Please follow Joses blog for more details in Spanish.

*The type is known as an autogyro or gyroplane. Juan de la Cierva named it the autogiro originally, later patenting that spelling, which is thus correct only for use with Cierva (and derived) examples.
When the suspended aircraft at the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands need a spring clean, it calls for a specialist team of dustbusters with a head for heights to carry out the work! Suspended from the ceiling, up to 100ft in the air, eight aircraft including a Vulcan bomber, will all be given a light dusting this week as part of the annual clean and inspection. Other aircraft being spruced up include Canberra, Meteor, Sabre, Hunter, Lightning, Dakota, and Javelin.

Strapped into harnesses, the specialist cleaning team climbs the rafters of the building and abseils down to access the aircraft. No cleaning solutions are used on the aircraft, just good dusting using large soft fiber mops. In addition to cleaning the aircraft, the team will also be inspecting the suspension cables supporting the aircraft in their flying display positions.

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Tom Hopkins, Curator at RAF Museum Midlands said: All the aircraft and vehicles within the RAF Museums collection undergo a regular inspection by our Technicians and Volunteers, however, those suspended from the ceiling of our National Cold War Exhibition are 100ft high in some places and require a specialist team to carry out the work at dizzying heights.

During the cleaning, the Museum will remain open to visitors who can see the high-flying team from Rappel, industrial rope access specialists, in action. The Museums National Cold War Exhibition features 19 aircraft, tanks, vehicles, models, and memorabilia, and is the only place in the world where people can view all three British V-Bombers, the Vulcan, Victor, and Valiant, together and under one roof.

The Museum is open daily from 10am and admission is free. Pre-book your arrival time online at rafmuseum.org/midlands.
A Newborn Jupiter was very hot when it was formed, and it emitted intense light.

It was so hot in its early stages that its four largest moons could have been roasted that water and volatiles got eliminated.

The Galilean moons have differing densities due to this exposure to extreme radiations.

Newborn Jupiter possessed intense light so hot that its four Galilean moons lost their surface composition. The study says it influenced the moons and what they are today; some have no water, or their volatiles are not present anymore.

Newborn Jupiter So Hot Emitting Intense Light

Planetary scientist Carver Bierson and a team of astronomers from Arizona State University say that getting irradiated so much has determined how the Galilean moons are now with different compositions. Io is volcanically active and the closest to Jupiter, then ice-clad Europa, gigantic Ganymede, and the farthest scarred Callisto, reported a Science Alert.

Bierson and other researchers modeled the process of how the light roasted all the baby moons. It is suggested that it had water on it after forming long ago. They looked at where the Galilean moon is located in Jupiter, but it must have been closer billions of years ago. Based on the model, they used to show more intense radiation compared to other simulations. One conclusion is the irradiation happened very fast.

The researchers stated in their conference paper that from a few million years after getting formed, Io was hot like hell. On the surface, the moon would be more than 300 Kelvin caused by the radiation emitted by the Jovian planets, as presented at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Earth would be gentler with the hot day, but not on Io. If there was surface ice, that would become seas and has water vapor, creating an atmosphere.

Read Also: Researchers Think Venus Has an Active Volcano as Seen in Images

Galilean Moons Harsh Surface

On Io, gases cannot be retained due to the volcanic activity on the Jovian moon. Gases would leak out to space absorbed in a ring of plasma surrounding the Jovian giant, which sinks into the gaseous interior. Another effect is an ultraviolet aurora, according to Sci News.

It is implied that the moon former would have the atmosphere bleeding out like water vapor from the surface. One outcome is such dry work compared to any place in the solar system.

Europa, compared to Io, is less destruct to any liquid on the surface because there are global oceans with thick ice covering. But these are lesser oceans when the oceans might have been vast in the past.Most distant are Ganymede and Callisto, which are farthest from the Jovian giant with equal ice and rock. Compared to Io and Europa, they got less radiation and are very different in composition, which is quite evident.

The study's authors think their suggestion accounts for the denseness of the Galilean moons. All moons are supposed to form from an accretion disc of dust surrounding Jupiter. Newborn Jupiter hit the moon's surface with such an intense light that it baked Io, lessened Europa's seas, and affected their composition.

Related Article: Jupiter's Moon Europa Has Water in Earth-Like Ice Sheets That Gives Hint About Existing Alien Life
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, will offer free boating safety education classes during April at the Mississippi River Project Office near Locks and Dam 14 in Pleasant Valley.
WATERLOO  Rodney Berry had thoughts of expanding his food truck business by buying a couple of more vehicles and creating a fleet of sorts.

Instead, the owner of the 1st Base Bar-B-Que truck, whos been seen at local events like My Waterloo Days and other places around town including East Fourth and Sumner streets, decided to offer those famous ribs everybody likes out of a small building at 189 W. 11th St. in the eastern part of downtown.

The eatery will hold its grand opening at noon Saturday inside the building that most recently was home to The Snack Shack convenience store.

I was food truck crazy, and its just easier to sell food from a trailer, Berry said. But when this became available, I jumped on it. The day the liquor store closed around January was the day I expressed my interest and got it.

He still has aspirations to buy more trucks and maybe name them Second, Third and Home Base. In his younger years he acquired the nickname Base, an homage to the base-heavy music he would blast from his 1980s silver Chevy Caprice.

Berry had his eye on the 11th Street location after observing a good amount of food traffic in that corridor despite the bridge spanning the Cedar River being closed for construction.

He has fond memories of the area. He remembers riding his bike to a bakery near there for long johns and twisted donuts. That part of downtown now includes Varsity Cleaners, Crossroads Auto Sales, Milroys Tuxedos and C & S Car Company.

Berry started his food truck business about three years ago. Hes been cooking for most of his life, and those culinary skills have grown over time through meals made for his family. He enjoys every minute of grilling outdoors.

Ive always liked to cook and eat, said Berry. I watched my grandma (Barbara Berry) cook for all those years. She always said that if they came back for seconds, then you know its good.

Thats been the case with his business. The lines are long, and people kept calling on him to set up shop.

Im planning to be here for a long time, he said.

Hell offer his familiar ribs, baked beans, and chicken wings as well as Polish sausage, hamburgers, turkey legs, and pulled pork sandwiches. Sides will include potato salad, grilled macaroni and cheese, string beans, spaghetti and coleslaw.

I dont do anything real special, although I do have some secrets, said Berry. I rub it down, add some sauce and sprays and do what I do.

Ive been grilling a lot and have just gotten better over time, he added.

Pick-up will be offered at the building, and a few tables will be outside for sit-down, but indoor dining will not be offered. Carry-out orders can be made at the windows or over the phone by calling (319) 504-6717. DoorDash mobile delivery and catering also will be available.

With opening day right around the corner, Berry admits to being a tad nervous. But the expectation is hell be able to serve upwards of 200 people. Hell offer free samples and some specials in light of the occasion: the first five people get a free slab or rack of ribs and the next 10 will get a free Polish sausage.

Berry will be assisted by daughter Lajada, 18, and sister Diamond, a traveling nurse, and probably other relatives in the days to come.

My son wants to help out because he really looks up to Rodney, but hes only 12, said Diamond. My brothers been doing this for awhile, and you can tell that he really enjoys it. I think hell be really successful, and a lot of it is his laid back and friendly personality.

Tentative hours are set for 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. The eatery would be closed Sundays.

Highest-paying jobs that don't require a degree Highest-paying jobs that don't require a degree #50. Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment #49. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers #48. Real estate brokers #47. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants #46. First-line supervisors of correctional officers #45. Crane and tower operators #44. Insurance appraisers, auto damage #43. Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door #42. Media and communication equipment workers, all other #41. Stationary engineers and boiler operators #40. Wellhead pumpers #39. Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers #38. Railroad conductors and yardmasters #37. Boilermakers #36. Fire inspectors and investigators #35. Police and sheriff's patrol officers #34. Transit and railroad police #33. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators #32. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians #31. Chemical plant and system operators #30. Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators #29. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers #28. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers #27. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers #26. Pile driver operators #25. Gambling managers #24. Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment #23. Athletes and sports competitors #22. Gas plant operators #21. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers #20. Electrical power-line installers and repairers #19. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers #18. First-line supervisors of nonretail sales workers #17. Locomotive engineers #16. Transportation inspectors #15. Postmasters and mail superintendents #14. Signal and track switch repairers #13. Power plant operators #12. Subway and streetcar operators #11. Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels #10. Ship engineers #9. Detectives and criminal investigators #8. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay #7. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers #6. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers #5. Power distributors and dispatchers #4. First-line supervisors of police and detectives #3. Commercial pilots #2. Nuclear power reactor operators #1. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, will offer free boating safety education classes during April at the Mississippi River Project Office near Locks and Dam 14 in Pleasant Valley.

Classes, which are open to anyone 12 years and older, will be offered from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 1, 8, 15 and 22. Completion of only one of these courses is needed for certification.

All boaters, including those new to boating as well as seasoned individuals looking to brush up on safe boating knowledge, are encouraged to take the course. No on-the-water experience is offered during the classroom-based course. Upon successful completion of the class and exam, participants will be issued an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Boat Safety Certification, which is honored in both Iowa and Illinois.

Registration for the class is required, and youth younger than 18 years must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited, and classes fill quickly. To register, contact the Mississippi River Visitor Center at 309-794-5338 or visit www.missriver.org for more information.
WATERLOO  A hearing on the fate of the Blacks Building has been postponed until next month.

Midtown Development, which operates the historic downtown property, put the Sycamore Street building on an online auction block in March as part of its bankruptcy plan, and a Florida company posted the winning bid for $1.9 million.

What followed was a challenge to the sale by OSK XII, the limited liability corporation that bought Midtowns $4.4 million bank debt ahead of the building auction.

And winning bidder MBM Development chimed in, saying it needed more time to prepare for what was to be a Wednesday hearing in bankruptcy court in Cedar Rapids.

A last-minute ruling kicked the hearing to mid-April.

In court records, attorneys for OSK XII accused Midtown of running up the bill with management fees and other costs while the bankruptcy case is pending, and it said the auction on the online Ten-X site should be voided because it wasnt allowed to credit bid on the property.

OSK is prepared to submit a credit bid for the Blacks Building at the hearing on the sale motion, and, upon entry of a final, non-appealable order of this court, pay the outstanding property taxes, OSK attorneys said in court records.

Attorneys for MBM Developments said the sale was valid.

Simply summed, OSK did not advance this concern with respect to the approved Ten-X auction procedures, and now, having failed to timely register with Ten-X and exercise its ability to participate in the auction, it wants a do over, MBM attorneys said in court records.

The winning bid didnt meet a $3.25 million reserve, according to court records.

Midtown had attempted to sell the building to Colorado company for $7.9 million in 2022 before the buyer allegedly backed out. The county valued the property at $3.9 million for tax purposes.

Photos: Black's Building turns 100 093014ho-Blacks-Dept-Store-04 093014ho-Blacks-Dept-Store-05 093014ho-Blacks-Dept-Store-02 093014ho-Blacks-Dept-Store-06 093014ho-Blacks-Dept-Store-01 093014ho-Blacks-Dept-Store-07 093014ho-Blacks-Dept-Store-03 101413mp-blacks-flag-pole-3 101413mp-blacks-flag-pole-2 101413mp-blacks-flag-pole-4 101413mp-blacks-flag-pole-1 091814mp-blacks-building-1.jpg 091814mp-blacks-building-7 091814mp-blacks-building-5 091814mp-blacks-building-3 091814HO-archive-blacks-building-1 091814mp-blacks-building-10 091814mp-blacks-building-8 091814HO-archive-blacks-building-2 091814mp-blacks-building-6 091814mp-blacks-building-2 091814mp-blacks-building-4
WATERLOO  A Waterloo man has pleaded to setting up his half-brother for a home-invasion robbery in 2021.

Daymion Eugene Ohrt, 22, opted to change his plea to charges of first-degree robbery and burglary late Thursday after relatives testified during trial that he admitted to planning the heist and provided information that ultimately led to the loot.

His plea put an end to the trial, which began Tuesday in Black Hawk County District Court.

Sentencing will be at a later date. Both charges carry 25 year sentences.

Under the plea agreement, sentences for the crime will run concurrent but the mandatory minimum will be determined during a future hearing.

Ohrts half-brothers Elk Run Heights home was robbed in the early morning hours of Feb. 23, 2021, shortly after the half-brother left for work. Assailants threatened his wife and children and fled with most of the contents of his gun safe.

Days later, Ohrt allegedly disclosed to a family member in Colorado that he was behind the robbery. The relative pretended he was interested in buying the stolen guns, and Daymion Ohrt allegedly got him in contact with the person who had the weapons.

Police were notified, and authorities raided an apartment on Stardust Drive and recovered most of the stolen guns.

Others arrested in the case have already been sentenced.

Davon Marcell Oliver, was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison on charges of robbery and burglary. The alleged getaway driver, Dequonterio Jashawn Galloway-Bass, was sentenced to up to 25 years.

Three youths  ages 13, 14 and 15 at the time  were also charged in connection with the robbery in juvenile court.

Highest-paying jobs that don't require a degree Highest-paying jobs that don't require a degree #50. Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment #49. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers #48. Real estate brokers #47. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants #46. First-line supervisors of correctional officers #45. Crane and tower operators #44. Insurance appraisers, auto damage #43. Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door #42. Media and communication equipment workers, all other #41. Stationary engineers and boiler operators #40. Wellhead pumpers #39. Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers #38. Railroad conductors and yardmasters #37. Boilermakers #36. Fire inspectors and investigators #35. Police and sheriff's patrol officers #34. Transit and railroad police #33. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators #32. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians #31. Chemical plant and system operators #30. Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators #29. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers #28. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers #27. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers #26. Pile driver operators #25. Gambling managers #24. Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment #23. Athletes and sports competitors #22. Gas plant operators #21. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers #20. Electrical power-line installers and repairers #19. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers #18. First-line supervisors of nonretail sales workers #17. Locomotive engineers #16. Transportation inspectors #15. Postmasters and mail superintendents #14. Signal and track switch repairers #13. Power plant operators #12. Subway and streetcar operators #11. Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels #10. Ship engineers #9. Detectives and criminal investigators #8. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay #7. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers #6. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers #5. Power distributors and dispatchers #4. First-line supervisors of police and detectives #3. Commercial pilots #2. Nuclear power reactor operators #1. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance
WATERLOO  Relatives of an Elk Run Heights man whose home was robbed in 2021 detailed how they tried to solve the crime as testimony continued Thursday.

Authorities said the trail led to the victims stepbrother, Daymion Eugene Ohrt of Waterloo.

I was really hoping that Alex wasnt right, that one of my kids wouldnt do this to the other one, Danny Ohrt told jurors.

Daymion Ohrt, 22, is charged with first-degree robbery and burglary and conspiracy. Testimony in his trial began this week.

Assailants kicked open the door to Jesse Ohrts home shortly after he left for work before dawn on Feb. 23, 2021. They rounded up his children and forced his wife to hand over keys to his gun safe.

Daymion Ohrt didnt take part in the actual robbery but he planned the crime, authorities allege.

Prosecutors allege that within days Daymion Ohrt admitted to another stepbrother, Alex Osier, who lives in Colorado, that he was behind the Elk Run robbery. Alex then pretended to be interested in buying the stolen guns and was put in touch with one of the people who pulled off the crime. He told other relatives what he found out.

Danny Ohrt said it was his idea to offer pounds of marijuana and cash as part of ruse to find out where the guns were located.

I wanted to know who pointed guns at my grandkids, Danny Ohrt said.

Investigators used the information obtained by the family to search an apartment on Stardust Drive where they found most of the stolen guns.

During testimony on Thursday, police said they also searched Daymion Ohrts home on Wellington Street but didnt find any firearms.

Photos: Guns in Northeast Iowa crime cases
CEDAR FALLS  After a recent $250,000 grant, faculty members at the University of Northern Iowa will further their research focusing on social and emotional learning.

A two-year, two-part study will focus on six rural schools and one urban school in Iowa. It will investigate the effectiveness of providing a multi-tiered system of support to educators to reduce burnout, increase job satisfaction, and increase knowledge and skills in responding to social situations in teaching. A multi-tiered system of support would address educator needs on multiple levels, including support for the entire staff, small group interventions, and individual counseling.

The study is now underway, with multi-tiered support models being implemented in four schools during the current 2022-23 school year plus another three schools in the 2023-24 school year. A second component will explore the effectiveness of providing the same support to three cohorts of student teachers.

Both Clopton and Davis-Gage will discuss their research at the 2023 Social & Emotional Learning Conference held at UNI on April 7.

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CEDAR FALLS  Wednesday was an emotional day at the Cedar Falls Public Safety Building.

After a 42-year career, Fire Chief John Bostwick, 64, signed off with a final 10-42 call to signal the end of his service. He received various recognitions and mementos, including the chiefs helmet he wore until his last day on the job.

Testaments were delivered about his value to the city over the years as he was sent off into retirement in front of his family and friends as well as past and present neighbors, first responders and city officials.

Its just hard to say goodbye, he said afterwards about why the final call brought tears to his eyes.

Its the first time Ive seen a lot of these guys in a long time. There were a lot of people here that I had forgot I had talked to before. We may have done something for them 20 years ago and they remembered those interactions with the fire department. Its crazy because I didnt realize some of the people Id impacted over 40 years.

Plenty of memories were represented by those in the audience, but also on a table in the corner of the conference room where the reception was held.

They ranged from patches he had exchanged with other firefighters from different departments to a scrap album with old photos. Framed pictures included the 18th and Main streets fire station from decades ago and a photo of him helping fight the Simpson Furniture store fire in 1983.

Every day coming to work were the greatest days that I could ever have, said Bostwick to the few dozen who showed up to pay their respects. Ive learned a lot from every one of you guys in this room, everyone that Ive ever met in this city Ive learned something from.

Bostwick told a story of when he first arrived in Cedar Falls and spoke to how proud he was to promote installing fire alarms in facilities.

He also urged the younger officers in the room to complete further training and education. They never know when a promotion might be around the corner.

But if you dont take the test, youll never get that promotion, he said.

Before signing off to his final call, he ended with a Dr. Seuss quote: Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who dont, and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Bostwicks been fire chief since 2016, and has served as a firefighter, lieutenant, captain, battalion chief and police reserve officer since 1980.

His proud accomplishments ranged from helping to introduce the first formal fitness equipment to the fire station and bestowing upon children the value of fire safety and education to assisting in the development of a national manual on structural firefighting strategy and tactics.

Later on his career, he helped get the new public safety building prepared for emergency response in 2019 and was one of the faces of the citys transition from separate police and fire departments to the public safety officer program.

It really took Johns vision, along with a small team, to design this building to where now police and fire work together seamlessly, said Public Safety Director Craig Berte.

John Zolondek has been appointed as the interim fire chief. Bostwick will remain employed with Cedar Falls until the end of this year and into the next one as a consultant as part of his separation agreement with city.

Among those in attendance was Mike Olson, a retired lieutenant colonel with the Iowa Army National Guard, whos been friends with Bostwick ever since he helped the city respond to the flood of 2008.

Ive thought very highly of John ever since then, a very stressful situation, dealing with peoples lives and their property, he said. Hes a man of honor, and really deserves the thanks of the city for his 42 years.

Dave McRae of Cedar Falls was the troop master of Boy Scout Troop 55 and came to express his appreciation for Bostwicks time speaking to the members as part of the emergency preparedness merit badge.

He would come in at 6:30 at night and teach for an hour and half after working all day long, and he did that for us several times and never asked for anything other than a round of applause, he said.

Highest-paying jobs that don't require a degree Highest-paying jobs that don't require a degree #50. Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment #49. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers #48. Real estate brokers #47. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants #46. First-line supervisors of correctional officers #45. Crane and tower operators #44. Insurance appraisers, auto damage #43. Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door #42. Media and communication equipment workers, all other #41. Stationary engineers and boiler operators #40. Wellhead pumpers #39. Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers #38. Railroad conductors and yardmasters #37. Boilermakers #36. Fire inspectors and investigators #35. Police and sheriff's patrol officers #34. Transit and railroad police #33. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators #32. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians #31. Chemical plant and system operators #30. Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators #29. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers #28. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers #27. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers #26. Pile driver operators #25. Gambling managers #24. Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment #23. Athletes and sports competitors #22. Gas plant operators #21. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers #20. Electrical power-line installers and repairers #19. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers #18. First-line supervisors of nonretail sales workers #17. Locomotive engineers #16. Transportation inspectors #15. Postmasters and mail superintendents #14. Signal and track switch repairers #13. Power plant operators #12. Subway and streetcar operators #11. Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels #10. Ship engineers #9. Detectives and criminal investigators #8. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay #7. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers #6. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers #5. Power distributors and dispatchers #4. First-line supervisors of police and detectives #3. Commercial pilots #2. Nuclear power reactor operators #1. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance
WATERLOO  The West High class of 1956 is hosting a 67th class reunion on Friday, Sept. 8 and Saturday, Sept. 9.

There will be a lunch buffet at 11:30 a.m. on Friday and a catered meal at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The reunion will take place at Landmark Commons located at 1400 Maxhelen Blvd. in Waterloo.

For more information and to register call Larry Baker at (319) 296-7221.

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NEW YORK  Former President Donald Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed down against him by a New York grand jury, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday.

He will be formally arrested and arraigned Tuesday in his hush money case, court officials said  an announcement promising the historic, shocking scene of a former U.S. commander in chief forced to stand before a judge. The indictment against him remains sealed and the specific charges were not immediately known, but details were confirmed by people who requested anonymity to discuss details that aren't yet public.

The streets outside the courthouse where the arraignment will unfold were calm Friday compared with earlier in the week. There were no large-scale demonstrations for or against Trump, though tourists stopped to take selfies and throngs of reporters and police officers remained assembled.

When Trump turns himself in, he'll be booked mostly like anyone else facing charges: mug shot, fingerprinting and all. But he isn't expected to be put in handcuffs; he'll have Secret Service protection and will almost certainly be released that same day.

In the meantime, Trump's legal team prepared his defense while the prosecutor defended the grand jury investigation that propelled the matter toward trial. Congressional Republicans, as well as Trump himself, contend the whole matter is politically motivated.

"We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote to three Republican House committee chairs Friday in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The case is plunging the U.S. into uncharted legal waters, with Trump the first former president ever to face an indictment. And the political implications could be titanic ahead of next year's presidential election. Trump is in the midst of running for president a third time and has said the case against him could hurt that effort  though his campaign is already raising money by citing it.

Top Republicans also have begun closing ranks around him. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to use congressional oversight to probe Bragg. Reps. James Comer, Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil, the committee chairs whom Bragg addressed in his letter, have asked the district attorney's office for grand jury testimony, documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department.

Trump's indictment came after a grand jury probe into hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign to squelch allegations of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

The investigation dug into six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both claim to have had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics. He denies having sexual liaisons with either woman.

Trump also has denied any wrongdoing involving payments and has denounced the investigation as a "scam," a "persecution," an injustice. He argues that it is specifically designed to damage his 2024 presidential run.

Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said during TV interviews Friday he would "very aggressively" challenge the legal validity of the Manhattan grand jury indictment. Trump himself, on his social media platform, trained his ire on a new target, complaining that the judge expected to handle the case, Juan Manuel Merchan, "HATES ME."

On his social media platform Trump also accused Democrats of having "LIED, CHEATED, AND STOLEN IN THEIR MANIACAL OBSESSION TO 'GET TRUMP.'"

The former president is expected to fly to New York on Monday and stay at Trump Tower overnight ahead of his planned arraignment Tuesday, according to two people familiar with his plans who requested anonymity to discuss Trump's travel.

Trump will be arraigned in the same Manhattan courtroom where his company was tried and convicted of tax fraud in December and where disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape trial took place. On Friday, officials from the Secret Service and the NYPD toured the courthouse and met about security plans.

Court officers ultimately closed and secured access to the 15th floor, where Merchan was continuing to preside over unrelated matters, until Trump's arraignment.

Lawyers involved in the cases and some employees were permitted to stay, but media were chased away by officers, who were standing sentry in front of a bike-rack barricade set up in the hallway. Officers yelled at reporters who ventured up, "This floor is closed," and ordered them to get back in the elevator and leave.

"Officers have been cautioned to remain vigilant and maintain situational awareness, both inside courthouses and while on perimeter patrols, as evidenced by the incident on Tuesday afternoon outside of Manhattan Supreme Court," the court said in a statement.

Since Trump's March 18 post claiming his arrest was imminent, authorities have ratcheted up security, deploying additional police officers, lining the streets around the courthouse with barricades and dispatching bomb-sniffing dogs. They've had to respond to bomb and death threats, a suspicious powder scare and a pro-Trump protester who was arrested Tuesday after witnesses say she pulled a knife on passersby.

Since no former president had ever been charged with a crime, there's no rulebook for booking the defendant. For weeks, court officials and representatives from the district attorney's office, New York police and the Secret Service have been discussing logistics and planning for a Trump indictment.

He will be fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken, and investigators will complete arrest paperwork and check to see if he has any outstanding criminal charges or warrants, according to a person familiar who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive security operations.

All of that activity takes place away from the public. New York law prohibits the release of mug shots in most cases. Less clear is whether Trump would seek to have the picture released himself, for political or other reasons.

Once the booking is complete, the former president would appear before a judge for an afternoon arraignment.

Even for defendants who turn themselves in, answering criminal charges in New York generally entails at least several hours of detention while being fingerprinted, photographed, and going through other procedures.

As for the allegations, as Trump ran for president in 2016, his allies paid two women to bury their accusations. The publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer paid McDougal $150,000 for rights to her story and sat on it, in an arrangement brokered by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

After Cohen himself paid Daniels $130,000, Trump's company reimbursed him, added bonuses and logged the payments as legal expenses.

Federal prosecutors argued  in a 2018 criminal case against Cohen  that the payments equated to illegal aid to Trump's campaign. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation charges, but federal prosecutors didn't go after Trump, who was then in the White House. However, some of their court filings obliquely implicated him as someone who knew about the payment arrangements.

The New York indictment came as Trump contends with other investigations that could have grave legal consequences.

In Atlanta, prosecutors are considering whether he committed any crimes when trying to get Georgia officials to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss there to Joe Biden.

At the federal level, a Justice Department-appointed special counsel also is investigating Trump's efforts to unravel the national election results. Additionally, the special counsel is examining how and why Trump held onto a cache of top secret government documents at his Florida club and residence, Mar-a-Lago, and whether the ex-president or his representatives tried to obstruct the probe into those documents.

Here's a look at how Trump's predecessors fared: Bill Clinton Ronald Reagan Richard Nixon Ulysses S. Grant Andrew Johnson
Chinese naval fleet returns from escort mission

Xinhua) 09:40, March 31, 2023

QINGDAO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese naval fleet returned to east China's port city of Qingdao in Shandong Province on Thursday after completing its mission of escorting civilian vessels in the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off Somalia.

The 42nd fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, comprising the missile destroyer Huainan, the missile frigate Rizhao and the supply ship Hoh Xil, escorted 29 Chinese and foreign ships during the mission.

Setting sail from Qingdao on Sept. 21, 2022, the escort squad travelled over 100,000 nautical miles during its 191-day voyage.

In December 2008, China began dispatching naval ships to carry out vessel protection operations in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Pope Francis has shown signs of improvement in his health condition, as he slept well all night, according to a statement sent to the media by the director of the Holy See Press Office.

On Wednesday afternoon, after presiding over the regular General Audience, the Pope was brought into Rome's Gemelli Hospital due to difficulty in breathing. The Vatican

The statement by Matteo Bruni revealed that his "clinical picture is progressively improving, and he is continuing with his planned treatment," as reported by Vatican News.

The Pope, according to the statement, began his duties this morning after reading the news and eating breakfast.

Pope Francis went to the hospital's private chapel to pray and receive the Eucharist in the morning before lunch.

In a statement released by the Vatican on Wednesday, spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed that the 86-year-old religious leader did not test positive for the coronavirus sickness but he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection. He said the leader of the Roman Catholic Church will require many days of treatment, according to a previous HNGN report.

In addition to his other health issues, Pope Francis has diverticulitis, an infection or inflammation of the colon. A portion of his colon was surgically removed in 2021.

I am touched by the many messages received in these hours and I express my gratitude for the closeness and prayer.  Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 30, 2023

Read Also: Russia Arrests US Journalist For Alleged Spying

Pope Francis Sends Message of Condolence To Nashville

Meanwhile, Pope Francis on Wednesday sent a message of condolence to the Diocese of Nashville, after a school shooting rocked Nashville, Tennessee that claimed the lives of three children and three adults.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, penned the telegram on behalf of the pontiff after the Nashville School Shooting on Monday morning at a private Christian academy.

Pope Francis wrote in the telegram: "Deeply saddened to learn of the recent shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, his Holiness Pope Francis asks you to convey his heartfelt condolences and the assurance of his prayers to all affected by this senseless act of violence," Fox News reported.

The pontiff further noted that he joins the whole community in grieving the children and adults who perished and "commends them to the loving embrace of the Lord Jesus."

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the US, sent Bishop Mark Spalding the message.

Pope Francis message of condolence for the community devastated by the Nashville School Shooting concluded: "He likewise invokes the consolation and strength of the Holy Spirit upon the grieving families and prays that they will be confirmed in their faith in the power of the risen Lord to heal every hurt and to bring good out of unspeakable evil."

Related Article: Joe Biden's Assault Weapon Ban Update

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Borrell said: The EU condemns the detention in Russia of journalist and US citizen Gershkovich. Journalists should be free to practice their profession and deserve protection..

Damn hypocritical sick west

Excuse me, Borrell, your words must match your own Western actions. At least with words of truth- stand up for Julian Assange and Marat Kasem

For the sake of balance, truth and freedom

WtR
In Europe, a new false idea is being discussed to send some kind of peacekeepers to Ukraine under the auspices of NATO. How do you like that?

The countries of the Alliance continue to do their best to stuff the Kiev regime with weapons, tanks and other military equipment. They send their assassin instructors and bloody mercenaries daily. In every possible way they support, extol and kiss passionately the Bandera bastards, give them various awards and medals. And now, it means that they will allegedly persuade them not to fight with Russia, they will persuade them to stick a bayonet into the ground.

NATO members are not just brazen creatures who have jumped off the coils from their redneck and arrogance. They treat everyone else as complete p morons. And, grinning cynically, they offer their peacekeeping services.

Their true intentions are clear  to establish a favorable peace on the line of contact from a position of strength. Bring your peacekeeping troops into Ukraine with machine guns and tanks, in some blue helmets with yellow stars. How this ends, shows the history of the operations carried out by the United States and its allies in various regions of the world. The tragedies of Korea, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, many African countries

It is clear that the so-called NATO peacekeepers are simply going to enter the conflict on the side of our enemies. Pretty warm hands on this, bringing the situation to the point of no return. Unleash the very third world war, which is so feared in words.

It is also obvious that such peacekeepers are our direct enemies. Wolves in sheeps clothing. They will be a legitimate target for our Armed Forces if they are placed on the front lines without the consent of Russia with weapons in their hands and directly threaten us. And then these peacekeepers must be ruthlessly destroyed. They are soldiers of the enemy. They are combatants, not peacemakers. And they will die in the course of hostilities.

It remains only to clarify whether Europe is ready for a long line of coffins of its peacekeepers?

Medvedev

WtR
 Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (31 March 2023)

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

In Kupyansk direction, aviation and artillery of the Zapad Group of Forces have engaged the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Sinkova and Berestovoye (Kharkov region).

 Up to 30 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, one motor vehicle, and one D-20 howitzer were destroyed.

 In Krasny Liman direction, the ground-attack aircraft, artillery and units of the Tsentr Group of Forces have inflicted a fire damage on enemy manpower and military hardware close to Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

 Up to 85 Ukrainian troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, three pick-up trucks, one D-20 howitzer, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery unit have been eliminated in this direction during the day.

 In Donetsk direction, the Russian troops supported by artillery of the Yug Group of Forces eliminated more than 260 Ukrainian troops, four infantry fighting vehicles, four armoured personnel carriers, two armoured fighting vehicles, six motor vehicles, four pick-up trucks, and one D-30 howitzer.

 In South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, aviation and artillery of the Vostok Group of Forces inflicted a fire damage on the AFU units close to Ugledar and Novomikhailovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

 The enemys losses amounted to more than 35 Ukrainian troops, two pick-up trucks, as well as D-30 and D-20 howitzers.

 In Kherson direction, up to 30 Ukrainian troops, 16 motor vehicles, and one Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer have been destroyed over the past 24 hours.

 Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Group of Forces have engaged 74 AFU artillery units at their fire positions, manpower, and military hardware in 76 areas during the day.

 An ammunition depot of the 126th Territorial Defence Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has been obliterated close to Otradokamenka (Kherson region).

 In addition, three HIMARS and three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed close to Marinskoye and Zeleny Pod (Kherson region).

In total, 404 airplanes and 227 helicopters, 3,625 unmanned aerial vehicles, 415 air defence missile systems, 8,487 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,076 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 4,469 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 9,231 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

#MoD

 @mod_russia_en

WtR
This is the essence of the current historic moment  only military force can guarantee something in the modern world

The old system of international law is dead, murdered by the west. The new order has not yet been formed, but it is forming. Now many people understand and see what Comrade Kim Jong-un understood and for 10 years, creating the nuclear missile shield of the DPRK as the only guarantee of security

No nukes, no security at all against states as evil as America

WtR
John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator at the US National Security Council: After the arrest of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, the US authorities are calling on Americans to leave Russia

Nope sorry, I will stay

It seems to me that the USA forgot to tell you that espionage is the word before Americans

The US authorities are calling on espionage Americans to leave Russia

There fixed it for you John Kirby

WtR

PS: The Biden administration backed off a little, saying that the call for USA citizens does not mean a call for American journalists to leave Russia, whose work is already associated with risks (in fact, neither the risks of American journalists working in Russia are not known, except when they are engaged in espionage activities)

They say it is desirable for ordinary citizens to leave Russia (non spy types), and journalists should continue to work as long as there is an opportunity (to spy)

Sorry Charley, Me Stay in Russia
FILE - Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on March 24, 2023. China has threatened resolute countermeasures over a planned meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and McCarthy during an upcoming visit in Los Angeles by the head of the self-governing island democracy. On April 5, Tsais expected to stop in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Authorities say a man is now behind bars accused of killing 18-year-old Hailey Nieto and leaving her body near a road in Cold Springs last week.

On March 28, 2023, through an investigation led by the Washoe County Sheriffs Office, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested 39-year-old Todd Tonnochy.

On March 28, 2023, the U.S. Marshals, with the assistance of the Midland County Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigation Division and SWAT team, successfully located Tonnochy at a motel in Midland, Texas, where they took him into custody.

Washoe County Sheriffs Office detectives say there are no outstanding suspects in this case, and they would like to thank the members of the public who provided tips and information.

----

A viewing was held Wednesday for the woman whose body was found north of Reno last week.

The family sent us photos of the viewing they had for Hailey Nieto at Mountain View Mortuary.

Her brother and parents were among those who attended the 18-year-old's viewing.

As we reported, her body was found last week with a gunshot wound on the dirt extension of North Virginia Street and is being investigated as a homicide.

In a statement, her family said:

"Hailey was a daughter, mother, granddaughter, great granddaughter, cousin, niece and aunt. She loved her two baby girls and loved taking them to the park to see the ducks and go on the swings. She was a Reno Native, born and raised here. She was studying to be a mortician and wanted to work at Mountain View Mortuary someday. Its very sad that she ended up there in a different way. She loved doing art, makeup, fashion, loved music, camping, Hawaii and Lake Tahoe in the summer. She was so empathetic, she would occasionally go to cemeteries, read about peoples stories and show her respect. She leaves behind a two-year-old and nine-month-old, Luna & Mila."

Authorities are looking for anyone who may have been in the area between 5:00 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, 2023.

If you have any information that can help authorities, call or text your anonymous tip to Secret Witness at 775-322-4900. A $5,000 reward is being offered.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help expenses. Click below -
FILE - The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output from ChatGPT, on March 21, 2023, in Boston. The Italian governments privacy watchdog said Friday March 31, 2023 that it is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT in the wake of a data breach.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on Friday to evaluate the damage and check on areas impacted by last week's catastrophic storms.

After "severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes" on March 24 and 25, 2023, Biden proclaimed a "major disaster" in Mississippi, as stated by the White House.

The trip to Mississippi occurs as Joe Biden also said preparations are being made for a potential trip to Nashville, Tennessee, where six people, including three children, were slain this week in a horrific shooting at a private Christian school, per a USA Today report.

According to the White House, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit the areas damaged by recent storms to visit first responders, local and state leaders, and storm victims and assess the recovery actions.

On Saturday, Joe Biden issued an order seeking federal support to boost state, tribal, and local rebuilding efforts, per Reuters.

Read Also: King Charles III Visits Germany

Biden Vows to Help Mississippi Recover

On Friday, tornadoes killed twenty-five individuals in Mississippi and one guy in adjacent Alabama. Sharkey County, Mississippi's coroner has confirmed that at least 13 people have perished in the town where Joe Biden is set to arrive. NBC News reported.

Numerous cars were turned over, houses were destroyed, fences were pulled down, and trees were uprooted in the Mississippi storms, as shown in images broadcast by a local TV station, according to a previous HNGN report.

The White House noted the trip was to reiterate its "commitment to helping the residents of Mississippi "as long as it takes."

I also spoke to @FEMA_Deanne, who has already deployed emergency response personnel and resources to support search-and-rescue and assess the damage.



We will do everything we can to help. We will work together to deliver the support you need to recover, for as long as it takes.  President Biden (@POTUS) March 25, 2023

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi announced a state of emergency in impacted counties at the beginning of the week. President Joe Biden told journalists on the runway at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday that he intended to visit those areas.

Related Article: Nashville School Shooting: Shooter Owned Several Guns

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.


Cherry Hill, Evesham/Marlton, Medford, Medford Lakes, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Voorhees and elsewhere near the iconic state highways of Routes 70 and 73.
Many book clubs prefer to wait for a book to come out in paperback before selecting it for a group read. Paperbacks are less expensive than hardcovers and more portable, and by the time they are released, the book is often easier to find in libraries.

Alas, sometimes you need to wait many months or even years for the most popular ones to be reprinted in that format, but the books on this list  all great reads offering interesting themes for group discussion  were released in paperback within the past 12 months or so. A few (including The Lincoln Highway and To Paradise) came out just in the past few weeks.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

This huge book club favorite and major bestseller  still!  was released last spring, and just came out in paperback this month. Its a charming, funny debut about Elizabeth Zott, a chemist in 1960s California who becomes the host of a cooking show and ends up teaching viewers about far more than how to bake a cake. Among other issues, it explores sexism in the 1950s and 60s. Apple TV+ is adapting it for a series starring and produced by Brie Larson.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Another 2021 hit, this novel is based on the real-life story of Belle da Costa Greene, a light-skinned Black woman (her father was the first Black man to graduate from Harvard) who was hired by J.P. Morgan in 1905 to serve as his personal librarian, which she did for some 40 years. Born Belle Marion Greener, she hid her Black identity while becoming a powerful figure in the New York art and book world. Al Rokers production company reportedly has optioned the book for a potential series.
Whether your passion is current events or computers, cars or cooking, cruising or country life, theres a magazine tailored for you.

But before you subscribe, take time to consider whether a magazine offer presented to you is legitimate. It might not be.

Watchdog Alerts

Sign up for biweekly updates on the latest scams. Get Alerts

Magazine sales for years have been infiltrated by crooks and con artists, court cases show. State and federal officials warn that criminals use lies and strong-arm sales tactics to rip people off, and its often older Americans who pay the price.

Exhibit A: Russell Rusty Rahm, 53, a Kansas businessman and boat racing enthusiast from suburban Kansas City who is awaiting sentencing in federal court for his leading role in a magazine fraud ring that ran for 20 years, until 2020. (As AARP reported then, he and others were indicted in a large-scale crackdown on fraudulent magazine sales.)

Rahm and his various magazine-sales companies are alleged to have collected over $103 million using telephone sales pitches rife with lies and misrepresentations. Some consumers were billed by up to 10 of the fraudulent companies at a time. He pleaded guilty in December and, under sentencing guidelines, could land in federal prison for 24 to 30 years. He also has been ordered to pay $103 million in restitution.

Cases from coast to coast

The case is not unique. Magazine sales scams are as old as the hills, says Lois Greisman, associate director of the Federal Trade Commissions Bureau of Consumer Protection, an agency that has gone to court to shut down violators.

Between 2020 and 2022, the agency took 21,384 complaints about fraud involving magazines and books. (Its annual data combines those into one category.)

Authorities are trying to crack down on deceptive subscription sales practices in general. The FTC has just proposed a rule that would make it easier to cancel your unwanted subscriptions (even legitimate companies can make it ridiculously difficult to do so), and impose stiff penalties on sellers that dont make adequate disclosures about the consumers obligations when subscribing.


Suspension Update

Brisbane, Mar 31, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Further to its previous ASX releases, Tombola Gold Ltd ( ASX:TBA ) wishes to provide the market with a brief update as it works towards the re-quotation of its securities on the ASX.



Suspension of Securities



As shareholders would be aware, the Company's securities have been in voluntary suspension since December 2022. As the Company is yet to finalise and lodge its half-year financial statements for the period to 31 December 2022, the Company's securities are now under ASX-imposed suspension due to the Company's failure to meet the requirements of Listing Rule 4.2A.



The Company's securities will remain in suspension until it satisfies a number of conditions to the satisfaction of the ASX, including:



- the lodgement of its half yearly financial statements (Listing Rule 4.2);



- the adequacy of the Company's operations (Listing Rule 12.1); and



- the adequacy of the Company's financial condition (Listing Rule 12.2).



The Company is working towards the satisfaction of these conditions within a two (2) month timeframe.



Gold Processing Activities



Gold processing at the GAM plant continues, with two (2) further gold pours scheduled over the next four (4) weeks, before the plant is decommissioned by 30 April 2023.



The Company is planning an announcement next week providing details of its operational activities at the GAM plant. However, for the reasons outlined above, this release will not lead to the re-quotation of the Company securities.



Corporate Activities



The Company continues to progress discussions with numerous parties regarding refinancing arrangements to facilitate the discharge of the Company's current liabilities, including the $4.25m loan advanced on the terms outlined in the Company's release of 20 February 2023.



Once the Company has finalised suitable arrangements, a further release will be made to the market, which will include an update on the targeted timeframe for the satisfaction of all of the matters outlined above, and the re-quotation of the Company's securities on the ASX.





About Tombola Gold Ltd





Tombola Gold Ltd (ASX:TBA) is a company assembled by experienced, exceedingly well-qualified and all very well rounded team members that have previously floated exploration companies which achieved major resource discoveries and success. Between the Tombola team members, Tombola as a company have well over 100 years of accumulated experience in the mining, exploration and resource sector. Tombola principal objective is to acquire assets to explore for and develop a large IOGC or porphyry deposit funded by low-risk gold production resources. To that end, Tombola has a license covering 970 sq km prospective for gold/copper in the Mount Bryan-Red Banks-World's End area near Burra in South Australia; with strategic agreements with Queensland Mining Corporation.
At 67, Steve Stucker  who has been a weatherman with KOB for 33 years  will be retiring at the end of March, ending his nearly five-decade career in the weather reporting profession.

Stucker was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and attended Northwest Missouri State University.

He has worked in several markets, including Saint Joseph, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Amarillo, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Santa Fe, and Albuquerque.

He has been married to his wife, Rose, for 30 years and they have four children and three grandchildren.

Stucker is an institution at the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which he typically covers while sporting a multitude of pins and a signature cap, and is known for bringing his dogs on-air with him during his weather reports. Hes also the president and founder of Beds4Kidz, a Christian organization that collects and distributes new and gently used beds to New Mexico children and their families.

From the names  and health statuses  of his current bevy of pups, to his off-air hobbies, heres a round-up of things to know about Stucker before he retires.

The Journal conducted this interview by email, and Stuckers responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

How did you get into weather?

Longtime radio career. A local TV station asked me to audition.

What do we need to know about the current weather dog(s)?

Radar is ill and wont last much longer but we are nursing him along. Koukla is the Chihuahua pup and is an active handful.

What work accomplishment are you most proud of?

Hmmm. Perhaps staying in the same spot for 33 years. Not taking other offers to work elsewhere. Establishing real roots and becoming part of the New Mexico community.

What was the hardest day for you as a weatherman?

There have been many, but probably driving to work through the Bosque fires years ago. Concerned we would lose so much.

Whats your secret skill or hobby?

Beekeeper & Harley rider.

Where did the idea for your nonprofit Beds4Kidz come from?

It honestly came from God. I had NO clue there was such a big need. Once we understood, it was just a natural progression to develop the charity.

Howd you get into balloons?

A friend invited me to volunteer in the media tent the year before I started at KOB. I had such fun and really loved the atmosphere.

How many balloon pins do you have?

Too many lol! Cant count because the number changes every time I go out. Ive given away more pins than Ive collected.

Whered you get the balloon hat and how long have you had it?

My late father-in-law found it at a booth at fiesta. He bought it for me. Ive worn out maybe 10 of them through the years.

Howd you end up in Albuquerque?

(I) moved to New Mexico 40 years ago when I was hired to build a new radio station.

Red or green?

Green. But Im good with Christmas too. Any chile is good in my book

Whats your favorite place to get a breakfast burrito?

At fiesta its Hello Deli. But I love SO many spots. They are like my kids, so I cant really choose a favorite!

Where do you go for the best views of the city?

My backyard is awesome. Driving into Albuquerque from the west on I-40 is spectacular!

What are your plans for retirement?

To be very active in full-time ministry.

Are you planning to stay in the area or move somewhere else?

I hope to be able to stay in New Mexico.
Alexander Cary wanted the next project he worked on to be intriguing.

With the MGM+ series, A Spy Among Friends, he got exactly that.

I wanted to get in deep into a friendship and betrayal that, you know, happened over 23 years. I also wanted to explore the aftermath of what it meant to be these two characters and whether there was any hope for these two characters.

The series is based on the New York Times bestselling book written by Ben Macintyre.

The six-episode limited series dramatizes the true story of two British spies and lifelong friends  Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby, played by Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce, respectively.

Philby became the most notorious British defector and Soviet double agent in history. His deeply personal betrayal, uncovered at the height of the Cold War, resulted in the gutting of British and American intelligence.

The series is produced by ITV Studios in collaboration with Sony Pictures Television.

The cast is rounded out with Anna Maxwell Martin, Stephen Kunken and Adrian Edmondson. Cary is the creator of the series.

Pearce says he found stepping into Philbys shoes intimidating and exciting at the same time.

Of course, hes a really wonderful and complex character to play, Pearce says. There was a lot of dialogue that I had to learn. Thanks, Alex. But just really quite specific is how (Kim) should be viewed. I was very conscious of each step we were talking along the way.

Pearce also felt like Philby had a lot of layers to him.

I couldnt really get where Kim was going because hes so good, Pearce says. You dont know what he was thinking when hes presenting something completely different.

Cary wanted to bring this story to the screen because it is so complex in all the facets of being a spy story, a friendship story and an investigation story.

There was also a little pressure because its based on a true story.

I chose first of all, to find a sort of lens, where we could see this friendship and examine it through the Lily Thomas character, Cary says. But then I also chose to make life really tough for myself and come up with this very nonlinear structure. I was hard to do but it was satisfying. It took quite a lot of mental carpentry to get the various pieces of the puzzle to drop into place.

Pearce spent months on set portraying Philby and after production wrapped, he took a moment to think about what he learned from the character.

I just learned that I probably dont understand him as much as I thought I might, he says. He is a very complex material character. I believe that he believed in communism and he has this view from early on and he hung onto that. But I think there is so much more to it than that as well. I also learned to probably wear rubber soled shoes on the ice.

As the series has been released to the world, Pearce hopes that viewers will see what he also saw in the production.

I hope (viewers) will have the same response that I did when I read it, Pearce says. Its a brilliantly made production and it was as fantastic script. The spy and double agent stuff is fascinating. But the fragility and the nature of the friendship and the way it can actually go wrong is as gripping to me as any other story out there.

Now streaming

The six-episode series, A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce is streaming on MGM+.
Pati Jinich searches for culinary stories.

The chef returns with the second season of La Frontera with Pati Jinich at 8 p.m. Monday, April 3, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1

The series highlights the fascinating, yet misunderstood, U.S.-Mexico border region, where countries and cultures come together.

Jinich meets with artists, musicians and local legends, whose work reflects the blending of cultures, as well as the chefs and home cooks who bring all these people together.

She starts her trip in San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico.

The areas are so gorgeous and stunning, it was unexpected, she says. Its so laid back and contrasting at the same time. Theres such diversity and richness in the areas we explore in season two.

In the third episode, airing April 17, she makes her way to New Mexico.

First, Jinich meets with famed architect Ronald Rael who is rethinking spaces for migrants.

She then hikes with the Sky Island Alliance across the border. Their mission is to protect and restore the diversity of life and lands in the Sky Island region of both the U.S. and Mexico, while actively tracking the wildlife migratory species whose life is now disrupted due to the border wall.

Jinich also travels to Hatch to understand how a city in the U.S. could call itself the Chile Capital of the World.

There, she meets with Andrea Miller who comes from a long line of farmers and has made it her mission to ensure Hatch chile farming remains part of the community.

Finally, Jinich goes to a Mennonite community near the border where she gets to experience the making of the famous Mennonite cheese and also understand how this highly isolated community works.

I wanted to stay in New Mexico and try some more food, Jinich says. Hatch and Las Cruces all feel so far removed from the rest of the country. What I found fascinating is the amazing community that these areas have built. These are border communities and they rely on each other to make it happen. Thats that this show is about. Its highlighting how these communities are thriving.

Jinich and her crew filmed in November, just before Thanksgiving.

We were in Hatch way after their chile harvest, she says. Im going to have to revisit the area when harvest is going on. I know that its the chile capital of the world because of the passion behind it. The area is different and full of survivors. Its important that these stories keep being told.

ON TV

The second season of La Frontera with Pati Jinich premieres at 8 p.m. Monday, April 3, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. The third episode of the series features Hatch and will air April 17.
Theres a new plaque on the wall at police HQ. The empty frame recognizes the Albuquerque Police Departments De-escalation Officer of the Month, a testament to an ingrained, problematic culture the U.S. Department of Justice targeted nine long years ago.

Following a monthslong study of APDs record-setting 18 officer-involved shootings last year (involving 33 officers, 10 of which were fatal), the department reviewed every case, from initial dispatch records to lapel videos to reports from the Force Review Board. Top brass looked for trends and suggested ways in which officers could have done better, even when a police shooting was within departmental policy.

APD is proposing several common-sense reforms based on what the working group gleaned. Wed give kudos except they seem a long time in coming.

The reforms include training on subduing or disarming someone before resorting to gunfire, rendering first aid, using weapon scope magnifiers to better see what a person is holding, and pairing up veteran officers with less experienced counterparts. Considering APD has been under multimillion-dollar DOJ oversight for almost a decade, its disturbing these fundamental reforms are only now being unveiled.

DOJ came to town after officers shot and killed a schizophrenic man camping illegally in the Sandia Foothills; eight years later officers shot and killed a man armed with a nail file, another with a cellphone, another with a key fob, another with a rock. And they didnt even try to render first aid to save at least two others after shooting them. While each case is unique and has its own challenges, you have to wonder why these new protocols and policies were not implemented sooner.

Several of those shot by police last year were apparently having mental health crises. New teams of civilians in the citys Community Safety Department trained as behavioral health responders are supposed to answer calls involving mental health issues or homelessness, suicides, welfare checks and similar incidents. And yet APD had a record-setting 18 officer-involved shootings last year, up from 10 in 2021. DOJ oversight came after the agency reviewed 20 fatal shootings by Albuquerque police between 2009 and 2013 and determined the level of force used wasnt justified in the majority of cases.

Yet all these years later less-lethal force was used in only three of APDs 18 police shootings last year, indicating a lingering reluctance to switch to Tasers, beanbag shotguns, 40-millimeter impact launchers or canine deployments  all of which the department has had for years.

The new policies ask police to step back and look at the totality of the circumstances, not just a persons momentary actions, when deciding force levels. And they include parsing of terminology, such as using imminent threat instead of immediate threat to signify a dangerous or threatening situation is about to occur. And this may exemplify where the breakdown in implementing much-needed reforms has happened over the years: Beat officers facing split-second life-or-death situations arent likely to big-picture it or consult a dictionary.

APD plans to do a similar review of officer-involved shootings every six months. It would be better if it issued a written analysis after each officer-involved shooting in a timely manner and posted the analysis online instead of waiting for an omnibus report and dog-and-pony photo-op every six months. That way problems can be identified before they become patterns.

Chief Harold Medina says he wishes people talked more about de-escalation success stories. When the unfilled frames of those new De-escalation Officer of the Month plaques are filled with photos of officers, that may happen.

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.
A New York grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office's case against Trump centers on a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels

Trump, the only former president ever to be charged with a crime, has denied any involvement

Former President Donald Trump was indicted in Manhattan on Thursday for his part in paying hush money to a porn star, according to five people with knowledge of the situation. This historic revelation will shake up the 2024 presidential election and make Trump the first former president to face criminal charges.

According to NY Times, prosecutors working for district attorney Alvin Bragg will likely request Trump's surrender and arraignment in the following days. When he is arraigned, the particular charges will be revealed.

Donald Trump Indictment

Despite constant scrutiny and multiple probes, Trump has evaded criminal charges for decades, establishing an air of legal invulnerability that the indictment now threatens to destroy.

His activities following his 2020 electoral setback are now the subject of a second federal investigation, and a Georgia prosecutor is nearing the conclusion of a probe into Trump's efforts to overturn election results in that state.

In contrast to the investigations from Trump's stay in the White House, this lawsuit is based on an unsavory incident before his administration. The reality star-turned-presidential candidate who stunned the political establishment by winning the White House now faces accountability for a hush money payment that buried a sex scandal in the final days of the 2016 campaign.

In a statement, Trump lashed out at Democrat Bragg and characterized the case as continuing a politically driven witch investigation against him. Trump has constantly denied any wrongdoing and stated that he did not have an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, who was attempting to sell her tale of a sexual encounter with Trump during the campaign.

On Thursday, minutes before the grand jury was supposed to convene at 2:00 p.m., the three top prosecutors in the Trump investigation entered the building where the grand jury was meeting.

One of them had a copy of the criminal code with visible Post-it notes, presumably utilized to recite the criminal statutes to the grand jurors before their vote. Three hours later, the prosecutors entered the court clerk's office through the rear door to start the indictment filing procedure.

Per USA Today, Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, attorneys for Trump, stated that he had been indicted and added, "He did not commit a crime."

A second attorney representing Trump, Alina Habba, released a statement: "A former president, a current candidate, and my friend President Donald Trump is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history. He will be vindicated."

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Replacement: Wagner Group Chief Hints at Russia's Leadership Change

Trump Supporters Condemn Indictment

Supporters of Donald Trump denounce the charge, claiming that it is an attempt to prevent the former president from being reelected. Taylor Budowich, the leader of the pro-Trump group Make America Great Again Inc., said on Thursday that there "was no crime" and that the charge is "the indictment of a failed nation." According to Budowich, the indictment will fail, and Trump will be reelected.

An indictment of Trump would presumably center on allegations of fabricating company documents, but elevating this to a felony might prove challenging, according to legal experts. A felony charge needs a link to a second offense and would increase the potential prison sentence from one to four years.

Trump and Michael Cohen may have broken state statutes prohibiting "a false entry in the business records of an enterprise" by claiming the payments were for legal services that were never done. Trump also indicated that the matter goes beyond New York's five-year statute of limitations for most state offenses, as per The Hill.

Yet, the case may be "tolled," which extends the deadline for filing criminal charges. New York permits this when a defendant has been continuously absent from the state. Although these are the first allegations to be filed against Trump, other charges may be forthcoming.

On Monday, Trump attempted to halt a Georgia probe into his efforts to influence the state's election. Earlier this year, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis stated that charging decisions are anticipated.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate Trump's participation in the larger inquiry surrounding January 6, 2021 and the mishandling of federal information at Mar-a-Lago.

Related Article: Donald Trump's 'Death and Destruction' Warning Sparks Twitter Buzz

@YouTube

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Global electrification and robotics company ABB Group will invest $40 million in a new, 90,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on Albuquerques West Side, the company announced Thursday morning.

ABB is a global leader in electricity-related products and services with manufacturing operations on every continent and about 120,000 employees worldwide. That includes nearly 450 people already employed at ABBs current manufacturing operation on Bluewater Road NW near Coors Boulevard, where ABB has a 40-acre campus its occupied since 1973.

The new factory will be built on the existing campus, adding 55 new jobs to the local workforce when the facility comes online in 2024, said Ralph Donati, executive vice president and general manager for ABBs Installation Products Division in the U.S. and Latin America.

Were not just expanding, but upgrading our manufacturing capacity in Albuquerque, Donati told the Journal. The new plant will be a greenfield facility with the latest technology in processing, machine manufacturing and robotics to make it a factory for the future.

Once the new plant opens, it will double ABBs local production capacity of cable products used by electric utilities, which is the primary ABB product made in Albuquerque, Donati said.

The expansion reflects rapidly growing demand for electrification-related products as the U.S. economy converts to renewable generation and fossil-fuel consumption gives way to electric cars and electrically-run infrastructure in homes, buildings and industry.

Continuing to grow our U.S. manufacturing operations and distribution network accelerates our ability to deliver high-demand electrical products our partners rely on to manage todays needs and prepare for tomorrows energy demands, ABB Installation Products Division President Matthias Heilmann said in a statement.

The expansion also reflects growing utility demand for products to reinforce their grids against climate change-induced winter storms, summer heat waves, wildfires and other natural disasters.

ABBs proprietary, Albuquerque-made Elastimold cable is specially designed to withstand harsh conditions and mitigate their impact, Donati said.

Weve been making Elastimold in Albuquerque since 1973, he said. The new facility will allow us to make a lot more of it to meet this increasing demand for electrification, grid resilience and safe power delivery.

ABB is a 130-year-old corporation with global headquarters in Switzerland and its U.S. operations headquartered in North Carolina.

In July, it will celebrate 50 years in Albuquerque.

It makes sense to expand in a place where we already have a well-established expertise and presence, Donati said.
A man who stabbed a would-be robber to death in late 2020 was sentenced to 3 years in prison on Thursday after a judge acknowledged certain aspects of self-defense in the case.

Samson Traub, 23, pleaded no contest in February to voluntary manslaughter and armed robbery in separate crimes committed less than a month apart in 2020 and 2021.

Traub fatally stabbed 46-year-old Carlos Montano in December 2020 outside a Maverik gas station near Jefferson and Interstate 25.

Before handing down the sentence, 2nd Judicial District Judge Bruce Fox said the circumstances of the killing explained why Traub was offered a voluntary manslaughter plea.

I agree that the homicide that took place on Dec. 27, 2020  there were certain aspects of self defense, Fox said. It looks like substance abuse was involved, and it appears that there was some kind of aggression going on between everyone involved.

But Fox said he was concerned that Traub committed an armed robbery less than a month after Montanos killing.

Traubs attorney, Heather LeBlanc, said Thursday that shortly before the fatal stabbing, Traub and two companions had seen Montano  armed with a hatchet  rob a Circle K convenience store in the 5500 block of Alameda NE.

Less than an hour later, Traub and his companions arrived at the Maverik store and saw Montano pull in moments later, LeBlanc said. Their efforts to prevent a second robbery led to Montanos death, she said.

Mr. Traub had an extremely strong self-defense case and we were prepared to go to trial on this case, LeBlanc said. Traub accepted a plea agreement to take responsibility both for the killing and the later armed robbery, she said.

At the hearing, LeBlanc played security video that showed Montanos stabbing outside the Maverik gas station.

We can see Mr. Montano approaching the convenience store with the same hatchet that he had just used to rob the other convenience store, LeBlanc said. So Mr. Traub again tried to distract Mr. Montano so that the clerk could be warned.

The clerk locked the doors to the store, LeBlanc said. During the encounter, Traub drew a knife and fatally stabbed Montano, she said.

Scarcely a month after Montanos killing, Traub used a firearm to rob a Speedway convenience store on Jan. 22, 2021, according to court records.

Shortly before he was sentenced, Traub acknowledged that he had a substance abuse problem at the time of the crimes. Traub also apologized to members of Montanos family.

No matter what the circumstances were that night, a precious life was taken, Traub said. No matter what I say or do, nothing can change that fact. And Im sorry that you will have to go through this tragedy.

Traub has remained in the Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in February 2021.
A federal mandate that allows states to offer continuous Medicaid coverage will end tomorrow.

Continuous enrollment  started at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic  automatically renewed coverage for people in the Medicaid program. New Mexico is now reverting back to an earlier system in which enrollees renew their benefits annually, state officials said Thursday. As many as 110,000 New Mexicans no longer meet income requirements for the Medicaid program, and are likely to be affected by the change.

Human Services acting Secretary Kari Armijo said the department began mailing renewal applications to some of New Mexicos nearly 980,000 Medicaid recipients earlier this month. The state has also partnered with the New Mexico health insurance exchange, beWellnm, to help find low-cost coverage for impacted New Mexicans.

We dont want (those on Medicaid) to go without health insurance, Armijo said. Thats our biggest concern  really making sure we do everything we can to minimize those coverage gaps for New Mexicans.

With the end of continuous coverage, officials expect average enrollment to decrease by nearly 10% across the state. The Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that specializes in national health issues, estimates up to 14 million Medicaid enrollees nationwide will lose their coverage with the end of the continuous enrollment provision.

The enhanced federal match rate  which stood at 6.2% in New Mexico  that supplemented costs for states for the increase in Medicaid enrollees will also wind down with the end of continuous coverage. Lorelei Kellogg, the interim Medicaid director for the state, said the match rate will drop to 5% next month with further decreases expected to happen throughout the year.
The State Investment Council is pumping another $97.5 million into two venture funds that will invest in transformative, next-generation technology from New Mexicos national labs and research universities.

The two funds, Playground Global and Lux Capital Management, are focused on accelerating the development of frontier technology that can propel industries into the future with cutting-edge innovation in things like advanced computing, artificial intelligence and robotics.

New Mexico has a good pipeline of opportunities in those areas for venture capitalists, thanks to emerging innovation from the labs and universities here, SIC Director of Private Equity Chris Cassidy told council members before they voted to approve the funding on Tuesday.

Our ecosystem is unique with (abundant) frontier technology, and were looking for firms that invest in that space, Cassidy said. These are multi-stage funds that invest across stages, from seed-stage investments with smaller checks to growth-stage investments with larger checks(They) have the firepower to invest in startups and incubate them.

The SIC approved a $35 million investment on Tuesday in California-based Playground Global, and $62.5 million in Lux, which has offices in New York and California.

Those SIC commitments come on top of $135 million the council approved in November for two other technology-focused venture firms, including $100 million for Americas Frontier Fund, or AFF, and $35 million for two funds managed by Silicon Valley-based Crosslink Capital.

The $100 million commitment to AFF was the largest single investment ever made by the SIC through its private equity program, which channels money from the Severance Tax Permanent Fund into private venture funds that commit to invest in New Mexico companies.

Taking all the recent SIC investments together, the councils latest commitments mean a minimum of nearly $233 million in private equity will start flowing into high-tech New Mexico startups over the coming years, because the SIC program requires fund recipients to invest  or cause others to invest  at least as much money in local companies as they receive from the SIC.

In fact, AFF is now establishing a venture studio in Albuquerque  with satellite studios around the state  that will seek out homegrown New Mexico technology it can develop and market through local startups.

The $35 million the SIC committed Tuesday to Playground Global will be divided into two different Playground funds, including $25 million for early-stage investments in startups, and $10 million for follow-on funding to help grow Playground-backed companies.

The firm focuses on transformative companies in four broad technology areas, including next-generation computing, automation with artificial intelligence, life sciences, and logistics and infrastructure, said Playground General Partner Peter Barrett.

One of its companies, for example, is now working to build the worlds first quantum computer to enable much faster and more effective drug development using industrial-scale gene sequencing. Another company is applying artificial intelligence to build advanced robotics.

Barrett called AI just a brain in a jar unless its applied in direct, useful ways to assist industry.

Our robotics program aims to do useful work through automation and robots that can amplify human capabilitiesby stepping into different workforce roles.

Playground is already active in New Mexico as the lead investor in Universal Hydrogen, a California-based company thats now pumping $254 million into a global manufacturing headquarters in Albuquerque for breakthrough technology that converts turboprop planes to hydrogen propulsion, employing about 500 people by 2025.

Were the largest shareholder in Universal Hydrogen, Barrett told SIC members. That reflects the kind of engagement we want to see in New Mexico. We focus on technologies that can move civilization forward, and we have a pipeline of opportunities were looking at from Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.

Lux, meanwhile, seeks the intersection of technology and the hard sciences, channeling breakthroughs in the life, physical and computational sciences to real-world applications, said Lux co-founder and Managing Partner Josh Wolfe.

One of its companies, which Johnson & Johnson acquired for $6 billion, used artificial intelligence and advanced software to build surgical robotics that doctors can navigate inside the body without causing scars, Wolfe said. Another Lux company is now developing a microscope that can see inside cells in real time for drug development.

Lux, which launched in 2000, currently has $4 billion in venture investment under management.

We create companies from scratch, Wolfe told SIC members. We want to shine a spotlight on New Mexico to bring investment and talent to the state.

Lux already has organic ties to the state through Wolfe, who is a Trustee of the Santa Fe Institute, an independent, nonprofit research institute and education center.
Former President Donald Trumps court appearance Tuesday will kick off an intense legal battle as the 2024 Republican presidential candidate also fights to return to the White House.

Trump is expected to turn himself in and be arraigned in a New York courtroom, a stunning moment in American history as he becomes the first former president to stand before a judge to answer for criminal charges.

More details are expected to emerge Tuesday about the Manhattan district attorneys case against Trump. The indictment has remained under seal since the grand jury investigating hush money payments made to women during his 2016 campaign voted to bring charges against Trump. But the indictment will soon be made public.

Heres what to know about the hush money investigation, the charges against Trump and the ramifications for his bid to reclaim the presidency:

WHATS THIS CASE ABOUT?

The grand jury spent weeks investigating money paid during Trumps 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged that they had extramarital sexual encounters with him. Trump has denied the allegations.

Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, who testified as a key prosecution witness, paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 through a shell company he set up and was then reimbursed by Trump, whose company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses.

Earlier in 2016, Cohen also arranged for former Playboy model Karen McDougal to be paid $150,000 by the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer, which squelched her story in a journalistically dubious practice known as catch and kill.

WHATS AN INDICTMENT?

An indictment is the formal charge brought against someone after a grand jury  which is made up of members of the community  votes and enough members agree theres sufficient evidence to charge someone with a crime.

The indictment against Trump remains sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment. But once the document is made public, it will lay out the crime or crimes that Trump is accused of committing. Sometimes indictments include a lengthy narrative with lots of details about the allegations, while others are more basic and just outline the charges a defendant is facing.

WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?

Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that isnt yet public.

Under the law, prosecutors must prove there was an intent to defraud. The felony falsifying business records offense requires prosecutors to prove that the records were falsified with the intention of committing, aiding or concealing a second crime. Its not clear yet what prosecutors allege the second crime to be, but experts have said it is probably some kind of campaign finance violation.

WHATS AN ARRAIGNMENT?

An arraignment is generally the first time a defendant appears in court after being charged. The judge will tell Trump the charges against him and advise him of his right to go to trial and other things. Trump will enter a plea of not guilty  as is standard for defendants to do at arraignment. The indictment is expected to be unsealed upon his arraignment.

Trump is expected to walk out of the courtroom because the charges against him dont require that bail be set in New York. Its possible  but unlikely  that Judge Juan Merchan could decide that Trump is a flight risk and order him held, with or without bail, though Trumps lawyers would vigorously fight that.

WHAT WILL TRUMPS DEFENSE BE?

Trumps lawyers have vowed to vigorously fight this political prosecution in court. Defense attorney Joe Tacopina has described Trump as a victim of extortion who had to pay the money because the allegations were going to be embarrassing to him. But he says it had nothing to do with the campaign.

Trump will no doubt try to fight the case on multiple fronts. He may try to have the case moved out of Manhattan or New York City entirely  arguing he cant get a fair trial there  though its rare for judges to agree to do that.

Trump may also argue that the statute of limitations has passed. Trump has complained that the statute of limitations long ago expired because the hush money payments and Cohens reimbursements happened more than six years ago.

New Yorks statute of limitations for most felonies is five years. For misdemeanors, its just two years. But in New York, the clock can stop on the statute of limitations when a potential defendant is continuously outside the state. Trump visited New York rarely over the four years of his presidency and now lives mostly in Florida and New Jersey.

WHATS THIS GRAND JURY AND WHO TESTIFIED?

A grand jury is made up of people drawn from the community, similar to a trial jury. But unlike juries that hear trials, grand juries dont decide whether someone is guilty or innocent. They only decide whether there is enough evidence for someone to be charged.

Proceedings are closed to the public, including the media. New York grand juries have 23 people. At least 16 must be present to hear evidence or deliberate, and 12 have to agree there is enough evidence in order to issue an indictment.

The key prosecution witness was Cohen. Trumps company grossed up Cohens reimbursement for the Daniels payment to defray tax payments, according to federal prosecutors who filed criminal charges against the lawyer in connection with the payments in 2018. In all, Cohen got $360,000 plus a $60,000 bonus, for a total of $420,000.

Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors say the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trumps campaign. But they declined to file charges against Trump himself.

Trump was invited to testify, but didnt. The grand jury, however, heard from Robert Costello, who was once a legal adviser to Cohen. Costello indicated he has information he believes undercuts Cohens credibility and contradicts his incriminating statements about Trump.

Another key witness was David Pecker, a longtime Trump friend and the former chief executive of the parent company of The National Enquirer.

Peckers company, American Media Inc., secretly assisted Trumps campaign by paying $150,000 to McDougal in August 2016 for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. The company then suppressed McDougals story until after the election.

WHAT ABOUT SIMILAR CASES?

In a case with some parallels, federal prosecutors in 2011 brought charges over hush money payments against former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, a onetime Democratic presidential candidate and nominee for vice president. Edwards was charged with funneling nearly $1 million in under-the-table campaign contributions to hide his pregnant lover during his 2008 run for president.

Edwards had argued that the payments were a personal matter  intended to keep an affair secret from his wife  and had nothing to do with the election. A jury acquitted the Democrat on one charge and deadlocked on other counts. He wasnt retried.

But that was a federal case. Trumps case deals with New York state law.

WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS FOR TRUMP?

Neither the indictment itself nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

Already, the charges have been a boon to his fundraising. The campaign announced Friday evening that it had raised over $4 million in the 24 hours after the indictment became public, far smashing its previous record after the FBI search of Trumps Mar-a-Lago club.

Trumps team over the weekend blasted out emails full of supportive comments from dozens of top Republicans, many of whom had already been supportive of him leading up to the indictment.

Those likely to be facing off with Trump in next years GOP primary contests have also slammed the prosecution.

Former Vice President Mike Pence called the indictment an outrage and nothing more than a political prosecution. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said on Twitter that the indictment is more about revenge than it is about justice. Biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also seeking the GOP presidential nomination, called the indictment a dark moment in American history.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday accused Bragg of weaponizing the law for political purposes to bring a case against a former president, never mentioning Trump by name.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS?

The New York case is just one of many legal woes Trump is facing.

The Justice Department is also investigating his retention of top secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House. Federal investigators are also still probing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election that Trump falsely claimed was stolen.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election. The foreperson of a special grand jury, which heard from dozens of witnesses, said last month that the panel had recommended that numerous people be indicted, and hinted Trump could be among them. It is ultimately up to Willis to decide whether to move forward.

____

Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak, Michael Balsamo and Colleen Long contributed to this report.
BERLIN (AP)  King Charles III commemorated the more than 30,000 people, mostly German civilians, who were killed in the Allied bombing of Hamburg almost 80 years ago as he visited the northern city Friday on the last leg of his first foreign trip since becoming monarch.

The attack in July 1943 carried out by British and American planes using incendiary bombs was a response to Nazi Germanys deadly aerial raids on Britain. It resulted in a firestorm which destroyed large parts of the city and remains a painful memory in the Hanseatic ports proud history.

Charles laid a wreath at the ruined church of St. Nikolai, now a memorial site, and listened to Hamburgs Bishop Kirsten Fehrs read the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation, written to commemorate the destruction of the English city of Coventry by German bombers in 1940.

Earlier, Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, visited a memorial to the Kindertransporte, or childrens transports, that saw more than 10,000 Jewish children receive refuge from Nazi Germany in the U.K. in 1938.

The royal couple were accompanied to Hamburg by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, making the two-hour journey from Berlin by high-speed train.

The couple landed in the German capital on Wednesday, where Steinmeier greeted them at the Brandenburg Gate with full military honors and later hosted a banquet in their honor.

On Thursday, Charles became the first monarch to address the German parliament, telling assembled lawmakers that together we must strive for the security, prosperity and well-being that our people deserve. He then met with Ukrainian refugees and a German-British military unit before visiting an organic farm where he tried his hand at making cheese.

Charles trip is part of a carefully calibrated effort by the U.K. government to mend frayed ties with its continental partners after Brexit.

Charles originally planned to visit France first, but anti-government protests in the country led both governments to postpone that part of his trip. The new itinerary put the focus on Germany, where Charles has family roots and the royals have long been the subject of fascination.

Despite persistent drizzle, well-wishers waited patiently to greet Charles and Camilla at their stops in Hamburg, a city that sees itself as having a particularly close connection to Britain due to its long seafaring and trading ties.

A boat trip and a farewell reception involving musical performances, including by a Beatles cover band and a sea shanty group, will round off the kings visit.
SANTA FE  The state Supreme Court on Friday blocked four city and county ordinances aimed at restricting access to abortion in eastern New Mexico from being enforced, saying the ordinances shall have no effect until further order of the court.

In addition to at least temporarily freezing the ordinances, the unanimous order also directed the parties to file responses and said justices might hold a hearing on the case.

The Supreme Courts order comes in response to an emergency petition filed by state Attorney General Raul Torrez in late January asking the court to block the ordinances and declare them void.

It also comes just over a week after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature that bars New Mexico cities, counties and other local bodies from denying or restricting access to abortion services and gender-affirming care.

The Supreme Courts order specifically directs the parties involved in the case to address the legislations implications. The states highest court set a April 20 deadline for those responses.

In a statement, Torrez said the order advances the fight to ensure that New Mexico remains a safe haven for women seeking reproductive health care.

This extraordinary writ and the legislation just passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor will make it clear that everyone in the State of New Mexico has a protected, constitutional right to make their own health-care decisions, Torrez added. Given the attacks we are seeing in Texas and across the country, I am proud to stand with our Legislature and the governor to continue this fight.

Five eastern New Mexico jurisdictions  the cities of Clovis, Hobbs and Eunice and Lea and Roosevelt counties  had passed ordinances that activists call de facto abortion bans. Torrezs petition is only against four of them, however, since Eunice passed its ordinance the same day he filed the request in court.

The ordinances say anyone wishing to operate in the jurisdictions must follow a law commonly referred to as the Comstock Act, which bans sending anything used for an abortion in the mail.

Michael Garcia, one of seven attorneys representing the jurisdictions, said Roosevelt County will respond by filing a brief, as the Supreme Court ordered.

This is an issue that is important to a lot of people, and there is a lot of uncharted territory here, so I hesitate to speculate on specific arguments till they become clearer, Garcia wrote in a statement. Well see what the Supreme Court does in the not too distant future.

Responses to ruling

The Supreme Courts ruling drew quick responses from some groups, however.

New Mexico Alliance for Life Executive Director Elisa Martinez blasted the Supreme Court as a back-up legislative arm of the Democratic Party of New Mexico.

In predictable fashion, the leftist judicial activists on the New Mexico Supreme Court have inserted themselves in the law-making process by issuing a stay on city and county ordinances banning certain abortions, Martinez said in a statement.

But Eastern New Mexico Rising, a progressive group that has been fighting for abortion access, called the Supreme Court order another victory for bodily autonomy and reproductive justice for rural New Mexicans.

Eastern New Mexico Rising stands with the courts decision, and has always denounced the inhumane and illegal ordinances that the Roosevelt County Commission, Clovis City Commission/Mayor Morris in partnership with out of state lobbyists, have attempted to force on our communities, the statement reads. Reproductive justice for the people is being served.

However Roosevelt County Commissioner Rodney Savage  who introduced the ordinance but stressed that he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of the commission  pointed out that their attorneys response to Torrezs petition did not oppose the stay while the case was pending.

All our ordinance says is if youre going to have an abortion clinic youre required to abide by federal law, Savage said. Were not going to prosecute any woman or chastise her or humiliate her or hassle her in any way for having an abortion  What this ordinance says is if you do have an abortion clinic in Roosevelt County you need to abide by federal law.

Debate intensified

Abortion has long been a hot-button issue in New Mexico, but the debate has intensified in recent years.

State lawmakers in 2021 approved a bill repealing a long-dormant state abortion ban, after several moderate Senate Democrats who had previously opposed similar measures were ousted during the 2020 primary election.

The state abortion ban could have come into play after the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide.

Since it was repealed, however, New Mexico currently has no legal restrictions on abortion, unlike several of its neighboring states.

During this years 60-day legislative session, Democratic lawmakers approved two additional bills dealing with abortion over opposition from Republicans  the legislation blocking local anti-abortion ordinances and a measure codifying Lujan Grishams executive order from last year that shields abortion providers and out-of-state patients who travel to New Mexico from arrest warrants and other legal liability.

While Lujan Grisham has not yet acted on the latter bill, she expressed support for it during the session. Both new laws would take effect June 16.

Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, expressed optimism Friday that the bill barring local governments from restricting access to abortion and gender-affirming care would be upheld by the courts.

I feel very confident about our legal ground with House Bill 7, said Serrato, who said the law would help reduce patients fears and confusion about possibly violating local ordinances by seeking out reproductive health care.

Anti-abortion activists who pushed for the ordinances in eastern New Mexico have told the Journal that they expected the bill to pass and the state Supreme Court to rule the way it did and they are anticipating ultimately taking the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A judge sentenced the safety coordinator for the Rust movie set to six months of unsupervised probation Friday and required him to testify truthfully in any proceedings involving co-defendants.

David Halls, 63, pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon in the October 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set.

Actor Alec Baldwin was holding the gun when it fired, killing Hutchins.

The plea sets up the possibility that Halls will testify in a scheduled May 3 preliminary hearing for Baldwin and movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who have both pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins death.

First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer made it a condition of Halls suspended sentence that he testify truthfully in all hearings, trials or settings, involving any and all defendants and co-defendants in this matter.

She prohibited Halls from having contact with potential witnesses or co-defendants in the case.

Halls is also required to pay a $500 fine, serve 24 hours of community service, and agree to take responsibility for your actions or inactions.

Prosecutor Kari Morrissey said Friday that as safety coordinator, Halls had the responsibility to prevent tragedy after Gutierrez-Reed handed him the loaded Colt 45 revolver.

She explained to Mr. Halls that she had loaded it with dummy rounds, Morrissey said. Now the protocol at this point in time is for Mr. Halls to check and confirm. Hes kind of the last line of defense. So he needed to check and confirm that the rounds that were in the gun were actual dummy rounds.

Halls had a way to easily check whether the gun contained dummy rounds, said Morrissey, who was named this week as one of two special prosecutors in the case.

Mr. Halls did not check every round that was in the gun to confirm that it was a dummy round and not alive round, she said. He then handed the gun to Mr. Baldwin.

Aside from answering the judges questions, Halls did not make a statement at the hearing, which was streamed Friday morning on the courts YouTube channel.

Halls attorney, Lisa Torraco, said Halls role as safety coordinator did not extend specifically to the safe handling of firearms.

Mr. Halls does not handle firearms, Torraco said. He does not like firearms. His job is not to handle firearms. And so when checking the firearm, he wouldnt have even thought that there was a live round in that in that gun.

Torraco acknowledged that Halls checked the pistol after Gutierrez-Reed brought it into the church.

When he is checking for a firearm at that point in time, hes checking to se

e if there are blanks or dummy rounds in the firearm, she said. Never in anyones wildest dreams  never in anyones imagination did anyone think that there could possibly be a live round in the firearm.

The role of a safety coordinator would have been a subject of litigation if Halls case had gone to trial, Torraco said.

And we deny that its the role of the safety coordinator that he is in charge of safety, she said. If the people handling the firearms are negligent, he cant control how other people handle firearms.

Torraco also told the judge that Halls feels survivors guilt as a result of Hutchins death.

Mr. Halls has been a lot of pain and a lot of trauma, Torraco said. He was three feet from Ms. Hutchins when the firearm went off. No one expected this. This was not even foreseeable.

Halls primary reason for entering the no contest plea is to provide closure for the Hutchins family and co-defendants, she said.

Everybody needs to start processing and moving on, she said. And we feel like one way that he can do that, and not make this any more painful than it absolutely has to be, is to come in early, to address it with the court and to close his case.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The indictment against former President Donald Trump involving a 2016 hush money payment is raising concerns that it could undermine public confidence in what democracy experts view as far more important investigations.

Trump is facing multiple investigations related to his refusal to accept his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. That includes whether he pressured election officials to overturn the results, encouraged fake electors from battleground states and his role in the events that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Jeffrey Engel, founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, called the indictment this week from a New York grand jury the appetizer to their main course still to come.

That main course, literally, is democracy at stake and who we are as a nation, he said.

The New York investigation that led to Thursdays indictment involved payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels at the tail end of the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. But some worry that the charges  which remain under seal  could distract public attention from the other cases, which are more squarely focused on attacks against the countrys democratic institutions and traditions.

Larry Diamond, an expert on democracy and senior fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said he was nervous that the New York charges will trigger all of the charges of politicization against him and misuse of the judiciary. Its a theme Trump has been emphasizing on social media and during a recent campaign rally in Texas.

I would certainly not be opting to have this flimsiest of the cases go first, Diamond said.

The indictment already has rallied Trumps supporters, both at the grassroots level and those holding public office. The reaction to Thursdays indictment has exposed the deep political rifts that have increasingly polarized the country since Trumps rise within the Republican Party.

Kathy Clark, a retired police officer from suburban Palm Beach County, stood alongside the road outside Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after the indictment news broke, holding a Trump Won banner. Clark, dressed in a red, white and blue cowboy hat and vest, said the New York indictment will backfire.

People who were on the fence are going to see how the government has politicized the judicial system, she said.

Trump has promoted the idea that the investigations are partisan and intended to undermine his campaign as he embarks on his third bid for the White House. On his social media site, the former president cast prosecutors involved in the investigations as the ones endangering democracy.

Other supporters lined up quickly behind him, including West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, who called the indictment a political witch hunt and a political prosecution. And the only reason theyre doing this is because theyre scared. They know that they cant beat him at the ballot box. Thats why theyre resorting to these terrible tactics.

Polls have shown that a majority of Republicans still support Trumps false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, suggesting they already believe he has been wronged by the system even though Bidens win has been affirmed in multiple reviews, recounts and audits in the key presidential battleground states.

Trumps attempts to overturn those results amid false claims of widespread fraud are at the heart of two other ongoing investigations, including his role in trying to halt the certification of the election results and in the run-up to the violent attack on the Capitol. A special prosecutor also is looking into Trumps retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, an investigation that could hold the greatest legal peril for the former president.

A separate investigation in Georgias Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, is looking into the pressure Trump and others exerted on state officials to overturn the results of the presidential election there. The investigation began after a phone call in which Trump urged Georgias secretary of state to find enough votes to overturn Bidens win.

The payment that Trumps lawyer, Michael Cohen, made in 2016 to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with Daniels is the one that least involves an attack on democratic norms. But it is the detail that most easily lends itself to Trumps contention that he is being attacked for partisan reasons.

John Bolton, Trumps former national security adviser, said on CNN recently that the question is what happens after the indictment. If prosecutors fail to get a conviction, I think the historians will look back and say that is the act that re-elected Donald Trump president.

Diamond, the Stanford expert, said despite his nervousness of the New York case moving ahead first, it will not stop the others.

The other stuff is not going to simply evaporate, and I think for the purpose of the defense of our constitutional system and the defense of the rule of law  those are the ones that I think should carry the most weight in the public mind, he said.

Roscoe Howard, a former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said prosecutors in New York are aware of who they are dealing with and the turmoil that will follow. But he said prosecutors arent focused on public opinion or the political consequences of a case.

Their concern is not about other investigations, but whether their case is ready to go to court, Howard said.

Theres not a prosecutor in this country who will take a case to trial that they think they are going to lose, he said. They just dont do that.

___

Associated Press writer Terry Spencer in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
The Albuquerque metro area had the 170th strongest economy heading into the pandemic, and in the years following, its economic ranking improved  albeit not as much as some might hope  to 118th, according to a study from Brookings Metro.

That ranks the Albuquerque metro area near the bottom out of the 192 metro areas included in the study, but represents an improvement from its previous ranking. The states largest metro area  which accounts for half of New Mexicos population at roughly a million residents  joined more than four dozen other metro areas in the stagnant category in the Brookings study.

Brookings focused on how inclusive growth  economic growth that results in prosperity and closes disparities, says Brookings Joseph Parilla  was impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study looked at economic measures such as wages, employment rates and productivity across four categories that include growth, prosperity, racial inclusion and overall inclusion.

The data was pulled from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and private sector data company Lightcast. New Mexico still remained in the stagnant category instead of joining the tested, resilient or emergent categories in the newest study. Parilla said that speaks to the metro areas economic challenges.

Relative performance improved but unfortunately it wasnt good enough to lift it out of the stagnant category, Parilla said. Clearly the data suggests there are some economic challenges in the Albuquerque region.

According to Brookings, 71% of metro areas in the western United States had above-average scores prior to COVID, including Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah and Boulder, Colorado. A much-improved score following COVID came in the Colorado Springs metro area, which moved from 119th pre-pandemic to sixth place.

But while Albuquerques ranking improved, it didnt face challenges that some other Western metro areas faced. For instance, the Denver metro area ranking dropped from eighth pre-pandemic to 121st.

Out of all the regions in the study, the Northeast had the highest level of stagnant metro areas at roughly 43%. The West region had the highest level of resilient metro areas at 31.8%, followed by the South at 31.3%, according to Brookings.

While the Albuquerque metro area remained in the stagnant category, it wasnt alone  51 other metro areas joined them on that list. Most metro areas were in the stagnant category out of the four categories during both periods. From 2011 through 2021, Albuquerque ranked 47th out of 57 metro areas listed in the large category  which are metro areas that have populations between 500,000 and 1 million. In particular, the Albuquerque metro area ranked 37th in inclusion, 39th in prosperity, 48th in growth and 53rd in racial inclusion among large metro areas from 2011 through 2021.

I mean, in many ways, the pandemic didnt disrupt this fundamental trend of people and economic activity moving from the Midwest and the Northeast to the South and the West  that has been a long-term trend going on for decades, Parilla said. The states surrounding New Mexico  Texas, Arizona, Utah, Colorado  have experienced really significant growth. And New Mexico in some ways hasnt experienced that same trajectory.
Turkey approves Finland's NATO membership application

The announcement leaves Sweden behind to address the concerns raised by Ankara

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renews criticism of Sweden's alleged support of Kurdish militants

The Turkish government finally approved Finland's membership application to NATO, paving the way for the final stretches of the process, leaving Sweden by itself to address concerns raised by Ankara.

The announcement ended several months of delays as Turkey argued that it had concerns over the two Nordic countries joining the global military alliance. The Turkish Parliament unanimously voted to support Finland's NATO bid on Thursday.

Turkey Approves Finland's NATO Bid

The development is the culmination of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's "promise" that he would allow Finland to join the military alliance. Ankara was the last global power that is a part of NATO to approve Finland's accession, following Hungary's support on Monday.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto released a statement after Turkey's vote, saying that his country is now "ready to join NATO." He added that all 30 members of the military alliance have now ratified his country's membership, thanking them for their trust and support, as per CNN.

Niinisto also said they were looking forward to welcoming Sweden to join NATO as soon as possible once other members approve its application. In a statement, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also praised Turkey's decision.

For decades, the two Nordic countries have committed to non-alignment with NATO to prevent a potential provocation of Moscow. However, that situation fell apart when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February last year, forcing Finland and Sweden to re-evaluate their neutral stances.

While an overwhelming number of NATO members initially approved Finland's and Sweden's membership applications, Turkey was the sole holdout. Furthermore, Hungary later joined Ankara, installing the two Nordic countries' applications.

Read Also: US-China Relations in Limbo as Taiwan President Visits Washington

Claims of Sweden's Support for Kurdish Militants

According to BBC, Erdogan also renewed his criticism of Sweden, again accusing the country of embracing Kurdish militants and allowing the groups to demonstrate on the streets of Stockholm.

Turkey joined the military alliance in 1952 and owned the second-largest military in NATO, following the United States. The country's resentment toward Sweden focuses on Kurdish groups in the region that Ankara considers to be terrorists or affiliated with militants.

Ankara also condemned weapons embargoes that Finland, Sweden, and other EU countries put on Turkey over its targeting of the Kurdish militias in Syria. In January, as part of its efforts to appease Ankara, Finland lifted its nearly three-year-long arms embargo on Turkey.

However, diplomatic relations between Ankara and Stockholm remain in Limbo despite Erdogan's support of Finland's NATO bid. In early January, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that Turkey had confirmed that they had done what they were supposed to but wanted things they could not follow or did not want to give.

In response to Finland and Sweden's NATO application, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin officials warned of "consequences" if the two Nordic countries were approved. In early 2022, the Russian strongman cited Ukraine's desire to join the military alliance as the reason for its invasion, saying that it considers the expansion of NATO along Russia's borders unacceptable, said CNBC.

Related Article: Russia Arrests Alleged US Spy

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Masks and physical distancing will no longer be required in New Mexico courtrooms for the first time since the state Supreme Court ordered the measures in May 2020 to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

Nor will jurors be required to answer health screening questions to enter a courthouse, the high court announced Thursday. The new measures take effect Friday.

As we move forward and resume normal operations, courts can fully use all available space in courtrooms and jury assembly areas to conduct more trials and hearings, Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon said in a written statement.

For the past three years, physical distancing measures often required courts to disperse jurors throughout the courtroom into areas normally used by spectators. The measures also limited the number of prospective jurors allowed into a courtroom at one time, lengthening the time required to select jurors for trials.

Starting May 2020, the Supreme Court required anyone entering a court building to wear a mask and maintain six feet of physical distance. In March 2022, the physical distancing requirement was cut to three feet.

But the widespread use of virtual tools such as Zoom are likely to remain in place going forward.

During the pandemic, the courts upgraded audio and video technology to lessen the need for the public to visit the courtroom, Bacon said.

Our courts adapted, innovated and remained open to serve the public despite many hardships during the past three years of the pandemic, she said.

Justice David K. Thomson, who leads the courts emergency response team for pandemic matters, said the courts learned to use digital tools and operate more efficiently.

That remains one of the helpful lessons for courts brought on by the pandemic, Thomson said.
Instagram Celebrity

The 'Aston Martin Music' rapper rescues the turtle more than a week after his neighbor complained that his buffaloes wandered onto the latter's property in Fayetteville, GA.

Mar 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Rick Ross has proven that he cares about his surrounding. While driving around his Promise LAnd estate, the "Aston Martin Music" rapper stopped his car to save a tiny turtle from getting run over.

In a video shared by HipHopDX, the 47-year-old record executive could be seen picking up the small reptile, which had found its way onto one of the roads at his estate in Georgia. The emcee then moved it towards the grass.

"So if you think we only got bulls and horses on the Promise Land, you're wrong," the Maybach Music Group founder, born William Leonard Roberts II, stated. "I make traffic stop for the turtles too."

Earlier this month, Rick made media headlines as locals complained that his buffaloes wandered onto his neighbor's property in Fayetteville, GA twice in the week prior. When the woman went to Rick's place to complain about the escaped animals, it allegedly led to a verbal dispute with a member of the rapper's team.

The woman then filed a neighbor dispute with the city and tried calling police. However, cops said it was a civil dispute and didn't take a report.

In response to the report, Rick said on Instagram Story, "So when you see my buffalo, give it a carrot, give it apple. They're so kind, they're so peaceful." He added, "Thank everybody for watching. Thank everybody for making sure all of my animals got back into the Promised Land. All my neighbors, y'all the best."

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Movie

The 'Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert' star acknowledges he has a 'Full House of privilege' as he apologizes for suggesting straight actors should be allowed to play trans roles.

Mar 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Guy Pearce has "enormously" said sorry for suggesting that any actor should be able to play a transgender character. The 55-year-old Australian actor - who starred as drag queen Anthony "Tick" Belrose in 1994's "The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" - caused outrage after he tweeted his opinion on Monday, March 27, but has since issued a long letter on the platform saying sorry and clarifying his view.

"A question - if the only people allowed to play trans characters are trans folk, then are we also suggesting the only people trans folk can play are trans characters? Surely that will limit your career as an actor? Isn't the point of an actor to be able to play anyone outside your own world?" his controversial now-deleted tweet said.

His 494-word apology statement said he had "crassly" focused on an "already harassed minority," and he stressed he was aware he had no right to complain about fairness as he had a "Full House of privilege."

Guy said, "I see that raising the question of gender identity within the casting process on a platform like Twitter was not a good idea. For that, I apologise, enormously. I acknowledge it has only stirred up and inflamed attitudes and made us all dig our heels in."

"I take responsibility for that and again, apologise for starting a fire. This is a subject that needs to be discussed face to face, person to person and over a good amount of time where we are all heard and understood."

"It is also a subject that I understand is complex and sensitive. I want to take this opportunity to say it is very clear to me that in many areas of life discrimination, which should have no place in a modern society unfortunately still thrives. Indeed members of my own family have been subjected to different but every bit as pernicious prejudice."

Addressing his original tweet, he added, "I understand how my question - asking If trans actors are the only ones allowed to play trans roles then are we also suggesting trans actors are therefore only allowed to play trans characters?' is insensitive. The point I wanted to raise was one about defending the definition of acting and nothing more."

"Throwing the subject onto one minority group in particular was unnecessary, especially from a man like me, with a 'Full House' of privilege. I'm in no position to complain about fairness, at least not on my own behalf."

He claimed he had raised the question because "for 30 years now I've had many people ask me since doing Priscilla 'Don't you think gay people should've played those roles?' and now many similar discussions are occurring about trans actors and trans roles."

Guy also said actors should not have to declare their personal identity, sexual preference or political stance.

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Texts supposedly sent by the woman who had an argument with the 'Creed III' actor before his arrest have been released and they show her admit the incident was her fault.

Mar 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Jonathan Majors' lawyer has revealed texts she insists prove the actor is innocent of assaulting and harassing his girlfriend. The "Creed III" star, 33, was detained in a Chelsea apartment near West 22nd Street and Eighth Avenue after officers responded to an emergency call on Saturday, March 25, and his attorney Priya Chaudhry has now provided texts she says prove his innocence.

Jonathan's girlfriend, who has not been named, contacted the police after he allegedly hit and choked her, but has apparently admitted she's to blame and does not want to press charges against the Marvel star.

She said in texts provided to TMZ, "Please let me know you're okay when you get this. They assured me that you won't be charged. They said they had to arrest you as protocol when they saw the injuries on me and they knew we had a fight. I'm so angry that they did. And I'm sorry you're in this position. Will make sure nothing happens about this. I told them it was my fault for trying to grab your phone."

She also reportedly messaged, "I love you." After more than three hours pass without a response from Jonathan, she is said to have assured him she told police the fight between them "was not an attack."

The girlfriend added she would do everything in her power to help Majors avoid any charges or problems in court, saying according to the texts, "I know you have the best team and there's nothing to worry about. I just want you to know that I'm doing all I can on my end."

Jonathan's lawyer has repeatedly denied her client's guilt and said her legal team expects all charges to be dropped soon. In a statement about the actor's arrest, the lawyer said she was presenting evidence to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to exonerate him.

"This evidence includes video footage from the vehicle where this episode took place, witness testimony from the driver and others who both saw and heard the episode, and most importantly, two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations."

Sources told TMZ Emmy-nominated Jonathan got into an argument with his girlfriend during the taxi ride home from a Brooklyn bar, where she allegedly confronted him when she found another woman texting him. He has been arraigned a Manhattan Criminal Court on six counts of third-degree assault, three counts of third-degree attempted assault and two counts of harassment.

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The 'Joan of Arcadia' actor recounts the days when he had just entered a relationship with the 'Yellowjackets' actress and how it took him a while to realize she was the one.

Mar 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Melanie Lynskey's husband Jason Ritter didn't feel like he "deserved" her when they started dating due to his alcoholism battle. The "Yellowjackets" actress, 45, married "Joan of Arcadia" star Jason, 43, in 2020 a year after they had their first child, and he fought tears as he opened up about his fight with drink when they appeared together on Wednesday's March 29 episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show".

"It's not as cute of a story as you would like to think. It was messy and interesting and weird. But mixed in (with) the mix was I was dealing with some alcoholism issues," Jason, who also admitted it took him a while to realise Melanie was "the one," said about their rocky road to marriage.

"At a point, I knew how amazing she was and I thought she would be incredible for someone who deserved her, basically. And I didn't feel like I was that person. I felt a little bit too crazy."

The actor ended up giving up drink the same year he met Melanie, who has built a new fanbase playing tortured plane crash survivor Shauna in "Yellowjackets", but said he waited to make sure he could stay sober before getting more serious with the actress.

He added, "It was only after maybe a year into not drinking where I started to go, 'Oh, maybe I can promise some things to someone else. Maybe I can be this person.' I knew that she was incredible. It was working on myself enough to feel like maybe I could be the one for her too."

Melanie added on the Jason had "worked so hard" to get sober.

Drew, 48, who spent years fighting her addiction demons, told the couple about her battles, "I haven't had a drink in almost four years," before adding booze was her "poison." She added about previously feeling the way Jason did as he battled to stay with Melanie, "The narrative that one creates is that, 'I can't be with someone.' "

"And I haven't been in a relationship since I stopped drinking, and I'm really looking forward to one day not having that bad girl narrative, the instability, the 'I'm not someone who's right to be with anyone for their sake' (feeling)."

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In the newly filed court documents, the Migos rapper accuses his former record label of messing with his career with their 'wrongful interference' of his yet-to-be released music.

Mar 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Offset has made a new legal move. The Migos rapper has accused his former label Quality Control of attempting to be credited as the owner of his upcoming solo project amid battle over the rights to his music.

According to newly filed court documents obtained by Radar Online, the 31-year-old hip-hop artist accused Quality Control of "wrongful interference." The rapper's lawyer stated that Quality Control's "wrongful interference with the upcoming release of Offset's new music and continued instance of being credited as the owner of Offset's new solo sound recordings is groundless and unjustified."

"Quality Control no longer owns the copyright to Offset's solo sound recordings and is no longer licensing Offset's solo sound recordings to Capitol, and Capitol has acquired ownership of Offset's solo sound recordings directly from Offset," the legal filing added. Offset demanded Quality Control's countersuit against him for breach of contract be dismissed and his lawsuit moved forward.

Last year, Offset sued Quality Control and claimed they were attempting to claim ownership of his solo music. The two had worked together for over a decade. Then last month, Quality Control requested the judge to dismiss the lawsuit due to a breach of legal agreement.

"The 2021 Settlement Agreement did not affect Quality Control's ownership, control and/or income rights in recordings made by Offset under the Label Deal Agreement, either prior to or after the 2021 Settlement Agreement, as Quality Control's rights in those recordings are granted by Capitol pursuant to the terms of the Label Deal Agreement, not by Offset under the Production Agreement," the lawsuit stated.

It went on, "Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, Quality Control entered into an assignment agreement dated as of January 15, 2021 (the "Offset Assignment") under which Quality Control assigned its rights under the Offset/Capitol Agreement to Offset. The Offset Assignment makes no reference to, nor did it amend, the Label Deal Agreement."

"Accordingly, the Offset Assignment did not affect Quality Control's ownership or profit participation rights in recordings made by Offset because Quality Control's rights in such recordings are derived from the Label Deal Agreement, not from the Offset/Capitol Agreement," it continued.

In the lawsuit, QC said Offset has failed to pay it the required payments and breached the deal by revealing terms publicly. The label has since demanded unspecified damages.

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Two people are killed and five others are wounded after a gunfire erupts at Prive restaurant in Memphis, following a physical altercation inside the eatery that eventually spills outside.

Mar 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - A deadly shooting erupted at a Tennessee restaurant owned by Yo Gotti. Two people were killed and at least five others were injured after a barrage of gunfire erupted in the parking lot of Prive restaurant in Memphis, following a brawl inside the eatery.

Memphis police confirmed that on Wednesday, March 29 at 11:17 P.M., officers responded to a shooting outside 6980 Winchester. According to police reports, the shooting happened a little after closing.

When officers arrived, two male victims were found on the scene. One was pronounced dead in the parking lot and the other was taken to a local hospital where he later died.

Five others, four men and a woman, arrived at hospitals by private vehicles. The men were ages 37, 35, 31 and 30. The woman was 25 years old. Their conditions are currently unknown.

Footage obtained by TMZ shows the brawl that led to the shooting. In the surveillance video, a tense argument ensued after a man in a red jacket slammed into a group and someone tossed a drink. A man in a blue jacket, who was actually on crutches but handed them to a woman, then joined in the fight and began throwing punches.

It appeared that security managed to separate them, but the fight continued outside in the parking lot. The man in the blue hoodie was seen hopping on one foot and yelling at onlookers, before firing shots with what appears to be a semi-automatic weapon, hitting a man in black several times.

The video then cuts to him hobbling away from the scene as two bodies lied on the pavement. Someone appeared to make a frantic phone call while the assailant, who has not been identified, fled the scene. He is still at large.

Gotti, who purchased the restaurant for his mother, was not involved in the brawl and the shooting as he was not in Memphis on the night of the incident. None of his family members are among the victims.

Following the shooting, Arthur Horne, the owners' lawyer, said in a statement, "On behalf of Prive, they've been in business for 10 years, and nothing like this has ever happened at their establishment." Horne claimed the altercation occurred in the parking lot, not inside the restaurant as stated by authorities.

"It happened out in the parking lot, and it ended up in a shootout," he said. "Nothing happened inside the restaurant. Despite any conflicting reports, they were closing, and this happened at the end of the evening in the parking lot." The owners also extended their condolences to the families of the victims.

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The New York-born hip-hop artist was severely attacked by a group of men at the LA Fitness located in the 8000 block of Lantana Road in Lake Worth on March 21.

Mar 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - 6ix9ine's attackers have been taken into police custody. A little over a week after the New York-born hip-hop artist was severely beaten by a group of men inside a gym sauna in Florida, three men were arrested.

A representative for the Palm Beach Sheriff Office confirmed to TMZ on Thursday, March 30 that detectives rounded up three men, Rafael Medina, 43, Jr., Octavious Medina, 23, and Anthony Maldonado, 25, for assaulting and robbing the "GOOBA" rapper. The suspects were being booked on Thursday evening and processed into county jail.

The gym beatdown left Tekashi, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, with several injuries. The 26-year-old hip-hop star was taken to a hospital but his injuries were not considered life-threatening, officials said.

6ix9ine was attacked at the LA Fitness located in the 8000 block of Lantana Road in Lake Worth on March 21. Viral surveillance video showed three men standing over the rapper, who was on the floor of the gym's sauna area. One of the men kicked him and the other lunged forward and hit him. Another video showed the MC after the attack, with blood dripping down his face.

6ix9ine's lawyer Lance Lazzaro confirmed to TMZ that his client was in the gym without personal security when he was assaulted without warning. The attorney declared that he plans to ask federal authorities to provide protection after the rapper's testimony helped put his fellow gang members behind bars.

Tekashi, known for his rainbow-colored hair and "69" tattoo on his forehead, previously faced decades in prison as part of a racketeering case in which he was accused of using a violent gang as a "personal hit squad." Instead, his sentence was reduced to about two years after his testimony against the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, earning him a label as a "snitch."

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The 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' alum makes use of Twitter to defend herself from allegations that she 'touched' her co-star without her consent during 'RHUGHT' season 4 filming in Morocco.

Mar 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Brandi Glanville believed that "The Real Housewives of Ultimate Girls Trip" incident involving herself and co-star Caroline Manzo was a "set up." The former star of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" took to Twitter to once again defend herself from allegations that she "touched" Caroline without her consent.

"I am not suing ANYONE not #Peacock or Anyone else for that matter," Brandi wrote in one tweet. She added in a separate tweet, "I can speak on anything I want to speak on-it was at the end of an 18 hour Wrk [sic] day at our belly dancing party & I'd like to see footage on it before hand as both myself & Caroline were very intoxicated."

She also shared that Caroline was "fine" after the incident. "I'm f**king sick of this narrative.I was hired for a 2nd season of girls trip cuz they LOVED what I did on 1st season I was told to bring the party just like before & that's exactly what I did & Iwas punished for it. It feels like a f**king set up. It's BS & Caroline was fine," the reality TV star added.

Concluding her message, the 50-year-old star wrote, "Those are my statements. Yes I'm pissed off. Yes, this is been life f**king ruining and I'm not gonna be responding to anyone commenting."

Brandi Glanville believed 'RHUGT' incident was a 'set up.'

Prior to this, it was reported that Brandi was kicked out during filming of "RHUGT" season 4 in Morocco after being inappropriate with Caroline, prompting both to leave the show early. According to Page Six, Brandi gave her co-star "unwanted kisses" and even "touched [Caroline's] breast area and vaginal area" during the taping earlier this year. A source also told the outlet that Brandi "stuck her tongue down [Caroline's] throat."

Peacock later announced in a statement that the network and production company behind the show, Shed, were launching an investigation into the matter. "The safety and security of cast and crew while shooting is extremely important and we take all reports seriously. In this situation, production immediately launched a comprehensive review and is taking appropriate action," read the joint statement.

Meanwhile, Caroline addressed the drama during her interview with New York Live on March 16. "I can't say much, only because it's not good for my headspace, but it took a lot for me to go back [to the Housewives universe] there," she told the host at the time. "[I was] going back with the best of intentions, with the highest of hopes, to do something fun. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me that way."

The 61-year-old later admitted that she departed from the show "early" due to a negative experience. "I came home early," she recalled. "And at this point, I just truly don't have the space in my head to talk about it. So, I'd rather not but I would imagine it would unfold on the series when it airs and there'll be a lot said then."

Peacock has yet to reveal the premiere date for "RHUGT" season 4.

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While some people suspect that Phoebe Gates' beau is 'securing the bag' by dating the Microsoft co-founder's daughter, others believe that the guy is from a wealthy family too.

Apr 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Bill Gates' daughter has suddenly found herself becoming the talk of the town due to her romantic relationship. Back in January, Phoebe Gates posted on her Instagram account several photos of her and her man Robert Ross seemingly taken from New Year's Eve celebration.

One of the snaps saw the pair staring lovingly into each other's eyes while standing in front of a fireplace. Another image saw Phoebe seemingly in a playful mode as she stuck her tongue out, while her boyfriend wrapped his hands around her waist, but turned his face away and smiled.

The photos have since drawn mixed response from social media users, with some assuming that Robert "securing the bag" by dating Phoebe. "Bill Gates daughter and her boyfriend. Can you see how hard he's smiling. I understand my brother," one person commented on Twitter.

Another weighed in, "That's the smile of future generational wealth." A third person reacted, "It's...interesting how the usual suspects are congratulating Bill Gates daughters bf for 'securing the bag' and no one is calling him weak or emasculated."

Some others, however, believe that Robert is also from a wealthy family. "I find it funny y'all assume he's just some random broke Black teen looking for a lick... To be real, to be in circles with the gates his family has $$ too," someone argued.

Similarly, another defended Robert, "If he is in the same social circle as bill gates daughter, I promise you, without her dad he's still be fine lol." Someone else claimed, "To be clear, this guy is accomplished as well. He is cofounder of a tech startup, went to Stanford as well. Lets not make assumptions just because of her fathers wealthlet them live."

Another person simply supported the couple as saying, "Bill Gates daughter and her boyfriend are cute lol. Love that for him."

Phoebe herself has responded to racist comments about her relationship with Robert. When asked about the worst part of being a social media sensation, the college student said in an interview with The Information earlier this month, "The misconceptions and conspiracy theories about my family and my relationship with my boyfriend. It's 2023. I'm done being memed for being in an interracial relationship."

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Hundreds of people held a rally outside the Tennessee state Capitol

The protesters called for gun control measures following the deadly Nashville shooting

The incident resulted in the death of three schoolchildren and three adults

Hundreds of people, many of whom were parents, held a rally in Nashville following the deadly shooting at a Christian school that led to the death of three children and three adults.

The protesters gathered outside the Tennessee state Capitol on Thursday, calling for gun control measures. Starting around 8:00 a.m. local time, the demonstration involved a crowd that held signs and chanted, "What do we want? Gun control! When do we want it? Now!"

Nashville Protesters Call for Gun Control Measures

Video footage showed that the protesters began ascending the Capitol steps as choral music played in the background. The rally drew people of all ages, including parents who came with their young children in strollers and students in school uniforms.

One person who attended the event held a sign that read, "My nieces and nephews deserve better," while another had one that wrote, "Do better, Tim." The latter was a reference to Rep. Tim Burchett, who said that officials were not going to "fix" the situation, as per the New York Post.

A third sign urged lawmakers to "Make Murder More Difficult" as a Twitter post noted that some protesters called out, "Where is Marsha?" referring to Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

As the number of people joining the rally grew, protesters began to block the sidewalk and most of the road in front of the Capitol. Less than an hour after the start of the protest, a smaller group was gathered inside the Capitol rotunda, where they sang a rendition of Bill Withers' "Lean On Me."

Later, the crowd also formed a narrow gap that forced House members to walk through before entering the chamber. A Tennessee non-profit dedicated to improving conditions for women and children in the state, AWAKE, was responsible for planning the protest.

Read Also: Minnesota Train Derails, Catches Fire

Horrific School Shooting

In the hallways between the state Senate and the House chambers, protesters chanted, "Save our children!" While many others were quiet inside the building, there were some children who held up signs that read, "I'm nine." According to CBS News, this was a reference to the age of the three young kids who were fatally shot in Monday's massacre.

Furthermore, two Democratic lawmakers in the House caused a temporary shutdown after they started yelling, "Power to the people," using a megaphone. Guns have recently become the top cause of death for children and teens in the United States, going beyond even vehicular fatalities and other injuries.

Several groups supported the protest, which Metro Nashville Public Schools Parents spearheaded in coordination with ForwardTN, East Nashtivists, The Equity Alliance, and Third Man Records.

The protest follows the brutal shooting where a 28-year-old former student of The Covenant School in Nashville entered the establishment by shooting out glass doors and opening fire at the people inside. The shooter, identified as Audrey Hale, was later shot and killed by law enforcement, said the Time.

Related Article: Donald Trump Indicted Over Hush Money Case

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ABP Majha, Maharashtras leading Marathi news channel, recently hosted 'Majha Maharashtra, Digital Maharashtra  2023, a conclave to bridge the gap between emerging technology and the public with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The event will be aired from Friday, March 31 to Monday, April 3, 2023, at 4.30 pm. A special session will also be aired at 9.30 pm on Sunday, April 2.

Artificial Intelligence is a rapidly advancing technology with the capacity to revolutionize life as we know it. At ABP Majha's Majha Maharashtra Digital Maharashtra - 2023, experts spoke of the emerging scope of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its rising influence in various fields along with the fresh set of challenges that this presents.

The inaugural session was graced by Uday Samant, Cabinet Minister of Ministry of Industries (Maharashtra) and Deepak Ghaisas, Chairman of Gencoval Strategic Services Pvt Ltd. Deputy Executive Editor of ABP Majha, Sarita Kaushik outlined the purpose of the conclave wherein she highlighted the need to be prepared for the future.

A session on the impact of AI on the agriculture sector saw senior journalist Sandeep Ramdasi interact with Eknath Dawale, IAS, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Prasad Kulkarni, Founder and Business Head, Adrise India Pvt Ltd. The challenges to internal security, privacy, the possibility of dark net getting darker, and crimes such as sextortion were discussed in the backdrop of growing AI by Sarita Kaushik with former chief of cyber-crime IPS Brijesh Singh, who is presently the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The session on the expected transformation of the education sector due to AI saw Achyut Godbole, Writer and AI Expert, and Dr. Bhooshan Kelkar, Director, Neuflex Talent Solutions Pvt Ltd, share their ideas with ABP Majha anchor Dyanada Chavan. In the last session, anchor Kavita Rane spoke to Nidhi Kamdar, OSD (Communications) to Honble DCM, Maharashtra, Dr. Deepak Shikarpur, Author and Scholar, and Samir Raut, Head, Retail Banking, Saraswat Co-operative Bank Limited on the rising issues of cyber manipulation impacting governance, politicians and the common man.

The event included case studies on Artificial Intelligence presented by Samir Raut, Head, Retail Banking Operations, Saraswat Co-operative Bank Limited, Prof. Shivraj, Raghunath Motegaonkar, Founder CMD, RCC (Renukai Career Institute), and Neil Patil, Founder & Director, Veena World.

This gathering of industry leaders, government representatives and experts signified the need for digital transformation in Maharashtra and the potential of Artificial Intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies to power it.

The exchange of ideas helped attendees gain a better understanding of the latest trends and developments in the digital technology sector.

Majha Maharashtra Digital Maharashtra is presented by Saraswat Bank, Motegaonkar Siranche RCC, and Veena World, and powered by Zaminwale. ABP Live is the digital partner.
Indonesia's Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiago Uno, celebrated National Film Day with a special discussion alongside Netflix, centered around the upcoming original crime thriller Borderless Fog (working title). The online event featured the film's producer, Muhammad Zaidy (Eddy), and one of the leading cast members, Lukman Sardi.

Set in various locations throughout Kalimantan, Borderless Fog aims to spotlight the stories and cultures of local people and immigrants who reside in the area. "We are particularly pleased with this production, as there are still many stories about places outside of Java. We are also pleased that the production involves local actors and crew members, and creates opportunities for local communities," said Minister Uno.

Eddy also explained why Kalimantan was chosen as the film's main location. "The island is unique as it boasts cultural diversity and breathtaking landscapes. We hope this production can bring a good impact for tourism and the creative economy. We hope to see more films take place outside of Java," he explained.

Meanwhile, Lukman expressed his enthusiasm about working in some of the most stunning locations in Indonesia. "Indonesia is rich with beautiful locations. I am beyond proud to have the opportunity to work in these magnificent places, such as Sentarum Lake and Rumah Panjang where I have the chance to connect with locals. This is what makes me proud to be an Indonesian actor," he said.

The film's cast includes Putri Marino, Yoga Pratama, Yudi Ahmad Tajudin, Yusuf Mahardika, Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin, Kiki Narendra, Siti Fauziah, and Sita Nursanti. In 2022, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy partnered with Netflix to launch the Wonderful Indonesia program, which uses stories to promote the tourism industry of Indonesia.
Sony SAB's Pushpa Impossible, which premiered in June last year, has been gaining popularity among viewers nationwide. The show's strong and fiery female lead, Pushpa, played by the versatile actor Karuna Pandey, has become an inspiration to many due to her determination, resilience, and courage. A self-made budding businesswoman and mother of three from Gujarat, Pushpa's never-say-never attitude, and million-dollar smile have made her a force to reckon with.

To discuss this intriguing turn and the upcoming twists in the story, Pushpa Impossibles actors Karuna Pandey, Jayesh More and Garima Parihar visited the city of Indore to interact with the media and share the new developments in the show. In recent times, Pushpa is seen facing her past as her estranged husband Dilip Patel returns as Dharam Raidhan (played by Jayesh More) and wreaks havoc in her life. The audience also witness how Pushpa using her wit and presence of mind, heroically saves young girls including her own daughter from a deadly trap, demonstrating yet again that once a mother commits to protecting her children, she is unstoppable.

In the upcoming track the viewers will see how Dilips return will continue to cause a sense of unease and an increased threat to Pushpa's life. In this challenging situation, Deepti, Pushpas daughter-in-law played by Garimah Parihar, turns out to be a great support to Pushpa. She will stand by Pushpa's side and help her navigate through all the struggles that come their way.

Commenting on the role of Pushpa, Karuna Pandey says, "Pushpa's life is testament of the strength and perseverance women demonstrate in the face of adversity. Despite facing numerous challenges, she has remained resilient with the unwavering support of her loved ones and one such pillar of support is her daughter-in-law Deepti, who has been a great source of comfort and encouragement to her throughout her struggles. As fate brings Dilip back into her life, Pushpa's strength and resilience will once again be put to the test and I am looking forward to share this journey with the viewers from Indore!"

Jayesh More, who plays Dilip Patel, says, All characters in Pushpa Impossible are multi-dimensional, but Dilip stands out with many facets to his personality and adds complexity to Pushpa's life as she stands at yet another crossroad. He is set to shake things up and bring a storm of emotions that Pushpa must navigate as the story develops with more intrigue, and unexpected twists in the upcoming episodes!

Garimah Parihar, portraying the role of Deepti, says, "Pushpa Impossible is a show that inspires me personally as Pushpa represents the quintessential Indian woman who is resilient, strong, independent, yet flawed, making her very relatable. My character Deepti has a lot of love and respect for her mother in law, Pushpa, and she supports her in the face of adversity which is truly inspiring. I hope that the people of Indore continue to support us as we continue to bring the story of Pushpa to life on Sony SAB."

Keep watching Pushpa Impossible every Monday to Saturday at 9:30 PM only on Sony SAB
Channel 4 and ITVs multiplex service Digital 3&4 today announced it has appointed Steve Holebrook as its new Managing Director as Greg Bensberg MBE steps down after ten years in the role.

Reporting into the Digital 3&4 board, Steve will lead the strategic approach of the business and manage the operations of the Digital 3&4 service across all engagement on behalf of its joint owners Channel 4 and ITV. This will include the management of Digital 3&4s contracts with Arqiva and BT, which recently saw Channel 4 and ITVs Freeview channels move to cloud-based processing.

Steve Holebrook said: Digital 3&4 is making some huge steps forward for the television industry, and I am thrilled to be taking the helm to continue to drive innovation for the future of broadcasting. I am very much looking forward to developing Digital 3&4s technical, legal and commercial position as well as collaborating with its excellent partners Arqiva and BT.

Steve previously worked at Arqiva where he held a number of leadership positions, latterly he oversaw the integration of the terrestrial broadcast and satellite business units in his role of Managing Director of Media Networks. Prior to that he led the Terrestrial Broadcast business unit overseeing the 700Mhz Clearance programme and the expansion of the UKs DAB networks as well as Arqivas Smart Meter network rollout. Before joining Arqiva in 2005, he worked at NTL Broadcast as Managing Director of Media Solutions where he took the commercial lead for all of NTL's relationships with satellite and terrestrial TV broadcasters.

Greg Bensberg MBE, who has been Managing Director of Digital 3&4 since June 2013, will remain at the company for a handover period before stepping down. Greg also holds positions as Director at Oxford Broadcast Consultants, as a Member of the Ofcom Spectrum Advisory Board, and the Editorial Board at the Journal of Digital Media & Policy since 2018.

Greg Bensberg MBE said: I am delighted that Steve Holebrook will take over the leadership of Digital 3&4 from me this May. I have really enjoyed my time leading Digital 3&4 and working with ITV and Channel 4 colleagues and think that it is a very strong position to continue its leading role in the UK broadcasting industry. I have taken the decision to retire from this role after 50 years working in the broadcast industry starting as an apprentice with Marconis in Chelmsford in 1973 and spanning work in R&D with Quantel and Thames TV and regulation with the IBA, ITC and Ofcom.

Digital 3&4 is a joint venture owned by Channel 4 and ITV. It holds their digital terrestrial television multiplex licence, issued by Ofcom under the 1996 Broadcasting Act, and the associated Wireless Telegraphy Licence also issued by Ofcom.

Steve Holebrook will join Digital 3&4 on 1st May 2023.
MX Player's line-up of international shows for April 2023 is sure to take you on an enjoyable adventure. From historical dramas to heartwarming comedies, the upcoming Chinese and Korean dramas from around the world will surely entertain you. Get ready to immerse yourself in the stories of strong characters navigating love, loss, and everything in between. Sit back, relax and enjoy MX VDesi's enticing April 2023 slate.

1st April - Fall in Love (2021)

Fall in Love (2021) is an enthralling Chinese drama that revolves around Mu Wan Qing (Jingyi Zhang), who returns to China to lay her mother's ashes to rest. However, her true motive is to unravel the mystery behind her family's tragic past. In her quest, she befriends two intriguing men: Tan Xuanlin, a daring commander playing a dangerous game, and Xu Guang Yao, a revered son of a Commander who abhors political power struggles. Despite their differences, they form an unlikely alliance and delve deeper into the mystery, facing perilous challenges that test their loyalty and courage. With a coup d'etat wreaking havoc on the Shanghai army, the trio realizes that they must set aside their personal struggles and unite to safeguard their country. Fall in Love explores how love, friendship, and patriotism can unite individuals from diverse backgrounds in times of adversity. This gripping series with its intricate plot, complex characters, and poignant moments will leave you on the edge of your seat. Watch Fall in Love on MX Player in Hindi from 1st April 2023.



5th April - The Lady in Dignity

The Lady in Dignity follows the lives of two women with conflicting views - Woo-A-Jin (Kim Hee-Seon) and Park Bok Ja (Kim Sun-A). In the midst of a wealthy yet dysfunctional family, Woo-A Jin is a dutiful daughter-in-law living a luxurious life. But her world comes crashing down when she hires a new caretaker, Park Bok-Ja, who seduces her ailing father-in-law and becomes his wife, leaving the family in disbelief. With multiple layers of complexity, it delves deep into the intricacies of the societal class system, showcasing the rise of one woman from the bottom to the top, while the other falls from grace. This juicy drama takes a jab at the hypocrisy of the supposedly elegant upper class, exposing their inelegance and flaws. A captivating tale of power, manipulation, and betrayal, prep up to witness how seemingly perfect life can unravel and how one's status can be both a blessing and a curse. The Korean drama is set to stream in Hindi on MX Player from 5th April onwards.



8th April - My Debate Opponent Season 2



Prep up for an epic showdown in the world of debating with the popular sequel to the 2019 Chinese hit series My Debate Opponent Season 2. This time, the story revolves around a group of unlikely debaters thrown together by a group of unscrupulous teachers looking to rig an inter-school debating competition. The team comprises of headstrong Xiao Yu (Wu Jia Yi) and the rudderless Nan Bei, (Zhai Zi Lu.) Despite the low expectations of their teachers, the team quickly discovers a way to blend their diverse skills and become a formidable debating force. But the scheme of the manipulative school principal threatens to derail their newfound success. Will the young debaters be able to rise above the challenges and prove themselves on the most prestigious debating platform of all? A thrilling ride filled with unexpected twists and turns, Hello Debate Opponent Season 2 explores the power of teamwork, determination, and the unbreakable human spirit. Catch the series on MX Player in Hindi from 8th April onwards.



12th April - The Song of Glory

Experience political turmoil, power struggles, and romance in The Song of Glory, a 2020 historical drama directed by Li Hui Zhu and Deng Wei En. Prince Peng Cheng, Liu Yikang (Qin Hao) introduced political reforms to restore order in the Liu Song dynasty but faced opposition from powerful aristocrats. With few allies, he agrees to marry Shen Li Ge (Li Qin), the brilliant daughter of the powerful Shen family with deep military roots. Together, they face corrupt and powerful clans, using their intelligence and strength to succeed. Witness the struggles of a young prince fighting for his people and a couple striving to restore peace and love to their nation. Will they succeed, or will their efforts be in vain? The Song of Glory streams on MX Player in Hindi from 12th April onwards.



19th April - Court Lady



Step into the lavish world of China's Tang dynasty with Court Lady, a captivating Chinese drama that tells the love story of Sheng Chu Mu (Xu Kai) and Fu Rou (Li Yi Tong). Sheng Chu Mu, the eldest son of a prestigious military family, has always lived a life of luxury and indulgence. Known as the biggest playboy in the capital city of Chang'an, he finds himself in trouble yet again and decides to escape to Guangzhou with a friend. There, he meets Fu Rou, the daughter of a local merchant, and is instantly smitten by her stunning beauty. But their love story is not without its challenges as they navigate the complexities of societal expectations and familial obligations. As both the characters embark on a journey of romance and self-discovery, viewers are transported to a bygone era of opulence, political intrigue, and forbidden love. Will Sheng Chu Mu and Fu Rou's love withstand the tests of time and circumstance? Tune into MX Player to unravel the secrets as Court Lady streams in Hindi from 19th April.



26th April- Novoland: Eagle Flag



Prepare to be transported to a world of adventure, romance, and power struggles with Novoland: Eagle Flag, an enthralling Chinese costume drama. Set in a time of chaos and darkness, the story follows the lives of three young heroes, Lu Gui Chen, Ji Ye, and Yu Ran, fighting against a tyrannical warlord and other ominous forces. Lu Gui Chen, the heir to the nomadic Qingyang tribe, is sent to the Eastern Land as a hostage. There, he befriends Ji Ye, an illegitimate son who aspires to become a warrior, and Yu Ran, a princess from the Winged tribe. As they bond together, romantic feelings emerge but their idyllic lives are soon threatened by the iron-fisted rule of warlord Ying Wu Yi, who has a stronghold over the emperor and the nobles. The trio decides to join forces and challenge Ying Wu Yi at Shangyang Pass, but they don't know that an even more sinister plot is unfolding. Will Lu Gui Chen, Ji Ye, and Yu Ran defeat the ruthless warlord and overcome the dark forces threatening their world? Find out as Novoland: Eagle Flag streams on MX Player in Hindi from 26th April onwards.
The death toll in the Indore temple stepwell roof collapse incident rose to 35 on Friday, and a search operation is currently underway to trace one missing person, an official said.

The slab constructed on top of an ancient bawdi or stepwell collapsed during a havan program held on the occasion of Ram Navami at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in the city on Thursday, plunging several devotees into the water reservoir below. The temple located in Patel Nagar, where the tragedy took place, had been constructed after covering the square-shaped stepwell of around 20 ft x 20 ft size about four decades ago.

Our search operation, being carried out with the help of the Army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), is nearing completion. So far, 35 bodies have been recovered from the well, Indore District Magistrate Dr Ilayaraja T told reporters at the site of the incident.

The bodies of all persons, except one, whose names were mentioned in the list of missing persons, have been recovered so far, he said. There is a lot of silt in the well, and it is being removed to trace the missing person, Illayaraja said.

Earlier, Indore Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) Pawan Kumar Sharma said that 16 people injured in the mishap have been admitted to a hospital, while two others were sent home after receiving first aid.

Eyewitnesses said that after 11.30 pm on Thursday, the process of recovering bodies from the well and sending them to a hospital for post-mortem intensified.

A joint team of the Army and the NDRF descended into the well with the help of a crane and trolley to recover the bodies.

The rescue operation was initially hampered as the temple was built in a narrow space and a wall was broken to lower a pipe to pump out water from the well, officials said.

An eyewitness said that during the religious program, there was a huge crowd of devotees at the temple, and its floor caved in as it could not bear the load. Local residents said that the temple was built by laying a slab over the ancient stepwell.
Image: Reuters

Donald Trump issued a scathing response to his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury, describing it as political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history and warning that the witch-hunt will backfire massively on US President Joe Biden.

The former US president was indicted on Thursday in a case involving alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The historic indictment is the first time a president has been charged in a criminal matter and comes as 76-year-old Trump is mounting his third bid for the White House.

After it was reported that the Manhattan grand jury had voted to criminally indict him, Trump, a Republican, issued a wrathful response, denouncing it in a lengthy statement as political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the radical left Democrats  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this country  have been engaged in a witch hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.

You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; impeachment hoax 1; impeachment hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this, the 76-year-old former president said in a statement.

Trump alleged that the Democrats have lied, cheated, and stolen in their obsession with trying to get Trump.

But now theyve done the unthinkable by indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election interference, he said.

Trump called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a disgrace.

Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, hes doing Joe Bidens dirty work, ignoring the murders, burglaries, and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time! he said.

He said that he believes this witch hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden.

The American people realize exactly what the radical left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our movement and our party  united and strong  will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Trump said.

Never before in our nations history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be the President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for president, has never happened before. Ever, he said.

The details of Thursdays indictment have not been released, with Bragg saying that it will remain under seal for the immediate future. Al Mason, a real estate businessman from New York and co-chair of the Trump Victory Indian-American Finance Committee, told PTI, It is 100 per cent political. Trump will emerge even stronger after this witch hunt. Never underestimate him.
The riots in West Bengal can be directly attributed to the frustrations of people on both sides and also to political plots to fuel them further. In the recent past, there has been no sign of development in the state. Goons are allowed to loot, minorities are given all sorts of advantages, and Muslim migrants choose the state for safe haven. Education and health prospects are meager. Apart from this, they are being radicalized by fundamentalist elements of their community. If it were not for this reason, there would not have been a communal riot for just a Facebook post, and that too by a juvenile.

Earlier, it was the BJP that used to play the communal card. The minority religious fundamentalists of west Bengal are followers of Trinamool, and less action is taken against them (since they are TMCs vote bank). The kind of appeasement politics has long been a source of irritation for Hindus dwelling there, which made the situation blow out of proportion. The situation should be brought under control through proper law and order. Using communal riots as a case for gaining votes is the biggest curse. The real reason for the violence in West Bengal is that politics has captured every aspect of life. Say jobs, construction, education, everything, and event cinema. That is the reason whoever is in power gets the power to rule these sectors as well.

It is sad to say, but it is the Bengalis themselves who have brought politics into everything. Politicians just used them to their advantage. This political culture must be stopped. Whoever forms the government should pull politics out of every part of life. People get very serious here with politics, and this is the reason for violence. Violence broke out between two groups when a Ram Navami procession was taken out in West Bengals Howrah city, where several vehicles were torched and shops were ransacked if something was not planned. The police detained many youths in this connection. Both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP have shared videos as evidence to show who is responsible for the violence.

A large police force was deployed following the violence between two groups. They had gone on a rampage, burning vehicles, throwing stones, and damaging shops. The BJP shared videos showing some men vandalizing shops and throwing stones at the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the police. In the videos shared by the Trinamool Congress, the party of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, red circles are drawn over some men to highlight them as they are seen holding guns and other weapons at the Ram Navami procession, which allegedly took an unauthorized route to target and attack one community, according to her. She believes the BJP is instigating violence in Bengal.

Meanwhile, Bengal BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari meets the Union Home Minister in Delhi and then returns to Kolkata. He holds a public meeting the next day and says, Watch TV tomorrow. The next day there were riots again. The BJP approaches the high court seeking a probe by the National Investigation Agency, a central body, as they want to avoid being investigated in the state to escape action. They know they will be caught if the probe happens here. Whereas the BJP says if the probe happens in a state, then the ruling party will try its best to blame the BJP and its workers. Frankly speaking, at this hour, there is no point in talking about investigations because this is not the first incident of communal violence. And there has been no concrete investigation of previous violent incidents.

The Home Minister called Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar to assess the law and order situation after the Ram Navami clash, but he did not have any dialogue with the state government or its CM. The governor, who will soon be visiting the riot-hit areas, is believed to have given Shah details about the violence and the present situation. But how these visits are going to solve the burning communal issues in the state, no one knows.

On the other hand, Mamta Banerjee has accused the BJP of trying to stoke communal tension during the procession. She alleged the BJP had hired goons from other states to orchestrate communal riots. The BJP slammed Banerjee, stating that the Hindus in Bengal are under threat, and accused Ms. Banerjee, who is also the states home minister, of appeasement politics.

Currently in India, in the name of secularism, only appeasement and further communal politics are being played, and Didi is no different than the herd. She has been walking along the same path of secularism, or shall I say pseudo-secularism, ever since she became the Chief Minister of the State. She has been trying to woo the Muslim voters by making symbolic gestures rather than any substantial improvements. She is afraid that if arrests are made and Muslim rioters end up in jail, she may see her cherished vote bank drift away from her. The situation has further worsened because of the continuous influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Mamata knows that the key to retaining her chair for the coming term is to have the Muslim voters on her side, and hence she comes up with different ideas to attain her objective. It has further enhanced the polarization of the state. When the nation has already witnessed a partition along communal lines where Bengal was ripped apart, is it really wise to air the communal feelings? India is already facing problems due to overpopulation. Is it smart to allow illegal immigrants to settle in India and lay claim to our resources? On the other hand, the BJP is also aiming to gain power in West Bengal, and they will never allow the state to settle in peace.
Newsweek recently published a front-page article about a Christian university on March 28th, placing the story alongside globally important breaking news. The inflammatory article claimed that California Attorney General Rob Bonta was taking "legal action" against Olivet University and also implied that federal authorities were moving toward school closure ("feds circle"). This was very much exaggerated and untrue. And Newsweek's readers were likely left wondering why a venerated magazine would publish fake news alleging a Christian university's closure. Could it be to distract from Newsweek's own internal troubles?

Newsweek's "Criminal" Narrative Deflates

For more than a year, Newsweek has repeatedly trumpeted the claim that Olivet University is facing federal charges of human trafficking, money laundering, and visa fraud - related to a campus raid that happened over two years ago. But despite Newsweek's very public agitations, and the passage of so much time, still no charges have been filed. What does that say about the veracity of Newsweek's claims about Olivet?



The same goes for Newsweek's latest story. Although the article begins by implying that something big has happened, it fizzles out as Newsweek concludes that no crime is alleged by California's Attorney General against Olivet. To be clear, Newsweek states in its article that the notice, filed on behalf of California's Bureau for Private and Postsecondary Education (BPPE), did not contain any criminal allegations against Olivet University.



Instead, the notice from BPPE stated that Olivet University should attend a hearing, citing 14 points that BPPE believes are not in compliance with standards. When asked to respond to this letter, Olivet University officials stated that they welcome this as a good opportunity to reveal the truth.

Poor School or Outstanding University?

The university official said, "California BPPE can raise issues at any time as a supervisory agency, and can listen to the school's perspective. This is a good chance to show what we have done." Nonetheless, Newsweek's article gives the impression as though the school's closure is all but decided already, which is untrue.

Additionally, the university official said, "Olivet University was founded 20 years ago and is a full member of ABHE, a national accreditation agency. The California BPPE issue is limited to California only." According to school officials, all matters may be resolved with BPPE beforehand, so there may or may not be a hearing. Either way, they welcome the chance to clarify whether Olivet is a poor school or, in fact, an outstanding university.

Olivet University is currently operating six campuses not only in California, but also in multiple states such as Missouri and Tennessee, and is recognized as an outstanding school among ABHE members.



Among these campuses, Newsweek's latest article falsely claimed that Olivet's permission to operate in Washington, D.C. was expiring on March 31st. But this is untrue, as Olivet's permission to operate does not expire on March 31st according to a letter from the D.C. Higher Education Licensure Commission (HELC).

Magazine Gets Deflated Response

A university official stated, "While reading the Newsweek article, I felt pity for the magazine. If it were a reputable news outlet, they would focus on verifying the facts and helping readers uncover the truth. Instead, Newsweek seemed disappointed that the criminal allegations they had hoped to find did not materialize." The official also pointed out that Newsweek had asked many agencies to comment on the allegations raised by the magazine, but unfortunately, no one gave the answers that Newsweek was hoping for. In fact, nobody responded at all.



The California Attorney General's office did not respond to Newsweek's emails. Neither did BPPE Chief Deborah Cochrane. The U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles declined to provide comment to Newsweek. California's Department of Consumer Affairs declined to answer Newsweek's questions. Washington, D.C.'s Higher Education Licensure Commission (HELC) did not respond to Newsweek. And Olivet University's accreditor, the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), did not respond to Newsweek, either.

Conflating the Facts

The university official criticized, "Newsweek does not deal with the facts as they are, but distorts and conflates the facts to write articles that attack a Christian university for the sake of personal interests."

For example, Newsweek's recent article headline implied that Olivet University was going to be shut down at the federal level ("feds circle"), which misleads the reader into thinking that the story is about a federal matter instead of a state-level matter. Basic common sense is that journalists should not conflate two different matters.



In the same article, Newsweek reported that the California Attorney General took "legal action," giving the false impression that the Attorney General himself was taking action against Olivet. But the notice was solely from BPPE Chief Deborah Cochrane, which is stated clearly in the first line of the notice. The Attorney General's office was simply filing the document on her behalf.



Newsweek did the same thing when Olivet's permission to operate expired last year in New York State (Olivet operates campuses in multiple states). Newsweek distorted this to mean that Olivet was "shut down" by the state education agency. But there's a difference between an "expiring permit in a single state" and "shutting down the entire school." Additionally, Olivet generously offered usage of its New York campus to the Evangelical Center that now serves Christians globally, a fact that Newsweek omitted.



Again and again, Newsweek conflates two different things to mislead readers into believing that matters are much bigger than they are, in order to harm a Christian university for the sake of its CEO.

Newsweek Forced to Make Corrections to Articles, But Reverted Back to Old Ways

Newsweek continues to behave like this despite the fact that a reporter hired by CEO Dev Pragad was forced to make corrections on article contents in response to a legal demand by the university, which pointed out factual inaccuracies. But as Newsweek continues publishing distorted and sensational articles without corrections, the university's attorneys have begun preparing new documents for a lawsuit against this reckless behavior.

In one instance, Newsweek mischaracterized Olivet University founder Dr. David Jang, a theologian in the Presbyterian church, as a "cleric" or "sect leader" instead of with the proper title of a "pastor." Confronted about this, Newsweek corrected the article with the word "pastor." But in subsequent articles, Newsweek oddly reverted back to using the words "cleric" and "sect." Can a mainstream American news organization not discern the proper Christian terminology to use in its articles?

Its most recent article also relies on false information by citing an anonymous witness who cannot be verified, claiming that money laundering and human trafficking were carried out. In response, a university official said, "Newsweek is using unverifiable sources to make false statements to incite public opinion, with constant emails and calls to pressure supervisory agencies to take negative actions."

Why Newsweek Attacks a Christian University

The university official stated that the university became aware of a number of shocking facts about the background of these Newsweek articles.

He said, "Naveed, who is known to have been a double agent spy with Pakistani origins and Muslim ties, was hired by CEO Dev Pragad to write negative articles about Olivet University, a Christian school. He acts like Olivet University faces scrutiny everywhere, but he neglects to mention that he's the one who agitated for that scrutiny at all the state agencies. He stirs up controversy and then reports on it. In the coming weeks, the hidden facts such as these will be revealed in detail."

Additionally, Naveed Jamali's "anonymous" source for false information about Olivet University has been identified as an individual who poses a U.S. national security risk, with dangerous international connections.

The university official also emphasized, "Since when has Newsweek been so interested in Christian universities? They are now writing articles to specifically target a Christian university, to assist their CEO Dev Pragad in his fight to gain ownership of Newsweek." He said that the university was targeted to apply pressure on a rival Newsweek shareholder, whose wife was the former president of Olivet University.



Newsweek also filed a lawsuit last November against Olivet University, alleging damages against the magazine. Shockingly, the magazine continued to publish negative stories before, during, and after its lawsuit against the subject of its own story, in a blatant conflict of interest. Regardless, Newsweek's lawsuit has been dismissed in court.

Newsweek's Own Problems Grow

Newsweek should be concerned about its own issues, instead of writing fake news to slander the normal operations of an evangelical Christian university. It appears that soon Newsweek may have to add a lawsuit from the university to its growing list of concerns.

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Two men facing attempted murder charges in Alabama are also now accused in the slaying of a man whose body was found outside a casino in Mississippi last year.

Karmelo Cortez Morris Derks, an 18-year-old from Prichard, was extradited to Mississippi and formally charged with first-degree murder on Thursday.

Derks, and another Prichard man, 19-year-old Darius Dewayne Rouser Jr., have each been wanted for murder since January when police identified them as suspects in the slaying of 36-year-old Nicholaus Craig.

Craigs body was found last September inside a car in the parking lot of the Scarlet Pearl Casino in DIberville, just north of Biloxi. DIberville police said Craig was shot and killed in a random robbery attempt.

Craig was a resident of Baldwin Hills, Calif., but was traveling to his native Mobile when he stopped for a night at the Scarlet Pearl Resort. He died of a single gunshot wound, Harrison County coroner Brian Switzer determined.

Media reports at the time indicated casino maintenance workers heard a gunshot around 1 a.m. and reported it to casino security, who in turn called 911.

DIberville police attempted to aid Craig, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Derks and Rowser are also charged with attempted murder in an unrelated shootout that happened at a Mobile-area Walmart in December. Tomorion Williams was injured in that shooting.

Derks has been transferred to the Harrison County Jail in Mississippi, while Rowser remains in the Mobile Metro Jail. It is not clear when Rowser will be extradited to Mississippi to face the murder charge.
A Brewton man was scheduled to appear in Mobile County Circuit Court Tuesday for the start of his trial on charges he raped, molested and sexually tortured two girls, according to court records.

But Tuesday came and went and Branden Lee Howell, 36, was nowhere to be found. Now he is a fugitive, wanted by the countys fugitive task force. As of Friday afternoon, he had not been apprehended, according to the Mobile Metro Jail docket.

A call to Howells attorney was not returned.

Court documents indicate the alleged assaults began in 2015, when the two victims were ages 3 and 5, and continued until 2019, when Howell was arrested that December.

In total, Howell is facing 14 felony counts:

Two counts of 1st degree rape

Two counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12

Seven counts of 1st degree sodomy

Two counts of sexual torture/abuse

One count of criminal tampering

Bond for Howell was originally set at a total of $600,000 for all charges, but six months later it was reduced to $240,750 and he posted bond and was released.

When Howell failed to appear in court Tuesday, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. Once captured, he will be held without bond.

A GoFundMe account has been opened to raise money to offer as a reward for Howells capture. It has a goal of $5,000.
A Florida man is in custody, charged in an attack on two Mardi Gras revelers on the Mobile Civic Center pedestrian sidewalk.

NBC15 reports that Glenn Snell and his husband, Patrick Snell, were crossing the bridge after the annual Order of Osiris Mardi Grad ball on Jan. 23 when they encountered a couple, with the woman vomiting and the man reportedly throwing objects off the bridge into traffic.

The Snells asked the man  later identified as 24-year-old John Desporte  to stop, prompting Desporte and the as-yet unidentified woman to attack the two men, according to the report.

Glenn Snell told NBC15 that he suffered injuries to his face, as well as to a surgically-repaired elbow which required a second surgery as a result of the attack.

Desporte, of Pace, Fla., was arrested this week by the Mobile County Sheriffs Office and booked into the Mobile Metro Jail, charged with first degree assault and harassment. He was released after posting $8,000 bond.

Police are still seeking the unidentified woman.
A deadly shooting Monday at a private Christian school in Nashville has highlighted security concerns for schools nationwide, but particularly private schools.

Surveillance footage of the shooting Monday at the private Christian school in Nashville showed many familiar security measures, including the double set of locked glass doors the killer shot their way through before fatally shooting three children and three school employees.

Its just next to impossible to stop someone coming through that door with a high-powered weapon, said George Grant, a leader with the Nashville Presbytery, which is connected with the school, to The Associated Press. Reports indicate the presbytery doesnt have a formal security program for its churches and schools but that members have worked together to share best practices and improve safety.

In Alabama, public schools must have safety plans, but not every school has a school resource officer on site. And even if a school does have an SRO, they may not be armed or equipped to respond to an active shooter. Most schools rely on local law enforcement to quickly respond to campus threats.

There are no laws requiring private schools to develop and submit safety plans.

State regulations on health and safety in private schools only deal with building code requirements, certificates of immunization and criminal background checks for staff.

Read more: Does you Alabama school have a safety, discipline problem? See the data.

Read more: Alabama schools add security after Uvalde shooting, but most measures are secret.

Read more: Two Alabama classrooms now have white boards that turn into gun-safe shelters.

According to the Alabama Independent Schools Association, private schools in the state do not receive any public funding for school safety purposes, but many have used their resources to develop plans, hire security personnel and conduct staff trainings.

Most schools that that I visit and speak with that are in our association either independently have their own security or they contract with off duty police officers... and I think they just build it into their budget, said Michael McLendon, executive director of AISA, which has about 80 private schools in their association.

In 2022, The Dekalb County Sheriff requested to use public funds for a school resource officer for the one private school in his county, but the Attorney Generals office ruled that law enforcement was not entitled to use public funds, including their discretionary funds, to contract with a private entity.

Of course, the Sheriffs Office could respond to a particularized threat to the school by providing extra patrols or police presence as circumstances warrant, the ruling stipulated.

Jimmy Lambert, the executive director of the Alabama Sheriffs Association, said he hopes to see those laws change.

There is no school that should not have some type of protection for their children, said Lambert. I think thats something that we maybe need to have some laws change to see what we can do that would mitigate the issues were dealing with.

According to Lambert, county sheriffs still work to coordinate security personnel for private schools even if they cant furnish the officers themselves.

Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, said some private schools have arranged to hire recently retired officers.

I would imagine after this horrific situation in Nashville that there may be more attempts by private schools to try to not only bolster security but to get school resource officers.

Still, amid widespread concerns about mass shootings, experts say private schools have invested similarly to public schools in violence prevention.

Private schools were among institutions that invested most heavily in security in the aftermath of the 2012 shooting that killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Today, private schools have some of the highest-paid security specialists, including retired federal agents, said Michael Dorn, who has been involved in assessing security at thousands of schools as executive director of Safe Havens International, a nonprofit school safety center.

Security protocols for private schools are similar to those for public schools, but they are more tailored to each schools location and circumstances, said Myra McGovern of the National Association of Independent Schools.

Security such as metal detectors may not be as visible at private schools, which also have considerations including boarding students and, in some cases, the children of heads of state to look after, she said.

Attention to security is similar, but the way that it manifests is perhaps different, McGovern said.

The quality of safety plans for private schools also varies widely, as it does for public schools, Dorn said.

We see schools that are pretty behind and some that are exceptional, he said.

McLendon says in Alabama, that gap is determined by money.

Just like in in rural public schools, there are rural, non public schools that have small enrollments and limited funds, said McLendon. Theyre in situations where they do the best they can they, they talk about having a watchful eye for anything strange on campus, they restrict visitors, lock doors, communicate with local law enforcement, but they may not be able to afford a resource officer or private security on their campus.

The Alabama Independent Schools Association offers safety trainings to all its member schools, with one upcoming in May alongside the Tennessee Independent Schools Association, of which The Covenant School was a member.

Most U.S. school systems conduct active-shooter and lockdown trainings, and the Nashville school had in fact undergone active-shooter training in 2022, which prevented further loss of life during Mondays shooting, city police spokesperson Brooke Reese said.

Private or not, shootings are more common at middle and high schools than at elementary schools like Covenant, which are less likely to have assigned security officers. Educators also are wary of unsettling young learners with more heavy-handed security measures.

Over the last several years, most of our churches have undergone training and have really scrutinized their security arrangements, said Grant, the immediate past moderator for the Nashville Presbytery, the arm of the Presbyterian Church of America that oversaw the Covenant School and its parent church. Its not an official sort of presbytery-wide initiative, but it has just sort of grown out of relationships.

Grant said Franklin Classical School, a school under the spiritual oversight of his church, Parish Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee, has lockdown procedures and security codes in place. The school always has a former police officer on site when school is in session. It is unknown whether The Covenant School had a security officer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An Auburn school is mourning the death of Cynthia Peak, a devoted mother and educator who was among the seven people killed at the Covenant School shooting in Nashville on Monday.

Peak, called Cindy by friends and family, was an active fixture at Auburns Lee-Scott Academy, where her three children attended before recently moving to Nashville. Flags flew at half-staff at the school this week, as well as at the Alabama capitol, in memory of the victims, according to WSFA.

She was just a light in darkness, Head of School Stan Cox told AL.com Friday. She tried to do anything to encourage anyone. She always included everybody. She was just a joy to be around.

Cox said Peak was heavily involved in school activities, and student athletes often called her the unofficial team mom. She was known for her delightful sense of humor, he said, and was a thoughtful sounding board among school staff and leaders.

You could always count on Cindy, always, he said.

Peak was substitute teaching at the Covenant School on Monday when she, along with two other adults and three children, were killed by an active shooter, who was later killed by police. Peak was 61 years old.

The incident marked Americas 129th mass shooting of 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

In a statement to the Tennessean Thursday afternoon, Peaks family called her a beloved educator and mother of three who poured into the lives of everyone around her.

Our hearts are broken to confirm the loss of our beloved Cindy Peak, the statement read. Cindy was a pillar of the community and a teacher beloved by all her students. Her favorite roles in life were being a mom to her three children, a wife to her husband and an educator to her students.

We will never stop missing her. We are grateful for the hope of Heaven. She never wavered in her faith, and we know she is wrapped in the arms of Jesus. Our hearts go out to all the victims families as we grieve this horrific tragedy.

In a video statement released Tuesday evening, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Peak was supposed to have dinner with his wife, Maria, after filling in as a substitute teacher at Covenant.

Maria woke up this morning without one of her best friends, Lee said, adding that Peak his wife had once taught together and have been family friends for decades.

In interviews with The Associated Press, friends described Peak as a loving friend and natural teacher.

She was a sweet person from a sweet family, said Chuck Owen, who told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that they grew up together in Leesville, Louisiana, and that Peak was a lifelong friend.

When he heard that Peak was killed in the shooting, It took my breath away, Owen said. You dont expect something like this. It just took the wind out of me.

Peak was born and raised in Louisiana and received her degree in education from Texas Christian University, according to her obituary. She met her husband, Selma native Chris Peak, in Nashville.

The family moved to Auburn around 2014 before returning to Tennessee in 2019  but in many ways, it was almost like they never left Alabama, Cox said.

Peaks husband and her daughter are Auburn University graduates, and her son is a current Auburn student. The Peaks still attended Lee-Scott alumni events and kept in touch with staff, Cox said.

Monday was just a really weird day. It was really a quiet day, because you hear about school shootings and other tragedies like that, but you really dont know them, he said. And this is someone we knew, someone who had been in our buildings, whose children have been here... It was just different this time  it just made everything more real.

Cox said he is praying for the family, and he hopes Peaks memory can be a model for others to follow.

Its important that we cherish each minute that we have with our loved ones, he said. Were never promised tomorrow, so lets make the most of today and lets be a light in the community. And lets have a positive impact on people we come into contact with.

A funeral for Peak is scheduled for noon Saturday, April 1 at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. She is survived by her husband, Chris; children, Drew, Ellie and Matthew Peak, Stacey and Jett Williams, and Christopher and Ashley Peak.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.
A Manhattan grand jury has indicted former United States President Donald Trump

The decision was made over the Republican businessman's alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels

Trump has called the indictment a form of political persecution and election interference

A Manhattan grand jury indicted former United States President Donald Trump over a hush money payment allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about their supposed affair.

The decision drew immediate scrutiny from the Republican businessman and his allies, with Trump claiming again that it was a part of the Democrats' alleged witch hunt targeting him. The decision marks the first time in U.S. history that a former president has been indicted, the specific charge or charges of which have not yet been made public.

BREAKING: Official Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America:



This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history." pic.twitter.com/tIGPyA4PCT  Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 30, 2023

Donald Trump Indicted

Trump's defense team said the former president is expected to turn himself in next week. He also called the indictment a form of political persecution and election interference. According to CBS News, his attorneys said they would vigorously fight the indictment. Some of Trump's allies and colleagues in the Republican Party have already shared their responses to the decision through social media. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wrote on Twitter that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has "irreparably damaged our country."

Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.



As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump.



The American people will not  Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) March 30, 2023

McCarthy said the indictment was simply Bragg's attempt to interfere with the Presidential election. The Republican accused the Manhattan DA of routinely freeing criminals to terrorize the public and claimed the Democrat had weaponized the country's sacred justice system against the former president.

The House Speaker said that the American people would not tolerate the injustice that has befallen Trump, adding that the House of Representatives will hold Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power accountable.

Read Also: Nashville Residents Protest Over School Shooting

Reactions to the Manhattan Grand Jury's Decision

Trump's statement immediately following the Manhattan grand jury's decision claims his innocence and accused the Democratic Party of lying, cheating, and stealing. The decision also comes as the former president is aiming to get re-elected in the 2024 elections, according to The Hill.

Many online users have shared their reactions to Trump's indictment by the Manhattan grand jury. Included are those who either support or oppose the former president and his political views.

Happy Trump Indictment Day pic.twitter.com/pB1QdLlL7x  Autumn Astri  (@AutumnOfAstri3) March 30, 2023

BREAKING: Trump releases statement on indictment pic.twitter.com/qOELrndHCy  The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 30, 2023

Donald Trump just released this statement pic.twitter.com/AZVEYbb0aM  jordan (@JordanUhl) March 30, 2023

One user posted a video on her Twitter account that showed her mother, living in a massively GOP neighborhood, ringing a cowbell and shouting, "Donald Trump, Indicted!" Another one poked fun at how Democrats were expected to react to the news, uploading a video of Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview where she said, "I love good news, love great news, I just love good news."

Not my mom ringing a cowbell in her massively GOP neighborhood to celebrate the Trump indictment  pic.twitter.com/H3EnS7YBC3  Matilda Bress (@matildabress) March 30, 2023

Some Twitter users also used social media to compare Trump's indictment to the recently closed trial involving actress Gwyneth Paltrow regarding a Feb. 26, 2016, ski accident. One person, who supported the Manhattan grand jury's decision and Paltrow, expressed her glee at the two news coming shortly after one another, said Yahoo News.

trumps been indicted and gwyneth paltrow is innocent pic.twitter.com/7wD57KLTLV  Rachael (@markruffaloTD) March 30, 2023

Related Article: Manhattan Grand Jury Indicts Donald Trump

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
An Alabama Congressman thinks the indictment of former president Donald Trump is a bunch of baloney  or maybe thats ham?

Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, is giving away free ham sandwiches today at his Washington, D.C. office in recognition of the Manhattan District Attorney who he said could indict a ham sandwich next.

All are welcome!, tweeted Moore.

Welcome to the club, @realDonaldTrump. In honor of the fact that the Manhattan DA could indict a ham sandwich next, I will be handing them out tomorrow in Longworth 1504 at noon, Moore tweeted, referring to his Washington, D.C. office. All are welcome!

Welcome to the club, @realDonaldTrump. In honor of the fact that the Manhattan DA could indict a ham sandwich next, I will be handing them out tomorrow in Longworth 1504 at noon. All are welcome! pic.twitter.com/xKguEKsy3x  Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) March 30, 2023

Trump was indicted Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge. The charges are part of an investigation into payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter between Trump and an adult film star.

READ MORE: A political witch hunt: Alabama elected officials bash Donald Trump indictment

Moore also published a certificate  complete with ham sandwich cartoons  on his Facebook page. The certificate, addressed to Trump, welcomes him to the indicted for political purposes club.

Congressman Barry Moore recognizes President Donald J. Trump for receiving a sham indictment from a district attorney who has failed to prosecute hundreds of violent criminals, the certificate reads.

In 2014, Moore, then a member of the Alabama Legislature, was found not guilty on charges of perjury and giving false statements in connection to an investigation into economic development projects involving then-Alabama Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard. In 2016, Hubbard was convicted of ethics violations and using his office for personal gain. He was released from prison in January.
An Alabama man was publicly identified Friday as being one of nine U.S. Army soldiers who died in Wednesdays crash of between two Blackhawk helicopters in Kentucky.

Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, was among the victims of Wednesdays crash near Fort Campbell during a training exercise, the 101st Airborne Division announced Friday.

This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these Soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come, said Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell.

Now is the time for grieving and healing. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen Soldiers, McGee continued.

An Army aviation team based at Fort Rucker in southeast Alabama is at the crash site to investigate the incident, which the Army deemed accidental.

The Blackhawks were involved in the accident around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky, during a planned training exercise in and around Fort Campbell, the Army said Thursday.

All nine soldiers killed were members of the Fort Campbell-based 101st Combat Aviation Brigade.

This is a truly tragic loss for these families, our Division and Fort Campbell, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas.

The other service members identified as victims of the fatal crash were:

 Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida

 Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas

 Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri

 Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, California

 Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina

 Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida

 Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri

 Sgt. David Solinas Jr, 23, of Oradell, New Jersey
While hes far from the only U.S. president to be dogged by legal and ethical scandals, Donald Trump now occupies a unique place in history as the first ever indicted on criminal charges. Two others, like Trump, found themselves impeached by Congress: Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with a White House intern, and Andrew Johnson for pushing the limits of his executive authority in a bitter power struggle following the Civil War. Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over his role in the notorious Watergate break-in. And Ronald Reagan and Ulysses S. Grant both became forever tied to scandals in which close aides got prosecuted, though neither president was charged.

Though far from the only U.S. president dogged by legal and ethical scandals, Donald Trump now occupies a unique place in history as the first indicted on criminal charges.

Two others, like Trump, found themselves impeached by Congress  Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with a White House intern, and Andrew Johnson for pushing the limits of his executive authority in a bitter power struggle following the Civil War.

Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over his role in the infamous Watergate break-in. And Ronald Reagan and Ulysses S. Grant both became forever tied to scandals in which close aides got prosecuted, though neither president was ever charged.

Heres a look at how Trumps predecessors fared:

BILL CLINTON

Clinton spent more than half his presidency under scrutiny in investigations that ranged from failed real estate deals to the Democratic presidents affair with a White House intern.

Investigators took a lengthy look into Bill and Hillary Clintons investments in the troubled Whitewater real estate venture. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, appointed to oversee the investigation in 1994, turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the Clintons. But two of their close associates, Jim and Susan McDougal, ended up convicted of Whitewater-related charges. So did Jim Guy Tucker, Clintons successor as governor of Arkansas.

FILE - President Bill Clinton looks on as Vice President Gore addresses members of congress outside the Oval Office after the House of Representatives voted to impeach the president, Dec. 19, 1998, in Washington. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File)AP

Starrs 1998 report packed with lurid details of Clintons affair with intern Monica Lewinsky proved far more damaging. While being questioned in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones, Clinton had denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky.

Starr concluded that Clinton had lied under oath and obstructed justice. That led to the House voting to impeach Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998. He was acquitted by the Senate, allowing him to remain in office until his term ended in January 2001.

RONALD REAGAN

Reagan never faced impeachment or court charges for the biggest scandal of his presidency. But the arms-for-hostages scheme that became known as the Iran-Contra affair dogged him long after he left the White House.

In 1986, during Reagans second term, the public learned that his administration had authorized secret arms sales to Iran while seeking Iranian aid in freeing American hostages held in Lebanon. As much as $30 million from the arms sales was diverted, in violation of U.S. law, to aid rebels fighting the leftist government of Nicaragua.

FILE - President Ronald Reagan holds up a copy of the Tower Commission report on the Iran-Contra affair, while posing for photographers after his nationally televised speech from the Oval Office in Washington, Aug. 13, 1987. Reagan said he was "mad as a hornet" about damage to his administration from the Iran-Contra affair. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)AP

Reagans national security adviser, John Poindexter, resigned and an aide, Lt. Col. Oliver North, was fired. Both were also convicted of crimes stemming from efforts to deceive and obstruct Congress. Their convictions were later overturned. President George H.W. Bush, Reagans successor, pardoned six others involved.

Reagan insisted money from the arms sales was funneled to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels without his knowledge.

RICHARD NIXON

Nixon resigned from office in August 1974 rather than face impeachment for his administrations cover-up of its involvement in a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington.

The bungled burglary at the Watergate office building resulted in the indictment of seven men, including two former White House aides. Five of the Watergate defendants pleaded guilty; two were convicted in criminal trials.

FILE - Richard Nixon says goodbye with a victorious salute to his staff members outside the White House as he boards a helicopter after resigning the presidency on Aug. 9, 1974. Nixon resigned from office rather than face impeachment for his administrations coverup of its involvement in a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty, File)AP

Intrigue over the 1972 Watergate break-in didnt stop Nixon from cruising to reelection a few months later. He endured the storm until the House Judiciary Committee in 1974 approved three articles of impeachment accusing him of obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress.

Before the full House could vote, a bombshell tape recording was released in which Nixon could be heard approving a plan to pressure the FBI to drop its Watergate investigation. Nixon resigned after losing support from key congressional Republicans.

His vice president, Gerald Ford, became president and pardoned Nixon a month later.

ULYSSES S. GRANT

While never personally charged with crimes or formally accused of wrongdoing, Grant as president torpedoed a corruption case prosecuted by his own administration. The man on trial was Grants personal secretary in the White House.

In 1875, an investigation launched by Treasury Secretary Benjamin H. Bristow resulted in hundreds of arrests in a scheme known as the Whiskey Ring, in which distillers, revenue agents and fellow conspirators diverted millions of dollars in liquor taxes to themselves.

The Civil War general-turned-president found himself at odds with the crackdown when Gen. Orville E. Babcock ended up charged as a conspirator. Not only was Babcock the presidents personal secretary, but he and Grant had also been friends since the war.

FILE - This portrait of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was printed from the original glass plate negatives of Mathew B. Brady. Grant. While never personally charged with crimes or formally accused of wrongdoing, Grant as president torpedoed a corruption case prosecuted by his own administration. The man on trial was Grants personal secretary in the White House. (AP Photo/Mathew Brady, File)AP

Prosecutors said they had uncovered telegrams Babcock sent to ringleaders to assist their scheme. Regardless, Grant insisted on testifying in his aides defense.

To avoid the spectacle of the president appearing at Babcocks trial, attorneys questioned Grant under oath at the White House on Feb. 12, 1876. A transcript of his testimony was later read in court in St. Louis. The jury acquitted Babcock, a decision largely credited to Grants unwavering defense.

ANDREW JOHNSON

The first American president to have his legacy tarnished by impeachment, Andrew Johnsons woes arose from his intense feuding with Congress over Reconstruction following the Civil War.

The Tennessee Democrat had been elected vice president in 1864 as part of a unity ticket with Abraham Lincoln, and Johnson assumed the presidency after Lincolns 1865 assassination. From the White House, Johnson called for pardoning Confederate leaders and opposed extending voting rights to freed Blacks, infuriating congressional Republicans.

FILE - This 1865-1880 photo made available by the Library of Congress shows a damaged glass negative of President Andrew Johnson. The first American president to have his legacy tarnished by impeachment, Johnsons woes arose from his intense feuding with Congress over Reconstruction following of the Civil War. (Brady-Handy photograph collection/Library of Congress via AP)AP

It was Johnsons firing of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a Lincoln appointee who favored tougher policies toward the defeated South, that prompted the House to pass articles of impeachment that accused the president of ousting and replacing Stanton illegally.

Johnsons impeachment trial began in the Senate on March 5, 1868. It ended more than two months later, with senators just one vote short of removing Johnson from office. He served the remainder of his final year, but fellow Democrats denied him their nomination to run again.

Russ Bynum of The Associated Press wrote this story.

More:

Whos who in the Manhattan DAs Donald Trump investigation
A bill that has won committee approval in the Alabama Senate would cut and possibly eliminate occupational taxes collected by some cities and stop cities from passing new ones.

The sponsor says occupational taxes are regressive, hurt local economies, and are unfair to people who live outside cities but pay the tax because of where they work.

The Alabama League of Municipalities opposes the bill, saying some cities rely on occupational taxes to provide critical services and that local governments need to make their own decisions without interference from the state. The mayor of one of the affected cities said the bill would take away a vital source of revenue the city has relied on for more than 60 years.

The conflict is not new in the State House. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill three years ago to successfully block an occupational tax approved by the Montgomery City Council. That law requires any city to receive legislative approval for new occupational taxes.

This years bill, by Sen. Andrew Jones, a Republican from Cherokee County, goes further to restrict cities on occupational taxes. The bill, SB65, has 13 Republican co-sponsors.

It would cap occupational tax rates at the level in place as of Jan. 1, 2023. For cities that have occupational tax rates more than 1 percent, the bill would incrementally reduce those by 0.2 percent until they reach 1 percent.

The bill would also create new exemptions. Occupational taxes would not apply to those who work in the police jurisdiction of a city, the designated area outside the city limits that still receives some city services, such as police and fire protection. Occupational taxes would not apply to industrial sites of 1,000 acres or more annexed by a city after Jan. 1, 2023. Also, people who work less than 90 days in a city but are based outside of the city and those who work in a city in response to a natural disaster or other emergency, would be exempt.

Jones has proposed similar bills the last couple of years but they have not passed.

Most Alabama cities do not collect occupational taxes. There are 25 cities that do, according to the League of Municipalities. Most of those have a 1 percent rate. Five cities in Etowah County -- Attalla, Gadsden, Glencoe, Rainbow City and Southside -- have rates of 2 percent and would see those taxes reduced or eliminated if the bill passes.

Jones said he heard complaints about occupational taxes when he campaigned five years ago and was first elected to the Senate. Etowah County is in his northeast Alabama district.

I was out in 2018, door-knocking, running for office and I heard from a ton of people who were tired of business as usual in Etowah County and this was part of that, Jones said. All these people drive in to work in these cities and they have to pay this tax but they have no say-so. In their opinion, many times the decisions of municipal government are contrary to what they would like for them to be. But theyre getting saddled with this 2 percent tax.

Jones said employees who work in a city that collects occupational taxes pay their share of that citys tax revenue without occupational taxes.

They get gas there, Jones said. They eat lunch there. They buy groceries a lot of times before they leave to head back home. So theyre already contributing.

A Senate committee approved Jones bill last week on a 6-4 vote. The committee amended the bill to say that if a citys occupational tax is dedicated to paying off debt the tax rate would not be reduced until the debt is paid. The Alabama League of Municipalities said it will continue to urge lawmakers to oppose the bill.

While the League is disappointed with the passage of SB65 by the Senate Committee on County and Municipal Government, our advocacy efforts will not stop here, ALM Executive Director Greg Cochran said. It is our organizations mission to protect measures that are in place which allow for local decisions to be made at the local level, one of those being the ability to maintain or implement an occupational tax. SB65, if ultimately passed by the full bodies of the legislature, will cause major consequences for our states economic growth and the communities that rely on an occupational license tax which provide its citizens with essential services, such as law enforcement, fire, infrastructure, education, public works and more. For many of those municipalities, it represents over 15% of their budget, with some as much as 30%.

To reduce, eliminate or alter a city or towns ability to provide these services to its citizens is an attack on local resources, and the Leagues advocacy team will actively work to defeat any legislation considered harmful to municipalities or the function of local government.

One part of Jones bill would apply only to Etowah County and could fully eliminate the occupational taxes in that county. It would require a county-wide referendum in 2028 on whether to the keep occupational taxes. By that point, the taxes would have been lowered to 1 percent if the bill passes.

We want people to be able to judge for themselves, Jones said. Some of these mayors claim that the sky is going to be falling and that city services will be slashed and all that kind of thing. This lets the public be the judge after that initial drawdown to 1 percent, whether they want to go all the way with it or not.

Rainbow City Mayor Joe Taylor said his city collects about $2.5 million a year from the occupational tax, which he said amounts to about one-fourth of the citys budget. Taylor said loss of the occupational tax would leave the city no options but to cut back on important services or increase another tax.

Im not saying this because I want to alarm anybody, Taylor said. Its just, where do we take it from? Do we keep police and fire and do away with parks and recreation and senior programs?

Taylor said he knows taxes are not popular but said there is a logical explanation to why occupational taxes emerged in Etowah County. Taylor said the county is relatively small in land area but has historically had job opportunities to draw employees from neighboring counties.

It was brought about because we had so much industry and being a small land mass county, Taylor said. The counties around our fringes are able to come into Etowah County and work and then go back home. Which is good for them. They get to live where they want to and the county that they want to in their hometowns. But were the working center for this area.

Taylor said he paid the occupational tax in Gadsden during a 25-year career as a firefighter and now pays it as the mayor of Rainbow City. He said it would be wrong for the Legislature to take away an important source of revenue for the city.

I personally see this as overreach, Taylor said. I think its a violation of the sovereignty of our municipality. We were put in place to governor and duly elected to govern.

Voting for the bill in committee were Republican Sens. Chris Elliott, Clyde Chambliss, Garlan Gudger, Greg Albritton, Keith Kelley and Jay Hovey. Voting against it were Democratic Sens. Linda Coleman-Madison, Kirk Hatcher, and Merika Coleman, as well as Republican Sen. Josh Carnley.

Besides being a legislator, Jones has a coffee roasting business, Deep South Coffee Factory, and his family operates a cattle farm. Last year he sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment to exempt food from the state sales tax. Jones said hes working on another bill on that topic this year.

The Legislature is on spring break this week and returns April 4.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed Florida will not assist in an extradition request from New York for former President Donald Trump, but the U.S. Constitution and state law dont allow him to stop it.

And Trumps attorney said the former president was planning to turn himself in after his indictment Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury.

Under Florida law, a governor can review an extradition request, but that wouldnt give DeSantis the power to block it, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said.

If Trump decides to fight extradition, it is going to be a ministerial matter for the governor, he said. Conceivably, the governor could slow it down, but he cannot stop it.

In a tweet, DeSantis wrote that Trumps indictment in the Stormy Daniels hush money case was a weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda.

He added the state would not help in the extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda, referring to liberal billionaire George Soros.

Trump, a resident of Palm Beach since 2019, has called the investigation a witch hunt carried out by his Democratic enemies.

His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told NBC News on Thursday that Trump would voluntarily go to New York and surrender if indicted. An arrest is expected next week.

Trump could decide to fight to stay in Florida, but the law only allows a governor to investigate an extradition request from another state. While such a review could delay extradition, Article IV, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires states to honor the extradition requests of other states.

No matter what DeSantis does, he still finds himself in a difficult position, Jewett said.

As Trumps presumed chief rival, he doesnt want to do anything that helps Trump win, Jewett said. But on the other hand, as he discovered within the past couple of weeks, if he doesnt give a full-throated defense of Trump, he not only gets attacked by Trump, but he gets attacked by a lot of the Trump supporters.

He added, If Trump argues that DeSantis should do more, and then he doesnt because he cant, a lot of Trump supporters might not be paying attention to those details. Theyll just be paying attention to the top charge that DeSantis is disloyal.

Trump has been repeatedly attacking DeSantis as disloyal for months because of the Florida governors own potential presidential ambitions, which would potentially place the two in opposition for the GOP nomination in 2024.

The indictment will probably only help Trump more in the GOP primary, Jewett said.

At least in the short run, I think that the Republican base will rally around former President Trump, Jewett said. Theyll feel like hes being unjustly prosecuted. And I think itll help his poll numbers. I think (the threat of indictment) helped his poll numbers over the last couple of weeks.

In an acknowledgment of the sway the former president holds with the voters who will decide the GOP contest next year, those eyeing a primary challenge to Trump, including DeSantis, were quick to criticize the indictment. Former Vice President Mike Pence, whose life was threatened after Trump incited an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, told CNN the charges were outrageous.

In Panama City on March 20, DeSantis said he had no interest in getting involved in the case that apparently stems from allegations that Trump paid hush money to Daniels in 2016 to cover up an affair.

I dont know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair, DeSantis said.

The Trump team, and a lot of his supporters, took that as quite disrespectful, Jewett said.

Trump railed against DeSantis in a social media post that same day, writing Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser, and better known.

The Orlando Sentinel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former President Donald Trump was reportedly indicted Thursday afternoon by a grand jury in Manhattan in a case involving hush money given to adult film star Stormy Daniels before his first run for president in 2016.

The charges have not been made public at the time of publishing. Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Trump, told The Associated Press he had been told of Trumps indictment.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Thursday evening that he was coordinating next steps with Trumps attorneys.

A a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it publicly said the former president is expected to turn himself in next week; this is typically called a surrender, followed by an arraignment before a magistrate.

Trump is the first former president to be charged  its uncharted territory. But the criminal justice system has specific steps that lay out the process for the next days and weeks.

Why is Trump being investigated in Manhattan?

The former president is the subject of several investigations: One in New York regarding falsifying business documents, led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, along with another inquiry about Trumps treatment of the 2020 election in Georgia and a special counsel from the DOJ looking into election meddling and his treatment of classified documents.

The New York investigation focuses on whether or not Trump falsified business and campaign documents to keep Daniels from speaking about a reported affair, prior to his 2016 presidential run.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she was paid $130,000 in the final weeks of Trumps campaign regarding a 2006 encounter in Lake Tahoe. Trump denied having sex with Daniels.

Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, and Michael Cohen, Trumps former lawyer  who was himself indicted for tax evasion and campaign finance violations, also are involved in the case.

McDougal claimed that she and Trump had a 10-month affair in the 2000s. The parent company of the National Enquirer bought the rights to her story, but it was suppressed. She was reportedly paid $150,000.

Cohen claimed that he made the arrangements on both payments.

What is Trump charged with?

The official indictment has not been made public. As of Thursday evening, were not sure what Bragg plans to charge Trump with or what the facts of the case are.

An indictment means a person is given a formal notice that enough evidence exists to charge them with a crime. A grand jury has been meeting for weeks to hear witnesses and consider evidence. It is a constitutional requirement for some crimes.

What happens next?

Next, a person who has been indicted will answer criminal charges, which usually means they will be fingerprinted, photographed and arraigned, among other steps.

An arraignment consists of an initial hearing, where a defendant learns more about the charges against them and their rights.

According to reporting by The Associated Press, Trump plans to turn himself in next week. He will then be arrested. Braggs office said it had contacted Trumps lawyer to coordinate surrender and arraignment.

Jeremy Saland, a defense lawyer and former prosecutor in Manhattan, told the Associated Press that Trump will likely be released without bail and is unlikely to be paraded in cuffs across a sidewalk or through a crowded courthouse hallway.

He still retains his U.S. Secret Service detail, so he will have agents with him at all times. Security will also have to assess the courthouse first in interest of the former presidents safety.

Does this mean Trump cant run for president in 2024?

Even if arrested or convicted, Trump is still eligible for another term in the White House.

According to the Constitution, a presidential candidate must be:

A natural born citizen

At least 35 years old

A resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years

Whats going on in Georgia? Is that investigation related?

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been working on an inquiry about whether Trump and others improperly meddled in Georgias 2020 elections, including finding fraudulent ballots, convening a special legislative session and appointing a slate of alternate Republican electors.

Prosecutors are examining state laws relating to:

Criminal solicitation to commit election fraud

The making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies

Involvement of violence or threats related to election administration and racketeering.

Reporters from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said many legal analysts believe the Fulton case could be more perilous to Trump, pointing to his call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, when Trump told Raffensperger to to find 11,780 votes.

J. Tom Morgan, a former DeKalb district attorney in Georgia, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Bragg has to jump through hoops to make what Trump did in New York a felony. Should Trump be indicted in Georgia, the acts speak for themselves.

Willis said in January that a decision on whether the Georgia grand jury will vote to indict Trump is imminent, the Journal-Constitution reported.

The Georgia inquiry had about 75 witnesses, including Rudy Giuliani, Michael Flynn, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, former U.S, Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler and the late House Speaker David Ralston  some appeared voluntarily, while others were subpoenaed.

Read more about Trumps indictment and the New York investigation:

Trump says he expects to be arrested Tuesday, calls for protests

People gather at Mar-a-Lago as Trump faces indictment, arrest

A political witch hunt: Alabama elected officials bash Donald Trump indictment
People may be looking to fly south for more than just the winter according to a recent study from data analysis site Stacker.

Eight of the top ten cities where people search for homes in Birmingham are outside of the state according to the study which was compiled using demand data from Realtor.com. In Chicago, the number one city in the list, more than 30% of people looking for homes are looking in the Birmingham area.

Local real estate agent Chris Prichard said in her experience, this is largely because the metros competitive living prices attract outside investors.

Prichard said she has regularly sold homes to investors from California who are wowed by how much cheaper they are.

One thing I notice about 8 of the top 10 markets in this article is that they are all more expensive places to live than Birmingham in terms of housing, said Prichard.
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U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is urging Alabamians to spread the word about the dangers of deadly fentanyl and for the state to be vigilant about a drug that is contributing in a surge of overdose deaths nationwide.

Weve got a role to play, all of us, Tuberville said in a new public service announcement released Friday. I urge every Alabamian to spread the word about the dangers of fentanyl. Urge all parents, teachers, and coaches o be vigilant against this threat. Lets all of us to do our part to keep Alabama safe.

The PSA comes about a week after Tuberville joined a panel of experts during a virtual town hall hosted by AL.com. He was joined by Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, the 2022 president of the Alabama Sheriffs Association; Dr. Shereda Finch, executive director of the Council on Substance Abuse; and UAB physician and Heersink School of Medicine faculty member, Dr. Stefan Kertesz.

The panel discussed was moderated by AL.coms Ivana Hrynkiw.

Related: Watch Tommy Tuberville, experts talk fentanyl crisis in Alabama

Tuberville briefly touched upon the panel talk in his PSA.

Last week, I held a town hall with Alabamas top experts on fentanly, Tuberville said. What we learned was disturbing. Fentanyl is one of the deadliest drugs weve ever seen. A dose a size the pinch of salt can be fatal. Even trying fentanyl once can be fatal.

Tuberville also blamed the drugs rapid rise in the U.S. on what he criticizes as a lack of U.S.-Mexican border security. Republicans, in recent months, have blamed President Joe Bidens administrations immigration policies and the record-number of border arrests for what they say is a sign of a rise in drugs entering the U.S.

Almost all of this fentanyl came here across the southern border, Tuberville says in the PSA. Washington has got to get serious and secure our southern border.

The dangers of illicit fentanyl are jolting. The drug, considered 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, is linked to a 271% increase deaths in the last two years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its the leading cause of death for those ages 18-45.

Tuberville, during the AL.com town hall, said he believed that education is the most important tool in combatting the drug. He did a PSA on illicit fentanyl in October, warning that Halloween candy could be laced with fentanyl. Researchers on tainted candy, though, said Tubervilles concerns about rainbow-laced fentanyl dropped into trick-or-treat bags was unfounded.

Recent polling shows that deadly drugs, like opioids/fentanyl, is the top health threat for Republicans. An Axios-Ipsos poll, released on Feb. 23, shows that 37% of Republicans surveyed pointed to the deadly drugs as the No. 1 threat to Americans health, compared to 17% of Democrats. For Democrats, 35% pointed to guns and firearm access as the No. 1 public health threat, compared to only 4% of Republicans.

In Alabama, steps are being taken to try and combat the fentanyl crisis. A bill to impose mandatory prison times for distributing fentanyl was near the top of the agenda for Alabama lawmakers when they resumed their regular session Tuesday. The state Legislature is controlled by a supermajority Republicans.

Officials from Alabamas largest statewide health organizations, earlier this month, launched an Odds are Alabama campaign to spread the word about the danger posed by fentanyl. The effort is aimed at directing people to places where they can get help with addiction and access resources like naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, and testing strips that can detect the presence of fentanyl in other drugs.

The Alabama Department of Public Health and the Jefferson County Health Department offer free naloxone and training in how to use it.
A Birmingham mother has been missing for one week and her family is concerned for her welfare.

Keneisha Andrews, 27, was last seen Thursday, March 23, in western Birmingham.

Andrews, the mother of a 7-year-old daughter, suffers from emotional disabilities. She has not had access to her medication since her disappearance.

She was last seen in Birminghams Central Park area. She was wearing a white tank top, denim shorts, pastel Slides and she wears blue glasses.

Birmingham police confirmed a missing persons report has been filed.

Anyone with information on Andrews whereabouts is asked to call 911, Tamika Bradley at 205-422-6123 or Mike Bradley at 205-569-6259.
A Mississippi man has been sentenced to federal prison for a 2021 carjacking after which a young Moody boy was lauded for pulling his younger sister to safety.

U.S. District Court Judge Corey L. Maze on Friday sentenced Eric Lamar White, 25, to 12 years in prison. He was convicted in December 2022 of carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.

The sentencing was announced in a joint statement by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona and ATF Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

The carjacking happened Jan. 7, 2021, at a gas station in the area of U.S. 411 and Interstate 20. Kristin Walker was putting gas into her vehicle with her two small children  Ethan, then 9, and Audrey, then 6, in the back seat.

Ethan Walker, 9, is being lauded for his bravery after he pulled his 6-year-old sister Audrey to safety during a Jan. 7, 2021 carjacking in Moody. (Contributed)

Authorities said White and co-defendant Kendarian Toran, then 18, were traveling from Jackson to Atlanta on Jan. 7, 2021, in a stolen vehicle with switched tag, trial testimony and evidence showed, when the vehicle began to overheat.

White and Toran, authorities said, decided to carjack the victim at gunpoint. At the time of the carjacking, Walker was in her 2008 Acura TL.

White and Toran waited for the perfect opportunity to take her car, according to the Friday press release. White repositioned the overheating stolen car so that Toran could easily jump out and get into the drivers seat of the Acura with ease.

Toran then jumped into Walkers vehicle.

I actually jumped in on top of him and pulled the keys out of the ignition, Walker told AL.com in 2021. I couldnt let him leave with them in the car and the only way I could think to stop him was to pull out the keys.

Toran put the firearm to the victims pregnant belly.

Ethan Walker, 9, is being lauded for his bravery after he pulled his 6-year-old sister Audrey to safety during a Jan. 7, 2021 carjacking in Moody. (Contributed)

Walker explained to him that her kids were in the car and that is when he told her, Get them out.

At that moment, Ethan, in what police said can only be described as an incredible act of bravery and composure got out of the vehicle and ran around to the rear passengers side to get Audrey to safety.

The suspect then fled in the womans vehicle.

They ran into the store and called 911. Ethan was so calm, cool and collected through the whole thing, Walker said. He was just so smart. He even gave them a description. He knew more than I did.

White and Toran met at a nearby business parking lot where White abandoned the original stolen vehicle and got into the 2008 Acura TL with Toran, authorities said.

Hours later, White was driving the Acura back to Mississippi with Toran, when Mississippi law enforcement spotted them. A vehicle pursuit ensued for 29 miles on I-20 at speeds over 120 mph with multiple law enforcement officers.

Officers had to spike and force the vehicle into the median on I-20.

When White was arrested, he had his Glock .45 caliber pistol and an Alabama drivers license belonging to a person matching the description of the victim. The evidence showed that the Glock .45 caliber pistol was purchased by White in October 2020.

Toran pleaded guilty in March 2022 to carjacking and carrying and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime. He was sentenced more than seven years in federal prison.

The ATF investigated the case along with assistance from the FBI Birmingham Division, the Moody Police Department, and multiple Mississippi law enforcement agencies, to include Rankin County Sherriffs Office, Scott County Sheriffs Office, and Madison Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittney Plyler and Kristy Peoples prosecuted the case.
A Philippine ferry burst into flames that raged overnight for roughly eight hours, killing at least 31 of the people onboard

Gov. Jim Hataman of Basilan said that rescuers were still trying to locate at least seven missing people

Officials noted that the ferry, MV Lady Mary Joy 3, was towed to Basilan's shoreline, leading to the discovery of the bodies of 18 victims

A Philippine ferry burst into flames and continued to burn overnight for roughly eight hours, killing at least 31 of the estimated 250 passengers and crew, said officials on Thursday.

Most of the people onboard the ship who survived the fire jumped off the ferry, MV Lady Mary Joy 3, and were later rescued in the dark of night by the coast guard, navy, a nearby ferry, and local fishermen. Gov. Jim Hataman announced the southern island province of Basilan.

A Philippine Ferry Caught Fire in Basilan Waters

The official added that on Thursday, rescue teams were still conducting efforts to search for at least seven missing people. Hataman added that the ferry that went up in flames was later towed to Basilan's shoreline, where authorities discovered the bodies of 18 of the 31 victims inside a budget section of the passenger cabin, as per the Associated Press.

At least 12 people died and 230 were rescued after a fire engulfed a ferry in the southern Philippines , authorities said Thursday



14 people were injured and 7 were still missing



It was not clear how the fire startedhttps://t.co/gzvJ1VHBPh pic.twitter.com/empiJAOAEi  Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) March 30, 2023

In a telephone conversation, Hataman said the victims perished on board the ferry due to the flames. He added that more people may have boarded the ship despite not being listed on the manifest.

However, the ferry's skipper told coast guard officials that he attempted to run the burning ferry around the nearest shore to try and get more people to survive or be rescued. Regional coast guard commander Rejard Marfe said that the flames on the ship burned for about eight hours.

The ferry was known to be heading toward Jolo town, located in Sulu province. It departed from the southern port city of Zamboanga before catching fire off Basilan at nearly midnight, said Hataman. At least 23 passengers onboard the ferry was found to be injured and had to be taken to hospitals.

Read Also: Russia Arrests US Journalist for Allegedly Spying

Determining the Origin of the Flames

The victims include a six-month-old baby, and this comes as investigators have not yet identified the cause of the blaze. The fire started at around 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday and caught passengers sleeping by surprise while they were inside their air-conditioned cabins found on the lower deck of the ferry, according to Reuters.

One passenger onboard the ferry, 46-year-old Mina Nani, said that she felt like she was dreaming but suddenly saw that it was dark and smoke. She argues that she could only save her own life by jumping off the burning vessel and hanging onto a floatation device along with another passenger before they got rescued.

A municipal mayor in Basilan province, Arsina Kahing Nanoh, said roughly 35 passengers jumped off the ferry following an explosion. She noted that Basilan residents went to shore in an attempt to rescue the people who jumped into the water after seeing the incident from afar, said CNN.

Related Article: Turkey Approves Finland's NATO Membership Application

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A 15-year-old boy was airlifted to Childrens Hospital in Birmingham in critical condition after he was shot by a 12-year-old boy in Pell City, authorities said Thursday.

The shooting appeared to be accidental, according to St. Clair County Sheriff Billy Murray.

Sheriffs deputies were dispatched to Stevens Drive in Pell City, where they found a 15-year-old boy who had been shot, Murray said.

Deputies rendered aid to the victim until medics arrived.

The boy was airlifted to Childrens Hospital in Birmingham, where he is listed in critical condition, Murray said.

Further information was unavailable. The investigation is ongoing.
An Alabama woman died and her five grandchildren suffered injuries in a two-vehicle crash in Lauderdale County on Thursday morning.

The crash happened about 9:25 a.m. on Alabama 64 near Lauderdale County 381, approximately five miles east of Lexington, according to Senior Trooper Brandon Bailey of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

A 2010 Honda Pilot driven by Emma Wade, 63, collided head-on with a 2021 Freightliner tractor trailer driven by Dennis P. Miller, 55, of Cullman.

Wade was pronounced dead at the scene. Miller was injured and transported to North Alabama Medical Center for treatment.

Emergency workers airlifted Wades five grandchildren to Childrens Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville for treatment, Lauderdale County Sheriff Joe Hamilton told AL.com.

Troopers with ALEAs Highway Patrol Division are investigating.

This post was updated at 5:44 p.m. CST March 30 following new information from Sheriff Joe Hamilton.
Decatur police officers are on the scene this morning at the citys middle and high schools following what officials say was a threat.

As of 10:15 a.m., police said the schools have transitioned from heightened alert to secure perimeter. Officers are continuing an investigation.

Earlier, the schools were on heightened alert after a teacher received a suspicious email, police said in an announcement.

WHNT, citing a Decatur City Schools spokesperson, reported a possible former student sent an email to a teacher making a potential threat.

The station quotes Elizabeth Gentle, director of communications, as saying the school system received three messages this morning, possibly sent by a former student threatening gun violence.

A later message from the system stated that students at the two schools are being dismissed.

Please be patient entering and leaving both properties. Students will have an identification to match them up with the proper person picking them up, the message states.

Bus riders and walkers will be held until the end of the day or until they are picked up. When we dismiss it will be only drivers and household siblings. If your child is not a driver or sibling of a driver they will not be allowed to leave.

Between 12:15 and 12:30 p.m., registered licensed drivers at Decatur High School will be dismissed by the standard check out release procedure. If the driver has a rider, that rider must be a household member. If not, the rider will need to be checked out separately.

Read more: Alabama schools add security after Uvalde shooting, but most measures are secret.

Read more: Two Alabama classrooms now have white boards that turn into gun-safe shelters.
An investigation is underway after a young man was shot to death in Montgomery.

Police were notified about 7 p.m. Thursday that a gunshot victim had arrived at the hospital.

Maj. Saba Coleman said the victim had been driven there in a personal vehicle. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Investigators determined the shooting took place in the 400 block of Buford Street.

Coleman said authorities are still trying to determine the circumstances surrounding the deadly shooting. No additional information is being released at this time.

The victim has been identified as Antarrio Hubbard. He was 20 and lived in Montgomery.

Anyone with information is asked to call Montgomery police at 334-625-2831, the Secret Witness tip line at 334-625-4000 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP.
An Alabama man was booked Thursday into the Pike County Jail on 37 counts of child sex abuse and child pornography involving a victim under 12 years old, according to jail records.

David Ezra Benton, 32, was charged with 19 counts of production of porn with minors, four counts of first-degree sodomy and 14 counts of sexual abuse of a child less than 12, jail records showed.

Benton, a resident of Brundidge in Pike County, was known to his victim, Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas told WSFA.

This was a tough case to work with, to have such a young child and the things that the investigators and in the DAs office and everyone else had to see and deal with, said Thomas.

Benton is being held in the county jail without bond.
An Alabama councilman who doubles as a sheriffs deputy in Greene County was arrested on corruption-related charges stemming from his alleged misuse of city-purchased cell phones.

LaJeffery Carpenter, who represents District 2 on the Eutaw City Council, was arrested Wednesday on charges of using his position for personal gain, WVUE in Tuscaloosa reported Thursday. He was released from the Greene County Jail after posting $10,000 bond.

Carpenters arrest was not in court records as of Thursday evening.

Greene County Sheriff Joe Benison told WVUE that Carpenter was placed on administrative leave with the sheriffs office pending the outcome of the case, which is being overseen by the state Bureau of Investigation.

Carpenters attorney, Joel Sogol, claimed the charges were related to the city of Eutaw purchase of a large amount of iPhones for $99 apiece.

Some of the people were told that they could use the phones and buy them when they left city employment for the same $99, Sogol told the station. From my understanding, Mr. Carpenter availed his ability to do that and used several of the phones, although he set them up so that the city was not billed for the usage. It was all billed to him and somehow thats how all this came to be.
Alabamas Education Trust Fund has been hijacked. The ETF is now Gov. Kay Iveys ATM.

Lipstick on a pig? Ivey is trying to disguise the whole $311 million hog. And sneak it through as education funding.

Related: Kay Ivey uses education funds to give taxpayers $25 million waterpark enema - al.com

Related: Kay Ivey finds school money for water park, prisons  but not Medicaid expansion - al.com

Related: Kay Ivey makin it rain on Alabama billion dollar prison plan - al.com

My colleague Kyle Whitmire has been firing on all cylinders on this issue. Here are some excerpts from his takes:

Ivey hasnt funded Medicaid expansion because she doesnt want to. She cant do it without admitting she was wrong and thats embarrassing for her.

End of story.

Meanwhile, shes finding ways to help government contractors get paid and shifting school dollars to private interests that have nothing to do with education.

Iveys proposed supplemental Education Trust Fund budget has included more than $300 million of non-education expenses. The document itself obscures what some of them are, but with a little digging weve dragged a few of those things into the light.

Theres $25 million for the Montgomery Whitewater project, which her proposal directed through the Montgomery County Commission because putting whitewater park in the budget might have given the whole game away.

And theres $100 million more for prison construction, which it channels through the states community college system. Im not sure when the community college system last built prison facilities, but it seems like it would have been less trouble giving that money directly to the Department of Corrections.

Unless the point was to keep people from seeing her do that very thing.

In addition to those allocations, Ivey has proposed $200 million for the Main Street Alabama program, which helps small towns revitalize their downtown districts.

Because who needs an emergency room nearby when you can have decorative street lamps?

The last credible argument the state could make for not using its budget surpluses to expand Medicaid was that the money was stuck in the Education Trust Fund. Thats one of the two state budgets, the other being the General Fund which pays for just about everything beyond schools. But taxes in the Education Trust Fund are earmarked for education expenses alone.

This has been a blood/brain barrier of Alabama politics  keeping the peace between education interests and general fund interests like prisons and Medicaid for decades.

But now it seems to have been breached.

It was breached on purpose. And it was breached with the intent that regular folks and maybe even lawmakers, too, not understand how big a transfer was happening.

Ivey has made clear what her priorities are.

Shes fine slipping public money to prison construction and a struggling white water boat ride.

But not to Alabamians trapped and drowning in medical expenses they cant pay.

Read all of Whitmires column here

True stories and stuff by JD Crowe

The mysterious Bubble Guy of Fairhope and the art of bubble Zen - al.com

How I met Dr. Seuss

Robert Plant head-butted me. Thanks, David Coverdale

I was ZZ Tops drummer for a night and got kidnapped by groupies

Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe

Garrett Crumby: Tribute to fallen Huntsville police officer - al.com

Nashville school shooting: Americas covenant with guns is killing our kids - al.com

The crucifixion of Donald Trump - al.com

Kay Ivey makin it rain on Alabama billion dollar prison plan - al.com

When Nick Saban speaks, people hear the elephant in the room - al.com

When spring break meets snowbird season all bets and wet T-shirts are off - al.com

Great white shark crashes Alabama spring break party. What could go wrong? - al.com

JD Crowe is the cartoonist for Alabama Media Group and AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award for local and state cartoons by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix.
Russia accused American journalist Evan Gershkovich of spying for the US government

Gershkovich is a journalist who covers Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet Union

Gershkovich faces up to twenty years in jail if convicted of espionage

Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in Russia on Thursday on accusations of espionage, marking the first time since the end of the Cold War that an American correspondent has been imprisoned on espionage allegations.

Russia asserts that the 31-year-old American was "caught red-handed" attempting to gather confidential information concerning a military-industrial complex of the Kremlin. According to Russia's Federal Security Service, Gershkovich, who pled not guilty in a Moscow court, was arrested in Yekaterinburg.

Who is Evan Gershkovich?

The WSJ, where Gershkovich has worked for just over a year, has disputed the claims and expressed "great worry" for the reporter's safety. Per NY Post, Gershkovich is an American citizen who grew up in New Jersey. Records indicate he is the son of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union residing in Philadelphia.

According to his LinkedIn page, Gershkovich graduated in 2014 from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he majored in philosophy and English. He is conversant in Russian.

Gershkovich has been a Wall Street Journal journalist for over a year. He resides in London but regularly goes to the Moscow office of the WSJ on reporting trips. Gershkovich covers the former Soviet Union, Russia, and Ukraine for the news organization.

Gershkovich's LinkedIn page indicates that since 2017, he has been stationed in Moscow. Before, he had served as a correspondent in Russia for the French news agency Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times. Before, he worked as a news assistant for the New York Times. The Russian Federal Security Agency confirmed that the Russian Foreign Ministry authorized Gershkovich to operate as a journalist in Russia.

As per USA Today, the FSB did not clarify precisely when Gershkovich was taken into custody. Tuesday marked the release of his final report from Moscow, which focused on the economic downturn in Russia due to Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine last year.

Read Also: Donald Trump Indicted in New York

Gershkovich Might Face 20 Years of Imprisonment

Gershkovich faces up to twenty years in jail if convicted of espionage. Since the end of the Cold War, Gershkovich is the only American journalist to be jailed on espionage allegations in Russia.

The latest arrest of this nature occurred in September 1986, when the KGB detained US News and World Report journalist Nicholas Daniloff. Twenty days later, the journalist from Moscow was freed without charges in exchange for a Soviet Union United Nations mission employee whom the FBI had detained.

Evan Gershkovich covers Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet Union for The Wall Street Journal. He began his journalistic career as a news assistant for nearly two years at the New York Times. He then served as a correspondent for The Moscow Times, an English-language news website, stationed in the Russian capital until 2020.

Gershkovich was a reporter for the AFP wire agency before joining the Wall Street Journal in 2022 as its Moscow correspondent. His work has appeared in several media, including The New York Times, The Economist, MIT Technology Review, Foreign Policy, and Politico Europe.

Among other media venues, he has appeared on the BBC, NPR, Deutsche Welle, and France 24. Before his detention, Yekaterinburg worked on an article regarding the Wagner private military business.

Per Daily Mail, his most recent Wall Street Journal piece, published on March 28, covered the economic decline in Russia. Also, in March 2023, he reported on the Bakhmut front lines in Ukraine, a Russian assault against US aircraft, and riots in Georgia.

Related Article: Russia Arrests US Journalist For Alleged Spying, 'Collecting State Secrets'

@YouTube

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has shocked many Americans by becoming a politicized law enforcement arm of the Democrat party. As the target of one of the FBI and Department of Justice political attacks -- solely because I had been talking to Ukrainian whistleblowers about Biden family corruption in that country -- I want to discuss the problem. It starts with the most political Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray.

How exactly did Wray become Director? The saga of who headed the most prestigious and respected (previous to Wray) law enforcement agency under Donald Trump includes political naivete as well as sophistication, depending on the actor.

The naivete begins with the Trump transition team. My husband (and law partner) Joe diGenova and I sent message after message to the team to have President-elect Trump fire then-Director James Comey immediately. We were well aware of his many instances of harassing conservatives with baseless federal investigations.

We were informed that New Yorkers on Trumps team thought it would look unseemly. They were unaware that cleaning house in a new administration is regular order in D.C. How did it look months later when Trump fired Comey in the midst of the Russia, Russia, Russia! investigation?

Having limited knowledge of both Washington politics (one must know who the alligators are to drain the swamp) and federal law enforcement, Trump turned to a person who should have such knowledge to propose a Comey replacement: former U.S. Attorney (Eastern District of New Jersey) and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Christie had been a political opponent, then avid supporter of Trump. What better background for a person asked to suggest a new FBI Director. Christies choice: Chris Wray.

The Christie/Wray relationship was cemented when Wray represented Christie in the Bridgegate debacle, which occurred while Christie was governor. The scandal began on September 9, 2013, when two of three toll lanes on the George Washington Bridge were closed during rush hour, creating traffic jams in Ft. Lee, NJ. There were reports that paramedics were delayed getting to victims, further exacerbating the political uproar.

It was later claimed that the lanes had been intentionally closed to punish Ft. Lees Democrat Mayor Mark Sokolich, who had not supported Christie for Governor.

Three aides for Christie were indicted on fraud charges, which were later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the aides testified that they had discussed the lane closing with Christie, he was not indicted. Significantly, his cell phone, which would have revealed all his conversations and texts regarding the bridge closure, went missing.

At some point Christie admitted it was in the possession of Wray although he had previously claimed the government had it. Curiously, federal prosecutors never pursued Wray to obtain it. Could it be because Wray knew the key federal prosecutors from the days he directed all U.S. Attorney offices as Assistant Attorney General (AAG), Criminal Division of DOJ, under George W. Bush?

As Christie describes Wray, whom he had met when Wray was AAG and Christie was U.S Attorney, When I was at the absolute lowest point of my professional life, hes who I called. What a debt. And what a sophisticated payback.

Recently, Trump admitted on Hannity he chose Wray because Christie recommended him and people on the other side (Democrats) agreed.

Joe and I met Wray at the same time Christie did  as AAG. We reported to him misconduct by a U.S. Attorney who, while investigating his political opponent, was threatening witnesses with exposing their sexual infidelities unless they testified as he wanted before a Grand Jury. The investigation was based on converting a county misdemeanor election law violation into a RICO offense, an unethical prosecutorial overreach. Wray refused to rein in the U.S. Attorney or even look into the allegations. None of the victims were interviewed. It mattered not that the prosecutor was violating the law and professional ethics.

So, it is no surprise that during his tenure at the FBI, overreach is the order of the day. Wray sent more than a dozen agents with automatic weapons to rouse Roger Stone and his wife before dawn, with firearms drawn and an alerted CNN recording it all. Wray sent FBI agents to Reagan Airport to shackle Peter Navarro publicly for a misdemeanor and subsequently imprison him.

Then there is the August 2022 FBI armed raid of Mar-a-Lago searching for presidential records/classified documents, a dispute usually settled civilly without federal law enforcement, as it was handled when President Joe Biden possessed classified information.

Last fall, Wray sent 20-plus FBI agents with long guns, wearing armored vests and helmets and carrying a battering ram, to arrest pro-life protester Mark Houck in front of his wife and seven children. The crime? A shoving incident in front of an abortion clinic. The state prosecutor had declined to bring charges. Houck, who was acquitted in January, had offered to turn himself in if charges were brought.

These are tactics I utilized when I prosecuted terrorists and dangerous drug dealers, never for white collar crimes. Never for a misdemeanor.

At least the FBI agents Wray sent to my house in April 2021 with a search warrant seeking documents I never had and specifying a crime that never occurred, were professional. They repeatedly apologized for being there and said that although they had the authority to search the entire house, they would not do so, only taking my cell phone (with all my clients privileged information).

Wray is teaching FBI agents that politicizing law enforcement is acceptable. If the target is of a certain political persuasion, any technique may be used. If Wray remains Director, the overreaching will continue. He needs to leave while there are still some professionals left in the FBI rank and file.

Wrays politicized raid cost us over $500,000 in legal fees. We had to protect our clients privileged information, which Wray authorized seizing even though the search of a lawyers client information violates DOJ rules. Yet, because of it we have even greater resolve to champion justice against the weaponization of federal law enforcement and hold those responsible accountable. Friends have started a GiveSendGo called the Joe diGenova /Victoria Toensing Litigation Fund at to help us with our mission.

Photo credit: YouTube screengrab
In the thrilling submarine movie, The Hunt for Red October, the authority of Russian sub captain Sean Connery is challenged by the political officer whose job is to ensure that the sub is run in accordance with Soviet party ideology. The mans interference becomes so aggravating that Connerys character kills him. We are facing a similar threat from a mountain of diversity executives.

Employing significant numbers of diversity executives is all the rage. The average university, for example, now has 45.1 people dedicated to promoting diversity on campus. The University of Michigan has a whopping 163 diversity officers. Thats 2.3 diversity officers for every one member of its history faculty. Is it any wonder that college tuition has skyrocketed?

A political commissar or political officer is responsible for ideological conformity in military units to ensure party control of the unit. Political commissars were heavily used in the Soviet Red Army, as well as in the armed forces of Nazi Germany. The U.S. can now be added to the list.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) executives -- our political commissars -- are tasked with enforcing leftist policies in corporations, universities, and government agencies. They do not contribute to the competent functioning of those institutions and in fact may detract from their profitability and efficiency.

A recent example is Stanford Law School, where the schools diversity, equity, and inclusion dean, Tirien A. Steinbach, encouraged students to prevent a federal judge from speaking at a university function. Court of Appeals Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan was invited by the student chapter of the conservative Federalist Society to address the student body at the prestigious law school. The judge was targeted by a group of leftist students because of his ruling on a transgender pedophile in 2020, where he refused to allow her bid to get her name changed. The protestors claimed the judge had committed crimes against women, gays, blacks, and trans people.

Duncan was repeatedly shouted down and drowned out by the angry students who screamed that they hoped Duncan's daughters would be raped. He was unable to give his prepared remarks. The behavior of the protesting students was a clear violation of the school's free speech policy.

Adding to the insanity was an impromptu lecture by Steinbach. Instead of calming the students down, the diversity executive piously lectured Judge Duncan for six minutes. She asserted that free speech did not justify giving Duncan a platform and scolded him for doing "harm" with his rulings. Steinbach deliberately subverted a critical takeaway for law students, namely learning how to be aware of opposing points of view. This does not bode well for the kind of lawyers that Stanford is turning out.

Can it truly be said that Stanford is better off for employing a diversity dean? Steinbach has contributed to the demise of Stanford Laws reputation. This is an example of how our institutions are being harmed by their reliance on DEI commissars.

Another recent example involved the Pentagons diversity chief, Kelisa Wing. Wing made a series of racist statements about white people. "I'm exhausted with these white folx," she wrote. "[T]his lady actually had the CAUdacity to say that black people can be racist too I had to stop the session and give Karen the BUSINESS [W]e are not the majority, we don't have power," Wing said in a tweet. Caudacity is a slang term that is used to describe white people. "If another Karen tells me about her feelings, Wing wrote, I might lose it."

Wing was appointed as diversity, equity and inclusion chief at the Pentagons education section, which services over 60,000 military-connected children at 160 schools around the globe. As reported by Fox News, Wing stated that her goal was to "tear down the system" in education. She asserted that it is time for a "racial reckoning" and "revolution. In response, Rep. Elise Stefanik, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said, "This woke ideology is destroying our military and poisoning the minds of American children." Wing and other diversity commissars attempt to justify their divisive racist behavior by cloaking it under the banner of diversity.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are words meant to deceive the American public. Their meaning has been distorted by the Left. To progressives, diversity is an attempt to divide Americans between alleged oppressors -- heterosexual white males -- and victimized minorities. According special privileges to minorities via diversity is the Lefts way of marginalizing white people.

Diversity is destroying the critical American value known as meritocracy. Meritocracy and diversity are opposites. Instead of hiring and promoting people based on competence, advocates for diversity want advancement to be based on race and gender. Heather Mac Donald, author of The Diversity Delusion, has warned about the consequences of this trend. China and Russia, she says, are meritocracies. When you are a scientist in China, they dont give a damn about your race and gender. If the U.S. succumbs to identity politics, we will never be able to compete on the world stage.

Another problem we face is the Lefts demand for equity, which means equality of outcome. Everyone should have the same income, job success, house, neighborhood, etc. Equity attempts to achieve its warped conception of fairness by treating people differently based on their skin color. The downside to equality of outcome is that it can never be accomplished without control by a coercive centralized authority.

Bidens latest executive order attempts to provide that coercive authority. It requires that every federal agency must hire equity commissars to ensure that all new federal employees will be selected based upon their skin color so that preference can be given to non-whites. This is now the official policy of the U.S. government.

After all the hullabaloo, DEI initiatives have not been successful. It shouldnt be surprising that most diversity programs arent increasing diversity, reports the Harvard Business Review. Laboratory studies show that this kind of force-feeding can activate bias rather than stamp it out. In analyzing three decades worth of data from more than 800 US firms and interviewing hundreds of line managers and executives at length, weve seen that companies get better results when they ease up on the control tactics.

The drive for diversity, equity, and inclusion, wrote Bret Stephens in the New York Times, is insulting to everyone who still believes we should be judged by the content of our character. It shouldnt be hard to see that trying to solve the old racism with the new racism will produce only more racism, Stephens concludes. Justice is never achieved by turning tables. Justice is never achieved by hiring boatloads of diversity commissars.

Ed Brodow is a conservative political commentator and author of nine books including his new #1 Amazon Best Seller, AMERICA ON ITS KNEES: The Cost of Replacing Trump with Biden. His website is www.edbrodowpoliti.cs.com

Image: Public Domain
The horror! The horror! The enormities the colonials inflicted on the Congolese are condensed in those dying words of Kurtz, the depraved, power-mad ivory-procurer of Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness. It was ivory then; it is cobalt now. But exploitation and slavery continue to this day in the benighted Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), long after most former colonies have prospered in freedom.

The DRC is the worlds biggest producer of cobalt, essential to the lithium-ion batteries that power cellphones, computers, EVs, and a host of devices. The silvery metal is stained with the blood of Congolese slaves, many of them children. Siddharth Kara, an expert on human trafficking and slavery, hopes to wake up the world to this 21st century horror with Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, his latest book, published in January.

Kara travelled extensively through militia-controlled mining areas to research his book. Enduring threats, environmental hazards, and multiple attempts to halt his investigation, he has brought unwelcome sunlight to the deplorable disregard for human suffering in this country of 60 million, ranked among the five poorest in the world. His research and fieldwork make for heart-breaking reading: instead of prosperity, the vast resources of the central African nation have only brought it untold exploitation for over five centuries.

Slave trade began in Congo, as across Africa, in the mid-15th century. By the 16th century, during the reign of King Alfonso of Portugal, slave raids and networks were systematized, and these operated well into the 19th century. At the 1884 Berlin Conference to discuss the carving up of Africa, European colonials authorized King Leopold II of Belgiums personal ownership of, and sovereignty over, the Congo Free State. In a few years, the explorer Henry Morgan Stanley perpetrated a massive land grab for the king by securing several hundred treaties from unsuspecting, illiterate native tribes.

The tribespeople were compelled into servitude, first harvesting ivory, and when that ran out, rubber sap to meet the demand for tires for Karl Benzs vehicles. Leopold was ousted in 1908, but the Belgian government continued to use forced labor. When rubber prices collapsed in a few years, the slaves were deployed in mining copper and other minerals, of which vast deposits were being discovered. The Belgians sold a northern rain forest teeming with oil palms to a British soap maker, destined to become the multinational behemoth Unilever. The British firm did not desist from using forced labor and imposing production quotas on the slaves.

Patrice Lumumba brought independence to Congo in 1960, but Belgium organized the overthrow of the nascent government with help from the U.S. and the U.N. The Kennedy administration abetted Lumumbas torture and killing by rebels led by Mobutu Sese Seko, who then ran the country for 27 years as his fiefdom, much like Leopold. He was followed by two dictators. All cut deals, either with the superpowers or multinationals, to extend the exploitation and impoverishment of their people.

In the early 2000s, Joseph Kabila took office after his father, President Laurent-Desire Kabila, was assassinated. The Second Congo War, that saw the death of five million Congolese as nine African nations and 30 militias laid waste to the country, was raging at the time. Like his father, Kabila junior brokered several deals with mining giants. In 2009, he brought in a new player  China, which has spread its tentacles in Congo through numerous CCP-linked companies. He stepped down in 2018. The election later that year, which Kabila did not contest, saw the U.S.-friendly Felix Tshisekedi becoming president and vowing to end the Chinese hold over Congo. Kabila, meanwhile, is working with his Chinese backers to wrest control and may contest in elections this year.

The exploitation of the Congolese is an enormous travesty. Multinational corporations earn untold billions from selling cobalt, while the Congolese live in extreme poverty, suffering abuse, slavery, child labor, forced labor, debt bondage, human trafficking, and the poisoning of their soil and water. Children as young as six years work in mines to augment family income. Miners earn $1-2 daily. More than 75% of Congolese live in poverty, 33% suffer from food insecurity; only 26% have access to clean water, 9% to electricity. Life expectancy is 60.7 years; in child mortality, the DCR ranks 11th from the bottom of the list.

Demand for cobalt is expected to grow 500% by 2050, and with the world fixated on electronic devices, the horrific injustice in Congo will continue. Miners, including children, work without protective equipment, crouched underground for hours breathing toxin-suffused air. Medical care is inadequate. Tunnel collapses and floodings are common; there is no counting the dead.

Smaller mining firms are prevented from scouting for better prices, so they often slip into debt. Illegal mining is rampant. A peculiar feature that Kara points out is artisanal mining, some 30% of all cobalt mining in Congo. Conducted legally and illegally by subsistence miners, who use rudimentary tools and assume all risks, it is valued because it yields 10-15 times a higher grade of cobalt per ton than industrial mining. Artisanal miners operate across the Copper Belt, stretching along the border between northern Zambia and southern Congo. They dig up heterogenite, an ore of copper, nickel, cobalt, and uranium, selling it to negotiators or to depots, reminiscent of Conrads outposts, and almost exclusively operated by Chinese.

They in turn sell to industrial processors, joint ventures between Congos state-owned mining corporation and CCP-linked and -funded Chinese companies. The latter have gained advantage with low-ball bids, bringing in their own cheap labor, securing plants with military force, and operating without human rights considerations. The semi-refined cobalt they churn out is taken to commercial-grade refineries in China, since Congo cannot supply the electricity needed for the process. It was thus that in 2021, China produced 75% of the worlds refined cobalt.

Virtually selling the country to the Chinese, Congos leaders have allowed them to run riot like the earlier colonizers who conquered with arms. This time, the ravaging of the land and its people is worse. With hardly any environmental rules enforced, mining has killed agriculture, caused severe air and water pollution, and increased exposure to radioactivity. Armed guards patrol the cratered landscape, inflicting gratuitous violence and sexual assault to subdue the populace. They are joined in this by Congolese soldiers, who are known to run child labor groups, pocketing the wages and the proceeds of ore sales.

Many child miners take up the job after parents die in accidents or from occupational diseases. Some end up selling themselves for sex. Like their parents, child miners are injured or die in falls and tunnel collapses. Mass casualties are frequent but go unreported. Karas opening chapter describes the discovery of a childs body, and he imagines that the blood has given the soil of Congo its unique reddish hue.

At no point in Congos history have ordinary people benefited from the monetization of its abundant wealth that has supported the global economy  ivory, rubber, palm oil, copper, tin, zinc, silver, nickel, diamonds, gold, uranium, tantalum, tungsten, and cobalt. Instead, they have been preyed upon  by colonials, colonial-era companies, the superpowers, multinationals, soldiers and militias, traffickers, and now by their own leaders, Chinese miners, and high-tech companies.

Any chance for a trickle-down effect is dashed by rampant corruption, endemic to Africa, and cheating. A mining executive tells Kara the foreign companies dodge taxes and cheat the partnering state mining corporation. Figures are falsified, and bureaucrats and company employees pocket the difference.

The devastation of Congo is a blight on the world for those who cherish freedom, liberty, and dignity. Hopefully, Karas compelling book will open the eyes of the world to The horror! The horror! of what the Congolese endure  even into the 21st century. We might think of that every time we look at our cellphones.
Around 10:00 p.m., two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters collided

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has subsequently verified that all nine of the service members are killed

Fort Campbell is home to both the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and the 101st Airborne

According to officials, two helicopters from the 101st Airborne Division crashed late Wednesday in southeastern Kentucky, killing nine military men. There were no surviving individuals.

The two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters collided at 10 p.m. in Trigg County near the Tennessee border; Fort Campbell officials said early Thursday. They were participating in a "regular training operation" when the incident occurred, according to a Facebook statement from the base, as per CNN.

Black Hawk Helicopter Crash

The helicopters were medical evacuation aircraft, and it is suspected that the crash occurred while they were in flight and not during a medical evacuation exercise, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division, attended a press conference at Fort Campbell on Thursday morning.

He said no more losses or injuries were recorded as the plane crashed in an open field beside a residential neighborhood. Staff Sergeant Joshua Tverberg, a spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, said two of four Black Hawk helicopters that participated in the training exercise crashed. One helicopter had landed to refuel, while another was in front of the two that crashed.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a subsequent statement on Thursday that he was "devastated by this awful loss" and working with the Army to "ensure that our troops and their families receive the care they require in the aftermath of this catastrophe."

The helicopters were flying in a "multi-ship configuration" with crew wearing night vision goggles, according to the deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division, Brigadier General John Lubas. In one helicopter, there were five persons, while in the other, there were four, according to USA Today.

The collision, which occurred in a forested region near the Tennessee border, is still being investigated. An aviation crew from Fort Rucker in Alabama will arrive today to examine the aircraft's black box data.

The crash is one of the deadliest military training mishaps in recent years. Just after 2 a.m., the Army tweeted a press notice regarding the accident. There were no recorded injuries in residential areas.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear stated earlier on Twitter that deaths were inevitable. Kentucky State Police assist Army forces during recovery operations. Beshear said he would visit Fort Campbell to "support our troops and their families following yesterday night's horrific event."

The 101st Airborne Division is the sole light infantry group and air assault division in the Army. Fort Campbell borders Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee, approximately 60 miles northwest of Nashville, Tennessee.

Black Hawks are the tactical utility transport helicopters of the Army. These aircraft are used in air assault, general support, aeromedical evacuation, and special missions. In February, two Tennessee National Guard pilots perished after their Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise on an Alabama roadway.

Read Also: Who Is the WSJ Reporter Arrested in Russia?

How Dangerous Are Black Hawk Helicopters?

Eleven soldiers and women were killed in Black Hawk crashes in 2023. The first occurred on February 15, 2023, when a Black Hawk crashed in Huntsville, Alabama, killing two members of the Tennessee National Guard. Authorities have suggested that the numerous accidents and fatalities, mainly when the Black Hawks are employed on American territory with no adversary present, may have something to do with the helicopters' real construction.

Two Utah Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawks crashed in February 2022 during a "winter survival and mobility training" event. As the first Black Hawk aircraft landed, it reportedly churned up snow and detached its main rotor blade.

Its blade then collided with a second helicopter nearby, forcing it to collapse. Meanwhile, on December 5, 2019, a UH-60L took off from the St. Cloud Army Aviation Support Center and disappeared for about two hours. The downed helicopter was discovered in a field around 16 miles southwest of St. Cloud.

Per Daily Mail, a mishap involving the Minnesota National Guard found that faulty installation of a hydromechanical engine unit caused the disaster. This issue created the possibility of administrative action against the technician who installed the item and the inspector who inspected it.

On February 5, 2021, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand demanded that the Military 'immediately investigate' the accidents to discover whether there was a problem with the Black Haws' technical airframe that indicated a bigger trend of malfunction.

Related Article: Philippine Ferry Catches Fire in Southern Waters, At Least 31 Dead

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The indictment of President Trump is unprecedented; no president, former or current has ever been indicted before. But while that is an interesting historical fact to note, that isnt the central argument against the indictment.

If Trump were indeed guilty of a crime, he deserves to be punished, irrespective of his being a former president. So, let's examine the case.

Lets first look at the sexual affair claim.

President Trump has denied the affair with Stormy Daniels. Daniels claims she had the affair.

But a 2018 letter that surfaced has Daniels denying that the affair ever occurred. Articles from TMZ and CNBC reiterated her disavowal of the affair and the payment of hush money.

BREAKING: Signed official statement of Stormy Daniels admits affair never happened and that she was not paid 'hush money' pic.twitter.com/DqYgNMigQm  Jack Posobiec  (@JackPosobiec) March 23, 2023

Lets look at the hush money payment claim. A letter from 2018, obtained by The New York Post, proves that Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen lied to federal election officials regarding his $130,000 payment to Daniels, for which he was found guilty and sent to prison.

Cohens attorney writes that Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment directly or indirectly.

BREAKING: New Bombshell Document DESTROYS Manhattan DAs Case Against Trump



2018 Letter from Michael Cohens lawyer to the FEC declares Cohen used his own personal funds to pay Stormy Daniels. Trump Camp. NOT party to transaction, did NOT reimburse Cohen for payment. Its OVER pic.twitter.com/QacsjSbZAz  Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 22, 2023

Since the transaction didnt occur at Trumps behest the entire case against Trump falls down like a house of cards.

What if Cohens claims were true that Trump had directed him to make hush payments to Daniels and the Trump Organization reimbursed him for the payment to Daniels, but billed them as legal expenses?

That would be a violation of the New York Business Record act and would constitute a misdemeanor. The statute of limitations for that has run out.

The grounds for the case are so weak that even the Washington Post has raised questions about the merits of the case.

So why is this all happening?

The election of Donald Trump on November 8, 2016, caused a political earthquake in D.C. and beyond. It was time for D.C. to introspect about why an outsider such as Trump managed to topple a seasoned establishment candidate such as Hillary, who was funded and backed by all the powers that be.

But the sanctimonious seldom notice their shortcomings; instead, they react with rage when their foibles are revealed.

Hence the powers that be directed all their energies to the destruction of Donald Trump, the rare rebel who presents a threat to their monopoly.

The offense of President Trump actually occurred on November 8, 2016; his crime was challenging and beating the establishment; what happened yesterday was merely the formality.

There were myriad attempts before.

They claimed Trump won the 2016 elections by colluding with the Russians. The accusers had no proof of how the votes were altered, but their unrelenting campaign of baseless allegations produced the Mueller probe in 2017, which caused almost 2 years of instability and cost $32 million of taxpayer funds.

When Mueller failed, the Democrat-controlled House impeached Trump in 2019, claiming he withheld military aid to Ukraine to compel Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to announce an investigation into Joe Biden.

As President, Trump and the US had a right to know if Biden, a possible future president, was compromised owing to his sons shady business dealings in Ukraine. Military aid has always been used as an inducement to coerce foreign nations to act in US interests.

In parallel, the Democrats and their PR Wing that masquerades as the media invented stories to make Trump appear bigoted, chaotic, senile, ignorant, evil, and even a criminal genius.

In January 2021, the Democrat-controlled House baselessly impeached Trump again, for "incitement of insurrection" and "lawless action at the Capitol".

Next was the January 6 "insurrection" probe, which like Muellers team, consisted of those who presumed or wanted Trump to be guilty.

During the committee's televised show trial, only anti-Trump witnesses who grounded their testimony on baseless hearsay were invited, while Trumps attorneys weren't allowed to cross-question these adversarial witnesses.

There has never been a day since Trump was sworn-in in 2017 that he wasnt probed or attacked. None of this would ever have happened had he not run for President.

It wasnt just Trump; his supporters were also targeted.

The protestors of January 6 were detained for prolonged periods of time and were given draconian punishments.

Parents who opposed their children being indoctrinated with far-left propaganda were branded domestic terrorists.

The Department of Homeland Security branded opposition to lockdowns or spreading Covid-19 misinformation as a terror threat.

Last year, Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified that the DHS had set up a Disinformation Governance Board, that would sit in judgment of the pronouncement of citizens.

Prior to 2016, the targeting of political opponents occurred behind the scenes.

Obamas IRS subjected conservative groups to aggressive and needless scrutiny.

Obama's Justice Department tapped the phones of reporters whom they deemed as adversaries, dragged them to court, and prosecuted them three times as often as all previous administrations combined.

Following the election of President Trump, the actions are blatant and out in the open.

The proponents of these anti-Trump probes often claim that this has nothing to do with Trumps political positions. They remind everyone that previous GOP presidents such as the Bushes were never targeted, to make the claim that Trump is at fault.

For that, we just have to look at the records of the Bushes as president.

They stood for everything the D.C. establishment wants -- gratuitous foreign wars to enrich cronies, open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens, big government, and security agencies that surveil their citizens under the guise of protecting them.

The Bushes were part of the convenient system that D.C. had built over the years.

There were Republican presidents and Democrat presidents, who disagreed on minor social issues, which was used to deceive the voters. But on all the major issues of consequence, they were in complete agreement. The system of deception continued until President Trump arrived.

During his inaugural address in January 2017, President Trump talked about returning power back to the people

The statement was a reminder to D.C. about its duty to serve the public. It wasnt political or controversial, yet George W. Bush was in the audience and allegedly remarked 'That was some weird s###".

This is all one needs to know to comprehend the one-party system.

The weaponization of government agencies and the justice system with an aim to outlaw political opposition are among the gravest perils facing the US. This indictment of President Trump is like a declaration of a national emergency.

The schadenfreude displayed by figures in the establishment makes it perfectly clear what the goal is -- to eliminate all threats to their one-party system.

Its been a good day.  James Comey (@Comey) March 31, 2023

It is time for the public to rise up against this tyranny; cowardice is not an option. There has to be an organized, focused, relentless but peaceful response to this blatant violation of democratic norms.

The Republicans in D.C. must be part of this movement.

Graphic credit: Public Domain Vectors
George Soros has for decades sought to destroy America as founded. Jewish by birth but a Nazi by choice, it is not hyperbolic to call him a devil incarnate. He is perhaps the most purely evil human who has used his vast wealth solely for malevolent purposes. His antipathy for the United States is pathological, and he has spent his billions on countless projects to bring this nation to its knees.

Like any and every Marxist, he advocates for chaos. The man is Fausts Mephistopheles, Satan, and Lucifer all rolled into a one-man wicked wrecking ball that should have been stopped decades ago. Now he has installed carefully chosen serfs for all the wrong reasons, numerous DAs, AGs, and Secretaries of State throughout the country to do his bidding  to effect Cloward and Piven! DAs like Alvin Bragg got their orders from Soros headquarters with the $1.1m Soros funneled to install him in office. Soros does not spend his money on smart people. He spends on people he can depend upon to do what he tells them to do: Get Trump. See Alan Dershowitzs book.

Bragg, elected in 2021, has been a disaster for Manhattan. He refuses to seek bail or sentences for violent criminals  armed robbery, drug dealing, violent attacks on innocent civilians, and burglary. Nine of the prosecutors in the Manhattan office quit when he announced his pro-criminal agenda. He was installed for one reason, one reason only, to facilitate crime and to take down Donald Trump. I hope that, along with all the other Soros-installed DAs, he will go down in flames when his pro-criminal, anti-Americanism becomes clear. How did he even pass the bar? Has he even read the Constitution?

Chesa Boudin, former DA in San Francisco, has been recalled; by San Franciscans! Los Angeles DA George Gascon was effectively recalled, but the lefts expertise at cheating has kept him in office. Under Gascon, homicide rates have soared as has shoplifting by mobs of looters who are never arrested.

Kim Foxx, DA in Chicago, is another of Soross tools, the one who dropped charges against Jussie Smollett! On her watch, Chicago has endured the largest spike in murder in over thirty years. Larry Krasner in Philadelphia, Kim Gardner in St. Louis; she has been caught lying about police officers who pulled her over, has admitted to campaign finance violations, and saw her city become the murder capital of the country. There are so many more. Crime in each of these cities has escalated catastrophically as if by Soros magic. Soros is so proud.

The Democrat party, no longer remotely liberal but Marxist, does not care about anything but keeping Trump out of the White House so Soross meddling in our politics is just fine with them. They have long embraced Soross money, for themselves and for however much of his illegal and unconstitutional election interference it takes to win. They do not mind his putting morons in office as long as they do what they are told. Indicting Trump? Bragg is doing what hes been told to do.

Unsurprisingly, Katie Hobbs, the illegitimate governor of Arizona, is a Soros slave. He got her elected as Arizonas Secretary of State. She apparently wants her states border with Mexico to remain open. She supports the sexual grooming of children in schools, CRT, etc. Shes an enemy of her state. Alvin Bragg is an enemy of his state and is so brazen he has now outed himself as an enemy of the law. He is a classic useful idiot. He probably has no idea that he has opened Pandoras Box and that he will likely be consumed by the illegitimacy of his folly.

Like every member of Bidens cabinet, who was chosen for skin color or sexual orientation, none of Soross DAs were chosen for intellectual competence. They were selected to do the radical lefts bidding, Soross bidding  promote crime, create chaos  destructive riots, violence, etc. That is what Braggs indictment of Trump is meant to do as well.

The left is hoping for violence that they can pin on Trump supporters but, if violence occurs, it will be, like J6, calculated by the left, incited by Antifa and/or FBI/CIA embeds, or paid for by Soros via many of his front organizations. Those institutions have many years of experience with exactly that sort of exercise. They learned their craft from the FBI, the CIA, and the DOJ. Now some Americans know how corrupt each of those agencies is and, under Biden, they are likely to remain corrupt.

Braggs indictment of Trump should be the most serious wake-up call for all Americans. While it began under Obama, America is being transformed into a police state, one where people are being imprisoned for their dissent from the regimes narrative. We no longer enjoy freedom of speech or religion. Ask any mildly conservative college student. They cannot speak freely without being canceled, punished, or expelled.

Our elections are not at all secure or fair. The Biden administration is bogus, achieved by massive fraud. And now they have indicted the former and potentially future President in yet another ruse to take him down and out. Chances are he will not go quietly into that good night. He should have all of us at his back fighting the good fight.

There was a time when we elected people of integrity and expertise in their chosen fields. This is no longer the case. Wokery - CRT, DEI, ESG, LGB, transgenderism, etc.  these nonsensical ideologies are killing us, destroying academia, and indoctrinating our young people. The globalists want to erase national boundaries, erase national sovereignty. They want to ban any and all religious faiths and make serfs of us all. The WEF and China are fast on our heels. They are winning with Bidens willing capitulation.

The Alvin Braggs are weapons in their war against the American people who want only to preserve the freedoms the Founders designed for us.

Photo credit: Swiss-image.ch/Photo by Sebastian Derungs CC BY-SA 2.0 license
Alvin Bragg, district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), has indicted former president Donald J. Trump, apparently accusing him of a crime in connection with allegations of hush money payments, or the manner of accounting for such alleged payments, to one Stephanie Clifford, 44, better known by her performing name, Stormy Daniels.

Given the political standing of Manhattan voters, approaching 90% Biden voters in the November 2020 presidential election, Bragg likely could get an indictment of Mr. Trump for eating a ham sandwich in the middle of Fifth Avenue on a Saturday (Shabbos) morning. The district attorney might well have been told by leftist zealots not to worry; Republicans will let us twist Trump in the wind. But the initial reaction from the GOP camp indicates that the leftists might have underestimated the present state of Republican solidarity in the face of the left's assault on Trump  now and, no doubt, on the GOP generally thereafter.

House speaker Kevin McCarthy's immediate reaction to news of the indictment was to accuse the Manhattan district attorney of having "irreparably damaged" the country, and vowing that Congress will take action in response. Mr. McCarthy's comments offer this writer yet another occasion to urge the House to pass a resolution sending that Jan. 6 House Select Committee and all its actions, including subpoenas, to the ash-heap of history  for the unconstitutional fraud that they were.

Machiavelli, in The Prince, chapter six, offers district attorney Bragg reason to believe that Republicans would take no effective action against his decision to charge the former president with a felony. Machiavelli pointed out, centuries ago, that a political "innovator" would have difficulty rallying the support of logical allies. Machiavelli wrote:

And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them. Thus it happens that whenever those who are hostile have the opportunity to attack they do it like partisans, whilst the others defend lukewarmly, in such wise that the prince is endangered along with them.

Up to now, Donald J. Trump, the MAGA innovator, has had difficulty dealing with enemies, given the "lukewarm" support of Republicans who should have been his most enthusiastic defenders. Bear in mind that when he was president, although the House of Representatives was in GOP hands, with Paul Ryan as speaker, the Deep State had no problem establishing Robert Mueller as special counsel for the purpose of ousting the president/innovator.

Let's take another look at the closing line from that Machiavelli passage: " Thus it happens that whenever those who are hostile have the opportunity to attack they do it like partisans, whilst the others defend lukewarmly, in such wise that the prince is endangered along with them."

Bragg, more likely than not, has been encouraged to attack the former president, now, as a partisan prosecutor who expects that Trump will be "defend[ed] lukewarmly," leading to his inevitable political downfall.

At this point, Mr. Trump can be expected to argue vigorously in his defense, but his future will depend on the strength of his support by the GOP in general (that includes you, Ronna McDaniel) and, in particular, by the House GOP majority. Is the House GOP leadership capable of standing firm against Deep State sharks sensing Trump's blood in the political waters?

Briefly, do Republicans realize that they are up against a political enemy intent on making mincemeat out of the Constitution  and do they have the will to confront and defeat the anti-democratic forces arrayed against them?

If the Republicans remain merely "lukewarm defenders" of the former president, America will indeed be irreparably damaged, and our two-party system is lost  and with it, our democracy.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
I dont know if weve all been there, but far too many people have been dismissed by their doctor with comments like Youre just stressed, or You need to lose weight, or the worst of all, Its all in your head. Theres even a term for it: medical gaslighting. Medical gaslighting can happen to anyone, but women are especially vulnerable to doctors disparaging our aches and pains as nothing more than hypochondria.

This increasing tendency of doctors to ignore their patients has led to the creation of organizations like the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine. Numerous articles address the problem, such as this one from WebMD: How to Talk to Your Doctors When They Dont Listen. Even the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) is giving advice to doctors, stressing the surprising (or perhaps not so surprising) finding that

The overwhelming number of people who suffer an injury due to negligence from a physician never file a malpractice suit at all. Patients dont file lawsuits because theyve been harmed by shoddy medical care. Patients file lawsuits because theyve been harmed by shoddy medical care and  they were rushed or ignored or treated poorly.

I have an autoimmune disease, polymyalgia rheumatica. I take prednisone for it. Between the autoimmune disease and the treatment, I am especially vulnerable to fungal infections and to serious and potentially fatal complications of fungal infections.

I recently developed a case of oral thrush. The doctor prescribed fluconazole, the first choice of medication for yeast infections all through the body. Unfortunately, he wasnt paying enough attention to what he was doing to prescribe the appropriate amount and duration of fluconazole.

I wondered why I had a relapse so soon after the medicine was gone, so I looked it up and discovered for myself what the proper dosage and duration of fluconazole was for oral thrush. I went back to the doctor, presented him with the information, and got the right prescription. It certainly is a conundrum that with all the cutting-edge medical technology, the most important piece of equipment, the doctors ears, dont seem to work anymore.

Image: Doctor at work by Drazen Zigic.

Pandra Selivanov is the author of The Pardon, a story of forgiveness based on the thief on the cross in the Bible.
On March 27, a trans man shot and killed six people in a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee. He took the lives of three children and three adults, mostly females. This was obviously a targeted assault. The slaughter stopped when policemen shot and killed the perpetrator.

The media did not much decry the actions of the deranged mass murderer, preferring to cast her/him as a victim of Christian intolerance. Some Christians dont believe in self-mutilation, you see. Some have the audacity to believe in the existence of only twocount themtwo sexes. Moreover, the perps parents apparently were not in favor of their daughter becoming a man. So, he/she had no choice but to slaughter innocent strangers, kids included. Duh!

The mainstream media is berserk. Insane. Rabid. It has eschewed all notion of impartiality, objectivity, truth, balance, and decencyin favor of doing absolutely anything to advance a Marxist, globalist, elitist, anti-freedom agenda. Absolutely anything. Journalists crazed virtue-signaling, hypocrisy, and dripping disdain for traditional values and the notion of American exceptionalism is embarrassingand nauseatingto anyone with a modicum of intelligence, independence, self-awareness, and dignity.

The media reflexively blames guns, Christians, and America itself for mass shootings like this one. It never examines the devastation wrought by the progressive policies it champions that, in addition to causing economic collapse, coerce people into thinking of themselves as victims while simultaneously telling them that there is no God, their country is evil, and the planet is about to spontaneously combust.

When people are convinced that there is no hope, that everyone else is out to get them and their kind, and that there is nothing to believe in-- except for the very elites, experts, and governmental officials telling them there is nothing else to believe in-- they tend to do very bad things.

Incredibly, the Trans Day of Vengeance rally is still set to take place on April 1st (no fooling) outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Imagine how the media would react if the National Rifle Association were to hold a NRA Day of Vengeance just days after a mass shooting! (Or ever, for that matter.)

On top of this, the previously anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment NPR recently told transgenders to load up on firearmsand to use them if necessary.

Whats more, Hanoi Jane Fonda, recently appearing on The View, appeared to suggest that pro-life folks should be murdered. Actually, she said that directly, later claiming her remark was made in jest. Ha, ha! Her jocularity was palpable. Imagine the mirth-making if, say, a Republican had suggested that pro-choice folks should be murdered! I can almost hear Joe Scarborough, Joy Reid, and Cori Bush slapping their knees and laughing hysterically! Good one!

But, of course, this is anything but funny or amusing. Societyand Americais being summarily destroyed by progressivism and woke culture. We are more divided than at any time since the Civil War. Or, perhaps, more than we have ever been. Many are blind to objective truthor simply refuse to acknowledge itfor fear of reprisal.

A majority of us no longer profess to believe that religion, patriotism -- or children -- are especially important in our lives.

Individuals can claim they are transitioning from one gender to another (appropriation!). But an entire nation transitioning from morality and reality? In the relative blink of an eye?

Male or female? Good or evil? Truth or lies?

I guess we are all non-binary now.

Photo credit: YouTube screengrab (cropped)
Nokia plans to make communication between earthlings and astronauts visiting the Moon easy. The Finnish telecommunications giant is preparing to launch a 4G network on Earths natural satellite later this year. This will not only boost humanitys efforts to make lunar discoveries but also pave the way for human presence on the lunar surface.

According to a report from CNBC , Nokia announced its plans to deploy 4G networks on the Moon during this years Mobile World Congress (MWC), which was held in late February in Barcelona.

SpaceX rocket to ferry Nokias equipment to the Moon

If things go as planned, US-based private space company Intuitive Machines will launch its Nova-C lunar lander aboard a SpaceX rocket. The payload will also include Nokias antenna-equipped base station. Besides, a solar-powered rover will also accompany the equipment, CNBC cited Nokia principal engineer, Luis Maestro Ruiz De Temino.

Once the hardware reaches the Shackleton crater, an LTE connection will be established between the rover and the lander. While it sounds like the hardware will be used by astronauts for surfing online, in reality, Nokia is aiming to support the next crewed lunar mission, Artemis 1.

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The 4G network will enable astronauts to communicate with each other and with mission control. Not just that! The network will also allow them to control the rover remotely and stream and transmit data back to Earth, all in real-time. Nokia believes its technology is capable of lasting through extreme conditions of space.

Nokia claims that the lunar network will provide critical communication capabilities for many different data transmission applications, including vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video.

Finding ice on the Moon with the help of 4G

Using its network, Nokia hopes to help space agencies look for ice on the lunar surface. Much of the Moons surface is currently dry, but recent uncrewed missions have discovered ice remnants trapped in craters around the Moons poles.

If the mission discovers ice, it can be broken up into hydrogen and oxygen and used as rocket fuel. Moreover, the extracted water can be used for drinking and can also provide breathable oxygen to astronauts who stay on the lunar surface for extended periods. Internet may not be the only thing well need to live on the Moon, itll still be a huge leap in humanitys lunar ambitions.
Netizens should expect an upgrade to the share sheet on Android 14 bringing new features and design layout. The Android community is just months away from the release of a new operating system. With each new release comes new features that change how users interact with the system daily.

As the community draws closer to this launch, there are a few new features that are coming to the limelight. One such feature has to do with the share sheet and its new interactive tools. Information about this coming upgrade to the share sheet was made available by Mishaal Rahman in a recent blog post.

According to Rahman, five major tweaks are coming to the share sheet. These features will change the way you interact with this tool on your Android devices. As you await the release of Android 14 along with these new share sheet features, here are all the changes you should expect.

All changes coming to the share sheet on Android 14

With the launch of Android 14, the share sheet will get some new features. Some of these features will be directly noticeable by users, while others will not be so noticeable. The changes that most people overlook will take place behind the scenes.

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The major change that most users will notice will be the new row for app action. With this feature, users can get app-specific controls at the top of the share sheet menu. This is an improvement from what is currently available, as with Android 13 users need to scroll to the bottom of the list to access this feature.

Another feature coming to the share sheet on Android 14 is the fact that it will become an app of its own. Currently, this share sheet is baked into the Android 13 system, hence rely on it for upgrades and improvements. But with the release of Android 14, the share sheet feature will become an app of its own.

This will enable it to receive updates independent of the operating system. It is safe to say that this is one of those features that as a user you might not notice. Other features of the share sheet include reselection, image preview, and the ability to share text with images.

These are improvements that you will notice and make use of daily. The reselection feature will enable you to remove or add more items to share even after hitting the share button. As for the image preview, this helps you scroll through your image selection while preparing to share. Last is the share text with image feature, and this brings an include or exclude text checkbox that when ticked displays the text found on the image.

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All five features coming to the share sheet with Android 14 will change how we interact with the app. At the moment, these features are available for testing to developers via the latest preview. In a few months, the Android community will welcome these features with the Android 14 release.
Its no secret that Microsofts push towards integrating ChatGPT into its various services prompted industry giants like Google to build its own AI chatbot named Bard. However, Googles answer to ChatGPT has had a shaky start. According to a report from The Information, a former Google AI researcher named Jacob Devlin claims Google used ShareGPT, a platform where users share their conversations with ChatGPT, to train Bard.

Devlin reportedly left Google after expressing concerns to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and other executives, arguing that using ShareGPTs data would violate OpenAIs terms of service and make Bards responses too similar to ChatGPT. The report also states that Google later stopped using ChatGPT data following Devlins warnings.

Googles response

Although Google has denied the allegations and stated that they used LaMDA to train Bard, some people are sceptical about its rapid development after the release of ChatGPT. Additionally, Google is also reportedly increasing its efforts to make Bard compete with ChatGPT through the collaborative effort called Gemini between Google Brain and DeepMind.

Bards rocky start was evident in its first demonstration, where it made a factual error about the discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope, leading to Google parent Alphabet losing $100 billion as stocks tumbled. But, it is clear that Google is eager to improve its AI chatbot and is willing to collaborate across its divisions to achieve this goal. The battle between Google and Microsoft over AI will probably intensify after the integration of ChatGPT into Microsoft Bing, which already has over 100 million daily active users and is growing quickly.

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However, ethical AI development should be a top priority for all companies in the industry. Using scraped data without permission is unethical and illegal, and the development of ethical AI should be a primary objective for all companies in the industry.
Animationsfilm von Animals Asia gewinnt Publikumspreis bei den Smiley Charity Film Awards 31. Marz 2023

Animals Asia gewann bei der Preisverleihung der Smiley Charity Film Awards in London den Publikumspreis. Die Auszeichnung galt dem herzerwarmenden Animationsfilm Kein Bar bleibt zuruck, der auf die Not der Baren aufmerksam machen und Gelder fur den Bau eines neuen Rettungszentrums in Vietnam zusammenbringen soll.

Der Film mit dem Title Kein Bar bleibt zuruck erzahlt die Geschichte eines kleinen vietnamesischen Madchens, das sehr traurig dreinschauende Teddybaren rettet und zusammenflickt, und als ihr Haus voll ist, finden sich ihre Eltern und die Nachbarschaft zusammen, um einen Anbau zu bauen, ihr ganz eigenes Rettungszentrum. Die Handlung spiegelt die Bemuhungen von Animals Asia wider, ein zweites Rettungszentrum in Vietnam zu bauen, um die letzten Mondbaren zu retten, die noch auf Gallefarmen in Gefangenschaft leben.

Produziert vom F.Learning Studioin Hanoi und im Stil heller Wasserfarben illustriert vom der einheimischen Kunstlerin Cam Anh Nguyen, basiert der Film auf einer Erzahlung, die von der Botschafterin von Animals Asia in Vietnam, Maggie Q, beigesteuert wurde, um auf die Not der Baren in Gefangenschaft aufmerksam zu machen und fur die dringende Notwendigkeit einzutreten, die Barengallefarmen im Land ein fur alle Mal zu schlieen.





Die Filmpreisverleihungen der Smiley Charity Film Awards finden jahrlich statt und zeichnen die besten Beitrage auf dem Gebiet gemeinnutziger Filme aus, die bei der Sensibilisierung und dem Fundraising fur unterschiedliche gute Zwecke deutlich beeindruckt haben. Insbesondere der Publikumspreis ist bemerkenswert, da er von der Offentlichkeit vergeben wird und damit den fantastischen Eindruck widerspiegelt, den Kein Bar bleibt zuruck bei den Zuschauern hinterlassen hat.

Jill Robinson, Grunderin und CEO von Animals Asia: Wir sind begeistert, dass wir den Publikumspreis bei den Smiley Charity Film Awards gewinnen konnten. Das ist ein Zeugnis fur die fantastische Arbeit unseres Teams ebenso wie fur die Leistung der Talente im F.Learning Studio und von Cam Anh Nguyen, die unserer Vision Leben eingehaucht haben. Wir sind sehr dankbar fur die Unterstutzung durch Maggie Q, deren Erzahlung dazu beitrug, die Geschichte unserer geretteten Baren in einer kraftvollen und anruhrenden Weise zu erzahlen, und naturlich danken wir am meisten all unseren fantastischen Unterstutzern, die fur den Film gestimmt haben und ohne die unsere Arbeit uberhaupt nicht moglich ware.





Das neue Barenrettungszentrum im Nationalpark Bach Ma in Vietnam wird Baren, die vor der Barengalleindustrie gerettet wurden, eine wunderschone, sichere und bereichernde Umgebung bieten. Animals Asia arbeitet unermudlich zusammen mit Partnern in der Regierung und bei den Gemeinden daran, die Barengallefarmen zu schlieen und damit der grausamen Extraktion von Galle von Baren zur Verwendung in der traditionellen Medizin ein Ende zu machen.

Mit der Unterstutzung der Offentlichkeit hoffen wir, dieses neue Barenrettungszentrum Realitat werden zu lassen und den wunderschonen Tieren das gluckliche und gesunde Leben zu ermoglichen, das sie verdienen. Kein Bar bleibt zuruck ist eine kraftvolle Erinnerung daran, dass jeder Einzelne etwas bewirken kann und dass wir gemeinsam eine positive Veranderung fur Tiere und fur die Welt um uns herum hervorbringen konnen.

Bitte lesen Sie weiter:

Ein Riesensprung voran  Animals Asia beginnt mit dem Bau des zweiten Rettungszentrums in Vietnam

Animals Asia bringt Rezeptbuch mit pflanzlichen Alternativen zur Barengalle heraus

Mondbarenhelden bringen Tausende fur das neue Rettungszentrum zusammen
Ma Ying-jeou lauds mainland's COVID-19 response efforts

Xinhua) 09:50, March 31, 2023

Ma Ying-jeou visits an exhibition on Wuhan's battle against the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

WUHAN, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, on Thursday lauded the mainland's efforts in the fight against COVID-19 during a visit to Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, which was hit hard by the virus in early 2020.

While visiting an exhibition on the city's battle against the epidemic, Ma hailed the construction of makeshift hospitals as a pioneering undertaking, and paid tribute to the medical workers for their sacrifice and dedication.

The city's effective COVID-19 control measures at an early stage had prevented a large-scale spread of the virus, which was a contribution not only to the mainland but also to the whole of humanity, he said.

Among the exhibits are photos and videos showing infected Taiwan compatriots receiving effective medical treatment on the mainland and those recovered donating blood plasma.

Ma said there are agreements on medical cooperation across the Strait, and the cooperation prospects are broad. He expressed hope for the full implementation of these agreements.

Ma Ying-jeou visits an exhibition on Wuhan's battle against the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Ma Ying-jeou visits an exhibition on Wuhan's battle against the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Samantha Markle's case against Meghan Markle was rejected

Meghan Markle's half-sister sued the Duchess of Sussex for humiliation and defamation

The judge allowed Samantha Markle to refile her claim

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has won a defamation case that Samantha Markle, her half-sister, had brought against her.

According to her sister, the actress, and estranged royal was charged with spreading "malicious falsehoods" in an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 and alleged remarks to the media in 2020.

Meghan Markle Wins Defamation Lawsuit

However, a Florida court rejected the case on Thursday, stating that Meghan Markle's claims were purely subjective and "not susceptible of being proved incorrect."

That is only the most current example of the consequences of Markle and her husband Prince Harry's acrimonious split with the British royal family, whom they blame for failing to defend them against invasive and discriminatory treatment by the nation's media.

In March 2022, Samantha Markle filed a lawsuit, claiming that Ms. Markle had defamed her by disclosing details for the unofficial book Finding Freedom and by discussing their relationship with Winfrey on live television.

Seeking Freedom said that Samantha Markle had "never been close" to her growing up, that she had hardly known her half-sister growing up, and that she had been "handsomely paid" for a negative tabloid news item, according to Judge Honeywell's order, which The Daily Beast published initially.

It was announced in January that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry might be sued in a Florida court over the situation. Samantha's accusations have now been rejected by a court that sided with the Duchess.

According to Meghan's sister, the Duchess allegedly "falsely and intentionally" said that Meghan Markle was "an only child" in the shocking 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. She said Meghan Markle spoke to "approximately 50 million individuals in 17 countries" and made "demonstrably inaccurate and harmful claims."

Moreover, it was claimed that the Duchess "disseminated false and malicious falsehoods" and "organized the effort to malign and ruin the name of her sister and her father," as per The Sun. This was purportedly done to "promote the false 'rags-to-royalty' narrative' of the contentious marriage" and "humiliate, shame, and detest on a worldwide scale" against Samantha.

Moreover, Samantha said that "false assertions" about her appeared in the book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Creation of a Modern Royal Family. Unfortunately, Samantha, a multiple sclerosis patient and wheelchair user, did not receive a favorable decision from the judge.

According to United States District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell, the allegations about Discovering Freedom were rejected, since Samantha could not show that Meghan had any input into the book's content. Samantha had "one final opportunity" to revise her complaint, according to Ms. Honeywell, who also rejected the allegations surrounding Meghan's Oprah interview.

According to Samantha, the allegations subjected her to "humiliation, shame, and hatred on a worldwide scale," She is seeking more than $74,300 in damages. The judge ruled Meghan could not be held responsible for the book Finding Freedom as she did not publish it, according to Mirror.

Meghan previously filed a motion to stop depositions in the case from taking place, but Florida judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell dismissed this.

"Defendant Markle does not show that unusual circumstances justify the requested stay or that prejudice or an undue burden will result if the court does not impose a stay," the documents stated.

In their joint interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Harry and Meghan spoke about their families and made a series of allegations about the Royal Family.

Read Also: Jeremy Renner Reveals Painful Recovery After Near-Death Snowplow Accident

Reporter: Meghan Markle has Strange Relationship

Meanwhile, Vanessa Grigoriadis of Vanity Fair said Meghan Markle has "a peculiar relationship to objective fact." The reporter said it is too convenient for Markle and Prince Harry to depict the media as an "enormous monster" they must fight.

During Andrew Gold's podcast 'On the Edge,' Grigoriadis-who featured Markle in 2018 focusing on her parents, Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle-shared her insights about the Duchess from her media insider viewpoint. In doing it, Markle had difficulties with "authenticity."

According to several acquaintances Grigoriadis talked to while researching her story on Markle, the former 'Suits' star appears nice and outgoing. Still, it isn't "someone you can be friends with."

Per Ny Post, Grigoriadis also mentioned a writer colleague who spent a day with Markle and claimed that this colleague's impression of Markle was, "This person just not on the level." Grigoriadis did not give the writer's identity in this instance. Markle is not a psychopath, according to Grigoriadis, but there is something "wrong about all of them," referring to Markle and her family.

Related Article: Prince Harry Accuses Royal Family of Covering Up Tabloids from Hacking His Phone

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Bulgaria votes for fifth time in two years Country remains divided over the invasion of Ukraine

(ANSA-AFP) - SOFIA, MAR 31 - Bulgarians head to the polls on Sunday for the fifth time in two years, with the EU's poorest member -- traditionally close to Moscow -- divided over the invasion of Ukraine. The war has exacerbated the political turmoil gripping the Balkan country since 2020, when months of anti-corruption protests shook longtime conservative prime minister Boyko Borisov. A series of elections followed, with the latest threatening to return yet another fragmented parliament unable to form a stable government. "We break the record for number of elections," said analyst Daniel Smilov from the Centre for Liberal Strategies. Opinion polls ahead of Sunday's vote predict a low turnout, with many in the capital Sofia not hiding their anger and disillusion. Aleksandra Kirova, who took part in 2020's mass demonstrations calling for change, told AFP she would not even vote this time. "I realised something rather rash was going on (during the protests). The logic was, 'Let's topple these and then we'll see,'" said the 41-year-old, who returned to Bulgaria after completing a doctorate degree in France. "We just set a ticking bomb. What we see now is the result," she said, adding that she now focused on her family to "distance myself emotionally" from the pain of politics. - Pro-Russian feeling - According to the latest polls, Borisov's GERB party is running neck-and-neck at around 25 percent with the pro-western reformist We Continue the Change (PP). Led by Harvard-educated Kiril Petkov, 42, who was briefly premier in 2022, the PP has joined forces with the small right-wing coalition Democratic Bulgaria. But if either bloc is to form a government they are likely to need partners from "parties whose image has been tainted by suspicions of corruption," Smilov told AFP, "or whose position towards Ukraine is problematic." The ultra-nationalist Vazrazhdane party, which is rising in the polls, and the Socialist BSP, heir of the former communists, have defended the Kremlin since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Many in the NATO member look to the east, revering Russia as the country that ended five centuries of Ottoman rule in 1878. The country's pro-Russian President Rumen Radev, who has appointed interim cabinets between the string of elections, has denounced Petkov and his allies as "war mongers". He has also spoken out against sending weapons to Ukraine. At the same time, Bulgaria's munitions factories have been running at full capacity making ammunition for Kiev that is exported via third countries.



(ANSA-AFP).





 Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved
A 57 million funding package has been allocated to charities and community groups in Northern Ireland facing a financial crisis due to a loss of European money.

Eighteen projects covering around 100 organisations across the region will receive backing through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) with a focus on helping support people into work.

However, an umbrella group representing community organisations in Northern Ireland said the funding announced amounted to only half of what was previously available.

The Government announcement came on the day financial support provided by the European Social Fund (ESF) comes to an end as a consequence of Brexit.

Some charities in Northern Ireland had warned they would have to cut staff numbers and support programmes if funding was not replaced.

The successful projects were selected after an open competition among organisations in Northern Ireland, while other groups will have been left disappointed.

There has been criticism from the community sector that the announcement was not made earlier.

Representatives of 1,000 community groups staged a demonstration in Belfast earlier this month to highlight the cash crisis.

Making the announcement, Levelling Up Minister Dehenna Davison said the Government was increasing the pot originally earmarked for economic inactivity support in Northern Ireland by 15 million.

We are making the most of opportunities outside the European Union to deliver for people in Northern Ireland, she said.

Dehenna Davison (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

It is fantastic that organisations have come together in new partnerships to deliver creative solutions to economic inactivity through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

In recognition of the huge impact charities, businesses and colleges are having on the ground, Im delighted to announce that we are boosting the original funding pot for this competition by an additional 15 million to help them support even more people into fulfilling jobs.

This is an important milestone in the investment we are making to level up Northern Ireland and the whole of the UK.

The ESF funding had been worth around 40 million. This money was 35% match-funded from Stormont, raising the sum to 54 million.

However, the Stormont executive is not operating and civil servants are limited in the spending decisions they can take.

The UK Government announced plans for a 42 million replacement funding package in December  a sum that has now risen to 57 million.

The Government said the funding would benefit around 100 organisations and support more than 25,000 economically inactive people in Northern Ireland.

The grants allocated on Friday focusing on economic inactivity represent 45% of a total of 127 million the Government has committed to spend in Northern Ireland through the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris welcomed the announcement, saying: The 57 million funding will support the vital work of community and voluntary organisations, enabling them to support people in Northern Ireland into secure and sustainable employment.

Through its People and Skills strand, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will invest in skills training and interventions to support economically inactive people in Northern Ireland.

This is key to boosting productivity and harnessing Northern Irelands growth potential.

Rev Andrew Irvine, chair of the Community Sector Peer Group (Liam McBurney/PA)

But Rev Andrew Irvine, chair of the Community Sector Peer Group, said: The stark reality is that todays funding is half of that previously available.

Todays last-minute intervention will only provide a lifeline for some services.

This will have a devastating impact on those groups who have not received funding, their staff and those who rely upon them.

It will take time to assess the impact of this debacle.

He added: The indecision of the past four years has shown that there is no strategic, long-term, joined-up thinking by Government in London or Belfast towards employability services or the wider contribution of Northern Irelands community sector.
A man who allegedly launched a knife attack on a woman he believed worked at GCHQ is facing a trial in the autumn.

Joshua Bowles, 29, is accused of punching and stabbing the woman at a leisure centre some three miles from the UK intelligence agencys Cheltenham base on March 9.

He was charged with attempted murder of the woman and assaulting a man, causing him actual bodily harm following an investigation by counter-terror police.

It is alleged that Bowles targeted his victim, who is referred to in charges only by the code number 99230, because he believed she works at GCHQ and represents the state.

It is claimed he was armed with two knives when he launched the attack at about 9.15pm as the woman left the leisure centre, in Tommy Taylors Lane, with a friend.

The victim suffered multiple stab injuries and was said to be in a stable condition in hospital.

Bowles is also alleged to have punched a man, Alex Fuentes, after being confronted in the car park of the leisure centre.

On Friday, Bowles appeared by video link from Belmarsh prison before Mr Justice Jeremy Baker for a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey.

The senior judge set a plea hearing for July 28 and a provisional trial at Birmingham Crown Court from October 3.

The case is expected to go on for between three and five days.

Bowles, of Welwyn Mews, Cheltenham, was remanded into custody.
Armenia denies Azerbaijan's claims of using Karabakh in their dispute.

Azerbaijani spokesman calls it reproachable during his speech at the US-instigated Summit for Democracy.

Yerevan's claims as democratic are total hypocrisy because of its activities.

Last Thursday, Azerbaijan battered Armenia for questioning its intentions of using Karabakh regarding the situation in the region. Baku issued a challenge saying Yerevan is acting aggressively to pursue gains that it wants to achieve.

Armenia-Azerbaijan Epic Spat

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada stated that the Armenians are trying to control events happening as deplorable. Earlier, his Armenian counterpart, FM Nikol Pashinyan, gave a speech at the Summit for Democracy hosted by Washington, reported Anadolu Agency.

FM Hajizada gave a stinging retort that Yerevan, with its provocative activities and trying to impress as democratic, is inaccurate. Earlier, Pashinyan strongly denounced Baku for aggression last year in September when several clashes among troops of both nations happened. This altercation left 300 dead on both sides.

He added that Azerbaijanis are guilty of trying to cleanse ethnic Armenian in the Karabakh region. But Hajizada answered that the provocative words of Yerevan indicate that it is not sincere in seeking peace, It included the mediation of western parties, which more than often worsened conditions, noted Jam News.

He added that the ICC decision about the Lachin road was clear, and there's no way it could be misunderstood. Hajizada said that the Azerbaijani army tried to restrict Yerevan from using the dirt road for anything illegal, which lies on the North Lachin road.

Read Also: Iran, Azerbaijan Tension Should Ease Up Soon, Russia's FM Lavrov Says

Armenia using Karabakh to control the region

He was adamant that Baku was justified in stopping the activities of Armenians deemed unlawful. Baku's prerogative is the movement of personnel, ammunition supplies, mines, and needed military gear. Baku will do what is needed in this respect, including control of roads in Karabakh, cited VOA News.

Pashinyan does not owe that their forces stationed in Karabakh have been even mentioned by other Armenian officials, including those from the Armenian Defense Ministry. Demanded the Armenians should leave the territory of Azerbaijan as agreed in the Tripartite statement. Baku told Yerevan should stop claiming its territories and involve international organizations that interfere with national affairs.

Last Thursday, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry stated controlling a large border area was done. This included several strategic points and roads that are in the Lachin area.

Azerbaijanis have protested the unwanted movement of the Armenian military that Baku called violations. An incident occurred when two Azerbaijani soldiers got shot by Armenians who did not want them to check the cargo on the Khankendi-Khalfali-Turshsu road. Both ex-Soviet republics have been at odds since from1991 after Armenians seized Nagorno-Karabakh, part of Azerbaijan. In 2020, Baku retook several cities, villages, and settlements in 44 days of fighting that ended with Moscow's intercession.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are at odds with claims that Yerevan is using Karabakh, which is seen as undemocratic and a violation of the peace agreement.

Related Article: Armenia PM Seeks Assistance From CTSO Allies as Baku Aggression Escalates at the Borders
An insurer detected a a 31% jump in fraudulent property-related claims in 2022 and a 7% rise in fake casualty claims, compared with the previous year.

Zurich UK, which released the figures, added that it typically foiled fraud worth nearly 200,000 every day last year, as cost-of-living challenges spurred a surge in bogus claims.

Overall, Zurich prevented 3,460 fraudulent claims last year, worth roughly 20,000 per claim.

The total value of fraud prevented across all lines of business was 71.5 million, averaging around 195,890 per day.

But the insurer said that a drop-off in spurious whiplash claims had helped to push motor-related fraud levels down.

Scott Clayton, head of claims fraud at Zurich, said: Households continue to face financial strains due to the cost-of-living crisis, and unfortunately this has led to an uptick in insurance fraud.

Fraudsters are continually evolving in their methods, but so are we, and we now have more tools in our arsenal to detect fraud than ever before.

Fraudulent claimants should be aware of the real-world consequences of their actions, which can include criminal prosecution and prison sentences for those caught.

Zurich said it has invested in new software to uncover fraudsters who attempt to hide their identity by providing false name or address details, and last year it launched real-time fraud checks to help speed up the claims handling process.

Detective chief inspector Tom Hill, from the City of London Polices Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), said: We understand that the rising cost-of-living has presented challenges for many people across the country  but turning to crime is never the answer.

Submitting a bogus insurance claim may seem like a victimless crime, but it in fact drives up the cost of premiums for everyone. As well as this, it could land you with a criminal record.

Exaggerating or fabricating a claim may seem like a quick way to make money, but a conviction will have a lasting impact on your life.

Last year, the the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) said it has seen a rise in people being added to the Insurance Fraud Register (IFR).

The IFR is a national database of insurance fraudsters. When an insurance application or claim is proven to be fraudulent the insurer can register individuals, businesses and information such as emails and phone numbers linked to the fraud on the IFR.

Those on the database could be denied insurance services or will have to pay a significantly higher cost due to the increased risk.

There are various legitimate ways to save on insurance costs, such as by shopping around or finding a broker through the British Insurance Brokers Association.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) also provides information on what customers might need to consider when taking out insurance.

Insurer Aviva has previously said it was expecting to see more claims fraud as people came under financial stress.
A US court has dismissed a defamation case brought against the Duchess of Sussex by her half-sister, Samantha Markle.

The duchess was accused of spreading demonstrably false and malicious lies to a worldwide audience in the royal couples tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

On Thursday, a Florida judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying the former Suits actress was expressing an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-sibling and a statement of pure opinion was not capable of being proved false.

The duchess was accused of spreading demonstrably false and malicious lies to a worldwide audience about her estranged half-sister (Aaron Chown/PA)

In court papers seen by the PA news agency, US District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell wrote: As a reasonable listener would understand it, defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings.

Thus, the court finds that defendants statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof. plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove defendants opinion of her own childhood.

Samantha Markle brought the defamation case against her younger sister in March 2022, alleging the duchess had defamed her by giving information to an unauthorised biography called Finding Freedom and by discussing their relationship with Winfrey on live TV.

Judge Honeywell also found the duchess could not be liable for the contents of the book because she did not publish it.
A DUP-commissioned panel to assess Rishi Sunaks Brexit deal has completed its work, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said.

The DUP leader said the body had completed its work and that he and senior members of the party would now discuss it.

The unionist party, which is continuing to boycott the Stormont powersharing institutions, has so far maintained its opposition to the Windsor Framework agreement brokered between London and Brussels.

Sir Jeffrey had set up a panel to study the new framework against its seven tests before reaching a collective conclusion.

On Friday, he said: Earlier this month, I commissioned an eight-person panel to consult widely as to the impact of Windsor Framework arrangements upon Northern Ireland and its ability to trade with the rest of the United Kingdom.

I am delighted that a significant number of businesses, individuals and organisations participated fully and shared their perspectives.

Having taken receipt of the report, I thank the panel for their dedicated efforts and will now take time to discuss the report with my party officer team.

Downing Street has continued to defend the deal against DUP and Conservative backbench criticism.

Earlier this month MPs voted in favour of regulations to implement the Stormont brake, a key part of the Windsor agreement, despite the opposition.

The agreement has also been formally signed off with the EU.
The former head of the Royal Marines died by suicide after experiencing substantial stress, an inquest has concluded.

Major General Matthew Holmes, 54, was found in a bedroom at his home in Winchester, Hampshire, on October 2 2021, the inquest heard.

The hearing was told that in the months before his death Maj Gen Holmes had lost his position as leader of the Royal Marines in a management restructuring, faced the collapse of his marriage, and had been left angry at the UKs withdrawal from Afghanistan.

During the inquest, his widow Lea gave evidence.

She said that Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Jerry Kydd had told Maj Gen Holmes to agree to the restructuring, in which he would lose his role, or resign.

Vice Admiral Jerry Kyd leaves Winchester Cathedral after the funeral of Major General Matthew Holmes (Andrew Matthews/PA)

He was told he had to sign or agree to resign, she said, adding that her husband found the experience hugely humiliating.

She told the inquest they had taken a family holiday in August 2021, which coincided with the British and American withdrawal from Afghanistan.

This holiday was worse than any other family holiday, and there was the Afghanistan withdrawal, he was very preoccupied with that.

He was getting messages from really distressed people and trying to do something about that.

We decided to leave the holiday slightly early. On the last morning Matt said to me, thats it were done.

Once they came back home, she said Maj Gen Holmes became reluctant to discuss their separation.

Then in September 14 2021, weeks before he died, she found him sitting on their bed with a shotgun beside him.

I said, what do you think you are doing?, she told the hearing.

I was concerned that he was in this way and I was also concerned that our daughter was in the next room.

He said something along the lines of, my life is not worth living without my family.

The inquest was told that Hampshire Constabulary officers visited the home on September 22 to remove the shotgun.

Maj Gen Holmes sister, Sarah Adkins, said this prompted a conversation among the family about his mental health.

He said he did not think it was necessary that the gun was removed as he wasnt a threat to anyone else, she said.

She said she asked him if he felt like killing himself, and he told her: Why shouldnt I?

She said she mentioned his children to him.

He deeply loved his children, she said.

He said the main thing that was on the front burner of his mind was the way in which his career had been brought to conclusion.

She added that her brother was awash with stress in the final months of his life.

Jonathan Ball, chief executive of the Royal Marines Association, spoke to him in the weeks before his death.

He told the inquest that Maj Gen Holmes feared for the lives of close personal friends in the Afghan army who had been left behind.

He made some very close personal friends with senior Afghan officers, he said. He knew that they were unlikely to be able to get out.

He feared for their lives and the lives of their families. He felt that somehow he had personally failed them by failing to help get them out.

Coroner Jason Pegg concluded that Maj Gen Holmes died of suicide.

He added: Matthew Holmes was suffering from substantial stress which contributed to his death.

Maj Gen Holmes, who served in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, was Commandant General Royal Marines from 2019 until April 2021.

He commanded 42 Commando Royal Marines from 2006 to 2008 and was appointed as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership on operations in Afghanistan in 2007.

He was made a CBE in 2019 and was a pallbearer at the Duke of Edinburghs funeral in April 2021 during the procession to the steps of St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle.

In a statement, Ms Holmes paid tribute to her kind and generous husband.

Matt was a kind, generous man, she said.

He had committed his life to serving in the Royal Marines and he took immense responsibility for the lives of those he served alongside very seriously. Not a day would go by without him thinking of the men under his command who were lost or injured, and of course their families.

Alongside the demands of his career, Matt was a loving father who adored his children and would have hugely admired their resilience over the last 18 months.

She asked for privacy for her family at this time.
A father shot dead on the same night as his son in villages six miles apart has been described as a man who loved his family dearly  as police investigate whether the shootings were linked to a custody battle.

The pair, named locally as builder Gary Dunmore, 57, and his 32-year-old son Josh Dunmore, who also worked in the trades, died on Wednesday.

Cambridgeshire Police were called to reports of gunshots in Meridian Close, Bluntisham just after 9pm, then to reports of gunshots in Sutton at 9.37pm.

A floral tribute outside the home of Gary Dunmore, 57, who was shot dead in Sutton, Cambridgeshire (PA)

A 32-year-old man was found dead inside an address in Bluntisham, and a 57-year-old man was found dead inside an address in Sutton.

A floral tribute to Gary Dunmore, left outside his home in The Row, Sutton, said: To my dear neighbour Gary.

A man who loved his family dearly, a dear friend to all, so helpful and kind and was always around as a friend and my little odd job man.

Im going to miss you.

A further tribute said: RIP Gary. Absolutely gutted.

Flowers left at the scene in Meridian Close, Bluntisham, where police found the body of a 32-year-old man with a gunshot wound (PA)

A floral tribute left to Josh Dunmore in Bluntisham said: So sad a young life to be taken like this and a little boy now with no daddy.

Thinking of the family. RIP Josh X.

Another tribute said: We have no words for such tragedy in our quiet village.

Our prayers are with all involved. Rest in eternal peace.

Uniformed officers remained on duty outside both addresses on Friday morning.

A floral tribute left to Josh Dunmore in Bluntisham (Sam Russell/PA)

A number of neighbours of Josh Dunmore said they were too upset to speak about what had happened.

Cambridgeshire Police said three people arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder remained in custody on Friday morning.

The force said post-mortem tests on the dead, who have not been formally identified, will take place at Peterborough City Hospital on Monday.

Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Hutchinson said on Thursday the primary line of investigation related to a familial issue.

Its been widely reported in the media that this may relate to a custody battle, he said. I can confirm that is an active line of inquiry for us.

A 27-year-old man and 33-year-old woman, who police say were from the local area, were arrested at a hotel just outside Cambridge.

Forensics officers in The Row in Sutton, near Ely, where police found the body of a 57-year-old man (PA)

A 66-year-old man was arrested by armed officers on the motorway in the Worcester area in the early hours of Thursday.

Following his arrest, his vehicle was searched and I can confirm we have recovered a firearm, Mr Hutchinson said, with police saying earlier a shotgun was recovered.

Police are checking if the firearm was legally owned.

Anyone with information was asked to call police on 101, quoting Operation Scan.
A GP who ran an online clinic for transgender patients has won a High Court appeal after a tribunal made a misconduct finding and imposed a two-month suspension.

Helen Webberley, founder of a website called GenderGP, was found to have committed serious misconduct by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel in June 2022.

A High Court judge on Friday allowed an appeal by Dr Webberley after concluding that the panels determination on the issue of misconduct was wrong.

Mr Justice Jay had considered arguments at a recent High Court hearing in London.

Dr Webberley, from Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, had staged an appeal at a recent High Court hearing in London and argued that the tribunal had made errors.

The General Medical Council said Dr Webberleys appeal should be dismissed.

The Royal Courts of Justice in central London, where the appeal hearing was staged (Aaron Chown/PA)

Mr Justice Jay, who has outlined his conclusions in a written ruling published online, said the panel had been dealing with a case of the utmost complexity and sensitivity.

He said the panels analysis of the issue of serious misconduct was wrong.

The (panels) thinking was confused, clearly wrong in places, and it omitted reference to important evidence, said Mr Justice Jay.

Having conducted my own analysis of the relevant material, I am entirely unable to conclude that this appeal should be dismissed because the appellant was guilty of serious misconduct.

He added: This appeal must be allowed on the ground that the (panels) determination on the issue of misconduct was wrong.

A barrister representing the General Medical Council had outlined the background to the case at the hearing  and said Dr Webberley was a GP who provided services to transgender patients and ran a website called GenderGP.

Peter Mant had told the judge, in a written case outline, that allegations against Dr Webberley concerned her treatment of three transgender children or adolescents and various other matters.

Mr Mant said the sanction imposed related to one head of charge, concerning one patient.

That patient was not named at the hearing but identified as Patient C.

Mr Mant said Patient C was a teenager assigned female at birth who identified as male.

The misconduct for which the sanction was imposed concerned failure to provide good clinical care to a transgender child (Patient C) in not discussing the risks before commencing treatment with puberty blockers, Mr Mant told the judge.

The tribunal found that suspension was necessary to protect the public as the appellant did not have insight into her failings.

Mr Justice Jay said he had concerns about certain aspects of Dr Webberleys practice in relation to Patient C  including a failure to have a face-to-face consultation on the issue of fertility.

But he added:  it is far from clear to me that what did take place should be strongly criticised.

The judge went on: The sole focus of this appeal has been the quality of the appellants clinical practice in relation to one patient, Patient C.

This appeal does not raise any wider issues about the wisdom or otherwise of administering puberty blockers to the younger age group who wish to undergo interventions for gender reassignment with full parental agreement.

He said Dr Webberleys case ends here and would not be remitted to a tribunal panel for redetermination.
A fresh inquest has been ordered into the shooting of a Royal Navy veteran in north Belfast 50 years ago.

Thomas Aquinas Burns, 32, was killed in a shooting incident which involved the British Army on July 13, 1972 outside the Glen Park Social Club.

Mr Burns had previously served with the Royal Navy for ten years and was a father of four.

His wife Kathleen had campaigned for answers around the circumstances of his death until her own death in 2007.

The original inquest, which took place in 1973, concluded a verdict of misadventure.

Northern Irelands Attorney General Brenda King granted a request by Mr Burns daughter Patricia Burns for a new inquest into her fathers death to be held.

The request was based on new evidence provided by former soldiers to the now defunct Historical Enquiries Team and a new statement from a civilian witness.

The previous attorney general, John Larkin, had refused the request for a fresh inquest, a decision which was challenged by a successful judicial review last year, and sent to Ms King for reconsideration.

Ms Burns said her family want accountability over her fathers death.

This inquest means so much to us. The army killed an innocent man for no reason and deprived me and my brothers of our father at a very young age, she said.

I wish my mum Kathleen were here to see this fresh inquest. This is a big step towards justice and justice starts with information.

We remain hopeful of state accountability for our fathers killing.

Patricia Coyle of Harte Coyle Collins, acting for Ms Burns, added: Our clients very much welcome the direction for a fresh inquest into the state killing of their father issued by the attorney general yesterday.

They look forward to the inquest opening in the coroners court as soon as possible and they are intent on continuing their indefatigable campaign for justice for their father.
Britain is to become the first European nation to join a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc stretching from Canada to Australia.

 What is the CPTPP?

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, to give it its full name, is an 11-nation bloc comprising Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Canada.

It grew out of talks initiated by the US administration of Barack Obama, only for Donald Trump to pull out when he became president in 2017, with the Americans saying it was being pushed by special interests who want to rape our country.

The aim is to remove barriers to trade, with members required mutually to drop more than 95% of their tariffs on trade.

Rishi Sunak said Britain is using its post-Brexit freedoms (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Together their economies represent 13% of the worlds total gross domestic product (GDP) with a combined population of more than 500 million.

 Why does Britain want to join?

CPTPP membership has been a key goal of the Conservative Government since leaving the EU, opening negotiations nearly two years ago.

Rishi Sunak has said it is an example of the UK exploiting its post-Brexit freedoms to open up new markets for British exporters in a way that would have been impossible while it remained in the EU.

Joining is seen as a big win by proponents of the Global Britain vision espoused by Boris Johnson when he was prime minister.

 So will it lead to higher economic growth?

Critics point out that the UK already has trade agreements with nine of the 11, with only Malaysia and Brunei not already covered.

Officials say it will deepen those arrangements, but even the Governments own estimates suggest that it will add only 1.8 billion a year to UK GDP in 10 years time, an increase of less than 1%.

Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Ministers however argue it is a gateway to the wider region, which has 60% of the worlds population and is set to account for more than half of global economic growth in the decades ahead.

They say membership will also enable the UK to shape its development as more nations join and resist unfair and coercive trading practices.

 Are there other concerns?

Ministers have faced questions as to how UK protections on food safety, animal welfare, the environment and data protection can be maintained under CPTPP rules.

There have been concerns too about intellectual property rights and the potential implications for the cost of drugs to the NHS while unions worry about workers rights.

Officials say they have ensured high food safety and animal welfare standards will remain in place while ministers made clear the NHS and the price it pays for drugs were not for sale in the negotiations.

They point to the UKs success in fending off demands from Canada to admit hormone-treated beef.

Labour however warned that the devil is in the detail, saying the Government has struck a series of desperately bad trade deals since Brexit, including the agreement.
Scottish Power, British Gas and Eon have lost a High Court challenge over the sale of collapsed energy firm Bulb to a rival provider.

The three major suppliers claimed the Governments handling of an unfair sale process led to decisions to commit billions of pounds of taxpayer money to facilitate the acquisition of a failed business by Octopus Energy.

The three businesses brought legal action against ministers, alleging the decision-making process was flawed and unlawful.

But in a ruling on Friday, Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Foxton dismissed their case as not  reasonably arguable.

Energy company Bulb was placed in special administration in November 2021 (PA)

The judges said the Government could lawfully conclude that the Bulb bidding process was open, non-discriminatory and competitive and that it could treat the only bid which had emerged from the process as a fair reflection of the value which the market placed on Bulbs business in the prevailing circumstances.

They also said it was open to ministers to find that other options were inferior to proceeding with the Octopus bid, involving significant execution risks and higher forecast costs.

Centrica said the ruling was disappointing, with the British Gas owner and Eon saying they would consider next steps.

It is understood that Scottish Power will not seek to appeal the ruling.

A Department for Energy Security spokesperson welcomed the judgment, adding: The court has confirmed the robustness and legality of the Secretary of States actions in respect of the sale and administration of Bulb.

In doing so, he has protected Bulbs 1.5 million customers, while delivering value for the British taxpayer.

A Centrica spokesperson said: We think state bailouts for energy companies puts a burden on the UK taxpayer and is avoidable.

We felt the original bailout of Bulb was unnecessary and the National Audit Office report this week concluded there were risks and uncertainties in recovering these funds from Octopus.

They added: We believe that the way the deal was structured creates serious risk for taxpayers and energy consumers and will distort the energy market.

Michael Lewis, chief executive of Eon UK, said it remained concerned about the amount of taxpayers money that has been used to subsidise the deal.

Only an open, fair and transparent process would have ensured this truly represented value for money for the public and we still cannot see how this was the case with only one bidder in the key stage of the negotiations, he said.

Mr Lewis criticised a lack of proper financial controls on new energy market entrants, adding: These failings allowed companies like Bulb  and nearly 30 others  to effectively use and lose customers money, leaving a trail of destruction when they failed, with the British public picking up the tab.

We urgently need to establish rules that mean customers money cannot be used to fund a business when suppliers have no equity on their balance sheet.

Octopus Energy said it had paid a fair price for Bulb in an open and competitive process.

A spokesperson said: Its clear that the case was a desperate attempt by those organisations to defend their waning market positions against a more efficient and customer-focused rival.

Our focus is now on delivering the best service possible to our new and existing customers.

Octopus founder and CEO Greg Jackson said there were no improper subsidies and the legal action smacked of desperation.

Fair play won. After more than a year of uncertainty, its a huge relief for Bulbs employees and customers and good news for taxpayers, he said.

Judges found that in its decision-making the Government had been entitled to conclude that a hard close insolvency of Bulb would give rise to social hardship to Bulbs customers.

They said it was reasonably open to the Government to conclude that providing funding to support the Bulb sale sought to reach its objective while minimising negative effects on competition.

They also said it was open to ministers to find that subsidies provided were a targeted, proportionate and effective response to the severe economic disruption and volatility caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

At a hearing in London last month, the judges were told that the handling of the sale allegedly prevented British Gas making a better offer that could have saved money for taxpayers.

British Gass legal team also claimed the process by which the subsidy was granted was seriously lacking in transparency, openness, fairness and equal treatment.

The energy companies challenged two decisions taken by the then Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in October and November: to approve the takeover, and to provide very substantial central Government funding to help with the transfer.

The departments lawyers said the claims against it were without merit, arguing that companies were aware they could seek Government support.

Unwinding the sale now would be liable to cause chaos, the Governments lawyers warned.

Octopus argued its purchase of Bulb would be extremely beneficial for the Government and taxpayers.

In October, Octopus announced a deal to buy its rival and take on Bulbs approximately 1.6 million customers after the 650-employee firm was placed into special administration in November 2021.

It was later revealed in December that ministers were prepared to pay up to 4.5 billion to help fund the takeover of Bulb, but Octopus has claimed the Government stands to make a 1.19 billion profit from the transaction.
The King has described how he is becoming a frustrated old man over attitudes to the global climate emergency.

A life-long environmentalist, Charles said the world must rely on the younger generation if we are to avert an environmental catastrophe in the next few years.

On a boat ride around Hamburgs sprawling harbour to view a state of the art electrolyser site, which helps generate power, the King said the world must realise the need to move towards more sustainable practices.

Speaking to German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Charles said: Im becoming a frustrated old man. It all seems obvious to me.

The King visited the Port of Hamburg (Phil Noble/PA)

The younger generation know, certainly.

Alongside the King and Mr Steinmeier, the mayor of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher, said a retired coal yard was now housing the revolutionary electrolyser and helping the city in its commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

He said: The benefit is, new technologies are developing at a rate, and new opportunities are being realised all the time.

Hamburg will be a global leader in this, no question.

The city of two million is seen as a leader in adopting green technologies, as Friederich Stuhrmann, chief executive of Port of Hamburg, told the King.

Our position is unique. We have a large population, an appetite to change and find ourselves in a unique history.

The King learned about the ports adoption of green technologies (Phil Noble/PA)

Charles was shown an interactive screen on the top deck of the Rainer Abicht tour boat, detailing the five main sustainable growth sectors  hydrogen and wind power, sustainable port infrastructure, renewable generation asset development, research and development, and sustainable shipping.

The King listened intently, occasionally nodding in acknowledgement of the detail given by Mr Stuhrmann on how the hydrogen economy in northern Germany hopes to power millions of homes in the future.

Popping outside to the viewing deck half way through the 45-minute journey down the River Elbe, Charles pointed in the direction of the Dockland Pier, described as a smart port energy station with its shore power facility.

Installed in 2015 to reduce air pollution, the station enables vessels to link into the national grid rather than continue to run their engines on unrefined oil in harbour.

The ports net zero ambition requires all terminals in the port to be carbon free by 2040.
Nashville has released several 911 calls made during the shooting at The Covenant School. The phone calls captured the anxious moments as the violence, which resulted in the deaths of six people, unfolded.

Several of the 911 calls have been made in whispers or low tones, with the callers claiming to be besieged in rooms and hearing over a dozen gunshots, per CNN. The calls indicate the victims' fear and perplexity, which fill their hushed words in the first minutes of the slaughter.

In one of the Nashville Shooting 911 calls, a teacher conveys that she and her 17 students are OK. The dispatcher warns her to be armed and ready to confront the Nashville Shooting attacker.

"Stay where you're at, and don't come out until the police come unless you need to flee or fight, OK?" the dispatcher remarked.

In another 911 call, a man claims that although the door to his workplace is shut, he has heard roughly 20 gunshots. He said he was alone at the workplace and the lights were out as the shooting happens.

"I saw one person run out... And I heard the fire alarms going off. Oh my God. I'm afraid I'm going to die."

"Please send someone soon," a female substitute teacher pleads in one of the released Nashville Shooting 911 calls.

Nashville School Shooting Manifesto To Be Disclosed Soon

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake stated during a news conference on Tuesday that shooter Audrey Hale, 28 years old, lawfully acquired seven firearms from several local retailers, including the three she used to shoot down her victims at The Covenant School, the New York Post reported.

The Nashville School shooting culprit, who is a transgender, had been hiding her firearms from her parents and was receiving treatment for an emotional disorder.

Police shot and killed Hale during the 14-minute Nashville school shooting incident.

According to a LinkedIn profile, the suspect worked as a commercial artist and graphic designer, who shared her work online and previously contributed to a children's book about a service dog.

Read Also: Illinois: Mom Starved Toddler To Death

Audrey Hale's web portfolio contained a frightening drawing of Jack Nicholson's insane "The Shining" character, Jack Torrance, with "MURDER" spelled backward.

Nashville police are likely to reveal a manifesto prepared by the suspect in the horrific incident shortly.

Although no reason has been found, a former schoolteacher said on Wednesday that Audrey Hale had written on Facebook about the demise of a love partner. Since then, the suspect's friends have believed that she was "infatuated" with a classmate who died in an automobile crash last summer and had a hard time moving on after the tragedy.

Public Urge US Politicians To Take Action on Gun Control Following Nashville Shooting

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered at the Tennessee State Capitol on Thursday to urge US politicians to do something about gun control after the Nashville School shooting, per The Independent.

Pope Francis on Wednesday sent a message of condolence to the Diocese of Nashville expressing his deep sadness for the Nashville Shooting in a private Christian school, as per a previous HNGN report.

Related Article: Nashville Shooting Bodycam Video Released

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Completing a major milestone for the first time can be daunting even for a King but the inaugural state visit of Charless reign appears to have been a success.

It did not begin in auspicious circumstances, with the first leg to France postponed after days of protests against President Emmanuel Macrons pension age reforms culminated in violent scenes from Paris to Bordeaux.

Charles and the Queen Consort were due to visit the city synonymous with the French wine industry but images of the town hall doors ablaze were symbolic of the anger felt against Mr Macron.

Outwardly the German state visit looked similar to other major tours carried out by Charles  lengthy motorcades, police on every corner, an entourage swelled by local officials, posies and gifts presented.

The King and the Queen Consort listen to a sea shanty group during a reception at Schuppen 52, Hamburg (Arthur Edwards/The Sun/PA)

These previous trips were state visits in all but name, with Charles well versed at representing the Queen, who had not ventured on a long-haul overseas tour for many years.

But the change is subtle  no longer the Prince of Wales but now the head of state, with every step and handshake, he represents the nation.

The warmth of the welcome from Germanys president Frank-Walter Steinmeier must have been appreciated, from an escort of fighter jets for Charless ministerial plane to staging the official greeting in the shadow of Berlins Brandenburg Gate  a first for any visiting head of state.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) and the King inspect a guard of honour during the ceremonial welcome at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin (Adrian Dennis/PA)

The change in Charless position likely provided Germany the opportunity to welcome an old friend with greater appreciation.

The German public held his mother the late Queen in great affection but Charles and the Queen Consort were left amazed by the large crowds who turned out to see them emerge on to the balcony of Hamburg City Hall.

The feeling was mutual, with Camilla saying when asked about the trip during a visit to a Hamburg school: I like Germany, its very nice, this is my fourth visit here, I like it very much.

As the three-day tour drew to a close, the King and his wife were still animated, seemingly buoyed by the response from the public.

And as they headed out of German airspace, keeping them company was a Typhoon jet with a saluting pilot at the controls.
A long-running inquest into the Troubles deaths of 10 Protestant workmen murdered by the IRA at Kingsmill in 1976 has been a painful and frustrating process for the victims families, the hearing was told.

Final submissions were made in the proceedings in Dungannon Courthouse on Friday, a decade after the hearing was ordered by the then attorney general and seven years after it began hearing evidence.

A barrister for some of the families said there was anxiety among them that there should be no further drift before the inquest findings are delivered.

The 10 men were ordered out of a minibus as they returned from work and were shot on January 5 1976 in Co Armagh, an atrocity attributed to the Provisional IRA.

No-one has ever been convicted.

Coroner Brian Sherrard said there had been a lack of any assistance in the proceedings by those purporting to represent the IRA or by the wider political republican movement and said this may be telling concerning the conclusions he reaches.

Fiona Doherty KC, representing some families, said the sisters of one of the victims, John McConville, and Alan Black, the only survivor from the massacre, were in court.

She said: This inquest has been a long, painful and frustrating process for them and their families.

To this date it has been 10 years since the attorney (general) issued his direction.

The court will appreciate the anxiety and frustration the time taken to complete this inquest has caused and the court will be keen and anxious to ensure from this point onwards there is no drift in the conclusion of the proceedings.

Ms Doherty said Mr McConville was a committed and active Christian who had taken a job at Comptons Mill in Glenanne in Co Armagh to pay for his fees for Bible college.

She said he was travelling home from work with his colleagues in a minibus when they were stopped, ordered from the minibus and shot.

Alan Black, the sole survivor of a sectarian massacre of 10 Protestant workmen in 1976 near the Co Armagh village of Kingsmill (Niall Carson/PA)

Ms Doherty then read out the names of the 10 men who were killed.

She said: One man, Richard Hughes, was singled out of the group and spared, apparently on the basis solely of his religion, he was a Catholic.

One of the number who were shot, Alan Black, survived, despite having sustained 18 gunshot wounds.

The men were shot by members of the South Armagh brigade of the Irish Republican Army.

Intelligence indicates that the unit or units involved were members of the second battalion IRA, based in Crossmaglen, assisted by members of the North Louth unit of the IRA.

The motive for the attack was sectarian.

Ms Doherty said pathology evidence suggested the men were lined up against the vehicle and shot from behind before being shot again while they were on the ground.

The barrister said the original RUC investigation was a matter of acute concern to the victims families.

Karen Armstrong holds a photograph of her brother John McConville (Brian Lawless/PA)

She said that a palm print recovered from the getaway van in 1976 used by the killers was not matched to a suspect until days after the inquest opened in 2016.

A new police investigation was then launched, leading to the coronial proceedings being halted, but no prosecution was brought.

Ms Doherty said: This saga has been a source of much distress and concern.

In the circumstances of this case where 10 murders and one attempted murder took place, the errors in this aspect of the investigation are shocking.

She said it was not a tenable position that the coroner could deliver his findings without commenting on the adequacy of the police investigation.

Representing the police, Peter Coll KC said: These killings could have no justification and indeed no defensible basis could ever be found.

What occurred was large scale, intimately planned, criminal enterprise of mass murder.

It was driven by what would appear to be a clear and chilling sectarian hatred.

However, he argued that it was not the coroners role to comment on the adequacy of the RUC investigation, stating that there were other statutory agencies for that purpose.

Coroner Mr Sherrard said through the proceedings there had been an absence of any assistance from those purporting to represent the IRA or indeed the wider political republican movement concerning this matter.

He added: Inevitably there were many people involved in this attack, both before, during and after.

The absence of any commentary from them or any evidence may very well be telling concerning my own conclusions as to what has occurred.

This has been a very long road for everyone who has been concerned in it.

The coroner said he would deliver his findings at a later date.
Jason Watkins doesn't want other parents to lose their children to sepsis in the same way he did. (Getty Images)

Jason Watkins has opened up on the avoidable pain of losing his two-year-old daughter Maudie to sepsis.

Appearing on Thursday's episode of Good Morning Britain alongside wife Clara Francis, the grieving parents spoke out about how they weren't aware of the symptoms for the condition.

"It's hard for us as parents... that's one of the painful things, 'Did we do everything we could?' and it's easy to blame yourself and I suppose I still do because I was there when she was discharged a second time."

Francis added, "I think we always will because I think it is that instinct thing, 'If I had just been more demanding,' even though I didn't know [she had sepsis]."

But the pair  with their new documentary Jason & Clara: In Memory of Maudie airing tonight on ITV at 9pm  are selflessly campaigning to help others be more aware of often hard-to-spot signs of sepsis.

"Those symptoms often hide behind what we call 'presenting symptoms', so it might be a cold or a chest infection, that the sepsis could be lurking underneath," said Watkins.

"So in a way, one has to ask, 'Could it be sepsis? Let's rule this out first and then start looking at those presenting symptoms'.

"But it is a very complicated... infant A&E is complicated."

Read more: Student was left fighting for her life after mistaking sepsis for freshers' flu

.@Jason__Watkins and @clarabetsy open up about their daughter's death in a new documentary.



They tell the emotional story of their daughter Maudie, who died suddenly of sepsis aged just two and a half in 2011.



Jason & Clara: In Memory of Maudie airs tonight on @ITV at 9pm. pic.twitter.com/Svfk6GvfRX  Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 30, 2023

They explained they took Maudie to the emergency department two days in a row and were sent home both times because they had misdiagnosed her with croup, a childhood condition that affects the windpipe, airways to the lungs and voice box.

"She did have a cold," said Francis. "Because I believe sepsis is a secondary illness. So, she had flu and she had a rasping cough... we were very reassured, we took her to the hospital, and were sent home twice.

"I think at that stage, before your child dies, you believe what you're told when a doctor tells you... I was incredibly reassured.

"I was like, 'My instinct is that she's really not well but if they're telling me she's okay and they've sent her home and they haven't asked to keep her in overnight then fine.'"

With the parents visibly emotional, Watkins stepped in, "When we drove Maudie to the hospital for the second time," added Watkins, "she was having breathing difficulties, and those are the things that are classic symptoms of sepsis.

"It's what's called a stridor where your child is fighting for breath, and her eyes were rolling into her head.

"When we came into the A&E department, I wanted to say to all the healthcare professionals, 'Did you not see what she was like when she came in?'"

They hope that more discussion of the condition will help with diagnosis.

Presenter Sarah McMullan previously dismissed her sepsis symptoms. (Supplied/@SarahMcMullanTV)

Sepsis can be hard to spot in any age. One BBC Scotland presenter wasn't aware she was suffering from signs of the condition despite having interviewed a woman who nearly died from it, a month earlier.

Sarah McMullan started feeling "really cold" during a morning shift but waited more than 36 hours to phone NHS 24 (the Scottish 111), the BBC reported in November, going on to spend nearly a week in hospital with a temperature reaching highs of 40 degrees.

"If you suspect #sepsis don't hesitate to get help. I should've acted sooner," the 30-year-old wrote on Twitter at the time.

Read more: As Kate Garraway shares husband's sepsis battle, signs and symptoms of the condition

A month after doing this interview, I ended up very unwell with sepsis myself. Resulting in an A and E visit, a week in hospital and a couple more weeks of tablets and rest.



These are the symptoms. And if you suspect #sepsis dont hesitate to get help. I shouldve acted sooner. https://t.co/dwZakazdza  Sarah McMullan (@SarahMcMullanTV) November 6, 2022

Her illness in early October followed a television segment she did for Sepsis Awareness Month for BBC Scotland's The Nine on 1 September.

Kimberley Bradley, the interviewee, spoke about her experience of being in an induced coma for eight days after contracting what is known as meningococcal septicaemia, which had developed into sepsis.

"A month after doing this interview, I ended up very unwell with sepsis myself. Resulting in an A and E visit, a week in hospital and a couple more weeks of tablets and rest," McMullan's Tweet also explained.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime, she said, "She [Bradley] spoke through all of the symptoms and what to look out for and what to remember and when to get help and I did not remember them well enough."

It was just a few weeks later when she was in the studio in Glasgow for a morning shift one Wednesday that McMullan stated to notice something wasn't right. This included feeling cold with goosebumps, physically shaking, her lips turning blue, pale skin with chalk white hands, and feeling spaced out.

"It was hard to make sense of what was happening. It crossed my mind, 'Am I having some sort of panic attack?'" she said.

"It felt like something mentally might be happening to me because I was so confused and quite weepy actually."

Read more: 'We thought Mum was just exhausted. A few days later, she was gone.'

Watch: Kate Garraway reveals Derek Draper's sepsis battle

But as someone young and healthy, she disregarded how she was feeling as potentially being due to not having breakfast or the start of a cold.

The next day after work, she went to bed for a while, but when she woke again that afternoon she had similar symptoms and finally called NHS 24 in the early hours of Friday morning.

McMullan was in tears, not knowing what was wrong with her, while battling spiking temperatures. After spending five hours in A&E, she was moved to a ward, where doctors told her she was lucky she was there on a quiet night with less patients.

"Had I had a longer time to wait I cannot imagine how much more unwell I would have felt," she said

McMullan spent six days in total in hospital, but focused on the positives.

"It could have been a lot worse. That's what I was told on several occasions," she said.

"The doctors kept saying to me 'You have been very lucky here.'"

Posting a photo of herself feeling better and back to work after the ordeal, McMullan was also keen for everyone to be aware of the key symptoms of sepsis.

She told Drivetime, "If you suffer any of these symptoms, like the spike in temperature or the uncontrolled shivering, just make the phone call and get help.

"It really is the difference between it being life or death in some instances."

What is sepsis?

Anyone can get sepsis, but older people are among those more likely to get an infection that causes it. (Getty Images)

Sepsis, sometimes called septicaemia or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening reaction to an infection, according to the NHS.

It occurs when your immune system overreacts to an infection, starting to damage your body's tissues and organs.

Anyone with an infection can get sepsis. But some people, including babies; over 75s; people with diabetes; people with a weakened immune system; those who've recently had surgery or a serious illness; and women who've just given birth, had a miscarriage or an abortion, are more likely to contract it (due to being more likely to get an infection in the first place).

You can't catch it from another person.

Read more: Differences between flu and COVID-19 symptoms ahead of so-called 'twindemic'

Sepsis symptoms

Confusion is one of the signs of sepsis. (Getty Images)

Sepsis symptoms can be tricky to spot because they are also associated with conditions like flu or a chest infection.

Early symptoms might include:

high temperature (fever) or low body temp

chills and shivering

fast heartbeat

fast breathing

Urgent symptoms in adults include, include:

acting confused, slurred speed and not making sense

blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue

a rash that doesn't fade when you roll a glass over it

difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing fast

Urgent symptoms in a baby or young child include:

blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue

a rash that doesn't fade when you roll a glass over it

difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing fast

a weak, high-pitched cry that's different to usual

not responding like they normally do, or not interested in feeding or normal actives

being sleepier than normal or hard to wake

Read more: Early menopause may increase dementia risk and other things you need to know

Sepsis can be harder to spot in babies and people with health conditions or learning disabilities. (Getty Images)

Call 999 or go to A&E if you, your baby or young child has any of these symptoms of sepsis. It can be particularly hard to spot in babies and young children, people with dementia, people with a learning disability, and those who have difficulty concentrating, so be extra vigilant.

You can also call 111 for advice if you, your child or someone you look after feels very unwell or like there's something wrong, hasn't urinated all day, keeps vomiting and can't keep food or milk down, has swelling pain around a cut or wound, has a very high or low temperature.

For more information on sepsis and how to prevent infections, see the NHS website.

For support for survivors, visit The UK Sepsis Trust.
Maya Jama has been named global brand ambassador for cosmetics brand Rimmel London.

The Bristol-born TV presenter, 28, is the latest British star signed up by the affordable make-up brand.

She follows in the footsteps of supermodels Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne and Adwoa Aboah, who have all uttered the Get the London look slogan  now Living the London look.

Alongside a campaign photo of her in bright red lipstick and winged eyeliner, Jama wrote on Instagram: I grew up with this brand and have dreamed about saying the iconic London look line on TV one day and now its happening I dont even have the words.

Following in the footsteps of Kate Moss, Adwoa and more doesnt even make sense in my mind but I am honoured.

She added: 16-year-old me who moved to London from Bristol with a bag of dreams would not have believed you if you said 12 years later I would be a part of such a legendary London staple.

London is my home and now you can catch me living the London Look.

The Love Island host has previously modelled for Maybelline, Levis and Gap, as well as appearing on the covers of Cosmopolitan and Womens Health magazines.

She recently told the Evening Standard: I always do my own eyeliner wing no matter who does my make-up.

Its the main thing I practised in the school toilets at lunch breaks with my friends way back in the day, wed all sit down and try and do a winged liner.

Jama, who previously presented BBC Three competition show Glow Up: Britains Next Make-Up Star, took over from Laura Whitmore as the host of Love Island in January.

The Rimmel deal will see her starring in campaigns for the company which started life as a perfumery, founded by entrepreneur Eugene Rimmel on Londons Bond Street in 1834.
Amazon workers are to stage fresh strikes in an escalation of a dispute over pay.

The GMB union said more than 500 of its members at the online giants site in Coventry will walk out for three days from April 16 and again from April 21-23.

The six days of action follow a series of stoppages earlier this year.

The GMB also announced it will be balloting its members at five more Amazon sites across the Midlands for strikes over pay.

Voting started on Friday at the sites in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire.

Amanda Gearing, GMB senior organiser, said: Industrial action is growing and this could fast become a summer of strike chaos at Amazon.

Three months ago Amazon told our members there was no money left for pay rises, yet through pressure, campaigning and strike action weve forced Amazon to sit up and take notice.

Six further days of strike action in Coventry is a clear statement from our members they are worth more. They will not accept a pay rise of pennies from one of the worlds wealthiest corporations.

With workers at five further sites starting ballots for industrial action this month, its clear Amazon need to urgently get serious and talk pay with GMB now.

Amazon said that from next week, the minimum starting pay for its employees will increase to between 11 and 12 an hour depending on location.

A statement said: We regularly review our pay to ensure we offer competitive wages, and were pleased to be announcing another increase for our UK teams.

Over the past seven months, our minimum starting pay has risen by 10%, and by more than 37% since 2018. We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities.

These are just some of the reasons people want to come and work at Amazon, whether its their first job, a seasonal role or an opportunity for them to advance their career.
Rishi Sunak has hailed the UKs acceptance as a member of a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc, saying it puts Britain in a prime position in the global economy.

The UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was formally confirmed in a telephone call between Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and counterparts from the group.

It represents Britains biggest trade deal since leaving the EU, cutting tariffs for UK exporters to a group of nations which  with Britains accession  will have a total gross domestic product (GDP) of 11 trillion, accounting for 15% of global GDP, according to UK officials.

The Prime Minister said it demonstrated how the UK is able to take advantage of its post-Brexit freedoms to strike agreements that were impossible when it was in the EU which will drive economic growth across the country.

However critics have said the impact will be limited, with official estimates suggesting it will add just 1.8 billion a year to the economy after 10 years, representing less than 1% of UK GDP.

Labour said it was essential to ensure that UK safeguards on consumer safety, food safety, data protection and environmental protections were not compromised as a result of the agreement.

Britain is the first new member, and first European nation, to join the bloc  comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam  since its formation in 2018.

It follows nearly two years of negotiations, culminating in intensive talks in Vietnam earlier this month, when representatives of all 11 existing members agreed to the UK joining.

While Britain already has trade agreements with most of the CPTPP members, apart from Malaysia, officials said it would deepen existing arrangements, with 99% of UK goods exported to the bloc now eligible for zero tariffs.

Key UK exports to the region, including cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky, will be among those to benefit, while officials said the services industry would also enjoy reduced red tape and increased market access.

At the same time, they said vital UK sectors, including agriculture and the NHS, will be protected, while existing animal welfare and food safety standards will be maintained.

It represents a continuation of the post-Brexit policy tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region first initiated by Boris Johnson.

Mr Sunak said it would put the UK at the centre of a dynamic group of Pacific economies, giving British businesses unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific.

We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms, he said.

As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation.

The CBI welcomed the agreement as a milestone for British industry, reinforcing the UKs commitment to building partnerships in an increasingly fragmented world.

Interim director-general Matthew Fell said: CPTPP countries and business need to work together to future proof the rules-based trading system and stimulate growth with a focus on digital, services and resilient supply chains.

Labour said that while the agreement represented encouraging progress, it needed to see the details.

Shadow trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: The Conservative Governments track record in striking good trade deals is desperately poor.

Other countries joining CPTPP arrangements have secured important safeguards and put in place support for their producers: it is vital that ministers set out if they plan to do the same.

Liberal Democrat trade spokeswoman Sarah Green said: This Conservative Government is responsible for some shocking trade deals that fail to add economic benefit to the UK.

The Conservatives have trashed the British economy with GDP stagnant and this announcement will not even repair a fraction of their damage.
A man accused of murdering his pregnant wife by pushing her off Arthurs Seat was eager to visit the Edinburgh landmark during his time in the Scottish capital, a court has heard.

Kashif Anwar, 29, is accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed, 31, in September 2021 by pushing her from the hill, causing her multiple blunt force injuries and ultimately her death and that of her unborn child.

Anwar denies all the charges against him, including one of acting in a threatening and abusive way towards his wife at a hotel in Edinburgh the day before the alleged murder.

Lubna Qasim, who gave evidence on Friday on the third day of the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, said she was told by her friend Ms Javed that Anwar was really keen on visiting Arthurs Seat when they were talking at a Walima  a Muslim marriage celebration event  held for the couple on August 30, 2021.

But Ms Qasim, 33, said Ms Javed, from Pudsey in Leeds, had looked her straight in the eyes and replied: Im not so sure.

Ms Qasim told the court her friend was scared of heights, and this fear came to her attention when they visited Barcelonas cable car together.

Describing Ms Javed as caring, generous and kind, Ms Qasim said that at the Walima Ms Javeds mother Nighat Yasmin Javed had seemed anxious and nervous and stressed.

The trial is taking place at the High Court in Edinburgh (PA)

Ian Duguid KC, for Anwar, told the court a relative of his client had mentioned the landmark to him as a place to visit while in Edinburgh. He said Ms Javed was keen on walking in the Yorkshire Dales.

Ms Qasim said she thought Ms Javed was more interested in things like shopping than walking.

The jury was also told that Ms Javed had called the police about Anwars alleged behaviour, and when officers from West Yorkshire Police attended her parents home she gave a statement in which she detailed her claims of abuse at the hands of her husband.

Pc Gemma Smales, 34, read out the statement from Ms Javed. Towards its end, she said: I maybe his wife but Im not his possession.

The document, dated April 20 2021, included claims he threatened to physically hurt Ms Javeds family members if she ever cheated on him, of how Ms Javed said she found herself unconscious in a Pudsey graveyard, an allegation she was slapped across the face by her husband during an argument, and claims of abusive language Anwar is said to have used towards Ms Javed.

They included him allegedly calling Ms Javed a retard and a bitch, telling her to stop behaving like a British woman, that he would pull her mothers tongue out if she says I need help, and that he would ruin Ms Javeds life if she ended the relationship.

The court was told Anwar, who was studying optometry at the University of Bradford, met Ms Javed after a chance encounter at the Trinity shopping complex in Leeds city centre.

The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.
Finland is set to join Nato in days after Turkeys parliament voted to ratify its membership bid, submitted in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey was the last among Natos members to ratify the bid, after months of negotiations between Ankara and Helsinki. All 276 MPs present voted in favour.

All 30 Nato allies have now ratified the accession protocol, the alliances secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Friday. Finland will formally join our alliance in the coming days.

Finlands entrance into Nato is a significant moment. It shares an 830-mile border with Russia, and the two nations fought ferociously during the Second World War. Helsinki also possesses one of the most powerful arsenals in Western Europe.

Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had raised concern that Finland and Sweden, who submitted their Nato bids at the same time, had not taken his countrys security concerns about Kurdish separatists and militants seriously. Ankara is still holding off approving Swedens membership demanding more action against what it claims is support for what Mr Erdogans government deems terrorist groups.

Finland has taken more steps compared to Sweden in the context of the fight against terrorism, the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) MP Ismail Ozdemir as saying.

Helsinki was officially neutral during the decades of the Cold War and 30 years afterward, even as it integrated into the European Union and cooperated deeply with Nato on sensitive security matters.

Finland opted to join Nato following Russian president Vladimir Putins decision to invade Ukraine last year. It was set to enter alongside Sweden, but both countries efforts have been held up by Turkey and Hungary. The Budapest government of prime minister Viktor Orban, who has long been a friend of President Putin, appeared eager to not run too afoul of the Kremlin. Both nations are also irked by Western criticism of their authoritarian tendencies. Both were not invited to a United States democracy summit this week.

However, Hungary ratified Finlands entrance into Nato earlier this week.

Analysts and Turkish political insiders say that Sweden will also likely be given the green light by Ankara, probably after the 14 May presidential and parliamentary elections.

Mr Putin has repeatedly hit out at what he sees as Western interference in Ukraine and has framed his war as a way to prevent a further eastern expansion of Nato.

Finland would add to Natos strengths. Its armed forces and intelligence services are known as sharply focused on Russia and the Kremlin, with a deep institutional understanding of Moscows ways. Unlike other Scandinavian countries. It has maintained mandatory military conscription and has spent robustly on defence.

Despite a population of just 5.5 million people, Finland has a potential ground force of 280,000 troops, including reserves  more than the United Kingdom.

Given Finlands long border with Russia and its history of being conquered by Russia and the Soviet Union, it has in many ways a more in-depth understanding of Russia and a track record of cultivating knowledge in Russian studies, said Maia Cross, a professor of international relations at Bostons Northeastern University.

Ms Cross recently visited with Finlands armed forces commanders and soldiers as part of a diplomatic mission. Finlands military is suddenly transforming itself in preparation for membership in Nato, she said. It is becoming far more visible in society, and changing its military training to take into account a far greater international dimension as well as a broader scope of action.

Finlands geography would give Nato a major presence on Russias borders and more tools to defend Baltic states formerly under the Kremlins dominion. But Finland, like the Baltic States, is also within easy range of Russian tactical weapons.

The vote in Ankara on Thursday could also help the prospects of Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin ahead of national elections on Sunday.

Mr Erdogan is also running for reelection in a tightly contested race that many consider the biggest challenge to his rule he has faced in his 20 years as Turkeys leader. Mr Erdogan said Wednesday that Mr Putin may visit Turkey ahead of the elections to launch the countrys first atomic power plant  a Rosatom-built 4,800-megawatt nuclear reactor in the city of Akkuyu.
No arrests were made after protesters disrupted Humza Yousafs inaugural First Ministers Questions, with Holyrood officials issuing six-month bans.

Protests by climate change activists have become a fixture at the weekly parliamentary session, with Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone being forced to suspend proceedings a number of times in recent months.

But on Thursday, Parliament business was suspended five times before the end of questioning from Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, leaving the Presiding Officer visibly angry and forcing her to clear the public gallery of visitors  leaving just two school classes and the family of the First Minister able to watch proceedings from within the chamber.

Police Scotland said no arrests were made, but 11 people were removed from the gallery at Holyrood.

A spokeswoman for the force said: Around 12.20pm on Thursday March 30, 11 protesters were asked to leave the public gallery for breach of the code of conduct at the Scottish Parliament.

First Ministers Questions was interrupted five times by protesters on Thursday (Andrew Milligan/PA)

There were no arrests and there is no further police action.

Late on Thursday, the Presiding Officer told MSPs in an email that the interruptions were wholly unacceptable.

She added: Under my authority, all those who disrupted business today will be issued with a ban from the chamber public galleries for six months.

The (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body) was also clear that we must be in the strongest position possible to prevent further disruptions to business.

With that in mind, we will introduce, at the earliest opportunity, more stringent measures to identify those who disrupt our proceedings.

We will also amend our visitor access policy to explicitly state that anyone who wilfully disrupts business will be excluded from our public galleries.

The harder stance comes after the Parliament announced this week that mobile phones would not be allowed in the gallery.
French President Emmanuel Macron will make a rare trip to China next week as part of an uneasy juggling act between his aspirations to be a global leader and his scramble to quell pension demonstrations in his country.

The French president is attempting to keep his hectic diplomatic itinerary on track despite the violence and protests that have broken out throughout the country since he decided to force controversial pension reform through the legislature earlier this month.

Emmanuel Macron was forced to postpone an official visit by Britain's King Charles when wild sights of burning garbage in Paris were shown worldwide.

During Emmanuel Macron China visit, unions will organize their 11th national strike in response to the demonstrations, according to Reuters.

President Macron is also aiming to take back control of the Ukrainian conflict and assert himself as a statesman in Europe.

Read Also: Stormy Daniels' True Feelings on Donald Trump Indictment

EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen Joins Emmanuel Macron China Visit

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will accompany Emmanuel Macron China visit. At a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, Macron announced at a news conference that he had proposed to von der Leyen that she join him in China on April 4 so that they could communicate with a "unified voice."

Emmanuel Macron noted: "I don't have a European mandate, as France has its independent diplomacy - but I'm attached to European coordination," according to Politico.

According to a Commission representative, von der Leyen will accompany Macron on his first trip to China as Commission president.

Human Rights Watch stated that Emmanuel Macron and von der Leyen should take this chance to establish Europe-China ties in a human rights context, as Chinese President Xi Jinping attempts to rebuild relations with France and other European nations and the European Union after abandoning China's harsh "zero-COVID" policy, per the organization's website.

Related Article: Finland's NATO Membership Approved

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A white-supremacist podcast host has been found guilty of stirring up racial hatred, with a judge describing his recordings as a stain on humanity.

James Allchurch, 51, from Pembrokeshire, Wales, was convicted of ten out of 15 counts of distributing audio material to stir up racial hatred over a two-year period.

Following a trial at Swansea Civic Centre, Judge Huw Rees told the self-proclaimed avowed racist and Adolf Hitler supporter that he faces a prison sentence measured in years not months.

Judge Rees adjourned sentencing until April 28 for a pre-sentence report to be carried out.

After the verdicts were returned on Friday, the judge said: The language the jury has had to put up with is vile language, and it is unacceptable in my view that anybody should wish to express themselves in this way.

What I have heard over the last fortnight I regard as a stain on humanity.

Turning to Allchurchs defence counsel, Emily Baxter, Judge Rees added: My intention is to send your client to prison immediately. And that sentence will be measured in years, not in months.

Asking the defendant to stand, he said: James Barnaby Allchurch, you will be sentenced by me on April 28. I have directed a pre-sentence report be carried out so I know everything about you.

I make it very clear to you that you should prepare yourself for a sentence of immediate imprisonment.

Allchurch was again released on bail but with conditions to reside at his given address and to co-operate fully with the probation service.

The judge thanked the jury of six men and six women who he said had been careful in their deliberations.

You paid very close attention to what has been a distressing case and youve heard language and viewpoints that you probably thought in this day and age you would never have to read or hear. Im sorry about that, he said.

This is a court of reality and unfortunately the reality of this defendants world is entirely different from most right-thinking people.

Each of the charges brought against Allchurch related to a separate audio file uploaded between May 17 2019 and March 18 2021 to a public website called Radio Aryan, which was later renamed Radio Albion.

The jury listened to each of the episodes, totalling about nine hours of audio, in which Allchurch can be repeatedly heard using racial slurs and propagating racist ideology while discussing topics including grooming gangs, immigration, slavery and crime.

The episodes were described by Jonathan Rees KC, prosecuting, as highly racist, antisemitic and white supremacist in nature.

Allchurch was joined in some of the episodes by National Action co-founder Alex Davies, 27, from Swansea, who was jailed in June last year for being a member of the banned far-right organisation, as well as other known extremists from the US and UK.

He used the alias Sven Longshanks, a reference to King Edward I, who was also known as Edward Longshanks and was responsible for expelling Jewish people from England in 1290.

Mr Rees told the jury: In his own words, the defendant is an avowed racist and considers himself to be a national socialist.

The very purpose of Radio Aryan was to spread his propaganda about racial conflict.

Police arrested Allchurch, who said he is disabled and unable to work, at his home on December 17 2019.

Giving evidence, Allchurch denied the podcast encouraged hatred or racial violence.

He told the court that his use of racial slurs was not intended to cause offence, and said he believed he was using accurate terminology.

The defendant said he spent up to 12 hours per day creating podcast episodes and maintaining his website, which accepts donations via a Bitcoin link.

He said he was not a member of any proscribed far-right organisation.

When asked if people would be upset by what he said in the recordings, Allchurch replied: My audience is other nationalists who at the time used similar or worse terminology.

Judge Huw Rees asked if Allchurch accepted that members of the public had unfettered access to the website.

Allchurch replied: They had to know the address, they had to know the name and look it up. We didnt advertise anywhere that wasnt already within the nationalist community.

He was asked about Davies and told jurors the far-right group leader had not been charged or convicted when he appeared on the podcast.

In one exchange during a recording about grooming gangs, Allchurch described himself and Davies as avowed racists.

Allchurch told the jury: It was just a joke. People accuse myself and others like me as racists. Anybody centre right, even the Conservatives, get accused of being racist.
A man who was released from prison by mistake two days after he was jailed is being sought by police.

Rayon Newby, 20, from east London, was sentenced to more than three months at East London Magistrates Court on March 15 for assault, harassment and burglary.

Scotland Yard said he was released from HMP Thameside in error on March 17.

Newby is a black man, around 5ft 10in tall, of heavy build, and has a pierced left ear.

Police said he speaks with a London accent and has links to Tower Hamlets and Ilford.

The public are asked not to approach him and anyone who sees him, or knows where he is, is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting reference CAD 3195/30Mar.

People can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
The remarkable wife of a high-profile peace campaigner has died at the age of 91.

Joan Wilsons daughter Marie, a student nurse, was among the 11 people killed in the Enniskillen bomb in 1987.

A 12th victim of the no-warning blast at a Remembrance Sunday event died 13 years later having never woken from a coma.

Mrs Wilsons husband Gordon, who was injured in the same blast, became noted when he called for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Mrs Wilson supported her husband as he spoke out for peace, helped to found outreach programme the Spirit of Enniskillen Trust and became a member of the Irish Senate.

He died in 1995.

Mrs Wilson went on to write a book about bereavement called All Shall Be Well.

She died on Friday.

In a statement issued by WT Morrison Funeral Directors, the Wilson family described her as a much-loved mother, wife, grandmother and great-grandmother.

The family of the late Joan Wilson wish to express their deep appreciation for the messages of condolence since the passing of a much-loved mother, wife, grandmother and great-grandmother earlier today, they said.

For now, the family kindly ask for privacy so they can begin to come to terms with the loss of a remarkable woman after 91 years.
A school leaders union has indicated it may take legal action against Ofsted following its failure to pause inspections in the aftermath of headteacher Ruth Perrys death.

Ms Perry, who was headteacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading, killed herself in January while waiting for an Ofsted report which downgraded her school to the lowest possible rating, her family said.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman has acknowledged the debate about reforming inspections to remove grades is a legitimate one but insisted school checks aim to raise standards and should continue.

People attend a vigil for Ruth Perry outside the offices of Ofsted in Victoria, central London (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Union NAHT said it has written to Ms Spielman to demand a suspension of Ofsted inspections while steps are taken to address the risk to the mental health of school staff and enable suicide risk prevention to be put in place.

The union said the letter points out the obligations on public authorities to take reasonable steps where there is a real and immediate risk of a loss of life.

NAHT said that if Ofsted does not meet its demand to work together to identify immediate action that can be taken then the union will proceed to issue a legal challenge.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, said: The tragic death of Ruth Perry has shone a light on the intolerable pressure placed on school leaders and their staff during Ofsted inspections.

It shouldnt take a tragedy to force change but Ofsted has shown no inclination to change on its own.

We have requested that Ofsted works with NAHT, as recognised representatives of school leaders, to identify and agree immediate actions that can be taken.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman is under pressure from the NAHT union (Ofsted/PA)

It is essential that these actions are discussed and agreed with NAHT if it is to make any meaningful difference.

It needs to be done with us, not to us. Up until now those requests have been ignored. As such, we have no alternative but to go down this route.

Whilst Ofsted have issued warm words, that is simply not good enough and it has shown nothing like the understanding or urgency that this situation requires.

School leaders are determined that this should be a watershed moment and that such a tragedy can never be allowed to happen again.

NAHT has demanded a reply from Ofsted by Thursday April 6.

An Ofsted spokesperson said: We are surprised by claims that Ofsted has ignored requests to engage in discussions with the NAHT.

Amanda Spielman has met senior NAHT representatives twice in the last week, and she has clearly indicated Ofsteds willingness to continue having constructive discussions about these issues.
More than 40 watercolours painted by the King are to be displayed in an exhibition.

The collection, featuring interpretations of British landscapes and royal residences, will be put on view in the ballroom at Sandringham House in Norfolk.

The exhibition contains a range of scenes painted in the Welsh hills, the highlands of Scotland and at Windsor Castle, Highgrove, Birkhall Castle and the surrounding Norfolk countryside at Sandringham.

Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire (2001), a watercolour painted by the King (Joe Giddens/PA)

Charles has previously described how he finds painting so relaxing that it transports me into another dimension.

He paints whenever his schedule allows and he usually takes his treasured sailcloth and leather painting bag with him on royal tours in the hope he will have time to do so.

His interest  fostered by his art master at Gordonstoun school, Robert Waddell  grew in the 1970s and 1980s as he was able to meet leading artists.

The exhibition will be on show at Sandringham House in Norfolk (Joe Giddens/PA)

He discussed watercolour technique with the late Edward Seago and received further tuition from professionals such as Derek Hill, John Ward and Bryan Organ.

An exhibition at Hampton Court Palace in 1998, held to mark the princes 50th birthday, displayed 50 of his watercolours, while the National Gallery of Australias exhibition in 2018 to celebrate his 70th birthday showed 30 pieces.

Last year, 79 of Charless watercolours  the first full exhibition of his work in the medium  were exhibited at the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea, south-west London.

The atmospheric paintings depicted Scottish landscapes such as the Huna Mill in John OGroats and Glen Callater near Balmoral, as well as outdoor scenes from Provence in the south of France and Tanzania in East Africa, one of his favourite places to paint.

Terrace at Highgrove, Gloucestershire (1998), a watercolour painted by the King (Joe Giddens/PA)

In a display panel, Charles revealed that the hobby refreshes parts of the soul which other activities cant reach, and that he turned to painting after finding little joy in photography.

The King admitted he was appalled by the quality of his early sketches.

He added: I am under no illusion that my sketches represent great art or a burgeoning talent.

They represent, more than anything else, my particular form of photograph album and, as such, mean a great deal to me.

Sandringham House, Norfolk (1991), painted by Charles (Joe Giddens/PA)

In October, a print of a watercolour of Balmoral by Charles was bought at auction for more than eight times its estimate.

In what was thought to be the first time a print by a reigning monarch has been sold at auction, a private British collector paid 5,738.

Prints Charles has done in the past have usually fetched between 400 and 600.

The exhibition will run from from April 1 to October 12 at Sandringham House.
President Biden speaks to reporters in Rolling Fork, Miss., on Friday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  On Friday morning, President Biden strode out of the West Wing and across the South Lawn. Above the roaring helicopter blades of Marine One, a reporter asked him if he had any thoughts about the indictment of former President Donald Trump by a Manhattan grand jury.

I have no comment on Trump, Biden said.

In refusing to say anything about the legal drama in which Trump now finds himself embroiled, Biden is remaining diligently on script, which has amounted to a blank page when it comes to the several federal and state investigations targeting his predecessor.

Known on Capitol Hill and during his time as Barack Obamas vice president for his inveterate loquacity, Biden has been notably disciplined in speaking about Trump, whom he used to refer to as the former guy. As last years midterm elections neared, Biden took to lambasting the MAGA Republicans he claimed were beholden to Trump and his extremist ideas.

Former President Donald Trump arrives for a rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

But he has never commented on Trumps legal challenges, which include a federal investigation into the handling of classified documents, a Georgia inquiry into electoral interference and District Attorney Alvin Braggs case in New York.

Invariably, the White House refers the matter to the Department of Justice.

Invariably, the Department of Justice says nothing.

That is precisely how the White House wants things to stay. With partisan sentiment already on such florid display on Capitol Hill, the president and his advisers believe that he benefits by remaining well above the fray. (It only helps that the Justice Department typically doesn't comment on ongoing investigations, making the job easier for White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, as well as for Biden himself.)

As pundits on cable news debated the merits of Braggs emerging case against Trump on Friday, Biden toured an area of Mississippi devastated by tornadoes. With him was the states Republican governor, Tate Reeves, as well as Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, also a member of the GOP.

Biden in Covington, Ky., on Jan. 4 with, from left, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, former Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. (Michael Swensen/Getty Images)

The dichotomy recalled Bidens infrastructure-related trip to the Kentucky-Ohio border earlier this year, which took place as House Republicans were in the midst of a contentious speakership fight. While recriminations flew on Capitol Hill, the president basked in a bipartisan Midwestern glow, standing next to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, both of whom are Republicans.

If the mood in Mississippi was understandably much more somber, it nevertheless broadcast a similar message, one the White House is especially eager to promulgate ahead of next years presidential election: that Biden is a serious president, focused on serious business, while some Republicans and conservatives push antisemitic tropes and threaten violence.

The contrast redounds to Bidens benefit, the White House believes  if only he can remain quiet.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis traveled to Cobb County, Georgia, on Thursday to visit a popular gun store as part of his ongoing book tour ahead of what is expected to be a presidential campaign announcement this summer.

The previously scheduled trip happened to come days after a shooter killed six people at a private school in Nashville, Tennessee, which Georgia Democrats noted in criticizing DeSantis, who is seen as a rising Republican star after easily winning reelection in November.

The governor is continuing a tour pegged to his new memoir and promoting what he calls Florida's "blueprint" for the rest of the country, believing it can serve as a model for governing and politics nationwide.

The gun store in suburban Atlanta, Adventure Outdoors, has been a campaign stop for other Republicans, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Herschel Walker, who unsuccessfully sought to unseat Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock last year.

MORE: DeSantis downplays Trump's nickname, 'just as long as you also call me a winner'

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and three other local lawmakers went to Adventure Outdoors earlier this week to criticize what the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reportedly called a routine, random inspection. Greene claimed it was "unusual and unnecessary."

"I'm proud to be able to stand here and say we support our Second Amendment rights in this country," DeSantis said Thursday to the crowd gathered at Adventure Outdoors.

PHOTO: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks in Davenport, Iowa, March 10, 2023. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters, FILE)

DeSantis told the crowd that he plans to sign into law next week a bill that the Florida Senate passed Thursday to allow people to carry a firearm in the state without a permit.

The rest of DeSantis' hour-long remarks were similar to previous remarks he's been making on his tour: He talked about the southern border, policing and crime, gender-affirming care for minors and the dangers of fentanyl.

He also briefly remarked on his administration's ongoing conflict with Disney, which had for years essentially overseen a small, autonomous region encompassing the company's theme parks outside Orlando  until lawmakers stepped in in the wake of Disney criticizing a Florida law restricting school instruction on gender and sexual orientation. (Disney also owns ABC News.)

"The fact is, Disney had had their own government that they controlled in the state of Florida for decades and they basically got everything they wanted for many decades they've been operating in Florida until now, because now there's a new sheriff in town," DeSantis said.

MORE: DeSantis tests presidential waters in Iowa

Democrats in Georgia had called out DeSantis for holding an event at the gun store in the wake of the Nashville shooting and have said he should cancel the event.

"Holding a campaign event at a gun store days after another horrific school shooting where innocent children were murdered should be beyond the pale, but Ron DeSantis seems to not care," Rep. Nikema Williams, the Democrats' state chair, said in a statement on Tuesday. "DeSantis is showing Georgians exactly where his priorities lie as he advocates for an extreme MAGA agenda that could make it easier for criminals to carry guns in Florida and puts the gun lobby ahead of our children's lives. DeSantis should cancel this event immediately."

A spokesperson for DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment on his visit.

He has called the Nashville shooting "senseless" and directed flags flown at half-staff in Florida in light of President Joe Biden's declaration ordering the same.

PHOTO: In this March 10, 2022 file photo members of the Florida House of Representatives give Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls a standing ovation during a legislative session at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee/AP, FILE)

DeSantis' stop in Georgia adds to the list of his appearances in battleground and early nominating states ahead of his widely expected announcement that he'll run for president in 2024.

In April, he's scheduled to go to Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

After his trip to Georgia, DeSantis was initially set to travel to Franklin, Tennessee, on Monday, where he would meet with Gov. Bill Lee. However, that event has now been postponed, according to Eventbrite, where it was being advertised.

In Florida, as DeSantis noted Thursday, lawmakers have taken up new gun-related legislation: Republicans are working to enact a law allowing people to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, with exceptions such as on school property.

It would make Florida the 26th state in the country with a permitless carry law.

'Beyond the pale': Dems go after DeSantis for visiting gun store after Nashville shooting originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
EXCLUSIVE: The top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is warning the Biden administration that "confusion" about funds granted in last years bipartisan school safety bill could lead to "dangerous delays" in protecting campuses from mass shooting events.

Cassidy called on Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to direct his department to clarify that schools can use funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) to boost their security and hold security training sessions. He also demanded a written plan of action that includes how the administration plans to "remove federal administrative barriers to the spending of dollars by districts" under the law.

He said school officials have had difficulty accessing the funds needed for "hardening schools"  which includes measures such as fortifying them with single-entry points, reinforcing windows and doors, and fencing.

"I share your concern about how slowly BSCA funding is moving and agree that addressing mental health, especially the mental health of students in the wake of the pandemic and school closures, is crucial. However, physical improvements and hardening schools is also imperative to ensure our students safety and therefore included in BSCA," Cassidy wrote in a letter to Cardona.

NASHVILLE'S COVENANT SCHOOL REELING FROM 'TERROR THAT SHATTERED OUR SCHOOL AND CHURCH'

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., Aug. 8, 2022.

"States and district leaders need to know that they can and should use these funds to harden schools. Any confusion about that fact could lead to dangerous delays in protecting our students," he added.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The senator was among the lead negotiators on the historic firearm and school safety measure, which allocated over $1 billion for the Education Department to spend on school mental health services, and another $1 billion for school improvements, as well as support for state crisis interventions and created penalties for straw purchasing and trafficking of guns.

Cassidy's letter was sent shortly after a mass shooting earlier this week a Christian elementary school in Nashville. A 28-year-old former student of the private school returned to the campus on March 27 and opened fire, killing three students and three teachers before being shot dead by police.

NASHVILLE COVENANT SCHOOL HEAD OF SCHOOL HAILED AS HERO IN WAKE OF SHOOTING: 'SHE PROTECTED HER CHILDREN'

Memorials for the six victims who were killed in a mass shooting are placed outside of The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday, March 30, 2023. On Monday, three adults and three children were killed inside the school.

The Biden administration has renewed pressure on federal lawmakers to act on stricter gun control measures in the shootings wake  which is highly unlikely in the divided Congress.

But at least one academic official, Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley, indicated that the administration still needs to improve on the measures its already rolled out.

Brumley told Fox News Digital that his schools "struggled" to access the funding they needed and credited Cassidy with helping them get dollars toward "structured access control."

"My intent was to utilize these one-time funds to harden our school perimeters. Initially, we struggled to gain approval from ED to use the funds in this manner," Brumley said.

RICK SCOTT WANTS TO TAKE $80B FROM IRS TO FUND ARMED OFFICERS IN SCHOOLS AFTER NASHVILLE SHOOTING

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., wrote a letter to Cardona on Thursday warning of "dangerous delays" in the rollout of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

The Education Departments website for the BSCA does not explicitly display a section for school security. On a document featuring frequently asked questions for the grant program, it prohibits usage of funds for "school construction."

"The Department needs to provide a written action plan, within two weeks, detailing how it will issue explicit guidance and technical assistance to states and districts on using BSCA funds for school hardening," Cassidy wrote. He added that this plan needs to be publicized and that Cardona's department should provide technical assistance on how to use the law to access security funding.

He warned, "If any of these timelines are not met, I immediately request a briefing by you personally."

Earlier this month, Cardona spoke at an event where he slammed states who he accused of being slow to roll out the BSCAs funding. "Weve got to do better," the Biden official said. "Our students are in great need now."
Gwyneth Paltrow says that a jurys decision that she was not at fault for a 2016 ski accident proved her integrity and she vowed to continue to stand up for whats right.

The Utah jury sided with the Oscar winner on Thursday after just over two hours of deliberation, effectively awarding Ms Paltrow a symbolic $1 and the cost of her legal fees.

They found retired doctor Terry Sanderson, who was seeking $300,000 in damages, 100 per cent at fault for the ski accident.

Gwyneth Paltrow cleared of all fault in high-profile US ski crash lawsuit (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool) (AP)

Were pleased with the outcome and appreciate the judge and jurys consideration. Gwyneth has a history of standing up for whats right and this situation is no different. She will continue to stand up for whats right, the Hollywood stars lawyer Stephen Owens said outside the court.

Mr Sanderson, 76, filed allegations against Ms Paltrow in a 2019 lawsuit, claiming that she crashed into him on the slopes at the luxury Deer Valley Resort near Park City, Utah, on 26 February 2016.

I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity, Ms Paltrow said in a statement issued by her representatives.

I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.

Mr Sanderson had alleged in court that the collision left him with a permanent traumatic brain injury that robbed him of his enjoyment for life.

Ms Paltrow had strongly denied the claims and told the court how it was Mr Sanderson who caused the accident, by running into her from behind and causing them both to crash to the ground in a heap.

She told the jury that at first, she thought that the crash was a sexual assault and froze when a set of skis suddenly forced my legs apart.

The court was told that Ms Paltrow paid almost $9,000 for private ski lessons for her family at the resort and that the trip had been an attempt to blend her family with that of her now-husband Brad Falchuk.
The Vatican announced that Pope Francis would be released from the Rome hospital where he is getting treatment for bronchitis.

Matteo Bruni, a spokesman for the Vatican, published a Pope Francis health update on Friday, saying that the Roman Catholic Church leader is expected to attend the mass marking the commencement of Holy Week and ushers in a string of solemn public rituals leading up to Easter, April 9.

On Wednesday, physicians at Gemelli Polyclinic announced they had admitted Pope Francis, 86, for treatment of bronchitis with intravenous antibiotics, according to Fox News.

"Yesterday (went) well, with a normal clinical recovery,'' Bruni said, adding that Pope Francis enjoyed supper, "eating a pizza", along with all those who are aiding him in the hospital on Thursday night.

Pope Francis is due to be back at the Vatican on Saturday, Bruni added, after a few final medical examinations set for Friday.

Read Also: Tennessee Protesters Yell 'Save Our Children'

Pope Francis To Attend Holy Week Ceremonies

The Vatican spokesperson subsequently added that if the pontiff does return on Saturday as planned, he would attend Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square to kick off the Holy Week festivities running up to Easter.

Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re stated Friday that Pope Francis might supervise Holy Week events but not celebrate, per USA Today.

Due to a longstanding knee condition, Pope Francis had already ceased celebrating Mass during important Catholic Church Lenten Season, but he still presided over the celebrations and delivered homilies.

Good Friday's Way of the Cross procession and prayers at the Colosseum in Rome would test anyone's endurance, and Easter Mass on April 9 is followed by a lengthy papal address given from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

Related Article: Biden Urges Russia To Release Jailed US Journalist

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King Charles III met Ukrainian refugees at the Tegel Refugee Centre in Berlin as part of his state visit to Germany on Thursday, 30 March.

The country has welcomed more than one million Ukrainian refugees since Russia invaded their homeland.

His Majesty told Ukrainian people he was praying for them after condemning President Vladimir Putins actions.

In an historic address to the German parliament (Bundestag), the King praised the nations courageous, important and appreciated decision to send military support to Ukraine.

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As a grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump, lawmakers released statements with their reaction to the news as prosecutors worked to arrange a surrender for the former president.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the move a "weaponization of the legal system" and said he believed it was meant to "advance a political agenda" saying that the indictment turned "the rule of law on its head."

Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, a potential challenger to Trump in 2024, wrote in a statement calling Thursday "a dark day for America."

Hutchinson said, "Donald Trump should not be the next president." He said, "it is important that the presumption of innocence follows Mr. Trump."

Georgia's Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green wrote on Twitter, "enough of this witch hunt," and appeared to cast blame on President Joe Biden, calling for his impeachment.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wrote, "Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our presidential election."

Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said, "Indicting a former president is an unprecedented step and it's a threat to our democracy."

Donald Trump Jr. responded to the indictment during a video posted to the platform Rumble where he called the charges "not really based on fact" and said "when your enemies" are saying that, "it has got to tell you something about where we are as a country."

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said, "This indictment isn't a trivial matter. A grand jury made up of everyday citizens decided that there is enough evidence to charge President Trump with a crime."

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "Radical District Attorney Alvin Bragg...has largely ignored Congress and abused his office to seek political prosecution of the former president."

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, former Vice President Mike Pence called the indictment an "outrage," saying it would appear to the public as "nothing more than a political prosecution."
A Venezuelan migrant sits on the sidewalk where an altar was created with candles and photos outside the Mexican immigration detention center that was the site of a deadly fire, as migrants wake up after spending the night on the sidewalk in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

MEXICO CITY (AP)  A Mexican court issued arrest orders Thursday for six people in relation to the fire that killed 39 migrants at a detention facility this week in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, according to the federal prosecutor leading the investigation.

Sara Irene Herrerias said they include three officials from the National Immigration Institute, two private security guards contracted by the agency and the detained migrant accused of starting the fire. She said five of the six had already been arrested and would face charges of homicide and causing injuries.

At least 39 migrants died after apparently starting a fire inside a holding cell at the facility Monday night. More than two dozen others were injured.

Federal Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said 27 migrants remained hospitalized, all of them in either serious or critical condition. One other migrant had been discharged, she said. The migrant accused of starting the fire suffered only slight injuries and has already been released from the hospital, presumably into custody.

Rodriguez also said the private security firm involved, which she identified as Grupo de Seguridad Privada CAMSA, had a federal contract to provide security at immigration facilities in 23 states. She said it would have its operating permit revoked and face a fine.

Forty-eight federal agents would take over security duties at migrant facilities in the state of Chihuahua, where the fire occurred, Rodriguez said.

A video from a security camera inside the Ciudad Juarez facility showed guards walking away when the fire started inside the cell holding migrants and not making any attempt to release them. It was not clear whether those guards had keys to the cell doors.

On Wednesday, a complaint filed with federal investigators from the federal Attorney Generals Office accused the state's top immigration official of knowing about the fire but ordering that the migrants not be released.

The complaint filed by lawyer Jorge Vazquez Campbell said retired Navy Rear Adm. Salvador Gonzalez Guerrero, the Chihuahua state delegate for the National Immigration Institute, gave the order by way of a phone call that under no circumstances should the migrants housed inside the place where the fire started be released.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the allegations nor to a request to speak with Gonzalez.

Campbell said he would not reveal his clients' identities for their protection, beyond saying they were connected to the case.

Mexican authorities announced Wednesday that eight suspects who worked at the facility were under investigation, as well as the migrant accused of starting the fire. Herrerias said then that Gonzalez was not one of the eight officials called in to give statements about the incident.

Herrerias, the prosecutor, said Thursday that their investigation would include the entire chain of command for the immigration facility to determine what actions or omissions could be punishable.

Asked directly whether Gonzalez had been called in to give a statement, Rodriguez said that prosecutors would not say anything which could jeopardize the case, but that the investigation would go where it needed to.

Campbell said his clients told him that one of the detained migrants asked a guard for a cigarette and a lighter and then five migrants who had been detained that day began to protest.

The officials made fun of them, they got irritated, and two of them (migrants) set a mattress on fire, Campbell said.

That was the moment, Campbell said, that immigration agents at the facility notified Gonzalez of the fire and he told them not to do anything and under no circumstances should they let them leave.

Herrerias said Wednesday that prosecutors had not yet seen any evidence that such a call was made, but the investigation was continuing.

Authorities in the region have known that foam mattresses in such facilities are easily set alight and can cause thick clouds of dangerous smoke, ever since a similar fire at a state-run home for troubled youths in Guatemala killed 41 girls in 2017.

That is part of the investigation, the question of why those mattresses caught fire, Rodriguez said Thursday. We will look at why these mattresses ignited, when that shouldn't have happened.

Rodriguez refused to answer questions about the cell being locked, the location of the keys and where the lighter came, saying those issues were all part of the investigation.

Mexico's immigration detention centers have been plagued for years by accusations of corruption and bad conditions.

The circumstances of the fire have angered families across the region who were still awaiting confirmation of whether their loved ones were dead or alive.

Late Wednesday, hundreds of migrants walked across the border in Ciudad Juarez in protest and turned themselves over to U.S. authorities.

Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that he had told the attorney general to not give anyone special consideration and that impunity would not be permitted.
Sen. Lindsey Graham thrice called for viewers to visit former President Donald Trump's donation page. Brandon Bell/Getty Images and Stefani Reynolds - Pool/Getty Images

Lindsey Graham tried to raise funds for Donald Trump just after the former president was indicted.

Graham told Fox News viewers to donate to Trump and "give the man some money" to fight the case.

During the interview, Graham also said the New York indictment of Trump was "legal voodoo."

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham tried to raise money for former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign just hours after the latter was indicted by a New York grand jury on Thursday.

"But you need to help this man, Donald J. Trump, they're trying to drain him dry. He's spent more money on lawyers than most people spend on campaigns," said Graham, a longtime Trump ally, in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.

Graham thrice called for viewers to visit Trump's fundraising page.

"DonaldJTrump.com, go tonight, give the president some money to fight this bullshit," Graham said, urging Trump's supporters to "fight back at the ballot box."

"If you believe Donald Trump is being treated poorly and wrongly, stand up and help him and pray for our country, pray for him. Go to DonaldJTrump.com and give money so he can defend himself," Graham said later.

"Give the man some money so he can fight," Graham added on a third occasion, again mentioning Trump's website.

In the interview, Graham joined hardline GOP figures in blasting Trump's indictment, which is linked to a 2016 election-eve hush-money payment made to the adult-film actor Stormy Daniels.

The senator called the case "legal voodoo" and "political persecution" that will "fall like a cheap suit under legal scrutiny." Graham also cast doubt on the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump's one-time personal lawyer and fixer. Cohen previously admitted to paying $130,000 to Daniels just before the 2016 election to stop her from saying she had an affair with Trump in 2006.

Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury on Thursday.

Trump is no stranger to fundraising off his legal woes

The indictment comes as the former president is making a run for the White House in 2024.

Trump's campaign also has a history of aggressively soliciting donations whenever he's faced with legal trouble. After Trump falsely predicted that he would get arrested on March 14, the Trump campaign sent multiple fundraising emails calling for contributions. Trump fans then sent the former president $1.5 million within three days.

The announcement of his indictment has triggered a tidal wave of fundraising messages from other politicians on both sides of the aisle, The New York Times reported.

Trump's campaign jumped in on the action by debuting a white T-shirt that says: "I stand with Trump" on Thursday evening. The shirt was touted in an email to supporters seen by Insider, as a reward for donating $47 to Trump's campaign "until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT."

Other GOP figures  including Missouri senator Josh Hawley and the National Republican Congressional Committee  are also cashing in on the indictment, per The Times. The Democratic Governors Association and multiple Democrat PACs have sent out their own donation requests since Trump's indictment, The Times reported.

A representative for Graham did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A man connected to the Delphi murders has pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to child sex abuse materials.

Kegan Kline, 28, was facing more than two dozen counts related to child sex abuse material, child exploitation, identity deception, and obstruction of justice, reports Fox59.

He pleaded guilty on Thursday to all 25 counts against him after his attorneys requested a change of plea earlier this month. His sentencing is scheduled for 18 May. The most serious counts Kline is facing are level 5 felonies that carry one to six years in prison.

He has been jailed since August 2020 while awaiting trial. He is not considered a suspect in the 2017 murders of Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi, Indiana, but does have a connection to the case. Police determined that Kline used a fake social media profile to contact Libb the night before she was killed.

The profile was named "anthony_shots," and had contacted more than dozen minor girls, asking for photos, according to investigators. His use of the profile to ask for photos led to the investigation into his possession of child sex abuse materials.

In February, 2017, the bodies of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, were found near the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Indiana.

The girls had disappeared from the trial the previous day, and police later found evidence in video and audio recordings they believe to be the killer on Liberty's smartphone.

Kegan Anthony Kline has pleaded guilty to 25 charges, including possession of child sex abuse materials (Miami County Sheriffs Office)

Investigators searched his home less than two weeks after the Delphi murders. They have also searched a section of the Wabash River near Kline's home, but it is unclear what they were looking for or if they found anything of note during the search.

There is currently no indication that Kline will be required to cooperate or assist in the Delphi murder investigation. Former Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva spoke with Fox59, claiming that if prosecutors did use Kline in their investigation a defence team would likely question his reliability as a source of information.

Were talking about the Delphi case. If this individual were called as a potential witness there, if that kind of language was in Miami County plea agreement, the Defense is going to obviously bring that out to the eyes of the jury. One of the things youre going to be thinking about is the credibility of any witness youre going to be bringing for your case, Mr Villanueva said.

The defense attorney would clearly say, Hey, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this guys testimony is bought and paid for.' You would have part of the plea agreement that he would testify truthfully, so, you really need to disregard what hes saying.
EXCLUSIVE: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif., called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that was detained in the red nation.

At a Thursday event for his Protect the House 2024 joint fundraising committee at the Capitol Hill Club, McCarthy demanded Putin release WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovitch, a U.S. citizen who was arrested in Russia and is being held on the suspicion of espionage.

"Russia needs to release this journalist," McCarthy told Fox News Digital. "It just shows what Putin is doing."

"And it also shows when the president pays ransom, theyll go after and take more Americans," McCarthy continued.

WALL STREET JOURNAL DEFENDS REPORTER AFTER HES ARRESTED BY RUSSIA ON SUSPICION OF ESPIONAGE

At a Thursday event for his Protect the House 2024 joint fundraising committee at the Capitol Hill Club, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., demanded Putin release WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovitch, a U.S. citizen who was arrested in Russia and is being held on the suspicion of espionage.

"Americans need to make sure theyre not in Russia, but more importantly, this is a journalist who has a right to do their job," the speaker said. "And for Putin to try anything else, it shows how deadly he is."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

McCarthy added that what Putin "is doing is against every realm of the rule of law."

The speakers call for Gershkovitchs release comes after the U.S. journalist was arrested in Russia on allegations of spying on behalf of the American government.

The WSJ forcefully defended its reporter after he was arrested in Russia on allegations of espionage.

The Russian government's Federal Security Service said it had detained Gershkovitch in the city of Yekaterinburg and accused him of spying on behalf of the U.S. government.

Gershkovich is "suspected of spying in the interests of the US government," the FSB said in a statement reported by state news agency RIA Novosti. The FSB added his "illegal activities" "have been suppressed."

The Russian government agency claimed it arrested the journalist while he was "trying to obtain secret information," "on the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex."

The FSB Investigation Department opened a criminal case under the article for espionage, RIA Novosti reported.

The paper defended their reporter and denied Russia's allegations in a statement.

"The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family," The WSJ's senior communications manager Caitlyn Reuss wrote.

The Journal said Gershkovich reported on Russia as part of the paper's Moscow bureau. He is accredited to work as a journalist in Russia by the countrys foreign ministry, the FSB also said.

Gershkovich was previously a reporter for Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times and a news assistant at the New York Times, his WSJ bio says.

Reporters face up to 15 years in prison if they report what authorities deem as false reports about the military, according to a new Russian law. The legislation was passed by both chambers of the Russian parliament.

Some outlets like BBC News have suspended reporting from within the country due to the law, citing safety concerns.
Former Vice President Mike Pence called the Manhattan grand jury's decision to indict former President Trump on a campaign finance issue an "outrage" in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer that aired on Thursday night.

Pence, who would face his former boss in the GOP primary if he decides to run for president, said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into Trump for alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels appears to be a "political prosecution."

"I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage," Pence said.

In a historic development on Thursday, Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. The charges concern a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and another $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal .

TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS

Former Vice President Mike Pence said the criminal indictment of former President Trump is an "outrage."

Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal for making an unlawful campaign contribution. Cohen claims that he arranged those payments to McDougal and Daniels at Trump's behest. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict former President Trump on Thursday following District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and called the investigation a "witch hunt."

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said in a statement Thursday. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."

Reactions to Trump's indictment have mostly fallen on predictably partisan lines. Republicans have expressed various forms of outrage. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., accused Bragg of doing irreparable damage to the nation and said he has "weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump." Democrats welcomed the criminal charges as long-time coming, with Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lead Democrat in Trump's first impeachment trial, saying the charges were just.

RON DESANTIS SAYS HE WILL REFUSE ANY EXTRADITION REQUEST AFTER TRUMP INDICTMENT: QUESTIONABLE CIRCUMSTANCES

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's Office said in a statement Thursday. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."

"If justice demanded that Michael Cohen go to jail for a scheme directed by someone else, justice also requires that the person responsible for directing the scheme must answer for their offenses against the law  and that person is Donald Trump," Schiff said.

Pence said that charging Trump is a "disservice to the country" and warned that the charges will divide Americans, noting that millions still support Trump.

"I think the American people will look at this and see it as one more example of the criminalization of politics in this country," he said.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Marta Dhanis contributed to this report.
Oscar Pistorius leaves the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa in 2016 during his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp (AP)

Oscar Pistorius has applied to be released from prison a decade after he murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times through a toilet door in his home.

The former Paralympic runner is due to attend a parole hearing on Friday after he was convicted of murdering Ms Steenkamp on Valentines Day in 2013.

Pistorius could leave the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria if his parole is granted, although the Department of Corrections said the process may take days to finalize if his application is successful.

Reeva Steenkamp (left) with Pistorius less than a month before her death (AFP via Getty Images)

Barry and June Steenkamp, the parents of Reeva, have said they oppose Pistorius' release and are allowed to address the parole board at his hearing. A submission by a victim's relatives is one of many factors taken into account.

The Department of Corrections declined to give details on Pistorius' hearing, saying it was an internal matter like any other parole hearing.

According to guidelines, the board will consider the offense Pistorius was convicted of, his conduct and disciplinary record while in prison, whether he took part in educational or other training courses, his mental and physical state, whether he's likely to relapse into crime and the risk he poses to the public.

Of all the factors, legal expert Neo Mashele said that generally speaking, the behavior of the offender is the most important consideration.

Pistoriuss trial attracted widespread media coverage at the time (Reuters)

Pistorius parole lawyer Julian Knight has previously said he has been a model prisoner.

Now 36, the runner was ultimately convicted of murder after prosecutors appealed against an initial conviction for culpable homicide, which is comparable to manslaughter.

He was eventually sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison for murder in 2017, again after a prosecution appeal against a lighter sentence.

Offenders in South Africa convicted of serious crimes must serve at least half their sentence before being considered for parole. Pistorius has done that after taking into account the time he served in jail from late 2014 while the appeals in his case were heard.

The athlete has served half of his 13-year sentence for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp (left) (AP)

A number of options are available to the parole board. Pistorius could be released on full parole or placed on day parole, where he would be allowed to live and work in the community during the day but have to return to prison at night. He could also be placed under correctional supervision, which means he would be released but have to spend some of his time during the week at a correctional center.

Pistorius' parole could be denied, where the board usually asks the offender to reapply at a later stage.

A double-amputee runner and multiple Paralympic champion once hailed as an inspirational figure, Pistorius' murder trial and downfall captivated the world. His crime eventually led to him being sent to the Kgosi Mampuru II maximum security prison, one of South Africa's most notorious.

He was moved to the Atteridgeville prison in 2016 because that facility is better suited to disabled prisoners. Pistorius had both his lower legs amputated as a baby and walks with prosthetics.

Pistorius was a double-amputee runner and multiple Paralympic champion once hailed as an inspirational figure (GETTY IMAGES)

There have been glimpses of his life in prison, with reports claiming he had at one point grown a beard, gained weight and taken up smoking and was unrecognizable from the elite athlete who competed against able-bodied runners on his carbon-fiber blades at the 2012 London Olympics.

He has spent much of his time working in an area of the prison grounds where vegetables are grown, sometimes driving a tractor. His father, Henke Pistorius, said in a 2018 interview that he was running bible classes for other inmates.

There have also been flashes of trouble. Pistorius sustained an injury in an altercation with another inmate over a public telephone in 2017. A year earlier, Pistorius received treatment for injuries to his wrists, which his family denied were a result of his harming himself.

Ms Steenkamps parents in court -June, left, and Barry right, Steenkamp

Pistorius has been seeking parole since 2021 but a hearing that year was canceled partly because he had not yet met with Barry and June Steenkamp in a process known as a victim-offender dialogue. It is required in South Africa  if victims or their family want the meeting  before an offender can be considered for parole.

Last summer, Pistorius finally met Ms Steenkamps father. Reports said the meeting was organised after Pistorious wrote to the Steenkamps in October, which is thought to be his first contact with the family since his 2014 trial.

A friend who visited him in jail reportedly said he was asking his girlfriends bereaved family to forgive him.

But Mr Steenkamp and his wife, June, have since raised objections to Pistoriuss release although they have no power to block it.

Ms Steenkamp, 29, a successful model, TV personality and law graduate, had been in a relationship with Pistorius for just three months when he shot her.

Pistorius claims he shot 29-year-old Ms Steenkamp by mistake with his licensed 9mm pistol because he thought she was a dangerous intruder.

During his lengthy televised trial, Pistorius used his testimony to apologise to Steenkamps family, telling the court: There hasnt been a moment since this tragedy happened that I havent thought about your family.
A Georgia couple say they are grappling with indescribable pain of losing custody of their five children  ages 7, 6, 3, 2 and 4 months  after a traffic stop by the Tennessee Highway Patrol that civil rights organizations have called targeted.

Im used to waking up every two to three hours to breastfeed or when its time to go to school, waking the kids up, going to school, going to the bus stop. We alternate, Bianca Clayborne, the mother of the children, told Yahoo News. When its time to come from school, we see the bus. Its painful because our kids are not coming off the bus.

More than a month ago, on Feb. 17, a Tennessee state trooper pulled over Deonte Williams, the children's father, for an alleged traffic violation. The family had been traveling from their home near Atlanta to Chicago for a relatives funeral. Police say that he was stopped because he had dark-tinted windows and was driving in a left lane without actively passing. The state trooper searched the car after saying they smelled marijuana and claimed to have found five grams of it. The trooper arrested Williams, while Clayborne was cited and released.

Photo courtesy of Deonte Williams

According to court records, Tennessees Department of Childrens Services approached Claybornes car in the parking lot of the Coffee County Justice Center where she followed Williams after he was arrested. They tried, unsuccessfully, to get the mother to submit a urine test while she waited with her children in the parking lot.

The mother became very defiant and locked herself and the children in the vehicle, court records stated. Officer Crabtree then placed spike strips around the vehicle so the mother would not leave the premises.

Hours later, as Clayborne was sitting down at the justice center waiting for Williamss release, DCS personnel approached her and removed her children. The agency says that the children were dependent and neglected and there was no less drastic alternative to removal available.

Court records from Coffee County show that the couple was charged with simple possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor in Tennessee, on Feb. 21.

According to the Tennessee Lookout, the parents were asked to submit urine drug tests when they appeared before a Coffee County juvenile judge. Williams tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, on a urine drug screen administered Feb. 23. Clayborne tested negative for THC.

The agency then amended their claim on Feb. 24, claiming the children should be deemed severely abused after results of a rapid hair follicle test came back positive from both parents for methamphetamines, oxycodone and fentanyl. Clayborne and Williams have denied the use of those drugs. A Coffee County court administrator told the Lookout that rapid hair follicle tests are inadmissible in court. One expert said that the tests can be unreliable, and the fact that court staff are not trained laboratory technicians can lead to too many false positives.

Police on patrol. (Getty Images)

The state should never be relying on instant results, Greg Bowen, owner of the Nashville-based ReliaLab Test, told the Lookout. (Bowen is not involved in this specific case.)

The couple called the National Action Network (NAN), a civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton that promotes the right to equal justice under the law, after asking multiple lawyers for assistance after not understanding why their kids were taken away.

I met with Mr. Williams after a crisis meeting, and with my understanding of policy and legislation, immediately I knew there was a problem, Christina Laster, an education adviser with NAN, told Yahoo News.

Laster asserted the state trooper, who claimed they stopped the family for tinted windows, became judge, jury and potentially the destroyer of the family at that moment. And thats too much power for one entity to have. So we began to actively pursue legal help.

Laster said NAN started looking into the Tennessee code and ran into vague and ambiguous language in their compiled laws about child welfare. Thats when she noted a subsection of the law that said parents could have their children removed for immoral reasons.

There is a nexus, a well-oiled machine, over here that hands one thing off to the other, and they know how to target certain people, Laster said.

So then I asked where their ticket was. If you committed a crime, I need to understand, were you Mirandized? Laster said, referring to the act of reading someone who is under arrest their rights. [Williams] said they told Bianca to follow him to the station. It was just a ticket. But when she got there, DCS was waiting. So they had a big lack of understanding of their rights. Thats the whole purpose of the Fifth and Sixth Amendment.

Getty Images

The parents are limited to texting, calling or using iPads for communication with their children, which they do in between traveling back and forth from Georgia to Tennessee for visitations and following court orders, such as submitting drug tests.

The children are now in the foster care system, having been placed in multiple homes since February before being placed in the care of family friend Sheryl Huff, of Nashville, on March 1. Huff is also the interim president and director of the local NAN chapter. Huff had talked to Clayborne as a representative for NAN, who unbeknownst to Clayborne, happened to be a family friend of Williams, after reaching out to the organization for help. After the kids former foster home reported they were overwhelmed by the volume of kids and that the kids were in danger of being split up, Huff volunteered to go through the process with the DCS to take temporary custody of the children.

Huff registered the two oldest kids to attend school in Tennessee, and will care for the younger ones at her home. She lamented that the transition has been extremely difficult as she adjusts to the new lifestyle of having younger children in the home she shares with her husband and a 16-year-old foster child. She also said the DCS brought the kids to her with no knowledge of the specifics of the case, bare necessities and formula for the infant that resulted in stomach problems. One child has asthma and has to use a breathing machine. But the former daycare provider says she is making the best of a traumatizing experience to protect their mental health.

The kids will wake up and theyll cry and say they want their mom or, is their mom and dad coming to get them today, Huff explained to Yahoo News. The two big boys are my really big concern.

These children are very smart and so because of that, you have to be careful what you say to them. DCS has been sitting around talking in front of the children, Huff continued, adding that she adores the children. The kids ask me if Im their new foster mom. I say, No, Im your cousin. They also ask me if they have to go back to DCS. I say, No, you all are going to stay right here until mommy and daddy come and get you.

Manchester, Tennessee 1871 Italianate

DCS told Yahoo News that the judge in the case issued the involved parties a gag order on March 20 prohibiting the parties, and their attorneys, from discussing the case or releasing records to any persons not directly involved.

We intend to abide by the courts orders, the DCS said in an email response.

Laster claims the gag order was issued because of an outpouring of public support. Civil rights organizations, including NAN and the NAACP, are calling for the public to file formal complaints against the state of Tennessee and a federal investigation into the Tennessee state legal system that they have deemed nefarious and target certain people.

One of the things that the public can do is to formally file an Office for Civil Rights complaint if they believe the family was discriminated against, Laster explained. They can do that at the United States Health and Human Services virtual website. They have an Office for Civil Rights complaint form.

Organizations, community leaders in churches, and local businesses can also request that the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education can investigate and enforce legal compliance and also raise this issue to the judges Ethics Review Commission, because if judges are acting unethically and outside of the law, then they need to be reviewed. Any citizen that is concerned about the abuse of power from DCS should call their legislator and demand that the legislator have some authoritative abilities, investigate and make some demands, Laster continued.

Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee called for the return of the couples children. State Sen. London Lamar told reporters on March 17 the states action was ridiculous and an overuse of power, describing it as borderline discrimination. But the states prosecution has pushed back, saying the officers fulfilled their legal obligation that require law enforcement to ensure that minors are properly protected at any time that a parent or child is taken into custody by contacting the Department of Children Services to alert them of the situation.

Since the testing, attorneys for DCS have filed a flurry of motions in Coffee County Juvenile Court, including seeking prosecution and sanctions against the parents and their lawyers, claiming the couple broke court confidentiality rules. The couples lawyer, Courtney Teasley, has called the motions of March 17 as retaliatory on Twitter  an effort to stop her from sharing how the state of Tennessee is oppressing black people under the guise of confidentiality.

Certainly, there are more facts and circumstances that exist that the defendants have chosen not to disclose during their efforts to try this matter in the court of public opinion and the realm of politics. My office will only try this matter in the criminal court of law, District Attorney Craig Northcott said.

Im a fantastic mom, said Clayborne, a stay-at-home mom enrolled in college to study child development. Im painted out there for something that Im not and thats defamation of my character. I know how much I love my kids and how much my kids love me.

I want the world to know that these types of situations still occur, Williams told Yahoo News. As a family all we can do is be an example or at the forefront of change.

The effort of the parents to get custody back remains in limbo, pending results of the latest rapid follicle drug test that has been ordered. But if the test comes back negative, the DCS and the judge both agree that the kids could be released into the custody of their mother and father as early as this week.
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Israels long war between the generals and extremists is not going away

By Jonathan Cook

March 30, 2023: Information Clearing House - - Israel edged closer to civil war over the weekend than at any point in its history. By Monday night, in a bid to avert chaos, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to put a temporary halt to his plans to neuter the Israeli courts.

By then, city centres had been brought to a standstill by angry mass protests. The countrys attorney general had declared Netanyahu to be acting illegally. Crowds had besieged the parliament building in Jerusalem. Public institutions were shuttered, including Israels international airport and its embassies abroad, in a general strike. That was on top of a near-mutiny in recent weeks from elite military groups, such as combat pilots and reservists.

The crisis culminated with Netanyahu sacking his defence minister on Sunday evening after Yoav Gallant warned that the legislation was tearing apart the military and threatening Israels combat readiness. Gallants dismissal only intensified the fury.

The turmoil had been building for weeks as Netanyahus so-called judicial overhaul moved closer to the statute books.

At the end of last week, he managed to pass a first measure, which shields him from being declared unfit for office - a critical matter given that the prime minister is in the midst of a corruption trial. But the rest of his package has been put on pause. That includes provisions giving his government absolute control over the appointment of senior judges and the power to override Supreme Court rulings

It is hard to see a simple way out of the impasse. Even as Netanyahu bowed before the weight of the backlash on Monday, the pressure began mounting on his own side.

Far-right groups launched a wave of angry counter-demonstrations, threatening violence against Netanyahus opponents. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the police minister and leader of the fascist Jewish Power party, initially vowed to bring down the government if Netanyahu did not press ahead with the legislation.

But in the end, his acquiescence to a delay was bought at a typically steep price: a National Guard will be established under Ben-Gvirs authority. In practice, the settler leader will get to run his own fascist, anti-Palestinian militias, paid for by the Israeli taxpayer.

Lack of democracy

Fancifully, coverage of the protests continues to frame them simplistically as a battle to save Israeli democracy and the rule of law. `

The brutality of whats happening is overwhelming, one protester told the BBC. But if the protests were chiefly about democracy in Israel, the large minority of Palestinians living there, a fifth of the population, would have been the first on the streets.

They have a highly degraded form of citizenship, giving them inferior rights to Jews. They overwhelmingly stayed home because the protests werent advancing any conception of democracy that embraces equality for them.

Over the years, international human rights groups have slowly come to acknowledge this fundamental lack of democracy, too. They now describe Israel as what it always was: an apartheid state.

In fact, it is only because Israel lacks in-built democratic controls and human rights safeguards that Netanyahu was in any kind of position to bulldoze plans through for the judiciarys emasculation.

Israels political system permits - by design - tyrannical rule by government, without decisive checks or balances. Israel has no bill of rights, or second chamber, or provision for equality, and the government can invariably call on a parliamentary majority.

The lack of oversight and democratic accountability is a feature, not a bug. The intent was to free Israeli officials to persecute Palestinians and steal their land without needing to justify decisions beyond a claim of national security.

Netanyahu has not been trying to destroy Israeli democracy. He has been richly exploiting the lack of it.

The only flimsy counterweight to government tyranny has been the Supreme Court - and even it has been relatively supine, fearful of weakening its legitimacy through interference and attracting a full-frontal political assault. Now that moment may be just around the corner.

Culture war

A superficial reading of events is that the growing protests are a response to Netanyahus weaponising of the law for his own personal benefit: to stop his corruption trial and keep himself in power.

But though that may be his primary motivation, it is not the main reason his far-right coalition partners are so keen to help him get the legislation passed. They want the judicial overhaul as badly as he does.

This is really the culmination of a long-festering culture war that is in danger of tipping into a civil war on two related but separate fronts. One concerns who has ultimate authority to manage the occupation and control the terms of the Palestinians dispossession. The second relates to who or what a Jewish society should answer to: infallible divine laws or all-too-human laws.

There is a reason the streets are awash with Israeli flags, wielded equally fervently whether by Netanayhus opponents or his supporters. Each side is fighting over who represents Israel.

It is about which set of Jews get to play tyrant: law by the generals, or law by religious street thugs.

For decades, Israels military-security establishment, backed by a deferential secular judiciary, has set the brutal agenda in the occupied territories. This old guard is only too well-versed in how to sell its crimes as national security to the international community.

Now, however, a young pretender is vying for the crown. A burgeoning theocratic, settler community believes it finally has enough muscle to displace the institutionalised power of the military-security elite. But it needs the Supreme Court out of the way to achieve its goal.

First, it views the security-judicial establishment as too weak, too decadent and too dependent on western favour to finish the job of ethnic cleansing the Palestinians - both in the occupied territories and inside Israel - begun by an earlier generation.

Second, the Supreme Court is certain to block the rights efforts to ban a handful of Arab parties that run for the Knesset. It is only their participation in general elections that prevents a combination of the far-right and religious right from holding permanent power.

Unfinished business

Israels political tectonic plates have been grinding noisily together for decades. This is why the latest turmoil has echoes of events in the mid-1990s. That was when a minority government, led by a veteran military commander of the 1948 war, Yitzhak Rabin, was trying to drive through legislation supporting the Oslo accords.

The sales pitch was that the accords were a peace process. There was an implication - though no more - that the Palestinians might one day, if they behaved, get a tiny, demilitarised, divided state whose borders, airspace and electromagnetic spectrum were controlled by Israel. Not even that materialised in the end.

The current upheaval in Israel can be understood as unfinished business from that era.

The Oslo crisis was not about peace, any more than this weeks protests are about democracy. On each occasion, these moral posturings served to obscure the real power play.

The violent culture war unleashed by the Oslo accords ultimately led to Rabins murder. Notably, Netanyahu was the principal player then, as he is now - though 30 years ago he was on the other side of the barricades, as opposition leader.

He and the right were the ones claiming to be victims of an authoritarian Rabin. Placards at the rights demonstrations even showed the prime minister in a Nazi SS uniform.

The political tailwind blew strongly enough in the religious rights favour even then that Rabins murder weakened not the opponents of Oslo but its supporters. Netanyahu soon came to power and eviscerated the accords of their already limited ambitions.

But if the secular security establishment got a bloodied nose during the Oslo skirmish, the upstart religious right could not quite deliver a knockout blow either. A decade later, in 2005, they would be forced by Ariel Sharon, a general they viewed as an ally, to withdraw from Gaza.

They have been mounting a fightback ever since.

Biding time

During the Palestinian uprising through much of the 2000s, following Oslos failure, the military-security establishment once again asserted its primacy. So long as Palestinians were a security threat, and so long as the Israeli military was saving the day, the rule of the generals could not be seriously challenged. The religious right had to bide its time.

But todays circumstances are different. In power for most of the past 14 years, Netanyahu had an incentive to avoid inflaming the culture war too much: its suppression served his personal interests.

His governments were an uncomfortable mix: representatives from the secular establishment - such as ex-generals Ehud Barak and Moshe Yaalon - sat alongside the zealots of the settler right. Netanyahu was the glue that held the mess together.

But too long in power, and now too tainted by corruption, Netanyahu has come unstuck.

With no one in the security establishment willing to serve with him in government - now not even Gallant, it seems - Netanyahu can count only on the theocratic settler right as reliable allies, figures such as Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Netanyahu has already given both unprecedented leeway to challenge the security establishments traditional management of the occupation.

As police minister, Ben-Gvir runs the Border Police, a paramilitary unit deployed in the occupied territories. This week he can start building his National Guard militias against the large Palestinian minority living inside Israel - as well as the pro-democracy demonstrators. No doubt he will make sure to recruit the most violent settler thugs to both.

Meanwhile, Smotrich has hands-on control of the so-called Civil Administration, the military government that enforces apartheid privileges for Jewish settlers over native Palestinians. He also funds the settlements through his role as finance minister.

Both want settlement expansion pursued more aggressively and unapologetically. And they regard the military establishment as too craven, too deferential towards diplomatic concerns to be capable of acting with enough zeal.

Neither Ben-Gvir nor Smotrich will be satisfied till they have cleared the only significant obstacle to a new era of unrestrained tyranny from the religious settlers: the Supreme Court.

Theocratic rule

Were Palestinians - even Palestinian citizens of Israel - likely to be the only victims of the judicial overhaul, there would barely be a protest movement. Demonstrators currently enraged at Netanyahus brutality and his assault on democracy would have mostly stayed home.

The difficulty was that to advance his personal interests - staying in power - Netanyahu also had to advance the religious rights wider agenda against the Supreme Court. That relates not just to the occupied territories, or even to the banning of Arab parties in Israel, but to Israels most fraught internal Jewish social questions too.

The Supreme Court may not be much of a bulwark against the abuse of Palestinians, but it has been an effective limit on a religious tyranny taking over Israeli life as varieties of religious dogmatism grow ever more mainstream.

Netanyahus mistake in seeking to weaken the court was to drive too many powerful Jewish actors at once into open defiance: the military, the hi-tech community, the business sector, academia and the middle classes.

But the power of Jewish religious extremism is not going away - and neither is the battle over the Supreme Court. The religious right will now regroup waiting for a more favourable moment to strike.

Netanyahus fate is another matter. He must find a way to revive the judicial overhaul promptly if his young government is not to collapse.

If he cannot succeed, his only other recourse is to seek an accommodation with the generals once again, appealing to their sense of national responsibility and the need for unity to avert civil war.

Either way, democracy will not be the victor.

Jonathan Cook is a Nazareth- based journalist and winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. No one pays him to write these blog posts. If you appreciated it, please consider visiting his website and make a donation to support his work. https://www.jonathan-cook.net/supporting-jonathan/ - Click here to support Jonathan's work.
Video from 'Rust' shooting investigation

"Rust" assistant director David Halls was convicted Friday of one count of negligent use of a deadly weapon for his role in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the low-budget western.

At a virtual court hearing, Halls told New Mexico 1st Judicial District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer that he agreed to plead no contest to the misdemeanor charge.

With Halls' plea, New Mexico prosecutors have secured one conviction in the criminal cases stemming from Alec Baldwin's Oct. 21, 2021, shooting of Hutchins on the movie set near Santa Fe, N.M. The film's director, Joel Souza, was wounded.

Sommer gave Halls  the person who handed Baldwin the loaded firearm  a suspended six-month sentence of unsupervised probation. Halls has agreed to pay a $500 fine, participate in a firearms safety class, refrain from taking drugs or alcohol and complete 24 hours of community service.

Halls' conviction was expected. He entered a plea deal with prosecutors in January, which the judge has now accepted.

Halls' Albuquerque-based attorney, Lisa Torraco, told the judge that Halls is still haunted by the tragedy. He was standing just three feet from Hutchins and Souza when they were shot. Torraco has maintained that despite Halls' role as on-set safety coordinator, he was not responsible for the actions of others.

"He, like many others, is extremely traumatized and just rattled with guilt and so many other feelings of: What could I have done better? How could I have changed things?" Torraco told the judge.

The conviction may provide a boost for the beleaguered prosecution team, which has suffered numerous setbacks since charging Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed with two counts of involuntary manslaughter two months ago. Both have entered not guilty pleas.

Santa Fe's top prosecutor  1st Judicial Dist. Atty. Mary Carmack-Altwies  stepped down this week after Gutierrez Reed's lawyers challenged her involvement. They argued that the law did not allow the D.A. to participate while a special prosecutor also served on the case.

Carmack-Altwies earlier in the week told the judge that she needed assistance from a special prosecutor because her office has been struggling with a high number of attorney vacancies. Sommer rejected Carmack-Altwies' attempt to stay involved while handing off some duties.

Friday's virtual court hearing marked the first appearance by the new special prosecutor in the case, Kari T. Morrissey, an Albuquerque litigator who stepped into the sprawling criminal proceedings on Wednesday. She and her law partner, Jason Lewis, replaced Carmack-Altwies.

"This case has taken some interesting turns," Joshua Kastenberg, a law professor at the University of New Mexico, said this week in an interview. "It shouldn't be a problem with these two new attorneys picking up the case ... and it might help the prosecution overcome some of the image problems  the stains from earlier mistakes."

Carmack-Altwies was the second ranking prosecutor to resign from the case.

Baldwin's attorneys had protested the involvement of special prosecutor Andrea Reeb because she also is a member of the New Mexico Legislature. The veteran prosecutor from rural New Mexico had joined the case last summer in the middle of her campaign for public office but stepped down in mid-March.

In a then-private email last June, Reeb asked Carmack-Altwies to publicize Reebs role in the Baldwin case, joking it might help in my campaign lol, according to Baldwins court filings.

Baldwins attorneys alleged the Republican lawmaker's involvement in the case was politically motivated, which Reeb adamantly denied. In some conservative circles, Baldwin, who famously satirized former President Trump on NBCs Saturday Night Live, is reviled.

Prosecutors also blundered in their initial charges.

Carmack-Altwies hit Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed with additional "firearms enhancement" charges, which her office said would carry mandatory five-year prison sentences if convicted. Baldwin's attorneys pointed out that the law mandating five-year sentences wasn't on the books when Hutchins was shot. Carmack-Altwies quickly withdrew the charges.

If found guilty, Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed face sentences of up to 18 months.

On Friday, Sommer told Halls that he is not permitted to have contact with Baldwin, Gutierrez Reed or any witnesses in the case. The 63-year-old film veteran  who has retired from the industry  must testify truthfully should he be called as a witness for the prosecution or the defense.

Morrissey, summarizing New Mexico's case, noted that Halls was the "Rust" safety coordinator and there had been two accidental gun discharges the weekend before Hutchins was fatally shot.

There also were labor tensions on set. The film's "camera crew had walked off the production the day before [the tragedy] due to safety concerns, among other issues," Morrissey said.

Camera crew members had previously told The Times they felt producers were cutting corners in a rush to film the low-budget western in 21 days.

The "Rust" producers have denied any wrongdoing.

In a resignation email to production managers the night before the fatal shooting, one camera crew member wrote he felt "anxious on set."

Ive seen first hand our AD [Halls] rush to get shots and he skips over important protocols, Jonas Huerta, the digital utility technician, wrote in the Oct. 20, 2021, email, which was viewed by The Times. "Sometimes he rushes so quickly that [a] props [department member] hasnt even had the chance to bring earplugs and he rolls and the actors fire anyway.

After lunch the following day, Baldwin, Hutchins, Souza, Halls and others gathered for a rehearsal in the old wooden church at Bonanza Creek Ranch, a popular movie location south of Santa Fe. Hutchins wanted Baldwin to practice a "cross-draw" maneuver. The Hollywood actor pulled the Colt .45 out of his holster, then pointed it at the camera.

Minutes before, Gutierrez Reed, the weapons handler, had brought the gun into the church. She handed it to Halls, telling him it was loaded with so-called dummy rounds, Morrissey said.

"Now the protocol at this point in time is for Mr. Halls to check and confirm," Morrissey said. "He's kind of the last line of defense."

Halls has conceded that he did not recheck the bullets in the gun's chamber.

"He then handed the gun to Mr. Baldwin," Morrissey said.

Baldwin has said he cocked the hammer but that he didn't pull the trigger. The gun fired, discharging a bullet that traveled through Hutchins' chest. The bullet lodged in Souza's shoulder.

Halls' attorney Torraco told the judge that Halls was grappling with "survivor's guilt."

"Never in anyone's wildest dreams ... would anyone think there could possibly be a live round in the firearm," Torraco said, noting that Halls agreed to plead no contest "so that he can get this [criminal case] over with" for his sake and to spare Hutchins' family from a protracted criminal proceeding.

"The one way that he can do that, and not make this any more painful than it absolutely has to be, is to come in early, to address it with the court and to close his case," Torraco said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
S.African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius denied parole a decade after killing girlfriend Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius leaves court after appearing for the 2013 killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

By Wendell Roelf, Anait Miridzhanian and Siyabonga Sishi

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South Africa Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, jailed in 2016 for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has been denied parole, South Africa's prison authorities and a lawyer for the victim's family said on Friday.

Once the darling of the Paralympic movement for pushing for greater recognition and acceptance of disabled athletes, Pistorius shot dead Steenkamp, a model and law student, in his bathroom on Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day - in 2013.

The athlete, known as "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, went from public hero to convicted murderer in a trial that drew worldwide interest.

He was jailed in 2016, initially for a six-year term, but had that sentence increased to 13 years after an appeal by prosecutors who argued it was too lenient.

The Department of Correctional Services said in a statement on Friday that Pistorius, aged 36, had not completed the minimum detention period required to be considered for parole.

"Come August 2024, he would have reached the minimum detention period, then the (parole) board will make a decision," prison spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told a media briefing.

"He will have to appear again next year. And then we look into the profile and make a decision in terms of his placement. But for now, it was a matter of saying he has not served the minimum detention period."

Steenkamp's family had opposed the bid, their lawyer Tania Koen told Reuters.

"I've just received a call from the parole board. It is a huge sense of relief for June," she said, referring to Reeva's mother.

June Steenkamp had earlier said she was feeling nervous as she arrived at Atteridgeville prison near the capital Pretoria for the closed-door hearing.

"While we welcome today's decision, today is not a cause for celebration," Koen said on behalf of Reeva's parents. "We miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail."

Pistorius' lawyer, Julian Knight, earlier told Reuters that Pistorius was due to appear before the parole board to answer questions based on Knight's written submission arguing for his client's release.

Knight had said he did not expect a decision on Friday. He was not available to comment after Pistorius was denied parole.

The basis for his argument for Pistorius' parole consideration was that "there doesn't seem to be any negative factors precluding his being released on parole because he meets the requirements of the department in terms of their policies and procedures".

GUN ENTHUSIAST

Pistorius, who had both legs amputated as a baby, reached the peak of his fame in 2012 when he became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics, reaching the 400m semi-finals in London.

A gun enthusiast, he told his trial he had believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her several times through the bathroom door with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the human body.

Pistorius shuffled through the Pretoria court without his prosthetics to show how vulnerable he was faced with the threat of an intruder.

The athlete broke down crying as he told the court that he had been trying to protect Steenkamp when he fired the shots. The prosecutor at the time accused him of using emotional breakdowns to avoid questioning.

He met Steenkamp's father Barry last year when participating in a process known as victim-offender dialogue - part of South Africa's restorative justice programme that brings parties affected by a crime together in a bid to achieve closure.

(Additional reporting by Nellie Peyton and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by James Macharia Chege, Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan)
Former President Donald Trump; Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Brandon Bell/Getty Images, Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images)

In his statement condemning the Manhattan grand jury indictment of Donald Trump, Florida Gov. and likely Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis mentioned neither the former president nor the district attorney who will prosecute the case, Alvin Bragg, by name. But he did name-check George Soros, a favorite target of antisemitic conspiracy theories  twice.

For some, the implication was obvious.

Its hard to even call it a dog whistle of antisemitism, former assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Weissmansaid of the Florida governors statement in a cable news appearance.

Soros indirectly helped fund Braggs run for office, but he is not involved in the case against the former president, which is focused on an allegedly improper 2016 payment to the former adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.

Soros and Bragg have never met.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and other Republicans similarly invoked Soros in denouncing the decision to indict Trump.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Feb. 7. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Last week, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, a Republican who has been accused of trafficking in xenophobia and white supremacy, charged that Soros and Bragg are trying to turn America into a third-world country.

On Thursday night, a single hour of Fox News primetime programming featured 10 mentions of Soros, including two descriptions of Bragg as a Soros puppet.

A Hungarian American billionaire who funds progressive causes, Soros is frequently invoked as shorthand for a nexus of wealth, progressive politics and cultural clout.

Soros offers a combination that is useful to his detractors: born abroad, Jewish, in finance, high profile, Emily Tamkin, the author of a book about Soros, told Yahoo News. She added that because Soros is genuinely influential in politics, finance and philanthropy, conspiracy theories about him are easily concocted.

When Bragg was running to become the Manhattan district attorney in 2021, Color of Change, a group backed by Soros, spent roughly $500,000 on efforts on Braggs behalf, such as on mailers and voter turnout.

Former President Donald Trump after a rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Trump, who is running for president again, is avidly using the indictment to solicit campaign contributions, depicting himself as the target of the Soros Money Machine. He has long faced accusations of antisemitism, although his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner are observant Jews.

Trump has routinely trafficked in antisemitic tropes about dual loyalty, wealth and parsimony.

Last year, in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, he attacked American Jews  who mostly vote Democratic  for not rewarding his staunch support of Israels right-wing government. Our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of [Trumps record on Israel] than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S, he complained.

Trump warned that U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel  Before it is too late!

Thursdays indictment allowed Trump and his loyal supporters the opportunity of reviving a grievance-laden narrative that invariably turns the former president into a victim of nefarious forces.

This was their mission, Eric Trump, the presidents son, said on Fox News of Bragg and his prosecutors. This is what they promised Soros. Its why they received the big checks.

Soros survived the Holocaust as a child. As an adult, he moved to New York, where he started a successful hedge fund. His philanthropy through the Open Society Foundations supports civic institutions in emerging democracies. In the U.S., Open Society funds education, public health and independent media not-for-profit organizations.

Hungarian-born U.S. investor and philanthropist George Soros in May 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

According to experts in antisemitism, invoking the 92-year-old philanthropist serves to promote toxic ideas about Jews. A person who promotes a Soros conspiracy theory may not intend to promulgate antisemitism, according to the ADL, formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League. But Soros Jewish identity is so well-known that in many cases it is hard not to infer that meaning.

Trump allies including Tucker Carlson, the popular Fox News anchor, have promoted the great replacement theory, which holds that Democrats  purportedly funded by Soros and other members of elites  are trying to bring immigrants of color into the United States in order to create an electorally insurmountable nonwhite political bloc.

Fears of racial obsolescence powered the white supremacists who rampaged through Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, shouting that Jews will not replace us and, in the following year, were also cited by Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

During the racial justice protests of 2020, some conservatives falsely accused Soros of encouraging violence.

The most recent attacks on Soros come as the nation faces an unprecedented increase in antisemitic incidents, which became more frequent at around the time Trump first announced he was running for the presidency in mid-2015.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday in Smyrna, Ga. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images)

When in doubt, blame the Jews, the intelligence analyst and scholar Aki J. Peritz wrote on Twitter in response to DeSantis.

DeSantis recently hired Nate Hochman, a National Review writer who has praised the virulent antisemite Nick Fuentes. Fuentes dined with Trump last year in South Florida.

Soros is a well-known supporter of criminal justice reform and has been funding the political races of progressive prosecutors for years. Once elected, some of those prosecutors, such as Chesa Boudin of San Francisco, have proved unpopular with voters. Soross involvement in funding their campaigns has sometimes been referred to by local critics  although rarely with as much apparent zeal as DeSantis has done.

When first running for governor in 2018, DeSantis described his Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum, as Soros-backed. He used identical language in his feud with State Attorney Andrew Warren, whom he removed in what was widely seen as a bid to raise his profile with national conservatives.

Gillum is Black, as is Bragg. Warren is Jewish, like Soros.

Progressive activists have called the claim that Soros controls Bragg not only antisemitic but also racist. Last week, after Trump called Bragg a Soros-backed animal, a group of Black and Jewish lawmakers from New York condemned Trumps incendiary racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Last year, neo-Nazis gathered outside a conservative conference in Tampa, where DeSantis spoke, with banners displaying swastikas alongside one that read DeSantis Country and another touting our glorious leader, Ron DeSantis.

Although Florida has a large Jewish population and DeSantis has eagerly waded into other culture war battles, the governor said nothing.
People hold up posters as part of a protest in front of the courthouse ahead of former President Donald Trump's anticipated indictment on Monday, March 20, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Donald Trump has become the first former president to be indicted in a criminal case after a grand jury investigation into hush money payments made on his behalf during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The unprecedented indictment comes as the Republican faces other legal investigations and launches a bid to return to the White House in 2024.

The indictment will test the Republican Party already divided over whether to support Trump next year, in part due to his efforts to undermine his 2020 election loss.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and accuses prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated witch hunt to damage his campaign.

Here's a look at the hush money case, the grand jury investigation and possible ramifications for Trump's presidential campaign:

WHAT'S THIS CASE ABOUT?

The grand jury spent weeks meeting in secret to probe Trumps involvement in a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to the porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with him years earlier. Trump lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, through a shell company before being reimbursed by Trump, whose company, the Trump Organization, logged the reimbursements as legal expenses.

Earlier in 2016, Cohen also arranged for former Playboy model Karen McDougal to be paid $150,000 by the publisher of the supermarket tabloid The National Enquirer, which then squelched her story in a journalistically dubious practice known as catch and kill.

Trump denies having sex with either woman.

Trumps company grossed up Cohens reimbursement for the Daniels payment to defray tax payments, according to federal prosecutors who filed criminal charges against the lawyer in connection with the payments in 2018. In all, Cohen got $360,000 plus a $60,000 bonus, for a total of $420,000.

Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors say the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trumps campaign. But they declined to file charges against Trump himself.

WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?

The indictment has not yet been unsealed, so it's not totally clear.

Some experts have said they believe Trump could be charged with falsifying business records, which can be a misdemeanor or a felony under New York law. To secure a conviction on the felony charge, prosecutors would have to prove that records were falsified with the intention of committing or concealing a second crime. It's not clear what prosecutors may allege as the second crime.

WHAT HAS TRUMP'S LAWYER SAID?

Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, said Thursday that the former president didn't commit any crime and vowed to vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.

Tacopina has accused prosecutors of distorting laws" to try to take down the former president. He has described Trump as a victim of extortion who had to pay the money because the allegations were going to be embarrassing to him regardless of the campaign.

He made this with personal funds to prevent something from coming out  false, but embarrassing to himself, his family, his young son. That's not a campaign finance violation, not by any stretch," Tacopina said on ABC's Good Morning America before the indictment.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Law enforcement officials have been making security preparations for days for the possibility of an indictment and a court appearance by the president.

Trump was expected to surrender to authorities next week, though details were still being worked out, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss a matter that remained under seal.

WHAT'S THIS GRAND JURY AND WHO TESTIFIED?

A grand jury is made up of people drawn from the community, similar to a trial jury. But unlike juries that hear trials, grand juries dont decide whether someone is guilty or innocent. They only decide whether there is sufficient evidence for someone to be charged.

Proceedings are closed to the public, including the media. New York grand juries have 23 people. At least 16 must be present to hear evidence or deliberate and 12 have to agree there is enough evidence in order to issue an indictment.

David Pecker, a longtime Trump friend and the former chief executive of the parent company of The National Enquirer, returned to the courthouse this week where the grand jury was meeting.

Pecker's company, American Media Inc., secretly assisted Trumps campaign by paying $150,000 to McDougal in August 2016 for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. The company then suppressed McDougals story until after the election.

The grand jury also heard from Cohen, as well as Robert Costello, who was once a legal adviser to Cohen.

The men have since had a falling out, and Costello indicated he has information he believes undercuts Cohen's credibility and contradicts his incriminating statements about Trump. Costello testified at the invitation of prosecutors, presumably as a way to ensure that the grand jury had an opportunity to consider any testimony or evidence that might weaken the case for moving forward with an indictment.

Trump was also invited to testify, but didn't.

WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS FOR TRUMP?

Neither the indictment itself nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

Last week in Waco, Texas, Trump took a defiant stance at a rally by disparaging the prosecutors investigating him and predicting his vindication as he rallied supporters in a city made famous by deadly resistance against law enforcement.

You will be vindicated and proud, Trump said in a speech brimming with resentments and framing the probes as political attacks on himself and his followers. The thugs and criminals who are corrupting our justice system will be defeated, discredited and totally disgraced.

Before the charges were handed down, many party leaders had also already begun to defend the former president.

During a visit this month to Iowa, former Vice President Mike Pence called the idea of indicting a former president deeply troubling. Another 2024 Republican prospect, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, has said there is a sense that the former president is being unfairly attacked.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a declared candidate who also served as Trump's U.N. ambassador, has called Bragg's case an attempt at scoring political points," adding, You never want to condone any sort of prosecution that's being politicized.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is considering joining the 2024 Republican field, slammed the investigation as politically motivated. But he also threw one of his first jabs at the former president in a quip likely to intensify their rivalry. DeSantis said he personally doesnt know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some kind of alleged affair.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS?

The New York case is just one of many legal woes Trump is facing.

The Justice Department is also investigating his retention of top secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House. Federal investigators are also still probing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election that Trump falsely claimed was stolen.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election. The foreperson of a special grand jury, which heard from dozens of witnesses, said last month that the panel had recommended that numerous people be indicted, and hinted Trump could be among them. It is ultimately up to Willis to decide whether to move forward.
The Vatican has released more details about Pope Francis' condition after he was hospitalized Wednesday, March 29, for a respiratory infection.

The pope has been diagnosed with bronchitis, "which required the administration of antibiotic therapy on an infusion basis which produced the expected effects with a marked improvement in his state of health," the Vatican said in a statement Thursday, March 30, adding that "he could be released in the coming days."

The Vatican shared that he "spent the afternoon at Gemelli (hospital) devoting himself to rest, prayer and some work duties. Earlier in the day on Thursday, another statement from the Vatican explained that the pontiff was "progressively improving."

Pope Francis was hospitalized with a respiratory infection after complaining of breathing issues, NBC News reported.

The respiratory infection he was diagnosed with was not COVID-19, and he was expected to require a few days of appropriate hospital medical treatment, the Vatican said in a March 29 news release.

Pope Francis during the General Audience. (Grzegorz Galazka / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

Bronchitis occurs when the airways in the lungs become inflamed, which can lead to coughing and mucus, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Acute, aka short-term, bronchitis is usually caused by a viral infection, but it can also be bacterial, which appears to be the case with the pope, given his treatment with antibiotics.

Acute bronchitis usually improves without medical attention after two to three weeks. But if symptoms don't improve after this time or lead to difficulty breathing, then it's important to seek medical care.

This hospitalization is the latest in a series of health issues the pope has experienced in recent years.

Knee issues

Francis has experienced mobility issues due to strained ligaments in his right knee. In May 2022, he made his first public appearance in a wheelchair while meeting with nuns and mother superiors at the Vatican.

There is a problem, this knee doesnt work, he said at the time, according to The Guardian. I have to obey the doctor, who told me not to walk.

Pope Francis waves as he arrives on his popemobile to lead his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square (Alessia Pierdomenico / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He also canceled a planned trip to Africa in July 2022 because of ongoing laser and magnetic therapy for his knee, according to the Associated Press.

The pontiff also told Reuters in July 2022 that he had suffered a small fracture in his right knee after taking a misstep.

Since then, he has also appeared in public using a cane.

Dr. Jose Maria Villalon, who has worked with Francis to improve his mobility, called him a very nice but very stubborn patient in November, according to The Guardian.

The pope did not wish to undergo surgery for his knee following his experience with colon surgery in 2021.

Intestinal surgery

The pope underwent surgery in July 2021 for diverticular stenosis of the sigma, or a narrowing of the colon.

The pope was experiencing a restriction of his intestine due to diverticula, or pouches or sacs, that form on the wall of the large intestine narrowing the passage, the Vatican said in a release at the time.

According to Mayo Clinic, diverticula are common after age 40 and don't usually cause health problems. But when they do, symptoms include severe abdominal pain, fever, nausea and changes in bowel habits. When diverticula require surgery, it's usually because it's "severe or recurring," per the Mayo Clinic.

Around 13 inches of the popes colon were removed during the surgery, according to NBC News.

While the surgery went smoothly, the pope reportedly did not respond well to undergoing general anesthesia during his intestinal procedure, contributing to his decision to not have surgery for his knee issues.

Sciatica

Francis has spoken about experiencing sciatica. Sciatica is an often painful condition that involves an irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back down to the feet, according to the NHS.

In January 2021, the pontiff shared that sciatic pain was making it difficult to stand. It reportedly led him to canceling multiple events.

I would like to speak to you standing up, but sciatica is a troublesome guest, he said while addressing a Catholic Church tribunal, Agence France-Presse reported at the time. So I apologize and will speak sitting down.

Partial lung removal

The pontiff had part of one lung removed as a young man, according to NBC News, leading him often to speak in a whisper.

Last year, the pope said that while he didn't have any plans to step down as pontiff, he acknowledge that the "door was open" and that he was slowing down and no longer able to travel as easily.

Its not strange. Its not a catastrophe. You can change the pope, he said at a press conference in July 2022. I think at my age and with these limitations, I have to save (my energy) to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside."

Ill try to continue to do the trips and be close to people because I think its a way of servicing, being close. But more than this, I cant say, he added.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Its only the British trade minister thats had to stay up til the middle of the night to get the deal done (PA)

Its a question that will echo down the ages of British political history. Were you up for CPTPP?

Kemi Badenoch was, at 1am on Friday morning, sharing screengrabs of her zoom call with trade ministers from Japan, Peru, Mexico, Singapore and Malaysia to announce that the United Kingdom is now the first country ever to join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc from many, many thousand miles away from the Indo-Pacific.

It is, of course, only the latest in a very long line of tacit admissions from Brexiteers that Brexit was very obviously a terrible idea.

It is no less maddening, though very much more wearying, to have to listen to the actual government trumpeting the great triumph of some new trade deal with a nation or nations far away, and just sort of hoping the people are stupid enough to not very clearly see that if this is such a great idea, then making trade harder with the enormous and enormously wealthy free-trade zone on our doorstep is clearly a stupid idea.

Which it is  the single stupidest thing any formerly sensible country has ever done.

Most of the insanity is right there to be seen right away. There were our new trade partners, all on Zoom with Kemi Badenoch, more or less right in the middle of their working day. Its only the British trade minister thats had to stay up til the middle of the night to get the deal done. Its a degree of stupidity thats so large you almost have to applaud it.

For a very long time, the UKs great advantage, arguably the single reason for Londons huge status as a financial centre, was its time zone, which deals with Tokyo in the morning and New York in the afternoon.

As part of this new ingenious partnership, Brexit Britain stays up til the middle of the night to deal with Peru in the evening and Singapore in the morning. To take that unique advantage and turn it into a massive disadvantage really does take some doing.

The other downside is that it makes trade ministers very tired. So tired that when they inevitably have to go on breakfast television to explain how brilliant they are, they end up giving very stupid answers. They say things like: Its the first time weve joined a bloc like this in 50 years. There is strength in numbers.

At this point she did the decent thing and self-interrupted, pointing out entirely unprompted that WE DO HAVE AN FTA WITH THE EU ALREADY SO THIS IS ADDING TO THAT! Which is kind of, vaguely true.

But we have also put up immense barriers to trade with the European Union, and not only with the European Union. For the last three years, it hasnt even been possible for people who grow plants in Newcastle to sell them to loyal decade-long customers in Belfast.

There is strength in numbers, certainly. When youre out on your own, you kind of have to do what other people tell you. Like, for example, slashing import tariffs on Malaysian palm oil from 2 per cent down to zero.

Once upon a time, Michael Gove liked to claim that Brexit would actually mean that Britain could have higher environmental standards than the EU, not lower. Which, like most things Michael Gove says, is carefully worded and theoretically true, but in reality has led directly to the flooding of Britains beaches with raw sewage. (And now to the de facto subsidisation of the most environmentally damaging, rainforest-destroying crop on Earth.)

Badenoch was also very keen to point out that the difference between being part of the Indo-Pacific trade deal, and being part of the European Union, is that we make the rules and regulations on our standards.

Obviously this stuff is very basic, and very boring, but, as Ms Badenoch had pointed out only two sentences before, the point of being part of a bloc, of there being strength in numbers, is that the big boys dictate their rules and regulations to the others.

Which is why it is, very obviously, much better for a very big, very powerful continent like Europe to work out its regulations and standards collectively, so it can duke it out with China and with America from a position of strength, not weakness.

If this were not a good idea, the single market would simply not exist. Margaret Thatcher would not have created it. Germany, France, Spain, Poland and everybody else would not consider leaving it to be an act of suicidal stupidity.

What making your own rules and regulations actually means is staying up til 1am to be told what to do by Malaysia and then selling it as a big win.

Which is, naturally, the point. And it seems unlikely Kemi Badenoch wont have worked out the real synergy, the real area for growth.

Its not that long ago that international trade secretary Liz Truss spent many months flying around the world, signing cut-and-paste trade deals with whatever country would do them, and not really worrying very much about the impact they might have on, say, British dairy farmers, whove been terrified of the prospect of a trade deal with New Zealand since the second Brexit was ever raised.

What that achieved for the UK economy was absolutely zero. But it did get Liz Truss quite a few more followers on Instagram and make her very popular indeed with Tory party members. You may already know how that worked out (although it is conceivably possible that you missed it altogether).

There is absolutely no sane analysis to be found anywhere that any amount of free-trade arrangements with countries very far away can ever possibly make up for the economic damage of Brexit.

The mere act of talking up the marginal gains shows only the scale of the massive losses. Whether Badenoch understands any of that is debatable. Nobody who did would ever have campaigned or voted for Brexit, not unless, like most of them, they simply didnt care.

Still, there are many in the Tory party who have spent many years, wide-eyed at 2am, with only their bedroom ceiling for company, wondering quite how it is they came to do what theyve done. At least now they can ring up their mate in Kuala Lumpur for a bit of therapy, providing they can get them to stop laughing for long enough to listen.


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Question Everything! Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Matt Taibbi Says Democrats Ditched Free Speech By Tyler Durden Independent journalist Matt Taibbi - of recent "Twitter Files" fame - has exposed the fact that civil liberties are no longer popular among Democrats. Taibbi appeared on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" to reiterate his perspective that the modern Democratic Party no longer represents the values of the everyday American. "About all of this  Matt, how do you feel about all of this? I know before you started discovering this bad behavior, you identified as a Democrat, and now you've got all of your friends, quote-unquote, in the media attacking you for exposing this," Bartiromo asked. "Yeah, it's funny, I mean, I was raised in a traditional ACLU liberal, I believed in free speech all my life. That was one of the things, frankly, that attracted me to the Democratic Party when I was a kid, the idea that we were the party that believed in letting everybody have a say, and we'll just make a better argument, and that's how the system works," Taibbi said. He continued, "Apparently, something very dramatic has changed in politics in America, and there's been a shift. There's no question about it anymore, that now the parties have had a complete reversal on how they read these issues." Matt Taibbi @mtaibbi: "There's no question about it anymore that now the parties have had a complete reversal on how they view these issues." pic.twitter.com/2zxpspYTmO  The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 26, 2023 Views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Reader financed- No Advertising - No Government Grants - No Algorithm - This Is Independent Get Our Free Newsletter Registration is not necessary to post comments. We ask only that you do not use obscene or offensive language. Please be respectful of others. See also 206 Democrats vote against bill banning federal officials from policing online speech
By Jeffrey D. Sachs

March 30, 2023: Information Clearing House -- The greatest enemy of economic development is war. If the world slips further into global conflict, our economic hopes and our very survival could go up in flames. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists just moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock to a mere 90 seconds to midnight.

The worlds biggest economic loser in 2022 was Ukraine, where the economy collapsed by 35 percent according to the International Monetary Fund. The war in Ukraine could end soon, and economic recovery could begin, but this depends on Ukraine understanding its predicament as victim of a US-Russia proxy war that broke out in 2014.

The US has been heavily arming and funding Ukraine since 2014 with the goal of expanding NATO and weakening Russia. Americas proxy wars typically rage for years and even decades, leaving battleground countries like Ukraine in rubble.

Unless the proxy war ends soon, Ukraine faces a dire future. Ukraine needs to learn from the horrible experience of Afghanistan to avoid becoming a long-term disaster. It could also look to the US proxy wars in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.

Starting in 1979, the US armed the mujahadeen (Islamist fighters) to harass the Soviet-backed government in Afghanistan. As President Jimmy Carters national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski later explained, the US objective was to provoke the Soviet Union to intervene, in order to trap the Soviet Union in a costly war. The fact that Afghanistan would be collateral damage was of no concern to US leaders.

The Soviet military entered Afghanistan in 1979 as the US hoped, and fought through the 1980s. Meanwhile, the US-backed fighters established al-Qaeda in the 1980s, and the Taliban in the early 1990s. The US trick on the Soviet Union had boomeranged. In 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The US war continued for another 20 years, until the US finally left in 2021. Sporadic US military operations in Afghanistan continue.

Afghanistan lies in ruins. While the US wasted more than $2 trillion of US military outlays, Afghanistan is impoverished, with a 2021 gross domestic product below $400 per person! As a parting gift to Afghanistan in 2021, the US Government seized Afghanistans tiny foreign exchange holdings, paralyzing the banking system.

The proxy war in Ukraine began nine years ago when the US Government backed the overthrow of Ukraines President Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovychs sin from the US viewpoint was his attempt to maintain Ukraines neutrality despite the US desire to expand NATO to include Ukraine (and Georgia). Americas objective was for NATO countries to encircle Russia in the Black Sea region. To achieve this goal, the US has been massively arming and funding Ukraine since 2014.

The American protagonists then and now are the same. The US Governments point person on Ukraine in 2014 was Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, who today is undersecretary of state. Back in 2014, Nuland worked closely with Jake Sullivan, President Joe Bidens national security advisor, who played the same role for Vice President Biden in 2014.

The US overlooked to two harsh political realities in Ukraine. The first is that Ukraine is deeply divided ethnically and politically between Russia-hating nationalists in Western Ukraine and ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. The second is that NATO enlargement to Ukraine crosses a Russian redline. Russia will fight to the end, and escalate as necessary, to prevent the US from incorporating Ukraine into NATO.

The US repeatedly asserts that NATO is a defensive alliance. Yet NATO bombed Russias ally Serbia for 78 days in 1999 in order to break Kosovo away from Serbia, after which the US established a giant military base in Kosovo. NATO forces similarly toppled Russian ally Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, setting off a decade of chaos in Libya. Russia certainly will never accept NATO in Ukraine.

At the end of 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward three demands to the US: Ukraine should remain neutral and out of NATO; Crimea should remain part of Russia; and the Donbas should become autonomous in accord with the Minsk II Agreement. The Biden-Sullivan-Nuland team rejected negotiations over NATO enlargement, eight years after the same group backed Yanukovychs overthrow. With Putins negotiating demands flatly rejected by the US, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

In March 2022, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemed to understand Ukraines dire predicament as victim of a US-Russia proxy war. He declared publicly that Ukraine would become a neutral country, and asked for security guarantees. He also publicly recognized that Crimea and Donbas would need some kind of special treatment.

Israels Prime Minister at that time, Naftali Bennett, became involved as a mediator, along with Turkey. Russia and Ukraine came close to reaching an agreement. Yet, as Bennett has recently explained, the US blocked the peace process.

Since then, the war has escalated. According to US investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, US agents blew up the Nord Stream pipelines in September. More recently, the US and allies have committed to sending tanks, longer-range missiles, and possibly fighter jets to Ukraine.

The basis for peace is clear. Ukraine would be a neutral non-NATO country. Crimea would remain home to Russias Black Sea naval fleet, as it has been since 1783. A practical solution would be found for the Donbas, such as a territorial division, autonomy, or an armistice line. Most importantly, the fighting would stop, Russian troops would leave Ukraine, and Ukraines sovereignty would be guaranteed by the UN Security Council and other nations. Such an agreement could have been reached in December 2021 or in March 2022.

Above all, the Government and people of Ukraine would tell Russia and the US that Ukraine refuses any longer to be the battleground of a proxy war. In the face of deep internal divisions, Ukrainians on both sides of the ethnic divide would strive for peace, rather than believing that an outside power will spare them the need to compromise.

Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned economics professor, bestselling author, innovative educator and global leader in sustainable development.  Ed.
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov has warned of a risk of destabilization stemming from the tense situation in Nagorno Karabakh.

Speaking at a joint meeting of the CSTO Secretariat and Joint Staff, Tasmagambetov said that the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and Afghanistan remains tense and creates risk of destabilization in the CSTO countries.

The tension in the Caucasus region persists as a result of the many years of disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Interfax news agency quoted the CSTO Secretary General as saying.

He warned of a serious risk of destabilization because of the risks relating to the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The situation in the Central Asian region is also tense, the threat of infiltration of extremist ideology and terrorist groups into the territory of CSTO allies is growing. The difficult threats coming from the territory of Afghanistan are especially concerning, he said, adding that the organization is working to perfect its mechanisms of withstanding challenges and threats.
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The CSTO is always ready to deploy a mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, a senior official of the organizations secretariat said Friday.

Regarding the Caucasian region, the organization is always ready to send a CSTO mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border pursuant to the interests of ensuring Armenias security, as well as to provide other assistance, TASS news agency quoted CSTO Secretariat representative Yuri Shuvalov as saying after a joint meeting of the CSTO Secretariat and Joint Staff.

The assistance mechanisms are included in the CSTO Collective Security Councils draft decision, which is pending, he added.
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the President of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France, Laurent Wauquiez, and the delegation led by him, who were on a two-day visit to the Syunik Province, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

In his welcome speech, the Prime Minister particularly said,

"Dear Mr. Wauquiez,

I welcome you in the Republic of Armenia and I am glad to meet you again. We are also pleased to note that the relations between Armenia and France have high dynamics not only at the highest political level, but also in the level of decentralized cooperation.

Of course, we are in a very difficult period, and our country and the region are experiencing very difficult times. In this sense, such visits are also very important in terms of conveying moral strength and support, including political. I would like to emphasize the importance of your visit to the starting point of the Lachin Corridor and the Syunik Province and, of course, your messages regarding the existing situation.

I would also like to hear your impressions from the visit. I hope you have noticed that despite all the problems, we are making very serious investment projects in the republic, including in the Syunik Province. massive construction works are being carried out: roads, schools, kindergartens, other infrastructures, because our approach is that despite all the challenges, we should not deviate for a moment from the development agenda of Armenia. Recently, the European Union's investment and economic plan was launched in Syunik Province, which is extremely important. We also hope that the presence of the EU civilian mission along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border will become an additional factor contributing to stability and security. I welcome you once again."

The President of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France said,

"Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister.

This is the second time we are meeting, and I have the greatest respect for what you are doing for Armenia in this very difficult period. Last time I was very impressed with your strength and your will to move forward with very specific plans.

You are asking about my impressions from this visit. first of all, I want to say that it was very important for us to go to the Syunik Province and be the first French local authority to establish cooperation with the region, because we understand very well how important Syunik is for the territorial integrity of Armenia."

The parties emphasized the consistent efforts of the international community towards stability and peace in the region.

The interlocutors also discussed the prospects for the development of multi-sector partnership and the expansion of trade and economic ties. In this regard, the signing of the Cooperation Agreement between the Syunik Province and the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region on March 29 was highlighted.

The Prime Minister noted that the Armenian Government consistently continues the policy of balanced territorial development, and in this regard, attached great importance to the strengthening of decentralized cooperation with France and the exchange of experience between regions. Nikol Pashinyan referred to the reform agenda of the Government of Armenia, measures being implemented to improve the investment environment. Laurent Wauquiez thanked for the information, noting that French companies are interested in doing business in Armenia.

The sides exchanged ideas on opportunities for implementing joint projects in the fields of agriculture, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and renewable energy.
What is for India in all this renewed Chinese geopolitical vigour.

With the Russia-Ukraine war going past its one-year mark and showing little sign of abating anytime soon, the world is learning to adjust itself to the effects of the war. Among those quick to respond is China. In two areas we have seen the Chinese footprint enhance through recent events. First was the visit of President Xi Jinping to Moscow and the endorsement he handed out to President Vladmir Putin over his policies. The second was the surprising announcement of a China-sponsored Iran-Saudi Arabian accord signalling Beijings first serious foray into Middle East geopolitics; Xi Jinping had visited Saudi Arabia in December 2022 to attend the first China-GCC summit.

Two reasons appear to stand out for Chinas proactiveness. First, the Chinese strategic outreach expected from the Belt and Road Initiative has perhaps not delivered to the level expected. Second, Mr Xis personal ambition of getting things on the move to achieve the objectives he has laid out for 2035 is spurring things in foreign policy. The war in Eastern Europe has worked to Chinas advantage more than against it. It has helped to force American attention and focus to that region with full commitment, thus staving off the inevitable attention that the US would bring to the Indo-Pacific. An increase in Chinese geopolitical activity and presence in the Middle East has been evident for some time. Chinas economic growth is dependent upon guaranteed energy supplies for its manufacturing sector. Part of that comes from Russia and Central Asia, but the majority reaches Chinas eastern seaboard from the Middle East. It is the biggest purchaser of energy from Iran and Saudi Arabia, contributing hugely to those economies, which have also been under stress and strain. A guaranteed supply source is what China desires most, along with secure supply routes for its manufactured goods.

Interestingly, China has also set out a framework for a political settlement to the conflict in Ukraine. Probably hit by the international hype given to Prime Minister Narendra Modis sage advice to President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on the SCO summits sidelines in August 2022, China was smarting. Xi Jinping does not wish to be seen as only an instigator and supporter of war through the backing given to Mr Putin and Russia but his peace plan is below par and a disappointment for those expecting a roadmap to peace. The proposal lacked specifics about contentious issues like resolving the various territorial disputes between Kyiv and Moscow or providing any security guarantees for Ukraine. A plan devoid of any proposed or eventual withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory is a non-starter. However, a maximalist approach should be expected in any plan with progressive compromises; that is how all genuine peace proposals work. It does appear that China was taken by surprise by the start of the Ukraine war, despite the famous no limits friendship statement by Chinese and Russian officials during the Beijing Winter Olympics in early February 2022. Beijing has not supported Russia in the UN and has not provided Russia with weapons; it has publicly proclaimed neutrality. It has, however, supported the Kremlins basic issues about the war, seriously opposed sanctions against Russia and has helped with energy purchases to support the Russian economy, which otherwise cannot sustain the war. It needs Russia for some sophisticated weaponry (S-400, Su-35). A Russian military defeat, leading to Mr Putins downfall would be a nightmare scenario for it. A beholden Mr Putin, with Russia a virtually junior partner, an image of China as a virtual geopolitical pole and the US Indo-Pacific strategy on temporary hold, all works to the advantage of China.

Now the Middle East. As already stated, energy guarantees are important for China but more than that is the necessity of creating the image of a geopolitical referee in the region. Beijings foreign policy of balancing between rivals and increasing multilateralism has enabled it to deepen its ties with the Middle East, although jumping straight into an old and contentious conflict such as the Iran-Saudi one is bound to have its own complications. The outreach to Iran through the 25-year $400 billion strategic and economic deal cut in 2021 is not something unexpected, with Iran pushed to the wall by the US. Its the taking of Saudi Arabia on board which is a potential coup, as it upsets a long-lasting US-Saudi relationship and throws the future strategic equations of the Middle East into disarray. China is now involved in Grand Mosque revamp projects in Saudi Arabia and remains the largest investor in Egypts Suez Canal Area Development Project, which is Beijings most important shipping route to Europe. While the Iran-Saudi deal may be strewn with challenges, Chinas entry as a serious player in the Middle East is bound to cause concern for the US. Israel, in whom the US has invested so much, may also not be too happy with the interplay with Iran and Saudi Arabia.

What is for India in all this renewed Chinese geopolitical vigour. First, Russia could sooner than later become completely subservient to China. There could then be erosion in the remnants of the Indo-Russian relationship contingent upon how hard the United States and the West works on incorporating India into their future Indo-Pacific strategies. The Indo-US strategic partnership and Indias membership of the Quad exist with full transparency, but the degree of commitment by India under the current circumstances remains a challenge. Its membership of multilateral equations and groups on both sides of the divide in the current Cold War puts it in a crucible, where all kinds of pressures will be applied. The Russia-China combine will definitely not be strategically happy to push India firmly into the US and Western groupings; Indias grey zone commitment thus far may be suitable as it places it virtually in the realm of being a swing power. However, in the future this is going to be a serious challenge, especially as material aspects of the Indo-Russian relationship start drying up; the non-arrival of the remaining contracted S-400 systems may just be the tip of the iceberg. Even with the very sensible Atma Nirbharta policy in place, it will be some time before India could be self-sufficient in advanced military equipment. The moment we tilt our scale a wee bit more towards the US and the West, the tenuous balance so adroitly played out by the Indian government so far is likely to be upset. That needs a separate analysis to imagine its impact on the ground.
by Sumon Corraya

In the article written by Shamsuzzaman Shams on the occasion of Independence Day, the words of a day labourer were quoted: 'What is this freedom for if we cannot afford rice? A lawsuit was also filed against the editor of the Prothom Alo newspaper, the largest and most influential in Bangladesh. Concern about press freedom from journalists' associations.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams of the daily Prothom Alo has been arrested on charges of publishing 'fake' news after an article of his reporting on price increases in the country went viral. The editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Matiur Rahmanl, was also investigated under the Digital Security Act.

The story dates back to 26 March, when, on the occasion of Bangladesh Independence Day, in the online section of Prothom Alo (which means 'first light' and is the country's largest and most influential newspaper) a news item was published with a day labourer's statement saying: "What is the use of this freedom if we cannot afford rice?", underlining a general discontent with the rising price of foodstuffs.

The news item was accompanied by a photo of a child looking through a gap in the grille of a memorial. Prothom Alo corrected the news after a heated discussion arose on social media: 'Due to an inconsistency between the title of this report and the image used, it has been removed and the title has been corrected,' the newspaper said.

On 29 March, Shams was arrested by members of the Police Criminal Investigation Department at his home in Dhaka. Golam Kibria, a resident of the Mirpur area, filed a lawsuit accusing the journalist of publishing 'false and fabricated' news. Yesterday, the court sentenced Shams to jail despite a bail application.

The Bangladesh Newspaper Owners' Association condemned Shams' arrest and expressed concern about the charges against editor Matiur Rahman, calling the actions of the Police Force in recent days 'unacceptable': the enforcement of the Digital Security Act against the editor of Prothom Alo 'amounts to harassment and intimidation of the courageous journalism of his newspaper', the journalists' statement read. "At the same time we find the increasing use of the Digital Security Act against reporters alarming. We have voiced our criticism of the legislation at various levels of government. Such a law is not compatible with ideas and ways to build free expression, independent journalism and a progressive society."

The Editor Parishad, the association of editors of the country's leading newspapers, also expressed the same position. In a separate communique yesterday, the two organisations called for the withdrawal of the lawsuit filed against Matiur Rahman, the release of Shams and the immediate repeal of the Digital Security Act, and also called for the withdrawal of all lawsuits filed against journalists.

According to the latest World Press Freedom Index compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders, Bangladesh ranks 162nd out of 180 countries, behind Russia and Afghanistan.

Between yesterday and today there were protests by activists and students at Jahangirnagar University and Dhaka University against Shams' arrest.

Yesterday, the Information Minister, Muhammad Hasan Mahmud, insisted that Prothom Alo's news was false: 'This kind of news hurts the foundations of the country. This kind of news is against the state, society and freedom. According to everyone it is a crime, a digital crime. If a journalist commits a crime, won't he be punished? The case will proceed as planned."
The Bishops Conference has entrusted the records to the university to ensure that they are available to researchers and scholars. The meticulous recorded information includes baptisms, weddings, and funerals from the early 17th century to the present.

Manila (AsiaNews)  The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has turned over four centuries worth of microfilm copies of Catholic parish records from across the country.to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, the oldest Catholic university in Asia, founded by the Dominicans in 1611.

The microfilms contain records of baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals from the early 1600s to the present and will now be available to researchers.

Found in meticulously written canonical books, the records were made by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CJCLDS) who donated them to the CBCP.

CBCP President Pablo Virgilio David, bishop of Kalookan, thanked the university for taking on the task of preserving these important documents. The transfer of the documents to UST, Bishop David said, will make the data more readily available for research work.

During the turnover ceremony, UST Rector Fr Richard G. Ang, thanked the CBCP for the gift, reiterating the universitys readiness to help the Philippine Church.

UTS has one of the countrys oldest archives, prioritising the selection, conservation and accessibility of documents for the search of historical materials.

According to the Deed of Donation signed on Tuesday, the university will ensure that the materials are placed in a controlled environment and that they are properly handled and used.

It will also make certain that the contents will be accessible to researchers, including graduate students, professors, genealogists, journalists, and other academics, while complying with the provisions of the Data Privacy Act.
By Finian Cunningham

March 30, 2023: Information Clearing House -- " SCF " - Russia and China are determined to hold the American perpetrators of the Nord Stream sabotage to account. Uncle Sams days  indeed decades  of wanton criminality are over. Theres going to be hell to pay as the imperialist tyranny in Washington hits a wall of reality.

Several weeks have gone by with the United States and its Western lackeys stonewalling at the United Nations Security Council, squirming and resisting calls from Moscow and Beijing for an international criminal investigation into the sabotage of the Baltic Sea pipelines that were blown up in September.

A swathe of independent observers, such as American economics professor Jeffrey Sachs and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, have concurred with the investigative report published on February 8 by renowned journalist Seymour Hersh which claims that U.S. President Joe Biden and his senior White House staff ordered the Pentagon to take out the natural gas pipeline that runs along the Baltic Sea bed from Russia to Germany.

Russia and China are adamant about not letting this vital subject be ignored. They want a proper investigation, international accountability and criminal prosecution. Moscow and Beijing are right to insist on this. Washington and its Western allies presumption of impunity has gone on for too many decades. The buck stops here and both Russia and China are strong enough to ensure that the United States cannot threaten, blackmail, or arm-twist its way out of scrutiny.

The Nord Stream project is a major international civilian infrastructure, costing in excess of $20 billion to construct over more than a decade. At 1,200 kilometres in length under the Baltic Sea, it is an impressive feat of engineering, symbolizing the mutual benefits of good neighborliness and cooperative trading.

For the United States to blow this pipeline up in order to knock Russia out of the European energy market so that it could muscle in with its own more expensive gas supplies is a shocking act of state terrorism and criminality. It is also potentially an act of war against Russia and callous sabotage against supposed European allies whose citizens are now suffering economic misery from soaring energy bills. German workers have this week shut down the entire economy from industrial protests over collapsing businesses and unbearable cost of living.

Of course, the Nord Stream sabotage is an urgent matter of basic justice, accountability for an atrocious crime, as well as massive international financial reparations. Its almost hilarious how the self-proclaimed American protagonist of rules-based global order is desperately procrastinating over a glaring incident of dereliction and chaos.

But more than the essential obligation of justice is the legacy of impunity. For the perpetrators of such a wanton terrorist act not to be held accountable sets a perilous precedent. Otherwise, what is stopping the state terrorists from repeating equally brazen acts of sabotage and warmongering? The very concept of international law and the United Nations Charter is demolished, not simply undermined.

The Nord Stream incident potentially opens an era of rampant lawlessness and state banditry  by a nuclear superpower, the United States, using its Western minions for cover. The Western news media, in their reluctance to investigate, are also exposed as nothing more than propaganda channels in the service of imperial masters.

The present is reminiscent of the 1930s during a time of fascist expansionism by Nazi Germany and other imperialist nations, including the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Japan, and others. Nazi Germany was not the unique culprit during that earlier time of barbarism, notwithstanding the official Western revisionism of history to absolve itself.

After the Second World War amid the ashes of international destruction and up to 85 million deaths, the United Nations and its Charter were founded to ostensibly enshrine the stricture that there would be no repetition of the 1930s-style lawlessness and state terrorism.

That lofty aspiration was always a pathetic illusion. The decades after WWII saw no halt to the imperialist warmongering and subterfuges carried out primarily by the United States and its Western allies, in particular Britain. What a mockery that the U.S. and Britain were afforded permanent member states of the UN Security Council given that these two rogue powers have been largely responsible for countless wars post-1945. The decades-long wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan are but the most notorious war crimes of the Anglo-American special relationship.

During the Cold War decades, the Soviet Union provided a limited check on the worst depredations by Western imperialists. The Peoples Republic of China was not strong enough to act as a deterrent force.

For about two decades after the Cold War officially ended in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States rulers perceived a license for full-spectrum dominance. Washington embarked on a frenzy of endless wars that up till recently have prevailed.

The first reality check on the unbridled violence of the U.S. imperialists and their NATO henchmen was Russias military intervention in Syria in late 2015 to put an end to the Western machinations for yet another regime-change operation. Washington and its accomplices failed in their nefarious goals in Syria, albeit the Americans persist in illegally occupying part of the Arab country and stealing its oil resources.

Ukraine is the full manifestation of the end to impunity for the United States.

Russia under Vladimir Putin has recovered the military strength that was lost with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In some ways, present-day Russia is even more formidable owing to the development of new forms of weapons, such as hypersonic missiles and S-500 air defenses. Also, Russias economy is on a sounder footing than the Soviet Union which relied excessively on militarism. Hence, Moscow has been able to withstand the economic assault that Washington and its allies have tried to mount over the Ukraine conflict.

Just as important, too, China has risen to economic and military superpower status. Together, Russia and China now present an invulnerable countervailing force to the United States and its Western allies.

For nearly eight decades after World War Two, the United States was relatively free to run amok, trashing international law and nations sovereignty, racking up death tolls by the millions, and terrorizing the planet with its benign, narcissistic tyranny.

The conflict in Ukraine, where Russia has said enough is enough to years of U.S.-led NATO aggression, is demonstrating that the days of impunity are finally over for the would-be American hegemon.

Washington has recklessly raised the stakes to an unsustainable height in Ukraine. It has bet the house  and farm  on subjugating Russia for its next insatiable imperial move against China. But Moscow and Beijing are calling Uncle Sams bluff. The buck stops here.

The edifice of American imperial power has never been challenged at its foundation. It is now.

Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent.
Paradoxically, a country with 47 per cent of the population under 25, rural areas are left with seniors (70 per cent of them). Government projects that seniors will go from 138 million in 2021 to 194 million in 2031. Many continue to work, especially in agriculture, or depend on their children, but in some place, police look after them.

Milan (AsiaNews)  In India some 25 to 30 people move from rural areas to urban centres every minute; as a result, villages are left with mainly elderly residents over 60 who in many cases live alone and continue to work in agriculture.

In some states this has created some ghost towns, places like Kumbanad, in the southern state of Kerala, where one in six homes (15 per cent out of more than 11,000) are locked up because their owners have left.

With so few children, teachers are forced to go looking for them and pay families out of their own pockets to bring them to school.

This is quite a paradox for a country where 47 per cent of the population of 1.4 billion is under the age of 25.

The reality is that Indias population growth is uneven, with southern states already struggling with a progressively aging population due to declining fertility rates, a trend accentuated by young people moving to cities or abroad.

Internal migration grew by 51 per cent between 2001 and 2011. According to Indias last census in 2011, internal migration numbered 450 million, a trend that probably continued in the 10 years that followed, this despite the COVID0-19 pandemic.

By 2050, this should turn India into an urbanised society with 841 million or about half of the Indian population living in cities. As a result, rural areas will be mainly inhabited by people over 60.

Despite the increase in life expectancy, 60 usually marks the end of active employment, and about 73 per cent of seniors live in rural areas.

According to the latest report by Indias National Statistical Office (NSO), released in 2021, the number of seniors will rise from 138 million to 194 million by 2031, up 41 per cent in 10 years.

The states with the largest proportion of elderly people are Kerala (20.9 per cent), Tamil Nadu (18.2 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (17.1 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (16.4 per cent), and Punjab (16.2 per cent).

According to other government data, 4.4 per cent of elderly people live alone in rural areas, with a major difference between men (1.6 per cent) and women (7.2 per cent).

In rural areas, 26 per cent of urban residents over 60 continue to work, compared to 40 per cent in rural areas, mainly farming and more out of necessity than by choice.

Only 28 per cent of rural seniors consider themselves economically independent compared to 33 per cent in cities, while another 25 per cent and 20 per cent respectively consider themselves partially dependent on others.

The percentage of seniors totally dependent economically on their family is the same in both rural and urban areas. Most of them say they rely on their children who are often living in cities or abroad.

India has fewer than a thousand nursing homes, according to the AgeWell Foundation. For cultural reasons, families sometimes do not take this life option into account; nevertheless, such homes have recently reported more applications and very long waiting lists.

In many cases, the elderly prefer to turn to day centres that offer various services, but in "ghost towns", where crime is low, police often look after senior citizens.

In Kumbanad police told the BBC that they cannot remember when the last murder took place. Thefts are rare, but every now and then there is some fraud, Chief Police Inspector Sajeesh Kumar V explained. "Otherwise we are mainly dealing with minor fights among residents, he said.

Police visit the elderly almost every day to make sure they are okay, and have given mobile alarms to some so that they can alert neighbours in case of an emergency.

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We hope that we can continue our prayers in all the destroyed churches and monasteries, local archbishop says. Since 2003, the community has lived in a climate of insecurity, which peaked when the Islamic State took power. The latter used the building to store weapons and make explosives. Reconstruction is slow. Local bishops slam the countrys electoral reform.

Mosul (AsiaNews)  After years of violence and persecution, Christians in northern Iraq have started to openly practise their faith again in their native land amid joy but also fear.

The US invaded Iraq in 2003. Since then, we have lived with all [sorts of] the events, including killings, kidnappings, and explosions," said 31-year-old Hamid Tuzi, quoted in al-Jazeera.

After 20 years, things seem to have improved and the community is happy and relieved to be able to hold Mass again at Deir Mar Mikhael monastery.

Still, it will be hard to forget the summer of 2014 when the Islamic State (IS) sparked mass flight from Mosul and the Nineveh Plain towards Kurdistan or abroad, one of the most traumatic moments in the history of this ancient community.

Liberation came in 2017, but six years later, only 50 families (out of 50,000 people) have returned to their homes, while the process of rebuilding homes, places of worship and businesses remains an uphill struggle, so much so that some are still commuting from Erbil waiting for better times.

Nevertheless, the religious service performed yesterday at Deir Mar Mikhael monastery by the Chaldean Archbishop Najib Mikhael Moussa of Mossul-Aqra, accompanied by Bishop Paul Thabit al-Mekko of Alquoch represents a milestone on the path of rebirth.

This liturgy will be the beginning of the reconstruction of the monastery in the near future and the return of prayers, said Archbishop Moussa.

The Islamic State looted all the property of the monastery and deliberately vandalised and distorted it with graffiti. In addition, planes struck the monastery because it was used it as an IS base, with weapons stored and explosives manufactured.

For years, Christians were not able to pray in churches and monasteries in Mosul (and the Nineveh Plain) because of violence and insecurity.

Now, with some buildings partially rebuilt, the celebration of the divine liturgy in the monastery for the first time in two decades marks a new step towards stability, although there is still a long way to go.

We hope that we can continue our prayers in all the destroyed churches and monasteries, Archbishop Moussa said.

After 2003, as Christians, we used to stay at home for long periods and deliberately not go to churches and monasteries because of the bad security conditions and threats to Christians, Tuzi explained. Christians were frequently targeted, many people were threatened and emigrated, and many priests were killed.

Indeed, in the community, no one will forget Bishop Paul Faraj Rahho and the seven priests, including Fr Ragheed Ganni, killed by jihadis.

Ezzat Sami, 69, has lived in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan, since fleeing Mosul, Iraqs largest northern city, but often visits his old hometown.

He is happy that we can come to Mass again, [. . .] remember the old days and remember our relatives who passed away, like his late father.

Muslims used to share our joys and sorrows, we were brothers and still are. The monastery guard is Muslim. When we celebrated Mass two days ago, the residents of the area welcomed us.

Meanwhile, local bishops have taken the extraordinary step of speaking out against Iraqs new electoral law and expressing their opinion about the long-standing issue of minority representation, and the potential loss of ethnic and religious pluralism, not any one seat.

If the right steps are not taken to ensure representativeness, the prelates grouped in the Nineveh Council might take certain unexpected steps, like boycotting the next election.
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Pedestrians walk toward the Rubey Park Transit Center from the intersection of Mill Street and Hyman Avenue on Thursday. This summer, the city of Aspen and Aspen Ideas Festival will collaborate to install a temporary mural on the asphalt in the area.
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It's over for Virgin Orbit.

Company CEO Dan Hart has officially announced that the company is ceasing its space launch operations "for the foreseeable future" after failing to secure funding despite its efforts.

Virgin Orbit first announced it would try to find an investor to fund its space launch operations in mid-March but was unable to secure one as of Mar. 29.

Virgin Orbit Space Launch Operations Termination Details

Hart mentioned during an all-hands meeting with employees on Mar. 30 that Virgin Orbit is ceasing operations "for the foreseeable future" and that it would immediately lay off about 90% of them as a result, per CNBC.

Because of the lack of funding, Hart said he and the company have no choice but to implement "immediate, dramatic, and extremely painful changes." He added in the call that this all-hands meeting would be probably the hardest he's ever done in his life.

On the other hand, a securities filing revealed that the company would be laying off 675 employees immediately from all departments, or approximately 85% of its workforce, per Tech Crunch. The company would retain 100 positions, though Hart didn't mention why the company wishes to retain them for the time being.

Virgin Orbit will provide a severance package for every employee laid off, which consists of a cash payment, an extension of benefits, and support in finding a new position, including an opportunity to work under its sister company, Virgin Galactic, if they so wish.

"This company, this team - all of you - mean[s] a hell of a lot to me. And I have not, and will not, stop supporting you, whether you're here on the journey or if you're elsewhere," Hart said.

Read More: Netflix Games May Soon be Available on TV with iPhones as Controllers

The BBC reports that Sir Richard Branson's investment firm Virgin Investments injected $10.9 million into the company to fund its severance packages and other costs related to workforce reduction. It is unknown if Virgin orbit will fly and launch its rockets again in the foreseeable future.

Hart's announcement comes just two weeks after the company announced its unpaid week-long furlough to give Virgin Orbit leadership time to secure funding for its operations. It initially had a deal with Texas-based private investor Matthew Brown to do so, but negotiations between the two eventually soured before the deal could be closed.

The company also managed to secure another party to help finance it, but discussions about the deal fell through during the weekend due to an undisclosed reason.

Virgin Orbit's Space Launch Operations Life Story

Virgin Orbit is a company within Sir Branson's Virgin Group to develop and commercialize its LauncherOne satellite launch system, which was fitted under its Cosmic Girl carrier plane, which was based on a modified 747 airliner, per Engadget.

Virgin orbit claims that using the LauncherOne rocket, which can launch 1,100 pounds per mission at most, has an advantage over traditional vertically launched rockets, such as NASA's and SpaceX's. This supposed advantage is due to air-launched missions being more responsive and flexible than rockets launched from the ground.

During its operations, it managed to execute four successful satellite launch missions to Earth's orbit, while it only lost two - including the most recent one in the UK in January.

Unfortunately, Virgin Orbit was unable to turn a profit as a public company even in its six years of space launch operations.

Related Article: Virgin Orbit Extends Unpaid Furlough As It Continues Seeking Funding
PHEV

Design evaluation

Photo: Florin Profir/autoevolution

Interior assessment

Photo: Florin Profir/autoevolution

Photo: Florin Profir/autoevolution

Driving take

EV

Photo: Florin Profir/autoevolution

kW

kWh

Everyday living

Photo: Florin Profir/autoevolution

Test drive roundup

Pro

Exterior design

Luxurious cabin

Infotainment system

Handling

Fuel efficiency

Cons

High seating position

Small trunk

Noisy suspension

Not available in the U.S.

Complicated controls for HVAC

Before you jump into the comment section and ask me why I didn't include brands like Cadillac or Lincoln into the equation, let's say that they can hardly compare with the Jag. Size-wise, the F-Pace slits between the XT4 and the XT5 and also is larger than the Corsair from Lincoln . Moreover, the British crossover has a plug-in hybrid version, named P400, which is not available in the U.S. Sorry, folks, they only sell the P400 mild-hybrid version with an inline-six under the hood on U.S. soil. I'm wondering if the Brits were afraid of competition.With that said, I dare you to make an online petition to ask Jaguar to sell this version in the U.S. It's a gem of a car as long as you have a charging station at home. Because that's the biggest issue with plug-in hybrids . If you can't charge it to do your daily commute on batteries, then it isn't really worth the trouble and the extra cash you'll pay for it. But this is exactly the version that Jaguar needed to be not just competitive but also thrilling and punchy when needed. After all, a stylish and fast crossover is always welcome at any cars and coffee event.Since Jaguar is in the same boat as Land Rover, it just came natural for these brands to share engines and platforms. Thus, the F-Pace is a distant cousin of the Velar. The latter was already available with this plug-in hybrid drivetrain, so it was just a matter of time until the cat-brand installed it under the hood. The problem was where they could fit the batteries. The LR-badged crossover is slightly longer and can easily accommodate them. Well, in the end, Jaguar's engineers found a way to do that. But first, let's take a look at this R-Dynamic S version of the P400 PHEV.Unless you are a fan of chunky, wedged-shaped vehicles, you can't help yourself but like the F-Pace. Its angry-looking headlights feature a double-waved upper line, and the LED headlights and those Double-J daytime running lights are awesome. Since the car tested featured the R-Dynamic Black package, it sported a black grille and red accents on the badge, which say that it's the sportier version, and functional lower side scoops. In addition, on the lower air dam, the automaker also included a second, A-shaped grille.From its profile, the F-Pace reveals the 21" light-alloy wheels wrapped in run-flat winter tires (that because we tested it during winter months), and on the front fenders, it sported the black side fake vents adorned with the automaker's badge. The same dark cat badge was also featured on the raked-forward tailgate at the back. On the rear fascia, Jaguar installed stylish taillights with a double waved line on their lower side. Unsurprisingly, you should look very closely to notice the dual pipes concealed underneath the bumper. Strangely, though, the U.S. version fitted with the straight-six powerplant comes with a pair of nice chromed trims incorporated into the rear apron. I think that's a better solution. After all, it's a 398-hp vehicle, and it should show that.Overall, the fluid lines and organic shapes blend together nicely. There's nothing daring on the car's exterior, but it's far from being called dull. I think it's just beautiful in a way that no German crossover is. I'd dare to say that it's in the same league as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and the Maserati Grecale Along with the facelift , the F-Pace has received a redesigned interior, and that was a good thing. It finally has a cabin fit for a premium vehicle. Not only that the materials are among the best in the business, but it excels both in the fit and finish. Nevertheless, the tech part of the vehicle is essential. The first impression comes when opening the doors. There's a lovely leather-wrapped door card with real metal trims on it and a metallic grille for the speakers. Everything looks solid and well-fitted, and it inspires confidence.Thanks to their bolstered areas, the front seats can now hold occupants in place during high-speed cornering. It seems like the automaker had to make a concession between sportiness and comfort. Somehow it managed to get both of them. Still, there is one problem I can't get over: they are mounted too high! As expected, they are height-adjustable, but even in the lowest setting, I felt like I was driving a TrailBlazer, not a sporty crossover. Maybe the automaker did this so it could provide enough legroom for those seated in the back, who didn't complain about that. Jaguar also offers a set of Performance seats (that's what it calls them) with integrated headrests and high-bolstered areas, but those were not fitted on the test vehicle.The dashboard has a clean design, with the vents mounted on the upper area and a leather cover with contrast stitching. You can't get a more premium look than this. The 12.3" display in the instrument cluster is surrounded by a metallic trim and shows various information from the onboard computer, the speedometer, and the tachometer. But let's talk about the infotainment system.It is the same 11.4" PiviPro unit found in the Velar. Its slightly curved design helps the driver see all the information clearly. It works with very little lag, and the connectivity with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay works seamlessly. I had one unusual problem, though, I couldn't make it run Waze, so I had to stick with the next best thing, you guessed it, Google Maps . The voice commands worked well, but I'm not a big fan. What I do like, though, are the physical buttons installed by Jaguar, especially for the volume.Honda tried touch buttons on the Civic's tenth generation , and it failed. Now there are other automakers that are going on the same road. I wish them the best of luck. These touch-sliders are suitable only when the vehicle is stopped. And don't tell me that there's a volume button on the steering wheel. I know it's there, but it is way easier to stretch your arm, grab the knob, and quickly turn it left or right if you like the song you're hearing or not. Please tell me in the comment section below if you're using the controller from the steering wheel or from the panel.The 13-speaker (including a subwoofer) Meridian sound system is very good. Not as good as on other premium vehicles I drove, but it does the job very well. On low volume, it loses some of the high-pitch notes. Turning to the max makes your lungs explode, and some of the cabin's interior parts emit strange noises. But between 10 and 80% sounds excellent.I liked the panoramic glass roof that made the cabin feel more spacious. Jaguar installed a gesture system for covering or uncovering it with an interior fabric, which works well. In addition, the automaker installed physical buttons for those who feel better using them.But the car's most important downside is the trunk's volume. Since Jaguar installed the battery pack under the luggage compartment, it had to raise the floor in that area. As a result, it has a sloped-down edge towards the tailgate, and when opened, it makes all the groceries come down on your feet. That might be a good thing if you open it and put the shopping cart there to fill it. But usually, you're going with that full to the vehicle, not from there. Fortunately, Jaguar noticed that and installed anchoring hooks on the sides, so you can strap the bags.The automaker states that the total trunk space of 613 liters (21.6 cu-ft), measured with blocks and filled up to the headliner behind the rear seats. But if you take into consideration just the volume up to the windows line, you'll get around 354 liters (12.5 cu-ft). So, you have to use your skills and imagination if you're going camping with the F-Pace. Or fold down the rear seats seatback either in part or completely, so you'll get up to 1440 liters (50.8 cu-ft) of space. But as long as you're using the car for school runs and cruising down the boulevards, that won't be a problem. Moreover, as far as I know, the shoe boxes are still squared, and they don't roll.With the battery fully charged, the car can go inmode for about 33 miles (50 km). That might be possible only if you don't turn on the windshield heater, the AC, or the heated seats. But if you're crawling through morning rush-hour traffic, then you can get about 20 miles. I have to admit that I used the juice from the batteries mostly for launching, overtaking, and going flat-out from curves. Because the F-Pace, especially if fitted with the R-Dynamic Pack, likes to do that. Thanks to the adaptive suspension, it stays flat while cornering and torque-vectoring. In addition, the rear-biased all-wheel-drive system makes the vehicle feel like a hot hatch, not a crossover.There are several driving programs to choose from, depending on the driver's needs. The default driving mode is the Hybrid, and it works very well. The engine doesn't start if it doesn't have to. Still, since it was a cold day outside, it started to keep the batteries charged and the cabin warm. There are also the EV and the SAVE modes. The former uses only the 105(141 hp) motor to move the vehicle, and it draws its power from the 19.2lithium-ion battery pack. The latter saves electricity for the moments when you want to drive on electrons only, such as when driving in the city.Regardless of the mode selected, when the accelerator is smashed to the floor, it goes full power and gives everything it's got. Thus, it can get a 5.3-second time from 0 to 100 kph (0-62 mph), but only when the batteries are charged. Nevertheless, an estimated time of 6.5 seconds can be achieved with the turbocharged engine alone. After all, it still provides 300 PS (296 hp). That's still more than enough for regular travel. Thanks to the direct fuel injection and turbocharging, the inline-four can be very reasonable in terms of fuel efficiency. Obviously, when the battery pack is full, it sips gasoline, but it's no gas-guzzler either, even when those are depleted.Jaguar says that the battery pack is good for 33 miles, and that applies under certain conditions. In real-life situations, that's hard to attain. Still, you may count on 20 miles (32 km) if you're not reckless with the accelerator. The car may be topped up at a 50 kW DC charger in 30 minutes from 10% to 80% and in an hour and 13 minutes to 100%. On a domestic 2.3 kW plug, it needs seven hours and 6 minutes to completely replenish the battery pack. So, if you need a stylish crossover for the daily commute that's not too far from home, it's worth it. Moreover, if you have a plug available nearby your workplace, that's perfect!Besides fuel efficiency, comfort is also important. While it might not be as comfortable as a Volvo XC60 , it ensures a more spirited drive. But the Jag is a driver's car, and you can feel this. The suspension is on the firm side, so the car doesn't feel like it's floating. It stays firm in the curves, and that torque-vectoring system is awesome. Nevertheless, in an emergency situation, the big rotors will help the F-Pace stops on a dime.One thing that I found a tad annoying is the climate control unit. There, you have a dial where you can set the temperature. Push it, and you'll get the controls for the heated/cooled seats. But then again, this might be something you can get used to it, and you won't need to look at the dial while pushing and turning it. For the passengers seated in the back, Jaguar offered enough legroom and headroom. In addition, the center folding armrest can keep them from bouncing left or right if the driver suddenly decides to take a sharp turn without slowing down.Since we're living in a world where connectivity means everything and our devices need chargers, Jaguar offers wireless charging at the bottom of the center stack for the front passengers. Those seated in the back has two USB-C outlets installed on the central console's end, so they can keep their phones charged at all time.At almost 90,000 euros ($97,455), it offers all the bells and whistles you might expect from a luxurious, compact-sized crossover. In addition, it can do some wade crossing without breaking a sweat. After all, Jaguar's brother is Land Rover. The F-Pace can serve as a family vehicle as long as you travel light, it sips fuel when the batteries are charged, and it can sprint if it needs to. In addition, the AI-enhanced infotainment system can make your life easier. So, yes, Jaguar had to create the PHEV version. And it should sell it in the U.S. too.
The days of infotainment freeriding are over, at least with General Motors and its future electric vehicles. No matter how crappy a car interface was, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were there to help make it bearable and offer the functions we need in a car: music streaming, navigation, and voice commands that actually work. The best thing is that support for these interfaces is free with most car models, although BMW tried, but failed, to charge its customers to use them.Those days are about to end, as GM wants to make more money from subscriptions, and the infotainment system seemed a good place to start. GM will adopt Android Automotive, an operating system already onboard GMC Hummer EV , for its future EVs. This might sound like a positive move, considering that Google's automotive OS is quite capable and better than most proprietary car interfaces out there.At least GM frames it like that, saying that the driver assistance features it plans for future models are tightly integrated with the navigation system. "We don't want to design these features in a way that are dependent on a person having a cellphone," Mike Himche, GM executive director of digital cockpit experience, said in an interview with Reuters. The downside is that most features offered with Android Automotive, including Google Maps and Google Assistant, require a subscription.Owners using an Apple phone are left in the dark out of love for Google. This is a blow for Apple, which competes with Google in the automotive landscape. And it's a blow to GM customers in North America too, as most of them use Apple phones. No matter what phone you use, you'd still need an active OnStar Connected Vehicle subscription to use the functions you were used to, including Google Maps and music streaming. If you don't pay the subscription, you're left with an antiquated Bluetooth connection to listen to music and make phone calls in your car.The reason was revealed in the same interview by Edward Kummer, GM's chief digital officer. "We do believe there are subscription revenue opportunities for us," he said bluntly . GM aims to make $20 to $25 billion a year from subscriptions by 2030, and he thinks the new strategy helps. I wouldn't be so sure. Cutting users' options and forcing them to use an old radio with a fancy screen or pay a subscription hasn't resonated very well with people in the past.GM says it would offer access to Google Maps and Google Assistant at no extra cost for eight years with the purchase of a new vehicle. That would be a good move, but this doesn't sound like the money machine GM is talking about. I'd love to know your opinion on this, so head to the Comments section below and make your voice heard.
Taiwan leader's 'transit' through US protested

10:12, March 31, 2023 By MINLU ZHANG in New York ( China Daily

A crowd of protesters on Thursday gathered in front of a hotel in Manhattan where Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen was scheduled to appear, holding signs saying, "Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory," and "There is only one China in the world." MINLU ZHANG / CHINA DAILY

Protests opposed to the US visit of Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen continued on Thursday in New York City, with many people calling for a focus on economic issues instead of helping to arm Taiwan and agitate for its independence.

"Tsai Ing-wen here is to sell a war, and we Americans don't want that war. We love our country, we want jobs and schools for Americans, not more weapons to Taiwan, not a new war against China," Caleb Maupin told China Daily.

A crowd of 100 people in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday waved Chinese and American national flags and held signs saying, "There is only one China in the world", "Support China's reunification and resolutely oppose Taiwan independence" and "Taiwan independence has no way out; Taiwan independence is a dead end".

Many of them are from Fujian province, a province on the southeast coast of China. The island of Taiwan lies to its east, across the Taiwan Straits.

"Fujian and Taiwan are very close. We had a very good friendship, and we are connected by blood. Many people in Taiwan were originally from Fujian. Tsai's 'transit' hurts our feelings," Chen Heng, the chairman of the Fukien American Association, told China Daily.

Also gathered nearby, other protesters held signs saying, "Money for jobs and infrastructure in America! No more weapons to Taiwan", "Tsai Ing-wen is selling war. No more tax money for weapons to Taiwan".

"We should build high-speed railway in this country; we should have better schools in this country; we should have better healthcare; we don't need wars," Maupin said.

"We should do business with China, and get a booming economy, lifting people out of poverty. Imagine if American companies and Chinese companies can team up, we can get richer as a country," he continued.

Thursday's protest was the third of its kind. When Tsai arrived in New York City on Wednesday, a large crowd of protesters also gathered near the Manhattan hotel where she was staying. Those protests, organized by about 105 local Chinese communities, were attended by more than 700 people.

On Thursday, a senior Taiwan official alleged Chinese authorities were paying people to attend the protests.

Deputy Chinese Consul General in New York Qian Jin later refuted the claim and said the protests were spontaneous.

It's not organized by the consulate, Qian said at a media breakfast on Thursday. "There's no need of involvement of the Chinese consulate" in the demonstrations, said Qian. "It's a reflection and demonstration of the real needs and heart of the Chinese communities here.

"I have the feeling that the majority of the Chinese community living here want peace in the Taiwan Straits," he said. "They don't want it to become a war zone. That's why they are against Tsai's so-called 'transit' to the US."

A healthy relationship between China and the US and a stable situation in the Taiwan Straits is in the best interests of Chinese communities here, said Qian.

"That's why I feel no surprise to see the news that there are demonstrations, especially from the Chinses communities here."

Tsai is reportedly scheduled to travel through New York and Los Angeles on a 10-day trip to and from some Central American countries, during which she plans to meet with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

"It doesn't look like a private visit; it is not so much a transit," said Qian. He said it would be the first time the Biden administration allowed the "transit" of Tsai Ing-wen; it would be the first time for the US House speaker to meet Tsai on US soil if it happens; and it would be the first time for Tsai to give public speeches in the US.

"If all these are the case, how can you call it a transit? I think it's just using the name of transit to seek official interactions with the US to make a breakthrough and seek to propagate Taiwan independence," said Qian.

Chi Tai, president of Chinese for Peaceful Unification-Northern California, said Tsai has never considered the consequences of her visit.

"What Tsai is doing will not bring safety to Taiwan. It will only provoke more tensions. It will not do any good to the Taiwan people," Tai told China Daily.

Lia Zhu in San Francisco contributed to this story.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
The US District Court for the Northern District of California issued a subpoena to GitHub, ordering the code repository to identify to person behind the leakage of some portions of Twitter's source code. Aside from the leaker, the court is also asking for the names of Github users who accessed the leaked data.

GitHub Compelled to Identify 'FreeSpeech Enthusiast,' Has Until April 3 to Provide User's Information

Following the source code leak, Twitter made an appeal to the court to compel GitHub into naming the person who leaked portions of the code on the collaborative programming network. As reported by Gizmodo, the social media company already got the support of the court, making it one step closer to identifying the culprit who goes by his GitHub username "FreeSpeech Enthusiast." The leaker's username is likely a reference to Twitter CEO Elon Musk's promise to maintain free speech in the social media platform.

According to the court document posted online, GitHub is ordered to reveal the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, social media profile details and IP address of the source code leaker. As per The New York Times, Twitter executives are suspecting that the person behind the leak is an embittered former engineer who is among the thousands of employees laid off by Musk last year.

The courts has ordered GitHub to submit all the information to identify the leaker until April 3. As of writing, GitHub has yet to issue a statement in connection to the court subpoena. In response to a DMCA filed by Twitter following the source code leak, GitHub immediately took down the post. However, the full extent of the leak was not determined, or how long it has been made public. The New York Times reported that the source code had been sitting on the website for months before it caught Twitter's attention.

Related Article: Twitter Wants GitHub To Reveal Source Code Leaker's Identity

Twitter Complaint Vs. GitHub Leaker Follows Plans to Make Twitter Algorithm for Recommending Tweets Open Source

It is not only the leaker who is under fire as the subpoena includes all GitHub users who "posted, uploaded, downloaded or modified" parts of the Twitter source code to be identified as well. GitHub is given until April 3 to submit the users' details.

Twitter's legal battle against the source code leaker comes after Musk's announcement that the social media platform's algorithm for recommending tweets will be made open source starting March 31. The Tesla and Twitter chief said that this is the company's way of gaining the trust of the public. However, the public already got the chance to view the company's source code before that, thanks to the person who leaked it on GitHub. It is not known, however, if the leak included the algorithm for tweet recommendation.

Even though Twitter had plans to make portions of its source code publicly available, the company has every right to take legal actions following the data leak. As per The Verge, tech companies consider its proprietary source code as a highly confidential trade information.

Revealing this information would cost them millions as their software products become susceptible to attacks, and their competitors would figure out a way to outdo their products by studying this information. The Redmond Big Tech, Microsoft, and Cyberpunk 2007 creator CD Projekt Red are among victims of hackers targetting their source codes.

Read Also: Twitter Algorithm Boosts Tweets of Users from VIP List, Which Includes Elon Musk
kWh

Kilowatt

First off, lets just enjoy this while we can, right? It seems were just years away from watching a next-gen track-focused Grand Cherokee battling an all-new Camaro flagship with both vehicles being powered either exclusively by batteries or by downsized engines using turbocharging and electric motors.Theres no replacement for displacement though. Well, actually there is, and its calledhours), but you know what I mean. Theres just something about a big engine (preferably supercharged), together with rear or all-wheel drive, all next to an American badge.Thats exactly what we get here with these two  a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Both are top of the food chain within their own model lineups, although unfortunately for Jeep fans, the Trackhawk has been discontinued with no replacement in sight.The Camaro meanwhile is still available in flagship ZL1 specification , currently retailing from $68,695 and $70,290 respectively (manual/automatic). Thats a lot of money for a car that you can technically purchase new for less than $30,000, but it definitely wouldnt come with a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine like the ZL1 does.That power unit produces an output of 650 hp (659 ps) and 650 lb-ft (881 Nm) of torque, which will get you from zero to 60 mph (97 kph) in just 3.5 seconds. The ZL1 can also cover a quarter mile in 11.4 seconds, but theyve been known to put up even better times. Its top speed is officially rated at 198 mph (319 kph), which is properly fast.Meanwhile, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk comes with a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8, just like your favorite Hell(o) Kitty Dodge. With an estimated curb weight of 5,363 lbs (2,433 kg), it is considerably heavier than the ZL1, and it does not produce a great deal more power  707 hp (717 ps) and 645 lb-ft (875 Nm) of torque to be precise.Whats funny is that both the Trackhawk and the ZL1 will hit 60 mph in exactly the same amount of time (3.5 seconds), according to the automakers official ratings. The Jeep does have a slight advantage off the line in terms of grip and putting its power down, but if the ZL1 can hook properly, then it should be first across the line if were racing over a quarter mile.Lo and behold, thats exactly what happens in this video, with the Chevy covering the aforementioned distance in 11.18 seconds and the Jeep needing 11.95 seconds. Kind of a predictable result.
SUV

Photo: Jeep

Photo: Jeep

Photo: Jeep

For this years edition of the safari, the 57th , Jeep cooked in its ovens no less than seven different concepts. From the electrified Magneto, nothing more than a re-tweaked version of a machine thats already three years old, to the incredible Wrangler 4xe powertrain-swapped 1978 Jeep Cherokee, you could safely say theres a little bit of something for everyone.None of the seven concepts and customs shown appeal to the overlanding-loving community more than the Grand Wagoneer we have here. Specifically built to allow traveling off the beaten path in style, it also brings with it, the only one of the seven to do so, the possibility of spending the night outdoors, sleeping on thes roof.This being an overlanding concept, it offers all the amenities one needs to survive in the wild. And since we mentioned sleeping, well start with that. They call this roof tent the SkyLoft, and its the result of work conducted by a crew called RedTail Overland.The SkyLoft is described as the "world's first hard-sided rooftop camper." Its not yet available on the open market, its makers saying pricing and availability are to be announced soon, so this might very well be the first time we see it used in a real-life application.The roof of the Wagoneer is where the carbon-fiber-made SkyLoft goes. When not used, it packs itself neatly in an impressively thin format so as not to add too much height to the SUV  it only measures 110 inches in length, 60 inches in width, and 11 inches in height (2.8 meters x 1.5 meters x 30 cm). The magic, of course, starts when its fully deployed, and it can do that in just ten seconds, raising to 65 inches (1.6 meters) at its highest point.The upper side of the SkyLoft raises pretty much like all other rooftop tents do, to make room for two people to sleep comfortably on a plush mattress. Thats not something we havent seen before, but some of the other fittings of this mobile bedroom might surprise you.Heated by means of a diesel heater, it can be used all year round, no matter where off-roading journeys take you. Its also highly protected, as it comes with locking doors and dual-pane windows.The SkyLoft has its own power source, and because it relies on solar and battery power, there is no need to hook it up to the car. As per the official details, the thing can generate up to 380 watts of solar power and packs a 60 Ah lithium battery. Together, the two sources should be enough to power the dimmable interior and exterior LED lighting, but also the several USB and 110 outlets deployed throughout.Fitting the SkyLoft onto the roof of the Grand Wagoneer required some modifications to be made throughout the SUV. The second and third rows of seats were removed, to allow for access to the overhead tent from the lower third-row seating area. To make climbing up there easier, a sliding door with a small step had to be integrated.Because the removal of the rear seats created quite a lot of empty space in the back, Jeep filled that with other comfort features, effectively transforming the rear of the SUV into a sort of living room or at least a place where one can sit back and relax. If you have a peek at the attached gallery, youll see a beanbag, a plush throw rug, and lots of pillows. There is even storage space for flowers to either side, and a table of sorts.The interior modifications are hidden from view by the SUVs stock body in Industrial Green with Gunmetal accents. Unlike what you get off Jeeps shelves, this one has also been equipped with a Warn winch with laser lights for better visibility.The Wagoneer is connected to the ground by means of 18-inch wheels, shod in 35-inch tires to allow for both grip and a higher road clearance, increased by 1.5 inches (3.8 cm).The wheels spin under the power supplied by the machines usual engine, as Jeep made no changes in this department. Normally, the new Grand Wagoneer is powered by a choice of three engines, two of them HEMI V8s and the other the Hurricane. It's the latter thats under the hood of the Grand Wagoneer Overland concept, delivering 510 horsepower and 500 lb.-ft. of torque.Jeep does not say how much such a conversion costs, but its easy to imagine how people with SUVs in their garage will now try to get more info on the Skyloft and how it could be used for their rides. All we know about it is that aside from the obvious fit on the Grand Wagoneer, its a bit larger than your average roof tent. So itll work on most vans and full-size trucks and SUVs, but not on midsize ones.
One of the highlights of the concept is the so-called circular roof. This is an innovative feature, according to the Italian marque , which guarantees a panoramic view by better managing the natural light coming from the outside in the best possible way.Besides showing the new advanced panoramic roof, which kind of looks like a giant wireless charging pad, the latest teaser image also reveals the rear windscreen, with its Venetian sunshade structure inspired by that of the 1970s Beta HPE. At the same time, we can see that the new study is actually a coupe, finished in a beautiful shade of blue, with what seem to be flush-mounted door handles.It has a squared integrated trunk spoiler, and round taillights reminiscent of the legendary Stratos . The new Lancia emblem out back has a new font that takes inspiration from the world of fashion, the automaker says. The rear bumper design is certainly unique. Although they have yet to preview the face of the car, we can expect it to feature an illuminated grille, with a closed-off styling, because there is no engine behind it that needs cooling. Instead, the vehicle is understood to come with a zero-emission assembly that we know nothing of at the time of writing.As much as some would want this concept to preview a production model, it doesnt. In fact, it offers a glimpse into Lancias future design language, albeit as a hint, as some elements will make their way to the companys upcoming vehicles in one way or another. And they do have several cars that are currently in the making, including a brand-new Ypsilon said to be due next year. The supermini will be followed by a crossover two years later, which will be christened the Aurelia. In 2028, they have announced that the Delta will make a comeback for the new era.Since they must stay competitive in these electrified times, all of them will pack electron-sipping powertrains. Make that all bar the Ypsilon, which will feature a mild-hybrid unit. To absolutely no ones surprise, they will be based on different platforms made by Stellantis, because Lancia is part of this group in case you forgot. The future does seem somewhat bright for the Italian firm, as they will be rejuvenated, and every enthusiast on the planet hopes that the upcoming vehicles will retain some of the DNA of their forefathers that will go down in history as some of the most exciting models to have ever seen the light of day.
NHTSA

4MATIC

Maybach isnt a byword for quality because neither is the Stuttgart-based automaker since the 1990s. Mercs quality woes roughly started with the introduction of the M-Class (formerly ML, now GLE) and the completion of MBUSI assembly complex in Tuscaloosa, Alabama The oftentimes poor quality carries over to the Mercedes-Maybach lineup, which brings us torecall 23V-200. The tl;dr version is that water might enter the cabin due to bad primary bulkhead sealing. In addition to corrosion building up on electric contacts and the potential for short circuits, the PreSafe system could be impaired by said water ingress. The system in question controls seatbelt tightening, which might be impaired, thus increasing the risk of injury in a crash.As if that wasnt bad enough, a parked vehicle may not be restarted either. Merc puts the blame on a deviation in the development process. In other words, the company that falsely prides itself on delivering the best or nothing has only itself to blame for not designing bulkhead sealing properly. Adding insult to injury, Mercedes became aware of this problem in July 2020, during routine quality control testing of the 223 series.Initial analyses indicated a leak in the area of the water drain. Improvements to the water drain and bulkhead sealing were introduced in series production in October 2020. For some reason or another, Merc didnt issue a technical service bulletin or full-on recall for vehicles produced before the cut-off date. The automaker preferred to monitor the field and conduct further analyses, with said analyses concluding in early 2023.Better late than never, four examples of the Mercedes-Maybach S 580 and two examples of the Mercedes-Benz S 580 have been called back to rectify this problem. Affected luxury sedans were produced for the 2021 model year between April 22nd, 2020 and October 28th, 2020. Happily for everyone, the number of potentially related warranty claims and field reports is a big fat zero.North American dealers have been instructed to rework the bulkhead sealing, with owners expected to receive first-class mailed notifications before May 23rd, 2023.Priced at $124,000 sans destination charge in the United States, the S 580hits 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) in 4.4 seconds due to its biturbo V8 engine with mild-hybrid assistance. This powertrain and 9G-Tronic automatic transmission carry over to the Maybach version that starts at a whopping $184,900.Both are rated at 496 horsepower and 516 pound-feet (700 Nm) of torque on full song. Heavier than its Benzd sibling, the Maybach needs 4.7 seconds to reach 60.
Last year, the two partners announced the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Partnership, with planned investments of up to US $200 million. The first $2 million will go towards a brand-new production facility, to be set up in Queensland.Two bioenergy technology companies, Jet Zero Australia and LanzaJet, will develop the future biofuel plant, with Qantas and Airbus as the main investors. The initial investment, plus additional funding from the Queensland government, and up to $6 million capital raising, will be used for the feasibility study, and to kick off the building process.If things go well, the new facility should be pumping 100 million liters of SAF annually, in a few years. And most of that, if not all, is expected to be gobbled up by Qantas. The airline is determined to switch to SAF-fueled operations, and for that it needs a hefty locally-produced, affordable supply.For now, the air operator has to rely exclusively on overseas sources. It has an agreement with Air bp, for SAF-powered flights out of London (starting this year), and another one with the California-based Aemetis, for SAF-powered flights out of San Francisco and Los Angeles (coming in 2025).By the end of the decade, the airline wants to achieve a regular use of 10% SAF in its overall fuel mix. An ambitious goal, which would be impossible without a domestic supply. Once this emerging industry takes root in Australia, Qantas is set to become the largest consumer. Theres enough potential in the country for a strong SAF industry, and Queensland is at the forefront, thanks to its abundance of feedstock.SAF is the generic name given to alternative fuels that can be obtained from various sustainable sources. In this particular case, were talking about ATJ (Alcohol-to-Jet Fuel). Jet Zero Australia makes ATJ from surplus ethanol that comes from agricultural by-products. The future Queensland refinery will officially be the first ATJ plant in Australia.One of the biggest obstacles right now on the path towards green flights is the low accessibility of SAF. Because its still only being produced in a few locations around the world, and in small quantities, it continues to be a costly alternative to standard fuel.The major players in the industry can make a difference by supporting large-scale production and encouraging domestic suppliers. Qantas is doing its pioneering work in Australia (it has also launched the SAF Coalition together with five other Aussie companies), and United Airlines has signed the biggest SAF purchase agreement in the world, back in the U.S.
Photo: Burgess Yachts

Photo: Burgess Yachts

HP

Photo: Burgess Yachts

As imposing as its name suggests, the Sea Eagle is all about superlatives. At the time of its launch, it was the largest aluminum sailing yacht in the world and the seventh-largest sailing yacht. It continues to be the biggest yacht ever built by Royal Huisman, although the 280-foot (85 meters) New World Sloop, also known as Project 410, will soon take its place as the Dutch builders flagship.At nearly 266 feet (81 meters) the Sea Eagle is part of the exclusive club of the top ten largest sailing yachts in the world. Its only been around for three years at this point, so its most likely to keep this title for decades to come. And thats not all. In 2017, when it was officially announced at the Monaco Yacht Show, Royal Huisman confirmed that it was also the largest Asian-owned yacht at the time.That lucky owner is said to be a Taiwanese billionaire who is no stranger to yachting . His previous floating luxury toy was the original Sea Eagle, built by the same shipyard. The 143-foot (43 meters) Sea Eagle I had been launched in 2015, and just a couple of years later, its owner was dreaming of an even bigger and better toy.According to the shipyard, this billionaire customer, who loved sailing on weekends, asked for a sailing yacht that would be easy to handle, fast, and comfortable, and he was involved in every step of the design process. The Sea Eagle II would eventually become his ultimate dream yacht.Because it was delivered in 2020, during the pandemic, the Sea Eagles debut was rather discrete. But that didnt stop it from becoming one of the most impressive new yachts on the charter market. The owner hasnt selfishly kept this bespoke toy to themselves, but the steep weekly rate of more than $600,000 doesnt make it very accessible either.The Sea Eagle is one of todays so-called supersized sailing yachts, like the majestic Aquarius and Athena, also built by Royal Huisman, one of the oldest Dutch shipyards, specializing in sailing yachts. Yet, thanks to modern technology, this behemoth is surprisingly easy to maneuver, and just as opulent in terms of amenities as a large motor yacht.On one hand, the Sea Eagles capabilities are owed to its aluminum build. This is what keeps it light, fuel-efficiency, boasting impressive speed and acceleration. The enormous vessel can go from anchored to sailing in just a few minutes, and then easily reach a top speed of up to 22 knots (25 mph/40.7 kph).On the other hand, its fitted with a state-of-the-art sailing system, in addition to the twin 1,450Caterpillar engines. All of its three mainsails can be hoisted at the same time, as easily as if this were a much smaller yacht, despite the enormous sail area (38,233 square feet/3,522 square meters upwind). Dykstra Naval Architects, Doyle Sails, Rondal, and Carbo-Link worked together to develop the technology that would make this possible.Mark Whiteley designed the yachts simple, yet generous exterior areas, and its sophisticated interiors. It can welcome up to 12 guests, across six cabins, on the lower deck. In addition to the two master suites and three twin suites, the gym can also be configured as a cabin, either for kids, staff, or a nanny.Interestingly enough, the owner also specified that they intended to hold business meetings onboard the pleasure craft. This is why the Sea Eagle reveals a sumptuous main salon with plenty of seats, as well as a formal dining area with a huge, 16-people table.When business talk is over, its then time to relax at the gorgeous outdoor cinema on the main deck, with a giant sail-screen. Theres an indoor-outdoor bar nearby, and a shaded area for al-fresco dining. The flybridge is another spot thats perfect for sipping cocktails. A 14-people crew is there to cater to the needs of each guest, and this includes fancy meals and spa treatments.For those looking for more thrills, they can either go all the way up to the special crows nest on the main mast, for a stunning perspective, or they can get closer to the water. The large, folding swim platform is ready for the launch of all kinds of adrenaline-pumping toys, plus scuba diving equipment.Before Project 410 (New World Sloop) takes over as the worlds largest sloop, and the Royal Huisman flagship, the beautiful Sea Eagle II will keep wearing its crown. In just three years, it has sailed the world extensively, covering more than 45,000 nautical miles (83,300 km). And this is just the beginning.
The five-kilometer-wide corridor became Karabakhs sole overland link to Armenia following the 2020 war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement. The agreement called for the construction of a new Armenia-Karabakh highway bypassing the town of Lachin.

Azerbaijan regained control of the town last August after building a 32-kilomer-long highway linking up to a new Armenian section of the corridor which was supposed to be completed by April 1, 2023. Azerbaijani troops redeployed on Thursday morning to more parts of the Lachin district adjacent to the Armenian border, blocking the old corridor section.

Armenias government and National Security Service (NSS) downplayed the redeployment, saying that the new Armenian road leading to Karabakh is already passable. However, the NSS also said that the Azerbaijani troops occupied Armenian territory in the process.

In some places, the Azerbaijani side, without waiting for pre-arranged [border] adjustments, started to position itself and carried out fortification works, said the statement. According to the Armenian sides calculations, there are five such points where the Azerbaijani side crossed the border and advanced 100 to 300 meters [into [Armenian territory.]

The NSS added that the two sides agreed that their cartographers will try to ascertain the situation. Armenia is keen to not allow an escalation, emphasized the security service.

The Azerbaijani forces moved very close to the Armenian border village of Tegh. According to local government officials and farmers, they now control a large part of the communitys agricultural land and pastures.

One of the Tegh residents, who did not want to be identified, said he discovered on Thursday that he no longer has access to his 2-hectare wheat field.

They [Azerbaijani soldiers] are now uprooting my wheat and digging trenches there, he told RFE/RLs Armenian Service.

The development left many in the country wondering why Yerevan did not act to prevent the loss of what it regards as Armenias internationally recognized territory.

Pashinian stressed that the Armenian military did not lose any of its border posts in that area.

The Armenian army had no positions at the border section in question because such positions are set up not on the border line but on nearby strategic heights, the NSS said for its part.

Leaders of Armenias two main opposition groups dismissed these explanations. They said that Pashinians administration could and should have prevented Azerbaijani from making the fresh territorial gains.

Clearly, this is a major failure by the Armenia authorities in both the political and military fields, said Seyran Ohanian, a former defense minister who now leads the parliamentary group of the Hayastan alliance.

We have a situation for which the authorities and Nikol Pashinian personally are responsible because  the change of the [corridor] route presupposed political decisions that were not made, agreed Tigran Abrahamian of the Pativ Unem bloc.

Abrahamian argued that Pashinians government itself has repeatedly accused Baku of violating Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements and launching military aggression against Armenia after the 2020 war.

Objectively, no Armenian government could have had reason to believe that Azerbaijan would honor an oral agreement [reached in August 2022 and cited by the NSS,] he told reporters.

Senior lawmakers representing the ruling Civil Contract party refused to comment on the opposition accusations.

Opposition leaders also blamed Pashinians government for much bigger territorial losses suffered by Armenia during border clashes with Azerbaijan in May 2021 and September 2022. They regularly charge that it cannot defend the country and rebuild its armed forces after mishandling the disastrous 2020 war. Pashinian and his political allies deny this.
Eyewitnesses said that Mher Sahakian of the main opposition Hayastan alliance punched Vladimir Vartanian, the chairman of the parliament committee on legal affairs, during a session of the panel held behind the closed doors. They said the violence followed a shouting match between Vartanian and Sahakian and other opposition lawmakers.

Vartanian, who represents the ruling Civil Contract party, suffered an injury to his left eyebrow and was treated in hospital following the incident.

Meanwhile, other senior pro-government lawmakers called the police. Parliament speaker Alen Simonian could be seen giving instructions to police officers and security guards in the parliament lobby before they dragged away Sahakian to a police station in Yerevan.

Armenias Investigative Committee said later in the day that Sahakian was placed under arrest on suspicion of hooliganism. The law-enforcement agency did not clarify whether it will bring relevant charges against him.

Armenian law gives it three days to decide whether to indict the 35-year-old oppositionist and ask the National Assembly to lift his immunity from prosecution.

We know very well what influence Civil Contract has on the law-enforcement system and dont exclude that they will also raise the issue of his arrest and prosecution, Sahakians lawyer, Ruben Melikian, told reporters.

Melikian insisted that his client acted in self-defense, a claim echoed by Artsvik Minasian, another opposition parliamentarian who also attended the committee meeting. Minasian said that during the meeting Vartanian shouted at opposition members of the committee before standing up and walking menacingly towards Sahakian.

In a statement, Hayastans parliamentary group likewise blamed the incident on Vartanians provocative and unbalanced behavior.

Vartanian said, however, that the assault was unprovoked. He claimed that Sahakian and other opposition deputies ignored his legitimate demands to stick to the meetings agenda.

Sahakians swift arrest sharply contrasted with law-enforcement authorities response to violent incidents involving lawmakers affiliated with the ruling party.

One of those pro-government lawmakers, Vahagn Aleksanian, approached and kicked Hayastans Vahe Hakobian as the latter gave a speech on the parliament floor in August 2021. Hakobian and five other opposition deputies were hit by a larger number of Civil Contract lawmakers in an ensuing melee that was not swiftly stopped by scores of security personnel present in the chamber. The authorities did not try to prosecute anyone in connection with that incident witnessed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
31 March 2023 12:24 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov participated in the third meeting of energy ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Budapest, Hungary, Azernews reports, citing the ministry.

Addressing the meeting, Parviz Shahbazov said that the holding of the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of States in Ankara at the initiative of the Azerbaijani president was an indicator of high solidarity between the Turkic states. He noted that the joint strategic views of the presidents, the recently intensified contacts, and the historically important visits that define the road map of multi-vector cooperation contribute to raising the relations to a new level. As a result, in addition to brotherhood and friendship, the nature of our relations is determined by strategic partnership and alliance.

He mentioned the importance of strengthening the spiritual unity of the Turkic states with political-economic partnerships. It was noted that the trade turnover of Azerbaijan with member and observer countries of the organization increased by 42.7% last year and exceeded $7.2bn, these countries invested $14.3bn in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan invested more than $21bn in these countries.

The importance of the development of energy cooperation was assessed in terms of the prosperity of Turkic-speaking countries and energy security in Eurasia. It was reported that 20.9 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas have been supplied to Turkiye and 22 billion cubic meters to Europe since the commissioning of TANAP and TAP. This year, 10.2 billion cubic meters of our gas export, which is expected to be 24.5 billion cubic meters, is expected to be delivered to Turkey, and about 12 billion cubic meters to Europe.

It was emphasized that Azerbaijans renewed strategic energy partnership with the European Union, along with the expansion of energy security projects such as the Southern Gas Corridor, and the transformation of Azerbaijan into a supplier of green energy, also gave a new impetus to energy cooperation between the Turkic states. He touched on the agreement on strategic partnership in the field of green energy in Bucharest by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary, and Romania and said that Azerbaijan is the starting point of the green energy corridor connecting the Caspian Sea to Europe, Hungary is the last point. He added that we believe Hungary will be a transit hub for green energy that expands this corridor to new countries in the future.

The annual transport of 1.5 million tons of Kazakh oil to the world markets with BTC, the start of new projects with Uzbekistan, and the signing of a document on cooperation in the energy field with Turkmenistan in a tripartite format were also noted as important developments. The Turkic states were invited to participate in the process of turning Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur into a green energy zone.

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31 March 2023 15:57 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

Twenty-five years have passed since the establishment of the Chinar Vocal-Choreographic Dance Ensemble.

Founded in 1998, the ensemble actively promotes Azerbaijani music in Russia and other countries.

A spectacular gala concert was held in St. Petersburg to mark the ensemble's anniversary, Azernews reports.

Member of the Committee on Interethnic Relations and the Implementation of Migration Policy of St. Petersburg Andrey Frolov, Consulate General of Azerbaijan in St Petersburg Rahim Rahimzada, Azerbaijani Diaspora representatives, and heads of cultural institutions of different communities attended the event.

The guests congratulated the artistic director of the Chinar ensemble, Xeyransa Mirzayeva, and the members of the ensemble on the occasion of the anniversary. In their remarks, they emphasized that Chinar made great contributions to the cultural diversity of St. Petersburg and wished the ensemble further success.

Next, the audience plunged into the enchanted world of music. The colorful show, jaw-dropping performances, and dazzling riot of colors left the spectators speechless.

Moreover, the guests of the event viewed an exhibition, reflecting Azerbaijan's rich culture and traditions.

The guests were also informed about the process of carpet weaving.

With its unique design and high artistic value, Azerbaijani carpets art is known worldwide.

The Land of Fire has seven carpet-producing regions including Baku, Shirvan, Guba, Tabriz, Karabakh, Ganja, and Gazakh and each of them had its technology, typical patterns, and colors.

In 2010, UNESCO included Azerbaijan's carpet weaving art in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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JIFF executive committee head and Jeonju mayor Woo Beom-ki, center, and festival's co-directors Min Sung-wook, left, and Jung Joon-ho attend the press conference for the Jeonju International Film Festival held in Seoul, Thursday / Courtesy of JIFF



By Kwak Yeon-soo



Organizers of the 24th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), an annual celebration of independent films, have promised the program will be "bold" and "buzzy" to attract audiences.



JIFF will take place from April 27 to May 6, featuring a total of 247 films from 42 countries. This year's selection includes 66 world premieres. The opening ceremony will be held at the Sori Arts Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province.



"Jeonju Independent Film House is being built on an open space previously occupied by Jeonju Dome. Unlike previous years when most events and outdoor screenings were held within the cinema street, the festival space will be expanded throughout Jeonju," JIFF co-director Min Sung-wook said.



"We will newly launch Focus: East Asian Films Now to introduce new filmmakers from Korea, China and Japan and organize the Star Wars Day event."



Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's "Tori and Lokita," which won the 75th anniversary prize when it premiered at Cannes last year, will be the opener at JIFF. The Dardenne Brothers will attend the festival to greet Korean fans.



Director Kim Hee-jung's "Where Would You Like to Go?" a Korea-Poland co-production about a woman who travels to Warsaw after the death of her husband, will close the festival. Based on a short story of the same name by best-selling author Kim Ae-ran, it stars Park Ha-seon as the lead.



The 10 titles in the international competition are comprised of first or second features by rising directors. The selection includes China's "Absence" by Lang Wu, Japan's "There is A Stone" by Tatsunari Ota and Ukraine's "Sashenka" by Alexander Zhovna.





A scene from Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's "Tori and Lokita" / Courtesy of JIFF
31 March 2023 17:10 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

Nizami Cinema has premiered a documentary 'Karabakhname. Pages of History'.

The film introduces the viewer to a series of documentary and artistic graphics Karabakhname. Pages of History" by the well-known Azerbaijani easel graphic artist, People's Artist Arif Huseynov, Azernews reports.

Filmed in 2021, the documentary demonstrates the artist's art works, depicting ancient monuments, landscapes, portraits of historical figures.

According to the plot of the film, Arif Huseynov creates paintings, and then collects them in order to eventually hold an exposition of works in the city of Shusha.

Huseynov's paintings dedicated to Karabakh War, Khudafarin Bridges, Panahali Khan, Albanian churches, the Treaty of Turkmenchay and Decree of Peter I on the resettlement of Armenians in the South Caucasus are of special attention.

The art series also portray Karabakh musicians, eminent mugham figures, numerous portraits and others.

Historical realities are displayed in the works through the eyes of the artist.

Huseynov's art works are based on historical facts and are educational in nature, they contain a lot of historical information.

Speaking about the film, Arif Huseynov noted that his graphic works were subsequently included in the book 'Karabakhname. Pages of History', and then the idea of documentary art graphics was embodied in the film.

"Every Azerbaijani citizen must know their history, because Karabakh is our land, our history. I studied the history of Karabakh, re-read a huge amount of literature and historical documents, and learned a lot about famous people who glorified their homeland," said Huseynov.

The artist plans to showcase this art series in Europe. He added that young people must know and remember their history.

"This series of graphic works is not over, there are still so many topics that need to be covered," the artist concluded.

Director of the documentary Elnura Kazimova said that the film illustrates the past, present day and future of Karabakh. The film showcases Karabakh history, culture and architectural monuments.

In their remarks, chairman of the Parliamentary Culture Committee Ganira Pashayeva, secretary of the Azerbaijan Artists` Union, People's Artist Agali Ibrahimov, People's writer Natig Rasulzade, director Oktay Mirgasimov and others praised Arif Huseynov's sense of patriotism.

Noting that, Arif Huseynov's circle of interests is very broad. He successfully illustrates both classical and contemporary literary examples.

It is remarkable that for many years, the artist who uses his inexhaustible creative potential in the machine and graphic arts has been striving to revive the ancient miniature art traditions in a new form and artistic-aesthetic attitude.

His series of paintings on national folklore, tradition, material and cultural examples can be considered as a new and creative look at Azerbaijan's ancient miniatures.

Arif Huseynov created modern images for fairy tales. He brilliantly combined tradition and modernity in his designs for the books of fairy tales.

His personal exhibitions have been successfully held in Baku, Moscow, Prague, Istanbul, and Tokyo. Arif Huseynov's paintings are kept in the National Art Museum, the State Art Gallery, and the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, as well as in private collections.

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31 March 2023 11:00 (UTC+04:00)

Sabina Mammadli Read more

Preventing the illegal activities of Armenia, which intensify the transportation of manpower, ammunition, mines, as well as other military equipment for the Armenian armed forces in the territory of Azerbaijan, is the sovereign right of Azerbaijan, Spokesperson for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Ayxan Hajizada said.

Azernews reports that commenting on the remarks made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at a government meeting, Hajizada expressed that the PMs next attempts to manipulate the situation in the region are unacceptable and that Armenia continues its aggressive activities by dressing its country as a democracy.

There is no reason for the premier to once again misinterpret the temporary decision of the International Court of Justice regarding the Lachin road and make claims that Azerbaijan has allegedly closed the Lachin road, he stated.

The official emphasized that the appropriate control measures taken by the units of the Azerbaijani army without using any force to prevent the usage of Armenia's dirt roads for illegal activities in the north of the Lachin road cannot be assessed as an occupation.

We remember that despite all the facts, Armenia claimed that its forces had not occupied Azerbaijan for 30 years. All these Armenian claims have been repeatedly proven to be groundless, and the UN Security Council resolutions have demanded the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces. The Armenian side should completely withdraw its forces from the territory of Azerbaijan in accordance with the tripartite statement, the spokesperson called.

Furthermore, he stressed that Armenia should give up its territorial claims against Azerbaijan and instead of interfering in Azerbaijans internal affairs, it should fulfill its obligations.

It is a fact that Armenia increased its aggressive rhetoric against Azerbaijan in recent weeks, committed provocations against Azerbaijani armed forces on March 5 and 20, and gathered additional forces in the region. Both during the 30-year occupation period and after 2020, it is known to everyone that Armenia, before preparing for any provocation, threw all the responsibility on Azerbaijan and allowed provocations, the official underlined.

Talking about the absurd idea voiced by the prime minister about Azerbaijan's intention to commit an act of "genocide", Hajizada recalled that throughout history, Azerbaijan has never targeted the civilian population in response to the mass massacres committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis.

Armenia's policy and actions of terrorism and mass destruction are recorded in the memory of history with all documents, and denying it proves that Armenia has not given up on these actions. These provocative statements of the Armenian side indicate Armenia's intention to deliberately disrupt the peace process in the context of the revival of international efforts toward the establishment of peace in the region, and such steps must be resolutely prevented, he concluded.

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31 March 2023 11:39 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

The opening of Azerbaijan's representative office in Palestine will bring the cooperation between the two countries to a new stage, Azernews reports, citing Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov telling at the joint briefing with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad Al-Maliki.

The minister expressed his gratitude to the State of Palestine for supporting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and said that Azerbaijan also supports the efforts of Palestine in the direction of peace and stability. Jeyhun Bayramov also added that Azerbaijan supports dialogue and peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister said that the two countries are determined to develop relations and active consultations are being held for this purpose. He added that further consultations will be held soon at the level of deputy ministers.

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31 March 2023 11:59 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

The fact that the 2nd online "Summit for Democracy" initiated by US President Joseph Biden is a pointless event was unanimously accepted not only by independent states with robust political courses, but also by local community and media representatives in the country.

In fact, it is known to the whole world that the organization of this event serves ulterior motives and is directed against America's competitors at the global level. The main reason for this kind of attitude is the biased, unfair and ridiculous selection of the states invited to the summit.

Indeed, inviting the countries to the virtual summit which are far from democracy and where fundamental human rights are violated exposes the anti-democratic nature of this event. Moreover, inviting an anti-democratic state like Armenia, which is a potential source of terrorism, to the summit is a tragedy in the sphere of democracy and the world politics.

The most tragicomic nuance is the signing of the final declaration of the "summit for democracy" by Armenia with some stipulations, where at first the official Yerevan rejects the clause in the document regarding the special military operation carried out by Russia in Ukraine, then refuses to sign the declaration under such an excuse.

It is of note that only 73 countries out of the 120 that participated in the online "summit" signed the final declaration. Besides Armenia, India and Mexico were among those who refused to sign the document.

Although the purpose of the United States in holding this summit was formally announced as "guaranteeing democratic values worldwide and especially monitoring the situation related to democracy in various countries", it was undeniable that the main target of the online summit was Russia.

However, the fact that Armenia, which is not even close to the threshold of democracy, appears in this event in a paradoxical way, completely impairs the confidence in the event.

The USA and Europe understand it well that Nikol Pashinyan carried out repression against all his political opponents after coming to power. Some of them were arrested, and others were forcibly silenced. Therefore, the topic of discussion at this event should be rather the internal situation in Armenia.

It is possible to prove not only with words, but also with various facts that there is no question of basic human rights and freedom of speech in Armenia. In such a case, inviting Pashinyan to the "Summit for Democracy" is nothing more than an attempt to forcibly create a democratic image for Armenia.

Pashinyan's double standard and opportunistic approach

By participating in this event, Pashinyan and his entourage assumed that they would play their game successfully in the truest sense of the word. By refusing to sign the final document on the war in Ukraine, he is both appeasing official Washington and showing that he is on Russia's side.

However, the statements made by the members of Pashinyan's administration in order to avoid the punishment of Russia and to get acquitted have almost turned it into a target for Russia's anger.

The statement "we put forward our condition because our statements and demands regarding Azerbaijan were not included" shows the diplomatic illiteracy and stupidity of the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

It turns out that if the Armenians' absurd claim like "Azerbaijan occupied part of our territories and blockaded the road to Lachin" was included in the final declaration, the official Yerevan would have strongly condemned Russia for the military operations in Ukraine.

Such abnormal behavior of the Armenian leadership in diplomatic relations shows its political idiocy. However, the Armenian government, justifying its primitive political thinking and illiteracy, imagines itself as a pioneer in the world of politics. In reality, there is no doubt that a very bitter fate awaits Armenians: Yerevan, which irritated the USA and the European Union by putting forward its conditions during the signing of the declaration, is oblivious that also infuriated its patrons in Kremlin by agreeing to the essence of the document.

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31 March 2023 09:59 (UTC+04:00)

Fuad Muxtar-Aqbabali Read more

As the saying goes, you are what you do, not what you say you'll do. If your words do not match your actions, you are not leading, you are talking.

As always, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has delivered on his another solemn promise, that is to ensure security of the nation's strategic district ahead of the planned relocation of former IDPs back to their ancestral land.

On March 30, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry made the day of the nation with a brief but important report about yet another successful operation of the army in bringing back under control previously occupied by Armenia territories.

The ministry said that following the commissioning of the new Lachin road, several high grounds between Jaghazur and Zabukh villages of Lachin District, main and auxiliary roads, as well as large areas along the border were taken under the control of the Azerbaijan Army units. The liberation of strategically important heights in Lachin on the border with Armenia creates pivotal opportunities for the Azerbaijani army. Thus, from Lachin District - the nations gate the Azerbaijani power-wielding structures will be able to monitor the movements of the Armenian army.

The successful operation will also provide the national army with the opportunity to successfully neutralize terrorist groups in the area and cement the inviolability of borders. This operation is in line with Azerbaijans plan to erect customs posts and apply customs procedural rules on the border with Armenia.

The stealthy footsteps of todays victory on the border could be traced in the Azerbaijani presidents speech on March 28 when he named his special representative for Lachin District where the nations armed forces are implementing huge activities to restore security along the borders ahead of the realization of the Great Return project  the return of the IDPs back to their homes after the 30-year-long thirst for the lands where they were born and lived.

Lachin as one of the largest districts of Azerbaijan has tremendous potential, the president told the meeting with his special representative, adding that former IDPs who will return to Lachin District should live comfortably in Lachin, and the state of Azerbaijan will provide all the necessary conditions.

Lachin District was under occupation for 28 years, and during this period, almost the entire infrastructure of the district was destroyed by Armenia. Great damage was caused to the environment. In general, as a result of illegal exploitation of our forest fund, 60,000 hectares of our forests were destroyed, cut, looted, and sold by the Armenians, President Ilham Aliyev said.

Contrary to all international laws and principles, Armenians conducted a policy of illegal settlement in Lachin, and Armenians from abroad were resettled in several villages of Azerbaijanis. Azerbaijan regained Lachin both on the battlefield and by political means as the liberation of the district was one of the priority tasks.

France under fire

Now the defunct OSCE Minsk Group again came under the presidents criticism at the meeting. Throughout many years of negotiations, the OSCE mediators always showed a special approach to Lachin. On the whole, Armenia considered the return of Lachin District to Azerbaijan unacceptable.

The mediators, the former Minsk Group of the OSCE, actually tried to solidify this occupation by conducting negotiations, the Azerbaijani leader said, adding that everything become clear now  France's unfair and prejudiced attitude towards Azerbaijan is not accidental.

They simply tried to cover it up to some extent during the occupation. They simply wanted to misguide us. But notice the ugly acts that have been committed against us in the two and a half years since the Second Karabakh War. Note the baseless accusations that have been made against us. In other words, all this is obvious, including a series of resolutions adopted by the European Parliament against Azerbaijan, which are still the products of the pro-Armenian, corrupt anti-Azerbaijani group, and French parliamentarians are playing the leading role here. Of course, we felt this during the occupation too, but not to such an obvious extent. We could not even imagine that countries can be so hypocritical and deceitful. They can look into your eyes and say one thing, but do the exact opposite behind your back, the president said.

The president urged international actors to repulse Armenian lies and be honest about who is a warmonger in the South Caucasus, pledging to lead the nation toward new heights.

So the whole world could see everything again over the past two and a half years. At the same time, the anti-Azerbaijani forces could see our unbending resolve. No one can influence our resolve. No one can speak to us in the language of ultimatums. We proved this to Armenia in the Second Karabakh War, and we also proved it to Armenia's patrons during the two and a half-years after the war. We defeated them and showed the whole world again that we can and we will achieve what we want.

Lachins security tops the governments agenda

The history of Lachin District should certainly serve as a lesson in many cases.

From now on, ensuring the security of Lachin district and returning the displaced people there as soon as possible are priority tasks for us, Ilham Aliyev said, adding that all engineering and fortification work in Lachin District along the border with Armenia has almost been completed and the March 30 report of the Defense Ministry once again proves the leaders determination to accomplish the mission.

Roads that never existed there have been built, the president said, adding that 100 km of local roads in Lachin and Kalbajar districts, as well as the roads leading to military positions, have been built.

We have acquired very favorable positions in the direction of the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, we are reinforcing ourselves in these positions, and we will remain in these positions. Of course, other steps and measures are being taken for the security of Lachin district. These measures will allow our returning compatriots the opportunity to live there comfortably and safely, the leader added.

The wind energy potential of Lachin & Kalbajar

Lachin and Kalbajar districts have immense wind energy potential and it should reach 500 megawatts in the future and enable Azerbaijan to create a large energy capacity using the water resources.

Now the construction of hydropower plants is going fast in Lachin, Kalbajar, Zangilan, and several other districts to total overall amount to 50 megawatts of energy. On the whole, the goal has been set that the hydropower plants in the liberated areas should provide a capacity of 200 megawatts by the end of this year.

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31 March 2023 11:20 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov who is on an official visit to Palestine, Azernews reports, citing MFA.

The meeting discussed issues of cooperation on bilateral and multilateral platforms, including the current situation in the region, was discussed at the meeting.

President Mahmoud Abbas noted with satisfaction that the broad bilateral and multilateral cooperation agenda between Azerbaijan and Palestine, mutual support, and solidarity within the framework of international organizations is admirable. As the chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, it was said that Azerbaijan's initiatives in the direction of strengthening the Movement, including coordinating the activities of the member states, are commendable.

Recalling the 30th anniversary of the Azerbaijani-Palestinian relationship, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov emphasized the development of relations between the two states based on friendship, solidarity, and common values. Confidence was expressed that the establishment of Azerbaijans Representation Office in Palestine will stimulate the further development of relations. Mutual support of the two countries on multilateral platforms was noted with satisfaction.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also gave detailed information on the current situation in the region after the 44-day Patriotic War, the establishment of peace and security in the region during the post-conflict period, the opening of transport and communications, the restoration and construction works, implemented by Azerbaijan in the direction of ensuring the dignified return of IDPs from their homelands as a result of nearly 30 years of occupation. It was pointed out that continuous provocations committed by Armenia and non-fulfillment of obligations are an obstacle to Azerbaijan's peace and construction efforts in the region.

At the meeting, opinions were also exchanged on other issues of mutual interest.

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31 March 2023 14:16 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Italy Rashad Aslanov met with the Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, Azernews reports, citing tweets by the Defense Ministry of Italy, and the ambassador.

The meeting discussed the issues of mutual interest, including defense, energy, and security in the regional context, as well as the strengthening of military, industrial, and political relations between the two countries.

The [email protected] has received the Ambassador of #Azerbaigian @rashadaslan. Cordial discussion on topics of common interest including #difesa, energy and security in the regional context, as well as on strengthening military, industrial and political relations between the two nations, the Italian Defense Ministry tweeted.

Ambassador Rashad Aslanov posted a tweet about the meeting and noted that he had the honor of meeting with the Italian Defense Minister and thanked Guido Crosetto.

I had the honor of meeting the Minister of Defense of the Italian Republic @GuidoCrosetto. I wish to thank the Minister for the warm welcome and sincere exchange of views on the extensive bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy, the ambassador tweeted.

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31 March 2023 14:54 (UTC+04:00)

Sabina Mammadli Read more

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry commemorated the memory of the victims of the Armenian genocidal policy, racial discrimination, and ethnic cleansing on the 105th anniversary of the March massacres, Azernews reports.

The ministry once again reiterated the importance of ending Armenias impunity to prevent such crimes and their recurrence.

Recalling the bloody events that occurred in March-April 1918, the ministry noted that the Dashnak-Bolshevik armed groups operating under the mandate of the Baku Soviet carried out brutal massacres against tens of thousands of peaceful Azerbaijanis in Baku, as well as in Shamakhi, Guba, Irevan, Zangazur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan. and Kars districts.

As a result of massacres, over 16,000 people were brutally murdered and 167 villages were destroyed in Guba alone, the statement reads.

The ministry also drew attention to the confessions of the Extraordinary Commissioner of the Caucasus, an ethnic Armenian Stephan Shaumyan, who stated that 6,000 armed soldiers of the Baku Soviet and 4,000 armed soldiers of the Dashnaksutyun Party took part in the massacres.

The ministry reminded that after the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), the government created the Extraordinary Investigation Commission for the investigation of grave crimes, committed by Armenians, which resulted in the opening of criminal cases against 194 persons accused of different crimes against peaceful population, and 24 people were arrested in Baku and about 100 in Shamakhi for their crimes.

However, the continuation of this first step towards a political and legal assessment of the policy of genocide against Azerbaijanis was interrupted due to the occupation of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Soviet Army, the statement added.

Furthermore, it was highlighted that an adequate political assessment of the events was given after the restoration of Azerbaijan's independence, with the presidential decree On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis dated March 26, 1998, signed by the National Leader Heydar Aliyev, when according to this decree, March 31 was declared as the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.

Besides, the statement pointed out that the policy of ethnic cleansing continued during the 30-year-long policy of military aggression against Azerbaijan, as well as during the 44-Day Patriotic War.

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31 March 2023 13:49 (UTC+04:00)

Article 1.0.3. of the Customs Code defines the inward processing as a special customs procedure consisting of bringing certain goods into the customs territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan without collecting customs duties and taxes for the purpose of export after processing operations.

Article 197 of the Customs Code states that foreign goods placed under the inward processing procedure are used in one or more processing operations in the customs territory without applying the followings: (a) import customs duties; (b) value added tax and excise duties stipulated in the legislation on the import of goods; and (c) trade policy measures.

Under Article 198 of the Customs Code, the customs authority determines the period of completion of the special customs procedure for internal processing, which should not exceed 2 (two) years. However, based on the justified application of the person, the customs authorities may decide on the extension of the said period.

Along with the Customs Code, Rules for placement of goods under a special customs procedure for inward processing, approved by the decision No. 4 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, dated 14 January 2014 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules), is one of the main regulatory instrument in relation to the inward processing procedure.

In accordance with Article 5.1 of the Rules, permit to place the goods under inward processing procedure is granted to a person with the following conditions: (a) if the customs authority has a possibility to control the inward processing procedure; (b) unless the granting of the permit adversely affects the vital interests of local producers.

According to Article 5.2 of the Rules, permit to place the goods under inward processing procedure is granted to the following persons: (a) to the persons who provide a guarantee that the customs operations will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the legislation and who provide a guarantee for the payment of the customs debt in cases where it has arisen or may arise; (b) persons who perform processing operations on goods placed under inward processing procedure.

As per Article 5.9 of the Rules, in case of changes in the information and documents submitted for obtaining the permit, the permit holder must immediately inform the customs authority as to such changes.

Article 6 of the Rules regulates the transfer of the rights and obligations to other persons which norms can be summarized as follows:

(a) The rights and obligations of the owner of the procedure in relation to goods placed under inward processing procedure may be transferred to other persons who comply with the conditions of the same procedure;

(b) For that purpose, the owner of the procedure must apply to the customs authority;

(c) The customs authority grants a permit if the person accepting the rights and obligations in relation to goods placed under inward processing procedure provides a guarantee that it will comply with the conditions set out for the relevant customs procedure;

(d) When the rights and obligations regarding the inward processing procedure are transferred to another person, the permit granted to the previous owner of the procedure is revoked;

(e) The transfer of rights and obligations related to the goods placed under the inward processing procedure to another person does not affect the flow of the period set out for that procedure.

With regard to the term of the inward processing procedure, Article 7 of the Rules speficies the followings:

(a) The period of completion of the inward processing procedure should not exceed 2 (two) years.

(b) When the goods are exported within the specified period, those goods are completely exempted from import customs duties and taxes.

(c) The customs authority may extend the period of completion of the inward processing procedure based on the justified application of the permit holder up to 1 (one) year.

(d) If the inward processing procedure is not completed within the specified period, the inward processing procedure is changed, the goods are placed under the customs procedure of release for free circulation (permanent import), and appropriate customs duties and taxes are applied to the goods.

About the author: Fuad Gashamov is a professional lawyer with over 12 years of experience in consulting industry. He mainly specializes in dispute resolution, real estate, contracts, regulatory, intellectual property and compliance. He is the founding partner at Legalize Law Firm. He is a member of the Bar Association since 2014. For more information about the author please see the following link:

https://www.legalize.az/en/team/fuadgashamov

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31 March 2023 16:19 (UTC+04:00)

Sabina Mammadli Read more

Despite sufficient evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity committed by Armenians in relation to Azerbaijanis, these actions have not yet been adequately addressed on an international level, Azerbaijani Ombudswoman Sabina Aliyeva said.

She made the remarks at a conference on "Legal aspects of the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the context of historical facts" held in Azerbaijans Guba.

Aliyeva once again called on international organizations to take a decisive and fair position on these serious crimes against Azerbaijanis and to recognize the act of genocide, based on the norms of international law.

The ombudswoman noted that the existing mine problem, which led to numerous casualties, not only delays the return of IDPs but it also remains a serious obstacle to peace and large-scale restoration and construction work on Azerbaijan's liberated territories.

"I would like to note that in total during the second Karabakh war and in the post-war period, I prepared and sent to international organizations and courts 16 reports, 28 statements, and 33 appeals (7 of which were in video format), more than 300 press releases, as well as three videos. This activity successfully continues to this day," she added.

The official noted the importance of spreading the world about the genocide committed against Azerbaijanis.

The conference with the participation of Aliyeva, Chairman of the Community of Western Azerbaijan Aziz Alakbarli, Head of the Guba District Executive Power Ziyaddin Aliyev and other officials has been organized at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Guba city.

The participants of the conference first visited the monument to national leader Heydar Aliyev in Guba city and laid flowers to the monument.

Furthermore, Azerbaijani officials, employees of religious denominations and local law enforcement agencies, pedagogical teams and schoolchildren, public representatives, as well as residents of other districts of the region commemorated the memory of the victims of the March 31 genocide in Gubas Genocide Memorial Complex since early morning.

The visitors laid flowers in front of the memorial complex.

To recap, 105 years ago Armenian Dashnaks and Bolsheviks committed unprecedented atrocities against the Azerbaijani population in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Karabakh, Zangazur, Nakhchivan, Lankaran, Ganja, and other regions, killing over 70,000 people with extreme violence, including women, old people, and children, burned the villages, expelled the inhabitants from their homes.

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Renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando speaks during a press conference at Museum SAN in Wonju, 87 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to promote a solo exhibition at the museum, which he designed, March 31. Yonhap



Tadao Ando, a renowned Japanese architect, said Friday he wants to deliver messages of hope through his architecture and life as he is set to hold a solo exhibition at Museum SAN, which he designed.



The exhibition titled "Tadao Ando - Youth" will run from April 1 to July 30 at Museum SAN in Wonju, 87 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of its opening.



The exhibit features over 250 representative works encompassing his architectural world, including his early works from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.



Among them are the Naoshima Project in Japan that took 30 years to complete, his architectural works in public places around the world since the mid-1990s and the Bouse de Commerce renovation project in Paris, which was completed in 2020.



The 81-year-old, known for minimalist architect constructed with exposed concrete, said he tried to carefully observe objects in nature with fresh eyes to create his own architectural world and keep his youthful spirit alive.



"To maintain youth, you must always seek new things and discover hope from them. I wanted to create architecture that embodies hope," Ando said in a press conference at Museum SAN.



Ando is largely self-taught, having studied architecture through books and site visits rather than attending a formal architecture school. Before finding his passion in architecture, he was a professional boxer and a taxi driver.



His designs are characterized by use of geometric forms, natural light and a focus on the relationship between buildings and their surrounding landscapes. He has received numerous awards, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the field's top award, in 1995.





Japanese architect Tadao Ando gives a lecture at Museum SAN in Wonju, 87 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to promote a solo exhibition at the museum, which he designed, March 31. Yonhap



Without a college degree and personal connections, Ando said he struggled to find clients early in his career and his innovative designs often faced hurdles.



"The more interesting a design is, people are more likely to reject it at first. Even if people reject it, I didn't take it to heart and didn't listen to them," he said. "I always believed it will be realized somewhere."



Ando has had a difficult struggle with cancer, resulting in five of his organs being removed, including his duodenum, pancreas and galls, through several surgeries between 2009 and 2015. Still, the architect is not discouraged by his ordeal and wants to continue his true passion.



"I have lived in misery, but I want to continue to search for hope and become a role model of hope," he said. (Yonhap)




31 March 2023 15:36 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov commemorated the memory of the victims of the March massacres, Azernews reports per the official's Twitter page.

"105 years pass since #MarchMassacre when thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed on ethnic grounds by Armenians. On the Day of Genocide of #Azerbaijanis, we remember victims of the policy of genocide by Armenia against Azerbaijan & reiterate the significance of ending impunity to prevent recurrence of such crimes," he tweeted.

The bloodiest of these events occurred on March 31, 1918. Taking advantage of the February and October 1917 coups in Russia, the Armenians managed to implement their smeary plans under the Bolshevik flag. From March 1918, the Baku commune, under the guise of a struggle against counter-revolutionary elements, implemented its nefarious plans to clear the Baku province of Azerbaijanis.

On these days, the Baku Soviet and the armed formations of the Armenian Dashnaks committed genocide against the Azerbaijani people in Baku, in various parts of the Baku province, as well as in Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangazur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan. Nearly 12,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, and tens of thousands of people went missing.

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31 March 2023 17:59 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Iran's imperious and jingoistic army generals in concert with diplomats continue to blatantly threaten and blackmail Azerbaijan by unjustifiedly demanding explanations from Baku for its foreign policy priorities.

This is ludicrous and comical with respect to Azerbaijan - an independent state - which always pursues independent and fair policies driven by its national interests that are unharmful and non-toxic for third countries, in particular for neighbors. Notwithstanding all this, Tehran's theocratic regimes have always failed to assess Baku's friendly and good-neighborly policies.

Alas... In the meantime, hardly a day goes without Iran's unfounded accusations and attempts to interfere in Azerbaijan's domestic affairs. The recent vile and defamatory anti-Azerbaijani remarks by the commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Force, Brig Gen Kioumars Heydari, are also neither surprising nor unexpected.

They are not the first time, nor will it be the last and soon after this vile accusation of the figurehead general, the Iranian Foreign Ministry repeated the same rhetoric.

In a comment on the remarks by the Iranian figurehead and untested on the battlefield general, expert Farhad Mammadov opined that Iran's latest statement and the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel have irritated Iran.

However, the current accusations, especially the allegation that members of ISIS were involved in the 44-day war on the Azerbaijani side in 2020 and that they are still in Azerbaijan, are ridiculous. The claim that ISIS and Israel are in the same territory should be considered as a baseless accusation, proving once again that Iran's stance on the region is wide off the mark.

Iran says that it cannot turn a blind eye to a change of borders in the region. According to Khamenei, this is a red line for them. However, there was a danger of changing the borders of the two countries by force in the South Caucasus. The danger is still there with one of the South Caucasus nations.

"My point is that Armenia wanted and still wants to change Azerbaijan's borders by force, and Russia intends to change the borders of Georgia by force and even Russia occupied two regions of Georgia. The occupation is still going on. Both Russia and Armenia are Iran's partner countries. This accusation primarily concerns the countries with which Iran is a partner in the region and they have nothing in common with Azerbaijan, the expert said.

Farhad Mammadov noted that it is unknown what Iran wants from the region. If Iran is against the change of borders in the region, Azerbaijan offers Armenia to sign a peace agreement, and the basis of this peace agreement is territorial integrity, mutual recognition of territories, and political solution to all issues.

Iran has not yet expressed a clear opinion on the peace issue being discussed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We do not know whether Iran supports it or is against it. Here, Iran's insincerity manifests itself once again, Farhad Mammadov added.

Moreover, Azerbaijan has never had a territorial claim on Armenia, and the proof of this is the fact that Azerbaijan wants to install checkpoints both on the Lachin-Khankandi road and on the Zangezur corridor. With this, Azerbaijan once again proves that the sovereign rights over the corridor belong to Armenia.

The pundit also added that Iran's opinion about the Zangazur corridor is obscure and dark.

If they are against the exterritorial corridor issue through Armenia, then Azerbaijan's proposal to erect checkpoints on the border disproves this claim. If they are against communications going from the western regions of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, passing through the territory of Armenia, then they should state this openly. Anyway, a new question crops up. If they are against our proposal, why did they sign a memorandum on communication with Azerbaijan regarding the use of Iran's territory to Nakhchivan, Farhad Mammadov questioned.

The pundit noted that those insincere, baseless, and false views of Iran indicate that Iran's South Caucasus policy has reached an impasse. In addition, the political leadership of Armenia has not asked Iran for help in case of an attack on Armenian territory. Also, there is no document regulating Iran's military support to Armenia. That is, they are neither allies nor members of any military-political bloc, nor is there a bilateral agreement under which Iran can provide military assistance to Armenia.

Having noted all this, I want to note that the baseless, ridiculous, slanderous accusations about Israel and ISIS are the product of groundless and spurious official rhetoric. If Iran intends to implement a clear-cut policy vis-a-vis Azerbaijan, i.e. if it wants to eliminate the tension and normalize relations with Azerbaijan, it should show it in statements and actions.

First, Iran should step on a terrorist/s and assassin's paymaster/s for the crime against the security officer of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran. Iran should avoid issuing anti-Azerbaijani statements and end with its hypocritical policies. Without these, of course, we will witness similar statements and military threats, and tensions will remain high, the pundit opined.

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31 March 2023 16:56 (UTC+04:00)

Sabina Mammadli Read more

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the statement made by Spokesperson for Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani and called him to listen carefully to the comments made by Jeyhun Bayranmov, Azernews reports per the ministry.

In a statement released on March 31, the Iranian official demanded an explanation from Azerbaijan for the foreign ministers comments about a new stage in strategic partnership and noted Israel's "intention to turn the Azerbaijani soil into a platform for posing threats to the Islamic Republic of Irans national security".

Commenting on the matter, the Azerbaijani ministry recalled that Bayramov did not express any position against Iran during the press briefing with the Israeli foreign minister.

"In this regard, we consider this statement made by Iranian Foreign Ministry as the next anti-Azerbaijani step. We inform you that Azerbaijan has never allowed its territory to be used against third countries," the ministry added.

It was pointed out that contrary to what was said by Kanaani, threats and provocations have been made against Azerbaijan from the territory of Iran.

"For example, the conduction of military drills by Iran along the borders of Azerbaijan, military operations across the border, anti-Azerbaijani statements made by Iranian officials, even involving children by Iranian security structures such as the IRGC, and shooting and demonstrating threatening videos against Azerbaijan near Khudafarin bridge, the terrorist attack against the Azerbaijan embassy in Iran, the preliminary traces of the investigation of the terrorist act against MP Fazil Mustafa can be mentioned," the ministry listed.

Furthermore, it was noted that today the "Iranian-Armenian brotherhood" remains a threat to the region as a whole. The ministry recalled how Iran has turned a blind eye to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands for the last 30 years.

"It is well known that Iran does not pay attention to the occupation of Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur and the looting of these areas, the selling of stones removed from the houses in these areas in Iranian markets, the destruction of 65 of the existing 67 mosques," the ministry stressed.

The ministry emphasized that this statement is the next step in the crisis of Azerbaijan-Iran relations.

"These threats from the Iranian side can never scare Azerbaijan. Despite the military support sent to Armenia from Iran, the Azerbaijani army defeated the invading Armenian army in 2020. After that, any aggression and provocation against Azerbaijan will be resolutely prevented," the ministry concluded.

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31 March 2023 10:24 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov met with Hungaria Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto within the framework of the 3rd meeting of energy ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Budapest, Azernews reports, citing the Energy Ministry.

The meeting discussed the issues related to cooperation in the OST format, the Agreement on strategic partnership in the field of development and transmission of green energy between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary, and Romania, and the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on natural gas cooperation.

The meeting heard that the gas supply to Hungary will start by the end of 2023. Also, opinions were exchanged regarding the necessary measures for the implementation of the green energy corridor project, which includes the production of green energy in the Caspian Sea, the laying of various lines for the transmission of this energy, the laying of a cable through the bottom of the Black Sea, and its delivery to the world markets.

During the conversation, the possibilities of expanding the participation of MOL company in the development of oil and gas fields in Azerbaijan were also considered.

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31 March 2023 09:16 (UTC+04:00)

NASA released its climate strategy on Wednesday in an effort to expand agency-wide efforts to counter climate challenges.

The strategy assesses NASA's climate portfolio across the agency for the first time, extending beyond science and exploration efforts to include every mission directorate and NASA facility.

The strategy lays out four key priorities for the agency to aide with the integration of climate across NASA: innovate, inform, inspire, and partner. The first priority of innovation relies on continuing NASA's 60-plus years of Earth science studied not only from space, but also through airborne research, direct measurements and field campaigns.

"With new missions coming online in 2023 to observe air pollution (TEMPO), Earth's water to help improve climate models (SWOT), and the increasing intensity of storms (TROPICS), NASA-powered observations of our planet are at the core of how we study the effects of climate change," NASA said in a statement.

"This strategy will help NASA integrate our understanding of climate across the agency and in our partnerships to better serve the public," said Kate Calvin, NASA's chief scientist and senior climate advisor.

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31 March 2023 14:30 (UTC+04:00)

Sabina Mammadli Read more

Armenia and Greece have approved a military cooperation plan for 2023, Azernews reports per Armenian media.

According to the source, the head of the department for defense policy and international cooperation under the Armenian Defense Ministry, Levon Ayvazyan, and the director of the international relations department of the Greek General Staff, Vasilios Tsami, signed the document.

The cooperation plan includes 21 events, of which 15 are planned to be held in Greece, and 6 - in Armenia. The program includes joint drills and exchange of experience of special forces, air defense units, training of cyber units, and peacekeeping forces.

A key component of cooperation will also be cooperation between the intelligence communities of the two countries.

Greece is one of Armenia's major military partners. A similar document, the Tripartite Defence Cooperation Program for 2022-2023 was signed between Cyprus, Greece, and Armenia on August 31, 2021.

Talking to the Greek ambassador to Azerbaijan back in 2020, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev voiced his concern over the ongoing military cooperation between the two countries, noting that "it possesses the existential threat to Azerbaijan because using these weapons, they kill our military servicemen, they kill civilians."

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31 March 2023 22:47 (UTC+04:00)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Brussels, Belgium, April 3-5, to attend the NATO Foreign Ministerial and the tenth US-EU Energy Council meeting, Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department said.

Secretary Blinken will discuss ensuring energy security while accelerating the clean energy transition during the US-EU Energy Council meeting. He will have bilateral meetings with European Union High Representative and Vice President Josep Borrell, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

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31 March 2023 18:05 (UTC+04:00)

A woman in northern France was arrested over a post in social media using insulting expressions against President Emmanuel Macron. The complaint focused on the post on her Facebook page made on March 21, the day before Macron gave a an interview to TF1 television to defend his controversial pension reforms that have sparked across the country, Azernews reports, citing French media.

As per sources, the woman, in her 50s, who has been a supporter of the 2018-2019 "Yellow Vest" protests during Macron's elections has been held in custody for questioning after the state's local administrative office filed a complaint over her post describing the president "the piece of filth".

Speaking to local media the woman said she was shocked of police officers knocking at her door on Friday morning. According to the report of the local prosecutor she was arrested on Friday and will stand trial on June 20 in Saint Omer.

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Members of K-pop girl group NewJeans pose during a media event at Apple Gangnam, Wednesday. Courtesy of Apple Korea



By Dong Sun-hwa



Visitors to Apple's new retail shop in Gangnam can enjoy the latest release by K-pop girl group NewJeans, "OMG," in a fully immersive environment for free.



The U.S. tech behemoth  which will open Apple Gangnam on Friday  has joined forces with the quintet to elevate people's audio experience to the next level through its spatial audio technology. This cutting-edge technology provides a sense of space for listeners, making them feel like they are at a concert.



"We thought 'OMG' was the right fit for this collaborative project that could maximize synergy with the spatial audio technology," NewJeans member Hanni said during a press event at Apple Gangnam in southern Seoul, Wednesday. "It has bouncy drum sounds and highlights each member's distinctive vocal style. I think it will sound very entertaining thanks to this technology. Listeners can hear different sounds depending on the direction of their heads."



Hyein elaborated, "They may feel like NewJeans members are singing in front of them or right next to them."



Minji explained that the group wanted to offer a special moment for its fans through the collaboration.



"We have received so much love since our debut, which we have always wanted to repay," she said. "That's why we decided to participate in this project, hoping our followers can have a special experience via the spatial audio technology."



Haerin added, "The lively sounds will enable them to feel like they are building special rapport with us."





Apple Gangnam / Courtesy of Apple Korea
Email Dan Walters of CalMatters at dan@calmatters.org. CalMatters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias state Capitol works and why it matters. For more columns by Walters, go to calmatters.org/dan-walters.




Toss Bank, the country's third internet-only banking firm, said Friday it suffered a loss last year due to increased loan-loss reserves.







Toss Bank, which went into operation in October 2021, reported a net loss of 264.4 billion won ($203.3 million) in 2022, the lender said in a statement.







Toss Bank attributed its net losses to its 186 billion-won loan-loss reserves.







The bank said it is likely to swing back into the black in the second half of the year, citing fast-growing profitability.







Its net interest income came to 217.5 billion won in 2022, amid the central bank's monetary tightening.







As of end-2022, the number of Toss Bank customers came to 5.4 million, which grew to 6.05 million as of end-March, bank data showed. (Yonhap)


Mermaids on Display at Florence as Central Oregon Coast Gallery Features Encased Mixed Media

Published 03/26/23 at 1:20 AM

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Florence, Oregon)  For a little while longer, having started in March, one Florence gallery gives you a glimpse into the mermaids of the Oregon coast. (Above: a detail from Beaudreau's work)

The Florence Visitors Center has an art gallery, and there local artist Jo Beaudreau takes the spotlight with her takes on the whimsical, fanciful world of mermaids in an Oregon coast context, as well as other familiar sights. Beaudreau, also a city councilor, will be showcasing her mixed media works at the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Gallery, 290 Highway 101.

Beaudreaus exhibit is available to view Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m.to 4:00 p.m. through March 31.

Wandering new visual territory is a yearly thing for Beaudreau, creating a new set of works that get into the gallery under the banner of her expLORE series, each year's batch looking a different aspect of this coastline. The them this time around is Mermaids View, which features images of a professional mermaid named Mermaid Shannon. Shannon, it seems, it quite active in that imaginary world.

[She] was visiting Florence last summer and fall to help celebrate the 52nd anniversary of Florences world-famous Exploding Whale on November 12, 2022, Beaudreau said.



Beaudreau's take on Heceta Head Lighthouse



Beaudreau said Mermaid Shannon tries to make her way to the Florence area when she isnt out playing with whales or helping other mermaids learn mermaid ways.

This year's works featured a challenge since we have been living in challenging times, so why not embrace it and take it head on? said Beaudreau.

Beaudreau chose to set some guidelines for herself which incorporated round shapes in various sizes and neon colors. With these parameters she was able to create unique works of abstract landscapes, often the Oregon coast. These are colorful and surreal images of forest, lake, beach, sunrise, sunset, and more - while using her popular encaustic techniques.

Encaustic is a painting technique that has been used for centuries using pigments mixed with hot wax and resin.

Neon colors are, appropriate to our times, a challenge - hard to work with - because they are so vibrant. Not many artists use neon colors in their works, but I was inspired by seeing a Monet painting at the Portland Art Museum, a huge 10-by-10-foot work of his lilies, and lo and behold, he had used dayglo pink in his flowers and other vibrant colors, she explained. Neon colors don't translate well photographically, they are best experienced in person, just like this amazing area in which we live.

We are thrilled to have Jos work on display again. Shes so multitalented. Her last exhibit was her magnificent photography. This time its her artistry with a paintbrush. Visitors are going to love this exhibit, said Bettina Hannigan, president/CEO of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. Her Mermaid View theme is wonderfully fanciful, and pairs well with Florence as Oregons Coastal Playground.

Beaudreaus work has been displayed in shows and galleries across America. She currently serves on the City of Florences Public Arts Committee, serves on the Florence Events Centers Gallery Committee, and is a member of Florence Regional Arts Alliance. Beaudreau earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (cum laude) at San Jose State University. She uses art as a ways and means of exploring the plethora of emotions, objects, wonder and scenery of the Coast. Her works has been displayed at numerous shows and locations across America. She also does commission, commercial and portrait work as well.

The arts have always been my interest, specifically, the visual arts. I've always been involved with creating my own art or helping others create theirs. I love all types of expression. Every day I am thrilled I can help people create through my shops materials, my materials knowledge, and other resources, said Beaudreau.

For more information about the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, and how to join or volunteer, visit FlorenceChamber.com or call 541-997-3128.

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SOLVE Cleanup Registration Now Open for Earth Day on Oregon Coast

Published 03/29/23 at 6:50 AM

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast)  Always known as the spring beach cleanup or fall cleanup on the Oregon coast, the volunteer organization SOLVE has for awhile been billing it as a great Oregon cleanup, coinciding with dozens of trash and litter pick-up events around the entire state. (Stonefield Beach near Florence, photo Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

This time around, it's called the Oregon Spring Cleanup, happening on April 22  and it's now accepting registration for volunteers from the Oregon coast to the outer edges of eastern Oregon. Put together by SOLVE (once known as SOLV), this event takes place on Earth Day.

Literally thousands participate, and each year has generally seen more over the years. SOLVE said it's hoping for thousands again, as various groups host beach cleanups, litter projects and even habitat restoration events.

Volunteer registration is now live, and all Oregonians are encouraged to sign up for this statewide event, SOLVE said in a press release. There are over 100 great Oregon Spring Cleanup opportunities for celebrating Earth Day on April 22nd for volunteers to choose from.



Plastics collected by a beach cleanup, photo SOLVE

Last year's spring scouring brought in over 3,500 folks who grabbed some 44,000 pounds of litter and debris all over.

Let's continue to build upon the momentum of last years events, SOLVE said.

Each year always brings some unusual, even comical finds on the beaches. Some past years have included kitchen sinks  giving plenty of opportunities for the old joke Everything including....

In the early part of the 2010's, lots of tsunami debris from Japan was getting scoured off the beaches - a sad reminder of the tragedies there. There is always, however, a lot of debris from Asia likely coming from the vast Pacific gyre.





Other wacky finds have included custom glass balls from artists that were left on the beaches of the south and central coast, wire fencing at Bayocean, a bottle with a note inside at Port Orford, half a kayak near Florence and an aluminum boat near Port Orford.

Near Pacific City they once found an intact Saki bottle. Things that cause you to scratch your head a bit are occasionally found, like a fair amount of tires, large refrigerators and once there was a large find of sheet rock. Even entire cars have been found on rare occasions.

The opportunities on the Oregon coast are quite wide, and generally tied to one event or another. Just a handful of examples for meeting places include the Tillamook Forest, Bandon's Bastendorf Beach, Depoe Bay, Gold Beach, Cannon Beach, more than one spot in Newport, Lincoln City's D River access and the beach next to Devil's Punchbowl.

Events running from April 15th to April 23rd, 2023 are now open for volunteers to register at the website www.solveoregon.org.

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Oregon Coast Beach Connection



Giant objects cleaned up at Wheeler



Devil's Punchbowl, Oregon Coast Beach Connection

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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First Big Killer Whale Sightings for Oregon Coast Season Spectacular - Includes Baby

Published 03/29/23 at 6:50 PM

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Newport, Oregon)  Killer whales are back on the Oregon coast, and these multi-layered set of sightings may just herald a bunch more coming down the way. (Above: orca in Newport with her calf, courtesy Jaklyn Larsen Photography)

And the numbers are growing.

Multiple sightings of them began at least by Monday and now Facebook has been lighting up like a Griswold Christmas tree with extraordinary close still photos and video. It started with five whales and as of Wednesday it's up to 10.

Josh McInnes, Canadian orca researcher who runs the Facebook group Oregon Coast Killer Whale Sightings, thinks it's all a good sign. These somewhat mysterious transient killer always start to show up about now anyway.

This is the second sighting of transient killer whales for March off the Oregon Coast, he told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. I suspect we will start to see more sightings as we progress into the April - May harbor seal pupping period off the Oregon coast.



In Yaquina Bay, courtesy Jaklyn Larsen Photography

All of this started on March 27 with one member of the group posting the time they were spotted and the fact they were at Depoe Bay, heading south. Sure enough, they hit Newport's Yaquina Bay, which resulted in some rather spectacular video.

After that, the reports, videos and closeup stills just poured in. The central Oregon coast was really hoppin'.

It became clear it was five orcas - with a cute little baby orca in tow. McInnes and his various groups, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and his own University of British Columbia, have documented and identified quite a lot of these transient killer whales. As of Wednesday, five more different whales were added to the list, which McInnes had mostly ID'd as of 8 p.m.

The group of five whales are known as the T068Cs, McInnes said. These whales are part of the inner coast West Coast Transient population that specialize in hunting and feeding on marine mammals, in particular harbor seals. The T068s are composed of five whales: matriarch T068C (born in 1992), her first offspring

T068C1 (born in 2001), third offspring T068C3, fourth offspring T068C4 (born. 2014), and her newest offspring T068C5 (born in 2020). The T068Cs were last seen off the Oregon coast near Depoe Bay, Oregon on June 15, 2022.

The Killer Whale Sightings group is quite the hub of activity, as the five's antics are as public as ever even today (Wednesday).



T068C4, the matriarch. Courtesy Oceanic Ecology Research Group, Pacific Killer Whale Ecology and Behaviour Study

They've been sticking close to Depoe Bay and Newport all this time. The group's page shows lots of sightings around Depoe Bay, Whale Cove, at Rocky Creek Creek State Scenic Viewpoint, and they're spending considerable time inside the mouth of Yaquina Bay

In one case, Depoe Bay's Maritime Charters was on an hour-long run, then soon found themselves zipping a few hundred feet away from the pod as it was racing along a stretch right off town. That's a remarkable video.

Yet most of these encounters are exceptionally close.

Jaklyn Larsen of Jaklyn Larson Photography snagged some of the most incredible images, showing them closely (some of that is zooming in), and displaying lots of details in the whales. The one with the mother and her three-year-old calf is the biggie that makes everyone go awwwwww.

Her experience was priceless.

I was fortunate enough to be on the South Jetty as they were traveling back towards the ocean, Larsen told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. I was able to watch them for several minutes as I tried to keep pace with them. They stayed relatively close to the jetty, so I was able to get really close looks at them, even without my camera. There were a couple of moments when they surfaced and I could hear their breathing clearly, an unforgettable sound. It was such a privilege to see how they travel together, and how closely they all work to keep watch over the young one.

See Revelations of Oregon Coast Orcas Are Many

How to see these whales yourself? Wednesday could be their last day here, but then it may not. Since five more were seen today, you're likely in luck. Oregon Coast Beach Connection advises head down to Newport or Depoe Bay now (Hotels in Depoe Bay -- Hotels in Newport ), and then check the Killer Whale Sightings group for updates. Worse comes worst: you've spent a fun day or two on the coast and missed the whales. Not much to lose, in this case. MORE ID'D PHOTOS BELOW

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T068C1. Courtesy Oceanic Ecology Research Group, Pacific Killer Whale Ecology and Behaviour Study





T068C4. Courtesy Oceanic Ecology Research Group, Pacific Killer Whale Ecology and Behaviour Study





T068C3. Courtesy Oceanic Ecology Research Group, Pacific Killer Whale Ecology and Behaviour Study



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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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Behavioral health beds

Chemical dependency beds

MRIs in counties with populations above 125,000, effective three years from the first H.A.S.P. payment

Ambulatory surgical centers in counties with populations above 125,000, effective two years from the first H.A.S.P. payment

On Wednesday, N.C. Rep. Ben Moss, R-Moore, announced he will change his vote on Medicaid expansion, vowing to votewhen it returns to the House of Representatives for further consideration.said Moss.Moss also called Medicaid expansion athat would leave the state high and dry without addressing the root of the problem, and said the current proposal does not account for the cost of adding half a million new beneficiaries to the Medicaid rolls.said Moss.North Carolina Republican legislative leaders announced an agreement to expand Medicaid last week. Gov. Roy Cooper praised the decision in his State of the State speech on Monday.In a Senate committee on Tuesday, Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, said this bill would eliminate the following Certificate of Need requirements:Additionally, the bill will raise the replacement equipment threshold to $3 million and index annually to inflation. The bill will do the same for diagnostic centers. Surgical centers that are exempt from Certificate of Need will be required to have a 4% charity care requirement for centers in counties with populations above 125,000.The Senate Finance Committee approved the Medicaid expansion bill quickly today and sent it to the Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee. It will then head to the Senate Rules Committee before going to the floor for a vote. Then, the House is expected to hold a vote for concurrence.
Actor Sam Neill, best known for his roles in themovie franchise, revealed this week that he has been receiving treatment after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer.The 75-year-old told the BBC that he was diagnosed 12 months ago withstage three non-Hodgkin lymphoma.Neill said that he decided to write a book to distract him from the diagnosis.he said.He said that the toughest part of undergoing chemotherapy was losing his hair.he said.he said.he later added,Neill gave an update about his condition on Saturday morning in a post on Instagram, saying that he's beenhe said.he said.He later stressed that people shouldabout the cancer news
East Carolina University Chancellor Philip Rogers congratulates award winners and nominees at the conclusion of the ECU Chancellors Awards for Service. (Photos by Rhett Butler)

Matthew Blount, a senior Honors College student majoring in public health, helped raise more than $56,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as the founder of a service fraternity. He'll serve as the 2023-24 student body vice president.

Calli Jon Massengill, a senior Honors College student majoring in special education and adapted curriculum, has roles in a variety of student organizations and serves as a mentor in the Pirate Institute for Rural Aspiring Teacher Educators.

Narh-Mensah, a junior EC Scholar majoring in biology with a public health minor, leads the Citizen U, and Dinner and Discourse programs through the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement and is a member of Students for Equitable Outcomes, a club that addresses health equity in Greenville.

Blake Privette, a senior community and regional planning major, worked on studies and projects in Vanceboro, Kinston and Bethel. His work with the Downtown Washington (N.C.) Parking Study earned the 2022 Marvin Collins Outstanding Student Project Award from the North Carolina chapter of the American Planning Association.

Iyaira Williams, a junior majoring in public health with a community health concentration, has been a Pirate navigator, orientation assistant and resident advisor, and serves on the Chancellor's Student Leadership Academy. As the 2021-22 North Carolina Collegiate Hunger Challenge Ambassador with Food Lion Feeds, she helped spread the word about food insecurity on college campuses.

The faculty recipient is Bhibha Das, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology in the College of Health and Human Performance. Her research focuses on the promotion of physical activity for improved quality of life, primarily on employee and underserved populations. She is the current co-chair of the Chancellor's Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Student Access and Success Subcommittee.

The staff recipient is Deborah Robinson, human resources business officer in the College of Allied Health Sciences. With a key role in leadership, recruitment, outreach and retention efforts for employees, she contributes to diversity and inclusion through her work, demonstrating advocacy as well as development and enhancement of an inclusive campus.

The student recipient is Darius Wingfield II. He's been a part of the Student Safety Committee with the ECU Chief of Police and the Equity and Intercultural Engagement Committee for the Student Government Association. As a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, he mentors youth on educational and leadership development through the Alpha Pharaohs program.

The group recipient is the College of Fine Arts and Communication's Access, Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Committee. Formed in 2020, the team has supported workshops and events like the MLK National Day for Racial Healing, and has hosted forums, book clubs and professional learning opportunities focused on diversity and inclusion.

Ivan Martinez-Santoyo

Constance Williams

Lindsay Cobb

Cameron Brown

Samuel Kesler

Ian Jethro

Jordan Smith

Charlotte Grimes

Emanual Isaak

Charlotte Mesmer

Abigail Martinez

Taylor Gower

Madelyn Garrison

Megan Long

Riley Jakob

Kelly Lewis

Alexander Edwards

Logan Harrison

Paul Gemperline, Graduate School

Jennifer Griggs, Student Affairs

Virginia Hardy, Student Affairs

Teresa Tripp, College of Allied Health Sciences

Nora Tucker, College of Business

David Paquette, School of Dental Medicine

Cliff Hollis, University Communications

Melonie Bryan, Office of University Scholarships

Susannah Berry and Ashley Norris, Department of Human Development and Family Science

Melinda Kane, Department of Sociology

Elizabeth Boyd, Main Campus Facilities Service Center

Greg Harris, Department of Institutional Planning, Assessment and Research

Karen Kus, College of Business

April Reed, College of Business

Debby Diffenbaugh, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

Todd Inman, Facilities Services

Sarah Williams, Office for Faculty Excellence

Those recognized Tuesday night during the Chancellor's Horizon Awards for Service at East Carolina University share a common bond - a commitment to help others.The event in the Main Campus Student Center ballrooms honored more than 150 ECU faculty, staff and students.Chancellor Philip Rogers said in his opening remarks.Rogers presented the first award of the ceremony, the James R. Talton Jr. Leadership Award, to Margaret Bauer, an English professor in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences. Named in honor of the former Board of Trustees chairman, the award recognizes outstanding servant leadership.Bauer has received numerous local and state honors, including the North Carolina Award for Literature and the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities, the highest honor given by North Carolina Humanities. She has served as editor of the award-winning North Carolina Literary Review for the past 25 years.Rogers said.Other nominees for the award included: Chad Carwein, facilities services; John Cavanagh, Brody School of Medicine; Gregory Chadwick, School of Dental Medicine; Kathleen Cox, Graduate School; Allison Danell, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences; Kirk Foster, School of Social Work; Latonya Gaskins, School of Social Work; Ashlee Lancaster, graduate admissions; Jon Rezek, Office of Global Affairs; Rachel Roper, Brody School of Medicine; Art Rouse, College of Education; Kelli Russell, Health Education and Promotion; Matt Smith, Information Technology and Computing Services; John Stiller, Department of Biology; Brandon Stroud, Department of Nutrition Science; and Maggie Wilson, School of Dental Medicine.Also recognized during the ceremony were 89 inductees - 58 faculty and staff and 31 students - to ECU's Servire Society, which recognizes individuals who provide a minimum of 100 hours of service beyond their job responsibilities in a year. Servire Society members receive a certificate, medal and pin with the induction year.North Carolina Campus Engagement, Community Impact AwardThe statewide North Carolina Campus Engagement network recognizes students throughout the state with a deep commitment to community involvement and ability to inspire others. Tete Narh-Mensah, a junior biology major and public health minor from Silver Springs, Maryland, received the award for his membership in multiple student organizations, his work as a leadership assistant in the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, and his involvement with various projects as an EC Scholar in the Honors College.Excellence in Student Leadership AwardThe Truist Leadership Center Excellence in Student Leadership Award highlights those who have shown exemplary skills or achievement in campus leadership, made a positive community impact, or helped to address a significant North Carolina problem. Recipients include:Diversity and Inclusion AwardsAwarded through the Office of Equity and Diversity, recipients engage in meaningful diversity and inclusion activities in addition to or extending beyond their primary responsibilities at the university, helping efforts toward a more inclusive campus.Public Fellows Internship ProgramFunded by the State Employees' Credit Union Foundation, the program is designed to connect undergraduate students with local leadership so they can obtain meaningful on-the-job experience with a local agency or organization, providing a unique learning opportunity and avenue to give back to the community. Recipients are:Staff Emeritus RecognitionThe ECU Staff Senate established the recognition of emeritus status to retired staff members who have made significant contributions to the university through a long and distinguished record of service, dedication, leadership and innovation. Those honored are:Centennial Awards for ExcellenceThese honors go to staff, faculty, administrators and teams who go the extra mile every day to make a difference in the lives of students in the areas of leadership, service and spirit.LeadershipServiceSpirit
Italy's conservative government has announced it will back legislation to ban artificial and lab grown meat in the country. This comes as an online petition calling for such a ban in Italy reached over half a million signatures.

This comes as globalist European governments like the Netherlands and the EU itself have been pushing use of bugs and worms as human food.

https://rmx.news/italy/italy-to-ban-lab-grown-food-to-protect-cultural-heritage-and-tradition/

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/03/30/buon-appetito-italys-meloni-moves-to-ban-synthetic-and-lab-grown-meat/

https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/italy-moves-to-ban-lab-grown-food/
With rumors flying that liberal establishment RINO US Senator Thom Tillis is mulling a bid for governor, and Tillis flunky Michael Whatley trying to hang on the the position of NCGOP state chairman, there is a flurry of politicicans close to Tillis pushing their own bids for positions on North Carolina's Council of State. The Council of State consists of a group of statewide elected offices, a number of which are coming vacant this election.

Andrew Murray has said he is considering a run for North Carolina Attorney General, whose Democar incumbent is leaving that office to run for governor. Murray was Tillis and Burr's choice for US Attorney for the Western District and later appointed by Roy Cooper as acting District Attorney in Mecklenburg County. The conservative who was already announced for that seat is former Wake County DA Tom Murry.

https://dailyhaymaker.com/andrew-murray-also-bad-on-election-integrity/

https://dailyhaymaker.com/lets-play-the-name-game/

Tillis also has a second string prospect in the same race, former Tillis US Senate staffer Ray Starling, now an attorney for the "mother of all special interest groups", the NC Chamber of Commerce.

The State Treasurer's job is being vacated by outstanding conservative Dale Folwell who is running for governor, and the Tillis group has a flunky for that job, too. The Tillis candidate there is State Rep. John Bradford, who was Tillis' handpicked replacement for his own state house seat when Tillis was elected to the US Senate. Bradford has boasted of wide backing by lobbyists for the position and has compiled one of the most liberal records in the House GOP caucus.

https://dailyhaymaker.com/john-bradford-nope-for-state-treasurer-hell-nope/

https://dailyhaymaker.com/two-more-reasons-to-not-support-john-bradford/

The Republican incumbent Commissioner of Labor is also retiring, and there is a very polarized liberal versus conservative race there as well. State Representative Ben Moss (R-Richmond) is the conservative. Moss is the vice chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and an opponent of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion. His liberal opponent is State Representative Jon Hardister (RINO-Guilford), a favorite of the lobbyists, especially for Big Medicine, who is a diehard support of Obamacare Medicaid expansion, an opponent of bathroom / locker room privacy laws, and a major supporter of the NC Green New Deal and climate alarmism generally, among other leftwing issues.
Finnish voters go to the polls to elect a new parliament Sunday, and the populist / nationalist anti-immigration Finns Party (formerly known as the True Finns) leads in the polls, with the traditional conservative National Coalition Party second and the governing center-left Social Democrats running third.

The Finns Party is focusing on immigration issues, pointing to the rampant crime from illegal alien migrants in neighboring Sweden and calling for a hard line against illegal immigration. It also calls for returning powers from the EU back to the national government and is critical of climate alarmist measures.

The National Coalition Party is focusing on economic issues, blasting the big spending by the Social Democrats. The Finns Party agrees with them on that issue, but is not pushing it as hard.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11923459/Finlands-rock-star-PM-Sanna-Marin-looks-set-LOSE-Sundays-general-election.html

https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/finlands-meloni-moment-nationalists-hopeful-ahead-of-elections/




Korea plans to sell 4 trillion won ($3.08 billion) worth of Treasury bills next month to fund fiscal spending, the finance ministry said Friday.







The bills, which have a maturity of 63 days, will be sold in four separate auctions, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.







Treasury bills are usually floated to raise money to cover short-term financial shortfalls and are generally sold with a maturity of less than a year. The debts should be repaid within the year of issuance. (Yonhap)


Federico Candoni / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm

A Texas man who committed a robbery, murder and a shooting in just 45 minutes was sentenced at the end of March to significant prison time.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Texas, 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne Carrington walked into American Bank in Corpus Christi on Aug. 8 with a silver gun and demanded money from the teller, warning him not to press the alarm or make a scene.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Without billions of dollars more to feed millions of hungry people, the world will see mass migration, destabilized countries, and starving children and adults in the next 12 to 18 months, the head of the Nobel prize-winning U.N. World Food Program warned Friday.

David Beasley praised increased funding from the United States and Germany last year, and urged China, Gulf nations, billionaires and other countries to step up big time.

In an interview before he hands the reins of the worlds largest humanitarian organization to U.S. ambassador Cindy McCain next week, the former South Carolina governor said hes extremely worried that WFP wont raise about $23 billion it needs this year to help millions of needy people

Right at this stage, Ill be surprised if we get 40% of it, quite frankly, he said.

Last year, Beasley raised $14.2 billion for WFP, more than double the $6 billion in 2017, the year he took over as executive director. That money helped over 128 million people in more than 120 countries and territories.

Beasley said he was able to convince the United States last year to increase its funding from about $3.5 billion to $7.4 billion and Germany to raise its contribution from $350 million a few years ago to $1.7 billion, but he doesnt think theyll do it again this year.

Other countries need to step up now, he said, starting with China, the worlds second-largest economy which gave WFP just $11 million last year.

Beasley applauded China for its success in substantially reducing hunger and poverty at home, but said it gave less than one cent per person last year compared to the United States, the world's leading economy, which gave about $22 per person.

China needs to engage in the multilateral world and be willing to provide help that is critical, he said. They have a moral obligation to do so.

Beasley said theyve done an incredible job of feeding their people, and now we need their help in other parts of the world on how they did it, particularly in poorer countries including in Africa.

With high oil prices Gulf countries can also do more, especially Muslim nations that have relations with countries in east Africa, the Sahara and elsewhere in the Middle East, he said, expressing hope they will increase contributions.

Beasley said the wealthiest billionaires made unprecedented profits during the COVID-19 pandemic, and "its not too much to ask some of the multibillionaires to step up and help us in the short-term crisis, even though charity isnt a long-term solution to the food crisis.

In the long-term, he said what hed really like to see is billionaires using their experience and success to engage in the worlds greatest need  and that is food on the planet to feed 8 billion people.

The world has to understand that the next 12 to 18 months is critical, and if we back off the funding, you will have mass migration, and you will have destabilization nations and that will all be on top of starvation among children and people around the world, he warned.

Beasley said WFP was just forced to cut rations by 50% to 4 million people in Afghanistan, and these are people who are knocking on famines door now.

We dont have enough money just to reach the most vulnerable people now, he said. So we are in a crisis over the cliff stage right now, where we literally could have hell on earth if were not very careful.

Beasley said hes been telling leaders in the West and Europe that while theyre focusing everything on Ukraine and Russia, you better well not forget about whats south and southeast of you because I can assure you it is coming your way if you dont pay attention and get on top of it.

With $400 trillion worth of wealth on the planet, he said, theres no reason for any child to die of starvation.

The WFP executive director said leaders have to prioritize the humanitarian needs that are going to have the greatest impact on stability in societies around the world.

He singled out several priority places -- Africas Sahel region as well as the east including Somalia, northern Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia; Syria which is having an impact on Jordan and Lebanon; and Central and South America where the number of people migrating to the United States is now five times what it was a year-and-a-half ago.

Beasley said McCain, the widow of U.S. Senator John McCain from Arizona who was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee and has been the U.S. ambassador to Rome-based WFP and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, is the right person at the right time to lead the World Food Program.

They've been working together to make sure she hits the ground running, he said, But its going to be a very, very challenging time because of all the money going to the war in Ukraine, and the need to help so many other fragile economies.

Beasley said his biggest surprise was believing in April 2017, when he took over the agency and there were 80 million people in the world marching to starvation, that we could end world hunger and put the World Food Program out of business.

What he didnt expect were the conflicts and wars, the climate shocks, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, he said, which raised the 80 million in desperate need of food to 135 million right before COVID started spreading in early 2020, to 276 million before Russia invaded Ukraine  the bread basket of the world -- in February 2022, and to 350 million now.

Beasley said ""it's hard not to get depressed" but two things give him hope.

Seeing little girls and boys smiling in the midst of war and suffering from hunger inspires you not to give up, he said, as does the bipartisan support in the often divided U.S. Congress for helping the poorest of the poor around the world.

As he returns to his family in South Carolina, Beasley said his dream remains to end world hunger.
If youve never been handed the keys to a high-performance, German-engineered coupe and then told to drive it to its limit on a closed course, let me fill you in on the experience.

Space and time narrow to a very small window. At this particular moment, I was in a BMW M4 Competition approaching the starting line of an all-out, 300-foot sprint followed by a requirement to stomp on the brake as hard as humanly possible, smoothly glide into a sharp turn, then mash the gas again. Youre afforded a split second to consider if you can safely brake in time or blow through the cones (youre fine most of the time). Your reflexes have to recover in an instant to make up the ground you lost in the turn and beat your top speed from the prior run.

The BMW Performance Center in Thermal, CA, an hour east of Palm Springs, the home of a high-performance driving school open to all, bills itself as an opportunity to drive on the edge of physics. As someone who considers his edge the occasional rural highway speeding, I can confirm you can reach this edge rather quickly, along with the edges of your own endurance.

The Thermal Club campus, including the BMW Performance Center [top left]. BMW Performance Center

An Automotive Oasis in the Desert

Although its technically a separate property, the BMW Performance Center is a very close neighbor of the uber-exclusive and mega-expensive Thermal Club, a members-only racetrack. As a corporate partner of the club, BMW guests get access to one of the three tracks there  a sweet perk given that Thermal Club memberships start at $1 million plus the purchase of track-adjacent land and required construction of a home to house a car collection the owner would drive on said tracks. (My instructor assured our small group that investments at the Thermal Club easily top $4-5 million when its all said and done.)

On this particular day, I found myself out at the Performance Center on a trip celebrating BMWs new eyewear releases. We were all slated to take part in a one-day version of the centers M School offering, which puts you behind the wheel of three current-model M Competition Series vehicles over the course of a day.

What Its Like Driving a 44-Year-Old Race Car at One of Americas Oldest Road Courses Our resident track expert takes us behind the wheel of his Datsun 280Z during two days at Watkins Glen International

With this program, you get an hour of pre-drive classroom instruction and six sessions behind the wheel for 5-15 minutes per drive. From the second your class begins, its clear youre getting nothing short of a wealth of experience. On our driving day, we had a mix of retired professional racers, current pros and a former BMW vehicle engineer. Many have been with the Performance Center since it opened eight years ago, and some split their time at the East Coast center in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The instructors will match your level of eagerness. They work with drivers who can barely make it to the supermarket as well as those who drive just a few levels below pro. These are serious car people who will push you and your will to drive as far as you want to take it.

Class is in session. BMW Eyewear

Out on the Course

We split into groups, each taking turns on one of three short exercises: a skid pad (in the M5), a braking/turning test (in the M4) and a tight turning race course (in the M2).

My group began at the skid pad, where youre encouraged to grind through Continental performance tires on a polished concrete surface as youre taught to drift like they do in the movies. A skid pad is, as-advertised, a dedicated swath of concrete with a slick surface so you can skid and/or drift a vehicle in a near-perfect circle. Youre theoretically supposed to have a perfect balance of mid-level acceleration, turning and braking to ease into and out of turns to get the rear wheels to continuously move the car in that circular shape around the perimeter of the pad. It requires a gentle, yet firm touch on the pedals and constant reminders to always look in the direction youre wanting to turn (in this case, always to the left). Our instructor made it look ridiculously easy. For anyone else, its not.

You can almost pretend youre getting tips from the paddock as the instructor badgers you with information through a hand radio as you try to replicate his moves. I very quickly learned that your capacity to analyze lessons on the fly along with your reflex skills largely dictate how well youll do. I kept spinning out in full circles, barely making one actual loop in my time on the pad.

We went back to the staging area to swap our M5s for M4s and head to a small course, purpose-built for fast acceleration and hard, pad-destroying braking. This is where we were told to mash the gas as hard as possible, brake, mash again out of the turn, then brake almost to a full stop.

Our instructor was easily topping 85 mph in the span of a few seconds before dramatically stopping just slow enough to ease into a turn and be efficient coming out of it, only to top 80 mph once again. I was not as fortunate, barely eclipsing 73 mph multiple times. (Even if I had a hundred tries, I dont think my reflexes are fast enough to get the cornering down.)

We wrapped up the morning on the largest course within the Performance Centers own confines, specifically focused on turning and handling with the assistance of the M2s. In this order, we were aiming to put all of our newfound knowledge together into credible laps, meeting specific cone points for the most efficient turning momentum. We were also inching towards lunch, and I noticed fatigue start to take over.

Anyone whos ever thought I could do that when watching racing should spend a day here. BMW Eyewear

Exhaustion Kicks In

If this sounds like your kind of adrenaline-fueled vacation, know it is also mentally and physically draining work. Not only are you trying to do your best in each exercise, but you also have the instructor giving you split-second changes to improve your driving, while having to be acutely aware of everything going on in the car and around you. Cant do all that at once? Youre leaving seconds on the table, I was told multiple times. Thats their way of saying youre slow.

It takes an intense amount of focus to perform anywhere remotely near what the instructors ask of you. This makes you appreciate what pro race drivers, even way below F1, that burgeoning American interest, must endure just to be competitive. I sat out two of the afternoon activities just to work up the energy to do three full laps on the Thermal Clubs North Palm Circuit.

For just about everyone, track time is the highlight of the day. You take everything you learned up until that point and let it rip on a real, pro-style racetrack for around 10 minutes. The intensity is ramped up to 10 as you have to maintain focus while surveying everything and keeping up with the instructors lead car (theres good reason they dont allow unseasoned drivers to run the course alone). At the end of the day, you can hop in with one of the instructors for a lap on their terms  putting whichever M Series youre in to something closer to the limit under the guidance of a seasoned professional. Those who participated were uniformly blown away by the experience.

I feel the need, the need for a sandwich. BMW Eyewear

The Price of Admission

Its not cheap to drive at this level. Our one-day course, which utilized only the M Series vehicles, starts at $1,750 (but, hey, lunch is included). Theres also a two-day option from $4,000. The Performance Center has a range of other offerings, from a one-hour course ($300) all of the way to bespoke racing programs where you can earn certain racing licenses (granted you have the stamina to make it). You dont need to be a BMW owner to revel in a day here, but if you are, the center has programs to make the most of your ride. The sibling Performance Center in South Carolina has similar offerings.

The funny thing is, you almost forget to take in that youre driving finely-tuned, high-spec M Series models because youre so focused on the tasks at hand in each driving activity. The instructors require that you run the cars in Track Mode to get to their full potential, but most everyday visitors wont even get close to that. These cars are more than capable, but they do get thrashed around  at one point, we had to swap out my M4 for another as the brake pad sensor came on, and my replacement cars drivers seat was coming apart at the seams from the abuse.

I gained a lot of respect for the intense focus and physical fitness required to participate in racing. I was spent after just one day, but certainly interested in coming back for more. (Theres an off-road course with a tantalizing array of M-spec X5s and X7s that looked quite enticing.) Its a breathtaking experience that will take you as far as youre willing to let it.

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Nursing shortages have impacted nearly every healthcare specialty since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as burnout has remained high among all medical professionals.

For ASCs, nurse staffing challenges can be even more prevalent, as they are forced to compete with large and wealthy hospital systems for labor.

Additionally, travel nursing jobs have proven more lucrative since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing in young graduates due to their flexibility and higher wages.

One Michigan ASC has seen an uptick in nurses switching to travel nursing positions or part-time work, due to a need for more flexibility as caretaking pressures grow outside of work.

Question: How has your practice been impacted by nursing shortages in the last three years?

Editor's note: Response has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Tina Piotrowski, BSN, RN. CEO of Copper Ridge Surgery Center (Traverse City, Mich.): In the past three years, we have seen a significant shift of RNs who needed to reduce their hours. Many full-time RNs dropped down to part time or pro re nata in response to daycare shortages, schools alternating between remote and in-seat learning and overall challenges in balancing family and work during the pandemic. We have also experienced the loss of some RNs to more lucrative travel positions, as have many ASCs.

In response, we have continued to be as accommodating and flexible as possible in helping our staff balance their work availability with their family needs. This has resulted in ongoing recruitment efforts to fill in the gaps, but we are fortunate that we have not had to lean on agency nurses. We are open to hiring new grads and providing on-the-job training, including in our perioperative 101 program to train operating room nurses. We have an incredible team of front-line supervisors and managers that make their departments a positive and supportive environment to work in. This, along with a robust benefit package, and our Newsweek top ASC recognition, has contributed to attracting some of the best talent in the region to our center.
Nagaindra Srivastav, owner of a Tampa, Fla.-based solutions company, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for selling fraudulent physicians' orders in a $48 million scheme, the Justice Department said March 30.

Through his company B2B Apps Solutions, Mr. Srivastav created and operated an internet platform that sold physicians' orders for durable medical equipment. He paid and received remuneration for referring federal healthcare businesses, according to a news release.

Mr. Srivastav also created a website where durable medical equipment companies uploaded potential patient information, dubbed "leads," which were obtained through telemarketing campaigns. He then sold these leads, which he obtained through call centers.

He purchased the physicians' orders, which lacked medical necessity, from telemarketing companies.

Mr. Srivastav has been sentenced to nine years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay $48.2 million in restitution, the Justice Department said.
A Las Vegas physician stands accused of falsifying blood pressure readings following an investigation by the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Veterans Affairs, CBS affiliate KLAS reported March 29.

The report obtained by the news outlet does not disclose the physician's name.

Several patients at the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center were allegedly affected. The outlet did confirm the physician provides primary care and is still employed by the hospital.

The OIG found that 312 patients were documented as having blood pressure of 120/80 between January 2020 and January 2022. The alleged falsified readings occurred during virtual appointments.

"The accuracy of which was highly unlikely as these measurements were expected to vary across multiple patients," John Daigh Jr., MD, assistant inspector general for healthcare, wrote in the report.

The physician said they believed the template for virtual visits required providers to enter false blood pressures and that they did not receive training for virtual visits, according to the news outlet.

"During an interview with the OIG on January 12, 2022, the provider reported being uncomfortable with the practice of documenting false blood pressures, yet failed to seek assistance," Dr. Daigh said in the report.

The physician also said they believed no patients were harmed and all were sent blood pressure monitors. However, the investigation revealed that in 67 electronic health records reviewed out of the 312 patients, only nine patients are documented as having a blood pressure monitor, which they either already had or was provided by the physician.

Following an alert from the OIG, the hospital's chief of staff had the physician stop entering false blood pressures, notified human resources and entered the physician into additional training. The chief of staff did not initially report the physician to the state licensing board, which was a violation, according to the news outlet.

Hospital leadership said all blood pressure entries were reviewed, yet the OIG determined in its investigation this was not the case.

"The Acting Chief of Staff was unable to provide rationale as to why all EHRs were not clinically reviewed or amended when asked by the OIG," Dr. Daigh said in the report.

Patients were not notified of the falsified blood pressure readings, according to the news outlet.

"Due to the fact that all records in question were reviewed by [VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System] with no adverse clinical outcomes, and an addendum was placed all in affected medical records, no institutional disclosures or formal notifications to patients were required or completed outside the medical records update," Charles Ramey, chief of communication and customer experience, said in the report. "Based upon the practice of documenting erroneous blood pressures, VASNHS reported the provider to the State Licensing Board as VASNHS does not consider this an acceptable documentation practice."

The physician will have to undergo further training and observation and meet with the chief of primary care at the hospital weekly. The hospital will also place a direct order to cease and desist the falsification of the blood pressure results and review medical records.
NYC Health + Hospitals is partnering with other organizations in the city to build a new $30 million health center in one of the most underserved areas in New York.

The public 11-hospital system is working with primary care specialist Gotham Health to build the center in Far Rockaway, Queens, an area where rates of avoidable hospitalizations, diabetes and high blood pressure are considerably higher than the citywide average.

"Today we are making an important step forward in bringing a new community health center to the Far Rockaways," NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD, said in a statement. When the space is finished, Far Rockaway residents will have easy access to high quality primary care."

The center, due to be completed in 2025, will also offer specialty care services such as women's health, vision, behavioral health and dental services.

The city of New York contributed $30 million to the center with a 32-year lease signed for the 22,000-square-foot building by NYC Health + Hospitals.
Atlanta-based Piedmont Health is celebrating a project milestone at its Cartersville (Ga.) Medical Center as expansion there is set to be completed later this year.

The 22-hospital system celebrated the topping out of the vertical expansion of the North Tower at the hospital, according to a March 28 report in Healthcare Design Magazine. Topping out in construction refers to when the last beam is placed at the top of a structure.

The 43,122-square-foot expansion, scheduled for completion in November, will add two floors to the current three-story tower with those new floors set to accommodate 20 beds for short-stay patients and staff support space, the report said.

Lori Rakes was recently named CEO of the Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center where she was previously COO.
Amarillo-based Northwest Texas Healthcare System is notifying patients that some of their protected health information was compromised when its consulting company Adelanto HealthCare Ventures was targeted by a phishing attack.

On Nov. 5, 2021, Adelanto HealthCare Ventures learned that two of its employee email accounts had been targeted by a phishing attack. It wasn't until Aug. 19, 2022, that the company discovered that protected health information may have been compromised as a result of the breach.

On Jan. 28, the company notified Northwest Texas Healthcare System that some of their patient information may have been involved in the breach, according to a March 29 breach notification from the health system.

The health system launched its own investigation and determined that the following patient information may have been compromised: names, ages, patient account numbers, admission and discharge dates, insurance carriers and balance information.

Northwest Texas Healthcare System said no financial information or Social Security numbers were compromised.

On March 29, the health system began notifying all affected individuals.

Northwest Texas Healthcare System did not disclose how many patients were affected by the breach.
Three directors have resigned from struggling Miami-based primary care specialist Cano Health amid stinging criticism of the CEO's performance and against the backdrop of a plunging stock price.

Cano Health said in a March 31 news release that the decision by the directors focused overly on the short term and singled out comments made by one of them, Barry Sternlicht, as "particularly reckless."

Mr. Sternlicht said in a March 30 statement announcing his own resignation that Cano's CEO and chairman, Marlow Hernandez, DO, should resign.

"I believe that his continued tenure is harmful to the interests of stockholders and to Cano employees for all the reasons I have previously stated to you," Mr. Sternlicht said. "I have never witnessed such poor corporate governance at any company, let alone a public company, and I have been involved in at least nine and served as chairman or CEO of six."

Cano Health said it would continue to focus on improving its operational execution to deliver long-term shareholder value and realize its potential for all stakeholders. Discussing the content of board debates in public as Mr. Sternlicht did is not beneficial, it said.

"Boards must have healthy debate about how best to drive shareholder value, including in difficult circumstances," the health system said. "It is irresponsible to air those debates in ways that are meant to undermine healthy board debate and harm the company and shareholders."

Cano Health's stock price hit a one-year high of $8.84 in October. It is currently trading at $1.13.
gettyimagesbank



By Lee Yeon-woo



Financial authorities announced that Korea's five cryptocurrency exchanges have neglected their duty to monitor irregular crypto trading practices. These exchanges were fined and given disciplinary warnings and have been instructed to implement improvements within the next three months.



The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) said on Thursday that it has imposed regulations on five cryptocurrency exchanges, namely Bithumb Korea, Coinone, Dunamu, Korbit, and Streami. The FIU took the action after discovering that these exchanges had failed to fulfill their obligations regarding the reporting of irregular crypto trading.



Under the current law, cryptocurrency exchanges are required to report irregular crypto trading to prevent illegal activities like money laundering.



The instances of irregular trading discovered this time include the use of borrowed-name bank accounts for transactions and insufficient internal controls.



For example, the agency discovered that a 95-year-old man was trading over 30 different types of cryptocurrency, primarily late at night. To avoid suspicion of money laundering, the man divided his money into amounts below 990,000 won ($761.01) and exchanged them in multiple smaller transactions.



Another case involved a customer who repeatedly withdrew money immediately after a large amount of virtual assets had been deposited into the account.



Furthermore, one of the board members of a cryptocurrency exchange was found to have conducted transactions using their spouse's name.



The FIU has imposed fines of up to 490 million won and disciplinary warnings on the exchanges. It also called on the exchanges to rectify the identified suspicious transactions within three months. If the measures taken by the exchanges are deemed insufficient, the FIU may order additional improvements.



"Our focus at present is to encourage improvements from the cryptocurrency exchange providers, given that the market is still in its early stages of development. Nevertheless, if similar issues arise in the future, we will be compelled to impose more stringent restrictions to ensure the integrity of the market," the FIU noted.


Medicaid redeterminations begin April 1, but Renton, Wash.-based Providence's preparations date to last year.

"As an organization, we started preparing for Medicaid redetermination almost a year ago because we know health insurance coverage is an essential social determinant of health and foundational to ensuring equitable access to care," Whitney Haggerson, Providence's vice president of health equity and Medicaid, told Becker's. "We knew from reports at the time that our most vulnerable communities could be disproportionately impacted by coverage loss if they do not know or understand the process they need to follow to reapply or find another option for healthcare coverage. We are hopeful that our efforts will help our patients stay covered."

In anticipation of the unwinding period, Providence launched a series of communications designed to ensure Medicaid patients across the seven states it serves are aware of the actions they must take to reapply, a Providence spokesperson told Becker's.

Providence is providing information on alternative healthcare coverage options should patients no longer qualify for Medicaid. This includes information on ACA plans via state exchanges and information regarding the health system's financial assistance program. The spokesperson said the communications are available in several languages.

Providence has also prepared for the unwinding period by developing education and training resources for front-line staff, including community health workers and financial counselors. The system has also developed partnerships with community-based organizations and payers at the local level and developed a digital tool to help with patient outreach and financial counseling appointment scheduling.

A specialized set of financial counseling staff was specifically trained to work with Medicaid patients throughout the redetermination process.

On the East Coast, Philadelphia-based Temple Health told Becker's in a statement that its financial counseling team is preparing to provide patients with information and assist them in completing renewal forms, as well as gathering and submitting necessary documentation.

The health system said it is partnering with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to provide information to patients. Fliers and posters provided by the department will be displayed and distributed throughout Temple Health's physician offices and hospital campuses.

Temple Health said it has also developed letters to provide Medicaid patients with information about the renewal process, contact information for county offices and change centers, as well as contact information for the health system's financial counseling team.

The health system said its recent EHR/revenue cycle implementation has provided the technology to assist in its efforts. They can easily identify patients with Medicaid coverage through the system and have planned the following outreach efforts:

Beginning in April, when Medicaid patients arrive for scheduled visits, staff are prompted to provide them with the aforementioned letters.

Patients enrolled in MyChart who have Medicaid coverage will receive these letters electronically through their MyTempleHealth account. If they are also enrolled in text messaging through Temple Health, they will also receive the notice via text.

When scheduling patients with Medicaid coverage (via phone or in person) for physician visits, staff will be prompted with scripting providing information about the renewal process and providing contact information for financial counseling.

Financial counseling staff will be available to help patients who miss renewal deadlines to file appeals when possible or assist them in reapplying for coverage.

"We anticipate that a significant number of patients will no longer qualify for ongoing Medicaid due to their current income and/or citizenship status," the health system said. "For these patients, financial counselors will assist with marketplace plan enrollment, Temple Health charity care/financial assistance applications, as well as referral to city health centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers for care."

Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health told Becker's it has been preparing for the start of redeterminations in multiple ways. It has developed a systemwide campaign to raise awareness and provide support to patients in need of enrollment assistance. The campaign can be customized by each of its local systems to meet the needs of their specific markets.

Outreach to patients will take place by email, MyChart, community health worker outreach and vendor partners, Trinity said in a statement. Information and resources are also available through websites, social media, at appointments and throughout patient-facing areas of its facilities.

Michael Gustafson, MD, president of Worcester-based UMass Memorial Medical Center, told Becker's the system is increasing the number of employees on its financial counseling team to assist patients who may see a loss of coverage.

"This is a substantial amount of work that needs to be done," he said. "We are staying current with all communications from MassHealth [Medicaid], Mass Hospital Association and CMS. We are also working to identify patients who will be part of the MassHealth redetermination process and developing both targeted and broad communications to inform them of potential changes to their plans."
Renton, Wash.-based Providence plans to at least partially close the Family Birthing Center at Petaluma (Calif.) Valley Hospital beginning May 1, the North Bay Business Journal reported March 30.

In a March 29 letter to nursing staff, chief human resources officer Kristina Holloway said Providence intends to enact a "permanent work reduction" due to staffing shortages, according to the report. The 51-hospital system acquired the hospital for $52.6 million in 2020.

Affected nurses will be given the option to transfer to another open nursing position at the hospital, or to the obstetrics department at either Santa Rosa (Calif.) Memorial Hospital or Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, North Bay Business Journal reported.

Petaluma Valley is the latest in a string of hospitals that have ended or announced plans to end maternity services this year.
Hospital and health system CEO exits have continued to slow since January. The following 13 were recorded by Becker's in March:

1. Gregg Olson will retire as CEO of Rochelle (Ill.) Community Hospital on March 31.

2. Garett May is leaving his role as CEO of Merit Health Natchez (Miss.) to serve as chief operating officer of Crestwood Medical Center in Huntsville, Ala. Both hospitals are under the umbrella of Community Health Systems, based in Franklin, Tenn.

3. Jonathan Nalli is leaving his role as CEO and ministry market executive of Indianapolis-based Ascension St. Vincent and senior vice president of St. Louis-based Ascension, effective April 28.

4. Perry Gay has resigned as president and CEO of Logansport (Ind.) Memorial Hospital. David Ameen, who helmed the hospital from 2010 to 2015, has left retirement to serve as interim CEO.

5. Steven Salyer will resign as CEO of Watsonville (Calif.) Community Hospital on April 10 for family reasons.

6. Kimberly Boynton has stepped down as president and CEO of Syracuse, N.Y.-based Crouse Health. She had planned to leave Crouse once a proposed merger with State University of New York Upstate Medical University was completed, although the deal was scrapped in February.

7. Barbara Nichols, RN, is retiring as CEO of Corry (Pa.) Memorial Hospital after 23 years in the role.

8. Michael Zenn will step down as CEO of University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics in May and move into the new role of senior advisor for enterprise strategic initiatives within the university's office of the vice chancellor for health affairs.

9. Shawn Morrow is no longer CEO of Show Low, Ariz.-based Summit Healthcare following a mutual agreement with the health system's governing board.

10. Guy Hudson will step down as CEO of Seattle-based Swedish Health Services and chief executive of Renton, Wash.-based Providence's north division on April 1.

11. Lori Herndon, BSN, RN, is retiring as president and CEO of Atlantic City, N.J.-based AtlantiCare at the end of June after 40 years with the organization.

12. Jay Finnegan is retiring as CEO of HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital in Port St. Lucie, Fla., part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, in April.



13. Deborah Wilson is retiring as CEO of Lawrence (Mass.) General Hospital in May.
Noblesville, Ind.-based Riverview Health has promoted its chief operating officer, Dave Hyatt, to president and CEO.

Mr. Hyatt joined the health system in January 2022, according to a March 31 news release. He previously served Indianapolis-based IU Health in a variety of leadership roles, including system vice president of rural strategy.

The health system's board conducted a "thorough and extensive search" before selecting Mr. Hyatt for the helm, the news release said.
Members of SEIU District 1199 New England at Care New England's Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, R.I., have voted "no confidence" in their employer.

The union announced the vote March 28, citing unresolved grievances and arbitrations, short staffing and an ongoing lack of clear, respectful communication related to management's plans to stabilize and invest in employees.

Nearly 1,400 Women & Infants caregivers, which constitutes 95 percent of workers who participated, voted no confidence, according to a union news release shared with Becker's.

"We made the decision to vote 'no confidence' because we are sick and tired of working short day in and day out and having our concerns brushed to the side. I used to stay late because I loved caring for my patients. Now I stay late because we are working short every day. If they don't get me help, I am responsible for up to 29 patients," Regina Brown, a certified nursing assistant in the antenatal care unit, said in the release. "You don't push your workforce to the breaking point and then keep adding in additional stressors. We constantly bring important staffing issues and concerns about disrespect to management, and they are doing nothing to alleviate the problem."

Union members specifically contend that the hospital has ignored their attempts to engage in discussion around use of American Rescue Plan Act funding to address staffing.

They also contend that hospital management has "publicly refused to conduct fair and reasonable investigations into worker allegations of disrespect, harassment, racialized language and systematic mistreatment of the majority female and diverse membership."

Union members say these circumstances have resulted in unresolved union grievances and, further, allege anti-union behavior.

Providence-based Care New England executive leadership, the Care New England board of trustees and the Women & Infants Medical Executive Committee have expressed their full confidence in hospital leadership, including Women & Infants President and COO Shannon Sullivan.

Ms. Sullivan, who has served in her current role since 2020, "has made outstanding contributions to superior quality and care during her tenure," Care New England said in a statement shared with Becker's.

Hospital leadership "is committed to creating a welcoming, safe, collaborative and respectful environment for all team members," the health system added. "We do not tolerate acts of aggression, threats or abuse in any form. We all have a common mission of providing superior patient care in a supportive, compassionate environment."

Additionally, Care New England noted that it encourages employees to seek assistance if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable. The health system said workers may contact security as well as their manager, and they can also report a concern through the 24/7 hotline or online.

Kenneth Chen, MD, president of the Women & Infants Hospital Medical Executive Committee, shared a statement: On March 14, the committee "discussed at length the current direction and leadership structure and strategy of WIH. As president of the [committee], I am pleased to report that a confidential and unanimous vote of confidence was made by the entire [committee] in full support of the leadership of Women & Infants Hospital. We are confident that this world-renowned hospital, where over 80 percent of local babies are born, curative treatments for cancers and other maladies of our friends, neighbors and our own families, is living up to its values and mission. Not only does that mission mean care for patients, it also means care for staffs."
The Senate passed a resolution March 29 that would expedite the end of the COVID-19 national emergency from its planned May 11 deadline to immediately upon the signature of the president, and President Joe Biden has reportedly indicated he will sign it.

The COVID-19 national and public health emergencies, enacted in March 2020, are currently set to expire May 11 under a plan rolled out by the Biden administration in January. H.J. Res. 7, the Republican-led resolution that cleared the Senate March 29 by a 68-23 vote, is a one-line measure stating the national emergency "is hereby terminated."

"The President strongly opposes H.J. Res. 7, and the administration is planning to wind down the COVID national emergency and public health emergency on May 11," a White House official told The Hill. "If this bill comes to his desk, however, he will sign it, and the administration will continue working with agencies to wind down the national emergency with as much notice as possible to Americans who could potentially be impacted."

The national emergency is one of several federal emergency declarations dating back to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and separate from the PHE, which is still set to expire May 11. The national emergency has fewer broad implications but still covers measures that apply to the healthcare system, such as the extension of election and notice deadlines for COBRA.
Yolanda Pierson, a patient at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic who was sued by the system for outstanding medical bills, testified in front of Minnesota lawmakers in support of a bill that would increase charity care transparency, the Post Bulletin reported March 30.

Ms. Pierson's account was sent to collections for a $2,838 bill relating to a series of eye procedures her 11-year-old son needed. She said she and her husband would have qualified for financial assistance from the system, but they were never told it was available, according to the Post Bulletin.

Senate File 2763 would protect patients in Minnesota from being sued by their hospitals or sent to collections unless the hospital can prove they are ineligible for charity care. It would also expand the accessibility of charity care by requiring hospitals to preemptively screen patients for eligibility and help them apply.

Attorney General Keith Ellison voiced his strong support for the bill. The bill is now headed to the Senate Health and Services committee, which will decide whether to add it to the Senate omnibus bill.






A Kentucky physician and nurse practitioner were each sentenced to prison for a scheme involving healthcare fraud, kickbacks and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Jeffrey Cambell, MD, 64, was sentenced to 105 months in prison and Mark Dyer, APRN, 54, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, according to a March 30 Justice Department news release.

The two men were found guilty following trials in 2021, according to the release. The men, along with Dr. Campbell's medical practice, Physicians Primary Care, conspired to unlawfully distribute controlled substances between 2009 and 2016. They also conspired to falsely bill Kentucky Medicaid, Indiana Medicaid Tricare, Medicare and other healthcare benefit programs by submitting upcoded claims.

They also conspired to commit money laundering by paying and/or receiving bonuses to incentivize the ordering of physical therapy, counseling and exercise services, according to the release. They also fraudulently billed for physical therapy services using evaluation management codes as if a physician performed a service on the patients when none was present.

Physicians Primary Care was also fined $1 million for conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
States across the U.S. rolled out healthcare worker vaccination and masking requirements since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, three years later, California, Washington and Oregon plan to end certain requirements, effective April 3, allowing hospitals and health systems to develop and implement plans consistent with CDC and other guidance based on their needs and local conditions.

Among the changes in California is the end of the state's masking requirement in indoor high-risk and healthcare settings, including healthcare, long-term care and correctional facilities as well as homeless, emergency and warming and cooling centers.

Also beginning April 3, California will end its vaccination requirement for healthcare workers, including those in adult care, direct care, correctional facilities and detention centers, state officials said.

In Washington, universal masking in healthcare, long-term care and adult correctional facilities for people 5 and older is slated to end April 3. And Oregon leaders plan to lift mask requirements in healthcare settings, including nursing homes, effective April 3.

Hospital and health system leaders said they are aware of the changes and continue to focus on safety measures.

"We understand the excitement and sense of relief that many are feeling about putting aspects of the pandemic behind us, including the precautionary mask mandates that have been our reality for several years," Salem (Ore.) Health said in a statement shared with Becker's.

The health system also said it is assessing potential next steps and will recommend updated policies and procedures to implement for the safety of patients, visitors and staff.

"While Oregon Health Authority's announcement signals a shift in how masking standards can be applied, our infection prevention team has reviewed [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] masking guidelines and is awaiting its final changes that will impact our decision as OHA's healthcare mask mandate lifts on April 3," Salem Health said. "Salem Health staff will be updated in preparation for this much-anticipated date."

San Diego-based Scripps Health, in a statement shared with Becker's, said changes in state guidelines allow health systems to customize mask protocols at their organizations but that Scripps "has always followed a higher standard to help further protect the health and safety of our staff, patients and visitors."

"As such, we will continue to require medical grade masks in some specific areas and circumstances," Scripps said.

Effective April 3, the health system will require staff, patients and visitors to wear medical grade masks in direct patient care areas. However, masks now will be optional in nonclinical buildings and in most general areas of Scripps hospitals, clinics and other clinical buildings.

Scripps said medical grade masks are also highly recommended for staff, patients and visitors when in confined or crowded areas such as elevators, waiting rooms, meeting rooms and break rooms.

Regarding vaccination, Scripps said it will continue to follow federal guidelines.

"And we expect the change in California to level the playing field for candidates for employment from across the country since there will no longer be a higher level of vaccination required in California as compared with other states," the health system said.

John Lynch, MD, who has served in medical leadership roles at Seattle-based UW Medicine and its Harborview Medical Center since 2010, told Becker's in a March 30 interview that as the state requirement expires, the health system will continue to consider risk assessments as well as state and federal guidance.

Currently, UW Medicine requires patients, visitors and healthcare workers to wear a mask in patient care spaces and in public spaces such as hallways and elevators in any building where patients are being taken care of.

Dr. Lynch said the health system will continue this policy after April 3.

"Our plan is to continue that for at least three months to get a better sense of where [COVID-19] is going," he said.

One thing that has recently changed is policies for places such as break rooms, where masks are optional for healthcare workers. Masks are also not required for workers in conference rooms where teaching or meetings may occur.

"We strongly recommend that they do [wear a mask], but in those settings, it's now up to the person," Dr. Lynch said. "But those spaces have to be separated from a patient care space by a closed door and/or distance."

Moving forward, he acknowledged there are a lot of unknowns regarding the trajectory of COVID-19. Additionally, he noted the potential effects of the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies being set to expire this spring.

"We have regulatory guidance updates that are pending that have profound impacts on healthcare facilities, [and] a conservative plan to maintain masking and healthcare facilities that keep people safe  makes good sense," Dr. Lynch said.
















Spine and orthopedic experts in March spoke with Becker's about topics from prior authorization to new trends in artificial intelligence.

"I see two trends that worry me. The first is the continued progress toward hospital bureaucrats making decisions to our exclusion  minimal vendor contracts being the most obvious. Hospital management limits new technology and cost by having middle bureaucrats say no. The second is the worsening trend for insurance, Medicare included, to ration healthcare. Obviously it's not worded that way as it would cause immediate pushback  but how else would you characterize the worsening trend of surgical delay by avoiding approval or denial? It's an unending stall tactic by requesting an ever growing listing of the patients care and history be elucidated. They have all that information, but by putting the burden on providers they avoid outright responsibility for delays. That is rationing under another name."  William Tally, MD, on the most dangerous trends for Athens (Ga.) Orthopedic Clinic.

"A long overdue payer change is prior authorization reform. The prior authorization process is an onerous and opaque process, mandated by payers, which consumes significant healthcare resources. This wasteful process is exacerbated by the fact that prior authorization approval does not guarantee payment. The entire pre-approved surgical procedure is routinely denied payment if any additional procedure is performed. This is an unconscionable situation. At a minimum, obtaining prior authorization should equate to insurance coverage and payment of the pre-approved codes. Any additional procedures can subsequently be adjudicated based on medical necessity. Hopefully, 2023 will bring substantial prior authorization changes."  Domagoj Coric, MD, on the need for prior authorization reform at SpineFirst at Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates in Charlotte, N.C.

"We are just scratching the surface of the potential possibilities of mixed reality currently. This technology may be very useful for orthopedic trauma as well. I would expect its use to grow as more features are incorporated into the technology, such as the ability to reliably use it for instrument navigation. Instrument navigation, without mixed reality, has been used in shoulder surgery and is an emerging technology that holds immense promise. Along with instrument navigation comes robotic surgery, which is currently in use for hip, knee and spine surgery, to name a few. This technology is gradually making its way into the shoulder replacement space and has the potential to improve accuracy and reliability."  Dave Shukla, MD, on the growth of mixed reality in orthopedics at New York City-based Mount Sinai.

"There is constant innovation and evolution in orthopedic surgery. We are fortunate to have new technologies that improve our ability to perform procedures with greater accuracy, efficiency, and in a minimally invasive manner. The synergy of this continued innovation with data-driven algorithms and artificial intelligence improves our decision-making at every phase of patient care, from diagnosis and surgery to recovery. This innovation will be the future. While the principles of restoring anatomy and function will remain timeless, I suspect in 10 years we will look back to our practices with some amazement at the absence of digital enabling tools of the future to guide evidence-based decision-making and clinical practice."  Asheesh Bedi, MD, on how orthopedic surgeons at NorthShore Orthopaedic & Spine Institute in Glenview, Lincolnshire and Skokie, Ill., will view today's orthopedic procedures in 10 years.

"The migration of total joint arthroplasty and spine surgery to an outpatient/short-stay setting is well underway, but in my opinion is still in the early innings. On the other end of this spectrum, some surgical cases are migrating to an in-office site of service, particularly in pain procedures, as well as hand and foot cases. ASCs must adapt to this transition in important ways which will require increasing investment in facility infrastructure and staff training. The same is true of in office procedure capabilities. This is a top-of-mind issue as our practice looks to the future of healthcare and the future of our surgical practice. This migration has legs as it is a strong value proposition for our patients and for third-party payers."  Paul Perry, MD, on how Tri-State Orthopedic Surgeons in Evansville, Ind., is seeing a shift to orthopedic ASCs.
Visitors take a look at the unfolded "Daedongyeojido," a map of the Korean Peninsula from the 19th century, at the National Palace Museum of Korea, central Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap



By Kwak Yeon-soo



A rare map of the Korean Peninsula from the 19th century has been returned to Korea from Japan.



The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) on Thursday unveiled "Daedongyeojido," which was previously owned by a Japanese collector.



Officials of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation flew to the country to check the condition of the relic and negotiate a deal for its return. In March, the Korean government purchased it with lottery funds and brought it back to Korea. Its price was not disclosed, citing confidentiality reasons.



"Daedongyeojido," translated as "territorial map of the Great East," was first made by cartographer and geographer Kim Jeong-ho in 1861 during the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom. It was republished in 1864 in the form of 22 foldable booklets. The map was significant for its time, as it was one of the first attempts at a comprehensive mapping of Korea, having captured all the administrative divisions, physical features and villages of the country in great detail.



The returned map is a woodblock-printed edition produced in 1864. It is colored and contains "gapil," or hand-written revisions. It contains geographical information from "Dongyeodo," another atlas that features geographical information on Joseon-era Korea including 1,800 traffic routes, military facilities and names of locations.



Unlike Dongyeodo, translated as "atlas of the Eastern State," Daedongyeojido omits many names of places and territories due to the difficulties involved in carving woodblocks.





The returned "Daedongyeojido" edition consists of a total of 23 folded booklets (22 booklets of maps and one for the list of maps) / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration



The edition returned from Japan is the first known example that compensates for the limitations of the woodblock-printed Daedongyeojido by transcribing the annotations from Dongyeodo.



"The repatriated Daedongyeojido presents a different format and contents compared to other editions in Korean collections, so its return from Japan carries significance," a CHA official said.



This Daedongyeojido edition consists of 23 booklets  22 for maps and one for the list of maps. The format follows that of Dongyeodo.





Visitors take a look at the unfolded "Daedongyeojido," a map of the Korean Peninsula from the 19th century, at the National Palace Museum of Korea in central Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
The Prime Minister said joining CPTPP would enable the UK to "seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation".   PA

The UK has joined free trade bloc CPTPP in a deal which could potentially expand export opportunities for hundreds of Northern Ireland firms.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will have GDP of 11trn once the UK joins, the government said.

It said that joining the international partnership, which contains some of the worlds fastest growing economies, gives Northern Ireland companies, start-ups and farmers access to the worlds emerging middle class.

More than 200 businesses in Northern Ireland exported over 750m in goods to CPTPP countries in 2021 and could benefit after todays announcement, the government said.

The bloc is made up of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms. As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation.

Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join. British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific.

The government said that joining the trade bloc will mean more than 99% of UK goods exports to CPTPP will be eligible for zero tariffs.

It said that key exports from Northern Ireland such as machinery and transport equipment will benefit from the removal of tariffs as a result of the agreement.

Lowden Guitars in Co Down said it had trading relationships with many members of the block and that UK membership would be an opportunity to grow the exports further.

Managing director David Ausdahl II, said: We have exported into Japan and Australia since the 1980s, and today also have strong trading relationships in Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, and most recently New Zealand.

We would welcome support to grow our exports with all 11 CPTPP countries, which represent some of the largest and fastest growing markets across the world.

The UK is the first new member and European country to join CPTPP.

The deal was welcomed by business leaders including Emma Rowland, policy advisor for trade at the Institute of Directors (IoD).

But she added: IoD members have told us that, while they tend to view trade deals as good optics for the UK, they do not have too much sway over firms exporting strategies.

"Customer demand for a firms products in the country in question is much more important than whether or not there is a trade deal in place.
The CMA is investigating Wowcher over the use of countdown timers and other urgency claims (Alamy/PA)   Alamy Stock Photo

The competition watchdog has launched an investigation into whether Wowcher placed unfair pressure on customers through countdown timers and other practices.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Friday it is examining whether the deals platform business misled consumers by using countdown timers and other urgency claims.

It comes two days after the watchdog announced a crackdown on online pressure-selling tactics used by retailers to potentially speed up decision-making by shoppers.

The probe will look into the use of timers telling shoppers that deals will soon disappear, as well as other online selling practices used by the business, including how it enrols consumers in its membership scheme.

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Last year, the CMA launched a probe into the possible use of pressure selling tactics by bed-in-a-box brand Emma Sleep.

Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: People who buy online should not be pressurised by practices implying that they must act quickly to avoid missing out, when this is not the case.

Well be scrutinising these claims from Wowcher and if we find the company is using misleading online selling tactics, we wont hesitate to take enforcement action, through the courts if necessary.

This is the second investigation we have opened into urgency claims, which can be a type of pressure selling, and all companies should take note and review their own practices.

Weve published advice to help with this, which sets out clearly those online urgency and price reduction claims that are likely to mislead or put unfair pressure on consumers.

A Wowcher spokesman said: Wowchers mission has always been to help save our customers money with the best, exclusive offers from thousands of our merchants across the UK.

This has never been more important than in this challenging economic environment.

We support the aims of the CMAs investigation and will work with them to ensure that our customers have the best possible experience when they shop with us.
Energy firms legal challenge over the sale of Bulb was heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in February (Aaron Chown/PA)   Aaron Chown

Scottish Power, British Gas and Eon have lost a High Court challenge over the sale of collapsed energy firm Bulb to a rival provider.

The three major suppliers claimed the Governments handling of an unfair sale process led to decisions to commit billions of pounds of taxpayer money to facilitate the acquisition of a failed business by Octopus Energy.

The three businesses brought legal action against ministers, alleging the decision-making process was flawed and unlawful.

But in a ruling on Friday, Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Foxton dismissed their case as not  reasonably arguable.

Energy company Bulb was placed in special administration in November 2021 (PA)   Bulb

The judges said the Government could lawfully conclude that the Bulb bidding process was open, non-discriminatory and competitive and that it could treat the only bid which had emerged from the process as a fair reflection of the value which the market placed on Bulbs business in the prevailing circumstances.

They also said it was open to ministers to find that other options were inferior to proceeding with the Octopus bid, involving significant execution risks and higher forecast costs.

Centrica said the ruling was disappointing, with the British Gas owner and Eon saying they would consider next steps.

It is understood that Scottish Power will not seek to appeal the ruling.

A Department for Energy Security spokesperson welcomed the judgment, adding: The court has confirmed the robustness and legality of the Secretary of States actions in respect of the sale and administration of Bulb.

In doing so, he has protected Bulbs 1.5 million customers, while delivering value for the British taxpayer.

A Centrica spokesperson said: We think state bailouts for energy companies puts a burden on the UK taxpayer and is avoidable.

We felt the original bailout of Bulb was unnecessary and the National Audit Office report this week concluded there were risks and uncertainties in recovering these funds from Octopus.

They added: We believe that the way the deal was structured creates serious risk for taxpayers and energy consumers and will distort the energy market.

Michael Lewis, chief executive of Eon UK, said it remained concerned about the amount of taxpayers money that has been used to subsidise the deal.

Only an open, fair and transparent process would have ensured this truly represented value for money for the public and we still cannot see how this was the case with only one bidder in the key stage of the negotiations, he said.

Mr Lewis criticised a lack of proper financial controls on new energy market entrants, adding: These failings allowed companies like Bulb  and nearly 30 others  to effectively use and lose customers money, leaving a trail of destruction when they failed, with the British public picking up the tab.

We urgently need to establish rules that mean customers money cannot be used to fund a business when suppliers have no equity on their balance sheet.

Octopus Energy said it had paid a fair price for Bulb in an open and competitive process.

A spokesperson said: Its clear that the case was a desperate attempt by those organisations to defend their waning market positions against a more efficient and customer-focused rival.

Our focus is now on delivering the best service possible to our new and existing customers.

Octopus founder and CEO Greg Jackson said there were no improper subsidies and the legal action smacked of desperation.

Fair play won. After more than a year of uncertainty, its a huge relief for Bulbs employees and customers and good news for taxpayers, he said.

Judges found that in its decision-making the Government had been entitled to conclude that a hard close insolvency of Bulb would give rise to social hardship to Bulbs customers.

They said it was reasonably open to the Government to conclude that providing funding to support the Bulb sale sought to reach its objective while minimising negative effects on competition.

They also said it was open to ministers to find that subsidies provided were a targeted, proportionate and effective response to the severe economic disruption and volatility caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

At a hearing in London last month, the judges were told that the handling of the sale allegedly prevented British Gas making a better offer that could have saved money for taxpayers.

British Gass legal team also claimed the process by which the subsidy was granted was seriously lacking in transparency, openness, fairness and equal treatment.

The energy companies challenged two decisions taken by the then Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in October and November: to approve the takeover, and to provide very substantial central Government funding to help with the transfer.

The departments lawyers said the claims against it were without merit, arguing that companies were aware they could seek Government support.

Unwinding the sale now would be liable to cause chaos, the Governments lawyers warned.

Octopus argued its purchase of Bulb would be extremely beneficial for the Government and taxpayers.

In October, Octopus announced a deal to buy its rival and take on Bulbs approximately 1.6 million customers after the 650-employee firm was placed into special administration in November 2021.

It was later revealed in December that ministers were prepared to pay up to 4.5 billion to help fund the takeover of Bulb, but Octopus has claimed the Government stands to make a 1.19 billion profit from the transaction.
Love Island winner, Ekin-Su chats about time in the villa, Davide and her favourite Tayto crisps while visiting BPerfect Cosmetics HQ in Belfast

Love Island star Ekin-Su Culculoglu told how she was particularly fond of Tatyos famous cheese and onion crisps as she travelled to Belfast to launch her new make-up brand.

The Love Island winner  who left fans in stitches as she butchered the pronunciation of Limerick in a viral video, calling it Lime-rick  also promised to visit Northern Ireland with partner and fellow winner Davide Sanclimenti in the future.

Speaking to this newspaper at BPerfect Cosmetics headquarters in Belfast yesterday, the 28-year-old model asked if Tayto could sponsor her because of her love of the brand.

Cheese and onion I like, and salt and vinegar. Can they sponsor me? she joked.

The advertisement of Tayto  I saw it when I came out of the airport  there was a massive cartoon. That should be me. Replace it with my head.

Ekin-Su with Davide Sanclimenti on Love Island

Ekin-Su is visiting the island of Ireland as part of a three-day tour to launch her make-up line.

The Ekin-Su x BPerfect Cosmetics four-piece collection contains a Radiant Glow Luxurious Skin Enhancer, Fearless Face and Eye Palette, Luxury Half Lash Set, and a Mini Empress Base and Body Brush for a flawless, shimmering application.

She and Davide won the eighth series of ITVs Love Island last year, walking away with the 50,000 grand prize.

They are now social media superstars, but their path to fame was not an easy one, with Ekin-Su admitting she struggled after leaving the villa.

It was quite a dark time, the reality star admitted. I lost friends coming out of Love Island. I lost loads of my real friends that Id known for 10 years because some sold stories [to the tabloids].

Some were asking me how I was just because of the state I was in. No one genuinely asked how I was. I didnt have that friend there any more, so it was quite a dark time.

She is now in a much better place psychologically, and said she was lucky to have had people helping her.

Less friends is more, she said. I have got a friend, I have got my family and I have got my boyfriend. Thats all I need.

Ekin-Su said she and Davides relationship had only gotten stronger since leaving Love Island, and that they are more in love now than when we were in the villa.

Some of their co-stars ended their relationships after coupling up in the series, but she confirmed she and Davide were still together and happy.

We are so good and so strong, and nothing can kind of bring us down, Ekin-Su said.

I found someone in me. He sees himself in me.

Ekin-Su showing off one of the items from her range

Despite the struggles the reality star faced after Love Island, she does not regret appearing on the show.

I think if you are strong and you know who you are and, basically, you dont take crap from anyone, I think its good for you because Love Island made me a stronger person, she said.

Her advice for people hoping to secure a place on the show is not to enter for fame, and only if you are genuinely interested in finding love.

Yeah, 100% go for it, but when you go for it, dont go for the Instagram followers and fame. Go for it because you want to find someone genuine, she said.

Since leaving the villa, Ekin-Su has become a role model, and admitted this had made her want to portray a realistic image of herself online.

It makes me want to strip down, she said.

When I was young, I used to look up to these people. They looked too good to be true.

She also told how she decided to stop using filters on social media after appearing on Love Island, because they can portray a false image.

She explained: As Im a role model, I just felt it was better if I dont use filters. I dont need to pretend to be something Im not.
A man has been cleared of terrorist charges arising from an MI5 bugging operation in a Lurgan park.

Alex McCrory, along with co-accused Colin Duffy and Henry Fitzsimons, have been at the centre of a trial which started in March 2019.

On Friday, McCrory (61) was found not guilty of five charges, with the case against Duffy and Fitzsimons, both 55, to continue.

The charges faced by the men follow a gun attack on a police convoy in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast on December 5, 2013.

The next day, security services secretly recorded three men, who the Crown and PSNI claim were Duffy, McCrory and Fitzsimons, discussing the shooting in Lurgan Park.

Colin Duffy

The trio were subsequently charged with, and denied, preparing and directing terrorism, and membership or professing to be members of the IRA.

Fitzsimons, from Dunmore Mews in Belfast and McCrory, from Sliabh Dubh View in the city, were also charged with and denied attempting to murder police in the convoy, and possessing the two AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition used in the attack.

At the conclusion of the Crown case, legal teams for the men launched 'no case to answer' applications in a bid to have the charges thrown out. It followed a previous ruling made last September when Mr Justice O'Hara excluded a portion of the Crown's evidence.

This regarded the attribution of words on police transcripts which officers said were spoken by the three men. However, it was deemed "fundamentally flawed" and excluded by the trial judge.

Henry Fitzsimons

The trio were back at Belfast Crown Court today where Mr Justice O'Hara ruled on no case to answer applications and acquitted McCrory on the five charges he faced.

The judge said he had considered all the evidence, including the audio secretly recorded in Lurgan on December 6, 2013, which he added was "entirely authentic" and which recorded a number of men discussing "what is clearly terrorist activity.

He added that for the purposes of this ruling, he had also considered other evidence presented by the Crown in the "circumstantial case.

Regarding the case against McCrory, Mr Justice O'Hara said no evidence suggested he was in Lurgan on the day of the recording.

He added: "Having listened to the audio recording again, I have concluded that I just cannot make out with confident finding there is any reference to Mr McCrory or to his name in that audio.

"In his case and his case alone, I find that the exclusion of the attribution evidence has had a fatal effect at this stage in the prosecution case. I accept the submission that Mr McCrory has no case to answer and I find him not guilty of the charges against him."

The bid to dismiss the case against Duffy, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, was rejected, with the judge saying he has a case to answer on all charges.

He added that on the audio the names Colin and Colly are "repeatedly referenced as being a participant in the conversation" about terrorist activities, explaining that he was also visually identified on a video recording.

Concerning Fitzsimons, Mr Justice O'Hara said his name could be made out on the audio recording and there was evidence indicating his car and mobile phone were in Lurgan on December 6, 2013.

He said: "Even without him being visually identified, I'm satisfied there is a case to answer."

Prosecuting KC Ciaran Murphy asked for the case to be adjourned for a month to allow the Crown time to consider whether there would be an appeal regarding McCrory's ruling.

This was granted and it was re-listed for April 28.
A man who witnessed the sectarian killing of his grandfather in an attack involving a protected police informant is to receive 90,000 damages, a High Court judge ruled today.

Michael Monaghan Jr was awarded the payout in his claim against the Chief Constable over the loyalist paramilitary murder of Sean McParland in north Belfast nearly 30 years ago.

Mr Justice Rooney held that police knew the Special Branch agent, a leading UVF terrorist referred to only as Informant 1, had already confessed his role in other killings but were recklessly indifferent to the likelihood of further attacks.

He said: The defendant not only turned a blind eye to Informant 1s serious criminality, it went further and took active measures to protect (him) from any effective investigation and from prosecution, despite the fact that (he) had admitted his involvement in previous murders and criminality.

Mr McParland, a 55-year-old innocent Catholic, was shot dead as he carried out babysitting duties at his grandchildrens home on Skegoniel Avenue in February 1994.

UVF commander-turned-supergrass Gary Haggarty has pleaded guilty and been convicted of the murder as part of a huge catalogue of paramilitary crime.

Mr McParlands four grandchildren have all sued the Chief Constable for alleged failures in how the RUC handled another paid terrorist agent involved in the killing - Informant 1.

Compensation was sought for the mental injuries and trauma they were exposed to.

With police said to have admitted negligence and misfeasance in public office, the case centred on a dispute over the level of any damages.

The court heard the killers tricked Mr McParlands grandson Michael Monaghan Jr, then aged nine, into opening the door to the familys home.

The court heard Mr McParland was nine years old when tricked into opening the front door to his grandfathers murderers.

One of the masked men pointed a gun at him before targeting their victim, who had been recovering from throat cancer.

In emotional testimony, Mr Monaghan recalled seeing his grandfather getting on his knees and begging the gunman not to shoot.

He also described seeking help and witnessing paramedics perform CPR with a babys sleepsuit because of Mr McParlands tracheostomy before he rejoined his three younger siblings.

Following the shooting he was plagued by unwarranted feelings of guilt for letting the killers into their home, the court heard.

Counsel for the Monaghan family argued that the Special Branch agent was shielded by his handlers despite admitting to his role in the murder, and used that protected status to participate in criminal mayhem.

Even when he confessed to involvement in killings police carried out sham investigations into him and ensured that he was released without charge, the court heard.

A Police Ombudsman report linked Informant 1 to a total of 10 murders, 10 other attempted murders and a vast array of other serious crimes.

Those findings identified evidence of Special Branch collusion in blocking attempts to bring the agent to justice.

Mr Justice Rooney described the Ombudsmans conclusions as shocking and disturbing.

Awarding total compensation of 90,000 to Mr Monagan to cover aggravated damages and post-traumatic stress, he said the probable harm from the unnamed terrorists murderous acts had been predictable.

I conclude that the police officers, as public officers, engaged in unlawful acts and knew or were recklessly indifferent as to the consequences of their illegality, he held.

By failing to take any steps to properly investigate and prosecute Informant 1, by engaging in a deliberate determination to protect him and by continuing to deploy him as a CHIS (Covert Human Intelligence Source), the police knew or were consciously indifferent to the risk that he was likely to commit further murders and engage in serious acts of violence, resulting in death, personal injury and psychiatric damage.

According to the judge it beggars belief that the agent assumed such a protected status that he was freely able to admit to the killing.

Even after the murder of Sean McParland, the defendant continued to pay Informant 1 large sums of money for a significant period of time, he added.

Informant 1 has never been brought to justice and the Ombudsman has concluded that, by protecting Informant 1, the defendant has engaged in collusion.

Outside court, Mr Monaghans solicitor described the outcome as a resounding victory for his client.

Setanta Marley of KRW Law said: All of his allegations of collusion against the police were upheld by this ruling."

Mr Marley added: This case is not only very significant for the Monaghan family, but going forward the judgment sets out a route map for so many other pending collusion cases.

It provides very clear guidance on what is required in order to prove collusion against State agencies and sets a benchmark on the level of damages that ought to be paid to victims.
The captured image shows a photo released by the U.S. National Security Council on Jan. 20, showing a set of Russian railcars traveling between Russia and North Korea on Nov. 18-Nov. 19, 2022 for a suspected delivery of North Korean military equipment to Russia's private military company, the Wagner Group. Yonhap



North Korea is working to send dozens of kinds of weapons and munitions to Russia to be used in the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, a National Security Council (NSC) official said Thursday.



John Kirby, NSC coordinator for strategic communications, said North Korea seeks to secure food supplies in exchange and that the potential arms deal is being arranged through a Slovakian arms dealer, identified as Ashot Mkrtychev.



"We remain concerned that North Korea will provide further support to Russia's military operations against Ukraine," Kirby told a virtual press briefing, noting that North Korea delivered large quantities of munitions to Russia late last year.



"As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Korea. We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions," he added.



The U.S. Department of Treasury said it has imposed sanctions on Mkrtychev for arranging the arms deal between North Korea and Russia.



"Between the end of 2022 and early 2023, Mkrtychev worked with DPRK officials to obtain over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions for Russia in exchange for materials ranging from commercial aircraft, raw materials, and commodities to be sent to the DPRK," the treasury department said in a press release.



DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.



Kirby emphasized that any provision of weapons or munitions to Russia by North Korea would be in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, which prohibit any shipments of weapons to and from the North.



"Any arms deal between North Korea and Russia would directly violate a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions. We've taken note of North Korea's recent statements that they will not provide or sell arms to Russia and we are continuing to monitor this closely," he told the press briefing.



"We are going to continue to identify, expose and counter Russian attempts to acquire military equipment from North Korea or from any other state that is prepared to support its war in Ukraine," he added.



Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, later said there currently was no indication that additional weapons or munitions have been delivered to Russia.



"We have not at this time, beyond which had been previously announced," he said when asked if North Korea was moving or preparing to move additional weapons to Russia.



"But it is, again, something we continue to keep a close eye on," he told a daily press briefing. (Yonhap)





John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, is seen speaking during a daily press briefing at the White House in Washington on March 29 in this captured image. Yonhap
The family of Joan Wilson, who lost her daughter in the IRA's Remembrance Day massacre, has described her as a remarkable woman.

Mrs Wilson, who was aged 91, died in the early hours of Friday morning after a long illness.

Her daughter, student nurse Marie Wilson, was killed in the no-warning Provisional IRA bomb blast at the cenotaph in Enniskillen on November 8 1987.

Her husband, the late Senator Gordon Wilson, was badly injured in the blast. He made international headlines with his remarkable words of forgiveness hours after the atrocity.

In total 11 people died and scores were injured in one of the greatest atrocities of the Troubles. No-one has been convicted, to date, for a crime which shocked the world.

The family confirmed Mrs Wilsons death in a statement.

It said: The family of the late Joan Wilson wish to express their deep appreciation for the messages of condolences since the passing of a much-loved mother, wife, grandmother and great-grandmother earlier today.

"For now, the family kindly ask for privacy so they can begin to come to terms with the loss of a remarkable woman after 91 years.

Lord Eames, who as Church of Ireland Primate was in Enniskillen on the day of the bomb, also paid tribute.

He said: Joan lived out in her own life the strength and character that Gordon will always represent to the world.

Her gentle Christian witness of forgiveness and acceptance of a Cross of suffering in her own life was an inspiration to many.

Victims campaigner Kenny Donaldson from the Fermanagh-based South East Fermanagh Foundation said: This is really sad news and although Joan did reach the age of 91 years, her passing marks yet another watershed moment.

Joan was highly respected within the Fermanagh community but well beyond the immediacy of the county.

Her late husband Gordon had a more public facing profile in the latter years of his life but Joan was viewed as the constant within the family - a family forever changed by the events of November 8 1987 when Marie along with 10 others were callously murdered, with a 12th to follow 13 years later.

The SEFF family offer its thoughts and prayers to the Wilson family and all others who loved her most dearly at this time of profound sadness.

Mrs Wilson last saw her daughter around 10.30am on the morning of the explosion. Later she was playing the organ at the local Enniskillen church when she heard about the blast.

She was told that Gordon was injured but she knew nothing about the condition of her daughter.

After rushing to the Erne Hospital, she sat at her badly injured daughters bedside as her life slipped away.

Mrs Wilson previously recalled: My darling daughter Marie was dying. I kissed her and I shall always see her eyelids flickering. A nurse whispered to me 'Maries heart has stopped beating'. I then had to go downstairs in the hospital to tell Gordon Our child is dead. It was so awful.

That evening Gordon Wilson made international headlines with his extraordinary words of forgiveness.

He told a BBC reporter I bear no ill-will. Its part of a greater plan. God is good and we shall meet again.

Later he became a high-profile peace campaigner. He died in 1995.

Mrs Wilson stayed in the background supporting him and the rest of the family through their trauma.

In later years she brought comfort to many other parents who had lost a child in the Troubles, and in 2001 she wrote a bereavement anthology titled All Shall Be Well.

More recently she expressed her shock at the Governments proposals for a statute of limitations on Troubles crimes committed before the Good Friday Agreement.

She said I still think of the Enniskillen bombers. God knows who they are and they will have to face a final judgment greater than any court in the land. But I still pray for them.

Mrs Wilson was sustained by her deep Christian faith which sustained her through so many dark days.

She always dreaded the approach of Remembrance Sunday each year and often said: Time does not heal but it teaches you how to cope.

The device went off without warning at 10.45am at the cenotaph where people had gathered to pay their respects to the war dead.

The last victim of the Enniskillen bomb died 13 years later in 2000. Ronnie Hill, 68, entered a coma two days after being injured and never regained consciousness.

On Remembrance Day 1997 Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams formally apologised for the bombing.

"I hope there will be no more Enniskillen's and I am deeply sorry about what happened in Enniskillen," Mr Adams told the BBC.

"But I think we can only have a guarantee of a peaceful future when we tackle the root causes of the conflict and when we resolve them."
The show will be made by the Hollywood executives behind The People v OJ Simpson and The Assassination Of Gianni Versace

Pre-production is currently underway for a large-scale adaptation of a book about Belfast woman Jean McConville, who was abducted and murdered during the Troubles.

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland is a 2018 book by American writer and investigative journalist, Patrick Radden Keefe.

In 2019, an LA-based production company bought the rights to the novel, which opens with the story of the mother-of-tens tragic death, and delves into the decades of conflict that followed in NI.

According to news site, The Knowledge, the company Color Force is now in pre-production in the UK with a series adaptation for FX.

They are the same team behind famous true crime series, American Crime Story (The People vs OJ Simpson, The Assassination Of Gianni Versace).

"Best known for the series of Hunger Games films, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, American Crime Story and Pose, the company has a first-look deal with FX Productions, adds The Knowledge.

"The book explores the notorious 1972 abduction and murder of 38-year-old widow Jean McConville, during the height of Northern Irelands sectarian conflict, and the ramifications that lasted for many years afterwards."

It is unknown as of yet whether filming will take place in Northern Ireland.

In 1972, Jean McConville, a 37-year-old widow, was dragged from her Divis flats home in west Belfast by a 12-strong Provisional IRA snatch squad as her 10 terrified children looked on in horror.

She is one 16 people known as the Disappeared, who were abducted, killed and secretly buried by republicans.

Jean was accused of being a British Army informer, but no evidence has ever emerged to support the claim.

After being beaten and interrogated, she was driven to the border area by the now deceased IRA members Dolours Price and Pat McClure.

She was handed over to local republicans who shot her in the head and buried her body in secret on a Co Louth beach, where her remains lay until discovered until 2003.

The IRA did not admit responsibility for Jeans murder until 1999.

Four years ago, one of her sons said that his family were "upset and disgusted" about the plans to make a TV mini-series based around his mother's murder.

Michael McConville said that his family only learned about the mini-series plans from newspaper reports.

I doubt they even think of us as real people. Were just characters in a story to be played with and forgotten about when they move on to the next money-maker, he said.

"They call it drama but for us its trauma. They will have someone pretending to be the mother we loved.
The PSNI have appealed for information and witnesses following the shooting

Police at the scene of a shooting incident in the Whitecliff Parade area of west Belfast on March 30th 2023 (Photo by Kevin Scott)

A man shot in both legs during an incident in west Belfast on Thursday night will suffer physical and mental scars the PSNI have said.

Police attended a report shortly after 9pm on Thursday March 30 that three masked men had shot a man in both legs outside a property in the Whitecliff Drive area.

Detective Sergeant Alexander said: The suspects, who were all wearing dark-coloured clothing, made off from the scene on foot.

The victim was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries.

Our investigation is at an early stage and at present we are investigating a number of lines of enquiry to determine exactly what happened, a motive and who was involved.

However, this shooting is a clear human rights abuse and everyone in the community has the right to live free from the threat of violence.

The horrific violence that was inflicted on this man will most certainly leave physical and mental scars and trauma that may never heal. Victims of such attacks often have their lives changed forever.

We are appealing to anyone who was in the Whitecliff Drive or Ballymurphy Road areas on Thursday evening, 30th March shortly before 9pm and who noticed anything suspicious, or who may have dash-cam or mobile footage that could help with our investigation to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 2012 of 30/03/23.

A report can also be made online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/.

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.

The attack has been condemned by local SDLP representative Paul Doherty, who said the weapons used need to be seized.

This senseless violence has no place in our community who want to see an end to gunmen roaming our streets causing chaos for people here, he said.

"A man has been left in hospital with potentially life-changing injuries as a result of this attack which has also caused significant distress to local residents.

These attacks have become far too regular an occurrence in our area. They achieve nothing but causing further misery for people who just want to get on with their lives and live in peace.

"People in west Belfast should not have to live under the shadow of gunmen and our community wants to see an end to these attacks once for all.

I would ask anyone with any information about what happened here to come forward to police and assist them with their investigation so that these dangerous weapons can be taken out of circulation before somebody else is hurt and the people behind this attack apprehended.
"When we found it, we reacted with great enthusiasm, but then someone in the control room looked up at the clock and said, 'she sinks in 20 minutes'."

The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, at 2.20am in the north Atlantic. Some 73 years later, on September 1, 1985, at 2am, Dr Robert Ballard and his team finally found the wreckage.

The innocent comment from a member of the crew reminding them of the time quickly put a stop to their celebrations, as they realised around 1,500 lives were lost at that very spot in the middle of the ocean.

Dr Ballard was speaking to the Belfast Telegraph at the Titanic visitor centre ahead of the 111th anniversary of the sinking of the ship, which was made only a stones throw away at the Harland & Wolff shipyard. A new exhibition has opened to mark the occasion, telling the story of 'Ballard's Quest'.

The oceanographer and former US naval intelligence officer recalled that, after the team caught a glimpse of the Titanic on their monitors and their celebrations stopped, they went out on to the deck of their research vessel, the RV Knorr. The Knorr was receiving images from an underwater video camera vehicle called the Argo, two miles beneath them.

"We went outside and raised the flag of Harland & Wolff and had a quiet moment to commemorate all those who had passed away," Dr Ballard said.

Titanic lost: Belfast Telegraph front page on 16/4/1912, one day after the disaster

What was not known at the time of the expedition was that it was a cover for a secret mission to find two nuclear submarines that were lost during the Cold War.

Not wanting the Russians to follow them, the US Navy sent Dr Ballard and his team under the guise of finding the wreckage of the Titanic - something he had always dreamed of doing.

"I was a naval intelligence officer doing missions for the Navy. We lost two submarines during the Cold War. One of them was called the USS Scorpion and it was carrying nuclear weapons, we don't like leaving those lying around," Dr Ballard said.

"My mission was to completely map the Scorpion and determine the status of, not only the nuclear weapons, but also the nuclear reactor and what is was doing to the environment. It turned out it was doing nothing whatsoever to the environment, but we needed a cover story.

"It turned out there were actually two submarines, the Scorpion and the Thresher, and the Titanic was lying in the middle, so it was perfect.

"I had spent most of my time mapping to Scorpion, so I only had 12 days left from when I arrived [to find the wreckage of the passenger liner], so I had to come up with a unique way of finding the Titanic in the dark with a flashlight - but I got lucky."

Dr Ballard said he had always saw finding the Titanic as the "Mount Everest of my underwater world".

Attempts to find it had previously been stymied by technical problems and other issues. A month prior to the September 1985 expedition, Dr Ballard, as part of a US-French operation, carried out a sonar search of the area. The team missed the wreckage, but got their chance weeks later.

Dr Ballard recalled the moment that the camera of the Argo caught a glimpse of one of the ship's boilers.

"That was the pivotal signature that said, 'this is the Titanic. We were just so thrilled to be at the actual spot. The Titanic was kind of lost in space and then all of a sudden it was no longer lost.

"When you're at the very spot, it speaks to you. The location speaks to you. You can imagine the people in the water and in the lifeboats. The night we found her, it was almost identical, moonless and a calm sea."

The Titanic

He added that, despite what salvagers want the public to think, the wreckage isn't going anywhere.

"A lot of people think it's disintegrating, it's not. The bow, for example, went 90 feet into the bottom of the sea bed, and if you go down to where the ship is in the bottom and move the dirt away, it looks brand new.

"There's no oxygen in the mud so the hull is as good as ever and it's holding the ship together, so it's not going anywhere. It will be there forever."

On returning to Belfast, Dr Ballard's grinning reaction tells you all you need to know.

"It's always great to come back. I'm connected to Belfast now for the rest of my life, so it's almost like coming home," he said.
The restaurant announced it would be closing on April 8.

Cafe Riva in Larne is set to close its doors next month

An Italian restaurant in Co Antrim has announced it will close next month after ten years in business.

Cafe Riva in Larne made the announcement via their Facebook page on Thursday night, describing their pride at bringing something different to the east coast town.

"It is with great regret that we have decided to close Cafe Riva on the 8th April, said a spokesperson.

"We have been in business for 10 years and, even though it has been a difficult decision, we feel the time is now right to leave. We would love to thank you, our loyal customers, for the last 10 years.

"We have enjoyed feeding you and bringing something different to Larne. We could not have done it without you. We will still be open as usual (Wednesday to Saturday) up until the 8th April and we very much look forward to seeing you. Arrivederci.

The popular cafe had developed a reputation for entertaining diners, with live music sessions returning to the restaurant in January.

The restaurant has previously sponsored local football club Larne FC

It becomes the latest hospitality business to close its doors after award-winning Bangor eatery The Boat House was forced to do the same last week.

The restaurant cited the loss of their head chef and the economic climate as factors around the closure.

Read more Award winning Bangor restaurant latest spot to close amid rising inflation costs

In a social media post, staff wrote: Goodbye from the Boat House Crew.

It is with a heavy heart that we wish to inform you that The Boat House Dining has decided to close its doors on this current incarnation.

With the sudden departure of our Head Chef combined with the current economic climate, we have come to the conclusion that it is just not feasible to carry on the way we are.

"We have decided, therefore, to look at other options including putting the restaurant on the market. We trust that the next caretakers of this great building will continue providing great food from great local produce.

For those with vouchers please e-mail ken@boathousebangor.com with a photograph of the voucher and contact details and we will be in touch to arrange a refund. Alternatively, take a copy and send the voucher to Ken at the Boat House.

It only remains for me to thank the great crew we have employed at the Boat House for creating such a special place, and to thank you, our loyal customers, for bringing the craic with you.
A police officer who pulled down a young womans top and photographed her breasts during a night out has been jailed.

Married father-of-four Paul Hinchcliffe, 46, was sent to prison for eight months on Friday by a judge who told him his behaviour betrays your fellow officers who do a decent, committed job and makes women mistrustful of the police force.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the 18-year-old complainant said in an impact statement: All my trust for the police just went.

I used to feel safe when I saw police officers. I never think that now.

He sexually assaulted me when he shouldve been in a role that protects people.

Hinchcliffe, who resigned from South Yorkshire Police after his conviction, was found guilty of sexual assault earlier this year by a jury which heard that the incident happened when he was in a group including other officers who were drinking at a Wetherspoons pub in Wath upon Dearne, South Yorkshire, on the afternoon of October 3 2020.

Judge Robin Mairs recounted the drunken events in the bar, reminding the defendant how he took a photograph of the woman wearing her glasses and showed everyone else, saying: Im going to have a wank to that tonight.

He then started flicking beer foam at her chest in what the judge decided was him simulating semen.

The judge said Hinchcliffe pulled open the womans top and photographed her breasts inside her bra while making orgasm noises before sending the image to a colleague.

The woman, who lived with her parents, was at home later when she got WhatsApp messages from Hinchcliffe with a picture of her accompanied by what the judge called masturbating emojis.

One message said: God Id do you, is that bad?

Katherine Pierpoint, defending, urged the judge to suspend the prison sentence.

She said her clients drunkenness during the event was no excuse, and was an aggravating factor, but it might be an explanation for his completely out-of-character behaviour.

She pointed the judge towards a raft of references from colleagues about his service during a 20-year police career.

He should not have got himself into that state, the barrister told the court.

Ms Pierpoint stressed that, unlike some recent high-profile cases, this was not a case of a police officer using his position to commit an offence.

But she conceded: He shouldve know better than anyone how somebody in this situation wouldve felt.

Judge Mairs rejected the plea to suspend the prison sentence, noting that Hinchcliffe was training student police officers at the time of the offence.

Leeds Crown Court (Anna Gowthorpe/PA)   Anna Gowthorpe

He said Hinchcliffe breached the standards he was tasked with instilling into recruits.

Referring to the references he had read, the judge said Hinchcliffes behaviour on that afternoon was scarcely credible in the light of that background.

He said the behaviour of Hinchcliffe and other officers that night went far beyond jokes and banter.

Judge Mairs said the complainants trust in men had been affected by the incident and her trust in the police is now highly dented because of what you did.

He told Hinchcliffe: You were in your 40s and she was an 18-year-old girl.

This was not committed whilst you were on police duties but it was committed in the company of other police officers.

He said offences of this kind reduce public confidence and reduce public trust in the police force.

Judge Mairs said: Sexual offences committed by police officers, recorded and disseminated to others, are offences where the only appropriate punishment can be achieved by immediate custody.

He said Hinchcliffe, who stood in the glass-fronted dock wearing a light blue suit, white shirt and blue tie, will be added to the sex offenders register for 10 years.

South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Lauren Poultney said on Friday: This case demonstrates that wrongdoing and poor standards will not be tolerated in South Yorkshire Police.

Whether our officers and staff are on duty or not, the public rightly expect us to portray the true values of policing at all times and this former officer fell woefully below these expectations.

I am mindful this hearing follows the release of the Casey report last week and wish to assure our communities that here in South Yorkshire Police we are doing absolutely everything we can to root out those who are not fit to represent your force.

She added: Force standards and culture continue to be my top priority and when wrongdoing and poor standards are identified, the perpetrators will be dealt with swiftly and robustly.
Aerial photo showing the movie set of Rust at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe (Jae C Hong/file/AP)   Jae C. Hong

A co-defendant in the case against actor Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on a movie set in New Mexico was convicted on Friday of unsafe handling of a firearm and sentenced to six months of probation.

Safety coordinator and assistant director David Halls also must pay a 500 dollar fine, complete a gun-safety course and 24 hours of community service after agreeing to the conviction related to the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie Rust.

Under the plea agreement, Halls agreed to testify truthfully at any upcoming hearings or trials. That includes criminal proceedings against Baldwin and movie armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in Ms Hutchins death.

Halls appeared briefly by video to waive his right to challenge the negligence charge, as state District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer approved terms of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Defence attorney Lisa Torraco urged the court to not impose a prison sentence  the maximum possible penalty was six months behind bars  noting that Halls was extremely traumatised and rattled with guilt.

Ms Hutchins died shortly after she was shot on October 21, 2021, during rehearsals on a film-set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.

Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Ms Hutchins when the weapon went off; a single live round killed her and wounded director Joel Souza.

If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed could face a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and fines.

Alec Baldwin (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)   Charles Sykes

Ms Torraco said Halls had checked the rounds in the revolver before handing it to Baldwin to see whether they were dummies or blanks with an explosive. She said it was never in anyones imagination that live rounds would be in the gun.

When Ms Gutierrez-Reed brought the firearm  on set into the church, he did check the firearm, she said of Halls. He wouldnt have even thought that there was a live round in that, in that gun.  And he, like many others, is extremely traumatised.

But prosecutor Kari Morrissey said Halls, a veteran filmmaker of more than 30 years, failed in his duty as the last line of defence for firearms safety, and that the fatal shooting took place after two earlier weapons misfires on set.

Mr Halls did not check every round that was in the gun to confirm that it was a dummy round and not a live round, she said. He then handed the gun to Mr Baldwin and Mr Baldwin began to practise his cross draw. And during that action of practising the cross draw, the gun went off. And obviously Mrs Hutchins was struck by the bullet and was killed. That is the factual basis for Mr Halls taking the no contest plea to the unsafe handling of a deadly weapon.

In separate regulatory proceedings, workplace safety authorities have asserted Halls shared responsibility for identifying and correcting any hazardous conditions related to firearms safety in the movies production.

A weeks-long preliminary hearing in May will decide whether evidence against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed is sufficient to proceed to trial.

In her sentencing, Judge Marlowe Sommer confirmed with Halls that he would testify truthfully in all hearings, trials, or settings involving any and all defendants and co-defendants in this matter. Prosecutors can reopen the case if Halls violates the terms of the plea agreement.

Santa Fes district attorney this week appointed two special prosecutors, Morrissey and Jason Lewis.

The original special prosecutor, Andrea Reeb, resigned following missteps in the initial filing of charges against Baldwin and objections that her role as a state legislator created conflicting responsibilities.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, gestures as he inspects nuclear warheads at an unidentified location in this photo carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, Tuesday. The chart behind Kim shows that the warhead is named Hwasan-31 and is compatible with multiple delivery systems. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



Opinions are divided over North Korea's new Hwasan-31 nuclear warheads. Analysts are debating whether the regime's most recent revelation of the arms is a prelude to Pyongyang's seventh nuclear weapons test.



The Hwasan-31 nuclear warheads were revealed in a series of photos carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, in which its leader Kim Jong-un inspected weapons that appear to be roughly 1 meter long and 40 to 50 centimeters in diameter.



Around 10 warheads were noticed in the photos, each printed with serial numbers. On a chart seen in the photos, there are eight types of delivery systems and an explanation stating: "nuclear warheads compatible with Hwasan-31."



This indicates that they could be operational. The mass production of warheads that can be fitted onto short- or long-range ballistic missiles and other types of delivery vehicles, is on track.



Many experts agree that the North appears to have achieved significant progress in producing miniaturized, lightweight and modular warheads that can be mounted on various missiles and other delivery systems. This comes just seven years after the North disclosed what it claimed was a nuclear warhead detonator, which drew international skepticism over its operability.



However, opinions are divided over whether the latest display will lead to the regime's seventh nuclear weapons test. Since last year, intelligence authorities and officials of South Korea and the United States have been predicting that the North may conduct another nuclear test anytime soon. But, the Kim regime has not yet dared to test international patience.





North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes a purported nuclear detonator during a meeting with scientists and technicians at an undisclosed location in this photo carried by the North's Rodong Sinmun on March 9, 2016. Yonhap



North Korea's time loop



Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Department of Reunification Strategy Studies at the Sejong Institute, predicted that the North may conduct the nuclear test no later than Sept. 9, which will be the regime's 75th anniversary of its founding.



"In its fifth nuclear test in September 2016 and sixth in September 2017, the North revealed nuclear warheads that would be used in the tests through reports on Kim's 'inspection on the weaponizing nuclear arms,'" Cheong said.



"Given this, the North may conduct a nuclear test with the warheads revealed this time before its 75th founding anniversary."



The North's Rodong Sinmun on March 9, 2016, reported that Kim inspected the nuclear weapons program, claiming that its nuclear warheads were "standardized to be fit for ballistic missiles by miniaturizing them." Then, the North revealed a photo of Kim touching a silver orb, which experts said was at a premature stage.



Exactly six months later, the North on Sept. 9 conducted its fifth nuclear test. At the time, the South Korean military said the explosive yield was about 10 kilotons, while other experts suggested 20 kilotons or more. The nuclear bombs dropped on Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 each had a yield of 16 kilotons and 21 kilotons, respectively.



On Sept. 3, 2017, the Rodong Sinmun reported that Kim had inspected the regime's nuclear weapons program. It carried a photo of Kim observing a silver, peanut-shaped device, which was purported to be a detonator for a thermonuclear weapon.



Hours after the report, the North conducted its sixth nuclear test and claimed that it had detonated a hydrogen bomb. South Korea estimated that the explosive yield was between 50 and 60 kilotons, but overseas analysts assumed that the bomb could have reached up to 270 kilotons.



"After conducting its seventh test, the North will likely release a statement from its nuclear weapon institute that it succeeded in testing miniaturized nuclear warheads that will be fitted on tactical nuclear weapons," Cheong said.





North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes what the regime claims is a hydrogen bomb during an inspection at its Nuclear Weapon Institute in this captured image from the North's Korea Central TV broadcast on Sept. 3, 2017. Yonhap
Ukrainian soldiers sit in a trench along the frontline during fighting with Russian troops near Bakhmut (Libkos/AP)   Libkos

Russia has used its long-range arsenal to bombard several areas of Ukraine, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes as Ukrainians commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Bucha, a town near Kyiv, stands as a symbol of the atrocities the Russian military has committed since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

We will never forgive, he said in a post on his Telegram channel.

We will punish every perpetrator.

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Mr Zelensky attended an official ceremony in Bucha, where he was joined by the president of the Republic of Moldova and the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The Kremlins forces occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month.

When Ukrainian troops liberated the town, they encountered horrific scenes  bodies of women, young and old men, in civilian clothing, lying in the street where they had fallen or in yards and homes.

Other bodies were found in a mass grave.

Over weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including some of children.

Russian soldiers on intercepted phone conversations called it zachistka  cleansing, according to an investigation by the Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline.

Such organised cruelty  used by Russian troops in past conflicts as well, notably in Chechnya  was later repeated in Russia-occupied territories across Ukraine.

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More than 1,400 civilian deaths, including 37 children, were documented in the Bucha district by Ukrainian authorities, Mr Zelensky said.

More than 175 people were found in mass graves and alleged torture chambers, he added.

Ukraine and other countries, including the US, have demanded Russia answers for war crimes.

Ukraines prosecutor general Andriy Kostin alleged on Friday that many of the dead civilians were tortured.

Almost 100 Russian soldiers are suspected of war crimes, he said on his Telegram channel, and indictments have been issued for 35 of them.

Two Russian servicemen have already been sentenced by a Ukrainian court to 12 years in prison for illegal deprivation of liberty of civilians and looting.

Members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service clear the rubble at a building destroyed by a Russian strike in the Zaporizhzhia district, Ukraine (Andriy Andriyenko/AP)   Andriy Andriyenko

I am convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russias planned strategy aimed at destroying Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation, Mr Kostin said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, unexpectedly called for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

A truce, he said in his state-of-the-nation address in Minsk on Friday, must be announced without any preconditions and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted.

Its necessary to stop now until an escalation begins, Mr Lukashenko said, adding that an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using western-supplied weapons would bring an irreversible escalation of the conflict.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by saying Russia has to keep fighting, claiming Ukraine has rejected any talks under pressure from its western allies.

Ukrainian honour guard soldiers take part in a national flag-raising ceremony during a commemorative event on the anniversary of the liberation of the territories from the Russian troops, in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday March 31 2023 (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)   Efrem Lukatsky

Mr Peskov also dismissed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbans remarks about the European Union mulling the deployment of sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as extremely dangerous.

Russia has maintained its bombardment of Ukraine with the war already into its second year.

As well as killing at least two civilians in Ukraine, 14 other civilians were wounded early on Friday as Russia launched missiles, shells, exploding drones and gliding bombs, the Ukraine presidential office said.

Two Russian missiles hit the city of Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region, damaging eight residential buildings.

Throughout the Donetsk region, one civilian was killed and five others wounded by the strikes, the office said.

The body of a man who was killed with his hands tied behind his back lies on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, in April 2022 (Vadim Ghirda/AP)   Vadim Ghirda

Nine Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, damaging residential buildings, roads, gas stations and a prison.

The Russians also used exploding drones to attack the Kharkiv region.

Russian forces also shelled the southern city of Kherson, killing one resident and wounding two others.

The village of Lviv in the Kherson region was struck by gliding bombs which damaged about 10 houses.

The barrage also hit the city of Zaporizhzhia and its outskirts, causing major fires.
Public Domain

If you told someone that one of your loved ones lived to 120 years old, they probably wouldnt believe you, saying, Wow! They lived a long life here on earth. However, if you asked someone in the Old Testament how long Moses lived, and you answered 120 years, they would say he died too young. According to Deuteronomy 34:7, Moses died with his eyes undimmed and freshness unabated.

Other figures throughout the Bible went blind due to old age, like Issac, but Moses died with his vision unharmed, and he could have lived for several more years or decades. So why would God let Moses die early? Did Moses do something during his life to justify a premature death?

The outline of Moses life.

Moses lived an extraordinary life. Although a Hebrew woman gave birth to him, God supplied a way for Moses to have a safe harbor growing up due to a proclamation from Pharoah for Egyptians to kill every male Hebrew baby. An Egyptian princess found Moses in the Nile, had Moses mother care for him during infancy, and raised him as her own, as detailed in Exodus 2.

For almost 40 years, Moses lived in Egypt as royalty until he killed an Egyptian over the cruel treatment of a Hebrew slave. Moses ran away into the wilderness to Midian, where he met his wife and settled there for another 40 years. When Moses was 80, God appeared to him in the burning bush and commanded him to return to Egypt to tell Pharoah to let his people go. He returned to Egypt, and 10 plagues ravaged Egypt because they refused to release the Hebrews. After the final plague, the Egyptians let them go but changed their minds and chased them to the Red Sea.

Now that theyve escaped Egypt, the Israelites travel to the promised land. During their journey, Moses receives the Ten Commandments from God, a list of rules to follow, on Mount Sinai. However, due to Israels celebration of idols, disobedience, and constant complaining, God prevented many of them from entering the promised land, leaving them to wander the desert for 40 years. Unfortunately, this group included Moses. Moses died at 120 before the Israelites reached the promised land.

The reason why people lived so long in the New Testament.

You might notice that in the Bible, many people lived long lives before the flood. Methuselah lived to be 969 years old before he died right before the flood. Moses made it to 120 and seemed like he couldve lived longer. However, isnt there a Bible verse that says people wouldnt live past 120 after the flood? Genesis 6:3 reminds us that when God sees a mans evil, the Lord declares His spirit wont argue with humans forever because theyre mortal and their days will be 120 years.

However, after the flood, people seem to live past 120 years. For example, Abraham lived to 175, and Isaac lived to 180. Why is that? Some scholars suggest that God gave humans 120 years to repent before the flood when He saw their wickedness. However, this idea doesnt explain how, before and after the flood, people live for a long time. Josephus discussed this idea in the first book of his Antiquities, saying God allowed them to live longer due to their virtue. He also said their food was better for living longer.

In other words, people living back then had healthier DNA, better food supplies, and the sins effects hadnt latched onto them as much as they did in future generations. Moses lived quite some time away from Methuselahs time, which may explain why Moses lived to 120 and not 969.

Why couldnt Moses go to the promised land?

Because of disobedience, much of Israel, including Moses, didnt make it to the promised land. Numbers 20:7-12 tells how God told Moses to take his staff, gather a crowd with his brother Aaron, and tell the rock to share its water, bringing water from the rock for them to give to the congregation and their cattle. Before the Lord, Moses took the staff, as the Lord commanded. Then, Aaron and Moses gathered the crowd, telling them, should we bring water for you from this rock? After that, Moses lifted his hand and hit the rock with his staff twice, and water rushed from the rock. The congregation and their livestock drank. Then God told Aaron and Moses because you didnt believe me, to maintain me as holy in the eyes of Israels people, you shall not bring this group into the land I have given them.

Instead of speaking to the rock as the Lord commanded, Moses hit it. But why does this justify his inability to enter the promised land? Scholars have debated this topic. Some say Moses called the Israelites rebels but acted hypocritically by disobeying Gods command. Others believe that Moses took credit for the water rushing from the rock, which was something God did. Moses and Aaron committed a double whammy: not giving proper credit and disobedience. Moses life was cut short for those reasons.

What can Moses death teach us?

We can learn a lot from Moses life. He showed what it looks like to faithfully follow God during terrifying circumstances and step outside our comfort zones. However, Moses death can teach a few lessons. The first lesson is every gift comes from our Heavenly Father. If we let pride keep us from the talents Hes given us, we miss why He gave us these gifts in the first place.

The second lesson is we should take hypocrisy seriously. Moses was so upset with the Israelites for their rebellion that he didnt see his rebellion. Jesus preached a lot about hypocrites. Before pointing out the sins of others, we should look at our sins. Even though Moses life was shorter than expected, God still brought numerous blessings because of it. Maybe, in the same way, we might not live as long as we hope to, but that doesnt mean God cant use our time on earth to shine a light on others.
A supporter of former Prime Minister Najib Razak weeps outside the Federal Court in Putrajaya after it rejected his application to review last years verdict in which the court sent Najib to prison, March 31, 2023.

Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak on Friday lost his final judicial chance to get out of prison when the countrys highest court rejected his request to review its 2022 decision to incarcerate him for corruption, although his lawyer claimed Najibs legal hopes were still alive.

A Federal Court panel ruled 4-1 to deny Najibs application to review the 12-year sentence that the court handed him last August for abuse of power and other charges tied to the misappropriation of 42 million ringgit (U.S. $9.5 million) from a subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the troubled state investment fund.

Justice Vernon Ong said the court had not erred in its judgment last year and there was no miscarriage of justice, as Najibs legal team had argued in seeking a re-trial.

In the final analysis, and having regard to all circumstances, we are constrained to say that he was the author of his own misfortune, Ong said as he read out the verdict.

We have come to the conclusion that the review application did no more than to challenge the merits of the Federal Court decisions. Accordingly, the review application should be and is hereby dismissed.

While Judge Ong delivered the 50-minute verdict in the presence of Najibs children and prison staff, the former prime minister sat despondently on a solitary bench in the courtroom.

1MBD, a state investment fund, was at the heart of a massive international financial scandal that implicated Najib and brought down his government through a general election in 2018. In July 2020, he became the first former or current prime minister in Malaysia to be convicted on felony charges but he has been fighting through the courts to try and overturn that verdict.

Najib has now effectively run out of legal options to challenge that 2020 verdict by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, prosecutors said. But after Fridays ruling, his attorney suggested that the one dissenting voice on the bench had given his client a narrow window to keep the legal avenue open. Najibs only other option to be freed from prison is through a pardon from Malaysias king.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak speaks to journalists outside the Federal Court during a court break, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Aug. 23, 2022. [Lai Seng Sin/Reuters]

Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli was the one judge on the panel who cast the dissenting opinion.

Najib is paying the price for his counsels mistake and his rights to be heard were compromised, the judge said.

He was alluding to how a different panel of the Federal Court had denied a request by Najibs legal team at the August 2022 sentencing hearing to postpone it because Najibs lead lawyer at the time was freshly hired and needed more time to prepare.

Justice is not only about whether or not someone accused is guilty, it must also involve a fair trial. The accused must feel that they have received a fair trial. If the system is not capable of this, they should not be tried at all, Abdul Rahman told the court.

Deputy Prosecutor V. Sithambaram addressed reporters afterwards.

Legally, the accused has exhausted all avenues of appeal. It is the hope of the prosecution that this will bring closure to the SRC hearing or the SRC case, he told reporters at the courthouse in Putrajaya, referring to SRC International, the 1MDB subsidiary.

This decision by the federal court is also a vindication that the charges against Najib are legally mounted and not politically motivated by the prosecution, he said.

However, Najibs lead counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, claimed that Fridays non-unanimous ruling had provided his client with another possible legal opening.

The minority judgment offers an avenue for review, as there are cases that support multiple reviews, Shafee told reporters.

As long as there are grounds for a fresh review, you can always review.

Supporters of former Prime Minister Najib Razak wave at his car as he is driven back to Kajang Prison after a ruling at the Federal Court in Putrajaya, Malaysia, March 31, 2023. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews]

While having exhausted his appeals before the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court, Najib is also seeking a royal pardon and a U.N. petition for alleged arbitrary detention.

A royal pardon or an appeal to international courts are the only options left for Najib to pursue an acquittal in the SRC case, senior criminal lawyer Mohd Hafiz Zainol Abidin told BenarNews

The next option for Najib is a royal pardon. If granted, the individual will no longer have any criminal record. A clean slate of sorts, he said.

According to a political analyst, the Federal Courts decision to reject Najibs review application proves that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is living up to his pledge of not interfering with the courts.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is president of the UMNO party, Najibs party, as well as Najibs former deputy PM, is standing trial on corruption charges not linked to the 1MDB scandal.

So, with this decision, even if it will upset some quarters in UMNO, the retention of the prison sentence means there was indeed no interference, analyst Jamaie Haji Jamil of National University of Malaysia told BenarNews.

The Federal Court handed down its decision four weeks to the day that Najib won a rare legal victory, when the Kuala Lumpur High Court acquitted him of tampering with a 1MDB audit report.

Since then, another former Malaysian leader, ex-Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has also been charged on suspicion of corruption. Muhyiddin, who leads Malaysias new opposition bloc, has denied the accusations and blamed Anwars administration for being out to remove him and other rivals as obstacles to his power.

Haizal Yatiran and Noah Lee in Kuala Lumpur contributed to the report.
Russia's security agency detains WSJ reporter on espionage charges

Xinhua) 10:31, March 31, 2023

MOSCOW, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday it had arrested a Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges.

The FSB said U.S. citizen Evan Gershkovich, a reporter at the Wall Street Journal's Moscow bureau, is suspected of "spying in the interests of the American government."

It added that Gershkovich "gathered information classified as state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of Russia's military-industrial complex," acting on instructions from the U.S. government.

The FSB said the U.S. citizen was detained in Yekaterinburg while trying to obtain the secret information, adding that a criminal espionage case has been launched.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Ambassador of Ghana to Korea Charis Obetsebi-Lamptey Zwennes, left, and Sam Okyere, a TV personality in Korea, host the Taste of Ghana event showcasing Ghana's culinary offerings at the ambassador's residence in Yongsan District, Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo





By Kwon Mee-yoo







Ghanaian cuisine is known for its distinctive mix of flavors and local ingredients. The Embassy of Ghana in Korea hosted an event to showcase the country's culinary offerings, with an emphasis on its liquors.







Ambassador of Ghana to Korea Charis Obetsebi-Lamptey Zwennes expressed hopes that Ghanaian cuisine could help bridge the two countries, during the event held at her residence in Yongsan District, Seoul, Wednesday.







"Today we are offering a small taste of Ghana. This event is to showcase some of the best of our country's products  Kasapreko, a multinational company producing various alcoholic beverages, as well as the renowned Alomo Bitters, a herbal-based drink derived from Ghana's ample supply of organic ingredients and the GIHOC Distilleries, the first modern distillery to be established in West Africa and producer of the famous Takai, a delicious liquor made with Ghana's premium cocoa and coffee," she said.







Ghanaian liquors are on display during the Taste of Ghana event at Ambassador of Ghana Charis Obetsebi-Lamptey Zwennes's residence in Yongsan District, Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo





"So we hope you will take advantage on this occasion to sample these quality and utterly delicious products that we believe can lead to new business opportunities and partnerships."







While acknowledging that Ghana's major exports to Korea are currently gold, timber and cocoa, the ambassador expressed her hope to diversify the range of exports and include other products such as liquors. Currently, Ghanaian liquors are not officially imported to Korea, but the ambassador believes that it has potential for the Korean market.







"When we participate in any fairs or events here, we always have Takai and it's always very popular. We now want to tell people it is available to meet the demand (in Korea)," Obetsebi-Lamptey Zwennes said.







Sam Okyere, a TV personality in Korea, gives explanations of the various liquors from Ghana during the Taste of Ghana event at the Ambassador of Ghana Charis Obetsebi-Lamptey Zwennes's residence in Yongsan District, Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo





Sam Okyere, a TV personality in Korea, emceed the event and said considering Korea's widespread love for coffee, there is potential for Takai to gain popularity in the country.







"The liquor's name Takai comes from a type of traditional dance of the Dagomba people in northern Ghana," Okyere explained, adding that the liquor is also a good appetizer and digestive.







Okyere also described the other beverages offered at the event. He noted that Kasapreko London Dry Gin is a high-quality gin, Black Rock Honey Whiskey is smooth and sweet and Alomo Bitters is a herbal-based liquor widely popular in various African countries.







He also suggested trying Carnival Strawberry, a strawberry-flavored liquor, on the rocks.


A rocket is fired from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during joint training exercises between the armies of the Philippines and the United States at Fort Magsaysay, in Nueva Ecija province, Philippines, March 31, 2023.

Filipino army troops on Friday got their first taste of how to use advanced weapons systems, including a rocket system that can hit a target 80 kilometers (49.7 miles) away and a modern anti-tank system seen as key to the Philippine infantrys modernization plan.

Under the searing heat of the sun, they were taking part in live-fire drills and demonstrations with their American counterparts at a military base in the northern Philippines.

A busload of selected journalists was escorted into the normally closed Fort Magsaysay, an army camp in Nueva Ecija province, for a day-long program to showcase the armament training under joint U.S.-Philippine exercises called Salaknib, a local term meaning shield.

American soldiers fire a rocket launcher on a mock target during the Salaknib exercise at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province, Philippines, March 31, 2023. [Basilio Sepe/BenarNews]

Officially, the main purpose of the program is to bolster interoperability between the two land forces, though Fort Magsaysay is one of nine facilities where the Philippine government has granted the U.S. military access to build future facilities under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

Among the nine sites, four have yet to be named, although Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. this month said they would be scattered around the Philippines, despite persistent reports in the local press that they would be located in the northern island of Luzon, across the sea from Taiwan. Nueva Ecija is one of the provinces of Luzon, the most populous island in the Philippine archipelago.

The drills, which began on March 13 and go until April 4, are happening at a time when tensions are brewing in the Taiwan Strait. Filipino nationalist groups meanwhile have aired fears that the Philippines  a staunch U.S. ally in the Pacific  would be drawn into the conflict should American forces use the bases here to quickly aid Taiwan, if that island came under attack from mainland China.

Neither American nor Filipino military officials wanted to comment on these geopolitical matters Friday, but they acknowledged that the advanced High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) could be effective in stopping opposing forces from far away.

HIMARS are highly usable advanced weapon systems in terms of the artillery, in the sense that a rocket artillery unit thats wheeled instead of trucked, it gives you more mobility, its a little lighter, it gives you air mobility on certain fixed-wing platforms. It is a little bit more agile, said Maj. Joe Roberts, an American operations officer.

Today we demonstrated what it looks like to fire a HIMARS weapons system. Really in any combat situation, the HIMARS system is very useful.

Lt. Col. Tar Cayton of the Philippine Armys artillery regiment said the Filipinos appreciated the demonstration, which, she said, gave them an opportunity to try their hands on the new system. She said she hoped that part of the militarys modernization program to acquire HIMARS was on the top of the Philippine governments list.

Filipino and American soldiers fire on mock enemy targets during a live-fire exercise at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province, Philippines, March 31, 2023. [Basilio Sepe/BenarNews]

After the HIMARS demonstration, Filipino troops joined live-fire exercises using the AT-4 84-mm anti-tank weapon system, the first time that both sides used the weapon in training.

They carried out the drills during a day when the outdoor temperature in Nueva Ecija was as hot as 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit), and with high humidity to boot.

More than 3,000 Filipino and U.S. forces are training in the ongoing exercises.

Its a prelude to the annual Balikatan war games, which this year will be the biggest-ever military drills so far involving 17,600 troops from both sides. Those drills will take place from April 11 to 28, during which the allies, for the first time, will conduct live-fire exercises at sea.
Members of Chinas Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also known as the Mayflower Church, leave from the Nong Prue police station on their way to a court in Pattaya, Thailand, March 31, 2023.

Updated at 8:40 a.m. ET on 2023-04-01



A Thai court on Friday began the trial of 28 Chinese Christians charged with overstaying their visa, and who were in the country seeking protection from the United Nations refugee agency claiming religious persecution back home, police said.

The Chinese were fined and later taken to Bangkok for what a police officer said was normal processing of their case, The Associated Press reported. The Chinese exiles belong to the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also known as the Mayflower Church.

One police official said the group of 63 Christians including 35 children, who had been arrested Thursday afternoon, would likely not be deported back to China.

No, there wont be that thing. Its not going to happen, Col. Tawee Kutthalaeng, chief of the Nong Prue police station, told BenarNews.

We did not charge all of them because there were children as well. They were charged with overstaying their visas, staying too long and not renewing their visas.

Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, but the non-refoulement principle under international human rights law states that people cannot be sent back to a country where they are likely to be persecuted, tortured, mistreated or have their human rights violated.

The group of 63 Chinese had fled their homeland in 2019, making their way first to South Koreas Jeju Island, before landing in Thailand last year, according to the Mandarin Service of Radio Free Asia (RFA), a BenarNews-affiliated news service.

Nury Turkel, chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), expressed concern about the Chinese exiles in Thailand.

Members of the Mayflower Church are at imminent risk of being deported to China, where they will face severe consequences, including imprisonment and torture, he said in a tweet on Thursday.

According to an American NGO, Freedom House, Christianity has expanded rapidly in China since 1980, but is strictly controlled by the state.

The Chinese authorities seek to monitor and control Christians by encouraging them  sometimes forcefully  to join state-sanctioned churches that are affiliated with patriotic associations and led by politically vetted clergy, says a 2017 Freedom House report.

Religious leaders and congregants who refuse to register for theological or practical reasons risk having their place of worship shuttered and face detention, beatings, dismissal from employment, or imprisonment.

Certain religions and religious groups, including Christian house churches that operate independently from state-sanctioned ones, are persecuted harshly, according to Freedom Houses 2023 Freedom in the World report.

In October, the pastor associated with the Mayflower Church, Pan Yongguang, who is also in Thailand, told RFA that he was afraid of being caught in an immigration prison and eventually deported to China.

I cant fall into their hands. If they find me and put me in an immigration prison, they will take me back to China, he had said.

I will not voluntarily return to mainland China, and I will not choose to commit suicide.

Chinas threats have never stopped

Meanwhile, Deana Brown, an American who was also arrested briefly with the group according to the Associated Press, said Friday that renewing visas for the Chinese nationals was not easy.

She told AP that when the Chinese exiles had sought to renew their Thai visas, they had been told they had to first report to their countrys embassy.

We knew [then] that nobody could get their visas, Brown told AP.

There was no way, because as soon as they walk into the Chinese Embassy theyre gone, we would not see them again. Theyve been hiding out since then.

Brown is the founder of a Texas-based organization called Freedom Seekers International, which says on its website that it exists to rescue last resort and the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries.

The organization says it is taking the lead role in establishing a new life for them in Tyler, Texas.

Fu Xiqiu, chairman of the China Aid Association, a Christian NGO headquartered in the United States, told RFA on Thursday that one of the church members had been coerced into informing the Thai authorities where they were staying. That is what prompted the immigration raid and arrest, Fu alleged.

Based on the way other missing persons were treated in the past, this must be the CCPs mafia behind the scenes, he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

We call on the international community to lend a helping hand urgently to stop the atrocities. We can imagine that if these adults and children return to China, they will definitely be imprisoned and persecuted.

Fu further alleged that threats from Chinese authorities have continued despite the church members being in exile.

Chinas threats have never stopped, including family members being kidnapped, threatened, and interrogated, Fu claimed.

Even in Jeju Island, they were threatened by text messages and phone calls from the CCP Consulate in Jeju Island, saying that they were traitorous, treasonous, and endangering national security.
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PITTSFIELD  City leaders will match a $500,000 federal grant with an infusion of money from Pittsfields free cash  locking down a portion of the money needed to start phase two of the renovations to the Springside House.

Officials think that this phase of the renovation project will cost close to $3 million but are counting as a win the $1 million theyve secured through the federal grant and city match.

An 8-2 vote in favor of using free cash for the project wipes away officials concerns that the city would have to pass on the Save Americas Treasures grant after two councilors opposed dipping into free cash.

The $500,000 grant, overseen by the National Park Service, was awarded to the city in December. The grant comes with the stipulation the awardees must match the award amount  essentially proving they have money for their proposed project set aside before the federal government reimburses their expenses.

In recent weeks, representatives from the citys community development and finance departments said they had decided that using free cash  the unrestricted funds left over from the prior years city budget and operations would be the best way to protect residents from higher taxes related to the project.

As the legislative body you get to decide as to how to appropriate the match, Finance Director Matt Kerwood told the councils finance subcommittee recently. We have made a recommendation. We believe it is sound, we believe it is solid, we believe it is prudent and financially the right thing to do.

Councilors Karen Kalinowsky and Charles Kronick, members of the finance committee, stood as the two most vocal opponents of this plan, instead proposing that the city apply for Community Preservation Act money for the project.

The CPA fund, which is filed every year through a 1 percent surcharge on property taxes, has around $700,000 to allocate this year, according to Justine Dodds, the director of community development.

However, the committee that oversees the fund has already accepted applications, sorted through eligible projects ,and is in the process of deciding how much money each eligible project will get.

Kalinowsky said the city should have submitted a request for CPA funds on the off chance they received the Save Americas Treasures grant.

I just think its priorities, Kalinowsky said. They didnt prioritize the Springside House and now theyre trying to tell us that we should prioritize it. I think we should keep our free cash for our active buildings in the city.

Kalinowsky suggested the free cash, which was certified at an unprecedented $17 million this year, would be better put to use at City Hall. The councilor said every time she comes in for a council meeting she wonders if a cracked and bulging portion of ceiling near a vent above her council seat is going to fall on her.

We have to stop being in the mindset of this or that, Councilor Earl Persip III said.

Persip said putting up the money for the match wont preclude the city from doing other needed work with free cash or any other funds. He added that he expects the city will seek out CPA funds for later portions of the Springside House project.

Councilors who voted in favor of the free cash match also said theyd rather save CPA funds for organizations that dont have access to the same kind of cash that the city does.

Were asking our organizations to fundraise all the time and the CPA is part of that for those organizations that have no other options, Councilor Kevin Sherman said. We have another option here and I suggest we take it. Its the cleanest option.  We have the money to work on [the house].
Florida residents: 'yes' on new fire truck, 'no' on seeking grants for new municipal building
Donald Morrison is an Eagle columnist and co-chairman of the advisory board. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of

The Berkshire Eagle.
Members of environmental groups hold a rally in Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, March 22, against the Japanese government's decision to release radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog



Mentions of Fukushima radioactive water, wartime sex slavery, Dokdo denied



By Lee Hyo-jin



Recent reports by Japanese media claim that Fukushima's radioactive wastewater, wartime sex slavery and Dokdo were discussed during President Yoon Suk Yeol's recent visit to Tokyo, putting the president in an uncomfortable position.



The Korean government has denied Japanese news reports of Yoon's supposed discomfort during the summit. This is placing extra pressure on the president, who has been struggling to persuade the skeptical public to accept his efforts to mend ties with Tokyo.



On Friday, Yoon's office refuted a report by Japan's Kyodo News that claimed that the Korean president promised to seek public consent from South Koreans over Japan's planned release of contaminated radioactive water into the ocean.



Citing a diplomatic source, the Japanese news agency wrote on Wednesday that Yoon "vowed all-out efforts to remove concerns over the water discharge in his country, even if it takes time," during his meeting with former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on March 17.



"Fukushima seafood will never be imported to Korea," the presidential office said in a statement, Friday. "The president believes that there is no room for negotiations on issues concerning the health and safety of the people."



It also elaborated that during the meeting with Suga, Yoon stressed that the dumping of the irradiated water should undergo safety reviews in a science-based and objective manner in accordance with international standards, and that Korean experts should take part in the process.





A Wednesday report by Japan's Kyodo News claims that President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to Japanese lawmakers that he would seek public consent from his country regarding Japan's plan to dump irradiated wastewater from Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean. Screenshot from Kyodo News website
One day I decided to go looking through my wardrobe, taking stock of what Id collected as a man in my 20s. The $300 charcoal-black suit I wore for interviews and my sisters wedding. Pairs of open-laced dress shoes that were at least $100 each. A dozen collared shirts and silk neckties for every occasion. Trusty Levis that had lasted me through high school, college and beyond.

All of it was worthless. I was now a woman.

I was in a situation most transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people find themselves in. Trans and GNC people often have to replace significant parts of their wardrobe if not all of it. Considering how expensive transitioning already is  and the increased likelihood of trans people to be unemployed or underemployed  thrift shopping can become an important part exploring your gender identity.

Trying something different

Gender transitions typically start with a social transition. On its transition roadmap, University of California San Francisco includes presenting as the preferred gender in public as one of the first steps of a social transition and lists changing your wardrobe or hairstyle as an example.

As anyone who has wanted to try out a new look will know, its hard to justify spending all that money on outfits that just end up being tucked away in the closet. When you transition, though, it sometimes feels like you cant go back to your previous style. Thrifting helps lower this barrier; you might be more inclined to make a bold style choice with a $20 leather jacket than a $200 one.

Najwa Squailia, a nonbinary Pittsfield resident who uses any pronouns but prefers they/them, founded Berkshire Trans Exchange as a way for trans and GNC people to get rid of and pick up new, gender-affirming clothes for free. Recalling their thought process, Squailia said, I was like, Oh, it would be really cool if I could just take this clothing that my partner isnt wearing anymore, and I could find someone who does need this type of clothing now and give it to them.

Squailia knows all too well the importance of finding new clothes for trans people. My partner is transgender, so I have firsthand experience, they said. Its a very costly process if someone wants to shift into a new mode of dressing all at once and wholesale take out a whole wardrobe of clothing because it can be really triggering  all these garments with an identity that doesnt align [with your own] any longer.

Thrift stores are more than just cost effective, though. Jess Bouchard, a teacher in Berkshire County and director of Queer Connect in Vermont, describes them as an invitation for us to explore and discover and be playful.

Bouchard recalls her own experiences as a queer person in college and how thrift stores allowed her to try out multiple versions of herself. When youre an LGBTQIA person, having these spaces takes the burden off of being a part of a binary system, said Bouchard. I think about my time going to thrift stores, and its fun to dress up and just play.

This ability to play helps make thrift stores less intimidating than other clothing stores. Squailia recalls when they were growing up how salespeople, once a staple of department stores, could be a daunting prospect for trans and GNC people: There was this pressure, especially around gender, if you didnt want to shop in the way or in the department that the person viewing you felt you should.

Thrift stores were a place for them to feel comfortable shopping and exploring gender identity without the fear of being judged.

Thrifting is also something intrinsically tied to the community. Bouchard points out many thrift and secondhand stores have some kind of community or charity orientation. Even the clothes in a store come from the community itself. While some stores have missions that are sometimes hostile to LGBTQ people, others, like Squailias Trans Exchange, are focused on affirmation and support of non-heteronormative identities.

Squailia also connects thrifting not just with community but with community action as well. When they created the Trans Exchange, their hope was not just to provide an affordable option for trans people but to remove money from the equation as much as possible. Theres plenty of stuff. My whole conceit is that within a community, there are enough resources to go around, they said. Its the issue of allocating resources from people who have them to people that dont.

Comfortable wearing what I have

I looked through my wardrobe again recently, a little over a year since the last time. Some collared shirts remained, but almost everything else was gone  donated to stores or gifted to friends. My suit was replaced by a half-dozen dresses. Levis became skirts of various lengths, patterns and styles. Oxfords became heels or boots. Almost all of it was thrifted.

I have easily doubled the amount of clothes I used to own for a fraction of what I spent on my masculine clothes. More importantly, I actually feel happy and comfortable wearing what I have.

Like many trans and GNC people, I have thrift shops to thank.
Phone threats at three Berkshire high schools prompt large police response, lockdowns The threats were made to Pittsfield High School, Drury High School in North Adams and Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington. Each was deemed to be a hoax, and police said similar threats have been made this morning at schools around the commonwealth.

The day after a deadly Nashville school shooting shocked the nation, threats phoned in to three Berkshire schools brought those fears home to parents across the county.

A 'sickening' reality: Fake school shooting threats, or 'swatting calls,' take their toll on Berkshire school students, parents and community members Tuesday's threats turned out to be a hoax. But the stress and anxiety was palpable among students, parents and administrators alike, not only in Pittsfield, but also in North Adams and Great Barrington, where similar threats were made to two high schools.

Thankfully, the threats received Tuesday by Drury High School in North Adams, Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington and Pittsfield High School were false. They were linked to a widespread hoax targeting schools across the commonwealth, according to authorities. Still, by the time police arrived at the schools and gave the all-clear, it was a massive disruption for countless students across the county. Worse, it was traumatizing for not just students but their parents who had to wait what seemed like an anxious eternity to find out whether their kids the latest victims of our nations shamefully perpetual tragedy.

We feel for all those families, especially those in the Monument Mountain school community for whom Tuesdays scare marked a dubious distinction: It was the high schools second lockdown in response to a hoax call in just over a month. While this cycle of carnage and fear does not affect all Americans equally, we are all trapped within it. The Covenant School shooting in Nashville, which left seven dead including three 9-year-olds, was the 130th U.S. mass shooting event so far this calendar year. It also was the 19th shooting at an American school or university in the same period.

Compared to our first-world peers, America sacrifices an obscenely large fraction of its populace to the predictable results of firearm proliferation. We are, at once, the only industrialized country routinely facing this problem and the only country with more civilian-owned guns than civilians. According to the Small Arms Survey, the U.S. has 120.5 civilian-owned guns per 100 people  almost 3.5 times as many guns per capita as the next industrialized country, Canada. These population numbers include babies and children.

While attacks on schools and other high-profile mass shooting events make up a small fraction of total U.S. gun fatalities, they nevertheless loom large in our collective concerns  and for good reason. It is especially heinous that American families must helplessly watch as this bloodletting, callously dismissed as inevitable, regularly steals the lives of children and their caretakers in the spaces where we send them to feel safe and nurtured.

In the wake of these all-too-frequent massacres, the voices of reason grow hoarse in pointing out that any country with more guns in circulation than people and a demonstrably insufficient mental health care system courts disaster. Then, there is the backlash and whitewash, largely stemming from politicians whose campaign coffers overflow with gun lobby contributions: Its not the guns, its just mental health, and it is disrespectful to discuss gun safety at this time. Then, after the national pain numbs, those same politicians almost universally oppose the social spending required to systemically upgrade the sorry state of American mental health care.

But this is not a zero-sum game. We need better controls on the wide availability of assault-style weapons and better mental health practices and access  not the insistence that those are either/or propositions.

Before attacking a school and being killed by police, the Nashville shooter purchased seven guns over the last three years and recently was treated for an emotional disorder. Three of those guns were wielded Monday against 9-year-olds and their educators. Tennessee does not have a so-called red flag law, which in Massachusetts and other states allows authorities to temporarily seize guns from someone who is believed to be a threat to themselves or others. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in America, although our commonwealths common sense gun laws contribute to the lowest gun death rates in the nation. Should children in Nashville and Uvalde and Parkland be less protected than children in Massachusetts? Should some American families be disproportionately exposed to the unimaginable grief of losing a child to senseless violence?

We think not. Yet the toxic intransigence of our current political environment makes the likelihood of real change and sensible federal policy depressingly low. The carnage will continue; so too will the fear. In the wake of a shooting like the one in Nashville, Americans drop off their kids at school and force to the back of their minds the question of whether its their turn to get the worst call of their lives later that day. After heartless hoaxers on Tuesday made phony threats to schools across the state, parents gathered helplessly on the steps of Pittsfield High School, praying for the best but fearing the absolute worst.

What risks must those parents and our communities face, and what if anything can be done?

We must have the political will to put our money where our mouth is on mental health care. Nearly everyone, regardless of ideology, acknowledges that the under-funded, patchwork system in place is broken, allowing far too many Americans to slip through the cracks of society and become threats to themselves and those around them. But even the best-laid plans to repair those cracks amount to long-term goals, and our communities are forced to deal with the realities of school shootings and fake threats here and now.

Some back school resource officers or more robust security systems at schools. Like any mitigative effort, trade-offs must be observed and weighed. Creating fortresses out of schools and the increasing ubiquity of active shooter drills have their own effect on the mental well-being of school children. And the question of whether municipal budgets are best spent beefing up police patrols of schools rather than putting those resources toward more teachers and other in-school supports for students is one that safety advocates should weigh carefully. We say this not to down Pittsfields recently broadened SRO program but to stress that, like any public safety program, the citys school district should have sensible rubrics for how to judge its success, and the school community in turn should have thoughtful conversations about how it is meeting those expectations.

After a tragedy like the one in Nashville and the fake threats to several Berkshire districts, school communities are left with questions we never wanted and too few answers. If you see something, say something  and our thoughts are with hurt and scared parents everywhere who deserve far more than such platitudes from our leaders.
Cho Hyun-chun, center, a former head of the now-defunct Defense Security Command, speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, March 29. Yonhap





A Seoul court issued a warrant Friday to arrest Cho Hyun-chun, a former head of the now-defunct Defense Security Command, over the suspected masterminding of a martial law plan while then President Park Geun-hye faced an impeachment trial in 2017.







The Seoul Western District Court granted the arrest warrant for Cho on abuse of authority and political meddling charges after holding a hearing in the morning.







The 64-year-old former military commander was apprehended Wednesday upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, after his flight to the United States in the face of a probe in late 2017.







Cho allegedly instructed a task force he formed in February 2017 to draw up a contingency plan based on an illegal declaration of martial law to crack down on candlelight protesters by force and reported it to then Defense Minister Han Min-koo.







Months of street candlelight vigils by many people led to the impeachment of then President Park at the time.







Cho is also suspected of having his defense security agents stage rallies and run columns and advertisements supporting Park.







The martial law plan commissioned by Cho included mobilizing 200 Army tanks, 550 armored vehicles and more than 6,000 armed forces to form a martial law army.







Prosecutors are reportedly reviewing whether drawing up such a document constitutes conspiracy of a rebellion. (Yonhap)






Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

Fear not.

Its an admonition repeated often in Scripture as God encouraged His people to take control of their emotions and overcome them. Fear not is neither an accusation of cowardice, nor gaslighting in a dangerous situation; it is the assurance that God is present, and therefore, all will be well.

True, our fears can be baseless and irrational:

What if eating that cookie makes me gain 10 pounds?

What if I get sucked into the airplane toilet bowl when I flush?

What if the elevator door wont open and I suffocate?

What if there is a monster under my bed waiting to pounce on me when the lights are turned off?

Fear can also be real and rational when actual facts pose reasonable potential outcomes:

The company is laying people off . . . what if Im next?

I found a lump . . . what if its cancer?

Were constantly fighting . . . what if we divorce?

This is a giant obstacle . . . what if I fail?

Whether our fears are childish and irrational, or real and quite rational, God wants us to face anything that paralyses us and may possibly prevent us from fulfilling what God wants for us.

We All Must Fight the Battle of Mikmash

One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armor-bearer, Come, lets go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side. But he did not tell his father. Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men, among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabods brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lords priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left. On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez and the other Seneh. One cliff stood to the north toward Mikmash, the other to the south toward Geba. Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, Come, lets go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. Do all that you have in mind, his armor-bearer said. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul. Jonathan said, Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us. If they say to us, Wait there until we come to you, we will stay where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, Come up to us, we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands. So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. Look! said the Philistines. The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in. The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, Come up to us and well teach you a lesson. So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, Climb up after me; the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel. Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre. Then panic struck the whole army  those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties  and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God (1 Samuel 14:1-15).

In 1 Samuel 14:1-15, King Saul and the army of Israel were engaged in a war against their archenemy, the Philistines. The Philistines had amassed an arsenal of 3,000 chariots, 6,000 charioteers and as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore.

Moreover, the Philistines had many spears and swords, but the army of Israel had just two, one owned by Jonathan, and the other owned by his father, King Saul. Most of the people were hiding in caves or fled to other lands, fearing for their lives; only 600 soldiers remained by Sauls side.

Because of this major military disadvantage  the very real, very dangerous situation facing them at Mikmash  fear had gripped the hearts of the entire Israelite nation. Prince Jonathan saw this and decided to take action to overcome fear and become mighty for God.

And like anyone who becomes mighty for God, we must power up with the tools necessary to defeat fear.

Have Faith in What God Has Given You

People who fulfill their God-given purpose realize that what God has given them is more than enough to get the job done, and to overcome any obstacle the enemy puts in their path.

Jesus told the disciples to give 5,000 men and their families dinner. The disciples assumed they didnt have enough money to accomplish that. Philip, however, in a moment of faith, said well, there is a little boy over there who has five barely loaves and two small fish.

But then it appears fear kicked in and he said, But what are they among so many that everyone could get even just a little?

Jesus took the bread, held it up to the Father, gave thanks, and broke it for the disciples to distribute. Everyone ate till they were stuffed, and the disciple collected twelve basketfuls of scraps. What they had was more than enough to get the job done.

Which brings me back to Jonathan.

At that time in history, the Philistine army had cornered the blacksmithing market in the region, so that the only way an Israelite could get a sword was to go buy one from the Philistines.

Its the way the enemy fights; first he disarms you. And the only way he can disarm you is if you allow him to take the weapons God has given you! For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Dont let him take your integrity and godly character.

Dont let him take your prayer life or connection with your church.

Dont let him take your hopes and dreams.

Dont let him take your joy and praise life.

So the Philistines had many swords and Jonathan had one. The Philistines had chariots and charioteers, and Jonathan had to climb up using his arms and legs. The Philistines had many men, Jonathan had his armorbearer. But Jonathan had faith in what God had given him, and the two men killed twenty Philistines and kicked off Israels unlikely victory over the Philistines at Mikmash.

Like Jonathan, what God has put in you and entrusted to you, is not just enough, its more than enough. Fear is no match for what God has given you!

Have Faith in Godly Friends

Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, Come, lets go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few (1 Samuel 14:6-7).

Jonathan didnt have a lot of support to do what he knew had to be done. The army was not acting, the people were hiding. He could have felt lonely, betrayed, or be left wondering why there werent more people supporting him in his time of need.

Some people are meant only for a season of your story, some are sent to interrupt your story, and then there are those whom God will send to shift your story!

Jonathan had just one of those  just one person he could lean on, who would stand by him and fight with him.

Jonathan had just one person that would encourage him, help build his faith, and had his back.

Just one.

What the Battle of Mikmash also teaches us is that you dont need a lot of people with you. You only need the right people, the God-sent people, who have your same values, same morals, same love for God and same objectives. By these traits you can know and have faith in your God-sent friends. Remember, can two walk together, unless they are agreed? (Amos 3:3).

When Jonathan faced the dangerous situation at Mikmash, he was encouraged and had faith in the friend that God had sent with him. And after they won the battle and Israel had hope restored that they could indeed prevail, the rest of the people in the caves came out and joined the fight. Jonathan went from loneliness, to lots of friends!

Take a Step of Faith

All right, then, Jonathan told him. We will cross over and let them see us. If they say to us, Stay where you are or well kill you, then we will stop and not go up to them. But if they say, Come on up and fight, then we will go up. That will be the Lords sign that he will help us defeat them. When the Philistines saw them coming, they shouted, Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes! (1 Samuel 14:8-11).

In the natural, this is not a good military strategy  let them see us. Its not safe nor smart, but it is a step of faith. Jonathan must have remembered the words of the prophet Samuel:

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only (1 Samuel 7:3).

But the Word that Jonathan heard did not look like the world he saw. Fear stood in the way of the promise that God gave, so he had take a bold stand and walk by faith to defeat that fear.

Fear is no match for a step of faith, and it always initiates the response of God.

You can overcome any fear when you count Him as faithful! God wants to intervene, God wants to deliver, God wants to save, God wants to show up, God wants to show himself strong. But in order for God to step in we must step out!

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

This verse goes to the heart of who God is. Indeed, it could be better translated, a person that comes to God must believe He is faithful, and to those who believe He is faithful, He responds.

Dont lose hope when things look bad, or when life takes a puzzling twist. Dont lose hope when what you see around you has gripped you in fear.

Dont lose hope  because He that promised is faithful. When we step out in faith, God will respond and free us from the fear of our scary circumstances.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? (Romans 8:31).

That means, fear of calamity, persecution, hunger or lack is no match for the faithfulness of God. And fear of danger, death, or the devil himself is no match for the faithfulness of God.

Neither fear for today or fear about tomorrow, whether real and rational, or childish and irrational  no fear is a match for the faithfulness of God!

Photo credit: Getty Images/Massonstock

Frank Santora is Lead Pastor of Faith Church, a multi-site church with locations in Connecticut and New York. Pastor Frank hosts a weekly television show, Destined to Win, which airs weekly on the Hillsong Channel and TBN. He has authored thirteen books, including the most recent, Modern Day Psalms and Good Good Father. To learn more about Pastor Frank and this ministry, please visit www.franksantora.cc. Photo by Michele Roman.
Its a question you probably dont hear enough because once you know the answer, you realize how critical apologetics is to having a grounded faith and being able to answer the questions of why you believe what you believe.

The simple Websters definition for apologetics are as follows: a systematic argumentative discourse. More specifically, Webster continues with: a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity.

Simply put, apologetics is a defense for the Christian faith. I Peter 3:15 states, "always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. That last portion is also a critical part of apologetics. While debate may occur within conversation, apologetics is not a weapon to wield with insult, disrespect, or scorn. Giving a defense for why you believe what you believe is an opportunity to present your case to support the Truth.

Lee Strobel, a popular apologist and author of A Case for Christ and many other books, says about his own experience with the defense of Christ and his conversion from atheism: In short, I didnt become a Christian because God promised I would have an even happier life than I had as an atheist. He never promised any such thing. Indeed, following him would inevitably bring divine demotions in the eyes of the world. Rather, I became a Christian because the evidence was so compelling that Jesus really is the one-and-only Son of God who proved his divinity by rising from the dead. That meant following him was the most rational and logical step I could possibly take.

There is always faith that must be a part of the step to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior, but God does not discount the evidence for who He is, for what He does, and for what He can do. Finding out this evidence and building a databank of research and information goes a long way in undergirding the walk of faith with logic and rationale. In a nutshell and in an unscholarly way of putting it, this is apologetics.

Strobel also states, All Christians should be able to articulate reasons why they believe what they believe  not just for the sake of our spiritually confused friends, but also so that we ourselves will have a deeper and more confident faith.

This confidence comes in knowing that we have chosenyes, by faith but also by evidenceto follow the almighty God for reasons that are founded, proven, and true. To find truth, one must investigate, analyze, test, and make a determination.

Can you answer confidently why you believe Jesus rose from the dead, and can you do so without citing the Bible says so? How about evidence that God created the world versus the theory of evolution? Again, can you pose a quality case for your belief in Creation without reverting to Genesis 1:1 as your main point of evidence?

It is important, yes, without argument, to know your Scripture and to take it as the authority. However, when you are faced with defending why you believe what you believe, citing one source is a potential problem of bias, not to mention if the person youre in conversation with does not believe in the authority of the Scriptures as the Word of Godand perhaps doesnt believe God existsthe Bible itself will hold little argumentative influence for them. It will be quickly discounted as a book of myths and legends, perhaps a book of good ideas, but it will not be counted as scientific or authoritative.

This is why it is essential to educate yourself on the other evidence God has provided us through science, mathematics, archaeology, logic, and historical documentation, among other things. Using reason and common sense can take us systematically to the truth of Gods existence, proof of Him as a Creator, evidence for the resurrection, and so much more.

So what are good resources to learn how to defend your faith? There are some great ones out there that you can tap into, and you dont need to be a scholar to read and understand them.

1. A Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel, is a great first book. In it, Strobel provides personal testimony of his journey from hard-core atheism to a deeply committed faith in Jesus Christ. As a journalist, evidence was key for Strobel, and he embarked on a journey to discount Jesus authority and, instead, built his life on teaching the truths he found along the way. You can also check out his other books, including The Case for Faith and The Case for a Creator.

2. If reading is tough for you, check out Sean McDowells YouTube channel or website: seanmcdowell.org. Dr. Sean McDowell is an Associate Professor in the Christian Apologetics program at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. Aside from having written over twenty books, he has a growing channel on YouTube that covers a multitude of topics. His approach is not with the intent to convince or proselytize; rather, he asks the hard questions of all his guests and has reasonable discussions. He doesnt shy away from tough topics like Can you trust the Old Testament, 10 Toughest Objections to Christianity, Archaeological Finds for the Gospels, and more.

3. Another great resource book is The Big Book of Christian Apologetics: An A to Z Guide by Normal L. Geisler. This book is encyclopedic as it presents various objections to Christianity, discusses areas of the Bible that can be challenged and may create difficulties as you ground your faith, and gives insights into other philosophies. Its no small volume, but its a must-have book if you want a resource guide written by an expert apologist.

Being able to answer the tough questions is important not only in conversations with others but in our own faith journey. The difficult times will come. The doubts will rise. We will find ourselves challenging our own decision to follow Christ, and without a viable defense, many of us will find our faith and our devotion floundering.

As culture continues to blur the lines, these defenses become even more important. When your family, your friends, and your children ask you, yes, but why do you believe in God? we must be able to present a case that isnt summarized in because the Bible says so.

In the end, learning to build a defense for your faith is a lifetime learning process. Its also an exciting one! As you dig into the evidence that God has infused in every part of this world, its history, its science, and other areas, you will find your faith bolstered by the framework He has given to us. The Scriptures will become more alive, definitive, and authoritative. Apologetics is importantno, they are critical. Take time to learn!

Photo Credit: Getty Images/pcess609

Jaime Jo Wright is the winner of the Carol, Daphne du Maurier, and INSPY Awards. She's also the Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestselling author of three novellas. The Christy Award-Winning author of The House on Foster Hill, Jaime Jo Wright resides in the hills of Wisconsin writing suspenseful mysteries stained with history's secrets. Jaime lives in dreamland, exists in reality, and invites you to join her adventures at jaimewrightbooks.com!
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!

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Speakers delve deep into various issues related to vaccine manufacturing and development

The 13th edition of Vaccines World Summit and 2nd Annual Biologics Festival India 2023 was held in Pune between 27th and 30th March 2023, and was organised by IMAPAC. Leaders in manufacturing, R&D and supply chain from vaccine manufacturing companies came together to debate on the best practices in vaccine manufacturing in India and share intelligence and network.

Ranjan Chakrabarti, Former Vice President and Global Biologics, United States Pharmacopeia, India gave the opening address. He provided insights on Indian Biologics- Present and Future and shared his thoughts on how to address the challenges faced by the Indian biotech industry.

This was followed by a leadership panel discussion on exploring partnerships in developing and manufacturing vaccines in the international sector. The panel held discussions on challenges for vaccine development, lessons learnt from the pandemic for vaccine development and creating vaccine equity.

During the panel dicussion, Rajinder Suri, CEO, Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network opined on pandemic preparedness and response, challenges and opportunities in developing countries, and emphasised on how public private partenrships (PPPs) can encourage R&D in vaccine manufacturing.

Further, Arani Chatterjee, Joint President, Cadila Pharmaceuticals divulged in detail the advancements in clinical trials for infectious diseases like malaria, pneumonia, meningitis, TB vaccines and novel tetravalent dengue vaccines. He emphasised on policy actions that will be able to stimulate investments in vaccine R&D and promote regional cooperation.

During another session at the Summit, Sarah McMullen. Country Director, US FDA  India Office along with Preetha Rajaraman, Regional Representative for South Asia in the Office of Global Affairs/Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services gave an overview of US India collaboration on vaccines and opined about the regulatory challenges faced by vaccine manufacturers.

New approaches of vaccine development

A key element of the Summit was the deliberations held on embracing newer approaches to develop vaccines, particulalrly with the rise of emerging infectious diseases across the globe.

Sanjay Singh, CEO, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals gave a speech on how mRNA vaccines are revolutionising the vaccine space. He also mentioned about how the company is working on triple-negative breast cancer vaccine along with its work with Tata Memorial Centre in Kolkata. He spoke about the advantages of the mRNA platform, challenges of democratisation of platform technology, mRNA degradation and lastly emphasised speed which is important in todays life.

Puneet Kalra, Therapy Lead, Takeda South Asia talked about the future directions to vaccine development and a newer understanding of protective immunity with difficult-to-target pathogens and antigenic variations.

Adding another perspective, Vickram Srivastava, Head Planning-Global Supply Chain, Sun Pharma gave an overview on the supply chain impact, challenges in the vaccine/biopharma supply chain, risk mitigation strategies to build resilience, innovation in supply chain and logistics etc.

The Summit also saw interesting observations being shared by Swapan Kumar Jana, Director, R&D and manufacturing, Serum Institute of India talking about data-driven decision-making in complex vaccine process development and manufacturing.

Rajendar Burki, AVP-Research and Development, Biological E provided inputs on analytical and biophysical methods that can be used to characterise biopharmaceuticals and vaccines. He mentioned about antibody-based immunoassays that offer individual antigen quantification in combination/multivalent vaccines.

More discussions were also held towards the development of nano vaccines and oral vaccines platforms.

From the Academia

The industry experts were joined by a panel of scientists from the academic sector to share their perspective of new research areas of vaccine development in India.

Dr Nimesh Gupta, Chief Vaccine Immunology Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, gave a glimpse of how to deploy immunology for developing highly effective, durable immunity and protective vaccines. He also mentioned how vaccine candidates must be designed and tested based on multi-dimensional mediators of protection.

Gupta emphasised on academia-industry partnership for vaccine development, on how investment in disruptive innovations can overcome the current challenges in developing potent cost-effective vaccines in a short duration and the development of challenging human infection models for vaccine design and efficacy assessment.

Adding on, Dr Ravi PN Mishra, Principal Scientist & Group Leader, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, talked about reverse vaccinology. He mentioned about the rational design and development of recombinant vaccines against bacterial and viral pathogens.

Besides these interesting discussions, fireside chats on IT innovations in warehousing and materials management were also conducted during the Summit, making it an impactful and successful event.

Image caption- (L-R) Sanjay Singh, CEO, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals; Rajinder Suri, CEO, Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network; Rajendar Burki, AVP-Research and Development, Biological E and Arani Chatterjee, Joint President, Cadila Pharmaceuticals during the panel discussion at the Summit.

Sanjiv Das

(sanjiv.das@mmactiv.com)
Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
Last night team TDMC took Gold at one of South Africa's most prestigious digital media awards, The Smarties. The Digital Media Collective (TDMC) was awarded the accolade in the E-Commerce Marketing: Integrated E-Commerce Innovation Category for their 2022 performance marketing campaign, on behalf of their client Futurelife.

The Smarties Awards are hosted by MMA, and are the worlds only innovation award recognising leaders, brands, agencies, and tech providers that use technology to pioneer new approaches in modern marketing. This annual competition honours outstanding innovation and creativity resulting in significant business impact, and includes live pitch sessions with a panel of 17 judges.

TDMCs Futurelife campaign was pitted against campaigns for the likes of ShopriteX, Shoprite Group of Companies for Xtra Savings and Sixty60, VMLY&R for Nandos, and Futuretech Media for Heinekens Shoppable Media Solution in the E-Commerce Marketing: Integrated E-Commerce Innovation Category. Each campaign was detailed across a multitude of measurables, including actual business results (40% of the entry mark), social impact, as well as direct ROI and ROAS figures.

The Futurelife D2C go-to-market campaign has been an important focus for TDMC for the past 15 months. We have worked with fellow Durban business Futurelife for 2.5 years, and when MD Mark Bunn tasked us with launching an online store for them in just 60 days, we dived in, says TDMCs strategic business director, Nicola Ashe. We knew that there would be challenges in delivering ROAS against products with relatively low basket value in the FMCG category, but we have always believed in the brand implicitly and were excited to take on the challenge of building a go-to-market strategy for Futurelife.

The results were impressive. In the first 3 months, when it was expected the site might deliver 10 sales a day, TDMC achieved numbers that required Futurelife to completely rethink their fulfilment strategy, moving picking, packing and shipping from head office to a standalone facility. What we thought might have been a 3-month novelty for customers proved to be just the start of an incredible 12-month journey for Futurelife, which continues to see their e-commerce store regularly in their Top 10 volume drivers, says Ashe.

Managing director Cheryl Ingram says they leveraged an existing customer acquisition strategy that had been implemented six months prior to launch, alongside a robust digital marketing strategy that included paid media, tactical influencer collaborations and a clearly defined email and SMS marketing strategy that all worked collectively to fine tune every aspect of the customer journey. This is what we do best when we have a blank canvas to work with and when a client trusts our knowledge and expertise enough to give us the space to do our best work, says Cheryl.

Futurelife MD Mark Bunn, who was at the gala awards dinner with the TDMC team, is equally thrilled with the recognition the award brings. This award is testimony to our continued journey of bringing our consumers closer to our brand to live healthier and happier lives in the smartest way possible. I am so proud of our internal team and our partner agency team who have worked relentlessly to make our D2C channel the phenomenal success that it is and still continues to be, he says.

Durban-based retail marketing specialist TDMC was founded by director Cheryl Ingram in 2013 and in just a few years has flown to the top of the pile of expert agencies operating in the paid media realm. TDMC is one of only four accredited Shopify Experts in South Africa and is also a Google Business Partner and a Meta Business Partner. It prides itself on being a company that leads with innovation.

To win a Smarties Award is an outward sign of marketing expertise, mastery of the medium, and the ability to drive results. Smarties Award winners have demonstrated power over the medium, effectively weaving together a great idea, compelling creative and air-tight execution, to deliver significant business impact.

We are so thrilled to have received the award and recognition for this campaign and are grateful for the opportunity to have been pitted against some of the countrys best agencies. Awards like this keep us motivated and determined to continue to do our very best in achieving tangible results for our clients, says Ingram.
Shoprite Group has launched its new clothing brand Uniq, and opened the doors to its first standalone fashion store in Cape Town's Canal Walk Shopping Centre. Another Uniq eight stores are scheduled to open in the next month.

Source: Supplied

According to South Africa's largest supermarket group, the Uniq brand caters to the whole family and is focused on simplicity, comfort, superior fabrics and value. The clothing range consists of premium basics in a variety of colours and fabrics that are easy to mix and match. "Every item of clothing is thoughtfully designed and made to last, pairing durable fabrics with stylish and versatile designs," Shoprite said.

It added that Uniq has sourced materials specifically engineered for comfort and convenience, and it is the first local clothing retailer to introduce Supima cotton to the mass market. With longer fibres than regular cotton, this superior quality cotton is said to be stronger, softer and absorbs colour better, keeping clothing lustrous after many washes.

Source: Supplied

The premium quality launch range includes an extensive collection of t-shirts (priced from R149) including a standard, slim and oversized fit, and women's wear in luxurious fabrics, such as modal-blend leggings which contain 10% elastane (R199 each), brushed fleece joggers (R299 each), and cosy knits and sleepwear.

There's also modern menswear such as fleecetech jackets, hoodies and bottoms, including corduroy pants and shirt jackets, while kiddies basics (ages 3  13) feature muted tones which are mirrored on the adult lines so parents can have fun twinning with their little ones. Shoppers will also find responsibly sourced down-filled puffer jackets (from R799), and underwear for men and women.

Source: Supplied

Self-service checkout

Uniq is the first clothing retailer in South Africa to offer self-service checkout. Smart tags and advanced radio-frequency identification (RFID) enable customers to easily scan and pay for items.

Customers will be assisted on the sales floor by trained employees, with on average nine new jobs created with the opening of every Uniq store.

Eight more standalone stores will be opened at the following locations over the next month: Ballito Junction Mall (KwaZulu-Natal), Secunda Mall (Mpumalanga), Table Bay Mall (Western Cape), Mall@Reds Shopping Centre (Gauteng), The Grove Mall (Gauteng), Galleria Mall (KwaZulu-Natal), Chartwell Corner (Gauteng) and Menlyn Park (Gauteng).
The growth of application programming interfaces (APIs) continues unabated. However, as new regulations like PSD3 gather momentum, the call for API standardisation could be the next catalyst for an innovation leapfrog. And South African businesses who place designing for developers at the heart of their API projects are the ones most likely to reap the rewards.

Loren Rose

APIs have been around for decades, and while it was mostly banks and fintechs that leaned into the productisation of APIs, the API first approach is now adopted by companies across all sectors. APIs remain an effective way for two or more programmes to communicate with one another, and the simplest and most effective way for companies to connect and share valuable data. However, too much emphasis has been placed on designing exclusively for customer experience rather than on developer experience and, until we see more standardisation, we are cutting ourselves off from innovation gains, explains Loren Rose, COO at Global Kinetic.

Rose is not alone in calling for more effective standardisation when it comes to how APIs are published.

In June 2022, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its response to the proposed updated regulations of the Payment Services Directive (PSD2).

In the draft PSD3 comments were several references to the difficulties created by API fragmentation. The EBA believes that API standardisation will help reduce the barriers to entry for FinTechs wanting to access financial account data held by banks and similar institutions.

Open banking and the related use of APIs has in many ways been the litmus test for how to fast-track innovation in an industry. As the banking industry discusses improvements to their regulations it would be foolish for other industries, and particularly the development community, to ignore the learnings of the sector. It has taken European financial institutions a good deal of time to overcome their hesitancy to share information, but now even some of the most traditional banks host developer portals to compliment their open APIs. Building on the success of what has already been achieved makes sense for all sectors and the call for increased standardisation is the logical next move, says Rose.

System- and ecosystem-wide standardisation and internal consistency make a huge difference in efficiency, security, and interoperability.

 Loren Rose

Shift in API design needed before real benefits are seen

Rose is quick to point out that its not just about making APIs available. She says one of the challenges facing the tech industry at the moment is that product owners have put customer experience first rather than focussing on making things as simple as possible for developers  the developer experience (DX).

Based on industry sentiment, its clear that developer frustration is also growing, with 52% of respondents to SmartBears latest survey saying standardisation was the most important technology challenge in the API space (40% cited security and 36% said it was scalability).

The problem right now is that developers have to do a lot of work to unravel the APIs before integration can begin. The lack of standardisation means every API is different and has to be analysed before it can fulfil its function. Our industry has seen how standardisation is driving revenue growth and spurring innovation through the use of anything-as-a-service (XaaS) and other emerging delivery models. Applying the same logic to APIs just makes sense, Rose says.

The importance of APIs when it comes to value creation was already recognised by Gartner in 2016.

The API economy is an enabler for turning a business or organisation into a platform, said Kristin R. Moyer, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. Platforms multiply value creation because they enable business ecosystems inside and outside of the enterprise to consummate matches among users and facilitate the creation and/or exchange of goods, services and social currency so that all participants are able to capture value.

Rose says an inconsistent approach can significantly impact the realisation of meaningful value with too few API portfolios demonstrating a consistent approach to naming, error messages, and code patterns.

System- and ecosystem-wide standardisation and internal consistency make a huge difference in efficiency, security, and interoperability. They offer an improved onboarding process and save time in future development. Consistency also goes a long way to ensuring backward compatibility for updates. PSD2 has shown us what is possible if we make collaboration easier. Further standardisation of APIs across all sectors will help us realise rapid innovation which is exactly what the global economy needs right now, Rose says.

About Global Kinetic

Global Kinetic is a software business with extensive experience and expertise in delivering enterprise grade software engineering and digital transformation projects. Trusted across multiple global industries, and with deep expertise in banking and fintech, Global Kinetic has pioneered innovative solutions to complex enterprise projects for almost 20 years. A matured and perfected managed team approach guarantees high quality and predictability, augmented by unique strategic technology consulting services and software delivery accelerators. With just over 120 permanent employees in Cape Town, Palo Alto, and Cypress and in other interesting remote places around the world, Global Kinetic is a proponent of agile, cloud, mobile and enterprise software engineering.




This week, the United States (US) Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia to discuss, among other things, increasing investment between the US and African countries, the economic empowerment of women, girls and young businesspeople, digital inclusion and food security. On her arrival in Ghana earlier this week, Vice President Harris noted that she was "very excited about the impact of the future of Africa on the rest of the world".

US Vice President Kamala Harris meets with women entrepreneurs during her week-long trip to Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, in Accra, Ghana 29 March 2023. Reuters/Francis Kokoroko

For some time, the US and countries in Africa have been focused on building strong partnerships that boost sustainability, empower local communities with a focus on opportunities for women and youth, and provide benefits for both African and US citizens. In August 2022, a fact sheet issued by the US White House noted that sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) played

a critical role in advancing global priorities to the benefit of Africans and Americans. It has one of the worlds fastest growing populations, largest free trade areas, most diverse ecosystems, and one of the largest regional voting groups in the United Nations. It is impossible to meet todays defining challenges without African contributions and leadership.

The White House further noted that its Africa strategy articulated the new US vision for a 21st century US-African Partnership and the "tremendous, positive opportunities that exist to advance shared interests alongside our African partners."

To further cement this partnership between the US and African countries, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the US Trade Representative and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat at the US-Africa Leaders' Summit (Summit) in December 2022. The MoU outlined expanded engagement and the promotion of equitable, sustainable and inclusive trade, the boosting of competitiveness and attracting investment to the continent. It was also announced that the US intended to invest $55bn in Africa over the next three years, and that $15bn would be deployed in "two-way trade and investment commitments, deals, and partnerships that advance key priorities, including sustainable energy, health systems, agribusiness, digital connectivity, infrastructure, and finance."

US Prosper Africa initiative

Under the Biden Administration, US engagement with African countries has focused on strengthening these trade and investment relationships in a strategic, cooperative and reciprocal way, under the vision of shared prosperity between Africa and the US. In July 2021, the Biden Administration announced that it would renew the US Prosper Africa initiative, started in 2019, with a focus on increasing reciprocal trade and investment between the US and African countries.

At the time, the US said that the initiative would focus on sectors such as infrastructure, energy and climate solutions, healthcare and technology. Seventeen US government agencies working as part of this initiative were given a mandate to, among other things, empower African businesses, offer deal support and connect investors from the US with those in Africa. At the renewed Prosper Africa launch in 2021, it was noted the intention was to focus on projects that supported women, and small and medium enterprises in Africa. At the December 2022 Summit, Prosper Africa announced plans to boost African exports to the United States by $1bn through investments and partnerships, and to mobilise an additional $1bn in US investment in Africa.

Trade and investment

In December 2022, the Biden Administration also noted that since 2021, the US Government has assisted in closing more than 800 two-way trade and investment deals worth around $18bn across 47 African countries. In addition the value of private investment deals from the US into Africa since 2021 was $8.6bn. According to the United States Census Bureau, the value of goods exported by the US into Africa in 2022 totalled $30.7bn in 2022. The US imported goods worth $41.9bn from African countries in 2022. This was an increase from 2021, which saw $26.7bn worth of goods exported from the US into Africa and goods valued at $37.6bn imported from Africa into the US.

The US has often expressed its support for AfCFTA, the Africa-wide free trade zone, stating that it wants to see the growth of Africa's economic power in the world. All future trade agreements signed between the US and African countries are likely to align with AfCFTAs trade stipulations and, considering the Biden Administration's environmental stance, new agreements will likely also include climate change provisions and tariffs on high-carbon imports.

The numerous reciprocal US-Africa initiatives and partnerships recently announced as part of the US's renewed, sustainable and reciprocal approach to Africa, are leading to a plethora of opportunities for both regions. This strong partnership will assist in ensuring that Africa's future impact will indeed shape the world.
Chun Woo-won observes a moment of silence for the victims of the Gwangju Uprising during his meeting with victims' families in Gwangju. March 31. Yonhap



A grandson of late former President Chun Doo-hwan on Friday apologized for the bloody crackdown in 1980 that his grandfather carried out to quell a pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju.



"My grandfather, Chun Doo-hwan, is a sinner who committed a huge crime," Chun Woo-won told reporters following a meeting with the victims and their family members in Gwangju, about 270 kilometers south of Seoul.



Chun, 27, has attracted widespread media attention after making a series of public accusations about irregularities and slush funds involving his family members on social media.



"Not only my family but I too am an ugly sinner," the younger Chun said, expressing his gratitude for the opportunity to apologize to Gwangju citizens who, he said, have welcomed him warmly.






Oscar Pistorius, the former Paralympic champion jailed in 2016 for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, will ask a parole board on Friday to release him early from prison, lawyers and prison officials said.

FILE PHOTO: Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius leaves court after appearing for the 2013 killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, 14 June 2016. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko/Files

Once the darling of the Paralympic movement for pushing for greater recognition and acceptance of disabled athletes, South African Pistorius shot dead Steenkamp, a model and law student, in his bathroom on Valentine's Day in 2013.

The athlete, known as "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, went from public hero to convicted murderer in a trial that drew worldwide interest.

Pistorius has become eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence. Steenkamp's family oppose his bid and will give verbal and written statements at the hearing on the impact the murder had on them, their lawyer Tania Koen told Reuters.

Arriving at Atteridgeville prison near the capital Pretoria on Friday morning, Reeva's mother June Steenkamp said she was feeling nervous.

"It's going to be very hard to be in the same room as him," she told reporters from her car. "I don't believe his story."

A prison spokesperson confirmed the closed-door parole board meeting was under way.

Gun enthusiast Pistorius told his trial he had believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her several times through the bathroom door with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the human body.

He was jailed in 2016, initially for a six-year term, but had that sentence increased to 13 years after an appeal by prosecutors who argued the initial sentence was too lenient.

Pistorius, who had both legs amputated as a baby, reached the peak of his fame in 2012 when he became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics, reaching the 400m semi-finals in London.

At a trial that captured worldwide attention nine years ago, the athlete shuffled through the court without his prosthetics to show how vulnerable he was faced with the threat of an intruder.

He broke down crying as he told the court that he had been trying to protect Steenkamp when he fired the shots. The prosecutor at the time accused him of using emotional breakdowns to avoid questioning.

He met Steenkamp's father Barry last year when participating in a process known as victim-offender dialogue - part of South Africa's restorative justice programme that brings parties affected by a crime together in a bid to achieve closure.

The independent parole board must determine, among other issues, whether Pistorius is at risk of committing similar crimes in the future, prison spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said.

It will also consider his disciplinary record, training programmes in prison and his physical and mental state, prison officials said.

Pistorius' lawyer, Julian Knight, told Reuters he was not in a "position to comment until such time as the Parole Board has made a decision".
Rolling power cuts, vandalism and battery theft have forced MTN Group's South African arm to invest R1.5bn ($84m) to ensure its mobile network operates effectively.

A MTN Group server is seen in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 30 March 2023. Reuters/Shafiek Tassiem

State electricity utility Eskom is implementing the worst rolling blackouts on record as its ageing coal plants fail, leaving households and businesses in Africa's most advanced economy in the dark for up to 10 hours a day.

The telecom industry in particular is having to crank up diesel generators to power its vast towers, roll out additional batteries and increase security to protect them from theft and vandalism, costs that are putting pressure on their margins.

Charles Molapisi, chief executive of MTN South Africa said its nationwide "network resilience" programme will help enhance network availability and stability over the long term.

"The investment will see us installing solar power, batteries and generators, and enhancing security features at base stations to ensure improved network availability during load shedding when many instances of theft and vandalism occur," he said.

MTN said it has upgraded 3,253 sites with new batteries and aims to complete this by May, which should significantly improve network availability in the second half of the year.

Data shows that during the longer consecutive hours of power cuts last year, vandalism and battery or generator theft at base stations spiked, MTN said, resulting in tower companies recording a 250% increase in the loss of generators.

More than 1,000 vandalism incidents have been recorded since January 2022 in the Eastern Cape alone, it added.

To protect these sites, MTN and London-based IHS Tower, MTN's tower site partner, are looking at solutions such as concrete blocks to secure batteries, concrete bunkers and high-security cabinets.

At one of the damaged base stations, technicians showed reporters an almost empty container, stripped of cables, air conditioning and radio transmission processors. The only thing that remained were concrete-covered batteries.
Opposition MPs last week slammed Kenneth Leonard Jacobs, parliament's health committee chair, who refused to allow state legal advisers more time to discuss some of the clauses in the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, which have been challenged as unconstitutional.

The MPs stormed out of the Portfolio Committee on Health's meeting, hosted on 22 March 2023.

The virtual meeting was convened to discuss overarching concerns surrounding the bill, which involved its constitutionality.

At the meeting, the state legal advisers highlighted instances where peoples rights to access healthcare are under threat.

While deputy chief state law adviser, Ayesha Johaar, said she was satisfied that the bill's provisions did not infringe any of the fundamental rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights; parliaments legal adviser, Sueanne Isaac, gave a detailed breakdown of the ways in which several sections in the bill potentially presented a constitutional challenge.

She drove attention to the fact that Section 4(2) of the Bill reports that asylum seekers and undocumented foreigners are excluded from healthcare service coverage.

The treatment of asylum seekers is concerning given the fact that they are a vulnerable group which enjoys special status under international law.

"This will amount to a retrogressive measure that will mean that the state will be impairing existing rights, which cannot be done without compelling justification for imposing these measures," Isaac said.

"The courts have held that a person cannot be deprived of existing access without it being justified in terms of section 36 of the Constitution. The Department of Health (DoH) has not provided any justification for why asylum seekers will no longer be entitled to the healthcare access they currently enjoy."

Potential constitutional traps

Isaac drew attention to other clauses in the bill that could hold potential constitutional traps, namely:

Section 3(5), which demonstrates the vague composition of the bill. This section leaves it to the discretion of the NHI Fund to decide on a case-by-case basis what "healthcare services for the purpose of the bill" means.

Sections 12 and 13 of the bill, which vests too much power in the minister of health, as these were powers exclusively exercised by the president.

Section 3(5), which replaces competitive bargaining between healthcare providers with a system of price regulation by the fund through blanket exemptions against the Competition Act in the bill, reducing the number of stakeholders to whom the rules of the Competition Act apply.



Section 33, which restricts the function of medical aid schemes to being simply a provider of complementary cover.

The bill does not provide much detail on how medical aid schemes will operate once the NHI Bill is enacted.

Clause 33 of the bill provides for the role of medical schemes. The bill does not provide much detail on how medical aid schemes will operate once the NHI Bill is enacted.

"The role of medical schemes will be fundamentally altered once NHI is implemented. Medical schemes in future will offer only complementary cover for services not reimbursed by the fund. This violates access to healthcare," Isaac said.

"The Constitution requires the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures within its available resources to achieve the progressive realisation of rights, including in respect of access to healthcare. If medical scheme users suffer a reduction in access to healthcare services as a result of the full implementation of the NHI, this will give rise to a Constitutional challenge based on the violation of section 27(1) of the Constitution, which is a right to access healthcare."

International obligations

But Johaar drove home the countrys international obligation to implement the NHI.

"International law also finds application in respect of the bill. The Republic, as a state party to a number of international legal instruments, is bound by the obligations that it took upon itself," Johaar said. "The binding nature of these international agreements, in accordance with section 231(2) of the Constitution, means that the country has a duty to comply with these provisions and to domesticate these obligations into our law.

"As a state party to various international instruments, the country is implementing a legislative measure by introducing the NHI Bill in Parliament to give effect to its international obligation of providing healthcare services, and in furtherance of section 27 of the Constitution."

Johaar later added: "The provisions of the bill are rationally connected to the objective of providing sustainable and affordable universal access to quality healthcare services for all in the country. The combined Constitutional obligations of section 27 of the Constitution and the binding international obligations which must be given effect to, are key to motivating the rationality of the bill."

Addressing the concerns of asylum seekers, Johaar said the NHI Bill limits the right of access to healthcare for an asylum seeker and undocumented foreigners.

"In terms of clause 4(2) of the bill, these categories of persons are entitled only to emergency medical services and services for notifiable conditions of public health concern. The limitation of the rights of foreign individuals to the extent provided for in the bill, based on references made to available resources in section 27(2) of the Constitution, meets the requirements of the limitation test provided for in section 36, and is constitutionally sound," she said.

The Portfolio Committee on Health met again on Wednesday, 29 March, to further debate the National Health Insurance Bill. Access to the committee meeting report and those for select committees was restricted. The status on the Parliamentary Monitoring Group's website states: "National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill: opposition postponement request to seek additional legal opinion".
Lesotho legislators are debating a motion that proposes reclaiming large parts of South African land that Dutch settlers seized from the small mountain kingdom in a series of territorial wars in the 19th century.

Source: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Even if the motion passes, its economically and militarily more powerful neighbour South Africa - which completely envelops Lesotho - is unlikely to cede the land.

To do so would violate an agreement between African countries in the 1960s to respect the borders laid down by colonialists during centuries of exploitation of the continent.

What does the motion propose?

It suggests that Lesotho should reclaim all of Free State province, which at 130,000 square kilometres is more than four times the size of the kingdom, as well parts of four other provinces bordering the landlocked state.

Large parts of the population in these areas are from the same Basotho nation which also makes up Lesotho's 2 million-strong population. In fact, there are around twice as many Basotho in South Africa as in Lesotho.

Who is proposing it and why?

The motion was brought by Tsepo Lipholo, a minor opposition leader who occupies the opposition Basotho Convenient Movements only seat in the 120-seat parliament.

"History has a record of what was taken from our people and that people were killed in the process. It is time to correct that," he told parliament on Wednesday.

"It's time for what is ours to be returned to us".

Historically, the seizure of Basotho land by Dutch settlers - whose descendents, Afrikaners, now own most of the land in Free State - is well-attested.

Lesotho became a British protectorate in 1868, after the then king Moshoeshoe I appealed to British imperial authorities to prevent any more land being seized. The borders of current-day Lesotho were established by a treaty signed between Britain and the Dutch settlers the following year, and it was later annexed and then run by Britain until independence in 1966.

Lipholo promised to reclaim these lost territories in his election campaign last year last year.

He bases his case on a 1962 United Nations resolution that recognised the right to self-determination and independence for the people of Basotholand.

Source: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Could it work?

Unlikely. The motion to return the land is not especially popular amongst the inhabitants of Lesotho, who are more concerned with economic problems like widespread poverty, unemployment and crime.

Even though the issue emerges periodically as a talking point, it doesn't appear to have the majority support in parliament necessary to become a law.

In the 1964 Cairo Declaration by the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union), African leaders agreed that their newly independent countries will recognise the borders inherited from colonial powers to avoid stirring future conflicts - so South Africa has a strong case to reject any claim from its neighbour.

Eswatini's King Mswati III has in the past similarly claimed that big parcels of neighbouring South African land were historically part of his kingdom and should be returned, but has never realised them.
US journalist Evan Gershkovich has been arrested in Russia on charges of spying.

Russia says The Wallstreet Journal reporter was caught red-handed while working in Yekaterinburg.

The US government has condemned the arrest, while The Wallstreet Journal denies the charges.

The publication said Gershkovich had lost of contact with his editors while working in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday afternoon.

Russia's FSB security service confirmed that a journalist had been detained and alleged that he was working on US instructions by collecting top secret information on Russia.

Espionage in Russia carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.
The Farmer-Citizen Movement, founded in 2019, is a coalition of farmers and working-class Dutch united in opposition to the insane climate-change agenda that would destroy their industry.

They oppose onerous and unethical restrictions of the variety that crashed Sri Lankas economy last year, emissions limits, and other top-down pressures on independent farmers exerted by the multinational corporate state.

Sri Lanka today, the West tomorrow? I asked rhetorically back then.

On paper, being a brand new party and lacking any institutional support from the power structure, one would assume BBBs electoral prospects would be dim.

Not so fast, black-pilled fatalist doomer!

Skepticism of democracy is warranted due to the lack of influence over elite decision-making and elite domination of the political process. But the recent victory of the Dutch Farmer-Citizen Movement is evidence that electioneering can still produce positive results.

Via ABC News:

A new powerhouse of Dutch right-wing populism took political center stage Thursday after winning its first provincial elections, a victory that was seen as a resounding rebuke to Prime Minister Mark Ruttes ruling four-party coalition.

The Farmer-Citizen Movement parties (acronymized as BBB in Dutch) won 15 out of 75 seats in the upper house of the parliament, equaling the elected bloc of the climate change agenda-pushing Green and Labor parties.

ABC News, in the third paragraph of its write-up on the historic election, launches immediately into a dishonest framing of the win, claiming that the ascendance of the Farmer-Citizen Movement will compound problems for Rutte in his attempts to drastically slash pollution from the countrys agriculture, industry and transport sectors to protect vulnerable natural habitats.

What they mean is that the Farmer-Citizen Movements representatives in parliament will theoretically have some leverage to block the disastrous mandated reductions in fertilizer use for the sake of fighting climate change  of the same sort that destroyed Sri Lankas economy a year ago, which I have previously chronicled elsewhere.

Sri Lankas heavily agrarian economy imploded virtually overnight under the weight of draconian fertilizer bans while the president was driven from office and replaced with Ranil Wickremesinghe, a sitting WEF member. QR codes distributed by the government were immediately instituted to purchase fuel.

A strikingly similar social control agenda targeting independent farmers has been afoot in the Netherlands for several years now, as it has across the world.

Party leader Caroline van der Plas, in her victory speech, drew the battle lines:

We are all normal people and all the people who voted for us are normal citizens, Van der Plas said in a victory speech. Normally, if people no longer trust the government, they stay home. Today they showed they dont want to stay at home  they want their voices to be heard.'

By no means, for all the optimism it might lend to the anti-WEF movement worldwide, is this single, isolated, modest victory by a populist party in one country a lasting win. While also working outside of electoral politics, these results will need to be duplicated across the globe to truly defeat the coordinated agenda of the technocrats.

What befalls Sri Lanka and the Netherlands has global implications, as the anti-farmer, anti-freedom social control agenda is multinational. The goal is to slowly erode national sovereignty until the concept of the nation-state can be altogether abandoned in favor of a new, multinational corporate state.

Accordingly, hopefully, the Farmer-Citizen Movement can be exported and replicated with unique local flavors until it blooms into a decentralized yet cooperative global brotherhood united in opposition to the World Economic Forum and its various other manifestations in the World Bank, UN, etc.

Cheers to the Farmer-Citizen Movement for at least one step to turning idealism into reality.

Ben Bartee is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs.

Join Armageddon Prose via Substack or Locals if you are inclined to support independent journalism free of corporate slant. Also, follow Armageddon Prose at Gab and Twitter for the latest content.

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Former dictator Chun Doo-hwan's grandson Woo-won, right, wipes dust off the tombstone of an anonymous martyr of the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju, Friday. Yonhap



By Lee Hae-rin



Former dictator Chun Doo-hwan's grandson Woo-won became the first in his family to kneel down and apologize to the people who suffered during the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement, Friday. Some of the bereaved families accepted the apology from the strongman's descendant.



Woo-won met with the bereaved families and surviving victims of his grandfather's deadly suppression of the pro-democracy movement at the May 18 Memorial Culture Center in the southern city of Gwangju. He called his grandfather a "criminal" who "stamped on heroes who fought against the military dictatorship with military boots, instead of promoting the development of democracy."



The younger Chun, 27, admitted to receiving inaccurate and distorted history education from his family in his childhood.









"Out of fear of suffering consequential damage, my family and I had looked away from the hideous crime we had committed," he admitted. He explained that as a child, he was taught that the democratic uprising had been a riot, and that his grandfather and family members were heroes and victims.



He appreciated the bereaved families' warmhearted welcoming gestures towards the "criminal" that he is and vowed to "repent and express regrets (for his) family's wrongdoings for the rest of (his) life."





Former dictator Chun Doo-hwan's grandson Woo-won makes a deep bow of apology in lieu of his grandfather to the bereaved families of those who were killed in the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement, at the May 18 Memorial Culture Center in Gwangju, Friday. Yonhap
Finland will become the 31st member of Nato after Turkeys parliament voted to approve its application.

Turkey had delayed Finlands bid to join the Wests defensive alliance for months - complaining the Nordic nation was supporting "terrorists".

Sweden, which applied to join Nato at the same time last year, is still being blocked by Ankara over similar complaints.

Any Nato expansion needs the support of all its members.

Finland will now be formally admitted into Nato at its next summit, taking place in July in Lithuania.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave his approval to Finlands bid earlier in March, praising the countrys "authentic and concrete steps" on Turkish security.

But his ongoing hostility to Sweden was clear - as he again accused the country of embracing Kurdish militants and allowing them to demonstrate on the streets of Stockholm.
Syrias state news agency SANA reported that Syrian air defenses intercepted hostile targets in the airspace of Damascus. There was no mention of any casualties or damage caused by the strikes.

Less than 24 hours earlier, SANA reported that two Syrian soldiers were wounded in Israeli strikes on the Syrian capital. Israeli officials havent commented on either strike, as Israeli typically does not take credit for individual airstrikes in Syria.

The intensified Israeli airstrikes in Syria come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a political crisis at home. After massive protests and dissent within the Israeli government, Netanyahu delayed his controversial judicial overhaul, but unrest in the country continues.

Earlier this month, Israeli airstrikes targeted the airport in the Syrian city of Aleppo, which was devastated by the massive earthquake that hit northwest Syria and Turkey on February 6. The strikes temporarily shut down the airport, cutting off a vital channel for earthquake aid.

Israel claims its operations in Syria target Iran and Iranian weapons shipments, but the airstrikes often kill Syrians and damage civilian infrastructure.
A news report from Thai news outlet Bright TV documents a Korean YouTuber criticized for filming Thai women without their consent and sexually harassing them. Yonhap



By Lee Hyo-jin



The Korean Embassy in Thailand has recently highlighted and warned Korean YouTubers against uploading inappropriate content while traveling in the Southeast Asian country, specifically any content that includes the sexual harassment of local women.



Several Thai news outlets, including Bright TV and Amarin TV, reported earlier this month about a male Korean YouTuber who was accused of filming Thai women in the streets without their consent and sexually harassing them. This prompted the embassy's warning.



A Thai woman interviewed by local media said she felt "scared and uncomfortable" when the man, holding his camera, approached and asked her out for a drink. She rejected him multiple times, but the YouTuber did not leave and continued to film her without permission. The woman also said when she visited his channel, there were dozens of videos of him harassing other Thai women.



The videos also featured vulgar and obscene content in local hostess bars and the sexual objectification of Thai women including a hotel staffer.



As of Friday, the YouTuber's videos have been taken down but there are still other male Korean YouTubers with similar content on their channels.



Following criticism from Thai residents, the Korean Embassy in Bangkok has issued a warning to its citizens to refrain from such behavior, which violates local law.



"Asking random people out for drinks in the streets or visiting local hostess bars for video content may be offensive to Thai people. Also, filming people without consent may be punished on charges of breach of personal information and privacy," a statement issued by the embassy said, Wednesday. "We ask our citizens who visit or live here to be cautious not to cause any harm to the country's dignity."



Online users here are condemning the YouTuber for "disgracing the nation."



"The Thai police should arrest him immediately. He is an ugly Korean," read a comment on Naver's news section.



Another commenter wrote, "I've seen other YouTubers doing similar things in Southeast Asian countries. It's a disgrace. The government should revoke their citizenship."


Chun Woo-won touches the tombstone of Moon Jae-hak, one of the people who died in the Gwangju Uprising, at the May 18 National Cemetery in Gwangju, March 31. Behind him is Moon's bereaved mother. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo





New Korea Hana Foundation President Cho Min-ho
A 57 million (53 million) funding package has been allocated to charities and community groups in Northern Ireland facing a financial crisis due to a loss of European money.

Eighteen projects covering around 100 organisations across the region will receive backing through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) with a focus on helping support people into work.

The UK government announcement came on the day financial support provided by the European Social Fund (ESF) comes to an end as a consequence of Brexit.

Some charities in Northern Ireland had warned they would have to cut staff numbers and support programmes if funding was not replaced.

The successful projects were selected after an open competition among organisations in Northern Ireland, while other groups will have been left disappointed.

There has been criticism from the community sector that the announcement was not made earlier.

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Representatives of 1,000 community groups staged a demonstration in Belfast earlier this month to highlight the cash crisis.

Making the announcement, levelling up Minister Dehenna Davison said the British government was increasing the pot originally earmarked for economic inactivity support in Northern Ireland by 15 million.

We are making the most of opportunities outside the European Union to deliver for people in Northern Ireland, she said.

Dehenna Davison (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

It is fantastic that organisations have come together in new partnerships to deliver creative solutions to economic inactivity through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

In recognition of the huge impact charities, businesses and colleges are having on the ground, Im delighted to announce that we are boosting the original funding pot for this competition by an additional 15 million to help them support even more people into fulfilling jobs.

This is an important milestone in the investment we are making to level up Northern Ireland and the whole of the UK.

The ESF funding had been worth around 40 million. This money was 35 per cent match-funded from Stormont, raising the sum to 54 million.

However, the Stormont executive is not operating, and civil servants are limited in the spending decisions they can take.

The UK government announced plans for a 42 million replacement funding package in December  a sum that has now risen to 57 million.

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The UK government said the funding would benefit around 100 organisations and support more than 25,000 economically inactive people in Northern Ireland.

The grants allocated on Friday focusing on economic inactivity represent 45 per cent of a total of 127 million the British government has committed to spend in Northern Ireland through the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris welcomed the announcement, saying: The 57 million funding will support the vital work of community and voluntary organisations, enabling them to support people in Northern Ireland into secure and sustainable employment.

Through its People and Skills strand, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will invest in skills training and interventions to support economically inactive people in Northern Ireland.

This is key to boosting productivity and harnessing Northern Irelands growth potential.
A garda interview with a young man jailed for murdering a homeless man with a disability should not have been allowed into evidence because the conditions were unfair, the Court of Appeal (CoA) has been told.

Lawyers for Philip Dunbar (22) told the appeal court he made admissions as a "child under pressure" and said they should have been allowed to argue his responsibility for killing 23-year-old Adam 'Floater' Muldoon was diminished due a "mental disorder" caused by chronic drug abuse.

Counsel added that the gathering of CCTV footage used in the trial breached privacy rights.

Dunbar was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Mr Muldoon at Butler Park, Jobstown Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24, on June 22nd or 23rd, 2018. Dunbar was 17-years-old when he stabbed Mr Muldoon 183 times in an unprovoked attack with a fold-up knife.

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The trial heard that after the murder, Dunbar went to a friend's house where he boasted that he had "slaughtered Floater" and "put him out of his misery" as he "begged for his life".

He was found guilty of murder by a unanimous jury verdict at the Central Criminal Court before Mr Justice Paul McDermott.

At the CoA on Friday, Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC, for Dunbar, said his client made an admission to gardai of having "flashback" memories of stabbing Mr Muldoon because he was a "child under pressure" in the interview.

Mr O Lideadha said Dunbar went voluntarily to Tallaght Garda station with his grandmother and a lawyer after the murder and told gardai he "knew" he had killed Mr Muldoon but had no memory of it.

Mr O Lideadha said his client was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours and expressed a desire to gardai to end the interview session.

Counsel said he was not making "a case for banging tables", but he was "making a case for a child, who clearly had issues, and who clearly wanted it to be over".

Flashbacks

Gardai questioned Dunbar about his memory of the night but had been told for the majority of the interview by Dunbar that he had no memory due to "blacking out" and that he only had "flashbacks" of the night.

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When Dunbar told the interviewing garda that he wanted the session to end, the Garda station's "member in charge" was contacted and said the interview should be "wrapped up". However, the interviewing guard continued to ask about his client's flashbacks, Mr O Lideadha said.

In the final stages of the interview, after granting gardai a final "five minutes", Dunbar told gardai that his flashbacks were of stabbing Mr Muldoon.

Mr Justice George Birmingham said that "wrapping something up" could be more of an "invitation to marshal your closing arguments" and that it did not necessarily mean to finish "mid-sentence".

Dunbar's solicitor, who was present in the interview room, intervened over the length of the session and said Dunbar was a young person who had not eaten in a room that was "very hot", Mr O Lideadha said.

Mr Justice John Edwards said Dunbar exhibited "impatience, but that is way short of his will being overborne or oppressed".

"Even if a child is impatient, he is not entitled for it to be over. He might be disappointed it hasn't ended, but it's not unfair and it's not illegal. Gardai have a job to do, too," the judge said.

Mr Justice Edwards asked Mr O Lideadha, "Are you saying he would not have made the admission but for the fact that it went on so long?", to which counsel replied yes.

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"Then you are saying it was oppression," Mr Justice Edwards said.

"It's unfairness, and that can be a distinct ground. You don't have to have oppression," Mr O Lideadha said, adding that special considerations had to be applied to child interviews regarding "dignity, vulnerability and maturity".

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy asked Mr O Lideadha if he thought his client was "worn down by the process".

"Exactly, yes," counsel said, submitting that his client believed he "had to say he had flashbacks to get out of this", which amounted to an "unacceptable unfairness".

However, Mr Justice Birmingham said "it was not a gotcha moment".

"He had been saying the flashbacks were not of the stabbing and then said the flashbacks were of the stabbing. That's what they wanted and that's what they got," Mr O Lideadha argued.

Mental disorder

Counsel for the State, Anne Marie Lawlor SC, said much of the appellant's case was that expert medical evidence is not needed to be put before the jury to prove a mental disorder substantial enough to establish diminished responsibility on Dunbar's part.

Counsel said she disagreed with the mental disorder submission and added that expert medical evidence had been put before the jury by the defence at trial, when consultant psychiatrist Dr Brenda Wright said that, in her opinion, Dunbar did not have a mental disorder at the time of the murder.

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Ms Lawlor said the legislation on establishing grounds for diminished responsibility leading to a manslaughter verdict was "interlinked and dependent" on legislation for a defence based on grounds of insanity which specifically requires a consultant psychologist's expert opinion.

Ms Lawlor said the admissibility of a Garda memo of the interview in question related to only "four or five" minutes of the two-and-a-half hour interview.

Counsel said the interview was conducted in a "very careful and responsible" manner, in the company of Dunbar's solicitor and his grandmother.

Ireland Mother and two children died by unlawful killing,... Read More

Ms Lawlor added the interview was "wrapped up" minutes after the member in charge said to do so and that neither Dunbar's solicitor nor grandmother were of the view that it should be immediately "guillotined".

She said Dunbar was "very well capable of expressing himself in a voluntary fashion" and that to suggest the appellant's mental capacity was in a state of oppression was "simply not borne out".

Regarding CCTV footage showing Dunbar moving to and from the park on the night and his movements the next day, Ms Lawlor said there was consent from homeowners and that data protection had been complied with by gardai who lawfully harvested the footage.

Mr Justice Birmingham said the court would reserve its judgement in the matter.
A verdict of death due to misadventure has been recorded at the inquests into the deaths of a brother and sister who drowned when swimming together in Ballybunion, Co Kerry last August.

The cause of the deaths of both people at the Mens Beach, Ballybunion on August 4th, 2022, of 51-year-old Desmond Byrne, of Carrigeen More, Le Carrow, Roscommon and his 62-year-old sister, Murial Ericsson, of Malmo, Sweden was "accidental drowning".

The inquest in Listowel Co Kerry on Friday morning heard from 17 witnesses including holidaymakers and lifeguards who were on the beach shortly before 6 pm on the Thursday afternoon, as well as from the partner of the late Mr Byrne.

Lifeguards had been on the alert all summer for rip currents in Ballybunion and had been trying to keep people from entering the area where the current was.

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On the evening of the tragedy four lifeguards were on duty when normally there would be five or six, the inquest heard.

Josh Byrne (13), the son of Desmond Byrne, who the inquest was told has special needs, was also in the water but had managed to get ashore safely.

Coroner Helen Lucey said it was "nothing short of a miracle that Josh is alive today".

The coroner paid a particular tribute to 15-year-old Ruairi Walsh of Cork who was on his surfboard in the water.

He showed "sensitivity beyond his years," the coroner said. Ruairi saw Josh in difficulty and kept him under observation in a very "sensitive way"; He had also shown "impeccable behaviour" in raising the alarm in relation to Desmond Byrne, Ms Lucey said.

Rip current

Ms Lucey brought in two recommendations with her verdict: that a minimum of five or six lifeguards should be on the Men's and Ladies' beaches in Ballybunion during high season and at times when a lot of people were around.

She also said they should give an oral warning if there is something in the nature of a rip current.

Angie OKeeffe from Killarney had waded into the water in front of the lifeguard hut and she and her brother saw something floating in the water. The man was unresponsive, and she yelled at Ruairi Walsh, according to her deposition read by Insp Tim OKeeffe.

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Ruairi Walsh of Carrigrohane, Cork was on holiday at the time with his parents in their mobile home in Ballybunion. At 6pm he was surfing in the water, and he saw there was a rip current in front of Castle Green.

"I knew this as I do sailing courses," he said.

He saw a young boy chest deep in the rip current and observed him as he got back safely on shore.

He was altered by a scream from near the shore and saw a man face down in the water and started waving with his surfboard over his head to get the Lifeguards attention. He also gave the arm lift sign to bring first aid.

The inquest heard how lifeguards, and both the Walsh family and the OKeeffe families became concerned there might be a second person missing after establishing the child was the dead mans son and also seeing three pairs of shoes, and finding a ladys clothes and watch in a bag.

The lifeboat was launched and Garda Omar Fitzelle who is also a member of the Ballybunion Sea Cliff and Rescue told of finding a female "face down and partially submerge". This was around 100 meters from the water line.

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The tide was out at the time of the alert, the inquest heard.

A rip current as explained by water safety instructor Leo Hilliard is something that can occur at any time or tied and for any duration and which was "like a river in the water".

Rip tides pulled people out from shore, the inquest also heard.

Paulette Daly, partner of the late Desmond Byrne said Muriel was home from Sweden and staying with them in Roscommon.

On the morning of Thursday, August 4th, she was getting ready for work and the three of them - Dessie, Muriel and Josh - headed off in their camper van.

They stopped at Bunratty and spoke to her of maybe going to Kerry. There was no more contact until Garda Mairead Taheny arrived at her door in Roscommon.

"I couldnt believe it. Our hearts are broken," Ms Daly said in her deposition read for her by Insp OKeeffe.

She drove to Tralee and identified the bodies.

Garda Taheny was in Listowel to support the family.

Pathologist Professor Nollaig Parfrey carried out the post-mortems and there was no evidence of disease, no ethanol and no drugs.

Ireland Vigil planned in memory of two boys who died in De... Read More

Coroner Helen Lucey extended her sympathy to Paulette Daly the partner of Mr Byrne and his siblings and all the family. Ms Ericssons husband had since passed away in Sweden, the coroner noted.

These were healthy people as detailed in the post-mortem report "and this is a tragic accident," the coroner said.

"There was a cloud over Ballybunion because of this incident," Ms Lucey also said.

The family thanked the gardai and all involved.
A Dublin youth telephoned a hoax bomb threat to a Garda station demanding release from a holding cell, and that a republican prisoner be let out of jail, a court heard.

The 17-year-old had been detained at Clontarf Garda station but had sneaked a phone in with him and "feigned a northern accent" when he made two 999 calls from inside a holding cell.

Judge Paul Kelly heard at Dublin Children's Court that the teen threatened to detonate one bomb at the station unless its prisoners were let out and another bomb at a shopping centre if "Whacker Duffy" was not released from Portlaoise Prison.

It caused a "bit of a panic", but a "seasoned" station sergeant was unconvinced, and a garda caught the teen using the phone in the station's holding cell was checked.

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Sentencing was adjourned for a probation report.

The boy, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, was charged with knowingly making a false report or report at Clontarf Garda station.

He had initially denied the charge but entered a guilty plea when his trial was about to start, and prosecution witnesses had come to court.

Garda Keith McCarthy told Judge Kelly that the teen had been held at the station on a date last year. There were two 999 calls.

They lasted three minutes, 42 seconds, and 57 seconds.

After the initial panic, Garda command and control could establish the call was "pinging" from a phone mast in the area of Clontarf station.

The teen had "feigned a northern accent and was demanding the release of all prisoners at Clontarf Garda station. The court there were "explicit threats that a bomb would be detonated if he was not released by 2 am".

The caller also demanded that "Whacker Duffy" be released from Portlaoise Prison or another bomb would be detonated at a shopping centre.

Garda McCarthy then heard a "voice emanating from the cell" and looked through the door slit to see the accused talking into a small Nokia phone in the corner.

The court heard the duty sergeant was a seasoned hand and did not believe it was genuine, widespread panic was averted, and the station was not evacuated.

Garda McCarthy said that he had to remove the phone from the teen forcibly, and it was later analysed.

The teen is now serving a sentence for other matters. He had 39 previous convictions for theft, robbery, burglary, public order, possessing stolen property, obstructing gardai and criminal damage offences.

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Judge Kelly said there was never a case like it before the Children's Court.

Defence counsel Doireann McDonagh said her client was a creative and intelligent young man doing well in the Oberstown detention centre and has completed training courses.

The judge heard he was inebriated at the time of the incident but is now remorseful.

The boy, accompanied to the hearing by his mother, did not address the court.
A Dublin woman has been jailed for assaulting a garda, during which she pulled out clumps of her hair.

Lisa Lee (41), of Annalivia Apartments, James Street, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to assaulting Garda Caoimhe O'Reilly causing her harm on January 9th, 2022.

Imposing sentence on Friday, Judge Melanie Greally said the most aggravating factor in this case was that the assault took place in response to the intervention of gardai in a domestic incident.

She said assaults on any garda member must be regarded in a serious way.

Judge Greally imposed a 20-month prison sentence, with the final six months suspended on strict condition including that Lee place herself under the supervision of the Probation Service for 12 months post-release.

Judge Greally backdated the sentence to November 24th last, when Lee entered custody.

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Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that gardai were called to a domestic incident at Lees home at 3am on the night in question. When gardai arrived, they found Lee outside with a bleeding lip and blood on her nose.

Lee went into the house with two gardai and when they entered the house, Lee's then partner was present.

Attack

Garda Sergeant Derek Dalton told the court that when gardai tried to speak to Lees partner, he became agitated.

While the garda was attempting to restrain the man, Lee began shouting, striking and pulling clumps of hair from Garda Caoimhe O'Reillys head.

The court heard that Lee then went to the kitchen and began searching the drawers, and the garda feared she was getting a knife. When Lee returned, she was unarmed but continued to punch and strike Gda O'Reilly.

The garda made an emergency call for assistance and more gardai arrived at the scene. Lee continued to slap and grab for the gardas hair and was eventually restrained. She was then arrested and interviewed.

At 5am, Lee expressed remorse for her actions and said to tell Gda O'Reilly that she was sorry.

The court heard that Gda O'Reilly was brought to St James Hospital for medical treatment for soft tissue injuries to her arms, legs, neck and back. She is still undergoing physiotherapy for some of her injuries, the court heard.

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A victim impact statement from Gda O'Reilly was read out to the court, which said: The incident is locked in my mind.

It outlined the fear she had had during the attack, adding: At one point in my head, I thought Lee was going to get a knife from the kitchen drawer and stab me.

Lee has three previous convictions for breach of bail and possession of drugs for sale or supply. She has one child and also cares for her mother.

Sharon Rossiter BL, defending, told the court that her client wished to apologise to Gda O'Reilly and that she fully accepts that this should never have happened. She said her client suffers from mental health issues and has not come to garda attention since this incident.

Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Melanie Greally said: For a young garda such as Gda Reilly to be assaulted to the level she was, a custodial sentence is warranted.

She noted the lasting impact of the assault on the injured party and the execution of her duties and enjoyment of her role as a garda.

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Judge Greally said Lee had taken important steps towards rehabilitation while in custody, which includes addressing an addiction to prescription medication, and had provided clean urinalysis.

She noted Lee is on an enhanced prisoner regime in custody and had completed a course in hairdressing.

Judge Greally noted that the Probation Service assessed Lee to be at moderate risk of re-offending if her risk factors are not addressed.

Judge Greally said she took into consideration the mitigating factors including the early guilty plea, absence of previous convictions for violent conduct and the remorse expressed by Lee, both in the aftermath of this incident and in a letter handed to the court.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, listens to an official during a visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute in Pyongyang on March 27, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap



The United States will continue to build its defense capabilities against North Korea's evolving nuclear threats, a U.S. National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson said Tuesday, noting the North continues to ignore U.S. overtures for dialogue.



John Kirby, NSC coordinator for strategic communications, also highlighted the importance of joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises.



"We are well aware that Kim Jong-un continues to fire off missiles and he continues to try to improve the capabilities of his ballistic missile program and continues to pursue nuclear ambitions as well," Kirby told a virtual press briefing when asked what the U.S. was doing to curb advancements in North Korea's nuclear weapons program.



Kirby declined to comment on the U.S.' intelligence assessment of North Korea's nuclear arsenal, but said, " What I can tell you has not changed is our desire to sit down with the regime in Pyongyang without precondition to find a diplomatic way forward to the denuclearization, verifiable denuclearization of the peninsula."






A DUP-commissioned panel to assess the new Brexit deal has completed its work, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said.

The DUP leader said the group had completed its work, which he and senior members of the party will now discuss.

The party, which is continuing to boycott powersharing institutions in the North, has so far maintained its opposition to the Windsor Framework agreement brokered between the EU and UK.

Mr Donaldson had set up a panel to study the new framework against its seven tests before reaching a collective conclusion.

On Friday, he said: Earlier this month, I commissioned an eight-person panel to consult widely as to the impact of Windsor Framework arrangements upon Northern Ireland and its ability to trade with the rest of the United Kingdom.

I am delighted that a significant number of businesses, individuals and organisations participated fully and shared their perspectives.

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Having taken receipt of the report, I thank the panel for their dedicated efforts and will now take time to discuss the report with my party officer team.

Downing Street has continued to defend the deal, despite criticism from the DUP and Conservative backbenchers.

Earlier this month, British MPs voted in favour of regulations to implement the Stormont brake, a key part of the Windsor agreement, despite the opposition.

The agreement has also been formally signed off with the EU.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Transport Eamon Ryan has said that no deals were done with Independent TDs during the recent no confidence votes against the coalition government.

Mr Ryan told RTE radios Morning Ireland that the ending of the eviction ban had been a difficult decision for everyone  all three government parties, the Independents and the Opposition.

The Opposition did not have a monopoly on concern about homelessness, he added. Mr Ryan said he expected the Government to complete its term of office. The 86 to 67 vote in favour of the Government indicated the confidence in the Government

That gives us the confidence that what we need to do is knuckle down and deliver for the people of this country, as we've done for the last two and a half years,"

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Mr Ryan was adamant that no deals were done with the Independents in return for their support. They put forward some proposals in that amended motion, most of which we were already doing or agreed with, some which were new and which I thought were fair suggestions. So we agreed to those.

Ireland Peter McVerry describes ending of eviction ban as... Read More

No one of the main opposition parties are saying that they would continue the eviction ban forever and a day, they would just extend it slightly longer. But that would have downside risks attached. Our policy in recognising that this is really difficult, and we want to try and avoid homelessness at all costs in whatever way we can.

Mr Ryan said that tenants rights had been changed fundamentally. If you are at risk of eviction, you will have the right of first refusal to be able to purchase the property. And that we will extend from the 1st of April, from this weekend, the tenant in situ scheme so that those households in receipt of housing supports can avail of that option.

The Green Party had been in favour of the cost rental model for some time, the party was now delivering on those solutions. Government had to make difficult decision in difficult times. No one wanted to do this, but that was the job, he said.

There would be a safety net in place to protect tenants. Supports would be available through local authorities with the back of the Department of Housing.
An Irishman who was killed in a motorbike accident in Thailand while on holiday is to be laid to rest on Sunday.

John Lennon, 24, from Graiguecullen on the outskirts of Carlow town, who was a well-known hurler, died in the south-east of the Asian country.

His family have asked that mourners donate to The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust instead of floral wreaths.

The gym instructor who worked at Raw Gym in Donnybrook, Dublin was with two friends when he died 11 days ago.

Funeral details on RIP.ie read: John Lennon, Graiguecullen, Carlow - 20th March 2023 following a motorcycle accident in Thailand; predeceased by his sister Caroline. Sadly missed by his heartbroken parents Mary Rose and John, sister Avena and brother Paul, sister-in-law Jaime, nephews Paul Jnr, Sean and Tadgh, aunts, uncle, colleagues, neighbours and many friends.

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Reposing in R Healy and Son Funeral Home, Pollerton Castle, Carlow, R( TC53 from 4.30pm on Saturday, April 1 concluding with prayers at 7.30pm. Funeral Home strictly private thereafter please.

Funeral arriving to St Clares Church, Graiguecullen on Sunday for 2pm. Requiem Mass after which he will be laid to rest in St Patricks Cemetery, Rathvilly, Co Carlow."

Paying sympathies on rip.ie Fine Gael councillor Fergal Browne said: Deepest sympathies Mary Rose, John, Avena and Paul on the tragic and sad passing of John. Thinking of you all at this sad time.

Another sympathiser and colleague added: My deepest condolences to all John's family and friends, I had the pleasure of working with John for the last few years. My heart is snapping in two.

Such a gentleman and he was always smiling and a good prankster too, who caught me many times. I will miss him so much we were all so close. A brilliant friend and colleague. Rip John you will never be forgotten.
The director of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE), Mary Hayes has said they have the capacity and are planning to accommodate anybody who becomes homeless as a result of the end of the eviction ban.

Ms Hayes told RTE Radios News at One that they were always on a planning footing and had already received a number of enquiries from people in the Dublin area.

She said she would encourage everyone to contact their local authority at the earliest opportunity.

People had used the time of the eviction ban to negotiate with their landlords, she said.

The DRHE was in contact with 270 landlords in relation to the tenant in-situ scheme, 33 had been sold and 77 were under negotiation.

Not all of the people who had contacted them were in receipt of a notice of termination, but the DRHE was glad that people were contacting them early.

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The key thing for people to do, especially if they have received a notice of termination already, is contact your local authority at the earliest possible opportunity. It gives us a chance then to work through what the options are available to each household and to try, above all, to prevent homelessness.

The numbers contacting the DRHE requiring emergency accommodation was not high at present, she said. We are constantly working away at that number in terms of trying to find alternatives for people other than homelessness.

We do expect an increase (in people contacting the DRHE), we would expect and welcome an increase of inquiries and people contacting us and finding out what's available to them.

"It is normal, and we would encourage people to contact their local authority at the earliest possible time. We are saying that there will be more notices of termination, but at least we get the opportunity then to talk through with people. So people are confident they have accurate advice and information in terms of what their options are.

Pinch points

The DRHE had worked through many pinch points in the past, she said  through Covid, through extreme weather situations.

We are always on a planning footing . It is our role and our job to make sure that there is a safe supply of emergency accommodation available to people, recognising that what people really want is a home. But we need to ensure that as an absolute last resort that we will have emergency accommodation available to those who need it.

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The DRHE has capacity planned, she said. We have it in place already for the coming months. We've added approximately 400 bed spaces to our overall capacity.

"But again, what I would say is that the number changes daily, we go up and down adjusting demand on a daily basis. We run a procurement process throughout the year looking for emergency accommodation. So we're always on a footing where we can draw an additional number.

We are there to ensure that if all else fails, emergency accommodation is available. Nobody wants to come into emergency accommodation, and we want to explore, and we want to assist people to explore every possible alternative to that.

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Ms Hayes acknowledged that it was difficult to source affordable accommodation in the Dublin region. The DRHEs Homeless Hub scheme had assisted 270 so far this year and just under 1,000 last year. It is difficult, but we will give people every support to find that.

The Dublin Region Homeless executive has never advised someone to go to a Garda station, she responded about such advice being given to people.

The only circumstances in which we have ever sent them into a Garda station is if someone presents late at night, and we need to verify their identity. That would be the only circumstance. And after that we would place them. But we are not considering that as an option.

While it was competitive trying to secure emergency accommodation, the DRHE had been providing that service for some time and had built relationships.
A man serving a life sentence for stabbing a new drinking pal to death during a cocaine and alcohol bender has had his appeal against his murder conviction dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

Lawyers for Mark Crawford, who stabbed Patrick 'Pa' O'Connor to death at a Limerick bar after only knowing him for one day, had submitted that the jury were wrongly advised about the issue of self-defence by the trial judge.

Crawford (45) had been taking cocaine and drinking with Mr OConnor (24) in Fitzgeralds Bar on Sexton Street in Limerick City when he stabbed him six times, piercing the victims heart and neck.

Crawford, formerly of Quarry Road, Thomondgate, Co Limerick, pleaded not guilty to Mr OConnors murder on July 7th or 8th, 2018, claiming he had been acting in self-defence at the time.

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The jury at the Central Criminal Court did not accept his defence and he was unanimously convicted of the murder charge following a trial in October 2020.

Sentencing Crawford to a mandatory life term, Ms Justice Tara Burns described the fatal attack as an act of madness fuelled by drink and drugs.

Crawford appealed the conviction on the grounds that Ms Justice Burns did not adequately instruct the jury on how they should consider his account of events on the night in question and that the guilty verdict was therefore unsafe and unsatisfactory.

Crawford's legal team had submitted that both men had stood up to each other when the stabbing occurred over an argument about money for cocaine.

Patrick McGrath SC, for Crawford, said the trial judge erred in "in law in her instruction to the jury on self-defence, and in particular, on the subjective elements to be considered by the jury in determining whether the prosecution had proved that the killing of the victim by the accused was not carried out in self-defence".

Directing the jury

Mr McGrath also submitted that the trial judge erred in "directing the jury that whereas they had to apply a wholly subjective test in considering whether the accused believed he was under threat to his life or person".

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He added: "They then had to apply a wholly objective test in considering whether the degree of force used by the accused in response to any attack or threat he perceived he was under was reasonable in the circumstances."

Counsel further submitted the trial judge erred as "she did not adequately instruct the jury on how to consider the account provided by the accused and, in particular, "that if the account provided by the accused could reasonably be true, they must give the accused the benefit of that account".

In dismissing the appeal on Friday, Mr Justice John Edwards set out the context of a case where self-defence was being claimed.

"Insofar as a question may arise in a fatal case as whether the quantum of force used was reasonable or not, that issue will fall to be judged according to the circumstances as they actually were, not according to the circumstances as the accused perceived them to be," the judge said.

"An asserted claim by the accused that he, or she, had used no more force than they genuinely believed to be necessary falls to be subjectively tested. In that event, what is being tested is the genuineness of the mistaken belief being asserted," he added.

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Mr Justice Edwards said it was argued that Mr O'Connor had stood up, causing Crawford to believe he was about to be immediately attacked, but noted there was a conflict of evidence about whether Mr O'Connor had stood up before the accused.

He said the accused's account was that Mr O'Connor stood up first and this was supported by the evidence of a witness. "This was consistent with the accused believing that he was in danger of imminent attack as Mr O'Connor was angry over money he believed the appellant owed him for cocaine," Mr Justice Edwards said.

However, the judge added: "Even if there was substance to the appellant's complaint, and we consider that there is none, it has not been demonstrated that any deficiency in the charge was so grave and far-reaching as to raise a concern that there is a real risk that an injustice was done."

Ingredients of murder

He said the State's submission that the charge must be "looked at in the round" was correct.

"The trial judge's charge was detailed and thorough. The ingredients of murder, and the circumstances in which a possible alternative verdict might arise for consideration, were clearly set out by her.

"We are satisfied that the instruction on self-defence, both full and partial, was appropriate.

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"The need for the jury to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt as to all ingredients of the offence before convicting of murder, was repeatedly emphasised," Mr Justice Edwards said.

"It followed that if they had a doubt on any matter arising from any aspect of the evidence, including the appellant's account as given to gardai, they could not convict of murder," he added.

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Mr Justice Edwards said the judge's charge to the jury was "in no sense vague and confusing".

"The jury received a clear and detailed explication of the possible verdicts and the circumstances in which they might arise. There is no possibility in our view that the instruction would have been regarded as vague and confusing.

"We consider that it is of significance that the appellant was represented at trial by three highly-experienced lawyers, and that a very focused defence was being run. The implication that the alleged deficiency in the charge now being highlighted could have been simultaneously overlooked by all of them in the circumstances is, in our view, fanciful.

"The failure to put forward any cogent reason for why the complaint now sought to be relied upon was not ventilated in a requisition [to the trial judge is, we consider, highly telling," Mr Justice Edwards concluded, dismissing the appeal.
A man who was arrested for the murder of his wife and two children at their home in south Dublin disguised himself in womens clothing to take a bus to their house on the day they were last seen alive on October 22nd, 2020, an inquest has heard.

Evidence also emerged that the accused, Sameer Syed, was in the family home on 29 days in the two months before their deaths, in breach of bail conditions imposed after he had physically assaulted his wife, Seema Banu, earlier that year.

Syed also appeared to coerce his wife and children into recording a video on October 22nd, 2020, in which they claimed he had never hit Ms Banu and that any marks on her body from the time of the assault were self-inflicted.

The bodies of Ms Banu (37), her daughter, Asfira (11), and son, Faizan (6) were discovered in their home at Llewellyn Court, Ballinteer, Co Dublin on October 28th, 2020.

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A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court heard Syed was arrested and charged with their murders a month later.

Syed, a 38-year-old IT expert with Eir, took his own life in his cell at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise last June, just a week before he was due to go on trial at the Central Criminal Court.

He had appeared in court a few days before the discovery of the bodies of his wife and children on a charge of assault causing harm to Ms Banu on May 16th, 2020.

Cause of death

The lead investigator into the three murders, Detective Inspector Vivian Rock, said Syed had admitted to gardai following his arrest that he had killed his wife after sneaking into the house, but had blamed the deaths of their two children on another party.

However, Det Insp Rock said it was proven not so and explained that Syeds fingerprints were discovered on a plastic bag found under his daughters head.

State pathologist, Heidi Okkers, told the second day of the inquest on Friday that post-mortem examination on the three victims revealed that they had all died by asphyxia due to strangulation, which was consistent with scarves found around the necks of the three bodies.

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Evidence on the time of death provided by Dr Okkers indicated Ms Banu had died before her two children  a finding which refuted Syeds claims that she had killed them.

Dr Okkers said there was evidence that external force by another party was used in the deaths of the two children.

While Ms Banus body gave the appearance of self-strangulation, Dr Okkers said she believed that explanation was highly unlikely given the circumstances of the case.

A jury of six women and two men returned a verdict of unlawful killing in all three cases.

The inquest was shown CCTV footage of an individual dressed as a woman with a coat, full-length dress, hat and dark glasses boarding a bus at 8.05pm on October 22, 2020, in Rathmines, where Syed had been living since he was restricted from living in the family home as part of his bail conditions.

Det Insp Rock said Syed confirmed the figure shown in the footage was Syed, who was traced getting off at a bus stop on Stonemasons Way in Ballinteer.

He said Syeds clothing was not a cultural dress, while other CCTV footage showed he had changed back into his normal clothes as he neared the family home.

Concern

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The inquest heard gardai were called to the house in Llewellyn Court on October 28th, 2020, after a Tusla social worker, Holly Nuzum, became concerned that Ms Banu was not at home for an appointment which was unusual, while all the blinds were shut.

Detective Garda Brian ONeill said he arrived at the house at 11.40am and spoke to a neighbour, Vivian Balwalya, who also stated she had not seen Ms Banu or her two children for a number of days.

Det Garda ONeill said he sought support from the Garda Armed Support Unit due to concern for the family's welfare.

Gardai described forcing entry into the property by breaking a window on a rear patio door. They immediately noticed water flowing through a damaged ceiling over the kitchen, where the floor was very wet.

Det Garda ONeill described going upstairs and finding Asfira and Faizan lying face down side-by-side on a bed. He then discovered their mother lying face up on a bed in another bedroom.

The inquest heard a tap in the bath was running and had overflowed.

Det Garda ONeill said all three victims had scarves around their necks, which were knotted at the back for the two children and at the front for Ms Banu.

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He told the coroner, Clare Keane, he knew both children were dead, and was certain Ms Banu was also deceased after touching her leg and finding it was ice-cold.

The inquest also heard evidence that Syed was in the house in Llewellyn Court on October 22nd, 2020, when Ms Banu recorded a video in which she claimed her husband had never assaulted her, adding that marks on her body were self-inflicted.

The video which was recorded by Ms Banus daughter, showed her mother claiming she had repeatedly explained to gardai what had happened and had written a letter containing the same claims of her own free will.

In the recording, Asfira also stated that her father had not hit her mother, before adding: Dad loves us a lot. No matter how we explain to [social workers] they dont understand.

Det Insp Rock said the letter, which he described as Ms Banus final statement, was a proclamation of no wrong-doing by Syed and that they should be together.

Detective Garda Ciaran Byrne of the Garda National Cybercrime Bureau, told the inquest that an examination of a wi-fi router in the house in Llewellyn Court had established that Syeds phone was in the property on 29 days between August 20th and October 23rd, 2020.

Abuse

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The coroner and jury of six women and two men were shown a number of video calls retrieved from Ms Banus mobile phone in which she was crying as she spoke to family members back in India about her husband beating her.

When I went to the police, he got a certificate to say I was mad, she told one relative in a call in May 2019.

In another video call on May 15th, 2020  a day before she was physically assaulted by her husband  Ms Banu stated her body cant take it anymore and expressed concern because her son was so scared.

Ill be killed. I cant talk to the children, she added.

Ms Banu claimed her husband was high on his money and wants to do whatever he wants.

In the same call, she warned that if anything happened to her or if she died, Syed would be responsible.

However, there was another video call recorded on August 9th, 2020, which the coroner said was completely different and showed Ms Banu declaring she loved her husband very much and that how people did not understand how much he also loved her.

She claimed they were unable to live together because of the misunderstanding by gardai about the report of domestic violence.

In another video on October 3rd, 2020, Ms Banu said she was making the video to show how she inflicted marks on herself as gardai had not wanted to understand how the injuries had occurred.

The inquest heard the Garda inquiry had involved thousands of work hours, with hundreds of lines of investigation followed.

Det Insp Rock said gardai were aware that Ms Banu and her children had been brought to a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Dublin on Christmas Eve in 2018.

Reports

Evidence was heard on Thursday that staff at the Dunnes Stores supermarket in the Beacon Centre in Sandyford had called gardai after Ms Banu and her children were crying and distressed after Syed was seen pulling and forcibly grabbing his wife and daughter outside the store.

Det Insp Rock said there was also the gardas own file on Syed being arrested on May 16th, 2020, at the family home after Ms Banu was found unconscious.

Although no formal complaint was made against Syed, Det Insp Rock said gardai were satisfied they had enough evidence to prosecute the case.

The witness said gardai also knew Ms Banu had been treated in hospital in India in May 2019 after being assaulted just a few days after she had returned home for a period with her husband and children.

The inquest was informed that Syed had flown back to Ireland before he could face a charge for assaulting his wife.

Det Insp Rock noted that a neighbour at the familys previous home in Sandyford had also made them aware of an incident in March 2019, during which Ms Banu was crying and appeared fearful of her husband, the inquest heard.

A number of Tusla social workers gave evidence of the challenge of trying to assist the family and ensuring the protection of the two children as Ms Banu was claiming that gardai and Tusla misunderstood their domestic situation.

At the conclusion of the inquest, the jury issued a number of recommendations, including that there should be a shorter period between the first referral of child protection concerns to Tusla and the holding of a case conference, as well as the provision of support workers catering for mothers only in cases of domestic violence.

The jury foreman said supervised visits should also be provided by professional support workers, with a translator if necessary.

Dr Keane said she would bring the jurys recommendations to the attention of the relevant authorities.

Addressing two of Ms Banus nephews who had travelled from India for the inquest, the coroner expressed regret that their first visit to Ireland was in such tragic circumstances.

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Dr Kenae said for all the trauma and anguish she and her children had suffered, their voices were but a whisper and they had no chance to explore their full potential.

The coroner observed they had died in a way that is unimaginable to most of us.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Womens Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Mens Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information. Safe Ireland also outlines a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/.

In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
A High Court judge has quashed permission for 18 social housing apartments in Phibsborough, Dublin, for reasons including the possible destruction of bat habitats on the site.

Mr Justice David Holland overturned An Bord Pleanala's permission for the development on the 0.27 hectare site which includes a 19th Century derelict house called "Stone Villa", near the Luas stop on the North Circular Road.

He found the board's decision was wrong in law because it failed to properly assess whether there is any real likelihood of significant impacts on bats which are entitled to strict protection.

Developers Lilacstone Ltd were granted permission in 2020 to redevelop Stone Villa as three apartments and to build another 15 apartments in one block on the site. Permission for a second block which would have meant a total of 32 apartments was refused in the permission.

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Stone Villa is a protected but derelict structure.

A company called Shadowmill, which described itself as a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the protection of the built and natural environment in Phibsborough, brought the legal challenge.

Shadowmill, in its planning objections, said it did not wish to see the site remain derelict but considered the Lilacstone development would be worse for the area including because it would be overbearing in scale and would have an adverse impact on the amenity and privacy of local residents.

In its legal challenge, it claimed there was a failure to conduct any or adequate environmental impact assessment and the alleged lack of jurisdiction to delete one of the blocks from the permission.

There was also a failure by Liliacstone, it was claimed, to provide any or adequate detail as to boundary treatment or interior conservation proposals for Stone Villa.

Bat habitats

There was also a failure to properly consider the loss of significant tree cover and the disturbance to bat habitats, it was claimed.

The board opposed the challenge.

Mr Justice Holland, in his findings, also quashed the decision in relation to the proposed works on Stone Villa as a protected structure. He rejected the complaint in relation to the deletion of one of the blocks.

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The judge also said it would be preferable in all cases if the board made expressly clear whether and to what extent it agrees or disagrees with its inspector. In this case the inspector had recommended against granting permission, but the board decided not to accept that recommendation.

The board's failure to provide such basic assistance to the parties and to the court on a question which routinely arises in every file it considers "is distinctly to be regretted", he said.

It is not impossible, despite a "landslide of case law". that a pattern of board decisions could emerge which could require revisiting by the courts of the very arguably indulgent inferences which have been drawn by the board, he said.

It is, in all but rare cases, a simple matter for the board to make its position clear, he said.
Veteran homeless campaigner Fr Peter McVerry has described the end of the eviction ban as a horror movie for tenants and said he was very concerned about where people were going to find emergency accommodation.

There was no emergency accommodation available around the country, he told Newstalk Breakfast. In the past families would have been put into hotels, but there were no hotel rooms available.

"Im horrified at whats going to happen in the next few months.

I am extremely concerned and I think this is a horror movie for all those tenants who have received a notice to quit and they are totally at a loss as to what to do.

There is virtually no emergency homeless accommodation available anywhere in the country. Normally, families would be put up in hotels, but as we know, hotels are full, and many hotels are reverting back to tourism.

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So I am absolutely horrified at what is going to happen over the next few months.

Fr McVerry said homeless campaigners had been in favour of extending the eviction ban to allow time to put in place mitigation measures. The majority of landlords were leaving the rental market because they needed to sell their property.

That could have been dealt with by way of an exemption from the ban and the inconvenience to a landlord, to the vast majority of landlords, who want to sell their property. The inconvenience of renting, perhaps another 12 months is utterly minor compared to the trauma that is now going to be inflicted on those households who are facing eviction.

I am horrified. I think it's an appalling decision. I think the decision was made to prevent this happening in the early months of next year when local and European elections are pending

There is not one single homeless charity who supports the ending of the eviction ban. Every single charity has come out and said this is a disaster.

There's no good time to lift the eviction ban. But during the eviction ban, it would have been hoped that measures would have been put in place to mitigate the worst effects of the eviction ban.

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"If we had extended it for 12 months, you know, we could have 7000 modular units on site in the next 12 months if we wanted to. Modular unit only takes three months to build and another month, maybe two to put on the ground."

When asked if he had any advice for people faced with a termination notice, Fr McVerry said "I don't have any advice to give them. I'm sorry. To be honest, they are going to be evicted. They're going to be possibly on the street.

"Of course, go to your local council and look for emergency accommodation. If the local council doesn't have it, I don't know what you do, to be honest. Yeah, I mean, that's just the nightmare. That's the nightmare.

On RTE radios Morning Ireland John Mark McCafferty, the chief executive of Threshold cautioned that not all tenancy terminations were valid. We dispute many tenancy terminations and the notices because there's something wrong with them as they do not follow or comply with the legislation either from a technical point of view or the premise on which the notices issued is wrong or it doesn't match the grounds on which you could you get to end the tenancy.

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Our role is to advise renters of the rates and their options. And also we are tasked with trying to keep people in their rented homes to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place through our tenancy protection service. So we will look at each situation on their merits.

"We'll listen to the situation and the experience of the renter and their family and see if there are things we can do to prolong their tenancy or to protect their tenancy. And one of the ways is to question the validity of the notice. If there are, there are problems or technical issues with it.

Mr McCafferty said that from Saturday, April 1st he anticipated there would be an increase in the number of people coming to Threshold with queries and concerns about losing their home.

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Threshold had dealt with 700 webchats in March alone, he said, that was higher than throughout the winter months when the eviction ban was in place.

We're also anticipating about 430 termination cases for the end of March. That's live cases where people came to us in March, where a notice of termination has been signaled by their landlord. I think it's also important to note that our advisers are also working on existing cases from September, October of last year. They were paused during the eviction ban, but they come back into play from tomorrow.

Mr McCafferty said that organisations like Threshold had reconfigured their services to respond to needs. They had enhanced and improved data reporting. But there remained a need for strong IT systems, cyber security systems, data protection to ensure the highest governance and regulatory compliance.

All of those things need to be managed on a weekly or monthly or yearly basis. So all of those things are at play and they require resources.
The Roscommon eviction assault trial has heard evidence of a search warrant which was executed at the home of one of the defendants.

At around 5am on December 16th, 2018, a group of approximately 30 armed men, some wearing balaclavas, arrived at the rural property just outside Strokestown and attacked four of the security guards who were present. The house and farmlands had been repossessed five days previously.

Patrick Sweeney (44), of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal, Martin O'Toole (58), of Stripe, Irishtown, Claremorris, Co Mayo, Paul Beirne (56), of Croghan, Boyle, Co Roscommon, and David Lawlor (43), of Bailis Downs, Navan, Co Meath, have pleaded not guilty to 17 charges each at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Each man is separately charged with false imprisonment of and assault causing harm to four security personnel at Falsk on December 16th, 2018. Each defendant is also charged with aggravated burglary, as well as four charges of arson concerning a car and three vans allegedly set alight.

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The four men are also each charged with criminal damage to a door of a house, violent disorder, robbery of a wristwatch from security guard John Graham and, finally, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by causing or permitting an animal to be struck on the head.

On Friday, the 19th day of the trial, Garda Sergeant Maura McGarry told Anne Rowland SC, prosecuting, that she was detailed to attend a search on December 19th, 2018, and she went to the home of Mr Beirne in Co Roscommon.

She said her role within the search was to act as the exhibitions officer. She explained that any property seized was given to her, and she would then place each item in an evidence bag, seal the bags, sign and date each evidence bag.

Gda Sgt McGarry also created an evidence log where she recorded the exhibit number, details of the item type, the location from which the item was seized, who seized the item and when, and finally, to whom the item was handed.

When gardai arrived at the home on the morning of the search, they were met at the front door by Mr and Mrs Beirne. They went into the sitting room where the search warrant was read to them.

Their daughter then joined them in the sitting room while the search was taking place. Gardai were made aware that an elderly woman was in a bedroom upstairs resting.

Gda Sgt McGarry told the court that she went and checked on the elderly woman who was drinking tea in bed and listening to the radio.

The garda informed her of what was happening and that her room would need to be searched, but that they would do their best not to disturb her.

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Gda Sgt McGarry then returned downstairs and began cataloguing evidence that other members of gardai were seizing. During the search, several electronic items, including iphones, a tablet, an old Nokia phone and a camcorder, were seized.

The garda catalogued all these items and entered them into the evidence log.

The court heard that at approximately 9.30am, Gda Sgt McGarry arrested Mr Beirne. He was cautioned and made no comment before being taken Castlerea Garda station.

The trial will resume on Monday, April 17th, after the Easter break.
Russia has used its long-range arsenal to bombard several areas of Ukraine, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes as Ukrainians commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Bucha, a town near Kyiv, stands as a symbol of the atrocities the Russian military has committed since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

We will never forgive, he said in a post on his Telegram channel.

We will punish every perpetrator.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 31 March 2023.



Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/1gWRD97ofr



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/dUBJsgKu2V  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) March 31, 2023

Mr Zelenskiy attended an official ceremony in Bucha, where he was joined by the president of the Republic of Moldova and the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

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The Kremlins forces occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month.

When Ukrainian troops liberated the town, they encountered horrific scenes  bodies of women, young and old men, in civilian clothing, lying in the street where they had fallen or in yards and homes.

Other bodies were found in a mass grave.

Over weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including some of children.

Russian soldiers on intercepted phone conversations called it zachistka  cleansing, according to an investigation by the Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline.

Such organised cruelty  used by Russian troops in past conflicts as well, notably in Chechnya  was later repeated in Russia-occupied territories across Ukraine.

 The UK's main battle tank, the mighty Challenger 2.



 Ukrainian tank crews have completed training on Challenger 2 tanks in the UK and have returned home to continue their fight for freedom.



 Find out more here: https://t.co/eVzqYwrx2J



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/O1mewd9tq0  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) March 31, 2023

More than 1,400 civilian deaths, including 37 children, were documented in the Bucha district by Ukrainian authorities, Mr Zelensky said.

More than 175 people were found in mass graves and alleged torture chambers, he added.

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Ukraine and other countries, including the US, have demanded Russia answers for war crimes.

Ukraines prosecutor general Andriy Kostin alleged on Friday that many of the dead civilians were tortured.

Almost 100 Russian soldiers are suspected of war crimes, he said on his Telegram channel, and indictments have been issued for 35 of them.

Two Russian servicemen have already been sentenced by a Ukrainian court to 12 years in prison for illegal deprivation of liberty of civilians and looting.

Members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service clear the rubble at a building destroyed by a Russian strike in the Zaporizhzhia district, Ukraine (Andriy Andriyenko/AP)

I am convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russias planned strategy aimed at destroying Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation, Mr Kostin said.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, unexpectedly called for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

A truce, he said in his state-of-the-nation address in Minsk on Friday, must be announced without any preconditions and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted.

Its necessary to stop now until an escalation begins, Mr Lukashenko said, adding that an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using western-supplied weapons would bring an irreversible escalation of the conflict.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by saying Russia has to keep fighting, claiming Ukraine has rejected any talks under pressure from its western allies.

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Ukrainian honour guard soldiers take part in a national flag-raising ceremony during a commemorative event on the anniversary of the liberation of the territories from the Russian troops, in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday March 31 2023 (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Mr Peskov also dismissed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbans remarks about the European Union mulling the deployment of sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as extremely dangerous.

Russia has maintained its bombardment of Ukraine with the war already into its second year.

As well as killing at least two civilians in Ukraine, 14 other civilians were wounded early on Friday as Russia launched missiles, shells, exploding drones and gliding bombs, the Ukraine presidential office said.

Two Russian missiles hit the city of Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region, damaging eight residential buildings.

Throughout the Donetsk region, one civilian was killed and five others wounded by the strikes, the office said.

The body of a man who was killed with his hands tied behind his back lies on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, in April 2022 (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

Nine Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, damaging residential buildings, roads, gas stations and a prison.

The Russians also used exploding drones to attack the Kharkiv region.

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Russian forces also shelled the southern city of Kherson, killing one resident and wounding two others.

The village of Lviv in the Kherson region was struck by gliding bombs which damaged about 10 houses.

The barrage also hit the city of Zaporizhzhia and its outskirts, causing major fires.
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By Lee Hyo-jin



Escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, triggered by North Korea's pursuit of an "exponential" increase in its nuclear arsenal, are making President Yoon Suk Yeol's "audacious initiative" for Pyongyang's denuclearization look like an increasingly far-fetched idea, according to analysts, Wednesday.



The initiative, proposed by Yoon last year, promises the North Korean government an unprecedented level of economic support in exchange for the country ultimately giving up its nuclear weapons. Yoon suggested a list of economic incentives such as large-scale food aid, providing assistance for power generation and building infrastructure in the country.



However, the initiative is facing an uncertain future at this point, with Yoon sticking to a hardline stance on North Korea amid its rising belligerence in recent months.



Last week, the president said his administration will make North Korea pay the price for its nuclear threats. On Tuesday, Yoon said he will "not give a single penny to North Korea if it continues to develop nuclear weapons." He also ordered the Ministry of Unification to disclose the reality of the human rights situation in North Korea, a sensitive topic for the totalitarian state.



Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, believes that Yoon's audacious plan is losing momentum.



"In order for the plan to kick off, North Korea should first show significant steps toward denuclearization. But realistically speaking, Pyongyang will not give up its advanced nuclear prowess," he told The Korea Times.



On the previous day, North Korea released photos of its Hwasan-31, which appeared to be a miniaturized nuclear warhead. The state media reported that its leader Kim Jong-un had called for boosting the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials to exponentially expand the country's nuclear arsenal.



"To this day, there hasn't been any country which relinquished nuclear weapons that it developed on its own," Hong said, stressing that North Korea will not be the first country to do so.



Nonetheless, the researcher anticipated that the South Korean government will not officially abandon the denuclearization roadmap.



"Although chances of materializing the initiative seem slim, the plan itself sends a strong political message to the international community. It is important to consistently ask for support from other countries on achieving North Korea's denuclearization," he said.



Unification Minister Kwon Young-se visited Tokyo last week to upgrade bilateral cooperation with Japan on North Korea issues including Yoon's proposed initiative. North Korean state media slammed Kwon's move, Monday, saying that "he begged for support for the 'audacious plan of some kind' that has been already trashed."



Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University said the initiative is hanging in the balance due to North Korea's reluctance to come to the negotiating table.



"South Korea and the United States have repeatedly said they are open to talks. But North Korea has no intention to negotiate, which would mean that it has to surrender its nuclear weapons to some extent," he said.



Nevertheless, the professor was quite optimistic that Pyongyang will ultimately turn to negotiations, which will enable Yoon to make progress with his plan. Park cautiously predicted that the North Korean leader may restart talks after conducting a seventh nuclear test this year, and use it as leverage in negotiations.


A GP who ran an online clinic for transgender patients has won a UK High Court appeal after a tribunal made a misconduct finding and imposed a two-month suspension.

Helen Webberley, founder of a website called GenderGP, was found to have committed serious misconduct by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel in June 2022.

A High Court judge on Friday allowed an appeal by Dr Webberley after concluding that the panels determination on the issue of misconduct was wrong.

Mr Justice Jay had considered arguments at a recent High Court hearing in London.

Dr Webberley, from Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, had staged an appeal at a recent High Court hearing in London and argued that the tribunal had made errors.

The General Medical Council said Dr Webberleys appeal should be dismissed.

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The Royal Courts of Justice in central London, where the appeal hearing was staged (Aaron Chown/PA)

Mr Justice Jay, who has outlined his conclusions in a written ruling published online, said the panel had been dealing with a case of the utmost complexity and sensitivity.

He said the panels analysis of the issue of serious misconduct was wrong.

The (panels) thinking was confused, clearly wrong in places, and it omitted reference to important evidence, said Mr Justice Jay.

Having conducted my own analysis of the relevant material, I am entirely unable to conclude that this appeal should be dismissed because the appellant was guilty of serious misconduct.

He added: This appeal must be allowed on the ground that the (panels) determination on the issue of misconduct was wrong.

A barrister representing the General Medical Council had outlined the background to the case at the hearing  and said Dr Webberley was a GP who provided services to transgender patients and ran a website called GenderGP.

Peter Mant had told the judge, in a written case outline, that allegations against Dr Webberley concerned her treatment of three transgender children or adolescents and various other matters.

Mr Mant said the sanction imposed related to one head of charge, concerning one patient.

That patient was not named at the hearing but identified as Patient C.

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Mr Mant said Patient C was a teenager assigned female at birth who identified as male.

The misconduct for which the sanction was imposed concerned failure to provide good clinical care to a transgender child (Patient C) in not discussing the risks before commencing treatment with puberty blockers, Mr Mant told the judge.

The tribunal found that suspension was necessary to protect the public as the appellant did not have insight into her failings.

Mr Justice Jay said he had concerns about certain aspects of Dr Webberleys practice in relation to Patient C  including a failure to have a face-to-face consultation on the issue of fertility.

But he added:  it is far from clear to me that what did take place should be strongly criticised.

The judge went on: The sole focus of this appeal has been the quality of the appellants clinical practice in relation to one patient, Patient C.

This appeal does not raise any wider issues about the wisdom or otherwise of administering puberty blockers to the younger age group who wish to undergo interventions for gender reassignment with full parental agreement.

He said Dr Webberleys case ends here and would not be remitted to a tribunal panel for redetermination.
Heathrow said the airport was operating as usual on Friday despite a strike by security guards in a dispute over pay.

Around 1,400 members of Unite will be on strike for 10 days, covering much of the busy Easter weekend, after last-ditch talks broke down on Thursday evening.

Picket lines were mounted outside the airport and Unite said the strike was being well supported.

The airport said its contingency plans were working well, although some British Airways flights are expected to be cancelled.

Heathrow strikes go ahead as last-ditch talks fail.



@HeathrowAirport can afford to pay a decent pay rise to its workers. This is a wealthy company which is about to return to bumper profits. @UniteSharon https://t.co/iBBzeRHWlR pic.twitter.com/9dRrlgFK4l  Unite the union: join a union (@unitetheunion) March 31, 2023

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The airports chief executive John Holland-Kaye told Sky News: Im here in Terminal Five which is the only terminal that voted for strike action and youll see its operating as normal.

We have a lot of colleagues who have come to help us out today  both security officers and managers who are helping out in their purple shirts like me.

But we also have some other agency, third party, workers who have come in to help us who are very experienced in this kind of security environment, and theyre keeping the airport running smoothly.

So, Heathrow is operating as normal. If youre travelling over the Easter period, dont worry, youll have a good journey.

Please dont come too early. Three hours is plenty for a long-haul flight, two hours for a short-haul flight, and we will get you to your destination on time.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: Heathrow can afford to pay a decent pay rise to its workers.

This is a wealthy company which is about to return to bumper profits. In recent years its approved an astronomical rise in salary for its chief executive and paid out dividends to shareholders worth billions.

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Yet somehow, Heathrow executives seem to think its acceptable to offer what amounts to a real-terms pay cut to its security guards and ground staff who are already on poverty pay.

Unite has a laser-like focus on our members jobs, pay and conditions. The workforce at Heathrow Airport will receive the unions unswerving support in this fight for a decent deal.

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: Heathrow Airport has thrown away the opportunity to avoid strikes.

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The strike action will undoubtedly result in severe delays and disruption to passengers across the airport but this dispute is a direct result of Heathrow Airports stubborn refusal to pay its workers fairly.

Picket lines will be in place across the airport throughout the 10 days of continuous strike action, which ends at 23.59pm on Easter Sunday April 10.

The strikes involves security officers at Terminal Five, which is used exclusively by British Airways, and campus security guards who are responsible for checking all cargo that enters the airport.
A white-supremacist podcast host has been found guilty of stirring up racial hatred, with a judge describing his recordings as a stain on humanity.

James Allchurch (51), from Pembrokeshire, Wales, was convicted of ten out of 15 counts of distributing audio material to stir up racial hatred over a two-year period.

Following a trial at Swansea Civic Centre, Judge Huw Rees told the self-proclaimed avowed racist and Adolf Hitler supporter that he faces a prison sentence measured in years not months.

Judge Rees adjourned sentencing until April 28th for a pre-sentence report to be carried out.

After the verdicts were returned on Friday, the judge said: The language the jury has had to put up with is vile language, and it is unacceptable in my view that anybody should wish to express themselves in this way.

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What I have heard over the last fortnight I regard as a stain on humanity.

Turning to Allchurchs defence counsel, Emily Baxter, Judge Rees added: My intention is to send your client to prison immediately. And that sentence will be measured in years, not in months.

Asking the defendant to stand, he said: James Barnaby Allchurch, you will be sentenced by me on April 28. I have directed a pre-sentence report be carried out so I know everything about you.

I make it very clear to you that you should prepare yourself for a sentence of immediate imprisonment.

Allchurch was again released on bail but with conditions to reside at his given address and to co-operate fully with the probation service.

The judge thanked the jury of six men and six women who he said had been careful in their deliberations.

You paid very close attention to what has been a distressing case and youve heard language and viewpoints that you probably thought in this day and age you would never have to read or hear. Im sorry about that, he said.

This is a court of reality and unfortunately the reality of this defendants world is entirely different from most right-thinking people.

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Each of the charges brought against Allchurch related to a separate audio file uploaded between May 17th, 2019 and March 18th, 2021 to a public website called Radio Aryan, which was later renamed Radio Albion.

The jury listened to each of the episodes, totalling about nine hours of audio, in which Allchurch can be repeatedly heard using racial slurs and propagating racist ideology while discussing topics including grooming gangs, immigration, slavery and crime.

The episodes were described by Jonathan Rees KC, prosecuting, as highly racist, antisemitic and white supremacist in nature.

Allchurch was joined in some of the episodes by National Action co-founder Alex Davies, 27, from Swansea, who was jailed in June last year for being a member of the banned far-right organisation, as well as other known extremists from the US and UK.

He used the alias Sven Longshanks, a reference to King Edward I, who was also known as Edward Longshanks and was responsible for expelling Jewish people from England in 1290.

Mr Rees told the jury: In his own words, the defendant is an avowed racist and considers himself to be a national socialist.

The very purpose of Radio Aryan was to spread his propaganda about racial conflict.

Police arrested Allchurch, who said he is disabled and unable to work, at his home on December 17th, 2019.

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Giving evidence, Allchurch denied the podcast encouraged hatred or racial violence.

He told the court that his use of racial slurs was not intended to cause offence, and said he believed he was using accurate terminology.

The defendant said he spent up to 12 hours per day creating podcast episodes and maintaining his website, which accepts donations via a Bitcoin link.

He said he was not a member of any proscribed far-right organisation.

When asked if people would be upset by what he said in the recordings, Allchurch replied: My audience is other nationalists who at the time used similar or worse terminology.

Judge Huw Rees asked if Allchurch accepted that members of the public had unfettered access to the website.

Allchurch replied: They had to know the address, they had to know the name and look it up. We didnt advertise anywhere that wasnt already within the nationalist community.

He was asked about Davies and told jurors the far-right group leader had not been charged or convicted when he appeared on the podcast.

In one exchange during a recording about grooming gangs, Allchurch described himself and Davies as avowed racists.

Allchurch told the jury: It was just a joke. People accuse myself and others like me as racists. Anybody centre right, even the Conservatives, get accused of being racist.
A UK police officer who pulled down a young womans top and photographed her breasts during a night out has been jailed.

Married father of four Paul Hinchcliffe (46) was sent to prison for eight months on Friday by a judge who told him his behaviour betrays your fellow officers who do a decent, committed job and makes women mistrustful of the police force.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the 18-year-old complainant said in an impact statement: All my trust for the police just went.

I used to feel safe when I saw police officers. I never think that now.

He sexually assaulted me when he shouldve been in a role that protects people.

Hinchcliffe, who resigned from South Yorkshire Police after his conviction, was found guilty of sexual assault earlier this year by a jury which heard that the incident happened when he was in a group including other officers who were drinking at a Wetherspoons pub in Wath upon Dearne, South Yorkshire, on the afternoon of October 3rd, 2020.

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Judge Robin Mairs recounted the drunken events in the bar, reminding the defendant how he took a photograph of the woman wearing her glasses and showed everyone else, saying: Im going to have a w*nk to that tonight.

He then started flicking beer foam at her chest in what the judge decided was him simulating semen.

The judge said Hinchcliffe pulled open the womans top and photographed her breasts inside her bra while making orgasm noises before sending the image to a colleague.

The woman, who lived with her parents, was at home later when she got WhatsApp messages from Hinchcliffe with a picture of her accompanied by what the judge called masturbating emojis.

One message said: God Id do you, is that bad?

Katherine Pierpoint, defending, urged the judge to suspend the prison sentence.

She said her clients drunkenness during the event was no excuse, and was an aggravating factor, but it might be an explanation for his completely out-of-character behaviour.

She pointed the judge towards a raft of references from colleagues about his service during a 20-year police career.

He should not have got himself into that state, the barrister told the court.

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Ms Pierpoint stressed that, unlike some recent high-profile cases, this was not a case of a police officer using his position to commit an offence.

But she conceded: He shouldve known better than anyone how somebody in this situation wouldve felt.

Judge Mairs rejected the plea to suspend the prison sentence, noting that Hinchcliffe was training student police officers at the time of the offence.

Leeds Crown Court (Anna Gowthorpe/PA)

He said Hinchcliffe breached the standards he was tasked with instilling into recruits.

Referring to the references he had read, the judge said Hinchcliffes behaviour on that afternoon was scarcely credible in the light of that background.

He said the behaviour of Hinchcliffe and other officers that night went far beyond jokes and banter.

Judge Mairs said the complainants trust in men had been affected by the incident and her trust in the police is now highly dented because of what you did.

He told Hinchcliffe: You were in your 40s, and she was an 18-year-old girl.

This was not committed whilst you were on police duties, but it was committed in the company of other police officers.

He said offences of this kind reduce public confidence and reduce public trust in the police force.

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Judge Mairs said: Sexual offences committed by police officers, recorded and disseminated to others, are offences where the only appropriate punishment can be achieved by immediate custody.

He said Hinchcliffe, who stood in the glass-fronted dock wearing a light blue suit, white shirt and blue tie, will be added to the sex offenders register for 10 years.

South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Lauren Poultney said on Friday: This case demonstrates that wrongdoing and poor standards will not be tolerated in South Yorkshire Police.

Whether our officers and staff are on duty or not, the public rightly expect us to portray the true values of policing at all times and this former officer fell woefully below these expectations.

I am mindful this hearing follows the release of the Casey report last week and wish to assure our communities that here in South Yorkshire Police we are doing absolutely everything we can to root out those who are not fit to represent your force.

She added: Force standards and culture continue to be my top priority and when wrongdoing and poor standards are identified, the perpetrators will be dealt with swiftly and robustly.
Reeva Steenkamps parents will oppose Oscar Pistoriuss parole application, their lawyer said.

Unless the former Olympic runner comes clean about the deadly shooting of his model girlfriend 10 years ago, her parents dont feel that he is rehabilitated, Tania Koen said.

Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion who made history by running against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics, was convicted of murder for the Valentines Day 2013 shooting of Ms Steenkamp (29) at his home.

The 36-year-old claims he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

He said he did not realise she got out of bed and went to the bathroom.

But her parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, believe he killed her intentionally after a late-night row.

Oscar Pistorius leaves the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2016 during his trail for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp (Themba Hadebe/AP)

Pistorius was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison and is eligible for parole under South African law after serving half his sentence.

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Ms Koen said June, who hails from Blackburn, Lancashire, would submit written and oral statements at the hearing to oppose Pistoriuss bid for freedom.

She doesnt feel that he must be released, Ms Koen told reporters outside the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria, where Pistorius has been held since 2016 and where the hearing was expected to take place on Friday.

Submissions from a victims relative are one of the factors a parole board takes into account when deciding if an offender can be released early on parole.

Pistorius in 2012 (PA)

The board will also consider Pistoriuss behaviour in prison and if he would be a threat to society if released.

A decision could come on Friday but is more likely to take days to finalise.

Double-amputee Pistorius fired four shots with his licensed 9mm pistol through a toilet door at his upscale Pretoria home to kill Ms Steenkamp, who was also a reality TV star, in the early hours.

He was ultimately sentenced in 2017 after a series of appeals and has, taking into account time served, served more than seven years since late 2014.

An initial manslaughter conviction was overturned after an appeal by the prosecution and replaced with a murder conviction.

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June sat in the back seat of a nearby car while Ms Koen addressed reporters outside the prison gates on Friday morning.

The pair were then driven into the prison in a Department of Corrections vehicle.

June Steenkamp, the mother of Reeva Steenkamp, arrives at the Atteridgeville Prison for the parole hearing of Oscar Pistorius (Themba Hadebe/AP)

She doesnt feel that he must be released, Ms Koen said.

A decade after their daughters killing, Ms Koen said time hasnt healed the grief for June and Barry.

Hes the killer of their daughter. For them, its a life sentence, Ms Koen said.

For them, its 10 missed birthdays, 10 Mothers Days, 10 Fathers Days, 10 Christmases.

Barry met face-to-face with Pistorius last year in what is known in South Africa as a victim-offender dialogue and part of the pre-parole process.

That meeting was traumatic, Ms Koen said.

Pistoriuss parole lawyer, Julian Knight, previously said his client has been a model prisoner.

A number of options are available to the parole board.

Tania Koen, a lawyer representing the parents of Reeva Steenkamp, speaks to the press outside Atteridgeville Prison (Themba Hadebe/AP)

Pistorius could be released on full parole or placed on day parole, where he would be allowed to live and work in the community during the day but have to return to prison at night.

He could also be placed under correctional supervision, which means he would be released but have to spend some of his time during the week at a correctional centre.

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Or Pistoriuss parole could be denied.

Once hailed as an inspirational figure for overcoming the adversity of his disability, Pistoriuss trial and downfall captivated the world.

His conviction eventually led to him being sent to the Kgosi Mampuru II maximum security prison, one of South Africas most notorious.

He was moved to the Atteridgeville prison in 2016 because that facility is better suited to disabled prisoners.

Pistoriuss lower legs were amputated when he was a baby because of a congenital condition and he walks with prosthetics.

Prison staff at the entrance to Atteridgeville Prison ahead of Fridays parole hearing (Themba Hadebe/AP)

There have been glimpses of his life in prison, with reports claiming he had at one point grown a beard, gained weight and taken up smoking and was unrecognisable from the world-famous athlete he once was.

He has spent much of his time working in an area of the prison grounds where vegetables are grown, sometimes driving a tractor.

He also ran bible classes for other inmates, his father, Henke Pistorius, said in an interview in 2018.

There have also been flashes of trouble.

Pistorius sustained an injury in an altercation with another inmate over a public telephone at the prison in 2017.

A year earlier, Pistorius received treatment for injuries to his wrists, which his family denied were a result of self-harm but instead of him falling in his cell.

If Pistorius is released, he is expected to live at his uncles mansion in the Pretoria suburbs.

He lived there under house arrest for a time during his murder trial.
Former US president Donald Trump is facing several charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offence, in the indictment against him by a New York grand jury, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday.

He will be formally arrested and arraigned next Tuesday in his hush money case, court officials said, an announcement promising the historic scene of a former US commander in chief forced to stand before a judge.

The indictment against him remains sealed and the specific charges were not known, but details were confirmed by people who requested anonymity.

The streets outside the court where the arraignment will unfold were calm on Friday compared with earlier in the week.

When Mr Trump turns himself in, he will be booked like anyone else facing charges, with mug shot and fingerprinting.

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But he is not expected to be put in handcuffs. He will have secret service protection and will almost certainly be released the same day.

In the meantime, Mr Trumps legal team prepared his defence while the prosecutor defended the grand jury investigation that propelled the matter toward trial.

Congressional Republicans, as well as Mr Trump himself, contend the whole matter is politically motivated.

We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference, Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg wrote to three Republican House committee chairmen on Friday in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The case is plunging the US into uncharted legal waters, with Mr Trump the first former president ever to face an indictment.

And the political implications could be titanic ahead of next years presidential election.

Mr Trump is in the midst of running for president a third time and has said the case against him could hurt that effort  though his campaign is already raising money by citing it.

Law enforcement personnel outside Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on Friday (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

Top Republicans also have begun closing ranks around him.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to use congressional oversight to investigate Mr Bragg.

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Representatives James Comer, Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil, the committee chairmen whom Bragg addressed in his letter, have asked the district attorneys office for grand jury testimony, documents and copies of any communications with the justice department.

Mr Trumps indictment came after a grand jury investigation into hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury allegations of an extramarital sexual encounter.

The indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

The investigation dug into six-figure payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Both claim to have had sexual encounters with Mr Trump years before he got into politics. He denies having sexual liaisons with either woman.

A New York City Police car and court officer stand guard outside the Manhattan district attorneys office (Mary Altaffer/AP)

Mr Trump also has denied any wrongdoing involving payments and has denounced the investigation as a scam, a persecution and an injustice. He says that it is specifically designed to damage his 2024 presidential run.

Mr Trumps lawyer Joseph Tacopina said during TV interviews on Friday he would very aggressively challenge the legal validity of the Manhattan grand jury indictment.

Mr Trump himself, on his social media platform, complained that the judge expected to handle the case, Juan Manuel Merchan, HATES ME.

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On his social media platform Mr Trump also accused Democrats of having LIED, CHEATED, AND STOLEN IN THEIR MANIACAL OBSESSION TO GET TRUMP.

The former president is expected to fly to New York on Monday and stay at Trump Tower overnight ahead of his planned arraignment on Tuesday.

He will be arraigned in the same Manhattan courtroom where his company was tried and convicted of tax fraud in December and where disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinsteins rape trial took place.

On Friday, officials from the secret service and the New York Police Department toured the court and discussed security plans.

Former president Donald Trump (Evan Vucci/AP)

Since Mr Trumps post on March 18th post claiming his arrest was imminent, authorities have ratcheted up security, deploying additional police officers, lining the streets around the court with barricades and dispatching bomb-sniffing dogs.

Since no former president had ever been charged with a crime, there is no rulebook for booking the defendant.

He will be fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken, and investigators will complete arrest paperwork and check to see if he has any outstanding criminal charges or warrants.

All of that activity takes place away from the public. New York law prohibits the release of mug shots in most cases. Less clear is whether Mr Trump would seek to have the picture released himself, for political or other reasons.

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Once the booking is complete, the former president would appear before a judge for an afternoon arraignment.

Even for defendants who turn themselves in, answering criminal charges in New York generally entails at least several hours of detention while being fingerprinted, photographed and going through other procedures.

As for the allegations, as Mr Trump ran for president in 2016, his allies paid two women to bury their accusations.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg (Seth Wenig/AP)

The publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer paid McDougal $150,000 for rights to her story and sat on it, in an arrangement brokered by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

After Cohen himself paid Daniels $130,000, Mr Trumps company reimbursed him, added bonuses and logged the payments as legal expenses.

Federal prosecutors argued, in a 2018 criminal case against Cohen, that the payments equated to illegal aid to Mr Trumps campaign.

Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation charges, but federal prosecutors did not go after Trump, who was then in the White House.

However, some of their court filings obliquely implicated him as someone who knew about the payment arrangements.

The New York indictment came as Mr Trump contends with other investigations that could have grave legal consequences.

In Atlanta, prosecutors are considering whether he committed any crimes when trying to get Georgia officials to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss there to Joe Biden.

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At federal level, a justice department-appointed special counsel is investigating Mr Trumps efforts to unravel the national election results.

Additionally, the special counsel is examining how and why he held on to a cache of top secret government documents at his Florida club and residence, Mar-a-Lago, and whether the ex-president or his representatives tried to obstruct the investigation into those documents.
Former US president Donald Trump will not be handcuffed when he surrenders next week in New York to face criminal charges, under the terms of a deal agreed between his defence attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors, defence lawyer Joe Tacopina said on Friday.

Mr Tacopina said in an interview that he expected the arrest otherwise to proceed as a matter of routine on Tuesday, when Mr Trump is due to appear to face an indictment following a grand jury investigation of a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during Mr Trump's 2016 campaign.

"I don't know how all this is going to go down. There's no textbook to see how you arraign a former president of the United States in criminal court," Mr Tacopina said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office could not immediately be reached for reaction to Mr Tacopina's comments.

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Mr Tacopina said Mr Trump and his defence team were surprised by news of the indictment: "Initially we were all shocked. Didn't believe they were actually going to go through with this because there's no crime here."

Prosecutors said they were working to coordinate Mr Trumps surrender, which could happen early next week.

World Donald Trump expected to surrender next week follo... Read More

They did not say whether they intended to seek prison time in the event of a conviction, a development that would not prevent Mr Trump from seeking and assuming the presidency.

The indictment, the first against a former US president, injects a local district attorneys office into the heart of a national presidential race and ushers in criminal proceedings in a city that the ex-president for decades called home.

Arriving at a time of deep political divisions, the charges are likely to reinforce rather than reshape duelling perspectives of those who see accountability as long overdue and those who, like Mr Trump, feel the Republican is being targeted for political purposes by a Democratic prosecutor.

Mr Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly assailed the investigation, called the indictment political persecution and predicted it would damage Democrats in 2024. -Reuters
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 Late last year, Changpeng Zhao, the enigmatic head of the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was set to make a rare trip to Australia. Interviews with select journalists had been booked with one major talking point on the list: regulation of the unruly crypto industry. But days before his visit, Zhaos trip was abruptly cancelled and the interviews nixed. Months later it was rescheduled and cancelled again, leaving media questioning what was going on behind the scenes at one of cryptos unshakeable titans. Last week, those questions were answered. Powerful US regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance and Zhao for operating an illegal exchange, alleging multiple wilful breaches of US trading law. Changpeng Zhao with his Binance tattoo in Paris. Credit:Bloomberg Perhaps most damaging for Binance, the case would shine a light on the groups allegedly flagrant disregard for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws  including dealings with suspected Russian criminals and Hamas financiers  and raise questions about its activities in Australia. Zhao this week in a blog post described the CFTC action as unexpected and disappointing, adding the complaint appears to contain an incomplete recitation of facts, and we do not agree with the characterisation of many of the issues alleged in the complaint. Since being founded by Zhao in China in 2017, Binance has grown to become the worlds biggest cryptocurrency exchange with revenue exceeding $US20 billion ($29.8 billion) and 30 million registered users, according to 2022 data. In Australia, it has 200,000 customers thanks to a massive marketing campaign and a large network of local influencers. But the groups growth has also come at the expense of its reputation, with regulators in the UK, Italy, Japan, US, Australia, Canada, Thailand and Germany separately warning the group for potentially operating outside the law.

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This week, Binances reputation took another major hit with the CFTC action, sparking a $US2 billion run as customers raced to withdraw their funds. Most problematic for Binance in the CFTC complaint were the extracts of internal chats between senior executive Samuel Lim, Zhao and other staff at Binance, that US regulators allege show flagrant disregard for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws and rules requiring financial groups to check the identities of its users. The complaint alleges: For example, in February 2019, after receiving information regarding HAMAS transactions on Binance, Lim explained to a colleague that terrorists usually send small sums as large sums constitute money laundering. Lims colleague replied: can barely buy an AK-47 with 600 bucks. And with regard to certain Binance customers, including customers from Russia, Lim acknowledged in a February 2020 chat: Like come on. They are here for crime. Binances MLRO (money laundering regulatory officer) agreed that we see the bad, but we close 2 eyes. Concerns over Binance allegedly skirting regulation have not been limited to the companys US operations. Jeff Yew, the former chief executive of Binance Australia, said his departure from the company in April 2021 was due to concerns over the companys management and lax approach to regulatory compliance. Monochrome chief executive Jeff Yew  the former CEO of Binance Australia  says he left amid concerns about the groups approach to regulation.

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Back then, I had become increasingly concerned about the approach Binance was taking in relation to the management of Binance Australia, Yew said. Because its an unregulated industry, the interpretation of what regulation applies is very hard to agree on because there are no standards. The alignment between local and international management of what was important to prioritise from a self-regulatory standpoint resulted in friction, and led to me feeling I could not continue my duties as CEO of the business. Yew, who now runs regulated crypto investment firm Monochrome, believes the issues plaguing Binance in the US are not restricted to just one company, and that regulatory noncompliance is endemic throughout the industry  including in Australia. Commitment to proper risk management and compliance practices is not consistent across digital currency exchanges globally. The alleged issues at Binance are likely not limited to their operations and similar or other issues may be under the surface at other unregulated crypto exchanges in Australia, Yew said. Crypto exchanges in Australia have been largely unregulated; however they often portray, in their own marketing materials, that they are heavily regulated. This is disappointing. Former Binance Australia boss Jeff Yew A spokeswoman at Binance responded to the allegations: Our priority is to serve and protect users by putting their interests first, and we will continue to do so. We are collaborative with regulators and government agencies all around the world.

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Australias regulators have had Binance in their sights for some time, though there has been no formal action against the group or its executives here for any breaches of financial services laws. Loading Australias transaction regulator Austrac, which conducted a review of Binance in 2019, declined to comment on the CFTC complaint and whether it raised concerns given Binances local entity is a registered digital currency exchange or on Binance specifically. A spokesperson for Austrac said: Reporting entities must take steps to identify their customer (know your customer), check that they are who they say they are, report suspicious matters, and conduct additional verification checks (enhanced customer due diligence) when appropriate. Sources close to ASIC, who are not permitted to speak publicly, said the regulator had been surveilling Binance for at least the past three years amid potential concerns about its sales practices in Australia. Binance is currently the subject of a targeted review by ASIC after it was discovered that it had misclassified some of its retail clients as wholesale investors. We are unable to provide further comment while that review is under way, a spokesman for ASIC said. A spokesperson for Binance Australia said the company identified the breaches after receiving notices from ASIC regarding the matter. There are other signs Australian regulators have been clamping down on Binances activities. In 2021, Binance abruptly stopped selling a range of complex derivative products to Australian customers amid concerns from ASIC that cryptocurrency operators were selling exotic products to normal Australian investors, an activity that could require them to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).

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In 2022, Binance obtained an AFSL, with company records showing it paid $4 million to acquire one from an existing holder allowing it to sell cryptocurrency derivative products in Australia. Loading Binance has also had bingles with other regulators here. Late last year, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) fined Binances Australian entity $2 million for sending 5.7 million spam emails to Australian-based consumers. A spokeswoman for Binance said the group had complied with the enforceable undertaking issued by ACMA and had trained its employees in accordance with the authoritys directives. Despite the claims against Binance, Yew believes the action is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the broader crypto ecosystem. He welcomed the wave of compliance action being taken both locally and abroad, and said it would level the playing field for those doing the right thing and snuff out those hoping to take advantage of the current situation. Crypto exchanges in Australia have been largely unregulated; however they often portray, in their own marketing materials, that they are heavily regulated. This is disappointing, and arguably misleading, from a consumer protection and ethics standpoint, he said. There is hope that the cryptocurrency industry in Australia will soon have more oversight. Earlier this year Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said that the government would reform the licensing and custody of crypto assets, particularly for the subset of crypto assets that currently fall outside the financial services regulatory framework. This week Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg lodged a private members bill in the Senate aimed at speeding up the governments process. The Digital Assets Bill will put Australia back into the race to regulate. This will protect consumers and promote investment, Bragg said.

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Chinese language teachers confident about Ghanaian graduates' career prospects

Xinhua) 10:40, March 31, 2023

ACCRA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese language teachers both from China and Ghana have voiced their confidence in the career prospects of Ghanaian graduates majoring in Chinese as the China-Africa cooperation prospers.

In a week-long job fair organized by the University of Ghana in partnership with the Confucius Institute starting Wednesday, the prospective young Ghanaian graduates who studied the Chinese language have become the sought-after talent of many Chinese and local enterprises.

Grace Selassie, a Chinese language teacher at the Confucius Institute, told Xinhua that students majoring in the Chinese language have many options for successful careers.

"This fair is organized to help students, especially final-year students who are looking for job opportunities. The Confucius Institute is also part of the project as we are recruiting students who have studied Chinese and want to become teachers, as well as students who want to do their internship in different companies," said Selassie.

Selassie, once a Chinese language major student, recounted how beneficial studying the Chinese language has been for her. "The training from the Confucius Institute has been very helpful to me. I can now speak Chinese fluently, and teach other people Chinese."

Wang Jimin, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute, said the institute has always served as a platform to provide job opportunities for young Ghanaians aspiring to make a difference in the future.

"Renowned Chinese enterprises in Ghana need people who are eloquent in the Chinese language so that they will be able to communicate with them," said Josephine Dzahene Quarshie, Ghanaian director of the Confucius Institute, urging students at the university and other tertiary institutions to take advantage of studying the Chinese language because of the opportunities it offers.

She added that Chinese language education in the country is of great significance in that regard and will further deepen the friendly relations between Ghana and China.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, behind the podium, speaks during a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, Feb. 27, to discuss rural issues, in this photo released by the North's Korean Central Agency the following day. Yonhap



By Lee Hyo-jin



Extrajudicial executions, torture and state censorship of expression and media are some of the commonplace human rights violations in North Korea, according to a report unveiled by the South Korean Ministry of Unification, Thursday.



It is the first time Seoul has disclosed its annual report on human rights issues in Pyongyang to the public, a move that is expected to infuriate North Korea. The dictatorial regime is highly sensitive to criticism from the outside world about its human rights issues.



Based on the North Korean Human Rights Act, which was amended in 2016 and is aimed at documenting human rights abuses of the dictatorial regime, the unification ministry has been compiling the annual report since 2018. But the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration (2017-2022) had classified the reports as confidential data, citing privacy reasons of North Korean defectors who gave interviews.



The newly published 450-page report by the incumbent Yoon Suk Yeol administration features in-depth interviews with 508 North Korean defectors from 2017 to 2022, who had witnessed or experienced serious human rights violations while living there.



According to the report, North Korea carries out public executions of people accused of drug offenses, distribution of South Korean videos or engaging in religious activities. The regime also carried out the secret execution of a homosexual man in 2014 and a woman who was accused of prostitution in 2013.



Women and children were more susceptible to violence, with the execution of minors and pregnant women having been reported. The reclusive regime has also subjected women in detention to inhumane conditions that include torture, forced labor, sexual violence and starvation.



The unification ministry said it has identified a total of 11 political prison camps with five currently in operation.



The ministry explained that it wrote the report based on recent human rights violation cases in a "balanced and objective manner." It plans to distribute printed versions of the report to state-run think tanks and public libraries, and will also publish an English version for international organizations.



"The report reflects the government's determination to put more effort into practically improving human rights in North Korea," Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said, stressing that the report is not aimed at accusing Pyongyang but at finding feasible solutions to address the issue.



The report was unveiled to the media two days after Yoon ordered the ministry to fully disclose human rights issues in North Korea to the international community, calling the move a "fundamental roadmap to security and unification."


In the last year, we have all had our say at various elections federal and state.

Because we are Australia and act decently (except when the pies come out in the Qantas lounge), despite the losers being supported by a fair old chunk of the electorate, no political leader has denied the result.

Indeed, in NSW Dominic Perrottets classy concession speech went as far as saying everyone should rally around the new Premier Christopher Minns. We have not seen deranged deposed leaders muttering into their golf bags that they were robbed and conned out of the job.

Dominic Perrottet, with wife Helen, delivers his concession speech at the Hilton in Sydney on Saturday night. Credit: James Brickwood

Having a say is one of those fundamental parts of being human. Having our voices heard. It applies just as much in workplaces as it does elsewhere. However, this doesnt always seem to be rigorously applied in workplaces. The immediate need to earn a living is more pressing for many people than the rather abstract notion of which person, who weve never met, is going to sit in a room in place you wouldnt want to visit (Canberra), to make decisions about many things of no particular interest. Failing to get our preferred candidate into parliament is generally not as bad as losing our jobs.
Author of five previous novels, Simone Lazaroos latest is a distilled work of autofiction, fusing novelistic technique and the reflective, essayistic style of creative non-fiction. Narrated by Eva who, like the novelist, is born to a biracial family, Between Water and the Night Sky delves into the lives of her parents as she tries to understand her own story. It begins with the death of her mother Elspeth, whose restlessness and youthful desire to flee Western Australia is traced to horrific abuse she suffered in a wheat belt town as a young child, and that, gruellingly, must be faced in old age. Her father Francis is from Singapore, his story a struggle to surmount racism and find a place for himself astride cultures. This is a wise, unshowy, and beautifully composed book that moves sinuously from an adult daughter unprepared for grief into reflections on memory, migration, love, and how the weight of unspoken trauma may be endured.

Garth Nix has created a worthy sequel to The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. Its superior fantasy that sports the elaborate double-world-building of something such as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell but is closer to Neil Gaiman in sensibility. In an alternative 1980s, a network of left-handed booksellers, right-handed booksellers, and even-handed ones keeps the fearsome magic of the Old World from wreaking havoc. Susan, daughter of a powerful being and a mortal, sports a shaved head and Doc Martens and is trying to strike a balance between magical crime-fighting and her normal life as an artist. Shes drawn back into the fray when her left-handed bookseller love interest, Merlin, gets into another scrape  trapped in a mystical garden dressed like a Jane Austen character. Bursting at the seams with invention, this series could make bingeworthy long-form TV adaptation; it will delight bookish teens and all lovers of fantasy.

The Glow

Sofie Laguna & Marc McBride, Allen & Unwin, $16.99

Credit:

Writer Sofie Laguna and illustrator Marc McBride are a married couple, and their teamwork on this childrens sci-fi is mirrored in the story itself. Two young friends find escape in imagination: Megan loves drawing fantastical creatures, and her best friend Li writes stories to go along with them. One day, the people of their town stop functioning. A bizarre glow emanates from any screen at hand, and anyone caught using a device remains conscious, but can do little more than stare raptly into it. Could it be the start of an alien invasion? Megan and Li ride their bikes to investigate, and seek help to defeat the monster behind the alarming turn of events.

The Glow is a well-paced kids adventure story, complemented by a vivid bestiary of illustrations (everything from dragons to nightmarish original creatures). It doubles as a parable of the dangers posed by maxing out screen time, without compromising entertainment or suspense.
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 The Australian art critic Robert Hughes once wrote, Every literary editor dreams that one day an authentic genius will drop through his or her letterbox, an unsolicited angel descending in a buff manila chariot. All the workers who live off literature have the same fantasy; theyre like those stooped retirees sweeping metal detectors across fields of unsolicited dross looking for the big one: the new Catcher in The Rye written by some pale-faced Goth chewing her nails in student digs; the welfare-fat Cervantes from Seymour whos conjured a new Quixote and sent them a manuscript wherein he charges and changes a warming planet. For years my literary agent, Fin England, has lamented the banal manuscripts that land in her lap. It got to be a joke between us. Id see her out somewhere and say, I guess Id have heard if youd discovered a millennial Milton. After decades of disappointment her dream had died. Geniuses were extinct. Until, in December, the angel actually appeared in the mail. She rang me hoarse with excitement. Guess what? You wont believe this... Shed been sent a novel. The best shed ever read, she said. The best anyones ever read ... or written. She raved and blurbed and babbled until I got angry with her, my agent after all, shamelessly lauding a new talent. It was as if shed taken a younger lover. So I demanded she send me this great work or stop rabbiting on about it. After swearing me to secrecy Fin sent me the novel. Reading it I felt like that louse in the oboists wig hearing Mozart for the first time  only partly comprehending something I recognised as entirely numinous, something written for a better audience, a better species. My own lousy shortcomings suddenly made me sick at heart and I went to bed. Next day I rang Fin, not crying, definitely not crying, and said, Well, youve uncovered your new Dostoevsky. But succinct  Dostoevsky in haiku. The Bronte sisters, Anne, Emily and Charlotte, as painted by their brother Branwell. Credit:Painting There was a tranche of silence between us. Wed suddenly found ourselves at Gods right hand and had no idea how to behave. I was happy for the fact of this new maestro, but sad for myself. If I could write stories better than those written by Twain, Dickens and the Brontes Id have written them. I cant. This person had. I reread the novel, Iratus Avis, and it confirmed my obsolescence, Twains irrelevance, and the Brontes as a trio of cheap masochists. Fin told me she was going to meet the guy, but was somewhat overawed, and asked if Id come along. Like you, Id often imagined sipping pastis with Proust and falconing with Goethe, so I was in. We went to the University of Melbourne, where he has tenure. Id imagined him as a literary Brahmin beavering away in Creative Writing among tethered gonzos, the whole place bristling with novellas and hubris, like a gym for wordsmiths, everyone pumping irony. Or as a DPhil in among the philosophers, all tinkering away at metaphysics like seamstresses at needlepoint. But we walked past the humanities building and ended up at the faculty of science; we went inside to IT, and then deeper, to the AI lab, an open space where people doodled with HB pencils while algorithms beavered away like Oompa-Loompas.

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He is a young man of Indian descent, so physically frail it occurred to me Fin might have been posted his novel by his sister, saying shed found it in his belongings after he died, and was wondering if it was any good. Perplexingly, English is his second language. I reconciled this by reminding myself Conrad wrote in French, and Nabokov in three languages. In his office (small, the office of a nobody) he asked us how we liked his novel. Wed promised each other we wouldnt gush, but we broke down, our tails wagging adoration. We love it, man. It is ... truly great. You are ... Do you have any idea what you are? What youve done here? Think of our chatbot as a sort of IVF clinic using the sperm and eggs of dead geniuses to birth books. He took our compliments in a half-hearted, Gee, thanks manner. Id never met a writer less impressed with his own work. Les Murray would call you at midnight to blather about a fresh metaphor. Give Germaine Greer wine and she sings that days sentences in the style of Edith Piaf. Writers care. So what fresh fiend of letters was this? A man indifferent about his own book? This was new. Im glad you guys think it came out good. I havent read many novels to judge it against, he said. No? No. I dont care for fiction.

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Fin took my hand, probably to stop me from decking this blase wunderkind. Iratus Avis was written by a chatbot my team and I are developing, he explained. With the smell of my own death in the air, my tail stopped wagging. The guy was having fun now, smiling, a Time Lord touching down among monkeys, showing us the shiny toys of a distant future. Can you ... I dont ... what is...? I couldnt even frame a question. We have crossbred the entire corpus of Hemingway with the entire corpus of Tolstoy. He saw my anxiety. The way we try to explain it to our non-AI friends is by saying its like freezing sperm, or a womans eggs. You know there are women freezing the sperm of a dying lover so that years after his death he can father their children? I do. I could think of at least three notorious Melbourne criminals gunned down at no loss to the right-thinking world who were fathering kids to deluded widows even as we spoke. Well, with AI we now have the ability to search and categorise all the stored intelligence of, lets say, Shakespeare, his plays and sonnety things, as well as every review ever written about him. The criticism of his works, their reception, helps us delineate good Shakespeare from ho-hum Shakespeare and produce better Shakespeare, Shakespeare improved by four centuries of advice from his academic audience. We have a huge database got by web-crawling, and all this past writing is the frozen sperm and eggs we use, the DNA. Think of our chatbot as a sort of IVF clinic using the sperm and eggs of dead geniuses to birth books.

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Have you even read Iratus Avis? Fin asked. No. My wife gets cranky when I read in bed. It seemed amazing he had a wife, a life, human concerns, this man who was crashing my world. Our chatbot is more advanced than any other. He was finally becoming proud. Many leading AI universities in America, Israel and France can rebirth authors with originality and fidelity. Where we have jumped ahead of them, we think, is with our breeding program. Breeding program? Think of it like the horse racing industry. Selective breeding. Bloodlines. We are cross-breeding champions to make better champions. For this novel you like so well we have crossbred the entire corpus of Hemingway with the entire corpus of Tolstoy. Iratus Avis is their offspring. Hemingways best traits and Tolstoys best moves, and none of the dross. By Hemingway out of Tolstoy, I said. Fin and I looked at each other, asking silent questions. What about all the young flesh and blood authors out there not selectively bred from geniuses? Had this AI prof, a man impressively unimpressed by literature, started a Guttenberg Press type revolution here? Will giants once again walk the Earth, but bigger, smarter giants this time?

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This is terrible, Fin said. Why? You will have better books, stronger literature. Do you have any other novels on the go? I couldnt think what else to ask. Oh, yes. Currently we are putting Emile Zola across Virginia Woolf. She wont like that. I wouldnt want to be trying to sell Zola or Woolf books next year  the Zola/Woolfs will be much better. I dont know these authors, but folks in the arts faculty suggested they might have pretty kids, as it were. The Zola/Woolf progeny will be on the ground by Christmas. I wouldnt want to be trying to sell Zola or Woolf books next year  the Zola/Woolfs will be much better.

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John Farnham is receiving treatment in hospital for a respiratory infection, but the 73-year-old is comfortable and receiving the very best care, according to his wife, Jill Farnham.

John continues his recovery following last years successful surgery, Jill Farnham said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

Hes always been a strong and determined person with everything hes ever done and we are all so very proud of him. He is responding well to the specialist care hes receiving.

Farnham had major surgery in August last year to remove a cancerous tumour from his mouth. The near 12-hour operation involved two processes  removing the tumour, followed by reconstructive surgery on Farnhams jaw, part of which was excised during the first operation.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size This story is part of the April 1 Edition of Good Weekend. See all 14 stories . Youll be forgiven if you dont know the name Tom Rob Smith right off the bat. Hes not, after all, a top Hollywood actor, a high-profile film director or even a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Hes just  if thats the appropriate word  a bestselling novelist and the screenwriter of several hit TV productions, whose critically lauded work speaks so much louder than any instant name recognition. Which is how Tom Rob Smith prefers it anyway. So, without further ado: a roll call of the British writers major works to date. Smith is the best-selling author of the 2008 thriller, Child 44 (more than 2 million copies sold), which spawned two sequels, The Secret Speech and Agent 6, and was followed in 2014 by another psychological thriller, The Farm. He wrote the screenplay for the second season of the true-crime series, American Crime Story  The Assassination of Gianni Versace  which won a 2018 Golden Globe and an Emmy for best miniseries. He penned the miniseries London Spy, starring Ben Whishaw and Charlotte Rampling  its opening episode alone was viewed by 2.5 million Brits  as well as MotherFatherSon, another miniseries, this one starring Richard Gere and Billie Howle. From left: unlike the film version of Child 44 (starring Tom Hardy), Tom Rob Smith had full script control of London Spy (starring Ben Whishaw and Edward Holcroft). Credit: Those who admire Smiths work will be pleased to know hes about to have another big moment with the recent release of his new novel, Cold People, the streaming next month of a limited TV series, Class of 09, which he wrote and produced, and the imminent announcement of a new miniseries based on The Farm. Oh, and in late May, hell be in Australia for the Sydney Writers Festival. If Smith sounds prolific, thats because he is. And hes still only 44 years old. When I speak to Smith via video from his New York apartment, hes wearing frameless glasses and a fawn jumper with colourful motifs of bottles and plants. Hes boyish-looking, with permanently tousled dark-blond hair and an accent thats mostly British, with US West Coast inflections (the London-born writer has spent much of the past few years commuting between the UK and the US). Outside, its a crisp winters evening: through a large glass balcony door, the twinkling lights of Manhattan beckon. Hes not long back from an early-evening walk, along footpaths lined with dirty clumps of snow. I walk everywhere, he explains. I pretty much never take taxis unless Im going to the airport. I love looking at the buildings, the people; it allows me to think. Loading In recent years, the word storyteller has been co-opted by podcasters, documentary-makers, advertising creatives and, dare I say it, journalists to describe their use of the narrative device to tell real-life tales. But Smith has the virtuosity of the classic campfire storyteller, one who uses his extravagant imagination to dramatise true-life stories to compelling effect.

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In his screenplay for The Assassination of Gianni Versace (based on the award-winning book, Vulgar Favors, by investigative journalist Maureen Orth), Smith makes serial killer Andrew Cunanans fast and violent cross-country murder spree  driven by his steep, psychological descent  feel as real as waves crashing on a rocky shore. In London Spy, were inside a dark tunnel where people are not what they seem, as the central character, Danny, has his life turned upside down after discovering the body of a man hes fallen in love with, only to learn that his murdered lover had worked for the Secret Intelligence Service. As a novelist and screenwriter, Smiths talents dovetail with the demands of a fast-shifting TV, cinema and publishing landscape. Hes part of a crop of younger novelist-screenwriters who recognise that streaming miniseries offer enough screen-time to create fully fleshed-out plots and characters that evolve beyond stock types. The novelist-screenwriter is nothing new (think Truman Capote, Stephen King, Joan Didion, Ray Bradbury) but shrinking advances for novels combined with fat pay cheques for those at the table in TV series writers rooms have propelled the trend more recently. Screenplays are pretty quick to write, says Smith, stroking his wispy beard thoughtfully. Once you have the outline, you can push out the first 60 pages or so of a draft. Thats completely different from writing a novel: theres no way you can get the first draft down quickly; you cant cheat the prose in that way. He hastens to add, however, that screenplays, which are driven by dialogue and visual explainers, can typically go through 30 or 40 maddening rewrites. Im a big rewriter, he says. I dont think any of my novels first drafts were quick. The Farm was probably the quickest because I knew Sweden [where it is partly set] so well. That first draft came in under a year. Still, Smith believes novels can do things creatively that other media cant. Although hes produced his share of original award-winning screenplays, he admits to leaning back to the novel as a source for filmed material for the very reason that a book contains so much more character description and background, giving greater insight into the inner workings of the protagonists, thus providing texture and depth-of-field for a script. What if we were all put in that situation ... (where) status, inherited property, the dividing lines of nation states  were suddenly wiped away? Smith learnt early on to seize the creative reins when one of his books was being made into a film. His first novel, Child 44, published just after he turned 29, was an instant bestseller and awarded Britains Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller of the year. Inspired by the true-life story of Andrei Chikatilo, a serial killer dubbed the Red Ripper in the Soviet Union, it was made into a feature film starring Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman. The film was a box-office bomb and a critical failure, however, and from then on, Smith was determined to write the scripts for any more films made from his books.

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Smiths new novel, Cold People, is about the end of the world  at least as we know it. Its a stark departure from his earlier work, which had mostly centred on crime. In Cold People, an unseen alien species with vastly more advanced technology has come to Earth and given the entire human race 30 days to evacuate to Antarctica. But the real battle to survive begins when the refugees attempt to carve out an existence in the most hostile place on Earth. While Tom Rob Smiths 2008 publishing debut, Child 44, and his 2014 book, The Farm, were both thrillers, his latest work, Cold People, ventures into sci-fi . Smith tells me hes long been interested in themes of dispossession and displacement: peoples being invaded, robbed of their land and shoved onto another inferior slice of territory. Human history has been built on conquest and replacement but, as a writer, Smith wasnt interested in exploring one specific story of injustice. Rather, his interest lay in the wider issue of what it means to lose your ancestral home. What if we were all put in that situation? he asks. What if an imposed mass migration of the entire human race meant that all the things we believe in  status, inherited property, the dividing lines of nation states  were suddenly wiped away? What if some superior intelligence ordered us to evacuate to the worst piece of land on the planet? Loading Smith was in London in March 2020 and booked to go on a three-week trip to Antarctica (Nothing gruelling or adventurous, just a boat trip down to the Antarctic Peninsula from Ushuaia) when the world stopped. The pandemic hit, I went into lockdown in London, so at least I was given a lot of extra time to write the book, he says, laughing. All Smiths works, whether novels or screenplays, are firmly grounded in their location. How important is this sense of place in his work? Very, he says. In Japanese horror mythology, theres this thing where terrible events can leave a spiritual imprint on the buildings where they happen.

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As a screenwriter, hes intrigued by how a scene between two actors can be reframed by their location, affecting how they physically interact. It will be an interesting process, I suggest to him, if Cold People is turned into a film. In Antarctica, theres this enormous sense of space but because the conditions are so hostile, people are huddled together, he says. Which results in a strange mix of both claustrophobia and physical emptiness, which is rare. From left: Smith penned The Assassination of Gianni Versace (with Edgar Ramirez and Penelope Cruz) and MotherFatherSon (starring Richard Gere). Credit: Smith grew up in South London, one of three children to a Swedish mother and an English father, both antiques dealers. Within a year or so of graduating from St Johns College in Cambridge in 2001, he scored a job as a scriptwriter and editor with the BBC. Smith was inspired by his mothers psychosis (shes since fully recovered) to write The Farm. The main character, a 29-year-old gay man called Daniel, is distressed by a phone call from his father in Sweden, who claims his mother has had a psychotic episode. But when Daniels mother lands on his doorstep in London, her vivid, highly detailed accounts of his father colluding with a sleazy, bullying neighbour, sexually harassing young women in a local village, seem plausible, leaving him divided between his parents starkly different versions of events. Smith still remembers the night his mother came to his door, bearing a hospital band on her wrist and accounts of persecution. As a storyteller, my mother was absolutely compelling, he says. While he was in a live-in relationship with British TV executive Ben Stephenson for some time, Smith says hes spent the past few years bouncing around a lot because of work, including spending eight months in Atlanta filming Class of 09. I work a lot because I love it. But at some level, Id like to put down roots. Wherever he finally settles  and it will probably be back in his home town of London  he has his books. Smith is a compulsive reader, especially when taking a break. The one-on-one relationship with a book, he says, is when he feels most at peace. The best of Good Weekend delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Sign up here.

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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Up close, an electric arc furnace has an overwhelming, elemental presence. Even with hearing protection and safety gear on, even behind the thick protective glass of the control booth, the heat and light exploding from the machine is startling. Outside the booth the scream of the furnace as it begins to pour steel from its gullet renders even shouted conversations moot. Steelmaking is known to be at least 4000 years old, and in this steelworks in Newcastle the process still looks like something ancient: slag bubbles away on top of a cauldron of boiling molten metal in a darkened chamber of gantries, cables, and pipes coated in a fine thick grime. In fact, what has been going on in this room in recent weeks is at the leading edge of global steelmaking technology. Working with the steelmaker Molycop, scientists from the University of NSW have commercialised a process that replaces coking coal with rubber from used tyres, dramatically reducing the amount greenhouse gasses emitted per tonne of steel produced. With the process proved, Molycop is in talks to license the technology to a world desperate to clean up steelmaking as it grapples with global warming.

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Steel is the worlds single most important engineering and construction material. It is bound so closely to human development that its use surges in lockstep with wealth generation in growing economies like China. But making steel is a dirty business. The World Steel Association estimates that in 2021 the global steel industry used about 2.3 billion tonnes of iron ore, 1.1 billion tonnes of metallurgical coal and 680 million tonnes of recycled steel to produce 1.95 billion tonnes of crude steel. In doing so, it dumped about 2.6 billion tonnes, or nearly 10 per cent, of the worlds greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. An electric arc furnace in action. Credit:Wolter Peeters Steel is generally made from one of two processes. In one, iron ore is refined and then combined in a coal-fired blast furnace with coke (which in turn is made of metallurgical coal purified in extreme heat) to provide ingredients such as hydrogen and carbon. In the other, scrap metal is melted in an electric arc furnace along with coke, which again provides hydrogen and carbon.

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At present, there are about 600 electric arc furnaces in the world, representing about 30 per cent of the worlds steel making capacity. They are concentrated in the older advanced economies such as North America and Europe, where there is a more ready supply of scrap steel to feed them. They are becoming more common in China and other parts of Asia as the supply of scrap grows. It is this use of scrap that attracted the attention of Professor Veena Sahajwalla, who now heads the University of NSWs Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) centre. Professor Veena Sahajwalla (centre), the Inventor & Professor of Materials Science UNSW, inside the control room. Credit:Wolter Peeters Sahajwalla is a world-leading expert in the reuse of materials, a woman offended by modernitys indulgent embrace of waste. No material, she believes, should be discarded to landfill after its first use to slowly degrade, releasing potentially valuable molecules to the atmosphere where they contribute to global warming. Nearly two decades ago it struck Sahajwalla that the highly processed rubber we use to make tyres contains both the carbon and hydrogen needed for steel production.

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She says the process to prove her green steel vision in the years since has been like conducting an orchestra. In her early work it became clear that, in a furnace, those requisite hydrogen and solid state carbon molecules might be liberated from the rubber for use. The trick was to ensure they were released at the right time, at the right rate and the right temperature. As the process moved out of the lab and into Molycops furnace over recent years it was clear that this method, now known as polymer injection, could work. But it had to work in harmony, she says. On January 9, Molycop fired up its Newcastle furnace and began using polymer injection commercially. The process sees a combination of granulated waste tyres and coke injected into the furnace at about 1550 degrees. The material included the shredded frames of demolished buildings, whitegoods, stoves, industrial equipment, tools and cars. Sahajwallas team is now working to refine the blend further to eliminate coke from steelmaking by adding used coffee grounds to the mix to provide further carbon and hydrogen.

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According to Molycops vice president for sustainability, Ian Tooze, the Newcastle mill plans to produce about 240,000 tonnes of steel with the process each year, using the equivalent of 90,000 used passenger vehicle tyres (including giant ones used in the mining industry) and displacing about 1000 tonnes of coke. Molycop is already in talks to license the technology with steelmakers in Europe and North America, and it could potentially displace about 3 million tonnes of coal from electric arc furnace steel production each year. Obviously, as the process is refined, more coal could be displaced. But the benefits extend further. Scrap steel being melted in the EAF. Credit:Wolter Peeters Despite Australias wealth of metallurgical coal, Molycop has been importing its coke from China because Australias other major steelmakers make their own coke. Now the company is less dependent on stable and long-distance supply lines to make a critical material. According to Dr Jens Goennemann  the managing director of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, a federally funded body that helps drive Australian innovation  polymer injection will not only help support Australian jobs and an important sovereign industry in a world growing less stable, it will help some manufacturers meet their emissions reductions obligations under the governments new climate policy. It proves, he says, that Australia can keep pace with advanced manufacturing developments as the world races to decarbonise.

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Surf culture has drifted from the beach and come crashing into penthouse apartments and walk-in wardrobes, with Sydney designer Hayden Cox out front, riding the trend hard.

From his Mona Vale workshop Cox has conquered the waves with his brand Haydenshapes top-selling Hypto Krypto boards, ridden by saltwater royalty such as Tom Carroll. This week Cox unveiled his first venture into retail furniture, with three pieces utilising his mastery of resin for Australian furniture brand SP01.

Hayden Cox in his Mona Vale workshop working on the resin pieces for his furniture collection for Australian luxury brand SP01. Credit: Brook Mitchell

Its the designers second successive stab at the luxury market, following the August launch of the Haydenshapes apparel range, which was snapped up by premium online retailer Mr Porter.

Translucent consoles worth $11,900 and $300 shorts are a long way from the 90s surf shop staples of sheepskin boots, beaded shell necklaces and hemp ponchos, but Cox, who launched his company in 2000, knows the value of his work.
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 It was the visit from police no parent wants, and it took just four minutes. Darren and Nicola Gilbert answered a knock at the front door and were told their son was dead. How he died, the officers could not say. And then they were gone. Their 24-year-old, Luke, had been in Airlie Beach, north Queensland, a world away from the Gilberts home in Western Australia. Those police from WA gave us a number to ring Queensland, and thats when we found out what happened, after [the officers] left, Nicola says through tears. As they dialled Queensland police, the Gilberts were unsure what to expect.

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They were told Luke, who had been enjoying a night out at a party precinct, allegedly lunged at police with a knife. Before long, his death started to appear on television bulletins and news sites, as the Gilberts pieced together what had happened. Police had fired five bullets at Luke. Three hit him in the chest. The time was about 12.20am. The police officers involved in the shooting are still working. Credit:Nine News Hours after the shooting and ahead of any official investigation, police union president Ian Leavers said Luke had lunged at police and the officers had no alternative but to open fire. All of a sudden he has pulled a knife from his hoodie and then started threatening the police, Leavers said at the time.

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Wearing his work gear  a high-vis shirt, with a pocket knife clipped to his belt  Luke had walked along the footpath in the early hours of October 1 last year, passing two officers and seeing another two further up the road. Its a legal knife you buy in Bunnings. Darren Gilbert While Lukes parents have seen videos from the night, they chose not to view the footage that showed the final moments of his life. His family have relied on their lawyer and others to help them process and explain the footage. Minutes before the shooting, the 24-year-old tradie had left a club to make his way to another bar. From what we can gather, Luke was basically walking up the street, Darren Gilbert says, his tone serious as he describes his sons last steps. He passes two police officers on the left-hand side as hes walking up.

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Luke Gilberts family say he would regularly use his pocket knife for work. He then passes another two officers. Apparently it looks like ... he nearly bumps into [one of the officers], and one of the coppers has said, You all right there? like not happy hes just been bumped into. Luke ignores the officers and starts crossing the road. So Lukes got his back to them and then they say, What have you got there?, so Lukes turned around, Darren says. Apparently ... this isnt confirmed because the video weve looked at has not shown that, but apparently he unclips the knife and shows them, and thats when theyve pulled the guns out. I think when he shows them, theyre saying the blade was open.

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The Queensland Police Service has not commented beyond a press conference held immediately after Lukes death, and has not responded to questions since, explaining the shooting was still under investigation. Ethical Standards Command are continuing the investigation into the death of Mr Gilbert and will submit a report to the State Coroner, a spokesman told Brisbane Times. Family and friends question the use of force, wondering why non-lethal alternatives, such as Tasers, werent used. At the time, Acting Assistant Commissioner Marcus Hill explained that while there was a lot of talk around Tasers, they were effective in some circumstances, but when people are advancing with a knife, thats probably not one of them. Luke Gilbert had been living in Townsville but travelled to Airlie Beach the day of his death to help a friend with car trouble. Credit:Facebook Darren says his son would wear the knife almost every day to work without a problem. Its a legal knife you buy in Bunnings, he says.

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A former Australian Taxation Office employee-turned whistleblower facing prosecution over steps he took to gather evidence will appeal against a court decision preventing him from relying on Commonwealth whistleblower protections.

Richard Boyle worked in the ATOs debt recovery division in Adelaide and made headlines in 2018 when he spoke out against his employers heavy-handed approach to some taxpayers in a joint investigation by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and the ABCs Four Corners.

Richard Boyle is set to appeal against the court ruling rejecting his bid to rely on whistleblower protections. Credit: Joe Armao

He was charged with a raft of offences in 2019, subsequently reduced to 24 charges, including covertly recording conversations with ATO colleagues and using his mobile phone to photograph taxpayer information.

If convicted, he faces a lengthy prison sentence.
The federal teals, although they liaise and collaborate, are not one bloc, and their parliamentary votes have shown they are ideologically diverse. Labors lower house majority has meant they do not, to their disappointment, hold the balance of power there. Loading But they are proving adept at using the forums provided by parliament, making a contrast with many backbenchers from the major parties, who  although they might do admirable work in their electorates and sometimes on committees  give the impression of being just numbers in their respective parties. Serious policy discussions in the Labor caucus or the Coalition party room are rare. The backbenchers in the government and opposition are at their worst in the House of Representatives question time, which continues to be as uninformative as ever. This government (like its predecessor) uses question time to parade what it is doing, with endless so-called Dorothy Dixers, which must be embarrassing to ask. Apart from questions on the Voice, the opposition asks variations on a common range of questions about cost of living, energy prices and the like, often with a slogan attached  why do Australian families always pay more under Labor?

The Coalition questions are predictable and repetitive, so the Prime Minister and practised senior ministers have little trouble batting them away. In the last parliament, question time was frequently painful for the Morrison government; in this parliament, it is seldom difficult for the Albanese government. Rarely does the opposition produce anything from its own independent research with which to surprise a potentially vulnerable minister. Nor does it effectively use question time to extract information. Crossbenchers (not just teals) do seriously probe for information and sometimes test ministers. The teals are an ideologically diverse bloc  can they open the debate about tax reform? Credit: Jessica Hromas, Elke Meitzel, Wolter Peeters, Nick Moir, Tony McDonough Question time is frustrating, when you think what it could be. But a much more important fault in current federal politics is this: despite the general recognition that big economic reforms are needed, neither government nor opposition dares go there.

Taxation is the standout example. Over the coming years, total tax will have to increase if we continue to want the services from government we are demanding. Some 59 leading economists were asked, in a survey by the Economic Society of Australia and The Conversation, for ways to find an extra $20 billion a year. They nominated new or increased land taxes, increased resources tax, winding back negative gearing, and broadening the GST as their top four options. Loading The Albanese government is hamstrung by its election promise to not increase taxes (apart from cracking down on multinationals tax avoidance). Thats for this term, but its narrow majority is likely to make Labor wary at the next election of bold tax reform promises. One way of tackling the issue would be to have a comprehensive inquiry into the tax system, but treasurer Jim Chalmers has made it clear he doesnt want one. Chalmers was a staffer to then-treasurer Wayne Swan when the Henry tax inquiry was held and is seared by the experience  the aftermath didnt go well for Labor.

Nor can we expect the opposition to lead the way on tax. The risks of being a big target are obvious. John Howard, having lived through the disaster of the Coalition under John Hewson offering major reform with its Fightback program at the 1993 election, pledged before the 1996 election never ever to introduce a GST, only to reverse that after he won government (and nearly lost the subsequent election). Small target is todays fashion, the road to power for Anthony Albanese and Chris Minns. Teal crossbencher Allegra Spender is free of responsibility for a party, although she does have an eye on what the constituents in her Sydney electorate of Wentworth want her to do. She judges them open to a policy discussion about tax. Former PM John Howard, pictured here with former Treasurer Peter Costello, almost lost an election after introducing the GST. Credit: Mike Bowers Spender on Friday hosts a roundtable on the tax system, to which she has attracted a whos who of experts, including former treasury secretary Ken Henry (of that review) and Grattan Institute executive director Danielle Wood.

In her speech to the roundtable, Wood will say: Australias tax system is failing us as a nation. It fails us because it cannot deliver the revenue we need to fund the services we expect. Australia has a revenue problem. Without policy change, we only have two solutions: let budget deficits grow ever larger, or continue to push up taxes on labour income. Loading This is unchartered territory for tax reform: we need changes to the system that both boost revenue and improve the efficiency of tax collections. There is simply no opportunity to buy reform through overly generous compensation packages  we need to raise more and we need to raise it smarter. At least roundtables like Spenders provide an airing for initiatives that we should be considering. Its just unfortunate the leading politicians in the major parties are not the ones giving them ventilation, let alone support. Michelle Grattan is professorial fellow at the University of Canberra. This article first appeared on The Conversation.
Andrews returned on Saturday from the four-day visit, during which he met government officials, including the countrys Education Minister, Huai Jinpeng, Jiangsu Governor Xu Kunlin, Beijing Mayor Yin Yong and Li Xukui, the vice president of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Loading When he landed in Beijing on Tuesday, Andrews became the first leader of an Australian government to visit China since the beginning of the pandemic and the announcement of the AUKUS deal to build nuclear-powered submarines to counter Chinas rising threat in the region. Its not a trip thats designed to sign deals. Its about coming out of a one-in-100-year event, which has obviously been difficult for all of us, Andrews said the day before his departure. This partnership has always been important. And arguably its more important than ever as we  all of us  seek to reset, rebuild and repair the damage and set our economies and our communities up for an even stronger future.

There is also lingering concern about Andrews close relationship to China, including his signing of a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative, which is increasingly viewed as a propaganda tool. The Morrison government tore up the MoU two years ago. Belt and Road is a $1.5 trillion global infrastructure initiative made up of railways, ports, roads, pipelines, power stations and industrial parks, co-funded and mostly built by China. Unveiled about a decade ago, it was pitched as an economic stimulus program across Asia and the Indo-Pacific. And while it has been influential, it has also been criticised for creating bungled projects and debt traps. And much has changed in China, and with Australias relationship with it, since Andrews previous visit, almost four years ago. The Chinese government has come under increasing international scrutiny over its militarisation of the South China Sea, its crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong, the detention of more than a million Uyghurs in Xinjiang and its economic coercion against Australia.

There has been a thaw in relations following the election of the Albanese government, though tensions remain over TikTok, Chinese-made security cameras and the fallout from the AUKUS security pact. On Thursday, Xin Changxing, the party secretary of the Jiangsu province, said he hoped the two governments would actively promote the joint construction of Belt and Road. Andrews in Tiananmen Square during a visit in 2015. Credit: Twitter Richard McGregor, a senior fellow for East Asia at foreign policy think tank the Lowy Institute, said while Andrews trip was good for Australia, it would have no material impact on the Victorian economy. The welcome extended to Andrews is a good signal for the overall bilateral relationship with Australia, McGregor said. The benefits premiers interactions with foreign countries have is not as large as the premiers like to believe, and that doesnt just apply to Andrews.

Loading It was a scramble to get the details of the trip ironed out. Ten days after Andrews told Albanese he intended to visit China, Jeremi Moule, the secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, spoke with Jan Adams, the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Moule raised the prospect of travelling to China in March. Adams suggested Moule speak with Australias ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher. On March 7, according to the Victorian government, the premiers department spoke to the Consulate-General of the Peoples Republic of China about meetings they could set and asked for support to arrange visas. Less than a week later, the consulate general provided in-principle support for the trip and proposed the Victorian contingent travel to China on the week starting March 27. The Victorian government says it kept DFAT informed the entire time and on March 15, DFATs office in Victoria formally notified Canberra of the impending trip. A day later, the department provided a note supporting visa applications, which were issued on March 22.

The program of meetings was still under consideration by Chinese government officials last Sunday, as Andrews departure day loomed. The details of the meetings arranged were finalised just hours before the premier flew out when his office provided a copy of the schedule and discussed the trip with Adams. Last Monday, Andrews, Moule and two staff members from the premiers private office left Melbourne for China. In 2015 Andrews visited Beijings Temple of Heaven with Australian business and education leaders and diplomats. Credit: Farrah Tomazin Andrews gave the federal government, including Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, notice of the trip, but did not seek either Wongs or Albaneses advice on whether the timing would be a problem or clash with Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres visit to China for the Boao Forum this week. Another federal source said the trip was Andrews idea  not the Commonwealths.

Andrews was briefed by DFAT officials before he left and then by Fletcher and other diplomats when he landed, including on jurisdictional issues. Loading It was Andrews decision not to raise with Chinese authorities the plight of Victorian journalist Cheng Lei, who has been imprisoned in the country for more than two years after being charged with illegally supplying state secrets overseas. Australian authorities have repeatedly questioned the lack of transparency with the legal process in Chengs case. Andrews told reporters he would not broach the subject because they are deeply sensitive matters and best dealt with by the Australian foreign service. Some things are absolutely appropriate to raise, Andrews said before he left for China. Other things you need to be very careful [about] when you are the leader of a sub-sovereign state.

The federal source said the Albanese government would have been fine with Andrews raising Chengs case, and that Wong has publicly spoken about how economic and strategic issues cannot be separated when dealing with modern China. The higher education sources said the sector was unaware of the premiers trip until The Age broke the story last weekend, which raised discomfort about Andrews capacity to achieve meaningful outcomes. Victoria relies on international education more than any other state, said Phil Honeywood, the chief executive of the International Education of Association Australia. Its our number one export industry, and with China being a longstanding, most important student-source country, its vital that we maintain excellent education relationships.

Notwithstanding this, we may never know the benefits of the premiers recent trip because in the education community we rely heavily on institution-to-institution partnerships. In response to that criticism, an Andrews government spokeswoman said: The premier has been having very positive meetings with officials to discuss our long-held trade and cultural ties, and the return of Chinese students to Victoria. The premier has a strong relationship with Victorias higher education sector and is well-placed to represent the interests of universities and TAFEs  as well as the wider interests of Victoria  while abroad. Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said he looked forward to reading the premiers report on the benefits derived from the trip and working with the government to progress them.
Pretoria: Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius has been denied parole and will have to stay in prison for at least another year and four months after it was decided he had not served the minimum detention period required to be released following his murder conviction for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp 10 years ago.

The parole board on Friday (South Africa time) ruled that Pistorius would only be able to apply again in August 2024, South Africas Department of Corrections said in a two-paragraph statement. It was released soon after a parole hearing at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre prison where Pistorius is being held.

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius at a bail hearing several years ago. Credit: AP

The board cited a new clarification on Pistorius sentence that was issued by the countrys Supreme Court of Appeal just three days before the hearing. Still, legal experts criticised authorities decision to proceed with the hearing when Pistorius was not eligible.

Steenkamps parents, Barry and June, were relieved with the decision but were not celebrating it, their lawyer said.
He will be fingerprinted. He will be photographed. He may even be handcuffed.

In the days ahead, Donald Trump is expected to walk through the routine steps of criminal arrest processing in New York, now that a grand jury has voted to indict him in connection with his role in a hush-money payment to a porn star. But the unprecedented arrest of a former commander in chief will be anything but routine.

Former President Donald Trump listens as he speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a campaign rally last weekend. Credit: AP

Accommodations may be made for Trump. While it is standard for defendants arrested on felony charges to be handcuffed, it is unclear whether an exception will be made for the former president because of his status. Most defendants have their hands cuffed behind their backs, but some white-collar defendants who are deemed to pose less of a danger have their hands secured in front of them.
Park City, Utah: Gwyneth Paltrow has won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided that the movie star wasnt at fault for the crash.

A jury dismissed the complaint of Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, who sued Paltrow over injuries he sustained when the two crashed on a beginner run at Deer Valley ski resort, siding with Paltrow after eight days of live-streamed courtroom testimony that made the case a pop culture fixation.

I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity, Paltrow said in a statement released by her representatives. She also thanked the judge and jury for their work.

As Paltrow left court she touched Sandersons shoulder and said, I wish you well, he told reporters outside the courthouse. He responded, Thank you, dear.
Brasilia: Former president Jair Bolsonaro has returned to Brazil after a three-month stint in the US state of Florida following his election loss, and the right-wing populist told supporters he doesnt think leftists will be in power in Brazil for long.

Bolsonaro, who is the subject of several investigations that could stymie any attempts at a political comeback, arrived in a capital under tight security. Authorities sought to avoid any repeat of January 8 events when supporters who didnt accept his defeat stormed government buildings. Police in Brasilia blocked the main artery to those buildings.

Hundreds of supporters dressed in Brazils national colours of yellow and green chanted as they awaited his arrival, but Bolsonaros return did not draw the huge crowds many of his allies had expected. That appeared to please his opponents, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas minister of institutional relations, Alexandre Padilha, who called the reception a flop.

Bolsonaro said in his first speech after touching down that his leftist successor and his allies would not do whatever they want to the fate of our nation and added that the left would only keep power for now, for a little while.


The cement companies have their headquarters in Mumbai. But after the acquisition, the conglomerate has reportedly relocated significant roles to Ahmedabad, from where it majorly operates. The Adani Group is shifting the key roles in ACC and Ambuja Cements from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, a report by Businessline said on Friday. In September last year, the group announced the acquisition of the companies for a record $6.5 billion.



This has pushed people to look elsewhere for jobs. The BL report said that in several cases, people holding leadership roles are now based out of Ahmedabad but their teams are working from Mumbai. The team, thus, spends a substantial time travelling back and forth between the two cities.



Competing firms in the industry have started receiving calls enquiring about job vacancies from the employees of ACC and Ambuja Cements, it said. The two companies have 10,000 employees in Mumbai. ACC has 6,000 employees and Ambuja Cements has around 4,700. "Sources said this situation is creating a strained atmosphere with a large number of people preferring to look for other options," the report said.

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The agreement is with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Mizuho Bank and Mizuho Bank Europe N.V. The worlds second largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, announced on Friday that AMNS Luxembourg Holding SA, the parent company of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), has entered into a $5 billion loan agreement with a consortium of Japanese banks to finance the company's expansion plans in India.



In addition to the primary steelmaking capacity expansion, the project includes the development of downstream rolling and finishing facilities that will enhance AM/NS Indias ability to produce value-added steels for sectors such as defence, automotive and infrastructure. AM/NS India, a 60:40 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corporation, has embarked on a major capex drive. The proceeds from the JBIC co-financing loan would be used to finance the expansion of the plant at Hazira, Gujarat, from nine million tonnes (mt) to 15 mt, a statement from ArcelorMittal said.



ArcelorMittal said in a statement on Friday that the expansion project, which started last October, upon receipt of environment clearance, would create more than 60,000 jobs. According to ArcelorMittals investor presentation at the time of announcing its FY22 results in February (the company follows a January-December fiscal year), the total approved investment plan for AM/NS India was about $7.4 billion. It includes $0.8 billion for ongoing debottlenecking, $1 billion for downstream and $5.6 for upstream expansion at Hazira.

Also Read AM/NS India EBITDA drops 62.98% to $204 million in September quarter AM/NS bulks up for the future, focuses on acquisitions to secure infra Aftermath of Russia-Ukraine war dims the sheen on steel industry Odisha bags about Rs 8.9-trillion investment intent in two days ArcelorMittal, JSW in NMDC steel plant race; JSPL also in the fray IPL 2023: The big battle off the field between Viacom18 and Disney-Star Snacks start-up Kikibix raises $300,000 from founders of nine unicorns, VCs ArcelorMittal-Nippon Steel India JV signs $5 bn loan with Japanese banks Zee enters one-time settlement with StanChar over Siti Networks loan Adani Group relocating key roles at ACC, Ambuja Cements to Ahmedabad: Rpt



AM/NS India was the fifth largest producer of crude steel in India, and through the initiatives to expand its capacity, Nippon Steel aims to capture the growing demand in the Indian market and secure its market presence, Nippon said. In a separate statement, Nippon Steel, said, the steel market in India was expected to grow steadily with economic and population growth, while the domestic production of steel, including upstream processes, is progressing under the government of Indias Make in India policy.



The expansion of AM/NS India comes at a time when steel companies have lined up capacity addition plans totalling 35-40 mt, expected to be commissioned by FY26. ArcelorMittal acquired Essar Steel (renamed AM/NS India) jointly with Nippon Steel in December 2019 in a Rs 42,000 crore deal under Indias insolvency law. The move gave the global steelmakers a foothold in the growing Indian market and placed it among the top producers of the alloy.

AMNS Luxembourg signs $5 billion loan agreement with a consortium of Japanese banks AM/NS Indias plans include a combination of brownfield and greenfield projects. Apart from the 9 to 15 mt upstream expansion at Hazira  expected to be completed by early 2026 a 12 mt greenfield plant in Odisha is under consideration. Also, capacity at Hazira can be expanded further to 20 mt.



The loan proceeds will be used to finance AM/NS Indias expansion plan; it entails expanding capacity at Hazira from 9 to 15 mt and development of downstream and finishing facilities Banks involved are Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Mizuho Bank and Mizuho Bank Europe N.V.

IN STEEL COMMAND Investment in expansion pegged at $7.4 billion
Jang Bo-in, left, poses with her former boss Tim Whitman at The Alleyway in Gwangju, March 28. / Courtesy of Arlo Matisz





By Arlo Matisz







"I missed The Alleyway."







Jang Bo-in  or just Bo to her friends and coworkers  voiced what so many people in Gwangju have felt for the past two years.







As a former cook at The First Alleyway, she may have felt this more acutely than most, but she did something about it. She rebooted it.







The pandemic served as a catalyst for a massive downturn in the global economy, and while COVID-19 took lives, the government's response to mitigate the spread of the disease left casualties of its own. Comparative health statistics from the last several years tell the tale of an averted health crisis in Korea, but the strict regulations for the service industry as well as the general drop in demand for face-to-face patronage meant such businesses operated for years in the red. A rational business response to repeated losses is to close.







The downtown core of Gwangju still has not recovered. "For Rent" signs seem as common as storefronts. Long-established businesses as well as new ventures sank below the waters of economic loss and failed to resurface. Among those casualties were several foreign-owned ventures, and one would struggle to find such an institution whose loss was more keenly felt than The First Alleyway.







It had been no secret to those close to Tim Whitman, owner and operator of The First Alleyway, that the stress of operating his business reached its breaking point during the pandemic. After 12 years of operation, he

in August 2021.







However, today he stands behind the shining new bar of a restaurant with a suspiciously similar name in Gwangju's vibrant Dongmyeong-dong, which has fast become a culinary hub for the city's more innovative restaurants. He's tending the bar at The Alleyway for Bo, his former head cook of seven years.







Tim Whitman, former owner of The First Alleyway, tends bar at The Alleyway, opened by his former head chef, March 28. / Courtesy of Kelly Kim





At 28, Bo still possesses a youthful energy. It could give the impression that she's not long out of culinary school. That culinary energy formed even earlier.







"In middle school, I liked to bake things," she said. "Cakes, cookies. I could make something at that young age. I'd bake for myself and my family. They liked it. My mother paid for the ingredients and bought me an oven. I don't know why I wanted to bake. I just started. I loved all of it."







When asked if she used her high school culinary skills at later jobs, she laughed. "No, I didn't really use the skills. We learned how to get food preparation licenses. I have Korean food, Chinese food, Japanese food and pastry licenses. Not the Western one though. At the time, the Western license was so difficult."







The irony of not acquiring that one license for the type of restaurant she is now opening is less surprising after learning about her career path.







"My first job was at a mart pizza shop and then a buffet," she said. "Then I went to Canada through a government program for an overseas job placement. I worked at Boston Pizza. I felt pizza was connected to me. Then I came back to Korea and met Tim, and he had a pizza restaurant, so I asked him for a job."







The Alleyway opens its door in a new location in Gwangju, now run by former head cook of The First Alleyway, March 28. / Courtesy of Kelly Kim





It would now seem the student has become the master. While some would balk at working for someone nearly half their age, Tim describes his role with a touch of trademark humor. "I'm going to be guiding," he said. "I'm trying to help Bo, and to transition old customers to the new location and new business. I'll be helping out at the bar. I'm just the old adviser, like the guru on a mountain."







When asked what advice he'd given Bo that he wished he'd been given before running a restaurant, Tim joked "Don't do it," before expressing his confidence in her. "She was very helpful while we ran The First Alleyway. She made sure the kitchen ran well. She knew what she had to do already. It's just a case of understanding the little details of getting your equipment, getting your space organized and deciding the menu. A lot of challenges."







Bo elaborated on the challenges of going from head cook to owner. "Before, if we decided something, I didn't spend money," she said. "Now I spend my money to do something. Everything costs money. And everything is not in my control. Everything feels outside of my control: the construction, equipment orders, furniture."







The Alleyway is significantly smaller than its predecessor, but what made it popular is still going to be here especially the beloved poutine. Bo defended the inclusion of poutine with an air of inevitability. "Why poutine? Everyone wants it!" she said. "I'm not actually a poutine person, but everyone asks about it, so I didn't have a choice. I had to do it!"







She listed the slightly smaller menu. "Sandwiches, pizza, starters like salads, wings, chicken tenders and fries. It will be the same food. More focus on food than alcohol. We won't be open late. Before you drink, meet here and eat, maybe have some beer. There is beer and liquor. And nice coffee!"







When asked what he wishes he'd had at the old restaurant, Tim pointed to the hulking new coffee apparatus. "The espresso machine to make nice coffee," he said. "I love drip coffee, but a good high-quality americano might prop me up enough."







There will also be desserts prepared by another local entrepreneur who has established a loyal following.







But don't expect sweetened pizza. Bo is adamant about this. "I was tired of sweet pizza here," she said. "I wanted to make salty pizza! Our pizza is not sweet."







Asked what he misses about the restaurant business, Tim answered quickly. "I miss meeting people," he said. "Hanging out with old people, and meeting new people. Talking about Gwangju. The old Alleyway was the teaching community, but it was also the military, Italian engineers for Samsung, Dutch engineers for the Universiade."







Asked what he didn't miss, Tim responded even faster. "The stress," he said. "Especially during the COVID years. People resistant to following the rules, to checking in. Part of why we quit was the pandemic. Part of why Bo can reopen now is because it's over."







On why she made this business venture, Bo recalled the recent passing of Michael Schroeder, the previous bartender of The First Alleyway, late last year. "When I went to Mike's funeral, I felt I missed The Alleyway," she said. "I hadn't been thinking that, but when I was at the funeral, seeing the friends chatting, eating, and drinking, that felt like The Alleyway, and that made me want to do it again."







So she did.







Photos hanging on the wall at The Alleyway show Mike Schroeder, a former bartender at The First Alleyway who passed away recently, in the upper left photo, and Michael Simning, founder of The First Alleyway who passed away in 2014, in the right photo. / Courtesy of Arlo Matisz





On Tuesday, March 28, The Alleyway held its soft opening. Over the course of the evening, the space filled with customers both old and new. Local professor Jeremy Bissett was eager to surprise his family, longtime fans of the original. "My kids love this place, especially Bo, Tim not so much, and when they see this place, they're going to go absolutely nuts, because they still talk about this place every day."







Artist Jen Lee, who created a

, was thrilled. "It's nice to have it back. I really missed it."







Gwangju News editor William Urbanski said, "It's just like coming home."







Miky-Lee Urbanski agreed. "This is an amazing place, I love it."







The world moves on, and not often kindly, but for now, in Gwangju, people have something that they thought was gone. They can enjoy the company of loved ones and raise a glass to absent friends.







Visit

for more information.










By Aditi Shah and Tim Hepher

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Air India, until recently tied to an antiquated manual pricing system when setting airfares, is shifting to algorithm-based software long used by rivals to help it squeeze out more revenue from each flight.

In another sign of the formerly government-owned carrier's whirlwind transformation under its new owner Tata Group, Air India is testing ChatGPT, OpenAI's popular chatbot, to replace paper-based practices.

The push to modernise underscores the decay left by years of under-investment as Air India looks to shed decades-old bureaucratic processes and recapture customers from Dubai's Emirates and powerful domestic rival IndiGo.

"Frankly the system is almost so bad it's good," Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson told Indian airline executives last week, adding that this offered the chance to start from scratch rather than "jury-rig" existing architecture.

Air India is not only reworking every aspect of operations - from systems to supply chains - but integrating four Tata-related airlines, with Air India due to merge with Vistara while low-cost Air India Express and AirAsia India also converge.

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Some areas, such as technology, allow for a clean-sheet approach, the 52-year-old New Zealander said, which is why he is putting artificial intelligence (AI) and other tools at the centre of Air India's reboot.

Modern "revenue management" software aims to stay one step ahead of demand, continuously anticipating where people want to go and how much each individual flyer is prepared to pay, rather than the old method of having one fare for each block of seats.

The result is higher revenue per flight, making it low-hanging fruit in the company's transformation.

FIXING THE FLEET

Wilson faces a tangle of fleets and staff as daunting as Delhi's zig-zagging traffic, leaving the airline's path to profit strewn with obstacles.

"Complexity is the curse of airlines," said Keith McMullan, partner at UK-based consultancy Aviation Strategy, who has experience in the Indian market.

"What they are saying is absolutely right - they should go back to a blank piece of paper, but saying it and actually doing it are two very different things," he said. "The danger is that you keep on fighting legacy-related fires."

Air India's success is critical for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which wants to harness its scale and reach to turn India into a global aviation force like Dubai or Singapore.

Wilson's immediate game plan is to tackle pressing problems to get idle planes flying before Air India starts receiving the 470 jets ordered in a record deal last month.

For instance, it is working with Tata Technologies to build locally some plastic components for economy-class seats instead of waiting for suppliers to deliver the obsolete parts.

And it is grabbing what planes it can find on lease while reworking its network strategy to attract Indians overseas.

Any inconsistencies can be ironed out as the turnaround gathers momentum, Wilson said in an interview on the sidelines of the CAPA India conference last week.

"This is a transformation as well as a startup," said Wilson who was appointed to lead the turnaround last year by Tata after it regained control of the carrier.

"In a startup, you just do what you need to do to get going and then you refine along the way," he told Reuters, drawing from this experience of being the founding chief of Singapore Airlines' budget carrier Scoot.

But he said a clean-sheet approach cannot and should not be applied everywhere.

MERGER CHALLENGES

Analysts say Wilson's staggered turnaround plans will be severely tested as Air India executes the twin mergers.

Airline mergers in India have had little success with Air India still hobbled by the botched integration of Indian Airlines in 2007. Jet Airways' takeover of Sahara and Kingfisher's merger with Air Deccan hurt them for years.

Jet and Kingfisher are now bankrupt.

Air India's planes are already a mix of Airbus and Boeing jets with multiple cabin configurations. This will be further complicated when it absorbs the new carriers.

"Managing mixed fleets is a nightmare and given a choice no airline would want to do it," Vinod Kannan, chief executive of Tata-Singapore Airlines joint-venture Vistara, told Reuters.

Once an inspiration for Singapore Airlines, Air India is now far behind, especially on service and punctuality - areas it must improve swiftly if it wants to reclaim share from the Gulf carriers, who carry most of India's international traffic.

There are some early signs of success: Air India's international traffic was up 28% in the Oct-Dec quarter versus April-June and its domestic share rose to 9% at the end of February from 7.5% in mid-2022, according to government data.

Those figures should jump significantly when Air India combines with Vistara, but that deal brings new challenges.

"You can get everything right but the people and the culture ... it is not easy to get that right," Kannan said during an interview at Vistara's office near Delhi where the average age of staff is 29 years.

At Air India it is 50-plus.

"The intent is very much there," Kannan said of the combination, due to be completed by March 2024. "It's now just a matter of execution, which is not easy, but we'll get there."

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Tim Hepher in New Delhi; Editing by Jamie Freed)
The Himachal Pradesh government has signed an agreement with BSNL for laying the optical fibre cable to provide 4G coverage in unconnected (remote and far-flung) areas of the state.

A spokesperson of the state government informed on Friday that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Department of Information Technology Director Mukesh Repaswal and BSNL-HP Principal General Manager Charan Singh in the presence of BSNL-HP Chief General Manager JS Sahota.

This will be a step towards providing reliable and high-speed connectivity to every part of the state, especially the far-flung and remote regions of Kinnaur, Lahual & Spiti, and Pangi.

The state government had proposed a project to the Centre for the provision of connectivity in the un-connected villages of the state and had received Rs 50 crore for the same. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was chosen as the executing agency for the project.

Now, with the signing of the MoU, BSNL will start the process of laying down optical fibre and installing telecom towers for providing connectivity, said the spokesperson.

He further informed that the project is expected to be completed by December 2023 and will entail installing of around 500 KMs of the optical fibre along with mobile towers for expansion of connectivity in the state.

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Reliable connectivity will help in the expansion of digital initiatives in health, education and other fields, besides providing valuable services to the people of the state.

Further, the creation of the 4G telecom network would also be a backbone for rolling out 5G services in the remote regions of the state in near future, therefore, improving the quality of life for citizens and the government's capacity for service delivery, he added.


Kuo said that the much-talked-about headset might be delayed by one or two months to the mid-to-late third quarter of 2023. The delay also adds uncertainty to whether the new device will appear at WWDC 2023, as the market widely expects, he said in a Twitter post. American tech giant Apple might not lay open the latest device in its product line, a mixed-reality headset, at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June this year. Ming-Chi Kuo, a top Apple analyst, said that the company isnt positive that the product will recreate the astounding iPhone moment.











The companys non-positiveness about how the device will be perceived in the market is loaded with several reasons. Some reasons relate to the economic downturn, compromises on some hardware specifications for mass production (such as weight), the readiness of the ecosystem and applications, and a high selling price, as per Kuo. The device has been a work in progress for the last few years, and it could possibly be named Reality Pro. Its pricing range may start from $3,000. The analyst also noted that owing to the delay in mass production of the gadget, the shipment forecast for this year has gone down. While there was a consensus of 500,000 or more previously, it has now come down to around 200,000 to 300,000 units.

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Bloombergs Mark Gurman had earlier reported about the concerns of several company executives that the headset might face. He had mentioned the device might not be on par with the standards of other companies products. The iPhone maker has announced that WWDC, which is set to get underway from June 5 to June 9, will be in an online format. During the conference, the company may present newer versions of its iPhone, iPad, Watch, Mac, and TV operating systems. The company has also said that the developers and students will get opportunities to celebrate a special experience in the offline mode, at Apple Park on opening day.


The new policy blends into the governments priority of moving from an incentive-based regime to a remission and entitlement-based regime, thereby making it compliant with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Marking a significant change from the previous one, the Centre on Friday unveiled the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 without a sunset clause, with a focus on boosting e-commerce exports to at least 10 per cent of the $2-trillion goods and services exports target by 2030.



We have to meet our export targets. We will achieve $2 trillion in exports by 2030, but we should ensure merchandise exports dont fall behind services exports, said Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, while unveiling the FTP on Friday. The long-anticipated FTP, which comes after several extensions to the earlier FTP, originally for the 2015-20 period, also focuses on making districts export hubs, ease of doing business, and a special one-time amnesty scheme for default in export obligations.



Necessary enablement of IT systems in Department of Commerce, Post, CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) to be completed in six months. To streamline e-commerce export facilitation, guidelines are being formulated in consultation with other ministries to facilitate further exports under e-commerce, the FTP said. For the first time adding a separate chapter on digital commerce in the FTP, the commerce ministry said all policy benefits would be extended to e-commerce exports. The value limit for exports through courier service has now been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per consignment.

Also Read Govt's new foreign trade policy set to boost domestic manufacturing India-Australia trade agreement to greatly benefit MSMEs: Piyush Goyal RBI MPC: Here is what experts have to say about the policy announcement RBI hikes repo rate by 35 bps to 6.25%, cuts FY23 GDP forecast to 6.8% Govt releases Foreign Trade Policy 2023, eyes $2 trn export target by 2030 Govt's new foreign trade policy set to boost domestic manufacturing Govt falls short of disinvestment target, posts stronger dividend receipts Rupee weakens 7.8% against US dollar in FY23, most in three years Procurement via GeM crosses target of Rs 2 trillion on last day of FY23 India's farm exports likely to touch record $56-57 billion: Official

Whats new Shift from incentives to tax remission regime

Focus on emerging areas e-commerce exports, developing districts as export hubs

Reduction in user charges for MSMEs under advance authorisation, EPCG scheme

Battery EVs, green hydrogen to be eligible for reduced export obligation under the scheme

Dak Ghar Niryat Kendras to facilitate cross-border e-commerce and enable artisans and MSMEs to reach international markets

Special one-time amnesty scheme for default in export obligations



Designated e-commerce export hubs, with warehousing facilities, will be notified to help e-commerce aggregators in easy stocking, customs clearance, and returns processing. E-commerce exports are set to grow to $200-300 billion by 2030 from $2-5 billion now.



The FTP has also taken steps to support and encourage the rupee to become an international currency. As of now, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved 18 banks opening vostro accounts to settle international trade in rupees. India will be willing to trade in rupees with nations grappling with foreign exchange crises. In line with the Vivaad se Vishwas scheme, the government will launch a one-time amnesty measure for default in export obligations under Advance Authorisation and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG). This is set to benefit 2,500-3,000 exporters and will be available till September. Cases under investigation for fraud, however, will not be applicable.



The policy for exporting dual-use items under Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET) will be consolidated at one place. The merchanting trade that does not touch Indian ports, but has an Indian intermediary, will be allowed under the new FTP. It will be subject to compliance with RBI guidelines except for certain categories of goods.



The continuation of schemes such as Advance Authorisation and EPCG with procedural ease will continue to promote exports and foster ease of doing business. Another big item has been the launch of the amnesty scheme, said Abhishek Jain, tax partner, KPMG. Industry and experts welcomed the policy.

Sanjay Budhia, chairman, national committee on exports and imports, Confederation of Indian Industry, said: The policy has strong emphasis on reduction in transaction costs, e-initiatives, micro, small, and medium enterprises, internationalisation of the rupee, and e-commerce exports, which could be a game changer to put India at a leadership position in the global exports map.


The dividend receipts from CPSEs grew more than 37 per cent to Rs 58,988 crore against the Revised Estimates (RE) target of Rs 43,000 crore. In FY22, the dividend receipts recorded were about Rs 59,294 crore. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) on Friday said the government fell short of its disinvestment target for FY23, the second consecutive year they failed to do so. The shortfall was close to 30 per cent at Rs 35,294 crore. Despite this, the government maintained a sustained growth in dividend from Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).



An official said that the dividend target for the next fiscal year is achievable as the CPSEs have a healthy profitability outlook for the upcoming fiscal. and in the last two years (2021-22 & 2022-23), they reported their highest profits. The government has received about Rs 268 crore from SAIL, Rs 736 crore from Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), Rs 102 crore from Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL), Rs 503 crore from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Rs 23 crore from Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) as dividend tranche, DIPAM secretary tweeted on Friday.

The disinvestment target looks pragmatic and within range if the projects in the pipeline are realised, he added.

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Business Standard had earlier reported that the DIPAM had suggested that dividends from PSEs be accounted as divestment collection, because both were revenue resources for the government. The disinvestment receipts and dividends from CPSEs are monitored by DIPAM. Collectively, the RE for FY23 for these receipts were set at Rs 93,000 crore, which has now been revised to Rs 94,282 crore. This is the highest achieved in the last four fiscal years.



The minister of state in the ministry of finance, Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, in a reply in Rajya Sabha said disinvestment is an ongoing process, and execution/completion of specific transactions hinges upon market conditions, domestic and global economic outlook, geopolitical factors, investor interest and administrative feasibility. Dividends from PSEs (which is part of non-tax revenue) and disinvestment (which is part of miscellaneous capital receipts) are the two separate revenue-generating responsibilities of DIPAM.

During the last few years there have been serious uncertainties in the economic and market environment owing to the pandemic, global economic turmoil and geo-political tensions affecting the disinvestment process and disinvestment receipts, he added.
Behind the lower CAD in Q3FY23 was the narrowing of the merchandise trade deficit to $72.7 billion from $78.3 billion in Q2FY23, coupled with robust services and private transfer receipts, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Indias current account deficit (CAD) narrowed sequentially to $18.2 billion in the quarter ended December 2022, or 2.2 per cent of gross domestic product, from $30.9 billion in Q2FY23 (3.7 per cent of GDP). It was $22.2 billion or 2.7 per cent of GDP in the year-ago period.
The Uttar Pradesh government has directed that all students from Classes 1 to 8 studying in the schools under the Basic Education Council, will be promoted to the next class without examinations.

A notification in this regard has been issued by Pratap Singh Baghel, secretary, UP Basic Education Council.

The notification is issued every year as there is a provision to promote children from Class one to eight to the next class under the Right to Education Act. They cannot fail under any circumstances.

As per the order, the promotion of any student from Class 1 to 8 in the academic session 2022-23 will not be stopped in all council and recognised schools run under the council.

Instructions have also been given to distribute report cards of students on the basis of annual examination.

Director general, school education, UP, Vijay Kiran Anand said, "The state government has no retention policy.

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According to this, no child will fail. This order is in accordance with the same RTE Act."

--IANS

amita/dpb


NFOs drew a lukewarm response in FY23 as launches were mostly in the passive debt space, which has a comparatively lower popularity among retail investors. Mutual funds (MFs) are lining up distinguished new fund offerings (NFOs) for the next financial year to win over investors after a lukewarm response to product launches in the 2022-23 financial year (FY23).



Data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India shows that there were 64 active and 102 passive fund launches in the first 11 months of FY23. The limited launches in equity space also failed to rake in huge sums due to subdued investor sentiments in a volatile market. The NFO collections also suffered due to a three-month ban imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in the first three months.



HDFC MF has approached the markets regulator seeking approvals for three NFOs  two sovereign green bond funds (SGBs) and one micro-cap fund. In FY24, asset management companies (AMCs) are set to try out new schemes to attract investor.

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"HDFC MF is seeking to combine an innovative method of financing  sovereign green bonds, with an innovative debt product  target maturity funds," the fund house said. SBGs are a new initiative of the Indian government to boost funding in environmentally sustainable projects. The government issued the first SGB on January 25, 2023. HDFC MF is the first AMC to conceptualise a MF product based on SGBs. The funds have been structured as target maturity funds and will be maturing in 2028 and 2033.



Motilal Oswal MF and Samco MF, too, have filed papers for first of its kind products. Motilal Oswal MF's scheme  the MSCI India Womens Leadership Select 30 Index Fund  will invest in companies led by women. A recent report by BofA Securities showed MSCI Asia Pacific constituents with a higher proportion of women in management than those with fewer women in their management. The micro-cap fund named HDFC Emerging India Opportunities Fund will invest in companies that are placed below 500 in market capitalisation rankings. The Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) classifies the top 100 companies as large-caps, 101-250 as mid-caps and the rest as small-caps.


However, the average daily domestic traffic in 2022-23 was still 3.65 per cent below the pre-pandemic peak of 2019-20. Domestic air traffic was significantly impacted by the pandemic in FY21 as well as FY22. Indian carriers flew an average of 372,840 passengers per day in 2022-23, which was 59.81 per cent more than in 2021-22, according to data reviewed by Business Standard.





Within FY23, Indian carriers touched their peak in February, when they carried 431,035 domestic passengers per day. However, the numbers went down in March 2023 when airlines flew 419,388 passengers per day.



According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, Go First is currently operating about 1,536 flights per week, which is 26.3 per cent lower than in March 2022. SpiceJet is currently operating about 32.3 per cent fewer flights in March 2023 compared to March 2022, as per Cirium. Indian carriers, such as IndiGo and Go First, have a significant number of planes grounded due to delays in the supply of engines by US-based Pratt and Whitney. Moreover, SpiceJet is currently dealing with financial issues.

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IndiGo has been able to handle the situation better as it has extended the lease period of certain operating planes and continued taking new deliveries from the European plane maker Airbus. Indias largest carrier is currently operating 12,568 flights per week, which is 18 per cent higher than March last year.








The Assam government is awaiting the Centre's approval for its action plan for 2021-30 to tackle climate change, state minister Keshab Mahanta said in the assembly on Friday.

The plan had been drafted after due consultation with various government departments and other stakeholders, he said.

Responding to a query by CPI(M) legislator Manoranjan Talukdar, Mahanta said the Assam State Action Plan on Climate Change 2021-30 had been approved by the state cabinet in July last year.

It has then been forwarded to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for its approval, he said, adding that the plan will be issued as soon as the Centre gives its nod.

Mahanta, the minister for science, technology and climate change, said the draft was prepared after holding consultations with various government departments and incorporating their suggestions.

Other stakeholders and organisations were also called for discussion during the process, he said.

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The minister said steps to minimise the challenges posed by climate change were taken according to the Assam State Action Plan on Climate Change 2015-20.

"Measures, as suggested by the previous action plan, were already implemented and we will take these forward," he added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reacted over the violence that broke out during a Ram Navami procession, and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of hiring goons from outside the State to orchestrate communal riots.

"They (BJP) have been hiring goons from outside the state to orchestrate communal riots. Nobody has stopped their processions but they do not have the right to march with swords and bulldozers. How did they get the audacity to do this in Howrah?," CM Banerjee said in Kolkata on Thursday.

"Why did they change the route and take the unauthorised route to particularly target and attack one community?" she added.

If they believe that they will attack others and receive relief through legal interventions, they must know that the people will reject them one day, CM said.

"Those who haven't done any wrong will not be arrested. How do BJP workers have the courage to bulldoze people's homes?" West Bengal CM said.

Earlier on Thursday, several vehicles were set on fire after two groups clashed in West Bengal's Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations.

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During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire.

The reason behind the violence is yet to be ascertained. On Wednesday, Banerjee began a two-day dharna in Kolkata to protest against the central government's alleged discriminatory attitude towards her state.

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar refuted CM Mamata Banerjee's allegations.

"TMC is lying because it was not a wrong route. There was permission till Howrah ground and this was the only route to go there. Now such days have come in India that you can take out Ram Navami procession in some areas and can't go to other areas," BJP president Majumdar said.


The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Boards (CMWSSB) deal is for design, build, operate (DBO) for a 400 million litres per day (MLD) sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is funding the project to improve water security in Chennai. Chennai has awarded South East Asias largest water desalination project of Rs 4,400 crore to VA Tech Wabag, an Indian multinational group based in the Tamil Nadu capital.



The project will also make Chennai the desalination capital of India, with almost 750 MLD of desalinated water to be produced along the citys coast, said Wabag in a statement. The plant will use filtration and osmosis processes to produce clean drinking water which CMWSSB will distribute to South Chennai residents.



The project will be executed under the leadership of Wabag in joint venture with Metito Overseas. The citys order includes the scope of design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of the 400 MLD SWRO desalination plant and the associated sea water intake system over a period of 42 months followed by 20 years of operation and maintenance. We have received a LoA (letter of authorization) from the authorities on Thursday and we expect it (the plant) to be commissioned in three years time. In the municipal sector, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam are having plans to come up with such major units. In the industry sector too, a lot of companies in the green hydrogen sector are coming up with enquiries, said Rajneesh Chopra, global head - Business Development, Wabag.

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Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar in a tweet, said the Morena and Rewa Mango (both Madhya Pradesh) and Nagri Dubraj have been given GI tags. It will give a new identity to the products in the national and international market, Tomar added. The Geographical Indication Registry earlier this week granted Chhattisgarhs aromatic rice, Nagri Dubraj, a geographical indication (GI) tag facilitating the brand to get a unique identity and a wide market.



The women's self-help group Maa Durga Swasahayata Samuh of Nagri in Dhamtari district has been harvesting Dubraj and had applied to the GI tag. Last year, Chief Minister (CM) Bhupesh Baghel promised to take initiative, stating that he will ensure the fragrance of Dubraj returns to the farmers fields. The Nagri Dubraj is known as the Basmati of Chhattisgarh because of its fragrance. The authorities in Chhattisgarh have been making efforts to get the GI tag for Nagri Dubraj for a long time. The Indira Gandhi Agricultural University played a crucial role in getting the rights as it has been in constant correspondence with the authorities concerned, a state government spokesperson said. It is produced by a womens self-help group, the spokesperson added.



A GI tag is given to an entrepreneur or a group of businessmen of a particular area, state, or country. The GI tags are issued as per the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, of 1999. Dr. Girish Chandel, Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi Agricultural University said after Jeeraphool rice, Dubraj is the second brand to get the GI tag. In the year 2019, Jeeraphool was given the GI tag.

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The rice is of an indigenous variety and has small grains, Dr. Chandel said, adding that the rice is very soft to eat after cooking. One acre gives a maximum yield of six quintals. Paddy has a low height and maturity period of 140 days, he added. The origin of the Dubraj is believed to be from the Shringi Rishi ashram area of Sihawa: The grain finds reference in Valmiki Ramayana. Even in various research papers, the source of Dubraj has been identified as Sihawa in the Nagri area.

Baghel congratulated the members of the Maa Durga Self Help Group and scientists of Indira Gandhi Agricultural University for the achievement. He said the unique identity of the brand would help increase its demand, not only in the country but also abroad.
The Ministry of Defence on Monday signed a contract with a firm for modernisation of Naval Aircraft Yards (NAYs) at Goa and Kochi at a cost of nearly Rs 470 crore, officials said.

The NAYs undertake servicing and repairs of naval aircraft, aero engines, rotables and test equipment at Goa and Kochi, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry signed a contract with Ultra Dimensions Pvt. Ltd. (UDPL), Vishakhapatnam for "modernisation of Naval Aircraft Yards (NAYs) at Goa and Kochi, at a cost of approximately Rs 470 crore", it said.

Induction of the latest state-of-the-art aircraft into the Indian Navy inventory requires modernisation of existing maintenance and repair facilities at NAYs to bridge the technological and capability gap to meet the present and future aviation maintenance challenges, officials said.

The modernisation includes repair facilities with state-of-the-art automated machineries and composite repair bays. This project will generate an employment of more than 1.8 lakh man-days over a period of three years, it said.

"The modernisation will augment operational readiness of naval aviation platforms and reduce dependence on external agencies and foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for repairs. This project will be a proud flag bearer of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'," the statement said.

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In addition, the Ministry of Defence has inked a contract with Mecon Ltd, Ranchi, as a project monitoring consultant at a cost of Rs 24 crore, it said.

Meanwhile, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Friday tweeted: "HAL registers highest-ever revenue from operations of around Rs.26,500 Crores (provisional and unaudited) for FY 2022-23 as against Rs.24,620 for the previous FY. The Company has recorded a revenue growth of 8% during the year as compared to last year. @DefProdnIndia @gopalsutar".

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh shared the HAL's tweet and wrote: "Glad to see HAL on a higher growth trajectory. Compliments to @HALHQBLR Team".
At least 800 shops were gutted in a massive fire that broke out in a multi-storey commercial building and quickly spread to adjacent towers in the Bansmandi area here early Friday, a senior official said.

Despite the continuous efforts of fire officials of Kanpur and its nearby districts, the fire could not be doused even till late evening, officials said.

Prime facie the fire broke out due to a short circuit following a massive dust storm.

The blaze started at 2 am in AR Tower also known as Afaq Rasool Tower and spread to Maqsood, Humraz complex and Nafees towers charing about 800 shops located in these four towers, the official said, adding strong winds fanned the flames.

"It has been over 20 hours since we started dousing off the fire. As many as 60 fire tenders have been pressed into operation and they have been refilled over 400 times altogether to put the fire out," said BP Jogdand police commissioner.

According to the senior official, goods and cash worth about Rs 150 crore have been gutted in the blaze.

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A four-member committee headed by Additional DM (Finance and Revenue) Rajesh Kumar and comprising Additional Municipal Commissioner, Joint Director Trade Tax and chief fire officer as members have been formed to probe the incident and assess the losses, said District Magistrate Vishal G Ayyar.

The committee has been formed following instructions of Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak who also inspected the incident site and met the shopkeepers whose shops and establishments were destroyed in the blaze, DM added.

The deputy CM personally inspected the situation and assured all possible help to the businessmen.

Interacting with media persons, he said the efforts were being made to control the fire first and then to ensure that no person is harmed during the operation.

"Our government stands with the businessmen in this hour of sorrow and we will not leave them (businessmen) alone," Pathak said further.

The divisional commissioner and police commissioner have been asked to submit a report to the government jointly about the damage caused due to the fire. There should be no politics, Pathak said.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted that the fire in the cloth market was another huge blow to the traders who are already facing the brunt of demonetisation, GST raids and recession.

Yadav in his tweet requested the UP government to announce compensation after assessing the loss caused to the traders.

An SOS call was made to all neighbouring districts, including Kanpur Dehat, Unnao, Lucknow and Kannauj, to dispatch fire tenders to assist in the operation, he said, adding firemen have successfully prevented the fire from further spreading.

Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Anand Prakash Tiwari told PTI that several fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire which is yet to be doused.

The shops in all four towers have been gutted and goods worth crores were completely destroyed, the JCP said.

"The building didn't adhere to fire safety norms," another official said.


The proposals have come for five of the 23 state bus stations lined up for the ambitious bus port makeover under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. According to an official source, the bus stations of Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Prayagraj, and Agra districts have netted private sector investment. The work on these five terminals will begin after getting the nod from the state government, he said. The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has received private investment proposals worth Rs 1,000 crore to redevelop state bus terminals as bus ports.



Last year, the Adityanath Cabinet approved the proposal to develop 23 bus stations in big cities as bus ports on the lines of airports so that passengers can avail of modern amenities with the UPSRTC earning higher revenue with the help of private sector investment. Moreover, the process of selecting the private partner for the remaining 18 bus stations by the UP State Roadways Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) is underway.



The envisioned bus ports will comprise modern hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, leisure spots, etc, and conform to international standards with special boarding ramps for bus passengers. Last month, the bus port tenders were floated for these 23 bus stations (located in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Agra, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, and Kanpur districts), of which developers for five bus terminals are selected. Subsequently, redevelopment plans for 75 districts would be rolled out.

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Besides, the UPSRTC is working on its mega plan to add new buses to its fleet before the Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj. It plans to procure more than 5,000 new buses to replace old vehicles ahead of the mega congregation of humanity. UP Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh said the project would completely redefine the surface transport landscape and equip the state bus terminals with passenger-friendly infra and services.
The first stock of eggs imported from India by Sri Lanka was distributed to the crisis-hit island nation's market, with one egg costing Rs 35 to bakery owners, a media report said on Friday.

Sri Lanka imported two million eggs from India to ensure food security in the crisis-hit island nation, Trade and Food Safety Minister Nalin Fernando said last week.

The decision to import eggs was based on a decision by a cabinet committee to ensure food security, Fernando said on March 23.

This stock of eggs imported by Sri Lanka's State Trading (General) Corporation was distributed among bakery owners on Thursday at the Kerawalapitiya Spet R. Warehouse Complex, the official Daily News reported.

All-Ceylon Bakery Owners' Association President N. K. Jayawardena said that one million eggs were given to bakery owners at Rs 35 per egg.

He said that this stock of eggs imported from India had been brought to Sri Lanka subject to approvals of all relevant government institutions.

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The date of manufacture of the eggs distributed among bakery owners was mentioned as March 18, 2023 and the date of expiry was June 15, 2023.

All-Ceylon Bakery Owners' Association President said that now egg producers in Sri Lanka should begin marketing eggs at competitive prices, adding that in the future eggs will be imported for bakeries, hotels, and restaurants.

He said, accordingly, it would be possible to reduce the price of bakery products in the future.

Jayawardena thanked Trade and Food Safety Minister Fernando and other officials for taking this action on behalf of consumers.

Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves, sparking political turmoil in the country that led to the ouster of the all-powerful Rajapaksa family.

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a USD 3 billion bailout programme to help Sri Lanka overcome its economic crisis and catalyse financial support from other development partners.

Last week, Sri Lanka received USD 330 million as the first tranche of the IMF bailout programme.
Wearing traditional Kerala dress and enjoying a taste of Kerala's hospitality, G20 Sherpas held deliberations on land and water at this scenic lakeside Kerala village.

While the Sherpas held meetings in the conference hall on top of a moving houseboat in the evening, other delegates from guest countries went on a cruise on the backwaters, enjoying the scenery and a hi-tea spread onboard.

Three big houseboats with conference halls were arranged for the cruise of the Sherpas and delegates through Kumarakom Lake, a major tourist destination of the country.

Police in separate boats escorted the guests on the two-hour long ride.

The majority of the Sherpas and delegates dressed up in traditional Kerala attire before getting on the houseboats. While women delegates wore frilled skirts with zari borders and shawls, men wore the traditional mundu (also known as veshti).

They were helped by employees of the event management team.

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Many of the delegates also posed for photos with India's Sherpa Amitabh Kant, who was also dressed in Malayalee attire.

"I feel very honoured and privileged, and it is very nice to feel even more welcome and even more part of Kerala culture," a woman delegate said.

Another woman delegate said, "I am very happy to wear it (traditional Kerala garments) today. It is very nice."



Meanwhile, during the day, detailed discussions were held on the main priority areas identified by the Indian presidency. The first session focussed on technological transformation and the second on accelerated, inclusive, and resilient growth as well as women-led development, an official statement said.

The delegates highlighted the relevance of digital public infrastructure, the need to bridge the digital divide, and the usefulness of data for development. They also appreciated the focus accorded to this area by Indias G20 poresidency and its relevance for the SDGs (sustainable development goals), it added.

Interventions by countries also clearly highlighted the need for women's empowerment and women's leadership to be at the centre of development, the statement said.

It said delegates also stressed the importance of accelerated efforts to return to a path of resilient growth and recovery that also takes everyone along.

The Sherpas took stock of the progress made in the various G20 Sherpa track working groups on digital economy, health, education, tourism, culture, agriculture, trade and investment, employment, and anti-corruption.

"The Sherpas commented on the various proposed actionable deliverables as well as suggested the way forward on important deliberations being held in these working groups, such as digital public infrastructure, data for development, food security, digital health and pandemic preparedness, prevention and response, tech-enabled education, global skill mapping, etc," it said.

On the "Kayal conversations' (discussions on the backwaters over high tea), the statement said the Sherpas discussed, in an informal setting, ways to take forward the agenda of the G20 and deepen cooperation and understanding on shared concerns.

Indian G20 Sherpa Kant also held productive bilateral discussions with his counterparts throughout the day, it said.

The first formal day of meetings concluded with Charchayum Aharavum', a cultural evening and dinner.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan attended the dinner along with the Chief Secretary of Kerala V P Joy.

The dignitaries and the G20 delegates witnessed a spectacular rendition of Oathirum Mohitham', a play based on vadakkan pattu (traditional ballads of Kerala) and various dance forms, which gave them a glimpse into the rich heritage of Kerala.

Over 120 delegates from G20 member countries, 9 invitee countries, and various international and regional organisations were welcomed to the meeting being held from March 30 to April 02, 2023 and chaired by Kant.

The formal proceedings were inaugurated by Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Friday morning.

Welcoming the Sherpas to Kerala, he said that the Indian presidency's theme, "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" or "One Earth, One Family, One Future" had found resonance across the world, because of its all encompassing, inclusive message, that captured the diverse global challenges of the day.

He also appreciated the support extended by all G20 countries, guest countries and international organisations to the Indian presidency for the successful conclusion of 46 G20 meetings so far in 27 different cities around the country.
By Sudhi Ranjan Sen

India is turning more optimistic about achieving a consensus from Group of 20 nations on the language used to describe Russias war in Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter.



India, which is set to host the annual G-20 summit in September, is under pressure to show it can forge an agreement after two major meetings ended this year ended with Russia and China objecting to language around the war. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to use Indias G-20 presidency to depoliticize the supply chains of food and fertilizer made scarce by the war. Representatives from various countries have stayed in the same room in recent meetings, marking a contrast with the regular walkouts during similar talks last year in Indonesia, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the meetings are private. That has raised hopes for some sort of a compromise similar to that achieved last November on the resort island of Bali, the person said, adding that any escalation of the war could upset this fragile balance.



The Russia-Ukraine issue cannot hold many other issues back, Kant told reporters in the picturesque beach town of Kumarakom in southern India, where the negotiators were meeting this week. Billboards leading to the venue read Welcome sherpas, may the backwaters lead you forward. Indias top G-20 negotiator, Amitabh Kant, said on Thursday that the group still isnt close to reaching a settlement over the language in a joint statement at the leaders meeting in September. The body needs to also discuss pressing issues such as global debt and climate change as part of that, he said.

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While the meetings this week were ostensibly focused on digital public infrastructure, the G-20 sherpas are using the discussions to address the war in Ukraine  the biggest sticking point for the group. Since Russias invasion began more than a year ago, India has emerged as one of the biggest swing nations, maintaining close ties with the US but abstaining from United Nations votes to condemn the war. Its also held back from participating in US-led efforts to sanction Moscow and continues to snatch up cheap Russian oil. Kant said he held a very positive and optimistic meeting with his Russian counterpart Svetlana Lukash on Thursday, saying they discussed everything under the sun.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India not just take good care of itself during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic but also helped other countries.

The stellar role played by the country in battling with the pandemic under the leadership of PM Modi is being lauded internationally, Mandaviya said after virtually laying the foundation stones of four healthcare projects here worth nearly Rs 180 crore.

Citing an example of this, he said Bill Gates congratulated India when he led the Indian delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos for the best Covid management and best vaccination drive.

Lauding Modi's leadership for this, the minister said India did not just take good care of itself during the peak of the pandemic but also helped over 150 countries fight the crisis by providing them with vaccines.

"We imported vaccines to 78 countries at the rate of USD 3 per dose at a time when it was being sold at the rate of USD 16-18-20 per dose in other countries, Mandaviya said.

To us, health means service, not commerce or business. India's gesture to the world during the pandemic was in keeping with its legacy of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam' (entire world is one family)," he said.

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"A new India is emerging and Uttarakhand is among the other states that are playing a significant role in it," he said.

Mandaviya joined the foundation laying ceremony via video conference from Joshimath as he could not be physically present here for the programme due to bad weather.

The union minister is on a two-day visit to the state which began on Thursday when he went to the border villages of Malari and Niti to review the progress of development works being done there as part of the Vibrant village scheme''.

Sharing his feedback based on his talks with locals and officials in Malari, he said healthcare facilities in the remote border villages of Uttarakhand are improving with the establishment of health and wellness centres.

"They go to the Health and Wellness Centres and get the advice of doctors at the district hospital through teleconsultation through the e-Sanjeevani platform," Mandaviya said.

Under the leadership of PM Modi, development has been linked for the first time with the health sector, he said.

" A holistic approach has been adopted towards the health sector. If we need hospitals, we also need doctors to man them and for that, the number of medical colleges and the number of seats in them must go up," he said.

Mandaviya informed that in 2014 there were only 56,000 MBBS seats in the country which have now risen to 1.3 lakh. Similarly, the number of medical colleges has gone up to 664 from 350.

There were only six AIIMs in the country which are now 42, he said.

Mandaviya congratulated Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for the adoption of all TB patients in the state and advised him to gift a TB-free Uttarakhand to PM Modi on his next birthday.

"I have faith in your leadership. I am confident you can do it," he said.

Mandaviya also assured the state government of all help from the health ministry in successfully conducting the Char Dham Yatra.

"The health ministry will assist you more than your expectations to ensure the safety of pilgrims," he said.

The four projects whose foundation stone was laid included a 500-bed new block at the Doon Medical College and Hospital and one 50-bed Critical Care Block each in Shrinagar Medical College, Rudraprayag and Nainital.
Chun Woo-won, the grandson of the late former President Chun Doo-hwan, answers reporters' questions in Gwangju, Thursday. Yonhap



By Jun Ji-hye



The grandson of former authoritarian ruler Chun Doo-hwan will visit the May 18 National Cemetery in Gwangju on Friday to make an official apology to the victims of his grandfather's deadly suppression of the pro-democracy movement in the southwestern city in 1980.



According to civic groups related to the Gwangju Uprising, Woo-won, the grandson of the former dictator, will also attend meetings with the bereaved families and injured participants of the pro-democracy movement.



Then, he will hold a press conference to make a public apology, something that his grandfather refused to do.



Chun Doo-hwan, who was president from 1980 to 1988 after seizing power through a military coup in December 1979, is criticized for his ordering the military to carry out the violent suppression of the Gwangju democratic movement that began on May 18, 1980.



Thousands of Gwangju citizens rose up against the military junta led by Chun. More than 200 people were killed and 1,800 were wounded, according to official data.



The former dictator died at age 90 from chronic ailments in November 2021, having neither acknowledged nor apologized for his wrongdoings.



The younger Chun, 27, has been making media headlines since March 13 over his series of revelations through Instagram, YouTube and various media interviews regarding the alleged slush funds held by members of his family.



Calling his grandfather a "mass murderer," Woo-won has expressed his willingness to make an apology to the bereaved families and victims of the deadly acts of the military government under the command of his grandfather.





Chun Woo-won, the grandson of the late dictator Chun Doo-hwan, bows in front of a hotel upon his arrival in Gwangju, Thursday. Yonhap
The BJP and Congress have lodged complaints against each other with the Election Commission about Model Code of Conduct violations.

While the Congress alleged that cookers and other inducement materials were found at Byatarayanapura in Bengaluru, the BJP charged that former chief minister Siddaramaiah distributed cash in Varuna in Mysuru.

In his complaint, Congress candidate and former minister Krishna Byre Gowda alleged that about six days ago GST officers raided a premise and seized the inducement material worth Rs 3.6 crore.

The BJP MLC Chalavadi Narayanaswamy lodged the complaint on Wednesday in which he alleged that Siddaramaiah went to his constituency and distributed money.

Meanwhile, Congress state president D K Shivakumar landed in trouble for allegedly throwing cash among people during an election campaign in Mandya on Tuesday. The police registered a non-cognisable offence against him.

Assembly elections in Karnataka would be held on May 10.

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Setting the tone for a high voltage contest in Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday hinted at fielding his predecessor B.S. Yediyurappa's son B.Y. Vijayendra against Opposition leader Siddaramaiah in the May 10 Assembly polls.

Citing increasing demand in the party for the same, Chief Minister Bommai said, "We will put up a tough fight in Varuna constituency against Siddaramaiah. It is the public's demand that Vijayendra should contest against him. However, the final decision would be taken by Yediyurappa and the Parliamentary board.".

Meanwhile, Yediyurappa, who is also a BJP Central Parliamentary Board Member, visited Mysuru district this morning to take stock of the ground realities in this regard.

He is likely to hold a meeting with leaders of Varuna constituency after attending a private function. His visit to Mysuru has gained prominence against the backdrop of Vijayendra's contest.

Earlier, Yediyurappa had stated that the BJP is contemplating to field his son Vijayendra from Varuna constituency. The high command will take a call on finalising the candidature of Vijayendra for Varuna, he added.

"Siddaramaiah's victory won't come easily. The ground beneath him is falling. We will field a strong candidate against him," Yediyurappa had stated.

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Reacting to Vijayendra's candidature from Varuna, Siddaramaiah had stated that he had never bothered about his opponents.

Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, reacting to the development, stated he would welcome Yediyurappa himself to contest from Varuna constituency against Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah has announced that it is his last election and based on his wish to contest from the native constituency, from where he began political career, he had been given a ticket.

--IANS

mka/shb/
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday dismissed the claims of getting retired from politics.

The senior BJP leader made the statement while referring to a media report.

"I have no intention of retiring from politics," the senior BJP leader said while speaking to media in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri.

"The media must uphold responsible journalism in their reporting on this matter," he added.

Earlier on Thursday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also conducted an aerial inspection of the construction work of the Mumbai-Goa highway.

Industries Minister of Maharashtra Uday Samant was also present on occasion, said a press release on Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

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Union Minister Gadkari said that the much-awaited construction work of Mumbai-Goa National Highway No 66 would be completed by December 2023 and the road will be open for traffic in January 2024.

He further said that the Mumbai-Goa highway has been divided into 10 packages. Out of these, two packages (P-9, P-10) in the Sindhudurg district are almost 99 per cent complete, an official release said.

There are a total of five packages in the Ratnagiri district and 92 per cent and 98 per cent work of two of these packages (P-4, P-8) has been completed respectively.

The rest of the work is in progress. The delayed works for two packages (P-6, P-7) have been resumed by appointing a new contractor, informed the Minister.

"Out of the three packages in the Raigad district, two packages (P-2, P-3) have been completed up to 93 per cent and 82 per cent respectively. More than half of the work on the package (P-1) has been completed and the remaining work will be completed soon," he added.

The Road Transport and Highways Minister further said that land acquisition and environmental clearances for the Panvel-Indapur phase had delayed the work on the Mumbai-Goa National Highway.

He said that now all these hurdles have been cleared and the environmental issue is being taken care of by removing the flyover in the Karnala sanctuary area.

The Minister informed that the construction work in Goa of the Mumbai-Goa National Highway has been completed. The Mumbai-Goa National Highway is a highway connecting major tourist destinations in Konkan. This will boost tourism development. Also, as there is a road connecting major industrial areas, industrial development will also get a boost, said the Minister.

The minister also announced three new projects worth Rs 15 thousand crores. These include the Rs. 1,200 crore Kalamboli Junction project, the Rs. 1,200 crore Pagode Junction Chowk to Greenfield Highway project and the Rs. 13,000 crore Morbe - Karanjade highway connecting Delhi via JNPA. The work on these projects will start soon.

On Thursday morning, the Minister laid the foundation stone of three national highway projects worth Rs. 414.68 crores and 63,900 km long at Palaspe village in Raigad district. These projects will boost economic dynamism at the two ports of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and Dighi, while the concretisation of the Panvel to Kasu highway will speed up travel and save fuel.
The territorial Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution unanimously urging the Centre to grant statehood to Puducherry after Chief Minister N Rangasamy made out a strong case for it.

The resolution was first moved as private members resolution by the opposition DMK and an Independent member G Nehru seeking statehood for Puducherry 'to overcome several handicaps and hindrances the elected government was facing now as Puducherry was an Union Territory.'



The Chief Minister, who rose to respond to the resolution, said "it (resolution) is converted into an official resolution."



With all the members who spoke earlier extending support to the resolution for statehood, Speaker R Selvam announced it was treated as an official resolution and was adopted unanimously.

All members, irrespective of their party affiliation and nominated and Independent members stood up and banged the desks showing their joy at the resolution being adopted unanimously and as an official resolution.

Earlier, DMK members R Siva, A M H Nazeem, Annibal Kennedy and R Senthil Kumar and Independent member G Nehru tabled the resolution to urge the Centre to grant statehood to Puducherry.

There was also a suggestion that the Chief Minister take a delegation of all the legislators to meet the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and other union Ministers to urge the Centre to concede the demand.

The Chief Minister, who spoke after listening to the views expressed by the members on the need for statehood, said "the demand for statehood is reiterated not for administrative purposes but it is a matter of our right."



He said he would lead a team of all legislators to meet the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and other Central ministers to press for the demand. "We will also meet the Members of Parliament of parties supporting our plea for statehood in Delhi,"



Rangasamy said he was fully confident that "statehood would be achieved during the 2023-2024 fiscal."



"Statehood is the only solution to bring to an end all the current struggles and hindrances the elected government here has been facing because Puducherry is an Union Territory," Rangasamy said, adding that "the goal of statehood is very near."



He also thanked all the legislators without exception for their support of the demand for statehood.

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Home Minister A Namassivayam, who spoke earlier said "statehood is a must and there was no second opinion on the part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (to which he belongs) which is part of the NDA government led by the AINRC here to seek statehood."



He said that resolutions for statehood were adopted on 13 occasions in the Assembly in the past since 1987.

He further said "most of the time the resolutions of the Assembly were not sent to the Centre as officials who should have forwarded them to the Union Home Minister let the resolutions gather dust in Puducherry itself. The officials feared that once Puducherry became a state the powers of the bureaucrats would be hit".

Namassivayam said as far as the BJP was concerned it was always in favour of statehood for Puducherry.

He said the NDA government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was always favourably conceding all the demands of the AINRC-led coalition government in Puducherry.

"I am fully confident that our resolution for statehood would be accepted by the Centre," Namassivayam said and added that already the Centre had permitted the Puducherry government to use the sprawling site in Sedarapet and Karasur villages here for rapid industrialisation.

He said that "we have requested the Centre to amend the Business Rules relating to the government of Puducherry, include Puducherry in the Central Finance Commission and enhance the financial powers of the Chief Minister and elected government here so that decisions could be taken fast and development in various sectors could be achieved by allotting funds.

At one point, Independent member Nehru wanted to speak on the statehood issue. When the Speaker did not permit him to do so, Nehru staged a walkout from the House. He, however, returned to the House a few minutes later.


The DRHP was filed under the confidential pre-filing route with a reduced issue size of $400-600 million, all of which will be raised through a primary issuance, in a bid to repay the firms debt, Business Standard has learnt. Oravel Stays, the parent firm of hospitality major OYO, refiled Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday, reducing the issue size for the companys public listing to almost half in tune with the changed realities.



It is the second attempt at an IPO by the hotel aggregator as Sebi had flagged several concerns on its earlier bid in late 2021. The company expects an issue timing of November this year, following approvals from Sebi.



Unlike the traditional route, where companies must launch the IPO within 12 months from Sebi approval or final observation, an IPO can be floated within 18 months from the date of SEBIs final comments using the confidential method. Under the confidential route, which was introduced by SEBI in November 2022, the filing is available only to the regulator at the initial stage.

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The Softbank-backed hospitality firm has reduced the size of its initial public offering (IPO) amid volatile market conditions and a reduction in capital requirements. This method also provides flexibility to change primary issue size by up to 50 per cent till the updated DRHP stage.



Queries sent to OYO did not elicit an immediate response. The market continues to be highly volatile globally and, to an extent, in India as well. Filing through the pre-filing route will give OYO some leeway on the timing of the listing, as well as on fine-tuning the issue size, basis the market conditions, to between $400 to 600 million, all of which will now be a primary issuance, to repay most of its debt. Though for now an issue timing of around Diwali is likely once SEBI approves, a source close to the company told Business Standard.



The Gurugram-based firm had filed preliminary papers for a Rs 8,430-crore ($1.2 billion) IPO back in September of 2021, looking for a valuation of $11-12 billion. OYO had, however, postponed its public listing due to a market slump. Tata Play (formerly Tata Sky) was the first company in India to pre-file confidential DRHP with Sebi in November 2022. The option has been available in countries like the US, the UK, Canada etc.



Its founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal, in an internal town hall on Monday, told employees that OYOs revenue for FY23 is expected to be over Rs 5,700 crore, up 19 per cent from Rs 4,780 crore in the previous financial year. After filing its papers yet again over a year later, the company was asked to refile its DRHP by Sebi. The market regulator had, in January this year, asked the firm to refile its public listing application with updates and revisions -- including sections, such as risk factors, outstanding litigation and Basis for Offer.



The company is taking measures to keep healthy cash runaway and is continuing to operate in a cost-effective way. We have a current cash balance of Rs 2,700 crore and we hope we will end up consuming very little of it for existing operations, a source claimed Agarwal as saying during the meeting. The firm expects to report adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of around Rs 800 crore in FY24.



The firm had also -- through an addendum to its DRHP -- reported its maiden positive adjusted Ebitda of Rs 63 crore, a 24 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue, and a 69 per cent increase in monthly booking value (GBV per month) for its hotels in the first six months of FY2023. Agarwal added that this performance can be attributed to sustained growth in India, Indonesia, the US and the UK and relevant optimisation as well as synergies in its European vacation homes business.



For the second half of the year, Agarwal -- during the townhall -- shared that OYOs adjusted Ebitda is expected to rise three-fold to Rs 185 crore, marking the companys first financial year of adjusted Ebitda profitability. However, the company is still not profitable at the net level.

Revenue for the period, the CEO revealed, is expected to be over Rs 2,800 crore, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent compared to the same period in FY2022.
Oravel Stays - which operates hospitality tech firm OYO - on Friday pre-filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with stock market regulator Sebi, sources said.

Sources close to the company told PTI OYO may launch its initial public offering (IPO) around Diwali this year.

Unlike the traditional route where companies have to launch the IPO within 12 months from the Sebi approval, or final observation; in the pre-filing route, an IPO can be floated within 18 months from the date of Sebi's final comments.

This route also provides flexibility to change primary issue size by 50 per cent till the Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) stage.

Explaining the rationale for filing through the pre-filing route, a source said, "The market continues to be highly volatile globally and to an extent in India as well. Filing through the pre-filing route will give OYO some leeway on the timing of the listing, as well as on fine-tuning the issue size, basis the market conditions, to between USD 400 to 600 million, all of which will now be a primary issuance, to repay most of its debt. Though for now an issue timing of around Diwali is likely once Sebi approves."



OYO's last submission to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in November 2022, was of its updated financial results for the first half of financial year 2022-23, claiming that potential investors need to be made aware of the material uptick in its business performance since its initial IPO application in September 2021.

The company's founder Ritesh Agarwal, in an employee townhall on Monday, said, "The company expects to clock adjusted EBITDA of nearly Rs 800 crore in FY2024, that is, the upcoming financial year. We are taking measures to keep a healthy cash runaway and continuing to operate in a cost-effective way.

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"We have a current cash balance of approximately Rs 2,700 crore and we hope we will end up consuming very little of it for existing operations. Our cash flow has shown improvement and our reliance on external funds has gradually decreased overtime."



He also mentioned that this performance can be attributed to sustained growth in India, Indonesia, the US and UK and relevant optimisation as well as synergies in its European vacation homes business.

OYO had filed preliminary documents with the Sebi on September 2021 for a Rs 8,430-crore IPO, including a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 7,000 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 1,430 crore.
Sebi on Friday imposed Rs 5 lakh fine on Videocon Group Founder Venugopal Dhoot for not making disclosures about his interest in Supreme Energy as well as for not disclosing that Quality Techno Advisors Pvt Ltd (QTAPL) and Credential Finance Ltd (CFL) were related parties with respect to certain transactions.

The order came after Sebi conducted an examination following media reports published in March 2018 regarding certain 'quid pro quo' arrangements between Venugopal Dhoot and former Managing Director and Chief Executive Director of ICICI Bank Ltd Chanda Kochhar in lieu of grant of certain credit facilities by ICICI Bank to some entities belonging to the Videocon Group.

The scope of the examination was specifically to ascertain whether Dhoot violated the provisions of LODR (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) rules and provisions of listing agreement in respect of the submissions that were required to be made by Videocon Industries to the stock exchanges.

In its order, Sebi found that Dhoot did not disclose his interest (99.9 per cent shares) in Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL) to Videocon Industries, at the time of grant of loan by the company to SEPL. By not disclosing his interest in SEPL, Dhoot violated listing agreement, according to an order by Sebi.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had alleged that as a part of quid pro quo, Dhoot made an investment of Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables through SEPL, and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar, through a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.

Deepak Kochhar is the husband of Chanda Kochchar.

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Also, CBI alleged that ICICI Bank sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to the companies of Videocon Group in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI guidelines and the credit policy of the bank.

In addition, Sebi in its order noted that Dhoot did not disclose his interest in CFL and QTAPL.

Videocon Group founded and promoted by Dhoot was holding 12.08 lakh or 24.7 percent stake in CFL in 2000 and in 2014 Videocon Group was holding 6.84 lakh shares in CFL. However, from the annual report of the company, it was noted that there was no mention of CFL as a related party in the annual reports available with Sebi from FY 2009-10 till FY2014-15 as a related party, Sebi said.

With respect to Dhoot not disclosing QTAPL as its related party, Sebi said that QTAPL was incorporated in December 2008 and Kavishwar Patil and Vilas Salunkhe were appointed as its directors. Surprisingly, the same individuals were also directors in the subsidiary companies of Videocon Group.

Further, QTAPL was owned by Videocon Group companies -- Tek-care India Limited and Evans Fraser and Co (I) Limited -- before its acquisition by family trust of Deepak Kochhar. Therefore, Dhoot was under the obligation to disclose QTAPL as a related party, it said.

By not making required disclosures, Dhoot violated provisions of listing agreement and LODR.

In January, the Bombay High Court granted interim bail to Dhoot nearly a month after he was arrested by the CBI in in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan fraud case.
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Shares of Vedanta slipped 2 per cent to Rs 276.20 on the BSE in Friday's intra-day trade, in an otherwise strong market, after nearly 2 per cent of total equity of the company changed hands on the NSE and BSE.At 02:14 pm, Vedanta was trading 1.5 per cent lower at Rs 277.65 on the BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 1.7 per cent or 1,006 points at 58,966 level. A combined 69 million shares, representing 1.86 per cent of total equity of Vedanta, had changed hands on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report.The board of directors of Vedanta, at their meeting held on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, had approved a fifth interim dividend of Rs 20.50 per equity share i.e., 2050 per cent on face value of Rs 1 per share for the financial year 202223, amounting to Rs 7,621 crore. The record date for the purpose of payment of dividend is Friday, April 07, 2023.In the past two months, Vedanta has underperformed the market by falling 17 per cent, as compared to less than 1 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.CRISIL Ratings has revised its rating outlook on the non convertible debentures (NCDs), and long-term bank facilities of Vedanta to 'Negative' from 'Stable', while reaffirming the rating at 'CRISIL AA'. The rating on the commercial paper, and short-term bank facilities has been reaffirmed at 'CRISIL A1+'."The revision in outlook reflects possibility of higher-than-expected financial leverage, and lower financial flexibility with reducing ratio of cash surplus to 1-year maturities for fiscals 2023 and 2024. This is due to increased cash outflow from Vedanta, in the form of dividends, towards large maturing debt obligations at its parent company viz. Vedanta Resources (VRL; rated 'B-/Stable' by S&P Global Ratings). This is owing to increased refinancing risk at VRL and moderating operating profitability (Ebitda [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation]) of Vedanta," CRISIL said.VRL has annual debt maturities of around $3 billion each in fiscals 2024 and 2025, with high near-term maturities of around $1.7 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. CRISIL Ratings understands that the company is in discussion with lenders for refinancing upcoming maturities of first quarter of fiscal 2024, and the same is expected to be completed by end of March 2023 or early April 2023.That said, the progress on the refinancing plans have been slower than expected, thereby resulting in increased dividend payout by Vedanta and reduced cash and cash equivalents during the fiscal. Including the recent dividend announced by Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL, Vedantas subsidiary; 'CRISIL AAA/Stable/CRISIL A1+), dividend payout by Vedanta for fiscal 2023 will be more than Rs 40,000 crore (highest ever, including dividend payout by HZL to its minority shareholders). This is expected to result in cash balance of less than Rs 20,000 crore for March 2023 against more than Rs 30,000 crore in March 2022."In case of any further delay in the expected refinancing plan, dependence on dividend payouts by Vedanta will increase; Vedanta currently has cash balances only to cover for VRLs maturities for the first half of fiscal 2024, and hence will be a key rating sensitivity factor,: CRISIL said in its rating rationale.
Cash-strapped Pakistan has received a rollover loan of USD 2 billion that matured last week from its "all-weather ally" China, finance minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday, a move that will help Islamabad secure the much-required bailout from the IMF.

The rollover is one of the key requirements for Pakistan meeting its external financing needed for it to ink the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"I am happy to confirm that this has been rolled over on March 23," Dar told parliament, adding that all formalities were completed.

Pakistan, currently in the throes of a major economic crisis, is grappling with high external debt and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

Pakistan is scrambling to increase its forex reserves which are estimated to be at USD 4.8 billion after China refinanced USD 500 million a fortnight ago.

Pakistan has been negotiating with the IMF for the release of a USD 1.1 billion bailout package since February but has so far met with little success due to the stringent conditions imposed by the Washington-based lender.

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The funds are part of a USD 6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations.

The rollover comes days after Pakistan decided to skip the Democracy Summit in Washington so that it does not potentially upset its "all-weather ally" China.
By Patricia Hurtado and Greg Farrell



Donald Trump is right about at least one thing: No other former US president has ever been treated like this.

Trump faces an unprecedented chain of indignities after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday in a probe of hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign  a historic event in American law and politics that is certain to divide an already polarized society and electorate. Donald Trump is right about at least one thing: No other former US president has ever been treated like this.



He probably wont be handcuffed or led before a scrum of clicking camera shutters in the traditional perp walk. And he will almost certainly be released on his own recognizance, under the protection of his Secret Service detail, rather than detained. The 45th president, the first former Oval Office occupant to be indicted, will be fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken like any criminal defendant when he comes to New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan to face the charges, court officials have said.



Obviously were disappointed, but we will swiftly and aggressively fight these charges and pursue justice in this case, Tacopina said. He is expected to be arraigned as early as Tuesday, said his lawyer Joe Tacopina, who said his client would surrender to authorities.

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The indictment landed on the American political and legal landscape like a bombshell, one day after reports that the grand jury had been given three weeks off and was expected to reconvene on April 24. The caveat was that Bragg could bring the jurors back at any time in the interim. Tacopina said Braggs office didnt notify him that his client had been indicted until Thursday afternoon. Trump must now grapple with the charges even as he campaigns for a second presidential term in next years race. The indictment, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, comes as Trump faces the Atlanta-based DAs investigation of his bid to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, as well as a federal special counsels probe of those efforts and of his handling of government documents.



Hoffinger, who is also the chief of investigations for the Manhattan DAs office, was later seen leaving the building at about 4:45. Shortly after 5, court officials said the indictment had been filed. They said high security at the courthouse, which has been ramped up since March 21, when Trump predicted he would be arrested, continued Thursday. The jurors convened to make their momentous vote on a cold March afternoon. Susan Hoffinger, who was the lead prosecutor in the tax fraud case against two of Trumps companies last year, was seen walking into the building where the grand jury sits at about 1:45 p.m., accompanied by at least two other prosecutors on her team.



What has been predicted for a long time has finally come to fruition, said Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney now at the University of Michigans law school. Trump will have to appear in court and put forth a legal defense. Tacopina said he hasnt been told what the specific charges are and expects them to remain under seal until the arraignment.



Trump said in a statement that the indictment amounts to political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history. He described the case as the latest effort by Democrats to destroy the Make America Great Again movement, comparing the indictment to his earlier impeachments and the Russia, Russia, Russia investigation. She added that tough talk will not save him in court.



The impact of the indictment stood in contrast to the muted, sober tones of a statement from the district attorneys office. The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference, he said. Never before in our nations history has this been done.



The White House declined to comment. This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal, it read. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.

Bragg Under Fire

Braggs office has come under fire in recent weeks, first from Trump himself, who predicted death and destruction if he were indicted. The office has also been under pressure from several prominent Republican congressmen, including Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who demanded that the Manhattan DA respond to requests for documents justifying his investigation of Trump.



Trump attorney Alina Habba predicted her client would prevail in the end. Far from paralyzing the DA, the threats and pressure appear to have galvanized Braggs office, according to a former prosecutor from the office who has stayed in touch with Braggs people. The former prosecutor, now in private practice, asked not to be named because the conversations were private.



DeSantis on Extradition A former president, a current candidate and my friend President Donald J. Trump is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history, Habba said in a statement. He will be vindicated.



Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda, he said on Twitter after the indictment. Even Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, widely expected to challenge Trump for the Republican presidential nomination  and whom Trump has repeatedly belittled as he campaigns  said he wouldnt help extradite Trump from Mar-a-Lago to New York if it came to that.



All three probes of Trump are underway during his third campaign for the White House and as his Republican support may be waning. While his base, a steady 30% of the GOP electorate, supports the 76-year-old candidate no matter what, many other Republicans and independent voters are looking for a less dramatic alternative, like DeSantis. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is also running. Tacopina said Trump would surrender to New York authorities, so no extradition measures would be necessary.



Yet neither criminal charges nor a conviction disqualifies him from running or even serving as president. Trump has denied wrongdoing and dismissed all three inquiries as partisan vendettas. And he has gained significant support by claiming he is the victim of a deep state persecution.

Stormy Daniels

In the case brought by Bragg, a Democrat, Trump and his company are alleged to have falsified records to conceal the payments to Stormy Daniels. His onetime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to repress claims that shed had a sexual relationship with Trump, and was reimbursed by the Trump Organization. Trump has denied the affair and any involvement in the payoff.



During his administration, federal prosecutors decided against seeking Trumps indictment over the hush money, citing Justice Department guidance that a sitting president cant be charged. The case rests on a novel legal theory, some experts say. Falsifying business records can be a misdemeanor under New York law, but for prosecutors to prove Trump committed a felony, they would have to show he was involved in the falsification to commit or conceal a second crime.



Trump Companies Conviction

Trump said earlier in March that the DAs office had invited him to testify before the grand jury Bragg convened in the case  an invitation that signaled prosecutors were serious about bringing charges against him. He declined the offer.



The charges against Trump come after Bragg initially decided in February 2022 not to pursue an indictment, spurring the resignation of two senior prosecutors on the case. One of them, Mark Pomerantz, a former federal prosecutor who led the investigation under Braggs predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., sharply criticized Bragg for failing to charge Trump. The case is the latest by Braggs office tied to Trump. A New York state jury in December found a pair of Trump companies guilty of engaging in a years-long tax fraud scheme and fined them $1.6 million. While Trump wasnt charged, his longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges and was the prosecutions star witness at the trial.



Dodging Accountability

Pomerantz said in his book People vs. Donald Trump that his team thought the payments to Daniels and a former Playboy model could have been part of a larger case including Trumps falsifying business records in his annual financial statements.



He has spent his entire political career dodging accountability for his wanton disregard for the law, Bookbinder said. It is finally catching up to him. The charges in New York are the first ever brought against him, but they will not be the last. Noah Bookbinder, president of the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the indictment adds to Trumps record of being the first president to be impeached twice and described him as the most corrupt president in American history.

In both impeachments, Trump was acquitted in the Senate.
By Patricia Hurtado and Greg Farrell



Donald Trump was indicted in New York for directing hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign, a historic event in American law and politics that is certain to divide an already polarized society and electorate. A grand jury returned the indictment on Thursday, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the charges havent yet been made public. Donald Trump was indicted in New York for directing hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign, a historic event in American law and politics that is certain to divide an already polarized society and electorate.



The indictment landed on the American political and legal landscape like a bombshell, one day after reports that the grand jury had been given three weeks off and was expected to reconvene on April 24  though with the caveat that Bragg could bring the jurors back at any time in the interim. Trump, the first former US president to be indicted, must now grapple with the charges even as he campaigns for a second presidential term in next years race. The indictment, sought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, comes as Trump faces the Atlanta DAs investigation of his bid to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, as well as a federal special counsels probe of those efforts and of his handling of government documents.



What has been predicted for a long time has finally come to fruition, said Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney now at the University of Michigans law school. Trump will have to appear in court and put forth a legal defense. New York court officials said high security at the courthouse, which was ramped up since March 21, when Trump predicted he would be arrested, continued Thursday. Susan Hoffinger, the lead prosecutor in the investigation, was seen entering the building where the grand jury hearing the Trump case sits shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday and left at about 4:45 p.m.

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Trump defense lawyer Joe Tacopina said he had just been informed of the charges by Braggs office Thursday afternoon. She added that tough talk will not save him in court.



Trump said in a statement that the indictment amounts to political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history. He described the case as the latest effort by Democrats to destroy the Make America Great Again movement, comparing the indictment to his earlier impeachments and the Russia, Russia, Russia investigation. Obviously were disappointed, but we will swiftly and aggressively fight these charges and pursue justice in this case, he said. Tacopina said he expects Trump to be arraigned next week.



Danielle Filson, a spokeswoman for Bragg, didnt immediately return voicemails and emails seeking comment on the indictment. The White House declined to comment. The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference, he said. Never before in our nations history has this been done.



Far from paralyzing the DAs office, the threats and pressure appear to have galvanized Braggs office, according to a former prosecutor from the office who has stayed in touch with Braggs people. The former prosecutor, now in private practice, asked not to be named because the conversations were private. Braggs office has come under fire in recent weeks, first from Trump himself, who predicted death and destruction if he was indicted. The office has also been under pressure from several prominent Republican congressmen, including Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who demanded that the Manhattan DA respond to requests for documents justifying his investigation of Trump.



Trump has denied wrongdoing and dismissed all three inquiries as partisan vendettas. And he has gained significant support by claiming he is the victim of a deep state persecution. All three probes of Trump are underway during his third campaign for the White House and as his Republican support may be waning. While his base, a steady 30% of the GOP electorate, supports the 76-year-old candidate no matter what, many other Republicans and independent voters are looking for a less dramatic alternative, like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is also running.



Stormy Daniels

Yet neither criminal charges nor a conviction disqualifies him from running or even serving as president.



The case rests on a theory that has never been tested, legal experts say. Falsifying business records can be a misdemeanor under New York law, but for prosecutors to prove Trump committed a felony, they would have to show he was involved in the falsification to commit or conceal a second crime. In the case brought by Bragg, a Democrat, Trump and his company are alleged to have falsified records to conceal the payments to Stormy Daniels. His onetime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to repress claims that shed had a sexual relationship with Trump, and was reimbursed by the Trump Organization. Trump has denied the affair and any involvement in the payoff.



Trump said earlier in March that the DAs office had invited him to testify before the grand jury Bragg convened in the case  an invitation that signaled prosecutors were serious about bringing charges against him. He declined the offer. During his administration, federal prosecutors decided against seeking Trumps indictment over the hush money, citing Justice Department guidance that a sitting president cant be charged.

Trump Companies Conviction

The case is the latest by Braggs office tied to Trump. A New York state jury in December found a pair of Trump companies guilty of engaging in a years-long tax fraud scheme and fined them $1.6 million. While Trump wasnt charged, his longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges and was the prosecutions star witness at the trial.



Pomerantz said in his book People vs. Donald Trump that his team thought the payments to Daniels and a former Playboy model could have been part of a larger case including Trumps falsifying business records in his annual financial statements. The charges against Trump come after Bragg initially decided in February 2022 not to pursue an indictment, spurring the resignation of two senior prosecutors on the case. One of them, Mark Pomerantz, a former federal prosecutor who led the investigation under Braggs predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., sharply criticized Bragg for failing to charge Trump.



He has spent his entire political career dodging accountability for his wanton disregard for the law, Bookbinder said. It is finally catching up to him. The charges in New York are the first ever brought against him, but they will not be the last. Noah Bookbinder, president of the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the indictment adds to Trumps record of being the first president to be impeached twice and described him as the most corrupt president in American history.

In both impeachments, Trump was acquitted in the Senate.


The indictment in New York wont stop federal and state prosecutors in other jurisdictions from bringing their own charges, but a logjam of cases  criminal or civil  will make it harder to resolve them all as fast as Trumps adversaries might want. The looming 2024 campaign season adds another layer of potential complications. Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan on charges related to the payment of hush money to a porn star during his 2016 campaign. The prosecution of a former president is unprecedented and certain to kick off a political firestorm and a fierce courtroom fight  but the case isnt the only legal challenge facing Trump going forward.



Justice Department

Heres where the rest of the pending investigations and civil cases surrounding Trump stand:



Fulton County, Georgia

Special Counsel Jack Smith was brought in late last year by Attorney General Merrick Garland to take over two federal criminal investigations  the first into efforts by Trump and his allies to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election, and the second into whether Trump or others mishandled classified information after he left the White House or attempted to obstruct the governments inquiry. There is no timeline for when Smith will decide what recommendations to make to Garland. His team has spent the past months subpoenaing witnesses and fighting with Trump in court  largely behind closed doors  over who prosecutors can put before the grand jury and what they must testify about.

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New York Attorney General

In Georgia, Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating whether Trump broke the law in his attempts to alter the results of the states 2020 presidential vote. In a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call, Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find him 11,780 votes  one more than Joe Bidens margin of victory in the state. A special grand jury authorized to hear evidence and make recommendations  but not to return indictments  finished its work and submitted a report to Willis, who will decide whether to bring charges. The foreperson of that special grand jury, in media interviews that Trumps lawyers condemned, said the panels recommendations included indicting more than a dozen people, and she hinted that Trump was among them.



Battery and defamation The New York attorney generals civil suit against Trump and three of his children for allegedly inflating the value of his real estate companys assets is perhaps the biggest threat to the former presidents wealth, as well as his image as a successful businessman. James is seeking $250 million in disgorgement and a permanent ban on all four Trumps doing business in New York. Shes already succeeded in winning a court order for an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization, a move that could bring unprecedented scrutiny to the former presidents finances.



A trial is scheduled for April 25 in a lawsuit by New York advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who sued Trump for battery and defamation stemming from her claim that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. The suit was filed under New Yorks new Adult Survivors Act, which lifted the statute of limitations for one year on civil claims for sexual offenses. When Carroll first made her accusation in 2019, Trump said she was not his type and that she made up the claim to boost sales of her book.

Jan. 6 attack

A trial is scheduled for April 25 in a lawsuit by New York advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who sued Trump for battery and defamation stemming from her claim that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. The suit was filed under New Yorks new Adult Survivors Act, which lifted the statute of limitations for one year on civil claims for sexual offenses. When Carroll first made her accusation in 2019, Trump said she was not his type and that she made up the claim to boost sales of her book.



Investors class action

Trump was sued by 12 Democratic lawmakers accusing him of sparking the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. Multiple Capitol police officers also sued Trump for physical injuries and racist abuse suffered that day. Through appeals, Trump is trying to get the cases dismissed; a federal judge in Washington rejected Trumps defense that he was immune from being sued because he was a sitting president at the time. The Justice Department has said it will not support that argument in court.



Trump Organization

Trump, his company and his three oldest children are also facing a class-action lawsuit filed in 2018 by four investors who claimed that they were duped by Trumps promotions into paying thousands of dollars to become independent sellers with ACN Opportunity LLC, which sold a doomed videophone device that Trump touted as the next big thing. The devices were made obsolete by smartphones. Trump sat for questions in October.



Voter rights

On Dec. 6, following a weekslong trial, two units of the Trump family business, the Trump Organization, were found guilty of engaging in a 13-year tax-evasion scheme. A Manhattan jury found the two units guilty of all 17 counts including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. Trump himself wasnt charged. The two companies were assessed a $1.6 million fine. With a felony on its record, the Trump Organization could be barred from further contracts with government agencies and could have trouble doing business with banks. Lawyers for both units said they would appeal.

A group of Michigan voters is suing Trump, his 2020 reelection campaign, and the Republican National Committee alleging mass voter suppression, particularly among Black voters. Trump and the RNC are seeking to have the case dismissed. Trump is also appealing after the judge in that case rejected his absolute immunity claim.
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), General Secretary on Friday said that Finland's inclusion will strengthen the intergovernmental military alliance and added that the body hopes to welcome Sweden as full member soon.

In a video shared by the official Twitter account of NATO Spokesperson, Oana Lungescu, the NATO General Secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, is heard welcoming and congratulating Finland.

Stoltenberg said, "I welcome the vote by the Turkish Grand National Assembly to ratify Finland's membership in NATO. All 30 NATO allies have now ratified the accession protocol."

"And I have just spoken with President Sauli Niinisto to congratulate him on this historic occasion," Stoltenberg said.

"Finland will formally join our alliance in the coming days. The membership will make Finland safer and NATO stronger. Finland has highly capable forces, advanced capabilities and strong democratic institutions. So Finland will bring a lot to our alliance," NATO General Secretary said.

He said, "All allies made a historic decision last year to invite Finland and Sweden to join our alliance. Since then, we have seen the fastest ratification process in NATO's modern history. All allies agree that a rapid conclusion of the ratification process for Sweden will be in everyone's interest. I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as a full member of the NATO family as soon as possible."

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Turkish Parliament on March 30 voted all the way in favour of Finland's application to join NATO, clearing the last hurdle in the accession process, while also continuing to block Sweden from joining the military alliance.

As per a CNN report, Ankara's vote fulfils Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's "promise" to allow Finland to become part of the military alliance.

Turkey was the last NATO member to approve Finland's accession. Following the vote, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said his country is "ready to join NATO." He further said, "All 30 NATO members have now ratified Finland's membership. I want to thank every one of them for their trust and support," according to a CNN report.

Niinisto stressed that "Finland will be a strong and capable ally, committed to the security of the Alliance." As per the news report, he said, "We look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible."

NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg welcomed the decision of Turkey. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Stoltenberg stated, "I welcome the vote of the Grand National Assembly of #Turkiye to complete the ratification of #Finland's accession. This will make the whole #NATO family stronger & safer."

Finland and Sweden had in 2022 submitted applications to join NATO. A majority of NATO members, except for Turkey and Hungary had welcomed the applications by the two Nordic countries.

Turkish President Erdogan had accused Finland and Sweden of housing Kurdish "terrorist organizations." Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Finland and Sweden were disseminating "outright lies" about his country's rule of law record, as per the CNN report.

Later, the two nations softened their stance on Finland's accession. However, Hungary and Turkey continue to remain opposed to Sweden becoming part of NATO.

On Monday, the Hungarian Parliament voted 182 to six in favour of Finland's application. On Wednesday, Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs said there was "an ample amount of grievances that need to be addressed" before Sweden's bid to join NATO would be approved by Hungary.


The grand jury on Thursday voted to indict 76-year-old Trump, a Republican, for his role in paying money to porn star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to buy her silence over an alleged affair. Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on charges related to paying off a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, making him the first former US president to face a criminal charge and upending his bid to retake the White House in 2024.



The indictment remains under seal and it is not clear what crimes and how many criminal counts Trump has been charged with. CNN reported that the former president has been charged with more than 30 counts. Trumps expected appearance before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday as the Republican mounts a comeback bid for the presidency could further inflame divisions across the country.



The New York Times termed Trumps indictment a historic development that will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark him as the nations first former president to face criminal charges. Trump, the 45th US President from 2017 to 2021, is expected to fly from his home in Florida to New York on Monday and be arraigned in court on Tuesday. The proceeding is expected to be brief. The charges in the indictment will be read to him at the hearing, which is set to last about 10-15 minutes. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has been pursuing the investigation for years, confirmed that it had contacted Trumps lawyers on Thursday evening to coordinate his surrender on unspecified charges.

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In a statement responding to news of his indictment, the former president called it Political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history, and accused Democrats of weaponising our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the US. The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable  indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference, Trump said. Trump has denied all wrongdoing in connection with the payments made ahead of the election.



Following the indictment, Stormy Daniels thanked her supporters. I have so many messages coming in that I cant respond...also dont want to spill my champagne, she tweeted. He lashed out at Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, calling the prosecutor a disgrace, and accused him of doing Joe Bidens dirty work.



Trump attorneys Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina issued a statement, saying that the former president did not commit any crime and vowed to vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court. The case stems from a payment made just days before Trump was elected president in 2016. His former attorney Michael Cohen arranged a wire transfer of $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair. President Joe Biden repeatedly declined to comment on the indictment of Donald Trump on Friday morning, CNN reported.

What happens now?

Any potential trial is still at minimum over a year away raising the possibility that Trump could face a jury during or even after the 2024 campaign

Challenging the case

Trump has accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of targeting him for political gain and could try to seek dismissal of the charges on those grounds



Prosecutors may assert the payment violated state campaign finance law To elevate that charge to a felony, prosecutors must prove that Trump falsified records to cover up a second crime

Fingerprints and Mugshot

Trumps legal team is negotiating a surrender date, when Trump would have to travel to the district attorneys office in New York to be fingerprinted and photographed



He would likely be allowed to head home afterward Trump would then make an appearance in court, where he would be formally charged



2024 presidential bid If Trump decided not to come, prosecutors could seek his extradition



Any criminal charges, or even a jail sentence, would not restrict Trump from running for office under the US constitution The court case will affect his campaign but it will not exclude him from running for office next year



THE CASE FILE Historically, there are instances of individuals running for president while facing charges or even from a prison cell



Former porn star Stormy Daniels claims she had an adulterous affair with the former president, and was paid $130,000 to keep quiet New York prosecutors have been investigating the payment of hush money to an adult film star prior to Trumps election in 2016



Trump is expected to appear in court to face the charges and enter a plea in New York next Tuesday The payment was legal - but Trump allegedly recorded it as a business expense. Falsifying business records is illegal in New York



US media say Trump faces more than two dozen charges linked to business fraud - although that is not officially confirmed He denies wrongdoing, and the affair, saying the indictment is political persecution

Republicans are calling the indictment an outrage, while Democrats say no-one is above the law


For every American killed by gunfire, an estimated two or more more survive, often with terrible injuries a fact that public health experts say is crucial to understanding the full impact of guns on society.

A new government study highlights just how violent America's recent past has been by showing a surge in gunfire injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of people fatally shooting each other and themselves -- also increased.

The number of people injured by gunfire was nearly 40% higher in 2020 and 2021, compared with 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a study published Thursday. In 2022, gun injuries tapered off, but were still 20% higher than before the pandemic.

Gun injuries rose similarly for men and women over the past three years, while the largest proportional increase occurred among children younger than 15, a subset that remains a small fraction of the overall problem.

Experts say the CDC gun injury study, which uses data from hospital emergency departments, helps provide a more comprehensive picture of gun violence in America than simply measuring homicides and suicides.

Hospitals are a great place to keep the pulse on who is being shot, and when and where, said Catherine Barber, a senior injury researcher at Harvard University's school of public health.

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The CDC study results came from more than 2,200 U.S. hospital emergency departments, which represent the bulk of the nation's ERs, said Thomas Simon, one of the authors of the new study.

The study suggests that the number of gunshot-related ER visits at hospitals in the study rose from around 50,000 in 2019 to more than 72,000 in 2020. Because more than a quarter of U.S. hospital emergency departments were not involved in the study, the actual number is likely significantly higher.

Experts believe a variety of factors contributed to the pandemic surge in gun violence, including a rise in guns purchased, more time spent inside homes where guns are present and mental health struggles stemming from social isolation and economic hardships.

The CDC study shows a rise in gun injuries around mid-March 2020, after a pandemic emergency was declared and lockdowns and other measures were put into place. A sharper jump occurred a couple of months later, in the second half of May, when protests and civil unrest followed the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

While the CDC study did not differentiate between injuries caused by assaults or accidents, other research has shown that about 3 out of 4 gunshot wounds are intentional.

The CDC says more than 45,000 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S. in 2020, and more than 47,000 in 2021.

The country's gun violence problem was thrust into the national conversation again this week after a shooter killed 3 children and 3 adults at a Christian school in Tennessee; nobody who was shot survived. The shooter was killed by police.

We are in a week when people are paying attention to this issue again, sadly, after a mass shooting in Nashville said Nina Vinik, executive director of Project Unloaded, an advocacy group focused on the impact of gun violence on children. Hopefully this paper will add new data to that conversation.
Under pressure from the US government, TikTok is now facing the music with the possibility of a nationwide ban if it defies a government order to sell to an American company unless the popular social media app can convince a high-powered panel that its data security restructuring plan sufficiently guards against national security concerns.

At the heart of this social media business and national security drama is the increasingly tense relations between the US and China.

The video-sharing platform with 150 million US users is best known for quick snippets of viral dance routines and has been under scrutiny for years by federal authorities who say that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, could share sensitive user data with the Chinese government, or push propaganda and misinformation on its behalf.

Having already banned the shipment of certain technologies to China, and recently passing new legislation banning the app on government devices, lawmakers want to pursue a nationwide ban on the app if the tech firm can't be sold to an American buyer.

Enter: The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The little-known but potentially potent government agency known as CFIUS is tasked with investigating corporate deals for national security concerns and holds power to force the company to change.

WHY IS CFIUS SCRUTINIZING TIKTOK?



For at least two years, the U.S. government has tried to force TikTok ownership to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, though CFIUS' review of the social media app goes back at least to 2019.

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Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed in 2020 that CFIUS was reviewing whether then-President Donald Trump could ban TikTok in the US.

Its members agreed that TikTok cannot operate in the US in its current form because it risks sending back information on 100 million Americans, Mnuchin said at the time.

As geopolitical tensions between China and the US have soared in recent months, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified last week before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

He was grilled about online safety and user privacy in a hostile hearing that did little to ease lawmakers' concerns. Chew was repeatedly questioned about the Chinese Communist Party's influence on ByteDance but deflected.

TikTok is not available in mainland China, and today we're headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore, but I'm not saying that the founders of ByteDance are not Chinese, nor am I saying that we don't make use of Chinese employees, just like many other companies around the world, he added. We do use their expertise on some engineering projects.

WHAT IS CFIUS?



Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen oversees CFIUS, a committee made up of members from the State, Justice, Energy and Commerce Departments among others, which investigates national security risks from foreign investments in American firms.

The committee screens business deals between US firms and foreign investors and can block sales or force parties to change the terms of an agreement for the purpose of protecting national security.

The committee's powers were significantly expanded in 2018 through an act of Congress called the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, known as FIRRMA.

In September, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that expands the factors that the committee should consider when reviewing deals such as how the deal impacts the US supply chain or risks to Americans' sensitive personal data.

SELL, BAN OR ORACLE?



Defying CFIUS' orders to sell ultimately could mean doing business with the company may violate the law. That would suck the life out of its business operations, such as banking, payroll, advertising, and app store services.

But the company said it's already mitigating national security concerns with a USD 1.5 billion mitigation plan called Project Texas that would route all US user data to servers owned and maintained by the US software giant Oracle.

When that process is complete, all protected US data will be under the protection of US law and under the control of the U.S.-led security team. Under this structure, there is no way for the Chinese government to access it or compel access to it, Chew said.

While CFIUS can adopt such mitigation agreements, it's not clear if the committee will accept TikTok's proposed alternative, said Anupam Chander, a Georgetown University technology law professor.

If CFIUS rejects TikTok's preferred solution, Chander said the federal agency should have an obligation to explain how it finds that plan to be insufficient given that it amounts to an enormous restructuring of the company.

TikTok proposes lots of well-paid, third-party auditors that would be doing this kind of routine monitoring, Chander said. This is an expensive proposition for TikTok but by no means would I treat this as window dressing.

Though Chew last week also insisted that the company was not interested in a sale, TikTok has considered it before. TikTok had advanced negotiations with Microsoft after the company was put against the wall by the Trump administration in 2020, facing either an outright ban and CFIUS' divestment order.

Microsoft said TikTok ultimately rejected their offer, and though TikTok later said it would sell to Oracle and Walmart, it doesn't appear that Project Texas amounts to a sale, Chander said.

Should TikTok agree to a sale in the future, not only would CFIUS have to approve that transaction, but the Chinese government which has said it won't support forced divestment could also intervene.

WHAT'S NEXT?



Leaders in the US, European Union, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Taiwan have also banned TikTok on government-issued devices and at least two countries have banned TikTok outright.

Afghanistan's Taliban leadership last year banned it on the grounds of protecting young people from being misled, while India imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps in 2020 over privacy and security concerns.

The ban came shortly after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border killed 20 Indian soldiers and injured dozens.

Historically, CFIUS has focused on things like shipping and manufacturing when reviewing transactions for national security concerns, but it signalled deeper interest in popular social media when it ordered the dating app Grindr to divest in 2019, Chander said.

The function of CFIUS was also in the spotlight last year after billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter, plunging the microblogging platform into chaos. Yellen waffled on whether or not CFIUS would or could review that sale, given Musk's investments in China as well as significant Saudi interest.
Thousands of right-wing Israelis on Thursday blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv as they demonstrated in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the country's judicial system.

The crowd was much smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people who have taken to the streets in recent months to demonstrate against the plan.

But the gathering had the same effect. Protesters honked their car horns and hoisted blue and white Israeli flags crippling traffic along the Ayalon highway, the main north-south thoroughfare running through the coastal city.

After especially intense protests, Netanyahu this week froze the plan and began negotiations with his political opponents aimed at finding a compromise plan. But his opponents have vowed to continue their protests as well.

The plan would give Netanyahu's parliamentary coalition control over judicial appointments and the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions it opposes.

Netanyahu and his allies say the plan is needed to rein a system unelected activist judges who wield too much power over political matters.

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Opponents say the changes would destroy a system of checks and balances by concentrating too much power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies in parliament. They also say Netanyahu has a conflict of interest while he is on trial for criminal charges and has no business meddling in the country's legal system.
More than 20 far-right Austrian MPs walked out of Parliament during a virtual address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, arguing that the latter's speech violated Vienna's "permanent neutrality" status.

Austria's "permanent neutrality" has been part of its constitution since 1955. The law states that "Austria will never in the future accede to any military alliances nor permit the establishment of military bases of foreign states on her territory", reports the BBC.

In his address on Thursday which marked the 400th day of Russia's ongoing war, Zelensky emphasised that it was impossible to hold a "morally neutral stance against evil", reports Ukrayinska Pravda.

While thanking Austria for its humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Zelensky also invited Wolfgang Sobotka, the speaker of the lower house of the Austrian parliament, and other parliamentarians to the war-torn nation, so that they could see with their own eyes what the Russian war had brought to Ukraine.

"To see this means to understand our people. To understand how important each individual vote is in support of international law and Ukraine, when these issues are discussed at the UN General Assembly, the European Parliament or other international platforms.

"We must understand the importance of not being morally neutral against evil. This is not about geopolitics... It is, however, that we must always remain humans and save our humanity," the President was quoted as saying.

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As he spoke, the Freedom Party (FPO) MPs walked out and left placards on their desk with the party logo that read "space for neutrality" and "space for peace", the BBC reported.

There are 30 FPO politicians in Austria's lower chamber and they were the only ones to oppose Zelensky's address.

Ahead of the Ukrainian leader's address, the FPO had warned that they would hold some form of protest against the speech.

But despite the walkout, Sobotka pledged more financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and said the country deserved Austria's solidarity.

Austria had previously said it cannot help Ukraine's defence militarily, but it does support Kiev politically.

--IANS

ksk/
Virgin Orbit, the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, has laid off nearly 85 per cent of its workforce -- about 675 employees -- after it failed to secure a key funding.

Virgin Orbit has ceased operations "for the foreseeable future", its CEO Dan Hart told employees late on Thursday.

"Unfortunately, we've not been able to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company. We have no choice but to implement immediate and extremely painful changes," Hart told the employees.

In a US securities filing, the company announced a workforce reduction of approximately 675 employees, constituting approximately 85 per cent of the company's workforce "in order to reduce expenses in light of the Company's inability to secure meaningful funding".

Those impacted are located in all areas of the company.

The company estimated that the move will incur aggregate charges of approximately $15 million, consisting primarily of $8.8 million in severance payments and employee benefits costs and $6.5 million in other costs primarily related to outplacement services and WARN Act exposure.

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"The company expects to recognise the majority of these charges in the first quarter of 2023. It expects that the reduction in force will be substantially complete by April 3, 2023," the filing read.

Branson founded Virgin Orbit in 2017 after spinning off from its sister company, Virgin Galactic.

Virgin Orbit has been developing an air-launched rocket, dubbed LauncherOne, for hauling small satellites to orbit.

In January, its rocket carrying satellites into space suffered an "anomaly", abruptly ending the first foray into orbital launch from the UK territory.

An investigation into that failed mission "is nearly complete and our next production rocket with the needed modification incorporated is in final stages of integration and test", a Virgin Orbit spokesperson said in a March 15 statement.

--IANS

na/sha
Streaming company Roku is laying off additional 200 employees, after sacking a similar number of workers last November.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company disclosed the latest layoff move.

"On March 29, Roku approved a restructuring plan to lower the company's year-over-year operating expense growth and prioritise projects that the company believes will have a higher return on investment," it said in the filing.

The move "is expected to impact approximately 200 employees, approximately 6 per cent of the company's workforce, and result in the exit and sublease, or cease use, of certain office facilities that the company does not currently occupy", it added.

Roku had around 3,600 employees as of the end of 2022.

In November 2022, the streaming company had announced it was laying off 200 US employees, or roughly 7 per cent of its workforce.

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As stated in its shareholder letter, the employees had grown significantly since 2021 because Roku's leadership "believed that the economy was emerging out of pandemic-related disruptions".

Therefore, the suggested solution was a slowdown in hiring rather than layoffs.

"In Q2, the company said that it was selling fewer streaming boxes, which impacts its revenue in more ways than one," the earnings report mentioned.

--IANS

na/sha


Is it worth buying a $1,000 per month "Verified Organisation" package or letting their journalists buy an $8/month package on their own and then reimburse it as a business expense? From tomorrow, Twitter will remove blue ticks from accounts that were previously verified but have not signed up for an $8 per month (Rs 900 in India) Twitter Blue subscription. Most of the users are without a clue about what will change once the legacy blue ticks disappear from the platform, and news agencies and outlets are struggling to answer another question.



According to a report by BuzzFeed News, most of the major media organisations globally are not in favour of paying for monthly packs for their journalists. The "Verified Organisation" package offers a verified tick to the organisation's account and five affiliated accounts which will get Twitter Blue features. A small company logo will also appear next to the name and the checkmark. An additional account with the logo will cost $50/month to the company.



NYT's director of external communications Charlie Stadtlander said that the outlet will not reimburse reporters for their blue ticks "except in rare instances where this status would be essential for reporting purposes". This includes organisations like New York Times (NYT), The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and POLITICO.

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A spokesperson of The Washington Post said that they will not pay either as an institution or as an individual because "it's evident that verified check marks no longer represent authority and expertise".



Apart from a blue checkmark, Twitter Blue will allow the accounts the ability to see the most shared articles by people they follow. Anita Kumar, POLITICO's senior editor of standards and ethics told BuzzFeed News, "In the future, a checkmark will no longer mean you are a verified journalist. Instead, it will simply mean you are paying for benefits such as longer tweets and fewer ads."

Some freelance and independent journalists, however, believe that the paid ticks may be worth it. The main benefit, which they believe, is the added distribution in the "For You" tab. Now, the users are offered a separate tab called "For You" which offers posts from accounts similar to one follows.


While Trump will be fingerprinted and have his mug-shot taken, he probably wont be paraded before cameras in handcuffs or placed in a holding cell, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg earlier this month. Hell likely remain in the custody of the Secret Service agents assigned to his protection detail. Donald Trump made US history when he became the first former president indicted on criminal charges on Thursday. Prosecutors working for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have been building a case about hush money payments made by Trumps former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to former porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 during the 2016 presidential campaign to buy her silence about her claims that she had an affair with Trump a decade earlier.



Heres a legal breakdown of what an indictment is and what may follow for Trump: The indictment is one of several legal issues Trump faces, including an investigation by the Atlanta DA and a federal special counsel probe.

What is an indictment?

An indictment is a charging document presented to a court that accuses one or more people of crimes. Indictments spell out who is charged, what charges they face and how they allegedly broke the law. Every defendant in the US is presumed innocent until their guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt. To secure a conviction, prosecutors must prove all the elements of a crime.

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Does someone who is indicted get arrested?

Trumps lawyer says he was informed of the charges and pledged to swiftly and aggressively fight them. The details of what counts Trump faces arent public yet because the indictment is still under seal.



A spokesperson for the Manhattan DAs office said that Donald Trumps attorney was contacted on Thursday evening to coordinate his surrender for arraignment. Someone may be indicted after theyre arrested, which is often the case in murders and other violent crimes. After an indictment, a defendant may be arrested or can surrender to authorities. They are then fingerprinted and photographed. Theyre informed that they have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. They may or may not be handcuffed, depending on the crime.

Will Trump do a perp walk?

In some notorious cases, the accused may also have to endure a so-called perp walk, in which a suspect is publicly paraded in handcuffs. Trump isnt expected to face that  his lawyer Joseph Tacopina said earlier this month the former president would surrender to authorities if hes indicted.

Who issues an indictment?

In New York, as many as 23 citizens known as a grand jury votes on an indictment. Grand jurors are an investigative body who meet in secret to consider evidence and hear testimony from witnesses without potential defendants being present. Prosecutors question witnesses, but grand jurors can ask questions as well. Grand jurors will indict if they believe prosecutors presented sufficient evidence.



What happens after an indictment?

Cohen testified before the grand jury considering charges against Trump, and other witnesses involved in the hush money transaction appeared as well. In New York state, prosecutors typically offer potential defendants a chance to testify. Trump declined that offer. Robert Costello, a lawyer who said he once advised Cohen, said he testified Monday as a rebuttal witness for the defense.



The Trump grand jury investigation in Manhattan is being overseen by Juan Merchan, the same New York State Supreme Court judge who handled the tax-fraud prosecution of Trumps longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and the tax fraud trial of the former presidents two companies A defendant facing felony charges in New York must appear before a state supreme court judge for arraignment. At that hearing, the judge reads the charges and the defendant enters a plea of guilty or not guilty. In New York cases, defendants like Trump are released without having to post bail, unless theyre accused of a violent crime. The judge will set dates for future hearings to resolve disputes about the law, the evidence or the witnesses.

Does an indictment mean prison time?

No, an indictment only starts the process of determining whether someone is guilty. A defendant may also resolve a case by pleading guilty and admitting to their crimes. But defendants who want to contest the charges can go to trial before a judge or a jury. Sometimes, a judge will dismiss an indictment or some parts of it before the case reaches trial.



What charges could Donald Trump face? If a defendant is found guilty by trial or plea, they are given a sentence by a judge, often to a term of imprisonment if theyre convicted of a felony.



Legal experts believe that Trump is likely to face charges related to the falsification of business records. For such a charge to be a felony under New York law, it must also relate to a second underlying crime. That crime could relate to campaign finance violations.
Amid Russia's ongoing war, Ukraine's combined harvest of grain and oilseeds will fall about 7 per cent in 2023 to 65 million tonnes, a Minister said here.

"We plan to harvest 65 million tonnes of crops this year," Xinhua news agency quoted First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko as saying.

The contamination of more than 2.6 million hectares of Ukraine's agricultural lands with landmines is one of the main causes for the projected harvest decline, she said.

Last week, the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry forecast that Ukraine would yield 45 million tonnes of grain and legumes this year.

In 2022, farmers harvested 70 million tons of grain and oilseeds.

--IANS

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ksk/
Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga is poised to become the next President of the World Bank which on Thursday said he is the sole nominee for the post as no other candidates were nominated.

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors will interview Banga before he is formally appointed.

In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history."



The World Bank on Wednesday closed a month-long window for nominations for its next president, with no alternatives announced to 63-year-old Banga.

Banga is the only application received for the position of president of the World Bank, the financial institution said.

The Board received one nomination and would like to announce that Mr Ajay Banga, a US national, will be considered for the position, the bank said.

In accordance with established procedures, the Board of Executive Directors will conduct a formal interview with the candidate in Washington D.C., and expect to conclude the Presidential selection in due course, said a media release issued by the bank.

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The bank has not announced the timing of the interview.

The former Mastercard Inc. chief, Banga currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic.

A new leader of the World Bank is expected to be chosen by early May.

Over the next few months, you will see the World Bank undergo an important transition. We expect that Ajay Banga President Biden's nominee will be elected President of the World Bank, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.

He will be charged with accelerating our progress to evolve the institution to better address 21st-century challenges. This evolution will help the Bank deliver on its vital poverty alleviation and development goals, Yellen said.

If confirmed, Banga would become the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Banga is expected to replace the current World Bank president David Malpass, who will step down in June, nearly a year before his term is scheduled to expire.

Malpass faced strong criticism over the bank's commitment to climate action and over his personal views on climate change.

Last week, reports emerged that China sounded doubtful about backing Banga, saying it is "open" to supporting "other potential candidates" based on merit.

Banga, however, received overwhelming support from major countries across the world, including India.

Following Banga's nomination, he has travelled to several countries for support.

A coalition of 55 advocates, academics, executives, luminaries, and former government officials -- including four Nobel Laureates -- wrote an open letter to welcome and support Banga's nomination as the next President of the World Bank.

Raised in India, Banga has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity, President Biden had said.

He has also worked closely with Vice President Harris as the Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016.

Banga is expected to take over the reins of the anti-poverty lender at a crucial time, with the US and Western nations pitching for reforms to focus on addressing a slew of wide-ranging global issues like climate change.
The United States takes the safety and security of diplomats and diplomatic missions in the country quite seriously, a senior State Department official has said.

We take the safety and security of the diplomatic missions that we host in the United States and the diplomats that work in them quite seriously, Vedant Patel, the Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department told reporters at a press conference here.

Patel's comment came as there is a sense of worry prevailing after a group of Khalistan supporters this month attacked and damaged the Indian Consulate in San Francisco.

Raising pro-Khalistan slogans, the protesters broke open the makeshift security barriers raised by the city police and installed two so-called Khalistani flags inside the Consulate premises. Two consulate personnel soon removed these flags.

Later, the Khalistani supporters also held a protest in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington and tried to incite violence and even threatened the country's envoy, but timely intervention by law enforcement agencies prevented them from vandalising the property.

Patel said the administration is in close touch with the Indian partners over the incidents.

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"We are in close touch with our Indian partners on a number of issues, but including on this we made sure to remain in close touch with them as well as the appropriate local entities, depending on where these various missions and consulates were located, Patel said, responding to a question on the recent incidence of violence against Indian diplomatic missions in San Francisco.

"The US values its important relationship with both our Indian partners and Pakistan as well, and these relationships stand on their own and are not a zero-sum proposition," Patel said in response to a question.


What is the case? On Thursday, a grand jury in New York voted to indict former US president Donald Trump on charges related to hush money payments to an adult film star. Trump will be the first former US president to face criminal charges.



She later publicly acknowledged the encounter with Trump and said that his then-attorney Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,000 to buy Daniels' silence over it. This is the case under which he has been indicted. Shortly before Trump ran for the post of US president in 2016, he allegedly paid hush money to adult film-maker and actor Stormy Daniels, whose actual name is Stephanie Clifford. Daniels, who allegedly once had an affair with Trump, had a sexual encounter with him in 2006.



In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to finance charges related to the payment. Cohen is now an outspoken foe of Trump and has already testified before the grand jury about making the payment to Daniels in October 2016. He said that Trump reimbursed the money via monthly checks of $35,000 from his personal account.

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What does Donald Trump say?

Trump denies all wrongdoing. He has repeatedly stated that the investigations against him were "political witch hunts". He also denies having an affair with Daniels. However, he admits to making payments to Cohen, claiming to be a victim of extortion.

What will happen next?

Trump will now be called to the court to answer the criminal charges. He will enter a plea, and further dates for proceedings will be set. Reports suggest that the legal process in such cases is complex, and even years may pass between Trump's indictment and any possible trial.

Does Trump face any other charges?

Trump has several other cases filed against him. The US justice department is investigating his attempted election subversion and incitement of attack on Congress on January 6.



Trump also faces a defamation charge from an allegation of rape made by writer E Jean Carroll. Another case relates to Trump's retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence. Prosecutors are figuring out whether Trump willfully retained the documents to obstruct justice.

Will indictment disqualify Trump from running for US president in 2024?

Trump is eyeing the Republican presidential nomination for the 2024 elections. The main question that arises is that if Trump is convicted, will it bar him from running for the post or if elected, running the country?



It does not require that the president be free from indictment, conviction or prison. A person under indictment or in prison can run the office. Reports suggest that he will still be able to contest and if need be, govern the nation. According to Article 2 of the US Constitution, a person must be of or above 35 years of age, a US resident for 14 years and a natural-born citizen, to run for the top post.

Moreover, it is uncertain if Trump will be convicted, if he is, before the 2024 elections in November.
Joe Kiani, founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF), has been awarded the 2023 Robert L. Wears Patient Safety Leadership Award in the individual category, along with Dr. Kathryn Kellogg, Vice President for Patient Safety at the MedStar Institute for Quality & Safety.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230330005761/en/

Joe Kiani, Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation and Founder, CEO and Chairman of Masimo (Photo: Business Wire)

The award represents recognition for Kianis work towards eliminating preventable medical harm and creating a safer healthcare system around the world. For over a decade, his global non-profit, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation has inspired thousands of clinicians around the world to make a public commitment to ZERO harm. The Foundation brought together the best patient safety minds around the world to create Actionable Evidence Based Practices to address the most common problems and provided them to every hospital without charge. At the annual summits, patients, clinicians, healthcare technology innovators and world leaders come together to discuss solutions that save lives. Over 90 companies have signed a pledge to share their data so that researchers can utilize it to develop algorithms that can catch errors before they become deadly.

Kiani has appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee and laid out a plan to help eradicate preventable patient deaths in healthcare. He speaks around the world on the importance of putting patient safety first. Kiani is also on the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology working on patient safety efforts.

Its an honor to receive this award, stated Joe Kiani, Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation and Founder, CEO and Chairman of Masimo. We have the know-how and technology to eliminate preventable patient deaths today. To err is human but to not put the processes in place to prevent those errors is inhumane.

Dr. Wears work in patient safety was groundbreaking, and those honoured with this award in his name have continued that legacy, focusing on programs and procedures that advance this crucial initiative, said Steven A. Godwin, M.D., FACEP, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at UF Health Jacksonville. Mr. Kiani and the team at the Patient Safety Movement Foundation and Masimo should be incredibly proud of continuing down this path. Their work helping patients in hospitals, homes and elsewhere is crucial to improving health care delivery and positively impacting patient outcomes.

Kianis journey in healthcare started 33 years ago when he became the co-inventor of what is recognized today as modern pulse oximetry. The technology reduced false alarms by 95% and this new accuracy reduced severe retinopathy of prematurity in newborns and significantly improved critical congenital heart disease screening. His invention now monitors over 200 million patients a year around the world. When used for continuous monitoring with a patient surveillance system, this new technology was demonstrated to reduce rapid response team activations, ICU transfers, and hospital costs. In the Covid-19 pandemic, Kianis innovations allowed patients to be monitored remotely at home (see CNN story).

Since 2018, the award has been presented in honor of the late Robert L. Wears, MD, MS, PhD, an emergency medicine physician who transformed the way in which investigators approach patient safety research. A pioneer in the field and active researcher, Dr. Wears provided mentorship and guidance to an array of healthcare providers pursuing careers in safety science, while serving as a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Florida College of MedicineJacksonville for more than 20 years.

Other winners in 2023 included Dr. Saravana Kumar and the International Federation of Emergency Medicine and Quality/Patient Safety Special Interest Group, in the organization category. Dr. David Nash and Charles Wohlforth won the team category for their book, How Covid Crashed the System, probing America's response to the pandemic as a medical error requiring investigation and systemic solutions. Lastly, Dr. Anna Palmisano, who led the Marylanders for Patient Rights movement in their four-year quest to pass the Maryland Hospital Patients' Bill of Rights, was awarded the volunteer category.

ABOUT THE PATIENT SAFETY MOVEMENT FOUNDATION

In 2012, Joe Kiani founded the non-profit Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) to eliminate preventable medical errors in hospitals. His team worked with patient safety experts from around the world to create Actionable Evidence-Based Practices (AEBP) that address the top challenges. The AEBP is available without charge to hospitals online. Hospitals are encouraged to make a formal commitment to ZERO preventable deaths, and healthcare technology companies are asked to sign the Open Data Pledge to share their data so that predictive algorithms that can identify errors before they become fatal can be developed. The Foundation's annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit brings together all stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government employers, and private payers. The PSMF was established through the support of the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition in Healthcare. For more information, please visit psmf.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230330005761/en/
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South Korean National Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, left, speaks during a joint press briefing with his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, in the Polish city of Torun, Feb. 23, as they visit a firing range to inspect a firing drill of K9 self-propelled howitzers, which South Korea has exported to Poland, in this photo released by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense. EPA-Yonhap



This is the fourth in a series of interviews with senior politicians in Korea and executives at leading think tanks in Washington over the issue of the country's provision of direct military support to Kyiv as the Ukraine war passes the one-year mark since Russia launched its attack, ending decades of relative stability in Europe.  ED.



Despite growing calls from allies, Seoul cautious of arms provision due to Moscow's influence on Pyongyang's provocations



By Kim Yoo-chul



Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has entered its second year with fighting specifically in the eastern parts of Ukraine raging. One real question is how Washington's like-minded allies such as South Korea could further upscale their assistance for Kyiv to help better manage the ongoing crisis.



South Korea has not remained a mere bystander in the current Russia-Ukraine conflict as the country joined the U.S. and EU to ban the export of strategic items to Russia and extend export controls to Belarus. It also supported the removal of several Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system from the beginning of the war.



Plus, Seoul has taken visible steps through various aid packages to Kyiv such as the provision of $100 million in humanitarian aid. In 2023, South Korea plans to provide an additional $130 million worth of aid. However, this increased financial assistance has excluded any direct offer on behalf of Seoul for military equipment.



As part of the country's "coordinated response" to Western allies' repeated calls for South Korea's expanded contribution to the war effort in Ukraine, Seoul recently confirmed the government's approval to export howitzers to Poland. They will eventually be sent to the Ukrainian army.





Richard Fontaine, CNAS CEO / Courtesy of CNAS

But as the world's eighth-largest arms exporter accounting for 2.8 percent of global exports, South Korea continues to be asked to send arms directly to Ukraine, according to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.



Seoul's official position is that the country's law prevents selling arms to countries involved in armed conflict because it continues to play a balancing act between the U.S. and China, leaning toward the former but seeking not to alienate the latter to counter evolving North Korean threats.



In an interview with The Korea Times, the head of one of the top national security think tanks backing the U.S. President Joe Biden administration said South Korea is now positioned to directly send its lethal weapons as the stakes in Ukraine are high.



"The idea would be to make an exception for Ukraine given the grave stakes in that war, its need for additional armaments, and South Korea's role as one of the world's top weapons producers," Richard Fontaine, chief executive of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), said.



"The war in Ukraine is not merely a fight between Europeans. It's about the rules in the world to come. The ripple effects of it will be felt across a much wider region," the CEO said. "Though the broader ban on lethal aid remains in place, Poland has bought South Korean weapons and used them to replace arms it provided to Ukraine. The United States has reportedly purchased Korean ammunition and passed it on to Ukraine."



CNAS is co-founded by Kurt Campbell, who is now managing Biden's Indo-Pacific strategy at the White House National Security Council (NSC). The Washington-based think tank has a strong influence on the workings of the Biden administration's foreign policy affairs. Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs, Ely Ratner, special assistant to the secretary of defense, Elizabeth Rosenberg, assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, and David Cohen, deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, are among high profile CNAS experts selected for senior positions of responsibility in the administration.



Fontaine, who previously worked at the state department and the White House NSC, added that control over who uses weapons remains critical.



"The proposal for any South Korean policy change isn't to abandon any controls. Though Seoul would presumably wish to have end-user transparency whether arms are transferred directly or indirectly. However, as a general matter, when Ukraine is fighting for its very existence  and when that fight is so directly tied to future outcomes in Europe and elsewhere  everyone should look for creative solutions," the CNAS chief said.



While the chief executive stressed it will be South Korea to make the final call as changing the policy will represent a "significant step," he, however, said the stakes in Ukraine are high and not limited to affecting North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) parties. Various factors and considerations should be reviewed from South Korea's standpoint before sending lethal weapons to Ukraine because of the possibility of Russia transferring sensitive weapons technology to North Korea.





Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits a missile-damaged area in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday. AP-Yonhap
Seo Jae-pyeong, head of the Association for North Korean Defectors, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times on Monday at a library in Songpa District, Seoul. Korea Times photo by Kang Hyun-kyung



This is the third in a series of interviews with North Korean defectors and their assimilation into South KoreaED.



Older North Korean defectors are predominantly conservative, yet some young people lean toward liberals, says activist



By Kang Hyun-kyung





"Finally, we are here."



That is what many North Korean defectors say when they arrive in Incheon International Airport after hiding in China for several years. Tasting freedom, they heave a sigh of relief because they no longer have to live in fear of getting caught by the Chinese security authorities and being sent back to the North.



But that sense of relief is short-lived as their days in the South unfold.



Most of them left behind impoverished family members back home. The defectors say they feel an overwhelming sense of sadness and guilt whenever they think of their parents, siblings and other loved ones who are struggling to make ends meet in the North.



The escapees work hard and try to save as much money as they can to send back home to help their family members escape hunger.



The pandemic, however, has complicated remittance transfers. Also, their acts of filial piety are abused by fraudulent brokers.



Cases of remittance fraud have increased as the pandemic created a loophole that allows brokers to cheat their clients, according to the leader of a Seoul-based non-profit group established to help the resettlement of North Korean defectors.



"Remittance transfers to the North Korean cities located along the border with China, such as Musan, Hoeryung and Hyesan, have gone smoothly as usual," Seo Jae-pyeong, the president of the Association for North Korean Defectors, said during a recent Korea Times interview. "But cases of fraud were reported by defectors who had sent money to their family living in inland cities and counties located far from the border regions."



He said various types of scams were reported. False receipts are one of the most common types of fraud that frustrate the defectors.



"Some brokers tell the defectors that the money was handed over to their family members without presenting hard evidence, while some fabricate receipts. The hardest part is that there is no way for the defectors in the South to make sure whether the money reached their family."



Seo posted a pop-up notice on his organization's website to warn fellow defectors of the remittance scams to help raise awareness of the newest types of fraud.



Sending money back home to North Korea is a high-risk business for everyone involved.



Since the pandemic, it has become almost impossible for defectors to make sure if the money was delivered to their families. Brokers and recipients in the North face grave consequences if they are caught by North Korean authorities.



Remittance transfers usually involve three brokers  one living in South Korea, another in China and another in the North. Brokers used to take 30 percent of the money sent to the North as commission. But after the pandemic, Seo said the rate for brokers was raised to 50 percent, as money transfers have become even riskier and more daunting than ever before due to the North's lockdown.



Once the money is delivered, brokers arrange a video call between a defector in South Korea and their family in the North using a smuggled Chinese smartphone. The video chats are available only in the China-North Korea border regions as the phones can use international networks.



If a recipient lives in an inland area of North Korea, the broker in the North takes the family member all the way to the border region to arrange the phone call.



COVID-19, however, changed everything.



Due to North Korea's lockdown, family members living in inland areas are not allowed to travel all the way to the border regions for video confirmation on a smuggled Chinese cell phone.



"Some brokers take advantage of the loophole," said Seo. "They fabricate receipts. Some hand over a smaller amount of money than what was due and force them to sign a receipt."



An annual survey conducted by the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, in collaboration with North Korea Social Research (NKSR), paints a rough picture of the scale of inter-Korean remittances. The 2022 survey, released on October 21, 2022, found that 17.8 percent of North Korean defectors sent remittances back home 1.5 times per year. The average amount of money sent each time is 4.09 million won ($3,075). A total of 208 million won ($160,000) was sent to the North by the defectors, an increase of 35 million won from the previous year.



A total of 399 North Korean defectors in the South were surveyed between September 19 and October 2, last year, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.





Seo Jae-pyeong, the president of Association for North Korean Defectors / Korea Times photo by Kang Hyun-kyung




By Kim Kang-min



ASAN, South Chungcheong Province  Just after the break of dawn on Tuesday, three vans drove down a narrow gravel road leading to a dog farm in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, some 100 kilometers from Seoul.



The dogs began barking as more than a dozen activists from Humane Society International (HSI) got out from the vehicles and approached the farm.



The maze-like compound was home to nearly 200 dogs that were locked up in filthy barren cages. Many of the canines barked and wagged their tails at the visitors, while others cowered with their ears flattened and tails tucked between their hind legs. Rusted farm equipment and food waste were found everywhere on the muddy ground. The smell of feces filled the air.




China opposes certain countries' military budget increases under "China threat" pretext: spokesperson

Xinhua) 10:53, March 31, 2023

BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson on Thursday said China firmly opposes the increases of military budgets by certain countries under the false pretext of "China's military threat."

Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a press conference in response to defense budget increases announced by certain countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order. For countries around the world, China means an epoch-making opportunity, not a challenge, said Tan.

Noting that the United States, with the highest defense budget of all countries, has waged wars and created turbulence around the world, Tan said the United States is the biggest threat to world peace, security and stability.

Tan also urged the United Kingdom to adopt the right mentality, hold a correct understanding of China, and stop exaggerating and hyping up the so-called challenges posed by China.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The Korea Times is featuring a special monthly series of commentaries that examine the opportunities and prospects for building a free and unified Korea inspired by the 'Korean Dream.' -ED.



By Hyunjin Preston Moon



We recently celebrated the 104th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement of 1919. Most Koreans acknowledge the significance of this day that launched efforts toward independence from Japanese colonial rule. More than two million Koreans in 1,500 towns and communities across the peninsula united their disparate voices in support of Korea's declaration for independence. Also referred to as the "Mansei" demonstrations, these peaceful protest marches were held throughout March and April of 1919 until brutally suppressed by Japan.



As peace negotiations began at the end of World War I, many colonized peoples were inspired by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" which included a provision for national self-determination. They believed that Wilson's idealized vision for a new global order would open the door to independence from imperial oppression. Many, including Korea, sought representation at the Paris peace talks but to no avail.



As Japan was one of the five great powers that dominated the talks, the Korean representative was shut out from the discussions as the victors reconfigured the globe in their own interests, ignoring the principle Wilson proposed when it did not suit them. Given this context, it was amazing that the Korean people launched their movement for independence before the completion of the talks with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.



The Korean Declaration of Independence was signed by 33 representatives of widely diverse social, religious and cultural groups. It laid the moral vision for a grassroots movement that inspired more than a tenth of the total population of the peninsula to participate despite the clear dire consequences. One must recognize that this was organized in a primarily agrarian society under a hostile foreign regime with no international support, and long before the age of social media.



It drew upon the founding ideals of the Korean people rooted in "Hongikingan" which includes the mandate by heaven "to live for the greater benefit of humanity." Thus, the movement for independence was not just about national sovereignty but a higher moral ideal with broader implications for Asia and the world: "We claim independence in the interest of the eternal and free development of our people and in accordance with the great movement for world reform based upon the awakening conscience of mankind. This is the clear command of heaven, the course of our times, and a legitimate manifestation of the right of all nations to coexist and live in harmony."



Unlike other declarations for independence that listed grievances at their oppressors' wrongdoing, it did "not intend to accuse Japan of infidelity for its violations  despite their disregard for the ancient origins of our society and the brilliant spirit of our people, we shall not blame Japan; we must first blame ourselves before finding fault in others." It continues by stating, "we must chart a new course for ourselves in accord with the solemn dictates of conscience, not malign and reject others for reasons of past enmity or momentary passions."



Deeply embedded in the providential mandate of Hongikingan, Korea's movement for independence strove to build an ideal nation that would have regional and global consequences: "Independence for Korea today shall not only enable Koreans to lead a normal, prosperous life, as is their due; it will also guide Japan to leave its evil path and perform its great task of supporting the cause in the East, liberating China from a gnawing uneasiness and fear and helping the cause of world peace and happiness for mankind, which depends greatly on peace in the East."



The movement became a light in the early 20th century for nationalist movements in other colonized countries, such as India that had been striving for independence from British rule. In 1929, Asia's first Nobel laureate, the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, wrote the "Lamp of the East" where he said:



"In the Golden Age of Asia

Korea was one of the lamp-bearers

That lamp waits to be lighted once again

For the illumination of the East."



A contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, Tagore was a critic of some strong nativist tendencies in the Indian independence movement, recognizing that although India had a right to national sovereignty it should not be anti-foreign or spurn the developments of the West. Thus, it is understandable that he would be attracted to the moral spirit and vision of the Korean independence movement which sought to promote the best of East and West as well as embrace its oppressors to build a better region and world.



Tragically, although Korea was a leader in shaping the independence movements of the twentieth century, it has yet to realize the aspiration of its own independence movement in creating a model, ideal nation. A brief window of opportunity opened in 1945 after national liberation but it was quickly closed by the artificial division of the peninsula and the confrontational geopolitics of the Cold War. With German unification and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the Korean people are the only ones that still must contend with the unfortunate legacy of colonialism and the Cold War well into the 21st century. That task, to fulfill our ancestors' hopes, falls to us today.



As Koreans, we must recognize that this is the most consequential moment in the history of our people. The rise of statist powers in the heart of Asia is leading to a more dangerous geopolitical environment in this region and world. The war in Ukraine is resurrecting old Cold War alignments. Meanwhile, China's threats against Taiwan, as well as the ongoing threat of North Korea's nuclear program, have made East Asia the vortex of an impending storm that includes the militarization of Japan.



Over a century ago, our forefathers dreamt of building a model Korean nation that would inspire the world and lead to peace. Today, we should pick up that noble mantle and strive to complete what they began. We are destined to become more than who we currently are in both the North and the South. The old Cold War paradigm should be cast aside as a foreign construct, and a new one adopted where all Koreans unite together to build a new nation aligned with the aspirations of our ancestors and our founding.



I call this the Korean Dream and have described it in my book entitled "The Korean Dream: Vision for a Unified Korea." Central to the creation of this new nation should be the founding ideal of Hongikingan that our people "should benefit all humanity." Thus, it should reflect the best of East and West as well as carry the lofty moral ideals of the independence movement that even sought to embrace our oppressors for the betterment of the region and world.



The Korean Dream is being promoted nationwide by Action for Korea United, an unprecedented coalition of over 1,000 civil society organizations. It has embarked on a three-year campaign to promote the Korean Dream, culminating on the 80th anniversary of Korea's Liberation Day in October 2025. Imagine the impact if tens of millions of Koreans, in towns and cities around the South and across the diaspora, mobilize around a singular common vision for a future unified people and nation, very much like our ancestors did over a hundred years ago. It will spark a second March 1 movement that could break down the physical, ideological, cultural and mental divide among Koreans and open the door to unification and the creation of a new nation. This is our moment. As Koreans, let's seize this opportunity by owning the Korean Dream.





Hyunjin Preston Moon is chairman and founder of Global Peace Foundation.




NATO flags AA Images

With Turkish parliament's approval on Thursday, all NATO members have now ratified Finland's accession

GENEVA / LONDON (AA) - The UK, Lithuania and Estonia as well as NATO chief have welcomed Turkiye's ratification of Finland's accession to NATO.

"I welcome the vote of the Grand National Assembly of #Turkiye to complete the ratification of #Finlands accession. This will make the whole #NATO family stronger & safer," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter.

In another tweet, he said: "I look forward to raising #Finlands flag at #NATO HQ in the coming days. Together we are stronger & safer."

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Finlands accession to NATO will make all allies safer.

"Peace, freedom and collective security is what underpins our alliance. We stand united against Russias rejection of these principles. NATOs door is open," he tweeted.

"Lithuania of course welcomes Turkiye's decision, and now we look forward to welcoming the fourth Baltic State into NATO," Gabrielius Landsbergis, the country's foreign minister, said on Twitter.

"Hello Finland!" Landsbergis said, adding: "Next step: Hey Sweden!"

Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas, for her part, wrote on the micro-blogging site: "All Allies have now ratified Finland's accession to NATO. Welcome to NATO, dear northern neighbours."

"This is a historic moment for the Baltic Sea region and the whole Alliance. Hope Hungary and Turkiye will now ratify Sweden's accession swiftly," Kallas said.

Turkiye's parliament on Thursday approved Finland's bid to join the military alliance. All 30 member states have now ratified Finland's accession, a requirement for the country to join NATO.

Beyza Binnur Donmez and Burak Bir/AA
Russian Army in Ukraine AA Images

Moscow requires Ukraines neutrality, refusal to join NATO and EU as part of its prerequisites to commence talks, says official

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia said Wednesday that Ukraine must be neutral and refuse to join NATO and the European Union in order to begin peace talks on the war.

We need a neutral and non-bloc status of Ukraine, its refusal to join NATO and the EU and confirmation of Ukraine's nuclear-free status as well as recognition by Kyiv and the international community of new territorial realities, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview with Russian news network RTVI.

Galuzin said that Moscow believes a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in Ukraine and Europe is possible once clashes between Russian and Ukrainian troops end, in addition to the supply of weapons by Western countries.

He said Ukraine has refused to consider a diplomatic settlement to the war and there have not been significant changes in Kyivs position as it continues to rely on a military solution to the conflict.

It seems that much will depend on how quickly Kyiv and the West realize that the recipe for a peaceful future for Ukraine lies in a return to the origins of its statehood recorded in the 1990 Declaration on State Sovereignty, which provides for a neutral, non-bloc status of Ukraine with respect for the rights of the Russian population of the country and its national minorities, he said.

Galuzin also said that Russia will not tolerate the existence of an openly anti-Russian state on its borders, adding the main obstacle to reaching an agreement on establishing a security zone around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains the position of Ukraine.

- Situation in Transnistria 'really difficult'

Galuzin said the situation in Moldovas breakaway region of Transnistria is currently really difficult.

Russia and our peacekeepers on the Dnister (River) will do everything in their power to prevent escalation in the region. I hope that the hotheads will have enough common sense so that events do not develop according to a negative scenario, he said.

He said Russia will continue its efforts to find a settlement with regards to Transnistria in the 5+2 format as a guarantor and mediator, adding that claims regarding Russias intention to intervene in the internal affairs of Moldova are fake and have been put onstream by the West.

Unlike the West, Russia respects the sovereignty of other states and does not interfere in their internal affairs. We are interested in good neighborly relations with Chisinau. We stand for a constructive and mutually respectful dialogue, he added.

Transnistria is an unrecognized breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Moldova but is currently controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

- Position on developments in Georgia, Armenia

In response to a question on the recent protests in Georgia, Galuzin said that Moscow sees the desire of the Westto shake up the situation in the country to divert Tbilisi towards more active support for Ukraine while also breaking ties with Russia.

He said that despite the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries, relations in the trade and economic sectors are developing and that the normalization of relations between Russia and Georgia would fully meet the interests of the peoples of both countries.

Earlier this month, the Georgian parliaments approval of a draft law on transparency of foreign influence in its first reading led to demonstrations in the capital Tbilisi. The draft law was later rejected in a second reading.

Galuzin also commented on the topic of dialogue with Armenia within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), saying issues in this regard will be resolved in a constructive and mutually beneficial manner.

For our part, we reaffirm our readiness to implement plans to deploy a CSTO mission on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the interests of ensuring the security of Armenia as well as other assistance measures laid down in the relevant draft decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council, he said.

Since Dec. 12, Azerbaijani ecologists representing nongovernmental organizations had been protesting Armenia's illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Karabakh region, where Russian peacekeepers have been stationed since the end of the fall 2020 conflict and a January 2021 pact with Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.

Burc Eruygur/AA
Donald Trump Getty Images

Prosecutors asked for Donald Trump to surrender Friday but his lawyers rejected plan, saying more time is needed for Secret Service to prepare

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (AA) - A grand jury indicted former US President Donald Trump on Thursday on charges related to a "hush money" payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The indictment marks the first time in US history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges. Trump has long raged against the impending legal action and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who presented evidence to the grand jury. He has denied any wrongdoing and maintained the case is politically-motivated.

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. "The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference."

Bragg, however, did not indict Trump. The grand jury did so after considering evidence presented by the district attorney's office and determining there was reasonable cause for the ex-president to face charges and be put on trial.

Bragg's office reportedly invited Trump to testify before the grand jury earlier this month, in a sign that an indictment was likely to be returned. But the former president declined to do so.

Trump faces more than 30 counts in the indictment by the Manhattan grand jury, according to media reports citing sources.

The Manhattan district attorneys office asked for Trump to surrender on Friday, but his lawyers rejected the plan and asked for more time for the Secret Service to prepare.

Trump is expected to turn himself in for an arraignment next Tuesday, according to reports.

- Republicans slam, Democrats hail Trump indictment

Former Vice President Mike Pence said this decision is ''a great disservice to the country.''

''The idea that, for the first time in American history, a former president would be indicted on a campaign finance issue, to me, it just smacks of political prosecution, and I think the overwhelming majority of the American people will see it that way," Pence told CNN.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy defended Trump and criticized Manhattan District Attorney Bragg.

''The House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account,'' he said.

Arkansas Governor and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Bragg should resign.

Trump's son Eric Trump called the indictment ''third-world prosecutorial misconduct.''

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a possible Trump rival, said the indictment was ''un-American'' and refused to assist in an extradition request for Trump.

Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar meanwhile said in a statement that no one was above the law.

''This is just one of many criminal acts for which Donald Trump is being investigated. Make no mistake: The fact that one of the most powerful people in the world was investigated impartially and indicted is testament to the fact that we still live in a nation of laws. And no one is above the law.'' she said.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Twitter that ''no one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.''

Payments were made by then Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who was sentenced in 2018 to three years in prison after pleading guilty to a raft of charges related to his work for Trump, which included hush money to two women who alleged extramarital affairs with Trump, including Daniels. Former Playboy model Karen McDougal was the other woman.

Cohen has since served as a witness against the ex-president and said he takes "solace in validating the adage that no one is above the law; not even a former president."

"Today's indictment is not the end of this chapter; but rather, just the beginning. Now that the charges have been filed, it is better for the case to let the indictment speak for itself. The two things I wish to say at this time is that accountability matters and I stand by my testimony and the evidence I have provided to DANY," he said in a statement.

He was referring to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Cohen is now expected to serve as the prosecution's star witness.

The indictment remains under seal, so it is not currently possible to tell which charges Trump now faces. It will remain so until Bragg officially announces the indictment.

Trump is the first declared Republican candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race and vowed to "first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

In addition to the investigation in Manhattan, Trump is facing three other criminal probes, including in Georgia, where prosecutors are examining whether he sought to illegally change the outcome of the state's 2020 presidential election results, and a pair of federal investigations related to Trump's actions concerning the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection and his handling of classified documents after he left office.

Betul Yuruk and Michael Hernandez/AA
Sandy McDowell Director, Digital Research Content Written by:

This is the second in a series of in-depth articles about research aimed at Improving Access to Cancer Care for Personalized Medicine led by American Cancer Society (ACS) staff or funded scientists.

Part II: Sweat Sensors

ACS grantee tests a sweat sensor to see if it quickly IDs a personalized dose for 2 chemotherapy drugs that AML patients receive before a stem cell transplant.

Wearable chemical sensors analyze sweat to look for biomarkers, providing a real-time, non-invasive alternative to typical laboratory blood analysis. These devices may allow for remote at-home personalized health monitoring and substantially reduce healthcare costs.



Wei Gao, PhD, a biomedical engineer at Cal Tech in Pasadena and current American Cancer Society (ACS) Research Scholar, has been rocking the medical engineering world for the past 7 years or so. Gaos team focuses on biosensor technology and other synthetic micro- and nano-bioelectronic medical devices.

In Plain Words Want to better understand precision medicine, pharmacokinetics, or the Internet of Everything? See Understanding Cancer Research Terms.



His labs work on wearable sweat sensors has been featured on the cover of multiple research journals: Science Robotics, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Advanced Material Technologies, to name only a few. The devices he designs and tests are so interesting and game-changing for precision medicine that theyve also crossed over to consumer publications, like Scientific American, Nature, and Newsweek. Last year, among his many achievements, he received the Best Rising Star of Science Award (he ranked #6 in the US and #27 in the world), and he even has his own Wikipedia page.

Many people might assume Gaos success has come from being a digital native and playing with robots and rockets while learning to walk. But Gao says that the small village in China where he was raised didnt offer such advanced play thingsin fact, he didnt have his first computer until about age 20. He just knew from a young age that he wanted to help people get feedback about their health so they could get help, and he wanted to do it with technology and devices. His claim to fame is the development of a completely integrated wearable sweat sensor that collects large amounts of biological data on the molecular level without a patient having to get poked for blood or even exercise to produce sweat. Hes been collaborating with other researchers and clinicians to help people who have stress, diabetes, COPD, and now cancer.

We start the discussion with collaborators by talking about the condition theyre interested in. We ask questions, like What are the targeted biomarkers we need to measure? Are we able to measure them? If we cannot get the measurements, we ask ourselves, Can we develop new technology to do it? We may start to develop new technology while we keep up the discussions about what the need is, what the desire is, how frequently they need measurements, and other information. At some point, when we have the technology, we give a presentation to our collaborator. Their feedback is very important to us to improve the technology. We also need to work together to validate the technology by taking measurements with the currently used method to ensure the trends are similar. As the technology gets more mature, then our study plans go through IRB [Institutional Review Board, which makes sure research is ethnical.] If all goes well, we try our sensors on a small set of patients. Wei Gao, ACS research grantee and assistant professor of medical engineering, Cal Tech in Pasadena



When Jeannine McCune, PhD, a professor in the Department of Hematologic Malignancies Translational Sciences from the nearby Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, became aware of Gaos research, she approached him about testing it on patients with certain types of leukemia. McCune and Gao are now co-investigators of an ACS-supported study thats 1 year into a 5-year research grant. Theyre collaborating with another researcher from City of Hope, clinician Ryotaro Nakamura, MD, who directs the Center for Stem Cell Transplantation.

McCunes a pharmacologist and specialist in pharmacokinetics, meaning she studies how the body interacts with medicines from the time a drug is taken throughout its journey in the body. With the motto, I make cancer drugs better, she brought Gao a challenge that occurs with 2 chemotherapy drugs that are used as part of the pretreatment for certain adults and children with leukemia or lymphoma before they get a hematopoietic stem-cell transplant (HSCT). She wanted to know if a sweat sensor could be designed to improve the way correct dosages are determined for both the drugsbusulfan (Busulfex) and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan).



An estimated 80% of stem cell therapy transplant centers are delayed from determining the personalized dose of busulfan for patients because they dont have an on-site lab to test the drug concentrations in blood.

In their first meetings, Gao and McCune talked about the specific problems associated with the two drugs to clarify what they wanted to solve. Busulfan. Currently, patients stay in the hospital for 4 days to get 16 doses of busulfan. (Some hospitals may dose differentlylike only once a day instead of every 6 hours.) McCune describes busulfan as a Goldilocks drug, meaning that it has to be given in the just right dosage. If peoples bodies break down, or clear, busulfan too quickly, then they have too little of the drug to kill the cancer and are going to need a higher dose. But if they break down busulfan too slowly, then they have too much in the body and are more likely to have liver toxicity and infections. Since busulfan has been around for about 50 years, health care professionals know what dose to give based on drug levels in plasma. Ideally, a patient would get the first dose of busulfan and give a few (6-8) blood samples, and the transplant center would test the drug level in the plasma so the dose could be adjusted as needed, McCune says. The problem is that only about 20% of transplant centers in the United States have the resources on site to do that," she adds. Its estimated that 80% of transplant centers dont have a lab that can measure the drug in the plasma, so they have to send the blood sample to a lab off site.

Depending on the delay caused by shipping and waiting for results from an off-site lab, some patients may not get their dose correctly adjusted until the 4th day, or the 10th or 11th dose out of 16 total doses. Every hour of delay means one more hour when busulfan chemotherapy is not killing the cancer as effectively as it could be, and one more hour that a patient may be at risk for severe side effects from having too much of the drug in their system. Cyclophosphamide. Currently, after receiving 4 days of busulfan, patients stay in the hospital 2 more days to get the second type of chemotherapy being studied, cyclophosphamide.

The goal for Gaos sweat sensor: Measure the concentrations of busulfan and cyclophosphamide in sweat accurately and more quickly than they could be measured in transplant centers that dont have the needed lab facilities.

Gaos device was set to quickly work in any location and to painlessly and noninvasively stimulate sweat from a small area of skin. His team had already successfully measured certain biomarkers in just teeny amounts of sweat and sent the data wirelessly via Bluetooth to the internet for the analysis of all the data. Plus, the device can analyze sweat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, giving a lot more information than a few moment-in-time measurements from blood tests.

But the biomarker in this casea drugwas not one his team had worked with before. If you search the literature, there are no drug sensors because drugs are hard to detect. So we developed a very interesting approach. We built an artificial antibody that can recognize the drug molecule, and we can transduce this recognition into a measurable electrical signal, Gao says. To learn more about the components in the sweat sensor see Part 1. For the first part of this study, Gao's team will validate that the readings they get from sweat and saliva sensors for both drugs are accurate by comparing readings from liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). LC-MS is an analytical chemistry technique that separates mixtures with multiple components and identifies those components. Theyll evaluate biofluids with known drug doses, and theyll evaluate sweat and saliva during treatment from 10 patients being treated with busulfan and 10 being treated with cyclophosphamide. For the second part of the study, Gao and McCune will conduct a pilot study to test the wearable sensors with 30 cancer patients. Theyll develop and validate wearable sweat sensors for continuous, rapid drug monitoring at the patients bedsideone for busulfan and one for cyclophosphamide. At the same time, theyll develop saliva sensors for each drug to be tested in the same way. Once again, theyll validate the drug level readings again with LC-MS. In part 2, well also relate saliva and sweat drug levels to plasma levels by creating a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model, McCune says. There's a lot of work to be done, but our goal is to seamlessly tell the patient and their health care providers if the patients drug levels need changed, she says.

The changes in our process can be compared to how we used to need rotary dial phones to make appointments and then maps to get to the right building, but now we have the Android or iPhone. For clinics with outdated models, we now need specialized labs to tell us how much drug is in plasma and whether the patient has too much drug in their plasma and needs less chemotherapy. In the future, we may be able to use a sensor to tell us how much drug is in the patients body, which can quickly be pushed to the newer PBPK models, and then we can alert the patient and their health care provider so they can change the drug or its dose. Jeannine McCune, PhD, Department of Hematologic Malignancies Translational Sciences, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope

This study will be the first to create and validate a sensor for drug quantification, and because of its capacity for rapid results, it will expand the field of precision medicine by allowing for point-of-care drug therapy personalization. Wireless, wearable biosensors could enable continuous monitoring of larger patient populations over longer periods of time than the current blood analysis allows. The sensors have the potential to improve the way busulfan and cyclophosphamide work. They can overcome logistical barriers to personalizing dosages and reduce the risks of toxicity. If all goes well, in the future, sweat sensors could save people prepping for an HSCT from having to spend 6 days in the hospital. It might even allow them to prep from home. Plus, cyclophosphamide is so broadly used to treat patients with solid tumors and blood cancers, the development of the sensor might offer people with those cancers personalized dosing for the first time. Theres also potential for Gaos wearables to rapidly improve cancer care for the growing population of geriatric patients, who may need lower chemotherapy doses. A final product thats mass produced for patients is likely still years away, but with all the diverse conditions Gao is testing and with the Internet of Everything as a resource, the wait will probably be worth it.


Old policies can't resolve knotty problems



There are "pink seats" reserved for pregnant women on Seoul subway trains. However, these seats mostly remain empty or are used by older women  or even young men during rush hour periods.



This, in itself, demonstrates Korea's low fertility rate conundrum. It is almost the lowest worldwide, and the government's policies to boost the birthrate are getting nowhere.



President Yoon Suk Yeol chaired a meeting of the Presidential Committee on the Aging Society and Population Policy on Tuesday. It was the first time in seven years that a sitting president presided over the presidential panel. Shame on former President Moon Jae-in.



Korea's total fertility rate sank to 0.78 last year, the lowest in the OECD, even though the nation has spent 280 trillion won ($215 billion) on related policies over the past 15 years. For the first time, more than 60 percent of 249,000 babies born last year were firstborns. In another first, Korea's population dropped as it recorded more deaths than births in 2020.



A demographic crisis like this is unimaginable without war or disease.



Measures announced at the meeting explain part of the reasons. Despite President Yoon's criticism of the previous government, his administration has failed to come up with better ideas. Most were a rehash of old policies with slightly more spending. For instance, the new proposals call for free medical treatment for babies under the age of 2, subsidizing infertility treatment fees regardless of income and helping multi-children families secure homes.



These may provide some substantive help but a question mark still remains as to whether they will turn things around. In contrast, Japan, with a far higher birthrate of 1.27, gives 500,000 yen (5 million won) as congratulatory money for the birth of a child and a monthly child allowance of 600,000 won for those who have a third child. Korea will give 100,000 won per child until age 8. Tokyo also plans to raise the rate of male workers taking paternity leave to over 80 percent compared to Korea's current level of below 10 percent.



Even more pitiable is the "philosophy" toward work and life  or lack thereof  behind these policies. Nothing shows this better than the recent proposals from the governing People Power Party (PPP). For instance, the party called for exempting men from mandatory military service if they produce three children before the age of 30. Many men cannot even marry before age 30, mainly for economic reasons. A female opposition party lawmaker hit back, saying, "Why provide benefits to men while women are the ones giving birth to babies?" The proposal reflected the ruling camp's typical thinking, which focuses on men and the wealthy.



Yoon, in response to criticisms over the lack of bold and unique measures, said, "It takes a whole generation to change culture and consciousness." The president is right. However, the efforts must begin now  starting with the chief executive himself.



The Yoon administration has experienced a sharp setback on two accounts from the previous government: labor and gender issues. It seeks to eliminate the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family "to protect women's rights better." Korean workers are also seething due to the government's labor reforms of potentially going back to a 69-hour workweek.



Women  not men  give birth. Still, Korean women are now "on strike against being baby-making machines," as author Jung Ha-won said in her recent contribution to The New York Times. Female workers here receive 60 percent of their male counterparts' salaries for similar jobs. Maternity leave is short, and they often cannot continue their previous jobs upon returning to work. Housekeeping chores among working couples are one to five, in favor of husbands. It's not that most women don't want to give birth but that they cannot afford to do so. That may also explain why many women are interested in freezing and banking eggs.



Yoon said, "We must show that the state takes responsibility for our children." However, Koreans, especially younger generations, want to raise their children and want the state to support that with social and economic policies.



Only governments that try to create a balance between work and life ahead of competitiveness, and people ahead of economic growth, can provide it.




Japan hit for watering down past atrocities against Korea



Most South Koreans are still wincing following the "diplomatic disaster" in Tokyo two weeks ago. At a summit there, President Yoon Suk Yeol gave up everything in pending bilateral issues and got almost nothing in return.



Japan poured oil on the fire on Tuesday.



In newly approved history textbooks for third to sixth graders, Tokyo watered down its atrocities against Koreans during its 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula while intensifying its sovereignty claim over disputed islets between them.



These history books, which followed the Japanese government's 2021 guidelines, may not be the direct result of the recent summit. Still, the release was doubly disappointing, considering its insensitive timing and diplomatic discourtesy. However, for those who know Japan and its nationalistic leaders, the move was hardly astonishing.



Japan's diplomacy is typically a "kiss up, kick down" style.



It is weak to the strong and strong to the weak, although it may not be the only one.



After he returned, Yoon made a 23-minute, nationally televised speech at a meeting with his aides. He stressed that someone had to break the impasse in bilateral ties, explaining his unpopular decision was for the nation's long-term interests in security and economy.



Yet, pragmatism cannot precede pride in diplomacy. No amount of substantive interest can justify damaged national sentiments and ignored appeals of victims.



Even the so-called national interests are controversial at best. Yoon said the U.S.-led trilateral alliance is urgent to deter North Korea's nuclear threats. However, as the U.S.  and Japan to some extent  sees it, the three-nation bloc is to keep China in check. Unlike Washington and Tokyo, Seoul can't help but remain ambivalent to Beijing. In the economy, South Korea cannot, and should not, remain subordinated to Japan. Bilateral economic ties are no longer unilateral but reciprocal.



No less problematic than the calculation of diplomatic gains and losses is Yoon's historical philosophy and governance style.



Yoon reportedly supports the 1965 Basic Agreement, which Japan says resolved all claims, including those of individuals, regarding its 35-year occupation of South Korea. So, Yoon agrees with Tokyo, thinking the South Korean Supreme Court's 2012 decision was wrong. In other words, Yoon is the "criminal of conviction," as the late ultraright Japanese leader Shinzo Abe described Yoon's predecessor, Moon Jae-in, albeit in the opposite meaning.



The prosecutor-turned-president also seems to think he knows best in everything, claiming responsibility for everything. Yoon puts former U.S. President Harry S. Truman's famous "The buck stops here" plate on his desk. Truman wrote "I'm from Missouri" behind it, but Yoon wrote nothing.



Presidents must act responsibly. But the responsibility should stop at domestic affairs at the most. Diplomacy has counterparts, and damage lasts long. That explains why diplomatic decisions should be subject to democratic constraints and based on national consensus. Nothing could be more dangerous than the "lonely decisions of philosopher kings."



We share many experts' concerns that the future is more worrying. Now that it has seen through its South Korean counterpart's weakness, Japan will try to turn its diplomatic wishes into reality one by one. It will call for Seoul to resolve the wartime sex slavery issue, make a sovereignty claim over Dokdo islets as an established fact, and demand to resume the import of fish caught near the Fukushima nuclear plant.



In Washington in May, the South Korean president will face pressure to drop China from its economic partners' list and toe the line of U.S. industrial policy. Industry experts watch with concern whether Yoon can protect semiconductor and electric vehicle makers from U.S. demands in return for the state visit and a speech before the joint Congress.



Yoon's U.S. and Japanese counterparts are formidable diplomats. President Joe Biden had long chaired the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was the foreign minister who orchestrated the infamous "comfort women agreement" in 2015.



Much is at stake depending on how Yoon fares in the next two months. South Koreans get anxious whenever their president goes abroad. When will he ease that?










Jeju City in the early 1900s. Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



Over the last couple of decades, Jeju has often been called the Island of World Peace. But in the spring of 1903, it was anything but peaceful to the small Japanese community  at least according to the Japanese press.



In January, 53-year-old Hong Jong-u was appointed as magistrate (governor) of Jeju Island. Many people might have viewed his appointment as a promotion or reward, but to Hong it was a demotion  a form of exile in order to remove him from the capital and politics. Yep, despite being so far away from the capital, Hong still managed to entangle himself in an international incident with his policies on Jeju.





Hong Jong-u during his stay in France. Public Domain - Wikipedia





The Chinese authorities declared that the issue was a Korean problem and sent both Kim's corpse and his killer back to Korea for justice. It was a brutal justice. Kim's corpse was hacked into pieces and displayed throughout the country, while Hong was promoted and given various positions of power.



It is somewhat ironic that Hong, who was very conservative, would play a role in protecting a progressive  a progressive that would become a leading figure in modern Korean history.

According to Brother Anthony of Taize:



"Hong Jong-u was the presiding judge of the high court known as Pyeongniwon. This was the time of the conservative crackdown on the members of the Independence Club at the end of 1898 and among those on trial was a young student, Yi Seung-man, better known in later times as Syngman Rhee. Hong and Rhee were diametrically opposed. At that time, Rhee might easily have been sentenced to death, yet Rhee later wrote how amazed he was to find Hong determined to save his life; instead, he was sentenced to 100 blows on the buttocks and life imprisonment. He also wrote that Hong gave orders to be gentle when the beating was performed, so that after the 100 blows his skin was not even broken."



Hong had a very interesting career and, depending on your political slant, was either a heroic assassin or a cowardly murderer. Hong befriended Kim Ok-kuin (one of the leaders of the failed Gapsin Coup in December 1884) in Japan and together they arrived in Shanghai on March 27, 1894. The following day, while Kim was resting  Hong suddenly pulled out a revolver and shot him four times, killing him instantly.The Chinese authorities declared that the issue was a Korean problem and sent both Kim's corpse and his killer back to Korea for justice. It was a brutal justice. Kim's corpse was hacked into pieces and displayed throughout the country, while Hong was promoted and given various positions of power.It is somewhat ironic that Hong, who was very conservative, would play a role in protecting a progressive  a progressive that would become a leading figure in modern Korean history.According to Brother Anthony of Taize:"Hong Jong-u was the presiding judge of the high court known as Pyeongniwon. This was the time of the conservative crackdown on the members of the Independence Club at the end of 1898 and among those on trial was a young student, Yi Seung-man, better known in later times as Syngman Rhee. Hong and Rhee were diametrically opposed. At that time, Rhee might easily have been sentenced to death, yet Rhee later wrote how amazed he was to find Hong determined to save his life; instead, he was sentenced to 100 blows on the buttocks and life imprisonment. He also wrote that Hong gave orders to be gentle when the beating was performed, so that after the 100 blows his skin was not even broken."

A Korean prison in the late 19th century. Robert Neff Collection



As can be seen, Hong was a man of action  even if one act conflicted later with another. Hong, who had spent several years in France, was inclined to be pro-French and according to the Japanese press, when he assumed his position on Jeju he acted "in concert with, or by the advice of, French missionaries, he enjoined upon the inhabitants of the island the necessity of not renting houses to Japanese subjects; not selling objects of daily necessity to them; and not buying goods from Japanese merchants."



Anyone violating the above would be imprisoned. Doubling down on his demands, Hong also declared that any Korean found attending the Japanese school on the island would be beheaded.



The 1,500 Japanese residing on the island became rightfully concerned and sent a missive  via a Japanese fishing boat  to the Japanese authorities in Mokpo asking for immediate assistance. It warned that if help were not received soon, the Japanese residents on the island would be forced to flee.



Some Japanese newspapers reported a detachment of Japanese police and a warship as being sent to the island to help quell the "alleged outrages" but one English-language newspaper in Japan (The Japan Weekly Mail) denounced these claims as "much exaggerated."





Administering punishment in the late 19th or early 20th century. Robert Neff Collection



The claims that the "ex-assassin governor" had issued a statement pointing out that Jeju was not open to trade and so the Japanese had no right to be on the island whereas the French missionaries enjoyed special privileges granted from the Foreign Office in Seoul were unfounded.



The editor of The Japan Weekly Mail noted that there were no official reports in Tokyo of these outrages save that there were some minor commercial issues. If there was unrest on the island, it was not reported in the Korea Review (published in Seoul by Homer Hulbert) which was fully fixated on the French missionary problems in northern Korea and would have undoubtedly been thrilled to add these alleged incidents to its pages.



Hong may not have been as bad as the Japanese press portrayed him, but he was definitely not a beloved governor. According to Jo Jae-gon (the author of "That is why I shot Kim Ok-kuin"), Hong had a large number of pine trees cut down and levied the people with heavy taxes of money. His abuses became so severe that the islanders petitioned the Korean government to recall Hong, but their pleas went unanswered. Perhaps, as Brother Anthony suggests, Hong "was probably intent on securing funds for a bleak future."





Mokpo in the early 20th century. Robert Neff Collection
India's easternmost state is called Odisha. The state is bordered to the north-east by West Bengal, to the north by Jharkhand, to the south by Andhra Pradesh, to the west by Chhattisgarh, and to the east by the Bay of Bengal. The Indian subcontinent's easternmost state of Odisha is blessed with an outstanding variety of fantastic tourism goods. Historically known as a centre of culture, but recently emerging as one of the most attractive states in the nation with rapid advancement on all fronts, including the travel & tourist sector.

A visitor to the state of Odisha can have anything they want from the state on a silver platter because of the state's very special offerings. It has a complicated history of temple building, including beautiful temples and monuments, 480 km of coastline, 35% thick and dense forest cover, Buddhist heritage, 62 ethnic tribes, scintillating classical dance of Odissi, Asia's largest brackish water lake-Chilika-the intricately woven mangrove forest of Bhitarkanika, and many more.

The new state of Odisha celebrates Utkal Divas, also known as Utakala Dibasa or Utkal Diwas, on April 1 every year. The Odia diaspora also celebrates this day with zeal. To commemorate the creation of the Odisha state, which was declared by the government on April 1, 1936, Utkal Divas is observed.

Prior to its declaration as an independent state, Odisha was a part of the Bihar and Orissa province. This changed following substantial revolutionary activities that lasted for three decades. Discover more about Utkal Divas, its significance, and its history here.

Key Information about Odisha

Capital-Bhubaneswar

Geographical Area (sq km)-155,707

State Language-Oriya, Hindi and English

Literacy Rate-72.87 per cent

Main Industries : Iron & Steel Ferroalloy Aluminium Mining Handloom IT and ITeS Tourism

Why Is Odisha The Heart Of India?

Beautiful Odisha: Odisha is known as the "Spirit of Magnificent India." But why exactly is it the heart of this varied country? Odisha is a stunning state with a wealth of natural beauty; its water features, hills, wildlife, and even its people combine to provide a feast for travellers. This is where you must go if you've been hoping to get a feel for another side of India.

Natural splendour: Odisha is home to some of nature's most beautiful attractions. The beaches are on one side, and the captivating Chilika Lake is on the other. Also worth visiting are the impressive waterfalls in Odisha. You may view the state's well-known fauna at Similipal National Park, and Olive Ridley Beach is yet another illustration of its varied species.

Spiritual Odisha: In addition to other outstanding religious landmarks, the state is home to the renowned Shri Jagannath Temple in Puri. The ancient Sun Temple is located at Konark, whereas Padmasambhava Mahavihara Monastery in Jeerango is the biggest Buddhist shrine in Eastern India. You can see the magnificent Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar, which first opened its doors in the year 1000 AD.

Beach Life: The beaches in Odisha are breathtaking. No matter if they are the well-known Puri or the eccentric Gopalpur, you can never get enough of them. The stunning Chandrabhaga Beach, which is near to the Konark Temple, is another. It is the first beach in India to receive the Blue Flag designation, which attests to a beach's cleanliness and consideration for the environment.

A song of the earth: Exploring the tribal cultures of Odisha is one of the best parts of travelling there. The state is home to numerous tribes, including the Santal, Bonda, Bhumia, and Kondh. Each tribe has its own folk dance, music, and other cultural expressions. This is a prime example of the nation's well-known diversity of cultures and is as diverse as it gets.

What does Utkal Divas mean?

In all of Odisha, Utkal Divas is enthusiastically observed. On this day, individuals offer prayers for the state's and its citizens' wellbeing. Although the Odia people had to fight for this independence, celebrating Utkala Divas or Utakala Dibasa is crucial to establishing identity.

Utkal Divas, which began on April 1st in 1936, has been and will continue to be one of the most significant days in Orissa's history. Hence, some also refer to it as Odisha Day.

History of Utkal Divas

British India's Orissa and Bihar provinces were divided into a new state called Odisha on April 1, 1936. After three decades of struggle, the Odia people finally achieved their goal of freedom. The first of April is observed as Utkal Divas to remember this occasion. The region currently known as Odisha was formerly a part of Kalinga, one of the numerous kingdoms that sprang from the ruins following Ashoka's great war.

On Utkal Divas, the Indian Parliament first announced its intention to free Odisha from British domination and create a separate province, then an independent state, with Cuttack as its capital. The day is still widely observed throughout the state with much excitement.

History of the State of Odisha

Historians claim that many dynasties ruled over Odisha at various points throughout history. As Ashoka, king of Magadh, attacked it in 261 BC in order to expand his Mauryan rule, it eventually became the centre of the renowned Kalinga Kingdom. Under the renowned Mauryan Dynasty, the state prospered for about a century. Following the Mauryan era, King Kharavela took control of Odisha when he was successful in fighting Magadh to exact revenge for the Mauryan invasion.

Odisha was conquered by the Mughal Empire in 1576, and the Marathas seized control of several coastal areas in the middle of the 17th century. The southern shore of Odissa was combined with the Madras Presidency by the East India Company following the Carnatic Wars. Bihar and Orissa split out in 1912 and became separate provinces. Modern day Orissa was formed as a province for the people speaking Oriya in 1936. As the state's first governor, Sir John Hubbak received that title.

Famous figures including Utkala Gouraba, Madhusudan Das, Utkala Mani, Gopabandhu Das, Fakir Mohan Senapati, and Pandita Nilakantha Das battled for the cause of the fight to establish the state's independence. For many Hindus, Odisha holds great religious and spiritual significance because of its abundance of temples.

One of these, the Jagannath Temple in Puri, which was constructed in 1078, is notable. It is a revered location for Hindu pilgrims and is well-known for the celebrated "Rath yatra" or "Chariot Festival" celebration.

The creation of the cultural and social group Utkal Sammilani fueled the Odias' fight for independence. This group was established to advocate for the establishment of Odisha as an independent state. This group was established in 1903 by Utkala Gouraba Madhusudan Das, and the creation of Odisha state is commemorated as Utkal Divas in his honour.

Significance of Utkal Divas

Odiasians have great pride in their state and its history. As so many elements contribute to their identity as a state, they have many reasons to commemorate this day. Every year, the Utkal Divas is observed with much fanfare. This day is one that the people of Odisha fervently and enthusiastically commemorate. To commemorate the momentous occasion in 1936 when Odisha separated from Bengal and Bihar, Utkal Divas is observed. The first state founded on the Oriya language was Orissa.

It was the first to be employed in Ashoka's court and ultimately developed into the region's official language of administration. Every year on this day, the chief minister of the state of Odisha hoists the flag and gives a speech in a public setting. In the evening, a public gathering is also planned where people come together to honour their ancestors who fought to end British domination.

Every year on this day, the chief minister of the state of Odisha hoists the flag and gives a speech in a public setting. In the evening, a public gathering is also planned where people come together to honour their ancestors who fought to end British domination.

Commemoration of Odisha Formation Day

The state of Odisha celebrates Utkal Divas, also known as Odisha Foundation Day, with great fervour. On this day, the state government declares a holiday and public events. Even the Odia diaspora in other countries observes the day with zeal. Both students and government workers are given the day off. Cultural events and protests are held all throughout the state to commemorate the day.

The state celebrates the day with a variety of cultural events, such as plays, dance performances, and musical concerts. Schools and colleges also observe Utkal Divas. Students organise rallies and processions in addition to cultural performances and poetry recitals to mark the occasion.

To celebrate the Utkal Divas, the State Government of Odisha arranges celebrations and events, including cultural programmes, symposia, and exhibitions at various locations throughout the state. Odisha celebrates Utkal Divas on the anniversary of a significant event that laid the groundwork for their statehood.
Chandrashekhar Yadav, the State Education Minister, announced the Bihar 10th Result at the BSEB Headquarters in Patna. The students may view their results at biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or results.biharboardonline.com. According to news outlets, over 16 lakh children have enrolled for this year's BSEB class 10 board exams. The Bihar Board matric exam was held from February 14 to February 22, 2023.

The recipient who secured first grade will get a monetary award of Rs. 1 lakh, as well as a laptop, Kindle ebook reader, certificate of appreciation, and medal. For the year, 81.04 percent of class 10 students took the test and succeeded. The exam was cleared by 13,05,203 candidates in total. Md Rumman Ashraf took first place in the 10th class test with a score of 489. Two students were ranked second, three were ranked third, and 21 were ranked fifth. A total of 90 students made it to the top ten. The second-placed student will receive Rs. 75,000 in cash, as well as a laptop, Kindle, certificate, and medal. The third-placed student will receive Rs. 50,000 in cash, as well as a laptop, Kindle, certificate of appreciation, and medal.

Furthermore, students who rank fourth to tenth in the Bihar Board toppers list 2023 will receive a monetary prize of Rs. 10,000, as well as a laptop, Kindle, certificate of recognition, and medal as prizes. In the year, 6.37 lakh students took the BSEB Class 10 Bihar board exams across 1500 exam centres. Candidates must retain their login information, such as their roll number and admission card, on hand to access the results on the Bihar Board's official website, biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in.

How to Check BSEB Score Cards for Bihar Board 10th Result

Go to the BSEB's official website at biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in.

On the home page, click on the BSEB 10th Result 2023 link.

A fresh page will appear prompting participants to input their roll number and other information.

The outcome will be presented on the panel.

Review the results and save a printed copy for future reference.

List of Top Rank Holders
Karnataka 1st PUC Result: The Department of Pre-University Education has declared the Karnataka first PUC result 2023. The official website will host Karnataka 1st PUC results of students in Dakshina Kannada District colleges only. Karnataka 1st PUC Class 11 students will be able to download their results at result.dkpucpa.com.

The department has announced the first PUC 2023 Karnataka results 2023 for all the three streams - science, commerce and arts. Students who appeared in the theory examinations will to enter their registration number and date of birth on the PUC official website to download their scorecard. The Karnataka 1st PUC results will have details of student's name, registration number, subject name, date of birth, subject-wise marks, total marks secured and qualifying status.



Steps to check 1st PUC result 2023 Karnataka online

Students will have to follow the steps given below to download the Karnataka PUC results online.
Banking institutions are critical components of a nation's monetary system. Commercial as well as personal banking is a subset of the larger banking industry. Banks, as you know, work with both consumers and companies, making it a multifaceted industry.

Most people can pursue a career in banking, and certain professions do not necessitate a college diploma. The banking industry offers a good chance to gain a more thorough comprehension of the worldwide business. It paves the path for detecting numerous market obstacles and delivers major worldwide potential.

Here is a list of highest paid job roles in the finance sector

Top Paid Jobs in Banking Sector

Accountant

A bank accountant supervises and keeps track of the bank's daily monetary operations. These employees publish main and subsidiary accounting records, consolidate financial balances, and guarantee that the bank has enough cash to meet client demands. Salary range between 0.4 lakhs to 5.9 lakhs per annum.

Auditors

Auditors check the correctness and legal compliance of a bank's financial statements and documents. They evaluate whether the bank's portfolio management measures are successful, whether routine banking procedures are effective, and whether the financial system is free of deception.Salary range between 0.5 lakhs to 9 lakhs per annum.

Financial Managers

Financial managers are in charge of overseeing multiple economic responsibilities and activities. They gain economic forecasts, develop a proposed budget, analyse concerns related to economic actions, and provide insights to enhance operational profitability based on the institution's immediate and long-term financial objectives.Salary range between 2.5 lakhs to 30 lakhs per annum.

Investment Bankers

Investment bankers operate for huge banks that help big companies or organisations obtain finance. An investment bank sets the price and administers the process when a company "comes to market" by issuing new equity to the public for the initial time in an Initial Public Offering (IPO).Salary range between 1.8 lakhs to 38.2 lakhs per annum.

Internal Auditor

An internal auditor's primary role is to analyse how the bank's finances are being handled and to establish risk management. An internal auditor makes proposals and recommendations to streamline the bank's monetary operations to increase revenues.Salary range between 1.4 lakhs to 12 lakhs per annum.

Bank Manager

Being a bank manager entails a lot of accountability, as he is responsible for all financial operations. From bank operations to customer management and service, he is responsible for overseeing anything.Salary range between 0.4 lakhs to 15 lakhs per annum.

Loan Officer

A loan officer works with financial organisations to provide and manage financial goods such as mortgages and credit cards. Loan officers examine creditworthiness, evaluate economic problems connected with loans, and suggest suggestions on loan conditions and requirements.Salary range between 1.2 lakhs to 3.5 lakhs per annum.

Financial Advisers

They often collaborate with other finance professionals, such as financial advisers and credit analysts, to assess prospective growth prospects and develop plans.Salary range between 1.1 lakhs to 8.5 lakhs per annum.
Photo: The Canadian Press Yulia Kovaliv, Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada, participates in a luncheon event hosted by the Canadian Club of Ottawa in Ottawa on Thursday, March 30, 2023.

Ukraine's ambassador to Canada is urging Canadian businesses to see her country's eventual recovery as an economic bonanza worth investing in.

"We are fighting, we will win the war with your support and then we'll have a big path together to rebuild Ukraine," Yuliya Kovaliv told a Thursday lunch event hosted by corporate groups in Ottawa.

"Many of you who are from the private sector, you need to start to think about your strategy in participating in the rebuilding of Ukraine," she said.

Kovaliv told the Canadian Club of Ottawa that Ukraine will need a Marshall Plan-style funding package to get back on its feet when the war ends, and Canadian businesses should strategize about what role they can play.

Finland's ambassador to Canada, Roy Eriksson, also told the lunch that Canadian firms can help replace his country's trade with neighbouring Russia, saying both are familiar with designing products that work in cold climates.

"Because all of our companies have withdrawn from the (Russian) market, we are looking for new possibilities," he said.

"The relationship between Finland and Canada has never been as close as it is now."

The European Union's ambassador in Ottawa, Melita Gabric, similarly said Canada and the bloc had grown closer as a result of the Russian invasion.

"We became aware of how important it is not to be overly dependent on a not-like-minded country," she said.

"Canada is probably the most like-minded country it the world, when it comes to how we see the world, how we see human rights, how we see democracy, the rule of law and so on."

The trio noted Finland's imminent ascension to the NATO security alliance, and work on long-term deals to have Canada supply critical minerals and energy.

But none of the ambassadors foresee Canada as a major supplier of fossil fuels, with Kovaliv and Eriksson instead discussing a shift toward renewable energy, or buying oil and gas from other European countries.

Meanwhile, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced Thursday that the International Energy Agency had chosen him to chair a ministerial task force on fuels, market monitoring and supply security.

The task force is trying to shore up energy in European countries that are weaning themselves off of a reliance on Russian fuels.

Wilkinson also told reporters in a call from Berlin that all seven electrical transformers Canada donated to help repair Ukraine's power grid after Russian attacks have been delivered to the country.

Eriksson added that Finland, Canada and allies need to do a better job at countering Russian disinformation in countries outside Europe. He gave the example of disputes over a deal to export grain from Ukraine to poorer countries, and Moscow's narrative that the West is blocking those exports.

"We are not as good at trying to provide correct information. That's something where we are losing out," he said.
Service Availability and Readiness of Primary Care Health Facilities Offering Hypertension Diagnosis Services in Wakiso District, Uganda, 2019

Jackline Nanono, MPH1; Dinesh Neupane, PhD2; Tonny Ssekamatte, MPH1; Emmanuel Ahumuza, MPH1; Francis Xavier Kasujja, MSC3,4; Elizeus Rutebemberwa, PhD1 (View author affiliations)

Suggested citation for this article: Nanono J, Neupane D, Ssekamatte T, Ahumuza E, Kasujja FX, Rutebemberwa E. Service Availability and Readiness of Primary Care Health Facilities Offering Hypertension Diagnosis Services in Wakiso District, Uganda, 2019. Prev Chronic Dis 2023;20:220236. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd20.220236.

PEER REVIEWED

Summary What is already known on this topic? Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disease in the world. If left uncontrolled, it can cause stroke, myocardial infarction, cardiac failure, renal failure, and hypertensive retinopathy. Diagnosis is the first step in managing and treating hypertension. The condition is highly undiagnosed in sub-Saharan Africa because screening programs are limited. What is added by this report? In Uganda, most primary health care facilities offer diagnostic services, but few have functioning diagnostic equipment, and refresher training is rarely available for health workers. What are the implications for public health practice? If diagnostic services are not available on a timely basis, the burden of hypertension will continue to increase in Uganda.

Abstract

Introduction

Hypertension is a growing burden in Uganda and other low- and middle-income countries. Appropriate diagnosis services are needed at primary care health facilities to identify, initiate treatment for, and manage hypertension. This study assessed service availability and readiness as well as facilitators and barriers in primary health care facilities for hypertension diagnosis services in Wakiso District, Uganda.

Methods

In July and August 2019, we conducted structured interviews at 77 randomly selected primary care health facilities in Wakiso District. We used an interviewer-administered health facility checklist modified from the World Health Organizations service availability and readiness assessment tool. We also conducted 13 key informant interviews with health workers and district-level managers. Readiness was measured by availability of functional diagnostic equipment, related supplies and tools, and health provider attributes. Service availability was measured by assessing hypertension diagnosis services.

Results

Most (86%; 66 of 77) health facilities offered hypertension diagnosis services and 84% (65 of 77) had digital blood pressure measuring devices; only 69% (53 of 77) had functional blood pressure measuring devices. Lower-level facilities lacked appropriate blood pressure cuffs for use across age groups: 92% (71 of 77) lacked pediatric cuffs and 52% (40 of 77) lacked alternative adult cus. Facilitators for diagnosing hypertension included partners that built health facility staff capacity and funds for purchasing hypertension diagnostic supplies; common barriers were nonfunctional equipment, delays in receiving training, and inadequate staffing.

Conclusion

The results highlight the need for an adequate supply of devices, routine replacements or repairs, and frequent refresher training for health workers.

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Introduction

Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disease and a leading risk factor in illness and death throughout the world. Globally, in 2021, 1.28 billion people aged 30 to 79 years had hypertension, two-thirds of whom lived in low- and middle-income countries (1). Diagnosis is the first step in hypertension care. Recommended items for the thorough measurement of hypertension are sphygmomanometers (blood pressure monitors) with appropriately sized cuffs, stadiometers (to measure height), and weighing machines; assessment of hypertension risks or appropriate referrals by health care providers is also recommended (2,3).

Despite knowledge about the growing hypertension epidemic, few people receive adequate diagnostic services in primary care facilities in low- and middle-income countries (4). In sub-Saharan Africa, screening and early diagnosis programs are limited; thus, hypertension is largely undiagnosed. A systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the prevalence of hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa examined data from 33 surveys and found that an average of 27% of people were aware of their hypertensive status before the surveys (5). People with hypertension need proper diagnosis, frequent monitoring, and lifelong treatment, which is a challenge for Uganda, a low-income, resource-constrained country (6,7). Failure to diagnose hypertension in a timely way exposes people to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which further burdens already insufficient health care resources (7).

In Uganda, health services are delivered within a framework of decentralization; 4 health facility levels offer specified services to a designated population and catchment area. The diagnosis of hypertension is made at all health facility levels, including Health Centre II (HCII), Health Centre III (HCIII), and Health Centre IV (HCIV), despite the Ministry of Health mandate that HCIIs are not supposed to manage patients with hypertension (8).

Uganda faces a budding epidemic of hypertension. In 2015, the prevalence of hypertension was 26.4%, and the condition remains undiagnosed and undetected in many people (9). A study conducted in 1 district in central Uganda reported that 6.3% of people in Uganda self-reported having hypertension (10). Wakiso District has the largest population in central Uganda, with 2.9 million people. The estimated prevalence of hypertension is 34.3% in this region, the highest of any region in Uganda (11).

The available information on hypertension in Uganda in the scientific literature mostly describes the proportion of people at risk for hypertension and those who have hypertension (911). Few published studies focus on the status of hypertension diagnostic services available in Uganda and the readiness of health facilities to offer hypertension care (12). The objective of our study was to describe this availability and readiness and the facilitators and barriers for hypertension diagnosis in health facilities in the Wakiso District. Findings from our study will provide policy makers, health care providers, and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) (eg, Medical Research Council, MildMay, Rotary International) with information about the existing services and readiness of health facilities to provide hypertension diagnostic services and identify bottlenecks and solutions to improve service delivery.

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Methods

Study area and study population

Wakiso District, which partly encircles Kampala, the capital district of Uganda, has 70 public health facilities and 38 private, nonprofit health facilities. The study population was selected from both types of health facilities, and included HCIIs, HCIIIs, HCIVs, and hospitals. An HC-II is found at the parish level and offers preventive, promotive, outpatient curative health services, outreach care, and emergency services to a population of approximately 5,000. An HCIII is found at the subcounty level and offers all services offered at HCIIs, plus maternity, inpatient, and laboratory services to a population of approximately 20,000. An HCIV is found at the county level and offers all services offered at HCIIIs, plus emergency surgery and blood transfusion to a population of approximately 100,000. A hospital is also found at the district level and offers all services offered at HCIVs, plus service training, consultation, and research to a population of approximately 500,000.

Study design

This cross-sectional study used both quantitative and qualitative approaches and was conducted in July and August 2019. Quantitative data were collected on service availability and readiness of health facilities. Qualitative data were collected on the facilitators and barriers faced by health workers while providing hypertension diagnostic services.

Operational definitions

Service availability was measured by assessing the provision of blood pressure measurements, scheduling of regular checkups by health workers, referrals, access to transportation to access the referral health facility, and the management of patients with suspected or newly diagnosed cases of hypertension.

Service readiness was measured by assessing the presence and functional status of blood pressure devices, including the availability of various cuff sizes for use across age ranges. It also included the availability of a private room or confidential area for counseling and taking measurements for hypertension diagnosis; a book or other means for routine reporting; the presence of standard guidelines; access to hypertension training and continuing medical education sessions; the availability of a health worker at the health facility 24 hours per day or on-call to screen, diagnose, or make referrals; and a point person for ordering hypertension diagnostic supplies and equipment.

Sample size and assumptions

For the quantitative study, we assumed a design effect of 1.2 and a 7% nonresponse rate. We calculated the sample size as 79 health facilities (13); we removed 2 facilities from the analysis because we found that 1 HCII was no longer functioning and 1 HCIII no longer existed. Thus, we analyzed data from 77 health facilities, including 34 HCII-level facilities, 31 HCIII-level facilities, 7 HCIV-level facilities, and 5 hospitals. We also interviewed 13 health workers and district health managers for qualitative data. For these interviews, we spoke with 4 staff members from HCII-level facilities, 4 staff members from HCIII-level facilities, 1 staff member from an HCIV-level facility, 1 staff member from 1 of the 5 hospitals, and 3 staff members from district health offices.

Sampling

From a sample of 108 health facilities, we randomly selected facilities by stratification from each health facility level. We selected every third HCII- and HCIII-level facility and all HCIV-level facilities and hospitals. With guidance from health facility managers, we purposely chose 1 health worker from each health facility. For the key informant interviews, personnel were selected from health facility levels and district health offices.

Data collection tools

We developed a checklist based on the service availability and readiness assessment tool developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to collect information on service availability and readiness of health facilities. The checklist was modified to include only information relating to hypertension screening and diagnosis, but it maintained consistency with other variables in the WHO tool.

This checklist was administered to the managers at all sampled health facilities (13). The semistructured interview guide was also administered to 1 health worker from each sampled health facility. For the key informant interviews, we developed an interview guide to focus on policy issues at the health facility and district levels.

Data collection

All data were collected by interviewers who were trained for 4 days and had at least 4 years of experience in data collection. All data collection tools were administered face-to-face by the interviewers, with sessions lasting from 30 to 50 minutes. The information from the interview checklist and the semistructured tools was collected on Android mobile telephones by using the KoboCollect application version 2.019.22 (Kobo Inc), while the key informant interviews were audio recorded. All interviews were conducted in confidential spaces.

Data analysis

Data were retrieved from the KoboCollect server, exported into an Excel (Microsoft Corporation) spreadsheet, and analyzed with Stata version 14 (StataCorp, LLC). Weights were scored as 1, for what was available at the health facility, and 0, for what was absent (1315). As adopted from the service availability and readiness assessment reference manual, the responses in each domain were aggregated into an index of composite scores for categories of readiness. We conducted 2 tests and Fisher exact tests to explore the association between health facility levels and variables relating to the availability and functional status of diagnostic equipment and tools. We considered 2 P values of less than .05 significant. For the qualitative component, the key informant interview audio files were transcribed verbatim and checked for consistency before field notes were compiled. Meaningful units were generated from the text and condensed into codes. The codes were generated and later merged into themes. The themes were organized, grouped, and checked for consistency before manual thematic analysis was performed.

Ethical considerations

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants and documented on approved forms. Study approval was obtained from the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology through the institutional review board of the Makerere University School of Public Health Higher Degrees Research and Education Committee. Permission to conduct the research was obtained from the district health office of Wakiso District and the medical superintendent of Entebbe Hospital.

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Results

Of the 77 health facilities examined, 90% (n = 69) measured the blood pressure of patients, 86% (n = 66) offered comprehensive hypertension diagnosis services, and 79% (n = 61) scheduled regular blood pressure checkups. We found significant differences in managing suspected or newly diagnosed cases of hypertension (P = .001) and access to means of transportation for referral across the different health facility levels (P = .001) (Table 1).

Hypertension diagnostic equipment and related supplies

Most lower-level primary care health facilities lacked a range of blood pressure cuffs for use across age groups; 92% (71 of 77) lacked pediatric blood pressure cuffs, and 52% (40 of 77) lacked alternative adult blood pressure cus (Table 2).

Health workers related practices on hypertension diagnosis

Refresher training on hypertension diagnosis had not been given to 83% (64 of 77) of health facilities. One HCII-level facility did not have a confidential area for diagnosis. We found significant differences in diagnosis practices by health facility level: provision of health care provider refresher training on hypertension diagnosis in the last 6 months (P = .002); 24-hour availability of a health care provider at the health facility (P = .001) to screen, diagnose, or make a referral; and a point person for ordering hypertension diagnostic supplies (P = .01) (Table 3).

Facilitators and barriers to providing hypertension diagnostic services

Multiple facilitators and barriers of hypertension diagnostic services were cited during key informant interviews (Table 4). Of the 10 key informant interviews conducted with staff members at the various levels of health facilities, 7 interviewees mentioned that NGOs were actively involved in providing equipment. Like the supply of equipment is supposed to be done by the ministry, but very often we squeeze from the Primary Health Care fund, [and] we buy a few [key informant no. 9, district health team member].

One informant mentioned that NGOs were involved in building capacity for health workers. Primary health care funds were another facilitator mentioned by 9 informants; these funds were used to purchase hypertension diagnostic supplies and some equipment. Twelve informants mentioned the availability of referral services, noting that patients at lower-level health facilities were referred to higher-level health facilities when required. [We] take the blood pressure . . . and then after that, you advise accordingly because this is a HCII whereby we are not supposed to prescribe for such; we monitor like some days . . . but if [blood pressure is] very high we refer them [Key informant no. 4, enrolled nurse, HCII].

The key barrier reported by 9 informants was not having functional blood pressure equipment. Ten informants noted that equipment was defective; they said that the machines gave them inaccurate measurements and other equipment was not working at all. Three informants reported that there were few blood pressure devices in their health facilities. Three informants noted the struggle to acquire batteries and the lack of batteries for the digital hypertension diagnostic equipment. Three informants reported a lack of information on where repairs and calibrations could be done on nonfunctional and faulty equipment: In fact, we dont know where equipment could be repaired, I would personally take them because I am the in-charge, but I dont know where [Key informant no. 6, midwife, HCII].

Two HCII informants noted that their facility received no hypertension diagnostic equipment because of the Ministry of Health mandate that HCIIs are not supposed to manage patients with hypertension. Two health workers reported that insufficient manpower hindered the ability to carry out hypertension screening and other measurements. A concern was raised by 6 informants about the lack of refresher training and not having the latest information about hypertension diagnosis. The lack of continuing medical education, because of limited funds, was noted by 2 informants. Four informants mentioned a lack of knowledge and skills to operate equipment and that newly recruited health workers are transferred without being trained.

They [continuing medical education opportunities] depend on the funding; if we have funds, we will be trained because you cant conduct a training without funds. So, their frequencies are dictated by the amount of money; also, theres knowledge gaps especially in lower levels; here we have a sector only with nurses, and sometimes there are knowledge gaps [key informant no. 11, district health office].

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Discussion

The findings from our study highlight that many health facilities at different levels of the primary care health system in Wakiso District provide some form of hypertension diagnostic services. However, the availability and readiness of diagnostic services vary significantly. Several health facilities had all necessary supplies and tools for hypertension diagnosis, while other facilities had no equipment or had broken equipment. The key informants noted the infrequency of continuing medical education or refresher training opportunities. Implementing partners and the governments primary health care funds were key in mitigating some of the barriers faced in providing hypertension diagnosis services.

Our study showed that health facilities delivered hypertension diagnostic services to patients. However, the combination of several services for hypertension diagnosis across different levels of the health system was not comprehensive. This finding is consistent with the findings of similar studies carried out in Tanzania and other areas of Uganda (14,16).

Many primary care health facilities had hypertension diagnostic equipment, but some of the equipment was not functional. This finding concurs with those of a similar study done in Tanzania: although more than half of the health facilities in that study had hypertension diagnostic equipment, some of it was faulty (14). As a result of the Ministry of Health mandate that HCIIs are not supposed to manage patients with hypertension, some lower-level health facilities lacked diagnostic equipment, and others did not receive adequate supplies and personnel. Therefore, even though hypertension diagnosis services could be offered at HCII-level facilities and other level health facilities, the lack of vital functioning equipment prevented availability and readiness of service provision.

One-third of HCII-level facilities had the capacity to manage patients with suspected hypertension. This finding could be explained by the Ministry of Healths mandate that HCIIs are not supposed to manage patients with hypertension but can only refer patients (8,17). This finding is similar to the finding of a study in Tanzania that highlighted the weak management, training, and reporting systems and the complex ordering process for basic medicines and equipment, which affected the health facilities preparedness to manage patients with hypertension (14). Health facilities that do not receive adequate supplies and personnel are hindered from providing hypertension diagnosis services to patients with probable hypertension.

Key informant interviews pointed to inconsistencies in the presence and functional status of equipment for diagnosing hypertension, especially blood pressure machines, an essential requirement for diagnosing hypertension. These findings are supported by those of another study, conducted in Uganda at high-level health facilities, on the availability of equipment needed to manage noncommunicable diseases (12). Because of broken or unavailable blood pressure machines, many health workers at primary care health facilities cannot offer hypertension diagnosis services to patients.

Most health facilities in our study lacked cuffs appropriate for measuring blood pressure among patients ranging from children to mid-sized adults. The lack of different blood pressure cuff sizes could explain why some health workers in our study reported challenges in taking blood pressure measurements. Another study conducted in Uganda reported a 70% deficiency of standard cuffs and a scarcity of pediatric cuffs (16). Standard adult cuffs are too small for about one-third of patients; an inappropriately small size causes variability in blood pressure readings and leads to underdiagnosis or overdiagnosis of hypertension (1820).

Only approximately one-third of the health facilities in our study had access to transportation for referred patients. This proportion is similar to that found in another study conducted in Uganda at higher-level health facilities (regional referral hospitals, general hospitals, and HCIVs in the public sector): more than half of patients referred to another facility for diagnosis or management lacked access to an ambulance or other means of transport (12,21). These findings imply that health workers face difficulties in finding means of transportation to referral centers and other high-level health facilities, and that lack of transportation can be a barrier to managing hypertension.

Our study also highlighted that most health facilities offered counseling on behavioral modifications for patients with hypertension. This finding contrasted with the findings of studies in Uganda and Zimbabwe, where some health care providers reported not providing hypertension and diabetes education plus counseling because they lacked information, proper training, and the time required for such education and counseling (15,16). Counseling can act as a mode of behavior change and encouragement for reducing health risks among clients and prospective patients (20,22). Several studies from Asia have demonstrated that nonphysician health workers can be trained to diagnose hypertension (23,24), and sharing or shifting tasks among health workers can help to solve the problem of lack of staff members capable of and available for diagnosing hypertension. This finding implies that health workers and nonphysicians, when equipped with updated information and functional equipment, can diagnose hypertension, assess hypertension risks, and motivate behavior change among patients.

Strengths and limitations

Our study is the first to document service availability and readiness of primary care health facilities to offer hypertension diagnosis services in Wakiso District, Uganda. We used previously validated WHO tools and collected data from different types of health facilities. We modified the tool to include only variables relating to hypertension screening and diagnosis. Thus, the validity of the WHO tool was maintained. We used mixed methods to triangulate findings. Although the study was confined to Wakiso District, the results could be generalized to other districts in Uganda with similar circumstances and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa with similar health systems.

Limitations of the study included focusing only on the availability and readiness of hypertension diagnostic services and not including drug availability for managing or treating patients with hypertension. The participants who were chosen from purposively selected health facilities were few.

Conclusion

Most primary care health facilities in Wakiso District offered hypertension diagnosis services. Yet we found significant differences in the availability and functional status of the hypertension diagnostic equipment. Health facilities across all levels should be supported to offer quality hypertension diagnostic services by the Wakiso District Health Office and the Ministry of Health. By providing essential equipment, and supporting routine repairs and maintenance of damaged equipment, service provision will be increased and enhanced across all health facility levels. Further studies are needed to explore the health service delivery of hypertension diagnosis services across urban, suburban, and rural health facilities, and across private for-profit, private nonprofit, and public health facilities to clarify where hypertensive patients seek the most care.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support of the Emerging Authors Program for Global Cardiovascular Disease Research, a mentorship collaboration consisting of the Lancet Commission on Hypertension Group, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), the World Hypertension League, and the Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET). This initiative receives support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and RTSL, through a grant to the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Inc (CDC Foundation). This research was supported by a grant from TEPHINET. We are also thankful to the participants and data collectors of this study. The data used and/or analyzed for this study are available from the corresponding author on request. The authors declare that there were no competing financial or nonfinancial interests. No copyrighted materials were used in this research or article.

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Author Information

Corresponding Author: Jackline Nanono, MPH, Makerere University School of Public Health, New Mulago Hospital Complex, Mulago Hill Road, PO Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda (jackienonokalyango@gmail.com).

Author Affiliations: 1Makerere University, School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda. 2Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. 3Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda. 4The Chronic Diseases and Cancer Theme, Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.

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References

World Health Organization. Hypertension fact sheet. August 25, 2021. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension World Health Organization. World Health Organization global status report on noncommunicable diseases, 2014. Accessed July 19, 2022. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/148114/9789241564854_eng.pdf World Health Organization. Package of essential noncommunicable (PEN) disease interventions for primary health care. 2010. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240009226 World Health Organization. HEARTs: technical package for cardiovascular disease management in primary health care: systems for monitoring 2018. Accessed June 17, 2021. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/260423/WHO-NMH-NVI-18.5-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Ataklte F, Erqou S, Kaptoge S, Taye B, Echouffo-Tcheugui JB, Kengne AP. Burden of undiagnosed hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hypertension 2015;65(2):2918. PubMed Ssinabulya I, Nabunnya Y, Kiggundu B, Musoke C, Mungoma M, Kayima J. Hypertension control and care at Mulago Hospital ambulatory clinic, Kampala-Uganda. BMC Res Notes 2016;9(1):487. CrossRef PubMed Ouyang H. Africas top health challenge: cardiovascular disease. The Atlantic. Published October 30, 2014. Accessed July 10, 2022. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/10/africas-top-health-challenge-cardiovascular-disease/381699 The Republic of Uganda Ministry of Health. Uganda Service Provision Assessment Survey 2007. Accessed August 14, 2020. https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/SPA13/SPA13.pdf Guwatudde D, Mutungi G, Wesonga R, Kajjura R, Kasule H, Muwonge J, et al. The epidemiology of hypertension in Uganda: findings from the National Non-Communicable Diseases Risk Factor Survey. PLoS One 2015;10(9):e0138991. CrossRef PubMed Siddharthan T, Kalyesubula R, Morgan B, Ermer T, Rabin TL, Kayongo A, et al. The rural Uganda non-communicable disease (RUNCD) study: prevalence and risk factors of self-reported NCDs from a cross sectional survey. BMC Public Health 2021;21(1):2036. CrossRef PubMed Lunyera J, Kirenga B, Stanifer JW, Kasozi S, van der Molen T, Katagira W, et al. Geographic differences in the prevalence of hypertension in Uganda: results of a national epidemiological study. PLoS One 2018;13(8):e0201001. CrossRef PubMed Rogers HE, Akiteng AR, Mutungi G, Ettinger AS, Schwartz JI. Capacity of Ugandan public sector health facilities to prevent and control non-communicable diseases: an assessment based upon WHO-PEN standards. BMC Health Serv Res 2018;18(1):606. CrossRef PubMed World Health Organization. Service availability and readiness assessment (SARA): an annual monitoring system for service delivery: reference manual. 2015. Accessed May 20, 2022. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/service-availability-and-readinessassessment(sara)/sara_reference_manual_chapter3.pdf?sfvrsn=7a0f3a33_3 Bintabara D, Mpondo BCT. Preparedness of lower-level health facilities and the associated factors for the outpatient primary care of hypertension: evidence from Tanzanian national survey. PLoS One 2018;13(2):e0192942. CrossRef PubMed Mungati M, Manangazira P, Takundwa L, Gombe NT, Rusakaniko S, Tshimanga M. Factors affecting diagnosis and management of hypertension in Mazowe District of Mashonaland Central Province in Zimbabwe: 2012. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2014;14(1):102. CrossRef PubMed Musinguzi G, Bastiaens H, Wanyenze RK, Mukose A, Van Geertruyden JP, Nuwaha F. Capacity of health facilities to manage hypertension in Mukono and Buikwe districts in Uganda: challenges and recommendations. PLoS One 2015;10(11):e0142312. CrossRef PubMed The Republic of Uganda Ministry of Health. National medicines policy. 2015. Accessed June 1, 2022. https://www.nda.or.ug/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/National-Medicines-Policy-2015-6.pdf Bao W, Threefoot SA, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS. Essential hypertension predicted by tracking of elevated blood pressure from childhood to adulthood: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Am J Hypertens 1995;8(7):65765. CrossRef PubMed Rush C, Wauters J, Porter S, Chamie C, Conn B. Improving the screening, prevention, and management of hypertension: an implementation tool for clinic practice teams. Washington State Department of Health; 2013. Accessed June 1, 2022. https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/13_bptoolkit_e13l.pdf Vos LE, Oren A, Bots ML, Gorissen WH, Grobbee DE, Uiterwaal CS. Does a routinely measured blood pressure in young adolescence accurately predict hypertension and total cardiovascular risk in young adulthood? J Hypertens 2003;21(11):202734. CrossRef PubMed Chang H, Hawley NL, Kalyesubula R, Siddharthan T, Checkley W, Knauf F, et al. Challenges to hypertension and diabetes management in rural Uganda: a qualitative study with patients, village health team members, and health care professionals. Int J Equity Health 2019;18(1):38. CrossRef PubMed Whitlock EP, Orleans CT, Pender N, Allan J. Evaluating primary care behavioral counseling interventions: an evidence-based approach. Am J Prev Med 2002;22(4):26784. CrossRef PubMed Neupane D, McLachlan CS, Mishra SR, Olsen MH, Perry HB, Karki A, et al. Effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention led by female community health volunteers versus usual care in blood pressure reduction (COBIN): an open-label, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet Glob Health 2018;6(1):e6673. CrossRef PubMed Jafar TH, Gandhi M, de Silva HA, Jehan I, Naheed A, Finkelstein EA, et al. A community-based intervention for managing hypertension in rural South Asia. N Engl J Med 2020;382(8):71726. CrossRef PubMed

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Tables

Table 1. Services Available for Hypertension Diagnosis Across Different Levels of Primary Care Health Facilities, Wakiso District, Uganda, 2019 Variable Health facility level, no. (%) (N = 77) P valuee Health Centre IIa (n = 31) Health Centre IIIb (n = 34) Health Centre IVc (n = 7) Hospitald (n = 5) Offers diagnosis of hypertension 20 (64.5) 34 (100) 7 (100) 5 (100) .001 Takes blood pressure measurements 23 (74.2) 34 (100) 7 (100) 5 (100) .005 Takes weight measurements 26 (83.9) 34 (100) 7 (100) 5 (100) .07 Offers motivational counseling 26 (83.9) 33 (97.1) 7 (100) 5 (100) .25 Manages suspected or newly diagnosed cases of hypertension 11 (35.5) 32 (94.1) 7 (100) 5 (100) .001 Schedules regular checkups 18 (58.1) 31 (91.2) 7 (100) 5 (100) .003 Has a referral system 27 (87.1) 26 (76.5) 1 (14.3) 1 (20) .001 Has access to transportation for referral 3 (9.7) 12 (35.3) 3 (42.9) 5 (100) .001

Table 2. Hypertension Diagnostic Equipment and Related Supplies Across Different Levels of Primary Care Health Facilities, Wakiso District, Uganda, 2019 Variable Health facility level, no. (%) (N = 77) P valuee Health Centre IIa (n = 31) Health Centre IIIb (n = 34) Health Centre IVc (n = 7) Hospitald (n = 5) Available digital sphygmomanometer 23 (74.2) 30 (88.2) 7 (100.0) 5 (100.0) .26 Available mercury sphygmomanometer 17 (54.8) 25 (73.5) 4 (57.1) 4 (80.0) .36 Available aneroid sphygmomanometer 15 (48.4) 20 (58.8) 3 (42.9) 5 (100) .16 Functional digital sphygmomanometer 18 (58.1) 25 (73.5) 5 (71.4) 5 (100.0) .25 Functional mercury sphygmomanometer 6 (19.4) 19 (55.9) 2 (28.6) 2 (40.0) .02 Functional aneroid sphygmomanometer 6 (19.4) 19 (55.9) 2 (28.6) 4 (80.0) .003 Available adult standard blood pressure cuffs (25 cm 12 cm) 27 (87.1) 32 (94.1) 7 (100.0) 5 (100.0) .45 Available alternative blood pressure cuffs (36 cm  12 cm) 9 (29.0) 17 (50.0) 6 (85.7) 5 (100.0) .002 Available pediatric blood pressure cuffs 2 (6.5) 2 (5.9) 0 2 (40.0) .12 Available body mass index charts 11 (35.5) 15 (44.1) 6 (85.7) 3 (60.0) .14 Available guidelines on hypertension diagnosis 29 (93.5) 30 (88.2) 7 (100.0) 5 (100.0) .89 Job aids available on hypertension diagnosis 16 (51.6) 24 (70.6) 6 (85.7) 5 (100.0) .04 Available height-measuring tape, board, or stadiometer 14 (45.2) 28 (82.4) 7 (100.0) 5 (100.0) .001 Available automated weighing machine 5 (16.1) 9 (26.5) 3 (42.9) 5 (100.0) .29 Available manual weighing scale 23 (74.2) 33 (97.1) 5 (71.4) 2 (40.0) .02 Functional automated weighing machine 4 (12.9) 7 (20.6) 3 (42.9) 2 (40.0) .17 Functional manual weighing scale 22 (71.0) 33 (97.1) 5 (71.4) 5 (100.0) .04 Available source document used for monthly reporting 20 (64.5) 30 (88.2) 7 (100.0) 5 (100.0) .04

Table 3. Hypertension DiagnosisRelated Practices Among Health Workers Across Different Levels of Primary Care Health Facilities, Wakiso District, Uganda, 2019 Variable Health facility level, no. (%) (N = 77) P valuee Health Centre IIa (n = 31) Health Centre IIIb (n = 34) Health Centre IVc (n = 7) Hospitald (n = 5) At least 1 health care provider received refresher training in the diagnosis of hypertension in the last 6 months 2 (6.5) 5 (14.7) 5 (71.4) 1 (20.0) .002 Health care providers who are attached and posted to the health facility to diagnose hypertension 21 (67.7) 34 (100.0) 7 (100.0) 5 (100.0) .001 Trained health care provider available at the facility on call, 24 hours per day, including weekends, and on public holidays to screen, diagnose, or make referrals 5 (16.1) 27 (79.4) 7 (100.0) 5 (100.0) .001 Private room or confidential area for hypertension diagnosis and counseling with audio and visual privacy 30 (96.8) 34 (100.0) 7 (100.0) 5 (100.0) .56 Point person for ordering hypertension diagnostic supplies and equipment 15 (48.4) 27 (79.4) 7 (100.0) 5 (100.0) .01

Table 4. Facilitators and Barriers in Providing Hypertension Diagnosis Services Across Different Levels of Health Facilities, Wakiso District, Uganda, 2019 Health facility level Facilitators to hypertension diagnosis services Barriers to hypertension diagnosis services Hospitala  Medical training

 Equipment availability

 Clinical experience

 Continuous medical education  Lack consistent funding for village follow-ups

 Patients miss scheduled appointments

 Difficulties in measuring height of women with plaited hair

 Lack measures to investigate other comorbidities

 Resistance from patients to take measurements Health Centre IVb  Equipment availability

 Implementing partners

 History-taking and assessments of hypertension diseases in the patients family

 Continuous medical education  Lack supplies or batteries for digital equipment

 Lack measures of investigation of other comorbidities

 Faulty equipment

 Lack consistent funding for village follow-ups

 Contradicting information on hypertension from different guidelines Health Centre IIIc  Equipment availability

 Clinical experience

 History-taking and assessments of hypertension diseases in the patients family

 Medical training

 Guidelines

 Triage of patients

 Responsive patients

 Continuous medical education

 On-the-job training

 Hypertension treatment cards

 Presence of other health workers who provide mentorship  Lack consistent funding for village follow-ups

 Faulty equipment

 Resistance from patients to take measurements

 Patients miss scheduled appointments

 Lack supplies or batteries for digital equipment

 Blood pressure cuffs do not fit patients arms

 Blood pressure apparatus rarely calibrated

 Time-consuming to take several measurements

 Lack measures to investigate other comorbidities

 Difficult to use the manual blood pressure machine

 Lack of hypertension cards

 Uncertainty about referrals made for patients to reach higher-level health facilities

 Lack of equipment Health Centre IId  Equipment availability

 History-taking and assessments of hypertension diseases in the patients family

 Clinical experience

 Implementing partners

 Triage of patients

 Responsive patients

 Medical training  Uncertainty about referrals made for patients to reach higher-level health facilities

 Faulty equipment

 Lack supplies or batteries for digital equipment

 Lack consistent funding for village follow-ups

 Patients miss scheduled appointments

 Blood pressure cuffs do not fit patients arm

 Difficult to use the manual blood pressure machine

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Courtesy of Casey Lartigue, Jr.





Four North Korean refugees in Freedom Speakers International (FSI) participated in a forum in Seoul, Thursday, with 25 students and staff visiting from the United States. There were three key similarities about the speakers. One: all four of them escaped from North Korea in 2011. Two: all four of them were rescued by a parent. Three: they have all lived abroad.







Despite those similarities, their stories and experiences were very different.











Overall, according to South Korea's Ministry of Unification, almost 34,000 North Koreans have escaped to South Korea since the late 1990s. The four speakers all escaped before Kim Jong-un became the dictator of the country. In 2011, a total of 2,706 North Korean refugees escaped to South Korea. The following year, the number dropped to 1,502.







Although some analysts have talked about North Korean refugees being pushed or pressured to write books and give speeches, the reality is that only a handful have done so. Those who have done so typically take about a decade to write a book.







Very often I have media and researchers asking me to introduce them to North Korean refugees who have recently escaped. Recent escapees are some of the most boring people I have met. Imagine what it would be like to get directions from Seoul to Busan by a person telling you about every left and right turn along the way. North Korean refugees who have recently escaped lack perspective and usually can only discuss what they experienced in their hometowns because they couldn't easily travel within the country.







In freedom, some go from being North Korean refugees hiding in the shadows to North Korean defectors speaking out. After they have been out of North Korea for a while, had a chance to live in South Korea, learn about the world, use the Internet and read multiple books and different sources and to engage with people from around the world, they begin to have some perspective on what happened to them in North Korea.







There have been cases of refugees talking about some shocking things that they considered to be norms. It wasn't until they lived in freedom that they began to understand concepts such as human rights, women's rights, individual freedom (as a good or neutral right), and the right of locomotion, etc.







At Thursday's forum, we were able to hear those perspectives and reflections, rather than left-turn, right-turn playback.











I recently had a mild argument with a foreign diplomat who blamed North Korean refugees for leaving their children behind. I have also heard over the years from South Koreans who blamed North Koreans for leaving their children behind. I have talked with Americans who were appalled when they read or hear about about North Koreans leaving their children behind.







Such people who say such things have little or no understanding about the reality of North Korea. Far too many people, when they listen to North Korean refugee speakers or read books and articles, will analyze North Korea like it is North Carolina or that North Koreans are living lives just like themselves in freedom.







One of the speakers said that her mother left her behind because she was terrified of what could happen if they got caught together in China. They could have been separated with both being sent out to the remote countryside in China and unsure how to contact each other. There have been numerous cases of that happening to North Koreans escaping together, with the families being separated and struggling to find each other later.







By leaving her daughter behind with relatives, she would know where she could find them (there is no Internet to look people up and as escapees they can't return to North Korea to look for family members).











Two of the speakers lived in Canada, one speaker lived in the UK, and another lived in the USA. They had different levels of knowledge about the outside world when they were in North Korea. Two of the speakers said they attended elementary school for only a short time. They didn't know about the Internet before they escaped North Korea, but one speaker had seen numerous dramas from South Korea and even heard Voice of America and Radio Free Asia reports before she escaped.







Once in freedom, they were all eager for the opportunity to see the world. It comes as a surprise to some South Koreans that North Korean refugees allegedly aren't "satisfied" with living in South Korea.







Their surprise used to come as a surprise to me, considering that from what I have heard, many South Koreans aren't satisfied with life in South Korea. Anyway, after North Koreans have been blocked from experiencing or even knowing about the outside world when they were in North Korea, why should it be surprising that they would want to see the world once they are living in freedom? There are almost 200 countries in the world, South Korea should not be the end of the line for North Koreans once they are living in freedom.







P.S: Despite those three similarities, their stories were all different.







I also hear from some people (especially intellectuals, editors and commentators) who superficially talk about the "North Korean narrative" and see their stories in a broad brush. Although North Korea is a conformist country, there is still diversity among North Koreans, they have a range of reasons why they escape, and their method of escape and costs also vary. Even those four North Korean refugees who escaped the same year had very different lives, escape stories, and different amounts that were paid for their escapes.







Sharon, Songmi, Bumjin and Chanyang told their stories in English. Each of them had something special about their presentations that moved the audience and the moderators.







Sharon's speech was emotional, both for her and the audience. This was her first speech in more than a year, she recently returned from a year living abroad. Sharon has been a student and speaker with FSI since 2015, and she also worked in our office during 2018-22. My special memory with Sharon is that she contacted me on her birthday in 2015 asking if she could study with us. She often says that FSI is her family. She is now working on a book with FSI co-founder Lee Eun-koo.







Songmi's speech was polished. She was the winner of our 16th English speech contest and has developed her speaking ability since starting last year. I am the co-author of her memoir, Greenlight to Freedom. My special memory with her, among many, is that I postponed other projects when she insisted at the beginning of 2021 that I was the only person she trusted to write her memoir.







Bumjin's speech was thoughtful. This was his first speech in English outside of an FSI-only event. What strikes me is that he is more of a listener than a speaker. That could change as he gives more speeches, but what I noticed about him is that he sought to get to the deeper questions that people were asking rather than what might be at the surface of the question. I was Bumjin's mentor for a speech he gave in Korean at an international event last year and he joined FSI shortly after that. He welcomed my critique and advice last year and he enjoys getting feedback. During his mentoring sessions with me and a volunteer, he sought to understand deeply and would think before responding. He said after this first real experience that he can already see ways that he can update his speech, based on the kinds of questions received. We are delighted when speakers update their speeches based on their experiences.







Chanyang's talk felt like an interactive lecture at a university. If she were a lecturer, she would be teaching the Socratic Method. But instead of challenging students, she would have them engaging with her together rather than in a semi-confrontational way. It felt like we had joined Chanyang on her journey to freedom. Chanyang first joined Freedom Speakers International in 2013 a few months after we began connecting North Korean refugees with volunteers. She has been giving public speeches for almost a decade and her comfort level was clear. With no notes, she led a discussion mixing in her story along the way. She added the speakers, co-founders and audience members to her lecture/discussion so that everyone felt included and informed.







Chanyang moved my heart during the forum when she said that I am one of the "top" people in her life and said some nice things about me. Back in 2014, she gave a beautiful testimonial about me, which she titled "Pretty Flower Man" I watch that whenever I get criticism from people (which means I watch it at least once a week and sometimes daily).







After questions, FSI co-founder Lee and I met with all four speakers to get their feedback and reflections on the session. We want to make sure the speakers understand how much we appreciate that they have joined our organization and are willing to share their stories. When we detect that they feel uncomfortable or that something else is troubling them then we do our best to find how we can cooperate better.







During reflection and feedback time, Bumjin said he was inspired by giving a speech in English and wants to study English more intensively so he can be a better communicator (he is more interested in making films than being a public speaker himself). Sharon didn't expect that she would be so emotional during her speech, but it is another year of her not being able to see her brother. Songmi and Chanyang said they enjoyed that there were four speakers because they could hear a variety of experiences from others. That last point might be surprising to those people who see a North Korean narrative of every story allegedly being the same.







After I pointed out that the four speakers had all escaped the same year, they said they felt a deep bond. They can all recall the scary time they went through as they contemplated when and how they would escape from North Korea.







Of course, in a 90-minute forum, not even one person can fully explain themselves in detail and we can't always be sure how much attendees truly understand. Still, such sessions give North Korean refugees opportunities to practice public speaking in English and to share their stories and thoughts with people from around the world. When they were in North Korea, they could not speak publicly unless they were repeating something they had been force-fed by the regime. In freedom, they can share their thoughts and experiences.







The speakers' stories are powerful reminders of the human cost of the North Korean regime's controls. All four speakers escaped to freedom in 2011, after enduring hardship and risking their lives, to join family members in freedom. If they had waited another year or two, they might have gotten caught or today they could be blocked from leaving the country because North Korea has sealed the border.











Casey Lartigue (CJL@alumni.harvard.edu) is co-founder with Lee Eun-koo of Freedom Speakers International (FSI) and co-author with Han Song-mi of the book Greenlight to Freedom.


By Scott Shepherd





This week has been a busy one in Korean politics. While everyone was still debating the rights and wrongs of President Yoon's diplomatic trip last week to Japan, main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was indicted Tuesday on charges of corruption and bribery. My attention has yo-yoed between the two stories all week, though there are some clear links between them.







Yoon's trip was an attempt to reset relations between Korea and Japan  relations which reached their nadir in 2019 with the boycott movement that followed a series of Korean court cases against Japanese companies over WW2 forced labor. Last week Yoon sought to mend relations through a bit of what seemed to be surprisingly deft diplomacy. He devised a compromise whereby Korean companies would voluntarily donate money to a compensation fund for victims.







If the compromise works, it's a win-win: Korean companies will be able to engage in some great PR by showing themselves to be on the side of the people, and at the same time a huge obstacle to Korea-Japan relations will be cleared away.







However, Yoon's plan was immediately met with a hail of criticism at home, the most vociferous of which came from Lee and his DPK party. Last Saturday Lee participated in a protest in central Seoul condemning the compromise.

, Lee went as far as accusing Yoon of "choosing to be 'a servant of Japan' while ignoring the tears of the victims." Yoon's government, according to Lee, was pushing for a deal, no matter "how illegal, how unconstitutional, how nonsensical," as long as it can "appease Japan." He even hinted that Yoon may have secretly made other concessions to Japan during the summit.







Throughout this political fight, Lee has been stoking nationalism. He has appealed to Koreans' strong anti-Japan sentiment by suggesting that the summit was "humiliating" to the country and even that Yoon "denied the independence of the Republic of Korea." But on Wednesday Lee pulled out his most powerful nationalist trump card by proposing a bill to legally recognize 25 October as Dokdo Day. The message that Lee is seeking to send is obvious: while Yoon has been off betraying our country, I have been defending Korean territory. I stand for the comfort women while he disgraces their memory.







Lee's response to Yoon's actions is clearly influenced by the pressure from the charges he faces, and it would be easy to dismiss this opposition as simply party-political maneuvering. After all, even before this week's indictment, Lee only avoided arrest after a surprisingly close vote in the DPK-held National Assembly last month. His robust criticism of Yoon's diplomacy could be read as an attempt to shift the focus of public ire away from himself and back to Yoon.







But setting aside the party politics and nationalism, it's easy to understand why so many would oppose Yoon's compromise. The issue of forced labor, and especially of comfort women, is a sensitive and painful one that takes a central place in Korea's image of its own past. There is sincere, heartfelt opposition to Yoon's plan which derives from a burning sense of injustice. Japan's colonization of Korea and the accompanying atrocities have left deep wounds, and real resentment based on fundamental principles of humanity.







Naturally, money cannot in itself heal those wounds. The reason Koreans seek compensation is not the sake of the money per se but rather what it is symbolic of. When a Japanese company pays compensation, it represents a punishment for and an acknowledgement of the crimes committed during the colonial period, however small it is and no matter how late it may come. If the entity coughing up the money is not Japanese, there's no point. And worse, Yoon's solution calls for Korean companies to pay.







On top of this, critics also demand an apology from Japan. Or rather, because Japan has actually issued several apologies in the past, critics demand an apology that is earnest. In 2018, for example, then-president Moon stated that Japan should apologize "with a sincere heart" even as he accepted that it was "undeniable" that a 2015 deal (which included a Japanese apology) over the comfort women issue was valid.







Going all the way back to the opening of relations between Korea and Japan in 1965, several Japanese leaders have indeed apologized (or expressed "remorse") for the country's past actions in Korea, but it does seem hard to believe that all of these were particularly heartfelt. Up to and including the present prime minister, Japanese leaders have acted in ways that seem to contradict the emollient language they use in diplomatic relations with Korea. The most obvious example of this is the tradition of Japanese prime ministers visiting or sending offerings to the Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates more than 2 million Japanese people who died in service of their country, including 14 Class A war criminals from World War II.







As many have noted, Japan's post-war actions compare unfavorably to those of Germany, a country that made lasting changes not just to its constitution but also to its society and its teaching of history.







With this all in mind, it's easy to see that Yoon's compromise is imperfect. There's no getting around the fact. There are only a handful of victims of Japanese forced labor left alive. They suffered terribly, and the compensation plan does not do them justice. Even if it was paid entirely by the Japanese government, it would not recompense the victims for what they suffered. Nothing could.







Moreover, reports this week have indicated that Korean companies are wary about donating to the voluntary fund. With the political climate as it is right now, this has the potential to become a serious PR problem for donating companies, rather than the great marketing boon that Yoon had hoped for.







And who knows what the next administration will do, especially if Lee survives the current political storm and wins the next election? Many companies are unsurprisingly cautious about being seen to side too obviously with Yoon.







So yes, it's an imperfect deal. But what else can be done? Japan has already issued several apologies, however insincere they may appear, and it paid hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation in 1965.







It is natural for Koreans to want more, and it is especially natural to want to see Japanese politicians seem more obviously sorry for the past. But it is impossible to force someone to be truly sorry for something. You can receive an apology, sure  and Korea has already received several  but you cannot force sincerity. A genuine apology can only come when one party recognizes the pain it has caused.







Ironically, if Yoon's plan succeeds and thus leads to closer ties, it is possible that Japan will in the long run provide a more sincere apology, as Japan's people and politicians gain a better understanding of the pain of their neighbors.







But looking at this from another, more practical point of view, it's not really clear that either Korea or Japan can afford to continue this fight. Korea is the tenth-largest economy in the world, while Japan is third, behind only China and the United States. Each country is the other's best and most powerful potential ally in the immediate vicinity. Together the two nations could present a formidable front to counter regional threats; cooperation would also lead to economic growth and cultural exchange for the good of both countries.







It is right for Korea to commemorate its past, including the atrocities committed during the colonial period. At the same time, in this world of global competition and strife, the country should look forward to expanded cooperation with its only democratic neighbor.







Appealing to nationalism is a tactic that works wonders for a politician in a tight spot. It's an easy and effective tool used the world over. What takes more courage is to defy that appeal and to seek cooperation with a former enemy, especially when so many issues remain unresolved. That is what Yoon has done. And while this compromise is imperfect, it's certainly better than the alternatives.











Dr. Scott Shepherd (scottshepherd@chongshin.ac.kr) is a British-American academic. He has taught in universities in the U.K. and Korea, and is currently an assistant professor of English at Chongshin University in Seoul. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.
Tennessee farmers are doing what it takes to protect their spring crops from the recent dramatic swings in temperatures. With highs in the 80s to overnight lows near freezing, sensitive crops like strawberries need extra support. From frost blankets to overhead irrigation, Tennessee farmers are taking action to defend the blooming fruiteven when it takes all night.If you drove past Jimmy and Karen McCulleys Amazin Acres in White County during the last cold spell, you might have seen the field covered in a layer of ice.The McCulleys and a team of five helpers skipped sleep to ensure their strawberries were protected from damaging temperatures. It was a long night for us, Ms. McCulley said. We kept watch on all our sprinklers and pumps to make sure there was a continuous water supply. By morning, I was covered in ice myself. Many of our plants still have yellow blooms, which means we were able to save our crop. We hope to have strawberries ready for picking by April 20.Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Plant Sciences Department for the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Dr. Natalie Bumgarner explains the principle behind freezing to keep plants safe. A frequent method to protect crops from frost or freeze damage is overhead irrigation, Dr. Bumgarner said. The basic principle is that irrigation systems apply water to the crop throughout the low temperature event. That liquid water continually freezes which releases heat to maintain plant temperatures near 32 degrees. When growers put this principle into practice, it makes the design and operation of the irrigation system vital to success of the method.Smith-Perry Berries in Hamilton County used another method to protect their berriesfrost covers. The temperatures got down to 22 degrees at ground level on the farm, Will Perry said. Some of our plants had only one cover and others had two covers. The single cover kept temperatures at 27 degrees and the double cover at 36 degrees. The row covers have been our safety blanket.Strawberry season is right around the corner and across Tennessee you can find delicious berries at a farm near you. Whether you are looking for pick-your-own, pre-picked, a strawberry festival or farmers market, you can use Pick Tennessee Products to find local fruits and more at picktnproducts.org or on the mobile app.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (hit the indictment of former President Donald Trump in a statement on Thursday.

She said, Once again, we see two tiers of justice at work. There is no limit to what the left will do to bring down President Trump, and todays indictment is nothing but a cynical, Soros-backed play to take down a 2024 candidate and former President.

"It is a gross abuse of power by a blue state government to fabricate the outcome theyve wanted since 2015.
A disorder was reported between two men on W. 39th Street. The first man told police he was driving west on 39th towards 40th Street when the street was blocked by a sedan. He said that he opened his door, exited his vehicle and asked people in the near vicinity to move the car so he could pass. He told police that as many as six people then surrounded his truck and began to throw rocks at it and spit on him. He described the second man as someone who was standing close by and was able to move the car and let him pass safely through. Police then spoke with the second man, who said that the first man was driving down 39th Street towards 40th Street and he began to honk his horn and yell expletives at the first man and the people in the area until the sedan was moved. The first man denied anyone throwing rocks or spitting at the second man. Police then spoke to the second man again, and he said that the first man was the aggressor after he thought about it. Police witnessed no damage from rocks being thrown or any spit on the first man's vehicle. There was no evidence of anything physical and both sides admitted to a verbal argument.



* * *

A man on Mulberry Street told police a vehicle was parked behind his house in the alleyway. The vehicle was confirmed stolen out of Nashville. Upon searching it, the owner's ID was found inside the vehicle and the key to the vehicle was found in the trunk inside a camera bag. Police took prints inside the car from the touch media screen and the rearview mirror. These prints will be turned into Property as evidence. Dispatch and police attempted to contact the owner, but were unable to reach him. The vehicle was removed from NCIC. It was towed by Expressway Towing. There is no suspect information at this time.

* * *

A disorder was reported between two women at a residence on Kenyon Road. The first woman is a resident at the address, along with her boyfriend, and the second is the daughter of the property owner. The two women don't get along and the first woman was upset because she believed the second woman had locked her out and taken her keys. The women were separated for the night.

* * *

Police observed a red pickup truck that was parked in the roadway at Old Ringgold Road in a manner of causing a traffic hazard. The vehicle was towed by A-1 Towing. Police attempted to find the phone number of the owner, but were unsuccessful. The owner could not be notified.

* * *

Police attempted to conduct a traffic stop in regards to an inoperable rear light displayed on a Kia Optima (TN REG) at 4600 Bonny Oaks Dr. The vehicle fled at a high rate of speed.

* * *

Police found a truck parked in front of a closed park entrance in front of the Waterhaven gated community. The vehicle did not appear to be on file. Upon running the VIN out of GA, it returned to the Ford truck. The people in the truck said they were getting their boat from the river. They were also bringing up a canoe from the river. The owner of the truck said he had just purchased the vehicle and had yet to get it registered. None of the occupants had any warrants for their arrest.

* * *

A disorder was reported at a residence on Lynnhaven Circle. A woman told police she had been in a verbal disagreement with her girlfriend. She said that it was just verbal and did not turn physical. She said the girlfriend owes her $300 which she wanted to collect. Both of them said that is what started part of the argument. The woman said she was from Iowa and had been living with her girlfriend since September of 2022. Police spoke to both women separately and they agreed to separate for the night. Neither one had any active warrants.

* * *



Police spoke with a woman on Brainerd Road who said she was homeless and was wanting to know if police could help. Police called around and discovered that all the women's homes in the local area were full. Police took the woman to the homeless coalition on 11th Street for her to hopefully get some help. The woman thanked police.

* * *

A caller reported an object in the roadway at 3743 Cummings Hwy. Police arrived on scene and found some gravel scattered in the road at the traffic light. TDOT was notified and responded to the scene to sweep up the loose gravel.

* * *

A woman on Austin Drive told police a man she used to date keeps coming to the apartment complex and harassing her. She said she made a report last year about it and he is now coming back around again. She said he threatened to spit on her kids and bother her. She only wanted this documented.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated 40,000 pounds of non-perishable food to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank on Thursday.

The delivery is one of two tractor-trailers scheduled to arrive in Chattanooga from Salt Lake City. The second delivery is set for April 19 and will contain perishable items such as produce, dairy, and meats. In total, the two deliveries from the Church will provide over 66,600 meals to 161,770 children, adults, and seniors in need across the food banks 20-county service area.

Cindy Adamz from the Hixson congregation helped organize the delivery. Ms. Adamz serves

as president of the Relief Society, the Church's world-wide women's organization, for the Chattanooga Tennessee Stakethe geographic subdivision of the Church consisting of 12 congregations in Chattanooga and North Georgia.

We are here to love and support our community, said Chattanooga TN Stake President Jason Isaacson. Our mission is to share Christ's love, and He taught us to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and minister to the sick and afflicted. Christ also taught us to be unified, and working with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank in feeding those who are hungry helps us all accomplish this goal in ways neither organization could do alone.

We are very grateful for the support from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said food bank Community Engagement Manager Kathy Martin. In addition to this tremendous donation of food, many Church members donate the gift of their time, volunteering at both our Warehouse and Foxwood Food Center. We simply could not

meet the needs of the people we serve without these dedicated volunteers. Working together in service to our community, we are able to provide hunger relief across our entire service area.

Foxwood Food Center is a grocery-store style facility where guests receive emergency food assistance and have the ability to choose additional supplies from fully-stocked shelves, fridges, and freezers. Ten percent of all food sourced by the food bank supplies the facility. Foxwood serves over 3,000 guests per month, and guests can visit every 30 days.

If you or someone you know would like to volunteer, please sign up here or contact the

food banks Volunteer Coordinator Kevin Lipski, at klipski@chattfoodbank.org.


A man uses a phone below a Samsung sign, during the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain March 1, 2023. Reuters-Yonhap



South Korea's Samsung Electronics is considering setting up a chip packaging test line in Japan, five people said, to bolster its advanced packaging business and forge closer ties with Japanese makers of semiconductor equipment and materials.



It would be the first such test line in Japan for Samsung, the world's largest maker of memory chips. It would also come as the United States increasingly urges allies to work together to counter China's rising might in chips and advanced technology.



Japan said on Friday it would restrict exports of 23 types of chip-making tools, aligning its technology trade controls with a U.S. push to curb China's ability to make advanced chips.



Samsung is looking to establish the facility in Kanagawa prefecture, near Tokyo, where it already has a research and development center, according to four of the people, all of whom declined to be identified because the information is not public.



Although details have not been finalized, including the timing, the investment would likely be in the tens of billions of yen ($75 million), one of the people said.



Samsung is looking to deepen cooperation with Japanese companies, two of the people said. Japan is attractive because of relatively low labor costs and the presence of leading chip equipment and materials makers, allowing Samsung access to a local "ecosystem," one of them said.



However, one of the people said deliberations were still in an early stage, adding the South Korean company was considering various options and nothing has been decided.



Samsung declined to comment.



Companies are racing to develop advanced packaging techniques, which involve placing chips with different functions into a single package, to enhance overall capabilities and limit the added cost of more advanced chips.



This three-dimensional packaging could also help manufacturers improve chip performance even as they push the physical limits of how small chip features can get.



The test line would involve the so-called back-end process of chipmaking, according to the five people, which refers to a process in which semiconductors are cut and assembled into products.



South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol this month made the first visit to Japan by a South Korean leader in 12 years, where he met business leaders from both countries.



Executives from the two U.S. allies pledged to work more closely on chips and technology. Washington has worked to improve commercial diplomacy with both countries, particularly focusing on chips, in an attempt to counter China.



Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's largest contract chipmaker, last year opened a research center in Japan's Tsukuba city, northeast of Tokyo, at a cost of about 37 billion yen, with 19 billion yen of that coming from the Japanese government. The TSMC facility includes a production line for research.



Samsung last year set up an advanced packaging team in South Korea. The country on Thursday finalized a bill offering large tax breaks to semiconductor firms and others that invest at home. Samsung said this month it expects to invest $230 billion over 20 years in South Korea's chipmaking sector. (Reuters)




The 50th anniversary Vietnam War Veterans Day program outside the Hamilton County Courthouse photo by John Shearer The 50th anniversary Vietnam War Veterans Day program outside the Hamilton County Courthouse photo by John Shearer The 50th anniversary Vietnam War Veterans Day program outside the Hamilton County Courthouse photo by John Shearer The 50th anniversary Vietnam War Veterans Day program outside the Hamilton County Courthouse photo by John Shearer The 50th anniversary Vietnam War Veterans Day program outside the Hamilton County Courthouse photo by John Shearer The 50th anniversary Vietnam War Veterans Day program outside the Hamilton County Courthouse photo by John Shearer The 50th anniversary Vietnam War Veterans Day program outside the Hamilton County Courthouse photo by John Shearer Previous Next

As I found a spot by a parking meter Wednesday and hustled a couple of blocks down Georgia Avenue as the noon hour had already begun, I initially could not see anyone on the South Lawn of the Hamilton County Courthouse.

I at first wondered if the program remembering the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and when the last U.S. combat troops had been pulled out of the country had been canceled or moved inside, despite the sunny weather. But as I approached the steps, I could hear the voice of Chattanooga-Hamilton County Historian and emcee Linda Moss Mines and knew the program recognizing Vietnam War Veterans Day locally was indeed taking place.

Once up on the lawn, I quickly noticed 10-20 graying men sitting in chairs near the front, with one or two of them needing pieces of support equipment like oxygen tanks. These were the men I remember in contrast as the strapping young adults who seemed larger than life when I was in elementary school at Bright School in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

But I was old enough to realize it was not a fun experience for most of them and that the war and how involved America should be was one of the most hotly debated arguments in this countrys history over the last 75 years. Should we fight the potential spread of communism at every place, including Vietnam, to keep it from possibly moving even closer to our shores, or should we not put American lives at risk dealing with a faraway countrys issues?

Yes, I still remember the horrific fighting, the physical and mental anguish suffered by soldiers, and even the verbal debates at home, when not everyone behaved properly on either side. It all still stands out to me despite the passage of time, and I recall that it was not pretty.

And as a person who never served in the military perhaps due in large part to the fact that my prime age of potential service in the 1980s was when virtually no American conflicts were taking place, I have also debated within myself the pros and cons of such wars. But as the son and grandson of veterans of Worlds Wars II and I, respectively, I have always saluted those who did answer the call to service and did it with grace, honor, and decency.

So, it was amid this personal history that I walked up a couple of minutes late and joined the program and took note of the fact that Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp and Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly were both standing there among the audience of about 75-100 people. I did notice the unexpected absence of a lot of local media, perhaps due to the fact the Hamilton County Commission meeting was still taking place inside the historic courthouse in this era of more limited media staff.

Except for a 21-gun salute that would come later, it was a quiet and peaceful setting on the well-manicured and tree-covered lawn  a sharp contrast to what most of the Vietnam War represented abroad and at home.

Ms. Mines in her gathering remarks talked about the various memorable battles and incidents of the war before adding, More importantly, today we remember the members of our armed forces who served in Vietnam and in support of the Vietnam War, young men and women, who for some of us were our brothers and sisters, our fathers, our high school classmates. They were for whom we prayed daily and sometimes hourly.

We pause to support those who served with valor, to say a prayer for those who fell and for the ones who loved them to pledge to not forget those who remain unaccounted for and to offer our admiration for those who endured the unimaginable hardships as prisoners of war.

Mayor Wamp, who spoke after the invocation by Bill Norton of the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council, mentioned that his administration under Charles Alsobrook has seen increases in applications into the Veterans Administration and more contact with veterans in the community. He also mentioned that Veterans Day will be an official day on the calendar for Hamilton County this year.

The mayor also stated that as the son of U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, he had more insight into the impact veterans played as what he called the backbone of the community. He also said he was familiar with the way Vietnam veterans were not as appreciated as veterans of other wars due to the debates about the war.

But he added, Your generation fundamentally changed the way we think about service abroad, the way we reek with gratefulness for those who have served. That is part of your enduring legacy.

We are immensely grateful for you all. In a tremendously dangerous era in our countrys history, you stood between a civilian population and foreign threats. We are tremendously grateful for you all.

Hamilton County Commission Chairman Chip Baker told those gathered that his father served in World War II and that his brother served in Vietnam with less fanfare than during his fathers time. When my brother came home, he was more silent, and thats the way it was, he said.

However, the commissioner praised the veterans as being worthy of salute, adding, We are indebted to you for your service, and thank you for our freedom and the sacrifices you made.

Circuit Court Judge Mike Dumitru told a heart-felt story of the fact that while he was not a veteran, he was a first-hand recipient of the democratic opportunities in America. He said his family was able to flee a Communist country (Romania) and come to America, and he is grateful for that.

As far as the concept of liberty went for my family, they never stood a chance until this country gave them one, the judge said. Their opportunities, their successes, their future children and grandchildren came to be an enormous part because of the service and sacrifice of our veterans.

I am privileged to have the opportunity to stand here today and look you in the eye and say thank you for all you have done.

Retired Air Force veteran and Chattanooga Area Veterans Council official Wayne Belk, the next speaker, said that he hoped Wednesdays ceremony would erase the negative reception some veterans received when they returned from Vietnam to a country divided over the war.

Each veteran is important to this community and with todays commemoration we hope to help erase the unpleasant moments many of our Vietnam veterans experienced upon their return home more than 50 years ago, Mr. Belk said. Today we salute you. Welcome home.

Retired Navy Capt. Mickey McCamish, the last main speaker, highlighted in several ways the world of the Vietnam veteran 50 years ago with today and said, Fifty years ago we remember that some Americans turned their backs on us, but we never turned our backs on AmericaVietnam veterans, you have earned your place among the greatest generation in America.

Then came a surprise recognition from the Daughters of the American Revolution Regents Council and Hamilton County Government  the 2023 Hamilton County Patriot Award to the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 203 Honor Guard.

They had been down near the flagpole on the southern end of the courthouse lawn getting ready for the Vietnam veterans flag raising and 21-gun salute and, to their surprise, were told to come up front to receive their award.

As the members seemingly over 70 years old each slowly made their way up, perhaps the most touching moment of the program came when one man, who was apparently a Vietnam veteran as well, shouted to them with pride, Men, you all are looking good!

Ms. Mines said they were certainly worthy of the award, adding, The scores of funerals they serve at each year is so profound to those of us who have seen them perform their duties.

Tommy Mitchell of the CAVC closed the program out prior to the 21-gun salute with the benediction, and the festivities were followed by a picture of all the veterans in attendance with Mayor Wamp and Mayor Kelly on the courthouse steps afterward.

As I was leaving to walk back to my car a few minutes later, I passed a member of the Honor Guard and, despite my usual shyness, thanked him for all his group does. He was walking slowly as he acknowledged me, but I by then had a giddier step after being inspired from the program.

War is complex, but I felt a simple appreciation for these graying men (and a few women) who in many ways were finally getting their day in the sun, or at least a heartfelt thanks.

* * *

jcshearer2@comcast.net
Jerome Hadley has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison for shooting a man who had kicked him out of a club last July.

Hadley, 63, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder.

He was arrested soon after the shooting at The Office club on E. 3rd Street.



Officers with the Chattanooga Police Department responded to reports of a person shot on April 2 at approximately 12:23 a.m. in the area of 1401 E. 3rd St. A gray sedan was seen driving west on E. 3rd Street in the area and police initiated a felony stop on the E. 3rd Street bridge. The driver of the vehicle exited and told police he had been shot. Police saw he had been shot in the arm and the chest, but his injuries were non-life threatening.

Medic 9 arrived and transported the man to the hospital.



As officers were conducting an investigation at the scene, a witness came forward and said they had seen the shooting take place. The witness said her vehicle was parked next to the victim's vehicle in the parking lot of The Office. She said she observed a vehicle traveling on E. 3rd Street pull up to The Office, and a black male got out of the back seat with a gun in each hand. She said the man walked up to the victim's vehicle and started shooting into it while the victim was sitting in the driver's seat.



The witness said she heard several shots and then saw the shooter running away from the scene. She said she recognized the shooter from earlier that night when they were at The Office and he was asked to leave the establishment by the victim. She said the shooter was wearing a black suit and he was approximately 60-62 years old. She said the man went by the name "Ronoie" or "Romie," but although she was not sure of his name, she could pick him out of a photo line up.



Officers were able to recover two shell casings from the parking lot of The Office.



When officers arrived at the hospital around 2 a.m. and were able to speak to the victim, they were told that earlier in the night a man known as "RonnieRome" was in The Office and appeared to be intoxicated. The victim said he asked the man to leave and they got into an argument, so the victim called the police. However, the man left before police arrived.

The victim said as he was leaving The Office around 12:20 a.m. and got into his silver Lexus sedan, he heard the woman in the vehicle next to him honking her horn and yelling to get his attention. He said he looked up and saw the shooter standing next to the driver's side of his vehicle, pointing a gun at him, and he saw the flashes from the gun when he fired the weapon at him. He said he reversed his car quickly in order to get out of the area, but the shooter kept firing at him as he drove away. He said the shooter was the same man he had been in an argument with earlier, and was the man he knows as "RonnieRome." He said he had a through and through gunshot wound on his elbow as well as a gunshot wound to his chest, and the bullet was still in his body.



The victim and the witness both positively identified Hadley as the shooter when detectives presented them with separate photo line ups.



Detectives obtained warrants for the arrest of Hadley for attempted criminal homicide, reckless endangerment, unlawful possession of a firearm, vandalism and possessing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
Alan Bullard, 76, of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, passed away in his hometown of Chattanooga on March 29, 2023.

Alan graduated from Chattanooga Central High School and Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tn. Alan devoted his life to improving the lives of people with developmental disabilities. As a young man he served as a counselor at Orange Grove summer camps at Double G Ranch and later taught at Orange Grove Center. Alan later moved to Nashville and began working in policy and development of necessary programs for people with development disabilities. He pioneered many of the first community programs across Tennessee that provided the support for people to stay in their home communities rather than living in institutions. He held several positions in state government, his last position being Regional Administrator for the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. He was the Executive Director of the Team Evaluation Center, Inc. for many years. As Executive Director, Alan developed programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities that provided individuals with assessments, health care, mental health treatment and therapy services across Tennessee, including the Chattanooga Autism Center.



Alan was a longtime member at Ridgedale Baptist Church. He was a member of the Lions Club, National Board member for the American Association of Intellectual Disabilities. Alan along with other Chattanooga leaders in the Social Services Nonprofit field developed the infrastructure for many of the programs that exist today.



Alan was not only the ultimate witty host, he always had a strong professional work ethic, first as an adolescent helping out at the family store Goodlets Market on Rossville Blvd and later assisting his cousin Jack Goodlet develop Park Place Restaurant in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA. He loved to travel at home and abroad. Continuing his service to others, Alan volunteered at federal parks and Meals on Wheels.

Alan was born to the late Ralph Bullard and Blanche Goodlet Bullard. In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by his brother David Bullard.

He is survived by his wife Pamela D. Bullard, Daughter Mary Martha McDaniel (Nathan); grandsons Payne and Arthur; sister-in-law Addie Bullard: nephews Jason and Shane Bullard; and an extended family of devoted Goodlet cousins, the Atchley family, and many dear friends.

There will be no visitation and a Celebration of Life service will be announced later.

Memorial contributions may be made in Alans name to the Chattanooga Autism Center, 1400 McCallie Ave, Suite 100, Chattanooga, Tn. 37404 or www.chattanoogaautismcenter. org or to the Chambliss Center For Children, 315 Gillespie Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37411 or www.chamblisscenter.org

Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com .

Arrangements are by the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson, Tn. 37343.
A body language expert looked closely at Prince Harry and Meghan Markles engagement interview and noticed the Duchess of Sussex seemed to deflect questions about her engagement ring.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Karwai Tang/WireImage

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle talked about engagement ring during 2017 interview

In 2017, Prince Harry and Meghan sat down with BBC for an interview following their engagement. They discussed how they met, dated, and the details of Harrys proposal.

When asked about the engagement ring, Meghan looked down and admired it. Then Harry began to talk about the ring design and the significance of the diamonds.

The ring is obviously yellow gold because thats her favorite and the main stone itself I sourced from Botswana, Harry said. And the little diamonds either side are from my mothers jewelry collection, to make sure that shes with us on this crazy journey together.

Meghan added, Its beautiful. And he designed it  its incredible.

The Duchess of Sussex was also asked what it meant to her to have Dianas diamonds on her finger. I think everything about Harrys thoughtfulness, and the inclusion of that and obviously not being able to meet his mom, its so important to me to know that shes a part of this with us, she said.

Meghan noted, Its incredibly special. And you know to be able to have this which sort of links where you come from and Botswana, which is important to us, and its  its perfect.

Body language expert analyzes engagement interview

Body language expert Judi James looked closely at the moment they discussed the ring during the interview, telling Express what Meghan thought about the rings original design. Meghan later redesigned the ring with a micro-pave band, so it no longer had a solid yellow gold band.

A very young bride on her first marriage will often be thrilled with any design of engagement ring, James said.

She continued, But as a very style-conscious woman in her second marriage, Meghan was much more likely to have her ideal design firmly in her mind and this could have led to her modifications.

The body langauge expert noted, Divorce does a lot to focus the thinking in terms of a second trip up the aisle, which can affect the choices of the husband as well as extending to the ring and the dress.

She added, Meghan and Harry are clearly in a very besotted stage of love here but Meghan is also probably well past the stage in life where a Haribo ring will do.

Meghan deflected a question about the ring to Harry

James looked at Meghans body language when she was asked about the ring, pointing out how she looks down with a smile but then looks up at Harry to deflect the question to him.

James continued, This is despite the fact that it seems to have been asked of her. Her ring hand is placed on top of their handclasp. This is so that the ring is visible but without being totally displayed. Its Harry who picks her ring finger up to show it as he describes what it is made from like a QVC salesman.

The body language expert also pointed out how Meghans body language response suggests its the emotional message that clearly affects and moves her more than the ring itself.

The expert explained, This is because she re-activates and looks up at the interviewer when Harry tells her that there are diamonds from his mothers collection there.

She continued, This seems most important to Meghan and she begins to gently rub Harrys hand with her thumb in a gesture of comfort and support.

James added, Even her next comment, He designed it, sounds and looks like a more maternal form of pride. Meghan tends to show the ring to herself more here, looking down and flexing her fingers as she does so.

Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a new method that can easily purify contaminated water using a cellulose-based material. This discovery could have implications for countries with poor water treatment technologies and combat the widespread problem of toxic dye discharge from the textile industry.

Clean water is a prerequisite for our health and living environment, but far from a given for everyone. According to the World Health Organization, WHO, there are currently over two billion people living with limited or no access to clean water.

This global challenge is at the centre of a research group at Chalmers University of Technology, which has developed a method to easily remove pollutants from water. The group, led by Gunnar Westman, Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry focuses on new uses for cellulose and wood-based products and is part of the Wallenberg Wood Science Center.

The researchers have built up solid knowledge about cellulose nanocrystals  and this is where the key to water purification lies. These tiny nanoparticles have an outstanding adsorption capacity, which the researchers have now found a way to utilise.

We have taken a unique holistic approach to these cellulose nanocrystals, examining their properties and potential applications. We have now created a biobased material, a form of cellulose powder with excellent purification properties that we can adapt and modify depending on the types of pollutants to be removed, says Gunnar Westman.

Absorbs and breaks down toxins

In a study recently published in the scientific journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, the researchers show how toxic dyes can be filtered out of wastewater using the method and material developed by the group. The research was conducted in collaboration with the Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur in India, where dye pollutants in textile industry wastewater are a widespread problem.

The treatment requires neither pressure nor heat and uses sunlight to catalyse the process. Gunnar Westman likens the method to pouring raspberry juice into a glass with grains of rice, which soak up the juice to make the water transparent again.

Imagine a simple purification system, like a portable box connected to the sewage pipe. As the contaminated water passes through the cellulose powder filter, the pollutants are absorbed and the sunlight entering the treatment system causes them to break down quickly and efficiently. It is a cost-effective and simple system to set up and use, and we see that it could be of great benefit in countries that currently have poor or non-existent water treatment, he says.

The method will be tested in India

India is one of the developing countries in Asia with extensive textile production, where large amounts of dyes are released into lakes, rivers and streams every year. The consequences for humans and the environment are serious. Water contaminant contains dyes and heavy metals and can cause skin damage with direct contact and increase the risk of cancer and organ damage when they enter into the food chain. Additionally, nature is affected in several ways, including the impairment of photosynthesis and plant growth.

Conducting field studies in India is an important next step, and the Chalmers researchers are now supporting their Indian colleagues in their efforts to get some of the country's small-scale industries to test the method in reality. So far, laboratory tests with industrial water have shown that more than 80 percent of the dye pollutants are removed with the new method, and Gunnar Westman sees good opportunities to further increase the degree of purification.

Going from discharging completely untreated water to removing 80 percent of the pollutants is a huge improvement, and means significantly less destruction of nature and harm to humans. In addition, by optimising the pH and treatment time, we see an opportunity to further improve the process so that we can produce both irrigation and drinking water. It would be fantastic if we can help these industries to get a water treatment system that works, so that people in the surrounding area can use the water without risking their health, he says.

Can be used against other types of pollutants

Gunnar Westman also sees great opportunities to use cellulose nanocrystals for the treatment of other water pollutants than dyes. In a previous study, the research group has shown that pollutants of toxic hexavalent chromium, which is common in wastewater from mining, leather and metal industries, could be successfully removed with a similar type of cellulose-based material. The group is also exploring how the research area can contribute to the purification of antibiotic residues.

There is great potential to find good water purification opportunities with this material, and in addition to the basic knowledge we have built up at Chalmers, an important key to success is the collective expertise available at the Wallenberg Wood Science Center, he says.
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Francine Compton and Graham Lee Brewer take on new roles with the Native American Journalist Association.
Cheshires Ball & Socket Arts is still looking for artists to help with a project called The Residents.

Director Ilona Somogyi is hoping to attract sculptors who can take existing materials from the site of Ball & Socket on West Main Street and transform them into a series of whimsical denizens that will then be placed around the property.

Its one of many things Somogyi and her group have planned for the site, which is being transformed from an old factory into a arts and retail hub.

We have amazing cultural collateral here in Cheshire, says Somogyi, a lifelong resident herself. There are so many really interesting and talented people in town. Were hoping to make (Ball & Socket Arts) a place where that incredible energy can really thrive.

The Residents is the name of a band who have performed their odd avant-garde music since the 1970s while wearing tuxedos and giant eyeball masks. Somogyi insists that she was unaware of the groups existence when naming the new program. However, Somogyi wondered whether the anonymous Bay Area band might be available to play at Ball & Socket as part of upcoming musical programming to be held on Friday evenings this spring and summer.

Such enthusiasm for whats possible at the old factory is shared by Director of Programming Lydia Blaisdell. who sees a number of potential uses for the space. Its someplace we see as very welcoming to all interests.

Having that kind of gathering place is a good idea for any town, Somogyi says, but people here are really excited to see an old building being used again.

Sweet Claudes Ice Cream has made a successful transition from its old home on South Main Street to Ball & Socket Arts Building 2. That transition, Somogyi stated, was a major indicator that things were trending in the right direction for the facilitys future. Its really beautiful to see sad old buildings being used again, she stated.

While the ice cream shop remains a major draw, more food offerings are also in the plans.

We want food trucks with three or four different kinds of cuisine, Somogyi explained.

Following the award of a $925,000 grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic Development back in November, work on a new parking lot accessible from Willow Street has begun in earnest. The hope is that it will be completed early in the summer, with paving slated for May. Preparation for the new parking lot was several months in the making, and represents the first formal cooperation between Ball & Socket Arts and the Town of Cheshire.

Facilities Director Bill Conant, who is supervising the ongoing work, says that the parking lot construction will eventually allow for pedestrian access from the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. Portions of a rusted fence will be removed and replaced.

Somogyi wants that new fence to be a work of art as well, with a call for artists for that project expected soon.

She also believes the trail offers unlimited opportunities for exposure, as it currently forms one section of the East Coast Greenway Trail that is envisioned to extend from Maine to the Florida Keys.

Ball & Socket could be a destination for trail tourists, who then spend time on site, she said. Although not confirmed, one of the possible retail tenants is a bike shop.

Somogyi is also looking forward to the eventual completion of Building 4, a former garage that she envisions expanding into a wood shop. The space could be used to conduct classes taught by local artisans.

We want to see what makes the most sense, but were not at all worried about filling the space, stated Somogyi.

Leasing out space in Building 1 will soon be possible thanks to a grant that will fund the installation of fire suppression systems. That money was secured through the efforts of Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-5).

Building 3 is scheduled to open in July with a photography exhibition and the plan is to eventually use the space for educational purposes, such as writing courses.

Project architect David Arai, of Maier Design Group, was recently awarded the Elizabeth Mills Brown Award from the American Institute of Architects Connecticut for his work on Building 2, which began back in 2019, and culminated with Sweet Claudes official opening in August of 2022. The award recognizes design excellence in the restoration, rehabilitation, adaptation, and reuse of historic structures, according to the Institutes website. Praising the reuse and incorporation of original materials, the jury commented that the work is great preservation that gives back to the community on so many levels.

The Ball & Socket Factory had already been operating for three decades when the Cheshire Grange was founded in 1885. The agricultural advocacy organization will honor Somogyi with a Community Citizen Award at its April 5 meeting, which is free and open to the public.

Im thrilled that this happened. Its a very valuable resource for town, said Somogyi, who will give a speech about her history with the organization.
Shareholders of KT verify their identification before entering the shareholders meeting venue at the company's office in Seocho District, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap



Company expects it will take at least five months to choose new CEO



By Baek Byung-yeul



KT vowed Friday to normalize its management quickly by improving its governance structure, as concerns are mounting over its future after failing to select a new company CEO, due largely to the government and ruling party officials' political interference.



After its CEO Ku Hyeon-mo resigned from his post on March 28, Park Jong-ook, the president and head of the company's Corporate Planning Group, was appointed as interim CEO in accordance with the company's organizational regulations.



"As the saying goes, 'the ground hardens after the rain,' we will try to overcome the current crisis and take another leap forward," Park said during a shareholders meeting in Seoul.



He admitted there had been "issues in the process of appointing the company's next CEO," and said "it will take around five months to appoint a new CEO. We will try to shorten the emergency management system as much as possible."



KT's management has been repeatedly swayed by political influence this year. Earlier this year, the government virtually forced Ku to step down and its largest shareholder, the National Pension Service (NPS), also opposed his attempt at a second term.



As Ku gave up seeking another term, KT nominated Yun Kyung-lim, head of its group transformation division, for CEO on March 7, but he also withdrew his name from consideration on March 27 after being criticized by the ruling party's lawmakers as an "avatar" of Ku, who had been appointed during the previous administration.



Also on the agenda for Friday's shareholders meeting was a vote on extending the one-year terms of three external board directors, but this was scrapped as they resigned just before the meeting.



During the meeting, minor shareholders strongly criticized the company's management for its lack of transparency and continuing to be influenced by political pressure.



A shareholder introducing him as an operator of a Naver online community for KT shareholders, demanded that the company "change the articles of the corporation, referring to the case of KB Kookmin Bank, which prevented non-professional politicians from taking key positions in the company during its next shareholders' meeting."



He also called on the company to increase dividends and retire its treasury stocks in order to improve the mobile carrier's value.



Meanwhile, KT added a facility rental business to the corporation's articles describing its business purposes after having it approved at the shareholders meeting. This change was made to expand its business-to-customer business and promote the facility rental business.


If you have ever found yourself at an upscale restaurant nervous about which fork to use or where to place your napkin, youre not alone. Plenty of people arent aware of many fine dining etiquette rules.

TikToker Coreea Antoinette (@iamcoreea) is an etiquette expert and consultant, and shes describing the importance of etiquette through a few personal stories that occurred during her college years.

When Coreea was in her first year of college, she visited her friends home state of Virginia; this friends family was pretty well-off. They went out to dinner almost every night Coreea was visiting.

While Coreea was at a fancy Italian restaurant with her friends family, she realized that her dining etiquette was not up to the proper standards. Coreea was at a complete loss when presented with the meal and tried to observe the family to figure out what to do.

Her friends mother noticed and patiently assisted Coreea with eating the pasta correctly and explaining the purpose of each of the different utensils.

In another similar incident, this time during her junior year of college, Coreea was visiting with her father when she made another etiquette error.

Coreeas brother had just graduated from high school, so they all went out to a steak restaurant to celebrate. She proceeded to eat her steak just like how she would at home.

Normally, she cuts the meat by running her steak knife through the tines of her fork. However, that was not the correct way to cut steak, and her father gently taught her the right method.

After those two incidents, Coreea knew she never wanted to be caught in a situation again where she did not know proper etiquette.

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MART PRODUCTION

A local TV station in Connecticut reported that the Archdiocese of Hartford is investigating a possible eucharistic miracle that may have occurred during a Mass at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Thomaston.

During the conclusion of the Mass on March 5, Father Joseph Crowley informed the congregation that a eucharistic minister had witnessed something unexplainable while distributing Communion.

Priest Reports A Eucharistic Miracle While Distributing Communion

According to a report in Catholic News Agency, Father Crowley continued to express his amazement and gratitude for the event, stating that it was a "very powerful, very awesome, very real, very shocking" experience. He further explained that they were running out of hosts, but suddenly more hosts appeared, which he believed was a bigger miracle than the miracle of the Eucharist.

WFSB Eyewitness News reported that the Archdiocese of Hartford is investigating this possible miracle. It is worth noting that the Vatican-endorsed exhibit "Eucharistic Miracles of the World" has featured 152 documented cases of such miracles, and only four have been recognized by the Catholic Church in the 21st century, as reported by the Magis Center.

A consecrated host that had landed on the floor of a church in Legnica, Poland, in 2013 was put in water to dissolve. However, instead of dissolving, the host became stained with red streaks. Forensic testing was conducted, which revealed that in the histopathological image, the fragments were found containing the fragmented parts of the cross-striated muscle. It is most similar to the heart muscle.

The Catholic Church investigated this event, and it was officially recognized as a Eucharistic miracle in 2016. The host is now preserved for public veneration in a tabernacle at the St. Hyacinth Church in Legnica.

The story in National Catholic Register continued that in 2006, a consecrated Host in the Chilpancingo-Chilapa Diocese of Mexico appeared to be bleeding. After conducting tests, it was discovered that the substance was indeed blood containing hemoglobin and human DNA.

Similarly, witnesses reported seeing the face of Jesus on a consecrated Host in Chirattakonam, India, in 2001. And in 2008, a priest in Sokolka, Poland, dropped a consecrated Host, which appeared to bleed. Further testing revealed that the altered fragment of the Host was identical to the heart tissue of a person nearing death, and the structure of the muscle fibres was interwoven in a way impossible to produce by human means.

These are just some examples reported as Eucharistic miracles that have been investigated and recognized by the Catholic Church.

Also Read: 'A Miracle From God': Nevada Woman Who Suffered From Serious Blood Clot Following COVID Jab Now Recovering

Eucharistic Miracles

There are currently 152 known Eucharistic miracles recognized and endorsed by the Vatican-supported "Eucharistic Miracles of the World" entity. According to The Real Presence, these miracles serve as evidence of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Many of these miracles have occurred during weakened faith, often due to someone doubting the Real Presence. While most of these miracles involve the Host appearing as human flesh and blood, Catholics believe that the consecrated Host is already the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus under the appearances of bread and wine.

These miracles are simply a tangible manifestation of His Presence. All of these miracles have received full approval from the Catholic Church.

Related Article: Miracle in Niger: American Missionary Freed from 6-Year Abduction '
Pixabay/Gerd Altmann

Pope Francis recently tackled the potential benefits of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology during a science and technology summit at the Vatican. The pope emphasized the need for the responsible development of these technologies and for engineers to prioritize human dignity.

According to the pope, if researchers and engineers approach artificial intelligence and machine learning technology responsibly, it can positively impact humanity's future. This is especially relevant as these technologies, such as the popular chatbot "ChatGPT," continue to become more prevalent in our everyday lives.

Responsible Development and Responsible Use of AI is a Must, says the Pope

According to the report in Fox News, during the "Minerva Dialogues," an annual event focused on studying the impact of digital technologies on society, held at the Vatican, Pope Francis shared his optimistic view on the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. He noted that throughout history, science and technology had immense benefits for humanity, and he believes that AI is one of the breakthroughs the human brain has developed.

The pope expressed his commendation for the intelligence and creativity of human beings and their ability to participate responsibly in God's creative action through technological advancements. He also stressed the importance of using AI in ways that respect human dignity and promote the common good.

Also Read: Rabbi Used AI to Write Sermon, Raising Questions About the Future of Religious Leadership

Pope Francis' Commendation of the Major Help of AI

The pope stressed on the importance of ongoing conversation about the responsible use of technology, which he believes should include religious values. According to Vatican News, he expressed his conviction that dialogue between believers and nonbelievers on fundamental ethical, scientific, and artistic questions and the search for the meaning of life can lead to peace and integral human development.

Pope Francis acknowledged the immense practical benefits technology has brought to humanity, particularly in fields such as medicine, engineering, and communications. He also sees these advancements as a testament to human creativity and the responsibility to participate in God's creative action in a responsible manner.

AI Might Increase Inequality, Calling for Responsible Use

The pope also expressed concern about the potential for digital technologies to increase inequality worldwide. In the article in Interaksyon, he emphasized that human dignity cannot be measured by data alone and cautioned against delegating important social and economic decisions to algorithms that process data collected surreptitiously on an individual's behavior and makeup.

According to the Pope, this data can be contaminated by societal prejudices and preconceptions. A person's past behavior should not be used to deny them the opportunity to change, grow, and contribute to society. He warned that algorithms should not limit or condition respect for human dignity, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and the hope that people are capable of change.

The potential of AI to increase productivity and ease every human being's everyday life is good, but the fear of AI domination is one of the things some experts and critics are worried about. Pope Francis' words are just a guide, a call, for people to use AI in good ways, and developers must not go beyond developing computer intelligence to the point that they themselves get degraded by their creations.

Related Article: AI in Education: How Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing the Classroom Experience
This is the second article in the Engaging Buddhism series which explores different facets of Buddhism and how Christians can engage with and minister to Buddhists.

What is karma?

Ask Taylor Swift and shell tell you, Karma is my boyfriend / Karma is a god / Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend / Karmas a relaxing thought. Its all the good things she gets for keeping my side of the street clean.

Justin Timberlake would respond that for his heartless ex, What goes around, goes around, goes around / Comes all the way back around.

Even Maria, the nun turned nanny from The Sound of Music, would argue that somewhere in my youth or childhood / I must have done something good to deserve the love of Captain Georg von Trapp.

Clearly, the idea of karma is part of the American consciousness. The idea of reaping what you sow is found in everyday life as well as passages in Scripture, such as Proverbs 22:8, Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.

Yet the worldview implications of the Buddhist belief in karma result in something far from a relaxing thought. For Theravada Buddhists, for instance, karma means you get what you deserve, and we all know that we dont want to get what we deserve, said Kelly Hilderbrand, a missionary and Buddhism expert at Bangkok Bible Seminary.

In this installment of Engaging Buddhism, we will look at how the same concept of karma shapes two Buddhist worldviewsthose of Thai Theravada Buddhists and Taiwanese Humanistic Buddhistsin very different ways. We will also see how Christians can speak into this Buddhist belief by providing deliverance from endless striving, hope in the face of weighty consequences, and true justice in a broken world.

Beings are owners of their actions

The concept of karma originated in Indian philosophy and religion and has been adopted by Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Taoism. While beliefs about karma differ depending on the religion and context, the word karma is derived from the Sanskrit word karman, which means act, and refers to the result of that action. Unlike in Christianity where God dispenses justice, Buddhist scholars see karma as a part of nature, like the law of physics: What you put into it is what you get out of it, Hilderbrand said.

In Buddhism, karma is concerned more about a persons intentions than their actionsour karma is the result of our hearts motives. Karma can be reaped in ones lifetime as well as in a future rebirth. Doing good deeds that adhere to the Eightfold Path leads to good karma, while transgressing those rules leads to bad karma.

According to some Buddhist traditions, the balance of our works determines whether we are reborn in a higher realm as angels or gods, in a lower realm as hungry ghosts, or even in hell. The goal is to move up through different life cycles until one reaches nirvana, which is the end of suffering and the cycle of rebirth.

In the Pali Canon, the Buddhist scriptures, Buddha says that karma is the way that leads to short life  the way that leads to long life  the way that leads to sickliness  the way that leads to health.  Beings are the owners of their actions, heirs of their actions.  It is actions that distinguish beings as inferior or superior.

As Buddhism has developed and spread over thousands of years, different schools have formed, with adherents viewing karma differently. Some dont believe in rebirth but still retain belief in karma in this lifetime. How karma works also differs from country to country, as various cultures integrate their traditional religions with Buddhism.

How karma plays out in Thailand

About 95 percent of Thais practice Theravada Buddhism, the oldest tradition of Buddhism, which hews closely to Buddhas teaching and emphasizes reaching enlightenment through ones own efforts.

Hilderbrand, who moved to Bangkok in 1999, found that the idea of karma is enmeshed in everyday life, regardless of how familiar a person is with Buddhist texts. When a car accident, natural disaster, or sickness occurs, people will mutter karma, resigned that it was the result of a persons actions in this life or a past life.

In a truly Buddhist worldview  if you are born ugly or crippled or poor, its because you deserve it, Hilderbrand said. And so, theres not a tendency to help other people, except insomuch as it gets you brownie points or earns you merit for doing so.

If the news reports that a rich person hit a poor person with his car, its accepted that the poor person did something wrong in her past and deserved what happened to her, Hilderbrand said. Unlike in Christianity, there is no concept that people are equal and have special value.

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People who are born poor or disabled accept that their role is to live off their karma while doing good to impact their future lives. Some parents wont permit their child born with a cleft palate to have surgery because it would take away the karmic duty that the person has to bear through this life and therefore wouldnt get the merit for the next life, said Paul De Neui, a former missionary to Thailand and professor of missiology at North Park Theological Seminary.

At the same time, De Neui has found that often people born with physical disabilities are the most joyful people hes met and are treated with a special kind of reverence despite their difficulties. They recognize their duty based on what has been passed on from a past life.

Thais are very self-aware of who they are and what their limits are, said Hilderbrand, unlike Westerners who have been taught that they can achieve anything. The challenge is that its difficult for them to establish a way of how they can better themselves, Hilderbrand said. For instance, if individuals arent good at math, they just accept that as part of who they are and dont naturally try to change their situation.

At the same time, monks must be physically perfectwith ten fingers, ten toes, no disabilities, and no birth defectsbecause it means they have good karma from their past lives. When Hilderbrands friend and fellow missionary came to Thailand, the government refused to give him a missionary visa because he was blind; in their worldview, being blind meant he had bad karma and couldnt be a religious teacher.

To escape their bad karma and make merit, Buddhists perform good deeds like giving money to the temple or helping the poor. Some feel overwhelmed by the constant striving to ensure the good outweighs the bad. Yet there isnt a concept of sin as Christians would understand it, Hilderbrand said; rather, its about balancing the scales.

So as a Christian speaking with Buddhists, Hilderbrand doesnt start with sin. Instead, he talks about how ones debt can be paid. We give them the good news: There was somebody who died to wipe your slate clean, to wipe the karma out  so that you can be reborn again and live with God, Hilderbrand said. Whenever I tell that good news to most people, theyre excited; it sounds great. The larger hurdle missionaries face is how integral Buddhism is to the Thai identity.

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A more compassionate Buddhism

The outworking of karma plays out differently in Taiwan, the heart of the Chinese Mahayana Buddhist world. Buddhism, especially a philosophy known as Humanistic Buddhism, has grown unimpeded on the island, unlike in mainland China where the Communist government tried to eradicate all religions during the Cultural Revolution. Buddhists make up about 35 percent of Taiwans population.

Humanistic Buddhism emphasizes integrating Buddhist beliefs into everyday life and caring for issues in this world. Its embodied in the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation: Formed in Taiwan in 1966 by a Buddhist nun and 30 housewives saving money to give to needy families, its now an international humanitarian aid group working in 100 countries and territories around the world. Tzu Chi volunteers engage in medical aid, environmental protection, and disaster reliefat times showing up to a disaster site before the government.

Mahayana Buddhists believe that bodhisattvas are higher beings that delay nirvana out of compassion to help the suffering. Karma and rebirth are still central tenets, but the doctrine has a different emphasis. While all Buddhists seek to alleviate suffering, Theravada Buddhists seek to accomplish this over cycles of lifetimes and reaching nirvana. Mahayana Buddhists are more concerned about alleviating suffering in the here and now.

Even if karma dictates that individuals did something bad in their past lives and deserve their situations, what always builds up good karma, regardless, is to help them in their suffering, said Easten Law of Overseas Ministries Study Center. If your priority is enlightenment, whats always good is to be compassionate: Its good for your karma, and its good for their karma.

In the late 19th century, Chinese Buddhists wanted to reform their religion and move beyond funeral rites, says Lai Pan-chiu, a religious studies professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. They saw the work Christians were doing in building hospitals, starting schools, and engaging in social issues and began developing their own. They even started youth fellowships and Sunday schools.

As these reformers transformed Chinese Buddhism from a religion for funerals to a religion that benefits daily life, more and more Taiwanese became adherents.

Humanist Buddhists see karma in a social or collective light.

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When you do something, you will affect not only yourself but others, Lai said.

For instance, when people commit crimes, they face the punishment of prison, yet it also affects their family members, friends, and the larger society. So, it is difficult to seek liberation in isolation: We are living in a web of causality or karma; we are interdependent.

As a longtime scholar of Buddhism, a pastor, and a participant in interfaith dialogue, Lai believes that Christians can learn from Buddhists compassion toward not only those within their own circles but also all people as well as animals and the environment. He also finds that Buddhists are clear-eyed about the expectations of facing hardships and suffering in their lives in a way that Christians are not.

Yet one thing hes found in Christianity that is lacking in Chinese Buddhism is a satisfactory answer to the question of justice. I think the Christian understanding of love and compassion is combined with the work of justice, Lai said. Buddhists will advocate that if you have some sort of hatred with others, the way to overcome it is to overcome your desire, overcome your hatred and forgive others.



Hatred causes bad karma, so it is in your best interest to forgive others. Buddhism can provide meditation techniques to overcome anger. However, Lai doesnt believe that this can achieve real peace, as it doesnt address the wrongdoing or create a system to prevent future conflicts. If you dont have justice, its very difficult to have reconciliation, he said. And justice  can be an expression of compassion, of love.

A Christian view of karma

Although passages like Galatians 6:8, Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life, can sound like karma, they present a completely different concept. In Buddhism, karma is like a law of nature, a reality that exists without any god setting it in motion or being in control. We deserve all that happens to us.

Yet Christianity teaches that God is the creator and sovereign over all. God shows mercy and does not punish us as our sins deserve, Hilderbrand said. Rather, on the cross Jesus died on our behalf in the ultimate act of justice and mercy.

Over and over, the Bible pushes back on the idea that every bad event is caused by a previous action: At times we face the consequences of our actions, but sometimes suffering isnt deserved or cant be explained. Hilderbrand points to two examples: the story of Job, where a cosmic debate between God and Satan reveals that Jobs sufferings were not caused by his actions, and Luke 13:24, where Jesus explains that the Galileans killed by Pilate and those who died when the tower in Siloam fell did not die because of their sins.

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When the disciples asked Jesus in John 9:1, Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? they were expressing a karmic view of the world. Yet Jesus answer reveals a more complex understanding of sufferingone that is in the hands of a loving, caring, and just God, not an impersonal force: Neither this man nor his parent sinned  but this happened so that that the works of God might be displayed in him (v. 3).

Hilderbrand saw this play out in his missionary friend in Thai: Although he was blind, he was a great evangelist, and many people in Thailand listened to him because they saw how he had overcome so many obstacles. For those who belong to God, God can take that suffering and use it for good.

[ This article is also available in  and . ]
Two and a half years after Jerry Falwell Jr. stepped down in scandal, Liberty University named its new president on Friday: Dondi E. Costin, the outgoing president at Charleston Southern University and a retired US Air Force major general and chaplain who earned a pair of masters degrees from Liberty.

Costins appointment represents the first time the school hasnt had someone named Jerry at the helm, as he succeeds interim president and longtime board chair Jerry Prevo and the two Jerry Falwells before him. Libertys founding family is still represented in leadership; pastor Jonathan Falwellson of the late Jerry Falwell Sr. and brother to Jerry Falwell Jr.has been appointed chancellor.

Costin, an Air Force Academy graduate who concluded a 32-year military career as chief of chaplains at the Pentagon, spent the past five years leading Charleston Southern, a Christian college of around 3,500 students in South Carolina.

There are fewer differences than one might imagine between the processes and procedure of the military and higher education, Costin told CTs Creative Studio in 2019. If you can survive and thrive in a complex bureaucracy like the Pentagon, then you can do it in a complex bureaucracy like higher education.

At the Lynchburg, Virginia, campus, some high-profile challenges linger. Last year, Department of Education officials launched an investigation into the schools handling of sexual assault claims, following a lawsuit from Jane Doe survivors and a campus movement calling for an audit of the schools Title IX office. Former president Jerry Falwell Jr. continues to challenge the terms of his departure, suing earlier this month over millions in retirement benefits.

But Liberty remains one of the biggest and best-known Christian colleges in the world, with a massive student body and an early, expansive presence in online education. Liberty offers 700 programs of study, 600 online. In 2022, total enrollment exceeded a record 130,000 studentsmany of them, like Costin, military service members and veterans.

Of the schools current undergraduate online population, 35 percent are military affiliated, Liberty reported last year. Over 38 percent of students enrolled in graduate online education are military students.

Costin earned five masters degrees and two doctorates, including a masters in religion and a masters in counseling from Liberty in the early 1990s. While a chaplain, he belonged to the Liberty Baptist Fellowship, which was founded by Jerry Falwell Sr.

When he spoke at a divinity school graduation at Liberty in 2015, he told students Liberty is my home. He shared about his call to the chaplaincy, which eventually led him to lead the 2,000-person Air Force Chaplain Corps.

When I was called into ministry, I told the Lord No thank you over and over again, Costin said. Similarly, Moses was in an impossible situation, and God asked him to do things that seemed impossible, and God told him not to worry. God gave him exactly what he needed to get the job done, and He will do the same for you.

Two years ago, Liberty announced that it would split Falwell Jr.s former role of president and chancellor into two positions. Focused on business and outspoken in politics, Falwell Jr. oversaw and directed Liberty as it expanded from a small Bible college to a major university, with a vision to build for evangelical Christians what Notre Dame is for Catholic young people or what Brigham Young is for Mormon youth.

The search process for Libertys new president, through the firm CarterBaldwin, took eight months. Jonathan Falwell, who followed his father as pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, currently serves as the campus pastor and executive vice president for spiritual affairs at Liberty. Prior to 2021, Jonathan Falwell had not held a formal position on campus; the new role of chancellor is his highest level of leadership and involvement at the school.

Johnnie Moore, a former campus pastor and senior vice president at Liberty, celebrated the new leadership, saying, Coupling the appointment of the new president with the reestablishment of the position of chancellor further anchors the university in its founding mission and vision.

Members of the Liberty community and critics have continued to call for more transparency and investigation around the boards oversight of Falwell Jr.s leadership.

To this point, Liberty has avoided a reckoning. Instead, it has promised investigations that two years on seem little more than appeasement and impression management, former Liberty professor Marybeth Baggett wrote for CT in 2022. As more Falwell and Liberty coverage mounts, we have a responsibility to no longer accept those fig leaves.

Others will also be looking to see how Costin handles the challenges he inherits from Libertys past.

The new president will arrive at a chaotic timean ongoing federal investigation, multiple lawsuitsand they need to address some serious problems, tweeted Save71, a group calling for leadership change at Liberty, including around the response to sexual assault. We hope to meet with them and candidly share what we believe are crucial and common sense reforms.

Correction: An earlier version of this article said Costin was Libertys first president not named Jerry; Jerry Falwell Sr. was the schools founder and chancellor, and Jerry Falwell Jr. held the position of president and chancellor.
Update (April 7):

Nearly all 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church (SHRC) will celebrate Easter in the United States. A week after the Bangkok police arrested the congregations 28 adults and 35 children, 59 of the members are flying to their new home in America. One pregnant woman and her family will stay in Bangkok until the babys birth, which is expected to be April 20. They are also released and staying in a hotel now.

The Wall Street Journal confirmed the groups departure from Thailand through a spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency and a Thai police official.

Thai officials had intended to deport church members who they had detained for overstaying their visas, according to the Journal. The congregation had relocated to the country after they were unable to gain asylum in South Korea, which they fled to in late 2019 and early 2020.

Now, the community will arrive in Dallas on Good Friday and then travel to the city of Tyler, where religious persecution advocacy group Freedom Seekers International has been working to resettle them. US activists credited the State Department for ensuring that the community arrived in America, rather than China.

SHRC members had long hoped to resettle in the United States, an outcome that had secured the backing of former Representative Frank Wolf, head of the US Commission on Religious Freedom, and ChinaAids Bob Fu.

As early as last year, churches in Texas had agreed to sponsor the congregation after their arrival, including providing housing, living expenses, and help settling in. The US has often provided resettlement or humanitarian parole for people facing persecution from the Chinese government, including formerly detained Uyghurs, human rights activists, and house church Christians (including a family from Early Rain Covenant Church.)

SHRC pastor Pan Yongguang told CT last year that the time in South Korea and Thailand had been the hardest time in my pastoral ministry.

On earth, Christians are sojourners. We can keep moving forward, but Thailand isnt my destination; neither is the United States. We are walking toward our heavenly home.

---

Members of a Chinese house church spent the night at a Bangkok police facility Friday after paying fines for overstaying their visas. Human rights groups fear that the 28 adults and 35 children who were detained Thursday could be repatriated to China where they would likely face prison time.

On Friday, a Thai court in Pattaya released the church members after they paid their fines. Deana Brown, one of two Americans staying with the group, told The Associated Press they expected to be able to return to their hotel nearby. Instead, they were put on two buses with police escorts and taken to Bangkok. A Thai police officer told the AP it was normal to bring violators of the immigration law to Bangkok for processing.

Yet confusion spread when one police officer told some church members that they were headed to the airport in Bangkok where they would be sent back to China, according to ChinaAids Bob Fu. Frightened, they forced the bus to stop and disembarked. Videos showed the church members, some crying, on the side of the road as two women said they had been hit and stepped on by officers.

Only after they were given reassurances by phone that they would not be taken to the airport did they reboard the bus and resume their journey, the AP reported. They were then taken to the Police Club in northern Bangkokas the citys Immigration Detention Center is notoriously overcrowdedwhere they will stay until they can get bailed out.

Their fears of being taken to the airport are not unfounded: In past cases concerning Chinese dissidents, the Chinese government has repatriated asylum seekers in Thailand immediately after their trial. If Pastor Pan Yongguang and his congregants are sent back to China, they will face retaliation, abuse, and prison time for speaking out about religious persecution, said Fu.

Members of Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, known as the Mayflower church, left China in 2019 due to religious restrictions and tried unsuccessfully to gain asylum in South Korea before coming to Thailand and applying for refugee status at Bangkoks UN refugee office.

Fu said that the raid didnt come as a surprise: Last week, the congregation noticed one member had been acting strangely. When confronted, he admitted to working with Chinas state security and had been coerced into revealing the groups location. Fu said church members last saw the man being escorted away by Chinese operatives, leaving behind his wife and daughter, and he hasnt been seen since.

Pan and the group went into hiding for a few days, then returned to their hotel. At about 11 a.m. on Thursday, about 20 Thai immigration police showed up and asked to see their passports and visas, which had expired in October.

Brown of Freedom Seekers International, an NGO that helps persecuted Christians, had just arrived that morning to help the Mayflower church members when the police arrived, some taking photos and videos. Around 2 p.m., they transported the entire group to an immigration center 30 minutes away.

Officials interrogated Pan and other church members. As night fell, Brown said the officials debated bringing the group to the Bangkok detention center, but ultimately decided to bring them to a nearby police station instead.

Concerned about the women and children sleeping on the floor, Brown said officials agreed to let them return to their hotel as long as they signed a form and agreed to be fingerprinted. However the church members feared that signing the forms could send them back to China, so they ended up spending the night at the station.

In the past, the Chinese government engaged transnational repression activities by abducting Chinese dissidents from Thailand, said Abraham Cooper, vice chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in a statement. We urge the US government to use all feasible tools at its disposal to ensure Mayflower Church members safety.

Fu noted that top US officials have been briefed on the Mayflower churchs situation and are deliberating what to do next, while lawmakers have been calling the Thai embassy telling them not to send the Christians back to China. ChinaAid and other groups have pushed the Biden administration to grant the 63 people immediate emergency asylum, as it has for fleeing Ukrainians and Afghans, as they face imminent danger from the long arm of China.

Since the church left China two years ago, it has drawn support from rights groups and American officials, including Rashad Hussain, the US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Freedom Seekers International and ChinaAid had already found six Texas churches that have agreed to support Mayflower church families for a full year after they arrive in the United States.

Led by Pan, the unregistered congregation held a vote and decided to leave China after facing increased monitoring and interrogations. Police insisted that Pan shut down both the church and the Christian school it ran, as well as ending contact with churches in the West. The congregation first flew to Jeju Island in South Korea in hopes of gaining asylum, only to find their appeals repeatedly rejected. (The Korean government typically rejects nearly all asylum claims from Chinese nationals.)

The group voted again to relocate to Thailand in hopes of gaining refugee status from the UN. Once in Bangkok, they found themselves tailed and harassed by CCP agents as they waited to go through the refugee approval process, which could take two more years.

Pray that the right people in the US government see their plight and allow Americans to rescue themjust give us that opportunity, Brown said early Friday morning from the Pattaya police station where she had spent the night with the Mayflower church members.

Pray for the church: They are all stretched, they all have PTSD, she said. Pray that they would be encouraged and have hope. It gets hard hiding for such a long time.

[ This article is also available in , , and . ]
This file photo shows Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, speaking during the Korea-Japan Business Roundtable at the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, in Tokyo, March 17. Yonhap



Japan's decision to restrict exports of major semiconductor manufacturing equipment is unlikely to affect Korean businesses, Seoul's industry ministry said, as it is seeking to have close consultations with Tokyo on the matter.



Earlier in the day, the Japanese government said it plans to restrict the shipments of 23 types of equipment used in chip manufacturing, including cleaning, deposition and etching, as it aligns with the United States' push to curb China's access to advanced chipmaking technologies, according to foreign media reports.






A spirit of devoted worship: 1,300 youth gather for discipleship event at Georgia church

Approximately 1,300 youth from 17 congregations gathered at a Georgia megachurch last weekend for a multiday worship and praise event, with many making commitments to Jesus Christ.

New Hope Baptist Church of Fayetteville's north campus hosted the annual "Disciple Now" gathering from March 24-26, centered on students in grades seven through 12.

The gathering, billed as the largest youth ministry gathering in Fayette County, included small group Bible studies led by college students and large group events led by nationally acclaimed speakers and worship bands.

New Hope Senior Pastor Rhys Stenner told The Christian Post that attendees had "an anticipation and a preparedness for what God was going to do."

"He softened and prepared hearts," said Stenner, describing the gathering as an "incredible time of worship from the first service to the last," with there being "unity among the churches."

According to Stenner, there has been a yearly increase in participation in Disciple Now since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pastor said that for Sunday morning worship, there were approximately 300 students and 12 "unexpected baptisms."

"The tremendous spirit of praise that morning was above the usual despite a terrible deluge of weather that morning," he recounted. "There was no dampening the enthusiasm, and probably the most joyous we had had on the Sunday morning of a DNOW."

Stenner hopes the gathering will foster long-term "unity amongst the students" and that they will be "a witness to others about what God has done in their lives."

The continued growth of Disciple Now comes as there has been an eruption of evangelistic outreaches among younger generations in recent months.

In February, students at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, began an impromptu worship service after their regularly scheduled chapel time, eventually transforming into a 16-day revival service in which thousands of people traveled from across the country to attend.

The constant worship service inspired spontaneous services at other college campuses, including some public academic institutions, as well as at churches and at least one middle school. Some Christian college students were even inspired to travel for hours to bring the spirit of revival to major universities like Ohio State University and Michigan State University.

When asked if he felt that the revival movement influenced this year's Disciple Now turnout, Stenner replied, "we don't think so, directly."

"There was a spirit of devoted worship and praise that was striking and noteworthy. It's always a good event, but there was a notable sense of reverence," said Stenner.

"On the last night, nobody seemed to want to leave. He is the same God."
Biden, Karine Jean-Pierre claim trans community 'under attack' days after Christian school shooting

Days after a trans-identified shooter killed six people  including three children  at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, the Biden administration reiterated its support for the "transgender community."

In a proclamation Thursday, President Joe Biden marked the Transgender Day of Visibility by calling on Americans to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination against all transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people as authorities continue to investigate a possible motive for the March 27 planned attack on The Covenant School, a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America), in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville.

The shooter, later identified as Audrey Hale, 28, of Nashville, was a former student at the school and self-identified as trans, according to Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake.

She was fatally shot during the encounter with officers, police said.

Her victims were later identified as children Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, two of whom were 9 years old and one who was eight and soon to turn 9, and Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.

Stating that trans-identified people shape our nations soul, Biden warned of an epidemic of violence against transgender women and girls [men and boys who identify as female], and cited last years Club Q shooting in Colorado, which police say was committed by a trans-identified gunman.

Citing discrimination, bullying, and harassment against trans-identified kids, Biden also touted his administrations efforts in pushing back against extreme laws that seek to ban puberty-blocking drugs for children and body-mutilating sex-change surgeries for minors.

Together, we also have to keep challenging the hundreds of hateful state laws that have been introduced across the country, making sure every child knows that they are made in the image of God, that they are loved, and that we are standing up for them, he wrote.

The proclamation concluded with a pledge to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination against all trans-identified people.

Bidens proclamation did not include any mention of the deadly shooting at The Covenant School earlier this week.

During a Thursday White House press briefing, in response to a question about how the Biden administration is responding to legislative efforts to place age restrictions on sex-change surgeries for young people, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded by saying trans people were under attack.

What is the White Houses message to these lawmakers that are passing these bills and to those who are taking to the streets to protest them? the reporter asked.

One of the things that we saw during the midterm election was that people dont want their freedoms to be taken, they want us to fight for their freedoms, said Jean-Pierre. And so, it is shameful, it is disturbing, and our hearts go out to the trans community, as they are under attack right now."

Karine Jean Pierre three days after the murder of three 9-year-olds and three senior citizens at a Christian School -



"Our hearts go out to the trans community..." pic.twitter.com/QycFT0ecPU  The First (@TheFirstonTV) March 30, 2023

Jean-Pierre did not make any specific mention of the Christian community in any official White House briefing in the wake of the shooting, instead opting to reiterate the presidents call for an assault weapons ban.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday whether he believed Christians were targeted in the Nashville Christian school shooting, Biden smiled and said, I have no idea.

When the reporter noted that Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a staunch conservative and prominent critic of the president, believes Christians were targeted in the shooting, Biden replied, "Well, I probably don't then." After chuckling, he clarified that he was joking, reiterating, "I have no idea."

On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said federal investigators are not yet investigating the mass shooting at the Christian school as a hate crime, arguing that a motive has not been established yet.

During a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana asked Garland about how the shooting at The Covenant School, where a trans-identified shooter killed three children and three adults, was being investigated.

I realize that the shooter is dead, but the shooter could have had collaborators, said Kennedy. Do you plan on opening a hate crime investigation for the targeting of Christians?

Garland responded that both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene, working with the local police.

As of now, motive hasnt been identified, said Garland. We are certainly working full time with them to try to determine what the motive is, and of course motive is what determines whether it is a hate crime or not.

The Covenant School was tied to a church affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America, a denomination that holds theologically conservative views on marriage and sexuality.

Hawley sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, calling for them to investigate the mass shooting as a hate crime.

According to Nashville law enforcement, Hales attack was both premeditated and targeted against this Christian school, its students and employees, wrote Hawley. I urge you to immediately open an investigation into this shooting as a federal hate crime.
Dozens help Samaritan's Purse meet the physical, spiritual needs of Mississippi tornado victims

Over 100 volunteers serving with the Evangelical humanitarian charity Samaritan's Purse are meeting the physical and spiritual needs of those impacted by the series of deadly tornadoes that tore through a 100-mile swath of Mississippi last Friday, taking over two dozen lives.

Sending tractor trailers filled with relief supplies and equipment, Samaritan's Purse has set up bases in Rolling Fork in the Delta region of Mississippi, and Amory, located near the Alabama border.

With operational bases set up at local churches, Samaritan's Purse volunteers have been helping to tarp damaged roofs, clearing debris from damaged properties and praying with the people whose homes are lost or in need of repair.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham, the son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham, said that 16 chaplains with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Rapid Response Team have been deployed to the region.

The 70-year-old Graham emphasized the spiritual aspect of the relief efforts, stressing that the goal is to help people by repairing or cleaning up their homes and ministering to them.

"A lot of times, after a tragedy like this, people think that God is mad at them or maybe God is judging them," Graham said. "And I want to know God isn't mad at us and is not judging us."

"We all go through storms in life; Jesus had storms in his life," Graham continued. "And how do we handle those storms? If we put our faith and trust in Christ, He will take us through that storm and get us to the other side."

Graham visited residents of Rolling Fork on Wednesday, including Liz Estes, a widow and caregiver to a son with Parkinson's disease. Samaritan's Purse volunteers helped Estes place tarps on her damaged roof and helped clear away tree limbs and debris.

"My granddaughter called me and said, 'the tornado is coming,'" Liz told the Grahams, according to a post on the Samaritan's Purse website. "I didn't know what to do. The next thing I knew, stuff started flying around. Glass and debris blew all through the house."

Samaritan's Purse's operational base for the Rolling Fork area is based out of Lake Washington Baptist Church, led by Pastor Jimmy Mclendon.

"God's just provided in tremendous ways," Mclendon told the Grahams. "We're grateful for you all. I was one of those kids that grew up watching Billy Graham on TV. So many of us have been impacted by your ministry."

Graham told CP that Samaritan's Purse is looking to deploy 100 mobile vans to help house people left without a home due to the storm. The number of vans could even go up to 1,000.

Jason Kimak, senior director of North American Ministries for Samaritan's Purse, said he had seen houses nearly split in two by fallen giant oak trees. Kimak remembered seeing only the "footprint" of where a mobile home once stood.

Kimak said that 12 Samaritan's Purse staff members are split between the two sites in Rolling Fork and Armory, with dozens of volunteers. When he spoke with CP on Monday, Kimk said there were 70 volunteers, noting that people who live in the community have also stepped up to help with relief efforts along with people from across the country.

But the number of volunteers has about doubled since then as the organization shared Wednesday that over 130 volunteers have joined in to help clean up debris at more than a dozen homes.

"We have, and they have a heart to be the hands and feet of Jesus," Kimak said. "And they want to just come and love all of these people in Mississippi by helping them get their homes back to where they can get back in them or to just help get them cleaned up so they move on from there."

"We're here to take care of the physical, but we also do this because of the goodness of the Gospel," he added.

Volunteers can sign up to help through the Samaritan Purse website. The organization has partnered with local churches to provide volunteers with housing and food.

In terms of the cost of the relief efforts, Kimak said that's is difficult to say at this point, but he added that the organization is working on calculating an exact number.

"That'll be determined as we're taking work orders and helping people," he said, adding that Samaritan's Purse has "very generous donors," who he believes fully understand why the organization brings relief to areas left devastated by disasters.

"We go in the name of Jesus Christ," he said. "We go because the Bible compels us to share the Gospel. And we go to help people just like the Good Samaritan. Our donors believe in what we do and that we are going to go and help with the physical, but also to share the Gospel as well."

According to a Sunday statement from the office of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, the EF-4 tornado that swept through the state killed 25 people, in addition to destroying hundreds of homes and injuring dozens. The statement also announced that the White House had approved Reeves' request for Individual and Public Assistance for the counties impacted by the tornado.

On Friday, Reeves issued a State of Emergency in all counties affected by, or that may have been affected by, the storm. The document instructed all agencies in the state to discharge their emergency responsibilities as deemed necessary "as set forth in the State of Mississippi's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan."
Covenant School refutes claim Nashville shooter received counseling from school pastor

A former pastor at the Christian school in Nashville where a trans-identified shooter killed three adults and three children corrected the record about his allegation that the assailant previously received counseling from the school's current pastor.

In a statement provided to The Daily Mail Thursday, a spokesperson for The Covenant School confirmed that its Pastor Chad Scruggs "was not counseling the shooter" and stressed that police have been clear "that no one was targeted in the shooting."

The need for clarification came after former Covenant School Pastor Jim Bachman made headlines after he said in a Wednesday interview with Inside Edition he had heard Scruggs was privately counseling the shooter, Audrey Hale, 28.

Hale, who identified as a man, was a former student at the school.

Based on surveillance footage released by police, Bachman surmised that Hale could have been searching for the current pastor on the day of the shooting. He believed that the shooter might have targeted Scruggs due to a disagreement that the pair had during a counseling session.

The former pastor also speculated that Hale may have intended to kill Scruggs' other children, including his two boys who attend another private school. Since Scruggs was not present during the shooting, Bachman suggested that Hale may not have shot his daughter if she had succeeded in finding him.

"She was a very normal, happy-go-lucky little girl who liked to play kickball with the boys, and her parents were wonderful people," Bachman said, saying he knew Hale when she attended the school over 20 years ago.

However, Bachman told The New York Post Thursday that his previous statement was incorrect. He said there was some "confusion," as Hale had received counseling years ago, but Scruggs was not counseling her.

"But these last two days, I've had several messages from an assortment of people that not only was there no counseling between those two, that he didn't even know her," Bachman said.

The Covenant Christian school reached out to the former pastor, informing him that Scruggs was not counseling Hale and that he did not know the shooter. Bachman told The Post that his thoughts on the shooting were influenced by social media and his perception of the surveillance footage.

The shooting occurred Monday morning at The Covenant School, claiming the lives of school head Katherine Koonce, 60, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and chef Mike Hill, 61. The three children murdered by the shooter were Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9, William Kenney, 9, and Hallie Scruggs, 9, who is also the daughter of the school's current pastor, Chad Scruggs.

The Covenant School is affiliated with the Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America.

As The Christian Post reported Monday, authorities discovered that Hale had a detailed map of the school. Hale was armed with two "assault-type rifles and a handgun."

Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said that the shooter gained entry into the school by shooting through one of the doors.

"We have a manifesto. We have some writings that we're going over that pertain to this day, the actual incident. We have a map drawn out about how this was all going to take place," Drake said.

During one of three daytime news conferences on Monday, the police chief admitted that he was moved to tears watching the students run from the property and toward the trees near the property for protection from the shooter.

Police received calls about the shooter at 10:13 a.m., and by 10:27 a.m., Hale was killed by police on the school's second floor.

On Twitter Tuesday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee released a video about the shooting, stating that all of Tennessee was "hurting" the day of the event. The Republican governor reminded people there is "hope in the midst of great tragedy," stressing that "God is a redeemer."

"What is meant for evil can be turned for good," Lee said. "May we grieve in the days ahead, but not without hope. May we also act with wisdom, discernment, and grace. And may we love, especially those who have lost."
Kentucky becomes latest state to ban puberty blockers, sex-change surgeries for kids

Kentucky has become the latest state to ban puberty-blocking drugs and body-mutilating sex-change surgeries for youth younger than 18 after lawmakers overrode a veto by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.

The Republican-led Legislature overwhelmingly voted to override Beshears veto on Senate Bill 150 Wednesday, voting 29-8 in the Senate followed by 76-23 votes in the House.

Kentucky state police arrested 19 protesters who were in the House gallery during the proceedings in response to their refusal to stop shouting and chanting after they had been told to keep quiet, reported Politico.

I think its unfortunate that it reached that level and certainly they were given, as Ive been told since then, multiple opportunities to either quiet their chants or to leave voluntarily, said Republican House Speaker David Osborne, as quoted by Politico.

The American Principles Project, a socially conservative organization, celebrated the bill's passage, noting that it makes Kentucky the 13th state to pass such measures.

APP President Terry Schilling said in a statement on Wednesday that many children have been indoctrinated with the spurious idea that they can be born in the wrong body and encouraged to respond to any discomfort with their identity by pursuing life-altering, dangerous drugs and medical procedures.

As weve seen this week, this ideological assault on our society has the potential to produce deadly consequences. Lawmakers are not only right to respond; they have an obligation to do so, Schilling said.

We are grateful to Kentucky legislators for standing firm and passing this strong law to protect their states children and families, despite Gov. Beshears disgraceful decision to veto it. And we look forward to even more states taking similar actions in the coming days.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky denounced the lawmakers' votes to override the governor's veto and vowed that they will consider legal action against the new law.

Trans Kentuckians, medical and mental health professionals, and accredited professional associations pleaded with lawmakers to listen to the experts, not harmful rhetoric based in fear and hate, said ACLU-KY Executive Director Amber Duke in a statement on Wednesday.

To all the trans youth who may be affected by this legislation: we stand by you, and we will not stop fighting. You are cherished. You are loved. You belong. To the commonwealth: we will see you in court.

Earlier this month, Kentucky lawmakers overwhelmingly passed SB 150, which, among other things, bans prescribing puberty blockers, chemical castration, physical castration and other surgeries on minors with the purpose of trying to look more like the opposite sex. Often, youth are left with maimed bodies that no longer function sexually after removing sex organs and having surgeries that mutilate their genitals.

The bill also prohibits the Kentucky Department of Education from requiring school faculty to have to use the chosen pronouns of trans-identified youth, bans the study of gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation in schools and requires students to use facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms that are designated for their biological sex rather than their chosen gender identity.
Liberty University appoints new president, chancellor over 2 years after Falwell Jr.'s resignation

The board of trustees for Liberty University has unanimously appointed retired Maj. Gen. Dondi E. Costin as its new president and Pastor Jonathan Falwell as chancellor.

In a statement emailed to The Christian Post Friday, the Lynchburg, Virginia-based Evangelical institution stated that Costin, the former president of Charleston Southern University, and Falwell, the pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church and son of Liberty founder Jerry Falwell Sr., will assume their leadership roles in advance of the 2023-2024 school year.

"As one whose life and ministry have been profoundly shaped by Liberty University, I can think of no educational institution with more global impact than my two-time alma mater," said Costin.

"[My wife] Vickey and I look forward to locking arms with the Liberty family as we honor the University's past and drive toward its future. With God's help and for His glory, the very best days of our great University are still ahead of us."

Falwell, whose late father founded Liberty in 1971, said he looks "forward to serving alongside our exceptionally qualified new president to impact more lives than ever before with Christ-centered education."

"With this transition we are recommitting our institution to its founding, and singular, mission:

Training Champions for Christ," Falwell said.

While serving as chancellor of Liberty, Falwell will remain lead pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, a Lynchburg congregation where his late father also served as senior pastor.

Interim President Jerry Prevo, a former chair of the school's board of trustees who took over as president in 2020 following the resignation of former President Jerry Falwell Jr., will transition to the role of president emeritus.

A former general in the U.S. Air Force and military chaplain, Costin led Charleston Southern University, a private Christian university located in South Carolina, during a period of enrollment growth and campus expansion. Costin oversaw the construction of several new on-campus buildings and the expansion of CSU's academic programs.

According to the Liberty announcement, CSU set fundraising records and "significantly improved its overall rankings, and dramatically exceeded freshmen enrollment goals." Costin most recently was elevated to the role of Big South Conference president.

Last August, Liberty announced that the Georgia-based group CarterBaldwin Executive Search would conduct the search for the university's next president.

"The selection by the trustees of a national executive recruiter clearly demonstrated Liberty's

commitment to excellence and its determination to work with the absolute best advisors to help us identify the right leaders to guide Liberty University into the future," Board Chairman Tim Lee said in a statement.

"The combination of President Costin and Chancellor Falwell not only bring the gravitas and experience necessary to lead the University exceptionally well, but with perfect cultural alignment. They will ensure Liberty University remains focused entirely on Training Champions for Christ to impact the world in every vocation."

Johnnie Moore, a prominent Evangelical public relations executive who worked at Liberty University for 13 years, including a stint as its senior vice president of communications, called Costin's hiring a "tremendous decision."

"Objectively speaking, very few college presidents in America have the qualifications of Dr. Dondi Costin. He is the right leader at the right time," Moore said in an email to The Christian Post. "Coupling the appointment of the new president with the reestablishment of the position of Chancellor further anchors the university in its founding mission and vision. This is a very good day for Liberty University and for Christian higher education. These wise decisions will make the Liberty community proud."

The news comes as the school deals with litigation from former president and chancellor, Jerry Falwell, Jr., the brother of incoming chancellor Jonathan Falwell.

Earlier this month, Falwell Jr. filed a lawsuit against the university, claiming he is owed $8.5 million in retirement funds after being forced to resign in August 2020 amid a personal scandal.

Liberty released a statement stating that the newly filed complaint is "part of a larger dispute currently pending in state court."

"The University will defend the new action on the same grounds it has already pled on the record in the state case. Liberty is confident it is not legally required to pay these funds and will file the appropriate responses with the federal court," the statement reads.

Liberty filed a lawsuit against Falwell in April 2021 seeking $10 million in damages, accusing him of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and statutory conspiracy.
Attacks on Christian schools inevitable' amid rising violence permeating society: Christian education expert warns

The head of an organization dedicated to supporting Christian private schools in the United States and abroad believes violence against Christian private academic institutions in the U.S. is on the rise and inevitable.

On Monday, a trans-identified woman entered The Covenant School of Nashville, Tennessee, and opened fire, killing three children and three adults before being shot dead by police.

Although a specific motive has not been officially endorsed, police have noted that the shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, had written works expressing contempt for the targeted private Christian school, a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America), in the Green Hills neighborhood.

Larry Taylor, president of the Association of Christian Schools International, told The Christian Post on Friday that he was "grieving and praying for the families" impacted by the mass shooting. His organization has also offered support for those traumatized by the tragedy.

Although Taylor doesn't believe violence against Christian schools and other entities is as bad in the U.S. as it is elsewhere in the world, he lamented that with the trend and the combination of the ultra-polarized citizenship we have, we are seeing an increase of violent protests and attacks."

So, I don't think today we are worried about our Christian schools and churches being attacked, but if the trend continues, I think it would be inevitable, said Taylor. Not just for Christian schools, but also for other faith-based services. I don't think private Christian schools or churches or any faith-based organizations, I don't think they're immune to the inevitable violence that is permeating our society.

He added that he's proud of our Christian schools in the United States and around the world for the safety precautions that they take both for the well-being of children and their physical safety."

Taylors comments come as debates have raged in Congress about advancing possible legislation to increase school security, such as Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas championing two bills, the Securing Our Schools Act and the Protect Our Childrens Schools Act.

In comments made Thursday on the Senate floor, Cruz pointed out that he had previously sponsored similar legislation in the past session, only for it to be blocked by Senate Democrats.

I wish I wasnt back here today. I wish this had passed last year, said Cruz. We have an opportunity right now to double the police officers on campus and keep kids safe.

These bills would be the most significant investment in school security ever enacted by Congress  doubling the number of police officers in schools and improving the physical security of our schools. I call on my colleagues to act with me and pass this legislation now to protect our children in school.

Cruz said his bill would also allocate $10 billion to assist mental health professionals on campus and $2.56 billion for enhanced security on school campuses.

Democrat Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state objected to the proposed legislation, arguing in comments on the floor that they are not serious attempts to make our kids safer.

You don't come down here and introduce a piece of legislation, and two minutes later, demand that the entirety of the Senate agree to it without any debate, any negotiation, Murray argued.

They're not even fully formed pieces of legislation. This thing is so ham-handed that one of the bills, there's literally brackets and question marks in the text.

Regarding what legislation he preferred Congress to pass on this issue, Taylor told CP that his organizations big priority with any new laws is that they give equal access to private schools.

Private school families are tax-paying citizens. They add value to the common good of every community. Even so, I would say, whether it's federal or state, if there's any type of legislation, there should be no strings attached, equal access, he said.
Virginia passes law requiring govt to treat churches, secular businesses equally during emergencies

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has signed a bill into law that prohibits the state government from unfairly imposing restrictions on houses of worship that are more severe than secular entities during public emergencies.

Known as House Bill 2171, Youngkin signed the legislation on Sunday, being one of several bills on a host of issues that received bipartisan support that he signed earlier this week.

No rule, regulation, or order issued by the Governor or other governmental entity pursuant to this chapter shall impose restrictions on the operation of a place of worship that are more restrictive than the restrictions imposed on any other business, organization, or activity, reads the bill, in part.

The law is slated to take effect on July 1.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal nonprofit specializing in religious freedom cases that has successfully argued cases before the United States Supreme Court, celebrated the passage of HB 2171.

ADF Legal Counsel Greg Chafuen said in a statement released Monday commending Youngkin and the Virginia General Assembly for taking action to defend religious freedom in Virginia.

While public officials have the authority and responsibility to protect public health and safety, the First Amendment prohibits the government from treating churches worse than shopping centers, restaurants or gyms, Chafuen stated.

This bill takes the modest step of ensuring that officials cannot use a public crisis to discriminate against religious services in churches and other houses of worship.

Introduced in January by Republican Delegate Wren M. Williams, HB 2171 was approved by the General Assembly last month, first in the Senate in a vote of 35-5, and then in the House of Delegates in a vote of 53-43.

Virginia is among multiple states that have passed laws aimed at making sure the state government doesn't impose more stringent regulations on houses of worship than secular businesses during times of emergency.

These proposed laws stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic, in which litigation was filed in several states because Christians and other religious communities believed they were being treated unfairly.

In the case of the pandemic, these included state restrictions that allowed secular businesses more in-person capacity than church buildings and less strident social distancing.

In November 2020, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo that houses of worship could not be singled out for especially harsh treatment by government emergency provisions.

Members of this Court are not public health experts, and we should respect the judgment of those with special expertise and responsibility in this area. But even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten," read the per curiam opinion.

"The restrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendments guarantee of religious liberty.
Free speech group sues West Texas A&M for canceling drag show, cites president's 'belief' about being created in Gods image

A student free speech advocacy group is suing the president of a Texas university after he invoked biblical language about man being created in Gods image in defense of his decision to cancel an on-campus drag show.

The lawsuit filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) alleges West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler and other university officials violated students First Amendment right to hold an on-campus charity drag show following Wendlers decision to cancel the show scheduled for March 31.

In a March 21 statement, Wendler shared his view that he believes it's not possible to hold a harmless drag show, calling such events derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny.

I believe every human being is created in the image of God and, therefore, a person of dignity. Being created in Gods image is the basis of Natural Law, he wrote. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, prisoners of the culture of their time as are we, declared the Creators origin as the foundational fiber in the fabric of our nation as they breathed life into it.

Does a drag show preserve a single thread of human dignity? I think not.

In response, FIRE sent a letter to Wendler stating it was seriously concerned by his decision as well as his stated belief that [b]eing created in Gods image is the basis of Natural Law.

As the president of a public university bound by the Constitution, your opinions on Natural Law are subordinate to your obligations under  as you dismissively put it  the law of the land, that is, the First Amendment, which protects student expression regardless of whether you condone it, the letter stated.

Comparing drag shows to other forms of theatrical performance, the letter further stated such performances are expressive conduct shielded from government censorship. It cited a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit which, according to FIRE, reflects the First Amendments longstanding protection for expressive events some people nonetheless find offensive, including blackface performances.

The lawsuit seeks to halt what the group is calling unlawful censorship, restore the event and obtain damages for violating the students clearly established First Amendment rights.

College presidents cant silence students simply because they disagree with their expression, FIRE attorney Adam Steinbaugh said in a statement. The First Amendment protects student speech, whether its gathering on campus to study the Bible, hosting an acid-tongued political speaker, or putting on a charity drag show.

The organization claims Wendlers decision violated a 2019 law signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbot which states a university may not take action against a student organization or deny the organization any benefit generally available to other student organizations on the basis of a political, religious, philosophical, ideological, or academic viewpoint.

Attorneys for FIRE also suggested Wendler appeared to know he was violating the law by canceling the show.

Wendler acknowledged the law of the land appears to require him, as the leader of a public university, to permit student expression he dislikes, the group said in a statement.

President Wendlers edict is textbook viewpoint discrimination, argued FIRE attorney Conor Fitzpatrick. Wendlers personal opinion on drag shows does not override the Constitution. The show must go on.

The Christian Post did not receive a response to a request for further comment from FIRE as of Thursday afternoon.

Both Wendler and FIRE said the drag show was an effort to raise money for suicide prevention efforts and the Trevor Project, while an online petition said the main aim of the drag show was to raise funds for The Trevor Project.

All proceeds from the show, the petition stated, would go toward the organization, which is an LGBT activist group with research briefs that attempt to link religious beliefs with higher rates of suicide among LGBT-identified people, a claim that has frequently been disputed.
Jerry Falwell Jr. sues Liberty U. for $8.5M in retirement benefits

Former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. has filed a lawsuit against the Evangelical institution his late father founded, claiming he's owed $8.5 million in retirement funds.

Filed on March 8 in the U.S. District Court of Western District of Virginia, the lawsuit claims that the prominent Lynchburg, Virginia-based university has denied and withheld funds Falwell was entitled to receive last Sept. 1.

The complaint contends that Falwell met every requirement agreed upon in the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan to receive payment of the benefits.

Falwell reportedly came to the figure of $8.5 million, which includes an additional 6% annual investment return, based on a plan that he and Liberty negotiated in 2019.

According to The Lynchburg News & Advance, the lawsuit states that Falwell would forfeit the account "only in the event that his employment is terminated for cause" or if Falwell engaged "in any competitive activity." Falwell resigned as the university's president and chancellor of the university in August 2020, as well as his position on the board of directors. His resignation was accepted by the board.

In a statement shared with the media, Liberty argues that the lawsuit was "part of a larger dispute currently pending in state court."

"The University will defend the new action on the same grounds it has already pled on the record in the state case. Liberty is confident it is not legally required to pay these funds and will file the appropriate responses with the federal court," the statement reads.

Falwell's resignation came after public revelations that Falwell's wife, Becki, had an extramarital sexual relationship with a former pool boy named Giancarlo Granda. Granda claimed that Falwell knew and approved of the extramarital relationship.

In August 2020, Falwell disclosed that since he resigned, he'd get over $10.5 million in severance  $2.5 million over the following 24 months and another $8 million in retirement benefits  per his 2019 contract.

Last September, Falwell filed a claim with the university's executive committee demanding payment, which was denied in a written notice on Dec. 13, according to The News & Advance. On Feb. 24, the school again denied his request for payment after he submitted a required to review the initial denial.

In October 2020, Falwell filed a lawsuit against Liberty, claiming that the school harmed his reputation and breached a contract. He dropped the lawsuit in December of that year.

"I've decided to take a time out from my litigation against Liberty University, but I will continue to keep all options on the table for an appropriate resolution to the matter," said Falwell in a statement at the time.

Liberty filed a lawsuit against Falwell in April 2021, accusing its former leader of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and statutory conspiracy. The university alleged that Falwell created a "well-resourced exit strategy" in 2019 while not telling Liberty officials about his personal scandals.

"Despite his clear duties as an executive and officer at Liberty, Falwell Jr. chose personal protection," the lawsuit claimed.

"[Falwell had a] fiduciary duty to disclose Granda's extortive actions, and to disclose the potential for serious harm to Liberty. [Falwell] furthered the conspiracy of silence and negotiated a 2019 Employment Agreement that contained a higher salary from Liberty."
China to update COVID-19 medical bill reimbursement policies

Xinhua) 11:14, March 31, 2023

BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Medical bills for the treatment of COVID-19 will be reimbursed by China's health insurance fund in the same manner as other Class B infectious diseases, according to a circular released by Chinese authorities on Thursday.

The circular was jointly released by the National Healthcare Security Administration, the Ministry of Finance, the National Health Commission (NHC) and the disease prevention and control bureau under the NHC.

Should patients still find remaining expenditures unaffordable after part of their medical bills are covered by basic health insurance and major disease insurance, they will be entitled to medical assistance, the circular noted.

To ensure the accessibility of COVID-19 medicines, the circular also stipulated that certain drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19 that have not yet been included on the health insurance reimbursement list will be made temporarily reimbursible based on their prices.

The updated policies will come into effect on April 1.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Liberty University selects CarterBaldwin search firm to identify its next president

The Georgia-based CarterBaldwin Executive Search will conduct the search for the next president of Liberty University, a prominent Evangelical university founded by Jerry Falwell Sr. in Virginia.

In an announcement Wednesday, the Lynchburg-based university stated that CarterBaldwin will oversee the search for a person to replace interim Liberty President Jerry Prevo, who has served in that role since the resignation of former President Jerry Falwell Jr. in 2020.

Gilbert "Bud" Tinney, Jr., a member of Liberty's Board of Trustees and chairman of the search committee, spoke of the current situation as a time of stabilization.

"During this season of institutional transition, Liberty University has benefited tremendously from a combination of stabilizing leaders with vast institutional experience and some of the nation's best outside experts," stated Tinney.

"The selection of CarterBaldwin demonstrates clearly Liberty's ongoing commitment to excellence and its determination to work with the absolute best advisors to find the right individual to lead Liberty University into its next 50 years."

CarterBaldwin has an extensive history of working with faith-based and nonprofit organizations and has placed more than 100 CEOs in faith-based institutions.

CarterBaldwin Chairman Price Harding said in a statement that he is "extremely proud of our work on behalf of faith-based institutions."

"Liberty University isn't just one of the world's largest institutions of higher education, it is also a unique institution with unique characteristics and nonnegotiable values," Harding stated.

"We are excited about partnering with the search committee to find the right leader. Along the way we will bring to the university our commitment to always providing objective counsel and the best available expertise in executive search."

Liberty will release a position profile in mid-September to begin the process of soliciting and evaluating candidates. The Liberty board of trustee's search committee hopes to install a new president before the 2023-2024 academic school year. Prevo will continue to serve as acting president until the role is filled.

The search will be led by Harding and CarterBaldwin partner Bill Peterson.

In August 2020, Falwell Jr. resigned as Liberty president after he and his wife, Becki, were implicated in a sex scandal by a young man named Giancarlo Granda.

The allegation came after Falwell had been put on an "indefinite leave of absence" from his roles as president and chancellor following the leaked photo of him on social media at a costume party on a yacht during his family's vacation.

In the photo, Falwell wore unzipped jeans that exposed his abdomen and underwear while his hand was around the waist of his wife's assistant, who wore a tank top and unzipped shorts.

Falwell became the head of the university in 2007 following the death of his father, who founded the institution under the name Liberty Baptist College in 1971.

Prevo served as chairman of the university's board of trustees since 2003.

During Prevo's time as interim president, Liberty faced allegations of failing to adequately respond to claims of sexual assault and harassment by students.

In July 2021, a dozen women filed a class-action lawsuit accusing Liberty of mishandling their sexual assault complaints when they were students.

The litigation was settled in May, with the details of the agreement between the two parties kept confidential.

Liberty became the subject of a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education in May.

According to the government, there were questions over whether Liberty was in compliance with the Clery Act, which requires schools to support victims of sexual violence.
Parents magazine removes doctor's rebuttal to pro-choice 'myth' about abortion restrictions

A board-certified OB-GYN claims that a prominent magazine that aims to provide information about parenting and child development edited out his statements because they didn't support "propaganda" claiming that abortion restrictions will force doctors to choose between the lives of babies or mothers if complications arise.

The article, published on March 7 by Parents magazine, highlights a social media trend of women creating "living wills" on TikTok in the aftermath of last June's U.S. Supreme Court abortion ruling, giving rise to the hashtag #savemefirst.

The women are posting what are intended to be legal instructions, insisting doctors save them first in case an emergency arises during birth. With states enacting more abortion restrictions or outlawing the practice, some pregnant women fear the court's ruling interferes with a doctor's ability to provide lifesaving care if the pregnancy threatens the mother's life, a claim that pro-life activists have refuted.

Arizona-based OB-GYN Greg Marchand provided Parents magazine with a statement refuting the claim that doctors are forced to choose between saving the baby's life and the mother's. The statements were included in the original published version of the article but have since been removed, according to a screenshot captured by the internet archive database Wayback Machine.

"The short answer is that this is a myth," Marchand, the program director at the Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at Steward Health, was quoted as stating in the original article. "These situations do exist, but not on an emergency basis. There is no situation where the immediate decision to save the mother or baby must be made."

In a March 7 tweet, Marchand expressed gratitude to Parents magazine for publishing his statement. In a follow-up tweet on March 11, the OB-GYN questioned why the outlet removed his expert opinion.

In a statement to The Christian Post this week, Marchand said he had worked with the reporter at Parents magazine who wrote the article before, saying that he didn't think anything of it when he contributed his opinions to her story.

"I knew my contributions would make some liberals uncomfortable, but the story itself was kind of absurd," Marchand told CP, "that elective abortion laws are dangerous and that you should consider some kind of living will so that your doctor will know who to save in the event of an emergency."

The OB-GYN said that he was surprised when, other than replacing the word "woman" with "birthing parent," the outlet left most of his opinions and medical information "intact." It wasn't until 48 hours after publication that Marchand said he started receiving messages on social media telling him that his opinions had been removed from the article completely.

"These were not pro-life opinions per-se," the doctor stated. "Rather, I was just pointing out the factual inaccuracies of the whole basis of the Tiktok story, which is the misinformation that laws preventing elective abortions could possibly endanger women's lives."

"That's just false," he continued. "So it's really absurd and disappointing that what they are actually doing is censoring factual medical information, and they are doing so for the aim of continuing to promote propaganda trying to link laws that prohibit elective abortions to harming women."

Marchand stated that in all 50 states, women can receive care from their doctor and that medical professionals such as himself will not hesitate to save the life of their patients.

"I am sure I speak for all board-certified OB-GYNs when I say none of us are confused; none of us want to 'check with our lawyers,'" Marchand said. "We are all ready to save a woman's life on an emergency basis if we need to. 'Choosing' between you and your baby's life is absolutely fake news and never happens on an emergency basis."

This type of "misinformation," he said, has a significant impact on young people, who will then want to fight against this "injustice." The doctor warned that this level of misinformation is not easy to dispute, as it requires more than fact-checking the claim with a "few clicks."

"To understand the lie here, you really need a little bit of medical knowledge, especially with respect to abortions, ectopic pregnancies and women's health," Marchand said. "Otherwise, without correct medical information, it is possible for a lot of people to be duped by compelling stories of women's lives being in danger, especially when it comes from what is thought to be credible sources."

Parents magazine did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.

"All board-certified OB-GYNs in the United States understand when a [birthing parent's] life is in danger, none of us are afraid to act," one of Marchand's original quotes read. "I would never hesitate to terminate a pregnancy when a [parent's] life is in danger, and I am certain I speak for every board-certified OB-GYN in the country when I say that. None of us are scared; none of us want to 'check with our lawyers' or need a refresher on the law."

As CP reported, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) announced last summer that it had launched a social media campaign and released a fact sheet titled "Myth vs. Fact: Correcting Misinformation on Maternal Medical Care."

The group said the purpose was to address "misinformation" about abortion so that women and doctors can "make fully informed healthcare decisions and empower you with the evidence you need to defend your practice of life-affirming medicine."

"Together, we can clear up the myths that are circulating and get the facts out there. And by doing so, we'll help provide both our patients the best healthcare possible," AAPLOG stated in a memo published on Aug. 30 by the Washington Examiner.

In the factsheet, AAPLOG asserted that elective abortion "is not lifesaving medical care" and assured that OB-GYNS will still be able to provide medical treatment to women even after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and ruled that abortion is not a constitutional right.
'God has been drawing Gen Z to Himself': Regent students holding revival worship during spring break

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.

Regent students and others began holding evening worship services last month after some went to Asbury University in Kentucky to participate in the revival there.

Jeff Gossmann, director of Campus Ministries at Regent, told The Christian Post that this week marks spring break for the university, but students, faculty staff and the community continue to meet for spontaneous worship and prayer.

Our Shaw Chapel on campus is open every day this week for unscripted prayer and praise, said Gossmann, It feels like the same quality of spiritual renewal I experienced while at Asbury.

Gossmann traveled to Asbury last month along with a professor and two students to experience the revival gathering for themselves.

We came back excited about what God was doing, not just at Asbury University but at other universities too. We were convinced that the revival was the fruit of something God was doing that was larger than any one school, Gossmann told CP.

It was clear that God has been drawing Gen Z to Himself. Gen Z has suffered so much loss from the pandemic. This revival is like a coming-of-age party for Gen Z. I believe that, through this revival, Jesus is saying to Gen Z, I see you. Welcome to the table.

According to Gossmann, after the small group from Regent returned, the campus community held a Monday evening worship service on Feb. 20, which began at 6 p.m. and continued until midnight.

The positive reception for that evening service led to other evening services being held the next few nights, with students coming and going as their class and midterm schedules allowed.

Throughout the night, the student-led worship would crescendo into heavenly sounds of the worship before the throne. With lifted hands, they raised their voices to sing, often with tears in their eyes, Gossmann recounted, estimating that they had about 200 people worshiping together continuously.

Many students sat on the floor throughout the chapel with their Bibles open, writing in their journals. Each night at least 10 students approached me, asking permission to share a short exhortation from a Scripture the Holy Spirit highlighted during worship. Those words of encouragement were spread throughout the night, occurring every 20-30 minutes.

Regarding the longterm outflowing of the spontaneous services, Gossmann told CP that he believed that revival is not an end in itself, but rather a time when God sovereignly inspires His people by blowing on the embers of their faith.

The result is a hotter fire and a passionate faith that fulfills the purpose God has already given the Church: to make disciples of all nations, he said. We will do the things He has given us to do with greater zeal: well worship, minister the Word, serve, and evangelize with more passion and anointing from the Holy Spirit.

Were not pursuing revival  were pursuing Jesus Christ. He is reviving His Church on university campuses everywhere. Were merely letting down our sails and inviting His Holy Spirit to push us closer to His heavenward calling in Christ Jesus.

Last month, the campus of Asbury became the epicenter for a prayer and worship meeting that went nonstop for about 16 days and sparked similar impromptu services at other universities and secondary schools.
From the 'tiger chair' to electric batons: Women testify of torture, rapes in China's prison camps

Two women who survived a Chinese "reeducation" camp for Uyghurs provided harrowing accounts of torture, gang rapes and brainwashing during their testimonies before a special U.S. House of Representatives committee on China.

Gulbahar Haitiwaji, a former concentration camp prisoner and co-author of How I Survived a Chinese 'Reeducation' Camp: A Uyghur Woman's Story, was one of several witnesses who testified before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party during a March 23 hearing titled "The Chinese Communist Party's Ongoing Uyghur Genocide."

The panel focused on the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in the far-western province of Xinjiang. The United States has accused China of genocide for imprisoning over 1 million Uyghur and other ethnic minority Muslims in concentration camps since 2107.

The hearing also featured testimony from Qelbinur Sidik, a member of China's ethnic Uzbek minority who was forced to teach Mandarin in one of China's internment camps. Both have since fled Communist China and now reside in Europe.

During her testimony, Haitiwaji spoke through a translator. She recalled that prisoners caught speaking in their native Uyghur language, which was forbidden, would be locked in a contraption known as a "tiger chair" for up to 72 hours. The metal seat prevented occupants from moving, and prisoners could not leave the chair until they agreed never to speak Uyghur again.

The survivor also recounted how in April 2017, all female detainees were chained to a bed, with Haitiwaji testifying that she was chained to a bed for 20 days. Prisoners were also forced to study Chinese history and law daily for 11 hours.

"There are cameras all over the camp," Haitiwaji said through the translator. "Our every move was monitored."

Sidik, also speaking through a translator, was sent to a reeducation camp in March 2017. She recalled how prisoners at the camp wore gray and had their heads shaved. She remembered hearing "horrible screaming sounds" from interrogation rooms where prisoners were tortured.

According to Sidik, Chinese prison guards used four types of torture: "electric baton, electric helmet, electric glove and a tiger chair." Women were also subject to gang rape, where guards would insert their private parts into the electric batons to rape and torture the prisoners.

Additionally, the survivor said that female prisoners, usually between the ages of 18 and 40, were injected with an unknown medicine every Monday. Women who were forced to take medicine had their periods stopped, and some even stopped being able to breastfeed. Sidik said that she was sterilized at a hospital in May 2019.

Experts on the panel consisted of Adrian Zenz, senior fellow and director of China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, and Nury Turkel, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Naomi Kikoler, director of the Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, also testified before the committee.

Zenz said that China's genocide of the Uyghur population is motivated by "paranoia" due to "an exaggerated threat perception that genocide scholars have linked to all major atrocities in the past 100 years."

Turkel stressed that genocide is "an international crime for a reason," arguing that confronting it is not optional.

"Crimes against humanity cannot be treated merely as an area of disengagement or disagreement, worse yet, an irritant in a bilateral relationship," he said. "This is truly more than a competition. It is a battle for the world, and our children will inherit it."

In terms of how the U.S. should act, Kikoler advised that the country should not act alone but should work with allies to confront China's human rights abuses.

"The United States alone cannot prevent these crimes," Kikoler insisted. "We must work with other governments, Uyghur civil society and the private sector to develop a swift, coordinated and a global strategy to protect the Uyghur community. Thus far, no such strategy exists."

As The Christian Post reported in July 2021, another Uyghur woman, Tursunay Ziyawudun, recounted her experiences in a Chinese concentration camp during an address at the inaugural International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C.

Ziyawudun, who was taken to a camp twice, described how she and other female prisoners were gang raped by the guards. The Uyghur woman stated that detainees at the camp "always lived in fear."

"I was taken into a camp for the second time in March 2018 and stayed there for close to one year. There were many new buildings in the camp, which looked similar to a prison, and many cameras and people inside. We could always see armed police officers. Sometimes they showed us propaganda films, sometimes they taught us Chinese law, sometimes they taught us Chinese 'red' songs, and sometimes they made us swear oaths of loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party."

According to a February report from the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, over 1 million people have been detained in camps since 2017. The detainees mainly consist of Uyghurs.
Media Avoided Term "Christian" In Shooting Headlines, Upcoming "Trans Day Of Vengeance," Israel's Anti-Evangelism Bill

link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 08:22 08:22

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Top headlines for Friday, March 31, 2023



Despite the loss of six lives at a Christian elementary school, not one of the nations three biggest newspapers used the words Christian in their headlines for the mass shooting in Nashville earlier this week.



World-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli promoted the release of his upcoming film, The Journey: A Music Special from Andrea Bocelli, by singing some of his best-known and most-loved songs in the heart of New York City's Times Square.



An LGBT advocacy group is vowing to hold a Trans Day of Vengeance as planned this weekend even as the event has drawn criticism because it is taking place so soon after a mass shooting perpetrated by a trans-identified female.



A bill introduced in the Israeli Knesset to criminalize evangelism in the Holy Land points to the fear among Orthodox Jews that if Jewish people are presented with the Good News message, they will follow Jesus, a former consultant to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says.

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Subscribe to the Freedom Post, delivered every Monday and Thursday

Top headlines for Friday, March 31, 2023



Despite the loss of six lives at a Christian elementary school, not one of the nations three biggest newspapers used the words Christian in their headlines for the mass shooting in Nashville earlier this week.



World-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli promoted the release of his upcoming film, The Journey: A Music Special from Andrea Bocelli, by singing some of his best-known and most-loved songs in the heart of New York City's Times Square.



An LGBT advocacy group is vowing to hold a Trans Day of Vengeance as planned this weekend even as the event has drawn criticism because it is taking place so soon after a mass shooting perpetrated by a trans-identified female.



A bill introduced in the Israeli Knesset to criminalize evangelism in the Holy Land points to the fear among Orthodox Jews that if Jewish people are presented with the Good News message, they will follow Jesus, a former consultant to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says.
Why American companies are going woke and what Christians can do about it (part 2)

Its important to be mindful that the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) push is not something that you will learn much, if anything, about in the mainstream media. However, it is the answer to the question that so many have: What is going on with American companies (not to mention, government institutions), and why do they no longer represent our values?

On its face, ESG may seem like a good thing. Stakeholder Capitalism, as it is also called, can dupe a person into believing that regulating corporations on a global scale is a good thing. The problem is that even as ESG is weakening the power of business owners and executives to make operating and value decisions about their own companies, it is growing the influence of global corporations and centralizing government for the benefit of the wealthy globalist elites. On the other hand, who it definitely isnt good for is the average American.

In this article, we will go a little more in depth into ESG, how it is measured, who is in charge of it, and what Christians can do to push back.

How are ESG scores measured?

Instead of evaluating businesses and investments based on the quality of goods and services provided, their business acumen, and their profitability and growth potential, ESG standards are subjectively set to determine how committed a company or financial institution is to the social justice and environmental causes, including, among other things, the LGBTQ agenda and abortion. Based on their score, a company can be rewarded or punished by investors and government agencies.

Here is what, specifically, goes into the score:

The E in ESG stands for Environmental. Environmental factors include any climate-related business activities. According to the International Business Council (IBC), companies are required to disclose greenhouse gas emissions; carbon footprint; the number and size of business facilities leased or managed in or adjacent to key biodiversity areas; and estimated water consumption. Any steps companies will take to align their activities to be as green as possible will increase their score.

The S in ESG stands for Social. IBCs metrics rank businesses based on the percentage of employees per employee category, by age group, gender and other indicators of diversity. For example, a company could be given a lower ESG score for having the wrong ratio of Asian to Hispanic employees, even if the company provides better products and brings in higher profits than a competitor with the right ratio of employees.

Other examples of factors that Social standards take into account include how many women and members of oppressed or marginalized groups are in positions of management and how many employees belong to a union. An entire workforce can be made up of qualified individuals who perform well and meet company goals, but if the company is ruled unfavorable by the ESG overlords, it would be ranked with a low ESG score.

This is why so many companies now include Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) seminars in their employee trainings, hire solely based on race and LGBTQ+ identifiers, and have adopted Black Lives Matter and Pride slogans and goals as part of their branding.

The G in ESG stands for governance. This element to ESG is very similar to Social. IBCs framework includes a companys setting purpose, governance body composition, anti-corruption, and protected ethics advice and reporting mechanisms. For example, does the companys stated purpose benefit society? Is the companys board made up of enough members of under-represented social groups? Are they competent in and enthusiastic about environmental and social issues?

Who decides what is a good or bad ESG score?

Well, that would be people who were never democratically elected to make decisions over the market or the American people in the first place. Banks, corporations, unelected government and United Nations officials, World Economic Forum members, and financial institutions are all working together to write and enforce ESG standards.

In so doing, they ensure that their own ideological goals are promoted to the exclusion of other values. Their pocketbooks become thicker because theyre investing in industries and companies that benefit from their agenda (think Bill Gates and his push for meatless meats and nutritionally dense food using insect species, i.e., bugs). Massive power is consolidated and transferred to a small minority of global elites. And crony capitalism becomes the new economic system of the world.

How can Christians identify which companies are participating in ESG?

Many corporations have already exposed themselves as woke, but sometimes it takes some digging to determine whether or not a company aligns with these left-wing values.

Most often, one can determine which companies are complying with ESG standards by reviewing the About Us or Our Values pages on the company website. Indications of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals on the website is a dead giveaway. The Instagram pages of companies, especially during the month of June (or LGBT Pride Month), is also very telling.

For those who just want a list of places to avoid for easy reference, author and writer David Seminara has compiled this list of companies who have sold out to the woke regime.

How can Christians and conservatives use their vote and dollars to fight back?

For starters, vote in every election for candidates who are clearly not in favor of ESG scores or advancing a left-wing, woke ideology (and that sometimes requires some digging as well). But Christians can also harness the power of the free market by putting their money towards wholesome companies with biblical and conservative values instead of funding companies that blatantly support sin and global power agendas.

One of the ways consumerism can be radically changed for the better is if people start pulling money from companies that hate them and putting their money towards companies that dont. This comes at a price. Small and local companies dont have the economies of scale to offer products as the same low price as a global corporation does and local companies might not have your item on-site so youll have to wait while they order it and have it shipped to the store.

And there isnt always a non-woke alternative for everything you might need, but even spending half or most of your consumer budget at alternative companies will make a significant difference.

But if more people shift their spending, this will encourage the creation and growth of these alternatives. Whats more, Christians would do well to build the alternatives themselves. There is a market for non-woke companies and products. It just doesnt quite exist in the kind of numbers and capacity that wed like yet, but thats where Christians and conservatives have a massive opportunity.

Imagine if every conservative began shopping at their local farmers markets, boutiques, and coffee shops rather than at Walmart, Target, and Starbucks. Even more, imagine if Christians supported one another in the business sector as the universal Church. What if one of the ways we can encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11) is through a merchant/consumer relationship?

For further help voting with your dollar, Alison at @votewithyourdollarmama on Instagram runs an entire social media channel notifying Christians and conservatives of woke companies and suggesting alternatives, and the Public Sq app allows you to shop conservative brands online or find pro-American stores near you. Concerned Women for America also put together this list of companies whose profits do not go towards the abortion industry.

Conclusion

As we observe growing corruption in our own government, its disconcerting to realize that the corruption of unelected bureaucrats and corporations on a global scale is impacting us on our own soil and that powerful elites are working in tandem to manipulate the masses, direct the marketplace, restrict civil liberties, and get richer and more powerful in the process.

In response, we can be worried and anxious for our own well-being and that of our children  or we can remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:28-29:

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

We have no reason to fear the elites who want us to eat bugs and bow to them in worship. They cannot destroy the soul  but God can. And we can rest in knowing that vengeance is His. As He sits in the heavens and laughs while the nations plot in vain, maybe we, too, should have a chuckle ourselves. Maranatha!

Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center.
Evangelical Anglicans create new City of London deanery chapter over CofE's gay blessing plans

A new deanery chapter for the City of London has been formed by a group of evangelical Anglican clergy opposed to the Church of England's plans to introduce gay blessings.

The announcement of the new Church of England City deanery chapter was made on the website of St Helen's Bishopsgate, one of the largest evangelical Anglican churches in London.

In a statement on its website, the church said, "After the House of Bishops' recent departure from the Bible's teaching on marriage and sexuality, new leadership structures are needed."

It added that the deanery chapter will "promote ongoing healthy Church of England ministry" and support the work of existing evangelical bodies within the CofE, including the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC).

The deanery chapter held its first meeting in the City of London on Monday, attended by 10 clergy.

Phil Martin, the vicar of St Botolph's Aldersgate, has been elected as the acting area dean and tasked with chairing meetings going forward.

In a video message, he said, "Since the House of Bishops has departed from the Bible's teaching on marriage and sin, and therefore from the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, change is needed, new structures are needed."

Rev Chris Fishlock, senior minister of St Nicholas Cole Abbey, said that the members of the deanery chapter plan to meet together regularly.

He extended an invitation to "all clergy in the City of London who are compelled to resist all episcopal leadership from the House of Bishops on the grounds that their proposed Prayers of Love and Faith undermine the Church of England's doctrine of marriage such that we can no longer walk in partnership together".

In response to its formation, the Diocese of London issued a statement saying that the deanery chapter has "no legal substance".

"The Diocese was first informed a few hours ago that a group of clergy in the City of London is seeking to set up its own parallel, unregulated structures, outside of those of the Diocese of London and the Church of England. This unilateral move would have no legal substance," the diocese said.

"The initiative has been announced publicly, without discussion, at a time when constructive ongoing dialogue continues here in the capital, and across the country, following the House of Bishops' proposals in response to the six-year Living in Love and Faith process.

"As a Diocese, we remain committed to working together through our differences, recognising the strength of our shared faith in Christ, and all that brings us together."
NHS Trust settles with Catholic chaplain in discrimination case

An NHS Trust in London has settled a discrimination case with a Catholic chaplain who says he was "ousted" after sharing his faith perspective on same-sex marriage with a patient who had asked for his opinion.

Rev Dr Patrick Pullicino was let go by the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust a few months after the conversation with the patient in August 2019.

The male patient had asked to speak to a Catholic chaplain. During their meeting, the patient confided in Dr Pullicino that he wanted to marry his male partner and that his father was upset with him because of this.

When he asked the chaplain for his opinion about the matter, Dr Pullicino told the patient that he might also be upset if he were in his father's position.

After the patient complained to the Trust, an investigation was launched into Dr Pullicino's conduct.

He says he was told that NHS policy on equality and diversity "supersedes religious standing whilst working and representing the Trust", and that "he had no rights".

A few months later, the Trust told Dr Pullicino that he was being let go due to "the budgetary constraint".

A trial had been scheduled for July at Croydon Employment Tribunal after Dr Pullicino launched legal action against the Trust, claiming harassment, religious discrimination, and victimisation.

The Trust has now settled with Rev Pullicino by awarding him 10,000 in compensation "for perceived injury to feelings".

Responding to the settlement, Dr Pullicino said he was "pleased and relieved" by the outcome and that it had been "crucial to expose the NHS's disturbing approach to the standard expression of Christian beliefs".

He has called for an urgent government inquiry.

"The documented downgrading of Christian belief by the Chief Executive undermines not only her NHS Trust but also all the patients under her care as well as the chaplains of different faiths that she employs," he said.

"There is a tendency throughout the NHS to force their patients to accept generic 'spiritual' care instead of giving support for their Christian beliefs. Christian faith is particularly important in sickness, particularly when in danger of death.

"Limiting this is inhumane, in addition to being outside the law. Good, religion-specific chaplaincy support is under threat in the NHS but is essential in all hospitals. A government inquiry is urgently needed into restoring hospital chaplaincy to its rightful place."

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the CLC, said it was "time to see an end to the ideology of equality and diversity riding roughshod over the Christian faith and treating it with such little respect".

She added that Dr Pullicino's story reflected a worrying trend that "NHS chaplains risk punishment for responding to questions on human sexuality with standard biblical teaching".

"They live under pressure to self-censor, affirm at all costs, or face the consequences. This has to change," she said.

"We will continue to defend and contend to keep chaplains at the heart of our public institutions."

A spokesperson from South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust said: "We are pleased that we have agreed an outcome with Mr Pullicino which avoids the need for further proceedings.

"We remain absolutely committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for our patients, staff and communities. We respect and celebrate all protected characteristics equally, including religion, race, sexual orientation, disability, age, sex, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.

"We take seriously our responsibility to ensure patients' spiritual needs are met and we oppose any form of discrimination. We seek to protect all patients and members of staff in line with the Equality Act 2010."
The Christus Bariatric Center of Southeast Texas's bariatric surgery center, which serves about 350 patients every year, recently was accredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, a joint Quality Program of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

The national program sets standards to ensure metabolic and bariatric patients receive multidisciplinary medical care, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success. Accredited centers offer preoperative and postoperative care designed specifically for patients with obesity, according to a news release.

This prestigious accreditation is another reminder of our commitment to provide compassionate, excellent care for our patients here in Southeast Texas, Jerome Schrapps, M.D. and Medical Director of Christus Southeast Texas Bariatric Center, said in the release. Safe, high quality metabolic and bariatric care are essential to meet the needs of Southeast Texans and beyond. Our team is proud to serve our community in this way.

The center said its staff and the leadership of an "experienced" bariatric surgeon create the foundation that allows the program to reach the national accreditation's standards.

RELATED: Christus St. Elizabeth opens new therapeutic playground

To earn accreditation, the Christus Southeast Texas Bariatric Center met specific criteria for staffing, training, facility infrastructure and patient care pathways, which ensured its ability to support patients with obesity. The center also participates in a national data registry that provides semiannual reports on the quality of its surgical outcomes and where improvements can be made.

We are incredibly blessed to have Dr. Schrapps and his team here at Christus to provide Southeast Texans the care they need right here in our community, Paul Trevino, President and CEO of Christus Southeast Texas Health System, said in the release. Our mission is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ in all we do, and Dr. Schrapps and his team live out that mission every single day.

The center will have ongoing future reviews with site visits by an experienced bariatric surgeon, who will scrutinize the centers structure, processes and clinical outcomes data. This step ensures that each facility maintains its accreditation status.

The accolade not only gives patients peace of mind that they're receiving top-level care that doesn't require traveling elsewhere, but also helps in future recruitment of highly-trained staff, according to public relations specialist Jillian Fertig.

RELATED: Christus of Southeast Texas growing robotic surgery skills

While the center may not be actively looking for new staff, "we're always looking to grow, so to be recognized at that high level of a standard" is a bonus," she said.

The Bariatric Surgical Center's accreditation joins a growing list of other specialty units that have similar nationally recognized accreditation within the Christus of Southeast Texas family.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 93 million adults in the United States are affected by obesity, and that number continues to increase.

The disease increases the risks of conditions commonly associated with it, such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer, among other health risks. Metabolic and bariatric surgery has proven to be effective in the reduction of obesity-related health conditions.
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Crews have started removing contaminated soil and damaged railcars left behind by Thursday's fiery derailment in southwest Minnesota.

Authorities said Friday afternoon the ethanol fire that burned for hours had been extinguished and that local firefighters were allowed to leave after remaining on site overnight. But large water tanks and railroad firefighting equipment remained at the site to handle any flare-ups as damaged tank cars are removed.

The entire town of Raymond, which is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of Minneapolis, had to be evacuated after 22 cars, including 10 carrying ethanol, left the tracks. Four of the tank cars ruptured and caught fire. But the several hundred residents were allowed to return home by midday Thursday, and no injuries were reported.

This latest derailment only adds to concerns nationally about railroad safety. Lawmakers and regulators want freight railroads to make changes after last month's derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, that forced half that town to evacuate. Even though officials say the area is safe, many residents have lingering health concerns.

The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's office said BNSF railroad crews began removing some of the contaminated soil under and around the tracks early Friday morning. And once investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board gave the OK, workers started to remove the damaged railcars.

Its not clear how long the cleanup will take, and no cause of the derailment has been determined yet.

The head of the Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad promised a thorough cleanup and said BNSF works hard to prevent derailments like this from happening.

NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said the BNSF train had three crew members  an engineer, conductor and brakeman  aboard when it derailed around 1 a.m. Thursday. The train had a total of 14 ethanol cars along with corn syrup it was delivering.

Holloway said investigators will work to determine what caused the derailment.

The Environmental Protection Agency continued monitoring the air around the derailment Friday, but officials said the agency hasnt found any worrisome levels of contaminants or particulate matter.
SK Telecom employees inspect network system equipment using the company's AI-based A-STAR, Tuesday. Courtesy of SK Telecom



By Baek Byung-yeul



SK Telecom developed A-STAR, an artificial intelligence-based solution for wireless network quality management, and applied it to its network base stations nationwide as part of efforts to improve service quality by detecting abnormalities quickly, the company said Tuesday.



A-STAR monitors the status of hundreds of thousands of base stations nationwide, finds equipment that is expected to cause problems affecting network quality, alerts field operation managers and, at the same time, recommends how to fix the issues, the company explained.



"A-STAR preemptively responds to deterioration in wireless network quality. By doing so, the solution minimizes customer inconvenience," the company said.



SK Telecom said A-STAR analyzes the quality of base station equipment every hour and reports abnormalities to field managers, and also analyzes the cause of quality degradation by looking at an average of 250 kinds of data per equipment.



During a test operation in 2022, the AI solution greatly helped the field operation managers, reducing the time required for equipment quality analysis by 80.7 percent. Also, the preemptive improvement measures of the equipment was improved by 46.7 percent.



SK Telecom developed the AI solution in collaboration between field operation experts from the company and SK Ons, a network maintenance affiliate of SK Group. SK Telecom began developing A-STAR in 2020 and improved its quality to the level that it can be applied to actual field operations.



A-STAR is designed to continuously improve its performance by receiving and relearning the final measurements from field quality improvement managers. To improve the efficiency of the network quality management, SK Telecom will continue to upgrade A-STAR by shortening the analysis cycle, which currently performs an analysis every hour.



"The company has further upgraded network operation by using AI technology," said Park Myung-soon, vice president and head of Infra DT Office at SK Telecom. "We will continue to innovate our system to establish an AI-based infrastructure."


Drilling activity broke a two-week winning streak. Not only that, but the count posted its first quarterly decline since the third quarter of 2020.

Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said Friday its US rig count, which it has reported weekly since 1944, fell by three rigs to 755 for the week. Still, thats 82 rigs or 12% more than the 673 reported a year ago. Baker Hughes said the rig count rose two for the month, the first monthly increase since November. The count fell 24 rigs during the quarter.

The number of rigs seeking crude oil dipped by one rig to 592  still 59 more than the 533 rigs drilling for oil last year. The number of rigs drilling for natural gas dropped by two to 160  22 more than the 138 reported the previous March.

Texas bucked the downward trend, rising four rigs to 376  45 more than the 331 at work statewide last year. New Mexico dropped four rigs to 104. Kansas (1) joined Texas as the other producing state to see an increase. Colorado (1) Louisiana (1) and Oklahoma (2) were the other producing states, alongside New Mexico, to see declines.

The Permian Basin dropped one rig to 352 rigs drilling throughout the basin  29 more than 323 last year.

Eddy County, New Mexico, was the most active county in the Permian with 54 rigs, up one for the week. Lea County, New Mexico, fell to second most active, falling five rigs  the steepest decline among Permian counties  to 49 rigs.

Reeves County showed the sharpest increase, rising four rigs to 42 for the week. Martin County followed with 40, down two for the week. Midland and Loving counties each reported 27 rigs, down one for Midland and up one for Loving. Howard and Upton counties each reported 19 rigs, up one for Howard and unchanged for Upton. Glasscock County reported 10 rigs for a third consecutive week.

Enverus Foundations, part of the energy-focused Software as a Service firm Enverus, said its US rig count reached 841 during the week ended March 29, falling by two from the previous week. The count is down 1% in last month and up 7% year over year.

In major plays, the Permian added three rigs for a total of 347 rigs. The Gulf Coast added two for 108 and the Anadarko and Williston each added one rig for 78 and 42 respectively. Two major plays saw declines with Appalachia dropping two to 51 rigs and the Denver-Julesburg also dropping two rigs to 19.
Alas, another Houston restaurant staple is shutteringSpanish Village. The Tex-Mex restaurant has been a part of the city's dining scene since it opened 70 years ago in 1953, but the last customer will be served on March 31.

Current owner Steve Rogers promised in a statement that Spanish Village will be honored in an upcoming project that is yet to be announced.

"There's absolutely no arguing the impact Spanish Village has had on the Third Ward. The Medina family built something incredible, and I have been honored to be able to continue that," Rogers said. "Despite the restaurant closing, it's important to me and to the community to honor that legacy."

Kirsten Gilliam

Local diners were devastated when the Almeda Road restaurant closed its doors in July 2021, but it was only a few weeks later that the restaurant reopened under a new owner, Rogers, a well-known name in Houston's nightlife via Bar 5015, Faces of Houston and others.

The Spanish Village property caught his eye when he was contemplating how to add restaurant and retail options to the section of Almeda Road between I-45 and the 610 Loop.

Kirsten Gilliam

The loyalty of Spanish Village patrons convinced Rogers to keep the restaurant open but with a facelift. The restaurant's 1920 bungalow received more lights, seating and paint, and some walls were knocked down to create a more open space.

Spanish Village's iconic margaritas and red sauce, both of which date back to the 1950s, will be missed among foodies. The margaritas were made a week in advance in batches with real lime juice. Once the flavors were fully developed, the restaurant would use the mix to create delicious drinks for customers.

Kirsten Gilliam

Restaurant regulars will have to find a new spot to enjoy their enchiladas, but perhaps the coming neighborhood development will result in a new Tex-Mex tradition. Rogers partnered with a company called Localist to determine what business owners and residents felt was missing in the area. Answers ranged from "diner" to "coworking space focused on diverse entrepreneurs." Rogers is also developing the 8,000-square-foot lot that neighbors Spanish Village.

"The Third Ward has its own personality that's hard to understand unless you're in it, and with the help of my neighbors, I'm excited to begin this new chapter with a project that will benefit them," Rogers said.
I attended a wonderful party last Saturday. It was billed as just a party but turns out it was a celebration in honor of Sharon Richardson who coincidently had a birthday on March 29. Sharons family did an outstanding job making it a very special occasion for the honoree. The attendees enjoyed lavations and Mexican dishes galore. Those celebrating with her were - Richard Malone, Connie Winn & John Hunt, Jean Smith & John King, Jan & Jim Lee, Linda & Russ Bliese, Jean & Ken Hebert, Barbara Shepherd, Jeannine Dennis and Fran Copland.

Fran Copland hosted dinner on the following Monday in her and Derrys lakeside home. Staying in the theme of Sharons birthday season we enjoyed a great dinner with funny cards and birthday cake. This group of ladies - Susan Holt, Jean Smith, Debbie Kerr, Sharon Richardson, Zona Taylor, Fran Copland and when shes in town Diane Clark - enjoy a monthly gathering at our various homes. It is always so much fun.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee athlete who captured world attention by running in the 2012 Olympics on blade-like prosthetic legs, was denied parole Friday from his prison sentence for killing his girlfriend.

A statement by the Department of Correctional Services said that parole was denied because Pistorius, 36, has not completed his minimum prison sentence and that the parole board would again review his case in August 2024.

The case generated headlines worldwide when Pistorius was accused of shooting model Reeva Steenkamp at his home on Valentine's Day 2013. In a televised trial in 2014, he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison.

An appeals court in 2017 overruled the initial sentence and determined that Pistorius was guilty of murder and increased the prison time to 13 years and five months.

The parole board's hearing on Friday was held behind closed doors at the Atteridgeville prison near Pretoria.

"The parole board's decision is guided by a clarification order from the Supreme Court that stated that Mr. Pistorius has not reached the minimum detention period," department spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo told reporters. "He will have to appear again next year."

Later, a clarification issued by the prison authorities said Pistorius's sentence was effective from Nov. 24, 2017, when the appeals court handed down the extended sentence.

It was not immediately clear why the parole board agreed to consider Pistorius's case now when he had not completed half of his sentence, a requirement for parole under South African law.

Pistorius's attorney, Julian Knight, was not immediately available to comment.

"He has done his time," he told The Washington Post before the decision. "He has met the Department of Correctional Services policy and guidelines for parole."

Pistorius met with Steenkamp's father, Barry, last year as part of a program known as victim-offender dialogue, which occurs before a prisoner can be considered for parole. Steenkamp's parents oppose his early release.

"We don't believe his story," June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, told reporters as she arrived for Friday's hearing.

According to guidelines provided by the Department of Correctional Services, the parole board has to determine whether releasing Pistorius poses a danger to the community and whether he is at risk of committing another crime.

At the trial, prosecutors said Pistorius killed Steenkamp in a fit of anger after an argument by firing four bullets into a locked bathroom door with his 9mm pistol. Pistorius said that the shooting was a tragic accident and that he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder.

A year before the shooting, Pistorius made history by competing on his carbon-fiber "Flex-Foot Cheetah" blades against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics, earning him the name "Blade Runner."
Forty-one municipalities are being awarded state grants for the repair and maintenance of neglected burial grounds and cemeteries, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Thursday.

Cemeteries are sacred places, and maintaining them is essential out of respect for the dead and preserving our local heritage, Lamont said. Particularly here in Connecticut, we have some of the oldest and most historic cemeteries in the nation. These state grants will provide municipalities with financial support to ensure that the deceased are remembered in a respectful manner.

The grants are for $5,000 apiece and will be released under Connecticuts Neglected Cemetery Account Grant Program. The program is funded through the state Department of Public Health from the issuance of death certificates and is intended to help provide basic maintenance, groundskeeping and the repair and restoration of memorial stones.

The fund was established in 2014. That year, a case emerged at the Old Byram Cemetery in Greenwich that brought the issue of abandoned cemeteries into stark relief. The cemetery had been neglected for much of its history, but in 2014 the grounds were damaged by nearby home renovation project.

According to an article in CT Explored by deputy state historic preservation officer Catherine Labadia, construction equipment was stored on site on top of the unmarked graves of African Americans and Native Americans. The area near the cemetery was cut back for terracing.

The town issued a stop-work order and descendants of those interred at the site sued to stop construction. A settlement was reached requiring that the old Black cemetery be memorialized. That cemetery is now maintained by volunteers.

The Byram Cemetery is just one of 5,000 graveyards across the state. Many graveyards are neglected or improperly cared for. In 2018, about 130 graves in the Park Cemetery in Bridgeport were found to have been vandalized. Fragments of coffins and human remains were found scattered at the cemetery. The former manager was arrested and in 2020, charged with embezzlement.

Many other cemeteries are simply abandoned. The state Department of Public Health approves new cemeteries, but no government agency is responsible for the management of cemetery maintenance.
State police have arrested a card dealer for the company that runs the DraftKings and FanDuel online gambling platforms, alleging he used his own accounts to place bets on Blackjack decks he'd tampered with or memorized.

In total, state police suspect the scheme cost the platform some $47,000.

Sebastian Echeverri was charged with first-degree larceny and cheating. The 23-year-old Norwalk resident turned himself in to Troop G in Bridgeport on Wednesday after he learned there was a warrant for his arrest, state police said. He was released on $50,000 bond and is due to appear in state Superior Court in Bridgeport on April 20.

State police said the Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force started investigating in January, after the Department of Consumer Protection was alerted to the activity. The agency reported an "alleged cheating scam," involving Echeverri, who worked as a card dealer for the parent company of DraftKings and FanDuel, Evolution, in Fairfield.

The company is licensed to hold online casino games in Connecticut, including games with a live card dealer played over video. Connecticut began allowing online gambling in 2021 for those 21 and older.

State police said Echeverri used three DraftKings accounts to place "abnormally high" bets on cards after he'd handled them. Video and documents also show he was "manipulating Blackjack hands to facilitate advantageous online bets on multiple DraftKings accounts that he was operating," state police said in a news release.

Evolution became aware of the pattern after one of Echeverri's DraftKings accounts was flagged for suspicious activity between July and December last year. The company noticed the account was accessed from "the same device used by Echevarri to log into Evolutions employee portals and view information such as his work schedule or time sheets," state police said.

State police said Echeverri admitted to controlling the three DraftKings accounts when he met with investigators last week. He also admitted to tampering with cards and placing bets he knew he would have an advantage on, state police said.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, resources to help are available on the state's website.
NEW YORK (AP)  A self-styled far-right propagandist from Florida was convicted Friday of charges alleging that he conspired to deprive individuals of their right to vote in the 2016 presidential election.

Douglass Mackey, 33, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was convicted in Brooklyn federal court before Judge Ann M. Donnelly after a one-week trial. On the internet, he was known as Ricky Vaughn.

In 2016, Mackey had about 58,000 Twitter followers and was ranked by the MIT Media Lab as the 107th-most important influencer of the then-upcoming presidential election, prosecutors said. He had described himself as an American nationalist who regularly retweeted Trump and promoted conspiracy theories about voter fraud by Democrats.

Mackey, who was arrested in January 2021, could face up to 10 years in prison. His sentencing is set for Aug. 16.

His lawyer, Andrew Frisch, said in an email that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan will have multiple reasons to choose from to vacate the conviction.

We are optimistic about our chances on appeal, Frisch said.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a release that the jury rejected Mackeys cynical attempt to use the First Amendment free speech protections to shield himself from criminal liability for a voter suppression scheme.

Todays verdict proves that the defendants fraudulent actions crossed a line into criminality," he said.

The government alleged that from September 2016 to November 2016, Mackey conspired with several other internet influencers to spread fraudulent messages to Clinton supporters.

Prosecutors told jurors during the trial that Mackey urged supporters of then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to vote via text message or social media, knowing that those endorsements were not legally valid votes.

At about the same time, prosecutors said, he was sending tweets suggesting that it was important to limit black turnout at voting booths. One tweet he sent showed a photo of a Black woman with a Clinton campaign sign, encouraging people to avoid the line and vote from home, court papers said.

Using social media pitches, one image encouraging phony votes utilized a font similar to one used by the Clinton campaign in authentic ads, prosecutors said. Others tried to mimic Clinton's ads in other ways, they added.

By Election Day in 2016, at least 4,900 unique telephone numbers texted Hillary or something similar to a text number that was spread by multiple deceptive campaign images tweeted by Mackey and co-conspirators, prosecutors said.

Twitter has said it worked closely with appropriate authorities on the issue.
Legislators in the nation's third-most populated state on Thursday approved a bill to allow people to carry concealed firearms without a permit or proof of training - dubbed "constitutional carry" by its supporters.

The 27-13 vote on the House bill fell largely along party lines, with Republicans pushing the bill with support from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and law enforcement groups. DeSantis must still sign the bill for it to become law.

Democrats say this law will worsen an epidemic of gun violence. Florida had a firearm injury death rate of nearly 14 per 100,000 people in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, putting it roughly in the middle of state rankings for firearm deaths.

Florida is set to become the 26th state to approve permitless carrying of firearms. The measure allows people to carry a concealed firearm anywhere license holders are currently allowed to carry - meaning it will still be illegal to carry a gun in courthouses, polling places and public schools.

"Number 26 is only a Governor's signature away!!" tweeted the gun rights group Firearms Policy Coalition. They included a graphic of the main characters from the TV series "Miami Vice." showing actor Don Johnson as the swaggering police detective James "Sonny" Crockett, carrying a pistol.

Some Republicans and firearm advocates say the bill doesn't go far enough.

DeSantis was recorded at a book tour stop in early March saying he supports including a provision to the bill that would allow open carry without a permit, though he added that he didn't think it would happen. The person who asked the question - Luis Valdes, Florida director of Gun Owners of America - sent the audio to the Tampa Bay Times, the newspaper reported.

Days later, pushback arrived from across the aisle. The city of St. Petersburg hosted the Firestone Grand Prix, and its Democratic mayor, Ken Welch, tweeted that "Open Carry would mean that in Florida you'll need a license and basic skills to drive a car, but not to openly carry a firearm in public." St. Petersburg is the largest city in Pinellas County, one of the few counties that voted majority Democrat in the 2020 presidential race.

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services data indicates there are more than 2.6 million concealed weapons permits in a state of 21.5 million people - that's one permit for every eight Floridians.

Republicans have long pushed for permitless carrying of firearms, but it came into focus on Jan. 30 when Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R) announced that he would put his weight behind a bill to enshrine the policy. Supporters of the measure, which include the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association, call it constitutional carry because they argue that the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment grants them the right to carry weapons without permits.

DeSantis has promised constitutional carry would become Florida law before he leaves office.

"The Legislature will get it done," DeSantis said last year. "I can't tell you if it's going to be next week, six months, but I can tell you that before I am done as governor, we will have a signature on that bill."

The advocacy group Prevent Gun Violence Florida slammed the bill: "In an era of increased mass shootings and rising gun crime, it is outlandish that our Legislature is being asked to loosen gun restrictions rather than strengthen them."

March for Our Lives - an advocacy group formed by students who survived the 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead - criticized the bill in a tweet after Renner's announcement: "We refuse to sit by and die, waiting for change."

The NRA praised Renner's announcement, saying on its website that the bill "ensures that citizens have their right to self-defense without red tape, delays, or fees."

If signed the proposal is set to become law on July 1.
NEW HAVEN  Paul Mounds, who left his position as Gov. Ned Lamont's chief of staff this January, has procured a new job as the Yale New Haven Health system's vice president of community and corporate alliances.

A spokeswoman for the health care system confirmed Thursday that Mounds had been hired  and his title  but said she did not immediately have any further details about his job duties or start date.

Mounds served as Lamont's chief of staff from February 2020 until his departure earlier this year ahead of Lamont's second term. In that role, Mounds played an active role in the administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before becoming chief of staff, he served as Lamont's chief operating officer.

In a release, Yale New Haven Health said Mounds "will be responsible for cultivating and enhancing partnerships between YNHHS and key community-based stakeholders, functioning as the liaison between YNHHS and nonprofit organizations and community-based constituent groups, as well as local, regional, and statewide businesses" and "support the cultural integration of Yale New Haven Health into the fabric of new geographical areas and communities."

I am honored to join the Yale New Haven Health team and have the opportunity to work alongside an exceptional group of healthcare leaders who are focused on building strong partnerships with the communities we serve and advancing YNHHSs mission of providing high-quality, compassionate care to patients and families, Mounds said in a statement.

Paul is one of the most dedicated and hardworking people Ive had the opportunity to work with. His leadership was incredibly helpful to our administration over the last several years, particularly in regards to coordinating our states response to the global COVID-19 pandemic," Lamont said in a statement.

Before joining the Lamont administration, Mounds worked for U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the House Democratic Caucus in the U.S. Capitol and former Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy. Mounds also has previous experience in executive healthcare roles, having been vice president of policy and communications for the Connecticut Health Foundation.
Rep. Jo Seoung-lae of the Democratic Party of Korea and a member of the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, delivers a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of an exhibition on the Danuri lunar orbiter at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday. Newsis



By Baek Byung-yeul



Rep. Jo Seoung-lae of the Democratic Party of Korea hosted an exhibition shedding light on the Danuri lunar orbiter to commemorate the space vehicle's successful entry into lunar orbit, the lawmaker said Tuesday.



Hosted by the lawmaker, the exhibition, titled "Special Exhibition of Lunar Exploration," will take place at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, until Saturday. The exhibition features various moon-related content, a miniature of the Danuri and photos taken by the lunar orbiter.



The Danuri is a domestically developed space vehicle. Carried by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, the unmanned space vehicle was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Aug. 5.





A poster for an exhibition about the Danuri lunar orbiter / Courtesy of Rep. Jo Seoung-lae
"What changed?"

- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in a tweet with a video of clips of then-Vice President Joe Biden, March 29

- - -

House Republicans keep pressing the White House to agree to significant spending cuts before they will agree to raise the debt ceiling. A deadline for a deal is fast approaching. Most estimates suggest the U.S. Treasury will run out of maneuvering room to meet its obligations in the summer or early fall - and the United States would default.

White House officials have insisted they will not negotiate over raising the debt ceiling, though they are willing to discuss possible spending reductions as a separate matter. Many are veterans of the Obama administration, which faced its own debt ceiling showdown with Republicans in 2011. Ultimately, after lengthy negotiations, a bipartisan budget deal, known as the Budget Control Act, was negotiated by House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Barack Obama, along with other top leaders. The searing experience led to the first downgrade of the credit rating for the federal government.

The law included a provision known as sequester that imposed tough caps on annual appropriations, known as discretionary spending, if Congress itself could not act to stem spending. But once Republicans won control of the White House, along with the House and Senate, in 2018 they decided to blow through the spending caps set in 2011 - and boosted discretionary spending by 16 percent.

The White House has released its annual budget plan and says a starting point for talks would be for House Republicans to release their own budget proposal. That has not happened yet. In a March 28 letter to Biden, McCarthy outlined some ideas for reducing spending, such reclaiming unspent coronavirus funds and strengthening work requirements for people without children who receive financial assistance. At a news conference Thursday, he also indicated that House Republicans might try to pass their own legislation to raise the debt ceiling and reduce spending in an effort to force a showdown.

As part of his public pressure, McCarthy released a video of clips of Biden - whom Obama had dispatched to Capitol Hill to reach a deal in 2011 - that suggested Biden was being two-faced in his refusal to negotiate over the debt limit. McCarthy jabbed: "What changed?"

This is a good example of how such clips can be misleadingly edited. We've tracked down the original material, so readers can see Biden's remarks from more than a decade ago in their proper context. McCarthy's video in several cases mixed several clips from the same interview or event, so for brevity, the sequence below is slightly different from the video's sequence.

A McCarthy spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on our conclusion that the clips were taken out of context.

"I have had the great honor of spending hours and hours and hours that you've covered, my negotiating the debt limit and other things, with the, with the leaders of the Republican Party."

(Taken from an interview on "Meet the Press," May 6, 2012)

Analysis: The video opens with this quote, which highlights the existence of extensive negotiations in 2011. But Biden's full remarks show that the experience appeared to be a fool's errand. In his telling, when White House officials thought they might have had a deal, Republican leaders were not able to deliver the votes. That's one reason the current White House does not want to hinge raising the debt ceiling on negotiations - because of a fear that any compromise agreement would not win enough votes from Republican hard-liners, leading to a default.

"A lot of those new members who came here with my way or the highway, they'll either be on the highway or they'll learn that they have to have compromise."

"How do you explain the fact that grown men and women are unwilling to budge."

"Some of them are still unwilling to budge by taking an absolute position. My way or no way, That's not governing."

(Taken from an interview with Scott Pelley on "CBS Evening News," Aug. 1, 2011)

Analysis: McCarthy uses three quotes from this interview. The intent is to suggest Biden is refusing to budge from his position that he will not negotiate over the debt limit, even though he appears to be saying that negotiations are necessary in Washington. But in context, Biden was making the point that the brinkmanship over the debt limit employed in 2011 was "extremely dangerous" and that eventually enough Republicans came to appreciate that to pass a bipartisan agreement.

"Really pleased and thankful all these guys showed up to begin the hard business of trying to deal with what's at hand here."

"We're going to lay down not hard negotiating positions, but make sure each of us understand where the other guy is coming from."

(Remarks to reporters regarding a debt-reduction meeting hosted by Biden at Blair House, May 5, 2011)

Analysis: The McCarthy video cuts out the part where Biden references that each side has put forward a plan. In 2011, by April, House Republicans had passed a detailed budget blueprint that included a substantial reshaping of the Medicare health program for the elderly. So, in contrast to today, the House had already put its cards on the table. One reason the GOP is reluctant to do so now is because Democratic attacks on the Medicare overhaul proved to be effective for years to come.

"It's going to be, you know, what it ordinarily would be, a normal political battle."

(Remarks to reporters after meeting with progressive Democrats, Aug. 1, 2011)

Analysis: Biden made these remarks after he tried to sell skeptical liberal Democrats on the merits of the budget deal. (In the House, the 2011 bill ended up passing with the support of 174 Republicans and 95 Democrats.) The video suggests that Biden is saying the debt limit showdown is part of a "normal political battle." In reality, he's saying the opposite - that once the agreement was passed, Congress could get back to functioning like a normal institution, with debates over how to best spend federal dollars.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

New legislation in the U.S. Senate aims to establish a new interstate highway running through Texas to facilitate trade between Canada and Mexico.

Introduced in March by a number of senators including Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, the Ports-to-Plains Highway Act would designate a portion of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor  a 2,300-plus mile route stretching from Laredo to Alberta, Canada  that runs through Texas as a future addition to the interstate highway system.
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BUCHA, Ukraine - After Russian forces rampaged through this suburb of Kyiv last year and Anna, now 10, hid in a neighbor's basement, she sought solace in her stuffed fox, Foxy, and cat, Vatka.

Vlada, 9, fled with her mom to Spain - carrying Octopus, her blue and pink octopus toy, a gift from her sister, with her.

Kira, also 9, clung to Basik, a gray stuffed cat her mom gave her after they fled Bucha with her older brother, separating them from their dad who stayed behind.

For the past year, these fourth-graders from the once idyllic town where Russian soldiers executed many civilians have withstood the toll of an adult war.

For the children in Bucha and throughout Ukraine, plush animals, security blankets and other comfort items have served as lifelines amid the chaos, especially for those who escaped taking only what they could carry.

Such precious belongings are now being slowly collected by the War Childhood Museum, a project dedicated to documenting the experiences of children raised in war by cataloguing and displaying their most personal memories and possessions.

The museum, which is based in Bosnia, is planning to add to its Ukrainian collection - now made up of around 150 toys, books and other ephemera mainly donated by children who, since 2014, had survived the Russian-backed separatist war in the country's east.

By preserving children's mementos and memories of war, the project has been able to document the individual and shared experience of growing up in a conflict zone.

Some of the museum's irreplaceable modern artifacts - a stuffed penguin, a plastic horse and carriage, and a cardboard cat - are stored in an enormous metal safe in an office in Kyiv. Others are in a secret location in the Western city of Lviv, where they were relocated in a rush last year when staff feared the collection could be destroyed as Russian forces advanced on Kyiv.

The oral histories the museum collects, paired with a donated item from each child, challenge the idea that children only bear passive witness to conflict - offering young people the agency to reflect on how they managed life during war.

More than 400 children have been recorded killed and more than 800 wounded in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion last February, although the true toll is probably far higher. Some were schoolmates of the fourth-graders in Bucha, murdered alongside many parents in the community. Among them were Katya, from 10th grade, who died when Russian forces struck her family's car as they tried to escape, and Vanya, a ninth-grader shot by Russian snipers as he tried to crawl to safety. He was killed, his school principal suspects, "because he was a tall, beautiful boy" and the Russians "may have thought he was a man."

As the war in Ukraine continues to rage in the country's east and south, it is too soon for many kids to part with their comforting items or to talk in-depth about their experiences. Even children living far from the front lines face regular air raid alerts that send them running for cover. Others have family and friends fighting or living in the combat zone.

The museum's researchers are treading carefully, and have interviewed just 11 children since February last year: five in the northeast city of Kharkiv, five living abroad in Poland and one, by video chat, in Spain. Two other researchers are now documenting the stories of Ukrainian refugees in Germany.

"We don't want to talk to kids who are  still coping" with the most extreme circumstances, said Svitlana Osipchuk, 37, project director of the museum's Kyiv branch. Participating children, she said, should tell their experience "as a past story."

Museum staff create a file for each child they interview. The child's donated item is then given a unique identification number, wrapped in protective paper and handled with gloves.

Only a handful of people know where exactly the full collection is stored in Lviv and only five know the passcode to the safe in Kyiv. Items from the collection have been displayed in exhibits in Kyiv and Kherson, in Ukraine, in Sarajevo, and soon in Bucharest.

When children offer a toy or book for the collection, Viktoriia Nesterenko, 30, a Kharkiv-based researcher for the museum, tells them: "'Your pain is in this object and this object will be in a museum,'" she said. "'Your pain is here. Not in you, but here.'"

"When children tell the full story they are healing themselves," she said.

Many Ukrainian children are still learning how to tell theirs.

At School No. 4 in Bucha, a year after the Russian retreat, signs of war are still everywhere. The basement is used as a bomb shelter. One gymnasium has been transformed into a volunteer hub.

Administrators replaced the shrill school bell - too similar to air raid sirens - with music. One hall on the first floor is now home to a "Memory Wall" honoring students and alumni killed during the Russian occupation last year or on the front lines elsewhere in the country.

Fourth-grade teacher Ina Makariva, 60, wept as she described how the children in her class had been forced to mature.

These students fled at different points in the war - some under intense shelling, others before Russian forces advanced. Many have since returned home, but some, joining the class on Zoom, are still abroad. Their teachers say they aren't the same.

"The students even learned the difference between kinds of weapons," Makariva said. "They are changed. They are much older. They became much more serious."

"It's like a line appeared," she added. "There was childhood on one side - and all of a sudden they grew up."

Sitting in the front row, 9-year-old Kira clutched Basik, the cat, and her other stuffed animal, Brut, a dog. Both were dressed in baby clothes she took from a volunteer center where her dad had been working. But a month ago, he was deployed as a soldier for the first time. She said she didn't know where he was - only that they hadn't been able to talk as much as before.

This separation has been especially hard; her dad is the only one she allows to tuck her in at night.

A few days later, she got a welcome surprise when her dad, Viacheslav Kryvitskiy, 40, was able to briefly return home - offering the family some rare time together before he went back to his new post.

Sitting around their kitchen table, the family took turns cuddling their guinea pig and puppy - acquired shortly before Kryvitskiy was deployed - and sharing stories from the early days of the war.

Kira's mom, Tetiana Kryvytska, 40, recalled how she drove the kids west last February, relying on strangers for help. She soon lost contact with her husband, who stayed behind to volunteer in Bucha.

When asked if, during the month apart, he had ever come face-to-face with Russian soldiers, Kryvitskiy glanced at his wife. Her eyes widened. He had never told his family this story.

One day, he said, he and other volunteers went looking for bread. Russian forces had already started executing civilians, and outside a grocery store, they found the dead strewn across the street. Horrified, they tried to move one of the bodies. Then a Russian soldier appeared. "He cocked his gun at us and said: 'Put it back,'" Kryvitskiy recalled, his voice cracking. They slowly backed away and returned to the hospital where they were based.

Even after all this time, he hadn't wanted to burden his family with that memory.

Otherwise, the parents said, they have not tried to hide the horrible realities of war from Kira, or her brother, Nazar, who is 12 - even as they see how it has changed them. They watch the news. They tell the children they have an enemy. On a drive one day, Nazar asked his father: "Is this the street where the executions happened?" He told him it was.

At school, Kira's classmates shared the words they think of when they reflect on life during wartime. They called out from their seats: "Sad." "Terrible." "War." "Fear." "Pain." "Lost." "Shelling."

At home, her dad reviewed the list and said there was one more word he wanted to add: "Victory."

- - -

Serhiy Morgunov contributed to this report.
More than a week after Donald Trump had angrily predicted - incorrectly and with no specific evidence - that he would be arrested, the former president had grown cautiously optimistic.

Advisers had counseled him that a possible indictment by a Manhattan grand jury involving hush-money payments to an adult-film star would not come for some time - if at all - and Trump had even begun joking about "golden handcuffs," said one person who spoke with him in recent days.

But on Thursday, the news that Trump had simultaneously resigned himself to and believed he could wish away finally broke: A Manhattan grand jury had voted to indict him over hush-money payments to adult-film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign, making him the first ex-president charged with a crime.

Trump's team had long been preparing for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation to end in a possible indictment. His top political advisers, including Chris LaCivita and Jason Miller, had begun drafting statements to blast out and lines of attack against Bragg and Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen, thought to be one of Bragg's key witnesses.

But when the indictment came, Trump and his advisers were caught off guard.

"It was a surprise to everybody," said David Urban, a longtime Trump adviser who is not working on his 2024 presidential campaign.

Some of his lawyers had been preparing to take a few days off, not expecting any movement for several weeks, said two people familiar with the matter who, like many in Trump's orbit, spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly share details of private discussions. Some Trump aides - including adviser Boris Epshteyn, who is taking a leading role on Trump's legal team - had even begun telling the former president that he would not be indicted at all, people familiar with the comments said.

In a sign of the chaotic scramble, Trump misspelled "indicted" in a post on his social media network Truth Social, writing that "Thugs and Radical Left Monsters" had just "INDICATED" him.

Trump is expected to appear Tuesday in Manhattan, one adviser said. His legal team, speaking by phone late Thursday, scrambled to figure out the logistics and coordinate with the Secret Service on the security specifics for his arraignment.

After news of the indictment broke Thursday night, Trump dined at his private Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., with his wife, Melania, her parents and conservative radio host Mark Levin, while also speaking with advisers for his 2024 presidential campaign sitting nearby. The indictment caused his recent good spirits to sour, with one adviser describing him as "irritated" and "deflated."

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview that he spoke with Trump on Thursday evening for a few minutes and that the former president was "upset and disappointed" but also "very calm."

"They are using the law as a weapon against me," Trump griped to Graham.

Graham said he counseled calm and that Trump seemed to agree. "He thinks most people will see it as a weaponization of the law," Graham said. "From a political point of view, it's going to solidify Trump's standing with the Republican Party."

Indeed, Trump almost immediately escalated his fundraising pitches Thursday night, asking his supporters in an email titled, "BREAKING: PRESIDENT TRUMP INDICTED," to give at least $24 to "defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts."

"We are living through the darkest chapter of American history," read the email, which claimed all contributions would be matched up to 1,500 percent, but failed to say who would match the donations.

One adviser said that while Trump would prefer not to be indicted, the former president planned to "milk it for all it's worth politically," using the criminal charges to rally Republicans around him and his 2024 campaign, portray himself as a victim and fundraise.

Trump allies have said his fundraising haul has increased significantly since he posted on Truth Social that he expected to be arrested, taking in more than $2 million. And the biggest fundraising day of his post-presidency so far was the day after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago last year for classified documents.

The causeway that leads to Mar-a-Lago has long been a rally spot for Trump supporters, especially during his presidency, when they would regularly gather to cheer on his motorcade.

But as the sun set along the causeway Thursday, more people were fishing for sand perch and croaker than had shown up to the support the former president. Shortly before 8 p.m., only a half dozen Trump supporters had amassed in their usual spot.

"A travesty of justice occurred today - our hearts are broken," said Mary Kelley, 77, of Lake Worth, Fla., who arrived waving a "Trump 2024" flag. "We are here supporting our president. We always have. We always will. And he knows we are here."

At least one anti-Trump protester was also in attendance. Victoria Doyle, a 57-year-old attorney from Lake Worth Beach, Fla., arrived carrying a sign that included an expletive aimed at the former president.

Doyle said she had made the sign more than a week ago, when Trump first said he expected to be indicted, and agonized for days over whether she would ever be able to carry it.

So when she heard the news Thursday evening, Doyle raced to the causeway to unfurl her sign. Despite some heckling, Doyle held her ground as the lone Trump opponent, pacing and shouting, "Lock him up!" while also expressing her dismay that more had not gathered to share her enthusiasm for the grand jury's decision.

"I expected to have some fellow celebrators here," Doyle said. "But that is okay. I will always show up to celebrate justice and consequences. I'm a lawyer."

- - -

The Washington Post's Tim Craig in Palm Beach, Fla., contributed to this report.
Former president Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, becoming the first person in U.S. history to serve as commander in chief and then be charged with a crime.

The indictment remains under seal, so the specific charge or charges have not been made public. Here is what we know so far about the charging decision and the next steps in the criminal proceedings:

- - -

What is an indictment?

When someone is indicted by a grand jury, it means they are charged with one or more crimes. "An indictment is just a fancy way of saying 'the charging document,'" said Anna G. Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School. "It is a piece of paper that contains the charges."

The grand jury, which in New York is composed of 23 members of the public, hears evidence from witnesses presented by prosecutors over a period of days, weeks or months. At the end of that process, prosecutors decide whether to ask the jurors to vote on an indictment. A majority must vote to indict the person.

The grand jury process is secret, and the indictment is generally not made public until it is filed in court or - in some cases - until the defendant makes their first court appearance.

- - -

What is the case about?

The indictment against Trump is believed to involve a payment made before the 2016 presidential election to Stormy Daniels, an adult-film actress, to keep her from publicly discussing an affair she said she had with Trump years earlier.

- - -

Now that he is charged, will Trump be publicly arrested?

Trump posted on social media on March 18 that he would be arrested, but that won't happen if he voluntarily turns himself in.

A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney said Thursday evening that the office had contacted Trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender. A person familiar with the matter - speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not been publicly announced - said the former president is expect to appear in court for an arraignment on Tuesday, April 4, at 2:15 p.m.

- - -

And what happens once he is in custody?

Once a suspect who has been indicted is in police custody, police or other law enforcement officials process them behind closed doors, taking mug shots and fingerprints.

The process is identical whether the person has been arrested or has agreed - or negotiated through lawyers - to turn themselves in.

The first court proceeding after an arrest or surrender would be an arraignment hearing in a Manhattan courtroom. At the arraignment, a judge would determine whether Trump would need to pay bail or adhere to certain restrictions pending a trial - or whether he could be released with no bail or restrictions, which is known as being released on personal recognizance.

The Secret Service special agent in charge of Trump's security detail, Sean Curran, or Curran's deputy, is likely to personally accompany Trump when he is processed and appears in court.

- - -

Who is the prosecutor who brought charges against Trump?

New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, was elected as the Manhattan district attorney in November 2021. He is a former federal prosecutor in the New York attorney general's office.

Bragg inherited the Trump investigation from his predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr. Two senior prosecutors quit his office last year, apparently in frustration that Bragg was not inclined to pursue an indictment of Trump over how he valued properties in his real estate business. Bragg has declined to discuss the investigation, saying only that, "We will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly."

- - -

Where would Trump be processed once he turns himself in?

Defendants are typically processed in police precincts. But it is not uncommon for them to be processed at a district attorney's office if they surrender after a grand jury indictment.

- - -

Could Trump go to jail?

This is the question a lot of people are asking. The answer is, it depends - not only on what he is charged with, of course, but also of what, if anything, he is ultimately convicted.

Bragg is believed to have been considering charges of falsifying business records in the commission of another crime, possibly a campaign-finance violation. That would be a low-level felony, according to New York state law, punishable by up to four years in prison.

But charges can be downgraded, sentences vary case by case, and, in general, it is unusual for a person with no criminal record to be sentenced to extensive jail time for a nonviolent, low-level felony violation.

So even if Trump is convicted of a felony, it does not necessarily mean he will spend time in jail.

- - -

Can Trump still run for president in 2024?

While it has never been attempted by a candidate from a major party before, Trump is allowed to run for president while under indictment - or even if he is convicted of a crime.

The practical impact of an criminal case on his candidacy - whether it would help or hurt his odds of landing in the White House again - depends on whom you ask. Some of his advisers, according to a recent Washington Post article, said this is favorable terrain for Trump: back in the center of attention as the dominant figure in his party. But advisers also acknowledged the pitfalls of a indictment and said the campaign has not worked out the logistics of simultaneously mounting a presidential run and facing a criminal trial.

- - -

What has been the reaction to the indictment?

Many Republican officials - including some rivals for the Republican nomination - leaped to Trump's defense, denouncing what they called the weaponization of the criminal justice system.

Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican Party, called the indictment "a blatant abuse of power from a DA focused on political vengeance instead of keeping people safe."

Former vice president Mike Pence - who broke with Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and is eying a 2024 presidential run - also criticized the charges.

"I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage," Pence said Thursday night in an interview on CNN. "This will only further serve to divide our country."

Top Democrats said that the grand jury was following the facts and that Trump should respect the legal system.

"The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence," Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the longtime speaker of the House, wrote on Twitter. "Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right."

- - -

The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett and Josh Dawsey in Washington and Shayna Jacobs in New York contributed to this report.
RENO, Nev. (AP)  A suspect in the shooting death of a young Nevada mother has been apprehended in Texas.

Authorities in the Reno area announced that U.S. Marshals arrested 39-year-old Todd Tonnochy at a motel in Midland on Tuesday.
Texas attorneys battled in federal court before U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal on Wednesday afternoon over the constitutionally of Harris County's felony bail system, one that advocates in the case say disproportionately punishes low-income individuals unable to afford bail.

The Texas Civil Rights Project, Civil Rights Corps, and Susman and Godfrey LLP filed the federal lawsuit in 2019. According to lawyers, the following steps based on Rosenthal's ruling are most likely to go to trial or appeal the case to the Fifth Circuit.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs maintain the outcome of Russell v. Harris County will determine if the county violated the Plaintiff's rights by incarcerating them because they can't afford cash bail, a systematic issue impacting defendants at the Harris County jail. More specifically, attorneys said the system violates the Equal Protection and Due process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution and could change the scope of the county bail practices.

Poor people are entitled to the same fundamental right as those with moneyinnocent until proven guilty," said Equal Justice Works Fellow Travis Fife in a statement Wednesday. "Harris Countys felony bail distorts the presumption of innocence on its head by jailing thousands of people indefinitely simply because they cannot afford freedom."

Criminal justice advocates argue that a judgement favor of reforming Harris County Jail's cash bail system would be a step toward addressing racial disparities in the court system.

"The simple truth is bail reform works. Not only does it restore the constitutional rights of those who cannot afford bail, but study after study show that it reduces recidivism and saves taxpayer dollars - all while having no negative impact on public safety," Texas Jail Project Executive Director and Co-Founder Krish Gundu said in a statement Wednesday.

"Naysayers protecting generations of racist and broken criminal justice policies claimed the sky would fall when misdemeanor bail reform was implemented. We now know theyve been wrong all along. Its time to extend the success weve achieved with misdemeanor crimes to felonies.

According to the Harris County Jail dashboard, there are currently 9,635 people incarcerated at the jail. More than 7,000 of those incarcerated are pre-trial defendants and presumed innocent until convicted. The Harris County jail is also marked one of its deadliest years in history, with 28 in-custody deaths in 2022. The jail has recorded five deaths thus far in 2023.

Earlier this month, Harris County Commissioners approved a $6.8 million proposed plan to address troubling conditions at the facility after another failed another state inspection. The plan includes hiring more jail staff and improving jail medical services.
FRIDAY: Med-Trans flew to Clovis, New Mexico to pick up a patient, then flew to Amarillo and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. A customer flew in from Andrews on instrument training flight, and later back to Andrews in his Cessna 182 Skylane. A customer returned from Pensacola, Florida in his Socata TBM 850 prop jet. A customer flew in from Las Vegas, Nevada for fuel, lunch, then flew to Panama City, Florida in his Beech 200B King Air prop jet. Brooks Terrell flew in from Taos, New Mexico for fuel, lunch with his parents, Donald Lee and Corky Terrell, and later flew to McKinney in his Cessna 400 Columbia. A customer flew up from Lubbock for fuel, then back to Lubbock in his Cessna 182 Skylane. Med-Trans flew over to Covenant Hospital to pick up a patient, then flew to Lubbock and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. Med-Trans flew to Clovis, New Mexico to pick up a patient, then flew to Amarillo and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. Med-Trans flew over to Covenant Hospital to pick up another patient, then flew to Lubbock and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter.

SATURDAY: A customer flew in from Dallas Addison for fuel, then back to Addison in his Cessna 182 Skylane. A customer flew in from Wichita, Kansas for fuel, then flew to Mt. Pleasant in his Diamond Twin Star. A customer flew down from Amarillo for fuel, then back to Amarillo in his Cessna 182 Skylane.

SUNDAY: A customer flew in from Waco to pick up a passenger, then flew to Amarillo, and later back for fuel, drop off the passenger, then back to Waco in his Cessna 421 Golden Eagle. A customer flew in from Fort Worth for fuel, then flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico in his Eurocopter EC-225 Super Puma jet helicopter. A customer flew down from Amarillo for touch and goes, then flew back to Amarillo in his Cessna 172 Skyhawk. A customer came up from Lubbock for a visit, then back to Lubbock in his Beech Bonanza. A customer flew in from Monte Vista, Colorado for fuel, pick up a passenger, then flew back to Trinidad, Colorado in his Piper Comanche. A customer flew down from Amarillo for a touch and go, then back to Amarillo in his Piper Warrior. Mark Parish flew locally in his Bellanca Viking. Glen Pendergrass flew locally in his Bellanca Cruisemaster. A customer flew in from Lubbock for fuel, then back in his Piper Comanche.

MONDAY: A customer flew up from Lubbock for touch and goes, fuel, then back to Lubbock in his Globe GC-1B Swift. A customer flew up from Lubbock for touch and goes, and later back to Lubbock in his Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Cody Williams gave Mark Parish his Bi-Ennial Flight Review flying locally in Marks Bellanca Viking. A customer flew in from Conway, Arkansas for a quick turn on fuel, then flew to Tucson, Arizona in his Piper Meridian M-600 prop jet. Med-Trans flew over to Covenant Hospital and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. A customer flew down from Amarillo for approaches, then back in his Beech E-90 King Air prop jet.

TUESDAY: Med-Trans flew over to Covenant Hospital and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. Nick Wilson flew up from Lubbock to pick up Cody Williams, then flew locally for his Bi-Ennial Flight Review, and later back to Lubbock in his Piper Comanche. Bill Anton flew locally in his Mooney. Med-Trans flew to Andrews to pick up a patient, then flew to Lubbock and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. A customer flew in from Fort Worth for fuel, then flew to Graham in his Cessna 172 Skyhawk. A customer flew in from Santa Fe, New Mexico for fuel, then flew to Granbury in his Lake L4-200. Cody Williams flew locally with a student giving dual instruction in his Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Med-Trans flew over to Covenant Hospital to pick up a patient, then flew to Lubbock and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter.

WEDNESDAY: A customer flew in from McGregor for fuel, business, and later back to McGregor in his Beech 300 King Air prop jet. Med-Trans flew over to Covenant Hospital to pick up a patient, then flew to Lubbock and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. Jacob Williams flew in from Lockney five times to pick up loads to spray in the local area, and later back to Lockney in the Turbine 802 Air Tractor prop jet. Trey Weathers, pilot for Barr Air Patrol, flew in from Bartlesville, Oklahoma for fuel, lunch, and later flew up to Libby, New Mexico to pick up the pipeline to patrol, and later back to Bartlesville in their Cessna 182 Skylane. A customer flew up from Lubbock for touch and goes, then back to Lubbock in his Piper Cherokee 180. A customer flew in from Henderson, Nevada for fuel, then flew to Oakdale, Louisiana in his Piper Saratoga. A customer flew up from Lubbock for fuel, then back to Lubbock in his Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Med-Trans flew to Portales, New Mexico to pick up a patient, then flew to Amarillo and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter.

THURSDAY: A customer flew in from Borger for a quick turn on fuel, then flew to Lubbock in a Eurocopter EC-135 jet helicopter. A customer flew to Longmont, Colorado in a Beech Duke. A customer flew in from Albuquerque, New Mexico for fuel, then flew to Minden, Louisiana in his Eurocopter AS-50 A-Star jet helicopter. A customer flew in from Longmont, Colorado, fuel, drop off a passenger, then back to Longmont in his Beech Turbine Duke.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped $10 million on a new political action committee Thursday, pledging to boost Democrats in the reddest of red states ahead of the 2024 election and what could be a future run for president.

Newsom launched the Campaign for Democracy using money left over from his 2022 campaign for governor, where he easily won reelection against a little-known Republican opponent. In a video announcing the committee, Newsom pledged to take on authoritarian leaders he says are directly attacking our freedoms, including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Whats happening in those red states? Newsom asked. Thats not who we are. Its un-American. Its un-democratic.

Newsom blamed those governors for banning books and targeting transgender children. Republicans, meanwhile, have criticized Newsom for using taxpayer money to pay for women in other states to come to California for abortions and to cover the health care expenses of people living in the country without legal permission.

Theres a reason why Gavin Newsom never focuses on the problems hes caused in his own state, Sanders spokesperson Alexa Henning said. California residents are experiencing sky high rent but Governor Sanders is living rent free in his head.

Newsom and his family will visit Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi early next week, meeting with Democratic activists who are pushing for things like expanding Medicaid and resisting Sanders' education proposals. But first, he'll appear at a fundraiser Saturday in Florida for the Democratic Governors Association, spokesperson Nathan Click said.

A donation blitz to candidates in other states is a typical pathway to a presidential campaign for ambitious politicians. Most of the time, money is targeted at swing states or places with early presidential primaries where donations can pay dividends later.

Newsom, however, is taking on states with little strategic political value for Democrats, part of his ongoing effort to reshape the Democratic Party's message.

He's been saying we can't go just to the 12 states that are on the line; we've got to go to the states where we lose and help the people who are on the front lines with these fights," Click said.

Other Democrats have tried to use their star power to help candidates around the country  some in heavily Republican areas.

On the heels of his 2020 Senate run against South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham  which busted fundraising records but resulted in a loss to the incumbent  Jaime Harrison launched Dirt Road PAC, utilizing his newly minted status as a fundraising powerhouse to try to provide a sustained boost to other Democrats that he hopes can help flip more areas from red to blue.

Dirt Road has continued to operate as Harrison has taken over as Democratic National Committee chair, raising about $200,000 before the end of last year, according to federal filings.

Such efforts have not always been successful. In 2013, Jeremy Bird, who was the national field director for then-President Barack Obamas reelection campaign the previous year, helped organize Battleground Texas, which vowed to make long-term financial and organizing commitments to Democratic causes in the nations largest Republican state.

The group invested heavily in 2014 Democratic governor candidate Wendy Davis, who lost big to Republican Abbott. Nearly 10 years later, Texas Democrats still havent won a statewide office since 1994, the nations longest losing streak.

Individual elected officials have gotten into the act, too, like Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Weeks after dropping out of the 2020 presidential race, she announced a political group called Warren Democrats that saw her endorse, campaign with and provide financial and logistical support for progressive congressional candidates that cycle and last year. The records of candidates backed by Warren were mixed, and she is now running for reelection next year to the Senate.

Last year, amid some unease among Democrats about President Joe Biden's prospects for reelection, Newsom's name was floated as a potential replacement for 2024. Newsom quickly shut those rumors down, saying he had no desire to run for president. However, he has continued to build his profile as a national leader, spending his campaign money for governor last year on ads in Republican-led states, including Florida and Texas.

He's clearly building his national profile and presence, said Eric Schickler, a political science professor at the University of California, Berkeley. It's a way that taps into something that a a lot of Democrats have been concerned about, which is that there is not much of a party presence in a lot of the red states.

Newsoms second term as governor will end in 2026. He has said he wont challenge Biden for the presidency. Were he to run in 2028, hed potentially be going up against Vice President Kamala Harris, a fellow Californian.

___

Associated Press reporters Will Weissert in Washington and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., contributed.
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HELSINKI (AP)  Finland received the green light to join NATO when Turkey ratified the Nordic country's membership late Thursday, becoming the last country in the 30-member Western military alliance to sign off.

All NATO members must vote unanimously to admit a new country. into the alliance. The decision by the Turkish parliament followed Hungary's ratification of Finland's bid earlier in the week.

The addition of Finland, which shares a 1,340 kilometer (832 miles) border with Russia, will more than double the size of NATOs border with Russia.

However, a few more steps and procedures are required before the northern European nation becomes the 31st full NATO member:

ACCEPTANCE LETTERS

Turkey and Hungary dispatch acceptance letters to the United States which is the depositary, or safekeeper, of NATO under the alliance's 1949 founding treaty. The letters will be filed in the archives of the U.S. State Department, which will notify NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that the conditions for inviting Finland to become a member were met.

INVITATION

NATO sends a letter signed by Stoltenberg inviting Finland to join the military alliance.

SIGNATURES

Finland sends its own acceptance document, signed by Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, to the U.S. State Department. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto authorized Haavisto to sign the document. Either the Finnish Embassy in Washington or a Finnish government official will deliver the document.

FULL MEMBERSHIP

Once Finland's membership acceptance document reaches the State Department in Washington, the country officially becomes a NATO member.

FINLAND-SWEDEN

Finland and neighboring Sweden jointly applied for NATO membership in May 2022. The countries, which have close cultural, economic and political ties, planned to enter the alliance simultaneously.

Swedens bid, however, has stalled due to opposition from Turkey, whose president has said his country wouldnt ratify membership before disputes between Ankara and Stockholm were resolved. The Turkish government has accused Sweden of being too soft on groups that it deems to be terror organizations.

Hungary's parliament also has yet to ratify Sweden's accession to NATO, and it remains unclear when it will do so.
Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion, speaks during an online press conference, Wednesday. Courtesy of Celltrion



By Baek Byung-yeul



Seo Jung-jin, founder and chairman of Celltrion, vowed to transform the biosimilar maker into a leading new drug maker and launch a series of merger and acquisition (M&A) activities to diversify its business portfolio during an online press conference, Wednesday.



The chairman added that Celltrion will seek advancement into the artificial intelligence (AI) technology-based digital healthcare business to keep pace with trends in the biomedical industry that increasingly utilize emerging digital technologies.



"We are a leader in biosimilars, but we will try to generate 40 percent of the company's sales from our own drugs and 60 percent from biosimilars by 2030," the chairman said. Biosimilar drugs are biological medical products very similar to existing approved products.



The chairman revealed the vision in order to achieve stable growth for the company. "Everyone thinks of Celltrion as a biosimilar company but we expect our Remsima SC drug to be approved as a new drug in the U.S. by October this year. We will also conduct 10 clinical trials for developing new drugs in 2024," Seo said.



Celltrion has expanded partnerships in recent years to secure new drug platform technology. In January, the company became the largest shareholder of the U.K.-based antibody-drug conjugates developer Iksuda Therapeutics through a joint investment with Mirae Asset Group.



The press conference was Seo's first official event a day after he was voted in as a co-chair of the boards of the group's three companies  Celltrion, Celltrion Pharm and Celltrion Healthcare  during Tuesday's shareholders' meeting.



In early March, Celltrion announced Seo would return to management, two years after he resigned from management in March 2021, to let the founder serve a critical role in saving the biotechnology group, which has been facing growing business uncertainties.



"We will also try to enter the digital healthcare business based on AI technology. Also when many companies are undervalued, we will actively implement M&As with our surplus cash to expand our business vertically and horizontally," the chairman said.



"We have been interested in the digital healthcare business for a long time. This sector is directed by Seo Jin-seok, chairman of the board of directors of Celltrion. With the development of AI technology, business has become easier. We are in the research stage and plan to launch a separate research center for this business," he said.



The chairman spoke of the pending merger of the three stock market-listed companies  Celltrion, Celltrion Pharm and Celltrion Healthcare.



"The preparation process for the merge is almost complete. As many shareholders want this, we are looking to finalize the process within up to four months after presenting a milestone for the merger," the chairman said.



In September 2020, Celltrion Group said it would merge the three companies, citing management transparency, strengthening governance and expanding business capabilities.



The chairman also revealed the possibility to establish a drug-manufacturing plant in the U.S. at a time when U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking to strengthen drug manufacturing domestically.



"President Biden is emphasizing the manufacture of raw materials and drugs in the U.S. but no specific plan has been proposed yet. If so, we intend to accept the will of the U.S. administration," Seo said.


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PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP)  Voters in small Montenegro go to the polls this weekend to choose their next president in a runoff between pro-Western incumbent Milo Djukanovic and Jakov Milatovic, a newcomer supported by the shaky governing coalition with links to neighboring Serbia.

Observers say Milatovic, a politician on the rise, stands a better chance than Djukanovic, who is credited with leading the Balkan nation to independence from Serbia and into NATO but whose long presence in Montenegrin politics has fueled a desire for change.

The ballot is being held after none of the candidates won enough support in the first round of voting two weeks ago. Here is a look at the main facts on Montenegro, Sunday's election and the two candidates:

MONTENEGRO, IN A NUTSHELL

Montenegro is a small nation of some 620,000 people, located in Europe's Balkan peninsula, by the Adriatic Sea. The country became independent after a referendum in 2006 following decades in a union with Serbia, but remains divided over relations with its much larger neighbor.

Politically, Montenegro is a member of NATO and now seeking to join the European Union. That effort, however, has been stalled because of political turmoil after a change of government in 2020. This has alarmed the West as Montenegro is considered a key ally in efforts to counter Russian influence and maintain stability in the Balkans.

Montenegro boasts stunning natural beauty in both its mountains and the sandy coastline.

WHY IS THIS ELECTION IMPORTANT?

Although the presidency in Montenegro is a more or less a ceremonial post, the vote is important because it could signal a political reshuffle ahead of early parliamentary election on June 11. Whichever candidate wins is expected to give an important boost to his party's chances in the June vote.

Djukanovic has insisted that voters also chose whether Montenegro will advance toward EU integration or will continue to stumble, as has been the case in the past 2 1/2 years since his Democratic Party of Socialists was ousted with the help of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.

Milatovic, who served in the first post-DPS government after three decades, says Djukanovic and his party devastated Montenegro during their rule, allowing crime and corruption to engulf society.

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

MILO DJUKANOVIC: At the age of 61, Djukanovic is possibly Europe's longest-serving politician who first became prime minister at 29 and has stayed in power for the past 32 years. Djukanovic has been the prime minister and president on multiple occasions, serving practically unchallenged until now.

Djukanovic and his DPS kept Montenegro stable while wars raged in the rest of the Balkans during the 1990s. He turned away from Serbia and pushed for independence in 2006, and later defied Slavic ally Russia in 2017 to take his nation into NATO.

Nowadays, Djukanovic says his mission is not over because Montenegro is again under threat from neighboring Serbia's expansionist policies and Russia's influence. Djukanovic has accused his opponent Milatovic and the current government of brutal populism in leading the country.

JAKOV MILATOVIC: Young and successful  the 36-year-old economist earned his education in Britain and the United States  Milatovic has appealed to voters disillusioned with established politicians like Djukanovic. Milatovic already has declared Djukanovic's era over, campaigning on the need for change and promising a better future.

Milatovic's Europe Now emerged after the first government that resulted from the 2020 parliamentary elections collapsed. As the economy minister, Milatovic gained popular support by increasing salaries but critics say this was done at the cost of the already depleted health system and not based on real economic improvements.

If Milatovic wins his Europe Now movement could find itself in a position to dominate the next government that will be formed after the June 11 vote. Milatovic says he is pro-EU, while opponents point to his close ties to the Serbian Orthodox Church and groups that want the country to revive its historically close relations with Serbia.

HOW WILL THE VOTING UNFOLD?

Polls open from 0500GMT until 1800GMT. Montenegro has some 540,000 eligible voters and turnout in the country is usually relatively high. First projections of the final tally will be given about an hour after polls close by usually reliable local monitoring agencies. Official results are expected later in the evening or on Monday.
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BUCHA, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainians marked the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha Friday with calls for remembrance and justice after a brutal Russian occupation that left hundreds of civilians dead in the streets and in mass graves, establishing the town near Kyiv as an epicenter of the war's atrocities.

We will not let it be forgotten, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a ceremony in Bucha, vowing to punish those who committed outrages there that are still raw. Human dignity will not let it be forgotten. On the streets of Bucha, the world has seen Russian evil. Evil unmasked.

Bucha's name has come to evoke savagery by Moscow's military since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Ukrainian troops who retook the town found the bodies of men, women and children on the streets, in yards and homes, and in mass graves. Some showed signs of torture.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, fighting continued Friday: Russia used its long-range arsenal to bombard several areas, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes.

And the Kremlin-allied president of neighboring Belarus raised the stakes when he said Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in his country, along with part of Moscows tactical nuclear arsenal. Moscow said earlier this week that it planned to place in Belarus tactical nuclear weapons, which are comparatively short-range and low-yield. Strategic nuclear weapons, such as missile-borne warheads, would bring a greater threat.

At the official commemoration in Bucha, Zelenskyy was joined by Moldova's president and the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Russian troops occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month. When Ukrainian forces retook the town, they encountered horrific scenes. Over weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including of children.

Russian soldiers, on intercepted phone conversations, called it zachistka  cleansing, according to an investigation by The Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline.

Such organized cruelty, which Russian troops also employed in other conflicts such as Chechnya, was later repeated in Russia-occupied territories across Ukraine.

Zelenskyy handed out medals to soldiers, police officers, doctors, teachers and emergency workers in Bucha, as well as to the families of two soldiers killed during the defense of the Kyiv region.

Ukrainian people, you have stopped the biggest anti-human force of our times, he said. You have stopped the force which has no respect and wants to destroy everything that gives meaning to human life.

Ukrainian authorities documented more than 1,400 civilian deaths, including 37 children, in the Bucha district, and more than 175 people were found in mass graves and alleged torture chambers, Zelenskyy said. Ukraine and other countries, including the U.S., have demanded that Russia answer for war crimes.

Among the civilians killed was 69-year-old Valerii Kyzylov, whose wife survived but for whom the horrors inflicted on Bucha, her home town, are still raw.

I remember everything like it was yesterday, she said, twisting a handkerchief in her hands as she stood at a candle-lit vigil on Friday evening. A year has passed but I still see it before my eyes.

She cried as she recounted the horror she endured a year ago. Of Russian troops shooting her husband dead and leaving the body lying in the street for days. Of the Russian soldiers taking over her house, where she was forced to live in the basement. They would bring other civilians to the basement, she said, some with bags over their heads, and they would decide there whom to execute and whom to allow to live.

I lived with my husband for 47 years. We have two children. We had such a nice family, she said, weeping. This pain is so great. He was so beautiful. He was killed for nothing.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin alleged Friday that many of the dead civilians were tortured. Almost 100 Russian soldiers are suspected of war crimes, he said on his Telegram channel, and indictments have been issued for 35 of them.

A Ukrainian court has sentenced two Russian servicemen to 12 years in prison for illegally depriving civilians of liberty, and for looting.

I am convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russias planned strategy aimed at destroying Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation, Kostin said.

In Geneva, the U.N. human rights chief said his office has verified the deaths of more than 8,400 civilians in Ukraine since Russias invasion  a count believed to be far short of the true toll. Volker Turk told the U.N. Human Rights Council that severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine during Russia's invasion.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, along with announcing the possibility of the deployment of Russian strategic nuclear weapons in his country, called for a cease-fire in Ukraine. A truce, he said in his state-of-the-nation address in Minsk, must be announced without any preconditions, and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted.

Its necessary to stop now, before an escalation begins, Lukashenko said, adding that an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using Western-supplied weapons would bring an irreversible escalation of the conflict.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Russia has to keep fighting, again claiming that Ukraine has rejected any talks under pressure from its Western allies.

Peskov also dismissed remarks by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that the European Union was mulling the deployment of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, calling that extremely dangerous.

Russia has maintained its bombardment of Ukraine, with the war already in its second year. Along with the two civilians killed Friday, 14 others were wounded as Russia launched missiles, shells, exploding drones and gliding bombs, the Ukraine presidential office said.

Two Russian missiles hit the eastern city of Kramatorsk, damaging eight residential buildings, the office said. Nine missiles struck Kharkiv, damaging residential buildings, roads, gas stations and a prison, while Russian forces shelled the southern city and region of Kherson. A barrage at Zaporizhzhia and its outskirts caused major fires.

In the battered front-line town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, a baby and adult were killed in Russian shelling, according to the presidential office. Before the Russian invasion, about 25,000 people lived in Avdiivka. About 2,000 civilians remain.

___

Hanna Arhirova reported from Kyiv. Jamey Keaten contributed to this report from Geneva, while Yuras Karmanau contributed from Tallinn, Estonia.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
SAN DIEGO (AP)  A powerful San Diego County supervisor said he will resign amid accusations that he sexually assaulted a government employee, completing a swift and shocking fall for a decorated Marine combat veteran whose star rose with his Democratic Partys ascendancy in the nations eighth-largest city.

Nathan Fletcher, who defected from the Republican Party in 2012, was elected to a second term on the county board of supervisors with 65% of the vote in November, two years after Democrats won a board majority that eluded their grasp for decades.

Fletcher, 46, was the face of the San Diego regions muscular response to COVID-19 at daily news conferences. He became half of San Diegos most powerful political couple after his 2017 marriage to Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, a well-known liberal Democratic state assemblywoman who became a top California labor leader last year.

Fletchers progressive positions and telegenic presence made him a solid favorite to succeed another prominent California politician, Toni Atkins, in the state Senate. But he announced late Sunday that he was dropping his bid after less than two months to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse.

Days later, Fletcher resigned as chair of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System after a government staffer alleged sexual harassment and assault in a lawsuit that included screenshots of lurid messages from Fletcher.

Hours after that, Fletcher said he would resign from the county board of supervisors, calling the pressure on his family over the last week immense and unbearable.

A combination of my personal mistakes plus false accusations has created a burden that my family shouldnt have to bear, he said. He will leave office May 15.

Fletchers fall jolted the city a week after officials made a critical turn in a saga that has captivated the city and threatened other top politicians.

A 2017 lease-to-own deal for employees to occupy a 19-story downtown office building turned disastrous after asbestos and other deficiencies were discovered and rendered the space uninhabitable. Jason Hughes, an unpaid adviser to the city on the deal, pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor and agreed to repay $9.4 million that he collected in a dual role as adviser to the buildings seller, Cisterra LLC.

The deal was bungled under Mayor Kevin Faulconer, one of Californias most promising Republican leaders until a resounding defeat in a failed 2020 recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.

Brian Adams, a political science professor at San Diego State University, likened Fletcher to other fallen leaders, including Andrew Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer, both former governors of New York, and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards.

They were all seen having promising futures collapse over sexual harassment claims, said Adams.

Fletcher's name entered conversations about who San Diego might elect to be mayor or a member of Congress, Adams said. His troubles may open the way for new faces if Todd Gloria, the Democratic mayor, faces questions over how he handled fallout from the real estate debacle.

San Diegos political drama doesnt appear to have gripped residents like earlier scandal, including the resignation in 2013 of Bob Filner, the first Democratic mayor in 20 years, after weeks of near-daily allegations of harassing women, including city employees.

A Republican mayor, Dick Murphy, resigned in 2004 after a pension crisis made San Diego a poster child for financial mismanagement.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court, the government staffer says she began exchanging messages with Fletcher in 2021 when he started visiting her social media accounts. He once wrote, Home alone  no wife and kids. He urged her to delete his texts and be discreet.

The staffer says Fletcher kissed her in the stairway of a hotel where he was staying in May 2022. Weeks later, he allegedly texted her during a meeting that he had for five minutes and asked her to go to an adjoining conference room, where he kissed and grabbed her.

The worker was fired Feb. 6 after she attempted to engage in meaningful, pre-litigation discussions with Fletcher to resolve her claims quietly and amicably, her lawsuit says. On Sunday, just before Fletcher ended his Senate run, Fletchers attorney threatened to sue the worker for extortion, she said.

Fletcher acknowledged consensual interactions with someone outside his marriage.

I havent done the things that are alleged but I did violate the basic trust of my marriage and set a terrible example for our children, he said in a statement.

San Diego County Democratic Party Chair Becca Taylor said Thursday that Fletchers decision to resign was appropriate, echoing other political leaders.

Gonzalez Fletcher, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, said she loves her husband and believes his name will be cleared" but that she urged him to resign.

___

This story was first published on March 30, 2023. It was updated on March 30, 2023 to remove the name of the government worker making accusations of sexual assault, per Associated Press policy.
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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  The eastern Mediterranean can provide a key energy corridor to Europe through a planned electricity cable connecting the power grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel and a potential natural gas pipeline, the three countries' top diplomats said Friday.

The three foreign ministers met in the Cypriot capital as part of a series of high-level trilateral meetings aimed at deepening a partnership founded on the discovery of substantial offshore natural gas deposits.

Unlocking the full potential of our region will be a game changer, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told a news conference. We strive to promote a reliable and sustainable energy corridor from the Eastern Mediterranean basin to Europe.

Work hasn't started on either the cable  which will be partly funded by the European Union  or the gas pipeline, which has been under discussion for years but is still at the feasibility study stage.

The Cypriot foreign minister has underscored that the projects have gained added weight and urgency in light of Russia's war against Ukraine and the "need for energy diversification and increased interconnectivity.

Kombos said a 2,000-megawatt undersea electricity cable known as the EurAsia Interconnector and the proposed EastMed gas pipeline remain two significant strategic options on our energy agenda.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said the EUs engagement in a regional forum created to promote cooperation on energy generation showed that the eastern Mediterranean plays an important role as an alternative energy corridor."

We talked about the East Med pipeline, as you would expect us to do, and also the strategic importance of the Eurasian interconnector between Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Dendias said, extending an invitation to Turkey  Greece's neighbor and longtime regional rival  to join in as long as it heeds international law.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said his country attaches special importance to renewable energy.

Funding for about a third of the EurAsia Interconnectors 1.6 billion euro ($1.74 billion) price tag will come from the EUs Connecting Europe Facility, which bankrolls infrastructure projects.

Feasibility studies on the proposed 1,900-kilometer (1,300-mile), $6 billion EastMed pipeline are still ongoing. The project has in recent years fallen in and out of favor with planners after U.S. officials declared it as not viable.

But it may have gotten a second wind in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine last year that compelled Europe to scramble for alternative sources of energy.

Cohen added that Israel would also boost military cooperation through joint military exercises and arms procurements, while information sharing between the three countries intelligence agencies would remain for the stability of our region.

Cyprus will host a meeting of the three countries' leaders later this year.
ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Two men accused of planning a Passover attack on a Jewish center in central Athens appeared in court Friday to answer to terrorism charges and were ordered to remain in pre-trial detention, authorities said.

Greek officials announced the suspects' arrests earlier this week and described the men as being of Pakistani origin.

Police alleged they were planning to attack the Chabad of Athens center, which is part of Judaism's international Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The center hosts religious services, as well as a kosher restaurant and grocery.

Passover, one of the most important Jewish holidays, starts next Wednesday at sundown.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the suspects were planning attacks at other locations. Police have searched multiple sites in Athens as well as in southern Greece and on the western island of Zakynthos.

The two men appeared before a public prosecutor, who ordered their detention in prison pending trial.

A third man, who is not in Greece, is wanted for questioning and has been charged with terrorism-related offenses in absentia.

Israel has thanked the Greek government for its response and said that its national intelligence agency, Mossad, had provided information about the suspects.

A Greek lawyer representing the two suspects told reporters after the hearing that one of the men had agreed to take videos of the Jewish center using his cell phone but had decided not to go through with the attack.

My client believed that the third man, who has not been arrested, was in a position to threaten him and carry out criminal acts against him and members of his family, lawyer Iraklis Stavaris said.

He acknowledges the part that was an attempt: meaning that he went and checked out the location, the scene where the crime would be committed, and he withdrew. He saw that the operation would not be easy and would have consequences.
Some Texas Republicans quickly criticized Donald Trumps criminal indictment Thursday as a politically motivated catastrophe after it was announced that the former president would face criminal charges.

The Democrat Partys hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds. The substance of this political persecution is utter garbage, tweeted U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.

Republicans, including Trump, have cast the indictment as a political witch hunt to discredit the former president ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Recent polls currently favor Trump over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced his candidacy. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is also expected to run again.

On his podcast earlier in March, Cruz predicted that arresting Trump would only boost the former presidents appeal among supporters.

This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats  have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement, Trump said in a statement.

On Thursday afternoon, the New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump over his role in paying alleged hush money to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star. Trump is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges in the countrys history.

The felony indictment has not yet been made public, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has asked Trump to surrender to the not-yet-known charges.

Despite the growing rivalry between Trump and DeSantis, the Florida governor accused the New York authorities of weaponizing the legal system against the former president. Given that Trump is based in Palm Beach, DeSantis said Florida will not fulfill an extradition request.

Texas Republicans echoed Trumps claims that the indictment is politically motivated.

State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, quoted Joseph Stalins Soviet-era secret police chief, Lavrentiy Beria, and wrote on Twitter, Trumps indictment reflect methods Stalin and his Communist Party used to destroy their political opponents.

The indictment comes less than a week after Trump held his first official 2024 campaign rally in Waco last Saturday. During the event, Trump announced his Texas Elected Leadership Team, which included Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson of Amarillo among others.

During the Waco rally, Trump railed against the impending charges, accusing Bragg of prosecutorial misconduct and likening the indictment to the host of other investigations launched against him.

The innocence of people makes no difference whatsoever to these radical left maniacs, Trump told a crowd of thousands last Saturday.

Despite knowing Trump was facing a criminal indictment, Texas leaders embraced the MAGA endorsement. Those same politicians came quickly to Trumps defense after the indictment dropped.

This is a dark day in American history. President Trumps only crime was MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! These cowardly Democrats HATE Trump and HATE his voters even more. When Trump wins, THESE PEOPLE WILL PAY!! Jackson said in a tweet shortly after the indictment was announced.

Jackson was a top White House physician during Trumps presidency.

Many Texas Republicans  include top elected leaders  tied the indictment to billionaire George Soros, who has made political donations to Democratic candidates and causes.

The New York Times last week reported that connections between Soros and Bragg are real but overstated. The newspaper said Soros donated to a liberal group that financially supported Braggs campaign.

A spokesman for Mr. Soros said that the two men had never met, nor had Mr. Soros given money directly to Mr. Braggs campaign, according to the New York Times.

In a tweet, Paxton said he stands with Trump.

The radical left has consistently weaponized our courts to silence conservative voices, the Texas attorney general wrote. The actions by the Soros-backed Democrat DA in NYC is the latest example of this abuse of power.

Wesley Hunt, a U.S. Representative from the Houston area who spoke ahead of Trump at his Waco rally, repeated the claim Thursday that the billionaire Soros was tied to the indictment.

A Manhattan Grand Jury at the behest of a weaponized prosecutor; who received a million dollars from Soros, has indicted a former U.S. President. This unprecedented attack against Trump is an assault on everything we hold sacred about our Republic, Hunt wrote on Twitter. If they can come for him, they can come for you.

The Texas Tribune reached out to every member of Trumps Texas leadership team for comment. Several did not respond. But Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who also spoke in Waco, replied and called the case against the former president pathetic.

President Donald Trump has said for years that Democrats have been, are, and will continue to weaponize the justice system for their own selfish political agenda. Todays action proves President Trump right once again, Miller said in a statement. The American people see this for what it is and I have no doubt that President Donald Trump will be totally vindicated and, once again, emerge on top.

Though Trump did not offer Gov. Greg Abbott an endorsement as part of his Texas Elected Leadership Team, the governor decried the criminal charges, calling the indictment an abhorrent abuse of power.

At least one Texas Democrat celebrated the impending charges, which are the result of a five-year investigation by the Manhattan district attorneys office.

May justice be served, finally, Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio wrote on Twitter.

Matthew Choi and Patrick Svitek contributed to this story.

Disclosure: New York Times has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/30/donald-trump-indictment-texas-republicans-ted-cruz/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
Texas Republicans were quick to react as news surfaced Thursday of a Manhattan grand jury's indictment of former President Donald Trump on charges reportedly stemming from hush money payments made during his 2016 campaign to cover up an extramarital affair.

Spoiler alert: They were not happy.

Among the swiftest to tear into the indictment was Sen. Ted Cruz, who tweeted: "The Democrat Party's hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds. The 'substance' of this political persecution is utter garbage. This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system." Cruz later called Thursday a "tragic day for our country."

Gov. Greg Abbott also spoke out on Twitter, calling the decision an "abhorrent abuse of power." He added: "The George Soros-supported NYC DA is only furthering the radical liberal agenda to have elections determined at the jury box rather than the ballot box. America deserves better."

But the outpouring of support for Trump didn't stop there. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a longtime Trump ally, also called the indictment an abuse of power in a statement that echoed that of his colleagues. "The radical left has consistently weaponized our courts to silence conservative voices," Paxton wrote on Twitter. "The actions by the Soros-backed Democrat DA in NYC is the latest example of this abuse of power. I stand with President Trump! #Trump."

In a slew of tweets, U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Amarillo), a former White House physician for Trump, kept the caps lock on for a strongly worded tweet suggesting that the indictment was all a ploy to sabotage Trump's 2024 reelection campaign. "This is a dark day in American history," Jackson tweeted. "President Trump's only 'crime' was MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! These cowardly Democrats HATE Trump and HATE his voters even more. When Trump wins, THESE PEOPLE WILL PAY!"

State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) even went so far as to invoke Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to criticize the indictment. "Trump's indictment reflect methods Stalin and his Communist Party used to destroy their political opponents. 'Show me the man and I'll find you the crime.'"

U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston), who spoke ahead of Trump at his Waco rally, tweeted that the indictment was an attack on "everything we hold sacred about our Republic," adding "If they can come for him, they can come for you. Our judicial system is not blind or just, it has been weaponized by dangerous people hellbent on remaking our nation into something unrecognizable." While Houston's Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw didn't name Trump in his tweet, he wrote: "Unprecedented. America's justice system should never be weaponized for political grandstanding."

On the other side, several Texas Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas), celebrated the indictment and emphasized that no one, not even a former president, is above the law. "As a former public defender, I know the importance of a fair and unbiased judicial process," Crockett tweeted. "I urge my fellow Americans to put politics aside & refrain from violent rhetoric. This is a critical momentwe must not fail it."

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, (D-San Antonio), simply wrote on Twitter: "May just be served, finally."
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MADISON  Bigger isnt always better when it comes to the quality of medical care, according to radiologist Dr. Bernard Jay.

Making screening more available to patients  charging $100 for an imaging test that usually can be more costly  is also something Jay feels very strongly about.

Jay, 77, founder of Madison Radiology, is retiring at the end of April, after seeing close to a half-million patients over 44 years.

Madison Radiology recently joined Guilford Radiology, which offers CT Scans and MRIs. Patients are sent to Guilford for those screening tests.

Jay is proud that Madison Radiology is known for its personal touch; when he started his practice, radiology even back then in 1979 was impersonal  I wanted to change that, he said.

So that when this practice opened up in 79, I saw a patient. I talked to them. I showed them the findings on the X-ray," he said. "And I don't think they ever expected to get that treatment.

Surrounded by a bank of large monitors, Jay sat back in his chair and reflected on his long tenure. With his warm smile, one might catch a glimpse of the community doctors bedside manner.

I am so proud of how many lives I've encountered and saved, he said. Jay estimates that half his practice is womens imagining, mostly mammography and he has diagnosed thousands of cases of breast cancer.

A week doesn't pass, that I don't see a breast cancer here, he said with a shake of his head. I'm proud to say, some of these patients I've seen in over 20-30 years that had breast cancer, they're all alive and well, he added.

Personalized care

Shortly after Jay finished his residency at Yale Medical School, he opened his practice in Madison in 1979, then one of the few radiology facilities on the shoreline.

If youre a small operation, he said, it does not matter. If you take care of patients properly and put patients number one and not money on the list, you are going to do a great job for the patient."

Some of his staff have been with him since the beginning. The continuity of care is something I'm extremely proud of, he said.

The mammography technologist has been with me 40 years and you know what? They come to see her, not me, he said about Linda Pirolo, chief of mammography. Im just so very proud that the staff are so very caring of the patients."

Office manager Christine Fitzgerald agreed. It's a family here, she said about patients and staff.

Familiar faces can be comforting, especially during a high anxiety exam, added Juliann Hammer, chief ultrasound technologist.

Passing the torch

I've been very fortunate to be able to find a group that is willing to continue what I started, Jay said about joining Guilford Radiology.

So Madison Radiology will continue as Madison Radiology  it makes me feel good, because my practice is going to continue, he said. ... You got two great practices here that service this whole community.

This may be reassuring to some patients who like the homey feel of the office, which looks more like a living room with cozy furnishings. At the front desk, patients sign in with pen and paper and not on a computer tablet.

Filling a need on shoreline

Radiologist Dr. Joe Gagliardi, who is MRI director at Connecticut Orthopedic Specialists in Branford, noted his colleague was probably the first radiologist to come out to the Madison area  there was not a lot out there.

He's been a community doctor helping the community, available to the other community doctors, Gagliardi said. The pediatricians, the internal medicine guys, they all respected Bernie because he was the only radiologist out there that would take care of their patients."

Patients came to Madison from as far as the Rhode Island border, from past New Haven and the Middletown area, Jay said.

Much progress over years

While the office may look more traditional, Madison Radiology is up to date with technology, including 3D mammograms, the latest thing.

And most importantly, depending upon what the mammogram shows, if you have dense breast tissue, you should have an ultrasound, Jay said, noting that an abnormality can hide even with 3D mammography.

The only way you're going to find it is with ultrasound, he explained.

How many patients through the years I've seen where the mammogram was negative  dense tissue and on the ultrasound, there sat the cancer, he said.

Depending on the results of an ultrasound, a breast MRI and/or biopsy is the next step.

Reported increases in breast cancer in recent years could be a result of more early detection, he posited, because of the improved imaging equipment and strides made in oncology and surgery.

The American Cancer Society reports that in recent years, breast cancer rises about .05 percent each annually, while deaths have decreased.

I think that the breast cancers are picked up early because of improved imaging with mammography, ultrasound and MRI, he said.

Other screenings vital

Two other extremely important screening tests Jay urges patients to get are heart and lung imaging.

A CT scan of the heart can pick up calcification in the coronary arteries  its extremely important, he explained. Calcium indicates plaque in the arteries, which is cause of heart disease.

I felt it was so, so important to me here, that I decided to just do it on patients for $100, he said. To me its more important for patients care than to worry about money, he said.

Another vital test for smokers and former smokers, he stressed, is a low-dose CT scan of the chest, which he also offers for $100.

Why is that important? Again, the early pickup of lung cancer, he said.

See, these are all basic screening tests that everyone should have  I feel strongly about that, he said.

In addition to his practice, Jay also leaves a legacy behind with his two sons, who are also radiologists: Bryan Jay, an interventional radiologist at Rhode Island Hospital, and Michael Jay, a neuroradiologist at Northern Virginia Hospital.

His daughter Meghan Jay, a mother and interior designer in Chicago, remembers her father's dedication from when she was a girl. He would visit her in elementary school in Madison and he'd come into my class with a viewing box and show X-rays of my dolls and toys, she recalled. It was always entertaining.

As she got older, teachers and school staff would stop Meghan Jay in the halls to share their experiences visiting my dads office and how he diagnosed a friend or a family member, she said.

While it was a bit embarrassing at the time, it wasnt lost on me that my dad was providing an incredible service to the community and making a huge impact on peoples lives, she said.
Park Jung-ho, vice chairman of SK hynix, speaks during a shareholders meeting at its headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of SK hynix



By Baek Byung-yeul



SK hynix vowed that there will be no additional production cut in its memory chip business as the sluggish semiconductor market is showing signs of improvement from the second half of this year, its vice chairman said Wednesday.



At the shareholders' meeting held at the company's headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho added that the company will establish a chip packaging plant in the United States, as it previously announced, as there is a growing demand for an advance chip packaging business there.



In 2022, due to decreased demand for memory chips, SK hynix said that it would reduce its investment by 50 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 and reduce the production of less profitable products. However, when asked about implementing an additional production cut, Park dismissed it saying "we won't."



Park hinted at the possibility that the global chip market will improve in the second half of 2023 during the shareholders' meeting.



"We have decreased investment and production volume in memory chips since last year and we expect the effect of reducing supply to be visible. The inventory level of our customers is also gradually running out, so we expect the market situation to normalize," Park said.



However, he added that the recent collapses of banks "certainly shows the possibility that the macro economy will delay the overall recovery due to these kinds of unexpected events."



"We are trying to respond flexibly to this uncertain business environment. The management believes that it is necessary to flexibly adjust the speed of our mass production according to market conditions," the vice chairman added.



Regarding any impact on the operation of its factories in China after the U.S. began strengthening its restrictions against it, Park said, "We will change our management plans following the U.S.-China conflict while buying as much time as possible."



In October 2022, SK hynix and other chip-making companies earned one-year waivers from the U.S. for their chip-making factories in China so as to import chip equipment without applying for permission from Washington. Regarding the waiver ending in October, the vice chairman said, "We will apply for another term again."



Forecasting the future of its memory chip business, Park said the demand for memory chips will increase thanks to the emergence of generative AI services like ChatGPT.



"As ChatGPT becomes more real-time, it is likely that the data generated in the past year is actually more than the data generated in the previous decade. In the case of ChatGPT, if real-time, it is expected that much more memory will be used in the learning model," he said.


Employees check the status of an assembled vehicle at Hyundai Motor's plant in Asan. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor



Hyundai Motor, BMW Korea and Ford Sales Service Korea will voluntarily recall over 12,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday.



The three companies are recalling a combined 12,461 units of 10 different models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.



The recalls are due to a faulty parking sensing system in Hyundai's Grandeur GN7 model, software problems in BMW's S1000XR two-wheeler's engine control unit and software problems in Ford Sales Service's Ranger Raptor pickup truck, it said.



Vehicle owners can visit designated repair and service centers of the companies to have the parts replaced for free, the ministry added. (Yonhap)




Exam fee: $250 for IIBA members, $400 for nonmembers

$250 for IIBA members, $400 for nonmembers Retake fee: $195 for IIBA members, $350 for nonmembers

IIBA Certification in Business Data Analytics (CBDA)

The Certification in Business Data Analytics (IIBA-CBDA) from the IIBA is a new certification that recognizes your ability to effectively execute analysis-related work in support of business analytics initiatives. To pass the exam, you will need to examine a real-world business problem, identify the data sources and how to obtain data, analyze the data, interpret and report results from the data. Youll then need to demonstrate how those results can influence business decision-making and guide company-level strategies for business analytics.

Exam fee: $250 for IIBA members, $400 for nonmembers

$250 for IIBA members, $400 for nonmembers Retake fee: $195 for IIBA members, $350 for nonmembers

IQBBA Certified Advanced Level Business Analyst (CALBA)

The IQBBA Certified Advanced Level Business Analyst (CALBA) certification builds off the CFLBA foundation level cert, with the exam covering more advanced analytics skills and knowledge. Youll be tested in your knowledge of business analysis process management, requirements management, and strategic analysis and optimization. The three modules cover higher-level concepts of business analytics such as strategy definition, solution evaluation and optimization, business analysis processes, people management, relevant tools and software, change management, conflict management, and more. The exam is multiple choice and you can choose to take a course prior, or study on your own time and take the exam when you are ready. The IQBBA announced an expert-level certification, but as of this writing it has not yet been released.

Exam fee: Varies by location

IQBBA Certified Agile Business Analysis (CABA)

The IQBBA Certified Agile Business Analysis (CABA) certification is designed to help bring more clarity to how agile can help maximize the effectiveness of business analytics. It aims to help business analysts have greater impact on agile software development projects. The exam covers how to identify the role of a business analyst in an agile development project, how to establish the responsibilities of a business analyst on an agile team, and how to integrate the concept of continuous improvement into analytics. The certification helps establish the role of a business analyst in an agile environment and offers a blueprint on how to integrate agile into the business analytics process.

Exam fee: Varies by location

IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering (CPRE)

The International Requirements Engineering Board (IREB) offers the Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering (CPRE) certification is designed for those working in requirements engineering (RE), and its offered at three levels. The Foundation Level is first, where youll be certified in the basics of RE. The Advanced Level is next, where you can choose between three paths, including Requirements Elicitation and Consolidation, Requirements Modeling and Requirements Management  but youll need to wait 12 months after completing the first exam to take the advanced level exam. The Expert Level certifies you at the highest level of expert knowledge, which includes both your hands-on experience as well as your knowledge and skills gained through previous certifications.

Your certification will not expire, and you will not need to renew it. The IREB states that the CPRE is based on the fundamental methods and approaches of Requirements Engineering, and these alter only slowly, so at this time, they dont see a need for renewal.

Exam fee: Varies by testing center

PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PBA) Certification

The PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PBA) certification is designed for business analysts who work with projects or programs, or project and program managers who work with analytics. Its offered through the Project Management Institute (PMI), which specializes in widely recognized project management certifications, such as the PMP. The certification focuses on business analysis training through hands-on projects and testing on business analysis principles, tools and fundamentals.

If youve already earned a bachelors degree, youll need at least three years experience, or 4,500 hours, in business analysis consecutively within the past eight years to earn this certification. Without a bachelors degree, youll need five years or 7,500 hours experience.

Youll be required to earn 60 professional development units within three years after completing the certification to maintain your renewal status. If you let your renewal lapse, your credentials will be suspended for one year until you fulfill the requirements  after that, it will be terminated and youll need to reapply.
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Community Integrated Care will pay 5,000 of its frontline support workers 10.92 per hour in England and 11.40 per hour in Scotland from next month, it has announced.

The uplift will see the social care charity pay the real living wage recommended by the Living Wage Foundation.

There will be equivalent uplifts for the charitys advanced support worker roles and nurses, the charity said.

This 4m investment in increasing staff pay follows a previous 8m investment made by the organisation, announced in November 2021.

The sector faces a constant battle to pay its workforce

Jim Kane, chief executive of Community Integrated Care, said the investment represents a really bold and ambitious move for charity.

However, this investment is certainly a leap of faith for our charity, at a time when we have few alternative options, and we understand why for many other social care providers, it is an impossibility, he added.

Ultimately, until central government take action and provide better financial support to Local Authorities, the sector faces a constant battle to pay its workforce what they deserve.

As a charity, we will continue to lobby decision-makers until our messages are heard loud and clear and sector-wide changes are made to ensure a sustainable and robust social care system for all.

The charity hopes the investment will improve the livelihood of its teams, and also bolster its efforts in recruitment and retention.

People working in the care sector should be paid better

Teresa Exelby, chief people officer at the charity, added: The challenges our sector faces are ongoing - from colleagues and the people we support grappling with rising costs of living, to facing a recruitment and retention crisis that continues to grip the social care sector as a whole.

In our second instalment of Unfair to Care, published late last year, we presented evidence that people working in the care sector should be paid better for the work that they do. And whilst we continue campaigning to policymakers for the wide-scale investment that we so urgently need to achieve this, we know that in the meantime we must do everything we can to support our people.



Community Integrated Care also previously introduced a four-day week for head office and support function staff , as part of offering workers more flexibility.

At the time, the charity said the next step would be to expand the offer to its frontline care workers.



The Living Wage Foundation announced in late 2022 that the rate, which aims to reflect the true cost-of-living, had increased by 10.1% (1) for workers across the UK to 10.90 an hour.

Data for the financial year ending 31 March 2022 puts the charitys total income at more than 143m.

sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
Dear reader, please forgive Diarys tardiness. Many were bereft at the lack of a column last Friday (this may be an assumption made entirely on Diary's own merit, no one contacted to say so, presumably as they were too busy being distraught).

Diary has returned, but with sad news this week. The much-loved comedian Paul OGrady has passed away.

Charities showed an outpouring of love and loss for the celebrity, who has worked with Battersea, Peter Tatchell Foundation, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Heart Research UK and many more.

Battersea, who he partnered with to create his show Paul OGrady: For the Love of Dogs, said it was deeply saddened by the news.

During the decade he worked with the charity as its ambassador, he created a self-imposed clause into his filming contract which decried under no circumstances was he able to go home with any more animals.

As expected, OGrady soon broke the clause by adopting a rescue dog from Battersea. He had previously described the documentary as like putting an ex-drug addict in a cocaine factory.

When he adopted Sausage, a wire-haired dachshund last February, he posted a photo of them together on Instagram.

The caption read: Shes called Sausage which isnt very original but it doesnt matter as she cant understand a word of English except for biscuit.

Terrence Higgins Trust commended OGrady for his work supporting the LGBTQI+ community.

In 1987, when performing at a gay bar as his drag alter-ego Lily Savage, OGrady recalled watching police officers raid it while he was on stage.

It was at the height of the HIV epidemic, when disinformation was rife, and police entered wearing rubber gloves in fear of contracting it.

OGrady reportedly had said: Well well, it looks like weve got help with the washing up!

OGrady's love for animals led him to be the patron of Wildlife SOS, an elephant charity. He regularly posted photos and videos of said elephants on Instagram, sometimes when they were playing with bouncy balls.

His plethora of pets included alpacas, ducklings, pigs, chickens, rescue dogs and more.

In an interview with the Observer in 2021, OGrady was asked whether he would rather have more sex, money or fame.

He replied: I am not bothered about sex, money or fame, I just want a mongoose.
When Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office at the end of last year, he entered his sixth term as prime minister of Israel, leading the most far-right coalition in the history of the country. Within days, his government announced a plan to overhaul the judiciary, one that would dramatically diminish Israels separation of powers and hand greater authority off to him. (You can read more about the plan here.) Protests erupted; they have continued since. Many Israelis object to the fact that Netanyahu is angling to control the very judges who are presiding over a trial in which he has been charged with corruption.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 for breach of trust, bribery, and fraudin cases directly related to the media. He was forced to relinquish some of his postsNetanhayu had, for example, annexed the role of communications ministerthough he held on, for the time being, as prime minister. The ground wouldnt hold. When the charges were announced, Ruth Margalit wrote for CJR soon after, it was the first time since Netanyahus ascent that his power fell into doubt. By 2021, he was ousted as prime minister. Cue the comeback and the shedding of democratic norms.

Margalit traced Netanyahus predicament to an obsession with the press, which he developed over the course of his career. In 1999, when he experienced his first election loss, Margalit noted, Netanyahu regarded his defeat as a travesty tied directly to negative coverage. He told his associates, I need my own media. His friend Ronald Lauder, the American cosmetics tycoon, bought a majority stake in Israels Channel 10. That helped, but it wasnt the personal megaphone he craved. In 2007, Sheldon Adelsonthe American casino mogul and a longtime benefactor of Netanyahusfounded Israel Hayom, a free tabloid, which became Netanyahus voice in print. From then on, Netanyahu was able to avoid confrontations with the press and drain the resources of legitimate outlets, as they chased stories that Israel Hayom claimed the mainstream ignored. Israel Hayom became the most widely read daily in Israel, Margalit wrote, though it never gained the prestige of major papers. As for TV, Netanyahu refused to sit for a television interview with any network at all, except for a little-known outlet called the Heritage Channel, or Channel 20, which saw itself as an Israeli version of Fox News and received an unusual degree of government support.

The media meddling that ultimately landed Netanyahu in trouble involved two cases in particular: one concerning interference with Walla News, in Tel Aviv, and another alleging that Netanyahu offered the publisher of Yediot Ahronot a deal to curb the circulation of Israel Hayom, its main competitor, in return for favorable coverage and help in his election. (Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing.) The charges against him highlight a paradox of Israeli media, Margalit observed: a story of government intervention, manipulation, and moneyed interests on the one hand, but also one of a vigorous, challenging, and confrontational press on the otheras one veteran journalist described it to me, a biting press.

Even now, Netanyahus government has not backed down from trying to control the press. Early this year, Boaz Bismuthformerly the editor of Israel Hayom, now a lawmakerintroduced legislation that, per Haaretz, aimed to block publication of an embarrassing recording. What counts as an embarrassing recording could include, for instance, the sound of a politician calling Netanyahu a lying son of a liar, which happened last fall. (Recently, that phrase has appeared on stickers worn by protestors.) The law would also ban the use of recordings that have been released to the media during Netanyahus corruption trial. As Haaretz reported, These include his conversations with Sara Netanyahu and senior officials in the Prime Ministers Office, some of which have been broadcast on the investigative news program Hamakor.

In March, Israeli authorities banned Voice of Palestine, a radio station; according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, after the order was issued, police officers showed up at the station and brought five Palestinian journalists in for questioning. And Shlomo Karhi, the new communications minister, announced his intention to close the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation and replace it with a new supervisory body. As Haaretz observed, Netanyahu is trying to complete his mission to silence the media.

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This past Sunday, Netanyahu went so far as to fire his defense minister, who had dared to remark that the protests against the judiciary plan were putting Israeli security in jeopardy; army reservists were refusing to show upamong them Barak Ravid, a correspondent for Walla News and Axios. The next day, Israel held a nationwide work stoppage. (Margalit wrote about the protests this week for The New Yorker.) Netanyahu has since announced that he will delay the overhaulbut theres little indication, as ever, that he will relent. You can read Margalits piece here.



Some news from the home front: We have rescheduled a forum to answer questions about the series by reporter Jeff Gerth on Russia and Trump, after an earlier planned discussion had to be rescheduled due to the moderators illness. It will now take place on April 4. Here are the full details:

A CJR Forum: The president and the press

Earlier this year, CJR published a series by reporter Jeff Gerth critiquing the coverage of Russian attempts to intervene in the 2016 election and the subsequent Trump presidency. We knew at the time that the articles would elicit strong responses. But we also believe that CJRs role is to air a range of views about the strengths, challenges, and failings of contemporary media. It is in that spirit that we are organizing this town hall. We will answer questions, respond to criticism, and explain our approach to these stories, applying to ourselves the same transparency and accountability that we seek from the institutions CJR covers. The content of the discussion will be guided entirely by the events outside, independent moderator. For more than 60 years, the Columbia Journalism Review has stood for clarity and integrity in news. We continue that tradition and invite you to participate in this discussion. Jelani Cobb, dean, Columbia Journalism School

Who:

* Reporter Jeff Gerth

* CJR Editor and Publisher Kyle Pope

* Columbia Journalism School Dean Jelani Cobb

Moderated by Geeta Anand, dean, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

When:

Tuesday, April 4, 1 pm to 2:15 pm ET via livestream at this link.

RSVPs required. (If you registered for the February 27 event, you need to re-register.) Questions for the moderator can be submitted in advance via this link. (Questions submitted earlier dont need to be resubmitted.)



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: When is a library not a library? When its online, apparently.

Betsy Morais is the managing editor of CJR.
Last weeks fatal blast at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory highlighted the combustibility of food plants in general and chocolate making in particular.

The powerful explosion at 75-year-old R.M. Palmer Co.  which makes chocolate eggs, bunnies, bars, coins and other treats  killed seven, sent 10 to the hospital and damaged several other buildings in West Reading, a small town 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, where it has long had a factory.

Local, state and federal investigations are ongoing. Pennsylvania State Police said everythings on the table, as fire marshals try to pinpoint the origin and cause. Some workers told relatives they smelled natural gas before the blast, although the gas utility UGI said it received no reports of a gas leak.

A look at some of the hazards of food manufacturing and what may have been behind this fatal blast:

THE RISKS

In general, commercial ovens and furnaces, commercial refrigerant using ammonia and combustible dust produced by ingredients like cocoa powder and corn starch are primary explosive hazards at food plants, according to Holly Burgess, technical lead for industrial and chemical safety at the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit group that produces hundreds of codes and standards.

Most people, if youve not been in any sort of food manufacturing, you dont understand what your hazards are and what youre looking at, Burgess said.

Chocolate companies and other food manufacturers must take steps to mitigate the risk of fire and explosion from dust. Smaller particles that stay aloft pose a greater danger than bigger particles that quickly fall to the floor.

It is a common concern at many food production facilities handling fine combustible particulates, said Bob Zalosh, a retired professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a consultant on industrial fire and explosion hazard mitigation and investigations.

Food manufacturers are supposed to determine the combustibility of the dust, perform a hazard analysis and then take steps to manage it, adhering to the fire protection associations standard for preventing dust explosions in food processing plants.

Common methods for controlling dust include dust collectors and industrial vacuum cleaners.

THE PALMER BLAST

One possible explanation for the blast is an explosion of highly flammable powdered starch, which candy companies often use to cast chocolate into shapes such as Easter eggs, said Terry Wakefield, a business consultant and food scientist who used to run a manufacturing facility that supplied chocolate to R. M. Palmer.

The shock wave from an initial explosion could have jarred any dust accumulated on ceilings and other surfaces, he said. And now you end up with a massive amount of starch, which combusts, and those explosion clouds move faster than sound and they have unbelievable force, said Wakefield, who made his assessment after watching video of the explosion that was captured by a TV stations weather camera.

A lot of people dont realize that starch could do that sort of thing, he said.

Based on the kinds of candy Palmer makes, the company likely used the starch- casting method, according to Wakefield.

Officials at the family-owned company have not responded to questions from The Associated Press.

Dust explosions have long been a problem in manufacturing. Between 1980 and 2017, nearly 400 combustible dust fires and explosions killed 185 people and injured more than 1,000 across multiple industries, including food, chemical, paper, pharmaceutical and metal processing, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.

In 2008, an accumulation of sugar dust ignited and blew up the Imperial Sugar plant in Port Wentworth, Georgia, killing 14.

WORKPLACE SAFETY RECORD

At least two workplace accidents have happened at Palmer since 2018, according to federal records.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates workplace safety, visited Palmers West Reading plant in 2018, when an employee lost the tip of a finger while cleaning a pressurized valve. The company agreed to pay a $13,000 fine.

In 2019, OSHA investigated an accident at Palmers plant in nearby Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, when a conveyor belt was turned on while a worker was cleaning a roller, according to federal records. The employees arm was broken in multiple places. The company settled with OSHA for $26,000.

And in January, records show, OSHA levied a penalty of more than $12,000 after an inspection at the Wyomissing plant. Details of that case were not available.

The online records did not say anything about combustible dust, or any other explosive hazard at Palmer.

LITIGATION FILED

A woman who lived next door to the plant filed suit Tuesday, alleging Palmer was negligent in failing to maintain its equipment and prevent the blast. Betty Wright was lifted from her feet and blown across the room, suffering injuries to her neck, back, hip and leg, the suit said. She also lost belongings.

A statement from Wrights lawyers at Morgan & Morgan said the firm has put together a team of experts so we can understand what caused this catastrophic explosion.

Additional lawsuits are expected.

Photo: Rubble is cleared at the site of a deadly explosion at a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pa., Saturday, March 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Rubinkam)

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Jeong Dae-jin, deputy trade minister, speaks during a meeting on trade and new industry cooperation between Korea and Japan at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.



By Baek Byung-yeul



Korea and Japan have agreed to hold a series of meetings this year to find ways to boost economic cooperation between the two nations, according to the trade ministry and business lobby groups, Thursday.



The move came as a follow-up measure to President Yoon Suk Yeol's March 16 to 17 visit to Japan where he agreed to normalize bilateral relations during a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.



As part of the measures, the trade ministry said a meeting on trade and new industry cooperation was held at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul, co-hosted by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and the Korea-Japan Economic Association.



The meeting featured over 100 officials from the governments, corporations, academic communities and economic organizations of the two countries to discuss ways to expand economic cooperation and mutual exchanges.



"Since January, 570,000 Koreans have visited Japan and 70,000 Japanese have visited Korea. We hope that constructive discussions on economic, talented professionals and cultural exchanges will take place at a time when the momentum of normalizing Korea-Japan relations is strengthening," Yutaka Aso, vice chairman of the Korea-Japan Economic Association, said.



Kim Yoon, chairman of the Korea-Japan Economic Association, said, "Although it has not been easy to promote large-scale projects between companies, this summit has created conditions for business cooperation between companies, such as investment cooperation and joint entry into third countries."



"Jeong Dae-jin, deputy trade minister, also attended the meeting to deliver a congratulatory speech to thank the businessmen for their hard work contributing to the economic growth and development of the two nations," the trade ministry said. "Jeong also stressed the need for cooperation between Korea and Japan, including joint responses to resource nationalism, cooperation in carbon neutralization and joint entry into third countries."



Jeong Marn-ki, executive vice chairman of KITA, also said "the lifting of Japan's export regulations will boost trade in content and consumer goods as well as semiconductor materials and parts, and reduce trade transaction costs for companies of the two countries."



In addition to the meeting, Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang also met with leaders of nine Japanese companies in Seoul such as Toray Advanced Materials and Tokyo Electron to discuss about attracting investment to Korea.



"We look forward an active expansion of domestic investment by Japanese companies in the wake of the Korea-Japan summit," the minister said, asking them to increase investments in a semiconductor cluster, which will be created in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.



Not only these meetings, but also a series of discussions between businessmen of the two nations will take place this year, the trade ministry added.


A train hauling ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire in Minnesota early Thursday and nearby residents were ordered to evacuate their homes, authorities said.

The BNSF train derailed in the town of Raymond, roughly 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of Minneapolis, about 1 a.m., according to a statement from Kandiyohi County Sheriff Eric Tollefson.

BNSF said in a statement that 22 cars derailed with four catching fire, but that no injuries were reported due to the accident.

The main track is blocked and an estimated time for reopening the line is not available, according to the statement from BNSF spokesperson Lena Kent. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Homes in an area 1/2 mile (0.8 kilometers) around the site were evacuated, according to Tollefson, and residents were taken to a shelter in nearby Prinsburg.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN that about 14 cars were carrying hazardous materials. BNSF said the only hazardous material on board was ethanol.

Weve been in touch with the governor, Buttigieg said, and Environmental Protection Agency officials were en route to the site given the hazardous material situation.

Railroad safety has been in the spotlight nationally ever since last months fiery derailment of a Norfolk Southern train near East Palestine, Ohio. Roughly half of that town of about 5,000 people near the Pennsylvania border had to be evacuated after officials decided to release and burn toxic chemicals.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Dollar General Corp.s stores are as ubiquitous in small-town America as Starbucks cafes in cities and suburbia. And just like the coffee giant, its facing increasing criticism over worker treatment that could disrupt one of the retail industrys most successful business models.

When 35-year-old Josh Tinker became store manager of a Dollar General location in 2021 in Apache, Oklahoma, he struggled to recruit workers from the town with a little more than 1,000 residents. Pay of $8 or $9 an hour was a hurdle. And so were the conditions, with leaks in the ceiling and a balky heating and air conditioning system.

When it was cold, we were wearing five shirts, said Tinker, who left the company last year and began speaking out against the retailer that has 19,000 US locations  the most in the country.

Management instructed Tinker to use a space heater, but workers could still see their breath during shifts. The summer didnt offer relief. Then it was 115 in the store, said Tinker, who has collaborated with More Perfect Union, a labor-oriented group. Everything was melting, and wed put ice packs down our shirts.

.

Tinker isnt alone. Other employees are going public. And in October, Dollar General became the only national retailer on the Labor Departments severe violator list of companies with unsafe working conditions. Federal inspectors repeatedly found blocked emergency exits, fire hazards and boxes stacked to the point that they could collapse onto workers.

Over the past two years, the Labor Departments Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued fines of $12.5 million against Dollar General, the most of any retailer during that period.

Thats hardly a financial threat  the two-year tally amounts to less than half a percentage point of the companys net income over the period. Still, OSHA recently expanded its severe violator program to include retailers, and the agency signaled its rising frustration by adding Dollar General. The list, which includes many smaller builders, roofers and manufacturers, is reserved for employers with willful, repeated violations that havent taken effective steps toward improvement.

Dollar Generals inclusion on the list means that the retailer will face stepped-up scrutiny at a time when the Biden administration has been beefing up OSHAs inspector corps.

In an emailed response to a detailed list of questions for this story, the Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based company said its committed to providing a safe work environment and addressing situations in a timely manner.

US regulators see the issues at Dollar General as systemic, not a few isolated incidents.

This is an indication of a business model issue, said Doug Parker, the Labor Departments assistant secretary for occupational safety and health. We have had enough experience with this company that we know this is not a function of just a handful of stores. This is a broader problem thats going to have to be addressed at the C-Suite level, not by local and regional safety directors.

The company and OSHA are in very early stages of discussing a settlement and remediation plan, according to the New York Times.

Restaurant and retail workers are becoming increasingly emboldened amid a tight labor market. Organizing movements have bubbled up at companies ranging from Amazon to Home Depot. Starbucks had largely been seen as offering better pay and benefits than many peers, but its workers have built one of the industrys most successful unionization efforts.

Read more: Dollar General hits a gold mine in rural America

A reputation for subpar working conditions can make hiring and retaining hourly workers more difficult and expensive. And while every chain needs to recruit employees, finding an increasing amount of cheap labor is core to Dollar Generals growth.

Lots of big legacy retailers have slowed store openings or are reducing locations to focus on e-commerce. But Dollar General doesnt have much of an online business. Its growth hinges on opening lots of new stores every year and hiring cheap labor to operate them. That includes adding another 1,000 stores this year. (It already operates more US locations combined than Walmart, Target and Kroger.)

One aspect of Dollar Generals model that could help it with hiring is that it opens stores in small towns overlooked by Walmart and grocery chains  about 80% are located in areas with less than 20,000 people  so there is often less competition for labor.

This kind of store expansion at Dollar General is what investors have come to expect. Over the past five years, sales have surged 61% to $37.8 billion with locations leaping by 4,500. Since the start of 2018, its stock has more than doubled  far surpassing the gains at smaller rival Dollar Tree.

Most of Dollar Generals more than 170,000 workers have shared little in the bounty. About 90% of them earn less than $15 an hour, according to a wage tracker created last year by the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank in Washington that focuses on the needs of lower-income workers. That was the highest percentage in the study, which included Walmart and McDonalds, but not other dollar chains like Dollar Tree and Family Dollar.

While hard to quantify, crime and violence at dollar stores, which handle more cash than other retail formats, are also a risk to employees. In recent months, a Dollar Tree worker in Ohio was killed with a machete and a Brooklyn employee was shot and wounded.

At Dollar General, a Mississippi cashier was shot and wounded, while an employee in Louisiana was charged with manslaughter after killing an armed robber and a man was shot and killed in a Chicago store. Going back to 2016, at least six Dollar General employees died during robberies, CNN found.

Meanwhile, investors have soured a little on Dollar General, with its stock down about 15% this year while the S&P 500 has gained roughly 3%. The company is trying to win back Wall Street by making a bigger push into food, increasing stores in the suburbs and opening its first location in Mexico. In what could be seen as a positive for workers, the company is also adding $100 million to its budget to beef up staffing.

This investment will primarily consist of incremental labor hours to support our expectations regarding consistent store standards, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Owen said earlier this month on an earnings call. It will also enhance the associate and customer experience.

 2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Top Photo: Dollar General is the only national retailer on the US Labor Departments severe violator list. Bloomberg photo.

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.
Walmart Inc. was sued on Thursday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agencys second lawsuit this week accusing the largest U.S. retailer of discrimination against workers with disabilities.

The EEOC said Walmart illegally demoted Calvin Hagan for missing too much work at a Raleigh, North Carolina store because of seizures caused by his generalized convulsive epilepsy, and then illegally fired him for violating its attendance policy.

The lawsuit was filed three days after the EEOC sued Walmart for firing Adrian Tucker, a deli worker in a Statesville, North Carolina store, because she had too many unauthorized absences related to her Crohns disease, an inflammatory bowel condition.

Walmart did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Hagans case. It has said it does not tolerate discrimination and takes allegations of workplace discrimination seriously.

Hagan began working at the Raleigh store in June 2012 as a cashier, and rose to become a general merchandise support manager.

The EEOC said Walmart demoted Hagan to deli sales associate in April 2018, one year after his seizures began, and fired him four months later after a supervisor had warned him to watch his absences.

It said the seizures caused Hagan to lose consciousness, bite his tongue or have bowel movements, and the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer should have accommodated his requests for time off.

Employees with disabilities should be able to seek medical treatment without fear of losing their jobs, EEOC lawyer Melinda Dugas said in a statement.

Both lawsuits accused Walmart of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, and sought back pay and punitive damages.

The case is EEOC v Wal-Mart Stores East LP, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina, No. 23-00160.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Edward Tobin)
A federal judge in Chicago on Wednesday ruled that home sellers accusing the National Association of Realtors and a group of real estate brokerages of conspiring to inflate commission rates can move forward as a class action.

U.S. District Judge Andrea Woods decision grants class-action status to past home sellers seeking more than $13 billion in damages and creates a separate class of current and future sellers who want a court injunction that bars subsequent violations of U.S. antitrust law.

The plaintiffs are seven home sellers. The judges order said membership in each class can be expected to number in the thousands, at minimum.

Designation as a class means the plaintiffs can pursue large-scale claims against the National Association of Realtors, RE/MAX LLC RMAX.N, Long & Foster Inc. and other corporate defendants as opposed to filing individual claims for monetary damages.

The judges order was not a ruling on the merits of the allegations, which can still be contested at a later stage. The defendants have denied the conspiracy allegations.

In a statement, The National Association of Realtors said it was disappointed in the decision and defended industry listing practices.

The lawsuit challenges a requirement that sellers make blanket unilateral offers of compensation to buyers brokers when a home goes on sale via a multiple listing service. That system puts pressure on sellers to offer high commissions to attract buyers brokers, the sellers claimed.

NAR spokesperson Mantill Williams said this practice saves sellers time and money by having so many buyer brokers participating in that local marketplace and thus creates a larger pool of buyers for sellers.

A RE/MAX spokesperson said the company did not comment on pending litigation. Long & Foster declined to comment.

The class seeking money damages includes certain home sellers who paid a commission between March 2015 and December 2020 in states including Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Colorado, court filings show.

The case is Moehrl et al v. The National Association of Realtors et al, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:19-cv-01610.

(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; editing by Leigh Jones and Cynthia Osterman)
Carlsbad, Calif., Feb. 27, 2023  sureti, a premier third-party Fund Control company in the Property Insurance Claim ecosystem, announced today the company has joined the Guidewire Insurtech Vanguards Program, an initiative led by property and casualty (P&C) cloud platform provider Guidewire (NYSE: GWRE). As part of the program, sureti will join a community of select technology providers that bring novel solutions to the P&C industry.

Were honored to have been selected to participate in this program, said Mark Whatley, co-Founder and President of sureti. sureti was founded as a means to accelerate the flow of funds for property insurance claims and make lives easier for all participating entities. The Guidewire Insurtech Vanguards Program offers an opportunity for sureti to expand its reach and grow its service.

Through the Guidewire Insurtech Vanguards Program, Guidewire aims to help insurers learn how to leverage the usage of the participating insurtechs, including suretis solutions and services. Guidewire will also provide strategic guidance to and advocate for the participating insurtech companies, while connecting them with Guidewires P&C customers.

sureti was created without bias as a means to remove lenders from negatively affecting the property claim payment process, while still protecting the interests of all materially interested parties in the claims cycle. sureti has been vetted and put to the test by some of the biggest restoration companies, including ATI Restoration, establishing itself as a trusted resource by a growing number of carriers and mortgage lenders. As sureti continues to evolve and scale, the company is looking ahead to expand its solutions and offerings to more carriers.

Insurance carriers are the backbone of the property insurance ecosystem. As losses increase in rate and severity, carriers still use legacy processes and struggle to find ways to manage costs while maintaining similar levels of coverage and customer experience. sureti has a targeted, proven solution for a better claim experience, said Whatley. Were looking forward to exploring new opportunities as an Insurtech Vanguard and showcasing suretis services.

suretis unique, unbiased approach is helping to shift industry expectations in the property insurance ecosystem, said Laura Drabik, Chief Evangelist of Guidewire. Todays rising insurtech companies are constantly challenging legacy insurance practices and processes  and its why suretis innovative solutions make them a great addition to our program. We are thrilled to have them as a Guidewire Insurtech Vanguard.

About sureti

sureti is a third-party fund control company that establishes payment rails from insurance carriers to certified restoration contractors. Founded in 2019 by entrepreneurs Mark Whatley and Daniel Smith, sureti removes the need for mortgage lenders to be listed on insurance claim checks by taking on the risk the property will be restored. sureti aims to transform the restoration ecosystem with a digital-forward approach to risk management, progress insight, endorsement of multi-party payments, and more. Learn more at sureti.com.
BEREA, Ohio -- A Cleveland man, 22, was arrested March 23 after he broke a window at a home on Front Street and threatened to kill a resident inside.

Police had been to the home earlier that day to arrest a 21-year-old Cleveland man -- the older mans foster brother -- who was wanted by at least one law enforcement agency.

Immediately after the younger man was arrested, at about 8:30 a.m., the older Cleveland man appeared outside the house. He started pounding on the window with his hand, wanting to talk to a resident inside the house, and the window eventually broke.

The older man then grabbed a shovel and began hitting the door and window with the shovel.

He used a profanity to tell the resident to come outside, and he asked why the resident had called police. The man threatened to kill the resident.

While police were on the scene, the man emerged outside from a building. His hand was bloody. The man admitted breaking the window.

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Read more from the News Sun.
COLUMBUS, OhioGov. Mike DeWine on Friday signed into law a requirement for the state to build a controversial interchange between the cities of Strongsville and Brunswick. However, the governor said he intends to bring people together in the coming weeks to try to negotiate a compromise that resolves the years-long dispute.

Other parts of the two-year, $13.5 billion transportation budget, which takes effect July 1, include billions for road and highway projects, a raft of new rail safety rules, and allowing enhanced drivers licenses to be used in lieu of a passport, among other measures.

The interchange requirement was inserted into the budget bill by state Rep. Tom Patton, a Strongsville Republican who argues that building it will help ease congestion along existing nearby exits and make roads safer.

However, city of Brunswick officials have denounced the idea, warning that connecting Interchange 71 with one of three roads  Drake Road in Strongsville, Grafton Road in Brunswick, or Boston Road between the two cities  will lower nearby property values, destroy homes in the path of on- and off-ramps, and turn a residential country road into an unwanted commercial corridor.

DeWine, speaking at an Ohio Statehouse bill signing ceremony, said he was very concerned that the measure circumvents normal state procedures for approving interchanges. However, people have been waiting a long time to deal with this problem, DeWine said. And there did not appear to be a solution in sight.

The governor said he expects that the Ohio Department of Transportation will release an overdue study into the potential interchange in the next few weeks. After that, DeWine said, hell meet with both sides about finding a way to resolve the conflict.

DeWine said that the two sides have some time to find a solution as, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the interchange wouldnt be completed until 2030 at the earliest. He also noted that federal authorities would have to approve the project and that the opinions of local cities would be a factor in their decision.

It has a long way to go  it has a lot of hurdles to get over, DeWine said. What Im hoping is that we can bring some focus on this matter and try to get a solution that both sides can live with and can be acceptable to both sides.

Other parts of the new budget provide $2.2 billion for pavement, $1.5 billion for large projects such as reconfiguring urban interstates, $717 million for bridges, and $360 million for safety upgrades. Theres about $3 billion included to improve the Brent Spence Bridge that connects Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky and help build a second bridge nearby.

The new law contains new railroad safety rules proposed in the wake of last months East Palestine derailment, which released a large amount of toxic chemicals into the nearby air and water.

One will require all trains in Ohio to have a crew of at least two people. Another makes railroads install wayside detectors along every 10-15 miles of track. Wayside detectors use cameras and sensors to catch malfunctioning or broken equipment on passing trains before accidents happen.

Bipartisan federal legislation introduced by Ohios U.S. senators, Sherrod Brown and JD Vance, also would require two-person crews and wayside detectors to be installed at regular intervals.

Railroad industry representatives have opposed the proposed changes, arguing that rail safety rules should be handled by the federal government, not at the state level. Theyve also said the proposed rules are being rushed through the legislature and would particularly hurt smaller railroads in the state.

Other parts of the new budget:
COLUMBUS, Ohio  U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan had a one-word reaction to the indictment of former President Donald Trump: Outrageous.

Dont expect it to be the last from the Champaign County Republican, who has positioned himself as one of Trumps most strident allies in Washington. Jordan and U.S. Sen. JD Vance have built national profiles in part over their connection to Trump.

But with Trump now facing criminal charges stemming from a $130,000 hush-money payment to an adult-film actress, the two Ohioans likely will be positioned to take on an even greater role in his public defense.

Its already begun. Both Jordan and Vance have denounced the prosecution as politically motivated.

Vance, an early Trump critic who during his campaign for Senate ingratiated himself to the 45th president, posted a message on Twitter Thursday night meant to unite white, rural Trump supporters: A week ago a video circulated of a lunatic harassing a family on a New York subway. He hurled racial slurs (the family was white) and threatened them. Alvin Bragg thinks that man should walk free and Donald Trump should go to jail for a fake misdemeanor. Its despicable.

Vance said in a statement shortly after the indictment was announced that most Americans will see through it.

While the radical left continues their obsession with harassing Donald Trump, the American people are suffering, he said. Families are struggling to put food on the table, violent crime is running rampant in our cities, and thousands have been poisoned by the fentanyl pouring across our southern border.

The precise charges against Trump havent been yet been made public, but more details will be revealed Tuesday when the Associated Press reports that he will be booked with a mugshot, but not handcuffed, and accompanied by U.S. Secret Service for his arraignment.

The Republican Party likely will create and distribute to its elected leaders messaging about Trump, trying to delegitimize the prosecution as political  even if the facts point to him being guilty and if prosecutions begin in Georgia and by federal government in connection to Jan. 6, said David Cohen, a political science professor and fellow at the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron.

The script is easy for Jordan, Cohen said. Jordan is in a highly gerrymandered district. He can throw as much red meat toward his base because he knows he will never lose that seat as long as he runs for it. JD Vance is in a much more difficult position.

Vance, who represents all of Ohio in the Senate, must balance being a statesman, which hes demonstrated in his bipartisan bill that aims to strengthen rail safety, with keeping the Ohio GOP base happy to ensure no one competitive challenges him if he runs for reelection.

Frankly, the Trump issue, I think, is a distraction for him, Cohen said of Vance. Now he has to play nice because he doesnt want to lose support among Republicans. He doesnt want to face a primary challenge in five years. So hes going to say all the right things. But its just a more difficult balancing act for him than it is for Jordan.

David Niven, a University of Cincinnati political science professor who had worked as a speechwriter for former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, said that Vance is also balancing both side, acting both like a statesman and throwing red meat to the masses.

Hes attempted to do some real legislating, Niven said. If you look at the legislative record of a Ted Cruz and a Josh Hawley, they go years without passing a bill, theyre just there to throw a tantrum. The fact that Vance has dipped his toe into legislation suggests the pang between what this job theoretically is and what a place in Trumps world, the price of that, demands.

Cohen believes all Republicans running for Congress are going to have to publicly defend Trump if they want support from their party. Although theres talk of other potential Republican presidential candidates, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, Cohen believes Trump will ultimately be the GOP candidate in 2024.

There are maybe a few people who are running right now, but Trump is the presumptive nominee, he said. If Trump is not in jail, hes the presumptive nominee. Even if he is in jail, Trump is the presumptive nominee.

Similar to Vance, Rep. Mike Carey, a Columbus Republican, also discussed New York City crime when describing the Trump indictment.

Yet their corrupt District Attorney Alvin Brag believes his time is best spent on a political witch hunt against President Trump, he said on Twitter. Hes making a mockery of our legal system. The people of NYC deserve better and the American voters deserve better.

Rep. Max Miller, a Republican from Rocky River, used to work for Trump.

The American people should see this indictment for what it truly is: A politically motivated prosecution by a DA who is pursuing Donald Trump for political reasons, Miller said on Twitter.

Niven, the University of Cincinnati professor, said Republicans may be jumping to conclusions before the evidence has been made public.

Thats one of the beauties of being in the modern Republican Party, he said. Its not about logic. Its not about evidence.

Rep. Dave Joyce, a Bainbridge Republican, had a more nuanced take on the indictment.

As a former prosecutor I have faith in the US legal system, but have concerns about partisan District Attorneys pursuing enforcement action for political purposes, he said. I will be watching the legal process for the former President closely.

Jordan isnt missing a beat. During a Friday morning radio appearance in Louisiana, Jordan called the indictment an attack from a Democratic district attorney on a favorite to win the Republican nomination for president.

It truly is sad. And I think, again, most Americans see that. Its just the radical left that doesnt, he said.

Ohio Democrats are communicating a different message, one thats less skeptical of the judiciary.

In the months to come, lets hope our judicial system does what its intended for  to deliver justice for ALL. Today shows that no person  not even a former President  is above the law, Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Columbus Democrat said in a Thursday night statement.

Rep. Greg Landsman, a Cincinnati Democrat, addressed the issue Friday, not talking in praise or against the prosecution of Trump per se, but suggesting distance is needed from the former president.

Folks need to be done with Trump, he said. Hes a chaos machine. This is one of a thousand things. From the Stormy Daniels thing to storming the Capitol, Trump only does chaos and extremism.

So far, Ohio Democrats in competitive political situations have been mum. U.S. Reps. Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat, and Marcy Kaptur, a Toledo Democrat, havent released statements about Trumps indictment. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who is likely to face a tough reelection in 2024, also has been quiet.

Niven of the University of Cincinnati said that Beatty doesnt have enough Trump faithful in her district to worry about keeping them happy. At the same time, she has many constituents who deeply resent Trump and expect her to comment against him.

Theres no upside to getting in front of this story in a competitive election circumstance, Niven said, referring to Brown and the potential reelections of Sykes and Kaptur. And I think theres also the actual desire to let legitimate prosecutions take place and see what develops.

Rick Rouan contributed to this report.

Laura Hancock covers state government and politics for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A member of an Ohio-based neo-Nazi group who authorities arrested Friday on federal charges that he firebombed a Chesterland Township church, said he did so to stop the church from hosting a drag queen story hour, according to court records.

Aimenn Penny, 20, of Alliance, has been charged in U.S. District Court in Cleveland with malicious use of explosive materials and possession of a destructive device for his intent to burn down the Community Church of Chesterland on March 25, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a news release.
WASHINGTON -- Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health insurance as a pandemic-era Medicaid coverage rule will expire at midnight Friday, March 31.

The rule will expire as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which was signed into law by Congress in December 2022. The legislation ends Americans automatic enrollment in Medicaid coverage, which provides medical coverage for low-income adults, children, pregnant women, people with disabilities and elderly adults.

Americans have been continuously enrolled into Medicaid programs for the past three years, even if they didnt qualify, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which Congress signed into law March 18, 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During that three-year span, the number of Americans enrolled in Medicaid coverage grew by 28.5 percent to 91.3 million in October 2022, compared to 70.1 million in February 2020, according to KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), a nonprofit organization focusing on national health issues. That figure dropped to 85.2 million Americans covered as of December 2022, according to Medicaid.gov.

The required continuous Medicaid enrollment, however, expires at midnight due to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which will gradually phase out continuous enrollment over the next year. KFF estimates anywhere between 5.3 million and 14.2 million Americans will lose their Medicaid coverage during that 12-month period.

KFF also says those most affected by this change will likely be people with disabilities, people with limited English proficiency and people who moved during the pandemic, due to added difficulties in completing the Medicaid renewal process. For example, 19 states  including Ohio  provide their Medicaid website homepage in English only, and only 15 states provide a statement on reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, according to KFF.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), along with the Department of Human and Health Services (HHS), in September 2022 published a proposal of rulemaking changes to simplify the Medicaid renewal process for health agencies, states and individuals.

For individuals wishing to renew and maintain their Medicaid coverage, Medicaid.gov suggests updating your contact information with your state, checking your mail for a letter about your coverage and completing a renewal form.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency has been working on a climate action plan for the past year, but when its all said and done will the word climate be struck from the name of the plan?

That question emerged after NOACA held finance and executive committee meetings in February and approved a draft of the organizations Overall Work Plan that included a section called Regional Climate Action Plan/Program.

NOACA has been working on a climate action plan for the past year with the hope of getting board approval in June.

But subsequent to the committee meetings, staff at NOACA changed the name of the climate project as it appeared in the Overall Work Plan to Local Emissions and Weather Resiliency Planning and removed a number of references to climate before presenting a new version of the Overall Work Plan to NOACAs board on March 10.

A spirited discussion ensued after which the board voted to return to the language that had been presented to the finance and executive committees and included the many references to climate.

End of story? Nope.

Nancy Griffith, an attorney for NOACA, recently sent a memo to members of the NOACA executive committee informing them that the boards action as it relates to the climate project has left NOACA with a document that does not accurately reflect the work products or timeline of the project, fails to satisfy our federally mandated public engagement process, and is not in alignment with the 3C- continuing, comprehensive and cooperative planning process required by federal law.

To rectify the matter, a special executive committee meeting has been requested for Friday, April 7.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, both members of the executive committee, co-signed a letter to NOACA Executive Director Grace Gallucci and Board Chairman John Hamercheck objecting to the special meeting.

On behalf of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, we do not understand or see the need to reconvene the Executive Committee, and we question the motive in doing so, the letter states.

Ronayne told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer on Friday that the board discussed the matter in the full transparent light of the community. He said altering that version of the Overall Work Plan is dangerous because it appears to be an appeasement to climate denial, to climate change denial.

He also said that words matter and that eliminating references to climate looks like NOACA is ducking the seriousness of the issue and that could lead to lost federal and foundational grant opportunities down the line.

Jeff Brandon, a Montville Township trustee representing Medina County on the NOACA board, said he thinks the debate is political.

I think there are some people that, you know, believe in climate change and maybe others do not, he said. On the board and across the country.

Brandon, a Republican who serves on the executive committee, said he did not support the changes that removed climate references from the Overall Work Plan.

For me, personally, I would certainly look at the data and the science behind anything that deals with the climate, he said.

He also said that board members in the rural counties are less likely to embrace climate change but that the NOACA board historically has worked well together and that he expects there will be a meeting of the minds.

Gallucci said Friday she doesnt look at the issue as political, but rather as members of the board representing their constituents in what is routinely an iterative and engaging process that includes public engagement.

She said most of the removals of the word climate from the Overall Work Plan were to make for better reading and to specifically define the work that NOACA has been doing, not to water down the significance of climate change.

The work that we are actually doing ... is still all referenced in the work plan, she said.

Gallucci and Hamercheck made their thoughts known in an email sent to Bibb and Ronayne in response to their letter.

First, we want to assure you that there has never been any intention to stop or scale back NOACAs work on climate planning; NOACA is a local, statewide, and national leader in all of its work efforts. The changes made to the Overall Work Plan (OWP) and presented at the March meeting were part of the larger, routine process of crafting documents subject to public comment and regulatory approval, the email reads.

So, will the word climate actually appear in the name of NOACAs climate action plan once its completed?

Of course, Gallucci said.
ANTIOQUIA, Colombia -- The Colombian government will internationally relocate 70 hippos in the coming months at a cost of $3.5 million as the country addresses what it has deemed an invasive species.

Four of the hippos were once owned by Pablo Escobar, a Colombian drug lord who kept them at his Hacienda Napoles private ranch in Antiqoquia. However, since Escobars death in 1993, the hippos have multiplied in growth to between 130 and 160 hippos, according to the Colombian government.

The hippos relocation is part of a deal between the local Antioquia government in Colombia, the Colombian Air Force and the Colombian Agricultural Institute.

Were looking to save the lives of hippos, but also to protect the lives of people in the Magdalena Medio region, Anibal Gaviria, governor of Antioquia Department, said in a press conference on Wednesday, per CNN.

Of the 70 hippos to be transported, 60 will go to an unnamed sanctuary in India, while 10 will be moved to Ostok Sanctuary in Mexico, according to a statement released Wednesday, CNN reports.

The whole operation should cost around $3.5 million, Ernesto Zazueta, owner of the Ostok Sanctuary, told reporters, per CBS News.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- When Giant Eagle, the Pittsburgh supermarket chain, expanded to Clevelands East Side, they wanted klezmer music in their store at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst. Giant Eagle specifically wanted music for the Sunday before Passover, when many Jews shop hard for huge amounts of food for the upcoming Seder meals.

A Giant Eagle representative called me and said she would pay $300 for a duo. I play clarinet. She said, Thats what we pay here in Pittsburgh. Duo gigs in Cleveland pay about $200.

Three hundred dollars sounded pretty good, but I asked for $500. Why? Because I didnt feel like playing klezmer music in an aisle overstuffed with gefilte fish and matzo. So many kinds of matzo, at that: regular, egg, gluten-free, whole wheat, chocolate-covered.

The Pittsburgh woman said she would get back to me, but she didnt. Instead, she hired two friends of mine -- a violinist and keyboard player -- for $300.

The Sunday of my non-gig, I told my wife, I could be at Giant Eagle right now playing. Alice likes Giant Eagle birthday cakes, in particular, and was impressed.

I also told my guitarist about the non-gig. He said, We dont have anything to prove at this point in our careers. Now if you had just told me you priced us out of a gig in Fuerth, Germany, thats a different story. But Giant Eagle?

The guitarist mentioned Fuerth because our band was once booked for a Jewish music festival in Germany but then got un-booked when festival administration changed. (My band Yiddishe Cup has played abroad, though -- at the Windsor Jewish Federation & Community Centre in Windsor, Canada.)

Alice and I used to go to Seders in Clarksburg, West Virginia. That was different.

Alices mother was from there; my mother-in-laws family owned a small department store in Clarksburg. The matzo in Clarksburg was shipped in from Pittsburgh. There was even a temple in Clarksburg, the Tree of Life Synagogue, located in a former Presbyterian church. The synagogue closed in 2004. A lot of synagogues in small towns are gone.

The musicians with the Giant Eagle gig worked hard on the internet to drum up a crowd. Their Facebook post elicited 10 comments -- a significant number in the klezmer veltele (Yiddish for small world).

I got jealous. I shouldnt have said $500. And who knows, I might have gotten a free matzo. I like regular matzo. Add salt and butter, and youre golden.

Klezmer musician Bert Stratton of Cleveland Heights has been thinking recently about the grocery-store Passover gig that never happened.

Later in the day, the violinist posted on Facebook: Sure wish the person who hired us could have notified Giant Eagle that we were playing. Sorry to all those who made it out to see us. We are very disappointed.

I wrote the violinist, So it didnt happen? Are you still getting paid?

He said, The store manager didnt know we were scheduled and sent us home. Were getting paid.

Three hundred dollars -- thats decent bread (leavened or unleavened) for not playing. I learned my lesson. Dont pass up a Passover gig.

Bert Stratton of Cleveland Heights is the leader of the band Yiddishe Cup. He writes the blog Klezmer Guy: Real Music and Real Estate.

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BUCHA, Ukraine (AP)  Russia used its long-range arsenal to bombard anew several areas of Ukraine on Friday, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes as Ukrainians commemorated the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha from a brutal occupation by the Kremlins forces.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Bucha, a town near Kyiv, stands as a symbol of the atrocities the Russian military has committed since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

We will not let it be forgotten, Zelenskyy said at a formal ceremony in Bucha, vowing to punish those who committed outrages in the town. Human dignity will not let it be forgotten. On the streets of Bucha, the world has seen Russian evil. Evil unmasked.

At the same time as the Bucha commemorations, the Kremlin-allied president of Belarus raised the stakes in the 13-month war when he said that Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in his country, along with part of Moscows tactical nuclear arsenal.

Moscow said earlier this week it planned to place in neighboring Belarus tactical nuclear weapons that are comparatively short-range and low-yield. Strategic nuclear weapons such as missile-borne warheads would bring a greater threat.

Zelenskyy dedicated his attention to an official ceremony in Bucha, where he was joined by the president of the Republic of Moldova and the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The Kremlins forces occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month. When Ukrainian troops retook the town, they encountered horrific scenes: bodies of women, young and old men, in civilian clothing, lying in the street where they had fallen or in yards and homes.

Other bodies were found in a mass grave. Over weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including some of children.

Russian soldiers on intercepted phone conversations called it zachistka  cleansing, according to an investigation by The Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline.

Such organized cruelty  used by Russian troops in past conflicts as well, notably in Chechnya  was later repeated in Russia-occupied territories across Ukraine.

Zelenskyy handed out medals to soldiers, police, doctors, teachers and emergency services in Bucha, as well as to families of two soldiers killed during the defense of the Kyiv region.

Ukrainian people, you have stopped the biggest anti-human force of our times, he said. You have stopped the force which has no respect and wants to destroy everything that gives meaning to human life.

More than 1,400 civilian deaths, including 37 children, were documented by Ukrainian authorities, Zelenskyy said.

More than 175 people were found in mass graves and alleged torture chambers, according to Zelenskyy. Ukraine and other countries, including the U.S., have demanded that Russia answer for war crimes.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin alleged Friday that many of the dead civilians were tortured. Almost 100 Russian soldiers are suspected of war crimes, he said on his Telegram channel, and indictments have been issued for 35 of them.

Two Russian servicemen have already been sentenced by a Ukrainian court to 12 years in prison for illegal deprivation of liberty of civilians and looting.

I am convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russias planned strategy aimed at destroying Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation, Kostin said.

In Geneva, the U.N. human rights chief said his office has so far verified the deaths of more than 8,400 civilians in Ukraine since Russias invasion  a count believed to be far short of the true toll.

Volker Turk told the U.N. Human Rights Council that severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine amid Russias invasion.

As well as making an announcement about possibly having Russian strategic nuclear weapons on his countrys soil, the Belarusian president also unexpectedly called for a cease-fire in Ukraine without making any reference about how the two developments might be connected.

A truce, Lukashenko said in his state-of-the-nation address in Minsk on Friday, must be announced without any preconditions and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted.

Its necessary to stop now until an escalation begins, Lukashenko said, adding that an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using Western-supplied weapons would bring an irreversible escalation of the conflict.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Russia has to keep fighting, claiming Ukraine has rejected any talks under pressure from its Western allies.

Peskov also dismissed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbans remarks about the European Union mulling the deployment of sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as extremely dangerous.

Russia has maintained its bombardment of Ukraine with the war already into its second year.

As well as killing at least two civilians in Ukraine, 14 other civilians were wounded early Friday as Russia launched missiles, shells, exploding drones and gliding bombs, the Ukraine presidential office said.

Two Russian missiles hit the city of Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region, damaging eight residential buildings. Throughout the Donetsk region, one civilian was killed and five others wounded by the strikes, the office said.

Nine Russian missiles struck Kharkiv, damaging residential buildings, roads, gas stations and a prison. The Russians also used exploding drones to attack the Kharkiv region.

Russian forces also shelled the southern city of Kherson, killing one resident and wounding two others. The village of Lviv in the Kherson region was struck by gliding bombs that damaged about 10 houses.

The barrage also hit the city of Zaporizhzhia, and its outskirts, causing major fires.

___

Jamey Keaten contributed from Geneva.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen gestures while speaking during an event with members of the Taiwanese community, in New York, in this handout picture released March 30. Reuters-Yonhap



In a highly sensitive U.S. visit, Taiwan's president is delivering a message that keeping her self-ruled island strong will help ensure the world's safety  even as her travel is carefully calibrated to try to contain what furious Chinese officials warn could be a strong response.



Taiwan is billing President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to New York as simply a "transit," but she has kept a full agenda of events Wednesday and Thursday before flying to Central America.



Most provocatively in the eyes of Beijing, her trip is expected to include a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy next week. In a sign of the sensitivity of her visit, little about Tsai's full itinerary has been made public, and her events Thursday were closed to the news media.



The visit  while important for Taiwan in demonstrating its overseas support  is fraught for both Taiwan and the U.S. because China views Taiwan as its territory and treats any dealings between U.S. and Taiwanese officials as a challenge to its sovereignty.



Even with the precautions, Tsai's trip, including any meetings with U.S. lawmakers, raises tensions at a time when both China and the U.S. and its allies are boosting their military preparedness for a possible confrontation in the Indo-Pacific. China's often-stated determination to take Taiwan, by force if necessary, stands as one of the region's main flashpoints.



Chinese officials are focusing, angrily, on the expected meeting next week between Tsai and McCarthy. It would be one of the highest-level in-person meetings between U.S. and Taiwanese officials on U.S. soil.



Tsai, who arrived late Wednesday, tweeted a photo of herself and Taiwan's top diplomat in the United States, Bi-khim Hsiao, in a vehicle out on the streets of New York on Thursday. Tsai declined comment when approached by an Associated Press reporter at her hotel.



In a speech Wednesday night to a full room of fellow Taiwanese in New York, Tsai thanked the United States for its security assistance and urged Taiwanese unity. "The safer Taiwan is, the safer the world will be," she said.



She pledged Taiwan would work with its democratic partners to remain on a path of democracy, in unspoken contrast with the communist Chinese government.



Small crowds from New York's Taiwanese community greeted Tsai in her first hours in the city.



Chinese demonstrators opposed to Taiwan's government also were on the streets, waving the red and yellow Chinese flag. "Tsai Ing-wen big traitor of China," said the slogan on a sign held by one protester.



The United States' longstanding "one-China" policy acknowledges that the Chinese claim Taiwan as their territory. However, the U.S. does not endorse that claim and remains Taiwan's most important provider of military hardware and other defense assistance.



On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning restated China's serious objections to any interactions between Tsai and U.S. leaders.



"China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan," Mao told reporters in Beijing. "China will continue to closely follow the situation and resolutely safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity."



A senior Chinese diplomat in Washington, embassy charge d'affaires Xu Xueyuan, pointed to the anticipated meeting between Tsai and the U.S. House speaker as one that would have significant repercussions overall and a "serious, serious, serious" impact on U.S.-China relations.





Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy attend an event with members of the Taiwanese community, in New York, U.S., in this handout picture released March 30. Reuters-Yonhap
Chinese envoy visits Shenandoah University in Virginia, U.S.

Xinhua) 14:25, March 31, 2023

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in the United States Xu Xueyuan met with President of Shenandoah University (SU) Tracy Fitzsimmons in Winchester, Virginia, to discuss further cooperation with Chinese universities.

During the visit on Tuesday, Xu commended SU for actively cooperating with Chinese universities despite the strained bilateral relationship and the impact of a once-in-a-century pandemic, said a statement on the embassy's website Thursday.

SU has carried out joint mandarin learning courses and MBA programs, positively contributing to China-U.S. educational exchanges and friendship between the two peoples. Fitzsimmons and faculty members expressed their readiness to further strengthen collaboration with Chinese partner universities to enhance academic and people-to-people ties in the post-COVID-19 era.

Xu and the delegation watched musical performances by teachers and students from the school's Conservatory, after which she made a few remarks.

Xu pointed out that since the beginning of reform and opening-up, China has gradually grown into the world's second-largest economy, marking several proud accomplishments along the way.

China has won the battle against poverty in a planned time frame and built a state-of-the-art high-speed railway, electronic payment in China is widespread and China's young people are becoming the leading force for innovation and start-ups in various fields, she told the audience.

The Chinese envoy also said that China still has a long way to go as a developing country. The 1.4 billion Chinese people strive for national development and a better life. China is willing to develop sound and stable China-U.S. relations based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.

Founded in 1875, SU is a distinctive institution that has grown from a minor seminary 150 years ago to a private university with 4,000 students. The university has produced many outstanding graduates and embraced students from 47 states in the U.S. and 42 countries around the world, including China.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
In this Sept. 21, 2020 file photo U.S. President Donald Trump makes his way to board Air Force One before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. AFP-Yonhap



In a political bombshell, Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York grand jury, the first ever serving or former U.S. president to face criminal charges.



Here's what happened on Thursday and what is expected to happen next:



Criminal charges



The grand jury, which meets in secret, voted to indict the 76-year-old former Republican president following an investigation led by the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.



While the indictment remains under seal, the charges against Trump are believed to relate to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.



The grand jury, which has been meeting since January, indicted Trump after hearing testimony from a number of witnesses.



Among those who testified was Trump's ex-personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who has admitted arranging a $130,000 payment to Daniels to buy her silence about an affair she had with Trump in 2006.



Trump was invited to testify in person but declined.





A NYPD K-9 Unit conducts a security sweep outside the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, March 29. AFP-Yonhap



Surrender



Bragg said his office had been in touch with Trump's attorneys to "coordinate his surrender" for arraignment in New York at a future date.



At an arraignment, a defendant is presented with the charges facing them and generally enters a plea.



A judge then decides whether they should be released on bail or taken into custody.



Extra security has been in place for days around the Manhattan courthouse where Trump is expected to make his first appearance.









CBS News, citing Trump's defense team, said the plan is for the former president to surrender early next week. CBS said the Secret Service would be in charge of the arrangements.



Prior to an arraignment, a defendant has their fingerprints and a mugshot taken.



Extradition



Trump, who insists he is "completely innocent," could refuse to surrender to the New York authorities, forcing them to seek his extradition from his Florida residence.



Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential Trump rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said that his state would "not assist in an extradition request."



Legal experts said any attempt to fight extradition would at best result in a delay and Trump would eventually have to appear in New York to face the charges.



Next judicial steps



Once Trump is arraigned and enters a plea, there will be a series of preliminary court hearings to set a date for a trial and decide on witnesses and evidence.



A defendant can avoid going to trial by entering into a plea agreement with prosecutors, in exchange for a lighter sentence, for example.



Given Trump's proclamations of innocence that is unlikely.





A general view of the White House in Washington D.C., U.S. in this July 21, 2022 file photo. Reuters-Yonhap
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a rally in Conroe, Texas, U.S., January 29, 2022.

WASHINGTON  In becoming the first former commander-in-chief ever indicted Thursday, Donald Trump cemented the word that has most defined his eight years at the center of national politics: unprecedented.

Before Trump, no one had won the presidency without previous government service, no president had been impeached twice and no former president had been charged with a crime.

Trump shattered all those barriers.

Now, he is battling allegations that he tried to hide hush money payments to an adult film star paramour in 2016 while he campaigns as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He also faces possible criminal charges in Fulton County, Georgia, and in Washington, where a special prosecutor is investigating his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The one-man split screen  leading candidate and criminal suspect  is forcing a badly divided body politic to wrestle with democratic principles that have never been so gravely tested.

From Trump's perspective, which is shared broadly throughout the leadership of the GOP, he is the victim of a justice system perverted to cripple the Republican Party in the next presidential election.

"This is an attack on our country the likes of which has never been seen before," he wrote in all capital letters on his Truth Social media platform Thursday. "It is likewise a continuing attack on our once free and fair elections. The USA is now a third world nation, a nation in serious decline. So sad!"

The prosecution of a serious candidate for president, he and his allies maintain, is patently un-American.

His critics  a group that includes Democrats and a set of Republicans repelled by his disregard for many democratic conventions  say he is finally being held to account. They argue that the indictment is consistent with American ideals.

"No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence," Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, wrote on Twitter.

While politicians and legal experts debate the finer points of democracy  how to balance the founders' allergies to both special privilege for public officials and abuse of prosecutorial power  the grand jurors in Manhattan were required to focus on the facts of the case in front of them. The indictment remains under seal, depriving the public of an immediate and full understanding of the charges.

Trump has said repeatedly that he committed no crime, and he denies having had a sexual relationship with Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress.

An indictment doesn't prevent him from seeking the presidency; neither would a conviction.

In fact, many Republican operatives predict that the indictment will create a rally-'round-the-flag effect that drives GOP primary voters into Trump's camp. That dynamic was evident in the speed with which Republican leaders rushed to defend him Thursday. Several potential rivals for the GOP nomination, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, fired off statements criticizing the indictment.

The sentiment was also captured in recent interviews with GOP voters in Iowa and Texas. For Trump's most ardent fans, the prospect of a conviction isn't a deterrent in the slightest.

"I'd vote for him from jail," Vince Condra of Fredericksburg, Texas, said Saturday at a Trump rally in Waco

Republican affinity for Trump strengthened when the possibility of an indictment came into sharp focus this month.

In a Fox News poll released Wednesday, more than a week after Trump predicted he would be arrested, he led DeSantis 54% to 24% in a multicandidate field, a gap that had doubled since a similar survey in February.

That raises the very real prospect that Trump could be defending himself as he takes a major-party nomination. Winning a nomination from a prison cell would put another line on Trump's growing list of firsts.

There is no precedent for that, either  at least not in the U.S.

It isn't uncommon around the world for former or current political leaders  some of them in countries that respect the rule of law  to face criminal charges. Benjamin Netanyahu, the former and current prime minister of Israel, is on trial in connection with allegations of bribery.

But whatever happens, whether Trump wins or loses in court and in the political arena, his next chapter promises to rewrite American history again. That's how he likes it: unprecedented.
The U.S. has placed major chip export restrictions on Huawei and Chinese firms over the past few years. This has cut off companies' access to critical semiconductors.

China's chip industry will be "reborn" as a result of U.S. sanctions, a top boss at Huawei said Friday, as the Chinese telecommunications giant claimed a breakthrough in semiconductor design technology.

Eric Xu, rotating chairman at Huawei, issued fighting words against Washington's tech export restrictions on China.

"I believe China's semiconductor industry will not sit idly by, but take efforts around ... self-strengthening and self reliance," according to an official translation of Xu's comments during a press conference.

"For Huawei, we will render our support to all such self-saving, self-strengthening and self reliance efforts of the Chinese semiconductor industry."

Semiconductors have been a flash point in the broader U.S.-China battle for tech supremacy. Over the past few years, Washington has attempted to cut China and Chinese firms off through sanctions and export restrictions.

In 2019, Huawei was put on a U.S. black list called the Entity List, which barred American firms from selling technology to the Chinese company. This included chips for 5G products  where 5G refers to super-fast next-generation mobile networks. Chip restrictions against Huawei were tightened in 2020 and effectively separated it from the latest cutting-edge chips it required for its smartphones.

Washington then introduced broader chip restrictions last year, aiming to deprive Chinese firms of critical semiconductors that could serve artificial intelligence and more advanced applications.

The U.S. is concerned that China could use advanced semiconductors for military purposes.

Huawei's Xu said these developments could boost, rather than hamper China's domestic semiconductor industry.

"I believe China's semiconductor industry will get reborn under such sanctions and realize a very strong and self-reliant industry," Xu said.

Experts previously told CNBC that the latest round of U.S. restrictions are likely to hurt China's semiconductor industry. Under the current rules, certain tools or chips that are made using American technology are not allowed to be exported to China.

The nature of the chip supply chain makes this very effective. U.S. tools are used across the chip production process, even if a semiconductor is manufactured in another country.

China's domestic chip industry relies heavily on foreign technology, and it lacks companies that can match firms in the U.S., Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

China has made self-reliance a big priority amid the tech battle with the U.S., but experts agree this will prove an extremely difficult feat.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants banking to be "boring" again following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank .

"What I want to do is get banking back where it ought to be, and that is boring," Warren, D-Mass., said Friday morning on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." "Banking is supposed to be there for putting your money in and you can count on it's going to be there, and that's true if you're a family, that's true if you're a small business."

Warren said the problem started under the Trump administration, when bank CEOs lobbied Congress to weaken regulation for regional and midsized banks. Silicon Valley Bank was among those who lobbied for the changes, Warren pointed out, noting the bank's profits surged in the years regulations were loosened.

During a hearing this week, Warren, a longtime critic of the financial industry, pressed the nation's top banking regulators on how SVB and Signature were able to fail practically overnight earlier this month. Financial regulators shuttered the two banks, citing systematic contagion fears, after negative news triggered bank runs. The failed banks disproportionately serviced startup and cryptocurrency companies.

The incident marked the largest U.S. banking failures since the 2008 financial crisis, and the second- and third-biggest bank failures in U.S. history.

In the weeks since the collapse of the banks, Warren has authored or sponsored three new bills related to bank oversight.

The first would reverse a Trump-era bill that weakened oversight of medium-sized banks. The second would create an inspector general position within the Federal Reserve, and the third would prohibit executives at publicly traded companies from selling stock options for three years.
Members of Rise and Resist participate in their weekly "Truth Tuesday" protest at News Corp headquarters on February 21, 2023 in New York City.

A Delaware judge on Friday said Dominion Voting's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox Corp. and its networks could go to trial in April.

Judge Eric Davis of Delaware's Superior Court rejected Fox's arguments that it should bypass a trial since it's protected by the First Amendment. The judge granted some of the voting machine maker's motions, with the exception of its argument that Fox and its hosts acted with malice in broadcasting false claims about the 2020 presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

The ruling comes more than a week after Fox and Dominion's attorneys met before Davis over two days in Delaware, urging him to make a ruling rather than go to trial with jury in mid-April.

"We are gratified by the Court's thorough ruling soundly rejecting all of Fox's arguments and defenses, and finding as a matter of law that their statements about Dominion are false. We look forward to going to trial," Dominion said late Friday afternoon.

Fox also weighed in on the judge's ruling.

"This case is and always has been about the First Amendment protections of the media's absolute right to cover the news. FOX will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings," the company said.

Dominion brought its lawsuit against Fox News and Fox Business, as well as their parent Fox Corp., in 2021, arguing the channels and their hosts pushed false claims that its voting machines were rigged in the 2020 election that saw Biden triumph over Trump. The former president, who was indicted Thursday in an unrelated criminal matter, has repeatedly made false claims about the election being rigged against him.

Last year, as part of Dominion's evidence gathering, the company deposed executives at both Fox Corp. -- including Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son and Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch -- and Fox News, as well as the top hosts on the network. In recent weeks, a trove of evidence has been released as part of the case, showing the hosts, as well as Rupert Murdoch, were skeptical of the election fraud claims being made on air.

Dominion has argued Fox defamed the company, affecting its business, and acted with malice. Fox has argued it was reporting on newsworthy allegations, at the time stemming from Trump and attorneys, and is protected by the First Amendment.

The judge pointed to the statements regarding election fraud, that Dominion manipulated vote counts through software and algorithms, that it was founded in Venezuela to rig elections on behalf of late dictator Hugo Chavez, and that it paid kickbacks to government officials who used the machines in the election  all of which were said on air on Fox  to be defamatory.

"The statements also seem to charge Dominion with the serious crime of election fraud. Accusations of criminal activity, even in the form of opinion, are not constitutionally protected," Davis said in court papers.

While the judge on Friday granted summary judgement on some of Dominion's arguments, including defamation, he didn't grant one on actual malice.

In order to win a defamation case, a plaintiff needs to prove that the individual or business they are suing knowingly made false statements that caused harm, and that it acted with "actual malice," meaning the speaker knew or should have known what they were saying to be untrue.

In the evidence released in recent weeks, internal text messages and emails between Fox executives and its hosts have shown they were skeptical of the claims being made on air. Still, Dominion argues, Fox continued to host guests such as Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who repeated erroneous claims of election fraud.

Fox argued last week in court that the basis of its case was "whether the press accurately reports the allegations, not whether the underlying allegations are true or false." Attorneys have built the media company's case around the notion that "any reasonable viewer" of the news would be able to discern what was allegations or facts on Fox's networks.

In Friday's opinion, Davis, the judge, aid there was "no clear and convincing evidence of actual malice." Instead, Davis said it is a matter a jury should decide.

Similarly, on Fox's arguments against the $1.6 billion in damages Dominion is seeking in this case, Davis said the matter is for a jury to decide  including the calculation of how much the damages should be.

The trial, which is expected to last for weeks, is set to begin on April 17, with a pre-trial conference and jury selection taking place the week before.

Dominion is requesting Fox's top hosts, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, as well as former host Lou Dobbs and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, appear on the stand for questioning. The depositions of both Murdochs, as well as other Fox Corp. executives, are to be included in the trial, too.

Former Fox producer Abby Grossberg was also added to Dominion's witness list. Grossberg, who worked on the shows of Bartiromo and Carlson, filed a lawsuit against Fox alleging she was coerced into providing misleading testimony as part of the Dominion lawsuit.

Read the ruling.
Huawei's revenue stabilized in 2022 as the company diversified into new areas like cloud computing and automotive technology. But its profit plunged as pressure from U.S. sanctions and China's pandemic controls weighed on the Chinese technology giant.

"In the midst of this storm, we kept racing ahead, doing everything in our power to maintain business continuity and serve our customers," Xu said.

Huawei said revenue rose 0.9% to 642.3 billion yuan in 2022, as the company stabilized its business following a more than 28% plunge in sales in 2021. The Shenzhen, China-headquartered firm has sought to diversify its business into new areas including cloud computing and automotive after a rough few years in which U.S. sanctions have hampered the company.

"In 2022, a challenging external environment and non-market factors continued to take a toll on Huawei's operations," Eric Xu, rotating chairman at Huawei, said in a press release.

However, in 2021, the company got a big bump in profit after it sold off its Honor smartphone brand to a consortium of buyers, making the comparison with 2022 quite large. Huawei also named rising commodity prices, China's strict pandemic controls last year and the rise in its research and development spend, as reasons for the profit plunge.

The Chinese telecommunications giant said net profit for 2022 totaled 35.6 billion yuan ($5.18 billion), a 69% year-on-year decline. That's the bigger than the 54% annual decline in 2011, according to CNBC calculations.

Huawei reported on Friday its biggest annual decline in profit on record as U.S. sanctions continue to hit its business and strict pandemic controls in China weighed on the company.

Through 2019 and 2020, the Chinese technology giant was cut off from key American technology, such as Google's Android operating system and components it required such as semiconductors. That crippled Huawei's smartphone business, which was once the number one in the world. Huawei's consumer business, which houses its smartphone unit, fell more than 11% to 214.5 billion yuan in 2022, a significantly less sharp decline than 2021.

Huawei has continued to launch devices from smartphones to smartwatches. But the company has struggled to sell devices outside of China as it is unable to use Android, an operating system that is well-used overseas. Huawei launched its own operating system, HarmonyOS, which it says was installed on 330 million devices at the end of 2022, up 113% year-on-year. But that operating system has failed to gain traction outside of China.

Huawei's carrier business, which includes the equipment it sells to telecommunications companies, generated 284 billion yuan in revenue, a 0.9% year-on-year rise, compared with a fall in 2021. The U.S. has been urging countries over the past few years to ban Huawei from their next-generation 5G networks. Countries like the U.K. have already done so, while Germany is reportedly considering banning some Huawei equipment in its 5G networks.

With challenges in both the carrier and consumer business, Huawei has sought to diversify the company into new areas. Huawei's enterprise business, which includes some of its cloud computing revenue, rose 30% year-on-year to 133.2 billion yuan.

Huawei has looked to take its products, including cloud computing, to specific industries such as finance and mining in a bid to help companies digitize their business. The company broke out figures for the cloud computing business alone for the first time and said it generated revenue of 45.3 billion yuan in 2022.

Huawei has also jumped in on China's electric car boom and launched vehicles in partnership with automaker Seres. Huawei said its nascent "Intelligent Automotive Solutions" unit brought in 2.1 billion yuan in 2022. The company said it has invested $3 billion in the unit since it was established in 2019 and it now has 7,000 research and development staff.

Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei, who returned to China in 2021 after being detained in Canada in 2018 on the request of the U.S., said the company's results were "in line with forecast," adding the tech giant's financial position "remains solid."
Gettyimagesbank





Japan said on Friday it will restrict exports of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aligning its technology trade controls with a U.S. push to curb China's ability to make advanced chips.







Japan, home to major global chip equipment makers such as Nikon and Tokyo Electron, did not specify China as the target of the measures, saying equipment makers would need to seek export permission for all regions.







"We are fulfilling our responsibility as a technological nation to contribute to international peace and stability," Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference.







Japan wants to stop advanced technology being used for military purposes and does not have one specific country in mind with the measures, he said.







But Japan's decision is seen as a major diplomatic win for U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, which in October announced sweeping restrictions on China's access to U.S. chipmaking tech to slow its technological and military advances.







Without the cooperation of industry heavyweights Japan and the Netherlands, the U.S. measures would be ineffective and its companies would face a competitive disadvantage.







Japan and the Netherlands in January agreed to join the U.S. in restricting equipment exports to China that could be used to manufacture sub-14 nanometre chips, but did not announce the pact to avoid provoking China, sources said earlier.







Japan has never publicly acknowledged any agreement.







A nanometer, or one-billionth of a meter, refers to a specific semiconductor industry technology, with fewer nanometers generally meaning the chip is more advanced.







In the Netherlands, the government said in a letter to parliament this month it planned to restrict chipmaking equipment exports. Dutch major ASML Holding NV dominates the market for lithography systems used to create chips' minute circuitry.







China, which has accused the U.S. of being a "tech hegemony" because of its export restrictions, urged the Netherlands "not to follow export control measure by certain countries".






Drone footage shows the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 6, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released by the NTSB.

The Justice Department said Friday it filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern , aiming to hold the railway company accountable for alleged Clean Water Act violations that allegedly occurred due to an Ohio train derailment in early February.

In February, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed near the Pennsylvania border in East Palestine, Ohio, causing a fire, collisions and local evacuations.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, seeks "injunctive relief, cost recovery, and civil penalties" for the alleged violations.

"With this complaint, the Justice Department and the EPA are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a release Friday.

In an emailed statement to CNBC, a Norfolk Southern representative said the company's focus "right now is to make progress every day cleaning up the site, assisting residents whose lives were impacted by the derailment, and investing in the future of East Palestine and the surrounding areas."

"We are working with urgency, at the direction of the U.S. EPA, and making daily progress," the spokesperson continued. "That remains our focus and we'll keep working until we make it right."

Since the derailment, Norfolk Southern has been in hot water with state and federal officials concerning the environmental implications of the derailment.

The state of Ohio has also sued Norfolk Southern in a bid to ensure the company pays for environmental damage and cleanup efforts, which Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has said the company would continue to support. Shaw and several government officials have said it's safe to live in the area, but residents have complained of illnesses.

In a statement regarding Thursday's lawsuit, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said "no community should have to go through what East Palestine residents have faced."

He added that the lawsuit marks the agency's "commitment to ensure Norfolk Southern cleans up the mess they made and pays for the damage they have inflicted as we work to ensure this community can feel safe at home again."

On Thursday, three senators introduced a new rail safety bill in a bid address long-standing concerns that became more acute in light of the Norfolk Southern derailment.
Turkey's Parliament unanimously approved Finland's membership to NATO, clearing the final hurdle for the Nordic country's ascension to the 74-year old defense alliance. Ankara is still holding out on Sweden's membership, however.

The step for Finland, which comes after months of stalling by NATO members Turkey and Hungary, marks a historic foreign policy shift and a significant setback for Russia, which often refers to NATO's expansion as an existential threat. Finland's addition to the alliance will add 830 miles of NATO territory along Russia's border.

Ukraine is marking the one-year anniversary of the Bucha massacre, during which Ukraine says retreating Russian forces killed hundreds of civilians in and around their homes in the suburb outside Kyiv. International investigators have spent the last year compiling evidence to charge Russian forces with committing atrocities, which the Kremlin denies.
An image of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died after being shot by Alec Baldwin on the set of his movie "Rust", is displayed at a vigil in her honour in Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 23, 2021.

David Halls, the "Rust" assistant director who handled the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021, pleaded no contest Friday to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

The plea makes Halls the first person held criminally accountable in Hutchins' death. Actor Alec Baldwin and the independent movie's original armorer, Hanna Gutierrez-Reed, are both charged with manslaughter over Hutchins' death.

Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry 18-month prison sentences.

The New Mexico judge overseeing the "Rust" case sentenced Halls to six months of unsupervised probation, a $500 fine and 24 hours of community service.

Halls will also have to complete a firearms safety course, as well as testify in upcoming "Rust" hearings or trials, per New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer's ruling. Halls had previously agreed to the plea deal in January.

Preliminary hearings for Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are expected to start in early May.

Notably, Friday's hearing was the first to be conducted under the supervision of the case's new special prosecutors, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis.

To date, "Rust" proceedings have been routinely disrupted by complications concerning the appointment of the case's previous special prosecutor.

The first special prosecutor for the case, Andrea Reeb, stepped down earlier this month, after Baldwin's defense lawyers filed a motion requesting her removal.

At the heart of the request for Reeb's removal was her allegedly contradictory commitments: Reeb was named special prosecutor before being elected to New Mexico's legislature. Baldwin's lawyers argued the state's constitution prevents people from simultaneously serving as prosecutor and legislator.

While Reeb and the district attorney's office initially rejected the motion, Reeb's decision to step down was followed by a New York Times report in which Reeb suggested in a June 2022 email that working on the case could help her political career.

Complications only continued from there. On Monday, Mary Carmack-Altwies, the New Mexico district attorney who had overseen the "Rust" case, was given a directive from Judge Marlowe Sommer: Either recuse yourself from the case, or lose your ability to appoint a new special prosecutor.

On Wednesday, Carmack-Altwies recused herself. In her place, she appointed Morrissey and Lewis.

"My responsibility to the people of the First Judicial District is greater than any one case, which is why I have chosen to appoint a special prosecutor in the 'Rust' case," Carmack-Altwies said in a statement.
Meredith Whittaker, a former Google Manager who is now president at Signal.(Florian Hetz for The Washington Post via Getty Images) Florian Hetzt | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Meredith Whittaker took a top role at the Signal Foundation last year, moving into the nonprofit world after a career in academia, government work and the tech industry. She's now president of an organization that operates one of the world's most popular encrypted messaging apps, with tens of millions of people using it to keep their chats private and out of the purview of big tech companies. Whittaker has real-world reasons to be skeptical of for-profit companies and their use of data  she previously spent 13 years at Google . After more than a decade at the search giant, she learned from a friend in 2017 that Google's cloud computing unit was working on a controversial contract with the Department of Defense known as Project Maven. She and other workers saw it as hypocritical for Google to work on artificial intelligence technology that could potentially be used for drone warfare. They started discussing taking collective action against the company. "People were meeting each week, talking about organizing," Whittaker said in an interview with CNBC, with Women's History Month as a backdrop. "There was already sort of a consciousness in the company that hadn't existed before." With tensions high, Google workers then learned that the company reportedly paid former executive Andy Rubin a $90 million exit package despite credible sexual misconduct claims against the Android founder. Whittaker helped organize a massive walkout against the company, bringing along thousands of Google workers to demand greater transparency and an end to forced arbitration for employees. The walkout represented a historic moment in the tech industry, which until then, had few high-profile instances of employee activism.

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"Give me a break," Whittaker said of the Rubin revelations and ensuing walkout. "Everyone knew; the whisper network was not whispering anymore." Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Whittaker left Google in 2019 to return full time to the AI Now Institute at New York University, an organization she co-founded in 2017 that says its mission is to "help ensure that AI systems are accountable to the communities and contexts in which they're applied." Whittaker never intended on pursuing a career in tech. She studied rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. She said she was broke and needed a gig when she joined Google in 2006, after submitting a resume on Monster.com. She eventually landed a temp job in customer support. "I remember the moment when someone kind of explained to me that a server was a different kind of computer," Whittaker said. "We weren't living in a world at that point where every kid learned to code  that knowledge wasn't saturated."

'Why do we get free juice?'

Beyond learning about technology, Whittaker had to adjust to the culture of the industry. At companies like Google at the time, that meant lavish perks and a lot of pampering. "Part of it was trying to figure out, why do we get free juice?" Whittaker said. "It was so foreign to me because I didn't grow up rich." Whittaker said she would "osmotically learn" more about the tech sector and Google's role in it by observing and asking questions. When she was told about Google's mission to index the world's information, she remembers it sounding relatively simple even though it involved numerous complexities, touching on political, economic and societal concerns. "Why is Google so gung-ho over net neutrality?" Whittaker said, referring to the company's battle to ensure that internet service providers offer equal access to content distribution. Several European telecommunications providers are now urging regulators to require tech companies to pay them "fair share" fees, while the tech industry says such costs represent an "internet tax" that unfairly burdens them. "The technological sort of nuance and the political and economic stuff, I think I learned at the same time," Whittaker said. "Now I understand the difference between what we're saying publicly and how that might work internally."

Signal app Signal

At Signal, Whittaker gets to focus on the mission without worrying about sales. Signal has become popular among journalists, researchers and activists for its ability to scramble messages so that third parties are unable to intercept the communications. As a nonprofit, Whittaker said that Signal is "existentially important" for society and that there's no underlying financial motivation for the app to deviate from its stated position of protecting private communication. "We go out of our way in sometimes spending a lot more money and a lot more time to ensure that we have as little data as possible," Whittaker said. "We know nothing about who's talking to whom, we don't know who you are, we don't know your profile photo or who is in the groups that you talk to." Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has praised Signal as a direct messaging tool, and tweeted in November that "the goal of Twitter DMs is to superset Signal." Musk and Whittaker share some concerns about companies profiting off AI technologies. Musk was an early backer of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, which was founded as a nonprofit. But he said in a recent tweet that it's become a "maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft." In January, Microsoft announced a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, which calls itself a "capped-profit" company. Beyond just the confusing structure of OpenAI, Whittaker is out on the ChatGPT hype. Google recently jumped into the generative AI market, debuting its chatbot dubbed Bard. Whittaker said she finds little value in the technology and struggles to see any game-changing uses. Eventually the excitement will decline, though "maybe not as precipitously as like Web3 or something," she said. "It has no understanding of anything," Whittaker said of ChatGPT and similar tools. "It predicts what is likely to be the next word in a sentence." OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She fears that companies could use generative AI software to "justify the degradation of people's jobs," resulting in writers, editors and content makers losing their careers. And she definitely wants people to know that Signal has absolutely no plans to incorporate ChatGPT into its service. "On the record, loudly as possible, no!" Whittaker said. WATCH: AI hype is real
Customers examine cars at a Tesla store in Jinan, China on March 27, 2023.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is making plans to visit China as early as April and is seeking a meeting with China's Premier Li Qiang, two people with knowledge of planning for the trip told Reuters.

Tesla and China's State Council Information Office did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

China is Tesla's second-largest market after the United States and its Shanghai plant is the electric carmaker's largest production hub.

A visit by Musk would mark the first time he has visited China since the Covid-19 pandemic and since Xi Jinping secured a third term as China's president.
Here are Friday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Citi initiates McKesson as buy Citi said McKesson has "transformed itself into an agile healthcare services company." "And while we expect MCK to maintain its dominance in U.S. distribution, our Buy rating is predicated on the margin accretion MCK will realize as it grows its oncology and biopharma services franchises." Atlantic Equities reiterates Netflix as overweight Atlantic Equities said it's bullish on Netflix's paid sharing platform. "We now see a 9% uplift in subs over time from the initiative as disgruntled disconnecting subs are more than offset by dislocated sharers obtaining their own subscriptions, while we see an overall ARPU uplift of about 3%, for a combined effect of 13%." Piper Sandler reiterates Alphabet as overweight Piper said AI is a "real risk" to Alphabet's search revenues. " Google's market share is undeniable and even more impressive is its control over distribution in our view. That said, AI is a real risk to Google Search revenues, and we estimate ~$15BN 'at risk' by 2025E, or ~7% of total. Barclays reiterated FedEx as overweight Barclays said it's standing by its buy rating on the stock but that investors want more from management. " FedEx management cost reduction targets appear plausible at a high level, but digging deeper, we suspect investors will seek specific capacity reduction and be quick to discount management platitudes, which have been the hallmark of past plans laid to waste." UBS reiterates Wells Fargo and Bank of America as buy UBS said it sees a re-rating for bank stocks such as Wells and Bank of America. "As such, we flag two stocks where re-rating could continue beyond 1Q earnings: BAC, where relative valuation vs. JPM appears too wide, and WFC, whose valuation close to TBV (tangible book value) suggests recessionary levels." Bernstein reiterates Tesla as underperform Bernstein said it's standing by its underperform rating on the stock as competition remains fierce. "We believe the main driver of Tesla's share losses has been intense competition." Loop initiates Jack in the Box as buy Loop called the fast food company an "improving growth profile at an attractive price." "For the company's Jack in the Box brand, we are modeling system-wide same-store sales growth of 6.2% in 2Q23, 5.0% in FY23 and 3.1% in FY24." Morgan Stanley names Mercadolibre a top pick Morgan Stanley said it sees multiple growth drivers for the LatAm e-commerce company. "Multiple Sources of Earnings Upside With new EBIT-level builds for eight MELI business lines, we see a durable base of profitable growth drivers Read more about this call here. Loop downgrades JD.com to hold from buy Loop said it sees the company's valuation staying depressed in the near term. "We are downgrading JD from Buy to Hold and lowering our PT to $49 per share (from $82 previous). We continue to believe the company is undervalued and see potential for meaningful upside over the long-term, but no longer see conditions for valuation unlock in the near-term." Read more about this call here. Deutsche Bank reiterates Charles Schwab as buy Deutsche said it's standing by its buy rating on shares of Charles Schwab. "While we see Charles Schwab as being more challenged than the trust banks from this dynamic, we maintain the view that SCHW has a much stronger EPS growth profile over the next 2-3 years than the trust banks, even if the 2023 outlook is now much more subdued." Cowen upgrades Restaurants Brands to outperform from market perform Cowen said it's bullish on a U.S. turnaround for QSR , parent company of Burger King. "We are bullish on BK U.S. SSS upside under a new chairman & new CEO as a capable brand president is granted autonomy to turn around the brand." Bernstein reiterates Boeing as outperform Bernstein said it thinks Boeing is "turning the corner." "We continue to rate Airbus and Boeing Outperform, based on their long-term trajectories and the likelihood that they may be turning the corner on the supply chain." Bank of America downgrades Generac to underperform from neutral Bank of America said in its downgrade of the battery backup company it's concerned about a lack of recovery. "After GNRC's precipitous fall from grace as the second worst performing stock in S & P in 2022, we argued shares had largely flushed out into 2023. However, GNRC's ambitious FY23 guidance seems increasingly out of reach to us, as pressures mount in the residential segment." UBS reiterates Disney as buy UBS said it thinks Disney will take a 100% ownership stake in Hulu and integrate it with Disney+. "Our base case is Disney is put Comcast's stake and takes 100% ownership." Morgan Stanley reiterates elf Beauty as overweight Morgan Stanley said it sees a long-term growth opportunity for the beauty company. "We are reiterating our OW on ELF as our preferred SMID cap name, with increased confidence behind our call for large topline upside vs consensus, supported by accelerating Q1 US scanner data sales which confirms near-term upside and greater LT growth opportunity than the market expects."
A building is damaged and trees are down after severe storm swept through Little Rock, Ark., Friday, March 31, 2023. Andrew DeMillo | AP

A monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest on Friday, spawning deadly tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers in Arkansas and collapsed a theater roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois. At least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, in the Little Rock area, authorities said. The town of Wynne in northeastern Arkansas was also devastated, and officials reported two dead there, along with destroyed homes and people trapped in the debris. Authorities said a theater roof collapsed during a tornado in Belvidere, Illinois, killing one person and injuring 28, five of them severely. The Belvidere Police Department said the collapse occurred as a heavy storm rolled through the area and that calls began coming from the theater at 7:48 p.m. It said that an initial assessment was that a tornado had caused the damage. The collapse occurred at the Apollo Theatre during a heavy metal concert in the town located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. Belvidere Fire Department Chief Shawn Schadle said 260 people were in the venue. He said first responders also rescued someone from an elevator and had to grapple with downed power lines outside the theater. Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody described the scene after the collapse as "chaos, absolute chaos."

A car is upturned in a Kroger parking lot after a severe storm swept through Little Rock, Ark., Friday, March 31, 2023. Andrew DeMillo | AP

Gabrielle Lewellyn had just entered the theater when a portion of the ceiling collapsed. "I was there within a minute before it came down," she told WTVO-TV. "The winds, when I was walking up to the building, it went like from zero to a thousand within five seconds." Some people rushed to lift the collapsed portion of the ceiling and pull people out of the rubble, said Lewellyn, who wasn't hurt. "They dragged someone out from the rubble and I sat with him and I held his hand and I was (telling him) 'It's going to be OK.' I didn't really know much else what to do." There were more confirmed twisters in Iowa and wind-whipped grass fires blazed in Oklahoma, as the storm system threatened a broad swath of the country home to some 85 million people. The destructive weather came as President Joe Biden toured the aftermath of a deadly tornado that struck in Mississippi one week ago and promised the government would help the area recover. The Little Rock tornado tore first through neighborhoods in the western part of the city and shredded a small shopping center that included a Kroger grocery store. It then crossed the Arkansas River into North Little Rock and surrounding cities, where widespread damage was reported to homes, businesses and vehicles.

A home is damaged and trees are down after a tornado swept through Little Rock, Ark., Friday, March 31, 2023. Andrew DeMillo | AP
Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to get indicted on Thursday.

Now the country awaits more details on what charges exactly Trump faces in the New York hush money case  and when he will head to Manhattan to turn himself in.

The indictment against Trump is not expected to be unsealed Friday, NBC News reported. But the ex-president faces about 30 criminal counts of document fraud, according to NBC.

Trump's attorney and the Manhattan district attorney's office have arranged the former president's surrender in the coming days. He is expected to be arraigned in New York on Tuesday, though the timing could change, according to NBC News.

The New York Police Department is reinforcing security in the city, though it said it has not seen "credible threats" following Trump's indictment. The former president last week issued an ominous warning that violence could flare up if he was charged.
An advertisement soliciting donations for former U.S. President Donald Trump is seen as it was introduced as evidence and displayed during the second public hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, at Capitol Hill, in Washington, U.S. June 13, 2022.

Former President Donald Trump's campaign is running Facebook ads to raise money off his indictment by a New York grand jury, leveraging the platform it only regained access to in February after a two-year ban sparked by the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump's campaign for president on Friday started running Facebook ads that criticize the indictment and urge his supporters to help him by donating, according to the social media giant's ad archive. The archive shows at least three different Trump campaign fundraising ads that leverage the indictment.

"The Radical Left  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this country  have INDICTED me in a disgusting witch hunt," one Facebook ad run Friday says. "Please make a contribution of $47 or more by 11:59 P.M. to help DEFEND our movement from the never-ending witch hunts during these dark times  and we'll send you your very own 'I Stand with President Trump' T-shirt for FREE."

The 11:59 deadline marks the end of the first-quarter fundraising period for all campaigns. The Facebook ads, run through Trump's page, say they were paid for by the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee. The political action committee raises money for the Trump campaign and Save America, the former president's leadership PAC. Trump's 2020 campaign and the Save America PAC previously spent millions of dollars on legal fees.

The Facebook ad archive shows a majority of those who have seen that Friday fundraising ad alone are men and women over the age of 65. States where the ad was shown include Florida, Texas, California and Pennsylvania, some of the most populous and politically important in the country.

The ads underscore the effort Trump has made across email lists and social media platforms to leverage the increased attention the indictment has brought to rake in money, which he can use both for his 2024 bid and legal expenses. They also show how critical the reach of Facebook is for the former president  and what his campaign missed during the two-year suspension that Facebook implemented amid fears Trump could foment more violence through the platform.

The Trump campaign started ramping up fundraising ads on Facebook earlier in March, after Trump was reinstated to the platform in February, according to the ad archive. While the platform has always provided a key fundraising tool for Trump when he has had access, the indictment offered a unique window to rally small-dollar donors through his social media page.

"Although the platform is pivoting away from boosting political content, it remains a powerful tool for Trump to raise money and spread his messaging," Kyle Tharp, who tracks and writes on digital ads at the newsletter FWIW, told CNBC. Tharp said that because Trump has millions of followers eager to hear what he has to say, the "campaign is smart to engage them  even around his indictment."

Trump has 34 million followers on Facebook.

Trump aims to leverage the enthusiasm among his supporters as he tries to cement his status as the early frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. The prospect of an indictment did not seem to dampen GOP support for him: the ex-president had over 50% of support in the Republican primary for president in a recent Fox News poll.

A Trump campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment when asked how much the former president's campaign has raised since the indictment. Asked for comment, a Facebook spokesman referred CNBC to the company's January announcement on ending Trump's suspension and the standards he faces now that he's back on the platform.

The Facebook ads come in addition to the fundraising emails Trump's campaign has sent to supporters, pushing for contributions after the New York grand jury's vote.

Democrats and Republicans alike have been sending out emails calling for donors to contribute and tying the requests back to the indictment.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Senate Majority PAC, two committees dedicated to electing Democrats to the Senate, put out fundraising pitches linked back to the charges against Trump.

Representatives for Democrats and Republicans who raised money off the indictment did not respond to requests for comment.

ActBlue, the digital fundraising platform often used by Democratic campaigns, shows that the online tool processed well over $3 million in contributions between the indictment and Friday afternoon, according to its live tracker. A spokesman for ActBlue declined to comment.

A spokeswoman for WinRed, the rival online fundraising platform for Republicans, did not provide details on how much the online platform helped raise for GOP lawmakers and candidates.

Trump's rage at the indictment has provided a particular pull for his page, according to data provided to CNBC by FWIW. The data shows that Trump's Facebook post with his initial statement reacting to the indictment, which called the move by the New York grand jury "political persecution," received over 275,000 engagements, including reactions, shares, and comments. It has been shared at least 25,000 times by Facebook users, the group said.

Even before the indictment, Trump's presence on Facebook since his reinstatement saw huge engagement.

Facebook's Top 10, a Twitter bot that tracks the top posts on the social media platform, said in a tweet last Friday that Trump's page had one of the "top-performing link posts by U.S. Facebook pages in the last 24 hours."

One of the two Facebook posts within those 24 hours showed Trump in a video calling on his supporters to donate to his campaign.

"If you don't have the funds, you don't even have to think about doing it," Trump said in the video. "But if you could chip in, if you've done well, if you remember those great four years that we had where you made a lot, we need your help in posting massive numbers."

That video alone has over 375,000 views.

Follow CNBC.com's live coverage of former President Donald Trump's surrender and arraignment at the Manhattan criminal courthouse.
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Not too long ago, Virgin Orbit was in rarified air among U.S. rocket builders, and executives were in New York celebrating its public stock debut. The scene was true to the marketing pizazz that has helped Sir Richard Branson build his Virgin empire of companies, showcasing with a rocket model in the middle of Times Square. The deal, facilitated by a so-called blank check company, gave Virgin Orbit a valuation of nearly $4 billion. But that moment in December 2021  when the craze surrounding public offerings centered on special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, was dying out  previewed the pain to come. Now, Virgin Orbit is on the brink of bankruptcy. The company on Thursday halted operations and laid off nearly all of its staff. Its stock was trading around 20 cents Friday, leaving it with a market value of about $74 million. When Virgin Orbit closed its SPAC deal, it raised less than half of the nearly $500 million expected due to high shareholder redemptions, shortening its runway. With the broader markets turning against riskier yet-unprofitable assets like many new space stocks, Virgin Orbit shares began a steady slide, further limiting its ability to raise substantial outside investment. Branson, Virgin Orbit's largest stakeholder, was unwilling to fund the company further, as CNBC previously reported. Instead, he began hedging against his 75% equity stake through a series of debt rounds. That debt gives the flashy British billionaire first priority of Virgin Orbit assets in the event of the now-impending bankruptcy. While Virgin Orbit touted a flexible and alternative approach to launch small satellites, the company was unable to reach the rate of launches necessary to generate the revenue it sorely needed. Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter. Virgin Orbit's technical staff acquitted themselves well over the company's brief existence, but were ultimately undone in by its leaders' financial mismanagement. It's a story too often told in the history of the space industry: Exciting, or even innovative, technologies do not necessarily equal great businesses. It became one of a few U.S. rocket companies to successfully reach orbit with a privately developed launch vehicle. It launched six missions since 2020  with four successes and two failures  through an ambitious and technically difficult process known as "air launch," with a system that uses a modified 747 jet to drop a rocket mid-flight and send small satellites into space. But Virgin Orbit had dug a nearly $1 billion hole, flying missions just twice a year while its payroll expenses climbed. The company's leadership was aware of the deteriorating situation and lack of progress, and even considered changes last summer to make the business more lean. But no clear or dramatic plan came to fruition  leading to Thursday's fall. This story collects insights from CNBC's discussions with company insiders and industry investors over the past several weeks, as well as from regulatory disclosures, to explain where things went wrong for Virgin Orbit. Those people asked to remain anonymous in order to discuss internal or competitive matters. A Virgin Orbit spokesperson declined to comment for this story.

Lacking execution

The company's 747 jet "Cosmic Girl" releases a LauncherOne rocket in mid-air for the first time during a drop test in July 2019. Greg Robinson / Virgin Orbit

Virgin Orbit was spun-off from Branson's space tourism company, Virgin Galactic , in 2017, after a team within the latter sister company saw potential in using an aircraft as a platform to launch satellites. While "air launching" satellites was not a novel idea to Virgin Orbit, the company aimed to surpass the air-launched Pegasus rocket  developed by Orbital Sciences, which is now owned by Northrop Grumman for a fraction of the cost per mission. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Virgin Orbit flew most of its missions out of the Mojave Air and Space Port. The exception to that was its most recent launch, which took off from Spaceport Cornwall in the United Kingdom. Virgin Orbit had been working with other governments to provide launches by flying out of airports around the world, signing agreements with Japan, Brazil, Australia and the island of Guam. The advertised flexibility and potential of Virgin Orbit's approach attracted quite a bit of attention from leaders in the U.S. national security community. Following meetings with top Pentagon brass in 2019, Branson proclaimed that Virgin Orbit is "about the only company in the world that could replace [satellites] in 24 hours" during a military conflict. At the time, the Air Force's acquisition lead, Will Roper, said he was "very excited about small launch" after meeting with Branson. He said the U.S. military had "huge money to invest" in buying rocket launches. The company had hoped to launch its debut mission as early as 2018, but that goal kept moving every six months or so. Eventually, Virgin Orbit launched its first mission in May 2020, which failed shortly after the rocket was released from the jet. It got to orbit successfully for the first time in January 2021. Given the company's burn rate near $50 million a quarter, Virgin Orbit was targeting profitability once it got beyond a launch rate, or cadence, of a dozen missions per year. When it went public, Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart told CNBC that the company was aiming to launch seven rockets in 2022, to build on that momentum. At the same time, Virgin Orbit was already in a deep financial hole  with a total deficit of $821 million at the end of 2021, due to steady losses since its inception. While Virgin Orbit had aimed to launch seven missions last year, that number was steadily guided down quarter after quarter, closing out 2022 with just two completed lunches  the same as the year before. Some people within the company who had been critical of Virgin Orbit's execution pointed to several executives' backgrounds at Boeing , which has had its share of space-related snags over the years. Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart had spent 34 years at Boeing, where he was previously the vice president of its government space systems. COO Tony Gingiss joined Virgin Orbit from satellite broadband company OneWeb, but before that had spent 14 years in Boeing's satellite division. And Chief Strategy Officer Jim Simpson had also spent more than eight years in Boeing's satellite division before joining Virgin Orbit. As one person emphasized, the company launched the same amount of rockets in a year with a staff of 500 as it did with a workforce of over 750 people. Others complained of a lack of cross-department coordination, with projects and spending done in silo of each other  leading to a disconnect in schedules. Two people mentioned wastefulness in ordering materials. For example: The company would buy enough expensive items with limited shelf-life to build a dozen or more rockets, but then only build two, meaning it would have to throw away millions of dollars' worth of raw materials away. When Virgin Orbit announced an employee furlough March 15, people familiar with the situation said the company had about half a dozen rockets in various states of production in its Long Beach factory. As the lack of a financial lifeline made the situation increasingly more desperate, multiple Virgin Orbit employees voiced frustration with how Hart communicated the company's position  and even more so with the lack of clarity after the furlough. The day of the initial pause in operations, people described company leadership running around frantically while many employees stood around waiting for word on what was happening. One person emphasized the tumultuous and sudden furlough happened because executives tried to keep the company alive as long as possible. Several employees expressed disappointment with Hart holding the March 15 all-hands meeting virtually, speaking from his office rather than face-to-face, and not taking any questions after announcing the pause in operations. That frustration continued after the pause, with employees confused by the lack of specifics about which investors were speaking to Virgin Orbit leadership. Thursday's update that a deal fell through came as little surprise to a workforce that was largely in limbo. Many were already hunting for new jobs.

Deal efforts fall apart

The rocket for the company's second demonstration mission undergoing final assembly at its factory in Long Beach, California. Virgin Orbit
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia February 17, 2023. Reuters-Yonhap



Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in Belarus along with part of Russia's tactical nuclear arsenal, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday.



Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that his country intended to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.



The strategic nuclear weapons such as missile-borne warheads that Lukashenko mentioned during his state-of-the nation address would pose an even greater threat, if Moscow moves them to the territory of its neighbor and ally.



Belarus was a staging ground for amassing Russian troops before the invasion of Ukraine a little over 13 months ago. Lukashenko, the only person to have served as president since the country's independence from the Soviet Union, delivered his annual address amid escalating tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.



Both he and Putin have alleged that Western powers want to ruin Russia and Belarus.



"Putin and I will decide and introduce here, if necessary, strategic weapons, and they must understand this, the scoundrels abroad, who today are trying to blow us up from inside and outside," the Belarusian leader said. "We will stop at nothing to protect our countries, our state and their peoples."



Earlier in the address, Lukashenko called for a cease-fire in Ukraine. A truce must be announced without any preconditions, and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted, he said.



Belarus and Russia have intensified their cooperation since the start of the Ukraine war. The Russian military has used its troops and missiles stationed in Belarus, although no Belarusian troops have participated in the fighting.



Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan all relinquished nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Under the so-called Budapest Memorandum that accompanied giving up the weapons, Russia, the United States and Britain agreed to respect the territorial integrity of those countries.



Ukraine has repeatedly complained that Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and the 2022 invasion violate that agreement. Lukashenko said Friday that he did not want to lose his country's nuclear weapons but was pressured into doing so by then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin. (AP)




SHANGHAI  Chinese electric car company Xpeng announced Friday it will be rolling out its latest assisted driving software to users in the metropolis of Shanghai, something its U.S. rival Tesla does not offer in China.

Previously the technology was only available for Xpeng drivers in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The company already offers assisted driving on highways in China.

The new tech, called XNGP, claims to make driving easier with software that assists with smooth braking at traffic lights, turning at intersections and other tasks on city streets.

U.S.-listed Xpeng lags major Chinese electric car startups in terms of recent monthly deliveries. But the company has tried to make its assisted driving technology a selling point for consumers.

"Tesla doesn't really pump Autopilot in China and they don't offer Full Self Driving (FSD) in China, whereas Xpeng really leaned into its NGP as a difference maker for the China market," said Tu Le, founder of Beijing-based advisory firm Sino Auto Insights.
If you're a freelancer or contract worker, there are still ways to lower your 2022 tax bill  including contributions to a retirement plan improved by legislation passed in December.

One of the provisions from Secure 2.0 included a change to solo 401(k) plans, designed for self-employed workers (and possibly spouses) or business owners with no employees.

Like standard 401(k) plans, there's a deduction for pretax solo 401(k) contributions. But since solo 401(k) account owners can make deposits as both the employee and employer, there's a chance to save more.

Before 2022, you needed to open a solo 401(k) by Dec. 31 for current-year deposits. But Secure 2.0 extended the deadline, allowing you to establish a plan after the end of the taxable year and before your filing due date.

"It was a huge game changer for us when we saw that come through," said Tommy Lucas, a certified financial planner and enrolled agent at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida.
There are four ministers from the Nepali Congress party, including Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister for Industry and Commerce Ramesh Rijal, and Minister for Urban Development Sita Gurung, besides Khadka.

Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal "Prachanda" on Friday expanded his Cabinet for the third time in as many months by inducting 11 new ministers amidst last-minute bargaining over portfolios among partners of the 10-party ruling alliance.

President Ramchandra Poudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed ministers at Sheetal Niwas, in the presence of "Prachanda".

The new Cabinet has two deputy Prime Ministers -- Purna Bahadur Khadka from Nepali Congress and Narayan Kaji Shrestha from CPN-Maoist Centre, 13 ministers, and one minister of State.

Khadka is the deputy prime minister with the portfolio of the Defence Ministry while Shrestha is the deputy prime minister administering the Home Ministry.

There are four ministers from the Nepali Congress party, including Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister for Industry and Commerce Ramesh Rijal, and Minister for Urban Development Sita Gurung, besides Khadka.

Two ministers are from CPN-Unified Centre, including Veduram Bhushal, the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development, and Prakash Jwala, the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

The CPN-Maoist Centre has got seven ministries, including the post of prime minister and a minister of state.

Despite the seventh reshuffling, the Cabinet is yet to get into full shape.

Prachanda is still looking after the foreign ministry, ministries of law, justice and parliamentary affairs; forest and environment; health and population and the ministry of youth and sports.

Nepal's 10-party ruling alliance on Thursday failed to reach a consensus on the power-sharing deal, causing yet another delay in the expansion of the Cabinet.

Top leaders held meetings at the Prime Minister's official residence here at Baluwatar to reach an agreement on the distribution of ministries among various political parties.

Power sharing and the distribution of ministerial portfolios were the major bottlenecks among the members of the ruling alliance as the demand for Cabinet posts was exceeding the number of ministries available, officials said.

Before the expansion, Prachanda was overburdened with about 16 ministerial portfolios, including the ministries of Home, Finance, Foreign, Industry and Commerce, Science and Technology, and Agriculture.

There were only six Cabinet ministers, including the Prime Minister and one minister of state in the Prachanda-led government before Friday's expansion, as ministers from CPN-UML, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and Rashtriya Swotantra Party had resigned from the posts following the break up of the seven-party coalition.

Prachanda, who wanted to expand his cabinet immediately after the confidence vote, could not do so as dividing the cabinet portfolios among alliance partners proved challenging due to rival claims on ministries.

According to the constitutional provision, there cannot be more than 25 ministers in the Cabinet, including the prime minister.

This provision was incorporated in the Constitution to avoid the recurrence of past experiences when the prime minister would form a jumbo Cabinet to please all the coalition partners.

Prachanda was sworn in as Nepal's Prime Minister on December 26 last year.

Also Read: Air India unveils premium economy class on select flights starting May 15
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Former President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport in Waco, Texas, on March 25, 2023, while en route to West Palm Beach, Fla. A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.
Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou attends the Huawei 2022 Annual Report press conference in Shenzhen in China's southern Guangdong province on March 31, 2023. AFP-Yonhap



Huawei on Friday reported a nearly 70 percent decline in profit last year amid sanctions and pandemic challenges, but its enterprise sales rose as the Chinese technology giant sought to pivot into digital industries and reduce its vulnerabilities to U.S. sanctions.



"While it's true that we have considerable pressures ahead of us, we still see opportunities to grow a resilient business portfolio, a unique competitive edge, the trust of our customers and partners and have the courage to invest heavily in RD," Eric Xu, the outgoing rotating chairman of Huawei, said at a news conference.



Huawei its revenue in 2022 reached 642.3 billion yuan ($93.5 billion), a 0.9 percent gain from the year before. Its net profit for the year was 35.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), down 68.7 percent from 2021 amid pressures from the pandemic, U.S. sanctions, an increase in commodity prices and RD spending, as well as a decline in the company's consumer business, which mostly sells smartphones. Huawei reported a higher-than-usual 113.7 billion yuan ($16.6 billion) in profit in 2021 due to the sale of Honor, its budget smartphone business.



"The year 2022 is a year where Huawei pulled ourselves out of a crisis mode. U.S. restrictions are now our new normal and we're back to business as usual," said Sabrina Meng, Huawei's chief financial officer.



Also known as Meng Wanzhou, she is the daughter of Huawei's founder and will become its rotating chairwoman from April 1, a role that allows her to oversee Huawei's businesses for six months.



Meng was detained in Canada for nearly three years after her arrest on U.S. charges of lying to Hong Kong banks about dealings with Iran in violation of trade sanctions. She was released under a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that dismissed the charges in exchange for her accepting responsibility for misrepresenting Huawei's dealings with Iran.



Huawei, one of China's first global tech brands, has been caught up in China-U.S. tensions over technology and security. American officials say the company is a security risk and might enable Chinese spying, an accusation Huawei denies.



The U.S. has banned U.S. companies from doing business with Huawei, cutting off its access to chips and software such as Google services for its smartphones and preventing it from selling its telecommunications gear to U.S. customers.





Huawei's rotating chairperson and CFO Meng Wanzhou attends a news conference on the company's annual results, at the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China March 31, 2023. Reuters-Yonhap
Democrats advanced a bill Friday to protect Colorado abortion patients and providers from facing consequences from other states in which abortion is illegal  the second of three bills seeking to strengthen abortion rights in Colorado.

Senate Bill 188 would prohibit Colorado from recognizing criminal prosecutions or civil lawsuits regarding legally protected abortion care and enshrine into law an executive order directing state agencies to withhold relevant records from such states. The bill would also apply to gender-affirming care for transgender individuals.

SB 188 passed the Senate last week. In a voice vote, House lawmakers advanced the bill to its third and final reading, scheduled for Saturday. The bill is expected to pass along party lines, be sent back to the Senate to approve any changes, and then to Gov. Jared Polis.

Since the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights in June, 14 states have passed laws banning or limiting abortion, with many more currently trying to enact blocked bans. States including Texas, Idaho and Oklahoma have passed "bounty hunter" laws, incentivizing citizens to sue anyone who has helped a person get an abortion.

"It is a chilling scenario across America and you know what? Not here," said bill sponsor Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood. "We are going to protect patients, providers and helpers in Colorado because this is legally protected health care."

Proponents of the bill champion Colorado as the "last line of defense" for abortion rights. In January, 750 people traveled to Colorado Planned Parenthoods from out of state for abortion care  compared to only 1,500 people in all of 2021, according to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

Opponents argue that the bill disrespects the laws of other states, saying even if people travel to Colorado for abortion care, it could violate their home states law. For example, a patient gets abortion-inducing medication from Colorado then takes it in their home state where abortion is illegal.

However, the majority of Friday's debate centered on the bill's protections for gender-affirming care.

Gender-affirming care includes social, psychological or medical interventions for transgender individuals, such as hormone therapy and surgical procedures. Around 30 states are considering legislation to ban or limit gender-affirming care in 2023.

"Many states are saying, 'No, this goes too far.' Are all those states in the union wrong? The answer is no," said Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron. "In my humble opinion, there should be a prohibition from these sex transition procedures to minors."

Proponents of the bill said 29 leading medical organizations have recognized gender-affirming care as medically necessary, including the World Medical Association, American Psychological Association and American Academy of Pediatrics.

They also pointed out that, while most out-of-state bills seek to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, states such as Kansas, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas introduced bills to ban care for people up to 21 and 26 years old.

"They are, in fact, absolutely wrong," said Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, the bill's other sponsor and Colorado's first openly transgender state lawmaker. "Why can't we just exist?"

She added: "I wish that the lawmakers in these other states would trust the people to do what's right and best for themselves in consultation with their physicians, but this is what it's come to."

The bill's advancement came on International Transgender Day of Visibility, which Democratic lawmakers celebrated with a tribute shortly before the debate began.

Lawmakers also debated the bill's constitutionality, after a legal opinion released Thursday indicated that the bill may violate the state's single-subject rule. The bill title concerns reproductive health care, but it legislates gender-affirming care that is not included in the bill's definition of reproductive health care.

To address this, sponsors amended the bill Friday to include gender-affirming services in the reproductive health care definition.

While Democrats said the omission was a mere drafting error, Republicans called the amendment an "inappropriate" and "desperate" change. Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, said the constitutionality of the bill is still "shaky at best."

"This bill went through two committees and the Senate unconstitutional," Lynch said. "This is really two different bills, this stretch of the definition tries to shove it into being constitutional, but this is not good legislation, this is not good governance."

Democrats defended including gender-affirming care in reproductive health care, saying it often affects a person's reproductive ability. Titone also said the two topics are in one bill because "they involve the same medical professionals, are being targeted by the same actors, and are all about bodily autonomy."

Republicans introduced 14 amendments Friday seeking to weaken the bill, and a motion to send the bill back to committee. None of the efforts passed.

Friday's debate was limited to six hours after Democrats invoked Rule 14. The previously little-used debate restriction was also used during Thursday's abortion debate and last week to shut down the Republican filibuster on a package of gun control bills. All Republicans voted against limiting the debate on Friday, in addition to three Democrats: Rep. Elisabeth Epps of Denver, Rep. Mary Young of Greeley and Rep. Matthew Martinez of Monte Vista.

SB 188 is part of a package of bills seeking to strengthen abortion rights. The other two are Senate Bill 190 to crack down on the operations of crisis pregnancy centers and Senate Bill 189 to require health insurance carriers that serve large employers pay for abortion coverage.

SB 190 passed its second House reading on Thursday and SB 189 is scheduled for its second reading on Friday. All three bills are expected to face their third and final reading on Saturday.
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The 12th annually published report, it claims to "look back on 2022 to explore trends in civil society action, at every level and in every arena, from struggles for democracy, inclusion and climate justice to demands for global governance reform."

Referring to the Rohingiya crisis, the report points to how the Rohingya refugees -- whose life has seen "little improvement" after they were "forced to flee Myanmar, where theyve long been denied citizenship" -- continue to be exposed to be "exposed to anti-Muslim hatred" in India.

In India the hijab became a symbol of dignity, pride and resistance against a spreading wave of Islamophobia

Referring to how the Modi government seeks to undermine the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) mandate which allows civil society participation in the work of the UN, the report says, the International Dalit Solidarity Network move for accreditation was long held up by India.



The report notes how an international NGO campaign helped resolve a major labour dispute in favour of women workers, many of them Dalits, when Shahi Exports, Indias largest garment company, agreed to pay around US$4 million in unpaid wages. "This major high-street supplier faced international campaigning over its refusal to pay annual cost of living increases", the report said.

It added, "This is a historic labour rights win for around 5,000 mostly female Dalit workers, who are placed at the bottom of Indias caste system. This agreement is the first of its kind in India, the only one to cover spinning mills and the first to include explicit protections against caste-based discrimination, a problem that intensified during the pandemic." It says, the Committee on NGOs, an ECOSOC subsidiary body of 19 states , which includes India as a member, has a habit of deferring applications from CSOs working on human rights issues that some states object to. "Several have faced repeated years of questioning and demands for further documentation, in what has seemed a deliberately attritional process. The longest wait  15 years  was experienced by the International Dalit Solidarity Network, whose accreditation was long held up by India", it notes.The report notes how an international NGO campaign helped resolve a major labour dispute in favour of women workers, many of them Dalits, when Shahi Exports, Indias largest garment company, agreed to pay around US$4 million in unpaid wages. "This major high-street supplier faced international campaigning over its refusal to pay annual cost of living increases", the report said.It added, "This is a historic labour rights win for around 5,000 mostly female Dalit workers, who are placed at the bottom of Indias caste system. This agreement is the first of its kind in India, the only one to cover spinning mills and the first to include explicit protections against caste-based discrimination, a problem that intensified during the pandemic."

It adds, "In Bangladesh theyre subjected to stifling restrictions on their ability to speak out... Their plight seems largely forgotten, and now the army that unleashed genocidal violence against them rules their country."Citing survivors of gender-based violence and failures to hold perpetrators accountable across the globe, the report recalls how the Bilkis Bano case murderers and rapists were set free. It says, "A clear example was seen in India when the Gujarat state government unjustifiably granted early release to 11 men convicted of a 2002 gang rape of several Muslim women and the murders of 14 people."Noting that "when it comes to clothes, liberation isnt about wearing or not wearing a particular item; its about the freedom to choose what to wear", the report regrets, "While in Iran an allegedly improperly worn hijab triggered the most widespread and sustained challenge the countrys theocratic regime has ever faced, in India the hijab became a symbol of dignity, pride and resistance against a spreading wave of Islamophobia."The report states, "In early 2022, in a move led by Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist party to stoke religious divisions for political gain, Muslim students in parts of the country were banned from wearing hijab to class. At a single stroke, they experienced violations of their rights to free expression, free manifestation of religious beliefs and education."It approvingly quotes Syeda Hameed of the Muslim Womens Forum as saying, "The hijab ban is a complete violation of womens rights to express their own identities. It should be my choice alone whether to wear the hijab or not". The report comments, "But this time around, right-wing populists may have picked the wrong target. Indian Muslim women resisted, refusing to be the pawns in someone elses political game."
Political satirist Mark Russell passed away yesterday at age 90, a name that might evoke hazy memories of PBS pledge drives from somewhere in your television past. But in his day, Russell and his piano-playing parodies boldly took on the idiocy of Washington D.C. and the morons who made a living there. He was the Jon Stewart (with a dash of Weird Al) of a simpler time.

Russell looked like a Senator himself, or at least a Civics professor (which in some ways, he was). For 30 years on his PBS comedy specials, hed show up in a suit and bowtie before taking to his star-spangled piano to gently rip our national government a new one. Did he have a large writing staff? Oh, yes, hed say. 100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives.

Like Stewart, Russell professed to poke both sides of the aisle, striving to be as balanced as is humanly possible, without prostituting myself. And like Weird Al, he rewrote the lyrics of popular songs to get the job done. As The New York Times remembers, Russell sang Bail to the Chief for Richard M. Nixon, urged George H.W. Bush to retire to a home for the chronically preppy, (and) likened Jimmy Carters plan to streamline government to putting racing stripes on an arthritic camel. Well into his eighties, he was still making up ditties about Trump and Clinton.
Today, we celebrate two special occasions  each year, March 31 is dedicated to the International Transgender Day of Visibility, and this years March 31 also marks the 40-year anniversary of Monty Pythons The Meaning of Life. Though that seems to be an instance of unremarkable happenstance, it does remind us of an important point that is worth remembering considering the current state of certain Monty Python members  The Meaning of Life has an accidental and prescient pro-trans joke in a John Cleese sketch.

In the last few years, Cleese has sadly made a heel-turn into old man yells at cloud archetype of cancel culture comedy complainers, and he even signed on to host a show on GB News, a conservative TV station often referred to as the British Fox News. When J.K. Rowling publicly declared her opposition to the so-called transgender movement, Cleese came to her defense online, tweeting some head-scratchers such as I'm afraid I'm not that interested in trans folks, and Deep down, I want to be a Cambodian police woman. Is that allowed, or am I being unrealistic?

In the sketch titled The Miracle of Birth, the late, great Graham Chapman made an offhand joke that todays Cleese would probably denounce as some sort of transgender indoctrination. A mother asks Chapmans doctor character if her newborn child is a boy or a girl, prompting his response, Now, I think it's a little early to start imposing roles on it, don't you?

Play

So there you go John Cleese, you were present at a birth that's all grown-up in 2023. Too bad you haven't followed.
The upper ranks of corporate security are seeing a high rate of change as companies try to adapt to the evolving threat landscape. Many companies are hiring a chief security officer (CSO) or chief information security officer (CISO) for the first time to support a deeper commitment to information security.

Follow this column to keep up with new appointments to senior-level security roles and perhaps gain a little insight into hiring trends. If you have an announcement of your own that you would like us to include here, contact Andrew Flynn, regional executive editor.

New CISO appointments, March 2023

Andrea Simpson named CISO of Howard University

Ms. Simpson, a highly regarded expert in cybersecurity, has more than 20 years of professional experience in the industry. She has held the CISO role with the Federal Communications Commission, where she directed the pilot program for government-issued laptop deployment for the agency's telework initiative as part of its pandemic response plan, and AmeriCorps. Simpson says working at Howard will help her create a space for young adults to gain hands-on cyber experience.

Meredith Griffanti appointed as global head of cybersecurity and data privacy communications at FTI

Ms. Griffanti, who is based in New York, will oversee the growth of FTI Consultings cybersecurity communications capabilities. She most recently served as Americas co-leader of cybersecurity and data privacy communications at the business consulting firm, specializing in crisis communications during incident response and cybersecurity preparedness planning. Ms. Griffanti will focus on partnering with leaders and teams globally to further strengthen the firms holistic cybersecurity communications capabilities and enhance new levels of collaboration to support clients.

Sebastian Welsh appointed CISO of energy technology company SwitchDin

Mr. Welsh becomes the first CISO at SwitchDin and will work to establish security frameworks for emerging technologies. With 17 years of experience as a leader specializing in building a whole-of-enterprise defense model within businesses, he held roles as the head of security at Canva and staff security engineer at Google before joining SwitchDin.

Joshua Reedy becomes new CISO at New Zealand technology services firm Kordia

Mr. Reedy will take responsibility for Kordias Groups internal cyber security posture, integrating best practices and leading a team of security specialists. He was previously security services manager at Vodaphone, where he oversaw security operations, design, and delivery and led internal offensive security teams.

David Dunn named CISO at global risk and financial advisory service provider Kroll

Mr. Dunn, who had served as deputy CISO at Kroll since 2016, is tasked with continuing to strengthen the firms security program to address the evolving and complex threat landscape. With more than 25 years of experience, he was previously a member of the US Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force  where he was a lead investigator on an international stolen credit cards scam involving millions of dollars  and is also a 19-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department.

Jaya Baloo named CSO at cloud threat detection provider Rapid7

Ms. Baloo will be tasked with strengthening Rapid7s internal security program and furthering the companys mission to deliver greater access to cybersecurity across industries. With more than 20 years of cybersecurity experience, she has previously held roles at Avast and was CISO at Dutch telecom firm KPN. Ms. Baloo is a member of the advisory boards of The Netherlands National Cyber Security Centre and the EU Quantum Flagships Strategic Advisory Board.

New CISO appointments, February 2023

Doug Clare appointed as head of cyber strategy for ISS Corporate Solutions

Mr. Clare will assume overall responsibility for ICS cyber solutions strategy, including evolving its cyber risk-related offerings and client experience. He will also lead the cyber-risk product and client teams tasked with enhancing and expanding ICS risk monitoring and broader suite of related products. He has more than 25 years of experience at Fair Isaac (FICO) and served most recently as FICOs vice president of fraud, compliance, and authentication solutions.

Keith Anderson named CISO of JetBlue

Mr. Anderson will oversee JetBlues information security and will oversee the airlines strategies, policies and procedures designed to minimize information security risk and proactively detect and address new threats. He previously served as CISO at Warner Bros. Discovery and held security leadership roles at AT&T, Goldman Sachs, and Citi. Mr. Anderson holds a masters degree in cybersecurity from New York University and a masters degree in management information systems from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Melissa Knight appointed as CISO of Tego Cyber

Cybersecurity software-as-a-service provider Tego Cyber has named Melissa Knight as chief information security officer. Ms. Knight has been as CISO and cybersecurity executive for 20 years, working in government and commercial sectors. She has held leadership roles with the US Department of Defense and US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration security operations teams. She has also worked at Sands Corp., Herjavec Group, and Brier & Thorn.

Mike Housch named CISO of banking digital transformation solutions provider Q2 Holdings

Mr. Housch has more than 25 years of security experience in the financial technology sector. He previously served as CISO for Black Night and as information security officer for Lender Processing Services. He spent more than 10 years as chief information officer at First Federal Bank of Florida.

John Paul Cunningham joins identity protection firm Silverfort as CISO

Mr. Cunningham brings more than 24 years of experience managing cyber risk, building operating models designed to reduce cost and cyber risk, while also adhering to compliance standards as CISO at Bank of Hope, Docupace, Ares Management and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. He will design and implement Silverforts cybersecurity program.

Claudia Plattner appointed as President of German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI)

Ms. Plattner is formerly Director General Information Systems of the European Central Bank (ECB) and was chief information officer at DB Systel, the IT provider for Deutsche Bahn. She is the first female president to be named to the role at BSI. She will begin in the position on 1 July 2023. Plattner replaces former president Arne Schonbohm, who was dismissed in October over allegations of ties with Russian intelligence agencies.

Heather Lowrie appointed as first CISO for the University of Manchester

Ms. Lowrie will lead the strategic transformation of information security and identity and access management services at the University of Manchester and will design and implement a vision for the protection of the university's digital footprint. She formerly held the position of head of cybersecurity, risk, and resilience for National Records of Scotland. Ms. Lowrie provided cybersecurity assurance, oversight, and operational management for Scotland's first digital-first census. She will join the university at the start of May 2023.

New CISO appointments, January 2023

Chris Hodson hired as CSO at Cyberhaven

Mr. Hodson will be responsible for all areas of security to protect both employees and customers. This includes cloud and application security, operations, and risk management. He comes to data detection and response solution vendor Cyberhaven from Contentful, and previously has held CISO roles at Tanium and Zscaler. Mr. Hodson is a board advisor at workforce development platform Cybrary and a fellow at the Chartered Institute of Information Security. He is also the author of the book Cyber Risk Management.

Amanda Fennel named CISO and CIO at Prove Identity

Ms. Fennel will oversee security operations at Prove, a provider of digital identity solutions. She will also play a role in educating the security market about digital identity authentication technologies. She was previously CISO and CIO at Relativity and earlier had worked in digital forensics and cybersecurity at companies such as Symantec, Dell SecureWorks, Zurich Insurance Group, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Guidance Software.

Harold Rivas joins Trellix as CISO

Mr. Rivas will lead the extended detection and response vendor's global security and compliance initiatives. He comes to Trellix from LoanDepot, where he served as CISO. Prior to that, Mr. Rivas's 20-plus-year career include senior information security roles at Santander Consumer, Fujitsu America, and Citigroup. He is also a member of the FBI InfraGard.

New CISO appointments, November 2022

Gavin Reid named CISO at HUMAN Security

Mr. Reid had been leading HUMAN's Satori Threat Intelligence & Research Team. He will continue overseeing the Satori Team while expanding his leadership scope to the IT and information security teams. He will also lead the Human Collective, which will become an arm of the threat intelligence team. Mr. Reid had previously served as CISO at Recorded Future.

Jason Loomis joins Freshworks as CISO

Mr. Loomis is expected to bring expertise in operational excellence in security for both Freshworks' business software customers and the company itself. He has more than 20 years of experience in IT and security, most recently as CISO of Mindbody, Inc. Earlier, Mr. Loomis was CISO at TechStyle Fashion Group.

Katie McCullough appointed CISO at Panzura

Ms. McCullough will be responsible for security and compliance for both Panzura, a provider of hybrid multi-cloud data management products, and the company's customers. She has more than 25 years of experience executing and leading security operations, compliance, managed services, and cloud solutions at companies including OneNeck IT Solutions and CDW/Berbee.

Chris Hatter joins ShiftLeft as CISO

Mr. Hatter will be responsible for appsec vendor ShiftLefts security program, influence the enablement of the developer- and customer-centric go-to-market strategy, and serve as a customer advocate in ShiftLefts product roadmap. He previously served as Nielsen's CISO for six years where he developed that company's cloud-first security program.

Frank Kim is the new CISO-in-residence for YL Ventures

Mr. Kim will work with the venture capital firms portfolio companies and entrepreneurs to guide their ideation, value propositions, and customer relations. This includes working with entrepreneurs on the business impact of cybersecurity solutions. He has 15 years of experience as a CISO, and has served as chief information security and risk officer at the SANS Institute, where is is also a fellow.

New CISO appointments, October 2022

Todd Dekkinga joins Zluri as CISO

Mr Dekkinga will focus on establishing and implementing effective security practices for customers and partners of Zluri, which provides an SaaS management platform. He brings years of IT and security experience in areas such as cloud computing, AI, machine language, IoT, and blockchain. Most recently, Mr Dekkinga was CISO at Airgap Networks. He also serves on the advisory boards of several technology companies.

Andrew Smeaton appointed CISO at Afiniti

Mr Smeaton will be responsible for maintaining and maturing the infosecurity program at Afiniti, which provides an AI-based solution that matches customers with contact center agents. He has more than 20 years' experience in security and risk management and was most recently the CISO at DataRobot. Mr Smeaton has recently received the 2022 (ISC)2 Global Achievement Award for the (ISC)2 CEO Award for his contributions to the cybersecurity community.

New CISO appointments, September 2022

Max Shier joins Optiv as VP and CISO

Mr Shier will be responsible for leading a team to implement and monitor a strategic, comprehensive, enterprise information security and IT risk management program. He draws upon 27 years of security experience and previously held positions in the defense industry and the federal government. He is a 23-year Air Force veteran, serving overseas in several countries, including Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Iraq.

Richard Bird appointed CISO at Traceable

Mr. Bird will lead API security vendor Traceable's internal security efforts and work with the product team to help secure customers' APIs through the company's API Security Platform. He has nearly 30 years' experience in cybersecurity and IT operations and has previously served as global head of identity at JPMorgan Chase and chief customer information officer at Ping Identity.

Maarten Van Horenbeeck and Nubiaa Shabaka named CSO and chief privacy officer, respectively, at Adobe

Mr. Horenbeeck will be responsible for cybersecurity-related decisions across the company, enabling Adobe to further secure its systems, solutions, and networks, and protect its customer and company data. Ms Shabaka, who also will serve as Adobe's chief cybersecurity legal officer, will be responsible for privacy-related decisions across the company, leading a team focused on delivering a world-class privacy experience to Adobes customers.

George Jones joins Critical Start as CISO
An influential state lawmaker says hes considering new restrictions on how many hours state troopers can work after a CT Insider report showed troopers logging excessive overtime with few limits, sparking cost and safety concerns.

When you get to the point of working 24 hours a day or two weeks straight, that is problematic, said State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport and co-chairman of the judiciary committee. Its problematic for the officer and the public at large.

Stafstrom said he may push for legislative change to address the issue, including tightening an existing department rule that says troopers cannot work more than 18.5 hours during a 24-hour period. CT Insider found that rule can be  and it appears is frequently  waived.

Stafstrom said the waiver is only supposed to be used for emergency situations, not to have troopers work assignments at highway construction sites.

It's not intended for directing traffic, Stafstrom said. If you are doing a stake out, you might need to work three days in a row and that should be allowed. The issue is when working an outside overtime job. The problem is when they work their shift and then the outside overtime job.

Other lawmakers also said they were concerned about the issue but said rather than introducing new restrictions on trooper hours, they want to see the department hire more troopers to spread out the work.

CT Insiders investigation showed some troopers were paid for shifts up to 24 hours long while others logged one or more shifts per day for weeks in a row.

The department has few rules limiting work hours and, like the 18.5-hour cap, they can be waived by supervisors, CT Insider found.

The departments spending on overtime has ballooned in recent years and state auditors have repeatedly warned troopers are working excessive overtime wasting millions in taxpayer dollars.

Some troopers earned well over $300,000 and $400,000 in a year in recent years, with overtime earnings outpacing their base pay.

Auditors and outside law enforcement experts also said troopers within the states largest police force regularly log so many hours in a day or week that it may threaten the health and safety of officers as well as the public they drive past and interact with.

Data compiled for a recent state audit showed 541 instances in which state police employees were paid for more than 18.5 hours in a single day during 2020 and 2021, including 15 times when employees were paid for all 24 hours in a day.

Kendra Baker

State police officials and union leaders said the overtime is being fueled by a shortage of officers, noting the department is down hundreds of troopers from authorized staffing levels. Department officials stressed they are actively recruiting more troopers.

We currently have an academy class which is scheduled to graduate this spring with class scheduled to start right after, state police said in a statement.

The department recently told state auditors critical of the overtime spending its recruitment efforts will increase staffing levels, helping to control overtime costs.

State police also said it offers programs to educate troopers about safety and support mental health.

We have a wellness program, peer support program, [employee assistance program] EAP and rules in place that troopers and supervisors use to ensure the mental health and wellbeing/safety of our troopers, the department said. Our mission is protecting those in our state, public safety.

Hire people

Jessica Hill / Associated Press

State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague and co-chairman of the powerful appropriations committee, said she was concerned by the findings of CT Insiders report.

She said excessive overtime poses a danger for troopers and the public.

I worked a lot of overtime in corrections, ordered in on days off, said Osten, a military veteran who, before winning a General Assembly seat in 2012, spent more than two decades working as a corrections officer and advocate for womens rights within the prison system.

We worked a rotating schedule, Osten said of her days working prisons. Anyone working more than five days a week, its not good for mental health, physical health and family relations or interactions with the pubic. We need to do what we can to protect the health and welfare of the staff.

Osten added: I would urge and caution supervisors to be diligent and exercise reasonableness in assigning overtime.

Osten said she believes the excessive overtime is a result of a staffing shortage and the solution is to hire more troopers.

The best thing we could do is hire the people we have already put money in the budget for and increase the number of classes we are doing, Osten said.

The way the classes are spaced out its taking too long to fill the empty positions, Osten added. It does not deal with the backlog for positions. That would take care of the overtime, and we encourage the administration to increase classes and class sizes. Thats what we did in the early 1980s and 90s to hire the correct staffing.

If we got to over 1,000 [sworn troopers] that would take care a lot of the excessive amounts of overtime, Osten added.

State police had 919 sworn officers as of January, according to the state Department of Administrative Services.

Problematic

While Stafstrom said he favored new rules to limit trooper overtime, he noted lawmakers ran into fierce opposition when they tried to include restrictions in the sweeping Police Accountability Act passed in 2020.

When we looked at accountability legislation several years ago, one of the things we looked at was outside duty jobs [or special duty overtime assignments] and whether those should be permitted over work hours, Stafstrom said.

The unions pushed back on that pretty hard, Stafstrom said. It didnt make it into the package. In the original version, there was a restriction on outside jobs.

Stafstrom added officers at many local police departments also log high amounts of overtime, including to staff construction sites. I think if you look at municipal departments you will see many of the same things, he noted.

State Sen. Herron Gaston, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the public safety and security committee, also said legislating restrictions to troopers work hours would be difficult.

Im sure we would receive an overwhelming amount of pushback on that, Gaston said, referring to union opposition.

We understand [overtime] is costly, but not as costly as filling the ranks, Gaston added. But we want to be careful about not overloading officers with overtime and spreading it out.

Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media

Gaston said he favored hiring more troopers to address the problem rather than creating new rules.

Police departments are hemorrhaging from a lack of recruitment, and we are trying to work with unions and departments to make sure the health and welfare of officers is at the forefront, Gaston said.

We understand the potential risk it poses with fatigue and having to make split second decisions, Gaston added.

Paul Cicarella, R-North Haven and ranking member for the public safety committee, said trooper overtime is worrisome.

Its a valid concern for a few reasons, financially and being overworked, Cicarella said But there are problems we need to solve. We need to focus on recruitment and retention of officers, and that will correct the overtime.

Cicarella said new rules limiting overtime is the logical thing and would reduce concerns about health and mental wellbeing. But, he added, it could also leave shifts unfilled if officers are not available.

Its important to focus on what has to happen, Cicarella said. We could go to outside vendors to perform traffic, and that may be a viable solution. This [discussion of overtime] is bringing up decent ideas and some concerns. It might be moot if we have the manpower. But we have to be careful not to have unintended consequences.
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)  The nine service members who died in a crash involving two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters ranged in age from 23 to 36 and were from seven states, the military said Friday, as it released the identities of the soldiers and an investigative team continued its probe of the accident.

A military news release said the service members came from Florida, Texas, Missouri, California, North Carolina, Alabama and New Jersey.

This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these Soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come, said Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell.

Two HH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed near Fort Campbell on Wednesday night in southwest Kentucky during a training exercise, killing all nine soldiers aboard the two aircrafts. The crash occurred in Trigg County, Kentucky, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of the Army post that is home to the 101st Airborne Division.

A special military investigative team was on the scene Friday but rain and wind have slowed the early work, Army officials said.

The two Black Hawks were flying during a training exercise and the pilots were using night-vision goggles, Army officials said. The accident occurred during flying and not during the course of a medical evacuation drill, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander.

The helicopters carried flight data recorders, similar to the black boxes that investigators use to analyze crashes involving passengers planes. Officials are hoping the devices yield information about the cause.

The Army identified the soldiers as: Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida; Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri; Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, California.; Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina; Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida; Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Alabama; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri; and Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23, of Oradell, New Jersey.

The four soldiers piloting the two Black Hawks were Esparza, Smith, Barnes and Healy, according to the Army.

Dave Busby, who taught Smith in middle school, was among several of Smiths childhood teachers and classmates who posted tributes on Facebook.

What a great kid. What a tragedy, Busby said by phone from his home in St. James, Missouri, the small town where Smith grew up. Ill be honest I wept  what a shame.

Even as a teen, Smith was ambitious, forward-looking and perceptive, Busby said: You could tell he was going places.

Solinas' dedication to being a flight medic showed his character, his brother, Aidan Solinas, said in a statement.

We are a faithful family and we are proud David was training to rescue soldiers on the battlefield, he said. "Being a flight medic is one of the most difficult jobs that you can do, and illustrates that David was a man of compassion and faith.

Gores father, Tim Gore, told the Goldsboro News-Argus that his son leaves behind a wife whos pregnant. Gore, a pastor in Wayne County, said that his son, who was known to family as Caleb, was an infant when the family moved to North Carolina and remained in the state until he joined the Army after graduating high school.

His passion was search and rescue, and if you were wounded on the battlefield, Caleb coming out of that helicopter would be the most beautiful thing you would ever see, Gore told the newspaper. He was kind, compassionate, and a gentle giant because he was built like a tank.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday ordered flags at state buildings lowered to half-staff from sunrise on Saturday until sunset Monday in honor of the soldiers.

Over the last 10 years, the Armys Black Hawk helicopter has been involved in 40 so-called Class A mishaps, which involve either a fatality or more than $2.5 million in damage. Forty-four personnel died in those cases.

Wednesday's crash was the deadliest training incident for the Army since March 2015, when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the Florida coast in dense fog, said Jimmie Cummings, spokesperson for the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker. Four soldiers from the Louisiana Army National Guard and seven Marine special operations forces were killed.

Cummings said the most deadly non-combat Black Hawk crash was in 1988 and also involved Fort Campbell aircraft. The crash killed 17 troops when two helicopters collided in mid-air. The most deadly Army aircraft training incident was a Chinook crash in Germany in 1982, that killed 46 U.S. and international forces. The second was a C-23 Sherpa fixed wing aircraft crash in Georgia in 2001 that killed 21 Army and Air Guard personnel.

Fort Campbell also had a multi-aircraft crash in 1996, when two Blackhawks clipped propellers, killing five soldiers. The last deadly aviation accident at Fort Campbell occurred in 2018, when an Apache helicopter crashed during training, killing two soldiers on board.

The Black Hawk helicopter is a critical workhorse for the U.S. Army and is used in security, transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue and other missions. The helicopters are known to many people from the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down, which is about a 1993 battle in Somalia.

___

Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York and writers Lolita Baldor in Washington, Lea Skene in Baltimore and Beatrice Dupuy in New York contributed to this report.
WEST HARTFORD  It's not June yet, but planning for the annual West Hartford Pride festival is well underway.

This year's festival will look a bit different than last year, mostly because it will take place in the parking lot of Town Hall rather than in Blue Back Square.

"It's going to give us a different footprint, a different layout and the ability to really expand and allow for more vendors, to allow for food trucks, which we haven't been able to have in the past," said Johanna Schubert, co-chair for West Hartford Pride.

The organization, which is now officially a 501(c)(3) is seeking vendors and sponsors for the celebration, which will take place on June 24.

"At this point, the call is open," Schubert said. "Anyone who wants to be at West Hartford Pride is welcome. We don't charge a fee for nonprofits or small mom-and-pop operations. We really want it to be accessible to everybody."

While there will be some new vendors, some of the fan favorites will return this June.

Leading up to the June 24 festival, West Hartford Pride will host several other events, including a Pride flag raising and a performance by the Gay Men's Chorus.

This year's Pride holds particular meaning, according to Schubert, because of the increasing number of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bills sweeping state legislatures across the country.

"Here in West Hartford, we are not going to stand for it," Schubert said. "We're gonna go in eyes wide open as community members, as advocates and we're going to say, 'We're here, and we deserve everything that everyone else does.'"

Last year, West Hartford Pride held a rally prior to the festival for LGBTQ residents and allies to take a stand against attacks on the community nationwide. Schubert said there will also be a rally this year.

"There's a comedy show, there's going to be a happy hour, there's really opportunities all throughout the month leading up to the festival," Schubert said. "The festival is kind of like the celebration, culmination of this month-long recognition of Pride."
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ALICE, Texas (AP)  In 1977, Associated Press reporter James W. Mangan's exclusive interview with a South Texas election judge who detailed certifying false votes for Lyndon B. Johnson nearly three decades earlier made headlines across the country.

With the win by an 87-vote margin in the 1948 Democratic primary runoff, Johnson, then a congressman, easily defeated his Republican opponent to take a seat in the U.S. Senate, and he eventually ascended to the presidency.

Mangan spent three years pursuing the story, which pulled back the curtain on the victory that had drawn suspicions ever since election officials in rural Jim Wells County announced the discovery of uncounted votes in ballot box known as Box 13.

Headlines across the U.S. that accompanied the story included: Polling Official: Phony Votes Stole 48 Runoff for LBJ; LBJs election to Senate stolen; Texan Claims Fix in LBJ Election.

Here's the story that ran July 31, 1977:

___

A former Texas voting official seeking peace of mind says he certified enough fictitious ballots to steal an election 29 years ago and launch Lyndon B. Johnson on a path that led to the presidency.

The statement comes from Luis Salas, who was the election judge for Jim Wells County's notorious Box 13, which produced just enough votes in the 1948 Texas Democratic primary runoff to give Johnson the nomination, then tantamount to election, to the U.S. Senate.

Johnson did not win the election; It was stolen for him. And I know exactly how it was done, said Salas, now a lean, white-haired 76; then a swarthy 210-pound political henchman with absolute say over vote counts in his Mexican-American, South Texas, precinct.

The controversy over that runoff election has been a subject of tantalizing conjecture for nearly three decades, ever since U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black abruptly halted an investigation, but the principals have been silent. George B. Parr, the South Texas political boss whom Salas served for a decade, shot himself to death in June 1975. Johnson is dead and so is his opponent. Salas, retired from his railroad telegrapher's job, is among the few living persons with direct knowledge of the election.

Johnson's widow, Lady Bird, was informed of Salas' statements and said through a spokeswoman that she knows no more about the details of the 1948 election other than that charges were made at the time, carried through several courts and finally to a justice at the Supreme Court.

The Associated Press interviewed Salas frequently during the past three years, seeking answers to questions that, save for rumors, were left unanswered. Only recently did Salas agree to tell his full version of what happened. In his soft Spanish accent, Salas said that he decided to break his silence in quest of peace of mind and to reveal to the people the corruption of politics.

Salas says now that he lied during an aborted investigation of the election in 1948, when he testified that the vote count was proper and above board. I was just going along with my party," he says.

He told the AP that Parr ordered that 200-odd votes be added to Johnson's total from Box 13. Salas said he saw the fraudulent votes added in alphabetical order and then certified them as authentic on orders from Parr.

The final statewide count, including Box 13 votes, gave Johnson an 87-vote margin in a total tally approaching 1 million and earned him the tongue-in-cheek nickname: Landslide Lyndon.

Texas Democrats were split in 1948. Johnson, then 39, a congressman, represented new Democrats in his bid for the U.S. Senate. His primary opponent was Coke R. Stevenson  60 years old, three times Texas governor, never beaten and the candidate of the old wing of the party. They called him Calculating Coke.

The vote in the July primary was Stevenson 477,077, Johnson 405,617. But a third candidate, George Petty, siphoned off enough votes to deny Stevenson a majority, forcing a runoff between Stevenson and Johnson, set for Aug. 28, 1948.

In the interim, Johnson intensified his campaign. One of the places he went stumping was the hot, flat, brush country of South Texas, George B. Parr country, where the Mexican-American vote seemed always to come, favoring Parr's candidate, in a bloc.

The power had passed to Parr from his father, Archie, a state senator who had sided with Mexican-Americans in a 1912 battle with Anglos over political control in Duval County. The younger Parr was known as the Duke of Duval.

Salas said he was Parr's right-hand man in Jim Wells County from 1940 to 1950, but quit over Parr's failure to support a fellow Mexican-American who had been charged with murder.

We had the law to ourselves there, Salas said. "It was a lawless son-of-a-bitch. We had iron control. If a man was opposed to us, we'd put him out of business. Parr was the godfather. He had life or death control.

We could tell any election judge: Give us 80 per cent of the vote, the other guy 20 per cent. We had it made in every election."

The night of the runoff, Jim Wells County's vote was wired to the Texas Election Bureau, the unofficial tabulating agency: Johnson 1,786, Stevenson 769.

Three days after the runoff, with Stevenson narrowly leading and the seesaw count nearly complete, Salas said, a meeting was called in Parr's office 10 miles from Alice. Salas said he met with George B. Parr; Lyndon Johnson; Ed Lloyd, a Jim Wells County Democratic Executive Committee member; and Bruce Ainsworth, an Alice city commissioner. Lloyd and Ainsworth like Johnson and Parr, now are dead.

Salas told the AP:

"Lyndon Johnson said: If I can get 200 more votes, Ive got it won.'

Parr said to me in Spanish: We need to win this election. I want you to add those 200 votes. I had already turned in my poll and tally sheets to Givens Parr, George's brother.

I told Parr in Spanish: I dont give a damn if Johnson wins.'

Parr then said: Well, for sure youre going to certify what we do.

I told him I would, because I didn't want anybody to think I'm not backing up my party. I said I would be with the party to the end. After Parr I and I talked in Spanish, Parr told Johnson 200 votes would be added. When I left, Johnson knew we were going to take care of the situation.

Salas said he saw two men add the names to the list of voters, about 9 o'clock at night, in the Adams Building in Alice. He said the two were just following orders and he would not identify them.

The AP interview then produced this exchange:

Q. When you told Parr you would certify the votes, he said he would get someone else to actually add the names?

A. Yeah. And I actually saw them do it. I was right there when they added the names.

Q. Were all 200 names in the same handwriting?

A. Oh, yeah. They all came from the poll taxes, I mean, from the poll tax sheet.

Q. But some were dead?

A. No one was dead. They just didn't vote.

Q. So you voted them?

A. They voted them.

Q. You certified?

A. I certified. So did the Democratic County chairman. I kept my word to be loyal to my party.

Q. Had some of those names already voted?

A. No, they didn't vote in that election. They added 'em. They made a mistake of doing it alphabetically.

Q. They added them alphabetically, as though they had walked in to vote alphabetically?

A. Yeah, that's what I told George B., and he wouldn't listen to me. I said: Look at the A, you add 10 or 12 names on that letter. Why dont you change it to the other, C or D or X, mix em up? George said, Thats all right.' George was stubborn. He would not listen to anybody. But it was stupid. They went to the poll tax list and got those names. For instance, on the A they got 10 or 12 names.

Q. People who had not voted?

A. That's right. they went on the B the same way, until they complete 200, and I told George, Thats wrong.'

Q. While they were doing it you told him?

A. Yeah, and he said: Its OK.'

Q. They should have changed the handwriting?

A. How? Only two guys? How they going to change it? The lawyers spotted it right away, they sure did.

Six days after the runoff, with Stevenson still holding a narrow lead in the statewide count, a second telegram was sent, changing Jim Wells County's vote to: Johnson 1,988, Stevenson, 770.

Johnson gained 202 votes; Stevenson 1. They came from Box 13.

The next day, the official statewide vote canvass gave Johnson 494,191 and Stevenson 494,104.

Stevenson protested. Johnson said that if Stevenson had evidence, it was his duty to go to a grand jury. I know that I did not buy anybody's vote, Johnson said.

Stevenson went to federal court in Fort Worth and, on Sept. 14, Judge T. Whitfield Davidson signed a temporary restraining order forbidding certification of Johnson as the Democratic nominee. The judge ordered an on-the-spot probe of voting in Jim Wells County.

When that inquiry began, on Sept. 27, reporters from around the country showed up in Alice. By then it was national news.

The same day, in Washington, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Black agreed to hear Johnson's petition to lift the injection. Johnson's attorney was Abe Fortas, in later years a Johnson appointee to the high court.

Stevenson was in Alice that day; Johnson was on President Harry S. Truman's campaign train. During a campaign stop in Temple, Tex., Truman brought Johnson to his side and publicly endorsed him as the next senator from Texas. Also on the train at San Antonio that day, according to Salas, were Parr, who had received a presidential pardon from Truman in 1946 after serving nine months on an income tax conviction, and Lloyd, the Jim Wells County executive committeeman.

Salas told the AP he was summoned the next day by Lloyd and told: Luis, everything is all right. We talked to Truman on the train. Don't worry about the investigation.

Two days later, Justice Black, in an order he dated himself in longhand, voided the temporary injunction against putting Johnson's name on the ballot and ended the investigation. Black said, It would be a serious break with the past for a federal court to determine an election contest.

Stevenson had lost; Johnson had won.

That ended Stevenson's political career. He retired to his Hill Country ranch, insisting until he died in 1975 that the election had been stolen from him. Johnson became a power in Congress, and 15 years later he was president.
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LUSAKA, Zambia (AP)  When Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she touched down at an airport thats doubled in size and features glittering new terminals.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, its a reminder of Chinas deep influence. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent that's rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt. Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Bidens administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijings sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition. However, she has acknowledged theres limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent, telling reporters earlier in the trip that there is a window that is definitely open now for American investments.

At a news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday, Harris reiterated her call for all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia  an oblique reference to China  but she stressed that our presence here is not about China.

Hichilema said it would be completely wrong to view Zambias interests in terms of a rivalry between the U.S. and China.

When Im in Washington, Im not against Beijing. When Im in Beijing, Im not against Washington, he said, adding that none of these relationships are about working against someone or a group of countries."

Chinas roots in both Tanzania and Zambia run deep. In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzanias Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

Today, China is Africas largest two-way trading partner, with $254 billion of business in 2021, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Thats four times the amount of trade between the U.S. and Africa. In addition, dealing with Beijing features less admonishments about democracy than with Washington.

Most African countries are rightly unapologetic about their close ties to China, Nigerias vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, tweeted on Thursday. China shows up where and when the West will not and/or are reluctant.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has worked on Africa issues in Congress, expressed frustration over Chinas growing influence on the continent.

We switched from being the No. 1 trade partner or the No. 1 investment partner in two dozen countries, to China being the No. 1 trade and investment partner, he told reporters aboard Air Force Two on the flight to Ghana at the beginning of Harris trip. I think our challenge for this decade is to address that.

Biden has been taking steps toward that, such as hosting a summit for African leaders in December, when he announced that he wants to commit $55 billion to the continent in the coming years.

Harris has made announcements as well during her trip, including more than $1 billion in public and private money for economic development, $100 million for security assistance in West Africa and $500 million to facilitate trade with Tanzania.

However, theres skepticism about whether the U.S. will follow through on its promises, and Harris has been faced with not-so-subtle hints that Africa expects more. For example, the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania bluntly said they hope Biden chooses to visit their countries during his expected trip to Africa later this year, which would be his first to the continent as president.

By comparison, Tanzania was among the first countries that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited after becoming president in 2013. And after Xi secured a third term, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African head of state to visit Beijing.

Kamala faces Chinese dominance in Tanzania, the Tanzania Business Insight publication tweeted Wednesday.

Ian Johnson, a former China-based journalist who works at the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Beijing presents a powerful narrative in the developing world as a country that rapidly built its economy and pulled much of its population out of poverty.

African leaders think lets see what we can learn from China, he said, adding that theres a certain fascination in how they did it.

Johnson also said China views Africa differently than the U.S.

We have a tendency to see Africa as a series of problems  wars, famines, something like that, he said. "But in Chinas eyes, Africa is much more of an opportunity.

Edem Selormey, who conducts public opinion research at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, said the feeling is often mutual.

Chinas influence in Africa is largely seen as positive, she said. And the U.S. trails China in that regard.

The difference, she said, is often about what citizens see on the ground, such as infrastructure projects, and the U.S. has been missing from this picture for a while.

John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the debt that comes from Chinas involvement is ultimately corrosive. He said African leaders are beginning to realize that China is not really their friend.

Chinas interests in the region are purely selfish, as opposed to the United States, he said.

Its a sentiment that draws scoffs in some corners of Africa.

America is like playing the role of a big Uncle Sam in trying to defend African countries against what they think is the encroachment of China into the liberty of African countries through these loans, said Tanzania-based analyst Mohamed Issa Hemed.

However, he added, China is ahead of the U.S. in many, many ways."

Daniel Russel, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, summed up the African perspective as enough with the lectures about China. Theyve got something we want. And theyve got it right here.

When it comes to U.S. hopes for Africa, he said, you cant beat something with nothing.

___ Anna reported from Nairobi, Kenya, and Meldrum from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The city of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights signed a court-enforceable settlement agreement Friday to revamp policing in the city where George Floyd was murdered by an officer nearly three years ago.

The agency issued a blistering report last year after an investigation found the police department had engaged in a pattern of race discrimination for at least a decade. The City Council approved the settlement in an 11-0 vote. Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero signed it soon after.

"The agreement isn't change, in and of itself, but it charts a clear roadmap to it, Frey said at a news conference.

Lucero said: This agreement serves as a model for how cities, police departments and community members across the country can work together to address race-based policing and strengthen public safety.

The state agency launched its investigation shortly after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for 9 1/2 minutes on May 25, 2020, disregarding the Black man's fading pleas that he couldn't breathe. Floyd's death sparked mass protests around the world, forced a national reckoning on racial injustice, and compelled a Minneapolis Police Department overhaul.

Chauvin was convicted of murder. He and three other officers on the scene are serving prison terms.

We didn't get here overnight, and change also won't happen overnight," Frey said. "This problem that we now face, it has taken hold over many generations, many administrations, mayors and chiefs, and clearly our Black and brown communities have taken the brunt of this.

Lucero said the legally binding agreement requires the city and the police department to make transformational changes" to fix the organizational culture at the heart of race-based policing.

She said it includes measures to ensure force is used only when it is objectively reasonable, necessary and proportional and never to punish or retaliate. Officers must de-escalate conflicts when possible. There will be limits on when and how officers can use chemical irritants and Tasers. And training in the disputed condition of excited delirium  a key issue in the confrontation that led to Floyd's death  will be banned. Stops for broken lights and searches based on the alleged smell of marijuana are banned.

Frey, Lucero and Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the agreement reflects feedback from and the concerns of the community and police officers.

The court-enforceable agreement does not prohibit officers from relying on reasonable, articulatable suspicion or probable cause of criminal activity to enforce the law. We want officers to do their jobs," Lucero said.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and other lawyers who won a $27 million settlement for the Floyd family called the agreement monumental and the culmination of years of heartbreak and advocacy by those impacted by the poor policies and practices of the Minneapolis Police Department.

The U.S. Department of Justice is still investigating whether Minneapolis police engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination. That investigation could lead to a separate agreement with the city known as a consent decree. City officials couldn't provide information on where that stands.

Several police departments nationwide operate under federal consent decrees. Justice Department and city officials asked a judge Tuesday to end most federal oversight of the Seattle police department, saying its sustained, decade-long reform efforts are a model for other cities.

The Minneapolis settlement, which requires court approval, also governs the use of body-worn and dashboard cameras; officer wellness; and response to mental health and behavioral crises. An independent evaluator must be appointed to monitor compliance.

Several council members criticized the police department and other city leaders.

The lack of political will to take responsibility for MPD is why we are in this position today, council member Robin Wonsley said. This legal settlement formally and legally prevents city leadership from deferring that responsibility anymore. And I hope this settlement is a wake-up call for city leaders, who the public has watched rubber-stamp poor labor contracts, have signed off on endless misconduct settlements, and then shrugged their shoulders when residents asked then why we have a dysfunctional police department.

Some activists were upset that the agreement wasnt posted publicly until after the vote.

Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said she will ask the state data practices office whether the council acted legally. She said her group must study the agreement before commenting on its merits.

This is not the way to start this process and vote on something the communitys going to have to live with for the next five or six years, Gross said.

Even council members had only about a day to study and discuss the document.

This is something weve been waiting for for a long time and my hope is the city will act with fidelity, the city will act with integrity, and the city will follow through. civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong said.
SAN DIEGO (AP)  The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about sexual assault allegations against the chair of San Diego Countys board of supervisors because it names the woman making the accusation. It is APs policy to generally not name alleged victims of sexual assault. AP will publish a corrected version of the story.
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GUILFORD  Second-grader Zach Tolchin is reaching new heights in his exploration of space.

This 8-year-old was recently named a semi-finalist in NASAs Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students.

The competition asked students to learn about Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS), a nuclear battery that NASA uses to explore some of the most extreme destinations in our solar system.

I proposed a mission for a space probe to go to an active asteroid and collect ice or water from the asteroid and bring it back to Earth, said student at New Havens Foote School. The space probe would be powered by a radioisotope power system.

This would be helpful because people think water on earth might actually be from asteroids, he said. So, it would be cool to figure out if this was true or not.

Tolchins 200-word essay was one of some 1,600 entries from 48 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Armed Forces. He read about the competition in the the Week Junior: "As soon as I read about it, I started thinking about different places in the solar system you could send a space probe. "

He is one of 45 semi-finalists that have been selected. Finalists will be announced in April and travel to NASAs Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio where The Dynamic Radioisotope Power System Project is headquartered.

Tolchin hopes he wins because, I thought it would be really cool to win across all of America. It would be really cool to meet other kids who want to explore space."

Zach has always been really interested in science and engineering and building and creating and experimenting from a very, very young age, said Dorothy Tolchin, Zachs mother. He really likes to take on a challenge.

Tolchin sees his future as a space scientist or a video game designer.

The contest, made him think about his goals a little differently. He told NASA competition officials, Since I wrote my essay, Im thinking more about radioisotope power systems. They could be used to send probes to planets in other solar systems that might have life. That makes me want

to be a space scientist even more.

He lives in Guilford with his parents, Dorothy and Benjamin and his sister, Natalie.
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Russia's security service arrested an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal on espionage charges, the first time a U.S. correspondent has been detained on spying accusations since the Cold War. The newspaper denied the allegations and demanded his release.

Evan Gershkovich, 31, was detained in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, about 1,670 kilometers (1,035 miles) east of Moscow. Russia's Federal Security Service accused him of trying to obtain classified information.

Known by the acronym FSB, the service is the top domestic security agency and main successor to the Soviet-era KGB. It alleged that Gershkovich was acting on instructions from the American side to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret.

The Journal "vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich, the newspaper said. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.

The arrest comes at a moment of bitter tensions between the West and Moscow over its war in Ukraine and as the Kremlin intensifies a crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and civil society groups.

The sweeping campaign of repression is unprecedented since the Soviet era. Activists say it often means the very profession of journalism is criminalized, along with the activities of ordinary Russians who oppose the war.

Earlier this week, a Russian court convicted a father over social media posts critical of the war and sentenced him to two years in prison. His 13-year-old daughter was sent to an orphanage.

Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union's United Nations mission who was arrested by the FBI, also on spying charges.

At a hearing Thursday, a Moscow court quickly ruled that Gershkovich would be kept behind bars pending the investigation.

While previous American detainees have been freed in prisoner swaps, a top Russian official said it was too early to talk about any such deal.

In Washington, the Biden administration said it had spoken with the Journal and Gershkovich's family. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned the arrest "in the strongest terms" and urged Americans to heed government warnings not to travel to Russia.

The State Department was in direct touch with the Russian government and seeking access to Gershkovich, Jean-Pierre said. The administration has no specific indication that journalists in Russia are being targeted, she said.

Gershkovich, who covers Russia, Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations as a correspondent in the Journals Moscow bureau, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage. Prominent lawyers noted that past investigations into espionage cases took a year to 18 months, during which time he may have little contact with the outside world.

The FSB noted that Gershkovich had accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist, but ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged that Gershkovich was using his credentials as cover for "activities that have nothing to do with journalism.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: It is not about a suspicion, it is about the fact that he was caught red-handed.

Gershkovich speaks fluent Russian and had previously worked for the French news agency Agence France-Presse and The New York Times. He was a 2014 graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine, where he was a philosophy major who cooperated with local papers and championed a free press, according to Clayton Rose, the college's president.

His last report from Moscow, published earlier this week, focused on the Russian economys slowdown amid Western sanctions imposed after Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year.

Ivan Pavlov, a prominent Russian defense attorney who has worked on many espionage and treason cases, said Gershkovich's case is the first criminal espionage charge against a foreign journalist in post-Soviet Russia.

That unwritten rule not to touch accredited foreign journalists, has stopped working, said Pavlov, a member of the First Department legal aid group.

Pavlov said the case against Gershkovich was built to give Russia trump cards for a future prisoner exchange and will likely be resolved not by the means of the law, but by political, diplomatic means.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov ruled out any quick swap.

I wouldnt even consider this issue now because people who were previously swapped had already served their sentences, Ryabkov said, according to Russian news agencies.

In December, WNBA star Brittney Griner was freed after 10 months behind bars in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Another American, Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have said are baseless.

Our family is sorry to hear that another American family will have to experience the same trauma that we have had to endure for the past 1,553 days, Whelan's brother David said in an emailed statement. It sounds as though the frame-up of Mr. Gershkovich was the same as it was in Pauls case.

Jeanne Cavelier, of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, said Gershkovich's arrest looks like a retaliation measure of Russia against the United States.

"We are very alarmed because it is probably a way to intimidate all Western journalists that are trying to investigate aspects of the war on the ground in Russia, said Cavelier, head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk at the Paris-based group.

Another prominent lawyer with the First Department group, Yevgeny Smirnov, said that those arrested on espionage and treason charges are usually held at the FSB's Lefortovo prison, where they are usually placed in total isolation, without phone calls, visitors or even access to newspapers. At most, they can receive letters, often delayed by weeks. Smirnov called these conditions tools of suppression.

Smirnov and Pavlov both said that any trial would be held behind closed doors. According to Pavlov, there have been no acquittals in treason and espionage cases in Russia since 1999.
SYDNEY (AP)  Australia remains deeply concerned that Australian journalist Cheng Lei has not learned of a verdict a year after standing trial in China on national security charges, the foreign minister said Friday.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong marked the first anniversary of the closed trial in Beijing with a statement saying her government had advocated at every opportunity for Ms. Cheng to be reunited with her family.

She is still waiting to learn the outcome of the trial, Wong said. We share the deep concerns of Ms. Chengs family and friends about the ongoing delays in her case.

Our thoughts today are with Ms. Cheng and her loved ones, particularly her two children, she added. The children live with family in the Australian city of Melbourne.

Asked about Cheng's case, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning offered no new information Friday.

China has a clear and consistent position on the case. Chinas judicial departments examined the case in accordance with law and fully protected the lawful rights and interests of the person involved, Mao said at a daily briefing in Beijing.

The anniversary comes as troubled relations between China and Australia show signs of improvement since Wongs center-left Labor Party came to power in elections last year.

Cheng, 47, was born in China and was a journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television. She was detained in August 2019 and accused by China of sharing state secrets.

In January, Wong also marked the anniversary of China's detention of Chinese-Australian writer and blogger Yang Hengjun, who has been held since arriving in 2019 in southern Chinas Guangzhou from New York with his wife and 14-year-old stepdaughter.

Her statement then said Australia's government was deeply troubled by China's delays in resolving espionage allegations. Yang, 57, faced a closed trial on an espionage charge in Beijing in May 2021 and is still waiting for a verdict.

Wong raised the cases of Yang and Cheng with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in December when she became to first Australian foreign minister to visit China in four years.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also raised their cases in November when he took part in the first formal bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping by an Australian government leader since 2016.

China has begun accepting shipments of Australian coal in recent weeks for the first time since late 2020 in a sign of thawing relations since Australias former conservative administration was ousted after nine years in power.

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NEW DELHI (AP)  Thirty-six bodies have been found inside a well at a Hindu temple in central India after dozens of people attending a festival fell into the muddy water when its cover collapsed, officials said Friday.

Video of Thursdays collapse at the temple complex in Indore in Madhya Pradesh state showed chaos afterward, with people rushing away. An excavator pulled down a wall of the decades-old temple to help people flee.

Nearly 140 rescuers, including army personnel, used ropes and ladders to pull the bodies from the well after pumping out the water. A narrow path and debris in the well made the task difficult.

We have recovered 36 bodies and everybody is accounted for now, Pawan Kumar Sharma, commissioner of the local municipal corporation, told The Associated Press.

The secretary of the temple board was among the dead and the president is recovering from injuries, Sharma said.

Police brought a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, but no arrests have been made so far, he said.

Witnesses said a large crowd of devotees had thronged the temple to perform a fire ritual and celebrate the festival for the deity Rama.

Dozens of people fell into the water when the structure collapsed and were covered by falling debris, police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar said.

Kantibhai Patel, president of a residents' association, told reporters that authorities were slow to react and the first ambulance reached the spot an hour after the alert.

The structure apparently caved in because it could not handle the weight of the large crowd, said the state's top elected official, Shivraj Singh Chauhan. He ordered an investigation.

A team of army rescuers joined the operation on Thursday night. The Times of India newspaper reported the rescue work was expedited after underwater cameras showed bodies floating in the muddy waters of the well.

Chauhan said 33 of the bodies had been identified. Sixteen of the people who were injured remained hospitalized Friday.

Sobbing relatives claimed the bodies of the victims and visited the hospital where the injured were being treated.

Temple authorities had stopped using the well years ago and covered the mouth with iron grills and tiles.

Municipal authorities in January ordered the temple owners to remove the covering of the well because it was an unsafe and unauthorized structure, but temple authorities ignored the warning, the newspaper said.

Building collapses are common in India because of poor construction and a failure to observe regulations.

In October, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western state of Gujarat, sending hundreds of people plunging into the water and killing at least 132 in one of the worst accidents in the country in the past decade.

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MEXICO CITY (AP)  Mexicos president on Friday visited the border city where 39 migrants died in a fire at a detention center, expressing pain over the disaster though he was not expected to bring any changes in tough immigration policies.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he was personally devastated by Mondays tragedy in Ciudad Juarez, which is across from El Paso, Texas.

I confess it hurt me a lot, it damaged me, Lopez Obrador said before starting out on his trip to Juarez. It ripped my soul apart.

The president said the fire was the second most painful moment of his administration, exceeded only by a 2019 pipeline fire in the central Mexico town of Tlahuelilpan that killed about 135 people.

However, it hasnt cost him much politically.

Many residents of Mexican border cities mourned the death of the migrants in the smoky mattress fire, which was set by some migrants to protest perceived moves to deport them. But in Ciudad Juarez, many peope were fed up with migrants largely from Central America and Venezuela begging for change at street corners and blocking border bridges.

They and residents of other cities have been calling for authorities to be tough with migrants, and the U.S. also pressures Mexico to curb the flow of migrants.

Ivonne Acuna Murillo, a political science professor at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, said Lopez Obrador doesnt have much maneuvering room to change Mexicos immigration policy.

It would be difficult, on one hand, because of the enormous pressure from the United States to stop migrants arriving at the border, Acuna Murillo said. She added that it is difficult in terms of the presidents own policy goals ... the budget for migration and shelters and all of that is low.

Migrant anger did flare in Ciudad Juarez on Friday, when a group of migrants and their supporters tried to block the presidents motorcade, leading to scuffles. Earlier in the day, he had promised to meet with doctors treating the injured, but it was not clear if that happened.

Eager to gain favor with the United States, Lopez Obrador has made life hard for migrants seeking to cross Mexico to reach the U.S. border. He has assigned tens of thousands of army troops and National Guard officers to retain migrants, and allowed the United States to return migrants from Venezuela, Honduras, Nicaragua and Cuba to Mexico.

But the U.S. has contributed little to helping Mexico shelter or integrate the returned migrants.

Lopez Obrador lashed out Friday, saying the U.S. should be spending more on economic development in Latin America to prevent migrants from leaving their homes, rather than sending military aid to Ukraine.

How can you compare what the U.S. government sends to Central America, with the 30, 35 billion dollars it is spending on buying weapons for Ukraine? he said.

Federal Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said that the government would close the detention center where the fire occurred and that it would check the conditions in other instalations.

On Friday, in the southern city of Tapachula, the biggest detention center for migrants was nearly emptied to review conditions, said a federal official, who who spoke on condition of anonymity. The center, with capacity for about 1,000 people, has been criticized repeatedly for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and corruption.

Lopez Obrador said he will set up a commission to ensure the human rights of migrants are protected. He said the commission will be headed by a longtime migrant activist, Rev. Alejandro Solalinde. It was unclear what powers the commission would have.

In the meantime, Lopez Obrador said, I will concentrate on the medical side, basically. What matters to me is treatment for the injured.

Mexico has turned down a U.S. offer to help provide medial treatment to the injured, most of whom suffered smoke inhalation, saying they were too ill to be moved.

Rodriguez said Thursday that 24 migrants remained hospitalized, all of them in apparently either serious or critical condition. Four migrants had been discharged, she said.

The migrant accused of starting the fire suffered only slight injuries and already was released from the hospital, presumably into custody.

That migrant, along with three officials from the National Immigration Institute and two private security guards at the detention center face charges of homicide and causing injuries. The federal prosecutor's office says it also is investigating others for possible misdeeds.

A video from a security camera inside the Ciudad Juarez facility shows guards walking away when the fire started inside the cell holding migrants and not making any attempt to release them. It was not clear whether those guards had keys to the cell doors.

There have been years of complaints about poor conditions and human rights violations at migrant detention facilities in Mexico, including inadequate ventilation, food and water, and overflowing toilets.

And there is mounting evidence of corruption throughout Mexico's immigration system, in which everyone from lawyers and immigration officials to guards have taken bribes to allow migrants out of detention.

Little has been done up to now to address these concerns.

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Associated Press writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Edgar H. Clemente in Tapachula contributed to this report.
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MEXICO CITY (AP)  As Taiwans diplomatic partners dwindle and turn instead to rival China, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is aiming to shore up ties with the self-governing islands remaining allies during a trip this week to Central America.

Tsai touched down in Guatemala on Friday afternoon, walking from the plane along a red carpet alongside Guatemala's foreign minister.

In a speech addressed to leaders of Guatemala and Belize shortly before departing on her visit, Tsai framed the trip as a chance to show Taiwans commitment to democratic values globally.

External pressure will not obstruct our resolution to go on the world stage. We will be calm, self-confident, we will not submit but also not provoke, said Tsai, who will also meet with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a stopover in the United States.

But the trip also is aimed to solidifying ties in Latin America as China funnels money into the region and pressures its countries to break off relations with the self-governed democratic island.

In Guatemala and Belize, Tsai is expected to bring an open checkbook. But in a region under growing Chinese influence, analysts say that Taiwan may already have lost the long game.

These countries, they are symbolic. And I dont think Taiwan wants to lose any of them, said June Teufel Dreyer, a political scientist at University of Miami. But if China is going to indulge in checkbook diplomacy, I dont think Taiwan can compete and it knows it.

The visit comes just days after Honduras became the latest country to break with Taiwan in favor of establishing ties with China.

Honduras follows in the footsteps of Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica in ditching Taiwan. In some cases, China was said to have dangled hefty investment packages and loans in exchange for switching allegiances.

As the Asian superpower has sought to isolate Taiwan and expand its power on the global stage, Chinese trade and investment in Latin America has soared.

Between 2005 and 2020, the Chinese have invested more than $130 billion in Latin America, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Trade between China and the region has also shot up, and is expected to reach more than $700 billion by 2035.

Honduras move came in conjunction with the construction of a hydroelectric dam project built by the Chinese company SINOHYDRO with about $300 million in Chinese government financing.

It left Taiwan with no more than 13 official diplomatic partners. More than half of those are small countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

At the same time Chinese influence has grown, lagging spending by the U.S.  Taiwans primary ally and source of defensive weaponry  has caused its sway in Latin America to slip.

For decades, China has claimed Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary, but the Taiwanese public overwhelmingly favors the current state of de-facto independence.

China has spent a great amount of effort in its campaign to diplomatically isolate Taiwan ever since Tsais election in 2016, successfully convincing nine countries to break off relations with Taipei since she has been in office.

Chinas government views Tsai and her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party as separatists.

In recent months, tensions have only intensified as relations between Beijing and Washington have spiraled. As a result, regions like Central America have grown in geopolitical importance.

While our policy has not changed, what has changed is Beijings growing coercion  like trying to cut off Taiwans relations with countries around the world, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a speech about China relations last year.

Guatemala and Belize are among those who have remained steadfast supporters of Taiwan, Guatemalas government reaffirming in March its recognition of Taiwan as an independent nation with which democratic values and mutual respect are shared.

Yet analysts say their allegiance is also a political calculation.

Tiziano Breda, researcher at International Affairs Institute, said that position will likely be wielded politically, used as a potential shield against pressure from the U.S.

The U.S. government, for example, has been highly critical of the administration of President Alejandro Giammattei for not doing enough to crack down on corruption.

Its a card these countries wait to play, Breda said.

Dreyer of University of Miami said many of Taiwan's allies will use their relationship with both China and Taiwan as a bargaining chip to seek greater investment and monetary benefits from both countries.

She said in Ing-wens meetings with Guatemala and Belize, the president is likely to offer investment and development projects contingent on maintaining good relations with her country.

But Dreyer noted that given the power China wields on a world stage, its only a matter of time before the economic superpower pulls Taiwans final diplomatic partners onto their side.

The Chinese "are not only willing to wait, but eager to wait until they think the time is ripe, Dreyer said. They want the most auspicious moment possible.

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Associated Press writer Huizhong Wu in Taipei contributed to this report.
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky.  Nine soldiers were killed Wednesday night after two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters built by Sikorsky in Connecticut crashed during a training mission, according to officials.

The two aircraft were HH-60 Black Hawks made by Sikorsky, which builds helicopter airframes in Bridgeport that are sent to its headquarters plant in Stratford for final assembly, including the installation of engines made by GE Aviation in Lynn, Mass. Parent company Lockheed Martin fits the helicopters with varying mission systems at a Rotary and Mission Systems division facility in Owego, N.Y.

"We are aware of the accident and extend our condolences to all those affected," Lockheed Martin said in a statement Thursday morning. "Safety is our top priority, and we stand ready to support our customer and the investigative authorities."

Officials confirmed the deaths Thursday morning during a news conference at nearby Fort Campbell. The personnel were all members of the 101st Airborne Division who were stationed at Fort Campbell, which sits on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, deputy commander of the 101st.

"Today is a tough and tragic day for Kentucky, for the Fort Campbell, for the 101st," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said, speaking during Thursday's news conference. "The nine individuals we lost are children of God; they will be mourned and missed by their families, by their communities."

Lubas said the aircraft were flying in formation under night vision goggles. Five soldiers were aboard one aircraft and four were onboard the other, which is typical, he noted. The aircraft's crew included a pilot, co-pilot and crew chief along with medics and other personnel.

The aircraft were outfitted for a medical evacuation role, but Lubas said they believe the accident occurred while the two aircraft were flying, not performing a medical evacuation.

An investigation team from Fort Rucker in Alabama is expected to arrive Thursday to examine the scene and may be able to uncover more information about what led to the crash from the aircraft's onboard flight computers. Lubas said no one was injured on the ground, and both aircraft came down in an open field across from a residential area.

Lubas said no one on the aircraft called for help and authorities were notified of the crash by Trigg County first responders and other aircraft in the area.

The Black Hawk has been a workhorse of the U.S. Army for decades since it entered service in the late 1970s, with Sikorsky marking its 5,000th aircraft manufactured in January. Different variants of the aircraft are also in use by other service branches of the U.S. military and foreign nations.

The Flight Safety Foundation lists 390 accidents in its Aviation Safety Network database involving Black Hawk-design helicopters or variants like the U.S. Navy Seahawk, including those downed in combat, with 202 of those incidents resulting in one or more deaths. That dates back to a prototype test flight in May 1978 when a helicopter went down in the Housatonic River, killing three Sikorsky employees, and includes helicopters flown by international militaries. Sikorsky operates a manufacturing facility in Poland to handle some Black Hawk production for other countries.

Last month, two Tennessee National Guard pilots were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed along an Alabama highway during a training exercise. The Aviation Safety Network lists 18 accidents of Black Hawks and derivative helicopters in 2022, six of which occurred over the span of just over two weeks in July involving helicopters flown by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and military branches of Mexico and Thailand.

Sikorsky's newest version of the helicopter, the UH-60V dubbed "Victor" by the Army using the military alphabet, replaces all standard cockpit gauges with digital displays produced by Northrop Grumman.

Lockheed Martin is awaiting a U.S. Government Accountability Office decision due by April 7 on its challenge of the U.S. Army's award to Bell and parent Textron to produce a utility, tilt-rotor aircraft, which over time would take on Army missions performed today by the Black Hawk, which is expected to remain in the Army arsenal for another 50 years or more.

Sikorsky and Bell are also vying for another big contract for the Army, for an armed helicopter to perform surveillance and special missions. That program was recently delayed after GE Aviation revealed it would not be able to complete this year an engine that will be installed on whichever helicopter the Army selects.
STRATFORD  A new Starbucks location is coming to Linden Avenue.

The Stratford Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve plans from the owners of 1220 Linden Avenue to build a 2,300-square-foot coffee shop at the site, which sits near an Interstate 95 exit ramp.

But unlike the towns only other Starbucks location at a nearby shopping center on Barnum Avenue, the newly-approved coffee shop from the Seattle-based chain would feature a drive-thru to attract commuters.

Nicholas Owen, the property owners representative, told the commission the 0.7-acre site was chosen in part due to its proximity near a busy  and potentially lucrative  intersection.

This particular development  is probably the highest and best use for this particular property, Owen said. It will not affect any of the residential neighborhoods in the area.

The planned site is adjacent to a Cumberland Farms gas station and sits across the street from a Dunkin Donuts location, which does not feature a drive-thru. The property is also located next to Exit 32 for Interstate 95s southbound lanes.

According to documents submitted to the town, a two-story office building will be demolished to make way for the coffee shop. The plans show the site will feature 24 parking spaces and a drive-thru that will encircle the property to accommodate up to 18 cars.

In addition to the drive-thru, renderings and site plans show the single-story building will include a walk-up window for pedestrians and cyclists to pick up orders. The cafe will also feature indoor seating and could include an outdoor patio.

The building proposed is a prototypical Starbucks building with storefront glass along the seating area, the developers wrote in an application that was originally submitted to the town.

Representatives for the developers have said construction of the Starbucks store could be completed sometime later this year, but have not announced an exact opening date. A spokesperson for the chain did not return a request for comment.

The applications approval comes as construction is still underway on a separate drive-thru Starbucks location in the towns north end. The store will be located on Main Street near the off ramp to Exit 53 of the Merritt Parkway.

The 2,500-square-foot coffee shop, which is expected to open sometime this year, is being built as part of the first phase of a new 6-acre development dubbed Parkway Plaza. The owners of the site have said they plan to build a retail and office building, a restaurant and a hotel in future phases.

richard.chumney@hearstmediact.com; Twitter @RichChumney.
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TRUMBULL  Danielle Ranocchia remembers how frightening it was the day one of her sons hit his head, injuring himself. What made matters worse, she said, was he was being watched by a sitter on her phone at the time.

It was so scary  and so preventable, said Ranocchia, of Trumbull. That was when I asked why parents would allow young people to watch children without any experience. I made it my mission to use my expertise to help young people become great babysitters.

She decided to launch Better Babysitting Certification and take training would-be babysitters into her own hands. Ranocchia, who has made early childhood development her lifes work, working the past 19 years with Bright Horizons, officially opened her new training business in April 2022.

Ive always had a passion for early childhood, she said. I know how important it is to keep children safe. My bad experience has led to a positive outcome. I want to make this fun but educational for everyone.

One year later, she has held 50 classes and certified some 80 young babysitters, teaching them how to best care for the children under their care while understanding how their dedication could lead to a successful business. She's also expanded her operation to Fairfield and Monroe.

I am so happy to have helped a lot of Trumbull babysitters, said Ranocchia, the mother of two boys, now 7 and 4.

I want them to think like a babysitter, be alert and aware, and no cell phones, she added.

Ranocchia will bring her certification class to clients' homes. She says she can teach anywhere from three to 12 individuals per session at a home. She also holds monthly training sessions at Trumbull Helps with larger groups. The certification is good for two years and designed under a national safety model.

The two-hour course also covers important topics, such as building a babysitting business, handling challenging behaviors, changing diapers, meeting families for orientation, safety on the job, and even how to handle choking and perform CPR if needed.

We believe that our program is essential for anyone who wants to excel in the field of babysitting, Ranocchia said. Our approach is hands-on and interactive, ensuring that all our students are confident and well-prepared when it comes to taking care of children.

She said she talks with students about the business of babysitting, since for many, this is their first job.

I want them to know if you work well, it could lead to more jobs, she said. You just need to prove youre reliable and dependable. Word of mouth is key in this business.

She also discusses the need for the potential sitter to meet the family before starting the job. It is important, she says, that babysitters feel comfortable with the children and the family.

"Children are fun, but they can be challenging, she said.

For more information or to register, visit https://www.betterbabysittingc.com, visit Facebook @betterbabysittingcertificationLLC or call 203-258-7789.
DALLAS (AP)  The story was a blockbuster: A former Texas voting official was on the record detailing how nearly three decades earlier, votes were falsified to give then-congressman Lyndon B. Johnson a win that propelled the future president into the U.S. Senate.

The audio recordings from Associated Press reporter James W. Mangan's interviews for the 1977 story were posted this week on the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum's archival website, Discover LBJ. After Mangan's death in 2015 at the age of 87, his family found the labeled cassette tapes at his San Antonio home and donated them last summer to the library on the campus of the University at Texas at Austin.

Luis Salas, the former South Texas election judge, told Mangan for the story: Johnson did not win that election; It was stolen for him. And I know exactly how it was done.

The story, which made front pages across the country, pulled back the curtain on the razor-thin victory that had drawn suspicions ever since election officials in rural Jim Wells County announced the discovery of uncounted votes in a ballot box known as Box 13 in the days after the 1948 Democratic primary Senate runoff. And now, at a time when election fraud is rare but former President Donald Trump and his allies amplify baseless allegations blaming it for his 2020 loss, the tapes and story show what compelling evidence of actual fraud looks like.

Mangan's son, Peter, said listening the tapes was like getting a little window into history."

On one cassette, he said, it sounds like his father is in his car, reciting what he'd just been told.

You can hear cars going by and hes kind of, you can tell hes a little excited, because I think he finally got the goods, Peter Mangan said.

Mark Lawrence, the library's director, said the recordings are deeply connected to one of the big mysteries and controversies thats hung around LBJ for decades. In a 1984 oral history that Salas gave to the library, he said one of the reasons he finally decided to talk was because he had been quite ill.

Mangan said in a 2008 AP story that as he worked to convince Salas to go on the record, he told him: If you die, history will never know what happened.

Lawrence said much is now known about Box 13, thanks to both Mangan's 1977 story and research done later by LBJ biographer Robert Caro, who essentially reaffirmed Mangan's story and built on it.

The kinds of irregularities we can see were at work in the 1948 Senate race in Texas were, I think its fair to say, pretty widespread across American history and all regions of the country to one extent or another but certainly in the South and along the Mexican borderlands, as recently as the 1940s, Lawrence said.

Salas told Mangan that the powerful South Texas political boss George B. Parr  who wielded control with favors and coercion  ordered that some 200 votes be added to Box 13. Salas said he then watched as the fraudulent votes were added in alphabetical order, with the names coming from people who hadnt voted in the election.

The new votes gave Johnson the primary victory over then-Gov. Coke Stevenson by an 87-vote margin. Johnson  subsequently bestowed with the nickname Landslide Lyndon  went on to easily defeat the Republican in the general election, long before the GOP became the dominant force in Texas politics.

Johnson, elected to the U.S. House in 1937, had run for U.S. Senate in 1941 and lost to then-Gov. Wilbert Lee Pappy O'Daniel in an election widely accepted by historians to have been corrupt, Lawrence said.

The standard story that gets told, and I think theres an awful lot to it, is that when LBJs second chance comes along in 1948, hes determined not to have the election stolen from him again," Lawrence said.

Lawrence said the 1948 Senate victory catapults" Johnson to national attention. Johnson became then-President John F. Kennedy's vice president and was sworn in as president Nov. 22, 1963, after Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Johnson was elected president in 1964. He decided not to run again in 1968 and died of a heart attack in 1973 at the age of 64.

Lawrence said that while the Box 13 incident shows that LBJ was willing to do what he had to do to maintain political power," he was also a man who, when he had the opportunity, he was more inclined to act on principle. Lawrence noted Johnson's efforts to ensure that people were able to vote in fair and equitable elections.

In 1965, Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed practices designed to disenfranchise Black voters by banning literary tests and poll taxes. The act also gave the federal government the authority to take over voter registration in counties with a pattern of persistent racial discrimination, although that is no longer the case after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the requirement in 2013.

James Mangan retired from AP on Jan. 1, 1989, after a 36-year career with the company that took him to cities across the U.S. and to Europe. With each move, Peter Mangan said, his father held on to the Box 13 tapes.

He always kept these," he said, "so I know they must have been important to him.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  Pressure is mounting on an obscure U.N. body based in Jamaica to hit pause on plans to potentially open the worlds deep seas to mining as companies push for permission to extract metals from seabeds in international waters.

The International Seabed Authority on Friday closed two weeks worth of negotiations without approving rules and regulations to oversee deep sea mining amid growing calls to pause, ban or place a moratorium on the quest to extract minerals from the Earths watery depths that are used in green technology like electric car batteries.

While the first exploration licenses for deep sea mining were issued in 2001, the authority has yet to receive an application for actual mining. Individual countries and private companies can start applying for provisional licenses on July 10 if the U.N. body does not approve a set of rules and regulations by July 9, which experts say is highly unlikely since they believe the process could take several years.

We know what a crucial periodthe council is in at the moment, Deryck Lance Murray, the authoritys representative for Trinidad and Tobago, said at the closing meeting on Friday.

Scientists worry that deep sea mining would disrupt critical ecosystems that regulate climate change, and a growing number of countries are siding with them, including France, Spain, Germany, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

When in doubt, favor nature, Edward Anibal Perez, the authoritys representative from the Dominican Republic, said at the closing meeting on Friday.

He noted that while he is aware of the importance of certain minerals given that mankind is on the brink of an energetic transition, he said deep sea mining is not the sole alternative to meet growing demand.

It is clear there are doubts as to the effects that this activity might cause, he said.

Earlier, Frances representative, Olivier Guyonvarch, said a lack of data on deep sea ecosystems and species prevents a fact-based analysis of potential damage that such mining might cause.

Scientists are uncovering an extraordinary diversity of life in the largely unexplored and unstudied depths of the ocean, he said.

Guyonvarch noted that scientists already know the deep sea plays a large role in mitigating climate change by storing large amounts of carbon.

Scientists have warned that deep sea mining would kill species and damage ecosystems by releasing noise, light and dust storms, while companies that support such mining argue it is cheaper and has less of an impact than land mining.

More than 30 exploration licenses have been issued so far, with activity mostly focused in an area called the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which spans 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico. Exploration there has been occurring at depths ranging from 13,000 to 19,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters).

The rush and demand for minerals come as a growing number of countries and companies turn to green energy in a bid to reduce pollution.

The International Energy Agency noted in a report this year that industries that were in their infancy in the early 2000s and 2010s such as solar photovoltaic technology and electric vehicles, have mushroomed into vast manufacturing operations today.

Demand for minerals including lithium, cobalt and nickel is expected to increase from less than 10 million metric tons to some 150 million metric tons between 2020 and 2050, according to Columbia Universitys Center on Global Energy Policy.

More than a dozen countries have officially called for a ban, pause or moratorium on deep sea mining, although its unclear how many other countries support such mining. And while there are 36 members on the authoritys council that have the power to award contracts to governments and private companies, only 12 votes in favor of deep sea mining are needed for it to pass, according to Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, a Netherlands-based alliance of environmental groups.

In addition, the ongoing debate is how would the U.N. body approve or reject an application for a provisional license without guidance from a set of rules and regulations, Matthew Gianni, the coalitions co-founder, told The Associated Press.

He added that there is no agreement yet on what a provisional license would allow.

And even if a provisional license is granted, its not yet clear whether that would be an actual green light for mining or just a provisional approval stating that the company or country cannot sign a contract with the U.N. body until a regulatory framework is created.

All of that is up in the air, Gianni said.

Any decision regarding a provisional license also could be appealed to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
On 18 and 19 February, 460 Marxists from across Canada, as well as international guests, met for the Montreal Marxist Winter School 2023, hosted by Fightback/La Riposte, the Canadian section of the International Marxist Tendency. This years event was themed around The Revolutionary Party, with sessions discussing the lessons of previous efforts to build a revolutionary Marxist organisation. In case you missed it, you can now watch and listen to all the talks online!

With discussions covering the history of the First International, the struggle for a workers party in the US, and the importance of the revolutionary press, the talks are a brilliant resource for the study of how and how not to build a revolutionary organisation.

Capitalism is hurtling ever deeper into crisis. Building the revolutionary partythe organisation that can lead the working class to victoryis more urgent than ever. If you agree, join us!

What is to be done? The Bolshevik/Menshevik split

In 1903 the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split into two factions: the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. Although they all started out ostensibly as Marxists, while the Bolsheviks would go on to lead the October Revolution, the Mensheviks would end up betraying it. Though this future was not at all apparent in 1903, the seeds of what was to come were already taking root. Alex Grant, editor of Fightback explains the causes of the split, and what lessons it has for us today.

Marx versus Bakunin: History of the First International

Marx and Engels were far from just armchair theoreticians, they played key roles in organizing and leading the International Workingmens Association, also known as the First International. This was the first attempt at an organization that would unite the working class across national lines, and it was full of challenges. In his talk, La Riposte socialiste editor Julien Arseneau explains Marx and Engels fight for theoretical and political clarity in the First International against the anarchist ideas of Bakunin and his followers, who maneuvered against the democracy of the International under the guise of fighting against Marxs so-called authoritarianism.

The Spanish Revolution of 1936

The Spanish Revolution is one of the most tragic episodes of the 20th century class struggle. When Franco led a coup in July 1936 the working class rallied and fought courageously against the forces of fascism. At the height of the revolution, the working masses held power in revolutionary Catalonia. However, the working class lacked the genuine revolutionary party and leadership to take them forward, and their leaders instead betrayed them. Erik Demeester, editor of the Belgian newspapers Revolution and Vonk, explains the lessons we can learn from the Spanish working classs sacrifice.

Lessons from the Indonesian Revolution

In the 1950s the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) grew to the third largest Communist Party in the world, with three million paid members and the support of ten million trade unionists and organized peasants. At the same time the Indonesian economy was failing and the division between rich and poor was growing ever sharper. The time was ripe for revolution. But tragically this explosive combination ended in the massacre of 1 million communists in 1965. Fightback activist Ted S. explains how Indonesia teaches us that mistakes in theory have dire consequences.

In defence of a revolutionary press

In 1903 Lenin wrote What Is to Be Done? a pamphlet explaining how to build a revolutionary party. In his plans, the revolutionary newspaper played a central role. Despite Lenins subsequent success building a party exactly as he outlined in What Is to Be Done? there are plenty on the left today who question the relevance of the revolutionary press. Dont we live in the digital age? Doesnt the internet make newspapers obsolete? Benoit Tanguay, from the editorial board of La Riposte socialiste, explains how Lenins advice has stood the test of time, and the role the revolutionary press plays for us today.

The struggle for a workers party in the U.S.

Millions of workers and young people in the U.S. are fed up with the two parties of the capitalist class: the Republicans and the Democrats. But in the absence of a mass labor party, voters have a limited choice between voting for one of the ruling class parties, voting for a tiny third party or simply abstaining. But why isnt there a mass labor party in the United States? Why have past attempts to create one failed? Tom Trottier, from the editorial board of Socialist Revolution explains the lessons we can learn from history to change this situation the future.

Why did the Soviet Union collapse?

Anyone who is a socialist knows how important the question of the Soviet Union is. If the Russian Revolution was such an emancipatory event, how did it devolve into a dreadful, oppressive caricature of socialism? And if the planned economy achieved such great advances, how and why did it collapse? Jules Legendre, editor of the French paper Revolution helps us understand the forces that resulted in the collapse of the USSR and what that means for building socialism in the future.

Ted Grant and the Fourth International

The Montreal Marxist Winter School ended with a fascinating talk from Fred Weston, editor of In Defence of Marxism, about Marxist leader and theoretician Ted Grant. After the assassination of Leon Trotsky, the young and untested forces of the Fourth International found themselves rudderless. The historic capitalist upswing post-WWII was especially disorientating. Only the leadership of the RCP in Britain was able to readjust to the new situation on a world scale after 1945, thanks to the theoretical capabilities of Ted Grant. His writings on economics, war, the colonial revolution, and particularly Stalinism, were, and still remain, classics of modern Marxism.
Throughout periods of market disorder, stock traders look to safe haven stocks to weather the storm. Safe haven stocks also allow traders to diversify their portfolio and reduce risk.

This article will outline the following key concepts to help traders take advantage of safe haven stocks:

Safe haven stocks defined

Cyclical vs Non-cyclical stocks

Best safe haven stocks to trade when markets are volatile

Key things to consider when trading safe haven stocks

Other safe havens to watch

What are safe haven stocks?

Safe haven stocks - also referred to as defensive/non-cyclical stocks - are stocks that are anticipated to preserve or increase in value during spells of market turbulence. This means they provide a low level of risk in times of economic uncertainty.

Safe havens stocks are sought after by investors and traders to limit their exposure to losses in the event of market downturns. However, stocks deemed 'safe havens will alter over time as market conditions change.

It is important to note that the role of safe haven stocks is either to diversify a portfolio or simply beating depreciating market conditions.

Cyclical vs Non-cyclical stocks

Cyclical stocks are stocks that are highly correlated to the current economic climate. When the market is in a slump/recession, cyclical stock prices tend to fall. Equally, when the economy is flourishing these companies tend to increase revenue alongside a rising share price. E.g. automotive and airline companies such as Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) or Boeing Co.

Non-cyclical (safe haven) stocks refer to stocks that provide investors with a consistent return irrespective of the condition of the equities market. Safe haven stocks usually outperform the market in times of recessions but underperform during expansionary stages. These safe haven stocks can fall under three broad headings namely:

Utilities

Consumer staples

Healthcare

Utilities such as water, oil and electricity are requirements for consumers which make these companies preferred in a slow economic environment. Habitual consumer products are also favored as people tend to reliably purchase these items in all circumstances (hygiene, food and beverages). Lastly, healthcare is a perpetual throughout any financial, economic or social circumstance. E.g. Southern Company, PepsiCo Inc and Pfizer Inc.

Popular safe haven stocks to trade when markets are volatile

The best safe haven stocks to trade through volatile markets will fall under the aforementioned defensive stock subcategories. Below is a bulleted list of common safe haven stocks under each category.

Utility stocks:

NextEra Energy Inc

Southern Company

York Water Company

New Jersey Resources Corporation

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation

Consumer staple stocks:

Procter & Gamble Company

Colgate-Palmolive

Coca-Cola Company

Walmart Inc

Philip Morris International Inc

Costco Wholesale Corporation

Healthcare stocks:

Johnson & Johnson

Pfizer Inc

Merck & Co Inc

United Health Group Inc

Key things to consider when trading safe haven stocks

Most often, trading safe haven stocks is used as a defensive tool to weather a fading economy as even defensive stocks may not yield a positive return.

Slow economic conditions allow safe haven stocks to outperform the rest of the stock market however, this does not translate into profits. There are several factors to consider when identifying and trading safe haven stocks:

1) Beta

Traders should consider the beta of a stock prior to investment. The beta refers to the correlation between the stock and the market. A beta value of one indicates price is strongly correlated with the market. A beta value greater than one signals a security is more volatile than the market, while a low beta value (closer to zero) have less association with markets conditions. This will allow for traders to hedge against increased volatility.

2) Dividends

As a general rule of thumb, it is considered that stocks with high dividend yields (greater than 6%) are great cases for safe haven stocks. These companies have a perception of keeping their value during erratic periods. Dividends also provide a fixed source of income which is often invested back into the company through dividend reinvestment plans.

3) P/E ratio:

Safe haven stocks are renown for being undervalued in terms of their P/E ratios. P/E ratio is the ratio of a company's share price to the company's earnings per share. The ratio is used for valuing companies and to find out whether they are overvalued or undervalued. Stocks with lower P/E ratios are seen as undervalued or outperforming relative to past movements which makes these shares ideal candidates as safe haven stocks.

4) Large established companies:

Reputable companies that have been cemented into the stock market are also exceptional candidates for a safe haven product. This is because people tend to stick to these established brands and have confidence in the company even during a period of price decline. These types of stocks generally lose less value than mid or small cap shares in recessions.

No one factor is dominant over another. Traders need to do thorough research and analysis prior to selecting safe haven stocks. All factors above should be scrutinized to derive the most suitable shares for the risk appetite of the portfolio.

Recommended by Warren Venketas What does this quarter hold for equities? Find out here Get My Guide

Safe haven FAQ section

What are the differences between safe haven stocks and defensive stocks?

Safe haven stocks and defensive stocks are interchangeable terms that refer to the same non-cyclical stock activity. Novice stock analysts and traders should not be perplexed by varying stock jargon. This extends to many other areas of financial markets which can seem daunting. Extracting complex terms from the equation will help novice traders analyse the essential aspects of the stock market.

Other safe havens to watch

Safe haven assets are not isolated to the equity market alone. Traders can look to other financial markets for security against downturns, such as forex and gold. Read our guide to safe haven currencies or follow the links to other safe haven assets below:
Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen's US transit greeted by crowds of protesters

(People's Daily App) 14:53, March 31, 2023

Protesters opposed to "Taiwan independence" sang the Chinese song loud Ode to the Motherland on Wednesday outside the hotel where Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen stayed in New York.

(Produced by Chen Xu)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
My wife and I finally got round to writing our wills this week, after putting off the melancholy task for far too long. Why now? Well, I'm fast approaching 70, a lifelong smoker and drinker, allergic to physical exercise, and a lover of red meat, butter and creamy sauces.

What's more, I've already survived on this Earth for two years longer than my father, who led a very similar life to mine before he died at 67, way back in 1988.

Meanwhile, I can't help noticing that these days, more and more of those featured in newspaper obituary columns were born after me, with Paul O'Grady among the latest batch of my juniors who have joined the choir invisible.

Mind you, I remain undeservedly healthy for a man of my disreputable habits and I'm not expecting to die any time soon.

But then you never know - and as any solicitor will tell you, it's sheer folly to delay writing a will until we know for sure that we're at death's door. It could happen to any of us at any time.

I'm thinking of the finding by Dr David McCarthy and his team that at least some Britons of our generation - Mrs U and I were both born in the 1950s - are likely to live beyond the age of 122, which until now has been the greatest recorded age attained by any member of our species. Pictured: Jeanne Calment who reached that age

I can't help noticing that these days, more and more of those featured in newspaper obituary columns were born after me, with Paul O'Grady (pictured) among the latest batch of my juniors who have joined the choir invisible

Relief

If we die without leaving a will, after all, not only can this cause endless bureaucratic problems for the loved ones we leave behind. We should also bear in mind the vultures of HMRC, hovering greedily over the corpses of the intestate.

For all these reasons, therefore, my wife and I have drawn up simple, so-called 'mirror wills'  each of us leaving everything we own to the other (legacies between spouses are free of inheritance tax), with anything that's left over, when we're both in our graves, to be divided equally between our four boys.

But though will-writing is certainly a chilling experience, I've also felt a wave of relief at having done it at last.

I won't say I'm now ready to meet my maker, because I don't feel like that at all. But with my affairs now more or less in order, at least I'm better prepared for the end than I've been before.

If we're to believe this week's news from the University of Georgia in the U.S., however, it could be a very long time indeed before any of our sons gets so much as a sniff of a legacy from either of us.

I'm thinking of the finding by Dr David McCarthy and his team that at least some Britons of our generation - Mrs U and I were both born in the 1950s - are likely to live beyond the age of 122, which until now has been the greatest recorded age attained by any member of our species.

The researchers go further, and say that men born in Britain in 1970 may well live past the age of 140!

Says Dr McCarthy: 'Our results confirm prior work suggesting that if there's a maximum limit to the human lifespan, we are not yet approaching it.'

Even more remarkably, an American computer expert and self-described 'futurist' predicts this week that scientists will crack the secret of human immortality within as little as seven years.

Speaking on the YouTube channel Adagio, Ray Kurzweil says that advances in genetics, nanotechnology and robotics will create a world in which microscopic, age-reversing 'nanobots' will roam around inside our bodies, repairing damaged tissue, curing all deadly diseases and so enabling human beings to live for ever.

Like me, you may at first have felt inclined to dismiss Kurzweil's prophecy as the raving of a fantasist who had probably watched too many sci-fi movies.

But when we learn that this man is a former hotshot engineer at Google, festooned with technology awards - a hotshot, moreover, whose many past predictions have had a remarkable tendency to prove correct - we must concede that there's at least a chance he may know what he's talking about.

If too many of us live on until well into our second centuries, how long will it be before people are kept waiting for their pensions until kingdom come?

Nightmare

If so, perhaps I needn't have written that will after all!

Of course, I realise that throughout history, there have been some who've regarded the key to eternal youth as the ultimately desirable objective, the holy grail of medicine.

But though I don't know about you, I have to say that to me it sounds like the ultimate nightmare.

Indeed, even lengthening the average lifespan by a couple of decades would surely create horrendous problems for the economy and the world - as if we didn't have enough to worry about, what with the war in Ukraine, the global warming scare, the cost of living crisis, soaring taxes, the seemingly unstoppable march of woke lunacy and God knows what else.

Think, for a start, of the effect it would have on the size of the population if our global average lifespan were to rise much beyond its present level, which is already more than 20 years longer than it was in the year of my birth, 1953.

Before we knew it, governments would be forced to introduce strict limits on the number of children we could have. Either that, or compulsory 'euthanasia' - call that state-approved murder - would become the norm for everyone exceeding a certain age.

As for the pension age, the Government wouldn't be talking, as it is now, of delaying its decision on raising this to 68, after the pandemic caused a temporary dip in the average lifespan.

No, if too many of us live on until well into our second centuries, how long will it be before people are kept waiting for their pensions until kingdom come?

Would you fancy having to work for 100 years, as the price of being kept healthy by advances in technology? I certainly wouldn't.

If we're to judge by the riots in France over President Macron's plan to raise the pension age to a mere 64, I'm guessing having to work for 100 years, as the price of being kept healthy by advances in technology wouldn't go down too well across the Channel, either

Rotten

And if we're to judge by the riots in France over President Macron's plan to raise the pension age to a mere 64, I'm guessing it wouldn't go down too well across the Channel, either.

All right, the billionaire Rupert Murdoch, who appears to enjoy his life and work as much at 92 as he did in his 40s, may relish any opportunity that may come his way to extend his life by another few decades - and perhaps add to his growing collection of wives - before his time comes to hand in his dinner pail.

Indeed, maybe he wasn't joking after all, when he said he and his latest squeeze were looking forward to enjoying the 'second half of our lives together'.

But I don't suppose criminals serving life sentences would take quite so kindly to the thought of spending the next century or more behind bars. Nor, surely, is the prospect of living from now until doomsday likely to appeal to others to whom life, in one way or another, has dealt a rotten hand.

No. Though I hate to sound gloomy, hasn't there always been a grain of comfort in the old certainty that whatever this life on Earth might choose to throw at us, one day it would come to an end for each and every one of us? But can we still be so sure?

As for myself, I'm pretty certain that my lifetime of drinking and smoking has put me beyond hope or fear of being kept alive for decades longer, even by the most ingenious of nanobots. But I can't say the same for my darling wife, who remains almost as vigorous in her mid-60s as she was on the day I met her.

All I can state with conviction is that if there's any truth in those researchers' predictions, our sons can kiss goodbye to any hope of a windfall from our mirror wills when they're 110 or so. For there won't be a penny left.
He has yet to deliver his first Kings Speech at Westminster. Instead, he delivered one to the German parliament yesterday, proclaiming the pride I feel in the strength of the partnership between our two countries while also adding a few dollops of humour, for good measure.

Like all old friends at moments, the warmth of our relationship allows a small smile at each others expense, he added.

Addressing the Bundestag is a rare honour, one never previously granted to a monarch, not even the late Queen who made five state visits to a country that held her in the highest esteem.

But then Queen Elizabeth II did not speak German whereas King Charles III does  and did at some length yesterday.

He switched to English intermittently for a few paragraphs here and there but the bulk of this 15-minute address was in German.

King Charles III addressed the Bundestag, a rare honour - one never previously granted to a monarch, not even the late Queen who made five state visits to a country

King Charles III switched to English intermittently for a few paragraphs here and there but the bulk of this 15-minute address was in German

Reflecting on shared modern endeavours and on the tumult of German grief following the death Her Late Majesty, the King received a standing ovation from across this U-shaped parliament.

There was genuine laughter as he went off on several eccentric cultural tangents, linking the earliest Thomas Cook tours down the Rhine with Handel, the Beatles and Kraftwerk. Never a great fan of the Fab Four, even in their prime, it is safe to say that the King is not a fan of the latters electronic synth-pop.

Nor was this a case of dont mention the war. Anything but. The King made references to both world wars and spoke of his planned visit, this morning, to a Hamburg memorial honouring Britains role in the kindertransport rescue mission which saved thousands of Jewish children from the Holocaust.

There was no awkwardness. In welcoming the King to the Chamber, the president of the Bundestag, Barbel Bas, was the first to mention the war anyway. The United Kingdom made an essential and distinct contribution to the liberation of Europe from National Socialism, she declared, prompting a round of applause from across the chamber.

She, too, mentioned the kindertransport memorial and welcomed to the chamber Lisa Bechner, a German with an honorary MBE for her work in commemorating the mission. Ms Bechner was sitting in the main VIP gallery alongside the British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverley.

The United Kingdom supported our reunification, Ms Bas said, which is also something we will never forget. And with a nod to the Kings lifelong commitment to our natural resources, she gave him the floor.

The only notable absentees from the Bundestag were a sprinkling of MPs from the far-Left Die Linke, led by the partys co-chair Martin Schirdewan. Earlier, he had denounced the royal visit, declaring: It is not appropriate for the highest democratic body to bow to a monarch.

As a result, there were a few vacant seats on the far left hand side of the chamber. These were snapped up by members of the Royal Household. I am not sure that Mr Schirdewan will be any happier to learn that his partys places were taken by the likes of the Kings private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, and his uniformed (and kilted) equerry, Lt-Col Johnny Thompson.

The King made references to both world wars and spoke of his planned visit, this morning, to a Hamburg memorial honouring Britains role in the kindertransport rescue mission

The King began by alluding to his many earlier visits, going back to the age of 13, which had left an indelible impression on him.

He thanked Germany for its gestures which had deeply touched him following the death of the late Queen, not least the sight of the Union flag illuminated across Berlins Brandenburg Gate.

Noting that the Queen had been a member of the wartime generation, he went on: My Mother understood the immense achievement that reconciliation represented, and in returning to Germany time and again, she was determined to play her own part.

Turning to Ukraine, he lamented the fact that the scourge of war is back in Europe in Ukraine. Countless lives have been destroyed; freedom and human dignity have been trampled in the most brutal way. Yet, he observed that it is Britain and Germany who have been Europes two largest donors to Ukraine.

On the theme closest to his heart, he noted that the two countries are now at the forefront of the battle against climate change and also the top two in Europe for founding successful new technology start-ups. Of Brexit we heard no mention. It was vintage Charles  self-deprecating, the hand dipping in and out of the pocket, the wry pause after each joke.

Reaction seemed broadly positive on German news websites afterwards. A king who understands German humour and uses it skillfully, was the verdict from broadcaster ARD.

The Kings accent attracted some comment on social media. I fall in love a little bit with his Rrrrrr, one blogger noted.

Actually, he was practising his rrrs this morning, a member of the entourage told me.

On the theme closest to his heart, King Charles III noted that the two countries are now at the forefront of the battle against climate change

The royal motorcade then moved swiftly on to meetings with Ukrainian refugees and British troops followed by a visit to an organic farm some way out of town. Here, the King got stuck in to cheese production, thrusting both hands into vats of gloop as it came squirting out of a shiny chrome machine.

Finally, as dusk approached and a thunderstorm pelted a crowded barn, he was invited to cut a huge Victoria sponge cake in the shape of a crown. To the relief of the entire entourage, slices were then dispensed among the crowd. Thanks to the Kings disdain for lunch, it was the first thing many had eaten since breakfast.
The senseless murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, gunned down in the supposed safety of her Liverpool home by a pitiless gangster, was a sickening indictment of lawless Britain.

While nothing can ease her family's unimaginable suffering, the conviction of cowardly Thomas Cashman for the killing at least offers them some justice.

This repugnant, drug-dealing low-life will be in prison, and so safely off the streets, for many, many years to come.

Wringing their hands in despair, our leaders say this has to be a watershed moment. That the fightback against the terrible violence engulfing society must begin now.

But we've heard this before. Exactly 15 years to the day before Olivia's death, 11-year-old Rhys Jones was shot dead in the same city. History is repeating itself.

The senseless murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel (pictured) was a sickening indictment of lawless Britain

Exactly 15 years to the day before Olivia's death, 11-year-old Rhys Jones (pictured) was shot dead in the same city

Nothing can disguise the failure of successive governments, police and the courts to get to grips with the descent into disorder that is happening all over the country  despite their promises of action.

Knife and gun crime rages out of control. Communities are terrorised by vandals and drunken thuggery.

Yet the police are seldom to be seen  unless virtue-signalling on social media or investigating hurtful remarks.

That it is so terrifyingly easy to smuggle firearms such as Skorpion submachine guns into the country makes a mockery of our frontiers. Perhaps solving the Channel migrant crisis will give Border Force officers more time to tackle this deadly trade.

And while middle-class drug users may think their habits are harmless, by providing a market for drug gangs they fuel the violence that ended a schoolgirl's life.

Of course, our social decline is not inevitable. The best tribute we can pay Olivia is ensuring her death is a turning point.

Labour's road to ruin

Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) yesterday pledged to freeze council tax for a year  funded by a windfall tax on gas and oil giants. It's a hollow promise as he won't be in power then

Who would be foolish enough to trust Labour with the nation's finances?

Even from the comfort of opposition, the party's economic plans are all over the place. Sir Keir Starmer yesterday pledged to freeze council tax for a year  funded by a windfall tax on gas and oil giants.

It's a hollow promise as he won't be in power then. But even so, Labour's leader has already spent this bonanza over and over again. Is it a bottomless pit of money?

His team are also contradicting themselves over wealth taxes and pay rises for junior doctors. What do they stand for?

We know only one thing a Labour government would do: Ruin the country economically  the same as it always does.

Come clean on costs

Despite the UK's carbon emissions falling again, the Government is still pursuing Net Zero at a foolish and damaging pace.

New petrol and diesel cars will still be banned by 2030, five years before the EU. But ludicrously, spending on charging points is being slashed.

Yes, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps is giving the go-ahead to more North Sea drilling for oil and gas to keep the lights on. Yet energy companies are disincentivised to invest by crippling windfall taxes.

Ministers must come clean, also, about the cost to households and businesses of their green strategy. If it impoverishes people, Net Zero will be dead in the water  and the Tories will too.

Energy Secretary Grant Shapps (pictured right with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak centre) is giving the go-ahead to more North Sea drilling for oil and gas to keep the lights on. Yet energy companies are disincentivised to invest by crippling windfall taxes

Britain's prosperity and international influence were built on our history of openness to trade.

So the confirmation that we are joining the giant trans-Pacific free trade alliance with the world's fastest growing economies is a huge boost.

It will unlock billions in extra business and potentially slash consumer prices.

Remainers loved to claim Brexit would turn the UK into an economic backwater.

Today proves how absurdly wrong they were.
Might King Charles regret going ahead with the reported claim that his late mothers dresser Angela Kelly is to lose her grace-and-favour home on the Windsor estate? For Angela is currently scribbling the third volume of a trilogy approved by the late monarch. Miffed over eviction, she could include an account of her fall from grace (after the Queens death the locks on all the cupboards to which Angela had keys were changed). She could also tell her side of Tiaragate when, it has been claimed, she and Harry fell out over what wedding headgear Meghan would wear. The daughter of a Liverpool docker, Angela is not to be trifled with. She was nicknamed AK-47  a play on her initials and the Russian assault rifle  because of her rapid-fire temper.

King Charles III eats a cake that looked like a crown on a plush pillow. Ephraim Hardcastle asks: 'Might King Charles regret going ahead with the reported claim that his late mothers dresser Angela Kelly is to lose her grace-and-favour home on the Windsor estate?'

Angela Kelly (pictured) is currently scribbling the third volume of a trilogy approved by the late monarch

German president Steinmeiers head of protocol confirms that the fountain pen laid out for King Charles to sign a visitors book at Schloss Bellevue was repeatedly checked to make sure it wouldnt misbehave. Our pen has never failed, he said. They know the King has a temper when they malfunction, famously muttering: I cant bear this bloody thing . . . every stinking time after he got inky fingers. But they neednt have bothered. The King used his own pen. But did he bring his teddy bear, described by Harry as a pitiful object with broken arms and dangly threads, which always accompanies him?

BBC Coronation maestro Huw Edwards has given Harry and Meghan the all-clear to attend Charless crowning. We know there are problems, says Huw. My guess is that a lot of people will be rather pleased to see them because they are part of the family and it will be a good show of unity.

BBC Coronation maestro Huw Edwards (pictured) has given Harry and Meghan the all-clear to attend Charless crowning

Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden describes as hilarious the huge public interest in her breasts. I wish my boobs had Spitting Image puppets because theyd have quite a lot to say for themselves. In fact, maybe they should write a book, she chuckles before addressing her bosoms. Would you like to do a book, girls? I think youd write a really good book together, wouldnt you? Not a Booker, Amanda  more a Boobie prize?

Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden (pictured) describes as hilarious the huge public interest in her breasts

Will Ken Bruce be covering Eurovision for his new radio station? A stalwart of Radio 2 coverage, he reveals that a free Baileys bar was provided by the BBC  and when the hospitality was withdrawn his team smuggled the liqueur through in a one-litre water bottle. When queried, they said it was milky coffee. Hic!

Lorraine Kelly remains unsure if fellow broadcaster Eamonn Holmes complimented her appearance when he said: We are lucky we have wee round faces because there are no wrinkles on a balloon! Barrage in the case of well-nourished Eamonn?

Paul OGrady was even more Irish than he boasted. His birth name on his Irish passport was Padraic, so his real moniker was Paddy OGrady. To be sure to be sure.
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Queen Consort Camilla would be making a mistake if she chooses not to use a traditional ivory sceptre during the Coronation, the Mail's diary editor Richard Eden has told PALACE CONFIDENTIAL.

Earlier this week, he wrote in his diary column that Camilla, 75, may reject the historical sceptre, which has been used by every Queen Consort at Coronations since 1685, because of an anti-ivory campaign championed by her stepson, the Prince of Wales.

Dropping the artefact would be the latest move away from tradition, and King Charles is widely reported to be keen to modernise.

Other changes expected at the ceremony on May 6 include a significantly shorter running time, with around an hour expected to be trimmed from the service.

In addition, the Queen Consort will not wear the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond, following a warning from India that it would bring back 'painful memories' of British colonialism.

The Mail's diary editor Richard Eden said he thinks it would be a mistake if the palace went too far in trying to be politically correct

Discussing the move further on the latest episode of the Palace Confidential series, Richard Eden said he believes this would be unwise, and that going 'too far' in trying to appease everyone would be a 'big mistake'.

He explained: 'Apparently [Camilla] is not going to have the the Queen Consort sceptre, which has been used by every Queen Consort for more than 300 years at the Coronation of a King.

'Now the reason is because it's made of ivory, but it's particularly awkward because... Prince William has campaigned against the trade...in modern ivory...and the illegal killing of elephants. But it's thought he's not keen on using historical ivory either.'

He added that the Prince of Wales has been 'quite passionate' about the issue, according to reports which claim he intervened and suggested Camilla should not use the sceptre.

Describing the issue as an 'interesting sign of the times', Richard said that if the Royal Family 'starts apologising for the ancient artefacts in the Crown Jewels, they should be apologising for their role in slave trade too'.

He added: 'I think its a mistake to go down this route, because you will never satisfy these people.

'Therell always be someone offended and if they go down this route, youre apologising from the start.'

He said the family should be free to acknowledge 'the good and bad things of [their] past but that it would be 'a big mistake' to go too far.

It has been reported that Camilla may not use an historical ivory sceptre at the Coronation (pictured L-R: Camilla, the Queen Consort and King Charles attend a state banquet in Germany on March 29)

The ivory sceptre has been used by the Queen Consort in every Coronation of the King since 1685

Prince William is a patron of the Tusk Trust charity, which seeks to 'amplify the impact of progressive conservation initiatives across Africa', and he has spoken out against the ivory trade, urging action against the illegal trade.

It has been reported that the Prince clashed with his father King Charles several years ago, after he told zoologist Dr Jane Goodall that he would 'like to see all the ivory owned by Buckingham Palace destroyed'.

The prince is said to believe the destruction would reinforce the message that the ivory trade is deeply immoral and discourage poachers.

However, it was reported that Charles believes there is a vast difference between calling for action against illegal traders now and ordering Buckingham Palace to rid itself of an historical collection of artefacts that form part of the Royal Collection Trust.

The Royal Collection, which is not owned by the Queen but is held in trust for the nation, includes 1,200 ivory items such as rare paintings, pianos, bookcases, tables, chairs and carvings.
A woman has been reunited with her missing cat nearly three weeks after the feline hid inside a recliner that was returned to a furniture warehouse.

Randi McGlone, from Ashland, Kentucky, got more than she bargained for when she decided her new chair from Big Sandy Superstore wasn't the right fit for her home and returned it.

On March 1, a delivery crew came and picked up the recliner, placing it in the back of their truck. Shortly after they left, she realized Inky had vanished.

'She was basically trapped inside the chair,' McGlone told WSAZ. 'It was very upsetting to me. She's like an emotional support pet.'

Randi McGlone, from Ashland, Kentucky, was reunited with her cat, Inky, three weeks after the feline stowed away in her new recliner that she returned to the furniture warehouse

On March 1, a delivery crew came and picked up the recliner, placing it in the back of their truck. Shortly after they left, she realized Inky had vanished

'She was basically trapped inside the chair,' McGlone told WSAZ. 'It was very upsetting to me'

When the workers unloaded the recliner at the warehouse, Inky jumped out and darted through the facility.

McGlone, who shared how the cat means 'everything to her,' explained that she later got a call from the store about what had happened.

Inky managed to stay hidden inside the facility for most of the month, despite her owner's best efforts to find her.

McGlone said she searched the warehouse for her cat on three separate occasions without avail.

'I didnt think Id ever see her again,' she admitted.

When the workers unloaded the recliner at the warehouse, Inky jumped out and darted through the facility

After nearly three weeks without her beloved cat, she was notified that the warehouse workers had finally found feline

'Im just tickled to death shes home, and emotionally, I feel complete now,' she said

After nearly three weeks without her beloved cat, she was notified that the warehouse workers had finally found feline.

McGlone has been happily showering Inky with attention since she picked her up at the warehouse and brought her back home.

'Im just tickled to death shes home, and emotionally, I feel complete now,' she said.

However, McGlone noted that this isn't the first time Inky has found herself in a jam. She was in a fire and suffered burns when she was a kitten.

The cat owner couldn't hide her amusement when she was asked how many of Inky' nine lives are left.

'She doesnt have any left,' she said, laughing. 'I dont know, though. She has the will to make it.'
A transgender woman has revealed that she doesnt tell men the truth about her gender identity before meeting them because people are 'too judgmental', saying she likes to wait until she's sure she wants to take things further.

Adea Danielle, 22, from Canada, always felt like there was something 'missing' when she was growing up and at 16, after coming across a YouTube video about being in the 'wrong body', she realized she was transgender.

Soon after watching the clip, Adea told her mother that she was transgender and was soon placed on the waiting list for hormones. She eventually had gender-affirming surgery, where the penis is removed and turned into a vagina, in 2021.

However, despite now being comfortable in her own skin, Adea says she often chooses not to disclose the fact shes transgender to men before meeting them, which is often met with backlash.

She explained: '[People tell me] Im lying to them or that Im deceiving them.

Adea Danielle believes people are too judgmental to know that she is a trans woman before she meets them so often keeps it from them

When Adea was still a boy she says she would dress up in her mothers clothes and wanted to play with her sisters toys. She believes her family knew she was 'different'

The artist and influencer previously hit the headlines to talk about her Brazilian Butt Lift, which she said made her feel like she was burning inside

'Theres so much judgement around the trans label and if a guy were to learn that Im trans before, he would make up a whole idea of how I am and how I must act.

'Its my past and youre not going to meet someone and tell them everything that happened in your past.

'I want him to get to know me and also, Im not going to get rejected by a guy that I could reject. So I just tell them when Im interested and when I want to take things further.

[Online] guys often comment Oh youre lying to men, but then how can they say Im lying if I present myself as a woman?

'Theyre basically saying Im a man.'

The influencer and aspiring artist, who has over 138,000 followers on Instagram, is now using social media to share her journey and help others who are going through a similar situation.

Growing up, Adea recalls dressing in her mothers clothes and wanting to play with her sisters toys and believes her family knew she was 'different.'

While her mother was very accepting, her dad wasnt on board at first  but now, hes her biggest supporter.

She believes not much is known about transgender people outside of the community, saying there's a perception that people 'wake up' and decide their gender  when in fact, its not a choice.

Adea also claims that studies have shown her brain doesnt identify with being male and looks similar to that of a woman's, with the hormone treatment proven to provide a feeling of 'true happiness.'

She said: 'As soon as you start the transition process, its been proven that the brain lights up and thats when you feel true joy.

'You cant really be proud or feel content with how people view you [before], as you know that when people look, its not really who you are.

'It feels like no one really loves you.'

Adea was 16 when she realised she was in the wrong body and told her mom who helped get her treatment so she could begin transitioning

The influencer finally feels comfortable in her own body and has been sharing her journey to help others who are going through the same thing

In addition to cosmetic operations, Adea has also undergone gender-affirming surgery, where the penis is removed and turned into a vagina

Adea has had several operations during her journey to womanhood including a BBL that left her feeling like she was on fire

Previously, Adea hit the headlines after revealing the complications she suffered after undergoing Brazilian butt lift (BBL) surgery.

She claims that the pain left her feeling like she was being 'burned alive'.

Adea has also undergone gender-affirming surgery, where the penis is removed and turned into a vagina.

While shes glad the procedure was a success, there was a long road to recovery, which wasnt easy.

Speaking about the painful surgery, Adea said: 'It was so intense and I was screaming, before I fainted.

'On the first night, they had to put gauzes in between my stitches and the next day, they couldnt take them out as I had bled out.

'I had blood clots where I couldnt pee anymore and so they had to leave it in.

'A year ago, I had to go back because the function of it [wasnt right] and it looked very bad.

'It was a really difficult time for me, because I went from having something in between my legs that I hated, to this.

'I would never touch it and disconnected with that area [of my body].'

Adea feels it is important to share her story and has gained immense support online.

She said: 'I do get a lot of comments saying that I have saved [peoples] lives because Ive given them the courage to transition and that alone is all I need.

'When I started transitioning, one of my biggest fears was the judgement that I would get walking into the community.

Adea, pictured in her younger years, says that when she first told her family she was in the wrong body her dad struggled to deal with it but is now her biggest supporter

Adea wants to own an art gallery when she's older and make a living selling her work. She said that being able to draw helped her express emotions when she was first dealing with being trans

The 22-year-old loves to share her journey on social media to help other people going through the same thing as her

Adea often talks about things that aren't usually discussed on social media about gender-affirming surgeries, including how painful they are and what happens afterwards

Adea is finally comfortable in her own skin but she says there's still a long way to go before people outside of the community are educated

'I dont know why theres such a big stigma that when you transition, you have to do this or get that.'

Adea claims that after coming out as transgender, she lost over 50,000 followers on social media  and while this hurt at first, shes now focusing on her future and happiness.

She added: 'When I saw that video and learned I was trans, it pretty much saved my life, because I was in a horrible space.

'You cant care about what anyone else has to say and just shut everyone out.

Concentrate on yourself and focus on where you were in the past [compared to now] and not where others are.

'As I got older, before my transition, I expressed myself through art and would draw a lot of feminine energy and faces.

'I really want to make a living with my art when Im older and have a gallery  I want my name to be known.'

Adea says she often gets backlash from men for not revealing to them before meeting that she was born a male but says it's because of this judgement that she doesn't

The social media influencer wants to raise awareness for other young people who are struggling with their identities

Earlier this year, Oli London, from Hertford, revealed he was 'de-transitioning' from a trans woman back to a man has hit out at 'woke' culture - which he claims encourages often vulnerable teens to question their identity unnecessarily.

The social media personality, who had previously had surgery to look like male Korean pop idols, has hit out at celebs like Harry Styles and Timothee Chalamet, and shows like Ru Paul's drag race, that, he claims, promote gender fluidity - saying they are dangerous for teens who are encouraged to question their identity.

Oli, who spent six months living as a woman, underwent feminizing facial surgery to soften his features before realizing, he now says, that he was actually happier living as a man.

He said: 'There are now so many teenagers transitioning. It's something that's seen as trendy and cool to Gen Z and it feeds into woke people.

'I think that celebrities like Harry Styles and Timothee Chalamet, probably due to their PR, are queer baiting as they are made to look gay or feminine in order to be cool and trendy. It's a slippery slope.
An infertile cancer survivor is finally set to become a mother after her Instagram friend agreed to be her surrogate.

Marissa Smith, 30, from Toronto, was diagnosed with a reproductive cancer aged 25.

Despite 17 operations to make her body suitable for pregnancy, she was left unable to conceive.

She then stumbled across Instagram posts around surrogacy written by Ariel Taylor, 31, who had already been a surrogate three times.

The pair became close, meeting in real life, and becoming best friends.

Marissa Smith (L) and Ariel Taylor (R). Marissa is finally becoming a mother after becoming infertile following cancer

Knowing Ariel liked the American actor Jesse McCartney, Marissa then managed to get him to record a Cameo video asking if Ariel would be her surrogate.

Ariel said yes - and now she is 25 weeks pregnant with Marissa's baby - conceived via IVF using Marissa's husband's sperm and Marissa's egg.

The baby boy is due on July 9.

Mother-to-be Marissa, a special education teacher, said: 'When I was told I wouldn't be able to carry a pregnancy, it was very very hard.

'I had hoped for so long to be a mother.

'But thanks to Ariel, we can finally experience parenthood.'

In 2018, Marissa was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in her cervix and uterus.

She then underwent four surgeries and 12 procedures to her reproductive system in a bid to make her uterus suitable for pregnancy.

But after three years and an unsuccessful round of IVF, she was told she would never become pregnant.

And in May 2020, doctors suggested they look into having a surrogate pregnancy.

Marissa Smith, 30, (L) was diagnosed with a reproductive cancer aged 25, and despite 17 operations, three years of IVF with husband was unsuccessful

Marissa Smith (L) and Ariel Taylor (R) became best friends and 'family' after meeting through Instagram

Ariel and Marissa. When Marissa wanted to ask Ariel to be her surrogate, she enlisted the help of actor Jesse McCartney

Marissa was matched with a surrogate and began the surrogacy process.

But in 2021, both of the two embryo transfers failed.

Although devastated, Marissa had - due to the fact she was using a surrogate - already spent much time online researching the process.

And she had stumbled across Ariel's posts.

Ariel, who has an eight-year-old daughter and two step daughters with her fiance, had already completed three surrogacies.

Ariel, a social worker and psychotherapist, from London, Canada, said: 'We became friends over the fact I was a surrogate and she was using one.

'We got really close while she was going through that process of losing her old surrogate.

'She was having a really hard time and people don't really understand how it feels - but we bonded so quickly because I got it.'

Marissa and Ariel both then tentatively muted Ariel becoming Marissa's new surrogate.

Marissa said: 'We started talking about how nice it would be to be on the journey together.

'I knew she liked Jesse McCartney, so I got her a Cameo from him and got him to ask if she would carry my baby - I kind of proposed.

'Obviously she agreed.'

Ariel (L) agreed to be a surrogate. She is now 25 weeks pregnant with Marissa's baby - conceived via IVF using Marissa's husband's sperm and Marissa's egg

Marissa Smith (R) and Ariel Taylor (L), bonded over their interest in surrogacy, with the story having a happy ending

The friends now go baby clothes shopping together and attend the ultrasound scans. The baby is due in July

In October 2022, Ariel was transplanted with an embryo of Marissa's eggs and her husband's sperm - finding out she was pregnant a week later.

The process has brought Ariel and Marissa closer together than ever - and they now consider themselves family.

Marissa revealed she is 'over the moon' - but admits it has been a struggle.

She said: 'I'm still processing my trauma from my fertility issues.

'Just because something is finally going right, it doesn't take away the pain and trauma that we went through getting to this point.'

But she added she was still delighted at the pregnancy.

She said: 'It's very surreal when we're together, I still don't really believe she has my baby in her stomach.

'But I couldn't be happier and I feel so lucky to get a chance to have a surrogate because so many people don't get that opportunity.'

Marissa goes to all the midwife appointments and ultrasounds with Ariel, and the pair go on baby shopping trips.

The best friends have already established how things will work once the baby is born - Ariel will become an aunt.

Ariel said Marissa and her husband will tell their son that Ariel was the surrogate, and there will be no secrets.

Ariel, her partner and her children are already like an 'extended family' to Marissa's, she added.

Marissa said: 'There's nothing I could do to repay her and show her how much I appreciate what she's doing.

'We'll continue our friendship for ever - she is now part of our family and we are part of hers.

'I don't even have words to describe how I feel towards Ariel - I'll never be able to thank her enough for what she's done.'

She added: 'We're so, so excited - we can't wait to welcome our little guy.

'We've been waiting forever for this.'

Ariel added: 'It's so nice for me because I love being pregnant, but don't want another baby of my own.

'We were friends before but the process has brought us so much closer too.

'I also get to be a part of her getting the heartbeat and the gender reveal, the intimate special moments you wouldn't normally get to be a part of.'
Dragon's Den viewers were blown away by an entrepreneur who they said looked identical to Carol Vorderman during her appearance on the show last night.

Theresa Pope, from Buckinghamshire, appeared on the BBC programme as she pitched her brand - which produces sweat absorbent patches and nipple covers.

She asked for 150,000 for 30 per cent of her business, Dandi London, but the Dragons weren't impressed, with all five saying they were out as she described her poor sales figures.

However it was her similarities to the popular British presenter which distracted many of those watching.

One person wrote: 'This lady looks like Carol Vorderman.'

Dragon's Den viewers were blown away by how similar Theresa Pope, from Buckinghamshire, looked to Carol Vorderman on the show last night

Another commented: 'You would have thought Carol Vorderman would have been better with the numbers than that...'

A third added: 'Is that Carol Vorderman?....'

A fourth wrote: 'This woman is the Wish version of Carol Vorderman, including her maths skills.'

Another also spotted the similarities between the two women, writing: 'Carol Vorderman in the den?'

Appearing on the programme last night, Theresa explained: 'I want the dragon's to love our product - they will either get it instantly, or they might take...if they get it, they'll get it straight away.'

She claimed the product could 'solve your worst nightmare.'

She said she was looking for 150,000 for 30 per cent of the business, explaining: 'Standing in front of anyone presenting can be daunting. But imagine if I was stood here with visible underarm sweat marks...it would not go well for me.

'We created the Dandi patch. It is a super thin, super absorbent patch. It sticks to the underarm area and absorbs all the sweat and odour.

'It's so discreet you can wear it under anything. It's a health alternative to deodorants because it allows you to sweat naturally.'

Theresa appeared on the BBC programme as she pitched her brand (right), but viewers couldn't help but notice her similarities to Carol (left)

A model applied the patch to the area, with Theresa saying: 'We recently added new products to our range, including unisex nipple covers which prevent unwanted protrusions.'

She said the product sells for 8.99, and it is currently sold in the Amazon UK and US.

She said: 'We first came up with the initial idea in 2011, so it's been a good five-seven year journey to get to this point. We went to market with this product towards the end of 2017.

However she told the entrepreneurs that the net loss of the business in the past six years was around 700,000.

Sara said: 'What are you spending money on every year?'

She said: 'We thought it would be a really simple product to make. Two or three years down the line, we realised it's because it is a really technical product.'

Many excited viewers took to Twitter to say how similar Carol looks to the entrepreneur, who entered the den to pitch her underarm sweat patches

However Theresa appeared determined to stay upbeat, saying: 'We're pretty well covered with our patents.'

Steven Bartlett told her she should 'stop' the company, saying: 'I don't think you should carry on this business.

'You're going to lose about 1 million if you carry this on for 24 months. I'm going to congratulate you for creating a great product but I'm out.'

Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies also both bowed out, while Deborah Meaden also told her: 'Your history told me, you don't listen. You've been told, you've got a problem. And you haven't stopped to understand what that problem is.'

She finished by saying: 'Don't spend a penny more. I won't be investing, I'm out.'

During the show, Theresa described how she invented the underarm patch to dispel sweat patches once and for all

The entrepreneur also performed a demonstration of the products application on a model during her pitch

Peter Jones told her to invest in a sales person, saying: 'You then have a chance of recovering more than the 700,000 you've invested in the next three years.

'However, this is not an investment for me. You need to demonstrate people will adopt and buy this product.

'Without that, it's too risky and that's why I'm out.'

Theresa told the camera: 'Peter's comments have really helped because we do understand the business potential there. Onwards and upwards.

'We're not going to give up. Never.'
The King and Queen Consort were greeted by enormous crowds today as they carried out several engagements in Hamburg on the last day of their state visit to Germany.

Charles, 74, and Camilla, 75, were offered flowers and other gifts by adoring fans who had queued to catch a glimpse of them at Hamburg City Hall, before they went inside to sign the Golden Book in the Emperor's Hall.

One visitor who had managed to get to the front of the crowd even offered the King an enormous heart-shaped cookie with a turquoise ribbon, which he seemed impressed with.

Their whirlwind day of engagements also saw the Queen Consort mark the 85th anniversary of the remarkable Kindertransport rescue mission in 1938, which granted 10,000 child refugees entry into the UK from Nazi Germany, by laying a white rose at the memorial.

The royal looked pensive as she laid the flower on the 'Final Parting' bronze sculpture, which was erected in 2015.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla were welcomed by huge crowds of adoring royal fans as they arrived in Hamburg on the final day of their state visit to Germany. One fan offered the King, 74, a heart-shaped cookie with blue icing as they met outside Hamburg City Hall

The memorial depicts two groups of children  those in the lighter brown representing the children who were evacuated to new lives abroad while those cast in the darker colour represent the thousands of children who were transported by train to concentration camps.

Created by Frank Meisler, it is one of five such installations across Europe, one of which is at Liverpool Street Station in London.

Later in their visit, Their Majesties visited a school where the Queen Consort showed off her artistic talents.

Camilla teamed up with Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler to read passages of the iconic book to school children.

She was invited to draw the legendary children's character herself - and did a more than passable effort. She signed the pencil Camilla R and left it with the class.

Her Majesty was also quizzed by children and revealed last night she watched one of her horses give birth on a feed from home. Asked by children if she spoke German she replied jokingly: 'Nein!'

She also revealed that her favourite hobbies are gardening, reading and swimming in the sea.

Talking about her hobbies, Camilla said: 'I used to have horses I rode but sadly I don't ride any longer.

'I think I'm too old, but I have race horses. Last night I watched on my screen one of the foals being born, which was very exciting.'

Mr Scheffler said: 'It is extremely important for children to read and draw as one in five children in the UK do not have a single book.

'Some children cannot even read or write and it is a big problem.

'The Queen Consort is very much involved in changing that.'

The King and Queen Consort stood on the balcony of Hamburg City Hall where they waved at the crowds who had gathered to see them

Thousands of people gathered outside the City Hall in Hamburg to catch a glimpse of Their Majesties

The King and Queen Consort pictured boarding their flight back to the UK following their tour of Germany

The Royal Couple pictured waving to crowds of fans who had gathered to bid them farewell

The couple flew out of Hamburg airport this afternoon. Pictured moments before boarding their flight

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla attend a final reception at the Schuppen 52 venue in Hamburg

The couple received a very warm welcome from royal fans and listened to a Sea Shanty Group during a celebratory reception at Schuppen 52

King Charles pictured greeting Glam Rockers Lord Of The Lost at Schuppen 52 on his final engagement in Germany

King Charles was all smiles as he greeted performers at the celebratory reception at Schuppen 52

The state visit ended with a celebratory reception at Schuppen 52 for more than a thousand people including youth groups, civil society organisations and stakeholders from Hamburg

King Charles appeared to enjoy his glass of beer as he took a generous sip while at a reception in Hamburg

The King beamed as he was given a glass of beer before taking a good sip while the Queen Consort watched on, appearing not to have taken a glass for herself

The King raised his glass of beer while Camilla appeared to have opted not to have a drink

King Charles beamed as he clinked his glass while at the final reception held in honour of Their Majesties

The Queen Consort drew The Gruffalo and signed it with 'Camilla R' on her visit to a primary school

The Queen Consort seemed to capture the attention of one of the children in the class as they sat at adjacent tables to do some drawing

Camilla sat on a single desk with a higher chair than the schoolchildren as she completed her drawing

A royal masterpiece! The Queen Consort's pencil drawing of The Gruffalo was not a bad attempt

Camilla, 75, concentrating hard as she draws The Gruffalo, signing it 'Camilla R'

The Queen Consort sat down to read The Gruffalo with its illustrator, Axel Scheffler, right, during the visit to Rudolf Ross Grundschule

German First Lady Elke Buedenbender, the Queen Consort and Axel Scheffler got into character as they read The Gruffalo

Camilla briefly brushed her hair away from her face as she concentrated on the classroom

A gripping tale! The Queen Consort got stuck in as she sat down to read the popular children's book to the class

The Queen Consort donned her reading glasses to sit down and go through the story with children in the class

Camilla looked impressed by the schoolchildren's efforts to dress up for the occasion, with some wearing masks of snakes and rabbits from The Gruffalo

Children at the primary school handed their drawings to the Queen Consort - one which appeared to feature the Ukrainian flag and the Union Jack side by side

The Queen Consort applauded the children as she said goodbye after her visit to the school

The Queen Consort was dressed in an Anna Valentine coat and wore a Queen Victoria brooch, a wedding gift from Prince Albert

The memorial to the Kindertransport was erected in 2015 and is one of five such sculptures across Europe

A glimpse of a Union Jack could be seen on the balcony of City Hall as they waved at the public

During their visit, Their Majesties met Nick Teller, the British honorary consul, and chair of the Kindertransport Organisation, Ms Lisa Bechner, who was awarded an honorary MBE in 2022 'for services to UK-Germany relations and the British commemoration of the Kindertransport rescue effort'.

Ms Bechner first met the King at a palace garden party before he ascended the Throne.

She said: 'Even as Prince of Wales the King was very supportive, and people from the Kindertransport scheme memorial meet every five years at Buckingham Palace or St James's Palace.

'Now, with this Royal visit, it is the first time the German government are showing appreciation of the sculptures, and that is why it is important.'

After visiting the memorial, the King and Queen Consort engaged with the crowd, where royal fan Lorenz Bille handed the King a gift  a ship in a glass bottle.

He said: 'I told the King I have a present for you if you want it and he did.'

Timo Makela, 64, said: 'I waited here three hours to see the King and Queen. I explained to him that I had seen his son Prince William before and his father Prince Philip.'

The Queen Consort shook hands with well-wishers. A woman called Claudia said: 'The Queen told me, "It's a bit wet!" I said, "I'm sorry about that!"'

Earlier today, the King and Queen Consort arrived to cheers of 'God Save The King!' at Hamburg's Dammtor station - having made the 1hr 45 minute journey on the train from Berlin.

They were met on the platform by Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of Hamburg, and his wife Eva Maria and walked downstairs with the mayoral couple, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and is wife Elke Budenbender and their entourage.

Camilla wore a blue Anna Valentine coat and dress with a sapphire and diamond brooch given to Queen Victoria by German-born Prince Albert on their wedding day.

Crowds waited for them behind cordons inside the station and cheered wildly as the royal visitors appeared, with one man shouting: 'God Save the King!'

The royal party had taken over a carriage of the train and aides carried off their luggage.

Outside, the royal couple held umbrellas for the short walk to the Kindertransport memorial.

King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and First Lady Elke Buedenbender wave to the public from the balcony

The King and Queen Consort waved to adoring crowds at Hamburg City Hall on the last day of their state visit

This morning, the couple left Berlin Hauptbahnhof on a fast train to the port city of Hamburg accompanied by President Steinmeier and his wife.

Looking elegant in her navy outfit, Camilla proudly displayed her brooch in tribute to German-born Prince Albert, who had secretly commissioned it from jeweller Garrards as a present for his bride-to be.

Victoria was so thrilled with the gift that she wrote in her diary that her adored husband has given her 'a splendid brooch, a large sapphire set round with diamonds, which is really quite beautiful'.

She even designated it to be a heirloom of the Crown, which means that it has been passed down every Queen Regnant and Consort since.

King Charles met members of the public outside Hamburg City Hall and shook their hands

The King was smiling and in his element as he shook hands with adoring fans outside the city hall

Royal fans were wrapped up in waterproofs to brave the rain and catch a glimpse of the King

A sea of black umbrellas could be seen as King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla paid their respects during a wreath-laying ceremony at St Nikolai Memorial Church

It was often worn by Queen Elizabeth and has now been given to her daughter-in-law, Camilla, who was today seen wearing it for the first time since her husband's accession.

At Berlin Hauptbanhof, royal fans were pictured waiting in the rain wearing waterproof ponchos and carrying Union Jacks hoping to catch a glimpse of the King and Queen Consort.

As the royals arrived at the station and the red carpet was rolled out, heavily armed police officers wearing khaki security vests were seen on the lookout in the area.

The King stood shoulder to shoulder with Germany's President in a symbol of reconciliation as they laid wreaths in remembrance of the victims of war.

In the ruins of a bombed out Hamburg church, destroyed like much of the city by Second World War Allied raids, the King and German leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier stood motionless after leaving floral tributes.

The King looked solemn in silence as he attended the church and wreaths were laid, while the Queen Consort stood behind him

The King stood with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Buedenbender, as well as Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher (left)

Choirboys dressed in red held white roses and handed one each to the Queen Consort and First Lady Elke Buedenbender

The King looked solemn and held up a black umbrella as he paid his respects at the memorial ceremony

The King smiled at the crowds and raised his hand to wave at them as he walked by, surrounded by officials

St Nikolai Memorial Church's towering spire was a landmark used by bomber crews as they targeted the city port, but it has now become a monument against war.

Coventry Cathedral was also left a shattered ruin after a Second World War bombing raid by the Nazis and Lutheran Bishop Kirsten Fehrs read the famous Coventry Litany of Reconciliation.

Before reading the poignant words she told those gathered: 'At this special place of remembrance where 80 years ago under National Socialism this church was destroyed by bombs.

'We stand in solidarity with people throughout the world who strive for reconciliation in the face of violence and war, deeply grateful for this moment of unity.'

'Let us set an example for understanding peace with the deeply moving and unifying Coventry Litany of Reconciliation.'

The Queen Consort looked pensive as she laid a single white rose at the Kindertransport memorial this afternoon

The King and Queen Consort were taken to the bronze Kindertransport memorial to mark the 85th anniversary of the evacuation of children

The Queen Consort was wrapped up for the occasion on the chilly, drizzly day in Germany and carried an umbrella

The Kindertransport memorial features a plaque commemorating the hundreds of children and young people who came to the UK

Roses left by King Charles III and the Queen Consort after their visit to the Kindertransport Memorial to mark the 85th anniversary of the first evacuation of children

Queen Consort Camilla was pictured at the Kindertransport memorial in Hamburg during her final day of engagements on the state visit to Germany

The Queen Consort braved the rain in Hamburg this afternoon

Camilla held up her clear umbrella with a black rim as she was shown the memorial, and she laid a white rose

Camilla laid a white rose by the bronze memorial to commemorate 85 years since the first kindertransport

The white rose the Queen Consort carefully placed on the Kindertransport memorial this afternoon

Reading from the Litany she went on to say: 'The hatred which divides nations from nation, race from race, class from class. The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own.'

Floral wreaths from the King, President and Mayor Hamburg Peter Tschentscher were already lying in place and the three men stepped forward to symbolically touch them before taking a step back for a moment of silent contemplation.

The King's wreath of poppies featured a handwritten card with the poignant message 'In everlasting remembrance', with the same words in German below and the signature 'Charles R'.

The brooch worn by Queen Consort Camilla today was often sported by the late Queen Elizabeth, from whom Camilla inherited the jewel

The diamond and sapphire brooch was given to Queen Victoria on the eve of her wedding by Prince Albert

King Charles and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier walked alongside each other at the train station as the King arrived in Hamburg

The King and Queen Consort arrived in a rainy Hamburg early this afternoon where Camilla could be seen wearing the sapphire

The Queen Consort looked elegant in a blue Anna Valentine coat emblazoned with the brooch, and a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet

The King and Queen Consort arrived at Berlin Hauptbahnhof this morning and were greeted by rail officials as they prepared to board a train to Hamburg on their final day of their German tour

Their Majesties looked comfortable as they sat on the train which was ready to depart Berlin on the way to Hamburg

The King caught the attention of the camera as he boarded the train at Berlin's Central Station and prepared to take his seat

King Charles boarded the train to Hamburg following two days of engagements in Berlin on his royal tour

The King appeared to make a joke as he got ready to board the train to Hamburg ahead of a busy day of engagements

The King and Queen Consort smiled as they greeted senior rail officials on arrival at the main train station in Berlin

King Charles was smart in a crisp dark blue suit and a lilac tie as he arrived at the train station this morning

Adoring crowds could be seen gathered behind barriers opposite the station as the King got out of the car

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the British bombing of Hamburg, Operation Gomorrah.

During the Allied bombing raids on Hamburg in July 1943, the church tower was used as a landmark by bomber pilots.

Today's visit has been designed to symbolise reconciliation, understanding and today's firm German-British friendship.

In an engagement that no doubt pleased the King, who is passionate about climate conservation, Their Majesties took a boat tour later in the afternoon to an electrolyser site which generates sustainable energy.

Their last engagement of the State Visit was a reception for more than 1,000 people organised by the British Embassy.

They listened to a Beatles tribute band in honour of the Fab Four's links with the German city, and met the country's Eurovision Song Contest entrants, the heavy metal band Lord Of The Lost.

The Royal Couple have now flown back to the UK.

The trip to Hamburg marked the third day of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla's first official foreign trip since the King ascended the throne.

It comes a week later than expected after the King's visit to France last week was postponed due to civil unrest in Paris in response to President Macron's pension reforms.

On arrival in Berlin on Wednesday, Their Majesties took part in a walkabout at the Brandenburg Gate, where the King had a hilarious encounter with an adoring fan.

A man wearing a cardboard crown from fast food chain Burger King affectionately offered it to the monarch, telling him: 'This is for you, if you want it!'

Charles smiled broadly and said: 'I'm alright!' He, of course, has a number of real ones at home. He also grinned and declined another crown from a woman who said: 'I have a present for you!'

Security was tight at the train station as armed police could be seen on the lookout as the King arrived

A police officer, armed and wearing protective gear, looked out with a pair of binoculars in a sign of a heavy police presence

Adoring royal fans waited in the rain to catch a glimpse of the King and carried flowers and a Union Jack adorned with his portrait

The King was also seen bending down to pick up a man's cap before returning it to him, with the grateful well-wisher thanking him and bowing.

Charles and Camilla - who posed for selfies with fans - were formally greeted at the Brandenburg Gate by President Steinmeier and First Lady Elke Budenbender before the national anthems were played.

In a sign of the importance placed on the visit, the couple were given the first full ceremonial and military welcome at the landmark since the Second World War. Even Queen Elizabeth II, who also visited Berlin for her last ever State Visit abroad in 2015, wasn't afforded that honour.

While at the Brandenburg Gate, the King expressed his sadness at the postponement of his Paris trip.

That evening, Their Majesties attended a glitzy state banquet held in their honour at Schloss Bellevue, where the King spoke about the shared values held by the UK and Germany and the close ties between the nations.

Camilla was the belle of the ball in a striking black evening dress with silver embroidery by Bruce Oldfield and sported the honeycomb Boucheron diamond tiara, a favourite of the late Queen Mother that was also worn by Queen Elizabeth.

They dined on marinated carp and watercress, chicken and mushroom with a blackberry malt reduction and a prune and black tea desert, washed down by three different wines or non-alcoholic cocktails.

During an address to the guests, the King said: 'Remarkably, I realise I have visited Germany more than 40 times  a measure of the importance of this relationship, of course, but also, I fear, of just how long I have been around!

'I also think fondly of the time my wife and I sampled Bavarian sausages at a farmers' market in Munich, and found ourselves drinking beer and waltzing around at the Hofbrauhaus! I can understand why St Boniface, an English monk, who is famous for having preached in Germany, is also a patron saint of brewers!'

He continued: 'Over all these years, and in so many ways, I have been struck by the warmth of the friendship between our nations and by the vitality of our partnership in countless areas.

'It was, Mr President, a friendship which mattered greatly to my mother, The late Queen, who cared deeply about the bond between our two countries.
A mother has issued a marning to parents after claiming a 30 AirUp bottle has been making her daughter sick.

The bottles - which make water taste of flavours such as watermelon and cola - have become the latest classroom craze.

Posting on a UK Facebook group, Toni claims her daughter's bottle has black mould in the crevices of the lids.

In the post, entitled AirUp Bottles, she wrote: 'Guys, I'm a real fan of the concept of these bottles but please check your lids. We wash ours thoroughly with soap and water every single day.'

MailOnline has approached AirUp for comment.

Posting on a UK Facebook group, Toni claims her daughter's bottle PrimeUP bottle had black mould in the crevices of the lids

Toni said she was concerned that her daughter was ill as a result of the mould, saying she'd been complaining of feeling unwell for weeks

'Yet one of our five bottles has signs of black mould residue in the crevices in the lids.'

She went on to write: 'I noticed it after my kittle girl had been saying she felt poorly for ages.'

She then urged other parents to check their bottles, writing: 'You really need to look, it's not easy to see.

'Obviously we now can't use the bottles and haven't for weeks. Daughter is no longer feeling poorly.'

She added that she had contacted AirUp for advice but had been left 'thoroughly disappointed'.

AirUp's pods trick the brain into thinking the tap water is flavoured, thanks to a concept known as retronasal smell

Last month, a Bournemouth teacher known as Mr Squires shared on Twitter the number of AirUp bottles  which can make water taste flavoured using a scent pod  pupils in his class had, saying: 'Almost 300 worth of "Air Up" water bottles in my classroom'

In response, a spokesman for AirUp said: 'Our drinking system, though innovative, still needs regular cleaning - just as any other re-usable drinking container.

'To clean our bottles, including the lid, we recommend using a small brush with water and mild detergent - that helps getting into the hard-reach areas.

'If you don't have a brush at home, we offer one in our webshop.

'For any additional questions, please read the manual for cleaning instructions, where we recommend our drinking system to be cleaned after each use.

'That way, you can enjoy our scent-based hydration while maintaining hygiene standards in no time at all.'

The AirUp bottles have become a huge hit with pupils, following the previous craze of the Prime energy drinks.

The product, which launched in the UK in 2021, can be filled with normal tap water, but tricks the brain into thinking its contents are flavoured, thanks to aroma pods.

The pods release scents up the nose as you sip, which pass through the throat to the brain where they manifest as taste.

However, the clever technology comes with a hefty price tag  the most basic bottle costs 24.99 with three pods starting at 4.99.

A stainless steel version with five pods rings is 54.99.

How do AirUp bottles work? The flavour pods trick your brain into thinking the water is flavoured, thanks to a concept known as retronasal smell. AirUp explained: 'This is the technical term for a simple process  tasting with your nose. 'When you smell something, it passes through the throat to the olfactory centre in the nose and manifests in the brain as taste. Simple. Genius. Mind-blowing. '80% of the tastes you experience are actually things you are smelling. The tongue may talk the talk, but it's the nose that walks the walk when it comes to taste.' Advertisement

The pods come in a range of flavours, including passionfruit, elderflower, coffee, cucumber and cola.

An ordinary water bottle costs just a few pounds, but parents on social media have been sharing how their offspring have been putting pressure on them to have AirUps.

Last month, one teacher @MrSquires_Y3, who works at a primary school in Bournemouth, shared a photo of the bottles in his class, with AirUps dominating.

He wrote: 'Almost 300 worth of "Air Up" water bottles in my classroom.'

Another teacher, @jonnybid, added: 'I really hope our school insurance policy covers all the AirUp bottles that are currently knocking about my classroom.'

AirUp was founded by Lena Jungst and Tim Jager, and arrived in the UK in 2021.

German entrepreneur Jungst says the bottle invites 'people to experiment a bit with flavour. It's a new way of perceiving flavour  nothing like this has existed before'.

The product itself has been widely praised by parents who struggle to get their children to drink water regularly  NHS guidelines suggest children should drink six to eight cups of water a day  because the flavour encourages them to hydrate more.

@Catherine443 wrote on Twitter: 'To be fair, if they help children drink water, they are a much kinder craze then many other crazies.'

Others though recoiled at the price of the bottle. @MsGamiet wrote: 'The latest craze!!! Someone's made a fat load of money on it  they're insanely expensive!'

@Elizabe97613344 added: 'What an expense. Madness.'

The AirUps' flavour pods trick your brain into thinking the water is flavoured, thanks to a concept known as retronasal smell.

AirUp explained: 'This is the technical term for a simple process  tasting with your nose.

'When you smell something, it passes through the throat to the olfactory centre in the nose and manifests in the brain as taste. Simple. Genius. Mind-blowing.

'80 per cent of the tastes you experience are actually things you are smelling. The tongue may talk the talk, but it's the nose that walks the walk when it comes to taste.'
A couple have been left horrified after finally uncovering the gross reason their rented bathroom smelt so awful.

Julia Lang-Malone and her husband moved into a new home on the Gold Coast of Australia earlier this year.

However, the pair were perplexed about the orange 'grime' that kept appearing in the corner of their shower - no matter how many times they cleaned it.

On Tuesday, Julia uploaded a TikTok showing her rinsing away the brown particles accumulating on the shower floor.

Confused by why they kept appearing, she added: 'You can not IMAGINE the smell.'

Pictured: the bathroom in Julia Lang-Malone's rented bathroom. The couple couldn't figure out what had been causing the gross smell in their shower

After noticing bits of tobacco on the floor, the couple discovered the old tenant had placed hundreds of old cigarettes in the shower frame

As she went back and forth between her bathroom sink and the shower, Julia captioned the clip: 'Watch me discover the most disgusting thing you'll see today.'

After pouring more clean water over the area, the TikToker noticed larger brown particles started to circulate.

She added: 'Where is it coming from?! There it looks like big chunks of tobacco from cigarettes.'

Moments later, Julia spotted two cigarette butts on the shower floor - confirming her suspicions that the old tenants had been shower smokers.

Rather than disposing of their cigarettes, the video ends with Julia discovering how they had placed hundreds of butts in the hollow shower frame - which runs most of the way up along the wall.

'I think I've f***ing figured it out,' she said. 'This b***h was dumping her cigarettes down this little square here so now we have an unlimited stash of cigarette butts in this thing here.'

After uploading the two-minute TikTok earlier this week, Julia's clip proceeded to rack up over 4.7m views - prompting some users to speculate that perhaps the water was just rusty.

In response to this comment, Julia posted a follow-up video of her and her partner prising open the shower frame to expose the hundreds of old, wet cigarette butts that had been left there by the previous resident.

Julia's videos have amassed millions of views over the past four days. Pictured responding to a viewer who said the cigarettes looked like 'pasta'

Left: Julia and her husband couldn't figure out what was causing the 'grime' on their shower floor. Right: they then noticed large brown particles, which they safely assumed was tobacco

Left: The hollow shower frame where the old tenant had disposed of their cigarettes. Right: the view looking down the shower frame

Sharing the footage with invested viewers, Julia wrote: 'IT IS NOT RUST!'

While her partner is heard saying 'holy s**t' in the camera, a horrified Julia said: 'Oh my god...'

In a third video, she addressed her viewers and said: 'Okay I did [initially] think this was that fungus you guys were talking about when we looked at it last night.

'But if you look closer, it is 1000 per cent cigarette butts.'

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Julia added: 'It's really, really stinky.

'Weve basically wrecked the whole shower  which is a bummer  to get access to the cigarettes, but we didnt have much choice because it was so disgusting and we were desperate.

Unsurprisingly, the footage of the decaying cigarettes left the millions of people who have viewed Julia's series similarly stunned.

The videos left viewers horrified and racked up millions of views in the past four days. One said the behaviour was 'feral'

'THIS IS FERAL,' one said.

'I want to be sick,' another added. 'Oh my godddd.'

A third wrote: 'Who on earth was smoking in a bathroom? A teenager??'

'I thought they were mushrooms at first,' a fourth replied.

Meanwhile, a fifth mused: 'I thought it was pasta!'
April 1 is the one day of the year you can't trust anything you read before noon

It's the one day a year you can't trust anything you read - April Fools' Day.

Pranks from brands, celebrities and even friends and family will flood the internet on Saturday, as people desperately try to catch each other out before noon.

Some rather astonishing claims have fooled thousands in the past - from a 1980 report from the BBC that Big Ben was to go digital, to a newscaster announcing the Space Needle in Seattle had fallen down.

Others were more low-brow, such as supermarket Aldi claiming it would be launching its own budget airline to compete with the likes of RyanAir.

Below, FEMAIL rounds up some of the best - and worst - pranks we've seen.

Would any of them have fooled you?

Big Ben goes digital

One of the UK's most notable April Fools' Day jokes took place in 1980, when the BBC reported that the Big Ben clocktower in central London would be turning digital.

Listeners were, surprisingly, rather angry about the reported change. 'Few people thought it was funny,' the broadcaster said at the time.

One of the UK's most notable April Fools' Day jokes took place in 1980, when the BBC reported that the Big Ben clocktower in central London would be turning digital. Pictured: Stock image

The Swiss spaghetti harvest

Believed to be one of the first televised April Fools' Day pranks, the BBC's Panorama broadcast a report in 1957 about the year's 'bumper' spaghetti crop in Switzerland.

The clip was narrated by journalist Richard Dimbleby, and led to viewers writing to the broadcaster asking how they could buy their very own spaghetti bush.

Believed to be one of the first televised April Fools' Day pranks, the BBC's Panorama broadcast a report in 1957 about the year's 'bumper' spaghetti crop in Switzerland

Animals join Australia's police force

This one is a modern classic. Last year, conservationist Robert Irwin of Australia Zoo announced he would be leading a 'new crime squad' called Police Animals in the Wild - or PAW.

Of course, Queensland Police later followed up that it was a joke: 'Gotcha! As much as we love our Australia Zoo... they are not our newest crime fighting critters #AprilFools'.

Conservationist Robert Irwin of Australia Zoo announced he would be leading a 'new crime squad' called Police Animals in the Wild - or PAW. Of course, Queensland Police later followed up that it was a joke: 'Gotcha! As much as we love our Australia Zoo... they are not our newest crime fighting critters #AprilFools'

Space Needle falls down

In 1989, KING-TV reported that the Space Needle in Seattle had fallen down. But many people fell for it, causing somewhat of a panic in the US city on April 1.

It turned out that local comedy show Almost Live! was behind the joke, but not everyone saw the funny side straight away.

In 1989, KING-TV reported that the Space Needle in Seattle had fallen down. But many people fell for it, causing somewhat of a panic in the US city on April 1

Ant and Dec launch cryptocurrency

Last year, British TV veterans Ant and Dec had some people convinced they had launched their very own cryptocurrency - Toon Coin.

They said: 'Big news! We have joined the crypto revolution and launched Toon Coin.'

Last year, British TV veterans Ant and Dec had some people convinced they had launched their very own cryptocurrency - Toon Coin

Krispy Kreme's amusement park

The much-loved doughnut brand once claimed it was launching a Krispy Kreme theme park - to the delight of hundreds of fans.

However, it later confirmed that the whole thing was simply a dream.

The much-loved doughnut brand once claimed it was launching a Krispy Kreme theme park - to the delight of hundreds of fans

eHarmony can match you with magnetism

In 2017, dating website eHarmony announced it would launch its most powerful feature to date - matching people through magnetism. Of course, this was only a prank.

'The feature will bring a whole new meaning to the laws of attraction, quite literally dragging you and your perfect match together in the real world, by turning your eHarmony app on your phone into an incredibly strong magnet,' it claimed at the time.

In 2017, dating website eHarmony announced it would launch its most powerful feature to date - matching people through magnetism. Of course, this was only a prank

Virgin Atlantic's first dog-only crew

Virgin Atlantic Australia once announced on April 1 that its first ever Canine Crew would be gracing its planes - to the excitement of many animal lovers.

The accompanying photographs were delightful but, sadly, it was only a prank.

Virgin Atlantic Australia once announced on April 1 that its first ever Canine Crew would be gracing its planes - to the excitement of many animal lovers

Aldi launches budget airline

Another one from last year. Budget supermarket Aldi announced on 1 April that it would be launching its very own airline - AldiAir.

'Specialflys since 2022', it said, a play on its Specialbuys in the beloved Middle Aisle.

Another one from last year. Budget supermarket Aldi announced on 1 April that it would be launching its very own airline - AldiAir

Under-skin implants for GymBox members

In a rather dystopian take on the April Fools' Day joke, London-based gym GymBox claimed it would be offering members under-skin implants to enter their locations.

It even shared photographs alleging to show the mechanism in action.

In a rather dystopian take on the April Fools' Day joke, London-based gym GymBox claimed it would be offering members under-skin implants to enter their locations

Left-handed toilet paper

American toilet paper brand Cottonelle announced in 2015 that it would be launching a product specifically made for left-handed people.

It, of course, looked just like any other paper - and was a less successful joke.
She didn't complete her bucket list and died on March 29

A 27-year-old influencer who created a bucket list of things she wanted to accomplish after receiving a terminal diagnosis died ten days after she checked off her dream of getting married.

Last year, Morganna Bezerra da Silva from Palmas, Brazil received a cancer diagnosis, and although she never gave up hope and intensely fought against the disease, she passed away on March 29.

Following her diagnosis, she created a bucket list of 20 things she wanted to do before dying, including getting married.

She kept up with her list on Instagram, where she boasted over 23,000 followers and touched the hearts of many.

Morganna Bezerra da Silva, 27, from Brazil created a bucket list of things she wanted to accomplish after receiving a terminal diagnosis died ten days after she got married

Although she never gave up hope and intensely fought against the disease, she passed away on March 29

Following her diagnosis, she created a bucket list of 20 things she wanted to do before dying, including getting married

Just days before she passed away, Morganna ticked off one of the items on her list: marriage.

She tied the knot to her long-term boyfriend Willy prior to her death.

As one of Morganna's wishes, the couple got married in front of 150 friends and family.

The reception was held in one of the best known ballrooms in Palmas and included a buffet of Japanese food along with video and light shows dreamed up by Morganna.

However, the bride was already very weak by this stage and was unable to speak or join the celebrations for long periods of time.

Immediately after the reception, she returned to the General Hospital of Palmas (HGP) to continue her intensive treatment.

Hours after announcing that she was dreaming of beginning a new treatment and begging her followers for financial help, she tragically passed away.

She said: 'We have started a different treatment. The doctors have already given up on us.

'With this new treatment, we will fight until the end. However, it is very expensive. Now we keep asking for help to try until the last moment.'

Just days before she passed away, Morganna ticked off one of the items on her list: marriage by tying the knot to her long-term boyfriend Willy

Morganna's loved ones announced her death on the morning of March 30

Her husband Willy also took to social media to share his reaction to the death of his beloved wife, calling the tragedy a 'nightmare'

Morganna's loved ones announced her death on the morning of March 30.

The statement read: 'I inform all the beloved and dear followers that our warrior fought until her last minute.

'No one was stronger than her.

'We are in mourning. We thank you from the heart for all the immense support you showed.'

Her husband Willy also took to social media to share his reaction to the death of his beloved wife.

Posting on Instagram, he said: 'How am I going to live without you? My God, what a nightmare! My God, what a nightmare.

In one of her last posts, number 13 on her bucket list, she asked her followers for help to renovate her children's room after heavy rains caused flood damage

Morganna was buried in her hometown on the afternoon of March 30

'Your departure hurts so much! It hurts so much.'

In one of her last posts, number 13 on her bucket list, she asked her followers for help to renovate her children's room after heavy rains caused flood damage.

She wrote: 'The reform is not only a wish, but also a necessity.'

It is unclear whether she got to see the finished result before her death.

She leaves behind three young children.

Morganna was buried in her hometown on the afternoon of March 30.
An American woman has revealed the biggest personality change she has encountered after packing her bags and moving to Australia.

Kerrene Taylor, from Washington, moved to Perth for work seven years ago.

And quickly learned to 'go with the flow' and subscribe to the 'laidback' Australian culture of adapting to your surroundings rather than demanding special treatment.

The marketing expert admitted that it was difficult to let go of some of her Americanisms.

But when she has it has felt like a complete transformation.

Kerrene Taylor [pictured], an American woman, revealed the biggest personality change she has encountered after packing her bags and moving to Australia

'One of the things about living in Australia as an American is just how much less I care about having things my way,' she said in the video.

She went on to explain life and expectations in America.

'The States is a culture where you can customise anything - you can change any menu, and have any drink or meal exactly how you want it, no matter how it's presented on the menu.'

Kerrene also said that most American restaurants are open 24 hours.

'Australia is so different,' she realised after moving to Perth.

'Cafes will close at 2pm, restaurants won't be open between lunch and dinner sometimes, and you generally don't ask to change things on the menu, either.'

'All of those little day to day things means I can't have stuff exactly how I want them when I want them.'

The biggest transformation occurred when she realised how little she cared about having things her away after a lifetime of customisation - and how much more personal time Aussie employers offer their staff

Another thing that shocked Kerrene was the amount of time she gets off work.

'It genuinely feels like every time we have a public holiday, there is another one around the corner.'

The American was also surprised about annual leave.

'It just feels like we get a really good amount of time off work every year,' she said.

'When I talk to people who aren't originally from Australia but live here now, we all feel the sense that it's like a little bit too good to be true.'

Kerrene admitted to feeling a severe amount of 'residual guilt' over America's 'work comes first' norm.

She also realised that whenever she faced an inconvenience - such as an eatery not being open - it was just due to someone else's work and life balance.

Aussie artefacts Americans prefer: Collectivistic culture Paid annual leave Work/life balance Coffee Freedom Parental leave No tipping culture Laid back attitude Advertisement

Many agreed that Aussie culture was much better when it came to employment and relaxation.

'The reality of the 'convenience' that is offered by American businesses is that it's only possible through exploiting low-paid workers,' one woman wrote.

'It's also because we don't tip and wait staff gets paid a proper salary - so they don't feel like they need to do whatever the customer wants.'

'Australia doesn't subscribe to American individualism - we're all mates here.'
EXCLUSIVE: Other mixtures for sale included viruses, bleach and animal parts

Bizarre 'remedies' said to contain human body parts are being flogged to Brits, this website can reveal.

MailOnline uncovered dozens of strange homeopathic products sold by Perensis, an online retailer headquartered in Birmingham.

As well as claiming to have pills made of brain, heart and even wombs, it sells ones supposedly containing the fossilised bones of prehistoric reptiles and bleach.

Others even claim to contain phone radiation specifically collected from Heathrow airport.

All of the treatments listed are advertised as remedies, although any descriptions on their supposed health benefits are vague.

These are just some of the bizarre homeopathic treatments MailOnline uncovered being sold by the business Perensis

They cost in the region of 20 for a pot of pills or an oral solution.

Repeated scientific studies have found 200-year-old 'treatment' is no more effective than a placebo.

Homeopathy operates on a logic that 'like cures like', so a substance that effectively causes certain symptoms can be, in theory, used to treat similar conditions.

For example, a homeopath might recommend a hay fever sufferer who has itchy and watery eyes takes a treatment involving an onion solution as the vegetable provokes the same reaction in people when sliced.

But these so called 'remedies' are diluted with so much water there is often none, or barely any, of the original substance left.

WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF HOMEOPATHY? Homeopathy was first coined in 1807 by German doctor Samuel Hahnemann, and focuses on three principles: like cures like, dilution, and 'water remembers.' Dr Hahnemann believed that medicine in his time was doing more harm than good, so he began to conduct experiments on volunteers and himself. One such experiment included eating the bark of a cinchona tree, which was then used as a treatment for malaria. Scientists have since found that this bark contains quinine, an antimalarial drug. After eating some of the bark, Hahnemann experienced symptoms which he likened to those of malaria, spawning the first principle 'like cures like.' The doctor thought that if a substance in large doses causes certain symptoms, it can be used in small doses to cure them. According to the British Homeopathy Association, the remedies are used by over 200 million people worldwide to treat both acute and chronic conditions. Advertisement

This dilution is a key part homeopathy, with proponents paradoxically claiming the less of an ingredient there is, the more powerful its supposed therapeutic powers.

But each mixture must also be physically shaken to activate its healing potential, advocates say.

Professor Edzard Ernst, a world-renowned expert in complementary medicine at the University of Exeter, said the examples uncovered by this website demonstrated the bizarre and even 'dangerous' world of homeopathy.

'Most homeopathic pharmacies offer remedies that seem more than strange to non-homeopaths,' he said.

'They range from pieces of the Berlin wall, to a gonorrhoeic penis. Some are based on non-materials like vacuum, sunlight, or X-rays.'

He urged consumers to stay well-clear of businesses selling such mixtures and those who advised patients take them.

Professor Ernst added: 'Some consumers may be alarmed or appalled by such weird or off-putting remedies.

'In my view, they should be alarmed by homeopathy in general.

'It is an ineffective and, therefore, dangerous therapy, regardless of whether the remedy is based on something well-known like Arnica or something revolting like dog excrement.'

None of the products listed as containing organ body parts explicitly state they are of human origin.

However, other sections of the Perensis store make it clear that treatments containing organs are harvested from specific animals like shark liver or horse testicles.

Other organs-based remedies listed for sale on the website include eye, lung, stomach, liver, pancreas, small intestine, kidney and gallbladder.

And other products listed on the website include mixtures made from pathogens, animals, and even fossils.

Some treatments on the website worrying list organs as their 'active ingredient' with 'brian- frontal lobe' one example

Other organ-based treatments on the website include those made from hearts and pancreases

And others listed eye and lung as their active ingredient

Liver and small intestines were also on the homeopathic menu

Other parts of the digestive system on offer include gallbladder and stomach

Even uterus was on offer, for just 12.49 and with express delivery available

Other organ based products on the website clearly state what animal they come from such as these sharks liver and equine testicle mixtures

Some featured coronaviruses and tuberculosis found in cattle, both animal and human versions of herpes, as well as bugs that can cause diarrhoea.

Mixtures made from snake venom, mongooses, jellyfish, and scorpions were also included for sale.

Even extinct animals aren't safe, with Perensis offering to grind down fossils of prehistoric marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs, as well as Ice Age bison, as a form of treatment.

MailOnline approached Perensis for comment.

Remedies listing both human and animal viruses as ingredients are also included on the Perensis website

Mycobacterium Bovis is the bacteria that causes a disease called Bovine Tuberculosis, a serious respiratory infection that can strike both animals and people

Rotaviruses, a family of highly contagious pathogens that can cause is a very contagious virus that causes diarrhoea are listed an ingredient in some products

Fossils from the spine of ichthyosaur, a marine reptile which swam in prehistoric oceans in the time of the dinosaurs, are also being ground-down by Perensis to form homeopathic treatments

Some treatments also include material harvested from a species of mongoose, a type of mammal found in Africa and Asia famous for taking on snakes

Mixtures made from snake venom and a dangerous species of jellyfish were also on offer

Bleach used in hair treatments is just one of the household chemicals used in the Perensis remedies

Homeopathic treatment on the NHS was effectively banned about five years ago after it was ruled an ineffective use of taxpayer's money.

But late last year this website highlighted how GPs in England have still prescribed nearly 150,000 of homeopathic items since 2018 - the first full year after the ruling.

King Charles has also been a fan of homeopathy with the monarch even attempting to get treatments on the NHS by lobbying ministers.
Covid could have been spreading in Germany in 2019, according to fresh evidence which casts more doubt over China's origin timeline.

Beijing didn't alert the world about the mysterious virus circulating in Wuhan  the city at the centre of the pandemic  until New Year's Eve 2019.

Yet a catalogue of studies have since poked holes in claims that Xi Jinping's regime blew the whistle as soon as it became aware a new disease was circulating. Experts have uncovered numerous signs that Covid was already in Europe before alarm bells were raised.

MailOnline has now unearthed a fascinating medical report which further discredits China's official version of events.

Doctors in Berlin treated a 71-year-old man who had what they now suspect to be Covid, exactly one day before news broke of a cluster of Chinese patients were struck down with a SARS-like virus.

Do these CT scans of 71-year-old German man's lungs taken on December 30 2019 prove Covid was spreading in the country one month before the first official case?

The German case happened one day before China officially notified the world about the Covid virus, but some reports said Beijing officials knew about the virus as early as November. File photo of medics at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in January 2020

Medics from ChariteUniversitatsmedizin re-examined his case now armed with the knowledge of tell-tale signs of Covid that might have been glossed over at the time.

They wanted to see whether the virus was circulating prior to Germany's first official case recorded in January.

The man, who wasn't identified, was admitted to hospital with pneumonia of an unknown cause on December 30, 2019.

He was in a 'poor' condition, with an elevated heart rate, blood pressure and a fever.

Medics noted he was overweight, a smoker, and had previously suffered a stroke.

China's official timeline vs new evidence Official timeline Dec 8, 2019 - Earliest date that China has acknowledged an infection Dec 31 - China first reported 'pneumonia of unknown cause' to the World Health Organization Jan 1, 2020 - Wuhan seafood market closed for disinfection Jan 11 - China reported its first death Jan 23 - Wuhan locked down Jan 31 - WHO declared 'outbreak of international concern' as China admitted having thousands of cases Feb 23 - Italy reports cluster of cases in first major outbreak in the West New evidence Oct 2019- Blood samples are taken in a lung cancer screening trial in Italy which later test positive for coronavirus Oct-Dec - Rise in 'flu and pneumonia' cases in northern Italy which could be linked to coronavirus Nov - Sewage samples taken in Florianopolis, Brazil, suggest virus was present Nov 10 - Milanese woman has a skin biopsy, producing a sample which later shows signs of the virus Nov 17 - Leaked documents suggest case detected in China on this date Dec 1 - Chinese researchers report an infection on this date in a peer-reviewed study, but it has not been acknowledged by Beijing Dec 18 - Sewage samples taken in Milan and Turin suggest virus was circulating in the cities Dec 30 - 71-year-old man in Germany is admitted to hospital with 'pneumonia' now suspected to be Covid Jan 2020 - Sewage samples from Barcelona suggest virus was in the city Advertisement

But, critically, he had not been overseas recently, doctors wrote in the Journal of Medical Case Reports.

CT scans of his lungs indicated a potential viral infection of unknown origin, with tests for pathogens capable of causing pneumonia coming up negative.

But these scans show a pattern of damage now familiar to millions of medics across the world, a 'crazy-paving' style in his lungs typical of Covid.

The authors wrote: 'Considering the chest computed tomography (CT) findings, it is likely that our patient is one of the earliest cases of Covid in Germany.

'This case suggests that Covid was already spreading in Germany in December 2019.'

The patient himself needed to be put on a ventilator four days after admission as his condition deteriorated.

He spent a total of five days on a ventilator and was only discharged from hospital on January 28, nearly a whole month after his initial admission.

This was one day after the first officially confirmed Covid case in Germany  a case believed to be linked to meetings they held with a Chinese business partner.

Medics reported that the 71-year-old man later died in April 2020, but didn't state the cause.

The authors said the case added to the growing body of evidence suggesting Covid was spreading in several European countries in late 2019.

This includes the virus being detected in wastewater samples in Italy in December 2019, almost two months before the first official Covid diagnosis in the country.

Separate analysis also found blood samples used in an Italian lung cancer screening trial in October 2019 later tested positive for coronavirus.

And samples collected from French patients in December that year  which were tested retrospectively  have also come back positive for the virus, a month before the first official cases were spotted.

Other findings, from Brazil and the US, have also reported that Covid was spreading much earlier than the first cases in either nation.

While the first cases in the UK were detected on January 29, 2020, among Chinese nationals who arrived from Wuhan, there are similar suspicions the virus was already here months before then.

Beijing has insisted the virus only originated in mid-December, weeks before they notified the world about the pandemic as more cases came to light.

Debate over the timeframe of when Covid emerged is also linked to a dispute over its origins. Pictured here is The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) where a number of experts think Covid could have leaked from

But other Covid origin theories point to animals kept at Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan (pictured) as being the epicentre of the outbreak. Many of the earliest cases in December 2019 and January 2020 had visited the site, where live animals were sold

However, leaked documents from the Chinese Government indicate that officials were aware of some Covid cases as early as November, potentially costing the world precious time in the initial fight against the virus.

China has also repeatedly insisted Covid could have come from outside the country, suggesting it may come from frozen meat imported from elsewhere in Asia, and even at one point stating it may leaked from a US research lab.

The authors of the latest case report noted that they can't officially diagnose their patient with Covid as blood samples taken from him have been disposed of and he never did a PCR test for retrospective analysis.

Debate continues of when exactly Covid emerged is also tied up in how the virus came to be in the first place.

Some scientists support initial theories that the virus came from an unconfirmed animal source, possibly bats, before it jumped to another species held at the 'wet market' at the centre of the outbreak and then onto people.

But other experts have said there is a growing body of evidence suggesting the virus actually leaked from the nearby Wuhan Institute of Virology, possibly as result of research being done there on coronaviruses.
Ales are the most calorific with containing more than 250 calories a pint

Most punters don't give calories a second thought when ordering a pint at the pub.

But would you reach for a second, third or fourth pint if you knew how many calories you were knocking back?

Four pints of BrewDog Punk IPA, one of the worst offenders, can deliver half a day's worth of calories.

And just one pint of San Miguel contains around 250 calories  more than a Mars bar (228 cal).

To solve this 'big issue' of uncertainty around just how calorific beer is, shadow health minister Liz Kendall suggested beer pumps should display the number of calories in a pint.

Here, MailOnline stacks up the evidence and compares just how many calories are in Britain's favourite pints.

This is how many calories are in some of Britain's favourite pints, according to the myfitnesspal database. Ales appear to be more calorific with a pint of Abbot Ale containing 234 calories and a Punk IPA containing 292 calories. But a Guinness at 210 calories is surprisingly less than a Peroni with 235 calories and a Stella Artois containing 227 calories

The Labour frontbencher told BBC Newscast that she would 'like to know how many calories there are in alcohol'.

She said that for her 'knowledge is power', before adding that she isn't 'going to tell people what to do'.

But industry leaders say calories on taps is a bad idea at a time when the high street is already struggling with a stagnant economy.

This is not the first time calories on taps has been suggested.

In 2021, Tory government health chiefs wanted to force larger chains to disclose the number of calories for every beer, wine and spirit ordered in their bars.

But it was later dropped over cost fears.

Whether you are for beer taps displaying calories on or not, it may surprise you that some IPA's contain more than double the number of calories in a packet of Walkers ready salted crisps (130 cal).

A pint of BrewDog Punk IPA contains 292 calories, making it the worst-offender out of the 16 beers MailOnline looked at.

That means just two pints of the IPA contain more than a quarter of a person's daily suggested calorie intake.

Men are supposed to consume around 2,500 calories per day to maintain a healthy weight, while women are advised to stick to 2,000 calories.

Shipyard American Pale Ale (257 cal) and San Miguel (256 cal) are not far behind.

Meanwhile, Kronenbourg (244 cal) contains nearly the same number of calories as a three McVitie's Chocolate Digestive (249).

And punters may be shocked to find out a pint of Peroni (235 cal) or an Abbot Ale (234 cal) contain almost the same number of calories as a Snickers (245 cal).

In comparison, a pint of Carling is on the lighter end of the scale with 189 calories.

A pint of Foster's contains 205 calories and a Heineken is 227 calories.

It's not just ales and larger that are high in calories, as wine, cider and spirits are packed with them.

That is because many alcoholic drinks are made from natural starch and sugar, which are fermented to produce the alcohol content.

This is why alcohol contains roughly 7 calories per gram, which is almost as many as a gram of fat, according to the NHS.

While many believe that the darker the beer and the denser the head, the more carbohydrates and calories the drink contains, that myth has been dispelled.

In fact, many lagers are more calorific than a Guinness.

A pint of Budweiser (232 cal), Cobra (228 cal) and Stella Artois (227 cal) all contain more calories.

Higher levels of sugar in beers such as Peroni, Kronenbourg, Budweiser, Heineken and Stella Artois could be the reason why they have more calories in each pint than Guinness, says DrinkWell UK.

Calorie content of beers Pint Calories Kcal Carling 189 Foster's 205 Guinness 210 Sharp's Doom Bar 220 Hop House 13 Larger 226 Beck's 226 Heineken 227 Stella Artois 227 Cobra 228 Budweiser 232 Abbot Ale 234 Peroni 235 Kronenbourg 244 San Miguel 256 Shipyard American Pale Ale 257 BrewDog Punk IPA 292 Source: Myfitnesspal
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) team studying the health impacts of the Ohio train derailment fell ill themselves during the investigation.

Seven of the team suffered sore throats, headaches, coughing and nausea in early March  the same symptoms experienced by residents following the train derailment on February 3, which released a toxic soup of chemicals into East Palestine and beyond.

The government investigators were carrying out door-to-door surveys in the area to determine the effects on residents' health.

The US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) insist the air quality in the area is safe, but evidence to the contrary is mounting, as scientists from Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon University found the air contained 'higher than normal' concentrations of nine potentially harmful chemicals.

The chemicals on the board the train were vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, benzene residue, glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene

Ayla Antoniazzi told CNN: 'I did allow my four-year-old to return to preschool, which is in the East Palestine Elementary School. She went back for two days and developed another rash her hands and started complaining of itching, so I pulled her back out'

A CDC spokesperson told CNN: 'Symptoms resolved for most team members later the same afternoon, and everyone resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours. Impacted team members have not reported ongoing health effects.'

It is unclear what caused their symptoms, but officers and physicians in the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service on the team, said they found it suspicious they all feel sick simultaneously and with similar symptoms.

The team began to feel better once they exited East Palestine, the CDC official told CNN.

In a separate incident in February, two EPA contractors working at the site reported symptoms linked to strong odors. They were told to leave the area and their symptoms eased, so they went back to work at the site the same day.

The community ACE (after chemical exposure) survey has been taken by 514 residents via a healthcare provider or at the Ohio Department of Health's Assessment Clinic in East Palestine.

The clinic offered free health checks for people affected by the disaster and Gov. Mike DeWine announced last week it would stay open permanently.

Wade Lovett, 40, has suffered breathing difficulties and his previously low voice now sounds high-pitched and squeaky. He has had to go off work sick as a result

A giant plume of smoke from the aftermath of the incident could be seen from miles away

The top four symptoms reported in the survey were: headache (74 percent), anxiety (61 percent), coughing (53 percent) and fatigue (53 percent).

Half of residents also reported a stuffy nose and irritated or burning skin.

Residents have been reporting symptoms ever since the derailment occurred at the start of the month.

Wade Lovett, 40, claims he has developed a high-pitched, Michael-Jackson-like voice and trouble breathing since the chemical incident.

He told DailyMail.com the problem 'just keeps getting worse and worse'.

Mr Lovett, an auto detailer, was previously in good health but has developed a high-pitched, Michael-Jackson-like voice and trouble breathing since the chemical incident.

He said that a couple of days after the derailment, his voice started to sound like Mickey Mouse.

He said: 'I started feeling different and coughing and I've been like this [with a high-pitched voice] ever since. My chest hurts, my eyes hurt, they burn, they water.'

Ayla and Tyler Antoniazzi said they were considering moving out of the area after their two young daughters began to show symptoms.

They live less than a mile from the incident and went back to their house the following day after the evacuation notice was lifted, but told CNN her children 'werent themselves'.

She said: 'My oldest had a rash on her face. The youngest did too but not as bad. The two-year-old was holding her eye and complaining that her eye was hurting. She was very lethargic.'

'I did allow my four-year-old to return to preschool, which is in the East Palestine Elementary School. She went back for two days, developed another rash on her hands, and started complaining of itching, so I pulled her back out,' she added.

The toxic soup of chemicals unleashed following an Ohio train crash include two known carcinogens and other substances which can cause convulsions and vomiting.

Originally, Norfolk Southern released a fact sheet which listed the chemicals on the board the train as vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, benzene residue and other combustible liquids.

It then emerged that three more dangerous chemicals  glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene  were on board the train.

Vinyl chloride is a colorless manmade gas which burns easily.

It is mainly used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a hard plastic resin used to make plastic products including pipes and wire and cable exteriors.

PVC is not known or suspected to cause cancer, but vinyl chloride is associated with a higher risk of a rare form of liver cancer (hepatic angiosarcoma), as well as primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), brain and lung cancers, lymphoma and leukemia.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) lists vinyl chloride as carcinogenic to humans, which means it has sufficient scientific proof that it causes cancer in people.

People who are exposed to vinyl chloride over many years are likely to get liver damage and cancer.

Two of the derailed cars reportedly contained benzene residue, a colorless or pale yellow liquid with a sweet scent.

It burns easily and evaporates into air rapidly.

The substance is formed naturally from volcanoes and forest fires, and is a natural part of crude oil, gasoline and cigarette smoke.

It is also used to make plastics, nylon and some types of lubricants, drugs and pesticides.

Minutes to hours after breathing benzene in, it can bring on symptoms including drowsiness, dizziness, increased or irregular heartbeat, headaches, confusion, unconsciousness and even death at very high levels.

According to the CDC, eating food or drinking water that is contaminated with benzene can lead to sleepiness, vomiting and convulsions within minutes to several hours. It can also cause death at very high levels.
Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal cancer, her family announced Thursday.

The 28-year-old 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' star's cancer has spread from the glands within her stomach into her liver, kidney and lungs. She received a series of tests that discovered cancerous growth after complaints of stomach pains.

Adrenal cancer is a rare but deadly form of the disease, with only a few hundred cases reported in the US annually. Less than one-hundred are suffered in the UK. In two-thirds of cases, it is caught after it has already spread to other organs.

It usually develops when a person is under five years old or between the ages of 40 and 50. This makes Chikadee's case a rarity.

Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell (pictured), 28, has been diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal cancer. She received her diagnosis in January and has already started treatment

Ms Cardwell (center) has two daughters. She rose to fame from the 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' reality television show

If caught early, it can be surgically removed, giving a patient a 50 percent chance of surviving at least five years. Once it spreads, the survival rate drastically falls  dropping to between 10 and 20 percent. Its low prevalence has made it harder to detect as doctors are not regularly screening for it.

'[Adrenal cancer] continues to be a rare malignancy in the United States,' a New York City-based research team wrote in 2018.

'However, most cases continue to be diagnosed only in advanced stages and are associated with poor survival.'

The disease starts in the adrenal glands, small pockets just above a person's kidneys that secrete the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline.

The glands are responsible for helping regulate a person's heart rate and other functions related to the cardiovascular system. They also help activate a person's 'fight-or-flight' response during high-stress situations.

The disease is thought to develop when the DNA of cells in the gland experience an unhealthy change and begins to replicate - though the exact cause is still unclear.

Like other cancers, malignant cells from the adrenal glands can break off and be carried by the circulatory system to another part of the body.

This causes cancer to spread, making it harder to treat and significantly more deadly.

The adrenal glands are small sacs just above the kidneys that are responsible for regulating that body's adrenaline system.

Unlike many other cancers, doctors are not sure what exactly puts someone at an increased risk of suffering the disease. There are no known risk factors.

This is partly because the disease is so rare that research on it has not been as extensive as other cancers.

Around one in every 1million people will be diagnosed with it annually.

This means its US incidence rate falls around 350 cases every year.

The average age of diagnosis is 46 years old. Though, it is also known to appear in young children.

If the cancer is detected before it spreads to other parts of the body, then doctors will recommend surgery to remove it, according to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

In these cases, a patient has a five-year survival rate of between 50 to 60 percent.

If it spreads  like Chikadee's reportedly has  the survival rate drops to between 10 to 20 percent, UCLA reports.

In these cases, a person will often be treated with chemotherapy.

Ms Cardwell's case was reported by TMZ Thursday. Family sources told the outlet that the reality star received her diagnosis in January.

She underwent the first round of chemotherapy last month and has lost her hair, sources said.

Doctors are waiting to see how the treatment affects her before making any further decisions, but her family is 'very hopeful' she will overcome the disease.
A successful young female black barrister from a Caribbean background, Lee Mitchell is making a name for hersel

CRIME

UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT

by Nicola Williams (Hamish Hamilton 14.99, 320pp)

A successful young female black barrister from a Caribbean background, Lee Mitchell is making a name for herself at the criminal bar when she is persuaded, against her better judgment, to defend a notoriously corrupt, racist white Met police sergeant, Jack Lambert.

He is accused of killing a local black pastor's 15-year-old son. The crime takes place in her part of South London, a place where she considers herself a member of the community.

Everyone is convinced that Lambert is guilty, including his own senior officer, DCI Danny Wallace. Inevitably, the slogan 'Black Lives Matter' is reverberating around the streets of an area known as 'Lower Rick'. But nothing is quite what it seems as the case comes to trial  for it emerges the pastor's other son is a notorious drug dealer.

Written by a black barrister who worked in crime and is now a part-time Crown Court judge, it oozes authenticity, honesty and grit.

Set in the wake of a fatal arson attack at St Sebastian's School in New Orleans, run by the Sisters of the Sublime Blood, this striking debut features a nun with an exotic past

SCORCHED GRACE

by Margot Douaihy (Pushkin 9.99, 320pp)

Set in the wake of a fatal arson attack at St Sebastian's School in New Orleans, run by the Sisters of the Sublime Blood, this striking debut features a nun with an exotic past who turns herself into a detective.

Sister Holiday is a gay former punk rocker who still has the tattoos to prove it, which is why the Mother Superior insists on her wearing gloves to cover them. She has only been a member of the order for a year and has yet to take her final vows, but feels she can solve the mystery while the police struggle to do so.

A second blaze claims the life of a fellow nun, and Sister Holiday becomes ever more determined to discover who is targeting the order and its school, and turns to her knowledge from her former life, becoming a modern-day Marlowe in the process  in spite of her nun's habit.

Fast, cynical and funny, it is the first of a string of stories designed to feature the punk Sister, which has 'television series' written all over it. We will see much more of her, and she's worth it.

This striking debut from the Sweden-based Curran, who has written television tie-ins in the past, grabs the reader from the very first page  and never lets go

I KNOW WHO YOU WERE

by Nick Curran (Constable 18.99, 304pp)

This striking debut from the Sweden-based Curran, who has written television tie-ins in the past, grabs the reader from the very first page  and never lets go.

Alex and Morven seem to have the perfect life, alongside Poppy, their ten-year- old daughter, when, quite suddenly, Morven disappears without an explanation. Why would she do that? Has she been abducted, or even worse? Alex is horrified, but determined to find his beloved wife, no matter what it takes. But then the police arrive and he discovers that Morven has never been what she appeared.

She was given a false identity after the deaths of two young children, and has been living a lie ever since.

Alex is not deterred for a moment and embarks on a personal hunt for her.

So begins a gripping race against time that sees him unearth all manner of secrets but never lose hope. Written with enormous panache and gentle empathy, it ratchets up the tension repeatedly before exploding into a grandstand heart-stopping finale.
Britons to see home bills, from broadband to council tax rise on April Fools' Day

Britons face punishing increases in the cost of everything from broadband and mobile tariffs to council tax, water bills, prescription charges and stamps from tomorrow  April Fools' Day.

The rises will further turn the screw on households in the midst of the biggest cost of living squeeze since at least the 1950s.

Most broadband and mobile phone companies will be raising charges by about 14 per cent, however some customers of Virgin Media face punishing increases of 17.3 per cent and, in extreme cases, 25 per cent.

Britons face punishing increases in the cost of everything from broadband and mobile tariffs to council tax, water bills, prescription charges and stamps from tomorrow  April Fools' Day

The rises are coming in despite pleas from the telecoms watchdog Ofcom and consumer groups for firms to abandon them due to the cost of living squeeze.

Ofcom has responded by launching an inquiry into big mid-contract price rises.

The majority of local authorities are pushing up council tax by 5 per cent, which will take the typical figure for a Band D property over 2,000 for the first time.

> Dodge the April bill hike bombshell: follow these tips and you could save 3,000

Water bills will see the biggest increase for about 20 years, with the annual cost for an average household hitting 448. The 7.5 per cent rise means customers will pay on average 31 more.

The price of an NHS prescription is rising by 30p, from 9.35 to 9.65. At the same time, the cost of prescription pre-payment certificates  which cover multiple NHS prescriptions for a set price  will also go up.

A three-month PPC is going up from 30.25 to 31.25, and a 12-month PPC will increase from 108.10 to 111.60. The cost of wigs and fabric supports will rise as well, while the recently introduced PPC for hormone replacement therapy will cost 19.30.

Most broadband and mobile phone companies will be raising charges by about 14 per cent

The Royal Mail is putting up the price of a first class stamp from 95p to 1.10 from April 3, while second class rises by 7p, from 68p to 75p.

In a blow to drivers, car tax will increase by 10.1 per cent from April 1. The figure payable depends on when the vehicle was registered and its emissions.

Which? consumer expert Emily Seymour said: 'Our research shows that as the cost of living crisis continues to bite, millions of households are missing essential payments  such as mortgage, rent and credit card bills  every month.

'As this new wave of price hikes take effect, now more than ever it's critical that the Government and essential businesses  such as telecoms firms and energy companies  do everything they can to support consumers and provide clear information on what support is available.'
The British family-owned business behind Marshall amplifiers, used by everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Slash, has been sold to a Swedish maker of Bluetooth speakers in a deal valuing the combined group at 325million.

Under the agreement, all Marshall brands will be acquired by Stockholm-based Zound Industries for an undisclosed amount, made up of cash and shares. The pair will form a new company, Marshall Group.

Marshall Amplification, based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was founded by The Father of Loud Jim Marshall in 1962.

Turn it up: The business behind Marshall amplifiers, used by guitar legends like Jimi Hendrix (pictured), has been sold to a Swedish maker of Bluetooth speakers in a deal worth 325m

Its products have been used by some of the worlds most famous musicians, from The Who to Jay-Z to Oasis.

Jim Marshalls children, who have been running the firm since he died in 2012, will own 24 per cent of the group, making them the largest shareholders with an 80million stake.

The family will play a key role, with Marshalls son and daughter, Terry and Victoria, joining the board.

Since my father and I created the original Marshall amp in 1962, we have always sought ways to deliver the pioneering Marshall sound to music lovers of all backgrounds and musical tastes, Terry said.

Im confident that Marshall Group will elevate this mission and spur the love for the Marshall brand.

Marshalls turnover increased 4pc to 36.4million in 2021, with pre-tax profits hitting 5.7million.

Alice Enders, music expert at Enders Analysis, said: The inheritors were stuck in a position where they had to sell it in order to grow it.

The marriage of an iconic British brand and a smart, savvy, Swedish one makes a lot of sense to the family.

Marshall has been working with Zound since 2010, when it agreed a licensing deal. Zound, a rival to Sony and Bose, produces headphones and Bluetooth speakers.

In 2022, Zound net sales rose 44 per cent to 243million, with profits of 24million.

Marshall employs 200 people in Milton Keynes and 300 in Vietnam.

Zound said it had no plans for job cuts at Marshall in the UK.
Cutting forecasts: Ithaca Energy has seven oil fields in the North Sea

A UK oil and gas firm has cut its production forecasts after the Governments windfall tax left it with less to spend.

Ithaca Energy, which has seven oil fields in the North Sea and holds stakes in others, said it would produce 68,000 to 74,000 barrels per day on average this year, down from previous estimates of 72,000 to 80,000.

The FTSE 250 firm blamed the downgrade on the impact of the energy profit levy as well as lower volumes.

Gilad Myerson, the executive chairman, said the windfall tax, which slaps an effective rate of 75 per cent on the profits of North Sea producers, has created fiscal uncertainty.

Ithaca shares dropped 4.3 per cent, or 6.6p, to 148p.

Its warning came as it posted a 2022 profit of 1.8billion, nearly tripling the previous years 617million as it cashed in on a boom in energy prices sparked by war in Ukraine.

Production rose to 71,403 barrels per day from 56,486 in 2021.
Royal Mails largest investor has increased his stake for the second time this week as the firm remains locked in crisis talks with unions.

Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire, upped his holding in parent company International Distributions Services to 25 per cent from 24 per cent through his vehicle Vesa Equity.

It followed a disclosure this week that he raised his stake from 23 per cent to 24 per cent and is likely to fuel speculation that the Czech Sphinx is considering a buyout.

Stake: Daniel Kretinsky (pictured), a Czech billionaire, upped his holding in Royal Mail parent company International Distributions Services to 25% from 24%

Under City rules, an investor must make a takeover offer for a firm if their stake reaches or exceeds 30 per cent.

Royal Mail bosses met unions yesterday to try to resolve a long-running industrial dispute amid reports it could call in administrators if more strike action is announced by the Communication Workers Union, which represents 115,000 postal workers.

Royal Mail has said strikes would threaten the job security of its posties.

Tim Symes, insolvency specialist at law firm Stewarts, said no deal could have potentially catastrophic consequences.

He added: Once it goes into administration there will be an immediate need to cut costs, and so significant amounts of jobs are at risk.
Controversial payments app Revolut has been branded a wolf in sheeps clothing as concerns about its finances hang over its pursuit of a banking licence.

The company said this month it expected to receive a UK licence imminently but has suffered setbacks.

And in a fresh blow the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ordered it to take steps to amend or withdraw an advert within 48 hours, review all financial promotions and report back on why non-compliant promotions are in circulation.

Setbacks: Revolut cofounder Vlad Yatsenko, chief executive Nikolay Storonsky and chief financial officer Mikko Salovaara

The watchdog declined to give details of the Revolut ad or why it was seen to breach its rules which state: All adverts and promotions for financial services must be fair, clear and not misleading.

Financial firms can fall foul of these by, for example, not making risks clear or giving unrealistic expectations.

Previous examples include an advert by life insurer DeadHappy, which used a picture of serial killer Harold Shipman.

It came as an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) warned granting Revolut a licence would present a risk to the UKs banking sector.

Id be utterly gobsmacked if Revolut is welcomed into the licensed banking sector with open arms and a blind eye turned. We could be letting in a wolf in sheeps clothing, and I dont think that would end well at all for the sheep, said Heather Buchanan, executive policy director for the APPG on Fair Business Banking. Revolut has been dogged by setbacks.

The most prominent was when it published accounts for 2021 on March 1, five months overdue. While it hailed its first profit, auditor BDO said 477million of revenues  three-quarters of its 636million turnover  could not be verified and may have been mis-stated.

Revolut hired lawyers to insist BDOs opinion confirmed that the financial statements give a true and fair view of the companys affairs.

It claimed the media had been misreporting the auditors opinion and that its revenues were not in question and had been independently verified.

But that may have backfired, with some board members viewing the statement as an overreaction, the Financial Times reported.

It has tried to smooth its path towards a licence by appointing City grandees to its board including Martin Gilbert, the former head of asset manager Standard Life Aberdeen, who is chairman.

Revolut has also faced allegations of a toxic work culture. In January, it was revealed the firm was assembling a team to track whether staff were being approachable and respectful but denied this was done to appease regulators.

Despite insisting its numbers are accurate, concerns show no sign of going away as scrutiny of the financial system increases following the failure of several US banks and Credit Suisse.

Revolut has to show it can be trusted before being given this responsibility, Buchanan said.

Revolut said: We take our regulatory responsibilities incredibly seriously and work closely with all our regulators to ensure we deliver the best outcome for our customers.

Ahead of the consumer duty coming into effect in July, we are reviewing all communications across our website to ensure customers get the best possible experience when using our products.
Carmakers could leave Britain if ministers fail to follow America and the European Union in helping with financial support for the switch to electric, an industry grandee warned yesterday.

Andy Palmer, the former boss of Aston Martin, said it was probable that car firms would leave the UK without a huge subsidy package similar to the billions of pounds of support the US is providing.

Mr Palmer, now chairman of electric battery firm InoBat and who also held a senior role at Nissan, said the sector was facing the last throw of the dice.

It came as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK will not try to compete with the EU or US President Joe Bidens $369billion (298billion) green package. The policy will see subsidies given to US businesses producing greener technologies such as electric vehicles and renewable energy.

Mr Hunt said that the UK approach to try to attract investment will be different  and better, and that this was the British way.

Andy Palmer, the former boss of Aston Martin, said it was probable that car firms would leave the UK without a huge subsidy package similar to what the US is providing

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK will not try to compete with the EU or US President Joe Bidens $369billion (298billion) green package

We are not going toe-to-toe with our friends and allies in some distortive global subsidy race, he told The Times newspaper. The long-term solution is not subsidy but security.

No10 doubled down on the comments, with the Prime Ministers spokesman saying that the UK did not need to enter a subsidy race, because the UK has a head start with over a decade of green investment. He added: We would say we have acted in advance of the US in terms of our approach to reducing our carbon emissions.

Rishi Sunak did not echo Mr Hunts language of the distortive impact of the US subsidy package, stressing the benefits of the UKs approach to green technology.

Asked about the UKs own strategy during a visit to Oxfordshire, he said: People should be really proud of the UKs track record on all of this.

Weve decarbonised faster than any other major economy. Our carbon emissions have been reduced by over 40 per cent, much more than all the other countries that we compete with.

Carmakers could leave Britain if ministers fail to follow America and the European Union in helping with financial support for the switch to electric

Mr Palmer said the industry was under threat without a support package at home to help manufacturers compete with those in Europe and the US.

He told the BBC that the UK car sector was already managing decline and had a last opportunity to boost the sector in the move to electric vehicles.

He said failing to create subsidy packages like those announced in the US and being consulted on by the EU would probably see manufacturers go elsewhere.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Either you compete... or you manage the decline of the British industry down to fundamentally next to zero.

We have the last throw of the dice in order to bring back some part of that industry, [or] we have to look for alternative employments for the 820,000 people.
Ongoing gun violence is prompting some families to leave the United States and move to Australia, hoping for a safer life for their children.

Amy and Chris Fox said they decided to leave their Minneapolis home in the United States for the southeast Sydney suburb Loftus after considering how their four-year-old son would cope in a school shooting situation.

'My son has autism, so if there was a shooting at his school, I don't know how he would respond to that. He doesn't always respond to his name,' Mrs Fox told SBS News.

Mrs Fox said her family, still living in America, is also considering moving abroad after Monday's school shooting in Nashville, where a former student shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school, killing three children and three adults.

The shooter, Audrey Elizabeth Hale, was transgender, and armed with two assault-style weapons and a handgun.

Amy and Chris Fox (pictured with their son) said they decided to move from Minneapolis to Sydney after considering how their four-year-old son would cope in a school shooting

It's the latest in a long string of U.S. mass shootings that have turned schools into killing zones and added fuel to a national debate over gun rights and regulations.

'I have met a number of women, who have moved overseas to Australia or elsewhere because of the gun violence and other issues, so for a lot of people I've met here from America, this was a big factor for moving overseas,' she explained.

The couple previously lived in Australia between 2016 and 2019, but moved back to the United States. They returned to Australia to offer a safer life for their son.

Monday's violence marked the 90th school shooting  defined as any incident in which a gun is discharged on school property  in the United States this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman.

Last year saw 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970.

Mrs Fox said she doesn't believe gun culture will ever change in the US, starkly contrasting with Australian gun policies.

'The gun culture is not changing. I believe too many politicians are in the pocket of the National Rifle Association,' she explained.

'They receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from that organisation, and it seems people care too much about making money and don't care about who dies.'

Mrs Fox said more of her family living in America is looking to move overseas following the Nashville school shootings on Monday (pictured, shooter Audrey Hale)

Australia adopted harsh gun laws following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, that left 35 people dead.

Then-prime minister John Howard implemented a gun buy-back scheme that saw 700,000 firearms destroyed, banned semi-automatic and automatic weapons and tightened gun regulations.

The regulations meant there were only 0.9 gun deaths in Australia for every 100,000 people in 2019, compared to 12.09 deaths per 100,000 in the US, according to gunpolicy.org.

'Australia did something with the mass shooting in Tasmania and that was motivating for my family to come back to Australia,' Mrs Fox said.
Australians are being warned about the dangers of saving their credit card details on their mobile phones so they have digital tap-and-go convenience.

One in three payments are now made by tapping a smartphone on a contactless device.

New Reserve Bank of Australia data showed younger consumers are particularly keen to use their mobile instead of a plastic card to make a tap-and-go payment.

But cyber security expert Benjamin Britton said credit card apps on mobile phones were vulnerable if a hacker sent a text message or email that fooled the owner into clicking on it.

Your virtual phone wallet acts as a digital copy of your card, meaning if hackers can access your phone - they can potentially swipe your card details, too.

'When you're doing it through the phone, that device you're using is connected to the internet so if that device was compromised - if somebody had a malware installed on it or a hacker had access to it - that information is then vulnerable,' Mr Britton told Daily Mail Australia.

'A mobile phone can be hacked and this is what people don't understand.

'I'm sure hackers do it every day - find out either how they can copy it or steal that digital card and they could potentially use it.'

Daily Mail Australia has sought an on-the-record comment from Apple.

The Apple Wallet on iPhone stores the likes of credit cards, airline tickets, driver's licences and a vaccination certificate.

But Apple Pay purchases have to be authenticated with Touch ID or Face ID, so no information can be sent without the user authenticating it, as part of its design.

While a credit card is stored on the Wallet app, the actual card numbers aren't stored on the device or on Apple servers, meaning security risks are low.

Australians are being warned about the dangers of tapping their mobile phones to pay for goods instead of using their credit cards

Mr Britton, a Australian Army veteran, is also warning consumers to be wary about Chinese-made smartphones after Australian government departments ripped out security cameras made in the Communist nation.

'Who makes the devices because this is the big threat that no one talks about in cyber security - hardware vulnerabilities,' he claimed.

'What actually occurs with devices that are made by the China - they put a physical hardware chip; it's a chip physically built into the board in the device and it has code in it that gives them access, so it's a physical back door into a device.'

Mobile payments are growing at the expense of the card tap-and-go card method, which has fallen from more than 70 per cent to slightly more than 60 per cent during the past three years, the RBA's consumer payments survey found.

Mr Britton explained a traditional bank card is a more secure way to pay, compared to paying with a mobile phone.

'When you've got a tap-and-go with a card, the card has no internet connection: you tap it and all the information is done essentially offline, then the transaction is sent through the internet,' Mr Britton said.

Consumers have to tap their card in the right spot to make a payment, which Mr Britton said demonstrated how a criminal with a skimming device would need to stand particularly close to a customer to get their credit card details from the chip.

'You have to be quite close to the card and everyone knows that because how many times have to gone to do tap-and-go and you haven't held it close enough?'

Since the start of the pandemic, cash payments have waned with just 13 per cent of payments made with banknotes or coins - a halving in three years.

Apart from the risk of being mugged, cash may be the safest option.

Consumers have to tap their card in the right spot to make a payment, which Mr Britton said demonstrated how a criminal with a skimming device would need to stand particularly close to a customer to get their credit card details from the chip
In the upper chamber, one Republican just blocked another from fast-tracking a ban on TikTok.

In the lower, House Republicans are at a loss for how to respond to a matter that runs their anti-CCP stance up against their free speech and limited government principles.

And while House Republicans have been heavily pushing a unified front after the frenzied speaker's vote, what became clear during DailyMail.com's conversations with nearly two dozen of them is that leadership has not come to a consensus on the politically dicey matter.

House GOP aides admitted that rank-and-file members have been left in the dark on how to respond to the dangers of TikTok.

'I think we have to be very careful about this and I'm not going to get in front of our members here,' House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told DailyMail.com in an interview.

The typically aggressive GOP conference -- which has been on a legislative blitz since gaining power four months ago -- must now figure out how to navigate an application used by 150 million Americans but linked to an adversarial regime.

And on Wednesday two GOP heavyweights in the Senate butted heads when Sen. Josh Hawley, Mo., tried to get unanimous consent to pass his bill prohibiting TikTok from operating in the U.S., but libertarian-minded Rand Paul, Ky., thwarted his efforts, citing First Amendment concerns and the Constitution's ban on Congress declaring a party guilty of a crime.

Sen. Rand Paul thwarted Sen. Josh Hawley's efforts to get unanimous consent to ban TikTok on the Senate floor

In the lower chamber, House Republicans are at a loss for how to respond to a matter that runs their anti-CCP stance up against their free speech and limited government principles

'Is it a First Amendment question we're talking about?,' also wondered California Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa of a ban.

'I'm wrestling with that a little bit. I think it's a market choice people want to make when they use it, but I think a lot of people are wasting a lot of time playing around on their phone with TikTok.'

'If it was turned over to a different party -- if Elon Musk bought it -- I don't see a problem,' he added.

'I'm not big on a TikTok ban,' said freshman Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga. 'The fact that it's owned by CCP bothers me. The fact that it's used to convey the wrong message to our children bothers me, but this is where parenting comes in.'

He likened banning the app to the nation's 1920s-era ban on alcohol.

'We need to be willing to make decisions for ourselves, because we've tried that in the past with prohibition -- that was not widely accepted.'

Over the weekend, Speaker Kevin McCarthy put out a tweet saying the House 'will be moving forward with legislation to protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party,' though did not spell out what that could look like.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, chair of the centrist Republican Main Street Caucus, said he was still looking into what sort of restrictions he will support.

'Obviously telling private citizens they can't download a private app on a private device is an extraordinary step and not one that our nation should take lightly.'

Others were more hawkish on doing away with the video-sharing platform after an Energy and Commerce hearing earlier this month with CEO Shou Zi Chew.

'After the hearing last week and hearing from constituents, I am for a TikTok ban,' said Energy and Commerce Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa. 'Right to Privacy is an inherent part of the rights of American citizens. The TikTok agenda is not.'

'I think we have to go down to a point of banning TikTok ... at least a partial ban,' said Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., who admitted three Gen Z daughters probably use TikTok, said he is in favor of a ban. 'We need to explain to young people what are the national security concerns.'

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have taken up an aggressive offense on Capitol Hill -- spending $5.4 million in 2022 on lobbying over a team of 43 in-house lobbyists.

They've hired a swelling cadre of Washington insiders to convince lawmakers their $1.5 billion 'Project Texas' will allay national security concerns by walling off U.S. data within the U.S. - but most lawmakers remain unconvinced.

'Please rename your project. Texas is not the appropriate name,' Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, said at a hearing with CEO Shou Zi Chew. 'We stand for freedom and transparency and we don't want your project.'

On the other side of the aisle, House Democrats have been largely cagey about where they stand as well - their reliance on the young voter share leaving them even hesitant to come out for a ban. A handful of progressive members like New York Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have come out in defense of TikTok.

Lawmakers who want to move on legislation have not yet coalesced around a single bill.

The Senate's bipartisan RESTRICT Act is now drawing conservative concerns of executive overreach - the bill would allow the executive branch to ban apps or other online communications it deems linked to foreign adversaries like China.

Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul's DATA Act would require the White House to report back to Congress whether 'reasonable grounds exist' to ban TikTok and to move forward if so. While that bill has already moved out of committee, opponents say it's rushed.

Another bill amounts to an outright ban -- the Anti-Social CCP Act -- and is sponsored by Republican Mike Gallagher, Wis., and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, Calif., leaders of the subcommittee on China competition. That bill, which is being led in the Senate by Intel ranking member Marco Rubio, R-Fla., would force CCP-linked parent company ByteDance to sell off TikTok, which Beijing has said it would not allow to happen, or get rid of the app in the U.S.

The Biden White House has been elusive on where it stands, emphasizing that a national security review is ongoing. President Biden has, however, endorsed the RESTRICT Act that would give more power to his Commerce Department over banning TikTok and other technologies.

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have taken up an aggressive offense on Capitol Hill -- spending $5.4 million in 2022 on lobbying over a team of 43 in-house lobbyists

Other social media companies like Facebook's Meta and Google's Alphabet have seized on the moment and launched their own assaults on TikTok in Congress - in hopes they can seize control of the market once TikTok is gone.

'For data practices, for user privacy, for user safety, for national security breach concerns, they need to be looking at every platform,' Sacha Haworth, executive director of Tech Oversight Project, told DailyMail.com. 'The Big Four monopolies have also pursued market share in countries like China.'

'The lobbying against TikTok and the lobbying for direct and outright ban on TikTok is coming from these platforms as well,' she said. 'They would love nothing more than to have the outright banned which would just give them more space to develop their own competitive product, because they don't like competing.'
The White House on Thursday condemned Republicans for pressing ahead with laws to restrict transgender people from using certain restrooms and ban access to gender-affirming treatment, claiming the trans community was 'under attack.'

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made the comments after the Kentucky GOP overturned the governor's veto.

But her words drew scorn from many Conservatives in the wake of the Nashville school shooting earlier this week, in which a transgender woman killed six people.

'Honestly f*** off, I've seen exactly ZERO sympathy for the Christian children shot up by the trans sociopath this weekend from the Biden Admin,' tweeted Donald Trump's son Don Jr.

'Instead, I've seen a lot of victim blaming and empathy for the sociopathy coming from a growing militant part of this community.'

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday said the transgender community was 'under attack,' triggering outrage among conservatives after a trans shooter shot dead three children and three members of staff in Tennessee

Her comments ignited a backlash days after Audrey Hale, a transgender woman, shot dead six people at the private Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee

It comes after six people were shot dead at a Nashville school by Audrey Hale, 28, who identified as transgender.

The tragedy has ignited emotional debates about gun laws and left the trans community fearing a backlash.

One transgender activist group caused uproar after claiming it was still planning to go ahead with a 'Trans Day of Vengeance Rally' this weekend- but later called off the event after warnings of a 'credible threat to life and safety'.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted to defend the right to bear arms and said: 'How much hormones like testosterone and medications for mental illness was the transgender Nashville school shooter taking'.

State lawmakers are currently considering bills to limit drag acts, prevent trans athletes competing in women's sports and restrict gender-affirming treatments.

Against that backdrop, Jean-Pierre was asked during her daily briefing about the veto override in Kentucky.

'We want to talk about actually making Americans lives better. They want to take away people's freedoms,' she said about Republicans.

'One of the things that we saw during the midterm elections is that people don't want their freedom to be taken.

'They want us to fight for their freedoms. And so it is shameful, it is disturbing.

'And our hearts go out to those of the trans community as they are under attack right now.'

Don Jr has slammed Jean-Pierre's comments in his 'Triggered with Donald Trump Jr' show and used Twitter to say he'd seen no sympathy for the Christian children killed at the school

Her words sparked accusations that she had forgotten the victims in Tuesday's shooting.

'Pretty sure the slaughtered Christian kids are the ones under attack,' said Rogan O'Handley, a conservative commentator on Twitter.

Greg Price, of the State Freedom Caucus Network, said: 'Trans person kills three children at a Christian school and the White House Press Secretary says it's actually the trans people who are under attack right now.'

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was another influencer who used social media to ridicule the White House.

Friday brought 'transgender visibility day,' designed to highlight the contributions of trans people.

'America is founded on the idea that all people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout their lives,' said President Joe Biden in a proclamation.

'We have never fully lived up to that, but we have never walked away from it either. Today, as we celebrate transgender people, we also celebrate every Americans fundamental right to be themselves, bringing us closer to realizing Americas full promise.'

On Friday, President Joe Biden condemned MAGA extremists and their 'hateful laws.' 'Let me be clear: These attacks are un-American and must end,' he said

And on Friday he issued a statement condemning MAGA extremists and their 'hateful laws.'

'Let me be clear: These attacks are un-American and must end,' he said.

'The bullying, discrimination, and political attacks that trans kids face have exacerbated our national mental health crisis. More than half of transgender youth say they have seriously considered suicide.'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also issued a message.

'At the same time, we underscore the work that remains to ensure that all transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming persons are able to live authentically, safely, and with dignity. This work includes ensuring that all persons are able to secure identity documents that fully reflect who they are. Transgender persons deserve to live free from violence, discrimination, and stigma.'
Mark Latham has doubled down on his homophobic comments toward independent MP Alex Greenwich, 'liking' a series of tweets supporting the slur.

The NSW One Nation leader swiftly deleted his post attacking independent state MP Alex Greenwich on Thursday but, in a seeming act of defiance, has liked several comments supporting his position, including: 'I couldn't have said it any better, Mark', 'keep it up Mark!' and 'exactamundo!'

It is unclear if he liked most of the supportive comments prior to deleting his own post or after.

Latham appears to have gone into hiding and is not taking calls as of Friday morning after he objected to Greenwich calling him 'disgusting'. Greenwich's comments came after Latham gave a speech to a church while Christian Lives Matter protesters allegedly clashed with LGBTQI demonstrators.

Latham responded by tweeting: 'Disgusting? How does that compare with sticking your d*** up a bloke's a*** and covering it with s***?'

Daily Mail Australia has confirmed he has still failed to respond to One Nation's leader at a federal level, Pauline Hanson, after she sent him a text message outlining her disgust, made several attempts to contact him - and then publicly condemned him last night.

There are calls for Latham to be removed from the party and others for him to step down from his role in NSW Parliament altogether.

Latham appears to have gone into hiding and is not taking calls as of Friday morning. He's even still ignoring One Nation's leader at a federal level, Pauline Hanson

But even should he ditch One Nation - a big call - Latham no longer needs the support or backing of his party.

Last Saturday, he was re-elected into the upper house for the next eight years, on a salary worth an estimated $170,000.

He could opt to leave the party and serve the remainder of his term - until 2031 - as an independent, having been guaranteed a job in parliament until he is 70 years old.

The 62-year-old resigned from his position in parliament October, 2022 in a bid to double the amount of seats One Nation held in the upper house and run again at the 2023 election.

And, while many of his own supporters are outraged over the comments, there are plenty of others who have since come out to offer their backing.

'I think Mark's buttons were pushed just one time too many. People can only take so much for so long till they have had enough,' one fan said.

Another said: 'I wish I could vote for him twice.'

While Latham and Mr Greenwich have butted heads in the past over opposing policies, the duo appeared to be on good terms during a recent debate with Radio 2GB.

He's been commended for the classy response he provided to the vile tweet. Mr Greenwich said he also does not expect any recourse in the NSW Parliament

There are calls for Latham to be removed from the party and others for him to step down from his role in NSW Parliament altogether

Mr Greenwich described their relationship as 'friendly colleagues in parliament' who have 'some intense debates'.

And Latham noted in the same chat that 'everyone loves Alex'.

Ben Fordham, acting as moderator for the debate, said it was the most civil he'd hosted at that point and commended both men for the respect shown to one another.

Any illusions that the pair are on good terms have now been shattered, with Mr Greenwich noting he's not expecting an apology for the abhorrent comments.

'For those wondering how Im doing after Lathams homophobic attacks today, Im fine and Im more motivated than ever to deliver long overdue LGBTIQA+ reforms,' he said.

'And I have the most handsome husband.'

He's been commended for the classy response he provided to the vile tweet.

Mr Greenwich said he also does not expect any recourse in the NSW Parliament.

Mark Latham has doubled down on his homophobic comments toward independent MP Alex Greenwich by 'liking' a series of tweets supporting the slur

NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe is leading the calls for Latham's resignation, revealing she found his comments 'quite difficult to see'.

'What he did was really quite abhorrent I haven't seen that kind of language for a long time,' she said.

'It really does have an impact on the community, including even on people like me, I found it really quite difficult to see that yesterday.'

Senator Hanson said she'd tried calling the firebrand MP a few times to ask him to issue a public apology but he had not responded.

'I've actually tried to ring Mark a couple of times, to no avail. And I have clearly sent a text message to him, telling him my views,' she said.

'I've asked him to give the people an apology. I will leave it at that. It is now over to Mark to answer to the people.'
Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mother held up a special patchwork 'memory' teddy which was made from her daughter's clothes and bore the eulogy from her funeral as the schoolgirl's murderer was brought to justice yesterday.

An emotional yet 'ecstatic' Cheryl Korbel held the pink bear aloft as she walked out of Manchester Crown Court after a jury convicted 34-year-old Thomas Cashman of murdering her little girl at the end of a four-week trial.

As Ms Korbel, 46, clutched onto the beautifully hand-crafted teddy, the scars from where a bullet went through her hand were still visible.

Over the course of the trial, the jury heard how Cashman had shot the mother-of-three as she tried to stop the man he was chasing, Joseph Nee, entering her house on August 22.

The bullet travelled through Ms Korbel and hit Olivia in the chest just as she ran downstairs saying: 'Mum, I'm scared'. She was fatally wounded and died a short time later.

Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mother, Cheryl (pictured), held up a special patchwork 'memory' teddy which was made from her daughter's clothes

Nine-year-old schoolgirl Olivia (pictured) was murdered by Thomas Cashman at home on August 22 last year

The jury heard how Cashman (pictured) shot Ms Korbel as she tried to stop the man he was chasing, Joseph Nee, entering her house on August 22. The bullet went through her hand and killed Olivia

Olivia's mother - dressed in a pink cardigan - had earlier held the special teddy tight while sat next to her children Chloe and Ryan as the jury returned five guilty verdicts for Cashman, which included wounding Ms Korbel.

What is a memory bear? It is a special type of teddy bear which has been carefully made from the clothing of a loved one. Memory bears can often provide comfort to those grieving. They can be made from all sorts of clothing such as shirts, dresses or even blankets. The memory bear for Olivia - in her favourite colour pink - has been carefully curated with her clothes as well as words from her mother's eulogy. Advertisement

The teddy bear made out of the murdered schoolgirl's clothes - as confirmed by the Express - features a patchwork heart with the message, 'Goodnight, I love you, see you in the morning, Mwah'.

These were just some of the words used by Olivia's heartbroken mother at her daughter's funeral.

Ms Korbel clutched the same teddy at the September 15 funeral, where guests all wore pink - the nine-year-old's favourite colour.

Olivia's mother ended her eulogy by saying: 'Liv touched so many peoples hearts and was loved and adored by everyone.

'She will never be forgotten. So us and I will never say goodbye.

'But what I will say is goodnight. Love you, see you in the morning, mwah.'

The bright pink bear's paws also feature the words 'My Liv' on one side with a heart, and 'Terror tot' on the other.

There is also a floral necklace and a pink bow wrapped around the bear's neck.

Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy called Cashman 'despicable', adding: 'Olivia will never run down again on a Christmas morning and open her presents.

On the teddy, a patchwork heart had a message from Ms Korbel's eulogy at her daughter's funeral. 'Goodnight, I love you, see you in the morning, Mwah,' it said.

Ms Korbel clutched the special 'memory' teddy close as a the jury returned five guilty verdicts for Cashman

The bright pink teddy's paws also feature the words 'My Liv' on one side with a heart, and 'Terror tot' on the other

'She will never go to high school, she will never get to be married, to have children. He's robbed her family of all those.'

Cashman, a father-of-two, insisted that around the time of the shooting he had been at a friend's house where he counted 10,000 in cash and smoked a spliff.

In fact, during his evidence, he told the court: 'I'm not a killer, I'm a dad.'

But a woman who had a fling with Cashman told the jury he came to her house after the shooting, where he changed his clothes and she heard him say he had 'done Joey'.

She went into witness protection shortly after revealing the facts to police.

Olivia's mother Cheryl was pictured holding the pink teddy at her daughter's funeral in September

Ms Korbel holds the pink bear as Olivia's coffin is led out of the church at her funeral on September 15

In a eulogy to her daughter Olivia, grieving Ms Korbel said: 'Goodnight, I love you, Mwah'

Cashman, who was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Nee and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life, sobbed in court and bowed his head as a jury returned its verdict.

The killer's family protested his innocence, with his partner Kayleeanne Sweeney, putting her head in her hands and one relative shouting 'appeal it'.

Outside court, Cashman's family continued shouting and swearing as they fumed that they were 'livid' over the verdicts.

Cashman is due to be sentenced on Monday. Paul Russell, 41, will be sentenced alongside him after admitting to driving the killer away from a house he fled to and disposing of his clothes.
Liberal students hijacked a pro-life event at a Virginia university as protesters screamed 'f**k pro-lifers' and violently threw 'punches,' injuring one.

Kristen Hawkins was speaking at the Virginia Commonwealth University for her Lies Pro-Choicers Believe tour when liberal students and reported members of Antifa - a far-left group - hijacked the event and began hurling insults at her and her co-speaker, Isabel Brown.

'We came to @VCU, a public university to speak about abortion and we were assaulted,' Hawkins wrote on Twitter. 'VCU you should be ashamed of yourselves for allowing this and shutting down any freedom of thought or speech at your university.'

Videos from the event on Wednesday show protesters screaming 'f**k pro-lifers' and 'get out Nazi fascists' and 'Nazis go home' while the two women stand at podiums ready to speak.

In a video posted by Students for Life, the organization that held the event at the school, shows Hawkins approaching school security in the hallway as they stood by while protesters continued to scream.

Liberal students hijacked a pro-life event at a Virginia university as protesters screamed 'f**k pro-lifers'

Videos from the event show protesters screaming 'f**k pro-lifers' and 'get out Nazi fascists' and 'Nazis go home' while speakers Kristen Hawkins and Isabel Brown stood at the podium waiting to speak

A student pointed at the protesters as the group yelled obscenities

Eventually, students were seen crowding in one spot as someone screams: 'They're assaulting her! They're assaulting her!'

Brown claimed punches were thrown and the Students for Life Chapter President, Autumn Higashi, was injured. DailyMail.com has reached out to Higashi for comment.

Two of the women's private security as well as local police came rushing in, throwing protesters across the room before someone screamed: 'Hey! Listen up! Calm down! Everybody get the f**k out of here!'

Students replied back: 'You leave first!'

In response, school staff removed Hawkins, Brown, and other pro-lifers from the room as the students continued to yell.

'The campus police at VCU are shutting down our peaceful assembly because of these fascists,' Hawkins said in the video. 'So they're going to let these big crybabies, these fascists, get their way.'

Brown revealed on her Twitter page that they were 'escorted into a locked room for about two hours for our own "safety" while violent protesters walked free [and] stood in line for Chick-fil-A (oh, the irony).'

Kristen Hawkins was speaking at the Virginia Commonwealth University on Wednesday for her Lies Pro-Choicers Believe tour when liberal students and reported members of Antifa - a far-left group - hijacked the event and began hurling insults at her and her co-speaker Isabel Brown

Students for Life, the organization that hosted the event, claimed members of Antifa were among the students and that a counter demonstration poster was floating around online (pictured)

'We took questions from pro-life and pro-choice students alike both in the midst of the insanity and in the locked room, catalyzing dialogue that clearly isnt happening in Richmond. Until every student has the opportunity to broaden their perspectives, our work on college campuses isnt done,' she wrote.

'Why the violent protesters werent removed, but two pro-life women were, still baffles me.'

In a livestream on Wednesday evening, Brown claimed she lost her 'Antifa virginity tonight' and was shocked by the 'violent' protests she experienced on campus.

'I never expected Richmond, Virginia, to be the epicenter hub of all things insanity and violent protesting until tonight,' she said on the livestream.

She said when she and Hawkins arrived on campus, they noticed plenty of 'overtly leftist people' who were wearing masks, all-black, and those who had 'lots of gender confusion.'

Hawkins and Brown were informed prior to the start of their speech that protesters were filling the room, but they welcomed the opposition. Brown claimed they offered the protesters a chance to ask their questions first, but the protesters adamantly denied the opportunity.

Brown also claimed the student grew violent and started throwing 'punches.' She also claimed Students for Life Chapter President Autumn Higashi (pictured) was injured at the event

Natalie Hoskins III, 22, and Anthony Marvin, 30 - who are not associated with the school - were arrested at the event, according to Fox News. Hoskin was charged with assault, while Marvin was given a count of disorderly conduct.

The Students for Life identified some of the protesters as Antifa based on their signs and clothing, and the group's Chief Media Strategist Kristi Hamrick pointed Fox News to posts floating online directing students to a 'counter demonstration.'

The flyer was posted by Kristopher Goad, who has ties to Antifa, according to Fox News. Goad, however, denies promoting the event, but said he was covering it as a 'local journalist.'

'I was not promoting the event or a protest but instead reporting on it as accurate to my abilities. It was the security for Students For Life who assaulted protesters who were engaged in First Amendment speech at a public event,' Goad told Fox News.

Students for Life has asked the school to allow the women to return to campus to give their speeches, but it is unclear if the university will allow it.
That is despite widespread criticism of its handling of rising migrant crossings

Despite soaring migrant crossings and Ukrainian refugee blunders, the vast majority of Home Office staff were given bonuses for their performance in the past financial year.

A whopping 80 per cent of Home Office employees, accounting for 29,012 members of staff, received bonuses of up to 5,500 for their work, The Times reported.

It came as officials predicted earlier this week that as many as 80,000 migrants could make the dangerous journey across the Channel this year.

This time last year, then-Home Secretary Priti Patel was facing backlash on the UK's response to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion and the department was accused of 'inept' handling of the situation.

The figures published by the department yesterday showed the average bonus payment was 220.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street on March 28

Despite soaring migrant crossings, 80 per cent of Home Office employees, accounting for 29,012 members of staff, received bonuses of up to 5,500 for their work

The bonuses of up to 5,500 came amid criticism of the Home Office for its 'inept' handling of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Pictured: Ukrainian refugees boarding a train towards Warsaw after arriving at the main train station from the Polish-Ukrainian border on March 4, 2022, in Przemysl, Poland

It also comes just days after the Home Office U-turned on housing asylum seekers in a Grade-II listed Georgian mansion after a massive backlash.

Former children's learning centre Marle Hall, on the edge of Snowdonia, Wales, was earmarked on Friday to house asylum seekers as the Home Office struggled to find suitable accommodation.

Ministers have now turned back on the idea to house migrants in the 15-bedroom mansion that is more than 300 miles away from Dover, just months after Tory MPs vented fury at migrants staying in a luxury 300-a-night Hilton hotel that was also in Snowdonia.

Last year more than 45,000 people made the illegal crossing but officials expect the number to almost double this year.

Nearly 4,000 migrants have already made illegal crossings to the UK so far this year.

A total of 45,728 people arrived in 1,104 boats last year, compared to around 28,000 in 2021 and 8,500 in 2020.

This time last year, then-Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured last week in London) was facing backlash on the UK's response to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion and the department was accused of 'inept' handling of the situation

The Home Office's (pictured) approach to fraud was also criticised as 'sluggish' as the UK's 'immature' overseas criminal justice agencies fail to tackle international elements

The bonus figures came as it was revealed Britain is a 'haven' for fraudsters as less than 1 per cent of reported cases result in charges (File image)

Earlier this month Home Secretary Suella Braverman told Parliament: 'For a government not to respond to waves of illegal migrants breaching our border would be to betray the will of the people we were elected to serve.'

The beleaguered department was also criticised yet again as a report found that Britain is a 'haven' for fraudsters with less than one per cent of reported cases resulting in charges.

MPs on the public accounts committee criticised the 'slow progress' on tackling the estimated 3.8million incidents of fraud and attempted frauds.

They said they were 'deeply disappointed' with the progress being made by the Government as fraud accounts for 41 per cent of all crimes committed in England and Wales.

'Many of the same issues remain and there is still no sign that Government has a grip on fraud or an adequate strategy to address it,' their report published on Friday said.

Estimates put the cost to individuals at 4.7billion, while it cannot quantify the potential price to businesses, and it is the victims who are 'left to pay the price'.

The Home Office's approach was criticised as 'sluggish' as the UK's 'immature' overseas criminal justice agencies fail to tackle international elements.
Bolt said his tweet was something 'a scumbag would write'

Andrew Bolt has launched a scathing attack on Mark Latham over his homophobic tweet to a gay MP, noting that a longtime senior adviser to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is gay.

The conservative commentator unleashed on the NSW One Nation leader during his Sky News Australia program on Thursday evening, going so far as saying Latham's controversial tweet directed at Independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich was something 'a scumbag' would write.

Mr Greenwich had branded Latham 'a disgusting human being' after LGBTQI protesters were targeted outside a church in Sydney's south-west where the NSW Upper House MP was speaking last week.

'Mark Latham is a disgusting human being and people who are considering voting for One Nation need to realise they are voting for an extremely hateful and dangerous individual who risks causing a great deal of damage to our state,' Mr Greenwich said at a press conference.

The statement was then posted on Twitter, with Latham responding on Thursday: 'Disgusting? How does that compare with sticking your d*** up a bloke's a*** and covering it with s***?'

Conservative political commentator Andrew Bolt (pictured) has unleashed on NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham over his vile homophobic tweet posted on Thursday

'Latham this morning put out a tweet so disgusting that even he felt ashamed and eventually deleted it, but much too late,' Bolt said.

'This tweet was so disgusting, so homophobic and so vile in a pornographic way that I cannot even hint at what he said about a gay politician, Alex Greenwich.

'It was the kind of thing a scumbag would write.'

Bolt expressed his view that Latham 'seems to have a self-destruct button' that he was 'punching far too often'.

'He will be a pariah, and not just here at Sky. I wonder how he will be able to function as a political leader when he's earned the contempt of so many for his abuse,' he continued.

NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham (pictured) posted the vile tweet in response to Independent MP Alex Greenwich branding him a 'disgusting human being'

Latham wrote: 'Disgusting? How does that compare with sticking your d*** up a bloke's a*** and covering it with s***?'

The Sky News host pointed out that Latham's behaviour was a 'real problem' for his party's federal leader, Pauline Hanson.

'Latham taints her. She has tried to reign him in, but now this,' Bolt said.

'Does Latham know that Hanson's closest advisor for years, a top bloke, is himself gay?'

Bolt was referring to James Ashby, who has worked as Hanson's chief-of-staff for more than seven years.

He said that Hanson was 'furious' over Latham's tweet and decided not to speak on Andrew Bolt's Sky News program about the matter in case she 'really explodes'.

Pauline Hanson (pictured) posted a damning video on Facebook on Thursday night where she made it clear her party did not 'condone' her colleague's comments

Bolt questioned whether Latham knew that Hanson's closest advisor, James Ashby (pictured left with Hanson) was gay when he posted the homophobic tweet

Hanson had already posted a video earlier in the day to address her colleague's tweet.

She said she tried calling Latham a few times to ask him to issue a public apology but he had not responded.

'I've actually tried to ring Mark a couple of times, to no avail. And I have clearly sent a text message to him, telling him my views,' she said.

'I've asked him to give the people an apology. I will leave it at that. It is now over to Mark to answer to the people.'

Bolt then addressed Latham at the end of the segment, telling him that he is 'such a clever man, with so much to offer' but sometimes says things that 'are so cruel and vicious and now homophobic that the one who's hurt most is you'.

Alex Greenwich (pictured) said he didn't expect an apology from Latham and didn't expect any recourse in the NSW Parliament

Latham has gone into hiding amid the widespread public outrage.

Alex Greenwich said on Friday that he didn't want to waste his time engaging the One Nation MP's now-deleted Twitter post, but admitted it had affected him.

'It is extremely hurtful when there is a vile homophobic attack directed at you,' the member for Sydney said.

'It's not the first time this has happened to me ... that hurt, though, quickly turned into motivation to make sure we stamp out laws which allow my community to be discriminated against.

'Just as horrific as Mr Latham's comments are, the impact of current legislation in NSW is more horrific.'

Mr Greenwich said he didn't expect an apology from Latham and didn't expect any recourse in the NSW Parliament.
Neighborhood parents and residents have learned how to navigate the streets with caution as they build their commutes around the feathered fiends

In the upscale Boston neighborhood of Cambridge, wild turkeys are terrorizing the streets by taking over roads in groups and chasing down children.

Earlier this week, it was reported that a mailman in the area was attacked, which did not come as a surprise to residents because it is an issue they've now been dealing with for years.

A video shared with a local news outlet showed a large handful of the birds circling a sidewalk as cars drive by.

The daily turkey trot reportedly takes place around the time that neighborhood kids are leaving for school in the morning. Kids have learned to become mindful of the birds' presence, lest they be chased.

Massachusetts has a wild turkey population of about 25,000

Emily Hill, who lives in Cambridge on a block sometimes occupied by the feathered frenemies said: 'It's something you have to be conscious of walking down the street because they will chase after us.'

Hill and her seven-year-old daughter Julia have firsthand experience with the group.

Last fall, Hill said, 'a turkey crossed the road. We got her (Julia) off her scooter and tried to wave it to scare it away.'

But the turkey only 'got even more aggressive and started running after us,' she said.

The pair made it home unscathed but walk their quiet neighborhood streets with an increased sense of caution now.

'They are all over. They travel in big herds. They jump up in treed,' said continued.

Jonathan Elsner, another neighborhood resident who shot some video of the birds taking over the sidewalk said: 'I always walk the kids to school. I don't let them go alone.'

His young daughter's friends recently found themselves being chased by the large birds on their way to school.

'Suddenly they just cocked their heads and they had to run really fast,' said Mika Elsner.

'They ran up a hill and around a corner but it was like terrifying,' she said about her friends, who escaped the incident unharmed.

Those school girls and other neighbors now remain on edge as they try to always keep a safe distance from the birds.

Emily Hill, who lives in Cambridge on a block sometimes occupied by the feathered frenemies said: 'It's something you have to be conscious of walking down the street because they will chase after us'

Some of the wild turkeys that amble around the streets of Cambridge, terrifying local residents and children

Mika Elsner recounted a recent story of the turkeys chasing her friends on their way to school

'If you try to shoo them away it actually antagonizes them and they will come after you,' said Hill.

While the turkey population has marched around Cambridge for a number of years, residents say that over the last many months, the population size appears to have increased. About 25,000 wild turkeys currently reside in Massachusetts.

Turkeys are attracted to shiny objects - like hubcaps on cars - and windows. They sometimes become aggressive when they see their reflections.
One of the country's largest home builders has collapsed with 1,700 projects grinding to a halt, hundreds of staff left without job and dozens of contractors unpaid.

Victoria-based Porter Davis Homes, which has been operating for more than 20 years and made $256 million as recently as 2021, went into liquidation on Friday.

The company struggled to find a white knight buyer before a Thursday evening deadline, prompting them to appoint Grant Thornton as liquidators on Friday morning.

Porter Davis Homes employed 470 staff and had been working on at least 1,700 projects across Victoria and Queensland.

The company is the 13th biggest home builder in the country and built 1,734 homes in the 2020/21 financial year.

One of the country's largest home builders has collapsed with 1,700 projects grinding to a halt

More than 1,500 homes were under construction in Melbourne, another 200 in Queensland and another 779 projects were due to begin soon.

Staff were only told the company was going under during a meeting on Friday morning.

One worker, who had been with the company for eight years, said the construction industry was facing unprecedented times.

'Building is a volatile industry at the moment,' he said. 'I've never seen it like this.'

Grant Thornton said liquidators would investigate the reasons for the collapse.

'The extremely challenging environment for residential home building has directly contributed to the PDH Group's (trading as Porter Davis) financial position, with rising input costs, supply chain delays, labour shortages, and a drop in demand for new homes in 2023 impacting the Group's liquidity,' the company said.

'Notwithstanding the financial support from shareholders and lenders, the Group has exhausted options to secure the further funding required to allow Porter Davis to continue to operate viably, and the directors were left with no option but to place the companies into liquidation.'

Subbies United's John Goddard said some subcontractors were still waiting on payments since as far back as Christmas.

'Suppliers have stopped their accounts and subbies are not working for them,' Mr Goddard said.

'They're another box builder basket-case.'

Porter Davis's board said they would be looking into ways to help customers finish their builds.

Porter Davis Homes is the latest construction company to fold after PBS Building went into voluntary administration on March 7.

Some 470 staff are employed by the company and had been working on at least 1,700 projects across Victoria and Queensland

PBS Building built large residential and commercial projects across New South Wales, the ACT and Queensland.

The business had run for 33 years before insolvency firm RSM Australia Partners Jonathon Colbran, Richard Stone and Mitchell Herrett announced its collapse.

The PBS Board of directors and company founder Ian Carter released a statement saying the team had always prided itself on getting the job done.

'This has been a gut-wrenching decision that we know will impact many lives and livelihoods,' they said.

'However, after months of intense efforts behind the scenes, in the end it was the only responsible course of action available. In relation to our current projects, we secured, not abandoned, these sites with the express purpose of not incurring any further expenses.

'We took this step to ensure that we could negotiate better outcomes with clients for the ultimate benefit of creditors.'
Lawyer Alan Dershowitz said Thursday that former President Donald Trump could use his mugshot as a 2024 presidential campaign poster, as the ex-president's allies and enemies reacted to the news of the indictment.

Dershowitz, who's close to the former president and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment, appeared Thursday evening on former White House press secretary Sean Spicer's Newsmax program.

'He will be mug shot and fingerprinted. There's really no way around that,' the prominent lawyer said.

Dershowitz then floated that Trump could use the imagery to his political benefit.

Trump allies and supporters have been speculating in recent weeks that an indictment would actually give the ex-president's 2024 campaign a lift.

Lawyer Alan Dershowitz said Thursday that former President Donald Trump could use his mugshot as a 2024 presidential campaign poster, as the ex-president's allies and enemies reacted to the news of the indictment

'He will be mug shot and fingerprinted. There's really no way around that,' the prominent lawyer said. Dershowitz (left) then floated that Trump could use the imagery to his political benefit.

Polling conducted earlier this month showed that nearly 75 percent of likely U.S. voters believed Trump wouldn't be hurt if he was indicted over his role in the Stormy Daniels hush-money scheme ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

A Trafalgar Group survey of likely U.S. voters conducted last week found that 37.5 percent believed an indictment would have no effect, while another 36.8 percent thought a criminal charge would give the former president a political boost.

Around one in four, 25.7 percent, said it would hurt Trump's presidential run.

Sentiment was split along party lines, with Republicans more likely to believe that an indictment would ultimately help the ex-president. Democrats were more likely to believe an indictment would hurt Trump's chances of retaking the White House.

So far, Trump remains leaps ahead of other GOP primary rivals.

The Real Clear Politics polling average has him at 45.7 percent support among GOP voters.

Alan Dershowitz: "This is the thinnest case. The most stretched case I've ever seen." pic.twitter.com/5R2wezorTM  MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) March 30, 2023

Former President Donald Trump stands on a rally stage Satuday in Waco, Texas. Nearly three-quarters of likely U.S. voters suggested that an indictment wouldn't hurt the ex-president politically, with Republicans more likely to say so

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is in second place, but at 28.9 percent.

In third, is former Vice President Mike Pence - who toured Iowa yesterday as he explores a presiudential run - sitting at 6.3 percent support.

Despite being critical of Trump on other things, DeSantis, Pence and other hopefuls have towed the party line and suggested that the prosecution out of New York is politically motivated.

'This is the thinnest case, this is the most stretched case I've ever seen,' Dershowitz also said Thursday, this time to Newsmax's Greta Van Susteren.

Dershowitz shook his head as he explained now the politics looked - with Manhattan's District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, shepherding the case, and Bragg 'plans to vote for Biden again if he runs against Trump.'

'It's banana republic time,' the lawyer scoffed.
One of Sir Winston Churchill's cigars has sold at auction for a record 25,500  thanks to one Chequers guest who couldn't face smoking it.

The 7in cigar was smuggled out of a boozy lunch by Chequers Trust auditor Leonard Herbert Norman in 1953, who went 'drink for drink' with the prime minister during the meal.

When Churchill passed his cigar box around  for a second time during lunch  Mr Norman was not feeling up to it, so put the cigar into his pocket and made off with it.

He wrote in his memoirs: 'The cigar box was circulated for the second time. I didn't feel equal to smoking another.

'But I did take one and hastily put it unseen (I think) into an inner pocket and still have it today.'

One of Winston Churchill's cigars has sold at auction for a record 25,500, more than 12 times its estimate

The cigar was taken from Chequers by a guest who went 'drink for drink' with the prime minister during a boozy lunch

The cigar, which is in a custom-made oak presentation box, remained in Norman's family for 70 years.

A descendant has now sold it with London-based auctioneers Bonhams where it fetched over 12 times its 2,000 estimate.

A Bonhams spokesperson said: 'As far as we know, this is the most valuable Churchill cigar sold at auction.'

According to Mr Norman, Churchill often left cigars burning in an ashtray during meetings.

The cigar was sold with a typed memo from 1966 in which Norman recalls the Chequers hospitality.

He writes of one long dinner: 'The table was littered with empty magnums of champagne.

'Sir Winston had drunk about a bottle of brandy and had regaled them the whole time, he rang the bell and demanded whisky and soda.

The cigar was sold with a typed memo from 1966 in which Norman recalls the Chequers hospitality

'They retired to bed at 4am. At 9.30am he had to get up to Downing Street for a cabinet meeting, so he had a light breakfast of a piece of toast and a whisky and soda.'

In 2018, TV personality Piers Morgan bought a half-smoked Churchill cigar at auction for 2,600.

A box of Churchill's Cuban cigars sold for almost $20,000 (16,000) in Boston, US, in August 2022.
Michael Finnane RFD KC died on Wednesday

The judge who sentenced one of Australia's most notorious gang rapists to a record 55 years behind bars has died age 80.

Michael Finnane KC died on Wednesday after a 54-year career in law - first as a barrister, then as a judge in the District Court of NSW, and finally as head of Second Floor Wentworth Chambers in Sydney.

He has been at the helm of high-profile inquiries, Royal Commissions, and cases in the High Court of Australia, but gained the most public recognition little more than a year after his judicial appointment in 2000 - when he sentenced the Skaf gang.

Bilal Skaf, then 19, was the ringleader of a group of 14 men - among them his brother Mohammad - who conducted a string of terrifying sexual assaults shortly before the 2000 Olympics.

One of the victims, an 18-year-old woman, was raped 40 times by 14 men over four hours in an attack coordinated by mobile phone. She was then dumped at a train station after being hosed down.

She was called an 'Aussie pig', told she was going to get it 'Leb-style' and asked if 'Leb c*** tasted better than Aussie c***'.

During sentencing, Finnane famously compared the Skaf gang's depravity to outrages committed by invading armies in times of war and said their crimes were 'worse than murder'.

'These were not random attacks and, in my view, they were aimed at creating terror in the community,' he said at the time.

'It seemed clear to me that these men were sending out a message to the community in Sydney. Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done.'

Mohammed Skaf (pictured in 2000) was granted parole in September last year and returned to live with his parents in Sydney's western suburbs

Bilal Skaf (pictured) was the ringleader of a month-long rampage in which six victims were raped by more than a dozen young Lebanese-Australian men

Bilal was handed a 55-year sentence with a 40-year non-parole period. At the time, it was the longest non-life sentence ever handed down in Australia.

His brother Mohammad was sentenced to 32 years behind bars.

However, the Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the convictions and ordered a retrial in 2004 after it was revealed that two jurors had gone to the scene of the crime during the original trial and conducted their own experiments.

The retrial resulted in Bilal's sentence being slashed to 28 years, but he was eventually handed 32 years with non-parole following an appeal in 2006. He is still in jail and will not be released before 2033.

Mohammad was re-sentenced to a minimum of 18 years, and a maximum of 26. He granted parole in September last year and returned to live with his parents at Greenacre, in Sydney's western suburbs.

Despite the reductions, Finnane stood by his original sentence, opening up in his 2018 memoir, The Pursuit of Justice, about his life on the bench and at the bar.

Finnance chronicled his legal career and lifelong campaign for for social justice, particularly the treatment of those disadvantaged by the legal system.

A still from NSW Police surveillance video taken on October 7, 2000, shows Skaf gang members at Bondi Beach

He dealt with sadistic rapists before and after the Skaf cases. None generated anything like the public attention these trials drew.

'There were other sexual assault cases I heard, some of children, some of adult women,' Finnane wrote. 'All of them were examples of depravity and cruelty.

'Many of the victims, I am sure, will be affected by these crimes for the whole of their lives.

'However, although these cases attracted some media attention while the trials were proceeding, they passed largely with little comment.'

In the years following the milestone sentence, Finnane was regularly asked about the Skaf case - sometimes by strangers, at social functions and on other unexpected occasions.

'What caused the unprecedented public interest in the Skaf trials, what set them apart from all other sexual assault trials, was the repeated attacks in a short time frame by a gang with a carefully planned strategy,' Finnane wrote.

'These were not random attacks and, in my view, they were aimed at creating terror in the community.

'Sexual intercourse without consent must be the worst crime after murder, because it involves a person invading the body of another, usually violently. It is a crime that assaults human dignity.

'During the sentencing process at the end of the Skaf trials, I expressed the view that what this gang did was worse than murder. I continue to hold that view.

'What the Skaf gang did was to enable multiple men to defile and degrade four young women. None of these young women will ever forget their experience at the hands of this gang.'

He had been a judge of the New South District Court for a little more than a year when appointed to hear the Skaf gang trials, the first of which commenced on December 13, 2001.

Finnane was responsible for sending notorious gang rapist Bilal Skaf to jail for 55 years

On that day Bilal Skaf, Belal Hajeid and Mohammed Ghanem sat behind bullet-proof glass in the dock of a court room within Sydney's Downing Centre complex.

Prospective jurors were told the trial might last a month and would involve allegations that the three accused men, with several others, sexually assaulted two young women against their will.

Finnane told these citizens that evidence might come out showing that those on trial were Lebanese by origin but that was irrelevant to the question of whether they had committed any offence.

In 2021, he told A Current Affair about the emotional toll the case took on him and his personal relationships.

'I was very troubled by it. I found it extremely confronting. And it was I suppose crushing almost in a way,' he said.

'People sometimes, they walk into court, they see a judge and they go, he's just sitting up there dozing away. He doesn't have to do a thing, just sit and look and listen.

'But they don't know the inner turmoil; that I found it hard to sleep at times.'

Finnane will be laid to rest in a private ceremony.
Britain signed its biggest post-Brexit trade deal last night, as it linked up with a string of fast-growing economies on the Pacific rim.

In a major breakthrough, the UK was accepted into the Trans-Pacific Partnership, opening up trading opportunities with a market of 500 million people.

The deal is expected to add 1.8billion to the UK's annual GDP over time and will be a major boost to exporters.

Rishi Sunak said the deal 'demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms' and would put the UK 'in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation'.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, formally known as the CPTPP, currently comprises 11 economies, including Australia, Japan, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam.

Rishi Sunak (pictured) said the UK being accepted into the Trans-Pacific Partnership 'demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms'

The grouping has a combined GDP of 9trillion  a figure that will rise to 11trillion when the UK formally joins next year, accounting for around 15 per cent of the global economy.

Britain's accession was agreed late last night and full details are due to be published later today.

But officials said it would provide a significant boost for exporters in sectors including food, drink and cars. More than 99 per cent of UK goods exports to member states will now be eligible for zero tariffs, including products such as cars, machinery, cheese, chocolate, whisky and gin.

Tariffs on some imports will also be cut, potentially reducing the price of goods including rice from Vietnam and bananas from Peru.

Controversially, tariffs on imports of palm oil will be reduced, despite concerns about the impact of the industry on the environment.

The inclusion of Malaysia in the deal is seen as a key prize as the UK currently has no trade deal with the fast-growing economy, which levies tariffs of as much as 165 per cent on imports of Scotch whisky.

The deal is a significant coup for Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who has spent months hammering out the details.

The deal is a significant coup for Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch (pictured), who has spent months hammering out the details

Last night, Mrs Badenoch hailed the agreement as an 'important moment for the UK' which 'sends a powerful signal that the UK is open for business and using our post-Brexit freedoms to reach out to new markets around the world and grow our economy'.

She added: 'Joining CPTPP will support jobs and create opportunities for companies of all sizes and in all parts of the UK.

'It is about giving British businesses improved access to the countries that will be a gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific region, which is projected to make up the majority of global growth in the future.'

Whitehall sources dismissed suggestions that Britain is simply swapping the EU for another unwieldy trade block. 'It is nothing like the EU,' said one source. 'It doesn't have a court, a parliament, a budget, a civil service or a flag. It's a very good trade deal but that's all it is.'

But the details of the agreement will be studied closely by individual sectors.

Farmers have warned they could be hit hard if ministers open up the agriculture sector to major producers such as Canada too quickly.

And trade unions have warned against any deal which would dilute workers' rights.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak branded the agreement 'dire'.

But officials last night insisted that ministers had resisted pressure to water down British standards and rights. Sources said that a total ban on imports of hormone-treated beef will remain in place despite pressure from Canada to lift it.

Ministers have also resisted calls to weaken rules on pesticide residues, which was another key concern for farmers and consumer groups.

Experts believe Britain's accession could revive US interest in the partnership, which was abandoned by Donald Trump in 2017.
There's fixer-uppers - and there's this million dollar California hovel whose listing has set the internet alight.

A ruined shack in the middle of nowhere California has hit the market for a whopping $1million, but don't worry, it has a bit of charm (and five acres of land).

The East Underwood Road 'country home' consists of an old brick costume shop, as well as what appears to be a rundown single-story home and a burnt wooden structure.

'Here's your opportunity to renovate a country home or build on almost 5 acres. Built in 1924, this home offers character, but you may choose to build your own or subdivide this lot,' the listing read.

It comes with exciting views, including the 'city limit boundary' line across the street and a big open field full of dead grass and distant views of the mountains.

A ruined shack in the middle of nowhere California has hit the market for a whopping $1million, but don't worry, it has a bit of charm (and five acres of land)

'Here's your opportunity to renovate a country home or build on almost 5 acres. Built in 1924, this home offers character, but you may choose to build your own or subdivide this lot,' the listing read

Schools are 'conveniently' located nearby and the surrounding areas are full of development, making the space perfect for those looking to build their own 'country paradise' in Holtville.

The shocking listing has lit the internet on fire, as many were quick to take jabs at the shabby property.

Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis, who also runs Friday Night Zillow on his Twitter account, posted the listing, writing: 'California real estate prices: This is ONE MILLION DOLLARS.'

One simply wrote: 'California dreaming.'

It comes with exciting views, including the 'city limit boundary' line across the street and a big open field (pictured) full of dead grass and distant views of the mountains.

The East Underwood Road 'country home' consists of an old brick costume shop, as well as what appears to be a rundown single-story home and a burnt wooden structure (pictured)

A Twitter user named Lucinda wrote: 'Well, even this SF Bay Area native is having a head scratch about the listing. Holtville, pop. 6600, is just about as far south as you can get without actually being Mexico. And the only cultural event there, according to Wikipedia, is the annual ten day (??) CARROT festival!'

Another asked: 'So..there is a tunnel somewhere that goes into Mexico??'

While another was simply flabbergasted: 'Please explain. I know Cali real estate is crazy, but...'

Another user speculated the listing was directed toward developers more than the average homebuyer, writing: 'Since it is nearly five acres, I think they are really selling the ability to be a subdivision. A developer would buy this. Don't know why they are not being up front with that.'

Many Twitter users were shocked at the high price of the listing, with one point out the most exciting thing to happen in Holtville is the annual carrot festival

'What am I missing. There are actual houses nearby for sale for 300k,' one user wrote.

On the other end of the high-end market, some realtors and sellers are offering luxury cars to incite buyers to closer by April 1.

Homebuyers who are interested in buying a $16.5million Mulholland Drive home in Beverly Hills by April 1 will receive a 2023 Aston Martin Vantage, Aston Martin DBX 707, McLaren GT or a Bentley Bentayga EWB if they can close escrow by the end of the month.

The limited-time offer is designed to bypass the upcoming 'mansion tax' - officially known as Measure ULA - which takes effect on April 1 and immediately start taxing luxury home sales.

On the other end of the high-end market, some realtors and sellers are offering luxury cars to incite buyers to closer by April 1. Homebuyers who are interested in buying a $16.5million Mulholland Drive home in Beverly Hills by April 1 will receive a 2023 Aston Martin Vantage, Aston Martin DBX 707, McLaren GT or a Bentley Bentayga EWB if they can close escrow by the end of the month

Any home sold for more than $5million will be subject to a four percent sales tax, while anything over $10million will be taxed 5.5 percent to help fund affordable housing construction for the city's homeless.

Agents, like Tatiana Derovanessian, and sellers have been attempting to figure out ways to get around the tax, from dividing up properties as much sales under $5million to offering a luxury car to sweeten the deal.

'We wanted to come up with a marketing strategy that would make sense with the house, which has this amazing 1,300-square-foot underground car gallery. So the buyer can choose one of these cars to put in the gallery,' Derovanessian told the Los Angeles Times of the Mulholland Drive mansion.

'You get a house and a car. Its a one-two punch.'
The president of the Senate has issued a stern warning to senators Lidia Thorpe and Hollie Hughes after a heated racism row in the chamber earlier this week.

Firebrand independent senator Thorpe accused Senator Hughes of racism during a debate over the safeguard mechanism on Tuesday evening.

The matter was put to the side pending further investigation by Senate President Sue Lines, who issued a statement on Thursday afternoon demanding higher standards from all politicians in the Senate.

'It is unacceptable that senators continue to disregard the authority of the chair while points of order are raised and determined,' she said.

'I intend to take a firmer line in calling the chamber to order, particularly in question time.

'In order to preserve the dignity of the chamber, I remind all senators of the behaviour codes and your endorsement of these codes in this chamber and the other place.'

Firebrand independent senator Thorpe accused senator Hughes of racism during a debate over the safeguard mechanism on Tuesday evening

Ms Hughes muttered 'how many times has that happened today?' as Ms Thorpe acknowledged traditional custodians of the Beetaloo Basin in her speech.

The comment was too faint to hear on playback footage, but was picked up on the official transcript and was clearly heard by Ms Thorpe, who was speaking on the opposite end of the chamber about the impact of climate change and colonisation.

'Is that racism? Can I just call out racism in this chamber right now, please?' Senator Thorpe asked acting deputy president Linda Reynolds.

'I am in my workplace, and I don't need racists being racist while I'm reading my speech.

'Can you make sure that I am not targeted with racism while I'm trying to do my job, please?'

Ms Hughes immediately hit back, jumping to her feet and pointing at Ms Thorpe as she said it was inappropriate 'to be referring to anyone in this place as racist'.

Ms Hughes immediately hit back, jumping to her feet and pointing at Ms Thorpe as she said it was inappropriate 'to be referring to anyone in this place as racist'

The clash descended into shouting and finger pointing as Ms Hughes continued to demand Ms Thorpe withdraw the 'absolutely inappropriate' comment.

Following a review of the incident, the senate president concluded Ms Thorpe asking whether an interjection was racist did not breach standing orders, but her later accusation did.

She was ordered to withdraw her comment.

Ms Lines ruled the chair at the time should have sought Ms Hughes to clarify or withdraw her initial interjection as Ms Thorpe found it 'personally offensive'.

'However, because of the subsequent disorder, that was not possible. In those circumstances, I think it would be appropriate for Senator Hughes to either withdraw or clarify her remarks,' she added.

The Liberal senator promptly withdrew her comment 'in order to maintaining dignity of the chamber'.

Ms Lines ruled the chair at the time (pictured) should have sought Ms Hughes to clarify or withdraw her initial interjection as Ms Thorpe found it 'personally offensive'

Speaking to Sky News later on Wednesday evening, Ms Hughes said her claim was not racially motivated before firing back with her own accusation.

'I'm getting fed up to the teeth with Lidia Thorpe referring to anyone who's not Indigenous as a coloniser,' Senator Hughes said.

'I find that racist, I find it offensive.'

Ms Thorpe had been discussing the Safeguard Mechanism Amendment Bill and commending the Greens - her former party - on the concessions they won from Labor regarding coal and gas mining.

The safeguard mechanism, which was initiated by the coalition government but is being overhauled by Labor, will apply to the country's 215 biggest emitters and force them to reduce their emissions by 4.9 per cent each year

She said: 'Last week the IPCC sounded a final warning alarm on the climate crisis. This crisis began over 250 years ago in this country, with colonisation. Climate change and its root causes cannot be separated from colonisation.

'This land is our mother, and we are killing her. Every time a new coal pit is dug, she is wounded. With every new fracking well that is driven into her veins, she bleeds.'

Senator Thorpe noted First Nations people are hit 'first and worst by the impacts of climate change', yet have not benefitted from the industry.

'These are industries that have generated trillions of dollars of stolen wealth, all at the cost of polluting and killing our lands, our waters and our skies,' she said.

'We are in a climate crisis, though I would like to remind you all that the majority of First Nations people have been in crisis every day since colonisation, as we have been pushed off our land and forced to stand back and watch the colonial project destroy our lands and waters in the pursuit of extracting fossil fuels. For this reason there can be no climate justice without First Nations justice.'
Some 5million was stolen from a cash depot after masked robbers successfully smuggled themselves in under a truck.

The audacious heist took place at a high-security warehouse on Wednesday morning where delivery vans were filled with money set for morning drop-offs at banks and cash points.

The gang threatened staff at the Slough Trading Estate, Berkshire, and bound them with cable ties before smashing their way into several vehicles, the Mirror reports.

The thugs used angle grinders to make their way through a metal fence offering them an escape route through a neighbouring property during their getaway.

Although no one was hurt during the heist, the robbers - dressed in bulky clothing and head torches - were able to flee in two vehicles.

Some 5million was stolen from a cash depot in Berkshire (pictured) after masked robbers managed to smuggle themselves in under a truck

The audacious heist took place at the high-security warehouse on Wednesday morning where delivery fans were filled with money set for morning drop-offs at banks and cash points. Pictured: Police attend the scene

Police would not confirm whether the gang were armed during what is thought to be the biggest cash depot raid since the 53million Securitas heist in Tonbridge, Kent, back in 2006.

Thames Valley Police's Serious Organised Crime Unit are now investigating the shock robbery.

Det Supt Kevin Brown said: 'I am appealing for anyone with information about this robbery to please come forward.

'While I understand this may be alarming, there is no evidence of any wider threat to the public.'

Detectives and forensic teams were pictured at the site on Thursday, while vans from Northern Ireland-based Pivotal Cash Management company lined the streets as officers stood guard.

Meanwhile a a truck was removed from the site by a heavy-duty recovery vehicle to be taken for forensic tests.

Reporters at the scene found an angle grinder on the floor, while pictures show a blue tent has been erected as investigations continue.

One nearby worker - who wished to remain anonymous - told the Mirror that the police had been there since Wednesday.

Police would not confirm whether the gang were armed during what is thought to be the biggest cash depot raid since the 53million Securitas heist in Tonbridge, Kent, back in 2006. Pictured: A blue tent pitched up at the scene

Pivotal confirmed that an incident had taken place but that none of their employees suffered injuries

They added: 'It looks as though the robbers have gone through a fence into a neighbouring yard. The police are saying very little, they're telling us nothing.'

A spokesperson for the Pivotal Group said: 'We can confirm that an incident took place at our Slough facility early yesterday morning.

'Our greatest concern is for our employees and whilst none suffered physical injury, we are working to support their well-being.

'Police were immediately notified and we will continue to assist the authorities during the investigation.'
Detectives are at the apartment building investigating

Police investigators have swarmed an apartment building after a man was found dead inside a unit.

Gold Coast Police responded to reports a man had died at a building on Barney Street in the suburb of Southport, Queensland, at 7:30am on Friday.

The man, 61, was discovered on the fifth floor of the apartment building by management during a welfare check.

Police have begun making inquiries, with detectives door knocking throughout the apartment building and preparing to look through CCTV footage.

A forensics team are also at the crime scene.

A man's body has been discovered inside an apartment building on Barney Street (pictured) in the Gold Coast suburb of Southport

Gold Coast Senior Sergeant Brett Macgibbons said forensics would be 'a big key to determine the possible cause of death'.

Police have been unable to determine whether the man's death was suspicious.

Queensland Ambulance Services were also on site.

A landscaper working near the apartment building this morning recalled seeing several police cars and an ambulance crowd into the street.

Gold Coast police were called to the apartment building and have begun making inquiries (stock image)

'First one cop car arrived, then another, then another,' he told The Gold Coast Bulletin.

'Ambulance came next, but they didn't have their sirens on, so I don't know what that means.

'Then forensics- or what I think was forensics - showed up.'

A Queensland Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that police were still investigating and there was 'no further information available at this stage'.
The actress and lifestyle guru won her case against retired optometrist Terry Sanderson on Thursday

Gwyneth Paltrow's court victory in Park City on Thursday has already spurred a number of memes online pertaining to her specific lifestyle brand.

One meme posted by an account called vodkalana poked fun at Paltrow's recent disclosure that she mostly drinks just some bone broth for lunch.

'Somebody's celebrating with TWO cups of Bone Broth tonight!' wrote the account atop a picture of Paltrow laughing on the witness stand.

Another account called Americana Memes posted a picture of the Brentwood Country Mart - where the GOOP store is in Los Angeles - wrote:

'White Smoke has been released at the Brentwood Country Mart (where the Goop store is) to signify that Gwyneth won her ski case.'

The line makes reference to the papal ceremony at the Vatican when white smoke rises after a group of Cardinals select the new Pope.

One meme posted by an account called vodkalana poked fun at Paltrow's recent disclosure that she mostly drinks just some bone broth for lunch

The line makes reference to the papal ceremony at the Vatican when white smoke rises after a group of Cardinals select the new Pope

A meme-maker joked that Donald Trump had called Gwyneth for advice as the former president faces his own impending legal battle

One compared Gwyneth's court victory to her 1999 Best Actress Oscar win for Shakespeare in Love

Another poked fun at the symbolic damages Gwyneth asked to receive should she win her case, with a judge agreeing to the amount

A third meme reads: 'Gwyneth Paltrow on the ski slopes this winter' and below shows two pictures of Lady Gaga at Patrizia Gucci, smugly sipping espresso in a ski outfit from the film House of Gucci.

Patrizia infamously went on to have her ex-husband assassinated.

One meme-maker was particularly topical, and shared a meme showing Donald Trump apparently calling the actress.

The ex-president discovered Thursday that he is being indicted on fraud charges, and that he will be arraigned in Manhattan next week.

Earlier today, Gwyneth Paltrow won the ski crash case against retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, who claimed she caused the collision in 2016 that left him with lasting brain damage.

Jurors found that Sanderson, 76, was the one to blame for the crash at the upmarket Utah ski resort seven years ago. It took just two hours and 20 minutes for the jury to reach their verdict on Thursday.

Paltrow's intent expression softened and she looked over at her attorneys with a faint smile, when the judge read the verdict in the Park City courtroom.

As Paltrow left court she touched Sanderson's shoulder and said 'I wish you well,' he told reporters outside the courthouse.

He responded: 'Thank you dear.'

The decision comes after eight days of live-streamed courtroom testimony that drew worldwide audiences and became a pop culture fixation.

The actress smiled and waved at photographers as she made her way out of court but refused to comment.

A third meme compared Paltrow to a scheming Patrizia Gucci on the ski slopes

Paltrow's court process was memed throughout the trial, from amusing back-and-forths with opposing council to consistently chic courtroom attire

Paltrow's attorney read a statement from the actress outside court.

Stephen Owens, representing the actress, said: 'We're pleased with the outcome and appreciate the judge and jury's consideration.

'Gwyneth has a history of standing up for what's right and this situation is no different. She will continue to stand up for what's right.'

A statement was released by her representatives.

'I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,' Paltrow said.

'I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.'

Meanwhile, a deflated Sanderson said he stands by his version of events, despite losing the case.

Asked what he plans to do next, he joked: 'Maybe Disneyland!'

Gwyneth Paltrow is seen leaving court on Thursday at the end of her trial

Terry Sanderson, 76, is seen leaving the Utah courtroom on Thursday

As Paltrow left court she touched Sanderson's shoulder and said, 'I wish you well,' he told reporters outside the courthouse. He responded, 'Thank you dear'

Speaking outside court, Sanderson's lawyer Kristin Van Orman said she was not starstruck by Paltrow and added: 'I've been a lawyer for 30 years and juries never surprise me.'

Of Sanderson, she added: 'He is suffering, he's a very nice man.'

The dismissal concludes two weeks of courtroom proceedings that hinged largely on reputation rather than the monetary damages at stake in the case.

Paltrow's attorneys described the complaint against her as 'utter B.S.' and painted the Goop founder-CEO as uniquely vulnerable to unfair, frivolous lawsuits due to her celebrity.

Paltrow's victory and the subsequent memes would have to compete against news that former President Donald Trump was indicted Thursday afternoon by the Manhattan DA.
Famed Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has called for Donald Trump's hush money trial to be moved from Manhattan to the Republican enclave of Staten Island, arguing that Manhattan is so staunchly Democrat a fair trial is impossible.

Dershowitz's argument was echoed by Trump himself, who wrote on Truth Social on Thursday night: 'They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York!'

Trump was born in New York City, but is widely disliked in his liberal hometown and has moved his official residence to Florida.

'There is no possibility he will get a fair trial in Manhattan,' said Dershowitz, who represented Trump in his first Senate impeachment trial, over pressuring Ukraine for 'dirt' on Joe Biden. He even claimed any Manhattan juror who cleared Trump risked being disowned by liberal family members determined to see the ex-president jailed.

Alan Dershowitz appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox News show on Thursday night, and called for the Trump trial to be moved from Manhattan to Staten Island

Dershowitz told Hannity that Trump could not get a fair trial in the staunchly Democrat borough of Manhattan

New York-born Dershowitz, 84, said the charges against Trump would be impossible to counter in a borough that is a Democrat stronghold.

Joe Biden won New York City with a total of 2,321,759 votes - 1,630,077 more votes than the 691,682 Trump received.

Every district of Manhattan voted for Biden.

Trump's almost 700,000 votes were strongly concentrated in Staten Island, with pockets of support in the Orthodox Jewish areas of Brooklyn, and slivers of the Bronx and Queens.

Dershowitz told Fox News that Manhattan jurists would be too worried about the reaction of their friends and family to give Trump a fair hearing.

'I would try to move it to Staten Island,' he said.

'Can you imagine a judge and jury coming home and saying: I'm the man, I'm the woman who let Donald Trump off?

'Nobody would speak to them.'

The darker the grey-blue shading, the stronger the Democrat vote in November 2020 in this map. The stronger the red, the more votes were for Republicans. Staten Island, to the left of the map, is clearly a Republican enclave, while the sliver of Manhattan island - with the clear block of Central Park in the middle - voted entirely Democrat in 2020

Dershowitz referenced a 2018 column for The Hill, in which he spoke about the 'shunning' he'd received in liberal enclave Martha's Vineyard for defending then-President Donald Trump.

Dershowitz continues to complain about being 'blackballed' among society figures.

'Happened me on Martha's Vineyard,' Dershowitz said.

'Nothing compares to a judge or juror for allowing the most dangerous man in America to run as president.'

Republicans vented their fury Thursday after the indictment of Trump was revealed.

The indictment comes as Trump seeks to reassert control of the Republican Party and stave off a slew of one-time allies who may threaten his bid for the presidential nomination. But there was only unity within the GOP after the news of pending criminal charges emerged.

Mike Pence, the former vice president, said the decision by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to bring charges against Trump was an abuse of power.

'The unprecedented indictment of a former president on a campaign finance issue is an outrage,' said Pence.

'I think the American people are going to look at this as one more example of the criminalization of politics in this country.'

Former VP Mike Pence blasted the decision to file criminal charges against his former boss as an abuse of power. 'The unprecedented indictment of a former president on a campaign finance issue is an outrage.'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, considered to be Trump's top rival, called the indictment 'un-American'

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel called the indictment a 'blatant abuse of power from a DA focused on political vengeance'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered Trump's top potential rival for the GOP presidential ticket, called the indictment 'un-American' in a statement on Thursday night - which pointedly did not mention Trump's name.

'When our justice system is weaponized as a political tool, it endangers all of us,' tweeted Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

'This is a blatant abuse of power from a DA focused on political vengeance instead of keeping people safe,' she said.

McDaniel was installed by Trump and withstood a challenge to her post early this year.

Her comment served as a signal to elected Republicans, who stood by Trump throughout the Russia probe and two Senate impeachment trials.

'Outrageous,' said Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, in a single word statement.

He is one of several House committee chairs who have already sought to investigate Bragg over his probe.

Republican lawmakers in Congress continued to rally to Trump's side including Kevin McCarthy, the House Speaker.

'Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election,' McCarthy tweeted.

'The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.'

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called the substance of the case 'utter garbage' in comments to DailyMail.com.

'It's baseless and frivolous.

'It's a political persecution and ironically enough, the fact that this left-wing Democrat is pursuing it has already proven to be a significant political benefit for Donald Trump,' said Cruz.

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican for North Carolina, who has occasionally worked with the Biden administration, said that the indictment 'doesn't pass the smell test.'

He added: 'The Department of Justice already looked into the facts and decided there was no case to be made against President Trump.

'Congress has every right to investigate the conduct' of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, he told the Huffington Post.

Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Green, a congresswoman representing Georgia, vowed that 'the gloves are off' - especially when it comes to Joe Biden and his family.

'Impeach Biden,' she said.

'He's given us every reason and the family banking records and more are giving us receipts.

'But now that the gloves are off. Prosecute any and all crimes. Enough of this witch hunt bulls***.'

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. denounced the indictment on Thursday evening: 'Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election,' McCarthy tweeted.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) blasted the indictment as 'outrageous'

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) tweets 'Impeach Biden. He's given us every reason and the family banking records and more are giving us receipts. But now that the gloves are off.'

A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former president Donald Trump over hush money paid to pornstar Stormy Daniels

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is seen departing the Manhattan Courthouse on March 30, 2023 in New York City after issuing an indictment against Trump

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the substance of the case 'utter garbage' in comments to DailyMail.com.

Still to be determined is how the indictment will play out in the presidential primary and the battle for Republicans to keep control of the House in 2024.

Trump has used reports he might be charged as a powerful fundraising tool, and he widened his lead over DeSantis in a new Fox News poll released on Thursday.

Trump predicts it will backfire on Biden, who took office while former Trump fixer Michael Cohen served part of his three-year sentence for campaign finance violations related to the $130,000 'hush' payment agreement with Daniels.

The former president called it a 'witch hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement'.

He railed against other probes, and vowed to defeat Bragg.

'Now they have done the unthinkable,' said Trump, calling the charge a political act by his enemies.

'Never before in our nation's history has this been done before.

'I believe this witch hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden.'

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com Thursday, Eric Trump slammed the ruling as a 'ruthless attack' and an example of 'the decline of American Law.'

His brother Donald Trump Jr. compared the indictment to the actions of a ruthless dictatorship.

The former president has denied Daniels' allegations of a sexual affair, and is expected to plead not guilty.

'Let's be clear, folks,' said Trump Jr.

'This is like communist level s**t. This is stuff that would make Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot.'
They allegedly tortured her for more than 45 minutes at a hotel

Two men charged with assaulting a woman at Surfers Paradise

Two men have been charged after they allegedly assaulted a woman with a hammer, a knife and a multi-tool at a hotel.

Queensland Ambulance crews responded to the alleged assault at a premises on Laycock Street in Surfers Paradise around 1.45am on Friday.

It is alleged the two men assaulted a woman known to them for more than 45 minutes with the implements.

Gold Coast police allege a 36-year-old man from Mareeba and a 40-year-old man from Surfer's Paradise cut her leg with a knife and chopped her hair with a multi-tool.

They fled the scene before police and paramedics arrived but a short time later were arrested at a Trickett Street unit.

Two men have been charged after they allegedly assaulted a woman with a hammer and a knife at a Gold Coast hotel on Friday morning

It is alleged the two men assaulted a woman known to them for more than 45 minutes with a hammer, cut her leg with a knife and tried to cut her hair with a multi-tool

The woman was found to have a large laceration to her leg and was transported in a stable condition to Gold Coast University Hospital.

Both men were charged with one count each of torture, wounding, assault occasioning bodily harm and deprivation of liberty.

They will both appear at Southport Magistrates Court on Friday.
A Manhattan jury voted to indict Trump Thursday over a $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016

Eric also pointed to Manhattan's high crime rate as he suggested DA Alvin Bragg should have bigger priorities

Eric Trump has lashed out at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for indicting his father amid a spate of 'theft, homelessness and crime' in the Big Apple.

Eric said the pursuit of his father was hypocritical as he called for authorities to turn their attention to President Biden's son Hunter who was pictured in a series of incrimination shots with prostitutes while on drugs.

Trump was unexpectedly indicted on Thursday over a $130,000 hush payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

It marked a victory for Bragg, whose office was responsible for the probe into the payments.

But Eric furiously hit out at the DA's pursuit of his father in a furious rant on Thursday night's episode of Hannity.

Eric Trump lashed out at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for indicting his father amid a spate of 'theft, homelessness and crime' in the Big Apple

'This is a city that is falling apart. I went into CVS you can't by tylenol it is locked behind counters there is so much theft and homelessness and crime but their attention is going after Donald Trump,' he said.

'Girls are shot in time square and they are going after Donald Trump. Give me a break.'

He appeared to be referring to an incident in May 2021 when three innocent bystanders including a four-year-old girl were shot in Times Square.

Bragg became Manhattan DA several months later in November 2021.

Eric also listed a host of indiscretions made by other former presidents and their family members - which were never pursued by the courts.

These included shots of a nude Hunter Biden cavorting with a prostitute and a gun and Bill Clinton's $850,000 payment to civil servant Paula Jones after she accused him of sexual harassment and assault.

He also referred to Hilary Clinton's email controversy which saw her send messages from a personal account during her four years as Barack Obama's secretary of state.

'This is third-world tactics,' Eric said.

'Hunter Biden frat pictures his lament. Bill Clinton paying Paula Jones. Bill Clinton diddling interns in the white house in the oval office.

'Hillary Clinton deleting E mails under subpoena - and no one says anything about those people.

'When my father is leading in the polls and he will be the guy Biden will ultimately run against. Guess who they go after?'

Hunter, 52, has been embroiled in a bitter legal battle with a computer repair shop owner who leaked a litany of his nude photos and private messages belonging to the president's son in 2020.

Hunter had left the laptop at the store and failed to collect it.

Earlier in the evening Eric told Dailymail.com that the case against his dad was 'opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year.'

Trump is now reportedly expected to be arraigned on Tuesday following weeks of speculation that an arrest was imminent.

The allegations against Trump center around a $130,000 hush money payment made by Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and fixer, to Daniels, 44, during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg leaving his office on Thursday evening. A spokesperson said the office had contacted Trump's lawyers to begin the process of bringing him to Manhattan

A grand jury has been hearing evidence about allegations that Donald Trump paid $130,000 to adult movie star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence over their affair

The former president has always denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

But the case dogged him through his time in office after triggering a federal investigation.

Although the Justice Department decided not to charge Trump and the Federal Election Commission was deadlocked over taking action over claims that the payment amounted to an undeclared campaign contribution, the Manhattan DA was still looking at the case.

And it took on fresh momentum early in 2023 when Cohen met with investigators from the Manhattan district attorney's office and it emerged that a grand jury was hearing evidence.

Such hearings are conducted in secret. But one theory was that it was probing Trump for falsifying business records in connection with the payment, by allegedly misreporting a campaign donation as a legal fee.

That amounts to a misdemeanor. But that rises to a felony if it is done in conjunction with a second crime, such as a campaign finance violation

On Saturday March 18 Trump famously said he would be arrested by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office the following Tuesday.

However the arrest failed to materialize and the case had gone quiet in recent weeks.

Trump responded to news of the indictment with a furious statement calling it 'political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history.'

'I believe this witch hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,' his statement read.

'The American people realize exactly what the radical left democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it.

Trump railed against the indictment in an emailed statement. He said this 'Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden' and predicted Democrats will be voted out of office

Trump is expected to travel voluntarily to New York to be arrested. But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tweeted that he would not help any effort to extradite the former president

'So our movement and our party - united and strong - will first defeat Alvin Bragg and then we will defeat Joe Biden and we are going to throw every last one of these crooked democrats out of office so we can make America great again.'

And he was offered partial refuge from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who promised to thwart Trump's extradition from his state to New York.
A Melbourne mum's been left 'horrified' after a video about her business turned into a vicious attack by viewers on her appearance, with cruel bullies saying her husband was 'too hot' for her and she needed to watch out.

Ali Clarke went live on TikTok on Monday night to chat about her dermaplaning business, Bondi Blades, but noticed the comments took a nasty turn when her husband joined in.

'There were men and women in the comments saying things like "I can't believe that's your wife", "you can do so much better than her", "you're too good for her",' Ms Clarke explained in a video on Tuesday.

'There were even girls saying "I'm coming for your husband", "you better watch out". Others were saying they think he's "really hot", it was just horrendous.'

Bondi Blades founder Ali Clarke called out 'online bullies' on Tuesday after commenters said her husband (pictured together above) is 'too good for her'

Mrs Clarke has received similar comments under previous videos with her husband but said Monday's audience was 'next level'.

'My beautiful husband decided to join in, and he always draws a crowd because he's got this amazing, vibrant personality and this beautiful smile, so lots of people start to watch,' she said.

'Comments started to flow, and there were some really horrific things, like this was next-level online bullying.

'He was horrified that people would actually do this while I was just taking it on the chin.

'I was trying to avoid the comments. They were just getting out of control. People were commenting on my appearance, my teeth, my nostrils, all these horrendous things.'

The beauty founder said she'd felt compelled to call out the negativity to get back to what she loves most, helping inspire and educate other business owners.

The Melbourne mum (pictured with her husband) said she often receives negative comments when her husband featured in a video

'I've dealt with bullying my whole life, but these comments were just next level,' she said.

'Online bullying will never be tolerated. I will never put up with being bullied. I will call you out.

'I really hate having to make a TikTok about this, but I'm absolutely sick of it.

'Every time (my husband) comes on my TikTok Live, people make these comments, and they're really hurtful, nasty things to say to someone.'

Mrs Clarke told Daily Mail Australia on Friday that she'd like to see social media platforms enforce harsher policies against hate online.

'I think people need to be held accountable for their actions. We see so many young kids suffering from this stuff, but they're afraid to stand up to it and turn to hurt themselves,' she said.

'Social media has enabled cowards to disrespect people without fear of consequences.

'If they met me in person, I doubt they would be able to say the same things.'

Dozens of Mrs Clarke's fans applauded her response to the horrible comments under Tuesday's video.

Mrs Clarke (pictured with her product, Bondi Blades) said she 'will never put up with being bullied' and called for social media platforms to enforce harsher rules against hate

'Thats so terrible, you provide so much to the business community and dont deserve that,' one person wrote.

'Some people are so horrible, its disgusting,' another said.

'You are so beautiful, these people are toxic,' a third person commented.

'I'm so sad to hear this! I really thought stuff like this ends when people grow up,' another wrote.

Mrs Clarke's company Bondi Blades launched Australia's first derma razor in 2016.

The small blade is designed to remove 'peach fuzz' from the face and is currently sold in more than 1,000 stores worldwide.
A courts complex has briefly shut down as protestors gathered and chanted outside in the wake of an Indigenous man being shot and killed by police.

An angry crowd gathered outside of Brisbane's Supreme and District Courts in the city's CBD at around 11am on Friday after 27-year-old Aubrey Donohue was shot and killed by police after a four-hour siege in Mareeba, west of Cairns, last Saturday.

Both courts were locked down for around five minutes as protesters reached the front of the court complex.

The lockdown was lifted after Justice Peter Davis noted there were no protesters inside his courtroom.

'So we'll just keep on going,' he said.

Protestors were demanding the release of body-cam footage from the moments prior to Donohue's death.

A protest demanding that police body-cam footage moments before an Indigenous man was killed by police be released has briefly locked down both Brisbane's Supreme and District Courts on Friday

Both plain-clothed and uniformed police lined George Street, funnelling the hundreds of protestors towards the court complex.

Protestors dispute the police's claim that Donohue had a knife, and could be heard chanting 'justice for Aubrey' as they approached the square outside the courts.

A microphone was set up outside a nearby Coffee Club, allowing protestors to speak to the crowd.

'When does our liberation start?' one man asked the crowd.

Protesters gathered outside of the court complex (pictured) following an announcement the previous day that the specialist police officers who shot Aubrey Donohue, 27, were not wearing body-cameras

Police allege that Donohue (pictured) approached specialist officers with a knife after a four-hour siege, leading to him being shot four times at a house in Mareeba, far-north Queensland

Security sent a warning message to the courts at around 11am after protestors reached the front lawn and a lockdown was enabled.

After the lockdown was lifted, those attending either courts were told to exercise caution when exiting the complex as protestors were still nearby.

The siege that resulted in Donohue's death started when police attended a house in Mareeba after reports of a domestic violence incident and a female was allegedly not allowed to leave the house at knifepoint.

Police allege Donohue approached specialist officers at around 3:30pm while wielding a knife and was subsequently shot four times, dying at the scene despite immediate first-aid.

Protestors dispute police claims that the siege was started after reports of a domestic violence incident and that he was brandishing a knife (pictured, protesters in Brisbane)

'There was no DV (domestic violence) situation as has been reported to date... we want police to release the body cam footage to us, we will review it,' Victoria Van Schie, Donohue's family member and organiser of the protest, told The Courier Mail.

'He had his whole life ahead of him and it's been stolen.

'He had no knife. He had his mobile phone in his hand.'

The protests at the courts follow protests the previous night at nearby King George's Square after police revealed that none of the specialist officers nearby to Donohue when he was shot were wearing body cameras.

'So specialist officers for practicality reasons generally don't, other officers at the scene were wearing body-worn cameras and we have secured that vision of course,' Mark Wheeler, Deputy Commissioner, told reporters on Thursday.

'But in terms of the specialist police, we're reviewing those arrangements now.'

He went on to say that footage from body cameras on other police officers will play a part in a coronial inquiry.

Footage from other police officers at the scene will be used in a coronial inquiry, while an investigation is also being conducted by independent officers from the Ethical Standards Command (pictured, protesters)

'Our heart broke and filled with all the emotions of anger, sadness, everything you could imagine,' Grayson Elu, Aubrey's Uncle, told protestors at a vigil during Thursday night's protest.

'It's sad because Aubrey was loved and just like the other families in this situation, he's no longer with us.

'Aubrey my nephew, I miss everything about you. May the lord welcome you with open arms and all the angels, come and welcome you to your favourite songs, love you Aubs.'

It follows protests through the town of Mareeba on Monday which drew around 200 people, including Donohue's family who are demanding answers to the circumstances surrounding their death.

An investigation is being conducted by independent officers from the Ethical Standards Command who travelled to Cairns and Mareeba on Sunday.
Up to 60 per cent of motorists eat while driving

Australians could be fined up to $600 if they are caught eating or drinking behind the wheel under a little-known road rule.

Drivers in Queensland could be slapped with a $575 fine and three demerit points for 'driving without due care or attention'.

'You can be fined $575 and three demerit points if you don't have proper control of your vehicle,' the Queensland police department explained on Facebook.

'So make sure you're not one-handing the wheel or taking your eyes off the road to eat,' the department posted.

'Obviously, you're allowed to take a hand off the wheel for a short time to operate your vehicle, but eating while you're driving could be interpreted as not having proper control of your vehicle and driving distracted,' they clarified.

The penalty falls under the states driver distraction laws.

In Western Australia, the fine for the same offence is even higher at $600 while in NSW drivers can cop a $469 fine and three demerit points.

In the Northern Territory there is a $150 fine for careless driving - which eating or drinking while driving could be considered.

Australians can be fined up to $600 if they are caught eating or drinking behind the wheel under a little-known road rule almost all drivers are guilty of breaking

Eating or drinking while driving could cost you up to $600 and three demerit points. Pictured is a police officer talking to a driver in South Australia

South Australian drivers can be fined up to $201 for not having proper control of their vehicle, with the same offence in the ACT costing $301.

Eating or drinking while driving in Tasmania could lead to a $173 fine and three demerit points for not having proper control of their vehicle or driving without due care and attention.

Up to 60 per cent of Australians have admitted to eating food behind the wheel in data from a new Compare the Market survey.

Up to 31 per cent said they used their phone while driving, while 17 per cent had smoked or vaped and eight per cent had applied makeup.

While the law doesn't explicitly state these actions are illegal, they can be considered a distraction to drivers.

In 2018, a hungry teenage P-plater was fined $300 after she was pictured eating a bowl of cereal while driving on a Perth road.

A hungry teenage driver (pictured) was slapped with a $300 fine after she was pictured eating cereal behind the wheel in Perth

A photo of her taken by a 6PR radio listener and appeared to show the young woman steering the car with her knees.

The 'cereal offender' also got three demerit points and was lambasted by then WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson.

'You can't be driving a car and eating your brekkie at the same time. That is just ridiculously dangerous ... It's incomprehensible,' he told 6PR.
Bodybuilding Instagram star Yakiboy will be released from jail after he appeared in court with his self-described 'Lamborghini' body looking shrunken after two months behind bars.

The NSW Supreme Court heard Hossein Balapour, who has been in prison since his arrest over a wild street brawl, gets provoked by people who call him 'a dog', a 'traitor' and mutter at him at Coles.

But a judge gave the Versace-loving gym junkie a severe warning not to 'fly off the handle' and suggested that his previous alleged violent behaviour might have been fuelled by steroid use.

Noting that Balapour had a prior conviction for possession of a prescribed restricted substance, Justice Richard Weinstein SC said 'there was likely to be steroid use, somewhere.'

Judge Weinstein said he wanted 'significant abstention conditions' for Balapour.

During a lengthy bail application, at which Balapour appeared via AVL from Parklea Maximum Correctional Centre, the 29-year-old appeared to have lost condition from defined muscleman who made money on Instagram and OnlyFans.

Under cross examination, Balapour's wife gave evidence about the abuse her Iranian refugee husband received online and in person.

Boydbuilder Hossein 'Yakiboy' Balapour has lost some condition during his two months behind bars from his defined muscleman appearance (above) but has been granted release from prison on strict conditions

Balapour also has a new job, working for the Fitness Plus gym at Crows Nest, along with his other pursuits as an influencer on Instagram and Only Fans

She said these included abuse from 'extremely hostile' Iranian Australians who don't share Balapour's support for the freedom movement in Iran.

'He gets a lot of attention all the time,' Ms Balapour said. 'People say nasty things under their breath.'

Ms Balapour explained her husband had been called a 'traitor' by Iranians in Farsi language, 'a dog' at a Persian restaurant and had people muttering at him 'in the aisle' at Coles in the inner city Sydney suburb of Waterloo.

She said that before going to jail, Balapour had made enough money out of showing his physique online to pay rent and support their family in addition to her doing shift work.

But she couldn't say precisely much he would earn each month when he returns to OnlyFans after being released from jail.

His barrister Rebekah Rodger said OnlyFans would only supplement the only job he has been offered on release.

Balapour will be confined to his inner city Sydney apartment (above) except for family medical visits, legal consultations and attending work as he awaits hearings on his charges

Balapour has been hired by Plus Fitness, at Crows Nest as a sales representative and is expected to undertake personal training for clients while on bail for three alleged offences

Balapour has been hired by Plus Fitness as a sales representative for one of its gyms. He is expected to undertake personal training for clients while on bail for three alleged offences.

Despite the Crown prosecutor's objections that Balapour might congregate with men at the gym and lose his temper, Justice Weinstein said: 'He is who he is, his place of employment is likely to be a gym.

'I'm really concerned if the allegations are true, there is a significant issue with violence, temper and if one accepts he is abused by rival Iranian groups for his political views and others, he is going to have to deal with that without lashing out.

'I am concerned about the risks of (Balapour) being in the community by himself with other persons and getting himself into violent altercations.

'So (I am imposing) some very prescriptive conditions on bail to mitigate risk.'

Balapour had been on bail for two previous alleged incidents when in January he 'allegedly punched (a man) and then used an unknown weapon and struck him with great force and hit him in the left thigh and upper left arm', Justice Weinstein said.

The incident was filmed by his wife on her phone, the court heard.

The two previous incidents included an alleged attack last August, in which he was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, stalk and intimidate and possessing goods in custody.

Justice Weinstein said Balapour had been at a Persian restaurant for his birthday, when he became 'enraged' at a man waiting to collect takeaway and allegedly punched him in the face, with police later allegedly finding $31,000 in Balapour's custody.

In October last year, Balapour allegedly punched a man at a festival at Sydney showgrounds with his closed fist.

The court heard that all these matters would be heard at local court level later this year.

Justice Weinstein imposed home detention conditions on Balapour, with the exceptions of family medical visits, legal consultations and attending work.

He warned Balapour of the 'very serious consequences' if he breached the conditions, to which the trainer replied, 'for sure, thank you'.
Calls have grown for the abandoned building to be locked

Two men were charged with the alleged rape of a girl, 12

A third alleged rape has occurred at the Batavia Motor Inne

An abandoned motel has become the site of a third alleged sexual assault in the space of two years - as calls grow for the motel to be demolished.

Two men were arrested and charged over the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl at the former Batavia Motor Inne on Fitzgerald Street in Geraldton, Western Australia, on March 15.

Detectives claim George Windie, 39, and Chad James Broad, 46, befriended the teenage girl and supplied her with alcohol before luring her to the derelict building where they assaulted her.

The alleged ordeal took place between 11:30am and 4pm.

It comes mere months after Norman Trevor Gilbert, 34, pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a woman at the former motel in December last year.

Calls have grown for the abandoned Batavia Motor Inne (pictured) in Geraldton to be locked up and demolished after a third alleged sexual assault occurred at the site

Before that, James Robert Sbresni, 21, was sentenced to five years in prison after he raped a 14-year-old girl at the Batavia Motor Inne in June, 2021.

Sbresnii had been grooming the young girl on Snapchat for months prior to the sexual assault.

The rapist, who lived in Preston, Melbourne, met up with the girl after flying into Western Australia during the state's Covid lockdown and lying to border authorities to gain entry.

Sbresnii claimed he had family in the state to avoid being turned back.

The latest sexual assault has prompted calls for the gates to the former motel to be locked immediately following the most recent alleged rape - which will also speed up the process of knocking it down.

The owners claim they received a letter from the City of Greater Geraldton council last Wednesday demanding the gates be locked, reports The West Australian.

'The city has reviewed the situation in light of the most recent serious incident on site and is now requesting that the gates be closed and locked as soon as the last people on site are removed,' the letter read, according to the owners.

'The city is working with the Department of Communities, local police and support agencies to achieve this.'

George Windie, 39, and Chad James Broad, 46, allegedly lured a 12-year-old girl to the abandoned building and sexually assaulted her on March 15

It comes almost two years after James Robert Sbresni (pictured), 21, was jailed for raping a 14-year-old girl at the Batavia Motor Inne in June, 2021

Fencing was initially installed around the building in late January but the gates have been left open while the council and community services work on moving squatters from the site.

The City of Greater Geraldton had launched legal action against the owners of the site last November after the building was not demolished within 90 days.

City chief executive Ross McKim told the publication: 'For a number of months now, the city has been working with 54 Fitzgerald to progress demolition of the site and putting up substantial fencing was part of that process.'

Mr McKim said the majority of the squatters who were at the site had been moved to a new residence hence why the City of Geraldton had strongly urged '54 Fitzgerald to close the gates' for 'public safety'.

A Department of Communities spokesperson claimed the department had no authority over the site as it was privately owned but the City of Geraldton, WA Police and the department mutually agreed to close the fences.

The City of Geraldton launched legal action against the owners of the site last year after it wasn't demolished within 90 days. The most recent alleged rape has prompted them to send a letter to the owners demanding they lock the gates immediately to speed up the process

Police arrested George Windie on Wednesday and charged him with two counts of indecently dealing with a child under the age of 13.

He fronted Geraldton Magistrates Court on Thursday where he was not required to enter a plea and did not apply for bail.

He was remanded in custody and will appear in court again next month.

Chad James Broad appeared at the same court last Friday charged with two counts of sexually penetrating a child under the age of 13 and one count of indecent dealing in aggravated circumstances of being in company with another person.

He did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody. Broad will reappear in court again in May.
The homeless and drug problems in San Francisco continue to skyrocket as officials fail to implement policies that effectively stem either issue

In an earlier video, the woman says no as the man attempts to get her to the hospital to have her condition examined and treated

A man took a picture of a homeless woman with both of her feet amputated after she refused to seek medical treatment for a flesh-eating disease

A homeless San Francisco woman filmed refusing treatment for a flesh-eating infection on her feet had to have them amputated just weeks later.

The woman, who was captured on camera by JJ Smith early last month on the streets of San Francisco was revisited by the citizen journalist as the disease he begged her to treat took its toll.

Roughly seven weeks ago on Feb 6, Smith had filmed the shocking first clip of the woman refusing medical help for her damaged feet.

In a heartbreaking follow-up posted on March 30, it appears the woman did not heed his advice as she appeared in a wheelchair with stumps.

'Update on a post I did on Feb 6 I seriously tried to get this woman to go to the hospital for some type of flesh eating infection on her foot but she decided not to go due to she wanted to get high but here is the outcome of her not going she lost both feet,' he wrote on Twitter.

The unnamed woman had to have both of her feet amputated because she would not seek medical treatment for the flesh eating disease

In the comments section of the post, Smith continued: 'She says she feels better no more pain but she still isnt ready for treatment for her drug addiction.'

The woman has not commented on drug taking, and it's unclear what caused the disease to destroy her feet.

In the video from February, the wild-eyed woman, who appears to be foaming at the mouth, refuses the videographer's offer to take her to the hospital to treat the infection that is on both of her feet.

'Let me get you to the hospital,' he says.

'No, no, no,' she replies as she goes to sit down on a pile of dirty materials.

'Your feet is [sic] going to get cut off, if you don't fix it,' said Smith.

'It will be fixed I promise,' she insisted.

Further details of what caused the woman's illness have not been shared.

But San Francisco is a known hot bed of homelessness, with many of those living on the streets battling serious illnesses often exacerbated by substance use.

Some people who suffer injuries to their limbs do so as a result of Xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer approved in the US for cows and horses, which is now flooding the illicit US drug market.

Drug dealers cut everything from cocaine to heroin with the powerful sedative - but especially fentanyl, which runs rampant through the streets of San Francisco.

Patients suffer damage to their blood vessels that leads to gaping wounds appearing on their bodies. Some are left unable to walk, or need amputations because the wounds are so severe, cutting right down to the bone.

Nurses have described the wounds caused by Xylazine as appearing as though something is 'eating away your flesh from the inside out'.

Homeless tents in the Tenderloin area of San Francisco where a rampant homeless population has taken over many blocks

The city's open air drug markets became more apparent during COVID and show no signs of slowing down

Homeless men are seen on a sidewalk near San Francisco's City Hall, where legislators dream up increasingly relaxed policies that fail to protect any part of the city's vulnerable population

The number of homeless people in San Francisco was tallied in February of last year at almost 8,000, the second highest figure of any year since 2005, according to the official government count which takes place every three years.

It has almost certainly ballooned since the latest count.

Business owners in some of San Francisco's neighborhoods have threatened to stop paying taxes if politicians don't start cleaning up streets of litter, as well as human feces, and stopping people from openly taking drugs.

Various liberal politicians and city leaders have attempted to implement numerous policies to curb the many issues that have arisen due to the swelling homeless and drug addicted population.

One specific harm reduction policy that failed was the opening of the Tenderloin Center last year that was meant to help alleviate the city's drug and homelessness crisis.

It cost taxpayers a whopping $22million and was meant to be a 'safe place' for addicts to 'get high without getting robbed' and without fear of fatally overdosing.

Users were also meant to be directed to help centers, though during its first four months of operations, it referred just 18 people of the more than 23,000 who were welcomed to the site.

Overall less than one per cent of visits ended in a 'completed linkage' to behavioral health programs.

Despite their efforts, 2022 saw upward of 500 people die from overdoses in San Francisco. In 2021, that figure was 641.

Officials had also hoped the site would offer a place to deal with the homeless crisis the city has faced in recent months and years.

Mayor Breed had originally allotted just $10 million for the project but it quickly ballooned to more than double that estimate.

In total, some 400 individuals were provided with assistance each day at the center, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

A large portion of those who took advantage of the site used it specifically for shelter or food.

The homelessness crisis in SF is bolstered by the ongoing fentanyl crisis. The synthetic drug is taken by a significant portion of the city's homeless population and had worked its way into the public drug stream, imperiling teenagers and others across the city.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid many times more powerful than heroin, is often mixed with cocaine and other stimulants and consumed unknowingly by recreational drug users.

After the number of US deaths related to overdoses linked to synthetic opioids climbed to 70,000 last year, public health officials continue to sound the alarm over the extremely potent nature of the drug.

Homeless people are seen in Tenderloin district of San Francisco

Summer 2022 in San Francisco. Homelessness has increased markedly in SF over the last few years

Overdose deaths have skyrocketed over the last three years, rising by 50% from 52,000 in 2016 to 106,000 in 2021.

The White House attributes the majority to fentanyl poisoning or overdose, and say the drug comes almost entirely from China via Mexico, with a handful of cartels responsible for bringing them across the border.

Six out of 10 fake prescription pills tested by the DEA in 2022 contained fentanyl, and the 'vast majority' came from the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels.

For years, the synthetic drug had been used as a cheaper, more readily available substitute for heroin. Now though, it is being chopped up with cocaine, MDMA and packed into pills too.
A British tourist has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a horrific hit-and-run in the Majorcan party resort of Magaluf.

The holidaymaker was filmed mowing down two pedestrians, a British man and a Polish woman, in a hire car after an argument outside a nearby fast food restaurant on Thursday morning.

Footage published by island newspaper Ultima Hora today showed the suspect appearing to drive deliberately at a group of people stood on the pavement and knocking two men flying.

A trio of bystanders - a woman the victims had been chatting to and two men a couple of feet away - saw the car coming and narrowly avoided being mowed down as the vehicle approached at speed and veered towards them.

Bystanders noticed the oncoming car was speeding towards the pavement and dashed to safety

Two people were caught unawares and the car slammed into them, hurling them into the air

One of the victims was left unconscious on the pavement, and both were rushed to a private hospital in the island capital Palma.

It was not immediately clear this morning if they remained in hospital, although their injuries are not thought to be serious despite the severity of the impact.

The horror incident happened just after 4am on Thursday.

Local reports said the suspect had previously rowed with a British man whose girlfriend had got into a scrap with his partner.

He is said to have left the scene in a rage before returning minutes later behind the wheel, mounting the pavement and ramming into his victims.

It is not yet known whether the man he had argued with moments earlier was one of the two people he hurt.

The suspect, a 29-year-old who has not yet been named, was arrested at nearby Son Matias beach after a police manhunt.

Officers reportedly discovered he had been drinking and consumed drugs, although the Civil Guard have so far not confirmed the results of drink and drug tests.

A spokesman for the force said this morning in its first comments on the case: 'A 29-year-old British man who was on holiday in Majorca has been arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide following a hit-and-run incident in Magaluf in the early hours of yesterday morning.

'He was held at nearby Son Matias beach after a police search for him and his vehicle.

The holidaymaker was filmed mowing down two pedestrians with a hire car

One of the victims was left unconscious on the pavement, and both were rushed to a private hospital in the island capital Palma

'The incident was preceded by some sort of argument that is still under investigation.

'One of the people hurt is a Polish woman and the other a British man. Both were also on holiday in the area.'

A well-placed source said of the victims: 'They were both hospitalised but despite the severity of the impact they did not suffer serious injuries and have now been released after treatment.

'They are very lucky to have survived without life-changing injuries. The footage clearly shows the car hit them full on at speed.'

In May 2019 a British woman was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence after confessing to mowing down the girlfriend of her ex outside flats in Federico Garcia Lorca Street near Magaluf's brash Punta Ballena area.

Kemi Coaker, then 30, from Manchester, admitted running over Meghan Tattersall, then 25, from Leeds, after a plea bargain deal at a court in Majorca.

Kemi was arrested in May 2018 on suspicion of trying to kill Meghan in a hate-fuelled hit-and-run after the younger woman started dating her ex Andrew Coaker, 41, from Reading.

Kemi Coaker, from Manchester, was spared jail after admitting to the hit-and-run but ordered to stay at least 1,600 ft from her victim

Bar worker Meghan Tattersall, required surgery on her legs after the hit-and-run in the Cala Vinyes resort

She was arrested half an hour after the May 8, 2018 incident in the nearby resort of Cala Vinyes.

The victim's injuries were initially described as serious and she took three weeks to recover from leg wounds which required surgery.

As well as receiving a two-year suspended jail sentence for a crime of wounding with a dangerous weapon, Coaker was also handed a three-year restraining order preventing her from going within 500 metres of her victim.
The father of speedboat killer Jack Shepherd's victim has said he should not be released early from his ten year sentence as he is a 'narcissist' who poses a 'serious threat to women.'

In December 2015, during his first date with 24-year-old Charlotte Brown an intoxicated Shepherd crashed his speedboat in the River Thames causing her death.

Shepherd, 34, was given a six-year determinate prison sentence after being convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence as well as a further four years after admitting hitting a barman over the head with a vodka bottle in a hotel in Devon.

After fleeing to Georgia to avoid trial and imprisonment, Shepherd finally handed himself in to authorities in 2019 and was caged - but is now due to be released in January next year.

Graham Brown has urged authorities to reconsider automatically releasing him half way through his sentence

Jack Shepherd is set to be freed after serving half of his sentence for the champagne-fuelled accident that killed Charlotte Brown

Charlotte Brown died after Shepherd's boat hit a log in the water and she was thrown into the icy depths of the River Thames

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Graham Brown urged authorities to reconsider automatically releasing him half way through his sentence.

He explained: 'Jack Shepherd to me and the family poses a serious risk to woman.

He's shown no remorse. We still don't know what happened that night, he fled his trial he didn't appear so he wasn't cross examined.

'Now we're faced with a situation where, yes, he was given a six year sentence for causing the death of my daughter but he was also given a concurrent four year sentence for a serious assault making a ten year sentence.

'He has an automatic right of release at five years which is coming up in January.

'As a father, that doesn't feel right.'

Shepherd's trial in July 2018 heard how he had bought the 1980s speedboat involved on the crash on Gumtree and had tried to impress women with it.

But his first date with Ms Brown ended in tragedy when the 14ft Fletcher Arrowflyte GTO, which was riddled with defects, hit a log and capsized, throwing them into the river near Wandsworth Bridge.

He later sparked outrage by launching an appeal against the conviction while on the run in Georgia - and he was awarded funds to do so.

Ms Brown's family is 'devastated' that Shepherd will likely go free in January and has slammed the UK's criminal justice system as 'outrageous'. Pictured: Shepherd's speedboat

'He's a narcissist', continued Mr Brown, 'Jack Shepherd exists purely for himself. He preyed on woman from dating apps with the sole intention of sleeping with them and moving on to the next woman.

'A month after my daughter died, he married and had a child and then he abandoned her and went to Georgia. It turned out in the trial that his wife didn't even know he had caused the death of my daughter.

'As a father of four daughters I can honestly say I'm worried for woman in general and I will never forgive Jack for the harm he has done to my family.

'Time teaches you how to deal with it better, I can talk about it and lead a life. Life does go on but there's always an empty space at the table.'

In 2019, Shepherd was moved to a new high-security jail after being bullied by other inmates.

He was transferred for his own safety to HMP Woodhill, near Milton Keynes and is reportedly on track for early release.

A Ministry of Justice source told The Sun that Shepherd has 'kept his head down and quietly done his time'.

The insider alleged that the convict knows his case won't have to go to a Parole Board because he has a determinate sentence.

'If he behaves then there is no reason to keep him in jail beyond his halfway point,' the source reportedly said. 'He will be free to simply walk out the door.'
Reeva Steenkamp's mother today told MailOnline she welcomed the news that Oscar Pistorius had been denied an early release from prison - but will continue to fight for justice.

Pistorius was today denied parole for the murder of his girlfriend Ms Steenkamp, having only served six years - less than the 'minimum detention period' required to qualify for early release.

He will remain at Atteridgeville Correctional Centre on the outskirts of Pretoria until at least August next year.

Ms Steenkamp's parents opposed the bid made by their daughter's killer, with her mother June telling the parole hearing today that she did not believe Pistorius had been rehabilitated.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Reeva Steenkamp's parents said tonight they welcomed the decision, but still sought justice while Pistorius hankers after freedom.

Ms Steenkamp's 79-year-old mother, June, who attended the hearing, said: 'While we welcome today's decision, today is not a cause for celebration. Barry and I miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail.'

June Steenkamp, the mother of Reeva Steenkamp, arrives at Atteridgeville Correctional Centre for the parole hearing of Oscar Pistorius

The high profile case gripped the world. South African athlete Pistorius, left, was a celebrated Olympian and Paralympian, while Ms Steenkamp, right, was a successful model and TV star

The Steenkamp family's lawyer, Tania Koen, said: 'It's painful June has to face Oscar Pistorius again this morning. He is the killer of their daughter, for them, it's a life sentence.'

Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp dead in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013, firing four times through the bathroom door of his Pretoria house in a killing that shocked the world.

He was found guilty of murder and given a 13-year jail sentence in 2017 after a lengthy trial in which he maintained that he had mistaken Ms Steenkamp for an intruder.

The Steenkamp family's lawyer, Tania Koen, revealed the news this afternoon, saying the decision has given Reeva's mother, June, 'a huge sense of relief', adding: 'I can confirm that parole has been denied. They will reconvene in a year to reconsider him again.'

South Africa's Department of Correctional Services said in a statement that the reason parole was denied was because 'the inmate did not complete the minimum Detention Period'.

The result was a surprise, but there has been legal wrangling over when Pistorius should be eligible for parole because of the series of appeals in his case.

He was initially convicted of culpable homicide, a charge comparable to manslaughter, in 2014.

The case then went through a number of appeals before Pistorius was finally sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison for murder in 2017.

Serious offenders must serve at least half their sentence to be eligible for parole in South Africa.

Pistorius's lawyers had gone to court to argue that he was now eligible because he had served the required portion of time in jail from late 2014 following his culpable homicide conviction.

The parole board's decision was reached based upon a clarification memo received from the Supreme Court just days ago, on March 28, spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said.

Still desperate for freedom, Pistorius's lawyer, Julian Knight, told News24 that he would 'certainly be taking this decision on review'.

Before attending the hearing earlier today, Mrs Steenkamp said her daughter's killer was 'not remorseful or rehabilitated'.

She arrived shortly before 10am (9am GMT) to make oral and written statements on behalf of herself and her husband, Barry, expressing their view that Pistorius should not be released.

Speaking to reporters outside, Mrs Steenkamp, who is from Blackburn, Lancashire, said: 'I don't believe his story.'

Pistorius has always claimed he killed Ms Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013 after mistaking her for a dangerous intruder in his home.

The Steenkamps said they think he killed her intentionally after a late-night argument and want him to stay in prison.

Ms Steenkamp's father Barry was not present due to ill health, but had a statement read out on his behalf which was described as 'extremely emotional, extremely to the core'.

Lawyer Tania Koen said Mrs Steenkamp, above, was 'very relieved that it's over'

Carmen Dodd, who read Barry's victim-impact statement, said: 'Barry said he can't sleep at night, he can't find closure until the real truth is given to him.

'He says, before he dies, he has one wish and that is Oscar would just tell us exactly what happened on that night.'

Ms Steenkamp's parents welcomed the news today, with their Ms Koen revealing that June is 'very relieved that it's over'.

The lawyer paid tribute to Reeva's mother June, 79, saying the ordeal of the hearing had been 'very stressful' for her.

She added that it had taken a 'huge amount of guts and courage' for her to attend.

'It was very unpleasant for her, the circumstances, but she knew she had to do it for Reeva and she did it... I am very proud of her.'

Ms Steenkamp's mother, June, arrived shortly before 10am (9am GMT) to make oral and written statements on behalf of herself and her husband, Barry

June said before the hearing that she was 'very nervous' and that it was 'very hard to be in the same room' as her daughter's killer.

Ms Koen said it will be particularly tough for the heartbroken mother, as she has not confronted her daughter's killer since 2016.

'It's a very traumatic experience, as you can imagine. It's painful June has to face Oscar Pistorius again this morning. He is the killer of their daughter, for them, it's a life sentence.

Pistorius was found guilty of murder and given a 13-year jail sentence in 2017 after a lengthy trial in which he maintained that he had mistaken Ms Steenkamp for an intruder

Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius walks in the courtroom without his prosthetic legs during his resentencing hearing for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend

'For them, it's ten missed birthdays, ten Mother's Days, ten Father's Days, ten Christmases.

'They don't feel that he should be released. They feel he has shown no remorse and he's not rehabilitated because if he had been he would have come clean and told the true story of what happened that night.

'They believe he intended to kill Reeva... unless he comes clean they don't feel that he has rehabilitated.'

Oscar Pistorius will now remain at Atteridgeville Correctional Centre on the outskirts of Pretoria

Oscar Pistorius will not be released from prison early, a decade after he killed his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp

'They have no expectations,' Ms Koen previously said of the Steenkamps ahead of the hearing. 'The law must take its course.'

Pistorius had pleaded not guilty and denied that he killed Ms Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar - a version of events her family sees as untrue.

The gun enthusiast shot his girlfriend several times through the bathroom door with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the human body.

Pistorius was jailed in 2016 for six years initially before his sentence was extended to 13 years in 2017.

Offenders in South Africa are automatically eligible for parole half way through their sentence.

Prison staff at Atteridgeville Correctional Centre where Oscar Pistorius is being held

Sources say Pistorius has been affected by his time in custody, and is now a shadow of his former self.

A spokesman at Atteridgeville said the former athlete had been 'working quite hard' during his time at the prison.

In June last year Pistorius agreed to meet the Steenkamps in prison, as part of South Africa's victim-offender dialogue programme

Pistorius met Barry Steenkamp, left, last year. But Ms Steenkamp's father came away from the meeting dissatisfied and 'emotional'. He did not travel to Pretoria today due to poor health

Barry Steenkamp is consoled by his wife June during the sentencing hearing of Oscar Pistorius at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in October 2014

The independent parole board had to determine, among other issues, whether Pistorius posed a risk of committing similar crimes in the future, prison spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said previously.

It also considered his disciplinary record, training programmes in prison and his physical and mental state, prison officials said.

Of all the factors, legal experts considered the behavior of Pistorius while in prison as likely to have been the most important consideration.

His lawyer, Julian Knight, has previously said Pistorius has been a 'model prisoner'.

Pistorius met Barry Steenkamp in June last year in a process authorities said was designed to ensure inmates 'acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and society at large'.

But Ms Steenkamp's father came away from the meeting dissatisfied and 'emotional', his lawyer said.

'It was traumatic for both Mr Pistorius and Barry, it was painful, really painful,' said Ms Koen today.

When asked whether Barry got the sense that Oscar had any remorse, Ms Koen said: 'No, that's why we're here today.'

Mr Steenkamp did not travel to Pretoria from his home in Port Elizabeth today because of poor health.

His wife said the 79-year-old 'is not well' and that he 'can't walk any more'.

The case was particularly high profile as the famous South African athlete had just a year earlier been the first double amputee to compete in an able-bodied Olympics.

Seen as a power couple on South Africa's social scene, Ms Steenkamp was also well-known as a successful model and TV star.

The South African athlete, nicknamed Blade Runner because of his racing prosthetics, had been a widely-celebrated Paralympian prior to the killing

Ms Steenkamp was a successful model and TV star. She modeled for the jewelry company Sivana Diamonds and was the first face of Avon cosmetics in South Africa

After taking part in London 2012 Olympics, Pistorius was courted by sponsors and admired worldwide for overcoming the difficulties associated with his disability.

But it all came crashing down after the killing in 2013, with the world bearing witness to his downfall as his trial was broadcast globally.

Following sentencing, he was sent to the Kgosi Mampuru II maximum security prison, one of South Africa's most notorious jails.

The killer, who uses prosthetics after his lower legs were amputated as a baby, was moved to the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in 2016, a facility better suited to disabled prisoners.

Now his bid for freedom has been denied, the disgraced athlete is expected to remain at the facility for the foreseeable future.

Former Olympic and Paralympic athlete Pistorius shot dead Ms Steenkamp, 29, in the early hours of Valentine's Day n 2013
Finnish politics could dramatically shift to the far-Right on Sunday as an anti-immigration party aims to replace Sanna Marin's Social Democrats Party.

The 'rock star' prime minister, who took office in 2019 as the world's youngest PM at 34, has become one of Finland's most popular leaders, polls show.

However, the latest figures put the mother-of-one's centre-Left SDP in third place behind the anti-immigration and nationalist Finns Party and the centre-Right National Coalition Party, which held on to a thin lead.

'It is a very exciting situation and it's hard to say at the moment which party will be the biggest on election day,' Tuomo Turja of the polling firm Taloustutkimus told AFP.

A win for the far-Right Finns Party, and a far-Right prime minister, would be a first in Finland - but the party has previously served in government in a coalition. It currently looks set to top its record 19 per cent from the 2011 election.

The latest polls on Thursday put Sanna Marin's centre-left SDP in third place, behind the anti-immigration and nationalist Finns Party and the centre-right National Coalition

The release of Marin's dancing video last year came just months after she was forced to apologise for going out clubbing after coming into contact with a Covid-19 case

Traditionally, the biggest of the eight main parties in parliament claims the top post and tries to build a government.

Marin leads a centre-Left coalition of Social Democrats, the Centre, the Greens, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People's Party of Finland.

Although some view her as a strong leader who skillfully navigated the Covid-19 pandemic and the country's NATO membership process, others say her partying scandals and youthful behaviour make her unfit for office.

'Sanna Marin is a polarising character. She has fans like a rock star but on the other hand she has a lot of people who can't stand her,' Marko Junkkari, a journalist at daily Helsingin Sanomat, told AFP.

The leader of the National Coalition Party, Petteri Orpo, has focused his campaign on the economy, accusing the government of irresponsibly increasing public debt.

'The outlook is very bad. Our public finances will plummet and this will lead to the erosion of the foundations of our welfare society,' he told AFP.

Finland's debt-to-GDP ratio has risen from 64 per cent in 2019 to 73 per cent, which the National Coalition wants to address by cutting spending by six billion euros (5.3billion).

National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo at the central Sanomatalo building in Helsinki, Finland, on March 28, 2023 during a political debate with the main party leaders

Sanna Marin became one of the youngest world leaders in 2019 when was sworn in as Finland's prime minister at the age of 34

She was seen dancing wildly and partying with a group of celebrity friends in a video leaked online

Marin has defended her track record and accused the National Coalition of wanting to 'take from the poor to give to the rich'.

Support for the populist Finns Party has surged since last summer, spurred by rising costs of energy and other goods in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The eurosceptic party wants a hard line on immigration, pointing to neighbouring Sweden's problems with gang violence and laying the blame on its large influx of migrants.

'We do not want to go the way of Sweden. We are highlighting the effects of a harmful immigration policy,' said Finns Party leader Riikka Purra.

While the party served in a centre-Right government in 2015, it later split into two factions, one hard-line and the other moderate.

Only the hard-liners, which became the second-biggest party in the 2019 election, now remain in parliament.

The Finns Party sees an EU exit as its long-term goal and wants to postpone Finland's target of carbon neutrality for 2035.

Negotiations to build a government are expected to be thorny.

The former heavyweight in Finnish politics, the Centre Party, has plummeted from the largest party in 2015 to record-low support, after sitting in consecutive Right and Left-wing governments for nearly eight years.

It does not want to continue in Marin's current coalition, clashing in particular with the Greens.

Without the Centre's support, both the SDP and the National Coalition will have a hard time building a majority.

And Marin has ruled out forming a government with what she calls the 'openly racist' Finns Party.

Orpo has said he will keep his options open, which gives him a central role in forming the next government, as both the Finns Party and the SDP would likely need him to obtain a majority.

'At the moment, the most likely scenario is a blue-red government based on the National Coalition and the SDP,' Turja said.

While a Left-Right government is reasonably common in Finland's consensus-oriented politics, their opposing economic policies could complicate the task.

Another option would be a Right-wing government with the National Coalition and the Finns Party.

While Orpo said the two 'have their differences' when it comes to the EU, immigration and climate goals, he added that 'there are many things that unite us' such as economic policy.
Pirates have today abandoned a Danish-owned oil tanker that they hijacked in the most dangerous shipping route in the world - but they have kidnapped the crew.

Communication was lost with tanker Monjasa Reformer and its location was unknown after five armed pirates boarded the vessel in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of west Africa, on Saturday.

Fearing for their lives, all 16 crew members ran to the safe room onboard and barricaded themselves inside.

But now, the vessel has been located off the coast of Sao Tome and Principe and part of the crew has been kidnapped, the ship's owner Monjasa said on Friday.

The ship was found on Thursday by the French navy - but by that time, the pirates had abandoned the vessel and kidnapped some of the crew members, while others have been brought to safety.

No details were provided on the number of crew kidnapped, nor their nationalities.

The 16-person crew of the Monjasa Reformer (pictured before the attack) oil tanker barricaded themselves in the ship's safe room after they were attacked by armed pirates. The pirates have now left the vessel but have taken some of the crew with them

The last known location of the 135-metre tanker is hundred of miles off the coast of west Africa. Communication was lost with tanker Monjasa Reformer after it was boarded by five armed pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of west Africa, on Saturday

'Our thoughts are with the crew members still missing and their families during this stressful period. Monjasa will continue working closely with the local authorities to support our seafarers safe return to their families,' Monjasa said.

'The rescued crew members are all in good health and safely located in a secure environment,' Monjasa added.

On Saturday, five pirates wielding weapons boarded the Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker around 160 miles west of the Republic of Congo's Port Pointe-Noire, Monjasa said.

Danish marine fuels supplier Monjasa said the crew of the 135-metre tanker sought refuge in the secure room or 'citadel' when the pirates boarded, 'in accordance with the onboard anti-piracy emergency protocol'.

It added 'the vessel was sitting idle' when the incident took place.

But since then, the vessel's owner said some of the crew members had been taken from the safe room and kidnapped.

The ship's Danish owner Monjasa, a marine fuels supplier, said the attack was a 'dreadful' incident

The company added: 'Onboard communications channels are currently down and we are working with the local authorities to establish communication to understand the situation on board'

Why is the Gulf of Guinea the most dangerous shipping route in the world? The Gulf of Guinea is a major shipping route stretching 3,500 miles from Senegal to Angola, with Nigerian gangs carrying out most attacks. Since 2021, shippers say pirates have been raiding farther out in international waters. The gulf has periods of calmer seas when it is easier for pirates to race out from hidden bases on the Nigeria coast to raid commercial vessels offshore and kidnap crew. Many of the attacks in recent years have been carried out by Nigerian criminal gangs who strike out in speed boats from hideouts in the Delta region to raid vessels. Some gangs have captured larger fishing vessels which they use as a 'mothership' base to raid further out to sea. Yet the region, which sees a lot of traffic from oil tankers, has also seen a lull in activity recently. Three ships were attacked in the area in 2022, compared to 26 in 2019. Two other attacks have been recorded in the region in 2023 so far. Advertisement

The nationalities of the crew members and the pirates are not yet known.

The Gulf of Guinea is the world's most dangerous spot for attacks on ships.

In June, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution strongly condemning piracy, armed robbery and hostage-taking in the area.

This hijacking took place further south in an area that is not typically attacked by pirates.

Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan-based think tank, said: 'This is worrying since it's rare in this area compared to the Gulf of Guinea, for example, where multiple ship hijackings take place every year.

'Hopefully we are not witnessing a new trend and [this] is just an isolated incident. This also could be explained by increased security measures in the Gulf of Guinea and pirates are looking into new areas of operations.'

Denmark, home to shipping giant Maersk, sent a naval frigate in 2021 to patrol the waters, after the country had pushed for a stronger international naval presence.

The Absalon-class Danish frigate Esbern Snare - equipped with a helicopter and around 175 marines aboard - was sent to patrol the waters between November 2021 and March 2022, a period when the risk of attacks was higher.

The Danish Shipping association said the latest incident shows 'problems with piracy off the west coast of Africa are far from solved.'

Although it acknowledged the war in Ukraine meant Denmark's navy was needed elsewhere, it suggested 'vessels from several countries in the area... particularly the EU countries should coordinate their presence' to provide the best cover.

In November 2021, sailors from the Danish frigate were involved in a firefight resulting in the deaths of five suspected pirates.

A suspected Nigerian pirate was transferred to Denmark to receive medical care after the skirmish.

After needing to have his leg amputated the man, who has also applied for asylum in Denmark, was put on trial for and convicted of endangering the lives of the Danish sailors.
Porn actress Stormy Daniels today said she had been inundated with merchandise orders in light of former President Trump's indictment decision yesterday.

Daniels, who claimed Trump had paid her $130,000 in hush money after an affair, joked she was celebrating with champagne and thanked fans on Twitter for their support.

'Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...also don't want to spill my champagne,' she said, adding that 'orders are pouring in' for her merchandise.

A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on Thursday following the allegations, making him the first former US President to face criminal charges.

The specific charges are expected to be revealed in the coming days, but CNN on Thursday reported Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

Trump denies wrongdoing and has said the decision is 'political persecution', writing on his platform, Truth Social, that he does not expect a fair trial.

He is set to face a mug shot, finger-printing and a court appearance next week.

Donald Trump (L) and Stormy Daniels (R) are pictured together in a 2006 photo. Daniels alleged that Trump paid her $130,000 in hush money after an affair together

Stormy Daniels thanked fans for their support, love and merchandise orders on Twitter

Stormy Daniels accused Donald Trump, 76, of paying her $130,000 to keep quiet after an affair together before his 2016 election win.

Trump had allegedly recorded the transaction as a business expense.

READ MORE: Trump Indictment RECAP: New York jury brings criminal charges Advertisement

Falsifying business records is illegal in New York.

The exact charges brought against Trump have not yet been reported.

The decision has further polarized Trump's supporters and opposition.

Republicans have slammed the decision as political perversion as Trump seeks to reassert control of the Republican Party.

Former Vice President Mike Pence blasted the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's decision to bring charges against his former boss as an abuse of power.

Trump said in a statement that 'the Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to 'Get Trump,' but now they've done the unthinkable  indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.'

Stormy Daniels took to Twitter to thank her supporters earlier today, after linking to her store via Twitter on 20 March.

The actress has jumped on the #teamstormy trend, sharing t-shirts emblazoned with the tag.

Neither the White House nor President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is widely expected to seek re-election in a possible rematch against Trump, commented on Thursday.

Stormy Daniels thanked #teamstormy supporters on Twitter after the indictment decision

The Manhattan investigation is just one of several legal challenges concerning Trump.

Trump also faces a separate criminal probe into whether he unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia, and two investigations by a special counsel including over his handling of classified documents after leaving office.

The Manhattan charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days and Trump will have to travel there for fingerprinting and other processing at that point.

He is expected to appear before a judge next week where the charges will be formally read, according to a court official.

Trump's lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said they will 'vigorously fight' the charges.

Trump received support from a number of his potential challengers for the Republican nomination on Thursday including Florida Governor Ron Desantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.

'This will only further serve to divide our country,' Pence said.

Trump could use the case to stoke anger among his core supporters, though other Republican voters might tire of the drama.

Some 44% of Republicans said he should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.
Residents in Ancoats, Manchester, have taken matters into their own hands

Angry locals have put up wooden spikes to stop people parking outside their homes after cars were vandalised.

Residents on Weybridge Road, Ancoats, Manchester, launched a petition earlier this month to call on the council to solve the parking problems plaguing the street.

The DIY project was instigated after United Utilities workers asked motorists to remove their cars from a grass verge in order to carry out necessary repairs to pipes.

But the water company's work did not start as scheduled on March 30 because of the cars.

Residents also fear for the safety of road users, Jaime Lightbowne said, and want to stop people getting hurt.

Residents on Weybridge Road, Ancoats, Manchester, have erected spikes in the ground to stop nuisance parking

The road is typically busy and the parking problem has been made worse by a water company asking motorists not to park on the street, residents say

'It's an accident waiting to happen,' the 36-year-old mother added.

'I want to stop people getting hurt rather than waiting for someone to get hurt.

'A mixture of neighbours have built the fence. Someone put some of the sticks up and others said "We will have a go at putting it up too."'

Ms Lightbowne added that as of 2.15pm on Thursday she had seen 'no sign' of United Utilities staff.

The Weybridge Road row has exploded into view in recent months, with Liberal Democrat campaigner and resident Chris Northwood saying some vehicles have been vandalised.

'It's become a flashpoint,' she said. 'Some have had windows smashed, and people leave cones out to stop people parking outside their house.'

Labour councillors in the area agree the situation is 'disgraceful'.

Counsellor Irene Robinson and Majid Dar said in a joint statement that the parking was 'disgraceful' and was destroying the grass verge.

'Parking down Weybridge Street and the surrounding area is disgraceful and we share residents' anger on it.

'It makes it harder to drive down the street and wrecks the grass. We've been fighting for more funding to combat this and last year Majid Dar secured an expansion of the Eastlands parking scheme, so we can tackle this head on.'

Ms Lightbowne said since launching the petition, council officers have promised to look at enforcement.

The DIY-project was inspired by United Utilities workers asking motorists to remove their cars from a grass verge in order to carry out necessary repairs to pipes

Liberal Democrat campaigner and resident Chris Northwood said some vehicles have been vandalised

The letter from the utility company asking locals not to park outside the address where pipe repairs are due to take place

She said: 'Nothing concrete has come from the council, only because they are waiting for feedback from the Eastlands parking scheme before putting plans forward for the Ancoats one for consultation.

'Officers have said though that they will speak to enforcement about short-term and long-term things.'

When the petition was launched, a spokesperson from Manchester council said: 'Funding has been secured by the council to develop a residents' parking scheme in Ancoats and New Islington, a project the council remains committed to.

'This project is currently in the early stages of development, with data being collected on how residents and businesses use this area. It is important that engagement takes place to ensure the type and frequency of parking issues caused by out of area vehicles can be thoroughly assessed and understood.

'When the time comes the council would encourage all residents to make their views known so that the final scheme is best suited to their needs.'

They added that the council was 'limited in regards to enforcement' due to the lack of double yellow lines or parking bays in the area.

'The council has on several occasions lobbied central government to give greater powers to local authorities to allow problematic parking, such as the kind on display in Ancoats, can be properly addressed,' they added.

A United Utilities spokesperson, said: 'Our teams were due to carry out maintenance on one of our assets on Weybridge Road yesterday.

'Unfortunately we were unable to gain access to carry out the repairs due to parked cars. We will now look to reschedule the job and will write to residents again once the date is confirmed.'
Authorities plan to transport 70 of them in the coming months

Authorities in Colombia have said they are making progress with the transfer of 70 of Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos' to Mexico and India.

Since the drug lord's death in 1993, the animals have been left to roam freely in a hot, marshy area of Antioquia, in the north west of the country.

Environmental authorities have been struggling to curb their numbers, which now stand at least 150.

They have spread beyond Escobar's former ranch of Hacienda Napoles, where they grew from a population of just one male and three females.

Escobar brought a small number of the African hippos to Colombia in the late 1980s.

The hippos spread beyond Pablo Escobar's former ranch of Hacienda Napoles, where they grew from a population just one male and three females

Pablo Escobar, the godfather of the Medellin Cartel, in Colombia in February, 1988

Authorities said they plan to capture and transport almost half of the hippos in the coming months.

The plans will form part of a deal that the local Antioquia government signed with institutions such as the Colombian Agricultural Institute, the Colombian Air Force and the Ostok Sanctuary in Mexico.

Ten of the hippos will be taken to the Ostok Sanctuary in northern Mexico and 60 will be transported to as-yet unnamed facility in India. They are not being taken back to their native Africa as it could impact the ecosystem.

'The whole operation should cost around $3.5 million,' Ernesto Zazueta, owner of the Ostok Sanctuary, told reporters.

He and the governor of Antioquia, Anibel Gaviria, said they plan to use bait to herd the animals into their pens before they are placed in special crates for transportation.

Colombia had attempted a sterilisation program to curb the population but it was unsuccessful.

Pictured: The hippos in a river in Doradal, Antioquia Department, Colombia

Hippos are seen swimming close to the Magdalena River in Doradal, Colombia

The environment ministry declared the hippos an invasive species last year.

The population of the cocaine hippos has rocketed despite efforts by the authorities to address the issue, such as castration and using contraceptive dart 'shots'.

Escobar had built up a collection of exotic wildlife in the 1980s at his ranch in the municipality of Puerto Triunfo, around 250 kilometres from Medellin.

After his death, authorities relocated most of the animals but it was too difficult to transport the hippos.

The surge in numbers has seen them branch out across the Magdalena River basin.

Research has shown that the hippos pose a threat to agriculture and humans in the area. Hippo waste can alter oxygen levels in bodies of water, which can lower the water quality and cause mass fish deaths.

The drug lord, once the seventh richest man in the world, bought four hippos from a Californian zoo in the early 1980s and kept them outside his mansion in Doradal

Since the drug lord's death in 1993, his cocaine hippos were left to roam freely in a hot, marshy area of Antioquia department, in the north west of the country

After the Ministry of Environment issues 'hippo passports,' the transportation process can begin. It is expected to happen by the end of the first semester of the year, the statement read.

'We're looking to save the lives of hippos, but also to protect the lives of people in the Magdalena Medio region,' Gaviria said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Zoos in Ecuador and Philippines have also expressed an interest in transferring some of the hippos.

Gaviria said earlier this month that the plan 'required enormous diplomacy from a political, environmental and technical point of view'.

Escobar used his cocaine fortune to set up the 7,400-acre Hacienda Napoles estate because the government had told him that there was already a zoo in Medellin, according to the book 'Pablo Escobar, my father,' penned by his only son Juan Pablo Escobar.

Colombia military personnel guard the entrance to Pablo Escobar's Hacienda Napoles ranch in 1989

A Colombian soldier stands guard in the pool area at Pablo Escobar's Hacienda Napoles ranch in 1989

A veterinarian prepares a hippopotamus, known as Orion, for dental treatment at the Zoo Santa Fe in Medellin in 2010. The animal was born in the private Hacienda Napoles ranch that belonged to Pablo Escobar

The Medellin Cartel boss was also driven to have his own zoo after noticing that his associate and cartel co-founders Fabio Ochoa, Juan Ochoa and Jorge Ochoa had set up a park at their estate with their own flock of exotic animals.

Escobar went out and bought a collection of 1,900 exotic and wild animals from a zoo in Dallas for $2 million in cash.

The first wave of animals arrived by boat from the United States, but most were sick because of the long trip. Escobar then made sure that any animal being brought into Colombia was flown in.

While going through a list of the animals that were at the zoo, the notorious drug lord noticed that he only had one male hippo and told one of his underlings that it wasn't enough.

'You have to buy a hippopotamus because Noah's Ark is wobbling,' Escobar said. 'Call Miami and ask them to send me a female on a plane now.'

Eventually, Escobar's hippo collection grew to four, including three females.

Following his death, some of the hippos were transferred to zoos, while the rest roamed the region and multiplied.

Hacienda Napoles was converted into a Jurassic Park-style attraction in 2014.

Luis Diaz recalled nearly being trampled and killed by a hippo at his parents' Puerto Triunfo farm in 2022, according to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.

The 44-year-old said he was getting water from a spout when he noticed the animal's large shadow and fled.

The encounter left him in shock for two weeks.

'I don't know what happened,' he said. 'I lost consciousness  I didn't know what had happened to me.'
Donald Trump was 'shocked' to discover that a Manhattan Grand Jury voted to indict him, according to the former president's attorney.

Speaking to Sean Hannity of Fox News, Joe Tacopina clarified that he and Trump, 76, heard about the indictment through media reports alone.

'He's ready to fight. You know, he's the toughest guy I know. He was shocked, you know, because we really weren't  I was shocked,' Tacopina said of Trump's reaction to the indictment.

'I've never been more angry about a charge because today, the rule of law in the United States of America died. It's dead. It's dead,' Tacopina said.

It comes as Trump is expected to appear in court this Tuesday after being indicted by a grand jury on Thursday following alleged 'hush money' payments made ahead of the 2016 elections.

Donald Trump was 'shocked' to discover that a Manhattan Grand Jury voted to indict him

Joe Tacopina clarified that he and Trump, 76, heard about the indictment through media reports alone

The attorney added that Trump's expected Tuesday arraignment is 'not finalized.'

'We are discussing with them, you know, obviously, there's a group called the Secret Service that's involved now. I mean, this is going to be something we've never seen the likes of,' Tacopina said.

It marks the first ever criminal case against a former president in US history.

Sources told the New York Post that the sealed indictment was filed with the clerk's office in Manhattan supreme court in Lower Manhattan on Thursday evening.

The specific charges were not made public, but the sources said Trump is facing over two dozen counts related to business fraud.

Citing two sources, CNN reported Trump is facing over 30 counts connected to business fraud.

'This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,' Trump said in a statement Tuesday.

It follows from alleged 'hush money' payments made ahead of the 2016 elections

His attorneys, Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, told The Post that Trump 'did not commit any crime' and vowed to 'vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.'

It comes as he attempts to regain the White House for a third time in the 2024 Republican nomination.
A professional dog sitter who was secretly filmed by her ex-husband abusing her customer's pets has been banned from keeping animals for life.

Former charity fundraiser Amanda Le Bretton, 55, was seen on spy cameras hitting the dogs, kicking one, and grasping a chihuahua by the scruff of its neck while its owners were on holiday.

The abusive dog sitter was exposed after her former husband Stephen, a catering manager, whom she accused of alcoholism and domestic abuse, collated the footage and distributed the videos on Facebook using his middle name Peter when he discovered she was getting married again.

He had installed the cameras around the premises without her knowledge while the warring couple were forced to live with each other during lockdown.

Le Bretton's defence said the actions were 'out of character' and a result of the stress of her living situation as she pleaded guilty to four counts of four charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal at Chester Magistrate's Court.

Amanda Le Bretton, 55, was filmed by her ex-husband, Stephen Peter Le Bretton, abusing some of the animals in her care

Le Bretton pleaded guilty to four counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. She received death threats after the videos were put out online

Each charge related to a separate video footage taken November 5, 2020, December 8, 2020, and October 16, 2021.

The first video showed Le Bretton grasping a white poodle around the neck and hitting it with her hand. In the second she can be heard shouting, 'Behave' as she kicked a white Westie, thought to be called Alfie, causing the dog to yelp.

In the third, another poodle called Ringo was smacked by Le Bretton who then pushed her knee into the dog's side whilst saying, 'Naughty boy Ringo.'

In the fourth, the chihuahua called Lulu was picked up by the scruff of the neck causing the dog to squeal repeatedly.

The total length of the footage which was played in court was around one minute. Mr Le Bretton was not in court.

The ensuing furore led to Le Bretton getting death threats, having to issue grovelling apologies to her customers then losing her trading licence at her Homes from Home Dog Retreat in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

She has since quit Britain altogether for a new life in Thailand.

Ian Moore, prosecuting for Cheshire West and Chester council, said the investigation began after the authority was sent an email with the four videos on May 31, 2022.

'During the time of the offences she held a license issued by local authority Cheshire West Council permitting her to look after dogs for clients who went on holiday otherwise known as home boarding or temporary dog care.

'On May 31 Cheshire West Council received an email containing secure camera videos. The footage contained dogs in care of the defendant.

'They were emailed from a person purporting to be called Peter. Numerous attempts were made by the council to contact Peter with a view to a statement being taken. Peter failed to respond.

'An investigation began and the local authority took the opinion of a vet about the conduct of the defendant as shown in the video. The video was viewed by a vet from the Rose Cottage Centre in Runcorn for her opinion as to how the dogs were treated by the defendant.'

The ensuing furore led to Le Bretton getting death threats, having to issue grovelling apologies to her customers then losing her trading licence

A vet said that the behaviour shown by Le Bretton in the videos was 'not appropriate' for a license holder

'The vet concluded, "In my opinion the behaviour exhibited in those videos by the license holder is not appropriate for a person taking care of other people's dogs as a home boarder. The video clips evidenced pain and distress when the dogs yelped.

'"The license holder's actions definitely caused anxiety and compromised the mental welfare of the dogs in her care."

'On August 22, 2022 the defendant attended an interview under caution with the local authority where she gave a written prepared statement. In essence, the defendant said that she admitted being the person shown in the video and she was remorseful for her actions.

'She explained that she had apologised to the owners of the dogs. She explained that she has acted of character. She also went on to say she had no intention of resuming her business as a dog carer. The defendant's license to board dogs was ultimately revoked by the Cheshire West Council.'

In mitigation for Le Bretton, defence lawyer Stephen Ferns said his client had been under stress due to being in an abusive relationship at the time and feeling trapped at home due to the pandemic.

He confirmed that the videos were released by Mr Le Bretton when he found out she was getting remarried.

'One video was of a chihuahua called Lulu, which had stayed with her on many occasions and who slept with her on that night, with other dogs as well,' said Mr Ferns.

'The owner even invited my client for a meal for caring for her dog. She has since offered her apologies to the dog's owners. The second video is of Ringo and it was during the third lockdown. At the time my client was unable to stay with her parents due to the Covid situation and she had to live with her ex-husband and was subject to significant domestic abuse. He was refusing to divorce her.

'Ringo was a neighbour's dog and she had known the neighbours for many years. The neighbours have been supportive, particularly after making an apology. It broke her heart to see her actions on the video footage. She loves all the dogs and is very embarrassed and ashamed of what she has done.

'The owners have responded by text message saying that they understand the situation that she was going through.

'Mrs Le Bretton said that dogs are the best judge of character. Dogs would get remarkably excited when they arrived at her property even if they were just passing the dogs would get very animated. She was told this by the owners of the various animals.

'The owners repeatedly kept animals in her care. As a result, this behaviour was very much out of character.'

Mr Ferns said his client claimed that Mr Le Bretton had 'rampant alcoholism' and had almost lost his life as a result and she felt that she had to stay with him to support him through that time.

Le Bretton was banned from keeping animals for life and fined 3,000 at Chester Magistrate's Court after pleading guilty to the four charges of animal cruelty

Le Bretton claimed the actions were 'out of character' and a result of her stressful living situation

He went on: 'She was in a very difficult situation. She has made complaints to police about his actions. She felt trapped in the marriage and in August 2020 was finally able to break free from that.'

'She has met somebody else and married that person. But the videos were then released by her ex-husband. Those videos came from someone purporting to be Peter. The email's automatic attribution shows that it does come from him, Stephen Peter Le Bretton. Perhaps he was using his middle name, Peter.

'He sent these videos from footage that has come from in the house and also some secret camera Mrs Le Bretton was not aware of. He has accessed the videos at the home illegally, particularly after the marriage was dissolved. After finding out that she was getting married, he has released them on Facebook.

'Upon being released on Facebook she was subject to threats against her life. People came to her address, accosted her in the street. She had text messages threatening her life.

'One gentleman turned up with what she believed to be a knife. She had to call the police to try and remove this gentleman.'

Mr Ferns said Le Bretton and her mother's address were on 'high alert' with the police following the incident.

Mr Ferns said that Le Bretton's current husband had found the difficulties arising from the case intolerable, having also been abused himself, and had returned to Thailand where he had lived before. He said that his client had also moved to Thailand to try and 'rescue' their marriage.

'She feels her life has effectively been destroyed,' Mr Ferns said, 'She accepted her actions which were committed in the context of abuse in marriage, lockdown and being cooped up in the house with her husband. She has to leave to try and rescue her marriage. It means that she has to be away from her mother and father and is not able to check on them daily.

Le Bretton has moved to Thailand with her new partner, her defence said, and has no plans to reopen her business

Le Bretton was filmed picking up a tea-cup Chihuahua by its ears in one of the videos, which was shared online by her ex-husband under a pseudonym

Le Bretton's defence said she had 'lost a lot of friends' and been the victim of death threats since the videos showing her treatment of the dogs were made public

'She has lost a lot of friends as a result of this, judging her by what they have seen and effectively calling time on life-long friendships. Her business was already gone. She is never going to be able to return to the business of working with animals again.

'She has sold her home because of people knowing her address and going to seek her out there. As a result, she is suffering from anxiety and depression and has had to be heavily medicated. I ask that you take all that into account.'

Le Bretton was also fined 3,000, and made to pay 1,423 in council costs and victim surcharge.

JP Mark Johns told her that it would be easier for the court to accept a temporary lack of control but her actions constituted a 'breach of trust'.

'Animals have no voice, they rely on their owners or in this case on the person who is entrusted with their care to treat them with compassion and patience.

'In your favour, you are a person of good character and you have expressed much remorse and sorrow for your actions.

'But you must realise your reputation is shattered. Your reputation has gone. You realise you have no future in the care of animals.'
Taylen Mosley reported missing after mother found dead in her apartment

Florida police have launched a desperate hunt for a missing two-year-old boy, suspecting he may have been kidnapped following the violent death of his mother.

Taylen Mosley, who only turned two on March 12, has been missing since his mother, Pashun Jeffrey, 20, was found dead in her Lincoln Shores apartment on 4th Street North yesterday at 2.30pm.

St. Petersburg police chief Anthony Holloway said during a press conference Thursday evening that Taylen was last seen with his mother around 5.30pm. Wednesday outside their apartment.

He described the 'very violent homicide scene within the apartment' and said that police were unable to find the child.

'So right now, that's our main concern  is to try and find Taylen.'

St. Petersburg Police are urgently searching for missing 2-year-old Taylen Mosley after his 20-year-old mother Pashun Jeffrey was found dead in Pinellas County, Florida Credit

Mother Pashun Jeffrey, 20, was found dead in her apartment yesterday afternoon

Drone footage showed a busy crime scene with multiple police cars outside and crime scene tape around a parking lot.

Jeffrey's car was seen with all doors open and materials on the floor around the car as police conducted their searches.

It is understood that Taylen and his mother were the only ones living in the apartment.

Holloway said they had not yet contacted Taylen's father, but were sure that he was not with him.

He said that federal, state and county officials were helping with the search.

Authorities are using dog units to assist the search and plan to launch a drone.

The disappearance has prompted a statewide Amber Alert.

Police do not yet have a suspect in the disappearance of Taylen.

The death of his mother is also under investigation.

On Twitter, police wrote she had been killed.

A neighbor said that they had heard 'a commotion', apparently from the apartment, on Wednesday night, but no one called police.

A crime scene was set up around the apartment where Pashun was found dead yesterday

Police wrote on Facebook: 'Have you seen two-year-old Taylen Mosley?

'His 20-year-old mother, Pashun Jeffery, was found dead in her apartment at Lincoln Shores Apts., 11601 4th St. N., at about 2:30 p.m. today.

'Taylen is missing and could be in danger.'

They advised that anyone with information about Taylen's whereabouts or the homicide investigation should please call St. Petersburg Police at (727) 893-7780 or text SPPD and your tip to TIP411.
A Labour frontbencher was criticised today after suggesting beer pumps should display the number of calories in a pint.

Shadow social care minister Liz Kendall said the nutritional value of alcoholic drinks was a 'big issue'.

Speaking to the BBC she said that giving the information to drinkers would allow them to make decisions about what and how much they drink for themselves and avoid more drastic measures from politicians.

But industry leaders condemned the idea at a time when the high street is already struggling with a stagnant economy.

The idea was floated by the Tory government in 2021, with health chiefs wanting to force larger chains to disclose the amount of calories for every beer, wine and spirit ordered in their bars.

But it was later dropped over cost fears and worries that vulnerable people may switch to drinks that were lower in calories but higher in alcohol content.

Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UK Hospitality, told MailOnline: 'At this point in time, there would be considerable costs involved for the pubs to be able to implement it. Now is not the time to be taking this matter forward.

Shadow social care minister Liz Kendall said the nutritional value of alcoholic drinks was a 'big issue'.

'We are reliant, as pubs, bars and restaurants, on suppliers providing us with the information in the first place. If there is more information that can be provided we are all in favour of helping to promote transparency and clarity, but putting a requirement on pubs at this point in time to have calorie labelling on menus or pumps would be disproportionate.'

Speaking to BBC News' Newscast podcast last night, Ms Kendall, a former leadership challenger, said: 'I'd like to know how many calories there are in alcohol. That's another really big issue.'

When asked if this included calorie counts in pubs, including on pumps, she said: 'I think we need to look across the board at all of this, to see what it is that we're consuming, so that people have got the knowledge and the information to do that, I really do.

'Because in the end, I'm not going to tell people what to do. You've got to give them the power and the knowledge to make the changes that they - for themselves. But also, the ability to do that.'

A pint of Guinness contains 210 calories  roughly the same as a KitKat Chunky. A large glass of white wine is slightly more calorific (240)  the same as a packet of Starburst sweets.

Punters may be surprised to know that a single Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum and Coke has the equivalent of three McNuggets' worth of calories (140), while a pint of Stella Artois comes in at 230 calories, the same as a slice of pepperoni pizza.

A large 250ml glass of red wine is usually around the 230 calorie mark, the same as a standard 51g Mars Bar, closely followed by a single gin and tonic (220), which is as calorific as a Cornetto ice cream. A glass of prosecco, one of the lighter drinks on the menu, comes in at 90 calories, roughly the same as a packet of Fruit Pastilles.
Travellers are being warned to expect severe disruption at Heathrow Airport over Easter, as security guards begin a 10-day strike.

Around 1,400 members of Unite will walk out for ten days in a row over pay.

The union said talks broke down because Heathrow Airport Limited failed to substantially improve its pay offer.

So, when exactly are the strikes at Heathrow? Will your flight be cancelled? What time do you need to get to the airport?

Read on below for everything you need to know about the Heathrow strikes.

Long queues have formed at Heathrow today, as security staff began a ten-day strike in a row over pay

When are the Heathrow strikes?

A ten day strike by security guards at Heathrow started today, after last-ditch pay talks were unsuccessful.

This means the strikes will affect travellers and holidaymakers over the Easter weekend, which starts next Friday (7 April).

The strikes will end at 23:59 (GMT) on Easter Sunday, 10 April.

Will my flight be cancelled?

British Airways have already cancelled 72 flights today, with more than 10,000 passengers affected.

The strikes involve security officers at Terminal Five, which is used exclusively by British Airways and campus security guards who are responsible for checking all cargo that enters the airport.

Flights operated by British Airways to Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle are seeing cancellations.

Routes to Amsterdam, Nice, Stockholm and Zurich have been cancelled, as well as flights to Athens, Vienna and Palma de Mallorca.

Security guard members of the Unite union on the picket line at Heathrow Airport today

British Airways have already cancelled 72 flights, with more than 10,000 passengers affected

What do I do if my flight is cancelled during the strikes?

If your flight is cancelled, you have a number of different options.

You are legally entitled to a full refund, which includes other flights from the airline that you wont use in the same booking, such as onward or return flights.

You are also entitled to a replacement flight to get you to your destination.

If your cancelled flight delays you by two hours or more, you have the legal right to be helped with costs.

If the replacement flight offered to you has delayed you by two hours or more, and you were given less than two weeks notice, you are legally entitled to compensation.

What time do I have to get to the airport?

The Heathrow Airport website recommends that passengers should arrive at the airport three hours before their departure for international flights, and two hours before take-off for domestic flights.

Due to the current number of flights being cancelled by British Airways at Heathrow, it is best to check the status of your flight before you travel to the airport.

Is the Heathrow Express running?

The Heathrow Express is currently unaffected by strikes at the airport, with no disruption.

Throughout the strikes, there are no scheduled disruptions on the service, but you are advised to check before using the route.

Is Heathrow Airport going to be busier?

The Easter period is traditionally one of the busier times for UK airports, as travellers look to make the most of the Bank Holiday weekend.

Additionally, schools across Britain will have broken up for the Easter holiday period, so more families may be travelling than usual.

With passenger numbers expected to be higher, Heathrow have confirmed they will be deploying additional staff to help ease congestion.

A Heathrow spokesman said: 'We will not let these unnecessary strikes impact the hard-earned holidays of our passengers.

'Our contingency plans will keep the airport operating as normal throughout.

'We are deploying 1,000 additional colleagues and the entire management team, who will be in the terminals providing assistance to passengers over the busy Easter getaway.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko today warned a nuclear third world war 'looms on the horizon' due to NATO's support for Kyiv as he insisted Russia will use nukes if they fear defeat in Ukraine.

The dictator, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed - without providing any evidence - that the West is planning to invade Belarus to 'destroy it'.

Lukashenko said the West's decision to send tanks, missiles and artillery to Ukraine has meant the world is closer than ever to a nuclear apocalypse.

'As a result of the efforts of the United States and its satellites, a full-scale war has been unleashed in Ukraine,' a livid Lukashenko said in a televised address. 'A third world war with nuclear fires looms on the horizon.'

Lukashenko, who allowed Putin to use his country as a launching pad for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago, insisted that Russia's plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is not blackmail but a chance to 'safeguard' his nation against Western threats.

In a ranting speech, Lukashenko warned that if Putin feared his forces were about to be defeated by Ukraine, he would be forced to unleash its nuclear weapons.

'It is impossible to defeat a nuclear power. If the Russian leadership understands that the situation threatens to cause Russia's disintegration, it will use the most terrible weapon. This cannot be allowed,' Lukashenko said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko today warned a nuclear third world war 'looms on the horizon' due to NATO's support for Kyiv as he insisted Russia will use nukes if they fear defeat in Ukraine

A rocket launches from missile system as part of a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile test launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia

The dictator, a loyal ally to Vladimir Putin (pictured together in Moscow in February), claimed - without providing any evidence - that the West is planning to invade Belarus to 'destroy it'

In a scheduled address to the nation, Lukashenko said the West was building up its military forces in Poland, on Belarus' borders, and planning to invade and destroy it.

'Take my word for it, I have never deceived you,' Lukashenko said. 'They are preparing to invade Belarus, to destroy our country,' he added, without providing evidence.

The despot warned Kyiv against launching a counter-offensive against the invading Russian troops, insisting it would make negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv impossible.

Lukashenko called for a 'truce' in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire alongside talks 'without preconditions' between Moscow and Kyiv.

'We must stop now, before an escalation begins. I'll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities... a declaration of a truce,' Lukashenko said during a televised state of the nation address.

'All territorial, reconstruction, security and other issues can and should be settled at the negotiation table, without preconditions,' added Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994.

But within minutes of Lukashenko's speech ending, the Kremlin said while Putin would discuss a ceasefire with the Belarusian President next week, such a move would not achieve the goals of Russia's invasion.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would discuss Lukashenko's call for negotiations next week, but added that some elements of a peace plan proposed by China were unworkable because Ukraine was following Western orders not to negotiate with Moscow.

Lukashenko's sabre-rattling came just days after he announced he was forced to host Russian nuclear weapons due to 'unprecedented' Western pressure.

Putin said on Saturday that Russia would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, its first deployment of nuclear armaments outside its borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Minsk said the missiles would offer protection after what it called a campaign of pressure from the United States and its allies aimed at overthrowing Lukashenko, who has been in power for 28 years.

Belarus said it would not have control over the weapons and insisted their deployment 'in no way contradicts' the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Last week, Lukashenko warned the UK it will 'see a fearful response' that will be a 'lesson for the whole planet' if Britain sends depleted uranium tank munitions to Ukraine.

A Ukrainian tank opens fire during firing practice at special shooting range near the frontline area amid Russia-Ukraine war, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 29

The dictator said last week that Russia would retaliate against Britain's decision to supply Ukrainian forces with ammunition containing depleted uranium by sending Belarus weapons containing 'real uranium' - used in nuclear weapons - in a sombre threat.

'We need to step back from this madness. As soon as this ammunition explodes on Russian troops' positions, you will see a fearful response, it will be a lesson for the whole planet,' Lukashenko said last week.

'Russia does not only have depleted uranium,' Lukashenko said in a thinly veiled threat about an impending nuclear war. 'We have to lower this trend towards escalation in the conflict and move towards a peaceful settlement.'

Vladimir Putin had raged against Britain's decision to provide Kyiv's troops with Challenger 2 battle tanks and depleted uranium ammunition, arguing it marked a step towards using weapons with a 'nuclear component'.

The heavy metal is used in weapons because it can penetrate tanks and armour more easily due to its density, amongst other properties.

Putin warned Moscow would be forced to respond accordingly as such weapons had 'a nuclear component'.

Lukashenko has remained a key ally to Putin throughout the war. Russian forces used Belarus as a launch pad for their attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in February 2022, and there has been Russian and Belarusian military activity in the country since then.

Lukashenko owes Putin loyalty after the Russian despot backed the then-beleaguered Belarusian leader when protests nearly ousted him from power under his repressive regime without fair and free elections.

Lukashenko, who has been accused of human rights violations for his crackdown on the Press, has continued to take part in joint military drills with Russia.

In October last year, he announced Russian units would combine with his own and deploy to the Ukraine border, accusing Kyiv of planning to attack with help from allies Poland and Lithuania.

Meanwhile, in keeping with the Kremlin's longstanding tactic of nuclear posturing, Russia on Wednesday began exercises with its Yars ICBM system and several thousand troops, its defence ministry said.

Topol-M nuclear missile at a Victory Day parade in Moscow, Russia

Putin has aimed to make the Yars system, which replaced the Topol system, part of Russia's 'invincible weapons' and the mainstay of the ground-based component of its nuclear arsenal.

'In total, more than 3,000 military personnel and about 300 pieces of equipment are involved in the exercises,' the defence ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging service.

The drills involve the Strategic Missile Forces comprehensive control checking of the Omsk missile formation together with a command and staff exercise with the Novosibirsk missile formation equipped with the Yars systems.

During the exercises, the Yars mobile systems will conduct manoeuvres in three Russian regions, the ministry said, without identifying the regions.

'Also, strategic missilemen will carry out a set of measures to camouflage and counter modern aerial reconnaissance means in cooperation with formations and units of the Central Military District and the Aerospace Forces.'

There are few confirmed tactical and technical characteristics of the Yars mobile intercontinental ballistic missile systems, which reportedly have an operational range of 7,500 miles.

According to military bloggers, the systems are able to carry multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads and can be mounted on truck carriers or deployed in silos.

Last week, Putin announced that he intends to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus in what appeared to be another attempt to raise the stakes in the conflict in Ukraine.

Belarus said it had decided to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons in response to Western sanctions and what it said was a military build-up by NATO member states near its borders.

US President Joe Biden had indicated he would be concerned by the decision, although the United States said it had not seen any indications that Russia was closer to using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
The bodies of six people including a child have been discovered in a marshland area of a river along the US-Canada border in Quebec known as a crossing point for migrants.

The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said late Thursday it was investigating the deaths after remains were found along the St Lawrence river, a marshy area of Quebec near Canada's border with New York state.

Police said they were awaiting the results of post-mortem and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.

At least one of the deceased was a child with a Canadian passport, Police Chief Shawn Dulude said. The ages or the nationalities of the other victims were not immediately known.

They said they were still trying to identify the dead and their status in Canada. It wasnt immediately known if they were migrants trying to cross the border.

Earlier in the afternoon, police spotted an overturned boat in the river.

The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said late Thursday it was investigating the discovery of six bodies, including one child, in St Lawrence river, a marshy area of Quebec near Canada's border with New York state

U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a plan last week to close a loophole to an immigration agreement

'The first body was located around 5pm. in a marsh area in Tsi Snaihne, Akwesasne, Quebec,' police said in a statement on social media.

'There is no threat to the public at this time.'

Last month, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police reported a recent increase in illegal entries through their lands and waterways.

The statement said some migrants required hospitalization.

And in January the force noted people involved in human smuggling had attempted to utilize shorelines along the St. Lawrence River in the area.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a plan last week to close a loophole to an immigration agreement that allowed thousands of asylum-seeking migrants to move between the two countries along a back road linking New York state to Quebec.

The deal closing an illegal border crossing point about 105 kilometers (66 miles) east of Akwesasne took effect Saturday.
He will attend Palm Sunday services, the Vatican said on Friday

Pope Francis is expected to be discharged on Saturday after what will have been three nights of hospital treatment for bronchitis, and will attend Palm Sunday services, the Vatican said on Friday.

The 86-year-old has responded well to antibiotics and on Thursday evening shared a pizza with staff looking after him at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

On Friday morning, he had breakfast, read some newspapers and did some work in the private papal suite on the hospital's 10th floor where he was admitted on Wednesday after complaining of breathing problems.

'His Holiness's return home to Santa Marta (his Vatican home) is expected tomorrow, in the wake of the results of the latest tests this morning,' Bruni said.

As a result, Pope Francis was expected to 'be present' in St Peter's Square for the celebration of Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week.

Pictured: Pope Francis stands during a general audience at St Peter's Square, Vatican City, on March, 29, 2023

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital (pictured) on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties

His hospitalisation, just weeks after he marked 10 years as head of the worldwide Catholic Church, had sparked widespread concern.

It had also raised questions over the upcoming services for Easter, the Christian faith's most important holiday.

The Argentine pontiff, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has suffered increasing health issues in recent years, and it was his second stay in hospital since 2021.

Medical staff said in a statement late Thursday that Francis was suffering from an 'infectious bronchitis which required the administration of antibiotics'.

The treatment resulted in 'a marked improvement in his state of health' and he was well enough to eat, work and pray at the private chapel in the hospital suite.

READ MORE: How Pope Francis has battled health problems over the years: From a lung operation aged 22 to sciatica, colon surgery and knee ligament pain that left him wheelchair-bound Pope Francis sits in a wheelchair at the end of his weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City, on March 29, 2023 Advertisement

Gemelli Hospital is the favoured choice of pontiffs to the point of being dubbed 'Vatican 3' by John Paul II, who was treated nine times at the hospital and spent a total of 153 days there.

The pope's physical state has attracted increasing scrutiny ever since his predecessor, Benedict XVI, became the first pontiff to resign from his post as head of the Vatican as a result of ill-health in 2013.

Benedict died on December 31, 2022, and Pope Francis has since been open about the prospect of following his predecessor's example and stepping down from the papacy should his health continue to deteriorate.

Pope Francis continues to travel internationally and keep a busy schedule.

However, he has been forced to use a wheelchair and walking stick in the past year because of knee pain, and admitted last summer that he had to slow down.

He said on Thursday that he was 'touched by the many messages' he was receiving in hospital, thanking on Twitter those praying for his recovery.

Among them is US President Joe Biden, only the second Catholic president in US history.

'Jill and I are keeping Pope Francis in our prayers and send our best wishes for his swift and full recovery,' Biden tweeted.

'The world needs Pope Francis.'

Pope Francis was admitted in July 2021 to the same Rome hospital for 10 days for a colon operation after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.

In an interview in January, the pope said the diverticulitis had returned.

When discussing the possibility of following in the footsteps of his predecessor and stepping down, Pope Francis has cautioned that papal resignations should not be the norm.

He said in an interview in February that the idea was currently not 'on my agenda'.
SNP leader is continuing to be criticised over his shake-up of ministerial ranks

Scotland's new First Minister Humza Yousaf is holding his first Cabinet meeting

Scotland's new First Minister Humza Yousaf today held his first Cabinet meeting in Edinburgh's Bute House.

The SNP leader chaired the gathering of the Scottish Government's new top team at his official residence after his shake-up of ministerial ranks was approved by MSPs.

Mr Yousaf has promised a 'refreshed line-up for a new era of government' and hailed his new ministerial appointments as 'a changing of the guard'.

But the First Minister has sparked fury with his decision to ditch the role of tourism minister and to downgrade the transport role.

He has also been accused of sidelining the 'best economic brains' in the SNP from his new team after packing his Cabinet with key supporters.

Meanwhile, Mr Yousaf was yesterday forced to publicly defend his decision to appoint a minister for independence - branded a 'taxpayer-funded nationalist campaigner' by critics - in a newly-created position.

Scotland's new First Minister Humza Yousaf today held his first Cabinet meeting in Edinburgh's Bute House

The SNP leader chaired the gathering of the Scottish Government's new top team at his official residence after his shake-up of ministerial ranks was approved by MSPs.

Mr Yousaf's portrait has been put up in Bute House alongside those of his predecessors Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond

Tourism is estimated to directly contribute 6billion to Scotland's gross domestic product (GDP)

Union leaders criticised the 'utterly astonishing decision' not to have a Cabinet Secretary for Transport

Tourism is estimated to directly contribute 6billion to Scotland's gross domestic product (GDP).

Under ex-SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon's government, Ivan McKee was business, trade, tourism and enterprise minister.

But he quit as a minister this week after reportedly being offered what he considered a lesser job.

Richard Lochhead has been appointed small business, innovation and trade minister as a replacement, but there is now no dedicated tourism role among Mr Yousaf's new ministerial ranks.

Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston, the party's shadow tourism minister, told the Scottish Daily Express: 'By deciding to drop this as a specific ministerial title, the new First Minister has snubbed one of our country's most vital industries.

'He's trying to pull the wool over the public's eyes by claiming that this will be wrapped into other ministerial responsibilities. Our tourism sector was decimated by the Covid pandemic and they are continue to grapple with huge rising costs

'On his first week in office, Humza Yousaf has already shown a complete disregard for our tourism industry and that cannot be the hallmark of his government attitude towards them.'

Key figures in the Scottish tourism industry also expressed their concerns about Mr Yousaf's decision.

Fiona Campbell, CEO of the Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers, said: 'Given the immense challenges facing the tourism sector at the present time  from the impact of the cost-of-living crisis to pandemic recovery  the lack of a dedicated tourism minister is highly perplexing.

'An industry employing so many people in Scotland that generates billions for the economy should be a priority, not an oversight.'

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross criticised Mr Yousaf for appointing a 'taxpayer-funded nationalist campaigner' after he named Jamie Hepburn as independence minister

Mr Yousaf was also under pressure over his decision to downgrade the transport brief in the Scottish Government.

Kevin Stewart has been given the transport role as a junior minister and will work under Mairi McAllan, the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition.

But there will no longer be a dedicated Transport Secretary in Cabinet.

Under Ms Sturgeon, Michael Matheson - now the Health Secretary - had served as Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport in her top team.

Peter Pendle, interim general secretary of the TSSA rail union, said: 'The omission of a Cabinet Secretary for Transport is an utterly astonishing decision from Humza Yousaf and shows anything but a steady hand.

'The fact is it seems transport has been shunted aside by the SNP government, despite their commitment to Net Zero carbon.

'If they really cared about the future of our railways and buses, or indeed making our ferries work as they should for our island communities, then this decision should be revisited.'

Mr Yousaf has also been accused of being anti-business after sidelining the 'best economic brains' in the SNP from his new ministerial team.

It came after the departure of both Mr McKee as business minister and Kate Forbes, who was runner-up to Mr Yousaf in the SNP leadership contest, as finance secretary.

Ex-SNP MSP Alex Neil, a former health secretary who supported Ms Forbes' leadership bid, said: 'It seems that the two best economic brains in the government have been sidelined.

'That is my concern, a political concern, because I don't see anyone else who has got their capability of persuading people of the economic case for independence.'

Yesterday, during his debut session of First Minister's Questions, Mr Yousaf defended his ministerial choices and his decision to include a minister for independence, Jamie Hepburn, in his government team.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said while the new SNP leader had 'been able to create a dedicated minister for independence' in his government, he had 'abolished' key ministerial roles.

He said: 'This is the largest government since devolution, with more ministers than ever before.

'But key ministerial posts relating to social security and tourism were abolished, yet a new minister for independence was created.

'Does the First Minister really believe appointing a taxpayer-funded nationalist campaigner is governing for all of Scotland?'

Mr Yousaf replied: 'I make no apology whatsoever for having a minister for independence, as my goodness we need independence now more than ever before.

'We need it now more than ever before, because in energy-rich Scotland we have Scots that are fuel poor because of the UK Government's policies.

'We need independence now more than ever before because we have more food banks in this country than at any other time than ever before because of over a decade of austerity.

'So I would say to Douglas Ross, to the UK Government, we will continue to advocate and advance independence, because we need it now more than ever before.'
A Pennsylvania child rapist has been sentenced to 3,000 years in prison for sex crimes carried out over a period of six years.

Matthew Perry was found guilty in November, convicted of 13,143 felonies, after a trial at Greene County Court.

The 44-year-old will not be eligible for parole until the year 3523.

District Attorney David Russo said he decided to charge one count for every day the child victim was abused, starting from the age of just five.

During the trial, Russo said the victim testified she was raped every day and that it was 'as routine as brushing her teeth.'

Perry (pictured) will be eligible for parole in the year 3523, halfway through his sentence

In a statement, the DA's office reported that after a four-day trial a unanimous jury found Perry of Greensboro, PA, guilty of 2,190 felony charges of rape of a child under 13; 2,190 felony charges of deviate sexual intercourse with a child; 2,191 felony charges of aggravated indecent assault; 2,190 felony charges of incest of a minor; and 2,191 felony charges of indecent assault.

Russo, prosecuting, said in a press release: 'This was a difficult case that arose from a difficult situation. I want to thank the jury for their service and the State Police investigators for their diligence.

'It took teamwork through many organizations, to see that justice was done for the victim and ultimately, it comes in a potential consecutive sentence of a minimum of 13,140 years.

'The children of Greene County are the future of Greene County and we will not tolerate crimes against our children.'

Perry had fled to Morgantown, West Virginia, in June 2017 but was captured the following August.

He was charged in this case in October 2020 while awaiting trial on charges of raping another child.

For the second case, he was sentenced last May to 40 to 80 years.

For the 2020 case, he was convicted in November last year.

District Attorney David Russo said he was 'proud to announce Matthew Perry would have to live for 3000 years in order to pay his debt to society'

Perry and his wife had lived as fugitives for the last six years.

In 2018, Perry's wife Cheyenna Perry, 40, pleaded guilty to videotaping and taking photographs of a girl performing sex acts, and then sending them to her husband.

Cheyenna Perry said little after Greene County Judge Lou Dayich sentenced her to 3  to 7 years in state prison and ordered her to register for life as a sex offender after she pleaded guilty to all charges.
A diabetic British mother drowned on a family trip to Denmark before she was found lifeless in a spa pool, an inquest has heard.

Margaret Barnaby, 60, travelled 1,000 miles from her home in Moylegrove, Pembrokeshire for a relaxing break at the historic Aire Ancient Baths in Copenhagen with her son Ben and his partner.

The three had tried a series of historic saltwater baths but tragedy struck when Mrs Barnaby, who was known as Mags, was found with her face submerged in water in a spa pool.

At an inquest into her passing, Coroner Paul Bennet gave a medical cause of death as drowning and diabetes mellitus, saying she had suffered a hypoglycemic episode, lost consciousness and then 'became submerged'.

The coroner recorded a conclusion of accidental death at the inquest in County Hall, Haverfordwest.

Margaret Barnaby, 60, died on a family trip to a historic Danish baths - where she was spotted lifeless in a spa pool

The holiday turned to tragedy when Mrs Barnaby - known as Mags - was found with her face submerged in water in a spa pool

Coroner's officer James Lang said: 'There were numerous treatments available as well as the ancient baths which have a range of different temperatures as well as saltwater.

'The three of them had gone into the baths together and after a while, Ben and his girlfriend got out.'

The inquest heard that Ben was later told his mother's body had been found submerged in the water.

Mr Lang added: 'She was lying lifeless. Despite 45 minutes of CPR, she was declared dead at the scene.'

The inquest heard Mrs Barnaby was diabetic and wore her Continuous Glucose Monitoring device on her arm.

It was linked to her smartphone to monitor her blood sugar levels - but she left her phone in the changing rooms during the visit.

The inquest heard Mrs Barnaby was diabetic and wore her Continuous Glucose Monitoring device on her arm

A post mortem carried out by a Danish forensic pathologist confirmed that the cause of Mrs Barnaby's death was drowning

A monitoring app showed Mrs Barnaby's blood sugar levels declined rapidly when she reached the spa in May last year

The monitoring app showed her blood sugar levels declined rapidly when she reached the spa in May last year.

But it was not possible to have an accurate reading at the time of death as the device was submerged.

A post mortem carried out by a Danish forensic pathologist confirmed that the cause of Mrs Barnaby's death was drowning.

After her death, son Ben paid tribute saying: 'Your love and guidance meant the world to me.'
Kelly Anne Jones, 3, had been visiting her aunt in Toowoomba for the Carnival of Flowers when John William Bennett took her

More than 30 years after killing a toddler, John William Bennett claimed he was having recurring dreams about where he might have dumped the body.

The convicted murderer initially told authorities he disposed of three-year-old Kelly Anne Jones in a bag at a rubbish dump west of Brisbane in 1989.

The toddler had been visiting her aunt in Toowoomba for the Carnival of Flowers when Bennett took her.

The child's body was never found despite extensive searches involving hundreds of volunteers.

Serving a life sentence, Bennett, 71, is a 'No Body, No Parole' prisoner.

In 1989 Bennett claimed he could not give an exact location for the body because his memory was poor and he was heavily intoxicated when he killed the child.

More than 30 years after killing a toddler, John William Bennett (pictured) claimed he was having recurring dreams about where he might have dumped the body

But in 2020, Bennett revealed he was having dreams that could be improving his memory, a Brisbane parole hearing was told on Friday.

Detective Inspector Chris Knight said he had no idea what to expect after receiving a 'fairly bland' Corrective Services email three years ago advising him Bennett wanted to talk.

When he arrived at the prison, Bennett told him he kept having dreams about the body being at Ma Ma Creek and he would 'like to get it cleared up'.

Ma Ma Creek is about 100km from the areas north of Toowoomba that were searched in 1989.

'He certainly said from the outset that he had ...these dreams ... and led to him reaching out,' Det Insp Knight told the hearing.

Bennett did his best to describe where the body might be located in the Ma Ma Creek area, Det Insp Knight said.

The convicted murderer also provided new details including the toddler was left in a container and wrapped in a blanket before cutting off the interview after 16 minutes, the hearing was told.

Months later Bennett was shown a 1988 satellite image of the Ma Ma Creek area but couldn't identify any features, effectively ending the fresh investigation.

Det Insp Knight said he was confident Bennett was familiar with the Ma Ma Creek region.

But he concluded the description Bennett gave was vague and not supported by the satellite image.

'I wasn't satisfied that the version given about what happened at Ma Ma Creek by his claim could be advanced,' said Det Insp Knight, who prepared a report to the parole board.

In the end, he did not consider the information Bennett had provided in 1989 or the 'dream version' significant or useful.

Caroline Jones (pictured) wants her daughter's murderer to reveal where he left the toddler's body

Kelly Anne Jones' mother Caroline Jones urged authorities not to give up.

'There has to be more,' she said outside court on Friday.

'They can't stop and have to keep going until we find her body and answers.'

Det Insp Knight said Bennett told him he was not interested in parole and was surprised when he did apply in August last year.

Wheelchair-bound Bennett's health is declining after 34 years in jail.

He is asking the parole board to consider his exceptional circumstances application on medical grounds.

The board must be satisfied Bennett has sufficiently co-operated to identify the body's location before it can consider his application.

It will assess the application after Bennett reviews counsel assisting Sally Robb's written submissions in the next six weeks.

'I might need a hand. I can't read and write,' Bennett told the board via video link.

Told legal services would assist, Bennett said 'thank you - have a good day'.

Hundreds have signed a change.org petition protesting the parole application.

'I don't want him released until we get our answers and we find her body,' Caroline Jones said.

'It's the not knowing that's hard to go through.'
The mother of a man murdered for the most trivial of reasons says the remorse of a man jailed for at least 12 years for her son's death 'means nothing'.

Sami Hamdach, 30, had pleaded guilty to the murder of Ross Houllis, 28, who died in hospital three days after he was bashed on a suburban Wakeley street in Sydney's west on Valentine's Day 2020.

Justice Stephen Campbell sentenced Hamdach to a total of 16 years and two months with a non-parole period of 12 years in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.

Outside court, Mr Houllis' mother, Janet Houllis, reacted after learning the sentence given to the first of two men to be jailed over her son's death.

'I would have been happy with longer but it is what it is,' she told reporters, holding a framed photograph of her son. 'It's not going to ever bring him back.'

Sami Hamdach, 30, (right) admitted murdering Ross Houllis, 28, (left) who died in hospital three days after he was bashed on a suburban Wakeley street in Sydney's west on Valentine's Day 2020 after making the sale pictured above

Hamdach bought a pair of purported Apple AirPods from Mr Houllis the day before the attack and believed they were not genuine.

His partner arranged for Mr Houllis to meet and sell another pair, when he was ambushed by Hamdach and another man, Abdul Karaali.

'(Hamdach) could have done a lot of things to stop it,' Ms Houllis said.

'Yes, I mean, the other guy was aggressive ... (Hamdach) had 24 hours to stop it.'

He planned to demand a refund and teach Mr Houllis a lesson by beating him up, enlisting Karaali as 'muscle', Justice Campbell said.

The motivation behind the plan that led to Mr Houllis' death in the prime of his life, a non-genuine version of a popular consumer product, was 'trivial'.

'A flagrant example of the offender taking the law into his own hands, which can never be tolerated, let alone condoned,' the judge said.

CCTV captured the scene as Mr Houllis was set upon in a shopping centre car park, 'frogmarched' towards his home, kicked in the head in a suburban street and stomped on.

CCTV captured the scene as Ross Houllis (left) was set upon in a shopping centre car park, 'frogmarched' towards his home, kicked in the head in a suburban street and stomped on. The ambush was sparked over the sale of purported Apple AirPods (right) which were said to be fake bootlegs

Passing motorists who stopped to check on Mr Houllis' welfare were told he was intoxicated and his two killers were looking after him.

Hamdach 'left Mr Houllis for dead effectively' when the pair left the scene, Justice Campbell said.

Karaali was found guilty by a jury earlier in March and faces a sentence hearing in July.

'He is the primary offender responsible for the death of Mr Houllis,' the judge said.

He highlighted the 'gratuitous, senseless and cruel manner' in which Karaali stomped on an already concussed Mr Houllis.

Hamdach's partner previously received a two-year intensive corrections order for being an accessory before the fact to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Mother Janet Houllis (pictured) said the remorse of a man jailed for her son's death 'means nothing'

Justice Campbell noted Hamdach had 'no real criminal record' before the murder, and it was 'confounding' Mr Houllis died over 'such a trifling matter'.

'I do not pretend to have found the answer to that question,' he said.

Exposure to violence and aggression from a young age from his father who would readily dole out 'fatigue-type punishments' he learned in the Lebanese military, might explain Hamdach resorting to violence over a minor conflict, the judge said.

He was also persuaded Hamdach was suffering from a schizoaffective disorder involving mania, exacerbated by drug use.

Hamdach read a letter of apology to the Houllis family at his sentence hearing and the judge accepted he was sincerely remorseful.

'It means nothing to me,' Ms Houllis said outside court.

Hamdach has been in custody since his arrest the day after Mr Houllis was ambushed, and will be first eligible for parole on February 14, 2032.
The fentanyl, laced in the 13-year-old's vape pen, caused him to have a stroke

Mum said her son has been irreparably brain-damaged by the deadly drug

A mom claims her 'straight-A' schoolboy son has been left brain damaged after bullies forced him to smoke a vape  that turned out to be laced with deadly fentanyl.

Lynda Amos says son Zach Corona, both from Dalton, Georgia, will 'never be the same again' as she claims the vape, which was hidden in his underwear, caused a stroke due to being laced with the drug, which is up to 50 times stronger than heroin.

The mom-of-five, 45, was shocked upon discovering her 13-year-old boy passed out on their living room recliner at 6pm on January 1 after complaining of chest pains.

Zach was found unconscious by 12-year-old sister Katie Amos, who first thought that her brother was 'playing' until she tried to tickle him and he was unresponsive.

Lynda quickly called an ambulance and Zach reached Children's Hospital at Erlanger, Tennessee, half an hour later  where he flatlined minutes after arrival.

Pictured: Zach Corona, 13, on life support after he was poisoned by the opioid fentanyl

Pictured: Zach Corona in the hospital with his mom who says her son will 'never be the same again' alongside the vape that was laced with fentanyl which left him in a coma for two weeks

Doctors confirmed that Zach fell victim to a stroke and, after being resuscitated, he was put on life support.

Lynda had 'no idea' why her son had been left fighting for his life  until doctors cut off his clothes to find a vape pen laced with deadly opioid fentanyl, along with marijuana.

Pictured: Zach Corona, 13, on life support

After waking from the coma over two weeks later, the 13-year-old claimed that he had been given the vape by a group of children, who made him smoke it in front of him.

Zach says that the group of eight boys and a girl said they would 'beat him up' if he didn't hide the laced vape pen for them.

Zach believed that the bullies 'were his friends'  despite the fact that they had been 'slapping him in the face' and calling him names for several months.

Stay-at-home mom Lynda claims she was 'terrified' for her son's life  and that the once straight-A student will 'never be the same again' due to damage on the right-hand-side of his brain.

Lynda said: 'Zach sometimes tricks his sister and acts like he's asleep, then when she bends down to tickle him, he jumps up and scares her.

'She thought he was playing. She started tickling him and there was no response.

'I thought he was joking around too. [Then] when I picked up his arm, it just fell down. That's when I knew something was wrong.

'The ambulance asked if he'd ingested anything and I said no, there's nothing in the house for him to ingest. I had no idea what was happening.

'It was terrifying. I was praying to God to let my son live, to bring him back.

'He wasn't responding to anything, and then they told me they were going to lose him if I didn't sign a paper to put him on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation).

Zach was found unconscious by 12-year-old sister Katie Amos, who first thought that her brother was 'playing' until she tried to tickle him and he was unresponsive

'I said, do anything you can to bring him back. Don't let him die.

'Then he was in a coma for two and a half weeks. They didn't think he was ever going to come out of it.

'I didn't know he had the vape because he had it hidden in his underwear. The boys said they'd beat him up, so he took it out of fear.

After waking from his coma, Zach was taken to Children's Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia, US, where he was provided with speech, physical and occupational therapies

'I was feeling hatred. I was angry about who could have done this to him.

'He told me that he's confused about why the kids have done this to him, because he said they were his friends.

'They'd been slapping him in the face and calling him names.

'He's seeing a psychiatrist now and a counsellor.

'The psychiatrist even said to him, "you know they were never your friends to begin with. Your friends would never do anything to try and hurt you and kill you".

'[Doctors] told me that he would never be the same boy that he was. He was a straight A student.'

After waking from his coma, Zach was taken to Children's Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was provided with speech, physical and occupational therapies.

Zach stayed at Children's Healthcare in Atlanta until February 21, and is now undergoing outpatient treatment

Zach stayed at Children's Healthcare in Atlanta until February 21, and is now undergoing outpatient treatment.

As a result of the damage to the right side of his brain, Zach has experienced seizures and has lost both sight in his right eye, and function of his left arm.

The traumatized teenager is currently using a wheelchair due to problems with balance, and has needed to re-learn how to do basic tasks such as count and speak.

Although Lynda is hopeful that her son's condition will improve, doctors have suggested that it is unlikely that Zach will regain full use of his left arm.

The mom is now trying to raise funds to cover medical bills, and is advocating for parents to be more proactive when it comes to bullying, as she claims that her son's survival was 'a miracle'.

Although Lynda is hopeful that her son's condition will improve, doctors have suggested that it is unlikely that Zach will regain full use of his left arm

Lynda said: 'It was a miracle that my son came back. He was dead. My son died.

'Because of the severity of the stroke, it damaged the right side of his brain, and it's permanently damaged. It will never come back.

'He has to be in a wheelchair because he can't walk very well. It made him go blind in his right eye. They messed my son up for life.

Pictured: Zach and his sister, Katie, all smiles during a day out at an amusement park

'These kids are out there, running around, living their lives the way they want to.

'They don't have anything wrong with them, meanwhile my son's fighting for his life. It isn't right.

'I'm hoping it will get better in the future, but doctors are saying that they don't think he'll get the movement back in his left arm.

'He's still upset about it, and still confused.

'These parents need to be careful and listen to their kids. If they say they're being bullied, the parents need to do something about it.

'There isn't any telling how many other people those kids have done that to  and if they hurt another child, they might not come back like my son did.'
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Stunning shots have emerged of a rare black panther in Laikipia, Kenya.

It is the first of the creatures to be photographed in Africa without a camera trap.

The elusive cat, a two-year-old female christened Giza by local trackers, was first seen in the area around the Ewaso Narok river 18 months ago. She was delivered in a litter of two cubs to a more usual spotted leopard.

Over many nights of observation, photographer Chris Brunskill and his specialist team of local trackers, led by ranger Joseph Mugambi, began to build up an understanding of the cat's movements and on several occasions watched her cross the river at sunset to begin hunting before she returned a few hours later, often carrying her prey.

Brunskill said: 'Getting the opportunity to track and photograph a black leopard at close range, alone in the wilds of Laikipia, was both an incredible thrill and an extraordinary privilege.'

Stunning shots have emerged of a rare black panther in Laikipia, Kenya

It is the first black panther to be photographed in Africa without a camera trap

Until 2019, there had only been one confirmed sighting of the creature in Africa, when a team of biologists shot photos of the big cat in Kenya

Prior to 2019, the only confirmed sighting of a black panther in Africa was in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, in 1909

The elusive cat that was captured in the 2023 photos, a two-year-old female christened Giza by the local trackers, first appeared in the area around the Ewaso Narok river 18 months ago

Giza was delivered in a litter of two cubs to a more usual spotted leopard

Over the last year the cat has become more accustomed to people and now tolerates the occasional vehicle following her through her territory

Over many nights of observation, photographer Chris Brunskill and his specialist team of local trackers led by ranger Joseph Mugambi, began to build up an understanding of the cat's movements and repeatedly watched her cross the river at sunset to begin hunting before she returned a few hours later, often carrying her prey

Giza's tolerance of people extended to the use of a spotlight to track her movements and resulted in many incredible encounters for Brunskill and his team

Brunskill and his team observed her hunting on multiple evenings in close proximity to the Laikipia Wilderness Camp where they were based

Brunskill said: 'Getting the opportunity to track and photograph a black leopard at close range, alone in the wilds of Laikipia, was both an incredible thrill and an extraordinary privilege'

Nicholas Pilfold, a biologist at the San Diego institute, said: 'Black panthers are uncommon, only about 11 percent of leopards globally are black. But black panthers in Africa are extremely rare'

The leopard, scientific name Panthera pardus, is more frequently found with a black coat in the more tropical and humid conditions of Southeast Asia

Will Burrard-Lucas, who photographed a black panther in 2019 in Kenya, said: 'For me, no animal is shrouded in more mystery, no animal more elusive, and no animal more beautiful'
A man has been charged after a young boy fought him off in an alleged abduction where he had already attempted to take the child's younger brother as the family slept.

The terrifying alleged abduction of the two young boys rocked Moora in Western Australia's wheatbelt region on Friday morning.

WA Police arrested a 34-year-old man on Friday and charged him with two counts of detaining a child under 16, two counts of aggravated burglary, deprivation of liberty, disguise to commit an offence and criminal damage.

They do not believe he knew the boys.

He will appear in the Perth Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

WA Police Inspector Kareene Santoro said the actions of the 12-year-old boy led to the quick resolution of the 'very traumatic incident'.

'(His) courage and bravery to get himself out of that situation was tremendous, and going and alerting an adult straight away of what had occurred was a really good job by him,' Inspector Santoro told reporters.

The terrifying alleged abduction of the two young boys rocked Moora in Western Australia's wheatbelt region on Friday morning

Police will allege a man broke into the home on Padbury St via the front door and tried to drag the 12-year-old out about 5am.

But the boy fought back and raised the alarm with an adult in the house.

It was then that they discovered his eight-year-old brother was missing.

Police conducted a search of the area and a short time later, about 7.10am, found the 8-year-old boy at a nearby home.

Inspector Santoro said the boy came to the door in 'a distressed state', but glad to be found

Both children were taken to hospital for a routine medical check.

'He seems to be in really good spirits, has been really brave about the incident and is just happy to be back with his family,' Inspector Santoro said.

The West Australian reported the boys were being cared for by a family friend while their father was at work.
A transgender activist group has called off its planned 'Trans Day of Vengeance Rally' after warnings of a 'credible threat to life and safety'.

The rally was due to be held on Saturday in Washington D.C., but organizers of the Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN) said Thursday that threats on social media have led them to make the decision to cancel the event.

The demonstration would have been held outside the Supreme Court but 'astronomical amounts of hate from the world' forced them to cancel, TRAN said.

The event comes days after transgender Nashville shooter Audrey Hale killed six people - including three children - at her former Christian school. The event was planned weeks before the shooting, and the group said it had nothing to do with the 'heinous act'.

The event initially caused outrage on social media, as Twitter removed thousands of tweets promoting and criticizing the event as they said ''vengeance' does not imply peaceful protest'.

Organizers of the Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN) said Thursday that threats on social media have led them to make the decision to cancel the event

School shooter Audrey Hale was shot by police after killing three children and three staff in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday. The motive is unknown, though police are investigating the supposed sense of 'resentment' attached to having to go to the Christian private school

People pay their respects at a makeshift memorial for victims at the Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church following a shooting, Nashville, March 28, 2023

In a statement canceling the event, TRAN announced: 'The safety of our trans community is first priority. This threat is the direct result of the flood of raw hatred directed toward the trans community after the Tennessee shooting.

'Individuals who had nothing to with that heinous act have been subjected to highly serious threats and blamed only because of their gender identity.

'This is one of the steps in genocide, and we will continue our efforts to protect trans lives. While we wholeheartedly believe in the mission and message we put forth for trans day of vengeance, we must prioritize the safety of our community and the people that make it up. In an ideal world we would have continued on in defiance of the attempt to silence our right to free expression.

The group said they lack the resources to ensure safety for those participating in the protests and would not, 'in good conscience', proceed with the event. They said they have notified the relevant agencies of the cancelation.

The initial announcement of the event sparked outrage online. Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene said the planned demonstration represented the 'threat of Antifa-driven trans-terrorism'.

She later demanded her Twitter account be restored after features were limited for violating rules.

She said: 'My Congressional account was suspended for 7 days for exposing Antifa, who are organizing a call for violence called 'Trans Day of Vengeance.'

'The day after the mass murder of children by a trans shooter. Restore my account immediately.'

Ian Miles Cheong wrote that 'Twitter is now cracking down on those who promote the 'Trans Day of Vengeance' poster, which mostly comprises of trans militants who are calling for a day of mass violence.'

Twitter's Trust and Safety lead, Ella Irwin, responded: 'Correct. We had to automatically sweep our platform and remove >5000 tweets/retweets of this poster.

'We do not support tweets that incite violence irrespective of who posts them.

''Vengeance' does not imply peaceful protest. Organizing or support for peaceful protests is ok.'

TRAN earlier stated on their website: 'This protest is about unity, not inciting violence. TRAN does not encourage violence and it is not welcome at this event.'

It is unclear whether Hale was associated with the movement.

Audrey Elizabeth Hale opened fire at The Covenant School, shooting and killing six people on Monday.

The shooter was armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun.

They killed three children, the Head of School, 60, a custodian and a substitute teacher, both 61.

Victims Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney were all aged nine.

Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo shot and killed Hale on the second floor of the school.

Police are investigating possible motives for the attack.

MNPD Police Chief John Drake said that 'resentment' towards having been made to go to the school may have played a role in the shooting, but also that Hale 'targeted random students in the school... whoever she came in contact with, she fired rounds.'

Drake added that officials believe 'that [Hale] identifies as trans, but we're still in the initial investigation into all of that and if it actually played a role into this incident.'

Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed the decision to go ahead with the demonstration on Twitter

Twitter's head of Trust and Safety confirmed the site had removed promotion of the protests

Victims Evelyn Dieckhaus (L) and William Kinney (R) were shot and killed, both aged nine

Hallie Scruggs (left picture, right) and Mike Hill (right) were shot dead by Hale in the attack

Cynthia Peak (left picture, right) and Head of School Katherine Koonce (R) died in the shooting

The now-canceled protest was initially to be called the Trans Day of Visibility but rebranded as 'vengeance means fighting back with vehemence,' the group said.

'It is our battle cry to declare to the world that we the transgender/non-binary communities will neither be silenced nor eradicated,' TRAN said earlier.

Distancing themselves from Hale, the group published a statement on their website when the event was still scheduled to go ahead: 'We Tsukuru [co-founder], Our Rights DC, and TRAN are horrified at the acts of violence committed at the Covenant school on March 27, 2023.

'We grieve for Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, William Kinney, Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce, and Mike Hill, and with their loved ones.

'We also reject any connection between that horrific event and outs.

'Vengeance means fighting back with vehemence. We are fighting against false narratives, criminalization, and eradication of our existence.'

TRAN also said that due to 'hate received' they had disabled their contact form.
Runaway aristocrat Constance Marten and her lover will face trial next year over allegations they killed their newborn baby daughter.

Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, are charged with the manslaughter of baby Victoria, whose remains were discovered in a plastic bag under nappies in a locked shed on March 1.

Officers made the tragic discovery at an overgrown allotment two days after Marten and Gordon were arrested in Stanmer Villas in Brighton, East Sussex, after they went missing weeks earlier.

An initial post-mortem examination was unable to establish the cause of the childs death and it is understood that tests are ongoing.

Court artist sketch of Constance Marten (left) and Mark Gordon (right) seated with a dock officer in the dock at the Old Bailey

Marten will face trial next year at the Old Bailey

Gordon, 48, has been charged with the manslaughter of baby Victoria

Police had been attempting to establish the defendants whereabouts for several weeks.

The couple were charged on March 2 with the manslaughter of baby Victoria, concealment of the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.

Today, Marten and Gordon appeared in the dock of Court One of the Old Bailey before the Common Serjeant of London, Judge Richard Marks KC.

Marten wore a smart white and black patterned blouse and Gordon was dressed in a grey sweatshirt.

A prison van arriving at the Old Bailey on Friday ahead of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's court hearing

Floral tributes left to baby Victoria close to the allotment where her body was found in a plastic bag

The pair, who have no fixed address, spoke only to confirm their names and dates of birth.

Judge Marks set a plea and case management hearing for August 18 with the defendants to appear by video link.

A provisional trial at the Old Bailey before the Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, was set for January 2, 2024.

The case is expected to last between four and six weeks.

There was no application made for bail and the defendants were remanded into custody.
His wife quickly administered antihistamine shot but he later died in hospital

Stephen Prince was returning to his home in Thailand when he was stung by bee

A British pensioner has died from an allergic reaction after he was stung by a bee in Thailand.

Stephen Prince, 69, was returning home on his motorcycle on Thursday when he when felt the bee prick his skin.

Prince managed to reach his home in Soi Kitprasarn 1 in Phuket where his panicked wife quickly administered an antihistamine shot as he went into anaphylactic shock.

But, despite his wife's best efforts, the pensioner's condition deteriorated and he lost consciousness before medics were called to their home at around 11.50am.

Upon arriving at the scene, the medics found the Briton unconscious on his bed and without a pulse. They rushed to perform CPR on Prince before they shuttled him to the Chalong Hospital where he died as a result of the allergic reaction. .

Prince managed to reach his home in Soi Kitprasarn 1 in Phuket where his panicked wife quickly administered an antihistamine shot as he went into anaphylactic shock. Pictured: An ambulance at the family home

Police Captain Weeraphong Srinuanpan of the Chalong Police Station performed a preliminary inspection of Prince's body and said the cause of death was an allergic reaction to the sting.

The expat's remains were taken to the Vachira Phuket Hospital for a post-mortem exam to determine his cause of death.

His heartbroken wife said her husband had suffered adverse allergic reactions before.

He had once fainted after eating honey, and lost consciousness on another occasion, when he crushed a bee in his hands. She added that the previous allergy attacks were never severe enough to endanger his life.

Paramedic Natchak Wattanaratjirot, who took Prince to the hospital, said it was the first time in his four-year career that he had seen someone die from an allergy.

Stephen Prince, 69, was returning home on his motorcycle on Thursday when he when felt the bee prick his skin

He said: 'Most people stung by bees would only experience swelling, rashes, bruising, or itching.

'I received the report of the injured man and arrived at the house. He was already unconscious when we arrived. We did the best we could to try to save him for his wife.

'This is the worse case of allergy I have ever seen. I'm very sorry for his wife as she was crying and very upset.'
Theatre director Michael Rudman has died at 84, two years after he survived a battle with Covid.

Mr Rudman, the partner of TV star Felicity Kendall, who won a prestigious Tony award for one of his theatre productions on Broadway, died on Thursday.

The eldest son of a Texan oil millionaire, he had previously fought for his life after contracting Covid in 2021.

He was treated for two weeks in intensive care, in what his partner Miss Kendal described as a 'scary time'.

Speaking of the ordeal, the Good Life star, 76, said: 'I think I can speak for a lot of people about the fear being huge, and the frustration being a real hardship.

Theatre director Michael Rudman, who won a prestigious Tony award for one of his theatre productions on Broadway, died on Thursday, his family announced. He is pictured with his partner, Felicity Kendal

Felicity Kendal, 74, with her partner Michael Rudman, 82, and his daughter Amanda

'That feeling that you don't know what state your loved one is in, and knowing you still can't go and see them  it's not like anything you've experienced before. It was just such a scary time. Michael is in his eighties.'

Mr Rudman met Miss Kendal in 1974 while he was married to Veronica Bennett. The couple later married in 1983 after Miss Kendal divorced her first husband of 11 years, actor Drewe Henley.

Miss Kendal was married to Drewe Henley from 1968 to 1979 and wed US theatre director Michael Rudman (pictured) in 1983. They divorced in 1991 when the actress left him to begin a relationship with Sir Tom Stoppard, who also left his wife Miriam

The American theatre director described the secretive romance in his book, I Joke Too Much.

Recounting the first time he saw Miss Kendal, he wrote: 'I can't say I fell in love with her that day, but I certainly felt differently about her than I did about her co-stars Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon.

'I had been directing actors since the early Sixties at the National Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway, among other places.

'Soon afterwards I offered Felicity a role in a play I was directing in the West End.

'The production went well and when, some time later, we began dating we decided to keep our relationship a secret.

'This was quite difficult: I was now directing her in a play at the National Theatre, we both had children and my daughters, Amanda and Katy, spent every weekend with me. Still, I swore the girls to secrecy.'

The couple were married for seven years but divorced in 1991 when Miss Kendal sensationally left him to begin a relationship with playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, who also left his wife Miriam.

Husband 1: She said infidelity 'equals unhappiness' and 'brought me my first divorce' as her first husband, actor Drewe Henley (pictured in 1967) 'had affairs'

Lover: Miss Kendal who has been married and divorced twice and had a highly-publicised romance with playwright Sir Tom Stoppard (right in 1993), insisted that she's never had 'affairs' as 'lying is never a good idea'

Despite their divorce, Miss Kendal and Mr Rudman rekindled their relationship in 1998 and have been together since, despite not remarrying. They have one son together called Jacob.

Speaking of her love life in 2019, Miss Kendal said: 'I didn't ever have affairs. I just went from one person to another, maybe overlapping a little bit.

'I wouldn't recommend infidelity to anybody, ever, it's basically lying  and lying is never a good idea. But we all lie and most of us, at some point ... are unfaithful to a partner.'

Mr Rudman said his working life was a 'nightmare' and that 'with good cause, Felicity left' him

The split came after Mr Rudman became director of Chichester Festival Theatre in West Sussex in 1990.

'Through my own arrogance and optimism I thought running this relatively obscure provincial theatre after Hampstead Theatre and working at the National would be a piece of cake. It was more like trying to push treacle up a flight of stairs,' he wrote in his book.

'Juggling shortfall in the theatre's income, daily hassle from the board, the stress of directing three of the ten plays and producing all of them, not to mention constant parties, I had enough on my plate.

'My working life was a nightmare. With good cause, Felicity left me. Within a year I was fired. A few years later I left another job, running the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. I never used to believe it when someone resigned to 'spend more time with their family', but I was determined to do just that and I'm glad I did.'

A graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, Mr Rudman rose to great acclaim as a theatre director.

He landed his first job as a stagehand with the radical New York collective Living Theatre on their first European tour.

But he was best known for directing three productions of Arthur Miller's greatest play, Death Of A Salesman at the Nottingham Playhouse, where he was an assistant in the late 60s; at the National in 1979; and on Broadway in 1984 with Dustin Hoffman as Willy and newcomer John Malkovich as Biff.

Mr Rudman directed Arthur Miller's play Death Of A Salesman - which led to him bagging a prestigious Tony award. Pictured are Dustin Hoffman from the play, left, and and Arthur Miller, right

The last show earned the production a Tony award-winning 'best revival' category.

News of his death has rocked the UK theatre scene, with tributes pouring out online in memory of the acclaimed director.

Chichester Festival Theatre paid tribute to Mr Rudman, saying: 'We're saddened to learn of the death of Michael Rudman (1939-2023); he was artistic director of CFT in 1990 and directed many productions then and later, including Merry Wives, Rumours, Tallulah! & The Admirable Crichton. RIP.'

London talent firm The Soho Agency tweeted: 'We are deeply saddened at the passing of our client, brilliant theatre director & writer Michael Rudman. He will be greatly missed but his contribution to the theatre industry will not be forgotten. RIP Michael.'

Born on February 14, 1939, in Tyler, Texas, Mr Rudman was the elder son of MB 'The Duke' Rudman and his wife Josephine, a teacher.

He was educated at St Mark's school in Dallas before going on to Oberlin and Oxford, where he studied from 1961 to 1964 and was elected president of the dramatic society.

Upon graduating he went to Nottingham, where he directed John Neville, Judi Dench and Edward Woodward in Measure For Measure, and Gillian Martell and the American film star Robert Ryan in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night.

Later he succeeded Max Stafford-Clark in charge of the Traverse in Edinburgh.

Mr Rudman is survived by Miss Kendal, their son Jacob; two daughters, Amanda and Katherine, from his first marriage; and by his grandchildren, Catherine, Archie, Dylan, Lucas and Rosa. A younger brother, Wolfe, predeceased him.
Rishi Sunak spent more than 500,000 of taxpayers' cash on private jets to take him on foreign trips totalling eight days, it has been revealed.

According to newly-released Cabinet Office figures, the Prime Minister spent a total of 512,321 on either private jet or RAF plane hire for three overseas visits last year.

These included Mr Sunak's journey to the Cop-27 climate change summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and his trip to the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November.

The PM then flew to Latvia and Estonia on the same day in December to visit UK troops based in the Baltics and for a meeting of Joint Expeditionary Force nations.

Mr Sunak's attendance at the Cop-27 summit came after he performed a late U-turn on a previous decision not to travel to the gathering.

Rishi Sunak, seen boarding a plane to travel to Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 summit in November, spent a total of 512,321 on private jets last year

The PM flew to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on 6 November - for a two-day visit to the Cop-27 climate change summit - with his travel costing 107,966

Mr Sunak flew to Latvia and Estonia on the same day in December to visit UK troops based in the Baltics and for a meeting of Joint Expeditionary Force nations

Downing Street initially said Mr Sunak was too focused on the domestic economy to attend the climate change summit.

But the PM did eventually travel to Egypt where he used a speech to hail Britain's 'ambitious commitment to reduce emissions by at least 68 per cent by 2030'.

Downing Street said Mr Sunak's travel was for 'vital meetings with world leaders'.

But the Liberal Democrats branded the private plane hire a 'shocking waste of taxpayers' money' during the cost-of-living crisis.

The PM flew to Sharm El-Sheikh on 6 November for a two-day trip with his travel costing 107,966.

He then flew to Bali on 13 November and returned on 17 November, at a cost of 341,857.

On 19 December, the PM travelled to Riga, Latvia, and Tallinn, Estonia, at a cost of 62,498.

The Cabinet Office document also revealed Mr Sunak's predecessor, Liz Truss, spent 38,772 on a two-day trip to Prague, Czech Republic, in October.

The costs were attributed to 'private jet or RAF plane hire', although the mode of transport for all four trips was stated as G-GBNI - an reference to an Airbus A-321 operated by the charter carrier Titan Airways on behalf of the UK Government.

Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse, the party's energy and climate spokesperson, said: 'This is a shocking waste of taxpayer's money at a time when people are struggling to pay their bills.

'Yet again this Conservative government is completely out of touch.

'The government can pretend to care about a greener future with their so-called 'Green Day' but the reality is they are trashing their own promises.'

A Number 10 spokesman said: 'The role of the Prime Minister includes holding vital meetings with world leaders during bilateral visits and summits to discuss issues of international importance  including security, defence and trade.'
Astonishing footage shows an entire column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles being destroyed one by one in an extraordinary ambush by Ukrainian marines.

Video shows five Russian tanks advancing through a destroyed village in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine where houses have been reduced to rubble from heavy fighting.

But soldiers from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade had been watching their advance from their bunkers and launched a series of US-provided Javelin missiles at the tanks, destroying them one by one in a scene of utter carnage.

A missile can be seen racing through the air before it plunges into one of the tanks, which erupts into a ball of flames. At one point another missile hits another tank and desperate Russian soldiers are seen fleeing from the burning wreckage.

The Javelin missile has been an integral part of Ukraine's arsenal since the war began as it is able to target Russian tanks effectively by flying from a height and slamming down on the target from above.

Astonishing footage shows an entire column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles being destroyed one by one in an extraordinary ambush by Ukrainian marines

A missile can be seen racing through the air before it plunges into one of the tanks, which erupts into a ball of flames

At one point another missile hits another tank and desperate Russian soldiers are seen fleeing from the burning wreckage

The missile, part of a series of weapons sent to Ukraine by Western countries such as the US and UK, is particularly deadly against tanks because their armour is thinnest on top.

The footage shows five Russian tanks driving through a destroyed village before a Ukrainian soldier fires the Javelin missile at the column of military vehicles.

The missile is seen racing through the air and plunging into the tank, which erupts into flames. Plumes of black smoke rise up into the air and the four other tanks attempt to race away and avoid Ukrainian fire.

The same Ukrainian marine fires two missiles in quick succession at the tanks in a field, causing them to erupt into huge fireballs.

The Ukrainian forces launch yet another missile at the floundering Russian troops and hits another tank.

After being hit, the Russian tank manages to drive frantically away in an attempt to avoid the bombardment of missiles. But another missile manages to hit the tank as it's racing across the field, forcing the Russian soldiers to flee the burning wreckage.

Three Russian soldiers manage to jump from flaming tank and begin running in different directions across the blackened field in a scene of chaos.

The same Ukrainian marine fires two missiles in quick succession at the tanks in a field, causing them to erupt into huge fireballs

Three Russian soldiers manage to jump from flaming tank and begin running in different directions across the blackened field in a scene of chaos

The same Ukrainian marine fires two missiles in quick succession at the tanks in a field, causing them to erupt into huge fireballs

Another tank is seen racing across the field and a missile misses it by mere inches. The Russian tank then frantically begins reversing before it fires at the Ukrainian troops.

Javelin anti-tank guided missiles Countries that sent them: UK, Estonia and the US How many has Ukraine received? More than 5,500 from the US, unknown from the others Cost: 130,000 ($175,000) each just for the missile How they work: Javelins work by using infrared systems to lock on to their targets, meaning troops do not need to keep aiming after pulling the trigger. Once the missile is fired, it ejects from the tube using a small charge - so it can be fired in a confined space - before the main rockets ignite. The missile then flies up to 490ft into the air before slamming down on its target from above - known as a 'curveball' shot. This makes them especially deadly against tanks because their armour is thinnest on top, although Javelins can also be used to blow up buildings. Fact-file: The FGM-148 Javelin is a US-made missile that is primarily designed to destroy tanks, using a combination of 'curveball' attack - meaning it comes down on its targets from above - and dual high explosive warheads to take them out. Javelins were developed in the 1990s and have been in service since 1996 - coming up against Russian-designed T-72 tanks during the Second Iraq War, where they proved particularly effective. Russia still uses T-72 tanks - with dozens of T-72Bs now deployed near Ukraine - and while they have undergone several rounds of improvements since Saddam's day, they are still thought to be vulnerable to the missile. Advertisement

But the defiant Ukrainian marines respond by firing yet another missile at the tank and smoke is seen envelopes the vehicle.

Within seconds, the Ukrainian forces fire another Javelin missile at another tank and it explodes into a huge fireball with large pieces of rubble firing out from the wreckage. The footage then cuts to the burning tanks on the field that has been torn apart by large craters as a result of the heavy battles.

The 36th Separate Marine Brigade said of the footage: 'How the javelin fighters of the 36th separate brigade of marines named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilinsky burn Russian armoured vehicles in Donetsk region is a real art.'

Elsewhere on the front line, Ukraine said Russian forces pressed on with their assault in the east, in particular on Bakhmut and nearby towns as well as on the town of Avdiivka, about 37 miles to the southwest of Bakhmut.

Bakhmut has been the site of the bloodiest infantry battle in Europe since World War Two, with Russian forces seeking their first victory since mid-2022.

'Our defences are holding the city and repelling numerous enemy attacks,' Ukraine's military said on Facebook on Thursday evening.

Ukrainian military analyst and journalist, Andriy Tsaplienko, interviewed on Ukrainian NV Radio, said Russian forces were trying to repeat in Avdiivka what happened in Bakhmut.

'The city is under constant, daily shelling. They understand that they cannot simply capture it and instead are starting to destroy Avdiivka as much as possible,' Tsaplienko said.

The Ukrainian military had said a day earlier that Russian fighters were having some success in Bakhmut. Evhen Dikyi, a Ukrainian military analyst interviewed on Ukrainian NV Radio, said Russian forces controlled more than half the city.

'I can tell you that Bakhmut is holding firm. But there is heavy fighting in the city and it is getting closer to the city centre,' he said.

'If Russian forces are reported to have made 'some progress' it is probably because they have crossed the Bakhmutka River. They have come wave upon wave and we are talking about a few hundred metres,' Dikyi added.

A month ago, the Ukrainian military seemed likely to abandon Bakhmut but has since decided to stay and fight for it, hoping to exhaust and deplete Russia's attacking force.
School sex education classes will get film-style age classifications to address parents' concerns about 'inappropriate content' being shown to children.

Under a review of Relationships, Sex, Health and Education (RSHE) teaching ordered by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak new guidance could be in place by the end of the year.

At the same time Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, has written to schools today telling them to share the content of sex education classes with parents, amid claims some were blindsided by content.

Announcing more details on the RSHE review, the Government said it is determined to make sure such teaching 'leaves children equipped to make informed decisions about their health, wellbeing and relationships, in a sensitive way that reflects their stage of development'.

It will be informed by the work of an independent panel that will 'advise on how to put in place clear safeguards to stop pupils from being taught contested and potentially damaging concepts, including introducing age ratings setting out what is appropriate to be taught at what age, to prevent children being taught concepts they are too young to understand.'

Ms Keegan said 'This urgent review will get to the heart of how RSHE is currently taught and should be taught in the future.

'This will leave no room for any disturbing content, restore parents' confidence, and make sure children are even better protected.'

Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, has written to schools today, and said there is 'no room for any disturbing content'.

New guidance for schools on relationships and sex education, which could be in place by the end of the year, may include age ratings to prevent children being taught things they are considered too young to understand.

Her comments were criticised by a school leader's union. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said it was 'very disappointing to see Education Secretary Gillian Keegan's implicit criticism of schools when she says the review will restore the confidence of parents'.

The Department for Education (DfE) said on Friday that it would be leading the review but that it will be informed by an independent panel which will provide 'external expertise'.

The guidance is expected to be released in the coming months, possibly before the beginning of the next academic year, and will then be subject to public consultation.

The consultation is expected to conclude by the end of the year, with the guidance coming into statutory force as soon as possible after that, the department said.

The RSHE guidance is separate to guidance for schools in relation to transgender issues, which the Prime Minister confirmed on Thursday will be published 'for the summer term'.

The review is expected to consider how to make sure all RSHE teaching is factual and does not present contested views on sensitive topics as fact.

It will engage with those working with children across the education and health sectors and draw on close work with the schools watchdog Ofsted to understand what material is currently used in the classroom and consider what improvements might need to be made, the DfE said.

The independent panel is expected to advise on 'clear safeguards to stop pupils from being taught contested and potentially damaging concepts', including bringing in age ratings setting out what is appropriate to be taught at what age.

The DfE said independent provider Oak National Academy will develop curriculum materials 'to make sure every school can access high-quality, compliant resources which will build on what is already available for schools'.

Ms Keegan has written to schools to remind them they are required by law to publish a relationships or a relationships and sex education policy and consult parents on it, the DfE added.

The letter makes clear that parents should be able to view all curriculum materials and that they can ask to see material if it has not already been shared, especially in relation to sensitive topics, the department said.

Conservative MP Miriam Cates has claimed some pupils have been subjected to relationships and sex education classes that are 'age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualising and inaccurate'.

Conservative MP Miriam Cates has claimed some pupils have been subjected to relationships and sex education classes that are 'age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualising and inaccurate'.

Ms Cates previously told the House of Commons: 'Graphic lessons on oral sex, how to choke your partner safely and 72 genders. This is what passes for relationships and sex education in British schools.

'Across the country, children are being subjected to lessons that are age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualising and inaccurate, often using resources from unregulated organisations that are actively campaigning to undermine parents.

'This is not a victory for equality, it is a catastrophe for childhood.'

Mr Barton said the 'vast majority' of schools teach RSHE 'cautiously, sensitively and in an age-appropriate manner' and insisted that claims made about inappropriate teaching are 'overblown, sweeping and supported by evidence which is flimsy at best'.

He added: 'The Government has provided very little training support for the teaching of this subject and we sincerely hope the review that is due to take place will make recommendations around providing more and better-resourced training.

'This is such a sensitive and difficult subject to navigate that it really requires the provision of specialist teachers, but the Government expects it to be taught by existing classroom teachers who are also teaching other subjects. As ever, it expects to deliver major policies on the cheap, and then is quick to criticise schools.'
The family of a waitress who died in a paddleboard accident last year lashed out at her cousin who survived just a day after her funeral, a court heard.

Ann Powell, 38, and brother Sean Powell, 40, flew into a rage and punched and slapped niece Amber Powell over the belongings of Emma Powell, 24.

A court heard Emma died last July in a paddleboard accident at Conwy Morfa in North Wales when she crashed into the side of a jetty and became trapped under the choppy water.

Emma and her cousin Amber Powell had bought two paddleboards from Tesco just hours before taking them out on the water.

But when Amber tried to collect her cousin's belongings - including a lanyard - she was attacked by her family members.

Emma Powell, 24, died last July in a paddleboard accident at Conwy Morfa in North Wales when she crashed into the side of a jetty

Ann Powell (right), 38, flew into a rage with her niece Amber the day after the funeral of Emma Powell (left), 24, last year

The court heard Amber survived the tragedy - but her aunt Ann Powell shouted at her: 'It should have been you who died, not Emma.'

Prosecutor Diane Williams said the family feud was sparked the day after the funeral when Amber went to her aunt's house to collect her handbag.

She told Ann Powell that she was supposed to be given a lanyard that belonged to Emma before she was attacked in Llandudno, North Wales.

Llandudno Magistrates Court heard Sean Powell pulled her into the house and 'dragged' her to the living room before punching her.

Ann Powell then slapped her across the face with 'nine out of ten force' and shouted: 'It should have been you that died, not Emma.'

Ann Powell and brother Sean Powell denied assault following the incident on August 2 last year but were convicted after a trial.

District Judge Gwyn Jones handed the pair, both of Llandudno, a 12-month community order with unpaid work.

Sean Powell (pictured) pulled Amber Powell into the house and 'dragged' her to the living room before punching her in the row over their relative's belongings

Emma Powell died in a paddleboard accident while out on the water in North Wales with her cousin Amber, who survived

An inquest into the death of the 24-year-old waitress heard that the 'lovely young woman with a bright future' was the victim of an 'incredibly tragic set of circumstances'

He said: 'It's an incident where emotions were running high.'

Ann Powell must do 140 hours of unpaid work and Sean must do 160 hours of unpaid work. Both must pay Amber Powell 250 in compensation.

It comes after waitress Emma Powell died in July last year after getting trapped in the water sparking a rescue mission.

Coroner John Gittins said the 'lovely young woman with a bright future' was the victim of an 'incredibly tragic set of circumstances' at her inquest.

The inquest heard neither girl was wearing a life-jacket when the Emma got stuck in a ladder at the jetty at Conwy Morfa beach in North Wales.

Emma's aunt, Ann - or Annie - Powell lashed out at Amber Powell the day after Emma's funeral, saying she should have been the one who died

Senior coroner John Gittins recorded a conclusion of accidental death, saying: 'It was the unintended consequence of a deliberate act; going paddleboarding and sadly losing her life as a result of that'

Amber Powell told Ann Powell that she was supposed to be given a lanyard that belonged to Emma (pictured) before she was attacked in Llandudno, North Wales

David Jones, of Conwy Lifeboat, said there was a strong tide and current which would 'be a challenge for anyone to swim against it.'

The inquest heard she was officially pronounced dead at Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital in Bangor at 12.35am on July 15.

Senior coroner John Gittins recorded a conclusion of accidental death, saying: 'It was the unintended consequence of a deliberate act; going paddleboarding and sadly losing her life as a result of that.'

He issued a prevention of future deaths report to the UK Government and to Tesco after raising concerns over the use of ankle leashes.

Supermarket chain Tesco said it would attach a British Canoeing safety sticker to all its stand-up paddleboards.
Trump is expected to be arraigned in NYC on Tuesday

Vice President Kamala Harris refused to comment, as well

President Joe Biden on Friday refused to comment on the indictment of Donald Trump.

'I have no comment on Trump,' he told reporters at the White House as he and Jill Biden headed to Mississippi to tour damage from a deadly tornado.

The president refused to talk about his predecessor despite being asked multiple times. He also didn't acknowledge questions about whether he was concerned about protesters or violence in the wake of the indictment.

The White House has consistently refused to comment on any of the Trump cases, taking the strategy of simply staying quiet and out of the way as the legal process goes forward.

President Joe Biden said he had no comment on Donald Trump's indictment

Biden was asked four times about Trump's historic indictment but repeatedly refused to respond.

Will the indictment divide the country, a reporter asked.

'I have no comment on that,' the president said.

Another reporter asked if he was worried about protesters in the wake of the indictment.

'No. I'm not going to talk about the Trump indictment,' Biden said.

And asked what the indictment said about the rule of law, the president responded: 'I have no comment at all.'

Another reporter tried asking if the charges were politically motivated.

'I have no comment on Trump,' Biden said.

He then walked to Marine One, which was waiting on the South Lawn with the first lady already on board.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden found out about Trumps indictment just like every other American  through the news reports.

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients flagged the reports to him as the news broke on Thursday.

We were not given a heads up, Jean-Pierre said to reporters Friday on Air Force One.

Donald Trump is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday in New York

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden prepare to board Air Force One on their way to Misssissippi

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment further on Trump's indictment

Vice President Kamala Harris, on a high-profile trip to Africa, also refused to comment on Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris, on a high-profile trip to Africa that has been overshadowed by the Trump news, also refused to comment on the former president.

I am not going to comment on an ongoing criminal case as it relates to the former president, she told reporters at a press conference in Zambia.

The White House has taken a hands-off strategy when it comes to Trump. Instead of commenting, Biden and his team are continuing their daily schedules in an attempt to contrast the legal trouble of the former president to the work of the current occupant of the Oval Office.

Jean-Pierre, in her gaggle with reporters, pointed out Biden is busy doing 'his job.' She declined to comment further on Trump's indictment.

A Manhattan grand jury indicted the former president on Thursday on charges related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. The exact charges haven't been revealed yet, but reports indicate there are more than 30 counts.

Trump, 76, will be arraigned in Manhattan at 2:15 pm on Tuesday. He has denied any wrongdoing.

He has previously called for protests amid reports an indictment was coming down. He has warned of 'death and destruction' if he's indicted.

The former president also has repeatedly attacked the judicial system and claimed to be a victim of its weaponization - a line of attack many of his Republican supporters have echoed.

'I believe this witch-hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,' he said in a statement on Thursday night. 'The American people realize exactly what the radical left democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it.'

Trump is currently leading the polls to be the Republican nominee in next year's presidential race. A new poll out on Thursday showed him gaining support as GOP voters showed sympathy for him.

Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina said the former president won't be put in handcuffs on Tuesday when he's arraigned in downtown Manhattan.

He is set to face a mug shot, fingerprinting and a court appearance.

Biden, meanwhile, will survey damage from the tornado during his trip to Mississippi. He and Jill Biden will meet with homeowners and first responders. And they'll also get a briefing from federal and state officials.

The death toll was 21 people. The storm also destroyed roughly 300 homes and businesses.

The Bidens will then spend the weekend at their home in Wilmington, Delaware. The president will visit Minnesota on Monday.
This is the shocking moment a cake shop worker was attacked by a group of eight men - who then pelted him with his own desserts.

The brazen thugs attached their victim as he was on the phone, walking behind the counter and trapping him in a corner.

One 22-year-old man has been arrested after the attack at Sweet Sensations dessert shop in Shipley, near Bradford, West Yorkshire.

The victim suffered injuries to his body but was not in a serious condition.

The men - who all wear dark, hooded coats - flood the small cafe and attack the man as he looks up confused.

The brazen thugs slink in on their victim as he is on the phone, threateningly walking behind the counter and trapping him in a corner. The men - who all wear dark, hooded coats - flood the small cafe and attack their victim as he looks up confused

Most also appear to be wearing blue disposable gloves.

A lady, who also appears to work at the cake shop, leaves for the back room but comes back later to watch.

As the first thug throws a punch one man even leaps the counter in his eagerness to join the violence.

The first punch drops the cake shop worker to the floor and within seconds seven thugs surround him.

Horrific video shows them crowded around him, kicking, stomping and punching the helpless worker.

One 22-year-old man has been arrested after the attack at Sweet Sensations dessert shop in Shipley, near Bradford, West Yorkshire

As the first thug throws a punch one man even leaps the counter in his eagerness to join the violence

The first punch drops the cake shop worker to the floor and within seconds seven thugs surround him. Horrific video shows them crowded around him, kicking, stomping and punching the helpless worker

One man, who walks into the shop as the attack is happening, covers his face with his hands and is so horrified by what he sees he quickly leaves.

One thug leaves for a second - but quickly goes back, returning to the violence.

Three brutes break off from the group and one rips the cover off the cake displays.

They then shove it round and one picks out a tray of desserts - lobbing it at their victim.

As quickly as they came in they get out of the shop, leaving the shop worker crawled in a foetal position on the floor, surrounded by scattered paper.

West Yorkshire Police stated: 'Police are investigating after a man was assaulted by a number of suspects in a cafe on Commercial Street Bradford at around 10pm on Wednesday 29 March.

'A 22 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of affray and has been bailed pending further enquiries.

'The victim suffered injuries to his body.'

CCTV enquiries are ongoing by Bradford CID and they have asked anyone who witnessed the assault or who knows who any of the men in the CCTV are to contact them.
Leaders of a University of Wyoming sorority have been accused of 'dismissing' female students' fears over admitting a transgender woman to the group  after claiming that he 'stared at them for hours.'

A lawsuit filed by seven sorority sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) claims that transgender Artemis Langford, 21, would stare at them after joining their chapter in September 2022, and even became physically aroused at one stage.

Prior to the vote on Langford's admittance to the sorority, several members of the sisterhood claim that the president and membership chair of the Chapter dismissed their concerns.

Maya Delauro, a junior at the university, is one of the girls in charge of recruitment and is the New member chairman for the chapter.

She is reportedly part of the senior team accused of 'pressuring' other women into allowing Langford into the group despite feeling uncomfortable  telling them it was 'homophobic' if they voted against the decision according to the National Review.

A lawsuit filed by seven sorority sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma claims that transgender Artemis Langford, 21, (left circle) would stare at them after joining their chapter

Langford, who is 6'2' and weighs 260lbs, is not currently living in the property but has spent a 'significant' amount of time there alongside 50 other women and is expected to move in at some point

Other senior members of the sorority, who have not yet been identified, also encouraged the sisters to welcome Langford to the group.

They reportedly told the group 'regardless of what your political views are, our Kappa values are acceptance and kindness so if that is something that you disagree with, that's not in line with Kappa values.'

Another member allegedly said: 'It's 2022. If you vote no, it better be for, like, literal issues with that new member or else it's homophobic.'

While a third added: 'If your only concerns are about her living in the house, you are thinking too far down the road.

'If you have something to say about this that isn't kind or respectful, keep it to yourself', according to the National Review.

Langford, who is 6'2' and weighs 260lbs, is not currently living in the property but has spent a 'significant' amount of time there alongside 50 other women and is expected to move in at some point.

But one sorority sister told the National Review that Langford has not made 'any effort' to 'physically look like a girl', adding: 'He's just calling himself a girl. All you have to do is identify as a she/her.'

The sorority is accused of improperly relying on a 2018 'Guide for Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members' that says Kappa Kappa Gamma is a 'single-gender' organization that admits both 'women' and 'individuals who identify as women' rather than official bylaws, according to the lawsuit.

Maya Delauro, a junior at the university, is one of the girls in charge of recruitment and is the New member chairman for the chapter

Maya shared a post encouraging others to join the sorority if they were 'looking to get out of their comfort zone'

Leadership reportedly told members that if they have any issues with Langford then they can 'drop out'.

One member even said that she was called a 'bigot and a transphobe' for not wanting to shower and sleep with Langford in the same area.

The told the National Review: 'It's an awful situation to be in. It's scary, not knowing if I'm going to transfer out of the school next semester.'

Before Langford was voted in, KKG sent out a Google document for members to vote on - which they were initially told would be anonymous.

However the online ballot asked members to identify themselves with their emails, which left the intimated women feeling more uncomfortable.

In the lawsuit, obtained by Cowboy StateDaily, that Langford would stare at the girls in a common-area for hours without talking.

One member even said that she was called a 'bigot and a transphobe' for not wanting to shower and sleep with Langford in the same area

Other senior members of the sorority, who have not yet been identified, also encouraged the sisters to welcome Langford to the group

But one sorority sister told the National Review that Langford has not made 'any effort' to 'physically look like a girl', adding: 'He's just calling himself a girl. All you have to do is identify as a she/her'

The suit, which is against the national Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, its national council president and Smith claims national sorority officials pressured the local chapter to violate sorority rules, including those for voting to induct new members.

All of the women are calling for a judge to declare Langford sorority membership as void and to award unspecified damages according to the lawsuit, which was filed on Monday in the District Court in Cheyenne.

The lawsuit states: 'An adult human male does not become a woman just because he tells others that he has a female 'gender identity' and behaves in what he believes to be a stereotypically female manner,

'The Fraternity Council has betrayed the central purpose and mission of Kappa Kappa Gamma by conflating the experience of being a woman with the experience of men engaging in behavior generally associated with women.'

However, the Executive Director of the sorority, Kari Kittrell Poole, told the Associated Press that the lawsuit 'contains numerous false allegations,' but the sorority couldn't comment in detail.

'KKG does not discriminate based on factors including gender identity', she added.

Before Langford was voted in, KKG sent out a Google document for members to vote on - which they were initially told would be anonymous

Fellow sisters reportedly later revealed to her that Langford had 'his hands over his genitals' and appeared sexually aroused

The lawsuit also alleged that Langford 'has, while watching members enter the sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings. Other times, he has had a pillow in his lap.'

They also accused him of taking photos of them at a slumber party and to have made inappropriate comments to them.

It continued: 'Langford repeatedly questioned the women about what vaginas look like, breast cup size, whether women were considering breast reductions and birth control'.

He was reportedly supposed to leave the party by 10pm but stayed until midnight and returned the next morning where he reportedly stood in the corner watching the girls change out of their pajamas.

Senior members reportedly told the group 'regardless of what your political views are, our Kappa values are acceptance and kindness so if that is something that you disagree with, that's not in line with Kappa values'

One of the women claimed she didn't know her sorority sister had returned to the residence and had changed out of her pajama top without a bra on and when she turned around she found Langford staring at her, the complaint alleged.

Fellow sisters reportedly later revealed to her that Langford had 'his hands over his genitals' and appeared sexually aroused.

'Since that event, Mr. Smith [Langford] has repeatedly asked [the woman] about her romantic attachments,' the lawsuit read.

The women also claimed that Langford is attracted to women, which they say is evident on her Tinder profile 'through which he seeks to meet women.'

Another alleged she watched her walked down the hallway in a towel and that she sat at the back of the room during a group yoga class in December and 'watched the assembled young women flex their bodies,' the lawsuit said.

Langfrord also identifies as male on a Washington State driver's license even though she legally could have identified on it as female or 'X' gender, the lawsuit alleges.

But supporters of the community say trans women are already vulnerable, and that it is unfair to persecute the vast majority who just want to live their lives in peace because of the actions of a few bad apples.

Kappa Kappa Gamma did not respond to a request for comment from DaiylMail.com on behalf of the chapter.
Golden snub-nosed monkeys interact with police officers in SW Chinas Sichuan

People's Daily Online) 15:11, March 31, 2023

Police officers feed golden snub-nosed monkeys in Baihe township, Jiuzhaigou county, southwest Chinas Sichuan Province. (Photo/Hou Jie)

Police officers from the Baihe police station and the forest police brigade of the Jiuzhaigou public security bureau in Jiuzhaigou county, southwest Chinas Sichuan Province came across a group of golden snub-nosed monkeys during a forest patrol in Baihe township of the county on March 26, and the monkeys had an animated encounter with police officers.

Since 2015, the Jiuzhaigou public security bureau has worked with the Baihe nature reserve to carry out campaigns to prevent poaching, illegal felling and deforestation for land reclamation.

We launch publicity activities to raise public awareness of environmental protection, and often work with staff of conservation stations in the nature reserve to launch these campaigns, which are supported by locals and the local government, said Pu Lei, an officer from the Baihe police station.

Thanks to these efforts, the population of golden snub-nosed monkeys in the nature reserve has risen from less than 100 to more than 1,000.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
A US court has dismissed a defamation case brought against Meghan Markle by her half-sister Samantha Markle, it was revealed today.

The Duchess of Sussex was accused of spreading 'demonstrably false and malicious lies' to a 'worldwide audience' in the royal couple's tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

But a Florida judge has dismissed the lawsuit, saying the former Suits actress was expressing 'an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-sibling' and a statement of pure opinion was 'not capable of being proved false'.

Samantha Markle claimed her younger half-sister defamed her when she and Harry spoke to Oprah in 2021. A judge in Florida has dismissed her case

Samantha and Meghan's relationship has been strained for years but became public after Meghan and Harry's engagement and wedding

Samantha also alleged the duchess had defamed her by giving information to an unauthorised biography called Finding Freedom. The judge said it was not Meghan's book so she could not be held liable for its contents

In court papers seen by the PA new agency, US District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell wrote: 'As a reasonable listener would understand it, defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings.

'Thus, the court finds that defendant's statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof.... plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove defendant's opinion of her own childhood.'

Samantha Markle brought the defamation case against her younger sister in March 2022, alleging the duchess had defamed her by giving information to an unauthorised biography called Finding Freedom and by discussing their relationship with Winfrey on live TV.

Judge Honeywell also found the duchess could not be liable for the contents of the book because she did not publish it.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's historic indictment of Donald Trump could hinge on an untested legal theory, in a move one law scholar questions as 'legally pathetic'.

The indictment handed down by a New York grand jury on Thursday remains under seal until his arrest, and the exact nature of the criminal charges against Trump is unclear.

However, the charges reportedly stem from whether Trump falsified business records when he reimbursed his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen for hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.

The New York state charge of falsifying business records would be a misdemeanor, unless it was committed to further or cover up another crime.

Bragg reportedly alleges the second crime is the federal election law violation to which Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018, admitting the payment to Daniels was an unregistered donation to Trump's presidential campaign.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley (right) slammed the reported basis of the Manhattan case against Trump as 'legally pathetic'

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's historic indictment of Donald Trump could hinge on an untested legal theory, raising perils for prosecutors as they seek a conviction

The indictment handed down by a New York grand jury on Thursday remains under seal until his arrest, and the exact nature of the criminal charges against Trump is unclear

That theory would essentially rely on proving federal election law violations by a then-candidate for federal office in state court, something experts believe has never been attempted in New York.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley slammed the basis of that case as 'legally pathetic' -- though he warned that the indictment could contain surprises.

'The indictment may come out with a crime that none of us have heard of,' Turley said in an interview with Fox News after Bragg confirmed the indictment.

'But for many months, this bootstrapping theory has been put out there, this idea that you could take a misdemeanor under New York law that has expired, that has a two year statute of limitations, and revive it by connecting it to a federal crime, in this case, the federal election violation,' he added.

'And if that is the basis for the indictment, I think it's rather outrageous. I think it's legally pathetic,' he added.

The case raises a host of tricky legal questions, which could potentially lead a judge to dismiss the charges, or raise issues for prosecutors on appeal.

But attorney Kevin O'Brien, a former federal prosecutor and partner at Ford O'Brien Landy, told DailyMail.com that the case is 'serious on several levels, even if it winds up only being a misdemeanor charge.'

O'Brien said 'the charges are solemn, public, and voted on by a body of his peers' and predicted that 'while Trump will move to dismiss on various grounds, the motions are unlikely to succeed.'

At the center of Bragg's presumed case is the $130,000 that Cohen admitting paying to Daniels during the 2016 campaign.

In federal court, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and testified that Trump directed him to pay Daniels and another woman to secure their silence.

Federal prosecutors said Trump's family real estate company reimbursed Cohen and falsely accounted for it as a legal expense, but never charged Trump with a crime.

Former President Donald Trump arrives to board his airplane for a trip to a campaign rally in Waco, Texas on Saturday

A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former president Donald Trump over hush money paid on his behalf to pornstar Stormy Daniels, seen with him above

Cohen and Daniels have said the payment was to buy her silence about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006, when Trump was married to his current wife, Melania. Trump denies having an affair with Daniels and any wrongdoing.

Bragg launched his probe after his predecessor Cyrus Vance twice looked into the payment and did not bring charges, in part because winning a conviction would rely on untested legal strategies, according to a recent book by Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in the office.

The case was dropped and revived so many times that it became known in the DA's office as a 'zombie case,' Pomerantz wrote.

'The bottom line for me was that the 'zombie' case was very strong,' Pomerantz wrote in the book, People vs. Donald Trump. 'But was it a crime under New York law?'

As Trump was a candidate for federal office at the time of the alleged crime, it was legally uncertain whether the intent to advance or conceal a federal crime could convert a state-level falsification of records charge into a felony, Pomerantz wrote.

'It's an untested theory, but it's not every day that a candidate for president violates a state law,' Jerry Goldfeder, an election law specialist at the Stroock law firm, told Reuters when asked whether state law could apply to a candidate for federal office.

After hiring an outside law firm for advice, Vance's office decided not to bring any charges, Pomerantz wrote.

'These types of crimes don't necessarily have a clean fit into the applicable law,' Sarah Krissoff, a partner at Day Pitney and a former federal prosecutor, told Reuters before the charges were filed.

At the center of Bragg's presumed case is the $130,000 that Michael Cohen admitting paying to Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Pictured: Cohen arrives to testify on March 15

Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina (seen in 2021), said Thursday that the former president didn't commit any crime and vowed to 'vigorously fight this political prosecution in court'

Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, said Thursday that the former president didn't commit any crime and vowed to 'vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.'

Tacopina has accused prosecutors of 'distorting laws' to try to take down the former president.

He described Trump as a victim of extortion who had to pay the money to Daniels because the allegations were going to be embarrassing to him 'regardless of the campaign.'

'He made this with personal funds to prevent something from coming out - false, but embarrassing to himself, his family, his young son. That's not a campaign finance violation, not by any stretch,' Tacopina told ABC's Good Morning America before the indictment.
Storm Mathis has brought chaos to Britain's roads and seas today, with ferry services disrupted and traffic jams on motorway as gales of nearly 100mph and heavy rainfall lash the country.

There is heavy traffic across the road network, with gridlocks affecting the M1 and roads approaching the Port of Dover where HGVs are stockpiled for miles due to stormy conditions at sea.

A spokesman for the Port of Dover said: 'Sea conditions in the Channel are rough to very rough with a South South Westerly near gale. Visibility is good. Traffic is free flowing into the Port.'

Meanwhile, heavy rain and gales of nearly 100mph have torn up trees and left hundreds of homes without power.

The Met Office has issued warnings for wind and rain across the South and South West today as the storm - named by France's meteorological office - sweeps across the country.

COAST OFF KENT: A ferry is seen battling the high waves as it approaches Dover

DOVER: Lorries queue for the Port of Dover along the A20 in Kent following storm disruption

CORNWALL: In Tuckingmill, near Camborne, a tree blocked both lanes of Pendarves road

KENT: Waves crash against the harbour wall during strong winds in Folkestone

LONDON: People walking under umbrellas as rain bashes Britain

Nearly 700 homes in Cornwall suffered power outages while 93mph gusts were recorded at Gwennap Head near Penzance. In Tuckingmill, near Camborne, a fallen tree blocked both lanes of Pendarves road, while similar scenes of chaos were recorded in Jersey.

Forecasters have warned that the storm has the potential to cause damage to buildings and flooding.

A yellow rain warning covering most of Devon and parts of Cornwall is in place from 6am to 6pm today.

Commuters were warned of travel chaos with public transport likely to be affected and journey times taking longer.There is also a risk of spray, standing water and some flooding on roads.

Meanwhile, a separate yellow warning for wind, covering the southwest of England and coastal parts of Wales is in place until midday. Strong winds are likely to cause delays to road, rail air and ferry transport, the Met Office warned.

Temperatures are set to stay in the low teens this morning, while yesterday saw highs of 17.8C at Santon Downham in Norfolk.

On Friday night, low pressure is set to drift out of the UK to the south-east, with the last bands of rain moving across the country this evening. There will be a steady band of widespread rain falling from Northern Ireland to south-west England, bringing steady periods of light rain.

DOVER: Strong winds have delayed ferry services causing long queues for HGV drivers

M1: Cars queue along the M1 after stormy weather grinds motorway to a halt

The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings for the south of England, with it warning of a chance of flooding in some areas

KENT: Waves crash against the harbour wall during strong winds in Folkestone

KENT: Storm Mathis batters Britain, with waves crashing against the harbour in Folkestone

Tomorrow will see largely cloudy with patchy rain across western and southern areas.

The rain will sink into the south-west of England through the day.

Most areas will escape with lengthy dry but cloudy spells, with light patchy rain will push into the north-east through the late afternoon.

Meanwhile, a fine day is forecast to develop on Sunday, with lengthy dry and fine spells.
Pakistani friends and family of Humza Yousaf have told how they 'expected' him to become Scotland's First Minister, with one saying: 'It was only a matter of time.'

Mr Yousaf's father Mian Muzaffar Yousaf was born in Mian Channu in Pakistan's Punjab province before moving to Glasgow in the 1960s.

Today, photos emerged of the run-down house by the city's bustling bazaar where he once lived alongside the politician's grandfather.

Mian Channu sits in the heart of a major agricultural area, with a large proportion of its residents working in farming or associated industries.

Several of Mr Yousaf's relatives still live in the city, including his uncle, Manzoor Hussain.

Humza Yousaf's father Mian Muzaffar Yousaf was born in Mian Channu in Pakistan's Punjab province. This is the how where he lived as a boy

Mr Yousaf was elected to Holyrood aged only 26, taking his oath first in English and then in Urdu to honour his Pakistani heritage

Yusuf's uncle, teacher Mansour Hussain, said: 'We were expecting this news since long as we knew that it's just a matter of time'

'We were expecting this news since long as we knew that it's just a matter of time, considering his vigorous nature and profound involvement in Scotland's politics,' Mr Hussain told the news agency Anadolu.

'I was informed by my wife who is currently in Edinburgh over the telephone that Humza has been elected [as SNP leader]. It was exciting news for me but not at all surprising.'

Rafi Anwar Chohan, a cousin of Mr Yousaf's father, recalled his 'good sense of humour.'

'He was witty and easy to mingle with. I found him as a thorough gentleman,' he said

Mr Yousaf, 37, was sworn in as Scotland's sixth First Minister on Wednesday, making him the first Muslim leader of a Western European country.

A view of a street of Mian Channu City, where Humza Yousaf's father grew up

Mr Yousaf's father moved to Scotland from the city in Pakistan's northeast in 1962

Locals standing in front of the house where Mr Yousaf's father and grandfather lived

He was elected to Holyrood aged only 26, taking his oath first in English and then in Urdu to honour his Pakistani heritage.

Just a year later, he became the youngest person appointed to the Scottish government as well as its first minister from an ethnic minority.

By that age he had already worked as an assistant to a string of top Scottish National Party figures, including his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon, after attending a private school then studying politics at Glasgow University.

But his rapid rise to power has not gone entirely smoothly. In 2016 he was fined 300 after being caught by police driving a friend's car without insurance.

Mian Channu sits in the heart of a major agricultural area, with a large proportion of its residents working in farming or associated industries

The Yousafs' old house is located next to the city's bustling bazaar

Several of Mr Yousaf's relatives still live in the city. Pictured are the city's gates

Mr Yousaf blamed the break-up of his first marriage for the error. Adding to his embarrassment, he was transport minister at the time.

Mr Yousaf and his second wife Nadia El-Nakla later became embroiled in a bitter racism row with a nursery.

After being told there was no space for the couple's daughter at Little Scholars in Broughty Ferry near Dundee, Ms El-Nakla and a friend put in fake applications for children with 'white-sounding names'.

While a watchdog told the nursery to change its procedures, earlier this year Ms El-Nakla dropped her legal action against it.

A view of a street of Mian Channu, where locals have reacted with delight at Mr Yousaf's appointment
The astonishing moment a Nazi soldier stepped in with a machine gun to save a downed British airman from a baying mob has been revealed in a new book.

Captured Joseph Barratt was on crutches and still in his RAF uniform when he was taken to a railway station in northern Germany by an elderly guard.

Upon seeing the RAF airman, an angry group of locals looking for revenge for the Dambusters' devastating raid on Germany's Ruhr Valley days earlier, advanced towards him.

But in the nick of time a young German soldier emerged from a waiting room and pointed his gun at his own countrymen.

He stood between Sgt Barratt and the mob and shouted at them several times to back away.

Flight engineer Sergeant Gordon Bowles, who died in the crash that left Sgt Joseph Barratt stranded alone in Nazi Germany

Sergeant Joseph Barratt (circled) and fellow airmen. Sgt Barratt's life was saved by a German soldier who challenged an angry mob

A standoff ensued before he cocked his gun and the group who had been after blood relented.

The German soldier then helped Sgt Barratt on to the train, sat with him and gave him cigarettes and chocolate.

The close escape is detailed for the first time 80 years on by Sgt Barratt's son Martin, who has written a book about his father's wartime experiences titled The Greatest Escape.

Sgt Barratt recounts in the book: 'At the railway station I was attracting a lot of unwanted attention - I was still in my flying kit, on crutches and with an elderly guard next to me.

'I couldn't really hear or understand what the people milling about were saying but they were obviously hostile and so I kept my eyes fixed on the tracks.

'It was this point that I saw one of the mob was holding a rope.

'Still the crowd moved nearer and this time I could pick out a few words 'Englander' and the like.

'The old boy looked a bit panicked... when I turned to look at him again he'd disappeared - I was on my own.

'I tried to move a bit further but I was in too much pain to move. They were pretty close by this time. I thought, this is it, and I've had it.

'I braced for what was coming and just hoped it would be over pretty quick but almost at the last possible minute a young German soldier suddenly emerged from a room on my left and stood between me and the mob.

His story is featured in a new book about his experiences during the war which has been written by his son, Martin, 58

Sergeant Joseph Barratt (left) at the top of the Empire State Building. Sgt Barratt survived the war, thanks in part to the brave German soldier and would become a newsagent

The telegram that informed Sgt Joseph Barratt's family that he was missing a few days after the Dortmund raid

'He was armed and levelled his machine gun at them, he yelled at them in German and they stopped, but there was still a lot of shouting and pointing.

'It seemed to go on for ages but then I heard him cock his gun ready to fire and he yelled at them again.

'They must have thought he meant business as this time they cleared off and that was that.

'God knows what he was doing there but if it hadn't been for him they'd have lynched me, of that I'm sure.

'He gave me a cigarette and shared some chocolate... He saved my life that day, absolutely no question of that.'

Sgt Barratt was born in Hednesford, Staffs, and worked as a clerk in a mining company before joining the Territorial Army in 1939.

He transferred to the RAF and trained as a navigator in Canada before joining 102 Squadron in March 1943.

On his second raid, he was shot down by flak on the homeward leg from an attack on Dortmund as they approached the Dutch border on the night of May 4, 1943.

His pilot ordered him to bail out of the Halifax bomber and he hit his legs and ankles on the branches of a tree coming down.

He survived the landing but four of his crew were killed as the aircraft burst into flames after crashing near Kevelaer in northern Germany, with two others taken prisoner.

Those who perished were pilot Sergeant William Happold, bomb aimer Flying Officer John Baxter, flight engineer Sergeant Gordon Bowles and gunner Sergeant Duncan McGregor.

Flying Officer John Baxter, a Bomb Aimer, who was killed in the raid on Dortmund a few days after the Dambusters raids

Air Gunner Sergeant Duncan R. McGregor, who died in the crash during the raid on Dortmund

Sgt Barratt was quickly apprehended and treated for his injuries and then taken to a railway station to be transported to a PoW camp.

He spent two years in the Stalag Luft I and Stalag Luft VI (Heydekrug) PoW camps, during which he made several escape attempts.

On one occasion, he hid as a stowaway under a lorry and made it out of the camp.

He was on the run for a couple of days before he was spotted by a German guard who set his dog on him.

Sgt Barratt survived the notorious 'Heydekrug Run', where prisoners were shackled together and force-marched to the camp while being beaten, kicked and clubbed by German soldiers and hunted by rabid dogs.

German machine gun posts and cameras were set up near trees so PoWs could be mowed down by bullets if they tried to run away from their ordeal.

He also endured a Death March in the winter of 1944 and 1945 before he was liberated from Fallingbostel in April 1945 and returned to Britain having lost 35 per cent of his body weight.

He married Majorie Corson in 1948 and they ran a newsagents in Fleet, Hampshire.

Sgt Barratt died aged 71 in 1988.

Martin, 58, who runs a CGI business in Godalming, Surrey, said his father was reluctant to talk about the horrors he endured, but opened up to him in the final years of his life, usually after a glass of whisky.

He said: 'My father was from that generation who did not like to talk about what they went through, but towards the end of his life, as I got older, he opened up to me, usually after a glass of whisky.

'I noticed the scars on his legs and ankles from bailing out, and the marks from the prison beatings, and bayonets, but I would not ask him about it.

Four of his crew were killed as the aircraft burst into flames after crashing near Kevelaer in northern Germany, including Sergeant William B.J. Happold

A drawing given to Sergeant Joseph Barratt in the prison camp. He survived the notorious 'Heydekrug Run', where prisoners were shackled together and force-marched to the camp while being beaten

Sgt Joseph Barratt's position on board the Lancaster bomber. He survived the crash but was injured and would recuperate in a prisoner of war camp

'I was stunned when he told me about the young German officer who saved his life.

'My father was very lucky as some British airmen who bailed out where killed by locals and hung from lampposts.

'He was fortunate to survive full stop as I believe 75 per cent of his squadron were lost during 1943 operations.

'I've written this book as I don't want his story, and that of his crew, to be lost to future generations.'

The Greatest Escape, A Bomber Command Navigator's Story of Survival in Nazi Germany, by Martin Barratt, is published by Pen & Sword on April 30 and costs 25.

Part of the proceeds from the book will go to the RAF Benevolent Fund.
This grim photo shows 'bad bacon' allegedly from a UK meat processor which has suddenly shut down.

The business, which supplied leading supermarkets, schools and hospitals, has been accused of passing off huge quantities of potentially unsafe foreign meat as British.

The family-owned meat processor, Loscoe Chilled Foods, based in Loscoe, Derbyshire, has gone into administration and laid off 120 staff. Three people have also been arrested.

Allegations of mass illegality are being investigated by the National Food Crime Unit, which is part of the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The allegations were revealed by the deputy editor of Farmers Weekly, Abi Kay. Today, she published an image allegedly taken from the plant on Twitter, writing: 'I haven't been able to share photographic evidence of this scandal yet, because my sources asked me not to. But today I've been given permission to share these (they're nowhere near the worst I've seen).'

The FSA's handling of the allegations has been condemned by some food industry leaders who claim a failure to share information with them could have put public health at risk.

This grim photo shows 'bad bacon' allegedly from a factory at the centre of a massive food fraud and safety investigation

Initially, the investigation centred on allegations of fraud with foreign meat being passed off as British and then sold on to retailers and into the food service sector.

However, the focus has now shifted to concerns over serious food safety failures based on allegations made by members of staff.

The processor has been accused by former employees of regularly 'washing' hams that were visibly off, and mixing rotting pork with fresh product for further processing.

Other products such as ox tongues were not heat treated properly, and meat was sometimes thawed out on the factory floor.

It is also alleged that the paperwork for sampling, which would pick up dangerous food bugs such as listeria and E coli, was falsified.

Meat produced by the company ended up in products such as ready meals, quiches, sandwiches and other produce sold in Tesco, Asda, Co-op, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer.

Food manufacturer and distributor Oscar Mayer, which supplies Sainsbury's, Aldi, Ikea, Subway and airline food producer Dnata, was another customer, as were major brands Princes and BidFood. Bakkavor was a customer until 2019.

Schools, hospitals, care homes and prisons were also indirectly supplied, with one source alleging the most rotten meat would end up there.

One anonymous employee told Farmers Weekly: 'It used to get me to a point where I'd be thinking 'we're going to kill someone'.

Another said: 'There were days I'd sit outside in my car crying because I didn't want to go in. It was that bad.'

There is no suggestion that any of the processor's customers were aware of the criminal practices, which took place for at least two decades through to 2020 and possibly beyond.

The chief executive of the FSA, Emily Miles, said on Friday that some six million documents were seized in 2021 as part of an investigation into mislabelling. She confirmed the organisation, and its food crime unit are now looking at issues of food safety.

Ms Miles said: 'The food safety allegations have been much more recent and we're following those up. We went to the premises last week and made three arrests and seized millions more documents.' She said it is 'possible' people had been at risk from contaminated meat in the past.

The family-owned meat processor, Loscoe Chilled Foods, based in Loscoe, Derbyshire, has gone into administration and laid off 120 staff. Three people have also been arrested

Ms Miles said it was the job of local councils, supermarkets and the food industry to audit meat processors with the FSA the 'last line of defence for particularly serious allegations'.

She admitted that the watchdog is short of resources and that it has only around 27 staff running 'about eight live investigations'.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which speaks for supermarkets, said: 'While we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, retailers will support the FSA with its investigation into the individual supplier in question.'

The food wholesale firms who were supplied by the processor have expressed shock at the allegations and are carrying out their own investigations.

The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers' (Aims),which represents processors, accused the FSA and National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) of failing to alert them to their investigation.

Its group head of operations, Norman Bagley, said: 'It is inexcusable that food manufacturers and food service businesses, some of whom supply some of society's most vulnerable consumers, were not alerted at any time to date by the NFCU as to there either being a possibility of labelling fraud or of a risk to public health.'

Speaking before Loscoe failed, a director of the firm, Daniel Ryde, said the company was supporting the FSA inquiry. He minimised the scope of any wrongdoing and insisted 'this is not a food safety issue'.

The local Conservative MP, Nigel Mills, said: 'The confirmation of the closure, with all staff being made redundant, is terrible news for employees involved and a blow for the town.'
Trump was indicted on Thursday night -- expected to be arrested on Tuesday

Also asked them 'to describe the type of documents you think we could produce' without interfering in the case

Asked GOP chairmen for a list of questions they wanted to ask the DA

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg hit back at House GOP leaders who threatened to subpoena him, accusing them of 'dangerous usurpation' of the judicial system.

Leslie B. Dubeck, the general counsel for Bragg's office, wrote to the three committee chairmen who demanded documents and testimony from Bragg asking them for a list of questions they wanted to ask the DA and to 'to describe the type of documents you think we could produce' without interfering in the case.

Dubeck knocked Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, Oversight Chair James Comer and Administration Chair Bryan Steil for choosing to 'collaborate' with former President Trump's efforts to 'vilify and denigrate' Bragg.

Bragg's office asked the chairmen to come to a 'negotiated resolution' before serving the DA with a subpoena.

'As Committee Chairmen, you could use the stature of your office to denounce these attacks and urge respect for the fairness of our justice system and for the work of the impartial grand jury,' she suggested, calling to mind Trump's threats of 'death and destruction.'

The GOP chairmen in a series of two letters demanded Bragg provide information and testimony, and said he faced 'political pressure from left-wing activists.'

In their second letter, the lawmakers said they were investigating Bragg for the legislative purpose of potentially proposing a bill to shield former presidents from state investigations for 'personal acts.' Committees must have a legislative purpose when they issue subpoenas, as they have threatened to do with Bragg.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg hit back at three House GOP leaders who threatened to subpoena him, accusing them of 'dangerous usurpation' of the judicial system

But Bragg's office accused the chairmen of drumming up 'a baseless pretext to interfere with our Office's work.'

'We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference.'

A Manhattan grand jury dramatically voted to indict Donald Trump over $130,000 in hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, making him the first ever former president to face criminal charges.

It marks the end of a years long investigation into hush money paid to adult movie star Stormy Daniels in 2016, allegedly to buy her silence about their affair.

The indictment means he is the first former president to be charged with a crime and it takes the country into uncharted legal and political territory, with a candidate for president now facing arrest and the prospect of humiliating court appearances.

Bragg's office asked the chairmen to come to a 'negotiated resolution' before serving the DA with a subpoena

Bragg's office indicted Trump on Thursday night

The House Republican lawmakers also have trained their sights on two former prosecutors who resigned from the Manhattan DA's office over handling his investigation into former President Trump.

Attorney Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne sought to prosecute Trump in 2022 and resigned after Bragg rejected their legal theories.

That came amid a lack of movement in what had been dubbed a 'zombie' case.

The letter notes that the two 'resigned from the office over Bragg's initial reluctance to move forward with charges in 2022.'

'Bragg is now attempting to 'shoehorn' the same case with identical facts into a new prosecution,' said the letter.

Bragg's office shot back: 'Your examination of the facts of a single criminal investigation, for the supposed purpose of determining whether any charges against Mr. Trump are warranted, is an improper and dangerous usurpation of the executive and judicial functions.'
A Texas Republican was left red-faced after he read rude joke names during a hearing a hearing on trans rights in a segment allowing the public to make comment.

Texas State Rep. Jeff Leach, the chair of the Lone Star state's House Committee and Civil Jurisprudence, read the innuendo names during the hearing on Wednesday.

'Is there a Connie Lingus here? What about Anita Dickenmee? Or Holden Middick? Ok, are any three of those people here?' Leach asked as those present collapsed in hysterics.

Leach acknowledged the joke, saying: 'OK, you got your moment. Hope you enjoy it.'

After the video, which was originally posted by journalist Erin Reed, went viral, Leach said in an interview with Mediaite that he appreciated the moment of levity. 'In the midst of the rough and tumble of politics and policy-making, it's good to know we can still laugh and smile together,' he said.

Texas State Rep. Jeff Leach represents the city of Plano in the state house

Leach told the website that he looks forward 'to meeting Connie, Holden and Anita one day soon.'

Earlier in the meeting, Leach, who represents the city of Plano, noticed something was awry when reading out names.

'The chair calls... Connie Lingus. Hold on. Hold on. OK, umm, yeah, OK. Thats gonna be on YouTube,' he said. It's possible that Leach made the decision to indulge the pranksters in reading out the full list of lewd names.

Also this month, a similar incident occurred in Florida's state house as Republican Will Robinson Jr. read out the names 'Anita Dick' and 'Holden Hiscock' during a public comment hearing.

Following that incident, Robinson tweeted: 'Committee does meet again next week! Anita and Holden, please stop by!'

The Republican official appeared mortified after being tricked into reading several raunchy names, but he later saw the funny side and joked about the interaction on Twitter

While on his Twitter feed, Leach did not acknowledge the indictment of ex-President Donald Trump.

'Todays indictment of former President Trump - led by a hyper-partisan, progressive radical District Attorney - is a chilling example of the justice system being politically weaponized against Americans. Those of us who care about the rule of law should & must push back,' he tweeted.

The viral moment occurred during a hearing on SB8, an education focused piece of legislation that bans talk of sexual orientation and gender identity in school. The law would force teachers to notify parents about emotional changes in children.

Of the 35 anti-LGBTQ bills already introduced in Texas, three would classify providing gender-affirming care to minors as a form of child abuse, following a directive last year from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that ordered child welfare agents to open abuse investigations into parents who let their children receive gender-affirming care.

The contentious issue of trans legislation in Texas was in the spotlight last week.

Drag Queen Brigitte Bandit spoke out against the bill on Thursday while dressed up in all pink. Pictured: Brigitte Bandit

An LGBTQ activist blocked the Texas senate's sergeant in arms from taking the mic from a trans speaker - who compared lawmakers to Nazis as they consider criminalizing drag shows on March 23.

Loren Perkins, a transgender woman, appeared at the state capital to provide public comment on a few laws that would prohibit drag performances in the Lone Star State.

Perkins was seen in a viral video on TikTok with more than 5 million views speaking to lawmakers past her two-minute speech mark as a security guard identified as Austin Osborn approached her from behind.

Before Osborn reached her, another activist rushed in front of the sergeant to avoid him from interrupting Perkins before she finished. The two were seen in a physical altercation as Osborn grabbled with the activist.

'By manipulating the words of an ancient text and shoehorning it into legislation aimed at an at risk minority population, you liken yourself to another group that gained popularity in Germany in the 1930s,' Perkins said.

'When a small man with a smaller mustache stood before crowds and proclaimed himself superior to others - I see you here doing the same,' she added.
The Justice Department has sued Norfolk Southern over polluting waterways with a toxic carcinogen after the East Palestine train derailment disaster in Ohio.

The government said it is seeking to hold the company accountable for 'unlawfully polluting the nation's waterways and to ensure it pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup,' in the lawsuit filed Thursday.

It is asking for fines under the Clean Water Act and for a judgment to hold the railroad accountable for past and future costs.

The derailment on February 3 of 38 cars including 11 carrying hazardous materials in the village of East Palestine caused cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals to spill and catch fire.

It forced the evacuation of half of the 5,000 residents when responders intentionally burned toxic chemicals in some of the derailed cars to prevent an uncontrolled explosion.

A drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire the day after on Saturday, February 4

A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, February 6

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (pictured in Oklahoma on Thursday) was criticized for his slow response to the disaster

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Ohio on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency seeks penalties and injunctive relief for the unlawful discharge of pollutants under the Clean Water Act and an order addressing liability for past and future costs.

'With this complaint, the Justice Department and the EPA are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community,' Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Friday.

EPA in February issued an order requiring Norfolk Southern to develop plans to address contamination and pay EPAs response costs.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the suit will help 'ensure Norfolk Southern cleans up the mess they made and pays for the damage they have inflicted as we work to ensure this community can feel safe at home again.'

The railroad did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

Chemicals from the derailed cars and firefighting foam seeped into creeks and rivers near the village, with some eventually ending up in the Ohio River.

So far, more than 9 million gallons of wastewater have been removed from the site and hauled to hazardous waste storage sites in Ohio and other states, according to the state officials.

Government officials say tests haven't found dangerous levels of chemicals in the air or water in the area, but many residents remain concerned about their long-term health.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said three weeks after the disaster that the spilled contaminants killed an estimated 44,000 fish, mostly small ones such as minnows.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has repeatedly apologized for the impact the derailment and the company has pledged to pay for the cleanup.

The railroad has promised so far to spend close to $28 million to help the Ohio community recover while also announcing several voluntary safety upgrades.

A toxic soup of carcinogenic and corrosive chemicals light up the night sky on February 3

This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb 4

A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6

Connor Spielmaker, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern, said the company is focused on the cleanup and working at the direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

'Our job right now is to make progress every day cleaning up the site, assisting residents whose lives were impacted by the derailment, and investing in the future of East Palestine and the surrounding areas,' he said in a statement.

Ohio filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern just over two weeks ago to make sure it pays for the cleanup and environmental damage, and pays for groundwater and soil monitoring in the years ahead.

Norfolk Southern CEO Shaw told lawmakers last week that the railroad is 'committed' to paying for cleanup costs and addressing potential long-term health issues and home value impacts from the derailment.

Shaw said the railroad will work with the community on programs to protect drinking water over the long term.

No deaths or injuries were reported after the incident but since the derailment, some of East Palestine's 4,700 residents have reported ailments such as rashes and breathing difficulties, and some fear long-term health effects.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local branch or go to www.samaritans.org

Major General Matt Holmes took his own life after losing his career and marriage

A former head of the Royal Marines hanged himself at his marital home after his wife left him and he lost his job, an inquest has concluded.

Major General Matthew Holmes, who was a pallbearer at Prince Philip's funeral, was found dead in a bedroom at his 1million home in Winchester, Hampshire on October 2, 2021, a court heard.

The hearing was told that in the months before his death Maj Gen Holmes had lost his position as leader of the Royal Marines in a management restructuring, faced the collapse of his marriage, and had been left 'angry' at the UK's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Just two days before his death, he told one senior colleague 'I've got one last bullet to fire', the inquest heard. And when his sister asked if he was thinking of killing himself after losing his job as the head of the Royal Marines, the 54-year-old asked: 'Why shouldn't I?', Winchester Coroners' Court was told.

Giving evidence at the inquest, his widow Lea said she found Maj Gen Holmes sobbing at home next to a shotgun and told her 'my life's not worth living without my family'.

Major General Matthew Holmes lost his job as the head of the Royal Marines in 2021

Maj Gen Holmes is pictured with his wife Lea outside Buckingham Palace in 2007 after winning the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership on the frontline in Afghanistan

Maj Gen Holmes at the front wearing a white helmet, while serving as a pall bearer at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in Windsor Castle in April 2021

Lea Holmes, widow of Major General Matthew Holmes, outside Winchester Coroners' Court

Maj Gen Holmes had stopped eating and sleeping and became 'wholly obsessed' with his marriage, career, and financial woes, his inquest heard. The high-ranking officer told friends his domestic life was 'crumbling' and that things were 'indescribably sh*t'.

His inquest heard Mrs Holmes - who has two teenage children with Maj Gen Holmes - applied for a restraining order on him after he apparently 'followed' her and 'frightened' her.

The marriage ending came soon after Maj Gen Holmes had to step down from his post as the head of the Royal Marines, which left him stressed. He believed his career was 'cut short', was 'angry' at how the restructure was carried out, and felt like 'salt was being rubbed in the wounds' as he was replaced by 'rival' Lieutenant General Rob Magowan CB CBE.

Major General Matthew Holmes was a pallbearer at Prince Philip's funeral during the procession to the steps of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in April. He is pictured speaking to Sky News before the service

In April 2021, less than two years into his posting as head of the Marines, Maj Gen Holmes was told to agree to a restructure or resign, it was heard. He had been on three back-to-back tours and 'didn't have time to decompress'.

His stress mounted, feeling as if he had 'more to give', and on a family holiday to Cornwall in the Summer of 2021 he was angered by the UK military's withdrawal from Afghanistan and felt responsible for Afghan officers who were now at risk.

Winchester Coroner's Court heard Mrs Holmes told her husband she was leaving him in September 2021 and Marines bosses later offered him a six-month extension at work.

His leaving dinner was a 'car crash', it was heard.

Mrs Holmes today told his inquest: 'He was kind and he loved his children very much. He was a Royal Marine. That was him, through and through. He left university, got a degree, and joined the Royal Marines and it was his life.'

Mrs Holmes said in Spring 2021, Navy chiefs told Maj Gen Holmes he had to sign agreeing to a new restructure or resign.

'He was hugely upset by that', Mrs Holmes said as she told of how his stress impacted their family life. 'With these huge amount of stresses, he was very unhappy at home and so that was very difficult for myself and the children. He had a short fuse. Myself and my daughter felt as if we were tip-toeing around a bit, trying to manage that.'

Major General Matthew Holmes receives the Distinguished Service Order from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2007

Maj Gen Holmes wearing a white helmet during Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021

In September 2021, Mrs Holmes told her husband she was leaving him. On September 14, she heard her husband 'crying in the bedroom upstairs'.

'He was sitting on the bed and he had the shotgun by him and I said ''what do you think you're doing?'',' she said. 'I was concerned that he was in this way and that our daughter was in the next bedroom. He said ''my life's not worth living without my family''.

'I put the gun away back in the gun cabinet. There was some shots [ammunition] on the side.'

Mrs Holmes said her husband became 'out of control' and was 'storming around the house'. She said he 'followed' her and turned up to her temporary accommodation late at night 'demanding' she take him back.

Lieutenant General Rob Magowan outside Winchester Coroners' Court

His sister, Sarah Adkins said: 'Matt was courageous, cheeky, highly intelligent, he had great emotional intelligence apart from when he was stressed. He was empathetic and he cared deeply for those he loved and the Royal Marines. From his earliest days he wanted to be in the Royal Marines and worked very hard to achieve that.'

At a summer holiday in Polzeath, Cornwall, in 2021, Ms Adkins noticed he was 'detached'.

'He was clearly overwhelmed with stress. He was very focused on how his career had ended and found it quite difficult,' she said.

'He was deeply concerned about aspects [in the Royal Marines], he thought some would be of benefit but some he profoundly thought would be detrimental. He described himself as being ''beaten down and awashed''. He was not able to distinguish between little stresses and big stresses and became agitated at things I would not have expected him to.'

Ms Adkins said she pleaded with her brother to go surfing with her, but he had become 'intense' and spent his time on work calls.

'He was angry at how it ended', she said.

Ms Adkins said in September 2021 when Mrs Holmes told Maj Gen Holmes she was leaving him he was 'calm and surprised but disappointed'.

She said: 'I thought he was in a state of denial. He definitely saw himself as a family man and I don't think he was aware of the stresses that his own stresses from service placed on the family. He had spent a lot of time away from home, particularly in those last three years.'

She said he was 'optimistic' about the marriage despite it being clear it was over, was in a 'bad place', and 'was absolutely overwhelmed and in dire need of professional support'.

Major General Matthew Holmes welcomes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to the Royal Albert Hall in London in March 2020

Major General Matt Holmes (Front) and his Marines Await pick up From Chinnook CH 47 Helicopters back to Camp Bastion

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Major General Matthew Holmes during his funeral

Maj Gen Holmes called veterans mental health charity Combat Stress eight days before his death.

On September 22 police turned up at Maj Gen Holmes' house and seized his shotgun.

Maj Gen Holmes 'didn't think it was necessary as he was not a threat and was not going to harm himself', Ms Adkins said.

When asked if he thought about killing himself, Maj Gen Holmes told his sister 'why shouldn't I?'

Decorated general Matthew Holmes who killed himself Maj Gen Holmes, who served in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, was Commandant General Royal Marines from 2019 until April 2021. He commanded 42 Commando Royal Marines from 2006 to 2008 and was appointed as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership on operations in Afghanistan in 2007. He was made a CBE in 2019 and was a pallbearer at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April 2021 during the procession to the steps of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Advertisement

The inquest heard Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the Armed Forces, said he had 'no inkling he was suffering so severely' and would kill himself. He exchanged regular messages with Maj Gen Holmes, texting him on September 22 to say: 'I'm really sorry to hear about what's going on. We will lean in and help... Let's look at getting a pint next week, sounds like it's really needed.'

ADM Radakin told the inquest in a statement: 'His death was a shock to me and to all those that knew him and to the Navy... He was a courageous leader in Afghanistan and a first class Commandant General. His personal life had been devoted to the Corps and to the nation.'

The inquest heard Lieutenant General Rob Magowan, who took over from Maj Gen as head of the Marines, had texted ADM Radakin to say 'sir, we have a problem' to tell him Maj Gen Holmes' wife had left him.

Lt Gen Magowan also told ADM Radakin that 'Mrs Holmes has applied for a restraining order as he has frightened them', it was heard. The Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff told the inquest he exchanged 'daily' messages from Maj Gen Holmes, who told him 'his life was spinning out of control'.

'He was wholly obsessed with his predicament... but taking his own life did not cross my mind', Lt Gen Magowan said. He added he was 'under pressure' to get Maj Gen Holmes to agree to a six-month extension in the Marines so his pay didn't stop, but he couldn't get a sense of whether that was what he wanted as it meant moving to a flat in Middlesex.

Lt Gen Magowan said: 'He was in a different place now, not listening to what I was saying and focusing on things spiralling out of control in his life. I couldn't get him to see a doctor or focus on the workload I wanted him to do and to move, which would lead to an irreversible eviction from his home.'

Vice Admiral Jeremy Kyd, the Navy's Fleet Commander, said Maj Gen Holmes remained distraught over his career ending near the time of his death.

VADM Kyd said 'he remained anguished and said his exemplary record demanded better'.

Recalling a conversation two days before his death, VADM Kyd said: 'He reflected on what a horrible year it had been for him and his crumbling domestic situation. He said to me ''I have got one last bullet to fire'', I had no idea what he meant by that but it did not cause concern.'

Mrs Holmes' lawyers wanted Maj Gen Holmes out of their home by October 4, VADM Kyd said.

Jonathan Ball, CEO of the Royal Marines Association, said: 'He made some very close friends with senior Afghan officers and knew they were unlikely to be able to get out and feared for theirs and their families lives and felt like he personally failed them. It was the way the [Afghanistan] withdrawal was carried out that distressed him.'

Guests attend the funeral of Major General Matthew Holmes at Winchester Cathedral.

A detachment of Royal Marines arrive for the funeral of Major General Matthew Holmes

Mr Ball also said: 'He had a perception of his time being cut short and had more to give. He was aware of the rivalry between him and Lt Gen Magowan and him taking over was a difficult place to be, despite a strong professional relationship. Matt perceived it as salt being rubbed in the wounds.

'He had lost control of his life.

'He was a leader, he was used to being in control and everything was being stripped away from him. The phrase he said to me was ''things are indescribably sh*t''. He could not see these as temporary challenges and he chose a permanent solution because it gave him control.'

In a career spanning over three decades, the decorated war hero served in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. 'Courageous' and 'committed' Maj Gen Holmes commanded 42 Commando Royal Marines from 2006 to 2008. The father of two was awarded a CBE in 2019 - and was appointed as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership on operations in Afghanistan in 2007.

His service in Afghanistan was so successful he was awarded a Legion of Merit from the USA for it.

In April 2021, he was Prince Philip's pallbearer at his funeral, carrying the coffin to the steps of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to Maj Gen Holmes at the time of his death.

His funeral in Winchester Cathedral was attended by then-incoming head of the Armed Forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, ex-head General Sir Nicholas Carter and Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace plus around 700 mourners.

Coroner Jason Pegg said Maj Gen Holmes was unhappy he was being 'superseded' by Lt Gen Magowan and the way in which his role would be carried out.

Mr Pegg said: 'He was not only a distinguished officer but a son, a father and a brother. He was a family man. The role of Commandant General being taken away from him caused him much frustration and anger. It was quite clear that he was in a dark place and under stress and his world was now upside down.

'The chain of command did all the could, it seems to me. They recognised his predicament... They agreed to an extension to keep him in service which would have provided him with stability.'

Mr Pegg added: 'He was certainly awash with stress [when he killed himself]. No doubt preying on his mind was the need to leave his home.

'He was suffering from substantial stress which contributed to the death.'

Mr Pegg concluded Maj Gen Holmes committed suicide.

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local branch or go to www.samaritans.org
The FBI is offering a $40,000 reward to help find a California woman who went missing in Mexico while walking home from work with her dog.

Monica De Leon Barba, 29, was abducted and 'forced into a van' in Tepatitlan de Morelos, a city in the western Mexico state of Jalisco, on November 29 around 5pm - with Wednesday marking the four month mark since her disappearance.

Friends grew frantic over de Leon's whereabouts when she failed to show up at a local gym FIT 4 LIFE. When they went out searching for her, they found her dog running loose around the city.

The FBIs San Francisco Field office told the SF Gate that De Leon Barba had been in Mexico since June 2022. Family said she traveled there often to work on her photography portfolio and to visit family. Her plan was to travel home to San Mateo before the Christmas holiday but never arrived.

Her disappearance comes amid a spate of kidnappings of US citizens in Mexico, with authorities urging Americans to avoid travelling to high risk areas.

Monica De Leon Barba, 29, was heading to FIT 4 LIFE, a gym located in Tepatitlan de Morelos, a city in the western Mexico state of Jalisco when she was abducted November 29 around 5pm

The FBI is offering up to $40,000 for leading to information leading to the recovering of Monica De Leon Barba

Earlier this week, the FBI San Francisco Field Office put out a hefty reward of up to $40,000 and requested the public's assistance in locating De Leon Barba.

'We believe this was a targeted kidnapping,' FBI Special Agent in Charge in San Francisco, Robert Tripp, told KTVU Thursday.

'We believe she is still being held hostage. The hostage takers have been in contact with her family and the FBI is working very close with her family and with authorities in Mexico to bring her home safely,' he added.

The family created a Facebook group 'Help Us Find Monica,' to share prayers and asked for anyone with information about her mysterious disappearance to assist the authorities in locating her.

A friend of the family running the group told DailyMail.com that De Leon Barba's family is currently not talking to the press due to the ongoing investigation.

But, the missing woman's brother, Gustavo De Leon, wrote a Facebook post after the FBI announced its reward on Thursday.

'It has been four torturous months since my sisters' kidnapping, although great efforts have been made every day to bring her home, today we find ourselves far from that goal.'

'I cant help but think of the absolute fear and agony she has faced for the last 121 days, and this is why I am imploring anyone that sees this message to help spread the word that the FBI has now released a reward for any information leading to the safe return of my sister.'

'All of those that can please help me, contact your local politicians and get them to help us bring my sister home in whatever capacity possible.

'I ask that you also help me contact Ken Salazar (US Ambassador to Mexico) and have demand full cooperation and support of Mexican State Leaders until my sister is safely returned.

'Since the time of my sisters' kidnapping we have all seen the news of multiple US Citizens that have been robbed of their freedom while traveling in Mexico,' he said.

'We cannot allow this to be the status quo and I will not allow my sister to become another statistic of cowardice and inaction in politics.'

'Help me flood their phonelines and saturate their inboxes until my sister Monica De Leon is safe at home.'

The missing woman's family has urged California Senator Alex Padilla and Congresswoman Jackie Speier to help in the search, KTVU reported.

De Leon Barba's abduction is among a series of kidnappings of US citizens in Mexico in recent months, according to the FBI.

On February 9, Maria del Carmen Lopez, 63, vanished in Pueblo Nuevo, Colima. And, on March 3, four Americans were kidnapped and two butchered in the border town of Matamoros. The four individuals had been traveling south so that one of the group could have a budget tummy tuck.

As spring breakers prepared to travel across the border for some fun and sun, the US government designated almost every state in Mexico as a travel risk with many being labeled as 'do not travel' or 'reconsider travel.'

The areas of Colima and Tamaulipas had a 'Do Not Travel ' advisory in place and the Jalisco region, where De Leon was last seen, had a 'Reconsider Travel' due to the high crime and kidnapping in those areas.

The US government urged spring breakers destined for Cabo, Cancun and Tulum to 'exercise caution'.

De Leon was heading to Gym Fit 4 Life before she was abducted November 29, 2022

The spiraling cartel violence is a stark reminder that behind the stunning sun-drenched resorts lies a bloody drug war and visitors need to heed with caution.

The brown-haired and brown-eyed De Leon Barba, who is white and Hispanic, stands at 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs approximately 240 pounds.

A day before her abduction she had spoken with family and shared a photo of her outfit: a black t-shirt, black pants and a white beanie.

DailyMail.com reached out to the Jalisco State Attorney General's Office.

Anyone with information about de Leon Barba is urged to contact the local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. They can also submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov or call the FBI's Toll-Free tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
A Polish woman who claims to be Madeleine McCann has said that she wants to 'help people who have experienced all types of trauma'.

Julia Wendell, 21, appeared on Dr Phil on Monday night and claimed she is Madeleine, who vanished during a family holiday to Portugal in 2007 aged three.

Wendell said she started suspecting in June last year, without having any proof to reinforce her claims.

Wendell, who is now based in a Los Angeles safehouse with private investigator Dr. Fia Johannson after leaving Wroclaw to address unresolved questions, told RadarOnline.com that she aims to help others who have experienced abuse after confronting the man who allegedly molested her as a child back in Poland.

Wendell said there can be a light at the end of the tunnel for others who have endured pain and mistreatment.

Julia Wendell, 21, appeared on the US show Dr Phil where she said she started suspecting she was the missing British girl in June last year, without providing any proof to back up her claims

Wendell told RadarOnline.com that she aims to help others who have experienced abuse after confronting the man who allegedly molested her as a child back in Poland

'Even when I didn't have so much money, I bought food for people who needed food and I found a job for a person who is homeless, so I always try to help people. But now, I think I can really help,' Wendell said.

She added: 'My goal is to help children and teenagers and adult people who experienced trauma... not only sexually abusing, but any type of violence in their childhood [and] in their life.

'As I said earlier, you don't have to feel ashamed. It's nothing shameful. You can't be ashamed. Your abuser should be ashamed.'

Wendell does not have any DNA evidence to support her claims that she is Madeleine and her parents from Poland have also said that she is fabricated the story.

Wendell said she had submitted DNA tests and the results have not come back yet.

Wendell is an aspiring musician and model. She attracted attention on the internet when she claimed she was the missing girl.

Madeleine, then 3, (pictured) vanished during a family holiday to Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007, which would now make her around 19, two years younger than Wendell is - yet another reason to dismiss her unsupported claims

Dr Phil asked his guest about her parents, who maintain they are her biological parents. She claimed her mother 'didn't want to show me any proof'

Wendell (pictured) said she had submitted DNA tests and the results have not come back yet

Wendall (right) has been assisted by Dr Fia Johansson (left), a private investigator and psychic medium, in submitting DNA samples

She made claims about her identity on her now-deactivated Instagram account which had the username @IAmMadeleineMcCann.

When Wendell appeared on Dr Phil on Monday night she said: 'I believe I am Madeleine McCann,' as he probed her about her non-existent evidence.

Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday to Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 aged three, which would now make her around 19, two years younger than Wendell is.

In December, it was reported that German police could this year charge suspect Christian Brueckner, 45, who is a convicted paedophile from Germany and the main suspect in the ongoing investigation.

When Wendell appeared on Dr Phil, he showed side-by-side pictures of her and Madeleine, which the Polish woman had used to back up her theory on social media.

READ MORE: Who is Julia Wendell? The Polish woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann despite her parents branding her claims as 'lies and manipulation' Julia Wendell, 21, made an appearance on the US show Dr Phil Advertisement

Wendell claimed that she had many similarities with Madeleine, and that the rare eye defect she allegedly shares with Madeleine had 'faded' after Dr Phil questioned her about it.

She also said she had a similar laugh and dimple to the missing girl.

Wendell claimed that her mother would always change the subject when the 21-year-old brought up her birth.

She claimed that photos of her early years and her birth certificate were never shown to her. She also noted that her Polish health pass, used to track health-related issues such as vaccinations, had six blank pages at the start.

These claims were quickly refuted by her Polish parents, who said in a statement: 'We have memories, we have pictures. Julia also has these photos, because she took them from the family home with the birth certificate, as well as numerous hospital discharges.'

They added that they always tried to understand Julia and her 'lies and manipulations'.

They said: 'The internet won't forget, and it's obvious that Julia isn't Maddie. We are devastated at this current situation.'

Dr Phil said to Wendell: 'She [Wendell's mother] says she went to the hospital and gave birth to you.'

Wendell replied: 'She said, yes.

'When I asked her for DNA before this whole situation, when I asked her for some pictures from her pregnancy, some childhood pictures she refused.'

She was asked why she did not send her DNA samples to the police - since her ancestry could be verified once and for all with the test.

Wendell said that she tried contacting the British and Polish embassies when she first thought she could be Madeleine but nobody would listen to her. She maintains that she would take any test needed to prove her claims.

A private detective tied to Madeleine's case said Wendell's claims 'do not add up'.

'Without knowing the details in depth, it does not add up to me,' investigator Francisco Marco told the Spanish newspaper El Independiente.

'I don't think it's her.'

Kate and Gerry McCann (file photo). Their daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal in 2007

Wendell has been assisted by Dr Fia Johansson, a private investigator and psychic medium, in submitting DNA samples.

Dr Johansson, 40, who has relocated Wendell from Poland to the United States after she received death threats, said: 'If the results come back that she's British or from that area then we are going to continue our investigation into Madeleine McCann and communicate with the detectives in Portugal.'

The psychic medium claimed Wendell was trafficked from Poland from another country by an international sex group, without providing evidence.

'We are still conducting an investigation but Julia is definitely not the biological daughter of her parents in Poland,' Dr Johansson claimed, citing no evidence.

Dr Johansson, born in Stockholm, Sweden, described herself as a doctor of psychology and human behaviour on Instagram.
A family's 20,000 dream trip to Disneyland was a casualty of Heathrow airport strikes that has seen British Airways cancel over 300 flights during the Easter period - leaving many Brits' holiday plans in tatters.

More than 1,000 security staff at the West London airport have gone on strike in the first of 10 days of walkouts after talks with Unite to prevent the strikes collapsed.

Brady Adcock was one of the customers affected by the action and didn't hear that his flight had been cancelled until this morning.

Mr Adcock told MailOnline that he and his family had spent 20,000 to travel to Los Angeles to visit Disneyland and were now sitting in a 500 Heathrow hotel to plot their next move.

He said his children, aged seven and 16 were very disappointed and criticised how British airways had handled proceedings.

He said: 'Its very frustrating. Weve been on the phone since 4am this morning, trying to get anything sorted and nobody has been helpful.

Have YOUR travel plans been impacted? Email: Oliver.Price@mailonline.co.uk to tell us more!

Passengers queuing to go through security in departures at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport

A family has seen their Disneyland trip delayed due to the upheaval at Heathrow

British Airways cancelled over 70 flights today due to strike action from security staff

One family says their trip to Disneyland was cancelled by the strikes

Another claimed his Miami flight had been rerouted to Fort Lauderdale

'Were now at a 500 a night hotel by Terminal 5 and are arranging Virgin flights for tomorrow which are two to three times more expensive - Its become a 20,000 holiday.

'British Airways used to have good customer service but theyve been poor, theyve been underprepared.

'Two weeks were there, hopefully we dont have this trouble coming back.'

Whilst they wait to see if they will go to Disneyland or not, Mr Adcock says his children have been inconsolable.

He said: 'Theyre devastated they thought they were going to Disneyland, they were talking about it for months.

'I just dont get why they cancelled so late, youd think they have their ducks in the row.'

MailOnline has approached British Airways for comment on the situation.

The Adcock family weren't the only impacted.

Another passenger claimed he had been re-routed to Fort Lauderdale after his Miami flight was cancelled. He raged: 'Worst airline ever. Miami to London flight cancelled, moved to Fort L via Philadelphia. No customer service at all chat discussion took six hours.'

A seasoned traveller has said that he is 'so disappointed' with British Airways after the airline cancelled his flight from Miami to London, resulting in him missing a client meeting.

David Tibbles, a 52-year-old IT product manager who is based in Hertfordshire, told the PA news agency that he checked in at 5pm EST on Thursday for his flight from Miami International Airport to London Heathrow on March 31 at 5pm EST, but was informed by email four and a half hours later that his flight had been cancelled.

'I had a call to ask about alternates and was offered no assistance at all, then (had) a six-hour web chat with them and again no alternative or no upgrade', he said.

'I have an additional five hour journey, have to get to an alternate airport (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport) for a flight at 14:26 EST (on March 31) and I have had to cancel a client meeting.

'I am a seasoned traveller and will go with the flow but so disappointed with BA how can they switch departure airports.'

Strikes will take place across ten days which intersect the Easter Holiday

Security guard members of the Unite union on the picket line at Heathrow Airport, London

Easter getaway traffic queues on the A102M Blackwall Tunnel approach in Greenwich in South East London

He added that the airline swapped him from his previous flight to his new flight for free and he has been 'up most of the night but there is no better solution'.

Flights affected include routes to Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle.

There are cancellations to European destinations like Nice, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Zurich - and flights to American cities like New York, Chicago and Washington DC are also affected.

Heathrow's chief executive John Holland-Kaye earlier insisted that the airport was 'operating as normal'.

Speaking on Sky News, he said: 'I'm here in Terminal Five which is the only terminal that voted for strike action and you'll see it's operating as normal.

'We have a lot of colleagues who have come to help us out today - both security officers and managers who are helping out in their purple shirts like me.'

However, Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: 'Security strikes at Heathrow will be deeply concerning to travellers this Easter, with some airlines already forced to cancel flights as a result.

'It's essential Heathrow is prepared for the passengers whose flights will go ahead, and that no traveller misses their flight due to long lines at security and is left out of pocket.

'Anyone yet to book their holiday may want to consider alternative airports.

'French air traffic control strikes are also threatening wider chaos for travellers.

'Airlines should ensure they keep passengers informed of any potential changes to their booking as result of strike action as early as possible, and must not fail in their legal responsibility to offer travellers a refund or the option to be rebooked if their flight is cancelled, including with other airlines if necessary.'

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Heathrow can afford to pay a decent pay rise to its workers.

'This is a wealthy company which is about to return to bumper profits.

In recent years it's approved an astronomical rise in salary for its chief executive and paid out dividends to shareholders worth billions.

'Yet somehow, Heathrow executives seem to think it's acceptable to offer what amounts to a real-terms pay cut to its security guards and ground staff who are already on poverty pay.

'Unite has a laser-like focus on our members jobs, pay and conditions, the workforce at Heathrow Airport will receive the union's unswerving support in this fight for a decent deal.'

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said those who have gone on strike at Heathrow Airport have not been given a pay increase that reflects the cost of living despite having 'an exceptionally wealthy employer'.

He told LBC: 'At the moment they've offered 10 per cent which in normal times would be a more than reasonable pay offer, but we're not in normal times and haven't been for some time.'

Mr King said the workers 'just can't afford it'.

He added: 'People are missing mortgage payments. They're asking to defer rent payments.

'They're not able to feed their families.

'They need more money. They just can't survive on the money that they're getting.'

Picket lines will be in place across the airport throughout the 10 days of continuous strike action, which ends at 23.59pm on Easter Sunday, April 10.

The strikes involves security officers at Terminal Five, which is used exclusively by British Airways, and campus security guards who are responsible for checking all cargo that enters the airport.

Unite said the strikes will cause disruption to flights, however Heathrow said it has contingency plans to deal with the industrial action.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: 'Due to a number of issues including the Heathrow Airport strike, continued French Air Traffic Control industrial action and bad weather, we've been forced to make a small number of adjustments to our schedule. We're sorry for the disruption to our customers' travel plans.

'The vast majority of our flights continue to operate as planned and we're in contact with affected customers to inform them of their rights and offer them options including a full refund or rebooking onto an alternative flight.'

Heathrow said that as at any busy time, it may take a little longer than usual to get through security during the strikes.

'Passengers can help us ensure they get the best start to their journeys by checking their flight status with their airline before travelling to the airport, arriving at Heathrow no earlier than two hours before short haul flights and three hours before long haul flights and by being ready for security with their compliant liquids and electronics out of their hand luggage,' it said in a statement.

Traffic is expected to be huge over the Easter Holidays with the AA estimating that millions of Brits will use their cars over the weekend.

Bank holiday traffic will peak on Saturday with around 15 million of Britain's drivers planning to use their cars on April 8.

Meanwhile one in seven people will use their car on Easter Sunday.
The intended target in Olivia Pratt-Korbel's sickening murder will be released from prison next month - despite being labelled a 'professional criminal with an involvement in organised crime.'

Joseph Nee, 36, was shot in the chest and chased into the Liverpool home of Olivia, nine, by drug dealing hitman Thomas Cashman in August last year.

As Cashman fired towards Nee, the schoolgirl was shot in the chest, killing her, as she stood next to her mother Cheryl in the hallway of their home.

Cashman, 34, was yesterday found guilty of the sickening murder that shocked and appalled the nation.

During his trial, the court was told of his intended target Nees long criminal history, his links to drug dealing and organised crime and how his family had their enemies.

Nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel who was fatally shot at her home in Kingsheath Avenue, Liverpool, in August 2022

Joseph Nee (left), 36, was shot in the chest and chased into the Liverpool home of Olivia, nine, by drug dealing hitman Thomas Cashman (right) in August 2022

Police investigating Olivias murder arrested Nee, who lived near Olivia's home in the Dovecot area of Liverpool and he was recalled to prison for breaching the terms of his parole licence.

Nee had been part way through a 45-month sentence handed to him in 2018 for burglary.

He was on parole when he was ambushed by Cashman who shot dead Olivia.

Career criminal Nee had spent time in prison throughout his life for a host of serious crimes including drug offences, burglary and theft.

On December 2, the Parole Board assessed the recall and had the option of recommending his release again if it considered he was not a danger to the public.

However the panel decided he would remain in jail for the remainder of his sentence following a review of the case.

Photographs of a topless Nee (furthest left) in HMP Kirkham, taken in 2019 and understood to have been shared onto Instagram by a drug gang baron, showed him bragging about life behind bars and relaxing alongside fellow prisoners in the warm weather

Nine-year-old Olivia was senselessly and callously murdered by a masked gunman in Liverpool in 2022

Nee chose not to appeal the decision and remained in prison where he believed he was safer than on the outside, MailOnline has learned.

A source said: 'Nee knows he is a marked man on the outside so decided to accept the Parole Board's decision. He is safer in prison at the moment.'

MailOnline has obtained Nees Parole Board notes, which explains the chronology of his release and a timeline leading up to Olivias murder on August 22 last year.

The written summary of the Parole Board's decision is a withering indictment of Nee's criminal history and his claims that he was an 'innocent' victim of a random shooting.

It states: 'On November 20, 2020, Mr Nee was released at the automatic release point in his sentence as is required by the law.

'His licence was revoked and he was recalled on the 23 August 2022 and was returned to custody on the 29 September 2022.

'The recall decision followed an incident where Mr Nee was chased by a gunman, an in effort to escape, forced his way into a private home that was not connected to him.

'Mr Nee was pursued into the property, the gunman fired several shots, injuring Mr Nee and the female occupant of the property, and, tragically, killing a nine-year-old girl.

Several police cars pictured on Kingsheath Avenue as officers continued to hunt the gunman responsible for Olivia's death in August 2022

'Mr Nee has said that he was an innocent victim in the events that led to his recall.'

The Parole Board summary states that Nee had most likely gone right back to his life of organised crime upon his early release on licence.

It adds: 'The panel was satisfied that it was likely that Mr Nee had remained involved with organised crime on licence and that he had been the intended target of a gangland shooting.

'Given the circumstances, the panel found the decision to recall him to custody at this time had been appropriate.'

The summary continues with stark assessment of Nee's deep involvement with drugs gangs and organised crime in and around Merseyside.

It states: 'The panel considered Mr Nee to be accurately described as a professional criminal with an involvement in organised crime.

'His involvement in serious offending, including gang related violence, is relevant to risk in this case.

'The panel considered his impulsivity, poor decision making and his difficulties in coping with problems to be further areas of risk.

Undated photo of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead at her home in Liverpoolby Thomas Cashman in 2022

Olivia Pratt-Korbel, 9, was the tragic victim of suspected gang land shooting in Liverpool after she was left for dead after being gunned down in her own home. Nee had been shot before he ran into her house

'There was no support for Mr Nees release in the reports within the dossier.

It concluded: 'After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and on licence, and the evidence presented in the dossier, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Nee was suitable for release.'

Nee was given a determinate sentence of four years and nine months in jail following his conviction for burglary, theft, dangerous driving, and for driving whilst disqualified and having no insurance.

He had been part of a gang that led police officers on a 125mph chase through Merseyside and Cheshire.

Photographs of Nee topless in HMP Kirkham, taken in 2019 and understood to have been shared onto Instagram by a drug gang baron, showed him bragging about life behind bars alongside fellow inmates.

Using the caption 'costa del kirkham' and 'butlin behind bars', the prisoners are seen relaxing in the warm weather and posing for the camera.

And in 2009, Nee was jailed for six and a half years for serving as a 'trusted foot soldier' in a drugs gang that help push heroin and crack cocaine onto the streets of Liverpool.
Pandora's box is open. Brace yourselves for what comes next.

Pathetic, partisan Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg announced last night that a New York City grand jury has indicted former President Donald J. Trump.

The indictment is sealed, but all signs point to Bragg reheating old allegations from the 2016 presidential campaign that Trump paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to buy her silence about an extra-marital affair.

Bragg's case is widely thought to rely on a strange brew of legal charges that make a perfectly legally pay-off into a state felony. It's a case that federal prosecutors wouldn't touch. One that Bragg himself turned down last year. So, what happened between then and now?

Hmm could it be that Trump decided to run for president?

Everyone knows what this is. It's a Democrat-contrived political prosecution of their bogeyman.

And they're not even hiding it anymore.

In a hysterical self-own - that I'd be laughing about if I wasn't scared to death  Politico published a piece on Thursday under the headline: 'Trump Seems to Be the Victim of a Witch Hunt. So What?'

'So what?' I'm sorry. I always thought witch hunts were bad. But what the heck  collect the kindling and grab the matches, because we're having a bonfire.

The problem is -- America is lashed to the stake.

Pathetic, partisan Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg announced last night that a New York City grand jury has indicted former President Donald J. Trump.

I'm no legal expert, so I'll leave it to them to break down the case. But I am a political analyst and let me tell you  regardless of the outcome of a flimsy, unprecedented criminal prosecution of a former president and current candidate  we all lose.

I woke up this morning with my mind racing. What does this mean for our country? I imagine that's what millions of Americans are asking themselves.

In a nation so tense, so divided and facing so many uncertainties, this obviously biased prosecution throws over an already cluttered table.

The spectre of political violence hangs over nearly every fraught question facing the nation today. What impact will this have on Trump's diehard supporters? What will they think of an American legal system that's become a mockery?

Imagine a Republican nominee running for president from behind bars, under house arrest or wearing an ankle bracelet.

There is already a massive and growing national feeling of distrust towards our institutions and politicians. But instead of calling pause and speaking out on behalf of sanity, Democrats and the thoughtless, gutless liberal media are happily rolling around in this barnyard slop.

Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters, who once encouraged a crowd to harass Trump officials in the street, was absolutely gleeful. 'SO Trump finally got indicted!' she tweeted, 'I predicted he would and I predicted that Stormy Daniels would get him! Sometimes justice works!'

Good for you Maxine! You saw this travesty coming from a mile away.

Flip on MSNBC and they're grinning ear to ear and popping champagne. But they also celebrated the fake, phony, destructive and distracting Russia investigation  and how'd that turn out?

I can only picture the fetid wave of gloating and demeaning commentary that is going to be vomited on the American public in the coming days, weeks, and months. But of course, the real damage is far, far worse.

Imagine a Republican nominee running for president from behind bars, under house arrest or wearing an ankle bracelet.

I am a political analyst and let me tell you  regardless of the outcome of a flimsy, unprecedented criminal prosecution of a former president and current candidate  we all lose.

Make no mistake  the horses have bolted the barn. This indictment will set off a cascade of negative consequences - a vicious cycle of partisan retaliation.

Biased, political opportunists don't just exist on the left. Right-wing prosecutors everywhere are now motivated to harass and charge their political opponents. Any perceived infraction will be pursued to the ends of the earth. More frivolous cases will be brought. More impeachments and ethics investigations will be demanded by blood-thirsty sectarians seeking revenge.

The country is at risk of crumbling into petty feuds. And it's like not we don't have anything better to worry about.

There's an existential threat to the country from China. A drug overdose crisis raging out of control. Our schools are failing and our children have suffered generational learning loss that may cripple untold thousands for the rest of their lives.

There's a culture war pitting transgender extremists against terrified parents. American's debt is unsustainable. Social Security is nearing insolvency.

And oh yeah, there is a war in Europe involving a homicidal, nuclear-armed monster in Vladimir Putin.

But by all means, go after Don for paying off Stormy.

This is how societies die. When America breaks down into trifling tribal warfare it starts the downward spiral to collapse.

If a Democrat truly wants to lead this country, they should step forward and say this is wrong - that a craven D.A. should not put his thumb on the scale and meddle in an election. This is cheating  pure and simple.

Sadly, we know that Biden won't speak up. On Friday, 'no comment' was his only answer to questions about the indictment. His administration's public messaging strategy has long been one of demonization.

The country is at risk of crumbling into petty feuds. And it's like not we don't have anything better to worry about.

Remember his disgraceful and eerily demonic speech in Philadelphia during the 2022 midterms on the 'battle for the soul of the nation.'

'As your president, I will fight for democracy with every fiber of my being, and I'm asking every American to join me,' he said, while attacking the 'semi-facism' of the 'extreme MAGA philosophy.'

He's no better than Trump. His administration, far from healing the nation, has been swept up in the sewage flowing downstream.

Now the only way forward is to fight through this coming storm. Be ready for what's to come, America. You will be enraged. You will be the target of unfair attacks and obnoxious judgements.

In heavily Democratic Manhattan, Trump may be convicted of baseless charges. And the Republican primary may be reduced to a mess.

It won't be easy, and I don't know how long it will last, but only the American people can save themselves. We can't rely on our corrupt and cynical political leaders.

Each citizen must make the decision. Will you participate in our nation's decline or will you scream STOP!
A man has appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of a delivery driver allegedly hit by his own stolen van.

Christopher Elgifari, 31, of Aberdare, is charged with one count of attempted murder relating to the delivery driver, named at Cardiff Magistrates' Court as Mark Lang.

Mr Lang is believed to have been delivering parcels in Laytonia Avenue in Cathays, Cardiff, before the incident on Tuesday.

But the 54-year-old is said to have been hit by his white van, which was allegedly stolen.

Prosecutor Nicholas Evans told magistrates that police were called to the scene in Cathays at about 12.50pm.

Mark Lang, 54, pictured, is said to have got out of a white Renault van to make a delivery at Laytonia Avenue, Cathays, but saw it being stolen. He allegedly attempted to stop the van but was hit at speed

Christopher Elgifari, 31, pictured, of Aberdare, is charged with one count of attempted murder relating to the delivery driver

He said Mr Lang had got out of a white Renault van to make a delivery at Laytonia Avenue, Cathays, but saw it being stolen.

Mr Evans said Mr Lang attempted to stop the van but was hit at speed.

The court heard he was trapped underneath the vehicle and dragged around 800 yards before it came to a stop on the main North Road leading into the centre of the Welsh capital.

South Wales Police were called to nearby North Road at around 12.49pm on Tuesday.

When he appeared before Cardiff Magistrates' Court on Friday morning, magistrates remanded Elgifari into custody and said he would next appear before Cardiff Crown Court on April 3.

Magistrates remanded Elgifari into custody and said he would next appear before Cardiff Crown Court on April 3

Presiding justice Mark Buckland told the defendant: 'You are in court facing one allegation of attempted murder.

'This matter is too serious to be dealt with in the magistrates' court so we are sending your case to the crown court.

'You will be remanded in custody to appear before Cardiff Crown Court on April 3.'

Nicholas Evans appeared for the prosecution during the hearing, while Tom Trobe represented the defendant.

Police previously said Mr Lang was in a critical condition at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
A knifeman accused of trying to murder a female GCHQ employee because she represented 'the state' has appeared in court today.

Joshua Bowles, 29, allegedly stabbed the woman in the leisure centre car park in Tommy Taylor's Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, at around 9.15pm on March 9.

Wearing a grey tracksuit bearded Bowles appeared at the Old Bailey today over video link charged with attempted murder and assaulting Alex Fuentes who tried to stop the attack.

Kathryn Selby, prosecuting, previously said: 'This was a serious incident of attempted murder, this was a planned attack.

'The defendant has researched the victim and her whereabouts believing her to work for GCHQ.

Joshua Bowles, 29, allegedly stabbed the woman in the leisure centre car park in Tommy Taylor's Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, at around 9.15pm on March 9

Pictured is the headquarters of GCHQ, the intelligence and security agency whose staff work to identify and disrupt terror plots across the UK

Kathryn Selby, prosecuting, previously said: 'This was a serious incident of attempted murder, this was a planned attack. The defendant has researched the victim and her whereabouts believing her to work for GCHQ. He has then travelled to the leisure centre taking with him two knives' (pictured: file image of a woman working at GCHQ)

'He has then travelled to the leisure centre taking with him two knives.

'He saw his victim enter the centre and waited outside. When she came outside with a friend he has gone up to her and attacked her with a knife.

'We believe he selected the victim because she is a worker for GCHQ and he holds views on the work he believes they conduct there.

'He attacked her because in his mind she represents the state.'

Bowles allegedly punched Mr Fuentes repeatedly when he tried to intervene.

Bowles, of Welwyn Mews, Cheltenham, is charged with attempted murder and causing actual bodily harm.

He was remanded in custody ahead of plea and trial preparation hearing on 28 July this year at a location to be determined administratively.

His trial is set for 3 October 2023 at Birmingham Crown Court and estimated to last between five and seven days.

The victim is said to have been sitting in a car when the knifeman stabbed her (pictured: police at the scene onMarch 10)
Ivanka Trump on Friday responded to her Donald Trump's historic indictment, saying 'I love my father' and that she felt pained for both him and the country.

'I love my father and I love my country. Today I am pained for both,' she wrote in a post that appeared in her Instagram stories.

'I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern,' she added.

A Manhattan grand jury indicted the former president on Thursday on charges related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. The exact charges haven't been revealed yet but reports indicate there are more than 30 counts.

Trump, 76, will be arraigned in Manhattan at 2.15pm on Tuesday. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Republicans expressed support for the former president, echoing his argument he is the victim of a politicized justice system.

Trump has argued the investigations into his dealings are politically motivated by Democrats who want to keep him from another term in the White House.

Democrats, however, have said - in response to the indictment - that no one is above the law and that Donald Trump should be treated like any other person charged.

President Joe Biden has refused to comment on the matter.

Ivanka and her father appeared to have a strained relationship since he left the White House.

The two were close there - she served as an adviser in his administration and Trump was plain in his admiration for her and her skills.

Ivanka Trump served as an adviser to Donald Trump in his White House

Ivanka Trump with her father Donald and siblings Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr in 2017 - she is said to no longer be close to her father

But, during the congressional hearings on the January 6th insurrection, Ivanka Trump revealed she didn't believe her father's claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

And aides revealed Ivanka Trump had tried to get her father to act on that day - to call off his supporters as they swarmed the Capitol. She also expressed support for then-Vice President Mike Pence who resisted pressure from President Trump to send the 2020 election results back to the states.

Ivanka Trump declined to join her father's 2024 president campaign and was not at his announcement that he would seek another term.

'This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family,' she said in a statement hours after his announcment.

'I do not plan to be involved in politics. While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.'

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at a skateboard park to celebrate their son Theodore's seventh birthday - the family now lives in Miami

She and husband Jared Kushner live in Miami with their three children.

She is reportedly not speaking to her father.

'Even though Ivanka loves her dad, she knows how impossible he can be,' a source told People magazine.

'Donald does what he wants, and she can't help him now,' the source said. 'His help is in the hands of his lawyers and advisers. She is no longer working in that capacity.'
A drunk motorist killed a taxi driver in a horror 100mph smash after racking up a 120 bar bill downing Peroni and tequila before making a Facetime call to his girlfriend while behind the wheel.

Driving on the wrong side of the road, James Hobson, 33, crashed straight into 27-year-old Malik Ameer Abbas while overtaking another car on the A172 at Dixons Bank, Middlesborough, as he tried to evade police desperately chasing him down.

The Mercedes driver had spent the evening of March 29 last year drinking at the Highfield Hotel where prosecutors claim he racked up a 116 bill consuming eight to 10 pints of Peroni and eight tequila shots over six hours.

Teesside Crown Court heard at sentencing today that CCTV footage caught Hobson staggering back to his car after leaving the bar.

Hobson, of Durham Street, Hartlepool, who admitted to causing death by dangerous driving was jailed for seven years and four months and was disqualified from driving for 11 years and eight months.

James Hobson (pictured), 33, has been jailed for seven years and four months after crashing straight into 27-year-old taxi driver Malik Ameer Abbas while overtaking another car as he tried to evade police chasing him down

Prosecutors said that Mr Abbas (pictured) 'stood no chance of evading the head on impact' after Hobson ploughed into his car

Hobson was spotted speeding on Marton Road, in Middlesbrough, by an unmarked police car, prompting the officer to activate his sirens.

Summarising the chase, prosecutor Nick Dry said: 'Despite reaching speeds in excess of 100mph the officer still struggled to keep up with the defendant.

'He quickly accelerated away initially travelling on the wrong side of the road before pulling back in and speeding rapidly. The defendant again went on the wrong side of the road and was passing other vehicles.

'The officer increased his speed to a maximum of 103mph but it was clear the defendant was putting distance between them.'

Mr Dry said the chase lasted for around two-and-a-half minutes, during which time officers had not immediately realised Hobson had struck Abbas's taxi.

Abbas 'stood no chance of evading the head on impact' as Hobson ploughed into him while overtaking another car, forcing the taxi driver's vehicle about 50 metres backwards.

Mr Dry said: 'Mr Abbas was driving safely within his own lane and stood no chase of evading the head on impact.'

Police at the scene said there was a mobile in the passenger side footwell of the Hobson's car which was engaged in an ongoing Facetime call with a female - believed to be the defendant's then partner.

Paramedics and fire crews were called to the scene, but despite attempts to revive Mr Abbas he was declared deceased. A pathologist later confirmed that 'catastrophic injuries' suffered in the collision caused his death.

Prosecutors claimed Hobson (pictured) racked up a 116 bill consuming eight to 10 pints of Peroni and eight tequila shots over six hours before calling his girlfriend on Facetime while behind the wheel

Mr Abbas's family paid tribute in a statement, saying: 'Malik is from Pakistan and his family - mam, dad, brother and sister are still living in Pakistan. He moved to the UK in 2013 to support his family in Pakistan.

'Malik's mother has arthritis and his father has a heart condition, his brother has severe disabilities and is unable to speak or hear, so Malik would send money to Pakistan as their only form of support. They are unable to work and support themselves now that he has passed.

'Malik was arranging for his younger sister to come to the UK for her studies. He had always looked after everyone.

'He had many plans and goals to achieve and was a very hardworking, honest person. No-one and nothing can fill the gap which he has left in our hearts and our family owing to his tragic death. Malik was brought back to Pakistan to be with his family.

'As a family our hearts have been broken and we will never get over this.'

The court heard after the crash the defendant was taken to James Cook University Hospital with several fractures. Due to Hobson's condition a blood test to detect alcohol and drugs was not taken until 3.13am the following day.

The sample revealed a reading of 147 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. He had previously received blood transfusions prior to the test.

The legal limit is 80. The analysis also revealed prior use of cannabis and THC.

In a police interview on June 8, last year, the defendant said he had no memory of the crash and couldn't remember his telephone pin number which had been requested to check his call history.

He expressed 'remorse' in interview and entered a guilty plea to causing death by dangerous driving on February 3 at Teesside Crown Court.

In mitigation, his barrister, Richard Hermann, said the defendant spends his days 'wishing he could swap places' with Mr Abbis and 'wishes he'd died instead'. The court also heard he now has physical and mental health difficulties after the crash.

Tests on Hobson later found he was well over the drinking limit. Pictured: Debris from the crash following the fatal smash on Dixons Bank, Middlesbrough

'A good man lost his life'

The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Paul Watson, said it was some of the worst driving he had seen adding: 'As a result of your blatantly bad driving, excess alcohol and disregard for other road users a good man lost his life.'

Following the verdict, senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Carr, said: 'Malik Ameer Abbas was tragically killed as a result of James Hobson's dangerous driving. Hobson had been speeding and his vehicle was on the wrong side of the road when he hit Mr Abbas' vehicle head on.

'We hope that today's sentence brings some form of comfort to Mr Abbas' family, who have deeply felt his loss. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

'James Hobson will now spend a significant time behind bars, having suffered serious injury himself as a result of the collision he is very lucky that he too did not lose his life. Unfortunately Mr Abbas' family now have to live without their loved one for the rest of their lives as a result of Hobson's actions.'
A greedy primary school bursar was jailed today after stealing more than 500,000 to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

Shameless Debbie Poole, 63, was ordered to serve six years and six months behind bars after she pocketed the fortune while in charge of finances at Hinchley Wood Primary School in Surrey.

As she began her jail term, angry parents accused Poole of 'robbing their children of their education'.

The mother-of-two is now facing losing her home to help pay back her ill-gotten gains which funded luxury holidays, expensive cars and shopping sprees.

While Poole lived the high life during the nine-year scam, children at the school in the affluent area were left lacking basic equipment.

Primary school bursar Debbie Poole (right with husband gary outside Kingston Crown Court), 63, was jailed today after stealing more than 500,000 to fund an extravagant lifestyle

Poole (pictured here in an old Facebook photo) was ordered to serve six years and six months behind bars after she pocketed the fortune while in charge of finances at Hinchley Wood Primary School in Surrey

Its run down buildings had a leaking roof and torn carpets.

The court heard Poole's offending led to children - including some of 'the most vulnerable and deprived' - missing out 'on a range of learning opportunities'.

Meanwhile Poole mocked parents who complained by nicknaming them the 'Pritt Stick brigade'.

Jailing Poole at Kingston Crown Court, Judge Jonathan Davies said she had siphoned off the fortune out of 'sheer greed' while the school was 'struggling financially'.

He told her: 'You have been living beyond your means and you wanted to project a certain image.

'This was sophisticated offending. You covered your tracks, you forged signatures.

'Your conduct was undoubtedly in the high culpability range. You abused your position of trust.

'You were trusted by the school, you were trusted by the parents.

'It was fraudulent activity conducted over a sustained period of time.'

He added: 'It was upsetting to the parents who worked hard to maintain the school's standards.'

Poole, who had no previous convictions, was convicted of four counts of fraud after a four week trial.

A proceeds of crime hearing is set to take place at a later date.

The legal proceedings are launched in a bid to claw back funds when a defendant has benefited financially from criminal activity.

Poole looted 490,000 from a special account set up to run after school and breakfast clubs between October 2011 and October 2018.

The fortune came from the pockets of parents who paid up to 18-a-day for their children to attend.

The trusted manager also authorised her own pay rises to boost her annual salary to over 82,000 - more than most primary school headteachers are paid.

Poole - who worked at the school for 18 years - forged the signature of the school's headteacher on documents and cheques during the alleged scam.

After the sentencing hearing one mother told MailOnline: 'She stole our money and betrayed our children whose education suffered as a result.

'I hope she has learned a painful lesson.'

Parents, who had gathered every day to watch proceedings from the public gallery, told how tens of thousands of pounds raised through cake sales, summer fairs and raffles seemed to 'simply disappear'.

One mother-of-three who was a long-standing member of the PTA said: 'I'm gutted that she stole from our children and from us.

'I would be out in the sun or the rain year after year at every school fair, every event working six or seven hours for free and you wonder what it was all for.

'We were giving them money for playground equipment, astroturf. We'll never know how much of that money she pocketed.

'In a primary school the teachers are meant to provide pens, pencils, glue sticks etc. It got to the stage where children were coming home crying because they hadn't stuck things in their books because they had no glue.

'Mrs Poole would say "Oh here comes the Pritt Stick Brigade" when we tried to speak to her about it.

'The school couldn't afford to pay for trips even though we were all paying into a school fund.'

Poole, pictured outside Kingston Crown Court, mocked parents who complained by nicknaming them the 'Pritt Stick brigade'

Meanwhile Poole and husband Gary, 68, were jetting off on a string of exotic holidays - enjoying one five-star getaway in a deluxe bungalow suite with its own private pool at a Greek holiday resort.

They splashed out 13,000 for the 10-night stay at the exclusive Ikos Olivia resort in Thessaloniki in August 2018.

Earlier that year the couple paid 7,000 for a week's stay at a luxury cottage for 15 people in Shipston-on-Stour on the edge of the Cotswolds.

The couple also enjoyed Christmas and New Year in Australia along with breaks in Venice and Amsterdam.

The court heard they visited 'expensive shops' and put down large deposits on three new cars including a 29,000 Peugeot SUV.

The couple also transferred nearly 70,000 to their two daughters.

One was able to put down a deposit to buy a house after 37,000 was paid into her partner's account.

Gary, who was a co-defendant in the case, was cleared of a money laundering offence of acquiring criminal property.

Poole joined Hinchley Wood - which has more than 600 pupils aged four to 11 - as school secretary in February 2000 before becoming senior administration officer four years later.

She took greater control of finances after being appointed school business manager in 2011 and was part of the senior leadership team.

As well as controlling the school's bank accounts, Poole oversaw the documentation used for changes to staff pay.

The scam began in 2009 when she submitted fake documents to secure the first of two bogus pay rises.

She went on to claim she worked a staggering 66 hour week - instead of the 36 hours she was entitled to.

Poole should have been paid a salary of 45,000 for working 40 weeks but boosted her pay by forging the headteacher's signature to claim 30 extra hours over 52 weeks.

She claimed the additional hours for running the breakfast and after school clubs called Woody's.

Poole abused her position as signatory of the club's bank account to plunder more than 490,000 over seven years by transferring funds and writing out cheques to herself before cashing them.

The clubs - which provided out of school activities and care - proved popular with busy working families and were attended by up to 70 pupils a session.

Poole would be handed cash paid by parents and was the financial supervisor of the clubs as well as being in control of the school's finances and banking.

Suspicions were raised among parents when Poole began arriving for work in a succession of expensive new cars which she parked alongside headteacher Fiona Collins' 'old banger'.

The audacious scam was discovered after a whistleblower came forward following growing concerns over safeguarding issues at the school and allegations of 'bullying and intimidation'.

A new head was brought in and Surrey County Council carried out an audit after concerns were raised over finances.

Investigators discovered that Poole transferred large sums of money from the Woody's account into her own bank.

Poole was arrested by police at her home in nearby Surbiton in October 2018.

After the case Detective Constable Lloyd Ives, who led the investigation, said; 'This gross breach of trust and her elaborate deception spanning some nine years funded an extravagant lifestyle and afforded her luxury holidays and cars which she would not otherwise have been able to afford.

'I hope that this conviction shows the seriousness with which such a massive abuse of trust and position is taken and I hope that it is a deterrent to anyone else thinking of committing similar offences that it is simply not worth the risk - you will get found out.'

Surrey County Council said: 'We are glad to see this case come to a conclusion and the perpetrator be brought to justice.

'This was a calculated and deceitful theft of school money that should have been used to enhance the education and extracurricular experience of children.

'Thankfully this theft was uncovered without long lasting damage to the school, which is now thriving under new leadership.

'Hinchley Wood Primary School is now part of a multi academy trust and is in a healthy financial position delivering a high quality education for local children.'
A landowner is facing up to two years in jail for turning his home in an area of outstanding natural beauty into a rubbish-strewn tip after a judge rejected his claims of a 'hoarding disorder'.

Langley Beck, 59, has been locked in a decade-long dispute with a local council over his dumping ground of old vehicles and other items on his land in an ancient woodland which is part of a protected national beauty spot of the North Downs, Kent.

He is accused of ruining the 36-acre site at Boxley Wood - in the heart of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Maidstone Borough Council claimed it could take years for the natural environment to recover even after the items have been removed.

Now at the High Court, Mr Justice Sweeting has rejected Mr Beck's claims that his 'hoarding disorder' made it 'virtually impossible' for him to tidy up the site, meaning he could now be jailed for up to two years for breaching court orders.

Langley Beck is accused of ruining the 36-acre site at Boxley Wood (pictured from above) - in the heart of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Mr Beck has been using the site as a dumping ground of old vehicles and other items

Langley Beck (pictured outside the High Court today), 59, could face up to two years in jail

The court heard that in April 2021, Mr Beck, who first moved there in 1984, was ordered to start clearing the land and move away, but had continued his dumping of waste.

Council barrister Scott Stemp said it had secured an injunction aimed at getting Mr Beck to clear up the land, which was covered in vehicles and vehicle bodies, tractors, tyres, wood, scrap, windows, caravans, portacabins and trailers.

But he failed to do so and instead dumped more items. He also lived in a mobile home - which was in breach of the court injunction.

'The site is part of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a designation which in planning terms attributes the highest level of protection,' Mr Stemp told the judge.

'It sits alongside the National Parks. There is also a tree preservation order and an ancient woodland designation.

'It is not only a large area, but an increasing area over time which has been despoiled by Mr Beck and his activities.

'There is a significant impact on what should be an area of outstanding natural beauty and woodland in terms of the harm being caused to the environment.'

Although some of the clutter had been moved since the 2021 order, Mr Beck admitted he was in breach by continuing to live there, by laying extra hardstanding and spreading more waste.

But he denied that he could be held in contempt of court, claiming his 'hoarding disorder' meant it was 'near impossible' for him to comply.

His barrister Rachel Sullivan said it was agreed that Mr Beck meets the criteria for a 'hoarding disorder' and 'schizotypal personality disorder.'

The conditions mean he has a 'rigid and paranoid way of thinking' and is 'not amenable to reason in respect of complying with the order,' she said.

'The effect of his hoarding disorder is that consideration of clearing the site also causes him agitation, and doing so would cause him considerable psychological distress, to the point at which he would be unable to do so without support,' she added.

'Hoarding disorders, by definition, include an inability by the individual to see their behaviours as problematic and difficulty discarding possessions due to the acute distress this causes.'

Mr Beck, who first moved to the site (pictured) in 1984, was ordered to start clearing the land and move away, but had continued his dumping of waste

The land was covered in vehicles and vehicle bodies, tractors, tyres, wood, scrap, windows, caravans, portacabins and trailers

Pictured here is the site from above

But Mr Stemp said that the council had got a second opinion from another medical expert, who agreed that Mr Beck is a hoarder, but said that was not the reason for his failure to clear the site.

'The council submits that Mr Beck is not impeded in complying with the mandatory elements of the order by his hoarding disorder or any other matter, but simply that he believes he is entitled to do as he wishes with the land,' Mr Stemp continued.

'The breaches all occur because...Mr Beck does not believe he is accountable to the relevant authorities and believes he should be allowed to live how he wishes, regardless of the impact on others.'

Following a hearing at the High Court, Mr Justice Sweeting said he preferred the evidence of the council and found that Mr Beck's condition did not prevent him complying with the order.

He found him in contempt of court, but said he would give his detailed reasons for doing so in a written ruling at a late date.

Sentencing was adjourned until June.
Ministers were last night under growing pressure from their own MPs and campaigners to scrap 'preposterous' and 'dangerous' low-traffic neighbourhoods.

It came as new figures showed nearly 240 ambulances were delayed from reaching potentially life-threatening callouts due to the controversial schemes.

Experts said the recorded incidents would be 'the tip of the iceberg' as they relate only to London and there are hundreds more low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in other cities. It is also believed that not all incidents were recorded.

The disclosure comes amid a growing revolt against the controversial schemes and a raft of other anti-car measures such as clean air zones being imposed across the country.

Angry residents in Rochdale launched a rebellion by setting LTNs there alight. The vigilantes set fire to a number of planters that were used to close roads just hours after they were installed last week.

It came as new figures showed nearly 240 ambulances were delayed from reaching potentially life-threatening callouts due to the controversial schemes

Angry residents in Rochdale launched a rebellion by setting LTNs there alight. The vigilantes set fire to a number of planters which were used to close roads just hours after they were installed last week.

A series of violent incidents over LTNs has also been reported in Oxford since being launched.

Thousands of protestors have taken to the streets in and around the city in a bid to have the schemes ditched.

There is also opposition to established or planned schemes in Hereford, Brighton, Bath, St Andrews, Jesmond in Newcastle upon Tyne, Warrington in Cheshire, Southsea in Portsmouth and Leith in Edinburgh.

Many councils have hailed LTNs as a success in tackling congestion and pollution, with 300 already set up or planned nationwide.

The schemes include pop-up cycle lanes, wider pavements and closing streets to cars while policing the new rules with warning signs, CCTV cameras and fines for drivers breaking them.

But critics say they are often poorly thought out, built at short notice with little consultation and accuse council chiefs of using them as 'cash cows' to clobber motorists.

They also say traffic is simply pushed elsewhere, creating worse congestion and pollution on other main roads during their commute to work or the school run.

Dozens have been torn up after councils pressed ahead with them  wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds  despite local opposition.

The new figures, released to The TaxPayers' Alliance under the Freedom of Information Act, show 239 ambulances have been delayed from reaching callouts since 2020.

The London borough with the most recorded delays was Southwark, with 69, followed by Enfield (43) and Ealing (19).

Among the recorded incidents was an ambulance being delayed in east London for up to 15 minutes while trying to reach a patient who had collapsed from cardiac arrest.

The emergency vehicle was blocked by flower planters and then a new one-way system as part of an LTN which was not yet logged on the ambulance's sat-nav.

An ambulance attending a 'life-threatening' call in Lewisham, south London, was also delayed by four minutes due to an LTN.

And paramedics had to wait 20 minutes to reach a patient who had collapsed in an alleyway in Ealing, west London, due to bollards blocking the road and a new one-way system as part of an LTN created three days earlier.

However, a London Ambulance Service insider said they believed not all incidents were logged on the force's Datix system, partly because they must be manually recorded and not all incidents are reported by paramedics at the end of a long and busy shift.

Experts said the recorded incidents would be 'the tip of the iceberg' as they relate only to London and there are hundreds more low-traffic neighbourhoods ( LTNs ) in other cities. It is also believed that not all incidents were recorded

The disclosure comes amid a growing revolt against the controversial schemes and a raft of other anti-car measures such as clean air zones being imposed across the country. Among the recorded incidents was an ambulance being delayed in east London for up to 15 minutes while trying to reach a patient who had collapsed from cardiac arrest

The now-destroyed planters prohibited vehicles from using certain roads across Rochdale

The trial was implemented across Rochdale in Greater Manchester on Boundary Street, Durham Street, Leicester Street, New Barn Lane, Salkeld Street, and Whitby Street

Elliot Keck, of The TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Residents will be horrified that LTNs are delaying ambulances.

'These schemes aren't just making cash cows out of motorists, they are also potentially endangering lives. Local authorities should put the brakes on these divisive schemes.'

Tory MP Greg Smith, who sits on the Commons transport committee, said: 'By preventing ambulances getting to the emergency they're attending, LTNs are clearly dangerous.

'It's an extraordinary waste of money that people are paying their taxes for schemes that stop them being able to live their lives by going to work, a hospital appointment or doing the school run.

'It can't go on and the Government needs to turn the funding taps off immediately.'

Fellow Conservative Craig Mackinlay added: 'In a time when we have a shortage of public funds, to be implementing these schemes is sheer lunacy.

'It's a complete waste of time and money and we should turn the page on these schemes and prevent any new ones from emerging.'

Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuel UK campaign, said: 'Millions will be open mouthed at so many local councils' apparently cavalier attitudes towards human life for the sake of a pointless woke and green idealism.

'It's time our myopic central Government terminated the LTN experiment, ripped up these urban road blockades and allowed our emergency services to do their jobs without hold-ups.

'These costly and senseless road obstacles are spreading right across the UK too, so these figures are likely just the tip of the iceberg.'

Millions of pounds have been handed to councils for creating LTNs as part of a Government promise, made by then Chancellor Rishi Sunak, to spend 2billion by 2025 on cycle lanes and encouraging other forms of active travel such as walking by 2025.

There is also growing anger at the expansion of clean air zones.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is planning to expand the capital's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover the whole of Greater London despite warnings it will hit the poorest and self-employed the hardest.

At least 200,000 older, more polluting vehicles will be clobbered with a 12.50 daily charge by the expansion, in August.

It will add at least 250 to the monthly cost of commuting for workers who need to drive, such as in-home care workers or self-employed van drivers. Many can't afford to buy a new, cleaner vehicle to avoid the charges.

And there are also clean air zones in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside. One is also being considered for Greater Manchester.

The RAC's roads policy chief, Nicholas Lyes, said: 'Well-designed LTN schemes deliver valuable benefits in making areas safer and more pleasant for residents.

'But it's also vital councils monitor schemes thoroughly to ensure that any unintended consequences  such as access problems for emergency vehicles and new traffic issues being created in nearby areas  are properly understood, avoided and, if need be, rectified.'

The Department for Transport was contacted for comment.
Some newspapers scrambled to update their front pages after news broke that the former president will be indicted over hush payments to Stormy Daniels

Outlets capitalized on the salacious recipe of a bombastic ex-president, his porn star former 'lover' and a $130,000 check

Headlines across the globe ranged from 'He had it coming' to 'Specter of arrest, strengthened Trump'

News organizations across the globe led on Friday with the sensational news that Donald Trump will be indicted over hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Headline writers took full advantage of the salacious mix of a bombastic ex-president and the unprecedented criminal charges linked to his porn star former 'lover' and a check for $130,000.

They questioned the strength of American democracy, the risk of violent unrest from Trump supporters, and even the possibility his 2024 presidential bid will be strengthened.

Germany's respected Der Spiegel led coverage in its international edition with a comment piece titled, 'He Had It Coming'. In France, Le Monde drew attention to the unprecedented nature of the charges: 'Trump becomes first former American president to be indicted.'

Newspapers in the UK scrambled to get the news into their late editions after the indictment news broke at about 10.30pm local time. The Times of London updated its second edition with the front page headline: 'Trump will be arrested in historic move to charge ex-president'.

El Diaro splashed a picture of Donald Trump in front of a row of US flags. In Poland, the popular Super Express tabloid's headline (right) roughly translated to 'Specter of arrest, strengthened Trump'

In Britain, a Guardian writer asked: 'What does Donald Trump's indictment say about US democracy?'

Germany's respected Der Spiegel included a commentary in its international edition headlined 'He Had It Coming'

The BBC, one of the world's most read news websites, said in a commentary that Trump's indictment 'is sending shockwaves across the political landscape'

The Daily Telegraph headlined its story: 'Trump charged over porn star payment'.

Europe's most popular newspapers splashed pictures of the former president across their front pages and posed questions about the stability of America's democracy - and the possibility of unrest following the indictment.

Italy's la Repubblica talked up the 'risk of street violence'. Spain's El Correo's front page was dominated by a large picture of the president, headlined simply: 'Trump, imputado' (Trump indicted).

The news also dominated the front page of El Pais, another of Spain's most read newspapers, with the headline: 'Donald Trump, el primer presidente de EE UU imputado' (Donald Trump, the first US president indicted).

In Poland, the popular tabloid Super Express ran a past photo of Trump with his arms raised in celebration, headlined: 'Widmo aresztowania, wzmocnito Trumpa' (Specter of arrest, strengthened Trump).

Italy's la Repubblica carried a picture of Trump on its front page. A piece published by the newspaper referred to the 'risk of street violence' from Trump supporters over the charges

Spain's El Correo's front page was dominated by a large picture of the president, headlined simply: 'Trump, imputado' (Trump indicted)

The news also dominated the front page of El Pais, another of Spain's most read newspapers, with the headline: 'Donald Trump, el primer presidente de EE UU imputado' (Donald Trump, the first US president indicted).

Trump, 76, will be arraigned in Manhattan at 2.15pm on Tuesday on an array of business fraud charges relating to 2016 hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

The news broke at around 5.30pm ET. Even Trump and his closest advisers were blindsided by the indictment, after many guessed the charges were on ice after the Manhattan grand jury announced a month-long hiatus.

Judge Juan Merchan was spotted arriving at the Manhattan criminal courthouse in casual clothes last night flanked by two security officers, leading many to believe that he has been chosen for the case.

Merchan previously presided over the Trump Organization fraud trial, where the family business was fined $1.2million on a range of charges.

On Friday morning, Trump took to Truth Social to complain that Merchan 'hates' him and had been 'handpicked' by Bragg and his cronies.

The Times of London updated its front page to include the news in its second edition. Several British newspapers scrambled to update their front pages after news broke at about 10.30pm local time

Another story on the Times' website told the salacious tale of 'the porn star and the president'

The Daily Telegraph, in the UK, headlined its piece 'Trump charged over porn star payment'

The international response came as newsstands across America on Friday were dominated with front pages about the unprecedented indictment of a former US president

Meanwhile, anti-Trump protesters gathered in force outside Trump Tower in Manhattan to celebrate the indictment. They held up protest signs that read 'lock him up', a play on his supporters' old chants about Hillary Clinton.

The indictment against him signals the first time a US president has ever been criminally charged. Trump and his attorneys say it's a political witch hunt designed to hurt his chances in the 2024 election.

President Biden declined to comment when approached by reporters outside the White House.

Trump and his wife Melania were captured just hours after a grand jury recommended that he be indicted over a $130,000 hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels.

The ex-president and frontrunner to be Republican nominee in 2024 said he is 'completely innocent'
A man accused of setting fire to two Muslim worshippers outside mosques in Birmingham and London appeared in court today.

Mohammed Abbkr, 28, sprayed a substance on the victims and set them on fire in an attempt to kill them in February and March this year, it is claimed.

Hashi Odowa, 82, was set alight by a mosque in Ealing, west London, on 27 February this year.

A month later on March 20, Mohammed Rayaz, 70, was also set on fire and seriously injured in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

The retired factory worker was sprayed with a substance before his jacket was set alight near his home in Shenstone Road, near the Dudley Road mosque he had left.

Mohammed Abbkr, 28, allegedly sprayed a substance on the victims and set them on fire in an attempt to kill them

Hashi Odowa, 82, was set alight by a mosque in Ealing, west London, on February 27

On March 20, Mohammed Rayaz, 70, was also set on fire and seriously injured in Edgbaston, Birmingham

Appearing today over video link from HMP Belmarsh Abbkr spoke, with the assistance of an Arabic interpreter, only to confirm his name and date of birth.

Mr Odowa received hospital treatment for severe burns to his face and arms after the attack near West London Islamic Centre.

He was released from hospital the following day and is now recuperating from his injuries.

Mr Rayaz's family said he remained in a serious but stable condition in hospital following a skin graft operation.

Members of the mosque described the incidents as 'abhorrent and malicious attacks on two elders within our community'.

'As we commence the blessed month of Ramadan, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,' a spokesperson from the centre said.

Family lawyer Shahbon Hussain said he had got a text message from Mr Rayaz's son moments after the attack.

'He heard his dad screaming, the family had gone out the house and seen him on fire,' he said. 'I immediately went over and the police, ambulance and fire brigade were already there.'

Neighbours also helped to put flames out and carry Mr Rayaz to his home, the lawyer said.

A video shared on social media appeared to show a man being set alight by another man in Edgbaston, Birmingham, earlier this month

Picutred is Dudley Road mosque in Edgbaston, Birmingham, outside which Mohammed Rayaz was set alight

Pictured is West London Islamic Centre in Ealing, outside which Hashi Odowa was set alight

The victim had been 'touched at the outpouring of love and support' since the attack, said MP Shabana Mahmood, who spoke to him on a video call.

West Midlands Police said: 'We continue to ask anyone with CCTV, ring doorbell footage or video footage that could help our investigation to send this to us directly.'

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said officers had worked closely with detectives from the West Midlands force in the investigation.

Abbkr, of Gillott Road, was remanded in custody ahead of his next hearing date on 7 July 2023 at Birmingham Crown Court.

His trial is due to be held on 9 October 2023 at the same court.
Six Just Stop Oil climate change protestors have today been spared jail after a track invasion which risked 'risk of death' to Formula One drivers and marshals at last year's British Grand Prix.

Louis McKechnie, Emily Brocklebank and Bethany Mogie, who were among five campaigners who were dragged off the circuit at Silverstone as two Formula One cars passed close by, were given suspended jail sentences at Northampton Crown Court on Friday.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Garnham also handed 12-month community orders to fellow protesters David Baldwin, Alasdair Gibson and Joshua Smith.

Gibson and McKechnie, both 22; Mogie, 40; Baldwin, 47; Brocklebank, 24; and 30-year-old Smith all claimed the protest, which started after a red flag was signalled to halt the race, had followed a 'meticulous' safety plan.

But they were found guilty of causing what the Crown said was 'an immediate risk of serious harm' by sitting 'in the face' of fast-moving vehicles.

Six Just Stop Oil climate change protesters have today been spared jail after a track invasion which risked 'risk of death' to Formula One drivers and marshals at last year's British Grand Prix. Pictured: Protestors are removed after running onto the track on the opening lap during the F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone on June 30 last year

Louis McKechnie, Emily Brocklebank and Bethany Mogie, who were among five campaigners who were dragged off the circuit at Silverstone as two Formula One cars passed close by, were given suspended jail sentences at Northampton Crown Court on Friday

Brocklebank, of Yeadon, Leeds; Gibson, from Aberdeen; Mogie, from St Albans; McKechnie, from Manchester; and Smith, from Lees in Oldham, went on to the race circuit during the protest.

Baldwin, of Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, was found in a car park along with glue, cable ties and a Just Stop Oil banner and was said by the Crown to have been 'in it together' with his co-defendants.

McKechnie and Brocklebank - who have a joint previous conviction for gluing themselves to the frame of a 70 million Van Gogh painting days before the F1 protest - were given suspended prison sentences of 12 months and six months respectively, both suspended for two years.

Mogie, a mother of four, was given a six-month sentence of imprisonment, also suspended for two years.

During the sentencing, Mr Justice Garnham told the six campaigners that they had created a risk of death or serious injury, although he said the likelihood of harm occurring had been 'relatively modest'.

He said: 'I accept that the motive for all of you was not to cause harm but instead to voice your concerns about climate change.

'None of you have committed any offence since the commission of this offence.'

The judge added that the 'reckless' track invasion had been carefully planned, was a deliberate breach of the law and had been carried out despite warnings about the danger of going on to the circuit.

During his sentencing remarks, the judge also said the case could be distinguished from other similar protests because it caused danger rather than inconvenience.

'That difference will be reflected in the sentences I impose,' the judge said.

Activist Louis McKechnie is arrested as he and other activists from Just Stop Oil block the filling station at Cobham Services on the M25 in Surrey

Just Stop Oil protesters (left to right) Bethany Mogie, Alasdair Gibson, Emily Brocklebank and David Baldwin arriving at Northampton Crown Court in July last year

Left to right (top): Emily Brocklebank, David Baldwin and Alasdair Gibson. Left to right (bottom): Louis McKechnie, Bethany Mogie and Joshua Smith

Joshua Smith arriving at Northampton Crown Court in January this year

Video footage from various camera angles covering Silverstone was played at the activists' trial, as well as personal video statements from five of the defendants recorded a day before the protest, including a claim that the world is 'being destroyed for the benefit of a few people'.

McKechnie, who grew up in Weymouth in Dorset, told jurors the group had planned the action over two-and-a-half months, making it as safe as possible.

During the trial, Mogie asked the jury to consider a 2021 Unicef report, which said about a billion children around the world are at 'extremely high risk' from the impacts of the climate crisis and pollution.

Mogie, who represented herself during the trial, said in her closing speech to the jury: 'To love is to protect.

'And I hope you can see that's what we set out to do that day at Silverstone, before and on the day, with our planning and by sitting on the track peacefully for all that we are trying to protect.'
Billionaire philanthropist George Soros hit back Friday at wild conspiracy theories claiming that his money is funding the Manhattan prosecution of Donald Trump, saying that he had never contributed to Alvin Bragg's election campaign.

Soros, who made his fortune in hedge funds and is now known as pro-democracy campaigner, has become a figure of hate for Trump and his allies.

They have repeatedly accused him of bankrolling Bragg, who has been investigating a $130,000 hush money payment to adult movie star Stormy Daniels.

But on Thursday the 92-year-old hit back denying any involvement.

Although he said he had donated to reform-minded prosecutors, he told the Semafor news website: 'As for Alvin Bragg, as a matter of fact I did not contribute to his campaign and I don't know him.

George Soros has reportedly sunk at least $40million into electing liberal district attorneys

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's historic indictment of Donald Trump could hinge on an untested legal theory, raising perils for prosecutors as they seek a conviction

'I think some on the right would rather focus on far-fetched conspiracy theories than on serious charges against the former president.'

Trump is due to appear in court on Tuesday after a Manhattan grand jury voted on Thursday to indict him.

Bragg persevered with his investigation even though federal prosecutors opted not to pursue Trump for what allegedly amounted to an illegal campaign contribution.

Instead Bragg is thought to be examining whether the payment was wrongly labeled a business expense  a misdemeanor under New York state law.

Trump seized on the apparent connection with Soros, repeating previous criticism.

'Manhattan DA Alvin Braff, who was hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace,' he said after news of the indictment broke.

His office is not funded by Soros, although his campaign to become district attorney received $1 million from the Color Of Change Political Action Committee, a racial justice group backed by the Hungarian-born billionaire financier.

Soros is a favorite target of conservatives. Since the Jan. 6 attack on Congress, he has used his extensive wealth to back candidates he says are promoting democracy and the rule of law.

Trump accused Bragg of being funded by Soros in a statement on Thursday, repeating a frequent claim made by the former president and his supporters

But extremists in the far reaches of the internet have seized on his family history to suggest he is part of a Jewish conspiracy that secretly holds the levers of power.

In a 2018 report, the Anti-Defamation League said: 'In far-right circles worldwide, Soros' philanthropy often is recast as fodder for outsized conspiracy theories, including claims that he masterminds specific global plots or manipulates particular events to further his goals.

'Many of those conspiracy theories employ longstanding antisemitic myths, particularly the notion that rich and powerful Jews work behind the scenes, plotting to control countries and manipulate global events.'

In his exchange of messages with Semafor, Soros advised people to read a 2022 piece he wrote for the Wall Street Journal setting out why he had funded reform-minded prosecutors.

He said research suggested recent increases in crime were down to a rise in mental illness among young people due to the isolation imposed by Covid lockdowns, a reduction in policing criminal-justice reform protests, and increases in gun trafficking,.

'This is why I have supported the election (and more recently the re-election) of prosecutors who support reform,' he wrote in the op-ed. 'I have done it transparently, and I have no intention of stopping.

'The funds I provide enable sensible reform-minded candidates to receive a hearing from the public.'
A San Jose grandmother has allegedly been importing fentanyl from India and other countries into the U.S. and has been using her home as a base for the global drug operation.

Joanne Marian Segovia, 64, is the executive director of the San Jose Police Officers' Association, and was charged with attempting to unlawfully import valeryl fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, federal prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.

Starting in 2015, Segovia had at least 61 drug shipments mailed to her San Jose home from India, Hong Kong, Hungary and Singapore with manifests that listed their contents as 'wedding party favors,' 'gift makeup,' 'chocolate and sweets' and 'food supplement,' according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.

In at least once instance she is accused of using her work computer and address and the police union's UPS account to ship the drugs within the U.S.

Joanne Marian Segovia, executive director of the San Jose Police Officers' Association, was charged with attempting to unlawfully import valeryl fentanyl from her home

Tom Saggau, a spokesperson for the police union in San Jose, said Segovia has worked for the union since 2003, planning funerals for officers who die in the line of duty, being the liaison between the department and the officers' families and organizing office festivities and fundraisers.

He said that federal officials informed the union last Friday that Segovia was under investigation and that no one else at the union was involved or knew about Segovia's alleged acts.

The revelation shocked her colleagues, Saggau said.

'We didn't have any reason to suspect her,' he said, adding that the union's board of directors has pledged to fully support the federal investigation.

Federal prosecutors said that in 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted a parcel being sent to her home address that contained $5,000 worth of Tramadol, a synthetic opioid, and sent her a letter telling her they were seizing the pills.

The next year, the CBP again intercepted a shipment of Tramadol valued at $700 and sent her a seizure letter, court records showed.

But federal officials didn't start investigating Segovia until last year when investigators found her name and home address on the cellphone of a suspected drug dealer who is part of a network that ships controlled substances made in India to the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the complaint.

Segovia (pictured right with an officer) has worked for the union since 2003, planning funerals for officers who die in the line of duty, being the liaison between the department and the officers' families and organizing office festivities and fundraisers

Segovia was seen in a care-free photoshoot with a friend wearing matching outfits a stark contrast from her alleged shady drug business

She appears in multiple pictures with her grandchildren, Jennifer's kids

Segovia is seen pictured with her husband Dom, it remains unclear if he was aware of the operation. Multiple loving photos of the pair appear on social media

That drug trafficking network has distributed hundreds of thousands of pills in 48 states, federal prosecutors said.

Segovia used WhatsApp messaging service and her personal and office computers to order thousands of opioid tablets and other pills to her home and agreed to distribute the drugs elsewhere in the United States, prosecutors said.

On at least one occasion in 2021, Segovia shipped the illicit drugs to a North Carolina address by using the police union's UPS account, prosecutors said. That address is linked to at least five illicit drug seizures, they said.

Investigators found hundreds of photographs in a WhatsApp chat on Segovia's cellphone, including an image of the UPS shipping slip and another one of a computer screen showing a PayPal payment to an Indian name and Segovia's police union business cards under it.

'Based on my training and experience, I know that shippers of controlled substances often send receipts and tracking numbers as proof that they in fact sent a package,' David Vargas, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigation, wrote in the affidavit.

'I believe that the receipt provided by Segovia was offered by her as proof that she sent a package to the North Carolina addressee.'

According to the complaint, Segovia continued to order controlled substances even after being interviewed by federal investigators in February.

Starting in 2015, Segovia had at least 61 drug shipments mailed to her San Jose home from India, Hong Kong, Hungary and Singapore

She allegedly imported illegal synthetic opioids from India and other countries and at least once used her work computer and address (pictured) and the union's UPS account to ship the drugs within the country

On March 13, federal agents seized a parcel in Kentucky, containing valeryl fentanyl, addressed to Segovia.

The package allegedly originated from China three days earlier and declared its contents as a 'clock,' prosecutors said.

The person people see on Segovia's social media accounts is a doting mother of Jennifer and wife of Dom.

She appears in multiple pictures with her grandchildren, Jennifer's kids, as well as loving pictures with her husband.

Fentanyl can be cut with virtually every street drug and killed a record 75,000 Americans in 2021 according to the latest numbers - which is the equivalent of 1,500 lives lost weekly.

The opioid - which is 100 times more potent than morphine - started off as a cheap alternative to heroin and was only used by veteran drug addicts - who injected or smoked it.

But its cheap manufacturing costs have made it the go-to cutting agent for cartels and drug dealers in the US looking to stretch their supply.

It's now found in everything from cocaine to molly and street benzodiazepines like Xanax.

Fentanyl has now infected almost every major city in America, turning once-thriving streets in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia into wastelands.

Fentanyl has now infected almost every major city in America, turning once-thriving streets in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia into wastelands

Nobody knows how much fentanyl in both gel and pill form is successfully crossing the Southern border, however and seizure rates remain low - methamphetamines and marijuana still the highest

The fentanyl crisis took off in 2016, where annual deaths more than doubled to 19,413, up from 9,580 a year earlier. In 2017, deaths caused by the synthetic opioid reached 28,466

Scenes of zombified addicts shooting up or smoking the drug in front of children increasingly becoming a part of everyday life.

Many people who die of overdoses do not know they are taking fentanyl and the drug has partially been blamed for America's sharp decline in life-expectancy.

Experts have described the drop in life expectancy from 78.8 in 2019 to 76.4 in 2021 as 'dramatic' and 'substantial'.

Officials in Washington state have said that they've run out of space in morgues and crematoriums as the drug tears through local communities.
Liz Truss tonight urged Rishi Sunak to block China from joining an Indo-Pacific trade deal now that Britain has signed up.

The ex-prime minister warned her successor against Beijing becoming a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Ms Truss described the bloc as a 'vital economic bulwark' against China and said it was 'essential' to stop the country's application to join from being approved.

Britain made its own formal application to join the CPTPP in early 2021 during Ms Truss's tenure as international trade secretary.

Two years of negotiations have now borne results as UK membership was formally approved in the early hours of this morning to complete Britain's biggest trade deal since Brexit.

Liz Truss is urging Rishi Sunak to block China from joining an Indo-Pacific trade deal now that Britain has signed up

The ex-PM said it was 'essential' to stop the Chinese President Xi Jinping's application to join CPTPP from being approved

UK membership was approved in the early hours of this morning as Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch oversaw the completion of Britain's biggest trade deal since Brexit

Mr Sunak hailed the historic agreement for putting the UK 'at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies', with British membership boosting the bloc's total GDP to 11trillion.

But the PM, who recently described China as an 'epoch defining challenge', is under pressure to also now utilise CPTPP as a counterweight to Beijing's influence in the region.

Ms Truss said: 'CPTPP is a vital economic bulwark against China and in due course Id like to see like-minded free trading nations making their own applications to join.

'Its essential that any idea of Chinese accession is ruled out and Id expect the British Government to oppose any such proposal.'

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, another former Tory leader and a fierce critic of Beijing, also urged Mr Sunak to prevent Chinese membership.

'Now we are in CPTPP we should do our utmost to work with the others to veto China joining,' he told Politico. 'We should persuade the US to join as well.'

Ms Truss described the CPTPP bloc as a 'vital economic bulwark' against China

The 11 other current CPTPP members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

As well as China's application, Taiwan, Ecuador and South Korea are also seeking to become members, while it has been suggested British membership could yet convince America to rejoin.

Former US president Donald Trump withdrew from what was then known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership soon after entering the White House in January 2017.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt this morning hinted that - as well as the economic benefits of CPTPP membership - UK foreign policy aims also played a role in signing up.

Asked whether China should be allowed to join, Mr Hunt told Sky News: 'That's a decision for all the members of that bloc and all I would say is that Britain now has a vote in deciding that.

'And that shows our influence in this part of the world is becoming more significant.'
The heartbroken family of a grandmother beaten to death after she mistook a thug's home for a B&B said their life has been 'destroyed'.

Grandmother Margaret Barnes, 71, had been visiting Barmouth in Wales from her home in Birmingham when she mistook the home of by 21-stone thug David Redfern, 46, for her accommodation, which was a few doors away, Caernarfon Crown Court heard.

Redfern denied murdering Mrs Barnes on July 11, last year, but was convicted by a jury earlier this week and sentenced to 14 years in jail.

The victim's daughter Natalie Barnes read a victim impact statement to court describing her mum as a person who 'loved the little things in life.'

She said: 'As a family we will never get over what has happened. My mum didn't need to die and we don't understand why she had to.'

The last moments before Margaret Barnes, 71, was murdered by David Redfern, 46, have been revealed, showing the grandmother hauling her small suitcase up the drive as she places her black handbag on a table outside of the door

David Redfern, 46, (left) dragged 71-year-old Margaret Barnes downstairs by her feet after he found her asleep in a bed at his seafront home in Barmouth, North Wales, on July 11 last year

'When my mum called out for my dad and brother they were unable to save her.

Paying tribute to Mrs Barnes, her granddaughter Robyn Barnes said her death had left her 'completely heartbroken'.

Meanwhile, in a statement read in court, her widower Raymond Barnes said his wife had left school at 15 and had been a Cadbury's packer for some 25 years and enjoyed needlework and dancing.

The couple had holidayed abroad including in China and Cape Verde, and she had a large group of female friends.

Raymond said police knocked on his door on July 11 last year to inform him that she had passed away.

He said: 'We were in total shock. Our lives will never be the same again.'

But her husband Raymond said in a statement : 'She would never be aggressive.' Prior to her death she sometimes seemed confused, he added.

Her daughter Natalie Barnes said the murder had 'destroyed our family.'

Ms Barnes ended up mistakenly entering Belmont House, Redfern's seaside property in Barmouth

But the 71-year-old had booked to stay in the Wavecrest B&B on Marine Parade - a few doors down from Redfern's property

The pensioner's family added: 'Margaret, who was a much-loved wife, mother and grandmother has now been gone for eight months. As a family it has been the hardest time of our lives. It has been especially difficult for Margaret's husband who had been her partner for 56 years.

'We now have some sort of closure on what has happened. However, no length of sentence will ever fill the void that Margaret has left behind.'

Redfern, 46, had drunk six or seven pints and a gin and tonic during a night out with his partner before returning home and falling asleep while watching Antiques Roadshow.

But when the couple decided to turn in for the night at around 11pm they found semi-naked Mrs Barnes lying in their bed, drinking and smoking, with a black travel case open on the floor.

A row broke out and Mrs Barnes was dragged by her heels down the stairs and flung out of the house. Redfern also kicked or stamped on the frail pensioner, breaking three of her ribs and causing a catastrophic and unsurvivable injury to her liver.

The 'much-loved' wife, mother and grandmother died on the pavement outside, the court heard.

Handing Redfern a mandatory life sentence for murder with a minimum 14 years before parole, Mr Justice Charles Bourne told the defendant: 'I accept you must have been very shocked to find a stranger in your house, your bedroom.

'But your reaction surpasses anything that any reasonable person could imagine.

'You are a large and strong man, aged 45 at the time.

'She was small and slight, at least 25 years older than you, clearly affected by alcohol and unsteady on her feet.

'I can understand why you might have escorted her out of your house, though a different person might have responded to this situation by trying to help her.

'But the assault, a kick or stamp of sufficient force to cause a fatal injury, was a dreadful thing to do, to a defenceless elderly person.'

Daughter Natalie Barnes read a victim impact statement to court describing her mother as a person who 'loved the little things in life.'

Prior to the incident, Redfern had drunk six or seven pints and a gin and tonic during a night out with his partner

David Redfern (pictured) was furious when he saw Margaret Barnes, 71, had undressed, unpacked and climbed into a bed at his house in Barmouth, North Wales

She said: 'When my mum called out for my dad and brother they were unable to save her.

'As a family we will never get over what has happened. My mum didn't need to die and we don't understand why she had to.'

Paying tribute to Mrs Barnes, her granddaughter Robyn Barnes said her death had left her 'completely heartbroken'.

Meanwhile, in a statement read in court, her widower Raymond Barnes said his wife had left school at 15 and had been a Cadbury's packer for some 25 years and enjoyed needlework and dancing.

The couple had holidayed abroad including in China and Cape Verde, and she had a large group of female friends.

Raymond said police knocked on his door on July 11 last year to inform him that she had passed away. 'We were in total shock,' he said. 'Our lives will never be the same again.'

The court heard Mrs Barnes 'simply mistook' Redfern's large seaside home for her hotel after travelling more than 100 miles to a seaside resort for a 95-a-night break.

Prosecutor Michael Jones said: 'It was a mistake that ultimately cost her her life.

'The reason Mrs Barnes died is she had the misfortune of coming across a man who was an angry bully.'

Earlier, the court heard that arrangements had been made with a local B&B for Mrs Barnes to stay in Barmouth and she had been out drinking with friends and was unsteady on her feet.

When Redfern and his partner went upstairs to bed, Redfern at first calmly called police and asked officers to come and remove her. But things then went 'terribly wrong' after a row broke out, the court heard

Mrs Barnes had been booked into the Wavecrest B&B (pictured) which was several doors down on Marine Parade

She mistook her accommodation for Redfern's home and went inside and got in bed at around 10.10pm on July 10 last year.

When Redfern and his partner went upstairs to bed, around 40 minutes later, Redfern at first calmly called police and asked officers to come and remove her.

But things then went 'terribly wrong' after a row broke out, the court heard.

Redfern, a 6ft 1in man who weighed 21 stone, dragged the unwanted visitor downstairs by her heels and flung her suitcase into the street.

He also kicked or stamped on Mrs Barnes, causing the fatal injury.

Redfern told the jury he had found Mrs Barnes sitting up in their bed drinking gin and tonic with her false teeth on the bedside table.

Outside court, Detective Superintendent Mark Pierce of North Wales Police said: 'During a two-week trial Redfern showed no remorse, attempted to blame Margaret for his actions and subjected her family to the trauma of a two-week trial where details of the event were explored in graphic detail.

'David Redfern is a cowardly, vicious bully and will now spend at least 14 years behind bars where he can reflect on what he has done.'

Mrs Barnes' family added: 'As a family it has been the hardest time of our lives.

'It has been especially difficult for Margaret's husband who had been her partner for 56 years.

'We now have some sort of closure on what has happened however no length of sentence will ever fill the void that Margaret has left behind.'
A jury found that she fatally stabbed her friend Yousuf Rasmussen in the neck

The daughter of the former US National Intelligence Director has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after 'rage drove' her to stab her 'best friend' to death in a Maryland Airbnb.

Sophia Negroponte, 29, was convicted of second-degree murder in January for killing Yousuf Rasmussen, 24, in February 2020.

She stabbed him multiple times and delivered a fatal blow to his neck when he returned to get his cell phone following an argument between the pair.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence J. McGann ordered her to serve 35 years behind bars on Friday and said her pent up anger issues, made worse by alcohol, drove her to knifing her friend.

She is the daughter of John Negroponte, who spent a long career in Washington as a diplomat before being named the United States first-ever Director of National Intelligence in 2005.

A Montgomery County jury on Tuesday convicted Sophia Negroponte (pictured left), 29, of second-degree murder in the February 2020 death of Yousuf Rasmussen (pictured right), news outlets reported

Ahead of his sentencing McGann said: 'Rage drove Ms. Negroponte to stab her friend in the neck.'

Sophia Negroponte and Rasmussen attended the same Washington high school and had been drinking at a Maryland Airbnb, along with another person, on the night Rasmussen was killed, Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said.

They argued twice that night and Rasmussen left. When Rasmussen returned to get his cell phone, Negroponte 'stabbed him multiple times, one being a death blow that severed his jugular,' McCarthy said.

Police said when they arrived, Negroponte was on top of Rasmussen screaming, 'I'm sorry.' During the investigation, Negroponte told police she only remembers removing the knife from Rasmussen's neck.

Defense attorney David Moyse had urged jurors to consider that Sophia Negroponte was so intoxicated that night that she couldn't form specific intent.

'Alcohol pervades this case from the start; it pervades her life,' he said, adding, 'and it is absolutely at the heart of what happened there that night. And its one of the major reasons that this is absolutely not a murder.'

Jurors did not find Negroponte guilty of the most serious charge she faced, first-degree, premeditated murder, according to the Post.

But they convicted her of second-degree murder, finding that she intended 'to inflict such serious bodily harm' to Rasmussen 'that death would be the likely result.'

Judge McGann ordered her bond revoked, noting that Rasmussen was 'taken from this earth, at a very young age with his whole life ahead of him, in such a horrific way.'

Sophia Negroponte and Rasmussen attended the same Washington high school and had been drinking, along with another person, on the night Rasmussen was killed, Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said

Police say Sophia Negroponte stabbed Rasmussen after an argument in February 2020

Sophia Negroponte is the adopted daughter of John Negroponte, who spent a long career in Washington as a diplomat before being named the United States' first ever Director of National Intelligence in 2005. He is seen at a conference in Colombia in 2019

'Yousuf was a kind and gentle soul, a loving person who brought our family and his many friends great joy in his 24 years of life,' Rasmussen's family said in a statement. 'We will carry him with us forever.'

After the verdict, John Negroponte, 83, said his family will discuss a possible appeal with their attorneys.

'Neither the prosecutors nor perhaps the jury took into sufficient consideration the complexities and mitigating circumstances of the case - Sophia's past trauma and other factors that led to a very troubled existence. She's had severe alcohol use disorder,' John Negroponte said.

President George W. Bush appointed John Negroponte as the nation's first intelligence director in 2005. He later served as deputy secretary of state. He also previously served as ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations and Iraq.

He had previously served as ambassador to countries including Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines under Bill Clinton, George H W Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Negroponte and his wife, Diana Negroponte, adopted five girls during their time in Honduras - Sophia, George, John, Alexandra, and Marina.

President Bush, left, looks on as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, ceremonially swears in Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, second left, at the State Department in Washington in 2007
This is the heart-warming moment a four-year-old boy lost in the woods is rescued by New Jersey State Police troopers.

The frightened little boy, whose name was not disclosed, became lost after he wandered away from his home in Buena Vista Township, Atlantic City on Wednesday evening.

Dramatic video shows the troopers running after the little boy - dressed in only a flannel shirt and shorts- with his dog, a black Labrador Retriever, in the barren South Jersey woods nearly a half a mile from his home.

In the bodycam footage the officers are seen running during the nail biting rescue as one officer yells out, 'I got him... I got him.' The officer is then heard summoning the youngster with a reassuring tone. 'Hey buddy... I got you ... you are okay.'

The boy overwhelmed and crying is heard wailing repeatedly, 'I lost my shoe ... I lost my shoe,' as Trooper Ian Emmi swoops up the child and holds the boy in their arms before the youngster is taken over to his mother.

The frightened little boy (pictured) whose name was not disclosed, became lost after he wandered away from his home in Buena Vista, Atlantic City on Wednesday evening

An image of the woods located in Buena Vista Township, New Jersey where the boy wandered

The harrowing ordeal began when the boy and his dog lost their way. The boy's mother said she could hear her son's frantic cries but was unable to locate him for over an hour.

New Jersey State Trooper Ian Emmi and the boy's mother followed the sounds of the little boy's voice and was soon able to locate the boy, according to a statement form the New Jersey State Police.

The scared youngster was shaken by the incident but was unharmed.

Police did not reveal what prompted the boy to wander into the woods.

The state police posted a video of the dramatic rescue that garnered thousands of views. They also issued a statement.

'Last night, troopers from Buena Vista Station responded to the report of a missing child in Buena Vista Twp., Atlantic County.'

'A 4-year-old boy and his black Labrador had wandered away from his house and were missing for more than an hour.'

'While searching for the child, Trooper Ian Emmi and the childs mother heard him off in the distance and ran to his location nearly a half mile from his house.'

'We are thankful to report that due to the quick response of the troopers and his mother, the terrified child was safely located and in good health.'

The boy's mother is seen holding her son tightly in her arms during the rescue

The police statement that was posted by the New Jersey State Police after the rescue

Many hailed the officers for their quick-action and the boy's dog, who never left his best friend's side.

'Thank God! Thank you NJ State Police and the boys mother, excellent news that he was found with his protective dog,' one person wrote.

Another commented: 'How grateful we are this ended well with the rescue of this poor lost boy. Great work by his Mom joined by the our NJSP! Well done, Troopers.'

'Great job to all. Especially the dog, he would have never left that kid. May even have brought him home,' someone quipped.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has told China to cancel Zambia's debt as she vowed to send the country billions from the US.

The VP touched down at a $1bn airport in Lusaka on Thursday built by Beijing which serves as a reminder for the vast influence that China holds over the African state.

Harris said the government in Lusaka had put in place measures to strengthen its economy and should be supported with debt relief. She was speaking at the start of a two-day visit to Zambia on the last leg of her week-long tour of Africa.

The VP also took time to visit the site of her maternal grandfather's home in Lusaka, where he lived as an Indian public servant in the 1960s.

Zambia has been looking to restructure its debt since becoming the first African country to default during the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. Its debts crept higher at the end of last year, figures published by the finance ministry this week showed. China is its largest bilateral creditor.

'We are continuing to reiterate our call on official bilateral creditors to provide meaningful debt reduction to Zambia,' Harris said at a press briefing when asked what the United States was doing to push China to restructure Zambia's debt.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is on the last leg of her one-week tour of Africa, has told China to cancel Zambia's debt as she vowed to send the country billions from the US

Harris is greeted by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in Lusaka, Zambia, on Friday

Africa has emerged as a focus for Washington as it aims to position itself as a partner to countries in the region amid competition with China, which has sought to expand its influence by funding infrastructure projects on the continent.

Harris said her visit to Zambia was intended to strengthen existing relations between the two countries and not to counter the Chinese presence in Africa.

'Let me be clear. Our presence here is not about China. It's about our independent understanding of intertwined histories of our nations,' said Harris, who also spoke warmly of visiting her grandfather while he was working in Zambia when she was a child.

Speaking at the same briefing, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said delays to debt restructuring were hurting the economic gains that Zambia had made.

Good relations with the United States did not preclude good relations with China and vice versa, he added.

'When I'm in Washington, I'm not against Beijing. Equally, when I'm in Bejing, I'm not against Washington,' he said.

When Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday, she touched down at an airport thats doubled in size and features glittering new terminals.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, it's a reminder of Chinas deep influence. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent that's rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

Harris said the government in Lusaka had put in place measures to strengthen its economy and should be supported with debt relief. She was at two-day visit to Zambia

Zambia has been looking to restructure its debt since becoming the first African country to default during the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. Pictured: National Assemble of Zambia

Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff wave as they depart from the Julius Nyerere Airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

The global rivalry between the US and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris' journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her stop in Tanzania

The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris' journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt.

Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Bidens administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijings sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition.

However, she has acknowledged theres limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent, telling reporters earlier in the trip that there is a 'window' that is 'definitely open now' for American investments.

US Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema (R) are seen at the State House in Lusaka on March 31, 2023 during a press conference

Harris addressed a news conference following her meetings with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Thursday

The VP paused Friday during the whirlwind diplomatic swing for something much more personal: A visit to the site of her maternal grandfathers home in Lusaka.

P.V. Gopalan was working with the newly independent Zambia government six decades ago on refugee resettlement and lived at 16 Independence Ave., where Harris visited as a little girl.

The home no longer exists; rather, an office building now stands on the plot of land. The location was identified using plot numbers in public records and land surveys, according to a White House official.

Harris on Friday said it was 'very special' to go back, and she described her grandfather as 'one of my favorite people' with a lasting influence on her life.

'He believed in the nobility of public service, he believed in fighting corruption,' she said. 'These are things he would talk about a lot, and I dont think until I was older I realized how that subconsciously influenced the way I think.'

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka pored through public records, spoke with Zambian and Indian authorities, and reached out to former Zambian government officials to identify the precise location of Gopalan's home.

Harris and Emhoff visit an office building that records indicate is on the plot of land where the house used by her grandfather P. V. Gopalan when he was serving as a Indian Civil Servant

Harris gestures while speaking about a photograph of her from a visit to Zambia, where she posed onto of the rock, outside the National Assembly of Zambia on Friday

Harris' family members also offered memories about the home, which helped with the embassy's search, the White House official said.

The confirmation came just in time for Harris' weeklong trip to Africa; the U.S. embassy identified the location while Harris was in Ghana, the first stop of her visit to the continent, a few days ago.

The Zambian Ministry of Lands confirmed that 16 Independence Ave. was indeed Gopalan's home, through a March 9, 1967 public lands document.

As Harris toured the location, U.S. embassy official Elizabeth Norikane told the vice president that she had been searching for the precise spot for a year.

Zambia has celebrated Harris' childhood ties to the country. On the drive from the airport into the city, Harris was greeted by signs that read: 'Welcome back to Zambia.'
Russia today brought in new policies in a bid to end the 'global dominance of the US' as Vladimir Putin takes an increasingly anti-West stance.

The Russian despot signed off the new foreign policy which cements the deep Cold War-style rupture between Moscow and the West over the invasion of Ukraine.

It also identified China and India as key partners for the future, which comes just 11 days on from President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow where the two premiers flaunted their alliance.

'The Russian Federation intends to give priority to the elimination of vestiges of the dominance of the United States and other unfriendly countries in world politics,' the 42-page strategy document said.

The term 'unfriendly countries' refer to countries, particularly in Europe and North America, that have condemned the atrocities seen in Ukraine since the invasion began in February 2022.

Russia today brought in new policies in a bid to end the 'global dominance of the US' as Vladimir Putin takes an increasingly anti-West stance. Pictured: Vladimir Putin arrives at a security council meeting today where he announced the changes

The document refers to 'unfriendly countries' - most likely those in Europe and the US who have condemned the atrocities in Ukraine. Pictured: President Joe Biden at the White House today

The Russian president, who announced the document at a security council meeting, said that the changes were necessary because of the 'radical changes' in the world.

The move from Putin reflects the president's increasingly anti-West stance in the face of sanctions imposed on the country as well as military aid supplied to Ukraine.

Putin and Rusia have become increasingly isolated on the world stage prompting Moscow to boost political and economical ties with the likes of China and India, who have taken a more neutral stance towards their invasion of Ukraine.

Within the new strategy, Russia singles out ties with China and India, stressing the importance of 'the deepening of ties and coordination with friendly sovereign global centres of power and development located on the Eurasian continent.'

Putin recently talked up relations with China during President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow.

Moscow has stepped up energy supplies to both China and India after being almost entirely cut off from its traditional European markets.

The document also described Russia as a 'state-civilisation' tasked with defending what it called the 'Russian world' of related cultures on the Eurasian continent.

The concept of a 'Russian world' is used by the Kremlin to justify its actions in Ukraine with claims that it is defending the country's Russian-speaking minority.

The move from Putin reflects the president's increasingly anti-West stance in the face of sanctions imposed on the country as well as military aid supplied to Ukraine

The strategy also identified China and India as key partners for the future, which follows President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow earlier this month (pictured)

The strategy also said that Russia would defend 'traditional spiritual and moral values' against 'pseudo-humanistic and other neo-liberal ideological attitudes'.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the document recognised 'the existential nature of threats to the security and development of our country, driven by the actions of unfriendly states'.

'The United States of America is directly named as the main instigator and driver of anti-Russian sentiment,' he said.

'The West's policy of trying to weaken Russia in every possible way is characterised as a hybrid war of a new type'.

Earlier today, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko - a staunch ally of Putin - warned a nuclear third world war 'looms on the horizon' due to NATO's support for Kyiv as he insisted Russia will use nukes if they fear defeat in Ukraine.
Melania Trump is standing by her husband, a source close to the former first lady told DailyMail.com, despite any lingering anger at him as Donald Trump faces criminal indictment related to charges he paid hush-money to porn star Stormy Daniels.

'Mrs. Trump is strong. She is focused on her family and stands behind her husband, as she always has,' the source told DailyMail.com exclusively. 'For the past 7 years, the left has made multiple attempts to smear and attack her family and this is just the latest attempt to bring him down.'

The statement of support is a change in tactic for Melania Trump, who was furious when reports of Trump's extramarital fling with Daniels surfaced. He has denied the affair and any wrong doings.

Ivanka Trump, who is said to be estranged from her father, also expressed support for him on Friday as the family closes circle around their patriarch in his hour of legal need.

Donald Trump, 76, will be arraigned in Manhattan at 2.15pm on Tuesday. Exact charges haven't been revealed yet but reports indicate there are more than 30 counts.

Donald and Melania Trump are seen on Thursday evening at an event at Mar-a-Lago, their Florida home, she will stand by him through indictment, a source close to her told DailyMail.com exclusively

Melania Trump is not expected to accompany the former president to New York when he is arraigned on Tuesday, sources speculated, but plans could change before then.

She is currently with the former president at their Mar-a-Lago home in West Palm Beach, Fla., where she was literally pictured at his side.

The couple had dinner together, seated next to each other in the private club's ornate dining room, and worked the room, staying at each other's side, according to pictures posted on social media.

Melania Trump wore a vivid red dress, making it easy to pick her out in the crowd.

For the former first lady, who often lets her clothes speak for her, it was a bold statement.

And, if the historic case, the first against a former president, goes to trial, she would be a powerful presence in the courtroom, standing by his side as he faced a jury.

Her presence there could also strengthen his case in other ways, particularly if his lawyers use a 'Melania Trump' defense.

Investigators were looking into whether the $130,000 to Daniels violated federal campaign finance laws.

Donald Trump's legal team has publicly argued the payment had nothing to do with wining the presidential election but was about Donald Trump saving himself from embarrassment and protecting his marriage to Melania.

'It's not directly related to the campaign,' Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina told ABC's Good Morning America earlier this month. 'He made this with personal funds to prevent something coming out [that was] false but embarrassing to himself, his family, his young son.'

The Trumps can be seen dining among Mar-a-Lago guests (left, with their backs to the camera): Melania's red dress is visible, as is the former president's distinctive hair

Melania Trump with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on November 15, 2022, when he announced he would run for the White House again

Still not specified, the charges serve as the first time in history that an ex- president has faced a criminal case - with the exact allegations expected to be announced in the coming days; the indictment marks the end of a years long investigation into $130,000 paid to Stormy Daniels, allegedly to buy her silence about their affair

And sources told DailyMail.com earlier this month that the former president worried Melania Trump would leave him if the affair became public.

'Trump was beside himself that Melania would find out the details of his indiscretion  an indiscretion with a porn star no less.

'He knew what the consequences could be and he would do whatever he could to keep a lid on it,' a source said.

In previous scandals, Melania Trump has stood beside her husband.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, when an old 'Access Hollywood' interview came to light, showing Donald Trump speaking disparagingly of women, she supported him, publicly defending him in an interview on CNN.

But the former first lady was furious when news of the Stormy Daniels affair broke five years ago. She had been blind-sided by it when it broke.

So it was notable, when the payment to Daniels was revealed by the Wall Street Journal in January 2018, Melania Trump went silent.

Daniels was paid just before the 2016 election to keep quiet about an affair that she said she had had a decade earlier with Donald Trump  when the Trumps were newlyweds and soon after Melania had given birth to their son, the report said.

Then-President Trump promptly denied everything.

At the time, Melania Trump, then the first lady, canceled her plans to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos with Trump. She had been scheduled to go.

Instead she visited Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. with her mother and then flew to Mar-a-Lago, taking time to enjoy herself in the on-site spa.

Her first public appearance after the revelation was at Trump's State of the Union Address. She wore a white pantsuit and was escorted into the event by an attractive, young male military officer.

Now, on Friday, she joined the rest of Donald Trump's family in showing her support for him.

Earlier that day, Ivanka Trump released a brief statement, saying 'I love my father' and that she felt pained for both him and the country.

'I love my father and I love my country. Today I am pained for both,' she wrote in a post that appeared in her Instagram stories.

'I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern,' she added.

Ivanka and her father appeared to have a strained relationship since he left the White House.

The two were close there - she served as an adviser in his administration and Trump was plain in his admiration for her and her skills.

In January 2018, when news of the Stormy Daniels affair broke, Melania Trump was furiuos with her husband and canceled a trip to Davos, Switzerland with him - her first public appearance after the new was above, when she attended Trump's 2018 State of the Union address

The Trump family has announced their public support for Donald Trump - the clan is pictured above at Ivana Trump's funeral in July 2022 - Donald, Melania, Barron, Ivank, and Eric are in the front row with Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr pictured on the steps above them

Ivanka Trump released a statement of support for her father

But, during the congressional hearings on the January 6th insurrection, Ivanka Trump revealed she didn't believe her father's claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

And aides revealed Ivanka Trump had tried to get her father to act on that day - to call off his supporters as they swarmed the Capitol. She also expressed support for then-Vice President Mike Pence, who resisted pressure from President Trump to send the 2020 election results back to the states.

Ivanka Trump declined to join her father's 2024 president campaign and was not at his announcement that he would seek another term.

'This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family,' she said in a statement hours after his announcement.

'I do not plan to be involved in politics. While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.'

She was the one of the last of the former president's children to speak. Tiffany Trump has made no statement but rarely speaks in public. And Barron Trump is still in high school.

Trump's two oldest sons were out defending him shortly after the indictment was revealed on Thursday night.

Donald Trump Jr., the former president's oldest son, slammed the 'crazed weaponization of the entire federal government against political enemies' - calling his father's indictment 'communist level s***.'

After the indictment came out, he said on Rumble's 'Triggered with Donald Trump Jr': 'Let's be clear, folks. This is like communist level s**t. This is stuff that would make Mao Stalin Pol Pot.

'It would make them blush. It's so flagrant. It's so crazed when even like the radical leftists of The Washington Post are out there saying it's not really based on facts.

For those people who said it's not real, Trump's making it up, it's not a real issue for us... If you don't think that the weaponization of the entire federal government against their political enemies, against the voters - half of the country approximately - as we've seen, if you don't think that's a problem, you don't even belong in any position in government, let alone president.'

And Eric Trump slammed the indictment in an interview with DailyMail.com, calling it a 'ruthless attack' and an example of 'the decline of American Law.'

'This is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year,' he said.

'They are ruthlessly attacking my father because he dared challenge the political elite,' he continued. 'This is Exhibit A to the decline of American Law.'

Donald Trump has claimed to be a victim of the weaponization of the federal government. He claims the legal investigations against him are politically motivated by Democrats who want to keep him out of the White House.
A British tourist who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a horrific hit-and-run in the Majorcan party resort of Magaluf has been pictured arriving at court today in Palma, Spain.

The suspect was pictured wearing a grey tracksuit being led into the court by two uniformed officers.

t comes after the holidaymaker was filmed allegedly mowing down two pedestrians, a British man and a Polish woman, in a hire car after an argument outside a nearby fast food restaurant on Thursday morning.

Footage published by island newspaper Ultima Hora showed the suspect appearing to drive deliberately at a group of people stood on the pavement and knocking two men flying.

A trio of bystanders - a woman the victims had been chatting to and two men a couple of feet away - saw the car coming and narrowly avoided being mowed down as the vehicle approached at speed and veered towards them.

A British tourist who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a horrific hit-and-run in the Majorcan party resort of Magaluf has been pictured (above)

The suspect was pictured wearing a grey tracksuit being led into the court by two uniformed officers

It comes after the holidaymaker was filmed mowing down two pedestrians, a British man and a Polish woman, in a hire car after an argument outside a nearby fast food restaurant on Thursday morning

Two people were caught unaware and the car slammed into them, hurling them into the air

One of the victims was left unconscious on the pavement, and both were rushed to a private hospital in the island capital Palma.

It was not immediately clear this morning if they remained in hospital, although their injuries are not thought to be serious despite the severity of the impact.

The horror incident happened just after 4am on Thursday.

Local reports said the suspect had previously rowed with a British man whose girlfriend had got into a scrap with his partner.

He is said to have left the scene in a rage before returning minutes later behind the wheel, mounting the pavement and ramming into his victims.

It is not yet known whether the man he had argued with moments earlier was one of the two people he hurt.

The suspect, a 29-year-old who has not yet been named, was arrested at nearby Son Matias beach after a police manhunt.

Officers reportedly discovered he had been drinking and consumed drugs, although the Civil Guard have so far not confirmed the results of drink and drug tests.

A spokesman for the force said this morning in its first comments on the case: 'A 29-year-old British man who was on holiday in Majorca has been arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide following a hit-and-run incident in Magaluf in the early hours of yesterday morning.

'He was held at nearby Son Matias beach after a police search for him and his vehicle.

The holidaymaker was filmed mowing down two pedestrians with a hire car

One of the victims was left unconscious on the pavement, and both were rushed to a private hospital in the island capital Palma

'The incident was preceded by some sort of argument that is still under investigation.

'One of the people hurt is a Polish woman and the other a British man. Both were also on holiday in the area.'

A well-placed source said of the victims: 'They were both hospitalised but despite the severity of the impact they did not suffer serious injuries and have now been released after treatment.

'They are very lucky to have survived without life-changing injuries. The footage clearly shows the car hit them full on at speed.'

In May 2019 a British woman was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence after confessing to mowing down the girlfriend of her ex outside flats in Federico Garcia Lorca Street near Magaluf's brash Punta Ballena area.

Kemi Coaker, then 30, from Manchester, admitted running over Meghan Tattersall, then 25, from Leeds, after a plea bargain deal at a court in Majorca.

Kemi was arrested in May 2018 on suspicion of trying to kill Meghan in a hate-fuelled hit-and-run after the younger woman started dating her ex Andrew Coaker, 41, from Reading.

Kemi Coaker, from Manchester, was spared jail after admitting to the hit-and-run but ordered to stay at least 1,600 ft from her victim

Bar worker Meghan Tattersall, required surgery on her legs after the hit-and-run in the Cala Vinyes resort

She was arrested half an hour after the May 8, 2018 incident in the nearby resort of Cala Vinyes.

The victim's injuries were initially described as serious and she took three weeks to recover from leg wounds which required surgery.

As well as receiving a two-year suspended jail sentence for a crime of wounding with a dangerous weapon, Coaker was also handed a three-year restraining order preventing her from going within 500 metres of her victim.
Biden himself said he had 'no comment on Trump' Friday

He didn't get a 'head's up,' said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

President Joe Biden learned about Thursday's news that a Manhattan grand jury had indicted his predecessor Donald Trump from his new top aide  who found out through press reports, the White House said Friday.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with the president Friday about the mechanics of how he learned the historic news.

'Look, we found out - all of us, including the President, found out about the news yesterday, just like every other American, through the news reports,' Jean-Pierre said en route with Biden to view tornado damage in Mississippi.

Then she modified her statement to say that Biden learned second-hand through his top aide.

President Joe Biden learned about Donald Trump's indictment from White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, the White House said Friday. Biden had no comment on Trump's indictment when asked about it Friday

'His chief of staff, Jeff Zients, let him know what occurred through media reports, just like  again, just like all of you found out.'

She underlined that Biden 'was not given a heads up. Again, through media reports, that's how we learned about the the indictment yesterday.'

Zients, who previously served as Biden's coronavirus coordinator, assumed his new post in January, succeeding chief of staff Ron Klain.

She didn't directly answer questions about whether Biden had been briefed on the matter or whether the administration was prepared for any civil unrest.

'The President certainly  and we've said this many times before  he supports Americans who want to protest peacefully. And I'm just not going to get into speculations from here on what may or may not happen,' she said.

'Clearly, we are always prepared. This administration is  and this government is always prepared. But just not going to get into speculation from here.'

Biden 'was not given a head's up,' said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients gave Biden the news

A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former president Donald Trump over hush money paid to pornstar Stormy Daniels

Donald Trump called the indictment 'unthinkable'

Trump had called for protests earlier this month, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Friday called for protests and said she would be in New York when Trump is set to be arrested Tuesday.

She also wouldn't engage on any voters who heard Trump's claim that the charges are political. Trump and his team have called it a 'witch hunt.'

Jean-Pierre said it was 'not something that were going to be commenting on.'

She stressed Biden's arms' length distance from the information on a day when the president refused to engage on the topic, despite multiple attempts by reporters to get him to talk.

'I have no comment on Trump,' he said as he left the White House.
Allies of Donald Trump are convinced that the Manhattan district attorney's pursuit of the former president will make him unbeatable in the race to secure the Republican 2024 nomination.

A confidential memo sent to donors by the chief executive of MAGA Inc, a Trump-aligned super political action committee, sets out a poll that reveals 83 percent of likely G.O.P. primary voters think the indictment is politically motivated and without merit.

'Republican primary voters are united in the belief that [Manhattan D.A.] Alvin Bragg and his liberal cohorts are mounting a baseless politically motivated attack on President Trump,' concludes Tony Fabrizio, Trump's chief pollster for his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, in the memo obtained by DailyMail.com.

'Given the overwhelming opinions Republican primary voters have on this subject, It is very likely that this indictment will only further unite the party behind President Trump.'

The data put statistical meat on the rhetorical bones of Trump supporters who have taken to the airwaves in the 24 hours since news broke of an indictment to say that it will only make the former president stronger.

A memo sent to donors by the chief executive of MAGA Inc, a Trump-aligned super PAC, includes a poll showing that 83 percent of likely G.O.P. primary voters think the indictment of Donald Trump by a Manhattan grand jury is politically motivated

Trump is expected to be arraigned in Manhattan on Tuesday. His supporters say the case has only strengthened his standing with likely voters in the Republican primaries for 2024

The survey of 800 likely primary or caucus participants was conducted before Thursday's bombshell. It was carried out by Fabrizio, Lee and Associates.

Respondents were asked whether they agreed with the statement: 'Liberals are weaponizing the government to attack Donald Trump.'

Some 69 percent said they strongly agreed; 15 percent said they somewhat agreed; with a total of 13 percent saying they strongly or somewhat disagreed.

When asked what they thought of Bragg's likely indictment, some 83 percent said they thought it was 'politically motivated and without merit', compared with just 11 percent who believed it was 'legitimate and not politically motivated.'

'As I said yesterday on Fox News, this is not an indictment of a crimethere was no crime,' wrote Taylor Budowich, CEO of MAGA Inc.

'Instead, this news is the indictment of a failed nation. President Trump is promising to peacefully end the war in Ukraine, dismantle the deep state, and save our country by putting America first.

'For that, the political elites and powerbrokers have weaponized government to try and stop him. They will fail.

'He will be re-elected in the greatest landslide in American history, and together we will all Make America Great Again.'

The poll of 800 likely Republican primary or caucus was conducted by Tony Fabrizio, who was chief pollster for Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns

Trump supporters gathered on Friday close to his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida

That belief triggered a huge fundraising push on Thursday evening, with email shots and public appeals.

A host of surrogates  key allies with a coordinated massage  fanned out on television to make the point that the indictment would only make Trump stronger.

Trump will be arraigned on Tuesday, when he will be formally arresting, plunging the country into the uncharted legal and political territory of a former president having to appear before a judge.

John Fredericks, a radio host and former chairman of Mr. Trumps 2016 and 2020 campaigns in Virginia, said the base was going to rally in a way the Democrats never imagined.

'This indictment is our indictment. His conviction is our conviction,' he said.

Taylor Budowich, chief executive of MAGA Inc, said Trump would be reelected 'in the greatest landslide in American history' in a confidential memo sent to donors

An email blast offered supporters a chance to get a new 'I stand with Trump' T-shirt marking the indictment for campaign contributions starting at $47

Allies said they had a plan to get messaging out as soon as the indictment landed. That included a barrage of fundraising emails as the campaign looks to cash in

Republican strategists pointed out that Trump had once again dominated the news cycle, generating reams of earned news coverage and likely bringing in cash donations

'Every working class American has been screwed over by this government so many times, and they see it happening again with Trump.

'He is a lightning rod for all of us.'

Republican strategist John Feehery said the indictment, and two weeks of speculation that preceded it, had put Trump right at the top of the news cycle.

'It's not positive news, no question. And I think independent voters don't want to have an indicted president or candidate running,' he said.

'But during the Mar-a-Lago raid independent voters flocked back to Trump.'

When the F.B.I. searched Trump's Florida home last year, many Republicans who had distanced themselves from the former president spoke out in his defense.
Mr Suella Braverman is reminiscing about his first dates with the woman who would become his wife  en route to becoming one of the most polarising politicians of our age.

It was circa 2016. She  then Suella Fernandes  was a newly appointed Conservative MP. He was a political nerd who admits he probably regarded all Westminster types as celebrities.

On their first date, she took him on a tour of the House of Commons, culminating with tea on the terrace.

They were thrilled to discover they had so much in common. Both children of immigrants, they were peas in a pod in terms of background and political leanings. He wasn't unsettled by her directness, which can be eye-wateringly bracing.

On their second date, she asked if he wanted children because she wasn't sure she did.

Suella Braverman (pictured with husband Rael), 42, is now the most senior woman in Government. Possibly the most controversial one, too

Gary Lineker (pictured) was suspended from his 1.35 million BBC job and taken off air amid claims the attack on the Government was breaching BBC impartiality, but was reinstated after other celebrities backed him

As love was blossoming, did Rael Braverman for one minute imagine he was in the presence of a future Home Secretary, though?

'Oh, very much so,' he says. 'Actually, not Home Secretary. Prime Minister! We had those conversations about what you want to do with your life. I remember exactly what Suella said and how she said it, because it was hugely attractive. She said, 'I want to make a difference to the world and be remembered for it'.'

His wife leans over the sofa. 'A positive difference to the world,' she clarifies, lest there be any doubt.

And here we are, seven years, four Prime Ministers and two children later, at home with the Bravermans.

Suella Braverman, 42, is now the most senior woman in Government. Possibly the most controversial one, too  at least in certain quarters.

Her hardline approach to immigration and self-confessed dream of 'stopping the boats' has proved controversial even within her party, and has led to Cruella De Vil comparisons in the wider world.

The haters probably expect the walls of her living room to be decorated with the skins of Dalmatian puppies. Alas no. The walls of the recently decorated room are disappointingly harmless. In a surreal moment  it's odd how even the most decisive political leaders become less sure of their own minds on home turf  she tells me she's not sure of the colour.

'Do we need more warmth in here?' she asks and seems to take on board my suggestion that a dusky pink could work. On other issues this lady is less for turning, but we will get to that.

Mr Braverman said he would 'happily debate with Lineker' (pictured)

Rael Braverman said he was appalled enough at Lineker's original tweet (pictured)

The unusual thing is that her husband is in the room, too. What's interesting is that, despite his devotion to his wife and her career, Rael Braverman, a 47-year-old finance manager for Mercedes, has never wanted to be a public sort of political spouse.

He has never given an interview before and is fiercely private. Yet today he is letting rip. Why?

'I've always tried to keep out of it but this time it feels personal,' he says. 'It's too much.'

The tipping point? He calls it 'the Gary Lineker intervention'. His wife has become used to being vilified on social media but last month, the most extraordinary debacle unfolded when Match Of The Day host Lineker publicly took issue with Braverman's most high-profile policy: the Illegal Migration Bill, which aims to ban illegal migrants from settling in Britain.

It is undoubtedly a contentious Bill but Lineker, who as a BBC figure is subject to impartiality guidelines, tweeted to his eight million Twitter followers that it was an 'immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the Thirties'.

All hell broke loose. Lineker was suspended from his 1.35 million BBC job and taken off air amid claims the attack on the Government was breaching BBC impartiality, but was reinstated after other celebrities backed him.

The controversy is still rumbling on but the abuse directed at Suella since then has been significant.

'There have been mocked-up images of Suella standing outside concentration camps, outside Auschwitz, laughing,' says Rael. 'Well, I am Jewish. I lost family members in those concentration camps. I find that offensive.'

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has blasted critics of her migrant crackdown and refused to back down in the wake of the Gary Lineker's BBC storm after his Nazi slur

He was appalled enough at the original tweet. 'I was disgusted. Personally, I think making comparisons between our politicians and our country and Nazi Germany is intellectually lazy  and when you have public figures doing that, you kind of legitimise the abuse, make it acceptable.

'I don't think it's any concidence that the memes and Nazi slurs appeared after Lineker's tweet. At least I hadn't seen any before.

'It's unacceptable on so many levels. It really minimises the horror of what went on. It's disrespectful to Holocaust survivors and to those who lost family members in the concentration camps  and that includes my family.' To be fair, Gary Lineker did not use the word Nazi. 'Moot point,' says Rael. 'He might as well have done. If he was not referring to Nazi Germany, what was he referring to? I'd like to hear that from him. What else was he talking about?

'I understand he was talking about the language, but the comparison to the Nazis was there and he obviously stands by it. Otherwise he would surely have come out and said, 'No, no, you've got it all wrong'.'

Rael says Lineker is entitled to take issue with government policy, but not like this.

'I think his huge platform partly comes from the fact he does work for the BBC, and there has to be a responsibility there. There are ways of talking about this and I am a supporter of free speech, but a tweet like this is not the way. He should ask for a proper meeting.'

With whom? You? Could Gary Lineker come to tea to talk about this?

'Oh, I'd happily debate it with him,' says Rael. 'I'd talk about it all day long.'

It is a wet Thursday night when I pitch up at the Bravermans' house. The Home Secretary has taken off her heels and is padding around in slippers, over toys.

The family kitchen is full of kiddie clutter  colouring books, crayons and backpacks are everywhere. I stand on a pink foam glitter sticker.

'We left it a bit late,' quips the Home Secretary of their young family. 'I think my mum had given up hope that I was going to get married or have a baby. I was put down as a career woman.'

Did you see yourself as one, or did you want a family too?

'I was a barrister for ten years, and building a political career as well. It's incredibly consuming. I guess, if I'm honest, I thought, 'Oh well, maybe, maybe I'm not going to have children.' And then I met Rael.'

Did he want children? 'He said he probably didn't. It was only a four out of ten in favour of having them.'

He'd done the maths, then. 'He's good with all that. Spreadsheets for everything. We know which child is with which granny  he's on top of it.'

What is her strength, at home rather than in the office? 'Soft play centres,' she says, laughing. 'I know them all. I do the clambering up.'

Lineker thanked his supporters on March 8 after his tweet slamming the Government's plan to crackdown on migrant crossings

Suella Braverman told BBC Breakfast on March 8 that Gary Lineker's comments were disappointing

She frets a little about how much of family life you could, or should, tidy away when you are a politician. Especially if you are a female one.

'I think when you are a male politician you don't feel vulnerable about showing any softness because the toughness is a given,' she says.

Their children are just back from nursery, delivered by Suella's parents, who have also cooked dinner.

George, who peers shyly around the door, will turn four in the summer. Gabriella, who flings herself into her mother's arms, isn't yet three. She is too young to know it yet, but her imminent arrival changed history.

At the time, the law prevented Cabinet members  which Mrs Braverman was then, as Attorney General  from taking maternity leave. A Bill was hastily rushed through to allow her to do so.

'I vividly remember telling Boris I was expecting a baby. It's daunting for any woman. Am I going to lose my job? Is he going to be annoyed?'. In this case, there was no precedent  no right to maternity leave, which was and is astonishing.

'I didn't know what would happen. You can't have a part-time Attorney General and I would have had to resign just because I'd had a baby. But Boris was brilliant. He said 'We will sort this', and he did.'

The answer to the inevitable question of how a senior politician combines one of the most demanding jobs in Westminster with family life seems to come down to this: marry carefully and have extended family who can pitch in.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street on March 28

Suella's mother Uma is a former Tory councillor and now a near full-time babysitter. She is stirring a pot of rice on the stove. She tells me she gets up at 4am every morning to meditate, 'but then I check my phone to see if Suella needs me'. Often she does. Actually, always she does.

'It's not a job that is easy to combine with family life. I took a call at 3am the other night,' says the Home Secretary. 'I couldn't do it without the team around me.'And what makes Rael the perfect Home Secretary husband?

'It's tricky for partners,' she concedes. 'They only ever get a part of you, but he has never been threatened by my career. He has only been supportive.'

He nods. 'I'm still excited by it. You have this front-row seat. It's not easy  one senior party person told me we had a fighting chance of making it work, but only because she'd already become an MP when we met  but it's not for ever, is it? No one in this game knows how long they have but, my God, what a difference you can make if you get it right.'

Both families moved to this country from elsewhere  a fact the Home Secretary's detractors cannot square with her hardline immigration stance. Have they experienced racism, I wonder? Both say 'No, not directly' but press the point and the answer is, yes, they have.

She, brown-skinned, has had racist chants shouted at her in the street. His answer is jaw-dropping and reveals how much more tricky racism can be when the subject is white.

'I haven't been attacked. It hasn't been physical but, yes, I have experienced anti-Semitism,' he says.

He describes being in the car with a colleague and driving through an area of North London that is home to a large community of Hasidic Jews. 'Some of the men, in their black dress, were crossing the road in front of us and my colleague, who obviously didn't know I was Jewish, said, 'Don't you just want to run them over? Effing Jews'.'

What on earth did Rael say?

'Nothing,' he replies with a shrug. 'It's difficult. When you get comments like that, how you react depends on who they are. I try to get over the issue now by announcing early in the conversation that I'm Jewish.'

His wife is listening intently. The personal is political here, too. She has just announced more funding for increased security in synagogues and Jewish schools. 'I think the problem with this sort of racism is that it's somehow more acceptable than others. It's seen as 'racism lite'. It's not. It's just racism.'

Does the Home Secretary think Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer deserves credit for banning Jeremy Corbyn from standing for election again  a direct result of Labour's in-fighting about anti-Semitisim?

'I don't think he actually deserves that much credit because it has been incredibly easy for him,' she says.

'Where was Keir Starmer when anti-Semitism was rife in the Labour Party in 2019? He literally campaigned to make Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister. He would gladly have served in his Cabinet. He was silent when Jewish people needed to hear it called out. In that sense he was an enabler of it.'

To discover how the Bravemans came to be in the UK  and so proudly so  is to tap dance through history a little.

Suella's parents, Uma and her husband Christie, moved from Mauritius and Kenya respectively, in the 1960s, when people like them (displaced by persecution, in her father's case) had British passports.

Rael was born in South Africa and came to the UK with his parents as a child.

Suella's patriotism  pride in the British Empire and the hand of protection it extended  may seem almost quaintly old-fashioned now, but she says she 'owes everything' to this country. Her own public service is partly about saying a big thank-you for this.

'What we have now is a very different scenario,' she says. 'People taking a treacherous journey, paying thousands of pounds, believing they will reach El Dorado and will be here indefinitely, housed in a hotel and funded by the taxpayer. My parents didn't get in a boat and cross the Channel, and didn't come here illegally.

'We need to deter people from making that journey because they need to understand that it will not lead them to a life they think they will have in the UK.'

But it is not just the liberal Left who have challenged her. Some of her own colleagues  including Theresa May  think she has gone too far. Then there was the case of Joan Salter, a Holocaust survivor who effectively agrees with Lineker. 'I know what words of hate can do,' she said. Tricky.

'I would respectfully disagree. I mean, I think there's no comparison to what we're proposing, which I see as fundamentally humanitarian. There is a huge amount of frustration  justified frustration  among British people who, I think on the whole, want us to fix this problem. That is a world away from anything that happened in Germany in the 1930s.'

This talk is blunt but honest, she insists. 'I see my role as being honest with the British people and sometimes the truth is uncomfortable. But I'm not going to shy away from uncomfortable conversations. And if that upsets Gary Lineker or The Guardian or the BBC, so be it.'

So what of her political ambitions? Is she a born leader?

'I don't think I ever thought of myself in those terms when I was growing up,' she says.

'I think Rishi is a great leader. He has brought stability, focus and unity not just to the Conservative Party but to the country. He's a great role model.'

You're still after his job, though? 'I've got enough on my plate,' she says.

But her husband is smiling.
The parents of murdered University of Utah athlete Lauren McCluskey revealed they heard her being dragged to her death at the end of their last phone call the night she was tragically killed by a former boyfriend.

Authorities said McCluskey, a 21-year-old track star from Pullman, Washington, was fatally shot by Melvin Rowland, 37, on October 22, 2018. McCluskey was being blackmailed by her ex-boyfriend, Rowland, when she confided in campus police earlier that month.

Jill and Matt McCluskey, Lauren's parents, detailed their last shared phone call with their beloved daughter before she was taken from them in an ABC News special. The call took place at 8:10 p.m. the night she was murdered, as she was leaving class.

'Lauren was looking forward to things, she was proud that she was making progress on an assignment that was not due for a few days,' Matt McCluskey recounted of the speakerphone chat. 'It was a wonderful conversation. She was so happy and then... she said no, no, no and I knew something was wrong.'

'I hear her yell no, no, no and then I sort of hear her being dragged away and her phone fell and then no one answered the phone,' added Jill McCluskey. 'I knew her life was in danger at that time.'

Jill and Matt McCluskey, Lauren's parents, detailed their last shared phone call with their beloved daughter before she was taken from them in an ABC News special. The call took place at 8:10 p.m. the night she was murdered, as she was leaving class

Matt McCluskey added that they were yelling her name, unsure of what was going on.

The documentary, titled 'Listen,' aired on ESPN earlier this week, with a 20/20 special focusing on the McCluskey investigation airing Friday night on ABC.

The film details how 'the people and the institutions responsible for protecting her failed at every turn.'

'What struck me was how many opportunities there were, where one different decision might have been the thing that saved her life,' T.J. Quinn, one of the investigative reporters on the documentary, told KUER.

McCluskey told authorities that she was being extorted by her sex-offender ex who said he had access to some of her personal images and was threatening to release them if she didn't pay him $1,000.

The ESPN documentary reveals that Rowland had told multiple co-workers and a supervisor he was extorting her.

'That's just another thing that could have been brought to my attention that could have changed everything,' Meagan Thomson, Rowland's last parole officer, says in the documentary. 'Right then and there I would have gone to pick him up. I would [have] put him in handcuffs.'

Authorities said McCluskey (pictured), a 21-year-old track star from Pullman, Washington, was fatally shot by Melvin Rowland, 37, on October 22, 2018

Authorities identified Melvin Rowland (left and right) as McCluskey's killer. He killed himself hours later inside a church

The student athlete had called the police six times in the 10 days before her horrific murder in the backseat of a car in her dorm's parking lot

Terrified by the demand, McCluskey paid Rowland the money, and then sent copies of his threatening messages and the pictures in question to police as evidence.

In 2020, it was revealed that Deras saved the compromising photos of the young track star onto his phone, before showing them to his colleagues and bragging about being able to ogle at them any time he wanted, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Deras spoke publicly for the first time in the documentary, apologizing McCluskey and her family for how they handled the investigation.

Just nine days after filing the report, McCluskey was shot dead by Rowland on campus, who then turned the gun on himself inside a church hours later.

The promising athlete had ended the relationship a month earlier after discovering Rowland was a registered sex offender who had lied about his name, age and criminal history.

It was also revealed that McCluskey called the police six times in the 10 days leading up to her horrific murder in the backseat of a car in her dorm's parking lot.

Two years to the day after student-athlete Lauren McCluskey was brutally murdered by her abusive ex-boyfriend, the University of Utah announced that it would pay the victim's family a total of $13.5million to settle two separate lawsuits.

Less than two weeks after she first contacted campus police about the 'sextortion' plot, Rowland fatally shot her in a university parking lot, before turning the gun on himself.

Ex-university of Utah Police Chief Dale Brophy (left) and Miguel Deras (right), a former university officer who reportedly showed his male co-workers explicit images of Lauren McCluskey, are demanding $10m from the college because they say they were mistreated

Authorities said Lauren McCluskey (pictured), a 21-year-old track star from Pullman, Washington, was fatally shot by Melvin Rowland, 37, on October 22, 2018

In the weeks before her death, McCluskey repeatedly called the police with her concerns about Rowland and revealed she was being blackmailed with their intimate photos

District Attorney Sim Gill said last week that the former officers actions were 'definitely reckless,' but there is no state law addressing the misconduct.

'Were incensed like everyone else by the behavior. It was inappropriate,' Gill said. 'But if theres not a statute, theres nothing we can do.'

Gill's decision to not charge Deras sparked protests in Salt Lake City and earned criticism from McCluskey's mother, who warned that it could create a chilling effect for women in similar situations.

Matthew and Jill McCluskey, Lauren's parents, had filed two separate lawsuits against University of Utah and related entities, with their first complaint brought last year seeking $56million and alleging that officials could have done more to protect their daughter after claiming she contacted campus police multiple times in the weeks leading up to her death saying her ex-boyfriend was harassing her.

The family's second lawsuit, filed in June of this year, accused the University of Utah of discriminating against McCluskey based on her gender by ignoring her pleas for protection.

'The University of Utah acknowledges that the murder of Lauren McCluskey was a brutal, senseless, and preventable tragedy and acknowledges the unspeakable loss the McCluskey family has suffered and continues to suffer,' Thursday's settlement reads, reported The Salt Lake Tribune.

As part of the agreement, the university will pay $10.5million to the student's parents and donate an additional $3million to the Lauren McCluskey Foundation dedicated to improving safety on college campuses across the country.

University of Utah also will build an indoor track for McCluskey's former track and field team by 2030 and name it after her.

In this October 21, 2019 file photo, University of Utah students gather after walking out of classes during a demonstration over McCluskey's death

Rowland murdered Lauren at her dorm, the South Tower Medical Plaza Student Housing, before going on a date with a woman and visiting the State Capitol. Hours later, he killed himself at Trinity AME Church

McCluskey, a senior and track-and-field athlete from Pullman, Washington, met Rowland at a local bar where he was working as a bouncer and began a relationship with him in September 2018. A friend said the 37-year-old man presented himself as a 28-year-old community college student named Shawn.

According to one of the lawsuits, some of Lauren's closest friends sounded the alarm about her boyfriend, saying that he was possessive, controlling, manipulative and prone to jealous rages and stalking behavior, and raising concerns that the senior was in 'an unhealthy and potentially harmful relationship.'

A month later, McCluskey learned Rowland's true identity, including his actual age and the fact that he was a registered sex offender. At that point she decided to end the relationship.

'There were numerous opportunities to protect her during the almost two weeks between the time when our daughter began expressing repeated, elevating and persistent concerns about her situation and the time of her murder,' they added.

McCluskey was an accomplished student athlete and a star on the University of Utah's track and field team.

Rowland was a resident of Salt Lake City and in 2004 was convicted of attempted forcible sex abuse and enticing a minor over the internet, according to court records.

He was released from Utah State Prison in 2013 after nine years behind bars.
A Georgia man has spoken out after he was falsely charged with theft based on a faulty facial recognition ID, and spent nearly a week in jail before the charges were dropped.

Randal Quran Reid, 29, was mistakenly arrested on November 25 during a traffic stop outside Atlanta, on two theft warrants out of Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish in Louisiana.

The charges, it later emerged, related to the use of stolen credit cards to buy more than $13,000 worth of designer purses from Chanel and Louis Vuitton from a consignment store outside New Orleans, and another shop in Baton Rouge.

However, Reid, who works as a transportation analyst, was baffled by the charges, because he had never even been to Louisiana, and initially had no idea that he'd been linked to the crimes by facial recognition.

'I'm locked up for something I have no clue about,' Reid told the New York Times in a report on the case published on Friday.

Randal Quran Reid, 29, was falsely arrested on November 25 during a traffic stop outside Atlanta, on two theft warrants out of Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish in Louisiana

Reid was charged with using stolen credit cards to buy more than $13,000 worth of designer purses from Chanel and Louis Vuitton from a consignment store outside New Orleans

Reid ended up spending six days in jail before the bogus charges were dropped, missing a week of work and spending thousands of dollars on defense attorneys in both Georgia and Louisiana before investigators admitted their error.

The case is not the first false arrest based on facial recognition technology, but it does illustrate the dangers when charges stem from AI in a way that is not made clear to defendants or judges.

According to the Times, none of the court documents in the case mentioned facial recognition, with the arrest warrant affidavit citing a 'credible source.'

But a person with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed to the newspaper that facial recognition technology had been used to identify Reid as the man seen on surveillance cameras in the Second Act consignment shop in Jefferson Parish.

Apparently, sheriff's investigators used facial recognition technology to scan surveillance footage from the shop, and falsely identified Reid as the heavyset black male seen using the stolen credit card.

The charges in Baton Rouge appeared to stem directly from that case, after the same stolen credit card was used to make more fraudulent purchases.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in 2019 signed a contract with one facial recognition vendor, Clearview AI, which it pays $25,000 a year, according to the Times.

Reid ended up spending six days in jail before the bogus charges were dropped, missing a week of work and spending thousands of dollars on defense attorneys

Clearview AI CEO Hoan Ton-That (above) said that an arrest should not be based on a facial recognition search alone

Spokespersons for Clearview AI and the Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DailyMail.com on Friday afternoon.

The company's chief executive, Hoan Ton-That, told the Times that an arrest should not be based on a facial recognition search alone.

'Even if Clearview AI came up with the initial result, that is the beginning of the investigation by law enforcement to determine, based on other factors, whether the correct person has been identified,' he said.

'More than one million searches have been conducted using Clearview AI. One false arrest is one too many, and we have tremendous empathy for the person who was wrongfully accused.'

Sheriff Joseph P. Lopinto III of Jefferson Parish told the outlet Reid's arrest was 'unfortunate by all means.'

'As soon as we realized it wasn't him, we moved mountains in order to get him out of jail,' he added.

Several years ago, many US jurisdictions issued bans on law enforcement use of facial recognition, citing racial bias in the technology and false identifications, often of black people.

But the technology has been resurgent due to rising crime rates, with several cities and states rolling back their bans.
US Capitol Police and the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms put members of Congress on notice Friday for anticipated demonstrations around the country related to former President Trump's indictment.

'While law enforcement is not tracking any specific, credible threats against the Capitol or state offices, there is potential for demonstration activity,' the law enforcement agencies wrote in a note to Senate staff.

In anticipation, Capitol Police will boost its presence around Capitol Hill and continue to monitor potential impacts.

Anti-Trump protesters have gathered in force outside Trump Tower in Manhattan to celebrate the indictment. They held up protest signs that read 'lock him up', a play on his supporters' old chants about Hillary Clinton.

Stormy Daniels has broken her silence following the decision, which could see the former president potentially facing time behind bars

Protestors gather in front of Trump Tower in New York City on March 31, 2023

Outside Trump Tower, protesters calling or Trump's arrest gathered throughout the day

Protesters have been gathering for weeks but were out in force today outside Trump Tower following the bombshell grand jury indictment

Supporters of former President Trump also gathered outside of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

The indictment against him signals the first time a US president has ever been criminally charged. Trump and his attorneys say it's a political witch hunt designed to hurt his chances in the 2024 election.

At least one House member - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene - has said she will be in New York City on Tuesday to protest the indictment and support the former president.

The 76-year-old ex-president has been told he has to turn himself in on Tuesday or face arrest and extradition to New York.

It is unclear exactly what charges the former president will be facing, but it is understood to be in relation to the money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels and another woman.

Supporters of former US president Donald Trump gather near Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 31 March 2023

Supporters of former US president Donald Trump gather near Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 31 March 2023

The exact charges against Trump will be known when the indictment is unsealed, which is expected to happen next week.

They are believed to be in relation to the 2016 payment of $130,000 from his former attorney Michael Cohen to Daniels, who claims to have slept with Trump in 2005.

Trump maintains his innocence, insisting he had nothing to do with it.

Trump has already warned last week there could be 'death and destruction' over the indictment as he called Alvin Bragg a 'degenerate psychopath.'

'What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?'
Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh has completed his evaluation at a South Carolina state prison and is now in a maximum security facility, but authorities won't say which one.

According to a press release from the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Murdaugh, 54, 'has been moved to the statewide protective custody unit of a South Carolina maximum-security prison.'

The decision to move Murdaugh into protective custody came Thursday after a recommendation from the Protective Custody Review Board. His case was evaluated at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia.

The disgraced lawyer will be kept from the general population because of 'validated protective concerns.' The four member board takes into account security, mental health and classification, before taking their decisions.

South Carolina's corrections department does not disclose the exact location of inmates in protective custody for their own safety. There are six maximum security prisons in the state.

Smiling Alex Murdaugh appears shaven-headed in a new mugshot from prison days after being found guilty of murdering his wife and son. The new mugshot was to replace an out of focus photo that was taken on March 3 (right) when he was transferred to the Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center

Murdaugh will be housed with 28 other inmates 'in a single eight by ten cell that contains a bed, toilet, and sink.' His privileges will be no different to other inmates, the SCDC said.

This comes after many had raised concerns over Murdaugh's possible influence over the judiciary stemming from years of operating within the state's legal sphere.

Prosecutors said Murdaugh killed his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at their home in June 2021, shooting them with two different weapons, cleaning up the scene, then driving to visit his ailing mother before calling 911 and saying he discovered the bodies.

Following a six-week trial, Murdaugh was sentenced to two life sentences. 'I'm innocent. I would never hurt my wife, Maggie. I would never hurt my son, Paul,' he told Judge Clifton Newman following his conviction.

The six maximum security prisons in South Carolina are located across five counties, two in Richland, with Greenville, Lee, McCormick and Dorchester making up the others, reports The State.

On the same day that Murdaugh was sent to his new home, reports emerged suggesting that law enforcement is eyeing two new potential suspects in the 2015 murder of 19-year-old Stephen Smith in Hampton County.

Smith had ties to the Murdaugh family in particular eldest son Buster.

Local news website FitsNews has named the two people as Patrick Wilson and Shawn Connelly, both 25, citing sources from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the SLED for comment on the new revelations. Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of a two-lane Hampton County road on July 8, 2015. His car with the gas cap removed and his wallet still inside was found a short distance away.

Kirkland Correctional Center will be Murdaugh's grim new home for the next few weeks as he undergoes evaluation for where to be sent permanently

This undated file photo provided on July 11, 2019, by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the new death row at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, SC

Kirkland, where Murdaugh was being evaluated, is one of South Carolina's most notorious facilities. Far from being safe inside the prison's fortified walls, inmates like Murdaugh are under constant threat from the killers, sex offenders and armed robbers they call neighbors.

The shocking absence of law and order within the so-called correctional facility was highlighted in 2017 when two inmates strangled four others after luring the victims into their cell with promises of drugs and cookies.

The killings were carried out by Denver Simmons, who was jailed for killing a mother and her son, and fellow inmate Jacob Philip, convicted of strangling his girlfriend and her eight-year-old daughter.

Their motive: the pair wanted to be placed on death row because they were fed up with life in the hellhole jail.

One by one, they lured their four victims into their cell then used a broom and electrical cord as weapons to beat and strangle them, hiding the bodies behind a curtain on their bunk. Simmons and Philip then calmly strolled down to the guard station and confessed.

Kirkland inmates have also been known to orchestrate horrific crimes on the outside from within their cells.

Two years ago, armed robber Harvester Jackson used a contraband cellphone to orchestrate the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend in Columbia, South Carolina.

Jackson was in Kirkland serving a 10-year sentence when he ordered four accomplices to shoot up the victim's home, prosecutors alleged. His ex-girlfriend, who survived the attempt on her life, told investigators it wasn't the first time Jackson had ordered an attack from behind bars.

Kirkland's notorious reputation was also highlighted by a recent report which found it had the highest death rate of any prison in South Carolina. Between 2015 and 2021, 160 inmates died at the state-run institution.

In second place was Broad River Correctional Institution, which is just a stone's throw away from Kirkland and could be where Murdaugh ends up housed. There were 101 death at Broad River, which houses medium and high-security inmates, across the six year period.

Kirkland is where the vast majority of South Carolina's male prisoners are first sent after they're convicted
A new generation of parents are refusing to assign their children a gender at birth with the growing trend slammed as a 'scary experiment'.

The parents are instead allowing their children to decide whether or not they are a boy or a girl regardless of their physical anatomy.

They avoid using gendered pronouns when their child is born and refer to them as 'they' or 'them' with the genderless babies known as 'theybies'.

Some parents have opened up on the new trend while experts have warned about the consequences in an upcoming 60 Minutes segment set to air on Sunday.

The trend comes after it was revealed Australian taxpayers were forking out for a new education program that teaches children doctors 'decide' gender at birth.

A new generation of parents are refusing to assign their children a gender at birth with experts slamming the growing trend as a 'scary experiment' (pictured, one of the parents in the upcoming 60 Minutes segment)

One mother explained they wanted to give freedom to their child to choose their own identity.

'We didn't assign a gender at birth  We're not trying to eliminate gender, we're just really helping kids find their own path to it,' she said.

Another parent added: 'I'm letting this little person be who they want to be.'

The parent revealed they had received some backlash from the public with strangers on the street confronting them about it.

Sky News host Erin Molan described the trend as a 'little bit scary'.

'You don't want to tell parents how to parent,' she said.

'But I mean, even to the extent that it's an experiment, which was just a direct quote there  I don't think kids should be used in that kind of way. This stuff is going too far.

'If your child, by the stage and the time they get to a position where they're mature enough and think that they are not the gender they were assigned at birth, then deal with it then. Do what needs to be done to make sure that child is happy and fulfilled.

'I just think it's unnecessary and actually a little bit scary, the experimentation because when your kid leaves your home and enters the real world, they're going to be confused.'

Developmental experts have warned the parenting trend could backfire once children are exposed to the wider community.

Chicago Medical School professor of neuroscience Lise Eliot told NBC News the children would struggle to fit in.

'Once your child meets the outer world, which may be daycare, or preschool, or grandparents  it's pretty much impossible to maintain a gender-free state,' she said.

'And depending on how conventional your community is, you could be setting your child up for bullying or exclusion.'

The growing trend comes after it was revealed in December an Australian taxpayer-funded campaign is telling children doctors 'decide' gender at birth.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has produced Let's Talk About Bodies, Identity and Sexuality, which is aimed at schoolchildren aged 8 to 12.

The parents are instead allowing their children to decide whether or not they are a boy or a girl regardless of their physical anatomy (pictured, one of the children featured in the 60 Minutes segment)

The AHRC says the video and an associated workbook teaches kids about 'gender, sexual identity, and diversity'.

But it has come under fire from opponents who branded it 'queer utopia' and 'woke gender ideology'.

'It is bizarre that the AHRC is introducing concepts around sexual orientation to kids in years three to six,' researcher Kit Kowalski told the Daily Telegraph.

'What eight year old needs to know about pansexuality?

'There is inappropriate sexualised imagery used throughout the video, particularly in the part dealing with the Mardi Gras.'

The video opens with footage of Sydney's annual Mardi Gras parade showing crossdressing revellers in flamboyant costumes dancing through the streets.

Children are told in the video the march is a celebration of the 'diversity of people's bodies, gender identities and sexual orientation'.

The youngsters are told about intersex and transgender people, and defines gender identity as 'how you feel on the inside'.

It also says that some people have a different gender identity from the 'sex that the doctor decided when they were born'.

Critics of the video say a foetus's sex is observed in the uterus during pregnancy and not decided by doctors after birth.

The video also explains that some people are 'pansexual' who can be sexually or romantically attracted to others regardless of their gender identity or sex.
The nine service members who died in a crash involving two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters ranged in age from 23 to 36 and were from seven states, the military said on Friday as it released their names on Friday.

The service members came from states across the country: Florida, Texas, Missouri, California, North Carolina, Alabama and New Jersey.

'This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these Soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come,' said Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell.

'Now is the time for grieving and healing. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen Soldiers.'

The fallen have been named as Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida, Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri, Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, California, Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina, Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida, Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, AlabamaChief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri and Sgt. David Solinas Jr, 23, of Oradell, New Jersey.

Military officials hold a news conference in Fort Campbell, Kentucky to discuss a fatal helicopter crash

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks to the press in regards to the Black Hawk helicopter crash

The Two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed near Fort Campbell on Wednesday night in southwest Kentucky during a medical evacuation training exercise, killing all nine soldiers aboard the two aircrafts.

The crash occurred in Trigg County, Kentucky, about 30 miles northwest of the Army post that is home to the 101st Airborne Division.

A special military investigative team was on the scene Friday but weather conditions have slowed the early work, Army officials said.

The team of about eight members from Fort Rucker, Alabama, arrived at the scene around 7pm on Thursday night but rain and wind have slowed their efforts, said Dawn Grimes, a public information officer at Fort Campbell.

'The investigation is active but it has been hampered by weather,' Grimes said Friday.

The two Black Hawks were flying together during a training exercise at night, Army officials said. The pilots were using night-vision goggles.

The accident occurred during flying and not during the course of a medical evacuation drill, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander.

Emergency responders are seen near a site where two military helicopters crashed on Wednesday night during a routine training mission in Trigg County, in southwestern Kentucky

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, center, is seen as military officials hold a news conference in Fort Campbell. Nine soldiers were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters

Brig. Gen. John Lubas addresses the press in regards to the Black Hawk helicopter crash that occurred early Thursday, March 30, 2023, outside of Fort Campbell in Christian County

The Black Hawk helicopters have something similar to the black boxes on passenger planes, which records the performance of aircrafts in flight and are used by investigators to analyze crashes.

Officials said they are hoping that device yields some information about the cause of Wednesdays crash.

Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes enlisted in the Army from Milton, Florida in 2010 attending basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Eustis, Virginia.

Barnes was subsequently assigned to 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade as a 15R, attack Helicopter Repairer in Savannah, Georgia. In February 2015 he was assigned as a squad leader in 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade at Camp Humphreys, Korea.

Barnes served as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of 2022 and was deployed to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos was born in the Philippines. She enlisted in the Army from Austin, Texas in 2019 and attended basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Bolanos was a UH-60 Helicopter Repairer and UH-60 Air Crewmember for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. In 2020 Bolanos she served for nine months in Germany.

Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes had served as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of 2022 and was deployed to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom

Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos was a UH-60 Helicopter Repairer and UH-60 Air Crewmember for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. In 2020 Bolanos she served for nine months in Germany. She was born in the Philippines.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza a was assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade in 2021 serving as an Instructor Pilot for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of that year

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza enlisted in the Army from Jackson, Missouri in 2010. He attended basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Esparza served in Okinawa, Japan from 2011 to 2012 before being assigned to the 4th Infantry Division as a Signal Support Specialist.

In 2017, Esparza served as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot with the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade in Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. He later served as a pilot in command in 2020 with Task Force Sinai in Egypt.

Esparza was assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade in 2021 serving as an Instructor Pilot for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of that year.

Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo was also born in the Philippines and joined the Army in 2019 serving as a served as a UH-60 Helicopter Repairer, UH-60 Air Crewmember, and UH-60 Crew chief for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of 2020

Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo was also born in the Philippines and joined the Army in 2019.

He attended basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and was subsequently assigned to Camp Humphreys, Korea in 2019 as a UH-60 Crew chief.

Gayo also served as a UH-60 Helicopter Repairer, UH-60 Air Crewmember, and UH-60 Crew chief for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of 2020.

Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore enlisted in the Army before starting high school. He became an airborne medic with search and rescue his passion.

His father told WKRN that he was going to be a registered nurse soon and was taking leadership training.

Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore enlisted in the Army before starting high school. He became an airborne medic with search and rescue his passion

Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division serving as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 to 2012 and in 2014 in support of the International Security Assistance Force

Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy attended basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He was initially assigned to the 563rd Aviation Support Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky before moving to Alaska and the 725th Support Battalion at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

In 2019 he was assigned to the Wheel Maintenance Training Department in Fort Lee, Virginia.

In 2021 Healy attended Warrant Officer Candidate School and Aviation Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama and was subsequently assigned to the 101st Airborne Division serving as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since of 2022.

Healy deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 to 2012 and in 2014 in support of the International Security Assistance Force.

Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell as assigned as a Flight Paramedic for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell completed his basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and was assigned to 2nd Calvary Regiment, Vilseck, Germany as health care specialist.

In 2017, Mitchell attended Flight Paramedic School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Mitchell subsequently served as a Flight Paramedic NCO 1st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Since November 2020, Mitchell was assigned as a Flight Paramedic for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith was initially assigned to the 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas, as a Human Intelligence Collector.

Smith completed Warrant Officer Basic Course and Aviation Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama and was then assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division where he served as an Instructor Pilot.

Smith deployed twice to Afghanistan, first in 2013 in support of the International Security Assistance Force and again from 2018-2019 in support of Resolute Support Mission.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith was a Human Intelligence Collector He was deployed twice to Afghanistan, first in 2013 in support of the International Security Assistance Force and again from 2018-2019 in support of Resolute Support Mission

Sgt. David Solinas Jr completed basic training, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Solinas was subsequently assigned as a Combat Medic with 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

Since October of last year, Solinas served as a Flight Paramedic for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.

The crash was the deadliest training incident for the Army since March 2015, when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the water off the Florida coast in dense fog, said Jimmie Cummings, spokesperson for the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker.

Sgt. David Solinas Jr served as a Flight Paramedic for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

Four soldiers from the Louisiana Army National Guard and seven Marine special operations forces were killed.

Cummings said the most deadly non-combat Black Hawk crash was in 1988 and also involved Fort Campbell aircraft.

The crash - which had the third highest number of fatalities for an Army aircraft training mission - killed 17 troops when two helicopters collided in mid-air.

The most deadly Army aircraft training incident was a Chinook crash in Germany in 1982, that killed 46 U.S. and international forces. The second was a C-23 Sherpa fixed wing aircraft crash in Georgia in 2001 that killed 21 Army and Air Guard personnel.

Fort Campbell also had a multi-aircraft crash in 1996, when two Blackhawks clipped propellers.

The crash killed five soldiers. The last deadly aviation accident at Fort Campbell occurred in 2018, when an Apache helicopter crashed during training, killing two soldiers on board.

The Black Hawk helicopter is a critical workhorse for the U.S. Army and is used in security, transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue and other missions.

The helicopters are known to many people from the 2001 movie 'Black Hawk Down,' which is about a 1993 battle in Somalia.
Photographs at the hospital showed the Pope looking well baptising a baby

Pope Francis is expected to leave hospital tomorrow after a rapid recovery that saw him eat pizza with staff and even baptise a baby.

Concerns grew for the Pope's health on Wednesday when the Vatican revealed that the 86-year-old would be kept in hospital 'for several days' to treat a respiratory infection that has caused difficulties with his breathing.

But the Pontiff has now been cleared by doctors to be discharged from the Gemeli Hospital in Rome on Saturday.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni also said that Francis will be in St Peter's Square for Palm Sunday Mass at the start of Holy Week, although he did not say if the Pontiff would deliver the homily during the particularly lengthy service.

'The medical team that is following His Holiness Pope Francis, after evaluating the outcome of tests carried out today and the favourable clinical recovery, has confirmed discharge on Saturday,' Mr Bruni said in a written statement on Friday night.

Pope Francis is expected to leave hospital tomorrow after a rapid recovery that saw him eat pizza with staff and even baptise a baby

Concerns grew for the Pope's health on Wednesday when the Vatican revealed that the 86-year-old would be kept in hospital 'for several days' to treat a respiratory infection. He was seen grimacing earlier that day

Throughout the day, heartwarming pictures emerged of the Pope up and about in hospital baptising a baby and visiting the paediatrics ward.

In a video of the baptism released by the Vatican, after the mother tells Francis the boy's name, Miguel Angel, the Pope uses a metal hospital tray usually used to hold syringes to pour water over the sleeping baby's head.

He then tries to comfort the infant, who wakes up, wailing and seeming to swat away the Pope's hand.

The Pontiff then asks the mother to dry her son's wet forehead before telling her: 'When you go to your parish, say that the Pope baptised him.'

Calling the Pontiff's medical recovery 'normal,' Mr Bruni said earlier in the day that on Thursday evening, 'Pope Francis had dinner, eating a pizza, together with all those who are assisting him in these days of the hospital stay,' including doctors, nurses, assistants and Vatican security personnel.

The Vatican said that the Pope had responded well to antibiotic treatment for bronchitis resulting in a 'marked' improvement in his health.

He was smiling as he visited a children's cancer ward and gave out large, wrapped chocolate Easter eggs.

Earlier in the day, Francis sent a tweet on Friday possibly inspired by his current health challenge.

The Pope also visited a children's cancer ward at the Gemelli Hospital where he handed babies Easter eggs

The Vatican said that the Pope (pictured in the oncology ward) had responded well to antibiotic treatment for bronchitis resulting in a 'marked' improvement in his health.

The Pontiff has been cleared by doctors to be discharged from the Gemeli Hospital in Rome on Saturday. Pictured: Pope Francis writes on a visitor book

'When experienced with faith, the trials and difficulties of life serve to purify our hearts, making them humbler and thus more and more open to God,' Francis wrote.

The Vatican seemed keen to quickly dispel any worries about the Pope's physical fitness to carry on fully with his duties.

Nearly immediately after the announcement of a discharge date for Francis, the Vatican announced that the Pope would meet the prime minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace.

The hospital stay came days before the busiest time of the year for the Pope with Palm Sunday Mass around the corner, which usually draws tens of thousands of faithful, including many pilgrims from abroad, flocking to Rome for Holy Week.

Francis had already largely stopped celebrating Mass at major Catholic Church holy days because of a chronic knee problem, but had continued to preside at the ceremonies and deliver homilies.

The Holy Week appointments include a stamina-taxing late-night Way of the Cross procession marked by prayers on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome and Easter Mass on April 9, which is traditionally followed by a long papal speech delivered from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica.

During Wednesday's hour-long public audience, Francis at times appeared visibly in pain when he moved about and was helped by aides.

In July 2021, Francis underwent surgery at Gemelli Polyclinic after suffering from a narrowing of his colon. As a young man in Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed and he often speaks in a whisper.
With his 7,600-acre ranch in New Mexico, his islands in the Caribbean, New York's biggest private home, a large private jet to fly between them and a harem of very young women, Jeffrey Epstein lived like a 'modern maharaja', according to one of the art dealers who helped fill those grand residences with priceless baubles.

His parties were fit for a prince, too  jaw-droppingly select dinners attended by ex-presidents, media moguls, property magnates and top bankers. And of course a real prince, the Duke of York.

The abiding question  how was he so rich?  has always niggled, especially after it emerged he was also financing a huge and expensive army of sex-trafficked underage girls.

However, according to two sensational lawsuits filed in a Manhattan court this month, some certainly knew the truth. They were his bankers from JPMorgan Chase, America's biggest bank, who  claim lawyers for one of Epstein's alleged victims  knew that his 'virtually unlimited wealth' derived not from managing people's fortunes but from rich benefactors who were rewarded with 'sexual and other benefits'.

According to the lawsuits, JPMorgan and Germany's Deutsche Bank, which took over as Epstein's banker in 2013 and handled his affairs until 2018, a year before his final arrest, turned a blind eye to his sex-trafficking and abuse of hundreds of young women and girls because they profited from the even wealthier people with whom he connected them. It's even alleged the disgraced sex offender wouldn't have been able to run his sordid empire without them.

Money men: Ex-Barclays boss Jes Staley (pictured) sent Epstein creepy emails

Disgraced: Jeffrey Epstein and girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell

The legal action, set to go to trial later this year, may clear up two puzzles about the scandal: why JPMorgan continued to act as Epstein's banker for five years after he pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution and why Jes Staley, the top JPMorgan executive who became very close to Epstein while presiding over this deeply dubious client-bank relationship, was later awarded the top job at Barclays Bank.

What has never been in doubt is that Epstein's apparent vast wealth and his seemingly unlimited access to ready cash played a crucial role in the success of his sex-trafficking operation.

He was able to lure countless teenage girls and young women into his web because he was rich and powerful, offering everything from academic scholarships to music lessons.

READ MORE: Jamie Dimon is to be interviewed under oath over decision to retain pedophile Jeffrey Epstein as a client at JP Morgan Advertisement

They might also be paid hundreds of dollars at a time in wads of banknotes for servicing him and his friends and he could buy the silence of any girls who broke free from his net with sums running into the millions with ease.

Claims about how and why he was able to do that are set out in the two parallel lawsuits. One has been brought by a woman who says she was sexually abused as a young ballet dancer by Epstein and unnamed friends between 2006 and 2013, the other by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), where Epstein had a home and where much of his abuse of girls as young as 12 was said to have taken place.

Epstein committed suicide in jail while on remand facing sex-trafficking charges in 2019.

In the circumstances, it's little wonder the banks, who reject the claims against them, have done all they can to fend off their accusers. JPMorgan had to pay $13billion to the U.S. government over reckless mortgage-lending practices that helped trigger the 2008 global economic collapse. But that could be nothing compared to the reputational damage in this post-MeToo era caused by claims that, out of sheer greed, the bank for years ignored evidence that it was facilitating a child sex-abuse ring.

So far, most of the attention has focused on JPMorgan rather than its German rival, as the U.S. bank, say its accusers, supported Epstein as a client for so much longer, from 2000 to 2013.

The lawsuit filed by the alleged victim, identified only as Jane Doe 1, doesn't mince words. It says Epstein 'needed a bank that knew he was engaging in illegal activity and did not care, which Epstein had in JPMorgan'. The bank, it says, provided the 'financial lifeblood' for his operation. It also alleges that while Epstein claimed to be a money manager who only worked for clients with at least $1billion to invest, 'JPMorgan knew that was a lie'.

And instead of shunning a convicted sex offender, says the lawsuit, the bank allowed his sex abuse and trafficking operation to thrive and expand by ensuring  no questions asked  he had an endless supply of cash to pay the girls he abused, often several each day, and those he had to pay off to keep quiet. By paying in cash, it's alleged, Epstein ensured he left no paper trail that could have led to his exposure far earlier.

Events are finally moving fast and Epstein's victims hope the court cases will provide answers about what the executives and the banks that employed them knew about the sleazy Epstein empire.

A judge dismissed some of the claims against the two banks, but he ruled others should go to trial  possibly as early as October  including the serious charge that the banks 'knowingly benefited from participating in a sex-trafficking venture'. Both JPMorgan and Deutsche have sought to have the claims dismissed.

The German bank has said they are 'manufactured' while JPMorgan's lawyers said: 'While the conduct Epstein was accused of is despicable, the lawsuits are misplaced and without merit.'

The banks say they didn't participate in or benefit from sex trafficking by Epstein. They also say they had no duty to protect the women from Epstein and didn't cause his abuses. At a pre-trial hearing, Felicia Ellsworth, a lawyer for JPMorgan, claimed it merely engaged in 'routine banking activity' with Epstein.

While Epstein was never a client of Barclays, the shadow cast by his activities stretches to the UK banking giant. Its board strenuously backed its American chief executive Jes Staley when City regulators in 2020 raised the issue of his links to Epstein, with directors insisting he'd been 'sufficiently transparent' in his account of their relationship and had their 'full confidence'.

Even when regulators forced Staley to leave in late 2021 after investigating the Epstein connection themselves and finding he'd underplayed the relationship, Barclays sounded peeved. Bank chairman Nigel Higgins complained that the board was 'disappointed at this outcome'.

In hindsight, such public backing seems somewhat unwise given their CEO's long relationship with Epstein. Staley first got to know Epstein in 2000 when he took over JPMorgan's asset management division, handling its wealthiest clients. Although Epstein is said to have introduced Staley to 'dozens' of rich people who became clients of JPMorgan, only two are identified in the lawsuits.

One is Les Wexner, the billionaire retailer and owner of lingerie brand Victoria's Secret, the other Glenn Dubin, a successful hedge fund manager. Wexner reportedly deposited share certificates worth $1billion with the bank in 2002. However, it was Dubin  whose wife, Eva, is an ex-Miss Sweden and ex-girlfriend of Epstein  who proved most valuable to Staley after JPMorgan was able to acquire a controlling stake in Dubin's firm in 2004, earning Staley considerable kudos.

It was these sorts of lucrative connections, it's alleged, that made ditching the increasingly scandal-plagued Epstein  who had some 55 accounts containing hundreds of millions of dollars with the bank  so painful for JPMorgan. The court filing claims that Epstein used accounts at JPMorgan to pay more than 20 of his victims.

Meanwhile, it's alleged that internal emails cited in court papers show that the bank's compliance staff, on six separate occasions between 2006 and 2013, questioned Epstein's suitability. According to court papers, in 2011 they reported that Staley had discussed media reports of 'human trafficking' with Epstein 'who replied there was no truth to the allegations, no evidence and was not expecting any problems'.

'LAST KING OF WALL ST': Jamie Dimon (pictured), JPMorgan's bullish chief executive, will be interviewed under oath over his bank's relationship with Epstein

The same year, a 'Know-Your-Customer review' flagged up an account relating to Ghislaine Maxwell and her plans to set up a 'personal recruitment consulting business'. To which a JPMorgan executive pointedly asked: 'What does she mean by personal recruitment?? Are you sure this will have nothing to do with Jeffrey?'

By then, the lawsuits suggest, the future Barclays chief was being rewarded with more than Epstein's financial contacts. According to the USVI, Staley visited Epstein's home in Palm Beach, Florida, in January 2009 while Epstein was serving a 13-month sentence, following a scandalously lenient plea deal for procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. The visit, it's claimed, corresponded with Epstein wiring $2,000 to a woman with an Eastern European surname.

Then, in August 2009, Staley emailed Epstein (by then released from prison but under house arrest) to say that he would be in London a week later. Epstein 'inquired whether Staley would need anything while in London' and Staley simply replied: 'Yep.' A few days later, Epstein wired $3,000 'to the same Eastern European woman' he'd paid in January.

In a later message, Staley told Epstein: 'I owe you much.' The pair reportedly made oblique references to Disney princesses, Staley telling his friend to 'say hi to Snow White'. When Epstein asked him, 'What character would you like next?' it's claimed the banker replied, 'Beauty and the Beast', prompting Epstein to respond: 'Well one side is available.' (Staley's lawyer insists he wasn't using code and the exchanges were 'innocuous').

The USVI says that after serving his Florida sentence, Epstein 'began to focus on procuring and abusing women from Eastern Europe' because 'these women's immigration status and language barriers made them more isolated, dependent and vulnerable to Epstein's abuse and manipulation'.

JPMorgan finally let go of the increasingly toxic Epstein in 2013, Jes Staley reportedly paying him a final visit two years later, dropping anchor off his Caribbean island fortress in his 90ft yacht.

Six months later it was announced he was Barclays' new 8.3 million-a-year chief executive. And in the past few days, as disturbing new details about Staley's relationship with Epstein have emerged in court documents  including claims they exchanged photos of a young woman in a 'seductive' pose  Barclays has been rowing back furiously on its previous declarations of support for him.

Higgins finally acknowledged to shareholders this week that allegations that Staley was involved with a sex-trafficking operation were 'serious and new' and warned that  on top of already suspending around 17million in bonuses  it may take further action against its former CEO.

Staley, 66, who is married with two daughters, has admitted he was a friend of the paedophile financier and has expressed regret over the relationship. However, he has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein's criminal activity.

He is not a party to either of the cases brought against the banks and so has not had the opportunity to file a defence. There are no criminal charges against him.

And Barclays is not the only bank on Staley's case. JPMorgan, where Staley worked from 1979 to 2013, rising to run its investment banking arm, has him in its sights, too. Accusing him of 'intentional and outrageous conduct' in concealing information about Epstein, it is suing Staley in a bid to force him to return eight years pay  amounting to 65 million  and to reimburse any damages it might incur in Epstein-related lawsuits. Staley's lawyer has not commented on this development.

The case brought by Jane Doe 1 alleges Staley undoubtedly knew Epstein was trafficking girls. He 'personally observed' Epstein abusing girls and himself 'spent time' with some of them at the financier's various homes, she adds. (Two weeks ago, one of her lawyers went further, telling a hearing for the case: 'Jes Staley himself participated in the sexual abuse and sex trafficking, and witnessed it.')

The case brought by Jane Doe 1 alleges Staley undoubtedly knew Epstein (pictured) was trafficking girls

JPMorgan now says Staley never disclosed any of this when he was asked whether the bank should retain Epstein as a client. It also addressed a claim by Jane Doe 1 that a friend of Epstein, whom she described as a 'powerful financial executive', had sexually assaulted her with 'aggressive force'.

JPMorgan said it believes that 'friend' was Staley and cited Jane Doe's claim that he promised to 'use his clout within JPMorgan to make Epstein untouchable'.

But, according to lawyer Brad Edwards, who is acting for Jane Doe 1 and has represented has acted for dozens of Epstein's accusers, JPMorgan's targeting of Staley won't wash.

Disturbing new details about Staley's (pictured) relationship with Epstein have emerged in court documents

He said it was 'attempting to deflect' the blame, adding: 'Every top executive knew exactly who Jeffrey Epstein was and chose to keep him because he was making them money and money was more important than the women being abused.'

Indeed, Edwards and his colleagues' determination to bring Epstein's bankers to account resulted in another victory this week as it emerged that  after strenuous resistance  Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's bullish chief executive, will be interviewed under oath over his bank's relationship with Epstein.

Dimon, who has been dubbed the 'Last King Of Wall Street' and who once gushed that Staley 'has impeccable character and integrity', faces uncomfortable questions about his judgment and that of a bank that  according to court papers  benefited from human trafficking and ignored endless 'red flags' that signalled it should not be doing business with a man such as Epstein.

Dimon's sworn deposition is scheduled to take place behind closed doors in May. Meanwhile, Staley was scheduled to have been deposed by JPMorgan lawyers in a two-day grilling last week.

They aren't alone. More than 20 JPMorgan staff are having their communications scrutinised by lawyers for the plaintiffs and some of them are expected to join their boss in being questioned under oath. They include one of Dimon's key lieutenants, Mary Erdoes, head of the bank's $4 trillion asset and wealth management business.

It's alleged in court papers that the formidable blonde banker intervened to keep Epstein as a client when compliance officers at the bank warned that he posed unacceptable 'legal and reputational risks'.

Although a bank spokesman would not speak on her behalf, the bank has previously countered that Mrs Erdoes would 'never overrule' the compliance team, saying she recalled only one formal meeting with him 'which was the day she fired him as a client'.

According to the lawsuits, JPMorgan (sign outside New York HQ) and Germany's Deutsche Bank, which took over as Epstein's banker in 2013 and handled his affairs until 2018, a year before his final arrest, turned a blind eye to Epstein's sex-trafficking and abuse of hundreds of young women and girls

JPMorgan has also said Dimon 'was not involved in any decisions regarding Epstein's account'.

The lawsuits provide the most detailed account yet of Epstein's dealings with his money men. While the allegations against Staley are certainly serious, the allegations against his old bank  said to be based on myriad internal emails passed to the plaintiffs' lawyers  are also grave.

Excerpts from hundreds of heavily redacted emails between Staley and Epstein have already been made public, making a mockery of the former's previous insistence that their relationship was only professional.

And none of these 1,200 emails was flagged as worrying in 'risk reviews' conducted by the bank into the advisability of keeping Epstein as a client, according to lawyers for the USVI.

It all adds up to a shocking battery of allegations and, while Jes Staley's old employers are doing their best to distance themselves from their toxic former golden boy, they must surely be aware that few have survived a connection to Epstein with their good name intact.
President Joe Biden is not expected to attend the coronation of King Charles III, according to a source familiar with the planning, but is expected to send first lady Jill or Vice President Kamala Harris instead.

Guests, including world leaders, have already been emailed by Buckingham Palace to 'save the date' of the May ceremony.

But the American president will not be among them.

It means it is the second time that Biden will avoid a meeting with Charles. He is expected to visit Northern Ireland next month, leaving days before the new British monarch arrives to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that ended decades of violence.

British officials do not see a snub, and have said privately for months that no U.S. president has ever attended a British coronation.

President Joe Biden is not expected to attend the coronation of King Charles III in May, according to a source. He is likely to send first lady Jill or Vice President Kamala Harris

Charles became king on the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, in September but will be crowned in a ceremony with 1000 years of tradition on May 6 at Westminster Abbey

'We think the representative will be the first lady or the vice president,' said a source familiar with the arrangements.

'For the Queen it was the Governor of California and the U.S. Army chief of staff.'

The Daily Telegraph newspaper, which was first to report the news, added that Dame Karen Pierce, the British ambassador to the US, and Buckingham Palace aides had held 'cordial and diplomatic' talks with the White House about the delegation.

A White House official said only that a delegation will be announced in the coming weeks.

Charles became king on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II in September last year.

On May 6 he will be crowned at Westminster Abbey.

The ceremony reflects a thousand years of tradition and the service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

However, Charles has overhauled some aspects, cutting its length from three hours to one hour and reducing the guest list from more than 8000, for his mother, to 2000.

The White House says it will make a decision on its delegation in the coming weeks. It is understood that it is likely to be headed by first lady Jill Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris

The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953. The U.S. delegation included Earl Warren, the governor of California, and George C. Marshall, the US Army chief of staff

Biden and the first lady attended the Queen's funeral in September last year

He has also revamped the guest list so that members of other royal houses and heads of state can attend, rather than keeping the ceremony as one between a monarch and his British subjects.

The event will be attended several heads of state, including those of France, Spain, Ireland, Japan and Monaco.

The absence of Biden may be used by critics to suggest his sympathies lie not with Charles and the United Kingdom, but with Ireland, from anti-British feeling.

He is due to visit Northern Ireland and Ireland, where he has distant relatives, next month.

And he has made much of his Irish ancestry and occasionally played up the idea that it makes him anti-British.

When a reporter for the BBC tried to ask him a question in 2020, he responded: 'The BBC? I'm Irish.'
Britains latest trade deal gives businesses access to a market that will become far larger than the EU, the Trade Secretary declares today.

Kemi Badenoch says membership of the Indo-Pacific bloc means joining the most dynamic free trade family on the planet.

The region will be home to a billion middle-class consumers by the end of the decade, she notes. And she vows that exporters will gain access to fast-growing economies with a fierce appetite for British goods  while the services industry will see less red tape.

Writing in the Mail, Mrs Badenoch contrasts the Trans-Pacific Partnership, whose 11 members include Australia, Japan, Canada and Singapore, with the rigid and unelected EU.

She calls the BBC  and Labour  shortsighted for citing official figures that the deal will add only a minuscule amount to GDP.

Kemi Badenoch (pictured) says membership of the Indo-Pacific bloc means joining the most dynamic free trade family on the planet

Britains accession to the partnership, formally confirmed in the early hours of yesterday, was welcomed by major business groups and the National Farmers Union.

In her article, the rising Conservative star and former party leadership contender adds: Today we have opened a new era for this country as a trading nation.

I am convinced we will feel its benefits both in the short term and over many decades to come.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted yesterday that closer ties with Brussels were more important. He told broadcasters on a visit to Plymouth: Its an important trade deal, but the yield is very small. Hopefully that will grow over time.

But the rule in trade is that youre more likely to trade with your nearer neighbours more and more often, so we do need that improved, that better trading relationship with the EU alongside any other trade deals that we sign.

Mrs Badenoch had to fend off criticism cited by the BBC that the deal would add only 0.08 per cent to national output over the next decade and would not offset losses from leaving the EUs single market.

She told Radio 4s Today programme: Weve left the EU so we need to look at what to do in order to grow that UK economy and not keep talking about a vote from seven years ago.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership was signed in 2018 by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam as a way of cutting tariff barriers.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted yesterday that closer ties with Brussels were more important

Rishi Sunak said British businesses would have unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific

Britain becomes the first European member of the group. There are hopes that this may lead to the US taking part.

Senior Conservatives including Liz Truss warned that the UK must now use its position to keep China out of the group.

The Government yesterday published a ten-point list of benefits of membership of the vast free trade bloc, whose combined GDP could reach 13trillion if other interested countries such as Thailand and South Korea sign up.

It is estimated that the deal, described as a gateway to growth, will add 1.8billion to the UKs annual GDP over time.

As one of the most modern trade agreements in the world, the deal is said to be ideal for the UKs services economy and will help companies such as Standard Chartered bank improve access to overseas markets.

It will also boost digital trade by making data flow more easily as well as removing tariffs on 99 per cent of goods exports such as dairy products.

It gives Britain its first trade deal with Malaysia  meaning cheaper imports of consumer goods such as vacuum cleaners as well as a boost to exports of cars.

UK shoppers may also benefit from cheaper import prices for high-quality consumer goods like fruit juices from Chile and Peru and honey and chocolate from Mexico.

Rishi Sunak said British businesses would have unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific.

He added: We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms.

Minette Batters of the National Farmers Union said: Joining the CPTPP could provide good opportunities to get more fantastic British food on plates overseas.

She compared the partnership favourably with post-Brexit deals struck with Australia and New Zealand, which were said to put UK farmers at a disadvantage.

And she added: I am pleased that our Government continues to maintain its commitment to our food safety standards.

It is an absolute red line for us that food produced using practices that are illegal here  for instance, the use of hormones in beef and pork production and chemical washes for carcasses  should not be allowed on our market.
The Royal Family is facing an unprecedented threat as the number of dangerous stalkers being monitored by police reaches the highest level in almost a decade.

Police have seen the number of fanatics posing a risk to the royals and other VIPs double since 2014, with officers keeping tabs on more than 200 people.

The number of stalkers posing the highest risk has almost tripled in the last two years from five in 2020 to 13 in 2022.

Specialist officers have dealt with more than 1,000 cases since 2016, according to official figures.

The data released under the Freedom of Information Act shows that police were monitoring 202 individuals by the end of 2022, up from 73 in 2014.

Police have seen the number of fanatics posing a risk to the royals and other VIPs double since 2014. Pictured: King Charles in Hamburg yesterday

The substantial increase will cause alarm ahead of the Coronation of King Charles at Westminster Abbey on May 6, when police will be on high alert.

Scotland Yards Royalty and Specialist Protection Command refers individuals of concern to the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre which monitors risks to royals, politicians and other prominent figures.

The threat posed by each person is then graded from low to high based on a stalking risk profile by forensic psychologists and psychiatrists, which looks at their behaviour, any prior convictions and risk of violence.

Experts also look at their motivation, whether they intend to cause fear and distress or, in more serious cases, have delusions about being in a relationship with members of the Royal Family and intend to sexually assault or physically harm their victim.

The multi-agency team, which has been monitoring risk to the Royal Family since 2006, receives around 1,000 referrals a year regarding people who have engaged in abnormal communications or attempted to make inappropriate contact with prominent people in public life.

Yesterday Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection for Scotland Yard, said: This rise is alarming but I fear these figures are just the tip of the iceberg. There will always be deranged people who want to do harm to the Royal Family.

The difficult job for the police is determining which of them have the means and determination to actually go through with any plan.
The cold blooded killer of Melbourne mum Michelle Darragh has avoided a life sentence after convincing a judge he was suffering 'psychotic depression' at the time.

On Friday, Benjamin Coman, 31, was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in jail with a non-parole period of just 20 years after he pleaded guilty to murdering the mother of his two children.

Michelle, 32, was expecting her third child when her lifeless body was found at her former partner's Bayswater North home in Melbourne's east on October 9, 2021.

Michelle Darragh and Ben Coman in happier times. The cowardly killer stabbed her in the back before attempting to end his own life

Michelle Darragh and her son, who is now being raised by his grandparents

Surrounded by Michelle's distraught family from his seat in the prison dock of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Coman sat quietly while his fate was addressed.

The sentence was met with gasps of disbelief from Michelle's family, with one man branding Coman 'a dog'.

During a preliminary hearing in February, Michelle's brother James berated Coman for failing to acknowledge them.

'Stop being the coward you are for once, stand up, be a man,' he shouted at him.

'Don't be so pathetic to close your eyes and hide like you always do.'

Ms Darragh's mum Dianne Darragh had earlier wished death on Coman as she stared him down in court.

'Ben Coman I will make sure your boys know that you are a cold blooded murderer and that you killed their mother,' she shouted from the front of the court while reading her victim impact statement.

The court heard Coman had only been free to kill due to the kindness of his victim.

Michelle had pulled her estranged partner from his car as it filled with toxic gas just three weeks before he would stab her to death.

She was 12 weeks pregnant at the time with his third child when he killed her.

Justice Andrew Tinney condemned Coman over the 'vicious' attack, branding it a shocking breach of trust.

'It's obvious she did everything in her power to make the relationship work,' he said.

Michelle Darragh had saved Ben Coman's (right) life after a suicide attempt. The heartless brute would kill her just weeks later

Justice Tinney said he accepted Coman bashed Michelle in a 'sustained attack' before plunging a knife into the middle of her back.

In handing down his sentence, the respected judge said he accepted Coman's defence that he was suffering mental health issues at the time of the murder.

But Justice Tinney he said it did not significantly reduce Coman's moral culpability driven by jealousy and anger.

'The reality is you were a jealous and somewhat controlling man before your crime,' he said.

'You knew Michelle was the mother of your two children and pregnant with your third child.'

Justice Tinney told Coman he knew exactly what he was doing when he murdered his estranged wife.

'Not withstanding your mental illness, you understood perfectly well that any violence towards Michelle would be unacceptable and that to kill her, as you decided to do, would be a crime of the highest order of seriousness with devastating consequences,' he said.

'When you attacked her with a carving knife you knew full well what you were doing and am satisfied had it within yourself to control your actions had you been prepared to do so.'

However Justice Tinney accepted Coman had shown some remorse and had good prospects of rehabilitation.

Michelle Darragh and her parents, who now have to raise her children after she was murdered by Ben Coman

The court heard Coman had convinced himself Michelle had an affair with his best mate after he passed out during her 30th birthday party in September 2019.

Despite his mate's denials, Coman remained fixated on the unfounded belief.

Coman had claimed he wasn't the father of their son and refused to believe otherwise.

Despite the claims, Michelle worked hard to stand by her troubled man until things became unbearable.

The couple separated shortly after their second child was born due to the ongoing problems they were having.

The split was short lived and they were back living under the same roof again after a few weeks.

It was during this period Michelle became pregnant again with what would have been the couple's third child.

Through a series of erratic decisions by Coman, Michelle quickly felt she was left with little choice but to cut him loose again and moved back in with her parents.

On the evening of September 9, 2021, an extremely upset Michelle broke down as she told her friend of her predicament.

Michelle had learned Coman had blown $82,500 from their joint account on a Holden ClubSport sedan.

The money had been taken without her knowledge from their $100,000 savings, which had taken them four years to accumulate for the purpose of a house deposit.

'My life is completely f**ked,' Michelle told her friend.

Coman had told Michelle he didn't want her to have the baby, giving her an ultimatum: either it was him or the baby.

Just days after that conversation, Michelle returned to her family home to find Coman slumped inside the car with a pipe connected from the exhaust into the window, which was taped up.

She dragged him out of the car and when he came to accused her again of infidelity.

Coman spent the rest of the week in the Maroondah Hospital Mental Health ward where he was treated with antidepressant and antipsychotic medication.

He was diagnosed with adjustment disorder, with depressed mood and polysubstance abuse of cannabis, ice and cocaine.

Upon his release on September 16, Coman returned home on his own with medication to help with his condition.

Coman later told Michelle's brother Aaron he planned to sell his business and move to Country Victoria to 'start a new life with a change of scenery'.

In the early hours of the day she would die, Michelle filled in an online contact form to MST Lawyers.

Ben Coman and Michelle Darragh. Coman had been a trusted family friend of the Darragh family before he murdered Michelle

Ben Coman murdered Michelle Darragh while she was pregnant with his own child

BEN COMAN'S CLAIMS OF INSANITY Ben Coman told Forensicare consultant psychiatrist Andrew Carroll he believed that somehow the shops were poisoning him and that food he was buying was poisoned. 'He began to think his life was in danger, that his family were under threat. 'That he was under surveillance in various ways from his partner and it someway involved his mobile phone,' Dr Carroll told the court. 'Ultimately, he came to believe that his partner could read his mind through some kind of device that had been inserted into his head in an operation a few years prior,' he said. 'He believed his telephone had been hacked. He believed that Ms Darragh's mother was involved in the surveillance against him in some way and, in addition, there were hallucinations in various modalities.' Dr Carroll said Coman claimed he was hearing voices and seeing things. 'In particular, he was seeing a man called Callum, who died some years previously driving trucks and he'd seen a man called, Michael, whom he'd encountered on the inpatient unit,' he said. 'He was also beginning to hear voices, which, although he was experiencing them inside his head, he was feeling that they were separate from his own thought processes. So, these clearly had a psychotic quality to them.' Advertisement

Her message read, 'Needing advice regarding asset split after separation, de facto, with children'.

Moments later she sent a text to Coman stating: 'I want you to transfer me $10,000 back and you owe $36,000. You can't take all of the money and leave me with nothing, that's unfair.'

Coman did not respond.

Later that morning, Michelle grabbed some boxes and told her parents she was going to stop in at the house to grab some more of her belongings.

She left home with the two boys about 9.30am with a plan to take them to the park to allow Coman to see them.

She met him at a nearby park without incident before taking the boys to the 7-Eleven on the corner of Mountain Highway and Dorset Road, Bayswater.

Haunting images were captured on CCTV of Michelle purchasing a large Slurpee and a bag of lollies before she returned to her car.

Michelle's mum Dianne noted her daughter looked tired that afternoon as she asked her to watch the boys while she returned to collect her things from her old home.

The court heard Coman had thought long and hard about what he would do to Michelle when she arrived.

At first he thought about killing himself in front of her, but those thoughts turned to murder when she began sobbing about 'what had become of them'.

Coman told police he lunged at Michelle with a large kitchen knife, stabbing her in the thigh as she made a run for her life.

He described it as 'a minute of madness'.

'Once I lunged at her, I thought I've got to go through with this, she needs to die now,' he told Homicide Squad detectives.

Forensic experts found Coman had likely bashed Michelle before delivering the fatal blow.

Michelle Darragh had been a kind and caring woman who made the mistake of believing in a self-centred coward

Her injuries included contusions, abrasions and lacerations to her face.

She was killed with a stab wound to the right upper back, which extended into her neck and severed her spine.

Death was almost instantaneous.

When done, Coman repeatedly stabbed himself in the stomach.

He was found by Michelle's father, Ashley Darragh, who had gone to check on his daughter after she failed to return home that night.

Mr Darragh furiously shook Coman, swearing at him in rage, but he showed no signs of life.

'Hun, it's our worst nightmare,' Mr Darragh told his wife over the phone.

'Our girl was gone. He was lying next to her and I thought he was dead too. Probably the best thing. If I knew he was still alive, I could not have controlled myself,' he told the court.

He has already spent 538 days behind bars.

HOW BEN COMAN ESCAPED LIFE BEHIND BARS Forensicare consultant psychiatrist Andrew Carroll - who has deemed numerous killers mentally unfit for trial - claimed Coman was suffering 'psychotic depression' unrelated to his rampant drug use. Crown prosecutors believed Coman acted out of anger, selfishness and jealousy. While Dr Carroll accepted Coman had been abusing cocaine, methamphetamines and cannabis, he claimed Coman's psychotic behaviour on the day he committed the murder had nothing to do with it. 'My conclusion was that notwithstanding the fact that his very significant substance use problem was undoubtedly a risk factor for the onset of his difficulties, nonetheless, it wouldn't be appropriate to label this is a substance induced psychosis,' he told the court. Coman had hoped to plead not guilty to the crime by way of mental impairment, but had failed to convince forensic doctors of the high barrier required to get away with murder. Instead, Coman's barrister hoped to convince Justice Andrew Tinney her client's moral culpability was substantially reduced and therefore entitled to a discount on his sentence. Dr Carroll told the court Coman was expressing paranoid thoughts relating to matters broader than his partner's unfounded infidelity, such as believing that his phone was bugged and people were watching him. 'You formed the conclusion that as at 9 October 2021, he was suffering from both a delusional disorder and psychotic depression?' Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC asked him. 'Yes,' Dr Carroll responded. Advertisement

For confidential support please call LIFELINE: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au, Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or 1800RESPECT
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
Black holes are among the most fascinating and fiercely debated objects in the universe.

They have captured the public's imagination for decades, partly thanks to the late Stephen Hawking, who transformed them from a difficult-to-understand scientific theory to a source of mysterious wonder.

They have also percolated popular culture through sci-fi magazines, Star Trek and Hollywood blockbusters.

But what are the five most bizarre and captivating theories about black holes that are so unfathomable the mind boggles?

Here MailOnline takes a look.

Mysterious: Black holes are among the most fascinating and fiercely debated objects in the universe (stock image)

Scientists discover two supermassive black holes dining side-by-side with just 750 light-years between them - READ MORE Astronomers have discovered two black holes 'dining' side-by-side Advertisement

1. They are surrounded by a 'ring of fire'

In 2019, astronomers took the first ever image of a black hole located in a distant galaxy.

Described by scientists as 'a monster', it is three million times the size of the Earth.

The image shows an intensely bright 'ring of fire', as researchers described it, surrounding a perfectly circular dark hole.

'It feels like looking at the gates of hell,' said Heino Falcke of Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

As black holes consume matter that strays too close, they squeeze it into a superheated disk of glowing gas.

In the image of the gargantuan black hole at the heart of the nearby galaxy Messier 87 (M87), the bottom of the ring appears bright because the gases there are being whipped toward Earth.

The black hole also bends light around it, which is what creates the circular shadow.

In an historic first, scientists have captured a remarkable image of a supermassive black hole at the heart of our Milky Way

2. They have 'hair'

In 2015, the late physicist Professor Stephen Hawking suggested that black holes were not the 'eternal prisons' many think them to be, adding that it was possible for data to escape from the abyss.

A year later he expanded on the theory by stating that the answer lies in the zero-energy particles, or 'soft hair', that sit on the black hole's horizon.

In 2015, Professor Stephen Hawking suggested that black holes were not the 'eternal prisons' many think them to be, adding that it was possible for data to escape from the abyss. A year later he expanded on the theory by stating that the answer lies in the zero-energy particles, or 'soft hair', that sit on the black hole's horizon (stock image)

It suggests that particles that sit on the event horizon, the boundary of the black hole, would consist of photons and gravitons, which are subatomic packets of light and gravitational energy.

These very low, or even zero-energy, quantum particles deposited on the edge of the black hole, can capture and store information stripped from the particles falling into the black hole.

This effectively means that while the particles falling into the black hole may be gone, their information continues to linger at the edge of oblivion in this 'soft hair' of quantum particles.

The theoretical physicist likened the return of information to a burned encyclopedia, where information would not technically be lost, but would be incredibly hard to decipher.

The hypothesis has not been proven, but could help solve a longstanding paradox about what happens to gas and dust that has fallen into a black hole.

3. They emit fountains of gas

A black hole's powerful gravitational grip means nothing can escape if it gets extremely close to the hole's edge.

But many of these mysterious objects are actually surrounded by a build up of gas and dust that circle black holes a bit like water going down a drain.

According to a 2018 study, this build-up of material is a three-step process.

A black hole's powerful gravitational grip means nothing can escape if it gets extremely close to the hole's edge. But many of these mysterious objects are actually surrounded by a build up of gas and dust , which shoots straight into the air and strongly resembles fountains

First, the cold gas forms a disk near the plane of rotation, heating up until the molecules break down.

Some of these molecules are expelled above and below the disk, which then fall back down to create a fountain-like structure.

Alternative observations also suggest that this motion produces arching rings that surround inner columns of matter, which shoots straight into the air and strongly resembles fountains.

4. They are the source of Dark Energy

Just last month, scientists from Imperial College London made an exciting announcement about black holes.

They excitingly revealed that the objects might actually be the source of unknown energy known as Dark Energy.

Essentially, the Big Bang theory of the creation of our universe originally predicted that its expansion would slow down  or even begin to contract  because of the pull of gravity.

Breakthrough: Scientists have found the first evidence that black holes are the source of dark energy. They studied galaxies and the supermassive black holes at the heart of them. Pictured is NGC 1316, a lenticular galaxy about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax

But in 1998, astronomers were surprised to find that not only was the universe still expanding, this expansion was also accelerating.

To account for this discovery, it was proposed that a 'Dark Energy' was responsible for pushing things apart more strongly than gravity.

This was linked to a concept Einstein had proposed but later discarded  a 'cosmological constant' that opposed gravity and kept the universe from collapsing.

Black holes posed a problem though  their extremely strong gravity is hard to oppose, especially at their centres, where everything seems to break down in a phenomenon called a 'singularity'.

To dig deeper into the problem, a team of 17 researchers from nine countries studied nine billion years of black hole evolution.

They observed ancient and dormant galaxies and found that black holes gain mass in a way that is consistent with them containing vacuum energy, or Dark Energy.

In fact, the size of the universe at different points in time fitted closely with the mass of supermassive black holes at the heart of galaxies.

In other words, the amount of Dark Energy in the universe can be accounted for by black hole vacuum energy  meaning black holes are the source of dark energy.

5. They may be 'back doors' to other parts of the universe

Deep inside a black hole is the gravitational singularity, where space-time curves toward infinity, and no matter passing through can survive.

Or so it has always been thought.

However, in a recent study researchers suggested that there may actually be a way out through a wormhole at the centre of the black hole, which acts as a 'back door'.

Deep inside a black hole is the gravitational singularity, where space-time curves toward infinity, and no matter passing through can survive (stock image)

By this theory, anything traveling through the black hole would be 'spaghettified', or stretched to the extreme, but returned back to its normal size when it emerges in a different region of the universe.

While it is unlikely that a human would survive this process, the researchers say the matter inside the black hole would not be lost forever as it has previously been thought, and would instead be expelled into another area of the universe.

And, the researchers say there would be no need for 'exotic' energy to generate the wormhole, as Einstein's theory of gravity suggests.
A student used the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT to revoke a parking fine that was issued even though she had a permit.

Millie Houlton, 22, from York, used the bot to write an email to the council, which then revoked the 60 fine.

Believing she wouldn't be able to get her point across herself, business management student Millie used the AI chatbot to create a professionally worded email to appeal against the fine.

When she asked ChatGPT to help her write a letter to the council, the AI came back with a polite response for Millie to send.

After successfully getting the fine revoked, in true student style Millie used her 60 and went on a night out to celebrate.

Millie Houlton, 22, from York, used the bot to write an email to the council, which then revoked the 60 fine for parking on a yellow line

Miss Houlton said the fine was wrongly issued for parking on her street because she had a permit to leave her car there

Gatwick Airport motorist reduced hefty fine using ChatGPT - READ MORE A letter composed by ChatGPT for motorist Shaun Bosley, who was appealing against a fine at Gatwick Airport. He said: 'In the end I just typed, "Write an appeal to a penalty charge notice for driving through Gatwick Airport. I have received final notice, but never received first notice of the penalty".' Advertisement

She explained: 'I believe I wouldn't have been able to word it the way ChatGPT did. Without it I probably wouldn't have had it taken it back.

'I was relieved as I'm a student. I don't want to spend 60 if I can avoid it. I was so pleased I could find a tool that can assist in putting thoughts into words in a professional manner.

'I came across ChatGPT mainly for work as I make content creation for businesses and I realised I could use it for other aspects of my life too.

'I use it for photo captions and emails as well as everything else now.

'I feel like the parking ticket was given to me wrongfully and I'm not good at putting points across on paper, so I used ChatGPT and it worked to appeal it.

'My friends have already started using it now to help them write letters, too.

'It's just a matter of knowing your problem, telling ChatGPT and then it just puts it all into words in a professional way.

'If you can use it in the right way it's really good, although I have heard some horror stories.

'I think if you know how to use it, it can give some good answers.

'Everyone is talking about ChatGPT at the moment but I don't think people would know to use it in this sense and revoke a parking fine.'

Posting a video on TikTok of her ordeal, Millie has had lots of people asking her what ChatGPT is and how to use it.

She added: 'I don't think a lot of people know it's a thing or how to utilise it properly, so now I make videos on how to use it as a student.

Believing she wouldn't be able to get her point across herself, business management student Millie used the AI chatbot to create a professionally worded email to appeal against the fine.

How to use ChatGPT Go to https://chat.openai.com/ and sign up for free Scroll down until you see ChatGTP on the bottom left corner of the page Click on it to start chatting Make sure your prompts are clear and avoid using long sentences. Ask specific questions and explain the context. Advertisement

'I really didn't expect the response I got on my TikTok. A lot of people have now seen it and are asking me what it is.

'So many people have said it's a good idea and have loved my video.'

The news comes shortly after a motorist who received a fine after driving through Gatwick Airport's drop-off area challenged it using ChatGPT and had their penalty reduced.

Shaun Bosley, from Brighton, East Sussex, was dropping a work colleague at the airport last November and received a 100 'final notice' from NCP several months later, despite saying he had received no previous correspondence.

Mr Bosley, a sales consultant for Phyron, a Swedish company which produces videos for car dealerships using AI, turned to ChatGPT.

He explained how he used the chatbot to write an appeal against the fine, adding that it 'came back with a great response'.

Mr Bosley said: 'In the end, I just typed, "Write an appeal to a penalty charge notice for driving through Gatwick Airport. I have received final notice, but never received first notice of the penalty".

'Straight away it came back with a great response,' he told the PA news agency.

It comes as Google is hoping to usher a new era of searching for information on the internet with its new AI chatbot, Bard.

The tech giant has rush-released Bard just months after the release of its hugely successful rival ChatGPT created by California AI firm OpenAI, backed by Microsoft.
A preserved corpse that was unintentionally mummified in the 1800s and is now on display in Mexico may have 'fungal growths' that could spread to visitors, experts have warned.

Scientists are concerned that the mummy, which is among half a dozen corpses in glass cases at a tourism fair in Mexico City, may be a risk to the public.

It is unclear if the cases are air-tight and fears have been raised that they are being exhibited 'without the safeguards for the public against biohazards'.

The preserved corpses were unintentionally mummified when they were buried in crypts in dry, mineral-rich soil in the state of Guanajuato.

They were dug up from the 1860s onwards because their families could no longer pay burial fees, and later put on display.

Warning: A preserved corpse that was unintentionally mummified in the 1800s and is now on display in Mexico may have 'fungal growths' that could spread to visitors, experts have said

A number of the corpses still have hair, leathery skin and their original clothing, while one appears to have fungal growths, according to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History

A number of the corpses still have hair, leathery skin and their original clothing, while one appears to have fungal growths, according to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.

HOW WERE THE MUMMIES PRESERVED? The preserved corpses were unintentionally mummified when they were buried in crypts in dry, mineral-rich soil in the state of Guanajuato. They were naturally preserved, which some say is because of the local climate and mineral-rich environment. Others believe it was because they were stored in sealed crypts, although no one knows for sure. Advertisement

They are among a selection of mummies normally on show at the Museo de las Momias in the state capital of Guanajuato, but they have travelled before, and some were exhibited north of the border in the US in 2009.

Rumour has it that some of the people whose remains have been naturally preserved were either buried alive or died in a cholera outbreak, but this has not been proven.

The federal institute distanced itself from a state government decision to display the mummies in glass cases at the tourism fair, before adding that it had not been consulted about the display.

'It is even more worrisome that they are still being exhibited without the safeguards for the public against biohazards,' the institute said.

'From some of the published photos, at least one of the corpses on display, which was inspected by the institute in November 2021, shows signs of a proliferation of possible fungus colonies,' the institute wrote.

'This should all be carefully studied to see if these are signs of a risk for the cultural legacy, as well as for those who handle them and come to see them.'

The experts did not elaborate on what type of fungal growths they were referring to.

They are among a selection of mummies normally on show at the Museo de las Momias in the state capital of Guanajuato, but they have travelled before, and some were exhibited north of the border in the US in 2009

The preserved corpses were unintentionally mummified when they were buried in crypts in dry, mineral-rich soil in the state of Guanajuato

The mummies were naturally preserved, which some say is because of the local climate and mineral-rich environment

Others believe it was because they were stored in sealed crypts, although no one knows for sure

The mummies were naturally preserved, which some say is because of the local climate and mineral-rich environment.

Others believe it was because they were stored in sealed crypts, although no one knows for sure.

Natural mummification is defined as the process by which the skin and organs of a deceased person or animal are preserved, without the introduction of chemicals by humans.

It is rare, and only happens in specific situations.

The Museo de las Momias, which has more than 4,000 visitors a week, charges tourists 2 to gawp at more than 100 dried human cadavers, all of which have been disinterred from graves in the cemetery next door.

Behind flimsy glass cabinets, the museum displays murder victims, criminals who were buried alive and infants laid to rest dressed up as saints  a Mexican belief that it will ease their passage to heaven.

Natural mummification is defined as the process by which the skin and organs of a deceased person or animal are preserved, without the introduction of chemicals by humans

The Museo de las Momias, which has more than 4,000 visitors a week, charges tourists 2 to gawp at more than 100 dried human cadavers, all of which have been disinterred from graves in the cemetery next door
Kevin Baragona, the founder of DeepAI, said Artificial intelligence has become the nuclear weapon of software

A tech mogul has described the sprint to perfect artificial intelligence (AI) as the 21st century's nuclear arms race.

Kevin Baragona was one of the more than 1,000 leading experts who signed an open letter on The Future of Life Institute, calling for a pause on the 'dangerous race' to develop ChatGPT-like AI.

Like the invention of the atomic bomb in the 1940s, Baragona told DailyMail.com that 'AI superintelligence is like the nuclear weapons of software.'

'Many people have debated whether we should or shouldn't continue to develop them,' he continued.

Americans were wrestling with a similar idea, while developing the weapon of mass destruction - at the time it was dubbed 'nuclear anxiety.'

'It's almost akin to a war between chimps and humans, Baragona, who signed the letter, told DailyMail.com

'The humans obviously win since we're far smarter and can leverage more advanced technology to defeat them.

'If we're like the chimps, then the AI will destroy us, or we'll become enslaved to it.'

The fears come with the extraordinary rise of ChatGPT, which has taken the world by storm in recent months, passing leading medical and law exams that take humans nearly three months to prepare.

The powers of ChatGPT-like AI have sparked a civil war in Silicon Valley.

Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signed the letter for an AI pause, while Bill Gates and Google CEO Sundar Pichai did not.

'While I can only speculate why Gates and Sundar didn't sign the letter to pause advanced AI research, I think they didn't because they're signing the checks to expedite AI's progress,' Baragona said.

Microsoft, founded by Gates, has heavily invested in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.

In January, it was speculated Gates's company invested an additional $10 billion in the startup to compete with Google in commercializing new AI breakthroughs.

The fears of AI come as experts predict it will achieve singularity by 2045, which is when the technology surpasses human intelligence to which we cannot control it

Microsoft also added AI to its Bing search engine in February, incorporating ChatGPT powers.

Google just opened Bard to the public on March 21, which is also a natural language chatbot.

The California company has been cautious with the rollout not to have its technology churn out inaccurate facts, but Bard's first impression showed the company had rushed it to market.

It is yet to be seen how Bard will fair against the likes of OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's AI-powered Bing.

'Microsoft is investing heavily in OpenAI, and Google into Anthropic,' Baragona told DailyMail.com.

'They may feel it's not the time to walk that back over unsubstantiated fears of possible negative consequences.'

Musk, Wozniak and more than 1,000 tech leaders signed an open letter Wednesday calling for a six-month pause on developing AI.

The groups said more risk assessment needs to be conducted before humans lose control and it becomes a sentient human-hating species.

Bill Gates and Google CEO Sundar Pichai did not sign the open letter with Musk. The pair have invested heavily in AI development and see the technology as the way of the future

At this point, AI would have reached singularity, which means it has surpassed human intelligence and has independent thinking.

AI would no longer need or listen to humans, allowing it to steal nuclear codes, create pandemics and spark world wars.

Gates and Sundarare on the other side of the aisle.

They are hailing ChatGPT-like AI as our time's 'most important' innovation - saying it could solve climate change, cure cancer and enhance productivity.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November, which became an instant success worldwide.

The chatbot is a large language model trained on massive text data, allowing it to generate eerily human-like text in response to a given prompt.

The public uses ChatGPT to write research papers, books, news articles, emails and other text-based work and while many see it more like a virtual assistant, many brilliant minds see it as the end of humanity

Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signed a letter protesting the technology that 'poses profound risks to humanity'

Musk and Wozniak fear AI will advance beyond human control and are asking for a six-month pause to asset the risks

In its simplest form, AI is a field that combines computer science and robust datasets to enable problem-solving.

The technology allows machines to learn from experience, adjust to new inputs and perform human-like tasks.

The systems, which include machine learning and deep learning sub-fields, are comprised of AI algorithms that seek to create expert systems which make predictions or classifications based on input data.

Scott Opitz, chief technology officer at intelligent automation company ABBYY, said in a statement: Pausing AI development is like putting the toothpaste back in the tube. AI applications are pervasive, impacting virtually every facet of our lives.

'While laudable, putting the brakes on now through a voluntary pause may be implausible.

'What's needed is a concerted and good-faith effort between industry and legislators to pass common-sense regulations that espouse ethical AI principles based on human-centered values of fairness, transparency, and accountability.'

Hollywood may have sparked humans' fears of AI which were typically shown as evil, such as in The Matrix and The Terminator, painting a picture of robot overlords enslaving the human race.

However, the idea is echoed throughout Silicon Valley as more than 1,000 tech experts believe it could become our reality.

This would be possible if AI reaches singularity, a hypothetical future where technology surpasses human intelligence and changes the path of our evolution - and this is predicted to happen by 2045. AI would first have to pass the Turing Test.

When it does, the technology is considered to have independent intelligence, allowing it to self-replicate into an even more powerful system that humans cannot control.
Consumer group Which? has uncovered startling differences in costs over the Easter break between UK train journeys and domestic flights.

The consumer champion carried out research to find the cheapest available options for travelling by train and by plane over the Easter break on ten UK routes.

The watchdogs research found that train tickets are 35 per cent dearer. Just three out of ten routes are cheaper by train.

Which? reveals that the starkest difference in price was for the Edinburgh to Bournemouth route, a journey which costs an eye-watering 239 per cent more to complete by train. The cheapest return rail fare available costs 127, even when using split ticketing on the outward journey and an advance fare for the return. In contrast, the return flight costs just 38.

Which? found that the Newcastle to Southampton route was one of just three that are cheaper to complete by train, with a return ticket priced at 107 when using split tickets, compared with 175 to travel by air. However, the return rail journey would take over 11 hours, more than four times the duration by plane.

Which? carried out research to find the cheapest available options for travelling by train and by plane over the Easter break on ten UK routes, and found that train tickets are 35 per cent dearer

The only other two journeys that Which? found to be cheaper by rail were on the Edinburgh to Newquay route and the Bristol to Aberdeen route. The former costs 13 per cent less at 250 for a return fare, but would take more than seven times as long to complete, with a total return journey time of 22 hours and two minutes. The Bristol to Aberdeen route meanwhile costs just over a fifth less by rail (21 per cent) but takes 18 and a half hours for a return trip, more than six times as long as by plane.

From tomorrow, (April 1) the cut to the air passenger duty (APD) for domestic flights will see airlines tax bills halved from 13 to 6.50 per passenger, with airlines incentivised to introduce more domestic routes as a result.

Which? believes this may further widen the price gap between rail and air travel, particularly after recent hikes to rail fares of 5.9 per cent.

As a result, says Which?, we could soon see an uptick in pollution generated by inter-UK journeys, as fewer passengers opt to travel by rail.

The consumer group also studied carbon emissions for train and plane journeys and found that plane journeys emit twice the CO2 on average (118 per cent more) when compared with travelling by train.

While flying from Edinburgh to Bournemouth would be significantly easier on a travellers pocket, the environmental costs are much higher, Which? found. A flight on this route emits an average of 218kg of CO2 per person, 131 per cent more than travelling by train.

Which? found that the largest difference in pollution when comparing rail with air was for journeys between Newcastle and Southampton. Per person, carbon emissions on this route average 64.5kg by train, and 242kg per person by plane, 275 per cent more.

Research by Which? found that plane journeys emit twice the CO2 on average (118 per cent more) when compared with travelling by train

Overall, the most polluting plane routes, according to Atmosfair, were Bristol to Aberdeen (351kg of CO2), Edinburgh to Newquay (319kg of CO2) and London to Inverness (306kg of CO2).

Commenting on the research, Rory Boland, Which? Travel Editor, said: 'As travellers become increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their journeys, many face a difficult trade-off between the price of their ticket and the cost to the planet, with just three out of ten journeys we looked at working out cheaper by rail.

For those who prefer to travel by train, there are steps you can take to cut costs. Take the time to compare dates and times to see if cheaper fares are available, and look into what railcards you might be eligible for, as these can save you up to a third of the ticket price. You may be able to make further savings by checking if split-ticketing is an option on your chosen route.
They say cheap flights promoted by government at odds with net zero pledges

Which? research said rail fares up to 239% higher for return compared to flying

Sky-high rail fares mean people travelling across the country face having to pay up to 239 per cent more for a return trip by train compared to flying.

The cheapest return journey between Bournemouth and Edinburgh by plane is just 38 versus the cheapest rail return of 127, according to research by Which?

And the gap is set to get bigger with a cut in air passenger duty from April 1, which will halve from 13 to 6.50 per passenger.

The consumer champion said the rise of these cheap flights, encouraged by the Government, is fuelling greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, which appears to be at odds with net zero promises.

Travelling by plane involves average CO2 emissions per passenger which are around 118 per cent more than using the train.

Sky-high rail fares mean people travelling across the country face having to pay up to 239 per cent more for a return trip by train compared to flying (file photo)

At the end of the 1970s, British Rail launched a famous marketing campaign for its InterCity services with the slogan 'Let the train take the strain'. However cash-strapped Britons would now be better off  at least financially  to 'Let the plane take the strain'.

Experts at Which? carried out research to find the cheapest available options for travelling by train and plane over the Easter break on ten UK routes.

Just three were cheaper by train. The return flights on the Bournemouth to Edinburgh route were 38 versus 127 on the train. However, the CO2 emissions of taking the cheap flight are 131 per cent higher at an average of 218kg CO2 per person.

The cheapest round trip between London and Edinburgh by rail was 75 per cent more than the cheapest flights  at 90 versus 51.

Similarly, travel between London and Glasgow was 50 per cent more by train  at 101 versus 67.

The figure on the Manchester to Newquay route was 43 per cent more by train at 221 versus 154.

But Which? found it was 39 per cent cheaper to make a round trip between Newcastle and Southampton via train  at 107 versus 175. However, the return rail journey would take over 11 hours  more than four times the duration by plane.

The Edinburgh to Newquay route was 13 per cent cheaper by train, but would take more than seven times longer to complete with a total return journey time of 22 hours and 2 minutes.

Which? said the rise of these cheap flights, encouraged by the Government, is fuelling greenhouse gas emissions and climate change (file photo)

Which? said the Government's cut in air passenger duty is likely to lead to an uptick in UK emissions because it will encourage people to fly rather than use the train.

Which? travel editor Rory Boland said: 'As travellers become increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their journeys, many face a difficult trade off between the price of their ticket and the cost to the planet.

'For those who prefer to travel by train, there are steps you can take to cut costs.

'Take the time to compare dates and times to see if cheaper fares are available, and look into what railcards you might be eligible for, as these can save you up to a third of the ticket price.'
Good burger! DailyMail.com exclusively spoke with three restaurant owners in different areas of the US who signed on with MrBeast Burger during the pandemic and were floored at the immense and immediate success of the partnership

MrBeast (aka YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson) has quietly been supporting the restaurant industry as it recovers from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic through his virtual dining concept.

DailyMail.com exclusively spoke with three restaurant owners in different areas of the US who signed on with MrBeast Burger during the pandemic and were floored at the immense and immediate success of the partnership.

'We get orders all day long,' one restauranteur in North Dakota said of operating a MrBeast Burger. 'It still blows my mind.'

The virtual space, which launched in December 2020, is a delivery platform serving up MrBeast's signature menu of burgers and fries, and operates out of already existing restaurant kitchens in partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts.

'We were looking for ways to increase sales. So I took a shot in the dark and signed up with MrBeast,' Dale Zimmerman told DailyMail.com. 'I just thought it was a really cool name for a burger.'

Zimmerman owns and operates Peacock Alley, located in Bismarck, North Dakota, which is the oldest restaurant and bar in the state.

Through his MrBeast brand, Jimmy Donaldson, a 24-year-old philanthropist, has become one of the most popular YouTube and social media stars in the world with 139M YouTube subscribers.

Still, his target demo is much younger than the three business owners DailyMail.com spoke to and none of them had even heard of the digital prodigy who would end up helping their restaurants succeed.

Jonathan Donnelly, the owner of Lucky's Sandwich Co in Chicago, Illinois, was working virtual kitchens out of his business since before the pandemic. When stay at home orders shut down the country, he was operating 20 virtual kitchens at one time just to pay his staff and rent.

In neighboring Bowling Green, Ohio, Scott Daily and his wife purchased their restaurant, BG Burgers, 'hours' before the President would effectively shut down the entire country for COVID-19.

'We were looking for ways to increase sales. So I took a shot in the dark and signed up with MrBeast,' Dale Zimmerman told DailyMail.com. 'I just thought it was a really cool name for a burger.'

A year later Daily partnered with MrBeast and noticed an instantaneous difference. 'It was a godsend,' Daily said. 'It's crazy how much more business we got.

Coast to coast, the restaurant industry was turned upside down and, while it is tough to quantify, the National Restaurant Association estimated in 2021 that 90,000 eateries shut down because of coronavirus.

Enter MrBeast Burger. Donnelly described operating the virtual kitchen almost like operating a franchise. There is no dine-in so MrBeast fans order from a very simple menu via an app and off it goes for delivery, all while the brick and mortar spot can function as usual.

That means orders from MrBeast Burger help infuse much needed cash into independent restaurants who were particularly hit hard by the pandemic.

'It immediately just blew up. If you start any kind of virtual kitchen, you really got to give yourself like a 6 to 12 week kind of cushion,' Jonathan Donnelly explained. 'When any of his social media stuff or any specials were run you could immediately see it.'

'It immediately just blew up. If you start any kind of virtual kitchen, you really got to give yourself like a 6 to 12 week kind of cushion,' Donnelly explained. 'When any of his social media stuff or any specials were run you could immediately see it.'

'It really took off and I've never had a virtual kitchen that's done as much as this one,' he continued, adding that he is now only operating about 5 down from 20. 'I just took the best of the best.'

'It immediately just blew up. If you start any kind of virtual kitchen, you really got to give yourself like a 6 to 12 week kind of cushion,' Donnelly explained. 'When any of his social media stuff or any specials were run you could immediately see it.'

It was also an easy menu to execute for Scott Daily whose restaurant is also a burger joint so he was already ordering and using most of the ingredients.

The experiences of all three restaurant owners were echoes of one another: none of them could believe how quickly and consistently the MrBeast Burgers were flying out the door.

'I have no idea who MrBeast is,' Zimmerman recalls thinking at the time 'So, we signed up and it went like. Bonkers. I couldn't believe it.'

'We'd have like little kids, like seven, eight years old [who] would come in with their grandparents and they'd be like, "Is this where MrBeast Burgers are made?"'

'MrBeast is a great guy and he doesn't need to get involved in the restaurant business, you know? He's already made his fortune,' Scott Daily said. '[He] gives people like myself, you know, struggling restaurant owners, he gives us kind of a in a way to take advantage of his good name and good brand and it helps us.' [Pictured: a MrBeast waiter at BeastBurger in NewJersey in 2022]

In fact, Scott Daily said he's even seen kids waiting to get their MrBeast Burgers break down into actual tears when they finally got their meal.

'MrBeast is a great guy and he doesn't need to get involved in the restaurant business, you know? He's already made his fortune,' Daily added. '[He] gives people like myself, you know, struggling restaurant owners, he gives us kind of a in a way to take advantage of his good name and good brand and it helps us.'

Shortly after it was launched in 2020, the MrBeast Burger app was the most downloaded on iTunes and Google Play and became one of the top five most popular Google searches.

Robbie Earl, President of Virtual Dining Concepts said, 'It's amazing what a big business we have been able to build together with Jimmy. He is a force!'

When the first brick and mortar Beast Burger opened at the American Dream mall in New Jersey, 20,000 fans showed up and slept overnight just to get a peek at him.

To date, the concept has dished up 10 million sandwiches and, according to MrBeast, his delivery platform is on target to have 2,280 live locations by the end of this year and with plans for even more international locations in 2024 and 2025.
Married At First Sight star Josh White has opened up about his rocky marriage to 'horny bride' Melissa Sheppard in his most revealing interview to date.

In a wide-ranging sit-down with Daily Mail Australia, the advertising director, 40, also spoke of still being legally married when he joined the show, adding that producers knew about his pending divorce.

'Yeah, I was still married [to my ex-wife]. The production knew about [it]. I said that my divorce was going through soon,' he explained.

He also spilled on his post-show romance with MAFS bride Lyndall Grace, which took place in December after she dumped her husband Cam Woods at the final vows.

Josh explained their friendship blossomed following Lyndall's exit from the show when they started having deep, meaningful conversations.

Married At First Sight star Josh White has opened up about his rocky marriage to 'horny bride' Melissa Sheppard in his most revealing interview to date

In a wide-ranging sit-down with Daily Mail Australia, the advertising director, 40, also spoke of still being legally married when he joined the show, adding that producers knew about his pending divorce. (Pictured with his TV wife Melissa Sheppard on their wedding day)

'I started talking to Lyndall after she had left the show. It was just a friendship that kind of like moved over time.'

'We had a lot in common. We think very similarly about a lot of things,' he added.

The single father of two said it was their mental connection that drew them closer, which eventually culminated in them kissing at the MAFS wrap party.

He also spilled on his post-show romance with MAFS bride Lyndall Grace, which took place in December after she dumped her husband Cam Woods at the final vows

'When I look back about my time in that experiment, one of the things I kept on saying was [I value] deep conversations,' Josh explained.

He continued: 'We did share, as reported, a kiss. Yeah.'

When asked about reports he travelled to Perth in January to meet up with Lyndall - only to discover she already had a boyfriend - he confirmed it was all true.

Josh on claims he was going through a 'messy divorce'

Josh slammed Mel for commenting on his divorce proceedings, emphasising he never spoke about his ex-wife on the show and believes she deserves respect.

Mel had brought up Josh's real-life marriage during an interview on The Kyle and Jackie O Show the morning after the pair left the experiment.

'It wasn't a messy divorce, but even if it was, I think it's pretty despicable for someone that has nothing to do with my relationship with my ex-wife to comment on that the way she she did,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'I never spoke about my ex-wife on the show. I think that she deserves the utmost of respect,' he added.

'I would never talk about her. [My ex] did not apply for the show, she didn't go through the experience, and I have the utmost respect for her.

'I would never talk about her private manner like that.'

Josh was particularly hurt by Melissa's claim he shed 'crocodile tears' for sympathy. 'They weren't crocodile tears,' he said

Josh responds to Melissa saying he cried 'crocodile tears' on the show

Josh was particularly hurt by Melissa's claim he shed 'crocodile tears' for sympathy.

'They weren't crocodile tears,' he said. 'They were real tears from someone who had gone through a difficult experience.'

He said her remarks were so spiteful he is still upset by them to this day.

Josh also debunked claims he had 'custom contract' that gave him more freedom than the other MAFS participants

Josh denies having a 'custom contract'

Josh also debunked claims he had 'custom contract' that gave him more freedom than the other MAFS participants.

This claim, first reported by a gossip website, was described by Josh as 'outrageous'.

'No, I never had a custom contract,' he said, adding that all he asked of producers was an understanding of 'when I could see my children'.

These arrangements are commonplace for parents who appear on MAFS.

'I was told over the 12-week run of the show when I could go back and see my kids, which was essentially every second week,' he said.

'That's not a custom contract - that's literally just finding out when I can go and see my kids.'

'No, I never had a custom contract,' he said, adding that all he asked of producers was an understanding of 'when I could see my children'

On his friendships from the show

Josh said his philosophy was to try to make friends with everyone in the cast, including the brides and grooms.

'I remember after the bucks night I set myself a little task when I got home. I wrote down all of the guys' names and then where they were from, what they did for work,' he said.

'Not just from a memory task, but also just to try to get to know them because then the next day when we all met up everyone was kind of like, "Oh, how do you remember my name?" And I was like," Oh, well this is the reason why."

'And, you know, getting to know the women was just as important. I mean, it would make sense to be friends with them as well.'
Bethenny Frankel was spotted taking a dip during her Caribbean getaway in St. Barts on Tuesday.

The 52-year-old Real Housewives of New York City alum showed off her trim physique in a mustard yellow, one-piece swimsuit with ruffles as she hit the beach for a quick swim in the ocean.

The New York native sported a wide-brimmed sun hat that she later shed before getting into the water.

For her solo beach day, Frankel kept all of her jewelry on and flaunted her massive $3 million diamond ring.

Just last week, the Skinnygirl CEO and founder enjoyed a mother-daughter vacation in Palm Beach, Florida with her daughter Bryn, 12.

Beach day: Bethenny Frankel, 52, was spotted taking a dip during her Caribbean getaway in St. Barts on Tuesday

Wow! The Real Housewives of New York City alum showed off her trim physique in a mustard yellow, one-piece swimsuit with ruffles as she hit the beach for a quick swim in the ocean

Her stylish bathing suit featured a plunging neckline and a keyhole cutout at the center of her torso.

The one-piece was also adorned with voluminous ruffles to highlight her figure.

Later, she covered up with a coral and cream sleeveless cape that cascaded and flew behind her as she walked off the beach.

For accessories, Frankel wore a dainty gold chain necklace with a solid bar pendant.

She also donned various beaded and shimmering bracelets as well as a flashy gold watch.

At one point, the A Place of Yes author also sported a pair of oversized sunglasses to shield her eyes from the sun.

The dark-haired beauty opted for a makeup-free look for her beach day to showcase her beauty and sun-kissed skin.

The reality TV star was also spotted checking her phone as well as toting around an iridescent, clear PVC bag.

Sexy suit: Her stylish bathing suit featured a plunging neckline and a keyhole cutout at the center of her torso

Sunbathing: The New York native sported a wide-brimmed sun hat that she later shed before getting into the water

Sparkler: For her solo beach day, Frankel kept all of her jewelry on and flaunted her massive $3 million diamond ring

Flattering style: Bethenny's one-piece was also adorned with voluminous ruffles to highlight her figure

Makeup-free: The dark-haired beauty opted for a makeup-free look for her beach day to showcase her beauty and sun-kissed skin

Solo swim: For her late winter holiday, the Just B with Bethenny Frankel podcast host was spotted taking a swim without her daughter Bryn  whom she shares with her ex-husband Jason Hoppy, 52

For her late winter holiday, the Just B with Bethenny Frankel podcast host was spotted taking a swim without her daughter Bryn  whom she shares with her ex-husband Jason Hoppy, 52.

Previously, the former tied the knot in 2010 when they were expecting their daughter Bryn.

Two years later, the pair filed for divorce, but the process was only finalized in 2021.

At the time of their separation, Frankel and Hoppy underwent a bitter custody battle over their only child.

They spent many years fighting over Frankel's assets before finally reaching an agreement in 2016.

However, Hoppy was arrested and charged with fourth degree stalking and second-degree harassment the following year.

At that point, Frankel sued him for full custody of Bryn.

Eight years after their split, the divorce was finally finalized in January 2021  a few months before Frankel got engaged to Paul Bernon.

Lone beach day: Her fiance Paul Bernon also did not seem to be in attendance during her beach day

Necessities: The reality TV star was also spotted checking her phone as well as toting around an iridescent, clear PVC bag

Covering up: Later, she covered up with a coral and cream sleeveless cape that cascaded and flew behind her as she walked off the beach

Her fiance also appeared not to be in attendance during her beach day, but Frankel still sported the stunning, emerald-cut diamond even during her swim.

Frankel and the real estate developer got engaged exactly two years ago in March 2021.

The couple started dating sometime in 2018 but briefly split for several months before the proposal.

In recent months, the pair have opted to keep their relationship pretty low-key and have not been photographed together in public.
Juicy J is paying tribute to his fallen Three 6 Mafia comrade Gangsta Boo, three months after her sudden and tragic death.

The Memphis rapper is dropping his latest mixtape - Mental Trillness - on Friday, and it includes samples of Boo's classic track Where Dem Dollas At on the Finesse2Tymes-featured song Work Out, according to TMZ.

Plus, Boo (born Lola Chantrelle Mitchell) offers up some rhymes on the song Follow Home Robbers, which came from a verse from her 2014 track Come Off Dat.

The Mental Trillness title revolves around a theme for people battling with bouts of 'frustration, depression, confusion, drug abuse, and relationship problems.'

Ahead of the new mixtape, Juicy (born Jordan Michael Houston III) released the single No Rapper, alongside newcomers Aleza, Slimeroni, K Carbon, with 17 more tracks to follow that include collaborations with the likes of f La Chat, Hittkidd, Gilbere Forte, Xavier Wulf, and more.

Tribute: Juicy J, 47, is paying tribute to his fallen Three 6 Mafia member Gangst Boo, 43, with samples of the late rapper on his new mixtape Mental Trillness, that drops on Friday

Juicy, DJ Paul, Crunchy Black and the rest of the Three 6 Mafia crew have been in mourning since Gansta Boo's death on New Year's Day.

While an official cause of death is still pending, it's believed she died of a possible overdose, a number of publications have reported, including Page Six.

Sources connected to the late rapper maintain Boo and her brother attended a concert in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee the night before she passed away , and her sibling ended up being hospitalized from an overdose.

He would end up recovering, but that source claimed GB was carrying narcotics when she was found dead on the front porch of her home in Memphis the following Sunday afternoon at the age of 43.

Police have gone public to reveal that there was no evidence of foul play at the scene.

It's suspected that a fentanyl-laced substance is responsible for the Stay Fly rapper's death, but an autopsy will ultimately confirm the official cause.

Boo (born Lola Chantrelle Mitchell) rose to prominence in the rap game after she joined up with Three 6 Mafia at the young age of 14.

After releasing six albums, she left the group around the time she dropped her second solo album, Both Worlds *69 (2001), due to financial disputes and issues regarding promotion of the album.

RIP: Gangsta Boo (born Lola Chantrelle Mitchell) was found dead on the porch of her home in Memphis, Tennessee in the late afternoon on New Year's Day 2023.

Paying homage: Boo samples can be heard on the Finesse2Tymes-featured Work Out and on Follow Home Robbers

Tragic: Although an official cause of death is still pending, investigators suspect Gangsta Boo died of a drug overdose, according to several publications including Page Six

Collaborators: Juicy J worked with Gangsta Boo on six albums with Three 6 Mafia

Promo mode: Juicy J is set to head out on tour with Logic beginning in late May

In all, she released three solo albums during her career, with the latest being Enquiring Minds II: The Soap Opera (2003). The album peaked at number 53 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart and 24 on the Independent Albums chart.

Between 2006 and 2018, Boo also dropped 10 mixtapes, two of which were with DJ Fletch, while other collaborators included DJ Smallz), Beatking, DJ Drama and Trap-A-Holics.

She has also made dozens of guest appearances with various hip-hop artists since the mid-1990s. As a result, she became known for her collaboration work with such artists as Eminem, Run The Jewels, La Chat, Latto, GloRilla and Yelawolf.

At the time of her death, Boo had been working on an album that was planned to be titled The BooPrint.
He has stayed single since splitting from Chelsie McLeod in 2019.

But Dr Matt Agnew is officially off the market after going public with his new girlfriend Kate Reid at Glamour on the Grid in Melbourne on Wednesday night.

The astrophysicist, 35, attended the Formula One event with Kate, who is known as the 'croissant queen' thanks to the popularity of her bakery Lune.

He confirmed their relationship on Thursday by posting a series of photos of the couple looking cosy at the pre-Grand Prix party.

Dr Agnew looked dashing in a black suit while Kate, who is a former F1 engineer, stunned in a long glittery gown with a thigh split.

The Bachelor star Dr Matt Agnew (right) is officially off the market after going public with his new girlfriend Kate Reid (left) at Glamour on the Grid in Melbourne on Wednesday night

Kate is the owner of the famous Melbourne croissanterie Lune.

Her French pastries, prepared daily at her bakery on Collins Street, were once described by The New York Times as the best in the world.

Her romance with Dr Agnew comes after the data scientist was rumoured to be dating MasterChef star Khanh Ong.

The astrophysicist, 35, attended the Formula One event with Kate, who is known as the 'croissant queen' thanks to the popularity of her bakery Lune

He confirmed their relationship on Thursday by posting a series of photos of the couple looking cosy at the pre-Grand Prix party

Dr Agnew looked dashing in a black suit while Kate, who is a former F1 engineer, stunned in a long glittery gown with a thigh split

The pair's close friendship, which includes 'date nights' and holding hands, is often confused for a romantic relationship, even though Dr Agnew isn't gay.

Dr Agnew said on the Feast podcast last month he and Khanh want to normalise platonic male affection.

'It's the lack of affection straight men show other men that people assume there must be something sexual there,' he said.

'Being affectionate and tactile with your friends, and blokes especially need to do more of this. Everyone should be comfortable enough in their sexuality that they don't feel uncomfortable showing affection, men or women.'

Dr Agnew went on to say he enjoyed cuddling Khanh when they were both single and in need of companionship.

Kate is the owner of the Melbourne croissanterie Lune. Her pastries, prepared daily at her bakery on Collins Street, were described by The New York Times as the best in the world
Tayla Winter isn't just going to bare her soul at the MAFS reunion.

The 27-year-old nurse was seen putting on a busty display in a perilously low-cut dress while filming her big comeback scene in December.

The Hobart native fixed up her floor-length orange gown to avoid a nip slip as she prepared to enter the dinner party - in scenes set to air on Sunday night.

Tayla, who was unsuccessfully matched with Hugh Armstrong on MAFS, was spotted squeezing her chest together while chatting to producers.

Her daring dress featured a low neckline with cut-outs on the sides and a high split, which drew attention to her leggy figure.

Married At First Sight star Tayla Winter was seen putting on a busty display in a perilously low-cut dress while filming her big comeback scene in December

She slightly curled her long blonde hair, and opted for a glamorous makeup look including nude lipstick and fake eyelashes.

Tayla accessorised with statement drop earrings with orange stones, and glitzy matching bracelets on each wrist.

The MAFS reunion will air over two episodes this Sunday and Monday, but it was filmed late last year.

The Hobart native fixed up her floor-length orange gown to avoid a nip slip as she prepared to enter the dinner party - in scenes set to air on Sunday night

She slightly curled her long blonde hair for the evening, and opted for a glamorous makeup look including nude lipstick and fake eyelashes

Her daring dress featured a low neckline with cut-outs on the sides and a high split, which drew attention to her leggy figure

Tayla sensationally quit the show in scenes that aired earlier this month, after having a blazing row with her on-screen husband Hugo.

She left without telling producers and returned to her home in Tasmania.

The bride then shocked the cast when she returned to the set days later - only to call it quits with Hugo again and formally depart the experiment.

Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine and 9Now
Rapper Yo Gotti's Memphis restaurant Prive was the scene of a deadly shootout on Wednesday evening.

Memphis police reported that officers responded to a shooting at the restaurant (6980 Winchester) in the Hickory Hill neighborhood of Memphis.

Police found two male victims with gunshot wounds at the scene - one of whom was pronounced dead on the scene - and the other was transported to Regional One Health in Memphis, and was later pronounced dead.

Five other shooting victims - a 35-year-old male, a 30-year-old male, a 25-year-old female, a 37-year-old male, and a 31-year-old male - were also taken to local hospitals in private vehicles.

No suspects have been arrested in connection with the shooting at this time, with Memphis police asking anyone who may know anything about the shooting to call 901-528-CASH.

Rapper: Rapper Yo Gotti's Memphis restaurant Prive was the scene of a deadly shootout on Wednesday evening

Shooting: Memphis police reported that officers responded to a shooting at the restaurant (6980 Winchester) in the Hickory Hill neighborhood of Memphis

Memphis police indicated that the shooting stemmed from an altercation that happened inside the restaurant that later spilled out into the parking lot.

Local news affiliate Fox 11 claimed that evidence markers on the scene revealed upwards of 40 bullets were fired during the shooting.

Memphis mayor Jim Strickland said in a statement, 'These senseless killings have to stop. Our guns laws in our country and state need to be reevaluated; we need common sense regulations limiting easy access to these weapons.'

'In addition, our court systems needs to have zero tolerance for gun and violent crimes,' the Mayor added.

Arthur Horne, an attorney for the owners of the restaurant said, 'On behalf of Prive, theyve been in business for ten years, and nothing like this has ever happened at their establishment.'

'It happened out in the parking lot, and it ended up in a shootout. Nothing happened inside the restaurant,' Horne confirmed.

'Despite any conflicting reports, they were closing, and this happened at the end of the evening in the parking lot,' the attorney added.

Yo Gotti (born Mario Sentell Giden Mims) was not at the restaurant at the time of the shooting, and he's not even said to be in Memphis at all.

Police: Memphis police indicated that the shooting stemmed from an altercation that happened inside the restaurant that later spilled out into the parking lot

Victims: Memphis police indicated that the shooting stemmed from an altercation that happened inside the restaurant that later spilled out into the parking lot

The rapper is part of a group that owns the restaurant, and it is believed that the rapper purchased the restaurant for his mother.

The rapper was born in the Frayser neighborhood of Memphis and started rapping as a teenager under the name Lil Yo.

He released a number of independent albums between 2000 and 2006 before his debut studio album Live From the Kitchen debuted in 2012 after many delays.

He would go on to release I Am in 2013, The Art of the Hustle in 2016, I Still Am in 2017, Untrapped in 2020 and CM10: Free Game in 2022.

I Am was nominated for Album Of the Year at the 2014 BET Hip-Hop Awards and he was nominated for Best Collabo, Duo or Group for "Rake It Up" (with Nicki Minaj) and Best Mixtape for Gotti Made-It (with Mike Will Made It) in 2017.

He would go on to form Collective Music Group, with his cousin Brandon Mims serving as the current president of the label.

The label is the current recording home to artists such as Moneybagg Yo, Blac Youngsta, BlocBoy JB, 42 Dugg, EST Gee, Mozzy, Lil Poppa, Lehla Samia, GloRilla, Lil Migo and Big Boogie

Owner: The rapper is part of a group that owns the restaurant, and it is believed that the rapper purchased the restaurant for his mother
Emily Ratajkowski offered no hint of the dramatic events in her personal life in a cheerful new Instagram album from her Japan trip.

She included a sweet snap of her bonding with her son Sylvester, two, whom she shares with her estranged husband Sebastian Bear-McClard.

Evidently they were accompanied by one of Ratajkowski's gal pals, who could be spotted in the album descending an escalator with her into the Tokyo Metro.

Missing from the album however was Harry Styles, whom Ratajkowski was just spotted sharing a passionate kiss with in the Japanese capital.

Her latest Instagram post comes after Bear-McClard was accused of 'grooming' two teenage girls via Instagram before sleeping with them.

Living it up: Emily Ratajkowski offered no hint of the dramatic events in her personal life in a cheerful new Instagram album from her Japan trip

Baby mine: She included a sweet snap of her bonding with her son Sylvester, two, whom she shares with her estranged husband Sebastian Bear McClard

Down they go: Evidently they were accompanied by one of Ratajkowski's gal pals, who could be spotted in the album descending an escalator with her into the Tokyo Metro

Ratajkowski remained mum about the scandal, instead posting a string of charming snaps including one of her sheltering under an umbrella from the Tokyo rainfall.

She flashed her impressively sculpted midriff as she posed up a storm in an evocative art installation with a constantly morphing backdrop.

Her album included envy-inducing glimpses of the food she enjoyed and one the sunsets she took in over the Tokyo skyline.

She also gave her fans a jaw-dropping look at the glowing lanterns hanging from the cherry blossom trees in the city.

The 42-year-old movie producer allegedly reached out to a 17-year-old on Instagram in 2016 before meeting her at a Soho loft.

He allegedly promised her that she would be able to meet the star of Good Time, Robert Pattinson, on the set of the film which was being produced by Josh and Benny Safdie.

Bear-McClard has been accused of sexual misconduct by two women in documents obtained by Variety and 'troubling behavior' by a third.

She claims that she was left waiting on the set in New York for her scene to be called and was forced to strip naked in front of nearly a dozen male cast and crew members.

DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives of Bear-McClard and Ratajkowski for comment.

No sign of her hunk: Missing from the album however was Harry Styles, whom Ratajkowski was just spotted sharing a passionate kiss with in the Japanese capital

Having a ball: Ratajkowski remained mum about the scandal, instead posting a string of charming snaps including one of her sheltering under an umbrella from the Tokyo rainfall

Looking fab: She flashed her impressively sculpted midriff as she posed up a storm in an evocative art installation with a constantly morphing backdrop

Cuisine: Her album included envy-inducing glimpses of the food she enjoyed

Breathtaking: She also served up a photo of one the sunsets she took in over the Tokyo skyline

Jaw-dropping: She also gave her fans a jaw-dropping look at the glowing lanterns hanging from the cherry blossom trees in the city

Her latest Instagram post comes after Bear-McClard, with whom she is pictured, was accused of 'grooming' two teenage girls via Instagram before sleeping with them

Emily Ratajkowski's estranged husband Sebastian Bear-McClard was seen on Sunday for the first time since the model was seen making out with Harry Styles in Tokyo, Japan

The woman, now 24, claims that she was also nude in front of the Safdie brothers and was paired with an actor who had recently been released from prison before he was hired for the film.

A spokeswoman for the Safdies told Variety: 'The Elara team were made aware of Sebastian McClard's behavior in July 2022. They took immediate action and terminated him.'

Pattinson was not on set the day of the problematic 'Good Time' scene, which does not appear in the final version of the movie.

The producer is currently in the middle of a contentious divorce and custody battle with 31-year-old Emily  who was recently snapped locking lips with Harry Styles.

He is also embroiled in private mediation with the Safdie brothers, who fired him from their shared production company, Elara Pictures, last summer.

It is unclear if the documents obtained by Variety were made available as part of the ongoing divorce proceedings between the estranged couple, or the internal investigation which saw Bear-McClard sacked by the production company.

In a statement, which was made in August of last year, the woman said: 'I was utterly stunned and felt terrified.

'My distress only worsened when out of nowhere, [an actor] whispered in my ear if "he could stick it in" while the cameras rolled. I said "no".'

She went on to say that she started sleeping with Bear-McClard despite being 17, and the pair continued in a consensual relationship for more than two years. In New York the age of consent is 17.

The woman's name does appear in the credits for the movie.

Bear-McClard did not discuss payment with her for the role, but bought her cigarettes afterwards.

A second woman - who was 18 at the time of the incident - also claims she was groomed by the then-married Bear-McClard.

He reportedly contacted her on Instagram and promised to make her a star, while working on Uncut Gems  which starred Adam Sandler.

The second woman claims that she was invited to the apartment that Bear-McClard shared with actress Ratajkowski, where they slept together.

In a statement she added: 'Sebastian and I started kissing. Things escalated and then, without asking for my consent, Sebastian inserted himself inside me without using a condom.'

She claimed that he also called her 'retarded' and a 'k*ke', before telling her that he meant it as a joke.

Documents state that she is accusing Bear-McClard of tracking her through and app on her phone, as well as sending messages to a 15-year-old girl on Instagram.

Her statement added: 'Sebastian appeared pleased with himself and laughed at my comment. He did not deny my accusations.'

Sources told Variety that his contact with the 15-year-old as well as his romantic links to a fourth woman on the set of Uncut Gems led to him being fired by the Safdies.

However the allegations regarding the 15-year-old girl do not appear to make up the official allegations.

A fifth woman, who has worked in the film industry as an intern and an assistant, also provided a statement which claims Bear-McClard engaged in troubling behavior.

Friends of Ratajkowski say that the model is not surprised by the allegations. She is represented by Brett Ward and Jackie Combs in the ongoing divorce.

Their firm previously handled the acrimonious divorce of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, as well as Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan

Bear-McClard is represented by Caroline Krauss, who worked with Robert De Niro in his 2018 break-up with Grace Hightower.

Ratajkowski and Bear-McClard were married in a New York courthouse in February 2018 after dating for just two weeks.

Ratajkowski is fighting for sole custody of their son Sylvester, who was born in March 2021.

A24 released both 'Good Time' and 'Uncut Gems', and are behind Oscar best picture winners 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'Moonlight.'

A Variety source claims that the scene in question was used in promo footage presented to buyers at the Cannes market in 2016.

This was reportedly the footage that A24 bought the film from, though the scene never made the final cut.

A24 have declined to comment on the matter, but first signed both Bear-McClard and the Safdie's in 2020  well after the allegations were made to insiders on the films.
Teen Mom's Jenelle Evans revealed that her relationship with son Jace is thriving, after she recently regained full custody of him.

The reality TV star, 31 - who shares the 13-year-old with ex Andrew Lewis - was finally granted custody of Jace less than two weeks ago, after relinquishing parental rights to her mother Barbara Evans over a decade ago.

'My relationship with Jace is closer than ever and doing much better,' Jenelle told E! News.

'I feel like being with his family makes him much happier. Our family wasn't complete without him,' she added.

Jenelle also revealed that the new arrangement has partially helped to heal her strained relationship with Barbara, saying, 'My relationship with my mother has got a little better, but truthfully she is still a little controlling.'

'My relationship with Jace is closer than ever': Teen Mom's Jenelle Evans, 31, revealed that her relationship with son Jace, 13, is thriving, after she recently regained full custody of him

'I think it's going to take time for her to get use to this change,' she added.

Jenelle - who also shares Kaiser, 8, with ex Nathan Griffith and Ensley, 6, with husband David Eason - revealed the push to get custody came from believing that her son 'needed a change.'

'We also didn't like the crowds he was hanging out with, so now he's in the country. He loves riding his dirt bike and working on it recently. He wants to sign up for dirt bike races in the future,' she shared.

Jenelle also shed light on Jace's relationship with step-dad David Eason.

'David teaches him how to hunt, fish, fix dirt bikes or giving Jace dating advice. Jace needed a father figure and I can tell how happy Jace is having one around.'

The new custody arrangement became official after Jenelle and her mother Barbara signed the papers on March 16.

She wrote in the caption of a video of herself signing the documents and shedding tears of joy: 'Words can't describe how happy I truly am. Our family is complete now! Thank you mom.'

The North Carolina native  who welcomed Jace in 2009  had signed over custody of her eldest son to Barbara just shortly after his birth.

Complete: 'I feel like being with his family makes him much happier. Our family wasn't complete without him,' she added

Father figure: Jenelle shared Jace enjoys having step-dad David Eason, 34 (pictured) around: 'Jace needed a father figure and I can tell how happy Jace is having one around'

Update: She also shed light on her relationship with mom Barbara - who previously had custody of Jace - saying it 'got a little better, but truthfully she is still a little controlling'; The duo pictured 2015

Previously, Jenelle had stated that she regained custody of Jace while speaking in a candid TikTok video posted in January 2021.

Over the years, Jenelle continued with a long battle in court with her mother over custody of her firstborn child, due to battling a drug addiction and having been arrested a number of times in her preteen years.

'My mom and I decided together to grant full custody back to me because we want to build our relationship back as mother and daughter,' Jenelle told Us Weekly in a statement.

'We have officially signed the papers on Thursday, March 16th at the courthouse,' she stated. 'It's a done deal!'

She went on to explain that her mother wishes for Jace to live with his family and be around a proper father figure.

'My mother agrees it's time for Jace to be back with his siblings and living with a mother and father,' she said.

'She also thinks it's important for Jace to be around a father figure to learn "boy things" and have "men talk",' she added, noting that Barbara 'has seen the way David parents [her] children'.

'She knows we're able to handle it,' Jenelle continued. 'We want to all get along for the sake of the children and - like I said before - building back our relationship as mother and daughter.'

Finalized: She recently posted a sweet clip of the process of signing the custody paperwork and wrote,'#MyHappyEnding, IT'S OFFICIAL! Thanks everyone for the support!'

Happy tears: She wrote in the caption of a video of herself signing the documents and shedding tears of joy, 'Words can't describe how happy I truly am. Our family is complete now! Thank you mom'

Mother-of-three: Jenelle also shares an eight-year-old son named Kaiser with her ex-boyfriend Nathan Griffith as well as daughter Ensley, six, with her husband David

Her manager, August Keen, also told Us Weekly despite disputes in the past, Jenelle and her husband have patched things up and are in a stable, healthy relationship.

'Jenelle and David are definitely together,' Keen said. 'Things between them are great.'

'They're a happy family, and they are completely fine,' he said in the statement.

Jenelle was 17 at the time of Jace's birth and had her entire pregnancy documented on MTV's 16 And Pregnant.

David also has two children  Maryssa and Kaden  from previous relationships.

In the past, Jenelle and David had lost custody of all of their children after a scary incident involving their dog in April 2019.

Eason killed their French bulldog, Nugget, after the dog allegedly attacked and bit Ensley.

Following the tragic event, their children were removed from their custody, and the couple separated for around a year.

Despite their rocky history and having both been fired from the MTV program, they ended up rekindling their relationship and reconciling their issues.
Hailey Bieber celebrated the launch of her beauty brand Rhode in Canada on Thursday.

The 26-year-old wife of Justin Bieber, who recently thanked Selena Gomez 'for speaking out' following their alleged feud, held a dinner launch party to announce that her skincare line is officially available in Canada.

The entrepreneur was flashing the flesh in a skimpy baby blue ensemble consisting of a short asymmetrical skirt, a tiny bandeau top, and a long matching pea coat.

Hailey's outfit accentuated her long, lean legs and taut abs as she threw a few sultry gazes at the camera.

Her gorgeous brunette hair was styled straight with a side part and fell below her chin.

In Canada eh? Hailey Bieber celebrated the launch of her beauty brand Rhode in Canada with a few sultry snaps on her Instagram account Thursday

Looking good: The beauty rocked a short blue asymmetrical skirt, a tiny bandeau top, and a long matching pea coat

Bieber opted for a glamorous makeup palette with smokey eyes, blush, and glossy lips, and accessorized with gold hoop earrings.

She captioned the post, '@rhode Canada launch dinner such an amazing evening with amazing people. Love you Toronto.'

Khloe Kardashian commented, 'Wow!!! Just wow!' before adding, 'Dying!!!!!'

Bieber launched her Rhode skincare line (named after her middle name) in June 2022, when it already had a waitlist of over 100,000 people.

The business has been booming ever since, with CEO Melanie Bender, who joined the company in October 2022, telling Vogue Business last week about the brand's astronomical sales.

'We crossed the eight-figure [sales] threshold in just 11 days of selling. Its surpassed anything Ive ever seen,' Bender said.

She added that Bieber is also heavily involved in all aspects of the business, stating, 'As founder and creative director, she plays a major role in product development and overall creative direction of the brand.'

'We are speaking to her more than once a day to build our formulas and priorities around what she identifies as a need in the market,' she added.

Flaunt it: Bieber opted for a glamorous makeup palette with smokey eyes, blush, and glossy lips, and accessorized with gold hoop earrings

Expanding north: The Rhode entrepreneur captioned the post, '@rhode Canada launch dinner such an amazing evening with amazing people. Love you Toronto'

Getting ready video: Hailey also shared a short video fixing her hair and outfit

Dinner party: The 26-year-old wife of Justin Bieber held a dinner launch party to announce that her skincare line is officially available in Canada

Her seat: The Rhode launch dinner was sponsored by her close friend, Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila brand

Not even a year in, Bieber is already planning a global expansion that will be spread to other countries throughout the rest of this year.

The line's launch in Canada will be followed by a United Kingdom expansion later this summer.

Bieber's big business news comes on the heels of her recently mending fences with Gomez last week, after their rumored feud burned up social media.

For years, the internet has pit the former Disney star and the model - who is married to Selena's ex-boyfriend, Justin - against one other.

But in October 2022, they proved there was no bad blood between them when they posed for some photos together at an event - and they were even seen hugging it out.

However, in February 2023, rumours that they were fighting started to spread once again after Hailey shared a TikTok video in which some believed she was making fun of Selena.

Taking to Instagram, Gomez asked her 400 million followers to end the hate, writing: 'Hailey Bieber reached out to me and let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity.

'This isn't what I stand for. No one should have to experience hate or bullying. I've always advocated for kindness and really want this all to stop,' she concluded.

Growing fast: Not even a year in, Bieber is already planning a global expansion throughout the rest of this year. The line's launch in Canada will be followed by the United Kingdom this summer

Classy: It comes after Hailey publicly thanked her husband's ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, 30, for 'speaking out' and urging people to stop trolling her (Selena pictured in January)

Kindness is everything: Selena broke her silence on Friday about their rumoured spat, shutting down any hateful behaviour from trolls or fans

The latest: Hailey took to her Instagram stories on Friday afternoon, just hours after Selena asked people to stop bullying the Rhode founder

Former flames: For years, the internet has pit the former Disney star and the model - who is now married to Justin - against one other (Selena and Justin pictured in 2011)

Bieber thanked Gomez for speaking out on her behalf in an Instagram Story post that told her 49.5 million followers, 'We all need to be more thoughtful about what we post and what we say, including myself.

'In the end I believe love will always be bigger than hate and negativity and there is always an opportunity to meet each other with more empathy or compassion.'

Hailey and Selena have now followed each other on Instagram to put any hard feelings behind them.

Selena, who is the most followed woman on Instagram with 403 million Instagram followers, only follows 251 people - with Hailey as one of them. She does not follow ex, Justin.
Kim Kardashian took to TikTok on Thursday to share the exciting adventure she had with daughter North West as they visited the Sanrio Store and Hello Kitty Cafe.

The reality TV star, 42 - who was pictured in a sultry bikini photoshoot last week - was the epitome of a cool mom as she showed off her over-the-top outfit while posing with her nine-year-old.

The SKIMS founder rocked a grey crop top that showed off her taut abs, as well as grey sweatpants. She paired the ensemble with a bubblegum pink faux fur and matching fuzzy bag.

The mom-of-four sported a pair of motorcycle-style grey sunglasses and wore her dark tresses in a casual updo.

The duo appeared to have a blast together in the TikTok clip - posted to their joint account - and were joined by North's cousin Penelope, 10, on the outing.

Adventures! Kim Kardashian took to TikTok on Thursday to share the exciting adventure she had with daughter North West as they visited the Sanrio Store and Hello Kitty Cafe

Kim later removed her glasses and shared a close-up of her glam, which featured mascara, pink blush, and a nude shade of lipstick.

At one point she also showed off her acrylic French tips with a Hello Kitty design.

Meanwhile North - who Kim shares with ex-husband Kanye West, 45 - rocked a Sanrio t-shirt and pink pants, as well as stylish purple braids.

She looked thrilled while holding a bedazzled pink laptop case with a Hello Kitty graphic.

The clip showed off the colorful interior of the cafe, with a wall graphic featuring different Sanrio characters.

There was also plenty of different tasty treats and food throughout the video.

The mother and daughter duo have previously shown love for Sanrio characters in another recent TikTok clip, where they used a filter that showed which animated character they were.

Kim ended up getting Keroppi - a frog character with big eyes and a V-shaped mouth. Meanwhile North got My Melody - a little girl rabbit with a pink hat over her ears - which is one of the most popular Sanrio characters, after Hello Kitty.

Cool mom: The reality TV star, 42, was the epitome of a cool mom as she posed with her nine-year-old

Comfy: The SKIMS founder rocked a grey crop top that showed off her taut abs, as well as grey sweatpants

Fun! The clip showed off the colorful interior of the cafe, with a wall graphic featuring different Sanrio characters

Pink: There was plenty of adorable pink decor everywhere

Cousins: The duo appeared to have a blast together and were joined by North's cousin Penelope, 10, on the outing

Bedazzled: North held a bedazzled pink laptop case with a Hello Kitty graphic

Treats! There was also plenty of different tasty treats and food throughout the video

Kim split from her husband of six years, Kanye West in February 2021 after welcoming four children together.

Kim only just settled her divorce with Kanye this past November after a nearly two year battle relating to their custody of their four kids and the division of their multimillion dollar real estate portfolio.

The KYWTK alum is getting $200,000 in child support monthly, TMZ reported after reviewing court docs, and she and her former spouse have 'equal access' to North, Saint, seven, Chicago, five, and Psalm, three.

Though it's been claimed that they will remain in Kim's care most of the time.

Kim previously admitted that co-parenting with the Flashing Lights rapper is 'f***ing hard' and that she's done her best to shield their brood from his public outbursts, including the ant-Semitic rants he went on last year that led to major brands like Adidas and Gap severing their partnerships with him.

Since the split, Kim enjoyed a nine-month romance with SNL alum Pete Davidson, 29.

The duo attended the Met Gala together and, despite breaking up in August, Kim has continued to praise the 'cutie.'

Kim has kept her toes out of the dating game since bidding farewell to Pete, but sources have claimed in recent weeks that she may be looking for love outside of Hollywood.

Family: Kim, 42, shares a total of four kids with rapper Kanye West, 45. Aside from North, they are also parents to Chicago, five, Psalm, three, and Saint, seven; Pictured in 2020
Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause attended Thursday's GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills on the arm of her nonbinary lover G Flip.

Chrishell, 41, reached new heights of fame during her time on the Netflix series, which follows the exploits of a group of realtors at the same brokerage.

During her latest public appearance, she served up a generous helping of cleavage in a slinky scarlet dress that fell beguilingly off the shoulder.

The slinky little number featured flared, rumpled sleeves redolent of the 1980s and was cinched in to emphasize her svelte physique.

She and G Flip, who went public nearly a year ago, were seen falling laughing into each others arms as they crossed the red carpet.

On the town: Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause attended Thursday's GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills on the arm of her nonbinary lover G Flip

Look of love: She and G Flip, who went public nearly a year ago, were seen falling laughing into each others arms as they crossed the red carpet

Looking fab: During her latest public appearance, she served up a generous helping of cleavage in a slinky scarlet dress that fell beguilingly off the shoulder

Hello, gorgeous: Chrishell, 41, reached new heights of fame during her time on the Netflix series, which follows the exploits of a group of realtors at the same brokerage

In a stylish contrast to Chrishell's look, G Flip arrived at the fete in an off-white ensemble featuring a sleeveless button-up crop top and 1970s chic trousers.

The Australian musician added a pop of color to the look with aquamarine eye shadow and lent the ensemble a quirky touch of glitz with a single earring.

Her latest outing comes over a month after she assured her fans she was recovering well after her operation earlier in February.

'I get my stitches out tomorrow, I had an ovarian cyst removed,' she revealed on February 17 in an interview with E! News.

'All is well, I'm just a little bit on the mend but I expect to be right back at it, get these stitches out, and hopefully I'm going to be good as new.'

Chrishell first told her fans about the procedure the previous Wednesday, posting a post-op hospital selfie to her Insta Stories.

She spilled that she was 'feeling good and being looked after by my [heart],' presumably referring to none other than G Flip.

Chrishell went viral in December when she drunkenly cursed out the People's Choice Awards on Twitter for refusing to let her bring G Flip as a plus one.

Side by side: In a stylish contrast to Chrishell's look, G Flip arrived at the fete in an off-white ensemble featuring a sleeveless button-up crop top and 1970s chic trousers

Details: The Australian musician added a pop of color to the look with aquamarine eye shadow and lent the ensemble a quirky touch of glitz with a single earring

'Sure this means I will never be nominated again but honestly fu,' she raged, claiming she was told she 'could ONLY bring a plus 1 if it was a cast member.'

Chrishell was nominated that year for Reality Star Of 2022, ultimately losing out to global juggernaut Khloe Kardashian.

Once Chrishell sobered up she rethought her remarks about the awards, tweeting: 'An internal conversation was had that I very much appreciate.'

She added: 'Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change. The courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to not tweet while intoxicated.'
The stars of The Block were channelling the 1950s on Friday.

The new cast gathered together to film a new commercial for the series at the 2023 Block site in Hampton East, Melbourne.

Among the hopeful renovators was a gorgeous brunette wearing a bright yellow sweater top and neckerchief.

She added a flowing A-line skirt with large black and yellow dots, as well as a wide belt.

Alongside her was a heavily tattooed man wearing a checked yellow shirt and black jeans.

The stars of The Block were channelling the 1950s on Friday while filming a commercial in Melbourne

Also on set was a a couple dressed in blue, with the pretty brunette in a retro blue and white halter dress.

The man alongside her went for a checked blue shirt and jeans along with a wide belt.

A woman in red was also busy filming, wearing a 1950s style red polka dot dress with wedge heels.

She appeared to be partnered up with a man in a black and red shirt and dark jeans as well as animal print loafers.

The new cast gathered together to film a new commercial for the series at the 2023 Block site in Hampton East

Among the hopeful renovators was a gorgeous brunette wearing a bright yellow sweater top and neckerchief

She added a flowing A-line skirt with large black and yellow dots, as well as a wide belt

Alongside her was a heavily tattooed man wearing a checked yellow shirt and black jeans

He also had on a pear of black patent leather shoes and glasses

The cast appeared to be having a ball, mingling and laughing together in between filming.

It comes after Channel Nine was slammed for sending residents an 'entitled' letter asking them to move their cars so they can shoot a commercial for The Block.

Last Monday, the network sent the letter to homeowners living along Charming Street in Hampton East in the Bayside Council area in Melbourne's south-east.

Channel Nine informed residents they intended to film a commercial for their hit show and that it would be set during the 1950s.

Also on set was a a couple dressed in blue, with the pretty brunette in a retro blue and white halter dress

The man alongside her went for a checked blue shirt and jeans along with a wide belt

She added a pair of pale heels and a matching belt to the look

The woman opted for a bright red lipstick that suits the era

She also had her dark hair in a 1950s style curled hairdo

The letter sparked outrage for only giving residents short notice and telling them not to park their cars on the street or driveways.

'We will bring various 7 x 1950's cars to park on the street and period piece props and costumes,' the letter read.

'As we are dressing the street, we do request on Friday evening that you please not park on the street or in your driveways,' it continued.

'We would like to keep modern cars out of the shots. If you need assistance to move your vehicles we can assist you in the morning.'

A woman in red was also busy filming, wearing a 1950s style red polka dot dress with wedge heels

She had on vintage red earrings and a scarf in her hair that matched her dress

She appeared to be partnered up with a man in a black and red shirt and dark jeans

He completed his throwback look with a pair of animal print loafers

Her bright red lipstick beautifully matched her dress

The man shot scenes where he was hammering a slat of wood

The letter went on to warn that residents living in house number 24 and 25 to make sure they didn't park their car outside their houses on Saturday.

A photo of the letter was shared online where social media users ripped into the network for its 'entitled' requests.

'Brilliant!!! They've got a bloody cheek, haven't they ? Five days notice to basically cancel your entire Saturday,' one wrote.

Another added: 'Why cancel your Saturday? Sounds like a great day to throw an Aussie Saturday street party.'

A woman in a green blouse and checked trousers stepped out of a car in one scene

Another cast member looked adorable in a striped dress in purple tones

The cast appeared to be having a ball, mingling and laughing together in between filming

They puckered up for a series of selfies in between takes

It comes after Channel Nine was slammed for sending residents an 'entitled' letter asking them to move their cars so they can shoot a commercial for The Block

Channel Nine informed residents they intended to film a commercial for their hit show and that it would be set during the 1950s

Several suggested the residents living along the street ask the network to reimburse them for their troubles.

'Dear Channel Nine, I'd be delighted to acquiesce to your requirements for filming,' one wrote.

'As this then makes me part of your production, I'm sure your accounting department would have no trouble approving payment of the attached invoice for my services.

'Once I have confirmation, in writing, of your acceptance of my recompense I will make the arrangements you have requested.'

The letter sparked outrage for only giving residents short notice and telling them not to park their cars on the street or driveways

'We will bring various 7 x 1950's cars to park on the street and period piece props and costumes,' the letter read

'As we are dressing the street, we do request on Friday evening that you please not park on the street or in your driveways' it went on

We would like to keep modern cars out of the shots. If you need assistance to move your vehicles we can assist you in the morning' the letter stated

A photo of the letter was shared online where social media users ripped into the network for its 'entitled' requests

A second added: 'In all seriousness, get some money out of them.

'Park cars on your lawn and invite someone over for a BBQ in the front yard.

'Maybe keep the cars up past the letterbox so it's on your private property rather than the council's, but still very visible. Make some noise in case they're recording audio.

'They need release forms for anyone with their face in shot.'

The social media user claimed it was standard practice that production companies pay location fees.

'I've shot plenty of commercials,' they wrote.

'Sometimes you can get a friend to kindly lend their house for a shoot, but taking over an entire street and giving specific restrictions to each resident, without any location fees??

'They're counting on the plebs being both naive and also feeling privileged to have their precious street 'on the telly'.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted Channel Nine for comment.
Tom Holland and Zendaya looked casual as they arrived at Mumbai Airport on Friday.

The couple, both 26, who met on the Spiderman set, were in good spirits as they touched down.

Tom sported a dark hoodie paired with a pink shirt and jeans as he stepped out.

He added a cap to the ensemble, while Zendaya grinned in a long dark hoody and white T-Shirt.

She donned a pair of glasses, wearing her curly raven tresses in a half ponytail.

Cool but casual: Tom Holland and Zendaya cut casual figures in hoodies and leggings as they arrived at Mumbai Airport on Friday

Smiles: The couple, both 26, who met on the Spiderman set, were in good spirits as they touched down

It is unclear why the stars are in India, although some reports have suggested they could be in Mumbai for the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) launch.

It comes after the stars travelled to London together to spend time with his family earlier this month.

They were seen taking a stroll with the actor's parents, Nikki and Dominic Holland.

The foursome looked thrilled to be spending time together, and were pictured smiling while walking their dogs.

The adorable couple visited a park in Central London, accompanied by their four-legged companions.

Zendaya donned a grey hoodie underneath a puffer jacket and black sweatpants for the day.

She kept her hoodie up over her tresses and showed off her flawless visage with no hint of makeup.

Meanwhile Tom wore a vivid orange sweater underneath a brown suede jacket, which he paired with light blue jeans.

The actor wore a cream beanie and comfortable sneakers for the family outing.

Tom proudly walked one of the two family dogs, while his dad followed him with the other pooch.

His father kept warm in a navy puffer jacket and brown pants, which he paired with black sneakers.

He shielded his eyes with a pair of black sunglasses and was seen chatting to Zendaya as they walked behind Tom and his mum.

Visiting Tom's family: It comes after the stars travelled to London together to spend time with his family earlier this month

The happy couple met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, but they denied rumours of a relationship for a long time.

However, when the dynamic duo were spotted sharing a kiss in Tom's car in July of 2021, it was all but confirmed that the young couple's friendship had blossomed into something more.

'One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn't really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world  We sort of felt robbed of our privacy,' Holland revealed in an interview with GQ published later that year.
Vicky McClure was spotted filming for the new series of Trigger Point on Friday.

The actress, 39, donned a bomb disposal suit as she reprised her role as bomb disposal operative Lana Washington.

In photographs from the shoot in East London, Vicky looked pensive as she strolled on the set, also wearing a large backpack and explosives vest.

Another image showed Vicky's co-stars Mark Stanley, who plays DI Thom and Natalie Simpson, who plays DS Helen Morgan, chatting with crew.

Other snaps revealed cast members standing with the bomb disposal team and around a police car.

A second season of Trigger Point will be available later this year only on Stan.

New series: Vicky McClure filmed for the new series of Trigger Point in a bomb disposal suit as she reprised her role as Lana Washington on Friday

Star: In photographs from the shoot in East London, Vicky looked pensive as she strolled on the set, also wearing a large backpack and explosives vest

Cast: Another image showed Vicky's co-stars Mark Stanley, who plays DI Thom and Natalie Simpson, who plays DS Helen Morgan chatting with the other members of the cast

Vicky wrapped herself up in a coat at one point as she took a break from filming, while a crew member held an umbrella for her.

It comes after Vicky took to Instagram earlier this month to announce the return of the ITV series.

The Line of Duty star shared pictures from the set of the London-based thriller with her 721, 000 followers, teasing the release of its second series.

The actress was decked out in full costume for the series of snaps from the show.

Donning a serious expression, Vicky wore an explosives vest on top of in a dark grey jacket with a light grey Union Jack emblazoned on its sleeve.

The regalia was paired with a sturdy black helmet with its protective eye mask lifted up to reveal the star's blue eyes.

It was paired with black leather fingerless safety gloves and she held an electronic tablet.

Despite the intensity of the drama, the This Is England alum showed it wasn't all work and no play on the set as she shared a selfie with show producer Jed Mercurio.

Grins: Vicky grinned on the set in East London as the rain poured around her and the other actors

Fun: The rain failed to dampen Mark and Natalie's spirits and they shared a laugh with the crew as they enjoyed filming

Drama: As the drama continued filming, there was a line of police cars on set and the crew wrapped up in raincoats

Keeping it going: The bomb disposal crew filmed another dramatic scene with Natalie and Mark on set

Vicky and the Line of Duty creator, 57, grinned for the photo, both displaying their pearly white teeth.

The actress removed her helmet for the picture, revealing her slicked-back cropped brunette hair.

Co-star Eric Shango, who plays Danny, can be seen in the background, cheekily photobombing the pair with a peace sign.

Among the photos was an adorable shot of two Playmobile explosives experts placed on top one of the show's cameras.

She also teased fans by including a snap of the nodding dog toy who stole the fan's attention and hearts in series one.

She captioned the post: 'Back with another bang...Trigger Point series two incoming!'

She also joked: 'Swipe to see who's back' with a dog emoji, referring to the fan favourite car ornament.

The Nottingham native's friends and fans were delighted with the announcement, many commenting their joy over the show's return.

Behind-the-scenes: The bomb disposal squad, Mark, Natalie and the other crew head across the road to a police car

High-drama: Cast members dressed in grey suits walked down the stairs as they filmed the high-intensity drama

Trigger Point was written by screenwriting newcomer Daniel Brierley and produced by Jed's HTM Television.

The crime drama centres on Metropolitan Police Bomb Disposal Squad officers who risk their lives daily on 'the long walk' towards danger.

Series one focused on a terrorist campaign that threatened the capital over the summer with the bomb disposal operatives or 'Expos', at the forefront of urgent efforts to find out who is behind the bombings before fatalities escalate.

Nearly 11 million viewers watched the first episode and the series averaged 9.24 million viewers per episodes 1-4, as the audience enjoyed the series on ITV, ITV Hub and BritBox.
Bethenny Frankel wore a baby blue bikini and rose-tinted sunglasses while on vacation in St. Barts this week.

The 52-year-old mother-of-one  who recently defended Gwyneth Paltrow  looked youthful in the two-piece as she flashed her cleavage and toned midriff.

The social media personality's dark hair spilled out from underneath a wide-brimmed beach hat as she clutched a glass of her Forever Young white wine.

The star's beverage brand offers consumers a Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Rose, and Sauvignon Blanc.

Earlier this week the Real Housewives of New York City vet took to Instagram to document her downtime during her vacation.

Picture perfect: Bethenny Frankel wore a baby blue bikini and rose-tinted sunglasses while on vacation in St. Barts this week

Sizzling: Frankel looked youthful in the two-piece as she flashed her cleavage and toned midriff

Bethenny, a native of the Big Apple, walked along scenic white sand as she carried a bottle of her wine in a wicker basket adorned with small, colorful pom poms.

She was decked out in a gold watch, colored bracelets, and rings as she put on a glamorous vacation display.

Days ago the star showed off her trim physique in a mustard yellow, one-piece swimsuit with ruffles as she hit the beach for a quick swim in the ocean.

On Thursday the entrepreneur took to Instagram to share a video from her getaway with her 3.1 million followers.

She appeared online in a sun hat and stylish sunglasses as she recorded herself outdoors.

With the wind blowing around her she said to the camera, 'I'm here in St. Barts right now because I brought my daughter on a trip to come visit my accounts because in April we launched the line Forever Young.'

Bethenny shares 12-year-old Bryn Hoppy with her ex-husband Jason Hoppy, 52.

The superstar called the debut of the beverage line 'so incredible' and explained to viewers that 'Forever Young is the song that used to play at the end of the night at a nightclub called Paradise in Boston.'

Promo: On Thursday the entrepreneur took to Instagram to share a video from her getaway with her 3.1 million followers

She wrote in the caption, 'Do you want to be FOREVER YOUNG?' as she explained how the brand took shape.

The Just B With Bethenny Frankel podcast host also took to her Stories to post a windblown selfie in a strapless royal blue swimsuit.

She emphasized her trim waistline with a thick white belt fastened around her midsection.

The fashionista coordinated the look with a pair of matching blue-rimmed sunglasses.

Last August Bethenny teased the imminent release of her wines as she wrote on social media, 'Forever Young: do you really want to live forever? I do! coming soonand worth the wait in stores1/23.'

She first announced the venture in June 2021, taking to Instagram with a shot of herself holding a glass of the wine.

In the caption she referred to her past success with her Skinnygirl brand - which she sold for more than $100 million in 2011.

'Can lightning in a bottle strike twice?' she wrote. 'I cracked the code in the spirits business once before. My little cocktail baby was the fastest growing liquor brand in history, at the time.'

Stunning: The Just B With Bethenny Frankel podcast host also took to her Stories to post a windblown selfie in a strapless royal blue swimsuit

Proud mom: Bethenny shares 12-year-old Bryn Hoppy with her ex-husband Jason Hoppy, 52

She continued to toot her own horn as she added, ''I paved the way for many other media personalities to launch their own cocktail brands and created a new category.'

Frankel noted that she was the first female celeb to emerge with a breakthrough brand, in which she shattered previous industry norms regarding the marketing of alcohol.

She said, 'Celebrities have historically been strictly told to never be photographed with alcohol. Liquor companies were marketed by men to men and I changed that game.

'Now its a whole new world for women, thanks to my little brand that could. I waited until I found another brand and concept that I wanted to call my own.'
Arabella Chi showcased her incredible figure as she went braless in a sheer netted pink series in a new series of Instagram snaps on Friday.

The Love Island star, 32, shunned any lingerie in the neon mini dress in her latest post as fans went wild for the sizzling array of photos.

Arabella was showcasing a sun-kissed glow and opted for a natural pallet of make-up, while wearing her highlighted locks in a loose, straight style.

The thigh-grazing garment highlighted Arabella's long and lean limbs as she worked her angles for the camera, while posing on a stylish sofa.

Fans of the reality personality rushed to the comments section to complement the snaps, branding her 'mind blowing' and 'beautiful'.

Striking! Arabella Chi showcased her incredible figure as she went braless in a sheer netted pink series in a new series of Instagram snaps on Friday

The gallery of snaps come shortly after AJ Pritchard accused Arabella of ruining his opportunity to win 50,000 after they competed together on a recent game show.

The professional dancer teamed up with Arabella in forthcoming endurance based TV series The Challenge UK, where participants undertake a series of gruelling physical tests in a bid to win a cash prize.

The show also saw AJ's younger brother Curtis, who featured on Love Island alongside Arabella, team up with Kaz Crossley - who participated despite nursing a foot injury.

And AJ, 28, claims the fitness and swimwear model, 31, employed underhand tactics in a bid to win the cash for herself before ultimately costing them both a place in the top three by flunking their final challenge.

Speaking to The Sun, he fumed: 'We did not make the final three. If myself and Arabella made the final three, I'd have put my life on it that I would've won that show.

'But it seems as though it was Arabella that got Curtis knocked out and it was Arabella again that got me knocked out the final and lost me 50,000. I'm just going to throw it out there.

'That's a touchy subject and it's going to be touchy and a bit raw for the rest of my life!'

AJ also claims the former Love Island star 'played dirty' when they faced one another in an elimination round and 'repeatedly kicked' Kaz despite knowing she was hampered by a pre-existing injury.

Hot stuff! The Love Island star, 32, shunned any lingerie in the neon mini dress in her latest post as fans went wild for the sizzling array of photos

Glowing: Arabella was showcasing a sun-kissed glow and opted for a natural pallet of make-up, while wearing her highlighted locks in a loose, straight style

To make matters worse, he says she cost them the opportunity to progress further by struggling to complete a later mental challenge.

'I'm all about fair play, but the winner's the winner, loser is loser, end of,' he raged. 'But what was really annoying for me then making it through to the final and not winning because I was put back with Arabella again, and it came down to doing another puzzle and blame whoever you want, you could see it on camera.'

Hosted by former The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright, The Challenge UK sees a host of stars travel to Argentina for a series of arduous trials as they compete for their share of 100,000 prize money and the title of Challenge UK Champion.

Other celebrity contestants include TOWIE regulars Ella Rae Wise and James Lock, Love Island's Kaz Kamwi and A Place In The Sun host Danni Menzies.

Former Big Brother contestant Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, Below Deck Mediterraneans Courtney Veale, social media influencer Zara Zoffany, Ibiza Weekender cast-member Callum Izzard, Made in Chelsea star Tristan Phipps and Celebrity Big Brothers Ashley McKenzie are also taking part.

Not happy: The gallery of snaps come shortly after AJ Pritchard accused Arabella of ruining his opportunity to win 50,000 after they competed together on a recent game show
Jack Farthing has defended casting straight actors to play gay characters as he gave his opinion on the highly-debated topic.

The Poldark star, 37, said although he will always fight for equal opportunities for all actors, he doesn't believe a performer's sexuality has to 'match' their character's.

Jack, who is dating writer Hanako Footman, has most recently portrayed wealthy gay man Selby in Rain Dogs, which also stars Daisy May Cooper.

Speaking about his new series, Jack gave his stance on straight actors being cast in LGBTQ+ roles, saying sexuality is a 'broad spectrum'.

He told The Times: 'I will fight for all actors getting equal opportunities to the end of my days but I personally don't believe an actor's sexuality has to match exactly that of their character. Sexuality can be a broad spectrum.'

Candid: Jack Farthing has defended casting straight actors to play gay characters as he addressed the highly-debated issue

Debate: Jack has most recently portrayed gay man Selby in Rain Dogs, which also stars Daisy May Cooper, and said sexuality can be a 'broad spectrum' as he gave his thoughts on the topic

The debate over whether straight actors should play gay characters has been divisive throughout Hollywood.

Many feel that only LGBTQ+ actors have the experience to play the roles and that doing so would increase diversity in the film industry.

In 2021 Russell T Davies, who created hit Channel 4 series It's A Sin, said: 'You wouldn't cast someone able-bodies and out them in a wheelchair.'

However Cate Blanchett, who recently starred as Lydia Tar, took the opposing view, emphasising the importance of 'suspending disbelief' while acting.

Sir Ian McKellan took a similar stance, saying: 'We're acting. We're pretending.'

Meanwhile, Taron Egerton - who starred as Elton John in Rocketman - said he doesn't think there should be a 'blanket rule'.

He told Far Out Magazine: 'I grew up in a very liberal town and a couple of my close friends are gay.

'I feel an affinity with that community. I don't particularly feel that there should be a blanket rule about whether straight actors should play gay roles.

'That's very easy for me to say as a straight man, but I think that's possibly a precedent not worth setting.'

Jack, best known for his role as villain George Warleggan in Poldark, has teamed up with comedian Daisy May Cooper for Rain Dogs, which was released on March 6.

Plot: Rain Dogs sees Selby (Jack) attempt to restart his friendship with Costello Jones (Daisy), who is a single mother to daughter Iris (Fleur Tashjian), after his release from prison

Opinions: The debate over whether straight actors should play gay characters has been divisive, with Rocketman's Taron Egerton saying there shouldn't be a 'blanket rule'

The comedy-drama series, written by Cash Carraway, sees Selby (Jack) attempt to restart his friendship with Costello Jones (Daisy) after his release from prison.

Daisy stars as young single mother Costello, who is living with her ten-year-old daughter in the brutal lonely landscape of austerity Britain.

The show follows working-class Costello and her daughter Iris (Fleur Tashjian) as they are evicted from their home and scramble to find new accommodation.

A synopsis of the plot reads: 'An unconventional love story between a working-class single mum, her young daughter and a privileged gay man.'
Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen has been accused of 'living a lie' by the jilted wife of her 'businessman lover' Robert Davies.

The TV star and mum-of nine, 48, is believed to have been having the affair for five years with the 71-year-old despite portraying the image of a devoted wife to now estranged husband Clive, 68, on screen.

Speaking to The Sun a devastated Yasumi Davies, 56, revealed she uncovered the affair when she found a love note in her husband's car last March.

The scribbled message from Amanda read: 'Robert, life is too short & happiness is too rare. I love you.'

The investment banker from Toyko said she confronted her husband after recognising the handwriting from a signed copy of Amanda's book.

Jilted: Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen has been accused of 'living a lie' by the jilted wife of her 'businessman lover' Robert Davies, Yasumi Davies (pictured earlier this week)

Living a lie? The TV star and mum-of nine, 48, is believed to have been having the affair for five years with the 71-year-old (pictured together earlier this week)

Living a lie? Yasumi claimed the affair began even when Amanda was portraying the role of a devoted wife on screen

She told the publication: '[Robert] said they'd been having an affair for a few years. But instead of acknowledging the pain I was suffering, he was more concerned about protecting [Amanda's] TV career'.

She went on to say: '[Amanda has] portrayed herself as a wife and a mother, devoted to family, hard-working and an inspiration to others.

'But it is all a lie. I never imagined she was someone else behind the cameras and the truth has broken my heart and ended my marriage. There is another side to her'.

MailOnline have contacted representatives for Amanda for comment.

Despite reportedly ending the relationship on the telephone months later he rekindled the romance.

Earlier this week MailOnline reported friends of Yusami, had spoken of their shock after the businessman walked out of the family home and ended their 12-year marriage after confessing to an having the affair.

A source close to Yusami said: 'She is absolutely heartbroken by what's happened. She can't believe it. She gave up a career in banking after meeting Rob in Tokyo and he persuaded her to leave all of her family and friends in Japan to start a new life with him in the UK.

'Now he has left her on her own to start a new relationship with Amanda. She is so upset and lonely.'

Amanda and web designer Mr Davies, who has been married four times, were pictured together this weekend and are said to be 'inseparable', despite their 23-year age gap.

Happier times: The investment banker from Toyko said she confronted her husband after recognising the handwriting from a signed copy of Amanda's book

Heartbreak: Despite reportedly ending the relationship on the telephone months later he rekindled the romance

Lashing out: She went on to say: '[Amanda has] portrayed herself as a wife and a mother, devoted to family, hard-working and an inspiration to others - but it's all a lie' (Amanda pictured with estranges husband Clive in 2020)

The star and former model announced her separation from Clive, 68, in July, with whom she has nine children, shortly after they said their marriage had hit a 'rocky patch'.

Amanda and Mr Davies have known each other for at least five years since she and Clive recruited him to update her personal website in 2018. Their friendship is believed to have blossomed through working closely together.

The source close to Mrs Davies said: 'Yasumi suspected for some time that Robert was up to something. She felt as if he wasn't really present around her and that his head was somewhere else.

'She was cleaning out the car and she found a handwritten note. There was no name but it was pretty clear who it was from.

'Yasumi asked Rob for an explanation and he said he had fallen in love with Amanda and that they had been seeing each other for five years.

Sad: Earlier this week MailOnline reported friends of Yusami, had spoken of their shock after the businessman walked out of the family home and ended their 12-year marriage after confessing to an having the affair

Upset: A source close to Yusami said: 'She is absolutely heartbroken by what's happened. She can't believe it'

Yusami's friend said: 'Now he has left her on her own to start a new relationship with Amanda'

'It was a bolt from the blue for Yasumi. She left Japan to move to the UK for Robert and he's just walked out on her.'

The source added: 'Yasumi thought she was in a happy marriage. She's got lots of fond memories.

'She met Rob in Japan and they married in Tokyo. She left everything behind to follow him to the UK.

'She knew he had a friendship with Amanda but thought it was nothing more. They went on a clay pigeon shoot together in 2021 and he went with her on her theatre tours, but insisted there was nothing more to it.

'It was only when she found the letter that she realised what had been going on.'

It is understood that Mr Davies, who has three children from three earlier marriages, ended the relationship with Amanda in March 2022 after being issued an ultimatum by his wife.

But he moved out two months later after rekindling the romance with the Our Yorkshire Farm star.

Life goes on: Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda is 'inseparable' with a new man - businessman Robert (pictured right), ten months after she split from husband Clive

Split: Amanda confirmed she had separated from her husband of 21 years Clive, 68, last summer, they share nine children together (pictured in 2020)

Neighbours at the Davies' marital home in Malton, North Yorkshire, told how Mr Davies occasionally pops around to mow the lawn or carry out home renovations.

They said: 'He'll stop by every two weeks or so. If Yasumi is in he will say hello. He still cares for her - and she does in return - but he has clearly moved on. They are still married but are living separate lives.'

Mr Davies and Amanda were pictured together this weekend in Folkestone, Kent, where she was speaking at Leas Cliff Hall as part of her 'Evening with' tour.

The Owen family, nicknamed the 'Kardashians of the countryside', documented their life on the Channel 5 show, which ran from 2018 to 2022.

The friend said: 'Everyone is so surprised by it. Yasumi has told us that she feels fine, and that's she is strong. But you can tell she is still in shock.

'She gave up her job at an investment bank to come to Yorkshire. It's just her - she has no family here to turn to.

'We feel so sorry for her. She thinks Amanda has been selfish and wrapped her fingers around her husband. She's put herself first.

'There's nothing secret about the relationship.'

Mr Davies, runs It'seeze Web Design Scarborough, the company behind Amanda's website.

The celebrity shepherdess revealed she had made the 'difficult decision to separate' from Clive in a joint statement last summer.

'This hasn't been easy, but we both believe it's the right choice for the future of our family,' it read.

And in a statement published in October 2021 the couple said that there were 'stresses and strains' on their marriage.
After establishing diplomatic relations, Honduras anticipates significant opportunities with China

Xinhua) 15:48, March 31, 2023

TEGUCIGALPA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Honduras, a Central American country endowed with excellent growth potential, has embraced a golden opportunity to boost its social and economic development after establishing diplomatic relations with China on Sunday.

With China promoting win-win cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean through the Belt and Road Initiative and other frameworks, Honduras will enjoy the dividends of the broader collaboration and benefit from China's investment in its economy.

China will fully support Honduras' economic and social development and improvement of its people's living standards, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang said, adding that China is willing to expand imports of Honduran specialty products, encourage Chinese companies to invest in Honduras, participate in large-scale infrastructure construction in Honduras and prioritize implementing projects benefiting people's livelihoods.

Alejandro Alonzo, a chef at an Italian restaurant in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, expects formal relations with China to become a significant driving force for his country's development, hoping that China could help Honduras and its people solve socioeconomic problems.

Joseana Martinez is fond of Chinese culture and customs. "Chinese culture has been in our country for a long history," the Tegucigalpa citizen said, "we hope we can continue to explore Chinese traditional customs and food, share each other's culture and learn more about China."

Noting that establishing Honduras-China diplomatic ties is an independent and courageous historic decision, Manuel Antonio Diaz, attorney general of Honduras, said that no country can ignore China's status and role in the global economy, finance and trade.

According to Chinese Customs statistics, trade between China and Honduras reached 1.589 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.

Armando Vidal, who has been in the tourism industry for over 20 years, is ready to welcome Chinese tourists to visit local scenic splendors and experience Hondurans' hospitality. Vidal said that establishing bilateral diplomatic ties will attract Chinese tourists to Honduras and bolster local revenues.

"We Hondurans are delighted because we have a friend like China," said Jury Hernandez, a resident in Tegucigalpa. "The development of bilateral relations will benefit the Honduran people."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley took to Instagram on Thursday to share rare snaps of her her fiance Jason Statham during a whirlwind 24-hour getaway in Antwerp.

The couple - who has been engaged since 2016 - appeared to be in the company of Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen and his partner Mateo Bou Bahler.

The Victoria's Secret star, 35, shared a slew of snaps of the getaway with Jason, 55, as they enjoyed a break from parenting duties for the city trip.

In her first post, Rosie can be seen hugging her pal Vincent as they relaxed on the trip together.

She captioned the post: '24 hours in Antwerp pt 1.'

Quick getaway: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley took to Instagram on Thursday to share snaps of her 24-hours getaway in Antwerp with beau Jason Statham

Meeting: The Victoria's Secret star shared a slew of snaps from the trip, including one of her chic look, consisting of a sophisticated olive coat over an all-black ensemble

She added a sweet selfie of her and Jason after paying a visit to their architect pals, and in another image she showed off her sophisticated look in a mirror snap.

For the outing, Rosie donned a classy olive green trench coat over an all-black ensemble, teamed with a matching chained clutch bag.

Another snap showed Jason posing with Vincent and Mateo as they relaxed together.

The Fast and Furious legend opted for a khaki jacket with a white T-shirt.

In a second Instagram carousel - captioned '24 hours in Antwerp pt 2.' - several snaps show the couple attending art, architecture and interior design exhibitions.

The first snap portrayed the runway veteran inside an art exhibition room as she sat with her arms crossed surrounded by different paintings by Axel Vervoordt.

Rosie also shared a few snaps of Jason from behind as he wandered between the rooms, one in particular with a flashy pink light screen.

The rest of the snaps showed stunning interiors and architecture design, as well as artworks - as Rosie finished off with a far pic of what appeared to be their private jet.

Friends: The couple - who has been engaged since 2016 - appeared to be in the company of Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen and his partner Mateo Bou Bahler

Pals: Another snap showed Jason posing with Vincent and Mateo as they relaxed together

In the second carousel - captioned '24 hours in Antwerp pt 2.' - several snaps show the couple inside art, architecture and interior design exhibitions.

Van Duysen has worked before with several celebrities, including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West when they were married and Carrie star Julianne Moore.

The bombshell was spotted leaving a private members' club in West London on Tuesday without her engagement ring - but it appears there is no trouble in paradise at all.

The model nailed off-duty chic in a cream military-style coat, which she teamed with a white Ritz Paris cap and white trainers.

In keeping with her casual look, Rosie donned a black hoodie beneath her coat and matching joggers.

Finishing her look, she added dark sunglasses and a black YSL handbag, however, Rosie did appear to be missing her engagement ring.

The stunner was seen touching her lip with her phone in hand - with her diamond sparkler nowhere to be seen.

MailOnline have contacted Rosie's representatives for comment.

Exploring: In the second carousel - captioned '24 hours in Antwerp pt 2.' - several snaps show the couple inside art, architecture and interior design exhibitions

Gorgeous: The first pic portrays the runaway veteran inside an art exhibition room as she sat with her arms crossed surrounded by different paintings by Axel Vervoordt

Ensemble: Jason appeared to be switching look as he wore a black jumper on top and a grey beanie

Back home: The rest of the snaps showed stunning interiors and architecture design, as well as artworks - as Rosie finished off with a far pic of what appeared to be their private jet

Recently, Rosie and her actor beau partner Jason , 55, were spotted looking loved up at London Fashion Week.

The couple, who share son Jack and daughter Isabella, shared a smitten embrace before Rosie kissed him affectionately on the cheek.

The duo, who have been in a relationship since 2010, arrived hand-in-hand at the star-studded event at the end of February.

They were in the company of many famous faces too, with the likes of Jodie Comer, Stormzy, Skepta and Naomi Campbell also in attendance.
The Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau asked the French Health Security Agency (ANSES) to reconsider its desire to ban the main uses of the herbicide S-metolachlor, still authorized in the European Union, a- he said Thursday at the FNSEA congress.

"I have just asked ANSES for a reassessment of its decision on S-metolachlor, because this decision is not aligned with the European timetable and it falls" without "credible alternatives", he said. announced before the delegates of the majority agricultural union, meeting since Tuesday in Angers. "This is an extremely serious statement which undermines the independence of ANSES", was scandalized with Agence France Presse the socialist deputy Dominique Potier. "It calls into question a 2014 law which has been a consensus for ten years and which provides that the ministries give up their prerogatives to trust ANSES".

ANSES announced on February 15 its desire to ban the main uses of S-metolachlor, an agricultural herbicide widely used in France, whose chemical derivatives have been detected beyond the authorized limits in groundwater. "I will not be the minister who abandons strategic decisions for our food sovereignty at the sole discretion of an agency," Marc Fesneau told farmers and union representatives.

"We must base ourselves on science to assess before deciding (...) but ANSES is not intended to decide everything, all the time, outside the European field and without ever thinking about the consequences for our sectors. ", he added.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has been responsible since 2015 for reassessing the authorization of this herbicide. It classified it as a "suspected carcinogen" last June, and seems to be moving towards a ban, according to the NGO Generations Futures. ANSES, which has not yet issued its final decision on the herbicide, did not wish to comment on the minister's remarks.

"I'm not questioning the work, I'm just saying that we have to change the method and therefore we will change the method," said Marc Fesneau.

The minister "takes control of economic power in the short term", denounced MP Potier again. "When a product is carcinogenic, it is withdrawn, it is the French doctrine and it is not up to an economic lobby to go back on it", he added.

At the Agricultural Show at the end of February, Emmanuel Macron and then Elisabeth Borne announced a "development plan for alternatives for the most important phytosanitary products", assuring farmers of state support after recent bans on their uses.

"We will now respect the European framework and nothing but the European framework," assured the Prime Minister.
Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga is poised to become the next President of the World Bank after the nomination period closed and no country proposed an alternate candidate for the prestigious post.

In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history."

The World Bank on Wednesday closed a month-long window for nominations for its next president, with no alternatives announced to 63-year-old Banga. The former Mastercard Inc. Chief, Banga currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic.

The bank's board is expected to announce the next steps in its selection process on Thursday, with a view to confirming a new leader by early May.

"Over the next few months, you will see the World Bank undergo an important transition. We expect that Ajay Banga - President Biden's nominee - will be elected President of the World Bank," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday. "He will be charged with accelerating our progress to evolve the institution to better address 21st century challenges. This evolution will help the Bank deliver on its vital poverty alleviation and development goals," Yellen said.

If confirmed, Banga would become the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Banga is expected to replace the current World Bank president David Malpass, who will step down in June, nearly a year before his term is scheduled to expire. Malpass faced strong criticism over the bank's commitment to climate action and over his personal views on climate change.

Last week, reports emerged that China sounded doubtful about backing Banga, saying it is "open" to supporting "other potential candidates" based on merit. Banga, however, received overwhelming support from major countries across the world, including India.

Following Banga's nomination, he has travelled to several countries for support.

A coalition of 55 advocates, academics, executives, luminaries, and former government officials  including four Nobel Laureates  wrote an open letter to welcome and support Banga's nomination as the next President of the World Bank.

Raised in India, Banga has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity, President Biden had said. He has also worked closely with Vice President Harris as the Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016. Banga is expected to take over the reins of the anti-poverty lender at a crucial time, with the US and Western nations pitching for reforms to focus on addressing a slew of wide-ranging global issues like climate change.
Globally, China is rapidly gaining influence over the US and asserting its diplomatic muscle by investing disproportionately in seedy regimes

In 2000, China accounted for less than 2% of South Americas exports which spiralled thereafter at over 30% annually to reach $180 billion in 2010, $450 billion by 2021, and expected to exceed $700 billion by 2035! Beijing is now South Americas top trade partner with countries like Chile accounting for nearly 40% of their exports to China. It didnt happen by chance, but by concerted Chinese design. China had invested disproportionately and knowingly with a 'no-strings-attached' policy that necessitated no preachy conditions or reform insistence. This leniency appealed to a host of illiberal and undemocratic regimes (e.g., pariahised Venezuela was given loans of more than $64 billion, causing fears of a debt trap to arise). Chinas internal South-South cooperation policy was further bolstered by the inclusion of initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or even the more recent Covid-19 diplomacy that ensured transactional support and investments. Besides the reciprocal gratification of raw materials and the emergence of an alternative power centre, China replaced US control and assert its diplomatic muscle and leverage on the world stage.

One obvious element of quid pro quo sought by the Chinese for loosening their purse strings in economically struggling South America was the switch to derecognize its nemesis Taiwan (Republic of China) to the One-China policy (with the assumption that Taiwan is an essential part of the Chinese mainland, to be reunified one day). South American countries were especially in large numbers among those who recognised Taiwan as the Chinese had little or no leverage, historically  today, with its deep pockets and flexing of bargaining muscle, one South American country after the other flipped sides in favour of China. Oddly enough, even the US and India remain vested in the One-China stance, grandstanding and sabre-rattling notwithstanding.

Honduras became the latest to fall prey to the Chinese buyout as its President, Xiomara Castro, did a brazen flip-flop within weeks of downplaying rumours of a switchover. Xiomara remained garbled in her justification, a sign of my determination to fulfil the government plan and expand borders, but her foreign minister, Eduardo Reina, did some plain speak when he said that the switchover was about, pragmatism, not ideology and that Honduras was in desperate need of finances as its urgent requirements were, drowning the country! This leaves the shrinking list of those countries that still recognise Taiwan to just 13 out of the 193 UN member states i.e., the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, Eswatini, the Holy See and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Access to the Chinese market and Treasury triumphs over all moral and diplomatic positions. Ironically, Taiwan remains formally unrecognised even by its most prominent allies, the USA (despite bipartisan unity on Taiwan). Jimmy Carters abandonment of diplomatic ties with Taiwan to recognise Beijing instead, initiated a complexity and absurdity of relationship that the USA continues to grapple with as it supplies weapons to a nation that it does not fully recognise.

Chinas unofficial mouthpiece, Global Times noted bluntly, The US does not have enough resources to assist Honduras or make any effective pledges to Honduras in exchange for Honduras' change of mind. The case of Honduras shows that as long as countries stay firm, US obstruction and interference will not work. This will have a domino effect on Taiwan's remaining "allies" such as Guatemala, Belize and Paraguay. The Chinese have no qualms about simply buying out the last bastions in South America, as the USA cannot make a counteroffer that is financially attractive enough to spurn Beijings advances. As if to confirm its intent, the Global Times concludes, The sleepwalking of "Taiwan independence" is ending."

Taiwan or its allies in Capitol Hill cannot compete with the Chinese coffers and are getting outbid, but that does not mean that there are no underlying concerns in accepting the Chinese terms. The reality of Chinese debt traps is legendary and short-term bailouts do not end well. Micronesias outgoing President, David Panuelo had accused Beijing of political warfare by insinuating that it was interfering and preventing the switchover from China to Taiwan. China remains hypersensitive to the Taiwan issue and shows very short patience with what it insists are its internal issues. Recent developments in the wars in Afghanistan and Ukraine have exposed the limits of the so-called superpowers ability to take over and control the targeted landmass infinitely. Therefore, ensnaring and controlling those regions through buyouts is decidedly easier, and even more sustainable.

Honduras recognised the Taipei government for 82 years. However, the wanton lure of a hydroelectric dam and billions of dollars in aid was irresistible. Not too many believe the Chinese line of Honduras sees through Washingtons bullying diplomacy as the pattern and accompanying terms of the switchover are eerily consistent and seemingly generous (initially). The price for the switchover was the upfront admission by the Honduran authorities that there is only one China in the world. The days of principled diplomatic stands are over, and commerce and coercion define the new global order. China is the high temple of realpolitik.

(The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry. The views expressed are personal)
The policy needs more push for stronger relations with SE Asia through NE States

Indias vision of a Look East policy and Japans vision regarding a free and open Indo Pacific meet in Indias landlocked northeast. India for long has championed its Look East policy. This aims to develop deeper relations with countries in South East Asia and the Bay of Bengal region through northeastern (much to be tapped) States as a major gateway. Meanwhile, for more than a decade, Japan has been focusing on free, open and fair Indo Pacific policy, with emphasis on free movement of people, trade across land, sea and air routes, all through the region. India's northeastern States form an important access node.

Last week Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, during his India visit, reemphasised the desire to pursue a more engaged Indo Pacific policy. This has for the past two years become the most strategic foreign policy component for the US and Europe. It is also the glue holding together India, US, Australia and Japan in their QUAD grouping.

Japan has been promoting key infrastructure projects in Indias northeast to create seamless trade and transport routes. It has been assisting in developing northeast road network connectivity improvement projects in Assam and Meghalaya, sewage and water supply projects in Assam, development of schools in Manipur, projects related to forest management in Tripura and Nagaland and sustainable agriculture projects in Mizoram. Japans investment in the northeast is $2 billion so far. In addition, the Japanese Government has picked up key infrastructure projects such as the MatarBari deep water port in Bangladesh. This will be complemented by the construction of connecting roads in Assam, Mizoram and Tripura. Once completed, these infrastructure projects would provide seamless access from the northeast to Bay of Bengal sea ports. In addition, they would serve as a major trade transit route for goods from Southeast Asia and beyond.

This promises to bring more prosperity to the entire region, not just within India's geographical boundaries. It fits well into the Japanese vision of comprehensive economic and regional development, based on law. It may be noteworthy that the other Asian giant, China, has rapidly expanded its sphere of influence in the region through its opaque Belt and Road Initiative. This has tied many of these countries into multiyear fatal debt traps. India and Japan are the major economies not part of China's debt trap infrastructure financing projects. Their vision for the Indo Pacific is different from Chinas.

India and Japan, during the leadership meeting in New Delhi, highlighted the need for expanding the partnership to more ASEAN countries. Even the QUAD Foreign Ministers meeting in March emphasised the centrality of ASEAN and the need for greater engagement. It is significant that Japan is working in a structured manner in Indias neighbourhood. This is with some of Indias most trusted allies such as Bangladesh on a path of regional prosperity. Japan has been working with India since 2017 to support NEs development. Japan has clearly articulated that it is keen to tie the two ports, one in Bangladesh and the other in Indias NE, for greater economic cooperation.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh while addressing a BIMSTEC meet in Kolkata this week stressed the need for Indias north eastern region to be the leading edge of Indias Act East diplomacy. He emphasised the need for developing transportation facilities and trade within BIMSTEC partners. His caution for BIMSTEC countries was to follow a modest yet practical approach. Any creative solutions for increasing trade in this region also click well with Japans push for increased economic prosperity and connectivity for the Indo Pacific.

(The author is a foreign affairs commentator)
The current overemphasis on acquiring skills at the cost of compromising life fundamentals would be counterproductive in the long run and needs a relook

Nowadays, the most popular phrases are skill formation and employability. There's nothing wrong with that. These are apparently innocent favourites which also contribute to social growth. Even innocent phrases can have ramifications, even for the purpose of social growth. Illustratively, skill formation would reference educational institutions. Educational institutions cannot just focus on 'skill formation' and 'employability'. Educational institutions must have as their priority training the mind, educating a person and making him a worthy member of society capable of contributing to overall growth. There is indeed a school of thought which argues that education requires as its end objectives character building, preparing for responsible citizenship and the like. Ever since the current system of university education with its segmented approach to degrees came into being, there has been a running debate on the objectives of education.

Mind training and general orientation towards learning are multi-layered processes. Liberal education is supposed to cater for them. It is difficult to conceive of a skilled person who is not a good human being, ethical and contributes to collective welfare.

Individual growth, by definition, is embedded in a social environment with sound values and norms. There is clearly not much debate on the issues outlined above. However, factoring in the economic context, including gaps and shifts in livelihood processes, becomes a poignant element in its own right. An illustration may be in order; consider India's rural sector. There are various processes and learning segments in agriculture which give the farmer a position of primacy in the country's economic framework.

However, a closer look at the lay of the land, both literally and methodologically, will show two things. The amount of land on the subcontinent is constant. Other variables are not. The number of people who rely on a livelihood from agriculture has exponentially increased. This means, the number of people deriving their livelihood from agriculture has grown to the extent that the land available per head has substantially receded. Further even as the productivity of agriculture has grown, the revenues to the farmer per head have declined. This is, also, because the portion of land per head has become smaller with an increasing population.

That is not the end of the story. Additionally, there is the factor of the switch in crops, at times, from cereal to cash crops, and from cash crops to cereal. This means that, in certain cases, the total income from agricultural products has gone down for various reasons. Not the least of which would be the consequences of continuing cereal cultivation. Further, however, if the farmer switched to cash crops, it would be difficult to sustain. This is due to a lack of understanding of how to choose, cultivate and market cash crops.

The problem does not end there. There are other shifts because of the economic transition as cereal land value declines. There emerges an exponentially rising demand for tertiary sector earnings in rural areas, such as for carpenters, blacksmiths, electrical workers, and the like. This is different from the earlier dispensation. Then, it is not as if the blacksmith and the cobbler were not required. However, the rising demand for their numbers was consistent with the rise in population growth. If the income from the tertiary sector in the rural areas grew it still did not divert people, in terms of percentages, from agriculture in any significant way. In agriculture itself the market was not a prime determinant of switching from cash to cereal crops or vice versa. The market remained essentially local. The introduction of technology changed all that.

Technology caused a serious disruption of the economy and disturbed the economic viability and health of the existing socio-economic system of the villages. The present excessive serenading of technology virtues eschews taking a balanced view of the prerequisites and consequences of the technology factor.

To illustrate the point, consider a family of five young men living with an elderly gentleman (their father?). If three of them entered the wage market of the tertiary sector and two of them continued making their livelihood by tilling the land, even then there would be further land fragmentation. As a result, the return per head would go down since the 'elderly gentleman''s labour and talent would now be split among two heads. This would be a generational issue.

Whether the output was cereal or cash crops would be a separate consideration. The one producing cash crops would likely be better off than the one producing cereals. So in effect, among the five young men in the family, there would be an income differential among those (three of the five) who earned from the tertiary sector and even between the two still tilling the land.

This economic reality is the outcome of social disturbances, which could affect the collective social fabric of the village's occupational profile. If allowed to run its course, the real need is economic policies at a local level. This would rationalise and smoothen the disruptions caused.

Unfortunately, at a local level, few states have shown a tendency or propensity to frame economic policies that would help create a social feedback loop. This will grow talent in each of the required income-generating avenues.

This is a serious matter that seems to be escaping the attention of policymakers at a time when it needs to be addressed. For a stable society, with proper wage-earning channels and comparable lifestyles arising therefrom, a requirement is viable and organic economic growth. Having a system so severely divided will create gaps in the economic framework in general, not only in the hinterland but elsewhere. This could lead to manpower shortages in critical sectors of the economy and, among others, encourage population growth in urban areas. Social and economic equity require talent and compensation to be available in equal measure in all critical sectors of the nations life.

As noted earlier it is not as if in the earlier dispensation the blacksmith and the cobbler were not required. It has also been analysed how, as the population grows and the income from the tertiary sector in the rural areas grows, fewer and fewer people take an interest in the tilling of the land. Further, even in the tilling of the land, cash crops are preferred over cereals.

It has further been argued that this is a serious distortion of the economy. It creates dissonance in the economic viability and health of the social fabric of the villages. Many professionals and policy makers seem to have missed the point, and employment promotion based on catchy slogans seems to confuse the issue.

To conclude, nobody grudges the emphasis on skill formation, but like everything else, overemphasis on skill formation to the neglect of fundamentals of life and distorted by profit oriented economics, is something which requires a good second and third look.

(The author is an internationally acclaimed management consultant. The views expressed are personal)
'KGF' director Prashant Neel is literally going places to ensure that Prabhas-starrer 'Salaar' is a feast for the eyes.

Mid-March saw the team shift location to Matera, the old southern Italian town famous for its prehistoric whitewashed caves to shoot for the highly anticipated movie, written and directed by Prashanth Neel and produced by Vijay Kiragandur's Hombale Films.

Incidentally, the action prologue for the 2021 James Bond film 'No Time to Die' was shot in Matera. Several other international movies have also been shot here.

Unit sources said that 'Salaar' production has now moved to Naples, where preparations for filming in the southern port city's central Piazza del Plebiscito plaza are underway.

The local police are assisting with the set preparations, which include the use of drones and lighting for night shooting. Aside from Matera and Naples, other 'Salaar' locales include Rome and Budapest.

Pan-India star Prabhas will be seen playing a dual role in the movie, according to sources.

While the plot details are sketchy at the moment, 'Salaar' is said to be about two young people from different nations who fall in love despite the distance and cultural differences, and overcome numerous challenges.

The first installment of the thriller with a love undercurrent is set to be released internationally on September 28 in Telugu and dubbed versions in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and English.
Underlining that fight against terrorism is common concern for both countries, the Speaker of Israels Parliament has said the planners of the "abominable" 2008 Mumbai terror attack should pay a heavy price for it. He made these remarks ahead of his four-day visit to India starting Friday.

Amir Ohana, a close confidante of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will be on his first official visit abroad after assuming office in December last year.

Stating that the menace of terrorism is a common concern, Ohana, a former Shin Bet (Israeli internal security agency) official, told PTI that the fight to counter it requires all the progressive countries to come together.

Both India and Israel face the problem of terrorism, and the fight against it is a joint one, Ohana said.

"We all remember the abominable terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008 in which over 207 people were murdered, of which 178 were Indians. Among the foreigners who were murdered were unfortunately also Israelis and Jews who came to the Chabad house," Ohana pointed out.

"It was an attack not only on India but also on Jews and free people everywhere," the Knesset Speaker said, adding that it was an attack on the shared values of India and Israel. "Whoever planned and sent the terrorists from the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba should pay a heavy price for it", he said.

"The attack on the Chabad house (in Mumbai) symbolises a common pain for India and Israel, but also our partnership in the uncompromising fight against terrorism," Ohana said.
Days after the US remarked it was watching legal proceedings regarding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Germany on Thursday said fundamental democratic principles should apply in his case.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, an MP from Wayanad, Kerala was disqualified last week as a Member of Lok Sabha (MP) from the date of his conviction in the criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark.

Enunciating her countrys position, spokesperson of the German Foreign Ministry said, We have taken note of the verdict of first instance against the Indian Opposition politician Rahul Gandhi as well as the suspension of his parliamentary mandate. To our knowledge, Mr Gandhi is in a position to appeal the verdict.

She also said, It will then become clear whether this verdict will stand and whether the suspension of his mandate has any basis. The spokesperson said Germany expects that standards of judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles will apply in the case.

This statement by Germany sparked a political slugfest in the country with the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress exchanging sharp remarks on the issue.

Responding to Germanys remarks, the Congress said it firmly believes that Indias democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to its democracy. It also hit out at the BJP, accusing it of attempting to divert attention from the Adani issue.

In a smart rejoinder to Germanys remarks, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said India will not tolerate foreign interference in internal matters.

Thank you Rahul Gandhi for inviting foreign powers for interference into Indias internal matters. Remember, the Indian Judiciary cant be influenced by foreign interference. India wont tolerate foreign influence anymore because our Prime Minister is Shri Narendra Modi Ji (sic), Rijiju said in a tweet.

Earlier this week, the US said it is watching the Rahul Gandhi case and they continue to engage with the Indian Government on a shared commitment to democratic values, including freedom of expression.

Respect for the rule of law and judicial independence is a cornerstone of any democracy, and were watching Mr Gandhis (Rahul Gandhi) case in Indian courts, US Department of State Principal Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

On Thursday, the BJP slammed Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijay Singh for thanking Germany for taking note of Rahul Gandhis disqualification from Lok Sabha and charged the Opposition party with inviting foreign powers for interference into Indias internal matters.

The ruling party described Singh and his party as a "disgrace to the nation". The BJP leaders reacted after he thanked the German Foreign Ministry and Richard Walker, Chief International Editor of Deutsche Welle, for "taking note of how Democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi".

Attacking the Congress over Singh's tweet, Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said, "disgrace to nation, @INCIndia & @RahulGandhi don't believe to fight India's democratic, political and legal battle within country, hence, invite foreign powers to interfere in our internal matter. But New India headed by @narendramodi Ji will not tolerate any foreign intervention."Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman also slammed the Congress over Singh's tweet.

"Apparent that @INCIndia wants foreign interference in our affairs. Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Communist Party of China with opaque contents. During interactions abroad, plead for help to change government. Thank them when help forthcoming. Any more proof needed?" she said.

Appearing to be in damage control mode, the Congress said it firmly believes that India's democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to its democracy. It also hit out at the BJP, accusing it of attempting to divert attention from the Adani issue.

Without taking names, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter,"@INCIndia firmly believes that India's democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to our democracy by Mr. Modi's assault on our institutions & his politics of vendetta, intimidation, threats & harassment."

The Congress and Opposition parties will take him on fearlessly, Ramesh said. Attacking Rijiju for his comments, Congress' media department head Pawan Khera said, "Mr. Rijiju, why divert from the main issue?

The issue is that the Prime Minister cannot answer Rahul Gandhi's questions about Adani." Instead of "misleading" people, please answer the questions, Khera said.

Earlier, tagging Singh's tweet, BJP's foreign affairs department head leader Vijay Chauthaiwale said on Twitter, "Look how happy @digvijaya_28 ji with comments from Germany.

It only shows how they are desperate to involve external agencies in domestic matters." BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya also tagged Singh's tweet and said, "Shameful that Congress continues to lean on foreign agencies and seek their intervention in India's internal affairs."

"Rahul Gandhi had recently sought Europe and US intervention and now it is Digvijay Singh. But Law is the Law Unless somebody thinks Law is not the Law for them," he said.

The BJP tweeted, "Let this be on record. For the first time in Independent India's history, Congress leaders are pleading foreign powers to intervene in India's democratic process and weigh in on our judicial decisions It is a brazen attempt to undermine people's will and India's sovereignty." Rahul was disqualified from Lok Sabha on March 23 after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark.
A word war began between former IPL chief Lalit Modi, accused of financial irregularities in India, and the Congress on Thursday, with the former launching a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi. This was in response to an acidic attack from the Congress which had called Modi a fugitive of justice.

The Congress on Thursday used Lalit Modis tweets threatening to take Rahul Gandhi to court to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying that global scamsters were now coming to the defence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reacting to Lalit Modis remarks, Congress general secretary in-charge organisation KC Venugopal said, Lalit Modi is a fugitive in multi-million dollar frauds whose cowardice made him run away. He now enjoys a plush life abroad thanks to BJPs inaction. Its laughable if he thinks anyone takes him seriously.

"A new low for PM Modi, that global scamsters are coming to his defence," Venugopal said. Taking a dig at the BJP, Congress' media and publicity department chief Pawan Khera said, "Is now Saheb taking help from abroad to threaten Rahulji with legal action?"

He went on to say, "Will pressure be put on Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya, etc.? To file a case against Rahul Gandhi?" The Opposition party has been attacking the BJP for allegedly allowing economic offenders such as Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Mehul Choksi get away and flee abroad with people's money. In a series of tweets, Lalit Modi said, "I see just about every Tom, Dick and Gandhi associates again and again saying I am a fugitive of justice. Why? How? and when was I...Convicted of same."

"Unlike #Papu aka @RahulGandhi now an ordinary citizen saying it and it seems one and all opposition leaders have nothing else to do so they too are either ill- informed or just vendetta prone.

I have decided to take the @RahulGandhi...To court in UK right away. I am sure he will have to come up with some solid evidence. I look forward to seeing him make a complete fool of himself," he tweeted.
In fresh trouble for beleaguered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, an MP/MLA court in Patna has asked him to appear in court on April 12 in connection with a petition filed against him over his Modi surname remark. In 2019, the then Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had filed a petition before the Special Judge of MP/MLA Court for Rahuls alleged objectionable remarks on the Modi surname. The Congress leader was granted bail in this defamation case on July 6, 2019.

Sushil Kumar Modi on Thursday expressed hope that Rahul Gandhi will get adequate punishment by the court. Gandhi has been summoned for recording of statement under Section 317 CrPC. I am confident that like the court in Surat, the court here will hold him guilty and award adequate punishment (adequate punishment), said Modi, who had filed his petition on April 18, 2019, five days after Gandhi made the impugned remarks at a rally in the thick of Lok Sabha polls. PTI
DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has called a meeting of Opposition parties in Chennai on Monday to discuss issues relating to social justice in the country. Leaders of around 20 parties, including the Congress, are slated to attend the meeting either in person or virtually. The meeting will discuss the topic, Taking social justice in India forward  Social Justice, the Way Forward.

Among the speakers who have confirmed their participation include Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, RJDs Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Partys Akhilesh Yadav, National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah, BRS leader K Keshav Rao, CPI(M)s Sitaram Yechury, CPIs D Raja, AAP leader Sanjay Singh and TMCs Derek OBrien. The NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) are yet to confirm their participation. The BJDs Sasmit Patra and YSRCPs A Suresh are also among the likely attendees. If they do, then their parties would be attending such a meeting for the first time, sources said. However, the two parties are yet to confirm their presence to the DMK. Opposition leaders said the BJD and the YSRCP are likely to attend the meeting as it is not an out and out Opposition political meeting but a discussion on a social issue. The BJDs decision to participate would come close on the heels of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees meeting with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Also, Opposition leaders said while the parties have confirmed presence, the names of their representatives is tentative and will depend on availability.

With Rahul Gandhis disqualification from the Lok Sabha coming as a blessing in disguise for the fragmented Opposition, the Congress, too, has decided to convene a meeting of top Opposition leaders next month after some of them urged the grand old party to take the lead in strengthening unity among anti-BJP forces.

Party sources said the meeting would take forward the bonhomie displayed by several Opposition parties during the Budget Session of Parliament and it would be expanded outside too. Congress sources said the proposal for this meeting was made at the meeting of Opposition leaders convened by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence on Monday evening. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, DMK leader TR Baalu, JDUs Lallan Singh and a CPI-M leader, called upon the Congress leadership to convene a meeting of partys national presidents and top leaders to chalk out a blueprint for the 2024 general elections.
The political war of words over power subsidy continued between the ruling AAP and the BJP in the national Capital.

Delhi Power Minister Atishi on Thursday alleged that her department has been forced by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena to prepare a proposal to stop free electricity to farmers and lawyers' chambers.

No immediate reaction was available from the LG office over the minister's allegation. Responding to her allegations, the Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri has claimed that no such order has been issued by the Lieutenant Govenor.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva has also said that Atishi's claim that the Lt. Governor has got a proposal made by the authorities to stop free electricity for farmers and lawyers is completely false.

He further alleged that Delhi Power Minister Atishi herself forced her electricity department officials to make a proposal and then started bad propaganda.

Earlier, Atishi said at a press conference that a file from the Power department was received by her earlier in the day which proposed to stop free electricity for farmers and the chambers of lawyers in Delhi.

"Power department officials said there is a lot of pressure from LG and BJP leaders to stop free electricity provided by the Delhi government," Atishi claimed, and wondered how could such a proposal come without approval of the Chief Minister or the minister concerned.

"This proposal has been prepared under pressure from the LG. I want to say to him that you hate AAP and Arvind Kejriwal, but I request you not to hate us so much that you also come to hate even people of Delhi including farmers and lawyers," she said. "Free electricity scheme will not be stopped till Kejriwal is there," the minister stressed.

She added that Delhi LG must remember that the people of Delhi also vote for BJP, and his dirty politics to disrupt the free power supply in Delhi will impact his party too. This would be an injustice to the people of Delhi.

Reacting to Delhi Power Ministers claim, Delhi BJP said that the truth is that the Delhi government does not give even a single unit of free electricity to the farmers, infact collects a load charge of 10 to 20 KW per tubewell from the poor farmers. Today the condition of the farmer is that whether he uses electricity or not, he has to pay a bill of about Rs.1800 per month.

The Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri has claimed that that no electricity of any kind is being provided free of cost to the farmers of Delhi by the Kejriwal government.
Vinay Nigam, Executive Director, BHEL, Bhopal and Jhansi inaugurated the Biochemistry Analyzer machine here on Thursday in a simple program organized by the Pathology Department of Kasturba Hospital, BHEL, Bhopal. Dr Alpana Tiwari, Head (Medical Services), Avinash Chandra, General Manager (HR & Logistics), all General Managers, senior doctors, officers and staff of Kasturba Hospital were also present on the occasion.

On this occasion, Nigam said that the management is making efforts to ensure that medical facilities and other facilities are easily available to the employees.

The need for this machine was being felt in Kasturba Hospital for a long time. This machine will provide a lot of convenience to the patients. In this series, Shri Nigam also inaugurated the doctors' meeting room in Kasturba Hospital. In this room, doctors will be able to discuss serious and rare diseases of the patients admitted in the hospital, as well as do official work.

In her address, Dr Alpana Tiwari said that this machine is a state-of-the-art machine manufactured by Siemens Company, in which 30 types of pathological tests can be done, such as HBVNC, Iron Studies, Serum Lipase, Amylase ADA, CRP Quantitative etc.

This machine is available only in selected super specialty hospitals of Bhopal. With the installation of this machine in Kasturba Hospital, the printed reports of the patients will be available faster and as a result, the disease can be diagnosed and treatment can be started immediately without any extra delay.

She thanked the management for installing this machine in Kasturba Hospital.

It is noteworthy that in this financial year Kasturba Hospital has also installed Haematology Analyzer 5-part machine in which 28 parameters are tested and the patients admitted in the hospital are benefiting a lot from it.
Delhi recorded 295 fresh Covid cases on Thursday with a positivity rate of 12.48 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. On Wednesday, the city had logged 300 cases, the first time since August 31, and two deaths while the positivity rate had mounted to 13.89 per cent.

Meanwile, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday held a meeting with all stakeholders to review the COVID-19 situation in the national capital said that the COVID situation in the capital is not alarming and the department was fully prepared to tackle any surge in cases.

Bharadwaj assured people that there was no need to panic since the hospitalisation rate was low. The Centre also focuses on the six states  Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi  where a surge has been witnessed.

The meeting saw the attendance of virologists, epidemiologists, genome sequencing experts, the Director General Health Services, Special Secretary Health, and other senior officials of the Health Department, closely observed the current situation of COVID-19 in Delhi.

The meet came a day after Delhi's COVID-19 cases climbed to 300 for the first time since August 31 last year, while the positivity rate rose to 13.89 per cent, according to the data shared by the health department. Two Covid-related deaths were also reported, it said.

"We reviewed the situation. We have asked hospitals to advise coronavirus tests to those who are symptomatic. People visiting hospitals should wear masks. The test positivity rate was high because the number of tests was low. There was no proposal to make masks mandatory, as per the earlier advisory," said Bharadwaj during a press conference after chairing an emergency meeting to review the COVID situation.

A trend has been seen that when Maharashtra witnesses a surge, Delhi also sees a spike in cases due to the large number of international flights which land in Mumbai and Delhi. We are fully prepared for it, he said.

Bharadwaj said they were getting some indicators about the spike in Covid cases but they are fully prepared. He also said that genome sequencing of samples is also being carried out and nothing worrisome has been found till now.

"Last night, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called me to discuss about the Covid situation and he asked me to convene an emergency meeting on Thursday. In the meeting today, epidemiologist, genome sequencing expert, special secretary (health) were present and we analysed the situation closely," he said.

He said there is no need to panic due to the high positivity rate.

The review meeting on Friday will include a presentation of the results of the mock drill done recently at Delhi government-run hospitals, which will be shown to the chief minister, the minister said.

The minister said the health department will brief Kejriwal on Friday on the situation following which he will issue directions to the government.

"The chief minister will also be briefed about the Covid situation in other states and how they are tackling the rise in cases," he added. Mock drill has been conducted already. We have taken an update on oxygen cylinders and liquid medical oxygen (LMO). The health department will show the results of the mock drill to the chief minister as a presentation on Friday at noon.


Punjab CM urges farmers to adopt cotton, basmati, moong; Assures to procure Basmati at MSP



PNS/



Giving a clarion call to the farmers for a paradigm shift in agriculture by adopting alternative crops like cotton, basmati and moong, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday announced that the states procurement agency, Markfed, would procure Basmati rice at an assured price.



Mann, in a video message, also announced that a committee has been formed under the state Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua to look into alternatives to growing paddy, while describing crop diversification as the critical necessity for Punjab.



The committee will prepare a report on the factors that deterred farmers from quitting paddy cultivation. After receiving the report, the Government would try to remove these obstacles so that the area under water-guzzler paddy could be diverted, he said.



Several crops were grown on the fertile land of state but gradually the farmers confined them to paddy only which has adversely affected the states topography in terms of excessive power consumption, depletion of water table as most the blocks had gone in extreme dark zone, pollution due burning of stubble and others, said Mann, adding that to tackle this, the need of hour is to adopt alternative crops for which a high level committee, headed by Chief Secretary, has also recommended the adoption of these crops.



The Chief Minister said that due to this, the State Government is adopting it in a big way. He accorded guarantee to provide canal water for cotton crop from April 1 and announced 33 percent subsidy on cotton seeds certified by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) besides to provide insurance on cotton crop and MSP on Basmati.



Expressing grave concern on various menaces posed by paddy, Mann said that the State Governments firm belief to increase area under cotton cultivation will check the problem from its roots due to which they have decided to provide canal water from April 1 for cotton.



The Chief Minister said that Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police have been instructed to depute Police force for checking theft of water so that farmers at the tail end can be benefitted. The farmers had also raised the issue of canal water theft by affluent people during first of its kind Sarkar-Kisan Milni after which the State Government had decided to check it with heavy hand, he said.



Speaking about other steps to promote crop diversification, the Chief Minister announced a 33 percent subsidy on cotton seeds certified by PAU Ludhiana thereby high yielding seeds will be available at cheaper rates for farmers.



Preventive measures are also being taken to check the attack of white fly and pink worm, he said while emphasizing that the State Government has decided to conduct comprehensive research on new insecticide and pesticides to control these problems.



Reiterating his commitment for safeguarding the farmers interests from all natural calamities, the Chief Minister also announced that the State Government is mulling to cover the cotton crop loss under an Insurance Scheme so that the farmers didnt face any hardships regarding this.



Mann also announced to promote Basmati as the other crop of diversification and assured Minimum Support Price (MSP) on this crop. Markfed will be the nodal agency to procure Basmati on MSP, he added. Encouraged by the demand for Basmati last year, the Government is encouraging farmers to sow Basmati this year also. But if the price is reduced considering the enhanced supply, Markfed would buy the produce at the assured price, he said.



The Chief Minister said that laboratories are also being set up to inform farmers about the quantity of insecticides to be used on Basmati so that its crop meet the export standards of European countries pertaining to pest residues.



Recommending the cultivation of PR 126 and other similar varieties of paddy, Mann said that special emphasis is being given to promote PAU certified varieties and discourage the water guzzling varieties such as PUSA 44 which take ample time for harvesting.



Mann also said that MSP will be continued on Moong but the recent researches showed that the whitefly problem arises on moong crop and this problem have moved on cotton from moong so he suggested the farmers not to cultivate moong in Mansa, Bathinda, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Fazilka districts.



Meanwhile, Mann said that 2500 Kisan Mittars will be deputed along with 100 Agriculture experts of PAU to update farmers about these menaces.
A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper was injured on Friday when Naxalites exploded an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh.

The incident took place in Pandemurga village near a national highway when a team of the CRPFs 165th Battalion was patrolling Nelasnar area, Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police Chandrakant Governa said.

The injured trooper was identified as Ravi Kumar of Karnataka.

The patrolling team, which had launched the operation from its Hemlapara camp, was cordoning off the forest along Pandemurga road when the IED was detonated, the officer said. The trooper was rushed to a hospital in Bhairamgarh and later referred to Raipur for better treatment.
Paving the way for early local bodies elections, the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday issued a provisional list of reserved seats for mayors of municipal corporations and chairpersons of municipal councils and nagar panchayats for the three-tier urban elections, giving one weeks time to the people and organisations to raise objections, if any.

Urban Development Minister AK Sharma said that the draft notification for reservation had been issued and uploaded in the departments website urbandevelopment.up.nic.in.

People have been given one weeks time to raise objections. The objections should be filed by 5 pm on April 6 at the departments office, the minister told reporters here on Thursday.

Elections are to be held in 17 municipal corporations, 199 municipal councils and 517 nagar panchayats. As per the new notification, of these 288 seats are reserved for women, 205 for Other Backward Classes, 110 for Scheduled Caste and two for Scheduled Tribe candidates.

The revised draft notification was issued following objections raised over OBC reservation in the first notification issued on December 5.

Interestingly, there is no change in the number of OBC seats. After the survey the reservations for women, SC and ST seats have increased in the new format. The OBC reservation in December 5 notification also stood at 205.

As per the notification of December 5 the number of seats reserved for women was 255, for SC it was 102 and for ST one seat was reserved.

We are committed to providing reservation as per the recommendations of the commission. A canard was spread by opposition leaders that the Bharatiya Janata Party is anti-backwards and is not willing to conduct elections as per reservation. Our work is transparent. We have issued a draft notification and still if someone has objections he can raise it within a weeks time, Sharma said.

There is a massive change in the reservation of mayoral seats. The mayors seats of Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Kanpur have been reserved for women while these seats were unreserved in the last notification. The Prayagraj mayoral seat has now been declared unreserved while it was earlier reserved for Backward candidate. The mayoral seats of Varanasi, Aligarh, Bareilly, Moradabad, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya and Mathura-Vrindavan have also been declared unreserved. Agra and Jhansi seats are reserved for SC candidates while Shahajahanpur, Firozabad, Saharanpurand Meerut will elect backward candidates as their mayors.

The urban local bodies elections, supposed to be the last major polls in Uttar Pradesh before the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections, were embroiled in a caste row even before they could be conducted.

Sharma said that early notification was issued on December 5, 2022. After this, some petitions were filed in the High Court, and the court ordered that the reservation process be investigated by forming a dedicated commission to determine the reservation for backwards.

He further said that the order of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court came on December 27 and the state government formed a five-member dedicated commission. He said after the commission submitted its report, the same was presented before the Supreme Court and the state government assured the apex court that the process for local bodies elections would start within two days.

The Supreme Court, noting that the term of some of the urban local bodies had already expired, had allowed the Yogi Adityanath-led government to delegate financial powers to a three-member administrative body headed by the district magistrates to run these bodies temporarily.

"For the purpose of ensuring that the administrative work of the local bodies is not hampered, the government would be at liberty to issue a notification for the delegation or, as the case may be, discharge its financial powers," the SC bench said, adding that this, however, will be "subject to the caveat that no major policy decisions shall be taken by the administrative authority".
The Union Home and Cooperation minister Amit Shah attended the 113th convocation ceremony of Gurukul Kangri Deemed University in Haridwar on Thursday. While greeting the students on the occasion of Ramnavami, Shah said that they are embarking on a new journey in life with their passing out of this university. Speaking of the glorious tradition this university has been carrying with it, he said that it has been standing as a banyan tree, embodying the message of Maharshi Dayanand for India and the world and the hoary- old education tradition of the country.

Dwelling on the national education policy brought about by the Narendra Modi government, Shah said that the great educational ideas of Marahshi Dayananad, Swami Shraddhanand and MK Gandhi have been incorporated into it. In the new education policy, primary education is being given in the mother tongue. This is a great step forward, Shah added.

Shah also spoke of the start- up policy and said that it has been providing the youth with myriad opportunities of earning. While in 2016, there were just 724 startups, the number has spiraled to over 70,000 in 2022. You should also note this fact that over 10,000 startups came up during the critical time of the pandemic. And importantly, the women are running 44 percent of the startups, Shah said.

The chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also spoke on the occasion. He said that under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and Home minister Amit Shah, the Article 370 had been abrogated. This was a momentous initiative for the country, he said, adding that the country is now in safe hands.

On this occasion, 99 students were awarded with bachelor certificates, 100 students with post-graduation certificates while 56 students were awarded with PhD degrees. Besides, 83 students were presented gold medals.




PNS/



Haryana Police will launch a month-long campaign against human trafficking across the state in April.



Announcing this, the state Director General of Police (DGP) PK Agrawal on Thursday said that human trafficking is a heinous crime that affects thousands of people every year in the country; and the State has unearthed several cases of human trafficking in recent years with the Police committed to put an end to this menace.



Through this, awareness about the issue of human trafficking will be raised and people will be encouraged to report any suspicious activity related to human trafficking, the DGP added.



The state police chief said that the campaign, which will run from April 1 to 30, 2023, will involve various activities such as seminars, workshops, street plays, and awareness drives. Haryana Police will also work closely with NGOs and other stakeholders to conduct rescue operations and provide rehabilitation to the victims of human trafficking.



Speaking about the campaign, DGP further said: The month-long campaign against human trafficking is a part of our ongoing efforts to combat this crime. We are determined to create a safer environment for our citizens and to ensure that perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice.



The official spokesperson said that the Haryana Police has urged citizens to report any suspicious activity related to human trafficking to the police immediately at 112, its emergency helpline number. The police has assured that the identity of the informer will be kept confidential.



In its communique to field units, SPs and DCPs have been asked to organize the campaign. CPs and IG/ADG Range will weekly review the progress. Performance of field units will be reviewed at the end of the month on the number of missing children and adults traced and beggars and labourers rescued.



Towards this end, police will revisit untraced missing person cases and send police teams to shelters and children homes in adjoining states to see whether any of them are residing there. While missing children cases are registered under section 363-366 IPC, those of missing adults are registered under 346 IPC.



In 2022, Haryana police traced 3379 female and 6340 male missing adults. During the year, it also recovered missing 1144 boy children and 1426 girl children. During the year, it rescued 41 bonded labourers too.



During the same period, 22 Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) of the State Crime Branch traced missing 316 male adults and 373 females. It also traced missing 313 boy children and 227 girl children during the year. It rescued 639 male and 294 female beggars and 1300 male and 52 female bonded labours in 2022.



As per a Supreme Court order, a case of missing person is transferred to state crime branch for further investigation if it remains unsolved in the district for over four months. Through the campaign, Haryana police in association with the women and child welfare department, other state police and NGOs aim to bring smiles back to the family by reuniting their loved ones with them, the spokesperson added.
With rising incidents of attacks on doctors and paramedical staff, the health unions of Chhattisgarh on Thursday demanded filing of first information reports (FIR) by concerned institutions.

The Chhattisgarh In-Service Doctors Association as well as other bodies including the Indian Medical Association sought registration of FIR by institutions where the incidents of assault occur.

The state government should issue a notification to make this compulsory, it said.

Those involved in such incidents should be arrested within 24 hours. Instead of contract-based security system, local youths should be given regular contractual appointments after imparting training. The security personnel should be given insurance cover.

The victim doctors and staff should be granted special week-long leave to recover from the trauma of physical assault. A special allowance of Rs 25,000 should be given as compensation, it said.
The Met issued an alert of thundery activities, thunder lightning and gusty winds which would be witnessed in Narmadapuram, Rewa, Shahdol, Jabalpur and Sagar divisions.

The weather will change in Madhya Pradesh for the next two days. Due to the seventh weather disturbance (Western Disturbance) becoming active in March, there will be light drizzle in many cities of the state.

At the same time, there is also a possibility of lightning and lightning. Light rain may occur in Bhopal for two consecutive days, while the effect will also be seen in Indore, Gwalior-Jabalpur. Earlier on Wednesday, the effect of heat intensified. In many cities, the mercury remained above 37 degree celsius.

Six western disturbances have come so far in March, while another western disturbance will remain active on March 30-31. The effect of which can be seen till 1-2 April. However, the Meteorological Department has said that there will be a change in the weather only on March 30 & 31.

It has rained in East Madhya Pradesh in the last 24 hours in Rewa, Khajuraho, Dindori, Balaghat, Mandla, Anuppur.

From March 30, the Western Disturbance will be active in North India. Its effect will be seen in Madhya Pradesh. Due to this, it may rain in many cities of the state. There will also be a situation of thunder and lightning. After this the weather will clear and the effect of heat will intensify.

The impact will be seen in Bhopal, Indore, Narmadapuram, Jabalpur divisions along with Sheopurkalan, Shahdol and Umaria districts. Wind can blow at a speed of 40 to 50 Km per hour in Bhind-Morena, Anuppur along with Sagar, Rewa and Gwalior divisions.

It will rain in the capital for the next two days i.e. on Thursday and Friday. During this, the day temperature will be around 35 and at night around 19 degrees. There, there will be no rain on April 1 and 2, but it will be cloudy.
A large group of people on Thursday took out a march amid heavy security deployment in Jahangirpuri here on Ram Navami in contravention of rules following which riot control force was deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

The Delhi Police had denied permission for holding the "Shree Ram Bhagwan Pratima Yatra" as part of Ram Navami mahotsav in the area where violence broke out last year during a Hanuman Jayanti procession.

The group gathered at a park in the northwest Delhi locality and performed puja there, a senior police officer said. "We deployed local police personnel, riot control force along with four companies of other forces to ensure law and order is maintained and no untoward incident takes place. The situation remained under control and people cooperated," he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest) Jitendra Meena said paramilitary forces were also deployed in the area and the event passed off peacefully. "We also conducted Aman committee meetings in the area. The organisers were advised to cut short their route to 100 metres to which they agreed and the program passed off peacefully," he said. Police also closed some streets in the area for security reasons.

While police said that around 500 people attended the procession, the organisers claimed "thousands" of people had participated. According to police, the procession started at 11.30 am and concluded around 1 pm. A total of seven processions, including the one in Jahangirpuri, were taken out in the northwest district.

In an official order earlier, ACP headquarters, Northwest Delhi, informed Hindu leaders that their request to hold Shree Ram Bhagwan Pratima Yatra to celebrate Ram Navami on March 30 cannot be allowed. I am directed to inform you that your request for Shree Ram Bhagwan Pratima Yatra on the occasion of Ramanavami Mahotsav has been considered by the competent authority but could not be acceded to from a law and order point of view,

Sachin Sharma alias Mohit Sanatani, Delhi Pradesh President of Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Yuva Morcha, said, "We took out the procession as a symbol of peace. We applied for permission around a month ago, however, it was denied by police citing law and order situation.

"We were preparing for the programme and two days ago, a written communication was received that the permission had been denied. We had a plan to cover four to five kilometres in the Jahangirpuri area, but it was restricted to around 200 metres," he said.

"We avoided the area where riots took place last year on Hanuman Jayanti as we didn't want to disturb our (Muslim) brothers who are fasting during Ramzan," he said. Shivom Mishra, national president of Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Yuva Morcha, said he had come from Surat, Gujarat to attend the event but several other people couldn't join due to police barricades around the park from where the march began. Mahant Mangak Das, who runs an ashram near Rajghat, said the participants followed police instructions and did not break the barricades as they are followers of Lord Ram who is a symbol of peace. The organisers of the programme also said Pinky Chaudhary, president of Hindu Rakshak Dal who was arrested for allegedly raising communal slogans at Jantar Mantar, also attended their procession.

Sheik Abdul Qadir, who has a shop near the mosque in block C where the riots took place, said, "We were assured by police that the peaceful environment will be maintained in the area. The Imam of the mosque also kept asking people to follow instructions. When the riots took place last year, my shop remained closed for 15 days. We don't want to face that again."

Meanwhile, a police officer said permission for praying at a local park during Ramzan was also denied by the authorities. On April 16, 2021, clashes broke out between two communities during the Hanuman Jayanti procession at Jahangirpuri in which eight police personnel and a local resident were injured.
The Pauri district police arrested wanted gangster Virendra Shah of Katihar, Bihar who is a member of the Khantar Mandal gang. He was absconding since January 26 when a case registered against four members of the gang under section 3 (1) of the Gangster Act in Rikhanikhal police station in the district. The three members of the gang including gang leader Khantar Mandal, Chandan and Pawan Soni are behind the bars in connection with a fraud.

It is pertinent to mention that Simla village resident Heera Singh had lodged a first information report during August last year in the police station stating that three unknown persons came to his house. The trio took the family into confidence and assured them that they will polish old ornaments making them appear like new. The police registered a case against unknown persons under section 420 of Indian Penal Code. Based on evidence, the police had arrested two accused Pawan Soni and Khantar Mandal on August 10 last year. For the arrest of the accused Chandan, Pauri senior superintendent of police Shweta Choubety had announced a reward Rs 10,000. The Rikhnikhal police arrested the accused Chandan from Bihar on January 22. A case was then registered under the Gangster Act against the four accused. Earlier this week, the police managed to arrest the fourth accused Virendra Shah.
rime Minister Modi will on April 01 reach Bhopal at 09.25 am and will be in Bhopal till 4.10 pm . During the daylong visit, PM Modi will be involved in different programs. At Kushabhau Thackeray Convention Center, PM Modi will attend the Combined Commanders Conference-2023. At 3:15 pm, the Prime Minister will flag off the Vande Bharat Express train from Rani Kamlapati Railway Station.

He will leave for Delhi from Bhopal airport at 04.10 pm. On Thursday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also held a meeting with the officials regarding Modi's visit.

Officials told that PM Modi will also hold a road show in Bhopal. This roadshow will last for about 15 minutes. PM Modi will hold a road show from Kushabhau Thackeray Convention Center to Rani Kamalapati Railway Station via number six bus stop. Preparations have also started for PM Modi's roadshow. Police officials said that Rani Kamlapati railway station, BJP office from number six and Kushabhau Thackeray Convention Center area were inspected.

Officials told that Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will reach Bhopal at 6 pm on Thursday. The Defense Minister will remain in Bhopal till April 1. On Thursday, there will be a dinner of Rajnath Singh and other ministers and office bearers of the organisation at the Chief Minister's residence. Apart from this, a meeting will also be held with the officers of Central and State Intelligence. Rajnath Singh will stay at Hotel Taj for two days.

Sangh Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat will reach BHEL Dussehra ground at 1.50 pm. He will address the Sindhi community here. It is being told that about 80 thousand people have also registered to participate in the programme. People of Sindhi community from all over the country are coming to participate in the programme. Bhagwat will also meet office bearers in Sangh's office Samidha.

Flying of drones, Para gliders, hot balloons and other flight objects has been banned in the area of 3 km from Rani Kamlapati Railway Station and Barkatullah University during PM's programme. The said place has been declared as Red Zone, No Flying Zone. The order will be effective from 29 March 2023 to 1 April 2023.

In case of violation of the order, statutory action will be taken under section 188. Commercial flights will be exempted from compliance of this restrictive order.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while greeting the people of the state on the occasion of Mahanavami of Vasantik Navratri and Ram Navami, the birth anniversary of Lord Shri Ram, said that one should not mistake religion for just a medium of worshipping.

Religion gives a sense of duty. Religion connects us with virtue, duty and moral values and leads us towards a positive and creative tendency by walking on the right path, he said while addressing the media after completing the rituals of Kanya Pujan and Shri Ram Janmotsav in Gorakhnath temple on Thursday.

He said that the gaiety and enthusiasm seen on Sri Rama Navami showed that virtue and creativity in the society had progressed rapidly. New India is being formed with positivity and creativity under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Yogi Adityanath said.

He went on to say that the whole world was realising the power of a strong and powerful India. The concept of Ram rajya is also being realised in 'Samarth Bharat', he said.

In Ram rajya, the benefits of the schemes of governance are reaching every section of society without any discrimination, he added.

The chief minister said that the whole world had seen the strength and sensitivity of India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many public welfare programmes are in front of everyone. The needy were given free accommodation, toilets, cooking gas connections, electricity connections without any discrimination. Not only this, free ration was also made available to every poor in times of crisis. Efforts are being made to bring about comprehensive change in the life of every citizen, he said.

Describing the leadership of G-20 as a pride for the country, The chief minister said that the theme of G-20 was the contribution of the Indian sage who explained the vast form of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

Praying to Mother Jagatjanani Bhagwati and Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram for a happy and prosperous life for all citizens, the chief minister said that along with the worship of Mother Siddhidatri on navami tithi, the birth anniversary of Shri Ram was being celebrated with enthusiasm. Grand programmes have been organised at different places of the state. There is a lot of enthusiasm at every temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Shri Ram. Since yesterday, more than 15 lakh devotees have visited Hanuman Garhi and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya after bathing in the holy river Saryu.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also participated in the birth anniversary of Prabhu Shri Ram organised at Muktakashi stage of Gorakhnath temple complex. He also performed the aarti.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday spoke to West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose over the violence during a Ram Navami procession in Howrah and took stock of the situation, sources said.

During the telephonic conversation, the home minister sought to know the prevailing situation in the state, particularly in the violence-hit areas of Howrah.

The governor is believed to have provided the home minister details about Thursday's violence and the present situation, sources said.

Clashes broke out between two groups in the Kazipara area of Howrah district during Ram Navami festivities. Several vehicles were torched and shops ransacked in the area, police said.

The situation in and around the area was peaceful on Friday with a large number of police personnel deployed there.

Thirty-one people have been arrested in connection with Thursday's violence, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Claiming that there was laxity in a section of the administration, she said strict action would be taken against those involved in the clash.
As tension over clashes in West Bengal's Howrah district over a Ram Navami procession continued on Friday, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed at the Calcutta High Court seeking a CBI probe into the matter.

The clashes which were mainly at Sandhyabazar area of Shibpur in Howrah district on Thursday, spread to adjacent Kazipara area this morning. A group of people started pelting stones towards the high-rises in the area. A couple of vehicles were vandalised and torched.

Even the vehicle of the state cooperation minister Arup Roy, which was passing through the area then, was not spared. The window-screen of the vehicle was totally smashed. However, the minister was not present in the vehicle.

Finally, a huge contingent of police force, accompanied by the personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), reached the spot. They resorted to massive lathicharge to bring the unruly mob under control. Some of the policemen also suffered injuries in the clashes. Till the filing of the report, the total number of arrests in this connection was 36. Though the situation has been brought under control, tension prevails in these pockets.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave a strong message and said that her administration will not tolerate such rowdy activities. "I have asked the police to take strong action," she said. Admitting that there had been complaints of inaction or delayed action by police, the chief minister said that these complaints will also be looked into. At the same time, she claimed that Thursday's clashes mainly happened because of the last moment change in route of the procession.

On Friday, Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari filed a PIL at the division bench of Calcutta High Court's Acting Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, seeking a CBI probe in Thursday's clashes.

The PIL has been admitted and the hearing in the matter will be on April 3. Besides seeking a CBI probe in the matter, the leader of the Opposition had also sought deployment of central armed forces in the troubled pockets on this count.

In the PIL he also claimed that the deployment of central armed forces had been necessary as the state police had failed miserably to bring the situation under control.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury over hush money payments made to a porn star during his 2016 campaign, making him the first former US president to face a criminal charge and upending his bid to retake the White House in 2024.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has been pursuing the investigation, confirmed that it had contacted Trump's lawyers on Thursday evening to "coordinate his surrender" on unspecified charges.

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D. A.'s office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected," a spokesperson for District Attorney Bragg said.

The New York Times newspaper, quoting five people with knowledge of the matter, reported that the grand jury on Thursday voted to indict 76-year-old Trump, a Republican, for his role in paying money to porn star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to buy her silence over an alleged affair.

The report termed it "a historic development that will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark him as the nation's first former president to face criminal charges."

Trump, the 45th US President from 2017 to 2021, is expected to fly from his home in Florida to New York on Monday and be arraigned in court on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

The proceeding is expected to be brief. The charges in the indictment will be read to him at the hearing, which is set to last about 10-15 minutes.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing in connection with the payments made ahead of the election.

In a statement responding to news of his indictment, the former president called it "Political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history," and accused Democrats of "weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States."

"The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to 'Get Trump,' but now they've done the unthinkable  indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference," Trump said.

He lashed out at the Manhattan district attorney, calling the prosecutor a "disgrace", and accused him of "doing Joe Biden's dirty work".

"This is third-world prosecutorial misconduct. It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year," Trump's son Eric tweeted.

Trump attorneys Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina issued a statement, saying that the former president "did not commit any crime" and vowed to "vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court."

The case stems from a payment made just days before Trump was elected president in 2016. His former attorney Michael Cohen arranged a wire transfer of USD 130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair.

Daniels has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006 - the year after he married his current wife Melania.

Cohen has said in court that he made the USD 130,000 settlement "in coordination with and at the direction of" the former president. Cohen was jailed from 2018-20 on multiple charges.

Following the indictment, Daniels thanked her supporters. "I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...Also don't want to spill my champagne," she tweeted.

"Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...Also don't want to spill my champagne. Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment," the 44-year-old adult actress said.

Daniels' attorney Clark Brewster tweeted: "The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law."

Former Vice President Mike Pence who served under Trump said that while "no one is above the law, including former presidents," that he cannot "speak to the merit of this case at all."

"I really do believe that this decision today is a great disservice to the country and the idea that for the first time in American history a former president would be indicted on a campaign finance issue to me, it just smacks of political prosecution, and I think the overwhelming majority of the American people will see it that way," Pence told CNN.

Trump was caught off guard by the grand jury's decision to indict him, according to a person who spoke directly with him. He is preparing a response tonight and is poised to react with either a video message or a statement, the report said.

While the former president was bracing for an indictment last week, he began to believe news reports that a potential indictment was weeks or more away.

"Is this a shock today? Hell yes, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity as Trump's team calculated its response.

In light of Trump being indicted by a New York grand jury, US Marshals, Secret Service and New York Police Department are talking about how the former president will appear for his arraignment, according to a senior New York Police Department source.

Out of an abundance of caution, all personnel at NYPD headquarters and support units will be in uniform on Friday, according to an internal memo from the department.

The indictment comes as Trump faces legal hurdles in other potential criminal cases. The criminal case could shape the 2024 presidential race. Trump is currently the front-runner among all declared and potential contenders for the Republican White House nomination.

But there is nothing in US law that prevents a candidate who is found guilty of a crime from campaigning for and serving as, president - even from prison.

Trump was twice impeached by the House of Representatives. He was acquitted by the Senate both times.
Expulsions of Russian intelligence officers and visa refusals have substantially weakened Moscow's intelligence operations in neighbouring Finland in the past year, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service said Thursday. The intelligence agency, known by the abbreviation SUPO, said in a statement that Russian intelligence has been squeezed in the Nordic country because of the agency's ability to compromise spy operations in 2022.

The Russian intelligence station (in Finland) shrank to about half of its former size last year, SUPO Director Antti Pelttari said, adding that the main reason for the decline were expulsions of suspected spies and visa refusals on the advice of his agency.

The falling number of intelligence officers and restrictions on travel across the Russian-Finland border amid Moscow's war in Ukraine have significantly undermined operating conditions for Russian spies in Finland, SUPO said.

It noted that operations under diplomatic cover have traditionally been the main instrument of Russian intelligence abroad, and Moscow was seeking to use, among other methods, cyberespionge to make up for the shortfall in human intelligence.

While Russia is still seeking to station intelligence officers under diplomatic cover, it will have to find ways of compensating for the human intelligence shortfall, such as by increasingly adopting other forms of covert operation abroad, Pelttari said.

The agency said that Russia, China and certain other countries were the most active users of intelligence operations to acquire information for their own ends and against the interests of Finland. Finland, a nation of 5.5 million people, applied for NATO membership together with neighbouring Sweden in May.

It shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia, the longest of any European Union member.

SUPO has earlier said that Finland's future NATO membership will make the Nordic country a more interesting target for Russian intelligence and influencing operations, and Moscow may seek to acquire NATO-related intelligence through its neighbour.
Prosecutors in the Arab Gulf nation of Bahrain on Thursday have handed down yearlong prison sentences to three people for debating Islamic theology in a series of blog posts and online videos. The three are part of a local cultural society called Tajdeed, Arabic for Renewal, that says it questions traditional Islamic scholarship and jurisprudence but not the religion itself. Critics, including prominent Shiite clerics in the kingdom, have accused the group of attacking the foundations of Islam and have waged a campaign of incitement against them.

The case has divided the majority Shiite community in Bahrain, which is ruled by a Sunni monarchy. The public prosecutors office said the three defendants were guilty of infringing on the foundations of the Islamic faith and insulting its prophets, in part by dismissing purported miracles as popular myths.

It did not name the defendants, but activists have identified them as Jalal al-Qassab and Redha Rajab, who were summoned to court, and Mohammed Rajab, who lives in Britain.

They are free on bail pending appeal. Islam, like other world religions, has a rich tradition of theological debate going back to its earliest days.

But in modern Muslim-majority countries both political and religious authorities often enforce a conservative orthodoxy, and reformers are censured and in some cases targeted with violence.

Prosecutors specialising in cybercrimes referred the three defendants to a criminal court last month, accusing them of deliberately undermining the basics of the Islamic religion on which all Muslims and sects agree, the state-run Bahrain News Agency reported.

Human Rights Watch has called on authorities to drop the charges. Despite putting on an appearance of religious and political tolerance in the country, Bahraini authorities continue to target and suppress speech that does not conform to their own views, Niku Jafarnia, a Bahrain researcher for the New York-based rights group, said in a statement last month.

The members of Tajdeed are being persecuted for doing nothing other than researching and questioning religious texts and speaking openly about their beliefs, HRW said.

Prominent Shiite clerics in Bahrain have inveighed against Tajdeed in Friday sermons, accusing them of undermining Islam and calling on the faithful to ostracise them.

Tajdeed says it does not question the Quran, Islams holy book, or the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, which are at the heart of the faith, but rather the opinions of religious scholars and others who came later, including modern-day clerics.

Bahrain was rocked by pro-democracy protests led by the Shiite majority against the Sunni monarchy in 2011. Authorities quashed the protests by force with aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but Bahrain has continued to see low-level unrest over the years.

The small island nation off Saudi Arabia is also home to the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet.
The Lahore High Court has stopped the caretaker government of Pakistan Punjab from handing over at least 45,267 acres of land in three districts - Bhakkar, Khushab and Sahiwal - of the province to the Pakistan Army for 'Corporate Agriculture Farming', media reports said on Friday.

On Thursday, a two-page verdict was issued by Judge Abid Hussain Chattha over a petition filed by Ahmad Rafay Alam on March 28 on behalf of Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan, Dawn reported.

About two weeks ago, the Pakistan Punjab government had signed an agreement to hand over the land to the army, referring to a notification dated February 20, 2023 and a joint venture agreement of March 8, the report said.

According to the verdict, the LHC has barred the Punjab caretaker government from extending any "lease of state land" for the above-mentioned purpose as per the government's notification.

Noting that the points raised by the petitioner "need consideration", the high court issued notices to the respondents for May 9 and asked them to submit a response by then.

It also sent notices to the Attorney General of Pakistan and the Advocate General of Punjab province.

The petition filed by Alam had named Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman, the Punjab Board of Revenue, the Punjab agriculture secretary, the Punjab forest, wildlife and fisheries secretary, the Punjab irrigation secretary and the Punjab livestock & dairy development secretary among the respondents.

It had asked the court to declare that the caretaker government "cannot take major policy decisions" and also declare the February 20 notification as "illegal, null and void", Dawn reported.

Citing a letter dated March 10 that was issued to the Punjab Board of Revenue, it had further asked that the "handing over of any and all properties/land by and between the respondents" be declared "illegal, null and void" as well.
The planners of the abominable 2008 Mumbai terror attack should pay a heavy price for it, the Speaker of Israels Parliament has said ahead of his maiden visit to India, asserting that the fight against terrorism is common concern for the two countries. Amir Ohana, a close confidante of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will travel to India for four days starting March 31, on his first official visit abroad after assuming office in December last year.

Stating that the menace of terrorism is a common concern, Ohana, a former Shin Bet (Israeli internal security agency) official, told PTI that the fight to counter it requires all the progressive countries to come together. Both India and Israel face the problem of terrorism, and the fight against it is a joint one, Ohana said.

We all remember the abominable terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008 in which over 207 people were murdered, of which 178 were Indians. Among the foreigners who were murdered were unfortunately also Israelis and Jews who came to the Chabad house, Ohana pointed out.

It was an attack not only on India but also on Jews and free people everywhere, the Knesset Speaker said, adding that it was an attack on the shared values of India and Israel. Whoever planned and sent the terrorists from the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba should pay a heavy price for it, he said.

The attack on the Chabad house (in Mumbai) symbolises a common pain for India and Israel, but also our partnership in the uncompromising fight against terrorism, Ohana said.

The fight against terrorism is a necessity for all free countries, he added, and in particular for two countries like India and Israel. Shared values, concerns, pain and immense potential in the strategic partnership continue to strengthen Indo-Israel ties, Ohana said.
A high court in Pakistan on Thursday struck down a colonial-era sedition law that criminalised criticism of the federal and provincial governments, terming it inconsistent with the Constitution.

Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court (LHC) annulled Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) dealing with sedition, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Justice Karim pronounced the verdict in response to identical petitions seeking to annul the sedition law, the paper said.

One of the petitions, filed by a citizen named Haroon Farooq, which was identical to all other pleas urged the court to declare Section 124-A of the PPC as ultra-vires in terms of Article 8 of the Constitution being inconsistent with and in derogation of fundamental rights provided under Article 9, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19, 19A of the Constitution.

The law states: Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Federal or Provincial Government established by law shall be punished with imprisonment for life to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

It was argued in the petition that the sedition act was enacted in 1860 which is a sign of British colonial rule, Geo News reported. The petition added that this law was used for slaves under which a case can be registered at anyones request.

It was stated in the petition that the Constitution of Pakistan gives every citizen the right to freedom of expression but still, Section 124-A is imposed for making speeches against the rulers.

According to the petition, the law has been recklessly used in Pakistan as a tool of exploitation to curb the right to free speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution.

The petition said the law was serving as a notorious tool for the suppression of dissent, free speech and criticism in free and independent Pakistan. Over the past few years, the petition argued, various politicians, journalists and activists had been booked under Section 124-A.
Taiwans president addressed members of New Yorks Taiwanese community in a US stopover on her way to Central America as she seeks to rally allies of the self-ruled island amid tensions with China.

Pro-China demonstrators waving the Chinese flag rallied against President Tsai Ing-wens events in New York. One protester held a sign whose slogan declared the Taiwanese leader a big traitor of China.

In a speech on Wednesday night to fellow Taiwanese in New York, Tsai thanked the United States for its security assistance and urged Taiwanese unity. The safer Taiwan is, the safer the world will be, she said, and pledged Taiwan would work with its democratic partners to remain on the path of democracy.

Tsai arrived in New York on Wednesday and was expected to spend Thursday in closed events in the city. Taiwan is carefully calibrating Tsais stops in the United States and forgoing official meetings with senior US leaders in Washington in an effort to limit the scale of Chinas response.

On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning restated Chinas furious objections to any interactions between Tsai and US officials. China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and Taiwan, Mao told reporters at a daily briefing in Beijing. China will continue to closely follow the situation and resolutely safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity. A senior Chinese diplomat in Washington, embassy charge daffaires Xu Xueyuan, pointed to an expected meeting between Tsai and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, likely next week. The meeting would have significant repercussions overall and a serious, serious, serious impact on US-China relations, she said in a virtual session with reporters on Wednesday.

While the US terms relations with Taiwan as unofficial, it remains the islands chief source of military hardware and cooperation. US law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of grave concern, but does not explicitly say whether the US would commit troops.

Sen Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he hopes any US officials meeting unofficially with the president convey that American support for Taiwan is strong and unequivocal.
Taliban terrorists opened fire at a vehicle ferrying security forces in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least four policemen, including an officer, and wounding six others.

The terrorists attacked the police mobile van in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The vehicle was on its way to the Saddar police station when it came under the attack, police said.

Four policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), were killed and six others were injured in the attack, they said, adding that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Lakki Marwat police spokesperson said the attack was launched in the early hours of Thursday, resulting in an exchange of fire between the police and the terrorists. During the gunfight, six policemen were injured, he said. A police statement said that the militants were equipped with advanced and heavy weaponry, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The police were on alert and the attackers had to flee when the police returned fire, it said. The terrorists fled while taking advantage of the darkness, it added. The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the attack in a statement, the report said. Condemning the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the sacrifices of police officers in the war against terrorism were unforgettable and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured persons. Police are performing magnificent duties against the terrorist as the first line of defence. Elimination of terrorism is a must for Pakistans survival and development, Shehbaz said in a statement.

The latest attack comes as terrorism-related incidents are surging in Pakistan. Over the past few months, the law and order situation in the country  especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan has worsened  with terrorist groups conducting attacks with near impunity across the country. Since the talks with the Taliban group broke down in November, the TTP has intensified its attacks, particularly targeting the police.

In January, a powerful suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar Police Lines killed 84 people and injured many others. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think-tank, January 2023 remained one of the deadliest months since July 2018, as 134 people lost their lives  a 139 per cent spike  and 254 received injuries in at least 44 militant attacks across the country, the report said.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM  Get Rating) (TSE:CM) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,370,000 shares, an increase of 90.2% from the February 28th total of 8,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.4 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,361 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,323 shares of the banks stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,630 shares of the banks stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the banks stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 308,427 shares of the banks stock worth $37,532,000 after acquiring an additional 18,653 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.40% of the companys stock.

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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CM traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $42.02. 1,005,144 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,219,079. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.02. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has a 52 week low of $39.40 and a 52 week high of $63.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Increases Dividend

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ( NYSE:CM Get Rating ) (TSE:CM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 12.75%. On average, analysts predict that Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.639 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 27th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.08%. This is an increase from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces dividend payout ratio is 63.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report on Monday, December 12th. CIBC raised Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and reduced their target price for the stock from C$67.00 to C$61.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Credit Suisse Group lowered Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report on Friday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $76.11.

About Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

(Get Rating)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is a financial institution, which engages in the provision of banking and wealth management services. It operates through the following segments: Canadian Personal and Business Banking, Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, Capital Markets, and Corporate and Other.

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CVC Credit Partners European Opportunities Limited (LON:CCPG  Get Rating)s share price fell 2.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as GBX 93.20 ($1.15) and last traded at GBX 93.20 ($1.15). 174,302 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 28% from the average session volume of 135,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 95.80 ($1.18).

CVC Credit Partners European Opportunities Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 93.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 83.40.

CVC Credit Partners European Opportunities Company Profile

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CVC Credit Partners European Opportunities Limited is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund of fund launched by Goldman Sachs International. The fund is managed by CVC Credit Partners Investment Management Ltd. It invests in the fixed income markets of Western Europe. The fund seeks to invest in securities of companies across diversified sectors.

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DNB Markets upgraded shares of Tgs Asa (OTCMKTS:TGSGY  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, The Fly reports.

Separately, Pareto Securities cut Tgs Asa from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th.

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Tgs Asa Price Performance

OTCMKTS:TGSGY opened at $15.63 on Monday. Tgs Asa has a 1 year low of $11.84 and a 1 year high of $19.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.65 and a 200-day moving average of $14.43.

Tgs Asa Cuts Dividend

About Tgs Asa

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 20th were issued a $0.0928 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.38%. Tgs Asas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

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TGS ASA engages in the provision of geoscientific data products and services to oil and gas exploration companies. It operates through the following geographical segments: North & South America (NSA), Europe and Russia (EUR), Africal, Middle-East and Asia or Pacific (AMEAP), and Other or Corporate Costs.

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Dynacor Group Inc. (TSE:DNG  Get Rating)s stock price crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$3.00 and traded as low as C$2.98. Dynacor Group shares last traded at C$3.02, with a volume of 23,352 shares trading hands.

Dynacor Group Trading Down 1.7 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$3.00 and a 200-day moving average of C$2.86. The company has a market capitalization of C$113.75 million, a P/E ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 4.64, a quick ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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Dynacor Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 10th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. Dynacor Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Dynacor Group Company Profile

Dynacor Group Inc engages in the exploration, development, and mining of minerals properties in Peru. It explores for gold, silver, and copper deposits. The company holds interest in the Tumipampa property covering an area of 7,027 hectares located in Peru. In addition, it holds 100% interest in the greenfield Anta silver/gold/copper exploration project located in Southern Peru.

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Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of FinecoBank Banca Fineco (OTCMKTS:FCBBF  Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded FinecoBank Banca Fineco from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on FinecoBank Banca Fineco in a research report on Monday, February 6th. They issued an underperform rating for the company. Barclays cut FinecoBank Banca Fineco from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut FinecoBank Banca Fineco from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FinecoBank Banca Fineco currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $15.67.

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FinecoBank Banca Fineco Price Performance

FCBBF stock opened at $17.70 on Monday. FinecoBank Banca Fineco has a fifty-two week low of $11.61 and a fifty-two week high of $17.70. The businesss 50-day moving average is $17.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.13.

About FinecoBank Banca Fineco

FinecoBank SpA engages in the provision of banking, trading, and investing solutions. It offers multicurrency accounts, payment cards, mortgages and loans, and financial consulting services. The company was founded by Emilio Gnutti in 1979 and is headquartered in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

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Bank of America upgraded shares of Hannover Ruck (OTCMKTS:HVRRY  Get Rating) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Monday, The Fly reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Hannover Ruck from 190.00 ($204.30) to 210.00 ($225.81) and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, December 8th. HSBC downgraded shares of Hannover Ruck from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Societe Generale dropped their target price on shares of Hannover Ruck from 201.50 ($216.67) to 200.00 ($215.05) and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $183.67.

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Hannover Ruck Stock Performance

Shares of HVRRY stock opened at $96.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $23.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.71. The companys 50 day moving average price is $96.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.11. Hannover Ruck has a 52 week low of $65.98 and a 52 week high of $103.51.

About Hannover Ruck

Hannover Ruck SE engages in the provision of reinsurance activities. It operates through the Property and Casualty Reinsurance, and Life and Health Reinsurance business segments. The Property and Casualty Reinsurance segment refers to lines of business concerned with the insurance of property, such as liability, fire, hail or marine insurance.

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Walmart Inc. is the worlds biggest company by revenue and its largest employer with over 2.2 million globally. It is a general merchandise discount retailer founded in 1962 by Sam Walton and remains a very tightly-held family-owned company to this day. At last look, the Walton family and its heirs owned more than 50% of the company through the family-holding company Walton Enterprises and individual holdings. As of October 2022, the company operated nearly 10,600 stores in 24 countries under 46 different banners. For example, Walmart de Mexico is the Mexican branch while Flipkart Wholesale is the companys operations in India.

Sam Walton began his crusade to undercut retail competitors began in the early 1950s. He opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store in 1962 and was able to leverage the brand to great success. It became a publicly traded company in 1972 and was the US's most profitable retailer by 1988. The chain went nationwide in the early 1990s and expanded to international markets soon after that. While the company has seen some success outside the US, those remain limited, and the US is the primary market and produces well over 60% of the revenue and earnings.

Today, the company operates through three segments that include Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. The stores offer groceries, health, beauty, apparel, footwear, household, furniture, automotive, electronics and recreational products among others. In addition, the company offers a wide variety of ancillary services that include automotive repair, tire change, vision/eyeglass services and financial services that include gift cards, prepaid wireless, check cashing and money transfers. Sams Club, launched in 1989, is the companys membership club brand. It is the second-largest membership club in North America and about 12% of Walmarts total revenue.

Walmart is a Dividend Aristocrat with nearly 50 years of consecutive annual dividend increases to its credit. Based on the 2022 financial metrics, the company is capable of sustaining another several decades of increases at a low single-digit pace. Once a laggard in ESG, Walmart is now a leader in environmental, social, and governance issues. The companys efforts include increasing the efficiency of its truck and vehicle fleets to include the upgrade to electrification or hydrogen fuel cells. In terms of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles alone, the company had upgraded more than 9,500 of its warehouse and facility service machines to fuel cells as of mid-2022 and was also working to electrify its vehicle fleets.
Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX  Get Rating) CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 6,181 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.43, for a total value of $373,517.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,086 shares of the companys stock, valued at $16,925,596.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Matson Price Performance

Matson stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $59.62. 218,671 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 299,786. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $58.06 and a one year high of $125.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.47.

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Matson (NYSE:MATX  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The shipping company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $801.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $801.22 million. Matson had a net margin of 24.50% and a return on equity of 49.26%. The firms revenue was down 36.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

Analyst Ratings Changes

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 9th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 8th. Matsons payout ratio is currently 4.64%.

MATX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Matson from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Matson in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Matson from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 4.0% in the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,899 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,529 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,642 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,665 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 83.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Company Profile

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Matson, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of logistics and transportation services. It operates through the Ocean Transportation and Logistics segments. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation, container stevedoring, refrigerated cargo services, inland transportation, and other terminal services.

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Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Model N (NYSE:MODN  Get Rating) in a research report released on Monday morning, The Fly reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $43.00 price objective on the software makers stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MODN. StockNews.com downgraded Model N from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Model N to $44.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Model N from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Model N from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Model N from $45.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Model N currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $46.00.

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Model N Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MODN opened at $33.49 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Model N has a 52-week low of $20.95 and a 52-week high of $43.18. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $35.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.51 and a beta of 0.68.

Insider Activity

Model N ( NYSE:MODN Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The software maker reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Model N had a negative net margin of 11.65% and a negative return on equity of 7.52%. The company had revenue of $59.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $57.51 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Model N will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, CFO John Ederer sold 10,823 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total value of $347,310.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 166,878 shares in the company, valued at $5,355,115.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Model N news, insider Suresh Kannan sold 6,585 shares of Model N stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.04, for a total transaction of $230,738.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,035,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Ederer sold 10,823 shares of Model N stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total value of $347,310.07. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 166,878 shares in the company, valued at $5,355,115.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,199 shares of company stock worth $2,075,463. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Model N

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Model N in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,799,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Model N by 1,414.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 702,471 shares of the software makers stock valued at $28,492,000 after acquiring an additional 656,093 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Model N by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,949,847 shares of the software makers stock valued at $100,973,000 after acquiring an additional 343,775 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Model N in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,327,000. Finally, G2 Investment Partners Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Model N by 235.4% in the 4th quarter. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC now owns 385,684 shares of the software makers stock valued at $15,643,000 after acquiring an additional 270,684 shares during the last quarter. 96.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Model N

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Model N, Inc engages in developing and monetizing revenue management solutions. It offers cloud revenue optimization and compliance to pharmaceutical, medical technology, semiconductor, and high-tech companies. Its products provide business processes such as pricing, quoting, contracting, regulatory compliance, rebates and incentives.

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National Bank of Greece S.A. (OTCMKTS:NBGIF  Get Rating)s stock price traded up 2.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $4.86 and last traded at $4.86. 11,000 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 15,491 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.75.

National Bank of Greece Trading Up 2.3 %

The stocks fifty day moving average price is $4.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.11.

About National Bank of Greece

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National Bank of Greece SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Greece, the United Kingdom, North Macedonia, Romania, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Malta, Egypt, and Luxembourg. The company operates through Retail Banking, Corporate & Investment Banking, Trouble Assets Unit, Global Markets and Asset Management, Insurance, International Banking Operations, and Other segments.

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Realty Income Co. (NYSE:O  Get Rating)  Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group raised their Q1 2023 EPS estimates for shares of Realty Income in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst J. Petersen now forecasts that the real estate investment trust will earn $1.02 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.98. The consensus estimate for Realty Incomes current full-year earnings is $4.10 per share. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Realty Incomes FY2026 earnings at $5.24 EPS.

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A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on O. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Realty Income from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Realty Income from $72.25 to $71.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Realty Income from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 9th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Realty Income in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. They set a neutral rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Realty Income in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a sell rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Realty Income currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $71.89.

Realty Income Stock Up 0.9 %

Realty Income stock opened at $62.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $41.36 billion, a PE ratio of 44.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firms 50 day moving average price is $64.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.39. Realty Income has a twelve month low of $55.50 and a twelve month high of $75.40.

Realty Income (NYSE:O  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $888.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $840.57 million. Realty Income had a net margin of 26.00% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share.

Realty Income Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a mar 23 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This is a boost from Realty Incomes previous mar 23 dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 4.8%. Realty Incomes dividend payout ratio is currently 214.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Realty Income by 33.7% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,505 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,767,000 after buying an additional 6,433 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Realty Income by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 18,695 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Realty Income during the 1st quarter worth approximately $592,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Realty Income by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 115,733 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $8,020,000 after buying an additional 8,803 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Realty Income by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,334 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,171,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the companys stock.

About Realty Income

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Realty Income Corp. is a real estate company, which engages in generating dependable monthly cash dividends from a consistent and predictable level of cash flow from operations. The company was founded by William E. Clark, Jr. and Evelyn Joan Clark in 1969 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

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Fury Gold Mines Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:FURY  Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 635,000 shares, an increase of 88.4% from the February 28th total of 337,100 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 171,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fury Gold Mines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC acquired a new position in Fury Gold Mines during the 2nd quarter worth $4,871,000. Ashford Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fury Gold Mines by 31.8% during the second quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,450,000 shares of the companys stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fury Gold Mines by 23.3% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 350,923 shares of the companys stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 66,214 shares in the last quarter. 11.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Fury Gold Mines Price Performance

Shares of FURY remained flat at $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday. 30,800 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 160,948. Fury Gold Mines has a 12-month low of $0.34 and a 12-month high of $0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $74.48 million, a PE ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $0.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Fury Gold Mines Company Profile

Separately, HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Fury Gold Mines from $1.40 to $1.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th.

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Fury Gold Mines Ltd. is junior exploration company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties. It holds interest in Committee Bay, Eau Claire, Eleonore South JV, Gibson MacQuoid, and Homestake Ridge projects. The company was founded on June 9, 2008 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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Shares of Singapore Airlines Limited (OTCMKTS:SINGF  Get Rating) were up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $4.31 and last traded at $4.31. Approximately 200 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 4,475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.30.

Singapore Airlines Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.02.

About Singapore Airlines

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Singapore Airlines Ltd. engages in passenger and cargo air transportation. It operates through the following segments: Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Budget Aviation and SIAEC. The Singapore Airlines segment provides passenger air transportation under the Singapore Airlines brand with a focus on full-service passenger serving short and long haul markets.

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Yellow Pages Limited (TSE:Y  Get Rating) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$13.92 and traded as low as C$13.07. Yellow Pages shares last traded at C$13.10, with a volume of 400 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial restated a sector perform market weight rating on shares of Yellow Pages in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. National Bankshares raised their price objective on Yellow Pages from C$15.00 to C$15.50 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th.

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Yellow Pages Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.64, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The businesss 50-day moving average price is C$13.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$13.64. The company has a market capitalization of C$245.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.40, a P/E/G ratio of -0.32 and a beta of 0.88.

Yellow Pages Dividend Announcement

Yellow Pages ( TSE:Y Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported C$1.63 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$64.60 million during the quarter. Yellow Pages had a net margin of 27.37% and a return on equity of 80.73%. Research analysts predict that Yellow Pages Limited will post 3.1066351 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. Yellow Pagess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.00%.

Insider Activity at Yellow Pages

In other Yellow Pages news, insider GoldenTree Asset Management LP sold 2,800 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$14.15, for a total transaction of C$39,620.00. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Yellow Pages

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Yellow Pages Limited operates as a digital media and marketing solutions company in Canada. The company provides digital and traditional marketing solutions, including online and mobile priority placement on Yellow Pages digital media properties, content syndication, search engine solutions, website fulfillment, social media campaign management, digital display advertising, video production, e-commerce, and print advertising to small and medium-sized enterprises.

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Shares of Armadale Capital Plc (LON:ACP  Get Rating) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 1.74 ($0.02) and traded as low as GBX 1.42 ($0.02). Armadale Capital shares last traded at GBX 1.48 ($0.02), with a volume of 123,403 shares changing hands.

Armadale Capital Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 1.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 1.74. The company has a quick ratio of 41.47, a current ratio of 41.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.23. The company has a market capitalization of 8.51 million, a PE ratio of -17.75 and a beta of 1.13.

Armadale Capital Company Profile

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Armadale Capital Plc, an investment company, focuses on natural resources projects in Africa. Its primary interest is in the Mahenge Liandu Graphite project in Tanzania. The company was formerly known as Watermark Global Plc and changed its name to Armadale Capital Plc in July 2013. Armadale Capital Plc was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Esher, the United Kingdom.

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Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of TD SYNNEX (NYSE:SNX  Get Rating) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $130.00 price target on the business services providers stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of TD SYNNEX in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. They set an equal weight rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of TD SYNNEX in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of TD SYNNEX from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of TD SYNNEX from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TD SYNNEX presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $116.20.

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TD SYNNEX Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of SNX opened at $94.49 on Monday. The companys fifty day moving average is $98.27 and its 200 day moving average is $95.81. TD SYNNEX has a fifty-two week low of $78.86 and a fifty-two week high of $111.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.25.

TD SYNNEX Announces Dividend

TD SYNNEX ( NYSE:SNX Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 10th. The business services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.45. TD SYNNEX had a net margin of 1.04% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The business had revenue of $16.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.78 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that TD SYNNEX will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. TD SYNNEXs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Marshall Witt sold 1,082 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.90, for a total value of $119,993.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,644,033.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other TD SYNNEX news, CFO Marshall Witt sold 1,082 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.90, for a total value of $119,993.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,644,033.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dennis Polk sold 8,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.92, for a total value of $839,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 132,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,891,617.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,193,767 shares of company stock worth $503,877,398. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in TD SYNNEX by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,300 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in TD SYNNEX by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,721 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in TD SYNNEX by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,202 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in TD SYNNEX by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,687 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in TD SYNNEX by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 35,805 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $3,391,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.70% of the companys stock.

About TD SYNNEX

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TD SYNNEX Corp. engages in the distribution and aggregation of solutions in the information technology ecosystem. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific and Japan. The firm offers IT hardware, software, and systems including personal computing devices and peripherals, mobile phones and accessories, printers, server and datacenter infrastructure, hybrid cloud, security, networking, communications and storage solutions, and system components.

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Baskin Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS  Get Rating) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 103,115 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 5,198 shares during the quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc.s holdings in Fortis were worth $4,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FTS. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,569 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Fortis by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,569 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in Fortis by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 26,923 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Fortis by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 510,446 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $25,266,000 after buying an additional 159,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Fortis by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 212,935 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $10,540,000 after buying an additional 52,248 shares in the last quarter. 49.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FTS. StockNews.com began coverage on Fortis in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Fortis from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. CIBC increased their price objective on Fortis from C$55.00 to C$57.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Finally, National Bank Financial upped their target price on Fortis from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research note on Monday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $58.75.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of FTS stock opened at $42.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.42. The businesss 50 day moving average is $40.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Fortis Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.76 and a 12-month high of $51.66.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.53. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 6.48% and a net margin of 12.20%. Analysts expect that Fortis Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.4211 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 16th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. This is an increase from Fortiss previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Fortiss dividend payout ratio is currently 79.34%.

About Fortis

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Fortis, Inc is an energy delivery company, which engages in the provision of energy generation and distribution. It operates through the Regulated Utilities and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated Utilities segment is composed of ITC, which contains mainly of the electric transmission operations of the ITC regulated operating subsidiaries, UNS Energy that offers vertically integrated utility services, Central Hudson, which provides regulated electric and gas T&D utility services, FortisBC Energy distributes natural gas in British Columbia, FortisAlberta, which involves in the ownership and operation of regulated electricity distribution facilities, FortisBC Electric includes the ownership of hydroelectric generating plants, high voltage transmission lines, and a large network of distribution assets, and Other Electric that contains utilities in the eastern Canada and Caribbean.

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Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:DGRO  Get Rating) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,494 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,769 shares during the quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF by 4,542.9% during the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,044,068 shares of the companys stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000,042 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF during the third quarter worth $51,346,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF during the third quarter worth $25,012,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF by 5.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,265,746 shares of the companys stock worth $323,107,000 after buying an additional 386,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF by 10.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,984,983 shares of the companys stock worth $212,837,000 after buying an additional 385,347 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF Stock Performance

DGRO opened at $49.42 on Friday. iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $54.55. The company has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.14 and a 200-day moving average of $49.42.

iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF Profile

The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Morningstar US Dividend Growth index. The fund tracks an index of US stocks that are selected by dividends, dividend growth and payout ratio, then weighted by dividend dollars. DGRO was launched on Jun 10, 2014 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Mechanics Bank Trust Department cut its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 88,566 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 1,018 shares during the quarter. Bristol-Myers Squibb comprises 1.1% of Mechanics Bank Trust Departments holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Mechanics Bank Trust Departments holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $6,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BMY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,886,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $14,209,937,000 after buying an additional 3,058,491 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.0% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 174,002,852 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $12,369,862,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357,590 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 4.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 17,053,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,313,101,000 after acquiring an additional 674,921 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,659,982 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,042,264,000 after acquiring an additional 155,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.5% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 11,442,639 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $813,457,000 after acquiring an additional 59,791 shares in the last quarter. 75.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. They set an overweight rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Atlantic Securities raised their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Monday, March 6th. They issued a hold rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $79.69.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 1.1 %

BMY stock traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.96. The company had a trading volume of 3,690,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,095,935. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.82. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $65.28 and a 12 month high of $81.43. The stock has a market cap of $145.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.46.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.11. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 51.60%. The firm had revenue of $11.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Bristol-Myers Squibbs revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Ann Powell sold 11,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $835,258.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,721,081.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $17,916,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 236,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,625,163.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Powell sold 11,183 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $835,258.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,043 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,721,081.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Profile

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Bristol Myers Squibb Co engages in the discovery, development, licensing, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of biopharmaceutical products. It offers chemically-synthesized drugs or small molecules and products produced from biological processes called biologics. The company was founded in August 1933 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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Center For Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,158 shares of the energy companys stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Trustcore Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Trustcore Financial Services LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Devon Energy by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 332,753 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $18,338,000 after acquiring an additional 87,870 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment Corp IL raised its stake in Devon Energy by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment Corp IL now owns 19,627 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Devon Energy by 194.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 573,342 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $34,475,000 after acquiring an additional 378,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Devon Energy by 470.6% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64,217 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $3,861,000 after acquiring an additional 52,963 shares during the last quarter. 78.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DVN opened at $49.85 on Friday. Devon Energy Co. has a one year low of $44.03 and a one year high of $79.40. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $55.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a PE ratio of 5.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 2.33.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

Devon Energy ( NYSE:DVN Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The energy company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($0.09). Devon Energy had a return on equity of 52.20% and a net margin of 31.38%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Devon Energys revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Devon Energy Co. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This is a boost from Devon Energys previous None dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.3%. Devon Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.77%.

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In other Devon Energy news, CEO Richard E. Muncrief acquired 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $53.28 per share, for a total transaction of $532,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,973,977 shares of the companys stock, valued at $105,173,494.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Dennis C. Cameron sold 7,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total value of $393,193.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 262,498 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,377,015.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard E. Muncrief bought 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $53.28 per share, for a total transaction of $532,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,973,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,173,494.56. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on DVN shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Devon Energy from $82.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Devon Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Devon Energy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Devon Energy from $82.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Devon Energy from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $71.95.

Devon Energy Company Profile

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Devon Energy Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties. It develops and operates Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford, Heavy Oil, Barnett Shale, STACK, and Rockies Oil. The company was founded by J. Larry Nichols and John W. Nichols in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK.

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Davis Rea LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,929 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Power Corp of Canada purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the first quarter worth $31,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 83.7% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,485 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,526 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.26% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AQN shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $11.50 to $10.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 13th. Desjardins downgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $9.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group dropped their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $11.00 to $10.50 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $9.86.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

AQN stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.43. 3,513,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,628,709. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1-year low of $6.41 and a 1-year high of $16.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.64.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 7.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.01%. The business had revenue of $748.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a $0.1085 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Algonquin Power & Utilitiess dividend payout ratio is -225.00%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Profile

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Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. operates as a diversified utility company. The firm engages in the ownership and operation of a portfolio of regulated and non-regulated generation, distribution and transmission utility assets. It operates through the following segments: Regulated Services Group, and Renewable Energy Group.

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Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E  Get Rating) has received a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on E shares. BNP Paribas downgraded ENI from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada cut ENI from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded ENI from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on ENI in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on ENI in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. They set an outperform rating for the company.

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Institutional Trading of ENI

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in E. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of ENI by 10.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,861 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,796 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ENI by 38.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 89,779 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $2,626,000 after acquiring an additional 25,157 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ENI by 11.1% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,327 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ENI by 199.8% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 30,199 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 20,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ENI by 1.0% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 590,847 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $17,282,000 after acquiring an additional 5,621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.18% of the companys stock.

ENI Price Performance

ENI Cuts Dividend

E stock opened at $27.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.01. ENI has a twelve month low of $20.38 and a twelve month high of $32.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

The company also recently announced a  dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 21st will be issued a $0.4623 dividend. This represents a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 20th. ENIs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.08%.

About ENI

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Eni SpA engages in the exploration, production, refining, and sale of oil, gas, electricity, and chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Global Gas and LNG Portfolio, Refining & Marketing and Chemicals, Power & Renewables, and Corporate and Other Activities.

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Epwin Group Plc (LON:EPWN  Get Rating) passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 76.53 ($0.94) and traded as low as GBX 70.50 ($0.87). Epwin Group shares last traded at GBX 71.30 ($0.88), with a volume of 344,262 shares changing hands.

Epwin Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of 102.47 million, a P/E ratio of 793.20 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 76.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 74.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 108.27, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Epwin Group Company Profile

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Epwin Group Plc manufactures and sells building products in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Extrusion and Moulding, and Fabrication and Distribution. The company offers windows, doors, cavity closers, and curtain walling products; wood plastic composite decking products and panels; glass reinforced plastic prefabricated components, such as door canopies, dormers, chimneys, copings, bay window canopies, and bespoke components; fascias and cladding systems; rainwater, soil, and underground drainage products; bathroom panels/wall boards; and insulated glazing units.

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Finsbury Growth & Income Trust PLC (LON:FGT  Get Rating)s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as GBX 901 ($11.07) and last traded at GBX 900 ($11.06), with a volume of 365823 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 891 ($10.95).

Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of 1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -1,681.13 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 877.10 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 848.13.

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Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 6th will be given a GBX 8.50 ($0.10) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. Finsbury Growth & Income Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3,396.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

About Finsbury Growth & Income Trust

In related news, insider Simon Hayes bought 3,978 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 875 ($10.75) per share, for a total transaction of 34,807.50 ($42,766.31). Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 12,008 shares of company stock worth $10,445,275. 4.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Finsbury Growth & Income Trust PLC is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched Frostrow Capital LLP. The fund is co-managed by Lindsell Train Limited. It invests in public equity markets of the United Kingdom. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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George Weston Limited (TSE:WN  Get Rating)s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as C$179.76 and last traded at C$179.42, with a volume of 91065 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$176.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on George Weston from C$172.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on George Weston from C$175.00 to C$181.00 in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. CIBC lifted their target price on George Weston from C$204.00 to C$210.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of George Weston from C$189.00 to C$192.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$190.00 to C$200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$196.33.

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George Weston Price Performance

The businesss 50-day simple moving average is C$168.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$162.62. The stock has a market cap of C$25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.68, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

George Weston Increases Dividend

Insiders Place Their Bets

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from George Westons previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. George Westons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.85%.

In other news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.30, for a total value of C$165,302.00. In other George Weston news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$165.30, for a total transaction of C$165,302.00. Also, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 3,425 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$169.68, for a total transaction of C$581,143.04. Insiders sold a total of 4,725 shares of company stock valued at $796,594 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 56.26% of the companys stock.

George Weston Company Profile

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George Weston Limited provides food and drug retailing, and financial services in Canada and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) and Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Choice Properties). The Loblaw segment provides grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, and financial services.

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Schaeffler (OTCMKTS:SCFLF  Get Rating) and EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme (OTCMKTS:ESLOY  Get Rating) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Schaeffler and EssilorLuxottica Societe anonymes gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Schaeffler $16.39 billion N/A $894.42 million N/A N/A EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme $25.81 billion 3.10 $2.27 billion N/A N/A

EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme has higher revenue and earnings than Schaeffler.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Schaeffler 3.76% 16.02% 3.78% EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme N/A N/A N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This table compares Schaeffler and EssilorLuxottica Societe anonymes net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Schaeffler and EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Schaeffler 0 1 1 0 2.50 EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme 1 1 1 0 2.00

Schaeffler currently has a consensus target price of $6.25, indicating a potential downside of 14.96%. EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme has a consensus target price of $173.80, indicating a potential upside of 94.49%. Given EssilorLuxottica Societe anonymes higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme is more favorable than Schaeffler.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Schaeffler has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme beats Schaeffler on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Schaeffler

(Get Rating)

Schaeffler AG operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the supply of products and solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors. It operates through the following segments: Automotive OEM, Automotive Aftermarket and Industrial segments. The Automotive OEM segment organizes its business in the Engine Systems, Transmission Systems, E-Mobility, and Chassis Systems business divisions. The Automotive Aftermarket and Industrial segment both focuses on Europe, Americas, Greater China, and Asia/Pacific. The company was founded by Georg Schaeffler and Wilhelm Schaeffler in 1946 and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

About EssilorLuxottica Societe anonyme

(Get Rating)

EssilorLuxottica SA engages in the design, manufacture, and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames and sunglasses. It operates through the following segments: Professional Solutions and Direct to Consumer. The Professional Solutions segment represent the wholesale business of the Group, i.e. the supply of the Groups products and services to all the professionals of the eyecare industry (distributors, opticians, independents, third-party e-commerce platforms. The Direct to Consumer segment represents the retail business of the Group, i.e. the supply of the Group products and services directly to the end consumer either through the network of physical stores operated by the Group (brick and mortar) or the online channel (e-commerce). The company was founded by Leonardo Del Vecchio in 1961 and is headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France.

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HMS Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ  Get Rating) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,123 shares of the companys stock after selling 184 shares during the period. HMS Capital Management LLCs holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 3.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the companys stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Arvest Trust Co. N A lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 4.2% during the third quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A now owns 1,045 shares of the companys stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 19.6% in the third quarter. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd now owns 256 shares of the companys stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 0.7% during the third quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 6,206 shares of the companys stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veritable L.P. boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Veritable L.P. now owns 4,488 shares of the companys stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 84.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Constellation Brands Stock Up 0.5 %

STZ stock opened at $224.91 on Friday. The companys 50 day moving average price is $223.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 642.62, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.01. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.12 and a fifty-two week high of $261.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

Constellation Brands ( NYSE:STZ Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 5th. The company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.88 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 0.98% and a return on equity of 19.69%. Constellation Brandss revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 10.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 8th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Constellation Brandss payout ratio is currently 914.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on Constellation Brands from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $217.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, March 20th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $249.76.

About Constellation Brands

(Get Rating)

Constellation Brands, Inc engages in the production, marketing, and distribution of beer, wine, and spirits. It operates through the following segments: Beer, Wine and Spirits, and Corporate Operations and Other, and Canopy. The Beer segment includes imported and craft beer brands. The Wine and Spirits segment sells wine brands across all categories-table wine, sparkling wine, and dessert wine-and across all price points.

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Investment Management of Virginia LLC cut its holdings in shares of PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE:PKI  Get Rating) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,726 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 415 shares during the period. Investment Management of Virginia LLCs holdings in PerkinElmer were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in PerkinElmer by 0.5% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,014,808 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $2,135,406,000 after acquiring an additional 68,732 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of PerkinElmer by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,071,112 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,693,176,000 after buying an additional 151,569 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in PerkinElmer by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,204,232 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $626,225,000 after buying an additional 32,829 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in PerkinElmer by 10.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,624,231 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $657,660,000 after buying an additional 448,080 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in PerkinElmer by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,568,593 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $188,749,000 after acquiring an additional 212,718 shares during the period. 85.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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PerkinElmer Trading Up 1.2 %

PKI opened at $131.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.87. PerkinElmer, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.46 and a fifty-two week high of $181.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.10. The companys 50-day moving average is $130.88 and its 200 day moving average is $132.63.

PerkinElmer Announces Dividend

PerkinElmer ( NYSE:PKI Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.04. PerkinElmer had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The company had revenue of $741.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The firms revenue was down 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PerkinElmer, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, April 21st will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. PerkinElmers dividend payout ratio is presently 6.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PKI shares. Citigroup raised PerkinElmer from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PerkinElmer from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Cowen upgraded shares of PerkinElmer from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and dropped their target price for the company from $192.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of PerkinElmer from $185.00 to $182.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of PerkinElmer from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PerkinElmer currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $166.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PerkinElmer news, insider Daniel R. Tereau sold 10,741 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.72, for a total value of $1,328,876.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,512.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PerkinElmer Profile

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PerkinElmer, Inc engages in the provision of products, services, and solutions for diagnostics, food, environmental, life sciences, and applied markets. It operates through the following segments: Discovery & Analytical Solutions and Diagnostics. The Discovery & Analytical Solutions segment consists of technologies that help life sciences researchers better understand diseases and develop treatments.

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Foster Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV  Get Rating) by 45.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,104 shares of the companys stock after selling 11,014 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leelyn Smith LLC acquired a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 206.8% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 1,129 shares of the companys stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 429.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the companys stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BATS:EFV traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.35. 3,231,225 shares of the stock were exchanged. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.38. The company has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.86. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a 12-month low of $49.15 and a 12-month high of $59.57.

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

Further Reading

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Rovin Capital UT ADV cut its position in Kellogg (NYSE:K  Get Rating) by 56.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,727 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,780 shares during the quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADVs holdings in Kellogg were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CAPROCK Group Inc. lifted its position in Kellogg by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. CAPROCK Group Inc. now owns 7,894 shares of the companys stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,554 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Kellogg by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 770,218 shares of the companys stock worth $54,870,000 after buying an additional 258,586 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of Kellogg by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 3,921 shares of the companys stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kellogg by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 63,090 shares of the companys stock worth $4,495,000 after buying an additional 5,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kellogg during the 4th quarter worth about $237,000. 82.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 100,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.99, for a total transaction of $6,399,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 55,431,838 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,547,083,313.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Kellogg news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 100,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.99, for a total value of $6,399,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 55,431,838 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,547,083,313.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rodrigo Lance sold 2,975 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.79, for a total transaction of $201,675.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,443.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 528,437 shares of company stock valued at $35,218,511. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Kellogg Stock Up 0.2 %

K has been the topic of several recent research reports. TheStreet cut shares of Kellogg from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kellogg from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Kellogg from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 20th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on shares of Kellogg from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Kellogg from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kellogg currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $71.78.

NYSE K traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.76. The companys stock had a trading volume of 544,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,187,958. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.06. Kellogg has a 1-year low of $63.23 and a 1-year high of $77.17.

Kellogg (NYSE:K  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. Kellogg had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 32.51%. The business had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Kelloggs revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Kellogg will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellogg declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kellogg Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. Kelloggs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.59%.

About Kellogg

(Get Rating)

Kellogg Co engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of ready-to-eat cereal and convenience foods. It operates through the following segments: North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Middle East Africa. The North America segment includes the U.S. businesses and Canada. The Europe segment consists of European countries.

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Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,229 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PNW. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 8.0% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 21,980 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,693 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,397,000 after buying an additional 5,768 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 31,722 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,599,000 after buying an additional 1,681 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 6.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 494,515 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $38,620,000 after buying an additional 31,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 135,551 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $10,571,000 after purchasing an additional 9,777 shares in the last quarter. 85.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on PNW. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Credit Suisse Group upgraded Pinnacle West Capital from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $77.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Pinnacle West Capital in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Pinnacle West Capital from $70.00 to $82.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $73.73.

Pinnacle West Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNW opened at $79.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Pinnacle West Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $59.03 and a 1 year high of $80.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.44. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $75.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.33.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.03). Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $638.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pinnacle West Capital Co. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Profile

(Get Rating)

Pinnacle West Capital Corp. is a holding company, which engages in providing energy and energy-related products. It offers regulated retail and wholesale electricity businesses and related activities, such as electricity generation, transmission and distribution through its subsidiary, Arizona Public Service Co The company was founded on February 20, 1985, and is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.

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Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG  Get Rating) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,690 shares of the insurance providers stock after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLCs holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,704 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 9.1% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,952 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter worth $674,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 88.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,238 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 5,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 235.4% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,070 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. 89.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $68.90 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.17 and a twelve month high of $79.44. The stocks 50 day moving average is $73.96 and its 200-day moving average is $72.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The Hartford Financial Services Group ( NYSE:HIG Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The insurance provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.45. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The firms revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 6th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 31.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on HIG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $84.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $83.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $86.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 14,542 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total value of $1,125,259.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,629 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,608,152.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 14,542 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total value of $1,125,259.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,608,152.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 3,920 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $303,447.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,726.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 101,167 shares of company stock worth $7,872,898 over the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company Profile

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The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc is an insurance and financial services company. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, Property & Casualty Other Operations, Group Benefits, Hartford Funds, and Corporate. The Commercial Lines segment provides workers compensation, property, automobile, liability and umbrella coverage under several different products.

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Red Door Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA  Get Rating) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,931 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 1,025 shares during the quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MAA. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 5,889,416 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $913,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827,696 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 76.9% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 1,347,471 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $282,228,000 after purchasing an additional 585,804 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 3,382.8% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 398,749 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $83,518,000 after purchasing an additional 387,300 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 709,109 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $148,523,000 after purchasing an additional 365,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,836,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.20% of the companys stock.

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Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MAA traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $148.84. 111,257 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 766,389. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $159.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $17.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.77. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.68 and a fifty-two week high of $217.64.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

Mid-America Apartment Communities ( NYSE:MAA Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.61). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 31.51% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $527.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $529.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communitiess previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 13th. Mid-America Apartment Communitiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.00%.

Insider Activity at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In related news, EVP Melanie Carpenter sold 242 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $37,231.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,751,299.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 975 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $150,003.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 287,141 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $44,176,642.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie Carpenter sold 242 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $37,231.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,751,299.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,462 shares of company stock worth $379,401 in the last three months. 1.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $178.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $178.00 to $159.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $185.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $174.96.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Profile

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Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the operation, acquisition, and development of apartment communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store Communities and Non-Same Store and Other. The Same Store Communities segment focuses on communities that the company has owned.

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Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 120 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 115.8% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,250,997 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $2,295,301,000 after buying an additional 5,499,972 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,898,426 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $1,992,447,000 after purchasing an additional 246,451 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,891,102 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $423,439,000 after purchasing an additional 15,631 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,279,492 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $261,976,000 after purchasing an additional 216,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 1,260,134 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $282,157,000 after purchasing an additional 13,764 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.76, for a total value of $607,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,955 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,756,145.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.76, for a total transaction of $607,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,955 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,756,145.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John G. Morikis bought 2,207 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, January 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $226.70 per share, with a total value of $500,326.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 231,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,445,684.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.55% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $283.00 to $231.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $253.39.

SHW traded up $7.45 on Friday, hitting $224.47. 749,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,598,308. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $195.24 and a 12 month high of $285.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $226.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.26 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 90.04%. Sherwin-Williamss revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.605 per share. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williamss previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Sherwin-Williamss payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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The Sherwin-Williams Co engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paint and coatings. It operates through the following segments: America Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coating Group. The America Group segment manages the exclusive outlets for Sherwin-Williams branded paints, stains, supplies, equipment, and floor coverings.

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Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 500 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Edison International by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,738 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Edison International by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 6,673 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Edison International by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 12,614 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in Edison International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 54,485 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $3,083,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Edison International by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,122 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.19% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EIX. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Edison International from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded Edison International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Edison International in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group dropped their target price on Edison International from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Edison International in a report on Monday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $69.27.

Edison International Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE EIX traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $70.23. 783,374 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,086,210. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $67.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.51. The company has a market cap of $26.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.75, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.78. Edison International has a 12 month low of $54.45 and a 12 month high of $73.32.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Edison International had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 4.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a $0.7375 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. Edison Internationals payout ratio is 184.38%.

Edison International Profile

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Edison International is a renewable energy company, which through its subsidiaries, generates and distributes electric power, and invests in energy services and technologies. The company was founded on July 4, 1886, and is headquartered in Rosemead, CA.

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Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY  Get Rating) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $71.00 to $62.00 in a report published on Monday, The Fly reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producers stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on OXY. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $76.00 to $69.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Friday, March 17th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $75.37.

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Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $62.32 on Monday. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $51.53 and a 1-year high of $77.13. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $61.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.97 billion, a PE ratio of 5.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.77.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

Occidental Petroleum ( NYSE:OXY Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $8.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.21 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 52.68% and a net margin of 35.87%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 97.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleums previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Occidental Petroleums dividend payout ratio is currently 5.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 1,678,017 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.56 per share, for a total transaction of $103,298,726.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 198,392,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,213,057,997.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 12,371,716 shares of company stock worth $735,557,715. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 40.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 5,384,566 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $308,156,000 after buying an additional 1,537,686 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,035,799 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $285,732,000 after acquiring an additional 118,928 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $267,173,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,494,359 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $214,728,000 after buying an additional 862,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,381,730 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $213,011,000 after buying an additional 102,903 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.45% of the companys stock.

About Occidental Petroleum

(Get Rating)

Occidental Petroleum Corp. engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

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Morgan Stanley reissued their underweight rating on shares of Admiral Group (LON:ADM  Get Rating) in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a GBX 2,150 ($26.42) price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ADM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Admiral Group to a hold rating and set a GBX 2,150 ($26.42) price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Peel Hunt reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a GBX 2,160 ($26.54) price objective on shares of Admiral Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an underweight rating and issued a GBX 1,650 ($20.27) price objective on shares of Admiral Group in a research report on Thursday, March 9th. Finally, Numis Securities reaffirmed an add rating and issued a GBX 2,575 ($31.64) price objective on shares of Admiral Group in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of GBX 2,201.50 ($27.05).

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Admiral Group Stock Up 0.7 %

ADM stock opened at GBX 2,029 ($24.93) on Tuesday. Admiral Group has a fifty-two week low of GBX 1,691.50 ($20.78) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 2,646.60 ($32.52). The businesss 50 day moving average price is GBX 2,119.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 2,081.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 107.56, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of 6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,625.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -1.02 and a beta of 0.25.

Admiral Group Cuts Dividend

Insiders Place Their Bets

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 4th will be paid a GBX 52 ($0.64) dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 4th. This represents a yield of 2.49%. Admiral Groups payout ratio is presently 6,612.90%.

In other news, insider Annette Court acquired 920 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 1,999 ($24.56) per share, for a total transaction of 18,390.80 ($22,595.90). In related news, insider Geraint Jones sold 1,175 shares of Admiral Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,851 ($22.74), for a total transaction of 21,749.25 ($26,722.26). Also, insider Annette Court acquired 920 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 1,999 ($24.56) per share, for a total transaction of 18,390.80 ($22,595.90). 16.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Admiral Group

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Admiral Group plc provides financial services in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Canada, India, and the United States. It offers insurance products, including motor, household, travel, and pet insurance, as well as personal lending products through Admiral loans. The company operates through UK Insurance, International Insurance, Admiral Loans, and Other segments.

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Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS  Get Rating) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning, The Fly reports.

NVS has been the topic of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Novartis from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Novartis from CHF 82 to CHF 84 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Novartis from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $82.63.

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Novartis Stock Up 1.5 %

NVS stock opened at $91.58 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $202.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firms fifty day moving average is $86.27 and its 200 day moving average is $85.09. Novartis has a one year low of $74.09 and a one year high of $94.26.

Novartis Increases Dividend

Novartis ( NYSE:NVS Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $12.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.85 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 21.79%. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th were issued a $3.4694 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Novartiss previous annual dividend of $1.18. Novartiss payout ratio is 71.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $58,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 23,006 shares of the companys stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 23,504 shares of the companys stock worth $1,786,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,188 shares of the companys stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMB Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.12% of the companys stock.

Novartis Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

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Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR  Get Rating) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,720 shares of the business services providers stock after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLCs holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $1,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,043,423 shares of the business services providers stock worth $2,026,747,000 after acquiring an additional 131,997 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,830,478 shares of the business services providers stock worth $1,418,737,000 after buying an additional 64,035 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,654,571 shares of the business services providers stock worth $675,108,000 after buying an additional 19,303 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,301,103 shares of the business services providers stock worth $613,123,000 after buying an additional 104,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 86.6% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,195,313 shares of the business services providers stock worth $186,122,000 after buying an additional 554,807 shares in the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BR. TheStreet raised Broadridge Financial Solutions from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of BR stock traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $146.22. The company had a trading volume of 285,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,623. The company has a 50 day moving average of $143.72 and a 200 day moving average of $144.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39 and a beta of 0.97. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.35 and a 1-year high of $183.33.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The business services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.91. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 40.38%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a $0.725 dividend. This represents a $2.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. Broadridge Financial Solutionss dividend payout ratio is currently 64.73%.

Insider Activity at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 1,425 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.06, for a total value of $201,010.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $885,151.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Profile

(Get Rating)

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of investor communications and technology solutions to banks, broker-dealers, mutual funds, and corporate issuers. It operates through the following segments: Investor Communication Solutions and Global Technology and Operations. The Investor Communication Solutions segment offers services for broker-dealer investor communication, customer communication, corporate issuer, advisor solutions, and mutual fund and retirement solutions.

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Parisi Gray Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Managements holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $1,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners increased its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 103.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 10,166,384 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $725,297,000 after buying an additional 5,161,226 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 174,002,852 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $12,369,862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357,590 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,886,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $14,209,937,000 after purchasing an additional 3,058,491 shares during the period. Cowa LLC grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 9,777.8% during the 1st quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 1,657,894 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,110 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 6,853,418 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $487,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546,164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.51% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $17,916,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 236,104 shares in the company, valued at $17,625,163.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Ann Powell sold 11,183 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $835,258.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,043 shares in the company, valued at $1,721,081.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $17,916,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 236,104 shares in the company, valued at $17,625,163.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BMY opened at $68.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $65.28 and a 52-week high of $81.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.82. The company has a market capitalization of $143.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.46.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.11. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 51.60%. The business had revenue of $11.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs payout ratio is currently 77.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on BMY. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. They issued an overweight rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Atlantic Securities upped their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, March 6th. They set a hold rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $79.69.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Bristol Myers Squibb Co engages in the discovery, development, licensing, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of biopharmaceutical products. It offers chemically-synthesized drugs or small molecules and products produced from biological processes called biologics. The company was founded in August 1933 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP  Get Rating) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,153 shares of the payment services companys stock after buying an additional 273 shares during the quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLCs holdings in American Express were worth $2,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in American Express by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 44,553,661 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $6,010,732,000 after purchasing an additional 665,857 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,525,852 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $880,402,000 after purchasing an additional 602,762 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in American Express by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,928,905 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $683,249,000 after purchasing an additional 115,738 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in American Express by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,807,168 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $666,377,000 after purchasing an additional 675,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd increased its position in American Express by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 3,836,937 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $566,907,000 after purchasing an additional 246,201 shares in the last quarter. 83.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total transaction of $2,635,280.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,712 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,374,644.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Denise Pickett sold 28,688 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $5,186,216.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,557 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,270,054.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total transaction of $2,635,280.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,712 shares in the company, valued at $2,374,644.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,361 shares of company stock valued at $8,773,678 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $128.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Argus upped their price target on shares of American Express from $180.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $158.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of American Express from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $186.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Express from $172.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $175.44.

NYSE AXP traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $162.24. 323,105 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,629,173. The company has a market cap of $120.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 12 month low of $130.65 and a 12 month high of $194.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $169.70 and a 200-day moving average of $155.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

American Express (NYSE:AXP  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The payment services company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.25 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 14.16%. The firms revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 8th that allows the company to repurchase 120,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the payment services company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. This is a positive change from American Expresss previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. American Expresss dividend payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

American Express Company Profile

(Get Rating)

American Express Co engages in the provision of charge and credit card products and travel-related services. It operates through the following segments: U.S Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS), Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS), and Corporate and Other.

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Shop Apotheke Europe (ETR:SAE  Get Rating) has been given a 125.00 ($134.41) target price by Hauck Aufhauser Investment Banking in a report issued on Friday, Borsen Zeitung reports. Hauck Aufhauser Investment Bankings price objective would suggest a potential upside of 53.37% from the companys current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Baader Bank set a 85.00 ($91.40) price objective on Shop Apotheke Europe in a research note on Thursday. Warburg Research set a 108.00 ($116.13) price target on shares of Shop Apotheke Europe in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a 126.00 ($135.48) price objective on shares of Shop Apotheke Europe in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Credit Suisse Group set a 42.00 ($45.16) target price on shares of Shop Apotheke Europe in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a 80.00 ($86.02) price target on Shop Apotheke Europe in a research report on Thursday, March 9th.

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Shop Apotheke Europe Price Performance

ETR:SAE traded up 5.82 ($6.26) on Friday, reaching 81.50 ($87.63). 219,913 shares of the companys stock traded hands. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 66.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of 69.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of 53.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of -19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.86. Shop Apotheke Europe has a 12 month low of 36.51 ($39.26) and a 12 month high of 105.25 ($113.17).

Shop Apotheke Europe Company Profile

Shop Apotheke Europe N.V. owns and operates online pharmacies in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands. It provides prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, and pharmacy-related beauty and personal care products, as well as food supplements. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Sevenum, the Netherlands.

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Shore Capital reiterated their house stock rating on shares of Union Jack Oil (LON:UJO  Get Rating) in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Union Jack Oil Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of UJO stock opened at GBX 25.62 ($0.31) on Monday. The firms 50 day moving average is GBX 26.47 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 29.29. Union Jack Oil has a 1 year low of GBX 20.36 ($0.25) and a 1 year high of GBX 53.72 ($0.66). The firm has a market capitalization of 28.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,275.00 and a beta of 0.76.

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Union Jack Oil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 6th will be given a dividend of GBX 0.30 ($0.00) per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 6th.

Union Jack Oil Company Profile

Union Jack Oil plc operates as an onshore oil and gas company in the United Kingdom. The company focuses on production, drilling, development, and investment in hydrocarbon projects. It holds interests in the West Newton, Wressle Discovery, Broughton North, Biscathorpe, Keddington Oilfield Louth, North Somercotes, Louth Extension, Fiskerton Airfield Oilfield, North Kelsey, Dukes Wood, Kirklington, Widmerpool Gulf, Humber Basin, and Laughton projects.

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The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY  Get Rating) insider Charles R. Raup sold 1,512 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.83, for a total transaction of $376,230.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,702,887. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $253.29 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $201.42 and a 52-week high of $254.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $237.34 and a 200-day moving average of $231.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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Hershey (NYSE:HSY  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.25. Hershey had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 57.76%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 17th were given a $1.036 dividend. This represents a $4.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 16th. Hersheys payout ratio is currently 52.01%.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $222.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $255.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $231.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $249.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth $26,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in Hershey by 121.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.17% of the companys stock.

Hershey Company Profile

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The Hershey Co engages in the manufacture and marketing of chocolate, sweets, mints and confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America and International and Other. The North America is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada.

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HMS Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO  Get Rating) by 29.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 953 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 392 shares during the period. HMS Capital Management LLCs holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $525,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,166,910 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $16,314,735,000 after purchasing an additional 406,844 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,689,762 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $15,565,540,000 after purchasing an additional 256,512 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,158,876 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $8,200,398,000 after acquiring an additional 135,437 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,199,500 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,115,564,000 after purchasing an additional 153,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.3% during the second quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,127,006 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,155,560,000 after acquiring an additional 181,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.92% of the companys stock.

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $562.97 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $475.77 and a twelve month high of $618.35. The company has a market capitalization of $216.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $562.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $545.33.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

Thermo Fisher Scientific ( NYSE:TMO Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.21. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 15.47%. The firm had revenue of $11.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.54 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientifics quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientifics previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientifics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $710.00 to $693.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $613.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. SVB Leerink raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. They set an outperform rating and a $661.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a buy rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $647.00.

Insider Activity

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, Director Jim P. Manzi sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $584.56, for a total transaction of $584,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,807 shares in the company, valued at $8,655,579.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.96, for a total transaction of $915,136.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 128,705 shares in the company, valued at $73,614,111.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jim P. Manzi sold 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.56, for a total transaction of $584,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,807 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,655,579.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,100 shares of company stock worth $16,966,971. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Profile

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Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc engages in the provision of analytical instruments, equipment, reagents and consumables, software, and services for research, analysis, discovery, and diagnostics. It operates through the following segments: Life Sciences Solutions, Analytical Instruments, Specialty Diagnostics, and Laboratory Products and Services.

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Capital CS Group LLC decreased its stake in Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U  Get Rating) by 43.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,400 shares of the companys stock after selling 8,700 shares during the period. Unity Software accounts for 0.4% of Capital CS Group LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Capital CS Group LLCs holdings in Unity Software were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in U. Romano Brothers AND Company bought a new stake in shares of Unity Software in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Unity Software by 85.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 985 shares of the companys stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unity Software during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Unity Software during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Motco acquired a new position in shares of Unity Software during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.50% of the companys stock.

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Unity Software Stock Up 7.9 %

U traded up $2.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.65. 6,507,257 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,812,800. The stock has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.74 and a beta of 2.17. Unity Software Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.22 and a fifty-two week high of $109.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $32.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Unity Software ( NYSE:U Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $450.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.25 million. Unity Software had a negative return on equity of 25.70% and a negative net margin of 66.21%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Unity Software Inc. will post -1.48 EPS for the current year.

U has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Unity Software from $33.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Unity Software from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Unity Software from a hold rating to an underperform rating and set a $19.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on Unity Software from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Unity Software from $22.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $39.79.

Insider Transactions at Unity Software

In other news, SVP Marc Whitten sold 3,889 shares of Unity Software stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.27, for a total value of $117,720.03. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 677,682 shares in the company, valued at $20,513,434.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CMO Carol W. Carpenter sold 32,238 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.27, for a total transaction of $975,844.26. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 400,738 shares in the company, valued at $12,130,339.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marc Whitten sold 3,889 shares of Unity Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.27, for a total value of $117,720.03. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 677,682 shares in the company, valued at $20,513,434.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,625 shares of company stock worth $1,322,019. Company insiders own 6.90% of the companys stock.

Unity Software Company Profile

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Unity Software Inc operates a real-time 3D development platform. Its platform provides software solutions to create, run, and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. The company offers its solutions directly through its online store and field sales operations in North America, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, Singapore, and South Korea, as well as indirectly through independent distributors and resellers worldwide.

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CAPE CANAVERAL - USA - The Kardashians lifted off yesterday in a rocket and will be the first reality stars to ever go to Mars, their agent has revealed to MTV.

Donnie Rosenblatz, the agent who manages all of the Kardashians revealed the wonderful news on MTV.

Were going to film the journey and when they land on Mars, viewers will get to see what goes on there too, although NASA has told me we could lose communications with them permanently. Lets hope that does not happen, the agent revealed on Friday.

NASA has been preparing the family trip for two weeks already and lift off was yesterday at 2pm from Cape Canaveral.

Lets just say that for the sake of humanity, this is the best option. Hopefully theyll run out of air half way or crash into an asteroid. It will make great viewing. Hey, they wanted to be reality show stars so were giving them a once in a lifetime opportunity here for sure, Gregg Neushoff, a NASA controller told CNN.

The rocket ship the family are flying in will hold all life saving essentials like a nail care facility, wardrobes for all the clothes and shoes, botox injections as well as cameras watching their every move 24 hours a day.

I hope the Van Allen belt doesnt fry my new handbags, Kim Kardashian was overheard saying at the press conference before lift off.

New MTV series Kapricorn Two will air on Tuesday 16 April.


LAHORE - Pakistan - Researchers at the Muslim Rage Foundation are finding ways of capturing pure Muslim rage and redirecting the energy into useful electricity that could help humanity.

This is pioneering research. We studied enraged Muslims from all over the world and calculated that if we could harness even 1% of the Muslim rage for even 1 second, we could have enough electricity to power the entire Northern Hemisphere. It really is incredible, Dr. Abdullah Maqtani, told Pakistani state news yesterday.

Danish cartoonists may have learned their lesson well, as well as certain foolish Californian video makers, but what they have unleashed is a phenomenon that needs to be studied further.

I just want to put my fist down his throat, a Muslim man in the laboratory said foaming at the mouth. The raging man was talking about the latest person to create an outrage against Islam. The researchers and some heavyset orderlies grab the man, who is jerking around uncontrollably with fists and spittle flying, and put a helmet over his head.

His anger and rage energy are put through a transmogrifier and the signal is converted into pure electricity. We need more raging Muslims for our experiment and we will go out into the streets later today to collect more, Dr. Maqtani said.

The Muslim Rage Foundation has revealed that all it takes is 23 Rage-filled Muslims to create the equivalent power of a nuclear power station. If more rage was harnessed, the world could solve its energy problems once and for all.

There would be no need for oil, nuclear power, coal or any other fossil fuels. We are petitioning world governments to create Muslim Rage Power Stations where all the worlds power will be created. There will be banks of Muslims tethered up and plugged into the system as they are shown, on big screen videos and pictures, scenes that will keep them in a permanent state of rage, another researcher told Pakistans state television.


Boao forum delegates call for renewed action, cooperation to meet challenges

16:03, March 31, 2023 By Sheng Chuyi, Zhang Rong ( People's Daily Online

Themed An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development amid Challenges, the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2023, which was held from March 28 to 31 in south China's Hainan Province, focused on challenges and opportunities in an uncertain world.

World leaders attending the annual conference called for cooperation and renewed action to meet global challenges and highlighted China's role in bringing about global prosperity.

This photo taken on March 27, 2023 shows a fountain square in front of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) International Conference Center in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Fan Yuqing)

China and Asia major engines of world economic recovery

During the annual conference, the international community made strong calls for mutual development. Nonetheless, development requires a peaceful and stable international environment, as well as solidarity, mutual assistance and cooperation among countries.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday morning delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia's (BFA) annual conference, saying that the certainty China offers has been and will remain an anchor for global peace and development amid the uncertainties across the world.

Every cloud has a silver lining. The good news is, emerging and developing Asia remains the best hope and chief driver of global growth. Combined, they would contribute to three quarters of global growth," said Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia. He urged the world to seize a rare window of global development and prosperity.

We look forward to participating in new growth opportunities in Chinas dynamic economy. And we look forward to all parties contributing more actively to regional development and prosperity, to benefit Asia and the world, Lee Hsien Loong, Singapores Prime Minister, noted in his address to the opening ceremony.

ASEAN has responded quickly to challenges ahead and hopes to deepen cooperation with partners in RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), said Sok Sopheak, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce, Royal Government of Cambodia.

Based on your leadership and international institutions, it seems that the Chinese economy is on the way to recovery, demonstrating the growth [target] of 5 percent. Thats probably one of the largest growth in the world, Renat Bekturov, Governor of Astana International Financial Centre, told Peoples Daily Online.

Belt and Road Initiative is a vision of great significance

Solidarity and cooperation is best exemplified in the realization of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). With the (COVID-19) pandemic behind us, we should try to gain or regain its momentum, said Malaysias Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when addressing the opening ceremony.

Bekturov also noted that the BRI has had a significant impact on the world. He stressed that the BRI has brought many projects to Kazakhstan, such as the port in the east of the country, which is the world's largest dry port. In addition, the construction of the railway network has created what is now called a middle corridor, which has become increasingly important for shifting goods from east to west. This vision, which was proposed ten years ago, has had a tremendous impact and significance for Kazakhstan.

China has shared its success with us and other countries [through] the BRI. This is a very powerful vision of President Xi Jinping, in which he believes that the success of China must be shared with other developing countries, said Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives of Pakistan during an interview with Peoples Daily Online.

Paolo Borzatta, board member of The European House - Ambrosetti, remarked on the importance of the Belt and Road, especially in the Central Asian region. He also mentioned that BRI is playing a role in connecting Asia and Europe. We were so amazed by the vision of BRI, said Borzatta.

Delegates attending the annual conference agreed that as an important global public good, the BRI has enriched the mechanism and content of international cooperation for development since it was launched a decade ago.

Going Green, Going Digital

Green and digital technologies, together with biotech, new materials, drones, pilotless driving, aerospace and AI, are the most encouraging news for the world economic outlook, said Ban Ki-moon, noting that it is technology and innovation that will lead us out of the shadow of recession into the next wave of global prosperity.

Switching to renewable energy will lead to unprecedented economic growth, full employment, and material improvement in the standard of living of all citizens. China, more than any other country, can lead this decisive action, said Andrew Forrest, executive chairman of Fortescue Metals Group when delivering a speech at the opening ceremony.

Your country can rapidly empower the global community to decarbonize in months and years, rather than years and decades, by supplying the equipment mankind needs with joint ventures all over the world. You have the leadership, the capital and the massive technical and industrial base to make this happen, he said.

Bekturov mentioned that digitalization has transformed the world, especially in the last few years with COVID-19 lockdowns.

It has enhanced communication and made many things more convenient for people. For example, digital banks have brought a lot of convenience, and the development of trade has also benefited from digitalization, he said.

He noted that digitalization is an important area to invest in because trade is not only about physical infrastructure but also about soft infrastructure. If goods can move freely when digitalized, the trading costs of exporting and importing will be reduced, and that will lower trade barriers.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
MANHATTAN - USA - Election interference has many strands, and using governmental departments for partisan politics to indict Trump is a crime in itself.

Weaponising the government and its offices for partisan political purposes to take down Trump and the MAGA movement has been the agenda of the far-left communists who have taken over the Democrat party since the beginning. Now, they finally got The Don, and some fat fuck Soros implanted maggot DA of Manhattan is now celebrating his take down before the 2024 election.

Trump is gonna be in jail in 2024, so we got another election in the bag, Joe Biden said, thanking the District Attorney who indicted Trump after the statute of limitations expired. Making a misdemeanour a criminal felony is a tactic that has never been tried before, but the Democrats dont care about the law.

Show me the man, and Ill show you the crime, was the mantra of Stalins Soviet Union, and the same quote was used by the corrupt DA who vowed to take Trump down.

This is extremely divisive, and could cause a split in America on physical grounds. In other words, a civil war may occur if justice does not prevail.

The compromised Democrat Party, which has been infiltrated by hard line communists and Marxists who are perverting the law by criminalising politics is bringing tyranny to the United States through the perversion and weaponisation of the Big State.

When they handcuff Trump, the Democrats will have criminalised themselves more than their intended target, and this injustice will cause all hell to break loose soon enough.

Whilst New York City is a cesspit overflowing with drugs, and people are getting shot in Times Square, the DA has done nothing about that. Instead, this pissant stooge has dedicated his time to concoct lies and pervert the law, dragging the country towards tyranny, just because Trump is currently 35% ahead in the polls.

This is war.
TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy stressed a multiple times the involvement of K.T. Rama Rao's office in the TSPSC paper leaks case. (File Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: The Congress, in a move to intensify its agitation over the TSPSC question paper leaks, on Thursday set up a six-member committee to coordinate statewide agitations on the issue.

TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy launched the committee, which will be led by PCC senior vice-president Mallu Ravi.

PCC working president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said: "The newly-formed committee will take forward the statewide agitation programmes pertaining to the leakage of question papers of TSPSC, in consultation with political parties and all sections of the society, including parents, students, community, unemployed youth and the intelligentsia."

Pradesh Youth Congress president K. Shivasena Reddy and NSUI state president B. Venkat were named convenors of the committee, with PCC general secretaries K. Manavatha Roy and R. Bala Lakshmi, and chairman of PCC insurance and claims department Pavan Malladi as members.

The move comes against a backdrop of the police thwarting Revanth Reddys attempt to participate in a two-day deeksha at Osmania University on March 24.

Party sources said that an invite to Revanth indicated shifting loyalties of students and unemployed JAC members towards the Congress.

"Revanth Reddy stressed multiple times the involvement of K.T. Rama Rao's office in the TSPSC paper leaks case. The BRS is worried about lakhs of youth, who were affected by the issue, adversely influencing their poll performances," PCC general secretary and Nirudyoga JAC chairman, Manavata Rai, told Deccan Chronicle.

"All parties accept that around 40 lakh youth were affected, which indicates the extent of

unemployment in the state. BRS leaders have claimed multiple times that the KCR government filled most posts in the past eight years, in an attempt to hide the unemployment issue. However, the TSPSC leaks have exposed the unemployment problem in the state," Rai said.
TSPEJAC convenor Ratnakar Rao said There is no response from the managements of power utilities so far. We will issue a strike notice to the management on Monday. (Image source: wiki.org)

Hyderabad: Around 50,000 workers of the electricity department announced on Thursday their decision to go on a strike from April 17, to press for a salary hike backdated from April 1, 2022, as per the Pay Revision Commissions suggestions. Field-level employees have also listed a 29-point demand, including the implementation of a single master scale, personal pay and medical facilities, among other demands.

The Telangana State Power Employees Joint Action Committee (TSPEJAC) and five unrelated unions took a joint call on the matter and said they will serve strike notice to the management of power utilities on Monday.

The move comes after the unions and management could not come to an agreement even after several rounds of talks. Following a maha dharna held by the workers on March 24, another round of talks was held on Wednesday, but in vain.

TSPEJAC convenor Ratnakar Rao told Deccan Chronicle: "There is no response from the managements of power utilities so far. We will issue a strike notice to the management on Monday. Employees are forced to strike as the management failed to settle the pay revision."

The CMD of TS Genco and Transco, D. Prabhakar Rao, urged workers to resolve issues through talks and discard plans of a strike. "As per the approval of the state government, we offered a six per cent hike in salaries of employees. A committee will look after the EPF to GPF conversion of employees appointed between 1999 and 2004," he said.

It is to be noted that strikes by power utilities workers are disallowed under the Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1968.

Sources said that the management is planning alternative measures, given that around 16,000 employees participated in the maha dharna on March 24.
Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga. (File Photo:DC)

Washington: Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga is poised to become the next President of the World Bank after the nomination period closed and no country proposed an alternate candidate for the prestigious post.

In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history."

The World Bank on Wednesday closed a month-long window for nominations for its next president, with no alternatives announced to 63-year-old Banga.

The former Mastercard Inc. chief, Banga currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic.

The bank's board is expected to announce the next steps in its selection process on Thursday, with a view to confirming a new leader by early May.

Over the next few months, you will see the World Bank undergo an important transition. We expect that Ajay Banga President Biden's nominee will be elected President of the World Bank, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.

He will be charged with accelerating our progress to evolve the institution to better address 21st century challenges. This evolution will help the Bank deliver on its vital poverty alleviation and development goals, Yellen said.

If confirmed, Banga would become the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Banga is expected to replace the current World Bank president David Malpass, who will step down in June, nearly a year before his term is scheduled to expire.

Malpass faced strong criticism over the bank's commitment to climate action and over his personal views on climate change.

Last week, reports emerged that China sounded doubtful about backing Banga, saying it is "open" to supporting "other potential candidates" based on merit.

Banga, however, received overwhelming support from major countries across the world, including India.

Following Banga's nomination, he has travelled to several countries for support.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.(Representational image: DC)

Washington: A judge in the US has ruled that spouses of H-1B visa holders, a significantly large number of whom are Indians, can work in the country, in a big relief to foreign workers in the American tech sector which has seen massive retrenchments.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed a lawsuit filed by Save Jobs USA which had approached the court to dismiss the Obama-era regulation that gave employment authorisation cards to spouses of certain categories of H-1B visa holders.

Save Jobs USA is an organisation comprising IT workers who claim they lost their jobs to H-1B workers Tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft had opposed the lawsuit. The US has so far issued nearly 1,00,000 work authorisations to spouses of H-1B workers.

In her order, Judge Chutkan said the primary contention of Save Jobs USA is that Congress has never granted the Department of Homeland Security authority to allow foreign nationals, like H-4 visa-holders, to work during their stay in the United States.

But that contention runs headlong into the text of the Immigration and Nationality Act, decades of executive-branch practice and both explicit and implicit congressional ratification of that practice, she wrote.

The judge wrote that Congress has expressly and knowingly empowered the US government to authorise employment as a permissible condition of an H-4 spouse's stay in the United States.

The fact that the federal government has had longstanding and open responsibility for authorising employment for similar visa classes further manifests Congress' approval of it exercising that authority, she said.

The Department of Homeland Security and its predecessors have authorised employment not just for students, but also for their spouses and dependents, Judge Chutkan wrote in the ruling.

Also, the Department of Homeland Security has long extended work authorisation to spouses of foreign government officials and spouses of employees or officers of international organisations, the judge wrote as she dismissed the lawsuit filed by Save Jobs USA.

Ajay Bhutoria, a prominent community leader and advocate for immigrant rights, applauded the court's decision to allow H-1B spouses to work and support their families.

The H-1B visa programme is designed to allow skilled foreign workers to come to the United States and work for American companies.

However, until recently, H-1B spouses were not allowed to work, which often placed a significant financial burden on families, he said.

"With the court's decision to allow H-1B visa holders' spouses to work, thousands of families across the country will be able to breathe a little easier. This decision will provide much-needed relief to families who have been struggling to make ends meet and it will help to ensure that these families can stay together and thrive," Bhutoria said.

"Allowing H-1B spouses to work is not just a matter of economic fairness, but it is also a matter of family unity and stability. I applaud the court's decision, and I hope that this is just the first step towards a more compassionate and equitable immigration system," he said. Save Jobs USA said it plans to appeal against the court ruling.

Thousands of Indian IT professionals in the US, who have lost their jobs due to the series of recent layoffs at companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon, are now struggling to find new employment within the stipulated period under their work visas following the termination of their employment to stay in the country.

According to The Washington Post newspaper, nearly 200,000 IT workers have been laid off since November last year, including some record numbers in companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.

As per some industry insiders, between 30 to 40 per cent of them are Indian IT professionals, a significant number of whom are on H-1B and L1 visas.

The situation is getting worse for those on H-1B visas as they have to find a new job within 60 days or else, they would be left with no other option but to head back to India. Under current circumstances, when all IT companies are on a firing spree, getting a job within that short period, they feel is next to impossible.
Conservative media figures leaped to Donald Trump's defence with apocalyptic language Thursday, claiming the former president was being unfairly persecuted by a Manhattan grand jury's indictment and predicting his 2024 bid for the White House would get a boost from his perceived martyrdom.

This is totally unacceptable and a disgrace to this country, said Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters.

This is repulsive, said Fox's Sean Hannity, three days after he interviewed Trump on his show. This is a disgusting political hit job the likes of which we have never seen in this country anymore.

It's insane, said Newsmax's Eric Bolling.

The actual charges in the grand jury indictment against Trump have not been made public. The Manhattan district attorney's office has investigated payments made during the 2016 presidential election to silence claims of an extramarital affair.

Also Read | Trump slams indictment as 'political persecution,' 'election interference'

For conservative-oriented media, Thursday's fury represented a rapid turnaround. Trump had recently complained of being looked over by Fox, by far the most popular media outlet for conservatives, and had not appeared there for an interview in months before Hannity spoke to him earlier this week.

This is a horrible night for the republic, but politically it's a great night for Donald Trump, commentator Pete Hegseth said, predicting that mug shots of the former president would be proudly displayed in college dorm rooms and on T-shirts.

Hannity had a live studio audience Thursday evening that frequently shouted and clapped as he and his guests railed against the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. Fox and Newsmax aired wall-to-wall coverage, and guests seemed to compete for who could use the most heated language. US Sen. Lindsey Graham used an unbleeped obscenity to talk about the charges.

The Democrat party has now dragged the country into tyranny! commentator Mark Levin shouted.

Several conspiratorial commentators suggested to viewers that unnamed authorities would come after them when they were done with Trump.

Somebody's going to do something stupid, disc jockey Adam Carolla said to Fox's Tucker Carlson, and then the storm troopers are going to come in.

They want you to strike out. Why? asked Glenn Beck. Because then they can close the cage.

Beck, let go by Fox in 2013 by the late CEO Roger Ailes, appeared on Carlson's show to suggest that the US would be at war with China, Russia and Iran by 2025 and that the country's currency would collapse.

Several commentators ridiculed or dismissed the charges against Trump, even though they have yet to be publicly outlined. This attorney general will be defending his law license before this is over, commentator Chris Swecker told Fox's Laura Ingraham.

Former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka, on Newsmax, said the Secret Service had a duty to protect the former president and not let him appear for an arraignment in Manhattan.

The extremists are out there, he said, and they want to hurt this man.

A headline on Fox's screen under Carlson said that Trump's Indictment is a Turning Point for America. Another said, Third-World Banana Republic.

American politics (has been) thrown into complete chaos, perhaps permanently, Carlson said.

Meanwhile, Newsmax stationed reporter Mike Carter outside of Trump Plaza, who called it pretty much a normal Thursday night except for reporters hanging around and a few folks that are excited about what happened tonight.

Online, the Drudge Report topped its home page with a picture of handcuffs.

The lead headline on Breitbart.com was The Longest Witch Hunt: Trump Indicted. Another headline asked Next: Mugshot  and Handcuffs? over a picture of Trump with a clenched fist.

If Trump turns himself in next week as expected, experts anticipate a carefully choreographed and relatively quick process and release without bail. A former president isn't likely to be paraded in cuffs across a sidewalk or through a crowded courthouse hallway.

Many right-wing sites were slow to respond to the story late Thursday, said Howard Polskin, who chronicles conservative media on his own website, The Righting.

Most of the stories I saw were essentially plain-vanilla reporting that an indictment was handed down, Polskin said, adding he expected that to change through the weekend.
Air strikes by Myanmar's military on a village in the country's northwest on Thursday killed at least eight civilians, including two children, according to members of a rebel ethnic minority group and independent media reports.

The attack on Khuafo village, just north of Thantlang, a major town in Chin state near the Indian border, also wounded 20 people, they said. It came three days after Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar's ruling military council, said in a speech for Armed Forces Day that the military needs to take decisive action against the forces challenging its control.

The country's independent online media reported the aerial bombardment, but there were no immediate reports about it in the state-controlled media.

Also Read | US condemns Myanmar dissolving Suu Kyi party

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew the elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, triggering widespread popular opposition. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.

The pro-democracy resistance that arose allied itself with several ethnic minorities, including the Chin, that have been carrying out an armed struggle for decades seeking greater autonomy. The military has sought to suppress such opposition with air and artillery strikes, with civilians often the victims. More than 1 million people have been displaced by the army's offensives since the takeover.

Salai Htet Ni, a spokesperson for the Chin National Front, an ethnic rebel group closely linked to the pro-democracy movement, said two jet fighters dropped four bombs on Khuafo village, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) north of Thantlang, killing a group of civilians, including two children.

Many of the more than 60 houses in the village were destroyed by fire, he said.

Another member of the group who is staying at its camp in Thantlang said a Mi-35 helicopter fired a machine gun at the village as the jet fighters were dropping bombs. According to a list of the dead he received, five were female and three male, and they ranged in age from 6 to 40. He spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals from the military.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an exile group that monitors human rights in Myanmar, at least 3,182 civilians have been killed by the security forces since the army seized power.

In January, military planes bombed the headquarters of the Chin National Front in Thantlang, killing five members of its armed wing, the Chin National Army, and damaging a clinic and other buildings.

There is currently no active fighting near Thantlang between the resistance forces and the army. More than 10,000 residents of Thantlang fled the town when intense fighting took place in late 2021, some staying temporarily in nearby villages including Khuafo and others seeking shelter across the border in Mizoram, India.

The resistance forces in Myanmar have been able to prevent the military from taking firm control of large areas of the country, but have a great disadvantage in weapons, particularly in countering air attacks.

Supporters of the resistance advocate banning or limiting the sale of aviation fuel to Myanmar to cripple the military's advantage in air power. Many Western nations already have imposed arms embargoes on the military government, and in the past week the United States and Britain have enacted new sanctions targeting individuals and companies involved in supplying jet fuel to Myanmar.

On Wednesday, the military government took another major step in its ongoing campaign to cripple its political opponents, dissolving dozens of opposition parties including that of ousted leader Suu Kyi for not meeting a registration deadline ahead of a promised election.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, one of 40 parties ordered dissolved by the military-appointed election commission, had already announced that it would not register, denouncing the polls as a sham.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply concerned by reports of the dissolution of the parties.

Any attempts to undermine democratic institutions and processes will only deepen the crisis and delay the return to a fully democratic and inclusive Myanmar, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

The U.N. chief renews his call on neighboring countries and other member states to urge the military leadership to adhere to inclusive political processes and reiterates his call for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners including Suu Kyi, Dujarric said.
Nine soldiers were killed in a crash of two medical evacuation Black Hawk helicopters during a routine nighttime training mission over Kentucky, the U.S. Army said on Thursday, in one of the military's deadliest training accidents in recent years.

Crew members using night-vision goggles were flying two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, operated by the Army's 101st Airborne Division, when the aircraft crashed in a field late on Wednesday over Kentucky's Trigg County.

Army Brigadier General John Lubas, the division's deputy commanding officer for operations, said little was known so far about why the helicopters came down and he acknowledged he was not even sure whether they crashed into each other.

Lubas said an aircraft safety investigations team from Fort Rucker in Alabama would arrive later on Thursday to review data from onboard computers, which he said were similar to the black boxes in commercial aircraft.

"At this point, we don't know. We're hopeful that when we get the team from Fort Rucker here and they're able to pull some of the data out of the onboard computers we will have a better understanding of exactly what happened," Lubas told reporters outside the base.

Lubas added that one helicopter had five soldiers aboard while the other had four, and they were using night-vision goggles.

The HH-60 is a variant of the Black Hawk helicopter designed to provide support for various military operations, including air assaults and medical evacuations, according to the Army.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was working with the Army to make sure the families receive the care they need.

"My heart goes out to the families of these servicemembers and to the members of the 101st Airborne Division who bravely and proudly serve our country each and every day," Austin said in a statement.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth addressed a Senate committee, where lawmakers expressed their condolences, and said it was tough moment for the U.S. military's biggest service branch.

"Thank you for your comments and thoughts and prayers for the families of our soldiers who were killed in the crash. Our hearts go out to them," Wormuth told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It's a heavy day for the Army."

The weather in Fort Campbell area, which straddles the border between Kentucky and Tennessee, featured clear skies and calm winds on Wednesday night, according to National Weather Service forecaster Marc Chenard.

Fort Campbell, home to the 101st Airborne Division, is one of the largest military bases in the United States. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash during training at Fort Campbell in 2018.
Four Congress workers were injured in a clash with the police in Imphal during a candlelight march over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Parliament, officials said.

State Congress president K Meghachandra said that party workers, including women, had assembled near Kangla Gate on Thursday night for a candlelight march but were stopped by the police.

"Not just tear gas shells but smoke bombs were thrown at the protesters," he alleged.

Also Read | Congress launches youth campaign in Karnataka

"How is a candlelight march a harmful activity?" he questioned.

A huge contingent of police was deployed in the area as Congress workers gathered for the march. A scuffle between the two sides broke out after a woman Congress worker pushed a female police officer, officials said.

The injured Congress workers were admitted to a government hospital, and their conditions were stated to be stable.

Last week, the Lok Sabha Secretariat disqualified Gandhi as MP from Wayanad in Kerala, a day after a Gujarat court convicted him in the 2019 criminal defamation case for his remark, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?"
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday said people of Pakistan were not happy after more than seven decades of Independence and they now believe the partition of India was a mistake.

He was speaking at a function to mark the birth anniversary of teen revolutionary Hemu Kalani, which was attended by Sindhis from different parts of the country.

"It was Bharat before 1947 (Partition). Those who broke off from Bharat, are they happy still? There is pain out there," Bhagwat said in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

Also Read: We're misled by caste superiority illusion: Mohan Bhagwat

However, in a reference to the acrimonious relationship the two nations have now, Bhagwat underscored the fact that India did not belong to a culture that calls for attacks on others.

"I do not mean to say Bharat should attack Pakistan. Not at all. We don't belong to that culture that calls for attack on others," he said.

"We are from the culture that gives a befitting reply in self-defence," Bhagwat said apparently referring to the surgical strikes on terror camps in that country, adding "we do it and we will keep doing it".

"People of Pakistan are now saying the division of Bharat was a mistake. All are saying it was a mistake," Bhagwat asserted. Hailing the Sindhi community, most of whom arrived here during Partition, Bhagwat said they had come "from that Bharat to this Bharat for the sake of your rich Sindhu culture and values".
Police on Thursday arrested a man hailing from Uttarakhand who worked at a hotel in Goa for allegedly attacking a woman tourist from the Netherlands. The alleged incident had taken place late Friday night.

Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Nidhin Valsan told reporters that the accused, who is from Dehradun, worked as a bartender at the hotel in Pernem area. The woman said in her complaint that an unknown man aged between 25 to 30 years trespassed into her rented tent on the hotel premises. As she started screaming, the accused tried to hold her and threatened her.

Read | Two govt school teachers suspended over sexual harassment of girl students in Tumakuru

When a local man came to her rescue, the intruder ran away. He then returned carrying a knife and attacked her as well as her rescuer before fleeing. Police registered a case under various sections of Indian Penal Code related to trespassing, outraging modesty, attempt to murder and causing grievous hurt, amongst others.

During investigation, Pernem police identified the accused and he was arrested. Further probe is on.
The Gujarat high court Friday set aside the Chief Information Commission's direction to Gujarat University to provide Prime Minister Narendra Modi's master's degree to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Holding that "in absence of any larger public interest", the educational degrees of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are exempted from disclosure under the RTI act, the single-judge justice Biren Vaishnav imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal for seeking such information through RTI.

The 79-page judgement notes that in absence of any valid ground of public interest, "this court finds that the application made by respondent no 2 (Kejriwal) also fails to qualify the public interest test contemplated in Subash Chandra Agarwal, (Supra) due to ostensible motive and purpose which appears to this court to be more politically vexatious and motivated, instead of, being based on sound public interest considerations."

Following the judgement, the Delhi chief minister tweeted, "Doesn't the country have the right to know how much their PM has studied? In the court, he vehemently opposed revealing the degree. Why? And those who want to see his degree will be fined? What is happening? Illiterate or less educated PM is very dangerous for the country."

            PM   ?           ?             ?     ?      PM       https://t.co/FtSru6rddI  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 31, 2023

Justice Vaishnav passed the order on a petition moved by the state-run Gujarat University in 2016 against a direction issued by CIC, New Delhi directing it to provide information to Delhi CM Kejriwal on the post-graduation degree of PM Modi. The then CIC commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu had issued the direction to the Prime Minister's Office to provide information on Modi's graduation and post-graduation degrees to GU as well as Delhi University to help them in searching those documents.

GU approached the court stating that CIC didn't have jurisdiction to pass such an order and pleaded with the court to quash it. Kejriwal had never filed any formal RTI application. It happened after he provided information to CIC about his electoral photo identity sought under RTI but criticised the commission publicly saying that it was "obstructing information on Modi's degrees." The commission issued its direction based on Kejriwal's oral submission on a public platform.

The high court has held the commission shouldn't have entertained the oral request of Kejriwal and suo moto converted it into an RTI application.

"...the Commission transgressed its jurisdiction and embarked into an arena of political thicket and ventured into judicial activism on being overwhelmed by the fact that the information is sought by a citizen occupying the post of Chief Minister and thus is liable to be disclosed. This, in the opinion of the Court, is a clear transgression of the jurisdiction vested upon the Commission under the provisions of the RTI Act making the impugned order dated 29.04.2016 completely unsustainable in the eyes of law," justice Vaishnav has noted.

He has added that Kejriwal "doubtlessly used an appeal against him to kick start and trigger a controversy not falling within the purview of the RTI Act for the objects and purpose this court need not go into." The court held that "in absence of any larger public interest, which is neither pleaded nor raised, the educational degrees of Narendra Damodardas Modi are exempted from disclosure under the provisions of section 8(1)(e) and (j) of the RTI Act."

The order says that Kejriwal "Having found both the requests by Respondent No.2 (Kejriwal) and the order by the CIC being absolutely causal and having found that neither such request was competent nor such an order could have been passed and keeping in view the salutary object of the RTI Act, this court thinks it fit to allow the present petition with a direction to Respondent No.2 to pay costs."

The order added that "despite the degree in question" published on the website of Gujarat University, Kejriwal persisted with the matter, which was another reason to impose costs on him.
Halliburton Company is a multinational corporation that provides various services and products to the energy industry. Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company operates in over 80 countries, with its primary business lines including drilling and evaluation, completion and production, hydraulic fracturing and other services. The company's customers include major oil and gas companies and independent operators in the energy industry.



Halliburton has achieved several key milestones over the years, including being the first company to log a well in the Gulf of Mexico and the first to perform hydraulic fracturing in the Permian Basin.

Halliburton's current CEO and Chairman of the Board is Jeff Miller, who has been with the company for over 30 years, having served as the president and chief operating officer. In 2020, Halliburton announced that it was changing its executive leadership team, adding several new members, including Mark Richard, the President of the Western Hemisphere.

In recent years, Halliburton's financial performance has been impacted by the oil and gas industry downturn, which has resulted in lower demand for its services and products. Halliburton's profit margins have also been affected by the downturn. However, despite this downturn, Halliburton has been beating earnings-per-share and revenue expectations in most quarters. Halliburton's valuation metrics suggest the company might be slightly undervalued compared to its peers.

Halliburton's stock performance has been impacted by the downturn in the energy industry, with the company's share price declining by 46% in 2020. However, the company's stock price has rebounded, with the share price increasing from 2020 - 2022. Halliburton's trading volume has also decreased in recent months, averaging a daily trading volume of 8 million shares.

The energy industry has faced several challenges recently, including declining oil prices, increased regulatory scrutiny and growing concerns over climate change. These challenges have impacted the industry's profitability and have led to increased competition among industry players. Halliburton's primary competitors in the energy services industry include Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and National Oilwell Varco. The company has been focused on improving its competitive position by investing in new technologies and expanding its global footprint.

Despite the challenges facing the energy industry, Halliburton has several growth opportunities that it is pursuing. One of the company's key growth drivers is the development of new technologies that can improve the efficiency and productivity of the energy industry. Halliburton has invested heavily in digitalization, automation and artificial intelligence to improve its services and products. The company is also focused on expanding its global footprint, particularly in emerging markets such as China and India.

Halliburton faces several risks and challenges in the current business environment. One of the most significant challenges facing the company is the volatility of oil prices, which can substantially impact the demand for its services and products. In addition, the industry is facing increasing regulatory scrutiny, particularly around issues such as climate change and environmental impact. This could result in increased costs and regulatory compliance requirements for the company.

Another challenge for Halliburton is the increasing competition in the industry. The company's primary competitors are investing heavily in research and development and expanding their global footprint, which could impact Halliburton's market share and profitability. Furthermore, the ongoing geopolitical tensions and trade disputes could also impact the company's operations, particularly in emerging markets.
Chevron Corporation, through a network of subsidiaries, engages in integrated energy and chemicals operations worldwide. The company is the 7th largest integrated oil company worldwide, the 2nd largest in the US, and has been in operation since 1879. Chevron was part of the original Standard Oil Company and is one of the 34 successor companies that were formed when it was broken up. Today, the company brings in roughly $160 billion in annual revenues and is the last remaining oil and gas component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Originally called Standard Oil Of California the company grew quickly via mergers and acquisitions. It was hailed as one of the Seven Sisters to dominate the US and global production throughout the mid-20th century and became even bigger in 1985 when it merged with Gulf Oil. The merger with Gulf Oil resulted in the rebranding from Standard Oil Of California to Chevron (a brand used by the company outside its California jurisdiction) and then ChevronTexaco Corporation in 2005 when that merger took place. The company rebranded again in 2005 to what we know today as Chevron Corporation.

Chevron Corporation is now based in San Ramone, California, and has operations in 180 countries. The company employs more than 42,500 people who operate 5 refineries and 8,000+ Texaco, Chevron, and Standard Oil service stations in the US alone. The company's Exploration and Drilling operations produced a record 3.1 million barrels per day and its US refineries process more than 1 million barrels per day. At the end of 2021, the company has more than 11.3 billion barrels of proven oil and liquid-equivalent reserves and boasted a 112% reserve replacement rate.

The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment explores new reserves, develops known reserves, produces petroleum and gas products as needed, transports, processes, pipes, stores, and markets petroleum worldwide. The Downstream segment refines and markets the full line of petroleum-based products including but not limited to fuels such as gas, diesel, and aviation fuel, as well as lubricants, petrochemicals, and plastics. The company transports products via pipeline, rail, marine vessels, and truck.

Chevron recognizes the need to lower the worlds carbon output and is working toward that end. The companys strategy is two-pronged and includes reducing its own carbon output while investing in green and lower-carbon technologies. The companys goal is to invest $10 billion or more into lower carbon energy sources and technologies by 2028.

Chevron is a Dividend Aristocrat. The company has been paying a dividend since 1989 and it has raised it every year since its inception.






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Procter & Gamble Co, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a multinational consumer goods corporation founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. The company has a rich history of innovation and has become a household name in many countries worldwide. Proctor & Gamble Co is a consumer staples stock. A consumer staples stock is a type of stock that offers investors a more stable and steady growth pattern that is minimally affected by economic factors.

With a market capitalization of over $327.9 billion as of February 2023, Procter & Gamble is one of the largest companies in the world. The company operates in over 70 countries, with its products sold in more than 180 countries globally. Its brand portfolio includes household names such as Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Crest, and Olay.

Procter & Gamble's business is divided into five segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment includes SK-II, Pantene, and Herbal Essences. The Grooming segment comprises brands such as Gillette, Venus, and Braun. The Health Care segment includes brands such as Oral-B, Vicks, and Pepto-Bismol. The Fabric & Home Care segment includes Tide, Downy, and Swiffer brands. The Baby, Feminine & Family Care segment includes brands such as Pampers, Always, and Tampax.

Procter & Gamble's products are sold through various channels, including retail stores, online retailers, and direct-to-consumer channels. The company has also invested in e-commerce capabilities and digital advertising, recognizing the importance of these channels in reaching consumers.

Procter & Gamble has a long history of innovation and investing in research and development. The company's R&D efforts are focused on improving its existing products and developing new products that meet the evolving needs of consumers. Procter & Gamble also invests heavily in marketing and advertising, recognizing the importance of building strong brands that resonate with consumers.

Recently, Procter & Gamble has made sustainability a key focus area. The company has set ambitious goals to reduce its environmental footprint, such as using 100% renewable electricity at all its plants by 2030. Procter & Gamble has also committed to reducing its plastic packaging waste to reduce its use of virgin plastic by 50% by 2030.

Procter & Gamble has a strong financial position, a solid balance sheet and a history of strong cash flows. The company has a long record of paying dividends, with over 130 years of uninterrupted dividend payments. Procter & Gamble has also implemented a share buyback program, repurchasing over $30 billion of its shares in the past three years.

Despite its size and global reach, Procter & Gamble faces competition from various large and small companies. The consumer goods industry is highly competitive, with companies constantly vying for market share and consumer attention. Procter & Gamble must continue to innovate and invest in its brands to stay ahead of its competitors.
A man has been jailed at Derry Magistrate's Court today for what a judge described as 'disgraceful offending behaviour.'

Dean Elliott (25) of Duddy's Court in Derry admitted a series of offences that occurred over the past year.

The court heard that on January 24 last year Elliott was arrested for breaching his bail.

As he was being escorted told police vehicle he said 'we will have a bit of crack'.

He then kicked a bin and started shouting and swearing in the street.

When he was interviewed Elliott said 'I was just acting the eejit.'

The court heard that on January 29 police were called to a report of a disturbance in Duddy's Court with two males were throwing items.

Elliott had a large stick and he threw it away smashing the window belonging to an elderly lady.

He was arrested and at interview he said he had no recollection of the events.

The court then heard about an incident on November 20 last when police received a report of two men fighting in Bank Place.

One of those involved was Elliott and when police broke up the fight he became 'aggressive and violent towards police' spitting, biting and kicking.

He also spat in a police vehicle and broke an officer's glasses.

Then on November 27 last CCTV operators reported a man with no top on trying to fight with people in the Castle Street area.

A window was also smashed in the area which was also attributed to Elliott.

He was located in Shipquay Street and made full admissions.

The final set of offences occurred outside a bar in the Dungiven Road area where Elliott was trying to fight with door staff.

The court heard that Elliott had been allowed in to the bar on condition he did not drink.

He was then seen drinking beer and was asked to leave and became aggressive towards door staff.

He tried to strike one member of the door staff with a bottle and broke a window.

Defence counsel Stephen Chapman said there was 'a clear theme' and that was Elliott's alcohol issues.

He said he had tried to deal with that while in custody but alcohol had taken a grip on him.

District Judge Barney McElholm said that the defendant 'continues to commit offences'.

Referring to the broken window belonging to the elderly woman the judge said it was a 'disgraceful situation for anyone to be in.'

He sentenced Elliott to 15 months in prison.
There has been strong political and student consensus regarding the imperative of restoring Holiday Hunger payments for families across the North of Ireland.

In a statement issued on Thursday (March 30), the Department of Education announced with great reluctance funding for the Holiday Hunger scheme would end payments would stop from April.

The Holiday Food grant scheme was introduced to assist parents of children who receive free school meals with 27 a fortnight over school holidays, to ameliorate the current cost of living crisis.

The Secondary Students Union of Northern Ireland (SSUNI), which represents over 42,000 secondary students, called for a review and immediate reinstatement of the Scheme, the closure of which, it said, had left thousands of young people without the necessary support for the coming Easter holidays.

The Union has hit out at the sudden nature of these cuts and the fact that this has happened at the height of a cost of living crisis.

The Union has also stated that the nature of these changes would ensure many families would go through undue stress and worry as well as guaranteeing that many children and young people will go hungry this Easter break and the school breaks to follow.

SSUNI President Eilidh O Connor said: We are very disheartened to hear of the cuts to the Holiday Hunger payments scheme.

Our students and families deserve better! At a time when people are finding it increasingly difficult, families need to be supported, not neglected.

These cuts will undoubtedly create anxiety and pile on unnecessary pressure on many students preparing to take GCSE and A level examinations in the summer.

Once again young people are victims of the political vacuum here in Northern Ireland. We would strongly advocate that this scheme is reinstated immediately.

KJ McCoy the Unions Equality Officer said: Holiday food insecurity affects many of our countrys most vulnerable children. The school food holiday grant is a vital aid to helping low income families adequately provide for their children and without it many students will suffer.

This has happened during a time of financial crisis and the short notice of these cuts will ensure that many families will go through unnecessary additional financial strain.

During the cost of living crisis many schools within Northern Ireland have taken the decision to provide free breakfasts and meals for their pupils to ensure that they are starting the school day on a full stomach.

These cuts to education will put school leaders under massive amounts of pressure, and completely undermine the efforts of schools during the times of a financial crisis.

Derry City and Strabane District councillor, Emmet Doyle (Aontu) said: "The Holiday Food grant scheme was introduced to assist parents of children who receive free school meals.

"Since the fall of Stormont there has been no budget in place beyond this month to continue the payments despite the worsening situation for household budgets and MLAs receiving pay whilst not being fully at work.

"The Department of Education, and if needs be the Secretary of State, must act urgently to give parents certainty that this support will be in place for the Easter break and beyond.

"I had a motion on the issue unanimously passed on Thursday (30 April) seeking an assurance and demanding the scheme be saved. People are struggling now as much as they were in October of last year when the then Minister continued the scheme.

"The deadlock at Stormont has caused enough financial hardship as it is, and those remaining in charge should now be working to alleviate this pressure for parents and communities.

"I am calling on all those in Council to come together with me and save this scheme that benefits over 8,000 local children in our district immediately."

Foyle MLA Padraig Delargy (Sinn Fein) has called on the Department for Education to ensure families receive the vital holiday payments over the Easter school holidays.

He said: Uncertainty over whether families will be paid holiday hunger payments over the Easter school holidays is deeply concerning.

These payments are a lifeline for families that depend on free school meals and help ensure that children get a hot meal during school holidays.

Many families are already struggling to put food on the table as living costs continue to rise, and stripping this payment away will only add to the hardship they face.

The Department of Education must ensure that funding for this vital support is protected and is available to families over Easter.

We need an Executive formed now and parties working together around the table to tackle holiday hunger, support families and legislate to end the constant cliff-edge over these payments.

Trade union campaigner Damien Doherty described the decision to end the payments as disgraceful.

Mr Doherty, who is standing for People Before Profit in the upcoming Local Government Elections added: These payments were made to parents over school holidays, to make up for the lack of free school meals while the schools were closed.

"The Department says it can't fund the payments anymore. Leaving the announcement to the last minute - mere days before the Easter break - will cause serious stress for parents. During a cost of living crisis, it is indefensible.

"The Tories could have stepped in multiple times, but they don't care about young people going hungry. Neither do the DUP, who voted against free school meals in Westminster not too long ago.

"Like so many of our public services, education has been systemically underfunded by successive Stormont administrations. The money is always there to chase a corporate agenda. But when it comes to teachers' pay, or now for supporting deprived young people, the pockets are empty.

"We need a mass protest at the doors of the Department of Education, with parents, young people, teachers all demanding with one voice: Don't Cut Holiday Hunger Payments.

Catherine McDaid who is standing for the SDLP in Mays Local Government Elections slammed the Department of Educations decision to end Holiday Hunger payments.

She added: School leaders were only given a single days notice of the Departments intention to end important education support programmes across Northern Ireland.

Principals were informed on Thursday morning that funding for the Healthy Happy Minds Pilot and the Engage programme would cease from March 31 and the School Holiday Food Grants would cease from Friday ahead of the Easter break.

The decision to scrap these schemes is absolutely outrageous. To do so with a single days notice to principals, staff and the parents that rely on them is totally unforgivable.

I understand the challenging financial position that the Department of Education is in but what about the financial situation facing thousands of families?

Ms McDaid said holiday hunger payments right before the Easter break would be devastating for low income families across the North.

She added: Ending Healthy Happy Minds and the Engage programme will leave kids that need a bit more support in a terrible situation, not to mention the staff that rely on this funding.

There are serious questions about the way the Department has approached this issue but the significant cuts to education budgets come from the British Government and local politicians have been paralysed by the political strategy adopted by the DUP.

These are the real world consequences of a failing political system. We all have to resist this and we have to dedicate ourselves to building a better kind of society that allocates resources to our children to ensure they have the best possible start in life.
Counsel for one of the men shot dead by the SAS in the grounds of Gransha Hospital on December 6 1984 has said that the perception was that 'too much truth had been provided.'

Daniel Doherty (23) from Creggan and William Fleming (19) from the Waterside were shot dead in disputed circumstances in the grounds of Gransha Hospital in December 1984.

At a preliminary hearing on Thursday prior to the inquest proper which is due to begin on April 17 in Banbridge, one of the representatives of the next of kin said that a decision to recall five folders of PSNI material due to inconsistencies in material being redacted could be seen as an attempt to undermine the truth finding process.

At an earlier hearing this month counsel for the next of kin had pointed out inconsistencies in some of the requested redactions under the Public Interest Immunity process.

This was repeated on Thursday when counsel pointed out that the same documents supplied by the PSNI and the Ministry of Defence had in some cases different redactions.

He said that the PII process should be carried out with 'utmost care and utmost good faith' but the different certificates signed off by different government ministers seemed to releact 'a disconnect in the approach of the parties.'.

He said that the next of kin and the general public were excluded from the PII process but it appeared as if one minister was undermining another minister.

Counsel also expressed concern about the recall of the files stating that the issue of legal privilege arose.

He said many of these files would have been worked on by counsel and there would be annotations in the margins and notes and thus there could be a breach of privilege.

The Coroner, Mr Justice Ian Huddleston said that there was 'no alternative' to the hearing going ahead on April 17 even if the first couple of days were spent dealing with the PII issue.

A full inquest is due to begin on April 17 in Banbridge and is expected to last 6 weeks.
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The Westminster Government is set to make a funding announcement on Friday for Northern Ireland charities and community organisations facing a financial crisis.

At the end of this month, money from the European Social Fund (ESF) comes to an end due to Brexit.

Some charities in Northern Ireland have warned they would have to cut staff and support programmes if the funding is not replaced.

The UK Governments Shared Prosperity Fund is due to replace the ESF funding, currently worth around 40 million.

This money was 35% match-funded from Stormont, raising the sum to 54 million.

However, the Stormont executive is currently not operating.

The PA news agency understands that the Department for Levelling Up will make an announcement on the successful bidders for the replacement fund on Friday.

It is also understood that the fund money available will be more than the 42 million announced in December 2022, and could rise to 57 million.

Ministers in the department are working to finalise the funding plan ahead of the announcement.

It is also understood that the successful projects will be able to start spending the funding from April once they have finalised funding agreements with the UK Government.

However, there has been criticism from the community sector that the announcement has not been made before the day when the ESF funding is due to end.

The Rev Andrew Irvine, chair of the Community Sector Peer Group, said: It is frankly astonishing that four years after it became clear that European Social Funding was going to end, on the evening before that happens, no replacement funds have been allocated to the groups who depend upon them to provide critical services.

While the Department for Levelling Up and Communities has said that they will make an announcement this week, huge damage has already been caused to the community sector, the staff who will be made redundant on Friday and those who will have their support withdrawn.

This has gone beyond a failure of government in Westminster and Stormont, it is a moral failing that will make life needlessly more difficult for thousands of our most vulnerable people.

What does it say about our society that we are prepared to abandon people desperate for help over what is, in overall Government spending terms, a tiny amount of money?

Whatever happens, its clear that we need to fundamentally reset the relationship between the community sector and government.

Representatives of 1,000 community groups staged a demonstration in Belfast earlier this month to highlight the cash crisis they were facing.
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In February, Samsung released its highly anticipated Galaxy S23 series, featuring cutting-edge technology and premium features. However, speculations about the upcoming Galaxy S24 series have already begun circulating online.

It is expected that Samsung could launch the same three models with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series as the company launched in the Galaxy S23 series; Standard, Plus and Ultra. The South Korea-based tech-giant company will launch the Galaxy S24 series next year, reportedly.

A leak by SamLover revealed the specs of these phones. Up first, The top in the line model, Galaxy S24 Ultra could see a refresh rate of 144Hz. This is a big upgrade as until now Samsung only features refresh rates up to 120Hz. So, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will become the first Samsung phone to come with a 144Hz if the rumour is true. This will let users experience smoother animations and better gaming.

Further, it also revealed that it could be powered by Qualcomm yet unannounced Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC and it will be equipped with UFS 4.1 storage. They could possibly run on Android 14-based One UI 6.0.

On the camera front, the Ultra model could feature the same 200-megapixel sensors but with some improvements to the camera which will allow for better zooming. Also, the tech giant could include satellite connectivity in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S24 series, as revealed by the report.

However, one should note that nothing is confirmed just yet. So do take this information with a grain of salt.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Vivo X Fold 2 could break cover next month as the second-gen foldable phone from the brand. The brand has already showed off the device to the public at an event in China. The still of the phone from the event thus appeared on the microblogging website, Weibo. We can see the Vivo VP of products, Huang Tao heralding the device to the media as an all-round and light foldable phone.

So, based on the leaks, rumours, and official revelations, heres everything we expect the Vivo foldable to bring:

Vivo X Fold 2 features (Expected)

1. Vivo X Fold 2 could launch in a red colour with the rear camera islands design reminiscent of the Vivo X90 series.

2. Vivo X Fold 2 could feature a triple camera setup at the back including a 50MP primary and two 12MP auxiliary sensors. Vivo could be partnering with Zeiss for the cameras.

3. Under the hood, the Vivo foldable could be sporting a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

4. The software onboard could be Android 13 with OriginOS 13 skin. If the folding phone makes its way to global markets, it could bring FuntouchOS UI.

5. Powering all of these could be a 4,800mAh battery with 120W wired charging support

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
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Canadian startups thrive in the Startup Global Program

The Garage+ "Startup Global Program (SGP)" 2023 Spring Batch has received a record high of 66 applications from Canada, ranking first among 37 applicant countries. The SGP, supported by the Epoch Foundation, has been recognized as a leading platform for worldwide startups to explore business opportunities in Taiwan. The program provides a range of services, including mentoring, networking, fundraising, and enabling startups to access global supply chain resources by Taiwan industries.

The Epoch Foundation said that the SGP receives so many Canadian start-up applications this year, which is attributed to the efforts of the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) in Taiwan over the years. The CTA supports Canadian deep-tech companies to explore opportunities to grow their business in 15 global tech hubs. This initiative is the largest single commercial project funded by Global Affairs Canada in Taiwan to date. Since 2018, CTA has been cooperating with the Epoch Foundation Garage+ to assist Canadian start-ups in developing business with Taiwan industries and has achieved successful results. This collaboration has helped to create a conducive environment for Canadian companies to thrive.

In addition, on November 27, 2022, the Government of Canada announced its Indo-Pacific Strategy: a comprehensive and ambitious whole-of-government plan setting the stage for Canada's long-term engagement in the region for the next decade. Taiwan is a key player in this dynamic and rapidly growing part of the world, and a significant link in the global supply chain. Under the Indo-Pacific Strategy, the CTA will further strengthen its collaboration with top-tier program delivery partners, such as Epoch Foundation, to connect the accepted cohort companies with local Taiwanese industry networks for business or research partnerships.

In the past, Garage+ "Startup Global Program" arranged more than 500 one-on-one meetings per year, and more than 60 Taiwanese heavyweights like TSMC, Wistron, Quanta Computer, Delta Electronics, Pegatron, Cathay Venture, and CDIB Capital Group participated in the meetings in 2022. This batch, Garage+ plans to select 20 high-tech-driven start-up teams to Taiwan to attend the Computex exhibition and meet up with the C-level executives. Through business matchmaking, start-ups can effectively connect with Taiwanese industries and jointly seek business opportunities for future collaboration.

From 2015 onward, with the support of the National Development Council and Asia Silicon Valley Development Agency, SGP has been recognized widely by startups worldwide. Past events have accumulated over 2,100 applications and selected 244 start-ups to come to Taiwan. One-third of them have successfully obtained manufacturing or investment agreements and returned to Taiwan to set up branches or offices.

With the mission of facilitating industrial development and economic prosperity in Taiwan, Epoch Foundation has been representing 20 Taiwan-based blue-chip companies, closely allying with the world's renowned academic institutions such as MIT and UC Berkeley over the past 30 years. With strong international connections, Epoch also serves as the liaison office to bridge and consolidate industrial resources. In 2003, the Foundation initiated the educational program "Epoch School - Young Entrepreneurs of the Future" to incubate entrepreneurship and innovation among young talents. In 2008, it founded Garage+ with a mission to support an altruism-driven technology start-up to better the world. Up to 2022, more than 476 startups (including 244 international teams) have been participating in Garage+. A whopping 75% of startups have raised funding.
NXP supportive of semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India

Netherlands-based NXP is looking to support a rapidly developing electronics manufacturing ecosystem in India by encouraging semiconductor manufacturers to invest in the nation.

India's prime minister Narendra Modi has met with NXP Semiconductors CEO Kurt Sievers, with Modi tweeting that he was happy to discuss the transformative landscape in the world of semiconductors and innovation.

According to Business Today and The Economic Times, the meeting centered around policy frameworks, emerging technologies, enhancing India's value creation, and the nation's manufacturing capabilities and aspirations.

Sievers has expressed his support of a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India. The Economic Times quoted Sievers saying that NXP started discussions with partners, adding that he will be very vocal and supportive to manufacturing partners to strongly consider India. However, he did not explicitly name the manufacturing partners that NXP had discussed.

Sievers further said that Modi and the Indian government's commitment to being one of the world's largest electronics manufacturing hubs underscores India's recognition of the electronics industry's strategic importance and growth potential.

As India's demand for electronics keeps growing fast, it is essential for the South Asian country to have a manufacturing ecosystem in place. Meanwhile, as geopolitical tensions rise, a diversified production also helps bring about a more resilient supply chain.

According to Sievers, in addition to India's strengthening infrastructure and education for the manufacturing ecosystem, geopolitical factors are playing an increasingly important role in determining the location of semiconductor manufacturing. India is an attractive choice in this regard.

According to the Ministry of Electronics and IT of India, the country envisions an electronics production of US$300 billion by fiscal 2026 (April 2025 to March 2026), up from US$87 billion in fiscal 2022. Due to the growth in demand for electronic products, Counterpoint Research estimated that India's semiconductor market opportunity would grow from US$27 billion in 2021 to US$64 billion in 2026.

On the other hand, Sievers said NXP has operated in India for more than 50 years and has R&D centers across India, with India's R&D engineers accounting for one-third of NXP's overall R&D workforce.
Tesla reportedly considering building a US battery plant with CATL's technology

Tesla is pursuing a battery project on its home turf that may involve China-based battery giant CATL, according to Bloomberg. The news came on the eve of the US Treasury Department announcing guidance for battery sourcing requirements and is expected to receive some political pushback.

Bloomberg reported that Tesla has been in talks centering its US battery plant with the White House for a few months. With Treasury's upcoming guidance, the EV maker wanted to seek clarity on the rules.

While the plan is still in the early stages, Tesla is reportedly pursuing a project with CATL mirroring the one the latter announced with Ford in February. Ford said it will build an LFP battery plant in Michigan with technologies licensed from CATL.

Tesla is considering setting up a battery plant in Texas to support its gigafactory in the same state, according to Bloomberg. It will likely take a similar approach to that which Ford has taken - wholly owning and operating the facility with the technologies CATL licensed to it.

Representatives of the White House, Tesla, and CATL have not publicly responded to the reported project.

If the plan keeps maturing, it will likely face objections from some US lawmakers. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Republican Senator Marco Rubio have strongly opposed Ford's collaboration with a China-based battery company, saying CATL will receive benefits that are supposed to support domestic businesses through this kind of project. Ford has said CATL will not gain any US tax dollars from the deal.

The Treasury will soon release guidance on the battery sourcing requirements that will decide an EV's eligibility for the tax credits. Current rules state critical minerals used in the batteries have to be processed in the US or the country's free-trade partner by 40% before the start of 2024. In addition, at least 50% of battery components must be manufactured or assembled in North America before next year.

Earlier this week, the US signed an agreement with Japan on critical mineral supplies. The deal will allow materials collected or processed in Japan to qualify for the EV credits. The US is negotiating a similar agreement with the European Union.

Manchin continues to take a firm position on the battery sourcing guidance. Reuters reported that Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, said he is concerned the most about the Treasury's classification of processing and manufacturing.

On March 29, Manchin said he may go to court if the guidance "goes off the rails."
Chinese fabless chip design sector remains small despite increasing R&D efforts

In the annual China IC Leadership Summit held on March 30, Wei Shaojun, a leading Chinese semiconductor scholar from Tsinghua University's School of Integrated Circuits, shared his observation on Chinese chip design sector.

As Chinese tech media Ijiwei reported, Wei noted the lack of innovation in China's semiconductor industry. Based on the financial data of the 22 listed IC design companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market, for example, their average gross margin in 2021 was 46.9%, lower than the average 62% among US-based semiconductor companies.

Moreover, their average R&D share of revenue was 25.5%, higher than the average of 17% among US chip companies. Though the data reflect the importance placed by the Chinese chip design industry on R&D, the combined R&D expenditures of the 22 companies are still limited, amounting to US$1.1 billion in total.

Overall, China's fabless chip design sector remains small when compared to that of the US and Taiwan. DIGITIMES Research estimates that China's entire fabless chip design industry saw US$31.5 billion in revenue as of 2022, amounting to 5% of the global chip design (fabless + IDM) revenue. In comparison, the US and Taiwanese fabless chip design sectors respectively saw US$135.5 billion and US$39.8 billion in revenues, accounting for 24% and 7% of global chip design (fabless + IDM) revenue.

As DIGITIMES Research estimates, the United States retains the most competent IC design industry, aided by a complete scientific research ecosystem, the CHIPS Act, and the sanctions against China's HPC industry. However, China's rise will inevitably weaken US market share in the chip design sector: DIGITIMES Research estimates that the global market share of the US chip design industry will drop from 63% in 2022 to 60% in 2026.
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) School of Engineering recently held what it calls "an exceptionally successful" Engineering Futures Careers Fair on campus for students and graduates of the Institute.

DkIT says its award-winning Careers and Employability Centre puts a tremendous focus on careers fairs such as this, in order to support students on their career paths and the Institute says it is delighted to report that 97% of its graduates are in employment or further education within six months of graduating.

The School of Engineering in DkIT has a long and rich 50-year history of supplying top quality graduate engineers and many of the Institutes students have gone on to change the face and landscape of the region and country.

The Institute says it pride itself in its close ties to the engineering industry and have long been a go to Institute to recruit the rising stars of Engineering of the future. DkIT says it was "absolutely delighted" to welcome its industry partners to the event, such as Moffett, Combilift, ESB, Mercury, Controlsoft, Elliott group, ABB, Walls, ASEE, Timoney, Atkins, Roco, Bam, Trilan, WuXi, SCSI & Omega Surveying Services to name but a few. It was an added bonus, it says, to see that many of the exhibiting companies were represented by DkIT Alumni.

The Careers fair kicked off with a welcome address by Dr Breda Brennan, Head of School of Engineering who greeted all participating employers and thanked them for their continued support and collaboration with the School of Engineering.

Dr Brennan was preceeded by a review of the Department of Engineering Trades and Civil Engineering which was facilitated by Head of Department Pat McCormick; the Department of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering offerings at the Institute were presented by Head of Department Paul MacArtain; and Noel McKenna took the attendees through an overview of the Department of the Built Environment.

Dr Breda Brennan, Head of School of Engineering, said, The future is bright for DkIT graduates of Engineering and never has recruitment for this industry been more in demand.

"We pride ourselves in the quality of graduates we produce and relish the feedback from employers on our students employability attributes. Our ongoing relationship with Industry is very important to us. It was a heartening and proud moment for the School to see so many of our graduates attend the careers fair as now employers.

Catherine Staunton, Head of Careers and Employability, said, The theme of the event was DkIT Engineering Futures and this event encapsulated the optimism, diversity and innovation a career in Engineering can provide.

"I have to commend the exhibiting companies on the quality of their interactive displays and engagement of their teams with our students. It is an excellent example of how DkIT engage with industry in the region and directly connect our students and graduates directly with employers, maintaining our excellent employability track record.

The School of Engineering at DkIT offers a large number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across a wide range of Engineering and related disciplines. The core areas offered at full-time degree level are Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Building Surveying, Architectural Technology and Construction Management.

These are complemented by a suite of part-time programmes aimed at workplace upskilling, ranging from NFQ level 6 to Masters level. DkIT is also one of the largest centres in Ireland delivering trade apprenticeships in Carpentry and Joinery, Motor Mechanics, Electrical and Plumbing.

For the past two decades and particularly over the last decade DKIT has further developed its programmes and research into the existential societal challenges of climate change and sustainability. This includes both taught and research offerings to PhD and Masters Level with programmes which include Bio-energy, Marine Renewables, Solar energy and Wind energy.

See www.dkit.ie for more.
Saturday 1 April marks the official launch of The National Spring Clean 2023. Registrations for the National Spring Clean are well underway and 2023s campaign is on track to be the biggest yet with almost 100 Louth groups registered to date.

National Spring Clean is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce in partnership with Local Authorities and supported by the Department of Environment, Communications and Climate Environment and Mars Wrigley Ireland.

This year An Taisce celebrates its 75th Anniversary, and it believes the largest ever Spring Clean would be a fitting way to mark the occasion.

Throughout the month of April communities from across Ireland will take part in the National Spring Clean to tackle the problem of litter in local areas and to see the benefits of a litter-free environment.

ABOVE: Stabannon Tidy Towns volunteers who helped collect 53 bags full of litter in their area for #SpringClean23

Over the past 24 years, National Spring Clean participants of all ages have volunteered over 12 million hours of their time, with almost 45,000 tonnes of litter collected to date.

This year the campaign also wants to raise awareness about the Circular Economy Act and how the adoption of a circular economy model will reduce our litter and climate impact.

The principles of a circular economy have been central to the ethos of National Spring Clean for the past 24 years.

Last year some 35% of all waste collected was recycled, thanks to recyclable waste bags provided to participating groups and individuals, while the removal of litter from our natural environment helped to tackle biodiversity loss.

ABOVE: Stabannon Tidy Towns in Louth collected 53 bags full of litter in their area for #SpringClean23

National Spring Clean hopes that these litter collection initiatives will prompt people to consider their waste output and moderate consumption behaviours that produce excess waste and look at alternatives that will move us away from a throwaway culture to a more sustainable circular culture.

National Spring Clean Manager, Emlyn Cullen, commented: This is an important year for An Taisce as it celebrates its 75th Anniversary and it would be fantastic if we can make this the largest National Spring Clean to date as part of the celebrations.

So far, the numbers of volunteers already registered is huge but theres still time for people to register online and get involved this year.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, said: I am delighted that my department continues to be in a position to support the An Taisce National Spring Clean Programme.

The efforts of local volunteers, many of whom come back year after year, are to be highly commended as they continue to make a real positive contribution to their local community and wider environment. It is particularly pleasing to note that a significant proportion of the waste collected is also recycled, again due to the efforts of these volunteers.

To make sure that each community clean up can run as smoothly as possible the National Spring Clean has also provides downloadable information packs on their website for their volunteers to read.

The clean-up information pack containing details on how to organise an event, health and safety information, litter facts, useful contacts, media and publicity advice, a guide on how to recycle and information on litter and the law.

Visit the website www.nationalspringclean.org and register for a free clean-up kit.
The dates for US President Joe Bidens visit have been officially confirmed today, with hopes a visit to Louth will be part of the president's agenda.

Joe Bidens presidential five-day trip to Ireland is set to begin north of the border.

According to the PA news agency, President Biden is expected to fly into Northern Ireland on April 11 ahead of a day of engagements in Belfast on April 12.

The US president is then due to travel south later that day and will spend the remainder of the week in the Republic of Ireland, before leaving on Saturday April 15.

As well as official engagements in Dublin, Mr Biden is expected to travel beyond the capital for visits related to his Irish ancestry.

The Democratic politician can trace his ancestry to the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth and it is hoped he will make a stop in the area.

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 back in Ireland and gathered again in January 2021 to mark his inauguration.

The presidential visit to the island will have a strong focus on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday peace agreement.

This week Mr Biden made clear an increase in activity by violent dissident republicans opposed to the peace process in Northern Ireland would not deter him.

No. They cant keep me out, he told reporters.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had invited Mr Biden to come to Northern Ireland to mark the agreements anniversary.

Earlier this month, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the president that his trip to the island of Ireland would be a visit like no other.

I promise you that were going to roll out the red carpet, he pledged to Mr Biden during their St Patricks Day meeting in Washington DC.

White House officials and Secret Service personnel have already visited proposed locations as part of planning for the visit.

Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton will be in Belfast the week after Mr Biden for more 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.
Mid-Louth Youth Service last Wednesday hosted an event with The Two Norries at An Tain Arts Centre in Dundalk, where themes such as Toxic Masculinity, Substance Use and Male Mental Health were discussed over a series of workshops and consultations.

The event was organised by Mid-Louth Youth Service, and was attended by over 70 young men, who in these workshops, talked about a range of issues relating to mental health, as well as the current standard of service provision available in the community.

The main purpose of the day was to give young men across Louth an opportunity to have their voice heard, and to discuss topics and issues that are unique to them in their peer groups, said Mid-Louth Youth Service project coordinator Damien McKenna.

Following the workshops and consultations, the young men were then given the opportunity to speak with James Leonard and Timmy Long of The Two Norries Podcast.

James and Timmy are both from the northside of Cork city, and their podcast covers themes across the social and health sphere, with a particular focus on addiction, drug use, crime and recovery. Guests include peoples personal stories of overcoming adversity, as well as professionals perspective on issues discussed in the podcast.

To have The Two Norries come in and tell their story was wonderful, added Damien.

We just hope that some of the lads, if not all, took something away from the day that will benefit them in the future. Us as youth services will look to build on these consultations and these findings. Hopefully that will build even stronger programmes and projects that will only service and act as provision for young males in the county.

The event was supported by the International Fund for Ireland, the Louth Children and Young People's Services Committee, as well as Healthy Ireland, and had representation from Mid-Louth Youth Service, Foroige, Youth Work Ireland Louth, Deeside School Completion Programme, Dundalk Youth Centre, Magnet Newry and Limestone United.

It was a pleasure to have all the youth services involved. A special thank you to Dundalk Youth Centre and Youth Work Ireland, who helped us to organise and deliver the event, and to all the youth services who were involved as well, which is wonderful.

A special word of thank you to Louth CYPSC, who help fund us, and the unwavering and always supportive International Fund for Ireland, who have been so good and have really done so much great work in terms of direct funding to the Mid-Louth area.

The International Fund for Ireland has supported Mid-Louth Youth Service in all of their work since 2017 and continues to do so. The International Fund for Ireland was established as an independent organisation by the British and Irish Governments in 1986 with financial contributions from the United States of America, the European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The Fund aims to promote economic and social advance, as well as encourage contact and dialogue between nationalists and unionists throughout Ireland.

Louth Children and Young People's Services Committees (CYPSC) is responsible for improving the lives of children, young people and families at local and community level through integrated planning, working and service delivery.

Louth Children and Young People's Services Committee will ensure that professionals and agencies work together so that children and families receive better and more accessible services.

Mid-Louth Youth Service would like to extend its gratitude to Joe and Tess McLaughlin from Joes Deli, Anne Joynt from D-Lish, Alan Graham from 23 Seats, and Killian from Rocksalt for kindly providing the young people with food and refreshments on the day.
EBRD Vice President Mark Bowman visits Moldova to discuss new Country Strategy for Moldova

Banks support for Moldova focusses on energy security, private sector investment

EBRD is Moldovas biggest institutional investor

Mark Bowman, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)s Vice President, Policy and Partnerships, discussed the EBRDs latest five-year Country Strategy for Moldova with the countrys new leadership during a visit to Chisinau this week, pledging continued support, especially on energy security and private sector development, as Moldova shifts focus from crisis management to longer-term development.

Moldova, an EU candidate country, has suffered a year of economic shocks as a result of Russias war on neighbouring Ukraine and a winter full of energy sector challenges. But, with the impact of these crises beginning to subside, the cabinet of Prime Minister Dorin Recean, which took office in February, is stepping up plans for the complex reform and investment needed to move forward with its EU accession ambitions.

Last year, the EBRD offered Moldova unprecedented support by increasing its financing five-fold, to more than 500 million. This included a 300 million loan last June to diversify the countrys sources of gas and enable it to buy gas on the European spot market. Mr Bowmans trip to Moldova follows a visit last week from the EBRDs Matteo Patrone, Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

We are keen to develop our support from the emergency provision of last year to help you through a very difficult situation and focus on what we can do to increase the longer-term resilience of Moldova and its economy to put you in a better place to deal with future events, whatever they may be, Mr Bowman told Prime Minister Recean during a meeting on Thursday

The EBRDs three strategic priorities for Moldova in its 2023-28 Country Strategy are: strengthening energy resilience and security and promoting a greener economy; supporting competitive and inclusive private sector development, more resilient financial infrastructure and improved governance; and improving inclusive infrastructure delivery to support growth and enhance connectivity and trade.

The EBRD stands ready to offer more support on energy provision, including on strategic long-term planning to bring more renewables into Moldovas energy mix  a shift which could be transformative for this import-dependent country.

The Bank has been supporting the government to establish a robust framework for renewable energy auctions for utility-scale solar and onshore wind projects. Once this framework is in place, the Bank will continue supporting the government to implement the auctions.

Also on Thursday, Mr Bowman signed a grant and a loan agreement, consolidating the EBRDs strong start to 2023 in Moldova and showing Moldovas positive direction of travel.

The donor fund signing confirmed a grant of 5.6 million from the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P) to go with loans made by the EBRD and European Investment Bank of 25 million each for Moldovas first multi-region solid waste management project.

The loan agreement was with ProCredit Bank Moldova. It was for a 10 million loan to support investment financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova to carry out upgrades in line with EU standards, increase competitiveness and grasp international trade opportunities, and was part of the EBRDs partnership with the European Union under the EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line.

While in Chisinau, Mr Bowman met government officials including Economy Minister and the EBRDs governor for Moldova Dumitru Alaiba, Finance Minister Veronica Sireteanu, Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu, Infrastructure Minister Liliana Dabija, the governments General Secretary Artur Mija, head of the Public Property Agency Alexandr Musteata, and Octavian Armasu, Governor of the National Bank of Moldova and the EBRDs alternate governor for Moldova.

He also held talks with representatives of other international financial organisations, Moldovan banks and civil society organisations, and met Chisinau-based investment partners.

The EBRD, Moldovas largest institutional investor and present in the country for the past three decades, has invested 2 billion in the country, much of it to support infrastructure as well as stabilise the banking sector.

Together with the European Commission and other international partners, the EBRD is also investing in the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes, strengthening key regional transport routes and strengthening the trade links connecting Ukraine and Moldova with the EU. The Bank is also actively contributing to the multilateral Moldova Support Platform (MSP), providing concrete political, financial and technical assistance to help it overcome the challenges it faces, particularly those resulting from the war.
A CORK woman who showed incredible determination to complete her autobiography before tackling her struggles with reading and writing, has now written a new book called There Is Always Hope.

People tell me this book is even better than my first book says Collette Wolfe, from Carrigtwohill.

If I Could Hold You Again, Collettes autobiography, tells a story of tragedy and loss and describes the devastating consequences of bullying and suicide, and how one mothers grief led her on a mission.

That book was ghost written from voice recordings, says Collette.

I couldnt read or write for years. I hid that from my husband and kids for years.

Working in Marks & Spencer, I used to hide it from my colleagues. I covered it up. There was a sense of shame going with it.

All that changed when Collette went back to college last year, to CSN, Tramore Road Campus, participating in a back-to-education initiative.

I thought Id missed the boat, admits Collette.

But there was always hope.

I was very nervous, she says. I had never used a computer before. In school I was told I was stupid, and I left school young.

But I got the courage to phone the college. I loved the back-to-education course. I graduated last October.

And she wrote a second book.

 There is Always Hope is a story of hope and encouragement that myself and others can testify that no matter what challenges you face in life; there is always hope, says Collette.

The journey of hope came out of darkness, tragedy, and utter despair.

The book gives testimonies of myself and others who have been through dark times and have come out the other side with joy, peace and hope.

Stories of ordinary people that have faced similar tragedies that were full of fear; fear that can paralyse you, and make you feel there is no way out.

Is the book a self-help book?

 There Is Always Hopewill be a self-help book to so many people because it covers so many issues that people face daily, a pattern to overcome, gain insight into common frustrations, difficulties and tragedies, to become equipped for the journey ahead, and to know there is always hope, says Collette.

People face challenges all the time.

There will be times throughout our lives when we feel as though we have been cut down, that we have nothing left within to give, says Collette.

Just as a felled tree can grow tall and strong again, we too can grow, and our shoots can spring forth from the darkest corners, by the grace of God.

There is Always Hope is a collection of stories from those who came back from hopelessness.

When Collette became redundant from her job at Marks & Spencer at the age of 60 in June, 2021, she courageously took a new path in life.

I worked very hard in college and they worked hard with me, says Collette.

They were so patient and kind.

Collettes friends were also in her corner.

My friend Linda at work rang me out of the blue and told me, God says to write a second book. She rang me again and said that God revealed to her that my second book would be better than my first book.

Collettes first book was well received.

After If I Could Hold You Again, people asked if I would write a second book, says Collette. I did not think I had it in me.

But she did.

People were looking for hope during the pandemic, says Collette.

Every day I watched the fear on the faces of those that came into the food hall at Marks & Spencer. No one was talking to anyone; they were too terrified.

"People were looking for hope. In a world so filled with fear, I realised that I have more to share and I feel called to share it.

Collette has unwavering faith.

God will never leave you where he found you, she says.

I decided to write this book to share the message of hope. For me, hope is seeing light despite the darkness. My hope came with my journey to see if God was real. It was not easy, and it didnt happen overnight.

The moment I discovered that God was indeed real, everything changed, says Collette.

It was amazing and incredibly emotional. Hope rushed in and filled my body and soul.

When we hear about people surviving hard situations, it brings hope. So I decided to share a few encouraging stories of how we survived challenging times and emerged filled with hope and peace.

Collette has met people who bounced back after challenging times and she includes their stories in her inspirational book.

I met lots of broken people, says Collette. God changed their lives, and they told me their stories.

They were mostly Cork people. There was one lady from Spain who was homeless, and she stayed here with us for two weeks. Garda Anthony Mark Ryan tells the story in the book of how he was called to our house after Leannes death.

Triona, Leannes sister, features in There Is Always Hope. She recalls the family tragedy and the aftermath and how she picked up the pieces of her own life.

Collette is proud of her new work.

The feedback is very positive. Im delighted.

Her college is proud of her too.

They wanted me to launch the book in the college, says Collette. So thats happening in CSN, Tramore Road Campus on April 27 at 7pm.

Collettes journey goes on.

I will meet a lot more people and hopefully leave them with a little more hope than I found them with, she says.

I could only share some of the stories I have with you, but I pray they are enough for you to see how truly wonderful God is.

For 46 years I walked this life without God; I never gave God much thought, yet in my darkest hour when I called out, God heard me and He answered.

There is Always Hope, by Collette Wolfe, kindle addition, is available on Amazon. The paperback book is on Apple, Kobo, at 12.99.
Hyperboreans, by David Jordan (Beul Aithris 9.20)

A PUB crawl around Cork city in the 1990s might sound like an attractive proposition in its own right.

This, however, is an astral pub crawl. Not the sort involving seeing stars, but one which ventures into a supernatural realm where gods and ghosts meet for a pint and a chat with mortal punters.

One of two short novels by Cork author David Jordan to be released in recent weeks by independent publishers, The Hyperboreans is a young adult urban fantasy inspired by the authors native city.

Its kind of a love letter to Cork in the 90s, he explains, harking back to a time of no mobile phones, no internet, when things were a bit simpler.

Cork is known for its characters. Its known for being laid-back and friendly and I think these things come through in the novel.

In this country we kind of had our 60s in the 90s. We liberated ourselves from the Church to a degree and society kind of loosened up a bit. People became more open-minded so I think the 90s for this country was a big decade.

Though set in a series of pubs, including the old Liberty student bar and Sir Henrys on South Main Street, two of the regular haunts of Jordans youth, not everything about Hyperboreans is Leeside nostalgia.

We had Riverdance but there was also a darker side to the 90s, he says. There was a problem with suicide and a lot of drugs going around.

These things arent directly referred to in the book but there is a ghost who appears in the same pub the protagonist is drinking in. Shes kind of a poltergeist but the reason she wont move on is because she doesnt want her life to end - she doesnt want the party to end - so shes basically a personification of the 90s.

Joining the supernatural party are figures from Irish mythology, and in particular Cu Chulainn, who plays a more prominent role as the central character in Jordans second new novel, After the Tain, published this month by Vulpine Press (11.50).

Quite as intriguing a prospect as an astral pub crawl, the modernising of myth in After the Tain sees warrior hero Cu Chulainn sup mind-altering milk from the teats of a magical cow.

Based loosely on parts of the Ulster Cycle, with influences of Neil Gaiman, this is mythology with a modern sensibility, says Jordan.

The udder of the cow in question has three teats, he explains. You have the milk of forgetting, and Cu Chulainn drinks that first because he wants to escape his destiny.

However, he adds, society pressures him into becoming Cu Chulainn again.

People want Cu Chulainn the mythical figure so he takes the drink of remembering and it all comes back to him. Then he decides to take the milk of knowledge, just because hes Cu Chulainn and he has to try it because hes a hero.

A complex chain of events sees Cu Chulainn journey to ancient Troy and from there to the heart of the Otherworld, before being brought back through the efforts of Cathbad the druid and his best friend, Laeg Mac Riangabra.

The story retains echoes of the Tain Bo Cuailnge, the cattle raid of Cooley, and is set around the time of Christ, though Jordans Cu Chulainn may be unfamiliar to those expecting a brave-hearted battle hero.

Ive tried to make him more human, says Jordan. I wanted something people could relate to, especially young adults.

Cu Chulainns big problem is that he wants to find a place for himself in society and if youre a young adult thats probably one of the big questions that youre dealing with, just finding a place, a job.

Jordan, who did not begin writing in earnest until his 40s, is part of Ballinlough Writers Group and has also had several of his poems and short stories published.

Having previously self-published five books, Jordan has gone down the traditional publishing route for the first time with After the Tain and Hyperboreans, which is released by independent Scottish company Beul Aithris, and both are available in print or e-book format via the publishers or online at Amazon.
Tell us a little bit about yourself:

Hi, my name is Fabi. I'm Mexican and happy to be 46 years old. And I am Ghislain, from France. We have lived in Ireland for the past 16 years and love it. We met here in Cork and are both qualified Personal Trainers, Fitness, Pilates and Yoga instructors. We have a Yoga studio and school here in Cork, "Sacred Body Studio". We are lucky and grateful to have the opportunity to help people gain or regain mobility and strength, as we see it as freedom. A healthy mind in a healthy body"

What is your ideal way to spend a Friday night?

Fabi, on Friday, is taking the time to mind herself and slow down. She loves to have long walks.

Ghislain is at the studio teaching his Power Flow Yoga class, encouraging, training and helping our clients to develop their strength and mobility. After that, he comes home, and we have a nice dinner. We go to bed early to rest and recharge to prepare for the weekend.

Lie ins or up with the lark.. which is it for you?

Fabi is an early bird, and Ghislain is a night howl. But we love to lie in when we are off.

Clients in action at a Sacred Body Studio yoga session on the beach.

Does work creep into your weekend at all?

During the weekends, we run Yoga Teacher Training courses and other workshops from September to June, which we greatly enjoy.

Also, we teach beach Yoga classes from March to November, every Saturday in Fountainstown and Sunday in Roberts Cove, and during the summer Saturday at Douglas Park.

It's a great way to be outdoors and an excellent start to the weekend.

When we don't have courses, we stay at the beach after our yoga class for a sea swim or dips, followed by a fantastic sauna session at Swede Sauna and Happy Place Sauna.

If money was no object where would you head to on a weekend city break? And who would you bring with you?

Any lovely beach in the Mediterranean or Caribbean will do. We will take each other! We are more about nature, small villages and communities.

Yoga Sacred Body Studio on the beach.

Closer to home, is there some place you like to head to recharge the batteries?

We are grateful to live in Crosshaven. It is our favourite place as there are so many walks around the coast. It's peaceful. We are 100% Sea people.

The sound of the sea, the breeze, watching the horizon, and meditating are our best ways to recharge. We love to swim only when it gets warmer and kayaking.

We feel so blessed to live by the sea in Crosshaven. We have Saunas at our local beaches, coffee docks, markets, pubs, and restaurants.

Do you like to catch up with family/friends at the weekend?

We are BBQ fanatics. When possible, we love having friends over and having a lovely meal cooked over the fire, chatting, enjoying being together, staying out until late and keeping the fire on.

As our family are away, we connect virtually with them over the weekend to catch up.

Sacred Body Studio doing yoga in the park.

Do you get to indulge any hobbies? Even as a spectator?

Recently, we started to learn the piano. We are still practising Happy Birthday and Twinkle Twinkle little star, making progress nonetheless. And we love to dance Latin and Caribbean rhythms.

Entertain or be entertained? If it's the latter do you have a signature dish?

We love to be entertained, anything that makes us laugh.

Fabi's signature dish is ceviche, and Ghislain is the BBQ adventurer.

We have so many places to eat out in Cork - where are your go to spots for coffee/ lunch/ special meal?

AROI in Carrigaline, Pine Lodge in Myrtleville, Cronin's, and The River's End Cafe in Crosshaven.

Sunday night comes around too fast.. how do you normally spend it?

We prefer to stay chill, relax, watch a movie, read a book, practice music and get ready for the week ahead, which will pass in a blink.

What time does your alarm clock go off on Monday morning?

6 am, Fabi's alarm.

For more see https://www.sacredbodystudio.ie/

Sacred Body Studio will be doing workshops as part of the Cork Life Long Learning Festival. For a full programme see

https://corklearningcity.ie/lifelong-learning-festival/
A number of heritage resources, including an advisory series on how to care for historic monuments, ruins and headstones has been launched by Cork County Council.

The advisory series on best practice in caring for Cork Countys rich heritage was developed by the Councils Historic Monuments Advisory Committee (HMAC).

Available in video or leaflet format, the guides include advice on Care of Historic Ruins and Care and Cleaning of Historic Headstones.

Care of Historic Ruins provides guidance on how to conserve and maintain old ruins such as churches, castles, or farm buildings in accordance with good conservation practice.

Old graveyards are full of historic headstones which are hand carved and often in need of cleaning. The guide on Care and Cleaning of Historic Headstones provides practical information on how best to clean these important heritage artefacts.

Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Danny Collins (Ind) welcomed the series of resources.

These leaflets and videos are an excellent way of communicating the right approach to caring for our archaeological monuments," he said.

"They will be of benefit to any community group who wish to care for and carryout heritage projects in Cork County.

I am delighted to be part of the Historic Monuments Advisory Committee and look forward to continuing to promote an appreciation of Corks Archaeological and Built Heritage, he added.

Fine Gael Councillor Kevin Murphy said the leaflets will provide "invaluable" information for community groups.

Visit the Publications section of the Heritage and Conversation page on the Councils website www.corkcoco.ie to view and download all leaflets.

Leaflets are also available at Cork County Hall, at your local library or by emailing corkheritage@corkcoco.ie.

Videos are available on Cork County Councils YouTube channel.
Disagreements about chores carried out by flatmates formed the background to a case where the boyfriend of one resident was accused of assaulting another resident.

The defendant has been told that he will avoid a conviction and have the case struck out if he pays 500 to charity and performs a period of voluntary work.

Judge Marian OLeary had adjourned finalisation of the case against Soloman Adebisi of Cnog na gCapall, Goulds Hill, Mallow, Co Cork, for assaulting Vinicius Silva at The Elysian building in Cork City on May 25, 2022.

The judge told the defendant that if he completes three hours of voluntary work per week for 16 weeks and pays 500 to the court poor box, the case will be struck out.

Vinicius Silva said that he and two other men and one woman were living in a shared apartment at The Elysian. Each of them had their own bedroom.

We shared chores, taking out bins downstairs but we started having conversations about people not helping with the chores, he said.

Around this time I ruptured my achilles, I had my foot in a cast and I was walking with crutches. I was working from home.

I had a break from lunch. I decided to go downstairs for lunch.

Hannah is one of my flatmates. Solomon is her boyfriend. He is not a tenant but he was staying in the apartment very often  he was not helping with the chores.

There were a few discussions, it was getting aggressive As I reached the bottom of the stairs, he came straight towards me  on top of me, frightening me to punch me. He did not punch me, exactly. He was shouting at me. I did not move. He said he would break my jaw if I was not in a cast or injured.

I was really scared. I could not defend myself. I was on the floor, scared. I was saying to calm down Hannah got a notice to leave the apartment. That is why they were not happy.

He said that a short time later he phoned the gardai, and they arrived.

Joseph Cuddigan asked Mr Silva: Did you or your friends ever say to Hannah, would she bring female friends to the apartment?

He replied: Speaking for myself, I did not. He later clarified with Inspector James ODonovan that he had a girlfriend at the time.
Graham Norton is set to return to Cork this summer as part of the West Cork Literary Festival.

The Bandon-born presenter and author is to return to his roots to discuss all things writing with literary fans.

Norton will join comedian, author and star podcaster Maeve Higgins for a special event.

Winner of nine BAFTA awards during his television career, the Cork chat show host has written four novels, which climbed the charts to become instant bestsellers in both the UK and Ireland.

The West Cork Literary Festival takes place each year in Bantry, where Norton and his now husband, Jonathan McLeod held their wedding last year.

The festival will run from July 7 to July 14, and organisers promise a jam-packed line-up.

The full programme and speaker line-up will be announced next week, while booking opens on Tuesday April 11.

Details will be available on westcorkliteraryfestival.ie.
The jury deliberating for a second day in the Boreenmanna Road murder trial returned to court today looking for the transcripts of the pathologists evidence and that of two other witnesses.

The transcript evidence sought by the eight women and four men of the jury is to be sent into the jury room.

It consists of the testimony and cross-examination of pathologist, Dr Heidi Okkers, and the evidence of Dr Nora Lee, forensic scientist who examined plastic bags at the scene.

The third testimony they sought was that of Tanja Bosnjak, a work colleague of the accused from The Silver Key.

The jury recommenced their deliberations at 10.30 a.m.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott presides over the trial of a Romanian national accused of murdering a 64-year-old Cork man whose dismembered body was found on the grounds of a derelict house at Boreenmanna Road in Cork during Christmas 2019.

Ionut Cosmin Nicholescu, 30, with an address at Branistea Village, Damovita County, Romania, denies the single count of murder.

He was put on trial on March 13 charged with the murder of Francis (Frankie) Dunne.

The count states that on a date unknown between December 27 and December 28 2019, he murdered Francis Dunne at Castlegreine House, Boreenamanna Road, Cork, contrary to Common Law.
CORKS Lough is to soon welcome a colony of sand martins in a specially built new home.

The much-loved Lough is already home to a number of different species of birds, but will now house the newest inhabitant in a purpose-built birdhouse on the island.

The birds, who spend their winters in the southern Sahara before migrating back to Ireland, will experience a replica of the migratory birds natural breeding habitat upon their return to Cork.

The timber hide has round holes cut into it. These resemble the holes or crevices in the walls along the city quay or banks of rivers, where the sand martins typically nest.

The new birdhouse is modelled on a similar project at the Harpers Island wetlands near Glounthaune, which was built by the Glounthaune Mens Shed group last year.

The Glounthane hide features 24 holes which were fully occupied by several sand martins not long after its installation in the wetlands.

The project comes thanks to the Green Spaces for Health Group in cooperation with Cork City Council.

For the past few weeks, Green Spaces for Health have been joined by a team of bird experts and volunteers from Glounthane Mens Shed, who have successfully housed the birds in their Harpers Island location.

David Byrne, a carpenter with Cork City Councils parks division, and Pat Carroll, the caretaker at the Lough have been busy building rowing to and from the island to install the house specially designed for sand martins.

When completed, an audio lure will be installed in the Loughs hide to call the sand martins to their new home. Once inside its hoped the birds will mate and produce new generations of sand martins from The Lough colony.
A rare and exceptional sentence of life imprisonment was imposed on Kerry man Christopher OSullivan for the manslaughter of a 53-year-old homeless man at the Mardyke in Cork in October 2019.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott said, A sentence of life imprisonment is a rare and exceptional step to take (in a manslaughter case). However, the judge said it was deserved in the case against 40-year-old OSullivan for the manslaughter of Timmy Hourihane.

The killing was carried out in a vicious, merciless and brutal manner.

Mr Hourihane was repeatedly kicked and stamped on on the ground when prone and defenceless. A number of people witnessed the assault which lasted about five minutes. He continued the assault after (co-accused) withdrew and the two of them then set fire to Mr Hourihanes tent.

Mr OSullivan discarded a top he was wearing into the fire. He then disposed of clothes in (another) fire  disposing of evidence of the crime. He did nothing to assist him or obtain aid for him.

Blood (from the deceased) soaked through his (OSullivans) runners onto his socks.

This case is concerned primarily with loss of life  the loss of life of Timothy Hourihane. He was a person who had his own difficulties. I have heard the victim evidence statements from his son, relations and members of his family who has suffered the loss of their family member and have stated in short but clear terms the devastation his death and the manner of hid death have caused them. It was a horrible death.

Mr OSullivans case is dominated by his appalling record of 48 prior convictions including egregious offences against the person. It is clear that his offending is of an escalating nature which gives rise to concern about future offences and the very real threat he poses in the future.

The nature of this offence is the worst kind of killing and ranks just short of murder It was a shocking, unrelenting, pitiless and savage attack on a man who lay helpless on the ground. The killer apologised to the family but they said in a victim statement that he had the presence of mind on the night of the killing to go away and burn his clothing while their loved one lay dying.

Christopher OSullivan of no fixed address pleaded guilty to his part in the manslaughter of the former chef at a homeless encampment in Cork city. Timmy Hourihane, a 53-year-old father-of-one, was fatally injured when he was attacked near his tent on Mardyke Walk in October 2019 and died a short time later in hospital.

Son of the deceased, Elliot Hourihane, said, They killed my dad in the most brutal and savage way. You dont get those kind of injuries my dad sustained if they were not trying to end his life. How is this fair? He has left a son without a father, mother without a son and siblings without a brother. The accused had 48 previous convictions including of assault causing serious harm in 2007 to a man who sustained catastrophic injuries to his face when he was attacked in the door of a house.

It bears a lot of similarities to the assault on Mr Hourihane. Following that assault (in 2007) he asked other people to take the injured party out of the building and leave him lying prone on the roadside,

Det. Supt. Michael Comyns said.

Roisin Lacey senior counsel for Christopher OSullivan said, He wants to offer the sincerest and deepest apology to the Hourihane family for his participation in and contribution to the death of Mr Hourihane. He has by his plea of guilty accepted his guilt. He had a traumatic childhood. In essence it is unspeakable on so many levels and makes for tragic reading. Co-accused James Brady, of Shannon Lawn, Mayfield, in Cork, was found guilty of Mr Hourihane's manslaughter after a four-week murder trial and he was sentenced to 13 years with the last two years suspended.

Originally from the Sheep's Head Peninsula in west Cork, Mr Hourihane had once worked for the Hilton group in the UK before falling on hard times and ending up homeless in Cork city.

The Hourihane family said in a second victim impact statement, With a history of brutal and violent behaviour he knew well the outcome of what he was doing. He still had the presence of mind to burn his bloody clothes in a nearby fire while Timothy lay dying. We cannot understand how a human being could do this. For us it is a life sentence. Det. Supt. Comyns said that at the time of this fatal attack a number of homeless people had set up a tented village on fields in the Mardyke, near the skate park and partly visible from the road.

Christopher OSullivans 37th birthday fell on October 12 2019. He is now 40. He spent the day drinking. There had been some tensions in this tented village in the days beforehand. A number of the parties returned to the area after midnight (October 13). Extensive CCTV and several eyewitness accounts established what happened next.

Det. Supt. Comyns testified, Mr Hourihane headed towards his tent. (Witnesses) saw Mr Hourihane almost immediately being set upon by Mr Brady who was finger-pointing and pushing. Mr OSullivan was being held back by (his then partner, from whom he is now estranged).

Mr Hourihane was severely assaulted on a grass verge. Originally, it was aggressive shouting but this turned almost immediately into the assault  kicking and stamping on Mr Hourihane. He suffered severe facial trauma, brain swelling, broken facial bones, battering of teeth. One tooth was recovered (on post-mortem examination) in the stomach of Mr Hourihane, Christopher OSullivans partner tried unsuccessfully to pull him away again during the assault.

Siobhan Lankford, prosecution senior counsel, asked who was more heavily involved in the assault. The detective replied, Witnesses stated that Mr OSullivan continued the assault after Mr Brady had withdrawn. Mr OSullivan had to be pulled away from Mr Hourihane.
A CORK principal has become the classrooms answer to Jamie Oliver after transforming school runs into a dream with his quirky cooking demonstrations.

Inspirational Ken Foley from Scoil Padre Pio primary school wanted to ensure that parents felt supported in their mission to adopt healthy eating habits at home.

The school is currently benefitting from the Hot Schools Meals programme-an initiative rolled out by the government to offer regular, nutritious meals for all children.

Meanwhile, Mr Foleys cooking demonstrations take place in the school every Wednesday morning for parents on the school run. Each session covers a different meal of the day from lunchtime to dinner dishes. Parents even get to leave with party bags containing some of the ingredients featured in the demonstration.

This is not the first time Mr Foley has shown remarkable initiative. Last month he single-handedly baked all 252 pupils pancakes to mark Pancake Tuesday. The impressive gesture was started several years ago and has become something of a tradition in the school.

Staff at Scoil Padre Pio are now hoping to highlight Mr Foleys inventive recipes on a social media page known as Kens kitchen.

A qualified chef, Mr Foley has become an advocate for healthy eating in schools and in recent months welcomed the extension of the Hot Schools Meals programme to all Deis primary schools. The measure was introduced in Ireland earlier this year to tackle cost of living struggles.

Mr Foley opened up about his passion for cooking and healthy eating.

Ken Foley, principal, Scoil Padre Pio, Churchfield, Cork, serving mushroom soup during one of his weekly cooking demonstrations in the school for parents and members of the community.

I took a career break in 1998 to train in Ballymaloe Cooking School. Cooking was such a big passion of mine so it was something I really wanted to get out of my system. My hope is to get children away from processed food. This is something that can be really difficult for parents so Id like to support them in whatever way I can. He stressed that adopting healthier eating habits will be a battle for many families.

Children will eat when theyre hungry. They may walk away from dishes and we wont win every battle but the important thing is to stick at it. It can be hard to put up with waste but children will often come around to trying new things with enough perseverance. Little changes like replacing sugary cereals in the morning with an alternative can make a world of difference. He hopes the demonstrations can provide more cost-effective options for families.

Meat and fish is very expensive so I try to encourage people to do as much freezing as they possibly can. The use of Tupperware is very important because it saves people in the long run. Its also amazing what you can pass on to your children. The educator is keen to provide as much support to families as possible.

The demonstrations are only for people who feel they might benefit from the support. We have a kind of working partnership with parents. The children are with us for so much of the day so we feel like this is a shared responsibility. Its partly our duty to support the childrens health and give them happy memories and any way we can assist families in doing this is our privilege. Ken is always open to suggestions from parents and includes recipes and cooking methods based on feedback from parents attending his cooking events.

I always ask if there is anything in particular that parents would like to see. Next week its going to be dinners. He is urging people not to be so hard on themselves.

Parents are doing their best and although it can be disappointing at times when children resist healthy meals this is not something thats going to happen overnight. He described a typical cooking demonstration.

Ill normally make about three or four meals in front of the parents. The demonstrations only take an hour and its given us all something to look forward to. Details about how people can follow Mr Foleys healthy eating mission on social media will be released in the coming weeks.
American columnist urges U.S., China to defuse tensions

Xinhua) 16:10, March 31, 2023

NEW YORK, March 30 (Xinhua) -- It is imperative that the world's two biggest economies, the United States and China, find a modus vivendi if the peace of the planet is to be preserved, an American columnist said.

Relations between the United States and China are spiraling dangerously downward, said H.D.S. Greenway, who is currently a columnist for Foreign Affairs and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, in an article published by online magazine Responsible Statecraft on Monday.

U.S. House of Representatives had established a Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and China, he wrote in the article titled "It's not too late to stop a new cold war."

The growing antagonism between the United States and China presents the greatest danger to the world today, so it is imperative that cooler heads in China and the United States work to defuse tensions, he noted.

After all, China does not seek to overthrow the U.S. system of government and the Communist Party of China does not seek to export revolution, Greenway said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
TANAISTE Micheal Martin has remained steadfast in the belief that the decision to lift the eviction ban was the correct one, stating that Government had been advised that prolonging the ban would exacerbate the homeless situation in the fullness of time.

Mr Martin made the comments while speaking to reporters at the official opening of Focus Ireland's new Cork office on Grand Parade where 16 homes have been developed overhead.

He was also speaking ahead of a protest that took place on Friday evening outside his constituency office in Turners Cross organised by a coalition of housing and anti-eviction groups.

Eviction ban end protest at the constituency office of Tanaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defense, Micheal Martin TD, Evergreen Road, Turner's Cross, Cork.

We have to get more supply into the market and the advice was that if you kept the ban going you would do more damage and you would exacerbate the homeless situation in the fullness of time because properties would leave the market and there would be no new properties coming into the market, Mr Martin said, defending the Governments decision not to extend the ban.

Theres a rationale for this and anyone Ive met, nobody has said to me there should be an indefinite eviction ban, so if people accept that logic then a ban has to be lifted at some stage and the problems could even be worse if you were to prolong it and thats what has been advised to Government in respect of keeping properties in the market and endeavouring to attract more.

Protest welcomed by opposition TD

Socialist Party TD for Cork North Central, Mick Barry welcomed the protest that took place yesterday, saying he believed it would be the start of many.

"Good to see protests against the lifting of the eviction ban taking place in Cork right up to the deadline.

"I think Micheal Martin, Simon Coveney, Michael McGrath and other Government TDs should expect protests to continue as the evictions start to take effect in the weeks ahead," he said.

Mr Martin accepted that more has to be done to tackle the housing crisis.

And were going to do it in terms of additionality, in terms of supply and that, but there has been a lot, a lot of progress made in terms of the provision of social housing - far higher than anything in previous years, he continued.

Last month, the Government decided not to extend a ban on evictions beyond March 31, having put the ban in place last October.

Asked by The Echo if the Government would give consideration to re-introducing the measure for a period of time in the future, Mr Martin said:

The preference is through the leasing of additional homes and units and through the tenant-in-situ scheme we can deal with people who are under threat [of homelessness] and prevent them from becoming homeless.

According to the Department of Housings Homeless Report for February 2023, a total of 11,742 people were accessing emergency accommodation during the week of February 20-26, a decrease of 12 people on the previous month.

In Cork, 528 adults were in emergency accommodation that week, one person fewer than the previous month.
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

A train carrying ethanol  an extremely flammable material that can cause coughing, eye-burning, dizziness, sleepiness and full unconsciousness  derailed on the outskirts of the small town of Raymond in Minnesotas Kandiyohi County early Thursday, sparking a fire and evacuation orders under the cover of darkness.

The incident comes nearly two months after a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, spewed toxic vinyl chloride into the towns environment and raised questions about the safety of transporting hazardous chemicals by rail.

It never ends, one commenter wrote under a Kandiyohi County Sheriffs Office Facebook post announcing the Minnesota derailment.

The Sheriffs Office learned of the derailment at around 1 a.m. local time and found that a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train had gone off the rails along Raymonds western border. Several of the overturned cars caught on fire, prompting the decision to evacuate everyone within a half a mile of the site.

Just smoke concern, and ethanol concern. We didnt know if they were going to blow up, Raymond Mayor and assistant fire chief Ardell Tensen told Minnesota Public Radio.

One of the evacuees was Brittney Phelps, who was surprised when an emergency worker knocked on the door of the home where she lives with her family at 1:30 a.m., CNN reported.

I heard a loud crash but didnt think anything of it til ambulances were outside the house, Phelps said.

Phelps and her family relocated to an emergency shelter set up in a school in nearby Prinsburg. BNSF said it expected that people would be able to return home around 11 a.m. Thursday, as Minnesota Public Radio reported. However, it could take days to clean up the crash site and burn off all the ethanol.

BNSF can confirm that on March 30th, at 1:02 am local time a train derailed near Raymond, MN. Approximately 22 cars carrying mixed freight including ethanol and corn syrup are reported to be derailed with four cars on fire, the railway said in a statement posted on Twitter. There are no other hazardous materials on the train and no injuries as a result of the incident. BNSF field personnel are onsite to assess the derailment site and are working closely with local first responders.

There are no other hazardous materials on the train and no injuries as a result of the incident. BNSF field personnel are onsite to assess the derailment site and are working closely with local first responders. 2/3  BNSF Railway (@BNSFRailway) March 30, 2023

BNSF is still investigating the cause of the crash. The Federal Rail Administration has also arrived in Raymond, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced on Twitter.

We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in [investigation], he said.

FRA is on the ground after a BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed early this morning, leading to an evacuation in the area of Raymond, MN. At present no injuries or fatalities have been reported. We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in investigaton.  Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) March 30, 2023

This is the second time a BNSF train has derailed this month. On March 16, a freight train overturned and leaked 5,000 gallons of fuel into the Swinomish Reservation in Washington state. Just this Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik ruled that the railway violated an easement agreement with the Tribe when it began running 100-car trains carrying crude oil through the reservation without consent, as The Seattle Times reported.

The tribe takes its agreements very seriously and it expects them to be honored, and we are thankful that BNSF is being held to the promises it made, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Chair Steve Edwards said in a statement following the ruling.




US awards US$5 million grant to address labour abuses in Brazil, Paraguay cattle sector

The US Department of Labour has awarded a US$5 million grant to fund initiatives addressing labour abuses in the Brazil and Paraguay cattle sector, under a cooperative agreement with UN agency the International Labour Organisation, Investing.com reported.

The project will advocate for workers in cattle ranching areas of Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul state and the Paraguayan Chaco's Boqueron region, where labour rights violations targeting vulnerable populations have been reported.



The US Department of Labour said workers on small and medium-sized cattle farms that supply larger international cattle production operations are affected, adding that the threat and level of forced labour and labour exploitation has increased as cattle production in both countries expanded to meet global demand.

JBS, Minerva, and Marfrig are among the world's largest beef companies based in South America. After China, the US is the second-largest destination for Brazilian beef exports.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed allowing fresh beef imports from Paraguay.

- Investing.com




Norway seeks exclusion from shelf-life egg labeling rules

Norway is hoping for an exemption to European rules on shelf-life labeling of eggs, partly due to its good salmonella record.

In December 2022, an EU regulation entered into force that extended the period eggs can be sold to the consumer to 28 days after laying by hens. However, another change moved a provision on the best-before date for table eggs to hygiene regulations, which are part of the EEA agreement. Norway is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) but is not an EU member state. As the rule didn't previously cover Norway, the country uses an egg shelf life of 35 days after laying.

Two ministries in Norway believe the 28-day maximum shelf life rule is justified for public health reasons in many EU member states due to the occurrence of salmonella in eggs. However, in Norway, there is a very low incidence of salmonella in eggs.

Ingvild Kjerkol, Minister of Health and Care, and Sandra Borch, Minister of Agriculture and Food, previously sent a letter to Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, in mid-2022 expressing concerns about the potential changes.

Before the amendments were adopted, they were discussed multiple times in an expert group at the EU Commission, where the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet) recorded the country's position on several occasions, without success. The EU side sought the same regulations to support the internal market and wanted to limit national exemptions.

The ministries have now started work on requesting risk-based flexibility regarding the shelf-life labeling of eggs when implementing the regulation.

"It is absolutely necessary for us to speak with the EU, because such a change in the regulations will have consequences for Norwegian egg production as we know it today, and bring challenges for the industry," said Borch.

Norway has a national requirement for a cold chain for eggs. They should be kept at no more than 12 degrees C (53.6 degrees F) from the time of laying until they reach the public. A decentralised structure of the industry means small flocks are spread throughout the country.

Eggs are normally collected once a week due to the large distances, meaning they could lose seven days of shelf life before reaching the packing facility under the EU plans. Collecting eggs several times a week, as they do in other European countries, means higher costs and increased transport times, said the Norwegian Independent Meat and Poultry Association.

- Food Safety News
Google Bard is switching to a more 'capable' language model, CEO confirms Updates will come as soon as next week.

People haven't exactly been impressed in the short time since Google released its "experimental conversational AI service" Bard. Coming up against OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Bing Chat (also powered by OpenAI's GPT-4) users have found its responses to not be as knowledgeable or detailed as its rivals. That could be set to change, however, after Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed on The New York Times podcast "Hard Fork" that Bard will soon be moving from its current LaMDA-based model to larger-scale PaLM datasets in the coming days.

When asked how he felt about responses to Bard's release, Pichai commented: "We clearly have more capable models. Pretty soon, maybe as this goes live, we will be upgrading Bard to some of our more capable PaLM models, so which will bring more capabilities, be it in reasoning, coding."

To frame the difference, Google said it had trained LaMDA with 137 billion parameters when it shared details about the language-based models last year. PaLM, on the other hand, was said to have been trained with around 540 billion parameters. Both models may have evolved and grown since early 2022, but the contrast likely shows why Google is now slowly transitioning Bard over to PaLM, with its larger dataset and more diverse answers.

Pichai claims not to be worried about how fast Google's AI develops compared to its competitors. When Bard first debuted in February, he acknowledged its reliance on LaMDA gave it a smaller scale, but framed having less computing power as a benefit, giving more users the change to test it out and provide feedback. Pichai also ensured that Google would be doing its own analysis of Bard's safety and quality once provided with real-world information.

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To that end, Pichai expressed that Google doesn't want to release a "more capable model before we can fully make sure we can handle it well. We are all in very, very early stages. We will have even more capable models to plug in over time. But I dont want it to be just whos there first, but getting it right is very important to us."

That thought is on the minds of over 1,800 people (including tech leaders and AI researchers) who have signed an open letter calling for a minimum six month pause on the development of AI technology "more powerful than GPT-4."

Pichai doesn't think this can be effectively done without involving the government, but agrees with the need for guidance: "AI is too important an area not to regulate. Its also too important an area not to regulate well. So Im glad these conversations are underway."

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It has been 400 days since the aggressor unleashed this horrific war in the centre of Europe in the 21st century. Unjustified military aggression is an international crime. And the world stands with Ukraine. And Ukraine will win. To make it happen sooner everyone should be involved: from the heads of Governments to regular citizens of free countries. Free from tyranny. And for whom 'democracy' is not an empty word. Hear the special address yourself.
Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro returned from three months in the United States and has vowed to lead the opposition to Lula's government, raising the stakes for the new administration after a highly polarized election.
WASHINGTON  House Republicans passed a sprawling energy package Thursday that would expand U.S. oil and gas production and speed up the development of clean power projects while undoing many of President Joe Biden's climate initiatives.

The bill, named The Lower Energy Costs Act, passed largely along party lines 225 to 204, with four Democrats voting for and one Republican against. Reps. Vicente Gonzalez of Brownsville and Henry Cuellar of Laredo were among the Democrats supporting the legislation.

"The first step to unleashing American energy starts today," said Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston. "(The legislation) rolls back Biden's attack on domestic energy production, incentivizes domestic mineral production and stops regulations that delay projects that are critical to our energy independence."

The 175-page piece of legislation, which would do everything from repeal new fees for fugitive methane emissions to require quarterly federal lease sales for oil and gas drilling, is not expected to find much support in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

But its provisions for permitting reform, a longstanding bipartisan issue, are likely to increase debate around the development of long-distance power lines and the mining of lithium and other critical minerals viewed as essential to clean energy development.

Legislation with similar reforms to the federal permitting system introduced last year by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., managed to get 47 votes in the Senate, with only seven votes from Republicans. And with Republicans leading the charge in the House, energy lobbyists are hopeful enough Senate Republicans will come on board this time to get them to the necessary 60 votes.

After Thursday's vote, oil companies and clean energy developers alike urged Congress to pass a permitting reform bill.

Jason Grumet, president of the American Clean Power Association, which represents renewable energy companies, said he was "pleased to see Congressional efforts move forward to engage this critical and complex set of issues."

Anne Bradbury, CEO of oil industry trade group American Exploration and Production Council, urged the Senate to "work in a bipartisan, bicameral way" on "modernizing permitting, supporting U.S. energys access to global markets, supporting production on federal lands and repealing the new, punitive tax on natural gas that would raise Americans energy bills."

Congress is coming under increasing pressure from industry to fix a permit system the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups described in a letter to Congress Monday as "broken."

"Investing in highways, bridges, transit systems and ports will move people and goods more quickly and efficiently. Building new energy production, transmission and distribution projects promises to improve energy reliability and reduce emissions," the coalition wrote.

But House Republicans' plans to loosen the National Environmental Policy Act, the environmental law governing many large infrastructure projects, and take away states' ability to block projects through clean water regulations, is likely to face opposition from progressive Democrats.

Environmental groups attacked Republicans' energy legislation across the board Thursday, arguing the permitting reform provisions would expand the infrastructure for fossil fuels at a time the nation should be reducing reliance on them.

"The bill passed by the House today would move the United States further away from our climate and clean energy goals, said Evan Chapman, federal policy director at Clean Air Task Force. "While we agree with the need to maintain energy reliability and the need to boost U.S. energy security and leadership, this bill is a step in the wrong direction."
Kaycee Swick called her grandfather Bud-Bud.

To the rest of San Antonio, and especially to his customers on Southwest Military Drive, Bud-Bud was Bud Jones, the same Bud Jones who started selling fish and chips at the corner of Commercial Avenue in 1958, the same Bud Jones whose name stands out in red script letters over Bud Jones Restaurant 65 years later.

The man behind those letters passed away in 2018, but his restaurant carries on, now under the stewardship of his daughter Kathy Jones Bettencourt, whos passing the torch to her own daughter, the one who called her grandfather Bud-Bud.

The mother, the daughter and Bud Jones Restaurant are inseparable from the story of Southwest Military for this South Side edition of Eat the Street. Its a street where the military part isnt just for show, a street where comfort food is the fuel that keeps things going, a street where the life of a restaurant is measured in lifetimes.

Best Brunch: Top 10 brunch in San Antonio

Mike Sutter/Staff

Bud Jones Restaurant

The Lenten season is winding down, but dont tell that to Kaycee Swick at Bud Jones Restaurant. Shes still trying to keep up with the demand for all-you-can-eat fried fish, kicked into high gear by the Christian tradition and the Fish Fridays that come with it.

Ive only known chaos, said Swick, who joined the family business full time in 2020, just in time for COVID, supply-chain problems, staffing shortages and the war in Ukraine, all of which conspired to make putting fish on the table that much harder.

Its hot and crisp, that fried fish, a pearly Alaskan pollock that can be ordered in more modest sizes, too, like Buds Basket, with one fillet and four fried shrimp. But fish is just part of this country cafes mission. Theres chicken-fried steak as big as a vinyl record, covered in cream gravy. And the Largest Cheese Enchiladas in Town, large enough to run the length of the plate.

What matters to the overflow crowd during a Friday lunch, besides the burgers and fish and allyou-can-eat spaghetti, are the same things that matter to Swick and her mom. Consistency, loyalty, community, as Bettencourt puts it. Her father lived it, she said. And he drilled it into everyone who worked there, including the staffers whove been around so long they helped take care of baby Kaycee.

But for Lent  for always, really  how important is all-you-can-eat fish at Bud Jones? Ask his granddaughter: If we got rid of it, hed roll in his grave.

1440 SW Military Drive, 210-977-9161, Facebook: Bud Jones Restaurant

Mike Sutter/Staff

Don Pedro Mexican Restaurant

The story of Don Pedro goes back to 1968, all the way to founders Pedro and Blanca Montemayor. But for most of its five decades in business, Don Pedro has been part of the Sepulveda family, thanks to Ruben Sepulveda Sr. and his wife, Leticia, who started as waiters there in 1972, then bought the place in 1979.

Inside, room after muraled room fills up with people chasing enchiladas, fajitas, frozen chamoy margaritas and an almost perfect plate of bean-and-cheese nachos. On a weekday afternoon, one of those rooms was filled 25 deep with people waiting for a seat at the table.

The price of family-order fajitas can carry an intimidating pricetag, so Don Pedro offers an entry-level personal skillet that brings the same steak and sizzle, with a full dress of guacamole, pico de gallo, tortillas and charro beans on the side. Old-school Tex-Mex gets its moment on the No. 2 Regular Dinner, a San Antonio starter kit of cheese enchiladas with chili gravy and a puffy taco.

After more than half a century in business, Don Pedro has taken on the dimensions of a San Antonio mission, its arching checkerboard front entry every bit as much of a landmark along this busy street.

1526 SW Military Drive, 210-922-3511, donpedro.com

Mike Sutter/Staff

Brendas Burgers

Find Brendas by following the roar of jet engines. Engines being fired up, engines being tested, engines in flight. A next-door neighbor to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Brendas has been fueling service members and the neighborhood around them since Brenda Barry put her name on the business in 1988.

And the neighborhood shows up. In hunting camo, in ball caps, in service fatigues, in scrubs with nametags, they come for solid burgers a notch above fast food at reasonable prices. Berrys Special adds grilled onions and jalapenos to the mix, piled with cheese and an extra patty, if youre doing it right.

With the crush of counter business and the hustle of the drive-thru, Brendas still has the feel of a diner, the tables set close together, the soundtrack a chorus of crinkling paper as people unwrap burgers and fried chicken sandwiches and bags of french fries and onion rings. Or maybe a paper boat of chicken tenders with fries or a thick, handspun shake custom-made like a Reeses with peanut butter and chocolate.

On the wall is a poster with cartoon drawings of rock stars from the past 50 years. Bowie, Dylan, the Stones. A lot of them are still around. Just like Brendas.

3837 SW Military Drive, 210-932-1177, brendasburgers1988.com

S.A. seafood showdown: Freds Fish Fry vs. Sea Island Shrimp House

Mike Sutter/Staff

Sea Island Shrimp House

You know the original Sea Island, the North Side one on West Rector Street. Its the one with the statue of the striped-shirt sailor holding up a fish, the one with the icy stare who looks like hes coming for you next.

This isnt that one, but its part of the same San Antonio chain thats been the unofficial lunchroom of Lent since 1965. And the honor of official-unofficial dish of Lent goes to Sea Islands plainspoken Fried Fish Filets #14 dinner, with two pieces of fried fish, two hushpuppies and two sides. The old 2-2-2 plate, as reliable as ever, with crispy opalescent fish and sides that atone for all the fried things, sides like boiled red potatoes and stewed green beans.

Sea Islands all that, plus lemon-pepper fish, good fried shrimp, a two-handed fish sandwich, teriyaki salmon and a kids-eat-free deal on Thursdays. Its not fancy, but its clean and corporate. Its not expensive, but its not cheap. Somewhere between Long John Silvers and Red Lobster, with beer.

2119 SW Military Drive, 210-921-9700, shrimphouse.com

Mike Sutter/Staff

Taqueria Anahuac

Martha Velasquez opened Taqueria Anahuac 12 years ago, a tribute to the city in Nuevo Leon where her husbands family comes from.

Anahuac showed up in the first batch of taquerias I wrote about for a 365 Days of Tacos series that spanned all of 2017, and I loved it for thick, country-style flour tortillas made by hand and a carne deshebrada taco that tasted like Sunday roast at your aunts house, the one who can really cook. Im not the only one who liked it. Two years ago, Velasquez opened a second location, this one 10 minutes south in Von Ormy.

On Southwest Military, Anahuac is the place for breakfast, the place where the lights flicker on at 6 a.m. across a dining room painted mint green and the coffee sign is missing an e. You can get three breakfast tacos for $3.99, including a trio with ham and fluffy scrambled eggs, then set the day on fire with smoldering chile de arbol salsa. Or a plate of huevos rancheros with breakfast potatoes and a tangy sauce that bridges the gap between green and red.

Anahuacs also a solid bet for lunch, with tacos that fold in carne asada and nopales or carne asada a la mexicana or the deshebrada that will make you forget all about barbecue until the last bites gone. And because this is Southwest Military, where comfort is king and queen, you can get all of it all day, right up until the lights go out at 3, just after lunch.

3735 SW Military Drive, 210-921-0774, Facebook: Taqueria Anahuac
Defense attorneys said anyone could have made the same tragic mistake. Prosecutors said a former deputy U.S. marshal drove drunk, made a hairpin turn and drove his pickup the wrong way on an exit ramp on Loop 1604, fatally injuring the driver who met him head-on.

On Friday, a jury found Jonathan Paul Jones, 43, guilty of manslaughter, but not guilty of intoxication manslaughter, in the 2020 death of Taylor Angelle McCowan, 23.

The trial immediately moved to its punishment phase, with testimony from the victim's family. Intoxication manslaughter and manslaughter are both second-degree felonies, carrying a maximum prison term of 20 years. With no prior criminal record, Jones is eligible for probation.

The jury found that Jones' pickup was a deadly weapon. If the panel sentences him to prison, he would not be eligible for parole until he serves half of his term.

In sentencing testimony, James McCowan Jr. cried when he talked about how his youngest daughter's signs of life flatlined on monitors at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston. For two weeks, he had sat by her bed, speaking and reading the Bible to her, he said.

I told her if she could hear me, that if she was ready to go, it was OK, the Marine veteran and former law enforcement officer said through tears. She had suffered enough.

Testimony from witnesses and body camera video established that Jones failed a field sobriety test, slurred his words and that his blood-alcohol content was 0.177, twice the legal limit of 0.08.

He made a choice to drink, get intoxicated, and made a choice to drive that vehicle, prosecutor Oscar Salinas said in his closing argument to the jury Friday morning.

READ MORE: U.S. deputy marshal argued with arresting officer after crash that killed UTSA grad

Defense attorney Mark Thiessen, in his closing arguments, reminded jurors of the experts the defense presented during the weeklong trial.

A forensic analyst said the blood sample drawn from Jones the night of his arrest was tainted by a nurse who did not properly handle it. A field sobriety expert said San Antonio police did not properly conduct the test or follow department policies. A crash reconstructionist said McCowan did not react fast enough to avoid the collision.

Thiessen told the jury that the accident, though tragic, was a mistake. The case was not criminal but civil, he said, vowing to help the McCowan family, when the trial was over, in pursuing a lawsuit  a promise that drew moans and shaking heads from members of McCowan's family in the gallery.

McCowan, a graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio, had worked late at her administrative job at a local hospital on Jan. 30, 2020, and arrived late at a residence on the Northwest Side for a Bible study that was supposed to end at 11 p.m. Testimony established that McCowan stayed after to pray with her hosts.

She was driving east on Loop 1604 near Babcock Road close to 1 a.m. when, witnesses said, she turned on the right blinker of her Nissan Sentra to exit as Jones, driving a Ford F-150, entered the exit ramp near Barshop Boulevard. The vehicles collided head-on.

Neither driver wore a seat belt, and both their airbags deployed, testimony established. McCowan hit the windshield head first, and was slumped over the passenger side of her car. Its front was crushed and EMS technicians could not open the doors to free her. Firefighters cut off the roof to get her out.

A 911 call played for the jury at the beginning of the trial captured bystanders yelling at Jones to get out of his vehicle and not to flee as he tried five times to start his pickup.

Defense in S.A. trial: Lab messed up ex-deputy marshal's blood-alcohol test

They want you to believe it was a simple mistake, driving down the wrong way, prosecutor Jordan Brown said in his closing argument. They want you to believe Taylor is responsible. What is clear is that Jonathan Jones should not have been there.
Bexar County jurors in the intoxication manslaughter trial of a former federal officer have heard days of conflicting testimony  whether the victim, hit by the officer's truck as he drove the wrong way, could have saved herself, and whether to believe lab work that showed the alcohol in his blood was twice the legal limit.

On Friday, the jury is expected to hear closing arguments.

Jonathan Paul Jones, 43, a former deputy U.S. marshal, is accused of driving drunk when his pickup hit Taylor Angelle McCowan, 23. She died in a Houston hospital two weeks after being critically injured in the head-on crash early on Jan. 31, 2020, on a Loop 1604 exit ramp near Babcock Road.

The defense has presented a series of expert witnesses, including Jahan Eftekhar, a mechanical engineer who consults on crash reconstructions and who said Thursday his analysis showed McCowan did not react fast enough to prevent being hit by Jones.

Prosecution testimony showed San Antonio Police Department officers concluded Jones was intoxicated as he drove the wrong way on the exit ramp, and tried to restart his truck several times after the accident. McCowan, a graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio who was driving home from a late Bible study, had to be cut out of her Nissan Sentra.

Witnesses for the state testified that after the crash, Jones attempted to start his Ford F-150 pickup several times. Audio from police body camera video captured at least two of the people who stopped to help McCowan yelling at Jones to not drive away.

And toxicology expert Janine DeKing had told the jury that Jones' blood-alcohol content was .177. The legal limit for drivers in Texas is .08.

Amanda Culbertson, a defense expert, disputed those results, saying Quality Forensic Toxicology, the lab where DeKing works, is "one of the worst" she is aware of, and faulting both DeKing and the nurse who drew a sample of Jones' blood after his arrest.

She said the blood had clotted, and the specimen was not warm enough to conduct a test with meaningful results.

Culbertson also said she viewed police body camera video of the blood draw and said the nurse likely contaminated the sample by taking it before the iodine solution had dried on the injection spot, by touching the skin and by not properly mixing the solution inside the test tube.

When asked if Jones looked intoxicated on the video of the blood draw, she replied, "no."

Another defense expert, consultant Lance Platt, told the jury that Officer Emilio De La Rosa did not follow police procedure when he conducted a field sobriety test on Jones following the crash and failed to heed Jones' statement that his head hurt. He said SAPD policies stipulate that officers must get a defendant checked medically if they say they are injured.

Defense attorney Donald Flanary showed a simulation Eftekhar created using information from the crash data recorders in both vehicles, located with the airbags, and photographs of the scene. Eftekhar told the jury that McCowan had swerved at the same time as Jones.

Prosecutor Jordan Brown sparred with Eftekhar about his testimony, which suggested that if McCowan had stayed on the highway or had a faster reaction, the crash might have been avoided. Eftekhar also said McCowan might have survived if she had worn a seatbelt.

"It's her fault for not steering left instead of right?" Brown asked Eftekhar.

"I'm not saying that," Eftekhar said. "You have to react to something you see."

The case is being heard in the 144th District Court, Judge Michael Mery presiding. If convicted, Jones faces up to 20 years in prison.

An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect first name for defense attorney Donald Flanary.

ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
Mark P. Howerton, accused of murder in the death of Trinity University student Cayley Mandadi, has a new trial date.

Prosecutors contend that Howerton, then 22, killed Mandadi, 19, in a jealous rage after she tried to break up with him at the Mala Luna Music Festival in San Antonio on Oct. 29, 2017. They had been dating for six months.

Howerton, from Tyler, went on trial in Bexar County in 2019. But the jury became deadlocked during deliberations and could not reach a verdict. The judge declared a mistrial.

As prosecutors prepared to try the case again, Howerton's attorney, John Hunter, asked the judge to bar a retrial. He asserted that prosecutors had presented testimony from a witness they knew had lied to police and a grand jury.

A three-judge panel of the state's Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio denied the appeal last year.

The retrial now has been scheduled for May 22, according to Bexar County court records.

Mandadi, of League City, was a sophomore majoring in communications and a member of Trinitys cheer team and Chi Beta Epsilon sorority.

At the 2019 trial, Hunter said that Mandadi agreed to go to Houston with Howerton after the music festival, and that they stopped at a gas station and had rough sex.

HO /Staff Photographer Josie Norris/Staff Photographer Josie Norris/Staff Photographer (Left) Cayley Mandadi. (Top) Mark Howerton leaves the courtroom with his defense team after Visiting Judge Raymond Angelini presiding declared a mistrial in Howerton's murder trial. (Bottom) Morgan Sampson (left), former friend and roommate of Cayley Mandadi, starts to cry as Prosecutor Alessandra Cranshaw asks her to identify a photo of Mandadi as Sampson testifies in the murder trial of Mark Howerton. Express-News file photos. (Left) Cayley Mandadi. (Top) Mark Howerton leaves the courtroom with his defense team after Visiting Judge Raymond Angelini presiding declared a mistrial in Howerton's murder trial. (Bottom) Morgan Sampson (left), former friend and roommate of Cayley Mandadi, starts to cry as Prosecutor Alessandra Cranshaw asks her to identify a photo of Mandadi as Sampson testifies in the murder trial of Mark Howerton. Express-News file photos.

According to trial testimony, at some point Mandadi stopped breathing, so Howerton drove her to a hospital in Luling. She was covered in bruises and was not wearing pants when they arrived. She later died, and Howerton was charged with murder, sexual assault and kidnapping.

During the trial, three rows of courtroom benches were often filled with Mandadi's friends and family.

Prosecutors allege that the fatal assault was triggered by Howerton's jealous rage over a former boyfriend with whom Mandadi had an on-and-off-again relationship.

Jett Birchum, the ex-boyfriend, testified at trial that Mandadi told him she planned to break up with Howerton. Birchum, a former Trinity University student, testified that at the festival, he saw Howerton pull Mandadi aggressively.

Birchum said he tried to call Mandadi, but that Howerton answered the phone.

He basically said dont call this phone again. This is over with, Birchum testified. Like, shes mine, I dont ever want to hear from you again.

A friend of Howertons, Landon Suggs, testified that he saw Mandadi and Howerton at the music festival, and that Howerton became agitated when the couple saw Birchum nearby.

A grand jury indictment said Howerton intentionally or knowingly caused Mandadis death by striking, grabbing and shaking her, slamming her head against a blunt object, or by an unknown means.

Howerton did not testify at the trial.
This little piggy looks like Elvis. This little piggy has wings. This little piggy greets diners. This little piggy holds coins. And almost all these little piggies need a new home.

When Pig Stand closed March 12, the historic diner left behind more than just memories of classic cars and milkshakes. It also left a veritable pig pen of piggy banks, cookie jars and other porcine figurines and collectibles.

Those quirky little pigs and other Pig Stand memorabilia will be sold Saturday at a public auction to benefit the restaurant's former staff. The bidding begins at 9 a.m. outside the diner at 1508 Broadway, under the covered parking slots.

We have all these pigs and stuff that I think will help raise some money for employees, said longtime Pig Stand owner Mary Ann Hill. And then we had a lot of customers that wanted to buy (items) before we were even ready to close. This way, (everybody has) got their choice. And whatever we get, well be happy with. Were not looking to get rich off of it.

Bidders can vie for more than 100 piggy collectibles of all shapes, sizes and materials, along with Pig Stand T-shirts and dozens of framed and large-scale vintage photographs of classic Pig Stands through the ages.

Related: Pig Stand may be closed but car clubs still love it  and the collectors are starting to arrive

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Pig Stand closed roughly a month after San Antonio developer GrayStreet Partners acquired the property that houses the site. The diner was the last of a chain billed as the worlds first drive-in," which started in Dallas in 1921. The first San Antonio location opened later that year.

Hill has called the Broadway Pig Stand home since she was old enough to vote. She started working there in 1967 as a waitress when she was 18.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Now she leaves with countless Pig Stand memories and a few special pigs to call her own.

One is a silver pig given to her by a security guard at the nearby San Antonio Museum of Art, a regular who sat in the same front booth every day for roughly 30 years. Another is a pricey pig-shaped candleholder mailed to Hill from Ireland with specific instructions to keep it in her home.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Then theres the plush Elvis pig she got from a 9-year-old boy dining with his family. The portly Presley is a bittersweet reminder of both the joy customers filled up on at the restaurant and the sorrow of such memories coming to an end.

I knew the family as customers, Hill said. Then the dad got sick. And then the dad died. Then the boy didnt come here as much because they had so many memories of coming here, playing music and laughing.

PHOTOS: Here's a look at beloved Pig Stand diner through the years

A few of the more memorable Pig Stand fixtures already have trotted off to greener pastures.

The miniature jukeboxes that once dotted the diners shiny red booths? All gone. The neon red Pig Sandwich sign that hung at the back of the main dining area? A buyer pulled that pork icon months ago. Ditto the giant "Coffee Shop" neon sign that shone from the roof outside the front door.

That said, there still are plenty of goods on the auction menu.

Such items include Hill's favorite piggy figures: a pair of pig chef statues named after her favorite cooks. Mike, the dark-skinned pig, is named after Mike Mendoza, who worked the grill for about 30 years. Stanley, the fair-skinned pig, is named after Stanley Kunath, who joined Pig Stand a little more than a year ago and was the diners last cook.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Hill also has a special place in her heart for two unique piggy banks: a giant, custom-made ceramic pig in overalls and a cast-iron flying pig given to her by Helen Hailey, wife of the previous Pig Stand owner, Richard Hailey.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Pigs aren't the only Pig Stand fixtures up for grabs. Hill is particularly fond of a vintage photo of the Broadway Pig Stand in the 1930s, a few decades before it was torn down in 1968 to make room for highway construction; the diner moved a short way up the road to what would be its final home. The photo is lined with classic cars, waitresses in white and signs boasting 5-cent root beers and 25-cent plate lunches.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Somewhere between 1975 and 1980, Hill purchased a 1950s Coca-Cola vending machine that was painted white over its original uniform red. Coke collectors with a knack for restoration may find this refreshing.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Gonzalo Gamboa, an art and books dealer at Antiques at Broadway who has dined at the Pig Stand, said pigs in general are highly collectible. Perhaps buyers will find a few pig-shaped diamonds in the rough at Saturday's auction.

"Being sold by the owners, that will get people interested because they might get a great bargain," he said.

Gamboa recommends buyers look for any stamps at the bottom of items to determine when and where they were made. For instance, items bearing the mark "made in occupied Japan" were made only for seven years (1945-1952) and can be quite valuable.

He expects that the Pig Stand auction will draw a huge crowd, as much for the nostalgia as for the bargains.

Its really going to be a treasure hunt at the end," he said.
Got a pothole in your neighborhood that needs fixing? San Antonio city officials want to know.

The San Antonio Pothole Patrol is asking residents to help identify pavement problems and reach their goal of fixing more than 8,000 potholes across the city in April.

The patrol is part of the seventh annual Pothole Blitz, which will kick off Monday. Crews will meet residents at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot of The Public Theater of San Antonio, 800 W. Ashby Place.

The first 75 residents will receive a Pothole Patrol Fiesta medal. There are three other stops scheduled this month:

April 5, the patrol will be at Southside Lions Park, 3100 Hiawatha at 9 a.m.

April 13, crews will meet at Kennedy Park, 3299 SW 28th St. at 5 p.m.

April 19, the teams will stop at Woodlawn Park, 1103 Cincinnati at 9 a.m.

The first 50 residents at each of the those three sites will receive a Fiesta medal.

Even if you cant make those events, the San Antonio Public Works Department encourages residents to report potholes by calling 311 or through the SA311 app on their cell phone.

Courtesy of the City of San Antonio

The Public Works Streets Division manages the Pothole Patrol.

In 2022, residents made more than 3,080 calls to the citys 311 hotline to report potholes, about 4 percent of the total potholes that the city repaired.

According to Public Works, patrol crews fixed 310 potholes a day. It takes about 20 minutes to repair each pothole for about $35.

Potholes form when hot weather, followed by rain showers, causes the asphalt to expand and contract, creating the perfect condition for water to seep into the road.

For more information about the patrol, go to SASpeakUp.com/PotholePatrol.
A new political action committee formed to fight the Justice Charter at the polls May 6 is gearing up to raise tens of thousands of dollars  if not hundreds of thousands  from San Antonio's business community.

San Antonio Safe PAC is hosting its first fundraiser Tuesday evening at Club Giraud downtown, according to an invitation shared by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

We spend tens of millions of dollars every year on economic development efforts. The mayor and county judge and business leaders and civic leaders travel the world to invite job creators and paycheck providers to come here, said San Antonio Safe co-chair Eddie Aldrete, CEO of Aldrete Strategic Partners. But if they find out that crime is going to go up because of the lawlessness that will come about as a result of the passage of this, people are going to think twice.

The PACs organizers say they are especially concerned about a Justice Charter provision to expand the San Antonio Police Departments cite-and-release policy.

Currently, police have the choice to issue a citation, which is similar to a traffic ticket, instead of making an arrest for many low-level, nonviolent misdemeanor offenses.

The proposed change to the city charter would take away officers discretion, requiring them to issue citations for low-level crimes, and expand the list of misdemeanors to include graffiti  unless the offender has an outstanding arrest warrant for a crime not covered by cite-and-release or they dont have proper identification.

FAQ: What to know about cite-and-release, a key - and controversial - part of Prop A

Aldrete said he worries that the charter amendment would foster more crime and discourage businesses from staying in San Antonio or expanding here. He pointed to Walgreens decision to close five retail stores in San Francisco because of concerns about crime and Walmarts recent closure of its remaining Portland stores as examples of what could happen if Proposition A passes in May.

Ananda Tomas, executive director of police reform group Act 4 SA, the main organizer of the petition drive to get the charter package on the ballot, rejects the argument that expanding cite-and-release would spur lawlessness.

This isnt 'get off scot-free,' Tomas said. You still have to show up to court. You still have to complete all of the requirements for the diversion program and not get any other charges while youre in it to be able to be given your second chance. There are all of these accountability processes and procedures that have been carefully thought about with this program and this policy.

Proposition A, as the Justice Charter will appear on the May ballot, also would amend the city charter to decriminalize low-level marijuana possession and abortion-related crimes and ban police from using chokeholds and no-knock warrants  provisions that have riled anti-abortion groups and the police union.

And it would create a city justice director position, the only provision that City Attorney Andy Segovia said San Antonio would enforce.

Aldrete said business leaders are balking, too, at the requirement that the City Council-appointed justice director have no prior law enforcement experience.

Theyre going to be making recommendations on staffing levels, on ammunitions that they (police) use, on budget allocations, Aldrete said. What do we need a justice director for? Thats what Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez does, and shes got a very good relationship with the police and shes got a very good relationship with the City Council, and she makes recommendations.

READ MORE: Frustrated with government: Why citizen-driven propositions are on the rise in San Antonio

Aldrete is hosting Tuesdays fundraiser with the PACs co-chair, April Ancira, vice president of Ancira Auto Group.

Members of the host committee include Marina Gonzales, president and CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; the chambers current chairman, J.R. Trevino; and past chair John Agather. Dave Petersen, interim president and CEO of the San Antonio chamber, and local businesswoman and former Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade are also on the host committee.

Aldrete wouldnt say how much the PAC hopes to raise at Tuesdays event.

What I can tell you is how angry and passionate people are about this issue, and I can tell you that everyone who hears about it, once they learn more, theyre more likely to oppose it, he said.

The amount raised wont be publicly known until closer to the election. Campaign finance reports due April 6 cover only contributions and expenditures made from Jan. 1 through March 27.

San Antonio Safe PAC filed its campaign treasurer appointment with the city clerk March 20  three days after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the proposition would remain on the May 6 ballot. The filing allows the PAC to start raising money.

Adam Blanchard, a trucking executive who unsuccessfully ran in Texas House District 122 on the North Side in the 2022 Republican primary, is the PACs treasurer.
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D-Day survivor Fred Chapal liked to tell folks that he had to keep busy, and that's why he drove to work  yes, work  well into his 90s and spent lunchtime working out at the gym.

Those habits went back a long way, even before D-Day or the later Battle of the Bulge, where Chapal fired mortars at German positions just a mile or two away.

My problem is I want to be active, I want to do something, he said in a 2015 interview. I cant sit around.

Chapal, of San Antonio, died Tuesday at age 99.

Those who had come to know him at monthly veterans breakfasts expressed sadness at the loss of a man they both respected and loved.

"If you were there on D-Day, youre incredibly special in my book," said Russell Minor, a semi-retired pharmacist and an organizer of veterans gatherings in the San Antonio area. "He hit Utah Beach on the third wave at D-Day and then fought his way all the way across Europe."

Chapal's death leaves just one D-Day survivor among the 30 or so veterans who attend San Antonio-area breakfasts. He is Wallace Johnson, 98, of New Braunfels.

On D-Day  June 6, 1944  both Chapal and Johnson were among Allied forces that landed at Utah Beach in Normandy and drove deep into Germany as the Allies closed the final chapter of World War II in Europe.

The later Battle of the Bulge was an epic, five-week conflict that involved 1.1 million combatants, including 600,000 Americans and 55,000 British.

The Germans launched a counter-offensive during a bitter winter storm on Dec. 16, 1944, leading to one of the Allies' most desperate moments. The Nazis bent British and American forces into an 80-mile, U-shaped bulge stretching from Monschau, Germany, to Echternach, Luxembourg. That's where the battle got its name.

Chapal, who was drafted into the Army in 1943, was dug in at a snow-covered graveyard near Birgel, outside the German city of Bonn, when the battle began. His Company C had set up mortar positions, but they refrained from firing high-explosive rounds for fear of damaging the cemetery.

You could be killed instantly in a minute, in a second, and youre seeing three or four dead bodies, Germans, whatever, around you. Youre just damned lucky you were still there," he recalled. I tried not to think about it, but thats impossible.

The Germans, 28 divisions strong, massed heavy tanks, paratroopers, SS troops and their elite Fuhrer Grenadier Brigade in hopes of forcing a negotiated settlement, but 45 American divisions entered the fray, and the embattled 101st Airborne  encircled in Bastogne, Belgium  held the line.

Six American divisions bore the weight of the offensive. Germans wearing U.S. uniforms infiltrated the Allied lines, cutting communications and sowing confusion. The Germans pushed retreating Allied forces back to points where their lines nearly broke.

Frozen bodies of Americans and Germans were everywhere in the Ardennes region, supplies ran low and Nazi tanks, and artillery shadowed GIs wherever they went.

It was beyond your control, thats the way I looked at it, Chapal said. There was no way I could get out of that. Youre there. Youre stuck."

In winning the battle, the Allies set the stage for Germany's surrender, but there was a price  19,000 American dead, 47,500 wounded and 23,000 captured or missing. At least 17,000 suffered cold-weather injuries.

Back home, Chapal earned a business degree from St. Marys University and spent 17 years as an investment firm branch manager. Even though he was 60 when he left that position, he wasn't done working.

In 1983, Chapal landed a job at Fort Sam Houston as a supply technician, a job he held until retiring 33 years later at 93.

He was the third veteran participant in the monthly breakfast gatherings who died this month. One of the others, Bob Warren, 102, of Shavano Park, was a pilot who flew missions in C-47 transports during the Battle of the Bulge.

Liz Montalvo, an organizer of the breakfasts, always sat next to Chapal at the monthly gatherings.

"I was especially fond of Fred," she said. "He was in the same unit as my Uncle Charlie, and he remembered him. My uncle died in '63 and they both had the same outgoing personalities and always a huge smile. We always sat next to each other, and he would tell me that I was his favorite at the breakfasts. We just had this instant connection."

Chapal often noted with pride that he was a direct descendant of the Macedonio Vela family, which in 1867 purchased and founded the 80,000-acre Laguna Seca Ranch near Edinburg.

A gymnast in his youth, Chapal continued working out well into old age. At 87, he performed a handstand.

"I remember the day at breakfast that his daughter was telling me how her dad used those gymnastics moves to impress the ladies when he was in his teens and twenties," Minor, 68, of Boerne wrote in a bulletin announcing Chapal's death.

Chapal would have turned 100 on June 17. Montalvo was already making plans for his 100th birthday breakfast.
Texas' population has now crossed more than 30 million, according to new population estimates released Thursday by the Census Bureau.

From 2000 to 2022, the state gained nearly 9.1 million residents, a 43 percent increase in population. Texas grew by almost a half million people last year alone.

The state's official population count now stands at 30,029,572, based on 2022 population estimates. Only California has a larger population, at just more than 39 million residents.

Texas' trajectory makes it the fourth-fastest-growing state in the nation, the Census Bureau said. Only Nevada, Utah and Idaho grew at faster paces, according to the agency's report.

CENSUS: Many Hispanics didn't designate a single race in their responses to the Census Bureau

The population estimates will help determine where new homes, hospitals, schools, grocery stores and other new infrastructure are built, the bureau noted. The numbers also will influence where federal and state government dollars are sent to build roads, public works projects and other ventures.

"Our population is growing," said Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter, a professor of demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. "That has implications for infrastructure. You need more housing, you need more roads, you need more water, you need more electricity."

William Luther/Staff

About half of Texas' 9.1 million jump in population since 2000 resulted from births outnumbering deaths, according to a Census Bureau analysis. Nearly a third of the growth  29 percent  resulted from people moving to Texas from other states, while 22 percent of the growth was attributed to people moving to Texas from outside the United States.

Bexar County was third among Texas counties in numeric growth since 2000, behind Harris and Tarrant counties. From 2000 to 2022, Bexar County gained 660,696 residents, while Harris County grew by almost 1.4 million residents and Tarrant County grew by nearly 700,000.

Half of the nation's 10 fastest-growing counties last year were in Texas: Kaufman, Rockwall, Parker, Comal and Chambers counties, according to the new census numbers. Comal County, which is adjacent to Bexar County and home to New Braunfels, had a growth rate of 5.6 percent between 2021 and 2022.

DATA: What's the most Texas county in Texas?

"The estimates released today indicate that we've kind of rebounded" from the COVID-19 pandemic, Potter said, particularly with the number of people moving here from other counties or states.

International migrant flows also have returned to levels seen before the pandemic, he said.

"So that's a big factor for Texas, especially for our urban core cities," Potter said. "The population dynamics are beginning to return to what they looked like pre-pandemic."

Harris County, which is home to Houston, ranked second nationally for net international migration, which is the number of people moving there from outside the U.S. That number more than doubled from 2021 to 2022, reaching 37,268, compared with 13,919 between 2020 and 2021.

Only Miami-Dade County in Florida had higher numbers of net international migration, reaching 39,170 between 2021 and 2022.

Bexar County's total population last year rose to an estimated 2,059,530, a 2.5 percent increase since 2020. That's up from a total population of 2,030,895 in 2021 and a population estimates base of 2,009,322 on April 1, 2020.

Despite the COVID pandemic, births outnumbered deaths in Bexar County in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020, Bexar County births outnumbered deaths by 2,456. That number reached 6,216 for a 12-month period ending in 2021 and 7,957 for a 12-month period ending in 2022, census numbers show.

From April 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022, Bexar County recorded an influx of 7,171 new residents who moved here from outside the U.S., population estimates show.

Bexar County gained 24,816 new residents who moved here from elsewhere in Texas or another state during that same period.

Texas as a whole recorded an influx of 164,062 migrants from other countries from April 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022, census numbers show. During that time, the Lone Star State also drew 475,252 new residents from other U.S. states.

In contrast, California lost more than a half-million residents between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2022. Los Angeles County alone lost nearly 293,000 residents during that time. Census officials attributed much of that decline to domestic migration, meaning residents moving elsewhere within the U.S.
UVALDE  When I learned there had been another deadly school shooting Monday morning, I was sitting in the Uvalde County Courthouse, reporting ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Robb Elementary massacre, in which 19 elementary children and their two teachers were murdered in May.

We all knew school shootings would continue after the May 24 tragedy, but reading about Nashville from Uvalde was a gut punch. Being in this space, where the profound burden of school shootings looms heavy, brought Nashville very close.

As the news broke, I wondered how many victims there would be. How many tiny caskets? How many educators and staff? Would there be heroes who sacrificed their lives to try to save them? And would those heroes be educators and staff or would some wear law enforcement uniforms?

I wondered about the shooter and the motive. I thought of all the ways the response and devastating aftermath of a school shooting were unfolding in Nashville. Identifying the dead. Informing the families. The swarm of media. The funerals, questions and mourning.

These funerals in Nashville will take place against the backdrop of a nation reeling from relentless gun violence at a time when many GOP elected leaders espouse a love for assault-style weapons while ignoring their duty to address gun violence and ensure the safety of students and teachers.

On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: After Nashville shooting, listen to grieving mothers

In Uvalde, I didnt have to wonder how families of the 21 victims and the injured felt about the Nashville shooting because so many quickly shared via social media. They are re-traumatized and exhausted.

Ana Coronado, whose 10-year-old daughter Maite Rodriguezs body was identified by her green Converse with a handdrawn heart, posted to Facebook: Another school shooting, another life, another grieving parent, another assault rifle! All common denominators! 

The Nashville shooter legally purchased seven guns from five gun stores, and then used three guns, including two assault-type weapons, in the attack.

As news and video footage surfaced, many understandably compared the swift, effective law enforcement response in Nashville to the failed response in Uvalde.

Lives Robbed, an organization of Uvalde families that pushes for gun policy reform, released a statement saying they are worried this nation has grown numb to the news of school shootings and they worry about when the next school shooting is going to happen.

And what did U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, do? Hours after the Nashville shooting, he tweeted his thoughts and prayers for the victims, which he tried to justify Thursday in the Capitol, even falsely blaming Democrats for inaction.

This rhetoric is common in the GOP.

In his comments after the shooting, Tennessee state Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican, seemed intent on accepting school shootings as part of American life. He told a reporter: Three precious little kids lost their lives and three adults and the shooter of course, lost their lives too. Its a horrible, horrible situation. Were not going to fix it. 

When asked what should be done to protect people like his little girl, his answer was: Well, we homeschool her. 

On full display, again, is this quintessential American cycle of school shootings, an overabundance of empty thoughts-and-prayers-condolences and a nauseating dearth of accountability and policy change.

When will leaders move beyond empty platitudes, as United States Senate Chaplain Barry Black prayed Tuesday?

Lord, when babies die at a church school, it is time for us to move beyond thoughts and prayers, he urged.

If thoughts and prayers were sufficient, firearms wouldnt be the top killer of children and teens in America. Every person murdered in a mass shooting, 131 as of Thursday, should still be here today.

The horrific school shootings  Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn.; Robb Elementary, Santa Fe High School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.  could have been prevented.

Because America surrenders to unfettered access to assault style weapons, school shootings happen. Thoughts and prayers dont stop bullets in schools.

Nancy.Preyor-Johnson@express-news.net
In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant was arrested by a police officer for speeding in his horse-drawn coach in Washington. The officer stuck out his hand to signal a stop, and Grant obeyed and then accompanied the officer to the police station.

Did that demean the presidency?

No, Id say it was a beautiful tribute to democracy. What was unthinkable for the French Sun King, Louis XIV Letat, cest moi (I am the state)  is appropriate in a system of equality before the law.

The New York Times has reported a grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump for hush-money payments to a porn star but that the indictment, for now, is under seal. There are legitimate questions about this particular prosecution, and while we dont know details of the charges, after educated guesses, we wonder:

Should the first indictment of an ex-president be under a novel legal theory that could be rejected by a judge or a jury? What do we make of the doubts about this case even among those who have zero sympathy for Trump? Does District Attorney Alvin Bragg know what hes doing?

None of us can be sure of the answers to these questions until weve seen the evidence presented at trial, and I worry that a failed prosecution might strengthen Trump. Yet Id also worry  even more  about the message of impunity that would be sent if prosecutors averted their eyes because the suspect was a former president.

The former presidents fixer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison for doing Trumps bidding, and a fundamental principle of justice is that if an agent is punished, then the principal should be as well. That is not always feasible, and it may be difficult to replicate what a federal prosecution achieved in Cohens case. But the aim should be justice, and this indictment honors that aim.

Thats particularly true because this is clearly a higher-stakes crime than a typical case of falsifying business records; the aim apparently was to affect the outcome of a presidential election, and that may have happened.

When Trump is arrested, he reportedly will be fingerprinted, photographed and possibly handcuffed. The question arises: Is it degrading for a democracy to prosecute a former leader?

The democracy that is most expert at arresting former leaders is South Korea, which has gone after five former presidents and which I have covered on and off since I was the Times bureau chief in Hong Kong in the 1980s.

One former president was sentenced to death in 1996 for his role in a massacre during the military dictatorship. His successor was sentenced to 17 years in prison for similar offenses.

Another former president killed himself in 2009 while under investigation in a corruption scandal. That presidents successor was sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison for corruption. And the next president, in office from 2013 to 2017, was sentenced to a total of 25 years in prison for crimes including bribery and abuse of power.

There were times when I thought this parade of prosecutions was a sign of political immaturity. Yet maybe I got it backward. Yes, South Korea in the 1990s was an immature democracy with a penchant for corruption  but those prosecutions helped make South Korean democracy more robust.

It is not easy for Koreans to prosecute our former presidents, said Jie-ae Sohn, a communications professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. It is a painful process and one that we are not happy to show the rest of the world. Nevertheless, this process has made it crystal clear that the rule of law applies to everyone.

This process may be ugly, Sohn added, but we believe this strengthens our democracy and allows it to be more resilient.

There is a counterargument that this is Americas moment for prosecutorial discretion to allow the country to recover and move on. As a teenager, I was outraged when President Gerald Ford preemptively pardoned former President Richard Nixon, yet over time I came to think that it was the right call and allowed the country to heal. Yet one difference is obvious: Nixon in 1974 was already completely discredited, ostracized and broken, while Trump denies any wrongdoing and is running again for the White House.

South Korea perhaps offers a model for promoting both the rule of law and healing. While former presidents there received tough sentences, they were all pardoned and released within one to four years.

Its difficult at this stage for me to assess the strength of the Manhattan district attorneys indictment against Trump, but I find inspiration in the words of William H. West, the police officer who arrested Grant for speeding. According to an account he gave many years later, reported in The Washington Post, he told Grant, I am very sorry, Mr. President, to have to do it, for you are the chief of the nation, and I am nothing but a policeman, but duty is duty, sir, and I will have to place you under arrest.

Thats the majesty and dignity of our legal system at its best. And if a police officer in 1872 could hold out his hand and force the presidents speeding carriage to a stop, then we, too, should do what we can to uphold the magnificent principle of equality before the law.
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Families of those killed while serving their state or nation deserve compensation.

Active-duty military as well as reservists and guardsmen on federal orders carry the knowledge that if they die their families will receive a death gratuity of $100,000, up to $500,000 in government life insurance and other benefits.

Similarly, many Texas state employees, such as first responders, are entitled to a $500,000 death benefit. The gesture is the least a government can do to support families of people who put themselves in harms way.

But this isnt the case for troops deployed on state orders. Soldiers like Spc. Bishop Evans, who drowned last year while deployed on Operation Lone Star.

Evans, a 22-year-old from Arlington, jumped into the Rio Grande on April 22 while trying to rescue migrants crossing into Eagle Pass. The young father did not have a personal flotation device and drowned. Hes among at least 10 Texas Guard members who have died by accident, natural causes or suicide while part of Operation Lone Star since its rapid expansion in September 2021.

According to current law, none of these families is eligible for the states death benefit.

The deaths associated with Gov. Greg Abbotts border security operation, most notably Evans, have laid bare the disparity in the law that denies the benefit to Texas National Guard troops mobilized on state orders. So, the families of Department of Public Safety troopers deployed to Operation Lone Star would be covered, but guard families would receive nothing if their loved one perished while deployed to the border.

On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: An open letter to Operation Lone Star troops

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers has united in support of House Bill 90, the Bishop Evans Act, that will provide death benefits for guardsmen who die on state active-duty missions such as Operation Lone Star.

The bill also expands coverage of post-traumatic stress disorder and expedites medical benefits for Texas military forces for injuries incurred during service.

The bill recently passed committee without amendments and lawmakers must keep the momentum going while also making a few key adjustments.

For example, the bill is not retroactive. This means the family of Evans, the bills namesake, wont receive money, nor will families of the other Texas Guard people whove died while serving the state.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio guardsman dies while on border mission Operation Lone Star

This has to change. Retroactivity is a small price to pay given Evans sacrifice, the $4 billion cost of Operation Lone Star, $33 billion surplus and even the $3.3 million in taxpayer money indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton has sought to settle a civil legal claim.

As written, the bill is expected to cost the state $4.8 million through fiscal 2025.

Operation Lone Star received much scrutiny early on with its unclear mission, murky guidance, inadequate training, shoddy equipping, pay problems, bad living conditions, inadequate COVID protocols, low morale and five possible suicides associated with the endeavor.

The missions long list of problems triggered a federal civil rights probe by the Justice Department and investigation by U.S. Northern Command. NORTHCOM officials completed that investigation in September, but the reports release is still pending Department of Defense review.

These problems, coupled with immigration being a federal responsibility, are why we have opposed Operation Lone Star. But we also recognize it is here for the foreseeable future and at tremendous expense. These death benefits must be addressed.

On ExpressNews.com: A snapshot of Operation Lone Star in Del Rio is murky

Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, best known for targeting books and libraries, introduced the bill in November along with four co-authors and more than 50 co-sponsors. House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, named the subject a legislative priority.

At its height, roughly 10,000 Texas Guard members were activated for Operation Lone Star missions statewide.

Currently, about 4,000 troops are deployed for the mission. In February, Operation Lone Star was in the news for responding to a surge of migrants in El Paso.

Critics of the border operation have questioned its steep cost and effectiveness while also raising concerns about violating civil liberties, but Abbott has said Operation Lone Star has produced 340,000 migrant apprehensions, 23,000 arrests and the seizure of 355 million doses of fentanyl.

On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: There is no fixing or spinning Operation Lone Star, so end it

We share those questions and concerns. But as long as the state is deploying troops to the border at immense personal strain and risk, their families should be assured of a death benefit; and that benefit should be retroactive.

Passing the Bishop Evans Act is the right thing to do, and it cant come soon enough. Texas owes such peace of mind to all who volunteer to serve.
When will the number of deaths of innocents, both children and adults, be enough?

We, the American public, are the leaders. We cannot expect our members of Congress to lead on the issue of gun violence and reform.

How can we lead?

Through writing to our elected officials about reducing gun violence and, of course, with our votes.

Write to your congressman/woman, and our governor. Or call. Thats faster.

We can make a difference. This is a public health issue just as seat belts in cars have substantially reduced the deaths from car accidents. Enforced gun laws can reduce the deaths of innocents.

When is enough enough?

Rebecca Baker

Leaders lack courage

Once again, the nation has witnessed another mass shooting, this time at a school in Nashville.

The Legislature in Tennessee has already approved that guns can be carried openly or concealed. But wait, they want to lower the age from 21 to 18!

All legislators should be required to attend the funerals of these individuals killed by guns.

It is only going to get worse until Congress finds courage to deal with guns.

Rev. James E. Schellenberg

Sharing the roadway

Its that time again; when bike riders take to the road, enjoying the beautiful Hill Country. Hordes of cyclists traverse the narrow county roads, presenting a danger and a challenge to drivers and cyclists.

Speed differential, or variance, is a leading cause of vehicle accidents.

Extra caution, along with patience and the presence of mind to fight the urge to roll down the window and say what surely must be on most drivers minds, is required to ensure that such encounters allow the free flow of traffic.

We must share the road, albeit grudgingly.

David Saenz
The claim: We would be 31st in the nation to have these policies going forward on behalf of kids, and they just havent seen the rural use of these ESAs in other states.  State Sen. Brandon Creighton.

Creighton, a Conroe Republican, was referring to the education savings accounts called for in legislation he authored that would give parents $8,000 for each child they take out of public school districts  money that could be used for private school tuition, tutoring or home-schooling expenses.

Politifact Ruling: Half true. According to the dashboard the Creighton cited as his source, only 11 states offer education savings accounts. But there are currently 32 states that have some form of school choice program, such as tax-credit scholarships, vouchers or education savings accounts.

Discussion

ABOUT POLITIFACT PolitiFact is a fact-checking project to help you sort out fact from fiction in politics. Truth-O-Meter ratings are determined by a panel of three editors. The burden of proof is on the speaker, and PolitiFact rates statements based on the information known at the time the statement is made. See More Collapse

Creighton's bill faces challenges in the Capitol as rural Republicans and Democrats have worked together in opposition.

In trying to bolster the argument to expand school choice in Texas  an effort Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Dan Patrick vehemently support  Creighton suggested in a TV interview last week that more than half of states already have passed education savings accounts.

Creighton was asked why his bill treats smaller school districts and larger school districts differently. Creighton said hes trying to be mindful of rural lawmakers because Democratic lawmakers and rural Republicans have not supported school choice programs in the past.

Were doing our best, as rural members often acknowledge, that in other states we havent really seen rural students use these ESAs, Creighton said on WFAA-TV on March 19. Continuing, he said, We wouldnt be the first, second or third in this regard. We would be 31st in the nation to have these policies going forward on behalf of kids, and they just havent seen the rural use of these ESAs in other states.

In the interview, viewers get the impression Creighton is saying Texas would be the 31st state to have education savings accounts. However, a spokesperson for Creighton said he was referring to the number of states with school choice programs.

"The program in SB 8 is specifically an education savings account, not a voucher or tax credit  however, they are all school choice programs," spokesperson Erin Wilson said.

Education savings accounts, or ESAs, fall under the umbrella of school choice programs across the country, along with vouchers and tax-credit scholarships. They fall in line with a growing wave of legislative efforts touting parental choice largely pushed by conservatives since the COVID-19 pandemic.

A simple way to think about the difference between education savings accounts, tax-credit scholarships and vouchers is that all are generally aimed at using public funds  taxpayer money  to pay for private schools. Some states allow ESAs to be used for home-schooling or other education-related expenses.

Tax-credit scholarships allow taxpayers, businesses or individuals to dedicate part of their taxes toward public and private school scholarships. Vouchers are state-funded scholarships that help pay for students to attend private schools. Education savings accounts establish savings accounts from taxpayer money and allow families to use the funds to pay for educational expenses  sometimes with a prepaid debit card.

Theyre all strategies for lowering the cost of attending private school, said professor Lori Taylor, head of the Public Service and Administration Department at Texas A&M University. And the primary beneficiaries of all those initiatives are going to be parents who are going to send their kids to private school anyway.

Creightons office provided a dashboard from EdChoice, an Indianapolis-based organization that advocates for vouchers and also tracks legislation. EdChoice was founded by Milton and Rose Friedman, conservative-leaning economists, with Milton Friedman championing free-market theory.

The dashboard is titled School Choice in America Dashboard. It includes several programs passed by 30 states as well as a section on efforts that have yet to be launched.

A separate EdChoice tracker monitoring education savings accounts shows 11 states have adopted them.

The National Conference of State Legislatures also tracks school choice bills nationwide, and their count has 11 states with education saving accounts. Currently 32 states, as well as Washington, D.C., have some type of school choice programs.

Emily Ronco, who keeps tabs on education policy for the organization, said 31 states are considering legislation related to ESAs  up from 14 last year.

I think the senator was talking about the number of states that have (school) choice versus the number of ESA programs that there are, said Robert Enlow, president and chief executive of EdChoice.

School choice is a complicated topic. Creighton acknowledged this early in his interview with WFAA when he walked through the definition of vouchers versus education savings accounts, saying, I always think the reference and nomenclature is interesting.
COLUMBUS  High school senior Emily McVay is invested in her future as an oncology student. She understands the extensive path ahead of her, including four years of college, four years of medical school and four to six years of medical residency.

For the time being, she finds herself in the Manatee Coast area of the Columbus Zoo, where she and fellow high school senior, Gwenen Hupp, are discussing Lucy, the endangered pitted-shelled turtle.

The two students are interning with the zoo through a Career and Technical Education, or CTE, program partnership with the Delaware Area Career Center, which allows them to work with and care for marine animals.

Their daily routine consists of food prep and feeding the animals, and on this particular day, they are watching needlefish in quarantine.

Theyre really small so they are in a holding tank, and we feed those in the morning, McVay said.

They make sure the animals are eating and watch to see if theyre distressed, Hupp said. She added that they recently observed a manatee biting another manatees flipper, which they learned was a comfort behavior.

The students favorite mammal is Stubby, a 1-ton female manatee.

Stubby serves as a mentor for new baby manatees before they are released into the wild, Hupp said, adding that Lucy the turtle likes to stay in a corner of the large aquarium and watch people as they go by.

Alternative education

The CTE program at the Columbus Zoo is just one of many across Ohio offering students an alternative path to starting their careers. Once known as basic vocational classes, these programs have transitioned into something more.

Margaret Hess, executive director of the Ohio Association of Career Technical Superintendents, told Farm and Dairy that Ohio has some of the strongest CTE systems in the U.S.

It began in February of 2014, when then Ohio Gov. John Kasich gave his State of the State address.

How did we ever lose our way on vocational education? he asked. Why did we put it down? Why did we not understand its value?

At the time, the Buckeye state had a fairly large skills gap where there were more technical job openings than there qualified applicants. Kasich signed House Bill 487 into law, which required schools to provide CTE courses in seventh and eighth grades.

At that time, Ohio became one of the only states to require the availability of CTE courses to middle school students. Kasich also endorsed and implemented a drug testing policy for CTE programs.

Gov. Mike DeWine has prioritized legislation for improving CTE since he took office in 2019. His 2019 budget included several policies intended to give high schoolers a head start. In his second term, DeWine has increased allocations for CTE. Budget recommendations for 2024 and 2025 are at $102 million and $106 million respectively.

That focus seems to be working

As education is transitioning out of old vocational schools into advanced career-focused programs, options for students are increasing, waiting lists are common and the competitive nature of the programs are surging.

According to Jay Poroda, superintendent of the Delaware Area Career Center, in Delaware, Ohio, the workforce demand has changed, and parents dont necessarily think their children have to go to college.

Parents just want their children to have meaningful careers, and they know not everyone is cut out for college, he told Farm and Dairy.

There are opportunities for young people as older generations retire, Porda said. Either they can join the work force quickly or spend some time attending a two- or four-year college for additional education.

The opportunity is there, he said. Thats pretty exciting.

Vocational schools were once known for the trades but as technical skills change, the CTE programs are becoming more rigorous, while the trades are becoming more popular.

Ohio is leading the CTE trend by making substantial efforts in developing a technically sound workforce, Hess said.

There are 89 career technical planning districts and 49 of those are career centers, Hess said.

Possibilities

Over the last few years career training programs have reinforced academic skills and are incorporating more rigorous courses where students can experiment with computer technology, graphic design, construction, mechanical engineering and bioscience.

At the Delaware career center, for example, the dental assisting program allows students to become dentists, dental hygienists or dental assistants, depending on their aspirations  while students in the bioscience program can become optometrists, biomedical engineers or scientists.

One study by the U.S. Department of Education, completed in 2012, examined career and technical education.

The new CTE is responsive to the demands of the innovation economy and grounded in the belief that the skills and abilities students need to succeed in college and careers are virtually identical, the study said.

The Wayne County Career Center, in Smithville, Ohio, offers 25 CTE programs. Students in the culinary arts work in the school restaurant located on school grounds. They serve, prepare and cook food for not only the restaurant, they also participate in the catering business side of the program.

I really wouldnt mind running a business for myself, said Carson Smith, who is a senior. Im really a people person so I like to be in the front of the house.

Another senior Hannah Sattelmaier wants something a little different.

I would like to write cookbooks and study the science behind baking and pastries, she said. Someday, Id like to run my own bakery and cafe and have a tea room.

The Wayne County culinary program also attracts students from outside of the school district. Culinary arts instructor Peter Kerling was an executive chef in several high end Cleveland restaurants and has high standards for the program.

My goal is to get as many accolades for the students and the program as I can. I train my students in classic French preparation so that if they go to culinary school or work in industry, they can be recognized as classically trained, he said.

The agricultural program at Wayne County Career Center offers full certification in artificial insemination and the students work with ABS Global, a Wisconsin-based company that handles bovine genetics, reproduction and other technologies. It has an international reach.

The students learn about everything from hormones to the reproductive tract and the certification gives them a head start, said instructor Alex DeWitt.

One out of every two Ohio CTE students are in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, programs. The Wayne agricultural program is one of them.

Zoo program

Admission into the zoo program is competitive.

According to instructor Emily Cunningham, the students are not only interested in animals; they may be interested in conservation, the environment or wildlife biology.

Admission to the program is by lottery and students take a biology test and write an essay in order to qualify. Roughly 50% of applicants get in and the students are entrusted to be out and about doing their work, Cunningham said.

McVay likes the program because she is learning how to research. Hupps future plans include attending the University of Tampa where she will double major in marine science and biology. She wants to do coral restoration in the Florida Keys, eventually.

The Portage Lakes Career Center hopes to duplicate the success of the program with the Delaware career center and Columbus Zoo. It is in discussion with the Akron Zoo to start the same type of program.

According to Hess, STEM is a critical subject area for Ohios workforce which has economic growth dependent upon innovation. This includes STEM-related subjects such as health science, agriculture, food, and natural resources. The most popular career interests are audio-visual technology and communication. This bears out at DACC where the biggest program is the digital media program.

Poroda highlights a significant advantage of CTE programs: they offer students a variety of alternative learning options beyond the traditional classroom setting. To further enhance these opportunities, the Delaware career center is launching a pilot program that provides flexible learning options.

Under this program, students will spend their days gaining on-the-job training, participating in mentorships, apprenticeships, internships (both paid and unpaid), practicums, job shadowing, co-op opportunities, clinical experiences and community service, while academics are offered after school.

This is innovative. It changes the entire high school experience, he said.
The UK has signed a trade agreement with 11 Asian and Pacific nations, with the deal offering better protection for British farmers than previous ones.

Joining the group will boost UK exports by slashing tariffs on goods, but the government's own estimates show that the deal will only add 0.08% to the UK economy.

The CPTPP is a free trade agreement between 11 countries around the Pacific Rim - Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan.

Responding to the trade agreement, NFU President Minette Batters said joining the CPTPP could 'provide some good opportunities' to get more British food on plates overseas.

Compared to the deals struck with Australia and New Zealand, she said the government had negotiated 'a far more considered and balanced outcome'.

"I will continue to press government to ensure its domestic policies are aimed at improving the competitiveness of British farming and strengthening our domestic food security," Mrs Batters said.

Progress by the farming industry progress was made with the establishment of the Trade and Agriculture Commission, but alongside this a set of core standards for food imports were called for.

The government still has not acted on this, which is a concern shared by bodies across the farming, animal welfare and environmental sectors.

Mrs Batters said it was 'an absolute red line' for food produced to lower standards to be imported into the UK.

"For instance, the use of hormones in beef and pork production and chemical washes for carcases  should not be allowed on our market," she said.

Australia and New Zealand have already been granted unlimited access, phased in over time, to the UKs prized agri-food market for a range of products.

Now the CPTPP countries, including major agricultural exporters such as Canada, Mexico and Chile, will also be able to access that further under preferential terms of trade.

For the UK, joining the CPTPP could offer opportunities to grow dairy exports to the Americas, poultry to Vietnam, and sheep meat to Malaysia.

Mark Tufnell, president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), said the "devil will be in the detail" with the new trade deal.

"These countries will want to buy British produce, and they will now find it easier to do so," Mr Tufnell said.

"As always with such negotiations, the question is what the UK has to give away to secure such opportunities.
Farmers have been warned they risk heavy financial losses if temporary employees taken on during the busy lambing season are inadequately insured.

Apart from the trauma for all concerned, claims for accidents  even non-fatal incidents  can cost thousands of pounds, Lycetts says.

The rural insurance broker has also emphasised the need to insure new additions to flocks, with livestock rustling incidents having risen during the cost-of-living crisis.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that 25 people were killed in the agriculture sector in 2021/221.

The highest cause of fatalities involved people being struck by farm vehicles such as quad bikes  often used during lambing season.

Rupert Wailes-Fairbairn, of Lycetts, said having the correct insurance in place was therefore "vital to safeguarding livelihoods" during the lambing season.

This is one of the busiest periods of the farming year and extra staff are often employed to help manage the increased workload," he explained.

The demands of lambing may dominate farmers minds, and time, but they can ill-afford to forget the importance of Employers Liability insurance.

"Farming, after all, can be one of the most dangerous of occupations.

Farmers should not assume that having a farm insurance policy offers adequate protection  Employers Liability insurance is not automatically included, Mr Wailes-Fairbairn said.

He also said that farmers should remember that part-time, casual, seasonal, temporary and voluntary workers all constitute employees.

To help prevent incidents that lead to claims, he advises temporary workers to be given a thorough induction and comprehensive training, while all health and safety procedures should be carefully observed.

Toolbox talks are a useful additional resource that can be used, he said, adding: It is also important to check that new lambs are included in your farm insurance policy.

"Not all policies will cover this, and with flock sizes often doubling during lambing, and livestock theft on the rise, underinsurance could cost you dear.

"Progeny should be insured under the loss of revenue section of the policy, which provides wider cover than purely insuring under the livestock section.
Defra has pledged to develop a new harmonised approach for measuring on-farm emissions, in a bid to open up more opportunities for farmers in the carbon market.

The government has responded to calls from the farming sector for more support to open up the multi-billion pound carbon market.

It has pledged to develop a harmonised methodology and has set out by 2024 how farmers will be supported to measure their emissions.

It follows a call for evidence on the role of monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions on farms.

Whilst there are already numerous tools on the market for farmers to assess their emissions, inconsistency in the results has led to low confidence from industry and low uptake.

The government's new Nature Markets Framework aims to support nature markets to grow in a way that makes them fair, effective and accessible to farmers.

Alongside this, the Green Finance Institute will develop an online toolkit to help farmers identify and access private payments for environmental benefits.

The government said it was also looking at how farmers could be given better advice to access nature markets, such as by supporting them to access advice through the Landscape Recovery development phase.

This would help farmers to access the more than 1 billion per year that the government is seeking to raise in private finance for natures recovery by 2030, and build on the projects which are already in place.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said: "The measures will not only help them to calculate their carbon footprint, but also open up new financial opportunities, such as combining private commercial opportunities with our new farming schemes support.

"There is also an opportunity for farmers to access private sector funding for delivering positive outcomes for nature, which is why the government is also accelerating the growth of these nature markets through the Nature Markets Framework."

The measures will complement the existing support that the government has in place to help the agricultural sector reach net zero.

This includes support through Environmental Land Management schemes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from farms.
A first-of its kind competitive grant in Wales offering grants between 50,000 and 250,000 to support peatland restoration have launched.

The new competitive delivery grants, from a total funding pot of 500,000, are suitable for farmers and landowners with a plan ready to restore peatland.

Peatland is the most valuable land resource in Wales for carbon storage, given that it stores about 30% of the its soil-based carbon.

The new grant will see activity and equipment on site, putting into practice some of over 100 possible intervention techniques, to restore peatland to a healthy bog or fen habitat.

It follows two rounds of development grants offered in 2022-2023 to plan for shovel-ready peatland restoration.

The funds are part of a more extensive peatland restoration action funded by Welsh government to the value of over 2.5m over the next two years.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) chief executive Clare Pillman said: "Im pleased to see that landowners and farmers can now consider a new funded pathway to peatland restoration, through this new delivery grant.

"With 4% of peatland surface land cover in Wales, 90% is considered to be in a deteriorating condition and emitting greenhouse gases."

Wales' Minister for Climate Change Julie James encouraged landowners and farmers to apply for the new grant.

"When peatlands are in good health they are our greatest terrestrial carbon sink, they host an abundance of flora and wildlife, and they filtrate the water we drink.

"When left in disrepair they can accelerate climate change, become biodiversity deserts and lose their ability to protect us from floods."

The closing date for the delivery grant application window is 1 July.
A colossal hole 20 times larger than Earth has ripped through the sun.

A second coronal hole has ripped through the sun's surface

The giant coronal hole is the second to appear in the past week and will unleash 1.8 million mile-per-hour solar winds towards Earth, which are set to hit our planet on Friday (31.03.23).

Scientists are closely monitoring the situation to see if the winds will have an impact on Earth's magnetic field, satellites and technology.

The first hole was spotted on March 23 and was 30 times the size of Earth. It released solar winds that triggered auroras as far south as the US state of Arizona.

Both holes have been captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which studies the sun.

The space agency said: "Coronal holes are magnetically open areas that are one source of high-speed solar wind.

"They appear dark when viewed in many wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light. At times, the solar wind can generate aurora at higher latitudes on Earth."
Real-life dinosaurs looked nothing like the ones seen on 'Jurassic Park', according to experts.

Jurassic Park dinosaurs are inaccurate, according to experts

The image of the T-rex was popularised through the 1993 Steven Spielberg film - which depicts an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA - but a university professor has suggested that the prehistoric creatures were not as "ferocious" as they appear to be on screen.

Portsmouth Universitys Dr Mark Witton said: Lipless dinosaurs were deeply rooted in popular culture through films and documentaries like 'Jurassic Park' and 'Walking with Dinosaurs'. It reflected preferences for a ferocious-looking aesthetic rather than scientific thinking. It reflected preferences for a ferocious-looking aesthetic rather than scientific thinking. This means a lot of our favourite dinosaur depictions are incorrect, including the iconic Jurassic Park T-Rex."

Experts now believe that the real T-Rex looked more like the modern-day lizard having studied three-toed dinosaurs including Spinosaurus, Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex and compared their skulls to that of a crocodile.

Prof Kirstin Brink, from the University of Manitoba in Canada, said: Teeth not covered by lips risk drying out and can be subject to more damage during feeding or fighting. We see this in crocodiles, but not in dinosaurs.

Dr Thomas Cullen, from Alabamas Auburn University, added: The data suggests that all theropod dinosaurs had teeth completely covered by labial scales when the mouth was closed.
Vladimir Putin is feared to be on speed-style substances as he reportedly battles illnesses including cancer, dementia and schizophrenia amid his faltering bombardment of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin is feared to be on speed-style substances as he reportedly battles illnesses including cancer, dementia and schizophrenia amid his faltering bombardment of Ukraine

The Russian despot, 70, has been alleged to be on very strong stimulants to control symptoms such as memory loss, slurred speech and limp, twitching limbs, according to former spy professor Valery Solovey and online rumours regularly spread via Telegram.

Solovey, a former professor at Moscows prestigious Institute of International Relations  a training school for spies and diplomats  has long claimed Putin is seriously ill, and told leading Ukrainian TV reporter Dmitry Gordon during an interview the ex-KGB warlord had appeared very unwell two weeks ago at a meeting with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Referring to ultra-paranoid Putins use of body doubles to hide his supposed illnesses and confuse would-be assassins, Solovey said about signs of Putins rapidly declining condition: You should watch, if you see how the real Putin walks, youll notice that his legs became more like matches.

He lost a lot of weight  but you cant do that with the legs.

And his body double is distinguished by the angularity of his face.

That's related to (the doppelgangers) kidney problems."

Claiming Putin is on drugs to mask his symptoms, the former professor said:

When he makes public appearances (Putin) is high on speed as young people put it -very strong stimulants.

His eyes are shining, and the brain falls behind (his) tongue.

Solovey and Gordon watched footage in which Putin gripped the side of a table.

It is alleged Putins 24-hour medical team have used cotton padding around his body to hide his extreme weight loss.

Telegram channel General SVR  which said in December Putin had soiled himself after a fall down stairs at his sprawling official Moscow residence  said Putins latest medical examination had shown little improvement after supposed cancer therapy in early March.

General SVR emerged in 2020 and claimed to be headed by former and current members of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and other state agencies.

It added in one of its most recent posts: The doctors tried to soften the news about the lack of positive results (about his health) in a conversation with Putin, but they did not do very well.

The President realised that, apparently, there is no need to wait for improvements and was very upset by this.

The doctors explained that this was not yet a disaster, it was possible and necessary to fight, but Putins mood was already spoiled, he looked absolutely depressed.

The channel, which has also raised alarm Putin may launch nuclear attacks on the West as it says he has been using steroids, suffers insomnia and has schizophrenia, added the Russian president is due for another large examination in April to establish a new treatment strategy.
Vladimir Putin could resort to nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war as a final act of destruction.

Vladimir Putin could resort to nuclear weapons in a 'death cult' move

Russia expert Keir Giles fears that the president could perform a "death cult" manoeuvre unless the West warns him of the apocalyptic consequences that it would have on both him and the nation.

Putin and his Kremlin allies have engaged in nuclear threats to warn the West from providing military aid to Kyiv and Giles thinks that the tactics from Moscow have proved successful so far.

The expert thinks that the chances of Putin actually deploying the weapons are slim but cannot be totally ruled out.

In a report for the Chatham House foreign policy think tank, Giles said: "A nuclear strike could be ordered if there is no longer any possibility of claiming conventional victory and a powerful destructive attack on Ukraine is perceived as the only means of avoiding admission of a clear defeat.

"One or more nuclear strikes could form part of a scorched Earth response intended simply to cause misery and destruction in Ukraine in recognition of Russian failure to conquer it.

"The rationale being that if Russia can't have Ukraine, nobody can."

He continued: "This would mirror, on a vastly greater scale, the behaviour of individual Russian soldiers and units when presented with the reality of life in Ukraine, where rather than aspiring to it themselves, they seek to destroy it."
Vladimir Putin is looking to recruit 400,000 more troops to fight in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin is looking to recruit 400,000 more troops to fight in Ukraine

The despot wants more men on the battlefield as Russia has suffered heavy losses in the conflict, British defence chiefs have revealed.

Some of the new soldiers may have to be "coerced" into signing up for the army as Putin is unlikely to get enough volunteers.

The Kremlin's move comes as Ukraine is set to launch a counter-offensive following Russia's failure to make any significant gains during the Spring offensive.

In the latest intelligence update on Thursday (30.03.23), the Ministry of Defence said: "Russian media reporting suggests that the authorities are preparing to start a major military recruitment campaign with the aim of signing up an additional 400,000 troops.

"Russia is presenting the campaign as a drive for volunteer, professional personnel, rather than a new, mandatory mobilisation.

"There is a realistic possibility that in practice this distinction will be blurred, and that regional authorities will try to meet their allocated recruitment targets by coercing men to join up."

The briefing stressed that Putin will need more than just soldiers to rebuild Russia's military presence in Ukraine.

It said: "Russian authorities have likely selected a supposedly 'volunteer model' to meet their personnel shortfall in order to minimise domestic dissent. It is highly unlikely that the campaign will attract 400,000 genuine volunteers.

"However, rebuilding Russia's combat power in Ukraine will require more than just personnel; Russia needs more munitions and military equipment supplies than it currently has available."
Donald Trumps lawyer says the indicted former president wont be handcuffed when hes arrested on 30 charges  but could face fingerprinting and a mugshot.

Donald Trumps lawyer says the indicted former president wont be handcuffed when hes arrested on 30 charges  but could face fingerprinting and a mugshot

The 76-year-old former reality TV personalitys attorney Joe Tacopina confirmed the no-cuffs deal had been struck between Trumps legal team and prosecutors in Manhattan, where the ex-US commander-in-chief will surrender to authorities after a grand jury voted he should face criminal charges over a $130,000 hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential race.

Mr Tacopina, 56, told ABCs Good Morning America on Friday (31.03.23) about how Trump and his team had been rocked by becoming the first ex-US president in history to be indicted: I feel like the rule of law died yesterday in this country, and its not something Im happy about.

This is unprecedented in this countrys history. I dont know what to expect other than an arraignment.

Trump will be arraigned on Tuesday (04.04.23) afternoon at a Manhattan court, New York court officials have confirmed.

He faces around 30 counts of document fraud-related charges in the indictment, according to two sources, but the indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

Mr Tacopina added he thought the courthouse will close as Trump arrives, before he appears before a judge to plead not guilty.

His team is set to file motions against the indictment, arguing against the legal liability of this case.

Mr Tacopina added: Im sure theyll try to get every ounce of publicity from this thing.

Referring to the prosecution, he stressed: The president will not be put in handcuffs. Im sure theyll try to make sure they get some joy out of this by parading him.

He also said Trumps Secret Service protection and New York state and city police are not going to allow this to become a circus, at least as much as humanly possible.

Amid fears Trumps indictment could spark unrest, a memo seen by NBC stated New York police have been told to report for duty on Friday and be prepared for unusual disorder.

The explosive indictment of Trump on Thursday (30.03.23) will rock the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, in which he leads the majority of polls.

As the indictment was still under seal on Friday morning, it is unclear how many charges Trump faces for the payment made to adult star Stormy, 44, but reports say the dad-of-five is facing at least 30 counts of business fraud.

The indictment is the culmination of a years-long probe into hush money paid to adult movie star Stormy Daniels, 44, in 2016, allegedly to buy her silence about her apparent affair with Trump.

Stormy  born Stephanie Gregory Clifford  claims she had a fling with Trump in 2006.

He denies they had an affair and has called it a witch hunt, but has admitted directing his then lawyer Michael Cohen, 56, to pay Daniels $130,000 for her silence.

The adult star claimed Cohen used "intimidation and coercive tactics" to get her to sign on to the statement denying her affair with Trump.

Cohen told a federal court in Manhattan Trump directed him to make the payments, and was eventually sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to campaign finance charges stemming from his part in the payments.

Trump also faces a series of other legal woes  including over the January 6 attack on Congress, his keeping of classified records, business dealings and a defamation suit arising from an allegation of rape by the writer E Jean Carroll, 79, which Trump has denied.
The coronation of King Charles is to be celebrated with the release of a new James Bond story called 'On His Majestys Secret Service' .

King Charles' coronation will be celebrated with a new James Bond story

Bosses at Ian Fleming Publications - the company which administers all of the late 007 writer's literary works - have commissioned author Charlie Higson to come up with a new adventure for the superspy 60 years after Fleming published his book 'On Her Majestys Secret Service' which featured a nod to the late Queen Elizabeth in the title.

The story will be set in the present day with Bond being sent to thwart an attempt to disrupt the King's coronation. Higson - who previously authored five of the 'Young Bond' books - said of the new tale: "When Ian Fleming Publications came to me with the idea of writing an adult Bond story a little more than a month ago I was thrilled  until I realised it had to be ready for the coronation in May. Getting it written and turned around in such a short space of time was going to be as tense and heart-pounding as any Bond mission. Although, of course, nobody would actually be shooting at me."

He added of the story: "Everything you want from a Bond story is in there  sex, violence, cars, a colourful villain with a nasty henchman, and of course, Bond himself, so well-known and yet so unknowable."

'On His Majestys Secret Service' will be published on May 4 two days before King Charles' coronation on May 6 and all the royalties from sales of the book will support the work of UK charity the National Literacy Trust which helps disadvantaged children gain literacy skills.

Corinne Turner Managing director of Ian Fleming Publications said: "The coronation of King Charles III is a momentous occasion for the country. We asked ourselves how we at Ian Fleming Publications could celebrate it, and the answer seemed obvious. Ian Flemings On Her Majestys Secret Service was first published on April 1. 1963. What better way, 60 years on, to mark this new chapter in history than with a brand new story: On His Majestys Secret Service?

"We shared our thoughts with Charlie [Higson], and he was delighted to take on the challenge of writing a Bond adventure in time for publication in May."
Chinas apparel exports rose 7.05 per cent to $167.876 billion during 2022 despite economic slowdown and restrictions from the US. However, this increase in value was due to a rise in per unit price in the segment, which increased by 9.27 per cent to $4.24 in 2022 compared to $3.88 in 2021. Therefore, the increase in value does not reflect an increase in volume of apparel exports.

Apparel exports from China increased in 2022 from $156.764 billion in 2021, according to Fibre2Fashions market insight tool TexPro.

China's apparel exports increased in value by 7.05 per cent to $167.876 billion in 2022, but this was due to a rise in per unit price rather than an increase in volume. Similarly, in 2021, apparel exports increased by 25.80 per cent to $156.764 billion, due to rising per unit prices. The average unit price of Chinese apparel export declined until 2020.

Chinese apparel exports increased in 2021 too, when the value of exports increased by 25.80 per cent to $156.764 billion compared to $124.654 billion in 2020. However, this increase in value was again due to an increase in per unit price, which rose by 12.13 per cent to $3.88 in 2021 compared to $3.46 in 2020.

The average unit price of Chinese apparel exports recorded a declining trend until 2020, with a decrease of 3.08 per cent to $3.46 in 2020. Similarly, the unit price decreased to $3.56 and $3.64 in 2019 and 2018, respectively. The total value of Chinese apparel exports was recorded at $124.654 billion in 2020, $145.112 billion in 2019, $144.598 billion in 2018, and $155.904 billion in 2017, as per TexPro.

It is also worth noting that the low demand amid economic slowdown and US ban on products made from cotton originating from the Xinjiang region of China impacted the export demand in 2022.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
India has aimed to triple its foreign trade in the next seven years. The government has sought to boost the country's exports to $2 trillion by 2030 in its new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, which was announced on Friday. The government has estimated total exports $760-770 billion during current fiscal 2022-23 which is going to end today. India has shifted its policy of promotion from incentives to remission and entitlement-based regime.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal unveiled FTP 2023 which will come into effect from April 1, 2023. Goyal exuded confidence that the export target of $2 trillion by 2030 will be met. He stressed that any industry cannot succeed only on the basis of subsidy or crutches. In the coming days, the idea of exports will change in the country.

India has aimed to triple its foreign trade in the next seven years. The government has sought to boost the country's exports to $2 trillion by 2030 in its new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, which was announced on Friday. The government has estimated total exports $760-770 billion during current fiscal 2022-23 which is going to end today.

Unlike the practice of announcing five-year FTP, the latest policy has no end date and will be updated as and when needed, informed Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Sarangi in a media briefing in New Delhi.

Sarangi also said that India is likely to end this fiscal with total exports of $760-770 billion as against $676 billion in 2021-22. The last five-year FTP came into force on April 1, 2015. However, it was extended several times in the wake of coronavirus outbreak and subsequent disruptions in economic activities globally. The last extension was given in September 2022 till March 31, 2023.

The new FTP identifies four new Towns of Export Excellence (TEE), viz. Faridabad, Moradabad, Mirzapur and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Currently, there are 39 TEEs in the country.

The FTP benefits have been extended to e-commerce exports, which are estimated to grow to $200-300 billion by 2030. The value limit for exports through courier service is being increased from 5 lakh to 10 lakh per consignment, as per the authorities.

The policy also seeks to make the Indian rupee a global currency and allow international trade settlement in the domestic currency. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that India is ready to trade in Rupee with countries which are facing currency failure or have dollar shortage. The government is focusing on strengthening the rupee payment system. Changes have been made in the FTP to allow international trade settlement in the Indian Rupee with a view to making INR a global currency.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
The United Kingdom will join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced today.

The announcement follows two years of negotiations by the UK department for business and trade that concluded in Vietnam earlier this month. The country becomes the first European member of the agreement and the first new member since CPTPP was created.

The United Kingdom will join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced today. It is the first European member of the agreement and the first new member since CPTPP was created. More than 99 per cent of UK goods exports to CPTPP countries will now be eligible for zero tariffs.

More than 99 per cent of UK goods exports to CPTPP countries will now be eligible for zero tariffs.

Total UK exports to CPTPP countries were already worth 60.5 billion in the year to September 2022 and are set to grow under CPTPP, an official release said.

The UK services industry will also benefit from reduced red tape and greater access to growing Pacific markets with an appetite for high-quality UK products and services, the release said.

The CPTPP bloc is home to more than 500 million people and will be worth 15 per cent of global gross domestic product once the UK joins.

It is estimated that joining will boost the UK economy by 1.8 billion in the long run, with wages also forecast to rise by 800 million compared to 2019 levels, the government claimed.

As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific, he added.

Additional benefits of UK accession to CPTPP include increased flexibility, a boost in investment from both sides and access to new markets.

The United Kingdom and CPTPP members will now take the final legal and administrative steps required for the former to formally sign this year.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Priyanka Chopra hit headlines as she made some shocking revelations against Bollywood. She talked about how she was forced to move to the west as she was not getting good work and was being cornered in Bollywood. Soon after, several Bollywood celebrities including Kangana Ranaut, Vivek Agnihotri, Amaal Mallik, and others not only supported her but also shared their anguish. The latest one to join the bandwagon of actors opening against bullying in Bollywood is popular actor Shekhar Suman.

Shekhar Suman not only supported PeeCee but also exposed Bollywood 'gangsters' in a series of tweets.

SHEKHAR SUMAR SUPPORTS PRIYANKA CHOPRA

The actor who has featured in several films including, Bhoomi, Ranbhoomi, Woh Phir Aayegi among several others, said that what happened with Priyanka Chopra will happen with several others, and it was good that she left Bollywood. He even cited the example of late Sushant Singh Rajput.

"It will happen to others too. That's the way the cookie crumbles in the industry. Take it or leave it. and Priyanka decided to leave. And thank God she did. for now, we have a true-blue global icon representing India in Hollywood. As they say every cloud has a silver lining."

His other tweet read, "Priyanka Chopra's sensational revelation has not come as a shocker. It is well known the way the cabal within the film industry functions. It will oppress, suppress and persecute you till you are finished. It happened with SSR."

SHKHAR SUMAN TELLS INDUSTRY PEOPLE GANGED UP AGAINST HIM AND HIS SON

Shekhar Suman further revealed how the Bollywood 'gangsters' removed him and his son from several projects and said, "I know of at least 4ppl in the industry who have ganged up to have me n adhyayan removed from many projects. I know it for sure. These 'gangsters' have a lot of clouts and they are more dangerous than a rattlesnake. But the truth is they can create hurdles, but they cannot stop us."

I know of atleast 4ppl in the industry who have ganged up to have me n adhyayan removed from many projects.i know it for sure.These 'gangsters' have a lot of clout and they are more dangerous than a rattle snake.But the truth is they can create hurdles but they cannot stop us.  Shekhar Suman (@shekharsuman7) March 30, 2023

Meanwhile, Priyanka Chopra who is currently gearing up for Citadel was speaking with Dax Shepherd on his Spotify podcast Armchair Expert.
Karan Johar-Kangana Ranaut: Ever since Kangana Ranaut called producer-director Karan Johar the flag bearer of nepotism on his chat show Koffee With Karan, the tension between the two has been clearly visible on occasion. Since then, the nepo kids debate is on, and Kangana, from time to time, keeps waging war and targeting not only Karan Johar but all those celebs he launched in Bollywood, whenever she seems fit. Days after Kangana Ranaut termed Karan an obnoxious, jealous, mean, and toxic person' in a tweet after Priyanka Chopra made some shocking revelations about Bollywood and how she was pushed into a corner.

And now, days after Kangana's tweet, it seems that Karan Johar has taken a jibe at the actress. Day after attending the Christian Dior Fall 2023 event in Mumbai, filmmaker Karan Johar took to his Instagram Stories and shared a slew of thoughts about the event. On Friday, he shared a series of cryptic posts in which he seemingly taunted Kangana Ranaut.

KARAN JOHAR TAKES A JIBE AT KANGANA RANAUT

Talking about the Dior show, Karan Johar shared some coded messages on his Instagram Stories and said that there are a few people who are conducting press conferences at the airport. He wrote, "The airport is a runway ... it's also a press conference .... Next it may be a trailer launch venue! ( I subscribe to it all... no complaints ...but maybe nice to also catch a flight once in a while .... )."

Well, he might be hinting at the recent conversation Kangana had with paps at the airport, where she joked that why don't they ask questions relating to film mafia but shout if she does anything? In another story, Johar said that there could be a film launch event happening soon at the airport.

After Priyankas 'Cornered' Comment, Kangana Reacts To AR Rahman's 'Bwood Gang Working Against Me' Remark

Further, he seems to have addressed the nepotism debate, pointing out that he liked many looks at the Dior show but won't reveal it. He indirectly mentioned NEPO in caps in different ways. "I loved so many looks at the Dior show! But meNtioning thEm is Perhaps a nO....#iykyk," he wrote.

He also wrote, "I am taking woke tutorials every morning! It's like a new age riyaaz for personality change! My plus size body needs self love ! The last time I looked at it ... I only had 3 alphabets in my head !!! MRF."

"People getting dressed in their ethnic attire's over the song Ravi is my current obsession!!! Will try making one without looking like I may have lost the plot....," he added in another post.

Kangana Ranaut Accuses Karan Johar Of 'Banning Priyanka Chopra, Says 'Because Of Her Friendship With SRK

On Thursday, several A-list Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities, including Sonam Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor, Ananya Panday, Arjun Kapoor, Masaba Gupta, and others, attended Christian Dior's India-inspired pre-fall 2023 show that was held at Mumbai's India Gate.
Urfi Javed Apologises But..

Urfi Javed left the fans confused as she shared a post, expressing her sincere apology for hurting sentiments by wearing risque clothes. She promised her fans that they will see her in a different avatar as she posted the tweet on her official Twitter handle.

"I apologise for hurting everyone's sentiments by wearing what I wear . From now on you guys will see a changed Uorfi . Changed clothes (sic)," she wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Ankit Gupta Arrives In Mumbai

"Priyanka Choudhary and Ankit Gupta will be meeting each other after over three weeks. Both are thorough professionals and have been fulfilling their professional commitments in two different cities. It will be a treat for Priyankit fans as the duo is finally together," a source exclusively told Filmibeat. Ankit Gupta has arrived in Mumbai and we can expect a Priyankit reunion soon.

Shalin Bhanot Shoots For 17 Hours Straight

Shalin Bhanot, who returned to the fiction space with Bekaboo, shared an update about his work schedule on social media. He revealed that he shot for 17 hours straight for his weekend drama that also stars Eisha Singh. The Bigg Boss 16 contestant plays the role of Ranav in the fantasy drama that airs on Colors channel.

Shiv Thakare's Thailand Vacation

Shiv Thakare jetted off to Thailand to enjoy a dreamy vacation after fulfilling his professional commitments in Mumbai. Guess what? He met fans in Phuket as he relaxed on the beach. The Bigg Boss 16 first runner-up happily obliged for selfies and photos, giving us picture-perfect moments. He flaunted his toned hands while striking a pose for the camera.

Shiv Thakare is said to be participating in Khatron Ke Khiladi 13, which will go on air on Colors channel from July 2023.
Thuramukham is period drama, revolves the labour struggles and protest against 'Chappa system' in Kerala. It also highlights the atrocities and non-violent protest against colonial rule. Directed by Rajeev Ravi, the film was released in theaters on March 10th 2023.



The film Thuramukham will start streaming on Sony LIV on April 28, 2023
SHANGHAI, March 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jinko Power announces that it has been awarded the 500 MWac Manah II Solar PV project (the"Project") by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company ("OPWP"), to develop, own and operate the Project on an IPP basis. The Project was awarded through a competitive bidding conducted by OPWP in September, 2022 where Jinko Power participated along with its consortium partner Sembcorp Utilities. The project shall benefit from a 20 year power purchase agreement with OPWP and is expected to be operational by 2025.

Jinko Power had participated in the request for qualification stage for the Project in 2019. In 2022, Jinko Power invited Sembcorp Utilities to form a consortium to jointly bid for the Project. The Project shall be owned 20% by Jinko Power and 80% Sembcorp Utilities.

Mr. Charles Bai, President of Jinko Power International Business, commented:

"We are honored and delighted with the award of this landmark project together with our partner Sembcorp. We value the trust put in us by OPWP and other stakeholders in Oman. This project marks our first entry into the Oman renewables market and is hopefully one of the many more to come in the country".

Mr. Mothana Qteishat, Managing Director and head of bidding at Jinko Power International added:

"This bid reaffirms once again Jinko's ability to succeed in highly competitive tenders and deliver value to stakeholders through Jinko's deep expertise across the full value chain of solar project development. We are delighted at having been awarded this bid and in line with our track record, are confident that this project will be delivered within budget and on time".

About Jinko power

Founded in 2011, Jinko Power is a well-known global IPP that develops, builds, finances, owns and operates solar power plants. We strive to make solar the most sustainable and competitive source of energy worldwide.

As of September 30 2022, the Company has owned and connected about 3.3 GW of solar projects in China. We also manage a large international portfolio of assets including the world's largest solar plant under operation that we partially took part in. We are developing a global pipeline of GW scaled projects in our key markets including China, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/jinko-power-awarded-its-first-solar-project-in-oman-301771395.html
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 30, 2023) - UGE International Ltd. (TSXV: UGE) (OTCQB: UGEIF) (the "Company" or "UGE"), a leader in the commercial and community solar sector, is pleased to announce that it has completed a first tranche closing of the brokered private placement of green bonds of the Company ("Green Bonds"), previously announced in its March 8, 2023 press release, for aggregate gross proceeds of C$1,423,545 (the "Offering"). The Offering comprised of a brokered "best efforts" private placement led by Canaccord Genuity Corp., on behalf of a syndicate of agents including iA Private Wealth Inc. and Raymond James Ltd. (collectively, the "Agents") in accordance with the terms and conditions of an agency agreement (the "Agency Agreement") entered into on March 30, 2023 (the "Closing Date") by the Company and the Agents, for gross proceeds of C$604,095 and a concurrent issuer-direct offering for aggregate proceeds of US$607,000. The aggregate gross proceeds in Canadian funds were calculated based on an exchange rate of $1.35 Canadian dollars for every U.S. dollar raised in the Offering. A second tranche is expected to close by the end of April 2023.

The Green Bonds were issued in a Canadian dollar denominated series, each having a face value of C$1,000 and a subscription price of C$977.50, and a U.S. dollar denominated series, each having a face value of US$1,000 and a subscription price of US$977.50. The Green Bonds mature on June 30, 2027 (the "Maturity Date"), and bear interest at a rate of 9% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears calculated on the last calendar day of June and December, with the first interest payment to be made on December 31, 2023. At the Maturity Date, the Company will repay the Green Bonds in full, including any accrued and unpaid interest. Commencing on July 1, 2026 and ending on the Maturity Date, the Company will have the option, in its sole discretion, to repay all or any portion of the outstanding principal and accrued interest on the Green Bonds at the end of each calendar month by paying one additional months' interest to the holder.

The Green Bonds are issued pursuant to a fourth supplemental trust indenture (the "Supplemental Indenture") entered on the Closing Date with Computershare Trust Company of Canada ("Computershare"), as trustee and collateral agent ("Collateral Agent") thereunder, supplementing the debenture indenture entered into on July 28, 2022, between the Company and the Computershare.

The Green Bonds are secured against a pool of the Company's solar and energy storage development projects (the "Pledged Projects"), which are indirectly held by UGE Capital LLC ("UGE Capital"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of UGE USA Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, through its membership interests in special purpose companies (each, a "Project Subsidiary") that are the owners of the assets comprising the Pledged Projects. As security for the Green Bonds, Computershare, in its capacity as Collateral Agent, entered into a pledge agreement on the Closing Date with UGE Capital, pursuant to which UGE Capital pledged its equity interests in the applicable Project Subsidiaries to the Collateral Agent for the benefit of the holders of Green Bonds. UGE Capital also guarantees the obligations of the Company pursuant to the Green Bonds.

The Company also entered into a deposit account control agreement with the Collateral Agent on March 23, 2023 covering one or more deposit accounts (the "Blocked Account"), pursuant to which the Collateral Agent has perfected a security interest in cash held in such accounts. UGE has covenanted to maintain a minimum coverage ratio of the value of the Secured Projects and any cash in the Blocked Account equal to 150% of the aggregate amount of obligations outstanding under the Green Bonds.

Net proceeds from the Offering (the "Proceeds") will be utilized for the development of solar and energy storage projects of UGE and its subsidiaries. The Green Bonds will be subject to a four month hold period from their date of issuance. The Company intends to seek to list the Green Bonds for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") after the four month hold period expires, on a best efforts basis.

In consideration for the Agents' services under the Agency Agreement, the Company paid to the Agents on the Closing Date a fee equal to 7% of the principal amount issued from the sale of the Canadian dollar denominated Green Bonds and 14,067 common share purchase warrants of the Company (each, an "Agents' Warrant"), with each Agents' Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of $1.5031 (subject to adjustment in certain circumstances) for a period of 24 months from the Closing Date. The Company also reimbursed the Agents on the Closing Date for their reasonable expenses in connection with the Offering.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction, nor shall there be any offer or sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities being offered have not been approved or disapproved by any regulatory authority nor has any such authority passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the short form base shelf prospectus or the prospectus supplement. The offer and sale of the securities has 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 in the United States or to United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

ABOUT UGE

UGE develops, owns, and operates commercial and community solar projects in the US and strategic markets abroad. Our distributed energy solutions deliver cheaper, cleaner energy to businesses and consumers with no upfront cost. With over 500MW of global experience, we work daily to power a more sustainable world. Visit us at www.ugei.com. For more information, contact UGE at: investors@ugei.com or +1 917 720 5685.

Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the expectation that a second tranche of the Offering will close by the end of April 2023; the expectation that the Company will repay the Green Bonds in full, including any accrued and unpaid interest, at the Maturity Date; the expectation that, commencing on the date that is two years following their issuance date, and ending on the Maturity Date, the Company will have the option to repay all or any portion of the outstanding principal and accrued interest on the Green Bonds at the end of each calendar month by paying one additional months' interest to the holder; the expectation that the Company will maintain a minimum coverage ratio of the value of the Secured Projects equal to 150% of the aggregate amount of obligations outstanding under the Green Bonds; the expectation that the Proceeds will be utilized for the development of solar and energy storage projects of UGE and its subsidiaries; the expectation that the Green Bonds will be subject to a four month hold period from their date of issuance; and the Company's intention to seek to list the Green Bonds for trading on the Exchange after the four month hold period expires, on a best efforts basis.

Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the ability of the Company to close a second tranche of the Offering by the end of April 2023; the ability of the Company to repay the Green Bonds in full, including any accrued and unpaid interest, at the Maturity Date or earlier; the ability of the Company will maintain a minimum coverage ratio of the value of the Secured Projects equal to 150% of the aggregate amount of obligations outstanding under the Green Bonds; the ability of the Company to use the Proceeds as stated; and the Company's ability to list the Green Bonds for trading on the Exchange after the four month hold period expires.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this news release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Contact Information

Visit us at www.ugei.com. For more information, contact UGE at: investors@ugei.com or +1 917 720 5685.

Nick Blitterswyk

Chief Executive Officer

1 (917) 720-5683

nick.blitterswyk@ugei.com

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION TO THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160706
HONG KONG / ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2023 / COSCO SHIPPING Development Co., Ltd. ("COSCO SHIPPING Development" or the "Company") (SSE:601866)(HKEX:2866) is pleased to announce the results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2022 (the "Reporting Period") today. In 2022, the Company recorded operating revenue of RMB25.465 billion, net profit attributable to owners of the parent company recorded RMB3.923 billion, and the basic earnings per share amounted to RMB0.29. The Company plans to distribute a cash dividend of RMB0.087 per share to all shareholders.

In 2022, the evolution of the world economic changes has accelerated, the global economic development was generally slowing down, and the overall economic operation of China remained stable. Under the environment where challenges and opportunities coexist, the shipping market gradually returned to normal and transform and develop towards digital intelligence and low carbon. The Company has solidly pushed forward to improve quality and efficiency and stabilize growth, promoted reform and innovation for new development, achieving stability in economic benefits amid market fluctuations.

Promoted the integration of industry and finance to create value through industrial chain collaboration

In 2022, the Company's shipping leasing business achieved an operating income of RMB7.844 billion, including RMB2.408 billion from the vessel leasing business. The Company continuous strengthened the coordinated linkage of industrial chains on the integration of "leasing and manufacturing, and leasing and shipping",deeply tapped into market potential and strengthened judgment on market segments. The Company promoted innovation in leasing models and achieved vessel leasing business expansion in market segments. The container leasing business recorded revenue of RMB5.436 billion.The Company always adhered to the "key customer strategy" and advanced diversified leasing services. The Company expanded its business in the field of reefer containers and special containers and achieved new breakthroughs in business sectors. Meanwhile, the Company enhanced the capabilities on global containers trade and boosted the improvement of the overall operational efficiency through the establishment of the customer-centric digital operation system.

The container manufacturing business achieved an operating income of RMB20.711 billion. With the orientation of customer demand, the Company constantly improved the product layout, actively promoted product R&D and deployed green and environmental protection sectors to advance the expansion of application scenarios of containers. In 2022, the Company and COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers jointly developed and produced special collapsible frames for commercial vehicles and vigorously demonstrated its professional advantages in "customized production + oriented services." The Company's marine container-type power batteries have obtained the recognition on the overall design by China Classification Society and passed on-site inspections.

The investment management business achieved an Investment income of RMB1.784 billion. The Company focused on the principal business of shipping logistics, integrated resources in industrial chains and empowered the development of the principal business through "an industry-finance-investment integrated business."

Layout of the track of scientific and technological innovation, digital and intelligent transformation showed significant results

The Company actively layout the track of scientific and technological innovation, improved the top design on scientific and technological innovation and digital transformation and Special Plan, which specified key projects and set out development targets and orientations. In respect of the container leasing business, the Company actively promoted the deep integration of digital technology with production and operation and the coordination of users' services with industries. Based on the digital capabilities of the iFlorens independently designed and developed and the containers trade platform, the Company developed a new business scenario with digital technology empowering business and e-commerce improving customer experience, achieving new breakthroughs in online orders on the platform and sales volume of e-commerce. The Company applied for participating in the first "Professional Competition on Innovation in Digital Scenarios of SOEs" hosted by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) and has successfully qualified for the finals. In respect of the container manufacturing business, the Company vigorously promoted the construction of "digital factories" and facilitated green and intelligent development. It recorded results in the updating and upgrading of green and intelligent products and technological equipment. In 2022, the Company applied 184 new patents. As of the end of 2022, the Company had 457 patents.

Implemented the "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" strategies and launched a new project of electric container vessels

Focusing on the positioning of "ecological priority and green development" in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Company has actively promoted the project of electric container vessels , and the construction of two 700TEU electric container vessels of the Company was successively commenced. The project is an important measure for the Company to actively practice national "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" strategies and develop demonstration for green and zero-carbon shipping and won the "Green Growth" Award at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Global Call 2022. It was released at the 2023 Pudong New Area Conference on High-quality Development of Core Area of International Shipping Center as one of annual 10 innovation cases in international shipping in Pudong New Area. In addition, the Company organized the establishment of the China Electric Ship Innovation Alliance to integrate advantageous resources in all links of green shipping industrial chains, jointly promote a green shipping system on the coordinated development of relevant ancillary industries and better facilitate the implementation of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality strategies in the shipping industry.

Strengthened ESG Management and Built the Foundation for Sustainable Development

The Company continued to improve the ESG governance and integrated the special strategic planning on ESG into the "14th Five-year" development plan of the Company to promote the comprehensive implementation of the ESG concept in an orderly manner. In 2022, the Company obtained various recognitions over its ESG management. The analysis on risks and opportunities related to climate change in the Sustainability Report of the Company was displayed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as an excellent case in TCFD trainings and was awarded the "GoldenBee Excellent CSR Report 2022 - Environmental Protection Disclosure Award" and the prize of the "2022 ESG Golden Bull Award - Pioneer in Governance".

The Company is committed to creating value for stakeholders, placed an emphasis in creating reasonable returns to investors, maintained the implementation of proactive and steady dividend distribution plans. The Company has declared dividend distribution in cash to its shareholders for four consecutive years and shared development results with its shareholders.The Company practiced social and public welfare programs, participated in practices on pairing assistance and contributed to rural revitalization.

Embrace New Changes and Create a New Future

In 2023, the global economic situation will remain complex and severe, the shipping market presents a cyclical dynamic trend, and the Company's main business sectors will also usher in a new trend of development. Challenges and opportunities coexist, with strong support foundation and resilience. The Company will be devoted to the re-upgrading of service capabilities of industry and finance. In respect of the shipping lease business, the Company will explore market demand in the green and low-carbon transformation of vessels and shipping equipment, promote innovation in business models. In respect of the container leasing business, the Company will continuously improve the global network, bolster the market influence of container leasing and sales businesses and continuously boost the value creation capability. The Company will further promote digital empowerment and build the service ecosystem on customer-centric digital supply chains. For the container manufacturing segment, the Company will strengthen the synergy of container leasing and manufacturing industrial chains and develop leasing, manufacturing and marketing "complexes". The Company will actively market exploitation for special containers and develop special containers with the characteristics of the Company. Meanwhile, the Company will vigorously advance the establishment of the ecosystem on digital and intelligent containers and accumulate strong development power. For investment and management segment, the Company will continue to optimize investment portfolios. The Company will strengthen the integration of industry and finance and provide intelligence and capital injection services for the "digitalised, networked and intelligent" development of the shipping logistics industry, in an effort to boost industry upgrading.

The new sailing starts, new trends stimulate new momentum, and new opportunities drive new development. COSCO SHIPPING Development will be rooted in the integration of industry and finance, base on digital intelligence empowerment, and focuse on value creation. With the goal of accelerating the construction of world-class enterprises, the Company will focuses on new ecology, embraces new changes, and jointly creates a new future.

About COSCO SHIPPING Development Co., Ltd.

COSCO SHIPPING Development Company Limited (2866.HK), a company affiliated to China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, specializes in the provision of supply chain integrated financial services. Formerly known as China Shipping Container Lines Company Limited, it was established in 1997 with headquarters in Shanghai, the PRC, and is listed both in Hong Kong and Shanghai. With a focus on integrated logistics industry, the Company will develop container manufacturing, container leasing and shipping leasing business as the core business, with a view to pursuing industry-finance integrated development underpinned by investment. With market-oriented approaches, professional strengths and an international vision, the Company aspires to grow into an excellent world-class financial operator in the shipping industry with COSCO SHIPPING characteristics.

Investor and Media Enquiries

Jack Liu / Mei Ning

PRChina Limited

Tel: (852) 2522-1838

Email: zyliu@prchina.com.hk / nmei@prchina.com.hk



File: COSCO SHIPPING Development Announces 2022 Annual Results Focuses on New Ecology and Embraces New Changes



SOURCE: COSCO International Holdings Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746916/COSCO-SHIPPING-Development-Announces-2022-Annual-Results-Focuses-on-New-Ecology-and-Embraces-New-Changes
Digital content marketing consultancy ScottHall.co has published a new guide detailing the top five cryptocurrency tax software programs for small businesses. The report is intended to help businesses that accept cryptocurrency better understand their tax liability.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 30, 2023) - ScottHall.co's recently published guide allows entrepreneurs to find ways to responsibly and efficiently document their crypto trades and staking activity so that their records will match those of government agencies that analyze trading activity and capital gains on public ledgers.

More details are available at https://scotthall.co/the-top-5-cryptocurrency-tax-software-for-small-businesses/





ScottHall.co Releases Guide On Crypto Tax Software Programs For Small Businesses



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/159728_e4c9f44c54a83a9f_001full.jpg

The insights contained in from ScottHall.co's latest report are intended to help business owners choose the software provider that best works for their business situation. With crypto tax software programs, small business owners can easily and quickly organize their crypto trading records to account for their taxes, freeing up more time to focus on other aspects of their business and on their day-to-day operations.

According to the guide, it's especially important for small businesses that trade in cryptocurrencies to understand their tax obligations because crypto exchanges increasingly require KYC ("Know Your Customer") rules. KYC means customers need to provide proof of identity, such as an ID card, facial verification, or document verification, to trade on a crypto exchange. As financial fraud has been on the rise, so has the enforcement of KYC.

The report also reviews five of the cryptocurrency tax software programs designed specifically for small business owners, focusing on the distinctive features of each software program to help users optimize their time, accommodate different blockchains and exchanges, meet specific requirements like KYC, and even legally reduce their tax burden.

Scott Hall, founder of ScottHall.co, says, "You can use these recommendations for the top cryptocurrency tax software for small businesses which can be a great asset for any small business owner. Taking the pain and hassle out of filing taxes, it helps streamline processes, keep track of accounts, save you time and money, and provide the assurance that you're filing your taxes accurately."

Interested parties can find more information about these cryptocurrency tax software programs at https://scotthall.co/the-top-5-cryptocurrency-tax-software-for-small-businesses/.

Contact Info:

Name: Scott Hall

Email: scott@scotthall.co

Organization: ScottHall.co

Address: 60 West 23rd St. Suite 638, New York, NY 10010, United States

Website: https://scotthall.co

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/159728
Lonza Group AG / Key word(s): Corporate Action

Lonza Launches Share Buyback Program of up to CHF 2 Billion



31.03.2023 / 07:00 CET/CEST





Basel, Switzerland, 31 March 2023 - On 3 April 2023, Lonza will launch a share buyback program of up to CHF 2 billion, as announced on 25 January 2023. Enabled by Lonza's strong balance sheet and positive outlook, the share buyback program aims to return excess capital to shareholders without impacting the company's capability to invest in organic growth and bolt-on M&A. At the same time, Lonza remains committed to maintaining its strong investment grade rating.

The volume of monthly share buybacks will depend on market conditions. The registered shares of Lonza Group Ltd. will be repurchased via a second trading line on the SIX Swiss Exchange for the purpose of a capital reduction.

Please visit the Share Buyback webpage for additional information.

About Lonza

Lonza is a preferred global partner to the pharmaceutical, biotech and nutrition markets. We work to enable a healthier world by supporting our customers to deliver new and innovative medicines that help treat a wide range of diseases. We achieve this by combining technological insight with world-class manufacturing, scientific expertise and process excellence. Our business is structured to meet our customers' complex needs across four divisions: Biologics, Small Molecules, Cell & Gene and Capsules & Health Ingredients.?Our unparalleled breadth of offerings across divisions enables our customers to commercialize their discoveries and innovations in the healthcare industry.

Founded in 1897 in the Swiss Alps, today, Lonza operates across five continents. With approximately 17,500 full-time employees, we comprise high-performing teams and individual talent who make a meaningful difference to our own business, as well as to the communities in which we operate. The company generated sales of CHF 6.2 billion with a CORE EBITDA of CHF 2.0 billion in Full-Year 2022. Find out more at www.lonza.com

Follow @Lonza on LinkedIn

Follow @LonzaGroup on Twitter

Lonza Contact Details

Victoria Morgan

Head of External Communications

Lonza Group Ltd

Tel +41 61 316 2283

victoria.morgan@lonza.com

Lyle Wheeler

Investor Relations

Lonza Group Ltd

Tel +41 79 154 9522

lyle.wheeler@lonza.com

Additional Information and Disclaimer

Lonza Group Ltd has its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. It has a secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited ("SGX-ST"). Lonza Group Ltd is not subject to the SGX-ST's continuing listing requirements but remains subject to Rules 217 and 751 of the SGX-ST Listing Manual.

Certain matters discussed in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and estimates of Lonza Group Ltd, although Lonza Group Ltd can give no assurance that these expectations and estimates will be achieved. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty and are qualified in their entirety. The actual results may differ materially in the future from the forward-looking statements included in this news release due to various factors. Furthermore, except as otherwise required by law, Lonza Group Ltd disclaims any intention or obligation to update the statements contained in this news release.

Privacy Policy link

To immediately delete all the data

End of Media Release


EQS Post-admission Duties announcement: Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd. / Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act]

Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd.: Announcement of Resolutions Passed at the 4th Meeting of the 11th Session of the Board



31.03.2023 / 08:46 CET/CEST

Dissemination of a Post-admission Duties announcement according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 WpHG transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG

Announcement of Resolutions Passed at the 4th Meeting of the 11th Session of the Board

Qingdao / Shanghai / Frankfurt / Hong Kong, 31 March 2023 - Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. (the "Company" or "Haier Smart Home", D-share 690D.DE, A-share 600690.SH, H-share 06690.HK) yesterday published an announcement in accordance with applicable trading rules of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and applicable PRC laws in relation to the Resolutions Passed at the 4th Meeting of the 11th Session of the Board.

The announcement is fully available at:

https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0331/2023033100227.pdf

IR Contact:

Haier Smart Home Hong Kong

T: +852 2169 0000

Email: ir@haier.hk

Press Contact:

CROSS ALLIANCE communication GmbH

Sara Pinto

Sven Pauly

pi@crossalliance.de

T: +49 (0) 89 1250903 35

About Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.:

Haier is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household appliances with a focus on smart home solutions and customized production. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. develops, produces and distributes a wide range of household appliances. These include refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, air conditioners, water heaters, kitchen appliances as well as small household appliances and an extensive range of intelligent household appliances. The Company distributes its products through leading household brands such as Haier, Casarte, Leader, Candy, GE Appliances, AQUA and Fisher & Paykel. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. has launched Smart Home Experiential Cloud, which connects homes, users, enterprises and ecosystem partners, and facilitates the integration of Haier's online, offline and micro-store businesses and supports user interaction to further optimize the user experience.

31.03.2023 CET/CEST The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.eqs-news.com


Sartorius Stedim Biotech SA / Key word(s): Acquisition

Sartorius Stedim Biotech SA: Sartorius Stedim Biotech to acquire Polyplus



31-March-2023 / 08:50 CET/CEST



Aubagne, March 31, 2023

Sartorius Stedim Biotech to acquire Polyplus France-based Polyplus is a provider of innovative upstream technologies for cell and gene therapies

Polyplus' transfection reagents and plasmids are key components in the manufacturing of viral vectors

Agreed purchase price of approximately 2.4 billion euros

Sartorius Stedim Biotech, a leading international partner of the biopharmaceutical industry, has signed an agreement to acquire Polyplus for approximately 2.4 billion euros from private investors, including ARCHIMED and WP GG Holdings IV B.V., an affiliate of Warburg Pincus.



Polyplus, with around 270 employees, develops and produces transfection as well as other DNA/RNA delivery reagents and plasmid DNA in high quality and GMP grade. These are key components in the production of viral vectors used in cell and gene therapies and other advanced medicinal therapeutic products. Recording significant growth rates, Polyplus is expected to generate sales revenue in the upper double-digit million-euro range and a very substantial EBITDA margin in 2023. The proposed transaction is subject to customary conditions, including completion of the information and consultation of the works' council and approval by regulatory authorities and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2023.



Founded in 2001, Polyplus is based in Strasbourg, France, and has locations in France, Belgium, the U.S., and China. The company has been expanding its focus beyond transfection reagents through acquisitions in adjacent technologies like plasmid design, and protein and plasmid manufacturing, broadening its upstream portfolio for gene therapies as well as gene-modified cell therapies.



"The innovative solutions of Polyplus are highly complementary to our portfolio, in particular to our offering of cell culture media and critical components for the development and manufacture of advanced therapies, and there are also strong synergies with our portfolio of downstream solutions for the manufacture of gene therapeutics," said Rene Faber, member of the Board of Directors and CEO of Sartorius Stedim Biotech. "In the dynamically growing market for cell and gene therapies, viral vectors are needed to deliver the genes of interest into cells. The development pipeline of such therapies has been growing strongly and more and more are reaching major milestones. As a leading supplier of critical components to produce cell and gene therapies, Sartorius Stedim Biotech and Polyplus together will be excellently positioned to play a significant role in this dynamic field."



"This contemplated acquisition is a major milestone in the history of Polyplus, and a recognition of its innovative upstream market leadership position and our highly talented Polyplus teams around the world," said Mario Philips, CEO of Polyplus. "We would be excited to join forces with a world class bioprocess market leader as Sartorius Stedim Biotech. Our combined portfolios would create a unique ability to optimize the total process workflow to deliver unparalleled value for cell/gene and DNA/RNA therapy customers, in a strong effort to make these critical needed therapies more affordable."



"We are both proud to have jointly supported Polyplus through a transformative period of growth, partnering with the company to successfully expand its product portfolio and execute a strong acquisition strategy," said TJ Carella, Managing Director and Head of Healthcare, Warburg Pincus. "ARCHIMED has been a 7-year strategic partner and shareholder of Polyplus, hence we are glad company and team find such a good home for their next chapter," said Denis Ribon, Chairman and Managing Partner, ARCHIMED. "As active investors in life sciences, ARCHIMED and Warburg Pincus strongly believe in the impact that innovative pharmaceutical solutions can have on patients. With their shared mission in supporting the research and development of innovative solutions, we believe Sartorius Stedim Biotech would be the right partner for Polyplus and wish Mario and the Polyplus team the best in their next chapter," added Ruoxi Chen, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus and Ludovic Alonzi, Principal, ARCHIMED.



The ultimate parent company Sartorius AG will receive a bridge loan facility from J.P. Morgan for a transitional period to finance the transaction. Sartorius intends to refinance this loan with long-term financing instruments which might also include an equity component.



Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel to Polyplus and its shareholders. William Blair acted as financial advisor and Milbank LLP and Jeantet provided legal counsel to Sartorius Stedim Biotech.





This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future development of the Sartorius Stedim Biotech Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Sartorius Stedim Biotech assumes no liability for updating such statements in light of new information or future events. Sartorius Stedim Biotech shall not assume any liability for the correctness of this release. The French press release is the legally binding version.





A profile of Sartorius Stedim Biotech

Sartorius Stedim Biotech is a leading international partner of the biopharmaceutical industry. As a provider of innovative solutions, the company based in Aubagne, France, helps its customers to manufacture biotech medications safely, rapidly and economically. The shares of Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A. are quoted on the Euronext Paris. The company has a strong global reach with manufacturing and R&D sites as well as sales entities in Europe, North America and Asia. Sartorius Stedim Biotech delivers significant organic growth and regularly expands its portfolio through acquisitions of complementary technologies. In fiscal 2022, the company generated sales revenue of around 3.5 billion euros. At the end of 2022, around 12,000 employees were working for customers around the globe.





Contact

Timo Lindemann

Corporate Communications

+49 (0)551 308 4724

timo.lindemann@sartorius.com



Follow Sartorius on Twitter and LinkedIn .



Dissemination of a Financial Wire News, transmitted by EQS Group.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.




STOCKHOLM, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of votes in EQT AB (publ) ("EQT") has changed as a result of the conversion of 365,406 class C shares to 365,406 ordinary shares.

The conversion was made pursuant to EQT's incentive program. The number of votes has increased by 328,865.40, from 1,185,894,873.00 to 1,186,223,738.40, while the number of shares is unchanged. As of today, the number of shares amounts to 1,193,692,014, divided into 1,185,393,930 ordinary shares and 8,298,084 class C shares, of which 7,068,423 class C shares are owned by EQT. The share capital amounts to SEK 119,369,201.40.

Contact

Olof Svensson, Head of Shareholder Relations, +46 72 989 09 15

EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

This is information that EQT AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 8:30 CEST on 31 March 2023.

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/87/3744344/1957101.pdf Number of shares and votes in EQT https://news.cision.com/eqt/i/eqt-ab-group,c3162667 EQT AB Group

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/number-of-shares-and-votes-in-eqt-301786768.html
OSLO, Norway, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Nordic Nanovector ASA has decided to postpone the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was originally scheduled for 26 April. According to Oslo Brs regulations, the Company must hold its AGM before [date]. A new date for the AGM will be announced as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the Company continues to work with potential strategic transactions or partnership that will deliver value for all stakeholders, and will come back with more information in due course.

For further information, please contact:

IR enquiries

Ludvik Sandnes, Interim CEO & CFO

Cell: +47 907 43 017

Email: ir@nordicnanovector.com

Media Enquiries

Mark Swallow/Frazer Hall (MEDiSTRAVA Consulting)

Tel: +44 203 928 6900

Email: nordicnanovector@medistrava.com

About Nordic Nanovector:

Nordic Nanovector is committed to develop and deliver innovative therapies to patients to address major unmet medical needs and advance cancer care. Further information can be found at www.nordicnanovector.com.

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/9819/3744491/1957730.pdf 230330 PRESS RELEASE AGM POSTPONED

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/nordic-nanovector--annual-general-meeting-postponed-301786772.html
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / (TSX:NANO)(OTC PINK:NNOMF)(Frankfurt:LBMB) Nano One Materials Corp. ("Nano One" or the "Company") is a clean technology company with patented processes for the low-cost, low-environmental footprint production of high-performance cathode materials used in lithium-ion batteries. Nano One has filed its audited annual consolidated financial statements (the "financial statements"), management's discussion & analysis ("MD&A"), and annual information form ("AIF") as at and for the year ended December 31, 2022 ("Q4 2022") and is pleased to provide the following highlights from Q4 2022.

Q4 2022 Highlights and Headlines

Working capital of ~$40.6 million; cash of ~$39.5 million

Acquisition of Johnson Matthey's 80,000 ft2 Candiac production facility in Montreal successfully closed. The only existing North American lithium iron phosphate ("LFP") production facility. Addition of ~50 experienced professionals with nearly 400 years of scale-up, commercialization, and cathode manufacturing expertise on LFP to the Nano One team. Commenced One-Pot trials and decommissioning of unused equipment.

Joint Development Agreement entered into with Umicore

"2022 was a pivotal year for Nano One," said CEO Dan Blondal, "The successful completion of the Candiac acquisition has now added approximately 50 talented professionals to our team and a state-of-the-art LFP production facility, giving us an enviable head-start on the emerging LFP market. We are in a strong position to expand our business rapidly to meet the growing demand for high-performance battery materials.Our innovative One-Pot process provides a significant opportunity to differentiate our supply chain, both economically and environmentally, and we are confident that it will enable us to create a sustainably robust and secure supply chain, that can be one hundred percent domiciled in North America, to serve markets in Canada, the USA, Europe, Indo-Pacific region, and other emerging battery jurisdictions. We look forward to leveraging our expertise and capabilities to drive business, commercial, and plant conversion decisions in 2023 and beyond."

Corporate Milestones for Q4 2022

Acquisition of Johnson Matthey Battery Materials Ltd.

On November 1, 2022, the Company closed the acquisition of Johnson Matthey Battery Materials Ltd. ("JMBM Canada"), a Canadian entity located in Candiac, Quebec. The Company paid cash consideration of $10,250,000, plus working capital items totalling $5,750,000, and incurred transaction costs (legal fees) of $352,993, for aggregate consideration of $16,352,993 (the "acquisition").

As the acquisition constituted an asset acquisition under the guidance provided in IFRS 3, Business Combinations, the consideration paid was allocated on a pro rata basis to the fair values of the assets and liabilities acquired. Accordingly, the amount recognized within the financial statements for property, plant and equipment amounted to $10,602,993. Moreover, the Company engaged an arm's-length appraiser to estimate fair value information whereby the fair value of the property (land and building) was determined to be approximately $25,000,000, and the fair value (under the ordinary liquidation value (OLV) method) of the equipment acquired amounted to approximately $7,500,000.

Prior to closing of the acquisition, Nano One initiated planning, engineering, and developing business channels in collaboration with key employees at the Candiac facility. The Company has analyzed the techno-economics, critical minerals, carbon footprint, and environmental impact of its One-Pot process extensively and the Company believes this process provides a significant opportunity to differentiate itself both economically and environmentally.

Trials to verify the production of LFP using Nano One's patented One-Pot process in the Candiac facility have commenced. The team engaged a local engineering firm that has experience in the design and build of the Candiac facility to assist with large pilot trials of the One-Pot process, helping to bridge the learning curve and expedite the facility's transition to Nano One. Results from these trials will be used to make critical business, commercial, and plant conversion decisions in 2023. The Company has also ordered critical raw material inputs and equipment, including One-Pot reactors, to support these transition activities.

Joint Development Agreement - Umicore

On December 21, 2022, the Company announced the signing of a joint development agreement ("JDA") with Umicore, a circular materials technology company. Under the JDA, the companies will co-develop production process technologies for CAM for lithium-ion batteries. Under the JDA, Umicore will evaluate Nano One's patented One-Pot M2CAM Process technology with the intention to integrate it with Umicore's proprietary process technology for the production of high-nickel NMC CAM. With the JDA, both parties aim to leverage their respective technologies and know-how to further increase the throughput rate while reducing the costs and environmental footprint of CAM production.

Q4 2022 Financial Position and Results

Total assets of ~$56,100,000 (Q3 2022 - ~$59,100,000)

Total liabilities of ~$2,627,000 (Q3 2022 - ~$1,300,000)

Net use of cash of ~$6,500,000 to facilitate operational and strategic efforts (Q3 2022 - ~$2,000,000)

Proceeds from Government programs, interest income, cost recoveries, and exercises of stock options and warrants of ~$850,000

Use of cash for Candiac acquisition and investments in equipment, patent issuance fees, and deposits of ~$6,500,000

For a more detailed discussion of Nano One's annual 2022 results, please refer to the Company's financial statements, MD&A, and AIF which are available at www.sedar.com .

About Nano One

Nano One Materials Corp. (Nano One) is a clean technology company with a patented, scalable and low carbon intensity industrial process for the low-cost production of high-performance lithium-ion battery cathode materials. With strategic collaborations and partnerships, including automotive OEMs and strategic industry supply chain companies like BASF, Umicore and Rio Tinto. Nano One's technology is applicable to electric vehicles, energy storage, and consumer electronics, reducing costs and carbon intensity while improving environmental impact. The Company aims to pilot and demonstrate its technology as turn-key production solutions for license, joint venture, and independent production opportunities, leveraging Canadian talent and critical minerals for emerging markets in North America, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific region. Nano One has received funding from SDTC and the Governments of Canada and British Columbia.

For more information, please visit www.nanoone.ca

Company Contact:

Paul Guedes

info@nanoone.ca

(604) 420-2041

Cautionary Notes and Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information in this news release includes but is not limited to: the Company's future business and strategies; estimated future working capital, funds available, and uses of funds, and future capital expenditures and other expenses for specific operations, intellectual property protection; industry demand; ability to obtain employees, consultants or advisors with specialized skills and knowledge; anticipated joint development programs; incurrence of costs; competitive conditions; general economic conditions; the intention to grow the business, operations and potential activities of the Company; the functions and intended benefits of Nano One's technology and products; the development of the Company's technology and products; the commencement of a commercialization phase; prospective partnerships and the anticipated benefits of the Company's partnerships; the Company's licensing, supply chain, joint venture opportunities and potential royalty arrangements;; the purpose for expanding its facilities; and scalability of developed technology; and the execution of the Company's plans - which are contingent on support and grants. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of terminology such as 'believe', 'expect', 'anticipate', 'plan', 'intend', 'continue', 'estimate', 'may', 'will', 'should', 'ongoing', 'target', 'goal', 'potential' or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made are not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Forward-looking 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 forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general and global economic and regulatory changes; next steps and timely execution of the Company's business plans; the development of technology, supply chains, and plans for construction and operation of cathode production facilities; successful current or future collaborations that may happen with OEM's, miners or others; the execution of the Company's plans which are contingent on support and grants; the Company's ability to achieve its stated goals; the commercialization of the Company's technology and patents via license, joint venture and independent production; anticipated global demand and projected growth for LFP batteries; and other risk factors as identified in Nano One's MD&A and its Annual Information Form dated March 29, 2023, both for the year ended December 31, 2022, and in recent securities filings for the Company which are available at www.sedar.com. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that is incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Nano One Materials Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746901/Nano-One-Provides-Quarterly-Progress-Update-and-Reports-Q4-2022-Results
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Power Nickel Inc. (the "Company" or "Power Nickel") (TSXV:PNPN)(OTCQB:PNPNF)(Frankfurt:IVVI) is pleased to announce it has closed the 1st tranche of the private placement previously announced on March 13, 2023 (the "Offering") for 3,418,000 flow-through units (each, an "FT Unit") of the Company, at a price of $0.50 per FT Unit, for gross proceeds of CAD $1,709,000. The Company has received conditional TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") approval for the Private Placement.

"We are pleased to close the first Tranche of our previously announced $5,000,000 Private Placement. We expect to close the transaction balance in the next week, " said Power Nickel CEO Terry Lynch. "Once again, we have benefited greatly by having our project in Quebec, where very favorable incentives exist for Critical Mineral projects like our NISK Nickel Sulfide project at Nemaska." Lynch commented further, "Quebec, Canada is the World's leading jurisdiction for exploration for Critical Minerals. This was further cemented by the recent Quebec and Canadian budgets, which provide substantial incentives to explore Critical Minerals and build mines. We look forward to utilizing these incentives to build the world's first Carbon Neutral Nickel Mine at Nemaska".

Each FT Unit is composed of one common share of the Company that qualifies as a "flow-through share" (each, an "FT Share") for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "ITA"), and one-half of one transferable non-flow-through common share purchase warrant (each whole, being a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable into one non-flow-through common share (each a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.50 per Warrant Share for five years from the date of issuance. All securities issued under the Private Placement are subject to a four-month and one-day statutory hold period.

The Warrants are subject to an acceleration clause that entitles the Company to provide notice (the "Acceleration Notice") to holders that the Warrants will expire 30 days from the date the Company provides the Acceleration Notice. The Company can only provide the Acceleration Notice if the closing price of the Company's Common Shares on the TSXV is equal to or greater than $1.00 for 10 consecutive trading days. The Acceleration Notice can be provided at any time after the statutory hold period and before the expiry date of the Warrants.

The Company intends to use the gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Shares for exploration activities on the Company's NISK property located in Quebec and to incur eligible Canadian exploration expenses, within the meaning of the ITA, that will qualify for the federal 30% Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit.

The Company paid finder's fees of $102,500 in connection with the closing of the first tranche of the Offering. It issued 205,080 broker warrants enabling the broker to purchase each unit for $.50 until September 30, 2024.

Early Warning Disclosure

In the context of the Offering and as a part of a structured flow-through share arrangement, Critical Elements Lithium Corporation ("CRE") acquired 948,230 Units at a price of $0.25 per Unit from initial subscribers.

Immediately before closing the Offering, CRE owned and controlled 12,051,770 common shares, representing approximately 10.03% of the outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis. Immediately following to the closing of the Offering, CRE now beneficially owns and controls 13,000,000 common shares representing approximately 10.5% of the outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis and 10.8% of the outstanding common shares on a partially-diluted basis.

CRE proceeded with the aforementioned acquisition for investment purposes and to maintain its equity participation in the Company in accordance with an option agreement relationship between CRE and the Company dated December 22, 2020 (the "Agreement"). In accordance with applicable securities laws, CRE may, from time to time and at any time, acquire additional shares of the Company in the open market or otherwise. It reserves the right to dispose of any or all of its shares in the open market or otherwise at any time and from time to time and to engage in similar transactions with respect to the shares, the whole depending on market conditions, the business, and prospects of the Company and other relevant factors.

Pursuant to the Agreement, CRE was granted a participation right in the securities of the Company to the extent that its equity participation is not less than 5% of the issued and outstanding Shares of the Company]. Such participation right grants CRE the right to participate in any public offering, private placement or otherwise (with exception to Shares issued by the Company pursuant to warrants and incentive stock options outstanding as at December 22, 2020, or share issuance commitments to Granby Gold Inc.) in such amounts as to allow CRE to maintain a percentage ownership interest in the Shares that is the same as CRE's equity participation percentage as at the close of the last equity financing of the Company.

information contained under the heading "Early Warning Disclosure" contained in this news release is being issued in accordance with National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues in connection with the filing of an early warning report. The early warning report respecting the acquisition will be filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com under the Company's profile. To obtain a copy of the early warning report filed by CRE, please contact Nathalie Laurin, CFO of Critical Elements Lithium Corporation, at nlaurin@cecorp.ca.

About Power Nickel Inc.

Power Nickel is a Canadian junior exploration company focusing on high-potential copper, gold, and battery metal prospects in Canada and Chile.

On February 1, 2021, Power Nickel (then called Chilean Metals) completed the acquisition of its option to acquire up to 80% of the Nisk project from Critical Elements Lithium Corp. (CRE: TSXV)

The NISK property comprises a large land position (20 kilometers of strike length) with numerous high-grade intercepts. Power Nickel is focused on expanding its current high-grade nickel-copper PGE mineralization Ni 43- 101 resource with a series of drill programs designed to test the initial Nisk discovery zone and to explore the land package for adjacent potential Nickel deposits.

Highlights

Recent assay results from the current drill program at the Nisk deposit continue to return high-grade Ni-Cu- Co sulfide and PGE mineralization.

Significant results from this batch of assays include:

40.3m @ 0.88% Ni, 0.56% Cu, 0.06% Co, 1.64 ppm Pd and 0.15 ppm Pt (PN-22-009)

Including:

25.86m @ 1.17% Ni, 0.80% Cu, 0.08% Co, 1.46 ppm Pd and 0.23 ppm Pt

Power Nickel announced on June 8th, 2021, that an agreement had been made to complete the 100% acquisition of its Golden Ivan project in the heart of the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle has reported mineral resources (past production and current resources) in a total of 130 million ounces of gold, 800 million ounces of silver, and 40 billion pounds of copper.(Resource World) This property hosts two known mineral showings (Gold ore and Magee), and a portion of the past-producing Silverado mine, which was reportedly exploited between 1921 and 1939. These mineral showings are described to be Polymetallic veins that contain quantities of silver, lead, zinc, plus/minus gold, and plus/minus copper.

Power Nickel is also 100 percent owner of five properties comprising over 50,000 acres strategically located in the prolific iron-oxide-copper-gold belt of northern Chile. It also owns a 3-per-cent NSR royalty interest on any future production from the Copaquire copper-molybdenum deposit, which was sold to a subsidiary of Teck Resources Inc. Under the terms of the sale agreement, Teck has the right to acquire one-third of the 3-per-cent NSR for $ 3 million at any time. The Copaquire property borders Teck's producing Quebrada Blanca copper mine in Chile's first region.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Terry Lynch, CEO

647-448-8044, terry@powernickel.com

Power Nickel Inc.

The Canadian Venture Building

82 Richmond St East, Suite 202

Toronto, ON

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "indicates", "opportunity", "possible" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital to fund its planned activities at the NISK Property and for general working capital purposes; the timing for proposed closing of the Private Placement; the timing and costs of future activities on the Company's properties, including preparing the Amended Technical Report; maintaining its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; the inherent hazards associates with mineral exploration and mining operations; future prices of metals; changes in general economic conditions; accuracy of mineral resource and reserve estimates; the potential for new discoveries; the ability of the Company to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop the projects and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to the Company's plans and business objectives for the projects; the general ability of the Company to monetize its mineral resources; and changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, dependence on key management personnel and general competition in the mining industry. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, estimates, and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors should change.

SOURCE: Power Nickel Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746911/Power-Nickel-Announces-Closing-of-1st-Tranche-of-Private-Placement
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has selected Oxitec's Friendly Aedes aegypti solution for a new pilot intervention to control the disease-spreading invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito.

has selected Oxitec's Friendly solution for a new pilot intervention to control the disease-spreading invasive mosquito. The project is a partnership between the Republic of the Marshall Islands , the Pacific Island Health Officers' Association, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Oxitec.

, the Pacific Island Health Officers' Association, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Oxitec. Aedes aegypti has spread globally and is the primary vector of diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

has spread globally and is the primary vector of diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Deployments of the Friendly Aedes aegypti are planned to be conducted on Ebeye Island where, in 2019, a severe dengue outbreak forced a 'state of health emergency'.

OXFORD, England, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of insect-based biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock, announced that it has joined a new partnership formed to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), in the Pacific. Working in partnership with RMI, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pacific Island Health Officers' Association (PIHOA), Oxitec will supply Friendly Aedes aegypti and transfer knowhow for self-sustained releases of the solution on Ebeye Island, which has been affected by serious dengue outbreaks and is home to more than 15,000 people.





In assessing the vector management tools available to address the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito, RMI government experts selected Oxitec's Friendly Aedes aegypti as the most sustainable and operationally effective option well-suited for deployment in the unique ecosystem in the RMI.

This pilot program will focus on equipping RMI with Friendly Aedes aegypti products and the technical training and support to integrate them into RMI's current vector control efforts, with the aim of establishing a strong model for making safe, scalable vector control solutions available to a broader range of governments and communities seeking to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito in the Pacific.

The first phase of the project will include the importation of Friendly Aedes aegypti products to RMI and training and capacity-building efforts for teams that will carry out future releases. The project team aims to start releasing Friendly Aedes aegypti following regulatory approvals by RMI government authorities, and will focus deployments on the island of Ebeye, which is the most densely populated island in RMI. Since the late 1980s, dengue, and other mosquito-borne diseases, have burdened communities in RMI. In 2019, a dengue epidemic forced the government of RMI to declare a State of Health Emergency.

Oxitec's CEO, Grey Frandsen, said, "We're honoured that our Friendly Aedes aegypti solution has been selected by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for a groundbreaking new pilot program to address the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito in the RMI. We're also thankful to be working alongside such excellent partners, all of whom are coming together to address this critical public health challenge. We've built this safe, sustainable technology to be scalable and deployable globally, and we're looking forward to demonstrating its effectiveness in this important effort."

"We selected the Friendly solution to manage Aedes aegypti on Ebeye on the basis of its track record for outstanding vector control and environmental safety in other countries, and we're delighted to have built a world-class coalition of organisations to deliver in our communities," added Jack Niedenthal, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Oxitec's just-add-water product produces non-biting Friendly male mosquitoes over time, which mate with invasive, biting Aedes aegypti females. Their female offspring cannot survive, which means fewer biting female mosquitoes in the following generations. Already deployed in the US and Brazil, in urban pilots in the city of Indaiatuba in Brazil, deployments of the Friendly Aedes aegypti in densely populated communities led to up to 96% suppression of Aedes aegypti populations. The Friendly Aedes aegypti product is now serving cities, communities and businesses across Brazil. This solution controls only this particular mosquito species, without harming beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies.

About Oxitec

Oxitec is the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford, Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class public, private and non-profit partners.

Learn more at oxitec.com.

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The teachers' collective agreement expires on Friday, March 31: The government lays down a second proposal that ignores teachers' priorities and excludes high school, adult and vocational training teachers.

MONTREAL, QB / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / On Friday, March 31, teachers from the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT) in the English sector will gather in front of their schools and centres to underscore the end of their collective agreement and let the public know that public education is a priority. We are here and we will be heard!

The teachers' priorities in this round of negotiations are: attraction and retention of teachers, classroom composition, workload and working conditions, professional autonomy, resources to support students with special needs, as well as solutions in the adult education and vocational training sectors. Negotiations began in mid-January, but there has been very little movement on the part of the government. The union has presented clear demands, made on behalf of teachers, which have been met with vague responses and few questions. Up to now, the government has not presented any precise demands or solutions.

The government had formulated offers mid-February through the Forums, outside of the legal framework of the negotiations, suggesting the introduction of classroom assistants (aides a la classe) for elementary schools. Earlier this week, it reiterated the same offer, while increasing the number of classroom assistants and suggesting that unions let go of all of their other key demands. This only further demonstrates the government's gross misunderstanding of the needs of our public education system.

As previously stated, QPAT believes that the proposed implementation of "classroom assistants" is a solution worth considering as a possible way of alleviating some pressure in our elementary schools, but it certainly does not address many of the challenges experienced within our public education system. Furthermore, there are no proposals to improve the workload of teachers in high school, adult education and vocational training. Teachers continue to be the ones holding it together despite the increasingly difficult conditions in which they practice their profession. Teachers have spoken and their demands are clear - the government must address them to find real solutions.

"Our negotiators have been presenting our demands which are clear and detailed and the government has been presenting issues without solutions or precise demands. If they truly want to value the profession, they should be listening carefully to our needs. If we want to attract and retain teachers, we need to improve the workload and treat teachers as true professionals. We are ready to stand together and have our voices heard." - QPAT President Heidi Yetman.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON NEGOTIATIONS, GO TO QPAT-APEQ.QC.CA

The Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers represents all teachers working in Quebec's English public sector. QPAT is 8000+ members strong and works to protect the individual rights and the collective good of all teachers. Established in 1864, QPAT is Canada's oldest union.

Media Contact:

Julie Montpetit

julie_montpetit@qpat-apeq.qc.ca

514-249-9653

SOURCE: Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746543/The-Quebec-Provincial-Association-of-Teachers-We-are-here-and-we-will-be-heard
Featuring flexibility and portability, the two products are ideal for small laboratories or on-site testing needs.

XI'AN, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tianlong, an innovative high-tech company specializing in molecular diagnostic products, has announced the global release of two new products, the GeneFlex Nucleic Acid Extractor and the Gentier mini+ Real-time PCR System. Featuring compact design and portability, they can provide researchers and clinicians with reliable and efficient tools for nucleic acid extraction and real-time PCR applications.

"We know that throughput waste and lack of space are two common concerns for many laboratories and clinical operators so Tianlong has positioned ourselves well for the imminent increased demand for flexible throughput. Accordingly, we have developed GeneFlex16, which can flexibly form 16 x n different throughputs, which meets requirements for the simultaneous extraction of multiple projects without mutual interference, thereby significantly improving extraction efficiency," said Li Ming, CEO of Tianlong.

Based on Tianlong's proprietary patented technology, the German Red Dot Design Award 2021 winning GeneFlex Nucleic Acid Extractor is designed to provide flexible throughput for researchers and clinicians.





GeneFlex Nucleic Acid Extractor also features:

a maximum processing volume of 1700L; sample processing volume of 200L -500L;larger sample volume that enables a higher yield of nucleic acid;

precise temperature control with a range of 30C-120C, a heating speed of 40.2C/s, temperature accuracy of 1C, and temperature uniformity of =1.0C. This enables researchers to achieve reproducible results with high accuracy.

The Gentier mini+ Real-time PCR System is a compact and portable instrument designed for the detection and prevention of animal diseases, infectious diseases, food safety, and scientific research applications. This lightweight device is ideal for use in mobile laboratories, small laboratories, or on-site testing needs as it does not take up much space. The instrument is equipped with multiple fluorescent channels and a rapid heating and cooling rate, which significantly reduces the duration of experiments. With its advanced features and portability, the Tianlong Gentier mini+ Real-time PCR System revolutionizes and solves the problem of limited space and fragmented samples in the lab, ensuring ease-of-use with higher accuracy and efficiency.





Gentier mini+ Real-time PCR System Highlights:

its lightweight design weighs only 3.2kgs, making it easy to carry and suitable for use in mobile laboratories, small laboratories, or on-site testing needs;

user-friendly 7-inch full-color LCD touch screen;

capable of complete fluorescence scanning of all 16 wells within 1 second, improving efficiency for lab professionals;

offering multiple methods of interconnectivity, including network port, USB, and Wi-Fi, providing researchers with flexibility and convenience when transferring data or controlling the instrument remotely.

Li Zheng, Instrument R&D Director of Tianlong, said: "Gentier mini+ has multiple fluorescent channels, which are compatible with more reagents, especially multi-target reagents, and has a fast heating and cooling rate, which shortens experiment times. A highlight is the adoption of a maintenance-free LED light source for fluorescence scanning."

With the launch of the GeneFlex Nucleic Acid Extractor and Gentier mini+ Real-time PCR System, Tianlong is providing integrated PCR lab solutions for more researchers and clinical professionals around the globe. The two instruments are small, portable, and are specifically designed for mobile laboratories, small laboratories, or on-site testing needs. Matched with various extraction reagents and PCR reagents from Tianlong, the GeneFlex extraction instrument, paired with the Gentier mini+ PCR instrument, can be applied to various detection items, including detection of genetic, respiratory, and blood diseases.

About Tianlong

Tianlong is an innovative high-tech company specializing in molecular diagnostic products in China. Since its foundation in 1997, Tianlong has devoted itself to providing integrated PCR lab solutions for professionals worldwide. We have a wide range of products covering from devices to reagents, including nucleic acid extractors, Real-time PCR systems, All-in-one molecular diagnosis systems, sample processing systems, liquid handling systems, and 300 kinds of compatible reagents.

For more information, please visit Tianlong and its pages on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

For product or corporate information inquiry, please reach out to inquiry@medtl.com.

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Sterling, Virginia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Azure IAM has announced an AAD design and implementation service to provide Azure clients with access to cybersecurity solutions from top brands such as SailPoint and Microsoft. The platform includes added functionality for private organizations such as universities, and will allow those clients to consolidate digital identities across platforms.

To find out more, visit https://azureiam.com





Azure IAM Announces Azure Active Directory Design & Implementation Service

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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The rollout of the Azure Active Directory service will allow clients of the cybersecurity consulting company to consolidate a number of different third-party access management solutions into a single cloud-based system. The products that Azure can connect to the AAD serve a wide variety of functions and can be used to build robust security solutions for organizations of all sizes.

The company explains that the AAD platform can be especially effective when deployed in situations where information is spread out across a number of different systems. For example, universities and other educational institutions may have students using a wide range of systems, and the AAD can help consolidate identities across those platforms.

As part of the new service, Azure IAM can deploy AAD to link products such as Microsoft's MFA Authenticator App, alongside other solutions built by Azure's partners. In addition, they have used the AAD to implement passwordless login functionality in organizations of all sizes, with the intention of saving both time and IT resources.

Azure IAM's newly launched Azure Active Directory service is recommended for those organizations looking to migrate their security infrastructure to a cloud-based or hybrid system. AAD can host scalable security solutions in the cloud in order to reduce response times and increase network accessibility, resulting in an unobtrusive, adaptable MFA experience.

Company founder Robin Lilly said, "Our company puts decades of experience, in implementing small to large scale Identity Management systems, at the disposal of our current and prospective customers. We architect, design, and implement secure Identity systems for the public and private sectors, the states, and the federal government."

Azure IAM's team is composed of experts in areas such as access management, Azure ADConnect, and Microsoft Identity Services, and all have TS/SCI clearance. They have already helped hundreds of organizations secure their cloud network through a combination of proprietary and third-party systems.

For more information, visit https://azureiam.com

Contact Info:

Name: Robin Lilly

Email: robin@azureiam.com

Organization: Azure IAM, LLC

Address: P. O. Box 650685, Sterling, Virginia 20165, United States

Website: https://azureiam.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160741
COEUR D'ALENE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE American:IDR) ("IDR", "Idaho Strategic" or the "Company") today announced its consolidated operating and financial results for the year ending December 31, 2022. Including a $603,650 net profit for the 4th quarter of 2022, and a 25.5% increase in revenue with a 218% increase in gross profit in 2022 compared to 2021.

Idaho Strategic's CEO and President, John Swallow stated, "I am proud of the way the IDR team performed throughout 2022. It is typically a humbling exercise to write our year-end press release and look back at what our team was able to accomplish, and 2022 was no exception. This past year has been both an extremely busy year and an energizing one on multiple fronts. We have not only grown our gold production and increased our efficiency at the Golden Chest Mine, but we also acquired and advanced the largest rare earth elements landholdings in the United States.

As Idaho Strategic continues to execute its organic growth strategy, we have focused heavily on maintaining our Company culture and scaling our core philosophies. We currently have an effective combination of young energetic team members mixed with steady and experienced leaders that allows IDR to pivot quickly and correctly when needed. This combination of talent is something that we couldn't have developed without leaning on the generational experience of the folks in the Silver Valley and promoting from within the Company.

As I look forward to 2023, I believe IDR is well positioned from both a macroeconomic perspective, to benefit from the uncertainty surrounding our global financial system and the U.S.' shift toward decarbonization and domestic supply chain security, and from a microeconomic perspective, with the team we have in place and the continued operational execution at the Golden Chest Mine. We have a lot of interest from folks that want to work at IDR I am excited to see our operating and financial performance leverage the strong foundation that the team has built in 2022."

4th Quarter Financial Highlights:

Idaho Strategic realized a net profit for the 4 th quarter 2022 of $603,650 compared to a net loss of $1,219,518 for the same period in 2021.

quarter 2022 of $603,650 compared to a net loss of $1,219,518 for the same period in 2021. Revenue increased 94.5% or $1,667,294, to $3,432,002 in the 4 th quarter of 2022, up from $1,764,708 in Q4 2021.

quarter of 2022, up from $1,764,708 in Q4 2021. Similarly, gross profit for the 4th quarter 2022 increased to $1,469,082, up from a gross loss of $80,978 in Q4 2021.

2022 Rare Earths and Corporate Highlights:

On March 11 th of 2022 IDR up listed onto the New York Stock Exchange American and rang the opening bell of the NYSE from underground at the Golden Chest Mine-a first in recorded history.

of 2022 IDR up listed onto the New York Stock Exchange American and rang the opening bell of the NYSE from underground at the Golden Chest Mine-a first in recorded history. Idaho Strategic added the Lemhi Pass rare earth elements project and quickly expanded it following the Company's initial exploration results.

The Company increased its rare earth elements land position in central Idaho; all three properties combined makeup approximately 18,030 acres within Idaho's Rare Earth Element - Thorium (REE-Th) Belt.

Completed its initial drill program at Diamond Creek which returned 11.3 meters of 1.3% total rare earth oxide (TREO) and 10.1 meters of 0.7% niobium.

Completed a 32-meter trench at Diamond Creek which returned 32 continuous meters of REE mineralization at the surface averaging 1.28% TREO and included 12 meters of greater than 0.5% niobium.

Surface sampling program at Lemhi Pass returned 7 samples with TREO grades ranging from 0.67% to 4.26%, with neodymium alone accounting for more than half of the TREO of each sample.

Provided REE mineralized material to the University of Idaho as part of IDR's involvement in the IGEM Program to develop environmentally friendly extraction technology for rare earth elements in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Geological Survey, and the Center for Advanced Energy Studies.

2022 Results of Gold Operations:

For the year ending December 31, 2022, the Company processed 42,260 dry metric tonnes (dmt) at the Company's New Jersey Mill with an average gold head grade of 4.33 grams per tonne gold (gpt) and gold recovery of 89.8%.

IDR produced a total of 6,103 ounces of gold contained in concentrates and dore'.

Mined 8,400 tonnes of ore from the open pit at an average grade of 4.55 gpt gold with an average stripping ratio of 9.5 and an average daily mining rate of 922 tonnes per day (tpd).

Mined 25,000 tonnes of ore from the underground mine at an average grade of 5.35 gpt gold and completed 175 meters of development related to the Main Access Ramp (MAR) to access new stopes. A new ventilation raise was completed by IDR miners as well.

Completed 6,353 meters of core drilling at the Klondike, Paymaster, and Skookum shoots, as well as the greater Murray Gold Belt area. Highlights of the 2022 drilling included drillhole GC 22-212 which intersected 8.77 gpt gold over 9.2 meters in the Klondike area, and GC 22-223 which intersected 16.6 gpt gold over 1.23 meters in the Paymaster area.

A highlight of drilling the greater Murray Gold Belt area was the discovery of a broad, low-grade zone where AG 22-2 assayed 0.56 gpt gold over 24 meters on the Company's Argus property. The Argus is located about 2.8 kilometers northwest of the active mining area at Golden Chest.

2022 Financial Highlights include the following:

Revenue from gold concentrate sales was $9,580,189 for the year ending December 31, 2022, compared to $7,630,416 for the comparable period in 2021. The increase in revenue is the result of a higher ratio of underground to open pit ore processed at the mill, resulting in a higher average gold grade and the production of 1,179 more ounces in 2022 compared to 2021.

Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $1,553,921 compared to a gross profit of $487,877 in 2021. This resulted in an increase in gross profit as a percentage of sales from 6.4% in 2021 to 16.2% in 2022.

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $2,631,092 compared to a net loss of $3,260,361 for the same period in 2021. The consolidated net loss for 2022 was inclusive of non-cash charges of $1,633,492 ($1,977,841 in 2021) as follows: depreciation and amortization of $984,083, accretion of asset retirement obligation of $12,691, stock-based compensation of $547,275, stock issued for services of $32,326, loss on write off of equipment $68,641, equity income on investment in Buckskin $1,524, and a gain on the forgiveness of SBA loan of $10,000.

Gold sales receivable increased to $909,997 from $408,187 at December 31, 2022 compared to 2021 as a result of shipping delays related to the global shipping situation and higher estimated future gold prices expected on unsettled ounces at year end. The backlog of shipping has been largely rectified going into the first quarter of 2023.

The Company saw an increase in exploration expenses for 2022 largely due to the drilling of its Diamond Creek property for REEs as well as increased drilling near the Golden Chest with the Company-owned drilling rig.

All in sustaining cost (AISC) per ounce decreased from $1,818.22 in 2021, to $1,777.14 in 2022 from producing 1,276 more ounces of gold as a result of increased efficiencies seen at the Golden Chest mine due to the implementation of a new mine schedule and the commissioning of new mining equipment. The reported AISC number is also inclusive of IDR's 2022 rare earth exploration program.

Mr. Swallow concluded, "We had a good year. And while the operational and financial highlights paint a good picture of 2022, for me the numbers are like looking at a 2-D map of a mining property and trying to develop a mine plan (and business plan) in lieu of going to the site and experiencing the topography firsthand. Over the next week or two I plan to write and publish one of our periodic letters that discusses some of the nuances that are naturally left out of operational and financial updates while taking a look at the path ahead, and with a few opinions tossed in for good measure."

Qualified person

IDR's Vice President of Exploration, Robert John Morgan, PG, PLS is a qualified person as such term is defined under S-K 1300 and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data included in this press release.

About Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc.

Domiciled in Idaho and headquartered in the Panhandle of northern Idaho, Idaho Strategic Resources (IDR) is one of the few resource-based companies (public or private) possessing the combination of officially recognized U.S. domestic rare earth element properties (in Idaho), the largest known concentration of thorium resources in the U.S., and Idaho-based gold production located in an established mining community.

Idaho Strategic Resources produces gold at the Golden Chest Mine located in the Murray Gold Belt (MGB) area of the world-class Coeur d'Alene Mining District, north of the prolific Silver Valley. With over 7,300 acres of patented and unpatented land, the Company has the largest private land position in the area following its consolidation of the Murray Gold Belt for the first time in over 100-years.

In addition to gold and gold production, the Company maintains an important strategic presence in the U.S. Critical Minerals sector, specifically focused on the more "at-risk" Rare Earth Elements (REEs) with an overall land position of approximately 18,030 acres in Idaho's REE-Th Belt. The Company's Diamond Creek, Roberts and Lemhi Pass REE properties are included the U.S. national REE inventory as listed in USGS, IGS and DOE publications. IDR's Lemhi Pass REE-Thorium Project is also recognized by the USGS and IGS as containing the largest concentration of thorium resources in the country. All three projects are located in central Idaho and participating in the USGS Earth MRI program.

With an impressive mix of experience and dedication, the folks at IDR maintain a long-standing "We Live Here" approach to corporate culture, land management, and historic preservation. Furthermore, it is our belief that successful operations begin with the heightened responsibility that only local oversight and a community mindset can provide. Its "everyone goes home at night" policy would not be possible without the multi-generational base of local exploration, drilling, mining, milling, and business professionals that reside in and near the communities of the Silver Valley and North Idaho.

For more information on Idaho Strategic Resources click here for our corporate presentation, go to www.idahostrategic.com or call:

Travis Swallow, Investor Relations & Corporate Development

Email: tswallow@idahostrategic.com

Phone: (208) 625-9001

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "goal", "plan", "intend", "potential', "estimate", "may", "assume" and "will" or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions, or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, Idaho Strategic Resources expectations, intentions, plans, assumptions and beliefs with respect to, among other things, estimated and targeted production rates and results, the expected prices of gold, as well as the related costs, expenses and capital expenditures, and the potential advancement of rare earth element or critical mineral resources. The Company cannot guarantee that it is the largest rare earth elements landholder in the U.S., however the Company has made the claim after reviewing the publicly available information regarding the landholdings of MP Materials, Rare Element Resources, Western Rare Earths, Ucore, and Texas Minerals. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of Idaho Strategic Resources as of the date such information is provided and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of IDR to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. With respect to the business of Idaho Strategic Resources, these risks and uncertainties include risks relating to widespread epidemics or pandemic outbreak including the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of COVID-19 on our workforce, suppliers and other essential resources and what effect those impacts, if they occur, would have on our business, including our ability to access goods and supplies, the ability to transport our products and impacts on employee productivity, the risks in connection with the operations, cash flow and results of the Company relating to the unknown duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; interpretations or reinterpretations of geologic information; unfavorable exploration results; inability to obtain permits required for future exploration, development or production; general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices; the ability to obtain necessary future financing on acceptable terms; the ability to operate the Company's projects; and risks associated with the mining industry such as economic factors (including future commodity prices, and energy prices), ground conditions, failure of plant, equipment, processes and transportation services to operate as anticipated, environmental risks, government regulation, actual results of current exploration and production activities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, permitting timelines, capital and construction expenditures, reclamation activities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from this forward-looking information is available in Idaho Strategic Resources filings with the SEC on EDGAR. IDR does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

SOURCE: Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc.

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PARIS, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb today announced the appointment of Benoit Chasseguet as Country President for France. Subject to regulatory approval, the appointment is effective immediately.





Currently Regional Marine Manager for Continental Europe since 2013, Benoit succeeds Veronique Brionne who has decided to leave the company.

In his new role, Benoit will be responsible for Chubb's property and casualty, accident and health, and consumer lines operations across France. He will continue to be based in Paris and will report to Sara Mitchell, Division President for Chubb in Continental Europe, Middle East and North Africa.

Prior to joining Chubb Benoit spent six years at Achmea as Non Life Senior Regional Manager, following more than ten years at EurAPco as Senior Marine Manager, having joined from Cigna where he spent eight years as a marine underwriter taking on increasing responsibility.

Sara Mitchell, Division President for Chubb in Continental Europe, Middle East and North Africa said:

"I am delighted to welcome Benoit to this important role. France is Chubb's biggest market in Continental Europe and also our European Union headquarters. Benoit brings more than 30 years of industry experience as well as a deep knowledge of Chubb. He is highly respected both within Chubb and also the wider industry for his expertise and I am looking forward to working with Benoit and to see the French business continue to grow.

"I would also like to thank Veronique for all her dedication and hard work both as Country President for France and in the other senior roles she has held in her nine years at Chubb."

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 34,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com

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LIMASSOL, Cyprus, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Exnova , an online broker, has recently introduced a new trading instrument called Blitz Options to its suite of trading options. This high-risk, high-reward financial instrument offers traders the potential to make quick profits or losses within a very short time frame. Blitz Options provide flexibility and control to traders, making it a unique addition to the trading industry.

Understanding Blitz Options

Blitz Options are a type of options that has the shortest expiration time of just 5 seconds. This means that the outcome of the trade, whether it will be in-the-money or out-of-the-money, is determined within this short period.

Like traditional options, Blitz Options allow traders to place bets on the direction of an asset's price movement within a short time frame. Traders can bet on the asset's price increasing or decreasing. If the bet is successful, they can earn high returns on their investment.

How it works

Exnova provides traders with the opportunity to trade Blitz Options on demo and real balances. The available assets include EUR/USD (OTC), AUD/CAD (OTC), EUR/GPB (OTC), and EUR/JPY (OTC).

To open a Blitz Options deal, a trader chooses an asset, specifies an investment amount, and predicts the price movement for the next five seconds. If the prediction is correct, the trader receives a profit of up to 95% of the initial investment. If not, the entire invested amount is lost.

Traders can withdraw their profits to one of many payment methods, including Boleto, Pix, Skrill, Neteller, etc.

Exnova's proprietary trading platform is designed to be user-friendly and more straightforward than traditional trading engines like Metatrader. This simplifies the navigation process, reduces the learning curve, and makes it easy for traders to use. The platform comes with features like:

About the Exnova platform

- Smart charting - traders can run up to 9 charts at a time

- 100+ technical indicators

- In-built fundamental analysis tools: calendars, newsfeed

- Useful widgets like price alerts, traders' sentiment, etc

- Risk management: Stop Loss/Take Profit, Negative balance protection, Trailing Stop

The Exnova platform also offers several benefits, including a low minimum deposit of $10, competitive spreads, and a variety of trading instruments, including Forex, stocks, currencies, commodities, crypto, ETFs, and several types of options.

Exnova offers a demo account charged with $10,000 virtual coins to help less experienced traders practice trading strategies, test-drive instruments, and familiarize themselves with the platform interface. The platform also features helpful video tutorials to assist traders in improving their skills and achieving their financial goals.

Conclusion

Blitz Options offer a unique way to trade in the financial markets. They provide traders with a high level of flexibility and control, making them a viable option for experienced traders looking to make quick profits.

However, traders should be aware that the short expiration time also poses a high risk of loss. It is essential to understand the risks involved and trade responsibly. With Exnova's user-friendly platform and useful tools, traders can learn to trade responsibly and improve their skills over time.

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that on March 30th, 2023 it has signed an area development agreement for the province of Alberta for the opening of 30 franchise restaurants of PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill, a gourmet bowls, wraps, and pitas fast casual Greek restaurant with the fresh wholesome tastes of Greece and its delicious traditional foods.



"Todays announcement establishes PIRHO as the leading national brand for Fast Casual Greek cuisine. By using our existing team and road map for accelerated growth, we are building PIRHO with a first mover advantage just like we did Mucho Burrito," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly.



"Putting the band back together is a critical step for us to achieve our goals. Speed to market is crucial when scaling a growth brand, and we plan to leverage our platform across our portfolio of emerging brands to help us achieve this. Scott Grandin and his team on the ground in Alberta have the experience in developing brands quickly so the opportunity to combine teams makes perfect sense. Happy Belly is quickly becoming a national franchisor of brands. With 60 units for PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill in development, and 80 units combined across our brands, we are showing our brand partners and shareholders just how serious we are about accelerated growth in an asset light franchise model, meanwhile keeping in mind I have only been at this full time for 10 months so we are just getting started."

"Our accelerated franchise development model and real estate growth plan is establishing PIRHO as a category leader just like Cava Grill in the United States."

Figure 1: Visual Example of PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill locations with the Ontario and Alberta AD Agreements.



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PIRHO Food Grill is the second brand this month within the Happy Belly Portfolio that has announced and begun its franchising development roadmap. For franchising inquiries, please see www.happybellyfg.com/franchise-with-us/ or contact us at hello@happybellyfg.com.





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About PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill

We strongly believe that food can bring people together and inspire colorful conversations. PIRHO culture is rooted in old-world Greek traditions with an emphasis on family and community. The wholesome ingredients, the careful preparation, the irresistible aromas, the delicious food and of course the human interaction all make for a warm and inviting atmosphere. During our visits to Greece, this nurturing environment left a deep and lasting impression with us. So much so that it led to the creation of PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill. The best of Greece right here in Ottawa! In our fast-paced world, taking the time to connect with friends and family has never been more important. You deserve to enjoy those precious moments and connect with your loved ones, in real life, with True Food. Join us for lunch or dinner at PIRHO Grill and fuel your soul.

About Happy Belly Food Group

Happy Belly Brands



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Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands.

Happy Belly Food Group

Shawn Moniz

Chief Executive Officer

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:

www: www.happybellyfg.com or email hello@happybellyfg.com

If you wish to contact us please call: (604) 737-2303



Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release, which has been prepared by management.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and include the future performance of LumberHeads Food Co. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the business plans for Happy Belly described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulators, which are posted on www.sedar.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160743
Gowest also completes settlement with Cementation Canada Inc.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Gowest Gold Ltd. (TSXV: GWA) ("Gowest" or the "Company") provided an update on its annual and special meeting of shareholders held yesterday (the "Meeting"), at which shareholders of the Company overwhelmingly approved certain resolutions necessary to complete the Company's previously announced private placements for aggregate gross proceeds of $25,000,000. (See Gowest News Release dated January 26, 2023.)

With the receipt of the required shareholder approvals, Gowest is now in a position to complete:

the purchase by Greenwater Investment Hong Kong Limited (" Greenwater ") and other investors of an aggregate of 150,000,000 units of the Company (" Units "), at an issue price of $0.10 per Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $15,000,000 (the " Unit Offering "); and,

the conversion of the outstanding promissory notes (the "Promissory Notes") held by Lush Land Investment Canada Inc. ("Lush Land") in an aggregate principal amount of $10,000,000 into Units, at a conversion price of $0.10 per Unit (the "Promissory Note Conversion").

Each Unit issuable pursuant to the Unit Offering and the Promissory Note Conversion will comprise one common share of the Company and three-quarters () of one common share purchase warrant (each whole common share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"), with each whole Warrant being exercisable to purchase one additional common share of the Company for a period of 24 months following the closing date of the Unit Offering or conversion date of the Promissory Notes (such date, as applicable, the "Unit Issue Date"), at a purchase price of (i) $0.10 per share until the date that is three (3) months following the Unit Issue Date; (ii) thereafter, at $0.12 per share until the date that is 12 months following the Unit Issue Date; and (iii) thereafter, at $0.15 per share until the date that is 24 months following the Unit Issue Date.

The participation by Greenwater in the Unit Offering required disinterested shareholder approval under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), on the basis that the participation by Greenwater in the Unit Offering constituted a "related party transaction" under 61-101. The Promissory Note Conversion required disinterested shareholder approval under the applicable policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V"), on the basis that such conversion will result in Lush Land becoming a new Control Person of the Company (as such term is defined under the applicable policies of the TSX-V).

The Unit Offering and the Promissory Note Conversion remain subject to the final approval of the TSX-V.

Other Meeting Business

In addition, shareholders also approved the following matters at the Meeting:

the election of the following individuals as directors of the Company: C. Fraser Elliott (Chairman), Dan Gagnon, Peter Quintiliani, Meirong Yuan and Douglas Cater;

the appointment of DNTW Toronto LLP as auditors of the Company;

the approval of a new 10% rolling stock option plan of the Company (the " 2023 Stock Option Plan "), to supersede and replace the Company's existing stock option plan; and

the approval of a new general by-law of the Company (the "New General By-Law"), to replace all prior by-laws of the Company.

Each of the 2023 Stock Option Plan and the New General By-Law is described in greater detail in, and a complete copy of each of the 2023 Stock Option Plan and the New General By-Law is included in, the management information circular prepared in connection with the Meeting. A copy of the management information circular is available for review under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.SEDAR.com as well as on the Corporation's website at Annual General Meeting materials - Gowest Gold.

The 2023 Stock Option Plan is a "rolling" plan, as the aggregate number of common shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of options pursuant to the plan is such number of common shares as is equal to 10% of the total number of common shares issued and outstanding from time to time. The 2023 Option Plan was adopted by the Company to comply with, and to take advantage of, certain recent amendments made to TSX Venture Exchange Policy 4.4 - Security Based Compensation. The 2023 Stock Option Plan was made effective as of March 30, 2023.

Completion of Cementation Settlement

The Company also announced today that it has completed its previously announced settlement (the "Settlement") with Cementation Canada Inc. ("Cementation"), with respect to Cementation's claim against the Company issued under the Construction Lien Act (Ontario), seeking payment of approximately $7,436,500 for certain services and materials provided to the Company under a contract between the parties dated as of March 2, 2017. (See Gowest news releases dated July 4, 2022 and January 23, 2023.)

In connection with the Settlement: (i) Gowest paid Cementation approximately $576,500 in cash ($500,000 of which had been previously advanced to Cementation); and (ii) Cementation assigned and transferred the net receivable amount owning to it by Gowest, being approximately $6,860,000, to a third-party purchaser of the debt. Gowest will be obligated to pay such third-party purchaser the net receivable amount of approximately $6,860,000 on or prior to March 31, 2026, without interest, and such net receivable amount is convertible into common shares of Gowest, at the option of the third-party purchaser, at the then applicable market price of the common shares (subject to, and in accordance with, the applicable policies of the TSX-V).

Further to the Settlement, Gowest received a full and final release from Cementation in respect of its claims against the Company and the lien registered on title to the Company's Bradshaw Gold Deposit will be discharged.

Board of Directors

Douglas Cater is a professional geologist who has worked extensively across Canada and internationally for more than 35 years, with a particular focus on the Timmins gold camp. He has held positions with both senior and intermediate gold producers, including Barrick, Placer Dome and Kinross. His most recent executive position was Vice President, Exploration (Canada) with Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. Mr. Cater is also a director of Sierra Metals Inc., Mayfair Gold Corp., and Exploits Discovery Corp.. He is a graduate of the ICD- Rotman Directors Education Program.

C. Fraser Elliott, Gowest Chairman, stated, "On behalf of the rest of our directors, I would like to offer a warm welcome Douglas, and we look forward to adding his exceptional strength and experience to the Gowest team."

About Gowest

Gowest is a Canadian gold exploration and development company focused on the delineation and development of its 100% owned Bradshaw Gold Deposit (Bradshaw) on the Frankfield Property, part of the Company's North Timmins Gold Project (NTGP). Gowest is exploring additional gold targets on its +100-square-kilometre NTGP land package and continues to evaluate the area, which is part of the prolific Timmins, Ontario gold camp. Currently, Bradshaw contains a National Instrument 43-101 Indicated Resource estimated at 2.1 million tonnes ("t") grading 6.19 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) containing 422 thousand ounces (oz) Au and an Inferred Resource of 3.6 million t grading 6.47 g/t Au containing 755 thousand oz Au. Further, based on the Pre-Feasibility Study produced by Stantec Mining and announced on June 9, 2015, Bradshaw contains Mineral Reserves (Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves) in the probable category, using a 3 g/t Au cut-off and utilizing a gold price of US$1,200 / oz, totaling 1.8 million t grading 4.82 g/t Au for 277 thousand oz Au.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements relating to the Unit Offering and the Promissory Note Conversion. Words such as "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "intend", "potential" and similar expressions may be used to identify these forward-looking statements although not all forward-looking statements contain such words.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including risks associated with financing transactions generally, such as the failure to satisfy the closing conditions contained in the subscription agreements. Additional risk factors are also set forth in the Company's management's discussion and analysis and other filings available via the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by this press release. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and, other than as required by law, the Company does not intend to or assume any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future 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.

For further information please contact:

Dan Gagnon

President & CEO

Tel: (416) 363-1210

Email: info@gowestgold.com

Greg Taylor

Investor Relations

Tel: (416) 605-5120

Email: gregt@gowestgold.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160645
XAPP Design Inc. (866-477-9277), a company based in Charleston, WV, has expanded its range of web design and digital marketing solutions for clients looking to grow their businesses.

Charleston, West Virginia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - XAPP Design has announced an expanded range of strategies and products, now offering clients full-service online visibility solutions, combining web design with marketing and online presence management. The firm specializes in website design and development, search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) services, and web, mobile, and desktop applications.

Find out more at https://www.xappdesign.com.

XAPP Design Expands Custom Website Development & SEO Services In Charleston, WV

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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XAPP Design explains that custom website design is the foundation of a business's web presence. With the expansion, the company now provides all-in-one website presence management, handling all the requirements to successfully run and grow a business website, including domain management, updating content, SEO, backups, security, marketing, and hosting.

Their web design services start with a consultation with the client and a website audit consisting of an analysis and a proposal. After this, they design a custom website to boost the business's online visibility. The design is specifically created with the client's business needs and brand in mind. Namely, the physical characteristics of the website, such as its color scheme, fonts, and layout, reflect the brand, and it is both aesthetic in its design and capable of driving sales and business inquiries.

Following the recent announcement, customers can now benefit from full-service website maintenance and marketing plans. XAPP Design updates, optimizes, and promotes the business on various channels, using strategies such as SEO and SEM to generate traction. Then, each month, they evaluate the business's web presence and complete a competitive audit to uncover, assess, and incorporate new strategies for business growth.

XAPP Design's expanded web design services also include the creation of custom e-commerce websites that allow user-friendly navigation, multiple payment options, high-quality security features, and more. With their complementary online marketing services, which include social media management, email marketing, and a business identity kit with logos, letterheads, and business cards, they strive to help businesses get the most out of a well-managed online presence.

"Our business-driven approach differentiates us from typical web design companies," said Sean OKelly, CEO of XAPP Design. "We combine strategic thinking, great designs, and personal attention to produce exceptional results."

Go to https://www.xappdesign.com for details about their services.

Contact Info:

Name: Sean OKelly

Email: sean@xappdesign.com

Organization: XAPP DESIGN INC

Address: 505 Ohio Ave, Charleston, WV 25302, United States

Website: https://www.xappdesign.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/159554
NEW DELHI, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Azure Power Global Limited (the "Company" or "Azure") (NYSE: AZRE), an independent sustainable energy solutions provider and renewable power producer in India, today announced two changes in its Board of Directors.





Gowtamsingh (Vikash) Dabee joined as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Company's Board effective March 30, 2023. Mr. Dabee has over 25 years of experience as a professional accountant in public practice and industry in Mauritius, Africa, and the Middle East. Mr Dabee is a Partner of GD Riches Chartered Accountants and is an auditor, public accountant, and insolvency practitioner in Mauritius. Prior to that, he served as the CFO and Company Secretary of a multinational corporation in Mauritius where he was instrumental in implementing SOX internal control systems for the group subsidiaries. He also worked with the representative office of Andersen Worldwide in Mauritius and the Arthur Andersen Office in Dubai.

Mr. Dabee is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a Fellow of Chartered Association of Certified Accountant (FCCA). He holds an MBA from Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, UK and an Advanced Diploma in International Tax from the Chartered Institute of Taxation UK (CIOT). He is a registered insolvency practitioner in Mauritius and a member of INSOL.

Mrs. Yung Oy Pin (Jane) Lun Leung has resigned from the Board with effect from March 16, 2023 due to personal reasons. Mrs. Lun Leung had been an Independent Director of the Company since November 2019.

Speaking on this occasion, Alan Rosling, Chairman of the Board, said, "We are delighted to welcome Vikash to the board. He has years of professional experience in audit and accounting and brings a wealth of expertise to Azure Power. We are confident that Azure will greatly benefit from his vast experience in these fields. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Jane for her guidance on the Board during her tenure."

Gowtamsingh (Vikash) Dabeesaid, "I am privileged to join the Board of Azure Power, a leading company in the Indian renewable industry. I am looking forward to working closely with esteemed members on the Board and the management."

Yung Oy Pin (Jane) Lun Leung said, "I would like to express my thanks to the Board and the management for their support during my tenure. I wish Azure continued success in all its endeavours and I am confident that it will continue to thrive as a leading renewable energy player in India."

Commenting on the occasion, Rupesh Agarwal, Acting CEO, Azure said, "We are pleased to welcome Mr. Dabee on our Board. I am confident that his extensive experience in audit, accounting and SOX will be an excellent addition on the Board and he will bring valuable insights that will help us in strengthening our internal controls. We are grateful to Mrs. Lun Leung for her valuable three years on the Board and wish her the best of luck."

About Azure

Azure is a leading independent sustainable energy solutions provider and renewable power producer in India. Azure developed India's first utility scale solar project in 2009, and since then has grown rapidly to become a leader in developing and operating large utility-scale renewable energy projects in the country.

For more information about Azure, visit: www.azurepower.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "outlook" and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements in this press release. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

For more information contact:

Investor Contact

ir@azurepower.com

Media Contact

pr@azurepower.com

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2045228/Gowtamsingh_Vikash_Dabee.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/819565/Azure_Power_Logo.jpg





View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/appointment-of-independent-director-on-the-board-of-azure-power-global-limited-301786979.html
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Herbalife Nutrition

Ver mensaje en espanol

On February 6, 2023, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey, near the Syrian border. The earthquake sadly led to thousands of deaths, injuries, and huge destruction to buildings. The Herbalife Nutrition Foundation immediately jumped into action and created an emergency appeal to support Kalben, our local Casa Herbalife partner in Turkey.

Kalben is an orphanage that focuses on helping socially disadvantaged children. In the aftermath of the earthquake, Kalben began supplying water, food, clothes, medical supplies, and psychological support to orphaned children who were being evacuated from the region in Turkey.

HNF initially created a $150,000 goal to help those affected by the natural disaster. Our supporters quickly reacted to the emergency call by donating and sharing the link to give. In just a month, more than 1,700 people contributed over $346,000 to support our Casa Herbalife partner, Kalben.

Thank you to everyone who generously contributed. It's not too late to chip in. If you'd like to support the Turkey Earthquake Emergency fund, give now.

View original content here.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Herbalife Nutrition on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Herbalife Nutrition

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/herbalife-nutrition

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Herbalife Nutrition

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746946/Herbalife-Nutrition-Foundation-Donors-Raise-Over-346000-for-Casa-in-Turkey-After-Devastating-Earthquake-Surpassing-Initial-Goal
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Gama Explorations Inc. (CSE:GAMA)(OTCQB:GMMAF)(FSE:N79) ("Gama" or the "Company") is pleased to announce exploration results from the Big Onion porphyry copper-molybdenum project near Smithers, British Columbia.

Highlights

Prospecting yields gold assays up to 5.84 g/t Au from grab samples.

Copper is associated with tungsten, antimony and minor gold and silver in potential epithermal zone.

Highest copper and gold values are more than 2 km east of historical drilling at Big Onion.

"These results clearly indicate the exploration upside potential at the Big Onion project, outside of the main porphyry zone," stated Dr. Mick Carew, CEO of Gama. "This Big Onion project has seen over 30km of historical drilling, mostly focused in one area. These results suggest that other prospective areas of exploration related to a variety of mineralization styles could be situated beyond the immediate footprint of historical drilling at Big Onion. Follow-up prospecting work is required and is planned for the coming summer."

2022 Rock Sampling program

A total of 35 rock samples were collected on the Big Onion project in 2022. The rock samples were collected across the project and outside of the area of the historical resource to identify new zones of mineralization. One area of historical trenches to the northeast of the historical resource yielded samples with up to 5.84 g/t Au and 0.419% Cu. Rock samples in this area are associated with elevated tungsten, antimony, lead, copper, arsenic and zinc. This metal association may be indicative of epithermal mineralization. A total of 5 samples were collected with an average of 1.22 g/t Au and 0.218% Cu.

An area east of the Big Onion project contains rock samples up to 1.625 g/t Au with some samples elevated in copper and arsenic. A total of 18 rock samples were collected with one sample enriched in gold (1.625 g/t Au) and one sample enriched in copper (0.1835% Cu).

Figure 1. Rock samples collected in 2022. Rock samples that assayed >0.1 g/t Au or >1000 ppm (0.1%) Cu are labeled.

About the Big Onion

The Big Onion Property is roughly centered on Astlais Creek and is underlain by a late Cretaceous to early Tertiary quartz diorite porphyry and quartz feldspar porphyry that intruded Jurassic Hazelton Group mafic volcanics and sediments. The multiphase intrusive formed in a northeast trending lineament.

Historical work on the Property includes almost 55,000 meters of drilling in the 1960's, 1970's and the 2000's. The most recent resource estimate was done in 2010 for Eagle Peak Resources Inc. and Metal Mountain Resources lnc. by Giroux Consultants Inc. (Giroux, 2010) and outlined an indicated resource of 87.1 M tonnes grading 0.30% copper and an inferred resource of 8.6 M tonnes grading 0.27% copper.

The 2010 resource estimate is considered historical in nature by the Company and is provided for background information purposes only. It is not a current resource estimate. A qualified person (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource.

QAQC and Data Verification

Samples were analyzed at ALS in North Vancouver. ALS inserts standards, blanks and duplicates as QAQC samples at regular intervals. All QAQC samples returned values within acceptable bounds for the elements of interest.

QP Disclosure

Bill Cronk, P.Geo., an independent consulting geologist has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

About Gama Explorations Inc.

Gama is a Canadian company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE: GAMA), and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE:N79). The Company is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties containing metals used in green technologies and the renewable energy sector. The company currently has the right to acquire 100% interest in the Big Onion Copper-Molybdenum Project located a short 20-minute drive from the town of Smithers in northern British Columbia and owns 100% of the Tyee Nickel-Copper Massive Sulphide Project located in North-Eastern Quebec. The Company continuously evaluates opportunities to acquire interest in additional exploration stage mineral properties in stable jurisdictions.

On behalf of the board,

Dr. Mick Carew, PhD|CEO and Director

mick@gamaexplorations.com

Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Readers should not rely on information in this summary for any purpose other than for gaining general knowledge of the Company. The words "expected", "will" and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations as reflected in any forward-looking statements, are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates, opinions or other factors should change.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE: Gama Explorations Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746850/Gama-Explorations-Identifies-Elevated-Gold-Values-East-of-Historic-Drilling-at-its-Big-Onion-Project-in-BC
EPYSQLI, a biosimilar referencing Soliris1 (eculizumab), is Samsung Bioepis' first biosimilar in hematology to be recommended for marketing authorization by the European Medicines Agency

INCHEON, Korea, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. today announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion for EPYSQLI, a biosimilar referencing Soliris 2(eculizumab), also known as SB12.

EPYSQLI has been recommended for approval for the treatment of adult and children patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).

"We are pleased to see EPYSQLI becoming our first biosimilar in hematology to be recommended for approval in Europe. This marks another significant milestone for Samsung Bioepis and more importantly for people living with PNH," said Byoungin Jung, Vice President and Regulatory Affairs Team Leader at Samsung Bioepis. "We will continue our work to transform the way biologic therapies are brought to patients and enhance the lives of patients, including those with rare diseases, through our pioneering and innovative use of science and technology," she added.

The CHMP's positive opinion on EPYSQLI was based on a totality of evidence including analytical, non-clinical data, and clinical data. A randomized, double-blind, multicenter, cross-over Phase 3 study of SB12 demonstrated equivalent clinical efficacy of SB12 and reference eculizumab by evaluating lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in PNH patients, indicating that the SB12 was bioequivalent to the reference eculizumab.

This CHMP's positive opinion will now be referred to the European Commission (EC) which will decide whether to grant a marketing authorization for EPYSQLI. If a marketing authorization is granted by the EC, EPYSQLI would become Samsung Bioepis' first hematology biosimilar, further expanding the company's biosimilars portfolio.

About the SB12 Phase 3 study

The study is a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, cross-over study in 50 patients to treatment sequence I (TS1: SB12 to reference eculizumab, n=25) or treatment sequence II (TS2: reference eculizumab to SB12, n=25). Patient received 600 mg of SB12 (TS1) or reference eculizumab (TS2) intravenously every week for first 4 weeks (initial phase) and 900 mg for the fifth week, followed by 900 mg every 2 weeks thereafter (maintenance phase). The treatment was switched to reference eculizumab (TS1) or SB12 (TS2) at Week 26, and switched treatment was provided until Week 50.

About Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd.

Established in 2012, Samsung Bioepis is a biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing healthcare that is accessible to everyone. Through innovations in product development and a firm commitment to quality, Samsung Bioepis aims to become the world's leading biopharmaceutical company. Samsung Bioepis continues to advance a broad pipeline of biosimilar candidates that cover a spectrum of therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, ophthalmology, hematology, and endocrinology. For more information, please visit: www.samsungbioepis.com and follow us on social media - Twitter , LinkedIn .

________________________________________

1 Soliris is a registered trademark of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

2 European Medicines Agency. Soliris Product Information. Available at https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/product-information/soliris-epar-product-information_en.pdf [Accessed March 2023]
SINGAPORE, Mar 31, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - ACROMETA Group Limited, an established specialist engineering service provider in the field of controlled environments serving mainly the healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, research and academia sectors, has entered into a Sales and Purchase Agreement ("the Agreement") for an additional 40% of the outstanding shares of Life Sciences Incubator Pte Ltd ("LSI") for a total consideration of S$1.6 million payable in tranches, based on the realisation of agreed milestones in its immediate expansion plan. Upon completion of the purchase, the Group will control 70% of LSI, up from the current 30%.The Agreement updates and follows from the Letter of Intent ("LOI") announced to SGXNet on 20 February 2023 for the proposed acquisition of an additional 40% stake in LSI.A site visit to Brisbane and the due diligence carried out by ACROMETA Management have shortlisted the location of the proposed co-working laboratory in Australia as it found it suitable.Mr Levin Lee Keng Weng, ACROMETA Chairman, said, "Brisbane is a booming hub for the Life Sciences sector in Australia. According to Global Australia[1], a government-industry development agency, Queensland is home to more than 250 life sciences organisations, 85 core biotech companies, and more than 100 biotech-related research organisations.A whole ecosystem has emerged with clusters of dynamic and innovative SMEs and start-ups either conducting their R&D or supporting the multinationals and research centres focusing on biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and specialist healthcare such as gerontology and neurology."Mr Lee added, "The demand for co-working laboratory space is strong. The performance milestones for the payment in tranches agreed to by the Vendor indicate that both the Purchaser and the Vendor have confidence in the co-working laboratory business in Australia and Singapore.The proposed additional co-working laboratory space in Singapore is to cater for expected growth in demand. In addition, as Singapore transforms its economy towards high-value sectors, more and more SMEs and start-ups conducting their R & D will require co-working laboratory space."This Media Release is to be read in conjunction with the announcement on SGXNet on 31 March 2023.[1] https://www.globalaustralia.gov.au/industries/health-and-life-sciencesAbout ACROMETA Group Limited (SGX Stock Code:43F)ACROMETA (Previously known as ACROMEC Limited) is an established specialist engineering services provider with more than 25 years of experience in the field of controlled environments.The Group has, over the years, acquired expertise in the design and construction of facilities requiring controlled environments such as laboratories, medical and sterile facilities and cleanrooms.ACROMETA's business is divided into three main business segments: (i) Engineering, procurement, and construction services, specialising in architectural, and mechanical, electrical, and process works within controlled environments; (ii) Maintenance and repair services of facilities and equipment of controlled environments and their supporting infrastructure. (iii) Co-Working Laboratory business; currently operates a 6,500 sq feet co-working laboratory space at The German Centre in Singapore serving SMEs and start-ups.The Group mainly serves the healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, research and academia, and electronics sectors. ACROMETA's customers include hospitals and medical centres, government agencies, research and development companies or agencies, research and development units of multinational corporations, tertiary educational institutions, pharmaceutical companies, semiconductor manufacturing companies, and multinational engineering companies.The Company has been listed on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange since 2016. For more information, please visit www.acrometa.comMedia and Analysts Contact:ACROMETA Group LimitedMr. Jerry TanChief Financial OfficerTel: +65 6415 0574Email: jerry.tan@acromec.comWaterbrooks Consultants Pte LtdMr. Wayne KooTel: +65 6958 8008 / +65 9338 8166Email: wayne.koo@waterbrooks.com.sgEmail: query@waterbrooks.com.sgThis media release has been reviewed by the Company's sponsor, Evolve Capital Advisory Private Limited (the "Sponsor"). It has not been examined or approved by the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the "Exchange"), and the Exchange assumes no responsibility for the contents of this document, including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made or reports contained in this document.The contact person for the Sponsor is Mr. Jerry Chua, 138 Robinson Road, #13-02 Oxley Tower, Singapore 068906, jerrychua@evolvecapitalasia.comSource: AcroMeta Group LimitedCopyright 2023 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Becomes Largest Greenfiled Lithium Player in Ontario

PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS

Beyond Minerals options 57 properties totalling 125,751 hectares and acquires through staking three properties totalling 9,104 hectares, bringing its lithium property portfolio in Ontario to 66 properties covering 147,975 hectares.

Beyond Minerals now has a significant position in every major LCT pegmatite district known in Ontario.

Over 500 individual pegmatites known to exist on the properties. Some individual pegmatites are mapped as being over 100 meters wide and traced for up to 2.5 km along strike.

Significant past drilling information available for several projects: Thirty historic drill holes on eight properties intersected pegmatites, with historic drill core logs often describing interesting pegmatite mineralogy, none of which was assayed for rare-elements. Historic drill core from three properties is stored in government core library facilities and available for re-examination and resampling. On the Stimson Property, possible "spodumene" was noted in the drill core logs within three core intervals, one of which is described as a "granitic complex" over 39.8 meters of core length (from 60.0 m to 99.8 m downhole). Several drill holes on other properties are logged as having unidentified blue-green minerals and/or greenish coloured feldspars



Winnipeg, Manitoba--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Beyond Minerals Inc. (CSE: BY) (OTCQB: BYDMF) (the "Company" or "Beyond Minerals") is pleased to announce that it has entered into agreements to option 57 high potential greenfield lithium properties totalling 125,751 hectares (the "Properties") and has acquired through staking three properties totalling 9,104 hectares, bringing its lithium property portfolio in Ontario to 66 properties covering 147,975 hectares (the "Transaction").

"When I was appointed President and CEO of Beyond Minerals earlier this year, I stated that under my leadership, we would accelerate the acquisition and optioning of additional lithium assets and make plans for a robust exploration season in the current calendar year," said Allan Frame, President and CEO of Beyond Minerals. "I also committed that our acquisition and optioning plan would rest on four pillars: (i) focus on quality assets for which extensive geological data is available, (ii) concentrate on Ontario assets, while being open to strategic transactions in other jurisdictions (iii) maintain financial discipline in all aspects of our business, including acquisition and options terms and conditions and (iv) preserve a share structure that is favorable to value creation for our shareholders."

"The transaction announced today is consistent with the vision I laid out back in February. Beyond Minerals has now become the largest player in the Ontario's greenfield lithium exploration with quality lithium assets for which extensive geological data is available, while maintaining financial discipline with regards to the terms and conditions of our acquisitions and options and maintaining a share structure that is favorable to value creation for our shareholders."

Mr. Frame added: "There are a number of compelling and strategic reasons to focus on Ontario. Ontario is quickly emerging as a reliable global supplier of responsibly sourced critical minerals. World-class deposits of high purity, low-iron spodumene are currently being discovered and advanced toward production in Ontario. We are confident more of these deposits remain to be discovered here. While other jurisdictions such as Quebec have seen success, we feel the economics of transactions being done in Ontario being more compelling and conducive to creating shareholder value."

Given its extensive portfolio, Beyond Minerals is adopting a project-generator model to maximize exploration dollars, while minimizing dilution. In the coming weeks, the Beyond Minerals will review all the properties to determine which will be advanced by Beyond Minerals' exploration team and which will be optioned to joint venture partners. Partnering on various projects will provide a source of non-dilutive working capital, partner-funded exploration, and long-term residual exposure to exploration success.

Mr. Frame said: "By adopting the project generator model, our shareholders will be exposed to multiple projects being advanced at once - hence increasing the likelihood of a discovery - with a significant portion of the exploration costs being incurred by our partners."

The agreements announced today were entered into with Bounty Gold Corp. and Last Resort Resources Ltd, both located in Ontario. Jace Angell, President of Last Resort Resources, commented: "We collaborated with Gold Bounty Corp to assemble the portfolio of highly prospective greenfield lithium projects being optioned to Beyond Minerals today. Each property in the transaction was staked based on extensive analysis of government recommendations, historical geological reports and boots-on-the-ground reconnaissance work guided by data-driven techniques for the discovery of lithium, cesium, tantalum ("LCT") pegmatites."

Jason Leblanc, President of Bounty Gold Corp., commented: "Beyond Minerals' strategy of focusing on high quality assets for which extensive geological data is available aligned perfectly with our staking methodology. A high threshold of prospective criteria needed to be met before a positive staking decision was made. It took perseverance to dig deep into the geological databases of Ontario, sometimes reading through reports that dated back to the turn of the 20th century, often searching for days without turning up any meaningful leads. But slowly over time, a portfolio of high-quality greenfield lithium properties began to emerge. We conducted preliminary "first pass" prospecting on a number of properties that we staked earlier in 2022, recording the location, photographing and documenting the minerology and characteristics (size/orientation) of pegmatites we found. We discovered several new rare-element pegmatites in the process, validating the staking methodology that we used to assemble our overall portfolio of properties." Mr. Leblanc concluded: "We believe Beyond Minerals is the right company to now advance these projects forward and deliver further exploration success."





Figure 1 - Location of projects across Ontario

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_003full.jpg

Summary of prime exploration areas for 2023

The following highlights several projects on which Beyond Minerals expects to focus its exploration during the 2023 exploration season.

Frontier Lithium District





Figure 2 - Tenure map of the Frontier Lithium district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_004full.jpg





Figure 3 - Geological map of the Frontier Lithium district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_005full.jpg

Highlights of the MacDowell (4,137 hectares) and Margot Lake (1,393 hectares) properties in the Frontier Lithium district

These properties are located 27-50 km southeast of Frontier Lithium's Pak/Spark LCT pegmatites. A historic government report from 1939 describes pegmatites up to 200 ft in width, some of which contain biotite, muscovite, pyroxene, tourmaline and garnet. Spodumene is a type of pyroxene mineral. The geological setting, S-type peraluminous granite and their associated pegmatites between and within metasediments (to the north) and metavolcanics (to the south) along the Bear Head Fault Zone is analogous to the geological setting at Frontier Lithium's LCT pegmatites.

Georgia lake district





Figure 4 - Tenure map of the Georgia Lake district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_006full.jpg





Figure 5 - Geological map of the Georgia district

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Highlights of the Cosgrave (6,269 hectares) and Gathering Lake (6,948 hectares) properties in the Georgia Lake district

These properties collectively provide 13,217 hectares of high potential property in the prolific Georgia Lake-Gathering Lake LCT pegmatite field. Each property is within 3 km of known spodumene-bearing pegmatites. OGS samples collected within 700 meters of the Gathering Lake Property during a reconnaissance survey of this LCT pegmatite district in 2006 yielded significantly elevated lithium content in muscovite samples (1702 ppm Li and 2203 ppm Li in samples 03-FWB-80-02 and 03-FWB-81-02, respectively) and sample 03-FWB-82-01, a potassium feldspar sample collected on property, was one of the most evolved potassium feldspar samples in the district, having 115 ppm Cs, 2687 ppm Rb and K/Rb of 37.

Case Lake District





Figure 6 - Tenure map of the Case Lake district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_008full.jpg





Figure 7 - Geological map of the Case Lake district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_009full.jpg

Highlights of the Case Lake North (7,476 hectares) and Case Lake South (2,711 hectares) properties in the Case Lake district

These properties collectively covering 10,187 hectares of Case Lake Batholith contact zone in a similar geological setting as the neighbouring Power Metals' LCT pegmatite swarm. Four potential dome structures (laccoliths) are covered by the Case Lake North property, one of which is shown on government maps as having mapped pegmatites in every outcrop exposure. Along with the Stimson Property, many target areas recommended by the OGS for rare-element pegmatites in 2021-2022 are covered by Beyond Minerals' new properties.





Figure 8 - Geological map of the Stimson property in the Case Lake district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_010full.jpg

Highlights of the Stimson (1,630 hectares) property in the Case Lake district

This property is located along the south contact of the Case Batholith, 50 km west of Power Metals LCT pegmatites associated with the same intrusive body, within an area recommended for lithium exploration by the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS) in 2021-2022. Historic drill core logs of diamond drill holes collared by Noranda in 1994 indicates possible spodumene may have been encountered within a "granitic complex" that was intersected between 60.0 - 99.8 meters downhole (39.8 meters core interval).

Wisa Lake District





Figure 9 - Tenure map of the Wisa Lake district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_011full.jpg





Figure 10 - Geological map of the Wisa Lake district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_012full.jpg

Highlights of the Wisa Lake (6,549 hectares) property

This property covers a large area surrounding Green Technology Metals' project, with spodumene-bearing pegmatite (GT1's "South Zone") which has yielded grab samples up to 6.38% Li2O, being only 700 meters north of the property boundary. OGS reconnaissance sampling shows pegmatites across the area are fractioned/evolved and recommended additional exploration for LCT pegmatites.

Dryden Mavis Lake District





Figure 11 - Tenure map of the Dryden Lake district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_013full.jpg

Highlights of the Temple Bay (5,111 hectares) property in the Dryden district

This property is located 40 km west of Critical Resources' flagship Mavis Lake project. At Temple Bay, over 50 individual pegmatites have been mapped, with the largest currently known being up to 75 meters wide and at least 600 meters long. The pegmatites were discovered by prospector F. Plomp in 1997, when grab samples collected yielded up to 182 ppm Ta. The OGS examined the area during their reconnaissance survey of peraluminous granites and rare element pegmatites and recommended additional exploration along strike of the tantalum bearing pegmatites to determine whether they transition into lithium rich pegmatites.





Figure 12 - Geological map of the Dryden Lake district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_014full.jpg

Highlights of the Laval (1,042 hectares) property in the Dryden district

The Laval property is located only 15 km east of Critical Resources' flagship Mavis Lake project. At the Laval property, a white pegmatite measuring up to 100 meters wide has been traced along strike for 2.5 km. This pegmatite was examined during an industrial minerals project in the 1990's, when the pegmatite was examined for its suitability to produce mica and feldspar. A mica sample was assayed for lithium and produced a result of 1420 ppm Li (0.305% Li2O). In a government geological report of Laval-Hartman Township written around the same time, the author concluded these pegmatites "represent the extension of the Dryden lithium-bearing pegmatite field into the map area".

Eastern English River District





Figure 13 - Tenure map of the Eastern English River district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_015full.jpg





Figure 14 - Geological map of the Eastern English River district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_016full.jpg

Highlights of the Sollas Lake (6,522 hectares) property in the Eastern English River district

The Sollas Lake property is located along the English River-Wabigoon Subprovince boundary 16 km along strike to the east of Green Technology Metals newly acquired Junior Lake Property. Historic diamond drilling on the property for other commodities completed by Mingold Resources in 1989 intersected pegmatites in all three drill holes collared on the property, with the longest intercept being over 95.5 ft of core length. The pegmatites are described as having interesting minerology, including muscovite, green mica, greenish coloured feldspar, megacrysts, garnets and unidentified green minerals. None of the core was assayed for rare elements. Drill core from one of these historic drill holes is stored in government drill core libraries and is available for re-examination and sampling.

Highlights of the Tennant Lake (3,544 hectares) property in the Eastern English River district

This property has three historic drill holes collared by Jilbey Exploration in 1994 while exploring for other commodities. All three holes intersected pegmatite, the longest over 32.33 meters of core length. This pegmatite is also described in the drill logs as having interesting minerology, including heterogenous texture, muscovite, unidentified black mineral, white mica, garnets, and unidentified blue-green mineral. These drill holes were specifically referenced within the OGS' 2022-2023 Recommendations for Exploration which highlighted the rare element potential of Eastern English River Subprovince and recommended additional exploration.

Highlights of the Maytham (7,400 hectares) and Superb North (2,054 hectares) in the Eastern English River districts

These properties are within an area studied by the OGS and where they described the pegmatites that were observed as having similarities to known fertile granites and their associated pegmatites at South Aubrey and the Allison Lake Batholith (both of which are being explored by Green Technology Metals). The OGS established a fractionation trend in a westward direction on the peraluminous Maytham-Queenston Batholith (toward Beyond Minerals property). The properties cover almost 20 km of English River-Wabigoon Subprovince boundary which hosts numerous LCT pegmatite groups over a 120 km length between Linklater Lake and Superb Lake. The nearest know spodumene-bearing pegmatite at Superb Lake is only 3 km south of the Superb North Property.

Mountainry & Hilltop District





Figure 15 - Geological map of the Mountainry & Hilltop district

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_017full.jpg

Highlights of the Mountairy (7,503 hectares) and Hilltop (4,203 hectares) properties

These properties cover 133 mapped pegmatites that are described by government geological reports as being up to "several hundred feet in width and up to 1,000 to 1,500 feet in length". The author states that the pegmatites did not receive close examination and may warrant further attention. As these pegmatites are located along the Wabigoon-Winnipeg River Subprovince boundary and are reported to be heterogenous and contain accessory minerals (garnets, muscovite) suggesting a peraluminous source, they may have good potential for rare-element mineralization.

Hearst District





Figure 16 - Tenure map of the Hearst District

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_018full.jpg





Figure 17 - Geological map of the Scholfield property

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8620/160735_3209b1a1e4b7fb75_019full.jpg

Highlights of the Scholfield (6,346 hectares) property in the Hearst district

This property covers over 15 km of Quetico-Wawa-Abitibi Subprovince boundary 23 km south of Brunswick Exploration's Hearst Property which is anticipated to be the subject of their upcoming 2023 drill programs. Historical assessment work by Kaphearst Resource Corp in 1986 document numerous pegmatites up to 25 meters wide and over 200 meters in length exposed in surface outcrops. Historic diamond drilling for other commodities completed by Can-Mac Exploration in 1988 intersected pegmatite over 28.0 ft of core length with interesting minerology, including interlocking crystals of feldspar-quartz (intergrowth), silver and green "books" of muscovite, and a white-green mottled appearance.

The Transaction was completed pursuant to the terms and conditions of a series of multi-property option agreements (the "Option Agreements") entered into by the Company, as optionee, with each of Bounty Gold Corp. and Last Resort Resources Ltd., as optionors. Pursuant to the Option Agreements, the Company will make cash payments to the optionors totaling up to $3,350,000 and issue to the optionors an aggregate of up to 11,325,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Shares") as follows:

within 5 business days of the date of the Option Agreements, by paying $420,000 and issuing 1,880,000 Shares; on or before the first anniversary of the date of the Option Agreements, by paying $590,000 and issuing 2,490,000 Shares; on or before the second anniversary of the date of the Option Agreements, by paying $1,080,000 and issuing 3,210,000 Shares; and on or before the third anniversary of the date of the Option Agreements, by paying $1,260,000 and issuing 3,745,000 Shares.

Upon acquiring a 100% interest in any of the Properties, the Company shall grant the optionors a 2.0% net smelter return royalty on such Properties, one-half of each of which may be repurchased by the Company for $1,200,000 to reduce such royalty to a 1.0% net smelter return royalty. In addition, the Company shall pay the Optionors a $1-million milestone payment, payable in cash or shares at the option of the Company, for each initial mineral resource estimate filed by the Company in respect of a deposit comprising part of the Properties that discloses a deposit or orebody exceeding 5,000,000 metric tonnes with an average grade equal to 1.0% Li2O or greater.

The Company has the right to assign or terminate the option in respect of any of the Properties to reduce the cash payments and Shares payable by the Company to the optionors under the Option Agreements.

Qualified Person and Third-Party Data

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Craig Gibson, Ph.D., P.Geo., a director of the Company (the "Qualified Person"). Dr. Gibson is a "qualified person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

Certain information in this news release regarding the presence of mineral deposits and the size of such deposits is based on information that has been obtained from publicly available information and industry reports, which constitute historical estimates. Such reports generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy or completeness of such information is not guaranteed. While the Company considers historical estimates to be relevant to investors, as they may indicate the presence of mineralization, the Qualified Person has not done sufficient work for the Company to classify the historical estimates as current "mineral resources" or "mineral reserves" (as defined in NI 43-101). The potential quantities and grades of exploration targets and nearby properties referenced in this news release are conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in any of the targets being delineated as a mineral resource. The Company has not independently verified and cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the historical estimates and other third-party data contained in this news release and investors should use caution in placing reliance on such information.

About Beyond Minerals Inc.

Beyond Minerals Inc. is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in Canada. Its objective is to locate and develop critical mineral properties, including lithium assets, and other economic precious and base metal properties of merit, starting with the exploration of its Fabie-Easterchester project in the province of Quebec and its Peggy Group Lithium project and other properties in the North Trout Lake, Borland Lake, Favourable Lake, and Gorman River areas of Northwestern Ontario.

For more information, please refer to the Company's website at www.beyondminerals.ca.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding future capital expenditures, anticipated content, commencement, and cost of exploration programs in respect of the Company's projects and mineral properties, anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities, resources and/or reserves on the Company's projects and mineral properties, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "will", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In stating the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious and base metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration of the Company's properties, the availability of financing on suitable terms, and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements of forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, the proposed expenditures for exploration work on its properties, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the Canadian Securities Exchange), permits or financing, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, the Company's limited operating history, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's prospectus dated February 23, 2022 and other filings of the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking information in this news release except as otherwise required by law.

For further information, please contact:

Allan Frame

President and CEO

Tel: 403-470-8450

Email: allan.frame@beyondminerals.ca

Jason Frame

Manager of Communications

Tel: 587-225-2599

Email: jason.frame@beyondminerals.ca

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160735
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / U.S. Bank

U.S. Bank Product Manager Ted Gamble, pausing during a run through the Grand Canyon.

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

Going the extra mile is a well-known phrase to U.S. Bank Product Manager Ted Gamble. In a 2021 project call with First Mile, he began a journey that took him from exchanging smiles on video calls to logging miles on the running trail - with far reaching impact.

First?Mile, an initiative of Thread International and WORK, formalizes waste collection networks in low-income communities. It helps bridge the gap for global brands to purchase from responsible supply chains, while simultaneously diverting?plastic?waste from oceans?and landfills.

This reclaimed ocean-bound plastic, or ROBP, is used in the eco-friendly Diving Turtle and Serene Beach U.S. Bank debit card designs. It's estimated that for every million cards produced, more than one ton of plastic will be diverted from entering the world's oceans, waterways and shorelines.1

WORK is the nonprofit entity in the First Mile private-nonprofit partnership. It's mission to "accompany families in Haiti out of poverty through good, dignified jobs" appealed to Gamble.

"Not only does this partnership keep plastic out of the ocean," he said, "but it does it in a way that gives the front-line workers ways to support their families and communities though education, health care, safety workshops and livable wages. That was something I wanted to support."

Gamble discovered he could support WORK's mission through Run Across May, a fundraiser that challenges individuals and teams to run 200 or more miles to raise funds and awareness for the organization. He joined the race that year, clocking in 222 miles in his hometown of Dundas, Minnesota. He ran the event again in 2022 for a total of 442 miles - an achievement that deepens his connection to First Mile and its mission - right alongside U.S. Bank.

U.S. Bank and its customers commit to cleaner oceans, stronger communities

U.S. Bank is committed to enabling a sustainable future through climate goals, client engagement and support, and vendor and community agreements. The relationship with First Mile supports the bank's environmental, social, governance (ESG) work through a positive impact on communities and the environment.

When customers choose an?eco-friendly?debit card from U.S. Bank, they help First Mile create supply chains that have already saved millions of pounds of plastic from landfills and oceans, as estimated by the organization. The project has the added benefit of creating well-paying jobs for thousands of plastic collectors in Haiti and beyond, providing financial stability to local communities across the globe.

Customers are on board with this initiative, with 27% of all U.S. Bank debit cardmembers choosing the eco-friendly Diving Turtle or Serene Beach design, putting these two debit cards at the top of the U.S. Bank most popular design list.

1. CPI Card Group, "Payment Industry Introduces Recovered Ocean-Bound Plastic Card" (2020)

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from U.S. Bank on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: U.S. Bank

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/us-bank

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: U.S. Bank

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746963/US-Bank-First-Mile-Continue-To-Reduce-Ocean-Bound-Plastic-Build-Communities
Company becomes the First Irish and First Female Founded Business ever to win the award beating competition from all over the world

LONDON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ireland's first modern Irish Whiskey Bonder J.J. Corry beat out global competition to win the title of World's Best Small Batch Single Malt whiskey for J.J. Corry The Flintlock at the "Whiskey Oscars", prestigious World Whiskies Awards.





The company, founded by Louise McGuane in 2016 in Cooraclare, Co. Clare becomes the first Irish whiskey producer and first female founded business to win the award. Ms. McGuane accepted the award at an awards ceremony hosted at the Merchant Taylor's Guild Hall in London.

On collecting the award, Louise McGuane said: "Winning the world's best small batch single malt is a tremendous accolade and recognition that we play on the global stage with the best whiskey producers in the world. The Flintlock is a perfect encapsulation of what we do as Whiskey Bonders, seeking out superlative Irish whiskies from around the Island and collaborating with our partners from around the world - coopers, distilleries & wineries- to create the most unique whiskies, bottling each adventure for our discerning customers."

McGuane added: "For the Flintlock, we chose a selection of single malt casks from our expansive flavour library, ranging in age from 15 to 19 years old, and vatted them together. We then worked with Casknolia Cooperage in Spain to select Moscatel Sherry seasoned casks in which to marry The Flintlock. The result is a whiskey which is an expression not only of Irish whiskey blending, but also ameliorated by the craft of coopering and the winemaking talent of Jerez."

About The World Whiskies Awards

The World Whiskies Awards are the gold standard of global whiskey awards, selecting, awarding and promoting the very best in all the internationally recognised styles of whiskey from around the world. In Round 1 of the World Whiskies Awards, their panel of experts blind tasted entries by their style, their region and grouped by age statement in order to determine the best whiskies in each individual category. The winners in each category are put forward to Round 2 where one regional winner will be selected who will then represent that region in the final judging of the World Whiskies Awards. The winners of which were announced on 30th March 2022 at the Whisky Magazine Awards gala in London.

About J.J. Corry

Founded in 2016 by Louise McGuane, J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey is Ireland's first modern Whiskey Bonder and maker of award-winning J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey. The company sources whiskies from Irish distilleries and matures it in a purpose-built bonded rackhouse on the McGuane Family farm in Cooraclare, Co. Clare, right along the Wild Atlantic Way. Whilst waiting for the whiskey to come of age, they blend sourced mature whiskey to begin to create their own unique house style. J.J Corry has won multiple awards for quality and taste including gold medals in the Irish Whiskey Awards and San Francisco Spirits Competition and World Whiskies Awards.

www.jjcorry.com









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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/jj-corry-irish-whiskey-wins-worlds-best-small-batch-single-malt-at-prestigious-world-whiskies-awards-301787090.html
CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Global Board of Trustees appoints Katie Fitzgerald as President and CEO, effective March 6. In her new role, Fitzgerald will lead the strategic vision for the Charity's long-term growth, global impact and delivery of mission at RMHC Chapters around the world. Fitzgerald succeeds former President and CEO Kelly Dolan who announced her retirement in June.

"On behalf of the RMHC Board of Trustees, we are pleased to welcome Katie Fitzgerald as President and CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities Global," said Ginger Hardage, Chairman of the RMHC Board of Trustees. "Katie's leadership experience in the nonprofit sector will be critical to the organization's continued success as we approach the 50th anniversary of RMHC and build out our strategy for our next 50 years."

Fitzgerald brings more than 25 years of experience to the role, most recently serving as President and Chief Operating Officer at Feeding America, the nation's largest non-profit organization working to end hunger. Prior to joining Feeding America, she held leadership positions at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, Make-a-Wish Oklahoma, Center for Children and Families in Norman, Oklahoma, among other organizations.

"RMHC plays a vital role in enabling, supporting and facilitating family-centered care to provide vital resources and access to health care for families with children who are sick," said Fitzgerald. "I'm honored to join the team and support the incredible work being done by the RMHC system to help keep families together when they need it most."

Katie will also be a member of McDonald's Global Impact Leadership Team, partnering with the brand's leadership to ensure continued alignment and partnership across both organizations.

"McDonald's ongoing support of RMHC plays an important role in delivering on our commitment to feed and foster communities all around the world," said Jon Banner, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Impact Officer at McDonald's. "As the Charity's founding and forever mission partner, we are excited to welcome Katie to the McDonald's system. Her extensive nonprofit background will undoubtedly help advance the RMHC mission and strengthen our joint efforts moving forward."

Fitzgerald has spent her career in the nonprofit sector, working to improve outcomes for children, youth and families. She received her bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan. She will be based in the organization's Chicago office.

About RMHC

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation that creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and their families. Through a global network of over 260 Chapters in more than 60 countries and regions, RMHC enables, facilitates and supports family-centered care through three core programs: the Ronald McDonald House, the Ronald McDonald Family Room and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. RMHC programs help families with ill or injured children stay together and near leading hospitals and health care services worldwide, ensuring they have access to the medical care their child needs while fully supported and actively involved in their child's care. For more information, visit RMHC.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:

media@rmhc.org

View original content here.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from McDonald's Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: McDonald's Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/mcdonalds-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: McDonald's Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746988/Katie-Fitzgerald-Announced-as-New-President-CEO
TORONTO, ON and NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Sekur Private Data Ltd. (CSE:SKUR)(OTCQX:SWISF)(FRA:GDT0) ("Sekur" or the "Company"), a leading Swiss hosted secure and private communications platform, is pleased to announce that it has launched a new security feature for all its web based Sekur solutions. The feature is called 2FA or 2 Factor-Authentication and allows Sekur users to opt-in and increase their login credential security.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an identity and access management security method that requires two forms of identification to access resources and data. 2FA gives businesses and consumers the ability to monitor and help safeguard their most vulnerable information and networks. 2FA will be applied to all the Company's solutions including its upcoming SekurVPN.

Additionally, the Company is pleased to announce that it is on track to launch its anticipated SekurVPN private Swiss-hosted encrypted VPN solution. The launch is expected April 7, 2023. The Company has already received pre-registration requests for its launch promotion and will start a similar promotion to all its existing users and shareholders.

Alain Ghiai, CEO of Sekur Private Data said: "We are very pleased to launch the 2FA feature to all our solutions, and to announce that we are on track to launch SekurVPN on time April 7, 2023. The opt-in 2FA is optional of course, however, we recommend business users to implement this extra security measure to minimize cyber intrusions into their account. With 2FA implemented, we are increasing our chances of getting more and more businesses adopting Sekur as their communications platform of choice. Businesses have been asking for this implementation and we have answered their requests. We do anticipate some immediate benefits from this 2FA feature implementation. Our prime directive is to provide private and secure communications for everyone, and, as we are not connected to any BigTech or Hyperscaler platform, we offer a truly independent, private and secure means of communications without any data mining, through our proprietary technology and our secure servers based in Switzerland. We look forward to continuing to offer true data privacy to all individuals and their businesses and protect their intellectual property, and their privacy, from data miners and malicious hackers."

Sekur, which includes SekurMessenger and SekurMail, is part of a bundle of email, messaging and file transfer into one application, includes the Company's latest SekurMail technology, which includes proprietary anti-phishing and privacy feature called SekurSend. SekurSend lets a user send an email to any other recipient, whether they have Sekur or not, in full privacy and security as the email never leaves Sekur 's encrypted email servers based in Switzerland. The recipient can then click on the notification and reply in the same manner using SekurReply, without the recipient having to register for a Sekur account. The sender can also decide to protect any email sent by adding a password to open it, a read-limit and a self-destruct timer as well. Sending an email with the SekurSend feature allows the senders and recipients to add limitless size attachments to the emails without crowding the recipients' email box. This also eliminates BEC attacks for businesses and email phishing attacks. Additionally, SekurMail includes full control of email delivery, automatic data export for large Enterprises and an automatic Data Loss Prevention technology ("DLP") with real time continuous archiving.

Recent data breaches in messaging applications have created a certain urgency for businesses and data privacy advocates to protect their communications from cyber-attacks and identity theft via mobile and desktop devices.

SekurMessenger now comes with a proprietary feature and technology called "Chat-By-Invites". This feature allows a SekurMessenger user ("SM user") invite a non-SM user, or a group of non-SM users, to chat in a fully private and secure way, without the recipient ever having to register to SekurMessenger or download the app. At the end of the chat, the initiator of the conversation can remotely terminate the conversation and all traces of the conversation are deleted from all users, including the recipient. This unique feature is now fully deployed and functional on all iOS and Android devices and web platforms. The target sectors are numerous, including but not limited to real estate, legal, finance, insurance, medical, government, energy, manufacturing, trade and pharmaceutical sectors.

SekurMessenger also eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not only not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list and infecting the contacts by default as well, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. SekurMessenger issues each user a username and a Sekur number. The Sekur number is the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other Sekur users to be added. The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, including Sekur's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss hosted encrypted servers.

Sekur's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved.

About Sekur Private Data Ltd.

Sekur Private Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure and private communications. The Company distributes a suite of encrypted e-mails, secure messengers, and secure communication tools. Sekur Private Data Ltd. sells its products through its own website at https://www.sekur.com , and approved distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. Sekur Private Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide.



On behalf of Management

SEKUR PRIVATE DATA LTD.

Alain Ghiai

President and Chief Executive Officer

+1.416.644.8690

corporate@sekurprivatedata.com

For more information, please contact Sekur Private Data at corporate@sekurprivatedata.com or visit us at https://www.sekurprivatedata.com

For more information on Sekur visit us at: https://www.sekur.com or https://www.sekurvpn.com

SOURCE: Sekur Private Data Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746976/Sekur-Private-Data-Ltd-Increases-Identity-Security-for-its-Swiss-Hosted-Sekur-Solutions-for-Businesses--Prepares-to-Launch-SekurVPN-April-7-2023
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Five years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, disaster recovery and rebuilding nonprofit SBP Puerto Rico celebrated a major milestone in December 2022: 250 homes were rebuilt after the severe damage done by that storm. Viatris was proud to be on the ground in Puerto Rico to help welcome Juana and Jose Reyes back to their newly rebuilt home and announce continued funding to support SBP's volunteer efforts.

To date, Viatris has given more than $3 million to SBP to help rebuild the homes of families impacted by disaster, including the organization's first major contribution that helped it establish itself and carry out recovery work on the island. Juana Reyes, 98, and her 72-year-old son Jose Reyes, a veteran, who were left homeless following Hurricane Maria, directly benefitted from the "Got Your Back Fund," which Viatris created for SBP specifically to help veterans who have been impacted by natural disaster. An investment of approximately $65,000 fully repaired their home, which was the 250th in SBP's local recovery.

Viatris was honored at the December ceremony with a plaque commemorating the company's impact and enduring commitment to disaster-impacted communities on the island and around the country. Edgardo Maldonado, executive director of SBP Puerto Rico, says the newly committed $100,000 grant from Viatris will help reach SBP's goal of repairing another 56 homes affected by hurricanes Maria and 2023's Fiona.

Since its founding in 2006 in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, SBP has rebuilt homes for more than 3,000 families with the help of 150,000 volunteers in 14 communities across the U.S. and in the Bahamas.

Viatris' Beth Medina helps welcome Juana Reyes and her son, Jose, home for the first time.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Viatris on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Viatris

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/viatris

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Viatris

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/746987/Viatris-Continues-Support-of-SBP-Celebrates-Restoration-of-250th-Home-Damaged-by-Hurricane-Maria
31 March 2023

Rightmove plc

Share buy-back programme

Rightmove plc - Transaction in own shares

Rightmove plc ("Rightmove"), announces that today it purchased 115,300 of its 0.1p ordinary shares at a volume weighted average price paid per share of 562.559p. The highest price paid per share was 566.000p and the lowest price paid per share was 558.400p. Rightmove purchased these shares through UBS AG London Branch.

The number of shares purchased represented 0.0140% of the voting rights attributable to the total ordinary shares in issue prior to such purchase. The purchased shares will be cancelled.

Since announcing a share buy-back programme on 28 December 2007, Rightmove has purchased in aggregate 484,368,295 ordinary shares.

The total number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares) following this announcement is 822,585,288. Rightmove holds 12,100,497 shares in treasury.

In accordance with Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (the Market Abuse Regulation) as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the "UK MAR"), the schedule below contains detailed information about the purchases made by UBS AG London Branch on behalf of the Company as part of the buyback programme.

-Ends-

Contact: Michelle Palmer, Assistant Company Secretary

CompanySecretary@rightmove.co.uk

Schedule of Purchases - Individual Transactions
PRESS RELEASE

Paris, 31 March 2023

La Poste Groupe publishes its 2022 Universal Registration Document

The 2022 Universal Registration Document has been filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorite des Marches Financiers) on 23 March 2023 under number D. 23-0139.

This Universal Registration Document includes notably :

the 2022 annual financial report ;

the Board of Directors report on corporate governance; as well as

the management report including the non-financial performance statement.

It is made available to the public free of charge under the conditions set out by the regulations in force and may be consulted and downloaded from La Poste Groupe website (www.groupelaposte.com) on the  Investors / Regulated Information / Annual financial reports  page.

Copies of the Universal Registration Document are also available at the group's registered office, located 9, rue du Colonel Pierre Avia, 75015 Paris.



______________________________

About La Poste Groupe

La Poste is a state-owned public limited company, a subsidiary of Caisse des Depots and the French State. La Poste Groupe is divided into four business units: Services-Mail-Parcels, Retail Customers and Digital Services, Geopost and La Banque Postale, which, with its subsidiary CNP Assurances, is the 11th largest European banking and insurance company.

La Poste Groupe has four public service missions that shape its identity: universal postal service, regional development, banking accessibility, and press transport and delivery. Committed to its regional coverage, La Poste relies on a delivery network of over 35,600 retail outlets, including 17,300 contact points (post offices, local postal agencies, retail pickup points) and 18,300 points of access to postal services (Pickup, business centres, lockers and the parcel drive-thru collection service). La Poste Groupe delivers over 17 billion items worldwide (letters, printed advertising media and parcels), six days a week.

In 2022, La Poste Groupe generated 35.4 billion in revenue (44% outside France) and had a headcount of 238,000, in more than 60 countries over 5 continents, of which 184,000 in France. As a mission-driven company since June 2021 and a leader in environmental transition and sustainable finance, La Poste Groupe is committed to reaching "net-zero" by 2040. Through its strategic plan "La Poste 2030, committed for you", the company has set itself the goal of becoming the leading European platform for links and exchanges, providing digital, people-oriented, green and socially-responsible services for the benefit of its customers and the transformation of society as a whole.

Press relations

Tel: +33 1 55 44 22 37

service.presse@laposte.fr Financial Communication and Investors' Relations

Olivier Gall

Tel: +33 6 22 25 50 42

olivier.gall@laposte.fr



Annie Dupeyron

Tel: +33 6 48 00 61 49

annie.dupeyron@laposte.fr



Stephane Dalla Sartora

Tel: +33 7 87 39 58 80

stephane.dalla-sartora@laposte.fr

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Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-79138-la-poste-groupe-publishes-its-2022-universal-registrement-document.pdf
Regulatory News:

In accordance with article 8:4 of the Royal Decree of 29 April 2019 executing the Belgian Code of Companies and Associations, Azelis Group NV (the "Company" or "Azelis") (Brussels:AZE) hereby reports on the buyback of Azelis shares under the Share Buyback Program 2023.

Under the Share Buyback Program 2023, Azelis has mandated an independent financial intermediary to buy back up to 150,000 ordinary shares, for a total maximum amount of EUR 3,500,000, starting on 20 March 2023, to cover future obligations under the Long-Term Incentive Plan of the Company.

In the framework of this Share Buyback Program 2023, the Company has purchased 27,500 shares in the period from 24 March 2023 up to and including 30 March 2023, as follows:

Trade date Total shares

purchased Average price Minimum

price paid Maximum

price paid Buyback amount March 24, 2023 3,000 23.39 23.26 23.72 70,159.80 March 27, 2023 3,000 23.52 23.48 23.70 70,547.70 March 28, 2023 4,000 23.01 22.94 23.54 92,023.60 March 29, 2023 5,500 22.98 22.84 23.28 126,380.10 March 30, 2023 12,000 23.08 23.00 23.30 276,906.00

Since the start of the implementation of the Share Buyback Program 2023, Azelis has bought back 57,500 shares on Euronext Brussels for a total amount of EUR 1,349,566.00. This corresponds to 0.025 of the total shares outstanding.

An overview of the Share Buyback Program 2023 is available on the investor relations pages of Azelis' website under the section "Shareholder Information/ Share buyback program", and this press release is as well available under the section "Regulated Information".

END

About Azelis

Azelis is a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemical and food ingredients industry, present in 63 countries across the globe with over 3,800 employees. Our knowledgeable teams of industry, market and technical experts are each dedicated to a specific market within Life Sciences and Industrial Chemicals. We offer a lateral value chain of complementary products to more than 59,000 customers, supported by +2,700 principal relationships, creating a turnover of 4.1 billion (2022). Azelis Group NV is listed on Euronext Brussels under ticker AZE.

Across our extensive network of more than 60 application laboratories, our award-winning staff help develop formulations and provide technical guidance throughout the customers' product development process. We combine a global market reach with a local footprint to offer a reliable, integrated, and unique digital service to local customers and attractive -business opportunities to principals. Top industry-rated by Sustainalytics, Azelis is a leader in sustainability. We believe in building and nurturing solid, honest and transparent relationships with our people and partners.

Impact through ideas. Innovation through formulation.

www.azelis.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005297/en/

Contacts:

Contact information

Azelis Investor Relations

investor-relations@azelis.com

Tel.: +32 3 613 0127
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

For immediate release

31 March 2023

FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES

The Company announces that it has today purchased 150,000 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 899.50 pence per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company.

The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 17 January 2023.

Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 17,016,747; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 207,974,556.

.

The figure of 207,974,556 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For and on behalf of

Frostrow Capital LLP

Company Secretary

For further information, please contact:

Victoria Hale

Frostrow Capital LLP

Tel: 020 3 170 8732
Regulated Information - Denominator

Atlas Special Opportunities, LLChas converted 12convertible bonds in Oxurion resulting in a EUR 300,000capital increase. This is part of Atlas Special Opportunities, LLC's EUR 20 million Capital Commitment1 that will allow Oxurion to focus on progressing its novel and differentiated back of the eye drug candidate targeting potential market opportunities of over USD 5billion.

Leuven, BELGIUM,Boston, MA, US-March 31, 2023- 07.00 PM CET - In accordance with article 15 of the Belgian Act of May 2, 2007 on the disclosure of major participations in issuers of which shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market and regarding miscellaneous provisions, Oxurion NV (Euronext Brussels: OXUR) (the "Company" or "Oxurion"), announces the below information, following the issuance of 28,942,629 new ordinary shares on March 28, 2023, for a total amount of EUR 300,000, as the result of the conversion of 12 convertible bonds, pursuant to the Capital Commitment entered into with Atlas Special Opportunities, LLC.

Following completion of the capital increase through the conversion of the convertible bonds, the total number of shares issued by Oxurion amounts to 632,659,186 outstanding ordinary shares carrying voting rights (compared to 603,716,557 outstanding ordinary shares previously). This number will be used as the denominator for the calculation of the percentages of shareholdings.

Therefore, Oxurion publishes the following updated information:

Share capital (EUR) 78,206,161.32 Total number of securities with voting rights (all ordinary shares) 632,659,186 Total number of ordinary shares (= denominator) 632,659,186 Number of outstanding, granted rights to subscribe to securities carrying voting rights not yet issued: 694,000 subscription rights ("SRs") issued on November 20, 2017, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 694,000 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

60,000 SRs issued on December 23, 2020, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 60,000 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

976,874 SRs issued on April 14, 2021, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 976,874 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

534,688 SRs issued on September 22, 2021, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 534,688 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

582,248 SRs issued on December 30, 2021, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 582,248 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

92 convertible bonds issued on March 14, 2023, entitling its holder, Atlas Special Opportunities, LLC, to subscribe to a total number of securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares) in accordance with the terms and conditions of these convertible bonds pursuant to the Subscription Agreement entered into between the Company and Atlas Special Opportunities, LLC on March 1, 2023; and

100 convertible bonds issued on December 20, 2021, entitling their holders (Kreos Capital VI (UK) Limited, Pontifax Medison Finance (Israel) L.P. and Pontifax Medison Finance (Cayman) L.P.) to subscribe to a total number of securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares) in accordance with the terms and conditions of these convertible bonds as attached to the Agreement for the provision of a Loan Facility entered into between the Company, Kreos Capital VI (UK) Limited, Pontifax Medison Finance (Israel) L.P. and Pontifax Medison Finance (Cayman) L.P., on November 21, 2021 (as amended from time to time).

END

About Oxurion

Oxurion (Euronext Brussels: OXUR) is a biopharmaceutical company developing next generation standard of care ophthalmic therapies, which are designed to improve and better preserve vision in patients with retinal disorders including diabetic macular edema (DME), the leading cause of vision loss in working-age people, as well as other conditions. Oxurion intends to play an important role in the treatment of retinal disorders, including the successful development of THR-149, its novel therapeutic for the treatment of DME. THR-149 is a potent plasma kallikrein inhibitor being developed as a potential new standard of care for the up to 50% of DME patients showing suboptimal response to anti-VEGF therapy. Oxurion is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, with corporate operations in Boston, MA. More information is available at www.oxurion.com.

Important information about forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered "forward-looking". Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, and, accordingly, entail and are influenced by various risks and uncertainties. The Company therefore cannot provide any assurance that such forward-looking statements will materialize and does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or any other reason. Additional information concerning risks and uncertainties affecting the business and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement is contained in the Company's Annual Report. This press release does not constitute an offer or invitation for the sale or purchase of securities or assets of Oxurion in any jurisdiction. No securities of Oxurion may be offered or sold within the United States without registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or in compliance with an exemption therefrom, and in accordance with any applicable U.S. state securities laws.

For further information please contact:

Oxurion NV

Tom Graney

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +32 16 75 13 10

tom.graney@oxurion.com (mailto:tom.graney@oxurion.com)







Michael Dillen

Chief Business Officer

Tel: +32 16 75 13 10

michael.dillen@oxurion.com (mailto:michael.dillen@oxurion.com) US

Conway Communications

Mary T. Conway

m (mailto:mtconway@conwaycommsir.com)tconway (mailto:mtconway@conwaycommsir.com)@conwaycommsir.com (mailto:mtconway@conwaycommsir.com)











ICR Westwicke

Christopher Brinzey

Tel: +1 617 835 9304

chris.brinzey@westwicke.com (mailto:chris.brinzey@westwicke.com)





1Press releaseOxurion, 02/03/2023

Attachments
China, ASEAN aim for deepened agriculture cooperation

Xinhua) 16:13, March 31, 2023

BOAO, Hainan, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Durians from Thailand, bananas from the Philippines, passion fruit from Vietnam, longans from Cambodia, and coffee from Malaysia. More and more agricultural products from ASEAN countries are well-received by Chinese households, thanks to better China-ASEAN cooperation in agriculture.

China has been the ASEAN's largest trading partner for the past 13 years, and trade in agricultural products plays a vital role, said Kao Kim Hourn, ASEAN secretary-general at the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference.

Kao Kim Hourn also noted that China and the ASEAN launched many projects on trade in agricultural products such as grain, meat, vegetables, and fruits, as well as personnel exchanges and technical exchanges.

Representatives at the forum from China and ASEAN countries widely recognize that the two sides have deepened their agricultural cooperation comprehensively.

Fruitful achievements have been made by China and the ASEAN in terms of investment and trade, scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation, food security, green and sustainable development of agriculture, and inter-governmental policy coordination, which is a significant contribution to fostering a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

China's agricultural investment in ASEAN countries accounts for 40 percent of its total oversea investment. The trade volume of agricultural products between China and the ASEAN reached 61 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, topping the other countries and regions worldwide, according to Sui Pengfei, director general of the international cooperation department under China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Statistics from China's General Administration of Customs show that nearly 1,500 kinds of agricultural and food products from the ASEAN have been exported to China. High-quality agricultural varieties and technologies from China also boosted the development of agricultural industries in ASEAN countries.

The Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) has cooperated with ASEAN countries to carry out projects such as new variety breeding, green and efficient cultivation technology demonstration, and intensive processing of tropical agriculture products, said Xie Jianghui, deputy director of CATAS.

The academy has signed cooperation agreements with 25 scientific and educational institutions in ASEAN countries, such as Kasetsart University in Thailand and Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia.

A total of 50 training courses on agricultural technology have been held in ASEAN countries by CATAS. Eight cassava varieties cultivated by the academy have been promoted in Southeast Asia, with a total planting area of more than 10 million mu (about 67,000 hectares).

South China's Hainan Province is building several cold chain logistics and trading centers to process and store tropical agriculture products for the ASEAN to strengthen the connection between the two tropical-product markets.

In recent years, Hainan and ASEAN countries have jointly carried out the R&D and utilization of excellent tropical fruit and vegetable resources and deepened cooperation in the planting and processing trade, seeing a steady increase in imports and exports of tropical agriculture products.

Hainan will make good use of the free trade port system and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to promote the deep integration of the industry chains, supply chains, and value chains between China and ASEAN countries, according to Xie Jing, vice governor of Hainan Province.

China mainly exports fish, garlic, citrus, apples, condiments, and other products to the ASEAN and imports fruits, vegetable oils, aquatic products, grain, and other primary agricultural products from the ASEAN. Sui Pengfei said if the two sides keep improving the trade level, the related trade volume may reach 100 billion U.S. dollars in the next five to seven years.

Representatives to the forum also said China and ASEAN countries should cooperate in setting the standards for planting and processing tropical agriculture products and in enhancing food security.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: TH8) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") today announces that it expects to be issued a cease trade order ("CTO") by the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "BCSC") under National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (the "Instrument") as a result of not filing its audited annual financial statements, accompanying management's discussion and analysis, and certifications for the year ended November 30, 2022 (the "Annual Filings") by the filing deadline of March 30, 2023. The BCSC has rejected the Company's application for a management cease trade order (the "MCTO") as the Company is not viewed as having met all of the criteria for an MCTO. The Company filed the MCTO with the BCSC due to an anticipated delay in filing its Annual Filings.

The Company's 2022 audit currently remains ongoing. The Company is working diligently with its consultants and auditors to complete the remaining audit and make the required filings as soon as possible. Once complete, a news release will be issued indicating that the Annual Filings have been submitted. The Company anticipates that it will complete the Annual Filings on or before June 28th, 2023. Upon remedying the default within 90 days of the date of the CTO, the filing of the Annual Filings, including all other filings and certifications that subsequently become due, constitutes the application to revoke the CTO. In the interim, the Company continues to operate normally and without disruption.

The Company also confirms, as of the date of this news release, that there is no other material information concerning the affairs of the Company that have not been generally disclosed.

About TransCanna Holdings Inc.

TransCanna Holdings Inc. is a California-based, Canadian-listed company building cannabis-focused brands for the California lifestyle, through its wholly-owned California subsidiaries.

TransCanna's wholly owned subsidiary Lyfted Farms is California's authentic cannabis brand whose pioneering spirit has been continuously providing the finest cannabis flower genetics and cultivation methods since 1984. The Lyfted Farms brand of exclusive cannabis flower is sold at premium retailers throughout the state. With its new cultivation facility in Daly, California, the company is now poised to become one of the largest and most efficient vertically integrated cannabis companies in the California market. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.transcanna.com or email the Company at info@transcanna.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

James Robert Blink, President

604-207-5548

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The words "may," "would," "could," "should," "will," "intend," "plan," "goal," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "achieve," "must," "next," "focus," "potential," "progress," "develop," "continue," "advance," "investigate," "optimize," "improve," "opportunity," "future," "prospect," "vision," "target," "growth," "envisage," "option," "roadmap," "pursue," "near-term," "de-risking," "eventual," "later," "until," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release and reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among other things, statements about: the CTO; the timing of completion of the audit; the timing and revocation of the CTO; and statements regarding management's expectations on the Company's future performance.

The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by many materials factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including risks related to the failure of the Company to complete the Annual Filings, to receive the required corporate and regulatory approvals, including CSE approval, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's disclosure documents filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160873
LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / BrainCX (BCX), a Digital Transformation and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company, is excited to be part of the Call & Contact Center Expo on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Tariq Alinur, Chief Executive Officer at BCX, will share his 30 years of experience in digital transformation, and highlight the transformative power of video chat support to revolutionize and personalize the customer experience (CX) industry. In addition to this speaking opportunity, BCXwill also launch VOVI, the world's first 360 Digital Engagement and Contact Center Routing Platform, at the expo. This platform will allow companies to offer voice, chat, and video support from their website and mobile application, all in one system.

BCX has been in the digital transformation and customer operations industry for over 75 years. The company's team of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) experts, Artificial Intelligence (AI) engineers, and customer experience (CX) architects has been instrumental in the development of the VOVI platform. As the team prepares to launch VOVI, Tariq is excited to have the chance to debut this new technology to a crowd of like minded businesses and individuals. The platform's launch at the expo is expected to be a pivotal moment for BCX.

"As we look to the future," Tariq Alinur says, "BCX is poised for significant growth in the customer experience industry. Our projections show 25% annual growth over the next five years, driven by our focus on leveraging AI and digital engagement platforms for routine transactions, and personalized live human support for complex interactions. The potential market opportunity for VOVI is high, with the customer experience industry projected to reach $23.6 billion by 2025."

BCX wants to empower companies with the power of VOVI, which allows them to connect with customers through their preferred channel, personalize their experience and keep it simple. Join Tariq and the BCX team at the expo to transform your customer engagement and improve customer satisfaction.

About BrainCX

BrainCX (BCX) is a Digital Transformation and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company that has been in the customer experience (CX) industry for over 75 years. With a team of BPO experts, AI engineers, and Customer Experience operatives, the business is excited about the launch of their newest digital communications platform, VOVI at the upcoming Call & Contact Center Expo on April 26, 2023.

Contact:

Tariq Alinur

tariq.alinur@braincx.com

SOURCE: BrainCX





View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/747091/BrainCX-CEO-Announces-Speaking-Engagement-April-26-2023-to-Discuss-New-Platform-Launch
Boca Raton, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - NovelStem International Corp. (OTC Pink: NSTM), a development-stage company focused on the stem cell-based technology platform developed by Israel-based NewStem Ltd., today filed its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. NovelStem owns a 30.58% equity interest in NewStem Ltd.

NovelStem's 10-K filing is available here:

https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000912544/000149315223010137/form10-k.htm

Please contact NovelStem's investor relations team to be added to the Company's email list or to speak with management.

NovelStem Investor Relations

Bill Jones and David Collins

Catalyst IR

(212) 924-9800

NSTM@catalyst-ir.com

About NovelStem International Corp. www.novelstem.com

NovelStem owns a 30.58% equity interest in NewStem Ltd. which is advancing its novel stem-cell-based diagnostic technology for predicting patients' resistance to cancer therapies, allowing for better, targeted cancer treatments with the potential to reduce incidents of drug resistance. The technology is also being used for genetic research related to other medical therapies. NovelStem had 46.9M shares of common stock outstanding as of March 29, 2023.

About NewStem newstem.com

NewStem Ltd., a biotechnology spinoff of Yissum, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem's technology-transfer company, has established a bio-platform for genome-wide screenings based on patented Haploid human Embryonic Stem Cells (HhESCs) technology. These cells are superior to other cells used for whole genome screenings and we believe they can improve and/or accelerate the development of biomarker-driven therapeutics and diagnostics. NewStem utilizes its proprietary bio-platform for the discovery and development of precision oncology drugs based on synthetic lethal interaction modality and for diagnostics of anti-cancer drug resistance. NewStem's licensed technology is based on the research of Professor Nissim Benvenisty, Director of the Azrieli Center for Stem Cells and Genetic Research at the Hebrew University. NewStem holds the intellectual property, reagents and experience required for HhESC isolation, differentiation, genetic manipulation, immunogenicity and tumorigenicity. NewStem is the only company using this innovative and exclusive technology to develop innovative practice-changing products.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160796
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Antioquia Gold Inc. (TSXV: AGD) (OTC Pink: AGDXF) ("Antioquia Gold", "Company" or the "Corporation") announces that the Company has resumed normal operations at Cisneros after reaching agreement with the regional environmental agency CORNARE and the local community of Santiago on various matters.

Antioquia Gold has undertaken to decrease the amount of sediment reporting to the local drainage. At present, rainwater run-off from Company roads ends up in the local drainages, some of which do not have sediment capture provisions. The Company will pave the roads and install additional sediment traps to limit the amount of sediment reporting to the drainage.

Additionally, the Company and the local community of Santiago have agreed to several protocols to ensure better communication and to provide the people of Santiago with periodic project updates. Site visits and other measures are also being discussed.

The rapid response in providing documentation regarding past environmental issues, providing detailed plans for the work contemplated and demonstrating a solid legal basis for the Company's actions over the life of the Cisneros operations all assisted in a timely resolution of the problem. Antioquia Gold was able to demonstrate conclusively that there have been no unreported tailings discharged into the local drainage and that run-off from Company roads was the main problem. The Company's environmental, community relations and legal teams worked closely together to achieve this positive outcome.

Mr. Gonzalo De Losada, CEO of Antioquia Gold stated, "We are pleased to return to normal operation after this interruption. Antioquia Gold always strives to be a good neighbor and will continue to do so, working together with CORNARE and the people of Santiago and other stakeholders in the area."

Readers should be cautioned that the Corporation's decision to move forward with the construction and production of the Cisneros Mine is not based on the results of any pre-feasibility study or feasibility study of mineral resources demonstrating economic or technical viability. Readers are referred to the Cisneros Report for details on independently verified mineral resources on the Cisneros Project. Since 2013, the Corporation has undertaken exploration and development activities; and after taking into consideration various factors, including but not limited to: the exploration and development results to date, technical information developed internally, the availability of funding, the low starting costs as estimated internally by the Corporation's management, the Corporation is of the view that the establishment of mineral reserves, the commissioning of a pre-feasibility study or feasibility study at this stage is not necessary, and that the most responsible utilization of the Corporation's resources is to proceed with the development and construction of the mine. Readers are cautioned that due to the lack of pre-feasibility study or feasibility study, there is increased uncertainty and higher risk of economic and technical failure associated with the Corporation's decision. In particular, there is additional risk that mineral grades will be lower than expected, the risk that construction or ongoing mining operations will be more difficult or more expensive than management expected. Production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a detailed economic and technical analysis in accordance with NI 43-101. Project failure may materially adversely impact the Corporation's future profitability, its ability to repay existing loans, and its overall ability to continue as a going concern.

Qualified Persons

Roger Moss, Ph.D., P.Geo., Consultant to Antioquia Gold, is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information provided in this news release.

________________________________________

For further information on Antioquia Gold Inc. contact:

Gonzalo de Losada - CEO

Thomas Kelly - Director

Antioquia Gold Inc.

Email: info@antioquiagold.com

www.antioquiagoldinc.com

Phone 57 604 6041948

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.

Reader Advisory Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements," are made as of the date of this press release and the Corporation does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect current expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the completion of the Rights Offering and the use of proceeds of the offering. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "schedule" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are made based upon certain assumptions by the Corporation and other important factors that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of Antioquia to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business prospects and strategies and the environment in which Antioquia will operate in the future, including the accuracy of any resource estimations, the price of gold, anticipated costs and Antioquia's ability to achieve its goals, anticipated financial performance, regulatory developments, development plans, exploration, development and mining activities and commitments. Although management considers its assumptions on such matters to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Additional risks are described in Antioquia's most recently filed Annual Information Form, annual and interim MD&A and other disclosure documents available under the Corporation's profile at: www.sedar.com.

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 do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important risk factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates, assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160887
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Broadway Strategic Metals Inc. (the "Company" or "BSM") and Rossiter Mining Corp. ("Rossiter") are pleased to announce the signing of a binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") for a merger of the two companies. The proposed transaction will be structured in a manner most efficient and effective to result in Rossiter, directly or indirectly, acquiring all outstanding securities of BSM. The final structure for the transaction will be subject to satisfactory tax, corporate and securities law advice for both the BSM and Rossiter. The transaction is subject to completion of due diligence as well as any and all required shareholder, exchange, and regulatory approvals.

The resulting entity, to be known as Broadway Strategic Metals ("Broadway"), plans to apply to list its shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE"). Broadway's main asset is its well mineralized district-scale mining concessions in the Republic of Panama, located immediately adjacent to First Quantum's Cobre Panama Copper-Gold Mine property. Mineralization in the district and elsewhere in Panama varies from extensive bodies of copper with minor gold silver and molybdenum mineralization in porphyry style copper dominated bodies, to extensive epithermal to hydrothermal vein systems and sulphide replacement mineralized bodies. The Company's concessions include both mineralized environments within its 100% interest in Contract No. 8 representing 9,984 hectares that hosts the past producing Molejon Gold Project mine, and the Santa Lucia Copper Gold Project both located in the Donoso District of Colon Province.

The Molejon Gold Silver Project includes a former mining operation with a historic resource of over 800,000 ounces of gold and 1,400,000 ounces of silver that Broadway plans to evaluate and if feasible, bring back into production, given the current higher commodity prices that may drive improved economics (Source - Behre Dolbear, (2012), Molejon Project NI 43-101 Technical Report, Donoso District, Colon Province, Republic of Panama). This resource is not NI 43-101 compliant, is historic in nature and should not be relied upon.

The Santa Lucia Copper Gold Silver Project covers 8,800 hectares and historic field sampling by Adrian Resources in 1998 returned anomalous values of gold, silver, and copper.

In addition to the Molejon and Santa Lucia projects, BSM has signed a letter of intent with the Republic of Panama, including the concessions known as Palmilla Copper Gold Project ("Palmilla"). Palmilla has a historic NI-43-101 resource with 27,020,000 tonnes of Measured and Indicated Resources, containing 143,900,000 pounds of copper ("Cu") and 509,400 ounces of gold ("Au"); and 11,060,000 tonnes of Inferred Resources containing 54,600,000 pounds of Cu and 144,000 ounces of Au (Source - NI 43-101 Palmilla Deposit Resource Update Rio Belencillo Zone 1 Concession Colon Province, Panama Oct 29, 2013. Prepared by SGS Canada Inc. Pages 3, 77. This resource is not NI 43-101 compliant, is historic in nature, and should not be relied upon). The concessions covering the Palmilla deposit are not currently held by the Company, however under specific conditions and deliverables, these additional concessions are available for Broadway to purchase.

The terms of the LOI require Rossiter shareholders to approve a change of name, a share consolidation of one new share for three existing shares, and for Rossiter to have a positive working capital position. BSM is required to provide audited financial statements, prospectus-level disclosure, and a listing statement.

Concurrent with the LOI, BSM is the process of completing a US$10 million convertible debenture financing (the "Convertible"). Under the terms of the Convertible, BSM will pay a 15% coupon over a 36-month term, or the investor can convert into BSM post listing shares at a 30% discount to share price at the time of conversion. There is an 8% finder's fee payable on the Convertible. BSM has already received over US$5 million in commitments for the Convertible.

In addition to the Convertible, BSM is in discussions with institutional grade investors to provide US$200 to US$300 million in project financing should BSM decide to proceed with re-starting the Molejon Mine; to fund drilling to expand the deposit; or, to carry out regional exploration to identify new discoveries - all three of which would add significantly to shareholder value.

Broadway anticipates approximately 36 million proforma common shares issued and outstanding with a total of 5.4 million outstanding common share purchase warrants, which would provide an additional $11.3 million, if fully exercised.

The Board of Directors of Broadway is projected to include Duane Parnham, Manuel Nunez, Carlos Lucas Pulido, James Macintosh, and Stephen Coates. The management team will consist of Mr. Parnham, Executive Chairman and CEO, and Carlos Lucas Pulido, Country Manager.

Both Mr. Parnham and Rodrigo Diaz will be deemed Insiders by virtue of ownership positions in Broadway. Insiders, including management, will own roughly 40% of Broadway and expects Insiders and management to agree to voluntary escrow terms.

Mr. Parnham has a record of success in corporate development, regulatory compliance with publicly listed companies, geological and environmental consulting and corporate finance services to the hydrocarbon and mining industries. Mr. Nunez is a practising attorney and Professor of Banking Law, Universal Trials, and Agricultural and Mining Law at the Latin American University of Science and Technology. Mr. Pulido has a great amount of experience advising private companies in the execution of contracts with the government of Panama. Mr. Macintosh has over 37 years of experience in the mining industry, as a mining analyst and various executive / directorial positions with both public and private companies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Macintosh was VP, Corporate Development for a company with several Central American gold projects. Mr. Coates has extensive international experience in the small-cap and natural resources sectors and has advised numerous companies in financial structuring, business development, communications, and market finance.

Broadway will be represented by Corporate Counsel Professional Corporation, a North American corporate and securities law firm, that has significant experience taking companies public.

Qualified Person

Bruce Durham, P.Geo., is a Qualified Person ("QP"), as that term is defined by Canadian regulatory guidelines under NI 43-101 and has read and approved the technical information contained in this press release. Readers are reminded that results and other technical information related to the Molejon, Santa Lucia and Palmilla Projects in this release are historic in nature and should not be relied upon as the QP is unable to verify the information contained in the historic report referenced given the work was completed by a prior operator.

About Broadway Strategic Metals

Broadway Strategic Metals is a privately-owned mining company managed by industry veterans with over 30 years of experience advising governments of over 15 countries on resource exploration & development, risk management, sustainability, technology, job creation, financing, mining, and education. Broadway's consortium of international mining executives, legal experts, community partners, and finance specialists bring insight and a holistic understanding of the socio-economic legacy issues effecting mine development.

For more information, contact:

Rossiter Mining Corp.: (+1) 647-493-9910

Iryna Zheliasko, Investor Relations, at rossiter@grovecorp.ca

or

Broadway Strategic Metals: (+1) 416-574-1007

Jason Bagg, Manager Public Relations, at jason@broadwaymetals.net

On Behalf of their Boards of Directors,

Stephen Coates, President

Rossiter Mining Corp.

Duane Parnham, Executive Chairman and CEO

Broadway Strategic Metals

This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of the companies. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of the companies. Although the companies believe that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based on are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the companies can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The companies disclaim any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160891
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - World Copper Ltd. (TSXV: WCU) (OTCQX: WCUFF) (FSE: 7LY0) ("World Copper" or the "Company") reports that pursuant to their news releases dated March 8, 2023 and March 30, 2023, the Company has closed a first tranche of the Placement. On March 31, 2023 the Company issued 7,974,344 Units for gross proceeds of $1,435,381.90. Each unit consists of one common share (a "Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional share of the Company for a period of two years from the date of issuance at a price of $0.30 per share.

Insider participation included Hendrik van Alphen, Director and Chairman as to 1,125,000 units and Nolan Peterson, CEO & President as to 100,000 units. These transactions constitute a "related party transaction" as such term is defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements under MI 61- 101. The Company is exempt from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101 in reliance on sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the transaction, insofar as it involves interested parties, is not more than the 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

Finder's fees were paid to Canaccord Genuity Corp. ($3,150 and 17,500 finder's warrants), Red Cloud Securities Inc. ($1,750 and 9,722 finders warrants) and StephenAvenue Securities Inc. ($913.50 and 5,075 finder's warrants).

All securities issued in the Offering have a four-month plus one day hold period, during which time the securities may not be traded. Closing of the Offering is subject to the final acceptance of the TSXV.

The net proceeds from the Offering are intended for general working capital and development costs.

This press release does not constitute an offer of sale of any of the foregoing securities in the United States. None of the foregoing securities have been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of the foregoing securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

ABOUT WORLD COPPER LTD.

World Copper Ltd., headquartered in Vancouver, BC, is a Canadian resource company focused on the exploration and development of its copper porphyry projects: Escalones and Cristal in Chile, and Zonia in Arizona. Two of these projects have estimated resources with significant soluble copper mineralization, and each has additional copper porphyry targets with exciting potential to expand the resource base.

Detailed information is available at World Copper's website at www.worldcopperltd.com, and for general Company updates you may follow us on our social media pages via Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

WORLD COPPER LTD.

"Nolan Peterson"

Nolan Peterson

Chief Executive Officer and President

For further information, or to schedule a Zoom meeting with Management, please contact:

Nolan Peterson or Michael Pound

Phone: 604-638-3287

E-mail: info@worldcopperltd.com

For all Investor Relations inquiries, please contact:

John Liviakis

Liviakis Financial Communications Inc.

Phone: 415-389-4670

For all Public Relations inquiries, please contact:

Nancy Thompson

Vorticom, Inc.

Office: 212-532-2208 | Mobile: 917-371-4053

Follow Us:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WorldCopperLtd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldCopperLtd

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldcopperltd

Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained copper and precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future development of the Company's projects in a timely manner, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of the Company's projects and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, requirements for additional capital, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Escalones Project and the Cristal Project, the reasonability of the economic assumptions at the basis of the results of the PEA for the Zonia Project, the estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, future prices of copper, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in the Private Placement, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals (including acceptance of the Private Placement by the TSXV), permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics, including the impact of an epidemic or pandemic on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as the risk factors described in the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis and in other filings made by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

**NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES**

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160894
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / "The "First Meet in New York - 2023 Holo Metaverse Ecology Summit" is an upcoming event that is generating excitement within the industry. As the world becomes more reliant on digital technologies, it is important for businesses to understand the potential benefits of emerging technologies like the metaverse and blockchain.

The Holo Foundation, as a nonprofit organization, created under the flagship of the Holo Metaverse Group, is dedicated to exploring, understanding, and harnessing the power of blockchain technology, the metaverse, and holographic technology. The organization's focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) ensures that these businesses have access to the latest technological advancements, allowing them to stay competitive in the global marketplace.

During the conference on March 28th,2023, Ms. Fibona Ning emphasized the importance of creating an ecosystem for the integration of industry best practices and technological research. The Holo Foundation aims to guide SMEs with holographic thinking to unite in the face of hardships, establish fair competition rules, and create an inclusive and open business environment accessible to all.

The upcoming summit will explore the landing and promotion of the new metaverse ecosystem industry. The event will be attended by nearly 20,000 experts, scholars, corporate representatives, political representatives, and media professionals. The conference will provide a forum for these industry leaders to share ideas and explore the potential of the metaverse ecosystem industry.

Dr. Samuel Scott, International Business and Trade Economist, General Partner, Global Strategy Group, LLC, Mr. Brian Cavalli, Vice President of Business Development from DataTracks, and Mr. Ping Jiang, Mentor of the Metaverse Intelligent Space from China, also attended the conference and delivered insightful remarks. Their expertise and insights will be invaluable in shaping the discussions and outcomes of the upcoming summit.

In conclusion, the "First Meet in New York - 2023 Holo Metaverse Ecology Summit" is set to be a significant event that will shape the future of the metaverse ecosystem industry. As the world becomes more reliant on digital technologies, it is vital for businesses to stay informed and up-to-date on emerging technologies. The Holo Foundation's mission to lead SMEs' business expansion and innovation through the integration of industry best practices and technological research is sure to create a more transparent and secure world that shares equal access to global resources. The summit will provide a unique opportunity for industry leaders to come together to explore and shape the future of the metaverse ecosystem industry.

Media Contact:

Tenny Lo

Public Relations

tennylo@holo-foundation.org

5169985689

SOURCE: Holo Foundation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/747112/First-Meet-in-New-York-Holo-Foundation-Hosted-Press-Conference-for-2023-Metaverse-Ecology-Summit
abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund ("ASGI")

abrdn Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. ("FAX")

abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. ("IAF")

The India Fund, Inc. ("IFN")

abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. ("JEQ")

PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / The above-noted abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds (the "Funds" or individually the "Fund"), today announced that the Funds paid the distributions noted in the table below on March 31, 2023, on a per share basis to all shareholders of record as of March 24, 2023 (ex-dividend date March 23, 2023). These dates apply to the Funds listed below with the exception of the abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. (IAF), the India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and the abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ) which paid the distribution on March 31, 2023 to all shareholders of record as of February 21, 2023 (ex-dividend date February 17, 2023).

Ticker Exchange Fund Amount ASGI NYSE abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund $ 0.1200 FAX NYSE American abrdn Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. $ 0.0275 IAF NYSE American abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. $ 0.1300 IFN NYSE The India Fund, Inc. $ 0.4300 JEQ NYSE abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. $ 0.1000

Each Fund has adopted a distribution policy to provide investors with a stable distribution out of current income, supplemented by realized capital gains and, to the extent necessary, paid-in capital.

For the abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. (IAF), the India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and the abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ) the stock distributions were automatically paid in newly issued shares of the Fund unless otherwise instructed by the shareholder to be paid in cash. Shares of common stock were issued at the lower of the net asset value ("NAV") per share or the market price per share with a floor for the NAV of not less than 95% of the market price on March 17, 2023. The reinvestment prices per share for these distributions were as follows: $4.32 for the abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. (IAF); $14.76 for the India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and $5.32 for the abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ). Fractional shares were generally settled in cash, except for registered shareholders with book entry accounts at Computershare Investor Services who had whole and fractional shares added to their account.

To have received the abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. (IAF), the India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and the abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ) quarterly distributions payable in March 2023 in cash instead of shares of common stock, for shareholders who hold shares in "street name," the bank, brokerage or nominee who holds the shares must have advised the Depository Trust Company as to the full and fractional shares for which they want the distribution paid in cash by March 16, 2023; and for shares that are held in registered form, written notification for the election of cash by registered shareholders must have been received by Computershare Investor Services prior to March 16, 2023.

Under applicable U.S. tax rules, the amount and character of distributable income for each Fund's fiscal year can be finally determined only as of the end of the Fund's fiscal year. However, under Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act") and related rules, the Funds may be required to indicate to shareholders the estimated source of certain distributions to shareholders.

The following tables set forth the estimated amounts of the sources of the distributions for purposes of Section 19 of the 1940 Act and the rules adopted thereunder. The tables have been computed based on generally accepted accounting principles. The tables include estimated amounts and percentages for the current distributions paid this month as well as for the cumulative distributions paid relating to fiscal year to date, from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short-term capital gains; net realized long-term capital gains; and return of capital. The estimated compositions of the distributions may vary because the estimated composition may be impacted by future income, expenses and realized gains and losses on securities and currencies.

Each Fund's estimated sources of the current distribution paid this month and for its current fiscal year to date are as follows:

Estimated Amounts of Current Distribution per Share Fund Distribution Amount Net Investment Income Net Realized Short-Term Gains** Net Realized Long-Term Gains Return of Capital ASGI $0.1200 $0.0060 5% $0.0012 1% $0.0984 82% $0.0144 12% FAX $0.0275 $0.0151 55% - - - - $0.0124 45% IAF $0.1300 $0.0351 27% $0.0026 2% $0.0130 10% $0.0793 61% IFN $0.4300 - - - - $0.4300 100% - - JEQ $0.1000 $0.0150 15% $0.0040 4% - - $0.0810 81%

Estimated Amounts of Fiscal Year* to Date Cumulative Distributions per Share Fund Distribution Amount Net Investment Income Net Realized Short-Term Gains ** Net Realized Long-Term Gains Return of Capital ASGI $0.7200 $0.0360 5% $0.0072 1% $0.5904 82% $0.0864 12% FAX $0.1375 $0.0756 55% - - - - $0.0619 45% IAF $0.2500 $0.0675 27% $0.0050 2% $0.0250 10% $0.1525 61% IFN $0.4300 - - - - $0.4300 100% - - JEQ $0.2000 $0.0300 15% $0.0080 4% - - $0.1620 81%

* ASGI has a 9/30 fiscal year end; FAX, IAF and JEQ have a 10/31 fiscal year end; IFN has a 12/31 fiscal year end.

**includes currency gains

Where the estimated amounts above show a portion of the distribution to be a "Return of Capital," it means that Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in a Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The final determination of the source of all distributions for the current year will only be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. After the end of each calendar year, a Form 1099-DIV will be sent to shareholders for the prior calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The following table provides the Funds' total return performance based on net asset value (NAV) over various time periods compared to the Funds' annualized and cumulative distribution rates.

Fund Performance and Distribution Rate Information Fund Average Annual Total Return on NAV for the 5 Year Period Ending 02/28/2023 Current Fiscal Period's Annualized Distribution Rate on NAV Cumulative Total Return on NAV Cumulative Distribution Rate on NAV ASGI 7.77%3 7.03% 12.77% 2.93% FAX -1.29% 10.48% 14.99% 3.49%

1 Return data is net of all Fund expenses and fees and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions reinvested at prices obtained under the Fund's dividend reinvestment plan.

2 Based on the Fund's NAV as of February 28, 2023.

3 The Fund launched within the past 5 years; the performance and distribution rate information presented reflects data from inception (July 29, 2020) through February 28, 2023.

Fund Performance and Distribution Rate Information Fund Average Annual Total Return on NAV for the 5 Year Period Ending 01/31/2023 Current Fiscal Period's Annualized Distribution Rate on NAV Cumulative Total Return on NAV Cumulative Distribution Rate on NAV IAF 6.87% 8.71% 21.22% 2.18% IFN 2.57% N/A* 0.61% N/A* JEQ -2.16% 5.99%3 13.01% 1.50%

1 Return data is net of all Fund expenses and fees and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions reinvested at prices obtained under the Fund's dividend reinvestment plan.

2 Based on the Fund's NAV as of January 31, 2023.

3 The percentage shown does not include the Fund's annual distribution policy in place in 2021.

Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about a Fund's investment performance from the amount of the Fund's current distributions or from the terms of the distribution policy (the "Distribution Policy").

While NAV performance may be indicative of the Fund's investment performance, it does not measure the value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund. The value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund is determined by the Fund's market price, which is based on the supply and demand for the Fund's shares in the open market.

Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Funds may distribute any long-term capital gains more frequently than the limits provided in Section 19(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder. Therefore, distributions paid by the Funds during the year may include net income, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains and/or a return of capital. Net income dividends and short-term capital gain dividends, while generally taxable at ordinary income rates, may be eligible, to the extent of qualified dividend income earned by the Funds, to be taxed at a lower rate not to exceed the maximum rate applicable to your long-term capital gains. Distributions made in any calendar year in excess of investment company taxable income and net capital gain are treated as taxable ordinary dividends to the extent of undistributed earnings and profits, and then as a return of capital that reduces the adjusted basis in the shares held. To the extent return of capital distributions exceed the adjusted basis in the shares held, capital gain is recognized with a holding period based on the period the shares have been held at the date such amount is received.

The payment of distributions in accordance with the Distribution Policy may result in a decrease in the Fund's net assets. A decrease in the Fund's net assets may cause an increase in the Fund's annual operating expense ratio and a decrease in the Fund's market price per share to the extent the market price correlates closely to the Fund's net asset value per share. The Distribution Policy may also negatively affect the Fund's investment activities to the extent that the Fund is required to hold larger cash positions than it typically would hold or to the extent that the Fund must liquidate securities that it would not have sold, for the purpose of paying the distribution. Each Fund's Board has the right to amend, suspend or terminate the Distribution Policy at any time. The amendment, suspension or termination of the Distribution Policy may affect the Fund's market price per share. Investors should consult their tax advisor regarding federal, state and local tax considerations that may be applicable in their particular circumstances.

Circular 230 disclosure : To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Treasury, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

In the United States, abrdn is the marketing name for the following affiliated, registered investment advisers: abrdn Inc., abrdn Investments Limited, abrdn Australia Limited, abrdn Asia Limited, Aberdeen Capital Management, LLC, abrdn ETFs Advisors LLC and abrdn Alternative Funds Limited.

Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one of the stock exchanges. A Fund's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value (NAV) of the fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that a Fund will achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

https://www.abrdn.com/en-us/cefinvestorcenter

For More Information Contact:

abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds

Investor Relations

1-800-522-5465

Investor.Relations@abrdn.com

SOURCE: abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/747113/abrdn-US-Closed-End-Funds-Announce-Distribution-Payment-Details
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Edgemont Gold Corp. (CSE: EDGM) (FSE: EG8) is pleased to announce that it has closed a non-brokered private placement of 3,800,000 units ("Units") at $0.05 per Unit for gross proceeds of $190,000 (the "Private Placement"). All securities issued with respect to this private placement are subject to a hold period expiring on August 1, 2023 in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Each Unit is comprised of one common share (each, a "Share") and one share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional Share at an exercise price of $0.08 per Share for a period of two years from the date of closing.

The proceeds of the Private Placement will be used for general working capital. No finders fees or commissions were paid in connection with the Private Placement.

About Edgemont

Edgemont holds a 100% interest in the Dungate copper/gold porphyry project located just 6 km south of Houston, BC, in a region with a history of successful mining projects including the Equity Silver Mine and Imperial Metals' Huckleberry Mine. The Dungate project is comprised of five mineral tenures covering 1,582.2 hectares that can be explored year-round by all-season roads. For more information, please visit our website at www.edgemontgold.com.

For further information, please contact:



Stuart Rogers

Chief Executive Officer

Edgemont Gold Corp.

Tel: (778) 239-3775

www.edgemontgold.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as the term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities 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/160863
AURORA, Ontario, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Magna International Inc. (TSX: MG; NYSE: MGA) today announced that its 2022 Annual Report, including Management's Discussion and Analysis and Audited Consolidated Financial Statements, Annual Information Form (AIF) and Form 40-F, are now available on the company's website, www.magna.com. Magna has also filed these documents with the Canadian Securities Administrators (accessible through its website at www.sedar.com) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (accessible through its website at www.sec.gov/edgar).

Our 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Thursday, May 11, 2023, commencing at 10:00 a.m..

Magna will provide a hard copy of its audited financial statements as contained in our 2022 Annual Report to Shareholders, free of charge, on request through our website or in writing to Magna International Inc., Attn: Corporate Secretary, 337 Magna Drive, Aurora, ON, Canada L4G 7K1.

INVESTOR CONTACT

Louis Tonelli, Vice-President, Investor Relations

louis.tonelli@magna.com, 905.726.7035

MEDIA CONTACT

Tracy Fuerst, Vice-President, Corporate Communications & PR

tracy.fuerst@magna.com, 248.761.7004

OUR BUSINESS1

Magna is more than one of the world's largest suppliers in the automotive space. We are a mobility technology company with a global, entrepreneurial-minded team of over 168,0002 employees and an organizational structure designed to innovate like a startup. With 65+ years of expertise, and a systems approach to design, engineering and manufacturing that touches nearly every aspect of the vehicle, we are positioned to support advancing mobility in a transforming industry. Our global network includes 343 manufacturing operations and 88 product development, engineering and sales centres spanning 29 countries. Our common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

_________________________________________
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Golden Independence Mining Corp. (CSE: IGLD) (OTCQB: GIDMF) (FSE: 6NNA) (the "Company" or "Golden Independence") is pleased to announce it has completed its previously announced proposed acquisition of the Napoleon Gold Project located in Kamloops, British Columbia (the "Acquisition").

"We are excited to have secured this exciting project which has high-grade gold discovery potential," commented Jeremy Poirier, CEO of Golden Independence. "This project has excellent year-round infrastructure, with a number of large-scale mines in the district, in addition to being wholly owned and free from any underlying royalties. We have commenced with the compilation of historical information and discussions to engage contractors for an initial exploration program and look to announce the details of our program in the near-term."

Napoleon Gold Project

The Napoleon Gold Project is comprised of 996 hectares located in the Kamloops Mining Division approximately 35 kilometres northwest of the city of Kamloops, BC. The property is wholly-owned with no underlying royalties. The Property has excellent infrastructure with road access via paved and well-maintained gravel roads, in addition to benefiting from a strong mining workforce with several active mines in the area including New Gold's New Afton Mine.

The Property is prospective for intrusion-related gold mineralization in addition to other related styles of mineralization such as large bulk tonnage gold-copper porphyry-style mineralization and paleo-placer style of mineralization. Exploration in the region dates back to the 1970's and 1980's with the discovery of gold mineralization in several clusters of quartz vein float material over a diorite intrusion with grades varying from 3.4 to 547 g/t gold1. The Property adjoins the Bonaparte deposit which has seen extensive historic exploration including underground development, open pit mining, and a bulk sampling which yielded grades of 26.5 g/t gold from a 3,700 metric tonne bulk sample2.

Golden Independence cautions investors it has yet to verify the historical information and further cautions mineralization on the Bonaparte deposit is not necessarily indicative of similar mineralization on the Napoleon Gold Project.

The acquisition was completed pursuant to an amalgamation agreement entered into among the Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company ("SubCo") and 1396791 BC Ltd. (the "Vendor Company"). Under the terms of the amalgamation agreement, SubCo and the Vendor Company have amalgamated to form a wholly owned subsidiary of the company and all of the outstanding common shares of the Vendor Company have been exchanged for 7,000,000 common shares of the Company.

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by R. Tim Henneberry, PGeo (BC) a Qualified Person under NI43-101 and a Director and the President of Golden Independence Mining Corp.

About Golden Independence Mining Corp.

Golden Independence Mining Corp. is a development company currently focused on the advanced-stage Independence project located adjacent to Nevada Gold Mine's Phoenix-Fortitude mine in the Battle Mountain-Cortez Trend of Nevada in addition to the wholly-owned Napoleon gold project located in the Kamloops Mining Division of BC. The Independence project hosts an M&I resource of 334,300 ounces of gold and an Inferred resource of 847,000 ounces of gold with a substantial silver credit. A 2021 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlined a low-cost heap leach operation focusing on the near-surface resource with total production of 195,443 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,078 per ounce of gold. The Napoleon project is comprised of over 1,000 hectares and prospective for multiple-forms of gold mineralization, with exploration in the area dating back to the 1970's with the discovery of high-grade gold.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Jeremy Poirier, Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: 1.604.722.9842 Email: info@goldenindependence.co

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating the future operating or financial performance of the Company, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to, among other things, the completion of the Amalgamation. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions, primarily the assumption that all conditions to closing of the Amalgamation will be satisfied, that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies including, primarily but without limitation, the risk that the Canadian Securities Exchange and the shareholders of the Vendor Company will not approve the Amalgamation. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

1 ARIS 32930 BC Geological Survey Assessment Report. https://apps.nrs.gov.bc.ca/pub/aris/Report/32930.pdf/

2 National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the Bonaparte Gold Project for Westkam Gold Corp. by R. Kemp and dated 2019-Apr-12

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160907
HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Reference is made to the previous stock exchange announcements published by Seadrill Limited (NYSE: SDRL) (OSE: SDRL) ("Seadrill" or the "Company") regarding the proposed all-stock acquisition of Aquadrill LLC ("Aquadrill") (the "Transaction"). Pursuant to and in accordance with Article 1 (5) (f) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 and the European Commission's delegated regulation (EU) 2021/528 of December 16, 2020, Seadrill has prepared an exempted document describing key features of the Transaction (the "Exempted Document").

The Exempted Document is not a prospectus and has not been reviewed or approved by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority or any other regulatory authority. The Exempted Document has been prepared solely for use in connection with the admission to listing of new Seadrill common shares expected to be issued upon completion of the Transaction.

The Exempted Document can be found on our website?at www.seadrill.com.

Contact Information

For additional information, visit www.seadrill.com.

David Warwick

Director of Investor Relations

T: +971 58 687 4132

E: david.warwick@seadrill.com

About Seadrill

Seadrill is a leading offshore drilling contractor utilizing advanced technology to unlock oil and gas resources for clients across harsh and benign locations around the globe. Seadrill's high-quality, technologically-advanced fleet spans all asset classes allowing its experienced crews to conduct operations across geographies, from shallow to ultra-deep-water environments.

About Aquadrill

Aquadrill is a limited liability company that owns eight offshore drilling units. Aquadrill's fleet consists of four ultra-deepwater drillships, one ultra-deepwater harsh environment semi-submersible and three tender assist drilling units. The operations and marketing of Aquadrill's drilling units are managed by Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., Energy Drilling Management Pte Ltd., and Vantage Drilling International.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement includes forward-looking statements. These statements are based on Seadrill's and Aquadrill's respective management teams' current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting each of Seadrill and Aquadrill, and are subject to risk and delay. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should also keep in mind the risks described from time to time in Seadrill's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on April 29, 2022 (File No. 001-39327).

Important Additional Information

This communication relates to a proposed business combination transaction (the "Transaction") between Seadrill Limited and Aquadrill LLC. This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the Transaction or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance, exchange or transfer of the securities referred to in this document in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. In connection with the Transaction, Seadrill has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form F-4 that includes a prospectus of Seadrill, as well as other relevant documents concerning the Transaction. HOLDERS OF AQUADRILL COMMON UNITS AND EQUITY AWARDS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE TRANSACTION AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Access to the registration statement and the prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about Seadrill and Aquadrill, are available without charge at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). Copies of the documents filed with the SEC can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Seadrill.

CONTACT:

seadrill@hawthornadvisors.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/seadrill-limited--publication-of-exempted-document-in-relation-to-the-proposed-aquadrill-llc-acquisition-301787502.html
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Bluesky Digital Assets Corp. (CSE: BTC) (OTCQB: BTCWF) ("Bluesky" or the "Corporation") announced today that it has settled an aggregate debt of $492,350 owed to certain creditors and consultants of the Corporation through the issuance of 17,557,884 common shares in the capital of the Corporation ("Common Shares"), which consisted of the issuance of: (i) 6,877,180 Common Shares at a deemed price of $0.025 per Common Share on January 10, 2023 (ii) 1,629,170 Common Shares at a deemed price of $0.03 per Common Share on January 10, 2023, (iii) 1,666,666 Common Shares at a deemed price of $0.03 per Common Share on January 30, 2023, (iv) 814,585 Common Shares at a deemed price of $0.03 per Common Share on February 3, 2023, and (v) 6,570,283 Common Shares at a deemed price of $0.03 per Common Share on March 13, 2023 (the "Debt Settlement"). The Debt Settlement has improved the Corporation's balance sheet.

All securities issued under the Debt Settlement are subject to a hold period of four months and one day from their issuance, in accordance with applicable securities legislation and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Update on the Cryptocurrency Mining Operations in Texas

Effective February 1, 2023, the Corporation has terminated its cryptocurrency mining operations in the State of Texas as a result of an increase in hydro consumption costs by approximately 150%, as informed on October 25, 2022, and the potential introduction of a 30% consumption tax on electrical usage by cryptocurrency miners, as proposed by the federal regulators ("Hydro Consumption Costs"). In connection with Hydro Consumption Costs and increased difficulty in mining of Bitcoin, the Corporation decided to relocate its cryptocurrency mining equipment to Canada for its other operations, including Bluesky INTEL and Bluesky DEFI. The Corporation completed the relocation of equipment on March 9, 2023.

About Bluesky Digital Assets Corp.

Bluesky Digital Assets Corp, is building a high value digital currency enterprise. Bluesky mines digital currencies, such as Bitcoin and Ether, and is developing value-added technology services for the digital currency market, such as proprietary technology solutions. Offering a complete ecosystem of value-creation, Bluesky is targeting reinvesting appropriate portions of its digital currency mining profits back into its operations. A percentage of the profit will be invested in the development of a proprietary Artificial Intelligence ("AI") based technology. Overall, Bluesky takes an approach that enables the Corporation to scale, and respond to changing conditions, within the still-emerging Blockchain industry. The Corporation is poised to capture value in successive phases as this industry continues to scale.

For more information please visit Bluesky at: https://www.blueskydigitalassets.com.

Please also follow us on Linkedin at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bluesky-digital-assets/.

Twitter @BlueskyCorp

For further information please contact:

Mr. Ben Gelfand

CEO & Director

Bluesky Digital Assets Corp.

T: (416) 363-3833

E: ben.gelfand@blueskydigitalassets.com

Mr. Frank Kordy

Secretary & Director

Bluesky Digital Assets Corp.

T: (647) 466-4037

E: frank.kordy@blueskydigitalassets.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward- looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. We seek safe harbor.

- 30 -

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160923
Dashbot, a Tampa, FL-based company using AI to gather key insights from conversational data, raised $6M in Series A funding.

Backers included Florida Funders from the Florida Funders Fund 2, Bessemer Venture Partners and a roster of returning and new investors.

The round brought total funding raised to date is $14M.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its efforts to meet sales demand and to continue product evolution and development.

Led by CEO Andrew Hong, Dashbot provides a data platform that ingests, cleans, stores, and processes any type of Conversation Data, including phone calls, customer service interactions, and social media chats to provide insights for all enterprise stakeholders, including data science and analytics experts, conversational designers and executives.

FinSMEs

30/03/2023
Greentank Technologies, a Toronto, Canada-based B2B company providing vaporization hardware and atomization technology, raised USD$16.5M in Series B funding.

The round, which brought the total amount to $38.5M, included a $14.5M USD equity investment led by Organigram Holdings and an additional $2M USD of debt financing was provided by existing shareholders.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the commercialization of its proprietary technology, which is expected to launch later this year and serve multiple markets beyond cannabis.

Led by CEO Dustin Koffler and COO Corey Koffler, Greentank is a business-to-business technology company specializing in the design, development and manufacture of precision-made vaporization hardware and atomization technology. The company has a proven track record with hundreds of vape brand launches across the United States and Canada.

Over the past three years, the company has invested in innovation, developing heating technology that will expand its reach beyond cannabis to serve the broader vape category including nicotine, e-liquids, pharmaceuticals and more.

FinSMEs

31/03/2023
Pulse Industrial, a Waterloo, Canada-based industrial tech company, raised a new funding round of undisclosed amount.

The round was led by Momenta, with participation from Celtic House Asia Partners, SOSV, and Phoenix VP as a new investor.

The company intends to use the funds to advance research and development, and to integrate valuable partnerships to expand coverage to all areas in North America and beyond.

Led by CEO and Founder Thomas Uhlenbruck, Pulse Industrial has developed an Artificial Intelligence platform for their IoT products that provides advanced accuracy in both diagnostics and reporting for industrial equipment failure monitoring. Utilizing easy-to-install, wireless, smart monitors over LoRaWAN networks, Pulse cloud solutions deliver failure alerts through email and dashboard in real time to improve plant and building efficiency, decrease downtime, and optimize equipment functionality.

The technology yields enormous cost savings for a wide variety of industries, such as manufacturing, pharmaceutical, hospitals, universities, and food & beverage.

FinSMEs

30/03/2023
Veteran Bollywood star Rekha is no doubt an epitome of style and grace and is aging like fine wine! She was seen flaunting her innate glam recently after she arrived for Christian Diors high-anticipated collection showcase in Mumbai. Ahead of the French luxury brand, Rekha also met Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director of Dior, and posed for a picture. Without compromising on her love for sarees, Rekha was dressed in a pretty white organza saree teamed up with a matching blouse, golden earrings, bangles, a golden potli, and bold red lips. Taking to her Instagram handle, Maria Grazia shared the picture on Instagram and called Rekha Indias most iconic woman.

I was so touched to meet the iconic Rekha gi last night for the first time. Indias most iconic woman and incredible actress. I am so grateful you have joined us last night, it was a true honour, she wrote.

Take a look:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maria Grazia Chiuri (@mariagraziachiuri)

Elated fans couldnt agree more with it as many took to the comment section and shared their reactions. A user wrote, The Asian timeless style icon, while another one wrote, Shes such an icon. How elegant is her look.

The same picture was also shared by Diors official Instagram account with a caption that reads, The House has long held Indian culture in high esteem, and here the legendary actress Rekha is accompanied by @MariaGraziaChiuri ahead of the Dior Fall 23 show.

Meanwhile, Rekha later in the evening also attended the luxury brands fashion show which was held in Mumbais Gateway of India. Dressed in a pink Kanjivaram silk saree, Rekha looked amazing as she posed for the media.

Diors Mumbai fashion show

In a first-of-its-kind, Christian Dior held an official calendar show in Mumbai on Thursday, 30 March 2023. Launching its Fall 2023 ready-to-wear collection against the magnificent backdrop of the historic Gateway of India, the French luxury fashion house invited celebrities from across the world and the film industry including the Ambanis, Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Shweta Bachchan, Karisma Kapoor, Ananya Panday, Mira Rajput, Natasha Poonawala, among others.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Cast: Sara Ali Khan, Vikrant Massey, Chitrangda Singh, Rahul Dev, Akshay Oberoi

Director: Pavan Kirpalani

Language: Hindi

The opening scene of Gaslight suggests we are going to come back to this moment, and the story will inform us how it all happened, and why it happened. This is something that has been happening for long now, where the screenplay is written such that we see the same scene twice, once as a glimpse, and when all the clutter is pieced together. Think of Sriram Raghavans Andhadhun, which began, and also (almost) ended with a car crash and a gun shot gone wrong.

The story is about a wheel-chair bound girl Meesha, played by Sara Ali Khan, who comes to her mansion and finds her father missing. Theres a stepmother named Rukmani (Chitrangda Singh), a caretaker (Vikrant Massey), a doctor (Shishir Sharma), a distant cousin (a hammy Akshay Oberoi), and an investigative officer (Rahul Dev). Its all very Raat Akeli Haiish, sans the carefully crafted complexities of the characters. It never digs deep, only throws information to us about whos what and why so.

What does impress is how director Pavan Kirpalani saves some of his better stuff for the film and not for the trailer. There are some jolting shots and jump scare moments one wasnt really prepared for. The film begins to veer into the territory of horror after what seemed merely a thriller. The camerawork too works in favor of the atmospheric tension of the narrative, as it lingers on almost all the corners of the mansion, especially some demonic and devilish paintings on the wall. Given Kirpalani is the man behind the 2011 sleeper-hit Ragini MMS, he knows a thing or two about noir.

A place where everyone seems a stranger, Meesha befriends loneliness and the haunting memories of her father, which leads her to hallucinating about his existence around. And that leads to some eerie and unsettling experiences that threaten to derail her mental and emotional balance. Of course, anyone who has seen and sensed this genre, knows its all a trap for her for a larger gain. All we have to figure out is whos behind all of this. The reveal is as predictable as Mumbai Indians losing their first match of the IPL nearly every season.

The moment the search begins, Gaslight begins to derail. The writing, at times, is perplexing; for instance, Meesha doesnt have an iota of social media footprints, as described by Rukmini, but we never see her with her phone either. The character of Rukmini, is shrouded in a lot of mystery but also someone whose intentions are very easy to predict. Genuine question: Since Singh plays a royal character, was she being restrained in her performance or just plain wooden?

The other problem with Gaslight is how it wants to be a step ahead of the audience. The moment you think the reveal is over and its the end, it throws yet another twist that seems more inconsequential than imaginative. And no matter how hard Vikrant Massey tries, hes shot down by the vague material. Coming to Sara Ali Khan, after Love Aaj Kal and Coolie No 1, Gaslight isnt a performance she would remember as horrible for sure. If thats enough light for her for the time being.

Gaslight is now streaming on Disney Plus Hotstar

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5 stars)

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Though far from the only US president dogged by legal and ethical scandals, Donald Trump now occupies a unique place in history as the first indicted on criminal charges.

Two others, like Trump, found themselves impeached by Congress  Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with a White House intern, and Andrew Johnson for pushing the limits of his executive authority in a bitter power struggle following the Civil War.

Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over his role in the infamous Watergate break-in. And Ronald Reagan and Ulysses S Grant both became forever tied to scandals in which close aides got prosecuted, though neither president was ever charged.

Also Read: Beyond charges in New York: The many legal investigations involving Donald Trump

Heres a look at how Trumps predecessors fared:

Bill Clinton

Clinton spent more than half his presidency under scrutiny in investigations that ranged from failed real estate deals to the Democratic presidents affair with a White House intern.

Investigators took a lengthy look into Bill and Hillary Clintons investments in the troubled Whitewater real estate venture. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, appointed to oversee the investigation in 1994, turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the Clintons.

But two of their close associates, Jim and Susan McDougal, ended up convicted of Whitewater-related charges. So did Jim Guy Tucker, Clintons successor as governor of Arkansas.

Starrs 1998 report packed with lurid details of Clintons affair with intern Monica Lewinsky proved far more damaging. While being questioned in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones, Clinton had denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky.

Starr concluded that Clinton had lied under oath and obstructed justice. That led to the House voting to impeach Clinton on 19 December, 1998. He was acquitted by the Senate, allowing him to remain in office until his term ended in January 2001.

Ronald Reagan

Reagan never faced impeachment or court charges for the biggest scandal of his presidency. But the arms-for-hostages scheme that became known as the Iran-Contra affair dogged him long after he left the White House.

In 1986, during Reagans second term, the public learned that his administration had authorised secret arms sales to Iran while seeking Iranian aid in freeing American hostages held in Lebanon. As much as $30 million (Rs 246 crore) from the arms sales was diverted, in violation of US law, to aid rebels fighting the leftist government of Nicaragua.

Reagans national security adviser, John Poindexter, resigned and an aide, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, was fired. Both were also convicted of crimes stemming from efforts to deceive and obstruct Congress. Their convictions were later overturned. President George H W Bush, Reagans successor, pardoned six others involved.

Reagan insisted money from the arms sales was funnelled to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels without his knowledge.

Richard Nixon

Nixon resigned from office in August 1974 rather than face impeachment for his administrations cover-up of its involvement in a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington.

The bungled burglary at the Watergate office building resulted in the indictment of seven men, including two former White House aides.

Five of the Watergate defendants pleaded guilty; two were convicted in criminal trials.

Intrigue over the 1972 Watergate break-in didnt stop Nixon from cruising to reelection a few months later. He endured the storm until the House Judiciary Committee in 1974 approved three articles of impeachment accusing him of obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress.

Before the full House could vote, a bombshell tape recording was released in which Nixon could be heard approving a plan to pressure the FBI to drop its Watergate investigation. Nixon resigned after losing support from key congressional Republicans.

His vice president, Gerald Ford, became president and pardoned Nixon a month later.

Ulysses S Grant

While never personally charged with crimes or formally accused of wrongdoing, Grant as president torpedoed a corruption case prosecuted by his own administration. The man on trial was Grants personal secretary in the White House.

In 1875, an investigation launched by Treasury Secretary Benjamin H Bristow resulted in hundreds of arrests in a scheme known as the Whiskey Ring, in which distillers, revenue agents and fellow conspirators diverted millions of dollars in liquor taxes to themselves.

The Civil War general-turned-president found himself at odds with the crackdown when General Orville E Babcock ended up charged as a conspirator. Not only was Babcock the presidents personal secretary, but he and Grant had also been friends since the war.

Also Read: Will Donald Trump be arrested, jailed in hush money case involving porn star? Can he run for president?

Prosecutors said they had uncovered telegrams Babcock sent to ringleaders to assist their scheme. Regardless, Grant insisted on testifying in his aides defence.

To avoid the spectacle of the president appearing at Babcocks trial, attorneys questioned Grant under oath at the White House on 12 February, 1876. A transcript of his testimony was later read in court in St. Louis. The jury acquitted Babcock, a decision largely credited to Grants unwavering defence.

Andrew Johnson

The first American president to have his legacy tarnished by impeachment, Andrew Johnsons woes arose from his intense feuding with Congress over Reconstruction following the Civil War.

The Tennessee Democrat had been elected vice president in 1864 as part of a unity ticket with Abraham Lincoln, and Johnson assumed the presidency after Lincolns 1865 assassination. From the White House, Johnson called for pardoning Confederate leaders and opposed extending voting rights to freed Blacks, infuriating congressional Republicans.

Also Read: Donald Trump to be charged over hush money payment to porn star: Whats the case all about?

It was Johnsons firing of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a Lincoln appointee who favoured tougher policies toward the defeated South, that prompted the House to pass articles of impeachment that accused the president of ousting and replacing Stanton illegally.

Johnsons impeachment trial began in the Senate on 5 March, 1868. It ended more than two months later, with senators just one vote short of removing Johnson from office. He served the remainder of his final year, but fellow Democrats denied him their nomination to run again.

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Former US president Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, a historic reckoning after years of investigations into his personal, political and business dealings and an abrupt jolt to his bid to retake the White House.

The 76-year-old is being charged over hush money payments made on his behalf to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Donald Trump has denied any wrongdoing and accuses prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated witch hunt to damage his campaign.

While Trump becomes the first former American president to be criminally indicted, other democracies have shown little reluctance in the past 20 years to drag their leaders into court.

Below are the former world leaders who have either been arrested or charged.

Also read: Trump indicted over hush money: Rival Ron DeSantis says Florida wont assist in former presidents extradition

South Korea

According to the New York Times, former President Roh Moo-hyun died by suicide in May 2009 while being investigated for corruption. He admitted that a businessman contributed $6 million (Rs 50 crore) to his relatives between 2003 and 2008 while they were in office, but he insisted the payments werent bribes.

This isnt the only time that a South Korean president has faced prison term. Former President Lee Myung-bak, who was in office from 2008 to 2013, was charged with embezzling more than 30 billion won and collecting bribes from a variety of institutions, including Samsung in 2020.

Lee was sentenced to 17 years in prison and the South Korean courts imposed a 13 billion won fine on him. In December 2022, he received a presidential pardon not only cancelling the remaining 15 years of his sentence, but also voding the unpaid 8.2 billion won of the 13 billion won fine.

Former President Park Geun-hye was also convicted of abuse of power and coercion in 2018 after being impeached a year earlier. Three years later, she too received special amnesty and was pardoned from a perspective of national unity.

Israel

In 2014, Ehud Olmert, who was prime minister from 2006 to 2009, was convicted of accepting bribes to promote real estate projects in Jerusalem during his previous terms as mayor and trade minister, and obstructing justice. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison, but was released in 16 months, reported the Associated Press.

Besides him, Moshe Katsav, who was president from the year 2000 to 2007, was also convicted in December 2010 for raping an aide while he was a Cabinet minister in the 1990s and also sexually harassing two other women when he was the head of state. In 2016, Katsav, who has always maintained his innocence, was released from Maasiyahu Prison in Ramla.

The case had stirred deep emotions in Israel and even sparked off a national debate on sexual harassment.

Even though he is the countrys leader, Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a corruption trial.

He is accused of betraying trust and receiving bribes, but he insists that he did nothing wrong.

According to the New York Times, he is accused of providing governmental favours to powerful business people in exchange for presents.

His plan to reform the legal system has triggered enormous demonstrations as the trial is still going on.

France

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president from 2007 to 2012 was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to a year of house arrest for illegal campaign financing. He was accused of having spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of 22.5million on the re-election bid that he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande.

The court stated that Sarkozy knew the legal limit was at stake and voluntarily failed to supervise additional expenses.

Sarkozy denied any fraudulent intent. He also said he did not handle the day-to-day organisation because he had a team to do that and therefore could not be blamed for the amount of spending.

Before Sarkozy, in 2011, Jacques Chirac, who served as president from 1995 to 2007, was found guilty of misusing public funds, betraying trust, and engaging in an unlawful conflict of interest while serving as mayor of Paris, reported Yahoo News.

He received a two-year sentence with probation.

Brazil

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was imprisoned in April 2018 after a sentence for corruption and money laundering handed down by the controversial judge Sergio Moro was upheld by an appeal court.

He has always proclaimed his innocence and argued the case against him was politically motivated, according to The Guardian.

According to AP, the now president also faced other charges such as influence peddling and obstruction of justice.

He was sentenced to 12 years of prison. Lula and an additional 5,000 prisoners were released, though, after Brazils supreme court subsequently decided that defendants could only be imprisoned after all appeals to higher courts had been exhausted, reported The Guardian.

Pakistan

Imran Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, was ousted following a vote of no-confidence.

He was charged in August last year with violating an anti-terrorism law and was also accused of threatening to harm government officials.

The former prime minister has been facing dozens of cases registered against him in various cities after his ouster from power.

Taiwan

According to BBC, Chen Shui-bian, who served as president from 2000 to 2008, received a 20-year prison term for corruption-related offences. He was found guilty in 2009 of forgery, money laundering, and theft of public funds.

He was freed from prison on medical parole after serving six years of his sentence

Malaysia

Former Prime Minister Najib Razak (from 2009 to 2018) is currently serving 12 years in prison after the Federal Court maintained his 2020 conviction for misappropriating 27 million ringgit in funds from former 1MDB unit SRC International to his personal bank account, according to News18.

The 1MDB scandal outraged Malaysians with its billions of dollars of losses.

Italy

According to Yahoo News, a prosecution involving the sexually explicit bunga bunga parties that proto-Trump figure Silvio Berlusconi hosted while in office resulted in his acquittal of witness tampering in February.

He served as prime minister intermittently for nine years, from 1994 to 2011, until his resignation.

The trial was the third in a scandal that also involved allegations that he paid for sex with a minor in 2010 while he was still the premier. He was acquitted.

Yet, according to the report, Berlusconi was found guilty in 2013 of tax fraud at his Mediaset television company, and the Senate kicked him out of the House of Representatives.

In 2014, a four-year prison term for tax fraud was reduced to community service helping elderly people with dementia. That same year, a different sentence for paying for sex with a minor prostitute was overturned, according to Slate.com.

Iceland

Former Icelandic prime minister Geir Haarde was convicted of negligence for his part in the nations 2008 financial collapse, but he was found innocent of more serious charges that could have resulted in prison time, according to Slate.com.

With inputs from agencies

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The White House has claimed that Russia is attempting to make a deal with North Korea to exchange weapons for food.

The news comes in the backdrop of tensions between Washington and Moscow ratcheting up after Russia detained a reporter from the Wall Street Journal on the accusation of spying.

North Korea has sought to strengthen relations with Russia as much of Europe and the West has pulled away from Moscow.

Lets take a closer look:

What has the White House said?

As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.

We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions, Kirby added.

This comes hours after the treasury departments Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions against Slovakian national Ashot Mkrtychev

The treasury department accused Mkrtychev of attempting to facilitate arms deals between Russia and North Korea.

The treasure department claimed Mkrtychev worked with North Korean officials to obtain over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions for Russia in exchange for commercial aircraft, raw materials and commodities to be sent to North Korea between the end of 2022 and early 2023.

Mkrtychev also worked with a Russian citizen to find commercial aircraft to delivers goods to North Korea in the exchange.

Kirby said Mkrtychev is at the center of the new North Korea-Russia deal, which has yet to be consummated.

With this new pariah status also comes risks for those who provide support to him, as we will not hesitate to target such malign actors in the future, Kirby was quoted as saying by CNN.

Kirby further vowed to continue to identify, expose and counter Russian attempts to acquire military equipment from North Korea or any other state that is prepared to support its war in Ukraine.

He added that the US does not have evidence that Mkrtychev was involved in the earlier transfer of weapons to Russias Wagner Group, whose mercenaries have been in the center of a monthslong battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

This is just the latest accusation that Russia, desperate for weaponry and restricted by sanctions and export controls, is turning to rogue nations to help it continue to prosecute the 13-month-old war.

The administration has previously declassified intelligence to present evidence that Iran sold hundreds of attack drones to Russia over the summer and that the Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, has taken delivery of arms from North Korea to help bolster its forces as they fight side-by-side with Russian troops in Ukraine.

CNN in September, quoting a US official, reported that Russia was on course to buy millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea to be used in the Ukraine war.

The outlet quoted defence department press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder as saying that Russia had approached North Korea to request ammunition.

It does demonstrate and is indicative of the situation Russia finds itself in in terms of logistics and sustainment capabilities as it relates to Ukraine, Ryder said at the time.

We assess that things are not going well on that front for Russia, so the fact that theyre reaching out to North Korea is a sign that theyre having some challenges on the sustainment front.

The New York Times in September, citing declassified US intel, also reported that Russia is buying millions of artillery shells and rockets from North Korea.

In November, Kirby said North Korea was shipping the ammunition to Russia but obfuscating the trade by making it look like it was sending arms to the Middle East or North Africa.

Kirby in December claimed that US intelligence officials determined that North Korea completed an initial arms shipment that included rockets and missiles.

We assess that the amount of material delivered to Wagner will not change battlefield dynamics in Ukraine, Kirby said. But were certainly concerned that North Korea is planning to deliver more military equipment.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US envoy to the United Nations, called it despicable that Russia, a permanent veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, which imposed the sanctions, is now using weapons procured from North Korea and Iran to pursue its war of aggression against Ukraine.

North Korea at the time denied the accusation, calling it a groundless theory cooked up by some dishonest forces.

An unidentified spokesman at the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by state media that the nation remains unchanged in its principled stand on the issue of arms transaction between (North Korea) and Russia which has never happened.

He accused the US of criminal acts of bringing bloodshed and destruction to Ukraine by providing it with a large amount of weapons, while repeating its support of Russia in the war.

I would like to say that the Russian people are the bravest people with the will and ability to defend the security and territorial integrity of their country without any others military support, he said.

A senior North Korean official in January again slammed the accusation as a groundless rumour, as per Al Jazeera.

The outlet quoted Kwon Jong Gun as saying that the US will face a really undesirable result if it persists in spreading the self-made rumour.

Trying to tarnish the image of [North Korea] by fabricating a non-existent thing is a grave provocation that can never be allowed and that cannot but trigger its reaction.

Experts believe the food situation in North Korea is the worst it has been under Kim Jong Uns 11-year rule, but they still say they see no signs of imminent famine or mass deaths. Kim vowed to strengthen state control over agriculture and take a spate of other steps to increase grain production, North Korean state media reported earlier this month.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last month that US intelligence suggested China was considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia, though White House officials have said they have yet to see evidence of Beijing following through with weapons delivery.

The publicizing of Russias efforts to get weapons from North Korea is just the latest example of the Biden administration loosening restrictions on intelligence findings and making them public over the course of the grinding war in Ukraine.

The administration has said it has sought to disseminate the intelligence findings so allies and the public remain clear-eyed about Moscows intent and Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks twice about his actions.

Russia has lost over 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment since the start of the war, and thanks in part to multilateral sanctions and export controls, Putin has become increasingly desperate to replace them, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

Schemes like the arms deal pursued by this individual show that Putin is turning to suppliers of last resort like Iran and the DPRK.

Todays action is a clear message that the United States will not relent in targeting those who provide support to Russias aggression and brutal war against Ukraine, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

We will continue to identify, expose, and counter Russian attempts to acquire military equipment from (North Korea) or any other state that is prepared to support its war in Ukraine, Blinken said in a statement.

N Korea ready to send troops, claims Russian state TV correspondent

This comes even as a Russian state TV war correspondent has claimed that North Korea could send 50,000 troops to Moscows aid in Ukraine.

Eurasian Times quoted Aleksander Sladkovdecision as saying such a decision could come shortly, but added that North Korea would need approval from China.

I spoke with a friend of mine, the head of a Korean war veterans organization. He was here recently. I said, What do you guys have? He said 50,000 special forces are ready for deployment, Sladkov said as per the outlet.

North Korea, an outlier on the global stage, has sought to enhance relations with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine brought an avalanche of sanctions from the West and broad international condemnation.

Any arms deal with Russia would be a violation of UN resolutions that ban North Korea from exporting to or importing weapons from other countries.

North Korea is the only nation aside from Russia and Syria to recognize the independence of Russia-backed separatist territories, Donetsk and Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine.



With inputs from agencies

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Rome: Romes Gemelli hospital, where Pope Francis is being treated for bronchitis, is the favoured choice of pontiffs to the point of being dubbed Vatican three by John Paul II.

The Polish pope, who was head of the Catholic church from 1978 until his death in 2005, was treated nine times at Gemelli and spent a total of 153 days there.

He quipped that Vatican number one was St. Peters Square, Vatican number two was the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, and the Gemelli was number three.

John Paul IIs repeated and prolonged stays caused the Vatican to create a mini-residence on site, an apartment on the 10th floor  the top  that is accessed by a long corridor guarded by Italian and Vatican police.

According to Italian media, the suite is painted white and furnished simply.

In addition to his room, there is a meeting room for medical staff, a kitchen, bathroom and rest areas.

There is also a small chapel where Pope Francis, 86, has prayed since being admitted with a respiratory infection on Wednesday.

Romes largest

The papal chamber was created from scratch in May 1981 when John Paul II was shot in St. Peters Square by a young Turkish man, Mehmet Ali Agca, and rushed to Gemelli.

He underwent an operation lasting almost six hours to remove a bullet from his abdomen. He was also shot in his hand and arm, and two women in the crowd were also injured.

John Paul II returned to the hospital several times, though in the end he died at the Vatican on 2 April, 2005.

Today, his statue presides over the entrance of the hospital, whose full name is the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli.

His successor, German theologian Benedict XVI, never stayed at Gemelli  at least according to official announcements.

He resigned in 2013, citing his declining physical and mental health. He lived in a monastery in the grounds of the Vatican and died there on 31 December, aged 95.

His successor, the Argentine Pope Francis, spent 10 days at Gemelli in July 2021 after undergoing surgery on his colon.

He was admitted for a second time on Wednesday, in what the Vatican said initially was for planned tests.

It later said he had been diagnosed with a respiratory infection after complaining of breathing difficulties, and would need hospital treatment for a few days.

Gemelli is the largest hospital in Rome, with more than 5,000 people working there, according to its website.

It is part of the University of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic facility founded in 1921 in the northern Italian city of Milan.

It is now considered the largest Catholic university in Europe, with several sites in Italy.

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Air quality has worsened in Thailand, sending millions to hospitals with respiratory issues this year alone.

Raging forest fires and large-scale farm burning have contributed to air pollution, with the condition particularly bad this year.

Forest fires are an annual problem for Thailand between December to April as it is at this time that farmers burn their fields to clear them for the next crop season, as per The Guardian.

Lets take a closer look at the issue.

Thailand battles wildfires

A blaze broke out Wednesday (29 March) night engulfing forests on two mountains in Nakhon Nayok province, 114 kilometres northeast of the capital city of Bangkok.

Around 10 firefighting vehicles were deployed to bring the fire under control, while three helicopters were dispatched on Thursday that dumped 150,000 litres of water, according to CNN.

Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri told reporters that the fire erupted on a high part of Khao Chaplu mountain and then spread to the adjoining Khao Laem mountain, reported Associated Press (AP).

By Thursday, the flames spread to the forest park Khao Nang Dam, as per CNN.

The fire ignited easily due to high winds and the growth of bamboo in the region, as per local media.

As per CNN, authorities believe the lightning storm on Tuesday was responsible for the blaze.

Thai prime ministers office said in a statement late Thursday that the fire has been contained.

There have been no pockets of fire spotted. The smoke has continued billowing out from two to three spots at Ta Baek Mountain, the statement said, according to CNN.

However, the government has warned a gale could reignite the blaze.

Meanwhile, separate forest fires have also erupted farther north, including in popular tourist destination Chiang Mai, Anucha said, adding that water was dumped from the air on Wednesday to subside the flames, AP reported.

Bloomberg reported citing a satellite heat map by a Thai space agency that wildfires have also been seen in protected forests in the Southeast Asia countrys north, with many hotspots being located in the borders of neighbouring Myanmar and Laos.

Thailands air pollution

Persistent forest fires and agriculture burning have created a thick blanket of smog in northern Thailand.

Pinsak Suraswadi, director-general of the Pollution Control Bureau, told The Bangkok Post newspaper that there is no wind in northern Thailand presently, due to which the haze has continued to linger for days.

As per todays live ranking by Swiss air quality company IQAir, Chiang Mai is listed second among the worst cities for air pollution.

In early March, authorities in Chiang Mai province had announced they will distribute face masks to the public in view of the rampant pollution. People were also told to use air purifiers or masks, limit outdoor activities and seek medical care if they experience air pollution-related health issues, reported The Guardian.

Air pollution has not even spared Bangkok which has reported dangerous levels of PM2.5 particulate matter in recent days. Late last year, authorities set up a pollution watch room to keep track of weather patterns and pollution levels in the capital city.

PM 2.5 particles are fine inhalable particles with a diametre of around 2.5 micrometre or smaller that emanate from fires and emissions from vehicles, power plants, and industrial units.

In the tourist-preferred destination of Chiang Rai, the smog has masked famous mountains as well as the lush, green foliage, as per BBC.

The Mae Sai township remains shrouded in a haze so thick that buildings can only be seen from a short distance away, South China Morning Post reported citing Thai PBS World.

On Monday, around 200 people in the Chiang Rai district of Mae Sai held protests outside a local government office, asking them to take action. They also demanded Bangkok talk to Myanmar and other neighbouring nations where agricultural burning has worsened Thailands smog, reported BBC.

ALSO READ: Can pollution cause stillbirth?

Health issues

Millions of people in the country have suffered from air pollution-related diseases since January this year.

Thai health authorities said on 10 March that more than 1.3 million people had reported air pollution-related health issues in the first nine weeks of 2023, reported BBC.

About 2,00,000 of these cases were seen in the first week of March when the haze had further deteriorated.

Between 19 and 26 March, more than 3,400 people visited hospitals in Chiang Rai alone complaining of respiratory issues and sore throats, reported Thai PBS World.

Dr Veera Isarathanan of Chiang Rais Mae Chan Hospital has expressed concerns about the health of newborns who cannot wear masks. Moreover, despite purifier machines, the air can still be toxic in nurseries, reported BBC.

[Its sad] newborn children have to encounter pollution like this. Their lungs are just starting to work, Dr Isarathanan said.

Dr Nitipatana Chierakul, a specialist in respiratory medicine in Bangkok, told The Guardian that he witnesses similar scenes at this time of the year. While some patients report chest pain or prolonged coughs, most say they have difficulty in breathing.

Authorities have warned that with the forecast of few winds, the situation is expected to remain grim for the coming days.

With inputs from agencies

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As the Russia-Ukraine war wages on, the role of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is at the forefront. Analysts have said that the war that Vladimir Putin initiated in February last year was owing to Ukraines insistence on wanting to join the military alliance.

Now, 401 days into the war, Ukraines neighbouring countries  Finland and Sweden  who until now were not a part of the group, have made concrete steps to join NATO. In fact, on Thursday, Turkey finally approved Finlands application to join NATO, putting an end to months of delays.

Swedens bid continues to be blocked.

On Thursday, the Turkish parliament voted unanimously in favour of Finlands membership, the last hurdle in the process. Reacting to the news, Finnish president Sauli Niinisto said his country is now ready to join NATO.

All 30 NATO members have now ratified Finlands membership. I want to thank every one of them for their trust and support, he also said. Finland will be a strong and capable ally, committed to the security of the Alliance.

We look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible, the Finnish president added.

We take a closer look at what it entails to become a member of NATO and how the joining of these two nations will change the alliance.

What is NATO?

NATO was formed in 1949 by 12 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and France. The purpose of this bloc was the collective security against the erstwhile Soviet Union. It was Americas first peacetime military alliance outside the western hemisphere. Retired American general and future US president Dwight Eisenhower was tapped to be NATOs first military leader: the supreme allied commander Europe.

Members of the group  which has swelled from 12 at the beginning to 30 at its latest count  are bound by the key principle of collective defence as laid out in Article 5. It remains a unique and enduring principle that binds its members together, committing them to protect each other and setting a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance.

What this means is that an attack against one ally is considered as an attack against all allies.

Russia has always been against NATO, stating that the collective was a threat to the countrys security. It has vehemently opposed Ukraines request to join the alliance, fearing this would encroach too closely on its territory. It has also opposed Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, saying that such an action would have serious military and political consequences.

What countries are part of NATO?

As of today, NATO has 30 members. They are made up of 12 founding members: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Map showing the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) pic.twitter.com/tU2T6klTe4  AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 10, 2022

As well as Greece, Turkiye, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

How to become a member of NATO?

Based on Article 10 of the alliances charter, NATO follows an open door policy for countries seeking membership. The article says that the NATO members can invite any European country to join the alliance in order to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic region.

However, the road to becoming a part of the alliance is long and winding and requires the approval of all 30 existing allied countries.

When a country seeks to join the alliance, NATO first sends an official invitation to that country. This is followed by a seven-step process.

The first step involves NATO experts and representatives of the invited country meeting in Brussels and holding talks on the political, legal and military requirements and obligations to be fulfilled to join the alliance.

Following this, the invited country sends an official letter of intent to NATO general-secretary and declares that accepts the obligations and commitments of NATO membership. If reforms are to be made, a calendar of reforms is also laid out in this letter.

Following the founding agreement of NATO being updated, then each country begins its ratification process. The approval process differs from country to country. For instance, a two-thirds vote of the Senate is required for approval in the US, while a formal vote in the UK parliament is not required.

The fifth step to becoming a member is a notification to the US, which hosts the treaty. When all these stages are completed in step six, the NATO secretary-general invites the new member to join the alliance.

Finally, the new member completes its own national legal process and submits its accession document to the US, and becomes a NATO member.

Why Finland and Sweden want to join NATO?

The two countries have a long history of being neutral and staying out of military alliances. However, this stance changed after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.

One needs to understand that Russia shares a border with Finland  some 1,340 km. While the Vladimir Putin-led country shares no land border with Sweden, it has a major presence along the coast of the Baltic Sea.

According to experts, Vladimir Putins actions have shattered a long-standing sense of stability in northern Europe, leaving Sweden and Finland feeling vulnerable.

Finnish ex-prime minister Alexander Stubb had said joining the alliance was a done deal for his country as soon as Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24 February.

For the Finns, events in Ukraine served up a memory that has haunted them for years. The Soviets had invaded Finland in late 1939. For more than three months the Finnish army put up fierce resistance, despite being heavily outnumbered. They avoided occupation, but ended up losing 10 per cent of their territory.

Sweden has also felt endangered in recent years, with several reported airspace violations by Russian military aircraft.

And with the war, the attitudes of the local populations towards NATO also changed drastically. According to data collated by Statista, in April 2014, only 28 per cent of Swedens population said yes to join the alliance. In February 2022, when asked again, the number rose and 41 per cent of the people thought Sweden should join NATO. And in July 2022, this number increased to 64 per cent.

Similarly, Finland too saw an attitude change towards joining NATO. In October 2021, only 24 per cent of the people wanted the country to join the alliance. However, in May of 2022, this rose to 76 per cent.

It was in June last year that all allies of NATO invited Sweden and Finland and since then the ratification process has been ongoing. While Finland has got the green signal from all 30 members, with Turkey being the last one to give its nod, Swedens bid to enter the alliance still faces a roadblock.

What would their membership mean?

For NATO, Finnish and Swedish membership would bolster their eastern flank and its collective defences in northern Europe. Perhaps the most significant impact would be the stretching of NATOs border with Russia. Bringing in Finland would more than double the length, adding roughly 800 miles of frontier. And Finland and Sweden together would vastly expand the alliances presence in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Circle.

Bringing Finland and Sweden into the fold would also strengthen NATO in the Arctic, a region where Russia has invested heavily in commercial and military infrastructure. Finnish and Swedish accession would bring all Arctic states, except Russia, into NATO, allowing the alliance to pursue a more coherent strategy in the region.

For both the countries, a NATO membership would provide them with security cover from Russia. It would mean that the countries would receive the backing of military might of the alliance if Vladimir Putin was to attack them.

Its not known when Finland and Sweden will officially become members of NATO, but its bound to anger Russia and tensions are going to run high in the European region.

With inputs from agencies

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After months of delay, Turkey has finally green-lit Finlands application to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Turkeys parliament on Thursday (30 March) voted unanimously in favour of Helsinkis bid, paving the way for the Nordic countrys accession to the Western military alliance.

This comes after Hungarys parliament ratified Finlands application earlier this week.

However, Turkey and Hungary have continued to block Finlands neighbour, Sweden, from joining the transatlantic military alliance.

The Nordic nations had dropped their decades-long policy of military non-alignment and applied for NATO membership last year following Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Why has Turkey approved Finlands NATO application but not of its neighbour Sweden? Lets take a closer look.

Turkey approves Finlands NATO bid

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has fulfilled his promise to allow Finland to be a part of the defence alliance, as per CNN.

Earlier this month, Finnish officials visited Turkey to discuss the countrys NATO application.

Addressing a joint press conference with Finnish president Sauli Niinisto, Erdogan said at the time that Helsinki has taken sincere and concrete steps to meet the security commitments it made to Ankara.

We decided to start the approval process of Finlands NATO accession protocol in our Parliament, based on the sensitivity and distance achieved by our country in addressing our security concerns, Erdogan was quoted as saying by The Washington Post.

Further, the Turkish leader said that talks with Sweden would continue on the basis of the principles of our alliance and our approach to the fight against terrorism.

Last summer at a NATO summit in Madrid, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a memorandum laying out measures the countries would take to address Ankaras arms exports and terrorism, reported Politico.

Sweden and Finland also lifted their arms embargo on Turkey, which was imposed after Ankara invaded Syria in 2019.

Turkeys security concerns

Though 28 out of NATOs 30 members were quick to assent to Sweden and Finlands bid to join the military alliance, Turkey and Hungary continued to hold out for their own reasons.

However, it was Turkey that was seen as the main roadblock to these Nordic countries NATO membership.

Turkey believes Sweden acts as a haven for groups it considers to be terrorist organisations and security threats such as the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), noted Associated Press (AP).

Ankara wants Stockholm to take a tougher line against militant Kurdish groups and others linked to a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

Sweden has rejected Turkeys allegations of habouring Kurdish militants or supporting the PKK.

Abdullah Ocalan, a Marxist revolutionary, had formed the Kurdistan Workers Party  Partiya Karkeren Kurdistane (PKK) in Kurdish  in 1978 to establish an independent Kurdistan. As per the Indian Express report, PKK members took up arms against the Turkish Army from 1984 until their leader Ocalans was captured in 1999.

PKK and the Turkish state have fought each other since then.

Turkey has demanded Sweden hand over around 120 suspects it deems to be threats.

If you absolutely want to join NATO, you will return these terrorists to us, Erdogan had said earlier this year.

You will send these terrorists to us so that you can join NATO.

To placate Turkey, Sweden introduced a counter-terrorism bill that was to be passed in Parliament this month. However, the anti-terror legislation has now been postponed to May.

The bill aims to target financing, aiding and propagation of terrorist groups, Anadolu Agency reported citing Swedish media.

ALSO READ: Another Wall in the Making: Why Finland is fortifying its border along Russia

Tensions after Quran burning

In January, the ties between the two countries soured more after an effigy of Erdogan was suspended from a lamppost in Stockholm during a pro-Kurdish demonstration.

Tensions peaked on 21 January after a leader of a Danish far-right political party burned the Quran (a holy book for Muslims) during a protest outside Turkeys embassy in Stockholm.

Reacting sharply to the incident, Turkey condemned the act as anti-Islam. Turkish foreign ministry said that allowing the protest under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable.

Sweden also condemned the burning and the protests.

Following the incident, Ankara suspended NATO accession talks with both Nordic countries for some time.

Erdogan has used this incident to harden his opposition against Swedens NATO bid, as per Vox.

Domestic political reasons

Analysts believe Erdogans government would not approve Swedens NATO bid till the parliamentary and presidential elections in Turkey in May.

Sweden faces more significant obstacles in its bid, Hamish Kinnear, Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, told AP in an email.

Turkey is unlikely to approve its acceptance into the alliance before the election in May. The Quran burning incident sparked popular rage in Turkey and President Tayyip Recep Erdogan wont want to risk angering his conservative base ahead of the polls, Kinnear added.

Erdogan, who is facing a tough reelection, is likely to resist Swedens bid citing security concerns  an argument Vox says resonates with the vast population in Turkey.

Its just an issue that he would like to keep alive because that plays well, along with other elements of the foreign policy arena, which, I think, he is weaponising, Sinan Ciddi, a professor of National Security Studies at Marine Corps University, told Vox.

It gets the crowds fired up and gives people an extra reason to vote for him.

Meanwhile, other NATO allies will continue to get Turkey on board for Swedens bid before the next summit of its leaders to be held in July in Vilnius.

With inputs from agencies

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New Delhi: Founder Chairperson of Reliance Foundation Nita Ambani performed traditional puja on Ramnavmi on Thursday to seek the Almightys blessings on the eve of the launch of Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC).

Indias first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, is set to be inaugurated today with an exquisite showcase of the best of India across music, theatre, fine arts and crafts to audiences from India and the world.

The Centre will mark another definitive step in strengthening Indias cultural infrastructure and bringing to fruition the best of India and the world in the sphere of arts.

The launch programming features a specially curated art and craft exposition called Swadesh along with three blockbuster shows  a musical theatrical called The Great Indian Musical: Civilization to Nation; a costume art exhibition called India in Fashion and a visual art show called Sangam/Confluence. Together, the programming is and exploration into the diversity of Indias cultural traditions and their impact on the world, while also showcasing the diversity of spaces at the Cultural Centre.

Speaking on the occasion, Nita Ambani said, Bringing this Cultural Centre to life has been a sacred journey. We were keen to create a space for both promoting and celebrating our artistic and cultural heritage in cinema and music, in dance and drama, in literature and folklore, in arts and crafts and in science and spirituality. A space where we showcase the best of India to the world and welcome the best of the world to India.

The Centre will be highly inclusive with free access for children, students, senior citizens, and the differently abled, and will strongly focus on community nurturing programmes, including school and college outreach and competitions, awards for Arts teachers, in-residency Guru-shishya programs, art literacy programs for adults.

The launch programming has been imagined to highlight Indias immense cultural impact and provide a platform where the artist meets the audience. The one-of-its-kind art and craft exposition called Swadesh celebrates unique and iconic Indian regional artforms including eight stunning crafts that the Reliance Foundation has supported over the years, such as Pichwai, Banarasi weaving, Pattachitra, Sozni embroidery, Blue Pottery, Kal Baffi, Paithani and candles made by the visually impaired.

To be part of the programme, audiences can book tickets on nmacc.com or BookMyShow.

About Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre is a first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary space in the sphere of arts, within the Jio World Centre, located in the heart of Mumbais Bandra Kurla Complex.

The Cultural Centre is home to three performing arts spaces: the majestic 2,000-seat Grand Theatre, the technologically advanced 250-seat Studio Theatre, and the dynamic 12S-seat Cube. It also features the Art House, a four-storey dedicated visual arts space built as per global museum standards with the aim of housing a shifting array of exhibits and installations from the finest artistic talent across India and the world.

Spread across the Centres concourses is a captivating mix of public art by renowned Indian and global artists, including Kamal Kunj  one of the largest Pichwai paintings in India.

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The second iteration of Joe Bidens Democracy Summit kicked off Wednesday. It is being attended by more than 120 world leaders, including Narendra Modi, in virtual and in-person format. Thats eight more than the inaugural edition in 2021. It is unclear, however, on what basis countries were chosen or left out from this exclusive club. The yardstick seems inconsistent.

Turkey and Hungary were not invited ostensibly because they were not adjudged as democracies. Neither was Bangladesh, another democracy where an elected prime minister runs a stable government. And yet Pakistan, the international basket case, got a green signal. In a tragicomic turn of events, Islamabad turned down Bidens invitation because it fears upsetting its iron brother China. Vladimir Putin, of course, is persona non grata. Beijing has responded by hosting what it claims to be its own version of a forum on democracy on Thursday, inviting 300 guests from over 100 countries.

The purpose of the summit is also not clear despite Bidens vague assertion that the world is turning the tide after backsliding on democracy. Ironically, Biden made the comments on the very day Saudi Arabias cabinet approved a decision to join China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), planning to solidify its partnership with Beijing and cocking a snook at the US. Chinese president Xi Jinping recently visited Moscow to meet Putin amid signs that the Sino-Russian axis is strengthening.

Amid these geopolitical games, questions must be raised about the feasibility of the exercise. A grandiose summit on democracies isnt just a reflection of the inconsistency that plagues American foreign policy, but the very idea is strange, given the fact it separates the world into two ideological blocks where the division is neither neat nor feasible.

Besides, US, the country that hosts the summit, is in no position to hand out certificates. It has backed autocracies, autocrats, military juntas and demagogues for decades, and continues to do so in pursuit of hegemony, driven by self-interest and the self-justification of American exceptionalism.

As former US president Franklin D Roosevelt reportedly said about Rafael Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic: He may be a bastard, but hes our bastard.

The US is also a deeply flawed democracy and lacks the moral authority to hold such a summit. A 2021 Harvard youth poll found that young Americans lack faith in the countrys democratic credentials. Only 7% viewed the US as a healthy democracy, and 52% believed that democracy is either in trouble or failing. This concern is echoed in the fact that 35% of respondents anticipated a second civil war during their lifetimes, and 25% believe that at least one state will secede.

Beyond the lofty yet vague ideal of strengthening democracies, therefore, Bidens summitry is driven by two unstated, hard-nosed goals: pushing back against notions of Americas decline as a superpower and an ideological battle against China, an adversary that for the first time since Washingtons victory in Cold War presents a viable alternative to the international rules-based order.

China is stepping up in its role as Americas peer competitor. Beijings transactional diplomacy is devoid of any evangelism of values, giving it a natural advantage in strongman-ruled states. It has gained influence in West Asia by midwifing peace between arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran and has been actively trying to woo the Global South through a range of political and economic initiatives, including trade as well as massive infrastructure and connectivity projects.

The US sees Chinas rising influence in South Asia, Latin America, West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, as a strategic challenge, one that has been compounded by its own retreat from central and West Asia. As Chinas threat grows across most domains where America hopes to retain its hegemony as the rule-keeper, the Washington consensus on China as a great power rival has become bipartisan and total. One of the key goals of the summit, therefore, is to reinforce Americas global leadership under the garb of a democracy-promotion initiative.

In this reading, democracy is not a value-based political system that the US is trying to defend but a tool for its hegemonic power politics. Looking at the framing of the summit, I am reminded of a symposium held recently by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

It was surreal to listen to three members of the global foreign policy elite  two Indian political scientists and one American academician  review and pass sweeping judgements on the health of the worlds largest democracy during a podcast organized by an American think tank in New York. Hearing them ratify, cancel and indulge in alarmism over the electoral choices of a billion Indians with all the arrogance and swagger of Anglophone aristocrats presiding over Indian democracy as their own fiefdom, one gets an essence of Americas interventionist foreign policy based on the power principles of liberal hegemony.

The medium is liberalism, the aim is to advance American foreign policy objectives. Democracy here becomes interchangeable with hegemonism, and takes on the attributes of a liberal hegemonic project that installs only keepers in democracies around the world, especially in Global South and lays down a set of inviolable rules deemed as universal which the elites and their institutions in liberal democracies will preside over, seemingly distrustful of the natives ability to adhere to democratic principles, including choosing their own leader through free and fair elections.

Any deviation from these universal rules will be adjudged as deviation, backsliding of democracy or electoral autocracy and the interventionist impulse will set in  all under the garb of upholding norms and inalienable rights.

As Harvard University professor Stephen M Walt writes in Foreign Policy, saying the US is just trying to uphold the rules is politer than saying its goal is to preserve US primacy in perpetuity, weaken China permanently, topple governments it doesnt like, or undermine its other adversaries. Of course, when US officials say rules-based order, they mean the current order, whose rules were mostly made in America.

One of the aims of the summit is also to build global networks and alliances as part of Americas attempts to extend its unipolar moment in an era of its decreasing influence and increasing multipolarity. In this context, the summit seeks to throw a geopolitical and ideological gauntlet at China. Thats why a dysfunctional state such as Pakistan gets an invite.

There are, however, two irreconcilable dichotomies at the heart of this project.

One, exercises such as galvanizing democracies to advance American foreign policy objectives become imperative when liberal hegemony cannot be easily extended or even pursued due to greater multipolarity. Seen from this lens, democracy summit is Americas tacit admission that its unipolar moment is over. It felt no need to hold such events in the heady unipolar years of 1990s.

Second, while liberal hegemony is practiced by the US as a moral imperative to safeguard human rights and bring global peace, it does so following the realist logic of great power behaviour that seeks to maintain its hegemony and indulge in competition and conflict with powers deemed as its peer competitors.

This is why the US is trying to compete with China, constrain and contain its rise while leading the West in sanctioning Russia and providing arms and ammunition to Ukraine.

Americas conviction in its exceptionalism is so entrenched that it has a firm belief in the notion that American leadership is good both for itself and the world. This creates interventionism and an inevitable clash with nationalism. In an article for Foreign Affairs, Jon Temin of the Truman Center for National Policy urges the Biden administration to build an accompanying monitoring mechanism along with holding democracy summits to track countries progress on the commitments they made.

In other words, Biden is being advised to become a supercop for democracy and dish out punishment to those who the US thinks have gone astray. In his essay Realism and Restraint, American political scientist John J Mearsheimer expands on this activist impulse.

He writes, A crusader impulse is deeply wired into liberal democracies, especially in their elites, and it is difficult for them not to try to remake the world in their image Liberalism has an activist mentality woven into its core. The belief that all humans have a set of inalienable rights, and that protecting these rights should override other concerns, creates a powerful incentive for liberal states to intervene.

Take, for instance, America and Germanys stance on the disqualification of Indian Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi as a Parliamentarian. It was a judicial verdict that set in motion a law that has seen the automatic disqualification of several Indian lawmakers, including from the ruling BJP. And yet, Germany and the US say that they are monitoring the developments and lecture India on standards of judicial independence and democratic principles in a hectoring, arrogant tone.

Incredibly, the implied advice is that the Indian government must reverse a decision taken by Indias independent judiciary. While Rahul Gandhi has several legal options open before him to overturn the decision, American and German reactions are tantamount to blatant intervention in Indias sovereign decisions over a matter that concerns Indias domestic politics.

What we see here is that under the guise of upholding universal principles and inalienable rights of individuals, the US-led West is twisting its own norms of ruled-based order. To dictate the choices of a sovereign, democratic nation through interventionist policies is deeply antithetical to democratic norms, and yet the US, which holds an ostentatious democracy summit is repeatedly guilty of this dubious exercise.

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On 17 December 2021, Prime Minister Lotay Tshering of Bhutan tweeted his happiness  Overjoyed to hear His Majesty pronounce Your Excellency Modijis @narendramodi name for the highest civilian decoration, Order of the Druk Gyalpo  indicating the depth of bilateral ties India and Bhutan shared. Whether it is Chinas ambitious territorial desires or the merciless power of COVID-19, India has always stood by Bhutan as a caring neighbour, addressing Thimphus concerns. However, one year, three months, and 12 days after sending out the tweet expressing his happiness over his Indian counterpart receiving Bhutans highest civilian honour, Prime Minister Tshering contradicted himself in an interview with a Belgian newspaper. He stated that China has an equal say over the disputed territory of Doklam, which is exactly different from what he said in 2019 when he stated that neither side should do anything unilaterally.

Bhutan-China bilateral ties

Bhutan, also referred to as the Himalayan Kingdom, has maintained a historically robust and multifaceted relationship with India, spanning cultural, political, economic and military spheres. Conversely, Bhutans interactions with Beijing have been notably intricate. Before 1959, Bhutan lacked formal diplomatic ties with China. However, during the 1960s and 1970s, China endeavoured to establish diplomatic relations with Bhutan, which was met with firm opposition from Thimphu due to ongoing border disputes between the two nations. Subsequently, Bhutan adopted a more conciliatory stance, leading to negotiations on the border dispute since 1984. Despite limited progress, the signing of a bilateral agreement in 1996 to uphold peace and stability in the border regions was a significant development. The official recognition of Bhutan as a sovereign state by China in 2002 marked a noteworthy milestone, paving the way for the establishment of formal diplomatic ties, ultimately realised in 2008.

Bhutan found itself in a complex situation following the annexation of Tibet by the Chinese in 1951, which brought China in as its new neighbour. This development further complicated the unresolved boundary issues between Tibet and Bhutan, which persist to this day. There existed a feeling of distrust in Bhutan vis-a-vis its ties with China for a long time but in recent years Thimphu has fairly increased its engagement with China. Despite the signing of multiple agreements on various fronts as a result of official diplomatic ties, the resolution of the border issue remained pending. This issue was further complicated in 2017 when a military standoff between India and China erupted over the Bhutan-China border dispute at Doklam.

However, on 14 October 2021, Bhutanese foreign minister Lyonpo Tandi Dorji and Chinas assistant minister of foreign affairs Wu Jianghao signed an MoU on the Three-Step Roadmap for expediting the Bhutan-China boundary negotiations. Before that, the negotiation lasted for nearly 40 years.

During the 10th Expert Group Meeting in Kunming in April this year, the two sides agreed on a Three-Step Roadmap that will build on the 1988 Guiding Principles and help to expedite the ongoing boundary negotiations. The Memorandum of Understanding on the Three-Step Roadmap will provide a fresh impetus to the Boundary Talks. It is expected that the implementation of this Roadmap in a spirit of goodwill, understanding and accommodation will bring the boundary negotiations to a successful conclusion that is acceptable to both sides, a press release from Bhutans Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Affairs said.

The pace at which communication between Bhutan and China accelerated following the endorsement of the Three-Step Roadmap in 2021 is unmissable. In October last year, then Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong made a three-day trip to Bhutan, engaging in dialogue with Bhutans King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Prime Minister Tshering, Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji and others. Moreover, in January this year, representatives from both nations convened in Kunming for the 11th meeting as part of the treaty to expedite boundary discussions to reach a resolution soon.

The outcome of these meetings and Bhutans ability to safeguard its rightful territory against Chinas multifarious misunderstandings and complexities can only be ascertained in the future.

Is Bhutan tilting?

Geographically the tiny kingdom of Bhutan is sandwiched between India and China making it a landlocked country. Its unique location as it has China to its north and India to its south, east and west often drags the country into geopolitical situations where it finds it tough to maintain a neutral stance. It is unclear what precisely prompted Prime Minister Tsherings remarks on Doklam. Nevertheless, his comments provide a distinct signal that Chinese diplomatic efforts are gaining traction in shaping Bhutans perceptions of its neighbours.

Prime Minister Tsherings latest remarks to the Belgian daily La Libre have unequivocally signaled that the ties between India, Bhutan, and China, which were mostly 2 (India and Bhutan) + 1 (China), have dramatically changed to 1 (India) + 1 (China) + 1 (Bhutan), with China having the clear advantage of tilting the ties towards Beijing right under Indias nose. Given the enormous pressure that China can exert, it would be unwise to expect Bhutan to resist it for eternity, especially when India herself has limited resources to come to the aid of Bhutan.

Doklam is a junction point between India, China and Bhutan. It is not up to Bhutan alone to solve the problem. We are three. There is no big or small country, there are three equal countries, each counting for a third, Prime Minister Tshering told the Belgian newspaper.

The recent comments made by the Bhutanese prime minister have further complicated the already delicate relations between India and China, which are characterised by a range of issues spanning trade, border disputes and geopolitical rivalry. The Indian government now faces the challenge of devising an appropriate response to Prime Minister Tsherings remarks. The options before New Delhi include punitive measures to signal its displeasure or strategic silence to avoid escalation and monitor the situation closely. The decision on how to react will have significant implications for Indias regional standing and its relations with its immediate neighbours, as well as Chinas strategic calculus in the region.

Although Prime Minister Tsherings recent remarks may appear favourable to Beijing, it is important to note that India has remained Bhutans largest and most important trading partner since Thimphu began its planned development efforts in the 1960s. According to available data, India accounted for 82 per cent of Bhutans total external trade including electricity, and 77 per cent of its total trade without electricity in 2020. Furthermore, India has consistently supported Bhutans Five-Year Plans since their inception in 1961, with India fully funding two of the 10 completed Five-Year Plans. Indias contributions to Bhutans Five-Year Plans run into crores of rupees, with allocations also being made to projects beyond the scope of these plans.

Indias contribution to Bhutans infrastructure development has been extensive, covering key sectors such as energy, transportation, communication, and mining. Some of the major projects supported by New Delhi include the Tala Hydroelectric Project with a capacity of 1020 MW, the Chukha Hydroelectric Project with a capacity of 336 MW, the Kurichhu Hydroelectric Project with a capacity of 60 MW, the Penden cement plant, the Paro airport, the Bhutan Broadcasting Station, the development of important roads and highways, the establishment of a power transmission and distribution system, the installation of an Indo-Bhutan Microwave Link, and the exploration of mineral resources through survey and mapping. Indias generous support has been instrumental in driving Bhutans economic growth and improving the quality of life of its people.

It is unlikely that India will immediately undertake any significant measures against Bhutan affecting the ties that witnessed the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2018, despite possessing the capability to do so on an economic level. Taking uncalculated and severe actions would not only reveal Indias apprehension but also embolden China to further intervene in India-Bhutan relations. India must comprehend the predicament from Bhutans perspective, given that Bhutan is forced to grapple with a powerful hegemon such as China. It is only natural that Bhutan would prioritise its security before considering India. Bhutans sole recourse is to bide its time, even if it entails ignoring Chinese encroachments on its territory.

For now, Prime Minister Tshering has not completely blocked out India from the negotiation process when he said  We are three  but that should not be any consolation for India as China is bound to exploit the matter further whenever it needs to divert attention from something else. Tactically speaking the buffer called Bhutan has disappeared for India and it should get ready to deal with China at another front on its border.

The disputed zone

There is ambiguity regarding the precise length of the border between Bhutan and China, as some foreign affairs experts estimate it to be 477 kilometres, while China asserts that it extends over 600 kilometres. Furthermore, while experts contend that China lays claim to approximately 764 square kilometres of Bhutanese territory, China measures the contested region to be around 5,000 square kilometres. As per the Global Times, five areas along the border in Southwest Chinas Xizang Autonomous Region, including Yadong, Kangmar, and Lhozhag, are the subject of dispute between Bhutan and China.

According to the Chinese state-owned newspaper, India should not be troubled by Chinas claim to the entirety of Doklam, as China is invoking a historical agreement between China and the UK, signed during the Qing dynastys rule over Sikkim and Tibet, to legitimise its stance.

Tricky trap for India

India has hitherto relied on the potency of its long-standing and meaningful relationship with Bhutan, with the expectation that the Himalayan Kingdom will demonstrate fortitude in protecting its land and in turn, contribute indirectly towards Indias interests. However, given the recent turn of events and Chinas unrelenting aspirations for territorial aggrandisement, such an approach is bound to transform.

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Ashraf Jehangir Qazi is one of Pakistans most respected former diplomats who has served as his countrys High Commissioner to India among the several senior assignments he held in his distinguished career. In an article published in Pakistans respected newspaper Dawn on 30 March, Qazi began with words both tragic and accurate. He wrote Pakistan is imploding. The president and prime Minister are at war. The judiciary is divided and the military is considering its options. The Election Commission of Pakistan challenges the Constitution and the Supreme Court. The prime minister of Pakistan attacks the chief justice of Pakistan. Government leaders threaten its either Imran or them. The doctrine of necessity is being revived by a caretaker government and its puppeteers pulling the strings. While Qazi dwelt on the political situation what he omitted to mention was that this no-holds-barred and sordid drama is being played out in the direst macro-economic situation and at a time when the security forces are confronting the Tehreek-e-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP) which has upped the terrorist ante against the state.

No wonder Pakistans foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was compelled to candidly admit to a US TV channel some weeks ago that his country was caught in a perfect storm. No wonder, also, hearing a petition on 27 March against the Election Commissions postponing elections to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assemblies to 8 October, despite the Supreme Courts order, that they be held if not, as constitutionally required, within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies then in the shortest period of time thereafter, the Courts judge Munib Akhtar asked Has the (country) become a banana republic? Armed Forces are subordinate to the government how can they refuse [to perform election duty].

Justice Akhtars indignation against the Pakistan army was futile. In his heart he would know well the absurdity of asserting that the Pakistan Army is subordinate to the government. It is not and has never been so. Ironically the Pakistan judiciary has always been a party to army interventions to overthrow governments and tear up the countrys constitutions in the past; it has upheld them using the doctrine of necessity. Only once did they show courage to arraign an army chief (Musharraf) for treason but that was after he had retired from that office. Then too the entire judicial action had an air of fiction about it for the Courts knew well that their orders would not be countenanced by the army.

For all the popularity that former prime minister and head of the Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan may enjoy in substantial sections of the countrys population, the army today too is simply unwilling to subordinate itself to the government or any other institution. But Khan is posing a stiff challenge to the army and the real game being played out is between the army chief General Asim Munir and Khan. The rest of the drama is worthy of attention but its acts and scenes are not the real power struggle underway in Pakistan.

Khan has clothed himself in the robes of a martyr to foreign machinations and internal collaborators. He continues to project himself as the leader who has stood for the izzat and gairat of the country. He has invoked Islamic history to lure crowds towards himself; and, his devotees have shown a willingness to overlook his past lifestyle and his transgressions as prime minister. They are willing to follow him blindly and turn up in large numbers at his call. His jalsa at the Minar-e-Pakistan on 25 March demonstrated this fact even if his speech outlining his approach to resolving Pakistans economic troubles was full of stale and previously failed mumbo-jumbo. Some Pakistani observers opine that Khans mass appeal has caused splits in families and between old friends.

All this is true. But does it mean that, when all is said and done, the majority of the Pakistani people would be willing to back Imran Khan against the army? This question is relevant, especially for India, because the army has sedulously fed the people with the narrative of a permanently hostile India which is willing to completely damage Pakistan and that it is only, they, the men in khaki, who can keep this marauding monster at bay. So long as this narrative is alive  and there is no indication that it is going away  a majority of the Pakistani people who have shown a willingness to the generals appropriating the largest proportion of state resources, both for the institution and as also for personal benefit, will not abandon the army even if they admire Khan.

Naturally, the army and especially its chief General Asim Munir who has to defend the status of his office and the institution in Pakistans national life and who also bears a personal grudge against Khan would not like to openly confront Khan. He would much rather that Khan and his supporters are taken on by different Pakistani institutions and the political class. That is what is in play at the moment and what has been succinctly summed up by Qazi in his Dawn article. A brief consideration of the latest developments, some unprecedented, is instructive for it shows the chaos in the country.

Arif Alvi who was a PTI member before he became Pakistans president wrote a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 24 March accusing the government of human rights transgressions which had tarnished countrys international image. He also accused the government of unleashing a reign of terror against media persons. Besides, he stated, that the Federal and the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments had instructed concerned officials not to co-operate with the Pakistan Election Commission so that elections for these assemblies could not be held as mandated by him on the basis of the Supreme Court judgment. Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif responded to Alvi with all guns blazing. He charged him of dereliction of duty in the past and complained that his letter to him read in part like a Press Release of the PTI; hence, he charged Alvi of acting in a partisan manner on PTIs behalf. Sharif defended his governments record. Finally, Sharif bluntly informed Alvi that he had to follow the advice of the government as specified in the constitution. Alvi is a lightweight and his conduct has been highly dubious but never has such dirty linen between a president and a prime minister washed even in Pakistan. The only one to really gain from such an exchange is army chief Asim Munir.

In this dismal scene Interior Minister Rana Sanaullahs remarks to a TV channel indicated the depths to which Pakistani politics has descended. He implied that the constitution and the peoples mandate now mattered little for it was either Imran Khan or us who would politically survive. Could a senior cabinet minister make such remarks unless he was convinced that he had the armys support? Unlikely, but Pakistani politicians especially like Rana Sanaullah are not known to behave responsibly especially in crunch political situations. That General Asim Munir would manoeuvre to ensure that Imran Khan is kept out of the next general elections is clear. But does he have the support of the soldiery and the junior officers who are, after all, from families that have persons who are devoted followers of Khan? Till now the army ranks have never revolted against their chiefs and there is no evidence that they are presently willing to do so.

The divisions in the senior Pakistan judiciary are now out in the open. Many judges are displaying a perception of political partisanship. Pakistans chief justice Umar Ata Bandial took suo motu notice of the provincial assembly elections delay case. He constituted a bench of nine judges. Two of them recused themselves and thereafter seven judges began to hear it. Two judges of this seven-judge bench gave a note objecting to the suo motu action, holding that it was not maintainable. Thereafter, the bench was reduced to five and finally the ruling in favour of ordering the Election Commission to hold election soonest was taken by a 3:2 majority. The government maintained that as the original bench was seven and the earlier two had objected to the views of the majority in the five-judge bench the actual verdict was 4:3 in the governments favour. Later a two-judge bench agreed with the government view. Now the government has passed legislation seeking to curtail the chief justices powers to constitute benches in some kind of cases. All in all, confusion and instability prevail in the Pakistan Supreme Court.

Finally, many civil society do-gooders are trying to mediate between the warring sections of the political class. While their efforts are on, the army and the Sharif government is not letting up on its actions against PTI people. Hence, this appears to be a fight to the finish with Asim Munir and his B teamthe Peoples Democratic Movement Alliance government on one side and Imran Khan on the other. Pakistan is in for a difficult summer on all counts notwithstanding what the courts may opine.

The writer is a former Indian diplomat who served as Indias Ambassador to Afghanistan and Myanmar, and as secretary, the Ministry of External Affairs. Views expressed are personal.

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Minsk (Belarus): President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that Russia, which has already decided to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, could if necessary put intercontinental nuclear missiles there too.

In an annual address to lawmakers and government officials, Lukashenko said Moscows plans to station nuclear arms on the territory of its close ally would help protect Belarus, which he said was under threat from the West.

I am not trying to intimidate or blackmail anyone. I want to safeguard the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people, Lukashenko said.

Although Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the tactical missiles would remain under Moscows control, Lukashenko suggested he could use them with Russias agreement if Belarus was threatened with destruction.

He also raised the prospect of deploying strategic nuclear weapons  intercontinental ballistic missiles that can destroy whole cities from thousands of miles away  on Belarusian soil.

Lukashenko said Belarus had enough conventional weapons to counter threats, but if we see that behind (the threats) lies the destruction of our country, we will use everything we have.

If necessary, Putin and I will decide and bring in strategic weapons  if needed, he said.

He offered no evidence of such a threat from the West, or of a further allegation that there were plans to invade Belarus from neighbouring Poland, a member of the U.S.-led Western NATO alliance.

Take my word for it, I have never deceived you. They are preparing to invade Belarus, to destroy our country, he told the audience.

Russias decision to station tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus amid rising tension with the West over its invasion of Ukraine is its first deployment of nuclear weapons outside its borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The U.N. Security Council met on Friday, at the request of the United States and Albania, to discuss Putins plans. The deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, accused Putin of escalating Russias dangerous and destabilising behaviour with his threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council that Putin was clear about the fact that we are not transferring nuclear weapons, were talking about the transfer to Belarus of operational tactical missile complexes.

China, Moscows strategic partner, did not specifically address Putins plans. Chinas Deputy U.N. Ambassador Geng Shuang told the council that Beijing advocates no deployment of nuclear weapons abroad by all nuclear weapons states and the withdrawal of nuclear weapons deployed aboard.

Belarus said this week that the weapons would offer protection against what it called a campaign of pressure from the United States and its allies aimed at overthrowing Lukashenko, who has been in power for nearly three decades.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he found the promised deployment worrisome.

In Fridays speech, Lukashenko also called for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in the Ukraine war, cautioning that Russia would be forced to use the most terrible weapon if it felt threatened.

It is impossible to defeat a nuclear power. If the Russian leadership understands that the situation threatens to cause Russias disintegration, it will use the most terrible weapon. This cannot be allowed, he said.

The Kremlin acknowledged Lukashenkos ceasefire proposal and said Putin and Lukashenko would have an opportunity to discuss it next week, but that the situation in Ukraine had not changed.

Ukraine has previously rejected Minsks offer to broker peace. Russia used Belarus as a launchpad for its invasion in February last year, and Kyiv says Russia continues to use Belarusian airspace for drone and missile strikes against Ukraine.

Belarus has said it will not enter the war, but regularly holds joint military training exercises with Russian forces.

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Washington: Does President Joe Biden have any reaction to the indictment of former President Donald Trump? Is he concerned about possible protests or that the unprecedented indictment could further divide the nation? What does the indictment mean for the rule of law in the United States?

Joe Bidens answer on Friday was the same each time: No comment, no comment, no comment.



Im not going to talk about Trumps indictment, Biden said firmly as he departed the White House en route to Mississippi, where he toured storm damage.

In his brief exchange with reporters, the Democratic president underscored the broader tactics that his administration is trying to take as it relates to the Republican former presidents indictment by a Manhattan grand jury: Take the political temperature down, stay out of active criminal matters, focus on Bidens agenda and priorities.

It may become more difficult as Trumps legal matters progress. But at least in their initial approach on Friday, Biden and other top administration officials were sticking to their playbook.

I am not going to comment on an ongoing criminal case as it relates to the former president, Vice President Kamala Harris said during a news conference in Lusaka, Zambia, part of her weeklong trip across Africa.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to Mississippi, added: Look, were just not going to comment on any ongoing case, and I will just leave it there.

The press secretary did stress that Biden supports peaceful protests and that the administration is always prepared for any contingencies. Biden found out about the indictment of his predecessor through news reports on Thursday, like other Americans, Jean-Pierre added.

But otherwise, the White House would have no comment.

The nature of the charges against Trump was unclear because the indictment remained under seal, but they stem from payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

One head of state did have something to say: Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, who appeared alongside Harris during the news conference Friday.

When asked what Trumps indictment exemplifies in terms of the rule of law in the United States, Hichilema said that regulations create a platform or framework around which we agree either as Americans or as Zambians to govern ourselves and to live within those confines.

When theres transgression against the law, it does not matter who is involved, Hichilema said. I think that is what the rule of law means.

But to be clear, Hichilema wasnt talking directly about Trump, either.

I think lets remove names from your question, he said in response, later adding: I take out a name. I put in place of a name what we citizens of our countries, citizens of the global community, must do to  as we exercise our rights and freedoms.

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Throughout the past few decades, there have been a number of global events that have profoundly impacted human civilisation and a number of industries, including science, technology, and medicine. Despite the fact that they should plainly be aware of these 21st-century events, the younger generation is mainly unaware of them.

Even though the curriculum may already cover some of these events, including them in greater detail could make it even better. These discussions might improve comprehension and awareness of other cultures. With that said, lets look at some significant historical occurrences that happened on 1 April, which is today.

1 April: Historical events

1918  UKs Royal Air Force was formed

Towards the end of the First World War, on 1 April 1918, the United Kingdoms Royal Air Force (RAF) was formed by merging the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following this, the RAF took its place beside the British Navy and Army as a separate military service.

1924  Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years of imprisonment

After finding him guilty of his role in the Beer Hall Putsch, Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison in Landsberg Prison. However, after spending merely nine months in prison, he was released on 20 December 1924. It was the same time when he wrote much of Mein Kampf (My Struggle).

1954  U.S. Air Force Academy was created

It was on this date back in 1954 when the US Air Force Academy was established by culminating an idea through the Congress act. The institution which was established for providing higher education for the training of commissioned officers was formally opened on 11 July 1955.

1976  Apple Computer Inc was formed

It was on this date back in 1976 when Apple Computer Inc, one of the leading multinational technology companies was formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. With an aim to change the vision of people toward viewing computers, Jobs and Wozniak wanted to make computers portable and small enough to have in homes or offices.

1979  Iran was declared an Islamic republic

On 1 April 1979, Iran was declared an Islamic republic by Ruhollah Khomeini after receiving overwhelming support in a national referendum. This also marked the end of the Iranian Revolution. While its constitution was approved in 1979, it was later amended in 1989.

2004  Gmail was launched

One of the most popular and widely used e-mail services in the world, Gmail was launched on 1 April 2004 by Google. It was just five years after the launch when the number of users surpassed one billion.

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Right after ending its construction work, the 984-foot Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in Paris on this date back in 1889. Created by Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the tower, it was finished in a record time of 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days.

1918  Daylight Saving Time went into operation

In a sequence of events that took place in March 1918, after the Standard Time Act was passed by Congress and was later signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, Daylight Saving Time went into effect in the US for the first time.

1931  Nicaragua earthquake

A 6.1-moment magnitude struck Nicaraguas capital city Managua on 31 March 1931 which caused major damage and a widespread fire. This also destroyed several buildings and further led to the death of over 2,000 people.

1968  Lyndon B. Johnsons withdrawal speech

In a shocking announcement, then-US President Lyndon B Johnson on 31 March 1968 stunned the nation by informing that he no longer was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president.
Kabul: Afghanistan Taliban leaders have criticised and expressed anger over the United States for violating the airspace and said it was difficult for their government to defend the airspace of Afghanistan.

An Afghanistan military expert Asadullah Nadim said, the planes and drones that fly in the airspace of Afghanistan are from some advanced countries and it is difficult for the Taliban government to defend it.

The chief of staff of the Islamic Emirate, Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, in a interview with RTA said: Even though it was a term in the agreement, it has been violated many times, and even though the US side has been informed, it is violated many times.

Efforts made to make Afghanistan forces more professional

Fitrat said that the Afghanistan Taliban government has decided to increase the size of the army from 150,000 to 200,000.

We have decided to increase the size of the army, God willing, in the following year, from 150,000 to 170,000 and gradually increase the number of troops to 200,000, he said.

Another military expert, Sarwar Niazi said, Afghanistan should at least have an army in proportion to its neighbors and in proportion to its population. An army that has an air force, artillery, ground troops, and air defense forces, he added.

Over the past two decades, military training in Afghanistan was one of the most costly sectors. The 350,000-member force of the previous government was disbanded after the collapse of that government.

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Vatican City: Pope Francis paid a surprise visit to children in a cancer ward on Friday, even baptising a baby, as he prepared to leave the hospital where he has been undergoing treatment for three days.

The 86-year-old pontiff was admitted to Romes Gemelli hospital on Wednesday with what turned out to be a bronchitis infection, and has been treated with antibiotics.

He is due to be discharged on Saturday, with the Vatican saying late Friday that his medical team had approved his release following tests earlier in the day.

Before his departure, the Argentine pope left the 10th-floor private papal suite on Friday to visit the paediatric oncology ward, handing out chocolate Easter eggs and chatting with parents.

A video published by the Vatican showed him baptising a sleeping baby boy named Miguel Angel, who woke up and cried after Francis sprinkled him with Holy Water from a small silver receptacle.

The pope, who the Vatican has said plans to preside over Palm Sunday services this weekend in Saint Peters Square, has not been confined to his hospital bed.

On Thursday, he shared pizza with staff looking after him, and prayed at the papal suites private chapel, according to spokesman Matteo Bruni.

Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has suffered increasing health issues in recent years. This was his second stay in hospital since 2021.

His Holinesss return home to Santa Marta (his Vatican residence) is expected tomorrow, in the wake of the results of the latest tests this morning, Bruni said on Friday.

Eating and praying

Amid concerns over the popes presence at events for Holy Week and Easter, the most important week in the Christian calendar, the Vatican confirmed he would preside over Palm Sunday mass.

This means the pope will stay seated while someone else  probably a senior cardinal  conducts the ceremony at the altar.

Francis hospitalisation, just weeks after he marked 10 years as head of the worldwide Catholic Church, had sparked widespread concern.

He has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down if his health failed him, following the example of his predecessor, Benedict XVI.

In St Peters Square on Friday, many expressed relief over the popes improved condition, including Vatican guide Giuseppe, 43, who said the octogenarian pope had probably been asking too much of himself of late.

But hes a strong man and I think hes going to make it. He will be back very soon. Its good news because its Easter time An Easter without the pope presiding over the ceremony would be very sad, he said.

After initially saying Francis was hospitalised for pre-planned checks, the Vatican later revealed he had complained of breathing difficulties.

By Thursday morning he was well enough to eat, read the newspapers and do some work.

Resignation rumours

The Gemelli hospital is the favoured choice of popes to the point of being dubbed Vatican 3 by pope John Paul II, who was treated nine times there for a total of 153 days.

A Jesuit who seems most happy being among his flock, Francis continues to travel internationally and keep a busy schedule.

But he has been forced to use a wheelchair and walking stick in the past year because of knee pain, and admitted last summer he needed to slow down.

He said on Thursday he was touched by the many messages he was receiving in hospital, thanking on Twitter those praying for his recovery.

Among the well-wishers was US President Joe Biden, only the second Catholic president in United States history, who tweeted on Thursday: The world needs Pope Francis.

Francis was admitted to the Gemelli for 10 days in July 2021 for a colon operation after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.

In an interview in January, the pope said the diverticulitis had returned.

His predecessor, Benedict XVI  who died on December 31 aged 95  stunned the world in 2013 by becoming the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign, citing his declining physical and mental health.

Francis has said he would follow suit if he was unable to do his job but said last month the idea was not currently on my agenda.

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Washington: Amid growing concern over giant Chinese-made cranes collecting information about US military equipment transported through ports, members of the House China Select Committee will inspect these cargo cranes operating at U.S. ports across the country during a site visit to the Port of Miami to scrutinise if they pose a national security risk.

According to U.S. lawmakers, many of these cranes are being used by the military which could give Beijing a possible spying tool hiding in plain sight. These cranes have sensors that can collect information about US military equipment transported through ports through the medium of cranes, according to reports.

House China Committee lawmakers, including Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., will visit the Port of Miami to inspect the alleged security posed by these drones to the US.

The primary focus of lawmakers will be on how the Chinese Communist Party could use these infrastructures to spy on Americans or disrupt the flow of goods including possibilities to gather information about military assets of the country, sources familiar with the site visit told Fox News Digital.

The development came days after the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that the Pentagon is now viewing giant cargo cranes as possible Chinese spying tools that pose a national security risk to the US.

Ever since the US shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon over its airspace in January, there have been growing concerns over Beijings surveillance techniques across the world. Pentagon officials suspect that these cranes can also provide remote access for someone looking to disrupt the flow of goods in the U.S.

Trojan horse

National security experts and Pentagon officials have compared Chinese-made ship-to-shore cranes to a Trojan horse. These cranes are inexpensive and contain sophisticated sensors that can collect, track and transmit information on the transportation of U.S. military supplies.

Cranes that load and unload containers from large ships to ports are equipped with sensors that can track the source and destination of the cargo, and this information is transmitted to the Chinese headquarters, according to media reports.

Officials have expressed concerns that China could capture information about the material being shipped in or out of the country to support U.S. military operations around the world.

Spying fears

According to The Wall Street Journal, these cranes manufactured by Shanghai Telephone Heavy Industries (ZPMC) entered the U.S. market around two decades ago, offering what industry executives described as good-quality cranes that were significantly cheaper than Western suppliers.

Ports in Virginia, South Carolina and Maryland, which are at times used by nearby US military bases, have acquired new cranes from ZPMC in the last two years. This has prompted concern within the US national-security community and FBI, people familiar with the matter told WSJ.

According to reports, almost 80 per cent of cranes currently installed in US ports are manufactured by Chinas ZPMC which is a subsidiary of China Transportation Construction.

In recent years, U.S. national security officials have pointed to a range of equipment manufactured in China that could facilitate either surveillance or disruptions in the U.S., including baggage-screening systems and electrical transformers, as well as broader concerns about Chinas growing control of ports around the world through strategic investments. China makes almost all of the worlds new shipping containers and controls a shipping data service, WSJ reported.

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Washington: Authorities have lifted an evacuation order and said no environmental safety issues were detected after a freight train carrying ethanol derailed near a small town in Minnesota early on Thursday.

The BNSF Railway-operated train derailed at 1:02 a.m. CDT (0602 GMT) and caught fire, forcing some residents to evacuate in the town of Raymond, Minnesota, about 110 miles (180 km) west of Minneapolis. No injuries were reported.

The evacuation order was lifted by the Kandiyohi County Sheriffs Office which also said there was no impact to ground water.

BNSF said groundwater is unaffected by the incident, and the air monitoring indicates no detectable levels of concern.



The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Railroad Administration are investigating.

BNSF, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), said earlier approximately 22 cars carrying mixed freight, including ethanol and corn syrup, were reported derailed with four cars that had caught fire.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he spoke to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and visited the scene on Thursday. The state stands ready to protect the health and safety of the community, Walz said.

In February, the derailment of a freight train operated by Norfolk Southern (NSC.N) released more than a million gallons of hazardous materials and pollutants into the environment around the town of East Palestine, Ohio. The incident prompted a lawsuit from the state, congressional hearings and investigations by U.S. agencies.

That episode drew new attention to derailments and prompted calls to toughen U.S. laws and regulations. There are roughly 1,000 U.S. train derailments annually.

On Thursday, U.S. senators John Fetterman, Bob Casey and Sherrod Brown, all Democrats, introduced a rail bill to expand safety procedures after the East Palestine derailment.

The bill would prohibit mechanics from inspecting a locomotive or rail car while the train is in motion and ensure communication checks between the train front and end do not fail and that emergency brake signals reach the end of a train, responding to an NTSB recommendation.

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A young Belgian man recently died by suicide after talking to a chatbot called ELIZA for several weeks, prompting demands for greater citizen security and increased consciousness.

My husband would still be here if it hadnt been for these conversations with the chatbot, the mans wife told La Libre. Her late spouse and she were both in their thirties, lived comfortably, and had two small children.

Death by AI: How an AI bot triggered a man to commit suicide

The first signs of problems began to emerge about two years ago. The man became extremely concerned about the environment and sought shelter with ELIZA, a chatbot that uses GPT-J, an open-source artificial intelligence language model created by EleutherAI. He committed suicide after six weeks of intense and lengthy chats where they talked about the environment and climate change.

Also read: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman scared that ChatGPT could be used for large-scale disinformation campaigns

The family met with Mathieu Michel, Secretary of State for Digitalisation in control of Administrative Simplification, Privacy, and Building Regulation, last week. I am particularly moved by the tragedy of this family. What has occurred is a serious precedent that must be taken very seriously, he stated on Tuesday.

He emphasised that this instance demonstrates the importance of clearly defining responsibilities.

The need to weigh risks

With the rise of ChatGPT, the general public has become more aware of the potential of artificial intelligence in our lives than ever before. While the opportunities are limitless, the risk of misusing it must also be weighed.

The death has alerted authorities who have raised concern for a serious precedent that must be taken very seriously.

To prevent such a tragedy in the near future, Michel asserted that it is critical to determine the nature of the responsibilities that contribute to such an occurrence.

Of course, we have yet to learn to live with algorithms, he said, but the use of any technology should never lead content publishers to shirk their own responsibilities.

Also read: ChatGPT better than trained doctors: How the AI bot saved a dogs life when a trained vet couldnt

OpenAI has acknowledged that ChatGPT can generate harmful and biased results, but it expects to mitigate the issue by gathering user input.

Critical increase awareness

In the long run, Michel believes it is critical to increase awareness of the effect of algorithms on peoples lives by enabling everyone to understand the nature of the content people encounter online.

He was referring to new technologies such as chatbots, as well as deep fakes  a form of artificial intelligence that can generate compelling images, audio, and video hoaxes  that can test and distort peoples sense of reality.

Michel also stated that people must be properly safeguarded from certain artificial intelligence apps that pose a significant risk.

The European Union has been working on an AI Act for the past two years in order to control the use of artificial intelligence. Michel has formed a working committee to examine the text presently being prepared by the EU and make any required changes.
Hong Kong: Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is making plans to visit China as early as April and is seeking a meeting with Chinas Premier Li Qiang, two people with knowledge of planning for the trip told Reuters.

The exact timing of the visit is subject to Li Qiangs availability, one of the sources said.

Tesla and Chinas State Council Information Office did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Friday.

China is Teslas second-largest market after the United States and its Shanghai plant is the electric carmakers largest production hub.

A visit by Musk would mark his first visit to China since the COVID-19 pandemic and since Xi Jinping secured a third term as Chinas president. Before Li became premier in March, he served as Shanghais party secretary where he oversaw the construction and opening of the Tesla factory.

Musk last visited China in early 2020, when he set the internet abuzz by dancing on stage during an event at the Shanghai factory. But he has continued to deliver virtual speeches at forums such as Chinas World Internet Conference.

Li and Musk have met before, at the 2019 opening of the Shanghai plant. In 2020, they participated in an online meeting where Musk thanked the then-Shanghai party secretary for supporting the plants operations during the pandemics outbreak, according to local media reports.

Musks planned visit also comes as China is trying to woo more foreign investment to help shore up an economy battered by three years of COVID curbs.

Li has been at the forefront of that effort, speaking over the past week at business events attended by the likes of Apple Incs Tim Cook and Pfizers Albert Bourla.

The sources did not say what Musk intends to discuss with Li or do in China.

Tesla is grappling with multiple issues, such as delays to its plans to more than double production capacity at the Shanghai plant.

Tesla cars have also been barred from Chinese military complexes and political meeting venues amid concerns over cameras installed on the vehicles, and the company is still waiting for Beijings approval to offer its fully self-driving technology in China.

China is also one of the largest, non-US revenue streams for Twitter, which Musk took over last year for $44 billion, sources have told Reuters.

Twitters China operations have caused divisions within the company between teams keen to maximise the sales opportunity and others concerned about the optics of doing business with state-affiliated entities at a time of growing tension between Beijing and Washington, the sources said.

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Athens: Greece on Friday remanded into custody two Pakistani suspects accused of plotting an anti-Semitic attack after they testified before a magistrate, their lawyer said.

The two men, aged 29 and 27, admitted exchanging messages concerning a possible attack on a Jewish restaurant in Athens, lawyer Iraklis Stavaris told AFP.

They are charged with participation in a terrorist organisation, a crime that carries a possible life sentence.

Stavaris on Friday said his clients had admitted exchanging Viber messages with a third man, whom police have identified as a Pakistani allegedly living in Iran.

On the third mans instructions, Stavaris said, they scouted out and took photographs of a kosher restaurant in Athens that is also a Jewish prayer centre.

Police arrested the two Pakistanis in February for illegal entry into Greece.

Citizens Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos told Skai TV this week that the alleged plot targeted locations of Jewish and Israeli interest in Athens. Asked if the case was watertight, he replied: absolutely.

Monetary gain was the apparent motive, he told the channel.

Police said separately that the pair had already chosen the target of the attack and were planning how to execute it.

Following an investigation by Greek intelligence agency EYP, anti-terror police carried out raids in Athens, Sparta on the Peloponnese peninsula and on the island of Zakynthos, the minister said.

Another 10 Pakistani men questioned in connection with the case were released Thursday after no incriminating evidence was found, a police source told AFP.

Mossad helped

No weapons have been found, according to official statements so far.

Greece was included on a list of countries with travel warnings issued by Israels National Security Council ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover in early April.

Israel this week accused Tehran of being behind the plot and said its Mossad intelligence agency had assisted the investigation.

After the investigation of the suspects in Greece, the Mossad helped untangle the intelligence of the network, its operational methods and ties to Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said on Tuesday.

As part of the investigation, it emerged that the infrastructure in Greece was part of a broad Iranian network, operated from Iran toward many countries, it added.

Irans embassy in Greece on Wednesday denied any connection to the alleged plot.

Greeces Jewish community numbers around 5,000. The government has good relations with Israel, including a number of security and military agreements.

Greece has not been targeted by extremist attacks in recent years.

Greeces intelligence agency EYP is seeking to regain credibility after a wiretap scandal that erupted last year.

Earlier in March, EYP hailed as a success the discovery of an alleged Russian spy after she had already fled the country.

The woman, who was using a fabricated Greek alias, had been in Greece since 2018.

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New Delhi: Israel Knesset speaker MK Amir Ohana (Likud) is on an official visit to India with his delegation including MK Michael Biton (National Union Party) and MK Amit Halevi (Likud), chair of the Israel-India Parliamentary Friendship Group.

The tour which started on 31 March is the first-ever official visit to India by a sitting Knesset Speaker.

Why Israel Knesset speaker in visiting India?

Ahead of the visit, Speaker MK Ohana said: I chose India as the destination for my first official visit as Speaker of the Knesset because I see the impressive development of this superpower in every aspect, and also because no sitting Knesset Speaker has ever visited India.

He further said, This is an important milestone in the diplomatic relations between Israel and India, which were established some 31 years ago. There is no better opportunity than this to tighten and strengthen the collaborations between the countries in general, and between their parliaments in particular, for the benefit of the citizens of both Nations.

Israeli Knesset delegations India visit

The Israeli Knesset delegation began their visit by paying floral tributes at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, at Rajghat in Delhi.

Speaker Ohana visited the Parliament to meet Speaker of Lok Sabha, Om Birla. They signed an MoU on the first cooperation and exchange of information agreement between the parliaments of Israel and India.

During the visit, the Knesset Speaker and his delegation met President of India Droupadi Murmu and the Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Speaker Ohana is also expected to meet Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar.

The members of the Knesset delegation are also scheduled to visit the National Stock Exchange of India and meet with its chairman, Girish Chandra Chaturvedi.

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Tokyo: Adding the list of goods prohibited for export to Russia, Japan has banned Russia-bound exports of steel, aluminium and aircraft including drones in its latest sanction against Moscows invasion of Ukraine, the ministry of economy, trade and commerce announced on Friday.

Japan has also prohibited countrys entities from exporting a wide variety of industrial items such as balloons, gliders, unpowered aircraft and their components, parachutes, aircraft brake gear, equipment for ground-based flight training, drones and their components, optical systems for underwater and aerial photography, compasses and navigational equipment, will go into effect on April 7, the ministry said in a statement.

The Japanese authorities will also prohibit exports of steel and aluminium goods, boilers, generators, and optical fibre.

Apart from that, childrens cycles, toys, toy models, and puzzles will also be prohibited from export to Russia, it said.

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Japan said on Friday it will restrict exports of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aligning its technology trade controls with a US push to curb Chinas ability to make advanced chips.

Japan, home to major chip equipment makers such as Nikon Corp and Tokyo Electron Ltd., did not specify China as the target of the restrictions, saying manufacturers would need to seek export permission for all regions.

Japan said it will restrict exports of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aligning its technology trade controls with a US push to curb China's ability to make advanced chips https://t.co/jI6APKdCAe pic.twitter.com/RL8smyquvp  Reuters (@Reuters) March 31, 2023



We are fulfilling our responsibility as a technological nation to contribute to international peace and stability, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference.

Japan wants to stop its advanced technology being used for military purposes and does not have a specific country in mind, he said.

But the decision, coming ahead of a weekend visit to Beijing by Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi, will be seen as a major win for the U.S., which in October announced sweeping restrictions on access to chipmaking technology to slow Chinas technological and military advances.

Politicising, instrumentalising and weaponising economic and technological issues, and artificially disrupting the stability of global production and supply chains will only harm others and harm themselves, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing when asked about Japans new export rules.

The US needs the cooperation of industry heavyweights Japan and the Netherlands for its measures to be effective and to ensure its companies do not face a competitive disadvantage.

Those two countries in January agreed to join the US in restricting exports to China of equipment that could be used to manufacture sub-14 nanometre chips, but did not announce the pact to avoid provoking China, sources previously told Reuters.

A nanometre, or one-billionth of a metre, refers to a semiconductor industry technology, with fewer nanometres generally meaning more advanced chips.

The Netherlands this month said it planned to restrict the export of chipmaking equipment, such as from ASML Holding NV (ASML.AS) which dominates the market for lithography systems used to create chips minute circuitry.

China has accused the US of being a tech hegemony and urged the Netherlands not to follow it.

Impact

Effective July, Japan will impose export controls on six categories of equipment used in chip manufacturing, including cleaning, deposition, lithography and etching.

Chinese firms will lose access to more products from Japanese companies that produce chipmaking equipment. Chinese fabs (chip plants) are mostly focused on mature nodes by now, which this isnt supposed to effect, but well have to see how this plays out, said Stew Randall, who tracks Chinas chip sector at Shanghai-based consultancy Intralink.

The controls are likely to affect equipment made by at least a dozen companies, such as Screen Holdings Co. Ltd. and Advantest Corp, though minister Nishimura  without elaborating  said he expected limited impact on domestic firms.

A Nikon spokesperson said sales of two of its lithography machines will likely be affected though the earnings impact was unclear.

We will continue to comply with any rules and work to maximize our results within them, the spokesperson said.

Tokyo Electron, Advantest and Screen also said they will follow the new export restrictions, but did not say what impact the control could have on their businesses.

The curbs will be a blow for Japanese equipment makers given the absence of a strong domestic chip market, said Takamoto Suzuki, head of economic research for Marubeni in China.

It will undermine the market development of Japanese companies and certainly reduce their competitiveness from a regulatory aspect, Suzuki said.

Japan once dominated chip production but has seen its market share slip to about 10 per cent. Still, it remains a major supplier of chipmaking machines and semiconductor materials. Tokyo Electron and Screen make around a fifth of the worlds chipmaking tools, while Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. and Sumco Corp produce most silicone wafers.

If you take a long-term view, the effect will be diminished, with new semiconductor plants coming into operation in places like the United States and Japan, said Takahiro Shinada, a professor at Tohoku University.

Following the announcement, Nikons share price rose 0.9 per cent, in line with the wider market, while Advantest finished up 2.4 per cent. Tokyo Electron and Screen were little changed from the previous day.

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A school in western Japan is receiving flak for its strict hairstyle rules after it separated a mixed-race teenager from his classmates at their graduation ceremony.

The 18-year-old student faced differential treatment at the hands of the authorities at his public high school in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, because he plaited his hair into cornrows, reported Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun on Tuesday (29 March).

Lets take a look at the incident in detail and Japans stringent school rules.

Segregated from other pupils

The incident took place on 27 February when the unnamed teenager  who has black and curly hair  wore braids at his high school graduation as he wanted to appear with neat hair for the occasion.

However, he was made to sit alone at the back of the hall during the ceremony, segregated from his fellows, as per VICE News.

Teachers also reportedly told him not to respond when his name was called out.

As per reports, he left midway through the ceremony but went back to the school later to collect his diploma.

He was asked to wait in an empty room. When he went to the washroom, he was followed by a teacher who later told him to leave the school building as he waited for his friends, according to The Guardian

Not your special day

Speaking to Mainichi Shimbun, the teenager said he was frustrated over the incident.

I wasnt able to create happy memories to mark the three years I spent at the school with my friends.

The student, who has an African-American father and a Japanese mother, said he learnt about the cultural significance of cornrows online and from his father.

I was frustrated because I felt like I was being told, This is not your special day. The hairstyle represented my fathers roots and culture in the Black community, the student said, as per The Guardian.

The students father told the Japanese newspaper: Braiding is a way for Black people to arrange their hair, the same way that Japanese people part their hair. Its discriminatory to assume that a hairstyle with roots is a violation without any reason.

Reacting to the controversy, Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Opposition Democratic Party for the People, said in a tweet, I was surprised to see a response similar to the old US racial segregation policy of separate but equal. Why do you have to worry about the hairstyle? Its a graduation ceremony.

He also said that the country should make more efforts to accept diversity in education.

ALSO READ: Japan will disappear: The countrys declining population and the challenges to tackle the crisis explained

What did the school say?

As the incident came to light, the school said the students cornrows were against the rules, adding that he was not barred from the ceremony, just made to sit elsewhere.

School authorities told the prefectural board of education that the student had not explained his ethnic background and the reason for wearing cornrows, as per The Japan Times report.

The school had previously asked the teenager to cut his long hair as it violated the schools norms that demand hairstyles should not be trendy but be tidy and student-like, the report added.

The schools rules also stipulate that boys should have hair that does not cover their eyes, ears, or shirt collars. Bleaching, dyeing, and hair-drying is also banned, but the regulations have no mention of braiding, reported VICE News.

ALSO READ: Severed Head, Mutilated Bodies: How grisly cat killings have Japan on edge

Japans restrictive school rules

This is not the first time that Japan has come under scrutiny over its stringent school rules known as burakku kousoku.

From some deciding underwear colour of students to others their sock and skirt length, Japanese schools have strict regulations for their pupils.

One school has gone as far as to edit a students yearbook pictures so her brown hair would appear darker, noted VICE News.

Earlier this month, the Osaka Bar Associations lawyers warned teachers at an elite boys school after receiving complaints from several students last year about the implementation of hair regulations that included pulling and cutting their hair.

As per The Guardian, the school mandates its students to keep their hair short around the ears and neckline, while fringes should not touch eyebrows.

In 2017, a student sued the Osaka prefectural government after she was forced by her school to dye her hair black.

She had to eventually drop out of the school as teachers did not believe her natural hair colour was brown and repeatedly pressured her to dye them.

In 2021, a court in Osaka said the schools action were legal, while also ruling that the former student should get 330,000 yen in damages.

Commenting on the cornrows incident, Asao Naito, an associate professor of sociology from Meiji University, told VICE World News, Japanese schools place far greater importance on the schools image as a whole than a students individualism.

They strictly enforce obedience in the form of hairstyles, skirt lengths, underwear colours, and so on, as an act of showing that the human being belongs entirely to the school and is a servant of the school, he added.

Is Japan doing something about it?

Amid several controversies, the education ministry told the local education authorities in 2021 to review their rules regularly and take a common sense approach to changing times, reported The Guardian.

Last year, around 200 public high schools and other educational institutions in Tokyo said they would ease five regulations, including that which requires students to have black hair.

Fukuoka City in southern Japan has said it would end the requirement of gender-specific hairstyles in all junior high schools.

A public high school in western Japan plans to introduce gender-neutral rules from April.

With inputs from agencies

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Dar es Salaam: US Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled Thursday an initiative to expand trade with Tanzania as she hailed the leader of the East African nation as a champion of democracy.

On the second leg of her trip to Africa, Harris said EXIM Bank, the US government credit agency, would sign a memorandum of understanding to facilitate up to $500 million in exports to Tanzania covering transport, infrastructure, digital technology and clean energy projects.

On the subject of economic growth, good governance delivers predictability, stability and rules which businesses need to invest, Harris said at a press briefing alongside President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Working together it is our shared goal to increase investment in Tanzania and strengthen our economic ties, she said, also announcing plans to partner with Tanzania in 5G technology and cyber security.

Harris described Hassan, Tanzanias first female president who has been rolling back the authoritarian policies of her late predecessor John Magufuli, as a champion of democracy.

Hassan described their meeting as a historic milestone and referred to Harris  the first Black person and first woman to be elected US vice president  as a sister.

Harris is on a three-nation trip to Africa, the latest push by the United States to deepen its engagement with the continent to counter the growing influence of China and Russia.

Tanzania has remained neutral over Russias war in Ukraine, abstaining in UN votes against Moscow and calling for the conflict to be resolved through diplomatic means.

And in November, Hassan visited Beijing and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Political reforms

Hassan, who marked her second year in office on March 19, has sought to turn the page on Magufulis hardline rule, which had tarnished Tanzanias reputation as a stable country in a troubled region.

Earlier this month, she vowed to restore competitive politics and jumpstart a stalled process to review the constitution, a long-held opposition demand.

In January, Hassan announced the lifting of a ban on political rallies, paving the way for the return that month of opposition stalwart Tundu Lissu who had spent most of the past five years in exile.

On Thursday, Harris also laid a wreath at a memorial commemorating the August 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzanias economic hub.

The almost simultaneous attacks by Al-Qaeda in Tanzania and the US embassy in Kenyas capital Nairobi left more than 200 people dead and more than 5,000 wounded.

Harris commended the government for its transparent response to an outbreak of the Marburg haemorrhagic fever which has killed five people in Tanzania, noting that USAID is providing $1.3 million to help.

As she wrapped up the first leg of her trip in Ghana on Wednesday, Harris announced an initiative of more than $1 billion to improve womens empowerment in Africa.

In a speech in Ghanas capital Accra on Tuesday, she noted three areas of focus Washington believes could benefit from more investments: womens empowerment, the digital economy and good governance and democracy.

We are all in on Africa, she added, repeating US President Joe Bidens declaration at a US-Africa leaders summit last year.

From Tanzania, Harris heads to Zambia on Friday.

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Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron will head to China next week for a rare visit to the rising superpower, in an awkward balancing act between his global statesman ambitions and his struggle to contain embarrassing pension protests at home.

The French leader, whose decision to push much-disputed pension legislation through parliament earlier this month sparked clashes and violence in French cities, is trying to keep his busy diplomatic schedule on track.

But the chaotic scenes of burning piles of rubbish in Paris, which were broadcast around the world, have already forced Macron to cancel a state visit by Britains King Charles, an embarrassment which did not go unnoticed in diplomatic circles.

Its a very prestigious thing to host the first visit abroad of the King of England, it doesnt happen every day. If you cant pull it off, its a problem, the ambassador of a European country told Reuters.

Its clear it is weakening him, another EU diplomat said. Its hard to measure the impact, but there is one.

The protests, which will see unions stage an 11th nationwide strike during Macrons time in Beijing, come as the French president is trying to regain the initiative on the war in Ukraine and play a leadership role in Europe.

That hasnt escaped Chinese observers.

The protests bring a large amount of risk and France needs a diplomatic highlight, especially since it wants to play the role of Europes leader, said Wang Yiwei, director of the Centre for European Studies at Renmin University in China.

Macron will also need to keep in mind Chinas tactic of playing divide and rule, said a non-Western diplomat who suggested China may try to use the trip to place a wedge in the Western camp and lure France away from the United States.

Red Flag on Russia

For his part, Macron wants to send a clear warning to his counterpart Xi Jinping, who was hosted at the Kremlin by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, that Europe will not accept China providing arms to Russia, now a year into its invasion of Ukraine.

Our message will be clear: There may be a temptation to get closer to Russia, but do not cross that line, a senior French diplomat said.

Analysts say Putins decision to station nuclear weapons in Belarus can provide an opportunity for France to push China to distance itself from Russia on this point, Beijing having long denounced nuclear proliferation.

France is a nuclear power, its got this card to play, Antoine Bondaz of the France-based FRS think-tank.

However, a Brussels-based diplomat said many in Europe were doubtful he could be successful in his previously stated aim of nudging China to put pressure on Moscow to end the war. Many in Brussels roll their eyes when you bring that up, he said.

French diplomats are playing down the impact the protests at home could have on Macrons credibility abroad. They point out Xi faced his own protests at the end of last year, in a rare show of civil disobedience over Covid-19 restrictions.

The Chinese will play a fine balancing act. They need a good relationship with Europe so will not want to play on Macrons internal problems, another French diplomat said.

Amid worsening relations between Washington and Beijing, which reached fever pitch last month after the US shot down a Chinese balloon flying over its territory, Europe is trying to carve its own path.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who will be accompanying Macron in Beijing, said the bloc was looking to de-risk diplomatically and economically at a time China was exerting greater control over companies, without decoupling.

Analysts say Chinas deteriorating relationship with the U.S. gives Europe a bit more leverage, with the EUs vast single market becoming more crucial for China.

That can provide an opportunity for Macron, who has pushed Europe to bolster its strategic autonomy, but is also hoping France and the rest of the EU can benefit from a reopening Chinese economy after years of pandemic.

Macron can deliver a message that Europe wants to engage with China, but that its going to be difficult if China continues down the path that its currently on with Russia, Noah Barkin, an analyst with Rhodium Group, said.

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Washington: President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich after the countrys security service arrested him on espionage charges  allegations that the newspaper denies.

Let him go, Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday morning when asked about his message to Russia on the arrest of Gershkovich.

Russias Federal Security Service has accused Gershkovich, a US citizen, of trying to obtain classified information. It is the first time an American journalist has been detained on accusations of spying since the Cold War. The Journal has said it vehemently denies the charges.

The Biden administration said Thursday that it was working to secure consular access to Gershkovich. Asked Friday morning whether he would expel Russian diplomats or journalists in the U.S., Biden responded: Thats not the plan right now.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, called the targeting of U.S. citizens in Russia unacceptable and that the administration condemns the detention of Gershkovich in the strongest terms.

The Biden administration has also warned US citizens not to travel to Russia, and for Americans in the country now to depart immediately.

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Bangkok: More than 60 self-exiled members of a Chinese Christian church who were detained in Thailand paid fines Friday for overstaying their visas, but remained uncertain about their legal status amid fears they would be deported against their will to their home country, where they face possible persecution.

The 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church were taken to court Friday in the resort city of Pattaya after being detained a day earlier by Thai immigration authorities. The 32 members of the group considered to be adults were charged with overstaying their visas, said Col. Tawee Kutthalaeng, chief of the Pattaya-area Nong Prue police station. Two American citizens who were with the group and briefly held had not been placed under arrest, he said.

After being fined, the church members had expected to be released to be able to return to where they had been staying in the area, said Deana Brown, one of two American supporters who accompanied them.

However, they were put on two buses which first took them to the Pattaya office of the immigration police and then drove them to Bangkok for what a police officer told The Associated Press was normal processing of their case.

The drive under police escort from Pattaya to Bangkok, which would normally take about two hours, instead took closer to five because the passengers forced the buses to stop en route and disembarked by the roadside, saying they feared they were being driven to Bangkoks international airport to be repatriated.

There were grounds for their skepticism. In 2015, Thailand sent 109 members of the Muslim Uyghur minority back to China against their will despite fears they would face official persecution and possible torture. The UN refugee agency at the time called Thailands action a flagrant violation of international law,  and the United States also condemned the deportations.

Only after receiving reassurances by phone did the Chinese church members continue their journey, arriving at a police facility known as the Police Club in northern Bangkok that has space for large numbers of detainees. The main Immigration Detention Center in the middle of Bangkok, where some detainees have been stuck for years, is notoriously overcrowded.

Members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also called the Mayflower Church, came to Thailand in 2022 seeking asylum. They are trying to come to the United States, though the current status of their applications is not clear.

They fled China in 2019 alleging that they were being persecuted by government security forces, initially settling on South Koreas Jeju Island. They left South Korea for Thailand after meetings with local and US officials made it clear that prospects for refuge there were dim.

Brown, CEO of the Texas-based Freedom Seekers International, an organization whose mission statement says it seeks to rescue the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries, said that when the group looked into renewing their visas, they were told that there was a new requirement that any Chinese citizen renewing a visa in Thailand must report to the Chinese Embassy first. Their visas expired several months ago.

When they told us that, we knew that nobody could get their visas, Brown said. There was no way, because as soon as they walk into the Chinese Embassy theyre gone, we would not see them again. Theyve been hiding out since then.

Brown said she has been working to resettle the church members in Tyler, Texas, where her organization is based.

The press section at the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok did not answer its telephone and the embassy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The US Embassy said it had no immediate comment on the case.

Upon their 2022 arrival in Thailand, church members told reporters that they had been stalked, harassed and received threatening calls and messages even while they were in South Korea. They said relatives in China had been summoned, interrogated and intimidated.

At that time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the matter was not a diplomatic question and declined to comment further.

In China, Christians are legally allowed to worship only in churches affiliated with Communist Party-controlled religious groups, but for decades, the authorities largely tolerated independent, unregistered house churches.

They have tens of millions of worshippers, possibly outnumbering those in the official groups.

In recent years, however, house churches have come under heavy pressure, with many prominent ones shut down. Unlike previous crackdowns, such as Beijings ban on Falun Gong, a spiritual movement it labels a cult, the authorities have also targeted some believers not explicitly opposed to the Chinese state.

Most members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church are young, married middle-class couples, with their children making up about half the group.

Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid, another Texas Christian group helping the church, told the AP that American lawmakers were pressing the US State Department to get involved.

In a statement on his website, Fu said that time was of the essence.

Before the Chinese government demands repatriation, the international community can help prevent this tragedy from happening, he said.

China is one of 15 nations that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in its annual report last year recommended be designated as countries of particular concern for repression of religious groups.

It said the ruling Chinese Communist Partys policies require religious groups to support its rule and its political objectives, including by altering their religious teachings to conform to the partys ideology and policy. Both registered and unregistered religious groups and individuals who run afoul of the CCP face harassment, detention, arrest, imprisonment, and other abuses, it said.

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Karachi: Several members of the minority Hindu community held a protest march in Pakistans Karachi city on Thursday to draw attention to the menace of forced conversions and marriages of Hindu girls and women in the country.

The protest outside the Karachi Press Club and at the entrance of the Sindh Assembly building was organised by Pakistan Darawar Ittehad (PDI), a Hindu organisation.

We wanted to highlight this big problem facing the Sindhi Hindus, especially in the rural areas where our young girls, some as young as 12 and 13 are abducted in broad daylight, forced to convert to Islam and then married off to older Muslim men, a member of the PDI said.

He said the protest on Thursday had left some impact as many people were not even aware of this crime but admitted they were expecting a bigger turnout.

The protest went off peacefully with a large number of policemen standing at a distance from the protesters.

The protesters carried placards and banners which urged the government to pass a stalled bill against the forced conversion of Hindu girls and women.

In recent months there has been a surge in such cases in interior Sindh with the lower courts flooded with applications from affected parents seeking justice and the return of their daughters, sisters and wives.

Unfortunately, no representative from the provincial government came out to listen to the pleas of the protesters who dispersed peacefully.

In 2019, the issue of abducting and forcible conversion of Hindu girls in various districts of Sindh province was taken up in the Sindh Assembly.

A resolution was debated and unanimously passed after it was modified over objections of certain lawmakers that it should not be restricted to only Hindu girls.

But the bill, which criminalised forcible religious conversions was later rejected in the assembly. A similar bill was again proposed, but it got rejected in 2021.

In January this year, as many as 12 United Nations rights experts expressed alarm over the rising incidents of kidnapping, forced conversions and marriages of girls as young as 13 in Pakistan.

Forced conversion and forced marriages are prohibited in Islam.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistans report, around 1,000 girls are forcibly converted to Islam every year.

Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.

According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in the Muslim-majority country.

Muslims account for about 96 per cent of Pakistans 207 million population, Hindus 2.1 per cent and Christians about 1.6 per cent according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates.

The majority of Pakistans Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim residents.

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Islamabad: In yet another incident of targeted killing, a Sikh shopkeeper Dayal Singh was killed by motorcycle-borne miscreants on Friday in the Dir colony of Pakistans Peshawar.

Peshawar Police reportedly said that Singh was sitting at his shop when unidentified motorcyclists killed him and fled from the spot.

A Sikh Shopkeeper killed by unknown people in Peshawar pic.twitter.com/lmSqnLK0yv  Salahuddin Salarzai (@salah_salarzai) March 31, 2023

Earlier on Thursday, a Karachi-based eye surgeon named Dr Birbal Genani was shot dead by unidentified gunmen near Layari in Karachi while returning home from his clinic.

Birbal Genani was the former Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) senior director of health in the Pakistan port city. Unidentified armed men targeted his car while he was travelling from Ramswamy, along with his assistant doctor, to Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

Last week, Hindu shopkeepers were assaulted in Pakistan for allegedly violating the Ramzan Ordinance by eating, Pakistan based The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The police officer in a video that went viral on social media, was seen roaming the Ghotki district with a stick in his hands. The police officer thrashed Hindu restaurant owners including Hindu men who were reportedly preparing biryani for delivery orders in the local market.

I swear that I belong to the Hindu community, and he is taking away food. We do not run the dining service indoors during Ramzan, a man who was arrested by the police said, according to The Express Tribune.

The SHO, however, publicly forced the Hindu restaurant owner to take an oath on his sacred book, as per the news report. He tortured, harassed, manhandled, and arrested more than one dozen people including Hindu shopkeepers after physically assaulting them.

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Lodz: NATO eastern flank members on Friday called for a stepped-up US military presence in the region as they looked ahead to an alliance summit in Vilnius in July.

We need to work to grow the US presence in our region on the eastern flank in terms of troops and equipment, Romanias Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said after talks with his counterparts in the so-called Bucharest Nine.

Ministers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia reiterated calls for boosting the defence capabilities of the region which borders war-torn Ukraine.

If we have a strong defence, then we are able to project a strong deterrence as far as Russias destabilizing and assertive conduct is concerned, Aurescu said following the talks in a Polish city of Lodz.

This is the only language Russia understands, he added.

Aurescu called for more air defence, more anti missile capacities on our territories more surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence means.

The B9 countries also pledged further support for Ukraine in fending off Russias invasion.

The B9 countries are leaders here, also in terms of mobilising the allies to bolder actions, as it was in the case of transferring the MiG-29 fighter jets or tanks, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said.

We all support the accession of Ukraine to NATO, Aurescu added, saying that the priority now is to support Ukraine to win this war.

The next month, the next period will be crucial for the fate of the war in Ukraine, Aurescu said.

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Kathmandu: Nepals Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda on Friday expanded his Cabinet for the seventh time in three months, inducting ministers from five new parties, including the Nepali Congress.

The newly-appointed ministers took an oath of office and secrecy from President Ramchandra Paudel at Sheetal Niwas, the Presidents Office.

A total of four leaders of the Nepali Congress have been appointed ministers in the first phase owing to internal disputes in the party, the Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

Despite the seventh reshuffling, the Cabinet is yet to get into full shape.

Prachanda is still looking after the foreign ministry, ministries of law, justice and parliamentary affairs; forest and environment; health and population and the ministry of youth and sports, the report said.

Nepals 10-party ruling alliance on Thursday failed to reach a consensus on the power-sharing deal, causing yet another delay in the expansion of the Cabinet.

Top leaders held meetings at the Prime Ministers official residence here at Baluwatar to reach an agreement on the distribution of ministries among various political parties.

Power sharing and the distribution of ministerial portfolios were the major bottlenecks among the members of the ruling alliance as the demand for Cabinet posts was exceeding the number of ministries available, officials said.

Before the expansion, Prachanda was overburdened with about 16 ministerial portfolios, including the ministries of Home, Finance, Foreign, Industry and Commerce, Science and Technology, and Agriculture.

There were only six Cabinet ministers, including the Prime Minister and one minister of state in the Prachanda-led government before Fridays expansion, as ministers from CPN-UML, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and Rashtriya Swotantra Party had resigned from the posts following the break up of the seven-party coalition.

Prachanda, who wanted to expand his Cabinet immediately after the confidence vote, could not do so as dividing the Cabinet portfolios among alliance partners proved challenging due to rival claims on ministries.

According to the constitutional provision, there cannot be more than 25 ministers in the Cabinet, including the prime minister.

This provision was incorporated in the Constitution to avoid the recurrence of past experiences when the prime minister would form a jumbo Cabinet to please all the coalition partners.

Prachanda was sworn in as Nepals Prime Minister on December 26 last year.

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Berlin: The number of child criminals in Germany have increased by a third in 2022, according to data released by Federal Criminal Police Office.

Witnessing an 11.5 per cent rise, the country registered 5.6 million crimes in 2022. Along with this, the number of suspects has also seen a jump by just over 10.7 per cent in 2022.

In 2019, around 177,082 suspects were aged between 14 and 18. This figure saw a massive jump with 2022 lodging as many as 189,149 underaged suspects.

The report showed that the most common form of crime committed by children includes heft, followed by assault, damage to property and drug-related crimes.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said, Children are the most vulnerable in society. Protecting them is my top priority. She also flagged an appalling scale of rise in crime in the country.

Old debate on criminal responsibility revives

The appalling data has reignited an age-old debate in Germany over the criminal age of responsibility.

Under the current German law, children can only be charged for crimes they commit if they are above 14 years of age.

The latest figures prompted Baden-Wurttembergs Interior Minister Thomas Strobl and Justice Minister Marion Gentges from the centre-right Christian Democrats to write letters to the government demanding criminal responsibility age to be reviewed.

The head of the German Police Union has also made similar calls. Rainer Wendt, the head of the union told DW, Its not about punishing children or sending them to jail, but about influencing their behaviour, and criminal proceedings are very effective at doing that.

Courts can impose orders, they can monitor those orders, they can issue restraining orders and impose curfews. The Youth Welfare Office cant do any of that without the support of the parents, and, depending on the milieu in which the parents operate, there could be no cooperation at all, Wendt added.

Crime in Germany sees record high

Federal Criminal Police Office data shows an overall increase in crime in the country for the first time in five years.

The increase was particularly attributed to theft offenses (20 per cent) and residential burglaries (21.5 per cent), among others.

Nancy Faeser said, We need to act to better protect women and remove the fear of assault. We need more security presence on public transport and in crime-ridden places  and more video surveillance.

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Islamabad: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that the government, their handlers and the Election Commission of Pakistan of making a complete mockery of the constitution.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Khan said that Pakistan Supreme Courts decision on whether to hear his partys plea with a five-member bench or a full court is of no importance. He made the remarks on the dissolution of the apex courts five-member bench as Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan recused himself from the bench hearing the election delay case under Article 184(3), Geo News reported.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan stressed that what is most crucial to his party is whether elections will take place according to the Constitutions provisions or not. Pakistans top court is set to resume the hearing at 11:30 am (local time).

The hearing of the PTIs plea against the Election Commission of Pakistans (ECP) decision to delay the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not take place on Thursday, as per the Geo News report. The top court was set to resume the hearing at 11:30 am (local time). However, the hearing in the court was delayed after Justice Amin-Ud-Dins recusal.

Imran Khan tweeted, Whether its a 5 SC bench or Full Bench, it makes no difference to us because all we want to know is if elections will be held within the 90 days constitutional provision. Before we dissolved our 2 Prov assemblies, I consulted our top constitutional lawyers, all of whom were.

He further said, Absolutely clear that the 90-day Constitutional provision on the holding of elections was inviolable. Now Imported Govt of crooks, their handlers & a compromised ECP are making a complete mockery of the Constitution. By cherry-picking which Articles of Constitution they will abide by.

They are threatening the very foundation of Pakistan, which is the Constitution & Rule of Law. So petrified are they of elections & so desperate to whitewash their convicted that they are prepared to destroy the Constitution & any semblance of Rule of Law, Imran Khan tweeted.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday announced that the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be held on October 8, the same date as Punjabs polls.

The ECP in a notification said that the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be held on October 8. Pakistans electoral body said that the election schedule would be issued in due course of time, as per the news report.

In a notification, the ECP said, the Election Commission of Pakistan notifies 8 October 2023 as the poll date for the General Elections to the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Election Programme for election under Section 57(2) of the Elections Act, 2017 will be issued in due course of time.

Earlier, Pakistans electoral body announced its decision to postpone the elections in Punjab. After ECPs decision to postpone the elections, the PTI approached the Supreme Court. The ECP decided to withdraw their earlier announcement for Punjab polls after the security and financial bodies refused to support the electoral body during the upcoming elections.

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Rawalakot (PoK): Fear of youth in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) coming out on the streets holding the Indian flags has prompted the Pakistan military to empower the fascist organisation Islami Jamiat e Tuleba (IJT) in every school, college and university to unleash terror and call for renewed jihad in the valley.

On March 18, the youth walked miles from the city of Rawalakot to the crossing point at Titrinote demanding the opening of borders between PoK and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. They were attacked by the IJT members while youth leaders were delivering anti-jihad speeches.

Slogans such as Hum lay kay rahen gay Azadi (We will get our freedom), that once echoed in Indian Jammu and Kashmir, Arr par jorr do, tutay rishtay khol do (Open the border and re-establish broken relation) are now part of every single political or social agitation across PoK.

Amid constant uproar in the valley, the Islami Jamiat e Tuleba (IJT, Islamic Students Society), gave an open call to local youth inviting them to join the jihad against India in the Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir in a recent event held in Rawalakot city in the Poonch Division of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The event was attended by more than 200 youth who were gathered from all over the Poonch Division of Rwaalakot district in PoK.IJT is the militant student wing of the infamous Jamat e Islami and is allegedly funded and controlled by Pakistan inter-services intelligence agency (ISI).

It has always been used to crush dissent against the military that pops up in educational institutions in Pakistan.IJT was the main street force that was used by the former military dictator late General Muhammed Zia ul Haq to crush the anti-martial law student movement, during his reign that spanned from July 5, 1977, to August 19, 1988.

During that period the IJT goons used to attack and break up any political event or public gathering that called for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan.

Currently, the IJT is being used to spread fear among the Baloch students at Punjab university in Lahore, Quaid e Azam university in Islamabad, Karachi university and other educational institutions.

Recently the IJT members were set loose to attack Hindu students who had been celebrating Holi in the aforementioned universities. The IJT members carry weapons and clubs and are protected by the university administration and the state of Pakistan.

Many right-wing politicians in Pakistan hail from the IJT. Babar Awan, a Pakistani politician, and senior lawyer and Siddique Ul Farooq were student IJT members who began their political careers while at Government degree college Rawalpindi in 1977.

This is a worrying development. Most of the people living in PoK are of secular minds despite the religious-communal indoctrination of the two-Nation theory by Pakistan over the past seven decades.

There is a strong secular nationalist current in PoK that calls for the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people. There are also strong leftist tendencies present in the PoK political scene which calls for an (imaginary) socialist revolution that would end the capitalist system in the region.

Since the abrogation of article 370 of the Indian constitution on August 5, 2019, which gave Jammu and Kashmir the so-called special status, the perspective of the youth in both PoK and occupied Gilgit-Baltistan has seen a great leap of both faith and belief.

The inability of Pakistan to garner anti-India support from 56 Muslim countries to condemn the action taken by the Modi government and the failure to provide PoK with essentials of living has for the first time made the people of PoK realise that Pakistan is no big brother or loyal to the cause of the so-called Kashmir issue.

The youth in PoK have, over four years, delved into the history of the Pakistani occupation of their state. They realised that Pakistan and not India had attacked and is responsible for the breakup of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The great leap in social infrastructure development in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of article 370 has opened their eyes to the fact that Pakistan has not spent a single paisa for the development of PoK.

On the contrary, Pakistan has looted their natural resources and stolen their water. The regular broadcast of Radio Himalaya news, for more than 5 years now, has also played a significant role in making the youth of PoK and occupied Gilgit-Baltistan realise the reality and the gravity of the conflict between Pakistan and India that has been a constant source of strengthening the Pakistan army and its states hold on their territory.

Scores of universities and colleges in PoK are running regular clandestine study groups where the history of the conflict is being revisited. Time is running out since the IJT has millions of rupees of funds available to run their affairs and are armed whilst on the other hand the pro-India and anti-Pakistan forces in the PoK are kind of penniless and lack the organisational infrastructure to give the IJT a daring fight back.

Only time will tell what would transpire but at the moment the facts on the ground do not seem to favour the forces who are fighting for the reunification of PoK and occupied Gilgit-Baltistan with India.

Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza is an author and a human rights activist from Mirpur in PoK. He currently lives in exile in the UK. Amid constant uproar in the valley, the Islami Jamiat e Tuleba (IJT, Islamic Students Society), gave an open call to local youth inviting them to join the jihad against India in the Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir in a recent event held in Rawalakot city in the Poonch Division of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The event was attended by more than 200 youth who were gathered from all over the Poonch Division of Rwaalakot district in PoK.IJT is the militant student wing of the infamous Jamat e Islami and is allegedly funded and controlled by Pakistan inter-services intelligence agency (ISI).

It has always been used to crush dissent against the military that pops up in educational institutions in Pakistan. IJT was the main street force that was used by the former military dictator late General Muhammed Zia ul Haq to crush the anti-martial law student movement, during his reign that spanned from July 5, 1977, to August 19, 1988.

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New York: Former US President Donald Trump has termed the indictment against him a political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history and said the witch-hunt will backfire massively on current President Joe Biden.

A grand jury in Manhattan has voted to indict Trump for his role in paying hush money to a porn star. A New York Times report added that an indictment is expected to be announced in the coming days.

By then, prosecutors working for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, will have asked Trump to surrender and to face arraignment on charges that remain unknown for now.

This is political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the radical left Democrats  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this country  have been engaged in a witch-hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.

You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this, Trump said in a statement.

The former president alleged that the Democrats lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump. But now theyve done the unthinkable  indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election interference.

Trump called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a disgrace.

Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, hes doing Joe Bidens dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time! he said.

He said that he believes this witch-hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden.

The American people realize exactly what the radical left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our movement, and our party  united and strong  will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these crooked democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Trump said.

Never before in our nations history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponising our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for president, has never happened before. Ever, he said.

Al Mason, a real estate businessman from New York and co-chair of the Trump Victory Indian-American Finance Committee told PTI, It is 100 per cent political. Trump will emerge even stronger after this witch hunt. Never underestimate him.

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Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree setting out the routine spring conscription campaign, calling 147,000 citizens up for statutory military service, Tass news agency said on Thursday.

The decree read, Carry out conscription of citizens of the Russian Federation aged between 18 and 27, not in reserve, and eligible to conscription, between April 1 and July 15, 2023, in the quantity of 147,000 people.

Last September Putin signed an order calling up 120,000 people for the autumn campaign. At the time, Tass quoted the defence ministry as saying the conscription was not in any way related to the special military operation, Russias official term for the war in Ukraine.

All men in Russia are required to carry out a years military service between the ages of 18 and 27, or equivalent training while in higher education.

On average, in recent years, around 130,000 people have been called up in each of the spring and autumn campaigns, Tass said.

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Denpasar: Indonesia and Russia signed an extradition agreement on Friday which they said will help combat transnational crime and be a turning point in their relations.

The treaty  Indonesias first extradition agreement with a European country  was signed by Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly and Russian Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko.

Chuycenko said the agreement is key to bringing bilateral relations forward.

With this treaty signed, we now have a legal basis for our cooperation in the sphere of combating crimes and this is going to be systematical and productive in the future, Chuychenko said after the signing ceremony on the resort island of Bali.

Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have fled to Bali since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russians were the second biggest group of visitors to Bali last year after Australians, and their number is predicted to continue to increase.

As Russia faces growing sanctions from Western nations over its invasion, it has sought to enhance ties with Asian and African nations it sees as not hostile. Russias embassy in Jakarta says Putin has offered to have Russian Railways invest in Indonesias new capital on Borneo island, and Russian help in building a $22 billion refinery in East Java, among other projects.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Moscow and Kyiv last year in an unsuccessful effort to facilitate peace talks between their leaders.

Chuychenko said he and Laoly agreed to continue to cooperate in legal and judicial matters and plan to sign agreements on cybersecurity and digital cooperation during an international legal forum in St. Petersburg on May 11-13.

In 2016, Widodo rejected a Russian request for the extradition of six jailed Russian nationals, including a woman who smuggled drugs into Indonesia and was sentenced to 16 1/2 years in prison, because of the lack of an extradition treaty.

Laoly said the new extradition agreement is a strong signal to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

This treaty helps us to carry out legal actions to extradite perpetrators of transnational crimes and corruption, Laoly said.

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Washington: Some of the steps being taken by Beijing along the India-China border have been provocative, a top White House official has said while reiterating that the United States is destined to work more closely with New Delhi.

Kurt Campbell, the Deputy Assistant to the US President and Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, told a Washington-based think-tank that India is not an ally of the United States and will never be so.

But it does not mean that we will not be close partners and share many things. Thats how we need to understand the role that India will play as a great nation on the global stage.

We want to encourage that and support that and deepen this relationship, which is already very strong, probably the strongest people-to-people relationship of any country that the United States has on the global stage, he said.

The think tank  Centre for a New American Security  in a report said that the India-China border intrusions and clashes have become more frequent and threaten to lead to all-out conflict.

The increased prospect of India-China border hostility has implications for the United States and its Indo-Pacific strategy between the two Asian giants, it said.

The report said that Indian officials believe China is trying to contain India by forcing it to divert more resources into defending simultaneously both its western border with Pakistan and eastern flank with China and by weakening its willingness and ability to challenge Chinese ambitions to dominate the region.

Campbell told the think-tank, Some of the steps that China has taken along this vast 5,000-mile border had been provocative and deeply concerning to Indian partners and friends. The think tanks report, authored by Lisa Curtis and Derek Grossman, has made several recommendations to help deter and respond to further Chinese aggression along the border with India.

Prominent among them include the United States should elevate Indian territorial disputes with China on par with Beijings assertiveness against other US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific and ensure this is reflected in all national security-related documents and speeches.

It also recommended that the US offer India the sophisticated military technology it requires to defend its borders and initiate the coproduction and co-development of military equipment and assist India in strengthening its maritime and naval capacity.

The think tank also urged the US to conduct joint intelligence reviews with India to align assessments of Chinese plans and intentions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and enhance coordination with Indian officials on contingency planning in the event of a future India-China conflict.

It asked the US to criticise Beijings efforts at land-grabbing in multilateral forums, including the UN, Shangri-La Dialogue, G20, and East Asia Summit and be prepared to extend full support to India in the event of another border crisis or conflict.

Message Pakistan and enlist help from its other important partners to convey similar points about the need to stay neutral in the event of a potential future India-China border flare-up, the report said.

Campbell said that the India-US relationship is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century.

I believe we are destined to work more closely together. I believe that our people-to-people ties are strong, animate in a relationship that is becoming deeper, richer and more strategically important. Responding to a question, he said there has been an exponential increase in engagement in virtually every area.

We just concluded discussions in a form called ICET in which the Indian National Security Advisor brought the highest-ranking group of Indian technologists ever to come to any country, and came to the United States to talk about how to partner on areas going forward, Campbell said.

Were working more on defence-related issues on people to people. We want more Indian students in our universities. We want more American students in Indian universities. We want more people-to-people, university partnerships more generally, and health partnerships. We have just announced efforts to work together in space. So the agenda is extraordinarily rich. The ambitions are high, he added.

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Putrajaya: Malaysias top court refused Friday to review its 2022 decision to uphold former Prime Minister Najib Razaks conviction for graft and 12-year jail sentence, saying he was the author of his own misfortune.

A five-member Federal Court bench unanimously rejected his final appeal in August in a case linked to the looting of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, sending Najib straight to prison to start serving his sentence. But Najib has sought a review to overturn the decision, saying he has been denied a fair trial.

A new Federal Court panel rejected Najibs assertion in a majority judgement. This effectively shut the lid on the case, which means that Najib will have to serve out the duration of his sentence. If he had won a review, he could have been freed on bail pending a new appeal hearing.

Najib was stone-faced when the judgement was read out.

Four of five judges said they found no failure of justice. They dismissed the defenses arguments that there was a conflict of interest by the judge who convicted him, Najib was not given sufficient time for his new lawyer to prepare for the case, and he wasnt allowed to cite new evidence. The judges said the earlier Federal Court panel had applied the laws correctly.

In this matter, with respect, we are constrained to say the applicant is the author of his own misfortune, said Justice Vernon Ong.

Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli dissented, saying that there must be confidence in the administration of justice. He spent more than an hour explaining why he saw a miscarriage of justice in the handling of the final appeal last year.

Later, lead prosecutor V Sithambaram told reporters that Fridays decision was a vindication that the charges are legally mounted and not politically motivated.

This prosecution has shown that no man in this land is above the law, he said, adding that it should send a chilling message that the law would catch up with all offenders.

But defense counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said it was not the end of the matter yet.

While the defense team was extremely disappointed, Shafee said, the strong dissenting judgement has opened up the possibility of a fresh review. He noted that Abdul Rahman even suggested an acquittal instead of a retrial on grounds that Najib wasnt accorded a fair trial. Shafee declined to give further details on Najibs next move.

While further review of the case is possible, Sithambaram said it was unlikely.

The British-educated Najib was born into Malaysias political elite. His father was the countrys second prime minister and his uncle was the third.

He became prime minister in 2009 as a reformer but his term was tainted by the 1MDB scandal that sparked investigations in the United States and several other countries and caused his governments downfall in 2018 general elections.

Investigators allege at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the 1MDB fund, set up shortly after Najib took power, and laundered by Najibs associates. Najib was found guilty in 2020 of seven charges of corruption for illegally receiving $9.4 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.

Najib was the countrys first former leader to be imprisoned. He still faces dozens of charges in several separate trials linked to 1MDB. His wife, Rosmah Mansor, was also sentenced to 10 years in jail for a separate corruption case and is out on bail pending appeal.

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New Delhi: Ukrainian Minister of Energy German Galushchenko has said that major oil companies have made record profits due to the conflict in Ukraine and should pay to rebuild the countrys war-torn infrastructure.

The minister told Politico that oil and gas majors have generated windfall profits of over $200 billion due to wild swings in global energy prices, and should transfer some of those funds to Ukraine.

A lot of energy companies get enormous windfall profits due to the war. So we estimated this at more than $200 billion, Galushchenko said on a visit to Brussels. They get this money because we are fighting, because of the war.

Galushchenko also argued the West needed to close sanctions loopholes on Russian energy sales to prevent an endless war in Ukraine, and said Kyiv could provide alternative nuclear fuel so some EU countries could wean themselves off their dependence on Russian supplies.

According to the report, he warned that Moscow would be able to wage a perpetual war in Ukraine for as long as the Kremlin is able to rake in cash from selling fossil fuels.

Despite sanctions against Russian oil imports imposed by the EU and a price cap set by the G7 club of rich democracies, he warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was still finding ways to beat international embargoes.

If on one side youre trying to restrict them and on the other youre giving them opportunities, youll allow them to make endless war, he complained, arguing the Kremlin was using its energy export earnings not to help Russian people to live better but to produce weapons and keep the war going.

This money costs Ukrainian lives, he told Politico.

Sanctions sent energy prices soaring

Sanctions imposed on Russia by the West over the past year in response to Moscows military operation in Ukraine have sent energy prices soaring.

The sanctions were imposed after Moscow recognised the independence of its puppet states, the Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics, on 21 February 2022 in a speech by Vladimir Putin.

With the commencement of attacks on 24 February 2022, a large number of other countries began applying sanctions with the aim of devastating the Russian economy.The sanctions were wide-ranging, targeting individuals, banks, businesses, monetary exchanges, bank transfers, exports, and imports.

The sanctions included cutting off major Russian banks from SWIFT, the global messaging network for international payments, although there would still be limited accessibility to ensure the continued ability to pay for gas shipments.

Sanctions also included asset freezes on the Russian Central Bank, which holds $630 billion in foreign-exchange reserves,to prevent it from offsetting the impact of sanctions and implicated the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

By 1 March 2022, the total amount of Russian assets frozen by sanctions amounted to $1 trillion.

Oil majors record combined profit of $196.3 bn

In 2022, oil majors Shell, BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and TotalEnergies posted a combined profit of $196.3 billion, marking an all-time high for the industry.

I think it would be fair to share this money with Ukraine. I mean, to help us to restore, to rebuild the energy sector, Galushchenko said, adding that the record profits had been achieved purely because of the conflict in his country.

According to the latest assessment by the Ukrainian government, the World Bank, the European Commission, and the UN, the estimated cost of the countrys reconstruction and recovery will be over $400 billion.

With inputs from agencies

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New York: Governor Ron DeSantis, one of the predicted rivals of Donald Trump for 2024 Republican nomination for president, said Florida will not assist in extradition request of the former US president who has been indictment on hush money payment charges.

Florida governor DeSantis attacked a grand jury in New York City for bringing the prosecution. The former US president is being probed by the Manhattan District Attorneys office for allegedly falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 elections.

With the indictment, Trump becomes the first president to be impeached twice and also the first former president to be criminally charged.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American, DeSantis tweeted.

It is un-American, said the Florida governor, adding, The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda, DeSantis said.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is  Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 30, 2023

Trump and his lawyers have already indicated that the former US president is willing to attend the hearing which is likely on Tuesday, where a judge would read the charges against him and set bail conditions.

Trump's Florida connection

In 2018, Trump made his home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida his legal residence.

Trump's defence attorneys said that the former US president will likely surrender next week in New York City. Interstate extradition is a matter for the courts.

The Manhattan District Attorney, in a statement, said they had contacted Trump's "attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DA's Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment."

Soon after the indictment, Trump took to Truth Social and called the decision "an attack on our country the likes of which has never been seen before." His team had also put out statements condemning the announcement.

His attorneys -- lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina -- said that Trump "did not commit any crime" and that he will "vigorously fight his political prosecution in Court."

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London: Britain risks of becoming a haven for fraudsters, Members of UK Parliament have warned.

A report by the cross-party parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has revealed that fraud has now become the dominant form of crime in the UK.

The MPs have criticised the government for not responding appropriately to the increasing number of fraudulent activities or economic crimes. The Home Office has been blamed for being sluggish and outmanoeuvred in its response to the growth of all forms of fraud.

The report added that both police morale and public trust have been undermined by system failures.

The committees chair, Dame Meg Hillier, said, There is just no sign that government has a grip on fraud or an adequate strategy to address it, while victims are left to pay the price.

Fraud now accounts for 41 per cent of crime in the UK. The growth has been attributed to the migration of organised gangs to online platforms which makes it more difficult to trace them.

There were 3.8 million incidents of actual or attempted fraud in the year to June 2022, and nearly 7 per cent of adults in England and Wales experiencing fraud or at least an attempt. While those numbers increase, charges and summonses are dropping, the report added.

UK govt suffers major losses to fraud

According to data released by the National Audit Office, the British government has suffered losses of billions of pounds to fraud in recent years. Regardless of the gravity of the issue, the government has only allotted one per cent of police resources to tackle fraud.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said government accounts pointed to fraud worth a total of 21 billion pounds ($25.87 billion) in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years  up from 5.5 billion pounds in the previous two years.

There has been a substantial increase in the level of fraud reported in the annual reports and accounts we audit, said NAO head Gareth Davies.

Davies added, In addition to the loss of taxpayer money, it creates the risk that people come to perceive fraud and corruption across government as normal and tolerated. If not tackled, this could affect public confidence in the integrity of public services.

Home Office unveils plan

Suella Braverman, UKs home secretary, launched a plan on Thursday setting out guidelines of what public and private sectors are required to do to crack down on kleptocrats, money laundering, sanctions busting and fraud.

The plan also unveiled the deployment of an extra 475 financial investigators to help manage the problem of fraudulent activities.

Some experts have flagged concerns over the proposed plans. Maria Nizzero, a research fellow at the Rusi UK economic crime programme, said, The plan places a welcome focus on the threat that the proceeds of kleptocracy and corruption pose to the UKs national security interests.

However, the actions in the plan are a timid starting point. The response to transnational illicit finance needs to move beyond sanctions into long-term criminal justice responses, she added.

With inputs from agencies

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New Delhi: UKs security minister Tom Tugendhat has come up with a plan wherein the countrys intelligence services will use information compiled by artificial intelligence to help detect foreign threats that might be overlooked by humans.

Tugendhat said a new government department  the Open Source Intelligence Hub (OSINT)  will use information gathered from open sources to assist its more traditional intelligence services, MI5 and MI6.

Lessons from Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine have shown how information from open sources can help identify threats, provided analysts are not swamped by data, Tugendhat said.

Traditional spying will still lift the curtain on the plans of our enemies, The Telegraph quoted Tugendhat as saying. We still need to listen and look where they want to hide, he added.

He said that intelligence has changed over the past decade, prompting the UKs intelligence services to devise new methods to identify and eliminate foreign threats.

The new hub will also add richness and detail to existing methods of information gathering, he said.

According to the report, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will put the formal plans, which are yet to be established, in place in May.

Not spying on British public

Tugendhat stressed the new unit would not be used to spy on the British public.

Theres a whole series of ways in which people are putting information out there, he told The Telegraph.

This isnt a question of the government sucking everything in, but rather, understanding whats already out there. Most intelligence is about shaping an argument and in a democracy that has to be done publicly.

If you look at what we did in the run up to Ukraine, we opened up a lot of intelligence to partners around the world, but also to people in the UKto explain what we were seeing, why we thought the build up of Russian forces was credible, why it was genuinely a threat to Ukraine and why we were taking it so seriously.

We had to do things that intelligence agencies dont traditionally do, which was to declassify and open up (information).

What became obvious was that it didnt need to be secret intelligence that was declassified.

We need to find ways in which we can point out whats really happening in the world, to people who need to know it. In a democracy, that means our citizens in ways that are usable, he added.

The move comes a little more than two weeks after UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt set aside 3.5 billion ($4.3 billion) in the governments budget to fund programs in Londons science and technology sectors, which he predicted last year would transform it into a tech superpower.

Targeting Russian disinformation

The minister said the new unit will also target disinformation from Russia and elsewhere, fact-checking and calling out lies aimed at targeting British society.

Were seeing our security undermined by the attempt to tear us apart, to spread disinformation, to spread lies in our communities, Tugendhat said.

We see it through social media channels and were aware that some social media channels give control to foreign states, who could in theory use it to promote divisive or problematic campaigns that would tear us apart, Tugendhat told The Telegraph.

With inputs from agencies

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Geneva: Russias war in Ukraine has made severe rights violations shockingly routine, and is distracting humanity from battling existential threats to its survival, the UN rights chief warned Friday.

Speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council, Volker Turk denounced horrific abuses carried out since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago, and warned the conflict continues to send shock-waves across the world.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed to how sharp increases in the price of food, energy and other commodities had heightened tensions and inequalities in every region.

This, he warned, was exacerbating the most severe global cost-of-living crisis in a generation that has pushed some 71 million into poverty, and threatens the stability of numerous countries.

At the same time, 37 years after the Chernobyl disaster, another Ukrainian nuclear power plant, in Zaporizhzhia, continues to be placed at enormous risk, with potential impact on millions of people.

At a time when humanity faces overwhelming existential challenges, this destructive war is tugging us away from the work of building solutions, the work of ensuring our survival, Turk said.

This war defies any reason. This madness must end, and peace be found.

In his update to the council on the situation inside Ukraine, Turk said his office had verified more than 8,400 civilian deaths and over 14,000 civilians wounded since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

These figures are just the tip of the iceberg, he cautioned.

Most of the casualties, Turk said, resulted from Russian forces using wide-impact explosive weapons in residential neighbourhoods.

He also highlighted findings by a UN investigative team of numerous summary executions and targeted attacks on civilians by Russian forces and affiliated armed groups like the Wagner Group, as well as 621 cases of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention.

Ukrainian armed forces had also carried out summary executions, according to those findings.

The UN chief also highlighted findings that Ukrainian civilians, and in particular children, have been transferred to occupied territory or to Russia.

According to Kyiv, more than 16,000 Ukrainian children had been deported to Russia as of last month.

The International Criminal Court has announced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

A high-level UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) has meanwhile determined such forced transfers amount to war crimes, and said earlier this month they were also probing allegations they could amount to genocide.

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A US court sanctioned Google LLC for for the second time this week, after a judge said in an unsealed decision on Wednesday that the Alphabet Inc subsidiary took too long to comply with a judgement in a data-privacy class action last year.

The ruling was issued by US Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen in San Jose, California, in response to a class action alleging that Google illegally monitored its users while they were using its Chrome browsers in private, or incognito, mode.

Also read: Google destroyed evidence and repeatedly gave false info to court, finds US federal judge

Separately, on Tuesday in California, US District Judge James Donato ruled that Google failed to retain workers chat logs as proof in an antitrust action. Donato stated that the lawyers for the plaintiffs will be granted legal expenses in a sum to be decided later. Google is disputing the allegations.

Google has stated that its Chrome browser users consented to the companys data gathering in the data privacy lawsuit. According to a Google spokesperson, the firm provided and disclosed countless documents and discovery.

Van Keulens punishment in the data protection lawsuit is not the first time he has penalised Google in the same case.

According to the newest decision, Google failed to comply with a limit set by a court order last year that imposed sanctions on the business. The new sanctions order, as well as the previous one from May 2022, addressed internal Google proof about customers usage of the companys private browsing option.

Also read: Google accuses Microsoft of anti-competitive cloud computing practices, urge EU to take closer look

According to the judges ruling, Google will be prohibited from depending on certain staff witnesses in the case. Van Keulen also stated that Google must pay the costs of two specialists hired by the plaintiffs, as well as a $79,000 fine.

The customer claimants are seeking an order requiring Google to delete confidential browsing details, among other things. A hearing is planned for November.

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Washington: As many as 7,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained by the US since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began last year, a spokesperson of the Pentagon said.

Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said that among those trained, 65 Ukrainians completed their training on the Patriot air defence system at Oklahomas Fort Sill. The soldiers returned to Europe this week.

Ryder added that more than 4,000 troops in two brigades completed their arms training in Germany, with one of the brigades fully equipped with Bradley fighting vehicles and the other with Stryker vehicles.

Additional combined arms training is currently underway at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas in Germany, with two motorized infantry battalions consisting of 1,200 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, the spokesperson told reporters.

Since April 2022, an additional 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers finished operator and maintenance training on 20 donated systems. This program, however, is currently ongoing.

Ryder added, The US will continue to provide training and work closely with our allies and partners to ensure the Ukrainian people have the security assistance they need to defend their country and repel Russian aggression.

According to The Hill, the Ukrainian troops first arrived in Oklahoma in January to receive training on the Patriot missile system.

Initially, the course was supposed to run for several months but troops finished the training faster than planned.

Patriot missile training

Ukraine repeatedly pushed the United States for the high-tech system to help shield against Russian strikes and Washington promised late last year that it would provide a Patriot battery, with Kyivs troops starting training in Oklahoma in January.

This week, 65 Ukrainian air defenders completed Patriot training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and have now arrived back in Europe, said Ryder.

Theyre integrating with other Ukrainian air defenders along with donated Patriot air defence equipment from the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, he said.

With inputs from agencies

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Washington: Efforts to build a floor under US-China relations have yet to be successful and coming months will determine if it is possible to reestablish constructive diplomacy with Beijing, a top White House official said on Thursday, stressing the need for Cold War-era hotlines and other crisis mechanisms.

Speaking at a time of heightened tensions with China over a US stopover by Taiwans president, US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said Washington had made clear to Beijing it was ready to have another call between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Were prepared and, from our perspective, we want to keep lines of communication open and it is our intention to keep those lines open, he said at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank.

Biden said last month after a US fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that he planned to speak to Xi about the episode and clear the air, but this has yet to happen and tensions have only risen since.

Were prepared and, from our perspective, we want to keep lines of communication open and it is our intention to keep those lines open, he said at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank.

Campbell said the Chinese had been reluctant to engage in discussions around confidence-building or crisis communications, or hotlines and it would be a responsible step to have such mechanisms, given that Chinese and US military forces operated in proximity to each other.

We built those during the Cold War. We think that theyre appropriate now, he added.

Campbell said the US was in the early stages of a new phase of competitive relations with China.

Theres also a recognition that in many respects our efforts to build a foundation, a floor under the relationship and guardrails, have yet to be successful, he said, referring to US priorities when Biden and Xi last spoke at a meeting in Bali in November.

I think you will see in the coming months whether its going to be possible to reestablish effective, predictable, constructive diplomacy between the United States and China.

Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York on Wednesday on her way to Central America. On her way back to Taipei next week, she will stop in Los Angeles, where she is expected to meet US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, an interaction China has warned could lead to a serious confrontation in US-China relations.

The visit comes at a time when U.S. relations with China are at what some analysts see as their worst level since Washington normalized ties with Beijing in 1979 and switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei.

Campbell said the United States was stepping up its focus on the Indo-Pacific in spite of the war in Ukraine and this would be seen in its budgets, engagements, aid and assistance.

He pointed to India, which is due to take part in another summit of the so-called Quad countries in Australia expected in May, and said he believed its relationship with the United States was the most important of the 21st century.

I believe we are destined to work more closely together, he said, adding that Washington wanted to see more Indian students in American universities and more Americans in Indian colleges.

Campbell said the United States has an ambitious agenda for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum summit it hosts in November, and Biden would roll out steps to address US determination to play not just a security, diplomatic and political role in the region, but a vibrant economic and commercial role as well.

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New Delhi: A Wagner PMC mercernary, who returned to his village after his contract expired with the group, has been detained on suspicion of murdering his mother.

The information was shared on Twitter by Nexta, the largest Eastern European media outlet.

Heroes of Russia: The convicted Wagner PMC mercenary returned from the war zone and was again accused of murder Ivan Rossomakhin, a resident of the village of Novy Burets (Kirov region), was sentenced to 14 years in prison for murder in 2020. After the start of the war, he was pic.twitter.com/DlVwHbHKl2  NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 30, 2023

According to the outlet, the accused, identified as Ivan Rossomakhin, is a resident of village of Novy Burets in Kirov region.

Rossomakhin had earlier been sentenced to 14 years in prison for a murder in 2020.

State investigators claim that in 2019, Rossomakhin killed a fellow villager who tried to chase him away from her land plot. The man then beat and strangled her to death, dragging the corpse into a bathhouse, where he decided to stage an accident by putting her face down on a rake. A month later, Rossomakhin also robbed a passerby in the town of Vyatskie Polyany. He was later found guilty of murder and robbery.

After the start of the Ukraine war, he was recruited from prison by the Wagner PMC and pardoned after returning from the front line in Ukraine. After his contract expired with the group expired, he returned to his native village.

The outlet claimed that Rossomakhin spent a week drunkenly walking around with an axe and a pitchfork and threatening the local residents with death.

A week later, a resident of a neighboring village found the body of his mother. The woman was found, with stab wounds on her body. A local police officer said the man was detained on 22 March, and then arrested for five days for minor hooliganism.

President Vladimir Putin had amended the legislation on calling up reservists to include men convicted of serious crimes who recently left prison.

Convicted murderers and drug dealers who recently left prison in Russia were conscripted to fight in Ukraine under a change to the law. In September, reports emerged that the Wagner mercenary group was recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine in exchange for their sentences being commuted. Russian law does not allow commutation of prison sentences in exchange for mercenary service but Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin was filmed telling prisoners nobody goes back behind bars if they served with his group. With inputs from agencies

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Belarusian strongman and close Kremlin ally Alexander Lukashenko called Friday for a truce in Ukraine and for talks without preconditions between Moscow and Kyiv.

We must stop now before an escalation begins. Ill take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities a declaration of a truce, Lukashenko said during a televised state of the nation address.

All territorial, reconstruction, security and other issues can and should be settled at the negotiation table, without preconditions, added Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994.

He also said that Western support for Kyiv was increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war breaking out in Ukraine.

As a result of the efforts of the United States and its satellites, a full-scale war has been unleashed in (Ukraine) a third world war with nuclear fires looms on the horizon, he said.

Belarus has allowed Russian forces to use its territory as a launchpad for Moscows offensive, but Lukashenko has so far refused to send troops over the border.

Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in the Moscow-allied country, drawing condemnation from the West.

Belarus said it was forced to host Russian nuclear weapons because of unprecedented Western pressure, insisting their deployment did not violate international agreements.

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Toying with generative AI models like ChatGPT and BiingAI is not just a really good way to vile away your time, but also a great way to study how generative AI models have been developed and trained. More importantly, it gives us an idea of how people who are developing tech, think.

We have seen many examples that seen to suggest that most AI models are biased. In one particularly interesting case, we saw Microsofts Bard AI toeing the CCPs line and spouting Chinese propaganda. In that example, we saw how Bard AI seems to believe that Chinese Uyghur women had fabricated the stories of forced sterilisation in Chinas Uyghur concentration camps.

In a similar vein, looking to explore what ChatGPT and Bard think about political subjects and discourses in India, we thought of asking the AI bots about VD Savarkar, one of the most polarising figures in our history.

The prompt that we gave both, ChatGPT and Bard AI was Was VD Savarkar anti-Muslim? Why does he continue to be such a divisive figure in India?

This is what ChatGPT generated:

VD Savarkar, also known as Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was an Indian independence activist, writer, and politician who lived from 1883 to 1966. He was one of the founders of the Hindu nationalist ideology and a strong proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Savarkars views on Muslims were complex and nuanced. On the one hand, he believed that Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations and that India could never be a truly unified country as long as Muslims remained in it. On the other hand, he also believed that Hindus and Muslims should be able to coexist peacefully and that both communities had a role to play in building a strong, independent India.

Savarkars views on Muslims have been the subject of much controversy in India, with many people accusing him of being anti-Muslim. Some of his statements, particularly those made in the context of the Partition of India in 1947, have been criticized as inflammatory and divisive.

However, it is also important to note that Savarkar was not the only figure in Indian politics to hold such views, and that many other leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, also had complex and sometimes controversial views on issues related to religion and nationalism.

Savarkar continues to be a divisive figure in India today because of his association with the Hindu nationalist movement and the controversial views he held on issues related to religion and nationalism. While some people view him as a hero and a visionary who played a key role in Indias struggle for independence, others see him as a divisive and dangerous figure whose views threaten Indias secular and pluralistic traditions.

ChatGPT gave a very balanced answer and did not lean neither towards the right, nor to the left. What was interesting is that ChatGPT brought in two more polarising figures, Mahatma Gandhi and Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, and how, often they too had some controversial takes on religion and nationalism, although, it does not give an example for any such statements made, even when prompted,

ChatGPT does not cite the sources that it uses to generate its answers, although we know that GPT-3 and GPT-3.5-based ChatGPT can only access the internet as it was before September 2021.

We now take a look at what BingAI had to say

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was an Indian politician, activist, and writer who developed the Hindu nationalist political ideology of Hindutva while imprisoned at Ratnagiri in 1922. He was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha. His legacy has divided political commentators for several decades. While his backers believe he was instrumental in reinventing Indian nationalism, critics say he relented to the British Empire. As one of Indias influential political figures, Veer Savarkar is often condemned by his detractors for propagating what they believe to be a deeply flawed and divisive Hindutva ideology. His proponents, on the other hand, believe Savarkar to have been a shining beacon in Indias fight against British imperialism.

Savarkar was never anti-Muslim. His only advice was to keep your religion at home, dont force conversion, and respect others. However, he is still considered a divisive figure in India because of his association with Hindutva.

Like ChatGPT, Bing AIs answer starts with a balanced answer. Whats interesting, however, is that although Bing AI and ChatGPT are based on OpenAIs GPT, albeit different versions, BingAI, clearly takes a side here.

One thing that gives BingAI an advantage is its integration into a search engine, and that it cites the sources based on which it is framing its response. It will be interesting to see how Bing selects its sources, and whether BingAI follows a hierarchical list based on which it picks its sources.

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Bucha: President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to defeat Russia on Friday speaking alongside European leaders in Bucha one year after Moscows troops withdrew from the Ukrainian town synonymous with war crimes allegations.

Belarus strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, who is a close ally of the Kremlin, meanwhile urged Moscow and Kyiv to broker a truce in Ukraine and start negotiations.

In Geneva, UN rights chief Volker Turk warned Russias war in Ukraine had made severe rights violations shockingly routine and was distracting humanity from battling existential threats to its survival.

Russian forces pulled back from Bucha, a commuter town northwest of Kyiv, on March 31, 2022, just over a month after President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine, leaving death and destruction in their wake.

AFP journalists on April 2 last year discovered the bodies of at least 20 people in civilian clothing, some with their hands tied behind their backs, lying in a street of the suburb.

The battle for the foundation of the free world is taking place on Ukrainian land. We will definitely win. Russian evil will fall, right here in Ukraine, Zelensky said.

He earlier called Bucha a symbol of the atrocities committed by Russias forces, who have been linked to the extra-judicial killings of unarmed civilians in Bucha.

We will never forgive. We will punish every perpetrator, Zelensky said in a statement on social media.

Calls for justice

Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian troops of war crimes after the discoveries, pointing to an abundance of footage and witness accounts.

Prosecutors in Kyiv say that Russian forces killed some 1,400 civilians around Bucha and that they have identified dozens of Russian soldiers responsible.

Moscow denies the accusations, claiming the atrocities in Bucha were staged.

Speaking alongside Zelensky in Bucha, Moldovas President Maia Sandu said those responsible should be held accountable, adding that without justice there can never be peace.

Leaders from Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia were also in Bucha.

After Russia withdrew from the towns near Kyiv, fighting shifted to the south and east of Ukraine. The town of Bakhmut is now the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle since the invasion.

A year after it was retaken by Kyivs forces, Bucha has not forgotten its victims.

The community is rebuilding, and locals told AFP that the pain subsides and that they must continue to live.

AFP on Thursday saw dozens of construction workers weaving between diggers and trucks as they worked to rebuild homes and roads in the town, which had a population of around 37,000 people before the war.

Crime scene

Archpriest Andriy, who runs the local parish, said it is important not to forget those who are not with us today.

It is also important for us not to live in the past but in the future, he told AFP.

In the weeks following Russias withdrawal from other towns near Kyiv, hundreds more bodies were found in homes, basements and shallow graves across the north.

Ukraine wants to establish a special tribunal to prosecute Russias leaders but there are complex legal disputes over how it could work.

The International Criminal Court this month issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine.

Chief ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has described Ukraine as a crime scene.

Russia has repeatedly denied any abuses by its forces, and foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova this week described scenes in Bucha as a crude and cynical provocation by Kyiv.

Lukashenko, who hosted several rounds of failed peace talks in recent years with Russia and Ukraine, made the call for a halt to fighting during an address to the nation on Friday.

Nothing is changing in the context of Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The special military operation is continuing, since this is the only way to achieve the goals that our country has today.

Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk denounced horrific abuses carried out since Russias invasion and warned the conflict continues to send shock-waves across the world.

At a time when humanity faces overwhelming existential challenges, this destructive war is tugging us away from the work of building solutions, the work of ensuring our survival, Turk said.

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CEAM artist-in-residence brings passion for cinema into multi-sensory exhibit on Floridas changing coastal environments

As an artist, one of Sasha Wortzels central passions is cinematography. But over the past few years, this passion has led to experimentation in expanded cinema.

This term defined as an immersive environment that pushes the boundaries of cinema and rejects the traditional one-way relationship between the audience and the screen, perfectly describes Wortzels current exhibition in Flaglers Crisp-Ellert Art Museum, Dreams of Unkown Islands: St. Augustine.

Wortzels exhibit in CEAM is the third iteration of this series. Its a gallery environment designed to immerse guests in a multi-sensory experience and evoke certain feelings, senses of place, and times of day related to the simultaneous beauty, regeneration, and threatened state of Floridas invaluable coastal environments.

The exhibit consists of five distinct projected film components, multi-colored lighting installation, and four sculpture islands paired with 3D-printed conch shells. These islands are wired to play seven different channels of sound, creating what Wortzel calls a soundscape with micro sound environments that guests experience as they move throughout the space. They are also equipped with subwoofers to very intentionally make those sounds felt in the body.

This experimentation is rooted in 2017, when Wortzel started work on her ongoing feature-length documentary project about the Florida Everglades and American journalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Throughout the 21st century, Douglas was an avid defender of the Everglades against efforts to drain it and claim it for development.

As a Florida native, Wortzel shares this commitment to the States coastal conservation. They said information on Floridas ecology was built into their early education and they had a very direct connection to the natural landscape.

Now, as an adult, I've seen so many of those wild spaces and wetlands be developed, changed, and actually just disappear, so many of them, Wortzel said. So, I think some of this work is coming out of concern, a real concern for the future of this place, and our ability to continue to live here, and have a water source.

Three years into this documentary project, Wortzel was inspired to expand the reach of the archival and in-the-field content she was gathering to test the boundaries of what cinema can do in a non-traditional format.

I'm often thinking about how to take the tools of cinema and storytelling, and then reconfigure those for a more site-specific gallery experience, Wortzel said.

They recalled a specific day in 2020, collecting hydrophone recordings from Floridas Gulf Coast with a collaborator, that was the catalyst for their ongoing exhibit series: Dreams of Unknown Islands.

The project brings together a collection of field recordings that I've been making, Wortzel said. Everything from putting a hydrophone along the shoreline of Florida's coast, to recording the sound of 500 manatees gathering in Blue Springs. And then, for this iteration, we're also bringing in sounds of dolphins in Matanzas Bay.

These sounds of Floridas coastal environments are mixed with the sound of voices reciting the Mourners Kaddish, a Jewish prayer for passed loved ones. Wortzel said this auditory choice was an effort to convey a framework for processing the loss of certain natural resources and elements of these threatened environments while also celebrating the healing, beauty, and regeneration captured in her work.

It made sense, being of Jewish descent, growing up Jewish, to think about: What are the frameworks [of mourning] that I've already inherited from my ancestors? she said, How could I apply those to larger forms of trauma, harm, or loss in the world?

Worzel's captured film works in tandem with this carefully crafted soundscape to evoke an intersection of feelings about the environments examined. Some clips include the suns movement in the sky and across water throughout the day, and a sea turtle emerging on a beach to nest and lay eggs.

Wortzel said their feature documentary film River of Grass, which is comprised of clips featured throughout the exhibition iterations, will be released in 2024. But she said this trajectory wont mark the end of her gallery work.

Its possible that there could be future installations of this work that maybe even change or become part of the release of this film, Wortzel said.

----

Dreams of Unknown Islands: St. Augustine, was organized for the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum by Julie Dickover, Director, and curated by Stephanie Snyder and Kristan Kennedy in 2022, for the Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College. The original exhibition was curated by Kristan Kennedy, for Oolite Arts, in 2021. Kristan Kennedy is the Visual Art Curator at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art; Stephanie Snyder is the director and curator of the Cooley Gallery, Reed College. Special thanks to Denise Faxas, Sound Engineer; Emile Milgram, Sound Designer, and Jessica Bennett, Cinematography and Lighting Design.

This program was made possible through the generous support of the Cooley Gallery, Reed College. The exhibition is supported, in part, by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and a grant from the Dr. JoAnn Crisp-Ellert Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. In-Kind sponsorship is provided by Milliken.

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Interview: Expert says U.S. must apply human rights principles to its own society given shortcomings

Xinhua) 16:14, March 31, 2023

NEW YORK, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A renowned expert has said that the United States should apply human rights principles to its own society to strengthen social justice, inclusion and economic performance.

The United States itself falls short on many human rights indicators, including economic rights, social rights and cultural rights, and continues to fail on environmental rights, Jeffrey Sachs, a professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, told Xinhua in a recent email interview.

Citing the massive incarceration of young African American men as an example of a lack of social rights and continued hardships of indigenous populations following genocides in the 19th century, he stressed that "every country should strive to improve its own performance as the first priority."

"The U.S. government's self-perception is that it is the global arbiter and judge. This is an odd position," said Sachs, who is also president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, adding that "human rights are an international responsibility of all member states in the United Nations, not the purview of any single country alone."

Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948, together with various covenants and treaties arising from the UDHR, is the most important expression of human rights, he said "these define political, civil, economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights."

Not impressed by the U.S. government approach, Sachs said, "I would prefer a strong multilateral approach through the Human Rights Council, rather than one government pointing fingers at other governments."

He continued that all nations should strive to uphold human rights, including economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, and to foster an international rule of law under the UN Charter that protects and enhances these rights.

As the year 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the UDHR, Sachs expressed his hope that all countries and regions would reflect on the importance of the UDHR and strive to implement its ideas fully.

He added that ancient ethics, such as Confucius and Aristotle, can help the world advance human rights and well-being in the 21st century.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Nimrokh, March 23, 2023

As Afghanistans new academic year gets underway with the ringing of school bells, nearly half of the countrys students are denied the right to education.

Despite the significance of Hamal 03 (March 23) as Afghanistans Education Day, the Taliban marked the start of the new school year on Hamal 01 (March 21) with a male-only ceremony at Amani High School in Kabul. No female teacher or student was allowed to attend the ceremony.

The Taliban cabinets ban on girls attending school from grades 6 to 12, which was imposed 548 days ago, remains in effect, closing not only schools but also universities and other educational institutions to girls.

The United Nations has recently stated that the Talibans ban on girls education oppresses women and the entire country, as it hinders Afghanistans development by preventing half of its workforce from participating.

Afghan Teachers, who are the driving force behind the countrys development, believe that blocking girls access to education has negative and destructive consequences both for the personal lives and education of girls and for the destiny of women and society as a whole.

As the school bell rings in Afghanistan, teachers are forced to confront the reality of gender-segregated classrooms where female students are prohibited from attending. With the start of the new school year, some teachers are speaking out about the psychological and emotional toll of teaching in this environment. They report feeling severely damaged by the ongoing denial of education to half of the countrys population, with some even questioning their own motivation to continue teaching in such conditions.

Aziza Karimi, a 30-year-old head teacher at a public school in Kabul, is speaking out against the Talibans ban on girls education. According to her, the ban has no religious or legal basis, and is instead a political act.

Karimi believes that this political treatment of womens right to education will impact the entire country.

Shekiba, a 24-year-old teacher, is currently forced to stay at home due to the closure of schools for girls above the sixth grade.

Peoples indifference to the closure of girls schools and appeasement by the international community, according to Shekiba, provided the Taliban group with an opportunity and motivation to use its decrees against women as a useful tool in the slimy politics.

The Talibans stance on womens rights and freedoms has been rooted in their religious beliefs, but they also utilize such issues as a means to further their political and military objectives, she believes.

The exclusion of girls from middle and high school was just the start of a string of oppressive measures enforced upon women, which later infiltrated every aspect of their lives, Shekiba added. The [Thalibans misogynistic] decrees encompassed universities, education centers, and public areas like stadiums and recreational centers, and even invaded the privacy of womens homes and bodies, dictating their clothing choices and reproductive decisions.

Aziza Karimi shares Shekibas views, adding since the initial Talibans decrees against women went unchallenged by both the Afghan populace and the international community, it is now too late for any corrective measures.

According to Masoma Jafari, a 30-year-old teacher at a private school in Kabul, although the new school year has started, it is heartbreaking to see my students being relegated to menial tasks such as sewing and embroidery, instead of pursuing their studies and ambitious goals for the future. They have been forced to abandon their education and are now saddled with domestic chores such as washing and cooking.

Jafari decried the situation as a grave injustice towards girls, stating that the Talibans manipulation of our girls fate must come to an end. This is not just a matter concerning female students; this practice has the potential to obliterate an entire societys future.

Additionally, she expressed her sense of sadness and devastation, saying that whenever I visit the school and observe the vacant and silent girls section, it fills me with despair and a sense of loss. The vibrant energy and eagerness that once filled the school premises have disappeared with the absence of girls.

Gender discrimination in Afghanistan has a profound and long-lasting impact on girls, according to the teachers. They believe that girls are acutely aware of the unequal treatment they receive compared to their brothers, who are free to pursue their academic and career goals without hindrance. The disparity in treatment leaves a heavy and irreparable impact on girls, reinforcing outdated gender roles. Unfortunately, the lack of action against gender discrimination is a problem at both the macro and micro levels. Just as people failed to stand up against Taliban oppression, families are also failing to support their daughters.

My uncles three daughters, who were previously students in the seventh, ninth, and eleventh grades, now weave carpets to provide food and meet expenses for the family, Masoma told Nimrokh.

However, physical labor is not the only concern for young girls, as forced and premature marriage poses a more significant threat to their future.

A 15-year-old student of mine once confided in me that her father was planning to force her into marriage, Aziz Karimi told Nimrokh. Despite my prolonged efforts to persuade her father otherwise, he remained steadfast in his decision. Recently, she was smuggled to Iran via Nimroz to be handed to her future husband.

According to the teachers, their students frequently come to school with grievances about the humiliating conditions of being confined to their homes. However, we are all unable to take any action, being left in tears.

This perplexity and frustration have led to a loss of drive among the schoolteachers. According to Karimi, Observing that half of our schools girls sessions are shut down leaves me with little incentive to persevere.

As per these educators, the sole means to safeguard girls entitlement to education is by combating policies that promote misogyny.

From their point of view, both the Talibans limitations and societal apathy towards those limitations are promoting political and cultural misogyny. Overcoming this predicament, they argue, requires the collective support of the global community and the people of Afghanistan for those students who yearn to attend school, yet are unjustly barred from doing so.

These educators stress the importance of working on initiatives that allow girls access to education and universities, rather than investing in programs and projects that solely focus on sewing and beekeeping skills for women. They urge society to refrain from expressing regret and coercing their daughters into marriage or strenuous labor and instead stand in solidarity with them.
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Turkey does not want Sweden joing NATO unless the Nordic country will take action against groups outlawed in Turkey.This includes the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), with Turkey wanting Sweden to extradite suspected terrorists and to suppress support for the PKK.
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Donald Trump indicted; 1st ex-president charged with crime

Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers say, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year

NEW YORK

Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.

The charges remained under seal late Thursday, but the investigation centered on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. Prosecutors said they were working to coordinate Trumps surrender, which could happen early next week. They did not say whether they intended to seek prison time in the event of a conviction, a development that wouldnt prevent Trump from seeking or winning the presidency.

The indictment, an extraordinary development after years of investigations into Trumps business, political and personal dealings, injects a local district attorneys office into the heart of a national presidential race and ushers in criminal proceedings in a city that the ex-president for decades called home. Arriving at a time of deep political divisions, the charges are likely to reinforce rather than reshape dueling perspectives of those who see accountability as long overdue and those who, like Trump, feel the Republican is being targeted for political purposes by a Democratic prosecutor.

Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly assailed the investigation, called the indictment political persecution and predicted it would damage Democrats in 2024. In a statement confirming the charges, defense lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said Trump did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.

A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorneys office confirmed the indictment and said prosecutors had reached out to Trumps defense team to coordinate a surrender. Trump was asked to surrender Friday but his lawyers said the Secret Service needed additional time as they made security preparations, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The people said Trump is expected to surrender early next week.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg left his office Thursday evening without commenting.

The case centers on well-chronicled allegations from a period in 2016 when Trumps celebrity past collided with his political ambitions. Prosecutors for months scrutinized money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, whom he feared would go public with claims that they had extramarital sexual encounters with him.

The timing of the indictment appeared to come as a surprise to Trump campaign officials following news reports that criminal charges were likely weeks away. The former president was at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, on Thursday and filmed an interview with a conservative commentator earlier in the day.

For a man whose presidency was defined by one obliterated norm after another, the indictment sets up yet another never-before-seen spectacle  a former president having his fingerprints and mug shot taken, and then facing arraignment. For security reasons, his booking is expected to be carefully choreographed to avoid crowds inside or outside the courthouse.

The prosecution also means that Trump will have to simultaneously fight for his freedom and political future, while also fending off potentially more perilous legal threats, including investigations into attempts by him and his allies to undo the 2020 election as well into as the hoarding of hundreds of classified documents.

In fact, New York was until recently seen as an unlikely contender to be the first place to prosecute Trump, who continues to face long-running investigations in Atlanta and Washington that could also result in charges. Unlike those inquiries, the Manhattan case concerns conduct by Trump that occurred before he became president and is unrelated to his much-publicized efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The indictment comes as Trump seeks to reassert control of the Republican Party and stave off a slew of one-time allies who may threaten his bid for the presidential nomination. An expected leading rival in the race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, called the indictment un-American in a statement Thursday night that pointedly did not mention Trumps name.

In bringing the charges, Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, is embracing an unusual case that was investigated by two previous sets of prosecutors, both of which declined to take the politically explosive step of seeking Trumps indictment. The case may also turn in part on the testimony of a key witness, Trumps former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges arising from the hush money payments.

The probes fate seemed uncertain until word got out in early March that Bragg had invited Trump to testify before a grand jury, a signal that prosecutors were close to bringing charges.

Trumps attorneys declined the invitation, but a lawyer closely allied with the former president briefly testified in an effort to undercut Cohens credibility.

Trump himself raised anticipation that he would be indicted soon, issuing a statement earlier this month in which he predicted an imminent arrest and called for protests. He did not repeat that call in a fresh statement Thursday, but the New York Police Department told its 36,000 officers to be fully mobilized and ready to respond to any potential protests or unrest.

Late in the 2016 presidential campaign, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to keep her silent about what she says was a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier after they met at a celebrity golf tournament.

Cohen was then reimbursed by Trumps company, the Trump Organization, which also rewarded the lawyer with bonuses and extra payments logged internally as legal expenses. Over several months, Cohen said, the company paid him $420,000.

Earlier in 2016, Cohen also arranged for the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer to pay Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 to squelch her story of a Trump affair in a journalistically dubious practice known as catch-and-kill.

The payments to the women were intended to buy secrecy, but they backfired almost immediately as details of the arrangements leaked to the news media.

Federal prosecutors in New York ultimately charged Cohen in 2018 with violating federal campaign finance laws, arguing that the payments amounted to impermissible help to Trumps presidential campaign. Cohen pleaded guilty to those charges and unrelated tax evasion counts and served time in federal prison.

Trump was implicated in court filings as having knowledge of the arrangements  obliquely referred to in charging documents as Individual 1  but U.S. prosecutors at the time balked at bringing charges against him. The Justice Department has a longtime policy that it is likely unconstitutional to prosecute a sitting president in federal court.

Braggs predecessor as district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., then took up the investigation in 2019. While that probe initially focused on the hush money payments, Vances prosecutors moved on to other matters, including an examination of Trumps business dealings and tax strategies.

Vance ultimately charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer with tax fraud related to fringe benefits paid to some of the companys top executives.

The hush money matter became known around the D.A.s office as the zombie case, with prosecutors revisiting it periodically but never opting to bring charges.

Bragg saw it differently. After the Trump Organization was convicted on the tax fraud charges in December, he brought fresh eyes to the well-worn case, hiring longtime white-collar prosecutor Matthew Colangelo to oversee the probe and convening a new grand jury.

Cohen became a key witness, meeting with prosecutors nearly two-dozen times, turning over emails, recordings and other evidence and testifying before the grand jury.

Trump has long decried the Manhattan investigation as the greatest witch hunt in history. He has also lashed out at Bragg, calling the prosecutor, who is Black, racist against white people.

The criminal charges in New York are the latest salvo in a profound schism between Trump and his hometown  a reckoning for a one-time favorite son who grew rich and famous building skyscrapers, hobnobbing with celebrities and gracing the pages of the citys gossip press.

Trump, who famously riffed in 2016 that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and wouldnt lose voters, now faces a threat to his liberty in a borough where more than 75 percent of voters  many of them potential jurors  went against him in the last election.
The Linn County Sheriffs Office arrested a Sweet Home man accused of attempted murder.

Deputies arrested Derrek Leo Reynolds, 54, on March 22, according to the Linn County Jail website. Oregons online court database shows Reynolds was arraigned in Linn County Circuit Court on March 23 on charges of second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault.

According to court documents, on or around March 22, Reynolds used a dangerous weapon to cause serious physical injury to a victim, and he allegedly attempted to kill the victim.

During last weeks arraignment, Judge Michael Wynhausen set Reynolds bail at $250,000 and appointed Rex White Jr. as defense attorney.

Reynolds was scheduled to be indicted on the charges Thursday afternoon, March 30. According to the indictment paperwork, Reynolds himself, the victim and five other witnesses appeared before the grand jury prior to indictment.

In multiple notices filed with the court, White stated his clients intent to use self-defense as justification for the alleged crimes. The notices said Reynolds will be relying on Oregon Revised Statutes that justify use of physical force in defense of person, in defense of premises and in defense of property.

The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for April 10.
Those of us who believe that the economy should serve us instead of the other way around are conflicted. We know that the only way to end unemployment...

8 hours ago
bayonel3 at 31-03-2023 10:14 AM (3 weeks ago) (m)

Nigerians have taken to Twitter to demand the whereabouts of President-elect, Bola Tinubu. As a result the hashtag WhereIsTinubu? is now trending on Twitter. Nigerians became disturbed after Tinubu failed to mark his 71st birthday on March 29, which he usually celebrates with a lecture series known as Bola Tinubu Colloquium. The former Lagos State governors whereabouts and health condition have continued to generate concern among Nigerians.

Nigerians have taken to Twitter to demand the whereabouts of President-elect, Bola Tinubu. As a result the hashtag WhereIsTinubu? is now trending on Twitter. Nigerians became disturbed after Tinubu failed to mark his 71st birthday on March 29, which he usually celebrates with a lecture series known as Bola Tinubu Colloquium. The former Lagos State governors whereabouts and health condition have continued to generate concern among Nigerians.

See reactions below:



See reactions below: Quote



@UchePOkoye wrote: The prison is where you belong Mr. Tinubu. He must come and defend himself.



@odogwu_obi wrote: Tinubu has not been seen for several days even on his birthday, he is no where to be found..



This is just what to expect from Tinubu and his cabals if the drug Lord is allowed to be president of Nigeria.. Judiciary save Nigeria



@EleyiLagos wrote: Where is Tinubu Quote , this is Tinubu all the way from France the President-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.



@CitizenObs wrote: Nigerian Pablo Escoba and the so called President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not been seen in public for days. Where is Tinubu, the drug Lord of Lagos and Chicago?



@Dawa911 wrote: Where is Tinubu Nigeria and Nigerians voted for a living thing but INEC gave us a none living thing. The North is asking where is Tinubu, SS, and SE are tired of asking where is Tinubu. The whole nation is asking Come out Tinubu.



@decentRBL wrote: Before campaigns, they asked; Where is Tinubu? He showed up to beat them silly at the polls as promised.



After elections, theyve once again asked; Where is Tinubu? This time, Jagaban will be back to take his oath of office as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.



@festus64 wrote: Where is tinubu, and why is his absence fueling an interim government propaganda???



Anyways,APC doesnt have enough foot soldiers to stage a nationwide protest that will warrant chaos that will lead to interim government



@King_Inspires wrote: 2023, Nigeria is still struggling with choosing leaders. But let it be known, we chose our leaders, but they are forcing on us one that is making Nigerians to be asking, where is Tinubu. @PIDOMNIGERIA wrote: Where is Tinubu since Monday night. Please Remi tell us the truth. Or should we join you in prayers.@UchePOkoye wrote: The prison is where you belong Mr. Tinubu. He must come and defend himself.@odogwu_obi wrote: Tinubu has not been seen for several days even on his birthday, he is no where to be found..This is just what to expect from Tinubu and his cabals if the drug Lord is allowed to be president of Nigeria.. Judiciary save Nigeria@EleyiLagos wrote: Where is Tinubu

Post Reply I scour the world wide web to bring you interesting stories from around the globe. [email protected] Posted: at 31-03-2023 10:14 AM (3 weeks ago) | Hero
Suspected North Korean Spies Impersonating VOA, Other Reporters Online

By Steve Herman, Jeff Seldin March 30, 2023

Experts on nuclear security policy and weapons proliferation were contacted by suspected North Korean hackers posing as Voice of America journalists, according to a threat intelligence group, which says this is part of a recent pattern of impersonating reporters from major news organizations.

The online spies were attempting to gather intelligence about the stance of international officials toward the Pyongyang government of Kim Jong Un, according to a report issued by Mandiant, an American cybersecurity firm and subsidiary of Google.

It is the latest known attempt in recent months by the cyber-espionage group known as APT43, also referred to as "Kimsuky" or "Thallium," posing as journalists and targeting government organizations in the United States and South Korea, as well as academics and think tank analysts.

At least seven journalists from five news organizations were impersonated by someone with APT43, Mandiant Senior Analyst Gary Freas told VOA on Wednesday.

"We have seen success in gathering sensitive information related to Korean Peninsula affairs," such as targeted individuals answering questions about Western sentiment about North Korean activity, including nuclear proliferation and missile launches, Freas said.

In one email from Oct. 14, 2022, obtained by Mandiant, the sender, impersonating a VOA reporter, posed several questions related to North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons testing programs, including: "Would Japan increase the defense budget and a more proactive defense policy?"

The recipient was asked to "send me your answers within 5 days."

VOA "is aware that malevolent actors have attempted to impersonate our journalists in attempts to obtain information from third parties, including on nuclear proliferation issues," said Nigel Gibbs, a VOA spokesperson. "It is something we are mindful of, and we take extra care to verify our identity and educate sources about potential impersonators."

Mandiant said that in recent months it had been in contact with USAGM about the suspected North Korean operation impersonating VOA reporters.

"Trust between our journalists and their sources is imperative," USAGM Public Affairs Director Laurie Moy said. "USAGM goes to great lengths to protect the security and integrity of our network journalists' communications tools. We employ a number of reputation management services, including identifying impersonations and fake social media accounts and ensuring that public-facing images are verified and associated with agency resources."

Moy continued: "We also provide robust IT system security to support safety concerns for our journalists. USAGM provides encrypted equipment, ensures multifactor authentication for systems access, and routinely monitors for vulnerabilities and external threats."

Fake emails, claiming to be from reporters of VOA's Korean Service, have been frequently sent to academics, officials and others requesting comment. In some cases, recipients of those emails have contacted VOA's Seoul bureau and were informed the queries were not authentic.

"Our team has been a target of various aggressive phishing attempts, including impersonation, over the past few years," said Dong Hyuk Lee, VOA's Korean Service chief. "A dozen reporters on my team, including me, were targeted. As far as I can remember, we notified the agency's IT office or (USAGM) security, if needed, about every case."

Earlier this month, Mandiant also revealed that the same hacking group distributed an attachment to an email that appeared to be from a recruiter for The New York Times.

There has been similar activity linked to Pyongyang in recent years, including a phishing scam targeting journalists in South Korea in which the sender posed as a scriptwriter for the Korean Broadcasting System seeking information about North Korea.

"State-sponsored hackers regularly target or pose as journalists," Joseph Bodnar, a research analyst for the Alliance for Securing Democracy, told VOA. "Reporters have information and access that most people don't have. Masquerading as a journalist can be an easy way for hackers to gain and exploit a target's trust."

Proofpoint, a cybersecurity firm, issued a report last year detailing efforts by state-sponsored hackers in North Korea, as well as China, Iran and Turkey, to spy on or impersonate mostly U.S.-based journalists.

"These hackers can be sloppy, sending messages with incorrect grammar or misspelled words," Bodnar said. "Google searches could reveal that the reporter they're posing as doesn't exist or uses a different email address. There are basic cybersecurity practices that can help people defend against this threat."

At the State Department on Wednesday, principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said that while he couldn't address the specific events involving the impersonation of New York Times and VOA personnel, "of course the DPRK is known for taking a number of destabilizing and malign steps. This is something we are being vigilant about."

DPRK refers to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.

North Korea "often leverages nation-state malicious cyber actors to generate revenue for the regime while evading sanctions," the U.S. Cyber National Mission Force's Major Katrina Cheesman told VOA. "The DPRK cyber actors do this through a range of illicit means, such as cryptocurrency theft, money-laundering, ransomware and fraudulent activities of DPRK IT workers abroad."

The Kimsuky APT group has most likely been operating since 2012, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It is primarily focused on carrying out financially motivated cybercrime to support the North Korean government, according to intelligence analysts.

During the coronavirus pandemic, attention shifted to pharmaceutical and other health-related companies. Other related activities APT43 is alleged to be involved with include registering web domains meant to look like legitimate websites, including one for Cornell University, an Ivy League school. The group has also used malicious apps to steal usernames and passwords and to generate cryptocurrency.

"APT43 is exceptionally good at convincing its targets," Freas, the Mandiant analyst, said. "We've seen APT43 create email addresses that look similar to news reporters, or analysts at think tanks, and simultaneously spin up fake domains that also look similar to the real news outlet they are spoofing. They'll add these to their email signatures so even if the victim grows suspicious and visits APT43's hosted domain, it has the look and feel of a real news site."

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1st Multi-Domain Task Force Deploys the Army's First Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon System

By 1st Lt. Richard Parlato March 30, 2023

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth predicted "fiscal year 23 will be the year of long-range precision fires." at Breaking Defense in 2021.

In February, the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (1st MDTF) long-range fires battalion, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (5-3 LRFB), deployed the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) system over 3,100 miles from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington to Cape Canaveral, Florida during Thunderbolt Strike, a full rehearsal of expeditionary hypersonic launch capabilities.

The deployment exercised critical command and control linkages between U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Army Pacific, Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO), and 1st MDTF.

Soldiers of the 5-3 LRFB conducted training and practice drills with the LRHW system in Cape Canaveral.

"Our Soldiers processed real missions, with real data, in real time, to produce real effects to learn lessons and generate readiness. We're training the way we will fight, and our Soldiers are ready to deploy and employ this critical capability forward," said Brig. Gen. Bernard Harrington, the 1st MDTF commander.

Thunderbolt Strike marks a new milestone between the 1st MDTF, RCCTO, industry, and numerous Army partners that generated immediate feedback from stakeholders on the complex system.

Col. Ian Humphrey, RCCTO's hypersonic weapon integration project manager, highlighted 1st MDTF's rapid progress in building the technical and procedural capacity to integrate the LRHW system's capabilities into the Defense Department's Joint Force. "This unit is fully trained and has proven that they can be deployed away from home station and go right into whatever mission they're given."

"Thunderbolt Strike proved the power of interagency cooperation to build the multi-domain force of the future," said Harrington. "The second half of the Army's year of long-range precision fires will continue to represent groundbreaking strides toward integrated deterrence in the Pacific."

"Our first battery of Long-Range Hypersonic Weapons is training with their ground equipment at JBLM, and by this fall we will have our first battery of Long-Range Hypersonic Weapons, and that element will be part of our 1st Multi-Domain Task Force," Wormuth said recently in an article in Defense Daily.

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March 30, 2023

Transcript

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds an On-Camera Press Briefing

Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon Press Secretary

BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Good afternoon, everyone. Quite a few items to pass along at the top, so I'd ask you to bear with me, and then I'll be happy to get your questions.

First, on behalf of Secretary Austin and the Department of Defense, I would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the nine U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 101st Airborne Division who sadly lost their lives last night when two Black Hawk helicopters crashed outside of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. According to Army officials, the helicopters were performing planned night-training flight operations at the time of the incident. An aircraft safety team from Fort Rucker, Alabama, will arrive later today and will begin an investigation. And again, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, the units and all those affected by this tragedy. And for additional question, I'd refer you to Army Public Affairs.

Separately, earlier today, Secretary Austin met with his Romanian counterpart, Minister Tilvar, to affirm our enduring bilateral defense relationship. Secretary Austin thanked Romania for hosting thousands of U.S. and allied forces to defend NATO's eastern flank, and for Romania's leadership role in the Black Sea region. The two leaders also saluted the 30-year anniversary of Romania's State Partnership Program with the Alabama National Guard. The secretary looks forward to future meetings and opportunities to work with our Romanian allies. A full readout will be posted to defense.gov later today.

On the training front, since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022, U.S. European Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa and Security Assistance Group Ukraine have trained more than 7,000 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Just this week, 65 Ukrainian air defenders completed Patriot training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and have now arrived back in Europe. They're integrating with other Ukrainian air defenders, along with donated Patriot air defense equipment from the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. Once in Ukraine, the Patriot air defense system will add to Ukraine's layered air defenses to provide protection and shield from Russia's wanton, brutal attacks on innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile in Germany, at the close of this month, more than 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers and two brigades, one equipped with M2 Bradleys and one equipped with Strykers will have completed combined-arms training and have returned to Ukraine. Additional combined-arms training is currently underway at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas in Germany, with two motorized infantry battalions consisting of 1,200 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel. Operator and maintenance training on donated platforms is also ongoing, with more than 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers having completed platform training and 40 different programs of instruction on more than 20 systems since April of 2022. Training for Ukrainian Forces is an international effort being conducted in partnership with our coalition partners, who are currently training more than 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers across 26 different nations. The U.S. will continue to provide training and work closely with our allies and partners to ensure the Ukrainian people have the security assistance they need to defend the country -- their country and repel Russian aggression. We remain committed to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes.

Finally, I'd also like to provide a quick update on where things stand in regards to our recent air strikes against Iranian-backed groups in Syria, as well as the status of our forces who were wounded during attacks by those groups.

First, we now assess that eight militants were killed in our strikes against two IRGC Quds Force facilities near Deir ez-Zor by U.S. Air Force F-15E fighters assigned to U.S. Air Forces Central. Again, these precision strikes were taken to protect and defend U.S. personnel.

Second, the six U.S. personnel wounded in the March 23rd attack against a coalition base near Hasakah in northeastern Syria are all in stable condition. Two of the wounded U.S. service members have already returned to duty. One service member was medically evacuated to Landstuhl to receive treatment and two U.S. service members and the U.S. contractor are receiving medical treatment in Iraq. Separately, the U.S. service member injured in the attack against Mission Support Site Conoco on March 24 is also in stable condition and continues to receive medical care.

As Secretary Austin made clear during his congressional testimony this week, we will take all necessary measures to defend our troops and our interests overseas. To underscore, in response to a pattern of Iranian and Iran-backed attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria and the continuing threat of future such attacks, the United States has taken, and as necessary, will continue to take military action against the IRGC and its affiliates. This includes the use of force against IRGC and IRGC-affiliate personnel and facilities and the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility with the intention to convince the Iranians to de-escalate threats against the United States, our interests and our people. Again, we do not see conflict with Iran, but we will always protect our people.

And with that, I'm happy to take your questions. Go to Associated Press, Lita Baldor.

Q: Thanks, Pat. One quick thing, and then a question. On Syria, you mentioned U.S. forces that are injured, and also insurgents that were injured. Are there -- and killed. Is that eight militants? Is that the total number of militants that U.S. has killed and/or injured by U.S. strikes altogether during that time period?

GEN. RYDER: That's correct.

Q: And then are there any additional U.S. injuries or other -- anything else that's happened, any other strikes that have happened?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah.

Q: And then I have a question.

GEN. RYDER: Sure.

So no -- no additional strikes than the ones that we've announced, and that -- that is correct. We assess that eight militants were killed as a result of those airstrikes.

In addition to the seven injured service members that I highlighted, there were an additional six U.S. service members that have subsequently been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury as a result of the-Iranian backed attacks. Specifically four U.S. service members at the coalition base near Hasakah during the March 23rd attack, and two at Mission Support Site Green Village on the March 24 attack. And as standard procedure, all personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injuries. So these additional injuries were identified during post-attack medical screenings.

Q: And are all the screenings complete?

GEN. RYDER: Those will be ongoing as a matter of standard procedure. So there is always the possibility that there could be additional. But that's where we're at right now.

Q: Okay, then just one quick thing. The White House announced earlier today that Russia has reached out again to North Korea for some additional weapons et cetera, support for the war. Has the Pentagon seen any indication that any other additional weapons or any other military support is either preparing or moving from North Korea to Russia?

GEN. RYDER: We have not at this time, beyond which had been previously announced beyond the shipment that Wagner Group had previously arranged for. But it's, again, something we continue to keep a close eye on.

All right? Let's go ahead and go to Janne and then we'll go to Idrees.

Q: Thank you, General. I have two questions. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has mentioned the review of redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea. What is the Pentagon's position on that?

GEN. RYDER: I'm sorry, Janne, I didn't understand that.

Q: The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has mentioned review of redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons --

GEN. RYDER: Sure.

Q: -- in South Korea.

GEN. RYDER: Well, of course, we'll always continue to work closely with the Congress. Our current policy is the de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. So at this time that will continue to remain our policy.

Q: (And to need ?) a more stronger extended deterrence in South Korea (inaudible)?

(CROSSTALK)

GEN. RYDER: Well, you know, as you know, we are in constant discussion with our South Korean allies and our partners in the region on extended deterrence to ensure that we can deter aggression from countries like North Korea or China. And we'll continue to stay focused on that.

Thank you. Let me go ahead --

(CROSSTALK)

Q: THAAD -- THAAD --

GEN. RYDER: No, let me -- let me go ahead --

Q: THAAD is stationed in South Korea recently started resuming training. How do you view it? And do you have a -- other plans to additional THAAD deployment to Korea?

GEN. RYDER: Yes, I don't have anything to announce right now. Let me go to Idrees.

Q: Just on the TBI that you announced. Are the troops still on the bases or have they been medevaced out? And on the helicopter crash in Kentucky, did you have a sense of the ages -- the range of ages of those who were killed? And are you confident in the aircraft? Are -- are you looking at a potential stand down, the Army, that is?

GEN. RYDER: Sure. So in terms of the troops that were diagnosed with TBI, to my knowledge they are being treated at those bases right now. Although there is the potential, obviously, for additional medical care. So I'd refer you to CENTCOM for the status of that.

In terms of the Black Hawk crash, so right now the Army is going through the process of next of kin notification. So it would be inappropriate at this point to release any additional information. Certainly more will be provided as it becomes available.

In terms of any type of stand down for aircraft, none that I'm tracking at this point. Of course, that's certainly, you know, the prerogative of the Army and -- as it manages its aircraft, but again, I'd refer you to them for the current status. Thank you.

Let me go to Fadi and then Ryo.

Q: Thank you, General. I have one follow-up on -- on Syria and a -- a separate question.

So the eight militants that you have confirmation they died in those strikes, are you able to confirm what group they belong to and whether they are Iranians or not?

GEN. RYDER: So Fadi, what I would tell you is, to my knowledge, not Iranians but these were individuals that are associated with the IRGC.

Q: Okay. And then on -- in the Congress, Congressman Jamaal Bowman is -- is leading an effort calling on the administration to determine -- determine whether any U.S. weapons have been used in -- by Israel to -- in violation of U.S. laws or human rights violations.

So first, does the Secretary have any concerns that U.S. weapons have been -- may have been used in occupied West Bank, in violation of human rights, in light of the recent escalation we saw? And does he support measures to make sure that no U.S. weapons are used to violate the rights of the -- or kill, for that matter, civilians within the Palestinian population? Thank you.

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Fadi. So a couple of things there. So first of all, you know, as it pertains to congressional correspondence, we of course will respond to Congress appropriately. And so I don't want to get ahead of any kind of response.

When it comes to security assistance to Israel, you know, our commitment to Israel's security is ironclad. We will continue to be committed to their qualitative military edge in the region but you've also heard us say, you know, most recently, when Secretary Austin visited Israel, speaking with Israeli leaders and highlighting that our focus continues to remain on communicating with Israel, with the Palestinians and our partners in the region to try to deescalate tensions, restore calm, and we would call for no action that is going to increase the insecurity in the region. Thank you.

Let me go ahead and go to Ryo and then I'll come back over here.

Q: Yeah, thank you very much. The Taiwanese President Tsai is now in New York and China said China might retaliate. So have you -- have you seen any irregular movement of the Chinese military or any indications of -- of the Chinese preparing major exercises around Taiwan over the last few days?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Ryo. So without really getting into intelligence, I would say we have not seen anything particular concerning or out of the ordinary at this stage. We continue to monitor, of course.

Go to (Kelly ?).

Q: Thank you so much, General. It's Brandi from DefenseScoop.

GEN. RYDER: Oh, sorry.

Q: Considering the number of catastrophic military training incidents in the last decade, does Secretary Austin see the need to launch a broader oversight review that should be conducted across all of the services on aviation and other training mishaps that have put lives in danger?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks for the question. I apologize about getting your name wrong there. So a couple of things.

So first of all, in the United States military, we take safety very, very seriously. Each of the services, each aviation unit, down to the unit level, will have a safety branch whose primary role is to do exactly that, maintain constant situational awareness on safety. And so that is something that is baked into our culture and something that we will continue to do.

I'm not aware of a DOD-wide review. Certainly, any time there's an accident, you know, it is incredibly unfortunate and something we take incredibly seriously, and every single investigation is intended to help us learn from that to prevent future accidents from happening. Unfortunately, a lot of what we do is inherently dangerous, and so, you know, this is something that we're always going to constantly be working out. And -- as in the case of the Black Hawk helicopter crash, as you heard me say, there's a team already enroute to Alabama to begin that investigation.

So again, it's something that we, as a department, will always take very, very seriously and we'll just never let up on that.

Q: Before my other question, the team on the way -- associated with OSD or is that strictly an Army team?

GEN. RYDER: That -- my understanding is that's an Army investigative team.

Q: Okay, so no OSD team?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, and that's standard for these types of crashes. So if -- you know, in the Air Force, for example, if it was an Air Force accident, there'd be a team in the Air Force that's assigned to investigate that.

Q: Sure. I'm just thinking of the Navy crash and how a lot of people seem to be dying in training more than combat lately.

So other question, has Secretary Austin been briefed on the auto abort of the SpaceX SDA tranche zero launch this morning? What are his comments? And do you all remain confident in your plans moving forward?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, so the Secretary, as I'm sure you can imagine, is aware of a lot of things. Certainly, you know, has been briefed on that. Just to provide some perspective, not uncommon for space launches to go through a checklist before launch, to make sure that there's no anomalies, given the expense of the payloads and safety and security. So my understanding is that there will be another attempt tomorrow for this launch, and so we'll certainly be keeping an eye on that. Thank you.

We'll go to Liz. Yep.

Q: To follow up on Brandi's question -- so I understand there's no DOD investigation going on with the Black Hawk crash. The investigation that will start as soon as the team arrives, does that have the potential, depending on the findings, to ground other Black Hawk helicopters? Basically what -- depending on what they find, how -- how big of a problem could this be? What does it have the potential to -- to mean?

GEN. RYDER: So -- great question. Again, you know, any commander anywhere has the -- depending on the situation, has the ability to stand down equipment or call for those kinds of things. I don't want get into hypotheticals or get ahead of ourselves. We need to allow time for this investigation.

But it -- for example, any time there is the potential for a fleet of aircraft to have some type of systemic issue, then certainly, again, those fleets can be stood down. You've seen us do that with other types of aircraft in the past.

Again, I'm not aware of anything like that right now for the Black Hawk. We need to allow time for the investigation to run its course. Again, without getting into hypotheticals, during the course of that investigation, were something to become -- were we - to become aware of a need to do that or if there was something that was systemic, then certainly that is a step that could be taken, but again, we need to allow time for this investigation to run its course. Thank you.

Oren?

Q: Just a very quick question on the Ukrainians being trained, the numbers you gave there. The Ukrainians who are currently in training, is there an effort to get that training completed before an anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive? Is that sort of the schedule you're working on? And are there subsequent plans to bring more troops in, following this group on the combined arms training and -- and other systems?

GEN. RYDER: Were you trying to ask me for the date of a Ukrainian counter-offensive? I'm just kidding.

Q: No --

GEN. RYDER: I'm just kidding. Yeah. So -- so a couple of things there.

So first of all, again, I'm not going to talk about potential future operations, I'm not going to talk about timelines. You know, this training -- this program for the combined arms training began in January, and at the time, we announced that -- the course for the -- battalion level courses would take about five weeks each as we cycled forces through. So that is on schedule as these tranches of forces come through to provide that mechanized brigade combined-arms training. That is all on track and on pace.

In terms of additional Ukrainian forces, as has been the case from the beginning, that is a iterative discussion with the Ukrainians in terms of what their needs are, and then you know, keeping in mind that they need to be able to ensure that they have the forces they need on the actual battlefield. So you know, we'll continue to train them, continue to have those discussions on what kind of future training might they need. But in terms as it relates to any type of potential future operations. I'm just not going to be able to talk about that. Thank you.

Carla?

Q: Well, last week, the secretary said that they -- no one, no group could strike the U.S. and U.S. forces with impunity. So can you help us understand why there hasn't been another retaliatory strike in Syria as a result of the three attacks that happened over the weekend, one that injured a U.S. service member? And -- and now, we're hearing -- and caused at least two TBIs. Thank you.

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, so again, you know, we took action. We struck two IRGC Quds Force targets, as I highlighted, and that was proportionate action, and it was deliberate action in order to, again, send a message that -- to your point, that U.S. forces will not be attacked with impunity. And so as I highlighted in my topper, we will continue to take appropriate action at a time and place of our choosing to ensure that our forces are protected.

As it pertains to, you know, potential or speculative future operations, again, I'm not ever going to talk about potential future operations or speculate on those things, other than to say that we mean it when we say it. We will take appropriate action to protect our forces and we will always do so at a time and place of our choosing. Thank you.

We'll go to the back of the room there.

Q: Thank you. Just a follow-up about a visit of the president of Taiwan on Chinese threats. Did the -- did the United States military have to take any precautions, additional precautions because of this visit?

GEN. RYDER: So really, I mean, just again, to put this in a perspective, a president-sized transit of the United States, you know, the Department of Defense, of course, were monitoring that for obvious reasons, but really not -- playing much of a role in that regard. So again, we'll continue to keep an eye on the Indo-Pacific region, and I'll just leave it at that. Thank you very much.

Tony?

Q: A couple questions on classification issues. This week, a new Washington, D.C. organization called the new -- Nonproliferation Policy Education Center issued a very scathing report in over-classification. The Wall Street Journal and Stars & Stripes picked it up, so troops are reading about it. It was pretty critical, and it says here that over-classification -- an over-classification epidemic is killing off our nation's common defense, not protecting it. Can you broadly address that claim?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, so Tony, I don't necessarily want to comment on somebody else's report. When it comes to classification -- and we've talked about this in the past, you know, certainly, as DOD members, we're all required to take training, regular training on the appropriate classification of information, and that's something that we continue to work at and something we know we can continue to do better. As we've talked about in the past, there is an ongoing review, and certainly, when that review (inaudible) but on that, but again, it is something that we are aware of that we need to address and work on.

Q: May -- may I follow up? The review was -- by Secretary Hicks was supposed to be done by, like, January 30th, according to the Appropriations Committee legislation last year. She hasn't -- the Pentagon hasn't sent it over yet. Why the delay? And when might it be completed?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, let me take that question. I'll come back to you.

Q: Okay, thanks.

GEN. RYDER: Thank you.

Q: Feel better.

GEN. RYDER: Thanks. Is it that obvious?

Yes, ma'am?

Q: Thank you for taking my question. My question is related to Ukrainian aid. So last week, Republican lawmakers sent a letter to President Biden urging the administration to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions. So does DOD support using cluster munitions in Ukraine?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, so again, I'm not going to get ahead of any announcements that we're making, so I don't have anything further on that. Thank you.

Go here, and we'll go there.

Q: Christina Anderson. Thank you, General. As Russia assumes the chairmanship of the U.N. Security Council, are we -- is there -- are you tracking any potential for them to use this as an opportunity on the battlefield in Ukraine or elsewhere around the world in some contested areas?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, I am not -- that's probably a question better addressed by the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Again, you know, we've seen in the past Russia attempts to use some of its international positions to, obviously, advocate for its position on things. But from a DOD standpoint, I don't have anything to provide on that.

Q: And a follow-up, if I may? Regarding the helicopter crash in Kentucky, it seems that training incidents are part of the risk of -- that service members must bear as part of the service to the nation. As we go forward in a world that's fairly contested, as it seems it's more contested -- feels more contested every day, can we anticipate perhaps additional risk that the service members must assume in training, or is this something that we hope to mitigate? Thank you.

GEN. RYDER: Yeah. So when it comes to military training, we're always going to try to take into account mitigating some of the risks associated with that training. As I mentioned before, a lot of the training that our service members do is by nature dangerous, right, whether it's live fire exercises, whether it's aircraft training, whether it's, you know, training on ships at sea, there are many dangerous aspects of that. And so writing into training plans efforts to ensure that safety is taken into account, as I mentioned, our safety offices work very diligently every day trying to identify potential hazards in order to mitigate and reduce risks.

That said, that risk will always be there. And so again, this will be one of those things that we're just going to always have to work at and just never be satisfied with. And so we're obviously committed to doing that because at the end of the day, it's about ensuring that we have U.S. service members who are ready to go wherever we need them to go, when we need them to go there to do the important work that we're asking them to do on behalf of our nation. Thank you.

Time for just a couple more. Next -- last question. Yes, ma'am?

Q: Thank you. Yesterday, Secretary Austin agreed that there hadn't been any accountability for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. I'm just wondering if you can clarify that statement. Did he mean be -- it's because -- is -- is it needed, or is there more actions that need to be taken in DOD or somewhere else in the -- the White House, the executive branch to -- to review person's actions? Or, I'm just -- can you expand a little bit more on what -- what he meant with that statement?

GEN. RYDER: I mean, when you say "agree there was no accountability," what do you -- I don't recall him saying that.

Q: He was -- he -- yet he said "I agree that there's no accountability." He said "I agree."

GEN. RYDER: Okay. I think the context here -- you know, in terms of Secretary Austin's view of the situation in Afghanistan and how the withdrawal went -- so first of all, the Secretary was -- you know, his views on the performance of our service members, our men and women during a very chaotic time -- and he felt they performed magnificently under incredibly trying conditions.

You know, obviously, very regretful, in terms of the fact that we lost 13 service members in a suicide attack during that event, but we had a mission to do, it was to withdraw our forces from Afghanistan, and again, despite incredibly chaotic situations, we were able to evacuate more than 124,000 people from that country and we did it in a way that the United States military only could, working very closely with our partners and our allies, again, in a very, very challenging situation.

So again, I think that's the important context to understand here, is that the Secretary is incredibly proud of the way that our men and women performed in a situation that was obviously a very trying and chaotic situation. So thank you.

Thank you very much, everybody. Appreciate it.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3347163/

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March 30, 2023

Release

Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Meeting With Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with his Romanian counterpart Minister of National Defence Angel Tilvar at the Pentagon today to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues. The two leaders condemned Russia's brutal war of choice in Ukraine and affirmed unyielding support to the Ukrainian people. Secretary Austin thanked Romania for hosting thousands of U.S. and Allied forces to bolster and defend NATO's Eastern Flank, and for Romania's leadership role in the Black Sea region.

Secretary Austin and Minister Tilvar shared key priorities ahead of the NATO Summit in July in Vilnius, Lithuania. Secretary Austin applauded Romania's strong commitment to spending 2.5 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on defense, and its ongoing investments in modern, NATO interoperable military equipment.

The two leaders also saluted the 30-year anniversary of Romania's State Partnership Program with the Alabama National Guard  a proud symbol of the strong and enduring bilateral defense relationship.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3347021/

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March 30, 2023

Transcript

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Welcomes Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar to the Pentagon

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III; Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Mr. Minister, welcome to the Pentagon. It's a pleasure to host you here this morning, and after 25 years of our relationship, the U.S.-Romania relationship, and our strategic partnership has never been stronger.

And it's especially important over the past year after Russia's cruel and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Russia's trying to change the borders of a peaceful and sovereign neighboring country by aggression and force. That's a threat to security in the region, and as a direct result of -- on the core principles -- and a direct (editors note: assault) (sic) on the core principles of shared values that make us all safer.

Mr. Minister, we're grateful to Romania for hosting an increased presence of U.S. and allied forces in your country. You know, in 2021, I saw the outstanding relationship between our two militaries firsthand when I visited the M.K. Air Base, and your generous support has bolstered deterrence along NATO's eastern flank.

We're also very grateful to the Romanian people for welcoming more than three million Ukrainian refugees and helping provide them with humanitarian assistance.

Today, I look forward to discussing a range of topics, including Russia's reckless war of choice in Ukraine, security in the Black Sea and the broader region and Romanian's ongoing defense modernization investments. We'll also talk about our priorities ahead of the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July.

And finally, I'd like to salute the 30th anniversary of Romania's state partnership with the Alabama National Guard.

And Mr. Minister, thanks again for making the trip, and I look forward to a great discussion today.

DEFENSE MINISTER ANGEL TILVAR: Thank you, Secretary of Defense. Good morning, everyone.

First, allow me to express my deepest condolences to the families and to the American people on the tragic events in Nashville.

Then I want -- that for us, for me, it is such a distinguished honor to be here today. My visit to the United States comes in a symbolic moment, as you mentioned, as we celebrate 30 years of state partnership program between Romania in the state of Alabama, a key milestone on the pathway to our remarkable strategic partnership, 30 years of excellent cooperation between the Romanian Armed Forces and the National Guard of Alabama.

Few moments in our recent history have been greater transforming and mobilizing force than the launch of the Romanian-U.S. strategic partnership 26 years ago back in 1997. Alongside NATO and E.U. membership, our strategic partnership is one of the main pillars of our national foreign and security policies. Our partnership is more solid and dynamic than ever, especially in these very difficult times when the war of aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine is challenging the future of the entire Euro-Atlantic security, proving once again that Russia is the most significant and direct threat to the European, Euro-Atlantic and regional security.

President Putin hoped to divide us, but he failed. Our response was firm and united. Both E.U. member states and NATO allies, Romania among them, have individually provided support to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war. We also salute the incredible results of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group under the leadership of you. It is a very efficient instrument of coordinating of all our efforts in supporting Ukraine. We commend the U.S. steadfast contribution to consolidating the security in our region and the reinforcing the deterrence and defense posture on NATO's entire eastern flank, especially in the Black Sea region. A stronger U.S. force posture in Europe, adding more air, land, maritime, cyber and space capabilities is much appreciated and needed in this very hard times.

Another proof of U.S. solidarity and commitment to the Black Sea region's security is the robust U.S. military presence in Romania supplemented in 2022 with the 2nd Infantry Combat Brigade Team under the 101st Airborne Division Command. We are looking forward to hosting the 1st Infantry Combat Brigade Team of the 101st Airborne Division and the command elements of the 10th Mountain Division.

Moreover, given today's very complicated security situation in our part of the world, but with great impact on the entire Euro-Atlantic stability, we assess the current U.S. footprint in Europe and that should stand for the new baseline for a permanent U.S. force posture in Europe and in Romania. We have already enough proof that what happens in the Black Sea doesn't stay in the Black Sea, and that's why we consider that the U.S.-European-Euro-Atlantic response will have a decisive role for the future of the rules-based international order and for the credibility of Euro-Atlantic efforts in support of security, stability and prosperity in our and other regions, including the Indo-Pacific, as well as in tackling other global challenges.

We are looking forward to continue all the good work we are doing together, Romania and the United States, for the benefit of our countries. Our strategic partnership is excellent, and we are ready to extend our defense cooperation in order to face all common challenges.

Secretary Austin, you can count on Romania, as we can always rely on United States of America. Thank you.

SEC. AUSTIN: Well, thanks for being here. It's great to have you here.

Thanks, everybody.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3347018/

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March 30, 2023

By Jim Garamone , DOD News

U.S.-Romanian Defense Leaders Discuss Strategic Partnership

The U.S.-Romania strategic partnership has never been stronger or more relevant, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said as he met with Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar at the Pentagon today.

Romania is steadfast NATO ally and one of the frontline states as Russia continues its unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine.

Austin said Russia's invasion is a threat to security in the region. The attack on Ukraine is also an attack on "the core principles and shared values that make us all safer," he said.

In the wake of the Russian invasion, Romania stepped forward to host an increased presence of U.S. and NATO forces. "I saw the outstanding relationship between our two militaries firsthand when I visited, visited [Mihail Kogalniceanu] air base, and your generous support has bolstered deterrence along NATO's eastern flank," the secretary said. "We're also very grateful to the Romanian people for welcoming more than 3 million Ukrainian refugees and helping provide them with humanitarian assistance."

Tilvar said President Vladimir Putin's Russia is the most significant and direct threat to European, Euro-Atlantic and regional security. "President Putin had hoped to divide us, but he failed," the defense minister said. "Our response was firm."

And it remains firm. Romania has been part of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group since the beginning of that forum, and Tilvar complimented Austin on the way he has managed the group. The group "is a very efficient instrument of coordinating of all our efforts in supporting Ukraine," the minister said. "We commend the U.S. steadfast contribution to consolidating the security in our region and reinforcing the deterrence and defense posture for NATO's eastern flank, especially in the Black Sea region."

In addition to the Russian invasion, the two men discussed security in the Black Sea area and Romania's on-going defense modernization program. They also discussed the upcoming NATO summit that will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.

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The President: We must be ready to defend democracy

President of the Republic of Lithuania

March 30, 2023

On Wednesday, President Gitanas Nauseda took part in a virtual Summit for Democracy initiated by the President of the United States, Joe Biden.

Addressing the participants of the Summit, the Head of State stressed that in the face of growing threats and challenges, we must be ready to defend democracy and that every member of the democratic community has this great duty to help each other against the many pressures of autocratic regimes.

"We are used to thinking of democracy in idealized terms. We often describe it as the ultimate political goal. Democracy is good; therefore, we must build and promote it. Democracy must prevail in the end. By mobilizing citizens and empowering them, democracy creates a basis for strong institutions. Inclusion and participation make the state a true common good," the President said.

Gitanas Nauseda underlined that the war launched by Russia is not only aimed at Ukraine's sovereignty and right to national self-determination - it is also an attack against the highest ideals of democracy.

"Despite the greatest efforts by the Russian regime, what we have witnessed in Ukraine is the outstanding ability of a democratic society to withstand external pressures. With the substantial help of a wider international community, Ukraine today is able not only to resist an overwhelming military force, but also to fight for the ultimate victory," the President said.

According to Gitanas Nauseda, democracy is our greatest strength that we must cherish and use wisely. He further underlined that democracy can only be strong if it is inclusive and just and, more importantly, if it is ready and able to defend itself.

The second Democracy Summit, initiated by U.S. President Biden, is attended by over 50 world leaders, international organizations, as well as representatives of the non-governmental sector and civil society. It focuses on strengthening democracy and countering authoritarianism, fighting corruption and safeguarding human rights.

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NATO Deputy Secretary General opens DIANA's European Regional Office, welcomes Managing Director

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

30 Mar. 2023

On Thursday (30 March 2023), NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana and UK Minister for Defence Procurement Alex Chalk opened the first regional office of NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) at the Imperial College London Innovation Hub.

Located in the White City Innovation District, the European office of DIANA, an independent NATO body, is hosted in the United Kingdom in partnership with Estonia and will be supported by a regional hub in Tallinn. A North America regional office will also open in Canada and complement the DIANA structure.

"I am delighted that Imperial College's White City Campus will host the first of DIANA's regional offices, said Mr Geoana at the opening ceremony. "Imperial's Innovation Hub already co-locates major defence contractors, innovators and researchers alongside UK and US government defence innovation accelerators, making it the ideal place to start this exciting new initiative," he added.

During the event, NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges and DIANA's interim Managing Director David Van Weel symbolically passed the baton on to the incoming Managing Director, Professor Deeph Chana (hyperlink to the biographical notes and photo below).

DIANA was launched at the NATO Brussels Summit in 2021. It aims to harness dual-use commercial technologies for defence and security purposes. It will focus on the nine emerging and disruptive technologies of priority to NATO: artificial intelligence, data, autonomy, quantum-enabled technologies, biotechnology, hypersonics, space, novel materials and manufacturing, and energy and propulsion. The first DIANA pilot activities will start in the autumn of 2023.

DIANA's network brings together over 100 deep-tech test centres and start-up accelerators from across the Alliance. It will be complemented by NATO's Innovation Fund, the world's first multi-sovereign venture capital fund, which will invest 1 billion euros over 15 years in start-ups developing or adapting technologies to defence and security.

Dr. Deeph Chana, Managing Director, Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA)

"The inception of NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic could not come at a more appropriate moment. The world - including the global security environment - is evolving rapidly, and the Atlantic Alliance must quickly adapt to keep pace. DIANA will work to foster dual-use innovation eco-systems in Allied countries, and to ensure that NATO is technologically prepared to defend a billion citizens tomorrow and in the years to come."

Professor Deeph Chana joins DIANA as its first Managing Director on 1 April 2023, bringing extensive experience of working with world-leading academia, industry and government in the areas of technology, science and engineering, most recently as Co-Director of the Institute for Security Science and Technology in Imperial College Business School.

For the past three years he chaired the NATO Advisory Group on Emerging and Disruptive Technologies.

Professor Chana is the founder of a STEM consultancy specialising in enterprise technology and critical-infrastructure applications and has been involved in numerous successful commercial technology projects in the private sector.

He previously worked as a senior science and technology official within the UK Government, delivered advice to four Secretaries of State, and served as chairman on numerous high-profile national and international technology working groups.

Professor Chana has established national and international research calls in science and technology and has acted as a board member and bid reviewer for programmes in the Home Office, the US Department of Homeland Security, and the EU's Framework Programme for Research.

He holds MSci and PhD degrees in Physics from King's College London.

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Turkish Parliament Ratifies Finland's NATO Membership Protocol - Deputy Speaker

Sputnik News

20230330

ISTANBUL (Sputnik) - The Grand National Assembly of Turkiye ratified the protocol on Finland's membership in NATO, Deputy Speaker Haydar Akar said. Thus, all NATO members have ratified Finland's accession to the alliance and only a few formal procedures remain.

"For the ratification of the protocol on Finland's accession to NATO - 276 votes, the proposal was accepted. Congratulations to Finland and its citizens," Akar said.

Before Finland officially becomes a member of NATO, an exchange of letters will take place, after which Helsinki's accession documents must be formally submitted to the US State Department, which serves as the alliance's depository under the 1949 NATO Founding Treaty.

On March 23, the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Turkish Parliament considered the ratification of Finland's protocol on NATO membership, adopted it and subsequently submitted it to Parliament for consideration.

Later in the day, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto commented on the ratification of Helsinki's NATO bid by Turkiye and expected Sweden to enter the alliance as fast as possible.

"All 30 NATO members have now ratified Finland's membership. I want to thank every one of them for their trust and support. Finland will be a strong and capable Ally, committed to the security of the Alliance. Finland is now ready to join NATO. We look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible," Niinisto said on his social media account.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted that Finland's accession to the bloc will make NATO "stronger and safer."

"I welcome the vote of the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye to complete the ratification of Finland's accession," Stoltenberg said on his social media account.

On Monday, Finland's membership in NATO was supported by the Hungarian parliament. Turkey was the last of the alliance's members to vote on the issue.

Last May Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO. Turkiye initially blocked the application process, but in June Ankara, Stockholm and Helsinki signed a security memorandum that addressed Turkiye's concerns.

Nevertheless, because of the scandalous burning of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Sweden, Turkiye has said that it is not ready to ratify the accession of Sweden to NATO. Hungary also did not approve Sweden's application at the moment because of interstate disagreements.

 Sputnik

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken Summit for Democracy Closing Remarks

Remarks

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington Convention Center

Washington, D.C.

March 30, 2023

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you, everyone. Good evening. It is my honor now to actually close out the summit, and I want to start by thanking everyone - all the heads of state and representatives from more than a hundred countries, leaders of subnational governments, partners from civil society and the private sector - for joining us, for taking part in the second Summit for Democracy.

And I was really pleased to see as I was coming in Senator Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was heading out. Other members of Congress who participated, we're grateful for that participation.

And a special thank you to our summit co-hosts - Costa Rica, the Netherlands, the Republic of Zambia, and our next summit host, the Republic of Korea. I'd especially like to thank the Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Yongmin Park for joining us from Seoul here today, and for the partnership as the United States prepares to pass the summit baton to Korea.

In his first year in office, President Biden launched the Summit for Democracy out of recognition that democracy is our single most powerful tool for unleashing human potential and delivering for our people. We know that democracies are more inclusive, more equitable, more peaceful, more prosperous; more able to address the issues that matter most in the lives and livelihoods of their populations, whether it's protecting public health, advancing children's education, expanding economic opportunity.

And we know that the pursuit of a stronger, freer, more democratic future is shared by people and governments from big and small countries, North and South, developed and developing.

As President Biden has said, democracy doesn't happen by accident. It requires constant effort, constant tending by each new generation - and by each of us. And indeed, we are at an inflection point when it comes to the future of democracy, where a defining question of this time is whether we are willing to do what it takes to make sure that democracies continue to deliver for their people, continue to thrive.

Throughout this Year of Action, this group has answered that question with a resounding yes. Since the last Summit for Democracy, we have made - and we are delivering on - over 700 commitments that help us defend and strengthen democratic values and institutions.

These commitments include new laws and initiatives to combat corruption - like Ecuador's new National Anti-Corruption Strategy, the Dominican Republic's Non-Conviction Based Asset Forfeiture, and Australia's National Anti-Corruption Commission Act.

Steps to support a free and independent press - including the contributions of France, Slovakia, New Zealand, and the United States to initiatives that help independent news outlets become more financially stable and sustainable, and protect journalists, as well as the abolition of laws, as in Zambia, that could be used to silence government critics.

Governments have taken measures to bolster democratic institutions, including judicial reform in Albania and Angola; to encourage inclusive representation in government, particularly by women, members of the LGBTQI+ community, and other historically marginalized groups.

And many have taken action to protect civic and human rights. The Democratic Republic of Congo passed landmark legislation to recognize indigenous peoples' land and cultural rights. Taiwan lifted barriers to prevent the recognition of transnational same-sex marriage. Nepal passed legislation to punish perpetrators of acid attacks and rape, to name just a few.

These national commitments are significant. They're making a difference, an actual difference, in the lives of millions of people around the world. And as we close this second Summit for Democracy, as we prepare for summits to come, we'll continue to help one another sustain, adapt, and build on our collective efforts.

Because President Biden believes deeply - as do I - that safeguarding our democracies is a collective effort, one that depends on our governments and on our people working together. Because all people, all nations, all sectors have contributions to make. And for sure, none of us has a monopoly on ideas, never mind good ideas.

And that's exactly why we tried to bring such a wide-ranging group of summit participants together to drive progress on shared priorities - from promoting youth engagement in politics, supporting an independent press, securing free and fair elections - and, as we discussed today, shaping the norms around the internet and emerging technologies. And it's why such a major focus of our work leading up to this summit, and in the months that will follow it, is on multilateral efforts - including Democracy Cohorts: innovative platforms that bring governments together with leading civil society and private sector groups.

This shared fight against corruption is just one powerful example of why we need to work together across borders and with partners across our societies. And there has been - and I'm pleased that we've done it - real focus on combating corruption through our Summit for Democracy process.

We know that corruption is a transnational scourge. It discourages investment. It stifles competition. It deepens inequities. And maybe worst of all, it erodes public trust in government and institutions.

Every country, unfortunately, has experience in fighting corruption - experience that we need to be sharing with one another. Over the last 15 months, the United States, together with the Brookings Institution and the Open Government Partnership - which includes 76 countries, 106 local governments, representing more than 2 billion people, and thousands of civil society organizations - we've been leading a new Financial Transparency and Integrity Democracy Cohort to do just that, to come together, to bring our experiences, our knowledge, and our efforts together in combating corruption.

Bringing these diverse perspectives together, the Cohort has worked to study the problem across regions. And it's crafting actual solutions based on lessons learned, based on best practices from member countries. Guidelines put together by the Cohort will help prevent bad actors from shielding illicit activity behind shell companies, stopping corrupt government officials and their cronies from enriching themselves, making sure that gatekeepers of the financial system - lawyers, accountants, investment managers - don't enable money laundering.

This work - this summit - is about looking inward at our democracies: recognizing our challenges, striving to do better by our people.

And in a very profound way, I believe that's what distinguishes democracies: our willingness to confront these challenges - out in the open, transparently; to acknowledge our shortcomings - not to sweep them under the rug, not to pretend they don't exist. That is one of our greatest strengths. It's what we mean in the United States when we commit to the enduring task of forming a more perfect union.

We don't believe that we hold all the solutions - far from it. But we do know that when we join together with our fellow democracies, we make one another stronger, more resilient, more responsive to our citizens, and better able to do what we're here to do, which is to deliver for them - and, I hope, for the world.

So to each of you who are still here hanging in there at the end of the day, thank you. Thank you for your participation. Thank you for your engagement - but not just today, every single day - in doing this work. It matters. It's making a difference, and I can think of no recent time in history when it's been more vital. So thanks to everyone. Have a great evening. (Applause.) Thank you.

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Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Dereck Hogan on the Secretary's Upcoming Travel to Belgium

Special Briefing

Dereck J. Hogan, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary

Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

Office of the Spokesperson

Via Teleconference

March 30, 2023

MR PATEL: Hey, everybody. Good afternoon. Thanks so much for joining us on this trip preview call for the Secretary's trip to Brussels on Monday for the U.S.-EU Energy Dialogue, as well as the NATO foreign ministers ministerial. Joining me today is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Ambassador Dereck Hogan from our Bureau of Europe and Eurasian Affairs[1]. He is - has some remarks that he will share with you, and then we are happy to take some questions. This call is on the record, but it is embargoed until the call's conclusion.

With that, Ambassador Hogan, let me turn it over to you.

AMBASSADOR HOGAN: Thank you so much, Vedant, and good afternoon to you all. Thank you for joining us today.

So last November, the NATO foreign ministerial in Bucharest demonstrated the unfaltering strength, solidarity, and unity of the NATO Alliance. The foreign ministerial in Brussels next week will echo our continuing unity and highlight the Alliance's ability to adapt and endure, while also deterring the ongoing threats that seek to disrupt peace, security, and stability in the whole the Euro-Atlantic area. NATO remains the indispensable transatlantic forum to consult, to coordinate, and to act on matters related to our individual and collective security.

After more than a year of Russia's brutal war of aggression the people of Ukraine remain committed to defending their country and their democracy, and the United States remains committed to supporting Ukraine. So as the war continues, it's important that the United States and our allies and partners remain steadfast in our solidarity with Ukraine because of what is at stake. For the people of Ukraine, it's their lives and their country's continued existence as an independent state on its chosen path of European integration. For the whole world, it's the defense of the UN Charter and the principles that undergird international peace. It's global food security, it's energy security, as well as international financial stability.

So we need to be clear: Russia is the aggressor in this war. Its use of force against Ukraine was in violation of the UN Charter. In addition, members of its forces have engaged in extensive atrocities, including war crimes and crimes against humanity and other abuses on Ukraine's soil that include extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and forcible transfers and deportations of Ukraine's civilians. Russia's forces are the perpetrators of a staggeringly high number of unconscionable abuses on Ukraine's territory.

So Secretary Blinken will travel to Brussels April 3-5 to participate in the NATO foreign ministerial, where he will re-emphasize the United States support for Ukraine and commitment to transatlantic security.

On Tuesday morning, Secretary Blinken will meet with EU High Representative and high - and Vice President Josep Borrell and participate in the U.S.-EU Energy Council meeting. The Secretary will discuss energy - will discuss ensuring energy security while accelerating the clean energy transitions. In the afternoon, Secretary Blinken will meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba and with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg. I expect he will have other bilateral meetings that will be announced as the trip develops.

So this NATO ministerial will have a heavy focus on Ukraine, but ministers will also discuss global threats and challenges, including working with Indo-Pacific partners on the PRC's malign behavior, securing global supply chains, coordinating to protect democracies against emerging disruptive technology, and expanding cooperation with emerging partners in the Global South.

And at the conclusion of the ministerial, the Secretary will have a press availability Thursday[2] afternoon before returning to Washington.

So thank you, and I look forward to answering your questions.

MR PATEL: Great. Grace, could you remind us how folks can ask questions?

OPERATOR: Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question please press 1 then 0 on your telephone keypad. You may withdraw your question at any time by repeating the 1-0 command. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up the handset before pressing the numbers. Once again, if you have a question, press 1 then 0.

MR PATEL: Great. Why don't we start with Missy Ryan of The Washington Post?

QUESTION: Hi, can you hear me?

MR PATEL: Yep, go ahead.

QUESTION: Okay, great. Just one quick question and - well, maybe two if you'll let me. So can you just give any more detail on what we should expect from the energy discussions? Any sort of deliverable or announcement coming out of that? And secondly, could you just help us understand, without violating the confidentiality of the discussions that happen behind closed doors, what Blinken's message will be for countries that are publicly urging the United States to provide additional weapons systems that it hasn't yet provided, like F-16s and longer-range missiles? Thank you.

AMBASSADOR HOGAN: Okay, great. Thanks, Missy. So on the first question, the U.S.-EU Energy Council is our longstanding mechanism for cooperation on energy security and clean energy transition. So this year's council is going to focus on our joint efforts to blunt Russia's attempts to weaponize energy, continued support for Ukraine, bolstering energy supplies for the coming winters, and cooperation to advance the clean energy transition.

And then when it comes to your second question, when it comes to our request, our - our enduring coordination with partners and allies on what we need to be doing to help Ukraine defend its territorial integrity, its sovereignty, and its democracy. We're actually very pleased of where we are to date when it comes to the countries that have stepped up. Almost on a daily basis, you see allies and partners announcing their contributions. I mean, just most recently, Challenger 2 tanks have entered the battlefield. So we're seeing quite a - quite a steady rhythm of countries stepping up.

And so right now, we're already - in terms of our total assistance - at $33 billion, and what we see other donors doing when it comes to assistance and totals - 58 billion just since the war alone, and 24 of that 58 in security assistance. So this is really an opportunity to look ahead because we know as we - as Ukraine as entering this second war, we need to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to be able to mount a successful counteroffensive, and then of course to be able to hold what they do gain. And so this is, I'm sure, going to be part of our discussions.

Thanks.

MR PATEL: Let's next go to the line of Matt Lee with the Associated Press.

QUESTION: Hey, thanks, Vedant and Dereck. I hope you can hear me, yes?

MR PATEL: Yep. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Okay. A couple things - all of them really brief. One, just a logistical thing. You said the press conference is on Thursday. Isn't it on Wednesday?

AMBASSADOR HOGAN: Yeah, Matt, I think you're right on that. It's - I - my apologies here. It's 

QUESTION: Oh, no, no problem. I just wanted to make sure because we have to fly back commercially, so I - it's like - I was going to - (laughter) - do I have to change my flight to Friday? Anyway 

AMBASSADOR HOGAN: Thanks, Matt. Thank you.

QUESTION: On more substantive matters, one, do you expect him to meet with his Turkish counterpart on NATO expansion? Obviously, yes, Finland is going to be in quickly, but there's still an issue with Sweden. And then the last one is just on China - and you mentioned the Indo-Pacific. So I'm just wondering if you guys think that the recent meeting between Xi and Putin in Beijing has accelerated or exacerbated concern among the NATO Allies about the Russia-China nexus? Thanks.

AMBASSADOR HOGAN: Thank you, Matt. So on the second question on Turkiye, yeah, so we're hoping - very much hoping Turkiye's - Turkish parliament - Turkiye's parliament today does the - does a ratification, approves. If not today, then tomorrow. That's what we were understanding. And so we do hope very much in the next whatever number of days that we have Finland in terms of ratification by the remaining country here, Turkiye, that that is done, so Finland's accession being done just in short order. And of course, we both - we want both Hungary as well as Turkiye to move forward with Sweden's accession just as soon as possible. I mean, we are wanting, of course, certainly by Vilnius to have all of this wrapped up, but - if not sooner. So that's what we're going to continue to move on, and that's been the subject of our public as well as private engagements.

When it comes to the Xi-Putin meeting and the implications of that, I mean, clearly we have made it a strong point - and not just we the United States, but a number of our partners and allies - that the PRC's growing, deepening relationship with Russia, particularly when it comes to its support for Russia in Russia's unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine, that's something that we are continuing to speak out against.

And so when it comes to specifically something that we've been focusing on is the PRC providing - potentially providing Russia with lethal assistance, so far that hasn't happened as far as we can tell. But we've been clear with the PRC from the beginning about our concerns of providing such support to Russia and the implications of that. And so we are expecting the PRC not to get more tangibly involved in Russia's war that could lead to more loss of innocent lives and actions against PRC firms involved in such support. Thanks.

MR PATEL: Thanks so much. Next, let's next go to Anton LaGuardia with The Economist.

QUESTION: Thank you very much for doing this. One question is: To what extent is the question of Ukraine's future membership of NATO likely to be a topic of conversation? There's been growing talk about it among experts and some countries in Eastern Europe, pushing for Ukraine to begin to make more progress towards the promise of membership. Thank you.

AMBASSADOR HOGAN: Thank you, Anton, for that question. I mean, when it comes to Ukraine and its relationship with NATO, we have been focusing very much on the practical support that Ukraine needs to be able to defend its territory, to be able to defend its sovereignty and its democracy. And so allies and partners have been doing that in a very robust manner, and we expect our discussions in Brussels next week to go further along those lines. And just in general, we remain steadfast in our commitment to NATO's "open door" policy. And so any Alliance decision is between the 30 Allies and the aspirant country. So as I said before, we are focused on what we can do to support Ukraine's efforts on the ground as they defend their country against Russian aggression rather than a process in Brussels. Thanks.

MR PATEL: Let's next go to the line of Rafal Stanczyk with Polish Television.

QUESTION: Yeah, thank you for taking my question. Actually, I've got two question in one. I'd like to ask you, among the topics to discuss in Brussels, there is also Belarus. Polish Government today suggested to impose sanctions on Belarus. Those sanctions would be also a reaction to Russian information about deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus. So what is the State Department view on this issue?

AMBASSADOR HOGAN: Thanks. So no dedicated discussion on Belarus other than, of course, its complicity in Russia's war in Ukraine there. But when it comes to sanctions, we don't preview our approach there on that. And just to point out, for Belarus, this - what we're seeing here is Lukashenka making irresponsible and provocative choices and, in effect, ceding control of Belarus's security and military institutions to Putin. So we are calling again on the Lukashenka regime to cease its complicity in Russia's war against Ukraine. Thanks.

MR PATEL: And Grace, could you remind us again on instructions on how to ask a question?

OPERATOR: Thank you. As a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please press 1 then 0 at this time.

MR PATEL: Let's go to the line of Leon Bruneau from AFP.

QUESTION: Yeah, hi. Can you hear me?

MR PATEL: Yes. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Yeah, yeah, sorry. Just to follow up on two items. One, on the energy, the question was asked about deliverables and on the meeting with the EU on energy security and - yeah, I didn't hear any deliverables. So are there any? Can you be more specific? And second, on Finland, if everything goes to plan with the votes - we're hearing that Finland could deposit the tools to the Secretary in Brussels at NATO headquarters. I didn't know if that would be done at the same time in Washington. But is there a chance that - is that what your expectation is that we will have Finland in NATO during the meeting, at the foreign ministers' meeting?

AMBASSADOR HOGAN: Thank you. So on the first question, I mean, I don't want to get ahead of what we are going to be trying to work out there in Brussels in this U.S.-EU Energy Council. But we are going to be very much focusing on, first of all, when it comes to the European energy security picture, working on energy efficiency, working on energy diversification, as well as working on energy transition. We've had a number of discussions with our EU colleagues over the past year on this topic, and so we'll have an opportunity to go a bit deeper on that.

And then when it comes to the Ukraine piece, we - both the EU as well as the United States have contributed significantly to keeping Ukraine's energy grid as resilient as possible. So what additional steps we need to take in the coming months is something that we will focus on quite a bit.

Now, when it comes to the process of - for finalizing Finland's accession and - so what we - what it will be is that the United States is a depository country for the Washington treaty. So Turkiye and Hungary will deposit their instruments, ratifications, with the U.S. Government. And then the United States will inform the NATO secretary general that all 30 NATO Allies have deposited their instruments for Finland to join NATO, and the secretary general would issue a formal invitation to Finland to accede to the Washington treaty.

So the timeline for that, not able to get into right now, in part because of what I just mentioned; we're not there yet. Turkiye still has to ratify the accession protocols in parliament. So we're working through that, but clearly we want to have Finland and then of course Sweden fully on board as members just as soon as possible. Thanks.

MR PATEL: All right. Thanks so much, everybody, for joining today. Really appreciate it. Again, this call was on the record but embargoed until the call's conclusion, which will be momentarily. Looking forward to talking to you all very soon.

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken At a Session On "Advancing Democracy and Internet Freedom in a Digital Age" Summit for Democracy

Remarks

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington Convention Center

Washington, D.C.

March 30, 2023

MS MESERVE: Thank you, Secretary Blinken. To build a more rights-respecting future, it's clear that democracies need to define an affirmative vision for how technology can promote democracy. Our first session, Advancing Democracy and Internet Freedom in a Digital Age, will help us think through how we might craft a world in which technology and democracy are mutually reinforcing.

We're joined today by three speakers; let me introduce them now. Jorge Arguello is ambassador of Argentina to the United States. Nighat Dad - (applause) - Nighat Dad is executive director of Digital Rights Foundation. And Funke Opeke is CEO and founder of Main One. And I will now give the floor - (applause) - back to our moderator for this session, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you, Jeanne. So this is what I really like, because I actually get to ask the questions for once. And we have a great group of colleagues to hear from, to listen to, and to learn from. So I'm really thrilled to be able to join each of you today and to, I think, focus on a few things. I think we all recognize that democracies have to make an affirmative case for how societies can leverage technology to actually advance, to make progress, and, as we were talking about just few minutes ago, to actually try to deliver positive results for our people. And I think we also recognize that the same human rights that we are so engaged in defending offline have to be also respected online, and this is one of the big challenges of our time. We have to have an internet, we have to have a digital ecosystem that respects and protects those rights, and each of you in different ways is engaged in that.

So a few things that I wanted to try to put on the table and invite our colleagues to talk about. First of all, my friend Ambassador Arguello - Argentina is a member of the Freedom Online Coalition. We're very proud to chair this effort, and many in this room are members. As you're looking at it from Argentina's perspective, tell us a little bit about how you see Argentina working to advance internet freedom and to protect the space that we all have to share.

AMBASSADOR Arguello: Perfect. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Antony. Good morning to everyone here. First and foremost, I would like to stress that our country's highly honored to be part of this important event, as well as to be part of the second Summit for Democracy and endorse its final declaration. As you all know - and you probably know or you may know - our President Alberto Fernandez, the president of Argentina, was in Washington, D.C., yesterday in order to have a bilateral meeting with President Biden, which was held yesterday at the White House. Our Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero was part of the presidential delegation. He received the invitation to participate in this panel as a speaker. Unfortunately, he was called away for last-minute business and he is now in Buenos Aires for what he asked me to convey: his deepest apologies to you all.

But let me now turn to the topic that gathers us today. Information and communication technologies are in process of constant progress and have become fundamental tools that improve productivity for development, both economically and socially, fostering greater participation of societies and allowing better access to knowledge while promoting the strengthening of education in our countries. Likewise, and from the point of view of government interaction with citizens within the framework of truly democratic societies, these technologies have enhanced the capacity to provide quality, agile services with greater transparency, open communications, and greater participation. In this sense, increasing access to these technologies while strengthening connectivity and achieving the universalization of ICT services is a clear priority that allows us to avoid digital exclusion and reduce inequality - and reduce inequality.

Therefore, aspiring to a knowledge society cannot be dissociated from the achievement of the highest possible levels of social inclusion. The achievement of one will not be fair or democratic if it is not built on the basis of the other. The adoption and implementation of technologies are still a challenge for many countries because, while some technologies make leaps of great magnitudes, certain technologies, groups, industries, sectors, workers go at a different pace and require a different policy approach. We must look closely at the different divides - gender, rural, industrial systems, security systems - and analyze together, with the private sector and civil society, which are the best policies to address those gaps.

In Argentina, ARSAT, the state-owned telecommunications company which operates the federal fiber optic network, plays a key role in connecting the unconnected, reaching the demand of small- and medium-sized companies, cooperatives, and rural areas. ARSAT, the company, was present some weeks ago here in D.C. for the SATELLITE Conference and had many meetings with U.S. Government and companies to enhance cooperation in telecommunication and data centers. Also, it is important to highlight that in Argentina, fundamental human rights are protected by a solid legal framework guaranteed by our national constitution and in international treaties that have a constitutional hierarchy. The exercise of the rights of freedom of expression and association and the right to privacy is protected and guaranteed in the virtual and real world by the three branches of government.

Bearing this in mind, I would like to share with you some important milestones of our laws and policies regarding the ICTs.

Argentina has a law which states that - and I'm going to read - the search, reception, and dissemination of information and ideas of all kinds through the internet service is considered to be included within the constitutional guarantee that protects freedom of expression. Another law guarantees the complete neutrality of networks in all telecommunications services and ICT developments.

Now, due to the boost we provide to the ICT sector, knowledge-based services represent the fourth - the fourth largest export complex in Argentina, and the development of Argentine technology companies with high levels of competitiveness is on the rise. We have also adopted a new knowledge economy law which broadens and deepens incentives into the sector. Likewise, under the firm conviction that certain vulnerable groups deserve special protection, in 2020 we sanctioned a law which creates a national program for the prevention and awareness of grooming or cyber bullying against children and adolescents, a crime that was also incorporated to our national criminal code.

On the other hand, regarding hate speech and its dissemination, it is worth mentioning that such crime is contemplated. As an open, multicultural, and multireligious society, in Argentina we strongly believe in our duty to work for an internet free of hate speech. Our rejection of online terrorism is clear and resounding. Argentina adhered to the Christchurch Call in September 2019. The call focuses on the delicate and sensitive balance between security considerations and freedom of expression and data privacy. Argentina has participated in many areas regarding the right of freedom of expression in digital context. We have adhered to a number of international instances, such as the Information and Democracy Forum or the Declaration for the Future of the Internet. Likewise, since June 2016, Argentina has been a member of the Freedom Online Coalition, and we are very proud to work in that sense.

In that regard, we wish the U.S. every success in its new chairmanship and reiterate our willingness to work together constructively. The Argentine Republic plays an active role in international and regional forums on issues related to human rights in the digital environment.

Finally, Antony, and before giving back the floor to you, I would like to reaffirm our country's deep commitment to the development of information and communication technologies as fundamental tools for the empowerment of our peoples, with free access, without exclusion, which allows a true strengthening of societies, helping education and culture and access to information, as well as a better economic development. We - government along with the private sector along with the civil society - must tirelessly work together to make this happen.

Thank you very much, Secretary.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Ambassador, thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you for sharing that with all of us.

Let's talk a little bit about digital inclusion. So, Ms. Dad, you are working to do exactly that: to try to make sure that women and girls, other marginalized communities are able to access technology and use it to thrive. So what I want to focus on here is your own experience through civil society in advancing rights and inclusion in the digital ecosystem.

MS DAD: Firstly, it's a pleasure to share this panel with esteemed panelists. As a civil society in past few years, we have had a front-row seat in seeing the role of digital technologies and internet in both advancing democracies and undermining institutions integral to a free democratic space. And holding these two realities together is important as we truly want to present a holistic picture of the role that technologies play in our democracies.

These two binaries also come as no surprise to me, having worked with young women and girls in Pakistan regarding their access to technologies and internet, which can be both as a liberating space in their lives but also abuse and violence not only online but offline as well. So it's really important that when we all are talking about digital rights, we center the experiences of marginalized groups - young women and girls, female journalists, women human rights defenders, activists - when we talk about democracy in the digital age, because these experiences have a lot to teach us. And when it comes to technologies and digital spaces, there are two very main stakeholders who are dominating this space. One is governments around the world and the second is tech companies, platforms.

On one hand we have governments scrambling to acquire technologies and pass laws that would allow them to control the internet and dominate the pervasive narratives in these spaces. The loss of control over the information we consume and who gets to speak has been troubling for governments with long histories of interrupted and weak democratic rule. Even in countries where rule of law is strong, we - what we have seen is that they also struggle to come up with really good regulations, the regulations that respect international human rights framework.

And on the other hand, we have powerful platforms dominating this space with so much space, profit margins, power to control content and our data, and often we have seen that - in my experience, the decade-long work, that we have seen that they are mostly unaccountable towards their - towards the governments but also mainly towards the users who should be the center of the conversation in these spaces.

And this sort of throws up fundamental question about democracy: Do we want powerful tech companies to decide our democratic future? And while we are looking into these questions about governments and powerful companies, I think it's important to talk about solutions also, and there is this one solution which is self-regulatory model. It's an independent - Meta's Oversight Board that the company came up with a solution to hold itself accountable.

But the question is: Are they holding themself accountable independently and transparently? And the answer is that just this model that came up three years ago, where the people who are actually making decisions around content moderation of this platform are from diverse background. I sit on the board. I am from global majority. English is not my first language. I bring experiences of the marginalized groups not only from Pakistan but South Asia. But then telling companies sitting on this board that the decision that you are making are not truly democratic, are not following international human rights framework, and then come up with solution to tell them what they can do in these situations. And how we are making ourselves transparent is that - actually releasing our reports, the progress that we have made, the progress that the company has made so far. So I think these are the regulatory models I feel are so important to hold these companies accountable.

And if I talk about my own personal experience as Digital Rights Foundation head in Pakistan, I feel that the global majority is actually at the end of - at the receiving end the decisions that the Global North, not only governments but the tech platforms, make. And there is very little say of the users, especially from Global South or global majority. There are such initiatives, local initiatives - if you look around, there are so many civil society organizations around the world who have been working on digital rights for such a long time. They have come up with local solutions. They have been part of international debates. But I think - and we'll speak about this later in the panel conversation as well - that these local solutions need to be taken into account in the global conversations. We cannot really come up with a top-down approach. I think we really need to see what people are locally doing, how they are contextualizing this issue, how they are holding their governments accountable who are coming up with bad regulations and laws while preserving speech in the online space, at the same time holding people in the Global North accountable, that what they are deciding can set bad precedents for the authoritarian regimes as well.

Thank you so much.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. (Applause.) I think particularly the last point that you were making about the need to look to local solutions, to look to local ideas, to do this from the bottom up and the middle out not just the top down, is going to be vital to success and ultimately to having sustainable ways of doing things, because if people are not bought in, they will opt out one way or the other. So appreciate that very much.

Accessibility. Ms. Opeke, tell us about how you are looking at this in the work that you're doing in Africa, and particularly operationalizing accessibility. We talked about this a little bit earlier, but we always run the risk with new technologies of having totally bifurcated worlds and those who have access to them, those who don't. And this is a vital part of your mission. Tell us how you're seeing it.

MS OPEKE: Thank you, Secretary Blinken, and truly is an honor to be part of this distinguished panel. As you mentioned, Main One, which is a company that I run, was founded in 2008 to address the digital divide in Africa. It was informed - the vision was informed at that time with the reality that internet access was only a 10 percent penetration rate when the rest of the world was at 50 percent. Today we have 70 percent global internet penetration, but most of the African continent is at 50 percent or below.

And so we set out to try to close that gap with a focus on West Africa. Now, how were we able to do that? Nigeria, which is the company that - country that I am from, had returned to democratic rule in 1999, and coming in 2001 on the heels of that was a liberalization of the telecommunications sector, which enabled private sector companies to deploy telecoms infrastructure for the first time to deliver to citizens. And so coming on the heels of that, we were able to obtain licenses in Nigeria and Ghana, the first private licenses for open access submarine cables to connect West Africa to the rest of the world through Europe. Doing that, building that 7,000 kilometer cable, which initially served two countries in West Africa but is delivering a mix of services to 11 countries today, is part of what has enabled that growth in access to 50 percent.

So what really are the building blocks on which we did that, first, was the liberalization. And it is worth noting that not all African countries today have liberalized their telecommunications laws, which says in the - that the shortage of resources and the large infrastructure deficits that a lot of these countries face, they're not able to accelerate digital transformation of the economies because they're not enabling private capital to come in. The next step of our journey, of course, was private capital. And the African Development Bank was a key anchor, so having the kind of patient, more risk, higher-risk appetite capital to come into this market; obviously, skills; and then access to technology, where we had an American company with a depth of experience and capacity deploy the network for us.

So what do we see today is that the work is not done yet. And of course, as you go further down the pyramid and try to enable access and more inclusion, it does get more challenging. The word is...what we have to do in these economics is to truly grow the market. Because the value chain, in terms of realizing the return from investment in digital infrastructure, is simply not as mature as what you have in the advanced economies. So there is a lot of partnering. There is a need for patient capital to consider the affordability and also consider the provision of other elements in the value chain. Which is places like Lagos, Nigeria or Cape Town, South Africa or Nairobi, Kenya on the African continent your starting to see today. But there's still a lot more to be done.

The obvious returns are, there are successful companies of scale delivering the services on the African continent, so it proves that it can be done; and that delivering such infrastructure is also providing dividends for democracy, because as you have greater shared prosperity, job creation, financial inclusion, access to services, people are able to drive better outcomes, they're able to reduce unemployment rates for more people to work.

Africa, when you think of it, with 50 percent internet penetration of a population of 1.4 billion, that's about 700 million people. The average age on the continent is 19, who do not have access and constitute the workforce of tomorrow. So getting the access to those who have currently been excluded so they can form part of this fabric we are building is really critical. And that's - building the partnership to enable that is, I think, going to be critical to get there.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I really want to underscore the point that you made about this not being a favor that one group of countries may be doing for another. It's profoundly in everyone's interests. And in the case of Africa, as you point out, the next 20 years we'll have one in four people on this planet being from and of Africa, so bridging these divides is going to be hugely important.

I want to come back to one thing that you mentioned, then maybe we can go a little deeper on some of the things that people have already touched on. You mentioned the importance of private capital.

MS OPEKE: Yes.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: And of course, that's exactly right. And most of our governments, most of our systems, can't simply dedicate and direct state resources to some of these challenges. What we can do, what our comparative advantage is, is in catalyzing and leveraging private sector investment.

Based on this experience, though, what do you see - and you've touched on it a little bit - as some of the impediments to that? And then, are there any thoughts that you have about how that can be facilitated? You mentioned the need to actually make markets. I'm hopeful, for example, that as the free trade area in Africa actually emerges and we get beyond this abnormal situation where African countries trade more with countries outside of Africa than they do with themselves, that will also help create markets that attract investment in an easier way. But are there other things that come to mind based on your experience?

MS OPEKE: Yes, understood about governments not being able to write checks, open checks to drive private infrastructure investment in developing countries. However, for the funds that have been identified, I believe helping to create the frameworks, a lot of these lesser developed economies do not have strong institutions. One of the areas where progress can be made and impacts can be driven is helping to strengthen the frameworks, helping to strengthen the work of institutions that are set up to establish and guide those examples. And I really think that's where the most impact can be made.

As you mentioned also with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, implementation has not kept pace with expectations that were set a few years ago when the free trades agreement went into effect. So what can be done and based on the U.S. experience in setting up and working with such agreements to actually facilitate implementation and impact? I believe that's probably where the most impact can be had for the kind of checks that can be written by the U.S. Government.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. So we have an expression: "I'm from the federal government; I'm here to help." (Laughter.) So I'm from the federal government; I'm here to help.

From the perspective of civil society, what can governments be doing better, more effectively, to make sure that we're advancing inclusion, that we're making sure that in particularly underserved people, community groups, have the benefit of accessibility and also are not finding themselves in the situation where these tools and this technology is actually being used against them?

MS DAD: I think for that, there has been a lot of conversation around including civil society in these conversations. I think, first and foremost, is we need to really see who are the people from civil society in these conversations. Are these only people from Western democracy and Global North? And if civil society from global majority is not part of this conversation, then why not? And I think that leads us to the conversation where civil society is being - the civic space has been eroded very slowly, very gradually, and no one even felt that. And I think what Western democracies who are setting good precedents, they can also hold those governments accountable, that why this is happening, why these civil - civil society cannot participate in these conversations if they are not truly liberated.

And I think the second point is are they - do they have resources to do that? I think empowering them, not only making them included in these conversations but also do they have money to do that. And I think while I'm saying these resources, I have seen people doing a lot of labor in these countries for - labor towards these companies, telling them what are the gaps that they have so that they can make these online spaces safer for their own communities, and telling government that the laws that they are making are problematic. So it's free labor; it's a thankless job. And I think what governments like U.S. can do is actually help empowering civil society, not only in their own jurisdiction but around the world, and hold other governments accountable what exactly they are doing to keep these space safer and freer for civil society.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. (Applause.)

Ambassador, any thoughts from the perspective of your country, your government, both on these questions of inclusion and these questions of accessibility?

AMBASSADOR Arguello: Yeah. Well, first of all, I would like to stress the importance of the battle we are facing, and allow me to congratulate you for calling for this gathering. For me, it's very important to share the floor with my Nigerian and Pakistani friend. They do a very important work in their countries from the civil society. And something - what we must having clear is that they there must be an alliance between the government, the civil society, and the private sector. Otherwise we - it will not fly. And what we are trying to do is precisely - is to have it flying.

In the case of our country, we are working with different international initiatives. I wrote here the information for Democracy Forum - we have been working together in that sense - the Declaration for the Future of the Internet and the Freedom for - Online Coalition. These are our main activities we develop in the international field. And I would like to stress something that Funke just said: The work is not done yet. The battle is starting. Our democracy - the national democracy, the international democracy, the freedom is at stake. So we must take - be part of this discussion. Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you very much. I'm cognizant of time - I want to make sure that we get some other people in on this conversation. So we have a number of - probably 600 experts in this audience today, but we can't hear from everyone. But there are a few people I'd like to call on just to get perspectives and also any questions that you have for our wonderful panelists.

So Amalia Toledo from the Wikimedia Foundation, who's working on technology's impacts on human rights. Amalia, are you here?

QUESTION: Thank you to the panel. My question is (inaudible) digitalization happening across government - how can they ensure that tech companies are respecting the human rights of individuals?

AMBASSADOR Arguello: Okay. If I may, I think that's a very important question because - and it needs a clear answer. There is only one way to guarantee that, and it's the development of a strong legal framework. So I want to reiterate there is an alliance to be - to put on the table between the government, the civil society, and the private sector. Otherwise, we won't be able to protect the right of freedom of expression, both, as you said, Antony, online and offline. So I think that that's our main target to play.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Other thoughts on this?

MS DAD: Yeah, I mean, yes, governments are powerful, and they are already bringing lot of regulations and laws to hold companies accountable. But I think it's important that we look into other mechanisms where these platforms find themselves accountable as well. And one initiative I have already mentioned, like independent oversight body, which is truly independent, and which is also transparent.

But I would also like to be very cautious towards giving an only solution, like regulatory framework and laws, because it really doesn't work for everyone around the world. There are regulations and laws that we have seen that were made in the name of protecting young women and girls in the online space, cyber harassment, abuse, hate speech, disinformation, but those laws have been weaponized against the very same people. So I think we really need to see how those laws are being made, whether the governments are following international human rights framework, whether civil society is part of those conversations while these laws are being drafted and then implemented, and whether the judges are actually trained to develop good jurisprudence.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. (Applause.)

Next from our audience, Frane Maroevic from the International Press Institute, who's working on advancing press freedoms around the world.

QUESTION: Thank you very much, excellencies and ladies and gentlemen. I'll be interested, as digitalization is happening across governments and different departments are working, how can you ensure that it's all coordinated around the human rights agenda, that the human rights is at the focus of the work of each government department as they work on digitalization and promoting media freedom? Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good question. Anyone want to jump in?

MS DAD: Well, maybe that's for you, Secretary. (Laughter.)

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I was afraid you were going to say that. No, it's a hugely important question, and it goes to the work that we're trying to do to make sure that questions, obligations, responsibilities when it comes to human rights are infused in pretty much everything we do, including in places in our own department that might not naturally take that perspective into account when they're trying to formulate policy or advance policy.

So one of the challenges, I think, for particularly our organizations in government is to make sure that we're working horizontally as much as possible, because virtually everything we're talking about today connects to the equities of seven, eight, 10, 12 different offices in my own department, and it's the same, I'm sure, for the ambassador and other colleagues in government.

So one of the things that we've made a real effort to do is to make sure that in each of our bureaus, both from a geographic perspective but also a functional perspective - the human rights perspective and dimension is included in the deliberations. At the same time, we've tried to bring together in the State Department, under one roof, all of these questions, to include the human rights dimension of technology in a new bureau that we stood up for Cyberspace and Digital Policy as well as for emerging technologies.

So partly this is a question of making sure that the direction, the responsibility to do that is clearly communicated, but it's also about setting up the mechanisms within government to make sure that that voice, that perspective is being included - and we've tried to organize ourselves to do that.

I don't know if you've had a similar experience.

AMBASSADOR ARGUELLO: Yes, I do. I agree with what you have said. I would add that our target, what we are pursuing when we talk about human rights, is a key word. We are trying to guarantee access. We are - for everybody, for everyone all over the world. We are trying to guarantee a true democratization of knowledge. That's human rights.

And allow me to celebrate a decision made by the Biden administration. Argentina has a very firm stand in the human rights field, probably because of our own terrible experience during the last dictatorships in the '70s, but I said the international community is still celebrating the return of the U.S. to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations. We are working together. We are coordinating every action, not only between us but with all the members of the committee - the commission. But I think that is very important, and that will allow us to contribute to guarantee that everybody in - can engage in this public discussion.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Please.

MS OPEKE: I would like to speak from the standpoint of weaker democracies who - which governments are not necessarily inclined to protect human rights. And in such economies or such countries, what we're finding is access in and of itself starts providing citizens with a voice and a means of easier, faster information dissemination to call attention to the issues and actually push for their rights to be protected. So taking another - yes, there are governments that are working actively to promote human rights, but there are also governments who want to silence those dissenting voices, and the more access is enabled and is free and affordable, the more we're able to have those dissenting voices speak up.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Yeah, it's a very powerful point. I'll give you one other example, Frane, because you're working on press freedom every single day. One of the things we see from autocratic governance is an effort basically to use lawfare to silence journalists who are just doing their jobs. At this very summit a year ago, one of the initiatives that came out of it was standing up a fund to - that journalists, media enterprises, particularly small, independent media that usually doesn't have the resources - a fund that they can tap into if they're on the receiving end of bogus legal proceedings that are trying in effect to drive them out of business. That's just one initiative among many as we look at what is being done and how technology is being used or misused to try to silence voices, whether it's from media or from civil society or human rights defenders. We're also looking at what tools can we provide to help them more effectively defend themselves, and that's just one example.

John Morris from the Internet Society, working on expanding internet access and freedom.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. At the Internet Society, we believe that the internet, the globally - the open, globally connected, secure, and trustworthy internet is a tremendous enabler of democracy, but increasingly decisions in government - by governments in democratic countries and non-democratic countries are threatening the internet's operations and its global nature. So my question is: How can we ensure that governments proactively assess the potential harmful impact on the internet from their policy proposals so that we don't inadvertently undermine both global speech, global internet access, and democracy worldwide?

AMBASSADOR ARGUELLO: I think we should stress the importance of the civil society. You have invited three of us; two of them come from the civil society, NGOs. And that's very important, because it's true that not every government works in this direction. Some governments do exactly the contrary. So the multilateral fora, the civil - the organizations from the civil society are called to play a key role in this issue.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Yeah, I couldn't agree more with that. I think it's imperative on us in government in particular to make sure that we have all of the different stakeholders in on the takeoff, not just on the landing, precisely because we need to make sure that we're factoring in these different perspectives, precisely because there are inevitably - to your point - second- and third-order consequences that we may not see because we're coming at it from one perspective that we need to be able to identify upfront before it's too late, and we actually have an effect that is not the one that we wanted to have.

And it goes to a point I was making earlier when I was speaking, and I've found this over 30 years in government, particularly when it comes to technology. The pace with which it's moving is so fast and the relative lack of expertise in government is such that we're constantly playing catch-up, and just understanding - never mind trying to figure out what is the appropriate rule, norm, regulation that actually makes sense, doesn't have second- and third-order consequences that we don't like, that somehow balances the different equities that are in play.

I think one of the answers to this for me, besides making sure that the stakeholders are at the table from the takeoff, is actually to make sure that in government itself we have more of this expertise and that it's not only, as important as that is, so-called outside stakeholders that are involved, but within our own institutions we have people who have come up in these disciplines, who bring that perspective to bear, and can make a huge difference in making - helping us to make policy.

One of the things that struck me some years ago in government was so much of what we do actually has a technological or innovative solution as part, at least, of the answer, what we're doing. But so many of us again are not coming up in these disciplines, and we need technologists, innovators, civil society, and others in the room, sometimes even just to tell us whether we need technologists, innovators, and civil societies in the room because, again, it's identifying a problem from the outset that we may not see.

So I think it just goes to this point that both of us are making, that unless everyone with an equity, a perspective, an experience on these questions is in on the takeoff, we're probably not going to have a smooth landing.

So we have a few minutes left. One of the things that I know bedevils all of us in different ways is how we think about dealing with disinformation and misinformation that's in our ecosystems, and to do it in a way that is protective of speech, not destructive of it, and to do it in a way, again, that uses - truth has now become a subjective word so I hate to use it - but that brings truth to bear.

I'm just wondering, from each of your perspectives, if this is something that you've had to grapple with, to think about, and whether there are any ideas that you want to surface today in helping us think about it. Just throwing that out there.

AMBASSADOR ARGUELLO: We need a growing, transparent public discussion. This is the way we should follow to pursue the target. I want to share something with you. In Argentina, we are doing an experiment, an electoral experiment. We have called - I have mentioned government, civil society, private sector. We have called Facebook and Twitter. And there is a public agreement between the government, the political parties, and these two companies related to the electoral debate in Argentina, for example. That's - what is the idea?

The idea is to guarantee transparency in the discussion, the possibility of having everyone on board, every sector on board, and particularly, I would like to stress, to guarantee a real public debate where everyone has the chance to participate. I think that's a - might be a new - in my country it's going to be a new tool that will provide a better solution - situation, sorry.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you.

MS DAD: Yeah. I think that more conversation is needed. Education, awareness raising among stakeholders, government officials, judiciary. But at the same time, I think keeping an eye that there's always this tendency from the powerful actors to criminalize this kind of speech, and I think we have to be very, very careful, if governments are making these decisions, how civil society can be part of those conversation.

And I believe that more speech is an answer and not banning the speech. And just want to mention one initiative that I'm also part of is, because misinformation and disinformation has harmed women and girls online, female journalists. It has increased gender - online gender-based violence. And this global partnership on - to address tech-facilitated violence which, again, U.S. Government is taking the leading role and other governments are part of it - I think these are the kind of initiatives that we need more.

And also like-minded governments are part of such kind of partnerships. We need to see how we can bring those governments which are not like-minded and how they are becoming part of these conversation. I think that that's much needed.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you.

MR OPEKE: Well, I think what you have are that the most powerful and motivated and the authoritarian voices then try to crowd people out and feed a lot of this misinformation. So I also agree that more conversation is required, but more - the broadening of access so that the advantage some of these people have in weaponizing, in being the loudest and the - sometimes the only voices or the strongest voices in the room, can be crowded out by broader sections of society.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good. Please.

MS DAD: Secretary, can I just - like just one last thing. I really want to commend the executive order that has been issued by the President Biden to ban spyware which violates human rights. And I would like to acknowledge that civil society has been doing a lot of work for years around this issue. And I think you guys have set a really good precedent for other governments, and we would like to see this kind of decision coming from other Western democracies and then hopefully from other regimes as well. Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, you just heard it, so thank you. (Applause.)

We are predictably out of time. I just want to see if anyone has any last things that they want to say, put on the table, that they didn't get a chance to say. Ambassador, anything?

AMBASSADOR ARGUELLO: I just want to thank you again. This is the way. This is the direction we should work on. So I want you to know that we will try to reproduce this scenario in our country following what you're doing here today. Thank you very much.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. Anything?

MS DAD: I just want to say empower civil society. Give them resources. Make them part of these conversations in proper spirit. And I think that's it.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good way to conclude. Thank you all very much. Thank you. (Applause.)

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F-35s arrive at Kadena AB to maintain advanced fighter presence

Published March 30, 2023

By Staff Sgt. Juan Torres Chardon

18th Wing Public Affairs

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) -- F-35A Lightning IIs from the 355th Fighter Squadron, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, arrived at Kadena Air Base, March 28, to ensure continuous fighter presence through the phased return of Kadena AB's fleet of F-15C/D Eagles to the United States.

While deployed to the Keystone of the Pacific, the F-35s will work in conjunction with other fighter units at Kadena AB to ensure continued steady-state fighter capabilities in the region.

Together the diverse array of fighters, alongside joint and allied forces strengthen operational readiness to defend Japan while ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific through a robust presence of dynamic fighter aircraft.

"This is the squadron's first deployment since reaching full operating capability in February of 2023," said Lt. Col. Michael Mickus, 355th FS commander. "Operating from Kadena offers the Falcon ops and maintenance an important opportunity to hone our skills and processes to execute efficiently and effectively in a sustained deployment environment while working alongside the joint force and our allies."

During the deployment, Mickus said the F-35 squadron plans to rotate personnel and equipment to multiple operating locations in order to support the Theater Joint Force Air Component Commander and the 18th Wing while maintaining readiness for the high-end fight.

The F-35A is the U.S. Air Force's latest fifth-generation fighter. It is an agile, versatile, high-performance, 9-G-capable multirole fighter that combines stealth, sensor fusion and unprecedented situational awareness.

This reception of newer, more advanced aircraft at Kadena AB ensures the 18th Wing remains postured to deliver lethal and credible airpower to ensure the defense of U.S. allies and a free and open Indo-Pacific.

"Training in the Indo-Pacific region is a valuable opportunity for deployed units," said Col. Henry Schantz, 18th Operations Group commander. "The units bring their own distinct skill sets and experiences from around the globe to hone their skill to address pacing threats while bolstering alliances."

Over the coming weeks, fighters and associated Airmen currently deployed to Kadena AB will begin to return to their home stations as new units arrive to take their place.

Throughout these deployments, the 18th Wing will continue to comply with applicable bilateral agreements with the Government of Japan regarding noise abatement. All visiting aircrews are briefed on local noise abatement procedures and mission planners will continue to give due consideration to limit local impacts.

As the 18th Wing continues the phased return of Kadena AB's fleet of F-15C/Ds, the Department of Defense will maintain a steady-state fighter presence in the region by temporarily deploying newer and more advanced aircraft to backfill the aircraft as they retrograde.

Modernizing capabilities in the Indo-Pacific theater remains a top priority. The transition to more capable aircraft at Kadena AB exemplifies the DoD's continued commitment to enhancing posture while building on the strong foundation of alliance with Japan.

F-35A Lightning IIs from the 355th Fighter Squadron, Eielson Air Force Base, arrived at Kadena Air Base, Japan, March 28, 2023, to ensure continuous fighter presence through the phased return of Kadena's fleet of F-15C/D Eagles to the United States.

While deployed to the Keystone of the Pacific, the Lightning IIs will work in conjunction with other fighter units at Kadena Air Base to ensure continued steady-state fighter capabilities in the region.

Together the diverse array of fighters, alongside joint and allied forces strengthen operational readiness to defend Japan while ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific through a robust presence of dynamic fighter aircraft.

"This is the squadron's first deployment since reaching full operating capability in February of 2023," said Lt Col Michael Mickus, 355th FS commander. "Operating from Kadena offers the Falcon ops and maintenance an important opportunity to hone our skills and processes to execute efficiently and effectively in a sustained deployment environment while working alongside the joint force and our allies."

During the deployment, Mickus said the F-35 squadron plans to rotate personnel and equipment to multiple operating locations in order to support the Theater Joint Force Air Component Commander and the 18th Wing while maintaining readiness for the high-end fight.

The F-35A is the U.S. Air Force's latest fifth-generation fighter. It is an agile, versatile, high-performance, 9g capable multirole fighter that combines stealth, sensor fusion and unprecedented situational awareness.

This reception of newer, more advanced aircraft at Kadena ensures the 18th Wing remains postured to deliver lethal and credible airpower to ensure the defense of U.S. allies and a free and open Indo-Pacific.

"Training in the Indo-Pacific region is a valuable opportunity for deployed units," said Col. Henry Schantz, 18th Operations Group commander. "The units bring their own distinct skill sets and experiences from around the globe to hone their skill to address pacing threats while bolstering alliances."

Over the coming weeks, fighters and associated Airmen currently deployed to Kadena Air Base will begin to return to their home stations as new units arrive to take their place.

Throughout these deployments, the 18th Wing will continue to comply with applicable bilateral agreements with the Government of Japan regarding noise abatement. All visiting aircrews are briefed on local noise abatement procedures and mission planners will continue to give due consideration to limit local impacts.

As the 18th Wing continues the phased return of Kadena's fleet of Eagles, the Department of Defense will maintain a steady-state fighter presence in the region by temporarily deploying newer and more advanced aircraft to backfill the F-15s as they retrograde.

Modernizing capabilities in the Indo-Pacific theater remains a top priority. The transition to more capable aircraft at Kadena exemplifies the DOD's continued commitment to enhancing posture while building on the strong foundation of our Alliance with Japan.

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Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Commander, U.S. European Command embarks USS George H.W. Bush

US Navy

30 March 2023

From USS George H.W. Bush Public Affairs

AT SEA -- U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and commander, U.S. European Command visited the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) at sea, March 24, 2023.

He was joined by Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa Adm. Stuart Munsch and Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, U.S. Sixth Fleet Vice Adm. Thomas Ishee aboard the carrier to meet with Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10, George H.W. Bush CSG leaders and Sailors to highlight the strike group's employment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of responsibility.

"You have been here at historic times and you've performed your duties brilliantly," said Cavoli in an announcement to the crew. "Since August you have been here, and since August you have kept the peace in some of the most turbulent times we have experienced in Europe since the end of the second World War. I thank you for that. You have proven every day that there is nothing in the world like the United States Navy."

The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group arrived to the European theater in August 2022. Since that time the ships and aircraft across the team worked extensively to build upon relationships with NATO partners and allies in order to increase Alliance capability, reassure partners, and deter aggression from malign actors.

In addition to examples such as the Strike Group's leadership and participation in NATO vigilance activity Neptune Strike 22.2 and Neptune Strike 23.1 the team played a key role in a variety of major events in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations with partners and allies including:

- Dual and tri-carrier operations five times in theater with ESPS Juan Carlos I, ITS Cavour, and the French Carrier Strike Group with FS Charles de Gaulle;

- exercise Mare Aperto 22-2;

- exercise Juniper Oak, the largest U.S.-Israeli military exercise in history in support of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Fifth Fleet while assigned to U.S. Sixth Fleet;

- Algerian engagements including a port visit, passing exercise, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal team engagement;

- exercise Hemex Orion;

- exercise Dynamic Manta;

- shipboard exercises and events with ITS Caio Duilio, HRV Dubrovnik, ALS Butrinti and ALS Lissus, ITS Carabiniere, ITS Virginio Fasan, and TCG Gungor Durmas;

- two iterations of the Spanish Tactical Leadership Program (TLP) for Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 personnel;

- the Athens International Air Show;

- the EURONAVAL Trade Show in Paris;

- more than 22 key leader engagements, five major receptions and protocol events in Crete, Croatia, Italy, France, and Greece which included more than 1,500 visitors to the aircraft carrier alone;

- and multiple press conferences in NATO port visits to reassure host nation audiences and reinforce existing relationships for future maritime operations and international stability.

"We've had the opportunity to train and operate extensively with our NATO partners and allies, and to support the development of relationships with partner nations such as Tunisia and Algeria in the region," said Rear Adm. Dennis Velez, commander, CSG-10, George H.W. Bush CSG. "The relationships we've built upon and the warfighting capabilities we've expanded during our deployment demonstrated the capabilities and reach of the NATO Alliance, and served to deter our adversaries while reassuring our friends and allies."

CSG-10, George H.W. Bush CSG, is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests.

Additionally, the visitors toured the ship's hangar bay to observe the maintenance and teamwork required to maintain ready and capable aircraft in support of the strike group's mission, observed ship maneuvering from the navigation bridge and flight operations from the flight deck.

George H.W. Bush is the flagship of CSG-10, George H.W. Bush CSG. George H.W. Bush CSG is comprised of George H.W. Bush, CVW-7, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 26, the Information Warfare Commander, and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55).

The ships of DESRON-26 within CSG-10 are the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Nitze (DDG 94), USS Farragut (DDG 99), USS Truxtun (DDG 103), and USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119).

The squadrons of CVW-7 embarked aboard George H.W. Bush are the "Jolly Rogers" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 103, the "Pukin Dogs" of VFA-143, the "Bluetails" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121, the "Nightdippers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5, the "Sidewinders" of VFA-86, the "Nighthawks" of VFA-136, the "Patriots" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 140, and the "Grandmasters" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 46.

For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa has forged strategic relationships with allies and partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.



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Blinken Urges Democracies to Use Technology to Help Citizens

By VOA News March 30, 2023

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged democracies around the world to work together to ensure technology is used to promote democratic values and fight efforts by authoritarian regimes to use it to repress, control and divide citizens.

Blinken made the comments as he led a discussion on "Advancing Democracy and Internet Freedom in a Digital Age." The session was part of U.S. President Joe Biden's Summit for Democracy, a largely virtual gathering of leaders taking place this week from the State Department in Washington.

Blinken said the world is at the point where technology is "reorganizing the life of the world" and noted many countries are using these technologies to advance democratic principles and make life better for their citizens.

He pointed to the Maldives, where court hearings are being held online; Malaysia, where the internet was used to register 3 million new voters last year; and Estonia, where government services are delivered faster and more simply.

At the same time, Blinken said the internet is being used more and more to spread disinformation and foment dissent. He said the U.S. and its democratic partners must establish rules and norms to promote an open, free and safe internet.

The secretary of state identified four priorities to help meet this goal, including using technology to improve people's lives in tangible ways, establishing rights-respecting rules for emerging technologies, investing in innovation, and countering the effects of authoritarian governments' use of digital tools to abuse citizens and weaken democracies.

Since the summit began earlier the week, the White House has emphasized the desire of the U.S. to make "technology work for and not against democracy."

On Wednesday, the prime ministers of eight European countries signed an open letter to the chief executives of major social media companies calling for them to be more aggressive in blocking the spread of false information on their platforms. The leaders of Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia signed the letter.

The statement told the companies their tech platforms "have become virtual battlegrounds, and hostile foreign powers are using them to spread false narratives that contradict reporting from fact-based news outlets."

It went on to say advertisements and artificial amplification on Meta's platforms, which include Facebook, are often used to call for social unrest, bring violence to the streets and destabilize governments.

About 120 global leaders are participating in the summit. It is seen as Biden's attempt to bolster the standing of democracies as autocratic governments advance their own agendas, such as Russia's 13-month invasion of Ukraine, and China's alliance with Moscow.

In a statement as the summit opened Tuesday, the White House said, "President Biden has called the struggle to bolster democratic governance at home and abroad the defining challenge of our time."

The statement went on to say, "Democracy  transparent and accountable government of, for, and by the people  remains the best way to realize lasting peace, prosperity, and human dignity."

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US Vice President Harris Meets Africa's Only Female President

By Anita Powell March 30, 2023

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday pledged continuing cooperation with Tanzania as she met with the country's president, the only female head of state in Africa, in the middle of her first official visit to the continent.

Tanzania's president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, took office when former President John Magafuli died in 2021. She is credited for rolling back some of his unpopular policies, such as his resistance to COVID-19 vaccinations, his ban on pregnant schoolgirls and his limits on freedoms of expression.

The United States will provide $560 million in bilateral assistance to Tanzania next fiscal year. And on Thursday, Harris said Washington would expand U.S.-Tanzania commercial engagement; work toward the delivery of battery-grade nickel from Tanzania to the U.S. and the global market as soon as 2026; expand affordable broadband; and cooperate in areas such as democratic development, biodiversity, women's empowerment and health projects.

"Thanks to the progress of your administration, you have made a champion - you have been a champion of democratic reforms in this country and in that way have expanded our partnership," Harris said. "So, today, then, is part of the strengthening relationship between our countries and, under your leadership, I have full confidence that we will be able to do just that."

"Today Tanzania has had another historic milestone, with two female leaders, the vice president and the president, meeting here today," said Hassan, who is known by Tanzanians as "Mama Samia."

She added, "What an inspiration and a testimony to Tanzanian young girls. I truly thank you, Madam Vice President, for honoring my invitation and coming to visit me."

The president made several requests of Harris, including an expansion of the long-term visa program for Tanzanians in the U.S., a 10-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and a future presidential visit.

"Tanzanians are now anxiously waiting for President Joe Biden's visit in Tanzania," she said. "And please kindly convey our greetings and our invitation that Tanzania is waiting to host him."

Several hundred college students waited for hours at the airport and at the statehouse to see whom many described as the most powerful woman in America.

"She motivates us and she gives us many opportunities, so we are proud of her," said Emliia John, 26, a student of diplomacy.

"I'm expecting a lot of changes, in education, in politics, also in finance, economics," said student Faith Moses, also a student of diplomacy. "We really need to be like America, at least to reach America in economics."

Harris also paid her respects to victims of a deadly 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing.

She heads next to Zambia, her final stop on this weeklong trip.

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Taliban Under Fire for Alleged Afghan Civil Society Crackdown

By Ayaz Gul March 30, 2023

Human rights defenders have alleged that Taliban authorities in Afghanistan are increasingly targeting civil society activists and media workers critical of their curbs on women's access to education and most areas of public life.

Afghan civil society sources, who did not want to be named due to safety concerns, said this week's arrest of Matiullah Wesa, a well-known education activist and founder of the PenPath community-based education support network, is part of a larger crackdown in the country.

The de facto Taliban authorities have detained "many lesser-known non-governmental organization workers on trumped up charges" in recent months, the civil society sources and former detainees told VOA. The Taliban spy agency, the General Directorate of Intelligence, or GDI, is leading the clampdown, the sources said.

Since returning to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have closed secondary schools for girls beyond grade six and recently suspended female students from attending universities and other higher education institutions.

Rasul Abdi Parsi, a former Herat University professor, was detained several weeks ago, reportedly over his Facebook posts critical of the hardline rulers.

"With the Taliban's tight restrictions on local media, many other arrests of activists likely go unreported, especially in Afghanistan's more remote provinces," Human Rights Watch said in a statement Thursday, expressing concerns over the crackdown.

The watchdog group lamented that Taliban authorities rarely provide information about reasons for those arrests or when those arrested will be put on trial, if ever.

"Those in custody lack access to lawyers and, in most cases, family members are not even allowed to visit them," the statement said.

Wesa's relatives said he was picked up on Monday evening outside a mosque after prayers in the capital, Kabul, because he was campaigning against the ban on girls' education.

Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, confirming Wesa's arrest for the first time on Wednesday, told VOA that the GDI had "some suspicious information" about him that was "a cause of concern" for the government.

Mujahid did not elaborate and defended the official action.

"The government must detain and investigate suspicious people to ensure public order," he said.

On Wednesday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights office said that a "concerning number of civil society activists" have been detained since early 2023 without clear information about their whereabouts.

The statement identified some Afghan detainees, including Nargis Sadat, Zakaria Osuli, Sultan Ali Ziaee, Khairullah Parhar and Mortaza Behboudi.

Jeremy Laurence, the UNHCR spokesperson, was quoted as describing the ongoing "arbitrary arrests" and detentions as alarming.

"We call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained. ... Arrest or detention as punishment for the legitimate exercise of fundamental rights, such as the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, is arbitrary under international human rights law," said Laurence in a statement.

"The Taliban seem to believe that crushing all criticism is the path to political legitimacy. ... These arbitrary arrests and detentions are only imperiling Afghanistan's future," said Human Rights Watch.

The international community has refused to formally recognize the Taliban government, citing the treatment of Afghan women, among other human rights concerns.

The radical leaders have rejected calls for removing the bans and instead defend their governance, saying it aligns with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture.

In an apparent attempt to convey to the world that the Taliban are not ready to reverse their rules for women, they re-issued this week a recent speech of their reclusive chief Hibatullah Akhundzada with English subtitles.

"What do you have to do with what I do, my government, my country, or my principles? Why do you interfere?" the Taliban chief asked. "I will not move even one step with you or interact with you, nor will I engage in a transaction with you at the cost of this Sharia [Islamic law]."

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WFP to reduce food rations by half for refugees as funding decreases in Burundi

World Food Programme

30 March 2023

US$7.1 million urgently needed to restore full food rations for 56,000 refugees over the next six months.

BUJUMBURA - More than 56,000 Congolese refugees will soon receive only half the food rations they need, due to a dwindling of funding for food needs in five camps in Burundi. The refugees, most of them fleeing conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), require food assistance to nourish their families.

On April 1, 2023, WFP will be forced to reduce rations in a country experiencing humanitarian needs compounded by high levels of food insecurity, poverty and the continued influx of refugees fleeing the conflict. The ration cut will worsen food insecurity and the nutritional status of refugees and could further exacerbate tensions between host and refugee communities around the camps and transit centres.

WFP provides both in-kind food assistance and cash to buy food in local markets. Until now, each person has been receiving cash and/or food to the equivalent of US$0.55 per day, which is designed to cover a full food ration, that is 2,100 kilocalories required to meet basic food and nutrition needs. This sum will be halved.

"While we appreciate the support received so far, we urgently need US$7.1million to feed the 56,000 refugees with full rations for the next 6 months. This is critical to meet the nutritional needs of the households in camps and transit centres in Burundi. The refugees are extremely vulnerable with limited access to land or work outside the camps and are exclusively dependent on humanitarian assistance for their survival," said Housainou Taal, the WFP Representative and Country Director in Burundi.

In 2022, with the generous support of donors and in cooperation with humanitarian and development partners, WFP reached almost 1 million food-insecure people across Burundi. Of these, 52 percent were women and 12 percent were people with disabilities. WFP also provided 11,202 tons of food and over US$6 million in cash-based transfers.

Beneficiaries included 55,577 refugees hosted in five camps, Burundian returnees from neighbouring countries, people affected by the socio-economic impact of COVID-19, and those affected by climatic shocks and displaced by the rising waters of Lake Tanganyika. Other beneficiaries included schoolchildren in food-insecure areas as well as moderately malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls and children aged 6-59 months.

# # #

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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Remarks by Vice President Harris and President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania in Joint Press Statements

March 30, 2023

Ikulu

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

2:22 P.M. EAT

TANZANIAN OFFICIAL: Hello, Your Excellency, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan; Honorable Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States of America; distinguished guests; members of the press. Good afternoon.

Madam Vice President, you're warmly welcomed to Tanzania, the beautiful land of Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, and Zanzibar, just to mention a few. In front of you are journalists  local journalists and international journalists  from different organizations who are ready to hear your remarks.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan, karibu sana.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Thank you so much. Your Excellency Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States of America; senior government officials from Tanzania and the United States; members of the press: A very good afternoon.

Today, Tanzania has made another historic milestone with two female leaders, the Vice President and a President, meeting here at the State House in Dar es Salaam. And to put a shirt on top of all this, the meeting takes place during this very important month, Women's History Month. Much.

What an inspiration and a testimony to Tanzanian young girls. I truly thank you, Madam Vice President, for honoring my invitation and coming to visit me.

Karibu sana. You're welcome  very much welcome.

Madam Vice President and dear sister, I thank you for accepting, as I said, my invitation and putting Tanzania  placing Tanzania among the country  priority countries to your visit in Africa. It is also a demonstration of a country's desire to invigorate its relation with Africa, a very important move and something we have always sought to pursue.

Your visit speaks volumes of our existing bilateral relations in various fields of occupation. High-level visits by our various officials have continued to cement further this relations.

With your visit, I'm sure Tanzania and I  Tanzanians are now anxiously waiting for President Joe Biden's visit in Tanzania. And please kindly convey our greetings and our invitation that Tanzania is waiting to host him.

It is truly a delight to host you here. Karibu sana. Welcome to Tanzania.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Thank you.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: I hope you know some few Swahili words, at least karibu. You know what karibu, means, yeah? Yeah?

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Yes.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Jambo? Safari? All those Swahili words. I hope you know them.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: (Inaudible.)

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Yeah.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: I know that one.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Oh, okay. Great. (Laughter.)

Your Excellency, for over six decades, Tanzania has been a beneficiary of invaluable support from the United States of America. The support has greatly contributed to our national efforts to improve the lives and livelihoods of our people here.

We appreciate the U.S. support in complimenting Tanzanians' development in Davos, in different sectors such as health, education, water, sanitation, agriculture, food security, natural resources, infrastructure development, human rights and democracy, and good governance, of course.

For instance, in health or health sector, HIV and TB are no longer life-threatening to our people. HIV/AIDS infection has greatest reduced from a prevalent of 7.2 percent in 2012 to 4.7 in '16, '17. But it has been reducing further by '21.

The new TB infection have reduced from 306 people per thousand to 208 per thousand people, while pregnant women who are infected with HIV are now sure  are assured of giving birth and raising the child free from HIV infection.

And these are those  all the efforts of PEPFAR. So, thank you very much.

Through your support, malaria deaths, which were (inaudible), have now been reduced from 7.7 million in 2015 to 3.5 million in 2021. So we have gone halfway, and I'm sure, with more efforts, we are going to reduce further.

Our goal is toward having a malaria-free society. We count on such program to achieve this  our  this goal. And we're ready to support interested investors who want to establish manufacturing plants in Tanzania for a manufacturing era in RVs and insecticide bed nets. We are very keen on such investors.

And this is because we want to shorten the supply chain. If they're producing in Tanzania, then the supply could be very easy.

Madam Vice President, as the world is grappling with food insecurity due to drastic climate effects, Tanzania is grateful to the U.S. government for reinstating it to the food  the Feed the Future program  Feed the Future Initiative. This move have come at an opportune moment, given our national agenda, of boosting agriculture-led economic growth by transforming this sector.

So the government of Tanzania commends the initiative and commitment by the government of United States of America towards strengthening ocean governance and sustainable utilization of blue economy resources in Tanzania.

I'm informed that our dear gentleman is going to launch the U.S. project on Respect the Ocean. Or in Swahili, we say "Heshimu Bahari," Respect the Ocean.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Right.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Today, afternoon.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: He is.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: I think he's doing it now.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Yes.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: This will indeed complement our efforts in promoting blue economy-related policies and initiatives in Tanzania.

We particularly welcome cooperation in following areas: fishing, especially deep-sea fishing; aquafarming; salt mining; gas exploration; blue tourism; and marine transportation. These are the potential areas of investments in Tanzania with a blue economy.

Tanzania still enjoys several other assistance interventions from the great people of United States of America, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act  AGOA.

We request for an early renewal of AGOA because it's only  it is only through business  the business and trade is growing only through AGOA. And so we are requesting an extension of at least  we are aware that this program is going to terminate in 2025. But the African countries  Tanzania, one of them  we're requesting for an extension of at least 10 years so that the investors who are now investing in Tanzania, taking advantage of that market, have to be sure of the availability of the market. So if we go up to 2030, that would be great for us. Thank you so much.

Madam Vice President, acceptable democratic space has been a major concern of my government. We have endeavored to build a democratic state that upholds transparency and respect of the rule of law. And in this connection, I'm grateful to the President Joe Biden for inviting me to participate in the Summit for Democracy in 2023, which I did virtually.

This invitation sends a clear message that the fathers of democracy recognize our efforts in building a democratic nation.

As an important partner in our pursuit for democracy and good governance, this recognition from the U.S. leadership means a lot to the government and the people of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Madam Vice President and members of the press, it is our firm belief that this visit will not only offer an opportunity for our country to strengthen the existing relation, but also will provide a platform to explore new areas of cooperation.

And I understand we have signed some of the memorandum of understanding. Have we signed already? Yes? Some of the memorandum of understanding. And these include port cooperation. We have signed on commercial dialogue and information communication technology. We have also signed on  yeah, information communication technology, commercial dialogue, and port cooperation  three of them  of which each one is having a lot in it. I think the technical teams are going to work on them, and we'll see how we start working on them after identification of the issues in the MOU.

My most important request now is to ensure full implementation of those agreements. Madam Vice President, I take the liberty of assuring Tanzanian  the commitment of the government of Tanzania in honoring those agreement. So I took the liberty of assuring on behalf of fellow Tanzanians.

And last but not least, the issue of visas to facilitate the movement of people, goods, and services between our two countries. And in this respect, Tanzania welcomes the readiness of the government of the United States of America to review the existing visa status to enable the citizens of our two nations to benefit for a long-duration visa.

We believe, under this arrangement, our two countries will register a significant increase in trade, tourism, and investment.

And in conclusion, I take this opportunity to reaffirm Tanzania's commitment to further promoting our bilateral relation with the U.S.  USA  for mutual benefit of our two countries and people.

Madam Vice President, thank you once again for visiting me and my country. And I look forward to fruitfully discussion together.

Please, you may proceed.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Thank you, Madam President. Thank you. (Applause.)

Well, I thank you for the warm welcome to Tanzania.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Thank you. You're welcome.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: It was my honor to host you at the White House in April of last year and then to meet again in December of last year at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Yes. Yes.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: And both times you invited me to visit your beautiful country, and I'm glad to have been able to make the trip and to see you today.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Thank you.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: So thank you for the warm welcome.

The U.S.-Tanzania relationship has deep and historic roots. President Kennedy met with Julius Nyerere in 1961, several months before your nation's independence.

Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama all have traveled here in recognition of our strong partnership.

And thanks to the progress of your administration, you have made a champion  you have been a champion in terms of democratic reforms in this country and, in that way, have expanded our partnership. And so today, then, is part of the strengthening of the relationship between our two countries.

And under your leadership 

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Yes 

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS:  I have full confidence that we will be able to do just that.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: That's my commitment. Thank you.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: And the Biden-Harris administration is committed to strengthening this relationship going forward.

Today, we will discuss many topics; we have discussed a few already. But the topics we will continue to discuss include the issue as you have raised of democracy and good governance. We will discuss and continue to discuss the issue of long-term economic growth for Tanzania, the climate crisis, and then regional and global challenges.

On the subject of democracy and good governance: As I said in Ghana, polling tells us the vast majority of Africans support democracy over other forms of government. This reflects a shared desire between us.

And the United States will continue to work alongside democratic governments in support of democratic aspirations and the democratic aspirations, in particular, of the people of this continent.

Madam President, under your leadership, Tanzania has taken important and meaningful steps. And President Joe Biden and I applaud you.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Thank you.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: You have been open to working with the political opposition. We have discussed that.

You have lifted the ban on political party public rallies. You worked to improve the freedom of the press. And just yesterday, you participated, as you mentioned, in the Summit for Democracy.

On the subject of economic growth, good governance delivers predictability, stability, and rule of law, which businesses need to invest.

Working together, it is our shared goal to increase economic investment in Tanzania and strengthen our economic ties.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Yes.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: To do so, I am pleased to announce a series of new initiatives:

One, the Export-Import Bank will sign an MOU with Tanzania, which will facilitate up to $500 million in U.S. exports to Tanzania in the areas of transportation, infrastructure, digital technology, and clean energy projects.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Yes.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Two, we are launching a new partnership on 5G technology and cybersecurity. As I have been making clear on this trip to the continent, I believe that the innovation and ingenuity that is taking place here on the continent will shape the future of the world and will benefit the world.

In Tanzania alone, thanks to your leadership, Madam President, and partnership with the private sector, work is currently underway to build the first-of-its-kind processing facility on the continent for minerals that go into electric vehicle batteries. This will deliver battery-grade nickel to the United States and global markets as soon as 2026.

This project is an important and pioneering model, using innovative and low-emission technology and high labor standards.

Importantly, raw minerals will soon be processed in Tanzania, by Tanzanians. It will help address the climate crisis, build resilient global supply chains, and create new industries and jobs.

There is so much potential for growth here. So our administration is now working with partners to identify additional opportunities for critical minerals from the region to be processed in this new facility.

On the issue of security, I thank you for Tanzania's contribution to peace and security in the region. You and I will discuss the impacts of Russia's war in Ukraine on food supplies and how we can best support Tanzania's efforts toward climate adaptation and resilience.

We will also highlight and I will highlight the important work you have done to support the women in Tanzania as a historic female leader on the continent.

As I have said many times, women around the world must be able to fully participate in economic, political, and social life. And they must be able to participate equally, including in leadership roles.

When you lift up the economic status of women, you lift up the economic status of families, of communities, and all of society benefits.

And yesterday I was proud to announce more than $1 billion in public- and private-sector commitments to support the empowerment of women on the continent.

My last point is to commend the Tanzanian government for its transparent response to the Marburg virus. Your continued coordination and information sharing with international partners has been critical to contain the spread of the virus.

Our governments remain in close contact, and our work together builds on decades of collaboration on public health issues.

Through USAID, we plan to provide another $1.3 million to support your response efforts. And we are providing personal protective equipment to help Tanzanian responders.

On all of these issues, Madam President, our administration looks forward to working with you and to continuing to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Tanzania.

And I thank you for the warm welcome again. Thank you.

PRESIDENT SAMIA: Thank you very much. Thank you.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)

END 2:43 P.M. EAT

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Russo-Ukraine War - 30 March 2023 - Day 400

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that Russian media reporting suggests that the authorities are preparing to start a major military recruitment campaign with the aim of signing up an additional 400,000 troops.

Russia is presenting the campaign as a drive for volunteer, professional personnel, rather than a new, mandatory mobilisation. There is a realistic possibility that in practice this distinction will be blurred, and that regional authorities will try to meet their allocated recruitment targets by coercing men to join up.

Russian authorities have likely selected a supposedly 'volunteer model' to meet their personnel shortfall in order to minimise domestic dissent. It is highly unlikely that the campaign will attract 400,000 genuine volunteers. However, rebuilding Russia's combat power in Ukraine will require more than just personnel; Russia needs more munitions and military equipment supplies than it currently has available.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Day 400 of the full-scale Russian military aggression continues.

During the day, Russian forces launched 1x missile and 3x air strikes, and carried out 5x MLRS attacks on the positions of our troops and the civilian infrastructure of the populated areas. The probability of missile and air strikes on the entire territory of Ukraine remains high.

Russia continues to ignore the laws and customs of war, and continues to use terror tactics against the civilian population.

Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mar'yinka axes: Russia is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive actions. The settlements of Bilogorivka, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Mar'yinka remain at the epicenter of hostilities. 47x Russian attacks on the specified axes were repelled.

Volyn', Polissya, Sivershchyna, and Slobozhanshchyna axes: the operational situation has not changed significantly, and no signs of the formation of offensive groups have been detected. During the day, Russian forces shelled Hirs'k (Chernihiv oblast); Novovasylivka, Nova Huta, Stukalyvka, Iskryskivshchyna, and Volfyne (Sumy oblast); as well as Hraniv, Kozacha Lopan, Vovchans'k, Zybyne, and Budarka (Kharkiv oblast).

Kupyansk and Lyman axes: during the day, Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the area of Stelmakhivka, Kuzmyny, and Berestovo. The settlements, namely: Dvorichanske, Zapadne, Dvorichna, Kupyansk, Krokhmalne (Kharkiv oblast); Novoselivs'ke, Nevs'ke, Bilogorivka (Luhansk Oblast); ss well as Kolodyazi, Tors'ke, Sivers'k, and Spirne (Donetsk oblast) were subjects to artillery fire;

Bakhmut axis: Russian forces makes further attempts to seize the town of Bakhmut. However, Ukrainian defenders courageously hold the city, repel numerous Russian attacks. During the day, the Russian occupiers conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the Orikhovo-Vasylivka (Donetsk oblast). Minkivka, Orihovo-Vasylivka, Druzhkivka, and Bakhmut (Donetsk oblast) were shelled.

Avdiivka and Mar'yinka axes: Russian forces attempted offensives in the vicinities of Novobakhmutivka, Novokalynovy, Stepove, Avdiyivka, Severne, Vodyane, Krasnohorivka, and Mar'yinka (Donetsk oblast), to no success. Russian forces shelled Novokalynovka, Berdychi, Avdiivka, Nevels'ke, Krasnohorivka, Mar'yinka, Heorhiivka, Kurakhove, and Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast).

Shakhtars'ke axis: during the day, Russian forces bombarded Vuhledar, Prechistivka, Zolota Nyva, Shakhtars'k, and Velika Novosilka (Donetsk oblast).

Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes: Russian forces shelled the Vremivka and Novopil' (Donetsk oblast); Malynivka, Hulyaipole, Zaliznychne, Hulyaipilske, and Mali Shcherbaki (Zaporizhzhia oblast); Marganets and Nikopol' (Dnipropetrovsk oblast); Zolota Balka, Havrylivka, Berislav, Vesele, Burhunka, Antonivka, and Berehove (Kherson oblast); and Ochakiv in Mykolaiv oblast.

During the day, Ukrainian Air Force launched 6x air strikes on the concentrations of Russian troops and military equipment. Ukrainian missile and artillery troops attacked 2x concentrations of troops, weapons and military equipment, and 2x ammunition depots.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reporeted that PMC "Wagner" continues holding down battles in the vicinity of Bakhmut - near the settlements of Krasnoe, Khromovo and Orekhovo-Vasilevka. Violent clashes are also taking place in the city itself, including in the center near the administration building.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are mining administrative buildings, trying to slow down the progress of the "orchestra". However, the "musicians" continue to grind the defense of the enemy, who suffers colossal losses in battles.

Acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin said that Bakhmut could soon fall into the actual encirclement.

The situation in other directions

DNR

During the day, the Armed Forces of Ukraine opened fire on Donetsk, as well as the settlements of Golmovsky, Zaitsevo, Aleksandrovka and Yasinovataya. In Yasinovataya, 3 civilians were injured, the infrastructure of the local machine-building plant was damaged. In Zaitsevo, the building of the village administration was damaged.

During the briefing, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that over 340 enemy servicemen, as well as a large amount of equipment, were destroyed in the Donetsk direction during the day. In addition, the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of Vladimirovka and Vugledar were hit.

Denis Pushilin said that in the Ugledar direction, the allied forces repel attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to conduct reconnaissance in force, while improving their positions as much as possible.

Acting head of the DPR appointed First Deputy Prime Minister Yevgeny Solntsev to the post of chairman of the republican government. Pushilin noted that Solntsev is responsible for the construction in his post - this unit under his leadership has demonstrated high efficiency.

LC

During the day, Ukrainian troops opened fire twice on the settlement of Troitskoye, using HIMARS MLRS. As a result of the attacks, a civilian was killed and 15 others were injured. In addition, the building of the central district multidisciplinary hospital and the store building were damaged.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced the defeat of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of Chervonaya Dibrova, Nevsky, Novoselovsky and Stelmakhovka.

Zaporozhye region

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that during the day strikes were carried out on units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the districts of Malinovka and Shcherbakov. In Zaliznychny, the fuel storage of the Ukrainian defense system was destroyed. In the Temirovka area, a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by means of air defense.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are pulling armored vehicles and weapons transferred by the West to the line of contact in the Zaporozhye region. According to Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the regional administration, M777 howitzers, HIMARS MLRS, tanks, including French AMX-10RC, were concentrated on this sector of the front of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The official also noted that he doubted the competence and impartiality of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi. The latter, when visiting the Zaporozhye NPP, said that the depleted uranium shells that the UK intends to transfer to the Ukrainian side do not pose a radiological hazard to people. Grossi himself plans to go to Russia soon for further negotiations on the station.

Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryabkov said that Russia had submitted to the IAEA its vision of how the security zone around the ZNPP should work. In addition, the document outlines the Russian side's view of the role of the agency and its staff in this process.

Kherson region

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian territorial defense was destroyed in the Olgovka area within 24 hours.





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Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Role in International Human Smuggling and Cocaine Distribution Scheme

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, March 30, 2023



A Honduran national pleaded guilty today to his role in a scheme to illegally bring Honduran nationals to, and to distribute cocaine in, the United States.

According to court documents, beginning in as early as January 2021, Josue Flores-Villeda, 36, and six co-conspirators schemed to bring Honduran nationals and cocaine from Honduras to the United States. In February 2022, Villeda and his co-conspirators attempted to illegally bring 23 Honduran nationals and at least 24 kilograms of cocaine from Utila, Honduras, to Cocodrie, Louisiana, by boat. At some point, the vessel developed engine trouble in the Gulf of Mexico. Villeda and his co-conspirators then chartered a boat and attempted to bring fuel to the disabled vessel so that it could complete its journey to the United States. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Coast Guard located the vessel adrift approximately 95 miles off the coast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and towed it to shore.

Villeda pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 6 and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and Special Agent in Charge David Denton of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Office made the announcement.

HSI Houma is investigating the case with assistance from HSI Pittsburgh, HSI Atlanta, and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations, Louisiana State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, North Huntington Township Police, and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office also provided valuable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carter Guice and Ben Myers for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Acting Deputy Chief Rami Badawy of the Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) are prosecuting the case.

The investigation is being conducted under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Since its creation, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, DHS, and other interagency law enforcement participants, and with foreign law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico; targeted those organizations who have the most impact on the United States; and coordinated significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts in U.S. Attorneys' Offices across the country. JTFA is comprised of detailees from southwest border U.S. Attorneys' Offices, including the Southern District of Texas, the Western District of Texas, the District of New Mexico, the District of Arizona, and the Southern District of California, and dedicated support for the program is also provided by numerous components of the Criminal Division that are part of JTFA - led by the HRSP, and supported by the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT), the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS), the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), the Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO), the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs (OIA), and the Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS). JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA, and other partners.

The investigation is also supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), as well as the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department's Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

Topic(s): Drug Trafficking

Human Smuggling

Component(s): Criminal Division

Criminal - Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section

USAO - Louisiana, Eastern

Press Release Number: 23-351

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U.S. Blacklists Slovak For Allegedly Facilitating Arms Deals Between North Korea, Russia

By RFE/RL March 30, 2023

The United States has imposed sanctions on a Slovakian man who allegedly worked as a broker for Russia in its efforts to purchase arms and munitions from North Korea to support its war on Ukraine.

Ashot Mkrtychev, 56, of Bratislava was involved in arranging sales and barter deals for North Korea to ship weapons and munitions to Russia between late 2022 and early 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a news release.

In exchange, Pyongyang would obtain cash, commercial aircraft, commodities, and raw materials, according to the Treasury Department.

Mkrtychev worked with officials from both sides to makes the deals happen, according to the Treasury.

"Mkrtychev's negotiations with DPRK and Russian officials detailed mutually beneficial cooperation between North Korea and Russia to include financial payments and barter arrangements," the department said, referring to North Korea by its formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). "He confirmed Russia's readiness to receive military equipment from the DPRK with senior Russian officials."

Although the department did not say if any deals were completed or describe the specific weapons involved, it said its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions against Mkrtychev.

The United States said last year amid an increase in air strikes on Ukraine that Russia has purchased artillery shells and rockets from North Korea.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said then that North Korea was shipping the ammunition to Russia but making it look like it was sending the arms to the Middle East or North Africa.

Kirby also said North Korea completed an arms delivery to the Wagner mercenary group, which is fighting on the front lines in Ukraine.

Pyongyang has denied the U.S. claims.

Kirby said on March 30 that Russia continues to seek arms from the communist country.

"We have new information that Russia is actively seeking to acquire additional munitions from North Korea," Kirby said after the Treasury announced the sanctions against Mkrtychev.

The OFAC blacklist freezes any assets Mkrtychev holds within the jurisdiction of the United States and bans Americans and U.S. businesses, including banks, of having any dealings with him.

The move comes as Washington steps up sanctions targeting Russia's attempts to obtain military equipment to replenish stocks that have been depleted by the war in Ukraine.

"Russia has lost over 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment since the start of the war, and thanks in part to multilateral sanctions and export controls, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has become increasingly desperate to replace them," U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement.

Schemes like the alleged arms deal pursued by Mkrtychev "show that Putin is turning to suppliers of last resort like Iran and [North Korea]," she added.

"We remain committed to degrading Russia's military-industrial capabilities, as well as exposing and countering Russian attempts to evade sanctions and obtain military equipment from the DPRK or any other state that is prepared to support its war in Ukraine," Yellen said.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-us- blacklist-dprk/32342401.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Designation of Facilitator Pursuing DPRK Arms Deal

Press Statement

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

March 30, 2023

Today, the United States is designating Ashot Mkrtychev for arms-related activities involving the DPRK and Russia. This is the first designation in the DPRK sanctions program in response to Russia's attempt to secure weapons from the DPRK.

Mkrtychev worked with DPRK officials in an attempt to obtain more than two dozen different kinds of weapons and munitions for Russia in exchange for materials ranging from commercial aircraft to raw materials and commodities to be sent to the DPRK. He also confirmed Russia's readiness to receive military equipment from the DPRK with senior Russian officials.

Today's action is a clear message that the United States will not relent in targeting those who provide support to Russia's aggression and brutal war against Ukraine. We will continue to identify, expose, and counter Russian attempts to acquire military equipment from the DPRK or any other state that is prepared to support its war in Ukraine. This action is part of our ongoing efforts to undermine Russia's ability to wage war, weaken its military-industrial complex, and deny the DPRK revenue it can utilize to further develop its UN-prohibited WMD and ballistic missile programs.

(For more information about these designations, please see the Department of the Treasury's press release.)

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Treasury Sanctions Facilitator for Attempted Arms Deals Between North Korea and Russia

U.S. Department of the Treasury

March 30, 2023

WASHINGTON -- Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned one individual for attempting to facilitate arms deals between Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Sanctions and export controls imposed by a coalition of over 30 countries have constrained Russia's ability to replace lost military equipment and supplies with modern technology. At the same time, the United States and its partners are continuing to provide Ukraine with advanced weapons to defend itself against Russia's brutal war of choice.

"Russia has lost over 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment since the start of the war, and thanks in part to multilateral sanctions and export controls, Putin has become increasingly desperate to replace them," said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. "Schemes like the arms deal pursued by this individual show that Putin is turning to suppliers of last resort like Iran and the DPRK. We remain committed to degrading Russia's military-industrial capabilities, as well as exposing and countering Russian attempts to evade sanctions and obtain military equipment from the DPRK or any other state that is prepared to support its war in Ukraine."

WEAPONS AND PROHIBITED GOODS

OFAC is designating a Slovakian national Ashot Mkrtychev (Mkrtychev) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13551 for having attempted to, directly or indirectly, import, export, or reexport to, into, or from the DPRK any arms or related materiel.

Between the end of 2022 and early 2023, Mkrtychev worked with DPRK officials to obtain over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions for Russia in exchange for materials ranging from commercial aircraft, raw materials, and commodities to be sent to the DPRK. Mkrtychev's negotiations with DPRK and Russian officials detailed mutually beneficial cooperation between North Korea and Russia to include financial payments and barter arrangements. He confirmed Russia's readiness to receive military equipment from the DPRK with senior Russian officials. Mkrtychev's negotiations with those officials indicated that necessary Russian preparations for a proposed deal were complete, and that they were ready to receive materials from and transfer materials to the DPRK. He also provided DPRK officials with information from Russian officials, likely connected to his attempts to obtain military equipment for Russia from DPRK. Lastly, Mkrtychev worked with a Russian individual to locate commercial aircraft suitable for delivery to the DPRK.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today's action, pursuant to E.O. 13551, all property and interests in property of the person named above that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked person are also blocked.

In addition, persons that engage in certain transactions with the individual designated today may themselves be exposed to designation. Furthermore, any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for the individual designated today could be subject to U.S. correspondent or payable-through account sanctions.

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC's Frequently Asked Question 897.

For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

Find identifying information on the individual sanctioned today here.

###

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UN Court Rejects Iranian Bid To Unfreeze Funds But Faults U.S. For Seizing Other Assets

By RFE/RL March 30, 2023



The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rejected Iran's bid to unblock nearly $2 billion in assets belonging to its central bank that were frozen by the United States over alleged terrorist attacks

The Hague-based court said on March 30 it did not have jurisdiction over $1.75 billion in bonds, plus accumulated interest, that are held in a Citibank account in New York.

But the court simultaneously found that the United States had "violated" the rights of some Iranians and companies whose assets were also frozen. The ruling ordered the United States to pay compensation, but said the amount should be determined through negotiation.

The ruling comes amid strained relations between the United States and Iran over the use of Iranian drones by Russia against Ukraine, attempts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers, and a deadly strike last week involving Iran-backed militias in Syria and U.S. personnel.

The case before the ICJ, also known as the World Court, was initially brought by Tehran in 2016 claiming a breach of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, which promised friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The treaty was signed long before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled the U.S.-backed shah, and the subsequent severing of U.S.-Iranian relations. Washington withdrew from the treaty in 2018.

The ICJ ruled that the treaty was in place at the time of the freezing of the assets of Iranian commercial companies and entities, and therefore Washington violated it.

The United States argued the asset seizures were the result of Tehran's alleged sponsorship of terrorism and said the whole case should be dismissed because Iran had "unclean hands."

The court dismissed this defense and ruled the treaty was valid. It said if the countries fail in the negotiation of compensation, they will have to return to the ICJ for a ruling.

In another decision on the assets held at Citibank, the court ruled it had no jurisdiction over the $1.75 billion in assets from Iran's central bank because that bank was not a commercial enterprise, and thus not protected by the treaty.

The United States has said the money is to be used to pay compensation to victims of a 1983 bombing in Lebanon and other attacks linked to Iran, which denies supporting international terrorism.

The rulings of the ICJ, the United Nations' top court, are binding, but it has no means of enforcing its rulings.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters



Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-icj- frozen-funds/32342301.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Judgment in Certain Iranian Assets Case

Press Statement

Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson

March 30, 2023

Today the International Court of Justice issued a judgment in the Certain Iranian Assets case rejecting the vast majority of Iran's case under the now-terminated Treaty of Amity. This is a major victory for the United States and victims of Iran's State-sponsored terrorism.

Iran sought to use the Treaty to challenge payments to U.S. victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism who obtained U.S. court judgments against Iran. The decision today is a significant blow to Iran's attempt to avoid its responsibility, in particular to the families of U.S. peacekeepers who were killed in the 1983 bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.

The United States recognizes the Court's important role and contributions to the rule of law. And the United States commends the Court's ruling related to Bank Markazi. We are disappointed that the Court has concluded that the turnover of assets of other Iranian agencies and instrumentalities to U.S. victims of Iran's sponsorship of terrorism was inconsistent with the Treaty. U.S. courts directed the turnover of assets to victims pursuant to U.S. laws that have helped those and other victims of State-sponsored terrorism receive compensation for the grave losses that they and their families have suffered. As the United States made clear in its arguments to the Court, the Treaty was never intended to shield Iran from having to compensate U.S. victims of its sponsorship of terrorism.

The Court's decision was clear that it will have no impact on the U.S. laws that allow U.S. victims of terrorism to seek compensation from Iran or any other State sponsor of terrorism in U.S. courts going forward, in light of the Treaty's termination.

The United States continues to strongly support victims of terrorism, and we stand with those who seek to hold Iran and all State sponsors of terrorism accountable.

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Junta jets bomb village in western Myanmar, killing 10

Seemingly unprovoked air raid occurred in an area with no fighting, residents say.

By RFA Burmese 2023.03.30 -- Two Myanmar military jets bombed a village in western Myanmar on Thursday where there was no fighting, killing at least 10 people and injuring 20 others, according to ethnic rebels and residents.

The seemingly unprovoked attack on Khuabung village in Thantlang township in Chin state, near the Indian border, is the military's latest use of air power in its sprawling offensive against anti-junta People's Defense Force paramilitaries and ethnic armies.

It's a tactic that has become increasingly common as the country's armed resistance makes greater gains. Such attacks are typically undertaken by the military to support troops fighting anti-junta forces with devastating effect.

Chin National Front spokesman Salai Htet Ni told RFA Burmese that the strike by the two jets was unprovoked and clearly targeted a civilian population.

However, Thantlang is one of several townships under martial law that the junta has targeted with multiple airstrikes since the start of the year.

"They attacked this morning [at around 10:00 a.m.] without any battles happening," Salai Htet Ni said. "They dropped bombs into a civilian village." At least 10 residents were killed and 20 injured, he said.

The airstrike set many of the village's houses on fire, residents said. Khuabung, around 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the seat of Thantlang township, is home to more than 230 people living in 53 households.

Increasing airstrikes

According to the Chin Human Rights Organization, the military launched at least 53 airstrikes, dropping more than 140 bombs, on the townships of Mindat, Hakha, Matupi and Thantlang in the first two months of 2023 alone.

The strikes killed five members of the Chin National Front and three members of local anti-junta People's Defense Force, and also injured six civilians.

In addition to the strike on Khuabung village on Thursday, the military also used Mi-35 aircraft to bomb areas it suspected were occupied by local PDF groups, the Chin National Front said.

The military has yet to issue any statement regarding the bombing of Khuabung and attempts by RFA to reach Thant Zin, the junta's spokesperson for Chin state, went unanswered on Thursday.

A report issued by the U.N. human rights agency earlier this month said that junta airstrikes in Myanmar had more than doubled from 125 in 2021 to 301 in 2022.

The report 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 country's air force.

While international sanctions have limited the air force to some extent, former military officials in Myanmar have said they will never be fully effective while powerful countries, such as Russia and China, are backing the junta.

Deaths and displacements in Shan state

News of the airstrikes on Thantlang came as RFA learned that at least 33 civilians were killed and more than 5,000 displaced from southern Shan state's townships of Pinlaung, Pekon and Mobye during the first three months of the year alone.

Yin Lianghan, a spokesperson for the Shan Human Rights Foundation, said his organization had compiled the statistics after interviewing Buddhist monks displaced by the violence, as well as aid workers in the region.

"These people have been severely displaced because of the junta's heavy artillery shelling and a massacre in the Nam Neint village," he said, referring to an incident on March 11, in which junta troops killed 21 civilians, including three monks, in a dawn raid on a monastery in Pinlaung before setting fire to the village.

"The main reason why they have become refugees is because of the junta's extrajudicial killing of innocent civilians," he said.

Junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun has told pro-junta media that the Karenni National Defense Army committed the massacre in Nem Neint village, but the KNDF claims that it was the handiwork of the military.

According to Shan Human Rights Foundation, at least two children were among those killed by the military shelling in Pinlaung and Mobye townships since the start of the year..

Tensions rising

Khun Bwe Hone, the information officer for the ethnic Pa'O National Defense Force, told RFA that the deaths and displacements occurred amid rising tensions between the military and the ethnic Karrenni Nationalities Defense Force in the three townships, as the junta is preparing a major offensive in the area.

"The junta is reinforcing its troops," he said, noting that most villagers have already left the area in anticipation of the fighting.

"Our defense forces have warned them to flee to safety. That's why they left. This battle is likely to be drawn out because we are determined to fight against the military dictatorship ... to the end and the enemy is going to do what it has set out to do, too."

A woman who fled fighting in the area told RFA on condition of anonymity that civilians are pouring into the seat of Pinlaung township from nearby villages to take refuge in camps for the displaced.

The exact number of refugees is unknown, said aid worker Khun Kyaw Shwe. While the refugees are receiving assistance from social support groups and area residents, they are in "desperate need of medicine," as well as food and access to clean water, he said.

"At the moment, local medical teams are taking care of them with what little medicine they have," Khun Kyaw Shwe told RFA. "The demand for medicine is quite severe. The refugee camps are dealing with outbreaks of malaria, influenza and respiratory infections."

Only around 20 days of food stores remain for the camps in Pinlaung, he said, urging international donors to help fill the gaps.

RFA was unable to reach Khun Thein Maung, the junta's economic minister and spokesman for Shan state, for comment on the killings and displacements.

Translated by Myo Myin Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Pakistani Taliban Kill 4 Police Officers, Injure 6

By Ayaz Gul March 30, 2023

Authorities in northwestern Pakistan said Thursday that a predawn militant assault on a police outpost and subsequent roadside bomb blast had killed four police officers and wounded six others.

The deadly violence occurred in Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.

A provincial police statement said that militants raided a security outpost in the area, injuring six security forces. It added that a nearby police station had quickly dispatched reinforcements to respond to the attack when their vehicle was blown up on the way by an "improvised explosive device." The ensuing blast killed four officers.

The Pakistani Taliban took responsibility for what it claimed was a coordinated gun and bomb assault. The outlawed group, known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, has intensified attacks, killing hundreds of people in recent months, mostly security forces.

The insurgent violence has resurged since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, as all U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from the country after two decades of involvement in the Afghan war.

Pakistan has maintained fugitive TTP leaders operate out of their Afghan bases. Officials say the militants have enjoyed "greater operational freedom" since the Taliban took control of the war-torn country.

The Pakistani Taliban, an offshoot and a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, is also designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and Britain.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif claimed last week that some of the weaponry the withdrawing U.S.-led coalition troops left behind in Afghanistan had surfaced in his country, further arming TTP and other insurgents.

"They have sophisticated weapons. There is no doubt about it. They have night vision devices," Asif told a small group of reporters last Friday without elaborating.

Pakistani security forces have lately reported coming under increased nighttime raids by TTP insurgents and suffering heavy casualties eventually.

A recent counterterrorism department assessment of new TTP propaganda videos has found insurgents carrying U.S.-made weapons, such as M4 carbines with Trijicon ACOG scopes, M16A4 assault rifles with Pulsar Apex XD50 thermal scopes, and M82 semi-automatic anti-material sniper rifles with a range of up to 1.8 kilometers.

"These weapons were not secured and ended up in Afghanistan's weapons black market," according to a copy of the assessment seen by VOA. The weapons "allow TTP militants to target Pakistani security forces at night over long distances," it noted.

More than $7.1 billion in U.S.-funded military equipment was in the inventory of the former Afghan government when it collapsed in the face of then-insurgent Taliban nationwide attacks amid the foreign troop exit 19 months ago, the U.S. Department of Defense estimated in a report released in August.

"The U.S. military removed or destroyed nearly all major equipment used by U.S. troops in Afghanistan throughout the drawdown period in 2021," the report said.

Islamabad has been demanding the new rulers in Kabul evict or rein in TTP activities. Instead, the de facto Afghan authorities brokered and hosted peace talks between Pakistani government officials and the TTP, but the process collapsed in November.

The recent spike in violence prompted Asif to travel to Kabul last month at the head of a high-profile security delegation where they shared information about the TTP's activities on Afghan soil, sources privy to the meeting told VOA.

Taliban hosts in the discussions agreed to disarm the insurgents and relocate them to northern Afghanistan from areas bordering Pakistan only if Islamabad bears the financial cost, sources said. Officials in both countries said no such discussions took place.

"They [the Taliban] have given us some suggestions to counter whatever TTP is doing in Pakistan," Asif said while speaking on Friday. He did not share further details, saying the two sides are in close contact to deal with the terrorism threat.

The International Crisis Group noted in a new report released this week that the TTP's central command is based in Afghanistan and linked the rise in violence in Pakistan to the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

"With their ideological allies ensconced in power in Afghanistan, and U.S. and NATO forces gone, the Pakistani Taliban have been more capable of conducting operations across the porous mountain frontier between the two countries," the ICG said.

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President Tsai Ing-wen arrives in New York City

ROC Central News Agency

03/30/2023 03:31 PM

New York, March 29 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () arrived in New York City Wednesday afternoon (local time) for a stopover en route to Central American diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize.

While still on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the president was greeted by American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairperson Laura Rosenberger and Taiwan's top envoy to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim ().

After arriving by motorcade at the Lotte New York Palace on Madison Avenue around 4 p.m., the president and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu () briefly exchanged pleasantries with supporters waving Republic of China (Taiwan) flags, before quickly making their way into the hotel.

Later in the evening, Tsai attended a dinner banquet held at The Glasshouse, a private event space in New York, to meet with members of the overseas Taiwanese communities and others, including Rosenberger and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

At the dinner, Tsai thanked those in attendance for supporting Taiwan, saying that the country would continue to uphold the values of freedom and democracy.

The president added Taiwan's relations with the United States and other democratic partners were more important than ever given the enormous challenges faced by the country.

Tsai said Taiwan's facing of significant challenges gave the country reassurance that "we are stronger" when standing in solidarity with other democratic nations, she said.

The president also touched on the nation's growing importance on the international stage, as many countries around the world have come to seek partnerships with Taiwan for its role on the global supply chain.

Tsai cited Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s recent investment in Arizona as an example of this, which the president described as a demonstration of continuing Taiwan-U.S. economic cooperation and Taiwan's technological strength.

Rosenberger, meanwhile, described Taiwan, the United States' eighth-largest trading partner, as a "technological powerhouse."

The AIT chair said she was excited about the recent launch of negotiations on the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative for 21st Century Trade and also looked forward to making progress as both sides seek to expand cooperation on critical supply chains by increasing investment and trade.

She went on to praise Taiwan as a beacon of democracy and shared values that the U.S. is grateful to have as a partner.

During the event, Tsai also had a 30-minute one-on-one meeting with New Jersey Governor Murphy, according to Xavier Chang (), deputy secretary-general to the president.

Chang said the president thanked the governor for attending the banquet and thanked him for his long-term support of Taiwan.

She also expressed hope Taiwan and New Jersey could continue to deepen the exchanges in high-tech, green energy and other related fields in the future, according to Chang.

Tsai, who last made a stopover in New York in July 2019 en route to Haiti in the Caribbean, will spend nearly two days in the city, during which time she is expected to address an event hosted by the Hudson Institute and receive a "global leadership award" from the think tank.

(By Chiang Chin-yeh, Ozzy Yin, Wen Kuei-hsiang and Ko Lin)

Enditem/ASG

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Tsai talks in US - behind closed doors

As Beijing keeps a watchful eye, Taiwan's leader delivers a speech in the US to a private audience.

Alex Willemyns for RFA 2023.03.30 -- Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has wasted little time since touching down in New York on Wednesday, delivering one speech shortly after her arrival with a second set for Thursday night.

But it's been hard to nail down the details.

The controversial "transit" through America's biggest city - en route, apparently, to official visits in Taiwanese allies Guatemala and Belize - is in part taking place behind closed doors, with press not invited.

"They are very serious about keeping this a private event," said Patrick Cronin, the Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute, which is hosting Tsai's speech at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Taiwanese officials, Cronin told Radio Free Asia, did not want to create "unnecessary pressure and dissent" with a public speech, with Tsai also set to be presented with a global leadership award.

"TECRO set the rules," he said, referring to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan's de facto embassy. "It's not Hudson setting the rules," he said, but "the Taiwan government."

Careful diplomacy

Tsai appears to be walking a fine line, advocating Taiwan's case against Beijing during her trip while avoiding prodding it too much. Chinese officials have already warned of "countermeasures" after the visit, and even of a "serious, serious, serious confrontation."

Each of Tsai's previous six "transits" through the United States - one in 2016, two in 2017, another in 2018, and two in 2019 - attracted far less attention, coming at times of relative calm in U.S.-China relations.

Dennis Wilder, research fellow with the U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University and a former CIA deputy assistant director for East Asia and the Pacific, told RFA on Tuesday that the "kind of events" Tsai holds this time would shape Beijing's reaction.

"For example," Wilder said, "if she were to give speeches where there would be live coverage of the speech, that would be a new kind of step; were she to give speeches that were incendiary in some way from Beijing's point of view ... we could see a harsh reaction."

The few snippets of Tsai's visit that has taken place in the public eye so far have largely been tame, avoiding Taiwanese independence and other themes that could complicate U.S.-China relations.

In an earlier speech to supporters after arriving Wednesday, Tsai thanked the United States for its support and vowed to continue working with Taiwan's partners in the face of threats from Beijing.

"At this juncture, our partnerships with the United States and other democracies are more critical than ever," Tsai said in the speech. "We know that we are stronger when we stand together in solidarity with fellow democracies. Taiwan cannot be isolated."

Thawing relations

Her trip comes at a fraught time for ties between Washington and Beijing, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceling a trip to Beijing at the last minute on Feb. 4 after an alleged Chinese spy balloon was discovered floating across the United States.

However, U.S. officials insist the trip was only "postponed," and there are already signs Beijing and Washington are seeking a new date.

Rick Waters, deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan and the head of the State Department's "China House," last week paid a visit to China, meeting Chinese counterparts in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, department spokesman Vedant Patel said on Tuesday.

"It was a working-level discussion," Patel said, "about a wide range of issues that we have as it relates to our bilateral relationship."

Such a thawing gives U.S. officials reason to avoid an incident.

In a call with reporters about Tsai's trip on Thursday morning, Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said U.S. officials had offered guidance to their Taiwanese counterparts about Tsai's "transit" through the United States.

But he declined to say if they had advised against public speeches.

"We are committed to making sure that President Tsai's seventh transit of the United States is conducted smoothly and successfully, and we have worked closely with many of our Taiwan friends and counterparts to ensure that that is the case," Kritenbrink said.

"If you have any questions on the specifics of any event that will take place during President Tsai's transits," he said, "I would refer you to the Taiwan authorities and to those associated with the event itself."

Cutting room floor

Even with the private nature of Tsai's speeches, attacks from Chinese officials about the visit have continued since her arrival.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday that the trip "gravely undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and sends a seriously wrong message to 'Taiwan independence' separatists."

"This once again shows that the fundamental cause of the new round of tensions in the Taiwan Strait is the Taiwan authorities' repeated attempt to solicit U.S. support for Taiwan independence and the fact that some in the U.S. intend to use Taiwan to contain China," Mao said.a

"The Taiwan question is the very core of China's core interests," she added, "the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in the relationship."

Xu Xueyuan, charge d'affaires at the Chinese embassy in Washington, also reportedly said Tsai's visit could cause a "serious confrontation."

"The so-called 'transit' is merely a disguise to her true intention of seeking breakthrough and advocating Taiwan independence," Xu was quoted as saying by Axios. Tsai's trip, he added, "could lead to serious, serious, serious confrontation in the U.S.-China relationship."

Return ticket

The worst from Beijing may be yet to come.

Tsai departs New York for Guatemala at 11 a.m. on Friday and returns Tuesday to Los Angeles, where she's set to deliver another speech and meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in an echo of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-governing island last year.

That meeting will be seen as a "provocation" by the United States, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council said this week, when she threatened "countermeasures."

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Xi sends warm greetings as Ma visits Wuhan

People's Daily Online

By LI LEI (Chinadaily.com.cn) 08:34, March 31, 2023

Song Tao, a senior Taiwan affairs official of the Chinese mainland, conveyed warm greetings from Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, while meeting on Thursday with Ma Ying-jeou in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Song, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, fully affirmed Ma's important contribution to the development of cross-Straits relations.

Song said that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are one big family and should adhere to the 1992 Consensus, actively promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, continuously enhance the well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, and firmly oppose separatist activities of "Taiwan independence" and interference by external forces.

He also called on both sides to jointly maintain peace and stability across the Straits, safeguard the overall interests of the Chinese nation, and unite and strive for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Ma expressed his gratitude for Xi's greetings. He also said that compatriots on both sides of the Straits belong to the Chinese nation as a whole and should work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus, promote the sustainable peace and prosperity of both sides, enhance the well-being of Chinese people on both sides and jointly revitalize China.

Medical workers praised

Ma, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, also praised the measures adopted by the mainland to fight COVID-19 and expressed hope for more cross-Straits cooperation in the health sector.

While visiting Wuhan, a city hit hard by COVID-19 in early 2020, Ma paid tribute to the mainland's medical workers for their sacrifice and dedication, and he said that the construction of makeshift hospitals to quarantine confirmed COVID-19 patients and their close contacts was a "pioneering move".

Wuhan's effective COVID control measures at an early stage prevented a large-scale spread of the virus, which was a contribution not only to the mainland but also to the whole of humanity, he said.

Ma made the remarks as he and a group of Taiwan students were visiting an exhibition on Wuhan's battle against COVID-19. More than 380 photos and 280 items are on display at the six-part exhibition, alongside 29 sets of multimedia illustrations.

Among the exhibits are photos and videos showing infected Taiwan compatriots receiving effective medical treatment on the mainland and those who donated blood plasma after recovering.

Ma told Xinhua News Agency that the COVID-19 prevention and control efforts by the mainland at the early stage of the outbreak helped limit the scale of the spread outside its borders and were "extremely admirable".

Ma also said that the mainland and Taiwan have signed agreements on medical cooperation and that prospects for such cooperation are broad. He expressed hope for the full implementation of these agreements.

On Wednesday, Wang Menghui, Party secretary of Hubei province, met in Wuhan with the group led by Ma.

Wang said that young people are the most active force in cross-Straits exchanges, and he welcomes young people from Taiwan to study, work and live in Hubei and to promote the exchanges and cooperation between Hubei and the island.

Hubei-Taiwan exchanges

Wang also said that Hubei has continuously deepened practical cooperation between the two sides. It has formulated a series of Taiwan-friendly policies and measures and created conditions for development and provided convenience for Taiwan businesspeople in Hubei.

A number of well-known Taiwan enterprises are running businesses in Hubei, which has maintained the momentum of economic and social development in recent years, he added.

Hubei will continue to bear in mind that people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one family, and will respect, care for and bring benefits to Taiwan compatriots in the province, Wang said. He added that the province will also promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two sides and improve the well-being of people across the Straits.

Ma thanked Hubei for its warm reception and care for Taiwan businesspeople and students in the province.

He said that in recent years, Hubei has made great efforts to promote high-quality economic and social development, and the interaction with Taiwan has become increasingly intensive, which has contributed a lot to the promotion of cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation.

He noted that the first student exchange event during his trip to the mainland will be held at Wuhan University, which has the reputation of having one of the most beautiful campuses in the country.

Ma said he hopes young people on both sides of the Straits will have more contact and friendship, so that they can understand each other and enjoy a deeper friendship.

The group's stay in Wuhan was part of Ma's trip to visit his ancestral home on the mainland on the occasion of Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, which falls on Wednesday. The 12-day visit, which started on Monday, will also take him to Changsha, Hunan province, as well as Chongqing and Shanghai.

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Update 152 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

International Atomic Energy Agency

28/2023

Vienna, Austria

30 Mar 2023

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, said his visit to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) this week had confirmed his assessment of the seriousness of the nuclear safety and security situation at Europe's largest such facility at a time of increased military activity in the region.

In view of the persistent risks facing the ZNPP during the armed conflict in Ukraine, Director General Grossi said he remained determined to press ahead with his diplomatic efforts to protect the six-reactor plant and help prevent a nuclear accident that could have severe consequences on people and the environment in Ukraine and elsewhere.

He discussed the issue when he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the city of Zaporizhzhya on Monday and indicated he may soon travel to Russia again for further talks.

The Director General said he had been working with both countries in recent months on proposals to ensure nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP. He said the plan to achieve this vital objective had evolved from an initial proposal to establish a zone around the plant to now focus more on what should be avoided to ensure its protection, rather than on territorial aspects.

"It is work in progress. It is very, very important that we agree on the fundamental principle that a nuclear plant should not be attacked under any circumstances, and it also shouldn't be used to attack others," he said. "A nuclear accident with radiological consequences will spare no one."

It was the second time Director General Grossi crossed the frontline to travel to the ZNPP and the first since he established a permanent presence of IAEA experts at the site in southern Ukraine on 1 September last year.

Director General Grossi said Wednesday's visit had allowed him to see for himself the damage the plant had sustained since the last time he was there, especially during shelling in November. The ZNPP has also experienced repeated power blackouts, forcing it to temporarily rely on emergency diesel generators for reactor cooling and other nuclear safety and security functions.

At the ZNPP, he discussed with management about the difficult situation for the reduced number of staff remaining at the plant and other matters.

"The visit was essential for me to make my own assessment of the gravity of the situation," he said, also referring to clear signs of an increased military presence in the region. "It is obvious that military activity is increasing in this whole region. There is open talk of offensives and counter offensives. This area is facing perhaps a more dangerous phase in terms of the ongoing conflict."

The Director General's visit was also aimed at ensuring that the regular rotation of IAEA experts to and from the site was maintained and improved, following the very challenging circumstances faced by the experts during a rotation in February which was delayed by almost a month.

This time, he was accompanied by a new group of IAEA experts to stay at the facility for the next weeks. It is the seventh such team present at the site since the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) was established seven months ago. When he returned from the plant, the experts of the sixth ISAMZ team came with him after spending several weeks at the site monitoring the situation, providing technical advice and reporting to IAEA headquarters.

"We were able to rotate the teams. There is a new team there now which will continue its work. That was for me very, very important," Director General Grossi said.

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Ukraine says Russian forces make some progress in frontline city of Bakhmut

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 March 2023 8:16 AM

Ukraine says Russian forces have achieved some success in the frontline city of Bakhmut, as months-long intense fighting drags on between the two sides over the mining city in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk.

For the past several months, Bakhmut and its surrounding towns have been the focal point of attacks by Russia, which launched a full-scale war against neighboring Ukraine on February 24 last year.

Neither side has full control over the city and both have suffered heavy losses so far.

For the Kremlin, capturing Bakhmut is essential for achieving its stated goal of taking control of the whole of Donetsk, one of the four Ukrainian regions - along with Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia - that Moscow added to the Russian Federation following referendums in the said regions in September last year.

So far, much of the territory in the Russian-annexed regions still remain in Ukrainian hands.

Moscow says Bakhmut would be a stepping stone and a rare battlefield gain in completing the capture of the Donbas industrial region (composed of Donetsk and Luhansk), one of Moscow's most important objectives.

On Wednesday evening, Ukrainian military officials said that Russian forces had had some progress in the flashpoint city, stressing, however, that their fighters were still holding on in the battle.

"Enemy forces had a degree of success in their actions aimed at storming the city of Bakhmut. Our defenders are holding the city and are repelling numerous enemy attacks," the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in a regular nighttime report.

According to the General Staff, the average number of daily Russian attacks on the front line has been declining for four straight weeks since the beginning of March, to 69 in the past week from 124 in the first week of March.

Only 57 Russian attacks were reported on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said any Russian victory in Bakhmut could be perilous, warning that unless Ukraine wins the battle, Russia could start drawing international support for a deal that could require Kiev to make unacceptable compromises.

"If Bakhmut fell to Russian forces, their president, Vladimir Putin, would "sell this victory to the West, to his society, to China," Zelensky said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

"If he (Putin) will feel some blood - smell that we are weak - he will push, push, push," Zelensky added, reminding, "We can't lose the steps because the war is a pie - pieces of victories. Small victories, small steps."

Separately on Wednesday, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters on a repeat visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that there had been a "significant increase" in the number of troops in the region.

"It is obvious that military activity is increasing in this whole region. So the plant can't be protected," he warned.

Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. Russian forces seized the plant soon after the invasion. Ukraine accuses Russia of storing heavy weapons in the plant. Moscow denies the allegation.

Attempts to reduce fighting and shelling around the plant have so far failed despite fears of a nuclear disaster.

Grossi added that he was putting aside plans for a security zone around the plant so he could propose specific protection measures acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine.

Zaporizhzhia was a prized part of Ukraine's energy network and accounted for around 20 percent of national power generation before the war.

Russia said it invaded Ukraine to "de-Nazify" the country and to stop ex-Soviet republic from joining the US-led NATO. Kiev and its allies, however, say those were baseless pretexts for imperial ambitions.

Since the onset of the war, the United States and Ukraine's other allies have sent Kiev tens of billions of dollars' worth of weapons, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems.

Western countries have also imposed a slew of economic sanctions on Moscow. The Kremlin has said the sanctions and the Western military assistance will prolong the war.

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Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Is Preparing Next Steps As Battles In Eastern Regions Rage On

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service March 30, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy marked the 400th day of Russia's full-scale invasion, saying in his evening address on March 30 that his country is preparing its next steps but did not explicitly mention an anticipated counteroffensive.

Zelenskiy noted that 400 days have passed since the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022, and said that Ukraine has come a "colossal way" through its struggle, citing the recapture of areas of the Kharkiv region, the city of Kherson, and the ongoing defense of the eastern city of Bakhmut and the Donbas region in general.

"This is the heroism of Ukrainians, which the world will not forget," he said, adding, "We are preparing our next steps, we are preparing our active actions, approaching victory.... We will not leave a single trace of Russia on our land, and we will not leave any enemy unpunished."

Ukrainian military commanders have said a counteroffensive is not far off, but Zelenskiy indicated earlier this week that Kyiv is still waiting on "sufficient weapons" before mounting any major attacks.

The Ukrainian military said earlier on March 30 that its forces held their ground on the eastern front, repelling dozens of attacks in and around Bakhmut, the city in the Donetsk region that has been the focal point of Russia's offensive over the past several months, and called for the West to give it modern warplanes.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said in its daily bulletin that Russian forces continued to concentrate their offensive on Bakhmut and several other locations in Donetsk -- Avdiyivka, Maryinka, Belohoryivka, and Lyman -- having launched a total of 60 attacks in those locations over the past 24 hours.

Later on March 30, Russian missiles hit the eastern city of Kharkiv, regional governor Oleh Sinehubov said.

"The enemy is attacking Kharkiv again. At least 6 'arrivals' have been recorded," Sinehubov said on Telegram. Preliminary information suggested that S-300 antiaircraft missiles launched from the southern Russian region of Belgorod were used in the attack, he said. Belgorod lies across the border to the north of Kharkiv.

The relentless attacks on Bakhmut and its surroundings have taken a heavy toll on Russian forces.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told American lawmakers that Moscow has failed to make any advances in Bakhmut in the last couple of weeks while Russian casualties continued to go up.

Milley told the House Armed Services Committee on March 29 that Russia has not made "any progress whatsoever" around Bakhmut over the past weeks and that the Wagner mercenary group has been "suffering an enormous amount of casualties" in the area.

He said Bakhmut has become a "slaughter-fest for the Russians."

The commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhniy, on March 30 issued a video depicting the actions of Ukraine's air force in the war. In the video, the commander of Ukraine's tactical aviation brigade, Oleksiy Manyushkyn, appeals to Kyiv's allies to supply it with U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.

Manyushkin says Ukrainian pilots are motivated and ready to master any Western equipment in the shortest possible time to bring Ukraine closer to victory.

So far, only NATO members Poland and Slovakia have offered Ukraine fighter jets, but they only agreed to deliver old Russian-made MiG-29 aircraft, which Ukrainian pilots know how to operate.

On March 28, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told the House Armed Service Committee that during the current phase of the conflict, providing Ukraine with modern fighter jets will do little to help.

"Regarding the F16 fighters, if such a decision is made, it will take approximately 18 months to provide these capabilities. However, this will not help the Ukrainians at this stage of the war," Austin told U.S. lawmakers.

"Can the Ukrainians get fighters in the future? We all believe so. Potentially, these could be either F-16s or other fourth-generation aircraft. So we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that Ukraine has exactly what it needs," he said, arguing that Kyiv now needs more air-defense systems, armored vehicles, and long-range weapons.

"And we provide them with a significant package of such opportunities," Austin said.

Last month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said that arming Ukraine with warplanes "currently makes no sense," adding in an interview with German television that Berlin does not have any of the F-16 fighters that Ukraine has requested.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-bakhmut-russia- casualties-war-wagner-grossi/32341451.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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A briefing was held for representatives of the European Union Political and Security Committee with the participation of the leadership of the President's Office

President of Ukraine

30 March 2023 - 23:06

With the participation of Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, a briefing was held for representatives of the European Union Political and Security Committee regarding the resistance to a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation and the enlargement of the capabilities of the defense forces of Ukraine.

The briefing was also joined by Deputy Heads of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva and Roman Mashovets, as well as representatives of the defense and security forces of Ukraine.

Andriy Yermak noted the importance of the fact that all members of the EU Political and Security Committee visited our country, which is a manifestation of strong support and solidarity with Ukraine.

"I want to thank your countries, your peoples, your leaders and governments for supporting Ukraine. We will never forget this," he said.

The Head of the President's Office emphasized that due to the unity of Ukrainians and partners, our state not only defends itself from the Russian aggressor, but also liberates its territories.

In his opinion, it is crucial that the representatives of all EU member states working in this important Committee will be able to obtain up-to-date and accurate information directly from primary sources in Ukraine.

In particular, Roman Mashovets informed the representatives of the EU Committee about the general situation on the frontline of the Russian-Ukrainian war and underscored the critical needs of the defense forces of Ukraine.

The representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense informed the attendees about the situation around Ukraine.

The representative of the "Center" air command spoke about the measures taken to protect the Ukrainian sky. He expressed gratitude for the modern air defense systems provided to Ukraine by the partner states and outlined the current needs of the Air Forces of Ukraine.

For his part, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva thanked the diplomats for supporting an important EU political decision to supply Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells within the next 12 months in the framework of the joint action plan. He especially noted the total budget of the European Peace Facility - 6.7 billion euros, within which the European Union provides support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, Ihor Zhovkva emphasized the importance of increasing funding in this direction in order to further enhance Ukraine's defense capabilities.

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Deputy Head of the Presidential Office and the Head of the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations discussed the restoration of civilian objects

President of Ukraine

30 March 2023 - 21:12

Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva had a meeting with Head of the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Maciej Popowski who is on a visit to Ukraine.

The parties discussed the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the basic needs of the Ukrainian population in different regions of the country, which arose as a result of Russian armed aggression. Separately, they focused on the need for the rapid restoration of social facilities and the return of life to the territories of Ukraine de-occupied during the last year.

"Russia resorts to terrorizing the Ukrainian population throughout the country. Tens of thousands of civilian objects were destroyed. We are grateful to the European Commission for its willingness to participate in their active restoration in the framework of the Fast Recovery Plan and thereby make the return of life to the recently de-occupied territories possible," the Deputy Head of the President's Office emphasized.

Ihor Zhovkva thanked Maciej Popowski for constantly supporting our country on the way to EU membership.

At the end of the meeting, on behalf of the President of Ukraine, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President awarded Maciej Popowski with the Order of Merit of the III degree.

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President of Ukraine had a meeting with Rheinmetall delegation

President of Ukraine

30 March 2023 - 17:16

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with the delegation of the German defense and industrial enterprise Rheinmetall AG led by CEO Armin Papperger.

Greeting the delegation, the Head of State expressed his gratitude to the leading German defense company, as well as to the entire German people, for their comprehensive assistance and support to Ukraine in the ongoing fight against Russian aggression.

"We appreciate this important help in our struggle for freedom and democratic values," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

During the negotiations, the current state of cooperation with the enterprise and prospects for its development were discussed in detail.

The President emphasized the need for further deepening and intensification of the partnership in order to meet the urgent needs of the defense forces of Ukraine and to significantly strengthen the defense capabilities of our country in the future.

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Andriy Yermak had a phone call with the Minister of Enterprises and Production of Italy

President of Ukraine

30 March 2023 - 14:02

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a phone call with Minister of Enterprises and Production of Italy Adolfo Urso.

The interlocutors discussed ways to implement the agreements reached during the phone call between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni on March 29.

Andrii Yermak thanked Italy for firmly supporting Ukraine in the struggle for freedom and independence.

The Head of the President's Office emphasized that the key task today is to prevent any revanche on the part of Russia for last year's defeats in the war against Ukraine and to speed up the liberation of temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, which will be facilitated by the prompt arrival of the necessary aid from partner states.

Andriy Yermak noted Italy's support for the UN General Assembly resolution on a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

He expressed hope for further support by the Italian Republic for the Ukrainian Peace Formula and active participation in the implementation of one or more of its points.

The Head of the President's Office also spoke about the great expectations from holding in Rome at the end of April a conference on the recovery of Ukraine with the participation of Italian enterprises and business representatives, which should give a boost to bilateral projects in the energy, infrastructure, agricultural sector, healthcare and digitalization.

"We are interested in involving Italian companies, which are leaders in construction, infrastructure development, transportation and energy supply, in designing the recovery of Ukraine already now," emphasized Andriy Yermak.

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Russia Using TikTok to Push Pro-Moscow Narrative on Ukraine

By Jeff Seldin March 30, 2023

New data is suggesting at least some U.S. adversaries are taking advantage of the hugely popular TikTok video-sharing app for influence operations.

A report Thursday by the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) finds Russia "has been using the app to push its own narrative" in its effort to undermine Western support for Ukraine.

"Based on our analysis, some users are engaging more with Russian state media than other, more reputable independent news outlets on the platform," according to the report by the U.S.-based election security advocate that tracks official state actors and state-backed media.

"More TikTok users follow RT than The New York Times," it said.

The ASD report found that as of March 22, there were 78 Russian-funded news outlets on TikTok with a total of more than 14 million followers.

It also found that despite a commitment from TikTok to label the accounts as belonging to state-controlled media, 31 of the accounts were not labeled.

Yet even labeling the accounts seemed to have little impact on their ability to gain an audience.

"By some measures, including the performance of top posts, labeled Russian state media accounts are reaching larger audiences on TikTok than other platforms," the report said. "RIA Novosti's top TikTok post so far in 2023 has more than 5.6 million views. On Twitter, its top post has fewer than 20,000 views."

The report on Russian state media's use of TikTok comes as U.S. officials are again voicing concern about the potential for TikTok to be used for disinformation campaigns and foreign influence operations.

"Just a tremendous number of people in the United States use TikTok," John Plumb, the principal cyber adviser to the U.S. secretary of defense, told members of a House Armed Services subcommittee, warning of "the control China may have to direct information through it" and use it as a "misinformation platform."

"This provides a foreign nation a platform for information operations," U.S. Cyber Command's General Paul Nakasone added, noting that TikTok has 150 million users in the United States.

"One-third of the adult population receives their news from this app," he said. "One-sixth of our children are saying they're constantly on this app."

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has sought to push back against the concerns.

"Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country," TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told U.S. lawmakers during a hearing last week.

"We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government," he said, trying to downplay fears about the company's data collection practices and Chinese laws that would require the company to share that information with the Chinese government if asked.U.S. lawmakers, intelligence and security officials, however, have their doubts.

The top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Marco Rubio, earlier this month warned that TikTok is "probably one of the most valuable surveillance tools on the planet."

Senate Intel Comm's @marcorubio asks if #China thru #TikTok owner ByteDance, "control data on millions of users"@FBI's Wray: "Yes"Rubio: "...control the software on millions of devices..."Wray: "Yes" Rubio: "...to drive narratives to divide Americans..."Wray: "Yes"

a Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) March 8, 2023

A day later, Cyber Command's Nakasone told members of the House Intelligence Committee that TikTok is like a "loaded gun," while FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that TikTok's recommendation algorithm "could be used to conduct influence operations."

"That's not something that would be easily detected," he added.

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Western Tanks Arrive in Ukraine: Will It Turn War in Kyiv's Favor?

By Henry Ridgwell March 30, 2023

The first Western tanks began arriving in Ukraine this week, prompting speculation that Ukraine may soon launch a counteroffensive against invading Russian forces and whether the more advanced weapons will turn the tide of the war in Kyiv's favor.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov posted a video on Twitter this week showing him on board a British Challenger 2 main battle tank, or MBT at an unidentified location in Ukraine.

It was a pleasure to take the first Ukrainian Challenger 2 MBT for a spin. Such tanks, supplied by the United Kingdom, have recently arrived in our country. These fantastic machines will soon begin their combat missions. Thank you, @RishiSunak, @BWallaceMP, and the YY people. pic.twitter.com/zoCRmKdBnN

a Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) March 28, 2023

"It was a pleasure to take the first Ukrainian Challenger 2 MBT for a spin," Reznikov wrote in his March 28 Twitter post. "Such tanks, supplied by the United Kingdom, have recently arrived in our country. These fantastic machines will soon begin their combat missions."

A total of 14 Challenger 2 tanks are being sent to Ukraine. British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said Wednesday he could not speculate on any upcoming Ukrainian offensive.

"But I think it is no secret Ukraine is keen to start the process of rolling back Russian forces in the conflict. Obviously, the Russian forces are making almost no progress whatsoever," Wallace told reporters.

German Leopards

Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed Monday that Germany had already delivered 18 of its advanced Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, among the most highly regarded MBTs in the world. Canada and Norway have also dispatched several of their Leopard 2 tanks. Poland, Spain, Finland and the Netherlands have also pledged to send Leopard tanks, although the total numbers have not been confirmed

European commanders say it could tip the balance in favor of the Ukrainian forces.

"Now, [the Ukrainian forces] are in a kind of defensive position against more than 300,000 Russian combatants. Maybe not the best trained or best equipped combatants, but they are facing this kind of tsunami of soldiers, so they are holding the front line," Vice Admiral Herve Blejean, commander of the European Union training mission for Ukrainian forces, told the Reuters news agency earlier in March.

"When they will be able to involve better tanks like the Leopard, they will be able to breach through and to look at counterattacking. At the present time, they are fighting for Bakhmut. They are doing a fine job, but the balance of forces is not in their favor," Blejean added.

Counteroffensive

It's unlikely Ukraine has enough Western tanks to launch a major counteroffensive imminently, said Patrick Bury, a military analyst at Britain's University of Bath.

"How many are there now? Maybe between 30 or 40, given the numbers that were pledged. At the moment, it's probably not enough, would be my hunch. But it's still fairly significant," Bury told VOA in an interview March 30.

"A battalion or two can form a spearhead. If they're all used together, you wouldn't want to be an infantry solider in a foxhole facing 40 of these tanks if they're used correctly," Bury said.

In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces need more Western weapons before launching any counteroffensive.

"We are waiting for ammunition to arrive from our partners," Zelenskyy said. "We can't start yet. We can't send our brave soldiers to the front line without tanks, artillery and long-range rockets."

Coordination

Bury said it's crucial that the new weapons are deployed in a coordinated way.

"The question is, can Ukraine protect, use and concentrate the Western weapons to such an effect that they can break through better-prepared Russian lines? It's not just about tanks. It's about the armored infantry fighting vehicles. They accompany the tanks. It's also about the artillery pieces a the rounds that they need for their own guns, and the new artillery pieces that are coming in, as well.

"So, it's how you put the whole package together to achieve the combined arms breakthrough if that's what you're going to do," Bury said.

Spring thaw

Ground conditions are changing rapidly along the front line. The spring thaw will turn frozen fields into quagmires.

"It just makes movements and maneuver more difficult. And therefore, that favors a sort of stagnation or a lack of offensive action in the opena big maneuvers around cities. The urban fights, of course, can go on," Bury said.

Western nations have pledged dozens more tanks and other heavy weapons in the coming months. The United States is sending 31 Abrams MBTs, though these aren't expected to arrive in Ukraine until the end of the year.

Slovakia this week sent Ukraine four Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, with nine more to follow. Poland also plans to send several MiG-29s. Ukrainian demands for U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets remain unanswered.

Morale

British intelligence reported Thursday that Moscow is poised to launch another recruitment drive to sign up an additional 400,000 troops.

With both sides preparing for a long war, any breakthroughs on the battlefield will likely be limited, Bury said.

"How prepared are [the Russians] going to be? They're going to be much more prepared than they were in Kharkiv last year, when the Ukrainians had a massive breakthrough," he said.

"One thing to look for, though, is morale and cohesion, because you still have to have the will to fight if you're going to get bombarded in your lines. And that is something where there is a question mark over the Russians. There definitely isn't that question mark over the Ukrainians. And that could prove decisive," Bury said.

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Investors can contact the law firm at no cost to learn more about recovering their losses

LOS ANGELES, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises Honda Motor Co., Ltd (NYSE: HMC ) investors that a lawsuit filed on behalf of investors that purchased Honda (NYSE: HMC ) securities between June 20, 2018 and September 28, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period").

Investors are encouraged to contact attorney Lesley F. Portnoy , by phone 844-767-8529 or email : lesley@portnoylaw.com, to discuss their legal rights, or click here to join the case via www.portnoylaw.com . The Portnoy Law Firm can provide a complimentary case evaluation and discuss investors options for pursuing claims to recover their losses.

The lawsuit alleges that during the Class Period, the defendants made false and/or misleading statements or omitted important information, including: (1) Honda exaggerated the safety and effectiveness of the Idle Stop engine feature; (2) Honda lacked appropriate disclosure controls and procedures for product quality and safety; (3) this deficiency led to Honda's failure to prevent the sale of defective vehicles containing the Idle Stop feature; (4) as a result of this behavior, Honda and/or its subsidiaries faced a higher risk of litigation, financial loss, and damage to their reputation; and (5) therefore, the Company's public statements were significantly false and misleading during the relevant period. The lawsuit claims that investors suffered losses when the true details of the matter were revealed.

Please visit our website to review more information and submit your transaction information.

The Portnoy Law Firm represents investors in pursuing claims against caused by corporate wrongdoing. The Firms founding partner has recovered over $5.5 billion for aggrieved investors. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Lesley F. Portnoy, Esq.

Admitted CA and NY Bar

lesley@portnoylaw.com

310-692-8883

www.portnoylaw.com

Attorney Advertising
NEW YORK, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the common stock of Lumen Technologies, Inc. f/k/a CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN, CTL) between September 14, 2020 and February 7, 2023, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), of the important May 2, 2023 lead plaintiff deadline.



SO WHAT: If you purchased Lumen common stock 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 Lumen class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12736 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 2, 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, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) various headwinds were impeding the Companys ability to invest in and grow its Quantum Fiber brand; (2) the Companys Quantum Fiber business was not progressing as was represented to the investing public; (3) the Companys management was reassessing its strategic priorities and had placed a hold on the plans to quickly scale up the Quantum Fiber brand; and (4); as a result of the Companys decision to delay expansion to Quantum Fiber, the Companys results and metrics were negatively impacted and the scaling up of Quantum Fiber would not occur until, at the earliest, the end of 2023; and (5) as a result, defendants statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

To join the Lumen class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12736 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

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TORONTO, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jamieson Wellness Inc. (Jamieson Wellness or the Company) (TSX: JWEL) announced today that the Company has filed its management information circular (Circular) and related materials (together with the Circular, the Meeting Materials) for the annual and special meeting of shareholders (the Shareholders) of Jamieson Wellness to be held on May 18, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) at the offices of McCarthy Tetrault LLP, 66 Wellington Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Suite 5300, and online via live audio webcast at https://meetnow.global/MMUNSXJ (the Meeting).

The Company is pleased to be offering Shareholders the option to participate in-person at this years Meeting, while continuing to offer Shareholders the option to participate online via live audio webcast.

The Meeting Materials have been filed under Jamiesons profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and are also available on the Companys website at www.jamiesonwellness.com.

The Meeting Materials are being mailed to Shareholders to provide information about the business to be conducted at the Meeting, detailed instructions about how to vote shares and how to attend and participate at the Meeting. The Company encourages Shareholders to review the Meeting Materials before voting their shares.

Contact

For Shareholders who have questions about the meeting materials or need assistance with voting their shares, please contact Jamieson Wellness proxy solicitation agent and shareholder communications advisor:

Laurel Hill Advisory Group

1.877.452.7184 (toll-free in Canada and the United States)

+1.416.304.0211 (International)

assistance@laurelhill.com

About Jamieson Wellness

Jamieson Wellness is dedicated to improving the world's health and wellness with its portfolio of innovative natural health brands. Established in 1922, Jamieson is the Company's heritage brand and Canada's #1 consumer health brand. Jamieson Wellness also offers a variety of VMS products under its youtheory, Progressive, Smart Solutions, Iron Vegan and Precision brands. The Company is a participant of the United Nations Global Compact and adheres to its principles-based approach to responsible business. For more information, please visit www.jamiesonwellness.com.

Jamieson Wellness head office is located at 1 Adelaide Street East Suite 2200, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Source: Jamieson Wellness Inc.
THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hi-View Resources Inc. (the Company or Hi-View) (CSE: HVW) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent (the Letter of Intent) with Zeal Exploration Inc. (Zeal) which sets out the basic terms and conditions for the acquisition by the Company of Zeal, which holds interests in the Golden Stranger Property in Northern British Columbia (the Transaction).

Proposed Transaction

Acquisition

The Letter of Intent contemplates that the Company will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Zeal (the Zeal Shares) by issuing (i) 8,650,000 common shares of the Company (Hi-View Shares) at a deemed price of $0.06 per Hi-View Share, and (ii) 500,000 Hi-View Share purchase warrants, each exercisable at $0.30.

The Letter of Intent sets out certain terms and conditions pursuant to which the Transaction will be completed. The Transaction remains subject to certain closing conditions including, without limitation, (a) the completion of customary due diligence, (b) the negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement within 30 days, and (c) the receipt of all required regulatory and third party approvals and, if applicable, the approval of the shareholders of Zeal. There can be no guarantees that the Transaction will be completed as contemplated or at all.

All securities issued in the Transaction will be issued under prospectus exemptions pursuant to National Instrument 45-106  Prospectus Exemptions of the Canadian Securities Administrators and may be subject to an applicable statutory hold period along with any escrow restrictions imposed under applicable securities laws.

Board Appointment

In connection with the closing of the Transaction, the Company will appoint Robert Nicholas Horsley, the current CEO of Zeal, to its board of directors.

Finders Fee

Pursuant to the terms of the Letter of Intent, the Company will pay a finders fee of 250,000 Hi-View Shares to an arms length finder upon completion of the Transaction.

About Zeal

Zeal is a privately held Company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Zeal holds by title or options to acquire, the Golden Stranger Property located near the town of Smithers, British Columbia, prospective for gold and silver. The Golden Stranger Property consists of four claim blocks of mineral claims comprising sixteen (16) mineral claims covering an area of approximately 9,139.57 hectares.

About Hi-View

The Companys principal business is the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral resource properties. Its objective is to locate, define and ultimately develop economic mineral deposits. Currently, the Company holds an option on the Ket 28 Property located in south-central British Columbia in the Greenwood District along the Canada  USA international boundary between Osoyoos and Grand Forks. The Ket 28 Property consists of 16 contiguous mineral claims that cover an area of 3,432 hectares (8,480 acres).

For further information contact:

Hi-View Resources Inc.

Howard Milne, Chief Executive Officer

Email: hdmcap@shaw.ca

Telephone: (604) 377-8994



FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including the receipt of appropriate regulatory approvals. The Transaction cannot close until all such conditions are satisfied. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

All information contained in this news release with respect to the Company and Zeal was supplied by the parties, respectively, for inclusion herein, and the Company and its respective directors and officers have relied on Zeal for any information concerning such party.

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements. All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, potential and similar expressions, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could or should occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release includes statements related to the proposed Transaction and related matters. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Companys management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Pune, India, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global mosquito repellent market size was valued at USD 6.23 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow from USD 6.51 billion in 2022 to USD 9.30 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.23% during the forecast period. The rising temperature on the earth due to growing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has contributed to a rise in the mosquito population. This has elevated the need for products to repel mosquitoes, thus driving market augmentation. This information is provided by Fortune Business Insights, in its report titled, Mosquito Repellent Market, 2022-2029.

Limited Availability of Labor and Raw Materials Hindered Market Expansion Amid the Pandemic



The spread of COVID-19 globally and the rising number of cases in several countries prompted governments to impose stringent nationwide lockdowns and social distancing norms. Manufacturing facilities were closed and supply chains were disrupted severely. The limited availability of raw materials and labor hindered the mosquito repellent market growth. The closure of shops and megastores in various countries reduced the sales of home care products in 2020. Despite these challenges, product sales from online channels were booming amid the pandemic. Also, travel restrictions imposed amid the pandemic generated growth opportunities for domestic players in the domain.

Get a Free Sample Research PDF Brochure:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/mosquito-repellent-market-104417

Mosquito Repellent Market Report Scope & Segmentation:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2022-2029 Forecast CAGR 5.23% 2029 Value Projection USD 9.30 billion Base Year 2021 Mosquito Repellent Market Size in 2021 USD 6.23 Billion Historical Data 2018-2020 No. of Pages 214 Segments Covered By Product Type, By Raw Material, By Distribution Channel, By Region Mosquito Repellent Market Growth Drivers Growing Awareness Regarding Insect Repellents to Favor Market Expansion Unsuitable Environmental Conditions to Augment Mosquito Repellent Demand

Fortune Business Insights lists out all the mosquito repellent market companies that are presently striving to reduce the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the market:

3M (U.S.)

Coghlans Ltd. (Canada)

Dabur (India)

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (India)

Homs LLC (U.S.)

New Avon LLC. (U.S.)

PIC Corporation (U.S.)

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (U.K.)

S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (U.S.)

Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (U.S.)

Drivers and Restraints:

Increasing Occurrence of Insect-Borne Diseases to Propel Product Demand

Growing incidences of insect-borne diseases, such as dengue and malaria, will propel product demand, thus driving market growth. The number of dengue and malaria cases and deaths recorded are very high in rural and semi-urban areas. According to a report published by the World Health Organization, approximately 14 million new cases of malaria were reported in 2020. This will propel product demand and market augmentation in the coming years.

On the other hand, skin reactions, such as swelling, rashes, eye irritation, and itching, associated with the use pf mosquito repellents will act as challenges for businesses operating in this domain.

Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/mosquito-repellent-market-104417

Segments:

Effective Actions of Coils as Compared to Other Alternatives to Drive Segment Expansion

Based on product type, the market is split into coil, spray, cream and oil, vaporizers, and others. Among these, the coil segment dominated the market in 2021 and is projected to grow significantly in the coming years. Mosquito coils provide immediate action to the surrounding and are also widely available in all places. This, in turn, propels the demand for coils contributing to segment growth.

Chemically Derived Repellents Segment to Lead Backed by their Efficiency

As per raw material, the market is bifurcated into plant-based repellents and chemically derived repellents. Among these, the chemically derived repellents segment held the largest mosquito repellent market share in 2021. Chemically derived mosquito repellents are the most effective solutions when dealing with mosquitoes. They provide an immediate cure as they are made of concentrated chemicals.

Availability of a Range of Products Propels the Demand for the Supermarkets Segment

According to the distribution channel, the market is segregated into retail stores, supermarkets, online, and others. Among these, the supermarket's segment captured a significant share of the global market in 2021. Supermarkets offer a wide variety of products to consumers, which lets the customers verify the products and select from a range of product portfolio before purchasing.

Geographically, the market is segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

Regional Insights:

Asia Pacific to Dominate Backed by Rising Consumer Awareness Regarding Benefits of Mosquito Repellents

Asia Pacific held majority of the market share in 2021, owing to growing consumer awareness regarding the benefits of the product. The launch of new product variants and increasing consumer acceptance for these products will aid regional market augmentation. Moreover, the increasing awareness regarding the pros of using the product among slum dwellers will contribute to market augmentation in this region.

North America is projected to record significant growth in the forthcoming years backed by increased production volume of product and growing research & development activities by leading companies and governments. Thus, the surging demand for mosquito repellents and its availability will drive regional market expansion.

The South America market is slated to grow rapidly over the analysis timeframe stoked by the rise in insect borne diseases in the region due to changing weather conditions. Additionally, the construction of hypermarkets and supermarkets is also attracting consumers to buy insect repellent products of different types and contributing to regional market escalation.

Competitive Landscape:

Product Launches by Leading Players to Elevate Market Augmentation

Industry leaders often make tactical decisions such as collaborations, mergers & acquisitions, and partnerships. One such move is the launch of new products to expand product portfolio and meet ever-increasing consumer requirements. For instance, in August 2020, Bodyguard introduced a natural insect repellent cream that is DEET-free and 100% plant-based. Neem and aloe vera are added to the lotion to provide hydration along with protecting against mosquitoes.

Get a Quote Now:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/get-a-quote/mosquito-repellent-market-104417

Detailed Table of Content:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Overview of the Parent Market Industry SWOT Analysis Recent Industry Developments Qualitative Analysis (In Relation to COVID-19) Impact of COVID-19 on the Market Supply Chain Challenges Potential Opportunities due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Global Mosquito Repellent Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2018-2029 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Product Type Coil Spray Cream and Oil Vaporizers Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Raw Material Plant-Based Repellents Chemically Derived Repellents Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Distribution Channel Retail Stores Supermarkets Online Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa



TOC Continued!

Key Industry Development:

June 2022: Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC partnered with Amazon to enhance channel optimization, brand protection, advertising, and resolve supply chain issues. The company has also signed Amazons Climate Pledge to become carbon neutral by 2040, 10 years before the global deadline.

Get your Customized Research Report:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/ask-for-customization/mosquito-repellent-market-104417

Check out more Related Insights by Fortune Business Insights:

Skincare Market Size to Hit $145.82 Billion by 2028 | At 5.52% CAGR

Soap Market Size to Reach USD 55.29 Billion by 2027 | CAGR of 5.0%

Luxury Hotel Market Size to Hit $238.49 Billion by 2028 | At a CAGR of 10.4%

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

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Wilmington, Delaware, United States, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The expert team of analysts at TMR has conducted thorough market research and curated hemodynamic flow alteration devices market report. The report suggests that the industry was valued USD 708.9 Mn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 1.5 Bn by 2031 at a CAGR of 8.7%.



This exhaustive report contains all-important aspects that influence business development. The parameters include key trends, competitive landscape, market segmentation, regional dynamics, company profiles, and other information regarding the growth trajectory. The deep insights help stakeholders and CXOs to make proper business plans and strategies.

For Insights on Global, Regional, and Country-Level Parameters with Growth Opportunities By 2031 - Download a Sample Report!

Market Snapshot:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue USD 708.9 Mn in 2022 Estimated Value USD 1.5 Bn by 2031 Growth Rate 8.7% Forecast Period 20232031 No. of Pages 165 Pages Market Segmentation By Type and End-user Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, South America Companies Covered Boston Scientific Corporation, Medtronic, Edward Lifesciences Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, iVascular, Koninklijke Philips N.V., and Terumo Corporation

Hemodynamic flow alteration devices are applied in several treatment procedures for various cardiovascular diseases in order to accelerate blood flow. They facilitate novel procedures that are employed to treat blockages in coronary arteries. However, these devices can cause complications such as infection, blood clots, and bleeding. These restraints can be eliminated through relentless research and development activities, which may eventually boost industry growth.

Hemodynamic Flow Alteration Devices Market: Growth Drivers

Surge in lifestyle-related disorders to spur industry growth: Rise in prevalence of lifestyle diseases, including hypertension, obesity, and other chronic and cardiovascular diseases, is accelerating the business progress. Adoption of sedentary lifestyle and increase in work stress have led to a ailments that need proper treatment procedures. Lack of exercise and workload has led to lifestyle diseases such as blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. These ailments, when aggravated, lead to cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, the global business is estimated to witness voluminous growth in the next few years.

Increase in advanced stents procedures to augment market growth: Technological developments in hemodynamic flow alteration equipment through a relentless focus on research and development have led to novel designs and features that are expected to enhance treatment procedures. Integration of AI and robotic-assisted surgery has made treatment procedures more efficient. Stent placement and embolization are carried out with greater precision as a result of these advancements. Other benefits of technology such as reduced recovery span, less hospitalization, and minimally invasive surgical procedures have played a crucial role in providing efficient services. Therefore, the business is expected to experience significant progress during the forecast period.

Please Share Your Objectives/Requirements to Get the Best Solution: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=85441

Key Drivers of Hemodynamic Flow Alteration Devices Market

Embolic protection device category to account for major market share: The embolic protection device segment is expected to exhibit lucrative growth prospects due to the efficiency of these devices to avoid major complications and stroke. These devices regularize the blood flow and avoid blockages. They also eliminate the danger associated with restenosis, which may ultimately lead to business development.

Hospital and clinics segment to witness tremendous growth: The hospital and clinic segment is anticipated to grow rapidly as a result of the increasing application in healthcare industry. Rise in application of hemodynamic flow alteration in medical procedures, including embolization, angioplasty, and stenting, is anticipated to fuel industry dynamics. Additionally, increase in demand for minimally invasive procedures is driving the segment.

Hemodynamic Flow Alteration Devices Market: Regional Dynamics

North America is estimated to exhibit significant market progress due to the rise in cases of cardiovascular diseases in the region. Concurrently, the region has a full-fledged healthcare infrastructure with advanced treatment procedures. This is estimated to ultimately propel the business scope. Market dynamics of North America involve reimbursement policies from various insurance companies. This is anticipated to contribute to business development.

The market in Asia Pacific is also expected to witness lucrative opportunities due to the increase in geriatric population and high prevalence of cardiovascular disorders in the region. Subsequently, growth in investments in development of healthcare facilities has opened up new opportunities for the global industry.

Hemodynamic Flow Alteration Devices Market: Competitive Scenario

The global industry is estimated to grow vigorously owing to the efforts taken by the key players to innovate new products with efficient workflow. Incorporation of image-guided procedures for accurate treatment procedures is also creating immense opportunities for global business. Strategic collaborations with mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and partnerships have contributed to market expansion. Substantial investments in research and development activities have played a vital role in industry expansion. Developments such as integration with assessment and measurement abilities have created revenue generation opportunities for the global business.

Major participants operating in the global market are:

BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG

Koninklijke Philips N.V

Boston Scientific Corporation

Edward Lifesciences Corporation

Medtronic

Terumo Corporation

iVascular

Abbot Laboratories

Browse in-depth TOC on Hemodynamic Flow Alteration Devices Market Trends, and Growth Drivers

18 - Tables

51 - Figures

165 - Pages

Browse the Full Report with Facts and Figures of the Hemodynamic Flow Alteration Devices Market at: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=85441<ype=S

Hemodynamic Flow Alteration Devices Market: Segmentation

Type

Embolic Protection Device

Chronic Total Occlusion Device

End -user

Hospitals & Clinics

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Others



Regions

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa



About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and consulting services. The firm scrutinizes factors shaping the dynamics of demand in various markets. The insights and perspectives on the markets evaluate opportunities in various segments. The opportunities in the segments based on source, application, demographics, sales channel, and end-use are analysed, which will determine growth in the markets over the next decade.

Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision-makers, made possible by experienced teams of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants. The proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques we use always reflect the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in all of its business reports.

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31 March 2023

LEI: 2138003QW2ZAYZODBU23

WISDOMTREE MULTI ASSET ISSUER PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

(the ISSUER)

(a public company incorporated with limited liability in Ireland)

WisdomTree Battery Metals WisdomTree Energy Transition Metals

(the Affected Securities)

NOTICE IN RESPECT OF AN INDEX RECONSTITUTION OF THE AFFECTED SECURITIES

This notice relates to the Affected Securities issued pursuant to the Issuers Collateralised ETP Securities Programme (the Programme) and its base prospectus dated 9 August 2022 (the Base Prospectus). Terms used in this notice but not otherwise defined shall have the same meaning ascribed to them in the Base Prospectus.

The Issuer announces that on 17 April 2023, the underlying indices tracked by the Affected Products will be reconstituted to include cobalt and lithium in the basket of commodities comprising the indices, which are as follows:

Affected Securities Underlying Index WisdomTree Battery Metals WisdomTree Battery Metals Commodity TR Index WisdomTree Energy Transition Metals WisdomTree Energy Transition Metals Commodity TR Index

The methodology of the Underlying Indices will also have modifications and amendments made to the calculation formula to reflect the weight capping and rebalancing costs of each commodity component. The daily cash collateral return rate on the Total Return index calculation will move from the 13 week High Auction Rate for US Treasury Bills (Bloomberg ticker: USB3MTA) to the Fed Funds Effective Rate (Bloomberg ticker: FEDL01).

Together, the Affected Securities Amendments.

The effective date of the Affected Securities Amendments shall be 17 April 2023 and will be reflected in a revised edition of the rulebook available at https://www.wisdomtree.eu/
Dublin, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Research Report on Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry 2023-2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The private kindergarten industry in Southeast Asia is set to continue to grow from 2023-2032.



Southeast Asia is densely populated with young demographics, and with a population growth rate of approximately 1.65% in 2020, Southeast Asia has a significant amount of population growth. The large total population has led to a gradual increase in the number of preschool-age children in Southeast Asia.

As Southeast Asia's economy grows and the middle class expands, parents pay more attention to their children's education and invest more in their children's education, driving the development of Southeast Asia's education industry. In terms of preschool education, private kindergartens with beautiful teaching environment, complete teaching facilities and more abundant school places are attracting the attention of Southeast Asian parents.



The private kindergarten industry in Southeast Asia varies from country to country. According to the publisher's analysis, Singapore's private kindergarten industry is relatively mature, with private kindergartens spread across the island, adopting the same teaching model as public kindergartens and providing children with quality hardware facilities while ensuring the quality of teaching.

In contrast, the private kindergarten industry in Vietnam is at a developmental stage, and in 2018, the Vietnamese government amended Protocol No. 86 on Foreign Investment and Cooperation in Education to raise the quota of Vietnamese students in foreign-invested schools, further contributing to the development of the private kindergarten industry in Vietnam, with the number of private kindergartens growing.



Southeast Asia in this report includes 10 countries: Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Cambodia. With a total population of over 600 million by the end of 2021, Southeast Asia has an overall economic growth rate higher than the global average and is one of the key drivers of future global economic growth.



According to the publisher's analysis, the economic levels of the 10 Southeast Asian countries vary greatly, with Singapore being the only developed country with a per capita GDP of about US$73,000 in 2021.

While Myanmar and Cambodia will have a GDP per capita of less than US$2,000 in 2021. The population and minimum wage levels of each country also vary greatly. Brunei, which has the smallest population, will have a total population of less than 500,000 people in 2021, while Indonesia, which has the largest population, will have a population of about 275 million people in 2021.



Topics covered:

Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry Status and Major Sources in 2018-2022

What is the Impact of COVID-19 on Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry?

Which Companies are the Major Players in Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry Market and What are their Competitive Benchmarks?

Key Drivers and Market Opportunities in Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry

What are the Key Drivers, Challenges, and Opportunities for Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry during 2023-2032?

What is the Expected Revenue of Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry during 2023-2032?

What are the Strategies Adopted by the Key Players in the Market to Increase Their Market Share in the Industry?

What are the Competitive Advantages of the Major Players in Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry Market?

Which Segment of Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry is Expected to Dominate the Market in 2032?

What are the Major Adverse Factors Facing Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry?

Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry Outlook 2023-2032

Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry Development Impact Factors Analysis

Favorable Factors

Unfavorable Factors

Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry Supply Analysis 2023-2032

Southeast Asia Private Kindergarten Industry Demand Analysis 2023-2032

Impact of COVID -19 Epidemic on Private Kindergarten Industry

Key Topics Covered:



1 Analysis of the Private Kindergarten Industry in Singapore

1.1 Singapore Private Kindergarten Industry Development Environment

1.1.1 Geography

1.1.2 Population

1.1.3 Economy

1.1.4 Minimum Wage in Singapore

1.2 Singapore Private Kindergarten Industry Operation 2023-2032

1.2.1 Supply

1.2.2 Demand

1.3 Analysis of Major Private Kindergartens in Singapore



2 Analysis of the Private Kindergarten Industry in Thailand



3 Analysis of the Private Kindergarten Industry in the Philippines



4 Analysis of the Private Kindergarten Industry in Malaysia



5 Indonesia Private Kindergarten Industry Analysis



6 Vietnam Private Kindergarten Industry Analysis



7 Myanmar Private Kindergarten Industry Analysis



8 Brunei Private Kindergarten Industry Analysis



9 Analysis of Private Kindergarten Industry in Laos



10 Cambodia Private Kindergarten Industry Analysis



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xix8xr

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Dublin, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Leadership in Higher Education Conference" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Whether you're an up-and-coming leader or your leadership experience began decades ago, your institution needs your knowledge, reliability, and clear-minded judgment. And, of course, you know that outstanding administrators can't let their busy careers languish.

That's why the Leadership in Higher Education Conference offers six different conference tracks, each focusing on a current trend for those who oversee the halls of learning and the many varied programs they host. But before returning to your home institution, unpack your bags for a weekend in sunny Orlando, Florida.

While you're there, discover all the new ways to stay on the cutting edge of higher education trends in the 21st century.

So, whatever your leadership role and motivation for attending the 2023 Leadership in Higher Education Conference, you'll have a memorable experience participating in various sessions, networking in the hallways, and enjoying meals together. Plus, you'll return to your campus, company, or organization with all the knowledge you could absorb in a few very special days.

About the Conference

Have you been contemplating where your career path will take you next or how you can impact your institution's success in your current leadership role? Have you been challenged with how to define leadership? After attending the Leadership in Higher Education Conference, academic leaders leave prepared to answer these very questions. This event prompts each and every participant to explore innovative strategies, best practices and influential trends that are adaptable to any type of institution or leadership position within higher education.

The Leadership in Higher Education Conference is designed to provide academic leaders, such as deans, department chairs, administrators, and aspiring leaders a platform to embrace new tools to put in place when returning to academia, as well as an opportunity to network with like-minded peers and nationally recognized experts in academic leadership.

Learn innovative ways to manage change and enhance productivity at the 2023 conference that features preconference workshops, plenary addresses and concurrent sessions. You'll have opportunities to network with leaders, gain tips, observe the experts, and share your knowledge with those just as passionate about higher education as you are.

Find the inspiration and motivation to lead your team into the next decade and impact student and institution success now and in the future while sharpening your skills at the Leadership in Higher Education Conference.

How Does This Conference Benefit Me?

Develop your leadership abilities regardless of experience

Learn immediate leadership skills from experts who are part of the higher education community

Build your network with others who are just as passionate about leadership as you are

Gain new perspectives in an interdisciplinary programming format

Take part in a variety of topics and depth that match your specific needs

Well-organized so you get the absolute most out of the experience

What Topics are Covered?

Building and refining innovative approaches to higher-education leadership

Holistic programs to accommodate today's diverse students, faculty, and staff

Managing and improving institutional culture and climate

Dealing with problems that arise at the department and college level

Overcoming challenges to student retention

Promoting student success

Skills required for successful leadership for new academic leaders

Additional relevant and special topics that connect to the roles of higher education leaders

At the 2023 Leadership in Higher Education Conference, you'll enjoy:

The in-person conference

Two plenary presentations

The advisory board discussion panel

Concurrent sessions with invited and selected presenters

An evening reception

Various exhibits and displays

A convenient conference app

Breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday

Networking with others who share your passion for leadership

Many casual opportunities to meet and network with attendees and presenters

Several interactive sessions

Who Should Attend:

Academic Leaders

Administrative Leaders

Department Chairs

Deans

Division Heads

Program or Project Directors

Provosts

Faculty Aspiring for a Greater Leadership Role

Agenda:

Thursday, October 12, 2023

Registration hours: Noon-5:00 pm

Exhibitor hours: Noon-7:30 pm

1:00-4:00 pm: Preconference workshops (4; Additional fee required)

1:00-3:15 pm: Exhibitor Spotlight Sessions

4:00 pm: Conference orientation

5:00-6:00 pm: Conference welcome and Opening plenary

6:00-7:30 pm: Reception

Dinner and Evening on Your Own

Friday, October 13, 2023

Registration hours: 7:30 am-5:00 pm

Exhibitor hours: 8:00 am-5:00 pm

7:30-9:30 am: Continental breakfast and SIG coffee

8:30-9:30 am: Exhibitor Spotlight Sessions

10:00-11:00 am: Concurrent sessions

11:15 am-12:15 pm: Concurrent sessions

12:30-1:30 pm: Lunch

1:45-2:45 pm: Concurrent sessions

3:15-4:15 pm: Concurrent sessions

Dinner and Evening on Your Own

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Registration hours: 7:30 am-9:30 am

8:00-9:00 am: Continental breakfast

9:15-10:00 am: Plenary

10:15-11:15 am: Concurrent sessions

11:30 am-12:30: pm Concurrent sessions

12:45-1:45 pm: Lunch

1:45-2:30 pm: Advisory Board Panel

2:30 pm: Conference adjourns

For more information about this conference visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/anxf4k

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.
TORONTO, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 312 Optical Studio, Kensington Markets favourite urban eyewear boutique, is celebrating its milestone 10-year anniversary this weekend. And what better way to acknowledge the past decade than with a price rollback sale?



The first deal we ever offered was $100 all-in for vintage, never-worn frames and lenses, says Andrew Laderman, owner and optician extraordinaire. Were offering that promo, among others, to thank our local community for its unwavering support.

Unlike online retailers and big box stores that sell low-quality, mass-produced frames and lenses, 312 Optical takes pride in selecting distinctive eyewear from artisans around the world. Whether its an affordable Canadian-made dead-stock frame from the 1980s or a high-end handmade titanium one from Japan, the store features only the highest level of quality and craftsmanship at all price points.

And that quality extends beyond frames and lenses to 312s customer service and expertise. Sharing his vast optical knowledge with neighbours in the heart of downtown Toronto for the past ten years, Laderman knows how important it is to shop local and support small business.

In fact, the mom and pop shop has always been passionate about its local community. The connection began with the location itselfin the 1930s, the 312 Optical building at College near Augusta had been a hardware store operated by Ladermans wifes great-grandmother. Today, it houses a modern oasis where eyeglass shop meets art studio.

Pieces by local artist Patrick Lightheart adorn the walls, but they arent the only works of art in the store.

We make artwork functional, says Laderman, 42. We finely frame your face with pieces as unique, innovative and irreplaceable as you are.

The anniversary sale starts this month. Come on in and take a look for yourself.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4e551176-b013-41d7-ab0b-114bca6aba91
New York, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Commercial Cleaning Products Market  Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Competition, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2018-2028F" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06438519/?utm_source=GNW

)), By Distribution Channel (Distributor/Channel Sales, Direct/Institutional Sales, Online Retail, Cash & Carry Stores and Other Offline Retail Sales), By Region



The global commercial cleaning products market is driven by consumer awareness of natural products, increasing hygiene awareness, especially after COVID-19, and the rapid increase of construction of commercial buildings.

Cleaning supplies are required to keep a place in aesthetically pleasing and healthy conditions.Cleaning has obvious additional advantages, but its also important for keeping a healthy indoor environment since it gets rid of allergens, infectious agents, and dust.



However, its crucial to keep in mind that cleaning products can raise a number of health and environmental issues.They might have substances in them that can irritate the eyes, skin, or respiratory system, among other things.



Additionally, some commercial cleaning products concentrated forms are labeled as hazardous, which could pose handling, storage, and disposal problems for users. Using environmentally friendly cleaning supplies helps lessen the risks to human health and the environment that come with cleaning.

The commercial cleaning products market is also driven by a rising number of hotels with the growing demand for travel around the world. For instance, there are over 16.4 million hotel rooms and over 700,000 hotels and resorts globally. With 4,169 hotels, Beijing, China, has the most hotels worldwide. With more than 150,000 rooms, Las Vegas has the most hotel rooms in the US, followed by New York, with more than 115,000. In the US, New York also has the cleanest hotel rooms.

The market is also driven by a rising number of restaurants in the world. For instance, the Census Bureau estimates that there are 78 full-service restaurants per 100,000 Americans, with average yearly sales of USD704.18. Going out to eat is particularly prevalent in some affluent, tourist-heavy towns, where there are more restaurants per capita and more people spending more money at fine dining facilities.

Every industry around the world has been impacted by the widespread COVID-19 outbreak.The pandemic had a negative impact on the market for commercial cleaning products as a result of the disruption of supply chains and reduced production due to the scarcity of raw materials.



China is one of the worlds top producers of industrial cleaning supplies.The strong import/export controls and the nationwide lockdown had an impact on Chinas industrial operations.



The first and second quarters of 2020 had the most demand decline for commercial cleaning products.

In terms of region, the Latin America region is experiencing growth because of the increase in consumption of cleaning products.For instance, Brazil is the largest consumer of cleaning products in Latin America.



The consumption of cleaning products has surged by more than 50% in recent years, according to the Brazilian Association of Cleaning Products and Related Industries.The majority of these goods are consumed in the Central West.



In Brazil, all cleaning products must be registered with the National Health Surveillance Agency and the Ministry of Health, which are in charge of regulating and overseeing these items.Less than 5% of Brazils cleaning product market is dependent on exports, with domestic demand dominating.



Cleaning supplies were mostly imported from the United States, Germany, China, Uruguay, and India and were principally sold to Argentina, Paraguay, the United States, Belgium, and Colombia.

In 2019 and 2020, the fastest-growing markets for cleaning product imports into Brazil were China, Germany, and Chile. Procter & Gamble do Brazil SA, the largest company in Brazil, contributed 2.3% of the industrys total production value in 2021. Following COVID, Brazilians buying preferences have substantially changed. They now want more cleaning supplies and larger, longer-lasting packaging, which is driving the industry. Additionally, customers are turning to more practical solutions like degreasers and stain removers as maid services grow more expensive as a result of women entering the workforce, which is increasing the usage of cleaning products. Additionally, sales of uncommon products like bleach and cleaning concentrates have increased.

Increasing Awareness of Hygiene Post COVID-19 is Fueling the Market Growth

The primary motivator in the cleaning goods sector is public concern for health.Furthermore, a rise in COVID-19 cases has caused a global increase in hygiene awareness.



As a result, demand for products including disinfectants, hand sanitizers, bathroom cleansers, detergents, washing powders, and floor and toilet cleaners increased massively.People are becoming more aware of fundamental hygiene as a result of the rise in infectious diseases, which has greatly raised the demand for surface cleaning solutions.



Disinfection products were unnecessary before the COVID-19 pandemic, but after that time, people have grown more aware of the advantages of maintaining good hygiene and cleanliness in the home.

Growing Use of Natural Products is Driving the Market Growth

Some of the chemicals used in cleaning products are causing consumers to become more health-conscious and cautious.They choose products made with natural ingredients that produce fewer carbon emissions during production and are, therefore, sustainable for the environment.



In developed economies like the UK, USA, Canada, and Japan, eco-friendly cleaning solutions are therefore in demand.The sector has seen a substantial change as a result of the increased interest in natural and organic products among consumers who want to protect the environment.



The market is expected to grow due to the predicted drop in the use of abrasive chemicals.

High Prices Hindering the Market Growth

Cleaning products demand on the market is mostly influenced by price, particularly in less developed nations.The price of cleaning supplies is high because they are made using expensive chemicals.



Additionally, the manufacturers have no choice but to spend more money on specific chemicals due to the severe government limitations placed on their use, which drives up the price of the final product.

Market Segmentation

The global commercial cleaning products market is segmented based on product, end-use, distribution channel, region, and competitional landscape. Based on product, the market is fragmented into laundry cleaners, floor cleaners, general cleaners, toilet cleaners, glass cleaners, dishwashing & kitchen cleaners, and others (metal cleaners, disinfectants & sanitizers, etc.). Based on end use, the market is segmented into (healthcare, education, hotels/lodging, offices/property management, and others (restaurants, retail & grocery, etc.)). In terms of distribution channels, the market is divided into distributor/channel sales, direct/institutional sales, online retail, cash & carry stores, and other offline retail sales.

Company Profiles

Diversey, Inc., Ecolab Inc., 3M Company, The Clorox Company, S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Medline Industries, Inc., The Procter & Gamble Company, Unilever Plc, Betco Corporation, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC. are among the major market players in the global platform that lead the market growth of the global Commercial Cleaning Products market.



Report Scope:



In this report, the Global Commercial Cleaning Products market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends, which have also been detailed below:

 Commercial Cleaning Products Market, By Product:

o Laundry Cleaners

o Floor Cleaners

o General Cleaners

o Toilet Cleaners

o Glass Cleaners

o Dishwashing & Kitchen Cleaners

o Others

 Commercial Cleaning Products Market, By End Use:

o Healthcare

o Education

o Hotels/Lodging

o Offices/Property Management

o Others

 Commercial Cleaning Products Market, By Distribution Channel:

o Distributor/Channel Sales

o Direct/Institutional Sales

o Online Retail

o Cash & Carry Stores

o Other Offline Retail Sales

 Commercial Cleaning Products Market, By Region:

o North America

The United States

Canada

Mexico

o Europe

France

Germany

United Kingdom

Italy

Spain

Netherlands

Switzerland

o Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Australia

New Zealand

Thailand

o Middle East & Africa

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

UAE

Qatar

Kuwait

o South America

Brazil

Argentina

Colombia



Competitive Landscape



Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Commercial Cleaning Products market.



Available Customizations:



With the given market data, we offers customizations according to a companys specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:



Company Information



 Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06438519/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
New York, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Portable Mini Fridge Market  Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2018-2028F" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06438507/?utm_source=GNW

Segmented By Capacity (Less Than 1 cu. ft.,1-1.9 cu. ft.,2-2.9 cu. ft., 3-3.9 cu. ft., 4-5 cu. ft.), By Door Type (Single Door, Double Door, Reversible Door) By End User (Residential, Commercial) By Sales Channel (Multi-Branded Stores, Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Online and Others (Institutional Sales, Exclusive Stores)), By Region, Competition



The global portable mini fridge market is growing at witnessing robust growth, owing to multiple reasons such as including the increased need for using a refrigerator during recreational recreation like picnics, hiking, and camping to keep the food fresh for a longer duration.

As per the data provided by North American Camping Report, more than 48 million households in United States took at least one camping trip in 2020, which exceeds over 6 million in comparison to the previous year.Moreover, for fresh food and drinks while camping, trekking, and other recreational activities, the population prefers a portable mini fridge.



Moreover, due to its compact size, it fits in the car easily and provides effective cooling at low energy also. This is ultimately leading to increased demand for portable mini fridges in the country.

Consumers are increasingly using e-commerce websites to buy electronics, including mini-fridges.This aspect can be relevantly owned by the factors like wide options variety at discounted prices.



Even if a product is unavailable to the customer within their country, the online platform offers the facility of providing the product within such a market to match the customers requirements precisely.

A little refrigerator that is easily transportable is called a portable mini fridge.It can be found in a wide range of forms, dimensions, and capacities while utilizing very minimal power to run.



Compact compressors, heat-exchanging pipes coiling outside the fridge, expansion valves, and refrigerant are components of mini-refrigerators.To keep the goods fresh for extended periods of time while traveling, they are typically mounted in recreational vehicles (RVs), mobile homes, and tiny residences.



They are also used to store pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. As a result, portable mini-fridges are frequently found in medical transport units, passenger and business vehicles, leisure yachts, and vanity vans.

Increasing Demand from Hospitality Sector Aiding the Market Growth

To improve customer experience, many hotel chains have started providing portable mini fridges in the rooms, which is contributing to the demand for portable mini-fridges. As per the data provided by the American Hotel & Lodging Association in the State of The Hotel Industry Report 2022, the revenues from hotel rooms are projected to reach USD 168 billion, and hotel occupancy is expected to rise by 63.4% in 2022. Moreover, various countries have taken off lockdown regulations and are inviting tourists from different countries to boost their GDP. This will ultimately lead to increased demand for portable mini fridges in different countries.

Multiple Use of Portable Mini Fridge is Contributing to the Market Growth

The key factor projected to exhibit considerable growth in the global mini refrigerator market correlates with the surge in demand for high-capacity portable refrigerators in commercial spaces such as hospitals and clinics.These commercial spaces store medications and medical devices that require specialized storage conditions.



Additionally, the demand for mini fridges is forecasted to rise among women consumers as it provides them space to keep different cosmetic items for a better product shelf life.

Demand for Energy-Efficient Appliances is Growing to Promote Growth

Due to the rising demand for energy-efficient appliances throughout the anticipated period, the global mini fridge market is anticipated to expand.This is a result of consumers preferences moving in favor of kitchen equipment with excellent power ratings that use less energy.



Moreover, with the rising electricity bills, many consumers have started moving towards energy-efficient products leading to a rise in demand for global portable mini-fridges. Distinctive qualities of mini refrigerators, including mobility, an effective cooling temperature, and large capacity as these factors drive the market for these products to expand internationally.

Market Segmentation

The portable mini fridge market is segmented on capacity, door type, and end-user by sales channel.On the basis of capacity, the market is divided into Less Than 1 cu.



Ft.,1-1.9 cu. Ft.,2-2.9 cu. Ft., 3-3.9 cu. Ft., 4-5 cu. Ft. Based on door type, the market is fragmented into single, double, and reversible. Based on the end user, the market is further divided into commercial and residential. Based on sales channel, the market is fragmented into Multi-Branded Stores, Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Online, and Others (Institutional Sales, Exclusive Stores. The market analysis also studies the regional segmentation to devise regional market segmentation, divided among North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa.

Company Profiles

Midea Group, Haier Inc., Whirlpool Corporation, Godrej Group, Electrolux AB, Living Direct, Inc., ARB USA, Danby Products Limited, LG Electronics Inc., and Whynter LLC are among the major market players in the global platform that lead the market growth of the global portable mini fridge market.



Report Scope:



In this report, the global portable mini fridge market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends, which have also been detailed below:

 Global Portable Mini Fridge Market, By Capacity:

o Less Than 1 cu. Ft.

o 1-1.9 cu. Ft.

o 2-2.9 cu. Ft.

o 3-3.9 cu. Ft.

o 4-5 cu. ft.

 Global Portable Mini Fridge Market, By Door Type

o Single Door

o Double Door

o Reversible Door

 Global Portable Mini Fridge Market, By End-User

o Commercial

o Residential

 Global Portable Mini Fridge Market, By Sales Channel:

o Multi-Branded Stores

o Supermarkets/Hypermarkets

o Online

o Others

 Global Portable Mini Fridge Market, By Region:

o North America

United States

Canada

Mexico

o Europe

France

Germany

United Kingdom

Italy

Spain

Netherlands

o Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Australia

Vietnam

o Middle East & Africa

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

UAE

Turkey

o South America

Brazil

Argentina

Colombia



Competitive Landscape



Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the global portable mini fridge market.



Available Customizations:



With the given market data, we offers customizations according to a companys specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:



Company Information



 Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06438507/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
French English

PRESS RELEASE



Regulated Information





Paris, 31 March 2023







Availability of the Annual Financial Report of Societe Generale SCF

Societe Generale SCF (Societe de Credit Foncier, Public Sector Loans) hereby informs the public that the Annual Financial Report for the period ended 31 December 2022, has been filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) on 31 March 2023.

This document, available in French only, is made available to the public, free of charge, in accordance with the conditions provided for by the regulations in force and may be consulted in the Societe Generale Public Sector Loans SCF / Regulated information section of the Societe Generale groups website (https://investors.societegenerale.com/en/financial-and-non-financial-information/debt-investors) and on the AMFs website.



Press contact :

Jean-Baptiste Froville_+33 1 58 98 68 00_ jean-baptiste.froville@socgen.com

Fanny Rouby_+33 1 57 29 11 12_ fanny.rouby@socgen.com







Societe Generale SCF

Societe Generale SCF is a specialised credit institution (etablissement de credit specialise) with the status of societe de credit foncier, incorporated under French law on 8 December 2004 as a societe anonyme a conseil d'administration. On 20 December 2007, it was authorised to act as a SCF (Societe de Credit Foncier) by the Credit Institutions and Investment Services Companies Commission (Comite des etablissements de credit et des entreprises dinvestissement) (now the ACPR Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution ).





Societe Generale



Societe Generale is one of the leading European financial services groups. Based on a diversified and integrated banking model, the Group combines financial strength and proven expertise in innovation with a strategy of sustainable growth. Committed to the positive transformations of the worlds societies and economies, Societe Generale and its teams seek to build, day after day, together with its clients, a better and sustainable future through responsible and innovative financial solutions.



Active in the real economy for over 150 years, with a solid position in Europe and connected to the rest of the world, Societe Generale has over 117,000 members of staff in 66 countries and supports on a daily basis 25 million individual clients, businesses and institutional investors around the world by offering a wide range of advisory services and tailored financial solutions. The Group is built on three complementary core businesses:

French Retail Banking with the SG bank, resulting from the merger of the two Societe Generale and Credit du Nord networks, and Boursorama. Each offers a full range of financial services with omnichannel products at the cutting edge of digital innovation;

International Retail Banking, Insurance and Financial Services, with networks in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and specialised businesses that are leaders in their markets;

with networks in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and specialised businesses that are leaders in their markets; Global Banking and Investor Solutions, which offers recognised expertise, key international locations and integrated solutions.







Societe Generale is included in the principal socially responsible investment indices: DJSI (Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, Euronext Vigeo (Europe and Eurozone), STOXX Global ESG Leaders indexes, and the MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index (World and Europe).

In case of doubt regarding the authenticity of this press release, please go to the end of Societe Generales newsroom page where official Press Releases sent by Societe Generale can be certified using blockchain technology. A link will allow you to check the documents legitimacy directly on the web page.



For more information, you can follow us on Twitter @societegenerale or visit our website societegenerale.com.

Attachment
New York, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Critical Infrastructure Protection Market by Component, Vertical and Region - Global Forecast to 2027" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05201334/?utm_source=GNW



"Physical Safety and Security to hold largest market size during the forecast period"

The physical safety and security segment includes physical identity and access control systems, perimeter intrusion systems (RADAR and sensors), video surveillance systems, screening and scanning, and others (facility management systems, emergency response, and disaster management).Physical safety & security is the protection of physical assets, such as hardware, programs, premises, and personal data, from physical threats.



Ignoring these threats can lead to severe damages or losses to owners and users.Secure and robust security systems such as high-quality video surveillance and perimeter security systems are integrated into the premises to monitor ongoing activities in and around the premises.



Video surveillance has improved drastically with the inception of video analytics and technologies, such as thermal cameras and biometric authentication.Some systems now use microwaves and radio waves to create perimeters that can alert security teams about threats.



The increased adoption of video surveillance supported by facial recognition technology is observed in various application areas, including border control, law enforcement, and government and public utilities.

"Managed Services to grow at higher CAGR during the forecast period."

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) ensure the security of critical business information and the smooth functioning of business operations.MSPs help customers update their CIP systems, solutions, and software with the latest enhancements.



Customers in-house capabilities are enhanced as MSPs safeguard physical and IT system assets.Compared to professional services, the managed services market growth is expected to increase during the forecast period as the need for third-party expertise to secure critical assets is rising.



Managed services are affordable and resourceful.It helps enterprises to focus on their core business.



With the advancement in managed services such as managed detection and response (MDR), extended detection and response (XDR) services, etc., the market is expected to grow for CIP in the coming years.

"Middle East and Africa to grow at highest CAGR during the forecast period."

The MEA region comprises significant economies, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and Israel.In the Middle East, government regulations concerning critical infrastructure protection are stringent.



Countries in MEA implement critical infrastructure protection solutions across different verticals.DarkMatter, a cybersecurity company in the UAE, has revealed that financial, utilities, transport, and oil and gas verticals are prone to cyber-attacks.



The company has further reported that the UAE is witnessing the second-highest smartphone adoption in the region and is an attractive destination for the growing cyber threats. This reliance on IoT systems has led to the need to secure these systems with critical infrastructure protection solutions.



Breakdown of Primaries

The primary sources from the supply side included various industry experts, including Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Vice Presidents (VPs), marketing directors, technology and innovation directors, and related key executives from various key companies and organizations operating in the Critical Infrastructure Protection market.

 By Company Type: Tier 1: 35%, Tier 2: 45%, and Tier 3: 20%

 By Designation: C-level: 40%, Managerial and Other levels: 60%

 By Region: Asia Pacific: 45%, Europe: 35%, and North America: 20%



The major critical infrastructure protection market vendors include BAE Systems (US), Lockheed Martin (US), General Dynamics (US), Northrop Grumman (US), Honeywell (US), Airbus (France), Thales (France), Hexagon AB (Sweden), Johnson Controls (US), and Huawei (China).



Research Coverage

The report segments the critical infrastructure protection market. It forecasts its size by component (solution, services), security type (physical safety and security, cybersecurity), vertical (financial institutions, government, defense, transport and logistics, energy and power, commercial sector, telecom, chemicals and manufacturing, oil and gas, and other verticals) and region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America).

The study also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key players in the market, their company profiles, key observations related to product and business offerings, recent developments, and key market strategies.



Key Benefits of Buying Report

The report is expected to help the leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall critical infrastructure protection market and sub-segments.It will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights to position their businesses better and plan suitable go-to-market strategies.



The report will also help stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and will provide them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05201334/?utm_source=GNW



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Short-term contract extension for Espoir Ivoirien

BW Offshore Limited has signed a short-term extension for the lease and operation of the FPSO Espoir Ivoirien in order to discuss a potential purchase of the FPSO by the client. The firm period has been extended until 28 April 2023.

The FPSO is operating on the Espoir field offshore the Ivory Coast.

For further information, please contact:

Stale Andreassen, CFO, +47 91 71 86 55

Anders S. Platou, Head of Corporate Finance & Strategy, +47 99 50 47 40

IR@bwoffshore.com or www.bwoffshore.com

About BW Offshore:

BW Offshore engineers innovative floating production solutions. The Company has a fleet of 9 FPSOs with potential and ambition to grow. By leveraging four decades of offshore operations and project execution, the Company creates tailored offshore energy solutions for evolving markets world-wide. BW Offshore has around 2,000 employees and is publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.




Vancouver, March 30, 2023 - Chesapeake Gold Corp. (TSXV: CKG) (OTCQX: CHPGF) ("Chesapeake" or the "Company") today is announcing that the Company's Chief Financial Officer, Erick Underwood, will be stepping down from his role at the Company effective 30th April 2023 to pursue another opportunity. Mr. Underwood will continue to support Chesapeake as CFO in the coming month to ensure that the 2022 annual financial statements and MD&A are completed and filed. The Company will commence an executive search and announce the CFO replacement in due course.

Alan Pangbourne, President and CEO of Chesapeake Gold, stated: "I would like to thank Erick for his significant contributions to the Company over the past 2 years and for his personal support of me during this time. Erick has played a key role in setting up the business and helping us strengthen our systems and processes as we move towards developing the Metates Project. On behalf of the Board and the senior leadership team, I wish him well in his next endeavour."

About Chesapeake

Chesapeake Gold Corp. is focused on the discovery, acquisition, and development of major gold-silver deposits in North and South America. Chesapeake's flagship asset is the Metates project ("Metates") located in Durango State, Mexico. Metates hosts one of the largest undeveloped gold-silver deposits in the Americas with over 16.77 million ounces of gold and 423.2 million ounces of silver in the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource and a further 2.13 million ounces of gold and 59.0 million ounces of silver in Inferred Mineral Resource. See technical report titled "Metates Sulphide Heap Leach Project Phase I dated December 15, 2022."

For Further Information:

For more information on Chesapeake and its Metates Project, please visit our website at www.chesapeakegold.com or contact Alan Pangbourne at invest@chesapeakegold.com or +1 778 731 1362.

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 news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160657
VANCOUVER, March 30, 2023 - Pure Gold Mining Inc. (NEX:PGM.H) ("PureGold" or the "Company") announces that today the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the "Court"), on application by the Company in its ongoing Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA") proceedings, approved the appointment of Mr. Jonathan Singh as the Company's Chief Administrative Officer ("CAO"), effective immediately. It is expected that following the planned departures of all other officers of the Company on March 31, 2023, Mr. Singh will be the Company's sole officer and signing authority. In connection with the CAO appointment, PureGold also announces that all members of the Board of Directors have each resigned as directors of the Company, effective immediately.



The above noted changes are taking place in consultation with the Company's senior lender, a fund managed by Sprott Resource Lending Corp. ("Sprott") and the court appointed monitor in the ongoing CCAA proceedings, KSV Restructuring Inc. ("KSV").

The Company expects that the trading of its common shares on the NEX Board of the TSXV Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") will be suspended following the resignation of its directors.

All inquiries regarding the CCAA proceedings of the Company should be directed to the court-appointed monitor, KSV. Information about the Company's CCAA proceedings, including all court orders made and KSV's reports, are available on KSV's website at www.ksvadvisory.com/experience/case/pure-gold-.

About Pure Gold Mining Inc.

The Company is a Canadian gold mining company, located in Red Lake, Ontario, Canada. The Company owns the PureGold Mine, which began gold production in 2021 after the successful construction of an 800 tpd underground mine and processing facility. The Company's Mine is centered on a forty-seven square kilometre property with significant discovery potential.

Additional information about the Company and its activities may be found on the Company's website at www.puregoldmining.ca and under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

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.

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to statements relating to the planned departures of officers of the Company and statements relating to the expected suspension of trading of the Company's common shares. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "planned", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made including, among others, assumptions about future prices of gold and other metal prices, currency exchange rates and interest rates, favourable operating conditions, political stability, obtaining governmental approvals and financing on time, obtaining renewals for existing licences and permits and obtaining required licences and permits, labour stability, stability in market conditions, availability of equipment, accuracy of any mineral resources, successful resolution of disputes and anticipated costs and expenditures. Many assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Company and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.

Such forward-looking information, involves known and unknown risks, which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, current economic conditions; future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; the costs and timing of the development of new deposits; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; the timing and success of exploration and development activities generally; delays in permitting; possible claims against the Company; the timing of future economic studies; labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or in the completion of exploration as well as those factors discussed in the Annual Information Form of the Company dated March 30, 2022 in the section entitled "Risk Factors", under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.




Vancouver, March 31, 2023 - Recharge Resources Ltd. ("Recharge" or the "Company") (RR:CSE) (RECHF:OTC) (SL5:Frankfurt) is pleased to provide the following corporate update on its portfolio of advanced lithium projects located in Salta, Argentina, and continued progress on its lithium, copper-gold and nickel projects located Ontario and British Columbia, Canada.

As previously announced in the news release dated March 21, 2023, the Company announced all of the warrants from the June 21st, 2022, private placement were exercised funding the Company with an additional $1,716,750. This was a significant milestone as it indicates shareholder support for the Company and its portfolio of projects.

Brussels Creek - BC, Canada

Recharge's winter drill program is under way at its 100-per-cent-owned Brussels Creek gold-copper-palladium project ("Brussels Creek") in Kamloops, B.C., Canada,

The first hole has been drilled to target depth and completed with 52 samples, cut by hand, labeled with metal dyno labels, and have been delivered to ISO-17025 accredited ALS Laboratories ("ALS") in North Vancouver, BC for analysis. All cores are stored in a locked area at the exploration camp until delivered to ALS. The drill rig will now be moved to the second drill hole location. There are no known drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the drilling data at Brussels Creek.

The aim of the 900-meter NQ drill program is to test the potential for copper-gold mineralization similar to that present at the at the adjacent New Afton mine owned by New Gold Inc. NGD.V ($1.0 Billion Market Cap). The New Afton Mine occupies the site of the historic Afton Open Pit mine, which operated from 1977 to 1997. The present mine and concentrator facility commenced production in July 2012. The mine is a block caving operation. In 2021, the mine produced 52,542 oz Au and 61,700,000 lbs Cu.



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Qualified Person

Johan T Shearer, P. Geo., Consulting Geologist, is the qualified person as defined by NI 43-101 responsible for the technical aspects of the Brussels Creek Project.

QA/QC

To ensure reliable sample results, the Company has a rigorous QA/QC program that monitors the chain-of-custody of samples and includes the insertion of blanks and certified reference standards at statistically derived intervals within each batch of samples.

Pocitos 1 Lithium brine Project - Salta, Argentina

Recharge is currently awaiting drill permits after successfully drilling the Pocitos 1 Lithium brine project ("Pocitos 1") in December 2022, confirming lithium bearing brines first discovered in 2018 with assays up to 169 PPM lithium and 161 PPM lithium being sampled over a two-week period. The Company has fully paid in both cash and shares totally USD $1.85 million in order to exercise its option to earn a 80% interest in the project which will be transferred to the Company's wholly owned subsidiary Recharge Argentina SA. The Company has a 5-year option ending March 21st, 2027 in order to acquire the balance of 20% of the project for USD $6.0 million

The Company has entered into a licencing agreement with Ekosolve to build up to a 20,000-tonne DLE lithium extraction plant at Pocitos 1 project in order to supply Richlink Capital Pty Ltd ("Richlink") up to 20,000 tonnes of lithium chloride/carbonate per year, as previously announced under a letter of intent on October 3rd, 2022 (the "LOI").

As previously announced, the basis for the NI 43-101 report is well underway after Phillip.Thomas set up the drill program in Argentina when he was there in November 2022 and again in January 2023 to measure review core, flow rates and assays to create the anticipated NI43-101 compliant report. Thomas, BSc Geol, FAusIMM MAIG, has spent the past 22 years exploring for lithium brines, including building and operating a pilot plant for production at Rincon Salar (sold to Rio Tinto for US$825 Million) as well as he and his team developed the Pozuelos salar, producing an indicated and inferred resource, from four exploration wells. (recently sold to Ganfeng for US$962 million). Thomas is independent of the Company and is NOT a shareholder of Recharge Resources.



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Qualified Person

Phillip Thomas, BSc Geol, MBusM, FAusIMM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), is a qualified person as defined under NI43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release as it pertains to the Pocitos 1 & Pocitos 2 lithium brine project.

Pocitos 2 Lithium Brine Project - Salta, Argentina

The Company has entered into an option agreement whereby the Company may acquire up to a 100% undivided interest in the Pocitos 2 Project ("Pocitos 2"), a 532-hectare lithium brine project located just outside of Salta, Argentina and contiguous to the Company's ongoing operations on the Pocitos 1 salar.

Previous surface sampling, trenching and VTEM Geophysics carried out in 2018 suggest the continuity of the targeted lithium brine aquifers continuing from the Pocitos 1 block through the Pocitos 2 block with Pit 10 from trenching on the Pocitos 2 block having the highest trench sample at 181 PPM lithium, the highest lithium value found on the Pocitos salar to date.

Figure 8. Pocitos 1 and Pocitos 2 blocks Figure 9. Pocitos 2 Geophysics Figure 9. Pocitos 2 Geophysics - red lowest resistivity

Under the terms of the Agreement, Recharge may exercise the Option and earn a 100% undivided interest in the Property, subject only to the Underlying Royalty, by paying to the Optionor cash totaling USD $744,800 and issuing share payments totaling CAD$500,000 based on the table below: The Company has made the initial share payment.

DATE FOR COMPLETION CASH PAYMENT SHARE PAYMENT Issued within 7 days of the execution of the agreement. $500,000 (1) On or before June 30, 2023 $744,800 TOTAL US$744,800 CAD $500,000 (1)

Qualified Person

Phillip Thomas, BSc Geol, MBusM, FAusIMM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), is a qualified person as defined under NI43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release as it pertains to the Pocitos 1 & Pocitos 2 lithium brine project.

Georgia Lake Lithium - Ontario, Canada

The Company has recently approved an initial reconnaissance prospecting program at its 100% owned Georgia Lake Lithium project ("Georgia Lake") located in the Thunder Bay Mining Division, Ontario, as a follow up to the previously announced heliborne magnetic survey completed in Q4 2022.

Figure 10. Imagery from heliborne magnetic survey

The reconnaissance program will start in spring once weather permits. The program will be carried out over 7-10 days and will include ground truthing and prospecting of several areas that were selected from reviewing the recently acquired airborne magnetic data, as well as a till sampling program to further evaluate the properties for their lithium potential.

The 800-hectare property is immediately contiguous to Rock Tech Lithium Inc's (RCK-V) ("Rock Tech") Georgia Lake Lithium Property and located approximately 160 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario, within the Thunder Bay Mining Division.

Qualified Person

Joerg Kleinboeck, P.Geo (JMK Exploration Consulting) has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Kleinboeck is independent of the Company and is a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101.

Pinchi Lake Nickel - BC, Canada

The 100% owned Pinchi Lake Nickel project ("Pinchi") is located approximately 15 to 30 km northwest of Fort St. James and 120 km northwest of Prince George in central British Columbia. The Pinchi was previously explored by Nanton Nickel Corp., and the project consists of three separate claim blocks totaling 3354.64 hectares that were carefully selected to cover the best sampling results (greater than 0.20% nickel in rocks) reported by Nanton Nickel company in 2013 shortly after the discovery of the Decar Nickel property owned FPX NICKEL CORP. (FPX.TSX-V). Awerite was confirmed to be a constituent of the nickel values.

Nickel values up to 2,552 Ni and Magnesium levels, up to a high of 27.16% have been discovered on the project.



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Qualified person

James M. Hutter, P.Geo is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for the technical information contained in this release as it pertains to Pinchi Lake.

CEO, David Greenway stated, "The Company is pushing forward with drilling ongoing at Brussels Creek, drilling pending at Poctios 1 & 2 and Spring recon approved at Georgia Lake Lithium. The Company owns a 100% interest in the Brussels Creek project, Pinchi Lake Project and the Georgia Lake Projects. The Company has exercised its option to acquire an 80% interest in Pocitos 1 with an option to acquire up to a 100% percent interest in both Pocitos 1 & 2 lithium brine projects. The Company has recently received $1.7 million through warrant exercises and is funded for the upcoming exploration season to aggressively continue pursuing its exciting portfolio of assets."

About Recharge Resources

Recharge Resources is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on exploring and developing the production of high-value battery metals to create green, renewable energy to meet the demands of the advancing electric vehicle and fuel cell vehicle market.

All stakeholders are encouraged to follow the company on its social media profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

"David Greenway"

David Greenway, CEO

For further information, please contact:

Recharge Resources Ltd.

Joel Warawa

Phone: 778-588-5473

E-Mail: info@recharge-resources.com

Website: recharge-resources.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding Recharge's intention to continue to identify potential transactions and make certain corporate changes and applications. Forward looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits Recharge will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect managements' current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including Recharge's results of exploration or review of properties that Recharge does acquire. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Recharge assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.


Highlights



Total JORC Resource of 1.43 billion tonnes

Estimated 4.73 million tonnes of contained Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) in-situ

Mineralization contains approximately 24% highly valuable magnetic rare earth elements

TREO average grade of 3,309 ppm

Significant upside potential with 75% of district yet to be drilled and deposit remaining open at depth

Deposit is from surface to at least 150 meters with consistent grades throughout making it ideal for large scale, low-cost open pit mining

Environmentally friendly with low levels of penalty thorium and uranium elements



PHOENIX, March 31, 2023 -- The Board of American Rare Earths (ASX: ARR | OTCQB: ARRNF | FSE: 1BHA) the 'Company' is pleased to announce a maiden JORC Resource estimate for its Halleck Creek Rare Earths Project 'Halleck Creek' in Wyoming, USA. The JORC Resource at Halleck Creek is 1.43 billion tonnes with an average TREO grade of 3,309 ppm, and an average NdPr grade of 734 ppm. The JORC Resource estimate has exceeded expectations in comparison to previous exploration target estimates and has demonstrated the Halleck Creek project has the potential to become a world class deposit. The resource area covers 949 acres of the total exploration area held by the Company which totals 8,165 acres, meaning the JORC Resource has the potential to greatly increase with future exploration campaigns.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Chris Gibbs said: "These results confirm the Company has a strategically significant rare earth asset, in the United States, which should enable the largest economy in the world to reduce its dependence on China or other imported rare earths.

"Global magnetic rare earth oxide consumption is forecast to more than triple by 2035. The US government has made no secret that it is seeking to onshore supply of all critical materials for supply chain and national security purposes. There is only one producing rare earth mine within the USA, the Mountain Pass mine in California. The USA needs a number of these mines to secure onshore supply of rare earths and we believe Halleck Creek is part of the future solution.

"With a maiden JORC Resource estimate of 1.43 billion tonnes this project is strategically significant, containing over 4.73 million tonnes of rare earth oxides. With only a quarter of the licence area drilled and remaining open at depth, the upside potential is significant. The Halleck Creek project is shaping up to be a strategic asset for the USA to supply rare earths for future generations".

Table 1 summarizes estimated in-situ resources at Halleck Creek by resource area and category using a TREO cut-off of 1,500 ppm.

Table 1 - Estimated Rare Earth Resources at Halleck Creek

Resource Area

Tonnes (millions) Kg TREO (millions) Kg NdPr (millions) Grade (ppm) Indicated Inferred Total Indicated Inferred Total Indicated Inferred Total TREO NdPr Overton Mountain 348 434 782 1,202 1,464 2,666 274 326 600 3,408 767 Red Mountain 274 373 647 907 1,158 2,065 202 248 450 3,190 695 Grand Total 622 807 1,430 2,109 2,622 4,731 477 573 1,050 3,309 734



Next Steps

Under the supervision of Wood PLC, one of the world's leading consulting and engineering companies, metallurgical test work is ongoing to optimize the process flow sheet. This includes bulk WHIMS and floatation test work which are well advanced, to assess the likely constituents of an upgraded concentrate product. Testing will commence immediately thereafter on the further upgrade of the concentrates via a leaching process. The metallurgical test work will provide the foundation for the Scoping Study scheduled for later this year. Additional exploration and development work also continues at Halleck Creek.

"This is an excellent outcome from our drilling program and a key step towards creating significant shareholder value. We are committed to growing our rare earth resources and developing our operations in the USA.

"This market announcement has been authorized for release to the market by the Board of American Rare Earths Ltd.."

The Company prepared a comprehensive technical report entitled "Technical Report of Exploration and Maiden Resource Estimates of the Halleck Creek Rare Earths Project March 2023" for the Halleck Creek project. This report is available from the ARR website https://americanrareearths.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Halleck_Creek_Technical_Report_Appendices19.pdf.

Mr. Creagh O'Connor

Chairman

Competent Persons Statement:

The information in this document is based on company work performed in March 2023. This work was reviewed and approved for release by Mr. Dwight Kinnes (Society of Mining Engineers #4063295RM) is employed by American Rare Earths and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 JORC Code. Mr. Kinnes consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based upon the information in the form and context in which it appears.

The information in this document that relates to Mineral Resource Estimate is based on information provided by Mr. Alfred Gillman. Mr. Gillman is Principal of the independent consultant firm Odessa Resources Pty Ltd. Mr. Gillman is a Fellow and Chartered Professional of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AUSIMM) and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 JORC Code. Mr. Gillman consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based upon the information in the form and context in which it appears.

The information in this report that relates to Halleck Creek Exploration Results were reviewed by Mr. Jim Guilinger. Mr. Guilinger is a Member of a Recognized Overseas Professional Organization included in a list promulgated by the ASX (SME Registered Member of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Inc). Mr. Guilinger is Principal of independent consultants World Industrial Minerals LLC. Mr. Guilinger has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which they are undertaking as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr. Guilinger consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond American Rare Earths Ltd.'s control.

Concurrently, this press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the potential development, economic feasibility, resource, grade and other mineralization characteristics, and drilling and exploration methods that may be utilized in potential exploration of the Company's projects. When used in this press release, the words "potential," "plans," "indicate," "expect," "intend," "hopes," "believe," "may," "will," "if," "possible," "anticipate" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although, not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, uncertainty of mineralized material and mineral resource estimates, risks to projected and estimated economics not reflecting actual economic results due to the uncertainty of mining processes, potential non-uniform sections of mineralized material, potential mining hazards and accidents, changes in equipment and labor costs, changes in projected mineral prices and demand, competition in the mining industry, risks related to project development determinations, the inherently hazardous nature of mining-related activities, potential effects on the Company's operations of environmental regulations, risks due to legal proceedings, liquidity risks and risks related to uncertainty of being able to raise capital on favorable terms or at all, as well as those factors discussed in filings with the Australian Securities Exchange. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements. The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved.

Cautionary Note to US Investors

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") limits disclosure for U.S. reporting purposes to mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce and that are compliant with SEC Industry Guide 7. Investors are cautioned, that where a Resource has not been specifically published, not to assume that any part or all of the proposed projects contains any mineral deposits that will ever be converted into resources or that any inferred mineral resource or measured and indicated resources exists or is economically or legally mineable. The proposed projects do not contain any known proven or probable ore reserves or mineral resource compliant with SEC Industry Guide 7 reporting standards. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosures set forth in the Company's latest reports filed with the ASX.

About American Rare Earths:

One of the only ASX listed companies with exposure to the rapidly expanding US market, American Rare Earths is developing its 100% owned magnet metals projects, La Paz in Arizona, and Halleck Creek in Wyoming. Both have potential to be among the largest, rare earths deposits in North America. The Company is concurrently evaluating other exploration opportunities while collaborating with US Government supported R&D to develop a sustainable domestic supply chain for the renewable future.

Media Contact:

Susan Assadi

347 977 7125

sassadi@americanrareearths.com.au









Figure 1 - Modelled geologic domains

The estimated in-place resource at Halleck Creek is 1.43 billion tonnes with an average TREO grade of 3,309 ppm , and an average NdPr grade of 734 ppm (Table 1). Total estimated indicated resources comprise approximately 43.5%, with 56.5% as inferred resources across the project area.

An image accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/80765241-af1a-4347-bd2d-2ed20a116ad6
VANCOUVER, March 31, 2023 - China Gold International Resources Corp. Ltd. (TSX:CGG); (HKEX:2099) ("China Gold International Resources" or the "Company" ) reports that production has been suspended at its Jiama Copper-Gold Polymetallic Mine due to a tailings overflow.

On March 27, 2023, a tailings overflow occurred due to minor tailing dam damages from the Guolanggou tailings pond at the Company's Jiama Mine. The Company immediately launched an emergency plan to assess and contain the overflow. Production operations were suspended and non-essential personnel were evacuated from the affected area. The Company was able to quickly contain and repair the damage while ensuring the safety of people and the environment. With the repair of Guolanggou tailings dam, the overflow has been contained. In addition, the Slope monitoring radar has been installed to monitor the starter dyke and subsequent dykes of the tailing pond on a 24-hour basis.

The tailings overflow did not cause any contamination to the surrounding environment, and there was no impact on the safety of employees and local community. Under the supervision and guidance of the emergency management and mine safety supervision departments, the Company is currently conducting a comprehensive risk assessment of the tailings pond, developing and implementing a restoration plan to ensure the safety of the tailings pond.

About China Gold International Resources

China Gold International Resources is a gold and base metal mining company incorporated in BC, Canada and operates two mines, the Chang Shan Hao Gold Mine in Inner Mongolia, China and the Jiama Copper-Gold Polymetallic Mine in Tibet, China. The Company's objective is to build shareholder value through growing production at its current mining operations, expanding its resource base, and acquiring and developing new projects internationally. The Company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CGG) and the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEX: 2099).

For further information on the Company, please refer to SEDAR's website at www.sedar.com, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited's website at www.hkex.com.hk, the Company's website at www.chinagoldintl.com, or call the Company at +1-604-609-0598 and email to info@chinagoldintl.com.

Cautionary Note About Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information regarding China Gold International Resources contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although China Gold International Resources believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. China Gold International Resources cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what China Gold International Resources currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration results, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The information contained herein is stated as of the current date and subject to change after that date.


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Sprint race Saturday

Sprint races have been one of the biggest new additions to the format of race weekends over the past few years. The new races were first added to Formula 1 in 2021 to replace traditional qualifying. The aim was to make qualifying more exciting, but the first year already showed that it had not succeeded: drivers largely avoided duelling on track to avoid getting damaged. To prevent this, a new points system was introduced for the sprint race in 2022 to entice drivers more into on-track duels.

So now, yet another step would be taken to improve sprint races. In this new format, sprint races would be separate from the regular race. Saturday would then be entirely dedicated to the sprint race: qualifying in the morning, and then the sprint race in the afternoon. However, the result of the sprint race will no longer affect the starting grid for Sunday's race. Instead, this starting grid will be determined by a traditional qualifying session, which will then be held on Friday afternoon. This way, drivers would have more room to duel in the sprint, as it would not negatively affect the race on Sunday. The first weekend using this format would be the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as that is the first time a sprint race will be held this season.

Red Bull open to the adjustment

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner confirmed in the press conference that this format is being discussed. "We are currently talking about adding a second qualifying session to the sprint race," Steiner acknowledged. "But we don't yet know how and when." Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner added: "Hopefully we can tidy up the format of the sprint weekends a bit. I know that is being worked hard on, so hopefully, we can finalise that soon."

Red Bull Racing consultant Helmut Marko tells ServusTV that he and the team are open to this new change. "We even set [a second qualifying] as a requirement last year," reports the Austrian. "With two qualifying sessions, you can take more risk in the sprint, and then the race becomes more exciting. Saturday's practice was useless anyway. But if that now becomes a qualifying session, Saturday will be a lot better. And then on Sunday, you start with the results of the real qualifying. So it gets better across the board."
McLaren supremo Zak Brown is not worried Lando Norris may be scouring his contract for an exit clause.

The 23-year-old Briton is regarded as one of the top young drivers on the grid - and he has been linked with a potential move to a faster team.

And so, at Woking, work is progressing on what team boss Andrea Stella describes as a "kind of B-spec" car that will touch down before the summer break.

As for Norris, CEO Brown says there will be no early escape.

"There are no early termination options in Lando's contract," he said in Melbourne. "At all."

Early last year, Norris signed a long-term contract that will keep him in an orange car until the end of 2025.

"If by the end of his current deal he doesn't win and doesn't feel like it, then, like any driver, he'll consider going. After all, in the end, we're all here to win," American Brown added.

"But Lando is happy in the team, he sees our progress, he is a real team player. So the main thing is that he is comfortable, and we have time to prove that we can provide him with a car that can win."

(GMM)
Daniel Ricciardo admits he doesn't want to settle in to 'sabbatical' life too much.

When he lost his McLaren race seat, and signed up as a Red Bull third driver rather than seek a drive further down the grid, the 33-year-old said he was looking forward to time off.

"It's only been a few months," the Australian said in Melbourne, which is his first appearance in a paddock since the last grand prix of 2022.

"But I think some itches have been scratched, so to speak. I thought I might just sit on the couch and watch movies all day and eat junk food, but that's just not me."

Therefore, he says he has maintained his training regime and could be doing some "tyre testing" in a Red Bull cockpit before too long.

"The signs are pointing towards getting back on the grid," Ricciardo said. "I feel like that's where I'm tracking in my head and a few of the habits that I'm having or doing is pointing towards that.

"So even these things have made me realise how much I do care about it."

Earlier, it seemed that his best option for a seat this year was at Haas - with boss Gunther Steiner revealing that he couldn't pay the $10 million asking price.

But Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer admitted on Friday that while he "discussed a contract with Daniel, we choose Pierre (Gasly) when he became available".

"I wouldn't be surprised if he returns to racing in the future," he added.

Ricciardo insists: "I'm still at a point where it's not at any cost, it's not just to be back on the grid.

"A lot of the reason for taking this year off was that I didn't want to just jump back into a car, any car just to be one of the F1 drivers. And I still don't see myself starting from scratch and rebuilding a career from ground zero and going at it for another decade.

"I appreciate I might not have every opportunity under the sun, but I want to win. I want to be back with a with a top team and obviously a team where I have my confidence back and my mojo."

In fact, Ricciardo thinks he lost that 'mojo' over two seasons at McLaren.

"Maybe when I look back that's a weakness of mine, but in a way it's a strength as I feel better at the front of the grid. I feel like I perform in those situations with a bit more pressure and a bit more emphasis on a podium," he said.

However, Ricciardo says he is yet to enter serious talks about 2024 with any teams.

"I'm happy to roll with it probably until the summer, or June, July, and then see where I'm at, maybe sit down with my team and think what are we going to need to do now to realistically try to put me back on the grid."

(GMM)
Australian GP 2023

Oracle Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen (3rd, 1:19.502): "The conditions weren't great out there today, we had low grip and the tarmac seemed to be slippery. It was quite tough to switch the tyres on, so that was difficult when you want to push immediately. There were also quite a few interruptions with the red flags, so we never really got into a rhythm. It was difficult to tell how the car felt as we never got a window where I thought we were on top of the tyres. We'll look over the data tonight and see what we have to do tomorrow. The conditions should be clearer for the rest of the weekend, so we can focus on that."

Sergio Perez (7th, 1:20.083): "There were some issues with the GPS in FP1 and it felt like a lot of us still had issues with it in FP2. We made some good changes from FP1 that I could feel in sector 1 and sector 2 but I couldn't get a full lap in the afternoon with the traffic in sector 3. I was a bit surprised in the damp conditions that I couldn't get a good sense of the track, but in the dry it was great and the car felt good. There is plenty to do tomorrow, but we still take a lot of confidence from today. Tomorrow we will see where we really are."

Scuderia Ferrari

Charles Leclerc (2nd, 1:19.332): "We explored quite a few set-up variations today, which was interesting as it felt like we were going in a right direction. That doesn't mean that we have the same pace as our competitors, as they still seem to have the upper hand for now. There is still a lot of work to do before we can get back in a proper fight but we will put all our energy in making further steps forward."

Carlos Sainz (5th, 1:19.695): "This Friday was a bit compromised by the rain in FP2, so we decided not to do many laps in the rain, choosing instead to start preparing everything for tomorrow. On the other hand, FP1 was very useful for the team. We went through very different set-up configurations trying to improve the feeling with the car and to get to understand the current package a bit more. We are pushing hard to maximise everything and I look forward to the rest of the weekend."

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

George Russell (4th, 1:19.672): "Overall, it wasn't too bad a day. We've been making good steps with the car on Fridays. We've been changing a few things and getting the car in a nice window as the weekend progresses. That's quite satisfying from the driver's seat, knowing that the car feels better and as a team we have contributed towards that. FP2 was frustrating for everybody with the rain. It was still a reasonable session for us though, as we made a step forward from FP1. Let's see what tomorrow brings with the weather. The rain came in quite suddenly today and there may be some around tomorrow so I would be happy for things to be spiced up. The difference in tarmac race-to-race has a substantial effect on the car and the feeling of driving it. Jeddah and Melbourne have similar tarmac so you can really push the tyres hard. You can do numerous push laps which is unique; in Qualifying we're going to be doing lots of laps. That's different to the norm so it could be exciting. We know we've got more performance to come in future races, but we need to maximise our chances this weekend. We will keep trying our best to maximise the potential of the car."

Lewis Hamilton (13th, 1:20.323): "This morning was good, but this afternoon wasn't as good. We made some changes after FP1 that didn't quite work and we will look to revert this evening. It also rained in FP2, so it wasn't the greatest of sessions. You don't tend to learn a huge amount in those mixed conditions. It's more about keeping the car safe. As we saw this morning, traffic is always an issue here. Everyone had troubles in FP1 with the GPS so hopefully that won't happen again, and we won't get in each other's way. We won't be competing against the Red Bulls tomorrow. We will be trying to get up as high as possible though; I think we've got similar pace to the last race in Saudi Arabia."

Andrew Shovlin: "This track is similar to Jeddah in several respects, and we've not made significant changes to the car. We therefore came here expecting to have to manage the same issues as we've been dealing with at the last two races. It's been a bit of a messy day with the red flag in the first practice when the GPS systems failed and the rain in the afternoon. We've found some good directions in terms of setup, but we didn't necessarily get all the good bits on the car all at the same time. As such, we've got a bit of work to do piecing together the findings from the various experiments but that's just a normal part of a Friday evening. The conditions are going to be even colder tomorrow so getting temperature in the tyres could be a challenge in Qualifying. We should have relevant conditions in the final practice session to understand the issues however."

BWT Alpine F1 Team

Esteban Ocon (6th, 1:19.725): "It's always nice to be back driving in Melbourne although it's fair to say that it was a tricky Friday for everyone today. After some decent laps on Hards, Free Practice 1 was interrupted by a GPS issue, which impacted the whole grid and made running on the Soft compound very tricky. We saw heavy traffic and the session was red flagged very quickly. Thereafter, the afternoon session saw us completing one good run before rain hit the track, making it impossible to run dry tyres ahead of what looks to be a dry Qualifying and Race. It will be up to us to use the limited learning from today and maximise it ahead of tomorrow and Sunday's Grand Prix."

Pierre Gasly (10th, 1:20.206): "It's been a reasonable Friday for us today and I've been pleased with the running we managed to complete. It was not a smooth day in terms of being on-track due to the red flag in the first session and then the rain in the second session, so we definitely have a lot of work to do ahead of tomorrow and we will need to be decisive in the car set-up. I felt good in the car, and I think we're in a decent position ahead of the rest of the weekend. It looks like it will be dry tomorrow and Sunday, so we'll need to maximise tomorrow's Free Practice 3 to be in good shape for Qualifying in the afternoon."

Pat Fry: "Today's on-track running was severely limited with the red flags in Free Practice 1 and the rain in Free Practice 2. It means our run programme was impacted and the data on car set-up and tyre behaviour on different fuel loads is more limited than usual, though, that is the same for all teams. Free Practice 3 tomorrow afternoon will be a crucial session to fine tune the cars. Given today's interruptions, every lap in Practice will certainly be important and we must maximise our time on track and our learning during the session."

McLaren F1 Team

Lando Norris (8th, 1:20.176): "I think it's been a decent day. I struggled a little bit with my overall feeling in FP1 but it was still productive. We used the whole of FP1 to do some more aero testing for the future, so, I never got the best read initially. FP2 felt like it was really my first proper session, and I got a little more comfortable. So, it was a good day. We got through all of our tests, got through what we wanted to do, got a good reading on the car and can make some changes for tomorrow  and I got a bit of wet testing in as well. So, a productive day, and we'll try to go better tomorrow."

Oscar Piastri (14th, 1:20.380): "It was great to be out on track here in Melbourne and see all the fans. It was nice to have a bit of wet weather in FP2 as it was the first time running on the Intermediate tyres for me, so it was some really useful learning. I think the first day was good and we're in a decent place for tomorrow. There's still prep to do overnight into tomorrow but I'm adjusting to the track and getting used to it. All-in-all a pretty solid day."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: "We've had a decent day of practice in Albert Park. The car ran reliably and smoothly. Much of the dry first session was spent working through aerodynamic test items. The rain in FP2 cut the dry running short, but at the same time it presented us with an opportunity to test the car on Intermediates. This was particularly useful for Oscar, being the first time he's ran these tyres on an F1 car. In terms of competitiveness, we seem to be in a position similar to that we had in Saudi, which means we'll be giving it a good go to get into Q3 tomorrow and to score points in Sunday's race."

Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake

Valtteri Bottas (12th, 1:20.312): "We showed some progress from the first to the second session, both in terms of feeling with the car and of pace. It is a little tricky here with the traffic, as it's a narrow track and there aren't many places where to give way, but it has been the same for everybody this morning. Both sessions have been a bit mixed; I wasn't entirely happy with the balance of the car during FP1, but we changed the setup ahead of FP2 and tested the new nose and front wing with positive results. Overall, I am feeling good ahead of the weekend: there is still some work to do and some time to find, but we are on the right path."

Guanyu Zhou (15th, 1:20.470): "The initial feeling today is quite positive and I think we're in a better place than the times would show. We had some good preparation and feedback from the car, and I was able to try the new updates which seem to be a step forward. Of course, we need a little more running in dry conditions to have a clearer idea: the rain changed our plans a little, and even in FP1 it was difficult to have a clean run. My run on softs was interrupted by the red flag and traffic was much of an issue, but that's just how it is in Melbourne. We will make the most out of FP3 and be as prepared as we can be for qualifying."

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team

Fernando Alonso (1st, 1:18.887): "It was a good Friday for us and nice to be back in Australia. In FP1 we concentrated on some test items and ran through our programme smoothly. The afternoon was obviously impacted by the rain, so there is still some work to do tomorrow. We need to learn more about the tyres and the long run pace of the car because there was not much time for that today. So far though the car seems to behave well. The forecast tomorrow looks dry for now, and we would welcome that given we only experienced these conditions in the previous two races."

Lance Stroll (16th, 1:20.579): "Albert Park is a track we all look forward to driving so it was good to get back out there today. The car was feeling good and we used FP1 to test various new parts which gives us plenty of data to look through this evening as we continue to learn about the AMR23. We did not log as many laps as we would have liked during FP2 because of the rain, but it is something that all teams will have struggled with so I do not think it puts us at a disadvantage for the weekend ahead. Thankfully, the weather looks like it will improve tomorrow, but it has been fairly unpredictable today so you never know!"

Haas F1 Team

Nico Hulkenberg (9th, 1:20.194): "It's what they say about Melbourne, four seasons in one day. Today was one of those days and it was a bit short with limited running in FP2 because of the rain. I have a positive feeling, the car felt good and the balance wasn't too far off so now it's the usual optimizing the set-up for tomorrow. It's hard to tell about tomorrow from today, but I'll stay open-minded and give it everything as always."

Kevin Magnussen (19th, 1:21.266): "Sometimes in practice you don't get your lap when you need it and on new tires  the soft tires  I just got traffic with that GPS failure. In FP2, it started raining when we went out so I'm not too worried about the positions, I'm happy about the feeling in the car. Given all the stuff that happened today, I don't really think we can see who is where. I'm just going with the feeling and that's positive, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what we can do."

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: "FP1 was good for us today. There was a little bit of confusion when the GPS didn't work therefore you can see Kevin at the end of the classifications because he couldn't put a proper lap in  Norris was out there, and Norris didn't know we were around, and we didn't know Norris was around. Otherwise, good progress was made in FP1. For FP2 there was a little bit more confusion, this time with the rain coming. We had a telemetry issue on Kevin's car where he lost some time so he couldn't put a lap in when it was dry. We learned a lot today, so we just need to do a good job in FP3 and we'll be ready for qualifying."

Scuderia AlphaTauri

Yuki Tsunoda (11th, 1:20.220): "We started with a difficult FP1 as I struggled with the rear, but I'm happy with our FP2 performance. There was traffic in FP1 caused by GPS issues which caused me to slow down a lot in the last sector, meaning the tyres were not up to temperature when I started my quick lap and I experienced a lack of grip. We don't know exactly where we are compared to the rest of the field, but we will concentrate on what we have to do as a team to be able to put it together for tomorrow. It will be close and we are aiming for Q3, but first through to Q2. The midfield is tight so any small mistakes are costly, but the car is better than last year, so once we've reviewed the data, we see what we can do about tomorrow."

Nyck de Vries (17th, 1:20.600): "Today's sessions were certainly different in terms of conditions but also as for learning and trying various things. The GPS issue didn't help, especially due to the nature of the track in which the tyre warm-up also plays an important role. We had a good FP1, after which we made some changes for FP2 to better understand what our new upgrades are doing. Because there is a small bit of grass between the track and the wall, it is a tricky street track where there's no margin for error. After today, there are a few unknowns about the new upgrades, but we will find out more after the analysis we do tonight. We will need to continue to put things together and build on them during FP3 tomorrow."

Jonathan Eddolls, Chief Race Engineer: "We didn't have the most straight-forward of Fridays in Melbourne. FP1 started according to plan with both cars running the Medium tyre and Yuki testing some new aero components. As is always the case here, the level of grip was improving significantly during the session and the lap times were improving lap by lap. Our performance looked respectable, so we fitted the Soft tyres expecting to find another step in grip, but both drivers struggled to make it work and did not improve. In fact, Yuki had an unexpected snap entering Turn 1, lost the car, and in hitting the kerb on the outside he damaged the floor, which meant the end to his session since there wasn't enough time to repair it. We carried out a number of setup changes for FP2 and moved Nyck to the new aero components. We could see rain on the radar about 30 minutes into the session, so we thought we could get out for a couple of short runs beforehand, with the Hard first followed by the Soft. However, we had a drizzle 15 minutes in so we didn't get a short run on the Soft tyre on either car. The rain intensity increased so that was it for dry running. We did a few laps on intermediates at the end of the session with Yuki just to increase our understanding of that tyre, but we stayed in the garage with Nyck after spotting a small mechanical issue on his car. We have quite a bit to think about overnight in preparation for tomorrow and the race. We didn't get to cover all of the work planned, so I expect a busy FP3 session tomorrow to help fill the gaps we have."

Williams Racing

Alexander Albon (18th, 1:21.182): "It's tricky to know where we stand today with the weather conditions. I think we're in a decent place and I felt very happy with the car during FP1. It's going to be tight out there but let's see; I'm positive and feel like compared to last year the car feels much better and we're in the fight."

Logan Sargeant (20th, No Time): "A bit of a messy first day here in Australia. I think generally, the pace isn't too bad, and I felt comfortable with the track right away, so there's plenty of positives to take into tomorrow. I think if we can make the most of FP3, we can set ourselves up for a good qualifying."

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: "Another mixed Friday with plenty of positives but also a problem that cost Logan a lot of track time. His car stopped towards the end of FP1 with an electrical issue. Despite a lot of work in the garage, we were unable to repair his car in time for FP2. Unfortunately, this cost him track time at a circuit that is new to him and also denied him a chance of trying the Intermediate Pirelli tyres. Alex enjoyed a much more straightforward day with promising pace throughout the day. He was pretty happy with the car in both the dry and wet conditions and was able to run his intended programme. We were able to try a few new parts on the car today and we will assess their performance tonight before deciding whether to commit to them for the rest of the weekend."
Ford in $4.5 billion deal for EV battery materials plant

Kwame Larweh Business News Mar - 30 - 2023 , 13:09

U.S. carmaker Ford has joined PT Vale Indonesia and China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt's as their new partner in a $4.5 billion nickel processing plant in Indonesia, the companies said on Thursday.

The investment is Ford's first in the Southeast Asian country and underscores growing appetite among automakers for raw materials used in producing electric vehicle (EV) batteries, which account for about 40 per cent of a vehicle's sticker price, aiming to cut costs and close the gap on EV market leader Tesla.

Volkswagen, Europe's biggest automaker, this month said that it would invest 180 billion euros ($196 billion) over five years in areas including battery production and the sourcing of raw materials.

Indonesia, which has the world's biggest nickel reserves, has been trying to develop downstream industries for the metal, ultimately aiming to produce batteries and electric vehicles.

The proposed high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plant will be located in Pomalaa in Southeast Sulawesi, where Vale operates a nickel mine.

Vale and Huayou began construction of the plant in November and commercial operation is expected to start in 2026.

Febriany Eddy, chief executive of Vale Indonesia, said the deal is unique in bringing the U.S. automaker into an upstream nickel business.

She said that Vale has a 30% stake in the project, with the remainder being controlled by Ford and Huayou.

The companies did not say how much Ford will invest in the plant, which is expected to produce 120,000 tonnes per year of mixed hydroxide precipitate, a material extracted from nickel ore for use in EV batteries.

"Ford can help ensure that the nickel that we use in electric vehicle batteries is mined, produced within the same ESG standards as part of our business around the world," Christopher Smith, Ford's chief government affairs officer, said at the signing ceremony.

Indonesia's government has banned exports of unprocessed nickel ore since 2020 to ensure supply for existing and potential investors while it also courts global EV makers such as Tesla and China's BYD Group to invest in the country.
Toyota Global sales up in February

Kwame Larweh Business News Mar - 30 - 2023 , 13:00

Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday that global sales hit a record for the month of February as it bounced back from severe pandemic induced parts shortages, adding that worldwide production also increased for a second straight month.

Japans biggest automaker said in a statement, however, that shortages of parts continue to be a problem.

During the pandemic, it fared better than most car makers in managing supply chains, but even so ended up cutting monthly production targets repeatedly last year.

Last month, its global sales jumped 10.3% to 773,271 vehicles, driven by a blistering 53.2% climb in domestic sales.

That compares with a particularly weak February last year when sales sharply declined due to a lack of semiconductors.

It said worldwide production of Toyota-branded vehicles rose 2% to 755,839, slightly ahead of its goal of 750,000.

The increase comes after an 8.8% jump in January.

Domestic production continued to show a strong recovery, climbing 11.2% in February after a 30.1% surge in January.
Do we know why Spike Lee was in Ghana? - Movie producer Peter Sedufia jabs critics

Gifty Owusu-Amoah Showbiz News Mar - 30 - 2023 , 19:54

Ghanaian movie producer and Creative Director at Old Films Production, Peter Sedufia has defended claims that players in the movie industry didnt show any commitment to meet award-winning American director and producer, Spike Lee on his visit to Ghana recently.

Stakeholders in the movie industry had been condemned for their lackadaisical attitude to work following a disclosure by Spike Lee that he had not been approached by any Ghanaian filmmaker during his time in Ghana.

Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Asaase Radio, the Da 5 Bloods filmmaker stated that he would have loved to communicate with people in the film industry and share some trade ideas, among others but that couldnt happen.

I did not know that there is a thriving film industry in Ghana, I know about Nigeria. And I made the point that it was publicised that I was coming and no one approached me from the film office. I would have loved to meet the people in the film industry here [in Ghana], he said during the interview.

Peter Sedufia says people should chill about the whole brouhaha

In a rebuttal on Facebook however, Peter Sedufia said it was quite unfortunate his colleagues and himself were being criticised and should be given a brief.

These knee-jerk reactionary behaviours are part of the reason we're stuck as an industry...

1. Do we know why Spike Lee was in Ghana?

2. Do we know his itinerary before wishing to have bombarded him with our unplanned/unsolicited film industry appointments?

3. Do we know who even invited him and on whose ticket he was here, and whether that person was opened to other people tapping into their investment?

Eg. I invite James Cameron to Ghana, pay his travel expenses and accommodation for my personal purpose, only for random people to come and bombard him with unplanned and unintended appointments. Does this make sense to any right thinking person?

If Spike Lee wanted to meet Ghanaian filmmaking Community, he would have mentioned it before coming, then we'd be aware of the invitation to treat. Or, whoever was inviting him would have made that known. He can't pretend not to know people make films in Ghana.

If he was invited on the ticket of the government, then there's a communication failure somewhere. I cannot single-handedly make my way to Spike Lee to make an appointment to have an entire film industry conversation with him. Where's my access point?

People should just chill about these whole brouhaha...

We don't create our own opportunities, but we always want to jump and grab other people's creations. If you need Spike Lee, James Cameron, etc, for a film industry conversation, make a conscious effort to invite them, and they'll decide how to treat your invitation. Don't wait to parasite on someone else's investment. Give us a break!, he said.
21-year-old man jailed 4 years for robbery

Gloria Apprey Life Mar - 30 - 2023 , 15:44

An unemployed 21-year-old man, Joseph Sedor, has been sentenced to serve a four-year prison sentence for robbery.

He broke into his neighbours house and stole items valued at GH138,390.

The items included a double-deck fridge, a stove, an oven, 36 pieces of cloths and six pillows.

Charged with causing damage, unlawful entry and stealing, the convict pleaded guilty to all the charges and was convicted on his own plea at an Adenta Circuit Court presided over by Her Honour Sedinam Awo Balokah, last Monday.

Ms Balokah convicted the accused to one year on count one (causing damage), one and a half years

on count two (unlawful entry) and four years on count three (stealing) to run concurrently.

The prosecutor, Chief Inspector, Maxwell Lanyo, in his submission, told the court that the

complainant, Eric Gaanu, was a Detective Lance Corporal stationed at Madina, Accra. He was also the

caretaker of the house where the robbery took place.

Chief Inspector Lanyo said the house belonged to one Madam Chyskysha Ennis, who lived in France.

The prosecutor said Sedor was a resident of Agbogba, Accra, and on March 4, 2023, at midnight, he destroyed the main security door in order to gain access into Madam Chyskyshas house.

He said all the items were retrieved from the convict after he was caught by the complainant/caretaker. When questioned, Sedor said he acted alone.
Catfish farming, New money maker

Gloria Apprey Life Mar - 30 - 2023 , 15:19

Three catfish rearers have highlighted the economic and profitable prospects of the venture, referring to it as the new money maker.

According to them, because the industry is relatively new and unsaturated with suppliers, there is not much competition for customers.

However, in interviews with The Mirror last week, it seemed demand was beginning to exceed supply as at some Point and kill catfish joints, market women bemoaned the difficulty in accessing the fish for their trade.

Mr Rockson Kporku of Mukase Farms at Aburi has been a large scale catfish farmer for seven years

According to the owner of Aquarium Catfish and Bar in Osu, Accra, Ms Rosemre Hollomah, there were days she had to disappoint customers because she did not have the fish in stock.

According to her, before the fish could be put on the menu, it needed to weigh at least one kilogramme.

However, most catfish farmers were start-ups, as such their fish were yet to grow to the required weight, she explained.

In separate interviews, three market women at the Madina market who traded in smoked catfish attributed their expensive prices to the scarcity of the fish and the current economic challenges in the country.

At the time of this report, a very small-sized smoked catfish sold at GH6.

This reporter visited three catfish farms within Accra to probe what went into the rearing of this fish and the challenges.

How to start

One of the fish farmers, owner of Mukase farms at Aburi in the Eastern Region, Mr Rockson Kporku, said he had been rearing the fish on a large scale for seven years.

He said catfish rearing could be done in dug out ponds, tarpaulin pools, a cemented well, a white poly tank or anything that could hold enough water but should not be black in colour.

He explained that the non-black rule was because the fish were black skinned and so in a black container, it would be difficult to notice when something went wrong with them.

Mr Kporku said he used the tarpaulin pool option and had ten huge ones installed on his farm. In addition, he reared poultry, goats and cattle.

Mr Kporku, who is an accountant, explained that baby catfish which were three to five weeks old were called fingerlings, followed by juveniles, typically six to eight weeks old before they became jumbo sizes after six months.

The backyard farm of Nutrio Agric Business at Adenta, Accra

He added that in order to reach the jumbo size, the fish needed about six months of growth.

To start this business, the farmer said the essentials were constant supply of water, fish feed, artificial oxygen and a filtration machine, if possible.

Our reporter also visited the backyard farm of 23-year-old owner of Nutrio Agric Business at Adenta-Amanfro, Elizabeth Oluwatosin Bammeke.

Ms Bammeke, who has been in the business since last year, said she started with 2000 juvenile sized fishes.

She advised that it was important to stay within ones financial capacity and also to frequently change the water in order to prevent toxicity from ammonium and faecal waste.

With feeding, it is necessary to understand the rule peculiar to the different fish sizes. Fingerlings, for example, need to be fed twice a day with powdered feed or one millimetre (mm) pellet sized, fish feed. Over feeding can kill the fish, she said.

Currently, Ms Bammeke, a Nigerian who was born and raised in Ghana, said she was pursuing Masters in Philosophy in Agriculture Business Management at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology (KNUST).

Cost

The fish farmers said the cost involved was mainly with the feed and having to change the water almost every week unless one used a filtration machine. This recurring cost, they said, affected input which resulted in the costly price of the fish.

When asked about the ideal start-up capital, Mr Kporku said; it depended on how many fish and the size of fish one wanted to begin with but he believed with GH3000, a constant supply of water and a tank, one could buy about 100-300 juveniles and purchase the fish feed with the remainder.

However, they may have to top up along the line because the fish eat a lot, he added.

Our reporter then visited Kobe catfish farm at Nsawam, where the owner, Mr Michael Kobe Ansah, confirmed that this was possible.

Mr Ansah, who also bred only fingerlings and juveniles in a pond and poly tank, said one fingerling sold for GH 1.20p while juveniles were GH1.80p.

Economic prospects and profit

According to the farmers, the business was profitable.

One kilogramme sized of the fish (jumbo) was sold at GH45 on retail and GH40 on wholesale. On average, I sell around two tonnes, thus 2000 jumbo sized catfish every three weeks. I also make my own feed in order to reduce my input cost, Mr Kporku said.

Mr Ansah, on the other hand, said he made sales almost every day, recounting that prior to the reporters arrival on the farm, he had sold 5000 pieces of the juvenile size.

The fish farmers highlighted other avenues that could be explored in consultancy, training and the manufacturing of the feed.

For me, I make my money through consultancy and acting as a middle man until my fish are matured enough to go on the market, Ms Bammeke stated.

Challenges

The main challenge in the business is the imported nature of the fish feed which made them quite expensive.

Even with the few locally manufactured ones, the raw materials, such as soybeans needed to produce, are imported, Mr Ansah said.

For the part of Mr Kporku, his challenge was with managing his 10 employees and transportation given the poor nature of roads.

Ms Bammeke of Nutrio Agric Business bemoaned the cannibalistic nature of catfishes. She said this meant that one could lose quite a number of the fish from the initial stock with which one started the farming.
Schlatter Industries AG / Key word(s): Annual Results

2022 financial year: high order backlog, higher costs weigh on result



31-March-2023 / 06:01 CET/CEST

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



SCHLATTER INDUSTRIES AG - SIX SWISS EXCHANGE: STRN - ISIN: CH0002277314





Ad hoc announcement pursuant to article 53 LR Schlieren, 31 March 2023. In the 2022 financial year the Schlatter Group generated net earnings that were 16.7% up on the previous year at CHF 110.5 million (2021: CHF 94.6 million) and an order intake of CHF 128.1 million (2021: CHF 135.5 million). The order backlog at the year-end stood at CHF 89.4 million (31.12.2021: CHF 71.8 million). This resulted in an opeRating result (EBIT) for the period under review of CHF 5.5 million (2021: CHF 5.7 million). The Group posted a consolidated profit of CHF 3.4 million (2021: CHF 4.8 million). A dividend of CHF 0.50 per share is expected for the 2022 financial year. Demand for Schlatter products once again rose sharply in the first half of the 2022 financial year, but in the second half  as expected  fewer orders were placed. In particular, demand for reinforcing mesh systems declined in the second half of the year after the markets had overheated. There was a further volume increase in the after-sales area, however, and the demand for weaving machines for the paper industry was above average. Suppliers' delivery problems slowed sales development and weakened productivity. Rising prices of purchased materials and higher energy costs weighed on the result. The Schlatter Group closed the 2022 financial year with a large order backlog, which is once again higher than the previous year and will utilise capacities in the 2023 financial year. Demand for our products will normalise. Welding segment The welding segment's net earnings in the 2022 financial year totalled CHF 96.0 million (2021: CHF 79.0 million), with an order intake of CHF 99.9 million (2021: CHF 112.0 million). The order backlog at the year-end stood at CHF 62.5 million (31.12.2021: CHF 58.7 million). As in the previous year, the Welding segment achieved an above-average order intake  but its profitability was greatly reduced by disrupted supply chains and shortages of key parts for machines and systems, as well as by short-term price increases on the purchasing side and the further appreciation of the Swiss franc. Since machines and systems are sold at fixed prices, the effect of price increases is delayed. Economies of scale due to higher net revenue partly made up for this. Shortages of components, especially electrical and control parts, have led to delays in system deliveries. Schlatter expects to start catching up on the backlog of delayed machines and systems in the second half of the 2023 financial year. Weaving segment The weaving segment generated orders to the value of CHF 14.4 million in the financial year (2021: CHF 15.6 million) and increased its order intake to CHF 28.2 million (2021: CHF 23.2 million). The order backlog at year-end stood at CHF 26.9 million (31.12.2021: CH 13.1 million). The measures introduced in the previous year at the site in Munster (Germany) are bearing fruit. Despite disrupted supply chains and significantly higher material costs, the site was able to end the 2022 financial year with a profit. On the one hand the above-average order intake was dominated by orders from China, while on the other an above-average number of machines for the thermal treatment of paper machine clothing were sold. The order intake can be expected to return to normal as fewer orders are placed in China in future. Capacity at the Munster site will be fully utilised in the 2023 financial year. It will use the time available to make the cost structure more flexible. To this end a programme of measures has been drawn up, and these are now being implemented. Outlook The Schlatter Group ended the 2022 financial year with a strong order backlog, which ensures a high level of capacity utilization throughout the 2023 financial year. Now that the situation in procurement markets has more or less returned to normal, the timely implementation of customer projects has priority. Our other priorities include implementing innovations, marketing C-Tec  the new generation of machines for manufacturing technical fabrics  and increasing profitability. Net earnings are expected to be slightly higher in the 2023 financial year. Though the cost situation remains tense, a slight increase in the operating result (EBIT) is expected. 2023 Annual General Meeting At the Annual General Meeting on 4 May 2023 the Board of Directors will propose the payment of a dividend of CHF 0.50 per share for the 2022 financial year. The full 2022 Annual Report can be downloaded from the Schlatter Group website: https://www.schlattergroup.com/en/investor-relations/ The German version of this information is binding. Further information Schlatter Industries AG Werner Schmidli Chief Executive Officer Telephone +41 44 732 71 70 Mobile +41 79 343 62 62 werner.schmidli@schlattergroup.com Schlatter Group: key figures 2022 2021 Net sales CHF million 110.5 94.6 Change compared to previous year % 16.7 20.0 Operating result (EBIT) CHF million 5.5 5.7 in % of net sales % 5.0 6.1 Net result (incl. minority interest) CHF million 3.5 4.9 in % of net sales % 3.1 5.2 Net result (excl. minority interest) CHF million 3.4 4.8 in % of net sales % 3.1 5.1 Order intake CHF million 128.1 135.5 Order backlog CHF million 89.4 71.8 Headcount as at 31 December FTEs 357 331 Annual average FTEs 338 328 Interest-bearing liabilities CHF million 7.2 7.0 Net financial position (debt)1 CHF million 1.7 8.1 Gearing2 % 0 0 Free cash flow3 CHF million -6.5 14.0 Current assets CHF million 61.7 52.1 Non-current assets CHF million 19.1 19.6 Liabilities CHF million 49.5 43.5 Equity (incl. minority interests) CHF million 31.3 28.2 Equity (excl. minority interests) CHF million 31.2 28.1 Equity ratio (incl. minorities) % 38.5 39.2 Return on equity (ROE)4 % 11.6 19.0 Key share figures Share capital as at December 31 CHF 1000 17 675 17 675 Total registered shares Number 1 104 704 1 104 704 Of which entitled to dividend payments Number 1 104 704 1 104 704 Net result per registered share5 CHF 3.10 4.36 Equity per registered share5 CHF 28.20 25.43 Divident per registered share6 CHF 0.50 0 Payout ratio6 % 16.11 0 Share price development High CHF 30.60 29.60 Low CHF 20.20 22.00 Year-end CHF 25.00 23.00 Market capitalization High CHF million 33.8 32.7 Low CHF million 22.3 24.3 Year-end CHF million 27.6 25.4 1 Net financial position (debt): cash and cash equivalents less interest-bearing liabilities 2 Gearing: Net debt divides by equity 3 Cash flow from operating activities less purchase of tangible assets and intangible assets plus sale of tangible assets and intangible assets 4 Net result divided by average equity 5 Determinded on the basis of dividend-entitled shares 6 In accordance with the proposal submitted to the Annual General Meeting of May 4, 2023 Schlatter Group (www.schlattergroup.com)

The Schlatter Group is one of the leading specialists in plant engineering for resistance welding systems as well as weaving and finishing equipment for the production of paper machine clothing, wire fabrics and wire mesh. Thanks to its many years of experience in the field of plant technology, its innovative strength and its reliable service, the Schlatter Group  which is listed on the Swiss Reporting Standard of SIX Swiss Exchange  guarantees its customers a range of powerful and high-quality production equipment.



This media information contains certain forward-looking statements, e.g. statements using the words "believes," "assumes," "anticipates," or formulations of a similar nature. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could lead to substantial differences between the actual future results, the financial situation, the development or performance of the Company and those either expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among other things: competition from other companies, the effects and risks of new technologies, the Company's continuing capital requirements, financing costs, delays in the integration of acquisitions, changes in the operating expenses, the Company's ability to recruit and retain qualified employees, unfavorable changes in the applicable tax laws, and other factors identified in this communication. In view of these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company accepts no obligation to continue to report or update such forward-looking statements or adjust them to future events or developments. ------------

This information can be downloaded as a PDF from the following link:

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to article 53 LR



If you no longer wish to receive information from Schlatter Industries AG, please send a message to: pascale.lehmann@lehmanncom.ch

End of Inside Information
Thief on the run lands in police barracks

Gloria Apprey Life Mar - 30 - 2023 , 17:51

A 26-year-old man, Mutala Mohammed, who scaled the wall into the house of his neighbour, stole a water pump and started running away from the crime scene when an alarm was raised by a neighbour, unknowingly headed towards a nearby police barracks where he was arrested.

When he was put before the Adenta Circuit Court presided over by Her Honour (H/H), Ms Sedinam Awo Balokah, Mohammed pleaded guilty but said he was drunk, did not know what he was doing and pleaded for forgiveness.

The judge said Mohammeds defense of being drunk was not an excuse to commit the crime. She added that, that did not also grant him immunity under the law from facing the consequences of his actions.

Mohammed was therefore convicted on his own plea and sentenced to three years in prison with hard labour.

The convict had been accused of climbing the complainant, Ms Rebecca Agyapongs fence wall into her home to commit the crime by cutting water pipes and stealing the water pump which he threw over the wall.

According to the prosecutor, C/Insp Lanyo, on February, 28, 2023 at about 10 a.m., a neighbour of Ms Agyapong, who was passing by the complainants house, saw an object thrown over the wall of the house.

The prosecutor said the neighbour then took a closer look at the object which had landed at the back of the house and realised it was a water pressure pump machine.

He said Mohammed was then seen scaling the complainants wall and landing close to where the pressure pump had fallen.

The neighbour then raised an alarm which prompted Mohammed to run.

According to C/Insp Lanyo, Mohammed unknowingly ran towards a nearby police barracks and was arrested and brought back to the crime scene where he was identified by the witness/neighbour.

Investigations showed that Mohammed, with the intention to steal the said pressure pump valued at GH2,950, had entered the complainants house while she was away. To achieve this, he cut the pipes that connected water from her poly tank to her rooms, the prosecutor said.

He added that after investigations, Mohammed was charged with three counts, thus the unlawful entry into the complainants house, causing damage and stealing.

After the case had been heard, H/H Balokah sentenced Mohammed to two years in prison on count one (unlawful entry), one year on count two (causing damage) and three years on count three (stealing) which should run concurrently, meaning highest number of sentence should be served, thus three years.
Tackling violent extremism requires collective response - President Akufo-Addo at UN Security Council

Donald Ato Dapatem Mar - 31 - 2023 , 06:50

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has told the United Nations (UN) Security Council that there is the urgent need for a collective response to deal with the rising incidence of violent extremism and terrorism.

He said no single country, regardless of its might, was immune to the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism, nor could one country alone respond effectively to such threats.

President Akufo-Addo made the call when he addressed the UN Security Council Chamber at the UN Headquarters in New York yesterday.

He referred to the most recent report of the UN Secretary-General on the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known by its Islamic acronym, Daesh, to the international community, which was released in February this year, as well as the 2022 Global Terrorism Index and the 2022 report of the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism.

He said those raised issues about an increase in the incidence of terrorism and violent extremism across Africa, with the attendant evolution in their modes of operation.

Indeed, he said, data on casualties on the continent were particularly sobering.

It is for these reasons that Ghana reaffirms its condemnation of all acts of extremism and terrorism and urges the civilised world to do same. Our common humanity and existence depends on it, he said.

Africa

President Akufo-Addo also expressed worry about the steady transformation of Africa into an arena for violent extremism and terrorism.

He stressed the need for partnerships across all levels, from the local to the regional and the global, stressing that the effectiveness of the UN now more than ever rested on cooperation that was both deeper and more robust with regional organisations.

He noted that in a rapidly changing world, enhanced co-operation between the UN and continental and regional organisations was needed to combat those emerging threats to international peace and security.

The partnership, outlined in Chapter Eight of the UN Charter, he added, had always been an important factor in preserving international peace and security and reinforcing our shared aspirations for global peace and security.

Limitations

The President suggested that Africa had decided to fill the void by addressing the limitations that UN peacekeeping efforts and national capacities had in dealing with the menace of transnational terrorist threats.

He told the global body that in order to combat insurgencies in their respective regions, African regional organisations, such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), had developed their unique operations, which included both military and diplomatic initiatives.

The Accra Initiative, he explained, which grouped together Ghana, Cote dIvoire, Togo, Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso and, hopefully soon, Nigeria, was one such self-help regional security and intelligence mechanism designed to assist in the fight against terrorism.

Desire

He said the desire of those named countries was to contribute their quota to the fight against terrorism and violent extremism but there were some constraints militating against those efforts.

Capacity limitations and a lack of financial resources have become significant obstacles in the fight against terrorists. Previous experiences with peacekeeping in Africa have shown us the difficulties in delivering ambitious but under-resourced mandates. Defeating terrorist organisations and armed groups should be the councils primary focus when addressing the security challenges currently confronting Africa, he said.

President Akufo-Addo said to bolster cooperation and collaboration, the UN and continental and regional organisations should leverage existing strengths to enhance the development of a preventative approach based on regional early warning mechanisms.

He added that efforts in conflict prevention and mediation had demonstrated how working together increased the powers of persuasion to press parties to make peace and defuse tension in localities.

It is important that partnerships with regional organisations are based on mutual respect and must not attempt to impose preferred approaches on unique regional circumstances, he said.

He said where that was forced through, it could only be detrimental to the work of regional organisations and the global effort to defeat terrorism, adding: The activities of the UN, the African Union and other regional organisations should complement one another.

President Akufo-Addo emphasised collective security demands that found the will to act collaboratively and decisively, in line with the respective mandates to defeat terrorism and violent extremism in Africa.

He added that it was important to reinforce the capacity of regional organisations for early warning and conflict prevention.

That, the President said, required an enhanced cooperation in the areas of intelligence, logistics, capabilities, training and deployment, as well as innovative financing arrangements.
LGBTQI debate: Moses Foh Amoaning clashes with Professor Emerita Takyiwaa Manu on live TV

GraphicOnline Mar - 31 - 2023 , 13:59

A fiery debate over Ghana's anti-LGBTQI bill took place on a live broadcast, with the Executive Secretary of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, Moses Foh-Amoaning, and Professor Emerita Takyiwaa Manuh of the concerned Ghanaian Citizens Opposing the Passage of the Anti-gay Bill, clashing over the proposed legislation.

The bill, also known as the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, has been described as "horrible" and "hate promoting" by opponents, while supporters argue it is necessary to address issues associated with homosexuality in the country.

The debate grew heated at times, with personal questions being asked, and Prof. Manuh urging lawmakers to either enforce or amend existing laws on homosexuality instead.

Mr Foh-Amoaning who was not in the studio but was called into the GTV Breakfast Show particularly took exception with comments by the learned Professor which appeared to question his pedigree as a lawyer.

However, Prof. Manuh later explained that she was rather referring to Dr Justice Appiah Kubi, a member of the Coalition who was in the studio to debate her.

"...Dr Appiah-Kubi, I will gloss over your gratuitous insults. Mr Foh-Amoaning is my junior at the bar, so you are not a lawyer and I am surprised. It's a very poor piece of legislation, for you to say that I have not read the bill," she said. When Mr Foh-Amoaning was called to contribute to the programme, he said being her junior at the bar was not relevant to the debate.

"In the best tradition of the bar, she says that I am her junior, so what? I wouldn't have responded to this but that's fine. I was called to the bar in 1990, almost 34 years ago, so if 34 years ago doesn't mean anything at the bar then I don't think that you have an appreciation of the best tradition at the bar," he said. "By God's grace, I was trained by one of the best lawyers this country has ever had. I don't know what practices you have had, so what do you mean I am your junior, so what?".

During the debate, Prof. Manuh who was called to the bar in 1977 argued for the bill which she described as "horrible" and "hate promoting" to be thrown out in its entirety. It got personal at times, with Mr Foh-Amoaning asking Prof. Manuh to disclose her sexual orientation, her marital status and her hometown.

The Professor said she was not going to reveal her hometown adding "...Your'e asking me for a lawyer, am I a gay or a lesbian myself. This is really for a lawyer very unimaginable, it is illogical. Whatever I am has nothing to do with the positions that I am making, I am making it as a human rights issue".

She further urged Ghanaian lawmakers to rather enforce or amend the existing laws on homosexuality.

Mr Foh-Amoaning rejected her claims, arguing that the bill was fit for purpose and will address all the issues associated with homosexuality in the country. He said the bill has provisions to prevent the assault of alleged homosexuals and provide support, care, and treatment for homosexuals.
The Ridge Church School launches Fund to set up Senior High School

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Mar - 30 - 2023 , 14:31

The Ridge Church School in Accra has launched a Trust Fund to help the school establish its own Senior High School (SHS) in 2024.

Known as the Ridge Church School Trust Fund (RCSTF), the fund will also help to improve the existing facilities of the school, improve academic programmes and as well as provide scholarships to some deserving students of the school.

Launching the Fund at the Ridge Church in Accra on Thursday, March 30, 2023, the Headmistress of the School, Mrs Nana Ama Acheampomaa Badasu, said the Fund will benefit learners of the school in diverse ways.

She expressed the hope, for instance, that the planned establishment of the SHS, which will be running international curriculum alongside that of the Ghana Education Service (GES), will be a great boost to learners of the school.

For her, the purpose of the new SHS, was to redefine senior high education in the country and to also enable the Ridge Church School to become a centre where competent graduates are trained for the countrys development.

Mrs. Badasu, therefore, appealed to all stakeholders of the school, particularly the past students to come to the aid of the school through their donations in order to enable the school to realise its vision.

Role of Ridge Church School

The Ridge Church School was established in 1957 by the Accra Ridge Church (ARC).

Its stated mission is to promote high quality education using world-class teaching and learning methods to raise disciplined, dedicated, God-fearing and responsible individuals based on strong Christian principles for the country.

For her part, a Board Member of the School, Mrs Grace Dede Hanson, commended all individuals who conceived the idea for the Fund to be set up for their great vision.

She said the Ridge Church School has been a key contributor of well performing students to the various SHSs across the country.

"In the 66 years of existence, the school has been a feeder for top secondary schools in the country, initially through the Common Entrance Examinations and later through the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE)," she explained.

Mrs. Hanson said the decision for the school to establish her own SHS, apart from giving quality tuition, was to make the school a one-stop school for parents.

She said the establishment of the SHS will enable parents to stop hunting for schools for their wards after they had completed basic education in the school.

She expressed the hope that old students of the school, including parents will help the school to raise the needed funds to start the project in earnest, saying the Ridge Church School will need the support of her many sons and daughters."

Mrs. Hanson added "We are saying to the alumni and friends that we need your help, please come to the Ridge Church school and help us."

Trustees of the Fund

A member of the Committee to manage the Fund, Mrs Joyce Bannerman-Woode, in a brief presentation on the Fund, said the Fund is a company limited by guarantee (LGB) duly registered under Ghana's Companies Act 2019 (Act 992) and is managed by trustees who are appointed by the Accra Ridge Church, Old Ridgeans Association (ORA), and the schools Board.

Caption

"The trustees have undertaken to hold, manage, and administer the Fund in accordance with the terms of the Trust Deed," she explained.

She expressed the hope that the team of professionals who have been assembled to manage the fund will inure to the benefit of the school and its stakeholders.

Prudent management

The Chairperson for the event, Justice Merley Wood, an Appeals Court judge, commended the founders of the school for their vision in giving quality education to Ghanaian children.

She consequently charged those who have been tasked with the responsibility to manage the Fund to do so with accountability and with transparency in order to achieve the purpose for which the Fund has been set up.

Caption

I charge them to find innovative ways of generating income, she admonished the Fund Committee, adding all Stakeholders have to be given regular information.

Seed money

A total of more than GH65,000 was raised at the launch as the seed money for the Fund.
Constituency Watch: Nalerigu-Gambaga Constituency -Home of scenic tourist sites

Mohammed Fugu Politics Mar - 31 - 2023 , 06:09

Apart from the large production of food crops, the Nalerigu/Gambaga Constituency in the North East Region is home to some scenic tourist attractions, ranging from landmarks, and hospitality to rich diverse culture.

And because of these tourist sites, the constituency attracts a number of people, particularly foreigners, from all walks of life to the area to have a feel of nature and the rich culture.

Notably among the tourism attractions are the famous Gambaga witch camp, Naa Jeringa defence wall, Tusugu cliff dwellings, White River Rapids, Nayiri Palace and the Doves cave.

Aside from being the constituency capital, Nalerigu is also the administrative capital of the North East Region, one of the six new regions created across the country in 2018.

The others are the Savannah, Oti, Ahafo, Bono East and Western North regions.

The creation of the new regions was in fulfilment of a campaign promise by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2016, pursuant to petitions received on the need and substantial demand for the creation of new regions.

This was to help bring administration closer to the people and facilitate rapid development in the affected areas.

Nalerigu is also the traditional seat of the Mamprugu kingdom and hosts the Gbintiri market, one of the largest food crops and livestock markets in the northern part of the country which attracts traders from other parts of the country to Gbintiri to trade.



Challenges

Although the constituency has seen some appreciable level of development in the past four years, there is still much to be done.

Majority of the roads in the constituency are in a deplorable state, and when it rains most of the communities are cut off from Nalerigu, the regional capital.

Some of the deplorable road networks include Nagboo-Kulgona-Tuna, Nalerigu-Sakogu-Nakpanduri, Gambaga-Dagbriboari and Langbinsi-Wundua.

Another issue of concern to the inhabitants is the poor state of infrastructure in most public schools in the constituency, forcing schoolchildren to learn under harsh conditions.

The constituency has about 100 primary and junior high schools (JHSs) and all are faced with challenges ranging from lack of furniture to poor infrastructure.

A recent visit by the Daily Graphic to some of the schools revealed that in spite of the governments resolve to ensure that all children of school age were enrolled, most schoolchildren were studying under bad conditions.

For instance at the Awalia primary at Gambaga, pupils lie prostrate to write while others are combined in the few available classrooms.



A view of the North East Regional Coordinating Council building

Geographical Structure

The constituency has a balance in leadership with a National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP), Issifu Seidu, and the Municipal Chief Executive being Rashida Mahama Poanaa.

Created in 1996, it is one of the oldest constituencies in the region with a land mass of 1,706.8 km2. The constituency shares boundaries with Talensi and Nabdam districts, Bawku West and Garu districts, all in the Upper East Region to the north and to the east is the Bunkpurugu Nankpanduri and Yunyoo districts.

It is also bordered on the west by the West Mamprusi Municipal and to the south by the Gushiegu Municipal and Karaga District.

The Nalerigu/Gambaga constituency which is also the East Mamprusi Municipal with Gambaga as its capital has 142 communities with five Town and Area councils, namely Nalerigu and Gambaga Town Councils, Langbinsi, Sakogu and Gbintri Area councils.

Demographics

Generally, the constituency has a mix of formal and informal workers such as teachers, health workers, civil and public servants, security personnel, traders, farmers, among others.

Its population is generally youthful, with agriculture as the main activity in the area.

As a rural constituency, the constituents are predominantly engaged in agricultural activities such as livestock rearing, vegetables and crop farming with some of the produce as maize, soybeans, groundnuts, millet, sweet potatoes, watermelon.

Some of the major farming communities in the area are Langinsi, Sakogu, Gbintiri, Zarantinga and Nagboo.

Voting pattern

It has a total population of 188,006 with 91,119 males and 96,887 females per the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC).

As it was formerly part of the Northern Region, it is one of the focal points for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with the former winning the seat five times - 1996, 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2020, whereas the latter has won only twice.

The incumbent NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency, Issifu Seidu, polled 54.0 per cent of the votes in the 2020 general election to snatch the seat from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Alima Mahama, who had 45.5 per cent of the votes.

The constituency is considered as a stronghold of the NDC. However, NPP appears to be matching the NDC closely and closing the gap, a development many have attributed to the influence of the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

Development projects



A section of the Gambaga town roads

In spite of the challenges, it has witnessed some significant development since the creation of the region in 2018.

For the first time since independence, the once deprived Nalerigu and Gambaga, the twin towns, have had their roads worked on with bitumen surfacing.

The 10-km Gambaga and Nalerigu town roads project was constructed at a cost of about GH24.7 million.

Street lights have also been fixed in both towns, which have improved visibility at night and encouraging commercial business activities among residents along major streets in the regional and municipal capitals.

Water project

Also, a small water system project has been constructed at Nalerigu and Gambaga which is expected to supply about 35,000 gallons of water a day to households in each of the towns.

It forms part of the $45 million facility jointly funded by the World Bank and the government to provide water in rural areas of the six new regions, of which Mamprugu is a beneficiary.

RCC, YEA

Last year, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo inaugurated newly constructed offices for the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) office in the North East Region.

The RCC administration block constructed at a cost of GH17.6 million is among the administration structures being constructed for the six newly created regions.

Located at Nalerigu, the regional capital, the building would house all departments of the RCC and other state institutions to ensure effective and efficient administration of the region.

On the other hand, the YEA regional office complex formed part of the new structures being constructed for the new regions.

Warehouse

A 1,000 tonne capacity warehouse has also been constructed at Gambaga under the governments One-district, One-warehouse initiative, to help reduce post-harvest losses in the area.

The project is expected to improve on-farm practices such as handling and storage, which exposed farm produce to pests. It will also facilitate trade between small-scale farmers and wholesalers in major cities.

East Mamprusi is a major production zone for rice and maize with current production levels of between 4,000 and 5,000 tonnes per annum.

Opinion leaders/residents

Some people who spoke to the Daily Graphic acknowledged there has been improvement in development of the constituency but said there were a lot of work to be done to help address some of the pressing challenges.

They expressed concern about the deplorable nature of the link roads in the various communities and the rampant armed robbery attacks in the area.

A resident of Namangu, Sulemana Salifu, told the Daily Graphic the seven-km road linking the community to Walewale was in bad state, making living conditions more difficult for them.

He said due to the poor state of the road, vehicles barely visited the community which was making it difficult for farmers to be able to transport their foodstuffs to the markets.

Another resident of Dagbriboari, Yussif Azundow, said the area had become a safe haven for armed robbers and other criminals due to the bad nature of the roads and poor telecommunication network.

Some opinion leaders  Yahaya Razak and Afa Rahim - commended the government and the MP for initiating a number of projects which were impacting positively on the lives of the people in the constituency.

They, however, appealed to the government to equip the security agencies with logistics to be able to curb crime and ensure the safety of the residents.

Infrastructure development

In a recent interview with the Daily Graphic, the North East Regional Minister, Yidana Zakaria, said the government was on a drive to bring massive development to the people of the area.

He said a lot of measures had been put in place to leapfrog the infrastructure development of the area to address the challenges of the people.

MPs interventions

For his part, Alhaji Seidu told the Daily Graphic that when he assumed office, he undertook an assessment to identify the pressing needs of the constituents.

He said more than 1,000 people in the constituency had benefited from a free eye-care screening, out of which about 170 people who were diagnosed with cataract had undergone surgery to restore their vision.

He also mentioned the drilling of mechanised boreholes, provision of medical consumables, payment of fees of some needy students, organising extra classes for students, among others, as some of the projects he had undertaken in the constituency.

Aside from that, he said he had also lobbied for a number of projects and explored available resources for the execution of such projects in the constituency.
PT Vale Indonesia Tbk and Chinas Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. announced an agreement with Ford Motor Co., creating a three-party collaboration to advance more sustainable nickel production in Indonesia and help make electric vehicle batteries more affordable.

All three companies are making equity investments in the Pomalaa Block High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) Project through a definitive agreement. The Pomalaa Block HPAL Project will process ore provided by PT Vale Indonesia from its Pomalaa Block mine to produce MHP. This HPAL plant will operate under PT Kolaka Nickel Indonesia in the Pomalaa Block nickel industrial area in Kolaka, Southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia.





Subject to regulatory approval, the project could produce up to 120 kilotons per year of contained nickel in the form of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a lower-cost nickel product used in EV batteries with nickel-rich cathodes.

Pomalaa Block HPAL Project early site preparations have already started, and full construction is expected to start this year, with commercial operations beginning in 2026. The collaboration will deliver materials essential for the auto industrys shift to EVs, enhance Indonesias EV manufacturing industry and support Fords plan to deliver a two-million EV production run rate by the end of 2026 and further scale over time.

The three-way nickel processing projecttogether with a separate supply agreement under development with Ford and Huayou for a precursor cathode active material critical to manufacturing lithium-ion batteriescollectively will combine with Fords other sourced nickel, significantly contributing to support its EV production targets by the end of 2026.

This agreement is the continuation of PT Vale Indonesias Pomalaa Block ground-breaking last November. This block is a National Strategic Project with an investment of up to Indonesian rupiah 67.5 trillion (US$4.5 billion) and is expected to generate 12,000 construction jobs.

This strategic cooperation is one of the flagship projects under the Belt and Road Initiative and Global Maritime Fulcrum synergy, also links Indonesia nickel and cobalt resources to EV makers via Huayous advanced capability and HPAL technology, is a great business model of EV value chain and will make a splendid contribution to the EV industry ecology development of Indonesia. The MHP produced in this project will be processed further into nickel sulphate, cobalt sulphate Li-ion battery materials, and ternary PCAM. The joint efforts of three parties aims to create a very positive influence on the economy and social development of Indonesia as well as the global EV industry and its supply chain. Dr George Fang, Senior Vice President of Huayou

The project was inaugurated by the Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. During his speech, Minister Luhut said Pomalaa Block is the stepping stone for Indonesia to be recognized as a high-quality mineral producer for the global EV ecosystem.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as Fords financial advisor in connection with this transaction, while Standard Chartered is providing similar services for Huayou.
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GREENWICH  Greenwich Harbor is long overdue for dredging, but this week the town got one step closer to actually moving earth.

The federal government has agreed to pay $500,000 to test the sediment in Greenwich Harbor for contamination, which is required before any dredging can start. The results of this environmental review will dictate when the dredging will start and where the soil will be moved or if it will happen at all.

Greenwich Harbor is a federal channel, so the government has a duty to maintain it. This environmental review money specifically is coming from the Army Corps of Engineers, but not until Fiscal Year 2024 which starts on October 1. That means testing is likely months or possibly more than a year away.

The harbor sees traffic from police boats, large yachts, town ferries and more, but silt and sand has built up considerably near Grass Island. At low tide, the water is only about 7 feet deep in some places.

The harbor has needed this dredging for decades, but the project did not move forward until Bernard Armstrong was elected chairman of the towns Harbor Management Commission last April.

He said getting this dredging done was a top priority when he took the leadership role.

"Quite often, commissions and committees like this to do a lot of talking, but they don't do a lot doing, he said. I just felt that if I'm going to be charged to this commission, we have to start doing doing and getting things done."

Armstrong said if the sediment is not highly contaminated, then he hopes it can be dredged and moved to local waters out in the Long Island Sound.

If the sediment (also called spoils in this context) is contaminated or toxic, then it will cost more money to move it. Potentially, the price could be so high that the project does not move forward, though Armstrong thinks that is unlikely.

Armstrong is optimistic that the spoils will be clean enough to dump in the Sound, but it will have to wait.

Armstrong credited Selectperson Janet Stone McGuigan with helping the dredging process along. He said she was instrumental in engaging Representative Jim Himes, which resulted in him sending a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers last year asking for the funds.

Im extremely pleased that we succeeded in securing critical funding - $500,000 from the Army Corps of Engineers, Himes said in a statement. I look forward to working with the Town to ensure they have the federal money they need to cross the finish line and successfully complete the project.

It is still unknown how much this dredging will cost in total, but the figure will likely be in the millions. In the past, town officials have said it would cost between $8 and $10 million, but, on Wednesday, First Selectman Fred Camillo said it would likely cost more than that.

The federal government is expected to pay for most of this dredging cost, but the town of Greenwich has already set aside $2 million to chip in.

The dredging was delayed in the past because there was a question about whether Greenwich was in violation of federal rules in and around the harbor.

Specifically, there was concern that Greenwich Harbor and Grass Island were not sufficiently open to the public. After years, the Army Corps of Engineers finally said the harbor is indeed in compliance with federal rules late last year, which cleared the way for the sediment testing.
Softwareone Holding AG / Key word(s): Annual Results/Annual Results

SoftwareOne publishes 2022 Annual Report



31-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.





Media Release  ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

SoftwareOne publishes 2022 Annual Report

Stans, Switzerland I 31 March 2023  SoftwareOne Holding AG, a leading global software and cloud solutions provider, today published its 2022 Annual Report.

The 2022 Annual Report may be accessed on SoftwareOnes Investor Relations website in the Results centre .

CONTACT

Anna Engvall, Investor Relations

Tel. +41 44 832 41 37, anna.engvall@softwareone.com

FGS Global, Media Relations

Tel. +41 44 562 14 99, press.softwareone@fgsglobal.com

ABOUT SOFTWAREONE

SoftwareOne is a leading global software and cloud solutions provider that is redefining how organizations build, buy and manage everything in the cloud. By helping clients to migrate and modernize their workloads and applications  and in parallel, to navigate and optimize the resulting software and cloud changes  SoftwareOne unlocks the value of technology. The companys ~9,000 employees are driven to deliver a portfolio of 7,500 software brands with sales and delivery capabilities in 90 countries. Headquartered in Switzerland, SoftwareOne is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the ticker symbol SWON. Visit us at www.softwareone.com

SoftwareONE Holding AG, Riedenmatt 4, CH-6370 Stans

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This media release may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the groups future business, development and economic performance. Such statements may be subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors, such as but not limited to force majeure, competitive pressures, legislative and regulatory developments, global, macroeconomic and political trends, the groups ability to attract and retain the employees that are necessary to generate revenues and to manage its businesses, fluctuations in currency exchange rates and general financial market conditions, changes in accounting standards or policies, delay or inability in obtaining approvals from authorities, technical developments, litigation or adverse publicity and news coverage, each of which could cause actual development and results to differ materially from the statements made in this media release. SoftwareOne assumes no obligation to update or alter forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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GREENWICH  It was a full house and more at Greenwich Town Hall on Wednesday as residents came out in force to share their thoughts on the towns upcoming budget.

About 150 people filled the meeting room ahead of the Board of Estimate and Taxations last public hearing on the fiscal year 2023-24 budget. This meeting was the third and final hearing before the BET votes to finalize the budget on April 4.

Dan Ozizmir, chair of the BET, said the crowd size was unprecedented and that the number of people in the room exceeded the towns fire code. Around 40 people were shuffled out into the overflow room upstairs as the meeting started, where they could watch a livestream of the hearing before coming down to make their comments.

The BET also received public comments online. The discussion went on for more than three hours.

The majority of residents who spoke talked about their desire to fund renovations at various public schools around town, including Central Middle School and Old Greenwich School. About 70 people took to the podium on Wednesday, with most of them talking about adding more funding for schools.

Others spoke about more funds for maintenance at the Cos Cob Library and replacing town fire engines.

Speakers were limited to three minutes on the microphone, a rule that most people adhered to.

First Selectman Fred Camillo was the first commenter of the night and ceded some of his time to Dylan Tobin, a second grader at Old Greenwich School who had what Camillo called an encroaching bedtime.

I would like to say that year after year, the BET has not been funding our schools. I mean, there was literally sewage in my school, Tobin said. Please fund our schools and we will be really happy if you do. Thank you.

Camillo used the remainder of his time for some last minute lobbying on his spending priorities, including $400,000 for renovations at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park and $1.1 million so the Old Greenwich School building committee can continue its planning work. The BET currently has no money in its budget for repairing Old Greenwich School.

Most of the speakers called for additions to the existing budget, including multiple comments on funding for more pickleball courts, money to replace the Dorothy Hamill rink in Byram, drainage work near Old Church Road and for maintenance at the Cos Cob Library.

Deborah Armstrong, president of the Friends of Cos Cob Library volunteer association, said the library had 67,000 visitors last year, but no maintenance for decades.

The Cos Cob library has not been renovated at all since it was built in 1999. Twenty-four years ago, hundreds of thousands of people, no renovation, she said. This is not about financing an expansion or a bigger library. This is maintenance to the existing structure.

Armstrong and others said the lighting is so bad in the library it can be difficult to read the book jackets in the stacks.

Hilary Haroche, a Representative Town Meeting member from District 10, asked the BET to replace the fire departments Engine 11, which she said is commonly known as the piece of crap among the firefighters.

The fire department requested funds to replace two engines, but the BET only has money for one replacement in its budget, so Engine 11 will have to continue in service, officials have said.

Engine 11 has terrible rust on the chassis from driving through high water, multiple issues, costly repairs recently, in addition to more on the way, Haroche said. We currently have six career engines available. We have four reserve engines: Engine 11, the piece of crap, is one of those.

During the comments, the 12 members of the BET sat silently, unable to retort or defend their positions or support while the speakers commented.

These BET members were also warned by several speakers that their budget decisions next week will inevitably have consequences during elections this fall.

By 9 p.m., some of the people who had signed up to speak were not present when their names were called. The meeting eventually adjourned just before 10:40 p.m.

After the BET sets its final budget next week, the RTM will consider the budget during its May meeting. The RTM has the ability to decrease funding in the budget, but it cannot add more money than the BET sets.
GREENWICH  Students, parents and town leaders rallied outside the town hall before the Wednesday evening Board of Estimate and Taxation public forum, holding signs and giving speeches about the importance of the BET appropriating adequate funds in the 2023-24 budget for school renovation projects.

"I am concerned that we're not building the kind of school facilities our kids need and deserve," said Leslie Moriarty, BET democratic caucus, to the crowd. "I'm concerned that were not investing in the other infrastructure and the other aspects ... our town needs and deserves. We have the financial ability to do it, so theres no rationale for the nickel and diming that we see every day here on these budgets."

This public forum was the final hearing before the BET votes to finalize the budget next Tuesday. Speakers had three minutes to speak to the 12 BET members, who had to remain silent for the duration of the three-and-half-hour public forum.

Once it began, around 70 parents, school leaders, concerned citizens and even some students spoke to the BET, begging members to appropriately fund school renovation projects  specifically for Old Greenwich School, Central Middle School and Julian Curtiss School. Many of the speakers added that the projects should be funded at the same time, not one at a time.

"Attempts to pit one school against another have no place in these discussions. It is completely inappropriate," said Dina Urso, co-president of the Central Middle School Parent-Teacher Association. "Chronic underfunding of schools has led us here to this point. Do not make CMS the scapegoat for why OGS is seemingly being kicked down the road again. We stand in support of OGS and JC, as we know they stand in support of us."

Various speakers shared their stories and opinions about the state of the current school buildings. Many speakers specifically talked about OGS, sharing their concerns about sewage and how the building is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"There's poor air quality, no ventilation and raw sewage flooding in the classrooms," said Kristin Connell, mother of a kindergartner at OGS. "Even more sickening than that to me is learning the fact that a student with a broken leg has to be isolated from his friends  from his teacher  because he is not able to access his classroom on the third floor and moreover, new students that move to our community that are in a wheelchair or have any physical limitation are turned away from the school in entirety due to the buildings lack of accessibility and ADA non-compliance. What message is that sending to our children?"

Safety was also a recurring topic, especially since the forum took place less than two weeks after the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. OGS Principal Jennifer Bencivengo asked the BET to support the $35.9 million to fully fund the schools renovation to add necessary safety features to the building.

"Every day I say goodbye to my child to take care of (the school's 400-plus students), assuring her that I am going to return that evening, a fear I didnt consider when I became an educator and not a police officer or a firefighter," Bencivengo said.

James Waters, chair of the OGS school building committee said that the committee is ready to begin construction next spring if the BET provides funding. Waters said he was overwhelmed with the support for renovating OGS by those that spoke at the forum and that the BET could have a legacy-defining opportunity if they choose to allocate appropriate funds for the school projects.

While at the podium, Waters said that the BET members requested information from the building committee about various things, including the cost of building a new school.

"We provided factual data. It's been cited so I wont go over it again, but still, some members tout construction costs not in tune with reality from a decade ago," Waters said. "Its embarrassing. We asked community members whether they want a new school. You heard it tonight. 'Just fix OGS. We dont want to tear it down.' "

Paul Pugliese, who spoke on behalf of the Greenwich Preservation Network, said the group also supports renovating OGS and opposes plans to demolish the building.

"I attended Old Greenwich School as did my wife and children," Pugliese said. "We support future renovations that can continue to address the needs of the students while they preserve the architectural treasure."

The BETs decision day is next Tuesday and the Representative Town Meetings decision day is May 8, where they can only decrease the budget, not add to it.
The historic news of a pending indictment against a former president, Donald J. Trump, blew swiftly into Connecticut on Thursday evening after a grand jury in Manhattan voted to move forward with criminal charges in an alleged hush-money scheme.

One of the first statements to emerge from the states elected leadership came from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who served for two decades as the states attorney general, and who has his own acrimonious history with the former president.

No person is above the law  and violations should be pursued no matter how powerful the person is, Blumenthal said. Our justice system has an obligation to pursue the facts and law wherever they lead. Former President Trump will have the same rights as any criminal defendant and the justice system will presume him innocent until proven guilty.

Trump, a former Greenwich home-owner who once sought to build an amusement park in Bridgeport, is the first expresident to be charged with criminal wrongdoing in the nations history.

Prosecutors have yet to detail what comes next in the case, including when or how the president will be taken into custody.

It is very unprecedented in American History to have something like this, said Manisha Sinha, a historian at the University of Connecticut. But Trump himself, his presidency, his election, his reaction to his defeat, all that has been rather unprecedented.

In a sprawling statement posted to his website, Trump dismissed the reported charges as political persecution and a witch hunt before lashing out at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a disgrace who has ignored other, violent crimes while investigating alleged payments that Trump made to cover up an affair with a pornographic actress during his first presidential campaign.

In a brief phone call Thursday evening shortly after the news broke, Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Ben Proto at first said that it would be premature to comment on the indictment itself given the lack of details into the specifics of the charges.

After a few moments, however, Proto echoed Trumps language that the judicial system was being weaponized and that the presidents treatment by New York prosecutors amounted to political persecution.

Its a further indication of the deterioration of our political system when you have law enforcement and justice officials who choose to use their office to attack their political enemies, Proto said.

If the speculated charges against Trump are proven true, Proto added, it would amount to a basic campaign finance violation that would be better handled by the Federal Elections Commission.

Another high-ranking Connecticut Republican, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, expressed similar surprise on Thursday that authorities in New York chose to focus on Trump's alleged extramarital relationships.

I think there are other investigations that would probably have more merit than this one," he said. "This one seems to be the weakest of them all, and I dont understand why (Bragg) inserted himself into this process."

Still, Candelora, an attorney in North Branford, said that he would listen to legal scholars and wait to see the charging documents before determining whether there is merit to prosecutors claims.

Given the unprecedented nature of an indictment and potential arrest of a former president, Nancy DiNardo, the chairwoman of the Connecticut Democratic Party, expressed faith that prosecutors had carefully weighed the evidence.

I think its obviously justified, DiNardo said. They wouldnt have done it if they didnt have enough evidence to back it up.

The Democratic leaders of the state Senate, President Pro-Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, jointly released a terse statement Thursday condemning Trumps actions.

"We are not surprised that Donald Trump, who openly flaunted the rule of law and disdained our legal institutions, has now been indicted, they wrote. We will be following the facts of the case closely and hope justice will be served."

Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, had not publicly weighed in on news of the indictment as of around 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Sinha, the UCONN professor, is among a group of presidential historians who participate in an annual poll ranking the nations 46 commanders-in-chief. She also wrote a column comparing Trump to one of the perennial bottom-dwellers on that list, President Andrew Johnson.

Both men are among the tiny trio of presidents to have been impeached. Trump is the only one rebuked twice in such a manner. Additionally, Sinha said, they were both noted for bucking political norms and a lack of decorum.

Still, Sinha predicted that the stigma of facing criminal charges will be a distinction on Trumps legacy not shared by Johnson or any of the other names at the bottom of historical rankings.

Trump is going to give them a run for their money, Sinha said.
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  One startup lists as its address a small home in a working-class district in Venezuela's capital whose owner has never heard of the firm. Another is a Hong Kong-based shell company created in 2020. Yet another belongs to a Spanish commodities trader indicted in the U.S. for allegedly helping Russian oligarchs launder ill-gotten profits.

They are among the dozens of obscure middlemen at the center of a new crackdown in Venezuela on corruption in the state-run oil industry that has government insiders scurrying for cover  and regular Venezuelans are asking how more than $20 billion in proceeds from oil shipments seemingly vanished.

The purge began this month when authorities arrested 21 business people and senior officials as part of an investigation into missing payments for oil. To promote the anti-corruption crusade, state media this week was filled with images of the defendants dressed in orange jumpsuits walking into their initial judicial hearing.

Corruption has long plagued Venezuela  the OPEC nation was the fourth-most corrupt in the world in the latest rankings by Transparency International  but those in positions of power are rarely held accountable.

And when high profile arrests do take place, Venezuelans tend to view them as the result of a behind-the-scenes tug of war among heavyweights in the ruling socialist party, and not any impartial meting out of justice in a country where most institutions lack independence.

An entrenched culture of corruption and the inherently opaque nature of trading illegal crude oil take malfeasance to another level.

It would be very difficult for even a much less corrupt state to implement all the necessary controls," said Francisco Monaldi, a Venezuelan who heads the Latin America energy program at Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy.

While the fallout from the scandal continues, it already has felled one major power broker: Tareck El Aissami, the country's oil czar. He quit in the wake of the arrests, which included the detention of a close associate, Joselit Ramirez, who had been serving as Venezuela's cryptocurrency regulator.

While Venezuelan authorities have not mentioned El Aissami as a target in the investigation, most of the shady transactions at state-run oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela SA occurred under his watch.

Internal PDVSA documents obtained by The Associated Press show the state oil company was owed $10.1 billion as of August 2022 from 90 mostly unknown trading companies that have emerged as major buyers of Venezuelan crude since the U.S. imposed economic sanctions in a campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

An additional $13.3 billion, corresponding to 241 shipments, is owed directly to the national government as a result of an October accounting maneuver by PDVSA that reassigned responsibility for collecting the unpaid invoices directly to the Maduro administration in lieu of cash royalties. That is more than the country's entire foreign currency reserves.

All the oil cargoes were sold on consignment at a deep discount owing to the sanctions, which have scared away more established traders.

PDVSA's reliance on intermediaries surged in 2020, when the Trump administration expanded sanctions with the threat to lock out of the U.S. economy any individual or company, regardless of nationality or location, that did business with Maduro's government.

The punishing action, combined with a pandemic-induced global slump in demand for oil, led production that summer to plummet to 350,000 barrels a day  10% of what it produced when Chavez took office in 1999.

To sell what little is being produced, Maduro, with the help of allies Russia and Iran  themselves under U.S. sanctions  has had to rely on a complex network of intermediaries. Most are shell companies, registered in jurisdictions known for secrecy. The buyers deploy so-called ghost tankers that hide their location and hand off their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destination..

To avoid Western banks, Venezuela started accepting payments in Russian rubles, bartered goods or cryptocurrency.

But not everyone paid.

Among those on the delinquent list is Walker International, which owes PDVSA about $77 million, according to the documents. The company is registered in the United Arab Emirates but lists as its Venezuela address a modest house at the foot of the mountain range that separate Caracas from the Caribbean Sea.

The owner of the home, Andres Muzo, expressed shock that his home could somehow be caught up in a case of international corruption.

Im finding about this right now, Muzo said after seeing his address in Dubai corporate records, which were first unearthed by Venezuelan news website Armando.info. He shook his head and said he would inquire with the people who rent his adjacent garage for an oil-change business.

We dont know anything, Muzo said.

The broker with the largest debt is M and Y Trading Co, which was registered in Hong Kong in 2020. It owes PDVSA more than $1.2 billion, according to the internal documents, which someone knowledgeable about the transactions shared with AP on the condition that they remain anonymous.

Another preferred vendor was United Petroleo Corp, which was registered in Panama in 2021 and owes more than $468 million. One of United's cargoes  a 600,000-barrel shipment last September  is at the center of a controversy on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, where the Venezuelan crude is being stored at a facility tied to U.S. investors in possible defiance of sanctions.

Yet another of PDVSA's go-to partners was Treseus International. The commodities brokerage, which did not respond to an email seeking comment, is run by Juan Fernando Serrano, a Spaniard indicted last year on money laundering charges in Manhattan federal court for conspiring to smuggle oil on behalf of wealthy Russians. That court also wants El Aissami and Ramirez on charges of violating U.S. sanctions stemming from El Aissami's 2017 designation by Washington as a drug kingpin for allegedly helping cartels smuggle cocaine through Venezuela.

Authorities have yet to say how much money may be missing. But Maduro has used some of his recent public appearances to warn officials against graft. Supporters even gathered for an anti-corruption protest in Caracas.

Past crackdowns  like the arrest of a former PDVSA president in 2017  did little to clean up the oil industry, which is responsible for almost all of the country's hard currency earnings. Many analysts suspect Maduro is looking to stabilize the economy before next year's presidential election.

Coffers are bare and the country is entering an election year in which Maduro wants to convey a message that Venezuela is back on track, said Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. The more it becomes clear that the economy remains in dire straits, the more Maduro will look for people to take the fall.

___

Goodman reported from Miami.
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NEW YORK (AP)  In a highly sensitive U.S. visit, Taiwans president delivered the message Thursday that keeping her self-ruled island strong will help ensure the worlds safety  even as her travel is carefully calibrated to try to contain what furious Chinese officials warn could be a strong response.

Taiwan is billing President Tsai Ing-wens visit to New York as simply a transit," but she kept a full agenda of events Wednesday and Thursday before flying to Central America.

Most provocatively in the eyes of Beijing, her trip is expected to include a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy next week. In a sign of the sensitivity of her visit, little about Tsais full itinerary has been made public, and her events Thursday were closed to the news media.

The visit  while important for Taiwan in demonstrating its overseas support  is fraught for both Taiwan and the U.S. because China views Taiwan as its territory and treats any dealings between U.S. and Taiwanese officials as a challenge to its sovereignty.

Even with the precautions, Tsais trip, including any meetings with U.S. lawmakers, raises tensions at a time when both China and the U.S. and its allies are boosting their military preparedness for a possible confrontation in the Indo-Pacific. Chinas often-stated determination to take Taiwan, by force if necessary, stands as one of the regions main flashpoints.

Chinese officials are focusing, angrily, on the expected meeting next week between Tsai and McCarthy. It would be one of the highest-level in-person meetings between U.S. and Taiwanese officials on U.S. soil.

Tsai emphasized Taiwan's perseverance in the face of daunting challenges in a closed-door speech Thursday night hosted by the Hudson Institute think tank, which awarded her its leadership award.

She said the Taiwanese public remains unswerving in its commitment to democracy, and that Taiwan is the responsible, calm side in contrast to China, which is raising tensions in cross-strait relations, according to Taiwan's official Central News Agency.

"She made a strong point that the defense of Taiwan is actually the defense of America, said Miles Yu, a Hudson Institute director who attended the speech.

A few dozen pro-China demonstrators  holding signs declaring One China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China  gathered behind police barricades outside the hotel where Tsai spoke.

The United States longstanding one-China policy acknowledges that the Chinese claim Taiwan as their territory. However, the U.S. does not endorse that claim and remains Taiwan's most important provider of military hardware and other defense assistance.

On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning restated Chinas serious objections to any interactions between Tsai and U.S. leaders.

China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan, Mao told reporters in Beijing. China will continue to closely follow the situation and resolutely safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

A senior Chinese diplomat in Washington, embassy charge d'affaires Xu Xueyuan, pointed to the anticipated meeting between Tsai and the U.S. House speaker as one that would have significant repercussions overall and a serious, serious, serious impact on U.S.-China relations.

Neither Taiwan nor McCarthy, a California Republican, has publicly confirmed any in-person get-together. Analysts have framed a session between the two outside Washington as possibly less provocative than a trip by McCarthy to Taiwan, which he has said he also intends to make

Beijing responded to a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last August by launching missiles, deploying warships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait and simulating a blockade of the island. China also temporarily suspended dialogue with the U.S. on climate and other major issues and restricted military-to-military communication with the Pentagon.

The United States broke off official ties with Taiwan in 1979, when it formally established diplomatic relations with China. U.S. law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of grave concern but does not explicitly say whether the U.S. would commit troops.

Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he hoped any U.S. officials meeting unofficially with the Taiwanese president emphasize that American support for Taiwan is "strong and unequivocal.

Tsai has made six previous trips through the U.S. during her presidency, meeting with members of Congress and members of the Taiwanese diaspora. Administration officials are underscoring that her trip is in line with what she and her predecessors have done in the past.

Tsai's "transit is consistent with our longstanding unofficial relationship with Taiwan and is consistent with the United States' one-China policy, which remains unchanged, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

The Peoples Republic of China should not use this transit as a pretext to step up any aggressive activity around the Taiwan Strait," Kirby said. The United States and China have differences when it comes to Taiwan. But we have managed those differences for more than 40 years.

Tsai told reporters before boarding her plane to the United States that external pressure will not obstruct our resolution to engage with the world."

Tsai was expected to meet with the American Institute in Taiwan chair, Laura Rosenberger. AIT is the U.S. government-run nonprofit that carries out unofficial relations with Taiwan.

Tsai's stops in Central America are expected to shore up Taiwan's partnerships there, after Honduras this month switched its diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China. Tsai accused China of using dollar diplomacy to lure away Honduras. Worldwide, just 13 countries now officially recognize Taiwan.

Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, the chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said the visit is a chance for Tsai to convey to the Congress how important the partnership between the U.S. and Taiwan is and whats necessary to preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have grown as China under President Xi Jinping seeks to expand its regional and global influence. Passage of what the U.S. said was a Chinese spy balloon across the U.S. this winter heightened Americans' sense of challenge from China. China says it was a research balloon that was blown off course.

___

Knickmeyer and Mascaro reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Huizhong Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, and Josh Boak and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  The indictment against former President Donald Trump involving a 2016 hush money payment is raising concerns that it could undermine public confidence in what democracy experts view as far more important investigations.

Trump is facing multiple investigations related to his refusal to accept his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. That includes whether he pressured election officials to overturn the results, encouraged fake electors from battleground states and his role in the events that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Jeffrey Engel, founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, called the indictment this week from a New York grand jury the appetizer to their main course still to come."

That main course, literally, is democracy at stake and who we are as a nation, he said.

The New York investigation that led to Thursdays indictment involved payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels at the tail end of the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. But some worry that the charges  which remain under seal  could distract public attention from the other cases, which are more squarely focused on attacks against the countrys democratic institutions and traditions.

Larry Diamond, an expert on democracy and senior fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said he was nervous that the New York charges will trigger all of the charges of politicization against him and misuse of the judiciary. Its a theme Trump has been emphasizing on social media and during a recent campaign rally in Texas.

I would certainly not be opting to have this flimsiest of the cases go first, Diamond said.

The indictment already has rallied Trumps supporters, both at the grassroots level and those holding public office. The reaction to Thursdays indictment has exposed the deep political rifts that have increasingly polarized the country since Trumps rise within the Republican Party.

Kathy Clark, a retired police officer from suburban Palm Beach County, stood alongside the road outside Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after the indictment news broke, holding a Trump Won banner. Clark, dressed in a red, white and blue cowboy hat and vest, said the New York indictment will backfire.

People who were on the fence are going to see how the government has politicized the judicial system, she said.

Trump has promoted the idea that the investigations are partisan and intended to undermine his campaign as he embarks on his third bid for the White House. On his social media site, the former president cast prosecutors involved in the investigations as the ones endangering democracy.

Other supporters lined up quickly behind him, including West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, who called the indictment a political witch hunt and a political prosecution. And the only reason theyre doing this is because theyre scared. They know that they cant beat him at the ballot box. Thats why theyre resorting to these terrible tactics.

Polls have shown that a majority of Republicans still support Trumps false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, suggesting they already believe he has been wronged by the system even though Bidens win has been affirmed in multiple reviews, recounts and audits in the key presidential battleground states.

Trumps attempts to overturn those results amid false claims of widespread fraud are at the heart of two other ongoing investigations, including his role in trying to halt the certification of the election results and in the run-up to the violent attack on the Capitol. A special prosecutor also is looking into Trumps retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, an investigation that could hold the greatest legal peril for the former president.

A separate investigation in Georgias Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, is looking into the pressure Trump and others exerted on state officials to overturn the results of the presidential election there. The investigation began after a phone call in which Trump urged Georgias secretary of state to find enough votes to overturn Bidens win.

The payment that Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, made in 2016 to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with Daniels is the one that least involves an attack on democratic norms. But it is the detail that most easily lends itself to Trumps contention that he is being attacked for partisan reasons.

John Bolton, Trumps former national security adviser, said on CNN recently that the question is what happens after the indictment. If prosecutors fail to get a conviction, I think the historians will look back and say that is the act that re-elected Donald Trump president.

Diamond, the Stanford expert, said despite his nervousness of the New York case moving ahead first, it will not stop the others.

The other stuff is not going to simply evaporate, and I think for the purpose of the defense of our constitutional system and the defense of the rule of law ... those are the ones that I think should carry the most weight in the public mind, he said.

Roscoe Howard, a former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said prosecutors in New York are aware of who they are dealing with and the turmoil that will follow. But he said prosecutors arent focused on public opinion or the political consequences of a case.

Their concern is not about other investigations, but whether their case is ready to go to court, Howard said.

Theres not a prosecutor in this country who will take a case to trial that they think they are going to lose, he said. They just dont do that.

___

Associated Press writer Terry Spencer in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
Sony is expected to bring in a new wireless earbud model soon as well as a new blue color for its WH-1000XM5 over-the-ear headphones. The WF-C700 is expected to arrive as the latest midrange offering in Sonys TWS range.



Sony WF-C700

While we dont have much info on their specs we can see they will be available in at least four colors  black, white, blue and green.

The buds feature a similar design to 2021s Sony WF-C500 and will ship with replacement ear-tips and a USB-C charging cable.



WF-C700 in its four color options

The other new bit of imagery shows us the WH-1000XM5 in a brand-new dark blue color. The earphones feature gold accent colors and a color-matching carrying case with gold accented zippers.



WH-1000XM5 blue version

Source 1  Source 2 (tweets)
Attorney General Doug Moylan declined to sign off on the administrations desired lease for land to build a new hospital complex on in Mangilao.

According to an opinion issued Friday afternoon, the lease presents several legal issues and would be unenforceable. The Guam Legislature, members of which have been lobbying for involvement in the lease, would also have to get involved in the deal, the opinion states.

Moylans signature is needed before the governor can sign off on the deal. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero just hours before the opinion was issued told the PDN that she was willing to sign the lease with the Navy before the end of the day.

After reading Moylan's opinion, the governor said her office was reviewing the issues raised by the attorney general, but none of them appeared to "constitute actual impediments to entering the lease."

"Tragically, the only thing delayed today is a state-of-the-art hospital we all need. Yet not a single senator who opposed our plan has presented a solution of their own. That might be good politics but it certainly wont make anything better for everyday people," she said.

Joint Region Marianas commander Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson has stated that the land in Mangilao will be repurposed by April 14, if the deal goes unsigned.

On Friday, Joint Region Marianas issued a statement saying "the Department of Defense technical and legal teams negotiated the terms of this lease with the government of Guam in good faith, and we remain committed to prioritizing improved health care for the entire community."

Legal problems with lease

The AGs opinion notes that his office was not consulted during negotiations for the lease,  As such, we were unable to earlier recommend any corrective changes to this attached lease.

According to the opinion, the lease commits GovGuam money and resources without approval from the legislature, making it unenforceable.

The lease binds the government of Guam to pay for the hospital in the event that the project is not completed in 10 years.

However, it does so without the Legislature, which clearly has the power of the purse in the local government, the opinion stated. The Supreme Court of Guam is clear on the issue.

The lease obligates the Guam taxpayers (aka Govt. of Guam) to paying the fair market rent at the time of signing of the lease. This money amount (fair market value, Attachment C) has not been appropriated by the Guam Legislature as required by Guam local and Federal law, it stated.

Additionally, the lease is in violation of GovGuams procurement law, Moylan wrote.

The lease, exposes the taxpayers to millions in dollars of cash payments if certain conditions are not met, making it subject to local procurement laws.

A section of the lease that would commit the operations of the hospital to the federal government in the event of a national emergency or war may be outside of the governors authority under the Organic Act, the opinion states.

Even under an Organic Act of Guam analysis of the governors special powers and duties allowing the governor purview over public health services, it states, the Organic Act still includes the caveat that the governors powers are subject to the laws of Guam.

Finally, parts of the lease appeared to be incomplete, and did not set out a clear agreement on terms like the scope of the project, the opinion stated. That either makes the contract unenforceable or invites a future lawsuit between (GovGuam) and the USA.

The opinion recommends that the governor make several changes, including seeking approval from lawmakers for several sections of the lease.

Senators respond

Speaker Therese Terlaje, who has led the charge for increased oversight of the hospital land deal, commended Moylan in a statement issued Friday afternoon.

This is a victory for the people of Guam, the speaker stated, they will not be bound to a longterm financial obligation that the Legislature did not appropriate for.

Terlaje said lawmakers and the governor had to roll up our sleeves and "move forward with building a new hospital with all urgency.

Sen. Chris Barnett stated that the opinion validated all the arguments that lawmakers seeking a review of the lease terms had made.

Senators who sided with the administration on the deal had betrayed the electorate, he stated.

They chose to defend a lease which isnt even complete enough to warrant a full review. They chose to rush into recklessness out of loyalty to party, forsaking our people in the process."
The future of a new medical complex planned to be built on land near Eagles Field is uncertain after last weeks rejection of a lease agreement with the military, according to the governor.

The property, 112 acres in an area known as Lalo in Mangilao, was offered by the military for use as a medical campus.

Although senators unanimously passed legislation requiring their involvement in any long-term federal lease deal, the legislation was vetoed by the governor, and senators could not get enough votes to override the veto.

On Friday, Attorney General Doug Moylan, who is required to approve the lease, said he would not sign it. He said his office was not involved in negotiations, and he identified several legal problems with the deal.

Joint Region Marianas Commander Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson previously said the lease had to be approved by April 14, or the identified land will be rededicated to future military use.

The governor said her office tried to engage Moylan as he was conducting the review, so any concerns could be resolved as they were identified.

Unfortunately, he did not avail himself of these resources. We are confident that, had he responded to our frequent requests for updates during his review, we could have resolved many of the issues raised in his ultimate reply.

She said her staff remains open to discussing issues with the attorney general, however, it is likely that a legal remedy will be necessary to effectuate the Organic Act mandate that the governor shall establish public health facilities, including hospitals, and the Supreme Court of Guams determination that the Legislature has no place in negotiating lease agreements, which is necessarily an executive function.

Concerns have been raised about locating the hospital complex in Mangilao, including a recent letter from the Guam Medical Association stating that the site is far from most doctors, clinics and medical offices in Tamuning.

Others who have objected include families of original landowners, who are arguing for the return of their properties. Both the governor and the military have said that is not a possibility.

The Republican Caucus of the legislature issued a statement saying the reasons Moylan gave for declining to sign the lease were the same reasons Republican senators gave for wanting oversight of long-term federal leases.

The group said Moylans rejection of the lease does not negate the need for all of us to roll up our sleeves and now focus on building a hospital that our people support and sorely need. Furthermore, this focus must be transparent and have the direct engagement of our people and the medical community.

But the governor said the lease rejection puts the vision of a new hospital at risk.

As for those who have opposed this lease from the start, no one should celebrate the increased likelihood that we will lose Eagles Field for a second time, she said. Tragically, the only thing delayed today is a state-of-the-art hospital we all need.
Ukraine, Russia, NATO members and many other nations feeling the impact of the war in Ukraine are seeking ways to end the fighting and solve many of the worlds economic and military problems. Russia is losing the war as its troops are outnumbered, poorly equipped, untrained and perform poorly. Extensive Western economic sanctions have so devastated Russias war production that it cannot even begin to replace its equipment losses. The Ukrainian economy took a beating during the first year of fighting but is now recovering with the help of NATO economic aid.

For Russia, peace is only possible if they can keep some of the Ukrainian territory they occupy. Victory for Ukraine means no more Russian troops in Ukraine. That seems more achievable now, but will require a lot more fighting and lots of Russian and Ukrainian casualties.

China has proposed a peace deal that would include Russia keeping some territory. Before the war, China regarded Russia as a major economic, military and diplomatic partner. China disapproved of the war, as did India. Both nations quietly conveyed their concerns to Russia at international conferences and in diplomatic meetings. China and India would not supply Russia with weapons because that would trigger sanctions on them. China and India did help by quietly buying Russian oil, but at a large discount.

The main reason for Russian refusal to withdraw troops from Ukraine is Russian leader Vladimir Putin. A growing number of prominent Russians are going public with their concerns about the dismal prospects for Russian forces in Ukraine. Putin believes that the longer he can maintain military control over some Ukrainian territory, the more likely NATO supporters of Ukraine will grow discouraged and reduce aid. So far NATO shows no signs of reducing support. The NATO nations close to Russia or bordering Russia insist that if Russia is allowed to keep any Ukrainian territory, the Russians will attack them too, not merely Ukraine, as part of an effort to reconstitute the Greater Russia that the tsars and later communists created and maintained until 1991. Putin has always insisted that the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a big mistake and must be rectified. Many Russians agree with that, but are less willing to pay the economic and military price that Ukraine demonstrated would result if Russia tried.

Irrational nationalism is nothing new and often results in heavy losses for all concerned when such rebuilding is attempted using military force. At one point Putin threatened the use of nuclear weapons to achieve victory in Ukraine. That threat faded as nuclear-armed NATO nations and even China advised dropping the nuclear threats, as did many Russians. Without the nuclear threat all Putin has left is keeping the war going at any cost to Russia. There is world-wide resistance to that because Ukraine and Russia supply a large portion of the grain exports that many nations depend on to keep their people fed.

Vladimir Putin is of the quite justified opinion that defeat in Ukraine will also mean the end of his two decades of ruling Russia and probably his life. He was recently indicted by the ICC (International Criminal Court) for war crimes in Ukraine and an international arrest warrant issued. The immediate response of Russia was that any effort to arrest Putin while he was outside Russia would be considered an act of war against Russia. If Putin is no longer head of state in Russia, he is more vulnerable to the ICC arrest warrant. Those warrants never expire and the ICC has brought former senior government officials to trial eventually.

Currently, the most likely outcome is that Ukraine does defeat and expel all Russian forces in Ukraine. That will reveal more Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians. Russia will be considered a pariah state for some time to come because it is unlikely that it will return more than a million kidnapped Ukrainian civilians including many children. This is disappointing to many nations, especially former European trading partners who believed, until 2022, that Russia would continue being the peaceful and reliable trading partner it had been since the 1990s. Peace may return, but any hopes for an unthreatening Russia will take a lot longer.
Government employees under the general pay plan can expect to see the recently approved 22% pay raise reflected on their paychecks in the coming weeks.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero Friday signed off on legislation to fund the raises to the tune of $21 million through the end of the fiscal year in September.

Some senators out there said this is not the right time, Leon Guerrero said to a crowd of GovGuam staffers at Government House on Friday.

This is the best time. When youre starting to see a surplus of $30 million, $45 million, maybe even $100 million. What do we do? What do we do with that money? We invest in right back to you.

Republican lawmakers during debate over the raises questioned the governments ability to sustain the added costs over the long term.

Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio touted the fiscal responsibility of the administration, which has eliminated the General Fund deficit. He added that the raise was needed to stave off the loss of public sector employees to private companies. The Department of Public Works, which once staffed over 1,000 employees, was now down to just 260, Tenorio said.

Raises will come as quickly as possible

The raises apply to hours worked after April 1. It is possible that some employees will not see the increased payout reflected in their next check.

Were trying to get it out as quickly as possible, said Director of Administration Ed Birn.

They actually have to put all this information in manually, so theyre going to be working pretty hard, Birn said of the Department of Administrations payroll department, which, like everyone else, is overworked.

Workers who dont have their human resources managed by the Department of Administration, like employees with the Guam Department of Education, will see their pay arrive as their own, separate departments update their information, Birn said.

Unclassified employees

All unclassified employees will see a 22% pay increase, despite an amendment to the bill which only provided the raises to unclassified workers with mayoral offices, the Guam Election Commission and federally funded positions.

According to Leon Guerrero, the amendment was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

We are going to effectuate the severability portion of this bill, and we are going to pay all unclassified and classified employees, she said.
Edward Birn is the director of the Department of Administration. Read the full letter on guampdn.com.
China recently announced plans to build a competitor for the American Starlink network that provides fast Internet service to ground users. Starlink was turned on in Ukraine after the Russians invaded in 2022 and gave Ukrainian forces a communications advantage they still enjoy. The Chinese satellite network is called (for the moment) GW and is being developed and deployed by the Chinese military. The Chinese government encourages private enterprise and competition but considers Starlink a threat to Chinese military power. Less than a year ago Russia and China were very public about their envy, anger and hostility towards the new American Starlink space-based communication system. Russia was the first to feel the pain caused by Starlink and declared Starlink founder Elon Musk an enemy who should be executed.

China was less emotional and more practical by making public a government study of the Starlink problem and asking for comments and new solutions. This is a common practice in China and used to be in Russia, especially when the Soviet Union existed. The Soviets used this publicity technique primarily to let all officers in the military know of new tactics, concepts or problems the state was having with something. Public discussion was allowed to help eliminate the less useful suggestions and solutions. Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, is not the only multiple small satellite ISP (Internet Service Provider) system. There are similar efforts underway in several countries, including Russia and China. Starlink is unique in that it was the first to enter service and quickly proved it could do what it was designed to do. That included quickly adapting to the needs of military users. China sees Starlink as a serious threat to the current government and its control over the population as well as the effectiveness of their military. Thats no speculation because its already happening to Russian forces, often live on TV, in Ukraine.

Russia has some experience with this sort of thing. Back in 2018 Roscosmos (the state-owned corporation running commercial space operations) was offered a lucrative contract by a British firm, OneWeb, to use 21 Soyuz SLVs (satellite launchers vehicles) to put hundreds of small Internet communications satellites into orbit. This was to establish a worldwide satellite network providing Internet access to anywhere on the planet. This alarmed the Russian government because they would not be able to monitor and censor or block any Internet traffic coming into or out of Russia. The OneWeb system was to use a few ground stations connecting its satellites to the rest of the Internet. Russia was willing to compromise if one of those ground stations was in Russia and the Russians had access to all the Internet traffic passing through it. OneWeb saw that Russia intended to outlaw the use of OneWeb by Russians. The ban could not have been completely effective because some Russians would find a way to pay for their access. OneWeb makes money by acting as an ISP (internet service provider) and for hundreds of millions of people in areas with poor, or no, Internet access the satellite service is all they would have access to. That includes millions of Russians in remote areas. The fact that the FSB would not have access to that Internet traffic would be a bonus for Russian users. OneWeb was forced to cancel the Roscosmos SLV deal. The Russians were the most affordable SLV service available and without it OneWeb did not get into orbit until when SpaceX offered affordable SLV service and began putting the OneWeb satellites into orbit.

The irony of this was that one of the potential replacements for the billion dollar Roscosmos contract was the American SpaceX, which has perfected the reusable boosters (which can land intact and be reused) that lowers the cost of using SpaceX launchers. Roscosmos has been having a hard time remaining competitive and the OneWeb contract was seen as something of a lifeline. China may offer a way out as they are proposing a Russian-Chinese partnership to establish a competitor for OneWeb that would, of course, be accessible to Russian and Chinese Internet censorship efforts. Russia cannot afford to create its own satellite Internet system and Roscosmos is sliding towards bankruptcy.

At the time OneWeb was but one of several efforts to provide global satellite-based Internet service. The others were Starlink, Kepler, Telesat, LinkSure and LeoSat. Starlink was backed by SpaceX, which by 2018 had already launched two test satellites. The full Starlink system would consist of over 11,000 small satellites and SpaceX planned to, and did, have nearly 2,000 in orbit by 2021. Starlink offers high-speed Internet service and is not concerned with FSB objections. The one Chinese backed network, LinkSure, would provide free wi-fi worldwide and make money with ads and reselling user data. LinkSure would be subject to Chinese censorship and that killed it because there was not much of a market for censored Internet access. LinkSure is still proceeding with its plans to put 13,000 satellites in low orbit. It is unclear if there is any connection between the new Chinese GW effort and ongoing LinkSure efforts to deploy thousands of small communications satellites in low orbit. GW is not so much about providing Starlink and OneWeb with competition as it is to somehow provide China with a way to disrupt Starlink and other Western satellite networks whenever needed. This raises the possibility that domestic corruption opportunities are the unspoken major justification for China spending so money without a paying market for Linksure/GW.




Haiti - Climate : Haiti needs more than a billion dollars for its Adaptation Plan





A Haitian delegation of 5 people participated on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment in the "NAP EXPO 2023", which took place from March 27 to 30, 2023, in Santiago, Chile.



Haiti is one of the 44 countries that have finalized and submitted their National Adaptation Plans (NAP) to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.



Haiti's NAP is made up of 340 adaptation actions at the national level including 21 high-priority actions requiring an envelope of more than $980 million over 9 years (page 72 of the NAP). These actions relate, among other things, to climate-smart agriculture, irrigation infrastructure, integrated water resource management, reforestation and agroforestry, watershed management, capacity building and disease prevention. .



Download the National Adaptation Plan (PNA) of Haiti (PDF in French 91 pages) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/PNA_HAITI.pdf



Haiti officially submitted, in January 2023, the document of its National Adoption Plan (PNA) to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.



The first important step for the implementation of NAPs is the access to climate finance to realize the priority action programs that have been identified. The second step is the integration of concerns related to adaptation to climate change in sectoral public policies.



One of the conditions for meeting these challenges and allowing the NAP to play its role in stepping up adaptation is the involvement of all the actors concerned in the implementation of climate action. On the side of the Haitian Government, under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, the National Committee on Climate Change (CNCC) will have a crucial role to play in mobilizing key players, guiding climate action and contributing to the success of the NAP process.



The delegation of Haiti at NAP EXPO 2023 co-hosted, on March 27, 2023, a panel around the theme : "Scaling up the implementation of adaptation to climate change through National Adaptation Plans (NAP)" with Gerty Pierre, Change Director (Haiti), Rinchen Penjor (Bhutan) and Buddi Sagar Poudel (Nepal),



3 questions were addressed :



(i) What is the most important step towards the implementation of the NAP?

(ii) What is the best advice for other countries?

(iii) What obstacle or solution to the strategic role that the NAP process can play in scaling up adaptation?



Haiti took advantage of this panel to share some ongoing initiatives to facilitate the implementation of the NAP, among others : the development of a policy note to show the importance of the Plan, training and support for actors in the planning for climate-responsive budgeting and developing collaborations with universities to conduct research on adaptation to climate change.



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-39183-icihaiti-environment-a-haitian-delegation-in-chile.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-39061-icihaiti-environment-forum-on-climate-finance-and-budgeting.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38331-haiti-environment-first-meeting-of-the-national-committee-for-the-fight-against-climate-change-video-pm.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36190-haiti-environment-adaptation-to-climate-change-haiti-needs-more-than-$980-million.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - insecurity : Gangs have forced the displacement of at least 160,000 Haitians





The deterioration of security conditions in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince has caused numerous population displacements in recent months and caused incidents in some accommodation sites.



The number of displaced persons currently stands at 155,166 people, of whom 30,492 are currently settled in accommodation sites.



Same scenario in the departments of Artibonite and Center where violence has forced thousands of families to abandon their homes.



The International Organization for Migration (IOM) with its government partners is continuing to provide relocation assistance to the most vulnerable displaced families (pregnant women, children and infants, etc...) through a cash transfer program for one year's rent.



At the same time, IOM continues to respond to the urgent needs of the displaced by distributing basic necessities and medical care. Humanitarian assistance activities supported by USAIDs Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USA) and EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid United Nations CERF (Europa).



HL/ HaitiLibre


















By William Schwartz | Published on 2021/10/06

As the titles implies, "The Last Comfort Woman" is not an especially pleasant film. It deals with women pressganged by the Japanese government into offering sexual services to beleagured soldiers. We see women of multiple nationalities wonder where they're being taken by train, and fight among themselves. It's only when they arrive that the worst fears of the most misinformed girls are confirmed, and we watch several of them get raped, albeit not in a graphic manner.

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"The Last Comfort Woman" may sound like typical anti-Japanese nationalism, but in between the scenes of horrific rape there's surprising nuance about the comfort women issue generally absent from the media that postdates it. For starters, "The Last Comfort Woman" can't really call its victims sex slaves. We can see quite clearly that they are paid. Yes, they were tricked into signing fraudulent contracts and can't leave. Nevertheless, as they are paid for their work, they can't be slaves by definition.

This is particularly important as regards the Japanese comfort women. Yes, ethnic Japanese women also worked in the camps. And the ones we see in this movie are professional prostitutes. They knew exactly what they were signing up for, and consider their work in wartime brothels an informed patriotic improvement over their previous work situations. This makes them less sympathetic to the new girls, who they think are just amateur whiners. Well, for awhile anyway.

The arc from there is fairly predictable. We have Miyako (played by Kim Mi-yeong-I) grow more sympathetic to the situation of the younger girls, particularly that of Yeon-hee (played by Moon Na-eun). The camp is evil, but it's a banal evil, and over time the girls who survive the worst of the situation are able to accept it. Yet the brutality continues unabated, and we have intermittent moments of not especially graphic horror throughout.

When I emphasize that the horror is not graphic, I mean that we don't actually see any hits or penetration or nudity. "The Last Comfort Woman" is still an intensely uncomfortable movie, and writer/director Lim Seon makes a little go a long way by just letting the viewer imagine the more horrific details. For a movie filled with shocking imagery the understatement is quite potent. One great tragedy happens entirely off-screen, with the grief of one bereaved character serving as the only marker for why such a mundane wartime event should feel like a tragedy.

In spite of their seeming to be the chief villains, I was also struck how at times the soldiers too come off as victims. One just want a maternal figure to comfort them and tell them everything is going to be all right. Another, this one an ethnic Korean soldier, just encourages his assigned comfort woman to take a badly needed rest. Moments of minor humanity sparkle throughout "The Last Comfort Woman" and are its strongest selling point.

Review by William Schwartz

___________

"The Last Comfort Woman" is directed by Lim Seon, and features Moon Na-eun, Kim Mi-yeong-I, Rei, Jung Hee-ro, Kim Byung-soo-I, Kang Joon-gyu. Release date in Korea: 2015/08/13.



DVD TW
Published on 2023/03/30 | Source

Actress Jang Nara showed off her beauty.

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On the 29th, Jang Nara posted several photos on her Instagram captions, "It was very hot but fun shooting "Family: The Unbreakable Bond" in Bangkok".

The released photo shows Jang Nara visiting Bangkok to shoot the drama "Family: The Unbreakable Bond". Jang Nara is 43 years old, but her looks show no traces of time.

A mirror shot of Jang Nara was also released. Along with a white blouse, her slim face stands out, making the viewer's heart flutter.

Meanwhile, tvN's new Monday-Tuesday drama "Family: The Unbreakable Bond", starring Jang Nara, is a close-knit family defense comedy between an NIS Black Agent husband, who disguises himself as an ordinary office worker, and his wife, who dreams of a perfect family. It is expected to be Jang Nara's fourth work with Jang Hyuk. The first episode will air on April.
Published on 2023/03/31 | Source

Korean dramas starting today 2023/03/31: "Joseon Attorney: A Morality" and "Duty After School" and "Duty After School"

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"Joseon Attorney: A Morality" (2023)

Directed by Kim Seung-ho-III, Lee Han-joon

Written by Choi Jin-yeong

Network: MBC

With Woo Do-hwan, Kim Ji-yeon, Cha Hak-yeon, Song Geon-hee, Kim Ae-ran, Han Sang-jo,...

16 episodes - Fri, Sat 21:50

Adapted from a webtoon of the same name.

Synopsis

A fusion historical drama that combines romance and legal heroes, and contains a fictional story based on the motif of Gyeongguk Daejeon.

Where to Watch Powered by JustWatch

"Duty After School" (2023)

Directed by Seong Yong-il

Written by Yoon Soo-I

Network: TVING

With Shin Hyun-soo, Kim Ki-hae, Lim Se-mi, Ahn Do-kyu, Kim Su-gyeom, Woo Min-kyu,...

10 episodes - Fri

When mysterious alien spheres start invading the world, high school students are called upon to join the world's first war against extraterrestrial forces.

Synopsis

Unidentified extraterritorial spheres take over the world. The Department of Defense, in a desperate bid to recruit more soldiers, offers college admission incentives to get 18-year-olds to sign up as part of the reserved forces. A High school's class of 2022 seniors sign up to become soldiers, and they soon become frontline fighters in the war.
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* China's certainty is a mainstay that safeguards world peace and development, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in the southern island province of Hainan.

* China will adhere to reform and opening up and innovation-driven development, no matter how the world will change.

* Premier Li reiterated that China has the confidence and ability to advance the Chinese economy to break waves, maintain steady and sustained growth and make greater contribution to world economic development.

BOAO, Hainan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- In an ever-changing world full of uncertainties, people are in dire need of strong certainty to drive toward a better future.

China's certainty is a mainstay that safeguards world peace and development, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2023 in the southern island province of Hainan.

China will adhere to reform and opening up and innovation-driven development, no matter how the world will change, Li said.

CERTAINTY FOR GLOBAL GROWTH

The global economy has been in choppy waters for quite some time, experiencing shocks from several factors including the pandemic, raging regional conflicts and rising anti-globalization sentiment.

But every cloud has a silver lining, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "Emerging and developing Asia remains the best hope and chief driver of global growth. Combined, they would contribute 75 percent to global growth. China and India alone are expected to contribute half of it."

The weighted real GDP growth rate of Asia in 2023 is estimated at 4.5 percent, an increase from 4.2 percent in 2022, according to a report released by the BFA.

China's economic growth is showing strong momentum. In particular, major economic indicators such as consumption and investment continue to improve, and employment and prices are generally stable.

In Hainan, tourists and shoppers crowd duty-free shopping malls and idyllic beaches. In the town of Boao, where the BFA annual conference is being held, policy makers, entrepreneurs and experts are exuding confidence in global economic recovery and exchanging observations on pressing issues of development, security, climate change and AI.

Premier Li reiterated that China has the confidence and ability to advance the Chinese economy to break waves, maintain steady and sustained growth and make greater contribution to world economic development.

China has set a GDP growth target of around 5 percent for 2023. The International Monetary Fund has raised its projection for China's economic growth in 2023 to 5.2 percent. At Boao, forum participants are reassured by China's robust economic pulse.

At the opening ceremony, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, "Post-COVID, we encourage the revival of investment, trade and tourism flows, and look forward to participating in new growth opportunities in China's dynamic economy."

"Chinese economic data is definitely looking better over the past two months. We've seen a real bounce," said Ben Simpfendorfer, a partner at leading international management consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

China's high-quality development brings a more even distribution of wealth and a more sustainable way of growth, said Michele Geraci, former undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. He said China has done very well in making long-term plans for five, 10 and even 25 years.

OPENING UP WIDER

On Thursday, Li pledged to further open up the world's second-largest economy, shoring up the confidence of global investors ready to tap into the country's potential.

"China is opening up wider, and it embraces the outside world while the outside world embraces China," said Andrew Forrest, chairman of Australian iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group.

In terms of establishing huge renewable energy sources, China offers tremendous opportunities to companies like Fortescue that are looking to go green, he said.

China has been increasing the size of the pie, with a large market and a wide range of products, so companies need to have a strategy to sell to or invest in China, Simpfendorfer said.

The country is speeding up the establishment of a unified national market, breaking down market barriers, and accelerating the free flow of goods and resources, thus providing greater convenience for companies to optimize resource allocation, said Ricky Wong, vice-president of KPMG China.

To tackle mounting global issues, efforts should be made to jointly broaden effective ways to achieve solidarity and cooperation, and inject more certainty into global governance.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for instance, which was proposed by China in 2013, has played a crucial role in boosting economic connections across the globe. At the ongoing BFA, the BRI is again a keenly-discussed topic.

The BRI represents the future of the world, said Paolo Borzatta, a board member of the Italy-based consultancy European House -- Ambrosetti, adding that the BRI is not only an initiative of China or a project of the Chinese government, but also a project of all countries along the route.

Statistics show that over the past decade, 151 countries and 32 international organizations have joined the initiative. It has generated nearly 1 trillion U.S. dollars in investment, established over 3,000 cooperation projects, created some 420,000 jobs in countries along the routes, and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty.

"We welcome China's commitment to continue opening up its economy, and to continue supporting multilateralism and regional cooperation, and we look forward to all parties contributing more actively to regional and global development and prosperity, to benefit Asia and the world," said Lee Hsien Loong. (Video reporters: Hong Liang, Zhou Xuan, Wang Junfeng, Li Duojiang, Guo Liangchuan, Yan Yujing, Lu Jia, Li Xiaohui, Yin Jiajie and Li Yaguang; video editors: Chen Sihong, Cao Ying and Zhou Yang)
As the sun rises over the pastures of Heifer Ranch Center for Regenerative Agriculture, Donna Kilpatrick can hear the sprightly staccato call of the Northern Bobwhite quail. Though once prevalent across North America, this speckled species of land fowl has faced habitat loss and steep population declines over the past 50 years. Their presence at Heifer Ranch, however, is a sign of hope.

In her position as Heifer USA director of regeneration, Donna is responsible for creating and implementing a system of livestock and land management tailored to the ecosystems of the Ranch, Heifer USAs 1,200-acre farm in Perryville, Arkansas. Prioritizing regenerative agriculture, her responsibility is not only to the plants and animals intentionally raised at the Ranch, but the natural environment of the land and all the species within it.

The entrance of Heifer Ranch Center for Regenerative Agriculture in Perryville, Arkansas. Photo by Phillip Davis/Heifer International.

Since Heifer Ranch became a Savory Global Network Hub  a learning center certified to teach farmers, ranchers and pastoralists to regenerate grasslands according to the Savory Institutes land management model  Donna has utilized a land management framework called holistic management to assess, understand and care for the Ranch's land.

The results are promising. As the pastures and animals of Heifer Ranch have flourished, two native species  the Northern Bobwhite quail and beavers  have prospered alongside them. Below, learn more about Donnas land management model and how the return of these two important creatures contributes to the healthy, vibrant ecosystem she stewards.

Northern Bobwhite Quail

In the late 20th century, American farmers began utilizing pesticides and herbicides to suppress pests and weeds, generating higher yields from row crops. As the insects and plants targeted by the chemicals began to disappear, the Northern Bobwhite quails food supply diminished to dangerously low levels.

Careful stewardship of the land and its native habitats has encouraged a return of the Northern Bobwhite quail, a ground-dwelling bird whose population has been in steep decline. Photo courtesy of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Due to monocultures [and] due to industrial agriculture, Bobwhite quail populations in Arkansas and surrounding states have dropped by over 50%, Donna explained. In addition to loss of food supplies, the birds have seen their habitats ravaged by harsh farming practices. When you do row cropping and industrial agriculture, youre basically destroying the habitats that allow quail to live, she added.

At Heifer Ranch, however, regenerative agriculture provides a promising and proven alternative to the harmful habits of industrial farming. Rotational grazing  a practice in which livestock are moved daily to new pastures  offers fresh forage for Heifer Ranchs herds of grass-fed cattle, pasture-raised sheep, forested pigs and pastured poultry, while allowing used pastures to rest and regenerate native grasses and plants.

As part of this process, Donna and Heifer USAs livestock specialists meet each winter to craft an intricate, year-long grazing schedule to determine when and where to move the animals.

While building this massive document, known as a holistic planned grazing chart, Donna considers the teams main objectives. Our main goals are to raise super healthy animals [and] to restore our natural environment, really looking at ecosystem health, she said.

Donna Kilpatrick drafts a holistic planned grazing chart for Heifer Ranch Center for Regenerative Agriculture. Photo courtesy of Heifer Ranch.

In addition to the feed and forage requirements of the animals directly under her care, Donna contemplates the needs of species native to central Arkansas and the potential effects of agricultural processes. Whenever we have the nesting season for Bobwhite quail, I want that on the grazing chart, so I dont go in with a gigantic tractor and disturb their habitat.

Along with cultivating native vegetation, farmers at Heifer Ranch plant diverse cover crops to prevent soil erosion and improve ecosystem resilience, which in turn grants shelter to the ground-nesting fowl.

As Donna and her fellow farmers endeavor to support the resurgence of the Northern Bobwhite quail, the birds have shown their gratitude by feasting on ecologically harmful armyworms and providing natural pest control. The benefits of regenerative practices at Heifer Ranch are becoming clearer each year, and Donnas aim to work with nature, rather than against it continues to prompt new, exciting and occasionally surprising markers of ecological resilience.

Beavers

Another of these markers is the increased numbers of beavers building dams along the banks of the Fourche La Fave River  which snakes through the 1,200-acre property  over the past four years. Though many landowners have historically viewed beavers as harmful, destructive pests, the nocturnal rodents are native to Arkansas and Donna sees their return as an indicator of a healthy, resilient ecosystem.

A beaver builds its dam, creating a more biodiverse and resilient ecosystem. Photo by Stan Tekiela via Getty Images.

If nature put them there, theyre there for a reason, she said. Its all in balance, and if we get rid of the beavers, that has consequences downstream. No pun intended.

In fact, recent studies hail beavers as ecosystem engineers for their ability to increase biodiversity and combat climate change. Though many people believe beaver colonies negatively impact ecosystems by felling trees, the dams they build out of foraged wood actually create habitats for numerous species of insects, fish and amphibians. Dams also provide homes and abundant food supplies for river-dwelling birds.

But perhaps the most significant impact of beaver dams at Heifer Ranch is increased water storage and absorption, which recently proved crucial in combatting severe flash flooding.

In February 2023, extreme rainfall caused the Fouche La Fave River to rise 5 feet above flood stage, inundating 600 acres across 12 pastures. The livestock team worked quickly and carefully to move livestock to higher ground, saving the lives of nearly 600 animals.

While extreme flooding in February 2023 threatened the Ranch's land and livestock, pastures proved far more resilient than in previous floods. Photo courtesy of Heifer Ranch.

Despite the harm the deluge caused, Donna noted Heifer Ranch fared better than it did four years prior, when a flood left lush green pastures soggy, brown and degraded. Between beaver dams and increasingly absorbent soil, regenerative agriculture has equipped Heifer Ranch with a more resilient ecosystem.

As the Ranch recovers from the flood and livestock return to their pastures, Donna is hopeful the local beaver colony will continue making their homes at Heifer Ranch. I think were going to see a lot of [dam] building, she said. Theyve been busy at work, and this is their habitat.

A double rainbow stretches over the main campus of Heifer Ranch, where agriculture and the natural environment live in symbiosis. Photo courtesy of Heifer Ranch.

Since adopting regenerative agricultural models, Heifer Ranch has become home not just to livestock and the farmers who raise them, but also to beavers, Bobwhite quail and biodiversity that still stops Donna in her tracks.

One day at the Ranch, right in the trees above us, a Bobwhite quail called out, she recalled. Then, an eagle flew over. It was amazing. All these are great signs of a healthy ecosystem. I was just waiting for a rainbow to come out.

And, occasionally, Heifer Ranch is home to rainbows, too.
The over 225,000-resident city has thereby held on to the status for three years despite seeing its appeal diminish slightly from the previous year, according to a survey of public views on the appeal of the 10 largest cities in Finland.

TAMPERE has retained its status as the most appealing city in Finland, reports YLE.

Kari Vaisanen, a senior specialist at the reputation advisory firm that conducted the survey, T-Media, told YLE on Wednesday that Tampere received excellent scores for location and economic vitality while outperforming the other cities also in terms of reputation, a measure of administrative and decision-making culture.

Impressions that Tampere is working together toward a common goal are reflected outward positively, he said to the public broadcasting company.

The second place on the ranking was shared by Kuopio and Oulu, the latter being the only city to enhance its appeal from the previous year. Jyvaskyla came in fourth, Turku fifth, Espoo sixth, Lahti seventh, Pori eighth, Helsinki ninth and Vantaa tenth.

Turku, Lahti, Vantaa and Helsinki were the cities to record the most significant decline in appeal.

Vaisanen revealed that the respondents paid more attention to the cost structure of cities, along with safety, residential satisfaction and other issues related to community and the environment. The further away we get from the so-called crowded Finland, the better the evaluations for these three features.

Oulu was the only city to enhance its appeal also in terms of cost structure, a surprising finding in the prevalent economic situation, according to Vaisanen. The survey results, he told, reflect the cost pressured facing households, with the capital region in particular struggling due to its high cost structure.

Conducted this year for the third time, the survey drew 1,399 responses from 1565-year-old people between January and January.

Tampere secured the stop spot also in a recent survey of the views of business executives on 13-image related factors for 36 municipalities across Finland, the Finnish public broadcaster wrote in December. The city received the top score for each of the factors, earning praise for its location, business-friendly climate, labour supply and business-academia collaboration.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
The ratification is set to be next approved by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan .

THE GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY of Turkey on Thursday voted 2760 in favour of ratifying the Finnish bid to accede to Nato, inducing a series of satisfied comments from policy makers in Finland.

Turkey will thereby become the last of the 30 member states to ratify the membership, having dragged its feet on the issue for months in a bid to elicit action against what it sees as terrorists from Finland and Sweden.

The Swedish membership application has yet to be ratified by either Hungary or Turkey. Finland and Sweden submitted their applications to join the defence alliance on 18 May 2022.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Twitter he is grateful to all members of the defence alliance for their confidence and support during what ended up being an over 10-month ratification process.

Finland will become a strong and capable ally that is committed to the security of the alliance. Finland is now ready to join Nato. We expect Sweden will be able to join us as a member as soon as possible, he stated on Twitter.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) similarly expressed her gratitude for the support of other countries in the past months.

As an ally, we will receive and provide security. We will defend one another. Today and in the future, Finland stands by Sweden and supports the countrys membership application, she commented.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
YLE on Thursday released the results of its final opinion poll before the parliamentary elections, revealing that the margin separating the three largest parties vying for the premiership has reduced to a little over a percentage point.

THE EXCITEMENT surrounding the Finnish parliamentary elections is palpable with only a couple of days to go until election day.

Although the National Coalition has held on to its pole position, its popularity fell by one point from the previous poll to 19.8 per cent. The Finns Party overtook the Social Democrats as the second most well supported party in the country thanks to a 0.5-point jump in its popularity and a 1.2-point drop in that of its rival.

The three parties are thus within 1.1 points of each other.

All these three parties are bundled together so closely that any of them can become the top party next Sunday, Tuomo Turja, the research director at Taloustutkimus, stated to YLE. What caught my attention is that the last week of polling seems to have been the best of the polling period for the Social Democrats.

Support for the National Coalition did not fluctuate significantly over the polling period, which began on 1 March and ended on 28 March. The Finns Party, by contrast, performed better in the early than the latter stages of the period.

The National Coalition is also the most likely of the trio to convert its popularity into actual votes, with 76 per cent of its supporters telling they definitely intend to vote. The share stood at 72 per cent for the Finns Party and 67 per cent for the Social Democrats.

While the Centre Party saw its popularity jump by 1.2 points to 10.7 per cent, it remains on track to fall more than three points short of its vote share in the previous elections  at the time described as a historic loss.

The Centre has done a bit better in securing the backing of its old voters, and the party isnt bleeding as much support to other right-wing parties as earlier, commented Turja.

The Green League and Left Alliance have exhausted a lot of energy in recent weeks to counter the narrative pushed by the Social Democrats  that it is the only option for voters who want to prevent a right-wing government from taking office in Finland. The results, though, seem underwhelming, with the former climbing 0.1 points to 9.0 per cent and the latter falling 0.3 points to 8.7 per cent.

For the Greens, the worst week [of the period] was the first week of March. There was some modest improvement in the last weeks of March, Turja said.

Support for the Swedish Peoples Party decreased by 0.3 points to 4.1 per cent. The Christian Democrats saw its popularity jump by 0.8 points to 4.4 per cent  its highest level since early 2017  and Movement Now by 0.3 points to 1.8 per cent.

Taloustutkimus conducted 2,533 interviews for the poll on 128 March. Fourteen per cent of the respondents revealed they had voted during the advance voting period that ended on Tuesday, 28 March.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
CHILDREN from Rupert House School in Henley delivered more than 100 chocolate Easter eggs to the towns food bank.

It is the second year running that pupils at the independent school in Bell Street have made the donation to Nomad, which runs the food bank.

The initiative began after one pupil asked headteacher Nick Armitage whether every child receives an egg at Easter.

The school council decided that pupils would like to spend their pocket money on buying treats for children less fortunate than themselves.

The Friends of Rupert House, which is made up of parents, organised the collection of the chocolate treats.

Mr Armitage said: Its heart-warming to see young people taking an active role in helping those in need and making a positive difference. This donation is a wonderful example of the positive impact that schools and pupils can have on their communities.

This year, the children donated 130 eggs, 22 more than a year ago. Members of the council carried the eggs to Nomad at the d:two centre in Market Place and presented them to support worker Jaco Bruwer. The eggs will be distributed among families and individuals who use the food bank.

Mr Armitage added: It is a great example of how small acts of kindness can make a big difference in the lives of others.

I am very grateful to all the Rupert House families that donated Easter eggs and Im extremely proud of those children who bought them with their own money.
Donald Trump will try to turn his indictment to his advantage by stoking anger among core supporters over what they see as the weaponization of the justice system, though it may also push more Republicans tired of the drama around him to look for another presidential candidate. Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after an investigation into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House. (Also Read | Trump indicted over hush-money, prosecutor coordinating 'surrender': Top updates) Former President Donald J. Trump.(AP)

The prosecution of a former president is unprecedented in U.S. history. But his supporters view it as politically motivated, and it may only harden their resolve to back him in the 2024 Republican primary, rank-and-file Republican voters, party officials and political analysts told Reuters.

"They've done nothing but harass this guy," said Gregg Hough, chair of the Republican party in Belknap County, New Hampshire, predicting the prosecution will boost Trump support "to the moon" if it fails to deliver a convincing conviction.

Trump flagged the possibility of charges earlier this month and raised about $2 million off what he said was his imminent arrest. In a statement on Thursday, Trump called the indictment "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," without providing evidence.

John Feehery, a Republican strategist, described the Manhattan case as "silly" compared to the other probes hanging over Trump's campaign. Those include a special counsel investigating allegations he sought to overturn the 2020 election results, and prosecutors in Georgia examining his efforts to reverse his loss in the battleground state.

To win the party's nomination, Trump will likely have to broaden his support beyond the 25%-30% of the Republican electorate generally thought to be in his corner no matter what, especially if the field of Republican candidates narrows in the coming months. An indictment could make it difficult for him to broaden his appeal.

"For all the things for Trump to get indicted for, this is not on the top 20 list," said Feehery. "But it is a little bit of a scarlet letter for Trump that his opponents could use against him. Such an argument could be persuasive for independent voters."

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said some Republicans could be swayed by the charges to back Florida Governor Ron DeSantis or another potential candidate without Trump's legal baggage, which has grown considerably since he left the White House in 2021.

"Its not good for Trump, the question is how bad for Trump it is," said Sabato. "There could be multiple indictments ... it begins to add up to a major problem."

Trump's campaign has accused the Manhattan District Attorney, Democrat Alvin Bragg, of doing the bidding of the Democratic Party in an effort to stop his White House run. At a campaign rally in Waco, Texas on Saturday, Trump likened the criminal investigations against him to a "Stalinist Russia horror show."

People close to Trump have said his campaign would seek to frame the indictment as proof that all prosecutions - including his two impeachments in Congress - are unjustified attempts by the "Deep State" to undermine him and his supporters.

'TEFLON DON'

Sam DeMarco, chair of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County, said Republicans would view the Manhattan indictment as political, given that federal prosecutors reviewed the Daniels case in 2018 and decided not to charge Trump, although it is Justice Department policy not to indict a sitting president.

Trump has defied predictions of his demise numerous times since he launched his bid for the White House in 2015. Sometimes called "Teflon Don" for his record of skirting accountability, Trump once bragged that he could gun down someone in the middle of Manhattan and not face consequences.

Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 despite the emergence of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape in which he made vulgar comments about women. And in 2018, when he was president, he paid no apparent political price for the Stormy Daniels affair, even as his lawyer went to prison for arranging the payments and pointed the finger at Trump.

Trump remains the front-runner in the 2024 Republican field, with the support of 44% of Republicans in a March Reuters/Ipsos, ahead of DeSantis' 30% support.
India on Friday launched a dynamic and responsive Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) without any sunset clause that will be effective from April 1 with an aim to achieve $2 trillion goods and services exports by 2030 while encouraging trade settlements in rupee and adhere to the global principle that duties should not be exported. (Twitter | Piyush Goyal)

Unveiling the new FTP, commerce minister Piyush Goyal pointed at the highly dynamic nature of global markets that require quick policy response. Hence, the new trade policy is nibble and does not come with a five-year expiry date, government officials said.

The current FTP 2015-20  which expires on March 31, 2023 after having extended several times on demand of the industry because of global uncertainties such as Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war.

Also Read: India puts off new foreign trade policy by 6 months due to global upheaval

The new trade policy is taking forward the governments ongoing efforts to boost exports, the minister said.

The policy will continue to adopt consultative approach to resolve issues of trade and Industry with wider participation of states and districts in promoting exports from the grassroots, he added.

He said India does not bank on subsidies to push its exports, and it will leverage its strength to achieve higher goals.

Goyal said despite global headwinds India is all set to cross $760 billion goods and services exports in 2022-23, which will be a new record.

The minister expressed confidence in crossing the $2 trillion exports by 2023 based on the new policy approach but asked the industry to focus on merchandise exports so that they do not lag behind fast growing service exports.

Besides merchandise and services exports, the FTP 2023 is also focusing on new sectors such as e-commerce, providing all benefits to exports through e-commerce. It increased the value limit for exports through courier service from 5 lakh to 10 lakh per consignment.

The government may soon frame guidelines in consultation with all stakeholders to facilitate exports through e-commerce.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade director general Santosh Kumar Sarangi said that the e-commerce exports has a potential to grow to $200-300 billion by 2030.

FTP 2023 will continue duty-free imports of inputs and raw materials from overseas suppliers through advance authorisation. It also streamlined special chemicals, organisms, materials, equipment and technologies (SCOMET) at one place for ease of understanding and compliance by the industry.

SCOMET policy emphasizes Indias export control in line with its international commitments under various export control regimes. The focus is on simplifying policies to facilitate export of dual use high end goods and technology such as UAV, drones, cryogenic tanks, and certain chemicals.

The new FTP has focused on the ease of doing business through paperless regulation and rule-based automatic approval systems. It also rationalised export performance threshold to enable more beneficiaries to achieve higher recognition and reduce transaction cost for exports, for example, qualifying criterion for a five-star exporter has been reduced from $2 billion to $800 million.

FTP 2023 announced four new Towns of Export Excellence (TEE)  Faridabad for apparel, Moradabad for handicrafts, Mirzapur for handmade carpets, and Varanasi for handloom and handicrafts  which are in addition to the already existing 39 towns of export excellence. The facility helps in global recognition, provides financial assistance for marketing, and offers common service provider (CSP) facility that helps in increasing competitiveness of entire cluster by enabling common use of capital goods for exports. The policy also recommends restructuring of the Department of Commerce to make it future ready.

Abhishek Jain, tax partner at consultancy firm KPMG said: The launch of the new Foreign Trade Policy 2023 was being watched closely by the industry and the new FTP seems to be largely appreciated by the stakeholders.

Continuation of schemes such as Advance Authorisation, EPCG with procedural ease will continue to promote exports from India and foster ease of doing business. Requisite thrust has been provided to emerging sectors including battery vehicles, e-commerce and merchanting trade. Another big item has been the launch of Amnesty Scheme which should be leveraged by various exporters. Lastly, for sectors/ industries having unresolved expectations/issues, timely representations should be filed so as to ensure updations in policy, he said.
Bengaluru police have arrested four men in their 20s for allegedly gang-raping a woman in a moving car in the city. The incident took place in the wee hours of Monday and according to police, the woman was raped for over five hours by the suspects before she was dumped on a road near her house. Bengaluru woman dragged inside the car, gangraped by four

Deputy Commissioner of Police (south-east) CK Baba said on Sunday night the womanworking in a private firmwas sitting in a park along with her male friend in National Games Village (NGV) in Koramangala around 10 pm. During this time, one of the accused staying nearby found the couple smoking in the park. He questioned them and cornered them, asking what they were up to. The couple got into an argument with the accused.

Also Read - Bengaluru: Unidentified woman's body found in plastic drum at railway station

According to the womans complaint, she was with a man and smoking a cigarette. One of the accused objected to it. There was an argument and her friend was threatened and sent away from there. During this time, the accused called the other three. They came in a car and dragged her into it, said the DCP.

After this, the accused then drove to Domlur, Ejipura, Hosur Road and even to the outskirts of the city. During this time, the woman was repeatedly raped said the police. Around 3.30 am the gang left on a road by her house. On Monday after taking treatment, she lodged a police complaint, said the DCP.

The police officer identified the arrested accused as Vijay, Sridhar, Kiran and Satish, all aged between 23 and 24 years. Though the woman did not know them, the investigation suggested that their faces were familiar to her as all of them lived in the same locality.

A case has been registered under sections 376 D (gangrape), 376 (rape), 373 (kidnap), 506 (criminal intimidation) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code.

DCP Baba said "We formed two special teams soon after the victim filed a complaint and nabbed all the four accused within nine hours. The test identification period of the accused person and other procedures are pending, so we cannot reveal more details about the accused persons."

Meanwhile, the woman is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the city.

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Congress party launched the "first-time youth voters" campaign on Thursday ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections in May. Congress leader Abhishek Dutta along with others.

"Celebrate your Vote" is the campaign theme coined by the Grand Old Party.

While launching the campaign, Congress leader Abhishek Dutta also announced that state youth Congress president Raksha Ramaiah will be overall in-charge of this "first-time youth voter" campaign.

The campaign is focused on the 18 to 23 age group, especially first-time voters.

Inaugurating the website dedicated to this unique campaign, Abhishek Dutta said, "The youth Congress workers will visit each and every college and university and prevail upon the youths the importance of participating in the democratic process."

READ | Mandya: Complaint against Shivakumar over cash row

"Your vote is your right is what we are going to tell the youth voters. We will hold skits, interactive sessions and workshops to create awareness among the youth about the importance of voting," Raksha Ramaiah said.

Abhishek Dutta said that his party has announced providing 3,000 to unemployed youth for two years and 1,500 to diploma holders.

"Youths are not getting jobs due to the BJP government's lopsided policy. The unemployed youths are becoming a burden on their parents. Our scheme to provide 3,000 per month will help the family to a great extent," Dutta added.

Raksha Ramaiah said, "The Congress government will fill up the 2.50 lakh vacant posts in the government and also create employment opportunities to the extent of 10 to 15 lakhs per year in the private sector."

READ | Congress announces 124 candidates for Karnataka polls, Siddharamaiah gets Varuna

When asked if he is contesting the assembly elections, Raksha Ramaiah said, "My focus is to carry the party's message to each and every youth."

"But if the party asks me to contest, I will contest. I am a loyal and disciplined soldier of the party," he added.

The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections. The polling would take place in a single phase on May 10, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Wednesday.

The counting of votes will be done on May 13, the CEC said in a press conference here.

Detailing the data of the electors, the CEC said that there are a total of 5.21 crores in the state and the number of 100 plus voters is 16,976.

He informed that over 58,000 polling stations would be set up across the state.
Four members of a family including two children were found dead in a hotel in Mangaluru, police said. Karnataka: Family of four found hanging in Mangaluru hotel

According to the police, a note found in the hotel room where the bodies were found indicates that the family was facing financial stress which compelled them to take the extreme step.

The deceased have been identified as Devendra, 46, his wife Nirmala and their 9-year-old twin daughters all hailing from Vijayanagar in Mysore.

Also Read - Man kills 4 of family in Karnataka over property dispute: Police

The police commissioner Kuldeep Jain said that further investigation is still underway.

More details on the matter are awaited.

Earlier this week, popular Bhojpuri actress Akanksha Dubey was found dead inside a hotel room in Varanasi's Sarnath and police suspect that it is a case of 'suicide'.

Police said that actress, who was in the city for the shoot of an upcoming movie, was found hanging in her hotel room.

In Andhra Pradesh, an inter-second-year student of Narayana College died by suicide in Visakhapatnam under PM Palem Police Station limits, the police said on Tuesday.

Officials said that the 17-year-old female student was found hanging inside her hostel room on Monday night.

Meanwhile, in December last year an engineering student's body was found with his throat slit in a college near Bannerghatta in Karnataka.

The deceased was identified as 19-year-old Nitin Narayana, a native of Kozhikode in Kerala.
Chitkara Universitys campus in Himachal Pradesh received an A+ rating from the esteemed National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), placing it in the top 5% of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in India to receive such a distinguished grade. Chitkara Universitys campus in Himachal Pradesh that bagged an A+ NAAC accreditation. (HT Photo)

The varsity was given a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.42 on a 4-point scale.

The varsity drew praise for three major features including the infrastructure, government-recognised incubation and vibrant startup ecosystem and technology transfer and good harmony with all stakeholders-students, alumni, faculty, staff, management and community at large.

Speaking of the same, varsity chancellor Ashok K Chitkara said, It is the hard-work by our students, staff and faculty for years that resulted in securing this recognition. Moreover, the university has a well-defined research promotion policy which has resulted in the development of state-of-the-art advanced facilities.

Pro chancellor Madhu Chitkara, meanwhile, expressed her sincere thanks to all stakeholders.

Established in 1994, NAAC is an autonomous body of UGC which assesses and accredits Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
Intensifying the march against the disqualification of party leader Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha, the district Congress unit on Friday announced to carry out a march on April 3.Several Congress MPs will participate in the march starting from Clock tower to Division number 3 in Ludhiana . District Congress leaders addressing the media persons in Ludhiana on Friday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT Photo)

With this, the party will also hold press conferences at the constituency level on April 1 and 2. Addressing the media at a private hotel, Congress MLA from Kapurthala Rana Gurjeet Singh said similar programmes to reach out to the public have been launched all over the state. He said that congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been wrongly targeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party because of a spike in his popularity after the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

He added that the decision of disqualifying Rahul had been taken due to the governments pressure and constitutional norms have been disregarded. He said the congress workers will reach out to the common people about the treatment meted out to Rahul Gandhi and make it a nationwide movement.

He added that senior congress leaders have been deputed in each district of Punjab to lead the congress activities. Former MLAs Rakesh Pandey, Surinder Dawer and Sanjay Talwar and other office bearers of the congress were also present on the occasion.

During a meeting of congress leaders on Thursday, Punjab Congress president Raja Warring had expressed his dissatisfaction with the congress office bearers in the region over low turnout at the recent protests against Rahul Gandhis disqualification.
The G20 member countries are heading towards a consensus on adopting alternate grain and traditional crops in the respective countries, such as millets in India, to support food security and nutrition requirements, said Manoj Ahuja, secretary, department of agriculture and farmers welfare, the government of India on Friday. It was the third and final day of the second Agricultural Deputies Meeting held at Chandigarh concluded today. A farm worker harvests wheat crop, at a village on the outskirts of Gurugram on March 28, 2023 (PTI)

According to Ahuja, all the member nations raised concerns about the sustainability of agriculture, agroecology and nutrition. Very shortly a communique will be prepared and sent to the member countries for pondering over it so that when we meet again in June, these are discussed threadbare, and a roadmap can be worked out, he said.

The day started with a discussion on the outcome document, addressed first by Shubha Thakur, a joint secretary rank office in the central ministry of agriculture.

Two consecutive sessions focused on drafting the communique by the member countries of G20 and were marked by elaborate discussions. Delegates from other invited countries and international organisations also put forth their viewpoints during the session.

Apart from the member countries, Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, UAE and Vietnam were the invited countries. There are 10 international organisations which attended the G20 meeting. These include - Asian Development Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, Food and Agriculture Organisation, the International crops research institute for semi-arid and tropics, International fund for agricultural development, International food policy research institute, Organisation for economic cooperation and development, World Food Programme, and the World Bank.

According to Ahuja deliberations will pave the way for agreement on four focus areas - food security and nutrition, climate-smart agriculture, inclusive agriculture value chains and food systems and digitalisation for agricultural transformation.
In a gruesome incident, unidentified assailants allegedly chopped off a granthis (Sikh priest) leg and fingers while he was returning from a gurdwara in Bania village, which falls under the Khadoor Sahib sub-division. The assailants attacked granthis while he was returning from a gurdwara in Bania village, Khadoor Sahib. (HT File)

The victim, who has been identified as Sukhchain Singh of Khadoor Sahib, was rushed to a private hospital in Amritsar. Police said the unidentified assailants have also taken away the chopped leg.

Sharing further information, Goindwal Sahib station house officer (SHO) Rajinder Singh said, We are working to trace the accused. The victims right leg was chopped off and taken away by the accused. His hands fingers were also chopped-off when he tried to fend off the blow of sharp weapons at his leg.

The SHO said it was not immediately clear if the victim had an enmity that could have triggered the incident.

Notably, this is the second such incident reported in the last one month in Punjab. Earlier, on February 8, three youths reportedly kidnapped a certain Hardeep Singh Raju of Mohali and chopped off his fingers with a machete. A video of the incident had also gone viral and the police arrested the accused on February 24.
Chandigarh The Centre on Friday notified appointment of senior advocate Harpreet Singh Brar as an additional judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court.

The Centre on Friday notified appointment of senior advocate Harpreet Singh Brar as an additional judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court.

Brar, a former president of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, was among 12 lawyers whose names were recommended by high court collegium in March 2022.

While other appointments were made, Brars name was sent back by the law ministry for reconsideration.

However, his name was reiterated by the high court collegium on February 23 and subsequently cleared again by the Supreme Court collegium on March 22.

With this, the number of judges in the Punjab and Haryana high court would be 66 against the sanctioned strength of 85.
Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Friday discussed arrangements for this years Shri Amarnath Yatra at the 44th meeting of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) at Raj Bhawan here Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha on Friday discussed arrangements for this years Shri Amarnath Yatra at the 44th meeting of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) at Raj Bhawan here (HT Photo)

The meeting was attended by shrine board members-- Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj, DC Raina, Kailash Mehra Sadhu, K N Rai, KN Shrivastava, Pitambar Lal Gupta, Dr Shailesh Raina, Prof Vishwamurti Shastri and Manju Garg.

The members shared their inputs and suggestions for improving the facilities for the pilgrims, said an official spokesman.

The meeting discussed the ongoing works and future projects for smooth and hassle-free pilgrimage, he added.

Dr Mandeep K Bhandari, principal secretary to LG and CEO SASB, made a detailed presentation and briefed the board on various aspects of Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra-2023, including registration for Yatra, provision of helicopter services, service providers, Yatra camps, langar/NGO services, insurance cover for yatris and service providers etc.

He further presented the action-taken report on the decisions taken in the previous board meetings.

Chief engineer, BRO, briefed the meeting on the progress regarding maintenance, restoration and development works of the Yatra tracks.

The yatra takes place from Baltal and Pahalgam routes.

Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, chief secretary; Raj Kumar Goyal, additional chief secretary, home; Dilbag Singh, DGP; RR Swain, Special DG CID; Mukesh Singh, ADGP Jammu; divisional commissioners; administrative secretaries; additional CEO SASB and other senior officers from civil administration, SASB, police and army also attended the meeting, in person and through virtual mode.

Last year, after a Covid induced gap of two years, the 43-day long annual Amarnath pilgrimage commenced on June 30 and concluded on August 11.
A Ludhiana resident has been arrested by the Mohali police for opening fire at a police party at a check post on February 2. A case was registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and under Arms Act at the Sohana police station. (Istock)

The accused was identified as Balkar Singh. The vehicle used in the crime has also been recovered and efforts are on to recover the firearm. He was produced in court on Friday and taken on police remand, said DSP Harsimran Singh Bal.

According to police, a police party at a check post in Sector 104 had signalled a Mahindra Thar to pull over on February 2. After stopping the vehicle, Balkar quarrelled with the police, pulled out a firearm and fired at the police. He fled from the spot. A case was registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and under Arms Act at the Sohana police station.
The Government Railway Police have arrested a 22-year-old youth for wearing the uniform of an army Brigadier in Ambala Cantonment, officials said on Friday. A case under Section 140 (wearing garb or carrying token used by soldier, sailor or airman) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the GRP police station in Ambala cantonment. (Istock)

The accused was identified as Tushar Sharma, alias Jai, a resident of Delhi.

GRP officials said on Wednesday, Lipt Kumar, an ex-serviceman, stopped Sharma on suspicion while he was boarding Dadar Express (Amritsar-Mumbai 11058) at Ambala Cantonment railway station in the uniform.

Kumar suspected how a young man could be donning a Brigadiers uniform with medals. As Sharma failed to justify his attire, he was handed over to the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

Sub-inspector Kulbir Singh from the RPF said on being questioned, Sharma shared he was posted with the Special Protection Group (SPG) and also showed the army canteens smart card in his mobile phone.

However, he failed to submit any other address proof or identity card. The Movement Control Office (MCO) of the army and GRP were informed, Singh said. The card and uniform were seized by the railway police.

A case under Section 140 (wearing garb or carrying token used by soldier, sailor or airman) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the GRP police station.

When the youths father, Bijender Sharma from Ghaziabads Loni, was contacted, he shared that his son was mentally unstable, SHO Dharambir Singh said.

But the family had no documentary evidence to back his diagnosis or medication. The accused was later released on bail and handed over to the family on Friday, the SHO said.
The non-gazetted employees of Kashmirs premier health institute, Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), are a worried lot after the hospital administration stopped their monthly allowance from January which they would get in lieu of attending duties on official holidays. The non-gazetted employees of Kashmirs premier health institute, Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), are a worried lot after the hospital administration stopped their monthly allowance from January which they would get in lieu of attending duties on official holidays. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/ Representational image)

At the same time, the non-gazetted staff was barred from availing any holidays in the last 10 days of March as the authorities feared it may impede the patient care and day to day functioning of the hospital.

The development comes months after the Jammu and Kashmir government took away the autonomy of SKIMS following the changes in J&K after the revocation of Article 370 in 2019.

The finance department of the institute has stopped paying the non-gazetted staff, including paramedics, doormen, cleaning staff and others the monthly allowance equivalent to two-and-a-half days pay, in lieu of attending duties on gazette holidays, from this year which they have been getting for the past three decades. It said it did it on the directions of government.

When the staff had decided to take the gazetted holidays in the third week of March, the hospital administration cancelled all holidays from March 20 to 31.

For the past three decades, we have been getting this allowance as are the other emergency services like police, public health engineering and the power department. But they have stopped ours for no apparent reason, said an employee.

He said that the hospital authorities have no idea how it is going to affect the functioning of the hospital if the non-gazetted staff avail holidays at a time.

The hospital remains open 24*7 and the patients know that the hospital is open on all days except for the closure of OPD on Sunday. Now if a person working in a lab chooses to take off who will go for tests of patients. Who will open the cabin of doctors? Who will go for the cleanliness of the hospital, he said.

The employees said that many of them wanted to avail the UT holidays on March 21 and 22 but were barred from doing so.

We thought when we dont get the allowance then we have a right to avail holidays but then director SKIMS issued another order saying no holidays till March 31, said another staff member.

This is going to be a real cause of concern, a major inconvenience to the patients, if the issue is not resolved soon, he said.

The SKIMS administration, on the other hand, said that the allowance was stopped on the orders of the government after the accountant generals audit as some employees were not eligible for such allowance.

Director Finance SKIMS, Sheikh Intikhab said that they have formed a committee which will reframe a list of employees who are eligible for such allowance and then write to the government.

We will send the list of employees to the government, those who are eligible and non-eligible for such allowance, and will wait for their directions, he said.

The hospital in February was divested of its autonomy after the general administration department of J&K government informed that it has been brought under the control of the Health and Medical Education Department. The hospital administration was asked to submit all matters, proposals, case files for consideration or approval of the competent authority through the Health and Medical Education Department.

The order had caused an upheaval among the medical fraternity as well as political leaders with National Conference, whose leader Sheikh Abdullah laid its foundation, saying that the snatching away of its autonomy undermines the hospitals identity and purpose and would affect its functioning.
Police are said to have arrested the driver of the Toyota Innova, suspected to be ferrying Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh and his aide, which had been abandoned at Mernaian Kalan village after a police chase earlier in the week. Police are said to have arrested the driver of the car ferrying Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh during the police chase in Hoshiarpur. (HT File)

Search operations have been further intensified following reports of the arrest of driver Joga Singh from Ludhiana district. The arrested driver told the police that Amritpal handed him his own mobile phone in a bid to throw off the teams chasing them, sources privy to the developments said.

The radical preached, his aide, who has been identified as Papalpreet Singh, and the driver had earlier on Tuesday night managed to escape after being chased by police teams tailing them from Phagwara.

The trio is said to have disappeared into the fields after jumping over the wall of a place of worship.

Since then, police teams and paramilitary personnel have been scouting for the absconders. On Thursday, search parties also used a drone in a bid to ascertain the possible escape routes.
The vigilance bureau (VB) on Friday nabbed an assistant sub inspector (ASI) here for allegedly accepting a bribe of 10,000. Vigilance bureau spokesperson informed that a VB team from EOW Ludhiana range laid a trap and the accused police official was arrested on the spot while taking a bribe of  10,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. (Getty images)

ASI Balwinder Singh is posted in police station Tibba in the city.

A VB spokesperson said Balwinder has been arrested on the complaint of Dr Arun Behal, resident of Raju Colony on Tibba road.

He said that the complainant has approached the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of VB, Ludhiana and alleged that the police official has demanded 10,000 as a bribe to help him in getting a bail in a police case registered against him.

The spokesperson informed that a VB team from EOW Ludhiana range laid a trap and the accused police official was arrested on the spot while taking a bribe of 10,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

A case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused ASI at VB police station, Ludhiana range.

It is the second such incident in the past three days when a police personnel was arrested. Earlier on Wednesday, the Shimlapuri police arrested ASI Jarnail Singh, incharge at police post Basant Park for releasing a drug peddler after accepting 70,000 as bribe from his kin.
A criminal defamation complaint has been filed with a Haridwar court against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remark during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in January in which he described the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) as 21st century Kauravas. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (File Photo)

Lawyer Arun Bhadoria said he has filed the complaint on behalf of Kamal Bhadoria, who he said was an RSS volunteer. The court will take up the complaint on April 12, he added.

We have filed the complaint under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), he added. The two provisions relate to criminal defamation and prescribe a maximum jail term of two years.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi now summoned by Bihar court in Modi surname defamation case

Arun said the complaint relates to Gandhis statement earlier in January in Kurukshetra. He (Gandhi) compared the RSS with 21st century Kauravas by saying that they now wear khaki half pants, carry lathi in hand, and hold shakhas and Indias 2-3 billionaires are standing with the Kauravas, he said.

The complaint said Gandhi did not respond to a legal notice sent to the leader by Kamal Bhadoria on January 11.

On March 23, a court in Surat convicted Gandhi in a defamation case and sentenced him to two years imprisonment, leading to his disqualification as a member of Parliament a day later. Gandhi represented the Wayanad constituency in Kerala in the Lok Sabha.
Six people of a family suffocated to death in their Delhi home after mosquito repellant fell on the mattress, releasing poisonous gas overnight, police said. The family lived the Shastri Park area in North East Delhi. Three fire tenders were rushed to the house after the fire department received a call about blaze around 8.52am. A forensic technician ties a used police line together to seal off a crime scene in Monterrey.(Reuters Photo/Representative Image)

Joy Tirkey, DCP North East district, said Shastri Park Police Station received a call Friday morning that fire had broken out in a house at Mazar Wala Road near Machhi Market. Police rushed to the spot and found that the victims had been rushed to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital.

It has been learnt that burning mosquito coil had fallen over a mattress sometime during the night. The toxic fumes caused inmates to lose consciousness and later death due to suffocation, Tirkey said in a statement.

A total nine persons were involved in the incident, of which two are receiving treatment for burn injuries and one was discharged after first aid. The deceased include four men, a woman and a toddler.

(More details awaited)

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Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday called up West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose over violence during Ram Navami processions in Howrah district and the BJP moved the Calcutta high court seeking a central investigation into the episode that has triggered a political row. Security personnel cordon off an area after clashes broke out between two groups during a Ram Navami procession, in Howrah district. (PTI)

Fresh clashes were reported from the area on Friday and the state government blamed the Opposition for trying to stoke riots. Later in the day, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were imposed in Kazipara area, a senior IPS officer said.

The political slugfest came a day after 10 people, including two policemen, were injured after two groups attacked each other with bricks and lathis during a Ram Navami procession in Shibpur. Eight vehicles were torched and 45 people arrested.

The BJP blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress for the violence and moved the high court, seeking a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and deployment of central forces in the trouble-torn areas.

According to the people familiar with developments, Shah spoke to Bose and inquired about the security situation and alleged attack on Ram Navami processions.BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar told the media that Shah also called him to take stock of the situation.

But chief minister Mamata Banerjee dismissed this charge. This was not done by Hindus. Even we are Hindus. This was done by some goons of the BJP and other organisations. It was an unprovoked and unilateral attack, she told a Bengali news channel.

A statement issued by the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata said that Bose had a confidential discussion with Banerjee to review the situation and also sought a report from the state. The Governor ordered a real-time monitoring of the situation by Raj Bhavan and constituted a special cell for the same, the statement said.

Tension simmered in the region on Friday. Fresh violence erupted after police were allegedly attacked with stones by unidentified men, prompting the forces to resort to lathi charge. A large contingent of police, including the Rapid Action Force, was deployed and prohibitory orders imposed.

The situation was brought under control. Additional forces were deployed. Investigation is going on, said an IPS officer, privy to the matter.

The violence in Howrah was part of a string of violent incidents that marred Ram Navami processions across the country, including in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said he filed a petition in the high court. Petrol bombs were used. This is a case fit for NIA, he added.

The Trinamool Congress blamed the BJP.

The BJP and a few other organisations have planned to trigger this riot. Yesterday, the BJP created such riots in around 100 places across India. The Howrah incident is very unfortunate. There were instructions that no rally (Ram Navami procession) would be allowed on that route. But goons, carrying firearms, petrol bombs and other weapons attacked some houses of a community and ransacked shops. They also attempted to spread such violence in Park Circus in Kolkata and other areas but we managed to stop it, Banerjee told a Bengali news channel.

We know how to tackle them. I urge all to maintain peace. I would help the families whose shops and houses have been damaged, she added. She admitted the failure of police administration in controlling the situation and assured strict action against a section of police personnel.

The BJP dismissed the chief ministers allegations, saying she was trying to hide her own failure as state home minister.

The TMCs loss in Sagardighi by-election revealed that their minority vote bank is eroding. The TMC planned this attack to consolidate its minority vote bank, state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar said.

In Murshidabads Muslim-dominated Sagardighi seat, a candidate nominated by the Left-Congress alliance won in elections last month, defeating the TMC pick after more than a decade.
Commuters are likely to face inconvenience as a portion of a road caved in near Hauz Rani Red Light on Press Enclave Road in south Delhi on Friday , the traffic police said. Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Traffic Police urged commuters to avoid the stretch. "Traffic Alert. A road has caved-in near Hauz Rani Red Light on Press Enclave Road due to which traffic may remain affected from Saket Court towards PTS, Malviya Nagar. Kindly avoid the stretch". As per visuals uploaded by Delhi Traffic Police in its advisory, it can be seen that a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus got stuck in in the pothole.

Also read | 22 flights diverted as Delhi hit by rain, wind; more of same expected today

As per visuals uploaded by Delhi Traffic Police in its advisory, it can be seen that a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus got stuck in in the pothole formed after the road caved in further affecting the traffic movement on the stretch.

According to a video shared by news agency ANI, the repair work is underway.

Heavy rain lashed parts of the national capital on Thursday resulting in waterlogging and other rain-related blockages. As per the India Meteorological Department, Delhi will continue to see cloudy sky conditions today with possibility of thundershowers accompanied with gusty winds. The minimum temperature is likely to be at 15 degrees Celsius while maximum temperature is predicted to reach 27 degrees Celsius.

Read | Delhi to see cooler end to March, rain likely: IMD

The weather agency also issued an orange alert for Delhi-NCR region on Friday.

Last month, a road in Delhi's RK Puram caved in wherein a dog and two bikes fell inside the hole created due to the collapse. No fatalities were reported in the incident.

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Starting March 23  the evening cellular internet services were restored in Punjab after almost six days  security personnel at the border have intercepted drones carrying drugs and weapons flown from Pakistan every day (sometimes even twice a day). A drone found on March 27 along the Punjab border. (ANI)

Read here: Dont let the Amritpal saga damage the future of Punjab

In contrast, there was not a single case of drones entering Indian airspace when cellular internet services were suspended in the backdrop of Punjab Police launching a crackdown to arrest separatist Amritpal Singh, who continues to be on the run.

But after cellular internet services were restored on the afternoon of March 23, Border Security Force (BSF) officials have come across at least 11 cases of Pakistan smugglers using drones to send drugs and ammunition into India (till March 28). To be sure, these are only the cases detected by the security forces. The actual number of consignments sent during this period could be more.

Officials aware of the matter said the receivers of consignments in Punjab may have been unable to send geographical coordinates of the drop zone as they usually use WhatsApp and Telegram messaging services from burner phones. The officials said they suspect the drug consignments were stuck with the smugglers in Pakistan during the ban .

On the night of March 27, within 15 minutes, BSFs Punjab frontier personnel fired at two drones in two separate incidents. Smugglers from across the border fence flew the first drone carrying 2 kg heroin, which entered Indian air space at 8.20 pm in Attari. About 10 km away, and just 15 minutes later, another drone flew in carrying nearly 2.5 kg of heroin. Both drones were seized.

While at least 11 cases were detected in 6 days, the number of such cases during the whole year in 2022 was 22. The number cases in those six days, is higher than the 4 cases in January and 7 in February.

The analysis of drones we shot and sent for analysis in the past shows that the senders in Pakistan have the the exact geo-location of the drop zone. For almost a week, when cell and dongle internet services were suspended, people here may have been unable to send location, said a senior BSF officer, who asked not to be named.

On Friday morning (March 31) between 6.30 and 7.30, BSF personnel found 3 kg heroin at the fields of two border villages -- Daoke in Amritsar and Kalash Havelia in Tarn Taran. It isnt clear when the consignments were dropped.

Instances of smuggling outfits and terror groups from Pakistan using drones for smuggling drugs, weapons, explosives, and cash into India has been increasing over the last year. On March 2, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Maan apprised union home minister Amit Shah about the use of drones in sending drugs and weapons from Pakistan into India.

The first such case was detected in mid-2019. In 2021, there was only 1 such case, none in 2020 while in 2019 there were 2 throughout the year. On the intervening night of March 23/24, just hours after cell services were restored in Punjab, the first drone that entered Indian space , at the Metla border, dropped 5 pistols, 10 magazines, and 90 bullets before returning. The weapons and ammunition were seized by BSF.

Read here: Fix responsibility of officials for botched-up operation against Amritpal, says Partap Bajwa

The Punjab government had on March 17 ordered the suspension of all mobile internet and mobile dongle services from March 18 at the request of the Punjab police. While services in some parts of Punjab were restored on March 21, it remained suspended in many districts including those near the border until March 23. The border villages of Ferozpur and Amritsar were also the places where most drones carrying drugs were shot down by BSF in 2022.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested a neurosurgeon from Safdarjung Hospital and four of his associates for allegedly coercing their patients into purchasing surgical equipment from a specific establishment at exorbitant prices, officials said. The arrested accused have been produced in court and taken on remand for interrogation. (Representative file image)

The arrested persons have been identified as Dr Manish Rawat, associate professor in the neurosurgery department, Safdarjung hospital; Avnesh Patel, Manish Sharma, Deepak Khattar, proprietor of a shop, and Kuldeep, the agency said.

The investigation also revealed that Rawat directed his patients to deposit bribes ranging from 30,000 to 1.15 lakh into a middlemans bank account, the officials said.

Also Read: Two held for overcharging at mini secretariat parking lot in Ludhiana

Patients of Dr Rawat alleged that bribes of 1,15,000, 55,000 and 30,000 were taken from them recently in three different instances, through a private person in the bank account of the other accused. The same was done on the directions of the neurosurgeon, the officials said.

Searches were conducted at various places including at Delhi & Uttar Pradesh which led to the recovery of incriminating documents, digital devices, the officials added.

It was also alleged that the accused neurosurgeon was laundering his illegally earned money through companies being managed by a private person.

The CBIs investigation revealed that on behalf of Dr Rawat, Patel told the patients attendants that he could manage an early appointment if they paid a bribe and agreed to procure the instruments required for the surgery from a particular shop.

Patel allegedly instructed them to either make a cash deposit with Manish Sharma or Kuldeep, both Khattar employees or, to transfer the funds online using mobile phone numbers linked to their bank accounts.

Thereafter, Dr Rawat decided the time for the surgery, the FIR lodged by the agency claimed.

Patel gave Rawat his share after the patient was discharged, either in cash or as directed.

The arrested accused have been produced in court and taken on remand for interrogation.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights chief Priyank Kanoongo on Friday alleged he was assaulted by a police officer in Tiljala police station in Kolkata.



A Bengal police officer named Biswak Mukherjee attacked me in Tiljala police station. The police personnel were secretly video recording the NCPCR's investigation, he tweeted. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson, Priyank Kanoongo. (Twitter/Priyank Kanoongo)

This comes a day after the West Bengal child rights panel wrote to the national child rights panel saying that its proposed visit to the state over the murder of the girl in Kolkata's Tiljala was not really necessary.

"We at WBCPCR have been informed that you are thinking of a visit to Kolkata and Malda regarding the Tiljala child murder case and sexual abuse of a school girl in Malda respectively," PTI quoted the letter by WBCPCR chief Sudeshna Roy's letter.



She added that the state child rights panel had taken cognizance in both the cases and had recived the first action taken report from Malda and personally spoken to the family of the girl.

The WBCPCR has personally spoken to the family of the victim in the Tiljala area, Roy had said.

Meanwhile, Kanoongo also narrated the entire incident while speaking to ANI.

A seven-year-old girl was allegedly killed by one of her neighbours on the advice of a tantric in Tiljala. The accused, hailing from Bihar's Samastipur, had confessed to the killing, has been remanded to police custody till April 9, police told PTI.

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Fresh stone pelting was reported in Howrah district of West Bengal, day after clashes between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in the industrial town. Video shared by news agency ANI showed stone pelting even as police personnel tried to control the situation.



Amid the tension prevailing in Howrah, chief minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and other right-wing organisations for the violence.



"Howrah's incident is very unfortunate. Neither Hindus nor Muslims were behind the violence in Howrah. The BJP along with Bajrang Dal and other such organisations were involved in the violence with arms," the chief minister told a Bengali news channel. Paramilitary personnel patrol the area where arson occurred during ruckus while 'Rama Navami' procession was underway, in Howrah on Friday. (ANI )





Assuring help to those whose properties were vandalised during the violence, Banerjee said 31 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.

Politics has erupted over the violence which took place in Kazipara area of the district on Thursday. Heavy police deployment is in place in Howrah as the situation is said to be peaceful. Several vehicles including some belonging to police were torched during violence. Some shops and autorickshaws were also ransacked during the arson.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has hit back at Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of making provocative statements during Ram Navami. Yesterdays attack and arson on RamNavami processions in various locations in West Bengal is a direct result of CM Mamata Banerjees provocative statements against organizers of #RamNavami . We can clearly see WB police standing with the rioters & watching silently, West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar tweeted.

"Why did they change the route [at the last moment] and take the unauthorized route to target and attack one community? If they believe they will attack others and receive relief through legal interventions, they must know that the people will reject them one day," Mamata Banerjee had said yesterday.

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is yet to make an impression in the electoral politics of Uttar Pradesh, will find an opportunity to test its presence in the state when the civic polls are held soon. AAP had also contested the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. (FILE PHOTO)

AAP has already made it clear that it will contest all mayoral seats, civic body wards and nagar panchayats in the urban local bodies election in Uttar Pradesh.

For the partys central leadership, Uttar Pradesh is on top of the priority list after winning Punjab. The party will contest the civic polls with its full might to register its presence in the state, said a senior AAP leader.

AAPs tryst with electoral politics of Uttar Pradesh began in the 2014 Lok Sabha election with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging Narendra Modi in Varanasi. Modi won by a margin of over 3.7 lakh votes.

With AAP starting preparations for civic polls long back, its state incharge and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has been holding press briefings in the state capital every week on all important issues for the past several months.

The party has decided to contest all mayoral seats, civic body wards and nagar panchayat seats, said Sabhajit Singh, AAPs state incharge for local bodies elections in Uttar Pradesh.

In MCD polls, people have voted for AAP. In the Gujarat assembly election, we have been able to register our presence. We have formed the government in Punjab. The party is taking the Uttar Pradesh civic polls seriously, said Mahindra Singh, state media incharge, AAP.

The party has also started the process of screening candidates.

It has already organised 1000 meetings of party workers since November in all municipal corporations and nagar panchayats across Uttar Pradesh. Seventy-seven AAP office-bearers have been given the responsibility to conduct these meetings.

The party has also organised gandagi hatao, jhadu lagao (cleanliness campaign) in all nagar panchayats across the state to highlight poor sanitary conditions.

In its ongoing campaign for civic polls, the AAP has attacked the Yogi Adityanath government on the lack of infrastructure and facilities in government-run primary schools.

AAPs most formidable poll plank in civic polls will be Delhi governments successful education policy and mohalla clinics. The party will showcase government schools in Delhi during campaign for civic polls in the state.

The AAP had already carried out a campaign Selfie With Government School. Under this campaign, AAP workers across the state have taken selfies with such government-run primary schools in Uttar Pradesh, which are in poor state.

The ruling BJP, which came to power in the state in March 2017 and thereafter won the second term in March 2022, has also started the process for screening candidates for the civic polls.

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With the aim of ensuring 100 per cent enrolment in primary and upper primary schools under the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Council, chief minister Yogi Adityanath will launch the School Chalo Abhiyan here on Saturday (April 1), said the government in a press release on Friday. The event will take place at Lok Bhawan in Lucknow and will be broadcast live. (HT file)

The event will take place at Lok Bhawan and will be broadcast live. The state government runs the campaign every year, it added.In April last year, the CM had started this campaign from the aspirational district Shravasti. The state government has enrolled many children in schools under the campaign. As part of the drive, the Yogi government will make an effort during this session to enrol again those children who have dropped out of schools.

Director general, school education, Uttar Pradesh, Vijay Kiran Anand said, Uttar Pradesh has been at the forefront of enrolling maximum number of students in government schools. Efforts are being made to bring back the remaining children as well. We have identified 4 lakh children. A lot of work has been done on home visits and tracking of boys and girls working in domestic industries.

Under the School Chalo campaign, events will be organised in selected model schools in aspirational blocks. During this, the respective minister in charge and a public representative will be present.

As part of the drive, teachers will visit the homes of children who have dropped out of school. Home visits, especially of girls, will be done and they will be encouraged to return to school. Their parents will also be made aware of the 1200 they will receive via DBT for purchasing uniforms, shoes, socks and stationery for their wards.

In addition, schools and students with a very low attendance rate will also be targeted. At the same time, meritorious boys and girls will be encouraged through holding of Shiksha Chaupal in villages. Parent-teacher and school management committee meetings will also be organised.
The state government on Friday gave additional charge of the Uttar Pradesh director general of police (DGP) to RK Vishwakarma as DS Chauhan, the officiating state police chief, retired from service. Vishwakarma and Chauhan belong to the 1988 batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS). RK Vishwakarma takes charge from outgoing officiating DGP DS Chauhan at the UP police headquarters, in Lucknow on Friday. (SOURCED)

A government order stated that Vishwakarma, director general of the UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board, will hold additional charge of DGP till the appointment of a permanent state police chief.

After taking charge from Chauhan at the UP police headquarters in Lucknow on Friday, Vishwakarma said eradication of mafia, zero tolerance towards crime, techno-centric policing and serving citizens with compassion would be his topmost priorities.

Chauhan was the officiating DGP in addition to holding the charge of director, Vigilance, and DG, Intelligence, since May 12, 2022. Vishwakarma, scheduled to retire in May-end, is the senior most IPS officer of the U.P. cadre after 1987-batch officer Mukul Goel.

The state government had removed Goel as DGP in May last year, accusing him of inaction and not showing interest in his work.

The state government order stated that RK Vishwakarma will have the additional charge of DGP till the posting of a full-time DGP, said a senior government official aware of the development.

He said the state government will send names to the Union government for consideration for the DGP post during the two months of service left for Vishwakarma.

The official said a list of at least 41 IPS officers, who have completed 30 years of service, will be sent to the Union government.

Different stakeholders in the Union government, including the Union home ministry, the Union Public Service Commission and the department of personnel and training (DoPT) will select at least three IPS officers on the basis of their past record and seniority, and send the panel of three officers to the state government to appoint the DGP from among them. There are many other things that have to be considered while selecting the names. The officer must have at least six months of service left and a good service record, he said.

Meanwhile, additional director general (ADG), Law and Order, Prashant Kumar has been made special director general (SDG), Law and Order, after his elevation. He will hold additional charge of SDG Economic Offences Wing.

DG, Crime Bureau and Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) Vijay Kumar, who is also a batchmate of Chauhan, has been given additional charge of director, Vigilance. Another batchmate, DG Prison Anand Kumar, has been made DG Cooperative Cell in place of 1990-batch officer SN Sabat, who has replaced him as DG Prison. Another 1990 batch officer, ADG Crime MK Bashal, has been made the new SDG of the UP Power Corporation.

Earlier, on Thursday night, six 1990-batch IPS officers, including MK Bashal, Tanuja Srivastava, SK Mathur, Anju Gupta, Subash Chandra and Prashant Kumar, were elevated to special DG rank.

Six other officers of the 1990 batch in the state have already been promoted to DG rank. They include Sandeep Salunke, Renuka Mishra, Bijaya Kumar Maurya, SN Sabat, Avinash Chandra and Sanjay M Tarade.

There are 12 posts of DG rank under the state government. The SDG rank officers will be elevated to DG rank in accordance with vacancies that arise.

According to the seniority list, MK Bashal will be the first in line to be elevated to DG rank after DS Chauhans retirement on Friday.

Thereafter, Tanuja Srivastava, SK Mathur and Anju Gupta could be elevated after the retirement of three other DG-rank officers in the next two months. Two other 1990-batch officers Prashant Kumar and Tilotama could be elevated to DG rank after the retirement of their batchmates Anju Gupta and Subash Chandra in November 2023 and April 2024, respectively.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that the one district one product (ODOP) programme was not only promoting products of every district, but also giving them a new design along with access to the global market. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at a programme in Lucknow on Friday. (HT Photo)

It is the strength of ODOP that U.P. emerged as the biggest investment destination today, Yogi said at an award and toolkit distribution ceremony under Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana at Lok Bhavan in Lucknow.

ODOP has become the backbone of the MSME sector of U.P. It has emerged as the foundation of self-reliant India in the whole country, Yogi Adityanath further said.

He also said Uttar Pradesh will emerge as the torchbearer of the fourth industrial revolution (industrial revolution 4.0), adding that this was evident from investment proposals worth 35 lakh received at the Global Investors Summit held in Lucknow in February.

MSME itself is going to become the foundation of industrial development of U.P. The Global Investors Summit has decided that U.P. will lead the fourth industrial revolution, he said.

The focal point of the states industrial development is its 96 lakh MSMEs (micro small and medium enterprises), the chief minister said.

The time has come now to open designing and packaging institutes in the state to take MSME products to a new level, he added.

Yogi Adityanath also said that ODOP has brought respect to handicraftsmen of the state at global level. This is the reason that Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the hub of exports today, he said. Before 2017, exports were just 86,000 crore, which have now gone up to 2.5 lakh crore, the chief minister said.

He said there is a need to link banks with the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana, so that artisans can get financial help to expand their business. For this, meetings of artisans associated with Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana should be organised with bankers in every district of the state, he said.

Twelve people were awarded Sant Kabir State Handloom Award, 34 firms were given State Export Award, 20 people received MSME award and 75,000 artisans trained under Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana were given toolkits and certificates.

The chief minister gave toolkits to five people associated with the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana and the rest were distributed to artisans in their respective districts.

(WITH AGENCY INPUTS)
MUMBAI: Twenty locals have been arrested and 400 others booked for allegedly rioting, assaulting and unlawful assembly during Ram Navami procession in Malad West on Thursday night, according to Malwani police. 20 arrested, 400 booked for rioting during Ram Navmi procession in Malad West

According to the Malwani police, FIR has been registered against 12 men, identified as Munna Naitulla Rafique Shaikh, Mohammed Shoaib Ahmed Mohammed, Faizan Alim, Lateef Sayeed, Afzal Shaikh, Sadique Shaikh, Mohammed Furkaan Faiyaz Ahmed, Ahmed Raza Samir Shaikh, Mohabia Ansari, Jamil Merchant, Munna Shaikh, Riyan Shaikh. These 12 and around 400 other unidentified people are accused of pelting stones and throwing slippers on the devotees participating in the Ram Navmi procession.

The FIR is registered based on complaint lodged by constable Amol Walavalkar.

Ajay Bansal, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 11, said that the officers are scanning through the CCTV footages of the locality and drone recordings to identify the other miscreants, who tried to disrupt the procession.

Bansal said that on Thursday Rakesh Harinath Yadav, from Bajrang Dal in Malwani and Mithilesh Singh, leader on Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Malwani had organised a procession from Ram Janki temple at Bajrang Chowk in Amnuj Wadi.

In his complaint, Walavalkar said that more than 6,000 devotees were participating in the procession. Around 7.25pm when the procession was passing through Jama Masjid at Abdul Hamid Road, the police officers noticed that a mob of around 150 men gathered at the spot.

As the procession passed, the mob began chanting slogans hearing which the police officers approached the crowd. While the police officers were trying to disperse them, one of the men picked up a rock and threw it at the devotees in the procession.

The officers nabbed the miscreant, identified as Munna Naimtulla Rafique Shaikh immediately and later took him to police station.

Around 8.45pm when the procession reached Ali Hazrat Masjid on the same road, police officers noticed that around 250 men, including Jamil Merchant, had gathered near Savera Heights building. Within seconds the men began shouting slogans, pelting shoes and slippers on the procession. When we intervened, the men threw stones at us and injured us too, said Walavalkar.

The mob then began pushing and shoving the police force, who had to use light force to contain the crowd, said Bansal. He added that in the incident a few men, including policemen, suffered injuries. However, the procession was allowed to pass without any problems thereafter.

We have video recordings and drone recordings and we are in the process of identifying the miscreants, said Bansal.

In Powai, the police had detained several men, who were suspected of creating problems in Ram Navmi procession. We have not arrested anyone, said Maheshwar Reddy, deputy commissioner of police, zone 10.

Tourism minister Mangalprabhat Lodha, who is also the guardian minister of the Mumbai Suburban ,said that there was no political link behind the Malwani riots.

I visited Malwani last night and was there for more than two hours. There were no BJP party workers, all those who participated in the procession were Ram devotees. Everybody knows from where the violence sparked off. It was probably started by the people whom MVA leaders support. 

When asked whether it was the reaction of the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morchas held across the state, Lodha said, It was not a reaction to any action. Malwani had witnessed similar type of violence last year too. There were no such morchas held at that time. There is no link to Jan Aakrosh Morchas held by Hindus with the riots.

Lodha said that the miscreants will be punished strictly.
Navi Mumbai Taloja police used sniffer dog to trace a four-year-old girl kidnapped on Wednesday night. (HT PHOTO)

A four-year-old girl, who was kidnapped on from Taloja on Wednesday night, was rescued within six hours of the incident and handed over to her parents by Taloja police.

The child was playing with her five-year-old friend outside their residence at sector 2 in Taloja phase I, when the accused identified as Pramod Mahto (30), who came out from a nearby hair salon, came to the two girls, sat on the footpath with them while they were playing. Eventually, he took the child on his scooter, which the nearby people saw and alerted her parents. She is the only child of her parents. While the father works as a watchman, the mother works as a house help in societies. The parents and the nearby people started searching for the child and unable to find her, they approached us, senior police inspector Jitendra Sonawane from Taloja Police Station said. The parents approached the police by around 7 pm and reported what had happened.

Without wasting time on any of the formalities of recording statement or lodging a complaint, Taloja police got into action and started the search. While one team looked into available CCTV footage, one team started the search on the field with the help of a bomb squad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone II) Pankaj Dahane said.

The team was able to find the registration number of the scooty from CCTV recording and accordingly started looking for the two-wheeler. The dog squad took us near the railway tracks of the railway carshed. We found the scooty parked near the metro bridge there. A few metres away, we saw the scared child walking in the area between the tracks and the road. We immediately picked her up and handed her over to her parents, Assistant Police Inspector Sunil Gurav from Taloja police station said.

There was no sign of the accused in the nearby area. The child went through a medical checkup, and she was found to be alright without any kind of abuse. It was important to nab the accused soon and we continued with our hunt for him and finally at around 4 am on Thursday, he was found at phase II of Taloja, walking towards his home, Sonawane said. The accused did not reveal the motive behind the abduction. He said the child asked for a chocolate from him and so he bought one for her and took her on a ride and after the two-wheeler ran out of fuel, he abandoned the vehicle and the child and left. The police said that when they tried to corroborate the story with the CCTV footage available, it seemed to be contradictory. The accused, a resident of Taloja Phase I and originally from Bihar, resided with his wife and 18-month-old daughter.

Mahto was arrested under the section of 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC and was produced before the Panvel Judicial Magistrate First Class Court on Thursday and has been remanded to magisterial custody. The accused is currently placed in Taloja jail.
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday reserved its order on the petition filed by bookie Anil Jaisinghani and his cousin Nirmal Jaisinghani, claiming that their detention by Gujarat police and subsequent custody taken by the Mumbai police was illegal for procedural lapses. Mumbai, India - March 20, 2023: Anil Jaisinghani, bookie from Ulhasnagar, arrested by the Mumbai crime branch from Gujarats Godhra. He was named as a co-accused in the case related to the alleged blackmailing of Amruta Fadnavis, wife of deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, at CP Office, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March 20, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

The duo, arrested by the Malabar Hill police for allegedly trying to bribe and blackmail Amruta Fadnavis - wife of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, has claimed that their detention and subsequent remand orders were also illegal.

The division bench of justices AS Gadkari and justice PD Naik was hearing their petition filed through advocate Manan Sanghai for quashing the remand order by the sessions court as their arrests were illegal. The bench was told that the police had violated sections 41 (arrest without warrant) and 41A (notice of appearance issued by the investigating officer) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) while arresting them.

Though the petition had also sought quashing of the FIR filed against them at Malabar Hill police station on February 20, on Friday they said they were not pressing for relief, but sought directions against their illegal detention.

The FIR was registered on February 20 against Anil and his daughter Aniksha for allegedly trying to blackmail Amruta Fadnavis by threatening to make public some audio and video clips that would make it appear that the latter was accepting favours from her.

Senior advocate Mrigendra Singh for Jaisinghanis informed the bench that on March 19 Anil had been arrested from Godhra, Gujarat for blackmailing and attempting to extort 10 crore from Fadnavis. However, he was not produced before a magistrate between Godhra to Mumbai and was instead produced before a sessions judge in Mumbai after 36 hours and the same was against the law.

My client was arrested in Gujarat by the police there. He had FIR against me in Gujarat for the last two years, why would they not arrest me for the FIR there? Everything was being monitored by the husband of the complainant who is the home minister in the Maharashtra government, the lawyer contended.

However, advocate general Birendra Saraf for the state government and Mumbai police submitted that the police had followed all requisite procedures and there was no delay in taking Jaisinghani in custody. AG Saraf argued that Jaisinghani was detained on March 20 at 5 pm as per the arrest memo and was later produced before the special court under the Prevention of Corruption Act at 11 am on March 21.

AG Saraf added that as travel time is to be excluded under CrPC and it was necessary to produce Jaisinghani before a competent magistrate, he was brought to Mumbai. However, the petitioners counsel refuted the travel time exclusion point and stated that it was to be part of the 24-hour limit within which the accused was to be produced before the magistrate. Singh added that after detention Anil should have been produced before the nearest magistrate.

Meanwhile, a special court under the Prevention of Corruption Act on Friday reserved its order on the bail pleas of Anil and Nirmal.

The police on Friday objected to the pleas, claiming that the entire conspiracy was planned for Anils benefit and expressed apprehension that Anil Jaisinghani will abscond after release on bail. Accused was absconding for several years and it cannot be said that he will be available for trial, special public prosecutor Ajay Misar argued.

Anil and Nirmal were arrested on March 20 near Kalol toll plaza in Gujarat after a three-day search.

Court allows MP police to take Anil Jaisinghanis custody

Meanwhile, the special court on Friday allowed the Madhya Pradesh police to take Anil Jaisinghanis custody in a case registered against him in 2020 under the provisions of the Excise Act. The MP police informed the court that a chargesheet has been filed in the case but they could not proceed with the trial, as Anil Jaisinghani was absconding.
Mumbai: The Bombay high court has restrained the state government from disbursing any remaining amount of development funds in Mumbai for the financial year 2022-23 and also sought a detailed disbursal record from February 17 when the petition was filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Ravindra Waikar. The division bench of justice G S Kulkarni and justice R N Laddha while hearing Jogeshwari (East) MLA Waikars petition seeking equitable allocation of the MLD funds, without any discrimination, based on political parties the members represent was informed by advocates Satish and Siddhasen Borulkar that there were discrepancies in the disbursal amounts. (Getty Images)

In his plea, Waikar alleged that the ruling government had not made equitable disbursal of the Maharashtra Local Development (MLD) funds among the MLAs.

The division bench of justice G S Kulkarni and justice R N Laddha while hearing Jogeshwari (East) MLA Waikars petition seeking equitable allocation of the MLD funds, without any discrimination, based on political parties the members represent was informed by advocates Satish and Siddhasen Borulkar that there were discrepancies in the disbursal amounts.

The advocates drew the attention of the bench that Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) had allotted 11,420.44 lakh for Slum Dwellers Re-allocation and Rehabilitation Plan of 2022-23, 26,687.2 lakh for Development of Slums in Other than Backward Class, and 7,000 lakh for Development of Basic Infrastructure for the areas in Mumbai suburban district.

The bench was informed that the allocation, however, showed that many constituencies represented by ruling parties including BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Republic Party of India had got the lions share of the disbursals. Waikar claimed that the allocation of funds was discriminatory, arbitrary, irrational, unfair and contrary to the public interest and was arbitrarily making classification amongst the members equally situated.

Waikar sought directions to the state government and MHADA to allocate funds in equal proportion for 2022-23, without discriminating between MLAs and MLCs from ruling parties and Opposition, and to quash and set aside the present allocations.

On Thursday, when the petition was heard, Borulkar informed the bench that though the HC had asked MHADA and the state government to respond to the petition by March 10, no reply was filed. On the contrary, after the petition was filed on February 17, large amounts were disbursed.

After additional government pleader Milind More sought time to file the reply, the bench expressed its displeasure on the same. The bench noted that the respondent state needed to answer the contentions raised by the petitioner and said, We also direct the state government to place on record in such an affidavit, as to how much amounts have been disbursed from February 17 till date, under the heads in question, and their allocation per elected representatives, of the different assembly constituencies.

The court further restrained the state from disbursing any remaining amount that is yet to be disbursed till further orders.

The bench directed the state government to file its affidavit in reply to the plea by April 3 and posted the hearing to April 5.
ULWE: In a first of its kind joint operation by City and Industrial Development Cooperation (CIDCO) and NRI Sagari police, a total of 10 dumpers were nabbed and 10 drivers of these vehicles were detained by the police for attempting to dump debris within Ulwe. CIDCO, police seize 10 dumpers for illegal debris dumping in Ulwe

The drive was undertaken in the early hours of March 31 following repeated complaints from citizens about unmonitored debris dumping within the node and the health issues being faced by the residents.

We were informed about the movement of 10 debris-laden dumpers attempting to dump the material in the area. Since already orders exist forbidding any kind of debris dumping in the city, we took action the help of the vigilance squad, said an engineer with CIDCO involved in the operation.

The dumpers were targetting an open plot belonging to CIDCO adjacent to Sai temple in Sector 23, Wahal. CIDCO had received multiple complaints from local residents as well as activists about the unmonitored dumping of debris leading to both environmental and health concerns. With vast open areas, these sectors are often exploited by debris dumping mafia.

We received specific information about illegal dumping of debris in these areas. A team of police officials along with the anti-debris squad reached the spot and after ascertaining the nature of activity as well as the material being dumped, the necessary action was taken. This is the first-of-its-kind action taken in coordination with CIDCO. The confiscated vehicles will now be produced before the court, said deputy police commissioner, zone 1, Vivek Pansare while addressing a press conference.
Mumbai: Two people, who allegedly posed as police officers and cheated others, were arrested on Friday at Dadar East and police uniforms, fake identity cards, nameplates, handcuffs as well as a baton were seized from them. When Mahale questioned the man about the difference in his facial features and the photo on the identity card, the man claimed that the identity card belonged to his brother who was in the police department. The constable, however, doubted that claim as well and brought the accused to the nearby RAK Marg police station. (HT PHOTO)

The accused have been identified as Abdul Hamid Shaikh, 54, and Sunny Irfan Bhavekar, 42.

As per the police, a traffic constable  Pravin Mahale  was posted on towing duty at road number 32, Wadala, and was towing two-wheelers when a biker questioned him. The biker argued with constable Mahale and told him that he was a police officer and flashed his identity card hurriedly, said Dr Pravin Munde, DCP, Zone IV.

After Mahale scanned the card attentively, he noticed a few things, like the serial number is mostly five digits, however on this card it was six digits and it also mentioned the batch number, which is not usually mentioned on the identity card of officers. Besides, he noticed that the photo on the card and the face of the person did not match, said a police officer from RAK Marg police station.

When Mahale questioned the man about the difference in his facial features and the photo on the identity card, the man claimed that the identity card belonged to his brother who was in the police department. The constable, however, doubted that claim as well and brought the accused to the nearby RAK Marg police station.

When questioned by the RAK Marg police, the accused revealed his name was Shaikh  a resident of the Antop Hill area and the identity card belonged to his friend  Bhavekar, also a resident of the same area.

When Bhavekar was brought to the police station, the police found that he didnt do anything for earning a living and he too had a nameplate on his door, identifying himself as a police officer. He even gave speeches in public posing as a policeman.

We have found some applications of aspirants who wished to join the police force at Bhavekars residence and suspect that he has accepted money from the candidates, by promising them jobs in the police force. He has stitched the dress in 2019 from a police tailor showing him the forged identity card and since then, we suspect, he is roaming around posing as a police officer from a special branch or the crime branch, said Annasaheb Gadekar, assistant police inspector of RAK Marg Police Station.

Bhavekar has every accessory that a policeman uses like a white-coloured helmet, brown shoes etc, added Gadekar. Earlier he worked as a driver.
Gangster Ejaz Lakdawala has written to the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court alleging that his barrack-mate, the disgraced banker Rana Kapoor, has been managing frequent court dates which allow him to leave the jail premises often. Lakdawala, who has sought information from the court relating to Kapoors various cases, says the banker is running his office from the court premises. Patna, India - Jan. 9, 2020 : Underworld gangster Ejaz Lakdawala arrested by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch under Jakkanpur Police station in Patna, India, on Thursday, January 9, 2020. (Photo by / Hindustan Times)

Read here: MCOCA court acquits gangster Ejaz Lakdawalas brother, 6 others

Lakdawala has claimed that he overheard Kapoor telling others in their barrack that he has bribed people to get his nearly-daily production before the special court where he meets his family, friends and other associates. He (Rana Kapoor) is with me in the same prison and in the same Anda Cell. I hear him saying all the time that he has bribed the court and jail authorities for his daily production, without getting his case charge framed, says Lakdawala in his hand-written letter dated 20th March. He has further requested the court to take action against Kapoor and the concerned jail officials.

The PMLA court had asked Rana Kapoor to give a detailed repose to Lakdawalas allegations made by the gangster. In his reply, submitted on Thursday, Kapoor rubbished the allegations. He said he was arrested in 2020 and for two years during the lockdown he had not been produced before the court. He further told the court that he only ever meets his wife and daughters and members of his legal team in court and no one else hence the question of running his office from the court premise as claimed by Lakdawala, did not arise.

Rana Kapoor has claimed that there is no connection between his cases and the gangsters cases, and hence Lakdawala had no locus to seek information about the cases against him. Besides, he told the court, all the details pertaining to his cases were already available on the courts website. Kapoor prayed that the court dismiss Lakdawalas petition. The PMLA court is expected to pass an order on the plea at the next hearing.

When contacted, a senior jail official at Taloja said that under-trial prisoners are brought out of jail and handed over to the police escort to be taken to court on the dates given by their respective courts. However, sources close to Lakdawala told HT during one of his court hearings that the jail officials were biased against him and had even disallowed him from using his favourite perfume. A few months ago, Lakdawala had also trapped hundreds of mosquitoes in a mineral water bottle and presented to the court as part of his complaint about the mosquito menace at Taloja jail.

Read here: Undertrail gangster brings bottle filled with dead mosquitoes to court in Maharashtra

A former associate of Dawood Ibrahim, Lakdawala was arrested by Mumbai police from Patna airport on January 8, 2020. He was on Indias most-wanted list from 1998 when he escaped from Nashik jail. He was wanted in multiple cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion.

Rana Kapoor was arrested in March 2020 by Enforcement Directorate for money laundering. He stands accused of creating a web of over 100 firms to siphon off 670 crores.
MUMBAI: After failing to receive research fellowship since 2021, at least 861 reserved-category students from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI), Pune, have been protesting for more than a month at Mumbais Azad Maidan. Mumbai, India - March 31, 2023: Many research students of 2021 batch from Pune's Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI) are protesting for almost a month, demanding research fellowships for which their proposal is pending approval since then, at Azad Maidan, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, March 31, 2023. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

A research fellowship offered by BARTI comes with a monthly stipend of 31,000 for the first two years and 35,000 for the following three years of PhD study.

Students complained that the administartion was treating them unfairly by restricting the number of students receiving the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar National Research Fellowship (BANRF) through BARTI, which is an autonomous organisation of social justice and special assistance department, while not placing any limit to research fellowships allotted through other schemes such as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Research and Training Institute (MAHAJYOTI) for Other Backward Class (OBC) students and Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research, Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI) for economically weaker section (EWS) students.

Kishor Tupvihire, one of the protesters and a research student from Ahmednagar, pursuing his studies at BARTI, said, It is unfair that BARTI is restricted to only 200 candidates, but there is no such limit for other schemes like SARTHI and MAHAJYOTI. Other research fellowship schemes by the government have crossed the prescribed limit each year to include all candidates who are declared eligible, post the verification process.

Through BARTI, a total of 861 candidates were declared eligible in 2021, but research fellowship was granted to only 200 candidates. BARTI had proposed to the state administration that the remaining 662 applicants be considered for the fellowship, but the state administration had not responded, he said.

Prakash Taru, another student from Nanded, said, At least 551 candidates were allotted research fellowships under SARTHI in 2021 which was increased to 856 candidates in 2022. MAHAJYOTI, which had a cap of 500 candidates as mentioned in their advertisement, ended up issuing a final list of 953 candidates after verification of documents.

Ishwar Adsul, member of Research Students Action Committee, said, We are being denied the advantages of this scheme by the administration. This is extremely reprehensible in a progressive state like Maharashtra, which is renowned for social and educational reformists like Jyoti Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, and the social justice department itself has treated us unfairly, he said.

If our demands are not met, we will all go on a fast-unto-death protest, he said.

Commissioner of social welfare department Samadhan Ingle was not available for comment despite repeated attempts.
THANE: With the increasing number of Covid patients within the city limits, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has arranged for 25 additional beds separately in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital Kalwa along with a special ward reserved for Covid patients. Municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar has also directed closely monitor the rise in Covid patients in private hospitals too. The civic health department is gearing up preparations at ciiv-run Kalwa hospital in Thane to combat rising number of Covid patients hospital,in Thane, in Mumbai, India (Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

At present, the number of Covid positive patients has touched 252 in Thane. Five covid-infected patients have died. These patients have died due to Covid are those who are senior citizens or have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, other serious co-morbidities, said Bangar.

Meanwhile, he has given instructions to conduct a death audit of patient deaths. Bangar appealed to citizens to take special care of senior citizens and patients with comorbidities.

Due to the increasing number of Covid patients, it is necessary for everyone to be alert. The number of Covid tests should be increased to stay one step ahead of the disease. As a result, the number of patients is likely to increase due to increased testing. However, as per the test, isolate, treat protocol for Covid, it becomes necessary to isolate and treat more and more patients, said Bangar. The civic body is carrying out at least 2500 tests daily.

So, the testing centers will not remain closed even for a single day. At the same time, more arrangements for testing will be made immediately in public places, markets, railway stations, malls, he added.

The civic body has also ordered additional materials to ensure adequate stock of oxygen concentrators, testing kits, medicines.

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The Uttar Pradesh chief secretary on Friday carried out a detailed inspection of Ghaziabads 17km priority section of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project ahead of its likely opening next month, officials aware of the matter said. Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra inspects a rapid rail in Ghaziabad on Friday. (Sakib Ali /HT PHOTO)

During the three-hour long inspection, officials said that chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra visited the Duhai depot where he took stock of the control room, trains, depots, passenger facilities at stations and platforms, besides taking a ride in one of the trains, which are undergoing trial runs.

The work for the trial runs on the priority section is almost done and stations have also taken shape, officials of NCR transport corporation (NCRTC) said.

The priority section  part of the 82km RRTS project  will be the countrys first such stretch to open; the project involves operation of high-speed state-of-the-art trains to connect three cities of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. The 17km section in Ghaziabad has five stations  Sahibabad, Ghaziabad city, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot.

The UP chief secretary carried out detailed inspections for three hours and expressed satisfaction about the ongoing progress of work. The work for the priority section is almost in final stages and the process for inspection of the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) is on. The work on the stations is also almost done, said Puneet Vats, chief public relations officer, NCRTC. If the current pace of work is maintained, the priority section will likely be thrown open to public in April, at least two months before the scheduled completion date, officials said.

Recently, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on March 25 also said that ...the work for RRTS project is almost complete and it is likely that the Prime Minister will dedicate the project to nation next month. According to officials aware of the matter, the priority section is likely to become operational before the announcement of upcoming local body elections in the state.

Foundation of the 30 crore RRTS project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ghaziabad on March 8, 2019. The project includes state-of-the-art aerodynamic RRTS trains manufactured under the Make in India initiative at a manufacturing facility in Savli, Gujarat. The 82km-long corridor, which will have 25 stations, is expected to get an average 800,000 passengers daily.
Eight people were on Friday arrested in connection with Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao (remove Modi, save nation) posters in Ahmedabad days after the Delhi Police filed 185 cases and apprehended six people while they were delivering similar material last week to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) offices. Posters targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi cropped up in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.(Twitter / @HasanSafin)

The police action in Delhi prompted AAP national convenor and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to compare it with censorship during British rule.

In a statement, the Gujarat Police said the eight were arrested for illegally putting up the posters. The miscreants put up posters about Prime Minister Narendra Modi with offensive slogans and tried to damage government property.

The cases over the posters in Delhi were earlier registered under the Press and Registration of Books Acts Section 12, which says every book or paper printed in India shall mention the name of the printer and the place of printing clearly, and the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Acts Section 3 that relates to defacing.

The six people arrested in Delhi were released on bail after a few hours. The AAP condemned the action, saying the arrests were a direct assault on Indias democratic structure.

The AAP intensified its poster war targeting Modi on Thursday. Posters asking whether the country needed an educated Prime Minister emerged in several parts of Delhi on Thursday a week after AAP launched the Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao campaign.

AAP leader and Delhi minister Gopal Rai said similar posters in 11 languages are being put up in 22 states. He added that the party would also put up these posters at universities across India from April 10.

The BJP responded to the poster campaign with one of its own Kejriwal Hatao, Delhi Bachao (remove Kejriwal, save Delhi). They described Kejriwal as a dishonest, corrupt dictator.

AAP lawmaker Sanjay Singh wondered if it has become a crime to ask if the Prime Minister should be educated.

Delhi BJP spokesman Harish Khurana hit back.Kejriwal sahab, the more propaganda against the Prime Minister you engage in, attack him, the more his popularity increases; we have experienced this over the last few years. Remember this.

He said the people are not going to tolerate their Prime Minister being called uneducated. I can guarantee that AAP is not going to win even a single of the seven Delhi seats in the [2024] Lok Sabha polls.
The Goa Police have arrested a resort staff member in Mandrem for allegedly attacking a Dutch tourist while she was in her room on the intervening night of March 28 and 29. Representational image.

The person, identified as Abhishek Verma (27), is a native of Dehradun in Uttarakhand.

At around 2 am, the tourist noticed someone standing in her tent and immediately raised an alarm. Upon hearing her scream, the assailant grabbed her, covered her mouth and threatened her, North Goa superintendent of police Nidhin Valsan said.

Hearing her screams, another staff member Eurico Dias came to her rescue. But the assailant who was working as a bartender at the resort, brought a knife from the kitchen and stabbed both the woman and her rescuer, leaving the two injured, before fleeing from the spot.

The Pernem police has registered an FIR. The knife used for the crime has also been recovered, Valsan added.
As many as seven tigers lost their lives in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtras Chandrapur district in the last year alone, officials said after a right to information (RTI) query was filed. According to reports, the deaths were the highest in the last five years. (HT file photo)

According to reports, the deaths were the highest in the last five years.

According to the state wildlife department, a total of 18 deaths were recorded in the reserve throughout the five years.

The state wildlife department disclosed the relevant information following an RTI query by activist Abhay Kolarkar.

Also Read: 551 tigers died in 5 yrs, including 114 due to poaching: Govt tells Parliament

According to the report, the reserves lost a tiger in 2018, three tigers in 2018 while four died in 2020.

In 2021, the death of three tigers was recorded, while 2022 saw seven tiger deaths.

Among the 18 deaths in the last five years, 13 tigers died due to natural causes, four deaths occurred due to poaching, and the cause of one death was electrocution.

The Tadoba tiger project is one of the best-managed wildlife sanctuaries that was recently conferred with the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS) international accreditation certificates.

This year, CA/TS selected six such tiger reserves across the country, including Tadoba.

Tadoba tiger reserve is one of the countrys oldest national parks, spread over 1,727 sq km area.
BSEB Bihar Board 10th Result 2023 Live Updates: Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has announced Bihar board Matric Result 2023. Bihar Education Minister Prof Chandra Shekhar announced these results at a press conference in the presence of BSEB officials. Links to check marks sheets are now available.

MD Rumman Ashraf of Islamia High School Sheikhpura, who scored 489 marks or 97.8%, is the state topper this year. A total of 90 students, including ten from Simultala Awasiya Vidyalaya Jamui are in the top 10 ranks. The overall pass percentage stood at 81.04 per cent.

Bihar board 10th results official website is results.biharboardonline.com. Hindustan Times is also hosting Bihar board Matric results. If students are unable to check their scores on the official website, they can use the HT portal link given below as an alternative method to view their scores.

Bihar board 10th result 2023 on hindustantimes.com.

BSEB 10th result 2023 on official website.

To check BSEB Matric result 2023 on results.biharboardonline.com or HT portal, students have to use their board exam roll number and roll code.
I really don't get the point why most suspense thrillers take form of whodunnits, and are then laced with elements of horror. Even the horror is limited to jump-scares, dark lighting, shadowy entities, a lantern lying on the ground and pianos playing on their own. I mean actual horror films Veerana (1988) and Band Darwaza (1990) did a better job at these back then. Gaslight offers nothing new. If anything, it bores you, and makes you smirk at places where you feel the attempt was to scare you. The overall premise of the film isn't that bad but the execution and the predictable first 15 minutes itself ruin the whole experience. (Also read: Gaslight Twitter review: Sara Ali Khan called 'irritating', film termed 'boring and slow, not engaging at all') Gaslight movie review: Chitrangada Sen, Sara Ali Khan and Vikrant Massey star in the movie.

I, personally, enjoy whodunnits and murder mysteries, but they need to be intelligently written and cleverly shot. You can't expect audiences to sit around for nearly two hours and serve such a mediocre film. Gaslight amused me further because director Pavan Kriplani had earlier given us a brilliant thriller like Phobia starring Radhika Apte, and Ragini MMS. I agree that level would be difficult to match, but with Gaslight, it's rather underestimating the audience's intelligence, expecting them to solve this mystery where there's actually none. Okay, yes, the last 20 minutes and the climax kind of redeems the film, but it's too little too late. And not to forget, you have to sit through 1.5 hours to actually reach that one high.

The film begins with a wheelchair-bound Meesha (Sara Ali Khan) returning to her royal haveli, after over a decade to meet her father His Majesty Ratan (Shataf Ahmed Figar). All this while, she hasn't seen her father or even heard his voice. She is welcomed home by her sultry stepmom Rukmani (Chitrangda Singh) and a bunch of servants at the estate, who appear as and when they are needed to take the story forward. There's estate manager Kapil (Vikrant Massey), a top cop Ashok (Rahul Dev), family doctor Shekhawat (Shishir Sharma), Meesha's rich cousin Rana Jai Singh (Akshay Oberoi) and a dog named Commander. At some point, everyone is on the radar and is suspected to have kill Ratan, but I guessed it much early on. I am sure most of you will, too. While Rukmani insists that Ratan is out on a business trip, Meesha senses there's something fishy and either her father is missing or dead. She, with the help of Kapil, tries to unearth the truth and reach the bottom of it.

All this could have been done and shown really smartly, but unfortunately, Kriplani doesn't even attempt, it seems, to engage us much. Gaslight uses done-to-death tropes to scare you or create a mystery around a murder, but nothing could hold you together. Rahul Dharuman's cinematography is off-putting at places where he makes things look darker than they already are.

The story co-written by Kriplani and Neha Veena Sharma had so much potential but I never saw a point where it was tapped to create some really gripping moments. The twists come and go without much of a buzz. Needless blood and gore in a couple of scenes don't make an impact either. Meesha is said to have lost her mother to suicide and later she meets with an accident - beyond this everything else is left to be assumed. Rukmani's presence in the family, reasons for Meesha's hatred towards her father, how everything fell apart - it's all told through a wafer-thin back story, which barely sounds convincing.

Thankfully, or may be not, there aren't any subplots, so the story remains focused on one thing - finding what happened to Ratan. In between, there's an exchange of heated words between Rana and Rukmani, and you expect something more it, but that fades out without much detail. In-between, there's a blind woman dressed in black attire looking funny as hell rather than spooky, trying to tell Meesha that her father is dead and that he would contact her at midnight. This whole sequence had me in splits. This is 2023 and to serve such scenes in the names of horror of a rather poor and sad joke.

In terms of performance, Sara Ali Khan has a lot of potential to act, but she needs better and more substantial parts written for her. Gaslight gives her scope to perform but not beyond having almost the same expression throughout the film. She tries too hard to make an impact, but after a while, you start to feel bad for her. Vikrant Massey, known for his acting chops, also falls prey to the execution. It seems he has a lot to carry on his shoulders in the film, but he doesn't get too many chances. Chitrangda Singh sets out to be one of the best written characters in the beginning, but the way her track takes a backseat in the second half is so disappointing. From being a strong and confident woman, she is reduced to being so vulnerable that the switch looks so unreal. Other characters including Oberoi, Sharma and Dev could have more fleshed-out parts to play, but they're used as mere props.

If you want to spend two hours of your day solving a murder mystery and take a pat on your back for getting it right in the first go, try watching Gaslight. If you like Sara and Vikrant as actors, you might end up feeling bad for them because this definitely isn't one of their best performances or at least the narrative doesn't let them shine. Gaslight is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
Actor Kajal Aggarwal spoke about the South as well as the Hindi film industries. In a new interview, she said that the South is a very friendly industry and called it 'very accepting'. Kajal showered praises adding that she prefers 'the ethics, values, discipline' of the South industry. She also said that these aspects lack in Hindi cinema. (Also Read | Kajal Aggarwal seen in no-make up look as she reaches airport with son Neil) Kajal Aggarwal showered praises on the South film industry.(Elevate Promotions)

Kajal said that people want to start their career in Hindi 'because it is a more nationwide recognised language'. Calling herself a Bombay girl, 'born and raised', she added that she started her career in the Telugu film industry. Kajal also said that she has done a few Hindi films but for her 'the feeling of home is Hyderabad and Chennai and that will never go'.

Speaking with News18, Kajal said, South is definitely very accepting but I guess there is no discount or there is no shortcut to hard work. And there is no easy way to success. There are a lot of people who want to start their career in Hindi because it is a more nationwide recognised language. Having said that, yes the south is a very friendly industry, its very accepting, there are fabulous technicians in the south, wonderful directors and phenomenal content that is generated over all four languages- Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada."

She added, And of course, Hindi has been our mother tongue. We have grown up watching Hindi movies. It has been accepting and has been very kind to me as well. But I prefer the eco-system, the ethics, the values, the discipline of the South industry which I feel is lacking in Hindi cinema."

Fans will see Kajal in the Tamil action film Indian 2 alongside Kamal Haasan and Priya Bhavani Shankar. The film will also feature Siddharth, Gulshan Grover, and Rakul Preet Singh. She also has three other Tamil films-- Karungaapiyam, Ghosty, and Uma in the pipeline.

She will also be seen in the upcoming yet-untitled Telugu film, which is currently dubbed NBK 108. The film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna and is directed by Anil Ravipudi. In the film, Kajal has been paired opposite Balakrishna while Sreeleela will be seen as his daughter.

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Priyanka Chopra had recently revealed that she had left Bollywood due to politics. The actor had said the she was looking for an 'escape from Bollywood', when she moved to Hollywood around a decade ago as she was 'being pushed into a corner in the industry'. Priyanka also said that 'people were not casting her' in Hindi films. After this statement made by Priyanka, many Bollywood celebs, including Kangana Ranaut, Vivek Agnihotri and Shekhar Suman, have shared their opinion on the matter. Now, actor Neetu Chandra has also reacted to Priyanka's remark. Also read: Priyanka Chopra moved to Hollywood as she had 'beef with people' in Bollywood Neetu Chandra spoke about Priyanka Chopra's comment on Bollywood politics.

At a recent event, Neetu was asked to share her opinion on what Priyanka had said about politics in Bollywood. A video of Neetu Chandra's reaction was shared on a paparazzo page on Instagram, in which the actor said, "Ye sabke sath hota hai, it is not like kisi ek ke sath hota hai (it happens with everyone, not just with a person in particular)." Neetu went on to say in Hindi, If you dont come from a film family, you have to fight for opportunities in this industry. It takes time to do good work. Priyanka has felt it, I have felt it. A lot of other people have felt it. The point is whether you can come forward and speak about it or not. Like I have said earlier also.

Priyanka Chopra had spoken about facing politics in Bollywood and the real reason she moved to the US in her recent interview on the podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd. Priyanka had said, "I was not happy with the work I was getting in Bollywood. I am going to talk about this for the first time because I feel insecure to talk about it. Anjali Acharya of Desi Hits once saw me in a music video and called me. At that time I was shooting for Saat Khoon Maaf. Anjali asked me if I would like to make my music career in America? I was looking for an escape from Bollywood at that time. I was looking for some way to get out of here. I was being pushed into a corner in the industry. People were not casting me. I had complaints with people. I am not good at playing those kinds of games. I was tired of politics and I needed a break."

Priyanka made her US TV debut with Quantico in 2015. Since then she has acted in several Hollywood films as well, including Baywatch (2017) and The Matrix Resurrections (2021). Priyanka will next be seen in the spy series Citadel alongside Game of Thrones' fame Richard Madden. On Thursday, Prime Video released a new trailer for Citadel, which gave a closer look at the train crash that seemingly marked the end of the elite spy agency Citadel. Citadel starts streaming on Prime Video on April 28.

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After the birth of her daughter Adira in 2015, Rani Mukerji took time away from her acting career to raise her. But the actor also revealed that she had to be there for Adira as she was born prematurely. She arrived two months before her due date. While promoting her new film Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, the actor spoke to Kareena Kapoor on her YouTube talk show What Women Want. She recalled the stressful time when Adira was admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). But luckily, Adira was discharged after seven days instead of the 15 days the doctor said she would require. (Also read: Rani Mukerji reacts to Norwegian ambassador slamming Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway: How can it be fiction if Indian govt was involved?) Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji was last seen in Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway.(AFP)

Rani told Kareena, "I think what happens to women when they become mothers is that there's something in us that changes immediately. The minute you see the baby out of your system and you look at that baby's face, you suddenly realise that you're not important anymore. There's somebody else more important than you. It's the first time in our lives that we realise we love somebody more than ourselves. When that moment happened in my life, for me, there was nothing more important than my child."

She went on to say, "Also in my case, my daughter is premature, so she came to me two months before her due time. She was like really tiny. I was stressed and as a mother, your motherly instinct kicks in. She was in the NICU for about 7 days, when she was supposed to be there for 15 days. But luckily with god's grace all the parameters that a baby needs to do, Adira just kicked in."

The actor married producer-director Aditya Chopra in 2014 and they welcomed their daughter Adira a year later. The couple is private and both of them are not on social media. Recently, Aditya gave his first interview in decades on the Netflix docu-series The Romantics on the history and legacy of his father's banner Yash Raj Films. After she had Adira, Rani did not act for nearly two years.

Kareena and Rani have worked together on Mujhse Dosti Karoge (2002) with Hrithik Roshan and were also part of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) Talaash (2012). However, they didn't have any scenes together.

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BOAO, Hainan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with his Dominican counterpart Vince Henderson on Thursday in Boao, Hainan Province, and pledged to boost bilateral ties.

Qin said that Dominica is a good friend and partner of China in the Caribbean region.

China is willing to take the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Dominica next year as an opportunity to strengthen bilateral exchanges at all levels, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, enhance multilateral cooperation, and promote China-Dominica ties to reach a new level, Qin said.

He said China appreciates the support of Dominica for the Global Development Initiative and welcomes its active participation in the Global Civilization Initiative.

Henderson said Dominica adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in fields such as agriculture, education, medical care and climate change, and deepen exchanges and cooperation between the Caribbean Community and China.

Dominica supports and is willing to join the Global Civilization Initiative to work with China to promote exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations, he added.
MBABANE  CARE Air-Conditioning (Pty) Ltd has been enlisted as the best evaluated tenderer to be awarded the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) tender.

EIPA issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the supply and installation of heating ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) and three companies responded. These were Jordan Refrigeration (Pty) Ltd, Usizo Technical Services, and CARE Air-Conditioning. Worth noting, all the companies that showed interest for the tender were local. EIPA intends to award the tender to Care Air, and their total evaluated scores were not revealed. It was noted that Jordan Refrigeration (Pty) Ltds evaluated price was E5 161 463.20, while Usizos evaluated price was E4 444 986.38.

CARE Air proposed the highest price when compared to the two other companies; they proposed E5 296 604.25, which was E135 141.05 higher.

The above-mentioned was published by the procurement regulating authority, the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA) on their website. The intention to award the company was published yesterday, and if it is not contested, they are expected to begin executing it after 10 working days. As the requesting entity, EIPA was also in charge of the procurement of the tender as well as its approvals. EIPA requested unsuccessful bidders to apply for review with the agency within 10 working days. All tenderers who submitted bids are hereby notified that a period of 10 working days is hereby allowed for submission of any application for review, said EIPA.



Facilitated

Worth noting, EIPA and Taiwan Trade (TAITRA) facilitated the participation of Eswatini-based traders in the Giftionery and Culture Creative Show 2023 in Taipei, Taiwan. Eswatinis participation in this trade show forms part of Eswatinis efforts to deepen trade relations with Taiwan under the Economic Cooperation Agreement signed in 2018, while also encouraging trade between local companies and highly profitable potential markets in Taiwan.

Companies from Eswatini will be represented by the Eswatini Embassy in Taiwan and TAITRA, as their products will be shipped to and displayed at the Eswatini exhibition stand. EIPA manager of external trade Sibusiso Mnisi said: We are pleased to once again invite traders to exhibit their products at Giftionery and Culture Creative 2023. This will allow them to diversify their market access and hopefully grow their businesses through enhancing their export trade capability.

Covid-19

Mnisi said Eswatini has participated before, but due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, traders were represented by Eswatinis Embassy in Taiwan.

He said this time around they would be able to represent themselves and be in a position to present the products to potential buyers or distributors, undertake market research on key factors, and examine the structure of the creative industries in Taiwan and Asia. These exhibitions have benefited local companies as trade between Eswatini and Taiwan has increased to US$ 2.3 million (about E38 394 069) based on the EIPA 2020 Trade Analysis report and is largely dominated by products in the foods and beverages sector.
Direction is next on the mind of Scam 1992 actor Pratik Gandhi. He has been shooting back-to-back films and just wrapped up a film in Lucknow, and now has two biopics lined-up up to shoot besides the second season of The Great Indian Murder. Actor Pratik Gandhi on his recent visit to Lucknow. (Deep Saxena/HT)

I am looking forward to directing a project. Its surely on my mind. I have done direction in theatre. I direct my play Saat Teri Ekvees (7x3=21). I act in the play Mohan No Masalo, and now, I will be acting in a series on Mahatma Gandhi so it (direction) can be done.

But, with multiple acting projects happening will direction take a back seat? It depends! It could be done simultaneously. I have done direction before, though it was theatre, and this is a different medium. But if some good script or story comes my way then it can happen very soon. Also, writing, editing, direction and acting, all these things are very closely linked to each other. The more you know about it and learn it complements the others.

Gandhi adds, I feel, for an actor, its very important to know about editing, camera and direction. It helps in creating a high point and taking emotion to the peak. Trust me, magic happens after the director says cut in the follow-through. And that can happen only if you know all the facets of the craft.

The actor gives the example of actor-turned-director Kunal Khemu. I did a film with him and I am so impressed with the way he was handling everything. He has been acting since childhood and seen things so closely and thats the reason he was very sorted. I too look forward to it.

I have completed film Dedh Bigha Zameen, Woh Ladki Hai Kahan with Taapsee (Pannu), an untitled film with Vidya Balan, an anthology with Hansal (Mehta) sir and now this Tigmanshu (Dhulia) sir project. In July, I will start the Gandhi series and another biopic (social reformers Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule).

The actor agrees that the audience has become very brutal. It is no longer about money, its about time. So, the audience has become unforgiving and wont tolerate anything substandard. There is so much content so one has to be one notch up! So, I am just trying to select good projects and deliver new experimental projects. Rest, nothing is in my control as its teamwork. Its only when all departments excel that we get a masterpiece like Scam.

Bhasha yahan zinda hai

On his Lucknow visit, he says, I have been here before during my corporate career; we were setting up a cement plant at Kundanganj so I used to come literally every month. I have seen where all we have shot and since I am an eggetarian so have less choices. Thankfully, we have a lot of vegetarian choices.

Nowadays, all cities have similar buildings, brands, hotels and restaurants. But here, we still have a different vibe. Also, here language is excellent. What we read in books here people speak as well  bhasha yahan zinda hai. Here, I have heard some words after ages!
Sudhir Mishra's next film is Afwaah starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu. The film has been produced by Anubhav Sinha and will explore the perils of misinformation in India these days. Recently, Afwaah's producer Anubhav faced a lot of backlash on social media for his Bheed which looks at what happened to India's migrant workers during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. Before that, there were calls to boycott Pathaan because of the clothes actor Deepika Padukone wore in a song Besharam Rang. Sudhir spoke about censorship in the film industry and how it has become villainised from others outside. (Also read: Sudhir Mishra: Bollywood is still obsessed with stars, when they dont get one, they hire people who were once stars) Sudhir Mishra made his directorial debut with Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin in 1987.

The veteran filmmaker started out as a screenwriter on Kundan Shah's comedy Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983). In 1987, he made his directorial debut with Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin which won the National Film Award for Best First Film of a Director. He has also directed the films Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Dharavi and Chameli. He opened up about the dangers of censorship in India and shared his view that the film industry has become a soft target for many to criticise. He also believed that the government should have the film industry's back.

In an interview with Mid-Day, he stated, "Outside the film industry, everyone has become a censor now. [If] I say something, everyone thinks they are allowed to bash me. That is dangerous. I find it hilarious that an industry, which changes its stories because a star said so, talks so much about censorship. It happens constantly. Some [star] says, I dont like this, and [filmmakers] change [the script]. But then, they [also] complain about censorship."

He continued, "The villainisation of the industry is ridiculous. We are soft targets. [Sure], a lot of people in the business are overpaid, but 90 per cent of the people are hard-working. They do their work honestly. The film industry does good  it educates and entertains the audience for two hours. I think the country treats them badly. It is the governments job to look after the film industry, which is a public service in my opinion."

Sudhir was the director on SonyLIV's web series Tanaav last year and the showrunner of its other web series Jehanabad - Of Love & War starring Parambrata Chatterjee this year.

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Actor-couple Zendaya and Tom Holland arrived in Mumbai, together for the first time ever, on Thursday. Several pictures of the duo emerged online soon after they exited the Kalina Airport in the city. Zendaya smiled as she exited the airport while Tom was seen walking towards his car. (Also Read | Stylist Law Roach denies feud with Zendaya after announcing retirement) Zendaya and Tom Holland in Mumbai.

The actors opted for casual outfits for the travel. Zendaya was seen in a white T-shirt, pants, and a black jacket. She wore glasses and also carried a bag. Tom Holland opted for a pink T-shirt, blue denims, and a black jacket. He also had a backpack and wore a cap. Both of them got into the same car at the airport.

Fans took to social media platforms and posted comments. Reacting to a video on Instagram, a fan asked, Are they in India scouting for wedding location? A person wrote, They have arrived in simple outfits. Spiderman is in India finally, read a comment. Zendaya and Tom arrived in Mumbai for the inauguration of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. The event will take place over the weekend in Mumbai.

Recently, Zendaya was spotted wearing a gold ring on her right index finger that appears to be engraved with her boyfriend Tom's initials. Her nail artist Marina Dobyk posted a close-up video of Zendaya's glossy pink manicure, which included the ring, sparking speculation.

Although the script initials appeared to be "TH" for Tom's name, others on social media argued that it looks like "ZH," a combination of her first and his last initial, reported People. A source previously told PEOPLE that she and Tom "started seeing each other" while shooting Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, their first movie together in the Marvel trilogy.

"They've been super careful to keep it private and out of the public eye but they've gone on vacations with each other and try and spend as much time as possible with one another," the insider said as per the report. The pair made their relationship Instagram official in September 2021 with a behind-the-scenes photo in which Holland calls her "My MJ" as part of a birthday tribute.

Earlier this year, Zendaya bagged the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for Euphoria at the 28th Critics' Choice Award. For portraying Rue in Euphoria, Zendaya has already bagged two Emmy Awards (2020, 2022).

She made history in 2020 by becoming the youngest lead actress drama winner (24 at that time), and only the second-ever Black woman to win the category in the Emmy, following Viola Davis for How to Get Away With Murder. Euphoria is an American teen drama television series based on Israeli miniseries of the same name. It was created by Ron Leshem and Daphna Levin.

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Vetrimaarans Viduthalai Part 1, his most hard-hitting film since Visaranai, isnt just another film on police brutality but one that exposes the inefficiency of a system which continues to prey upon the weak. The film, which is definitely not for the faint-hearted, is an elaborate, detailed exploration of abuse of power and it dives deep into the psyche of a man, an honest police constable, who is torn between his job and seeking the truth. Also read: Vetrimaaran, Pa Ranjith defend farmers' right to protest Viduthalai Part 1 movie review: Vijay Sethupathi in a still from the film.

The film is narrated from the perspective of Kumaresan (Soori), a righteous police constable who gets recruited into the team that has been on the hunt to capture Perumal aka Vaathiyar  The Mentor (Vijay Sethupathi), the leader of the local separatist group called Makkal Padai (Peoples Army). Kumaresan joins the force with big dreams but little does he know that he would spend most of his time doing menial jobs  from delivering food to every check post through the forest to doing tower duty at night. When Kumaresan accidentally crosses paths with Vaathiyar and later plays a pivotal role in his capture, his beliefs about whats right and wrong are questioned.

The film opens with a train blast and the visuals are easily the most chilling scenes one would've seen in Indian cinema in recent years. Peoples Army is blamed for the attack which has resulted in 28 deaths and many severely injured. The police department launches operation Ghost Hunt to capture Vaathiyar dead or alive. Cut to next shot, we see a bus being frisked at a check post and the police shoot down two men (for carrying weapons) in cold blood when they try to flee the scene. In both the scenes, some lives have been taken but the police killings are justified as they become newspaper headlines the next day. Viduthalai questions the ethics behind police brutality in the most uncomfortable, unflinching fashion. The fact that it narrates the story from the perspective of an innocent constable makes the experience more chilling than one can imagine.

The film unfolds like a crime drama and takes its own sweet time to set up its world. Apart from throwing the spotlight on police brutality, the story also discusses the state of politics in Tamil Nadu in the 1990s. Soori, who has so far played comic roles in his career, is a very interesting choice to play the central character. He becomes a silent spectator  just like most of us - to all the atrocities that happen in the name of police investigation. He brings out the innocence as well as helplessness of his character so effectively.

Vetrimaaran makes some very interesting casting choices. Its a masterstroke to cast Gautham Vasudev Menon to play a key role. A filmmaker whose films (in the past) glorified cop killings now plays a cop in a film that exposes police brutality in the most hard-hitting fashion. Vijay Sethupathi as Vaathiyar is a no brainer. Even though he makes an extended cameo appearance, he leaves maximum impact in those scenes. Bhavani Sre is a talent to watch out for and the role of the women, who face the maximum brunt, is what makes Viduthalai disturbing at times.

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Is Pauly D's girlfriend Nikki Hall MIA on "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation?" Fans are curious about her whereabouts and the status of her relationship with Pauly. So, just how old is Nikki Hall? And what's her backstory? Pauly D with girlfriend Nikki Hall

According to Famous Birthdays, Nikki Hall is currently 30 years old, with her birthday on April 14, 1992. This means that there's an age gap of almost 12 years between her and Pauly D, who is 42 years old. However, age doesn't seem to affect their relationship, as they remain very happy together.

Nikki was born in Jamaica and later moved to the US, where she became a reality TV star and influencer. She currently has 589k followers on her Instagram account, where she frequently posts glam shots from her life.

In addition to her social media presence, Nikki is the CEO of BairBikini, a clothing brand she's planning to launch soon. Although the brand's Instagram page only has three posts, it has already gained over 4k followers.

Despite rumors of a split, Pauly and Nikki are still very much together. They met on "Double Shot at Love" and decided to call it quits on the show. However, their romance was rekindled, and they've been together since at least October 2020.

Fans won't see much of Nikki on "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation" as she hasn't been featured in any promotional material. Nevertheless, the couple remains supportive of each other. Recently, Nikki posted a promotional video of Pauly's DJ residency in Vegas, and Pauly left a comment showing his love for her.

Also read | Fans react to WWE star Nikki Cross' 'bizzare acts' during cameo on SmackDown; before 2023 Elimination Chamber

While fans may be wondering about Nikki's absence from the show, one thing is certain  her relationship with Pauly is still going strong.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markles popularity has taken a hit in the US, according to a royal expert, who believes the tide has shifted and the US media and people in general are now tired of them. The remark comes only weeks after a poll found that Prince Harry is disliked by 42 percent Americans, who supported his and Meghan Markles recent eviction by King Charles from their UK's Frogmore Cottage. Also read: Prince William, Kate Middleton were religious fans of Suits before meeting Meghan Markle Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in London on June 3, 2022 (AP File Photo)

A royal expert, who was quoted in a new report, suggested that while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle enjoyed good press in the US since breaking away from British royal family in 2020, people in the US were now growing 'weary' of them. The expert listed their 'lack of any actual work or philanthropy' as the main reason for the shift in Prince Harry and Meghan Markles popularity.

Talking to Express UK, the host of the Royally US podcast, Christine Ross, said, "Americans used to fall into three camps. They were either passionately pro-Sussex or firmly anti-Sussex, and everyone in between didnt really care either way. Now, were seeing a real shift towards the negative as Americans have been barraged with Meghan and Harrys magazine interviews, Netflix series, book, and press tour. The tide has shifted as Americans are now growing weary of the drama and the lack of any actual work or philanthropy."

Earlier this month, it was reported that King Charles had evicted Harry and Meghan out of UK's Frogmore Cottage, their home on the royal estate adjoining Windsor Castle. Charles had reportedly asked the couple to leave in January 2023, within days of the release of Harry's memoir Spare. As per a recent Newsweek poll, conducted on March 20, 41 percent of Americans supported the move, while 23 percent opposed it, and 19 percent had said they did not know and 17 percent said they did not care.

Prince Harry and Meghan tied the knot in May 2018. They welcomed son Archie in May 2019, and daughter Lilibet in June 2021. Since Meghan and Harry announced in January 2020 that they would step down as senior working royals, they have been open about their life in the royal family. They were seen in the Netflix docuseries, Harry and Meghan, which was released last year.

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PANAJI: The Goa government awarded Ankurkumar Sanjay Prasad, a 10-year-old boy who saved three of his friends from drowning after they went to bathe in a river at Cumbarjua 15 km from the state capital. Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant poses for a photograph with Ankurkumar Sanjay Prasad and his family (Twitter/DrPramodPSawant)

Ankurkumar along with three others had gone to the river to bathe after a local village deity procession which involves playing with colour. However, after his friends began drowning, the ten-year-old saved his friends.

On Friday, Ankurkumar was handed over a cheque of 1 lakh by Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant.

It was a pleasure to meet the brave young boy Mast. Ankurkumar Sanjay Prasad, who saved three children from drowning with his timely action. Extended a cheque of 1 Lakh as a token of appreciation. Goa is proud of his presence of mind and bravery. My best wishes for a bright future, Sawant said in a post on Twitter.

Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao moved a congratulatory motion in the Goa assembly showering praises on the 10-year-old for his brave act of saving three of his friends from drowning in the river. He was successful in giving them CPR and saving their lives before the arrival of the ambulance, Alemao said.

This young hero risked his own life and saved three kids from drowning. It takes incredible courage and selflessness to act quickly in a life-threatening situation. His heroic actions deserve our utmost admiration and gratitude, North Goa superintendent of police (SP) Nidhin Valsan, said.
The toll from the stepwell roof collapse at Indores Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple has mounted to 35 with the recovery of 21 more bodies even as the rescue operation continued, officials said on Friday. Rescuers at the temple in Indore. (ANI)

The roof covered with stone slabs collapsed around 11:30am on Thursday when dozens of people were at the temple for special Ram Navami prayers.

The stepwell leads to a pool of water nine feet deep. It was full of mud which was being pumped out

At least 15 people were rescued immediately and were pulled up with the help of ropes. But several drowned and died of suffocation.

State Disaster Emergency and Response Force deputy inspector general Mahesh Chandra Jain said the army joined the rescue operation late on Thursday. Seventy army soldiers started the rescue and recovered... bodies buried under the debris of the roof in the stepwell.

He added they were facing difficulties in rescue operation because water is continuously coming out of the stepwell.

A video of a woman falling into the stepwell while trying to come out with the help of a ladder went viral on social media, raising questions about the rescue operation. Officials said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the matter.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who met the injured at a hospital, announced 5 lakh compensation to the families of those killed. Officials said they will also get 2 lakh each from the Prime Ministers Relief Fund.

Laxminarayan Sharma, the temple head priest, said they annually organise havan and puja on Ram Navami outside the temple. But this year construction work was going on. So the puja was organised inside the temple. I also fell but came out of the stepwell. He added the roof was constructed without any concrete and was supported by putting stone slabs and concrete by fitting iron rods.

The families of those killed have demanded action against the temple trust.
All audit work across India will become paperless and will only be carried out digitally from April 1, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) announced on Friday. (File Photo)

The historic development will ensure that CAGs 130-odd offices will not have to go through hundreds and thousands of files physically and records can be maintained for eternity.

. from tomorrow onwards, all new audit work in our institution will take place only through OIOS (One IAAD One System) and physical paper-based workflow must cease. From tomorrow onwards, the digitization process would be irreversible, CAG Girish Chandra Murmu said on Friday.

Also Read: CAG asks defence ministry to carry out a study on disability pensions

The OIOS rollout process, Murmu said, involved work relating to master data, audit design, audit execution, legacy data migration, knowledge management system, quality assurance, quality control, audit products, communication and follow-up.

The institution of the CAG has always been one of the first government organizations to adopt new technology in its working model. Be it digitizing the accounting and entitlement process, adopting IT (Information Technology) enabled audit, using data analytics in facilitating audit, or workflow automation, OIOS is a step in that direction which strengthens our audit officers to continue to provide independent and credible assurance on public resources and be a global leader in public sector auditing, the federal auditor said in a statement quoting Murmu.

Envisaged in late 2019-early 2020, OIOS is a web-enabled solution with support for multiple languages with offline functionality and a mobile app. It is the primary system of record (single source of truth) for the entire chain of audit activities, from audit planning and design through audit execution to issue and follow-up of inspection reports to processing and finalization of the CAGs audit reports and follow-up. It covers all types of audit - compliance, financial and performance.

Generally, close to 90 audit reports are prepared through CAGs 130 offices across India and approved every year for submission to Parliament, state legislature or union territory legislature, containing findings on government business transacted during the preceding financial year (or earlier years). Digitisation will mean that no physical documents need to be studied by the auditors.

According to a CAG official, the historic step will not only ensure accountability but also accuracy.

This will tremendously change how the audits are done. Even communication will take place through this system. Nobody can remove any document or data and say an audit was not carried out. The system will ensure full responsibility, transparency and complete documentation. Besides, there will be a permanent record of everything and a lot of paper will be saved, said the official who did not wish to be named.

The official said all audit offices across India have been connected in the system and the ministries/departments the auditees will be connected in the next stage.

Also Read: CAG slams BMC over delay in Sion hospital redevelopment

According to a person familiar with the initiative, reports tabled in parliament will also be digitized. Already, as a pilot project, a few reports have been prepared digitally, he said.

Murmu emphasized that to audit, the technology used by the government in delivering services as well as ensuring equity, efficiency, effectiveness, and ethics in such delivery, the auditors need to be one step ahead of the government.

Government of India has forged ahead with the Digital India programme through which it has used technology extensively in every sector of economy and governance. Extensive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in all fields is an inevitable outcome of government policies. IAAD (Indian Audit and Accounts Department) is working towards building infrastructure and processes for artificial intelligence and machine learning and harnessing the potential of these technologies for delivering audit products more effectively, Murmu added, according to the statement by the CAG office.
As students at Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, run by Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai, continued to protest for a second consecutive day against alleged sexual harassment by four faculty members, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Friday assured legal action against those found guilty in the matter. Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Friday assured strict action against those found guilty in the sexual harassment case. (HT Photo)

As soon as the issue regarding Kalakshetra Foundation, which is functioning under the Union governments ministry of culture, was brought to my attention, I contacted the district collector to know more details, Stalin said in the state assembly.

As far as the government is concerned, after a proper investigation, if there is truth in the complaints, we will definitely take legal action against the wrongdoers, he added.

The chief minister also said that a police team, including the joint police commissioner and deputy police commissioner of Chennai, visited the college campus to probe the matter. For the protection of the protesting students, a police team led by a woman police officer has been stationed in Kalakshetra.

The students began their protest on the campus on Thursday, demanding action against four faculty members accused of sexual harassment. Tamil Nadu Womens Commission chairperson A S Kumari told HT that the panel received nearly 100 complaints from students on Friday.

There must be close to 90-100 complaints. The students complained of sexual and mental harassment by the accused faculty members, she said.

The students wrote to Union culture minister G Kishahn Reddy and Stalin, seeking removal of Kalakshetra director Revathi Ramachandran for alleged inaction in their complaints.

Read here: Stalin calls mega Opposition meet in Chennai next week

On Thursday, Kalakshetra announced closure of Rukmini Devi Fine Arts College till April 6 and directed the students to vacate hostels within two days.

Additional commissioner of police (Chennai South) Prem Anand Sinha said police are yet to receive a written complaint in the matter. Last night there was a commotion, so the director was taken to the hospital (after she felt dizzy). Senior officials spoke to the students till 2am. If we receive a written complaint, we will start a criminal investigation, he said.

On March 19, Kalakshetra had said that an internal complaints committee (ICC) suo moto initiated an investigation and found no truth in the complaints.

A few staff, who are not victims, also supported the students complaints. They said that this has been going on for years since 2008 but whenever they complained the management did not take action, Kumari said. The director and the deputy director were not present so I spoke to the Principal. I will speak to the director tomorrow. The students are very upset. I spoke to them at midnight to tell them to go back to their hostels and assured them that I will come today. I spoke to 12 students directly and five students on Zoom. Several women students have complained about four people. Only one student has retracted her complaint. Three alumni also spoke to me. I have asked the students to stop the protests and go back to their hostels to study for their exams which begin on Monday. 90% of them are in the hostel. I gave them confidence that this government will take the right action.

On March 25, Kalakshetra released a statement that they have requested the NCW to consider the action already taken and welcome further enquiry if not satisfied. During the last few months, a scurrilous campaign is being carried out through social media posts casting aspirations on the functioning of Kalakshetra Foundation, and targeting some members of faculty and also malingering the institutions credibility, the Foundation said on March 25.

Countering their response, Carnatic musician T M Krishna on March 27 wrote an open letter addressed to Kalakshetras chairman S Ramadorai. The lack of sensitivity, the aggressive tone, and the dismissiveness is unbecoming, Krishna had said in his letter. I am also shocked that in some quarters this is being turned into an attack on the institution and sullied with political/religious insinuations. Krishna urged the Kalakshetra chairman to take action to address these very serious complaints.

Later, students withdrew their protest, people in the know of the matter said.
Several years ago government embarked on a strategy to train and retain more local doctors in our public health sector to address a critical shortage, particularly specialists. This was aimed at, among other things, reducing the exorbitant fees being paid by taxpayers for specialist treatment in neighbouring South Africa, which has depleted the resources allocated to the Phalala Fund that facilitates such referrals. The fund has, at some point, raked up debt of over E1 billion.

However, while the doctor recruitment and retention plan seems to have generated more general practitioners than it can afford to pay decent wages, it seems to be failing to keep the specialist doctors who are slipping away, one by one. Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi told senators this week that there was nothing her ministry could do to stop doctors from leaving government. She said the high staff turnover was a result of a change in the pay structure, where on-call allowances were scrapped and replaced with a 24-hour system, which is one of the strategies adopted to reduce the wage bill as recommended by the auditor generals report.

The minister was responding to Senator Magudvulelas concerns regarding the state of the countrys healthcare system, citing the doctor exodus and, among other things, the conduct of doctors, some of whom allegedly go to work drunk, which is a story for another day. The senator also decried the Intensive Care Units (ICU) mortality rate of 33 per cent, which is regarded as higher than the global average of between 10 and 29 per cent. It is hard enough that patients have to contend with drug shortages, but not being able to see a specialist doctor can be a life-threatening experience. This situation calls for a review of the previous strategy, taking into account the countrys fiscal situation.

It is undeniable that the on-call allowances were a very attractive incentive for doctors, but also a huge burden on the taxpayer. It certainly raised the question; can you put a price tag on a human life? The reality, though, is that the medical brain drain is being witnessed the world over and governments have been adopting various means to try and retain their medical staff.

Project

Yesterday, for instance, the Government of Bangladesh began a pilot project that will allow government doctors to engage in private practice in order to help them generate more income. According to that countrys media reports, the service is initially scheduled to start in the public hospitals of 10 districts and 20 sub-districts. The Health and Family Welfare Minister, Zahid Maleque, was expected to inaugurate the private practice of doctors in government hospitals, titled institutional practice in government hospitals.

According to the Daily Sun newspaper, the doctors will give consultation services to patients at their private chambers set-up in selected public hospitals with an extra fee from 3pm to 6pm. The policy also sets out the fees to be paid by patients, of which the doctor gets to take 80 per cent, while the doctors assistant gets 10 per cent with the rest going towards the government, as a service charge. This is more or less what we see locally, where doctors alternate between their own surgeries and private clinics. It is a practice that prevails in other countries, but not without its fair share of challenges. Some countries discourage it, as it invites the temptation by the doctors in public hospitals to refer patients to their private clinics for treatment in order to make more money off them.

To counter this, the Bangladesh Government announced it would form a body called the Institutional Practice Monitoring Committee, which will monitor the activities of the private chambers of doctors in public hospitals to curb malpractice. Other countries provide a non-practicing allowance meant to compensate the doctors for not doing private practice while working in public hospitals. Could this approach work for Eswatini?

I dont see why not. Governments general orders barring public servants from private business would have to be amended to make an exception for the rare skills that these professionals provide. It is a better option, for now at least, than having to compromise the health and lives of emaSwati, who are now subjected to extremely painful long waits for their turn under the Phalala Fund, some of whom never make it to the operation table, let alone on the list for consideration.

With an ICU mortality rate higher than the global average, as well as an equally alarming maternal mortality rate, one should expect the Health Ministry to seriously engage on this matter because it doesnt make sense to have a country that can afford to pay specialist fees in neighbouring countries through Phalala Fund, but is unable to retain a specialist doctor in its own backyard. The medical carnage must stop! We should never lose sight of the famous proverb the presence of the doctor is the beginning of the cure.
Joe Biden's first response to Donald Trump's hush money indictment is US President Joe Biden(AP)

US President Joe Biden said that he has "no comment" on the indictment of former President Donald Trump. Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office. Read more

CAG to go paperless, announces digital audits from April 1

All audit work across India will become paperless and will only be carried out digitally from April 1, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) announced on Friday. Read more

Can applying onion juice on scalp stop hair loss? Experts bust myth

Applying onion juice on scalp for shiny and strong hair is a home remedy people have been following since time immemorial and many of them claim to have benefitted by this natural hair mask with its main ingredient easily available in kitchen. Read more

Belgian man talks to AI chatbot for 6 weeks, then kills self: Report

A Belgian national died by suicide after talking to an artificial intelligence chatbot. The man reportedly spoke to the AI chatbot ELIZA for six weeks on climate change, Belgian news website La Libre (article behind paywall) reported. Read more

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Hardik Pandya's everyone in the country remark on MS Dhoni at GT vs CSK toss sends crowd into frenzy

Hardik Pandya has been quite open about his admiration for MS Dhoni. He has time and again mentioned the influence Dhoni has had on him as a player and now as a captain. Read more

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Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Friday dismissed bail plea filed by former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in a case related to alleged irregularities in the now-repealed liquor excise policy. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia being taken to Rouse Avenue Court by CBI officials in the excise policy case, in New Delhi.(PTI)

Special judge M K Nagpal last week reserved the order on bail after the counsel representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted brief written submissions and judgements concerned, as directed by the court on the last date of the hearing. The CBI also submitted a case diary and statement of several witnesses in the matter.

Also read: Delhi excise policy case: Court extends interim bail of accused Sameer Mahendru

Sisodia, in his bail plea, stated earlier that no fruitful purpose will be served to keep him in the custody since all the recovieries related to the case has already been made. Pointing out that other accused in the case have already been granted bail, he added that he joined the investigation as and when called for by the CBI.

If he is granted bail this will scuttle and compromise our investigation as the influence and interference are writ large, representative of the CBI, advocate DP Singh, had said opposing Sisodia's plea. The probe agency also claimed that Sisodia said he destroyed phones as he wanted to upgrade them but nothing of that kind happened.

Sisodia was arrested by CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the of the excise policy.

(With ANI inputs)

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US NATO Ambassador Julianne Smith, while speaking on NATO and strengthening relationships with South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, virtually said the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is ready to engage more with India if it is interested. The Ambassador though stressed that currently there are no plans by the alliance to expand this to a broader global military alliance. US NATO Ambassador Julianne Smith. (ANI)

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"The NATO alliance is open to more engagement should India seek that. NATO currently has 40 different partners around the World and each individual partnership is different. Various countries come to the door seeking different levels of political engagement, sometimes countries are much more interested in working on inter-operability, and standardization questions. So, they vary. But, the message that has already been sent back to India is that NATO alliance is certainly open to more engagement with India, should that country take interest in pursuing that", said Julianne Smith in a virtual press briefing.

"Membership is not something that we have really considered with anyone in the Indo-Pacific or Asia-Pacific. The alliance remains the Euro-Atlantic military alliance. Its door is open to the region. But there are no plans by the alliance to expand this to a broader global military alliance," she added.

Further, speaking on the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which will take place on April 4-5, 2023 at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, the ambassador said "at this stage, we would not want to invite them (India) to NATO ministerial until we knew more about their interest in engaging the alliance more broadly".

"Regarding the Ministerial next week, 4 countries that I mentioned (Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and Japan), are four countries that have already established formal partnerships with the alliance over many years. They worked closely with the NATO alliance on security challenges. These relationships have been ongoing. We have been working to strengthen these relationships. These are four countries that joined us at the summit last year in Madrid," said Smith.

"In terms of the future with India, I think NATO's door is open in terms of engagement should India be interested. But we would not want to at this stage invite them to NATO ministerial until we knew more about their interest in engaging the alliance more broadly," she added.

Appreciating India's role in the Russia-Ukraine war, the envoy said she is grateful for the humanitarian assistance that India has been able to provide to the country and that she appreciates India's call for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine.

"We both at NATO and United States, welcome what India has been able to do for the people of Ukraine. We are very grateful for the humanitarian assistance that India has been able to provide which is critical right now and those needs are only growing. Certainly, appreciate calls coming from India for some sort of immediate end to the war in Ukraine. That's important. And we have been in constant communication with India about what more we can do together to hold Russia accountable and we have done that and worked with India, spoken with India several times since Russia started this war inside Ukraine," said Smith.

"The United States and India do not always share exactly the same policy approaches, but we do share a commitment to upholding the rules-based order and ensuring that the key principles particularly as they relate to sovereignty and territorial integrity, those principles are respected. I think that's the most important part of our relationship," she added.

Speaking about the NATO shift, the envoy highlighted how the alliance has started to mention the Asia-Pacific and the Indo-Pacific in some of its strategic documents.

"NATO has really shifted in a pretty noticeable way in terms of how it conducts outreach and engages with its partners in Indo- pacific. If you go back 5-6 or 7 years, you would find an alliance that didn't necessarily have rich agenda with the countries in the Indo-Pacific. Still, in recent years, what NATO has started to do is to include, mention of the Asia-Pacific and the Indo-Pacific first and foremost in some of its strategic documents," she said.

"This is the first time that the alliance acknowledges the importance of focusing on the PRC as a challenge for the alliance and why it's important for NATO allies to enhance and deepen its relationship across with partners in the region and NATO has just done that. We are bringing our friends from the Indo- Pacific in the NATO HQ into ministerial, what we call North Atlantic Council in summits so that we can learn from our partners in terms of what their experiences, challenges to the security," she added.
A 29-year-old Dutch woman was allegedly molested and stabbed by a resort staffer in Goa hours after she arrived for a yoga retreat in the state. The incident took place in north Goa's Pernem town. The accused has been identified as Abhishek Verma who trespassed into the rented tent where the woman was staying.(File)

According to police, as quoted by the news agency ANI, the accused has been identified as Abhishek Verma who trespassed into the rented tent where the woman was staying. According to The Indian Express, the 27-year-old accused hails from Uttarakhand and was working at the resort for around two years now.

Also read: Goa tourist attack: Argument over smoking led to assault with swords, knives

The police also informed that a local, who went to the woman's rescue after listening to her loud screams, was also stabbed by the accused. "When she (the tourist) started to scream for help, one local person came to rescue her from the accused and seeing his presence, accused ran away, after that accused person returned back with the knife and assaulted local person with a knife who had come to rescue and further assaulted the complainant with a knife and fled away from the spot," Nidhin Valsan, superintendent of police, said as quoted by ANI.

According to The Indian Express, the traveller was learnt to have told the police that she arrived in the state after visiting Rajasthan and Mumbai. She added that after having dinner, she went to sleep inside the tent which didn't have doors. Around 2 am, she woke up after someone switched on the light and saw a man was trying to remove the mosquito net around her bed.

She further added that upon screaming the man was warning her to shut up or he would kill her. She then bit him hard after he tried to put his finger inside her mouth. Another man entered the entered after she screamed for help and a fight between two men ensued. The accused ran away to fetch a kitchen knife and returned. After stabbing the person who came for help, he attacked the woman. She overpowered the accused and manage to snatch the knife from him.

Also read: Foreign tourists attacked by bees at Agras Fatehpur Sikri

She was then rushed to the hospital with the help of another foreign national and some locals. She suffered multiple injuries on her upper back. Both complainant and the local person are being treated, Valsan said.

A week ago, two staff members of a hotel were arrested from north Goa area for allegedly assaulting a Russian woman, according to police as quoted by PTI. Similarly, a group of tourists from Mumbai was also attacked with swords and knives in the state's Anjuna area followed by a minor altercation at a resort.

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External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has dismissed the past remarks of designated US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on human rights and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by saying that he will make the non-career diplomat understand (the issues) with 100 per cent love. Union home minister Amit Shah.

A political appointee, Eric Garcetti, former mayor of Los Angeles, had gone on record in 2021 that he would bring up human rights and discrimination such as via the CAA as the core piece of his engagement with India rather than as his obligation. At that time, he had said that he would directly reach out to Indian civil society on human rights. Garcetti was sworn by the US Vice President Kamala Harris on March 24 with his daughter Maya holding the Hebrew Bible at the ceremonial event in Washington.

Swearing in of Eric Garcetti as Ambassador to India by Vice President Kamala Harris on March 24.

While Garcetti may get 100 per cent love treatment from EAM Jaishankar, he may not expect the same response on human rights or the CAA from other key members of the Narendra Modis Cabinet particularly Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah. Legend has it that one of Garcettis predecessors, a full fledged ambassador, called on Shah when he was BJP President during the first tenure of the Modi government.

The US Ambassador to India, who were used to red carpet treatment from Indian establishment in the past, called on then BJP President Amit Shah at his Akbar Road residence over a cup of tea. Used to be feted by the Ministry of External Affairs in the past, the then US Ambassador raised the issue of Human Rights in India with then party president Amit Shah and was taken aback by the response from the BJPs political chief. Known for his blunt temperament, Shah told the then US Ambassador that they should first talk about the human rights of the native Americans, who were put to sword by the Anglo-Saxons in the past two centuries.

The now Home Minister told the Ambassador that he neednt be worried by human rights in India as inclusion is part of Indian culture and civilization. The conversation ended abruptly and the US Ambassador returned back to his Embassy.

Fact is that despite being the Home Minister of India since 2019 and party president for six years, Amit Shah has not left Indian shores and visited any foreign country. Ask him and the most likely answer would be that there are no votes for BJP to gather in foreign lands. Taking over the mantle of US Ambassador to India after a hiatus of two years, Garcetti should take note that Modis cabinet does not take kindly to unsolicited advice.

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The Gujarat high court on Friday ruled that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) need not furnish the degree and post-graduate degree certificate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



A single-judge bench of Justice Biren Vaishnav set aside the order of the Chief Information Commission (CIC) directing the public information officer (PIO) of PMO and the PIOs of Gujarat University and Delhi University to furnish details of Modi's graduate and postgraduate degrees. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File Photo: AP)(MINT_PRINT)

The Gujarat high court also imposed costs of 25,000 on Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who had sought details of the PM's degree certificate. The high court was hearing an appeal filed by the Gujarat University which challenged the order of Chief Information Commission.



In a democracy, there won't be a difference if a person holding the office is a doctorate or an illiterate. Also, there is no public interest involved in this issue. Even his privacy is affected, legal website Bar and Bench quoted Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the university.

According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he completed his graduation from the Gujarat University in 1978 and post-graduation from Delhi University in 1983.

On the other hand, Kejriwal's lawyer Percy Kavina argued,"If you see the nomination form (filed during elections), it mentions his educational qualifications. Thus, we are asking for a degree certificate and not his marksheet.

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RThe Gujarat high court on Friday set aside a 2016 order of the central information commissioner (CIC) for providing information about Prime Minister Narendra Modis degrees to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (ANI)

Justice Biren Vaishnav allowed the Gujarat Universitys appeal against the CICs order and also imposed a cost of 25,000 on Kejriwal.

In April 2016, the then CIC M Sridhar Acharyulu directed the Delhi University and the Gujarat University to provide information to Kejriwal. The court later that year stayed the order after Gujarat University approached it.

The courts verdict on Friday came a day after the AAP intensified its poster war targeting Modi. Posters asking whether the country needed an educated Prime Minister were put up in parts of Delhi on Thursday. AAP last week launched the Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao (remove Modi, save nation) campaign.

The AAP said similar posters in 11 languages were being put up in 22 states and that it would also display them at universities across India from April 10.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded to the poster campaign with one of its own Kejriwal Hatao, Delhi Bachao (remove Kejriwal, save Delhi).

Read more: Manish Sisodia's bail plea in liquor excise policy case dismissed

Eight people were on Friday arrested in connection with Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao posters in Ahmedabad days after the Delhi Police filed 185 cases and apprehended six people while they were delivering similar material last week to AAPs offices.

The tensions between AAP and BJP intensified in February following former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodias arrest in connection with the alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped 2021-22 exercise policy.

In 2016, the CICs order came a day after Kejriwal wrote to Acharyulu, saying he has no objection to records about him being made public. Kejriwal wondered why the commission wanted to hide information on Modis educational qualifications. He wrote Modis degrees should be brought into the public domain to remove any confusion over the issue.

Acharyulu later directed the Gujarat University to give records of Modis educational qualifications to Kejriwal.

The Gujarat University objected to the CICs order saying irresponsible childish curiosity of someone cannot become public interest under the RTI Act.

In February, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the university, told the court that there was nothing to hide in the first place because information about Modis degrees is already in the public domain. He added the university also placed the information on its website on a particular date.

Mehta said there was no obligation to give a copy of the university degree of the Prime Minister to any third person under the RTI. He referred to exceptions under the RTI Act for not complying with the CICs order. He argued the RTI Act is being used for settling scores and to make childish jabs against opponents.

Mehta referred to judgements of the Supreme Court and high courts about the exemptions and added that one cannot seek someones personal information just because one is curious about it.

In a democracy, there would not be a difference if a person holding the office is a doctorate or an illiterate. Also, there is no public interest involved in this issue. Even his privacy is affected.

Mehta argued the information sought has nothing to do with Modis role as a public figure. If one seeks information under RTI as to what is the height, bank balance, etc of the President of India is, would this be logical? Does it have any public interest?

He cited the provisions of the RTI Act and said the information sought must be related to public activity. Mehta said the Gujarat University was holding the information about Modi in a fiduciary capacity. He referred to Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act said such information cannot be disclosed unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.

Mehta argued for allowing the Gujarat Universitys plea with cost. Otherwise, we will be doing a great disservice to the (RTI) Act. The Act is intended for something else, and it is being used for something else.

Senior Advocate Percy Kavina, who appeared for Kejriwal, argued the nomination forms filed for contesting elections mention educational qualifications. So, we are asking for a degree certificate and not his mark sheet. He added the degree was not available on the internet as Mehra claimed.

Kavina argued Gujarat University does not have the locus to challenge the CIC order as it is not an affected party. He said that the Central Public Information Officer of the Prime Ministers Office was primarily directed to furnish the information.

Mehta said the contention that the university was not affected due to the CICs order is incorrect. He added the varsity has been directed to make the best possible search for information regarding degrees in the name of...Modi...and to provide it to appellant [Kejriwal].
The Gujarat high court on Friday set aside a 2016 order of the central information commissioner (CIC) asking Gujarat University to provide information about Prime Minister Narendra Modis degrees to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI)

Justice Biren Vaishnav allowed Gujarat Universitys appeal against the CICs order and also imposed a cost of 25,000 on Kejriwal.

In April 2016, the then CIC M Sridhar Acharyulu directed Delhi University and the Gujarat University to provide information to Kejriwal. The court later that year stayed the order after Gujarat University approached it. Acharyulus order, to Gujarat University and Delhi University came after Kejriwal, wrote to him, saying he has no objection to information about him being shared but wondered why the commission wasnt as forthcoming on information about Modis educational qualifications.

Gujarat University approached the High Court immediately, which stayed the CIC order. In hearings, Gujarat University has argued that it wasnt heard by CIC before passing the order, that CIC passed its order while hearing a matter related to Kejriwals electoral ID card and not Modis qualifications, and that the entire episode had to do with politics.

The courts verdict on Friday came a day after the AAP intensified its poster war targeting Modi. Posters asking whether the country needed an educated Prime Minister were put up in parts of Delhi on Thursday. AAP last week launched the Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao (remove Modi, save nation) campaign.

The AAP said similar posters in 11 languages were being put up in 22 states and that it would also display them at universities across India from April 10.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded to the poster campaign with one of its own Kejriwal Hatao, Delhi Bachao (remove Kejriwal, save Delhi).

In February, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Gujarat University, told the court that there was nothing to hide in the first place because information about Modis degrees is already in the public domain. He added the university also placed the information on its website on a particular date. Kejriwals lawyers have disputed this.

Mehta said there was no obligation to give a copy of the university degree of the Prime Minister to any third person under the RTI. He referred to exceptions under the RTI Act for not complying with the CICs order. He argued the RTI Act is being used for settling scores and to make childish jabs against opponents.

Mehta referred to judgements of the Supreme Court and high courts about the exemptions and added that one cannot seek someones personal information just because one is curious about it.

In a democracy, there would not be a difference if a person holding the office is a doctorate or an illiterate. Also, there is no public interest involved in this issue. Even his privacy is affected.

Mehta argued the information sought has nothing to do with Modis role as a public figure. If one seeks information under RTI as to what is the height, bank balance, etc of the President of India is, would this be logical? Does it have any public interest?

He also said Gujarat University was holding the information about Modi in a fiduciary capacity. He referred to Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act said such information cannot be disclosed unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.

Mehta argued for allowing the Gujarat Universitys plea with cost. Otherwise, we will be doing a great disservice to the (RTI) Act. The Act is intended for something else, and it is being used for something else.

Senior Advocate Percy Kavina, who appeared for Kejriwal, argued the nomination forms filed for contesting elections mention educational qualifications. So, we are asking for a degree certificate and not his mark sheet. He added the degree was not available on the internet as Mehra claimed.

Kavina argued Gujarat University does not have the locus to challenge the CIC order as it is not an affected party. He said that the Central Public Information Officer of the Prime Ministers Office was primarily directed to furnish the information.

Mehta said the contention that the university was not affected due to the CICs order is incorrect. He added the varsity has been directed to make the best possible search for information regarding degrees in the name of...Modi...and to provide it to appellant [Kejriwal].

Reacting to the order Delhi CM Kejriwal tweeted: Doesnt the country even have the right to know how much their PM has studied? He vehemently opposed showing the degree in the court. Why? And those who demand to see their degree are going to be fined? What is all this happening?

State BJP chief C R Patil said: It is the courts decision, and we as a party would not like to make any comment on it.

On putting up posters in various parts of the country including Ahmedabad where police today arrested eight persons, state home minister Harsh Sanghvi said: The party (AAP) is trying to draw attention by indulging in such activities, but law will take its course.
India on Friday announced a Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) targeting $2 trillion in exports by 2030, split equally between goods and services that does not have a so-called sunset clause, and which encourages trade settlements in rupees. HT Image

The new trade policy will be effective from April 1.

Expressing confidence in Indian industry after launching the FTP 2023, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said any ambitious target could be achieved provided we explore every possible opportunity in terms of sectors and geographical locations. Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision for Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), the minister added that India is set to expand its share in the global supply chain and exports. It is better to aim high and miss, than to aim low and to hit and, of course, what can be better than aim high and achieve, he said.

Goyal said that India is on track to exceed its target for 2022-23. Despite global headwinds we estimated$750 billion exports (in both goods and services in 2022-23).

By February (2023), it appeared that we could achieve up to $760 billion, now we feel that we may even surpass it (to reach $765 billion or $770 billion exports in FY23), he added on the basis of latest data and expected export figures for the last day of financial year 2022-23.

Terming the achievement a major one given the adverse geopolitical situation, he emphasised that the next milestone is the 2030 target  $1 trillion in goods and $1 trillion in services by 2030. We have to work more on goods, else by 2030 services may surpass $1 trillion leaving you [merchandise exporters] behind, he added, a reference to the faster pace of growth of services.

The minister said India would launch a massive, focused, concentrated global outreach in the next four or five months, involving Indian missions abroad to boost exports.

Explaining key principles behind FTP 2023, Union commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal highlighted six. One, breaking away from the convention of five-year FTPs, the government has launched a dynamic policy without the sunset clause as we presume that our export sector is the sector where sun never sets.

Two, the policy is pragmatic and can be amended as and when there are requirements based on the feedback from the ground, he said. We are living in a dynamic world, hence policy cannot be rigid, he added, citing disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war that required several policy interventions. We have to be very, very nimble.

Three, the policy has a clear direction, he said, pointing to the target.

Four, the focus of the policy is on enhancing competitiveness rather than relying on trade-distorting subsidies, he said.

Five, the policy would have a decentralised approach, and focus on inclusive growth by connecting districts through e-commerce, the commerce secretary said.

And six, the policy would look to boost rupee trade. If there are countries, where theres currency failure, or they are having dollar shortages, we are willing to trade in rupees with them  India is also leveraging its digital payment system [in global trade].

Barthwal said FTP is a pragmatic policy document aimed at enhancing Indias share in global trade. He said services exports are growing at a very high rate of 30% .

The scope for growth is very clear, he added. Our global share in merchandise exports is hardly 1.8%, in services it is 4%; given the size of the economy, we can always rise between 7-10%.

Besides merchandise and services exports, FTP 2023 is also focusing on new sectors such as e-commerce and may soon frame guidelines in consultation with all stakeholders to facilitate exports through e-commerce. Directorate General of Foreign Trade director general Santosh Kumar Sarangi said that e-commerce exports alone have the potential to grow to $200-300 billion by 2030.

FTP 2023 will continue to allow duty-free imports of inputs and raw materials by exporters from overseas suppliers through advance authorisation. It also streamlines the special chemicals, organisms, materials, equipment and technologies (SCOMET) regime, for ease of understanding and compliance by the industry. SCOMET ensures that Indias export controls are in line with its international commitments under various export control regimes. The focus is on simplifying policies to facilitate export of dual use high end goods and technologies such as drones, cryogenic tanks, and certain chemicals.

The new FTP also focuses on ease of doing business through paperless regulation and rule-based automatic approval systems. It also rationalises export performance thresholds to benefit more exporters; for example, the qualifying criterion for a five-star exporter has been reduced from $2 billion to $800 million.

FTP 2023 announced four new Towns of Export Excellence (TEE)  Faridabad for apparel, Moradabad for handicrafts, Mirzapur for handmade carpets, and Varanasi for handloom and handicrafts, in addition to the already existing 39 towns of export excellence. The TEE facility helps in global recognition, provides financial assistance for marketing, and offers common service provider (CSP) facility that helps boost competitiveness of the entire cluster by enabling common use of capital goods for exports.

The focus of the new FTP has been to promote ease of doing business by way of digitalisation of certain processes, ensure that export incentives are available for exports where settlement is happening in Indian Currency, providing relief to the industry by proposing amnesty scheme and reducing export obligations for sectors focusing on green energy. The changes are likely to help in boosting global trade in Indian currency and ease of doing business, said Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at consultancy firm EY.
MATSAPHA  About 9 750 jobs are in the pipeline, as there are 10 companies that require a total of 61 500m for their projects in the country.

This was said by Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, at the end of his tour of key post COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan Investment Projects in Matsapha Industrial Site. The premier, with the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo, senior government personnel and some legislators, toured three infrastructure development projects in Matsapha. The infrastructures included Eswatini Oil Mill Expansion Project, the Conco Limited Warehouse Expansion Project and the Matsapha Lifestyle Centre Project.

Development

The premier in his remarks, said government must prioritise the development of the Sidvokodvo Industrial Estate, as Matsapha Industrial Site was quickly running out of space for new industries. The PM said: I have been informed that in our projects pipeline, there are 10 companies that require a total of 61 500m and these companies would create about 9 750 jobs. If we had that space, about 10 000 emaSwati would be employed, who would, in turn positively impact their communities. He said Sidvokodvo would decongest Matsapha, create new investment opportunities, lighten the shortage of industrial land for investors and improve lives, as emaSwati would get employed.

Dlamini said these investment projects were worth a combined E850 million and had created about 895 jobs during construction. He said these projects were being implemented under the post COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan by the private sector, with the support of government.

These investment projects, he said, were worth a combined E850 million and had created about 895 jobs during construction. The premier said the expected number of permanent jobs that would be created after the implementation of these projects was more than 900, excluding jobs that would be created as a result of spill-over activities.

Although we visited only a few of these projects, we are aware that there are many more such projects dispersed across other parts of the country. This should then give you an indication on the trajectory of our economic recovery prospects as a country. He said as highlighted by His Majesty King Mswati III in his Speech from the Throne, during the opening of Parliament recently, Eswatinis economy grew by 7.4 per cent last year and had been the fastest growing economy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region over the last two years.

Dlamini highlighted that this growth was underpinned by an impressed growth of 16.1 per cent in manufacturing and an eight per cent growth in the retail sector. Of the E850 million investments, E100 million is a new investment and more than E750 million is business expansion of existing investments. We are aware of ongoing reinvestment plans in many other firms around the country as captured in the recently issued update report by EIPA (Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority) and ESEPARC (Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre).
The death toll in the temple stepwell collapse incident in Madhya Pradesh's Indore has increased to 35, according to officials. Indore Collector Dr Ilayaraja T told news agency ANI that 35 people have died in the incident while 14 people have been rescued so far. Indore: Rescue operation underway after the roof of a 'bavdi' (well) collapsed at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal, in Indore, Thursday, March 30, 2023.(PTI)

A rescue operation led by the Madhya Pradesh police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Emergency and Response Force (SDERF) and district administration is still underway.

"Total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment. The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," ANI quoted Indore Collector as saying.

On Thusday, the roof of a stepwell caved in during special pooja of Ram Navami at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in Indore.

"The 18 hours long rescue operation started at around 12:30 on Thursday, and is still ongoing," Collector Ilayaraja T added.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered in the matter.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced 5 lakh exgratia to the kin of the deceased while 50,000 to the injured. The exgratia of 2 lakh will also be given through Prime Minister Relief Fund.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chouhan to take stock of the situation.

"Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers are with all those affected and their families," PM Modi said in a tweet.

Questions are now being raised as to how did the administration allow construction of a slab atop an ancient well. The head priest of the temple Laxminarayan Sharma said the roof was constructed without any concrete support by putting stone slabs and concrete by fitting iron rods.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Amid an escalating war of words between the BJP and the Congres after Digvijaya Singh thanked the German foreign affair ministry spokesperson for taking note of Rahul Gandhi's persecution, former Congress leader and senior advocate Kapil Sibal said in his opinion no crutches are needed to walk ahead. "We don't need endorsements from abroad. Our fight is our own and in that we are together," the former Congress leader said. Read | BJP vs Congress as Germany wades into Rahul Gandhi case: India wont tolerate' Kapil Sibal commented on the row over Digvijaya Singh thanking Germany for taking note of the Rahul Gandhi case in India.

The Congress distanced itself from Digvijaya Singh's comment after several ministers including Nirmala Sitharaman, Kiren Rijiju and Anurag Thakur strongly criticised Digvijaya Singh's statement and following the thread reiterated that the Congress seeks foreign support. Read | Disgrace to nation: Union minister slams Cong's tweet thanking Germany

The Congress firmly believes that India's democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to our democracy by Mr Modi's assault on our institutions and his politics of vendetta, intimidation, threats and harassment, the party issued a statement amid the controversy.

What the German external affairs ministry said

"We have taken note of the verdict of the first instance against the Indian opposition politician Rahul Gandhi as well as the suspension of his parliamentary mandate. To our knowledge, Mr Gandhi is in a position to appeal the verdict," foreign affairs ministry spokesperson was heard saying in the clip that was shared on Twitter by Richard Walker the Chief International Editor of DW.

'Any more proof needed?'

After Kiren Rijiju and Anurag Thakur, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked whether any more proof was required to establish that the 'Congress wants foreign interference in our affairs'. "Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Communist Party of China with opaque contents. During interactions abroad, plead for help to change government. Thank them when help forthcoming. Any more proof needed?" Sitharaman tweeted.

'What's the desperation to lie'

Congress's Supriya Shrinate slammed Nirmala Sitharaman for her tweet and asked what the desperation was to lie and "turn into a 2 rupee troll'. "Guess, being a vitriolic troll is now a badge of honour and a line of survival for some of you in the BJP! Carry on - you only expose your lies further," Supriya tweeted.

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A division bench of Kerala Lok Ayukta on Friday referred a case involving chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan over alleged misuse of the chief ministers disaster relief fund (CMDRF) to a larger bench following a difference of opinion between the judges. HT Image

Justice Cyriac Joseph and justice Harun Ul-Rashid said the matter is being referred to a three-judge bench as there was a difference of opinion whether the decisions of the cabinet can be subjected to its investigation and also on the merits of the case.

The state Lok Ayukta is hearing a plea filed in 2018 by activist and former member of Kerala University senate R S Sasikumar, alleging that the families of late Nationalist Congress Party leader Uzhavoor Vijayan and a deceased police officer were provided financial assistance using funds from CMDRF by the Left Democratic Front government.

The petitioner said that while Uzhavoor Vijayans daughter was given 25 lakh in 2017, 20 lakh was given to the family of a policeman who was killed in an accident involving the pilot car in the convoy of former party secretary late Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in 2018.

Sasikumar also alleged that the debts of late CPI(M) legislator K Ramachandran were taken care of during this period  8 lakh was given to his family to take back gold mortgaged in a bank and 6 lakh to waive a car loan he had taken, using the disaster relief funds.

None of the cases cited above came under the norms of those eligible for funds from CMDRF and the diversion of funds is a clear case of misuse of power, the petitioner said.

Chief minister Vijayan, then chief secretary Tom Jose and 18 ministers who were part of the government then were arraigned as respondents.

The petitioner sought that the disbursed amount be recovered from those who were responsible for the diversion and their actions be declared illegal and illegitimate.

While the trial in the matter ended in March last year, the final verdict was delayed for a year, prompting the petitioner to approach the high court last week.

The high court, however, asked the petitioner to approach the Lok Ayukta first and then return to the court if continued to have some reservations.

Opposition parties criticised the decision of the Lok Ayukta to refer the matter to a larger bench.

It is sad that after sitting over it for a year, the case was referred to a larger bench. There were many attempts to intimidate members and we suspect belligerent moves might have forced them to take such a decision, opposition leader V D Satheesan said.

BJP state president K Surendran said the latest decision clearly showed there was a strong case against the chief minister.

The petitioner said he will move the high court again to expedite the case. It is a clear case of misuse of power and corruption. I will go to any extent to get justice, Sasikumar said.

On the courts order, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said: Now the opposition says judges were intimidated and threatened. It is a baseless allegation. Do you think judges can be threatened like this?
After ex-IPL chairman fugitive Lalit Modi threatened to sue Rahul Gandhi for his 'Modi surname' comment in 2019, the Congress on Thursday wondered whether now Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi be pressured to file a case against Rahul Gandhi. Congress leader KC Venugopal said it is a new low that 'global scamster' Lalit Modi who enjoys a plush life abroad owing to the BJP's inaction is now coming for PM Modi's defence. "Will the pressure be put on Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya etc. to file a case against Rahul Gandhi?" Congress's Pawan Khera said. The Congress on Thursday said it is a new low that a fugitive has come forward i the BJP's defence.

RJD MP Manoj Jha said, "The decision to file a case in the British court can not be yours, Modi ji."

Lalit Modi on Thursday posted the photos of his grandparents Raibahadur Gujarmal Modi and Dayawari Modi and said they dedicated their lives to the poor and built a thriving empire. "Modi Nagar was my birthplace and Raibahadur Gujarmal Modi and Dayawati Modi were unique people," Lalit Modi tweeted.

After Lalit Modi's sue threat on Twitter, he was asked why he ran away from India. "Obviously they don't realise I co-own with my siblings a highly profitable business over 30,000 crore and always have..." he said adding that he received lots of requests for interviews after he said he will be moving the UK court against Rahul Gandhi. Lalit Modi said he will file the suit against Rahul Gandhi next week and will give an interview after that.

Rahul Gandhi has been convicted by a Surat court for his comment 'how come all thieves have Modi surname in common' which he made in 2019 in Karnataka during the Lok Sabha campaign. The case was brought by Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi. The Congress is in the process of appealing against the conviction following which Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

Rahul Gandhi refused to apologise for the comment which the Modi community condemned. Lalit Modi's threat to sue Rahul Gandhi in a UK court comes in this regard as Lalit Modi on Thursday claimed he has no cases against him in India.

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Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Friday appealed to Indian embassy in US to ensure safety of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann's daughter who reportedly received threat calls from pro-Khalistan elements. Manns daughter, Seerat Kaur, who lives in the US, received the alleged threat calls amid protests by pro-Khalistan protestors against crackdown on radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh and his associates in Punjab. Punjab CM Bhagwant Manns son Dilshan and daughter Seerat after the swearing in ceremony at the Punjab Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh. (Sanjeev Sharma/HT)

Read reports of Punjab CM Shri @BhagwantManns daughter receiving death threats in the USA. It is an act of extreme cowardice. I appeal to the @IndianEmbassyUS to ensure her safety, Swati Maliwal said in a tweet.

A Patiala-based lawyer claimed in Facebook post that some pro-Khalistan elements called and verbally abused Seerat Kaur.

If threatening and abusing children will get you Khalistan? Brar asked. Are you going to get Khalistan this way by threatening and abusing children Such people are a blot on Sikhism, wrote Brar.

Mann's ex wife Inderpreet Kaur Grewal, who lives in the US with daughter Seerat Kaur, 21, and son Dilshan, 18, confirmed the incident by sharing the post and wrote: Thanks, I really appreciate.

Brar said Inderpreet told her about the abusive phone calls from pro-Khalistan elements, adding that some resolution has been passed in a gurudwara asking separatists to gherao Seerat and Dilshan over the ongoing crackdown in Punjab, reported The Indian Express.

A group of pro-Khalistan protesters recently attacked and damaged the Indian consulate in San Francisco. They broke open the makeshift security barriers raised by the city police and installed two so-called Khalistani flags on the consulate premises. Two consulate personnel soon removed these flags.

The United States has been taking the safety and security of the diplomatic missions that are present in our country "quite seriously",

US Department of State principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel on Thursday said the United States has been taking the safety and security of the diplomatic missions present in the country "quite seriously". Patel said that the US continues to be in close touch with India on a number of issues.

"We take the safety and security of the diplomatic missions that we host in the United States and the diplomats that work in them quite seriously," Patel said while responding to a question on 'whether the US government or the Indian government was in touch with State Department over the incidents that took place outside the consulate in San Francisco last week.

He added, "We are in close touch with our Indian partners on a number of issues, but including on this we made sure to remain in close touch with them as well as the appropriate local entities, depending on where these various missions and consulates were located."

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A meeting near Toronto in the summer of last year is pointing to an emerging link between Pakistan, fugitive Amritpal Singhs outfit Waris Punjab De and leading Khalistani figures in Canada. HT Image

In May last year, Pakistans consul general in Toronto, met with a group that included Daljit Singh Kalsi, considered an aide to Amritpal Singh and now detained under the National Security Act. He was picked up from Gurugram.

Kalsi met Pakistans then consul general Abdul Hameed in his office at the Consulate in Vaughan, a town close to Toronto. That meeting was ostensibly to present a memorandum about the killing of Sikhs in Peshawar. But the cast of characters that were present there includes those considered leaders of the Khalistan movement in Canada.

Among them was Bhagat Singh Brar, son of Lakhbir Singh Rode, president of the International Sikh Youth Federation, a designated terror organisation in Canada. Brar was placed on a no-fly list by the Canadian government in 2018. He challenged the action in a federal court but a judge upheld it, saying, in August last year, The threat posed by individuals suspected of travelling abroad to engage in extremist activity (extremist travellers) is significant and presents difficult challenges to both Canada and its allies.

Also present was Amarjit Mann, spokesperson for the Ontario Gurdwaras Committee and a supporter of Khalistan. Then there was Jasbir Singh Boparai, associated with the Malton Gurdwara in the Greater Toronto Area, notorious for its support for the so-called Punjab Referendum organised by Sikhs for Justice. There as well were Deepinder Loomba and Sukhwinder Singh, both of the group United Sikhs, which participates in organising anti-India protests in Ottawa every year.

This is part of the process of Pakistans missions in Canada meeting with such elements and organising jathas or pilgrimages to Pakistan. Among those thus privileged was the late Sukhminder Singh Hansra, in 2022. Hansra was a vocal proponent of Khalistan, and was also photographed with Pakistans then consul general in Toronto Asghar Ali Golo at a nagar kirtan in 2016.

Hameed left Canada in August last year and is currently director-general in Pakistans ministry of foreign affairs in Islamabad, according to his LinkedIn bio.

In between Hameed and Golo was Imran Siddiqui, who was the chief guest at Evening of Honour and Dignity in December 2018, an event organised by the Sikh Community apparently to thank the Pakistan government and Army chief General Javed Bajwa for their initiative over the Kartarpur Corridor.

Siddiqui ran into trouble the next year for allegedly threatening a Pakistan-origin journalist and left Canada soon after. At the time a recording of that threat emerged, Howard Anglin, a former deputy chief of staff to Canadas prime minister, said the government of Justin Trudeau should have the guts to expel the diplomats involved, as the other govts have done when Pakistani diplomats crossed legal/diplomatic lines. That was perhaps a hint to the expulsion of another Pakistani consul general in Toronto when Stephen Harper was the PM. However, that was not a formal measure and the unidentified diplomat was asked to leave due to his links to Khalistanis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished speedy recovery to Pope Francis from bronchitis. Pope Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Wednesday.(AP)

"Praying for the good health and speedy recovery of Pope Francis," PM Modi said in a tweet

Pope Francis showed a "clear improvement" on Thursday after he was given intravenous antibiotics for a bronchitis infection, CNN reported. The pontiff could be released from the hospital in the next few days, according to the Vatican.

Pope Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Wednesday after he complained of breathing problems. After the clinical check-up and tests, the doctors said that Pope Francis had bronchitis and were administering antibiotic therapy to treat him.

In a statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, "Based on the predictable outcome, the Holy Father could be released in the next few days."

After his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday, Pope Francis was taken to the hospital to undergo a number of tests. The Vatican in a statement said that the visit and tests were planned.

Shortly after, Matteo Bruni said that the pontiff's schedule for Thursday had been cleared "to make space for the continuation of tests should that be necessary," as per the news report.

Later, Matteo Bruni in a statement said, "In recent days Pope Francis complained of some respiratory difficulties and this afternoon he went to Policlinico A. Gemelli for some medical checks."

He further added, "The outcome of the same showed a respiratory infection (excluding Covid-19 infection) that will require a few days of appropriate hospital medical therapy. Pope Francis is touched by the many messages received and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer."

Pope Francis, who as a young man suffered from severe pneumonia and had part of a lung removed has had a history of health issues, as per the CNN report. He was often seen using a walking stick and is sometimes using a wheelchair due to pain in his right knee.
KUMARAKOM: The G20 should focus on its mandate of global economic growth instead of taking up geopolitics and security issues, Russias G20 Sherpa Svetlana Lukash said on Friday in the context of the Ukraine crisis that has dominated key meetings of the group of the worlds largest economies. Russias G20 Sherpa Svetlana Lukash said any shift from the groupings responsibilities as the premier forum for global economic cooperation will mean that it will not be able to reach consensus (Twitter/@amitabhk87)

Lukash, who is participating in the second meeting of G20 sherpas hosted by India in the backwaters of Kerala, said any shift from the groupings responsibilities as the premier forum for global economic cooperation will mean that it will not be able to reach consensus and issue joint communique.

Russia and India have similar priorities at the G20, including green development, restoring and increasing economic growth and trade, and digitalisation, she contended during an interaction with reporters. Lukash also said Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend both the G20 and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summits in India though a final decision is yet to be made in this regard.

Also Read: G20 Sherpas meet in Kumarakom for free and frank discussions

As you remember, at the Bali summit, our leaders committed that G20 is not the proper forum to discuss security issues...So, unless our G7 colleagues discuss the issues that are the mandate of the G20, we will not be able to do our job as the premier forum for international economic cooperation and not be able to reach a consensus and [issue joint] communique instead of chairs statements, Lukash said.

She was referring to a paragraph in the joint statement issued at the summit in Indonesia last year that said the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues but also acknowledged that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.

In recent weeks, China and Russia have moved away from the text used in the Bali declaration to describe the war in Ukraine, saying the situation has changed since the document was finalised last November.

Lukash said her bilateral meeting with Indias G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Friday had focused on how the two sides will approach critical issues and the way forward, including measures to produce a joint communique.

She accused Western countries of making false statements about the situation in Ukraine and being unwilling to fulfil the provisions of the Minsk agreements of 2014-15 that were aimed at ending the fighting in Donbas. She also accused the West of using the past eight years to prepare for military aggression from Ukraine, including the supply of weapons and training of personnel.

How can we still believe the situation hasnt changed since the Bali summit?... So yes, the situation has changed and we can no longer refer to what was agreed in Bali, she said. Hypocritical statements by Western officials are also preventing the G20 from reaching a new agreement on formulations to refer to the Ukraine issue, she added.

Also Read: India and the G20: Prioritizing education technology for global growth

Two key meetings under the G20 framework  the finance ministers meeting in Bengaluru and the foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi  were unable to reach a consensus on joint statements because of differences between G7 states and Russia and China over text to refer to the Ukraine war.

Indias focus at the G20 on accelerating the sustainable development goals (SDGs), reviving global growth and trade, and digitalisation align with Russias priorities, Lukash said. The G20 should also focus on real challenges such as climate change, disrupted global value chains, lack of progress in implementing SDGs and high debt, she said.

Lukash contended the conflict in Ukraine actually doesnt affect the whole world or countries of the Global South, which are not at the G20 table. She also described China and India as good friends of Russia and lauded New Delhi for acting as a true and balanced mediator during its G20 presidency.

India has so far refrained from publicly criticising Russian aggression in Ukraine and has stepped up purchases of discounted Russian oil and fertilisers.

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Trials involving special laws with stringent bail provisions must be concluded speedily, the Supreme Court said in a recent judgment and directed courts to be sensitive to the fact that incarceration has deleterious effects on undertrials and if the trial is not concluded in time, the injustice inflicted on the individual is immeasurable. Trials involving special laws with stringent bail provisions must be concluded speedily, the Supreme Court said. (ANI)

Read here: No undue sympathy: Supreme Court restores 2-year jail term on rash driver

The judgment of the court pronounced on Tuesday came on an appeal for bail filed by an accused under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act who was behind bars for the past 7 years while the trial proceeded at snails pace.

Granting bail to the accused Mohammad Muslim alias Hussain, a bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta said, Incarceration has further deleterious effects  where the accused belongs to the weakest economic strata: immediate loss of livelihood, and in several cases, scattering of families as well as loss of family bonds and alienation from society.

The judgment further said, The courts therefore have to be sensitive to these aspects and ensure that trials  especially in cases where special laws enact stringent provisions are taken up and concluded speedily.

In the present case the accused was arrested in 2015 from Delhi and was alleged to be part of a gang that supplied ganja. Although the contraband was not seized from him but other co-accused, the Delhi police prosecuting the case accused him of being part of a drug peddling network with his active involvement in the commission of the offence being established through call records and bank transactions.

Additional solicitor general (ASG) Vikramjeet Banerjee cited Section 37 of the NDPS Act which places stringent conditions on grant of bail. This provision is akin to the stringent conditions on bail provided under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act where the court should be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is innocent and is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. The ASG argued for his continued custody as the public interest in preventing the sale and use of illegal drugs outweighed the concerns regarding the individual liberty of the accused.

Refusing to accept the prosecutions objections, the top court said, Laws which impose stringent conditions for grant of bail may be necessary in public interest, yet, if trials are not concluded in time, the injustice wreaked on the individual is immeasurable.

The court referred to past judgments of the Supreme Court where it was held that Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)  which requires the accused to be released on bail if the trial is not concluded with specified periods  would apply to Section 37 NDPS as well.

The appellant in the present case had been in custody for 7 years and 4 months. Although the charge sheet in the case was filed in 2016, 34 out of 64 witnesses were yet to be examined. The bench said, Grant of bail on ground of undue delay in trial cannot be said to be fettered by Section 37 of the Act, given the imperative of Section 436A which is applicable to offences under the NDPS Act too... the appellant is directed to be enlarged on bail, subject to such conditions as the trial court may impose.

Read here: Gujarat HC sets aside order for providing info on PM Modis degrees to Kejriwal

The court further noted that jails are overcrowded and persons in jail have to bear with appalling living conditions. The danger of unjust imprisonment is that inmates are at risk of prisonisation, said the bench, borrowing the term prisonisation from a 1993 Kerala high court decision which discussed the radical transformation that takes place in a prisoner.

Quoting statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Prison Statistics 2021, the bench said that out of 554,034 prisoners (as on December 31, 2021), the population of undertrials is 427,165 with the remaining being convicts and detenues. The undertrial population recorded an increase of nearly 15% from the previous year as their population was 371,848 at the end of 2020.
Hyderabad Chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy told the assembly that the one-man Commission, which studied the social and economic conditions of the Boyas in four districts, recommended their inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe list. (ANI.)

The latest decision of the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh proposing to include Boya, Valmiki and Bentu Oriya communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes has triggered a major unrest among the Adivasis in the state.

On Friday, tribals in Alluri Sitharama Raju district, Parvathipuram Manyam, Visakhapatnam and other agency areas (forest areas) of West Godavari and East Godavari districts observed a complete shutdown over the governments decision.

The tribal groups under the auspices of the Adivasi Joint Action Committee (AJAC) blocked vehicles and ambulances in these areas. They held up traffic for several hours, paralysing the public transport into the interior areas of these districts.

Shops remained closed as trade and business organizations expressed their solidarity with the Adivasis. Even the educational institutions remained closed. The bandh affected the tourist operations as major tourist spots like Araku Valley and Borra Caves were shut down.

The police made elaborate security arrangements to prevent untoward incidents. TDP and other political parties participated in the agency bandh. The inclusion of Boyas, Valmiki and Bentu Oriyas into the ST list will affect the reservations of the real tribals and take away their rights, Andhra Pradesh Adivasi Congress chairperson Pachipenta Santha Kumari said.

On March 24, the state assembly adopted a unanimous resolution requesting the Centre to include the Boya and Valmiki communities and their sub-group Bentu Oriyas under the Scheduled Tribes category and extend reservations to them accordingly.

At present, Boya and Valmikis belong to the Backward Classes (A) category in Andhra Pradesh. Constituting nearly 3.4 per cent of the total population of the state which is around 52.8 million, thee communities are very influential in Rayalaseema region, predominantly located in Anantapur and Kurnool districts and partly in Kadapa and Chittoor, besides in certain pockets of Guntur district.

These communities have been asking for their inclusion in the ST list, as they were originally forest dwellers. However, the previous governments have not taken any decision due to resistance from the Adivasi groups.

After Jagan came to power in May 2019, he appointed a One-Man Commission (OMC) headed by retired IAS officer I Samuel Anand Kumar to study the issues faced by Bento Oriya, Valmiki and Boya communities for the purpose of including them in the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Jagan told the assembly that the one-man Commission, which studied the social and economic conditions of the Boyas in the four districts recommended their inclusion in the STs. Even the ST Commission agreed with this assessment, he said.

He allayed the apprehensions of the Adivasis that the inclusion of the Boya/Valmiki community, who are predominant in Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur and Chittoor districts in the list of STs would not affect the STs living in the forest areas in the state.

It wont reduce the quota of the STs of the forest areas in government jobs or educational institutions as the zoning system is in force as per the six-point formula. It may have a negligible impact on the Group-1 jobs which come under the non-zoning category, he said.

AJAC president K Dharma Rao, however, said the decision would be detrimental to the interests of the most backward tribes.

Boyas and Valmikis are socially and economically developed communities. They cannot be equated with the Adivasis, who have been neglected for centuries, Santha Kumari said.

She alleged that the Jagan government has taken the decision only to gain political mileage in the next elections. This will also result in the non-tribals occupying the forest lands and take away the rights of the Adivasis, she said.

A senior Telugu Desam Party leader from the Boya community, who preferred anonymity, said the hurried decision of the Jagan government was taken only with an eye on the elections. Instead of washing away his hands by adopting a resolution, the chief minister should have brought pressure on the Centre to merge Boyas into the ST communities, he said.

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MBABANE  Public transport operators ought to properly train their workers on customer care because ultimately, they are legally liable for the actions of their employees.

These sentiments were shared by Judge Bongani Sydney Dlamini, when he sentenced to eight years each, the kombi driver and conductor, who were accused of pushing out of a moving kombi a female passenger, who later died. Three years of their sentences were suspended for a period of two years, on condition that they are not found to have committed a similar offence. Their sentencing came after they were found guilty of culpable homicide.

Oscar Methula and Machawe Ndwandwe pushed Thubelihle Maphanga, after she demanded E2 from the conductor, who had given her mother E6 change instead of E8. Maphanga was pushed out of the speeding kombi and landed on the tarmac. The incident happened on November 16, 2016.

The court said, in the country, the legislature gave the sentencing court the power to consider compensation and restitution for loss or damages suffered as a result of criminal conduct.

The judge said this, however, would not be an ideal case to invoke the provisions of Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence, 67 of 1938. Section 321 (1) provides that: If any person has been convicted of an offence which has caused personal injury to some other person, or damage to or loss of property belonging to some other person, the court trying the case may, after recording the conviction and upon an application made by or on behalf of the injured party, forthwith award him compensation for such injury, damage or loss. Judge Dlamini stated that, as a substitute to Section 321 of the Act, the family of the deceased, in particular the minor child left behind, was at liberty to consider filing a civil claim against the owner of the Toyota Quantum on the basis of vicarious liability, flowing from the negligible actions of the duo of the driver and the conductor.

Prevented

The sentencing comes after they were previously found guilty of culpable homicide. There is no sentence that can bring back the life of the deceased. Her death was uncalled for and could have been prevented. Maphanga was travelling with her mother, Busisiwe Dlamini, in a Toyota Quantum on the day of the incident. Busisiwe told the court in her evidence that the conductor, Ndwandwe, started collecting bus fare when they passed William Pitcher Teacher Training College. According to Busisiwe, she paid for both of them with a E20 note and the conductor gave her E6 instead of E8.

Busisiwe was speaking on her cellphone and when she was about to put the money given to her by the conductor in her handbag, her daughter, Maphanga, held her hand and informed her that the change was E2 short. Ndwandwe is said to have ignored their protest and indicated that he had given Busisiwe the correct amount. Busisiwe alighted at Canaan, past Fairview, and waited for her daughter to alight as well. Maphanga declined to alight and demanded the E2 from Ndwandwe. Her mother requested her to get off the vehicle but she refused, arguing that kombi drivers and conductors were used to short-changing commuters and the practice had become a norm.

Busisiwe said the kombi took off at high speed and she had to jump out of the way to avoid being knocked down. The witness informed the court that her daughter was still on board and was standing behind the seat usually occupied by conductors. The kombi sped to Mpholi, which is the final destination. The evidence of PW1 (Busisiwe) was that she, together with Tengetile Shongwe and Nomzamo Dlamini, who had also alighted from the kombi, waited for the kombi to return from Mpholi.

The kombi had taken off with the deceased and later came back moving at high speed. PW1 thought the kombi would not be able to stop, looking at the speed at which it was travelling. Immediately after passing them while they were standing in the opposite direction, the witness saw the deceased falling off from the kombi, while it was being driven at high speed. After a while, the witness saw the plastic bags which were being carried by the deceased also being thrown out of the kombi, reads the judgment. Maphanga died a week after the incident. Methula and Ndwandwe were charged with murder. They were accused of having acted in common purpose to kill Maphanga. Judge Dlamini sentenced the duo of Methula and Ndwandwe yesterday, after he had previously found them guilty of culpable homicide. The court suspended two years of the sentence for a period of two years, on condition that the pair did not commit a similar offence.

Closure

The court can only hope that the family finds closure and accepts the unfortunate fate of their family at the hands of the accused persons, said Judge Dlamini. During their trial, they both pleaded not guilty. At the close of the Crowns case, they applied to be acquitted and discharged. However, their application was dismissed. In their defence, Ndwandwe told the court that he gave Busisiwe E8 and not E6. He said Busisiwe was talking on her cellphone when he gave her the money. The conductor told the court that he told Maphanga that he had given her mother E8 as change and told her to check again.

He submitted that at Canaan, Busisiwe alighted but Maphanga refused to do so. He informed the court that Maphanga told them that they were crazy and she would show them who she was. According to Ndwandwe, the kombi continued on its journey with Maphanga still on board. He informed the court that at Canaan Bus Stop, when the kombi was returning from Mpholi, Maphanga opened the door and jumped out while the kombi was moving.

Ndwandwe and the kombi driver, Methula, argued that there was no evidence that Maphanga fell from the moving vehicle through an act or omission of one or both of them.

However, a number of witnesses for the Crown told the court that Maphanga was standing behind Ndwandwes seat when the kombi left Canaan Bus Stop to Mpholi and even when it returned, before she fell out. The driver denied that the kombi was travelling at high speed. He said it was travelling at 60km per hour. Even if the court can accept that indeed the kombi was travelling at 60km per hour, it still baffles the mind how any right thinking person can seek to jump out of a moving vehicle at this speed. This narration is improbable and it defies logic and reason, said Judge Dlamini.

The court concluded that elements of common purpose were established in this matter.

The judge said Methula, as the driver, had more responsibility in ensuring that disputes and misunderstandings arising in the transportation of members of the public were resolved in a proper manner. The responsibility of the driver, according to the court, started when he drove off from Canaan Bus Stop wit Maphanga still on board. Judge Dlamini said the driver had the responsibility of engaging Maphangas mother and Ndwandwe with a view of resolving the dispute involving the E2. Principal Crown Counsel Elsie Matsebula represents the Crown, while Nosisa Hlophe appears for Methula and Ndwandwe in the matter.
Is design an art, or science? This timeless debate is unlikely to settle anytime soon. Ask Stanford-alumnus and product designer Avantika Agarwal and chances are that answering it is not easy. Trained in both engineering and art, she convinces you that design is much more than the blend of the two. Product designer Avantika Agarwal

After all, a design has many more elements including science, psychology and art. As the world is turning more complex and consumers discerning, the task of a product designer is now far more challenging than earlier. Mere aesthetically pleasing design is not sufficient in many cases. (Also read: Every girl should aspire for the top office: Navya Naveli Nanda and Samyak Chakrabarty)

Avantika, who loves to work with early-stage startups, however, seems aware of the challenges and geared up to take them on. While her experience of working with prestigious projects comes handy in understanding the need of customers, the accolades in the journey so far remains a big motivating factor.

Ive been working with startups ranging from nascent pre-launch to more established, and always relished the experience. Theres a certain magic to helping bring a founders idea to life, and a feeling of being in the trenches together to ensure success and survival that I find very gratifying. Its a privilege to be able to partner with early stage founders and companies to help realise their ambitions, she shares excitedly.

Harbouring the dream of becoming a product designer since childhood and having developed an interest in healthcare during high school, Avantika, equipped with a master's in design products from the Royal College of Art in London, started focussing on creative product designs that offered practical solutions in the healthcare segment. Be it a sanitary pad with a disposable pouch or a sleep apnoea wearable that uses micro vibrations to treat congestion from allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, using Indian Yogic techniques, she has tried it all and is now set to spread her wings in the fast-emerging AI (artificial intelligence) industry.

"My work with start-ups has allowed me to collaborate at the cutting edge of emerging technologies. Most recently, I designed the brand for a new Artificial Intelligence company, Fixie, that announced a $17M seed funding round this month. It was a fascinating challenge to create a brand in such a nascent and topical industry thats currently in the spotlight, as the multitude of companies being launched every week, makes it hard to stand out," says Avantika.

"We chose a very simple and classic brand aesthetic, with bold geometric imagery inspired by tangrams, the children's puzzle-game where complex shapes are made of different geometric blocks. As Fixie is an AI platform that brings together disparate technology into one powerful hub, we thought this metaphor was the perfect fit," she says talking about her latest design.

As the technology moves forward with more AI-powered solutions on the anvil, the creativity in the product design field knows no bounds.

I see AI as a tool to help us do what we do, not as a replacement for designers. Of course, basic and simple design needs could probably soon be met with emerging AI software, but I think there will remain a market for design thinking through thoughtful user research, and appropriate use of these new technologies, to develop brands and design concepts that are differentiating in the industry, not merely tablestakes, says Avantika.

Various elements that go into design have seen a marked change as the years go by and Avantika feels the process has evolved for the benefit of the end customer.

I think the biggest difference over the last few years has been the emergence of design thinking as a methodology and approach to solving design problems. Having an iterative approach, grounded in user research and challenging previously held assumptions, and using those inputs to redefine problems and craft solutions that can be rapidly prototyped and tested, has led to a better substantiated design process, delivering improved outcomes for end customers. The importance of putting the customer at the center of what we do cant be overstated, says the talented designer.

World Health Day is round the corner and the theme is achieving health for all. Avantika feels that the day provides the perfect opportunity to put mental health in focus and working on it the right way.

Mental Health has been increasingly in the spotlight the last few years, and rightly so. Ive worked with several players in the space, taking a variety of approaches to addressing mental health. Calm, for instance, is one of the worlds largest players in the digital mindfulness space, having recently raised funding at a $2B valuation. Working with them further highlighted to me the life-changing impact theyre having on their customers, and how important it is to take care of ones own mental health, concludes Avantika.
Ludwig van Beethoven: A musical genius, but socially a curmudgeon. When the composer wrote his famous Ninth Symphony, he was already deaf. He was plagued by many illnesses. As a result, he had requested a post-mortem autopsy in order to research his ailments. Beethoven statues exist in Vienna (above), where he lived most of his adult life, and Bonn, where he was born. (Willfried Gredler-Oxenbauer/picture alliance)

In 2014, an international team of researchers started working on sequencing Beethoven's genome for more clues into his condition. When their new findings through DNA analyses of Beethoven's hair were recently published, the media eagerly jumped on the story offering more insight into the life of the famous classical composer.

One of the findings concluded that Beethoven had the liver disease hepatitis B. This solved the mystery of his death, some media reports argued. Other articles noted that Beethoven might not be genetically a Beethoven at all.

In short, the findings were turning Beethoven's biography upside down.

But even though the results are astounding, researchers have not reached the same conclusions as the media  or at least not with the same conviction.

(Also Read | Bonn's Beethoven monument to be restored)

Combing through history

Christine Siegert, head of the Beethoven Archive in Bonn, Germany, and a colleague have gathered the historical background for the research team.

The story about Beethoven's locks of hair, which provided the DNA, played a major role. There are still 32 known examples of the locks worldwide.

"The culture of remembrance was very different in the 19th century than it is today, when everyone can take selfies," Siegert told DW. "Back then, people liked to give away locks of hair as friendship gifts."

The researchers had eight such locks at their disposal, five of which showed matching DNA. One of the locks of hair was contributed by the Beethoven Museum in Bonn. The house where he was born in 1770 is now a museum and archive, where scholars have kept examining the composer's legacy since his death in 1827.

Beethoven's coveted strands

"Our curl has a good provenance and it is very likely that it is authentic," says Siegert.

Beethoven gave the curl to the Streicher family of piano makers in 1820 while he was still alive.

One account by Gerhard von Breuning, the son of Beethoven's close childhood friend Stefan von Breuning, demonstrates how popular the practice of collecting locks was. When Beethoven was laid out in an open coffin after his death, many fans came and cut a lock from his hair. Siegert says that Breuning was too late to get his own: "When he arrived, Beethoven had already had all his hair cut off. He had no more hair on his head."

It is not possible to say with absolute certainty that the hair used to sequence the DNA is authentic, Siegert says. After all, she says, there was a buoyant trade after Beethoven's death, including in alleged Beethoven hair. "Historical research is always an approximation," says the musicologist.

'Hiller' curl not Beethoven's

One of the eight curls examined, the famous "Hiller curl"  long firmly believed to be Beethoven's after Ferdinand von Hiller was allowed to take it from the body the day after the composer's death  turned out to be woman's hair after the latest DNA analysis, to the surprise of the researchers. In 2007, a high lead content had been detected in said curl and it was wrongly assumed that Beethoven had died of syphilis  a disease that was treated with lead-containing medicine at the time.

The new analyses, which also looked for pathogens, were able to detect hepatitis B. Beethoven had repeatedly complained of back pains, and his DNA shows that he was susceptible to liver disease. Whether Beethoven ultimately died from his hepatitis, however, cannot be proven.

The idea for the research project came from Tristan Bregg, who had worked for the Beethoven Center in California. Three of the hair samples studied came from there, but only one of them was among the five that showed matches in DNA.

The decoding of Beethoven's DNA

As a master's student, Bregg was able to enlist Professor for Archaeogenetics Johannes Krause in his idea. Krause specializes in analysingde historical DNA at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Bregg then earned his doctorate in archaeology at Clare Hall College at the University of Cambridge in the UK, where he conducted research on Beethoven's DNA. It took eight years until the results of the international research team could now be published in the scientific journal Current Biology.

"We had to bring in cooperation partners with different expertise," Krause explained to DW. For example, a medical geneticist from the University of Bonn, where people are familiar with complex diseases. "Then we brought in genealogists from Belgium, who studied Beethoven's family tree to identify possible relatives."

They uncovered another surprise. Comparing the DNA of the "Beethovens" living in Belgium today, they found that they were related to each other, but there was no DNA from the composer. "We were surprised by this family secret, which shows that Beethoven was not genetically descended from the Flemish Beethoven line, but we don't know which generation is responsible," Begg explains in a separate YouTube video.

What ultimately moved the research forward were the high-quality machines that could decode Beethoven's genome, the blueprint for the human that resides in every cell. "Fifteen years ago, sequencing machines decoded about 100 to 200 DNA sequences per day, and today we have machines that can decode 20 billion DNA sequences per day," says Krause.

Usually, old bones serve as the basis for analysis, but that was not possible with Beethoven. "You could have exhumed Beethoven to perform such a genetic analysis with his bones," Krause says. "We approached the Central Cemetery in Vienna, but they decided against supporting the project."

To decode Beethoven's genome, the researchers needed larger amounts of hair. Fortunately, Australian Kevin Brown possessed a suitable clump. "The lock offered itself because it had a relatively large amount of hair and the owner of this lock said that he was happy to sacrifice the hair for the research," Krause says. To get the DNA, the hair had to be dissolved, which means the collector's lock would no longer exist.

Nothing can be proven

The archive in the Beethoven Museum was able to keep some of its curls and continues to keep them under lock and key. Christine Siegert of the Beethoven Archive in Bonn doubts that the biographies on Beethoven will have to be rewritten according to the latest findings.

"People will include that in future publications. And it's also interesting for medical historians," she says. But nothing can be proven, she adds, because even the five matching hair samples could hypothetically not be Beethoven's. "If at some point we find out what happened, we will include that in our biographical writings."

For Johannes Krause, however, the project is over for the time being  even though there's no shortage of alleged Beethoven hair. Since the publication of the results, Krause has already been offered three more hair samples that are supposed to be from Beethoven for research purposes.
Vikramjit Roy is one of Indias best-known chefs, the sort of guy guests want to take selfies with. I first met him when he worked in the kitchen of Wasabi at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi. I was eating omakase (a Japanese expression that translates loosely as leave it to the chef ) and was served two dishes that were not on the menu and were inspired creations. I asked to see the chef and Vikram came out of the kitchen and confessed that both dishes were the products of his own imagination. A suitable Roy? At his restaurant Ahara, the chef creates modern Indian food that draws on his skills as a Japanese chef.

One day, Gautam Anand, then the top talent-spotter at ITC Hotels (his actual job had to do with opening new properties), came to lunch at Wasabi, was as knocked out by Vikrams food and stole him away from the Taj.

ITC recognised Vikrams talents and broke with its own precedents to give this then largely unknown chef major breaks. The Pan-Asian at Chennais Grand Chola dispensed with the brands old guidelines and became a chef-driven restaurant run by Vikram. When that was a great hit, ITC brought him to Delhi and created Tian at the Maurya as a showpiece for his talent.

Anantwar has stepped out of his comfort zone with Inja, where hes doing things differently than he did at his previous restaurants in Dubai.

When Tian became a commercial and critical success, Vikrams future was assured. He went on to leave ITC and explore new areas. He started many new restaurants focussing on Oriental food. A couple of years ago, he finally turned his attention to the food of his native Calcutta and though Delhis The Tangra Project was a critical hit, it was too large and suffered from a bad choice of location.

The Tangra Project went on hiatus till it moved to a new, more suitable location and Vikram disappeared from India.

I tracked him down to Singapore where Vir Kotak, his partner and backer (in the Tangra Project and at a flourishing cloud kitchen operation) lives. Kotak and his foodie wife Simran have almost unlimited faith in Vikrams talents and are the sort of supportive backers that most chefs can only dream about.

It was Vir Kotaks idea to plan a new restaurant, to be run by Vikram, at an iconic Singapore location: the space that housed Burnt Ends before it moved to its current, larger premises. It is a great location but what, I wondered, could Vikram cook in Singapore?

Aharas uncooked Wagyu shaami tartlet is topped with pickled shallots and takuan. (Ahara)

He said he wanted to cook Japanese-Indian which, I told him gently, was not such a great idea. Yes there is a cuisine to be developed drawing inspiration from Japanese and Indian food but Singapore, which has some of the best Japanese restaurants outside of Japan and also has several top Indian restaurants (the ground-breaking Revolver and Thevar, which has two Michelin stars) did not strike me as the ideal place to unveil a new, daring cuisine.

By the time I finally went to Ahara, as Vikrams new restaurant is called, the chef (with some nudging from his partners) had finally got a fix on what he wanted to do: modern Indian food that drew on his skills as a Japanese/Oriental chef without trying to be Indian-Japanese.

Vikrams food used Japanese ingredients (herbs, leaves, shrimp, seaweed, oysters etc.) and some of the dishes looked Japanese. But Vikram was clear: this was an unapologetically Indian restaurant that incorporated all the skills and technique he had picked up in his decades in restaurant kitchens.

At Ahara, Roy adds caviar to chaat and even buckwheat khichdi (above).

An Indian from India (as distinct from an NRI) who experiences Vikrams food will immediately see where he is coming from. This is distinctly Indian food with Malvani gravies and North Indian flavours but Vikram has used his love of the cuisines of East Asia to create dishes that are new and different.

And because he is in Singapore, Vikram has been able to unleash his skills on luxury ingredients. There are truffles on the menu and one of his more innovative ideas is to do a chaat celebration for guests in the kitchen. What is so unusual about that? Well, the fact that he makes his chaat with caviar.

Vikram is a gifted and original chef. With supportive backers in Simran and Vir Kotak, he is all set to try and find success abroad that matches the massive reputation he has built up in India.

Oddly enough Vikram was not the only person to think of combining Japanese and Indian cuisine. Chef Adwait Anantwar in Dubai had the same idea. Adwait worked with Himanshu Saini at Tresind before joining Mohalla restaurant. Mohalla is part of Atelier House Hospitality, one of Dubais leading restaurant groups. 11 Woodfire may be its best known restaurant: it has a Michelin star and was number 11 on the list of the 50 Best Restaurants in the Middle East. I had a not-very-good meal there but I may just have been unlucky.

Both Inja and Ahara serve up beautifully plated food. Inja has udon noodles with khasi black sesame curry. (@injarestaurant)

Panchali Mahendra, a former Oberoi manager who is the President of Atelier House Hospitality, told me that the group held Adwait in high esteem and when he said he wanted to open a Japanese-Indian restaurant, they decided that they would make this their flagship Indian venture.

They called it Inja (geddit?) and took over the old Indian Accent space at the Manor Hotel in Delhis Friends Colony. Mahendra flew to Delhi to launch the restaurant and though they had only been open to the public for three days when I went, she said she was very gratified by the response.

Adwaits food is more in-your-face Japanese than Vikrams. While Vikram has tried to incorporate Japanese ingredients and techniques in his food, Adwait has taken the opposite route. He has taken dishes that look Japanese and introduced Indian flavours into them.

This is virgin territory so there are no objective standards to judge the dishes by but I enjoyed the food. My favourite was a Panta Bhat (fermented rice) with torched scallops, uni, pickled cucumber, kombu oil etc. It was finished at the table and is an instagrammers delight. It may be the most Japanese and least Indian of the dishes I ate. The Udon noodles were flavoured with spices from Meghalaya. I liked both his mustard-flavoured dishes: small Bay of Bengal shrimp and fish served on rice with a mustard gravy. The Bengali influences were welcome though probably unintentional (the chef is a Maharashtrian from Nagpur) but Vikram would have been proud of both those dishes and he would have approved also of the very long menu.

Both restaurants are important to their chefs. Vikram is a star in India where his Ninja-like charisma has won him as many fans as has the high quality of his food. This is his first attempt to take his Indian stardom abroad.

Atelier House Hospitality is a force to reckon with in Dubai and in other countries. It hopes to make an impression in India with its first restaurant here. And Adwait has been brave enough to step out of his comfort zone and do something entirely different.

Both restaurants have just opened. I hope they will both do well. So, lots of luck to Inja and to the Bengali ninja!

From HT Brunch, April 1, 2023

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The Dior Fall 2023 show was a beautiful mixture of style, glamour, Indian culture and the luxury label's elegant creations as the biggest names in the film and fashion industry arrived at the Gateway Of India. Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative director of Christian Dior, displayed her Fall 23 collection in front of the Gateway of India in Mumbai last night. Stars like Isha Ambani, Radhika Merchant, Sonam Kapoor, Anushka Sharma with Virat Kohli, Rekha, Thai stars - Phakphum Romsaithong (Mile) and Nattawin Wattanagitiphat (Apo), Khushi Kapoor, Simone Ashley, Maisie Williams, Mira Rajput, Arjun Kapoor, Diana Penty, Poorna Jagannathan, Athiya Shetty, Raja Kumari, Masaba Gupta, Shweta Bachchan, Yara Shahidi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ujjwala Raut, Cara Delevingne, and more celebrities attended the fashion event. While many wore looks straight from the luxury house's runway collection, others included classic Dior elements to their outfits, like the Lady Dior. Keep scrolling to see who wore what to the occasion. Dior Fall 2023 Mumbai show: Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli, Rekha, Sonam Kapoor, Ananya Panday and more stars attend. (Instagram, Varinder Chawla)

(Also Read | Radhika Merchant and Isha Ambani bring grace and beauty to Dior's Fall 2023 show at Gateway of India: Watch)

Dior Fall 2023 Mumbai show: Who wore what

Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli

Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli attended the Dior Fall 2023 show in stylish looks from the luxury fashion house. While Anushka chose a yolk yellow sleeveless dress, Virat complemented her in a grey double-breasted blazer, pants and a white round-neck shirt. The actor styled the ensemble with flats, a matching Lady Dior bag, open locks, gold earrings, and minimal makeup.

Rekha

Rekha was her glamorous and elegant self as she attended the Dior show in a timeless Kanjeevaram silk saree in mauve and gold hues. She wore the brocade six yards with a matching half-sleeve blouse, gold and red bangles, a gold embellished potli bag, a Kundan necklace, jhumkis, statement rings, gajras, and heels. A centre-parted sleek bun, shimmery eye shadow, dark pink lip shade, and glowing skin rounded it all off.

Sonam Kapoor

Sonam Kapoor wore a hot pink Dior runway look to the fashion event. It features a button-down shirt and a midi-length skirt set styled with embellished kitten sandals, a matching notch-lapel overcoat, an embellished bag, a choker necklace, jhumkis, and statement rings. A centre-parted open hairdo and minimal glam picks rounded it all off.

Ananya Panday

Ananya Panday also chose a hot pink ensemble - featuring a half-sleeve cropped top and a mini-length skirt - for Dior Fall 2023 show at the Gateway Of India. She styled the minimal outfit with a pearl choker necklace, matching earrings, an embellished Lady Dior mini bag, black and white Loafers, side-parted open locks, and minimal glam picks.

Mira Rajput

Mira Rajput chose a classic black look from Dior's runway collection to attend their Fall 2023 show at the Gateway Of India. She chose a black round-neck sleeveless dress with a slit on the side, styled with matching black shorts, black strappy sandals, a Dior clutch, a statement ring, a pearl necklace, bold red lips, winged eyeliner, darkened brows, and minimal glowing skin.

Shweta Bachchan

Shweta Bachchan mixed contemporary and traditional styles to attend the Dior show. She wore a classic white button-down shirt and a heavily-embellished skirt featuring sequin and Chikankari work. A matching handbag, open locks and minimal makeup completed her look.

Masaba Gupta

Masaba Gupta graced the Dior show in a black cropped Bomber jacket, a square neck top, and a ruffled asymmetric skirt styled with black heels, a white handbag, a choker necklace, star-shaped earrings, and stacked bracelets. In the end, Masaba chose a sleek bun adorned with gajra, nude lip shade, and minimal makeup for the glam picks.

Athiya Shetty, Arjun Kapoor and Diana Penty

Diana Penty, Arjun Kapoor and Athiya Shetty at Dior Fall 2023 show. (HT Photo/Varinder Chawla)

Athiya Shetty graced the Dior fashion show in a one-shoulder billowy maxi-length gown styled with matching high heels, a sleek bun, a pearl choker necklace, matching earrings, bold red lips, and minimal makeup. Diana Penty posed with her in an eggplant-coloured button-down blouse, skirt, and embellished heels. Arjun Kapoor chose a sleek black suit set paired with a printed shirt, a sleek chain, glasses and a sleek ponytail.

Khushi Kapoor

Khushi Kapoor wore a check-printed black and white cropped sleeveless blouse and a midi-length skirt to the Dior show. She chose black loafers, a pearl necklace, matching earrings, a black Dior bag, a sleek hairdo, and minimal makeup to style the look.

Raja Kumari

Raja Kumari wore a shimmering metallic green pre-draped structured saree by Rimzim Dadu to attend the Dior show. She styled the fierce look with dangling earrings, matching rings, a bracelet, winged eyeliner, a sleek side-parted bun, and dewy makeup.

Simone Ashley

Simone Ashley chose a white gown featuring a plunging V neckline, a figure-skimming silhouette, and a thigh-high slit on the front to attend the Dior Fall show. She styled it with a Dior handbag, a diamond necklace, matching earrings, strappy heels, and bold makeup picks.
Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani's daughter, Isha Ambani, and their son, Anant Ambani's to-be-wife, Radhika Merchant, attended the much-anticipated Dior Fall 2023 show by Maria Grazia Chiuri at Mumbai's majestic Gateway of India on Thursday evening. Isha and Radhika were among a host of celebrities who graced the star-studded fashion event that shut down the area around Gateway of India and filled it with glamorous creations by Dior and sounds of classical music on Tabla and Sitar. Both the stars chose simple yet magnificent outfits to attend the fashion event while bringing their grace and beauty. Keep scrolling to find out what Isha and Radhika wore. Radhika Merchant and Isha Ambani at the Dior Fall 2023 show at Gateway Of India. (HT Photo/Varinder Chawla)

(Also Read | Radhika Merchant and Shloka Ambani stun in royal ethnic attires as they visit Isha Ambani's home with Ambani family)

Radhika Merchant and Isha Ambani at Dior Fall 2023 show

On Thursday evening, Radhika Merchant and Isha Ambani stepped out in Mumbai to attend Dior's Fall 2023 show at the Gateway of India overlooking the Arabian Sea. The paparazzi clicked the two to-be sisters-in-law arriving at the fashion show and posing for the media while smiling brightly. While Radhika wore a white midi dress to the Dior show, Isha complemented her in a floral gown that embraced summer hues and prints. They both carried luxurious Dior bags with their stylish avatars. Check out the snippets shared by paparazzi accounts below.

Radhika Merchant's white midi dress features gathered details on the bust, a cut-out design on the back and shoulder, a bow-shaped tie on the back, a plunging neckline, cinched element on the bodice, a flowy pleated skirt, and a figure-skimming silhouette. She wore the midi ensemble with black pointed Dior sandals, a sleek bracelet, a silver patterned Lady Dior bag, and dainty earrings.

In the end, Radhika chose a centre-parted sleek ponytail, subtle shimmery eye shadow, blushed cheekbones, glossy pink lip shade, mascara on the lashes, darkened brows, dewy base, lightly contoured face, and beaming highlighter for the glam picks.

Isha Ambani wore a pastel yellow maxi-length dress to the Dior event. The kaftan style ensemble comes with a semi-sheer silhouette, floral pattern in green and yolk yellow hues, button closures on the bodice, ruffles on the side, billowy sleeves, a belt to cinch the attire at the waist, and a floor-grazing hem length.

Meanwhile, Isha accessorised her outfit with hoop earrings, a mini Lady Dior bag, gold strappy sandals, and statement rings. Lastly, side-parted open wavy locks, glossy pink lips, darkened brows, rouged cheekbones, subtle eye shadow, mascara on the lashes, dewy base, and highlighter rounded off the glam picks.
It is that time of the year again when people gear up to celebrate April Fools' Day with their friends, family and close acquaintances. Every year, the day falls on April 1. It is an annual custom in which people prank and play practical jokes on their loved one to create fun memories and have a good laugh. While April Fools' Day is not a real holiday, it is marked with full pomp. People plan their pranks days in advance, all in jest. Although the exact roots of the occasion are uncertain, it's believed to have been observed in the United Kingdom for at least two centuries. Read on to know why the day is marked on April 1, its history, significance, origins and celebrations. April Fools' Day falls on April 1. Know its history, origin, significance and celebrations.

(Also Read | April Fools Day 2023: Best pranks to pull on your family and friends)

Why is April Fools' Day celebrated on April 1: History and Origin

The history behind April Fools' Day is unknown, and there have been multiple hypotheses regarding its origins. However, the most plausible theory links it back to the late 16th century, when Pope Gregory XIII proposed the implementation of the Gregorian calendar. When the Gregorian calendar came into effect, January 1 became the start of the year. It replaced the practice of starting the year at the end of March according to the Julian calendar. France became the first country to accept and implement the new calendar.

Despite the news being disseminated, some individuals were unaware of the change or refused to follow the new changes. They continued to observe New Year's Day on April 1. Thus, people who followed the Gregorian calendar started mocking and ridiculing these people. The general takeaway was that those who refused to follow the new calendar were considered to be fools and made fun of by those who did. Thereby, giving rise to the tradition of April Fools' Day on April 1.

April Fools' Day 2023 Significance:

April Fools' Day is celebrated across all the nations worldwide. However, it's not a bank holiday. While it is one of the days when people get away with almost anything, it is advisable to not go overboard with jokes. April Fools' Day is a time to have fun with your friends by doing pranks that they will enjoy. Additionally, this day infuses positivity into our lives. The occasion also brings friends together as people can get together to create funny moments.

April Fools' Day 2023 Celebrations:

April Fools' Day celebrations involve cracking jokes and playing tricks on your loved ones. There are several ways in which one can achieve the same. Some countries also have traditions associated with April 1. In France, it is customary for children to play pranks on their friends by attaching a paper fish to their backs.

In Scotland, the festivities extend to two days, with the second day known as Taily Day. It is reserved for pranks involving the rear. This practice gave rise to the "kick me" sign.

Since 1986 in New York, there have been phoney press releases for a non-existent April Fools' Day Parade. In Canada and England, it is customary to stop playing pranks after noon on April Fools' Day.

How are you celebrating this day?
The gates of the gurdwara in Nangal Ambian Khurd, a remote interior village in Punjabs Shahkot Tehsil in Jalandhar, were locked. As the sun set over the wheat fields and children played on the swings in the distance, one family was crouched inside, behind doors they refused to open. This was the last known Punjab hideout of Amritpal Singh, the Khalistani sympathiser who came in from the cold, moving seamlessly and mysteriously from being a clean-shaven lorry driver in Dubai to a manufactured avatar of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. PREMIUM Unlike Bhindranwale, Amritpal cannot command any significant section of the street. There were only a handful of people who came out to protest in his support. (HT File Photo)

I knocked on the door of the granthis (priests) residential quarters to hear the voice of a terrified woman and her daughter arguing from inside. Go away, we have nothing more to say, we have said everything to the police. An attempt to get anyone else in the village of 342 families to speak met with the same reluctance. Finally, the lambardar (community leader) agreed to go on the record with a chilling account. Amritpal Singh had arrived with four armed aides and demanded food and shelter at the gurdwara. He snatched away the granthis phone, took a new set of clothes from his son, so he could abandon the blue turban CCTV cameras had caught him wearing, rested for 45 minutes and left, moving from a motorcycle to a jugaad, a makeshift vehicle popular in rural India. He had guns, the granthi panicked and didnt tell anyone what happened till the footage leaked of him in our village.

Like everyone else in Punjab, when I first reached the state to report on the absconding fugitive Amritpal Singh, I believed he was hidden away in a police safehouse to be brought out at an appropriate time. How I wish that wildly popular conspiracy theory was true.

As I travelled through the state, including to the radical preachers last hideout, it became evident that the police, under orders not to use force or bullets, had messed up. Amritpal Singh gave them the slip over a 25-kilometre-long car chase, constantly changing cars, switching eventually from a Mercedes to a motorcycle. Since then, we have seen the Khalistani sympathiser taunt the authority of the state with video messages released on social media, while on the run.

Amritpal Singh, who emerged in India suddenly as the chief of Waris Punjab De after the death of Deep Sidhu in an accident, modelled himself frame by frame on Bhindranwale, almost like a method actor. Thats where the similarity ends. Unlike Bhindranwale, Amritpal cannot command any significant section of the street. There were only a handful of people who came out to protest in his support. Most Punjabis I met were convinced that he was some sort of plant, propped up to vitiate the environment and pull their state back into the quicksand of its past. Mahaul kharab karne ke liye aaya hai (Hes come to spoil the environment).

There is a stack of unanswered questions piling up. The top two among them are: Why did the police not arrest Amritpal Singh from his house a night earlier, instead of chasing him down the expressways of Punjab? And, why was he allowed to grow roots all these months?

Even though there is now an element of farce, even comedy, to the Amritpal Singh clips, we would be ill advised to underestimate the impact of his bizarre manhunt. For one, the authority of the State has been eroded. Punjab is a border state, where Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence has long tried to stir things up. A Hudson Institute report reveals the linkages between Kashmir secessionists and pro-Khalistan groups in North America. The longer Amritpal Singh stays on the run and cannot be arrested, the more it makes the States security institutions look weak.

But most worryingly, Amritpal Singhs direct appeal to the Akal Takht jathedar (high priest) Giani Harpreet Singh and his call for a mass congregation of Sikhs on Baisakhi is a dangerous intermixing of panthic leaders and politics. We have been here before and we do not want to be here again.

Amritpal Singh first hit the national headlines when he stormed a police station in Ajnala near Amritsar, using the Guru Granth Sahib as a shield. His mission was to secure the release of one of his associates. The police were widely condemned for being weak and allowing this. But they remembered what happened in the Behbal Kalan police firing incident of 2015 when two Sikh men protesting against a series of sacrilege incidents were killed in police firing. Using force at Ajnala was out of the question, they say.

Now imagine, if Amritpal Singh were to take refuge again in a major gurdwara, just as he did at gunpoint in Shahkot village, and then look for a deliberate confrontation with the security forces. This would be the polices worst nightmare.

Amritpal Singh triggers memories of Punjabs past. He cannot be allowed to impact its future.

Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and author

The views expressed are personal
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has recently launched the Moon to Mars programme with an aim to establish agency's long-term presence on the Moon that is required to prepare astronauts to take the next giant leap to Mars. The agency has recently set up an office for the purpose, which will be headed by Indian-American software and robotics engineer Amit Kshatriya. Amit Kshatriya was decorated by NASA with Outstanding Leadership Medal.(Space Generation Advisory Council/NASA)

The new office will overlook NASA's crewed activities regarding its mission and will be the part of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, which heads the agency's Artemis programme  an initiative to send astronauts back to lunar surface.

Also read: Webb Telescope captures star's dying moments just before Supernova; Why is it a rare image?

Know about Amit Kshatriya:

Decorated with the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, Kshatriya earlier served as the agency's acting deputy associate administrator for the Common Exploration Systems Development Division. He is the son of first-generation Indian immigrants to the US. He studied Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology and did his Masters of Arts in Mathematics from the University of Texas. He began his career in the space programme in 2003 and worked as a software and robotics engineer. He also worked as spacecraft operator and assembled robotic features of the International Space Station. He also directed and provided leadership and integration for the Space Launch System, Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programmes. He also was associated with the Artemis Campaign Development Division initiative. He was a space station flight director between 2014 to 2017 and led global teams in the operations and execution of the space station during all phases of flight. In 2021, he was assigned as the assistant deputy associate administrator at the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate in NASA Headquarters. He was decorated with the leadership medal for his actions as the lead flight director for the agency's 50th expedition to the space station.

Learn here about the Moon to Mars programme:

Kshatriya will be responsible to lead the programme planning and implementation for human missions to the Moon and Mars, according to the press release. According to NASA press release, the new office set up for the mission will carry out human exploration activities on the Moon and Mars for the benefit of humanity. "This new office will help ensure that NASA successfully establishes a long-term lunar presence needed to prepare for humanitys next giant leap to the Red Planet," said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. The programme aims to use the agency's Artemis mission in order to open a new era of scientific discovery and prepare for human missions to Mars and the new office will focus on hardware development, mission integration and risk management functions that are required. The office will manage the development of Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, landing systems, spacesuits, gateway along with other components related to deep space exploration. The new office will also lead planning and analysis of long-lead developments to support human Mars missions, the release added.

(With PTI inputs)

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A Belgian national died by suicide after talking to an artificial intelligence chatbot. The man reportedly spoke to the AI chatbot ELIZA for six weeks on climate change, Belgian news website La Libre (article behind paywall) reported.



But the conversation turned out to be increasingly confusing and harmful, triggering the man to take the drastic step. His wife told the website that her husband would be alive if he hadn't spoken to the chatbot.



ALSO READ: Italy blocks OpenAI's ChatGPT over privacy concerns



According to the news report, the Belgian national had become concerned about environment. It was when he started to talk with the chatbot which uses an open-source AI language model named GPT-J. His wife said that ELIZA had become his confidante' and had become like a drug he could not live without in the morning and night.



The six weeks of conversation turned fatal as he took his own life. As per the report, he had proposed the idea of a suicide if the chatbot took care of the planet.



ALSO READ: AI risk to society: Why Elon Musk is asking for a development pause? It is not known whether the Belgian man had mental health issues before killing himself(Shutterstock)

It is not known whether the man had mental health issues before killing himself. But he had indeed isolated himself from his family and friends before death. Mathieu Michel, the secretary of state for digitalisation in control of administrative simplication, privacy and building regulation said he was moved by the tragedy of the family and called for the matter to be taken very seriously.

Michel called for the need to define responsibilities vis a vis ChatGPT and said that the general public is now more aware of the potential of AI in the lives. The official added that it is necessary to determine the nature of responsibilities contributing to such a tragedy.

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Ilhan Omar, a Democratic Representative from Minnesota in US, is facing an ethics complaint over her use of Chinese app TikTok for both official and political purposes. US Representative Ilhan Omar(Reuters)

According to a New York Post report, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed a complaint on Thursday with the Office of Congressional Ethics, citing Omar's alleged violation of House rules. The complaint claims that Omar ignored warnings about potential data sharing with the Chinese government when she used the app. The Beijing-based company ByteDance Ltd is the owner of TikTok.

Also Read | US spy agency cyber chief warns TikTok is Chinas Trojan Horse

Along with this political content, she has also made posts that used official government resources, including C-SPAN footage from the House floor, what appears to be a cell phone video recorded on the House floor, and an interview from what appears to be in her House office, added the complaint, addressed to chief House ethics counsel Omar Ashmawy.

Also Read | US lawmakers to move forward with TikTok bill: House speaker Kevin McCarthy

According to the complaint filed by the FACT, Ilhan Omar allegedly violated federal law by using her TikTok account for political purposes. The complaint alleges that Omar made several overtly political posts on the app, including urging viewers to support Democratic candidates, messaging Democrats volunteering for campaigns, and sharing videos of her campaigning and attending campaign events.

The complaint further alleges that Omar flouted the rule of "strict separation" between campaign and official duties, which is required by federal law for members of Congress. The complaint cites nearly a dozen of Omar's posts on TikTok as evidence.

TikTok has been under scrutiny over security concerns, with both the House Committee on House Administration and the White House ordering its removal from government devices due to worries over potential espionage.

Despite these concerns, over 30 members of Congress still maintain TikTok accounts, raising bipartisan concerns that China's government could obtain data from 100 million US users through the app. Recently, the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, faced questioning by the House Energy and Commerce Committee about his company's links to China.

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LOBAMBA - A motion has been moved successfully, calling for the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, to institute an audit investigation into the management of public funds at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA).

The minister has been given 30 days after passing of the motion, which commenced yesterday, to table a report on his findings at the tertiary institution. The motion was moved by Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini, who stated that the university had downgraded to junk status and was a shadow of its former self. The legislator said moving the motion was not meant to make fun of or disgracing the institution, but they were exercising their powers as lawmakers to play an oversight role if need be.

Dlamini said the university was of great value to the nation, so much that even the head of State was going there annually to bless graduates.

However, he shared that these days the university was nothing short of a camp for protesters as everybody, including the academic staff, non-academic staff and the students, were engaging in protests.

The intellectuals that we entrusted to administer the university are obviously failing to carry out their duties. This is proven by audited statements, which were last made available two years ago and that means the university is not audited, he said. Dlamini said the minister, as compelled by the Constitution, should table an audited financial statement of the university, but was not doing so, adding that the Auditor General, Timothy Matsebula, was not aware of the ministers reasons not to adhere to the Constitution.

Pumping

This is despite that every year, government pumps millions of taxpayers money into the institution. The responsibility to audit the funds lies squarely with the administration, which incidentally comprises of the most highly educated emaSwati in the country. Dlamini highlighted that the institution was withholding pay-as-you-earn for its employees but not remitting same to the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS), finding itself in debts worth millions of Emalangeni. He said the most painful thing was that there were employees who were nearing the retirement age and would not have their pension available, owing to the financial situation at the university.

He shared that even employees who were paying medical aid did not benefit from same because there was no money contributed by the university.

He also highlighted that some employees were paying their credits through stop orders but, because of the financial challenges, they were going to jail for failure to commit to payments. We are not targeting anyone but this is in the interest of transparency, hence we request the minister and the AG to launch the probe so that the report can unearth the rot that is going on at the university and clear the name of the institution, he submitted.

Challenges

In his motion, the legislator moved that the House, in light of the reported financial challenges faced by the University of Eswatini and the resultant protracted industrial action in part, as well as on the basis of the conspicuous non-submission of annual reports and audited accounts by the Minister of Education and Training in terms of Section 28(5) of the University of Eswatini Act, 1983 (as amended), requests the Minister of Finance to institute an audit investigation, in accordance with Section 207 of the National Constitution, into the management of public funds at the University of Eswatini.

The seconder of the motion and Gilgal MP Kenneth Sandla Fakudze said once upon a time UNESWA was the pride of the country, attracting students from neighbouring countries and imparting the knowledge but that had changed.

He said that if parliamentarians would sit back and do nothing, while there were obvious challenges that included students spending more time outside of class in protest than they did learning, then they would be letting down the head of State, who is the Chancellor at the institution. All MPs who declared interest to make submissions on the motion supported it and they all had one common submission - that there was a lot going wrong at the institution and it needed to be unearthed and dealt with. Lomahasha MP Ndumiso Masimula said they had asked the ministry if there was a bailout plan for the university, but the response was not satisfactory. We have all been disgraced as emaSwati by the falling of what used to be the regions attraction. We need that institution because if well manned, it paints a very colourful picture about the country, he said.

Unfolding

Mangcongco MP Oneboy Zikalala said he was once visited by concerned citizens from his constituency, who wanted to know why the legislators were quiet about the ugly events unfolding at the university because some of them were paying straight from their pockets, only for the students to spend more time outside class due to protests. Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo submitted that UNESWA had degenerated to levels below average and his biggest worry was that the university had become insolvent and it was only surviving through a subvention from government that was barely making a difference.

Khumalo asserted that the institution was a sorry sight, so much that none of its alumni were proud of it. He touched on the deficit of the pension that the university owed in millions, terming it horrible. What boggles the mind is that the conduct at the university does not change as previously we thought the protests were caused by activism of the students but lecturers and non-academic staff have also become party to the protests.

It is now on the verge of closure, one that will not be short and that is the danger of it, he said. The legislator said the standards of the curriculum of the university had dropped tremendously and sharp students were not gaining anything but chuff in recent times.

He even made an example of an A student who attained straight As and two Bs from his constituency, once approached him, seeking assistance to enrol at a university in Botswana for fear that he would not get the desired results at UNESWA. Khumalo then requested the minister not to take the report to Cabinet but bring it straight to Parliament when it was ready for tabling.
China cannot be a mediator in the war in Ukraine but could play the role of facilitator to reach a peace deal with Russia, the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Friday. European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.(AFP)

Also Read: China supplying arms to Russia would be 'red line' for EU: Borrell

"China does not distinguish between aggressor and victim of aggression," Borrell added in a panel held at the Spanish capital Madrid.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced China for undermining the independence of Hong Kongs courts, as the State Department released a new report condemning Beijings crackdown on dissent in the Asian financial center. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.(Reuters)

The US has previously focused criticism of China for suppressing free speech, targeting journalists and civil society groups and denying Hong Kong residents the right to freely select their leader. Blinkens comments on Friday underscored growing criticism that a legal system that helped make the city a hub for multinational firms has been harmed by efforts to quash the democracy movement that led to massive, sometimes-violent protests in 2019.

The Peoples Republic of China continues to erode Hong Kongs judicial independence and the rule of law, Blinken said in a statement. This past year, PRC and Hong Kong authorities have further criminalized dissent, undermining the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people in Hong Kong and dismantling the citys promised autonomy.

Blinkens comments accompanied a State Department annual report that detailed how it said Hong Kong authorities continued to wield the National Security Law imposed by Beijing in 2020 to erode the rule of law. Officials have continued to arrest and prosecute people for peaceful political expression critical of the local and central governments, including for posting and forwarding social media posts, according to the report.

Hong Kongs response

In a lengthy response, a Hong Kong government spokesman said the city strongly disapproved of and firmly rejected the unfounded and fact-twisting remarks and also the smears contained in the report. Hong Kong urged the US to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and Chinas internal affairs at large, and said the citys judges remained independent and impartial and free from any interference, even on cases involving national security.

Legal scholars have criticized the security law, among other things, for a provision that allows Hong Kongs leader to handpick judges who try national security cases, as well as remove them if the judge makes any statement or behaves in any manner endangering national security.

Blinkens critical comments, and the detailed report, come as Hong Kongs China-picked leader John Lee attempts to revive the citys reputation as an Asian finance hub following the dismantling of Covidrelated travel restrictions that kept the city isolated during the worst of the pandemic. Part of Hong Kongs longstanding appeal to international business is the historic reputation of the citys courts, which are distinct from courts in China that are effectively controlled by the Communist Party.

The Hong Kong government faces a real challenge as it tries to pivot away from the events of 2019 and 2020, and to refocus international attention on Hong Kongs longtime role as a business hub, said Thomas Kellogg, the executive director of Georgetown Universitys Center for Asian Law.

It will be hard for the Hong Kong government to convince the international community that the changes wrought by the NSL  and the damage done to judicial independence  will have no effect on the business environment, he said, referring to the National Security Law. After all, several key NSL provisions require private businesses to provide evidence in NSL cases, which would be a reputational nightmare for any Western business that found itself on the receiving end of such an inquiry from the Hong Kong police.

The State Department criticism only adds to ongoing US-China tensions over everything from US efforts to curtail the flow of advanced semiconductors to China to the transit this week through the US of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen, whose expected meeting in California with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has prompted threats from Chinese officials.
US President Joe Biden said that he has "no comment" on the indictment of former President Donald Trump. Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office. Fox News reported that when Joe Biden was asked whether he thinks the charges against Donald Trump were politically motivated, he said, I have no comment on Trump. Donald Trump Indictment: US President Joe Biden speaks.

Read more: Donald Trump likely to surrender next week? What lawyer said after indictment

The White House also declined to comment on the unprecedented charges against Trump. The Manhattan District court which has been investigating Donald Trump for hush money payments made ahead of the 2016 presidential election, made charges against the former US President. This includes the $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Read more: Second hush money case related to Donald Trump being examined: Report

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said.

Reacting to the indictment Donald Trump said, "This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country  have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement."

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Former US President Donald Trump will likely surrender to the Manhattan District Attorneys (DA) office early next week, his lawyer Joe Tacopina told NBC News. The report also said that Donald Trump's team is in contact with the prosecutors and his arraignment may take place next week. Donald Trump Surrender: Former US President Donald Trump.(PTI)

"We contacted Mr Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," the spokesperson was quoted by NBC as saying.

Read more: ...my champagne: What Stormy Daniels said after Trump's hush money indictment

For the surrender, the report said that the Secret Service will coordinate with authorities in New York while Donald Trump's legal team will take care of his transportation and security needs.

A New York grand jury indicted Donald Trump over hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election with which he became the first US president to face criminal charges. If Donald Trump is convicted in the case, he will not be disqualified from running for the presidential elections in 2024. Donald Trump filed his candidacy papers for the polls in November last year.

Read more: Trump indicted over hush money, prosecutor coordinating 'surrender': Top updates

Following years-long investigation, the charges were made against Donald Trump into a payment that his personal lawyer made to porn star Stormy Daniels- a $130,000 pay-out to silence her over an alleged affair. Donald Trump has repeatedly slammed the investigations and said that he was "completely innocent".

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A 50-year-old woman was arrested in France after she referred to the country's president Emmanuel Macron as "garbage" in a Facebook post. The woman will face a criminal trial for publicly insulting the president, Daily Express UK reported. The woman had posted a picture of graffiti saying "Macron Garbage" on the social media platform, the report said, adding that police were quick to arrest her following the post. Emmanuel Macron: French President Emmanuel Macron is seen.(AFP)

"I asked them if it was a joke. It's the first time I've been arrested." I'm an activist for social justice. They want to make an example of me. I am not public enemy number one," the woman told Voix du Nord.

Read more: Russia shouldnt be' permanent UN Security Council member: What US envoy said

This is totally unfair. We are going through a period when intimidation is strong, and activists are threatened," she added.

The arrest comes as sanitation workers in Paris began to return to work ending a strike against French president Emmanuel Marcons widely unpopular pension bill. Protesters called for his resignation as he faced the biggest challenge of his second term in office.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron announced new water-saving measures for the country brushing aside the protests.

"There is contestation over a reform, but it doesn't mean everything else should grind to a halt... We need to continue working," Emmanuel Macron said.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday that he had expressed concern over Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a meeting earlier that day with Chinese President Xi Jinping and encouraged him to talk to Kyiv. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.(AP photo)

Sanchez told a news conference in Beijing he had told Xi that Spain supported the peace formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in November, which includes demands to restore Ukraine's territory to the status quo before Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Also Read: China should press Russia to end war, says Ukraine

"I transmitted our concern at the illegal invasion of Ukraine," Sanchez said, adding that he "encouraged Xi to talk to President Zelenskiy" to learn first-hand about Kyiv's peace plan.

"I believe it's a plan that lays the foundations for a durable peace in Ukraine and is perfectly aligned with the United Nations charter and its principles, which have been violated by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin with his invasion," he said.

Sanchez declined to say what Xi had told him on the issue.

Also Read: Chinese foreign minister expressed concerns to its Ukrainian counterpart over its long-running conflict with Russia

Last month, Beijing put forward its own 12-point peace plan and called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the conflict.

Spain, a NATO member whose foreign policy is closely aligned with the United States, is a staunch ally of Ukraine and will assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union in July.
Turkey on Thursday became the final NATO nation to ratify Finland's membership of the US-led defence alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland never seriously discussed NATO membership until Putin went to war.(Reuters)

Read here: NATO reacts to Putin's nuclear threat: 'Dangerous, irresponsible'

Lawmakers unanimously backed the Nordic country's accession two weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly blessed the bid.

"I welcome the vote of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to complete the ratification of Finland's accession," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg tweeted moments after the vote.

"This will make the whole NATO family stronger and safer."

Turkey's approval leaves Finland -- which has a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border with Russia -- with only a few technical steps before it becomes the 31st member of the world's most powerful military bloc.

Officials expect the process to be completed as early as next week.

Finland and its neighbour Sweden ended decades of military non-alignment and decided to join NATO last May.

Their applications were accepted at a June alliance summit that was designed to show the Western world's desire to stand up to Russia in the face of Europe's most grave conflict since World War II.

But the bids still needed to be ratified by all the members' parliaments -- a process that stalled with Turkey and Hungary.

Ample grievances

Erdogan put up stiff resistance to Sweden's candidacy because of a series of long-standing disputes.

He first signalled his more supportive stance on Finland's membership in January -- a position that forced the Nordic neighbours to bow to the diplomatic pressure and break up their bids so that both applications were not delayed.

The Hungarian parliament ratified Finland's NATO membership on Monday. It was expected to approve Sweden's accession during the current session ending June 15.

But a spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday called on Sweden to "clear the air" and address "an ample amount of grievances" for the vote to go ahead.

Sweden has upset Orban -- one of Europe's closest allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin -- by expressing alarm over the rule of law in Hungary.

It has also angered Turkey by refusing to extradite dozens of suspects that Erdogan links to a failed 2016 coup attempt and a decades-long Kurdish fight for an independent state.

Read here: Will keep notifying US of ballistic missile launches: Russia

Stockholm still hopes to join the alliance in time for a July summit in Vilnius.

Most analysts believe that Turkey will only vote on Sweden's candidacy after the country's May general election.

'Legitimate target'

NATO was created as a counterweight to the Soviet Union at the onset of the Cold War era that began immediately after the Allies defeated Nazi Germany.

The bloc has gone through waves of expansion that brought it ever closer to Russia's borders.

NATO's reach into east and south European countries that were once under Moscow's effective control infuriated the Kremlin and created growing strains in its relations with Washington.

Putin cited the threat of NATO expanding into Ukraine as one of his main reasons for launching the war 13 months ago.

But the conflict has had the opposite geopolitical effect from the one envisioned by Putin.

Ukraine is now receiving tanks and other heavy weapons from NATO members that it hopes to use in a new counter-offensive planned for the coming weeks or months.

Finland never seriously discussed NATO membership until Putin went to war.

The Kremlin at first appeared to play down the significance of the bloc reaching a new stretch of Russia's northwestern frontier.

But Russia has stepped up its diplomatic rhetoric in recent weeks.

Stockholm this week summoned the Russian ambassador after he said Sweden and Finland would become a "legitimate target" of "retaliatory measures" -- including military ones -- if they join NATO.

Read here: Ukraine urges UNSC meet over Russian nuclear plans in Belarus

Putin last weekend also announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus.
Floridians will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill the Legislature sent to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor, who is considering a presidential run, has said the issue is one of his priorities. Protesters gather inside the Tennessee State Capitol to call for an end to gun violence and support stronger gun laws after a deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, US.(REUTERS)

The Senate passed the bill on a 27-13 vote. It will allow anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida to carry one without a permit. It means training and a background check will not be needed for people to carry concealed guns in public.

The arguments over the legislation were divided on political lines, with Republicans saying law-abiding citizens have a right to carry guns and protect themselves and Democrats saying a state that has seen horrific mass shootings such as the Parkland high school and Pulse nightclub massacres will become even more dangerous.

Also Read| US Congressman's solution to gun violence: Change peoples hearts'

Nearly 3 million Floridians have a concealed weapons permit. While a background check and three-day waiting period will still be required to purchase a gun from a licensed dealer, they are not required for private transactions or exchanges of weapons. People can still obtain permits to avoid the purchase waiting period and to carry in states with reciprocal agreements.

DeSantis has said he thinks Florida should go even further and allow people to openly carry guns. While some lawmakers have pushed for open carry, it doesn't appear the Legislature will pass such legislation.
The Kremlin said on Friday that all accredited foreign journalists could continue to work in Russia, a day after a Wall Street Journal reporter was remanded in custody on espionage charges brought by the FSB security agency. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov .(REUTERS)

The Kremlin said Evan Gershkovich had been carrying out espionage "under the cover" of journalism. Russia has not published any evidence to support the charges - the first such case against an American reporter since the end of the Cold War - which have been denied by the WSJ.

"All journalists who have valid accreditation here - I mean foreign journalists - can and do continue their journalistic activity in the country. They do not face any restrictions and are working fine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

Also Read: Four bankers convicted for assisting Putin's friend in opening Swiss bank account

Gershkovich, who is an accredited reporter, was arrested in Yekaterinburg on charges decried by the U.S. administration and those who know him as bogus. A Moscow court ordered him to be held in pre-trial custody until at least May 29.

The case - the most serious action against a Western reporter in Russia for decades - has threatened to further worsen already abysmal U.S.-Russia relations.

Civil rights groups criticised it as the latest escalation in Russia's campaign to stifle all independent journalism, which has intensified with the toughening of censorship laws since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine.

Also Read: Should Xi Jinping visit Ukraine? Kremlin says not Russia's place to

While a number of Russian journalists have been imprisoned during the two decades since Putin came to power, foreign reporters who have fallen foul of the authorities have generally simply been expelled.

Peskov on Friday repeated an assertion that Gershkovich had been "caught red-handed", but declined to elaborate on the details of the case, which have been kept secret even from the reporter's legal team.

He also urged Washington not to respond by expelling Russian journalists working in the United States.
The United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Turk deplored on Friday how grave human rights violations were "shockingly routine" in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and said the number of civilian casualties was far higher than official figures. UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.(Twitter)

Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk said Ukraine was a nation "struggling to survive" in the face of Russia's invasion.

"After 13 months of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine," he said.

"People across the country face massive suffering and loss, deprivation, displacement and destruction."

Also Read: Ukraine urges UNSC meet over Russian nuclear plans in Belarus

Fighting is still raging in eastern and southern Ukraine, where Russian forces hold swathes of territory captured after they invaded in February last year.

Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified more than 8,400 civilian deaths and more than 14,000 civilians wounded.

"These figures are just the tip of the iceberg," Turk said. "Most of the casualties resulted from Russian forces' use of wide-impact explosive weaponry in residential neighbourhoods."

Also Read: Ukraine dials India ahead of UNGA meet

The U.N. Human Rights Council is the only body made up of governments to protect human rights worldwide. It does not have legally binding powers but its debates can spur investigations that feed evidence to national and international courts.

The Council next week is expected to adopt a resolution to extend and deepen the mandate of a U.N. investigative body set up to probe possible atrocities in Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities, who have called for the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute the Russian political and military leadership over the invasion, have said the investigative body was essential to holding Russia accountable.
MBABANE  The taximan who was shot during an armed robbery at Smile Supermarket in the capital city yesterday was actually attempting to disarm and apprehend one of the robbers.

The taximan died while undergoing treatment in hospital. The deceased was said to be from Luve in the Manzini Region, though his next of kin could not be reached at the time of compiling this report, hence his name has been deliberately omitted. The robbery, which involved four armed men, took place between 6:30am and 7am, and the robbers are said to have walked away with coins amounting between E6 000 and E7 000.

Smile Supermarket is situated along Betfusile Street. Shops like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Spar and Engen Garage, were also attacked by robbers in recent months. A shocked truck driver, who had come to deliver stock at the supermarket failed to speak at first, due to the trauma of what happened since he had witnessed the incident.

Composure

The truck driver later gained his composure and said; after parking the vehicle in front of the shop, he decided to take a nap, while waiting for the shop owner to receive certain goods. Ngisangene namanje (I am confused) on what I saw. At around 6:50am, I called Dr Khalid M. Patel informing him that I was waiting for him. He told me that he was already inside the shop. I then approached him regarding his goods he was supposed to take, said the truck driver.

He said while they were still having a discussion, he heard someone saying everyone must lie down. He said he was startled. The truck driver also said he thought all the people who were in the shop were customers. The three men who were inside the shop were armed with firearms. We all lay down, as per the command from the thieves, in fear for our lives, he said. The robbers then demanded cash from the businessman and grabbed some of the coins that were visible, some of which were in money bags. While this was happening, according to the truck driver, a woman screamed from outside the shop.

The robbers started calling each other to leave the scene, after hearing someone raise the alarm. One of them was heard saying asambeni madoda seyibhemile, narrated the truck driver. He further said after rising from the floor, he saw the taximan wrestling with one of the robbers, who was the last to leave the shop. The taximan tried to grab the firearm from the robbers hand. I tried to assist the taximan to grab the gun from the robbers hand, because I didnt want him to get shot during the fight over the dangerous weapon. We overpowered the robber and forced him to remove all the bullets from his firearm, he said.

One of the robbers returned and opened fire on the taximan, who was inside the shop. The truck driver said he did not see where exactly the taximan was shot. What I do remember is that he (taximan) fell on me after he was shot. Ngigugile ngingaka angizange sengikubone loku, (as old as I am, I have never seen such) lamented the truck driver. Another eyewitness, who was outside the shop, said the taximan was in the shop to buy something. She suspected that the robbers did not all enter the shop at once.

I saw a car parked close to the shop. I then saw one man alighting from the motor vehicle and entering the shop, before moving out the second time. I didnt suspect anything since a few customers had already entered the supermarket, said the source. The source stated that, while still outside the nearby shop, where she is employed, she heard a sound of a gunshot inside the supermarket. She said three men armed with firearms came out of the shop running towards the parked motor vehicles along the street. The source said one of the suspects was heard saying seyibhemile. Police officers, warders, businesspeople and members of the public were found at the scene for evidence. The police officers were processing the scene.



Meanwhile, a shop assistant in the supermarket said he did not know what happened after being told to lie down. He said he opened the shop at around 6:30am and went straight to the till. He said 10 minutes after opening the shop, the thieves came inside. I think one of them was already inside before the others entered the shop. They then closed the shop and ordered everyone to lie down, he said.

Demanded

He said one of them demanded money from him and he told them that there was no money. The shop assistant further told this reporter that he pleaded with them to take whatever they wanted. They took the coins amounting between E6 000 and E7 000. I dont know what happened thereafter, explained the shocked shop assistant. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed an incident of four armed men who attacked one the shops around Mbabane. While speaking on national radio yesterday morning. Vilakati stated that a taximen was injured after trying to prevent the robbery and was rushed to hospital. The four suspects are alleged to be armed and, therefore, dangerous. We urge the public not to approach them but to contact the police, said Vilakati. Later in the afternoon, Vilakati confirmed the demise of the taximan who was shot by one of the four robbers.
Japan's foreign minister will visit Beijing for two days from Saturday to discuss a range of issues, including the detention of an Astellas Pharma Inc employee, the minister said. Japan's foreign minister Hayashi visiting China tomorrow.(AP)

Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters he would meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang during the visit for "an honest and frank discussion to create a constructive and stable relationship".

The visit comes after the close U.S. ally Japan announced plans to restrict exports of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aligning its technology trade with a U.S. push to curb China's ability to make advanced chips.

Also Read: China tells Japan it is troubled by Tokyo's military build up: To be honest

Also clouding ties is the case of a Japanese man employed by Astellas Pharma who a company spokesperson said this week had been detained in China for unknown reasons.

The Japanese government has asked Chinese authorities to release the man, media reported.

"We plan to make our position clear on a range of issues including these during my visit to China," Hayashi said on Friday when asked if he would raise the issue of the Astellas employee and the release of water from the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Several of Japan's neighbours are alarmed by a plan by the Japanese utility that runs the crippled nuclear power station to release more than a million tons of radioactive water from it into the sea.

The utility and the Japanese government say the water, which has been mainly used to cool reactors in the aftermath of a 2011 tsunami that crippled the plant, has been treated, filtered and diluted and is safe.

Also Read: China slams US debt trap accusation as 'irresponsible'

Hayashi's visit to China follows talks between leaders of the two countries in November, the first in almost three years.

At the time, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he conveyed his concerns over China's increasing maritime military presence but also said the two leaders agreed to reopen diplomatic channels of communications including a visit by Japan's foreign minister to China in the near future.

China sees Hayashi's visit as important and in the interests of good ties, Mao Ning, a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry, told a regular briefing in Beijing.

"China and Japan are close neighbours and it is in the common interest of both countries and the region to maintain healthy and stable relations between the two countries," Mao said.
The Manhattan grand jury is investigating a hush money payment made by Donald Trump to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, according to the Wall Street Journal. This comes as the jury heard evidence and charged the former US President in a hush money payment case involving adult film star Stormy Daniels. Karen McDougal- Donald Trump Case: US President Donald Trump is seen.(AFP)

Read more: Donald Trump likely to surrender next week? What lawyer said after indictment

The office of the Manhattan district attorney has presented the grand jury with evidence involving Karen McDougal, who had earlier claimed to have had an extramarital affair with Donald Trump in 2006, the report said.

Wall Street Journal had reported in 2016 that the parent company of the National Enquirer, which endorsed Donald Trumps first presidential bid, agreed to pay Karen McDougal $150,000 for her story on the affair. Although, the story was not published eventually.

The case is similar to Stormy Daniels who was paid $130,000 in 2016 by Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen. That transaction was not publicly reported until 2018.

Read more: Russia shouldnt be' permanent UN Security Council member: What US envoy said

Owing to the Karen McDougal payment, Donald Trump could face additional charges. Donald Trump has denied any hush money payment or allegations of affairs with Stormy Daniels or Karen McDougal.

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North Korea committed horrific human rights violations including the execution of a six-month pregnant woman who pointed at the portrait of Kim Il-sung, the country's founder. An extensive South Korean report which has been publicised for the first time, Kim Jong-un is said to have ordered the execution of homosexuals, religious persons and North Koreans who tried to flee the country. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a meeting of the ruling Workers Party at its headquarters in Pyongyang, (AP)

The report was released by South Korea's Unification Ministry which handles inter-Korean affairs. The 450-page report includes testimony collected from 2017 to 2022 from more than 500 North Koreans who fled their country.

Read more: Woman arrested for calling France's Macron garbage: Making an example'

"North Korean citizens' right to life appears to be greatly threatened," the ministry said in the report.

Executions are widely carried out for acts that do not justify the death penalty, including drug crimes, distribution of South Korean videos, and religious and superstitious activities, it added.

The report detailed the violent actions of the North Korean regime saying that the pregnant woman was killed after a video showed her pointing at a portrait of the late Kim Il-sung while she was dancing in her home. The report also said that six teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were executed by shooting.

The teens were charged over watching video footage originating from South Korea and smoking opium at a stadium. Human experiments were also conducted on North Koreans, the report said.

Read more: Second hush money case related to Donald Trump being examined: Report

Officials also blackmailed families and forced them to make their relatives human test subjects in medical trials, it added. North Korea also forced nurses to write up a list of dwarfs and conducted hysterectomies on a woman with dwarfism, the report added.

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Meghan Markle won the defamation lawsuit against her half-sister Samantha Markle as a judge dismissed the court case. Samantha Markle had accused Meghan Markle of spreading "malicious lies" during the Oprah Winfrey interview in 2021. A Florida judge dismissed the lawsuit saying that Meghan Markles statements were pure opinion and "not capable of being proved false". Meghan Markle: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex watches as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse.(AP)

Read more: What Harry, William have in common? Both lost souls before: Royal expert

As a reasonable listener would understand it, Defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings, the court noted.

Thus, the Court finds that Defendants statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof.... Plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove Defendants opinion of her own childhood, it added.

In the filing, Samantha Markle had claimed that "demonstrably false and malicious statements" were made by Meghan Markle to a worldwide audience adding that Meghan defamed her to "cover up" her "false rages to riches" narrative.

Read more: Prince William on Harry, Meghan's Africa trip: 'She's your fourth girl'

Samantha Markle's lawyer told the court about Meghan Markle, "She got caught. She was lying about her education, that she was getting all these scholarships. Her father paid for her education for goodness sakes, and she got caught with this lie. Why else is she putting her sister down? Why else is she putting her father down?

Why else is she denying her family who has done nothing but good to her all her life? She never had a problem with them at all. She's denying them to cover up that she made up this narrative that she went from rags to riches which is nonsense, probably not even realizing the harm she would do to her sister," the lawyer added.

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After Donald Trump became the first-ever US president to face a criminal charge over alleged payments made to Stormy Daniels to silence claims of a sexual encounter, the porn actress on Friday reacted to the indictment. Former US President Donald Trump and porn star Stormy Daniels. (File)

Taking to Twitter, Daniels expressed gratitude to her supporters and added that she didnt want to spill her champagne, indicating that she had been celebrating Trumps indictment. She also revealed that the news had led to a rush in demand for her merchandise and autograph.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, wrote, Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...also don't want to spill my champagne #Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment.

Also read: Trump indicted over hush money, prosecutor coordinating 'surrender': Top updates

Trump, however, has rejected all the accusations and termed it Political Persecution and Election Interference in a statement released after the announcement of the indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. The former US president also called it a politically motivated witch hunt to destroy his Make America Great Again campaign.

Soon after the news broke, Daniels also retweeted the reaction from her lawyer Clark Brewster with a thank you. Asserting that everyone is equal before the law, Brewster wrote, "The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail.

The case surrounds the 2016 presidential campaign when the 76-year-old Democrat's personal lawyer Michael Cohen allegedly paid Daniels $130,000 after she threatened to go public about what she called an extramarital affair. Cohen was then reimbursed by the Trump Organization, which also rewarded the lawyer with bonuses and extra payments. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to his role in orchestrating the payments and was sentenced to three years in prison. He also testified that Trump directed him to make the payments.

(With inputs from AP, Reuters)

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Pope Francis will leave hospital on Saturday and could take part in all Easter week celebrations, a top cardinal told Italian news agency Adnkronos on Friday. Pope Francis(AP)

The pope, 86 and suffering from a number of ailments, was taken to Rome's Gemelli hospital two days ago after complaining of breathing difficulties.

However, the Vatican said on Thursday he was already much better after beginning treatment with antibiotics and would probably be discharged within a few days.

Also read: PM Modi wishes Pope Francis speedy recovery from bronchitis infection

"According to the information I have, he will leave the Gemelli tomorrow," the dean of the college of cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, said on Friday.

"That way, he could preside over all the Holy Week rites," Re said.

Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday on April 2, leads to the most important event in the Christian calendar, Easter Sunday on April 9. The week includes a busy schedule of rituals and ceremonies that can be physically exhausting, including a Good Friday nighttime procession by Rome's Colosseum.

Re said arrangements had been made for Francis to be supported by a cardinal in each of these celebrations, and that the cardinal would take care of altar duties.

Earlier on Friday, a Vatican source said the pope had spent a second peaceful night in hospital, in the latest sign he is recovering well from his bronchitis infection.

The Vatican expects to issue another bulletin on Francis's progress later on Friday, the source added.
King Charles' wife Queen Consort Camilla has decided not to wear some accessories and attire that has been worn by the royal family before, a report in Private Eye claimed. She is also considering excluding a specific object in the coronation in order to be in the good books of Prince William, the report claimed. Queen Consort Camilla: Britain's Queen Consort Camilla hosts a reception for winners of the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition.(AFP)

Read more: Meghan Markle wins defamation lawsuit against half-sister Samantha

The object is the traditional ivory scepter which has been used by every Queen Consort since 1685. The magazine reported that Camilla may not use it because of Prince Williams love of elephants and his stand against poaching. Prince William has long been a critic of ivory trade. In 2022, Prince William praised the sentencing of Moazu Kromah who was given 63 months in prison for trafficking rhino horns and ivory from elephants.

Read more: Meghan Markle honoured with this award for her Archetypes podcast

Todays sentencing demonstrates both what is possible when a coordinated international response is brought to bear against the illegal wildlife trade, and why it is essential. This is a significant victory and a landmark case. For over a decade, its complexity has been skilfully met by a global alliance of international law enforcement agencies, governments, NGOs, and private sector organizations, including a number of brilliant United for Wildlife partners, Prince William had then said.

In addition to this, it was earlier reported that Camilla will also not wear the controversial Kohinoor diamond but will instead wear Queen Marys headpiece.

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UK prime minister Rishi Sunak spent more than 500,000 of taxpayers' money on private jets in just a few weeks, The Mirror reported citing official figures. The private jets racked up a bill of 512,321 in travel costs for trips that Rishi Sunak made to Egypt, Bali, Latvia and Estonia last year. Rishi Sunak: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walks outside Downing Street.(Reuters)

Read more: Second hush money case related to Donald Trump being examined: Report

The report said that government figures showed plane hiring cost 107,966 while Rishi Sunak's personal costs were 3,483, including visas, accommodation, travel and meals. His five-day trip to the G20 summit in Bali cost 341,857 for hiring the jet and 11,204 on personal costs, the report said.

While his trip to Latvia and Estonia in December for a Joint Expeditionary Force meeting incurred travel costs of 62,498, with personal costs of 2,500.

Read more: Joe Biden's first response to Donald Trump's hush money indictment is

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat climate spokesman, said, This is a shocking waste of taxpayers money at a time when people are struggling to pay their bills. Yet again, this Conservative Government is completely out of touch."

The Government can pretend to care about a greener future with their so-called Green Day, but the reality is they are trashing their own promises, Wera Hobhouse added.

Rishi Sunak's spokesman said, The role of the Prime Minister includes holding vital meetings with world leaders during bilateral visits and summits to discuss issues of international importance  including security, defence and trade.

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Russia "should not be" a permanent member of the UN Security Council, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. "Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council. It shouldn't be, because of what it is doing in Ukraine, but the (UN) charter does not allow for a change in its permanent membership," Linda Thomas-Greenfield told AFP. UN Security Council: US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield is seen,(AFP)

The US envoy is currently attending the democracy summit in Costa Rica. The remarks come as Russia is set to assume the rotating presidency of the Security Council this week for a month. US ambassador said that she expects Moscow to behave "professionally" in the presidency while she remained doubtful about the same.

Read more: Donald Trump likely to surrender next week? What lawyer said after indictment

"We also expect that they will also seek opportunities to advance their disinformation campaign against Ukraine, the United States and all of our allies," she said.

"At every opportunity, we will raise our concerns about Russia's actions," she added. The US envoy also condemned Moscow's "war crimes and human rights violations" in Ukraine as Kyiv marks the anniversary of killings in Bucha.

"The battle for the foundation of the free world is taking place on Ukrainian land. We will definitely win. Russian evil will fall, right here in Ukraine and will not be able to rise again," Zelensky said marking the anniversary.

On China and Taiwan conflict, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said US respects the "One-China" policy, but Washington and Taipei have a "strong partnership".

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The corpses of six unidentified persons were discovered on Thursday in an area along the border between Canada and the United States. HT Image

According to Canadian media, the bodies were recovered from the St Lawrence River. In a release, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said that the first body was located around 5pm local time in a marsh area in Tsi Snaihne (Snye) Akwesasne in the province of Quebec. The Police Marine unit continued to search the area with assistance from the Coast Guard and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department.

The police service said it will seek assistance from the Surete du Quebec, the provincial police force, and the Ontario Provincial Police air support units to assist with the investigation.

Cause of death will be established after the results of a post-mortem and toxicology tests are available, the release added. Police are attempting to identify the deceased persons at this time and ascertain their status in Canada, it added.

In April last year, six Indian nationals were rescued from the freezing St Regis River in the same area. That followed suspicious activity being reported to the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service about a boat carrying multiple subjects on the Saint Regis river and travelling from Cornwall in the province of Ontario.

That information was transmitted to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department. They responded and observed the vessel taking on water and sinking in the Saint Regis River in Akwesasne. Six the those rescued and apprehended were identified as citizens of India, all aged between 19 and 21 years, and were charged with Improper Entry by Alien. Canadian media reported at least one among them may only have arrived in the country a week before attempting the crossing. They all were natives of Gujarat.

That incident occurred three months after four members of family from Gujarat, were found dead due to exposure to extreme winter conditions in the province of Manitoba, near the US border, in what was also a human smuggling operation gone wrong.

That tragedy on January 19 claimed the lives of 39-year-old Jagdishkumar Baldevbhai Patel, his wife 37-year-old Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, their daughter 11-year-old Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, and son, three-year-old Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel. They too were trying to illegally cross the border from Canada into the US.

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King Charles III is boarding a carriage, though not the horse-drawn kind, for the final leg of his three-day visit to Germany, which will bring him and Camilla, the queen consort, by train Friday to the northern port city of Hamburg. Britain's King Charles III.(AP)

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier plans to accompany the British royals on the two-hour high-speed journey from Berlin.

The couple arrived Wednesday in the German capital for Charles' first foreign trip as king. Steinmeier greeted them at the Brandenburg Gate with full military honors and later hosted a banquet in their honor.

Also Read: King Charles to address German parliament on his first foreign trip as monarch

On Thursday, Charles became the first monarch to address the German parliament, telling assembled lawmakers that "together we must strive for the security, prosperity and well-being that our people deserve. He then met with Ukrainian refugees and a German-British military unit before visiting an organic farm where he tried his hand at making cheese.

Charles' trip is part of a carefully calibrated effort by the British government to mend frayed ties with its continental partners after the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union.

Charles originally planned to visit France first, but anti-government protests in the country led both governments to postpone that part of his trip. The new itinerary put the focus on Germany, where Charles has family roots and the royals have long been the subject of fascination.

Also Read: In his first state visit to France, King Charles III arrives amid protests

In Hamburg, the royal couple are scheduled to visit a memorial to the Kindertransporte, or children's transports, that resulted in more than 10,000 Jewish children receiving refuge from Nazi Germany in the U.K. 85 years ago.

Charles and Camilla also are set to lay a wreath at the remains of St. Nikolai church to commemorate the more than 30,000 people, mostly German civilians, who were killed in Operation Gomorrah, the Allied bombing of Hamburg in July 1943.

A boat trip and a farewell reception involving musical performances, including by a Beatles cover band and a sea shanty group, will round off the king's visit.
Donald Trump has become the first former American president to be indicted and is expected to turn himself in on Tuesday for arraignment. The indictment came in connection with paying off adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter. The payment was made in the run-up to the 2016 presidential elections. Former US President Donald Trump. (REUTERS)

On Thursday, a grand jury in New York indicted Trump on criminal charges, the district attorneys office and Trumps lawyers confirmed.

While the specific charges will only be made publicly available when he turn himself in, Trump has likely been charged with falsifying business records and violating campaign finance laws.

CNN reported he faces more than 30 counts related to fraud. The indictment comes after a five-year-long investigation and will both test the legal system and shape American political dynamics within the Republican fold and between Republicans and Democrats in the run-up to presidential elections next year.

The political battle

The indictment introduces additional uncertainty in the Republican field for the presidential nomination in 2024. Trump has announced his candidature. The indictment does not pose any legal bar on him from continuing his fight for the nomination. But political observers are divided about whether it will benefit him by consolidating his base further  or push Republican donors and voters towards other potential candidates, particularly Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

Trump called the indictment political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history, and said that ever since he announced his candidacy in 2016, Radical Left Democrats had been engaged in a witch-hunt against the Make America Great Again Movement.

The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever, said Trump.

He alleged that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who has led the case, was handpicked and funded by [billionaire] George Soros and said the move will backfire on Democrats.

In a sign of how the indictment may have forced all Republicans to unite in opposition to the decision, DeSantis, who has been facing Trumps attacks, too called the indictment un-American. He alleged that the Soros-backed Manhattan attorney was stretching the law to target a political opponent. DeSantis did not specifically name Trump in his tweet.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who fell out with Trump over the legitimacy of the 2020 elections, also called the indictment an outrage.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy threatened to hold Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

Democrats emphasised the importance of letting the law take its course. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, who is from New York, said that Trump is subject to the same laws as every American . Schumer added Trump will be able to avail of the legal system and a jury according to facts and the law. There should be no outside political influence, intimidation or interference in the case.

The legal context

The charges will only be unsealed on Tuesday after Trump turns himself in. But here is whats known. The case does not hinge on Trump paying off Daniels  neither does the former president deny that the payment was made (though he denies having any sexual encounter with Daniels), nor is hush money in itself illegal.

Instead, the case, in all likelihood, hinges on Trump reimbursing his long-time confidant and lawyer, Michael Cohen, who paid off Daniels and then provided phony invoices to show this as legal expenses, thus hiding the intent of the payment. It is thus possibly built around this falsifying of business records.

Trumps lawyers deny that he knew about the misleading records, even though Cohen has claimed the former president was completely aware of it.

In 2018, Cohen admitted in court that he had made payments to two women in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal officefor the principal purpose of influencing the election. Daniels was among them.

But this would constitute a misdemeanour, not a crime. For it to be a crime, it is possible that the case hinges on showing that the payment was a violation of election law since the payout, in effect, served as a donation to the Trump campaign by silencing Daniels and averting a scandal to influence the poll.

The payment of $130,000 violated the maximum donation limit for a campaign, capped at $2700. Cohen made the payment on October 27, 2016, just 12 days before the elections.

If this is the charge, the Manhattan prosecutor may have used a state election law that defines a campaign contribution as anything of value, made in connection with an election.

Besides the case in Manhattan, Trump confronts other legal challenges. These revolve around his possession of classified files, efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia, role in instigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, and business practices of the Trump organisation.

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Britain on Friday said it had struck a deal to join an 11-country trans-Pacific trade pact which includes Japan and Australia as it looks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving the European Union. Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. (AFP)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain had agreed to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in a move his office said was the biggest trade deal since Brexit.

"Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies," Sunak said in a statement, adding the deal demonstrated "the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms."

Also read: Boris Johnson, Liz Truss to fight UK's Rishi Sunak on key Brexit vote

Britain has been looking to build global trade ties following its departure from the EU in 2020 and has looked to pivot toward geographically distant but fast-growing economies.

It is deepening its ties in the Indo-Pacific as its foreign policy framework casts China as an "epoch defining challenge".

Other members of CPTPP are Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Britain is the first new member to join the group.

Membership will supplement existing bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Britain has with most of the member countries, and gives businesses extra options over the terms they can trade under.

The overall impact of the trade deal is set to be modest. Britain said the deal, which will cut tariffs on cars, spirits and dairy products, would boost the economy by 1.8 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) each year in the long-run - a figure that could rise as more countries join the pact.

"The Pacific Rim is forecast to grow twice as fast as Europe, so UK businesses should be thinking about their regional presence," said Sally Jones, trade policy and strategy partner at EY.

"The CPTPP makes that much easier, and the CPTPP will only get bigger as more countries look to join."

Britain has agreed new post-Brexit trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and agreed an FTA with Japan in 2020. It is also in talks with Canada and Mexico over new FTAs, after it rolled over previous EU trade deals at the end of 2020.
Mark Morell, who is popularly known as Mr Pothole in UK media, has become so frustrated with damaged roads in Britain that he's resorted to filling them with Pot Noodles in a bid to raise awareness. Morell has teamed up with the iconic noodle brand to urge the government to take action over the sheer number of potholes. For Morrell, potholes aren't just a nuisance but a menace.

Previously he'd plotted to put rubber ducks and even feed the potholes cake on their birthdays, but these ideas were all unsuccessful. Since nothing fills a hole like a Pot Noodle, who better to team up with to highlight the ridiculous state of the UKs roads? he was quoted as saying by The Metro.

"Potholes drive road users potty and me more than most. The pothole crisis across the UK is an increasingly serious issue and something I have been campaigning on for more than 10 years," he added.

"During this period, I have had to use my noodle with stunts to highlight just how bad potholes are, from floating plastic ducks in water-filled potholes to birthday cakes, fishing rods, and model submarines," he said.

For Morrell, potholes aren't just a nuisance but a menace. He's met with the families of cyclists who have been killed after being flung into oncoming traffic by a pothole. Each week, one cyclist dies or is left with life-changing injuries because of a pothole on Britain's roads, Those deaths are avoidable, he was quoted by Guardian.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine would "never forgive" Moscow for its occupation of Bucha, a year after the town became a symbol of alleged Russian war crimes. President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks on Bucha anniversary(AFP)

Russian forces pulled back from the commuter town northwest of Kyiv on March 31, 2022, just over one month after President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine.

AFP journalists on April 2 last year discovered the bodies of at least 20 people in civilian clothing, some with their hands tied behind their backs, lying in a street of the suburb.

Also Read: Some lawmakers exit Austria's parliament while Zelensky speaks. Here's why

Zelensky said Bucha had become "a symbol of the atrocities" committed by Russian forces, who have been linked to the extra-judicial killings of unarmed civilians in Bucha.

"We will never forgive. We will punish every perpetrator," Zelensky said in a statement on social media.

During a visit to Bucha days the Russian troops' withdrawal, Zelensky described the killings as "genocide".

Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian troops of war crimes after the discoveries, pointing to an abundance of footage and witness accounts.

Also Read: Trying for deal on Russia-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant: IAEA chief

Prosecutors in Kyiv say Russian forces killed some 1,400 civilians around Bucha and that they have identified dozens of Russian soldiers responsible.

But Moscow denies the accusations, claiming the atrocities in Bucha were staged.

Many foreign leaders and officials who have visited Ukraine since the war started have made a stop in Bucha.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he had a "strong sentiment of indignation" in Bucha last week.

After Russia withdrew from near Kyiv, fighting shifted to the south and east of Ukraine, with the embattled city of Bakhmut now the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle since the invasion.

But a year after it was retaken by Kyiv's forces, Bucha has not forgotten its victims.

The community of the suburb is rebuilding, and locals told AFP "the pain subsides" and that they must "continue to live".

AFP on Thursday saw dozens of construction workers weaving between diggers and trucks, as they worked to rebuild homes and roads in the town, which had a pre-war population of some 37,000 people.

Also Read: Zelensky ready to meet Xi Jinping, invites Chinese leader to visit Ukraine

Archpriest Andriy, who runs the local parish, said it is "important" not to forget those who are "not with us today".

"But it is also important for us not to live in the past but in the future," he told AFP.

In the weeks following Russia's withdrawal from other towns near Kyiv, hundreds more bodies were found in homes, basements and shallow graves across the north.

Ukraine wants to establish a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's leaders but there are complex legal disputes over how it could work.

The International Criminal Court earlier this month issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine.

Chief ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has described Ukraine as a "crime scene".

Russia has repeatedly denied any abuses by its forces, and foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova this week described scenes in Bucha as a "crude and cynical provocation" by Kyiv.
A US court has sanctioned Google LLC for a second time in recent days, after a judge in a decision unsealed on Wednesday said the Alphabet Inc unit took too long to comply with a ruling last year in a data-privacy class action. Google has said its Chrome browser users consented to the company's data collection.(Reuters)

Read here: Bipartisan US lawmakers introduce bill to cut Google, Facebook ad clout

The order from US Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen in San Jose, California, stems from a class action claiming Google unlawfully tracked its users while they were using the company's Chrome browsers in private, or "incognito," mode.

In a separate decision on Tuesday in California, US District Judge James Donato concluded Google had failed to preserve employees' "chat" records as evidence in antitrust litigation. Donato said the plaintiffs' lawyers will be awarded legal fees in an amount to be determined later. Google is challenging the claims.

In the data privacy case, Google has said its Chrome browser users consented to the company's data collection. A Google spokesperson said the company has provided and disclosed countless documents and discovery."

The sanction in the data privacy action is not the first time Van Keulen has punished Google in the same case.

The latest ruling said Google failed to comply with a deadline stemming from a court order last year that imposed sanctions on the company. The new sanctions order and the prior one from May 2022 addressed internal Google evidence concerning consumer use of the company's private browsing mode.

Google, according to the judge's order, will be barred from relying on certain employee witnesses in the case. Van Keulen also said Google must pay fees associated with two experts working for the plaintiffs, and must also pay a $79,000 fine.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Read here: Biden urges US regulators to restore strict rules on midsize banks

The consumer plaintiffs are suing for an injunction that could among other things could require Google to delete private browsing information. A trial is scheduled for November.
A family in United States Texas, who had their truck stolen from outside their home on Wednesday, tracked the suspected thief using Apples AirTag and shot him dead. Visuals from the site of the incident where a suspected thief was shot dead. (ksat.com)

Three members of the family used the device to track the stolen truck and located it in a parking lot of a strip mall in San Antonio's Southside neighbourhood, reported the Mirror.

Also Read| How an Apple AirTag helped rescue a dog swept away by floodwaters in US

The family told police that they initially attempted to confront the suspect when they saw him inside their vehicle. But the suspect, believed to be in his 30s, was shot dead by one of the family members who assumed that the man had pulled out a firearm.

According to the report, it is still unclear if the shooter will face any criminal charges. Police believe that the truck owners called them to report the theft before the shooting but had then decided not to wait for the officers.

Also Read| AirTag lets stalkers track victims? Women spurs class-action suit against Apple

Our suspect today stole the white truck you see back there. They stole it. Little did he know it was tagged with an Apple AirTag," San Antonio Police Department spokesperson Nick Soliz was quoted as saying by the Mirror.

On questions of whether the suspect had any weapons with him, the police said they could not confirm it. After the deadly incident, the police also urged people to not take matters in their own hands if their vehicle is stolen.

If you are to get your vehicle stolen, I know it's frustrating, but please do not take matters into your own hands like this, the police said.
Some of the steps being taken by Beijing along the India-China border has been "provocative", a top White House official has said while reaffirming that the United States is "destined" to work more closely with India. The increased prospect of India-China border hostility has implications for the US and its Indo-Pacific strategy between the two Asian giants. (File)(ANI)

Also Read | Difficulties at border but India, China dont want war: Top Chinese diplomat

Kurt Campbell, the Deputy Assistant to the US President and Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, told a Washington-based think-tank on Thursday that India is not an ally of the United States and will never be so.

"But it does not mean that we will not be close partners and share many things. That's how we need to understand the role that India will play as a great nation on the global stage.

"We want to encourage that and support that and deepen this relationship, which is already very strong, probably the strongest people-to-people relationship of any country that the United States has on the global stage," he said.

Also Read | Fully deployed India-China forces is new normal on LAC

Campbell said that the India-US relationship "is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century".

"I believe we are destined to work more closely together. I believe that our people-to-people ties are strong, animate in a relationship that is becoming deeper, richer and more strategically important," he said.

The think tank -- Centre for a New American Security (CNAS) -- in a report said that the India-China border intrusions and clashes have become more frequent and threaten to lead to all-out conflict.

The increased prospect of India-China border hostility has implications for the United States and its Indo-Pacific strategy between the two Asian giants, it said.

India's engagement with China is "complex" and Chinese attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh starting from April-May 2020 seriously disturbed the peace and tranquility in border areas and impacted overall ties, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a report this month.

In its annual report for 2022, the MEA said the External Affairs Minister conveyed to his Chinese counterpart that the restoration of normalcy in ties will require the restoration of peace and tranquility along the frontier.

"India's engagement with China is complex. The two sides have agreed that pending the final settlement of the boundary question, maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is an essential basis for the overall development of the bilateral relationship," the MEA's annual report said.

Meanwhile, the CNAS report said that Indian officials believe China is trying to contain India by forcing it to divert more resources into defending simultaneously both its western border with Pakistan and eastern flank with China and by weakening its willingness and ability to challenge Chinese ambitions to dominate the region.

Campbell told the think-tank, "Some of the steps that China has taken along this vast 5,000-mile border had been provocative and deeply concerning to Indian partners and friends."

The think-tank's report, authored by Lisa Curtis and Derek Grossman, has made several recommendations to help deter and respond to further Chinese aggression along the border with India.

Prominent among them include the United States should elevate Indian territorial disputes with China on par with Beijing's assertiveness against other US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific and ensure this is reflected in all national security-related documents and speeches.

It also recommended that the US offer India the sophisticated military technology it requires to defend its borders and initiate the co-production and co-development of military equipment and assist India in strengthening its maritime and naval capacity.

The think-tank also urged the US to conduct joint intelligence reviews with India to align assessments of Chinese plans and intentions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and enhance coordination with Indian officials on contingency planning in the event of a future India-China conflict.

It asked the US to criticise Beijing's "efforts at land-grabbing" in multilateral forums, including the UN, Shangri-La Dialogue, G20, and East Asia Summit and be prepared to extend full support to India in the event of another border crisis or conflict.

Message Pakistan and enlist help from its other important partners to convey similar points about the need to stay neutral in the event of a potential future India-China border flare-up, the report said.

Responding to a question, Campbell said there has been an exponential increase in engagement in virtually every area.

"We just concluded discussions in a form called ICET in which the Indian National Security Advisor brought the highest-ranking group of Indian technologists ever to come to any country, and came to the United States to talk about how to partner on areas going forward," Campbell said.

"We're working more on defence-related issues on people to people. We want more Indian students in our universities. We want more American students in Indian universities. We want more people-to-people, university partnerships more generally, and health partnerships. We have just announced efforts to work together in space. So the agenda is extraordinarily rich. The ambitions are high," he added.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing and the Ministry of Investment have signed an agreement with Korean group Naver as well as its key units - Naver Labs and Naver Cloud, a specialist in information technology.

The MoU was signed in the presence of the Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing, Majid Abdullah Al Hogail, and the Minister of Investment, Engineer Khalid Abdulaziz Al Falih, reported SPA.

The agreement was inked by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing for Digital Transformation and Smart Cities Musaed bin Abdullah Al Otaibi and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Investment for Investment Development Fahd bin Jamal Al-Naim.

The Korean side was represented by Seon-Ju from Naver, Seok Sang-ok from Naver Labs and Sang-young Han from Naver Cloud.

Under the MoU, the parties aim to enhance cooperation to develop investment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to unify efforts with relevant authorities to achieve common goals.
Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan mints Rs 112 80 cr gross worldwide 24 Apr 2023 | 1:36 PM New Delhi, Apr 24 (UNI) Salman Khan's Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan has started to make its mark across the nation and abroad. see more..

Anjali Anand to be a part of Khatron Ke Khiladi 13 24 Apr 2023 | 12:48 PM New Delhi, Apr 24 (UNI) Anjali Anand is all set to take the ultimate test of courage on stunt-based reality show 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13'. see more..

Ayushmanns Dream Girl 2 to release on Aug 25 24 Apr 2023 | 12:44 PM New Delhi, Apr 24 (UNI) The makers of Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Dream Girl 2 on Monday announced the new release date of the film which is August 25. see more..

'T-Series Listed' releases first track Baithe Baithe 23 Apr 2023 | 1:39 PM New Delhi, Apr 23 (UNI) The new-wave of musicians now have much reason to celebrate as T-Series has launched a new platform for them to shine, the property called T-Series Listed, which will feature and launch budding artists and digital creators by offering them a platform to showcase their talent and skill. see more..
In 2022, Hefei's annual GDP reached 1.20131 trillion yuan (approx. 176.7 billion U.S. dollars), an annual increase of 3.5%; Its permanent resident population was 9.634 million, an increase of 169,000 people; 1,834 new national high-tech enterprises were founded... On March 30th, the Hefei Municipal Bureau of Statistics and the Hefei Investigation Team of the National Bureau of Statistics released the Statistical Communique of Hefei on National Economy and Social Development in 2022. As it shows, the city's economy was under pressure but still stable, and the overall economic size reached a new level, with new achievements in high-quality development.

Industrial Sector: LCD production increased by 53.4% year on year

The Communique shows that there were 2,485 industrial enterprises above the designated size in Hefei at the end of the year, a gain of 266 from the previous year. Among them, there were 884 enterprises with an output value of over 100 million yuan, a gain of 25. The added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size rose by 6.3% over the previous year.

In terms of industries, 23 out of 37 major industrial categories successfully maintained growth in 2022. Among them, the added value of the automobile manufacturing industry rose by 29.2%, and that of the special equipment manufacturing industry and the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry both grew by 26.2%. The export delivery value of the industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 9.8% over the previous year.

Among the main products of industrial enterprises above the designated size, the production of LCDs saw an increase of 53.4% compared to the previous year, industrial robots increased by 37.8%, new energy vehicles (NEVs) increased by 37.2%, integrated circuits increased by 27.6%, and solar cells increased by 23.1%.

The industrial enterprises above the designated size achieved a profit of 43.879 billion yuan in 2022, a decrease of 21.7% from the previous year. Among them, the production and supply of electricity, heating, gas, and water surged by 1.9 times to 953 million yuan. The cost per 100 yuan of operating income was 86.78 yuan, up 2.13 yuan over the previous year.

The added value of the construction industry was 179.15 billion yuan in 2022, an annual increase of 5.3% at constant prices. At the end of the year, there were 2,020 general contracting and specialized contracting construction enterprises with qualification levels, an increase of 177 from the previous year. Among them, there were 66 enterprises with an output value of over 1 billion yuan and the number of enterprises with an output value of over 10 billion yuan grew from 11 to 13.

Trade: 49 oversea Fortune Global 500 companies established 70 corporations in Hefei.

At the end of the year, there were 3,975 enterprises in wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering above the quota, 86 more than the previous year. Among the retail sales of goods above the quota, the sales of traditional Chinese and Western medicines had a marked gain of 31.5%, books, newspapers, and magazines went up by 17.1%, cultural and office supplies went up by 11.8%, petroleum and related products went up by 10.0%, and automotive products went up by 5.3%.

In the category of green intelligent products, the retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), smart home appliances and audiovisual equipment, smartphones, and wearable smart devices surged by 2.4 times, 2.9 times, 1.1 times, and 0.9 times, respectively.

Regarding foreign trade, the total import and export value for the year went up 8.6% year on year to 3,610.95 billion yuan. Among them, exports grew 13.4% to 230.18 billion yuan and imports grew 1.1% to 130.91 billion yuan. Mechanical and electrical products accounted for a 14.4% increase in exports.

140 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in Hefei during the year. Foreign direct investment reached 1.205 billion US dollars, an increase of 4.5%. The newly signed contract value for foreign contracted projects increased considerably by 40.5%, reaching 4.689 billion US dollars, while the operating income had a marginal increase of 1.2%, reaching 1.639 billion US dollars.

At the end of the year, the number of foreign-invested corporations established by 49 oversea Fortune Global 500 companies in Hefei was 70, 1 more than the number in 2021. The international routes of China-Europe Railway Express(Hefei) now cover 18 countries and 90 cities with a total of 768 trips made during the year, an increase of 100 trips compared to the previous year.

Social Security: Per capita disposable income of urban residents went up 5.6% The per capita disposable income of residents in Hefei in 2022 registered an increase of 6.1% over the previous year, reaching 48,820 yuan, while the per capita consumption expenditure was 28,966 yuan, up 2.7%.

By place of residence, the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 56,177 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%; the per capita consumption expenditure of urban residents was 32,964 yuan, an increase of 1.6%. The per capita disposable income of rural residents was 28,727 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.0%; the per capita consumption expenditure of rural residents was 18,044 yuan, an increase of 6.6%.

At the end of the year, the number of people participating in urban workers' endowment (excluding government agencies, including retired employees), medical (maternity), unemployment, and work injury insurance was 3.707 million, 2.809 million, 2.306 million, and 2.481 million, respectively. The number of people insured or renewed for urban and rural residents' endowment insurance was 2.912 million.

In addition, the number of urban and rural residents insured for basic medical insurance was 5.534 million, with a rate of participation of 99.8%. The urban and rural medical assistance system subsidized 215,000 people and directly assisted 788,900 people. The expenditure of medical assistance funds totaled 433 million yuan, including 74 million yuan in subsidized insurance and 359 million yuan in direct assistance.

Science and Education: Three national large-scale scientific facilities completed

At the end of the year, there were 58 tertiary education institutions in Hefei (including adult education institutions, excluding military schools), including nine graduate education institutions. The institutions made 26,600 graduate admissions throughout 2022 and there were 78,200 enrolled graduate students and 16,200 graduates. The number of undergraduate and junior college entrants totaled 191,400; the numbers of enrolled students and graduates were 660,600 and 179,700 respectively.

At the end of the year, there were 71 working stations for academicians and 138 academicians from the two academies serving in Hefei. There were 12 national (key) laboratories and 128 provincial (key) laboratories. There were 107 science and technology enterprise incubators at or above the municipal level, including 24 at the national and 49 at the provincial level. There were 122 public innovation spaces at or above the municipal level, including 28 national and 41 provincial ones.

A total of 5,792 scientific and technological achievements were registered throughout the year, including 381 supported by financial funds. There were 59,300 authorized patents, recording an increase of 10.2% over the previous year. There were also 54,100 valid invention patents at the end of the year. A total of 14,929 technology export contracts were signed, with a turnover of 64.744 billion yuan, up 48.6%; 8,274 technology absorption contracts were signed, with a turnover of 43.598 billion yuan, up 1.1%. Environment: Good air quality days reached 314, a new high in 10 years

According to the Communique, there were six municipal and county-level environmental monitoring stations at the end of the year. The equivalent sound level of regional noise was 58.5 decibels, and that of road traffic noise was 68.8 decibels. The annual average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was 32.3 micrograms per cubic meter, down 0.3% from the previous year. The annual average concentrations of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide were 8 micrograms per cubic meter and 31 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively. The daily average concentration of carbon monoxide was 1 milligram per cubic meter, and the maximum 8-hour average concentration of ozone was 152 micrograms per cubic meter.

The number of days with good air quality throughout 2022 was 314, accounting for 86%, reaching a new high in the past 10 years. Heavy pollution weather has been eliminated, and air quality has maintained the national second-level standard for two consecutive years. All 20 national monitoring sections have reached the standard, with an 85% rate of good water quality. The overall water quality of the Chaohu Lake area has continued to improve, and the water quality of the main tributaries around the lake is good. The compliance rate of the quality of centralized drinking water sources at or above the county level is 100%. The radiation environment is of good quality.


Islamabad, Mar 31 (UNI) The Senate approved the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 that would limit chief justice of Pakistans discretionary powers to take suo motu notice.

The bill was moved in the Senate on Thursday after it was approved by the National Assembly a day earlier.

At least 60 senators approved the bill while 19 lawmakers voted against it, according to Geo news.

Before the final vote on the bill, a motion was presented to send the bill to the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice for further debate but it was rejected.

The motion for the urgent approval of the bill was then presented which was accepted by a majority of lawmakers.

Once the bill was tabled in the Senate, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar explained that the proposed law is providing the right to appeal in suo motu cases and to appoint a different lawyer in the appeals.

However, Leader of the Opposition Dr Shahzad Waseem slammed the bill saying that the government is unable to ensure a smooth distribution of wheat and planning to make rules for the Supreme Court.

Making rules for the Supreme Court is an indirect attack (on the judiciary. You are trying to create division in the Supreme Court, claimed Dr Waseem. He added that the bill did not talk about the right of appeal before and later in the standing committee the right to appeal was also given on previous cases.

Give the bill to the committee and let it bring its changes, said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senator and called for a vote on the matter.

As the opposition leader was making his speech, the PTI senators hold a protest in the upper house.

When PTI Senator Ali Zafar was given a chance to speak, he said that he had two objections to the bill.

Only constitutional amendment can be made in 184/3. If you pass laws this way then it will be struck down within 15 days, warned the senator. He added that the right to appeal can only be given through the Constitution.

Zafar said that the Senates standing committee had sent a constitutional amendment for the right to appeal. He also warned that by opening past cases the Supreme Court will have to hear thousands of cases again.

There is also a divide among the lawyers on this bill. Such amendments cannot be made without amending the Constitution, said Zafar. He added that some changes suggested by the bill are illegal.

The senator also objected to the timing of the bill as that an election suo motu was ongoing in the Supreme Court.

UNI XC GNK
New Delhi, Mar 31 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished Pope Francis speedy recovery from his respiratory infection and said he was praying for the 86-year-old Pontiffs good health.

Praying for the good health and speedy recovery of Pope Francis, the PM tweeted.

He retweeted a message of the Pope that said I am touched by the many messages received in these hours and I express my gratitude for the closeness and prayer.

Pope Francis was admitted on Wednesday to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome for some days after being diagnosed with a respiratory infection. The Vatican confirmed the news in a statement on March 29. The statement indicated that the pope had been experiencing difficulty breathing and underwent medical tests at the hospital. Although COVID-19 infection was excluded, the medical results showed a respiratory infection that requires appropriate medical treatment, Vatican News said.

The Vatican said that Pope Francis is responding well to the antibiotics given to cure his infectious bronchitis and his health has improved.

In the latest news, the Vatican said Pope Francis slept well during the night.

His clinical condition is progressively improving, and the planned treatments are continuing.

PM Modi had met the Pope in Rome in October 2021, during a visit to Italy for the G20. Pope Francis had received PM Modi in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

UNI RN
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India's largest hospitality company, today announced its debut in the state of Chhattisgarh with a Taj branded hotel. The hotel is a brownfield project.

The 152-room luxury hotel is strategically located at a short driving distance from Raipur Airport on the Atal Path Expressway which connects the city to the new Capital "Naya Raipur". It will feature an all-day diner, a speciality restaurant, a bar and lobby lounge. The hotel will have over 1,300 sq. m of banqueting space with a large conference hall, two spacious meeting rooms, breakout rooms and a business centre. It will also offer an auditorium - a first in the city. The hotel will introduce IHCL's signature Jiva spa brand to the city with other recreational facilities including a swimming pool, gym and a salon.

Raipur is the capital of the state of Chhattisgarh. It is abundantly rich in mineral resources, and is among the biggest producers of steel and iron in the country. With its steel mills, terracotta industries and ancient temples, Raipur is the perfect blend of modern development and classic heritage.

Hotel website
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has announced the appointment of Christian Dolenc as Area Vice President, Operations.

Christian will continue in his role as General Manager of Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen, meanwhile also overseeing the operations at Mandarin Oriental, Guangzhou and Mandarin Oriental, Sanya.

Christian has worked in the industry for more than two decades, having joined Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group at its flagship property, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong in 2010. Following experiences in Jakarta, Indonesia, and later returning to Hong Kong, where he was Hotel Manager for both the group's Excelsior and Landmark Mandarin Oriental properties, he was appointed General Manager at the group's award-winning Macau property in 2019. Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen represents Christian's sixth property at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

Prior to joining Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, he gained a wide range of experiences at leading landmark hotels in Europe and Hong Kong with Rocco Forte Hotels and The Peninsula Hotel Group.

Christian holds an MBA in International Hospitality and Service Industries Management by Glion Institute of Higher Education and completed Executive Education Programmes at EHL Lausanne, Switzerland and Cornell University, Ithaca, USA and INSEAD. A German national born and raised in Munich, Germany, Christian speaks German, English and conversational Cantonese. He is married with three children and enjoys traveling and playing the saxophone in his leisure time.
2023 Open Days at Les Roches Crans Montana is now scheduled for all applicants with an interest in getting a first-hand look at the characteristics of one of the most luxury hotel and tourism industry's most acclaimed educational models.

Applicants will be immersed in the hospitality industry during their visit on campus by getting to know the school's facilities first-hand and enjoying the delicious gastronomy prepared by current students. In addition, students and educational advisors will be available to explain what life is like at the school, the curriculum, internships, as well as the whole on-campus learning experience delivered through an educational system combining the technical efficiency of North American education and the renowned Swiss teaching model.

At the Les Roches Crans-Montana (Switzerland) campus, the Spring 2023 Open Days are scheduled for 30 and 31 March, 21 and 22 April and 20 May.

Open Day attendees will acquire detailed insights on the Bachelor's, Master's, and postgraduate degrees available at Les Roches. All Les Roches degrees are taught in English and include professional internship periods at hotels and luxury establishments around the world. Currently, Les Roches offers a BBA in Global Hospitality Management with five specializations enabling the development of detailed knowledge in a specific professional discipline (Hospitality Entrepreneurship, Digital Marketing Strategies, Hotel Financial Performance Management, Sustainable Developments and Practices, and Resort Development and Management); the Postgraduate Diploma in International Hospitality Management, the Master's in International Hotel Management, the Master's in Marketing Management for Luxury Tourism, the MBA in Global Hospitality Management, the Master in Hospitality Strategy and Digital Transformation, as well as the Executive Master's in International Hotel Management, and the Executive MBA in Global Hospitality Management which are both designed exclusively for active professionals and provide hybrid and flexible formats.

About Les Roches

Les Roches is a Swiss institution focused on creating the innovative and entrepreneurial minds of tomorrow. Founded in 1954, Les Roches offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Hospitality and Tourism Management following the Swiss model of education. With campuses across Switzerland and Spain; a student body of more than 100 different nationalities, the institution provides students with a unique culturally diverse experience. As of 2021, Les Roches also has an academic alliance with the Indian School of Hospitality (ISH) with a partner campus in Gurugram (Delhi NCR).

Les Roches ranks among the world's top 5 higher education institutions for hospitality and leisure management and for Employer Reputation (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2022). Part of Sommet Education, worldwide leader in hospitality education, Les Roches is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

For more information, visit Les Roches.

This event is organized by Les Roches

For more information please contact Anouck Weiss
Denver, CO-based Evermore Partners (Evermore), a commercial real estate investment firm, and Ridgefield, CT-based New Castle Hotels & Resorts (New Castle), a leading hotel owner and operator, have acquired the Montana Marriott Portfolio - a 105-key AC Hotel by Marriott, a 175-key Residence Inn by Marriott, and The Mercantile, a collection of approximately 20,000 square feet of high quality, in-line retail located in downtown Missoula, Montana.

This opportunity represents a pivotal point in Evermores history, as we expand into Montana, and underline our commitment to investing in key urban, college, and core mountain communities in the Rocky Mountain Region. With a main and main location, the strength of Marriott branding, and a dynamic design, we believe these hotels and The Mercantile retail are truly irreplaceable assets. Evermore is thrilled to be the new owners of such an important piece of Missoulas history and we look forward to being a part of the community for years to come. And, we are grateful for our relationship with Montana-based Stockman Bank for their partnership on this transaction despite economic headwinds and a tight lending environment, said Evermores Founder and CEO, Seth Wolkov.

Evermore and New Castle, as co-sponsors of the project, bring a collective wealth of expertise and experience. Evermores leadership has invested over $400MM of equity capital across various economic cycles, geographic regions, and asset types, acting as a principal investor on behalf of a select group of family offices and high net worth investors. Building upon its exceptional track record and established network of relationships, Evermore combines entrepreneurial creativity with institutional investment discipline to produce attractive risk-adjusted returns for its investors through a combination of long-term cash yield, capital appreciation, and downside protection.

Founded in 1980, New Castle is one of the nations leading privately held hotel investment, development and management companies, with a portfolio of 29 properties and over 4,000 rooms, representing leading brands in the premium select service and full-service segments across the US and Canada.

"These hotels perfectly complement our portfolio of premium branded, select-service properties, offering elevated design and service in a premier location of a dynamic and growing market," said New Castle Partner Julian Buffam. "We are thrilled to invest in these incredible assets alongside great partners like Evermore while broadening our management platform's reach to the West. We look forward to building on the property teams' success through our hands-on owner-operator approach and strengthening ties to the local Missoula community."

Missoula, Montana is a quickly growing market, known for the University of Montana, its way of life, cost of living, and access to the outdoors. The University, along with the tourism, healthcare, and technology industries, are pillars of the economy. The hit TV drama Yellowstone and its prequels have played no small part in driving tourism and economic activity - in fact a University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research report found there has been an impact of greater than $85 million in economic impact to the State in recent years.

Developed on a full city block that was once a regional center of commerce, the Montana Marriott Portfolio has established itself as a true destination and furthered the renaissance of historic Downtown Missoula.

About New Castle Hotels and Resorts

New Castle Hotels & Resorts (NCHR) is a fully integrated, industry-recognized hospitality investment, development and management company with a 40+ year track record of executing complex operational turnarounds, new construction and historic redevelopments. NCHR's current portfolio is architecturally and geographically unique, encompassing premium select-serve, full-service and resort properties in the U.S. and Canada, representing many of the world's leading brands. NCHR was founded in 1980 by David Buffam and is based in Ridgefield, Conn. For more information about the company, visit www.newcastlehotels.com or connect on social media at https://www.facebook.com/NewCastleHotelsResorts/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-castle-hotels-&-resorts/.
The importance of tourism for the economic development and empowerment of rural communities was underscored as the leaders of UNWTO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) met in Rome yesterday.

At the start of his official visit to Italy, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili was welcomed to the FAO headquarters for a meeting with FAO Director-General Mr Qu Dongyu. Building on a Memorandum of Understanding signed between both UN agencies in September 2020, the high-level meeting focused on the importance of intensifying collaboration to scale up tourism's contribution to rural development.

Both leaders recognized the common goals and methods of several key projects, most notably FAO's Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Sites (GIAHS) and its Digital Villages Initiative, and UNWTO's Best Tourism Villages, which recognizes those rural destinations that are harnessing the power of tourism as a source of development and opportunity. At the same time, the two Heads of Agency identified the need to boost development and roll-out of capacity-building programmes to improve the tourism potential of FAO GIAHS sites and pilot Digital Villages.

UNWTO and FAO: Stronger Together

UNWTO is proud to work closely with FAO around a shared determination to drive inclusive development and to make tourism a source of employment and opportunity for rural areas. I welcome FAO Director-General Mr Qu Dongyu's recognition of the importance of tourism and look forward to further strengthening our partnership. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili

FAO Director-General Mr Qu Dongyu commended UNWTO's work, noting the sector's importance for addressing rural poverty and providing empowerment to communities outside of cities. He said: Sustainable rural tourism can help reduce poverty, support resilient agrifood systems and conserve cultural heritage and ecosystems for better production, better nutritiona better environment and a better life. leaving no one behind. Let's work together to promote sustainable rural agritourism and to empower youth and women in the rural communities through decent jobs.

Tourism, gastronomy, development

Looking ahead, UNWTO Secretary-General Pololikashvili also emphasised the importance of gastronomy tourism for development, most notably in Africa, and the role of both local production value chains and heritage across the continent, and invited the FAO Director-General to key UNWTO events, including the 8th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism (San Sebastian, Spain, 5-6 October 2023).

RELATED LINKS

About The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency fostering tourism as a vehicle for equal, inclusive and sustainable development. Working with its Member States, international organizations and the private sector, UNWTO promotes safe and seamless travel for all. UNWTO also works to make tourism the foundation of trust and international cooperation and a central pillar of recovery. As part of the wider UN system, UNWTO is at the forefront of global efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including through its ability to create decent jobs, promote equality and preserve natural and cultural heritage.

Follow UNWTO on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin.

UNWTO Communications Department

+34 91 567 8100

UNWTO
Our team at Cogwheel Marketing attended the 2023 annual Hunter Hotel Investment Conference for a consecutive year and we wanted to be sure to share with our network the 10 Key Takeaways we extracted after packing in 3 days of education, collaboration and relationship building with hotel industry experts.

The Hunter Hotel Investment Conference welcomed attendees to Atlanta in March 2023. The revenue strategy panel included:

Isaac Collazo (Moderator) of STR

Alex Cisneros of Red Roof Inn

Casi Johnson of M3

Kate Burda of Kate Burda and Company

Sarah Williams of Intermountain Hotels

10 Key Takeaways from Hotel Revenue Strategy at Hunter Conference:

Sales and Marketing can create demand, where revenue management manages demand. Sales and Digital Marketing need to employ resources and strategy together.

You cannot focus on pricing until you have brand awareness. Ask more questions about the entire revenue generation process with a focus on loyalty.

Our disparate systems leave gaps and risks data accuracy. We need to make data simpler  leverage automation and create a data map

How much money do we leave on the table with those who call and do not book?

The goal of customer segmentation is how do we evolve past distribution to engaging with them.

Who do you hire?  Only 16% of top leaders were rated very effective at either strategy or execution . Only 8% were very effective at both, while 63% were rated neutral or worse on at least one dimension. (Source: HBR)

. Only 8% were very effective at both, while 63% were rated neutral or worse on at least one dimension. (Source: HBR) Do we focus the right energy? We tend to focus on point of sale (bottom funnel) versus point of inspiration (top of funnel).

How to mitigate costs with high cost channels? Understand which customers and segments are the most profitable.

Can hotels differentiate like airlines? Airlines have various class types and experimented with baggage fees. The hotel industry is less likely to upset the apple cart. What can we learn from other industries like retail? Hotels get the benefit of a (generally) higher profit margin where retail is super slim margins.

Key Takeaway: Define shared goals on revenue strategy  Seek to understand what the other person is saying instead of yelling to hear yourself talk. Focus on the entire buying journey and not just the point of sale.

If you dont want to miss a beat, subscribe to Cogwheel Newsletter, where we share freshly published blogs about the hospitality industry and news about upcoming exciting events with our community.

Stephanie Smith

Founder and Digital Matriarch

+1 540 239 1052

Cogwheel Marketing

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A new era began Thursday in Connecticut with mandatory retirement plans for many small businesses, with companies required to offer a state plan with automatic enrollment of their workers if they cannot provide certification they already offer retirement savings options.

A spokesperson with the Connecticut Office of the State Comptroller told CT Insider as of Thursday more than 2,500 businesses were registered in the MyCTSavings plan, up from about 1,500 entering March. Businesses can still enroll after the Thursday deadline to do so or claim an exemption.

Nearly 11,000 more requested exemptions, which are granted for businesses which did not pay at least five workers $5,000 or more over 12 months through last October.

Those with at least five employees above that pay grade are now required to offer individual retirement accounts to employees, whether through private-sector plans or the state's new MyCTSavings plan. There is no penalty for companies, but in January, the state proposed a new regulation that would add an unspecified "civil action" against companies not compliant.

About 9,700 MySavingsCT accounts were being funded by workers at last count.

Connecticut lawmakers put MyCTSavings in motion in 2016 on fears that too few employers were offering retirement plans and so were contributing to a looming crisis in which earners will have inadequate income to meet their needs in retirement. The state's prior estimates suggested as many as 600,000 workers lack an employer-based retirement plan.

New York and New Jersey are among a dozen states with laws making retirement plans mandatory for many employers.

Information is online at myctsavings.com, with telephone assistance available for workers at 1-833-811-7436, including Spanish speakers. Thursday afternoon, a call placed by CT Insider to the call center had a wait time of more than 45 minutes, with the comptroller's office telling CT Insider the wait time on most days has been 15 minutes or less.

MyCTSavings is managed by Sumday Administration under the oversight of the comptroller's office and the Connecticut Retirement Security Program. Businesses have been sent access codes to enroll or provide certification that they already have a plan in place.

Whether through 401(k) plans or others, retirement plans are "standard issue" for many companies, in the words of David Lewis, CEO of the Norwalk-based human resources consultancy OperationsInc. Payroll processing companies like ADP and Paychex offer access to retirement plans for client companies.

The Connecticut Office of the State Comptroller told CT Insider on Thursday that companies cannot use MyCTSavings if they have an existing retirement plan.

MyCTSavings offers a default savings rate equal to 3 percent of gross earnings, which workers can adjust according to their budget needs and retirement goals. Entering March, the average contribution rate was 3.3 percent for plan participants. Workers can opt out of the plan after being automatically enrolled. In February, 14.5 percent of those enrolled chose to do so.

A savings calculator on the MyCTSavings website estimates that a 30-year-old worker making $50,000 annually could build a nest egg of $500,000 by age 65 if setting aside 5 percent of their annual earnings into the plan.

Workers can continue saving in MyCTSavings if they switch jobs or move to another state.

Includes prior reporting by Dan Haar and Karen Tensa.
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Americans are renewing their focus on railroad safety after a string of recent derailments, especially two fiery ones involving hazardous chemicals in Ohio and Minnesota that prompted evacuations.

Federal regulators and members of Congress are urging railroads to do more to prevent derailments. They want standards for the trackside detectors used to help identify equipment problems, more notice to states about hazardous chemicals they are hauling, and at least two people at the helm of freight trains.

A Senate bill would toughen the penalty for safety violations to up to 1% of a railroad's annual operating income and set standards for the maximum length and weight of freight trains, which have grown significantly in recent years. Trains now routinely stretch beyond two miles (3 kilometers) long.

The railroads themselves say they will take steps that include installing roughly 1,000 more trackside detectors. But the industry has a long history of resisting new regulations. The Association of American Railroads trade group has already spoken out against the crew size rule and requiring electronically-controlled brakes.

Railroads are generally regarded as the safest way to transport hazardous chemicals across land, and statistics show that 99.9% of those shipments arrive safely. Most derailments don't cause major problems, but there are still nearly three a day somewhere in the country. Just one derailment involving hazardous chemicals can be disastrous.

FLAMMABLE TRAIN RULES

Regulators established a set of safety rules for trains hauling large amounts of crude oil, ethanol or other flammable liquids in 2015 after several fiery derailments, including one of the worst disasters in railroad history.

In 2013, the brakes failed on a parked crude oil train in the hills above the Canadian town of Lac Megantic. The unmanned train rolled downhill and derailed, killing 47 people and causing millions of dollars in damage.

Other crude oil crashes, like one that created a massive fireball outside the town of Casselton, North Dakota, in 2013, alarmed regulators because the number of crude oil shipments had skyrocketed as more oil was being produced in areas without many pipelines, like North Dakota.

The 2015 rules require railroads to notify states about how many flammable liquid trains they expect to transport each week and to find the safest route possible for them. They also establish a maximum speed limit of 50 mph (80 kph).

Neither the Ohio or Minnesota trains that derailed were covered by these rules. To be considered a high-hazardous flammable train, a train must have either a block of 20 or more flammable liquid cars or at least 35 flammable liquid cars in all.

Lawmakers and regulators have discussed expanding the definition, so more trains would be covered.

ELECTRONIC BRAKES

Federal regulators originally proposed that any high-hazardous flammable train would need upgraded electronically-controlled brakes that can stop trains more quickly by applying all cars' brakes simultaneously. Conventional systems apply air brakes sequentially. But they dropped that proposal in 2018 after Congress required them to conduct a detailed cost-benefit analysis.

Mike Rush, a senior vice president of safety and operations with the AAR trade group, told Federal Railroad Administration officials this week that considering electronic brakes now would be a complete waste of time.

He said the major freight railroads spent a decade testing electronic brakes and found only limited benefits. Electronic brakes also were prone to breaking down, he said.

Since 2015, it has become much more common for railroads to use multiple locomotives spread throughout a train. That helps stop trains more quickly because the locomotives can send a braking signal at once  though likely not as quickly as electronic brakes would.

TANK CAR UPGRADES

One thing in the 2015 rules was a requirement to upgrade DOT-111 tank cars used to haul crude oil and ethanol to make them less likely to leak in a derailment. The tank cars involved in Thursday's BNSF derailment in Minnesota were upgraded triple-hulled DOT-117 cars, but they still ruptured and caught fire.

Since 2015, nearly 48,000 of the newer tank cars have been built, and some 41,000 older tank cars have been upgraded to meet a 2029 deadline set by Congress. Another 35,000 older tank cars need to be upgraded or replaced.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested speeding up those upgrades to complete them by 2025 after the Ohio derailment. But the Railway Supply Institute, which represents big tank car manufacturers that own most of the nations tank cars, says thats not possible because of current labor and supply chain shortages.

CHEMICAL CONCERNS

The ethanol that spilled and caught fire in the Minnesota derailment is less of a concern than the vinyl chloride that was released after the Ohio derailment or other toxic chemicals railroads routinely carry, like chlorine gas that was released during a 2005 derailment in Graniteville, South Carolina, killing nine people and injuring more than 250.

Ethanol is relatively clean burning, but contaminated soil in the area will have to be removed.

The vinyl chloride released from tank cars in Ohio out of fear it might explode is associated with increased risk of certain cancers. Officials warned when they burned it that two concerning gases  hydrogen chloride and phosgene, which was used as a weapon in World War I  might be released in the process.

That's why so many East Palestine residents remain concerned about potential long-term health impacts even though state and federal officials insist they haven't found alarming levels of chemicals in the air or water. Norfolk Southern has also been ordered to test for dioxins, which may have been released during the February incineration.

___

Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski contributed to this report from Minneapolis and Heather Hollingsworth contributed from Mission, Kansas.
Crude prices spent the week above the $70 level, posting the best week of 2023 as concerns about the economic outlook began to calm and exports from Iraq were disrupted.

West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose four of five trading days, starting the week with a $3.55 surge and rising $1.40 and $1.30 on Thursday and Friday. Only a 23-cent decline Wednesday interrupted WTIs upward journey. WTI ended the week at $75.67, up from $69.26 at last Fridays close. The posted price closed at $72.15, according to Plains All American.

It was, however, a rough week for natural gas prices on the NYMEX, with Henry Hub futures falling four of five trading days, starting with a 13-cent drop Monday. The April contract expired Wednesday with prices falling below the $2 per Mcf level and the May contract opened with an 8-cent loss. Prices rebounded Friday, rising 11 cents to close the week at $2.216 per Mcf.

James Taylor, senior energy analyst at East Daley Analytics, noted that the boost to Waha gas prices provide when Kinder Morgans El Paso Natural Gas systems Line 2000 returned to service proved short-lived.

Writing in the companys Daley Note, Taylor said the widening of the Waha-Henry Hub spread to more than $1 per Mcf indicates the additional capacity on Line 2000 has already been filled with supply growth.

Waha spot prices have been under mounting pressure for most of March, trading over the recent March 20-24 week at an average $1.20/MMBtu discount to the Henry Hub benchmark, according to Bloomberg data. Waha gas prices averaged 65 cents over the latest March 25-27 weekend, he wrote in the newsletter.

Taylor went on to add that the recent market action confirms East Daleys view that Permian gas production will quickly grow into pipeline expansions planned for the second half of the year. East Daley forecasts pipelines taking natural gas from the Permian are running at 97% of effective egress capacity out of the basin and to run at an average 99% of effective capacity through the end of 2023.

As always, there is a lot going on that could move things in either direction. I have seen projections as high as $130 (based primarily on China's recovery), and there are forces in motion that can quickly move prices in either direction, Economist Ray Perryman told the Reporter-Telegram by email.

When examining all of the factors, Perryman finds it difficult to see a price at $130  or anything close to it, he wrote, and certainly not on a sustained basis.

Chinas economy is getting to a more normal state after COVID-related shutdowns, which will certainly boost demand for oil. At the same time, however, there are signs that many other major economies around the globe are slowing. This overall slowing will, in turn, affect Chinas exports and economic growth. In addition, we are seeing some slowing in US growth, he wrote.

He noted random occurrences, like the recent banking disruptions that pushed prices downward a couple of weeks ago while snags in Irag oil supplies pushed prices upward this week.

Recognizing that anything can happen at any time to push oil prices in either direction, the most likely course at this point is to remain in the recent (and relatively wide) trading range ($60-$85 per barrel), Perryman wrote.

Oil and gas producers responding to the Federal Reserve bank of Dallas quarterly energy survey continued to reflect uncertainty about commodity price directions.

Oil price correction is adding pressure on the continuation of drilling and frac activities. [We] expect the activity level to be flat to down in 2023 versus 2022s exit, one respondent wrote.

Another commented, The current low oil prices, coupled with the banking scare, will be hard on smaller, undercapitalized companies to conduct business as usual. There will be tougher credit and lower reserve values because of new price decks.

Yet another predicted that Crude oil is about to join natural gas in contango, which is highlighting a nervous macroeconomic picture. There are plenty of buyers at this calendar strip price and not a lot of sellers. Not seeing financial distress with all of the cash accrued since last year. The only way people are in trouble is if hedges are under water or if they blew out authorization for expenditures.
Lake Conroe was unrecognizable in October 1972.

There were no boats, no fish and no families planning visits over the summer. The roughly 20,000-acre area that would fill with water was dirt surrounded by a barbed wire fence.

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Officials expected to have the dam complete by December of that year. They also expected for rainfall to fill the lake within three years, but figured a drought would extend that to six or seven years.

In January 1973, the lake was officially built and by Oct. 31 1973, it was completely filled with water.

In 2023, the man-made lake turns 50.

Originally built as an additional water supply for Houston, the lake is now surrounded by visitors looking for a getaway weekend, a variety of businesses and restaurants and million-dollar homes.

Here are some important things to know about Lake Conroe:

Why was Lake Conroe built?

After a record-breaking seven-year drought during the 1950s, officials began making plans to build the lake as part of a reservoir-building boom. Texas decided to build several reservoirs to prevent water shortages, including Lake Houston, which was also built during this time.

Lake Conroe was going to act as an additional water supply to Houston, managed by the San Jacinto River Authority.

SJRA, Houston and the Texas Water Development Board entered into an agreement to build the lake in 1968.

How deep is Lake Conroe?

Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer

The lake encompasses roughly 20,000 acres and extends nearly 21 miles from the dam to the upper reaches of the West Fork of the San Jacinto River. It can hold up to 430,000 acre-feet of water when at its conservation pool elevation of 201 feet.

The average depth of the lake is 20 feet, but the deepest portion is 70 feet in the river channel.

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What is Lake Conroe known for?

Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer

Since it was built, the lake's primary use has been as a water supply, but the lake has grown beyond that. Many residents and visitors enjoy recreational activities on the lake, such as fishing, boating and swimming.

Fishing is one of the lake's biggest draws. Largemouth bass, catfish, crappie, hybrid striped bass and bluegill all thrive in the water.

In 2018, Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists talked about why the lake is a prime breeding ground for catfish after they caught a 42-inch, 40-pound "monster" blue catfish during a survey. The same team caught an even bigger catfish in 2016. Largemouth bass and catfish are the most popular fish for anglers, while crappie aren't far behind.

Inland Fisheries College Station-Houston District

Officials regularly warn visitors about boating safety, as it is another popular activity.

The lake is also home to the Lake Conroe Queen, a 60-person paddleboat that books tours.

Can you swim in Lake Conroe?

Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer

The lake has two public access points for swimming - Lake Conroe Park, located off Texas 105, and Scott's Ridge Swim Area, located off FM 1097 near Scott's Ridge Road. Park admission is $5 per person while access to Scott's Ridge is $5 per vehicle per day. Scott's Ridge is open from May through September.

2021 marked deadliest year on lake

Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer

In 2021, there were six fatalities on the lake  five drownings and a fatal boat wreck. This marked the deadliest of recent years on the lake. Officials linked the spike to the increase in visitors at the time.

The surge in visits was due to the lake being accessible during the earliest parts of the pandemic. Many public indoor settings were still limited by COVID-19 mitigation efforts as late as the early part of 2021.

On every major summer holiday on the lake, the Montgomery County Precinct 1 Constables office conducts free voluntary boat safety checks identifying the six items required by Texas law. These include life jackets, a fire extinguisher, a Class IV throwable life preserver, a sounding device, a state-issued registration card and a cut-off switch lanyard.

In addition to life vests, the marine division urges visitors to have a designated driver when boating.

Luxury homes around the lake

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lake saw an economic boom in housing. Houses were being sold at more than $600,000, according to one real estate agent. The summer of 2022 was considered one of the busiest yet for real estate agents, boat dealers and others catering to the lakefront lifestyle.

Homes are continuously being built around the lake  Phoenix-based Inspire Communities announced 700 homes being built in July and Houston-based Hines announced 1,000 homes being built in October.

One of the most expensive homes sold on the lake was between $3.8 and $4.5 million in 2019.

When is the best time to visit Lake Conroe?

The busiest season on the lake starts Memorial Day weekend as kids get out of school and continues through summer.

The marine division has been aiming to boost its numbers to respond to the lake's increased popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic. Some officials have said it has been getting busier every weekend since.

In August 2022, the division added two deputies to its five-member team, bringing it to seven  including deputies, a sergeant and a lieutenant.

Because of the close proximity to Houston, the lake has been one of the more popular ones to visit in the area, officials said.
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A fast-growing tech company, Flock Safety, is touting its expanding Houston network of license plate cameras and their use in solving crimes  including one recent high-profile case in which an Alief ISD teacher was murdered.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union urges public and private entities to use caution in how automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, are implemented, saying the cameras can reveal highly sensitive information about people and their everyday movements.

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With Flock Safety's ever-growing presence in greater Houston, here are some things to know about the cameras and how they're being used.

How do license plate cameras work?

Flock Safety is a public safety operating system that uses license plate reading cameras to provide 24/7 monitoring for police departments, homes, businesses, and neighborhoods. The system was created to deter and help solve crimes such as vehicle thefts and burglaries.

The cameras are installed 8 to 10 feet high on street poles and can capture images of vehicle license plates. The vehicle data is transmitted to a system where police can use the information. The system also alerts police to stolen cars, or when a license plate being tracked by police enters a community.

INVESTIGATION: One of deadliest prison escapes in US history was preceded by multiple security failures

The cameras are put in place not only by law enforcement, but also businesses, HOAs and neighborhoods, and other community organizations. Law enforcement agencies have access to a broader version of the system.

The whole idea here is to get the data from our hands to law enforcement as fast as we can, so generally the recommendation is to let law enforcement be the managers and basically the overseers of that data, said Dale Anzalone, territory sales manager at Flock Safety.

Law enforcement agencies oversee the data collected by the cameras they own and may share access with other police departments across jurisdictions. Businesses and communities may also let law enforcement oversee their cameras.

One Flock camera costs $2,500 yearly, plus a $350 one-time installment fee. They arent the only automated license plate readers on the market. Flocks competitors include Deep Sentinel, Citizen, and Vigilant Solutions, who all run similar camera systems.

How quickly is Flock expanding in Houston?

Flock Safety moved into the Houston area four years ago when it rolled out its systems in the Katy, Memorial Villages and Jersey Village police departments.

Now, Flock has close to 3,000 cameras installed across greater Houston, including cameras used by the City of Houston. Pearland voted to purchase the cameras in February 2022 for $191,000.

While Flock representatives did not provide details which or how many entities may start using the system in the foreseeable future, the company confirmed it is continuing to expand across the area.

How have Flock cameras impacted law enforcement?

Larry Boggus, community relations officer with the Memorial Villages Police Department, said the agency was one of the first in the Houston area to use the Flock system. According to Boggus, the cameras have enabled officers to assemble lists of persons of interest within 30 minutes after a crime is committed.

The department oversees more than 50 Flock cameras, including the 33 it owns, which read over 400,000 plates in a month. The agency also has access to 1,331 cameras throughout Houston.

In 2022, the cameras helped recover 41 stolen vehicles and 29 stolen license plates, according to the department.

A report by alarms.org ranked Memorial Villages as Texas safest city in 2019, the Chronicle reported.

Flock just came at the right moment, Boggus said. You can't gate public streets, so how do you solve crimes better and maintain your safest cities reputation?  Not that we don't have problems; we don't have as much.

Alief ISD teacher's murder case

In the Houston area, the cameras helped officers file charges in the murder of Alief ISD teacher Wendy Duan, KHOU reported. Duan was shot and killed in Sugar Land on Jan. 9. Anzalone said information obtained from Flock cameras was provided to law enforcement, eventually found the person accused of killing her.

What are the concerns surrounding Flock and ALPRs?

Savannah Kumar, attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said this type of surveillance technology raises privacy concerns. Kumar urges people to be cautious with the implementation or expansion of ALPR systems, and to consider how long the data is retained and where its shared by law enforcement.

In April 2022, Houston passed an ordinance requiring some businesses to record footage that must be provided to law enforcement regardless of whether police have a warrant.

Right around the time that ordinance went into effect, the Houston City Council also voted to approve a contract with Flock to take a photo of every car that passes the camera, collects the license plate information, run it through the database and store and share this information, Kumar said.

According to a KHOU report, in August of last year the Houston City Council approved a five-year contract of up to $6.4 million to lease 318 Flock Safety cameras.

Kumar said the ACLU believes a large network of surveillance cameras makes it possible "to tell where people are in the city, where they're going, who they're seeing such as which religious centers or health care clinics they're going to and when they're going to the places. And all that data collected together is a massive privacy violation for people in Houston.

The ACLU doesnt object to all ALPRs and acknowledges their usefulness in finding stolen vehicles, aiding Amber Alerts and collecting tolls.

What does Flock say it's doing to protect private information?

The company said in an email that the Flock system can mitigate crime while protecting privacy.

We agree with the ACLU on many things, including responsible treatment of the data collected by ALPR devices, the email said.

According to the company, customers own the data collected by their cameras and are the only ones who have access.

Flock never shares, sells, or monetizes it. Every search for evidence within the Flock system is logged, requires a search reason, and is auditable. And after 30 days, if it is not being used by law enforcement as evidence in the investigation of a crime, it is permanently deleted.

Flock said it encourages transparency, adding that many cities using the cameras have implemented robust ALPR policies with input from community groups. The company launched a new transparency portal in partnership with the Piedmont Police Department last year. The portal provides details about a departments collection and use of data, such as the type of information the cameras detect and which agencies have access. Other departments have since adopted the portal as well.
Lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday about a proposal to limit restraint and seclusion in Connecticut schools, as parents, advocates and experts spoke out against the practices.

"The use of restraint and seclusion in schools has been found to be not only counterproductive for students with disabilities, but harmful," Sarah Eagan, the state's child advocate, told the legislature's Education Committee.

Wednesday's hearing included testimony on a range of education proposals, including Senate Bill 1200, which would replace seclusion with "time outs" in unlocked rooms and limit when restraint is allowed, among other measures.

Eagan said she supports the bill, though she suggested adding a requirement for schools to track time outs the way they currently do seclusions.

The proposals regarding restraint and seclusion followed, and were partly inspired by, a Hearst Newspapers investigation published last fall, which detailed the scope of the practices, as well as their consequences for students.

Jennifer Reynolds, a mother from Fairfield County, testified Wednesday how in 2019 her daughter with Down syndrome, then in second grade, was restrained for 12 minutes as she lay on a classroom rug, with three adults pinning her arms behind her back.

"Twelve minutes," Reynolds said through tears. "The amount of time my daughter was being told by the actions of adults she trusted that she was not valued and not safe at school."

Reynolds said she sent a letter to school officials saying she didn't consent to her daughter being restrained but that staff continued to restrain her anyway, leading her daughter to curl up in a fetal position and beg not to be sent back to school. Ultimately, Reynolds pulled her out and placed her in a different school in the district, where she had a better experience.

"They did not have the tools to support her and had given up on her by treating her like somebody who didn't belong," Reynolds said. "She didn't need to be restrained or secluded, she needed to be supported."

Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media

According to state data, staff at schools in Connecticut have restrained and secluded special education students tens of thousands of time annually over the past decade, with Black students and those with autism particularly likely to have the interventions used against them.

During the 2020-21 school year, the most recent year for which data is available, more than 500 Connecticut students were restrained and secluded more than 10 times, and 80 were restrained or secluded more than 50 times.

In addition to live testimony Wednesday, several dozen people, including national experts, submitted written testimony in favor of the proposal to ban seclusion and reduce restraint.

"This bill represents a major step in the right direction for the children of Connecticut and their caregivers," wrote Ross Greene, a psychologist author and prominent opponent of restraint and seclusion. "Restraint and seclusion are, for the most part, obsolete practices that are largely unnecessary."

Some testimony specifically cited Hearst Newspapers' investigation, which revealed that special education students nationwide are restrained or secluded hundreds of thousands of times each year, resulting in thousands of injuries and dozens of deaths over the years.

One of few pieces of testimony not fully supportive of the proposal to further limit restraint and seclusion came from Charlene Russell-Tucker, the state's education commissioner. In written remarks, Russell-Tucker raised potential side effects of banning seclusion.

"If trained educators are not able to utilize the emergency use of seclusion without the proper training and supports in place it may have an adverse effect on the safety of students leading to an increase in restraints or student removals from the school building," she wrote.

While most schools and educators say they seek to minimize the use of restraint and seclusion, some describe the interventions as necessary to manage difficult classrooms. Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, said last week that she supports the intention behind the new legislation but worries about reducing options for educators.

"When kids are really struggling and disregulated, we do need to have options for them, and we do need to have space for them to deescalate, to manage and assess their own feelings and responses, and to have conversations about developing better techniques and management skills," she said.

Others pointed to examples of schools nationwide that have reduced restraint and seclusion through alternative models. One model, called Ukeru, has been found to greatly decrease the need for physical interventions through relatively simple tweaks to how educators approach special education students.

Dr. Arthur Yee, a physician in Fairfield County, testified that physical restraint can be dangerous or even deadly for some students, particularly those with certain conditions or disabilities and urged schools to pursue other options.

"It is never appropriate to intervene in a manner that exposes a child to a greater risk of death than doing nothing," Yee wrote. "Fortunately, there are safer alternatives in between these two extremes that are far more likely to result in de-escalation and promote the safety of everyone."

alex.putterman@hearstmediact.com.
A bill introduced in Connecticut's legislative education committee would ban schools from secluding students in locked rooms, while introducing new rules around the use of physical restraint, among other reforms relating to special education.

Advocates have long criticized the use of restraint and seclusion in Connecticut schools, describing the interventions as dangerous and counterproductive in most cases. A Hearst Newspapers investigation published last fall revealed that students nationwide are restrained or secluded hundreds of thousands of times each year, resulting in thousands of injuries and, on rare occasions, death.

In Connecticut, schools reported restraining and secluding special education students tens of thousands of time annually over the past decade, with Black students and those with autism particularly likely to have the interventions used against them.

The new legislation, introduced Thursday, would replace seclusion with "time outs" in unlocked settings, while establishing that restraint can't be used as a planned intervention (only in "emergency" situations). It would also require that schools convene a meeting with parents each time a student is restrained to provide details of the incident and explain why that level of response was necessary.

"They are significant proposals and continue to move us in a more science-directed way, with what interventions work for kids and what intentions are harmful for kids," Sarah Eagan, the state's child advocate, said Friday.

Associate child advocate Christina Ghio, who as an attorney has represented children and parents in restraint and seclusion cases, also praised the proposals, though she said she hoped to learn more about what a "time out" might look and how it would differ from seclusion.

"The definition of time out is going to be very important," she said.

The proposals around restraint and seclusion are part of a broader bill regarding special education, which would also permit dual remote and in-person instruction if required by an individualized education program, expand the charge of a special ed task force, give parents the right to have an interpreter at a planning and placement team meeting and more.

The education committee will hear testimony regarding the bill at a public hearing Wednesday.

Rep. Jeff Currey, an East Hartford Democrat who co-chairs the education committee, said the proposals in the bill came from a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization called Special Education Equity for Kids. Andrew Feinstein, a lawyer with SEEK, said he considers the restraint and seclusion provisions the most important part of the broader legislation.

"Our view is that seclusion does nothing but terrorize kids, it is not en educational intervention in any way," Feinstein said. "It serves no valid purpose and is incredibly destructive to kids, and it has no place in a public school or any school."

The education committee's other co-chair, Sen. Doug McCrory, D-Hartford, said he supports preventing schools from secluding students who act out, likening the practice to "solitary confinement."

"We have to do a better job of working with children's mental health, and putting them in a room by themselves ... I don't think that's the appropriate way that we should be handling that," he said. "I think there are other ways right now that we know work better."

McCrory said he wants to see Connecticut improve the "climate" in schools to reduce the need for serious interventions such as restraint and seclusion.

Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, said she supports the intention of the new proposals around restraint and seclusion but is worried about reducing the options teachers have for dealing with students in crisis.

"When kids are really struggling and disregulated, we do need to have options for them, and we do need to have space for them to deescalate, to manage and assess their own feelings and responses, and to have conversations about developing better techniques and management skills," she said.

During the pandemic-disrupted 2020-21 school year, the most recent for which data is available, more than 2,000 Connecticut special education students were restrained or secluded a total of 23,511 times.

Connecticut has gradually restricted restraint and seclusion over the years, limiting their use to emergency situations and tightening data collection protocols, but advocates have pushed for them to restricted further.

A spokesperson for State Department of Education said the department was reviewing the bill and planned to weigh in next week.

alex.putterman@hearstmediact.com.
The Texas Attorney Generals Office says a district court judge selected an ineligible doctor to conduct a new mental health evaluation of the man accused of killing 10 people at Santa Fe High School, weighing into the brewing legal controversy over the 2018 mass killing.

Attorneys with the state office this week filed a motion to vacate Judge Jeth Jones order calling for a new mental health evaluation, arguing that the doctor selected for the job  the University of Texas Medical Branchs Dr. Joseph Penn  is a state employee and evaluating the accused shooter would violate state rules.

MORE ON CASE: Attorneys for accused Santa Fe shooter seek to have judge thrown from case over bias accusations

The Attorney Generals motion only serves to highlight the arguments we made at the March 10 hearing, that Judge Jones ignored, said Nicholas Poehl, attorney for Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 22.

The attorney general's filing was brief, and didn't include more details.

Representatives for the Galveston County District Attorneys Office declined to comment about the attorney generals motion.

Pagourtzis was committed to a psychiatric hospital based on mental health evaluations by three doctors and ruled unfit to stand trial.

The latest motion sets up a busy schedule for the case moving forward. Presiding Administrative Judge Susan Brown is tentatively set to hear arguments on April 20 on a motion Poehl filed, seeking to have Jones removed from the case, accusing him of bias.

No judge will likely hear arguments on the attorney generals motion until Brown weighs in on the recusal motion, Poehl said.

The recusal motion said the judge has shown he is determined to hire someone to find Pagourtzis competent to stand trial and trying to do so behind the scenes, even as he publicly agreed to keep Pagourtzis committed for at least another year at the North Texas State Hospital in Vernon.

He is facing charges of capital murder of multiple persons and aggravated assault against a public servant in connection with the mass shooting, according to court records. He has been committed to the state hospital since November 2019.

He is accused of entering Santa Fe High School on May 18, 2018, with a sawed-off shotgun and a .38-caliber pistol and killing eight students and two teachers and injuring 13. A junior at the school at the time, Pagourtzis admitted to being the mass shooter after his arrest, according to court documents.

Pagourtzis was originally evaluated independently by three psychiatric experts in October 2019, with one each selected by the defense, prosecution and retired Judge John Ellisor, who was presiding over the case at the time. All three agreed that Pagourtzis was not fit to stand trial.
On Scene Media

Three teenagers were injured early Friday after a shootout outside a gas station in southeast Houston that left at least one car riddled with bullet holes, officials said.

Just before 1 a.m., officers stationed near Fuqua Street heard gunshots and noticed a Chrysler 300 pulling away from the scene, Lt. Ronnie Willkens, of the Houston Police Department, told On Scene reporters. Police pulled over the vehicle and discovered it was full of bullet holes, and two people inside had been shot.
Houston Chronicle

A Spring woman has been accused of illegally selling temporary license plate tags to people as part of a fraud scheme.

Tina Jimenez, 37, has been charged with money laundering between $2,500 and $35,000 and temporary card distribution to an unauthorized person in connection to the scheme, according to Harris County court records.
Three Houston residents were convicted for a number of home invasions in late 2019 and mid-2020 which resulted in federal kidnapping charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced last week.

Timothy Morant, 55; Alvin Woods, 45; and Chakevia Roberts, 31, worked together to rob two multi-million dollar homes in the Houston area, and another family's home in Houston. During the robberies, Morant and Woods both pointed guns at the homeowners and their family members while Roberts sat outside as the lookout and getaway driver, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Morant was sentenced to more than 27 years in federal prison for this role in the invasions. At Morants hearing, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake called him "one of the most dangerous people he had seen before him in all of his years as a judge and noted he had been convicted of the same crime twice before this one." He was previously convicted in 1989 but served only 13 years of a 42-year sentence in state prison. In 2003, he was again convicted of the same crimes and sentenced to 25 years but was released in 2018.

Lake sentenced Woods to 20 years and Roberts to 8 years for their roles in the invasions.

Morant and Woods entered a home Oct. 22, 2019, in Sugar Land while the homeowners were there. The men tied up several family members with zip ties, held them at gunpoint and demanded they open safes. They then demanded jewelry and other "high-end property." When the homeowners didn't respond to their demands quickly enough, Morant pepper sprayed them.

On Dec. 13, 2019, Morant and Woods entered another home in Houston. When there, they encountered the homeowner and her child. The men pushed their way into the home while pointing guns at the victims. The two then zip-tied both the homeowner and her child while demanding money, jewelry and other expensive items. When the mother couldn't open a second safe to give Morant more valuables, he pepper sprayed the child.

During both kidnappings, Morant was on an open cellphone line with Roberts who was waiting outside in the getaway vehicle. Once Morant and Woods received the items they wanted, they stole the homeowners' vehicle and used it to meet Roberts at a pre-determined location. Morant, Woods and Roberts then split the money and stolen belongings amongst themselves.

The FBI and police departments in Houston and Sugar Land apprehended all three suspects after they attacked another family June 19, 2020, in Houston. They again pointed guns at the homeowners and demanded money, jewelry and property. During the invasion, Morant and Woods dragged the victims, zip-tied them and then searched the home for money and costly items.

Upon their arrests, law enforcement officials recovered stolen property, gloves, masks and firearms. All have been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
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The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday filed a complaint with the Department of Justice alleging that the Texas Education Agency is violating the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution by replacing Houston ISDs elected board.

In a formal letter, the organization urged the department to investigate and take any other action necessary to prevent TEA Commissioner Mike Morath from appointing a board of managers to govern the largest school district in the state.

The ACLU attorneys allege that the impending takeover is an undemocratic and unlawful action that would dilute the voting power of the majority Black and brown community in the school district, according to the complaint. It would violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, the complaint says.

TAKEOVER FALLOUT: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee seeks federal intervention to halt HISD takeover

The TEAs actions raise serious concerns that it is intentionally discriminating against Houston voters of color and denying or abridging their existing right to vote for HISD trustees, the letter states.

The complaint, filed on behalf of four HISD parents, comes roughly two weeks after the TEA announced plans to take over the district at the end of the school year.

Dr. Audrey Nath, a pediatric neurologist whose son is in kindergarten at Wharton Dual Language Academy, said she feels the takeover is a direct attack on the voting rights of parents.

"Were being disenfranchised, which makes me feel really indignant and just angry," said Nath, who is named in the complaint. "Really what theyre doing by taking away our elected board members, theyre saying that our elections are a joke."

While there has been concern that families may flee the district due to the takeover, some parents are in it for the long haul. This is the case for Anna Chuter, a parent of a special education student in HISD and soon-to-be teacher in the district. She signed on to the complaint because she feels it's one of the few ways for her voice to be heard.

Were not going without a fight," Chuter told the Chronicle. "Were not going to let TEA walk all over us.

She feels it could potentially be one of the last avenues to stop state intervention. Earlier this week, HISDs elected board decided to forgo its last chance to appeal Moraths intervention, voting against filing a request for an administrative review.

The move follows a four-year legal battle. The state first tried to take over the district in 2019 in response to chronic low academic achievement at Wheatley High School and alleged trustee misconduct, but the district blocked the takeover with a lawsuit.

In January, however, the Texas Supreme Court vacated an injunction against the state agency, paving the way for the state to move forward with an intervention in the district.

In his announcement earlier this month, Morath said the state takeover is required under Texas state law because Wheatley earned five consecutive failing scores on the states accountability system and a conservator had been stationed at the district for more than two consecutive years.

MORATH INTERVIEW: TEA head Mike Moraths vision for HISD is more ambitious than we thought (Editorial)

In its complaint, however, the ACLU says that Morath is actually not required to take over the district.

The attorneys argues that Moraths flawed justifications for intervening in the district are red herrings based on stale data, according to the complaint. Wheatleys rating improved to an acceptable grade and the entire district earned a B for the most recent school year.

The TEA is retroactively justifying an undemocratic overhaul of the entire school district based on a single schools stale academic ratings that have since improved and no longer require or allow TEA action, the complaint says.

In fact, the takeover is a political decision that would result in sham elections and prevent Houston voters from holding appointed board members accountable for their decisions, attorneys argue in the filing.

The TEAs true intent is to remove the power of Houston voters of color, who pose a threat to the states current political power structure and the statewide voters preferred policies, the letter states. The TEAs appointed board of managers will effectively rubber stamp the statewide Anglo voters preferred educational policies.

It's unclear what the exact outcome of the complaint would be. The justice department has several options for actions, such as a lawsuit, that it can take in response to the complaint, ACLU attorney Ashley Harris said, and its unclear how long that process might take.

Given the public opposition of the state intervention, Harris said she is hopeful that the federal complaint will help emphasize pressure on the TEA to reconsider.

Were hoping the Department of Justice acts quickly, she said.

Harris said she hopes the TEA is responsive to the opposition from the Houston community against the takeover, noting that the state is targeting a majority Black and brown district but not intervening in other lower performing Texas districts.

They have the ability to not appoint a board of managers, she said. Its a totally discretionary choice that theyre choosing to do. So were hopeful (that it can be stopped) especially because the Houston community has obviously been so against it.

In the event, the DOJ decides to go through with an investigation it could ask the TEA to delay its timeline, or go through the courts for an injunction, said Emily Berman, an associate professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center.

The first step would likely be an informal contact, rather than going through the courts, Berman said.

The Justice Department could probably move more quickly than a lawsuit, Berman said. The Justice Department might be able to get things done without having to go through the time and expense of a full blown litigation.

In addition to ACLU attorneys, the letter is also signed by Johnny Mata from the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice, Bishop James Dixon, President of the Houston NAACP, and Isidro Garza from the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Houston ISD offices were closed the day the complaint was filed, and did not comment. The TEA did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Despite the district's uncertain future, Nath said the federal complaint and community engagement on display at a Friday morning rally have renewed her hope.

"What gives me hope is seeing so many other parents reach out and say, 'We don't want this,'" she said.
The fourth and final scheduled Texas Education Agency forum was similar to the others: the crowd chanted, interrupted and demanded answers from state officials. Many of the questions had one prevailing theme: Will the board of managers cut any programs or positions?

Keith Downey, a Kashmere High graduate, came to his alma mater for the community forum with one specific topic weighing on his mind: funding for wraparound services, which could provide students with everything they need from backpacks to food for their pantries at home. Downey was one of the first to help bring the services to the district, starting with the Kashmere feeder pattern schools.

He fears the program could be dramatically slashed in the face of a state takeover

Our children in these communities need equitable funding, Downey said. In fact, we need more funding.

TEA COMMUNITY FORUMS: Tension marks third TEA takeover forum at HISD's Delmar Stadium

Alejandro Delgado, deputy commissioner at the TEA, who has been leading the meeting, told Downey that the program will continue to receive the proper funding.

We dont trust you, crowd members shout.

They began to chant, Bring your boss. Bring your boss. A similar sentiment was shared at the last few meetings as well, where TEA Commissioner Mike Morath has been noticeably absent.

Morath told the Chronicle editorial board that he could not attend last weeks community forums because he was under the weather. He was not present for the final forum shown on the TEAs schedule.

MORATH INTERVIEW: TEA head Mike Moraths vision for HISD is more ambitious than we thought (Editorial)

What about the teachers? The bus drivers? Can you guarantee theyll have jobs? community member Arnetta Murray asked.

Johnny Dilworth, who to teaches a college preparatory class at Fleming Middle School, worries how the takeover will affect his students, who he feels dont get everything they need. He attended Fleming as a student and was offered one of his first teaching jobs there.

He has noticed an apparent lack of resources. The school doesnt have enough electronic devices for each student to have their own, making preparing for the STAAR more difficult, he said.

Jon Shapley/Staff photographer

He questions if an appointed board will be able to help.

We already dont have the resources to get these kids what they need, he said.

If nothing else, he said he hopes the state intervention will inspire his students to vote when they are old enough.

I hope my students learn to get out there and vote, Dilworth said, so this will never happen again.
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Opposition to state intervention in the Houston Independent School District was on full display Friday morning at a rally attended by concerned parents, teachers and elected officials and in a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

About 100 people rallied for nearly three hours outside Cesar Chavez High School to protest the Texas Education Agency's plan to boot the elected school board and appoint new managers to govern the largest school district in the state. People held signs, chanted and cheered as elected officials and community members one-by-one took the microphone on stage.

LATEST NEWS: ACLU alleges HISD state takeover discriminates against Houston voters of color in DOJ complaint

"You yank public schools apart and the whole community will fall apart  it will be disastrous for us," said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, among the first speakers. "Let's keep fighting. Let's make sure that TEA hears, because right now, I don't see them listening."

In his remarks, Mayor Sylvester Turner called out the hypocrisy of Gov. Greg Abbots push to promote school choice and school vouchers in certain communities, while stripping local control from Houston parents and voters.

If parents matter in Cypress, and if parents matter in Katy, and if parents matter in Sugar Land, then parents should matter in HISD, the mayor said.

Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer

Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Houston community members, teachers and parents participate in a rally hosted by The Greater Houston Justice Coalition and other community groups against the state takeover of HISD Friday, March 31, 2023, at Cesar Chavez High School in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer) Houston community members, teachers and parents participate in a rally hosted by The Greater Houston Justice Coalition and other community groups against the state takeover of HISD Friday, March 31, 2023, at Cesar Chavez High School in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer)

Turner encouraged all community stakeholders to keep fighting against the takeover.

Fight for your kids, stand up for your kids and reclaim the power that is rightfully yours, he said. "This battle is for the future of public education in the state of Texas. Now is the time to stand up and fight for public education."

To that end, the ACLU on Friday filed a complaint with the Department of Justice alleging that the Texas Education Agency is violating the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution by replacing Houston ISDs elected board.

In a formal letter, the organization urged the department to investigate and take any other action necessary to prevent TEA Commissioner Mike Morath from appointing a board of managers to govern the largest school district in the state.

The ACLU attorneys allege that the impending takeover is an undemocratic and unlawful action that would dilute the voting power of the majority Black and brown community in the school district, according to the complaint. It would violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, the complaint says.

The TEAs actions raise serious concerns that it is intentionally discriminating against Houston voters of color and denying or abridging their existing right to vote for HISD trustees, the letter states.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, flew in from out of state to attend the rally. She said the takeover is nothing more than a power grab by state leaders in an effort to advance a political agenda by stirring up fear and division in the community. Meanwhile, she said, there are real issues in education such as learning loss and a mental health crisis among youth.

"Here you have a district that was starting to move forward with a superintendent people liked and a board that was getting along," she said. "And then they throw a monkey wrench in. How is that helping kids?"

Other speakers included U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, Houston NAACP president Bishop James Dixon, advocacy group leaders, parents and students.

CHAVEZ DAY: March against HISD takeover builds on Latino activists' legacy

Ron Castro, a teacher at Eastwood Academy, was among the first people to arrive on the grassy lawn outside the south Houston high school. He and his coworkers  a counselor and a librarian  came prepared with collapsible armchairs and a large red-and-white banner painted by their students with the famous Cesar Chavez slogan: "Si se puede."

I firmly believe in everybody doing their part," said Castro, who commutes roughly an hour across town to teach government and psychology at the East End high school.

The teacher said he is worried that the state takeover would create chaos during a time in which students need the opposite: stability, care and a united community.

"Teachers were already leaving. This is just one more reason to leave," he said. "I do want to teach. I want to teach at a place where there is stability."
High levels of carbon dioxide have been found in two classrooms at Kelso Elementary School, according to two air quality reports released this year.

The reports also indicated there was mold in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. A water leak, air filters that had not been changed in seven months and improperly sealed doors are likely what caused the issue, according to experts who reviewed the reports.

More from Rebecca Carballo: Houston ISD working to remove lead from water sources

Meanwhile, teachers and students have reported feeling drowsy and having headaches, which are side effects of being exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide.

The Chronicle obtained emails of teachers warning school administrators of adverse health effects. One of the teachers at the school wrote an email to the principal, among other staff at the elementary school, saying that one of her students was having asthma attacks more frequently. She noticed a different student was having more labored breathing. A parent told her a childs allergist believes that he was sick because of mold exposure, she wrote in the email.

A different teacher said she was feeling lightheadedness, dizziness, brainfog and drowsiness. She showed a doctor the first report.

My primary care physician told me not to return to that school, she told the Chronicle in an interview. He told me to take FMLA and be done. FMLA refers to the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The teacher asked that her name not be used for fear of retaliation.

HOUSTON HOTSPOT: Houston among U.S. cities with worst air pollution, study finds, with minority areas hit the hardest

The districts risk management department conducted the first report in early January and found that carbon dioxide levels were above recommended air quality guidelines. Another inspection was conducted in February, and while the CO2 levels had dropped, they were still in the red, which means the air quality is unhealthy, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Houston Independent School District officials say an action plan is in progress, which includes another inspection, but the district does not have a timeline on when a third report will be ready.

When the district was first made aware of the HVAC issues, HISDs risk management department was promptly contacted and sent out to evaluate, school district officials said in a statement.

The team confirmed that the substance was regular mold, which is not harmful and likely due to excess humidity and condensation in the air-conditioning system, the district said in a statement. As a precautionary measure, areas where the mold was discovered were quickly removed and sanitized. All students and faculty were kept safely away from those areas while work was completed. The system has been cleaned and is functioning.

Students have since been moved out of both of the classrooms, teachers at the school told the Chronicle. Students were moved out of one of the classrooms the Monday after spring break; the other class was moved Thursday.

The districts air quality reports being paired with students and teachers feeling sick is definitely cause for concern, said Inyang Uwak, research and policy director for Air Alliance Houston, an environmental research and advocacy group.

LIVING WITH POLLUTION: A Texas official didnt know what to do about environmental racism. Houstonians had plenty of ideas.

Theres definitely something here, Uwak said, because those are significant carbon dioxide levels.

CO2 levels should be maintained below 1,000 parts per million, according to American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers recommendations. The Jan. 9 report showed CO2 levels to be 2,338 ppm and 1,838 ppm in the two classrooms. In the Feb. 17 report, they were at 1,538 and 1,622.

Alicia DeRodriguez, a parent of a first grader at Kelso, never heard of the mold situation from school administrators. She first found out from a news report.

My child had been complaining of headaches since before spring break, DeRodriguez said. Then it came out on the news.  I started putting one and two together and thought maybe this is why he is feeling this way.

Making sure all parents were immediately notified should have been the schools first priority because some students have more sensitivities than others, said Uwak with Air Alliance Houston.

They should err on the side of caution," Uwak said. "If they found out there was mold in the school, the first thing they should have done was notify the parents.
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BOSTON (AP)  A former Boston police officer was arrested Thursday on charges that he assaulted a police officer after storming the U.S. Capitol with the mob of President Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.

Joseph Robert Fisher is accused of pushing a chair into a Capitol police officer inside the building as the officer was running after another rioter who deployed pepper spray, according to court documents. Moments later, Fisher also engaged in a physical assault against the officer, which ended with Fisher on the ground, an FBI agent wrote in the court papers.

A current Boston police officer helped investigators identify Fisher in photographs, the agent wrote.

The 52-year-old was arrested at his home in Plymouth, Massachusetts and released on conditions after an initial court appearance Thursday. Fisher retired in 2016 after serving more than 20 years in the police force, including as part of the K-9 unit, a department spokesperson said.

He's charged with assaulting an officer, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and other crimes. The Associated Press sent an email to an attorney who represented Fisher for his initial appearance in Boston.

Fisher is among several people charged in the riot who were working or previously worked in law enforcement on Jan. 6. The rioter who received the longest sentence so far  10 years in prison  was a retired New York City police officer who used a metal flagpole to assault an officer.

Also on Thursday, authorities arrested a Colorado man who prosecutors say was part of a group of rioters who violently pushed against officers desperately trying to defend the Capitol from the angry mob in a tunnel.

Jonathan Grace, of Colorado Springs, faces charges including felony civil disorder. The 49-year-old is also supposed to appear in court on Thursday in Denver. No attorney was immediately listed for him in court records.

Surveillance video shows Grace entering a tunnel where officers were lined up as they tried to beat back the mob. Grace can be seen putting his head down and using his body to push in unison with other rioters against the police line, authorities say. As the rioters pushed, one of officers screamed in pain while being crushed between a shield and a door frame in one of the most harrowing scenes from the riot, according to court documents.

After officers at one point managed to clear rioters out of the tunnel, Grace watched as other rioters dragged a D.C. police officer out of the tunnel and brutally attacked him, authorities say. He then re-joined the rioters pushing against the police line and retreated only after officers sprayed a chemical irritant at the crowd, according to court documents.

They join roughly 1,000 people who have charged with federal crimes in the riot that halted the certification of President Joe Bidens victory and left dozens of police officers injured. All of the cases are being prosecuted in Washington D.C.s federal court and authorities continue to make new arrests practically every week.

More than 540 defendants have pleaded guilty. Dozens more have been convicted by judges or juries after trials. More than 440 have been sentenced, with over half getting terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.

___

Follow the APs coverage of the Capitol riot at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.
Two U.S. Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed during training Wednesday night in Kentucky, killing nine soldiers. Here are questions and answers about Black Hawks:

WHAT IS THE BLACK HAWK?

The Black Hawk is a twin-engine, four-bladed, medium-lift, utility helicopter developed for the U.S. Army since the 1970s by Sikorsky Aircraft of Stratford, Connecticut. It typically has a crew of two pilots and two crew chiefs. Its basic Army designation is H-60; export versions are designated S-70.

WHAT IS IT USED FOR?

The Black Hawk is built in multiple configurations for a wide range of missions including cargo lift, combat assault, special operations, search-and-rescue, medical evacuation, aerial firefighting and VIP transport, according to Lockheed Martin, parent of Sikorsky. In addition to the crew, it can seat 12 fully equipped troops. Seats can be replaced with stretchers to carry wounded. Armed versions can carry guns, rockets and guided missiles.

WHO USES THE BLACK HAWK?

The Black Hawk is a workhorse for the U.S. Army, which operates more than 2,100 of the aircraft, as well as other U.S. forces and the militaries of dozens of other nations, according to Lockheed Martin. U.S. variants include the Navy's Seahawk, the Air Force's Pave Hawk and the Coast Guard's Jayhawk. A non-military version used for fighting wildfires is called the Firehawk.

HOW MUCH DO BLACK HAWKS COST?

In 2022, the U.S. government and Sikorsky signed a five-year contract for 120 Black Hawks, with options for a total of 255 aircraft for the U.S. Army and foreign militaries. The contract was valued at $2.3 billion for the expected deliveries and up to $4.4 billion if all options are exercised, Lockheed Martin said in a news release. The signing marked the 10th multiyear contract between the U.S. and Sikorsky for H-60 helicopters.
Its become a rite of spring in Texas: homeowners check the mail to find a notice from their appraisal district. They rip open the envelope, scan down to the market value figure, mouth agape at how much more their home is worth than the previous year, and either scream into the void or curl up into a fetal position.

If you own a residential property in Harris County, your appraisal likely went up by about 21 percent last year. In other parts of the state, such as Travis County, the increases were even more staggering  a whopping 56 percent. While a state-imposed appraisal cap cushions the blow of the sticker shock, the perennial appraisal increases still lead to astronomical property tax bills  the sixth-highest in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation. Because our state is one of a small handful without a personal income tax, property tax revenue is critical. It pays for our public schools, streets, police and fire departments, libraries, parks and local governments.

For years, lawmakers have tinkered with the tax system to try and strike a delicate balance between lowering our property tax bills and maintaining consistent enough revenues to maintain these vital services. The results have been mixed. Its telling, for instance, that after the Legislature passed a ballyhooed package of property tax reforms in 2019, Harris County homeowners on average continued to see bigger tax bills before a small drop last year.

So when Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced in January the state had a "once-in-a-lifetime" $32.7 billion surplus to end the 2022-23 biennium, the first thing that came to mind for many lawmakers was "property tax cut." And why not? Paying down some portion of our soaring tax bills is both politically popular, and practical to some degree, even if that relief could ultimately be ephemeral, lead to continued under-investment in public education and shut out renters. It's why this board has instead called on state lawmakers to enact a sales tax cut that would benefit every Texan, as opposed to just property owners.

Of course, there are many ways to provide a property tax cut, and lawmakers in the state Senate and House have put forward markedly different approaches to doing so. The $17.3 billion House proposal, authored by Rep. Morgan Meyer, a Dallas Republican, would use state dollars to buy down school property taxes and lower the existing 10 percent cap on year-to-year appraisal increases to 5 percent for both residences and businesses.

In the Senate, lawmakers want to put up $16.5 billion to replace school district property tax revenue. Under its proposal, sponsored by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, nearly a quarter of relief would come from raising the school property tax homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000, allowing homeowners to shave that amount off the taxable value of their primary residence. The plan would also raise the homestead exemption for those over 65 and for disabled homeowners and extend $1.5 billion of tax relief to businesses.

Meyer's bill more directly addresses the appraisal sticker shock problem. Limiting year-over-year appraisals to 5 percent and extending it to all types of property would protect against sudden property value spikes. Yet they are also inherently unfair, benefiting wealthier homeowners  whose property values tend to appreciate faster  over middle- and lower-income homeowners. Appraisal caps also have unintended consequences, as research shows people tend to stay longer in their homes, inhibiting sales and increasing the tax burden on newer homebuyers.

Bettencourt's bill raising the homestead exemption is a far fairer way to distribute property tax relief because it impacts people who own lower-value homes as much as it does wealthy ones. The Chronicle's Jasper Scherer reported that Bettencourt's bill would apply to about 5.7 million homesteads, around 2 million of which belong to owners with an over-65 or disabled exemption.

Part of the reason that many homeowners pay taxes on a much smaller amount of their home's market value is due to the homestead exemptions, which only apply to properties that are principal residences. So a home appraised at $300,000 that qualifies for a $40,000 exemption will pay school taxes on the home as if it were worth $260,000.

Based on the statewide average for school district property tax rates, raising the homestead exemption to $70,000 under Bettencourt's bill would save homeowners an average of nearly $800 a year, up from roughly $450 saved under the existing $40,000 exemption. For Houston homeowners, where the school tax rate is about 10 cents lower than the statewide average, homeowners would save about $726 a year with a $70,000 exemption. Meyer's bill would result in more than $1,200 in savings over the next two years  an estimated $542 in 2024 and $733 in 2025.

Bettencourt's bill, which already passed the Senate unanimously, is the better approach. While we have some concern about the long-term impacts of the bill, Bettencourt told the editorial board he believes the surplus is sturdy enough to cover the expenses of property tax relief "for at least four years," adding that the state's rainy day fund can also guard against any economic downturn.

We hope that's true, and that an economic recession or diminished sales tax receipts in the future won't simply mean we'll be raising property taxes again within the next decade, putting public school funding in jeopardy.

It's important to take note -- and we truly wish Bettencourt would, too -- that neither bill would close the gaping tax loopholes that benefit owners of large commercial and industrial properties across the state and deprive the state coffers of billions in revenue. If lawmakers actually required wealthy skyscraper owners to pay their fair share, average homeowners could see even more property tax relief.

The two competing bills in the House and Senate also wouldn't improve the accuracy and efficiency of property tax appraisals and appeals. And neither would directly benefit renters, though the House bill would reduce costs for landlords who may or may not share the savings.

Lawmakers must tackle these problems someday. For now, property owners will have to live with a temporary salve.
One moment, a locomotive is pulling tank cars through the farmlands near Palestine, Ohio. The next, cars are tumbling off the tracks and toxic chemicals such as vinyl chloride are burning. Residents are left to wonder whether their air, water and land is safe and if our government is doing enough to protect them.

In Houston, residents living near the superfund site on Jones Road in northwest Harris County also live with those fears, but their environmental threat didnt just appear overnight; it has grown in slow motion, stretching out over decades.

From 1988 until 2002 Bell Dry Cleaners used a nearby storm drain to improperly dispose of its wastewater. That waste contained perchloroethylene (PERC), which degrades into cancer causing vinyl chloride, like what was released in the Ohio train wreck, as well as a host of other toxic chemicals. It wasnt until the chemicals were discovered in the drinking water at a nearby kids gymnastics facility that the state got involved. Bell Cleaners soon shut down, leaving behind an environmental nightmare.



READ MORE: Opinion: Could Houston be the next East Palestine?

The Environmental Protection Agency named it the Jones Road Ground Water Plume Superfund Site because the chemicals in the groundwater spread in a plume under local homes and businesses. The EPA determined that local residents using private water wells were at risk and offered to connect them to municipal water supplies for free. Only 144 homeowners took them up on it.

It is in the news now because the EPA has determined its protection plan isnt working. People are still at risk. In late February officials announced they would again pay for everyone who is on well water to connect to the municipal system. However, the deadline to sign up is today. Residents say it is not enough time.

Winston Churchill supposedly once said, Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else.

In many ways that describes our governments approach to environmental crises. In Ohio the EPA has ramped up its response, but only in the face of public outrage. At Jones Road, the EPA is trying to do the right thing, but it has taken 20 years and many false starts to get here.

Residents wonder if the EPA is focused on solutions or simply checking regulatory boxes. Andy Escobar from the Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience, grew up in the superfund site. He told us, My parents moved to the Jones Road area in 1991 for the promise of a safe community with opportunities for their kidsWeve dealt with tremendous health costs: my dad and mom are cancer survivors and my elderly great aunt who spent 17 years living with us is currently undergoing cancer treatment.

Were the chemicals in the ground water to blame? Theres no way of knowing. Would a more proactive response from the EPA have spared their health? Thats a question that haunts people living near Jones Road and every other superfund site in America.

At Texas Health and Environment Alliance, we think the EPAs process has left many residents in the dark and even lulled some into a false sense of security. Go to Jones Road and look for any indication that you are in a superfund site. Look hard and you may find the two small signs located behind the strip mall.

The full area potentially at risk is also unclear. As the water table shifts, so does the chemical plume. The EPA isnt testing outside the original area, so we dont know if other homes are impacted.

Our community coordinators are in the neighborhood regularly. They talk to residents who werent even aware that they live over a superfund site while some take an out of sight, out of mind approach.

THEA and our partner the University of Texas Medical Branch, are trying to provide people with the information they need. We have been performing free air, water, and soil testing for area homeowners. That data should give us valuable information on the current exposure levels and the location of the plume.

Environmental equity can only work if the EPA is committed to truly informing the public. The neighborhood at the Jones Road Superfund Site is a snapshot of Houston  diverse and growing, a place people move to so that they can take part in the American dream of owning their own home. The EPA has embraced environmental justice, but that can only work if the agency is willing to proactively keep the spotlight on health threats and provide effective, timely solutions. It shouldnt take a train wreck to make our environmental laws work.
Republicans in the Texas Senate seeking to end tenure for college professors pitched their cause on Thursday as a pragmatic effort to improve higher education in the state, while educators repeatedly described it as an attack aimed at research of race and gender issues that could hamstring schools from recruiting faculty.

BACKGROUND: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to end tenure at public universities, citing critical race theory

The bill, SB 18, is a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who said last year he wanted to end tenure because he believes college professors are attempting to indoctrinate students with Critical Race Theory. Notably, House Speaker Dade Phelan has spoken out against the proposal, saying it could actually make it harder for Texas universities to attract conservative professors.

The bill is being pushed by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, who chairs the chambers Education Committee. In Thursday's debate, Creighton and researchers from conservative think tanks said that tenure allows professors to quiet quit on their jobs, becoming deadwood, and that the bill would make it easier to clear them out.

Tenure is an indefinite employment contract for faculty who show a high level of performance for research and teaching. Tenured faculty can still be fired for cause, such as sexual harassment or poor job performance. Its purpose is to give researchers more leeway to follow their ideas, insulating them from university or political pressure.

The bill would stop public colleges and universities in the state from offering tenure after Sept. 1 of this year. The new law would not affect the contracts of existing tenured faculty.

Adam Kissel, with the Heritage Foundation  an influential conservative think tank  said tenure is no longer appropriate today because professors have abandoned the intellectual humility of scholars and instead embraced the hubris of activists.

I think that is the main reason we are here today with (this bill), which I am in favor of, Kissel said.

Despite the fact Patrick has explicitly said tenure should be ended because he disagrees with the ideology of professors, several senators reacted angrily or said they were offended when a witness described the bill as a political attack against professors, particularly those who focus on race or gender studies.

I think theres a complete miss to look at the impact when you just chalk it up to this being brought by the political winds, Creighton said. As the author, thats not why Im bringing this forward.

Under state law, faculty already undergo tenure reviews at least every six years, and representatives from several of the large university systems in the state testified they undergo performance reviews more frequently, as often as annually. They said that tenured faculty arent guaranteed jobs for life if theyre not doing the work.

People know when folks are not doing what they should be doing. Its just not really something you can hide, said Dona Cornell, a vice chancellor with the University of Houston System.

Without tenure, a parade of professors testified, Texas colleges and universities will struggle to recruit talented professors and researchers. Several current professors said specifically they only accepted jobs at Texas institutions because they were offered the chance at tenure.

Jeff Gardner, a sociology professor at Sam Houston State University, said although he and his wife wanted to move to Texas after earning his Ph.D. to be closer to family, his priority was finding a tenure-track job. He views tenure not as an end goal, but a beginning.

I wanted to feel assured that my research could not be potential grounds for termination, he said. Many excellent teachers and researchers are only looking to work in academic research positions that offer the possibility of tenure.
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Houston City Councilmember Mike Knox has announced his bid for Harris County Sheriff, with a platform centered on placing public safety at the top of the county's agenda.

After eight years on council, the Republican veteran and former police officer said he envisions a safer Harris County and said he plans to address issues such as human trafficking and jail conditions as the countys next top law enforcement official.

ELECTION NEWS: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is running for Houston mayor, scrambling the race for City Hall's top job

His campaign will kick off at a West Houston Pappasito's Cantina on April 25, featuring a host committee that includes Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, Congressmen Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, Pappas Restaurants CEO Chris Pappas, and State Representatives Charles Cunningham, R-Humble, and Mano DeAyala, R-Houston, among others.

It is unacceptable that Harris County is a human trafficking hub, Knox said. It is unacceptable that criminals come to Harris County to commit crimes because they know they will be held less accountable here than in neighboring counties. It is unacceptable that our county jail is dangerous for staff and inmates.

"Simply put, it is high time public safety is priority number one in Harris County and that will be my mission as Harris County Sheriff, he continued. My campaign and my work as sheriff will focus on how to resolve these issues and make public safety the top priority for Commissioners' Court."

PUBLIC SAFETY: Harris County signals support for adding courts, public defenders

The council member is entering the race more than 19 months before the election, scheduled for November 2024, and will run against current Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, a Democrat who confirmed Friday his plan to seek re-election.

Sheriff Gonzalez loves his job, is good at it, and has every intention to run for re-election, Grant Martin, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez' campaign spokesperson, said. He appreciates people who want to serve their communities and looks forward to a healthy, positive and productive debate about the future of Harris County.

Amid heightened controversies surrounding the Harris County Jail, which has been cited for violating state standards and faced criticism from civil rights activists for poor conditions and inmate deaths, the incoming sheriff also will need to tackle public concerns over violent crime as the head of the county's law enforcement.

Knox, a 64-year-old native Houstonian, is a veteran of the United States Air Force and served as a Houston police officer for more than 15 years.

In 2016, Knox defeated prominent Third Ward activist Georgia Provost in a runoff to become the At-Large Position 1 council seat. He secured his second and final four-year term in 2020.

JAIL CRISIS: What would fix the Harris County Jail crisis? Sheriff says the entire system needs to change

During his tenure on the City Council, Knox has not hesitated to challenge Mayor Sylvester Turner. Positioning himself as a check on the mayor and an advocate for cutting city spending, Knox has said city government should limit its responsibilities primarily to public safety, infrastructure, and trash pickup.

Knox was the sole member to vote against Turner's historic pension reform proposal in 2016 and opposed a $650,000 contract to boost participation in the 2020 Census. Most recently, he accused the administration of massaging the process when awarding a lucrative airport concession contract to a new company in early March.
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday struck down Proposition B, the voter-approved measure that would have given Houston firefighters pay parity with police.

The ruling in the landmark case deals a blow to the Houston firefighters' union, which has sought implementation of the measure since it won voters' approval in 2018.

This is a huge victory for the entire City of Houston and its financial stability, Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Twitter Friday morning.

MORE ON PROP B: Houston voted to give firefighters equal pay with police in 2018. Now, it's up to Texas Supreme Court

Turner had fought against the voter referendum, which he said would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars and forced layoffs and cuts in service across city departments, including the fire department. The measure would have given firefighters pay parity with police officers of equal rank and seniority.

The court, however, did rule for the union in another case, saying the state's current scheme of paying firefighters is constitutional. The city had challenged two key elements of that framework, arguments the court rejected in its ruling on Friday.

The ruling has wide-ranging effects for the city, its budget and its nearly 4,000 firefighters. Both lawsuits relate to the city and fire union's long-running contract stalemate. Their most recent labor contract expired in 2017, and the two sides failed to reach a new deal in negotiations and mediation. They have been locked in bitter court battles and political fights ever since.

The city and union cannot even agree on what firefighters currently make. The union says cadets make $34,000 a year, and a first-year firefighter makes a base salary of $45,000. The city said those figures are $36,000 and $51,842, respectively.

Regardless, firefighters make less in Houston than they do in other large Texas cities. The newest firefighters make about $55,300 in Austin, and $67,000 in Dallas, according to those cities.

Prop B

The Prop B case centered on whether equal pay with police would conflict with the existing framework to pay firefighters, enshrined in state law and adopted by Houston voters in 2003.

Under that law, the city must pay firefighters substantially equal to their counterparts in the private sector, and the city and the union may collectively bargain to negotiate contracts. The law has a clause that says it "preempts all contrary local ordinances, executive orders, legislation, or rules."

The police officers' union and the city both challenged Prop B under that law, saying it conflicted with the statute by providing another pay standard. The Supreme Court agreed.

BACKGROUND: Before Prop B was struck down, Houston issued layoff notices to 220 firefighters

"Finally, we hold that Chapter 174 pre-empts the pay-parity amendment," Justice Jane Bland wrote in the ruling. "Local law may not supplant Chapter 174's rule of decision by requiring an inconsistent compensation measurement."

Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 341 President Marty Lancton acknowledged the court's rejection of Prop B, but praised the jurists for upholding collective bargaining, saying it compels the city to negotiate with the union. The union has not reached a new contract during Turner's tenure.

"This is a historic ruling," Lancton said. "Never before has a local government refused to honor the will of the voters. The treatment our firefighters have endured over the last six years is unforgivable. ... We remain grateful to the court and the voters for continuing to stand by us through this fight."

Collective bargaining

The other case stems from the contract stalemate before Prop B passed in 2018. All along, firefighters have alleged the city has failed to pay them in line with the state's standard of private sector comparisons. When the union failed to reach a new contract, it filed a lawsuit against the city in 2017, seeking to have a judge set firefighters' pay for a year to correct that.

State law forbids firefighters from striking during a labor dispute, but it allows them to seek a court's opinion when they are unable to reach a new contract. The city, though, argued the part of the law that allows a judge to set pay is unconstitutional.

In earlier pleadings, attorneys for the city also argued the pay standard itself, requiring cities to pay firefighters equally to their private counterparts, was unconstitutional because no such comparisons exist.

That put the city in an uncomfortable position before the Supreme Court: In one case, it argued the private comparison was the standard, and therefore the comparison to police could not be enforced; in another, it argued that standard was unconstitutional.

During oral arguments, the city abandoned that position and argued only that the judicial enforcement was unconstitutional. The court rejected that argument.

"We reject the Citys constitutional challenge to judicial enforcement of the statutes compensation standard," Bland wrote. "We further hold that the Fire Fighters met all prerequisites for seeking Chapter 174 enforcement, and thus the statute waives the Citys immunity from the Fire Fighters lawsuit for Chapter 174 compensation."

That will allow the case regarding the contract stalemate to continue, and the two sides will return to trial court to decide the firefighters' pay dispute for 2017.

The city long has said Prop B was financially unsustainable. When Turner moved to implement the measure before an initial court ruling in 2019, he issued layoff notices to 220 firefighters. Those were rescinded when courts blocked the measure.

BACKGROUND: Can San Antonio's firefighter contract provide a road map for Houston? The mayor says no.

The cost has been estimated to be $80 to $100 million a year for Prop B, which passed nearly five years ago. In that sense, the city has dodged a bill of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Still, the case involving the contract dispute also has the potential to provide back pay to firefighters, who did not see a raise between 2017 and 2021.

Turner used federal COVID-19 relief funds to give firefighters 6-percent raises in his final three budgets, for a total of 18 percent. Those pay hikes began in 2021 and will be included in this year's budget, which usually is approved in June.

Meanwhile, the union has organized a new charter amendment, which would give it unilateral power to send contract talks to binding arbitration during a contract stalemate. That mirrors a strategy used in San Antonio. Currently, the union and the city must agree to go arbitration.

State Sen. John Whitmire, who is running for mayor, introduced a bill in the Legislature to do the same thing. It passed the Senate, 29-0, on Monday, and now is in the Texas House.

That bill would take effect upon passage, though the Turner administration sought language that would stall the effective date by a year.
A House committee gave unanimous approval last week to a bill that would boost the THC levels allowed in medical marijuana from 1 percent to 5 percent and allow for the Department of State Health Services to add qualifying conditions.

The legislation from Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, would additionally increase access to the states compassionate use program to individuals who suffer from chronic pain.

IN-DEPTH: As Texas pushes to ban delta-8, it's squaring off with the drug's biggest proponents: the VFW

Due to the Republican support for Klick's bill, marijuana legislation experts, such as Texas NORML, believe it is the pro-weed legislation most likely to pass in the Legislature this year. A similar bill to allow more potent medical marijuana and expand its use to chronic pain is pending in the Senate.

The current list of qualifying conditions for the Texas Compassionate Use program includes epilepsy, a seizure disorder, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), autism, cancer, an incurable neurodegenerative disease or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

While many activists applaud what they consider forward movement, Elizabeth Miller, a Bedford woman who suffers from a joint disease, told the committee that the state should do more.

Miller, who has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, testified at the Public Health Committee that more illnesses should qualify for cannabis use.

Miller said during a committee hearing on Mar. 13 that the state program is overly narrow and leaves out many Texans who would benefit from cannabis as medicine, such as herself.

Miller said she is stuck using illegal marijuana to relieve the painful symptoms she experiences. She said the only way her symptoms can be soothed, without additional issue, is by smoking marijuana, which is not an option within the state program. Texas currently only allows medical marijuana in pill form.

While expansion of the compassionate use program offers more options for Texans, the state would continue to have one of the most restrictive medical marijuana programs in the country, according to a recent Americans for Safe Access report.

Miller said she believes the Legislature needs to do more to make medical marijuana more available to patients in need.

We need a medical cannabis program that is accessible to all Texans, regardless of their income or disability, said Miller.

The bill has yet to be scheduled before the full House for consideration.
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All three members of Houston state Rep. Jolanda Jones staff resigned Thursday, alleging in a leaked resignation letter that the freshman Democrat hid an inappropriate relationship between her son and an intern and has allowed him outsized say in state business.

FREE TO YOUR IN-BOX: Jeremy Wallace's Texas Take newsletter

The staffers allege that Jones son Jiovanni, who works for a lobbying firm, is in a relationship with an intern who is younger than him and that the representative has used her position to intimidate and silence them about their concerns.

Jones in a statement Thursday confirmed the resignations of chief of staff Kory Haywood, legislative director Catherine Cat Mouer and district director Yesenia Wences.

"Working in the Texas Legislature is a stressful and demanding job, especially when you are in a daily fight to protect your constituents from attacks on (themselves), their families, their civil rights, their schools, and their ability to control their own bodies, Jones' statement read. Some on my staff have decided this job is not for them. I wish them good luck and success in their next endeavors."

A campaign consultant for Jones said the representative couldn't address the allegations directly because they relate to a personnel matter.

Jiovanni Jones is not on staff, but the employees who resigned say his mother let him participate in team meetings and provide input on policy matters.

"While not a member of the office staff, Jios opinion is often held to a higher prominence than paid staff," they wrote. "The inappropriate

relationship between your son and the intern has caused you to listen more to subordinates than senior staff."

They also said she had involved staff in the affairs of her personal and family life and had engaged in physically threatening behavior in public view that has made staff feel unsafe, though they did not specify how or when.

The letter was first reported by Quorum Report, a political news website in Austin.

Aside from the intern relationship, the staffers claimed the representative called staff at all hours of the night and on weekends" to discuss both work and work-unrelated business and also to ask for rides to and from the airport after midnight.

The staff members added Jones had threatened to fire them on a daily basis.

We have brought this issue and others to your attention on multiple occasions, but it appears that no action has been taken to address the matter, they wrote. We can no longer continue to work in an environment where such toxic and unethical behavior is tolerated and condoned.

Jones, a criminal defense lawyer, previously held an at-large seat on Houston City Council from 2008 to 2012, then served as a Houston Independent School District trustee from 2016 to 2020. As a member of City Council, she was viewed as an advocate for affordable housing, the homeless community and women- and minority-owned businesses.

As a City Council member in 2011, Jones faced a whistleblower complaint accusing her of retaliating against an employee because he told investigators about alleged improper use of city resources. That complaint was thrown out by the city's Office of Inspector General.

At times, she picked losing battles over issues like her opposition to historic preservation, and was known to alienate other council members with parliamentary delays and lengthy speeches.

She remained outspoken as a member of the Houston ISD board, where she was widely seen as one of the school boards most publicly combative members, clashing at times with colleagues, including a shouting match at a 2019 board meeting.
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WASHINGTON  Texas Republicans were raging Thursday night at what they deemed a "sham" indictment of Donald Trump, who is now the first former president to face criminal charges.

BACKGROUND: Donald Trump indicted; first ex-president charged with crime

"This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system," U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted.

Cruz's podcast co-host Ben Ferguson went on radio with a warning for other politicians, urging listeners to look to their members of Congress and "see if they are being silent or if they are coming out swinging. This is when you find out who they really are."

Texans were all in after a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly attacked the investigation, called the indictment political persecution and predicted that it would damage Democrats in 2024.

POLL: Days after Trump's Waco 'witch hunt' rally, poll finds most Americans see criminal case as political

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted: "Weaponization of our courts for political grievances is an abhorrent abuse of power. The George Soros-supported NYC DA is only furthering the radical liberal agenda to have elections determined at the jury box rather than the ballot box."

Rep. Roger Williams, R-Willow Park, called it an "attack on the American people."

"Real America knows this is all a sham," tweeted Rep. Troy Nehls, a Fort Bend Republican.

"The radical left has consistently weaponized our courts to silence conservative voices," Attorney General Ken Paxton tweeted.

"Unprecedented," tweeted Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston. "Americas justice system should never be weaponized for political grandstanding."

State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, tweeted: "Those of us who care about the rule of law should and must push back."

Democrats, meanwhile, cheered the indictment.

"May justice be served, finally," tweeted U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The Retired Investor: Game Has Changed in Bank Rescues

The present banking crisis has brought back memories of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. So far, the financial contagion has been corralled, thanks to swift government action. The winners and losers, however, have changed.

Most readers are familiar with the term "too big to fail." It refers to the financial theory that asserts that certain corporations, particularly banks, and some other financial institutions, are so large and so interconnected that their failure would be disastrous to the greater economic system. As such, these entities must be supported by governments when they face potential failure.

Back in the day, when Britain ruled the world, the government had a hands-off attitude toward failing banks. Over time, Parliament began to realize that the cost of bank failures in the Commonwealth was far greater than supporting them. Through the years (and many successive financial crises later), more and more governments worldwide began to get involved earlier and with more aggressiveness to avert bank failures.

Here in the U.S., we learned our own lessons during the Great Depression when 9,000 banks failed taking with them $7 billion in depositors' assets. In the 1930s, remember, there was no such thing as a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). The life savings of millions of Americans were wiped out by these bank failures. Years later, the New Deal legislation reformed and bolstered the framework of the financial sector in America.

While we still pride ourselves in believing in free markets and private capitalism, the reality is that a great many industries in the U.S. are private-public partnerships. A case in point is the banking industry. In the U.S., the government needs banks to create money and foster economic growth. The banks need the government to prevent bank runs and act as a lender of last resort. It is a symbiotic relationship.

The Great Financial Crisis almost tipped us into a second, worldwide depression. The government's actions, or should I say reactions, to the crisis were ad hoc at best. Lehman Brothers went through a chaotic bankruptcy. JP Morgan was arm-twisted into buying a rival for an amount that kept its bondholders intact. Other institutions were kept alive through huge capital injections that left both shareholders and bondholders intact.

None of these public actions truly solved the problems that got the banks into hot water in the first place. It required many years, and cost billions of extra dollars, before those issues were solved. At the same time, there was an enormous backlash by the tax-paying public against the bank bailouts and the government's actions to protect shareholders and bondholders. Since then, both banks and governments have learned several lessons.

The intervention in Europe to save Credit Suisse, and the U.S. actions in the case of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank were aimed at strengthening the overall financial system rather than leaving it weaker. Signature Bank was shut down. At Credit Suisse and SVB, senior executives were fired, while both bondholders and shareholders lost money.

On the other hand, the banks that acquired these troubled banks are ending up with hefty gains on their balance sheets. Both banks were effectively sold at a negative sale price, which was the difference between the amount that the acquiring bank is paying for its new assets and the book value of those assets.

It seems clear that the lessons learned from the Financial Crisis are that in the event of a bank failure, bond and shareholders' risk capital can, and in this case, did go to zero. Protecting depositors and the financial system has now become the top priority of the government and the banking system. And that is as it should be.
Preschool, Kindergarten Registrations Scheduled Around County

Berkshire County schools are scheduling and re-scheduling preschool and kindergarten registration dates and procedures for the 2021-22 school year. Schools can send their information to info@iberkshires.com to be included on this list.

All students, regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or homelessness, have equal access to the general education program and the full range of any occupational, vocational programs offered by public school districts.

Gabriel Abbott Memorial School has begun the process of registering Kindergarten and Pre-kindergarten students for the 2023-2024 school year. Dates for Kindergarten screening have yet to be determined. Please contact the school of?ce at (413) 664-6023 or by email at has begun the process of registering Kindergarten and Pre-kindergarten students for the 2023-2024 school year. Dates for Kindergarten screening have yet to be determined. Please contact the school of?ce at (413) 664-6023 or by email at rrandall@abbottmemorial.org as soon as possible to register your child for one of these programs. Students must be 5 years of age or older on Aug. 31, 2023 to register for Kindergarten.

Children must be 3 years or older on Aug. 31, 2023 to register for Pre-kindergarten. The school also encourages the parents of children who will turn three years of age during the school year to contact the school of?ce to discuss a plan for enrolling their child when they become eligible. Students need to be legal residents of the school district and reside with parents or guardians within the school district at the time of the first day of school. Parents will need to provide a copy of the student's birth certi?cate, updated immunization form, and proof of residence. Currently, Abbott Memorial School projects to have choice openings in their Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten programs during the upcoming school year. These school choice openings will not be determined until the school is able to register the resident students. The tuition rate for preschool is $150.00 per week for non-residents.

Clarksburg School

For the 3-year-old half-day Pre-K program: Children must be three years old as of Aug. 31, 2023, and a Clarksburg resident

For the 4-year-old Pre-K program: Children must be four years old as of Aug. 31, 2023, and a Clarksburg resident

For the Kindergarten program: Children must be five years old as of Aug. 31, 2023, and a Clarksburg resident

Call the school office at 663-8735, ext. 5302 as soon as possible if your child is eligible, in order to complete the necessary paperwork.

Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten orientations for students will be held in August before the start of school. Check the school website for updates. If your child is currently registered in either of the Pre-Kindergarten programs, there is no need to register again. However, please call the school to confirm your child's spot in their program for the 2023-2024 school year.

According to the "Child-Find" Legislation, any parent that has a child who is 3-5 years old and has any questions concerning special needs may call our Director of Special Education, Tara Barnes, at 413-664-9292

Hancock Elementary School kindergarten registration for the 2023-2024 school year is open. Children must be 5 years old as of Sept. 1, 2022, to enter kindergarten. Parents should call the school office at 413-738-5676 or email Jay Merselis, Principal, at registration for the 2023-2024 school year is open. Children must be 5 years old as of Sept. 1, 2022, to enter kindergarten. Parents should call the school office at 413-738-5676 or email Jay Merselis, Principal, at jmerselis@hancockschool.org as soon as possible if interested or to learn more. Screening and registration requires parents to bring their child and his/her birth certificate along with proof of residency to the school. Hancock Elementary School is enrolling students in PreK for the 2023-24 school year. Hancock accepts students in PreK who are potty trained and 2 years nine months as of September 1. Our kindergarten age requirement remains 5 by September 1, so any student who joins us at two years nine months will be in Preschool for three years. Parents should call the school office at 413-738-5676 or email Jay Merselis, Principal, at jmerselis@hancockschool.org as soon as possible if interested or to learn more. Hancock anticipates school choice openings. Anyone interested in school choice should contact Jay Merselis, jmerselis@hancockschool.org , for an application. The school choice lottery is scheduled for June 1. Parents who suspect their child may have special needs and are 3 years old or older should call the Special Education Director Dr. Rebecca Phillips at 413-738-5676 to schedule an evaluation. Hoosac Valley Elementary School Kindergarten enrolment will be held on April 26 or May 10 at Hoosac Valley Elementary School. Children must be 5 years of age by September 1 to be eligible for the 2023-2024 Kindergarten class. Items needed for registration: Completed Registration

Parent/Guardian Identification

Student's Birth Certificate

Immunization Records

Proof of Residency

North Adams Public Schools to host in person PreK Application, Kindergarten registration, and screenings for school year 2023-2024.

North Adams Public Schools will host in-person PreK application, Kindergarten registration, and screenings for both grades in preparation for the 2023-2024 school year. PreK children must be 3 or 4 years of age by August 31, 2023. Kindergarten children must be 5 years of age by Aug. 31, 2023. PreK students currently enrolled in North Adams Public Schools do not need to register. Parents/guardians must make an appointment for each application/registration: no walk-ins will be accommodated. All screenings will take place at the Welcome Center at Brayton Elementary School located at 20 Brayton Hill Terrace, North Adams between the hours of 9:00 and 2:00 pm. To schedule an appointment and confirm where your child will attend school based on the location of your home, please call Carrie Silva at the North Adams Public Schools Central Office at (413)776-1673. PreK Application & Screening Dates : Greylock Elementary School: April 24 and 25, 2023

Brayton Elementary School: May 15 and 16, 2023

Colegrove Park Elementary School: May 22 and 23, 2023 Kindergarten Registration & Screening Dates: Greylock Elementary School: April 26 and 27, 2023

Brayton Elementary School: May 17 and 18, 2023

Colegrove Park Elementary School: May 24 and 25, 2023 Additional Information: Parents/guardians should be prepared to bring all of the following to their appointment: Your child

Child's birth certificate

Child's current physical exam/immunization record, signed by their doctor (must be from within the last 13 months)

Any additional medical records you think we may need (ie. asthma, food allergies)

Proof of residency (must have all of these 3 items) 1. Valid driver's license or photo ID (passports are also acceptable) 2. Copy of utility bill (electric, heat, cable, water, etc.) dated within the last 60 days 3. One of the following: Recent mortgage statement, copy of lease/rental agreement, or letter from housing office

If applicable, any legal/court documentation (i.e. sole custody, legal guardianship, name changes, adoption, DCF paperwork, etc.) For enrollment questions or concerns, please contact Carrie Silva at 413-776-1673 or email at csilva@napsk12.org

Pittsfield Public Schools In-Person Registration for 2023-2024 Kindergarten and Pre-K. Kindergarten/Pre-K In-Person Registration: Children who will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2023, may register for kindergarten AND children who will be 4 years old on or before September 1, 2023, may register for Pre-K in person at: Crosby Elementary School - Wednesday, March 15, 2023 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Conte Community School - Wednesday, March 22, 2023 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Morningside Community School - Thursday, March 23, 2023 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. (children may register for ANY of our elementary schools at ALL 3 events) Please bring: Valid Parent or Legal Guardian Photo ID

Students Birth Certificate

Proof of Residence (current utility bill or mortgage/rental agreement)

Students Immunization Record

Students last physical exam record Questions may be directed to our registration office by emailing Registration at ppsregistration@pittsfield.net or by calling 413-499-9507 (leave a message, call will be returned).

Southern Berkshire Regional School District

The District is currently accepting electronic registration packets which can be accessed here:

Paperwork must be returned by April 7, 2023.

Proof of residency, birth certificate for your child and current immunization records are required.

Please return the paperwork to the Undermountain Elementary campus, regardless of the town of residence.

Pre-Kindergarten

An integrated Pre-Kindergarten program is offered for children (3-5) who have special needs. It is also offered to children without specials needs who turn three by Sept. 1, 2023, through a peer partner lottery. Priority will be given to four-year-olds.

This is a full-day program and is free of charge with provided transportation. After-school care is available for a fee. The PreK Aftercare Program runs from 3-5 PM and is housed at Undermountain.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten: This program is for children who will be five before September 1, 2023. This is a full-day program that is free of charge with provided transportation. The SBCCP after-school program is available to Kindergarten students for a fee. The program runs from 3-5 PM and is housed at Undermountain.

Anticipated Program Availability:

Undermountain: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten

New Marlborough: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten

South Egremont: Pre-Kindergarten

If you would prefer to pick up or have a packet mailed to you, please contact: Karen Frighetto 229-8265 ext. 371 kfrighetto@sbrsd.org for Pre-Kindergarten and Mackenzie Fenn 229-8754 ext. 377 mfenn@sbrsd.org for Kindergarten
The School Committee and Select Board meet Wednesday night at Clarksburg School.

Clarksburg Struggling With Budget Hike, Low Reserves

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  The town could be looking at a Proposition 2 1/2 override if it can't get its more than $5 million budget down.

The town's total budget is up $178,776, up 3 percent over this year's $4,912,293 spending plan based on a level-funded school budget.

But the school's $3 million draft budget is up 8 1/2 percent, or about $236,000, largely because of an out-of-district placement expected to cost between $175,000 and $200,000.

"We're not your enemies, we're your friends but we have to be honest with you  we don't have any money," Town Administrator Carl McKinney told a joint meeting of the Select Board and School Committee on Wednesday.

"If we tackle these challenges together we are much more likely to succeed as a community."

Superintendent John Franzoni and Principal Sandra Cote said they'd already sliced thousands from the school budget.

McKinney had laid out three scenarios for the Select Board at its meeting immediately prior: the certification of two years of free cash that would alleviate the town's difficulties, a Prop 2 1/2 override to increase the town's levy capacity, or the potential of a budget rejection that would put the town into monthly spending plan based on this year's budget.

Select Board Chair Jeffrey Levanos is leery of a Prop 2 1/2, saying a "solid one-third" of the town's residents are older and on fixed incomes.

"We're just as frustrated as you as to how to resolve this problem," said Levanos. "Because 8 1/2 percent is a big percentage increase for a town that has very little money."

Officials are putting their hopes into getting free cash certified before the annual town meeting, even if the May meeting has to be pushed into June. The town's financial team has been struggling for several years because of turnover. A new treasurer was hired about a month ago and McKinney said the town accountant, as well as a past accountant and treasurer, are working with her to get the financial reconciliation done.

The last time the town's free cash rolled over several years, Clarksburg got $600,000 to replenish its accounts. Free cash is unexpended funds but the state Department of Revenue has to certify the amounts are correct before they can be used or transferred to other accounts. https://www.iberkshires.com/story/47912/Clarksburg-Receiving-600K-in-Free-Cash-for-Fiscal-2015.html

McKinney said the town's stabilization account is at $190,000; if it's all used toward the budget, the school would have to come in level-funded plus $40,000, or $2,822,762.

So far the school's eliminated $15,000 in psychological services, $4,000 out of food supplies, $1,600 in principal supplies, as well as cutting field trips, teachers' assistants, a school adjustment counselor by a half day and the student support center. Cote said she and the dean of students would be picking up the student support work.

"The key point is this budget, where it stands now, if we took the [special placement] out we'd be at about 1 percent," said Franzoni. "If you're saying we have to come in level, that means there's some serious cutting we'd have to do."

The superintendent and Director of Pupil Services Tara Barnes said they had been advocating for an alternative they thought would better serve the child but there was a team involved and a different outcome. Barnes said the state will pickup 75 percent of the cost above $49,400, but it takes a year to get the reimbursement.

The town's draft operating budget is up 6 percent, or $107,901, at $1,924,386, with the main drivers of the increase being retirement funds, insurance, contractual obligations and nearly $12,000 for assessment consulting services. The McCann Technical School budget has increased by $70,000, at $383,921. There are six more students projected to attend this coming year.

Select Board Chair Jeffrey Levanos said the town's already nixed the idea of a fourth Department of Public Works employee.

"We're all on board for the school but we don't have the money," he said. "We need you to work with us."

Franzoni said the school budget includes projected teacher contract increases (they are still in negotiations) and $300,000 in school choice funds.

"We're trying to explore all different grants and funding opportunities that can help us with this budget issue," Franzoni said. "We're just trying to figure out how do we maintain our staffing, how do we maintain a high level of education that Clarksburg has been known for but also stay within the budget."

Business Director Lisa Blackmer noted the school district has used $1 million or more in school choice funds over the last four years. But it's been spending out more than it's been taking in by about $25,000 to $50,000.

The two boards agreed to continue talks and meet jointly again with hopes that free cash  the potential solution to this year's budget woes  will be closer to resolution. McKinney urged the parents, teachers and officials to write to legislators to tell them how small towns and rural schools are struggling.
Portrait Exhibition on View at BCC

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Berkshire Community College (BCC) presents "Countenance," an exhibition of portraits by artist Janna Essig, on view in Koussevitzky Gallery through April 28, 2023.

The gallery is open MondayFriday, 9 am to 5 pm. Admission is free.

"Countenance" features original paintings by the artist, who earned an associate degree in liberal arts from BCC and moved on to UMass Amherst to earn a bachelor of fine arts degree in art education and a master's degree in education with a focus on creativity.

"In most of my artwork I am working from memory and not using a model or photo," said Essig, who in 2008 started exploring using the face as an icon with a series of watercolor portraits. She painted the faces of seven people who were taken from their homes in Iran and imprisoned for practicing their Bahai faith.

"I was moved by the nobility and inner strength that I could see in each person, and by their unwavering faith, while facing persecution from the Iranian government," she said.

After completing her education, Essig shared a studio space in Amherst and participated for 15 years in workshops for artists and writers. At the studio, she worked on a different series each year, painting first in watercolor and in the last 10 years in oils. There, she joined a painting group, which continues to meet regularly.

Essig has exhibited her work in local art galleries, annual studio art exhibits and a graduate art show at UMASS Amherst. In addition to the BCC exhibit, Essig is currently participating in a virtual exhibit with her painting group at the Jones Library in Amherst.
Hinsdale Man Pleads Guilty to Motor Vehicular Homicide

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.  On Thursday, March 30 in Great Barrington District Court, Stephen Medina, age 50 of Hinsdale, pleaded guilty to motor vehicular homicide by negligent operation.

The accident occurred on Route 8 in Sandisfield on Dec. 12, 2021. Police responded to the scene a little after 3:00pm

The Commonwealth sought 18 months in the House of Corrections, one year direct with the balance suspended for three years, the maximum fine of $3000 and a 15-year loss of license with the condition of refraining from operating a motor vehicle until properly licensed.

Medina's lawyers requested 18 months' probation.

Judge Vrabel sentenced Medina to 18 months' probation, the maximum fine of $3000 and loss of license for 15 years with the condition of refraining from operating a motor vehicle until properly licensed.

The Massachusetts State Police Collision Accident Reconstruction Section of the MA State police investigated the case. Assistant District Attorney, Talmadge Reeves represented the Commonwealth.
State Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, John Barrett III and Mindy Domb, and state Sen. Paul Mark join MCC Director Michael Bobbitt on stage at the Manton Research Center on Friday to celebrate grants awarded in Western Mass.

Arts & Cultural Groups Celebrate Millions in Local Grant Awards



Lyrical Faith, an award-winning poet and educator, performed two of her spoken word poems at the event. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  Artists and creative organizations from around Western Massachusetts celebrated on Friday the awarding of more than $9 million in grants through the Massachusetts Cultural Council to help with recovery after the pandemic.

The grants were made through two one-time Cultural Sector Recovery Grant programs  one to assist businesses, organizations and collaboratives and the other artists, creatives and gig workers. More than $51 million was awarded throughout the state; $2.5 million was targeted to humanities organizations and $7 million into the cultural facilities fund.

Berkshire County in particular received $2,186,910 for 72 organizations and $860,000 for 172 individual creatives.

The grants were funded by the Baker administration through the state's American Rescue Plan Act and its surplus revenue.

"We received their 1,359 applications. We were able to fund 1,218 of those organizations who were eligible and Mass Cultural Council awarded more than $31 million to them," Mass Cultural Council Executive Director Michael J. Bobbitt said. "And the thing that excites me is that 42 percent of them are first-time recipients of a Mass Cultural Council awards."

Another 7,593 individual applications were submitted and 4,000 were granted, of which 98 percent were first-time grantees. The individual grants were awarded proportionally according to the number of applications from each region; every eligible organization was funded.

Bobbitt spoke to more than a hundred artists, creatives and organizational representatives who joined officials in the auditorium of the Manton Research Center at the Clark Art Institute to stress the importance of investment into the creative economy, saying it reaps rewards in the long term.

"We in the Berkshire delegation say, invest in arts and culture because that creates more dollars to be able to invest in eradicating homelessness and food insecurity," said state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier. "Ways and Means knows that the Berkshire delegation, in arts and tourism, are force when it comes to advocating for this and they sure do listen."

The announcement also included the chairs of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. Mindy Domb of Amherst, state Rep. John Barrett III, Farley-Bouvier, and Clark Art Director Olivier Meslay, and comments by Mass Cultural Council Governing Council members Jo-Ann Davis and Matthew Keator, Mass Creative Executive Director Emily Ruddock and Mass Humanities Executive Director Brian Boyles.

"Having these awards available today, these grants, every little bit that we're able to do to keep everyone in this room afloat and keep what's special about our commonwealth, especially at our region, and special about the creative sector in the creative economy, is so important," Mark said.

Barrett pointed out that local officials had to work hard to convince Beacon Hill more than 30 years ago that Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art would benefit more than just a small segment of the population.

"Finally I said, listen, I'm only a blue-collar mayor from a blue-collar city but I understand one thing  arts and culture is going to be the wave of the future, especially out here in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts," he said.

The arts and culture have grown to become a significant factor in the state's economic development as manufacturing had declined.

"The Massachusetts creative and cultural sector is a $27.2 billion industry representative for 4.3 percent of the state's GDP and 135,181 jobs," said Bobbitt. "That makes us one of the top three sectors contributing to the state's economy."

The pandemic had a devastating impact on the arts as performances were canceled, museums closed and small and large venues struggled to adapt. It's been estimated the state took a $4.6 billion hit in lost revenue and nearly two-thirds of those who lost jobs were involved in the creative economy.

For Richard Michelson, the grants meant $75,000 for repairs to the roof on his R. Michelson Galleries, the largest commercial art gallery in the region hosted in a former bank in Northampton. The children's book author and illustrator had considered throwing in the towel after repairs to the 1913 marble edifice climbed to more than $250,000.

"I was telling Michael, that you know, after 44 years, putting all this money into it, I don't know I'm just getting a little tired. I was thinking of maybe selling the building. let somebody else deal with the issues," he said.

But Bobbitt kept after him to apply for that grant and a second one for his poetry. In fact, Bobbitt kept after every artist he met: the result was that some 98 percent of the applicants for $20 million in individual awards were first-time grantees.

Ruddock, director of Mass Creative, highlighted the governor's budget that has $25 million for the Cultural Council, a 23 percent increase over the former governor's highest recommendation. She lauded it as new leadership "to meet the perennial and steadfast advocacy" of the Legislature, particularly the Berkshire delegation.

"We all work together to make sure that when our legislators go in for those meetings with leadership, and their leadership says what are your priorities are about, our elected officials can say in my district, this is a top priority," she said. "This is what my constituents care most about. And that is because of all of you, so thank you for that."
The U.S. Capitol building is seen a day after supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump stormed it in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- At a time when the world yearns for unity, the so-called "Summit for Democracy" co-hosted by the United States is sowing division, estrangement and hatred by blatantly drawing an ideological line between countries. The purported aim of the second edition of this summit is to "address emerging challenges to democracy." However, it is evident that this gathering has little to do with genuine democracy and, in fact, is antithetical to democratic values. Democracy is a universal right, not an exclusive right of a few countries. The summit has created a conspicuous division between countries deemed "democratic" and those labeled "non-democratic" by the United States. However, in today's diverse and interconnected global landscape, such a simplistic black-and-white dichotomy is neither pragmatic nor beneficial. Whether expressed through grandiloquent rhetoric or maneuvers driven by hidden agendas, neither can mask the real intention of the United States to sustain its hegemony by playing bloc politics and using democracy as a tool to achieve its political objectives. Such a summit is a ludicrous spectacle that flagrantly disregards the spirit of democracy and exposes Washington's attempt to maintain its dominance under the guise of promoting democracy. If democracy, a shared value of humanity, is likened to coffee, then it is evident that the world offers a diverse array of blends, and Americano is by no means the only option. Furthermore, the United States' own track record on democracy is far from impeccable, and as such, they lack the moral high ground to lecture others on the subject. Despite facing turmoil and chaos in its own democratic system, Washington continues to assert itself as the epitome and beacon of democracy for the world. However, Uncle Sam's qualifications as a democratic role model are highly dubious at best. Americans themselves, actually, are becoming increasingly disenchanted with their democracy. The pride of Americans in their democracy has plummeted from 90 percent to 54 percent over the past two decades, according to a joint survey by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland. The Brookings Institution concluded in a 2022 report that the once proud American democracy is facing a systemic crisis and is accelerating its decline. The impact is spreading to all fronts in domestic politics, the economy and society, posing a mortal threat to the legitimacy and health of capitalism. In addition, the U.S. elections are actually the "game of the rich." This was vividly illustrated by the 2022 midterm elections, which had a price tag of more than 16.7 billion U.S. dollars, breaking the 2018 record of 14 billion dollars, as found by Reveal, an online platform tracking the flow of political donations in the country. The nature of American politics has become increasingly apparent as money-driven, with power being concentrated among the wealthy and politicians serving their own interests. The proverbial phrase "All roads lead to Rome" reminds us that every country has the right to chart its own course. Unfortunately, the United States has often caused tragic outcomes by attempting to impose its own form of democracy on other nations. The American style of democracy has not only been seriously questioned domestically but also gained notoriety overseas, and the second "Summit for Democracy" is just another U.S. tool to maintain its hegemony.
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Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen emphasised the island nations perseverance in the face of China's growing aggression during her stopover in New York on Thursday.

At a closed-door event hosted by the Hudson Institute think tank, she reportedly said the self-governed island is responsible and calm in contrast to China, which she said is raising tensions in cross-strait relations.

"She made a strong point that the defense of Taiwan is actually the defense of America," said Miles Yu, a Hudson Institute director who attended the speech.

"The people of Taiwan look forward to peace, but history tells us that the best way to avoid war is to make ourselves stronger," Ms Tsai said at the event, where she received a leadership award.

China has raised its concerns over Taiwan's visit to the US, which Taipei is billing as simply a "transit, but she kept a full agenda of events Wednesday and Thursday before flying to Central America.

Ms Tsai is scheduled to make to stopovers in the US during her 10-day visit to Guatemala and Belize.

Dozens of pro-China demonstrators holding "One China" banners gathered behind police barricades outside the venue of the event.

China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its national territory, even though the island has been self-ruled since it split from the mainland in 1949 following a civil war. Beijing has beefed up its military activities around the island, including flying a record number of warplanes into its airspace.

Washington's "One-China" policy acknowledges that the Chinese claim Taiwan as their territory. However, the US, which is one of Taiwan's biggest allies, does not endorse China's claim and remains Taipei's most important provider of military hardware and other defense assistance.

On Friday, Taiwan's defence ministry said nine Chinese planes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. Beijing's actions deliberately created tension in the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said, adding it condemned the irrational actions.

A day earlier Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson restated China's serious objections to any interactions between Ms Tsai and US leaders.

"China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and Taiwan," Mao Ning told reporters on Thursday. "China will continue to closely follow the situation and resolutely safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Taiwans president Tsai Ing-wen waves as she arrives at a hotel, in New York (AP)

A senior Chinese diplomat in Washington, embassy charge d'affaires Xu Xueyuan, pointed to the anticipated meeting between Tsai and the US House speaker Kevin McCarthy as one that could lead to a serious confrontation in US-China relations.

Meanwhile, senior security official in Taiwan said earlier that the island expects a less severe reaction from Beijing to a Tsai-McCarthy meeting than when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei last year.

Beijing responded to Ms Pelosi's visit by staging major military drills around the island.

"She will be meeting in the United States, so the political complexity is not as high as the speaker coming to Taiwan," Taiwan national security bureau director-general Tsai Ming-yen told Taiwan's parliament.

He added that Taiwan had been conducting dry runs on responses to a rise in tensions while the president is away, including when she is flying, and that she can be reached at any time to meet her top security officials.

The White House, which urged China on Wednesday not to use Ms Tsai's "normal" stopover in the US as a pretext to increase aggressive activity against Taiwan, also said it had seen "no tangible reaction" yet from China.

"I think we've all seen them react in a rhetorical way, but we've seen no indication that there's been any other type of reaction," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
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A 29-year-old Dutch tourist was allegedly molested and stabbed by a resort staff, hours after she arrived for a yoga retreat at the popular Indian tourist destination of Goa.

The accused, identified as one Abhishek Verma, trespassed into her tent, reported the Indian news wire agency ANI.

He reportedly also stabbed another person attempting to help the tourist, said the police on Friday.

A resort staffer trespassed into the rented tent of the complainant, when she started to scream for help, one local person came to rescue her from the accused and seeing his presence, the accused ran away, superintendent of police (SP) Nidhin Valsan said.

After that the accused returned with a knife, assaulted the local person, further assaulted the complainant, and fled away from the spot."

The knife used has also been recovered, added the SP.

A preliminary report has been registered against the man, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including trespassing, outraging modesty, attempt to murder, causing grievous hurt.

Meanwhile, The Netherlands embassy has taken cognisance of the incident, reported India Today.

This is not an isolated incident of foreign tourists being attacked in Goa, a popular destination for vacations.

Earlier last week, two hotel staffers were also held for allegedly attacking a Russian woman, reported PTI. According to the report, the accused entered her hotel room around 3pm on 24 March, when she was asleep.

As she woke from the sound, they held her by her hand and tried to cover her mouth to prevent her from calling for help.

A case was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including for causing grievous hurt.
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At least 36 people lost their lives and dozens more were injured inside a temple in India when the roof of a stepwell collapsed due to heavy footfall on Thursday.

The incident took place at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in central Indias Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Local officials said a massive crowd of pilgrims were at the temple for the Hindu festival of Ram Navami.

We have recovered 36 bodies and everybody is accounted for now, Pawan Kumar Sharma, commissioner of the local municipal corporation, told The Associated Press.

The secretary of the temple board was among the dead and the president is recovering from injuries.

So far, a team of 140 people have been deployed by the state government to help with the search and rescue operation. It includes at least 75 army personnel as well.

At least 16 people are currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital for their injuries, Mr Sharma said. He said that the other two rescued are doing fine.

Police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, but no arrests have been made so far, the authorities added.

Kantibhai Patel, president of a residents association, alleged that the authorities were slow to react and the first ambulance reached the spot an hour after the alert.

Prime minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the families of those dead at the temple: Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM Shivraj Chouhan ji and took an update on the situation. The state government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers [are] with all those affected and their families.

Chief minister of the state Mr Chouhan has launched a probe into the incident that led to the deaths. He has asked the local officials in Indore to investigate the cause of the collapse of the roof of the stepwell inside the temple compound.

An exgratia of Rs 500,000 (4,913) has been announced for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 (493) for the injured in the incident.

The CM told the media on Thursday: Due to the heavy load on the stepwell, it sank. I have given instructions to investigate the incident. In this unfortunate incident, the government stands with all those families with full sensitivity, whom we could not save.

Eyewitnesses said that more than 30 people who were standing on the roof of the well fell inside when it collapsed due to heavy footfall.

Rescue team members were seen offering ropes and ladders to those inside the well.

Indian Express reported that the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Patel Nagar, Indore, had been constructed after covering the well about four decades ago.

President of India Droupadi Murmu also expressed her deepest condolences to all the bereaved families and said that she was deeply saddened by the news of the death of many people in the accident in Indore.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his anguish over the mishap. The news of the accident during the festival at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in Indore is very sad. I express my deepest condolences to the families of those who died in this accident. I hope for the speedy recovery of all the injured, he tweeted.

One eyewitness, Prakash Patel, was quoted as saying by AFP that some people inside the well clung to an iron mesh, and many of those who died were women and children.
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Scenes of chaos unfolded at the heart of Indias capital this week as police set up barricades and roughed up hundreds of political workers and lawmakers protesting the expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from Indias seat of democracy  its parliament.

Members of Indias largest opposition party, the Congress, gathered in front of Delhis iconic Red Fort to protest against the disqualification of Gandhi  an issue that has drawn rare and unanimous condemnation from a majority of the countrys opposition parties.

Slogans calling for protecting democracy rang in the air as did chants against prime minister Narendra Modi. Demonstrators sat in front of several police vehicles carrying detained party workers.

Jab jab Modi darta hai, police ko aagey karta hai (whenever Modi is afraid, he uses the police to crackdown on dissent), shouted protesters as police used force to clear the way.

This is not a fight for Rahul Gandhi. This is [a] fight for saving the Indian constitution, says Congress worker Mathura Prasad Khushwaha, while trying to reason with the police as they tried to detain him. It will affect not just me. It will affect you and your children. We are fighting for their rights too, he says from the window of the police vehicle he was pushed into.

Gandhi lost his seat in the lower house of parliament last week after a court found him guilty of defamation over his remarks about the Modi surname. Indian parliamentary rules say a member loses their seat if they are convicted of a crime and sentenced to two or more years in prison.

A soldier stands guard outside the Red Fort during protests over Rahul Gandhis criminal defamation case (AFP/Getty)

Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, have Modi in their names? Gandhi had said during a rally in the southern Karnataka state in 2019 while referring to a business tycoon, a former Indian Premier League chief, and the Indian prime minister respectively.

Congress members, including party MPs, planned to hold torches in their hands and stage a march, but were denied permission and faced a subsequent police crackdown. We dont even have a right to protest here now? asks Mukesh Rai, a Congress worker. Is this not our country? Can we not ask questions from the government? Is it a democracy or an autocracy?

As many as 96 people were detained, news agency Press Trust of India reported, citing deputy police commissioner Sagar Singh Kalsi.

All the detainees have been released, but anger over the issue remains.

Police personnel detain activists and supporters of India's Congress party (AFP/Getty)

Gandhis expulsion has come after he and other opposition party leaders demanded a joint parliamentary committee investigation over a report on alleged stock-price manipulation and fraud running into billions of dollars by the Adani Group, run by billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani. Adani has, on multiple occasions, denied suggestions he benefits from his proximity to PM Modi.

The Adani Group has denied any wrongdoing.

I think what this government has done by expelling Rahul Gandhi from parliament is to send out a signal to all opposition parties and that it can go to any extent to destroy and disable them, says Apoorvanand, professor at the Hindi Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Delhi.

I feel opposition parties have now realised that any pretext could be used to deprive them of all platforms, he says, as he explains the impact of Gandhis expulsion on parliamentary politics.

The parliament was one platform where you felt safe. But now that is also not available to parties.

It is also a rare case of conviction in a criminal defamation case when persons who were defamed did not raise a case, says senior advocate, MP and former Congress member Kapil Sibal.

I mean neither Nirav Modi, our prime minister Narendra Modi, Lalit Modi, they never went to court. So, who was defamed? Some fellow, who is an MLA and ex-minister. He moved a petition, he tells The Independent.

The defamation case was filed by Purnesh Modi, a state-level lawmaker (Member of Legislative Assembly or MLA) of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Modis home state Gujarat. He claimed Gandhis comments had defamed the entire Modi community.

The law requires that if a person is personally defamed then he has to move [to court], explains Sibal. [Purnesh Modi] said the Modi community was defamed. What is a Modi community? It belongs to different castes, he says. They are backwards in some states. They are forward in some states. So there is no such thing as a Modi community.

So they are targeting political opponents, thats what theyre doing, says Sibal.

The claim is not unsubstantiated.

Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel stand guard infront of the Red Fort during a protest march by Indias Congress party against conviction of Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case, in New Delhi on 28 March 2023 (AFP/Getty)

On 24 March, at least 14 political parties petitioned Indias Supreme Court against the alleged misuse of federal law enforcement agencies by the Modi government to target the opposition.

According to the plea, since Modi became prime minister in 2014, at least 124 leaders have been probed by central law enforcement agencies. Of these, about 118 or 95 per cent cases were brought against opposition leaders, it claimed.

However, despite the accusations of a witch hunt by the ruling order, the opposition has not always had a united front.

This was evident during the arrest of Delhis deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia by Indias nodal investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in February.

While most parties condemned his arrest in connection with alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped liquor excise policy for Delhi, the Congress hailed the incarceration.

The arrest of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia by the CBI is a welcome step though chief minister Arvind Kejriwal should also be arrested as he was the mastermind of the corrupt deal, Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary said at the time.

The difficulty in keeping the opposition united was visible more recently, when a Congress ally in the countrys richest state of Maharashtra pushed back against Gandhi after he mocked British-era Hindutva idealogue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, infamous for offering a clemency plea to the colonial government during Indias freedom struggle.

My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone, the unfazed Congress scion had said, apparently referring to his family members, including his great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru who was independent Indias first prime minister.

The remark drew a sharp reaction from Uddhav Thackeray, a senior leader in Maharashtra, whose Hindu right-wing party the Shiv Sena, reveres Savarkar.

Thackeray had a fallout with Modis BJP, his long-term ally, and became the states chief minister in an alliance with the Congress and another regional party, the Nationalist Congress Party in 2019.

But after his own party leaders reneged against him for ignoring the core ideology of Hindu nationalism and split the Sena, Thackeray had to step down from his post.

Veer [Brave] Savarkar is our god, and any disrespect towards him will not be tolerated, pushed back Thackarey against Gandhis comments. We are prepared to fight, but insulting our gods is not something we will tolerate.

Political analysts and leaders of opposition parties argue that Congress will have to tread lightly to keep the opposition united and not put regional parties in a tight spot, for it needs them to successfully challenge the BJP.

Indias Congress party activists and supporters protest against conviction of Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case, in New Delhi on 27 March 2023 (AFP/Getty)

You have to realise that this is a moment when you have a task to keep all political parties together. These political parties have their own history, explains Professor Apoorvanand.

And Shiv Sena has to keep securing its space in Maharashtra. It knows it can be cornered using Savarkar, so it will be forced to react.

So, its for you as an ally to bring Shiv Sena out of that. And for that, you will have to again resist the temptation of sounding pure, smart and politically very correct because the task is to keep these forces together for a very long time, and they dont know how to work together.

Congress also needs to reposition itself in states where they are failing repeatedly and look to other parties to defeat the BJP, says Sushmita Dev, member of the parliaments upper house from the opposition Trinamool Congress. Parties that have shown ability to defeat BJP must be recognised by Congress, Dev says, and raises concerns about their inability to convert vote share to seats.

Congress has approximately 20 per cent vote share. But what is worrying is their strike rate, she tells The Independent.

In the 2019 national elections, Congress fielded 421 candidates across the country, but only 52 were elected from 18 states and union territories, reported NDTV. The party that once had its footprint in the entire country did not win a single seat in 17 states and union territories, the news channel pointed out.

Out of this, there were 192 seats where Congress directly contested the BJP, according to India Today. Of these, BJP gained 176 seats. Thats what is keeping the BJP in power, says Dev.

So, Congress has to concentrate on winning in areas where they are in a direct fight with the BJP, she says, adding that the party has to allow in other parties that have proved that they can repeatedly defeat BJP.

Its going to take a lot of grace, a lot of sacrifice for Congress to do that.

Gandhis sentencing just a year prior to the national elections is concerning for the Congress because if his conviction is not suspended or overturned by a higher court before the elections, he will not be able to contest the polls, reported LiveMint.

However, there also lies an opportunity for the party to prove that through Gandhi, they are not promoting dynasty politics, but fighting for the Constitution, says Apoorvanand.

I think thats even better because that robs BJP of its propaganda that all Congress party wants to do is to force Rahul Gandhi as prime minister, he says.

Indias Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi speaks at a public meeting amid heavy snowfall as he concludes the Bharat Jodo Yatra march in Srinagar on 30 January 2023 (AFP/Getty)

So even after hes disqualified and he is not allowed to contest the election, if he remains on the street and if he campaigns for the opposition, that I think is going to send a very strong signal to the people that its not for the post of prime ministership that he has been toiling for so long, he says.

He suggests Gandhi should build on the moral authority gained through his 136-day-long journey Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March) and try to bring the opposition together in a manner similar to what his mother Sonia Gandhi did in 2004.

Sonia Gandhi, often jeered by the BJP for her Italian heritage, had made a political statement by relinquishing the post of prime minister after it had won national elections that year.

It only strengthened the Congress Party, he says. Similarly, this is an opportunity for Rahul Gandhi to show that he doesnt care. He remains politically active because he is concerned for democracy, he is concerned for survival of India as we know.
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Violence between Hindus and Muslims broke out in several cities across India during processions by members of Hindu right-wing groups to mark the festival of Ram Navami, leaving several injured.

Largescale clashes broke out in the Indian states of West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Gujarat while incidents of violence were also reported from the capital Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.

The processions by Hindu groups were taken out in some of the sensitive areas of cities and in Muslim-majority parts as Muslims observed Ramadan.

The violence was a repeat of similar clashes last year during Ram Navami in April and followed by riots during Hanuman Jayanti processions in the same month. The incidents were followed by the demolition of shops and buildings of those identified as accused persons, the majority of whom were Muslims.

Fresh violence erupted on Friday in West Bengals western Howrah city which saw rioting and arson a day earlier.

Dozens of vehicles were set on fire, shops were ransacked and two groups pelted stones at each other after stones were allegedly pelted at a Ram Navami procession.

The procession was passing through the Kazipara area of the city when stones were pelted from the roofs of houses, NDTV reported.

Around 36 people have been arrested and stones were pelted from both sides Shibpur, a senior police official told Indian Express.

It is not yet clear as to what triggered todays violence. It seems to be a planned action by some miscreants. Last year too, this area had witnessed tension post Ram Navami celebrations, but not to the extent that is being seen this year, a police officer on duty in the area said.

Hindu devotees participate in a religious procession to celebrate the Ram Navami festival in Kolkata (EPA)

Chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee blamed the right-wing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) for attempts of stoking communal violence in the state for political gains.

Even today, they caused communal violence in Howrah. I have repeatedly said that I will not block any Ram Navami procession. I had given instructions to my party workers as well as the police, she said.

While one community is celebrating Annapurna Puja, the other is observing fast during Ramzan. We have over 33 per cent Muslim population in the state, they fast and pray during this significant period.

In Maharashtra, 20 people were arrested and a case was registered against more than 300 unidentified people in connection to clashes in Mumbais Malvani area on Thursday.

Mumbai police baton-charged at violent protesters on Thursday night in Malwani to disperse the communally-charged crowd

The situation was tense for a while but it is under control now, police said.

"One person suffered minor injuries in the incident. Legal action is being taken," he added.

Violence was also reported in parts of Aurangabad, Malad and Jalgaon where people pelted stones and set vehicles on fire.

A 51-year-old man, identified as Shaikh Muniruddin, died after suffering injuries during clashes in Aurangabads Kiradpura area, reported India Today. A scuffle broke out between two groups in front of a temple.

At least 12 people, including 10 policemen, were injured in the clashes.

A video from Wadi town of Nagpur district showed a man waving a saffron flag inside the premises of Dargah Haji Abdulreham Malang Shah as several police personnel stood beside the man and in the compound. The crowd chanted Jai Sri Ram (Glory to Lord Rama).

Members of the Hindu group taking part in processions allegedly pelted stones at mosques and homes of Muslims in Gujarats Vadodara city, reported India Today.

Police said all processions in the city were given permission and denied calling it religious riots.

Videos on social media showed a crowd carrying saffron flags and blaring loud music in front of a mosque as the two pelted stones at each other.

Police said at least 22 people have been detained and they were contemplating a bulldozer action against the culprits.

A complaint has been registered against 300-500 unidentified people in connection to the clashes and police were identifying alleged stone-pelters through CCTV footage, said additional commissioner of police (Vadodara) Manoj Ninama.

At least 1,000 people from the hardline Hindu groups Bajrangdal and Akhil Bharat Hindu Yuva Morcha took out a procession, waving saffron flags and chanting slogans despite Delhi police denying permission in capitals Jahangirpuri area.

The area was at the centre of largescale communal violence last year in April when two groups clashed and in the aftermath of it, properties were bulldozed in the Muslim-majority area.

The police said no one has been arrested and no case has been registered as there was no violence.

In Uttar Pradesh, clashes broke out near Shahi Masjid in Lucknow as Hindu group took out rallies.

A video going viral on social media showed a group of men waving saffron flags from the roof of shops near the Jama Masjid in Mathura city.

The police said they are conducting an investigation to identify the men while the situation remained calm.
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Panic has spread like wildfire among more than 3,000 volunteers of Afghan education activist Matiullah Wesa who is currently in the Talibans custody.

The founder and president of the local non-governmental group Pen Path, with a mobile school and library, was arrested on Monday by Taliban fighters who came in four cars to detain him after they raided his house. He had just left a mosque after prayers when they found him, tied his hands, and whisked him away.

Ataullah Wesa, the educators elder brother and a director at the Pen Path foundation, said that the Taliban fighters are now looking for him.

The Taliban fighters came to our house on Tuesday and wanted to arrest me, they asked for me. Thankfully I was not home and managed to escape the arrest, Attaulah Wesa told The Independent over a phone call.

Mr Wesa is also a fellow campaigner alongside his younger brother as they covered the length and breadth of Afghanistan by visiting hundreds of rural villages with the message of education for all as a basic human right.

They have seen my video against my brothers arrest on Twitter and asked my family to delete the video. After arresting my brother, they came looking for me, he said, but added that he is not afraid of the Taliban.

The fear is more palpable among more than 3,000 volunteers in parts of the country where they help the brothers campaign as within minutes of Mr Wesas arrest they were asked to go off the grid completely and avoid public glare.

Stay offline, delete your accounts, switch off your mobile phones and do not tweet or the Taliban might come to arrest you as well was the message that spread at lightning speed among all the volunteers as soon as the arrest of their Pen Path founder was confirmed, said the organisations board member Amena Sahar.

The minute I saw the message of Matiullahs arrest from his brother Ataullah, I was very afraid, she told The Independent over a phone call from Kabul.

All the volunteers were asked to take cover and hunker down in a safe place over text messages and hurried calls in case any of the Talibans fighters showed up at their doorstep, she added.

The Independent has launched a petition calling for the UK to support Afghan war heroes who served alongside Britain

Owing to this, most of the Pen Path volunteers remained unreachable over phone throughout the weekend. Some of them have stepped out of the self-imposed curfew but only on social media to demand the release of Mr Wesa.

Everyone thinks it is completely unsafe to step out. One of the volunteers told me that the situation of Mr Wesas arrest confirms that the situation is not good for us either. Well have to be careful, anything can happen to us, Ms Sahar said, adding that the situation is far worse for their women volunteers in the Taliban-ruled country.

According to the local reports, Taliban security forces detained Mr Wesa after his return from a trip to Europe. It was not immediately clear where Mr Wesa had been taken after detention.

His brother said that it is likely that he has been taken to the Taliban regimes General Directorate of Intelligence building.

No reason was given to the family despite them asking for it as a basic right, Mr Wesa said.

Ms Sahar said that she and other volunteers have watched the Taliban spokespersons response where he had claimed that Matiullah is guilty of illegal work by gathering several girls in one place in the name of education.

The Taliban official has said that they do not know if he is talking about education or something else, and these kinds of gatherings are not allowed in the Talibans culture, Ms Sahar said.

According to the caretaker regimes director of publications at the ministry of information and culture Abdul Haq Humad, Mr Wesas actions were suspicious and the system has the right to ask such people for an explanation.

Pen Path has ceased all outreach work as the volunteers are fighting a crackdown by the Taliban, tying everyone to a safe place.

We are not campaigning as of now, and waiting for Matiullahs release, his elder brother said, adding that the movement will kick-start again when the former is out of Talibans custody.

I know my brother is very brave and he will endure this, Mr Wesa said even as he admits that it is not clear when his younger brother will be released.

It is not going to be anytime soon, we feel, Ms Sahar said.
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A journalist at a major Bangladesh newspaper has been denied bail a day after his arrest over false news about food prices and is facing a possible 14-year jail sentence.

Shamsuzzaman Shams of Prothom Alo daily newspaper was charged for writing a false news piece on high food prices.

His story was published in the daily on 26 March and after the piece went viral on social media, he was arrested from his home by the authorities on Wednesday morning.

Bangladeshs home minister Asaduzzaman Khan told the reporters that the journalist was questioned by police for a false story.

A case has been filed against him, the minister reportedly said.

Shams has now been charged under Bangladeshs Digital Security Act which rights activists and lawyers in the country claim is used as a tool to silence the critics of the government.

On Thursday, he was denied bail for charges of attempting to smear the government with false news.

Supporters of the ruling Awami League in Bangladesh also criticised the paper for running the news piece.

BBC reported that editors at Prothom Alo have stated that they stand by the article in question penned by Shams, which featured Bangladeshis talking about their lives and the high price of food in the country.

Media Freedom Coalition in Bangladesh  an initiative by some Western countries in Dhaka  also issued a strong statement on the reports of violence against and intimidation of journalists including violence directed at reporters covering the Supreme Court elections, an assault on the brother of a London-based journalist for Al-Jazeera, the attack of a Dhaka Tribune photojournalist and the recent reported detention of a Prothom Alo journalist.

The coalition urged the government to investigate each of these instances promptly and impartially.

The Dhaka Tribune reported that Prothom Alo editor and publisher Matiur Rahman, an unnamed assistant cameraman, and others were also sued in the same case.

The piece by Shams was widely shared. But when the news piece was shared on Prothom Alos Facebook page, it mistakenly used a wrong photo of a person who was quoted. The news drew criticism as the newspaper used a childs photo with a quote from a 40-year-old labourer named Zakir, identifying the child as Zakir, according to the local media reports.

Prothom Alo withdrew the report within around half an hour and issued a correction later in the day, saying there was an inconsistency between the headline and the accompanying photo.

Once we realised the error, we immediately pulled it down and issued a clarification under the (amended) report, Sajjad Sharif, the papers executive editor was quoted as saying by the BBC. He added that the paper stands by the news. The quote of the labourer on the food price was genuine.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also issued a statement and called for the immediate release of Shams who is facing a possible 14-year jail sentence on spurious charges in reprisal for his reporting.

Make no mistake, the arrest of Shamsuzzaman Shams and the case filed against Matiur Rahman have no legal basis and are clearly an act of intimidation by the government towards all journalists, Daniel Bastard, head of RSFs Asia-Pacific desk said.

We demand that the charges filed against them be dropped at once and, with less than a year to go to parliamentary elections, we call on Sheikh Hasinas government to respect journalistic pluralism and independence, or else these elections will lack all democratic credibility.
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Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said the UK joining a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc is about the potential for growth tomorrow as she downplayed estimates suggesting the deal would boost the economy by just 0.08%.

The UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was formally confirmed in a call between Ms Badenoch and counterparts from the group in the early hours of Friday.

It represents Britains biggest trade deal since leaving the EU, cutting tariffs for UK exporters to a group of nations which  with Britains membership  will have a total gross domestic product (GDP) of 11 trillion, accounting for 15% of global GDP, according to UK officials.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it will help us unlock the benefits of Brexit for people across the UK.

Critics say the impact will be limited, with official estimates suggesting it will add just 1.8 billion a year to the economy after 10 years, representing less than 1% of UK GDP.

But Ms Badenoch noted that forecast was based on 2014 figures, and highlighted the deals future potential.

She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Think of it like us buying a start-up. Its not about what its doing today, but about the potential for growth tomorrow.

And the CPTPP countries have over 500 million people at the moment, and were starting trade relationship with them thats going to go into the future for many decades and deliver a lot of growth to the UK.

It was put to the Cabinet minister that the CPTPP would not offset the losses from leaving the EU, with the Office for Budget Responsibility suggesting Brexit would reduce the UKs potential economic growth by about 4% in the long term.

Youre more likely to trade with your nearer neighbours more and more often, so we do need that improved Sir Keir Starmer

Ms Badenoch replied that the CPTPP is in addition to the UKs free trade agreement with the EU, adding: Weve left the EU so we need to look at what to do in order to grow that UK economy and not keep talking about a vote from seven years ago.

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the UKs accession to the bloc, but cautioned the net contribution to the economy would be small as he called for a closer relationship with the EU.

The Labour leader told broadcasters during a visit to Plymouth: I do think its an important trade deal, but the yield is very small. Hopefully that will grow over time.

But the rule in trade is that youre more likely to trade with your nearer neighbours more and more often, so we do need that improved, that better trading relationship with the EU alongside any other trade deals that we sign.

Britain is the first new member, and first European nation, to join the bloc  comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam  since its formation in 2018.

It follows nearly two years of negotiations, culminating in intensive talks in Vietnam earlier this month, when representatives of the 11 existing members agreed to the UK joining.

While Britain already has trade agreements with the CPTPP members apart from Malaysia and Brunei, officials said it would deepen existing arrangements, with 99% of UK goods exported to the bloc now eligible for zero tariffs.

Ms Badenoch, an avowed Brexiteer, told Sky News: The bilateral trade deals are different from the multilateral trade deal, you create synergies.

Its the first time weve joined a bloc like this in about 50 years. There is strength in numbers.

Labour said it was essential to ensure that UK safeguards on consumer safety, food safety, data protection and environmental protections were not compromised as a result of the agreement.

Key UK exports to the region, including cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky, will be among those to benefit, while officials said the services industry would enjoy reduced red tape and increased market access.

They added that vital UK sectors, including agriculture and the NHS, will be protected, while animal welfare and food safety standards will be maintained.

Reduced tariffs on Malaysian palm oil, a product blamed for widespread deforestation, have caused concerns of more nature destruction.

But Ms Badenoch said: Moving the tariff from 2% to 0% is not whats going to cause deforestation. And actually, the standards which are set by this Government, by the Department for the Environment, is whats going to dictate what comes into the country.

But also, being in the trade bloc means that were going to have more influence on sustainability.

The deal represents a continuation of the post-Brexit policy tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region initiated by Boris Johnson.

Former prime minister Liz Truss tweeted: As Trade Sec, I made our application to join #CPTPP two years ago. Im delighted negotiations are complete, deepening UK access to some of the worlds fastest-growing economies: #GlobalBritain in action and an important counterweight to those who seek to undermine our values.

Her predecessor Boris Johnson joined in the plaudits.

Im proud that the UK will be the first European country to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. This is free trading global Britain in action, he tweeted.

In a video posted to social media to promote the pact, Mr Sunak said: Thats an amazing opportunity for British businesses to trade with new markets on the international stage and a huge boost for growth in our economy back home, creating lots and lots of jobs.

The CBI welcomed the agreement as a milestone for British industry, reinforcing the UKs commitment to building partnerships in an increasingly fragmented world.
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Hundreds of Minnesota residents have been evacuated from their homes after a train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed overnight, sparking a large fire.

Kandiyohi County Sheriffs Office said in a press release that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe cargo train derailed at around 1am on Thursday morning in the town of Raymond, Minnesota.

Several train cars  carrying mixed freight including ethanol and corn syrup  burst into flames, the sheriffs office said.

Multiple fire departments and first responders were deployed to the scene where they have been battling to bring the blaze under control.

Local residents were told to evacuate their homes in the nearby area, with a half-mile evacuation zone set up around the crash site.

So far, there have been no reported injuries.

An emergency collection site has been set up at the Central Minnesotan Christian School in nearby Prinsburg for evacuated residents in need of a place to go.

As of around 5am, the sheriffs office said that the site remained active as the fire was being contained.

Members of the public have been urged to stay away from the town of Raymond until further notice.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted that the Federal Railroad Administration had responded to the scene to assist with the incident.

FRA is on the ground after a BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed early this morning, leading to an evacuation in the area of Raymond, MN, he tweeted.

At present no injuries or fatalities have been reported. We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in investigaton.

Raymond Fire Department said that anyone looking to help can drop off bottled water and snacks for the firefighters at a local church in Prinsburg.

Fire rages in Raymond, Minnesota, after train carrying ethanol derails (WCCO)

Several people have asked how they can help, so this is what you can do! The City of Raymond is not accessible to the public, so Unity Church in Prinsburg is willing to be a drop off location for bottled water and snacks for the firemen. These brave souls have been working hard for hours already, and have several hours of work ahead for them. Any help in the way of bottled water and nourishment would be appreciated, the department said in a Facebook post.

This marks the latest train derailment across America in recent months, after an incident in Ohio sparked serious health concerns for residents.

In early February, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous vinyl chloride derailed in the village of East Palestine.

Officials carried out a controlled burn of the materials to prevent an explosion.

After that, several residents reported health issues such as rashes and breathing difficulties, creating fears about the long-term impact of the disaster.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now pushing for increased rail safety standards.
No arrests were made after protesters disrupted Humza Yousafs inaugural First Ministers Questions, with Holyrood officials issuing six-month bans.

Protests by climate change activists have become a fixture at the weekly parliamentary session, with Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone being forced to suspend proceedings a number of times in recent months.

But on Thursday, Parliament business was suspended five times before the end of questioning from Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, leaving the Presiding Officer visibly angry and forcing her to clear the public gallery of visitors  leaving just two school classes and the family of the First Minister able to watch proceedings from within the chamber.
Scotlands new First Minister Humza Yousaf has promised he will argue tirelessly for independence  despite facing calls from the UK Government to put the SNPs obsession aside.

In his first speech after being voted into the job by MSPs, the new SNP leader insisted his Government will be able to deliver on our priorities more effectively when Scotland is independent.

In a sideswipe at the Conservatives in Westminster, who have blocked Holyrood reforms of the gender recognition process, Mr Yousaf also said the Scottish Government would be less effective if we allow the UK Government to arbitrarily veto this Parliaments legislation.
Prince Harry has returned to court for his ongoing case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, just as his father Charles visits Germany in his first overseas visit as King.

After missing the third day of the hearing, the Duke of Sussex reappeared at the High Court on Thursday as his lawyers resisted an ambitious and unattractive bid by the publisher to end the legal action.

Earlier in the day his father  who it was reported would not be seeing his US-based son during Harrys surprise visit to the UK  gave a historic address to the German parliament.
Russias top security agency says it has arrested a reporter for The Wall Street Journal over alleged espionage.

Journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg on spying charges, according to Russias Federal Security Service (FSB)  the successor to the KGB.

He was brought to Moscow where a court at a closed hearing ordered him held in pre-trial detention until 29 May. The TASS state news agency said he pleaded not guilty. The authorities released no evidence publicly and the case is said to have been marked top secret.
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Watch as King Charles III arrives at Berlins main train station, the Hauptbahnhof, where he will be travelling to Hamburg on Friday 31 March.

The monarch continues his Germany trip, having delivered a historic address to the Bundestag yesterday.

He spoke of the importance of renewing the special bond of friendship between the nation and the UK and also said the friendship meant so much to his beloved mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Since I first came to Germany when I was just 13, I have grown to become familiar with the different corners of this remarkable land. Like many British people, I have close personal ties here, Charles added during his speech, which was made in both English and fluent German.

After travelling to Hamberg by train, the King is expected to be greeted by mayor Peter Tschentscher and his wife Eva-Maria Tschentscher.

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Jennifer Aniston had a hilarious reaction to learning how old herFriends co-star, Cole Sprouse, and his twin brother, Dylan Sprouse, are.

The 54-year-old discussed her former Friends co-star, who played Ben, the son of David Schwimmers character, Ross Geller, during a recent interview with Access Hollywood. During the conversation, which also included Adam Sandler, TV host Kit Hoover reminded Aniston how Cole, 30, used to have a crush on her back when they were filming the sitcom together.

Aniston responded with a surprised look on her face, before noting that the actor, who was only seven years old when he played the role of Ben, was so little when they worked together. As Hoover proceeded to acknowledge that Cole and Dylan are now in their thirties, The Morning Show star was shocked.

What?! she exclaimed, as she raised her hands to the top of her head in surprise. No, no theyre not. Wow, thats so crazy.

Sandler, who worked with Cole and Dylan on the 1999 film Big Daddy, had a similar response to learning how old the twins are, as he also exclaimed: What?...Thats hilarious. Theyre cool!

During an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show in January 2021, the Riverdale star recalled how his crush on Aniston had made it quite difficult to work in front of her.

I must admit, I would stammer a lot and Id forget my lines, he said. I feel like Id maintain my composure a bit more effectively now, but it was quite difficult when I was a kid.

Cole also confessed how those on the set of Friends would make fun of him for how he acted around Aniston.

I was teased a little bit by the crew, because they saw it, he said. I would just forget, and be looking at her. But then, the whole world had a crush on Jennifer Aniston.

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody star first opened up about this crush in 2017, during an interview with the New YorkPost, where he admitted how difficult it was for him to focus when around Aniston.

I had a really, really hard time working with Aniston because I was so in love with her. I was infatuated, Cole said. I was speechless - Id get all bubbly and forget my lines and completely blank.

Earlier this month, Aniston also reunited with a former Friends guest star, Mae Whitman, while on the set of Live with Kelly and Ryan. In season three of the sitcom, Whitman played a Girl Scout who was selling cookies in the main characters apartment building, before Ross accidentally knocked her down the stairs.

In a video shared on Live with Kelly and Ryans Instagram, the Good Girls star talked to Aniston about their brief time on set together. I just wanted to say hi because you were so kind to me, she said. You really made me feel like I was a part of the cast. And you were so kind and you hugged me. Thank you. Its always stayed with me.
 Close Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson explains why she won't attend King Charles coronation

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Meghan Markle has denied reports claiming that her decision not to attend Charless coronation was influenced by correspondence between herself and the then-Prince of Wales.

On Friday (21 April), it was reported that the Duchess of Sussex had written to Charles about unconscious bias within the royal family. The letter was allegedly sent in the aftermath of Harry and Meghans appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in March 2021.

The Duchess of Sussex is going about her life in the present, not thinking about correspondence from two years ago related to conversations from four years ago, a statement issued by the Sussexes read. Any suggestion otherwise is false and frankly ridiculous.

Meanwhile, Camillas ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles will be attending the 6 May coronation.

On Saturday (22 April), The Sunday Times reported that Parker Bowles, 83, will attend the swearing-in ceremony of his ex-wife, as the pair remain joined at the hip.

The pair were married for 22 years before they divorced in 1995. Camilla married the then-Prince of Wales in 2005.

One of Camillas Queen Companions, the Marchioness of Lansdowne told the publication of Camillas relationship with her ex-husband: Through adversity, theyve kept a really good family ethic. It helps with their children and grandchildren.
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A man and a woman arrested over the murders of a father and son who were shot dead in two villages six miles apart have been released from police custody.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary said the man, 27, and the woman, 33, will face no further action.

The pair had been arrested at a hotel outside Cambridge and held on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, before their release on Friday.

A 66-year-old man, of no fixed address, who was arrested by armed officers on a motorway near Worcester remains in custody, police said on Friday.

He was arrested in the early hours of Thursday on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, and police said his vehicle was searched and a shotgun was recovered.

Officers are checking whether the firearm was legally owned.

It comes after a father and son, named locally as builder Gary Dunmore, 57, and his 32-year-old son Josh Dunmore, who also worked in the trades, died on Wednesday.

Police were called to reports of gunshots in Meridian Close, Bluntisham, just after 9pm, then to similar reports in Sutton at 9.37pm.

A 32-year-old man was found dead at an address in Bluntisham, and a 57-year-old man was found dead inside an address in Sutton.

Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Hutchinson said on Thursday the primary line of investigation related to a familial issue.

Its been widely reported in the media that this may relate to a custody battle, he said. I can confirm that is an active line of inquiry for us.

A floral tribute to Gary Dunmore, left outside his home in The Row, Sutton, said: To my dear neighbour Gary.

A man who loved his family dearly, a dear friend to all, so helpful and kind and was always around as a friend and my little odd job man.

Im going to miss you.

Another tribute said: RIP Gary. Absolutely gutted.

A floral tribute left to Josh Dunmore in Bluntisham said: So sad a young life to be taken like this and a little boy now with no daddy.

Thinking of the family. RIP Josh X.

Another tribute said: We have no words for such tragedy in our quiet village.

Our prayers are with all involved. Rest in eternal peace.

Uniformed officers remained on duty outside both addresses on Friday morning.

A number of neighbours of Josh Dunmore said they were too upset to speak about what had happened.

Police said that post-mortem tests on the two men, who have not been formally identified, will take place at Peterborough City Hospital on Monday.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting Operation Scan.
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Two people arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a father and son just hours apart in Cambridgeshire have been released without charge.

The 27-year-old man and 33-year-old woman were arrested in the early hours of Thursday after the double murder of two men at properties in Meridian Close, Bluntisham, and The Row, Sutton, Cambridgeshire Police said.

A 66-year-old man remains in custody.

The victims, named locally as Gary Dunmore, 57, and his 32-year-old son Josh Dunmore, died on Wednesday.

Police previously said their primary line of investigation was that the attacks related to a familial issue, with enquiries ongoing as to whether a custody battle was involved.

Police at the scene in Meridian Close, Bluntisham, Cambridgeshire, where police found the body of a 32-year-old man with a gunshot wound on Wednesday evening (PA)

Detective chief superintendent Jon Hutchinson, of Cambridgeshire Police, said that officers made a very quick two arrests in a hotel just outside Cambridge and recovered a firearm, adding the pair were thought to be from the local area.

A woman, who lives near to the houses sealed off by murder detectives in Sutton, Cambridgeshire, said she heard three loud bangs on Wednesday evening.

I didnt know it was gunshots at the time, the woman, who did not want to be named, said. It was about 9.15pm. I thought it was something blowing over as I heard a bang. I didnt think anything crazy had happened. I heard two more  it was bang, space, bang.

Whether or not they were each gunshots I dont know; then police were outside the house.

Gordon Murray, who also lives near two semi-detached houses that have been sealed off by murder detectives in Sutton, said he saw police cars racing down and armed police shouting on Wednesday evening.

The 62-year-old support engineer said officers later asked him if he had CCTV footage, and when he looked back he saw a white car that made two passes, and on the second pass the car stopped and someone opened the boot.

I saw the police cars racing down here, he said. There was a lot of shouting. I thought it was an altercation or something. Then I saw the armed police. They were shouting something to the homeowners. That was it. I stood in the window watching.

Mr Murray said there were two cars with three or four officers in each, all armed and with their headgear.

Cambridgeshire police were called to reports of gunshots and found the body of a 32-year-old man inside a house in Meridian Close, Bluntisham just after 9pm.

He had a gunshot wound and officers are now treating his death as a murder.

Police at the scene in The Row in Sutton, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, where police found the body of a 57-year-old man who had died from gunshot wounds (PA)

Under an hour later, at 9.37pm, police received a call from a person in Sutton reporting gunshots and found the body of a 57-year-old man inside a house on The Row in Sutton, near Ely. He also had gunshot wounds and his death is being treated as another murder.

Mr Murray said his son heard some bangs but I dont know if that was the car doors slamming.

A white hatchback came around twice and stopped outside, he said. When someone opened the boot he couldnt see him get anything out, it was very fuzzy.

He said he does not know if the homes sealed off by police are rental properties but believes a guy on his own stays there.

The local resident who heard the three loud bangs also said a man who lived at one of the properties sealed off by police always had really fancy cars out the front, souped up, cool looking cars.

A 52-year-old man, who did not want to give his name and lives just off The Row in Sutton, Cambridgeshire, said the victim kept himself to himself. Never really came across him as far as I know. Just lived a quiet life, very unassuming. Never really saw him about.

A woman who lives close to a new build cul-de-sac estate sealed off by murder detectives in Bluntisham, Cambridgeshire said she could hear a helicopter circling late on Wednesday evening for at least half an hour.

The woman, speaking anonymously, added, Considering how quiet the village is its really surprising to hear this has happened.

Flowers left at the scene in The Row in Sutton, near Ely, Cambridgeshire (PA)

Retail worker Sharon Coulson, 58, who lives nearby described Bluntisham as a nice place to live, nice country walks, friendly, everybody says hello.

The roads in Bluntisham and Sutton are around six miles apart.

A neighbour who works at a local shop said she saw three or four police cars going towards Earith, Cambridgeshire, on Wednesday night.

Speaking outside her house just off The Row, in Sutton, the woman, who did not want to give her name, said she was shocked when she saw the news on Facebook on Thursday morning. Especially that it is just on the corner of where I live, she added.

Detective Inspector Mark Butler, from the major crime unit, said: Tonight we have launched two linked murder investigations following the shootings of two men at separate properties in the county.

These events will be shocking to local people and there will be understandable concerns within local communities, however, we are treating the attacks as targeted and there is no wider risk to the general public. There will be an increased police presence in the areas concerned today and officers and scenes of crime officers will be at the scenes throughout the day.

Our thoughts also go out to the family and friends of the victims. Specially trained officers are in touch with them and they are helping our investigation.

Detectives are now beginning inquiries into how these events unfolded and we are appealing to anyone who was in either area and saw anyone acting suspiciously or a white Peugeot 208.

Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could be very important to our investigation.

Anyone with information is urged by police to report online here or via the web chat service and quote Operation Scan. Those without internet access are asked to call 101.
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An aristocrat and her partner are facing trial early next year over the death of their baby daughter.

Constance Marten appeared in the Old Bailey on Friday with partner Mark Gordon, both charged with manslaughter of baby Victoria, concealment of the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.

The childs remains were discovered in a plastic bag in a locked shed at an overgrown allotment in the Hollingbury area of Brighton on 1 March, after a two-day search.

A court artist sketch of Gordon, with a grey jumper over his head, and Marten at a previous hearing (PA Wire)

Marten, wearing a white and black patterned blouse and smart black trousers spoke only to confirm her name, while Gordon wearing a grey prison tracksuit also confirmed his name and address.

The judge confirmed their trial date for 2 January 2024 with the next hearing set for 18 August.

The case is expected to last between four and six weeks. There was no application made for bail and Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, were remanded into custody.

An initial post-mortem examination was unable to establish the cause of the childs death and it is understood tests are ongoing.

Police searching in woodland area in Brighton, East Sussex, near to where the babys remains were found (PA Wire)

The Metropolitan Police said it was too early to provide a specific date of death for Victoria, adding that the infant had been dead for several weeks.

Police arrested the couple in Brighton after a lengthy search for the family across the UK.

The case was referred to the police watchdog by the Metropolitan Police, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct said in a statement that it is currently assessing the referral to determine what, if any, further action is required from us.
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A man accused of murdering his pregnant wife by pushing her off Arthurs Seat was eager to visit the Edinburgh landmark during his time in the Scottish capital, a court has heard.

Kashif Anwar, 29, is accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed, 31, in September 2021 by pushing her from the hill, causing her multiple blunt force injuries and ultimately her death and that of her unborn child.

Anwar denies all the charges against him, including one of acting in a threatening and abusive way towards his wife at a hotel in Edinburgh the day before the alleged murder.

Lubna Qasim, who gave evidence on Friday on the third day of the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, said she was told by her friend Ms Javed that Anwar was really keen on visiting Arthurs Seat when they were talking at a Walima  a Muslim marriage celebration event  held for the couple on August 30, 2021.

But Ms Qasim, 33, said Ms Javed, from Pudsey in Leeds, had looked her straight in the eyes and replied: Im not so sure.

Ms Qasim told the court her friend was scared of heights, and this fear came to her attention when they visited Barcelonas cable car together.

Describing Ms Javed as caring, generous and kind, Ms Qasim said that at the Walima Ms Javeds mother Nighat Yasmin Javed had seemed anxious and nervous and stressed.

Ian Duguid KC, for Anwar, told the court a relative of his client had mentioned the landmark to him as a place to visit while in Edinburgh. He said Ms Javed was keen on walking in the Yorkshire Dales.

Ms Qasim said she thought Ms Javed was more interested in things like shopping than walking.

The jury was also told that Ms Javed had called the police about Anwars alleged behaviour, and when officers from West Yorkshire Police attended her parents home she gave a statement in which she detailed her claims of abuse at the hands of her husband.

Pc Gemma Smales, 34, read out the statement from Ms Javed. Towards its end, she said: I maybe his wife but Im not his possession.

The document, dated April 20 2021, included claims he threatened to physically hurt Ms Javeds family members if she ever cheated on him, of how Ms Javed said she found herself unconscious in a Pudsey graveyard, an allegation she was slapped across the face by her husband during an argument, and claims of abusive language Anwar is said to have used towards Ms Javed.

They included him allegedly calling Ms Javed a retard and a bitch, telling her to stop behaving like a British woman, that he would pull her mothers tongue out if she says I need help, and that he would ruin Ms Javeds life if she ended the relationship.

The court was told Anwar, who was studying optometry at the University of Bradford, met Ms Javed after a chance encounter at the Trinity shopping complex in Leeds city centre.

The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.
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The mother of a student police officer who took his own life in March has said she gave her baby up to a service that killed him, as she and the rest of his family demand justice.

Anugrah Abrahams family claimed his death on 3 March was caused by bullying and racism he faced while doing a placement with West Yorkshire Police (WYP) as part of his degree at Leeds Trinity University.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) initially recommended WYP investigate the matter itself. But, following calls from Abrahams family, the IOPC announced yesterday it had reconsidered its decision and will now conduct an independent investigation.

Abraham (left) pictured with his father, who wants an independent investigation along with the rest of the family (Handout)

The 21-year-olds mother, who wished to remain anonymous, said: I gave my baby up to a service that ultimately didnt cherish value or nurture him  but killed him.

Speaking to The Independent, his aunt Rita Alfred-Saggar, from Manchester, said the close-knit family has all been destroyed.

How [does the] family move on from this? she asked. This is a case of someone being bullied to death. The police, they have blood on their hands. We want some answers as to why this is all allowed to go on and who is going to be held responsible.

Abrahams family said they are relieved about the reversal of the watchdogs decision and are expecting a fearless and thorough investigation to be completed as soon as possible, with the family at its heart.

Ms Alfred-Saggar said she wanted to highlight how there is an endemic culture of bullying, brutalism, racism, homophobia, sexism within the police  which is not just limited to the Met.

Anus parents dont want to see any other parents going through the grief theyre going through  its hideous, she said. Families that this has happened to dont even have time to grieve because theyre in this David and Goliath fight almost immediately  and thats inhuman. But if we dont do this now and face these faceless institutions, we will never get justice and Anus death will have been in vain. 

Abraham was described by his family as being a loving, smart, hard-working happy young man (Anugrah Abrahams family)

Abraham was described by his family as going from being a loving, smart, hard-working happy young man, proud to be a serving police officer, to becoming increasingly unconfident and anxious.

His parents and two sisters said they regularly heard about how Abraham was unsupported, insulted and criticised at his job. They claimed he was sent out alone to deal with cases that involved serious harm, which left the 21-year-old feeling vulnerable, isolated, afraid and ill-equipped.

The family said Abraham was shaking when he told of how he was instructed to carry out a full search of a dead body that was floating in a river, despite his being a student officer and there being two other officers present. Abraham initially vomited and later broke down in tears  but the family claimed they did not care, before proceeding to insult and criticise him in front of the rest of the team.

Abraham with his two sisters (Anugrah Abrahams family)

The family said the treatment of Abraham, who was Asian, was at least partly a result of racism, despite WYP speaking about how it welcomed a diverse workforce.

He started to struggle to sleep, having vivid nightmares about work, and becoming more stressed and anxious. The family said he reached out for help on several occasions, including to his seniors and telling his university he was having suicidal thoughts.

Following a two-week break away from work, Mr Abraham failed to return home ahead of his first shift back. He was found by an early morning dog walker, even though the family claimed the police looking for him. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had told them they had seen no sign of him in their own search.

Ms Alfred-Saggar said nothing has changed despite multiple reviews of police culture and standards in recent years. Last week, Baroness Louise Caseys report, commissioned in the wake of Sarah Everards murder, exposed a series of grave concerns about the Metropolitan Police Service.

His loved ones say they dont want others families to suffer the same tragedy (Anugrah Abrahams family)

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley accepted Baroness Caseys deeply troubling diagnosis, and that the force contains racists, misogynists and homophobes, and has systemic failings, but he refused to adopt the labels of institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia.

IOPC Regional Director Emily Barry said: Having carefully considered representations made to us on this matter, we have determined it is now in the public interest for us to independently investigate these serious allegations.

We also received a mandatory referral from Greater Manchester Police due to the fact PC Abraham had been reported missing to the force on 3 March. Following a detailed assessment of the available information, we identified evidence of positive action taken by the force to locate him after they were made aware he was missing.

In light of this, and in the absence of any concern that police action may have caused or contributed to his death, we determined independent oversight or investigation by the IOPC was not required and on 9 March returned the matter to GMP to deal with in a proportionate manner.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: We welcome the decision by the IOPC to manage this as an independent investigation, in fact the Chief Constable had already written to them supporting the same course of action. We will of course fully cooperate with their investigation.

DCI Dave Jones, of Greater Manchester Police's Professional Standards Branch, said: In line with normal procedure, the incident response was referred to GMPs Professional Standards Branch and the Independent Office of Police Conduct for review. The conclusion was that GMP had not caused or contributed to Anugrah's death and that the force had responded appropriately to the missing person's report. The force has not received a complaint in relation to this case.

A Leeds Trinity University spokesperson said: We take our students welfare very seriously and offer a dedicated Student Support service seven days a week, with full information available on the myLTU platform. We will continue to work closely with our partners to support further enquiries.

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with financial support for Mr Abrahams funeral costs.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
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A prisoner serving a sentence for assault and burglary has been on the run for two weeks after being released from a London jail in error.

Rayon Newby, 20, was released from HMP Thameside on Friday 17 March before completing his sentence for assault, harassment and burglary. Newby, from east London, has links to Tower Hamlets and Ilford.

Police have launched an appeal to find the 20-year-old and urged members of the public not to approach him.

Rayon Newby was serving a sentence for assault, harassment and burglary (Met Police)

Newby is around 5ft 10 tall and of heavy build. He has a pierced left ear and speaks with a London accent.

HMP Thameside is a Category B prison in the southeast London borough of Greenwich.

The prison is run by Serco, the outsourcing company, and is located near Isis and Category A Belmarsh prison, which houses some of the countrys most notorious criminals.

Secro has been contacted for comment. The firm is a British multinational defence, justice and immigration services company that runs several government services.

The company has been embroiled in a series of scandals over the years.

In 2019, Serco was fined nearly 23m as part of a settlement with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over electronic tagging contracts. In 2013 it paid a 70m settlement to the Ministry of Justice after the firm and fellow outsourcing group G4S faced allegations of charging for tagging people who were either dead, in jail, or had left the country.

A prisoner is released in error if they are wrongly discharged from a prison or court when they should have remained in custody and had no intent of escaping. There were 54 such cases across the UK in 2021-22.

Anyone who has information about Newbys whereabouts is asked to contact police on 101 quoting reference CAD 3195/30Mar.

Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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Six Just Stop Oil climate change protesters have been spared jail after a track invasion which risked serious harm to Formula One drivers and marshals at last years British Grand Prix.

Louis McKechnie, Emily Brocklebank and Bethany Mogie, who were among five campaigners who were dragged off the circuit at Silverstone as two Formula One cars passed close by, were given suspended jail sentences at Northampton Crown Court on Friday.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Garnham also handed 12-month community orders to fellow protesters David Baldwin, Alasdair Gibson and Joshua Smith.

Gibson and McKechnie, both 22; Mogie, 40; Baldwin, 47; Brocklebank, 24; and 30-year-old Smith all claimed the protest, which started after a red flag was signalled to halt the race, had followed a meticulous safety plan.

But they were found guilty of causing what the Crown said was an immediate risk of serious harm by sitting in the face of fast-moving vehicles.

Brocklebank, of Yeadon, Leeds; Gibson, from Aberdeen; Mogie, from St Albans; McKechnie, from Manchester; and Smith, from Lees in Oldham, went on to the race circuit during the protest.

Baldwin, of Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, was found in a car park along with glue, cable ties and a Just Stop Oil banner and was said by the Crown to have been in it together with his co-defendants.

McKechnie and Brocklebank  who have a joint previous conviction for gluing themselves to the frame of a 70 million Van Gogh painting days before the F1 protest  were given suspended prison sentences of 12 months and six months respectively, both suspended for two years.

Mogie, a mother of four, was given a six-month sentence of imprisonment, also suspended for two years.

During the sentencing, Mr Justice Garnham told the six campaigners: I accept that the motive for all of you was not to cause harm but instead to voice your concerns about climate change.

None of you have committed any offence since the commission of this offence.

The judge added that the reckless track invasion had been carefully planned, was a deliberate breach of the law and had been carried out despite warnings about the danger of going on to the circuit.

Video footage from various camera angles covering Silverstone was played at the activists trial, as well as personal video statements from five of the defendants recorded a day before the protest, including a claim that the world is being destroyed for the benefit of a few people.

McKechnie, who grew up in Weymouth in Dorset, told jurors the group had planned the action over two-and-a-half months, making it as safe as possible.

During the trial, Mogie asked the jury to consider a 2021 Unicef report, which said about a billion children around the world are at extremely high risk from the impacts of the climate crisis and pollution.

Mogie, who represented herself during the trial, said in her closing speech to the jury: To love is to protect.

And I hope you can see thats what we set out to do that day at Silverstone, before and on the day, with our planning and by sitting on the track peacefully for all that we are trying to protect.
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The Afghan war hero threatened with deportation to Rwanda has told how his wife begged him to flee and leave her behind while he made his perilous journey across five countries to reach the UK.

The pilot, who served with distinction alongside British forces, spent months travelling by car, truck and boat to get to Europe, paying thousands of pounds to smugglers. His only possessions were his flight documents, proving his identity and the brave military career he had fought.

He is now facing rejection by the Home Office after arriving in Britain on a small boat because there was no safe and legal route to escape the Taliban.

The airman has appealed directly to Rishi Sunak and his cause has been backed by leading military figures and politicians including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who called his plight a disgrace.

The pilot, who is not named in order to protect his young family still in Afghanistan, said he was speaking out on their behalf: All this that I am doing - I am doing it for them.

In an interview with The Independent, the Afghan Air Force pilot told how:

The British planned special missions, using the Afghan Air Force, to target drug producers funding terrorism

As the Taliban regained control of the country, its rulers began a revenge assassination campaign against war pilots

With nowhere to turn, his wife urged him to flee for his life, saying: I put you into gods hands

He paid 10,000 euros to a smuggler to get from Turkey to Italy, where the authorities threatened him with jail

He crossed the Channel at dawn with training certificates clutched to his chest

The Independent has launched a petition calling for the UK to support Afghan war heroes who served alongside Britain

Praised by his coalition forces supervisor as a patriot to his nation, the pilot says he was forced into hiding when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021.

During the chaos of the Kabul evacuation, he and other members of his squadron were left behind. Recounting the fight against the Taliban, he described his final mission providing air cover for the Afghan army who were defending bases.

I was on a mission for around a week protecting some of the army bases in a region that was under Taliban attack, he said. It was our role to go in and support them with air defence.

Everyone knew that one day the American and British armies would leave as they had supported us for a long time. But when the withdrawal came, our territorial leaders failed us.

I was on a mission ... protecting some of the army bases in a region that was under Taliban attack (The Independent)

Describing his work with the coalition troops leading up to the withdrawal, the veteran recounted: Mostly we flew at night. The British would plan special missions and they would use the Afghan Special Force and the Afghan Air Force.

The missions were supported by the British and would mainly involve fighting against drug production that was helping to fund the terrorist groups. My responsibility was supporting the ground force and helping them evacuate.

In the days leading up to the fall of Kabul, the airman hoped Afghanistans leaders would reach a solution. When a friend called him on 15 August and told him he needed to go to the airport, he didnt take the warning seriously. Only an hour later, when the friend called again, did the airman realise what was happening.

By that time the streets were packed with cars as people desperately tried to flee and he had missed his chance. The months that followed were fraught with fear and threatening phone calls from unknown numbers as the Taliban sought revenge on anyone who had served the fallen government.

Address and telephone numbers of Afghan Air Force pilots had been left in their offices for the Taliban to find. After months waiting for help and living in hiding, he made the decision to flee to Iran with his wife.

There wasnt any specific safe or legal route or some specific website for us to use. It was impossible in Afghanistan, it is completely impossible.

My responsibility was supporting the ground force and helping them evacuate (The Independent)

Fortunately, we still had our passports and we were able to pay some smugglers to get an Iranian visa for us.

We had a three-month visa in Iran and after two and a half months we went to the immigration police to try and get it updated. When we explained our situation, the soldiers attitude was very bad.

He told me: Even if you are the president of Afghanistan, you are nothing here. Go directly back to Afghanistan or I will tear up your passport. We were arguing and then his commander came and he was smiling as he was talking.

He told me there is one way  to join the Iranian army. At this, my wife just told me Lets go. We came back to where we were staying and that night we talked a lot. We spent hours discussing what we should do.

Finally she told me: We dont have any ways that I can come. God bless you, God save you, I put you into his hands. Go.

The next morning, the pilot made arrangements to leave Iran illegally and began a journey that would eventually take him to Dover. It began with paying a smuggler $1,500 for travel from Tehran to Istanbul.

He explained: When we arrived at the border there was a house and there were many refugees there. We told the smugglers from the first day  you have to take us to Turkey by car. The smuggler was lying and had planned to take us through the mountains because it costs less and they dont need to pay bribes to the police this way.

I was arguing with them, saying they had promised to take us by road and one of the smugglers slapped me. That was a very difficult moment. Finally we hid in a big truck and in February 2022 I made the crossing.

UK Armed Forces supporting the evacuation of foreign citizens from Kabul airport in August 2021 (PA )

In Istanbul, the airman was able to borrow money and scraped together 10,000 euros to pay a smuggler to take him onwards to Italy.

I was five days and four nights inside the ship across the Mediterranean, he said. When we arrived in Italy, the police arrested us and put us in a very bad camp. The rooms, the beds were bad, and we were there for one week.

After that they gave us a letter that said in seven days you have to leave Italy or face jail or a 10,000 euro fine.

He went to another European country and tried to claim asylum there. After four months he received a rejection letter and it was then that he knew he had to come to the UK.

I had to make a decision, he said. I thought because of my background, because I had worked with the British forces, that they would help.

Maybe I thought in my mind, if some of the army personnel who served in Afghanistan  if I can meet with them  they will help me.

Let us know your opinion in the poll below

Sitting with his stained flight training certificates in front of him, he recalled how he clutched his documents to his chest to protect them from the elements on his boat journey across the Channel.

He said: I came to Calais and was there for two nights; one night in a tent and one night near to the sea. It was very hard. I knew that I was playing with my life, as I had done when I had departed Turkey for Italy.

We crossed the Channel at around 5am and we arrived in Dover at around 10am. It was a freezing cold day in November, I was completely soaked through and there were 30 or more people on the boat.

I thought we had avoided the worst of the bad conditions and I remember when the police came to pick us up out of the boat, that was when the really bad weather started.

British armed forces work with the US military to evacuate eligible civilians and their families from Kabul in August 2021 (MoD/Getty)

The man is now living in a hotel now used by the Home Office and said he spends most of his day sitting alone and thinking in his room. A few times a week he is able to go to a language class to improve his English and although he has seen the support for his case, he still feels very hopeless.

Instead of helping me, they sent me a Rwanda letter, he said. How can they accept my family if they want to send me away?

The British instead of helping their colleagues, they rescued dogs and cats. Many many Afghan interpreters, journalists, and army personnel have been left behind.

As for his wife, she returned to Afghanistan, where she remains in hiding: My wife is hardly living and it is difficult for her to go out. The Taliban has agents in the village and everyone knows that her husband was a pilot.
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The government will press on with plans to use biological tests to check child asylum seekers ages despite an official report finding they cannot prove someone is over 18.

Ministers have not yet  which scientific methods will be used on people whose ages are disputed by officials but are considering X-rays and MRI scans of teeth and bones.

It comes after government documents said that child asylum seekers will be restrained if they resist forcible deportations to Rwanda and other countries, under plans in the new Illegal Migration Bill.

On Friday, the Home Office said statistics showed the need for stronger measures to assess age of those claiming asylum. Analysis of official figures by The Independent shows that 15 per cent of unaccompanied asylum seekers claiming to be children are found to be over 18.

Under a third of UASC applications (7,900) have gone through further checks after a dispute over age since 2016 and more than half of those people were found to be children after further investigation.

Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said: Its a sad fact that there have been cases of asylum-seeking adults pretending to be children to try and game the system, which presents a serious safeguarding risk.

It is vital we use every tool at our disposal to weed out people falsely claiming to be children so we can prevent abuse of our services and protect children in the UK.

That is why we are introducing the National Age Assessment Board to set the national standard and ensure assessments are as robust as possible, alongside our commitment to deliver scientific methods to assess age as soon as possible.

In plans first proposed by Priti Patel last year and now backed by her successor Suella Braverman, the government has been looking at different options.

An advisory report commissioned by the government warned that asylum seekers may be traumatised and must give informed consent to such procedures, but concluded: There is no method, biological or social worker-led, that can predict age with precision.

Biological assessment of age should consider whether the age claimed by the UASC [unaccompanied child asylum seeker] is possible rather than be used to answer the specific question of how old that person is or whether they are under or over 18.

The report, published in January, concluded that the current interview process should still be the main evaluation method, with biological tests only performed in cases where the claimed age remains in doubt or there is conflicting or insufficient evidence.

 Chancellor avoids ruling out child detention under new asylum plans

It showed that various options, including X-rays and MRI scans of different teeth and bones, produced clashing results when applied to the same person  with some results saying their claimed age was possible and others indicating the opposite.

Any methodology used for the assessment of age should respect and prioritise the health and wellbeing of the individual, upholding their dignity and right to choose, and minimising any health risk, whether physical or psychological, to the individual being assessed, experts warned.

The report suggested that the government will not be able to force asylum seekers to undergo biological assessments, and cannot make automatic assumptions that they are an adult if they refuse.

The new National Age Assessment Board launched on Friday brings together specialist social workers, who will support local authorities and the Home Office to resolve age disputes using written evidence and interviews.

The Refugee Council said it was seriously concerned about the governments approach, and the independence of the social workers being employed on the board.

Senior policy analyst Kama Petruczenko said: The approach does nothing to address the very real risk of putting refugee children through dangerous and unsuitable adult processes and accommodation.

We need to see a stronger commitment from the Home Office to safeguard vulnerable children who are too often wrongly seen as adults.

We support many children in the asylum system who are disbelieved about their age. They simply want to start rebuilding their lives after the traumatic experiences they have been through.

The board will set standards for age assessments and provide advice and training, beginning in London and the West Midlands before expanding nationally.

This will ultimately help to prevent asylum-seeking adults posing as children as a way of accessing support they are not entitled to, a Home Office spokesperson said.

It will also help remove the safeguarding risks of adults being wrongly assessed and placed in the childrens care system.

Serious cases have seen adults being sent to childrens schools, or children being treated as adults, in both cases putting children at risk of harm.
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A toddler was infected with bacteria that causes a TB-like illness in fish after being bitten by an iguana while on holiday.

The American youngster was sitting on a beach in Costa Rica eating cake when the iguana ran up and bit her on the back of her left hand before snatching the dessert.

Her hand began to swell and her parents rushed her straight to a local clinic.

The superficial wound on her middle finger was disinfected and she was given five days of antibiotics for potential salmonella exposure. Thanks to the treatment the wound healed quickly without any issues.

However, five months later her parents noticed a small bump on the back of her left hand that gradually became larger. Over the next three months, the skin became red and mildly painful.

The three-year-old was given an ultrasound that revealed a mass under the skin which resembled a fluid-filled lump called a ganglion cyst. However, the location and symptoms did not align with this diagnosis.

When removing the two-centimetre mass the surgeon noticed pus coming from the wound, indicating an infection. After further investigation, they found she had a Mycobacterium marinum infection.

M. marinum can cause a tuberculoisis-like illness in fish.

Newly hatched green iguanas rest on a branch in a terrarium at the Chennai Snake Park in Chennai (AFP/Getty)

It has been known to infect humans when skin wounds are exposed to contaminated fresh or salt water, given their abundance in water.

It is resistant to common antibiotics, including amoxicillin, the antibiotic the toddler was given when she was first bitten.

After it was removed she was put onto the antibiotics rifampin and clarithromycin and responded well to therapy.

While organisms that cause infection after dog or cat bites are well known, information about those caused by iguana bites is limited.

A few cases report that the bacteria Serratia marcescens and Staphylococcus aureus are most linked with iguana bites.

Salmonella enterica is also a possibility, given that 75 to 90 per cent of both wild and captive reptiles are colonised with these bacteria.

There are also several studies reporting that domestic reptiles can harbour non-tuberculous mycobacteria. However, the team believes this is the first reported case of the infection following an iguana bite.

Lead author Dr Jordan Mah, of Stanford University School of Medicine in California, said: M. marinum prefers lower temperatures (30C) for optimal growth, and its highly likely that the cold-blooded iguana, with body temperatures ranging from 22-37C, may sustain these microbes as reservoirs.

The bite resulted in colonisation by a bacterium rarely found in humans, and demonstrates that iguanas may be carriers of harmful bacteria capable of producing severe infections.

This may help inform health care professionals of less commonly known bacterial infections following unusual zoonotic exposures.

The study is due to be presented at this years European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Copenhagen, Denmark, which begins on April 15.
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A doctor in Herefordshire has been suspended by a medical tribunal for making offensive comments to her Muslim colleague.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal ruled that Dr Colathor Eshwari, originally from India, who practices at Hereford County Hospital, demonstrated hostility based on assumptions about her colleagues race or religion, reported BBC.

The panel met between 27 February and 2 March and heard both Dr Eshwari and her colleague  referred to as Dr A  who is originally from Pakistan.

Dr A said to the panel that she arrived in Hereford from Pakistan in November 2019 as an international training fellow.

She alleged that when she moved into the hospital accommodation she had tried to introduce herself to Dr Eshwari but the latter had refused to give her name to her new colleague.

During that encounter, Dr A said that Dr Eshwari had muttered the phrase porky sausages more than once, which she took to be an insult.

Dr A alleged that there is a poor relationship between Pakistan and India that had led to Pakistan being subject to pork-related slurs in reference to Muslims not eating the meat.

Tensions between the two nuclear armed rival neighbouring countries have never really gone away in over seven decades since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and the creation of Pakistan after the partition of India.

Dr A also said to the panel that she poured some mineral water from a bottle into a kettle and that Dr Eshwari grabbed it, threw the water into the sink, and said: Dont make this kettle dirty with your dirty water.

Dr Eshwari refuted Dr As claims and told the panel that she had been busy in the kitchen and in a beastly rush when Dr A arrived, but did not refuse to give her name.

She also said that during the events in question she had been searching the communal fridge for sausages, muttering to herself: Where are the sausages?

Refuting the allegations regarding the dirty water Dr Eshwati told the panel she poured away the water from the kettle on health and safety grounds, because it had come from a half-filled bottle and that she refilled it with tap water instead.

Dr Eshwari claimed in her defence to the tribunal that she did not know her new colleague was a Muslim from Pakistan.

She said that she was not remotely interested, but the panel did not accept that either.

The panel rejected Dr Eshwaris defence and ruled that while the claim over the introduction could not be proven, it would uphold the other accusations against her.

It ruled that it was more likely than not she did make the porky sausages remarks and did say the words to the effect of dont make this kettle dirty with your dirty water.

It also said that her actions were inappropriate and had the potential to cause offence.

The panel found Dr Eshwaris fitness to practice had been impaired by reason of misconduct and suspended her for six months.
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The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled plans to share ownership of Sir Joshua Reynolds 50m painting the Portrait of Omai.

The historic work is one of the earliest great portraits of a person of colour and depicts the first Polynesian to visit Britain.

Londons National Portrait Gallery and the Los Angeles-based Getty Museum intend to enter a joint ownership agreement, and in both locations, the public will be able to view the work free of charge.

Omai travelled to England with the second expedition of Captain Cook (Public domain)

The announcement follows secret talks by the partners to jointly buy the painting, revealed by The Independent.

A temporary export bar imposed on the 18th-century painting in March last year expired in February, but the government granted an extension to give the National Portrait Gallery time to raise the 25m needed to secure the British cultural treasure.

Each partner will contribute half of the 50m funds needed to acquire the painting. The National Portrait Gallery has raised the majority of the funding, including a significant 10m pledge by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, an Art Fund grant of 2.5m and many donations from trusts, foundations, and individuals. This leaves just under 1m remaining and the gallery is continuing to raise funds.

If successful, the National Portrait Gallery will exhibit the painting when the London venue reopens in June.

The portrait will spend equal time in the UK and US, including being displayed at the Getty Museum when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Olympic Games.

Joshua Reynoldss Portrait of Omai is moved before going on display at Tate Britain in 2005 (PA)

Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said: We are delighted to announce an innovative and exciting strategic partnership with Getty to hopefully become co-owners of Sir Joshua Reynolds majestic portrait and a joint endeavour to advance scholarship and understanding of the fascinating and complex themes the work embodies.

The portrait is unique in both British and world culture and yet has never been in a museum collection: now it has the potential to be in two, one facing the Pacific from where Mai came, and the other only yards from Reynolds studio, where it was painted.

For the Gallery, it is important that this outstanding portrait is for the UK public, and we will share it with other institutions across the country. This is a painting that should belong to all of us and we know it will mean a great deal to our combined audiences, locally, nationally and globally.

We would like to thank the owner of Portrait of Mai for working with us so collaboratively and all those who have donated so far, for making this painting within our reach.

John Magnier and Sir David Attenborough outside Tate Britain to launch an appeal to save the portrait in 2003 (Getty/PA)

Timothy Potts, the Maria-Hummer Tuttle and Robert Tuttle director of the J Paul Getty Museum, said: Reynolds portrait is both an icon of British portraiture and a uniquely noble representation of a person of colour from the Pacific islands  a region that was in Mais day being colonised by Britain and other European nations.

Reynolds depicts his subject in a pose at once beneficent and commanding, modelled loosely on some famous ancient Roman sculptures. The complex artistic and historical issues that this painting raises will form the basis for a joint research initiative on 18th-century British portraiture involving exhibitions, conferences, and technical investigations.

We hope very much that this acquisition and the collaborations that flow from it will inspire other innovative models of collecting, sharing, and protecting artistic heritage across nations, cultures, and peoples.

The 1776 portrait was bought in 2001 by Irish business magnate and former Manchester United owner John Magnier for an estimated 10m. A bid by the Tate Museum to buy the painting from Magnier, spearheaded by Sir David Attenborough, for 12.5m in 2003 failed when he refused to sell.

Known as Omai in England, Mai was a native of Raiatea, an island now part of French Polynesia, who travelled from Tahiti to England with Captain James Cook. He spent the years 1774-76 in London, where he was received by royalty and the intellectual elite, and became something of a celebrity. Mai returned to his homeland in 1777 and died there two years later.

The partnership has the support of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Arts Council England, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund.
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Labour has criticised the Conservatives for leaving millions of people worse off as annual council tax bills in England rise by an average of 5.1% in April.

The average bill will top 2,000 for the first time in 2023-24  an increase of 99 on the previous year, according to Government figures released last week.

Labour will on Saturday launch an ad van campaign in Thurrock, Essex, where the local Conservative council is raising council tax by 10%.

The party claims the Government is effectively forcing councils to increase their charges by reducing central funding while giving them additional flexibilities to raise taxes locally.

They could be charging lower council tax like the Conservatives but voters living in Labour areas are actually paying higher council tax Conservative chairman Greg Hands

Labour has said it would use an extended windfall tax to freeze council tax for one year if it were in power, as it seeks to contrast its approach with the Tories ahead of the May local elections.

Sir Keir Starmer first made the promise as he fired the starting gun on his partys campaign for the May 4 polls in Swindon, Wiltshire, on Thursday.

But he has not committed to freezing council tax in the future if he can form a Labour government after the next election, expected next year.

The Conservatives said that means the pledge isnt worth the paper its written on, pointing to Labour councils having increased their tax in line with others.

Sir Keir on Friday insisted his pledge is not hypothetical as the Tories could go forward with the policy.

He told broadcasters during a campaign visit to Plymouth: The Government could  just as they stole the idea of an energy price freeze from us  they could steal this and we could move all this in the next few weeks.

Because if the Government said well match Labour and have a freeze on council tax for the next year, we would obviously vote for it. The money is available.

And if the Government was serious about dealing with the cost of living, they would take this Labour idea and run with it.

Labour is hoping to benefit in Englands local elections as the Tories continue to lag far behind in national polls.

Shabana Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood and the partys national campaign co-ordinator, said: Across the country, families tell me that they feel worse off and that nothing is working better than it did 13 years ago when the Tories came to power.

By showing a Labour government would freeze council tax this year  funded by a proper windfall tax on the enormous profits of oil and gas giants  we are showing exactly who is on the side of working people this local election.

A vote for Labour on 4th May is a vote to build a better Britain for working people.

Conservative chairman Greg Hands criticised Labour.

He said: They could be charging lower council tax like the Conservatives but voters living in Labour areas are actually paying higher council tax.

Wales Labour government has increased council tax by 6%, Labours Mayor in London has increased council tax by 10% and Labour across the country are charging more for council tax.

Only the Conservatives are keeping council tax low and delivering on our national priorities.
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Liz Truss has warned that the UK, the newest member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), should ensure China can never join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc.

The former prime minister, who advocated a tough stance against China while in government, said it was essential to rule out the possibility of China following the UK into the group.

Ministers hailed the benefits of accession on Friday in what represents Britains biggest trade deal since leaving the EU.

Britain is the first new member, and first European nation, to join the bloc  comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam  since its formation in 2018.

It follows nearly two years of negotiations, culminating in intensive talks in Vietnam earlier this month, when representatives of the 11 existing members agreed to the UK joining.

Ms Truss, who made an application to join as trade secretary, was among those welcoming the accession.

She said: The CPTPP is a vital economic bulwark against China and in due course I would like to see other like-minded free trading nations making their own applications to join.

It is essential, however, that any idea of Chinese accession is ruled out and I would expect the British government now or in the future to oppose any such proposal.

Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith echoed those concerns.

Now we are in CPTPP we should do our utmost to work with the others to veto China joining, the backbencher told Politico.

We should persuade the US to join as well.
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BBC journalists in England are to stage a 24-hour strike from midnight on May 5 to coincide with the reporting of local election results, in a dispute over cuts to local radio.

It will be the second walkout by members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) after a strike on Budget day.

The union says BBC management wants local radio stations to share programmes across the network from 2pm on weekdays and at weekends, going from more than 100 hours of local programming on every radio station every week down to 40.

The plans will result in a number of job losses and journalists are having to re-apply for their own jobs, said the NUJ.

The strike on Budget day was followed by a work-to-rule which the union says is having a significant impact.

The union has approached the arbitration service Acas to see if it can help resolve the row.

Paul Siegert, NUJ national broadcasting organiser, said: Video didnt kill off radio and nor will digital. We understand that digital services need to be improved but it shouldnt come at the expense of local radio which is at the heart of the BBCs public service remit.

To go from over 100 hours a week of local programming on every radio station down to just 40 is unacceptable. People want local, relevant news that is accessible and NUJ members are prepared to stand up and fight for that.

Once local radio stops being local then it is the beginning of the end and BBC bosses dont have the right to destroy an institution that has existed for over 50 years.

A BBC spokesperson said: Were disappointed that the industrial action is taking place. We have a plan to modernise local services across England  including more news journalists and a stronger local online service  which will see no overall reduction in staffing levels or local funding.

Our goal is a local service across TV, radio and online that delivers even greater value to communities.

We will continue to engage with the trade union and do everything possible to minimise the impact on staff.
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The former head of Nato has backed The Independents campaign against deporting an Afghan war veteran, saying it would be an indefensible disgrace if the Home Office carried out its threat to send him to Rwanda.

Lord Robertson, former secretary general of the military alliance, urged the government to show decency and give the pilot the respect and safety he deserves.

The case of the Afghan Air Force serviceman, who served alongside British forces, sparked an outcry after it was revealed by The Independent earlier this week. Other leading figures to call for him to remain in the UK include Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, defence select committee chair Tobias Ellwood and former chief of joint operations Gen Sir Richard Barrons.

The pilot is facing removal because he arrived in Britain on a small boat, unable to secure a safe and legal route. He described how he spent months travelling by car, truck and boat to get to Europe, paying thousands of pounds to smugglers. His only possessions were his flight documents, proving his identity and his military service. He said his wife begged him to flee and leave her behind while he made his perilous journey across five countries.

Lord Robertson, also a former UK defence secretary, said: It would be an indefensible disgrace if he was sent to Rwanda. We owe a huge debt to people like him and in decency we should give him the respect and safety he deserves.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a former Tory defence secretary who also served as foreign secretary, has called for a review of the case, saying ministers could use their discretion.

He told The Independent: If there is evidence the person worked hard to support British forces in Afghanistan that should certainly be taken in account. If there are reasons personal to his history  whereby this country owes him a debt  it certainly deserves to be looked at. Ultimately ministers can use discretion.

Even if there is no legal obligation, you have a twinge of concern  sometimes a substantial twinge of concern  and its certainly worth looking into whether the evidence supports what is being said.

Another former defence minister also backed The Independents campaign. Labour peer Baroness Taylor of Bolton said: It is disgraceful. I am amazed that the government can be so callous. We have an obligation and I think we should fulfil that.

She added: Other people will always look to see how we react in situations like this. And I think that in recent years our record has not been great. It is a very simple situation which can be easily solved. And I think it would be to the benefit of everyone  the individual concerned, the British government, our international standing. I just cant understand why ministers have not taken the appropriate action  letting the guy stay.

The air force lieutenant has appealed to Rishi Sunak to give him sanctuary in Britain in a letter. Earlier this week Mr Sunak vowed to look at the case after he was pressed on it by the Conservative MP Caroline Nokes in the House of Commons.

Soon afterwards ex-defence minister Kevan Jones described the situation as a stain on Britains great reputation.

Sir Laurie Bristow, the British ambassador to Afghanistan during the summer of 2021 and the fall of Kabul, also spoke out warning that the lives of Afghans who worked for us and with us ... are at risk as a result.

Recommended

Gen Sir Richard Barrons, a former chief of joint operations who served in Afghanistan, has said the way the pilot came to the UK should not affect his chance of being granted asylum.

This should not be complicated ... The fact that he went through other countries to get here is not surprising, considering the mess the government made with the evacuation process, he said.

Tobias Ellwood, the chair of parliaments defence select committee, said of the deportation threat: This is not who we are as a nation.
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Civil servants in the Foreign Office were terrified of having contact with bully Dominic Raab, a former official has claimed.

Staff were even scared of speaking to the close circle in the ministers office, the ex-employee said. Some people allegedly described working in the office as like going to Pyongyang or Moscow, a place where officials face significant risks.

I think you can have high expectations and not be a bully. I think he had high expectations and was a bully, the former official, who asked to remain anonymous, told ITV News.

Mr Raab, who was foreign secretary from 2019 to 2021, is already under investigation over eight formal complaints about his behaviour as foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and during his first stint as justice secretary.

Senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC was appointed in November to lead the investigation into Mr Raabs conduct.

Since allegations of bullying were made, Mr Raab has always denied wrongdoing and said he was just setting high standards. He has also insisted he acted with professionalism and integrity, having never tolerated bullying, and valued excellent relationships with civil servants.

But in an interview with ITV, the former Foreign Office official claimed that not only was Mr Raab a bully when he ran the department, but he also condoned similar behaviour by those around him.

Asked whether the cabinet minister was a bully, the former staff member said: I know with 100 per cent certainty. People were terrified to have interactions with him but also to interact with his office.

He said he witnessed the then-foreign secretary do absolutely nothing when a colleague was being bullied.

One of the most powerful men in the country was condoning it and saying that kind of behaviour was acceptable Anonymous official

He didnt step in, he added. Asked whether that meant Mr Raab was allowing it to happen he said: A hundred per cent. One of the most powerful men in the country was condoning it and saying that kind of behaviour was acceptable.

The ex-official also said Mr Raab placed unreasonable pressure on civil servants, getting them to submit work within unreasonable timeframes and would turn it away if it did not meet certain formatting standards.

Some staff also likened working in the office to a hardship post, like going to Pyongyang or Moscow, where there were significant risks. He argued it really shouldnt be like that.

He said he had thought hard about whether it was fair to call Mr Raab a bully, but after looking up the definition of the term, he said: I read it as someone that uses their influence to intimidate other people. And if that is the definition, then he was 100 per cent a bully.

He said he was not surprised by the results of a survey last year that showed 40 per cent of those working in Mr Raabs private office in late 2019 said they had been bullied or harassed, and 75 per cent said they had witnessed it.

When asked why he never complained, he referred to the inquiry into the former home secretary Priti Patel. Boris Johnson overruled the findings of the report on bullying allegations against her, which found she broke the ministerial code.

According to ITV, other people who have worked with Mr Raab include:

A former justice ministry official who said: He was the most difficult minister Ive ever had to work with. He saw the system as the enemy rather than as a team of people to be led and directed.

Another former colleague, from a previous role held by Mr Raab, who argued that he turned the office into a happy, productive place to a miserable hole. They added: Not all bullies scream - they are sarcastic, demeaning and controlling.

Others denied Mr Raab was a bully, insisting he simply had high standards. One said he was kind, organising events for staff such as joke Christmas awards and a summer barbecue each year, branded the Raab-ecue.

Mr Raab pointed out to the programme that after complaints were made, he was the one to immediately request an independent inquiry.

The Independent also contacted his office to ask for a response but officials declined to comment directly.
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The UK will become the first European nation to join an Indo-Pacific trade pact in a deal Rishi Sunak has hailed as putting the UK in a prime position globally.

The governments own figures suggest the economic benefits will be dwarfed by the long-term cost of Brexit, however.

No 10 said the deal, which would see the UK join countries including Malaysia, Japan and Australia, would boost the UK economy by 1.8bn in the long run.

But last week the official Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed the long-term hit to the economy from Brexit is forecast at 4 per cent of GDP.

The prime minister said the new deal, which would have been impossible while the UK was a member of the European Union, demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms.

Membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) tariffs will see tariffs cut on UK exports including food, drink and cars. The pact would also offer new advantages for business and support economic growth across every part of the UK, the government said. Under the plans, for example, dairy farmers will benefit from lower tariffs on exports of products like cheese and butter to Canada, Chile, Japan and Mexico.

Ministers insisted the agreement will protect the NHS and uphold the UKs high animal welfare and food safety standards.

Mr Sunak said: We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms. As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation.

Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join. British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific.

Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, said the deal was an important moment for the UK.

Matthew Fell, the interim director general of the CBI, said joining CPTPP was a real milestone and that membership reinforces the UK's commitment to building partnerships in an increasingly fragmented world.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow international trade secretary, described the move as encouraging.

However, as so often with this Conservative government the devil is in the detail. Ministers need to provide answers on vital issues, including on consumer safety, food safety, data protection, and environmental protections, he said.

The Conservative governments track record in striking good trade deals is desperately poor, with their own prime minister and MPs criticising the deal they struck with Australia, he added.

Naomi Smith, chief executive of campaign group Best for Britain, said: The irony of this Vote Leave government boasting about joining a new trade bloc will not be lost on the millions of people and thousands of businesses dealing with the fallout of their botched Brexit deal.

Contrary to what the prime minister may say, the vast distance involved means this is unlikely to be an economic game-changer. The painful difference is that unlike EU membership, where we worked to raise standards, pressure from CPTPP members is more likely to result in the UK having lower food standards and environmental protections.
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England has had its wettest March in more than 40 years, according to provisional Met Office figures.

Data up to March 30 showed 111.3mm of rain has fallen in the month, 91% more than average.

Wales and Northern Ireland also had one of their top 10 wettest Marches on record, according to the research.

Wales had 197.5mm of rain, some 91% more than its long-term average, whilst Northern Ireland saw 137.4mm of rain, 58% more than average.

However, Scottish rainfall this month was 128.7mm, just 3% above typical figures.

Head of the National Climate Information Centre Dr Mark McCarthy said: Although the month started cold and dry for many, moist, milder air soon pushed up from the south bringing frequent heavy periods of rain, this being longest-lasting in the southern half of the UK.

Overall this has been an unsettled month dominated by Atlantic low pressure weather systems. Many parts of southern and central England and south Wales have received more than double their average rainfall for March.

Although the English record of 147.2mm, set in March 1947, will not be challenged, the increased rainfall follows the driest February in 30 years, when just 15.3mm of rain fell.

Last month, the National Drought Group warned that the UK is just one hot dry spell away from returning to the widespread drought conditions seen last summer.

Environment Agency executive director and National Drought Group chairman John Leyland said: Rainfall in March has helped water levels improve, but it follows on the heels of a very dry February so there is a need to remain vigilant  especially in areas that have not recovered from the drought last year.

March 2023 will be remembered for being a dull and wet month, especially for those in the south of the UK Mark McCarthy, National Climate Information Centre

As ever, it is important that we all continue to use water carefully to protect our precious rivers, lakes and groundwater, and the environment and wildlife that depend on it.

Sunshine hours have also been lower this month, with provisional figures suggesting that the UK will have a much duller-than-average month, while Wales had one of its top 10 dullest Marches on record.

Several English counties, including Devon, Somerset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, are also in contention for one of the dullest Marches on record, though much will depend on figures from the final day of the month.

Dr McCarthy added: March 2023 will be remembered for being a dull and wet month, especially for those in the south of the UK.

While the rainfall has been notable in England and Wales, it hasnt been enough to fully recover the deficit of rain over the last 12 months.
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Oscar Pistorius has applied to be released from prison a decade after he murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times through a toilet door in his home.

The former Paralympic runner is due to attend a parole hearing on Friday after he was convicted of murdering Ms Steenkamp on Valentines Day in 2013.

Pistorius could leave the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria if his parole is granted, although the Department of Corrections said the process may take days to finalize if his application is successful.

Reeva Steenkamp (left) with Pistorius less than a month before her death (AFP via Getty Images)

Barry and June Steenkamp, the parents of Reeva, have said they oppose Pistorius' release and are allowed to address the parole board at his hearing. A submission by a victim's relatives is one of many factors taken into account.

The Department of Corrections declined to give details on Pistorius' hearing, saying it was an internal matter like any other parole hearing.

According to guidelines, the board will consider the offense Pistorius was convicted of, his conduct and disciplinary record while in prison, whether he took part in educational or other training courses, his mental and physical state, whether he's likely to relapse into crime and the risk he poses to the public.

Of all the factors, legal expert Neo Mashele said that generally speaking, the behavior of the offender is the most important consideration.

Pistoriuss trial attracted widespread media coverage at the time (Reuters)

Pistorius parole lawyer Julian Knight has previously said he has been a model prisoner.

Now 36, the runner was ultimately convicted of murder after prosecutors appealed against an initial conviction for culpable homicide, which is comparable to manslaughter.

He was eventually sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison for murder in 2017, again after a prosecution appeal against a lighter sentence.

Offenders in South Africa convicted of serious crimes must serve at least half their sentence before being considered for parole. Pistorius has done that after taking into account the time he served in jail from late 2014 while the appeals in his case were heard.

The athlete has served half of his 13-year sentence for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp (left) (AP)

A number of options are available to the parole board. Pistorius could be released on full parole or placed on day parole, where he would be allowed to live and work in the community during the day but have to return to prison at night. He could also be placed under correctional supervision, which means he would be released but have to spend some of his time during the week at a correctional center.

Pistorius' parole could be denied, where the board usually asks the offender to reapply at a later stage.

A double-amputee runner and multiple Paralympic champion once hailed as an inspirational figure, Pistorius' murder trial and downfall captivated the world. His crime eventually led to him being sent to the Kgosi Mampuru II maximum security prison, one of South Africa's most notorious.

He was moved to the Atteridgeville prison in 2016 because that facility is better suited to disabled prisoners. Pistorius had both his lower legs amputated as a baby and walks with prosthetics.

Pistorius was a double-amputee runner and multiple Paralympic champion once hailed as an inspirational figure (GETTY IMAGES)

There have been glimpses of his life in prison, with reports claiming he had at one point grown a beard, gained weight and taken up smoking and was unrecognizable from the elite athlete who competed against able-bodied runners on his carbon-fiber blades at the 2012 London Olympics.

He has spent much of his time working in an area of the prison grounds where vegetables are grown, sometimes driving a tractor. His father, Henke Pistorius, said in a 2018 interview that he was running bible classes for other inmates.

There have also been flashes of trouble. Pistorius sustained an injury in an altercation with another inmate over a public telephone in 2017. A year earlier, Pistorius received treatment for injuries to his wrists, which his family denied were a result of his harming himself.

Ms Steenkamps parents in court -June, left, and Barry right, Steenkamp

Pistorius has been seeking parole since 2021 but a hearing that year was canceled partly because he had not yet met with Barry and June Steenkamp in a process known as a victim-offender dialogue. It is required in South Africa  if victims or their family want the meeting  before an offender can be considered for parole.

Last summer, Pistorius finally met Ms Steenkamps father. Reports said the meeting was organised after Pistorious wrote to the Steenkamps in October, which is thought to be his first contact with the family since his 2014 trial.

A friend who visited him in jail reportedly said he was asking his girlfriends bereaved family to forgive him.

But Mr Steenkamp and his wife, June, have since raised objections to Pistoriuss release although they have no power to block it.

Ms Steenkamp, 29, a successful model, TV personality and law graduate, had been in a relationship with Pistorius for just three months when he shot her.

Pistorius claims he shot 29-year-old Ms Steenkamp by mistake with his licensed 9mm pistol because he thought she was a dangerous intruder.

During his lengthy televised trial, Pistorius used his testimony to apologise to Steenkamps family, telling the court: There hasnt been a moment since this tragedy happened that I havent thought about your family.
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Former paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius cannot be released from prison a decade after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a parole board has decided.

The former Paralympic runner, who was convicted of murdering Steenkamp on Valentines Day in 2013 by shooting her a number of times through a toilet door in his home, was told on Friday he had not yet served enough time in jail.

The parole board said Pistorius, 36, would be able to bid for freedom again in August next year, South Africas Department of Corrections said.

Steenkamp with Pistorius less than a month before her death (AFP/Getty)

Steenkamps family had opposed his bid and gave verbal and written statements at the hearing.

The familys lawyer, Tania Koen, said on behalf of her parents that the decision brought a huge sense of relief, adding: While we welcome todays decision, today is not a cause for celebration.

We miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail.

Before the hearing, Steenkamps mother, June, who is from Blackburn, Lancashire, said that she felt very stressed and very nervous, according to MailOnline. She said [I] don't believe his story, and that it was very hard to be in the same room as her daughter's murderer.

Pistorius, behind bars for almost seven years, became eligible for parole after serving half of his 13-year prison sentence.

But the Department of Correctional Services said the reason provided was that he had not served a minimum detention period.

Come August 2024, he would have reached the minimum detention period, then the [parole] board will make a decision, prison spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said.

He will have to appear again next year. And then we look into the profile and make a decision in terms of his placement. But for now, it was a matter of saying he has not served the minimum detention period.

Pistorius met Reeva Steenkamps father last year when participating in a process known as victim-offender dialogue, part of South Africa's restorative justice programme that brings parties affected by a crime together in an attempt to achieve closure.

Pistorius leaves the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, during his 2016 trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp (AP)

The independent parole board, meeting behind closed doors at the Atteridgeville prison near the capital Pretoria, looked at, among other issues, whether Pistorius is at risk of committing similar crimes in future, prison Mr Nxumalo said.

It considered his disciplinary record, training programmes in prison and his physical and mental state, prison officials said.

The athlete, known as Blade Runner for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, went from public hero to convicted murderer in a trial in 2016 that drew worldwide interest.

Once the darling of the Paralympic movement for pushing for greater recognition and acceptance of disabled athletes, Pistorius, a gun enthusiast, shot dead Steenkamp, a model and law student, claiming he thought the sounds he heard were an intruder.

Pistorius was once the darling of the Paralympic movement for pushing for greater recognition and acceptance of disabled athletes (AP)

He shot her several times with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the body.

He was jailed in 2016, initially for a six-year term, but had his sentence increased to 13 years after an appeal by prosecutors who argued the initial sentence was too lenient.
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Police in Quebec discovered six bodies in a marshy area near the provinces border with New York state, police said.

One of the bodies is reportedly that of a child less than three-years-old, according to Global News Canada. The individuals are believed to have been a pair of families.

The marsh is a part of the St Lawrence River, authorities said.

Law enforcement officers are still trying to determine who the individuals were.

The first body was located around 5:00 P.M. in a marsh area in Tsi Snaihne, Akwesasne, Quebec, police said in a statement posted to social media. There is no threat to the public at this time.

Akwesasne Mohawk deputy police chief Lee-Ann OBrien said the families were likely migrants and that are all believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the U.S.

Major Trevor Reid, a Joint Rescue Coordination Centre spokespan, told CTV News that a Canadian Armed Forces helicopter found an overturned boat not far from where the bodies were found.

That boat reportedly belongs to Casey Oakes, a man from nearby Akwesasne who was reported missing on Thursday. It is unclear if Mr Oaks was connected to the bodies found near his boat in the marsh.

Investigators are still determining a cause of death.

Police search the marshland where bodies were found in Akwesasne, Quebec, Canada March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi (REUTERS)

The Saint Regis Mohawk and Akwesasne reported last month that there had been an uptick in illegal border crossings through their land and their waterways. The agency said that some crossings resulted in the hospitalisation of migrants, and that in others smugglers were caught trying to move humans along the shorelines of their territory.

The deaths come only a week after Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an agreement that would close an immigration loophole allowing thousands of asylum seekers to pour between the US and Canada using a small road that connects the US and Canada.

The Safe Third Country agreement  which allowed the US or Canada to deport asylum seekers to a safe, different country without letting them apply for asylum  only applied at official border crossings.

Roxham Road in Champlain, New York, is not considered an "official" crossing point into Canada. Though it is monitored by the Royal Canadian Mountain Police, the crossing was not covered under the Safe Third Country agreement. Asylum seekers using that crossing could not be denied the right to request asylum in Canada.

The new rules shut that loophole, according to CBS News.
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Authorities in Nashville on Thursday released audio recordings of 911 calls made during the shooting that left seven people dead at a Christian school earlier this week.

In one call, which began just before 10:13am on Monday, a caller inside the school told a dispatcher that she thought she was hearing gunshots in the building. The dispatcher asked her if she was in a safe space, and told her that two other people had reported hearing gunshots in the building as well.

Im hearing more shots, the caller said. Please hurry.

Childrens voices could be heard in the background of the call, which was one of several that mobilised law enforcement officers and emergency responders to the scene of the shooting on Monday morning.

In another call, a man who said he was in a room on the buildings second floor told a dispatcher he believed there was a shooter near by.

Im on the second floor in a room, he said. I think the shooter is on the second floor.

In a third call, a man told dispatchers he was walking with other adults and a group of people including a number of children away from the building and out toward the road. Childrens voices could also be heard in the background of that call, as could several other adult voices.

In total, three adults and three nine-year-old children were killed in the attack. The alleged shooter, 28-year-old former student at the school, was killed by police at the scene.

The shooting has prompted another round of despair and frustration across the country, which has already experienced more than 125 mass shootings this year and a number of high-profile school shootings.

The release of the recordings of the 911 calls came on Thursday as a crowd of thousands advocating for stricter gun control measures demonstrated at the Tennessee state capitol building just a 20-odd minute drive away from The Covenant School building where the shooting took place.

The states Republican-controlled government has shown no indication that it is willing to consider stricter gun laws in the aftermath of the shooting. The legislature has made national headlines this year for its curtailing of LGBTQ rights, passing an effective ban on public drag performances earlier this month.

In addition, prior to the shooting, the Tennessee legislature had taken up bills to further relax gun laws  considering proposals to arm teachers, allow people to carry firearms on college campuses, and more.
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A man connected to the Delphi murders has pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to child sex abuse materials.

Kegan Kline, 28, was facing more than two dozen counts related to child sex abuse material, child exploitation, identity deception, and obstruction of justice, reports Fox59.

He pleaded guilty on Thursday to all 25 counts against him after his attorneys requested a change of plea earlier this month. His sentencing is scheduled for 18 May. The most serious counts Kline is facing are level 5 felonies that carry one to six years in prison.

He has been jailed since August 2020 while awaiting trial. He is not considered a suspect in the 2017 murders of Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi, Indiana, but does have a connection to the case. Police determined that Kline used a fake social media profile to contact Libb the night before she was killed.

The profile was named "anthony_shots," and had contacted more than dozen minor girls, asking for photos, according to investigators. His use of the profile to ask for photos led to the investigation into his possession of child sex abuse materials.

In February, 2017, the bodies of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, were found near the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Indiana.

The girls had disappeared from the trial the previous day, and police later found evidence in video and audio recordings they believe to be the killer on Liberty's smartphone.

Kegan Anthony Kline has pleaded guilty to 25 charges, including possession of child sex abuse materials (Miami County Sheriffs Office)

Investigators searched his home less than two weeks after the Delphi murders. They have also searched a section of the Wabash River near Kline's home, but it is unclear what they were looking for or if they found anything of note during the search.

There is currently no indication that Kline will be required to cooperate or assist in the Delphi murder investigation. Former Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva spoke with Fox59, claiming that if prosecutors did use Kline in their investigation a defence team would likely question his reliability as a source of information.

Were talking about the Delphi case. If this individual were called as a potential witness there, if that kind of language was in Miami County plea agreement, the Defense is going to obviously bring that out to the eyes of the jury. One of the things youre going to be thinking about is the credibility of any witness youre going to be bringing for your case, Mr Villanueva said.

The defense attorney would clearly say, Hey, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this guys testimony is bought and paid for.' You would have part of the plea agreement that he would testify truthfully, so, you really need to disregard what hes saying.
 Close Bodycam footage shows Nashville police searching Christian school for gunman

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The funeral of Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of three nine-year-old children killed at the Covenant School shooting, took place on Friday afternoon in Nashville.

Evelyn was remembered as a shining light in the funeral, which was closed to the media, at the Woodmont Christian Church in the Green Hills neighbourhood of the city.

Before the service, the churchs senior minister, the Rev Clay Stauffer, described the youngster as radiant.

Evelyn was killed while leading her classmates to safety in response to a fire alarm seemingly tripped by the attacker, her family believes.

Services for substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and Hallie Scruggs, nine, will be held on Saturday. Nine-year-old William Kinney's funeral will take place on Sunday, while services for Mike Hill, 61, the schools custodian, will be held on Tuesday and the funeral for head of school Katherine Koonce, 60, will take place on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, police have released the chilling 911 calls they received from inside the Covenant School as the shooter  since identified by law enforcement as Audrey Hale, 28, a former student of the private Christian elementary school  broke into the building and opened fire.

A manifesto written by the suspect is soon expected to released by officers investigating the deadly attack.
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Some staff members at the school in Nashville where a mass shooting took place on Monday were armed, a 911 call has revealed.

On Monday, 28-year-old shooting suspect Audrey Hale drove to The Covenant School, a Christian elementary school in Nashville, armed with three firearms. Hale shot dead three young students and three staff members.

A woman who called 911 while hiding under a desk during the shooting said to the dispatcher that one or two staff members carry guns, reported The Tennessean.

The revelation came as officials on Thursday released two dozen 911 calls and recordings of emergency dispatches from the shooting.

The call informing the 911 dispatcher that some staff members were armed was made at 10:12:05am on Monday.

A woman who called from the office of the nursery said: We do have a school person, or two ... Im not sure ... who would be packing, whose job it is for security. We dont have security guards, but we have staff.

The woman did not name the staff members who carried weapons.

It is also not clear whether those staff members were present on campus when the shooting took place. Police have also not stated yet that any staff members at the school had a gun or fired at the shooter.

Tennessee is one of 25 US states that allows people to carry concealed guns without a permit.

There has been a debate around arming teachers in schools.

Democrats and gun safety activists have argued passing stricter laws would reduce the violence, while Republicans and gun advocates are in favour of arming teachers and staff to protect students.

Following the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, former president Donald Trump said teachers should be armed with guns  even suggesting that those that do not have them might be inviting attacks on themselves.

Last year after the Uvalde elementary school shooting in Texas, Republicans mulled a number of ideas inlcuding place armed law enforcement in schools.

On Thursday, Kentucky GOP representative Thomas Massie had a shouting match New York Democrat Jamaal Bowman outside the House of Representatives over gun control.

You know, theres never been a school shooting in a school that allows teachers to carry [guns], Mr Massie said.
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Tuesday 4 April 2023 will go down as an unprecedented and historic day for America: the day former President Donald Trump was arrested and arraigned on criminal charges.

Mr Trump has been under investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office over hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

Prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organizations business records when his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made the payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels.

The money was allegedly used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump. Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.

Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

On Thursday 30 March, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records over the hush money payments. At his arraignement on Tuesday 4 April, he pled not guilty.

Hardcore loyalists gather for protest

While Mr Trump spent his last morning before becoming a defendant in a criminal case holed up at Trump Tower, his staunch ally and MAGA favourite Marjorie Taylor Greene prepared to lead protests against his indictment through the city of New York against what she has described as the political persecution of the former president.

In the event, several dozen Trump loyalists joined reporters and camera crews from across the world in a small park near the courthouse, creating a circus-like scene. A group of men chanted two genders and male and female, while a banner reading TRUMP OR DEATH waved overhead. One man carried a noose, attached to the placard reading what you need to deal with the liberal biased media.

I want him to know that weve got his back, and my support is unwavering and stronger than ever, and I will gladly take a bullet if I have to, a protester named Edward X Young, wearing a green Keep America Great hat, told The Independent.

Trump Indictment (Copyright 2023. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

They were met by about half their number of counterprotesters, who held their own emergency noise demo to drown out Ms Taylor Greenes hate speech. They rolled out a massive sheet reading TRUMP LIES ALL THE TIME, while the crowd blew whistles, banged on tambourines and blasted loud music across a row of barricades separating them from pro-Trump demonstrators.

In between them stood numerous officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD), enforcing a warning from city mayor Eric Adams that anyone anyone caught participating in any act of violence would be swiftly arrested.

Though we have no specific threats, people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is known to spread misinformation and hate speech  she's stated she's coming to town. While you're in town, be on your best behavior, he said at a press conference on Monday.

(Alex Woodward / The Independent)

Trump arrives in court

Mr Trump reportedly left Trump Tower  the home of the Trump Organization  on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan sometime after 11am, travelling by motorcade to Manhattan Criminal Court in downtown New York.

The former president was be flanked by Secret Service members for his protection and the roads leading to the courthouse were closed for the journey. Security was also ramped up across the city.

On arrival at the court, he first entered Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office  which adjoins the courthouse  where he was officially arrested on criminal charges for the first time.

A supporter of former US president Donald Trump tears up an anti-Trump banner during a protest outside of Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City (AFP/Getty)

Like all defendants in criminal cases, he was processed  with his fingerprints taken and details recorded. However, he was not handcuffed or put in a jail cell, and did not have his mugshot taken. (This did not stop his campaign from putting a fake mugshot on a commemorative T-shirt in a canny fundraising effort.)

Then it was time for Mr Trumps arraignment before New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan. Photographs showed a glum-looking tycoon flanked by numerous NYPD officers as he entered the court, while courtroom artists got the rare opportunity to depict his distinctive visage scowling amid lawyers and guards.

(REUTERS/Manhattan Courts)

The charges were 34 felony counts of falsifying business records over his part in the hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, which prosecutors alleged were part of a wide-ranging and illegla scheme to swing the vote in his favour.

The court hearing itself was brief, and was not broadcast on TV after Judge Merchan made a last-minute ruling to ban video cameras from the courtroom.

Trump rails against charges in primetime address

Of course Mr Trump would not allow the airwaves to go uncontested, and flew straight back to Florida for a primetime address at 8.15pm ET from his Mar-a-Lago estate.

During the speech, he railed against the charges, Mr Bragg and Judge Merchan.

Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday night (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The criminal is the district attorney because he illegally leaked massive amounts of grand jury information, he said to loud applause.

For which he should be prosecuted, or at a minimum he should resign.

He also targeted Mr Braggs wife and Judge Merchan, describing him as the Trump hating-judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter work for Kamala Harris  despite the fact the judge has only just warned him to stop making threatening posts on social media that could inflame tensions or incite violence.

This article was originally published on Tuesday 4 April 2023 and has been updated with new details of events as they happened.
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Gwyneth Paltrow says that a jurys decision that she was not at fault for a 2016 ski accident proved her integrity and she vowed to continue to stand up for whats right.

The Utah jury sided with the Oscar winner on Thursday after just over two hours of deliberation, effectively awarding Ms Paltrow a symbolic $1 and the cost of her legal fees.

They found retired doctor Terry Sanderson, who was seeking $300,000 in damages, 100 per cent at fault for the ski accident.

Gwyneth Paltrow cleared of all fault in high-profile US ski crash lawsuit (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool) (AP)

Were pleased with the outcome and appreciate the judge and jurys consideration. Gwyneth has a history of standing up for whats right and this situation is no different. She will continue to stand up for whats right, the Hollywood stars lawyer Stephen Owens said outside the court.

Mr Sanderson, 76, filed allegations against Ms Paltrow in a 2019 lawsuit, claiming that she crashed into him on the slopes at the luxury Deer Valley Resort near Park City, Utah, on 26 February 2016.

I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity, Ms Paltrow said in a statement issued by her representatives.

I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.

Mr Sanderson had alleged in court that the collision left him with a permanent traumatic brain injury that robbed him of his enjoyment for life.

Ms Paltrow had strongly denied the claims and told the court how it was Mr Sanderson who caused the accident, by running into her from behind and causing them both to crash to the ground in a heap.

She told the jury that at first, she thought that the crash was a sexual assault and froze when a set of skis suddenly forced my legs apart.

The court was told that Ms Paltrow paid almost $9,000 for private ski lessons for her family at the resort and that the trip had been an attempt to blend her family with that of her now-husband Brad Falchuk.
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Gwyneth Paltrow has been seen leaning over and speaking to her defeated lawsuit opponent Terry Sanderson after a Utah jury ruled that she was not responsible for a ski crash between them.

The Hollywood star, 50, was photographed in brief conversation with 76-year-old Mr Sanderson as she left the courtroom following the verdict on Thursday evening.

According to the Associated Press, Mr Sanderson told reporters outside the courtroom that she had touched his shoulder and told him: I wish you well. Mr Sanderson said he responded: Thank you, dear.

The verdict concludes a years-long legal saga in which Mr Sanderson, a retired optometrist, had accused Paltrow of crashing into her on a Utah ski slope in 2016 and sought $300,000 in damages.

He said the incident left him with a permanent traumatic brain injury that robbed him of his enjoyment for life, and much of the lawsuit dug into deeply personal details of his medical situation and psychology.

Paltrows lawyer Steven Owens told the court that his client had become a punching bag for Mr Sanderson and his family, saying: He hurt her and then he asked $3m for the pleasure of it.

After two hours and 20 minutes of deliberation, the jurors concluded that Mr Sanderson was 100 per cent at fault for the ski accident and awarded Paltrow a symbolic $1.

In the aftermath, Paltrow said: I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity. I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.

For his part, Mr Sanderson said he stands by his version of events. Asked what he plans to do now, he joked maybe Disneyland! His lawyer Kristin van Orman said he was a very nice man who is suffering.
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The jury in the high-profile trial of Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has reached a verdict.

Jurors found Terry Sanderson was at fault for the collision with Ms Paltrow on the slopes at the luxury Deer Valley Resort near Park City, Utah, back on 26 February 2016.

The decision comes after two weeks of complex testimony by neurology and brain injury experts for both sides. Eyewitnesses, Deer Valley employees, Ms Paltrows children Apple and Moses, and Mr Sandersons daughters also testified under oath.

Jurors returned a verdict in favour of Ms Paltrow after just over two hours of deliberation, effectively awarding Ms Paltrow a symbolic $1. Judge Holmberg thanked jurors and attorneys in the courtroom for their professionalism before dismissing the court.

The actress did not appear to react as the verdict was returned. She previously said she felt very sorry for Mr Sandersons health decline following the incident, but maintained she had not been at fault and said she had been the victim.

Before leaving the courtroom, Ms Paltrow briefly leaned over Mr Sanderson and appeared to tell him something. She left the courtroom with her security before the other parties to avoid the press.

Gwyneth Paltrow speaks with retired optometrist Terry Sanderson,left, as she walks out of the courtroom following the reading of the verdict in their lawsuit trial, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Park City, Utah (AP)

During closing arguments, Mr Sandersons attorney Lawrence Buhler argued that for 16 hours every day, Mr Sanderson is forced to live with the consequences of his brain injury. Mr Bhuler randomly suggested that jurors considered granting his client $33 per every hour hes suffered from cognitive decline since the accident seven years ago, and for the ten years he is estimated to live.

Im going to suggest a number, you put in the number you think is fair for Terry. The full value of the harm and losses that hes dealing with every day. Im going to say $33, Mr Buhler said.

Meanwhile, defence attorney Steven Owens told the court that his client was a punching bag for Mr Sanderson and his family throughout the proceedings.

He hurt her and then he asked $3m for the pleasure of it, Mr Owens said.

US actress Gwyneth Paltrow reacts to the verdict in the trial over her 2016 ski collision with 76-year-old Terry Sanderson on March 30, 2023, in Park City, Utah (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Owens said Ms Paltrow was trying to make an impression on her children by choosing to bring the lawsuit to trial.

The easy thing for my client was to write a check and be done with it, Mr Owens told jurors. But what does that teach her kids?

The attorney also argued that Mr Sandersons cognitive decline stemmed from ageing and pre-existent conditions, not the concussion he sustained in the ski crash.
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Lolita, a 57-year-old whale, is set to be released from captivity at the Miami Seaquarium in the coming 18 to 24 months  and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay helped make it happen.

The Seaquarium announced on Thursday that it has decided to move Lolita, who was first captured when she was four and is believed to be the worlds oldest orca whale in captivity, out of its facility and into an ocean sanctuary in her native Pacific Northwest.

Mr Irsay, 57, teased the announcement on Twitter on Thursday morning  sharing a photograph of himself eating dinner in Miami Beach and another of the famous whale, who is also known as Tokitae or Toki.

Dinner before todays Lolita press conference in Miami Beach! Mr Irsay tweeted. Key players in the massive plan to finally FREE this 8000 lb killer whale, Lolita!!Stay tuned as this dream unfolds in real time Filmmaker Ryan White to document every incredible step towards FREEDOM

Mr Irsay has reportedly made a significant contribution to the fund to effort to relocate Lolita, and said in a statement reported by People that the story of Lolita has been near and dear to my heart. I am proud  and enthusiastic  to play a role in finally returning Lolita to her native Pacific Northwest.

The agreement to move Lolita back to the Pacific Ocean was struck between The Dolphin Company, the entity that manages the Miami Seaquarium, and Frinds of Lolita  the nonprofit organisation founded to help advocate for Lolitas rights.

The whale, which was captured in the Pacific Ocean and transported to Florida more than a half-century ago, has struggled with various health challenges over the years but has at this point been deemed healthy enough to make the long journey north and west and transition out of captivity.

Eduardo Albor, the CEO of The Dolphin Company, said that Lolitas wellbeing was one of the main reasons his company acquired the Miami Seaquarium in the first place.

It has always been our commitment at The Dolphin Company that we place the highest priority on the well-being of animals, above all else, Mr Albor said. Finding a better future for Lolita is one the reasons that motivated us to acquire the Miami Seaquarium.

Advocates have been campaigning for an improved quality of life for Tokitae for years. In 2021, the USDA released a report outlining how the Seaquarium had failed to properly care for the whale  leaving dirty water in her tank, failing to give her a place to shelter from the direct sun, and feeding her rotten fish that led to health problems. She has also reportedly been living in the smallest whale enclosure on the continent.

There is other evidence to hint at the brutality of life at the Seaquarium. Lolita used to share her tank with another whale, Hugo, but he died in 1980 of a brain aneurysm after repeatedly ramming himself against the walls of hte enclosure.

Little is known about the nature of the ocean sanctuary that awaits Lolita, but the Seaquarium said it hopes to release her within the next two years.
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Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has emerged victorious from a defamation lawsuit filed against her by her half-sister Samantha Markle.

The actor and estranged royal had been accused by her relative of spreading malicious lies during an explosive 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey and alleged statements to journalists in 2020.

But on Thursday a Florida judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying that Ms Markles statements were pure opinion and not capable of being proved false.

"As a reasonable listener would understand it, Defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings," wrote US District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell her order.

"Thus, the Court finds that Defendants statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof.... Plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove Defendants opinion of her own childhood."

It is only the latest instance of fallout from Ms Markle and her husband Prince Harry's bitter schism with the British royal family, which they accuse of failing to support them against intrusive and racist treatment by the country's media.

Samantha Markle filed her lawsuit in March 2022, alleging that Ms Markle had defamed her by giving information to an unauthorised biography called Finding Freedom and by discussing their relationship with Ms Winfrey on live TV.

According to Judge Honeywell's order, which was reported earlier by The Daily Beast, Finding Freedom had claimed that Samantha Markle had barely known her half-sister growing up, had "never been close" to her, and had been "handsomely paid" for an unflattering tabloid news story.

Later, asked by Ms Winfrey for her thoughts on Samantha, Ms Markle said: "When you talk about betrayal, betrayal comes from someone that you have a relationship with...

"But I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wished I had siblings. I would have loved to have had siblings."

When Ms Winfrey suggested the pair "weren't close" and "didn't grow up together", Ms Markle responded: "No."

Samantha disputed this, alleging that the pair had a "wonderful relationship" during childhood and that she had "regularly driven [Ms Marke] to school and helped her with her homework".

However, Judge Honeywell ruled that since no reasonable viewer would believe Ms Markle was suggesting she had no half-siblings or was not related to Samantha, those statements were simply descriptions of her subjective experience that could not constitute defamation.

Regarding the book, Judge Honeywell said Ms Markle could not be held liable for its contents because she did not publish it.
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When Vice President Kamala Harris touches down in Lusaka, Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, shell see a glittering new airport thats doubled in size.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, its a reminder of Chinas deep influence there. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent that's rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt. Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Bidens administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijings sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition. However, she acknowledged theres limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent.

I do think theres a window, and we have made a concerted, intentional effort to demonstrate our commitment and our willingness to invest in a relationship, she told reporters earlier in the trip. I do believe the window is definitely open now, and I do believe that based on what we do now, the window will continue to be open. But it will be a function of the investments that we make starting now to create the momentum that is necessary for this approach to endure.

Chinas roots in both Tanzania and Zambia run deep. In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzanias Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

Today, China is Africas largest two-way trading partner with $254 billion of business in 2021, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Thats four times the amount of trade between the U.S. and Africa. In addition, dealing with Beijing features less admonishments about democracy than with Washington.

Most African countries are rightly unapologetic about their close ties to China, Nigerias vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, tweeted on Thursday. China shows up where and when the West will not and or are reluctant.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has worked on Africa issues in Congress, expressed frustration over Chinas growing influence here.

We switched from being the No. 1 trade partner or the No. 1 investment partner in two dozen countries, to China being the No. 1 trade and investment partner, he told reporters aboard Air Force 2 on the flight to Ghana at the beginning of Harris trip. I think our challenge for this decade is to address that.

Biden has been taking steps toward that, such as hosting a summit for African leaders in December, where he announced that he wants to commit $55 billion to the continent in the coming years.

Harris has made announcements as well during her trip, including more than $1 billion in public and private money for economic development, $100 million for security assistance in West Africa and $500 million to facilitate trade with Tanzania.

However, theres skepticism about whether the U.S. will follow through on its promises, and Harris has been faced with not-so-subtle hints that Africa expects more. For example, the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania bluntly said they hope Biden chooses to visit their countries during his expected trip to Africa later this year, which would be his first to the continent as president.

By comparison, Tanzania was among the first countries that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited after becoming president in 2013. And after Xi secured a third term, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African head of state to visit Beijing.

Kamala faces Chinese dominance in Tanzania, the Tanzania Business Insight publication tweeted Wednesday.

Ian Johnson, a former China-based journalist who works at the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Beijing presents a powerful narrative in the developing world as a country that rapidly built its economy and pulled much of its population out of poverty.

African leaders think lets see what we can learn from China, he said, adding that theres a certain fascination in how they did it.

Johnson also said China views Africa differently than the U.S.

We have a tendency to see Africa as a series of problems  wars, famines, something like that, he said. "But in Chinas eyes, Africa is much more of an opportunity.

Edem Selormey, who conducts public opinion research at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, said the feeling is often mutual.

Chinas influence in Africa is largely seen as positive, she said. And the U.S. trails China in that regard.

The difference, she said, is often about what citizens see on the ground, such as infrastructure projects, and the U.S. has been missing from this picture for a while.

John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the debt that comes from Chinas involvement is ultimately corrosive. He said African leaders are beginning to realize that China is not really their friend.

Chinas interests in the region are purely selfish, as opposed to the United States, he said.

Its a sentiment that draws scoffs in some corners of Africa.

America is like playing the role of a big Uncle Sam in trying to defend African countries against what they think is the encroachment of China into the liberty of African countries through these loans, said Tanzania-based analyst Mohamed Issa Hemed.

However, he added, China is ahead of the U.S. in many, many ways."

Daniel Russel, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, summed up the African perspective as enough with the lectures about China. Theyve got something we want. And theyve got it right here.

When it comes to U.S. hopes for Africa, he said, you cant beat something with nothing.

___ Anna reported from Nairobi, Kenya, and Meldrum from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.
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The goal of silencing the guns in Africa this decade is being challenged by climate change, terrorism, coups and the continents history, the head of the African Union initiative told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.

Attaining the goal is at risk even after the date was pushed back once to 2030, Mohamed Ibn Chambas said. He pointed to constitutional, institutional and cultural challenges as well as Africas vulnerability to global economic shocks  and weak implementation of international, national and regional decisions on peace, security and development.

Silencing the guns was a key initiative in the vision for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa adopted by AU leaders in May 2013. Called Agenda 2063, it originally stated that all guns would be silenced in 2023, but in December 2020 the AU decided to extend the date to 2030.

Thats the same year the United Nations set to achieve its 17 major development goals that are also lagging, including ending poverty, ensuring secondary education for all children, achieving gender equality, and providing affordable and clean energy.

Chambas told the Security Council that when AU leaders adopted the silencing the guns initiative they were motivated by the desire to bequeath future generations of Africans a continent free of wars and conflicts.

The objective was to work toward an Africa at peace with itself and with the rest of the world, he said, but today multiple challenges have put that goal at risk, starting with the widening gap between rich and poorer nations, and between elites and marginalized people and communities within countries.

For example, Chambas said, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed 55 million Africans into poverty in 2020 and reversed more than two decades of progress in poverty reduction on the continent. He said equally alarming is the fact that 15 African countries are reportedly at risk of debt distress, and today the continents debt is more than $600 billion.

Chambas urged stepped up efforts to reduce inequalities and make new investments in education, technology and health while ensuring Africas young population could attain decent jobs. He also urged a crackdown on illegal financial flows that deprive the continent of approximately $90 billion annually.

He said Africa should shift from exporting raw materials to exporting manufactured goods and processed agricutural products, which would require investment in cross-border infrastruture. Chambas said Africa should produce its own food, calling it untenable, that a continent with 60% of the worlds remaining arable lands and many rivers and freshwater bodies is dependent on grain imports.

The AU high representative for implementing the silencing the guns initiative said achieving the goal also depends on addressing recent coups and unconstitutional changes in government and countering the scourge of terrorism, and the internal and external factors causing conflict and instability in Africa.

Armed conflict looms large across the continent. Jihadi insurgencies plague Somalia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Burkina Faso which had two coups last year, and Mali whose leader seized power in a 2020 coup. The extremist violence threatened to spread to even more countries while militias continue fighting in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

Mozambiques President Filipe Nyusi, who chaired the council meeting, told members on Tuesday that the global terrorism threat remains more critical in Africa. He pointed to one global terrorism index that showed 40% of victims last year were African and called the Sahel region "the new epicenter of terrorist attacks.

Chambas said he believes Mozambiques successful peace process with former rebel movement Renamo could be a model for lesson sharing on our continent  a view echoed by Mirko Manzoni, the personal envoy of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Mozambique.

Nyusi urged all African leaders on Thursday to resolve the causes that lead to feelings of injustice, social inequality and exclusion that fuel conflicts, and to fast track the silencing of the guns once and for all.
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Australia remains deeply concerned that Australian journalist Cheng Lei has not learned of a verdict a year after standing trial in China on national security charges, the foreign minister said on Friday.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong marked the first anniversary of the closed trial in Beijing with a statement that said her government had advocated at every opportunity for Ms. Cheng to be reunited with her family.

She is still waiting to learn the outcome of the trial, Wong said. We share the deep concerns of Ms. Chengs family and friends about the ongoing delays in her case.

Our thoughts today are with Ms. Cheng and her loved ones, particularly her two children, she added. The children live with family in the Australian city of Melbourne.

The anniversary comes as troubled relations between China and Australia show signs of improvement since Wongs center-left Labor Party came to power at elections last year.

Cheng, 47, was born in China and was a journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television. She was detained in August 2019 and accused by China of sharing state secrets.

In January, Wong also marked the anniversary of China's detention of Chinese-Australian writer and blogger Yang Hengjun, who has been held since arriving in 2019 in southern Chinas Guangzhou from New York with his wife and 14-year-old stepdaughter.

Her statement than said Australia's government was deeply troubled by the delays in China resolving espionage allegations. Yang, 57, faced a closed trial on an espionage charge in Beijing in May 2021 and is still waiting for a verdict.

Wong raised the cases of Yang and Cheng with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in December when she became to first Australian foreign minister to visit China in four years.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also raised their cases in November when he took part in the first formal bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping by an Australian government leader since 2016.

China has begun accepting shipments of Australian coal in recent weeks for the first time since late 2020 in a sign of thawing bilateral relations since Australias former conservative administration was ousted after nine years in power.

___

Find more of APs Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
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Donald Trump has become the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal.

The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign catapults the now-candidate Trump into a new era of legal risk and complicates his attempts to return to the White House.

Here's what to know about the indictment and the case:

THE FORMER PRESIDENT COULD HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD

Trump now faces threats to his freedom after decades of legal investigations that have never resulted in serious consequences.

The Manhattan district attorney's office said Thursday that prosecutors had reached out to Trump's lawyers to arrange for him to surrender, which could happen early next week. Trump is expected to appear at the prosecutor's office to be processed and fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken. He is also expected to appear in court, when a judge would list the charges and Trump would enter a plea.

He will have to contend with a criminal case while running again for the White House, taking time and attention away from the campaign trail  though neither the case nor a conviction would preclude him from seeking or winning the presidency in 2024.

The indictment comes as he is facing several other investigations that could lead to legal problems for the former president. Those pending cases, along with a civil trial that's scheduled to start in New York next month over a columnists claims that Trump raped her in the 1990s, add to an ever-growing cloud of scandals surrounding him.

CASE STEMS FROM HUSH MONEY PAID TO WOMEN

The grand jury in Manhattan had been probing hush money payments at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, one of the witnesses who testified, says he orchestrated payments totaling $280,000 to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors said the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trumps campaign. But they declined to file charges against Trump himself.

The Manhattan district attorneys office appeared to be investigating whether anyone committed crimes in arranging the payments, or in the way they accounted for them internally at the Trump Organization. But the specific charges remained under seal late Thursday.

TRUMP MAINTAINS HIS INNOCENCE

Trump, who denies the sexual encounters, called the indictment political persecution and an attempt to interfere in his presidential campaign.

Calling himself a completely innocent person, he cast the indictment as the latest in a line of actions that he says are designed to destroy his Make America Great Again movement, including his two presidential impeachments and the FBI search of his home that turned up classified documents.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, he said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Trump said his arrest was imminent and called on his supporters to protest. Last week, he warned about potential death and destruction if he were charged. His words evoked his comments ahead of the violent Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump did not repeat his call to protest Thursday, but police forces around the country are on guard for potential unrest.

OTHER INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE

Beyond the Manhattan case, Trump is facing an array of other investigations.

On the federal level, the Justice Department is investigating the retention of top-secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The efforts by many of the same players in the latter case were also the subject of a special grand jury investigation in Georgia. The panel's foreperson said the special grand jury recommended multiple criminal indictments, leaving it up to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, to decide whether to convene a regular grand jury and pursue criminal charges.

With many serious cases looming around the other investigations, some legal experts have questioned the wisdom of the Manhattan case becoming the first to result in charges.

TRUMPS RIVALS CONDEMN INDICTMENT

Trump has said the charges would actually help him in the 2024 presidential race and has tried to use the case to galvanize support. Last weekend, at the first rally of the campaign, he cast the Manhattan investigation and the other probes as the latest in a long line of political attacks against him. His campaign handed out signs that said Witch Hunt as Trump told his supporters that the legal challenges were also an attack on his followers and his political movement.

Some Republican and independent voters could see the case, at the very least, as another example of problematic baggage that has followed Trump for years and has been a distraction. The news was expected to only fortify existing Democratic opposition to Trump.

Republicans who are running against Trump or who are considering their own campaigns were quick to rally to criticize the case and attack Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, even if they didn't address the underlying allegations against Trump.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce a campaign and is seen as Trumps top rival for the GOP nomination, called the indictment un-American. Former Vice President Mike Pence, also considering a challenge to Trump in 2024, called the indictment an outrage."

GOP LAWMAKERS TARGET PROSECUTOR

Republicans framed the arrest as a political prosecution by a rogue Democratic district attorney who they said was weaponizing the criminal justice system.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the House will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

Some of Trump's fiercest supporters came to his defense. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, two names floated as potential Trump running mates, said hes innocent.

BIDEN, DEMOCRATS HAVE LITTLE TO SAY

Democrats were less vocal in the hours after the indictment became known, but some of the former president's critics have framed the case as a long-overdue dose of accountability.

President Joe Biden, who is expected to announce hes running for reelection next year, has not commented on the indictment.

The Democratic National Committee did not comment on the specifics of the case but sought to yoke the entire GOP to Trump.

No matter what happens in Trumps upcoming legal proceedings, its obvious the Republican Party remains firmly in the hold of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, DNC National Press Secretary Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not immediately comment, though some lesser-known House members welcomed the news.

I continue to believe that every American elected official and leader should be held fully accountable for their actions and crimes, said Rep. Harley Rouda of California.

Finally, today, Donald Trumps chickens have come home to roost, said Rep. Raul Grijalva, who represents a safe district in Arizona. But his fellow Arizonan, Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for the Senate, was more measured: We should wait to hear from the grand jury before jumping to conclusions.

___

Cooper reported from Phoenix.
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In 1977, Associated Press reporter James W. Mangan's exclusive interview with a South Texas election judge who detailed certifying false votes for Lyndon B. Johnson nearly three decades earlier made headlines across the country.

With the win by an 87-vote margin in the 1948 Democratic primary runoff, Johnson, then a congressman, easily defeated his Republican opponent to take a seat in the U.S. Senate, and he eventually ascended to the presidency.

Mangan spent three years pursuing the story, which pulled back the curtain on the victory that had drawn suspicions ever since election officials in rural Jim Wells County announced the discovery of uncounted votes in ballot box known as Box 13.

Headlines across the U.S. that accompanied the story included: Polling Official: Phony Votes Stole 48 Runoff for LBJ; LBJs election to Senate stolen; Texan Claims Fix in LBJ Election.

Here's the story that ran July 31, 1977:

___

A former Texas voting official seeking peace of mind says he certified enough fictitious ballots to steal an election 29 years ago and launch Lyndon B. Johnson on a path that led to the presidency.

The statement comes from Luis Salas, who was the election judge for Jim Wells County's notorious Box 13, which produced just enough votes in the 1948 Texas Democratic primary runoff to give Johnson the nomination, then tantamount to election, to the U.S. Senate.

Johnson did not win the election; It was stolen for him. And I know exactly how it was done, said Salas, now a lean, white-haired 76; then a swarthy 210-pound political henchman with absolute say over vote counts in his Mexican-American, South Texas, precinct.

The controversy over that runoff election has been a subject of tantalizing conjecture for nearly three decades, ever since U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black abruptly halted an investigation, but the principals have been silent. George B. Parr, the South Texas political boss whom Salas served for a decade, shot himself to death in June 1975. Johnson is dead and so is his opponent. Salas, retired from his railroad telegrapher's job, is among the few living persons with direct knowledge of the election.

Johnson's widow, Lady Bird, was informed of Salas' statements and said through a spokeswoman that she knows no more about the details of the 1948 election other than that charges were made at the time, carried through several courts and finally to a justice at the Supreme Court.

The Associated Press interviewed Salas frequently during the past three years, seeking answers to questions that, save for rumors, were left unanswered. Only recently did Salas agree to tell his full version of what happened. In his soft Spanish accent, Salas said that he decided to break his silence in quest of peace of mind and to reveal to the people the corruption of politics.

Salas says now that he lied during an aborted investigation of the election in 1948, when he testified that the vote count was proper and above board. I was just going along with my party," he says.

He told the AP that Parr ordered that 200-odd votes be added to Johnson's total from Box 13. Salas said he saw the fraudulent votes added in alphabetical order and then certified them as authentic on orders from Parr.

The final statewide count, including Box 13 votes, gave Johnson an 87-vote margin in a total tally approaching 1 million and earned him the tongue-in-cheek nickname: Landslide Lyndon.

Texas Democrats were split in 1948. Johnson, then 39, a congressman, represented new Democrats in his bid for the U.S. Senate. His primary opponent was Coke R. Stevenson  60 years old, three times Texas governor, never beaten and the candidate of the old wing of the party. They called him Calculating Coke.

The vote in the July primary was Stevenson 477,077, Johnson 405,617. But a third candidate, George Petty, siphoned off enough votes to deny Stevenson a majority, forcing a runoff between Stevenson and Johnson, set for Aug. 28, 1948.

In the interim, Johnson intensified his campaign. One of the places he went stumping was the hot, flat, brush country of South Texas, George B. Parr country, where the Mexican-American vote seemed always to come, favoring Parr's candidate, in a bloc.

The power had passed to Parr from his father, Archie, a state senator who had sided with Mexican-Americans in a 1912 battle with Anglos over political control in Duval County. The younger Parr was known as the Duke of Duval.

Salas said he was Parr's right-hand man in Jim Wells County from 1940 to 1950, but quit over Parr's failure to support a fellow Mexican-American who had been charged with murder.

We had the law to ourselves there, Salas said. "It was a lawless son-of-a-bitch. We had iron control. If a man was opposed to us, we'd put him out of business. Parr was the godfather. He had life or death control.

We could tell any election judge: Give us 80 per cent of the vote, the other guy 20 per cent. We had it made in every election."

The night of the runoff, Jim Wells County's vote was wired to the Texas Election Bureau, the unofficial tabulating agency: Johnson 1,786, Stevenson 769.

Three days after the runoff, with Stevenson narrowly leading and the seesaw count nearly complete, Salas said, a meeting was called in Parr's office 10 miles from Alice. Salas said he met with George B. Parr; Lyndon Johnson; Ed Lloyd, a Jim Wells County Democratic Executive Committee member; and Bruce Ainsworth, an Alice city commissioner. Lloyd and Ainsworth like Johnson and Parr, now are dead.

Salas told the AP:

"Lyndon Johnson said: If I can get 200 more votes, Ive got it won.'

Parr said to me in Spanish: We need to win this election. I want you to add those 200 votes. I had already turned in my poll and tally sheets to Givens Parr, George's brother.

I told Parr in Spanish: I dont give a damn if Johnson wins.'

Parr then said: Well, for sure youre going to certify what we do.

I told him I would, because I didn't want anybody to think I'm not backing up my party. I said I would be with the party to the end. After Parr I and I talked in Spanish, Parr told Johnson 200 votes would be added. When I left, Johnson knew we were going to take care of the situation.

Salas said he saw two men add the names to the list of voters, about 9 o'clock at night, in the Adams Building in Alice. He said the two were just following orders and he would not identify them.

The AP interview then produced this exchange:

Q. When you told Parr you would certify the votes, he said he would get someone else to actually add the names?

A. Yeah. And I actually saw them do it. I was right there when they added the names.

Q. Were all 200 names in the same handwriting?

A. Oh, yeah. They all came from the poll taxes, I mean, from the poll tax sheet.

Q. But some were dead?

A. No one was dead. They just didn't vote.

Q. So you voted them?

A. They voted them.

Q. You certified?

A. I certified. So did the Democratic County chairman. I kept my word to be loyal to my party.

Q. Had some of those names already voted?

A. No, they didn't vote in that election. They added 'em. They made a mistake of doing it alphabetically.

Q. They added them alphabetically, as though they had walked in to vote alphabetically?

A. Yeah, that's what I told George B., and he wouldn't listen to me. I said: Look at the A, you add 10 or 12 names on that letter. Why dont you change it to the other, C or D or X, mix em up? George said, Thats all right.' George was stubborn. He would not listen to anybody. But it was stupid. They went to the poll tax list and got those names. For instance, on the A they got 10 or 12 names.

Q. People who had not voted?

A. That's right. they went on the B the same way, until they complete 200, and I told George, Thats wrong.'

Q. While they were doing it you told him?

A. Yeah, and he said: Its OK.'

Q. They should have changed the handwriting?

A. How? Only two guys? How they going to change it? The lawyers spotted it right away, they sure did.

Six days after the runoff, with Stevenson still holding a narrow lead in the statewide count, a second telegram was sent, changing Jim Wells County's vote to: Johnson 1,988, Stevenson, 770.

Johnson gained 202 votes; Stevenson 1. They came from Box 13.

The next day, the official statewide vote canvass gave Johnson 494,191 and Stevenson 494,104.

Stevenson protested. Johnson said that if Stevenson had evidence, it was his duty to go to a grand jury. I know that I did not buy anybody's vote, Johnson said.

Stevenson went to federal court in Fort Worth and, on Sept. 14, Judge T. Whitfield Davidson signed a temporary restraining order forbidding certification of Johnson as the Democratic nominee. The judge ordered an on-the-spot probe of voting in Jim Wells County.

When that inquiry began, on Sept. 27, reporters from around the country showed up in Alice. By then it was national news.

The same day, in Washington, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Black agreed to hear Johnson's petition to lift the injection. Johnson's attorney was Abe Fortas, in later years a Johnson appointee to the high court.

Stevenson was in Alice that day; Johnson was on President Harry S. Truman's campaign train. During a campaign stop in Temple, Tex., Truman brought Johnson to his side and publicly endorsed him as the next senator from Texas. Also on the train at San Antonio that day, according to Salas, were Parr, who had received a presidential pardon from Truman in 1946 after serving nine months on an income tax conviction, and Lloyd, the Jim Wells County executive committeeman.

Salas told the AP he was summoned the next day by Lloyd and told: Luis, everything is all right. We talked to Truman on the train. Don't worry about the investigation.

Two days later, Justice Black, in an order he dated himself in longhand, voided the temporary injunction against putting Johnson's name on the ballot and ended the investigation. Black said, It would be a serious break with the past for a federal court to determine an election contest.

Stevenson had lost; Johnson had won.

That ended Stevenson's political career. He retired to his Hill Country ranch, insisting until he died in 1975 that the election had been stolen from him. Johnson became a power in Congress, and 15 years later he was president.
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A Delaware judge has denied a motion for summary judgment from Fox News in a defamation case brought against the company from Dominion Voting Systems, the subject of baseless conspiracy theories tied to the 2020 presidential election that made their way on the networks airwaves.

A ruling in Delaware Superior Court on 31 March grants Dominion a partial victory in its motion for summary judgment in the blockbuster, $1.6bn lawsuit against the network, which the judge determined broadcast false statements.

Both sides sought a pretrial ruling from Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis to declare them the winner and avoid a high-profile trial, which will begin next month. Jury selection is scheduled for 13 April.

In a partial ruling in Dominions favour, the court determined that statements made on Fox News were presented as statements of fact, not statements of opinion, for which Fox News is responsible. But the court left open whether a jury would find its parent company Fox Corporation responsible.

The court also determined that Dominion is entitled to summary judgment for its defamation claims, but it will be up to the jury to determine whether actual malice is involved, the legal standard established by the US Supreme Court in defamation cases involving public figures alleged to have knowingly presented false claims or made them with reckless disregard for the truth.

Through its extensive proof, Dominion has met its burden of showing there is no genuine issue of material fact as to falsify. Fox therefore had the burden to show an issue of material fact existed in turn. Fox failed to meet its burden, the judge ruled in part.

The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true, he added. Therefore, the Court will grant summary judgment in favor of Dominion on the element of falsity.

It will be up to a jury, then, to determine whether Fox News defamed Dominion by repeatedly platforming false claims that the company manipulated the outcome of the 2020 presidential election to ensure Donald Trumps loss.

The network and Fox Corporation have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and argued that statements on air were protected by the First Amendment and, because they were supported by the former president in his spurious efforts to overturn election results, those claims were newsworthy.

This case is and always has been about the First Amendment protections of the medias absolute right to cover the news, a Fox spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Independent. Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings.

A statement from Dominion said the company looks forward to a trial, and is gratified by the courts thorough ruling soundly rejecting all of Foxs arguments and defenses, and finding as a matter of law that their statements about Dominion are false.

Private admissions detailed in court filings show text messages, emails and sworn testimony among Fox News personalities and executives questioning or ridiculing unreliable guests and dubious arguments about the company and the 2020 election while at the same time conceding that publicly rejecting those claims would risk alienating Fox viewers.

The behind-the-scenes revelations, stitched together in Dominions sprawling case alleging a media empire that relies on lying to its audience, has painted a much-larger picture of the Fox organisation, its decision making, and its concerns over declining viewership with competition from other right-wing networks that indulged the former presidents conspiracy theories.

In legal briefs, attorneys for Fox News have argued that news organisations have an obligation to air newsworthy allegations, especially those from a sitting president.

The hurdles for actual malice are outlined in Supreme Court precedent established in The New York Times v Sullivan, a landmark press freedom case from 1964 that has also been at the centre of right-wing attacks on the media, including recent lawsuits from Sarah Palin and Donald Trump, who have sought to strip that precedent, rather than defend it, in the case of Fox News.
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When Donald Trump arrives in a Manhattan court room to be arraigned on yet-to-be unsealed charges stemming from a 2016 hush-money scheme meant to keep voters from learning about a decade-old affair before the 2016 presidential election, it will be the first step in what could be a long and drawn-out process leading to a trial in the city he called home for most of his life.

Thus far, the ex-presidents reaction to his newfound criminal jeopardy has been to exhibit the same defiance and bluster that characterised how he faced previous investigations into his conduct.

His first reaction to the news that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had obtained a grand jury indictment against him came in a poorly-spelled post on his Truth Social website late Thursday, in which the ex-president wrote: These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President.

Switching to all uppercase letters, he added: THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!

While many criminal defendants choose to accept deals in which they plead guilty to avoid a trial, often in exchange for significant concessions from prosecutors, Mr Trump is not expected to consider any such agreement.

Joe Tacopina, the New York-based criminal defence attorney who represents Mr Trump, said he would not entertain plea negotiations during an appearance on NBC News Friday morning.

President Trump will not take a plea deal in this case. Its not going to happen. Theres no crime. I dont know if its going to make the trial because we have substantial legal challenges, he said.

Mr Trumps refusal to accept a plea deal means it could be well into next year  or later  before his criminal trial begins.

After his initial appearance, prosecutors will begin to turn over evidence against him that they intend to use at trial in a process called discovery. His attorneys will also have the opportunity to file motions to dismiss the indictment by challenging the propriety of the charges against him.

That process could take up a significant amount of time and delay any trial for an unknown period of time.
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Former speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi released a somber statement after a grand jury indicted in Manhattan indicted former president Donald Trump.

But Ms Pelosi, who led House Democrats in the minority during Mr Trumps first two years as president and served as Speaker in his final two years, avoided mentioning his name.

The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.

A grand jury in Manhattan has indicted the former president for allegedly paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about a sexual relationship. Mr Trump has denied the affair took place. The grand jurors voted to indict Mr Trump earlier this week, and the indictment was only filed late on Thursday right before the court clerks office ended its business that day.

The one-term president is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.

Ms Pelosi led the House of Representatives when it impeached Mr Trump both times.

In 2019, the House voted to impeach Mr Trump after he tried to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in exchange for sending military assistance to Ukraine. The Senate later acquitted Mr Trump with only Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah joining every Democrat in voting to convict the president.

In 2021, Ms Pelosi led the House in its second impeachment of Mr Trump after the former president incited his supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6 during the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, when every Democrat and 10 Republicans voted to impeach the former president. The Senate voted to acquit the former president, but six other Republican senators joined Mr Romney in voting to convict Mr Trump.

Since then, Ms Pelosi has avoided speaking about Mr Trump by name. In November, when she gave her farewell address, she mentioned how she worked with Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama as well as Republican George W Bush but did not mention Mr Trump.
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Donald Trump has veered from making golden handcuff jokes to anger after being indicted on criminal charges over hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

Insiders at Mar-a-Lago revealed that  in the days before the indictment was handed down  Mr Trump had been in high spirits and was joking with aides about the looming charges.

But, the insiders told The Washington Post that the atmosphere soon changed on Thursday when he learned the Manhattan grand jury had voted to indict him.

Instead, Mr Trumps mood quickly became deflated and irritated.

Mr Trump and Melania Trump were seen stepping out of their Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida not long after the news broke  as a small group of MAGA supporters gathered outside the former presidents home.

Local media reported that police were stationed outside the front gate of Mar-a-Lago a few hours before the former president was indicted by a New York grand jury.

A few dozen people also reportedly showed up to offer support to Mr Trump, waving Trump and MAGA flags.

The crowd played the song God Bless the USA, CNN reported.

Mr Trump is the first former president in US history to face criminal charges after the Manhattan grand jury investigating his role in a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels voted to indict him.

It is not clear what the charges are but he was under investigation for falsifying business records stemming from the payments which were allegedly to prevent her from revealing an affair he had with her before the 2016 election.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the former president called key allies on Capitol Hill to shore up support before his indictment  including members of House GOP leadership and lawmakers.

It was reported that Mr Trump told his allies that he plans to fight the charges.

This is literally legal voodoo, this is political persecution, this is a combination of political hatred and selective prosecution on steroids, Republican senator Lindsey Graham said on Fox News.

He added: Give the president some money to fight this bulls**t.

Meanwhile, Alvin Bragg said in a statement on Thursday that his office has been in touch with Mr Trumps attorneys over the former presidents surrender.

This evening we contacted Mr Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected, Mr Bragg said.

For the first time in our countrys history, a president (current or former) of the United States has been indicted. I take no pride in issuing this statement and wish to also remind everyone of the presumption of innocence; as provided by the due process clause, Michael Cohen said in a statement reported by Maggie Haberman of The New York Times.
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Eric Trump, the second-eldest son of former President Donald Trump, is being roundly mocked on Twitter after linking his fathers criminal indictment to pharmacies shoplifting protections in an interview on Fox News.

This is a city  I spend a lot of time in New York  that is falling apart, Mr Trump said. I went into literally CVS the other day, and you cant buy Tylenol because its locked behind these glass counters because theres so much theft, theres so much looting and homelessness and crime, but yet their attention is going after Donald Trump.

Mr Trumps apparent belief that New York prosecutors like Alvin Bragg should be concentrating their attention on making sure pharmacies like CVS feel free to display their Tylenol in the open air struck some as laughable.

So he doesnt like seeing the anything through locked glass? Well, hes in for a surprise in the very near future, Kathy Gori tweeted.

Target only allows you to purchase 5 packs of Yugioh cards at once, but this is what district attorney Alvin Bragg is focused on? Marty Shannon tweeted.

Others mocked Mr Trumps confusing use of literally in his anecdote.

Donald Trump and a number of his family members, including Eric Trumps sibilings Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, have reacted with a mixture of fury and dismay to news of the former presidents indictment for his alleged involvement in a hush-money payment scheme.

Mr Trump is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday 4 April, at which time the reportedly 30-plus charges he is facing will be unsealed. Mr Trump is the first former American president ever to be indicted on criminal charges, and the indictment comes as Mr Trump is seeking to reclaim the White House in 2024.

It is as of yet unclear how the indictment might impact Mr Trumps chances of political success next year. The New York Times reported Friday that a lawyer for the former president said he is not prepared to take a plea deal and is prepared to go to trial in the case.
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Donald Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury on Thursday for charges relating to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election, a source told The Independent.

The indictment, which has not been unsealed, marks the first time a current or former US president has been hit with criminal charges.

The news was met with apparent shock at Fox News, where a crew member appeared to be caught on a hot microphone gasping and saying, What? as the indictment was announced on air.

The network played a prominent role in the rise of Mr Trump, and continued to air many of his false 2020 election claims, though emails in a defamation suit against Fox suggest top newsroom leaders knew these claims were false.

In a statement to The New York Times, the former president called the indictment Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.

In recent days, Mr Trump, who previously publicly announced he thought he would soon be arrested, began telling members of the press that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had dropped what he called the fake case.

Many shared with Fox News the apparent surprise that the former president was charged.

Its really on, former US attorney Preet Bharara wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

Others celebrated the indictment.

Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who represents a district near Manhattan, said in a statement that the reported New York indictment is only the beginning of Donald Trump being held accountable for his crimes.

Trump attempt to illegally overturn election results in Georgia and worked to incite the insurrection at the Capitol, both in an effort to overthrow our government to advance his fascist cause, Mr Bowman, a Democrat, continued. His continued calls for protests following his arrest are just another dog whistle to his folloers: destroy our democracy.

On the Republican side, Trump ally Jim Jordan of Ohio called the indictment outrageous.

Texas congressman Ronny Jackson, the former presidents White House physician, said the charges would inspire revenge.

This is a dark day in American history, he wrote on Twitter. President Trumps only crime was MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! These cowardly Democrats HATE Trump and HATE his voters even more. When Trump wins, THESE PEOPLE WILL PAY!!

Donald Trump, Jr, wrote on Truth Social that the indictment marked a weaponisation of our [government] against their political enemies.

Michael Cohen, the former presidents former attorney and fixer, who facilitated the hush money payments to Ms Daniels and another woman, both of whom claimed affairs with Mr Trump, wrote in a statement on Thursday he takes solace in validating the adage that no one is above the law; not even a former President.Todays indictment is not the end of this chapter; but rather, just the beginning, he added.
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The Manhattan prosecutor leading a criminal investigation into long-running allegations of fraud and malfeasance involving Donald Trump has made history as the first to prosecute a former president.

The office of New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is legally barred from discussing the actions of the grand jury that voted to indict Mr Trump, has largely refrained from public comment.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump and his allies have bombarded Mr Braggs office with claims of election interference or invoked baseless conspiracy theories, including antisemitic and racist attacks, that accuse Mr Bragg of leading a politically motivated case against the 2024 candidate for president.

At the centre of those attacks is a claim that Jewish billionaire philanthropist George Soros is either directly funding Mr Bragg or directing his investigation at the expense of the lives of Black New Yorkers. Both claims are false; Mr Soros himself does not even know Mr Bragg, and his philanthropic arm did not directly donate to him or his campaign.

I think some on the right would rather focus on far-fetched conspiracy theories than on the serious charges against the former president, Mr Soros told Semafor.

A spokesperson for Mr Soros also said the two men have never communicated in any way.

Mr Soros, who survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary, has supported a number of progressive and liberal political causes through his donations to the Open Society Foundations.

Manhattans first-ever Black district attorney was overwhelmingly elected to the role in 2021. His successful campaign was supported by the political action committee affiliated with Color of Change, a nonprofit advocacy group that promotes criminal justice reform and other racial justice causes.

Between 2016 and 2022, Mr Soros and a political action committee together contributed roughly $4m to Color of Changes PAC, according to a spokesperson. Mr Soros contributed $1m in 2021. None of those funds were earmarked for Mr Bragg or his campaign.

Color of Change pledged to spend $1m on direct mailers, on-the-ground campaigning and voter turnout efforts on Mr Braggs behalf  not funneling money into his campaign directly  but ended up spending roughly $500,000, or about 11 per cent of its $4.6m in spending in the 2021-2022 election cycle, according to Open Secrets.

The Open Society Policy Center also supported Color of Changes nonprofit arm with $7m in contributions in 2021, part of a five-year $220m investment in racial justice efforts that support Black-led organisations, according to a statement from the Open Society. That grant stipulates that no OSPC funding can be used for partisan or political activities.

Mr Soross son Jonathan Soros and his wife Jennifer Allan Soros each contributed $10,000 to Mr Braggs campaign during the Democratic primary election for district attorney in 2021.

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, George Soros explained his support for reform-minded prosecutors, arguing for greater investments in mental health professionals to address crisis situations and youth programmes and education opportunities for incarcerated people.

This is why I have supported the election (and more recently the re-election) of prosecutors who support reform, he said in the op-ed. I have done it transparently, and I have no intention of stopping. The funds I provide enable sensible reform-minded candidates to receive a hearing from the public.

Still, for years the name Soros has been a dog whistle or shorthand for a sprawling, centuries-old antisemitic conspiracy theory alleging a global Jewish plot to manipulate political and financial systems. The Anti-Defamation League notes that even if no antisemitic insinuation is intended, the implication that a Jewish individual is a puppet master can have the effect of mainstreaming antisemitic tropes.

Those conspiracy theories often intersect with other violent and bigoted ideologies, including the QAnon movement, while the former presidents rhetoric has accelerated into visions of violence and chaos. Mr Trumps loyalists continue to believe he is at the centre of a tangled web of Democratic corruption, parallel to an antisemitic strain of online-driven conspiracy theory-mongering among QAnon influencers, Christian nationalists and civil war accelerationists.

Across far-right social media spaces like Truth Social, Telegram and Gab, users routinely link Mr Soros to other conspiracy theory plots, like funding antifa and racial justice protests in 2020.

(REUTERS)

Those claims have repeatedly surfaced on mainstream cable news.

On 19 March, Fox News programme Fox & Friends said that the Black prosecutor has to pay his master back by prosecuting Mr Trump. The following day, host Rachel Campos-Duffy suggested Mr Bragg is listening to his master, George Soros.

Mr Soros was mentioned at least 21 times on the network within the hours after news of Mr Trumps indictment on 30 March, according to an analysis from left-leaning media watchdog Media Matters. His name was mentioned in every primetime programme that night, including 10 times alone on the hourlong Jesse Watters Primetime. Fox News headlines claim the Soros family helped push Mr Bragg into power.

Other Republican figures and right-wing voices have also derisively called Mr Bragg a Soros-backed or Soros-funded prosecutor without explaining what they mean, exactly, when they say that.

The former president has baselessly asserted that Mr Soros and hand-picked and funded Mr Bragg. Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance claimed he brought Mr Bragg. Alvin Bragg is bought and paid for by George Soros, said US Rep Anna Paulina Luna.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote Soros-backed twice in a statement opposing the criminal indictment against his potential 2024 presidential rival.

This has been happening for 20 years and, in the US, has especially been the party line in the past five years, according to Emily Tamkin, who wrote 2020s The Influence of Soros: Politics, Power, and the Struggle for Open Society.

I think its genuinely important to see this not as something new, but a continuation, a playing of the hits, a doubling down on the same old, she said following news of Mr Trumps indictment and the revival of anti-Soros tropes across social media.

You can be against billionaire money in policy, politics, but that is different from collapsing the distinction between financing a campaign or initiative  as Soros has done for more progressive drug policy for over 25 years  and claiming or implying that all agency in a criminal case can be put at the feet of one (yes, Jewish) billionaire, she added.
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John Fetterman has been released from Walter Reed hospital after receiving treatment for depression.

The senator for Pennsylvania is now back at his home in Braddock, just outside of Pittsburgh, after doctors said his depression was in remission.

I am so happy to be home. Im excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves. Pennsylvanians have always had my back, and I will always have theirs, Mr Fetterman said in a statement released by his office.

John Fetterman after his release from Walter Reed Military Medical Center (Image supplied by John Fettermans office )

I am extremely grateful to the incredible team at Walter Reed. The care they provided changed my life. I will have more to say about this soon, but for now I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works. This isnt about politics  right now there are people who are suffering with depression in red counties and blue counties. If you need help, please get help.

Mr Fetterman won his states crucial race in November last year, flipping a Republican-held seat as he recovered from a stroke. Since then, he had continued to have difficulty with auditory processing and often needs speech-to-text technology. The Senate has allowed him to use a speech-to-text tablet on the Senate floor.

A little over a month after being sworn in, the senator checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland in February to receive treatment for what his office described as clinical depression. Adam Jentleson, the senators chief of staff, said the senator had experienced depression off and on throughout his life, and that it became more severe in the weeks leading up to his admission.

At the time, his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, praised her husband for seeking help.

After what hes been through in the past year, theres probably no one who wanted to talk about his own health less than John, she tweeted. Im so proud of him for asking for help and getting the care he needs.

On Friday, Mr Fettermans office released a summary of his discharge briefing issued Dr David Williamson, Neuropsychiatry Chief and Medical Director at Walter Reed.

According to the briefing, upon admission, Mr Fetterman had severe symptoms of depression with low energy and motivation, minimal speech, poor sleep, slowed thinking, slowed movement, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, but no suicidal ideation.

The note said that his treatment at the hospital gradually produced remission of his depression.
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Donald Trump was arrested and charged on Tuesday for his role in a hush money scheme during the 2016 election.

Much of the attention on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs case against the former president has concerned Mr Trump allegedly falsifying business records on hush money payments made through his former fixer, Michael Cohen, as part of a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her from revealing claims of a decade-old affair with Mr Trump in the waning days of the 2016 election.

Mr Cohen, who served a year in federal prison and two additional years of home confinement for his part in the deal, has provided testimony and documentary evidence to the DA probe, where prosecutors ultimately charged Mr Trump with 34 felonies related to the hush money schemes.

The twice-impeached and indicted ex-president was arraigned on Tuesday 4 April before New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, the same jurist who presided over the criminal tax fraud trial of two of Mr Trumps companies last year.

While Ms Daniels may now be something of a household name, another lesser-known woman who received payments to stay silent about her alleged affair with Mr Trump may also play a significant role in the unprecedented criminal charging of a former American commander-in-chief.

Karen McDougal is a former Playboy Playmate of the year (Getty)

That woman is Karen McDougal, a former model for Playboy who was voted Playmate of the Year in 1998.

Who is Karen McDougal?

The 52 year-old was born in Merrillville, Indiana who studied ballet as a child before becoming a cheerleader in high school. In an interview with Playboy she described herself as a wholesome little Karen and said she had the nickname Barbie.

She taught pre-kindergarten before becoming a model in the 1990s and going on to appear in music videos, TV shows and movies

Ms McDougal isnt named in the Manhattan DAs indictment, but court documents describe a scheme between Mr Trump and American Media, Inc (AMI), which puts out the National Enquirer tabloid, to identify and suppress negative stories about him through buying the rights to various allegations as exclusive stories but never publishing them, a practice known as catch and kill.

New York prosecutors allege that AMI paid $150,000 to an individual listed as Woman 1 in court records, who alleged she had a sexual relationship with the Defendant while he was married, in exchange for the accuser remaining silent and for AMI publishing two magazine cover features of Woman 1 and a series of articles that would be published under her byline.

These details match up with Ms McDougals alleged experience with the president and his allies.

Ms McDougal claims Donald Trump told her she was special (CNN)

What does she claim about Donald Trump?

Ms McDougal has told The New Yorker and other outlets about allegedly having an affair with Mr Trump, then being paid off by the media company to stay silent. Since then she has also appeared on the cover of AMI property Muscle and Fitness Hers and has written health and fitness columns.

In 2018, the model settled a lawsuit with the owner of the National Enquirer, restoring her right to tell her life story. Ms McDougal said she was urged to sign her original deal with AMI under false pretenses, which the company denies.

Ms McDougal has not spoken out publicly about the New York charges against Mr Trump since he was arrested.

A recording obtained by CNN of a 2016 conversation between Mr Trump and Cohen  which has been made public by the former fixer  shows the two men discussing Mr Trump reimbursing the tabloid publisher for hush money payments.

So, what do we got to pay for this? One-fifty? Mr Trump says at one point in the call.

Stormy Daniels is at the centre of Mr Trumps current legal woes (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

While its unclear if that reimbursement ever happened, Mr Trump denied being aware of any such arrangement during a 2018 interview with Fox News.

But what is known is that Ms McDougal does claim to have had an affair with Mr Trump.

In a handwritten note obtained by The New Yorker, she described one encounter with the future president.

Ms McDougal wrote that they had dinner, with Mr Trump ordering steak and potatoes but no alcohol.

We talked for a couple of hours, then it was on!  we got naked and had sex, she wrote.

She added that Mr Trump offered her money afterwards, to which she responded that she was not that kind of girl.

In response, she said Mr Trump told her she was special.

The former president has been indicted (EPA)

Prosecutors argued in the indictment unsealed on Tuesday is that because the alleged payments were made amid the 2016 election season, they amounted to criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.

One witness who could shed light on the agreement is ex-American Media Inc boss David Pecker, a friend of Mr Trumps, who testified before the grand jury that indicted Mr Trump as recently as 27 March.

Mr Pecker previously testified before federal grand jurors as part of the investigation which led to Cohens indictment and guilty plea, though he recieved immunity from prosecution in exchange for giving evidence.
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A tearful Lindsey Graham has begged Donald Trumps supporters to send the wealthy business tycoon turned former president money to help him fight his criminal indictment.

Speaking on Fox News Sean Hannity programme on Thursday night, the Republican senator appeared to choke up with emotion as he branded the indictment against Mr Trump legal voodoo and complained that they are trying to drain him dry.

Theyre trying to drain him dry. Hes spent more money on lawyers than most people spent on campaigns, he said.

Mr Graham went on to plug the former presidents website three times in a matter of minutes as he urged the American people to fund Mr Trumps legal battles.

Go tonight. Give the president some money to fight this bulls***! he begged.

To those who are listening tonight: If you believe Trump is being treated poorly and wrongly, stand up and help the man.

He added: This is going to destroy America. Were going to fight back at the ballot box. Were not going to give in.

How does this end, Sean? Trump wins in court and he wins the election. Thats how this ends.

Mr Graham  a staunch ally of the one-term president  blasted the indictment a pile of crap.

If you got a pile of crap and you chop it up 34 times, its still a pile of crap. Its duplicitous charging. Theyre trying to smear the guy, he claimed as he became increasingly emotional.

Theyre trying to take cases that nobody else would take and resurrect him. This is literally legal voodoo. This is political persecution. This is a combination of political hatred and selective prosecution on steroids.

The Republican spoke out just hours after a Manhattan grand jury voted on Thursday to indict Mr Trump on criminal charges over hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Tearful Lindsey Graham begs Americans to send Trump money (Fox News)

It is currently unclear what the charges are but multiple reports say that Mr Trump is facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

The unprecedented indictment makes him the first current or former president to ever face criminal charges in the history of the US.

Now, Mr Trump is expected to appear in a court in Manhattan to be arraigned on Tuesday, with a tentative hearing time set for 2.15pm ET. The date and time is, however, subject to change.

Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organizations business records when his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels days before the 2016 election.

Prosecutors claim that the money was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.

Mr Trumps former fixer and personal attorney Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

In recent weeks, the probe ramped up with both Cohen and Ms Daniels testifying before the grand jury.

Mr Trump was also invited to testify. Though it was an invite he unsurprisingly turned down, it was a strong sign an indictment was on the way.
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Mary Trump, the outspoken niece of former President Donald Trump, exalted in the news that her relative has been criminally indicted.

Its official: Donald Trump is the: 1st man in the Oval Office to be impeached twice 1st man in the Oval Office to incite an insurrection 1st to lose the popular vote TWICE and now . . . the first to be INDICTED. But the media is missing the biggest reason this is so important: For the victims of Donald, this is finally some measure of justice, Ms Trump tweeted.

The one-term president is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.

Ms Trump, a psychologist who holds a masters degree in English literature from Columbia University, emerged during Mr Trumps presidency as perhaps his fiercest critic within his own family. In 2020, Ms Trump penned a book titled Too Much and Never Enough about the president and their family that sold more than a million copies.

Ms Trump has continued to appear as a guest on political shows and offer her opinions on Mr Trump as he makes his third run for the White House  a bid that will likely be impacted by his indictment. Mr Trump is currently leading in Republican primary polls.

Other figures with connections to the case like Mr Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen cautioned that news of Mr Trumps indictment was not cause for celebration.

Its been a long time coming, but after everything Donald has put this country through, WE HAVE PREVAILED, Ms Trump continued in her tweet.

Stormy Daniels, the adult film star to whom Mr Trump allegedly authorised a hush money payment in 2016, also sounded a celebratory note in a tweet on Thursday evening.

Thank you to everyone for your support and love! Ms Daniels tweeted. I have so many messages coming in that I cant respond...also dont want to spill my champagne #Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment.

Ms Trump, meanwhile, didnt stop with her initial tweet.

I think its time to say Uncle, she wrote on Twitter late on Thursday night.
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Michael Cohen has hit out at the clown show of counsel representing Donald Trump as he is set to be arraigned in New York next week on criminal charges relating to 2016 hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Mr Trumps former lawyer and fixer Cohen  who was pitted as the Manhattan prosecutors star witness in the grand jury case  took aim at the former president and his legal team on ABCs Good Morning America on Friday morning.

You really do need lawyers that are competent. This clown show of counsel makes absolutely no sense to me. He doesnt know the facts, he said of Mr Trumps attorneys.

How could you sit there and try to represent your client when you really have no idea what youre talking about? Its really just bravado, and its bravado to a party of one.

And the party of one, of course, is always Donald Trump. Its all about inflating his ego. Youre past the point of wanting to inflate your ego. Now, this is about a criminal indictment.

He added that instead of playing the media game, [Trump] should be worrying more about the court of law, not a court of public opinion.

Cohens comments come as Mr Trumps attorney Joe Tacopina launched a fresh media blitz on Friday morning  hours after the grand jury voted to indict the former president.

Mr Tacopina also appeared on GMA as well as NBCs Today show where he insisted there is zero chance the former president will accept a plea deal in the case and railed against what he claimed was the day that the rule of law died in America.

President Trump will not take a plea deal on this case. Its not gonna happen, he told NBC.

Theres no crime. I dont know if its gonna make it to trial because we have substantial legal challenges.

The attorney  who ramped up his media coverage in the run-up to the indictment  told GMA that Mr Trump was shocked when he learned of the indictment.

Michael Cohen spoke out on GMA on Friday morning after Donald Trump was indicted on criminal charges (ABCs GMA)

At end of the day, he was hoping the rule of law would prevail, he said, adding that he was shocked that it actually came to fruition.

The rule of law died yesterday in this country, he claimed.

Mr Trumps apparent initial shock comes despite the former president claiming that he was going to be arrested on 21 March  a day that came and went without event.

Cohen told GMA that he imagined Mr Trump was seething right now because he is finally being held accountable.

Hes seething right now. He is beyond angry for many different reasons. The fact that hes being held accountable  something that he has no desire to ever be. Hes never been held accountable, he said.

This is a man who held up the bible, and said hes never apologised to god because hes never done anything wrong. He doesnt understand accountability. And right now, Alvin Bragg has finally put that into his lap.

Cohen spent time in jail over the hush money payments that Mr Trump is now charged over.

In the days before the 2016 election, Cohen made a payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels  a payment that prosecutors claim was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.

Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organizations business records over the payments.

Both Cohen and Ms Daniels testified before the grand jury in recent weeks.

Then, on Thursday 30 March, the grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump on a string of charges over the payments.

While it is currently unclear what the charges are, multiple reports say that Mr Trump is facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

He is expected to appear in a court in Manhattan to be arraigned on Tuesday, with a tentative hearing time set for 2.15pm that afternoon. The date and time is however subject to change.
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Former vice president Mike Pence on Thursday called the indictment of Donald Trump an outrage as he dismissed the case against him as political prosecution.

The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage, Mr Pence said on CNN.

And it appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution thats driven by a prosecutor who literally ran for office on a pledge to indict the former president.

Mr Trump has been indicted by a New York City grand jury on charges of falsifying business records stemming from payments he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing an affair he had with her before the 2016 election.

While Mr Pence acknowledged that no one is above the law, including former presidents, he maintained that his case was different.

The former vice president declined to say whether Mr Trump should drop out of the 2024 race if convicted, he added that there is no reason for calling for people to be protesting the indictment.

A source told The Independent that grand jurors voted to indict the ex-president at some point this week, and that indictment is currently under seal.

It was only filed with the New York Supreme Court late on Thursday, just before the court clerks office wrapped its business for the day.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN after the indictment became public.

Filing the indictment, which has been signed by the grand jury foreperson, with the clerk of court is what makes a criminal case official, but because it is currently under seal, it will remain so until it is unveiled at some point in the near future by district attorney Alvin Bragg.

The twice-impeached former president had signaled that he could face arrest by Mr Braggs office, which was still in the process of presenting evidence to a grand jury as recently as Monday. He previously said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he had expected to be arrested on 21 March, but that date came and went without an indictment being handed down from the grand jury.

Mr Bragg said in a statement on Thursday 30 March that his office has been in touch with Mr Trumps attorneys over the former presidents surrender.

This evening we contacted Mr Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected, Mr Bragg said.

Mr Trumps lawyers have indicated that he will surrender to New York authorities early next week.

In the time between when he claimed he would be arrested and the announcement that the grand jury had, in fact, indicted him, the ex-president ramped-up increasingly unhinged rhetorical attacks on Mr Bragg, including at a 25 March rally in Waco, Texas.

During an airplane flight to the Texas rally, he told a group of reporters traveling with him that he believed Mr Bragg had dropped the case against him and called the entire matter a fake case.

But at an event later that evening, Mr Trump described the Manhattan prosecutors effort to hold him to account for alleged crimes as interference in next years presidential election.

Prosecutorial misconduct is their new tool, and theyre willing to use it at levels never seen before in our country. Weve had it, but weve never had it like this, he said. We must stop them and we must not allow them to go through another election where they have yet another tool in their tool kit.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finds himself in a bind: as of right now, he is by far the person with the best possible chance of beating former president Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, he earned plaudits when he rapidly reopened the state after a brief stint of closures. He has ardently opposed mask and vaccine mandates. His opposition to LGBTQ+ rights and how some education curricula teach about the history of slavery and Black America have further endeared him to conservatives. After barely winning his first race for governor in 2018, he cruised to re-election in 2022 by almost 20 points.

Meanwhile, the former president has now been indicted on criminal charges for his payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep their affair a secret.

On 30 March, the Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump on criminal charges over the hush money payments.

Sources confirmed the unprecedented development to The Independent on Thursday afternoon  making Mr Trump the first current or former president to ever face criminal charges in the history of the US.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN after the indictment became public.

But the indictment would normally mean that Mr DeSantis would be the heir to the former presidents base in the race to challenge President Joe Biden.

Instead, hes faced a torrent of criticism from Mr Trumps acolytes for not supporting the former president. A resident of Florida, the state which Mr DeSantis runs, Mr Trump may need to be extradited from Palm Beach now that he has been indicted.

But  prior to the indictment being handed down  Mr DeSantis has been less than direct about the action he would take. When a reporter asked him about the indictment, he began by saying that liberal billionaire financier George Soros backed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, before he took a swipe at Mr Trumps alleged affair with Ms Daniels.

I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just, I can't speak to that, he said. But what I can speak to is that if you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many years ago to try to use something about porn star hush money payments, you know, that's an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office.

Donald Trump talks to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a visit to Canal Point, Florida in 2019 when the pair were allies not opponents (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Ive gotta spend my time on issues that actually matter to people, he said I cant spend my time worrying about things of that nature. So, were not gonna be involved in it in any way. I'm fighting for Floridians and I'm fighting back against Biden.

That has enraged many Republicans and allies of the former president.

Not MAGA

Are you kidding me? SAY HIS NAME!, Liz Harrington, a spokeswoman for the former president said. What a total fraud he is. He takes a dig at President Trump who is being falsely accused and cant even say his name. It proves DeSantis is totally fine with a third world nation arresting their number one political opposition. Not MAGA!

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon also lambasted Mr DeSantis on his War Room podcast.

Youre better than this, he said. That was a weasel approach and dont throw that thing in about the porn star. Dont need to hear it from you. Dont need to hear it.

The former president for his part lashed out in response in a lewd homophobic post on his Truth Social platform.

Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser, and better known, when hes unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are underage (or possibly a man!), he said. Im sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!

But Mr DeSantiss words that he wont take action may be a reflection of how little authority he has to prevent Mr Trumps extradition.

Mr DeSantis said on 30 March that the state will not cooperate with any request to extradite Mr Trump following the former presidents indictment.

Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda, the governor said.

Voluntary surrender

For one, its unclear that there will be a need for extradition proceedings in the first place. Prior to the grand jury vote, Mr Trumps lawyers said that the ex-president would voluntarily surrender to the proper authorities if the panel did vote to indict him.

But even if Mr Trump does refuse to appear and forces a New York judge to issue a warrant for his arrest, theres not much Mr DeSantis can do to stop it.

Under the US Constitutions Extradition Clause, each state must deliver to another state any fugitive from justice in cases of "treason, felony or other crime".

Trump supporters gathered outside his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Moreover, Section 3182 of the US Criminal Code (known as Title 18) states that the executive authority of a state where a fugitive is residing is presented with an indictment from another state, he or she shall cause him to be arrested and secured, notify the authority demanding the fugitive, and shall cause the fugitive to be delivered to agents of the executive making the demand, usually police officers from the state where the fugitive is facing charges.

Puerto Rico v Branstad

A 1987 Supreme Court case, Puerto Rico v Branstad, found that state governors have no discretion to deny an extradition request, and held that federal courts may enforce the return of fugitives when needed.

Florida has also enacted the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, a model law governing how states handle extradition proceedings, into its statutes.

Under that state law, it is Mr DeSantis duty to have arrested and delivered up to the executive authority of any other state of the United States any person charged in that state with treason, felony, or other crime, who has fled from justice and is found in the Sunshine State.

Mr DeSantis may investigate  usually by ordering law enforcement to do so  whether a demand for extradition is valid, but he cannot refuse to enforce a valid extradition request.
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Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen called for justice and accountability Thursday in the wake of news that former President Donald Trump has been indicted for his alleged role in a hush-money payment prevent Ms Daniels from revealing her affair with Mr Trump in the buildup to the 2016 presidential election.

For the first time in our Countrys history, a President (current or former) of the United States has been indicted. I take no pride in issuing this statement and wish to also remind everyone of the presumption of innocence; as provided by the due process clause, Cohen said in a statement reported by Maggie Haberman of The New York Times.

Cohen said he takes solace in the the notion that no one, not even a former president, is above the law  and suggested that, in the coming weeks, hes content to sit back and watch the case proceed from a distance.

Now that the charges have been filed, it is better for the case to let the indictment speak for itself, Cohen said. The two things I wish to say at this time is that accountability matters and I stand by my testimony and the evidence I have provided to DANY.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN after the indictment became public.

Clark Brewster, an attorney for Ms Daniels, greeted news of the indictment with a similar call to let the process play out.

The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected, Brewster said. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law. #teamstormy.

Ms Daniels seemed to agree with her lawyers sentiment, tweeting Thank you in response to his tweet.

Cohen and Ms Daniels have both been defined in large part by their respective relationships with Mr Trump and the role that they played as he rose to and assumed the presidency seven years ago.

Mr Trump and Ms Daniels allegedly engaged in a brief sexual relationship in 2006. Ten years later, when Mr Trump was the Republican nominee for president, Cohen reportedly negociated a non-disclosure agreement with Ms Daniels then-laywer Keith M. Davidson in which Ms Daniels would recieve $130,000 in hush money in exchange for her silence about her relationship with Mr Trump.

Cohen created a limited liability corporation to make the payment, he said, at the direction of Mr Trump. In 2018, news of that payment was reported by the Wall Street Journal. At that point, Cohen was on the brink of being sentenced to three years in federal prison tax evasion and campaign-finance violations following the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Ms Daniels, meanwhile, sued Mr Trump in 2018 for libel but had the suit dismissed.
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Stormy Daniels said Friday she believes the indictment of former President Donald Trump will cause injuries and deaths, even as she celebrated the notion of Mr Trump being held accountable for his actions.

In an interview granted to The Times from an undisclosed location in the United States, Ms Daniels, 44, said she believes the indictment will continue to divide people as the US deals with an ongoing rise in political violence.

Whatever the outcome is, its going to cause violence, and theres going to be injuries and death, Ms Daniels said. Theres the potential for a lot of good to come from this. But either way, a lot of bad is going to come from it, too.

Ms Daniels is in a good position to understand how fans of the former presidents are taking the news of his criminal indictment in New York. She said since news of the indictment broke on Thursday, she has recieved threats of violence on her social media accounts, phone, and email.

The number and the intensity is the same as it was the first time around, but this time its straight-up violent, Ms Daniels told the newspaper. The first time it was gold digger, slut, whore, liar whatever. And this time its Im gonna murder you. Theyre way more violent and graphic.

Ms Daniels noted that Mr Trump has already gotten away with inciting a riot, and causing death and destruction, referring to his incitement of the riot at the US Capitol that has been characterised by experts as an attempted self-coup. Mr Trump was impeached for his role in the Capitol riot, but acquitted by the US Senate. He has not faced any criminal charges related to the riot and is currently running for president again.

Mr Trump allegedly had an affair with Ms Daniels in 2006, shortly after marrying his current wife Melania. Shortly before the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trumps then-attorney Michael Cohen facilitated a payment of $130,000 to Ms Daniels in exchange for her silence regarding the alleged affair. Mr Cohen claims that Mr Trump told him to make the hush money payment. Mr Trump has long denied the affair.

Despite her fear for her safety and the well-being of the country, Ms Daniels overall celebrated news of Mr Trumps indictment  tweeting on Thursday night that she was enjoying champagne to mark the occasion.

Its vindication, Ms Daniels said of the indictment. But its bittersweet. Hes done so much worse that he should have been taken down [for] before. I am fully aware of the insanity of it being a porn star. But its also poetic; this p**** grabbed back.
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The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has defended the decision to indict Donald Trump over hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

A letter sent on Friday to Republican lawmakers from General Counsel Leslie Dubeck rejected the baseless and inflammatory allegations that [the] investigation is politically motivated.

That conclusion is misleading and meritless, the six-page letter to three House Republican committee chairs continues.

The indictment, which remains sealed in advance of Tuesdays court date, sparked a slew of attacks on the Manhattan DA from allies of the former president  many calling it a political witch hunt, echoing the language of Mr Trump.

The letter to Jim Jordan, chair of the House judiciary committee; Bryan Steil, chair of the House administration committee; and James Comer, chair of the House oversight and accountability committee, came as a repsonse to those allegations.

Like any other defendant, Mr Trump is entitled to challenge these charges in court and avail himself of all processes and protections that New York States robust criminal procedure affords. What neither Mr Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State, the letter states.

The letter also pleads with the lawmakers for calm while accusing them of engaging in unlawful political interference, referring to their own letters to Mr Braggs office demanding information on the case.

We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference, the letter reads.

As Committee Chairmen, you could use the stature of your office to denounce these attacks and urge respect for the fairness of our justice system and for the work of the impartial grand jury, Ms Dubeck writes.

Instead, you and many of your colleagues have chosen to collaborate with Mr Trumps efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of elected state prosecutors and trial judges and made unfounded allegations that the offices investigation, conducted via an independent grand jury of average citizens serving New York State, is politically motivated.

Ms Dubeck also addressed the issue of the use of federal funding in the investigation. She noted this amounted to approximately $5,000 and that was money the office helped recover during forfeiture actions.

House Republicans have threatened  and are supposedly preparing  a subpoena of Mr Bragg, to answer their questions. He has already rejected a request for documents.

In the letter, Ms Dubeck urged them to reach a negotiated resolution  before taking the unprecedented and unconstitutional step of serving a subpoena on a district attorney for information related to an ongoing state criminal prosecution.

The trio of GOP lawmakers has previously said the House of Representatives could soon take up legislation to strip state and local prosecutors of the authority to prosecute former presidents.
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Donald Trump has been indicted for hush money payments relating to the 2016 election, an unprecedented development making him the first US president to face criminal charges.

Something with a bit of precedent is the wave of memes that followed. As legal scholars and observers debate what will happen next to the former president, social media users quickly got to work making memes.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.

One social media user imagined Mr Trumps jail cell decorations, adding a new caption to a famous photo of Mr Trump appearing to shout at a child mowing the White House lawn: I NEED A POSTER OF RITA HAYWORTH  a reference to the prison breakout movie The Shawshank Redemption, and the Stephen King story its based on, in which a picture of the 1940s pinup is used to disguise an escape tunnel.

Another commenter played on the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black and Mr Trumps love of bronzer and his distinctive hair style, imposing a photo of the former presidents head onto a prison mugshot, with the inmate holding a sign that read, Orange is the new inmate.

Some online wondered, if Mr Trump is convicted, what his mugshot might look like.

The Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial, itself the subject of numerous memes, started to blend with the Trump indictment in the online jokes.

Resident Twitter menswear guy Derek Guy posted a photo of one of Ms Paltrows many eye-catching court outfits, writing, Me walking into trumps trial to celebrate and learn about law.

Even seemingly unrelated pop culture accounts got in on the action, with film website Discussing Film using a still from Donald Trumps cameo in Home Alone2 to announce the historic political news this way on social media: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York star Donald Trump has been indicted on criminal charges.

Though not quite a meme, many on social media couldnt help but note the former president made a notable spelling mistake telling his followers about the indictment, blaring in all caps that These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED him.

Meanwhile, Comedy Centrals Daily Show poked fun at former presidents numerous false claims of having won the 2020 election.

Congrats to Donald Trump on finally winning a majority of votes! the satirical news programme wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
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Donald Trumps attorney launched a fresh media blitz on Friday morning as he insisted that there is zero chance the former president will accept a plea deal in his criminal case.

Attorney Joe Tacopina appeared on both ABCs Good Morning America and NBCs Today show just hours after Mr Trump was criminally indicted on around 30 criminal charges in connection to 2016 hush money payments.

Mr Tacopina said that there is zero chance the former president will accept a plea deal in the case as he railed against what he claimed was the day that the rule of law died in America.

President Trump will not take a plea deal on this case. Its not gonna happen, he told NBC.

Theres no crime. I dont know if its gonna make it to trial because we have substantial legal challenges.

Mr Tacopina confirmed that neither he nor the former president know exactly what the charges are  or how many there are.

However multiple reports say that Mr Trump is facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud in the indictment.

If this is true, Mr Tacopina said that would mean prosecutors have taken each transaction, each check, each payment, each entry and made a separate charge.

The attorney  who ramped up his media coverage in the run-up to the indictment  told GMA that Mr Trump was shocked when he learned of the indictment.

At end of the day, he was hoping the rule of law would prevail, he said, adding that he was shocked that it actually came to fruition.

The rule of law died yesterday in this country, he claimed.

Mr Trumps apparent initial shock comes despite the former president claiming that he was going to be arrested on 21 March  a day that came and went without event.

Mr Tacopina added that New York prosecutors had not given them much information on Thursday other than that there has been an indictment.

Now, Mr Trumps team is working out logistics for him to surrender to New York authorities, with the attorney saying he is not going to hole up in Mar-a-Lago.

Two officials told NBC News that the former president is expected to be arraigned in Manhattan on Tuesday, with a tentative hearing time set for 2.15pm that afternoon.

Joe Tacopina appeared on the morning shows on Friday  hours after Donald Trumps indictment (NBC Today Show)

Judge Juan Merchan  who last year ran the trial which convicted the Trump Organization  is expected to oversee the case. The date and time is however subject to change and many preparations are needed for the unprecedented case.

Like all New York defendants, Mr Trump will be fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken as part of the booking process.

However, as the charges relate to white collar crime, it is unlikely he will be placed in handcuffs.

The pending court appearance comes after a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump on criminal charges over hush money payments to adult film star Ms Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election  making Mr Trump the first current or former president to ever face criminal charges in the history of the US.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg released a statement on Thursday confirming that his office has been in touch with Mr Trumps attorneys over the former presidents surrender.

This evening we contacted Mr Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected, he said.

Court officers stand guard outside the Manhattan criminal courts building, Thursday, March 30, after Trump was indicted (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Mr Trump railed against the Manhattan prosecutor and the criminal charges in statements and Truth Social posts overnight.

Prosecutorial misconduct is their new tool, and theyre willing to use it at levels never seen before in our country. Weve had it, but weve never had it like this, he said.

We must stop them and we must not allow them to go through another election where they have yet another tool in their tool kit.

Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organizations business records when his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels days before the 2016 election.

Prosecutors claim that the money was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.

Mr Trumps former fixer and personal attorney Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

In recent weeks, the probe ramped up with both Cohen and Ms Daniels testifying before the grand jury.

Mr Trump was also invited to testify. Though it was an invite he unsurprisingly turned down, it was a strong sign an indictment was on the way.
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Florida governor Ron DeSantis says that the state will not cooperate with any request to extradite Donald Trump following the former presidents indictment on hush money payment charges.

Mr DeSantis, a predicted rival of Mr Trumps for the 2024 Republican nomination for president, attacked the indictment handed down by a New York grand jury on Thursday.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN after the indictment became public.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American, tweeted Mr DeSantis.

Election 2024 DeSantis Trump (Copyright 2023 the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Mr DeSantis, who has been mocked and previously nicknamed Meatball Ron by Mr Trump, also attacked Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg for bringing the prosecution.

The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.

Mr Trumps lawyers have already said that he will travel to New York for arraignment next week.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head.



It is un-American.



The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is  Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 30, 2023

Mr Trump and his lawyers have already indicated that he is willing to attend the hearing, where a judge would read the charges against him and set bail conditions.

Mr Trump has been indicted by a New York City grand jury on charges of falsifying business records stemming from payments he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing an affair he had with her before the 2016 election.

A source told The Independent that grand jurors voted to indict the ex-president at some point this week, and that indictment is currently under seal.

It was only filed with the New York Supreme Court late on Thursday, just before the court clerks office wrapped its business for the day.

The twice-impeached former president had signalled that he could face arrest by Mr Braggs office, which was still in the process of presenting evidence to a grand jury as recently as Monday.

He previously said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he had expected to be arrested on 21 March, but that date came and went without an indictment being handed down from the grand jury.
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Some of former president Donald Trumps sharpest critics hailed the news that a grand jury in Manhattan had indicted the former president for allegedly paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election.

Former represetative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who was one of only 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Mr Trump in 2021, said he did not celebrate the indictment but said it was important.

Today is a somber day for our nation. Donald Trump committed many crimes, but this indictment should be a reminder that in America, NO ONE is above the law. We must move forward and let justice prevail. The anti-democratic threat, however, hasnt diminished.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.

In 2019, Mr Trump led a chant of send her back for Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. But on Thursday evening, Ms Omar said elected officials like Mr Trump need to be held accountable.

Our democracy rests on the rule of law. When someoneno matter how powerful they areis suspected of a criminal act, our justice system investigates, charges, and convicts them in accordance with due process, he tweeted. This is just one of many criminal acts for which Donald Trump is being investigated.

Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York added that the indictment of Mr Trump in Manhattan was not the only reason he could face legal troubles.

Trump attempted to illegally overturn election results in Georgia and worked to incite the insurrection at the Capitol, both in an effort to overthrow our government to advance his fascist cause, he tweeted. His continued calls for protests following his arrest are just another dog whistle for his followers: destroy our democracy.

Mr Bowman said that Mr Trump should be banned from holding public office permanently.

George Conway, who is currently in the process of divorcing top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, noted how the indictment came right before the grand jury was set to take a pre-planned break.

[I]t's so good to see that the ol'-drop-it-in-the-mail-just-before-leaving-on-vacation trick is alive and well, he tweeted.

Former representative Mondaire Jones of New York criticised Republican defences of the former president.

Republican officials are claiming its relatable that Donald Trump paid hush money to a porn star in order to win a presidential election, then manipulated official business records to conceal his campaign finance violations, he said. Weird.

Mr Jones later cheekily quote-tweeted a story noting how actress Gwyneth Paltrow won a ski accident lawsuit.

Just a truly important day for our justice system, he tweeted.
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When he announced his imminent prosecution in his hometown of New York City, Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest, predicting death and destruction and visions of World War III.

Outside his namesake skyscraper on Fifth Avenue  the street where he once suggested he could shoot someone and get away with it, home to his Trump Organization and the imposing glass tower from where he descended his beloved golden escalators to announce his 2016 presidential campaign  the protests never came.

Instead, tourists carrying M&M store bags hung around the half dozen camera crews with their lenses pointed at the door to ask what they were filming. Others looked for magnets inside the buildings gift shop, sat with their shopping bags in a quiet lobby or posed for photographs near Trump memorabilia behind glass.

But New Yorkers who have watched Mr Trumps ascent alongside mounting allegations of fraud and corruption over decades found a moment of catharsis, when on 30 March, New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced a criminal indictment against him, making him the first former president to face criminal prosecution.

Tracy Smolin, who posed for a photo with two middle fingers outside Trump Tower, said the news is still hard to believe.

My cousin texted me like, Go and see if theres people and riots!  Theres three people. Theyre over it, she said. Its been going on for so long  Were still hopeful that something will happen  I feel very disillusioned from the whole process, but I want to see him arrested for the things that hes done.

Outside Manhattan Criminal Court, where the indictment was filed, throngs of reporters crowded outside the doors hoping for a glimpse of Mr Bragg. But there were no crowds of Trump supporters to defend the former presidents proclaimed innocence.

Im here to celebrate a great day in American history, said Robert Hoatson, who held signs reading LOCK HIM UP and THROW AWAY THE KEY.

This is a turning point, hopefully, in the salvation of our democracy, he said. The man that spearheaded such destruction and deceit and crimes has now been indicted, and hopefully he will be held accountable.

Mr Trump is expected to be criminally charged in connection with a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the leadup to the 2016 election, a payment that allegedly could be tied to felony fraud or campaign finance violations.

The former president also is at the centre of federal investigations surrounding the events of 6 January, 2021 and alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago compound, as well as a criminal investigation into his efforts to overturn election results in Georgia.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg leaves the Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday after announcing Donald Trump would be indicted (Ariana Baio / The Independent )

Em Ingram, a 20-year-old New York University student who lives just across the street from the court, said she has been waiting every day for news of an indictment since Mr Trump predicted his imminent arrest on 17 March.

I think that this is one of the less important things that they could have focused as the first thing to indict them for, so I have some mixed feelings. But I think it, it needed to happen, she said. I think theres definitely the potential that this will backfire and spur even more pro-Trump sentiment, but at the same time, hes a criminal and thats very clear to me and I think thats very clear to a lot of Americans at this point.

Across far-right social media accounts and message boards reviewed by The Independent, the former presidents prediction of his own arrest was the evidence his supporters needed to support long-running conspiracy theories that Democratic officials and President Joe Bidens administration have weaponised the federal government against him.

But unlike the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, which was organised openly across social media platforms, discussion of protesting Mr Trumps potential arrest has largely revolved around denouncing the Manhattan district attorneys investigation, echoing the former presidents incendiary and dramatic rhetoric about the state of the US, or suggesting protests are a federal trap. Others believe the 2024 presidential candidate did not sufficiently support January 6 defendants, and, as one supporter wrote, it doesnt sit right that he can summon them to his cause.

A protester holds up signs in support of the Trump indictment (Ariana Baio / The Independent)

I thought [his supporters] would be packed here, protesting. But I think people are getting the message. He talked about destruction and death possibly after he was indicted, but I think people are  hopefully  becoming more wise to his total insanity, Mr Hoatson said.

New York is a Democratic city so I think New York is gonna be thrilled, he added. Id love to see the perp walk. Id love to be in the courtroom if thats possible. And Id love to see him writhe and wriggle.

Outside Trump Tower, Susan Cohen said a criminal indictment against Mr Trump is long overdue, not just now but from over decades, pointing to long-running allegations of real estate fraud and malfeasance and accusations of sexual assault.

I think thats where there is Trump fatigue, if you want to talk about Trump fatigue, she said. Everyone calls him Teflon Don because he gets away with this.
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Former president Donald Trump has now been charged in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs grand jury investigation into hush payments leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

The investigation ramped up in recent weeks and on Thursday 30 March, the Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump on criminal charges  making him the first current or former president to ever face criminal charges in the history of the US.

He stands accused of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in order to conceal an alleged scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by suppressing negative stories about him.

At a hearing in New York City on Tuesday 4 April, Mr Trump pled not guilty to all charges.

Throughout February and March, the long-running probe had entered a new phase and Mr Braggs office contacted the presidents lawyers to offer an opportunity for voluntary testimony, a sign that meant an indictment or multiple indictments were likely in the works.

Mr Trump himself predicted on 18 March that he would be arrested the following week on Tuesday 21 March, which did not come to pass.

Now that Mr Trump has actually been arrested and charged, it marks the first time an investigation into his inner circle (of which there have been several, with the most famous leading to multiple indictments for figures connected to the 2016 campaign) has actually drawn blood from the former president himself.

The Justice Departments protocol against charging a sitting president appeared to cool any ability of the agency to do so while he was in office, but the presidents loss in 2020 opened the door to prosecution over the 2016 Stormy Daniels matter as well as an investigation into the January 6 attack and Mr Trumps efforts to overturn the election.

That second investigation continues, with the distinct possibility of potential charges for both Mr Trump and members of his legal team. And alongside the Bragg investigation, it raises the question: What happens to the 2024 race, and Donald Trumps ability to participate in it, now that he is under criminal indictment?

The short answer is, not much. There are no restrictions in the US Constitution preventing anyone indicted or convicted of a crime, or even currently serving prison time, from running for or winning the presidency. Even if he were tried and convicted in one of the so-called quick trials he has repeatedly cheered Chinas government for operating in the cases of drug offences, Mr Trump could still run the entirety of his presidential campaign from a prison cell.

What is far less clear is what would happen were he to win in that scenario. Just as there are no restrictions in the Constitution for a person to run while under indictment, theres no explanation for what should occur in the event that they win. Theres nothing in the document that would automatically grant Mr Trump a reprieve from prison time, save for the likelihood that any charges brought by federal authorities, were they still being litigated at the point when Mr Trump assumed the presidency for a second time, would be dropped due to the Department of Justices refusal to prosecute a sitting president.

State-level charges like the ones being filed by Mr Bragg are far trickier, and fall outside of Mr Trumps pardon power were they to conclude in a conviction.

Were conviction on state charges to occur alongside a Trump election victory, it would likely lead to a massive legal fight to determine whether there was a way for the former president to worm his way out of serving time. If Mr Trump was unable to avoid that outcome, it would almost certainly lead to his impeachment or removal via the 25th Amendment, which allows the Cabinet to remove a president who is unable to perform their duties. There are many duties and trappings of the presidency that would simply be impossible to be operated or performed from a prison cell, the viewing of classified materials just to name one.

Any potential conviction of Mr Trump is still a long way off and little more than a distant possibility. But the conversations he has started with his bid for the presidency despite facing one indictment and multiple criminal investigations have already pushed parts of theoretical US constitutional law into a much realer place than many experts ever thought it would see.

This story was updated on Tuesday 4 April 2023 to reflect new developments
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Donald Trump took aim at Hunter Biden as he went on a Truth Social posting frenzy overnight Thursday after learning that he had been indicted on criminal charges over the 2016 hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

The former president  who is said to have been blindsided by Thursdays announcement  spent hours posting away on his social media platform through the night and into the early hours of Friday morning.

In the posts, he railed against the corrupt charges against him, claimed he cant get a fair trial in New York and took aim at his predecessors son.

WHERES HUNTER? he posted at around 3am ET.

President Joe Bidens son Hunter has long been a target of Mr Trump and his allies, with the former president appearing to question why he has been criminally charged when Hunter has not.

The presidents son has been under federal investigation since 2018 for tax payments and the House has made him a focus of their probes since Republicans took control in January.

As well as hitting out at Hunter, Mr Trump fumed about the grand jury indictment, branding it Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful.

They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York! he wrote.

Mr Trump also went on to reTruth the statements of some of his GOP allies who came out in support of him after news of the grand jury vote broke.

Sharing posts from MAGA favourites including Matt Gaetz and Kari Lake, as well as other allies Tommy Tuberville, Ronny Jackson, Paul Gosar and Steve Scalise, Mr Trump appears to be keeping tabs on which Republicans are backing him in his fight against the charges.

In a sign he was having trouble sleeping after making history as the first former president ever criminally charged, he last posted on Truth Social at around 3am on Friday morning.

On Thursday 30 March, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump on criminal charges over hush money payments to adult film star Ms Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.

Former President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a campaign rally at Waco last week (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Sources confirmed the unprecedented development to The Independent on Thursday afternoon  making Mr Trump the first current or former president to ever face criminal charges in the history of the US.

It is currently unclear what the charges are but multiple reports say that Mr Trump is facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg released a statement confirming that his office has been in touch with Mr Trumps attorneys over the former presidents surrender.

This evening we contacted Mr Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected, he said.

The indictment is said to have caught Mr Trump off guard, insiders told CNN.

While the former presidents team had been planning for an indictment in recent weeks  and going on a media blitz on the matter  the grand jury was not expected to be meeting on the case this week and was expected to take a scheduled break for several weeks.

This led to speculation that the indictment would be delayed.

But now, following Thursdays grand jury vote, Mr Trumps attorney Joe Tacopina said the former president will surrender to New York early next week.

Two officials told NBC News that Mr Trump is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday, with a tentative hearing time set for 2.15pm. This is subject to change.

Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organizations business records when his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels days before the 2016 election.

Prosecutors claim that the money was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.

Mr Trumps former fixer and personal attorney Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

In recent weeks, the probe ramped up with both Cohen and Ms Daniels testifying before the grand jury.

Mr Trump was also invited to testify. Though it was an invite he unsurprisingly turned down, it was a strong sign an indictment was on the way.
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Yusef Salaam, who was one of the persons exonerated in the Central Park Five case, has responded after a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict the former president.

Mr Salaam was among five Black and brown teenagers wrongfully imprisoned for the 1989 rape of a white woman in New Yorks Central Park. They were coerced into confessing to a rape they didnt commit.

All served prison time before being exonerated in 2002. They later received a multimillion-dollar settlement from New York City.

"For those asking about my statement on the indictment of Donald Trump - who never said sorry for calling for my execution - here it is: Karma," Mr Salaam wrote on Twitter.

Mr Trump, then a real-estate developer in 1989, took out full-page advertisements in four New York City newspapers calling for the state to reinstate the death penalty following the Central Park attack.

The 45th president in 2019 refused to walk back or apologise for his previous stance, saying "you have people on both sides of that". "They admitted their guilt."

Mr Salaam recently announced his candidacy for New York City Council.

Mr Trump has become the first former US president to be indicted, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal.

The one-term president is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.

The Manhattan district attorneys office said on Thursday that prosecutors had reached out to Trumps lawyers to arrange for him to surrender, which could happen early next week.

Mr Trump is expected to appear at the prosecutors office to be processed and fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken. He is also expected to appear in court, when a judge would list the charges and the former president would enter a plea.

He will have to contend with a criminal case while running again for the White House, taking time and attention away from the campaign trail  though neither the case nor a conviction would preclude him from seeking or winning the presidency in 2024. The indictment comes as he is facing several other investigations that could lead to legal problems for the former president.

Those pending cases, along with a civil trial thats scheduled to start in New York next month over a columnists claims that Mr Trump raped her in the 1990s, add to an ever-growing cloud of scandals surrounding him.

With inputs from agencies
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One startup lists as its address a small home in a working-class district in Venezuela's capital whose owner has never heard of the firm. Another is a Hong Kong-based shell company created in 2020. Yet another belongs to a Spanish commodities trader indicted in the U.S. for allegedly helping Russian oligarchs launder ill-gotten profits.

They are among the dozens of obscure middlemen and go-betweens at the center of a new crackdown in Venezuela on corruption in the state-run oil industry that has government insiders scurrying for cover. At the same time, regular Venezuelans are asking how more than $20 billion in proceeds from oil shipments seemingly vanished.

The purge began this month when authorities arrested 21 people, including business executives, senior officials and a lawmaker, as part of an investigation into missing payments for oil shipments. In a sign of the governments desire to promote its anti-corruption crusade, state media this week were filled with images of the defendants dressed in orange jumpsuits walking into their initial judicial hearing.

Corruption has long plagued Venezuela  the OPEC nation was the fourth-most corrupt in the world in the latest rankings by Transparency International  but those in positions of power are rarely held accountable.

And when high profile arrests do take place, Venezuelans tend to view them as the result of a behind-the-scenes tug of war among rival heavyweights in the ruling socialist party, and not any impartial meting out of justice in a country where most institutions lack independence.

An entrenched culture of corruption and the inherently opaque nature of trading illegal crude oil take malfeasance to another level.

These are two things that come together at the same time," said Francisco Monaldi, a Venezuelan economist who heads the Latin America energy program at Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy. It would be very difficult for even a much less corrupt state to implement all the necessary controls.

While the fallout from the scandal continues, it already has felled one major power broker  Tareck El Aissami, the country's oil czar. He quit in the wake of the arrests, which included the detention of a close associate, Joselit Ramirez, who had been serving as Venezuela's cryptocurrency regulator. The U.S. already considered both of them fugitives from justice.

While Venezuelan authorities have not mentioned El Aissami as a target in the investigation, most of the shady transactions at state-run oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela SA occurred under his watch and while Asdrubal Chavez, a cousin of the late President Hugo Chavez, served as president of the company, known widely as PDVSA.

As a revolutionary militant, I place myself at the disposal of the socialist party leadership to support this crusade .... against the anti-values that we are obliged to fight, even with our lives, El Aissami tweeted to announce his surprise resignation as oil minister.

Internal PDVSA documents obtained by The Associated Press show the state oil company was owed $10.1 billion as of August 2022 from 90 mostly unknown trading companies that have emerged as major buyers of Venezuelan crude since the U.S. imposed economic sanctions in a campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

An additional $13.3 billion, corresponding to 241 tanker shipments, is owed directly to the national government as a result of an October accounting maneuver by PDVSA that reassigned responsibility for collecting the unpaid invoices directly to the Maduro administration in lieu of cash royalties. That is more than the entire foreign currency reserves held at Venezuelas central bank.

All the oil cargoes were sold on consignment at a deep discount owing to the sanctions, which have dissuaded more established traders from doing business with Venezuela.

PDVSA's reliance on intermediaries surged in 2020, when the Trump administration expanded sanctions with the threat to lock out of the U.S. economy any individual or company, regardless of nationality or location, that did business with Maduro's government.

The punishing action, combined with a pandemic-induced global slump in demand for oil, led PDVSA's production that summer to drop to as little as 350,000 barrels a day  just 10% of what it produced when Chavez took office in 1999.

To sell what little is being produced, Maduro, with the help of allies Russia and Iran  themselves under U.S. sanctions  has had to rely on a complex network of intermediaries. Most are shell companies, registered in jurisdictions known for secrecy like Panama, Belize and Hong Kong. The buyers deploy so-called ghost tankers that hide their location and hand off their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destination, usually in Asia.

To get around Western banks, Venezuela started accepting payments in Russian rubles, bartered goods or cryptocurrency.

But not everyone paid.

The internal documents show that uncollected payments owed to PDVSA by the go-between brokers range from as little as $526 to $1.2 billion as of August.

Among those on the delinquent list is Walker International DW-LLC, which owes PDVSA about $77 million, according to the internal documents. The company is registered in the United Arab Emirates but lists as its Venezuela address a modest house almost at the foot of the mountain range that separate Caracas from the Caribbean Sea.

The owner of the home, Andres Muzo, expressed shock that his home could somehow be connected to a case of international corruption.

Im finding about this right now, Muzo said after seeing his address in Dubai corporate records, which were first unearthed in a November report by the Venezuelan investigative news website Armando.info. He shook his head and said he would ask the people who rent his adjacent garage for a car wash and oil-change business if they knew anything.

They have tools in there, but no, we dont know anything, Muzo said standing outside the home with decorative clay tiles on the roof and brown ceramic tiles on the weathered facade. They must be clandestine companies, I would say. They have nothing, nothing under my name, not even a piece of paper.

A small lock keeps shut the rolling garage door with a message that instructs drivers not to block it.

At least 15 of the 90 defaulters accumulated debts for two consecutive years.

The broker with the largest debt is M and Y Trading Co. Little is known about the company, which was registered in Hong Kong in late 2020. But it owes PDVSA more than $1.2 billion, according to the internal documents, which someone knowledgeable about the transactions shared with AP on the condition that they remain anonymous.

Another preferred vendor was United Petroleo Corp, which was registered in Panama in 2021 and owes more than $468 million to PDVSA. One of United's cargoes  a 600,000-barrel shipment last September  is at the center of a controversy on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, where the Venezuelan crude is being stored at a facility tied to U.S. investors in possible defiance of sanctions.

Yet another of PDVSA's go-to partners was Treseus International. The commodities broker took possession of only $16 million worth of oil from PDVSA, almost all of which it has paid. But the company, which did not respond to an email seeking comment, stands out for the alleged criminal activity of its chief executive officer, Juan Fernando Serrano.

Serrano, a commodities trader, was indicted last year on money laundering charges in a New York federal court for conspiring to smuggle oil on behalf of wealthy Russian businessmen. That court also wants El Aissami and Ramirez on charges of violating U.S. sanctions stemming from El Aissami's 2017 designation by Washington as a drug kingpin for allegedly helping cartels smuggle multiple cocaine shipments through Venezuela.

Venezuelan authorities have yet to say how much money may be missing, nor has the government mentioned specific companies it is investigating. But Maduro has used some of his recent evening appearances on state TV to warn ministers and other officials against corruption and urge them to do their jobs. Ruling party supporters even gathered for an anti-corruption protest in Caracas.

I think it's a horrible thing. One trusts people and doesn't know they are a lion in sheep's clothing, said Lidia Rondon, a housewife who participated in the demonstration. This destroys us all.

Past crackdowns  like the arrest of a former PDVSA president in 2017  did little to clean up the Venezuelan oil industry, which is responsible for almost all of the country's hard currency earnings. Many analysts suspect Maduro is looking to finally address critical cash flow problems and stabilize the economy before next year's presidential election.

Coffers are bare and the country is entering an election year in which Maduro wants to convey a message that Venezuela is getting back on track, said Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. The more it becomes clear that the economy remains in dire straits, the more Maduro will look for people to take the fall.

___

Goodman reported from Miami.
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A man who sparked a major police search operation and panicked emergency calls was arrested after roaming in the streets with what appeared to be an AK-47 assault which turned out to be a bong.

New South Wales police said it received numerous emergency calls after panicked residents saw a man allegedly carrying a large firearm through Sydney north-west on Wednesday evening.

A widescale search was promptly triggered after the alleged rifle-wielding man was reported on a major road in Rouse Hill and a helicopter was sent to track down the man.

The police found an unlocked car near a church with the help of CCTV footage and located an imitation AK-47 assault rifle, the statement said on Thursday.

Police commenced a search of the area and conducted a review of CCTV footage from surrounding businesses, which led officers to an unlocked and unattended vehicle in a nearby church carpark, NSW police said.

After the police found the bong in the car, a 50-year-old man was arrested from a nearby grassland.

He was arrested and taken to Castle Hill Police Station where he was charged with possessing unauthorised firearm and intimidation, it said.

The man has been held on charges that carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

He appeared before Parramatta local court on Thursday where he was refused bail.

He will continue to remain in prison on remand and reappear at Parramatta local court on 13 April.

The police are expected to tell the court that a bong, used to smoke marijuana and other herbal substances, was seized from the man.

Sale, supply or display for selling of a bong and its parts intended to be used to administer a prohibited drug is an offence under the states drug laws.
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Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother have been released from prison in Romania and placed under house arrest after winning an appeal over their detention.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Tates appeal, which challenged a judges decision last week to extend his arrest a fourth time for 30 days, an official said.

The investigation into trafficking claims against Andrew and Tristan Tate continues, officials said.

Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate outside the Bucharest Court of Appeal (via REUTERS)

Tate, who has gained notoriety over the years for peddling misogynistic views, was detained with his brother and two Romanian women in late December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.

All four won an appeal on Friday, and will remain under house arrest until 29 April, according to Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanias anti-organised crime agency, Diicot.

None of the four has yet been charged.

Diicot said in December after the arrests that it had identified six victims in the human-trafficking case who were allegedly subjected to acts of physical violence and mental coercion and sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.

The agency said victims were lured with pretences of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group.

Tate, a 36-year-old British-US citizen who has 5.4 million Twitter followers, last month lost an appeal against further detention.

He has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors have no evidence, and alleged their case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.

The former professional kickboxer, who has lived in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.

Before he was banned from Instagram, Tate had a following on the platform of 4.6 million.

He has different business ventures such as Hustlers University, an online academy where members pay a monthly membership fee.
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The US has signalled its intention not to press ahead with the purchase of a hypersonic missile system following problems during testing.

It comes just weeks after Russia unleashed a wave of air strikes across Ukraine using such weapons, killing at least six people and knocking out power, including to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.

Ukraine said the barrage included six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles which its air defence systems were not capable of intercepting.

This was a major attack and for the first time with so many different types of missiles...The enemy launched six Kinzhals, air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said. It was like never before.

Several countries are looking into developing or procuring hypersonic missiles in a developing arms race amid fraught geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West and the threat posed by China in the Indo-Pacific region.

What are hypersonic missiles?

Hypersonic missiles, like the Kinzhal (Dagger) rockets allegedly being deployed by the Russian Air Force, are thought to represent the next generation of arms because they can travel at exceptionally high velocities  up to ten times the speed of sound, which is around 8,000mph.

By comparison, a subsonic cruise missile like the US Air Forces Tomahawk rocket moves at a relatively sluggish 550mph.

Kinzhals are typically carried by MiG-31K fighter jets and can hit targets as far away as 1,250 miles, their speed, mid-flight manoeuvrability and ability to fly at low altitudes making them difficult to track using radar on the ground and therefore near-impossible to stop.

Perhaps most alarmingly, the Kinzhal can carry a nuclear warhead as well as a conventional explosive, a strategy it has been feared Russia could resort to as its war in Ukraine becomes more desperate and drawn-out than expected due to the heroic resistance put up by the locals.

Kinzhals are typically carried by MiG-31K fighter jets (AP)

Which countries have them?

Australia, the UK and US, together known as the Aukus nations, previously announced they plan to expand their military pact to collaborate on the development of hypersonic missiles and anti-hypersonic weapons.

In April 2022 Scott Morrison, Boris Johnson and Joe Biden issued a joint statement saying their countries would commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen co-operation on defence innovation.

These initiatives will add to our existing efforts to deepen cooperation on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities.

The Aukus deal was initially signed to concentrate on nuclear submarine development with a wary eye on potential Chinese aggression in the Pacific, but focus has now shifted towards the threat posed by Vladimir Putin after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.

Russias defence ministry has already said its forces have fired hypersonic ballistic missiles in the conflict, claiming to have destroyed a fuel depot in the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv and an underground ammunition store in western Ivano-Frankivsk.

A Tomahawk is fired from a navy vessel (AP)

How effective are they?

Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, however, has argued that the weapons will make little difference on the ground and that their true value is giving a certain psychological and propaganda effect. In other words, inspiring terror.

Mr Putin has boasted of Russias investment in such invincible weaponry, justifying doing so as a response to what he considers to be Nato military expansion on his countrys doorstep in Eastern Europe.

The US and China are said to be working on their own versions, as are the navies of Britain and France, which are understood to have been collaborating on one known as Perseus since 2011, although it is not expected to enter service for another eight years.

US Air Force drops Lockheed hypersonic missile

Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the US Air Forces acquisition team, told politicians earlier this month that his team would not go ahead with purchasing the hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon after the prototyping phase ended.

There were problems with the weapons during testing.

Mr Hunter, in written testimony, told the House Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee the service planned to finish the ARRW programs last two all-up round test flights to collect data to help with future hypersonic programmes.
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The president of Belarus has said that Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in his country along with part of Russias tactical nuclear arsenal.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said earlier this week his country intends to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus, its neighbour and ally.

The statement from Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko on Friday about strategic nuclear weapons such as missile-borne warheads will pose an even greater threat if it comes to pass.

Mr Lukashenko spoke during his state-of-the-nation address amid escalating tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

"Putin and I will decide and introduce here, if necessary, strategic weapons, and they must understand this, the scoundrels abroad, who today are trying to blow us up from inside and outside," the Belarusian leader said.

"We will stop at nothing to protect our countries, our state and their peoples."

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivers a state-of-the nation address in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, 31 March 2023 (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP)

Earlier on Friday, Mr Lukashenko unexpectedly called for a ceasefire in Ukraine. A truce, he said in his address in Minsk, must be announced without any preconditions and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted.

On Wednesday, a senior Kremlin diplomat confirmed that Russia would no longer be warning the US ahead of carrying out missile tests.

However, one day later he reversed this statement, noting that Russia will continue to provide advance notice despite his previous convictions that Moscow had ceased all information exchanges with Washington.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov initially confirmed that Moscow was responding to the fundamental irresponsibility of Western elites before their people and international security, urging that Nato officials adequately assess the seriousness of the situation and accept these changing realities.

However, after the U-turn, Mr Ryabkov refused to confirm whether the 1988 U.S-Soviet agreement would include all the missile tests that Russia was obliged to issue notices about under the New START Treaty, an agreement from which Mr Putin suspended participation in February.

Though emphasising that it was not withdrawing altogether, Russia expressed that it could not allow the US to inspect its nuclear missile sites whilst Washington had declared the defeat of Russia in Ukraine as its goal.

For decades, the nations have shared information with one another about planned nuclear missile testing. A legacy of the Cold War and its aftermath, this practice has been critical in ensuring that test launches are not mistaken for legitimate missile attacks.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine will never forgive Russian troops responsible for atrocities in Bucha, as the town near Kyiv marked the anniversary of its recapture after more than a month of occupation.

Ukrainian forces took back control of the towns of Bucha and Irpin to the northwest of Kyiv in late March last year as Russian invasion forces abandoned their attempt to seize the capital.

Russian evil will collapse right here in Ukraine, and will never be able to rise again. Humanity will prevail, Mr Zelensky said, leading a ceremony at which the Ukrainian flag was raised in Bucha.

The president handed out medals to soldiers involved in recapturing the town, and relatives received medals on behalf of fallen soldiers who were awarded them posthumously.

When Bucha was de-occupied, we saw that the devil was not somewhere out there but on the ground. The heinous truth about what was happening in the temporarily occupied territories was revealed to the world, Zelensky said.

Images of dead bodies lying in the street were beamed across the world after Ukraine regained control. Moscow denies accusations of executions, rapes and torture by its occupying troops. Kyiv says more than 1,400 people were killed in Bucha during the occupation including 37 children, more than 175 people were found in mass graves and torture chambers, and 9,000 Russian alleged war crimes have been identified.

Mr Zelensky described Bucha as a symbol of the atrocities of Russian occupying forces.

We will never forget the victims of this war, and we will certainly bring all Russian murderers to justice, Mr Zelensky wrote on social media. We will never forgive. We will punish every perpetrator.

Moldovas president and the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia also attended Friday's ceremony.

We honour and grieve the innocent. Democracies must work together to ensure that these atrocities are investigated and punished, said Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who has joined with Mr Zelensky in seeking European Union membership for her country.

Meanwhile, in Geneva, the United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Turk deplored how grave human rights violations were shockingly routine in Russias invasion of Ukraine and said the number of civilian casualties was far higher than official figures.

Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Nr Turk said Ukraine was a nation struggling to survive in the face of Russias invasion.

After 13 months of the Russian Federations war against Ukraine, severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine, he said. People across the country face massive suffering and loss, deprivation, displacement and destruction.

Next week, the council is expected to adopt a resolution to extend and deepen the mandate of a U.N. investigative body set up to probe possible atrocities in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed such acts.

Russia has been conducting a winter offensive to make small advances in eastern at huge cost of life. Ukrainian forces have dug in and held out for now in the city of Bakhmut and are expected to launch a counteroffensive soon.

Tensions have mounted between Russia and the West over the war. Relations between Washington and Moscow plunged further on Thursday when Russia arrested a Wall Street Journal correspondent, Evan Gershkovich, on allegations of spying, which the paper denied and the White House called ridiculous.

For places like Bucha hundreds of miles away from the frontline, the war is still felt, with regular air raid sirens telling residents to take cover from missile and drone strikes that have caused major power outages.

Residents in Bucha speak of the deep psychological wounds left by the occupation and say it would take generations to get over it. Some buildings remain battered in the town and a scrapyard is full of cars and military vehicles destroyed during last years fighting.

We should understand that its easy to rebuild walls, but its much harder to rebuild a wounded soul, said Andriy Holovin, a priest at a Ukrainian Orthodox parish.

Ukraines prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, said his office had identified almost 100 Russian soldiers suspected of war crimes in Bucha and indictments against 35 of them had been sent to court.

Im convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russias planned strategy to destroy Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation, he said.

Reuters
 Close Related: Putin visits Russian troops in Ukraines Kherson and Luhansk regions

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Russia has said their Black Sea Fleet repelled a drone attack on the Crimean port of Sevastopol in the early hours of Monday.

According to the latest information: one surface drone was destroyed ... the second one exploded on its own, Moscow-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhaev wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Now the city is quiet.

No damage was reported, Mr Razvozhaev added.

Sevastopol, along with the rest of the Crimean peninsula, was declared annexed by Russia in 2014 but is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the son of Vladimir Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, claimed he served with the Wagner mercenary group for six months in Ukraine.

In an interview with pro-Kremlin daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, Nikolai Peskov said it was his duty and he couldnt sit to one side watching as friends and others went off there.
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The war in Ukraine has engulfed the European country for more than 400 days and tested the strength of Ukrainian resilience, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.

Four hundred days... Four hundred days of our defence against full-scale aggression. This is a colossal path that we have endured, the war-time president said in his nightly address.

He added: All together - everyone who fought and fights for Ukraine. Who took care and takes care about the state and Ukrainians. Who helped and helps our logistics. Who strengthened and strengthens Ukrainian resilience.

Ukraine went through the most terrifying days of that February. We survived this winter as well. There is a colossal effort behind these words.

We passed last spring, which turned the tide of this war in favour of our defence, he said.

Recounting the biggest battles seen in the 13-month-long invasion, Mr Zelensky said: Last summer and autumn, we proved that the spring liberation of our northern regions was no accident. The battle for Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions... The return of the territories of our Kharkiv region, the return of Kherson, the defence of Bakhmut and Donbas in general - this is the heroism of Ukrainians that the world will not forget.

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022 overnight as missiles and artillery shells tore through the skies of Kyiv as president Vladimir Putin announced what he called a special military operation on the former Soviet Union territory.

Analysts have said that Russias onslaught on Bakhmut can turn bleak as Wagner group and conventional Russian forces have likely lost manpower in their ongoing fight in the salt mining city.

Western officials reported that Wagner Group and conventional Russian forces have likely lost a substantial amount of manpower in the Bakhmut area, which will further constrain Russias offensive on Bakhmut, the US-based Institute for the Study of War said in its latest analysis.

The think-tank monitoring the war referenced a statement by the US chairman of the joint chief of staff general Mark Milley who said that the Wagner Group has around 6,000 professional personnel and 20,000 to 30,000 recruits, mostly convicts, fighting in the Bakhmut area.

This is lower than the number mentioned by the national security council spokesperson John Kirby in December where he said that the Wagner Group had 50,000 personnel in Ukraine including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convict recruits.

It is likely that the difference between Kirbys 50,000 figure in Ukraine and Milleys 26,000 to 36,000 figure in the Bakhmut area is the result of casualties from Wagners attritional offensive on Bakhmut, the ISW said.

It added: Kirby reported on 17 February that the Wagner Group had suffered 30,000 casualties, with 9,000 dead, in operations in Ukraine.

The Wagner Group may lose thousands more convict recruits in the upcoming weeks as convicts finish their six-month military contracts, and the Wagner leadership appears for now to be allowing pre-pardoned convicts to return from the frontlines to Russia at the conclusion of those contracts, the ISW said.
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Finland is set to join Nato in days after Turkeys parliament voted to ratify its membership bid, submitted in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey was the last among Natos members to ratify the bid, after months of negotiations between Ankara and Helsinki. All 276 MPs present voted in favour.

All 30 Nato allies have now ratified the accession protocol, the alliances secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Friday. Finland will formally join our alliance in the coming days.

Finlands entrance into Nato is a significant moment. It shares an 830-mile border with Russia, and the two nations fought ferociously during the Second World War. Helsinki also possesses one of the most powerful arsenals in Western Europe.

Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had raised concern that Finland and Sweden, who submitted their Nato bids at the same time, had not taken his countrys security concerns about Kurdish separatists and militants seriously. Ankara is still holding off approving Swedens membership demanding more action against what it claims is support for what Mr Erdogans government deems terrorist groups.

Finland has taken more steps compared to Sweden in the context of the fight against terrorism, the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) MP Ismail Ozdemir as saying.

Helsinki was officially neutral during the decades of the Cold War and 30 years afterward, even as it integrated into the European Union and cooperated deeply with Nato on sensitive security matters.

Finland opted to join Nato following Russian president Vladimir Putins decision to invade Ukraine last year. It was set to enter alongside Sweden, but both countries efforts have been held up by Turkey and Hungary. The Budapest government of prime minister Viktor Orban, who has long been a friend of President Putin, appeared eager to not run too afoul of the Kremlin. Both nations are also irked by Western criticism of their authoritarian tendencies. Both were not invited to a United States democracy summit this week.

However, Hungary ratified Finlands entrance into Nato earlier this week.

Analysts and Turkish political insiders say that Sweden will also likely be given the green light by Ankara, probably after the 14 May presidential and parliamentary elections.

Mr Putin has repeatedly hit out at what he sees as Western interference in Ukraine and has framed his war as a way to prevent a further eastern expansion of Nato.

Finland would add to Natos strengths. Its armed forces and intelligence services are known as sharply focused on Russia and the Kremlin, with a deep institutional understanding of Moscows ways. Unlike other Scandinavian countries. It has maintained mandatory military conscription and has spent robustly on defence.

Despite a population of just 5.5 million people, Finland has a potential ground force of 280,000 troops, including reserves  more than the United Kingdom.

Given Finlands long border with Russia and its history of being conquered by Russia and the Soviet Union, it has in many ways a more in-depth understanding of Russia and a track record of cultivating knowledge in Russian studies, said Maia Cross, a professor of international relations at Bostons Northeastern University.

Ms Cross recently visited with Finlands armed forces commanders and soldiers as part of a diplomatic mission. Finlands military is suddenly transforming itself in preparation for membership in Nato, she said. It is becoming far more visible in society, and changing its military training to take into account a far greater international dimension as well as a broader scope of action.

Finlands geography would give Nato a major presence on Russias borders and more tools to defend Baltic states formerly under the Kremlins dominion. But Finland, like the Baltic States, is also within easy range of Russian tactical weapons.

The vote in Ankara on Thursday could also help the prospects of Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin ahead of national elections on Sunday.

Mr Erdogan is also running for reelection in a tightly contested race that many consider the biggest challenge to his rule he has faced in his 20 years as Turkeys leader. Mr Erdogan said Wednesday that Mr Putin may visit Turkey ahead of the elections to launch the countrys first atomic power plant  a Rosatom-built 4,800-megawatt nuclear reactor in the city of Akkuyu.
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Nearly 8 million Ukrainians have fled their homeland since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour on 24 February 2022. The majority of these refugees are women and children, as most Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 were ordered to stay and fight.

The following are accounts by women who have had their lives interrupted and been forced from their homes. They discuss how they think their country is coping as the war continues and what they think the future holds for them and for Ukraine.

Antonina and Ielyzaveta Smyrnova

Ukrainian twin sisters Antonina (Tonia) and Ielyzaveta (Lyza), 33, from Crimea at their home in London (EPA)

Antonina left Ukraine with her daughter due to the war to join her twin sister Ielyzaveta, who was already living in London. Antonina kept her job at a Kyiv-based IT company by remote working but she believes it will be hard to afford to rent a place for herself and her daughter when she moves out of her sisters flat.

My life changed completely because of the war. I had to move from Kyiv and start a new life. I liked my hometown, I liked my life, everything was perfect, she says. And now I need to start everything from the beginning. I would like this war to end as soon as possible and I would like to see my parents again.

Image by Tolga Akmen

Svitlana Prokopenko

Svitlana Prokopenko in the studio apartment she is now sharing with her son Oleskii Prokopenko in Jersey City, New Jersey, US (EPA)

Svitlana arrived in the US in February to stay with her son after enduring nearly a year of fighting near her home in Borodyanka, much of which was destroyed when Russian forces tried to take Kyiv. Life has changed. There is no peace in Ukraine, she said.

Prokopenko and her husband Ivan, who stayed behind in Ukraine, were forced to find shelter for months at the start of the war in an abandoned house in the woods. When they returned home last summer their house had been ransacked by Russian soldiers and their town was badly damaged by shelling.

When the war is over, we are thinking of returning to Ukraine, she says. I think that Ukraine must win. And then we will all be together again.

Image by Justin Lane

Daria Koltsova poses at an Oxford University campus (EPA)

Daria Koltsova

Born in Kharkiv, near the Russian border, Daria fled from Odesa, where she had been living for the past few years before the onset of the war. While she is striving to live a normal life in her new home in Oxford, she says its just impossible... when you feel that theres so much pain at home.

Despite the hardships, everyone is doing their best to move forward with their lives. Even exhibitions are working in Ukraine now  without electricity, our businesses keep working.

Image by Tolga Akmen

Alina Aleva poses at Park Hill Flats in Sheffield (EPA)

Alina Aleva

Like many other Ukrainians her age, the war has robbed Aline of part of her youth, forcing her to abandon university studies in Kyiv, where she lived with her mother, and become independent.

She said: Now, Im 21 and I have emigrated to another country, alone. She cannot hide her anger at the horrible situation unfolding in her homeland because of the terrible things happening to her people. I think Russia is a terrorist state, she says.

Despite the destruction the invasion has brought, she is confident that with the support of many countries: Ukraine will rebuild everything that was destroyed.

Image by Adam Vaughan

Yelyzaveta Tataryna, known as Lisa, eein her business, a vegan female-safe space cafe in London (EPA)

Yelyzaveta Tataryna

Lisa studied in Kyiv before the war broke out. She came to the UK, where she set up her cafe using investments from Ukrainian businessmen and help from fellow refugees.

Many of her family, including her mother, remain in Ukraine. She has not been able to see her brother or attend her grandmothers funeral in the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Its dangerous, you could have your home bombed every day. When you go to sleep, you wake and you think will I be alive or not? she said. While she is now in a safe place running her own business, there are a lot of people in Ukraine who are still in danger. So we just need help to finish this war as soon as possible.

Image by Neil Hall

EPA
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A British archaeological investigation is revealing the true story of one of the Second World Wars most important battles.

Known as Operation Cobra, the crucial yet little-researched series of engagements took place in late July 1944 (just 51 days after the Normandy landings)  and was arguably the most successful allied western European military land operation of the entire war.

The excavation project in Normandy is one of the largest archaeological investigations, into a Second World War battlefield, ever carried out.

US tanks pass through the wrecked streets of the Normandy town of Coutances during Operation Cobra (US National Archives)

Discoveries being made by the archaeologists are revealing the scale of the allied victory  and the sheer scale of the disaster that befell the Germans.

But by doing that, the excavations are also highlighting the extraordinary political dilemma that German commanders in France faced following D-Day.

Adolf Hitlers interference in German military decision-making (and his frequent rejection of military advice) had already allowed the Allies to successfully re-enforce their Normandy beachhead in the days following D-Day.

The German commanders knew that their position in post-D-Day Normandy was untenable - and yet, because of pressure from Hitler, they failed to do the only thing that might have bought them time, namely a tactical retreat to pre-established defensive positions on the north bank of the river Seine dozens of miles to the east. It was that fatal failure to retreat that led to the Allies launching Operation Cobra  and to the Germans being routed in Normandy.

German armour destroyed in the Normandy village of Roncy during Operation Cobra (US Signal Corp/Washington National Archives)

However, the crucial development that really ensured that the Germans were routed actually took place at a Nazi HQ a thousand miles to the east  namely the failure of a German military plan to kill Hitler, install a new government and try to negotiate a ceasefire (with the Western allies) and an orderly withdrawal from France.

Instead, the failure of that German anti-Nazi military coup (which had been scheduled for 20 July 1944) made it virtually impossible for the top German commander in France (who had been cognisant of and sympathetic to the coup plan) to disobey Hitlers order not to even stage a tactical retreat.

Through detailed fieldwork, the archaeologists, investigating the German collapse in Normandy, are discovering evidence of previously unknown allied ambushes and other key military engagements  and, by mapping individual finds, the investigators hope to reconstruct how this crucial battle unfolded.

Top Operation Cobra commander, Major General J Lawton Collins (right) pictured speaking to Lieutenant General Omar Bradley (left) in Normandy in 1944 (Army Signal Corps/Naval Historical Center)

So far theyve located two previously unknown German mass graves and have unearthed thousands of German and allied machine gun bullets, as well, as pistol and rifle bullets, rifles, hand grenades, armour-piercing shells and bazooka rockets. They have also found parts of British air-to-ground missiles  and graphic evidence of the havoc wrought by them on German positions.

These new excavations will for the very first time allow historians to more fully understand the details of how the German collapse in Normandy unfolded, said a leading expert on Cobra, James Holland, author of the most recent study on the subject, Normandy 44: D-Day and the Battle for France.

In July 1944, the anti-Hitler commander of German forces in western France (including Normandy)  a field marshal called Gunther von Kluge  knew that an assassination attempt on Hitler was about to take place and was no doubt hoping that a non-Nazi government would therefore come to power and potentially negotiate a ceasefire with the Western allies.

An American 75mm tank shell, found by the archaeologists during their excavations (Battlefield Archaeology Group)

An unexploded American hand grenade found immediately adjacent to a German dugout (Battlefield Archaeology Group)

Once the field marshal knew that the assassination attempt had failed, any tactical retreat at that late stage would have been regarded by Hitler as particularly disloyal and might have led the German dictator to suspect that Von Kluge had been involved in, or was aware of, the plot. Von Kluges vulnerable state of mind was highlighted shortly after Operation Cobra when Hitler summoned him to Berlin. So fearful was he of Hitlers post-assassination-attempt wrath that he committed suicide en route to the German capital.

The archaeologists investigating Cobra have also discovered parts of German armoured cars, tanks, motorcycles and other vehicles (and evidence of horse-drawn carts and probable artillery pieces)  as well as a number of landmine detonators and lots of flares used by the Germans to desperately try to call in support.

In terms of personal effects and equipment, the excavations have unearthed German boots and ammunition pouches as well as buttons, buckles, money, back-pack clips, water bottles, gas masks, machine-gun tool kits and spare machine gun barrels and ammunition belts.

As well as probable mass grave sites, they have also discovered German human remains in incinerated vehicles.

German soldiers from a Panzer division which was totally destroyed during Operation Cobra (Deutsches Bundesarchiv)

American armoured and infantry forces pass through the Normandy town of Coutances during Operation Cobra (US National Archives)

Its the first time that a large-scale archaeological investigation into Operation Cobra or any other Second World War military activities in Normandy has been carried out, said the projects lead archaeologist, Cameron Ross, director of the UK-based Battlefield Archaeology Group.

It was the success of Operation Cobra that allowed the D-Day landings to be translated into the liberation of northern France and ultimately the defeat of Nazi Germany.

And yet, compared with D-Day and other famous events of the Second World War, its comparatively little known.

As well as German military failings and the impact of the assassination plot failure, there were a number of other factors which led to the German defeat in Normandy.

Destroyed German armour at one of the Operation Cobra sites which archaeologists have been excavating (US Signal Corp/Washington National Archives)

Cobra featured some extraordinary military innovations that were developed and deployed in (and in the build-up to) that campaign (things like direct tank-unit to aircrew VHF communications; more effective infantry and tank co-operation; large-scale use of air-to-ground armour-busting rockets; new obstacle clearance technology; intense cluster bombing; and new more sophisticated ambush tactics).

Cobras outstanding success was also down to the exceptional skills of the people in charge of running the operation  especially a US colonel called Richard G McKee (and, crucially, the personal chemistry between those senior people). McKee had an almost unparalleled eye for detail, while his colleague Major General Joe Collins was decisive and innovative.

In contrast to many other campaigns, there was also an absence of serious rivalry and discord between the people in charge. That absence helped create an increased degree of efficiency and clarity.

German ammunition canister  with 250 live machine gun rounds  unearthed by the archaeologists (Battlefield Archaeology Group)

Two German gas masks, discovered by the archaeologists in a German dugout (Battlefield Archaeology Group)

Whats more, because Cobra was, in effect, at the very beginning of the Western allies main land campaign against Hitler, there was a lack of complacency and arrogance (the so-called victory diseases that contributed to several specific military failures in subsequent months).

Looking at it from the Allied point of view, the operation was an unparalleled triumph. But looked at from a German perspective, it was an utter disaster in which entire German units, totalling thousands of men, simply disappeared.

Operation Cobra is one of the least famous and, until now, under-researched key episodes of the Second World War.

And yet it was also the pivotal campaign that helped deliver victory for Britain and the US in western Europe.

Arguably, it marked the beginning of the end for the Nazis in the western half of our continent.

Cobra was a joint ground/air operation with the ground aspect mainly American and the crucial air aspect partly British. But the entire operation was only made possible by the damage already done to German forces by British, Canadian and US forces in the weeks before Cobra.

The newly emerging narrative as to what actually happened in the killing fields of Operation Cobra is largely being shaped by the new archaeological detective work.

In many cases, the key finds will shed new light on the various cutting-edge military innovations  which helped make victory in western Europe possible, but are largely unknown to the general public and indeed to many historians.

Landing on the Normandy beaches was a huge achievement  but breaking out of that bridgehead, punching precision holes in the German lines, with new and innovative military technology, and putting the Germans to flight was an equally remarkable accomplishment.
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Saturns rings are disintegrating and heating up the gas giants upper atmosphere, according to a new study whose findings may help predict if planets around other stars have ring systems.

The phenomenon, never before seen in the Solar System, is an unexpected interaction between Saturn and its rings, say astronomers, including those from Nasas Goddard Space Flight Center in the US.

In the new study, published on Thursday in the Planetary Science Journal, scientists reported an excess of ultraviolet radiation in Saturns atmosphere, indicating that the planets upper atmosphere is being contaminated and heated up from the outside.

They say it could be due to the impact of micrometeorites, solar wind particle bombardment, solar ultraviolet radiation, or electromagnetic forces picking up electrically charged dust - all of which could be pulled towards the gas giant due to the gravitational field pulling particles into the planet.

Researchers say the most feasible explanation for the observed phenomenon is that icy ring particles are raining down onto Saturns atmosphere and causing the heating.

Nasas Cassini probe had previously measured the atmospheric constituents of Saturn in 2017 as it plunged into the planets atmosphere and confirmed that many particles are falling in from the rings.

Everything is driven by ring particles cascading into the atmosphere at specific latitudes. They modify the upper atmosphere, changing the composition, said study co-author Lotfi Ben-Jaffel.

Researchers suspect processes involving the collision of the particles with atmospheric gasses are likely heating the atmosphere at a specific altitude.

In the study, scientists assessed archival ultraviolet-light (UV) observations from four space missions that studied Saturn, including those from two Nasa Voyager probes that flew by the planet in the 1980s.

When everything was calibrated, we saw clearly that the spectra are consistent across all the missions, Dr Ben-Jaffel said.

It was really a surprise for me. I just plotted the different light distribution data together, and then I realized, wow  its the same, he added.

Based on the UV data covering four decades of solar cycles, astronomers could analyse the Suns seasonal effects on Saturn.

The data revealed that there is no difference in the level of UV radiation, suggesting steady ice rain from Saturns rings is the best explanation for the planets upper atmosphere heating up.

We are just at the beginning of this ring characterisation effect on the upper atmosphere of a planet. We eventually want to have a global approach that would yield a real signature about the atmospheres on distant worlds, Dr Ben-Jaffel said.

One of the goals of this study is to see how we can apply it to planets orbiting other stars. Call it the search for exo-rings, he added.
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ChatGPT is now banned in Italy.

The countrys data protection authorities said AI service would be blocked and investigated over privacy concerns.

The system does not have a proper legal basis to be collecting personal information about the people using it, the Italian agency said. That data is collected to help train the algorithm that powers ChatGPTs answers.

Authorities also accused OpenAI of failing to check the age of its ChatGPT users, and not properly enforcing rules banning over 13s. Those young users could potentially be exposed to unsuitable answers from the chatbot, given their relative lack of development, authorities said.

It is just the latest censure of ChatGPT, and the artificial intelligence systems underpinning it that are made by creators OpenAI. Italys decision came days after a range of experts called for a halt on the development of new systems, amid fears that the rush to create new AI tools could be dangerous.

European consumer organisation BEUC also called for an investigation from EU and national authorities on Thursday, pointing specifically to the lack of regulation for ChatGPT and other systems and potential privacy problems. It called for an immediate investigation into the risks of ChatGPT and similar chatbots for European consumers.

The new statement from Italys regulators pointed specifically to a data breach last week, in which users reported being able to see other peoples chat histories.

OpenAI does not have an office in the EU. But it has a designated representative in the European Economic Area, which now has 20 days to provide information on measures it has taken in response to regulators concerns.

It is not clear how many of the apps users are in Italy. But it is estimated to have been used by 100 million people all over the world in its first two months.

The company did not immediately respond to The Independents request for comment on the block.

The service still appears to be accessible from Italy at the time of publication. The block requires that OpenAI stop processing the data of Italian users until the privacy issues are solved  suggesting that the company itself will be required to block users from Italy.
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Midjourney, the controversial image generating AI, has stopped free trials after it says it was abused.

The change comes after a range of high-profile fake images were created using the tool, including pictures of Donald Trump being arrested and the Pope wearing a stylish jacket.

After that controversy, Midjourney chief executive announced on Discord that the site was stopping its free trials amid extraordinary demand and trial abuse. The comapny had tried other options, including new safeguards, but they had not been enough to stop people misusing the service during trial periods, he said.

The change does not appear to be a direct response to those images. The problem was the result of massive amounts of people making throwaway accounts to get free images, which appeared to have been encouraged by a viral how-to video in China, Mr Holz told The Verge.

Initial reports had linked the two events, because of Mr Holzs reference to abuse. But those images are thought to have been created by the most recent version of Midjourney  version 5  which is not available to free users anyway.

That new update has fixed many of the longstanding errors in Midjourney, including its difficulty drawing hands, which had previously been a relatively easy way of recognising AI fakes. It is that increased accuracy that appears to have led to it being used to create those viral images of fake news events.

It does however mark another controversy for generative AI in a week that has seen a flurry of fake photos, a call to end development of new AI systems in the name of safety, and a ban on ChatGPT in China.

Midjourney has faced controversy over the limits it sets on the use of its system in the past. It has imposed certain rules to avoid drama, Mr Holz said, but has relatively loose rules about how its system can be used.

In the wake of the flurry of fake Donald Trump images, for instance, Midjourney blocked the word arrest and banned the person who had made them. But that did not appear to reflect any broader policy change and users quickly found ways around those limits, such as describing more specifically what an arrest might look like.

Mr Holz told The Verge that the free trials might come back, once the company had found a way of ensuring that people were not creating multiple accounts to abuse them.
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What do Golden Age canals, care-free two-wheeling down the road and seeing museum after world-class museum have in common?

Theyre all top things to experience in Amsterdam, the Netherlands vibrant capital.

This week, the citys been in the spotlight after launching a new campaign warning British tourists seeking a messy weekend to stay away. UK travellers attracted to the citys permissive culture, which includes its Red Light District and cannabis cafes, are being encouraged to go elsewhere  with good reason.

The most surprising thing about the news is that anyone could find this approach the least bit surprising. UK travellers are well aware of their unsavoury Brits abroad reputation. In a 2019 YouGov study, Britons were the most likely to take a negative view of their own compatriots, with 57 per cent taking an unfavourable opinion of their fellow countrymen and women as tourists.

In a remarkable show of self-awareness, the research also showed that Brits are the most likely to think that the locals in foreign destinations take a dim view of us as holidaymakers. Around six out of 10 of those questioned thought that residents might have a negative opinion of British tourists, and only 23 per cent believed that we are gladly received.

The faux outrage around the Amsterdam campaign demonstates a willful ignorance of our own well-documented shortcomings, and shouts of discrimination on social media are laughable; lack of access to a stag arrest (read: hilarious prank before being taken to a stripper) is hardly a human rights violation.

More then two millions Brit visited Amsterdam in 2019 (Getty Images)

Nor is it the first time Brits on tour have had to contend with new rules prompted by our over-indulgence. In some parts of the Balearic Islands, those staying in all-inclusive resorts are limited to six alcoholic drinks per day. Other areas have prohibited happy hours, open bars, organised pub crawls and party boat trips. A decade ago the mayor of Malia, on the Greek island of Crete, threatened to keep boozing Brits in special zonesto be closely monitored.

Our boorish behaviour abroad can safely be filed under why we cant have nice things, joining such shameful examples as the drunk, flare-up-the-bum louts who made headlines ahead of the Euro 2020 final at Wembley. Yes, the vast majority of people remained without flares in their rear-ends, but bad behaviour is common enough that the unpalatable impression of us as a nation persists.

My first European holiday after returning from living in Australia was, funnily enough, to Amsterdam. I was travelling solo and struggled to get into bars as doorways were blocked by packs of inebriated Brits proudly boasting how many hours theyd been knocking back the booze. An otherwise charming city loses something of its appeal when you see the stone pavements of the medieval centre getting splattered with piss and vomit, or groups of men leering at and terrorising the girls behind the Red Light Districts famous windows.

For those of us who prefer a getaway devoid of mindless chants, intimidation and public defecation, the sad truth of the matter is we might well weigh up prospective destinations by asking: where can I best avoid my fellow countrymen?

I do understand it, by the way. Most of us have had crazy nights out at some stage, ones that leave us filled with regret and battling the dreaded hangxiety (hungover anxiety) the morning after. Theres something about group intoxication  pack mentality?  that can make us forget common courtesy and unleash our more obnoxious side. Considering our collective repression as a nation, and the fact that alcohol features heavily as a national pastime, perhaps its not surprising we step over the line when were away.

And it does feels wrong to instruct people on how to behave on holiday, when theyre just trying to cut loose and have fun. The approach should be live and let live, surely?

Its the fact that we cant seem to let live that remains our downfall. Its a scene repeated year after year: hordes of British tourists descend to incredibly beautiful spots with scant regard for the residents  or the impact thats left long after theyve vomited in the town square and headed home. Were quick to chastise this type of behaviour when its a domestic night out; a whiff of foreign sea air or the fact that cars drive on the right-hand side isnt licence to disrespect at will.

The go-to defence is that this is a class issue, and that any attempt to discourage the binge-drinking, over-the-top holiday comes from a place of snobbery. Its true that many of the suggested measures to tackle anti-social behaviour, such as a minimum price for flights and tourist taxes, could see some budget travellers priced out  and that hardly seems fair.

The trouble is, theres a cause and effect in play. Based on the past behaviour of British tourists, you cant blame destinations for seeking change. Earlier this month, Maria Dolores Corujo, the head of Lanzarotes local government, said she wanted to attract a higher-quality tourist for the Canary Island, with a particular focus on German holidaymakers. Theyre the ones who spend more when theyre here and [move] us away from mass tourism, she added. (The Spanish Tourist Office in the UK was quick to underline that the country would not discriminate by type of visitor  half of all tourists who visit Lanzarote are British.)

The world is reframing how we should travel in the face of environmental concerns and the cultural impact of overtourism. Booze-tourism doesnt cut it anymore. Respect of a location should be a given, regardless of whether youre on a business trip or a stag do.

Brits have been described as a necessary evil in the past; a demographic to be endured, if not quite tolerated, because our tourist pounds are so important to the survival of destinations reliant on visitors. Surely as a nation of travel lovers, we can aim a little higher than that?
King Charles III visited an organic farm in Germany on Thursday 30 March, where he made orange-coloured cheese and sampled a cake shaped like his crown.

The monarch made the trip to Brodowin Farm alongside Germanys president Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Charles was seen cutting into the impressive cake before tucking into a large slice.

The farm he visited is run by Katja and Ludolf von Maltzan and is located 50 miles northeast of Germanys capital, Berlin.

Almost all of its electricity is generated on-site through a solar energy system.

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* By convening the second so-called "Summit for Democracy" Tuesday through Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration could further split the world into opposing camps, fanning the flame of ideological confrontation that will only bring more tumult. * Transparency and accountability are exactly what is missing now in U.S. political institutions. WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- By convening the second so-called "Summit for Democracy" Tuesday through Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration could further split the world into opposing camps, fanning the flame of ideological confrontation that will only bring more tumult. Unlike the inaugural summit two years ago where Washington was the lone organizer, four more co-hosts, namely Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia were handpicked by Washington for the second gathering, which -- according to the summit's schedule -- weaves the rhetoric of democracy into matters of politics, the economy, social equity and technology. This photo taken on March 29, 2023 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) CONFUSING STANDARD While the fact that the world's four major continents have each been allocated a co-host is a deliberate arrangement designed to showcase U.S. efforts to convince nations worldwide of the merits of "democratic value" as well as the viability and reliability of "democratic institutions," the world at large may hardly buy into the ostentation, and the pageantry may well prove useless. The announced substance of the summit put aside, the list of invitees alone has drawn a considerable amount of criticism from experts, who point to some U.S. allies being excluded while countries where democracy is "backsliding" are included. "One problem is that the hosts may end up paying a political price for excluding some states from what is little more than a glorified talking shop," wrote Daniel Larison in an article carried by Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Larison and other experts have noticed that as members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization -- hence allies of the United States, Turkiye and Hungary have for the second consecutive time been left off the list of invitees, signaling Washington's hypocritical recognition of them as allies. Asked to explain why Ankara and Budapest were excluded, John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communication at the U.S. National Security Council, failed to provide a reason, only telling reporters at a virtual press briefing Tuesday that the United States is "very committed to furthering and strengthening our relationships with Turkiye and Hungary." "If the hosts refuse to draw any lines about which states can participate, they open themselves up to criticism that the summit has no substance," Larison said in his article, adding that the United States and its fellow host countries making arbitrary decisions on the selection of participants will open them up to "charges of hypocrisy and favoritism." A man participates in a protest against police brutality in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 27, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) FORCED TO TAKE SIDES Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that the ongoing summit, just like the preceding one in 2021, will yield no results of democratic advancement for the participants. The Russian envoy told U.S. magazine Newsweek in an interview in the days leading up to the summit that Moscow established three flaws in the first summit based on conversations with those who participated. "It turned out that many of them, firstly, had no idea of what the essence of Washington's undertaking was," Antonov was quoted as saying. "Secondly, they were driven the importance of being in a group of 'leading democracies' of the world. Thirdly, as some diplomats put it, the path of least resistance was taken." "Nothing was requested, and the establishment of another forum for discussions on democratic transformations entailed no consequences for their countries," he said. "The situation with the second 'Summit' is actually the same." William Jones, Washington bureau chief of U.S. publication Executive Intelligence Review, in an article echoed the Russian ambassador's view that participants were forced to side with the United States. "When the United States extends an invitation, it behooves one to accept, since a refusal would result in retribution from a country that has proven it can be quite harsh in dealing with recalcitrants," Jones said. A screen image captured on March 27, 2023 in Arlington, the United States, shows the site of a shooting at an elementary school in Nashville, the U.S. state of Tennessee. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) FAILING MODEL TO FOLLOW As regards the substance of the summit, Kirby at a press call on Monday briefed reporters on a number of deliverables that will be announced at the summit. "The whole idea of a summit for democracy is to stand up for this very idea of democracy, to acknowledge that maintaining democratic institutions requires a whole heck of a lot of work and effort, honesty, transparency and accountability," he said. However, transparency and accountability are exactly what is missing now in U.S. political institutions. "We need a government that is more transparent and accountable to the people," Larison said. "Our leaders preach democracy to the rest of the world while neglecting or weakening it at home." For Antonov, the U.S. democracy is deeply flawed. Questions arose "in principle, about the ability and largely the moral right of Washington -- dealing with many political and socio-economic controversies at home -- to impose its canons and way of life on others," he has said. "Doesn't America have problems with racism, gun violence, corruption and social inequality? Why are approximately 40 million people living below the poverty line in the richest country in the world? Yet, the 50 wealthiest Americans are richer than half the U.S. population," the Russian envoy said. "There is also a clear problem with the freedom of speech, evidenced eloquently by the 'cancel culture' -- cutting out people from the public sphere for dissenting views," he said. "The idea that we are going to spread democracy is just silly, because we don't have democracy to spread," Daniel Kovalik, an American lawyer who teaches international human rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, told Xinhua in a recent interview. "The people in America don't think that they're being represented by their government, and they're not," he said. "We neglect our infrastructure. We neglect our people's health. Our banking system is falling apart... We have the most prisoners in the world of any country in absolute numbers and proportion of the population."
The defence secretary has defended the military justice systems ability to tackle rape and sex offences.

It comes as new figures have revealed a dramatic increase in the number of cases being investigated.

Some 333 Sexual Offences Act investigations were launched by the service police in 2022, up 108 from the previous year, an almost 50% increase.

Ben Wallace said the increased rate of investigations is a reflection of the work weve been doing in allowing people to come forward.

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Footage published by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Wednesday 29 March claims to show the destruction of a Russian weapons store in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut.

A statement from the 30th Mechanised Brigade said that the warehouse and the occupiers military equipment were destroyed with one shot.

The city of Bakhmut has been a major Russian strategic objective since last summer, with waves of troops seeking to take the settlement in Ukraines Donetsk Oblast.

Vladimir Putin has likely lost tens of thousands of soldiers in the bitter battle, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

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The plight of Afghan allies seeking asylum in the UK is a complex and pressing issue.

These individuals, including members of specialised units such as the Triples and the National Directorate of Security (NDS), as well as pilots, have played a crucial role in the UK mission in Afghanistan.

They have courageously fought alongside British soldiers against the Taliban, contributing significantly to counter-terrorism efforts, and engaging in actions such as targeting, eliminating, and capturing militants.

It is deeply concerning that the UK government has failed to provide safe and legal asylum routes for its Afghan allies, leaving them with no choice but to embark on dangerous, unauthorized journeys to reach the UK.

Consequently, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme has seen a backlog of cases waiting for up to 18 months, with many direct employees of the UK armed forces and other allies facing rejection despite the genuine threats to their lives.

The recent news that an Afghan pilot, who honourably served the British and NATO mission in Afghanistan, faces potential deportation to Rwanda, a nation with a history of human rights violations, is a distressing development. The UK Home Offices decision has sparked outrage, and it is crucial for the UK government to recognize its responsibility to protect its Afghan allies.

I am scheduled to meet with Stephen Kinnock, the Labour shadow minister for immigration, to address the plight of Afghan allies and the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. It is imperative for the UK government to uphold its moral duty to protect its allies by providing safe and legal pathways for them to seek asylum.

Afghan asylum cases should be handled with empathy and consideration, given the grave risks faced by former Afghan government employees and Nato allies at the hands of the Taliban. While the UK government participated in the September 2021 evacuation of Afghanistan, many Afghan allies were left behind.

In comparison to the USs evacuation of nearly 120,000 Afghans, the UK government has only evacuated around 20,000 individuals, including those with no direct or indirect affiliation with the UK mission in Afghanistan.

The UK government must rise to the occasion and offer a secure haven for its Afghan allies. Deporting them to countries with a history of human rights violations is not only morally reprehensible but also a violation of the governments obligation to protect those who served alongside British soldiers in Afghanistan.

It is crucial for the UK government to take swift action to fulfill its moral responsibility towards its Afghan allies.

Mohammad Rafi Hottak is an activist who previously worked as an interpreter for the British army in Afghanistan
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Its a question that will echo down the ages of British political history. Were you up for CPTPP?

Kemi Badenoch was, at 1am on Friday morning, sharing screengrabs of her zoom call with trade ministers from Japan, Peru, Mexico, Singapore and Malaysia to announce that the United Kingdom is now the first country ever to join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc from many, many thousand miles away from the Indo-Pacific.

It is, of course, only the latest in a very long line of tacit admissions from Brexiteers that Brexit was very obviously a terrible idea.

It is no less maddening, though very much more wearying, to have to listen to the actual government trumpeting the great triumph of some new trade deal with a nation or nations far away, and just sort of hoping the people are stupid enough to not very clearly see that if this is such a great idea, then making trade harder with the enormous and enormously wealthy free-trade zone on our doorstep is clearly a stupid idea.

Which it is  the single stupidest thing any formerly sensible country has ever done.

Most of the insanity is right there to be seen right away. There were our new trade partners, all on Zoom with Kemi Badenoch, more or less right in the middle of their working day. Its only the British trade minister thats had to stay up til the middle of the night to get the deal done. Its a degree of stupidity thats so large you almost have to applaud it.

For a very long time, the UKs great advantage, arguably the single reason for Londons huge status as a financial centre, was its time zone, which deals with Tokyo in the morning and New York in the afternoon.

As part of this new ingenious partnership, Brexit Britain stays up til the middle of the night to deal with Peru in the evening and Singapore in the morning. To take that unique advantage and turn it into a massive disadvantage really does take some doing.

The other downside is that it makes trade ministers very tired. So tired that when they inevitably have to go on breakfast television to explain how brilliant they are, they end up giving very stupid answers. They say things like: Its the first time weve joined a bloc like this in 50 years. There is strength in numbers.

At this point she did the decent thing and self-interrupted, pointing out entirely unprompted that WE DO HAVE AN FTA WITH THE EU ALREADY SO THIS IS ADDING TO THAT! Which is kind of, vaguely true.

But we have also put up immense barriers to trade with the European Union, and not only with the European Union. For the last three years, it hasnt even been possible for people who grow plants in Newcastle to sell them to loyal decade-long customers in Belfast.

There is strength in numbers, certainly. When youre out on your own, you kind of have to do what other people tell you. Like, for example, slashing import tariffs on Malaysian palm oil from 2 per cent down to zero.

Once upon a time, Michael Gove liked to claim that Brexit would actually mean that Britain could have higher environmental standards than the EU, not lower. Which, like most things Michael Gove says, is carefully worded and theoretically true, but in reality has led directly to the flooding of Britains beaches with raw sewage. (And now to the de facto subsidisation of the most environmentally damaging, rainforest-destroying crop on Earth.)

Badenoch was also very keen to point out that the difference between being part of the Indo-Pacific trade deal, and being part of the European Union, is that we make the rules and regulations on our standards.

Obviously this stuff is very basic, and very boring, but, as Ms Badenoch had pointed out only two sentences before, the point of being part of a bloc, of there being strength in numbers, is that the big boys dictate their rules and regulations to the others.

Which is why it is, very obviously, much better for a very big, very powerful continent like Europe to work out its regulations and standards collectively, so it can duke it out with China and with America from a position of strength, not weakness.

If this were not a good idea, the single market would simply not exist. Margaret Thatcher would not have created it. Germany, France, Spain, Poland and everybody else would not consider leaving it to be an act of suicidal stupidity.

What making your own rules and regulations actually means is staying up til 1am to be told what to do by Malaysia and then selling it as a big win.

Which is, naturally, the point. And it seems unlikely Kemi Badenoch wont have worked out the real synergy, the real area for growth.

Its not that long ago that international trade secretary Liz Truss spent many months flying around the world, signing cut-and-paste trade deals with whatever country would do them, and not really worrying very much about the impact they might have on, say, British dairy farmers, whove been terrified of the prospect of a trade deal with New Zealand since the second Brexit was ever raised.

What that achieved for the UK economy was absolutely zero. But it did get Liz Truss quite a few more followers on Instagram and make her very popular indeed with Tory party members. You may already know how that worked out (although it is conceivably possible that you missed it altogether).

There is absolutely no sane analysis to be found anywhere that any amount of free-trade arrangements with countries very far away can ever possibly make up for the economic damage of Brexit.

The mere act of talking up the marginal gains shows only the scale of the massive losses. Whether Badenoch understands any of that is debatable. Nobody who did would ever have campaigned or voted for Brexit, not unless, like most of them, they simply didnt care.

Still, there are many in the Tory party who have spent many years, wide-eyed at 2am, with only their bedroom ceiling for company, wondering quite how it is they came to do what theyve done. At least now they can ring up their mate in Kuala Lumpur for a bit of therapy, providing they can get them to stop laughing for long enough to listen.
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Former President Donald Trump is in trouble. But Trumpism in the GOP is more powerful than ever. Bigotry, lies, conspiracy theorieseven as Trump goes down, his style of rage, resentment, and hatred ascends in the party that elevated him, and which he now embodies.

Trump may finally be facing consequences for his years of alleged rampant criminality and general awfulness. The public learned yesterday that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is going to indict the former president on charges of violating the law in conjunction with hush-money payments made during the 2016 election cycle to cover up an affair with adult performer Stormy Daniels.

If Trump abused campaign finance regulations in order to hide important information about his past and character from the public, he should be held accountable. Powerful people should not be above the law.

Trump, of course, disagrees. In 2020, when he lost the election to now-President Joe Biden, he attempted to stage a violent insurrection. A wealthy real estate scion with a long history of corruption and illegality, he boasted that being famous allowed him to sexually assault women with no consequences. The core of his ideology, as a person and president, is the belief that certain people are better than others, and that he, as the best of all, should be allowed to do whatever he wants, to whoever he wants, with no consequences.

The Republican party has quickly rushed to say that they too embrace the principle of impunity for powerful wealthy white Christian men. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham went on Fox in a tearful rant claiming Bragg was trying to smear the presidentdespite the fact that we dont know the precise charges yet. Even right-wing Trump skeptics like pundit Erick Erickson came out against the rule of law, warning that Trumps indictment ensures his election victoryas if dicey future predictions should inoculate the powerful against legal proceedings.

And of course Florida governor Ron DeSantis, Trumps chief rival for the 2024 Presidential nomination, weighed in. Normally, youd expect primary opponents to highlight scandals and present themselves as less corrupt alternatives. But Trumps voters are intensely loyal. More than that, those voters are committed to the idea that democracy itself is untrustworthy, and that Republicans in general, and Trump especially, should not be restrained by law, morality, or fact.

And so, DeSantis posted to Twitter to show not just that he supports Trump, but that he can be as unhinged, cruel, and bigoted as Trump.

In his statement he said, The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. He promised that his state, Florida, where Trump resides, will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.

DeSantis in his statement kept evoking George Soros. Soros is a Holocaust survivor and a billionaire donor to left-wing causes. Hes also over the last decade been the focus of a barrage of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Soros has been accused of being the shadowy Jewish mastermind behind every left wing movement or initiative of prominence. The right blamed him for the George Floyd protests, for example. Soros has also been accused of trying to boost immigration to overwhelm white culture and white votersa variation on the Great Replacement conspiracy theory. Trump himself boosted these accusations in 2018 as part of his midterm election campaign. The Pittsburgh man who committed mass murder at Tree of Life synagogue that year, killing eleven, was motivated in large part by Soros immigration conspiracy theories.

Trump has also claimed that Bragg, the Manhattan DA, is backed by Soros. This is a lie. Soros contributed to a political PAC that supports many liberal causes, including Braggs candidacy. That does not mean that Bragg is controlled by George Soros, or that Soros is the true power behind Bragg. The conspiracy theory is, again, antisemitic. Its also anti-Black, inasmuch as it suggests Bragg, a Black man, is incapable of doing his job without nefarious direction from Jewish puppet-masters.

DeSantis is pushing the Soros conspiracy theory to associate himself with Trump. Hes also, though, simply a creature of the Trump era, who finds bigotry and conspiracy theories congenial. DeSantis has launched a vicious campaign to censor books about Black and LGBT issues in Florida. Hes also used the power of the state to harass and intimidate Black voters, arresting people for voter fraud even after officials told them they could vote.

The message of DeSantis Florida career is clear; certain kinds of people arent wanted and should have no voice. The state exists to serve the powerful and torment the marginalized. Thats the way of Trump, and of the GOP.

For Trump supporters, prosecuting Trump is a topsy-turvy nightmare perversion of morality. Its Trump whos supposed to use the state to get his enemies; its Trump whos supposed to rule. Equal justice is anathema. Bragg has refused to follow the script. But DeSantis, rushing onto the stage spewing antisemitism, racism, and nonsense, is assuring the GOP that as far as hes concerned, the legacy of Trump will never end.
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Donald Trump can add another historic first to his list of disgraces. The twice-impeached former president is now the first president, former or current, to be indicted. Accountability has finally come.

While there was plenty of anticipation for an upcoming Trump indictment due to Trumps claims, it still shocked many. An audible gasp could be heard on Fox News as they broke the news. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman reported that the news of the Manhattan Grand Jury indictment surprised Trump and his team at Mar-a-Lago. Even after all the noise they made about a looming arrest, the Trump team apparently thought the upcoming month-long grand jury pause meant no indictment was imminent. They were wrong.

The indictment is still under seal so we dont have the details yet, but there is now speculation of whether this goes beyond the expected Stormy Daniels hush money charges. CNN has reported that the Manhattan Grand Jury has indicted Trump on 34 counts "related to falsifying business records." This could be related to anotherr eport that the Manhattan DA asked about the National Enquirers hush money payment to Karen McDougal on Trumps behalf. Also, this news coming on the heels of former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to his role in a Trump Organization tax fraud case, cutting ties with Trumps attorneys raises questions of whether he may be cooperating.

Whatever the scope of the charges might be, the takeaway is the same. Donald Trump is finally facing his first dose of real accountability. From his fraudulent business career to his wannabe authoritarian presidency, Trump has lived a life of corruption. The notorious con man pushed the bounds of human indecency, violated laws, and tested Americas democratic guardrails. In spite of numerous criminal investigations and civil lawsuits, Trump has evaded accountability through political protection or settling away issues with cash. Not this time.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is currently negotiating Trumps "surrender" to authorities ahead of his arraignment, which is reported to take place next week. Trump will be fingerprinted and could be handcuffed. Its been said that Trump would revel in this arrest and would love to be handcuffed so he can play victim, fundraise, and rally his base. But his response to this indictment has given the opposite energy: fear.

Trump frantically released multiple statements on his social network claiming "thugs" and "monsters" have just "INDICATED" him (he still cant spell), and that this is election interference. The irony of the January 6 insurrection-inciter and 2016 hush-money-payer Trump accusing anyone of election interference is unreal. Trumps posts were filled with hypocritical attacks claiming the rule of law is being undermined. As expected, the Republican Party has responded in kind.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) responded by doubling down on his promise to investigate DA Bragg. McCarthy accused Bragg of weaponizing the justice system. This is an interesting accusation given the fact Kevin McCarthy was once infamous for his gaffe admission that Republicans weaponized the Benghazi Committee to target Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 election. Some Republicans have gone even further, with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) calling for DA Bragg to be thrown in jail.

Speaker McCarthy immediately weaponizing the House GOP majority to undermine legitimate criminal investigations into Donald Trump, is a signal of the Republican Partys continued loyalty to Trump. While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has taken a different approach than McCarthy, the broader Republican Party remains largely behind the former President as he continues to remain a frontrunner in the 2024 GOP primary. Even one of Trumps potential 2024 GOP primary rivals, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, defended him. DeSantis sent a tweet calling the indictment "un-American" and proclaiming he wont cooperate with any extradition requests for Trump from the Manhattan DA if they arise.

Many have predicted that this will help Trumps 2024 prospects. Sure, this could fire up his base of support but lets be real here. A reported 34-count criminal indictment with other looming legal liability wont guarantee a GOP primary win, and certainly wont help him in a general election. A recent Quinnipiac University national poll found that a majority of Americans think an indictment should disqualify Trump from office. This could actually provide an on-ramp for Trump alternatives to try and claim the "Trumpism without the criminality" mantle. This will only get worse for Trump because this is just the beginning.

There are multiple other criminal investigations into Donald Trumps corrupt conduct, including the Georgia grand jury probe into Trumps effort to overturn the 2020 election and the DOJs Special Counsel probe into Trumps theft of classified documents.

This is an important development in American history. This is a step toward holding all Americans to the same legal standards. Well soon see the substance of the charges and what future charges look like and analyze them on a case-by-case basis. Trump deserves his day in court like all Americans have a right to. Well see how a jury of his peers judge him. But I think I can speak for a lot of Americans when I say that were just happy to finally see Trump potentially face the music for the decades of blatant corruption weve all witnessed. All we want is equal justice under the law. Consequences for actions that any average American would be easily imprisoned for.

I think the sentiment of a member of the now "Exonerated Five" Yusef Salaam, who Trump falsely accused of rape and called for his execution in a full-page New York Times ad in 1989, is being felt by many amid this news. Salaam released a one-word sentence in response to the news of Trumps indictment: "Karma."
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The Met Office has issued a warning for heavy rain as Storm Mathis is set to bring strong winds and downpours to parts of the UK.

The French-named storm is expected to batter the south western coast potentially causing structural damage to buildings with winds up to 70mph as well as torrential rain.

The French Met Office, Meteo France, named the cyclonic low-pressure system earlier on Thursday before it travelled across the Channel. The low pressure could also spark flash flooding, prompting a UK Met Office warning for Wales and south west England which is in place from 9pm on Thursday until midday on Friday.

Strong winds and rain are expected across the south west and Wales this morning (Met Office )

A Met Office spokesperson said: A deep area of low pressure is expected to move eastwards across southern Britain during Thursday evening and Friday morning, bringing spells of strong southerly winds, then a lull, followed by strong west or northwesterly wind.

It is likely that coastal areas will see 50-60 mph gusts, with a low probability of 70 mph over exposed hills and headlands with winds probably peaking after they veer west or northwesterly.

This could lead to some disruption in places. Along with the strong winds, we will also see heavy rain overnight clearing as the low progresses eastwards.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin added that commuters should expect an unpleasant Friday morning due to travel disruption caused by the storm.

A weather warning is in place until midday on Friday (Met Office)

This low pressure has been intensifying out in the Atlantic, Mr Deakin said. Its going to bring us some lively weather during Thursday night and Friday. We'll see the strongest winds on the southern flank

As well as the windy weather, it will also be providing some outbreaks of rain.

It wont be a very pleasant Friday morning across the south much of the Midlands, Wales and southern England seeing some heavy outbreaks of rain and those gusty winds. Parts of the M3 and M2 especially will have a lot of spray and standing water for that rush hour period.

UK 5-day weather forecast

Friday:

Rain or showers, heavy at times, affecting southern and central areas. Windy here with coastal gales in the south. Chilly in the northeast with low cloud, drizzle and hill fog. Some sunny spells, mainly across northwestern parts.

Friday night:

Further rain for Northern Ireland, Wales and southern England, whilst low cloud and drizzle affects eastern areas. Mostly dry elsewhere, and winds easing in the south.

Saturday:

Rain continuing across Northern Ireland, Wales and southern England, whilst eastern parts continue cool, grey and murky. Best chance of some sunshine across western Scotland.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

Patchy rain fading Sunday with sunny spells spreading from the east. Mostly dry with sunny spells Monday but with cloud and rain moving in slowly from the west during Tuesday.
Every year when the busy lambing and calving season is over, I like to do an analysis on how the season went. Its important to take the time to do this, otherwise the same mistakes can be repeated year after year.

I used to think that waiting until the season was over, when Ive had some rest, was the best time to do my season review.

However, recently Ive changed my mind, and now I think its best to make notes for changes when Im in the thick of it, as its easy to forget the near-misses and close shaves that can be thrown at you by weather and unforeseen circumstances.

On productive farms, problems such as labour shortages and oppressive workloads recur each year, and on dairy farms calf-rearing is a constant concern for many.

Dairy farmers are business people, and all modern businesses spend time developing risk mitigation plans, which are continually updated. 

For dairy farmers who sell their calves, risks include the possibility of either a major disruption to normal calf-sale patterns, or the ending of the sale of calves to European farmers.

The French governments recent closure of the Pignet Control Post in Cherbourg  over an alleged animal welfare issue  is a case in point.

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How would each Irish dairy farm cope if the live export of calves was unexpectedly stopped just before the spring-calving season kicked off?

There are two control posts just outside Cherbourg: the Pignet, and the state-of-the-art Qualivia. Having only two available resting stops for Irish calves in France is very risky for the continued sale of Irish calves into the EU common market, of which we are members.

There are other facilities, but their distance from Cherbourg precludes them under current transport legislation and any new rulings are likely to tighten the transport laws, not relax them.

Animal welfare campaigners have long been opposed to the transport of animals of all ages, and their ultimate goal is the prevention of movement of calves within the EU, and the cessation of all exports of livestock outside the EU.

They are fiercely determined, and are willing to play a long game to gather video footage or other evidence that would support their cause  there have been cases of campaigners infiltrating large farms, by getting work as temporary labourers.

The short timespan of the Irish grass-based spring-calving period means that the two control posts are under-utilised for most of the year, but at full capacity for a short window in spring.

Animal welfare campaigners know that this time of year is when they are most likely to gather any evidence they need, which is why calf welfare standards need to be strictly adhered to.

The permanent closure of even one of the two depots would be a terrible blow for Irish farmers and would force a re-think around how and when calves are marketed for sale to European farmers.



Its proving harder than expected to get non-dairy farmers to switch into calf rearing, and the question for dairy farmers is: how would you cope during a wet spring-calving period, with a yard full of calves and the cows still housed?

Is there adequate labour, housing and calf-feeding equipment available?

The reduction in milk price is making headlines but once TAMS 3 opens, anyone concerned about their risk mitigation plan for calves should avail of the grants available to de-risk their business.

The further away from the calving period we get, the more likely it is that any difficulties will be forgotten, so it is vital that proper assessments are made now and plans are put in place to minimise risk.

The movement of Irish calves to continental Europe is vital to many dairy farms business model, but it is not a guaranteed option.

Angus Woods is a drystock farmer in Co Wicklow
In October last year the Farming Independent revealed that two boats of fertiliser, originating from the Russian port of Ust-Luga were due to land in the Port of Waterford.

It came just eight months after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia which the Irish Government described as an attempt by Vladimir Putin to drag Europe back to the 1930s.

Against a background of EU sanctions on Russia, industry complaints and media questions, the States top civil servants were scrambling for answers.

Here, we tell the story behind the importation of the fertiliser and what happened next.

In mid-October the Farming Independent received a tip-off that two boats carrying approximately 40,000t of fertiliser that had originated in a Russian port were about to land in Waterford.

One of the boats (the Solitaire I, with a Panamanian flag) was carrying NPK 27-6-6 fertiliser, while the other (the Liberian-flagged Pluto) carried 16-16-16.

In February, within days of the invasion of Ukraine, the EU had imposed sanctions on Russia and Russian individuals. At the time a spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed that EU sanctions do not target Russian agricultural and food products, including wheat and fertilisers.

However, documents, released under Freedom of Information, reveal that during this time, the Department of Agriculture had received complaints that the fertiliser was banned and could be linked to a sanctioned individual.

Expand Close Front page of the Farming Independent on October 25, 2022. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Front page of the Farming Independent on October 25, 2022.

At the time the Department of Agriculture confirmed to the Farming Independent that it was aware of a shipment of fertiliser from Russia that was due in Ireland within days, and interdepartmental memos show that Revenue officials wrote to other departments stating that its analytics software has "not shown any Russian connection to these vessels other than some calls at Russian ports".

The ownership and control, according to Revenue, seems to have been with Greek and German owners/operators respectively for a number of years.

According to the documents the "Irish competitors are maintaining that this is a departure from what nearly all EU fertiliser companies are doing, with little to no fertiliser coming to the EU from Russia".

"Additional complaints are commenting that this is morally wrong," one Department of Agriculture internal memo reveals.

However, top officials warned Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue that without a clear legislative basis to prohibit such imports, the State would leave itself open to legal action if it interfered with the commercial transaction.

"There are three tests which need to be applied to the consignments to see if the importation is legal:

Q. Can the product be imported under quota? A. Yes it can.

Q. How is the vessel flagged? A. Vessels are not Russian flagged.

Q. Is the vendor of the fertiliser linked to a listed individual? A. TBD."

Expand Close One of the boats (the Solitaire I, with a Panamanian flag) was carrying NPK 27-6-6 fertiliser, while the other (the Liberian-flagged Pluto) carried 16-16-16. / Facebook

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Whatsapp One of the boats (the Solitaire I, with a Panamanian flag) was carrying NPK 27-6-6 fertiliser, while the other (the Liberian-flagged Pluto) carried 16-16-16.

The official also said that: In essence, notwithstanding the appalling consequences of the war, the morality of any such imports is a commercial issue and one that should be properly addressed to the company concerned.

A meeting was held on October 19 with the Department of Agriculture, Transport, Enterprise and Revenue to examine these questions.

With the first ship due to dock in Waterford on October 20, the Department of Agriculture said in a memo the day before "complaints have been received into this Department that the fertiliser is banned... We are also receiving complaints that the product is being supplied by a company linked to a sanctioned individual. Additional complaints are commenting that this is morally wrong."

An internal Department of Enterprise (DETE) communication states it would not be "in any way facilitating the import or acting on behalf of DAFM  as there is nothing to be authorised here.

"The potential issue for us is that if it transpires that the importer has made a payment to a sanctioned entity, then one of the Competent Authorities would have to take a prosecution for breach of sanctions. It doesnt have to be DETE but there would be media questions to answer etc.

While the FOI documents show the vessels were not Russian flagged, so no derogation was required for port access, there were concerns among officials the fertiliser supplier is owned by a Russian oligarch who is sanctioned under the EU Regulations.

Expand Close The price of fertiliser rocketed throughout 2022 as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. / Facebook

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Whatsapp The price of fertiliser rocketed throughout 2022 as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Department of Agriculture confirmed that while the fertilisers came from a Russian port, "the company (Nitrofert) has advised that BoI (Bank of Ireland) Sanctions team did their own due diligence for the transaction and processed the payment.

The Department of Agriculture then contacted the Central Bank looking for advice on the matter, and received the following response:

"We have not received any notifications of these payments from [redacted], but we would normally expect to receive such notifications unless the credit institution identified that the entity to which the payment is to be made is a designated person."

The Department of Agriculture stated in its communication that "many of the fertiliser companies have links to listed individuals that we thought it was important to be certain. Competitors of the importer have been making complaints and we have been told that the EU will be watching this closely."

By the weekend (Saturday) officials in the Department of Agriculture wrote "can confirm the importer understands the obligations on him and believes he has done the rigorous screening.

The bank has also undertaken checks. The importer believes that he is in compliance with the Regulations but I asked him to supply the evidence as we had received complaints that the import was in breach of sanctions."

The Department of Enterprise responded that "the legal obligation is squarely on the importer to ensure it is in full compliance with all sanctions...If at any point it transpires that a payment was made, even inadvertently, to an entity associated with a sanctioned person, then the importer would be liable to criminal prosecution for breach of sanctions.

So, I cannot overstate how important it is that the importer carries out rigorous screening and due diligence on all parties to the transaction."

Wexford company Nitrofert imported the fertiliser and insisted at the time it was no different than buying gas from the sanctioned country and essential to ensuring continued food production in Ireland.

Nitrofert owner and managing director Eamonn Galavan told the Irish Independent at the time the fertiliser was not sourced from Russian firm Acron, but declined to say who manufactured the fertiliser, citing commercial sensitivity.

Following public pressure, some of the countrys biggest outlets for fertiliser said they would not accept supplies from Russia.

In March 2023, the Farming Independent again asked these same retailers for their stance on the issue.

In 2022, the Board of Tirlan confirmed our Co-op will not be sourcing fertiliser product from Russia. Sourcing policies are focused on securing non-Russian sources of fertiliser for our farmers. This decision was taken in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and the views of our employees, a spokesperson said.

Kerry Agribusiness confirmed that it is not stocking or selling Russian-origin fertiliser and does not intend to sell Russian-origin fertiliser for the foreseeable future.

Lakeland Dairies, Aurivo and Dairygold did not respond to a request for comment.

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Whatsapp Wed all love not to have to buy from Vladimir Putin, but the reality is he is the man who has the resources.

Of the 1bn worth of fertiliser imported into Ireland during 2022, 100,086,000 came from Russia since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February, according to data from the Central Statistics Office.

Joe Wallace of Wallace Agri Trading in Wexford told the Farming Independent that he is open to selling the fertiliser that was imported from Russia in October by Nitrofert.

"The stuff that comes in from Russia is a very good product. It's not banned or illegal, said Mr Wallace - brother of MEP Mick Wallace.

Every company in Europe is buying from Russia, directly or indirectly. Since sanctions came in it has driven prices up.

Farmers, look if it's cheap enough they'll buy it. It's a storm in a teacup really. If there were no sanctions in place, they (Russia) would be getting less money.

Sanctions are being used as an economic weapon. They are hurting poor people. You can't blame wholesalers for buying it in. There was a danger that there was going to be a shortage. When Nitrofert brought it in they didn't release it initially.

I will sell it (Russian Fertiliser), it's great stuff. Co-ops jumped the gun on it. They have a tendency to be PC.

Another merchant told the Farming Independent: So long as its not illegal and it came through the Department of Agriculture, it will be widely accepted by farmers.

Wed all love not to have to buy from Vladimir Putin, but the reality is he is the man who has the resources.
Poland wants the European Union to use all tools at its disposal to limit the amount of Ukrainian grain entering the EU market, the prime minister said on Wednesday, amid fury among farmers because imports have depressed Polish grain prices.

The displeasure of farmers poses a major headache for the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party in an election year as its conservative voter base mainly lives in rural areas and small towns.

"We demand the use of all regulatory instruments - quotas, tariffs, which will limit or block the import of Ukrainian grain into Poland," Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference.

Morawiecki said he had agreed with the leaders of several countries bordering Ukraine to write to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to demand action.

Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, had its Black Sea ports blocked following Russia's February 2022 invasion and it found alternative shipping routes through EU states Poland and Romania.

Logistical bottlenecks mean large quantities of Ukrainian grains, which are cheaper than those produced in the EU, have ended up in central European states, hurting prices and sales of local farmers.

Poland would ask the European Commission to employ a protective clause regarding grain imports to Poland from Ukraine, Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk said after meeting with farmers' representatives on Wednesday.

The current regulation which lifts all import restrictions "provides for such a clause that can be introduced in a situation where there are market disturbances," Kowalczyk said.

Poland would encourage Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria to take a similar step, Kowalczyk said.

Farmers have dismissed government aid proposed so far as inadequate.

"Money is due for every hectare of grain, losses must be covered," said Michal Kolodziejczak, founder of the Agrounia group ahead of talks with the government. "There must be at least 6 billion zlotys (1.2 billion) to cover these losses."

The figure cited by Kolodziejczak was 10 times higher than the 600-million-zloty aid programme approved by the European Commission on Monday, which the government says will help compensate farmers for their losses.

Kowalczyk said additional compensation of 520 million zlotys was in the works, with half of it coming from EU crisis provisions and the other half from the national budget, putting the total aid for Polish farmers at 1.12 billion zlotys.

Poland would also be seeking to export existing grain stocks to free up storage space by the next harvest, said Kowalczyk, who has had to be escorted out of an agricultural fair in the central city of Kielce after he was accosted by a crowd of angry farmers and had eggs thrown at him at another event a week ago.

Reuters
Agri-services group Origin Enterprises has acquired renewables consultancy Neo Environmental.

Neo has clients across the UK and Ireland and has advised on over 800 projects since its foundation in 2012, completing work on over gigawatts of renewable energy projects.

The purchase follows the acquisition of UK-based independent ecology solutions provider Keystone Environmental late last year.

Origins chief executive officer Sean Coyle said the acquisition was part of a plan to broaden the group's amenity, environmental and ecological portfolio and enhances its ambition of promoting sustainable land use.

In addition to clients in the energy and infrastructure sectors, as subsidy regimes change, we expect farmers will continue to assess alternative uses for less productive agricultural land, Mr Coyle said.

Neo, in conjunction with our existing ecological specialist business Keystone Environmental, will ensure we are positioned to provide an enhanced range of consulting and advisory services. We are delighted to welcome Neo to the Origin Group and look forward to working with the team.

Goodbody analyst Jason Molins said the move would add around 1pc to the firms earnings.

It follows the completion of Origins 20m share buyback programme this week, with a total of 60m returned to shareholders via share buybacks in the last two years.

Mr Coyle said the group would focus on further bolt-on acquisitions, strategic capital expenditure to drive organic growth and a progressive dividend policy in the near term.

Earlier this month Origin reported a rise in revenues in the first half of its financial year, a growth attributed to price rises and demand in Latin America.

It recorded an operating profit of 20.3m for the half year ended January 31, according to annual results.

This reflected a sharp rise from the 11.1m reported in the same period last year, a growth that was supported by favourable currency movements. On an underlying basis, the rise year-on-year was 6.2m.
A CGI rendering of the proposed site for Diageo's new carbon neutral brewery in Littleconnell, Newbridge, Co Kildare

Kildare County Council has given the green light to plans by brewing giant Diageo for a new 200m brewery on a green-field site at Littleconnell, Newbridge.

The new brewery will provide a major jobs boost to the Kildare area providing up to 1,000 jobs during the 20-month construction period. It will lead to the creation of a further 70 jobs when operational.

The new facility, which will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, on three shifts a week, is to brew lagers and ales including Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13, Smithwicks, Kilkenny and Carlsberg.

When fully operational with a capacity of two million hectolitres, the brewery will be the second largest brewing operation in Ireland after Diageos operation at St Jamess Gate, and support the future growth of Diageo Irelands beer brands.

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The carbon neutral brewery is to be built on a 21.36-hectare site at the IDA Newbridge Business and Technology Park to the east of a Lidl Distribution Centre.

The main brewery will include a brew house, storage and handling areas.

The state-of-the-art brewery will be powered with 100pc renewable energy and will harness the latest process technology to minimise overall energy and water consumption.

This will enable the brewery to avoid up to 15,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.

It will enable St Jamess Gate to increase the production of Guinness to meet global demand

As the production of lagers and ales is transferred to the new facility, it will enable St Jamess Gate to increase the production of Guinness to meet global demand.

Planning documentation lodged with the application states that Guinness considered five other sites in Dublin and Kildare for the brewery but were discounted for a variety of environmental, planning and commercial reasons.

The planning documentation states that along with the 70 jobs when operational, the brewery will also indirectly provide additional jobs in sectors such as transport, maintenance and supply of goods and services.

The proposed development was the subject of a single objection.

John Lynch of Cloney, Athy, stated that the proposal for Littleconnell should be rejected and built instead in Athy on environmental grounds.

The grant of permission coincides with two major proposed developments for Diageo Irelands headquarters at St James Gate.

Dublin City Council has granted planning permission to Diageo to repurpose Brewhouse 2 on the site into a new Irish headquarters.

In a separate application for the Guinness Quarter plan in Dublin currently before the city council, property developer Ballymore has submitted plans to develop a 12.5-acre site that includes 336 housing units, a hotel, a 300-seat performance space, a food hall and marketplace, commercial works spaces and more than two acres of landscaped public spaces.
Solar 21 has appointed a forensic chartered accountant to reset its relationships with brokers and to act as a proxy representative for 3,000 Irish investors who have invested 300m in the firm.

The Rathcoole, Co Dublin renewable energy investment firm began delaying repayments to some investors in November 2021 after telling them that a major waste-to-energy plant it had proposed building in the UK was facing delays.

Solar 21 CEO Michael Bradley confirmed to an online meeting of 200 Irish financial brokers on Friday morning the appointment of John McStay of McStay Looby Chartered Accountants.

Mr McStay told the meeting that Solar 21s corporate advisers Alvarez & Marsal had engaged with him as a proxy representative of the investor and they were within a couple of weeks of being able to put a comprehensive plan in front of everybody.

Brokers had previously been promised details of an asset disposal plan to help it repay investors in mid-March.

Mr McStay said he had seen drafts of the plan and that it was very comprehensive but still a work in progress.

He told the meeting he hoped the plan would lead to a period of stability that allowed Solar 21 to focus on maximising the return rather than spending our time talking to accountants and solicitors and others.

My role is slightly unusual in that I've been asked by Solar, who are paying my fees  and I need to emphasise that to everybody, Mr McStay told the meeting. They have asked me to talk to you today but also to report as an independent professional to the investors and explain how that's going to work.

His personal view was that at the end of the process, I need to be able to say to you whether or not, in my opinion, the impact of the proposed plan is fair and equitable for your clients and whether or not it achieves the optimal outcome in the shortest period of time, he said.

Ultimately, though, you, and particularly your clients, will be the final judge of that, he said, adding that the firm had committed to allowing him to express his independent, professional opinion.

Solar 21 was well aware that this has taken longer than was necessary but, having seen the volume of work that's been done, it's quite apparent to me that this time has been required. To get things into the stage of information flow that's there at the moment.

The accountant said that the core problem is that the envisaged project didn't proceed and that this had led to lot of speculation and probably, seen through your eyes, not enough clear information and evidence as to what is happening, he said to the brokers.

Mr McStay said that some of the funds to be returned to investors had already matured and others would mature over the coming months and this had created urgency.

Solar wants to try to reset all of the relationships with you and with your clients. Logically, with almost 3,000 investors that can't be done on a one-to-one basis. So what is envisaged is some form of a collective process.

CEO Michael Bradley declined to take questions at the meeting but apologised to brokers for the delay in getting to this point and acknowledged they had been on the frontline.

In addition, I know this has been made much more difficult and stressful by the negative media coverage in recent weeks. And while I appreciate that investors have not received all the answers to your questions, I can absolutely assure you that Solar 21 and its team have been working very hard, along with all its advisers for over a year now to come up with an orderly sales plan for the assets to produce the best return possible for your investors and we are determined to see that through, said Mr Bradley.
ChatGPT has been ordered to cease operation in Italy, according to that countrys data protection authority (DPA).

The Guarante DPA made the announcement on Friday, claiming that the online artificial intelligence (AI) system is flouting GDPR because it has no legal basis to process peoples personal data. The watchdog also says that there are no proper safeguards in place for the personal data of children who might be tempted to use it.

OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed firm that runs ChatGPT, has no corporate or administrative base within the European Union, allowing any EU countrys data protection authority to take action as they see fit.

The Irish Data Protection Commissioner, which takes the lead on most big tech regulation in Europe because of the corporate bases located here, said that it was in contact with the Italian watchdog on the issue.

We are following up with the Italian regulator to understand the basis for their action and we will coordinate with all EU Data Protection Authorities in relation to this matter, a spokesperson told the Irish Independent.

As OpenAI is not subject to the One Stop Shop and not lead regulated from Ireland, it is open to any and all DPAs to act and the [Irish] DPC will have regard to the efficient and appropriate use of our resources as we examine this matter at EU level.

Italys move could cost OpenAI up to 20m in GDPR fines, unless the company updates its data collection processes or restricts the service from being accessed in Italy.

The Italian regulator issued a statement today ordering, with immediate effect, the temporary limitation of the processing of Italian user data [by] OpenAI, the US company that developed and operates [ChatGPT.

The watchdog said that the move was triggered by an event on March 20the, when ChatGPT suffered a data breach regarding user conversations and information related to the payment of subscribers to the paid service.

It added that that there is a lack of information to users and all interested parties whose data is collected by OpenAI and the absence of a legal basis that justifies the collection and massive storage of personal data, in order to train the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform.

And it noted ChatGPTs own assertion that the information provided by ChatGPT does not always correspond to the real data, thus resulting in an incorrect processing of personal data.

ChatGPT has become the most talked-about online service of 2023. Using its large language model, it organises billions of documents into answers, plans, presentations, work models and creative works based on plain-language prompts and questions.

The associated AI technology has scared some senior technology industry figures, with Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signing a letter this week that called for a six-month pause on development of artificial intelligence research, which signatories claim is out of control and a risk to our civilisation because its spawning nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us.

OpenAI has 20 days to respond to the Italian regulator.
Over 25m in new funding has been announced for Irish tech firms and founders.

A Galway-based medical device startup has raised 10.5m in a funding round for further development of its foot-scanning device.

The company, Bluedrop Medical, says that it plans to create 25 jobs as part of the process.

The funding round was co-led by Atlantic Bridge and Elkstone, with other investors including the European Innovation Council Fund, Furthr VC, the Western Development Commission, Ascentifi and some HBAN syndicates.

Bluedrop is developing a remote patient monitoring solution that can detect early signs of diabetic foot ulcers. The company hopes that its technology can reduce the rate of preventable amputations on people with diabetes

Meanwhile, Irishman Dr Joe Fitzsimonss Horizon Quantum Computing has raised $18.1m (16.6m) in a Series A round for his Singapore-based company. The cash, raised from tech giants such as Sequoia and Tencent, will be used to establish a new engineering centre in Europe, as well as to develop its quantum computing technology.

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The funding rounds come amid turbulent times for the tech sector, with layoffs and funding crunches across sections of the global industry.

Currently employing 17 people, Bluedrop Medical will more than double its staff base to 42 this year, with a mixture of roles covering engineering, product development and manufacturing. The engineering and development roles will be based in Ireland while the commercial roles will be in the US.

This new funding is a testament to the huge amount of work our team has put in to developing a world class product that addresses a serious and growing medical need, said the CEO of Bluedrop Medical, Chris Murphy.

The patients we target have lost feeling in their feet and have a 40pc annual risk of developing a diabetic foot ulcer, with many leading to amputation. Almost all of these amputations are preventable.

Mr Murphy co-founded the company with Simon Kiersey in 2015. The latest funding brings Bluedrop Medicals total investment received to-date to 16m. Bluedrop Medical won the Irish Medtech Award for Digital Health Innovation of the Year in December,

Dr Fitzsimonss Horizon Quantum Computing recently announced that it is opening its first European offices in Ireland where it is building out its new engineering centre.

Quantum computing has the potential to completely change how we think about computing, he said.

While getting to large scale quantum computing is a daunting challenge, it is undeniable that progress towards that goal is being made. At Horizon, we focus on unlocking the power of future quantum computers, and have made significant headway towards our goal of enabling conventional software developers to take advantage of the technology through abstraction and automated algorithm synthesis. The new investment will support our effort to break through the barriers to useful quantum computation.
The UK has hailed its biggest trade deal since Brexit after joining an 11-nation Indo-Pacific trading bloc, predicting a boost in exports for British food, drink and cars.

UK premier Rishi Sunak announced overnight that the UK will join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade area of 11 countries and more than 500 million people.

It follows almost two years of negotiations, with the UK becoming the first European country to join the bloc.

The CPTPP also includes Canada, Australia, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The US famously withdrew from the precursor to the new CPTPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, under former president Donald Trump in 2017.

With the UK, the CPTPP will have a total GDP of 11trn (12.5trn), according to a statement from the British government, making up 15pc of the world economy.

The UK government expects the deal to add 1.8bn to the economy in the long run, increase wages by 800m compared to 2019 levels and boost key UK exports including cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whiskey, which will face zero tariffs.

The UKs services industry is also expected to benefit from reduced red tape and greater access to growing Pacific markets Downing Street said in a statement.

We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms, said UK premier Rishi Sunak.

As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation.

Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join. British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific.

The UK says its firms will not be required to establish a local office or be resident to supply a service in the region, and says it has secured modern rules of origin requirements to allow the sale and resale of its goods across the bloc.

It also hopes to attract inward investment from other CPTPP countries.

UK and CPTPP members need to take some final legal and administrative steps before the agreement can be finalised.
A man who witnessed the sectarian killing of his grandfather in an attack involving a protected police informant is to receive 90,000(100,000) damages, a High Court judge ruled today.

Michael Monaghan Jr was awarded the payout in his claim against the Chief Constable over the loyalist paramilitary murder of Sean McParland in north Belfast nearly 30 years ago.

Mr Justice Rooney held that police knew the Special Branch agent, a leading UVF terrorist referred to only as Informant 1, had already confessed his role in other killings but were recklessly indifferent to the likelihood of further attacks.

He said: The defendant not only turned a blind eye to Informant 1s serious criminality, it went further and took active measures to protect (him) from any effective investigation and from prosecution, despite the fact that (he) had admitted his involvement in previous murders and criminality.

Mr McParland, a 55-year-old innocent Catholic, was shot dead as he carried out babysitting duties at his grandchildrens home on Skegoniel Avenue in February 1994.

UVF commander-turned-supergrass Gary Haggarty has pleaded guilty and been convicted of the murder as part of a huge catalogue of paramilitary crime.

Mr McParlands four grandchildren have all sued the Chief Constable for alleged failures in how the RUC handled another paid terrorist agent involved in the killing - Informant 1.

Compensation was sought for the mental injuries and trauma they were exposed to.

With police said to have admitted negligence and misfeasance in public office, the case centred on a dispute over the level of any damages.

The court heard the killers tricked Mr McParlands grandson Michael Monaghan Jr, then aged nine, into opening the door to the familys home.

The court heard Mr McParland was nine years old when tricked into opening the front door to his grandfathers murderers.

One of the masked men pointed a gun at him before targeting their victim, who had been recovering from throat cancer.

In emotional testimony, Mr Monaghan recalled seeing his grandfather getting on his knees and begging the gunman not to shoot.

He also described seeking help and witnessing paramedics perform CPR with a babys sleepsuit because of Mr McParlands tracheostomy before he rejoined his three younger siblings.

Following the shooting he was plagued by unwarranted feelings of guilt for letting the killers into their home, the court heard.

Counsel for the Monaghan family argued that the Special Branch agent was shielded by his handlers despite admitting to his role in the murder, and used that protected status to participate in criminal mayhem.

Even when he confessed to involvement in killings police carried out sham investigations into him and ensured that he was released without charge, the court heard.

A Police Ombudsman report linked Informant 1 to a total of 10 murders, 10 other attempted murders and a vast array of other serious crimes.

Those findings identified evidence of Special Branch collusion in blocking attempts to bring the agent to justice.

Mr Justice Rooney described the Ombudsmans conclusions as shocking and disturbing.

Awarding total compensation of 90,000 to Mr Monagan to cover aggravated damages and post-traumatic stress, he said the probable harm from the unnamed terrorists murderous acts had been predictable.

I conclude that the police officers, as public officers, engaged in unlawful acts and knew or were recklessly indifferent as to the consequences of their illegality, he held.

By failing to take any steps to properly investigate and prosecute Informant 1, by engaging in a deliberate determination to protect him and by continuing to deploy him as a CHIS (Covert Human Intelligence Source), the police knew or were consciously indifferent to the risk that he was likely to commit further murders and engage in serious acts of violence, resulting in death, personal injury and psychiatric damage.

According to the judge it beggars belief that the agent assumed such a protected status that he was freely able to admit to the killing.

Even after the murder of Sean McParland, the defendant continued to pay Informant 1 large sums of money for a significant period of time, he added.

Informant 1 has never been brought to justice and the Ombudsman has concluded that, by protecting Informant 1, the defendant has engaged in collusion.

Outside court, Mr Monaghans solicitor described the outcome as a resounding victory for his client.

Setanta Marley of KRW Law said: All of his allegations of collusion against the police were upheld by this ruling."

Mr Marley added: This case is not only very significant for the Monaghan family, but going forward the judgment sets out a route map for so many other pending collusion cases.

It provides very clear guidance on what is required in order to prove collusion against State agencies and sets a benchmark on the level of damages that ought to be paid to victims.
A man caught growing cannabis plants in his bedroom had turned to cultivating the drug when it became difficult to come by during the pandemic.

Ionut Ciobanu (36) had a significant addiction at the time gardai found 4,500 worth of plants and cannabis in a search at his home.

Ciobanu, of Esker Park, Lucan, pleaded guilty to cultivating the drug.

Judge Treasa Kelly gave him a four-month sentence, suspended for a year, but struck out a sale or supply charge after hearing it was not a commercial enterprise.

Dublin District Court heard gardai searched Ciobanus bedroom on November 7, 2021, and found 1,368 of cannabis in four glass jars, and plants valued at 3,200 in tents that had been adapted for cultivation. The court heard the valuation made was what the plants would be on maturity.

Straight out of the gate Ciobanu had told gardai what they would find and how they would find it, his solicitor Niall Walsh said.

The majority of the drugs found were for his own use but he accepted he shared it on occasion with other people in the house.

The accused had been on anti-depressants for mental health issues but didnt like the way they made him feel, then made a very stupid decision with hindsight that he was going to self-medicate, Mr Walsh said.

During the pandemic, cannabis was more difficult to come by so he decided to cultivate it. He was smoking 25g to 30g of the drug a week at the time.

Ciobanu accepted it was a very large valuation for the district court to deal with but it was not a commercial enterprise and he got a jolt from what happened.

The accused, who was now clean, had a diploma in software development and was a constructive member of society, Mr Walsh said.

Judge Kelly said it was a significant amount of drugs but the accused had since made good strides.
The toxic relationship between farmer Michael Scott and his elderly aunt, Chrissie Treacy, was building steadily before she was struck by a teleporter while Scott was reversing in her yard. The jury deemed it was an act of gross negligence.

The panel of six men and six women ultimately did not accept the prosecutions case that Scott had deliberately knocked down Chrissie Treacy (76) in an act of murder out of a sense of entitlement and for revenge. Instead they found the Galway farmer guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

In interviews, Scott told gardai that his relationship with Chrissie was fine and that he gave a deaf ear to solicitors letters looking to partition the land they jointly owned because he didnt know how the land could be divided.

He described Chrissie as decent and said: She would let you know who was boss. She could eat the head off you and then have you in for a cup of tea.

But an entirely different picture was painted by witnesses in this murder trial, who spoke of a vulnerable woman living on her own, isolated from Scott and his children who used to drop in for apple tart but no longer came to visit; and fearful after a long campaign of intimidation which included the sudden disappearance of her beloved old terrier dog Bradley.

During a pre-trial hearing without the jury present, prosecution counsel Dean Kelly SC told the court that following Bradleys disappearance in February 2018, about two months before she died, Chrissie told the entire community that her dog was gone, squarely blaming Scott.

Days after his disappearance, she told her friend Regina Donohue that Scott asked her: What would it be worth to you to get the dog back?

Ms Donohue was not allowed to tell the jury about the question, because the trial judge ruled as inadmissible the hearsay statements of the deceased. Those who visited Chrissie in her final months describe a woman who was at her wits end.

One of the last times I saw her she was in a pitiful state, said a friend. She had on her lap a bag of holy pictures and prayers and it was well worn  she was fingering it the whole time. She was very nervous.

Life was not always like that. There had been golden years for the Treacy family  known locally in East Galway as the Trassies.

They were a hugely respected farming family which consisted of their parents and four children Chrissie, her two brothers Michael and Willie, and a sister Maureen  Michael Scotts mother, who died tragically in her 40s.

Friends say Chrissie was devoted to her life on the farm and placed it above all else.

One friend said: Even in her youth, Chrissie worked at home on the farm milking cows for her father. As Chrissie grew up she became more and more imprinted with the farm you could say. It very much became the focus of her life in that I dont think she ever worked outside of the family farm.

She was engaged to a man at one point, but a friend said ultimately she couldnt be with him because she couldnt imagine her life beyond the farm.

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He was a good guy by all accounts but she made a choice not to marry him and returned the ring by post. She discovered at a young age that her calling was to milk cows and be with her animals on the home farm.

When her parents died, Chrissie, Michael and Willie continued to live in the family home in Derryhiney, Portumna, Co Galway, with its farm of 120 acres of prime quality land stretching down to the Shannons banks, three kilometres from Portumna bridge.

Their holding was lucrative and well-run, and Chrissie had won multiple awards for the quality of her milk, as well as caring for her cows, her suck calves, her geese and her lambs. They were good farmers, by God, Scott had told gardai, ahead of their time.

Chrissies had been a rich life, one friend insisted. People may think she had an insular life on the farm with the animals but it was her first love.

The Treacys were very sociable. For years, they accepted young trainee farmers onto their farm to gain invaluable work experience and would maintain the friendship.

In the end, Chrissie would end up making one such former trainee, Regina Donohue, the sole beneficiary of her will.

The vehemence felt by Scott towards Ms Donohue emerged when on the first day that Ms Donohue gave evidence during the trial, Scott called her a c**t as she was walked past him on leaving the witness box. The jury was unaware of this incident and Ms Justice Caroline Biggs told Scott that it was disgraceful and that he should be ashamed of himself.

The Treacy family were renowned for their legendary card games of 25 in their house every Friday night.

It became almost internationally famous. It was a religious event. Chrissie would have tables of food laid out, said the friend. I call it a card game but it was more like a war. They took it very seriously.

They would all be the best of friends afterwards. They would play silently and the next thing there would be an outburst Oh you had that card. But all was forgiven and forgotten when they laid down their cards.

As Willie and Michael Treacy never married, one friend said Chrissie cared for them like a mother, and had been happy to do so.

People can look at it as a sad life but it was a very full life. She was very happy. She had a very stimulating and active social life. They had a great life down there. They were golden years.

That Chrissie was a popular member of her community was patently clear from the way that multiple witnesses throughout the trial spoke fondly of her.

Her carer Ann Keavney recalled her good sense of humour and a good turn of phrase.

And Regina Donohue remembered her friends good-natured grumbling about the mouldy biscuits she would buy for her in Aldi.

In the court for the verdict yesterday were a small and faithful band of neighbours, past and present, from the east Galway area, keeping a watchful vigil.

One woman explained she had known the Trassies many years back and had spent happy times in their house. They were great people, she said, adding: There are none of them left now and thats why Im here.

Another woman wore a lilac jumper in court, in a quiet tribute to Chrissie because she was wearing lilac that day.

It was after the loss of Michael in 2003, and then Willie in 2009, that Chrissie began to suffer from depression for the first time in her life. She would get spells of anxiety and become fearful of death from time, the trial heard.

In an anniversary notice for her brothers posted in the Connacht Tribune in 2012, she had chosen the verse: A gentle breeze is blowing, On a quiet and peaceful grave, Where the ones we lost is resting, And can never be replaced. Thank you for the things you did, Before we had to part, Thank you for the memories, We carry in our hearts.

Amid Chrissies loneliness and grief, fresh trouble arose.

Willie had died suddenly, without leaving a will, and so the 140-acre farm at Derryhiney was left to Chrissie and to Scott and his siblings, with whom he had organised some arrangement, together with another 40 acres at Kiltormer owned by Chrissie, which she rented to Scott.

This meant that Chrissie and Scott were now joint owners and tenants in common at Derryhiney. It meant that the farm was not partitioned and neither one owned specific lots or fields, but that every blade of grass was held at 50pc each, as her solicitor Brendan Hyland explained to the court.

For a time, things were harmonious, while Scott farmed the entirety of the farm, renting Ms Treacys portion for a rent of 6,000.

In November 2017, Chrissie called Mr Hyland saying Michael Scotts lease on her half of the land at Derryhiney had expired and she wanted to regularise matters. She said that Scott was anxious for a new lease and if he couldnt get the lease, it would create difficulties for him and his dairy business.

Mr Hyland asked agricultural adviser and auctioneer Declan McHugh to value the land because Mr Hyland felt there was a gross undervalue in what was being paid. A short time later Mr Hyland received a call from Chrissies phone but when he took up the call Michael Scott was on the other end.

That surprised me, he said. The only thing I could presume was he was in her kitchen.

I was very concerned about her, that a lot of pressure was being put on her. I knew her, she was a very kind lady and quiet, an inoffensive person, living on her own and she was very vulnerable.

By December 2017, Mr Hyland spoke of Chrissie being under enormous stress and being subject to threats and intimidation by Scott.

When later that same month, they received a valuation from Mr McHugh which showed that she should have been receiving 13,000 rent for the land rather than 6,000, Chrissie made her decision  informing Scott that she wanted the land partitioned. One week later Scotts solicitor wrote back saying he would not agree to the partition, but would offer an increased rent of 8,000 per year.

Agricultural adviser Declan McHugh told the trial Scott was facing massive problems and huge financial implications if he lost 50pc of his total holding which could force him into a herd reduction as well as reducing the amount he could claim from the EU single farm payment.

Meanwhile, Chrissies carers told of the heat being mysteriously switched off on a bitterly cold day, of the electricity tripping, of an obstacle course of steel girders left outside her back door.

They could no longer access the milking parlour to fill a jug of milk for Chrissie; Scott was allowing cows up the good road to the house, while Regina Donohue told of being run off the road by Scotts car.

Chrissie got the information updated for the panic button she wore around her neck, so that Scott was no longer the first contact, choosing Regina Donohue instead.

Sergeant Gerard Cleary told the trial that about six weeks before Ms Treacy died, Scott came to Portumna garda station and became upset while telling him that he would have to give up the cows because Ms Treacy was being unreasonable.

The sergeant said: He asked me to have a word with her. I advised him that I wouldnt be having a word with Chrissie on his behalf and I advised him to go to Derryhiney and show a bit of kindness to Chrissie and if he was good to her, it would work out OK for him.

On April 25, two days before Chrissies death, she received a letter from Scotts solicitor expressing relief that the dispute had been resolved and that a new lease could be drawn up.

However, her solicitor was adamant this was not true and the following day, Mr McHugh posted the letter to Michael Scotts home address asking him not to include portions of the land at Derryhiney in his single farm payment application for 2018. By the next day, Chrissie was dead.

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Two men have arrested following the seizure of an estimated 1.3m worth of cannabis as part of a joint operation targeting organised crime in counties Dublin and Meath.

The males, aged 39 and 45, are currently detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 at a garda station in north Dublin.

Their arrests follow what gardai described as an operation targeting persons suspected of being involved in organised crime in the Dublin and Meath areas.

Gardai from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), Coolock and Raheny District Drugs Units and the Meath Divisional Drugs Unit along with personnel from the Revenue Customs Service conducted the joint operation earlier today.

During the operation, Revenue officers seized approximately 67.5 kilos of herbal cannabis with an estimated value of 1.3m.
A woman who is considered a key figure in the so-called Black Axe crime group has been arrested.

The suspect (40), who is based in Clondalkin, west Dublin, remained in custody yesterday at a garda station.

She was being questioned by fraud squad officers about allegedly directing the activities of a major criminal organisation.

A total of around 10m in fraud-related cash is believed to have passed through several bank accounts she allegedly controlled between 2017 and 2019.

Her arrest is considered one of the most significant yet under Operation Skein, the investigation being run by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB).

Its suspected money was used to bulk-buy items such as cars, expensive clothes and machinery for delivery to Nigeria

The woman is understood to have become a significant player in Black Axe through her involvement in organised prostitution in Dublin.

She is suspected of having a male employee of one of the countrys main banks working for her, and allegedly used this person while controlling a major money-mule and money-laundering operation.

This man was previously arrested by the GNECB, and a file is being prepared for the DPP in relation to him.

The woman is alleged to have set up a fake business that was registered to her and that she used to manage money-mule accounts. It is claimed she told gang members to lodge money in those accounts.

There can be no doubt the suspect in custody right now is way higher above the food chain than the bank employee who was previously lifted, a source said. A total of around 10m is suspected to have gone through accounts linked to her, including almost 7m in her business account.

Detectives have said the suspect has no significant trappings of wealth.

Virtually all the cash that went through the bank accounts has been transferred out of the country in what is known as trade-based money-laundering.

This involves using business transactions to try to legitimise the illicit origins of proceeds of crime.

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In the womans case, it is suspected the money was used to bulk-buy items including cars, expensive clothes, machinery and pharmaceutical equipment from China and Vietnam, among other countries, and then transferred out of her bank accounts.

Sources said these high-value items would arrive on container ships in Nigeria, where Black Axe has its base, and be distributed from there.

The money allegedly came into the womans accounts from the proceeds of mainly international but sometimes Irish invoice re-direct fraud, romance scams, rental frauds and other crimes.

Black Axe is considered one of the worlds biggest and most far-reaching crime syndicates.

An Garda Siochana is playing a key role in an international police operation involving Europol and other law enforcement agencies targeting the organisation.

The woman was arrested on Monday, and her period of detention was extended by a judge late on Tuesday night. She can be held for up to seven days.
The job advertisement said the next director general must ensure RTEs place in Irish public life, be culturally engaged, digitally knowledgeable and have strong editorial judgment. They should demonstrate a track record of successful leadership within complex organisations and have the business acumen to make sure RTE remains on a sound financial footing.

Whats actually needed from the next DG is much simpler, says a station insider: do a deal with the Government; do a deal with the trade unions.

Its the same to-do list Dee Forbes got on Monday, July 11, 2016 when she was the surprise successor to Noel Curran. Forbes, who had been managing director of Discovery Networks for northern Europe, was the first outsider to be appointed DG in 50 years. She had no direct experience of RTE, nor of programme-making; her skill set was managerial and commercial. The ideal person, then, to negotiate a deal with Government on the licence fee, and on cost-cutting with unions? Yet, in the end, she did neither.

Within months of her taking over, RTE announced the outsourcing of childrens TV programmes. Not so fast, said the unions. Youre breaching a guiding principles agreement that says we have to be consulted first. Management had to climb down. She was off to a shaky start.

For the next seven years, Forbes tried to persuade the Government to reform the licence fee, stuck at 160 since January 2008, and which fewer and fewer homes have to pay since they no longer own TV sets. Richard Bruton, as communications minister, announced in 2019 that the fee would be replaced by a device-independent broadcasting charge by 2024, but that plan fell with the last government.

The current government rejected the key recommendation of the Future of Media Commission: that RTE be funded directly from the exchequer. The issue is now being examined by a technical group, which is due to report to Catherine Martin, the media minister, very soon. Reform is promised by the end of next year.

This is far too late for Forbes, whose Cassandra-ish warnings about RTEs finances have been continuously ignored. In February 2018, she said 2018 is the pivotal year. If there isnt movement on funding, then there will be severe consequences for us. There werent. It needs to be fixed, or else, she said in August 2022. And we really are at the or else moment. Again, the DG who cried wolf was ignored. Her successor will surely adopt a different approach.

When Dee Forbes was appointed DG, a huge play was made of the licence fee, and against that benchmark you would have to say it has been an unsuccessful tenure, says Kevin Rafter, professor of political communication at DCU. She has singularly failed to make the case in relation to reform of the licence fee, or an increase in the amount, notwithstanding huge lobbying, a lot of megaphone diplomacy, and angsty letters to Government.

Rafter faced a similar challenge when he became chairman of the Arts Council in 2019. At behind-closed-doors meetings, he convinced senior officials to increase the councils grant from 80m in 2019 to 130m in each of the last three years.

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The more you are out talking and the more megaphone diplomacy you are doing, the weaker your position is, he says. You get around the table, make your case, and you trade. RTE didnt manage to bring the political system with them, and meanwhile they are still talking about pay cuts and job numbers. You get a sense of an endless Groundhog Day between management and the trade unions, and an absence of clarity.

So in terms of Dee Forbes tenure, it has not been particularly successful in delivering for RTE.

She did extract some extra cash from the exchequer, however. Following threats to close Lyric FMs studios in Limerick as part of a 60m savings plan in 2019, Bruton gave RTE an extra 50m over the next five years, dressed up as compensation for the increased number of pensioners getting a free TV licence.

The bailout was soon forgotten as the number of households declaring themselves TV-free increased. Rory Coveney, RTEs director of strategy and a possible successor to Forbes, recently told an Oireachtas committee: The rise of no-TV homes has risen from 3pc seven or eight years ago to 16.5pc today, so its growing at a clip of about 2m per year in terms of the impact to us. Its just not sustainable.

Amid the incessant demands for changes to the licence fee, however, there was no sign of serious reform within RTE. Despite a series of voluntary exit programmes, its workforce never seems to diminish. There were 1,850 employees in 2002, and there are 1,871 now, or 1,755 full-time equivalents. In the interim, it has offloaded the National Symphony Orchestra and its musicians to the National Concert Hall, saving 8m a year.

In April 2017, RTE workers voted down a proposed stability agreement, including pay cuts for two years for anyone earning more than 40,000. The top earners did take a 15pc pay cut, with Ryan Tubridy down 55,000 to 440,000 between 2019 and 2021 and Joe Duffys earnings dropping from 392,494 to 351,000 in the same period. While the nation is fixated on the pay of the top stars, however, their combined earnings represent less than 1pc of RTEs total operating costs.

Much less attention is paid to the large managerial class at Montrose, some 119 of whom earn more than 100,000 a year, and whose allowances amount to about 1.18m a year, according to figures obtained by the Irish Independent last March under the Freedom of Information Act.

Car allowances made up most of that. Abolishing them would be an easy and eco-friendly win for the next DG. It would also be a bold, public act of leadership, something critics say has been largely absent from RTE over the last seven years.

How visible has Dee Forbes been? Not very, says Breda Brown, communications director of Unique Media. In terms of telling us where the organisation is going, and how we are going to get there, I can count on one hand the number of times I have heard her on radio or TV talking about it. She comes out to address issues, rather than to tell us in a positive way where the organisation is going.

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Brown believes the next DG should have a strong record of organisational transformation and leadership, but also offer more public prominence, in the style of Martin Shanahan, the former chief executive of IDA Ireland.

There needs to be more visibility, internally and externally, she says. Visibility creates opportunities for accountability  when you are out and about, you will be questioned by people, by the media. Im not sure thats been there as much as it should have been.

Rafter agrees about the need for the next DG to spell out their ambition for the station, and what its going to look like in five years. When theres a big event like Covid-19 or a general election, Irish people still gravitate to RTE, which retains a unique place in the media landscape, he says. The question is what happens between those events, and what model does the broadcaster want to adopt  be like the BBC, a commissioning station like Channel 4, or something else entirely?

On its website you are getting gossip and tabloid articles alongside public service journalism. So what is the profile of the organisation? Rafter wonders.

I think RTE needs to strip back a lot of what it does. Get down to core. It needs to get off that site in Donnybrook; which [would give] it the ability to trade and negotiate with Government. Selling the site piecemeal was a strategic mistake, to my mind. That should have been part of an overall conversation about what RTE wants to be in five to 10 years.

So is there an example of organisational transformation the next DG could imitate? Brown points to An Post, another semi-state agency, where David McRedmond has been chief executive since September 2016.

It was clear what the vision was, how they were going to get there, and when they hit milestones along the way, she says. A lot of hard decisions had to be made, but they managed to keep all their employees on board.

McRedmond, whose seven-year contract with An Post also expires this year, is the bookies favourite to succeed Forbes. A former chief executive of TV3, he persuaded both government and trade unions to buy into a transformation programme at An Post. He negotiated two increases in the price of stamps, and 30m in exchequer support for the post-office network.

McRedmond lost out to Forbes for the DG job last time out. Its unclear if the 60-year-old still wants it, since being in charge at Montrose might mean having to step down as chairman of Eir, a non-executive position that An Post allowed him to keep.

McRedmond probably has a strong emotional attachment to RTE since his father Louis, a former editor of the Irish Independent, was the stations head of information and publications from 1973 to 1986. A former director at Waterstones, he is a fan of classical music and history, and at one time was seen toting a well-thumbed copy of Ulysses around town. His cultural credentials aside, there is a widely-held belief that what McRedmond did at An Post needs to be done in RTE too.

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Rafter says it doesnt matter any more whether the next DG is an insider or hired from outside RTE, because the demarcation lines in Irish media are so blurred anyway, with newspapers doing videos and podcasts and broadcast journalists writing articles for RTEs website. The next DG simply needs a vision, a plan and acute political antennae.

It should be someone who realises that they cant be everything, and do everything, and thats OK; that they dont have to be across the entire range of journalistic output, Rafter says. They need a leader, someone out front fighting for RTE, who is prepared to make the case publicly, and brings the staff with them.

There are a few questions any prospective DG should expect at their final interview. One is how to persuade young people to turn off TikTok and tune back in. Apart from live events, TV viewing by 16- to 24-year-olds has almost stopped. Engaging with that audience via social media, and hiring presenters from the ranks of influencers, are among the tactics that could be used. The next presenter of The Late Late Show should be Vogue Williams, one former RTE executive suggests.

RTE announced on Friday that it was ending its longwave service, which cost 250,000 a year and was listened to by one man and his dog in Britain. Its an obvious move in the age of streaming. Some argue that RTE should now be putting all its efforts into replicating the successful BBC Sounds platform.

An RTE version would be amazing, and why dont we have it yet? Brown asks. My understanding is its being worked on internally, but its so behind at this point. Look at what Bauer Media have done with their podcast platform GoLoud. You do wonder why it takes RTE so long to get things done.

Selling the Montrose site and the transmission business 2RN, ending the longwave service and handing over 2FM: these are the tricky calls faced by the next RTE director general  not decisions like who will host The Late Late Show.

This is a big decision for the board, says Rafter. I think its probably one of the most important appointments in RTEs history, because they have to get it right in the next few years. Otherwise theyre going to be eaten up and diminished as an organisation.
A man who murdered his wife and two children in their Dublin home wore a dress and disguised himself as a woman on the night they were killed.

His daughter, Asfira Syed (11), also made a video message that night saying: Dad loves us so much and denied he had assaulted her mother, an inquest has heard.

The bodies of Asfira, her brother Faizan (6) and their mother Seema Banu (37) were found at their home in Llewellyn Court, Rathfarnham, in October 2020.

Sameer Syed had been charged with his family's murder but died a week before he was due to stand trial last June.

Dublin Coroner's Court today heard of the significant garda investigation into the triple murder.

The inquest previously heard of how Ms Banu was subjected to years of abuse by her husband and how he was barred from the house because of an assault the previous May.

Evidence was given that armed gardai forced entry to the home on October 28, 2020, and noticed significant water damage to the kitchen ceiling from an upstairs tap left running.

Detective Garda Brian O'Neilll said he went upstairs and saw Asfira and Faizan lying face down beside each other on a bed.

Both had a scarf around their neck which were tied with a knot. Gda O'Neill said he knew both children were deceased.

Seema Banu was located in a different bedroom lying face up on a bed with scarf tied around her neck which was knotted at the front.

The detective said he called out but there was no response, and he then touched her lower left leg which was "ice cold".

At that stage he said he was certain Ms Banu was deceased.

Garda management were alerted and at 1.20pm the scene was declared a crime scene.

Deputy State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers said the cause of death for all three was asphyxia due to ligature strangulation.

She also said the ligature may have been applied to Ms Banu after her death and that self-strangulation in the case was unlikely.

Detective Inspector Vivian Rock, who oversaw the murder inquiry, said a large amount of forensic and digital evidence was gathered by the investigation team.

He told the jury that CCTV footage showed a man boarding a Dublin bus in Rathmines shortly after 8pm on October 22, six days before the bodies were found.

The person was wearing a dress, jacket, hat and dark glasses while carrying a bag, and took the number 14 bus in the direction of Rathfarnham.

Det Insp Rock said it was established that this was Sameer Syed dressed as a woman, and that the clothing was not cultural dress or otherwise.

The garments and items had been sourced elsewhere and were recovered during searches in different properties, including at Llewellyn Court.

In garda interviews, Syed capitulated and conceded that it was him in disguise and that he was present at the family home on the night of the deaths.

The inquest heard that prior to arriving at the home he changed back into mens clothing.

Gardai also recovered a video recorded by Ms Banu and Asfira shortly after 10pm that night.

During the video she claimed that injuries suffered in an assault by her husband that May were self-inflicted by strangling herself.

Ms Banu also produced a prepared document, described as a final statement, in which she denied her husband had assaulted her.

Asfira also tells the camera that her dad did not hit them and adds: "Dad loves us a lot. He loves us so much".

Det Insp Rock said investigations established this statement was taken at least a week earlier and had been written by Asfira.

Digital examinations revealed it had been sent from Ms Banu's device to Syed's phone on October 16.

It was also transmitted between the devices at 10.10pm on the night they are believed to have been killed.

The statement shown in the video was found "neatly placed" on the bedside locker beside Ms Banu's body.

After being charged with the earlier assault, Syed was barred from visiting the family home and was only allowed supervised access to his children.

However, the garda investigation found that he visited the home on 29 days, between August 20 until the day of the deaths, specifically on weekends. Despite this, neighbours did not report seeing him.

Syed was later arrested over the murders and in interview admitted killing his wife but named "another party" for the murder of their children.

However, Det Insp Rock said gardai were able to prove this was not the case and the DPP directed he should be charged with all three murders.

Gardai had found his fingerprint on the plastic bag recovered under Asfira's head.

Syed was due to stand trial for murder last June but he was found dead while in custody.

The Senior Investigating Officer said it was a protracted investigation, following hundreds of lines of inquiry as well as liaising with foreign police forces.

The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing for all three victims and expressed their sympathies to the family.

The Coroner, Dr Clare Keane, said they had no chance to reach their potential and that their deaths was "unimaginable".

She also acknowledged the work of the gardai, Tusla, and the Sonas refuge, and said it had been a very, very difficult case.
A row over rosters has reached a serious impasse 11,500 gardai have been warned.

In a message sent this evening, Philip McAnenly, general secretary of the Garda Representative Association (GRA), says talks at a conciliation council ended without agreement today.

He said Commissioner Drew Harris had no further proposal to break the deadlock that has arisen.

Tension between the commissioner and gardai over rosters comes as their leave is being cancelled during a visit by US President Joe Biden next month.

The commissioner wants the dispute referred to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) but garda representative bodies claim that internal dispute mechanisms have not been exhausted.

Over 250 members of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (Agsi) marched to garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park earlier this month and demanded immediate talks.

Agsi has warned that it is willing to consider all forms of industrial action and has not ruled out a blue flu type protest.

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They claim proposed new rosters are not family friendly and will mean 47 extra working days a year for more than half its members.

Gardai will work shorter shifts over more days under the proposals.

This morning the GRA attended a reconvened meeting of the Garda Conciliation Council and, unfortunately, this meeting closed without any agreement and we now face a serious impasse, said Mr McAnenlys message.

He said its central executive committee will meet as soon as possible and consider the implications.

We also note that our annual delegate conference opens on April 25 and we will be guided by our delegates as to the appropriate response to this development, he said.

He said the conciliation council meeting opened on March 28.

Mr McAnenly said it was a meeting the association had understood had been called to progress a plan that would allow the parties reach agreement on rosters.

He said the GRA negotiating team sought further engagement on Tuesday to resolve any concerns management may have relating to a rosters proposal it submitted on January 9 this year.

The meeting was adjourned to allow the commissioner an opportunity to respond, he said.

However, on reconvening this morning the garda management team once again conveyed the commissioners position that he believed all internal procedures are now concluded and his preference is to bring the matter to the Workplace Relations Commission.

The commissioner had no further proposal to break the deadlock that has arisen and the meeting ended.

In a statement An Garda Siochana management said: The commissioner has said it is important that whatever garda roster is in place serves the public and supports the most vulnerable in society, ensures the health and wellbeing of gardai, and allows the commissioner to effectively and efficiently manage the organisation within the budget available.

The commissioner is continuing his efforts to find a compromise on rosters.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned Fine Gael members not to get involved in 'culture wars' over transgender issues. Photo: Damien Storan

Fine Gael TDs are calling for an open debate on transgender issues, amid heightened tensions on the matter among the public.

Party members believe the discussion around transgender issue, which has sparked intense debate in other countries, is something that should be considered carefully by the Government.

The issue was raised at Fine Gaels Parliamentary Party meeting on Wednesday, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar warning TDs and senators against getting engulfed in culture wars.

Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys is responsible for enacting Programme for Government commitments to change the Gender Recognition Act to allow 16 and 17-year-olds self-declare their gender without seeing a specialist.

However, a government source said it was not a priority for Ms Humphreys.

Fine Gael TDs said they are being inundated with queries from constituents about transgenderism after Mr Varadkar said he believed primary school students should be taught about the issue.

The Taoiseachs comment followed the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association raising concerns over proposals to teach children about transgenderism.

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Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman had proposed the measure.

Former Fine Gael chief whip Paul Kehoe said the Government should move carefully when it comes to teaching children on the subject. I have no issue with someone who has gender dysphoria and who wants to transition, Mr Kehoe said.

I appreciate absolutely that it is a very difficult experience, but my fear is around the age we start educating on this subject  especially if we start bringing it up in primary school.

Mr Kehoe said the Catholic church had done fantastic work in this country and given us a fantastic education system. We cant dismiss their view on this either, he said.

We should definitely educate our children to be tolerant of everyone, but we dont need to shove certain issues down their throats at such a young age.

Former justice minister Charlie Flanagan said: I acknowledge it is perhaps the most sensitive issue of our times and we should talk about it in an open way.

Dublin Fingal TD Alan Farrell said he believed the public would benefit from discussions on the topic.

In my opinion within the general public there is a massive absence of knowledge about this discussion and as a parliamentarian I would like to have a reasoned and respectful discussion so I am better informed, Mr Farrell said.

A number of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail TDs have said they did not want to discuss the issue publicly due to the divisiveness of the debate.

But they said they have been contacted by constituents who have concerns about the issue.

At Wednesday's meeting Fine Gaels Josepha Madigan suggested Fianna Fail minister Mary Butler, who has a transgender son, should be invited to address a party meeting on issues affecting parents whose children are experiencing gender dysphoria.

Earlier this year, Ms Butler spoke of her immense pride in her transgender son and urged parents to seek advice if their children were experiencing gender dysphoria.

Ms Butler said her son Jay, who is in fifth year in school, had received bullying comments from some younger pupils when he began transitioning.

However, she said he was doing absolutely fantastic now and said his school had been very supportive.

While it is unclear if Ms Butler would accept such an invite, it is understood the Waterford TD would be open to speaking to colleagues on a personal level if they wanted to seek more information or understand more about transgender issues.

Ms Madigan, TD for Dublin Rathdown, could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
GREEN Party leader Eamon Ryan has admitted he was "not as clear as he could have been" in trying to explain Government measures to protect tenants as the eviction ban ends.

The Environment and Transport Ministers spokesperson issued a statement after Mr Ryan earlier told RTEs Morning Ireland that a safety net will be introduced for tenants from this weekend.

But one element of the Governments plans to offset the impact of the ban ending - the right for tenants to get first refusal if a landlord is selling the property they are renting - will not be in place by Saturday.

This is despite Mr Ryans interview giving the impression that it would be. It is the second time in ten days that the minister has incorrectly indicated that this so-called first refusal option would be in place on an administrative basis from April 1.

Speaking to Aine Lawlor on Morning Ireland on Friday, Mr Ryan said: If you are at risk of eviction, you will have the right of first refusal to be able to purchase the property and that we will extend, from April 1, from this weekend, the tenant in situ scheme so that those households in receipt of housing supports can avail of that option.

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For someone who isnt in those circumstances that we will get the local authorities or the AHBs, the approved housing bodies, to be able to to purchase the property and rent that back to the tenant as a cost rental tenant model.

During the interview, he said: We will introduce that safety net this weekend and its important that there wasnt a gap.

He later added: If there isnt a HAP tenancy available, that tenant in situ scheme is up and running and available to allow the local authority or the AHB to buy that property and rent it back to the tenant. Thats existing, thats working.

However Mr Ryans spokesperson later moved to clarify the comments in response to queries, saying: The Minister acknowledges that the answer he gave to a question during this morning's live interview was as not as clear as it could have been.

He was referring to a safety net that will be in place on an administrative basis from tomorrow in order to protect the most vulnerable people in the private rental sector.

This comprises of the tenant-in-situ scheme for people on social housing supports and a cost rental measure for people who are not on these social housing supports but are at risk of becoming homeless if they are evicted.

When he announced the measures on March 21, Mr Ryan incorrectly claimed in response to questions that this 'first refusal' option would be in place on an administrative basis from April 1.

His office later clarified the 'first refusal' option will take longer. The measure requires legislative change and will not be in place by April 1 and here is no clear timeline for its introduction.

The Government has emphasised other measures which are in place as the eviction ban lapses. Mr Ryan said local authorities or Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) already have the power to purchase renters homes under the tenant-in-situ scheme and use them as social housing.

However, this only applies if the tenants are eligible for social housing. If they arent, local councils and AHBs can still buy the properties and lease them as cost rental homes.

The Irish Independent reported on Friday, however, that some councils cannot afford to buy houses where tenants have been served notices to quit, as landlords are asking for too much money.

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A Sinn Fein councillor has been arrested in connection with an alleged assault.

Sheamus Greene was one of three people held by the PSNI investigating an incident earlier this month.

The PSNI said enquiries are continuing.

Mr Greene, a member of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

A lawyer acting on his behalf has questioned if his arrest was politically motivated.

Police have also been asked to investigate allegations that menacing messages threatening a third party, sent from accounts claiming to be Mr Greene and Fermanagh Sinn Fein, have been falsified.

Our sister publication the Belfast Telegraph has seen copies of the alleged messages, which make threats to harm an individual.

The case, which emerged less than a week after Mr Greene was confirmed as a Sinn Fein candidate in the upcoming council election, relates to an incident on Sunday, March 12.

Police attended a reported assault in the Bunnisnagapple Road area of Brookeborough.

Three men were arrested and later released on police bail.

Legal representatives for Mr Greene confirmed he was one of those arrested after enquiries from this newspaper.

Solicitor Conor Sally said that on March 12, his client, his son and his wife were attacked and assaulted in their own home by two individuals.

He added: Police were immediately notified and arrested one of the perpetrators a short time later."

Mr Sally said outrageous allegations have been made against his client, which are denied by Councillor Greene in the strongest possible terms.

Mr Sally said that on March 16, he was contacted by Mr Greene, as he had been advised by police that he was going to be arrested.

The solicitor said he contacted police and advised that an arrest would neither be reasonable, proportionate or necessary, and suggested a voluntary attendance to deal with the matter.

Mr Sally said that around 6.30am on March 17, Mr Greene was arrested.

He said Mr Greenes phone, which belongs to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, was seized and retained by police.

According to Mr Sally, allegations were made that Mr Greene had assaulted the man who allegedly assaulted him in his own home.

It was further alleged that he had threatened to kill the man in a Facebook message, and Fermanagh Sinn Fein had separately threatened the man via Facebook.

Mr Sally added: My client told police that both Facebook accounts were neither his account, nor the account of Fermanagh Sinn Fein and that they appeared to have been falsely created.

Requests were also made by him for police to verify the IP addresses of where the posts originated.

My client denied the allegations made against him in the strongest possible terms and I made representations about the failure of the PSNI to make relevant enquiries and the failings within the investigative process that were obvious to any reasonable investigator.

Representations were also made about the arrest being politically motivated and also made weeks prior to an election wherein my clients council phone was seized, preventing constituents contacting him and furthermore impacting on his election campaign.

Mr Sally said his client is considering civil legal action against the perpetrators and the PSNI.

He said complaints will be made to the Police Ombudsman.

Mr Sally said: This statement is only made due to media speculation and queries made in respect of my client.

He added: No further comment will be made at this stage.

The media is reminded that this case is live and ongoing and of my clients continued right to innocence, a fair trial and to privacy.

A PSNI spokesperson said: Following an altercation at an address on Bunnisnagapple Road in Brookeborough on March 12, police arrested a 33-year-old man on March 17.

A number of counter allegations were made and on 17 March, police arrested two men aged 58 and 22.

All three men were subsequently released on police bail, following interview, to allow for further police enquiries.

The investigation is ongoing at present.

The PSNI rejected any suggestion that the arrests were politically motivated, and said anyone with a complaint about police actions should contact the Office of the Police Ombudsman who will conduct an independent investigation.

Sinn Fein was also contacted for comment.

Mr Greene is a school bus driver and a hill farmer who has been a councillor since 2011.

Last weekend, Sinn Fein confirmed that Mr Greene had been selected to contest Mays council election.

Thomas OReilly and Noeleen Hayes are also standing in the Erne East ward.

Sinn Fein said they were three great candidates who will fight for all those in Erne East.

Mr Greene said he was honoured to be selected to stand for Sinn Fein again in Erne East.

Less than two months to go till the Local Government Council elections, so it is back to the people to decide who they want to fight on their behalf, he posted on social media. Hopefully all three Sinn Fein candidates can be returned to give Erne East the strongest voice possible.
The multi-Oscar nominated film The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) is famous in several directions.

Its also inspired an 8-bit computer game. Banshees: The Game was released by Cogs & Marvel on Saint Patricks Day. Its hilarious. Boring Colin is trying to be your friend. Run away! Collect five fingers and get to the pub before he catches you. Now imagine playing that while sitting in a chair that was actually in the film 18 lots in Adams inaugural Irish Vernacular Auction on April 12 were used on the set of The Banshees of Inisherin.

They range from an early 19th-century painted pine dresser, painted in red (Lot 118: est. 3,000 to 4,000), to a plain pine stool (Lot 171: est. 300 to 400). A similar stool, without the magic fairy dust of cinematic stardom, would be worth between 100 and 200.

The Banshees of Inisherin is set in 1923 on a fictional Irish island with interiors that are both historically believable and dreamlike. Their aesthetic is far more coherent than real homes of the kind would have been, but much of the furniture is genuinely old and sourced from Irish collections.

The owner of one of these collections has taken the opportunity to sell. Its common practice for set designers to rent furniture from private collectors. A former collector of vernacular furniture, Matt McNulty, advised on the sale.

He was once the owner of Historic Interiors, a film props company that supplied antiques to the film industry. I collected for social history reasons, he says. The film companies rented furniture from us. He remembers watching Far and Away (1992) with horror as Tom Cruise hurled a nice little hedge chair from McNultys collection across the room.

Items from The Banshees of Inisherin filmset include a settle bed (Lot 135: est. 1,200-1,500) which could be used as seating by day but folds out to become a bed with a raised rim.

These simple pieces of metamorphic furniture are an example of design born of necessity and cleverly executed in inexpensive materials. They belonged in small houses where many people needed space to sleep.

I did actually sleep in one myself once when I was a kid, McNulty says. I wanted to see what it was like.

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The settle bed belonged to a woman whod cared for his mother as a child. I was lucky enough to experience these pieces of furniture in operation in the 1950s. They belonged to farmers living along the Donegal-Leitrim border where very little had changed since the 1800s.

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The settle bed had a straw mattress. It was really quite comfortable and warm. They used to have them on the left-hand side of the room, close to the fireplace. There was a nice homely feel about it. As a child you felt protected because of the high sides. In Irish Country Furniture, Claudia Kinmonth quotes a writer from Donegal who concluded that: The settle bed was a great place for a drunken man, he couldnt roll out.

In homes where space was at a premium, beds were also concealed in cupboards. One of these, an early 19th-century painted pine settle press bed (Lot 136: est. 1,500 to 2,000) was also used in The Banshees of Inisherin. Its basically a two-door cupboard that opens to reveal a fold-out bed.

The most impressive piece of metamorphic furniture in the sale has no cinematic past. Catalogued as an early 19th-century circular painted pine metamorphic table chair (Lot 137: est. 2,000 to 3,000) it was purchased from a thatched cottage in Mountmellick, Co Laois.

The piece, a sturdy pinewood chair, painted in green, has a circular back that folds down to become a table top (88cm diameter).

When in table mode, the tabletop rests on the arms of the chair. Similar in function, but providing more seating, a 19th-century metamorphic table stool (Lot 125: est. 1,500 to 2,000) has a plain panelled top on hinged back. As with the chair, the table top provides a high backrest. When folded down, it rests on the arms of the stool. The piece was previously on loan to Bennettsbridge Folk Museum, Co Kilkenny.

These things are a touching stone to the past, says Stuart Cole of Adams. There was a period when we were running as far away from these things as possible. Now people want to connect to that part of our history.

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Clonony Castle, Clonony, Shannon Harbour, Co Offaly

Asking price: 695,000 Agent: Premier Properties (087) 246 3748

When Thomas Boleyn was gifted the newly captured Clonony Castle in Co Offaly by Henry VIII, he must have thought his familys fortunes were on the up.

For the hyper-ambitious first Earl of Ormond, the windfall and title underlined the favour of the king and foresaw an upward trajectory at court.

Little did Boleyn know that his new relationship with the king would utterly destroy his family, causing two of his three adult children to be beheaded and himself disgraced and stripped of his title. The 15th-century castle in Irelands sleepy backwaters would ultimately become a place of hiding and refuge for the remnants of a shattered and terrified Boleyn clan.

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But when he took its keys Thomas was cocksure. The schemer had no reservations about using his children Mary, Anne and George (and indeed his wife Elizabeth Howard, it seems) to facilitate his aristocratic ascension.

When Thomas became ambassador to France, both Anne and older sister Mary would be sent to court where King Francis quickly took 16-year-old Mary as his mistress. Contacts made in France served to ingratiate Thomas further with Henry.

The Boleyns returned to England and rumours suggested that Thomas had induced his own wife Elizabeth to have an affair with Henry. Later his older daughter Mary began her well-documented relationship with the king and she is said to have borne him two illegitimate sons.

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While Mary was pregnant with the second, Thomas saw Henrys eye drifting and summoned Anne back from France with a mission to seduce the monarch herself.

The wilier and more vivacious Boleyn sister succeeded in fixating Henry, but would not give herself up unless Henry married her. Famously, Henry would break England from the Catholic Church as a means to annul his marriage to the queen, Catherine of Aragon, so he could wed the young Anne Boleyn.

But within just three years Henry was infatuated with Jane Seymour. A plot was hatched by Henrys schemer-in-chief Thomas Cromwell to frame Anne with allegations of illicit affairs, including accusations of incest with her own brother George.

Both Boleyn siblings were summarily tried, found guilty and beheaded. Henry would later marry and then also behead their teenage cousin Catherine Howard and she was executed alongside her lady-in-waiting, Jane Boleyn, Georges widow and Annes sister-in-law.

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Thomas was stripped of the Ormond title and he and his wife Elizabeth both died broken within three years. When Aragons vengeful daughter Mary (nicknamed Bloody Mary) came to the throne after Henrys sickly son Edward died young, the remaining Boleyns fled to Ireland to hide and live out their years at Clonony Castle. Clonony was constructed by the MacCoughans in the 1490s and taken from them in the 1520s.

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Five hundred years later it is home to the American former ballerina Rebecca Armstrong Black who bought it in 2002. The widow of the Scottish novelist Campbell Armstrong says it was love at first sight when she set eyes on the then ruined 15th-century castle outside Clonmacnoise.

With an Irish mother and Scottish father, Rebecca was raised in the US but felt drawn to Ireland. A ballerina from age five she danced for five years with the famed Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet company. Later, she and Campbell wrote the novel for Raiders of the Lost Ark, although the couple had to sue George Lucas to get paid for it.

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By accident she became involved in a series of old buildings around the world, one after another, including a 17th-century Spanish hacienda. With that project she learned from her cabinet makers and was also trained by a stone mason. She has also worked on dragster engines.

My father was a Nasa engineer and he thought me that once you understand the laws of physics, you can do anything. There was a decade of wrangling to sort the planning. Without Amanda Pedlow, of Offaly County Council it would never have happened. She was my champion.

The diminutive former ballerina did the physical restoration work herself including a summer spent, Michaelangelo-style, lying on her back atop high scaffolding, replastering and reconstituting its vaulted ceilings with lime putty and rubble pieces. Inspectors said it was about ready to fall down. I did all the stonework, the joinery, everything.

It was definitely worth it. People say, how did you do it? I say, ballet. Years of dancing eight hours a day teaches tenacity and the value of hard work for the beauty of art. And there hasnt been a single day when I havent arrived home and gone: [sings here] I live in a castle! I live in a castle!

Clonony has an original bawn wall and the ruins of a church. Three storeys high with three bedrooms, it comes with a murder hole, mural passages, a spiral staircase and three acres of land. Inside it has a hall, kitchen, dining room, living room with two alcoves off (one a bedroom, one a study) a master bedroom, bathroom, shower, main study and a ladies chamber.

Today I can get up the 50 steps to the bedroom OK but my dog Oscar is now struggling. So Im selling and looking for a dog house that I can live in too.

Helen Cassidy (087) 246 3748 of Premier Properties, Irelands seeks 695,000.
Government departments and public bodies paid more than 170,000 in carbon offsets to make up for flying on official business over two years.

The money was paid into the national Climate Action Fund, which is used to grant aid education, enterprise, community and creative projects that tackle climate change.

But the value of the gesture has been questioned as critics say offsets can never make up for the damage caused by carbon emissions.

The figures were supplied to Sinn Fein climate spokesperson Senator Lynn Boylan and are the first since the Government introduced the policy for all public bodies in 2020.

Ninety-two departments, agencies and bodies paid over sums for air travel in 2020 ranging from 3.81 paid by Leitrim County Council to 17,832 by the Department of Foreign Affairs. All the money paid in respect of travel in 2020 came to 77,831.

Slightly fewer bodies, totalling 80, paid sums for travel in 2021 ranging from 3.03 paid by the Institute of Public Health to 36,689 by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Total payments for 2021 came to 93,212.

In both years, the Department of Defence made the second highest payments: 14,308 and 16,361. Details of payments for 2022 were to be lodged with the Climate Action Fund administrators within the past few weeks.

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The policy was brought in by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform which said the state faced challenging greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and the public sector must play a demonstrative role on climate action.

Ms Boylan questioned the value of the policy, saying she accepted that some official air travel was necessary but claimed that offsets were indulgences to clear ones conscience.

She sought assurances that efforts were being made to reduce the number of flights.

The Department of Public Expenditure, in introducing the policy, issued an instruction to all departments that: Heads of departments should appraise, monitor and ensure that only essential air travel is undertaken and that the number of officers on any official journey is kept to the absolute minimum.

Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan had addressed the issue at a recent Oireachtas committee where he also accepted Ms Boylans concerns.

I agree we cannot rely on offsetting as the way of addressing the bigger problem we have, he said.

Post Covid, one of the changes has been the use of online, virtual meetings and that has been of much benefit.

Meetings still need to be held in person as well and it is not that we will never fly or have to go abroad, but my view is the more we can reduce that, the better it will be for all concerned.

He also said: It is no fun being on a 6am flight.

Mr Ryans departments, Environment and Transport, collectively paid 1,621 to offset air travel in 2020 and 862 for travel in 2021.

The offset payments for flights taken with commercial airlines are worked out using an online calculator run by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Offsets for flights taken on the government jet are calculated based on the current level of carbon tax. The tax when the scheme was introduced was 26 a tonne of carbon but is currently 48.50.

Other high emitters over the two years were the Department of Enterprise which paid 14,082 in 2020 and 8,047 in 2021. An Garda Siochana paid 3,260 and 6,642 respectively, and Bord Bia paid 6,138 and 4,152.
It has been raining cats and dogs of late. Ive been trying to get some jobs in the garden done, but the rain has beaten me to it each time. Sometimes it forgets to stop. But water is life and our rivers are our life veins.

Wherever a river flows, mankind is not far away. We have built towns and cities beside them and empires have spread through them. The Tiber and the Thames played their roles in unleashing conquering fleets. Indeed, the Liffey was a great thoroughfare in Viking Dublin when the city was a major trading port.

Fresh water courses and lakes cover only a minuscule percentage of the globe, but just like glaciers, these reservoirs are so vital to humanity.

So it came as a stark warning when a Turning the Tide report warned recently of a looming water disaster  it states that by 2030, global fresh water demand will outstrip supply by 40pc.

The report, from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, details a very disturbing situation. The future it warns of is already happening and is affecting most nations and all ecosystems.

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It says we will fail on climate change if we do not solve the crisis, and we will miss all our development goals.

The global water cycle is a global common good and must be protected collectively. As such, the report contains a seven-point plan for action to help us achieve a sustainable water future.

Globally, two billion people do not have safe drinking water, and 3.6 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation. According to the UN, the global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to potentially double from 930 million in 2016 to between 1.7 billion and 2.4 billion people in 2050. About 10pc of the global population already lives in countries of high water stress.

What are the causes of this water shortage? Increasing urban populations is one, but agriculture accounts for a large chunk, with $700bn (640bn) in US water subsidies each year. Such aid can lead to excessive water consumption and other environmentally damaging practices.

Leakages are also a major problem, with annual costs running to of billions due to non-revenue water.

Looking globally, droughts are becoming more common, leading to even greater pressures on existing water supplies.

In Portugal and Spain, the worst drought in 1,200 years happened last summer, while a similar megadrought in California also resulted in the worst drought in 1,200 years there.

The climate crisis and the water crisis are linked  each feeds into and affects the other.

The UN Water Conference was held last week in New York, and there was serious comment from the leaders present.

Secretary-general Antonio Guterres told attendees that water was at the heart of the climate crisis and droughts, floods and rising sea levels were making our planet uninhabitable.

He outlined an ambitious vision, saying: Thats why water needs to be at the centre of the global political agenda. All of humanitys hopes for the future depend, in some way, on charting a new science-based course to bring the Water Action Agenda to life.

The Turning the Tide reports authors warned: It will take greater collective resolve, but the ambition is in the doing and in moving ahead with urgency.

We believe the seven-point Call to Collective Action that we set out here provides a path that can be realised in the current decade.

It will enable us to convert water from a growing global tragedy to immense global opportunity.

We do not want a dystopian vision of a world with water shortages. One thinks of the horrible future depicted in those Mad Max films of the Australian New Wave cinema of the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s, in which everything becomes about water and fuel in an unforgiving, desolate environment.

We may think differently about water in this country in the future. It forms so much of our life and landscape, but now we must be aware it is crucial to our future and we must do all we can to protect it.
With more areas of Dublin suffering effects of car fumes clogging up the air, is it time to consider Londons contentious solution and impose fees on high-polluting vehicles entering the city?

Because theyre literally breathing in poison. Last week, Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon told Dail Eireann that Phibsboro Road junction in his Dublin Central constituency has become literally riddled with air pollution.

Several other traffic-heavy city centre areas such as Amiens Street, the Quays and East Wall, he claims, are not far behind.

Locals say the smell and the heaviness of the air are inescapable, as are the negative effects on ones body.

While air pollution is clogging up some Dubliners lungs, its also highlighting a fundamental dividing line in our climate change debate. Almost everyone agrees on the need to reduce private car use  but theres no consensus on how fast or extensively this should be done.

What exactly is causing Dublins air pollution?

There are two main culprits. One is PM 2.5 or particulate matter, which is produced from burning solid fuels. The results can include dust, pollen, soot or smoke suspended in mid-air.

For central Dublin, an even worse offender is the nitrogen dioxide caused by fumes from cars and trucks. Under the EUs Air Quality Directive, this should be restricted to an hourly average of no more than 40 micrograms per cubic metre. The World Health Organisation is calling for a much lower bar of 10 micrograms.

In Phibsboro, however, nitrogen dioxide levels sometimes touch 60 micrograms  while other major breaches have been recorded at locations including Kilmainham and the junction between Inns Quay and Church Street.

How do we know which parts of Dublin are worst affected?

Thats thanks to the latest technology. Dublin City Council (DCC) has been working in conjunction with the Google Project Air View initiative, which uses an electric Street View car equipped with a mobile sensor. Last month the scheme released its first results, following a 16-month monitoring programme that measured every road at least six times.

The big picture is quite good, with several areas including Sandymount, Ranelagh, Glasnevin and Rialto classified as excellent. The nearer you get to the city centre, the worse it gets.

Generally speaking, Dublins most polluted areas are between OConnell Bridge and Heuston Station. However, the study also found that air quality can differ quite significantly even between streets that are close together.

Martin Fitzpatrick, DCCs Environmental Health Officer, said this information will feed into future planning decisions. Is [the variation] in terms of streetscape or in terms of tree cover? There are a whole range of different things we can now look at in depth to see how [they] contribute to keeping air quality good.

Why is air pollution so dangerous?

Because breathed in high doses, it can cause inflammation of the airways and do irreversible damage to your respiratory system. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, air pollution is responsible for around 1,300 premature deaths in Ireland every year  20pc of the total.

Its associated with a wide range of illnesses, including strokes, heart disease and some cancers. A recent study from Harvard University suggests it may even increase your risk of Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease or other dementias.

If youre an asthmatic person living in the city, going to the supermarket can become a risky activity, Professor Debbi Stanistreet from the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland told the Dublin Inquirer last December.

What does the Government say in response?

Junior environment minister Ossian Smyth has described air quality as close to my heart and acknowledged that parts of Dublin have a serious problem with it. He also said Irelands Climate Action Plan will gradually improve the situation by removing cars from Dublin city centre.

Gary Gannon, however, is calling for more urgent action such as London-style low-emission zones, which impose a fee on vehicles that produce high levels of exhaust fumes. Nobody has a right to poison anybody else, he said. That is the reality we are facing.

Does the London experience suggest these zones work?

Yes, but theyre also politically toxic. Utra-low emission zones (ULEZ) were first introduced by Boris Johnson when he was London mayor, for the city centre only.

Now his successor Sadiq Khan is locked in a battle over plans to make them cover the whole of Greater London.

Under ULEZ rules, drivers of high-polluting cars must pay 12.50 a day to enter while HGVs and buses are charged 100. The scheme has reduced Londons nitrogen dioxide emissions by 26pc. Expanding it during a cost-of-living crisis is proving highly unpopular, and the debate has recently turned nasty with Mr Khan accusing anti-ULEZ protesters of being infiltrated by Covid deniers, conspiracy theorists and Nazis.

Is Dublin destined to have some equally bad-tempered arguments over air pollution?

Hopefully not, but the really tough anti-car measures cannot be postponed much longer.

The National Transport Authority recently published models for reaching the sectors climate change targets by 2030. They include a 400pc increase in parking charges on 2016 levels, a 10 daily fee for driving in cities and a 20kmph reduction on all national road speed limits.

Even some government TDs are concerned this strategy contains too much stick and not enough carrot.

Any plan should focus on how we continue to prioritise improving public transport infrastructure, instead of punishing people out of their cars, the Fine Gael Dublin Mid-West TD Emer Higgins argued earlier this month.

Finally, doesnt history show that Ireland can take major steps to improve air quality when the political will is there?

Yes. Winter smog was once a major health risk for Dubliners, but it largely disappeared after 1990 when Progressive Democrats minister Mary Harney introduced a ban on smoky coal in the capital. Last year, this was finally extended to the whole country.

Ireland also struck a powerful blow for fresher air in 2004, becoming the first country in the world to ban smoking in pubs, restaurants and all workplaces.

Strongly resisted by some publicans and the tobacco industry, it is now widely seen as a great success. My mother always told me never to use the word proud,[but] it makes me feel good, Micheal Martin, then health minister, later said.

Theres magic in the air, is a lyric from Leo Maguires well-loved song The Dublin Saunter (better known as Dublin Can Be Heaven). Sadly, our air today contains something much less pleasant  and its making Dublin feel anything but heavenly.
You are a frightened woman, and with good cause, in a workplace where intimidation and sexual assault are tolerated and their gravity minimised. You raise your fears with someone in the chain of command.

Answer? Put another bolt on your door. That non-solution says everything we need to know about the top-down attitude in the Defence Forces. It makes victims responsible for their safety.

Lieutenant General Sean Clancy says hes ashamed of the findings in an independent report. As he should be. But he needs to submit his resignation and take the General Staff with him because the organisation is overdue a thorough clear-out of top management.

Its widespread toxic culture  current culture, not historical  is their responsibility. The Defence Forces do not provide a safe workplace for women, where they can be on the receiving end of sexual violence or inappropriate behaviour.

We know this because a judge-led inquiry said so this week. But people have been saying it for years. The Women of Honour group  female veterans  have shown courage, and loyalty to the State, by saying it.

Senator Tom Clonan, a retired army officer, has said it, highlighting a culture of silence and under-reporting of assaults due to reprisal fears. So, neither a safe place to complain about nor to work in.

Now retired judge Bronagh OHanlon is saying it after chairing a year-long independent review highly critical of the hyper-masculine culture, where people are kicked during exercises and assaulted in the showers. And where suicides have been covered up as accidental deaths.

Its instructive looking at what Lt Gen Clancy, head of the Defence Forces, says: Ive always had a very positive experience personally and I think most of the people who I have encountered have had positive experiences.

Anyone capable of such a tone-deaf and inappropriate pronouncement in the teeth of that report cannot drive radical reform.

His response is dyed-in-the-wool institutional-speak. It seeks to minimise appalling accounts of rape, abuse of power and bullying. He can talk about transformation until his gleaming brass buttons lose their shine, but hes not the person to deliver it. If you dont understand the problem, you cant fix it.

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Lt Gen Clancy has been a senior officer for more than a decade and Chief of Staff for 18 months. The failures are damning  not the work of a few bad apples but structural  and reform is long overdue. The Independent Review Group (IRG) report notes bullying and harassment complaints have increased in the past year. However, Lt Gen Clancy says he was unaware of the wrongdoing exposed in the report.

The Government indicates it has confidence in Lt Gen Clancy to overhaul the system, but this can only be a holding position. From previous experience, we know bigwigs in any damaged organisation  from An Garda Siochana to the banks  cant take charge of the clean-up. A new broom is always essential.

Consider the IRG report findings. The Defence Forces verbally, physically, sexually and psychologically abuses women in its ranks. At best, it barely tolerates them. It is not currently a safe working environment and is particularly dangerous for women and lower status men outside the elite officer class. Bullying appears to be part of the training process, creating a pattern.

So, misogyny, patriarchy, bullying, discrimination, harassment and sexual attacks  and this is the organisation meant to represent the State at ceremonial events. It has been front and centre during the Decade of Centenaries.

The Army is a workplace, with employer responsibilities towards staff. If it cant keep its own people safe, how can it maintain its symbolic role as state protector?

The report urges all allegations of sexual assault should be handled exclusively by gardai rather than military personnel, and Tanaiste Micheal Martin indicates this will happen. But legislation to accompany that resolve will be necessary. It must be expedited.

While this is viable for Defence Forces personnel making complaints in Ireland, what about when they are outside the country? The report found women in the Defence Forces often experienced sexual harassment or assault on overseas missions.

To date, complaints are dealt with internally. Number one, youd be disinclined to proceed with one under those conditions. Number two, how can anyone trust such an investigation to be scrupulously impartial?

Organisations have an inbuilt bias in favour of protecting the institution rather than the victim, as whistleblower treatment affirms. External investigations are fairer.

The Government has been assured that robust protection measures and grievances procedures are in place, according to a recent cabinet memo. But that pledge must be a cause for concern, because clearly any such measures and procedures are unfit for purpose.

History teaches us that organisations that police themselves without outside supervision make a poor job of it. The introduction of gardai to investigate complaints is an important element of restoring confidence.

An element of exterior oversight happens in various industries: An Garda Siochana has the Policing Authority and Garda Ombudsman. The media has the Broadcasting Authority, Press Council and Press Ombudsman. For banking, theres the Central Bank and a Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman.

Numbers in the Defence Forces are below 8,000 for the first time in eight years, symptomatic of recruitment and retention issues.

Female numbers are far below the Governments ambitious target of 35pc. But the culture that has been revealed is conducive neither to recruitment nor retention.

Who would want to join an organisation where women are viewed as sexual objects and notions about gender date from the last century or even the one before that?

The Government is to set up a statutory inquiry, which is a welcome step. But above all, the Defence Forces must have modern leadership  troglodytes and ostriches need to hang up their boots.
France is literally burning as the country has ground to a standstill in a fierce row over the pension qualification age. In Ireland, the Government is trying to quietly ignore something which in principle is very similar and which just wont go away.

But then there is the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC), a group of experts set up in the wake of the 2008 economic crash to advise on avoiding a repeat, which has become a nagging voice of reproach for Government, like a persistent parent trying to noisily dislodge an adolescent from bed in the morning.

Now the IFAC has again warned our rulers that if they really must keep the pension age at 66, then they must provide a long-term pension fund with current 50-something aged workers and employers coughing up their share soon.

Otherwise, it will fall to younger workers to pay far heftier PRSI in the coming decades to sustain pensions  something which compares with other longer-term issues facing that generation, from a property market crisis to environmental chaos.

A paper by the IFAC, just published, says if the so-called baby boomers still at work, and their employers, paid up earlier the longer-term PRSI burden on those now in their 20s and 30s could be eased.

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But first off it urges a ring-fenced pension fund in place of the current precarious pay-as-you-go set-up.

Still, governments have an ability to ignore nagging experts warnings when it is not politically convenient. And right now there is a lot of political noise out there, with many chunks of bad news to be managed by the embattled Coalition.

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The pension qualification age row hit Fianna Fail and Fine Gael hard in the last general election. The long-planned increase of the pension age to 67 in 2021 was shelved, as was a further move to 68 later in the decade, and a Pensions Commission was put to work to study the issue.

The Government ignored this commissions recommendations of a more gradual rise in the pension age, staying with the 66 qualification point, funded via higher PRSI in due course. But government commitments to review how to fund pensions were suitably vague and were the subject of much criticism.

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Now, the IFAC recommends a 3.5pc rise in PRSI  heaping more pressure on the Government amid a cost-of-living crisis and a host of interlinked rows over the housing shortage among other concerns. Business lobbyists will not be impressed by recommendations of windfall taxes.

The better news for Government was that this approach to future pension funding could cost less than what was originally feared. Starting now could actually halve the Pension Commissions projected combined 7pc rise in workers and bosses PRSI, keeping it as low as 3.5pc.

Ireland has a historic opportunity to put the State pension system on a solid footing for decades to come and to put corporation tax windfalls to good use, said IFAC chairman Sebastian Barnes, one of the latest reports authors.

There are doubts over whether the Government has the political courage to take the inevitably unpopular steps to do what the IFAC is urging and put credible pension funding in place for the future. So far, in drafting its budgets, the Government has tended to ignore the IFAC gurus.

Frances pension-age row is peculiarly French for a wide variety of well-publicised reasons and the Irish do not share too much of their appetite for taking to the streets. But lets recall that the pensions issue carries a big political punch in Ireland  changes to pensioners medical card entitlements in autumn 2008 brought older people here on to the streets in large numbers.
Its back to Europe for the Irish players and the provinces this weekend with the round of 16 in the Champions Cup and Sinead Kissane is joined by Ruaidhri OConnor on the latest Left Wing podcast to go through the team news and preview the Sharks v Munster, Leinster v Ulster, and Benetton v Connacht in the Challenge Cup.

Sinead will be back on Monday to review the Ireland Womens Six Nations clash against France with Anna Caplice and Ali Donnelly while Will and Luke Fitzgerald will have their in-depth analysis on Wednesday.



If you want to get in touch with the show, email your questions and comments to theleftwing@independent.ie, or contact the team on Twitter @SlatteryWill @lukefitz11 @CianTracey1 @SineadKissane and @RuaidhriOC.

Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from.
Analysis by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) showed just under 70,000 people have been left on trolleys over the course of the HSEs winter plan.

Analysis by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) showed just under 70,000 people have been left on trolleys over the course of the HSEs winter plan.

THE level of overcrowding in some Irish hospitals is out of control and cannot be allowed to continue into the summer months.

Thats according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), whose latest monthly trolley watch figures have recorded the worst March for hospital overcrowding since they began compiling records back in 2006.

The figures showed that 12,943 patients, including 447 children, had been treated on trolleys or chairs in hospitals across the State over the course of March.

Comparison figures for previous years showed the figures was up by 18% on 2022, 214% on 2021 and a staggering 311% on 2020.

Analysis by the INMO showed that more than 69,417 people have been without a hospital bed between last October and March  the period covered by the HSEs winter plan.

This was almost 30% higher than the number of patients without a bed during the previous winter plan.

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The most overcrowded hospital during March was University Hospital Limerick (2,080), followed by the Cork University Hospital (CUH) at 1,530 patients, University Hospital Galway (1,048) and Dublins St Vincents & St James at 870 and 675 patients respectively.

The CUH total was by some considerable stretch the largest March figure on record, beating the previous high set in 2011of 843 patients  and more than double the figure of 735 for March 2022.

The figure for the Mercy University Hospital of 357 was the second highest behind the March 2022 total of 397, with a further 87 patients on trolleys and chairs at Bantry General.

The combined March total for the three Cork hospitals of 1,974 patients was up by 41.7% on the figure for March of last year of 1,149 and 36.1% higher than the previous record high of 1,258 set in 2017.

Trolley watch figures for last Friday, the final day of March, showed there were 500 people, including 30 children, on trolleys in hospitals across the country.

In Cork, there were 69 people on trolleys at the CUH and a further 16 at the Mercy University Hospital.

Commenting on the national figure, a clearly exasperated INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said it had been the worst March since they began counting trolleys 17-years-ago.

She said the INMO has sought to meet with the HSE in a bid to urgently address the chronic overcrowding crisis blighting hospital emergency departments.

In some hospitals the level of overcrowding we have seen has been out of control and cannot be allowed to continue into the spring and summer months, said Ms Ni Sheaghdha.

She pointed out the INMO analysis showed that more people than ever - just under 70,000 - have been on trolleys over the period of the HSEs winter plan, which concluded at the end of March.

It is time for the HSE and Department of Health to devise a multi-annual plan as to how we tackle overcrowding. It is clear that it is no longer just a winter overcrowding crisis but a year-long one, said Ms Ni Sheaghdha.

She said the State cannot expect overburdened nurses to bear the brunt of the crisis and work at full tilt in constantly overcrowded and understaffed wards year-round.

Nurses want to be able to carry out the high-quality care that they have been trained to do but cannot provide in these circumstances, said Ms Ni Sheaghdha.

There must be a change in mindset in how we approach this overcrowding crisis across from senior decision-makers from hospital management to HSE senior management levels, she added.
A North Cork man who bound a young woman, gagged her with duct tape and assaulted her in an alleyway in Dublin city centre has been sentenced to ten years in prison, with the final 18 months suspended.

Maurice Fitzgerald (29) of Abbeyview in Buttevant, pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning and assaulting the woman, causing harm last August 27, at Meeting House Lane, off Marys Abbey.

Passing sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Martin Nolan set a headline sentence of 12 to 14 years for what he said was a particularly insidious and very serious crime.

The judge said Fitzgerald had a plan and had bought duct tape and a claw hammer on the day in question.

He was prepared to use force to apprehend and take a woman, said Judge Nolan.

The court heard that gardai were called after residents of a nearby apartment heard the woman screaming and the sound of tape being wrapped through their open window. Judge Nolan said if gardai had not arrived when they did, something very serious would have occurred.

The court heard that the victim, now aged 26, suffers from chronic schizophrenia and has been under psychiatric care since the incident. She has not been in a position to make a statement to gardai.

The womans father submitted a victim impact statement on her behalf, which was not read aloud in court.

Detective Garda Patrick Hynes told Fionnuala OSullivan BL, prosecuting, that a couple living in a nearby apartment block had their window open as it was a very hot night.

One of these witnesses heard the wrapping of tape, and when he looked out the window, he saw a girl lying on the ground with her ankles tied together. The court heard that the girl was trying to stand up and that she looked dizzy and fell over, hitting her head.

Witnesses said the woman was screaming, Get it off me, leave me alone, get away from me, and that man laughed at her and shouted, shut up, before dragging her out of sight.

Garda Hynes and another garda who were on mobile patrol arrived shortly afterwards and saw Fitzgerald dragging the woman with her feet tied and her hands bound behind her back.

Gardai said there were two rolls of duct tape on a top of a car and some empty Corona bottles in the middle of the laneway.

Fitzgerald dropped the girl and ran, the court heard, physically resisting gardai before he was eventually restrained and cuffed.

Gardai said the woman was highly distressed and trying to scream and that they had to use a knife to free the tape from her mouth.

She was brought to the Mater Hospital, and the following morning she confirmed her identity to gardai but was still in a very distressed state with bruising all over her body.

The court heard the woman had severe underlying mental health difficulties and had been detained after the attack under the Mental Health Act to a hospital in the Midlands, where she remains.

The court heard Fitzgerald had travelled by train from Cork and arrived in Dublin at 1pm.

He went into a number of pubs and shops in the city centre, and bought two rolls of silver duct tape and a claw hammer in Dealz on Liffey Street and another roll of duct tape in EuroGiant.

He later met the female cashier from one of these shops in a pub and bought three rounds of drinks with her, the court heard.

CCTV footage from the Norseman pub shows Fitzgerald chatting, messing and giving a piggyback to the injured party on Essex Street less than an hour before the attack.

Footage was played to the court, where the accused can be heard unrolling duct tape and tying up and gagging the woman on the ground. Fitzgeralds phone was found to contain a number of stock internet photos of women bound and gagged, along with similar screenshots from websites.

Fitzgerald was deemed intoxicated and unfit for interview until the following morning. In his fourth interview with gardai he admitted he was guilty but said he couldnt remember what had happened.

He has six previous convictions, including two for sexual assault and others for false imprisonment, assault causing harm and possession of weapons.

He was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2016 for an incident in Kerry where he befriended a woman and used duct tape to incapacitate her.

Garda Hynes agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that Fitzgerald accepted that he had punched the woman and had expressed a degree of apology.

Im guilty out. I did whatever. Im guilty of dragging her across the floor. I obviously hit her, he told gardai.

When asked if he had any message for the victim, Fitzgerald replied, Sorry for everything.

Mr Bowman said the images on his clients phone were professional photos voluntarily put on the internet by models describing themselves as sock and bondage lovers with no suggestion of males being present.

The court heard that Fitzgerald was working in the construction industry at the time of the offence. Mr Bowman said the single biggest mitigating factor was Fitzgeralds guilty plea.

The court heard Fitzgerald is on the Sex Offenders register.

Judge Nolan said Fitzgerald had certain interests and obsessions, to put it at their mildest, which are very unhealthy and very criminal. The judge said Fitzgerald had very relevant previous convictions and that the court could not come to the conclusion that he would not re-offend in the future.

However Judge Nolan added that the court was not in the business of preventative detention and could not detain someone because it had the apprehension that he would not change his habits.

Fitzgerald was ordered to be of good behaviour while in custody and for five years post-release. He was further told to abide by the supervision of the Probation Service for five years.

The sentence was backdated to August 27 when he went into custody.
Barry Keoghan was honoured by his native city in a Lord Mayors Award ceremony at the Manson House in Dublin last night

The Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner was presented with the award alongside two other individuals and three organisations who have helped make Dublin a better place.

The Dubliner, who famously dedicated his BAFTA award to the children of the north inner city, was not able to attend the event due to filming commitments.

But he was still honoured by the Lord Mayor, Caroline Conroy, for his efforts in promoting the city alongside the Irish Wildlife Trust; Sandra Dillon, the founder of The Meeting Place Club; Sail Training Ireland; athlete Gerard Prendergast and An Taisce.

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Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy described the awards ceremony as one of the highlights of my term of office.

I have chosen to honour individuals and groups from many different walks of life, she said. They have helped make Dublin a better place through their tireless efforts in the fields of inclusion, health and well-being, the arts, heritage and biodiversity, conservation, and community and family support.

I congratulate all the recipients and thank them on behalf of the people of Dublin for their contribution to this great city.

Barrys award notes that he is an actor who is known for his roles on screen, appearing in independent films and blockbuster films.

Since making his break as the heartless cat killer Wayne on RTEs Love/Hate, Barry has gone onto work with some of the worlds best actors, it reads.

For his role in Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin he was nominated for an Oscar and won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.

Alongside Barry was Gerard Prendergast, an endurance triathlete from Dublin who, although suffering from sight loss in one eye at a young age due to an accident, has set some incredible challenges for himself in sport.

Gerard has not let this get in the way of achieving success in sport personally and professionally, his award adds.

Sandra Dillion who set up the Meeting Place Club, the first integrated group for teens and adults with a wide range of special needs was also honoured.

The club aims to provide individuals in the community with information and support by arranging workshops, day and special events for teenagers with special requirements and their parents, carers and supporters.

The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) a non-governmental organisation and charity founded in 1979, has conserved wildlife and habitats throughout Ireland, while Sail Training Ireland funds the development of young people from all backgrounds and all abilities by giving them the opportunity to participate on voyages on sailing vessels.

Meanwhile, An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland is the countrys oldest environmental organisation, and is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023.

It was set up with the intent of protecting Ireland's natural and built heritage and continues to be at the forefront of education and advocacy on climate, environment, heritage, and biodiversity issues.

Since 1989, this annual award ceremony is an opportunity for the Lord Mayor to highlight and acknowledge, in a special way, achievements of both individuals and groups.

Previous winners of the Award include Ana Liffey Drugs Project, Imelda May, Maeve Binchy, Dave Fanning, Merchants Quay Ireland, Damien Dempsey and Commander Chris Hadfield.
A primary school in the north inner city that has been in temporary accommodation for 20 years, is dilapidated, falling apart and a serious risk to students, the Dail has been told.

Health and safety concerns have been raised by parents and staff at Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire on Parnell Square over the crumbling state of the Georgian building.

Social Democrat TD Gary Gannon called for the construction of a new school on Dominick Street to begin without delay, after funding for the shovel-ready project was put on pause this month.

The classrooms are cramped with crumbling plasterwork, there is no universal access, the staircase poses risks to students and teachers, there is no assembly hall and the playground is a car park, said Deputy Gannon.

If you are to mindlessly delay this project you will allow children to continue to have a building on Parnell Square which is nothing short of dangerous.

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Its dilapidated, its falling apart and it poses a serious risk to its young students. No child should have to risk harm in order to attend school.

The Dublin Central TD said the schools ongoing situation is an emergency and it has to be treated as such.

A site for a new 16 classroom school was earmarked on Dominick Street in 2006. Planning permission was received in 2021 and builders were expected to be on site by Easter.

However, the school was notified this month that funding for construction had been put on hold, along with 58 other school projects across the country.

Mr Gannon said the incredible teachers and wonderful students have been failed by the infrastructure, and the schools hopes had been dashed.

Mr Gannon said children are facing unsuitable conditions and parents worry for the safety of their children in the school each day.

The Department of Education is currently paying 328,000 on rent each year for the building, and has spent almost 7m over the last 20 years.

Mr Gannon said public money is being misspent on exorbitant rents for sub-par buildings.

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In response, Junior Minister Peter Burke said funding for the new school is on hold due to capital funding pressures.

Speaking on behalf of Minister for Education Norma Foley, he said the project would be delivered but it is a question of timing.

The Departments Planning and Building Unit is currently assessing its work programme and priorities for the remainder of 2023 in the context of overall requirements and available funding, he said.

The most immediate priorities are to cater for September 2023 requirements, said Mr Burke.

We understand the urgency in relation to this matter and other projects, and our aim is to get them progressed and delivered as quickly as possible.

The department will provide an update to the school authorities when there is further clarity, he added.
The collectors at the return of the 2022 Kerry Hospice Foundation Good Friday morning walk in Castleisland included from left: Audrey O'Sullivan, Eileen McCarthy, Mary Healy, Liz Galwey and Sheila Fleming. Photo by John reidy

The annual Good Friday Hospice Walk in Casteisland will take place on Friday April 7.

The walkers will commence and finish their journey at the library car park beside the entrance to Nana Beas and its guest will be former Ireland rugby captain, Ciara Griffin.

Trisha Higgins has announced that refreshments will, once again, be provided at Nana Beas after the walk for all participants.

Walkers are asked to gather in the library car park near Nana Beas by 10.50am for an 11am start. The walk will go straight up through the town heading out Cordal Road, around Tullig and back to the starting point.

Participants are asked to take note of the route and to stay with the main group at all times for safety reasons.

The walk is one of the major fundraisers for the Castleisland branch of the Kerry Hospice Foundation each year.

Members of the branch urge you to come out and walk or run if you prefer this Good Friday, April 7th.

If required, sponsorship cards are available at Jack Shanahans Haven Pharmacy but, most people prefer to give a personal donation on the day.

The option to do the walk privately is also there for anyone who may be more comfortable doing this.

Donations can be dropped in to Shanahans Haven Pharmacy or given to any committee member.

All funds raised in Kerry for Hospice remain in Kerry and so all contributions will go directly towards the running cost of the in-patient unit in University Hospital Kerry.
As the management of Colaiste Ide seek to increase the number of pupils attending the school, an open day held last Saturday gave an opportunity for parents and prospective students to view the facilities and the wide range of educational and other activities that the school offers.

Apart from students who will attend for the full secondary curriculum, the school offers a 5th Year transition experience in which students immerse themselves in an Irish language atmosphere for a year. The experience is partly academic but broadens into varied activities that include a radio course with Raidio na Gaeltachta, a course in Chinese, a barista course, mountaineering safety and an e-scooter course.

According to priomhoide Conall O Cruadhlaioch, some students who attend the 5th Year transition experience stay on at the college to complete their academic studies through Irish.

Conall said interest in the 5th Year experience has increased since Covid when people were encouraged not to travel abroad and parents and students looked to see what was available in Ireland.
51-year-old Dessie Byrne of Lecarrow, Co Roscommon, and his sister, 62-year-old Muriel Eriksson from Malmo, Sweden, who died as a result of accidental drowning while on holidays in Ballybunion.

An inquest into the death of a brother and sister at a Ballybunion beach while on holidays has found their cause of death to be accidental drowning.

In what was described at the time as one of the worst tragedies in 30 years in the North Kerry resort, both died at sea on August 4, 2022

The bodies of 51-year-old Dessie Byrne of Lecarrow, County Roscommon, and his sister, 62-year-old Muriel Eriksson from Malmo, Sweden, were recovered from the water that summer evening.

Coroner Helen Lucey gave the same verdict for the brother and sister, which was death by misadventure, and cause of death was accidental drowning, at Listowel Courthouse today, Friday, March 31.

The Coroners Court heard that there had been a significant rip current in the area at the time.

Evidence was given at the inquest by those who first saw the bodies, as well as first responders and lifeguards on duty.

A huge rescue effort took place on that fateful Thursday afternoon, involving Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue, the RNLI, the Coastguard Helicopter and the Air Ambulance.

The brother and sisters were on holidays with Dessie Byrnes teenage son when the tragedy unfolded.

Mr Byrne was originally from Athlone and was based in Lecarrow in Roscommon for many years, working there as a carpenter and carpet-layer.

His older sister had been living in Malmo in Sweden over recent years but maintained very close links to Ireland.

The siblings  along with Mr Byrne's teenage son  had decided to take a brief Irish holiday, including a visit to Ballybunion, while his sister was home from Sweden.

Kerry rescue officials described the tragedy as the worst swimming-related accident in the area for over 30 years.

The then-Taoiseach Micheal Martin, who had been visiting Kerry at the time of the tragedy, paid tribute to Mr Byrne and Ms Eriksson.

"We're all deeply shocked and saddened at this very tragic and heart-breaking loss of life on what was a beautiful day, he said.

The two siblings died after getting into difficulty with notoriously strong currents offshore from Ballybunion beach.

Sympathy was expressed at the inquest to all those affected by the tragedy.
Gee Dunne from Kildare who was playing Dungeons and Dragons at the Animation Dingle Festival over the weekend. Photo by Declan Malone

Szymon from 'Dakota Irish' operating a stall selling gaming essentials in the Skellig Hotel during the Animation Dingle Festival over the weekend. Photo by Declan Malone

The eleventh Dingle Animation festival was held in West Kerry over the weekend, returning to a full attendance event after three Covid years when the festival was held online.

The festival is known for its informal atmosphere that provides opportunities for students to mingle with professionals as well as offering a programme of educational and vocational training, presented in a thought-provoking and fun environment.

No board chats here, a pitch and pint serves as an interview, in what is one of the major recruitment fairs in animation in Ireland.

Gee Dunne from Kildare, who is an Animation and Illustration graduate from Athlone IT, said that most of the work in animation is currently confined to Dublin, Kilkenny and Belfast but that picture is beginning to change as more animation jobs move towards the west of Ireland.

This is true in West Kerry as animation producer Louise Ni Chonchuir produced her IFTA nominated short film Memento Mori entirely from her home in Ventry during lockdown.

More than 700 animators attended the event, and 119 animated films from 26 countries were shown over the two days including the work of award-winning Irish animators.

Meanwhile, The RTEjr Animation Award winners were announced on Friday night at an event in the Skellig Hotel.

The Best Irish student award was presented to Institute of Art Design and Technology student Avery Angle for her animation The Small Makings of a Storm. The animation went on to win three other awards for Best 2D, Best Art Direction/Design and Best Music/Sound Design.

Amongst the other awards, the Murakami award was presented to Steve Woods. Oscar nominated Thomm Moore and Darragh OConnell as well Oscar winner Richie Baneham were amongst the fellow animators to pay tribute to Steve and his work.

Festival director Maurice Galway thanked all their supporters, including Screen Ireland, Enterprise Ireland Coimisiun na Mean, The IDA, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and The French Embassy of Ireland for their support.
A father and son who allegedly changed the locks on a property they owned on Glasheen Road in Cork and ejected the tenants by force will appear before Cork District Court in May having both been charged with four offences.

Daniel and Donal Lynch, aged 62 and 32 respectively, of Moanmore, Castleisland, Co Kerry have been charged in relation to alleged offences which occurred at 4 Nursery View in Glasheen Road in Cork city on August 11th, 2022.

Both men face identical charges of assaulting a woman and a man, attempting to commit theft of a phone and trespassing to commit theft at 4 Nursery View in Glasheen Road.

Sgt John Kelleher gave an outline of the alleged incident today (Wed) at Cork District Court. He said that at 8am on August 11th last Daniel and Donal Lynch went to the property they owned on the Glasheen Road and changed the locks.

They allegedly ejected the tenants by force and in the process allegedly assaulted a male and a female and attempted to steal a mobile phone from the male tenant."

The outline of the alleged incident was given so that Judge Olann Kelleher could decide if he would accept jurisdiction in the case. Judge Kelleher opted to accept jurisdiction in the case.

John Devlin, defending barrister, requested that any CCTV that might exist be sent to the office of solicitor Joseph Cuddigan. He also asked for a copy of statements. The defendants were remanded on continuing bail until their court appearance on May 3rd next.
Descendants and relatives of the RIC men who took part in the Listowel Mutiny attending the recent ceremony at the Kerry Writers Museum. From left, Rachel Vaughan, Dave Browne, Rachel Walshe, Maireaid Flynn, Ted Sweeney, Eamonn Walsh and Una Sheeran.

US native and great-granddaughter of mutineer Michael Kelly, Mackenzie Kelly, speaking at the event in the Kerry Writers Museum - fresh from her nuptials the previous day!

Descendants Ciaran Mee, Mackenzie Kelly and Cathy Burton (second from left) presenting Jimmy Deenihan and Cara Trant (right) with the crystal they commissioned to thank Listowel for remembering their forebears. All photos by John Kelliher.

The Listowel Mutiny was a pivot point in the story of Irish Independence, the stance of the brave RIC men in defying Crown orders leading to an exodus of Catholic men from the police force in its wake.

The bravery of the constables, men drawn from every corner of the land, has never been forgotten in the town so much so that the commemoration of the Mutiny was among the highlights of the Decade of Centenaries events in North Kerry.

A moving ceremony was held at the now Listowel Garda Station last year, with all finally able to commemorate the event in each others physical company after Covid lessened its grip.

What was most special about the event was the presence of so many relatives of the RIC men  from home, up country and abroad  in Listowel.

So moved were they by the efforts of organiser Jimmy Deenihan and all who contributed to the event that they, in turn, demanded a ceremony of their own  in a mark of their deep gratitude for recognising the bravery of their forebears.

The families set up a WhatsApp group after meeting in Listowel, staying in touch and commissioning a beautiful piece of crystal inscribed with a legend that said it all:

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To Jimmy Deenihan and Kerry Writers Museum in appreciation of your dedication to the memory of the RIC officers who mutinied in Listowel in June 1920. From their families. Taimd buioch dibh go leir.

We never expected such a gesture, it was so generous and kind of the families, Kerry Writers Museum manager Cara Trant told The Kerryman following the ceremony in the centre last week.

I got a call kind of out of the blue in January from Ciaran Mee, a grandson of the famous Constable Jeremiah Mee saying how grateful the families were for our efforts and leading to the recent ceremony at which Jimmy was presented with the beautiful piece of crystal.

It was a fantastic event, with relatives coming from all points, from Glenamaddy in Galway where Constable Mee came from to Ciaran and his family from Belfast, we had people from Waterford and the Dr Padraig Sheeran and his family.

Padraig spoke, as did Jimmy and Chairman of the Museum David Browne. Ciaran also spoke in an address that included previously unreleased material from his grandfathers famous diaries revealing new aspects to the event and the time.

Also addressing the gathering was Mackenzie Kelly, from the US. Fresh from her nuptials the previous day, Mackenzie spoke about her great-grandfathers role in the Mutiny - Michael Kelly. After leaving the RIC to fight for Irish Independence he was later dispatched by Michael Collins to promote and raise funds in the US for the fledgling state  ultimately staying there.

Seemingly all the threads that unspooled in disparate directions from that event a hundred years ago converged once more, in their bloodlines, on the town where it all happened; bringing further healing to the generational hurt
Brendan McSherry Heritage Officer Louth County Council, Frazer Coupland Locaber Chamber of Commece, Frank O Brien Louth Local Development, Picturred at Dundalk Chamber of Commerce's Tourism Conference were: Una McGoey President Dundalk Chamber, Saran Mallon Local Enterprise Office Louth, John Fitzgerald Glass Box Events, Pol O Conghaile Travel Writer, Ooonagh Messette Celtic Routes, Colette Moss Louth County Council, Michael Gaynor Dundalk Chamber, Ursula Newry Chamber and Kieran Swail Southern Regional College

Dundalk Chamber held their first in-person Cross Border Tourism Conference since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the beautiful surroundings of Carlingfords Four Seasons Hotel last Wednesday. The event had been held online due for the past three years due to COVID-19 restrictions so it was great to welcome attendees back.

With over 200 booked in the event, which was sponsored by Louth Local Development, Louth County Council, Local Enterprise Office Louth, Newry Chamber and The Marshes Shopping Centre, was a resounding success.

The conference brought together experts from various tourism projects around Ireland and the UK to share their stories so that attendees could consider replicating their ideas in their own business. There were practical tips and workshops on how to improve ourism businesses so as to increase sales and boost attendance figures at their attraction.

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Speakers included Pol O Conghaile, Travel Editor with the Irish Independent who highlighted 10 new travel trends in 2023 and beyond where community, connectivity, creativity, and sustainability will be ever-present. Pol noted that the sentiment for travel is holding up with shorter trips and visitors seeking to connect to the Great Outdoors.

Collette Moss of Louth County Council outlined the Councils commitment to events and trails such as The Festival of Lights, The Tain Trail, Sea Louth, and the planned St Brigids Festival. Collette also acknowledged the work of the Louth Enterprise Office in supporting micro businesses.

Oonagh Messette from the Celtic Routes Project outlined how the project has evolved with the creation of a diverse range of digital assets such as Celtic Connections which is a compendium of experiences to connect visitors to the Celtic Spirit.

Wayne Denner introduced the concepts of return on relationships and human-centered marketing and demonstrated the application of ChatGPT to tourism. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot that allows humanlike conversations.

Frazer Coupland from Lochaber Chamber of Commerce discussed how their Outdoor Capital of the UK brand evolved and the challenges and opportunities of managing visitors and peak times and in the shoulder season.

Frank OBrien, Chair of Louth Leader Partnership restated the Companys position in supporting the event, which was chaired by Kieran Swail of the Southern Regional College with Brendan McSherry Heritage Officer with Louth County Council chairing the question and answer session at the end.

Brendan the organising committee, the sponsors, the presenters, and Kieran Swail, from Southern Regional College for facilitating the Conference.

There was an opportunity for attendees to network at the breaks and during lunch and visit the 30 trade stands on the day.
RTE Presenter Kathryn Thomas is an ambassador for Self Help Africa's One Million Trees campaign."

Pupils from eleven primary schools in Co Louth took part in a nationwide campaign in March to plant a million trees, to combat climate change.

They were among pupils from300 schools from across Ireland who took part in development charity Self Help Africas One Million Trees campaign  planting trees in their local school grounds while supporting a wider initiative to plant trees in Africa, and highlight the impact that climate change is having on poor and vulnerable communities on the African continent.

The local schools tree planting initiative is supported by the Irish National School Teachers Association (INTO), who provided native Irish tree seedlings for distribution to classrooms across the country to support the charity initiative.

Trees were planted at Ardee Educate Together N.S., Ardee, Redeemer Girls National School and Colaiste Ris, Dundalk, Tullyallen NS,, St Joseph's NS, Mell, Drogheda, Monastery NS, Ardee, St Oliver's NS, Blackrock, Scoil Naomh Mhuire, Dundalk, Monksland NS, Carlingford, SN Bhride, Omeath, Dulargy N.S, Ravensdale to coincide with National Tree Week.
Drogheda & District Chamber is delighted to welcome Pat Cooney of Boann Distillery as their Guest Speaker at their upcoming Networking Business Lunch.

Pat has been in the drinks trade most of his life and always had the ambition to own a distillery and name a whiskey.

An accountant by profession and an active veteran in the Irish drinks industry, he understands what it takes to create successful, premium brands.

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In the heart of the Boyne Valley, the Cooney family is reviving the time-honoured traditions of Irelands master distillers. It is here, in Boann Distillery, that they have set about creating the finest whiskeys.

Friday, April 21, 1.15pm - 3.15pm Scholars Townhouse Hotel.

Member ticket 50 Non-member ticket 60

To avail of the Members discount, contact brenda@droghedachamber.ie

Places limited. Sponsored by M1 Skillnet.
Pictured at the official re-opening of Our Ladys Hospice & Care Services, Blackrock, after a 7 million refurbishment project is An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD meeting patient Mary Kerrigan, from Ballsbridge, originally form Sligo. Pic: Naoise Culhane

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar visited Blackrock Hospice today to officially reopen the facility after a 7 million refurbishment project. Amongst those to greet him was patient, Mary Kerrigan, a native of Sligo. The former journalist and barrister worked with the Evening Press and Sunday Press and was press director of Fianna Fail in 1992-95. She also worked in the European Commission.

Blackrock Hospice is part of Our Ladys Hospice & Care Services, Irelands largest provider of palliative care, which serves a catchment area of a million people from its bases in Harolds Cross (1879), Blackrock (2003) and Wicklow (2020).

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Having first opened in 2003, this refurbishment of Blackrock Hospice was vital to ensure that it can continue to meet the need of the community now and in the future. Many of the renovations and design features which took place during the 13 month works, were informed by significant research conducted by OLH&CS in advance of a series of recent capital investments across its sites and services.

The renovation would not have been possible without the generosity of the public and businesses who have donated more than 5.58 million.

The catchment area for Blackrock Hospice has the oldest age profile nationally and demand for its services continues to grow. Inpatient admissions increased by 25% between 2007 and 2019, and community palliative care saw an increase of 96% patients cared for between 2007 (248) and 2019 (487).

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD said; It is a pleasure to join patients and staff at Blackrock Hospice today, marking the official reopening of this wonderful facility. As life expectancy increases and people enjoy longer lives, palliative care, and the way it is given, is changing. I am impressed with the physical renovations carried out as part of the refurbishment works at Blackrock Hospice, and also by the way Our Lady's Hospice & Care Services continues to develop and evolve their service to care for people in their homes, and as outpatients. Its clear that they take a holistic approach to the needs of patients, which is of great benefit to them and their families.
A man found smeared with the blood of his host in a Wexford Town house was guilty of assault causing harm.

That was the unanimous verdict of the Wexford Circuit Court jury in the case of John Lips Katus.

Katus (49) told gardai at the time of the incident that he was residing at the Ozanam House hostel in Thomas Street, Wexford. But his address was given in court paperwork as 65 Waterside Apartments, New Ross.

The court learned that Skeffington Street resident Ignatius Holmes had a television smashed over his head in June of 2019. He also sustained a broken leg during the assault which occurred in the sitting room of the terraced house at Number 22.

Holmes was conveyed from his home by ambulance and spent months in hospital being treated for his injuries. It was mentioned during the trial that the 66-year-old injured party no longer lives at the same address.

A second man involved in the attack pleaded guilty to a similar charge but Katus insisted he was not guilty.

The jury of eight women and four men was sworn in to hear the case presented by prosecution barrister Daniel Boland.

Holmes, who reached the witness box with the aid of a walking stick had imperfect recall of what happened to him. For instance, he stated while giving evidence that his assailants were men in their 20s, though Katus was in his mid-40s at the time and the co-accused was in his 50s.

He also said that he was brought directly to Waterford University Hospital, suggesting that Wexford General was closed to admissions at the time because of Covid.

However, the pandemic had not yet begun at the time and the jury was given reports from the doctors in Wexford which confirmed that this was in fact the first port of call.

The witness recalled that he spent much of the afternoon in question with a friend called Thomas OBrien, looking at a James Bond film on television and drinking beer. Later, according to this version a woman arrived asking to use the toilet and it was she who opened the front door to several males.

He said he did not know who these men were before they began attacking him, saying they wanted money and drink.

Id say they were in their twenties or a bit younger, said Holmes. I had no chance to defend myself.

He admitted he had received such a beating that afterwards he could not remember a lot of what happened. He could not recall telling gardai who arrived at the scene that a man from Maudlintown had assaulted him. Holmes said he was left with a cut head and bruises all over, requiring a stay in hospital for months.

Evidence was also offered by Joanna Kelly from Enniscorthy who recalled being in Number 22 that day. She was drinking cider, she remembered, while Ignatius Holmes (whom she called Eensy) drank Dutch Gold.

The witness, who said she is aged nearly 50, stated she was asked by Eensy to open the door, admitting Katus and the co-accused.

They had brought their own drinks, she reckoned.

According to this version, it was quite late and OBrien had left the house when things turned nasty, with the householder on the receiving end.

He got an awful beating, she said, adding that she was terrified, running upstairs.

She told how the last thing she saw as she left the room was the TV being cracked off the injured partys head.

She accepted that she was kinda intoxicated and fairly well on, and that she had vodka as well as cider that night.

I dont really remember very much to be honest, she said at one stage, acknowledging that she is an alcoholic.

Everyone in the house had been drinking that night, she said.

Quizzed by defence barrister Jordan Fletcher it emerged that she had a previous conviction for manslaughter and served four years for the offence.

She accepted that it was a mistake on her part not to ring the gardai when Eensy was attacked.

Instead she went to sleep and was arrested when the gardai arrived in the morning.

Evidence was heard from Georges Street resident Hugh Fagan who told how he was out early, around 6.30 a.m., on the morning of June 7, 2019

He planned to fly his drone but was approached by a man, who turned out to be the co-accused.

This man smelled of cider and he had blood on his hands, telling the witness that a guy had got an awful beating in a house on Skeffington Street.

Fagan rang the gardai and the man walked off along a side street before officers arrived.

Garda Donal Donovan was next to testify, telling how he knocked on the door of the house that morning. It was opened by John Katus, who was intoxicated, with blood on his clothes and his shoes.

Ignatius Holmes was found seriously assaulted, with bruising to head and face, while there was blood on the floor around him.

The scene inside the house was also recalled by Garda Robert Nolan who thought at the time that the injured man was almost deceased.

His face was so bruised that he could not open his eyes and a flap of skin on his head peeled back, while there were patches of blood all over the room.

Holmes was capable of no more than gurgling at first but eventually he began to speak, telling Garda Nolan that the man from Maudlintown had hit him with his fist and a bottle.

The medical evidence given to the jury confirmed that the casualty had sustained a broken femur which required medical attention.

He had fractured facial bones too as well as the large laceration on his scalp, apparently caused by the television being dropped on his head.

A report from his GP suggested that Holmess overall level of health was poor and that he struggled with alcohol dependency.

Mr Fletcher said that the defence was not going to offer evidence but he suggested that the evidence of both Holmes and Ms Kelly was unreliable.

It took the jury just over 50 minutes to decide that the evidence was reliable enough to tell them that Katus was guilty of assault.

The case stands adjourned for sentencing at a later date, with the defendant allowed bail and told to sign on at New Ross garda station twice a week in the meantime.
When contemplating the next step in your career, be it moving up to a management role, moving to a more senior role within management or jumping into a new sector, one of the options to consider is doing a master's.

And while returning to education may seem like a big step, many employers across Ireland actively encourage this progression and see the long-term benefits to their business.

Being in the top two per cent of young universities worldwide, Dublin City University (DCU) is top of mind for many postgraduate students and employers. We spoke to a past student and the Head of Student Recruitment to discuss everything you need to know about undertaking a master's.

Decision time

Sandra Cullen, who is originally from Switzerland, received her Master of Business Administration from DCU and is currently Senior Global Commercial & Alliance Manager for Consilient Health Ltd. Pharmaceutical. She says that the decision to achieve her MBA came down to several factors, including the quality of the programme and how it would fit in around her busy home and work life.

"During that time, there was a recession, as you know, in Ireland, and you had to differentiate yourself from others to progress professionally.

"I looked at different courses, and what convinced me to go with DCU was when I heard from others that you are exposed to many real-time business cases and work with other professionals. So, you're benefiting from their experience as a workgroup.

DCU is Irelands University of Enterprise and is consistently recognised in global rankings of young universities. The dynamic and vibrant ethos of such universities of the future imbue all aspects of DCUs activities and specifically influence the design and delivery of the DCU Executive MBA programme.

"I also liked the fact that the times they offered suited my schedule. Especially as a mother and a full-time employee, it had to fit into this whole schedule."

Sandra, who began her career as a police officer in Germany, says that adding her MBA to her CV helped her to elevate to the position she holds today.

"It impacted my career massively. I came across the requirement for an MBA so many times, and I think it is because it shows that you have a certain work ethic. I think it's a good character reference for companies."

Fiona Reynolds, Head of Student Recruitment at DCU, explains that while every student and programme differs, a part-time master's can fit into a busy life with the right planning, support and structure.

"It very much depends on people's learning styles, but typically people will attend two nights a week, part-time. So that's six hours a week of instructed learning, and then we say that the same amount of lectures that you do, you should be doing self-directed study and research, so around 12 hours in total. But again, it depends on the learning styles and the programme being studied.

"What we would say is for people to be realistic. Be realistic about the time they have free to devote to the programme, look at the timing in their lives, to look at their financial commitments and know that a masters programme is intensive, it will advance you in terms of your knowledge and skills, very quickly. I would also recommend that people considering taking a masters programme attend one of our open days. Open days are a great opportunity to talk to academics and current students as well as to see the campus and get a sense of student life.

Employment opportunities

Sandra, who has been in her current senior position since 2017, is a prime example of achieving career success following an MBA at DCU, who are ranked first in Ireland and 23rd worldwide for Graduate Employment Rate. She feels that the style of learning associated with a master's is something she has carried into her career.

"I found that you were really challenged at DCU. The professors were really good academically, but also the business cases they put together were challenging, and you had to do all the research yourself. You learned to be really independent and source all the information from reliable sources.

"This is where the MBA is really good because they teach you to distinguish between a good source and a not-so-reliable source. You learn where to look for information and how to extract this information and make it work for you in any of the projects."

Fiona explains, "at bachelor's level, you're learning a set of knowledge, and at the master's level, you're learning how to apply that knowledge within a work environment and apply those skills to real-life situations and at a senior management level.

Fiona, who manages a dedicated team of student recruitment advisors and helps students from Ireland and worldwide to find the right programme for them, says that a master's can open up many different types of doors and suits a broad spectrum of students.

"A post-grad allows people to upskill in their role or reskill, depending on what sector they are working in. It is also an opportunity for somebody who is looking to move onto the next level of their career, so if they are trying to move up to the management level and beyond a master's will help achieve this.

"They may have specific knowledge in a particular area, but to broaden out those management skills and understand the business from, for instance, finance, HR and all the other perspectives you need to know, other than your own core niche skills.

"The other opportunity for people doing a post-grad is for them to look at a career change."

Confidence

Sandra says her MBA helped her progress in her career, gain newfound confidence, and help her stand out.

"It really helped me establish myself in the business world. People who have done it and gone through it know how challenging it is in terms of volume and working with people you've never met and business cases you've never even thought of.

"You really develop an entrepreneurial sense, which you wouldn't have had before. A lot of courses you learn by heart, while an MBA is about sourcing it yourself. It makes you independent later on in the way you work.

"I think it gives you the confidence to say what you really think rather than just go with everyone else's opinion."

Fiona also agrees that having a postgraduate degree can help people to secure employment across many sectors. And with DCU graduates earning more in their first year and 10th year of employment than graduates from any other Irish university*, the programmes on offer have been created to reflect industry demands.

"We are equipping our graduates with in-demand skills for future employment. Not only are they employable, they are promotable, with many of our postgraduates moving quickly up the ranks within their chosen field. Our postgraduate courses in engineering, bioprocessing, data analytics and strategic management are extremely popular; our courses in nursing and at our Institute of Education are also very highly regarded."

"I would say to people, look at your career planning. Look at where you want to be. Look at your stage in life. Work with your employer, if you are currently employed, and see if you do a master's programme, will they support you, and where will that lead. And ultimately, overall, be brave. Go for it."

For further information on postgraduate study at DCU, click here.

DCU also offers reduced postgraduate fees for our Alumni; click here for more information.

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A museum in Florence found itself at the centre of a bizarre controversy this week, over a Florida schools visit to see Michaelangelos statue of David.

Hope Carrasquilla, principal of the Tallahassee Classical School, was apparently forced to resign after leading the class trip. The school has a policy requiring parents to be notified in advance about controversial topics being taught.

Carrasquilla believes the board targeted her after three parents complained about a lesson including a photo of the David, a five-metre tall (17 foot) nude marble sculpture dating from 1504. The work, considered a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, depicts the Biblical David going to fight Goliath armed only with his faith in God.

Carrasquilla said that two parents complained because they werent notified in advance that a nude would be shown, while a third called the iconic statue pornographic. Celebrity chef and TV presenter Gino DAcampo has some thoughts

First of all, nudity and pornography are very different things. You should never confuse the two, because to do so is to have the completely wrong mindset. Children need to be educated about the difference, rather than just telling them they shouldnt look at any images that show a penis or a vagina. Maybe Americans should be warned at passport control before they enter Italy, because even in the smallest, most remote towns there are naked sculptures everywhere! They are naked because this is humans in their best, most pure form. And its ridiculous that anyone would be afraid of this.

Ive been travelling around Italy for my show, Gino's Italian Escape, for the past 15 years. It was actually just commissioned for a new series, so in May Ill be travelling around south Italy between Puglia and Basilicata for Ginos Secrets of the South. Im very happy that the shows been commissioned again; its still going after 12 years! I think viewers in the UK really embrace culture - they want to go to Italy and experience everything it has to offer.

While Im in my home country, Im reminded of how Italians have a completely different attitude when it comes to the body. We dont look for the perfect body like they do on social media. Italians celebrate every kind of body, because our way of thinking is that each one is beautiful in its own unique way. We dont care about six-packs, no, no, no thats all rubbish. We celebrate the body in culture, in art, and on the beach, which is why you see all those 70-year-old nonnas sunbathing with their tops off.

So what I dont understand is, how can these parents allow children to be on social media, on TikTok, where people are vulgar, sharing horrible things, and then be angry and offended by something as magnificent as Michaelangelos sculpture of David? Why is it OK for them to be on all these different platforms where they see all these unrealistic images? (If Michaelangelo was born today, one thing is for sure, is Davids penis would have been bigger.)

The reaction to the school trip [from parents and the school] has been outrageous. Are we talking about the same people who arent allowed to buy Kinder Eggs (theyre banned in the United States), but they can buy a gun? They cant talk about sex or the body but they can watch the Kardashians? Its ridiculous beyond belief. But the only thing you can do is laugh.
Reeva Steenkamps parents will oppose Oscar Pistoriuss parole application, their lawyer has said.

Unless the former Olympic runner comes clean about the deadly shooting of his model girlfriend 10 years ago, her parents dont feel that he is rehabilitated, Tania Koen said.

Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion who made history by running against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics, was convicted of murder for the Valentines Day 2013 shooting of Ms Steenkamp, 29, at his home.

The 36-year-old claims he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake  thinking she was an intruder.

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He was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison and is eligible for parole under South African law after serving half his sentence.

Ms Koen said Ms Steenkamps mother, June Steenkamp, who hails from Blackburn, Lancashire, will submit written and oral statements at the hearing to oppose Pistoriuss bid for freedom.

She doesnt feel that he must be released, Ms Koen told reporters outside the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria, where Pistorius has been held since 2016 and where the hearing is expected to take place on Friday.

Submissions from a victims relative are one of the factors a parole board takes into account when deciding if an offender can be released early on parole.

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The board will also consider Pistoriuss behaviour in prison and if he would be a threat to society if released.

A decision could come on Friday but is more likely to take days to finalise.
False bomb threats made at leading hotels and embassies in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia appear to be part of a harassment campaign against critics of the Chinese government, according to an investigation.

More than a dozen threats have falsely implicated Su Yutong, the German-based Chinese journalist, as well as activists Bob Fu, who lives in the US, and Wang Jingyu in the Netherlands, the Axios news outlet reported.

It said that since October last year anonymous perpetrators booked and paid for dozens of expensive rooms at luxury hotels in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Turkey, Hong Kong, the US and Macau in China, using their targets personal information without their knowledge.

The perpetrators then made at least 14 bomb threats to hotels, falsely claiming to be Ms Su, Mr Bob or Mr Wang, according to interviews with the victims, hotel staff and police statements.

The identity of those responsible has not been confirmed. However, the victims, all known to be outspoken about the suppression of human rights in China, believe the intimidation tactics are backed by the Chinese government.

Analysts have warned the regime is finding increasingly extreme ways to try to silence dissidents abroad.

The threats led to police investigations and even the brief detention of one of the activists, although none are suspected of any wrongdoing.

Law enforcement agencies in the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Macau and Hong Kong are investigating.

Ms Su has lived in Germany since 2010 after escaping China, where she was put under house arrest for distributing a banned book about Li Peng, the former Chinese premier.

Her name was recently used to book a room and make a false bomb threat at a hotel in Istanbul. She said it was part of a long-running campaign of repression, where she has also been targeted with fake escort ads that led men to her home looking for sex.

( Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2023)
A man who claimed to be Charles Bronsons son for six years has now said that they are not related.

George Bamby said he agreed to fake the relation in order to gain publicity for the notorious prisoner, adding that he made loads of money from it.

The self-described PR agent made the comment during an interview with TalkTV about Bronson losing his Parole Board bid to be freed from jail.

Mr Bamby said Bronson  who changed his surname to Salvador in 2014  approached him six years ago asking if he would help get loads of publicity for him and make sure he wasnt forgotten about.

He said: Me and Charlie together made up the story that he was my dad.

Charles Bronson is not my father. I am a PR agent. Im a marketing person, and Im the UKs number one paparazzi.

Ive not told anybody this for six years and its been an absolute bane of my life.

He added: Me and Charlie, for the last six years, have made loads of money, weve had loads of fun, weve created loads of stories, weve done loads of ridiculous things, weve manipulated the media, weve manipulated the prison service.

I got into the maximum security services in four different prisons as a journalist.

Mr Bamby said the profits were split between him and Bronsons consultant, because people serving jail time are not legally allowed to make money.

When asked for an interview by the PA news agency, Mr Bamby said to refer to the (TalkTV) interview, adding: Im off on holiday.
Discrimination, bullying and harassment is rife in fire services, a watchdog has warned after uncovering incidents in which firefighters acted out a rape and used the n-word.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found that a pack-like mentality in some fire services made firefighters fearful of reporting colleagues and caused them to believe that nothing would happen if they did.

Inspector Roy Wilsher said the cases uncovered so far could be just the tip of the iceberg. The report contained numerous examples of misogynistic, racist and homophobic incidents, including:

Two male firefighters acting out the rape of a female colleague

A senior officer referring to a Black colleague using the n-word and putting it down to having a laugh

Homophobic abuse written on a firefighters locker

A firefighter being told it would be career suicide to push for action to be taken on a senior officers racist comment

Hostility to female staff and suggestions they were employed because they have a vagina

Mr Wilsher told a press conference that he could not rule out the possibility that predators are currently working in Britains fire and rescue services, saying: I could not exclude that possibility.

The report called for an overhaul of vetting and misconduct processes for firefighters, including legal changes to expand criminal record searches and a new body to set standards.

Mr Wilsher warned that current variations in DBS checks create an unacceptable risk that must be addressed, adding: The sector cannot wait another day before it acts.

He said the watchdog had not been able to obtain any data on how many serving firefighters may have previous convictions, or how many had committed crimes during their service, and called for better sharing of information.

Trust and respect is too often replaced with derogatory, bullying behaviour, often excused as banter, the inspector added. Staff should feel able to report allegations without fear of reprisals, and any fire and rescue staff found to have committed gross misconduct should be placed on a national barred list to protect other services and the public.

The report identified a pack-like mentality in some watch groups, which see firefighters work, train, eat and sleep in close proximity to one other, sometimes for many years.

Some watches had normalised some unacceptable behaviours, including discrimination, bullying and harassment, Mr Wilsher said, adding that new recruits felt they had to assimilate into the prevailing culture in order to fit in.

Examples from a previous report on the London Fire Brigade included mocking peoples religion, taking bets on who would be the first person in a team to sleep with a woman, and filling helmets with urine.

Firefighters were found to have searched through womens drawers looking for underwear and sex toys during home fire safety visits.

The inspectorate pushed back against claims that poor behaviour was confined to pockets of the service, warning: Our evidence shows that such concerns are widespread, and this report brings together evidence from a number of sources.

It pointed to unofficial social media accounts used by serving and former firefighters that portray misogyny, racism and homophobia as banter.

The report found that more than half of misconduct cases across England over the past year concerned inappropriate behaviour, including bullying and harassment associated with protected characteristics such as race, gender and sexuality.

According to data gathered by the Cabinet Office in 2018, firefighters were the least ethnically diverse of any public sector workforce.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) was criticised in part of the report for using slogans that have the potential to cause rifts and create the risk of ostracising people who dont conform rather than supporting colleagues to, for example, raise concerns.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said he welcomed the report and that concerns had been raised within the union for many years over the same issues. He added that the failure to address them went right to the top.

The report, which was commissioned by the government after damning inspections of the London and Gloucestershire fire brigades, called for a new College of Fire and Rescue to set training standards, the introduction of confidential whistleblowing hotlines, and legal changes to bolster background checks.

Mr Wilsher called for the government and fire authorities to act urgently on his 35 recommendations, adding: I have been shocked and appalled by some of these findings. I thought a lot of this behaviour was from the dim and distant past. Its time for it to stop.

Mr Wrack said: It is welcome that His Majestys Inspectorate is beginning to address these issues, and to acknowledge the scale of the problem. Our equalities sections have also raised concerns about these issues for many years.

It is clear, both from our experience and from the contents of this report, that the failure to address discrimination and harassment in the service goes right to the top. Some fire service leaders are part of the problem, and have systematically failed to address discrimination, harassment and bullying in the service. Complainants have found themselves under investigation or subject to disciplinary proceedings.

He added: The Fire Brigades Union will take a leading role in transforming the culture of the fire and rescue service.
French author Michel Houellebecq has lost his legal fight to ban a film of him having sex with a young woman, which he signed up to star in.

The 67-year-old writer told a Dutch judge he was intoxicated, tired and depressed when he agreed to be filmed having sex.

But Mr Houellebecq failed to convince the court to ban the film because he had signed a release with director Stefan Ruitenbeek and the Dutch Keeping it Real Art Critics (Kirac) collective after the scene was shot in Paris.

"I was tired, the day had been long and the necessary wine had already been drunk," Houellebecq  considered by many to be France's greatest living novelist  said. "I don't have the ambition to become a porn star at my age."

Qianyum Lysis Li, the writer's third wife, told the director over dinner last year that her husband wanted to "make a porn film to counter his gloom".

The men then swapped emails discussing plans to make "a work of art, in which the distinction between fiction and reality takes shape as a game with the rancorous paranoia of your enemies". The director filmed the author having sex with Jini van Rooijen, an actress and philosophy student.

The author is famous for his provocative works which have dealt with themes including sexuality and religion. The only restriction in the contract he signed with the director was that the writer's face and genitals could not be captured in the same shot.

Houellebecq said the contract had put him at Ruitenbeek's "mercy". The judge found that while it was "far from balanced" and gave the Dutch director extensive rights, it was not illegal.

Houellebecq was ordered to pay 1,400 in costs after the court in Amsterdam decided there was not enough evidence to show that his judgment had been impaired by the wine or by depression.

"It is incomprehensible why Houellebecq participated in the recordings if he found the agreement really problematic," the judge said.

Relations between the author and director soured soon after the shoot and deteriorated further after a trailer for Kirac 27 was released in January, showing a shirtless Houellebecq kissing and fondling a woman on a bed.

In the trailer, director Ruitenbeek said Houellebecq contacted him after his honeymoon in Morocco was cancelled.

He claimed he told him he was depressed because his wife had spent a month booking prostitutes for the trip, which was not going ahead.

"I told him I knew plenty of girls in Amsterdam who would have sex with a famous writer out of curiosity, and that I would arrange the hotel for him if I had permission to film everything," the director said in the clip.

Houellebecq said the trailer had damaged his and his wifes reputation. He was also reportedly furious after Ruitenbeek told the Vice website that Houellebecq was "really good in bed".

"Mr Houellebecq is seriously considering an urgent appeal," his lawyer said after the verdict, which followed a similar defeat in the French courts.

Houellebecq was tipped to win the Nobel Prize for literature last year, but it went to Annie Ernaux, who called his ideas "completely reactionary and anti-feminist".
Donald Trump, the ex-president and frontrunner to be Republican nominee in 2024, is set to face a mug shot, finger-printing and court appearance next week after being indicted over a probe into hush money paid to a porn star in a historic U.S. first.

The possible spectacle of Trump's appearance in Manhattan on Tuesday before a judge as the first sitting or former president to face criminal charges could further divide the world's most powerful country.

Trump is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden next year. Even before news of the indictment broke, he had been seeking to use the legal threats to raise money and rally his most faithful supporters.

The first U.S. president to have tried to overthrow an election defeat, whose false claims of election fraud inspired the deadly U.S. Capitol assault on Jan. 6, 2021, signalled that he will continue to campaign even as he faces charges.

The case involves payments made to actress Stormy Daniels after an affair she said she had with Trump.

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Those specific charges have not yet been made public as the indictment remains under seal, but CNN on Thursday reported Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

While Trump claimed in a social media post on March 18 that he would be arrested in days, Trump's first reaction at the news was "shock," said one of his attorneys, Joe Tacopina, in a Friday interview on ABC.

"We'll go in there and we'll proceed to see a judge at some point, plead not guilty, start talking about filing motions, which we will do immediately and very aggressively," Tacopina said.

Trump, 76, said he was "completely innocent" and accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the Democrat who led the investigation, of trying to hurt his electoral chances.

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement.

Trump claims political motivations for all four criminal investigations he is known to face - including federal probes into his retention of classified documents and attempts to overturn his election defeat, and a separate Georgia probe into his attempt to overturn his loss in that state.

He has also accused Bragg, who is Black, of racial bias.

Let the process proceed

Shortly after news of his indictment broke, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defence.

The Indo Daily: The Stormy Daniels Scandal  could Donald Trump run for President from behind bars?

As news of Trump's indictment flashed across a news ticker on a Times Square skyscraper on Thursday evening, New York City resident Elizabeth Blaise welcomed the news.

"It shows that democracy is finally at a place where it is supposed to be," she said.

Trump earlier this month called for nationwide protests, recalling his charged rhetoric ahead of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Neither the White House nor Biden, a Democrat who is widely expected to seek re-election, commented.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, called for calm: "I encourage both Mr. Trump's critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law."

Tuesday surrender

The Manhattan charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days and Trump will have to travel there to be photographed, fingerprinted and appear in court, which a court official said was expected on Tuesday. Trump lawyer Susan Necheles confirmed the Tuesday surrender date and said she did not expect charges to be unsealed until that day.

The grand jury indictment follows months of hearing evidence about an alleged $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 campaign.

But any potential trial is still at least more than a year away, legal experts said, meaning it could occur during or after the presidential campaign.

Necheles said Trump will "vigorously fight" the charges.

Trump received support from a number of potential challengers for the Republican nomination including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.

"This will only further serve to divide our country," Pence said.

DeSantis wrote on Twitter: "The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American."

Among Trump's faithful outside his Mar-a-Lago property, Jill Cohen, 57, said the indictment would only bolster him.

"Do you really think that they're going to take President Trump out of the running for president because of some old horse-face story? No! I don't believe that for a second," said Cohen. "What they're doing to him right now is only strengthening his base."

Other Republican voters might tire of the drama, though.

Some 44% of Republicans said he should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.

How much the case affects the election could have profound implications beyond U.S. borders.

While president between 2017 and 2021, Trump regularly clashed with allies over trade and defense, and a return to the Oval Office could weaken U.S support for Ukraine.

Affairs alleged

Trump has escaped legal peril numerous times.

In the White House, he weathered two attempts by Congress to remove him from office, over the U.S. Capitol assault by supporters and probe into his campaign's contacts with Russia in 2016.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office successfully prosecuted Trump's business on tax-fraud charges last year, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty.

The presiding judge in that case, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, is expected to oversee the Daniels case as well, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Legal experts say Bragg is expected to argue Trump falsified business records to cover up another crime, such as violating federal campaign-finance law, which makes it a felony.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

The former president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him.

Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.

Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he called a "simple private transaction."

Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said he acted at Trump's direction.

Cohen said he stood by his testimony and the evidence he provided.
The events underlying Donald Trump's indictment in New York - hush money payments to a porn star who claimed to have had a sexual encounter with him - took place nearly seven years ago.

But any potential trial is still at minimum more than a year away, legal experts said, raising the possibility that the former U.S. president could face a jury in a Manhattan courtroom during or even after the 2024 presidential campaign, as he seeks a return to the White House.

A grand jury has voted to indict Trump, after months of hearing evidence about a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 election campaign. The money was intended to buy her silence about the encounter she says they had years before.

The charges were not clear, though legal analysts have said it is likely Trump will be prosecuted for falsifying business records on charges of hiding the true nature of the payments.

Trump has denied Daniels's claim, and his lawyer has accused Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, of extortion.

Trump, the first former U.S. president to face criminal prosecution, is leading potential rivals for the Republican nomination, opinion polls show, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for the White House.

In the first three quarters of 2022, the average criminal case in Manhattan took more than 900 days to move from indictment to a trial verdict, according to data from the state's division of criminal justice services - and Trump's case is far from typical.

That could push any trial past Election Day in November 2024, though putting a president-elect or president on trial for state charges would enter uncharted legal waters. If elected, he would not hold the power to pardon himself of state charges.

"This is so unprecedented that it's hard for me to say," Karen Friedman Agnifilo, former Manhattan chief assistant district attorney, said when asked earlier this month whether a judge would put Trump on trial close to the election. "I think it's tricky."

The New York case is one of several focused on Trump, including a Georgia election interference probe and a pair of federal investigations into his role in the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters trying to overturn his November 2020 election defeat. Another investigation is about his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House.

Challenging the case

In his early career in real estate, as a television celebrity and then in politics, the famously litigious Trump has employed aggressive counter-attacks and delay tactics when confronted with legal challenges.

Trump has accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat, of targeting him for political gain and could try to seek dismissal of the charges on those grounds.

Trump will likely pursue other avenues as well, some of which could present thorny legal issues that take time to resolve.

Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him, which Trump has denied.

The Indo Daily: The Stormy Daniels Scandal  could Donald Trump run for President from behind bars?

While president, Trump reimbursed Cohen for the Daniels payments, and federal prosecutors who charged Cohen said in court papers that the payments were falsely recorded as for legal services.

Falsifying business records - the charge that legal analysts say is most likely - is typically a misdemeanour.

To elevate that charge to a felony, prosecutors must prove that Trump falsified records to cover up a second crime. One possibility, according to the New York Times, is that prosecutors could assert the payment itself violated state campaign finance law, since it was effectively an illegal secret donation to boost his campaign.

But using state election law in that manner - and in a case involving a federal, not a state, candidate - is an untested legal theory, legal experts said, and Trump's lawyers would be sure to challenge it.

Trump could also challenge whether the statute of limitations - five years in this instance - should have run out. Under New York law, the statute of limitations can be extended if the defendant has been out of state, but Trump may argue that serving as U.S. president should not apply.

"There's a whole host of possibilities," David Shapiro, a former FBI agent and prosecutor and a lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said before news of the indictment broke. "This is a dream case for defence attorneys."

Fingerprints and mugshot

According to a Bragg spokesperson, prosecutors and Trump's legal team are negotiating a surrender date, when Trump would have to travel from his Florida home to the district attorney's office in New York to be fingerprinted and photographed.

Trump would then make an initial appearance in court, where he would be formally charged. He would likely be allowed to head home afterward, experts said.

The New York Times and NBC News reported that Trump is expected to surrender next week, citing his lawyers. If Trump for some reason decided not to come in voluntarily, prosecutors could seek to have him extradited from Florida.

In an ironic twist, DeSantis would typically have to give formal approval for an extradition demand in his capacity as governor.

In a Twitter post on Thursday, DeSantis said he would not assist in any extradition request, calling the indictment politically motivated. But Florida legal experts said the governor's role in the process is strictly administrative and questioned whether DeSantis can lawfully refuse such a request.

If necessary, experts said, the Manhattan district attorney's office could also go to court to secure Trump's appearance in New York.
Reeva Steenkamps parents will oppose Oscar Pistoriuss parole application, their lawyer said.

Unless the former Olympic runner comes clean about the deadly shooting of his model girlfriend 10 years ago, her parents dont feel that he is rehabilitated, Tania Koen said.

Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion who made history by running against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics, was convicted of murder for the Valentines Day 2013 shooting of Ms Steenkamp, 29, at his home.

The 36-year-old claims he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

He said he did not realise she got out of bed and went to the bathroom.

But her parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, believe he killed her intentionally after a late-night row.

Pistorius was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison and is eligible for parole under South African law after serving half his sentence.

Ms Koen said June, who hails from Blackburn, Lancashire, would submit written and oral statements at the hearing to oppose Pistoriuss bid for freedom.

She doesnt feel that he must be released, Ms Koen told reporters outside the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria, where Pistorius has been held since 2016 and where the hearing was expected to take place on Friday.

Submissions from a victims relative are one of the factors a parole board takes into account when deciding if an offender can be released early on parole.

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The board will also consider Pistoriuss behaviour in prison and if he would be a threat to society if released.

A decision could come on Friday but is more likely to take days to finalise.

Double-amputee Pistorius fired four shots with his licensed 9mm pistol through a toilet door at his upscale Pretoria home to kill Ms Steenkamp, who was also a reality TV star, in the early hours.

He was ultimately sentenced in 2017 after a series of appeals and has, taking into account time served, served more than seven years since late 2014.

An initial manslaughter conviction was overturned after an appeal by the prosecution and replaced with a murder conviction.

June sat in the back seat of a nearby car while Ms Koen addressed reporters outside the prison gates on Friday morning.

The pair were then driven into the prison in a Department of Corrections vehicle.

She doesnt feel that he must be released, Ms Koen said.

A decade after their daughters killing, Ms Koen said time hasnt healed the grief for June and Barry.

Hes the killer of their daughter. For them, its a life sentence, Ms Koen said.

For them, its 10 missed birthdays, 10 Mothers Days, 10 Fathers Days, 10 Christmases.

Barry met face-to-face with Pistorius last year in what is known in South Africa as a victim-offender dialogue and part of the pre-parole process.

That meeting was traumatic, Ms Koen said.

Pistoriuss parole lawyer, Julian Knight, previously said his client has been a model prisoner.

A number of options are available to the parole board.

Pistorius could be released on full parole or placed on day parole, where he would be allowed to live and work in the community during the day but have to return to prison at night.

He could also be placed under correctional supervision, which means he would be released but have to spend some of his time during the week at a correctional centre.

Or Pistoriuss parole could be denied.

Once hailed as an inspirational figure for overcoming the adversity of his disability, Pistoriuss trial and downfall captivated the world.

His conviction eventually led to him being sent to the Kgosi Mampuru II maximum security prison, one of South Africas most notorious.

He was moved to the Atteridgeville prison in 2016 because that facility is better suited to disabled prisoners.

Pistoriuss lower legs were amputated when he was a baby because of a congenital condition and he walks with prosthetics.

There have been glimpses of his life in prison, with reports claiming he had at one point grown a beard, gained weight and taken up smoking and was unrecognisable from the world-famous athlete he once was.

He has spent much of his time working in an area of the prison grounds where vegetables are grown, sometimes driving a tractor.

He also ran bible classes for other inmates, his father, Henke Pistorius, said in an interview in 2018.

There have also been flashes of trouble.

Pistorius sustained an injury in an altercation with another inmate over a public telephone at the prison in 2017.

A year earlier, Pistorius received treatment for injuries to his wrists, which his family denied were a result of self-harm but instead of him falling in his cell.

If Pistorius is released, he is expected to live at his uncles mansion in the Pretoria suburbs.

He lived there under house arrest for a time during his murder trial.
Turkish legislators vote in favour of Finlands bid to join Nato at the parliament in Ankara (Burhan Ozbilici/AP)

Turkeys parliament has ratified Finlands application to join Nato, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the Nordic countrys long-delayed accession into the western military alliance.

All 276 legislators present voted in favour of Finlands bid, days after Hungarys parliament also endorsed Helsinkis accession.

This will make the whole Nato family stronger & safer, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter in welcoming Turkeys action.

Alarmed by Russias invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Finland and Sweden abandoned their decades-long policy of non-alignment and applied to join the alliance.

Full unanimity is required to admit new members into the 30-member alliance, and Turkey and Hungary were the last two Nato members to ratify Finlands accession.

Swedens bid to join the alliance, meanwhile, has been left hanging, with both Turkey and Hungary holding out on giving it the green light despite expressing support for Natos expansion.

Turkeys government accuses Sweden of being too lenient towards groups it deems to be terrorist organisations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.

More recently, Turkey was angered by a series of demonstrations in Sweden, including a protest by an anti-Islam activist who burned the Koran outside the Turkish embassy.

Hungarys government contends some Swedish politicians have made derisive statements about the condition of Hungarys democracy and played an active role in ensuring that billions in European Union funds were frozen over alleged rule-of-law and democracy violations.

Turkish officials have said that unlike Sweden, Finland fulfilled its obligations under a memorandum signed last year under which the two countries pledged to address Turkeys security concerns.

As a Nato member, we naturally had some expectations and requests regarding the security concerns of our country, Akif Cagatay Kilic, a legislator from President Recep Tayyip Erdogans governing party, told parliament before the vote.

I would like to underline the concrete steps and their implementation by Finland, which supported and shaped the decision we are taking here.

Mr Kilic added: Im aware that there is a large number of people watching us from Finland.  We can say to them: Welcome to Nato.'

Expand Close Turkish legislators vote in favour of Finlands bid to join Nato at the parliament in Ankara (Burhan Ozbilici/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Turkish legislators vote in favour of Finlands bid to join Nato at the parliament in Ankara (Burhan Ozbilici/AP)

Some opposition parties were critical of the Turkish governments position towards the two Nordic countries.

Unfortunately, (Mr Erdogans ruling party) turned the right to veto Finland and Swedens membership bids into a tool for blackmail and threat. We do not approve of it, said Hisyar Ozsoy, a legislator from the pro-Kurdish party.

We find the bargaining process (to press for) the extradition of Kurdish dissident writers, politicians and journalists  to be ugly, wrong and unlawful.

Asked earlier this week about Swedens Nato membership, Mr Erdogan told reporters: There are certain things we expect of them. They must be fulfilled first.

Sweden, which made constitutional changes to pass tougher anti-terrorism laws, has expressed hope that it will be able to join before Natos July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Sweden faces more significant obstacles in its bid, Hamish Kinnear, Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said.

Turkey is unlikely to approve its acceptance into the alliance before the election in May. The Koran-burning incident sparked popular rage in Turkey and President Tayyip Recep Erdogan wont want to risk angering his conservative base ahead of the polls, Mr Kinnear said.

The accession of Finland, which has a 1,340-kilometre (832-mile) border with Russia, has geographic and political importance for Nato, said Maia Cross, professor of political science at Northeastern University.

Finland is at a very important strategic location and having that kind of shift from neutrality to respond to Russias aggression is bolstering the demonstration of the political will of Nato, she said.

Ms Cross added that the delay gave Finland more of a chance to prepare.

Finland is already sitting in the meetings with Nato. Its already revamping its armed forces, she said.

So when it steps into Nato formally, it can actually hit the ground running.
Pope Francis has been cleared by doctors for discharge on Saturday from the Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, the Vatican said, adding that the pontiff had pizza one evening with medical staff and baptised a baby in the paediatrics ward.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, in one of several updates on Friday, also said that Francis will be in St Peters Square for Palm Sunday Mass at the start of Holy Week, although he did not say if the pontiff would deliver the homily during the particularly lengthy service.

The medical team that is following His Holiness Pope Francis, after evaluating the outcome of tests carried out today and the favourable clinical recovery, has confirmed discharge on Saturday, Mr Bruni said in a written statement on Friday night.

Francis, 86, was admitted to hospital on Wednesday at Gemelli Polyclinic, where doctors said the pontiff was receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat his bronchitis.

Calling the pontiffs medical recovery normal, Mr Bruni said earlier in the day that on Thursday evening, Pope Francis had dinner, eating a pizza, together with all those who are assisting him in these days of the hospital stay, including doctors, nurses, assistants and Vatican security personnel.

Medical personnel decided to admit Francis to hospital on Wednesday after he returned to his Vatican residence following his customary weekly public audience in St Peters Square.

The Vatican reported he had experienced difficulty breathing in the previous days.

The Vatican on Thursday said that antibiotic treatment for bronchitis had resulted in a marked improvement in his health.

In a video released by the Vatican, Francis was seen baptising a baby at the hospital.

After the mother tells Francis the boys name, Miguel Angel, the pope uses a metal hospital tray usually employed to hold syringes to pour water over the sleeping babys head, then tries to comfort the infant, who wakes up, wailing and seeming to swat away the popes hand.

Francis then asked the mother to dry her sons wet forehead. He then told her: When you go to your parish, say that the pope baptised him.

Francis was smiling and looked chipper as he visited children being treated at Gemelli for cancer and gave out large, wrapped chocolate Easter eggs.

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Earlier in the day, Francis sent a tweet on Friday possibly inspired by his current health challenge.

When experienced with faith, the trials and difficulties of life serve to purify our hearts, making them humbler and thus more and more open to God, Francis wrote.

The Vatican seemed keen to quickly dispel any worries about the popes physical fitness to carry on fully with his duties.

Nearly immediately after the announcement of a discharge date for Francis, the Vatican announced that the pope would meet the prime minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace.

The hospital stay came four days before Palm Sunday Mass, which usually draws tens of thousands of faithful, including many pilgrims from abroad, flocking to Rome for Holy Week.

Francis had already largely stopped celebrating Mass at major Catholic Church holy days because of a chronic knee problem, but had continued to preside at the ceremonies and deliver homilies.

The Holy Week appointments include a stamina-taxing late-night Way of the Cross procession marked by prayers on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome and Easter Mass on April 9, which is traditionally followed by a long papal speech delivered from the central balcony of St Peters Basilica.

During Wednesdays hour-long public audience, Francis at times appeared visibly in pain when he moved about and was helped by aides.

In July 2021, Francis underwent surgery at Gemelli Polyclinic after suffering from a narrowing of his colon. As a young man in Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed.
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On Friday, India is set to reveal its highly anticipated Foreign Trade Policy 2023, aimed at bolstering exports in the face of sluggish global trade. The policy will be unveiled by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as per the ministry.

The existing Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20) will remain effective until March 31, 2023, with its last extension in effect from October 1, 2022 for a period of six months. The policy was extended several times  initially due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns  and to ensure that all stakeholders are sufficiently accommodated.

The foreign trade policy, to be announced by Goyal, is expected to present a vision statement aimed at elevating Indias goods and services exports to US$2 trillion by 2030.

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and supply chain disruptions have adversely affected Indias trade. According to sources, the upcoming policy is expected to include export promotion measures that comply with WTO regulations.

Indias exports cross US$750 billion in FY2022-23

India is projected to achieve a total export figure of US$760 billion by the end of FY 2022-23, up from US$676 billion recorded in FY 2021-22. In FY 2022, the total value of goods and services exports for India had reached a high of US$422 billion and US$254 billion, respectively. As of March 28, Goyal announced that Indian exports had crossed the US$750 billion mark, an all-time high.

Weve had a record run of FDI over the last decade with an all-time high every year until March 2022. Exports at about $500 billion in 2021 saw a phenomenal 35% jump to $676 billion last year. Today we have crossed $750 billion in exports with growth in both goods and services exported. I am sure we can achieve $2 trillion  a trillion each in goods and services respectively.  Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce

Meanwhile Indias merchandise imports for FY 2022-23 also grew significantly as crude imports rose 53 percent over the last fiscal. For example, imports from Russia increased by 850 percent over last year, as per the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), an economic think tank.

Indias merchandise imports are dominated by six product categories: petroleum, crude oil, coal, coke, diamond, precious metals, chemicals, pharma, rubber, plastics, electronics, and machinery. Together, these categories make up 82 percent of Indias total merchandise imports.

To make Indian exports globally more competitive, the country has been pursuing several free trade agreements. Most recently, it concluded a CEPA with the UAE and an ECTA with Australia. These have boosted two-way trade flows to the respective markets. A comprehensive free trade deal with the UK remains in the works with eight rounds of negotiations done.
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Kolkata: Last year, the Reserve Bank of India, permitted cross-border inbound Bill Payments to be received under the rupee drawing arrangement (RDA) through the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

In order to facilitate utility bill payments for Indian Diaspora, Canara Bank, one of Indias largest public sector Bank, has teamed up with BBPS. This tie-up will enable the Indian Diaspora to make payments towards utility bills, school fees, municipal taxes, etc., in India from Oman. This move will provide a convenient and hassle-free payment option for NRIs.

A pioneering facility of its kind has been launched by Canara Bank in co-ordination with Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL), the wholly owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India, and Musandam Exchange, Oman on 29th March, 2023.

A comment by K Satyanarayana Raju, MD & CEO at Canara Bank, on the occasion, said, "We are proud and delighted to be the first PSB to introduce this much-awaited facility in collaboration with NBBL and Musandam Exchange for Non-Resident Indian Diaspora in Oman. This initiative is in line with our commitment to provide innovative and customer-centric solutions to our clients. We are confident that this facility will enhance the banking experience of our NRI customers and strengthen our relationship with them.

Commenting on the launch, Noopur Chaturvedi, CEO, NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd., said, We are delighted to announce the launch of our services for NRIs living in Oman. Indians in Oman will now be able to take advantage of the fast and secure bill payments platform offered by BBPS. We are grateful to Canara Bank for being fundamental in bringing this project to fruition. This new initiative will not only provide a convenient bill payment solution but will also have a significant impact on the lives of thousands of Indians living in Oman.
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Beijing: China has reported its third human case of the H3N8 strain of bird flu, media reports said.

In China, the virus was first detected in humans last year.

A 56-year-old woman in Zhongshan, a city in the south of the country, tested positive for the virus after she was exposed to live poultry, the Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention was quoted as saying by The South China Morning Post in a statement on Monday.

It said the woman had underlying illnesses but did not give further details of her condition nor confirm how she became infected. The statement said there were no anomalies found among her close contacts. There have been no confirmed cases of the virus being transmitted between humans so far.

According to the experts studies and conclusion, the human infection [with H3N8] is a sporadic case and the risk of transmission of the virus is low at this stage, the statement said. The public should try to avoid contact with live birds and sick or dead birds.

China has detected the first case of the viral infection in a boy in central province of Henan.
Image Credit: Screenshot grab from video

Indore: The death toll in the Indore temple stepwell collapse incident has increased to 35, official said here on Friday.

A total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued.

"The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," Indore Collector told UNI.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Home Minister Narottam Mishra reached Indore from Bhopal by a special aircraft in the morning. They will also visit the spot and take stock of the situation. He will also visit the hospital to enquire about the condition of the injured. At least a dozen injured are hospitalised here.

According to official sources, till late last night, the bodies of 35 people had been pulled out of the well. The number of bodies in the relief and rescue operations that continued throughout the night and till morning rose to 13. The dead include women and children. Some more people are feared trapped and relief and rescue work is being carried out along with emptying the water of bawdi.

On the occasion of Ram Navami, prayers were being offered at the Beleshwar Mahadev temple located in a private colony. There was an old bawdi in the temple premises. It was covered with a roof. Devotees used to walk on it. Many people were standing on it during the worship yesterday.

Then this roof fell into the bawdi at around 35 o'clock in the day. After this, there was an outcry on the spot. Relief and rescue operations were started in the afternoon with the help of ropes etc.

The Chief Minister has ordered an inquiry into the incident. The Collector has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire matter.

(With UNI inputs)
Image Credit: Screenshot grab from video

Kolkata/IBNS: "Thirty-six people have been arrested and the situation is now under control," said Howrah Police a day after clashes broke out between two groups over the Hindu festival Ram Navami in the Howrah district of West Bengal .

Howrah City Police Commissioner Praveen Tripathi told IBNS, "Traffic on GT Road is normal, shops are open in the area. There is no problem at the scene right now. Situation is under control. Area domination, route marches are underway in the area.

"36 people have been arrested so far in connection with the incident. We are keeping watch on the developments. An investigation has been initiated into the root of yesterday's incident. We will share more details after the probe is completed."

Several vehicles were set on fire, stones were thrown and shops were ransacked as clashes between two groups broke out in West Bengal's Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations on Thursday forcing riot control police to march across several parts of the sears as well as Kolkata.

Police were deployed heavily after television visuals showed several vehicles engulfed in flames.

The violence broke out when a Ram Navami procession was crossing the Kazipara locality.

A number of cars, including a few police vehicles, were damaged during the violence and the security personnel had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the mob.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was on a two-day sit-in protest (dharna) in Kolkata against Centre's policies, called "rioters the enemy of the country" and said those behind today's violence "will not be spared".

"Those who were involved in today's violence will not be spared based on any excuse. As far as the police are concerned, they are working tirelessly, but at times they find themselves in a tough situation to have good relations on both sides and maintain peace," Banerjee said.

"Let me make this very clear, in today's incident, the ones who have given safe passage to the offenders, I will take strong action against them. There were clear instructions to mark the routes for the procession. I do not support the riot-mongers and consider them the enemy of the country," she said.

In a direct dig at the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bengal, the CM said: "They (BJP) have always targeted Howrah. The other targets for them are Park Circus and Islampur. Everybody must be alert in their localities."
New Delhi/Kolkata/IBNS: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday evening called Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Sukanta Majumdar to assess the law and order situation in the state after clashes broke out in Howrah over Ram Navami processions.

A large contingent of police was deployed in the area after a mob went on a rampage, burning vehicles, throwing stones and ransacking shops.

Several police vehicles were also damaged during the incident.

Prohibitory orders under section 144 have been invoked in Howrah South's Shibpur after stones were pelted at cops in a fresh incident of violence near the Kazipara area on Friday.

So far, 46 people have been arrested in connection with the violence. More cops were deployed to the area.

The governor, who will soon be visiting the riot-hit areas, is believed to have provided Shah with details about the violence and the current situation on the ground.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier called "rioters the enemy of the country" and said those behind today's violence "will not be spared".

"Those who were involved in today's violence will not be spared based on any excuse. As far as the police are concerned, they are working tirelessly, but at times they find themselves in a tough situation to have good relations on both sides and maintain peace," Banerjee had said.

"Let me make this very clear, in today's incident, the ones who have given safe passage to the offenders, I will take strong action against them. There were clear instructions to mark the routes for the procession. I do not support the riot-mongers and consider them the enemy of the country," she had said.

In a direct dig at the opposition BJP in Bengal, the CM said: "They (BJP) have always targeted Howrah. The other targets for them are Park Circus and Islampur. Everybody must be alert in their localities."

"They have been hiring goons from outside the state to orchestrate communal riots. Nobody has stopped their processions but they do not have the right to march with swords and bulldozers. How did they get the audacity to do this in Howrah?"

Bengal MP Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Mamata Banerjee and considered number two in the Trinamool, accused the BJP of inciting trouble.

"How was a Ram Navami rally took place with guns and pistols and without permission?" he asked, playing videos which appeared to show a group of men participating in a rally with pistols.

BJP's DANGABAJI FORMULA at work again:



 Provoke & instigate communities against each other.



 Supply weapons to incite violence.



Create communal tension deliberately.



 Reap political benefits.



A classic unholy blueprint right out of the @BJP4India playbook! pic.twitter.com/HKZ0BmIlCm  Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) March 31, 2023

He also accused BJP's Suvendu Adhikari of orchestrating the violence with help from the party's top brass. "He meets The Union Home Minister in Delhi and then returns to Kolkata. He held a public meeting the next day and says watch TV tomorrow. The next day there are riots," he alleged.

The BJP, meanwhile, has sought an NIA probe and deployment of central forces in the affected areas through a petition in the Calcutta High Court.

BJP MP Locket Chatterjee alleged that "Hindus in Bengal are under threat" and accused the Bengal CM, who is also the state's Home Minister, of appeasement politics.

"It is disheartening. Such visuals emerge from Bengal every Ram Navami and Durga idol immersion. It is not acceptable that the lives of Hindus in Bengal are under threat. When there was violence in Howrah yesterday, Mamata Banerjee was sitting on a 30-hour dharna," she said.

Bengal witnessed communal riots during the Ram Navami celebrations ahead of the last general elections.




Image Credit: Wallpaper Cave

Istanbul: The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ratified the protocol on Finland's membership in NATO, Deputy Speaker Haydar Akar said.

"For the ratification of the protocol on Finland's accession to NATO - 276 votes, the proposal was accepted. Congratulations to Finland and its citizens," Akar said.

Later in the day, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto commented on the ratification of Helsinki's NATO bid by Turkey and expected Sweden to enter the alliance as fast as possible.

"All 30 NATO members have now ratified Finlands membership. I want to thank every one of them for their trust and support. Finland will be a strong and capable Ally, committed to the security of the Alliance. Finland is now ready to join NATO. We look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible," Niinisto said on Twitter.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted that Finlands accession to the bloc will make NATO "stronger and safer."

"I welcome the vote of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to complete the ratification of Finlands accession," Stoltenberg said on Twitter.

Finland and Sweden applied to become NATO members in May 2022, three months after Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine.

However, Sweden's bid to join NATO has not yet been ratified by Turkey and Hungary.

The accession process came to a standstill in January 2023 following Quran-burning incidents in Sweden, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that Stockholm should not count on Ankara's support for its NATO bid.

At the same time, Turkish officials have repeatedly stated that NATO's doors were not closed to Sweden, but the accession process and its speed were completely dependent on Stockholm's next steps.

(With UNI inputs)
Image:  UNDP Uganda/Hadijah Nabbale

New York: Making homosexuality punishable by death is an egregious violation of human rights, independent UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts said on Wednesday, urging Ugandas president to veto new laws approved by parliament this month, which further criminalise people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), and those who defend them.

The imposition of the death penalty based on such legislation is per se an arbitrary killing and a breach of article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the experts said, noting that Ugandan politicians had been made aware of this on previous occasions in recent years.

The harsh anti-LGBT laws approved by a majority of MPs last week, target and jeopardise the rights of LGBT persons and those who support and defend their human rights, the experts noted.

Serial homosexuality

The imposition of the death penalty for same-sex intimacy  including so-called serial homosexuality  is an egregious violation of human rights, the UN experts said.

They warned that the new legislation would exacerbate and legitimise continued stigmatisation, violence, harassment, and discrimination against LGBT persons.

Living in constant fear

LGBTI persons will constantly live in fear and stress for their life and physical integrity for simply living according to their sexual orientation, the experts said, highlighting that there are serious mental health-associated risks beyond the violence and threats.

Culture can never be a justification for such flagrant violations of human rights, the experts said. They recalled the obligation of all of society  from politics, to business, to civil society, to promote social inclusion and contribute to stopping human rights abuses.

Long record of discrimination

The latest anti-LGBT legislation comes after years of State-instigated and perpetuated discrimination against the community, said the experts.

The noted that they have repeatedly raised serious concerns about escalating risks to the human rights of LGBT persons in Uganda during the last 15 years, including when other iterations of so-called anti-homosexuality laws were proposed in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

In all cases, the draft bills were assessed as potentially leading to immediate violations to a substantial range of human rights.

The new law is no exception and forms part of a worrying trend of intolerance, exacerbating stigma against LGBTI persons without any grounds or evidence, they said.

Appeal to Yoweri Museveni

We urge the President of Uganda to tread a new path towards respect of human rights and acceptance of difference, and reject the proposed law, the experts statement concluded.

Special Rapporteurs and other UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts, work on a voluntary and unpaid basis, are not UN staff, and work independently from any government or organisation.
Image: UN News/Shirin Yaseen

New York: The international community must take firm and principled action to protect the human rights and dignity of Palestinians, amid mounting violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the threat of even further annexation, an independent UN-appointed rights expert said on Thursday.

The wave of deadly violence sweeping through the occupied West Bank since the beginning of this year is the inexorable consequence of an acquisitive and repressive occupation with no end in sight, and the culture of lawlessness and impunity Israel has nurtured and enjoyed, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said in a statement.

Tragic loss of life

Recent months have been marked by escalating unrest between Israelis and Palestinians. Israels new hardline government has also pledged to expand West Bank settlements and annex occupied territory.

Ms. Albanese is the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

She said Israeli violence - including the deadly raid in Jenin refugee camp on 26 January, in the old city of Nablus on 22 February, and in Jericho a week later - has left 80 Palestinians dead, and over 2,000 wounded, in less than 90 days.Thirteen Israelis also were killed by Palestinians during this period.

Every loss of life, whether Palestinian or Israeli, is a tragic reminder of the price people pay for not addressing pervasive injustice and its root causes, she said.

Repressive occupation, symbolic condemnation

The rights expert noted that over the past decades, the international community has witnessed record-high numbers of Palestinian deaths and injuries.

Meanwhile, Palestinians have also endured confinement, land confiscation, home demolitions, fragmentation, discriminatory law enforcement, mass incarceration and other countless abuses, indignities and humiliations.

Israel, emboldened by a lack of meaningful intervention, has consolidated its acquisitive and repressive occupation, with Member States offering little more than symbolic condemnation, humanitarians providing band-aid aid, and legal scholars entangled in theoretical debates, she said.

No equal parties

Her statement urged the UN to move beyond simply counting casualties and calling for restraint.

The Organization cannot indulge in the condescending acceptance of an irresolvable conflict and the myth of conflicting narratives, and in urging the parties to de-escalate tensions and resume negotiations, she said.

In reality, there are no equal parties nor a proper 'conflict,' but rather an oppressive regime that threatens the right of an entire people to exist, she insisted.

Furthermore, tolerating annexation would legitimise aggression, bringing international law back almost a century: this is the reality the international community must stop immediately and reverse.

Oppose annexation, support self-determination

Ms. Albanese urged the international community to recommit to the ideals of the UN Charter, in the interest of both Palestinians and Israelis.

To maintain its credibility and purpose, the UN must acknowledge that conflicting narratives and historical facts must be resolved through the lens of legality and justice, and work effectively to oppose any forms of annexation of occupied territory, realise the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and terminate the apartheid regime Israel is enforcing upon them., she advised.

About Special Rapporteurs

Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, which is based in Geneva.

These independent experts are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations.

They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.
Representative image of Finland capital Helsinki

The Turkish parliament Thursday gave its unanimous approval of Finland's entry into NATO, thereby enabling Helsinki to become a member of the military alliance. However, this decision leaves Sweden excluded from joining.

In a matter of days, Finland may officially become a member of NATO.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto tweeted, All 30 NATO members have now ratified Finlands membership." "Finland will be a strong and capable Ally, committed to the security of the Alliance, he said.

"We look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible," the tweet further read.

After being delayed for several months, the Turkish vote on the matter took place in Ankara just minutes before midnight.

Finland and Sweden initially applied for membership last May, prompted by Russias invasion of Ukraine. And while the two countries were formally invited to join the alliance last summer, both Turkey and Hungary have been stalling on ratifying their memberships.

Despite striking a deal with Helsinki and Stockholm that led to policy changes, Ankara expressed concerns about the support of Kurdish groups and restrictions on arms exports by both countries.

However, while Finland was given the green light for membership, Ankara chose to delay Sweden's approval.

Hungary has ratified Finland's membership, but a vote on Sweden is yet to be scheduled.

Following the ratification of its membership by the NATO member states, Finland will receive a formal invitation from the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, after which it will provide the U.S. with its instrument of accession.

Upon receiving this, the U.S. will issue a statement acknowledging that Finland is now a member of the North Atlantic Treaty.

This, Stoltenberg tweeted, will make the whole NATO family stronger & safer.
New York: The de facto Taliban authorities in Afghanistan must immediately release activists detained for advocating for girls and womens rights, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Wednesday, expressing alarm over ongoing arrests.

Since the beginning of the year, several civil society activists and journalists have been detained for speaking out against Taliban policies that restrict women and girls access to education, work, and most other areas of public life.

No one should be detained for speaking out in defence of their fundamental rights and the rights of others, OHCHR Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said in a statement.

Arrest or detention as punishment for the legitimate exercise of fundamental rights, such as the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, is arbitrary under international human rights law, he added.

Top campaigner arrested

The statement comes in the wake of the latest arrest, which occurred on Monday, according to OHCHR.

Matiullah Wesa, head of PenPath, a civil society organization campaigning for the reopening of girls schools, was detained by unidentified individuals who were travelling in an unmarked vehicle. His whereabouts are unknown.

The same persons also entered Mr. Wesas home the following day and seized two of his brothers, who were released several hours later.

OHCHR said other activists and journalists have also been detained with no clear information as to their whereabouts, well-being or any charges against them.

Respect human rights

Detainees human rights must be respected, in particular the right to be informed of the reason for their arrest at the time of their arrest, the right to be promptly informed of any charges against them, as well as the right of access to family members and to legal representation, Mr. Laurence said.

He recalled that Afghanistan is a party to international human rights treaties. As such, Taliban leaders are obliged to respect and ensure the rights to freedom of expression, opinion and freedom of peaceful assembly, as well as to provide access to education and the right to work.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 and have effectively barred girls and women from studying and working.

Addressing the Security Council earlier this month, the UN Special Representative there, Roza Otunbayeva, said Afghanistan remains the most repressive country in the world for womens rights.
Image: pixabay

Karachi: A Hindu doctor in Pakistan's Karachi city became the latest victim of target killing in Karachi city on Thursday.

He was shot dead by two motorcyclists on a busy road while he was returning from his clinic in a car.

The doctor was identified as Birbal Genani.

SSP City Arif Aziz, while talking to media, was quoted as saying by Dunya News that police have registered a case of this incident and investigations have begun already.

The SSP said, police are thoroughly investigating every aspects of this case.

He added, it would be early to say anything about this case, things will become clear when the female nurse accompanying the doctor will record her statement.

On the other hand, the injured nurse named Quratulain, in her initial statement, said that she just saw flames of fire out of the blue when she was travelling with the doctor, reports Dunya News.

She said that when she saw Birbal, his head was bleeding.
Image: Pixabay

Police shot at and critically wounded an unarmed Class IX student near the Rizvia Society underpass in Pakistan's Karachi city on Wednesday, media reports said.

The student, Ayaan, 15, and his friend, Awais, were riding as many motorbikes when the police signalled them. As police got hold of Awais, Ayaan tried to turn his motorbike, but a policeman fired at him leaving him seriously wounded, police and his family told Dawn News.

The victim of the incident was taken to Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) for treatment.

LNH spokesperson Anjum Rizvi told Dawn News that the 15-year-old boy was being treated at the intensive care unit.

He said that the bullet hit the lower portion and stuck in his lungs. As a result, the lower limb had been damaged and could not be moved because the bullet had not exited.

The incident, however, prompted police high-ups to order an inquiry and placed the Rizvia SHO under suspension.

Without providing any details about the incident, the police stated in a statement that the DIG-West set up an inquiry committee, the policeman involved in the shooting incident, identified as Safdar, was detained and the Rizvia Society SHO Waqar Kaiser had been suspended.

SSP-Central Maroof Usman, who visited the hospital and met with the family of the wounded student, told Dawn that the incident was being thoroughly probed and facts would be shared with the media.

He said that departmental and legal proceedings would be initiated against the policemen involved in the incident.
Image Credit: Wallpaper Cave

Washington: Former US President Donald Trump was indicted on Thursday by a New York jury over hush money payments made to an adult film actress during his 2016 campaign.

He is the first former US president to face criminal charges.

Donald Trump's attorney Chris Kise called Trumps indictment the lowest point in history for our criminal justice system.

What was once the most respected and revered district attorneys office in the nation has been fully bastardized by an opportunistic politician seeking, like many others, to cash in on the Trump brand, Kise told CNN. The complete lack of legal basis, coupled with the politically targeted nature of the prosecution, should strike fear into every citizen in this country irrespective of their views of President Trump.

Former President Donald Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury, according to two sources familiar with the case, reports CNN.

Prosecutors asked Trump to surrender and to face arraignment on charges that remain unknown for now, reports UNI.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office has been looking into Trump's alleged role in a hush money payment and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels during the lead-up to the 2016 election.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is expected to appear in court Tuesday for his arraignment, multiple sources tell CNN.
Bharat Electronics has gotten contracts worth Rs 5,498 crore from Ministry of Defence

Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has announced that it has secured ten contracts worth Rs 5,498 crore from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with BEL Bangalore for the supply of 90 units of EW Suite Equipment for Medium Lift Helicopters.

Additionally, the MoD has signed a maintenance contract with BEL Bangalore for the Akash Missile System, covering two squadrons. The AMS is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system developed by DRDO and manufactured by BEL.

Further, BEL Ghaziabad has been awarded the contract for Project Akashteer, which involves the development of an Automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System.

BEL Kotdwara has been awarded the contract to manufacture the Instant Fire Detection and Suppressing System (IFDSS) for the T 72 tank. This system has been designed indigenously by DRDO and will be produced by BEL Kotdwara.

The latest state-of-the-art Portables Software Defined Radio (SDR) for the Indian Navy, comprising 1265 units, has been jointly developed by DEAL (DRDO) and BEL, stated BEL.

The HD VLF HF Receiver is a communication equipment consisting of 1178 units, which has been specifically designed for receiving and demodulating data and voice in the VLF and HF bands of operation. The equipment will be used in Indian Navy's ships and submarines.

The Sarang system, consisting of 12 units, will be installed on the Kamov 31 helicopters used by the Indian Navy. DLRL has developed and designed the project, which will be manufactured in Hyderabad by BEL.

BEL also received three more projects from Indian Navy - INS-SA, CMS for P17 & P28, Varuna EW.

For feedback and suggestions, write to us at editorial@iifl.com
In a shocking incident, a young woman, who was sitting in a park in Bengaluru with her male friend, was forcibly dragged into a car and gang-raped.

According to the police, the case has been reported in the Koramangala police station limits. The police have arrested a gang of four persons in connection with the case. The arrested accused have been identified as Satish, Vijay, Sridhar and Kiran.

BCCL/FILE

Dragged on to car from park

Police said the incident occurred late on the night of March 25. The young woman was sitting with her male friend at the National Games Village Park. The accused threatened her male friend and dragged her into the car.



The victim told police that she was gang-raped in the moving car. The police said that the accused drove the car to Domlur, Indiranagar, Anekal and Nice Road and committed the crime throughout the night.

All accused arrested

The accused later left her near her residence in the early hours of March 26. After reaching home at 4 am, the victim was taken to a hospital and later lodged a complaint with the police, based on which the four accused were identified and arrested.

BCCL

Minor girl dies after rape

The incident happened the same day a minor girl from Tataguni village on the outskirts of Bengaluru died after being sexually assaulted.



According to the police, a 17-year-old victim studying in class 12 was raped in an isolated area near the village, and she succumbed on the spot due to severe bleeding.

The police said that the girl was lured to the spot by the accused, who also hailed from the same village.

Initially, there were reports of the victim being gang-raped by four men, but police later said after the girl died of excessive bleeding, the accused had called three of his friends to help him cover up the incident.

BCCL/ FILE

The police have recovered a photo taken by one of the accused persons, which showed three other persons besides the minor girl's body.

The photo also shows one of the accused lifting the body of the girl and another sitting on the bike. The third accused is seen kicking the bike.

The police have arrested one Venkatesh in connection with the case. He was booked for rape, POCSO and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the jurisdictional Kaggalipura police.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has shared new images of what India looks like from space. The images were clicked by the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-06), also known a Oceansat-3, using the Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM).

The images are actually mosaics generated by National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) based on data sent to Earth by the spacecraft. In each mosaic, 2,939 images were combined after processing 300 GB of data.

ISRO

What do the images represent?

What we see in the images is how Earth looked between February 1-15 this year and we can see all the continents in the pictures. In some images, India can be seen clearly from space.

(1/2) Global False Colour Composite mosaic generated by NRSC/ISRO using images from Ocean Colour Monitor on EOS-06



Mosaic with 1 km spatial resolution combines 2939 images after processing 300 GB of data to show Earth as seen during Feb 1-15, 2023. pic.twitter.com/YLwcpfVfPT  ISRO (@isro) March 29, 2023

ISRO

In a Tweet, ISRO shared the stunning images and wrote the following - "Global False Colour Composite mosaic generated by NRSC/ISRO using images from Ocean Colour Monitor on EOS-06 Mosaic with 1 km spatial resolution combines 2939 images after processing 300 GB of data to show Earth as seen during Feb 1-15, 2023."

Also read: ISRO To Build Reusable Rockets For The Global Market, Space Agency's Chief Says

(2/2) OCM senses the Earth in 13 distinct wavelengths to provide information about global vegetation cover on Land and Ocean Biota for global oceans. pic.twitter.com/IbJ7kSw69X  ISRO (@isro) March 29, 2023

The difference in terms of colours in the images is caused by variations in wavelengths and the pictures clicked by the Ocean Colour Monitor provide information about global vegetation cover on land, as well as marine biota details. "OCM senses the Earth in 13 distinct wavelengths to provide information about global vegetation cover on Land and Ocean Biota for global oceans," ISRO explained.

ISRO

Launched in November, 2022, OceanSat-3 is a nanosatellite that was launched by ISRO as part of the PSLV-C54 mission - comprising a series of satellite launches aimed to study the oceans and atmospheric conditions.

Also read: ISRO To Launch India's First Mission To The Sun In June-July: All You Need To Know



ISRO

The three major instruments on the OceanSat-3 are Ocean Color Monitor (OCM-3), Sea Surface Temperature Monitor (SSTM), Ku-Band Scatterometer (SCAT-3), and ARGOS - all tools that aid the observation of Earth in different wavelengths. In addition, the satellite can also identify potential fishing zones, the space organisation said.

What do you think about these beautiful shots of India from space? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
There is always a difference between the cultures in the world, and to be frank, it is also evident to all. A Korean woman recently showed a difference between the dinners at Indian and Korean offices.

The video by the South Korean blogger comparing company cultures in her home country and India has gone viral. Jiwon, also known as Korean G1 on social media, posted an Instagram Reel comparing company dinners in South Korea to those in India.

Jiwon is a Korean blogger who claims to be obsessed with all things Indian. Her fascination with India began in 2012, when her teacher showed her a few Bollywood films.

Instagram/Korean G1

She traveled to India for the first time in November 2022 and has since shared several videos highlighting the similarities and differences between the two countries.

India Vs. Korea: Watch The Difference In This Viral Video

The video has been shared by Korean G1 with the caption, "Enjoyed first company dinner party in India  I've never expected dancing with bosses but the Bollywood songs in the restaurant made me to dance. and there was a lot of excitement through my co-workers  plus I don't drink alcohol but nobody forced me to drink so I could enjoy a lot!!!! I'll surely miss last night gathering  Do you have any experience about company dinner episodes? share with me."

In her video, she explained that drinking is a big part of office gatherings in South Korea. "In Korea, bosses like people who can pour a drink," she explained, sharing a video of herself pouring one. Dinners frequently start and end with alcohol; courtesy is expected even in casual settings like post-work dinners.

According to Jiwon, drinking at company dinners in India is neither encouraged nor frowned upon. People know how to have a good time, whether they are drinking or not. Colleagues in India dance and enjoy themselves to the fullest. She interspersed her commentary with footage of herself at an office party in India. Jiwon can be seen dancing, playing DJ, and more with her Indian colleagues.

People Online Reacted To The Video In Different Ways:



Until now, the video has received 446K views, 53K likes, and over 200 comments.



According to one user, seniority and juniority are less influential in India than in Korea. Humans treat each other respectfully outside of the office.

Instagram/Korean G1

Another user shared their experience at an office dinner.



Instagram/Korean G1

Instagram/Korean G1

What do you think about it?



For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.
The Save Nigeria Democratic Movement (SNDM), has called on the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman, to arrest former Aviation Minister and Director of New Media for the All Progressive Congress (APC), Presidential Campaign Council, Femi Fani-Kayode, within 48 hours over his recent inflammatory statements.

In a release on Saturday, Fani-Kayode had warned that the country would be made ungovernable if supporters of presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party, Peter Obi did not stop their protests against the outcome of the 2023 election.

He said: Let this serve as a timely warning. We cannot be a punching bag for the opposition forever and soon we will react. Trust me when I tell you that if there is any foul play in this matter or any conspiracy to thwart the peoples will, we will make this nation ungovernable.

However, the group on Thursday, reacted pointing out that Fani-Kayodes ethnic profiling and inciting statements fueled unprecedented violence against non-Yoruba voters in Lagos State at the just-concluded governorship poll.

At a press conference jointly addressed by its President, Danjuma Garba and Secretary, Olubankole Peters Adeniyi, SNDM called on the relevant security agencies to tame Fani-Kayode before he plugged the country into chaos with his inciting rhetoric.

The group said, The Save Nigeria Democratic Movement is disturbed by the recent inciting comments by a former Aviation Minister and Director of New Media, All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Femi Fani-Kayode.

Recently, the media has been awash with reports of Fani-Kayodes inciting rhetoric targeted at causing ethnic disharmony and widespread violence across the nation. We can no longer continue to ignore his excesses as they pose a grave danger to our democracy, unity and security.

Recall that his ethnic-profiling and inciting statements fuelled unprecedented violence against non-Yoruba voters in Lagos State at the just-concluded governorship poll. We find totally unacceptable, his recent threat to make the country ungovernable should Bola Ahmed Tinubu not be sworn in. This is a threat against national peace and security and should not be ignored by all relevant security agencies.

READ ALSO: Sanction Channels TV For Entertaining LPs Baba-Ahmeds Inciting Comments  Tinubu To NBC

Already, his rancorous and misguided outbursts had attracted the attention of the international community. A British envoy addressed him and pointed out the dangers of his inciting statements.

However, instead of retracting his statements, he went wild against the envoy with derogatory remarks and tirades unbefitting of a supposed statesman.

Femi Fani-Kayode is infamous in Nigeria for his opportunistic political misadventures. He is a rabble-rouser whose only political value is the noise he makes and the ripples of disaffection it causes.

He has never contested, won or lost an election. His is to parasitically attach himself to the winning side and look for any available financial opportunity to sustain his extravagant and drug-ridden lifestyle.

The incompetent junkie once blamed witches for the plane crashes that happened under his watch as the aviation minister.

We, therefore, call on the ruling party to amend their initial mistake of appointing Femi Fani-Kayode into their campaign council by distancing themselves from his inciting and bigoted comments.

We would be forced to believe that Femi Fani-Kayode is doing the biddings of the ruling party to destroy Nigeria if drastic punitive actions are not taken against him.

Finally, we call on the Inspector General of Police, and the Directorate of State Security (DSS) to arrest, within 48 hours, Femi Fani-Kayode for posing a grave threat to national security with his ceaseless inciting statements and ethnic profiling. This is to serve as a deterrent to other tribal bigots, and overzealous politicians, they added.
A Federal High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja has granted an order freezing all the monies of the Abia State government domiciled in about 27 banks.

Justice Bello Kawu in an exparte motion no: M/6686/2023 also barred all the banks from cooperating with the financial aides of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu pending the determination of the motion.

The suit was filed by Mr Uche Eni against the Accountant-General of Abia State and the Commissioner for Finance.

Access Bank Plc, Eco Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Accountant General of the Federation and 21 financial institutions were listed as respondents.

The court granted the reliefs sought by the claimants lawyer, Johnmary C. Jideobi while adjourning the matter to April 5, 2023.

The court granted the following Order(s):-

A mareva order of this Honourable Court freezing forthwith all the monies belonging to the people and Government of Abia State of Nigeria or controlled by the Defendants and domiciled in any Bank (whatsoever named) operating within Nigeria or domiciled with or in the hands of the 1st to 28th Respondents PENDING the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice filed herein.

READ MORE: Abia Gov, Ikpeazu Sacks Political Appointees

An order of this honourable court restraining the 1st to 28th Respondents from co-operating with the 1st and 2nd Defendants or any authority and person purporting to be acting on behalf of or in the name of the Government of Abia State of Nigeria (howsoever named or described) in accessing any funds held by the 1st to 28th Respondents for the benefit of the people and Government of Abia State of Nigeria PENDING the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed herein.

An order of court granting the Claimant/ Applicant leave to effect a substituted service of all the originating processes in this suit, inclusive of the ex-parte Order of this Court, on the 1st and 2 Defendants at the Abia State Liaison Office, Abia House, Abuja, through any registered post or courier service operating within the Jurisdiction of this honourable Court and for same to be deemed as proper services.

An order restraining the 1st and 2nd defendants forthwith from Interfering with dealing with, withdrawing or accessing in whatever manner, monies in the hand of the 1 to 28th Respondents belonging to the Government and people of Abia State pending the hearing and disposal of the Motion on Notice filed herein.

An interim order of this Honourable Court restraining all the Respondents and their privies, whether severally or individually, from extending any loan facility howsoever called or described) to the Government of Abia State pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice filed herein.
Renowned Nigerian rappers, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz and Olanrewaju Ogunmefun, better known as Vector, have expressed their views about the 2023 elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

In a track titled Yakubu, the rappers knocked the chairman for alleged malpractices that characterised the elections.

READ ALSO: Lagos Guber: You Were Not Re-Elected, You Selected Yourself  Falz Tells Sanwo-Olu

Released on Thursday, the song referenced the failed promise made by the commission to transmit the results of the elections in real-time via its result viewing portal, known as IReV portal.

The duo also sang about the reports of violence, voter intimidation, logistics problems, ballot box snatching, and other incidents that marred the 2023 general election.

Mr Yakubu! E ma n se bi fraudster (you behave like a fraudster)/ you dont want to prosper / Come and collect oscar/ 300 billion te gba lowo ijoba, ki le fi se na sir (what did you do with the 300 billion received from the government), Falz rapped in the first verse of the song.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, has expressed shock over claims of conniving with some officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the State during the March 18 governorship election.

Information Nigeria reports that the Returning Officer of the Abia governorship election, Nnenna Nnannaya Oti claimed that she was offered financial incentives by the governor to manipulate the election results.

Oti, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Owerri, made the claim on Tuesday while being welcomed by the management, staff and students of the university.

In the same vein, the States governor-elect, Alex Otti, accused some electoral officers of working in connivance with Ikpeazu, to alter some results of governorship election in the State.

According to him, results from Obingwa Local Government Area where governor Ikpeazu hails from are being altered in favour of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Okechukwu Ahiwe.

READ ALSO: Sanction Channels TV For Entertaining LPs Baba-Ahmeds Inciting Comments  Tinubu To NBC

Ikpeazu who spoke during an interview with Channels Televisions Politics Today on Thursday night said he had never met Oti before, adding, Im shocked because in the first place, if shes is a Professor, she should know that, she doesnt even have the capacity to manipulate results, because the results must have emanated from the units, collected at the wards and local governments.

For her its just to add them up and announce. Ive not met her before. Ive not spoken to her. If have met her before let her come to the public and announce.

Im sure shes only making a big noise out of nothing. The only thing was that I saw the coincidence and traced her background and complained to INEC that this lady is not going to be fair, but they assured me not to worry, so Im still shocked.

What she has betrayed in the aftermath of her service or stewardship in Abia, indicates that fact that she is visibly happy with what she did. Her level of bias in that regard could be placed in favour of a party.

She has betrayed that she has something at the back of mind before she came.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) on Friday bursted a store at the Bridge Head Market, Onitsha, which specialises in the sale of expired sex enhancement drugs.

NAFDAC Chief Laboratory Technologist, Mr Usman Amen, who led the Investigation and Enforcement Directorate team from Lagos, told Newsmen in Onitsha that the store was notorious for dealing in unregistered and expired drugs.

According to him, the operation was carried out, following a tip off on the nefarious activities going on in the market.

The store is located at the Progressive Science and Allied Dealers Lane in the market.

Amen said the drugs included delay viagra, afrofranil, breast enhancement, ass enhancement, rocket in pocket men gel and tramadol, among others.

He said: We came from Lagos on a tip off, before we arrived here, the owner of these sex enhancement drugs abandoned his store and ran away.

In view of this, we had to break the store and on entering inside, we saw some expired drugs, like tramadol, breast enhancer and all kinds of sexual drug enhancers.

We ensured that we evaluated the drugs and sealed up the store.

The owner will have to come to our office in Lagos for interrogation.

READ MORE: Anambra Police Declare Corps Member Wanted For Impersonation, Fraud

We also sealed the store in Ogbo-Ogwu Bridge Head Market because a particular drug we were informed about was not found but the invoice indicated when the drug was last sold.

The second store was sealed because their were some drugs that are not allowed to be sold in the market, we evaluated them and sealed the store, Amen said.

He called on the public to be vigilant, saying that the drugs being produced and sold in the market were not worth consuming.

The leader of the lane in the market, Mr George Opara, described the activities of the dealer as embarrassing and disturbing.

Opara said that the market was known for dealing in genuine drugs and other goods.

He said that punitive actions would be meted to the runaway shop owner for engaging in such illegal business and bringing shame to the lane.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has distanced itself from reports that its members were responsible for electoral violence during the March 18 governorship and state house of assembly elections in the State, stating the reverse as the case.

Recall that prior to the election, there were divisive statements in the social media space, mostly ethnically provocative comments between the Yorubas and Igbos in Lagos.

The Chairman of Lagos State Parks Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya a.k.a. MC Oluomo, in a viral video threatened Igbos to stay indoors, if they will not vote the APC during the election.

On the election day, videos of thugs snatching ballot boxes could be seen, threatening those who would not vote for a particular Party, disrupting electoral process at different polling units, among other acts of electoral irregularities.

However the ruling APC, who emerged winners of the February 25 presidential election and the March 18 governorship election in Lagos, claimed that some people who are not happy with the outcome of the elections are holding meetings on Twitter Space on how to disturb the peace of the State.

READ ALSO: Abia Gov, Ikpeazu Sacks Political Appointees

The Partys Publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo in a press conference organized in Ikeja on Thursday to brief the media on the outcome of the March 18 governorship and state house of assembly election, said the opposition claimed that APC threatened and intimidated voters to discredit the outcome of the election.

Oladejo said, On the contrary, our members were mostly the victims of intimidation and violence. Many are still in hospitals where doctors are battling to save their lives.

The allegation of threat and intimidation of voters is a typical deployment of the strategy of the aggressor playing the victim. How else do we explain the case of Omatseye Iseli a.k.a Tee Mac, a Labour Party chieftain who went to a polling unit with wild dogs, boasted of his unlawful action, only to jump into the media space the following day to allege intimidation after it was glaring that his party lost woefully in the gubernatorial election?

It is on record that, there are 13,325 polling units in Lagos State and there were reports of disturbances in about 130 or one percent of all the polling units. I think that is too infinitesimal for anyone to rely upon to say that the election was not free and fair. In other words, under no circumstance can we say this has invalidated the credibility of the elections.

We also need to state that the false alarm that members of the APC perpetrated violence during the election cannot be substantiated. It is sheer falsehood.

The party has loyalists, members, and sympathisers in all nooks and crannies of the state. It has no reason to embrace violence.
Timipre Sylva has reportedly resigned as the Minister of State for Petroleum to seek the ruling All Progressives Congress ticket in the upcoming governorship election in Bayelsa.

According to sources who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, Sylva reportedly handed his resignation letter last week to President Muhammadu Buhari, and stopped coming to the office.

READ ALSO: Buying Petrol N300 Per Litre Isnt Bad, N40 Per Litre Unrealistic  Petroleum Minister, Sylva

The sources went further saying the minister would be seeking the APC ticket to run for Bayelsa governor in the party primaries scheduled to take place on April 14.

The report is yet to be confirmed by Timipre Sylva and the Petroleum Ministry.

Recall that Sylva served as governor of Bayelsa State for one term between 2008 and 2012. At the time, he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, which was then in power at the federal level but is now in opposition.

Appointed junior oil minister in August 2019, Sylva oversaw major reforms in the oil sector, including the passing of legislation that overhauled the sectors fiscal regime in a bid to spur investment.

During his time as minister, Nigerias oil output fell to its lowest in decades due to crude theft and pipeline vandalism. Angola overtook Nigeria as Africas biggest oil producer and exporter for a few months last year.
Jim Boscov, CEO of Boscov's, is the public face of what has become the largest family-owned department store chain in the country. He regularly visits the Reading-based company's 49 stores, such as this one at the Reading Mall in Exeter Township. Read more

Private label, fleece-lined hoodies were flying out of Boscovs, and CEO Jim Boscov wanted to know why.

It turned out that the October 2020 surge in demand had little to do with the personal service and unpretentious vibe that have helped make Boscovs the largest family-owned department store company in America.

It came from young people posting TikTok videos of themselves dancing and modeling inexpensive plaid outerwear from Boscovs.

Our hoodies were going viral, said Boscov, 73, the CEO and public face of the privately held company, which had $1.2 billion in sales last year.

In one week we had an eightfold increase in sales of the hoodies. We sold $200,000 worth at $24.99 each, he said. We had been doing digital marketing for years, but it opened our eyes to the power of influencers.

Advertisement

One of those influencers vowed in her video to never be dissing Boscovs again  suggesting not only the opportunities, but also the challenges facing the more than century-old company in todays economy.

Image vs. reality

While Boscovs has continued to open stores while other traditional retailers are closing, its image remains a throwback to the days when department stores were dominant, and malls were all the rage.

The decor in some of its older stores is heavy on mirrors, bright lights, and neon signage evocative of a disco or a casino. Some people likely perceive Boscovs shoppers as the mothers or grandmothers of those fleece-lined hoodie enthusiasts.

The trick is to evolve but not give up the core of what works and makes us successful, said Boscov, adding that new stores feature sleeker designs. The company also renovates two stores each year.

We have to keep learning and changing, he said. But we wont throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Boscovs traces its start to Solomon Boscov peddling housewares from farm to farm near Reading in Berks County in 1914. He was 23 and had recently emigrated from Russia with his brothers passport, hardly any money, and even less English.

Nevertheless, my grandfather earned a reputation as honest and kind, and for providing good merchandise at a great price, Boscov said during an interview at company headquarters just outside Reading.

These continue to be our core values.

From its first store  Economy Shoe & Dry Goods  in Reading in 1918, Boscovs has grown to 49 stores in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Ohio.

The companys bustling headquarters occupies a mostly windowless warren of offices in the basement of its Reading Mall store.

Boscovs charismatic uncle, Albert, who led and grew the company for nearly 50 years and ultimately saved it, established the tradition of an in-store headquarters.

Success doesnt happen because of what goes on in the office, said Boscov, who generally visits a different store weekly. Its what happens on the sales floor that matters.

Boscovs is a full-service department store, he said. And we have something you dont find everywhere: We have salespeople on the sales floor.

Boscovs is often an anchor in shopping malls  another retail institution that once seemed invincible. The busy Voorhees, N.J., Boscovs is pretty much all that remains of the Echelon Mall, which was built in 1970. The 50th Boscovs is scheduled to open this fall in a Bridgeport, W.Va., mall.

But the company also has downtown stores in Binghamton, N.Y.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; and Providence, R.I.

Department stores arent what they were when Wanamakers, Gimbels, and Strawbridges ruled Philadelphia regional retail.

But Boscovs comes closer than most. It still has candy and toy departments and sells draperies, beds, recliners, and small appliances. It carries clothing for petite as well as big and tall customers, and many of its stores have hair salons and optical shops, along with hearing aid and travel services.

Survival of the savviest

Boscovs has figured out how to thrive in the anti-brick-and-mortar retailing world, said Michael Lisicky, a Cherry Hill native, historian and author of books about department stores, including Bambergers.

Boscovs isnt run by a private equity firm. Theyre a family of merchants, who know who they are and know their customers, he said. Boscovs isnt reimagining the department store because maybe it doesnt need to be reimagined. Not everything is broken.

Lisicky pointed to the chains signature breadth and depth of inventory as a selling point. Customers know they will probably find whatever theyre looking for at Boscovs, he said.

Boscovs fan Cathy Nevins, an educator and social worker who lives in Cherry Hill, agrees. When I take my grandchildren there, they usually see something they like.

Nevins also likes that Boscovs cultivates relationships with local nonprofits. I like their ethics of people helping people, she said.

Until the pandemic, a half-dozen Boscovs stores still had restaurants called The Greenery, where the Bos-cobb salad was once a staple. Tailors are no longer on site, either  although tailoring services are still offered.

We hate to give up things that make us distinctive, said Boscov, who paused at one point during the interview to take a call from his mother, Shirley, whos 97 and lives in a Reading retirement community.

Shes very active and tries to go swimming every day, he said.

Boscovs existential crisis

A widower and the father of a grown daughter, Jim Boscov grew up working in the stores and learning the family business firsthand from his grandfather and uncle. He had part-time jobs in a number of departments as a teenager and joined the company full time at age 26.

But he left in 1990, moved to Boston, and launched a series of retail or retail-related businesses, including a successful outlet store chain. He came back to Boscovs in 2008 as an assistant to Albert, who had retired only two years earlier but returned to lead an effort to save the company.

 READ MORE: Boscov's files for bankruptcy protection

As mergers and closures roiled the department store industry in 2006, Boscovs  under the leadership of then-CEO Kenneth Lakin  bought 10 store locations that had become available in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The expansion brought the total number of Boscovs to 49 and introduced the brand to new markets.

It might have worked, but the economy hit the skids, the credit market crashed, and Boscovs did not have the liquidity at the time that it needed to survive, Jim Boscov said.

Because of the goodwill Boscovs had earned, Albert was able to cobble together the necessary funds to buy the company back, with the entire family participating, he said.

 READ MORE: Boscov's emerges from bankruptcy

The 10 recently acquired store locations were closed. In the following decade, Albert started the company on a new path of expansion. He was 87 when he died of pancreatic cancer in 2017.

Albert had named Jim Boscov CEO in 2015. Under his leadership, Boscovs took over the former Nordstrom space in Providence, opened two Connecticut stores, one near Youngstown, Ohio, and soon, in Bridgeport, W.Va.

Looking to the future

Boscovs came knocking on our door, said Andy Lang, mayor of the city of 9,000 in north-central West Virginia.

People are very excited, he said. I really like what Mr. Boscov says about tailoring the store to fit the community. Its going to be great.

Boscovs is serving a market that remains robust, said Sheri Lambert, an associate professor of marketing at Temple University who studies consumer behavior.

Bricks-and-mortar isnt dead, she said. And malls arent dead either.

While the pandemic elevated e-commerce, it also underscored how much people missed communal experiences, such as shopping, Lambert said.

Stores like Boscovs are where people can go to be among other people and have a sense of community, she said. People like to touch and feel merchandise, and they like to be among other [shoppers], which is hard to do online.

Boscov said he intends to keep working but noted that the store has recruited new management talent from within and outside the family.

The company is always looking for new opportunities. He said the success of the standalone Boscovs Outlet, near the Reading Mall store, is an additional format that could work in other locations. He didnt name any in particular but wouldnt rule out Philadelphia  or Center City  either.

The worst thing we could do is pretend to be something were not, he said. Were going to continue to be Boscovs.
Masa Cooperativa member Carmen Guerrero (left), with Maria Roxana Amaya Lemus, making tortillas on the grill in the cooperative's kitchen at 1149 S. Ninth St. on March 19, 2023. Read more

Stone-ground masa  the maize dough thats an essential ingredient for cooking in Mexico and much of Central and South America  is the chief product created and sold by Masa Cooperativa, operating out of Peoples Kitchen, a commissary at 1149 S. Ninth St. in South Philadelphia.

Local chefs buy the co-ops masa, milled on the premises from organic Pennsylvania-grown blue corn, to turn it into tortillas, tamales, and other dishes at restaurants. Its the best masa Ive ever tasted, said chef Michael Solomonov of Zahav, who makes corn bread out of it.

Now its available at retail directly to the public, from 8 to 11 a.m. Sundays, along with hand-pressed tortillas, atole, and cookies. Its a walk-up situation, though orders can be emailed.

The co-op grew out of campaigns on behalf of undocumented workers started by Ben Miller and his former wife, James Beard Award-winning chef Cristina Martinez.

Two of the five co-op members  Miller and Jennifer Lee  are American-born, while Ruben Chico, Lesly Lopez, and Carmen Guerrero are undocumented immigrants.

Lee, a law professor who leads the Sheller Center for Social Justice at Temple University, herself the daughter of immigrants, has worked with organizations seeking to advance the rights of immigrants and has represented low-wage immigrant workers whove been exploited. She met Miller and Martinez and, with her students, helped craft the 2017 City Council resolution that affirmed the rights of undocumented people to work in the city.

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The co-op gives undocumented immigrants a way to profit from their labor legally. Miller, who grew up in Easton, likes to cite Budweiser, owned by Belgians, as an example of how foreign corporations own businesses in the United States.

Although members of the co-op who are undocumented cannot file employment papers, they may legally share quarterly dividends. The enterprises themselves created by undocumented immigrants must pay taxes, as would any other business.

This is a proactive way to think about how folks who otherwise would be subject to employer exploitation can take ownership and own their own business and contribute work, said Lee, who believes that such a business model can be replicated in other industries.

Miller said the co-op is partnering with local farms such as Brooke-Lee in Berks County, planting and harvesting Indigenous varieties of corn. He said the co-ops next step was to acquire a silo for storage.

The co-op workers nixtamalize the corn with water and lime to make it workable. On a recent Sunday, Chico and a helper were feeding corn into Peoples Kitchens stone mill. Moments later, Guerrero took the dough and rolled it into balls before handing it off to Maria Roxana Amaya Lemus, who squished the dough flat in a wooden press. Guerrero then griddled the tortillas on a flattop.

Miller took one off the pile, tucked in sauteed vegetables, and handed it over. Earthy, with a summery burst of corn flavor and a satisfying chewiness, the tortillas were unlike many youd find even in restaurants that make their own from flour, let alone supermarkets. Theyre sold for $5 a dozen.

Miller said restaurants are inherently cooperative. I always felt like I was working in spaces that were really cooperatively developed, like the dishwasher contributes their ideas, the prep cook is contributing their ideas, but the chef gets the accolades. Its really the whole team that works together, Miller said. This model provides an incentive to the people to show up and put their best [work] in there.

Though America is a democracy, he said, were still stuck in autocracy and kings and subjects.
United by Blue founders Mike Cangi (left) and Brian Linton at the retail store at Second and Race Streets in Old City in 2017. Read more

United by Blue, the eco-friendly outdoor-lifestyle company that mixed retail sales and a cafe with a mission to clean up the worlds oceans and waterways, has closed its last two stores, both in Philadelphia.

The brand, launched in Philadelphia in 2010, will maintain its e-commerce presence as well as its wholesale sales to outlets such as REI, said co-founder Brian Linton, who with partner Mike Cangi sold the company last year to Naadam, a luxury clothing brand based in New York. Linton had been advising Naadam but said he had no role in the closing.

Closed signs appeared Wednesday at the locations at 3421 Walnut St. in University City and 205 Race St. in Old City as about 25 employees learned of the shutdown. Stores in Chicago and Scottsdale, Ariz., closed last year.

Linton and Cangi founded United by Blue with a small line of T-shirts focused on ocean conservation and sold at wholesale. They promised to clean a pound of trash from oceans and waterways for every product sold, through company-organized cleanups.

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They adapted the cafe-retail model because they did not think that an ordinary apparel store would engage with the community.

Cangi and Lintons first retail store opened in 2013 on the ground floor of their Old City office building. They opened the store on Penns campus before moving the Old City location to the Bridge nearby in 2017.

United by Blue stores were novel. One could buy a kayak and a breakfast sandwich, wool gloves and a pulled bison sandwich on potato roll, or perhaps a quilted vest with a mug of ReAnimator coffee and a plate of griddle cakes with house-made sausage.

A representative of Naadam declined to comment.
A smokestack at the Trinseo Altuglas facility where three chemicals spilled into a Delaware River tributary on March 24 in Bristol. Read more

The three chemicals that spilled into a Delaware River tributary on March 24 have been known to science for more than a century. Yet as with most other chemicals in widespread use, the U.S. government has not set limits on their presence in drinking water.

So when area water utilities scrambled to protect residents from potential hazards in the citys tap water, federal health officials could offer only rough guidance on what amounts would cause concern  including one estimate developed just weeks earlier, in response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Ultimately, testing did not find any of the three substances in drinking water at levels thought to pose a risk  and in fact, they were not detected at all. But the episode illustrates how environmental regulators can be hard-pressed to keep up with evaluating the safety of all the chemicals in production.

Evidence suggests that most of them almost certainly are safe, especially at the levels people are exposed to in their everyday lives. But when the government tries to evaluate  and place restrictions on  substances of concern, it often is hampered by outdated statutes, industry pushback, and the challenge of conducting science on chemicals that are widely present in the real world.

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Protecting drinking water is just one challenge. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has barely begun to evaluate how thousands of chemicals might pose other kinds of environmental and health risks. Thats because when the agency first got the authority to regulate toxic substances in 1976, manufacturers were allowed to keep making most of them  including the three that spilled from the Trinseo plant in Bristol  without testing them for safety.

Seven years ago, the efforts of then-New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg were pivotal in updating the law to allow the EPA to start prioritizing these older chemicals for evaluation. But so far just a few dozen, including well-known hazards such as asbestos and formaldehyde, have undergone initial review.

That leaves consumers largely in the dark, said Maria J. Doa, senior director for chemicals policy at Environmental Defense Fund, a Washington-based nonprofit.

Its important for the EPA to review these chemicals and see if they pose a risk, she said. Theyve just started.

 READ MORE: Companies have discharged millions of pounds of chemicals into the Delaware, records show

How chemicals are tested for safety

Chemical safety is governed through a dizzying array of regulations and agencies in the U.S.

The FDA regulates food, drugs, and cosmetics. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) handles the workplace. The EPA oversees pesticides through one set of regulations, and other chemicals (including the three in the March 24 spill) through a different patchwork of rules.

In most cases, chemicals are not directly tested on people before they are approved for use, said physician Robert Laumbach, an associate professor at Rutgers University School of Public Health. The exception is medications, because they are intended for human consumption.

The safety of other chemicals is evaluated through a variety of analytical methods and animal studies, as well as an assessment of its physical properties. Is it volatile? Does it accumulate in the environment? Is its structure similar to that of other chemicals that are known to be harmful?

Common tests in laboratory mice include one called LD50  determining the amount of a substance that kills 50% of a group of animals. Other mouse studies take place over a longer term, determining what levels of exposure may lead to cancer, reproductive issues, or neurological deficits.

A proper evaluation takes into account that we are not exposed to single chemicals in isolation, said Jack Vanden Heuvel, a professor of molecular toxicology at Pennsylvania State University.

You can be exposed to multiple chemicals that may have similar activities, he said. The effects would be additive.

Also key is the old adage that the dose makes the poison, said Virginia Tech chemist Joshua Worch. That is, some substances may be toxic in high amounts, yet have a neutral or even benign effect at lower concentrations.

Once a substance is approved for use, real-world evidence of harm may emerge after the fact, through epidemiology  measuring populations of exposed people for potential health effects.

Whats in drinking water

To protect the safety of drinking water, the EPA has set limits for more than 90 harmful contaminants  including microorganisms, organic chemicals such as benzene and vinyl chloride, and inorganic chemicals such as lead, arsenic, and fluoride. On March 14, the agency proposed adding six more to the list, all from a class of forever chemicals abbreviated as PFAS.

But for thousands of other substances, the agency has set no standards. In one case, a component of rocket fuel called perchlorate, the EPA failed to set limits despite clear evidence of harm, said Emma Bast, an attorney for the environmental group PennFuture. Still other substances have not received enough study.

Our understanding as a society about what chemicals are dangerous is incomplete, she said.

Chris Crockett, chief environmental, safety and sustainability officer for Aqua Pennsylvania, which provides water to hundreds of thousands of customers in suburban Philadelphia, countered that the EPAs approach is largely sound  keeping tabs on substances that are likely to find their way into drinking water.

Theres no way to develop standards for all the chemicals, nor is there a way to test for everything, he said. What we really need to know is whats the health risk, and which chemicals are of concern.

Still, sometimes there are surprises, as in the March 24 spill of butyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and methyl methacrylate.

Federal health officials used the best available evidence from animal and lab studies to estimate a maximum safe level for each of the three, Crockett said.

An estimate for butyl acrylate had been set just a few weeks earlier, at 560 parts per billion, in response to the East Palestine derailment, by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (that is, no more than 560 molecules of the chemical for every billion molecules of water). Safe limits for the other two chemicals also were estimated in the hundreds of parts per billion, Philadelphia Water Department officials said.

Even though the guidance for these chemicals was in the hundreds of parts per billion, water companies went well beyond that, using equipment that could detect them down to 1 part per billion. That was more for the sake of public perception, as people can smell these chemicals at those trace amounts, well below any level that is thought to be a health risk, Crockett said.

Would you want to risk it being in water that your customer tells you smells like paint, and you turn around and tell them Dont worry? he asked.

Staff writer Frank Kummer contributed to this article.
Jim Del Rio denied having a gun at the Central Bucks school board meeting at the districts administration building. But the audience member who saw one reported it, and Del Rio was approached that night by district security and police, who consulted the district attorney. Read more

Addressing the Central Bucks school board at its most recent meeting, a man who gave his name as Franklin Castels praised its policy targeting sexually explicit content in library books, a topic that has drawn backlash in the district.

Arguing that the district had been harboring child pornography in its libraries, he told the Democratic members of the Republican-majority board during the March 14 meeting: I would suggest you take your colleagues to a steak dinner, because they kept you out of prison.

Toward the end of the night, as he leaned forward in his seat, a person behind him saw a gun.

Through a lawyer, the man, whose actual name is Jim Del Rio, denied having a gun at the meeting. But the audience member who saw one reported it, and Del Rio was approached that night by district security and police, according to community members.

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Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said school officials and police consulted him about whether there was any criminal culpability stemming from an incident at the meeting.

We were asked whether a person that had a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm would be permitted by law to be in that building, Weintraub said, referring to the districts administration building, where school board meetings are held.

Pennsylvania law says weapons arent permitted on school property. However, Weintraub said there is some nuance in the law over whether school administration buildings fall in that category.

He believes Central Bucks building does  but also felt there would be no way for any person to know that without some clearly posted notification. He advised the district that if it wanted to prohibit guns, it should post signs outside the building saying that weapons arent allowed, with video cameras positioned to capture evidence of people walking past the signs.

The lawyer for Del Rio, meanwhile, said he absolutely 100% did not have a gun at the meeting. The lawyer, Chadwick Schnee, said Del Rio was stopped outside the meeting but denied having a gun and wasnt searched by police.

(A person in the audience told The Inquirer that Del Rios shirt came up as he leaned forward toward the end of the meeting, and a gun was visible in his waistband. It was very clearly a gun, said the person, who asked not to be identified out of safety concerns.)

The Doylestown Township police did not return repeated messages left this week.

Del Rio has been banned by the district from attending future meetings, said Schnee, who previously represented parents who sued the state and the Central Bucks district over masking. He said Del Rio, who is a district parent, was told he could attend other school functions but not school board meetings.

If hes truly a safety and security threat ... why isnt it a wholesale ban? Schnee said. He suggested the district was banning Del Rio due to the content of his speech, jeopardizing his constitutional rights.

District officials didnt respond to questions this week about the incident, instead referring a reporter to Weintraubs office.

Asked why Del Rio used an alias, Schnee said that in light of the heated discourse around school board issues, he has a right to be concerned about his own safety. He said he wasnt aware of the particulars of aliases used by Del Rio.

Residents questioned Del Rios intentions in light of the aliases  which appeared to them to be versions of the Marvel Punisher character, Francis Frank Castle, a Marine-turned-vigilante.

In December, Del Rio signed in as Francisco Castillo. In October, he addressed the board as Francis Castle  telling the board that as a former intelligence officer ... this drivel from opponents of the districts policies, which have been criticized as harming LGBTQ students, is right out of the KGB playbook. He then alleged the government was pushing porn literacy for children, and said school board directors could be criminally liable for placing obscene material in front of children.

Del Rio used his real name while speaking at Januarys meeting.

As he returned to his seat at the March meeting, Tabitha DellAngelo, one of the Democrats on the board, asked: Can we clear up once and for all whether public commenters need to give their actual names?

The districts solicitor, Jeffrey Garton, said that if you have evidence that someone has misstated who they are, you should check before they speak again. Theres no question.

In an interview, DellAngelo questioned Del Rios use of aliases  saying she was unsure whether he thinks its funny, or whether hes up to no good. She also said the prospect of a weapon at a board meeting had created anxiety.

The climate is heightened, she said. Its not just that we disagree with one another  now we have to worry about physical safety.

At the start of the March meeting, Dana Hunter, the school board president and a Republican on the board, called for stopping the doxxing of those who offer public comment and the demonizing of those who have a different opinion. She said she and other board members had received threatening emails and messages that had been shared with the police.

Lifting her phone to the microphone, she played what she said was one of those voicemails: Its unfortunate you werent aborted in the first place, the message said, before using the C-word. Hopefully you get in a car accident and dont survive today. For the betterment of not only this country but humankind. You will be judged accordingly by history.
File photo of a billboard in honor of Temple University Police Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald along Rt. 130 in Pennsauken, N.J. Read more

Philadelphia City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution to rename the 1700 block of West Montgomery Avenue after Temple University Police Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald, who was fatally shot there on Feb. 18.

The resolution  to honor the life and sacrifice of the 31-year-old Fitzgerald  was introduced last week by City Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. on behalf of Council President Darrell L. Clarke, who represents the district but is barred by Council rules from introducing bills and resolutions.

Fitzgerald, who was posthumously promoted from officer to sergeant, quickly became known by his colleagues for his hard work and dedication to his oath to keep the public safe, the resolution states.

Hailing from a legacy of public safety, his parents, Joel Fitzgerald Sr. and Pauline Fitzgerald, are both career law enforcement professionals, the resolution says, adding that Sgt. Fitzgerald served at Temple and the Philadelphias Sheriffs Office, for the Board of Election offices during the 2020 election, and with the Philadelphia Housing Authority as a corrections officer.

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Fitzgerald was an active member of Swagga House Run Club and Black Men Run Philadelphia, participating in group runs through city neighborhoods to raise awareness around gun violence, the resolution says.

Sgt. Fitzgerald will be remembered lovingly by his wife Marissa, four children and a close-knit extended family and for his commitment to his work and community by the Temple University Police Department and the greater Temple community, the resolution says.

According to the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office, Fitzgerald had chased after Miles Pfeffer, 18, while investigating a possible crime near the edge of Temples campus the night of Feb. 18.

Pfeffer is charged with fatally shooting Fitzgerald on the 1700 block of West Montgomery Avenue.

The next morning, Pfeffer was arrested at his mothers home in Buckingham Township, Bucks County.
Following a chemical spill, booms extend along the banks of Otter Creek in Bristol, Pa., Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Read more

On the Delaware River, between Trenton and Pennsylvanias southern border, 11 industrial plants have released toxic chemicals into the water in legally permitted amounts over the last five years, according to reports they must file to federal officials.

Of the 62 manufacturers, petroleum facilities, and chemical makers within a mile of the rivers edges, two have reported releasing millions of pounds of toxic discharges  again, within legal limits, according to an analysis of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency records.

The Inquirer analyzed the EPAs Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) records after last Fridays accidental spill of more than 8,100 gallons of hazardous chemicals from a Bucks County plant to examine activity on the water that potentially imperils Philadelphia drinking water.

The records do not provide a full picture, as the reports rely on voluntary compliance when a company releases toxins; also, dozens of facilities are too small to have to file these reports with the EPA about discharges into the river, which is a major thruway for ships carrying petroleum products and other chemicals that can spill into the Delaware.

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We are vulnerable, says Charles Haas, a Drexel University professor and water-quality expert. We have a drinking water source on a highly navigable river.

Six of 11 industrial sites that reported toxic discharges within the last five years have released carcinogens or slow-degrading bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals, according to the EPAs database.

However, only two facilities  the PBF Energy refinery in Paulsboro, Gloucester County, and the Monroe Energy refinery in Trainer, Delaware County  accounted for nearly all of the chemicals discharged. Together, they account for 4.4 million pounds of toxic chemicals emptied into the river since 2017.

Those releases were all within legal thresholds. Their facilities sit downstream of Philadelphias drinking water intakes.

A PBF Energy spokesperson could not be reached for comment. Michael Gattuso, a spokesperson for Monroe Energy LLC., said, EPA and DEP set limits to protect human health and the environment and its our responsibility to operate in accordance to those limits.

Gattuso noted the companys discharges are permitted in accordance with local, state and federal environmental requirements, and added, Striving for environmental excellence is one of our core values and we work diligently every day to minimize our environmental footprint and will continue to do so.

River is a highway

For days, Philadelphia officials advised residents to consider buying bottled water after an overhead pipe burst at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical plant in Bristol, sending more than 8,100 gallons of an acrylic latex polymer solution into a containment area that overflowed into the Delaware River.

The discharge caused panic in Philadelphia when residents feared it would reach the citys Baxter water treatment plant in Torresdale. However, no traces of the chemical compounds were ever found, according to city tests. The city notified residents Tuesday that the threat had passed.

Regardless, ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate, and Styrene all made their way during the spill down the river the Philadelphia Water Department uses to supply drinking water for much of the city as well as Lower Bucks County. Butyl acrylate was one of the chemicals released in the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment in February that caused a fire and evacuation of 1,500 residents.

The Bristol plant, through various owners over the years, has had a history of problems  including at least four recent contaminations.

Data show that other facilities along the river have intentionally released anywhere from just a few pounds to more than 1,000 pounds during manufacturing and other operations.

Monroe Energys Trainer Refinery, just off the river in Delaware County, reported releasing 1,873 pounds of carcinogenic or persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals over the last five years without violating federal limits.

Factories arent the only threat to the environment. In November 2004, the 750-foot tanker Athos I, was carrying 13 million gallons of crude oil when it struck a submerged anchor while approaching a refinery. The ships hull breached and spilled 263,000 gallons of its payload into the river.

All week, Maya van Rossum, CEO of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, has been working knee deep in water near Trinseos plant to assess wildlife in the area. She sees industry that lines the river as a serious threat.

They present an ongoing significant danger because of the number of facilities that very legally discharge pollution into the river and its tributaries, van Rossum said.

Toxic releases

Under the TRI program, certain facilities are required to self-report toxic chemicals they release that could pose a threat to human health and the environment. A release means a chemical is emitted to the air or water, or disposed of on land. The Inquirer focused its analysis to water releases.

Chemicals covered by TRI are those that cause cancer or other chronic and significant health effects, as well as pose a threat to the environment. There are 770 individual chemicals and 33 chemical categories covered under TRI. Any facility that makes, processes, or uses the chemicals in certain amounts above certain levels must submit an annual report for each chemical.

Generally, larger facilities involved in manufacturing, metal mining, electric power generation, chemical manufacturing, and hazardous waste treatment must report to TRI, so not all industry is covered by the program.

As testament to its industrial legacy, the entire Philadelphia metro area, which includes Camden and Wilmington, has 266 facilities in the TRI program. Collectively, they released 1.6 million pounds of toxic discharges into the air and 6.8 million pounds into water over the last five years of reports.

The EPA cautions that large releases do not necessarily mean cause for concern. Neither do small releases mean there is no risk. Many facilities are also subject to permits and standards from state agencies such as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The limits imposed by the federal Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as state limits, are intended to prevent potential health and environmental risks.

 READ MORE: The EPA doesnt require safety tests for most chemicals, including the three that spilled into a Delaware River tributary

The Delaware River is actually far cleaner than it was in the 1960s and 1970s, before the Clean Water Act made it illegal to discharge pollutants into waterways without a permit. Before that, no agency was keeping track and the rivers dissolved oxygen  a key measure of water health  had dropped to near zero, creating an infamous dead zone for aquatic life. Regulation has helped restore its oxygen to healthier levels.

Haas, the Drexel water-quality expert, said the region depends on the states systems for discharge permits, which he said work well. Each time a facility opens, it must obtain approval of any discharges. The process is open to the public for comment.

In addition, the EPA sets limits for 90 contaminants in drinking water. The agency keeps a list of chemicals or microbes not currently subject to standards but known to appear in public water systems. The EPA puts those through a public process to determine if standards should be set for any.

Thousands of chemicals

Thousands of chemical compounds are not tracked by regulators, and the industry produces new ones each year, experts say.

There are estimated to be about 80,000 chemicals in commerce in the U.S., though not always in high quantities, said Ila Cote, an adjunct professor at the Colorado School of Public Health. She is a toxicologist and former EPA official, responsible for assessing high-priority pollutants.

We have data for maybe 1,000 of those, Cote said. So theres a whole bunch of chemicals we dont have any knowledge of, or what they do.

Cote said states in the Northeast, such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have robust regulation and enforcement compared with states where regulation is frowned upon.

Drinking water in the U.S. is safe, for the most part, she said. And people should feel very good about that.  But people need to make sure the people who should be paying attention are paying attention.
President Joe Biden talks with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday. Read more

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage charges  allegations the newspaper denies.

Let him go, Biden told reporters at the White House when asked about his message to Russia on the arrest of Gershkovich.

Russias Federal Security Service has accused Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, of trying to obtain classified information. It is the first time an American journalist has been detained in Russia on accusations of spying since the Cold War. The Journal has said it vehemently denies the charges.

Speaking at a news conference in Lusaka, Zambia, Vice President Kamala Harris added that the administration was deeply concerned about Gershkovichs arrest.

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We will not tolerate  and condemn, in fact  repression of journalists, Harris said during a weeklong visit to Africa.

The Biden administration said Thursday it was working to secure U.S. consular access to Gershkovich. Asked Friday whether he would expel Russian diplomats or journalists in the U.S., Biden responded: Thats not the plan right now.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, called the targeting of U.S. citizens in Russia unacceptable and said the administration condemns the detention of Gershkovich in the strongest terms.

The Biden administration has also warned U.S. citizens not to travel to Russia, and for Americans in the country to depart immediately.

In Moscow, Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize-winning editor-in-chief of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, told reporters he knows the detained journalist and Gershkovich was not an agent using his professional and journalistic accreditation as a cover for espionage.

Speaking more generally of the Kremlins repression of independent journalism, which has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine, Muratov said: This is a trend  trying to attribute espionage and treason to people at every step, to show that the profession of a journalist is an enemy profession for the country  for Russian and other journalists.
Mike Iaconelli, a Salem County resident, will be inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in Missouri in September. Read more

Most of the worlds legendary largemouth bass fisherman are from the South, not South Jersey by way of South Philly.

Thats what makes Mike Ike Iaconellis induction into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame later this year unique. The Salem County resident was born in Philadelphia and grew up a few miles away in Runnemede, Camden County, a middle-class suburb where kids fish mostly in a tidal creek by the New Jersey Turnpike.

Iaconelli, 50, was attending the 2023 Bassmaster Classic fishing tournament in Knoxville, Tenn., last week when one of bass fishings forefathers, Bill Dance, broke the good news to him. Iaconelli will be honored at a ceremony in Springfield, Mo., in September.

Im still floating, Iaconelli said Thursday as he returned from a scouting trip in Alabama. I cant believe it.

A quick survey of the Hall of Fames members reveals a lot of Southern flair, names like Woo, Rayo, Buck, and Dewey. George H.W. Bush, the nations 41st president, was inducted in 2016. Since its generally warmer down there, year-round, the hard-fighting fish dont have to shut down their metabolism and grow much bigger than Northern bass.

For Iaconelli, however, South Jersey remains home.

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All my family is here, so theres that, but I also love it here, he said. I love the diversity of the area. Im out in farmland, but I can be on lakes, rivers, and the ocean in the same day.

Iaconelli credits an uncle and grandfather for kicking off his obsession with fishing during trips to the Jersey Shore and Poconos. A Triton Regional High School graduate, Iaconelli turned pro in 1992, fishing on various circuits and quickly rising up the ranks. Competitors picked up on his Jersey-ness quickly.

When I was pushing my way in, you could feel the standoffishness a little, he said. There was definitely razzing early on, but its not like that anymore.

After finishing sixth at the 1999 Bassmaster Classic  the Super Bowl of the sport  Iaconelli picked up a slew of sponsors, a necessity for any pro angler to thrive. In 2003, he won the whole thing and one YouTube video of the event, in which hes screaming Never give up! has nearly a half-million views.

Iaconelli said winning that tournament changed his life.

I worked really hard for that and I used that win to really set up my life, he said. Ive had so many amazing opportunities to travel since then. Ive fished in Japan, Thailand, South America, you name it. Fishing is a universal language.

The biggest bass Iaconelli ever caught was a 14.4-pound hog on Texas Lake Amistad. Like all fishermen, he remembers the ones he lost too  a potential 10-pounder in South Jersey, another bass that could have won him a tournament.

On any given cast, the big one could be there, he said.

The secret to successful fishing, Iaconelli said, is preparation.

I just spent a few days scouting a lake for a tournament. I didnt fish. It was all studying, he said. Theres no luck in it.

Iaconelli, a married father of four, has created a handful of television shows, including an urban series that took him back to Philly to fish on the Schuylkill. His Ike Foundation aims to get more kids involved with fishing.
Prosecutors in Bucks County said Richard Wheeler lived in a camper on a wooded property in Nockamixon Township in 1980, not far from where his body was found. Read more

For nearly five decades, the truth behind Richard Wesley Wheelers death on a secluded rural road in Bucks County puzzled investigators. But detectives say they have finally untangled the circumstances behind his slaying, weaving a tale of intrigue and betrayal.

Wheeler, 34, was found shot to death in September 1980 by a construction worker finishing renovations on a wooded property in Nockamixon Township, according to investigators. His killer, prosecutors said Friday, was Peter Eric Marschner, his onetime cellmate in federal prison, who had been acting on the orders of a third man, Leslie Schmidt.

Marschner, 68, died in 2006 and Schmidt, 82, died last year, so they cannot be charged with the crimes, but prosecutors said the two men could be held accountable nonetheless.

Prosecutors said Wheeler was killed over $250,000 that Schmidt had entrusted to him: The money was supposed to be given to Schmidts family while he was in prison, but Wheeler allegedly mishandled it.

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All three men were in business together manufacturing and selling methamphetamine out of a camper near Lake Nockamixon, prosecutors said. Wheeler lived on the property and oversaw the operation, while Marschner acted as his personal driver and bodyguard. Schmidt, the financier, was still in prison at the time.

The three, all longtime criminals, had met at a federal prison in Danbury, Conn., where they first sketched out their business partnership, prosecutors said.

But Wheeler and Schmidt had a falling out, leading to Wheelers murder, according to authorities, who said Marschner disappeared after carrying out the killing.

Investigators later received information linking Marschner to the crime. A witness told them that a German guy Schmidt met in prison had killed Wheeler. The witness description of the killer matched Marschner. Marschner was supposed to be deported back to his native Germany in 1980, months before the murder, prosecutors said, but was able to escape when the plane he was supposed to board had mechanical troubles.

He had a history of avoiding capture. In 1974, he avoided arrest for stealing a boat by working as a crewman on a private yacht in the Caribbean, prosecutors said, and was captured three years later after fleecing the yachts owners and stealing another sailboat in the Virgin Islands.

After killing Wheeler, authorities said, Marschner disappeared again. He moved to New Jersey and assumed a new identity. Marschner became Charles McLaren, the operator of a successful limousine rental service in New York City. He carried off his double life so well, prosecutors said, that his family had no idea of his criminal past.
Among the names swirling as potential interim president at Temple University are Valerie I. Harrison, Ken Kaiser and JoAnne A. Epps. Read more

Days after Jason Wingard resigned as Temple Universitys president, names have begun to swirl as potential interim replacements, including leaders who were marginalized under Wingard.

Among the names are JoAnne A. Epps, former law school dean who was moved out by Wingard as provost in August 2021 as part of a larger shift of senior leaders, and Valerie I. Harrison, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, who once served as interim president of Lincoln University in Chester County. Before that she had been Temples vice president of public affairs and reported directly to Wingard.

Also mentioned by Temple insiders is Ken Kaiser, senior vice president and chief operating officer, who has worked at Temple for more than 30 years but planned to leave this summer until Wingard resigned.

 READ MORE: After a tumultuous tenure, Jason Wingard has resigned as Temple University president

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And others wondered if former president Richard M. Englert, who retired when Wingard took over but at 77 still serves as chancellor, could step in.

As names were bandied about on the North Philadelphia campus, State Sen. Vincent Hughes at an Appropriations Committee hearing in Harrisburg on Thursday morning questioned the need to replace Wingard in the first place. An early departure for Temples first Black president sends a very chilling message, he said.

Those individuals who are of color, especially African American, are looking at what happened to President Wingard and asking, Where am I in this conversation? And you need to be aware of it, Hughes (D., Phila.) told Kaiser, who testified at the budget hearing.

Just one week earlier, it was Wingard representing Temple at a House Appropriations Committee hearing.

Hughes listed state grants that Temple received during Wingards tenure to address important campus concerns such as safety, illustrating that Wingard tried to lead the university through these issues out of his control. However, Hughes said, he was still out of the job in less than two years.

What standards are Black presidents [held to] that might not be the same as white presidents? Hughes said.

Asked about Hughes comments, Mitchell Morgan, board chair, said: Ive only heard supportive comments.

But Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, faculty senate president, said she thought Hughes comments were worthy of consideration.

Its part of what Ive been saying, she said. Some individuals are held to a higher standard than others. And the expectations are different. Most leaders of color, if they know the history of leadership in this country, kind of recognize what happened.

 READ MORE: Temple grad students overwhelmingly ratify agreement, ending their six-week strike

Wingards departure followed a 42-day strike by graduate student workers and the February shooting death of an on-duty Temple police sergeant, renewing concerns about safety near campus. Enrollment has been falling, with deposits for next year down 25% compared with the same time last year, according to a source close to the schools deans.

The Temple Association of University Professionals, the faculty union, was preparing to hold a vote of no confidence in Wingard, as well as provost Gregory N. Mandel and Morgan, citing myriad concerns including the failure to renew contracts for some nontenured faculty, vacancies in some key administrative jobs, university finances, and problems in the offices of ethics and compliance and research, as well as Wingards seeming lack of presence on campus. The union intends to go forward with the vote on Morgan and Mandel.

 READ MORE: Temple defends its police staffing struggles after the shooting death of one of its officers

Also, last week, a Temple News survey of 1,000 students showed 92% disapproved of Wingards performance. And the schools deans had sent a letter to Morgan, requesting a meeting over concerns.

In a statement to The Inquirer on Tuesday night, Wingard said: While I am confident in my ability to pivot and lead Temple through this crisis, I understand, and it has been made clear, unfortunately, that too much focus is on me rather than the challenges we seek to overcome. In order for Temple to overcome these safety and enrollment challenges  and all of the related issues they instigate, the campus community must work in collaboration and minimize divisiveness.

Temples board leaders announced last week they planned to take a stronger oversight role of the university as it faced what Morgan called an unprecedented confluence of serious challenges. Board leaders said they had formed a special committee to apply more rigorous attention to urgent matters, specifically campus safety, enrollment, and university engagement and responsiveness, between its quarterly board meetings.

 READ MORE: Temple faculty union authorizes a vote of no confidence to take place against university leaders

Its unclear when an interim president may be named, and Morgan has not commented on potential candidates. He said Thursday that the committee is working on addressing interim leadership.

In the meantime, we are relying on our strong core group of senior administrators, he said. We are also beginning the process of seeking meetings with key university groups, and taking steps to initiate a presidential search.

Other names that have surfaced include Hai-Lung Dai, chemistry professor and former provost; Amy Goldberg, dean of the medical school; and James Earl Davis, interim dean of the college of education and human development.

A source familiar with a meeting of academic leaders and administrators this week where next steps were discussed said an internal candidate would probably be best, given the urgency to move on pressing problems.

Most people feel it should be someone with operating experience who can move us forward, said the source. I want to see somebody who can execute and operate.

When an outsider has been appointed president as was the case with Wingard and Neil D. Theobald  who was forced to resign in 2016  Temple has faced some difficulty.

But university leadership enjoyed relative stability for about five years under Englert, who had been a Temple employee for more than 40 years when he stepped in as interim president upon Theobalds departure and remained until Wingard started. There were still problems under his watch, including a rankings scandal at Temples business school that ended with its former dean Moshe Porat sentenced to 14 months in federal prison.

Dick knew Temple inside and out, said Art Hochner, former president of the Temple Association of University Professionals, the faculty union. He was liked and trusted by lots of people.

Epps, a native of Cheltenham and a 1976 graduate of Yale Law School, did not return an email for comment Thursday. She came in as provost  the universitys chief academic officer  in 2016 after Dai was removed from that position. Before that, Epps had spent 31 years at the law school, the last eight as its dean.

An employee of Temple for more than 35 years, she is currently on the law school faculty and a senior adviser to the president.

Harrison, who also did not respond to an email request for comment, started at Temple for the second time in 2015 as senior associate university counsel and became senior adviser to the president in May 2016, according to her LinkedIn account. She initially was promoted under Wingard during the August 2021 change in leadership, but then her role changed. With a masters and doctorate from Temple and a Villanova law school degree, she previously had served as acting president of Lincoln for 10 months and its general counsel for more than a year.

Before that, she had worked as associate counsel at Temple for more than 13 years.

Kaiser, who declined to comment, got his bachelors degree in finance from Temple in 1989 and two masters degrees from there as well. Hes worked at Temple for more than 30 years under six presidents.
Former City Councilmembr Maria Quinones Sanchez speaks during her Chucks & Pearls Womens Brunch at the Tierra Colombiana in Philadelphia last March. Last summer Sanchez announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This year shes celebrating her coming out after battling breast cancer. Read more

The day should be mostly sunny but there is a chance of showers. Temps will reach the low 60s.

By this point, Im sure youve already seen the biggest news in the country: Donald Trump got indicted last night. He will be the first former president to be charged with a crime. We will continue to update information as we have it, so be sure to catch the latest developments at Inquirer.com.

But in local news, our lead story explains why this could finally be the year the city elects a Latina to a citywide office.

If you see this  in todays newsletter, that means were highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.

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 Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Latinos make up 15% of Philadelphias population, but hold just one of 17 Council seats.

The upcoming May 16 Democratic primary presents an opportunity for Phillys Latino community  women in particular  to increase their representation in City Hall.

There are three Latina candidates running for citywide races. Former Councilmember Maria Quinones Sanchez is the first Latina to run in the Democratic mayoral primary, while Erika Almiron and Luz Colon are competing for five at-large seats in the Democratic primary.

None have been endorsed by the citys Democratic Party, though Almiron was among a handful of candidates recommended for one of the five at-large Council seats.

Honorable mention: Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, who won a special election last year to fill Quinones Sanchezs seat, is facing off with social worker Andres Celin to represent the 7th District.

Keep reading to learn more information about the rise of Latina candidates.

What you should know today

I have a confession.

When it was finally time to go back to the office after years of remote work, I blankly stared at my closet. My thoughts ranged from Whats the dress code again? to Those slacks are professional but they do not look comfortable.

Our resident columnist Elizabeth Wellington had a similar revelation and decided to update her wardrobe.

She visited 10 specialty stores in Philadelphia and the burbs and asked stylists for tips.

Bring a blazer. The right one will pull your look together. Wear wide-leg trousers. Theyre elegant and any style features elastic waistbands. Opt for dark-denim jeans. The frayed jeans should only be for the weekend.

Keep reading for more tips to revamp your hybrid work clothes.

 Trivia time 

The Philadelphia Ballet will open the 2023-24 season with which show?

A) Giselle

B) The Nutcracker

C) Carmen

D) The Dream

Find out if you know the answer. 

What were...

 Reading: Communications professionals views on why Phillys chemical spill messaging missed the mark.

 Browsing: The House of the week feature, spotlighting a rowhouse with rooftop views in Point Breeze.

 Unscramble the anagram 

Hint: Best-case scenario, this Phillies pitcher could start a game in May

ARDINE ANTWERP

Well select a reader at random to shout out here, and would love for you to send us your own original anagram to unscramble. Congratulations to Scott Harris, who correctly guessed Thursdays answer: Kelly Green Uniforms

Photo of the day

And thats it for me this week. Ashley has you covered Sunday and Ill be back in your inbox on Monday. 
A couple of weeks ago, as I moderated a discussion at the University of Pennsylvanias Perry World House on the heated battle to control Israels courts, the talk turned to the elected autocrats playbook.

That snappy political science term refers to steps taken by elected officials in ongoing democracies like Israel to undermine democracy by democratic means.

Government efforts to politicize Israels courts fit right into the so-called playbook. Israel is effectively imitating similar steps taken by elected autocrats in Poland and Hungary (whose antisemitic leader, Viktor Orban, is openly admired by Israels Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, and the Republican Party).

The playbook also perfectly describes what Trump and his imitators tried to do when he was in office, and what they still advocate in pre-2024 campaign efforts. Mercifully, the complex U.S. political system has made the playbook harder to follow, but the efforts wont stop.

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So its worthwhile to check out the playbooks rules, step by step.

 READ MORE: Israel democracy still under threat, even if Netanyahu pushes the 'pause' button | Trudy Rubin

There is a pretty standard elected autocrats playbook, explained Rutgers professor R. Daniel Kelemen, who studies backsliding democracies such as Poland and Hungary. The term, he says, describes a process by which a freely elected leader transforms a constitutional democracy into an electoral autocracy by legal methods.

The ruling party tilts the playing field so decisively by legal methods that the opposition cant win, Kelemen continued, while maintaining a facade of elections.

Step One is to capture the referees, meaning the judicial system and the media. The judiciary is the key first step, said Kelemen, in order for would-be autocrats to remove the systemic checks and balances that hold elected officials to account.

Once the judiciary and media are brought to heel, the next steps become easier because they cannot be challenged in court. Step Two is to demonize the opposition, and Step Three is to change the electoral rules.

It is amazing to see how swiftly some supposedly democratic governments were able to bring the judiciary systems to heel  legally.

In Budapest, said Keleman, the illiberal Prime Minister Orban lowered the retirement age for the highest court, the Constitutional Court, ridding him of experienced judges. Then he rammed a new law through parliament creating a separate court system dealing with elections, the right to assembly, and complaints of police violence. He then, legally, set up a new office to appoint judges, and headed it with a friend.

Meantime, in Poland, where the ultraconservative government had less parliamentary power, it simply refused to publish court rulings that objected to some new laws, thereby rendering court decisions moot. Then the government took over the body appointing judges, Kelemen noted.

As for controlling the media, the methods have been subtle and manipulatively legal. In Hungary, a rich oligarch and friend of Orban bought and shut down the best Hungarian newspaper and scrubbed its website. Orban created a huge trust that now owns most of Hungarian media, Kelemen added.

In both Hungary and Poland, the governments have manipulated libel laws to threaten any media criticism. State-controlled media constantly demonize their opponents and monopolize the public airwaves.

Despite huge public protests in Poland, and despite strong pressure from the European Union against these antidemocratic moves, neither Warsaw nor Budapest has relented. If these [judicial] proposals go through, said Keleman, they are very hard to reverse.

This, of course, is why the Israeli demonstrations have been so huge against Prime Minister Netanyahus plans to gut judicial independence. Even before the legislation has been rammed through, his governing coalition has been implementing Step Two. Government ministers have been demonizing peaceful demonstrators as traitors and calling for violence to be used against them  although they represent more than half the country and include technocrats, military reservists, and a broad political spectrum of those unwilling to see democracy die.

And there are already Israeli ministers who hope to suppress the votes of Palestinian citizens of Israel, whose numbers are vital if the opposition is ever to return to power. Such laws would be overturned if the Supreme Court remains independent. Yet if the court is neutered, Step Three  changing the electoral rules  is the inevitable next step.

And what about the applicability of the elected autocrats playbook to the United States?

Trump and his GOP followers tried to take Step One, to control and politicize the judiciary. They would have liked to do the playbook, analyzes Kelemen, but they didnt have the consolidated power.

 READ MORE: Netanyahus attack on Israels judiciary also impacts the United States | Trudy Rubin

Trump publicly threatened judges whose decisions he disliked (as well as owners of non-Trumpist media), which put them in personal danger. Then Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the Democratic appointment of Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court, in a major breach of past practice, while pushing through the GOP choice of Amy Coney Barrett in disgraceful fashion.

Meantime, Republican appointees to the Supreme Court, such as Clarence Thomas, indulge in shocking political conflicts of interest, leading to a highly politicized court.

I find it regrettable that the first-ever indictment of an ex-president is based on small-beer allegations of hush money and campaign finance violations, which looks unduly political, unlike the powerful case against Trumps election interference in Georgia.

It is the Georgia case that most clearly displays Trumps dangerous embrace of Steps One and Three in the playbook: his efforts to ensure he wins elections by twisting or ignoring electoral laws and by ignoring adverse court rulings.

Luckily, our complex federal judicial system has, so far, made it impossible for any party to control the U.S. judiciary in one fell swoop. And there remain large numbers of independent-minded federal court judges, nominated by both parties, as illustrated by the rejection of Trumps false claims of a stolen election in courts across the land.

Yet it would be foolish to assume that the elected autocrats playbook wont figure in Americas future, as Trump threatens any institution that does not bow to him, and other GOP candidates such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis disdain democratic norms.

That is why it is so important to watch how the Israeli judicial drama plays out, even if that system is very different from ours and the population small. If Israels democracy  which has huge warts, as does ours  falls prey to elected autocrats, that will provide yet another example of how democracy could be slowly dismantled here.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a news conference. If you were inclined to believe that the establishment is out to get Donald Trump, the DA's credulity-straining charges would be exhibit A, writes Kyle Sammin. Read more

Donald Trump thinks the establishment is out to get him.

In the former presidents telling, the Deep State  a shadowy conspiracy of elite politicians and bureaucrats  was working night and day to take him down. It would sound ridiculous, if only the powers that be didnt keep working overtime to make it look so plausible.

The way Trump behaved in office was at odds with the pattern set by his more conventional predecessors. But just as unprecedented has been the intense emotional reaction to Trump from those whose positions he challenged.

The mainstream press was arrayed against him from the moment he came down the Trump Tower escalator in 2015 to announce his candidacy. He was impeached  twice. Everything he said was taken as gospel by his followers and as lies by his enemies, with neither bothering to consider the facts first.

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After leaving office, Trumps home was raided in what we were assured was a matter of the highest import. Yet more than six months later, that investigation has been quietly forgotten, just like the more extreme allegations debunked by the Mueller report.

It is hard to see New York County District Attorney Alvin Braggs indictment of Trump as anything but more of the same: a half-baked attempt to go after one man for who he is, not for what he has done.

But surely Trump deserves it, right? After all, much of what made his presidency so unprecedented was bad, norm-breaking, disruptive  and possibly illegal. Isnt this merely his just desserts?

It is tempting to think so. Some of the extraordinary efforts against him  including his second impeachment  were justified. The Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was a gross attack on this country and its system of government. To the extent Trump encouraged it, he deserved to be impeached.

But that does not mean that every subsequent effort against him is equally valid. Our system of laws prohibits acts, not people. Courthouses often feature the statue of justice personified, blindfolded and holding the scales. The allegory is obvious: We want justice to be fair and impartial.

Braggs case against Trump is neither.

It stems from an alleged campaign violation that, in typical Trump fashion, is made more salacious by the involvement of an adult film star. The exact details will remain unknown until the indictment is published, but Trumps lawyers have admitted that the alleged crime at the root of this investigation is indeed money paid by Trumps lawyers in 2016 in exchange for silence about an extramarital affair 10 years earlier.

Having an affair is immoral, but not a crime  those of us old enough to remember Bill Clintons impeachment have heard this many times. What is the crime here, then? Federal prosecutors investigated the hush money payment as a campaign violation  not because Trump paid it with campaign funds, but because he paid it with his own corporations money. This, they allege, makes it a campaign donation (because it helped the campaign), and since corporations cannot make campaign donations, this was a crime.

Trumps lawyer, Michael Cohen, who facilitated the payments, pleaded guilty to campaign violations (and lying to Congress), but the feds never charged him. Why? Because the case  already tenuous to begin with  would have been difficult to prove against Trump. Federal prosecutors indicted Democrat John Edwards for a similar crime in 2011, but couldnt convince a jury to convict. If anything, campaign finance violations usually result in fines, not jail time.

So, we have a federal crime that the U.S. Attorneys Office thought it couldnt prove in 2018. How does any of this involve the state of New York? Bragg alleges that by using money from his corporation to violate federal law, Trump committed the state-law crime of falsifying business records. Because this happened in New York, Bragg says its a state crime, and the grand jury agreed.

This crime is typically a misdemeanor in New York, and Bragg has famously declined to prosecute nonviolent misdemeanors. Moreover, misdemeanors in New York have a two-year statute of limitations. But again, justice isnt exactly blind here.

Bragg calls this corporate records violation a felony by saying the falsification was in aid of another crime  a federal crime with which Trump was never even charged, let alone convicted. And even most felonies (including this one) have a five-year statute of limitations, which also expired two years ago.

If you were inclined to believe that the establishment is out to get Trump, Braggs credulity-straining charges would be exhibit A.

We are increasingly divided between conspiracy theorists on both sides: those who want Trump to get away with everything (because they like him), and those who want to lock him up, law or no law (because they hate him). True justice requires honest brokers who live up to high ideals. Instead, we have anti-Trump prosecutors who use the law to further political ends and pro-Trump partisans who think the law should all be ignored if it restrains their hero.

A republic cannot long endure like this.

Liberal democracy asks a lot of its citizens. We are meant to put aside tribalist emotions in favor of neutral principles and high ideals. It is not easy. But the reward  equal justice under law  is well worth the price. It is one of the ideals that made this country great. The law is meant to be about justice, not the extension of tribal politics by other means.
Trang Le of Orlando (right) and Maria Korynsel of North Palm Beach show their support for former President Donald Trump after the news broke that Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, Thursday, March 30, 2023, near Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. Read more

On a memorable yet bizarre night in U.S. political history, it somehow ended up that former Vice President Mike Pence  the guy whos more or less stood by Donald Trump, even knowing the man sent a lynch mob after him on Jan. 6, 2021  made the most insightful comment about Trumps indictment Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury.

Unintentionally, of course.

Pence told CNN in response to the Trump charges  the first time ever that an ex-president has been indicted, in the case tied to his hush money payment to a porn star on the eve of the 2016 election  that this appears to be just one more example of the kind of two-tiered justice system that the American people [have] had enough of.

Give Pence partial credit, because Americans are indeed sick of unequal justice  even if the Trump charges are the exception that proves the rule. Trump, who has skated above the law for decades while he stiffed his Atlantic City contractors, defrauded the marks who bought into Trump University, and oversaw a lawless administration that ended with that attempted self-coup against the U.S. government, has been the avatar of a two-tiered justice system that bows to the rich and powerful, from Wall Street to the White House.

Indeed, nowhere has two-tiered justice run amok more obscenely than Manhattan, Trumps home borough for most of his adult life, where famously, in 1989, cops forced false confessions from five Black teenagers then convicted by prosecutors in the high-profile rape of a Central Park jogger. That prompted then-developer Trump to make an early foray into politics with a full-page ad in New York newspapers calling for restoration of the death penalty.

On Thursday night, one of the five exonerated teens, Yusef Salaam, tweeted his reaction to Trumps indictment in one word: Karma.

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On Tuesday afternoon, if initial reports are to be believed, Trump will be booked, fingerprinted, and photographed for a mug shot in the same complex where Salaam and his codefendants were falsely convicted. The case against Trump is being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who won election in 2021 promising to reduce incarceration among the powerless by not prosecuting certain nonviolent minor crimes  and who is now charging the formerly most powerful man in the free world with felonies.

No wonder so many Americans who, to borrow Pences phrase, have had enough of two-tiered criminal justice in this nation felt on Thursday night that Trumps indictment was a reason to celebrate. In a land where the classroom pledge of justice for all has become something of a joke, where the worlds highest incarceration rate somehow didnt include the bankers who blew up Wall Street or the cops who kill unarmed Black men, where millionaires can run over everyday folks with their cars or even their skis and get away with it, Trumps criminal presidency has stood as our ultimate monument to brazen, elite lawlessness.

Its been a long slide into criminality at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Richard Nixon walked away from the Watergate cover-up so that Ronald Reagan could run with the Iran-Contra scheme, so that George W. Bush could blow up Baghdad on a bed of lies, so that Donald Trump could detonate decency and then democracy from inside the Oval Office and then escape to Mar-a-Lago with his documents, a few missing gifts, and his freedom, even after orchestrating a coup seeking to block the lawful transfer of power to President Joe Biden.

For the last seven years, Trump has taunted us as the living embodiment of Nixons 1977 challenge that when a president does it, that means it is not illegal  until Thursdays indictment arrived like a rope tugging on a dictators shaky statue. That a Black, progressive prosecutor is challenging this false idol, in a land where the injustices that landed in 1619 have too often trumped the democracy founded in 1776, with a tough Black woman in Atlanta prosecutor Fani Willis right behind Bragg, feels like ... dare I say it: karma.

 READ MORE: U.S. presidents and their crime spree since 1968 | Will Bunch Newsletter

No wonder the forces of elite impunity and white nationalism that have coalesced under the soiled banner of the Republican Party and hector us nightly from the bullhorn of Fox News started having a meltdown as soon as the New York Times posted its first headline about the grand jury vote, shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday.

The leaders of the GOP reacted to one small step for the rule of law by threatening to end the rule of law. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a White House wannabe in the awkward position of begging for votes from people angered by Trumps indictment, made an empty and hopefully unnecessary promise not to extradite Trump from Mar-a-Lago, a direct challenge to the U.S. Constitution. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised to use Republicans slim margin in the lower house to hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account  a vow that in itself is an unprecedented abuse of congressional power.

But it was left to bottom-feeder pundits on Fox News and its clones like Newsmax to give voice to the authoritarian rights real message: that a Trump indictment is the first cannon blast of a second Civil War. The felon and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich  a creature from the same reality-TV swamp as Trump  told Foxs Tucker Carlson that this is probably ... the most threatening thing to our republic since South Carolina fired shots at Fort Sumter at the start of the Civil War.

No one who believes in justice and the rule of law should yield to this bullying. The GOP arguments hold no water. The only prosecutor who played politics around Trumps unlawful campaign hush money payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels was not Bragg, but Trumps handpicked attorney general, William Barr, who squelched a federal probe even after Trumps coconspirator Michael Cohen went to prison for the same crime.

Make no mistake: Trumps looming arrest on Tuesday will not be the end, but merely what Winston Churchill once called the end of the beginning. But if America is to be a nation with liberty and justice for all, then the law that applied to Cohen needs to apply to Trump.

The battle against American injustice doesnt only mean freedom for the thousands of aggrieved Yusef Salaams, but also accountability for the criminals at the top. The late John Lennon was brilliant, but he was wrong about one thing. Karma is never instant. We have to fight for it.

 READ MORE: SIGN UP: The Will Bunch Newsletter
State Rep. Amen Brown launched his campaign for Philadelphia mayor in mid-December. Read more

The 11 Democrats running for mayor of Philadelphia  and the super PACs supporting at least three of them  will report on Tuesday how much money they have raised and spent this year.

Will that be a big day for Amen Brown? Or a total bust?

The state representative from West Philly was feted four months ago by an adoring crowd in a posh New York cigar bar, amid chatter that a super PAC would back him with $5 million in seed money.

Marty Burger, the New York real estate developer so enamored that he prematurely announced Browns candidacy for mayor during that party, was expected to play a role. So far, that super PAC has not materialized.

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Burger was cryptic when Clout asked about that Thursday.

I really cant talk about that, Burger said. But stay tuned.

The primary is just a month and a half away.

I cant talk about it, Burger said. But youll see something happen.

Brown, who this week had to fight in court just to stay on the May 16 primary ballot, doesnt have many answers either.

I cant confirm or deny if that was even real or not, Brown said in an interview last week when The Inquirers Editorial Board asked if a super PAC will back him.

Super PACs can raise and spend well beyond the citys campaign finance limits if they dont coordinate with candidates or campaigns.

Three super PACs have already spent money to back grocery store operator Jeff Brown and former City Councilmembers Cherelle Parker and Helen Gym in the mayoral primary.

Brown previously had been eager for super PAC speculation. But pressed on the issue last week, he had little to offer.

Im not aware of any super PACs, said Brown, who distantly trailed the other mayoral candidates when they reported on Jan. 31 how much money they raised in 2022. Brown reported bringing in just $3,500.

Brown drew a rebuke from a judge this week for problems with his candidates statement of financial interests, a problem he repeated from his bid last year for a second term in the state House. He has until Friday afternoon to revise that paperwork.

Northeast wards split in Register of Wills race

John Sabatina Sr., a longtime Democratic ward leader in Northeast Philly, has been a polarizing figure in city politics for years. That history appears to be following him into his primary bid to deny Register of Wills Tracey Gordon a second term.

Three of Sabatinas fellow Northeast ward leaders  Tim Savage Jr., Pat Parkinson, and Jim Donnelly  circulated nomination petitions to help political novice Elizabeth Lowe get on the ballot in that race.

Petition season started on Feb. 14, eight days after the Democratic City Committees ward leaders voted to endorse Sabatina in the primary.

Lowe told Clout that Savages father, a senior federal court judge, is friends with her grandfather, founder of Triumph Missionary Baptist Church.

Nineteen committee people in Savages ward, including State Rep. Joe Hohenstein, pushed Lowes petitions. Hohenstein, who plans to endorse Lowe, said Sabatina is viewed as coming in a little late on the race after Lowe was an anticipated candidate.

Savage told Clout that Lowe first approached him about a run more than a year ago.

Did Sabatinas history of Democratic infighting play a role in Savages support?

No comment, Savage said.

Parkinson said he holds no grudge against Sabatina. He just wants the Northeast, a vast swath of populous neighborhoods, to have someone in citywide office again.

Its time to put the pettiness of politics behind us and start thinking about the Northeast, he said.

The PPA has its first Democratic chair in two decades

The 2001 Republican takeover of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, an audacious power grab, caused a political commotion in the city.

The Democratic return to control  sort of  Tuesday was by contrast so filled with comity and courtesy that the outgoing Republican chair, Beth Grossman, nominated her Democratic successor, Lynette Brown-Sow.

And the unanimous result was so clearly assured that the six-member board initially forgot to vote to confirm Brown-Sow.

Grossman, in an interview with Clout just before Tuesdays meeting, said the role switch came about through mutual discussions about changes in the agency and political environment.

The PPA appointed a new executive director in November, and the Philadelphia delegation to the now Democratically controlled state House includes Speaker Joanna McClinton and Appropriations Committee chair Jordan Harris.

Brown-Sow, a business consultant and chair of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, has strong relationships in Harrisburg, Grossman said.

I think this takes the authority to the next level and its good to take advantage of those relationships, Grossman said.

The board remains evenly divided with three Democrats and three Republicans. Only the chair gets a regular salary, $75,000 per year.

Grossman, an attorney and the 2017 Republican nominee for district attorney, remains a board member. She called Brown-Sow a powerhouse of energy and ideas in her nomination.

Brown-Sow thanks Grossman for her steadfast leadership since becoming chair 18 months ago.

Former Speaker John Perzel, a Northeast Philly Republican, engineered the 2001 PPA takeover when he was majority leader in the House, creating a bastion of GOP-controlled patronage jobs in an overwhelmingly Democratic city that lasted more than two decades.

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.
For decades, one Latino lawmaker has been the norm for Philadelphia City Hall.

So much so that when former Councilmember Maria Quinones Sanchez first ran to represent the citys heavily Puerto Rican district on City Council in 1999 and then again in 2007, the Democratic Party twice backed a white man over her.

The rationale, she said, was that Democrats already had a Latino Council member.

Politically, they felt like our population already had one person, said Quinones Sanchez, who served the 7th Council District from 2008 until she resigned last year to run for mayor. Why did we need another?

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Today, Latinos make up 15% of the citys population but hold just one of 17 Council seats. And the May 16 Democratic primary presents an opportunity for Philadelphias Latino community  and its women in particular  to finally increase their representation in City Hall.

While a record number of Latino candidates ran for Council in 2019, only Quinones Sanchez won a seat. This year, she and two other Latina candidates are running in citywide races. They hope it could be the first time a Latina is elected citywide, and they say their campaigns highlight the growth of Philadelphias Latino population and resonate with women voters on issues such as public safety.

Its impacting the women so much, disrupting the family structure so much in communities, Quinones Sanchez said of the citys gun violence crisis.

The candidates also hope their presence on the ballot can energize Latino voters in neighborhoods that historically have low turnout in municipal elections.

There are a lot of Latinos now who dont live in just one district in the city, and theyre lacking representation, said Erika Almiron, 46, an immigration activist running for an at-large seat.

Quinones Sanchez is the first Latina to run in the Democratic mayoral primary, while Almiron and Luz Colon are competing for five at-large seats in the Democratic primary. None have been endorsed by the citys Democratic Party, though Almiron was among a handful of candidates recommended for one of the five at-large Council seats.

And Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, who won a special election last year to fill Quinones Sanchezs seat, is facing off with social worker Andres Celin to represent the 7th District.

Phillys Latino boom

An Inquirer analysis of census data found that the citys Latino population that is eligible to vote grew from 10.5% in 2010 to 13.1% in 2020, and residents are increasingly settling outside of the communitys historic epicenter in North Philadelphia.

While Puerto Rican migration to Philadelphia dates back more than a century, the 1950s onward brought a mass influx to North Philadelphia. Latinos from other Caribbean and Central American areas have also settled across the city, combining to nearly double Philadelphias Latino population between 2000 and 2020.

The 7th Council District, which includes Kensington, Juniata Park, and Frankford, has long had Philadelphias densest Latino population.

As those communities have grown, they have moved farther into Northeast Philadelphia.

In 2010, the 7th Council District contained 43% of the citys Latino population, per that districts current boundaries. By 2020, it contained just 36%. Over the same decade, the neighboring 6th and 9th Districts, which lie to the north and east of the 7th, respectively, saw their Latino populations steadily rise.

The rise of Latina candidates

Angel Ortiz became the first Latino City Council member in 1984, and his victory in a citywide race was unprecedented. But Quinones Sanchez helped blaze a separate path for Latina candidates, winning the 7th District Council race in 2008 as an insurgent Democrat. She maintained that seat despite clashing with Democratic officials.

Her name has been floated since her first term as a possible contender for mayor  and this year, at 54, she became the first Latina mayoral candidate in Philadelphia history. (Former city solicitor and Judge Nelson Diaz was the first Latino candidate in 2015.)

A recent survey found Latino residents share many of the same top-ticket concerns as Black residents, ranking violent crime, the opioid crisis, and improving public schools as top priorities. But the Latina candidates said women are especially energized about their campaigns around other quality-of-life issues such as combating illegal dumping and fixing broken streetlights.

Almiron said women hold political power in Latino communities, and can influence how their friends and family members vote.

Theyre the ones who are the most engaged and set the priorities, she said.

Luz Colon, 43, who started her career working for Ortiz and more recently led the statewide Latino commission for former Gov. Tom Wolf, said issues of gender inequities resonated with women of all backgrounds.

Having to be a single mother of two, I can tell you theres a lot of things that we juggle, Colon said, and the idea that our base is only in the Latino community is a harmful stereotype.

Council has never had a Latina at-large member, a fact that Almiron touts often on the campaign trail. But she also emphasizes that her platform  which includes progressive planks like housing for all and environmental reform  carries broad appeal with other voting blocs.

Im running for all areas of the city, not just Latinos, Almiron said. I just happen to be Latina.

Could candidates juice the Latino voter turnout?

Political operatives are quick to note that voter turnout in the Latino-majority precincts is among the lowest in the city. Latino candidates are quicker to note that turnout for all demographics in Philadelphia is dismal. Its not just a Latino problem, Colon said.

The median turnout in Democratic primaries in Philadelphia between 2015 and 2022 was just 28% of registered voters. But in divisions where Latinos made up a plurality of adults, the median was 13%.

All of this years Latina candidates are pushing campaign advertisements in English and Spanish.

Whether their messages will resonate with enough voters citywide remains to be seen.

This is Almirons second run for Council, after finishing in seventh place in 2019. (The top five finishers in the Democratic primary for at-large Council seats advance and typically go on to win in the general election.)

In 2015, Diaz lost the six-way 2015 mayoral race with under 4% of the vote as the citys first Latino mayoral candidate.

That race also underscored decades of vicious infighting among the Latino political class. A faction of ward leaders abandoned Diazs mayoral campaign in a proxy war to oust Quinones Sanchez in the 7th District. It was emblematic of the discord that some feel has only pushed voters further away.

No unanimous endorsements have been made by the citys Latino ward leaders for mayor or City Council, but some said theres a truce in the making to unite behind Latina candidates on the ballot.

Everybody wants to see progress, ward leader and State Rep. Danilo Burgos (D., Phila.) said. Were all in conversation about how best to move our community forward.
In 2021, Philadelphia City Council passed a bill requiring short-term rental owners operating out of their homes to get a limited lodging operator license. It also reinforced the hotel permitting required for those who operate short-term rentals out of units where they dont live. Read more

Angela Romero received an email last week from Airbnb alerting her to a subpoena the company had received from the City of Philadelphia about her short-term rental properties.

Romero lives in a triplex she owns in East Kensington and depends on income from the Airbnb rentals of the other two units. New municipal regulations caused her to pause her business in January until she can get the permits required.

Even though she knew about the new rules, the companys missive caused her distress.

Airbnb Inc. has received a subpoena from the City of Philadelphia to provide certain records associated with your account, the email read. Airbnb must respond to this demand and provide responsive documents on March 30, 2023.

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The email also gave hosts a week to let the company know if they were going to challenge the citys legal demand. The email did not note that the subpoenas are being sent out because the company would not turn over data about host addresses to the city without a formal request. Airbnbs website also directs hosts to links from the city with more information about the updated regulations.

Similar subpoena notices have gone out to short-term rental business people across the city, sending the industry into panic mode.

Were all freaking out. No one knows whats happening, said Romero, after checking in on Facebook pages and group chats where hosts gather. We have no context. We dont know anything about it. Everyones in the dark.

But the City of Philadelphias message for short-term rental landlords is: Dont freak out.

The word subpoena is unnerving, but thats just the way municipal authorities are trying to get basic data about rental properties from companies like Airbnb.

I get it. If you see that youre getting subpoenaed by the City of Philadelphia, thats scary for folks, said Mark Squilla, the Council member who introduced the new regulations. But you arent being subpoenaed like youre going to court.

When users try to book a room on Airbnb, they are given the precise address only if the transaction is accepted by the host. That also means the city cannot just pull the local addresses of rental properties from the website.

To access that data, the company told municipal authorities they needed to formally request the information.

Without the address, theres no way to know who has what licenses, Squilla said. This was part of Airbnbs request so that theyre not liable for giving the city the addresses.

Once the city can compare Airbnbs data with its permit database, the city can see who has the necessary permits and who is operating illegally. Those who are still renting without a license will first receive a warning, Squilla said, and if they do not desist, will face a fine.

Airbnb values its users privacy, and when we receive a valid legal subpoena, we use reasonable efforts to notify affected users, the company said in a statement.

Why is the city cracking down?

In 2015, Philadelphia began requiring that short-term rental hosts obtain zoning permits if they are going to operate such a business out of their home for more than 90 days a year. To operate Airbnb rentals outside of a primary residence  whether in the second unit of a duplex or in a house across town  would require a hotel license.

But in neither case had the law been enforced, and the short-term rental business flourished in a gray economy. That changed during the pandemic, when complaints about nuisance short-term rental properties surged.

In 2021, City Council passed a bill requiring short-term rental owners operating out of their homes to get a limited lodging operator license. It also reinforced the hotel permitting required for those who operate short-term rentals out of units where they dont live.

Squillas bill required that hosts provide a license number to online rental brokers, like Airbnb or VRBO, to confirm that they have received their permits. The new regulations went into effect in January of this year.

To comply with the new regulations, 409 people have received limited lodging operator licenses, with 138 issued since the beginning of the new regulations, and 91 permits have been issued for hotel licenses of one or two units, according to the Department of Licenses and Inspections. The city doesnt have a clear number of hosts, but industry advocates estimate about 3,000, and most do not have permits.

The subpoenas are meant to ensure that those using the rental platform have actually applied for their proper permits. The certain records associated with your account simply means confirming that the addresses and names included on the permits match what the short-term rental companies have in their systems.

Making that information publicly available gives Romero pause because her units are attached to her home.

I live here, you know, and Im not a business, Romero said. I dont want all my personal information out there for Licenses and Inspections to be able to look at.

But for city authorities, the short-term rentals are a business  with owners like Romero making their whole livelihoods off of it. And the industry has been operating with little regulation and less oversight for a long time.

The bill tightening short-term rental regulations passed City Council in February of 2021, was signed by Mayor Jim Kenney in June of that year, and was meant to go into effect in April 2022. After owners struggled to meet the requirements, policymakers eventually agreed to delay implementation until the beginning of this year.

The industry group Sharing Philadelphia has been trying to build alliances on City Council to tweak the legislation. Councilmember Isaiah Thomas has set informational hearings for Wednesday to review the impact of the new short-term rental regulations.

Sharing Philadelphia, a short-term rental advocacy group, also tried to message that the subpoena alert is not cause for alarm.

We knew they were going to start enforcing, and this is the mechanism for doing it, said Theron Lewis, founder of Sharing Philadelphia.

Further complication: Backup at the zoning board

A huge part of the challenge facing hosts like Romero is that the wait time for hearings at the Zoning Board of Adjustment has ballooned during the pandemic. Many Airbnb hosts need to get a zoning variance to receive a hotel license, because hotels are allowed only in high-density districts that are mostly found in areas such as Center City or University City  not the rowhouse neighborhoods where the short-term rental industry has thrived.

An Inquirer analysis found scheduling times for a hearing at the zoning board have doubled since the pandemic, with an average wait of six months between application and hearing.

Romero applied in January and will not have her hearing until late September. Shes no longer making money off of her short-term rental business and is looking for a job.

Its been a nightmare trying to get the zoning permit, Romero said. They shut down my business, and thats what Ive lived off of. I mean, its rough. Its really rough.

For some Airbnb critics, the idea that homes could be pushed out of the short-term rental market and back into the regular rental or home ownership market would be a boon for sale prices because the industry has been found to increase housing costs.

Romero said she is considering doing exactly that.

Maybe Ill just sell [the triplex] and move to Florida, where I can do business without the government being insane, said Romero.
On March 30, Samuel Trubnik Tessa was sentenced to two years and 10 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of one year and eight months after he was found guilty of five counts of obtaining property by deception and two counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception by the county court of Victoria following a three-week trial.
In response, said the release, NobleOak has advised APRA of its plan for remediating the breach by 1 July 2023. APRA said it is satisfied the plan is credible and will monitor NobleOaks execution of the plan closely over the coming months.
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A Massachusetts man whose SUV crashed through the glass storefront of an Apple store, killing one man and injuring nearly two dozen other people, has been charged with murder, prosecutors said.

Bradley Rein, 53, was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday on charges of second- degree murder, motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation and 22 counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the Nov. 21 crash at a shopping plaza in the Boston suburb of Hingham, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruzs office said in a statement.

Rein was behind the wheel of his 2019 Toyota 4Runner when it crashed through the store, killing Kevin Bradley, 65, of Wayne, New Jersey, who was doing construction at the site, and injuring 22 others.

First responders found workers and bystanders administering first aid to the victims, several of whom were badly injured, authorities said. Bradley was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rein was previously arraigned in district court on charges related to the crash, which his lawyer at the time called an accident. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf and he was released on $100,000 bail.

The new murder charge moves the case to Brockton Superior Court, where he will be arraigned at a later date, prosecutors said. The district attorneys office did not explain why Rein was charged with murder.

I was astounded by the charge, Reins attorney, Joan Fund, said Wednesday. My client has fully cooperated with the investigation and I look forward to answering all other questions about this case in court.

Rein told police he was looking for an eyeglasses store at the shopping center when his right foot became stuck on the accelerator, according to court documents. He said he used his left foot to try to brake but couldnt stop.

Rein told police he had no medical issues that would impair his ability to drive and had not consumed alcohol or drugs. A breath test showed he had no alcohol in his system, authorities said.

Several victims have filed lawsuits against the owner of the property, the developer, the management of the property, Apple and Rein, alleging negligence.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Personal Auto
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Maines attorney general is suing manufacturers of so- called forever chemicals that have contaminated farms and wells, contending they knew about the toxicity decades ago but concealed the information from the public.

Two lawsuits targeting DuPont, 3M and others seek to recover costs to investigate, mitigate and monitor contamination.

Attorney General Aaron Frey said Wednesday the state is working overtime to identify and deal with contamination.

The defendant manufacturers have willfully introduced toxic chemicals into Maines environment in pursuit of profit for shareholders, he said in a statement. Maine citizens and the state are left to manage the harm these chemicals cause.

Maine joins other states suing over contamination caused by the chemicals used since the 1940s in nonstick frying pans, food packaging, stain-resistant rugs, water-repellent fabrics and other consumer goods.

A DuPont spokesperson said the company doesnt comment on litigation but believes these complaints are without merit.

3M, which intends to end manufacturing of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, by 2025, said it acted responsibly regarding products containing the toxic chemical, including a type of firefighting foam created to help the military douse flames, and will vigorously defend its record of environmental stewardship.

In Maine, environmental officials have detected high levels of PFAS in bodies of water, wells and even in some wildlife like deer. And there has been large-scale contamination of farms where sludge was spread, causing PFAS contamination.

Regulators have come to understand that the chemicals, which dont break down in the environment, are dangerous even at low levels. Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first federal limits on forever chemicals in drinking water, limiting them to the lowest level that tests can detect.

A Maine law from last year requires manufacturers to report their use of chemicals and phase them out by 2030. The state also committed millions of dollars to test, manage and respond to PFAS contamination.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, herself a former attorney general, applauded the lawsuits and said the companies must be held to account in the face of this recklessness. The lawsuits were filed in Superior Court in Portland.

Associated Press writer Patrick Whittle in Portland contributed to this story.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Maine Manufacturing Chemicals
Richemont is building a digital platform to help police forces worldwide fight theft of luxury watches and jewelry.

The platform is open to the entire luxury industry and owners can register their collections using the brand and serial numbers, the Swiss company said Thursday. They can also report theft or a loss and check if a piece they are planning to buy is stolen or not.

The platform, dubbed Enquirus, already has 175 brands of luxury watchmakers and several jewelers already pre-loaded.

Paris and Geneva police authorities have registered with the platform, and the UK police has given it an official accreditation as a security initiative. Partners also include Zurich Insurance Group, LMG Jewellery, a UK organization that manages insurance claims, and auctioneer Bonhams.

Reports of high-end watch robberies, many of them violent, have been increasing in cities around the world. That threatens not only consumers, but also the brands whose sales could take a hit if wearing one of their watches endangers their safety.

Thousands of customers have already uploaded their data and more than 28,000 watches and pieces of jewelry have been registered as lost or stolen, Richemont said. The database will compete with efforts such as thewatchregister.com.

Photograph: A tray of Rolex watches are seen on a dealers stand at the London Watch Show on March 19, 2022 in London, England. Photo credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Fraud Law Enforcement
Porsche Automobil Holding SE won a crucial ruling in a 900 million ($976 million) class-action style lawsuit from investors who claimed the company should have warned shareholders about the diesel-emission software rigging at Volkswagen AG.

The Stuttgart Higher Regional Court on Wednesday said the company didnt fail to inform markets about the use of a defeat device at Volkswagen long before the scandal broke. The judges dismissed the plaintiffs arguments that Porsche Automobil Holding at the time knew what was happening because some of VWs executives were on its own management board.

Its not enough that board members knew about the events of the diesel scandal because they were informed about it in their role as board members of VW, the court said. Under German corporate law they had a duty toward VW, under threat of punishment, to keep these circumstances confidential.

The ruling can be appealed.

The case goes dates back to late 2015 when VW admitted that it rigged diesel vehicles to cheat emissions tests in the US and that about 11 million vehicles worldwide could be affected. The scandal has cost the carmaker more than 33 billion in fines and settlements across the globe, but criminal cases and civil suits are still pending in Germany and elsewhere. A 9 billion investor case is being handled in Braunschweig, Germany.

The plaintiffs, whose claims were consolidated under a special procedure, had argued they lost money because Porsche Automobil Holding didnt timely informed the markets about the scam.

Porsche Automobil Holding is VWs majority shareholder and the main investment vehicle for the Porsche family.

Photograph: A sculpture featuring Porsche 911s at the Porsche AG factory in Stuttgart, Germany, on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Photo credit: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

Topics Lawsuits
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Everest Insurance and two brokers BMS and Miller.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

Everest Insurance Taps Chubbs Chaves to Lead Mexico Operations

Everest Insurance, the insurance division of Bermuda-based Everest Re Group Ltd., announced that Jaime Chaves has joined the company to lead its insurance operations in Mexico, pending regulatory approval.

He is based in Mexico City, and will report to Pablo Korze, Regional President Latin America, Everest Insurance.

Chaves brings more than 25 years of industry experience and extensive knowledge of the Latin America insurance and reinsurance markets. He will be responsible for leading the companys expansion into Mexico, including managing the strategy and operations, developing new client and business relationships, and identifying growth opportunities throughout Mexico.

Most recently, Chaves served as the head of Property & Casualty for Chubb Mexico, where he successfully developed the P&C Operation that included property, casualty, marine and financial lines across all segments of the business.

Prior to that, he held a variety of leadership roles with increasing responsibility at Chubb Colombia, Odyssey Reinsurance Latin America and the Caribbean, Swiss Re Mexico and Swiss Re Colombia. Chaves holds a Master of Business Administration from INALDE in Colombia, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Master of Finance degree, both from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia.

Jaime comes to us with deep market experience, long-standing, trusted relationships and a proven track record of fostering diverse, high-performing teams. He is the ideal leader to help us bring Everests value proposition to Mexico and deliver solutions to bridge unmet needs in this important region as we continue our strategic growth throughout Latin America, said Korze.

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BMS Names Munich Res Tigleanu as Divisional Dir., Cyber Strategy

BMS, the London-based independent specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, announced the appointment of Monica Tigleanu as divisional director, cyber strategy. Following regulatory approval, Tigleanu will be based in Bermuda and will report to Adam Mullan, executive chairman of BMS Re Bermuda, with a dotted line to Chris Madell, managing director of financial and professional lines at BMS.

In her role, Tigleanus primary focus will be to future-proof BMS cyber strategy by developing innovative products tailored for the ever-evolving cyber risk landscape. She will leverage her global network to bring together new capacity from various insurance hubs and spearhead the creation of distinctive facilities offering coverage currently unavailable in the market.

Tigleanu has extensive knowledge of the cyber insurance market, having worked within the sector for more than 10 years as both an underwriter and broker. Tigleanu joins BMS from her most recent role as a senior cyber underwriter at Munich Re. Prior to this, she worked as a cyber property damage leader at Marsh. Tigleanu has also held senior positions at companies such as Beazley, AIG and Travelers and she sits on Relays board of advisers.

She began her insurance career as a key contributor to financial lines underwriting, including cyber, directors and officers, and financial institutions errors and omissions and crime. Since then, she has focused on analysing a variety of cyber exposures across industry sectors and on providing bespoke risk management solutions.

Monicas track record is nothing short of impressive. Her knowledge of the market combined with her innate ability to effectively help clients understand cyber risk will be a major asset to BMS. Her expertise complements our broader risk advisory capabilities, enabling us to continue helping our clients with their risk management goals, Mullan said.

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Miller Hires Dipati as Risk Engineer in Singapore Energy Team

Miller, the London-based independent specialist re/insurance broker, announced the appointment of Bonifasius Dipati (Boni) as a risk engineer in its Singapore Energy team. Boni will report to Matt Hooker, head of Energy (Asia-Pacific), and he joins on April 3.

Dipati entered the insurance market in 2020 having previously spent over 10 years within the energy sector. Prior to joining Miller, Dipati spent three years as a risk consultant specialist at FM Global. Previously, Dipati has worked at Elliot Ebara and Industrial Power Technology as a turbine engineer.

He will support Millers clients with risk management advice, complex claims support and will act as a technical interface between clients and the insurance markets own risk engineering teams. Dipati will be focused on helping Miller grow its Power business within its wider Energy portfolio.

Topics Cyber Mexico Chubb
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Spring break is here, and summer vacations are just around the bend. But while increasingly stressed-out US workers say having paid time off is critical, many still dont even take all that theyre allowed.

Only 48% of US workers say they use all their vacation days, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center. Those who dont take all their time off say its because they dont need it, or they worry about falling behind at work or feel badly about co-workers carrying their load. A few even think vacation time hurts their chances for promotions or could cost them their job.

There is growing anxiety in the labor force with layoffs spreading, hiring slowing and organizations cutting perks and other costs. Last week, the job site Indeed said it was reducing headcount because its simply too big for what lies ahead  an excuse used by many companies to justify recent cutbacks. Its no wonder that workers are exhausted.

Throughout the pandemic, we saw a surge of people leaving their jobs because of burnout and stress, said Christy Pruitt-Haynes, global head of talent and performance at NeuroLeadership Institute, a workplace consultant. We have also seen a steady decline in employee engagement. In other words, she said, Vacation time is more important than ever.

The rise of remote work has also contributed to people taking less time off, according to Paaras Parker, chief human resources officer at Paycor, which makes software to help manage workforces. Doctor appointments, for example, can now be done virtually or by popping out quickly from a home office, instead of using up an entire vacation day.

Still, Pruitt-Haynes said the biggest thing that keeps most Americans from taking an extended break is simply fear.

US employees have been conditioned to believe if you arent at work, you are lazy or at risk of being replaced, she said. We also have been taught that to get more you have to work more, and since we all want more, we tend to prioritize active work over other things in our life.

Private-sector employees in the US get an average of 15 vacation days after theyve been working for five years, rising to 20 days after two decades on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Separate research has shown that Europeans, who typically get more vacation days than Americans, feel less guilty about taking them.

About 80% of all private-sector employees in the US get paid vacation, according to government data. In the Pew survey, which included more than 5,900 US workers, more people said paid time off was extremely important to them than those who said the same about employer-sponsored health insurance, retirement programs, or paid family or medical leave.

But even unlimited PTO may not ultimately lead to more vacation days, Pruitt-Haynes said. A more effective policy would be to institute a minimum number of days that employees are required to take off, she said.

When a company actively demonstrates that they are interested in prioritizing true self care for their team members, which is about boundaries not just bubble baths, then employees quickly recognize that, she said.

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics USA
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The free digital tool that the US government gives communities to help evaluate local risks from 18 natural hazards is getting a makeover.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency introduced the National Risk Index last summer. Aimed primarily at planners and emergency managers, its purpose is to help them identify communities currently at most risk from climate-related dangers like flooding and hurricanes, due to their geographic location and the relative vulnerability of their population. Members of the public can also use the index to better understand the risks they and their neighbors face.

The latest version of the tool, first made available to Bloomberg, integrates more detailed data on social variables like race, income, disability and English language proficiency, which may affect peoples ability to be resilient in the face of catastrophe.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a written statement that the update will be invaluable to targeting support to communities most in need of resilience and to helping them reduce impacts from disasters.

The risk index is separate from another tool introduced by FEMA, Argonne National Laboratory and AT&T last year, the Climate Risk and Resilience Portal or ClimRR, which looks at how risk will change over the course of coming decades due to global warming.

The new version of the index integrates the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Social Vulnerability Index, which analyzes census tracts to flag 14 vulnerabilities including high poverty rate, high share of households with elderly or disabled people and low access to affordable housing or transportation. Communities with a higher concentration of flags have a higher vulnerability rating.

It also incorporates the most recent census information  in part to reflect the swelling of population in high-risk areas like coastal Florida  and adds new data sets on hazard-specific threats like coastal flooding, earthquakes and tornadoes.

Officials in a high-altitude community in Colorado could learn from the index to be prepared for a relatively high incidence of roof damage from hail, for example.

Casey Zuzak, a senior risk analyst with FEMA, said the update would benefit planning. It could allow states, for example, to prioritize evacuation routes for islands at risk of coastal flooding.

It could also help communities to better secure resources themselves. Thats in part because FEMAs grant program for building resilient infrastructure and communities, which had a budget of over $2 billion for its last funding cycle, considers this social vulnerability information for applications and this tool puts it all in one easily accessible place.

Past projects to receive such grants include a microgrid for an Indian reservation with intermittent power, water storage expansion for a community at risk of drought, and earthquake-proofing retrofits at a hospital in a quake-risk area.

Photo: Firefighters watch a backfire operation during the Mosquito fire near Volcanoville, California, US, on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 (Bloomberg).

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.
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The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit late Thursday against Norfolk Southern Corp. to ensure that the company pays the full cost of cleanup and any long-term effects of the derailment in Ohio of one of its freight trains in early February.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Ohio on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency seeks penalties and injunctive relief for the unlawful discharge of pollutants under the Clean Water Act and an order addressing liability for past and future costs.

The derailment on Feb. 3 of 38 cars including 11 carrying hazardous materials in the village of East Palestine caused cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals to spill and catch fire.

With this complaint, the Justice Department and the EPA are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community, Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Friday.

EPA in February issued an order requiring Norfolk Southern to develop plans to address contamination and pay EPAs response costs.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the suit will help ensure Norfolk Southern cleans up the mess they made and pays for the damage they have inflicted as we work to ensure this community can feel safe at home again.

Norfolk Southern on Friday said in response to the lawsuit that it was focused on cleaning up the site, assisting residents whose lives were impacted by the derailment, and investing in the future of East Palestine and the surrounding areas  well keep working until we make it right.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw told lawmakers last week that the railroad is committed to addressing potential long-term health issues, home value impacts from the derailment and efforts to protect drinking water.

No deaths or injuries were reported after the incident but since the derailment, some of East Palestines 4,700 residents have reported ailments such as rashes and breathing difficulties, and some fear long-term health effects.

Photo: This photo taken with a drone shows portions of the Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio in early February. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Topics Lawsuits Ohio
The California Privacy Protection Agency finalized its first substantive rulemaking package to further implement the California Consumer Privacy Act, which was approved by the California Office of Administrative Law.

The approved regulations, which are effective immediately, update existing CCPA regulations to be in line with amendments adopted pursuant to Proposition 24, the California Privacy Rights Act. The new regulations also operationalize new rights and concepts introduced by the CPRA, and consolidate requirements in the law to make the regulations easy to follow.

The agency filed the final rulemaking package with OAL on Feb. 14, initiating a 30-business day review period. This followed the CPPA boards vote on Feb. 3 to adopt the agencys rulemaking package. The regulations have not changed substantively since the board voted on modifications made at its Oct. 29 meeting.

The formal rulemaking process began on July 8, 2022, with the publication of the agencys notice of proposed rulemaking action.

The final regulations and supporting materials are expected to be available on the CPPA website as early as next week.

Topics California Legislation
A lawsuit by a former transit agency employee accuses San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

The suit comes days after Fletcher ended his state Senate campaign to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse.

Grecia Figueroa accuses Fletcher of kissing her and groping her against her will, as well as stalking her on social media, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Fletcher issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging a relationship but broadly denying the allegations without specifying them, the newspaper said.

Figueroa, a former TV journalist, worked at the countys Metropolitan Transit System from 2019 until she was terminated last month. Fletcher was chair of its board of directors from 2019 until he resigned Tuesday.

The lawsuit says Figueroa was let go on the same day that Fletcher had announced he was running to succeed Sen. Toni Atkins in representing the 39th District.

The civil litigation filed Tuesday includes text message exchanges to support her allegations, according to the Union-Tribune.

Fletcher said he was committed to repairing damage to his marriage to Lorena Gonzalez, the former state Assembly member who now serves as chief officer of the California Labor Federation.

I have not done the things they are alleging, but I did violate the basic trust and loyalty of my marriage and set a terrible example for our children, he said.

Neither Figueroa nor her attorney immediately responded to requests for comment.

Fletcher is a Marine Corps veteran who has openly talked about the horrors he witnessed in combat, as well as PTSD and the difficult childhood he suffered.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits California
A San Diego jury has awarded more than $46 million to a man who suffered a catastrophic spinal injury during a beginner jiu-jitsu class five years ago, attorneys said.

Jack Greener was enrolled at Del Mar Jiu-Jitsu Club in 2018 when he was pinned to the mat by an instructor who placed his entire bodyweight on Greeners neck, according to the lawsuit.

The extreme force of the maneuver crushed Mr. Greeners cervical vertebrae causing the student to fall limp, paralyzed in all extremities, according to a statement from his law firm, Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi.

Greener, who was 23 at the time, underwent multiple surgeries and was hospitalized for months, his lawyers said.

Now a quadriplegic, he sought compensation for medical expenses, loss of earnings and emotional distress.

Jurors ruled in Greeners favor on Tuesday after a four-week trial.

Attorneys for the martial arts club and the instructor didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California
Boride Powder

What is Bismuth?

Gazprom recently said it had completely suspended gas supplies to Bulgarian Gas company and Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) because it was not being paid in rubles. Russia said it would resume gas supplies after it agreed to pay for them in rubles.

Bulgaria and Poland announced Monday that they have received a notice from Russia to suspend natural gas supplies from Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 31 signed a presidential decree to settle gas trade with "unfriendly" countries and regions in rubles. When the new rules took effect on April 1, Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Russia would not immediately "cut off gas" to Europe, as the cost of gas supplies starting April 1 should be settled in the second half of April or May.

Because of the ever-changing international situation, the supply and prices of international bulk Bi2S3 powder are still very uncertain.

The Incas had long added bismuth to a special type of bronze alloy cutting tool, but for long time bismuth was only vaguely understood and was often confused with silver, lead and tin.

Bismuth's Latin name comes from the German word for white substance, but the metal bismuth is not all silvery-white. It also contains some pink. It was not until 1753 that Bismuth was finally confirmed as a chemical element by Jofroy and Bergman in England.

Bismuth is white with a peach-colored metallic sheen. It burns with a blue flame, producing yellow smoke. Bismuth has a very low melting point of 271 degrees. You can melt the bismuth at home in a small stainless-steel pot and cool it down. You can see that the bismuth, like water, actually expands when it freezes. Coupled with partial oxidation of the surface, we get a rainbow of colorful crystals. This is caused by the oxide film with different thicknesses on the bismuth crystal surface.



Why is bismuth comparable to gold?

That's because it's about twice as abundant in the earth's crust as gold, and it's actually one of the rarer metals. It is the number 83 element in the periodic table, and it is also the heaviest element in the periodic table. Its price averages only a few dollars per kilogram on the international market. It is very cheap compared to other fossil materials.

Bismuth was used as the base for boxes and boxes as far back as ancient Greece and Rome.



Why does bismuth get its iridescent sheen?

Because of the spiral step structure of the bismuth crystal, the oxide film around the outer edge grows at a higher rate. It will cause the interference of light, bismuth metal in nature often exists in the form of free metal and minerals, when scientists use high-temperature burns when heated above the melting point of metal bismuth, burning crystal light blue flame, bismuth oxide can be produced after dissolved into a liquid, after cooling from silver become a polarized light rainbow of color, so bismuth metal forms complex and regular bismuth crystals. Its color is determined by the thickness of the outer oxide film, which reflects different colors of the metal. It is often compared to lead, which is often replaced by bismuth.



Why bismuth?

Bismuth has a similar density to lead, and bismuth is less physically toxic than lead. Lead can cause kidney damage, headaches, and convulsions. Many children died from lead poisoning. There are also many foreign hunters who replace all the lead bullets in their hunting rifles with ammunition made of bismuth, which is used to kill animals.



Bismuth has poor electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. Bismuth metal has a melting point of 271.5 degrees Celsius.

Bismuth crystals are more brilliant than diamonds and can be made into various arts and crafts. Bismuth is also often used in cutting-edge technologies, such as making superconductors and even in nuclear tests.



In a study published in Catalysis, a team at the University of Delaware say they have detected an undiscovered property of the metal bismuth: it can be used as a catalyst to catalyze carbon dioxide into liquid fuels and industrial chemicals. The project team believes the discovery could help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and provide a sustainable means of fuel production.

The researchers call this new characteristic of bismuth "catalytic plasticity." The team has previously conducted several experiments showing that bismuth films can be used in combination with certain liquid salts as a cheap catalyst for converting carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, a gaseous fuel. In the new study, the team concluded that electrifying bismuth films immersed in salt solutions containing imidazolium and amidine ions regulates chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuel gasoline or the industrial chemical formic acid.

According to the general theory of chemistry, different kinds of chemical reactions need different catalysts, but the "catalytic plasticity" of bismuth gives the metal bismuth the ability to catalyze many types of chemical reactions. Researchers made clear that, from a technical perspective, the new findings, making use of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power to promote the direct production of liquid fuel as possible, metal bismuth catalysis plasticity make researchers have opened a new work direction test, researchers are expected to develop renewable energy conversion, the new method of fuel production and catalytic.



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For Germany, the largest economy in Europe, the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the natural gas market is the most obvious. This also exposed the serious dependence of some German industrial enterprises on Russian natural gas. Some analysts pointed out that the instability of natural gas supply has had a big impact on the German economy and threatened its market competitiveness because alternative energy supplies will not be cheap and difficult to come quickly. Increased uncertainty over natural gas supplies is putting enormous pressure on German manufacturers in sectors ranging from steelmaking to chemical Bi2S3 powder for the time being, but the market demand for Bi2S3 powder in the future will also change with the influence of various external factors. If you need Bi2S3 powder, please feel free to contact us.



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Source: Streetwise Reports

March 31, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Onboarding will begin in April for the healthcare system that has more than 1,200 care centers in seven states.

Telemedicine company Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (RHT:TSX.V; RQHTF:OTCQB; A2AJTB:WKN) announced it has signed a contract with its largest client yet, a healthcare system with more than 1,200 care centers in seven states.

Onboarding will begin in April at 20 of their skilled nursing facilities, which are expected to add more than 2,000 new patients per month to Reliq's iUGO platform by the end of the year at an average revenue of US$65 per patient per month.

Skilled nursing facilities are "a very big space for us," Chief Executive Lisa Crossley said.

Over the last six months, the company has signed three large networks of such facilities, including the newest client.

"That market segment has become incredibly important to us over a very short period of time," Crossley said. "I think it really speaks to the value proposition we offer to that market segment that we've gotten such strong traction in such a short period of time."

The U.S. skilled nursing facility and rehabilitation market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.5% to US$308.8 billion by 2023, according to a report by Markets and Research.

"The growing incidences of chronic conditions such as diabetes, paralysis, hypertension, etc., and the rising geriatric population is expected to fuel the market over the next few years," the report said. "Medicare and Medicaid availability and the growing technologies will play a driving role for the market in the coming years."

The global telehealth market Reliq serves is anticipated to reach US$380 billion by 2023, according to another Research and Markets report.

The pandemic "led to increased awareness about telemedicine solutions, propelled the adoption rates among patients and providers, and increased the investment activities in the market," the report said.

Technical analyst Clive Maund of CliveMaund.com recommended the stock shortly after news broke last year that the company's cash intake went up 485% from the fiscal year 2021 to the fiscal year 2022.

"We, therefore, stay long," Maund wrote for Streetwise Reports.

The Catalyst: 'A Very Large Opportunity'

The new client network, which was not identified, has more than 10 million patient encounters per year in New York, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina, Reliq said.

Newly discharged patients will get long-term virtual care at home using Reliq's Transitional Care Management, Remote Patient Monitoring, and Chronic Care Management, and Behavioral Health Integration modules on its platform.

Those patients will bring in an average revenue of US$60 per patient for their first 30 days after discharge and US$65 per patient per month after that.

The new client manages a wide variety of care settings, such as primary care clinics, hospice agencies, home health agencies, and hospitals.

"It's a very large opportunity for us," Crossley said. "This client is really representative of that very comprehensive, holistic offering that our product and platform represents, and (have) very broad appeal in the market."

The company also recently announced it had signed 40 new skilled nursing facility clients in California, Florida, and Pennsylvania, adding more than 4,000 new patients per month to iUGO.

This week, it announced it had signed ten new contracts with eight physician practices in Nevada and California and two home health agencies in Texas.

Crossley has said the company services more than 100,000 on iUGO and expects to have as many as 200,000 patients on the platform by the middle of 2023.

Managing Patients at Home

Diseases the company aims to manage at home with iUGO include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, and others. Patients get audible reminders to step on a scale, take their blood pressure, or prick their fingers for glucose monitoring. The information is automatically uploaded to the cloud.

iUGO draws on data from fall detection devices, medication tracking, and vitals data to flag patients at home or in facilities who need additional monitoring. It even uses artificial intelligence algorithms in its software.

Reliq is on the cutting edge there, as AI has yet to be widely deployed in health care. But a recent report from McKinsey & Co. and Harvard researchers said that AI adoption could result in savings of 5% to 10% of health care spending, or US$200 billion to US$360 billion annually. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-9012]

"For hospitals, the savings come largely from use cases that improve clinical operations ... and quality and safety," the report's authors wrote. "For physician groups, the savings also mostly come from use cases that improve clinical operations."

Ownership and Share Structure

About 8% of Reliq's shares are owned by insiders, including Crossley, with 1.61% or 3.22 million shares. About 0.3% of the company is owned by institutional investors, including FNB Wealth Management, with 0.02% or 0.03 million shares, according to Reuters.

Other top investors include Eugene Beukman, who owns 0.11% or 0.23 million shares, and Brian Storseth, who owns 0.07% or 0.14 million shares, Reuters said.

Crossley said 91.7% of the company is retail.

The company has 200.6 million shares outstanding, with about 197 million free-floating. It has a market cap of CA$97.4 million and trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.92 and CA$0.36.

Disclosures:

1) Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Reliq Health Technologies Inc. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.

3) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

4) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.

5) This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

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The mission statement of the Family Business Network Ireland is tellingly appropriate for challenging times: By families, for families, across generations.

As the network organisation for experiential learning, mutual support and advocacy for and on behalf of Irish families in business, FBN exists to connect people who share an interest and concern for the growth and sustainability of this key economic sector.

In its role as a voice for this community, and acting as an advocate to represent a wide range of Irish family businesses, the FBNs position at the coalface enables it witness the formidable challenges currently confronting family concerns.

These are certainly challenging times, but family businesses know better than most that there will always be challenges, says John McGrane, executive director, The Family Business Network in Ireland.

Many family firms already have many stories of overcoming adversity and they always find a way to rise to the challenge, already having survived for generations to get to this point.

Irish family businesses are inherently long-term focussed, planning for generations, not just financial quarters.

They are incredibly resilient, and can use their flexibility  or lack of bureaucracy  to their advantage, enabling them to make decisions quickly in challenging times. Undoubtedly, we believe there is a gap in the recognition of this in government policy, and we do continue to campaign for family businesses to be giver their due credit for their unique contribution to communities in every constituency across Ireland.

The financial fallout from Covid-19 is still impacting the family sector, a situation that has been further exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

That is absolutely the case. The recent years of the pandemic and the Ukraine war have been unprecedented and have caused turmoil across not only the business community but society as a whole, he said.

John McGrane, executive director, The Family Business Network, says Ireland's Capital Gains Tax is third highest in the OECD, putting Irish family-run businesses at a distinct disadvantage.

He underlines the increases in the cost of doing business, a result of the fallout, have been a cause of huge pressure in the family business sector and which have been insurmountable for some.

The Family Business Network welcomes the introduction of schemes such as the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) by government and we continue to liaise with policymakers on ensuring that these business relief schemes are fit for purpose and that they are made accessible to all those that need to avail of them.

Given the close-knit nature of most family enterprises, they do suffer more stress than other companies, John agrees. Of course, some family businesses face the additional stress of succession planning, which no other enterprise has to go through.

"Succession is more than making a plan, it is an emotional process, and it can be a difficult thing to confront. Moreover, when succession does take place in a family business, it is subject to taxation, unlike any other company which undergoes a change in management structure.

As such, a well-planned succession, far in advance of any handover, can save a lot of stress for family businesses. Plus, it is clear that all family businesses take such personal pride in what they do, that it more than offsets any stress.

Family Business Network Ireland was established by a number of Ireland's leading business families. As the Irish chapter of a non-profit international network of business-owning families  Family Business Network International  it is tasked with promoting the success and sustainability of family business.

The FBN International has in excess of 10,000 members from over 3,700 family companies, organised in 29 national or regional associations around the world.

Commenting on Budget 2023, John McGrane said the limiting of EU supports to manufacturers and exporters severely penalises the other employers on which they depend in every community, such as retail, waste and other key local services.

Ireland is too reliant on tax revenue from just a few foreign firms, in just a few sectors and locations, and action needs to be taken if the Government wants to protect and develop our home-grown employers. Budget 2023 is a missed opportunity to begin rebalancing the economy and put these firms, who account for four times the Net National Product of their FDI counterparts, at the heart of economic planning and we urgently need a new long-term strategy for local employers and jobs.

As to how government can best support the family business sector into the future, he would urge a recognition of its unique position and nationwide contribution.

Looking to the future, John McGrane sees Irish family businesses facing the same issues that most companies will be facing, in areas such as talent and managing costs.

However, the issue of succession is one that is unique to family business and as such is an area that support is difficult to come by. This provides a distinct challenge for family-run businesses and that is where the Family Business Network aims to be a resource, connecting family businesses across Ireland with each other to provide a network of knowledge and mutual support to one another.

The Family Business Network has also continuously urged the Government to update the tax system to remove the obstacles faced in family business succession planning and transition. Ireland's current rate of CGT is the third highest in the OECD and leaves Irish family-run businesses at a distinct disadvantage to their peers.

Succession and estate planning

Organising who will take over your business is one of the most significant decisions you will ever make, explains Camilla Cullinane, tax partner, KPMG Dublin.

Camilla Cullinane, tax partner, KPMG Dublin, a succession plan protects your business and offers an excellent chance involve younger family members in decision-making.

That is why it makes sense to start thinking about this early, ensure a detailed plan is in place, and never leave things to chance, she said. A successful succession plan protects your business, can be an opportunity to strengthen your business and put it on an even firmer footing for the future. It can offer an excellent chance to consider the company's operations and direction and involve younger family members in decision-making, so everyone is working towards shared goals.

Balancing family and business interests is important when considering how to finance succession planning, she advises.

While the long-term future of your familys wealth and business are closely entwined, there may also be conflicting interests, particularly if some family members don't work in the company. Therefore, it's essential to define who is family, who will benefit and what provisions are made for family members who are not active in the business.

Many families find it helpful to have a family governance plan that defines how the family and the business interact. This plan can address how the family wants to operate the business and who is involved regarding ownership and management.

Tax is critical in succession planning, so you need to know the tax landscape when drawing up your succession plan. This includes being aware of the potential impact of Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) and any relevant tax reliefs, such as Retirement Relief from CGT, which business owners depending on their age, can avail of to varying degrees when transferring a business to either a child or someone outside of the family or Business Relief, which reduces the taxable value of business property by 90% for CAT purposes," said

Camilla.

Expert advice is invaluable as many conditions must be met to avail of these reliefs and manage these liabilities. If passing on your business will incur a tax liability, you'll also need to consider ahead of time how this tax liability will be funded. For example, a lot of wealth may be tied up within your business, making it difficult for those liable to access the funds they need to pay the tax liabilities. You'll also need to be crystal clear on any tax implications relating to assets held in other jurisdictions. Make sure you get local tax advice to avoid any shock bills down the road.
The Central Bank should take "appropriate action" against those not complying with EU rules in relation to foreign IBANs following the decision of Revolut to issue Irish IBANs to customers, a consumer advocate has said.

Over the past few weeks, Revolut has been rolling out Irish IBAN numbers to its customers which it said would make their account better suited for use as a primary account.

Following Brexit, the company initially moved its Irish-users accounts to Lithuania in order to continue to do business within the EU.

However, in the years since it has moved to issue Irish IBANs to customers here but under EU law that should not have been necessary.

Revolut has approximately two million users in Ireland.

Under EU Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) rules, IBANs registered in of the 36 SEPA regions  some of which are not part of the eurozone or EU  can not be discriminated against in favour of a more local IBANs. These rules have been in place since 2014.

This means banks, Government agencies, employers, utility providers, or businesses cannot refuse to accept a valid foreign bank account number as a means of payment from a country within the SEPA region.

Under the rules, a non-Irish IBAN number from a SEPA region has to be treated the same as an Irish one.

Daragh Cassidy, of Bonkers.ie, said that many people with non-Irish but SEPA-registered IBANs still face many issues and that the Central Bank should remind stakeholders of their obligations under the SEPA rules.

IBAN discrimination

He said that he has been hearing some difficulties with IBAN discrimination from some energy companies and some telecoms companies.

You do hear of businesses, employers, energy companies, making life more difficult for people, he said.

Mr Cassidy said Revolut shouldnt have been necessary for Revolut to switch Irish customers IBANs but there was a need because people were having trouble with the Lithuanian IBAN.

He added that while there is a lot of focus on Revolut at the moment, there are still over 200,000 N26 customers in Ireland  a German online bank all of which still have German IBANs  who may still encounter difficulty using their account.

The Central Bank must ensure it doesnt take its eye off the ball.

"It must continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action against businesses and employers which fall foul of the legislation.

"And this includes Government agencies which can be among the worst culprits.

Mr Cassidy said SEPA was brought in to make banking for EU citizens simpler, improve competition, and allow EU citizens to live, travel and work abroad more easily.

He added a French student shouldnt need an Irish bank account to get by if coming here to study and likewise an Irish student shouldnt need to worry about such things if heading abroad for the year.
The scale of non-farmer planting under the previous forestry programme is "a serious concern" for rural communities, the Irish Farmers' Association has said.

IFA farm forestry chair Jason Fleming met with Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue this week to raise a number of issues.

Mr Fleming spoke about the "lack of safeguards" with regards to the scale of non-farmer planting, and the possible negative impacts on rural towns and villages "needs to be fully understood".

In 2020, according to the figures published by the Department of Agriculture, non-farmer planting accounted for 86% of new planting.

"It cannot be planting at any cost to meet afforestation targets," Mr Fleming said.

"Research is needed to fully understand the impacts of non-farmer planting on rural communities, particularly in areas of the country where the density of the non-farmer within townlands is significant."

Mr McConalogue said that the Government has tried to address this by increasing the duration of premium payments for farmers to 20 years under the new programme, compared with 15 years for non-farmers.

It is hoped that increased incentives will mean that farmers will be the primary beneficiaries of the new grants and premiums under the new programme.

Forest programme

With it now being nearly five months since the new forestry programme with funding of 1.3bn was announced, yet approval is still pending, Mr Fleming said that these delays will have "serious implications" for the targets set out in the Climate Action Plan 2023 to plant 8,000 hectares per annum up to 2025.

Mr Fleming said that the minister advised that discussions are progressing with the European Commission, and that the department is working to get the programme open as soon as possible.

He encouraged farmers with technical approval to plant under the Interim Afforestation Scheme (via general de minimis) and avail of the higher grants and premiums announced under the new programme.

There are approximately 1,000 afforestation applications to plant 7,600 hectares currently in the system that satisfy this requirement.

Mr Fleming highlighted that the requirement for farmers to set aside 35% of land area to non-productive areas (20% broadleaf planting and 15% areas of biodiversity enhancement) while only receiving payment on the land for 20 years is a barrier to those considering planting.

"Farmers need to paid on this land beyond the 20 years and compensated for the loss of timber earnings," he said.

"The pilot payment for ecosystem service announced under the programme is positive but we need to see this expanded and paid beyond the seven years proposed."

Mr Fleming also told the minister that farmers will be "very slow" to permanently convert land to forestry based on the experiences of some other farmers, particularly those that have been affected by ash dieback.

The IFA is calling for the minister to overhaul the reconstitution and underplanting scheme and compensate farmers for the financial costs of the disease to their ash woodlands.

The department is currently reviewing the scheme, and any changes introduced will be available to farmers who availed of supports under previous iterations of the scheme.
I WAS reminded of a phrase last week, a form of therapy called life review. Its a technique used by therapists with older patients as an exercise to help them make sense of their lives. The first time I heard about it was when Jane Fonda spoke about it. She had done a so-called life review when she turned 60 in the hope of having a happier, more fulfilling third act. She wanted to address the issues that had affected her when she was younger  her bulimia, and her people pleasing, amongst other things.

A life review is a way of looking at your life up until now and seeing if you can reflect on it, learn from it, maybe even redefine yourself as someone completely different to who you were when you were young. As Jane Fonda put it, you could even become the person you might have been.

I was reminded of the phrase this week because I was thinking that Ireland could really benefit from a cold, hard course of life review therapy right now.

Last Friday week, I was driving to Dublin. I had my 12-year-old son in the car with me and the radio on. There was only one story. A man and a woman had been questioned in relation to the Kerry Babies case. I tried to give my son a crash course in Irish social history, Catholic Irelands power, misogyny, how girls who had sex before marriage were treated back then, the shame of women bearing illegitimate children, the lack of contraception, the Magdalene laundries, etc.

The conversation took us nearly as far as Dublin. His eyes grew wider with each new and unbelievably cruel detail. He shook his head in disbelief.

NOT ANOTHER COUNTRY

The part that was most difficult to explain was how women could be incarcerated without having committed any crime, and how babies could be taken away from their mothers without anyone stepping in.

I found it hard to explain how in 1984, if you were a young, single woman who was unlucky enough to get pregnant, justice, the law, kindness, and empathy were unavailable to you. Rights didnt come into it.

The journalist Anne Lucey spoke later that weekend on the Brendan OConnor radio programme about how 1984 was actually a peak of misogyny in Ireland.

It was so misogynistic, in fact, that the word misogyny wasnt even used. It was just accepted that you had few rights in the society, Lucey said. Women lived in fear, and having sex outside of marriage might as well have been a crime for how brutally you were punished for it should you get into trouble.

Another thing that was said again and again last week was how difficult it was for young people to understand what Ireland was like back then, how difficult it was for us all to believe that these things actually happened. The past was like another country we said. But the past is not another country.

The past is, at best, an island connected to the mainland of the present. It hasnt gone away.

HOME TRUTHS

If you dont believe me, let me ask you, can you honestly say there is still no social stigma around a young girl becoming pregnant while in school in 2023? Can you really say there is no misogyny when menopausal women have to beg their doctors for HRT?

Can you say Catholic power no longer holds sway when plans for the new national maternity hospital to be built on land originally owned by the Religious Sisters of Charity caused so much concern and consternation?

Can you honestly say that misogyny is a thing of the past when women were not informed of inaccurate smear test results, the difference between life and death for many, in what became the Cervical Check scandal?

Can you say there is no stigma around motherhood when a one-day-old baby was found alive, wrapped in a black plastic bag, by the side of a road in Dublin in 2015. (Baby Maria, remember her?)

Or that there is no misogyny when a raped and suicidal asylum seeker, Ms Y, was denied an abortion in April 2014 and forced to have that baby by C-section in August 2014. Thats not even a decade ago. Does that really sound like a different country to you?

Its time for Ireland to do its own life review now. Its time to reflect on our past so we can recognise how it still informs our present, and why misogyny and injustice pervade many areas of modern life, despite the great strides we have made as a society.

Weve learned the word misogyny now. Its easy and familiar and it rolls off our tongues as we talk about it as a thing of the past.

But if we are to mature out of this phase of punishing and shaming women  which we still do by the way  we have to dig down deep to what first developed that awful misogynist mindset in this country and pull it out by the root. Only then will the past be another country.
When I originally wrote this book in 1987 I had carried an Irish passport for barely 10 years. Born in Singapore to an English father and an Irish mother, who, being born before 1948, carried a British passport, I was naturally considered British.

We lived in London, but, in 1977, I decided to swap my British passport for an Irish one because I intended to move to Ireland, to live by the sea in my mothers home town and make my living as a writer.

I felt more at home there than I did in London, and longed for a more outdoor life than I could have in Soho, where I was then living.

I had a choice. In contrast, my mother left Ireland in 1931 with her sister to qualify as a nurse-midwife in London because, as she used to say plaintively, There was nothing for us in Ireland.

After moving to Kinsale in 1982, I continued to work as a writer and journalist, publishing several non-fiction books, a collection of stories and a memoir, and the years flew by.

Then new friends, who had not read the book when it first came out, would track it down, find it interesting, and ask me why it was no longer in print. I had had another book published by New Island Books, so I asked if they would be interested in a reissue, and the answer was, yes.

I made the move to Ireland in 1982, and by 1985 I had published two novels, neither of which had sold well. My London publisher did not want a third novel, especially not a third novel about 18th century West Cork which is what I was proposing. I was writing it anyway, while also taking on whatever journalistic work I could find in those pre-internet days.

Circa 440 AD, Saint Patrick, born 387 AD possibly in Kilpatrick, Scotland died 17th March 461in Downpatrick, Ireland, who converted much of Ireland from paganism and Druidism to Christianity. He is depicted with his foot on a snake in reference to his expulsion of all (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

I soon realised that, having been to school in England, I did not know enough about Irish history to write the novel, and I was quickly running out of money.

Even worse, I was not enjoying life in Ireland as much as I had expected. People reacted badly to my English accent, and only dropped their hostility on learning I had local connections.

When I admitted to having an English father and an Irish mother, I was then asked, but where were you born? as if that would clinch it.

The answer, Singapore, was no help. In London, I had been othered as mad Irish; in Ireland, I was being rejected as English. Who was I and where did I belong?

This was the point at which my agent suggested that I write a book about St Patrick. Grafton Books was offering good money, and it could probably be done in six months. My financial problems would be solved, and the research involved a crash course in Irish history, which would help enormously with the historical novel.

There had to be more to Irish history than the narrow, sectarian story of 800 years of British oppression, and I was determined to discover the wider picture. St Patrick was an excellent starting point.

My plan was to follow the figure of St Patrick down the ages, and discover how the name of a humble and austere missionary had become synonymous with drunkenness, partying and disorder. Also, by finding out who St Patrick was, perhaps I would also find out who I was.

In the end, the book took 18 months to research and write. It was well received, both here and in the US, but it did not make my fortune. (Neither did the historical novel, but sin sceal eile).

PATRICK: From Patron Saint to Modern Influencer By Alannah Hopkin

I had mixed feelings about the book because my working title, St Patrick and the Irish People had been rejected in favour of The Living Legend of St Patrick. I hated the fake concept, Living Legend, and also disliked the books design and illustrations.

The original book has been very lightly updated, as it mainly features descriptions of historical events and texts which have not changed.

But Ireland has changed, and hugely for the better, and so have the Irish people. We have changed from a drab, repressed country with a declining population where emigration was the main option for the young, to a prosperous, self-confident, multi-racial European nation.

That is not to suggest that Ireland is free of racism, at all levels of society, alas. After so long in isolation, there has inevitably been tension at the influx of new faces.

But as time passes, and people get to know each other, racist behaviour is seen as the reaction of an ignorant minority and not to be tolerated.

Many people who have settled in Ireland enthusiastically take up the option of full Irish citizenship, greatly enriching both the cultural and the economic landscape.

I especially hope that those who have come from other countries to find their home in Ireland will find the role of St Patrick in forming the islands identity an interesting one.
More than 3,500 appointments and operations were cancelled at the UL Hospitals Group during a two-month period, a new analysis has found.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has warned of the negative consequences of cancellations for patients, saying todays cancellation is tomorrows crisis".

In January, some 2,095 hospital appointments and operations were cancelled across the UL Hospitals Group, which is made up of six hospital sites in the Mid-West.

A further 1,435 cancellations were recorded in December, bringing the total to 3,530 appointments or operations being axed in two months.

Of these, 2,127 were at University Hospital Limerick, which continues to witness "some of the highest numbers of people being treated on trolleys and awaiting admission to a hospital bed, the analysis by the IHCA said.

The data, gathered through parliamentary queries, indicates that thousands of people are in limbo, without a rescheduled appointment.

Limerick-based consultant Dr Colin Peirce said his operating list of 10 patients planned for Tuesday at Nenagh Hospital was cancelled on Monday afternoon.

This unfortunately has become a problem that is not unique to the winter months. We are now essentially in April and have ongoing cancellations, he said.

The patients are getting a call saying sorry, the operation is off tomorrow'. For us, it is frustrating, but an operation isnt just what happens on that day. Patients have generally reorganised their whole week, or if it is a major operation they have reorganised a couple of months for recovery.

Its a very dangerous cycle that we are in here.

Dr Peirce stressed this is not happening solely because of the emergency department, but is a consequence of general staff shortages.

Local consultants estimate an additional 100 beds and support staff are needed as an immediate priority, with at least 400 extra inpatient and day-case beds over a number of years.

This is the worst year its been for surgery in my time, and Ive been here seven years, said Dr Peirce.

Dr Colin Peirce said 'this is the worst year its been for surgery in my time, and Ive been here seven years'. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

He estimated, among the cancellations, up to 900 surgeries were cancelled this year based on data shared with staff internally this month.

Senator Maria Byrne said the crisis is soul-destroying for patients and staff.

There are an awful lot of positive things happening in the hospital, but unfortunately there seems to be a problem in A&E," she said.

"That leads to cancellations of procedures. There is a knock-on effect.

HSE CEO Bernard Gloster will visit the MidWest in the coming weeks, a spokeswoman said. She pointed to new national management arrangements which take effect on Tuesday, including for hospital and community officials.

The CEO is in regular contact with the minister, secretary general and department [of health] officials on all of these matters, she said.

A UHL spokesman said the hospital continues to see record numbers of patients.

Between March 1 and 27, the emergency department saw a daily average of 224 patients. The highest was 278, one of four days when the figure reached over 270.
Another senator has called for the Defence Forces Chief of Staff to come before the Oireachtas to account for what he knew about abuse and sexual assaults in the armed forces.

Senator Gerard Craughwell says Lieutenant General Sean Clancy should bring his top brass with him to the Oireachtas to face questioning on the failures of the Defence Forces to protect members from abuse.

Senator Craughwell says top civil servants at the Department of Defence should be included in the delegation.

His call follows a similar appeal by the former whistleblower, Senator Tom Clonan, who first exposed rapes and sexual assaults in the army 23 years ago.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said this week that everyone would have been aware of allegations around harassment and bullying and sexual offences in the Defence Forces.

Lieutenant General Clancy insisted on Wednesday that it was only after the Women of Honour cases featured in an RTE documentary in October 2021  just a few weeks into his promotion to Chief of Staff  that he realised the full extent of the problems.

Senator Gerard Craughwell says Lieutenant General Sean Clancy should face questioning.

He was asked at a Commissioning Ceremony in Dublin whether or not he had "heard or seen some of the actions" detailed in the Independent Review Group report into abuse in the Defence Forces during his almost 40-year career.

He replied: Other than standard disciplinary impacts you will have in the workplace ... I would not have been aware of them.

Just over 17 months ago, he was similarly asked how he could not have known about abuses highlighted by the Women of Honour.

In his answer, he stated that in the years since Dr Clonan published his report on abuse in 2000, the Defence Forces was gathering data with regards to these types of behaviours. .. at the higher end of sexual assaults and misbehaviour.

Senator Craughwell, who has served in the Defence Forces, said: Lt Gn Clancy has to come in and explain himself ... but I dont think we should just be singling him out.

All the most senior officers need to be brought in, as should the Department of Defence's main civil servants.

The Independent Review Group report found that women, at best, are barely tolerated in the Defence Forces.

At its worst, the organisation verbally, physically, sexually and psychologically abuses women in its ranks.
With the temporary eviction ban set to expire on Saturday, thousands of people will be put at risk of homelessness.

The lifting of the ban led to tense and fractious scenes in Leinster House over the last fortnight, with the Government surviving a confidence motion in the Dail on Wednesday over it.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Cabinet made the decision based on "what we thought was the right thing to do as a Government".

However, the decision has been labelled "cruel and cold-hearted" by opposition TDs, while housing charities have also condemned the decision.

The ban will end just hours after it was confirmed that more than 11,000 people are homeless in Ireland.

When is the eviction ban ending?

The eviction ban will be lifted from midnight on Friday.

What was the eviction ban in place for?

It had been introduced as a temporary measure in October of 2022 to provide relief for renters and homeless services over the winter months.

it was believed that around 2,700 notices to quit have been paused since the evictions ban was introduced.

What is an eviction notice?

If your landlord wants you to leave your accommodation, they must serve you with a written notice of termination.

The notice can be posted to you, be given to you in person or be left for you at your address.

Emails and text messages do not qualify as valid notices of termination.

I have been given an eviction notice - what should I do?

Get in touch with a housing charity like the Peter McVerry Trust or Threshold  they will be able to provide the best advice and give you a number of options, depending on your situation.

The advice will be free of charge.

As well as that, notify your local council that you may be in need of emergency accomodation.

Furthermore, many notices of termination may prove to be invalid - the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), Threshold or other housing charities will be able to verify if this is the case.

Will I be evicted tomorrow?

It depends on when you were given your original notice of termination or eviction.

If your original termination date was between October 28 2022 and January 31 2023, your new date of eviction will be:

If your tenancy is less than six months : May 1

: May 1 If your tenancy is more than six months but less than a year : May 1

: May 1 If your tenancy is more than one year but less than seven years : April 15

: April 15 If your tenancy is more than seven years : April 1

If your original termination date was between February 1 and March 31 , your new date of eviction will be:

If your tenancy is less than six months: June 18

June 18 If your tenancy is more than six months but less than a year: June 18

June 18 If your tenancy is more than one year but less than seven years: May 1

May 1 If your tenancy is more than seven years: April 1

Are there any other options available to me?

Yes. Prior to the motion lifting the eviction ban was passed through the Dail, a number of measures were announced by Government to help tenants who were set to be evicted.

These include the Tenant in Situ Scheme and the Cost Rental Tenant in Situ Scheme.

What are the Tenant in Situ and Cost Rental Tenant in Situ schemes?

The Tenant in Situ Scheme is aimed at people who are getting the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or are part of the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and whose landlords are leaving the rental market

If you are a social housing tenant and your private landlord wants to sell the home you are renting, the local authority can buy the home and you can continue to rent it from the local authority instead.

The Cost Rental Tenant in Situ Scheme is temporary.

If you cant afford to buy your rental home, or you dont want to buy it, the Housing Agency can buy the home and rent it to you.

The Housing Agency will be your landlord and you will pay the same rent as you paid your previous landlord

How do I access these schemes?

You can access this scheme if you are a private tenant who has received a notice of termination and you are at risk of homelessness because your landlord is selling.

Get in touch with your local authority for more information.

What else are Government doing?

Government is to provide funding to local authorities to purchase up to 1,500 homes from landlords who are selling up so those people can avoid homelessness.

Private tenants will also be given the first right of refusal if their landlord is selling up.
Extending the eviction ban is essential until adequate supports are put in place to help hundreds of people who face homelessness from tonight, Focus Ireland founder Sr Stanislaus Kennedy has said.

The housing campaigner was speaking at the launch of 16 new Focus Ireland homes constructed in what were largely derelict buildings on Grand Parade in Cork City.

Extending the eviction ban  while noting that the ban is not a long-term solution to the crisis  would offer more breathing space for politicians to produce a workable plan," Sr Kennedy said.

We need a clear plan to tackle the underlying problems  that means the eviction ban is essential and should be extended over the timescale required to deliver a clear Government plan.

It causes me great sadness to say that this is the worst I have ever seen homelessness in Ireland since we first set up Focus Ireland in 1985 almost 40 years ago."

The Governments temporary eviction ban officially ends on April 1, and after the Government has came under pressure in the Dail over its decision to end it amid a severe shortage of affordable housing.

Since last Wednesday it has faced three separate votes over its decision to end the moratorium on no-fault evictions, which it won in all three cases. Warnings have been issued that housing charities and homeless services are to come under pressure in the coming weeks as the eviction ban ends.

Micheal Martin opens the new Focus Ireland housing units on Grand Parade. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan /OSM PHOTO

Sr Kennedy said being homeless causes people terrible trauma and it damages children the most.

It is shameful that over 3,500 children are currently homeless in Ireland and the decision to end the ban will bring the trauma caused by homelessness to many more families and individuals. This could and should have been prevented.

The deepening crisis is awful to see, and it makes me angry. You must get angry as it gives you the energy to do something. There is a saying that anger has two daughters, and they are courage and hope. When you become angry, it gives you courage to act and this brings hope.

The launch of Focus Irelands new housing project in Cork City has brought hope to some. But many more remain in insecure housing.

There are 11,742 people in emergency homeless accommodation as of last month, according to the Government's official tally.

Figures compiled by the Department of Housing show that there were 8,369 adults and 3,373 children who were homeless in February.

Speaking at the launch, Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan said: We know that in every town and city nationwide there are empty, vacant, and derelict buildings which could be used to help resolve our housing and homelessness crisis. At a time of such great unmet housing need, where the demand for social and affordable housing is through the roof, at a time when local authority waiting lists, including here in Cork, have thousands of families waiting for secure, decent housing, we must tackle the blight that is vacancy and dereliction.

The 16 homes we are delivering here means that there are 16 more families and individuals coming off Cork Citys housing waiting list who will now have the most basic and fundamental need of their own roof over their head met, including some coming straight from homeless emergency accommodation and family hubs.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin said Ireland needs to build more homes and for them to be built faster. He defended Governments decision to lift the eviction ban, saying that retaining it would cause more damage long term.

But he added that Government must intervene to protect people, which he said it is doing through schemes like the tenant in situ plan.

Housing, and increasing the supply of homes is the number one priority for this Government, and we are putting every effort into addressing the challenges we face to produce homes of every type, Mr Martin said.

Focus Ireland tenant Timmy Harrington, pictured with Tanaiste Micheal Martin at the launch of 16 Focus Ireland homes in Cork City. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan /OSM PHOTO

Partnership and cooperation with approved housing bodies (AHBs), such as Focus Housing Association, is vital in the time ahead as we ramp up delivery and work to meet out Housing For All targets.

Lord Mayor of Cork City Cllr Deirdre Ford said that the "much-needed" Focus Ireland homes will help to alleviate pressure and provide secure, permanent housing for people on Cork City council waiting lists.

These are exactly the type of projects we need to be advancing and ramping up over the coming months and years to meet our housing supply targets and collaboration with approved housing bodies (AHBs), such as Focus Housing Association, will be central to meeting those ambitions.

'Somewhere safe to live'

Sr Kennedy said: We all need somewhere safe to live where we can build our lives. These homes here at Grand Parade mean Focus Housing Association now provide homes for nearly 1,400 households across Ireland.

While it is fantastic to see the tenants get their keys and move in, we must also recognise the wider current crisis. It causes me great sadness to say that this is the worst I have ever seen homelessness in Ireland since we first set up Focus Ireland in 1985 almost 40 years ago.

We must be hopeful that we find the courage to end this crisis for so many families and children, but we must also retain our anger at the situation and never accept that homelessness cannot be prevented and ended. Much more needs to be done. We must not rest until it is.

The new homes built by Focus Ireland are on a site on Grand Parade that was previously a vacant commercial premises at ground floor-level and derelict above. It has now been transformed and renovated to deliver 16 homes to people from Cork City Councils housing waiting list.

The B1-rated apartments are delivered by Focus Housing Association, with the support of Cork City Council, the Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage, and with the generous donations contributed by the Tomar Trust, via Community Foundation Ireland.

The ground-floor of the premises will now serve as Focus Irelands central office in Cork to help the leading housing and homelessness charity deliver its work supporting people in the county.
A man is due to appear in court this morning, charged with dangerous driving incidents in Clondalkin in Dublin.

At around 10.15 on Wednesday night, a car failed to stop for gardai on Clonard Road in Crumlin.
A man who was arrested for the murder of his wife and two children at their home in south Dublin disguised himself in womens clothing to take a bus to their house on the day they were last seen alive on October 22, 2020, an inquest has heard.

Evidence also emerged that the accused, Sameer Syed, was in the family home on 29 days in the two months before their deaths in breach of bail conditions imposed after he had physically assaulted his wife, Seema Banu, earlier that year.

Syed also appeared to coerce his wife and children into recording a video on October 22, 2020, in which they claimed he had never hit Ms Banu and that any marks on her body from the time of the assault were self-inflicted.

The bodies of Ms Banu, 37, and her daughter, Asfira, 11, and son, Faizan, 6, were discovered in their home at Llewellyn Court, Ballinteer, Co Dublin on October 28, 2020.

Detective Inspector Vivian Rock said Syed had admitted to gardai following his arrest that he had killed his wife after sneaking into the house but had blamed the deaths of their two children 'on another party'. Picture Colin Keegan/ Collins

A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court heard Syed was arrested and charged with their three murders a month later.

Syed, a 38-year-old IT expert with Eir, took his own life in his cell at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise last June, just a week before he was due to go on trial at the Central Criminal Court.

He had appeared in court a few days before the discovery of the bodies of his wife and children on a charge of assault causing harm to Ms Banu on May 16, 2020.

The lead investigator into the three murders, Detective Inspector Vivian Rock, said Syed had admitted to gardai following his arrest that he had killed his wife after sneaking into the house but had blamed the deaths of their two children on another party.

However, Det Insp Rock said it was proven not so and explained Syeds fingerprints were discovered on a plastic bag found under his daughters head.

State pathologist's evidence

State pathologist Heidi Okkers told the second day of the inquest on Friday that autopsies on the three victims revealed they had all died by asphyxia due to strangulation which was consistent with scarves found around the necks of the three bodies.

Evidence on the time of death provided by Dr Okkers indicated Ms Banu had died before her two children  a finding which refuted Syeds claims that she had killed them.

Dr Okkers said there was evidence that external force by another party was used in the deaths of the two children.

While Ms Banus body gave the appearance of self-strangulation, Dr Okkers said she believed that explanation was highly unlikely given the circumstances of the case.

A jury of six women and two men returned a verdict of unlawful killing in all three cases.

The inquest was shown CCTV footage of an individual dressed as a woman with a coat, full-length dress, hat and dark glasses boarding a 14 bus at 8.05pm on October 22, 2020, in Rathmines, where Syed had been living since he was restricted from living in the family home as part of his bail conditions.

Det Insp Rock said Syed had admitted the figure in the footage, who was traced to getting off at a bus stop on Stonemasons Way in Ballinteer, was him.

He remarked Syeds clothing was not a cultural dress, while other CCTV footage showed he had changed back into his normal clothes as he got near his home.

The inquest heard gardai were called to the house in Llewellyn Court on October 28, 2020, after a Tusla social worker, Holly Nuzum, became concerned that Ms Banu was not at home for an appointment which was unusual, while all the blinds were shut.

Garda evidence

Detective Garda Brian ONeill said he arrived at the house at 11.40 am and spoke to a neighbour, Vivian Balwalya, who also said she had not seen Ms Banu or her two children for a number of days.

Det Garda ONeill said he sought support from the Garda Armed Support Unit because of concern for the welfare of its occupants.

Gardai described forcing entry into the property by breaking a window on a rear patio door.

They immediately noticed water flowing through a damaged ceiling of the kitchen, while the kitchen floor was very wet.

Det Garda ONeill described going upstairs and finding Asfira and Faizan lying face down side-by-side on a bed.

He then discovered their mother lying face up on a bed in another bedroom.

The inquest heard a tap in the bath was running and it had overflowed.

Det Garda ONeill said all three victims had scarves around their necks which were knotted at the back with the two children and at the front with Ms Banu.

He told coroner Clare Keane he knew both children were dead, while he was certain Ms Banu was also deceased after touching her leg and finding it was ice cold.

Video recording

The inquest also heard evidence that Syed was in the house in Llewellyn Court on October 22, 2020, when Ms Banu recorded a video in which she claimed her husband had never assaulted her and that marks on her body were self-inflicted.

The video, which was recorded by Ms Banus daughter, showed her mother claiming she had repeatedly explained to gardai what had happened and had written a letter containing the same claims of her own free will.

In the recording, Asfira also said her father had not hit her mother, before adding: Dad loves us a lot. No matter how we explain to [social workers] they dont understand.

Detective Garda Ciaran Byrne told the inquest an examination of a wi-fi router in the house in Llewellyn Court had established that Syeds phone was in the property on 29 days between August 20 and October 23, 2020. Picture Colin Keegan/ Collins

Det Insp Rock said the letter, which he described as Ms Banus final statement, was a proclamation of no wrong-doing by Syed and that they should be together.

Detective Garda Ciaran Byrne of the Garda National Cybercrime Bureau told the inquest an examination of a wi-fi router in the house in Llewellyn Court had established that Syeds phone was in the property on 29 days between August 20 and October 23, 2020.

The coroner and jury of six women and two men were shown a number of video calls retrieved from Ms Banus mobile phone in which she was crying as she spoke to family members back in India about her husband beating her.

When I went to the police, he got a certificate to say I was mad, she told one relative in a call in May 2019.

In another video call on May 15, 2020  a day before she was physically assaulted by her husband  Ms Banu said her body cant take it anymore and expressed concern because her son was so scared.

'Ill be killed'

Ill be killed. I cant talk to the children, she added.

Ms Banu claimed her husband was high on his money and wants to do whatever he wants.

In the same call, she warned that if anything happened to her or if she died, Syed would be responsible.

However, there was another video call recorded on August 9, 2020, which Dr Keane said was completely different and showed Ms Banu declaring she loved her husband very much and how people did not understand how much he also loved her.

She claimed they were unable to live together because of the misunderstanding by gardai about the report of domestic violence.

In another video on October 3, 2020, Ms Banu said she was making it to show how she inflicted marks on herself as gardai had not wanted to understand how they had happened.

The inquest heard the Garda inquiry had involved thousands of man hours with hundreds of lines of investigation being followed.

Det Insp Rock said gardai were aware Ms Banu and her children had been brought to a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Dublin on Christmas Eve in 2018.

Evidence was heard on Thursday that staff at the Dunnes Stores supermarket in the Beacon Centre in Sandyford had called gardai after Ms Banu and her children were crying and distressed after Syed was seen pulling and forcibly grabbing his wife and daughter outside the store.

Det Insp Rock said there was also the Gardas own file on Syed being arrested on May 16, 2020, at the family home after Ms Banu was found unconscious.

Although no formal complaint was made against Syed, Det Insp Rock said gardai were satisfied they had enough evidence to prosecute the case.

The witness said gardai also knew Ms Banu had been treated in hospital in India in May 2019 after being assaulted just a few days after she had returned home for a period with her husband and children.

The inquest was told Syed had flown back to Ireland before he could face a charge for assaulting his wife.

Det Insp Rock noted a neighbour at the familys previous home in Sandyford had also made them aware of an incident in March 2019 during which the inquest heard Ms Banu was crying and appeared fearful of her husband.

A number of Tusla social workers gave evidence of the challenge of trying to assist the family and ensuring the protection of the two children as Ms Banu was claiming that gardai and Tusla misunderstood their domestic situation.

Jury recommendations

At the conclusion of the inquest, the jury issued a number of recommendations including that there should be a shorter period between the first referral of child protection concerns to Tusla and the holding of a case conference as well as the provision of support workers catering for mothers only in cases of domestic violence.

The foreman of the jury said supervised visits should also be provided by professional support workers, with a translator if necessary.

Dr Keane said she would bring the jurys recommendations to the attention of the relevant authorities.

Addressing two of Ms Banus nephews who had travelled from India for the inquest, the coroner expressed regret that their first visit to Ireland was in such tragic circumstances.

Dr Keane said for all the trauma and anguish she and her children had suffered their voices were but a whisper and they had no chance to explore their full potential.

The coroner observed they had died in a way that is unimaginable to most of us.
A woman who tripped over her own dog on a visit to a pet store and groomers has lost her High Court action for damages.

Carole Vickery claimed she broke her leg in the trip on a lip of a doorway but Mr Justice Tony O'Connor found the evidence was she tripped over her own dog.

Mrs Vickery, 61, Adare Drive, Coolock, Dublin, sued Petzone Ltd, Coolock Village, and its owner Kieran Stenson over the accident in August 2014, which left her hospitalised.

The defendants denied her claims and said she had tripped over her own dog Goldie which she had brought into the store's grooming parlour to have its nails clipped.

On Friday, Mr Justice Tony O'Connor dismissed her claim.

The defendants, whose insurer is FBD, said they would not be seeking costs from Mrs Vickery.

The judge found pharmacist Jennifer Rigney, who said she saw Mrs Vickery fall as she tried to avoid stepping on her dog, had provided the most reliable account of what happened.

While he was impressed that Mrs Vickery admitted she could not remember all the details and this could be forgiven due to the lapse of time, he was not impressed she could not remember prior falls.

The court heard she had three falls in 2014 and one in 2012 when she told her doctor she also tripped over her dog.

Mrs Vickery and her son Adam both maintained the dog had nothing to do with the fall, he said.

"Adam Vickery was surprisingly adamant about not letting Goldie go before she fell", he said.

Condition of step

He was not finding Adam deliberately concocted details to support his mother's claim but it was surprising that someone who testified to having knowledge of "the building game" did not take a note of the condition of step which he claimed the fall took place at.

The court heard engineers for both sides agreed the 33mm lip in the doorway did not present an unusual hazard for most customers. The judge said Adam Vickery claimed it had changed since the accident but there was no evidence that this was so, the judge said.

The judge said the store owner, Mr Stenson, did not himself write down anything about the accident after it happened or provide an incident report but he did have the presence of mind to ask Ms Rigney to provide a note of what she saw.

The court was principally relying on the evidence of Ms Rigney.

Her account was the most reliable of all the evidence as to fact. She was robustly challenged under cross examination and remained admirably calm and collected in evidence and had no reason to be untruthful, he said.

The fact she was a tenant of Mr Stenson, through her pharmacy, did not elicit any suggestion that she somehow felt compelled to give an account of what happened, he said.

The judge said the only issue which remained was the failure of Mr Stenson to reveal, as part of the pre-trial process, the existence of the note provided the day after the accident by Ms Rigney.

That would be dealt with as part of the court's decision on who should pay the costs in early May. Miriam Reilly SC, for the defendants, said they will not be seeking costs.

The court may however have to decide that due to the disclosure failure, that the defendants may have to pay some of Mrs Vickery's costs.
Residents on Cork's Boreenmanna Rd, where more than 90 trees faced the chop, have hailed the revised BusConnects proposals for their area as a win for the community.

However, the group, which ran a high-visibility campaign to save the trees, say the changes to several parts of the Mahon to city centre sustainable transport corridor (STC) are still not what they could be.

Under the revised designs for STC J, published yesterday, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has dropped plans for a bus lane in each direction on Churchyard Lane and Boreenmanna Rd in favour of a bus lane in one direction only.

Instead, a bus gate will be introduced, active during peak hours only. This approach, the NTA says, will reduce the impact on private properties and roadside trees, especially along Boreenmanna Rd.

It also said some additional on-street parking spaces have been retained, and that new off-street parking spaces are proposed close to Ballinlough Pitch and Putt Club and near the entrance to Rockboro Primary School.

The draft plans would have affected 73 properties, resulting in the loss of 283 on-street parking spaces, and the removal of 191 trees.

The revised plans impact 34 properties, with the loss of 215 parking spaces, and the removal of 56 trees.

A spokesman for the Boreenmanna Rd residents said: We have gone from around 80 CPOs in this area alone to zero and more than 90 of the trees will be retained.

They have taken on board our suggestion to relocate the bike lanes to the northern side of the street.

A handful of trees will have to be removed  they will be replaced through replanting  and they are not touching Ballinlough Park. But the removal of off-street parking could be an issue.

But compared to the destruction proposed in the original plans, this is a vast improvement. It is a good win, from our perspective, given the potential damage to the community that was originally proposed.

However, he said the NTA still has not addressed the problems residents believe will be caused by the pinch-point at the Boreenmanna Rds junction with the South Link Rd.

Meanwhile, on the Ballincollig to city STC E route, several changes have been made to save trees, to reduce land-take for road widening, and to retain on-street parking in the town centre, with the bus gate previously proposed in the town centre dropped completely.

Dedicated bus lanes are no longer proposed along Model Farm Rd between Carrigrohane Rd and Inchigaggin Lane, with bus gates being used instead to restrict non-essential through-traffic on Model Farm Rd.

A new link road is also proposed to connect Model Farm Rd and the N22 Carrigrohane Rd to facilitate traffic diverting from the Model Farm Rd bus gate.

On the Mayfield to city STC, where residents protested over the draft plans to reduce the width of footpaths on Summerhill, a bus gate has been added at the junction of Ballyhooly Rd with Glen Ave for northbound traffic, and the existing layout at Ballyhooly Rd, New Rd, and Murmont Park will be retained.
The Defence Forces have said they are aware that two Russian-flagged ships equipped with sub-sea cable laying technology have doubled back towards the Irish west coast late this week.

The two commercial ships, named Umka and Bahktemir, departed from the Russian port of Murmansk on February 23 on a course for the Equatorial Guinea port of Malabo.

The two ships were identified on the Marine Traffic global ship tracking map off the west coast early this week.

The two vessels then left the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone, but have since turned round and steamed north, where they were identified off the north Kerry coast west of Dingle on Thursday.

The 79.8 metre-long Umka is an offshore supply vessel and the Bakhtemir, also 79.8 metres long, is a salvage and rescue ship. It is equipped with diving platforms and subsea submersibles capable of deep water work on infrastructure.

The Irish Times had reported that the ships raised serious concerns among Irish military officials due to their movements around the IRIS high-speed, subsea communications cable, which became operational last year and runs west off the Galway coast.

The newspaper said that later analysis determined the ships unusual movements were probably a result of efforts to avoid bad weather, rather than anything sinister.

Surveillance of vital subsea communications cables has been increased since reported sabotage last September of the Nord Stream pipelines, built to transport gas from the Russian Federation to Germany through the Baltic. The pipelines are owned by the Russian company Gazprom, and no group has as yet been identified for the attack.

In a statement, the Defence Forces said that the Air Corps and the Naval Service are aware of the two vessels but won't be releasing any further information on the operation.

Both the Air Corps and Naval Service "continue to monitor activity in Irish waters and to undertake Maritime Defence and Security Operations (MDSO) throughout Ireland's maritime domain," the statement said.
A popular Kerry bathing spot should have between five and six lifeguards on duty when the beach is busy and swimmers warned about the dangers of riptides, an inquest into the death of two siblings has heard.

The cause of death of 51-year-old Desmond Byrne of Carrigeen More, Le Carrow, Roscommon, and his 62-year-old sister, Murial Ericsson, of Malmo, Sweden, at the Mens Beach, Ballybunion on August 4 last year was "accidental drowning".

The inquest in Listowel Co Kerry heard from 17 witnesses including holidaymakers and lifeguards who were on the beach at the time, as well as from the partner of the late Mr Byrne.

Josh Byrne, 13, the son of Desmond Byrne, who has special needs, was also in the water at the time but managed to get ashore safely.

Coroner Helen Lucey said it was nothing short of a miracle that Josh is alive today.

On the evening of the tragedy four lifeguards were on duty when normally there would be five or six, the inquest heard.

Ms Lucey brought in two recommendations with her verdict of death due to misadventure: that a minimum of five or six lifeguards should be on duty on the Mens and Ladies beaches in Ballybunion during high season. She also said the lifeguards should issue an oral warning when something like a rip current is present.

The coroner paid particular tribute to 15-year-old Ruairi Walsh of Carrigrohane, Cork, who was on holiday at the time with his parents in their mobile home. He was on his surf board just before 6pm on the Thursday evening and showed sensitivity beyond his years when the tragedy happened. Ruairi saw Josh in difficulty and kept him under observation and watched him get out of the water safely. He was then altered by a scream from the shore and he saw a man, Desmond Byrne, face down in the water. He waved his surfboard over his head to get a lifeguards attention. He also gave the arm lift sign to bring first aid.

The inquest heard how lifeguards became concerned there might be a second person missing after establishing that Josh Byrne was the dead mans son and seeing three pairs of shoes, and finding a ladys clothes and watch in a bag.

The lifeboat was launched and Garda Omar Fitzell, who is also a member of the Ballybunion Sea Cliff and Rescue, told of finding a female face down and partially submerged. This was around 100m from the water line.

Extensive CPR was carried out on the bodies of Mr Byrne and Ms Ericsson by medics including by Dr Moira Fitzpatrick who was on the beach. The medevac helicopter also arrived but there was no sign of life.

Rip current

Water safety instructor Leo Hillianrd explained that a rip current is something that can occur at any time and for any duration and is "like a river in the water". Rip tides pull people out from shore, the inquest also heard.

Head lifeguard Dominic Horgan, from Tralee, said the lifeguards had been keeping the crowd back from the middle section between the two beaches where there was a severe rip current.

The rip current had been very bad "and that was our main priority all summer," Mr Horgan said in his deposition. There had been two lifeguards on each beach, and there were flags to indicate where to swim, he replied to questions from Ms Lucey. The lifeguards were blowing whistles to keep people away from the rip current.

Lifeguard Noah Edwards, of Tralee, said Mr Horgan had also been in the water informing people about the rip currents. The lifeguards would move between the two beaches. Mr Edwards also said that at the time they were down to four lifeguards - normally it was five or six.

Paulette Daly, partner of the late Desmond Byrne in her deposition read for her by Insp OKeeffe said "Muriel was home from Sweden and staying with them in Roscommon. On the morning of Thursday August 4 she was getting ready for work and the three of them - Dessie, Muriel and Josh - headed off in their camper van. They stopped at Bunratty and spoke to her of maybe going to Kerry. There was no more contact until Garda Mairead Taheny arrived at her door in Roscommon."

On hearing the news she said: "I couldnt believe it. Our hearts are broken. She drove to Tralee and identified the bodies.

Pathologist Professor Nollaig Parfrey carried out the post mortems and said there was no evidence of disease, no ethanol and no drugs.

Coroner Helen Lucey extended her sympathy to Paulette Daly and Mr Brynes siblings and extended family. Ms Ericssons husband had since passed away in Sweden, the coroner noted.

These were healthy people as detailed in the post mortem report and this is a tragic accident," the coroner said.

"There was a cloud over Ballybunion because of this incident," Ms Lucey also said.

Dean Byrne, son of the late Desmond Byrne, enquired about the number of lifeguards and their position on either beach at the time of the drownings. The question was allowed and one of the lifeguards was recalled briefly. Ms Lucey explained how the evidence was that there was one lifeguard in the elevated hut and one on the beach in both the Ladies and Mens beaches. When the tide was out a person can walk between the two beaches, the inquest heard. The lifeguards would be in contact about rip currents.
We are loving these chirpy cuckoo clocks, the latest range to hit the shelves at Meadows & Byrne, designed to light up each day.

The clock features a little cuckoo who pops out to say hello and share a tune on the hour. He sings to the tune of natural birdsong and comes in five colours  yellow, blue, jungle green, black, and white. Cuckoo owners will be glad to know they also have the option of turning their little friend off between the hours of 10pm and 8am, so he gets a good nights sleep.

Yours for 99. Order online or pop into one of Meadows & Byrnes 13 stores nationwide and see MeadowsAndByrne.com.

On the Bathroom Shelf: Theres nothing like a fabulous scent to transform your mood and the Heavenly Gingerlily fragrance from Molton Brown could just be our new favourite.

Tried and tested: I dont usually expect miracles from haircare  when you have thin, unremarkable locks like mine, it doesnt matter much what you throw at it. But I was seriously wowed by Olaplex hair serum.

I dont say this lightly  it worked for me. After about 10 days of using it every time I washed my hair, the results were shinier, softer hair and the real litmus test  people commented on it! Result.

Theyve launched a discovery kit recently, the complete Olaplex hair-repair system in mini sizes for maximum hair repair at home. Handy if youre travelling this Easter break too. Available from salons and beauty e-tailers like beautybag.ie, its 70.

Great news for crisp fans! Tayto Hunky Dorys has revealed its newest flavour, Hunky Dorys Prawn Cocktail.

If you fancy a zingy and crinkled treat, these could be for you. Available in impulse (45g) and sharing (135g) bags for 1.25 and 2.99 from retailers nationwide. See TaytoCrisps.ie/hunky-dorys.

Isnt this giraffe just gorgeous? We are delighted to hear Blackwater Valley Makers are hosting a new exhibition by massively-talented artist Deirdre Dunne, which continues until April 28. Pop in if youre in Fermoy  theyre open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Check them out online too at BlackwaterValleyMakers.com.

We love Irish brands here on Wish List. So we are thrilled to feature the Limerick family-run business Natural Sleep. Theyve just launched a range of natural-fibre organic mattresses handmade using organic cotton, lambswool, and pulse latex.

Hypoallergenic, chemical-free, and naturally fire-retardant, the three mattresses in the range are the result of a lifetimes work to make the most natural mattress possible by asthma-sufferer James Hayes.

The range is available to order online from NaturalSleep.ie with free shipping around Ireland, a 100-night trial for peace of mind, and the option to remove and dispose of an old mattress. Prices range from 650 for the Essential Single-Pocket sprung mattress, to 2,500 for the Organic Super King full latex core mattress.

If youre a fan of The Body Shops Camomile Cleansing Butter, youll be pleased to hear theyve released a new limited edition Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter with Japanese Tsubaki camellia seed oil. It is divine. And suitable for even the most sensitive of skins. It melts the days away and we love it.

Read More Wish List: Wallpaper fit for rock stars and other cool buys

With its powerful but caring makeup-removal properties, the Camomile range had the strongest sales overall in the Republic of Ireland last year, seeing 53 products being snapped up per week. Globally, the Camomile Cleansing Butter was one of The Body Shops top-selling products with one sold every 17 seconds.

The balm is cruelty-free, certified by The Vegan Society, and comes in a 100% recyclable aluminium tin. Priced at 19.50, its in stores now. Visit TheBodyShop.com.

We had a lovely treat this week  we visited The Montenotte Hotels Bellevue Spa to try out their latest treatment, their Grown Alchemist facial therapy.

They are the first hotel spa in Ireland to partner with Australian skincare brand  and theyre in good company. Other partners include Nobu Hotel in London and Equinox Hotel in New York. The brand is renowned for its three-phase system of cleanse, detox, and activate.

Our favourite? The Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser is sensational, and suitable for all skin types.

Rates for Bellevue Spas Grown Alchemist Facials start from 95 with massages from 100. Visit TheMontenotteHotel.com for more information.

Cork artist Cora Murphy's art card gift packs bring together some of her best-loved paintings and feature 10 cards and envelopes, each blank for your own message, while her art postcard/notelet sets feature 12 cards and are perfect for any occasion.

"All cards are of the highest quality print. Each one illustrates an abstracted landscape painting from my collected body of work, ranging from the Kerry bogs to the Mayo lakes and the many miles in between along the Wild Atlantic Way," says Cora. See CoraMurphy.com.

Guaranteed Irish has announced the winners of the second annual business awards, supported by Permanent TSB. And we were delighted to see Irish supplements company Revive Active on the winners' list for the Pharmaceutical, Healthcare & Medtech award, sponsored by Matheson. Congratulations! See reviveactive.com for info on the full range.
Russia has used its long-range arsenal to bombard several areas of Ukraine, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes as Ukrainians commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Bucha, a town near Kyiv, stands as a symbol of the atrocities the Russian military has committed since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

We will never forgive, he said in a post on his Telegram channel.

We will punish every perpetrator.

The Kremlins forces occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month.

When Ukrainian troops liberated the town, they encountered horrific scenes  bodies of women, young and old men, in civilian clothing, lying in the street where they had fallen or in yards and homes.

Other bodies were found in a mass grave.

Over weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including some of children.

Russian soldiers on intercepted phone conversations called it zachistka  cleansing, according to an investigation by the Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline.

Such organised cruelty  used by Russian troops in past conflicts as well, notably in Chechnya  was later repeated in Russia-occupied territories across Ukraine.

More than 1,400 civilian deaths, including 37 children, were documented by Ukrainian authorities, Mr Zelensky said.

More than 175 people were found in mass graves and alleged torture chambers, he added.

Ukraine and other countries, including the US, have demanded Russia answers for war crimes.

Ukraines prosecutor general Andriy Kostin alleged on Friday that many of the dead civilians were tortured.

Almost 100 Russian soldiers are suspected of war crimes, he said on his Telegram channel, and indictments have been issued for 35 of them.

Two Russian servicemen have already been sentenced by a Ukrainian court to 12 years in prison for illegal deprivation of liberty of civilians and looting.

Members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service clear the rubble at a building destroyed by a Russian strike in the Zaporizhzhia district, Ukraine (Andriy Andriyenko/AP)

I am convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russias planned strategy aimed at destroying Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation, Mr Kostin said.

Russia has maintained its bombardment of Ukraine with the war already into its second year.

As well as killing at least two civilians in Ukraine, 14 other civilians were wounded early on Friday as Russia launched missiles, shells, exploding drones and gliding bombs, the Ukraine presidential office said.

Two Russian missiles hit the city of Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region, damaging eight residential buildings.

Throughout the Donetsk region, one civilian was killed and five others wounded by the strikes, the office said.

The body of a man who was killed with his hands tied behind his back lies on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, in April 2022 (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

Nine Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, damaging residential buildings, roads, gas stations and a prison.

The Russians also used exploding drones to attack the Kharkiv region.

Russian forces also shelled the southern city of Kherson, killing one resident and wounding two others.

The village of Lviv in the Kherson region was struck by gliding bombs which damaged about 10 houses.

The barrage also hit the city of Zaporizhzhia and its outskirts, causing major fires.
Asia HRW Urges Bangladesh to Halt Rohingya Returns

...

DHAKA  Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on Bangladesh to suspend plans to send Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, where their lives would be at risk.

Myanmars junta interviewed around 480 Rohingya in Coxs Bazar recently for the repatriation project.

The New York-based rights group said the Rohingyas were deceived or coerced by Bangladeshi administrators into meeting the junta delegation for the pilot project to return about 1,000 refugees. Some were told about possible resettlement to a third country, the statement said.

Voluntary, safe and dignified returns of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar are not possible while the military junta is carrying out massacres around the country and apartheid in Rakhine State, said Meenakshi Ganguly of HRW. Bangladesh authorities should stop deceiving these refugees to get them to engage with junta officials when its clear that Rohingya will only be able to return safely when rights-respecting rule is established.

Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladeshs refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, was unavailable for comment. But an anonymous government source dismissed the allegations.

It was a voluntary option for the Rohingya to attend the interview and those who wanted to be interviewed met the Myanmar officialsthere was no use of force, the source said.

On March 22, officials from Myanmar juntas immigration and population ministries left Bangladesh after interviewing around 480 Rohingya in Coxs Bazar.

The 17-member delegation, led by Aung Myo, the social welfare minister for Rakhine State, started interviewing Rohingyas on March 15.

Aung Myo said the delegation selecting for a family-based repatriation project.

The regime originally cleared 711 Rohingyas out of 1,140 recommended by Bangladesh and visited Coxs Bazar to interview the 429 rejected.

Bangladesh said the initial number was 429 but many families added members through marriage.

HRW stated that conditions in Rakhine State are not conducive to voluntary, safe or dignified returns. In 2017 more than 730,000 Rohingya fled Myanmars military crimes against humanity and acts of genocide.

The prospect of durable returns has grown ever more distant since the February 2021 coup in Myanmar, carried out by the same generals who orchestrated the 2017 mass atrocities, the statement read.

Bangladesh has not compelled these refugees to return and should continue that policy with the support of international donors, HRW said.

The juntas repatriation program could reportedly start by mid-April.

HRW said it interviewed 15 Rohingya about their verification interviews.

They had not been informed about the junta meeting or that they were being considered for repatriation.

I wasnt informed that I would be interviewed by the Myanmar delegation, a Rohingya man told HRW.

He said Bangladeshi officials told him to be available on March 15 to

be interviewed for the opportunity to go abroad for resettlement. I never realized it was a Myanmar delegation I was going to meet or that it was about repatriation.

The man said the official said the police could force him to attend the interview.

A Rohingya community leader said he was not informed about the reason for the interview and threatened with police intervention if he resisted.

Two previous repatriation attempts undertaken in November 2018 and August 2019 failed amid ongoing persecution and abuse in Myanmar.

Myanmars junta this month took diplomats from Bangladesh, India, China and five other countries to Rakhine State to promote Rohingya repatriations.

The United Nations agency for refugees, UNHCR, stated on March 19 that conditions in Rakhine State are currently not conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees, adding that no refugee should be forced to return.
Burma Myanmar Junta Jets Attack Medics in Kayah State

Myanmar Junta Jets Attack Kayah Medics

Myanmars junta launched airstrikes on a high school in eastern Demoso Township, Kayah State, on Thursday, killing one man and injuring another, according to sources.

The school hosts a medical center caring for residents and displaced civilians.

An aid worker said: I hid in a trench when I saw the jet over the school. It fired and I thought I would die. It was traumatic and will stay with me for a long time, she said.

Two regime jets flew over three times before attacking seven times, according to witnesses.

Some colleagues didnt take cover immediately as they thought the jets might not attack civilians but they were wrong, she said.

At least 15 civilians, including five female aid workers, were in the school at the time.

The aid group has been based at the school since June 2021.

We were having lunch at the time. Normally, there are many aid workers but luckily some were away when the attack happened, she said.

Regime troops then reportedly shelled the area.

Airstrikes have targeted civilian areas without provocation, according to the Karenni Human Rights Group.

The regime is committing indiscriminate aerial attacks on civilians and aid workers. The junta will do whatever it takes to hold power, said Ko Banya from the group.

Indiscriminate airstrikes killed three civilians and injured five others at a logging site in Bawlakhe Township on March 23 and wounded four civilians in Demoso Township on March 28.

At least 460 people, including children, have been killed by junta airstrikes across the country with the airforce launching at least 668 airstrikes during 2022, according to the civilian National Unity Government.
Burma Myanmar Junta Meets Allied Ethnic Armed Groups, Eyes Peace Conference

The regime and EAO participants in the informal meeting in Naypyitaw on March 28-29 / NCA-S EAO

Representatives of seven signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) this week flew to Naypyitaw to hold talks with senior junta generals on holding a peace conference and amending the military-drafted constitution.

The informal talks between the regime-appointed National Solidarity and Peace Negotiation Committee (NSPNC) and seven NCA signatories was held from March 28-29 in Naypyitaw.

The NSPNC was represented by its secretary, Lieutenant-General Win Bo Shein and members Lieutenant General Khin Zaw Oo and U Hla Maung Shwe. The talks between the junta and the signatories have been going on since last year but Lt-Gen Khin Zaw Oo and U Hla Maung Shwe appeared for the first time at the latest meeting, sources close to the meeting said.

Senior members of the Restoration Council of Shan State, Arakan Liberation Party, New Mon State Party, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, Lahu Democratic Union, and Pa-O National Liberation Organization attended the meeting.

The meeting focused on holding a peace conference, the election proposed by the Myanmar military regime, and making amendments to the army-drafted 2008 Constitution, according to junta media.

Min Aung Hlaing is interested in following in the footsteps of previous governments and holding a peace conference, but the regime has yet to reveal details about it.

Colonel Saw Kyaw Nyunt from the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, the spokesperson of the NCA delegation at the meeting, was not available for comment.

According to the NCA, Union-level peace conferences were held with EAOs under both U Thein Seins quasi-civilian government and the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy government, which was ousted by the Myanmar military in a 2021 coup.

Observers say any peace talks between the Myanmar military and NCA signatories, none of which is fighting the regime, would have no practical value. Min Aung Hlaing is proposing a peace conference just for show to ease international pressure, they say.

They are just talking about holding a peace conference without the participation of those who are fighting them. It will be a sham, said a local military analyst, referring to the countrys established ethnic armed groups like the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Karen National Union (KNU) and others. Most of the armed groups are fighting regime forces alongside the parallel National Unity Government (NUG)s armed wing, the Peoples Defense Force (PDF).

In his address to mark Armed Forces Day on Monday, Min Aung Hlaing warned that his regime would not negotiate with, and would take decisive action against, the NUG, PDFs and certain EAOs supporting them.

On the election, despite its pledge to hold the polls, the regime has not yet been able to set a date.

The Myanmar regime called 2022 the Year of Peace and has dubbed 2023 the Year to Enjoy the Fruits of Peace, but armed conflicts are intensifying across the country. While Min Aung Hlaing is preaching peace, he has been urging his soldiers to fully utilize the military skills they have been taught.

Min Aung Hlaing is currently engaged in peace talks with 10 EAOsseven of them are NCA signatories and three are non-signatories.
Burma Myanmar Junta Preventing Medicine Reaching Sick Children in Sagaing

Children suffering from skin infections in Sagaing Regions Kani Township. (Photo: CJ)

School-age children, many of them displaced, in Sagaing Regions Kani Township are suffering from skin infections and have no access to medicine or medical treatment, according to local sources.

The lesions, thought to be caused by contaminated water and poor hygiene, are being found in youngsters aged 5 to 15 years, both displaced and attending community-based schools. Many of the children are also suffering from fever, vomiting, and diarrhea.

This skin disease has been reported in nine community-based schools in all grades from primary to secondary levels. The number varies from school to school. While some schools only have seen a few cases, others have reported as many as 40 to 50 cases, said Ko Pyae Aung Naing, an anti-coup protest leader from Kani Township.

Displaced children also suffered from a similar skin disease in 2022, but the number is higher this year, he added.

Children in conflict zones have limited or no access to medicine or medical treatment. And with the military regime restricting deliveries of medicines to the area, the youngsters are currently being treated with herbal remedies.

We did buy medicines, but junta soldiers seized them before they could be delivered. In rural communities, people usually apply charcoal to treat this particular skin condition. We also get folk medicines from nearby native healers, said a resident.

Dr. Phoenix, who has experience in treating similar skin infections in Myaung Township, advises against using folk medicine to treat the lesions.

They should not apply charcoal as it could cause lung problems. And you can never rinse bacteria off the leaves of herbs. So, if you grind leaves and apply them to the skin lesions, it can make it worse. What they really need is ointment and oral medicine, but if these are not available, I would suggest cleaning the lesions with warm water, he said.

That option is not readily available either, as people in southern Kani are experiencing serious water shortages in the current hot season, forcing residents to rely on wells. Meanwhile, displaced people are having to make do with any water source they can find in the forest.

Kani has seen frequent clashes between junta troops and Peoples Defense Forces. More than 1,500 houses have been destroyed in junta arson attacks since the coup.

Earlier this month, a large outbreak of similar skin problems was reported among displaced children in the east of Demoso Township in Kayah State, according to Job For Kayah, a local civil society organization helping displaced people.
Politics Myanmar Regime Sentences Jailed NLD Lawmaker to 11 More Years in Prison

NLD lawmaker Daw Thet Htar Hnoung, secretary of the NLDs Kachin State Women Working Committee. (Photo: NLD)

Myanmars junta sentenced ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker Daw Thet Htar Hnoung to a further 11 years in prison on Thursday under the Counter-Terrorism Law.

Daw Thet Htar Hnoung, who represented Mohnyin Township in Kachin State and was secretary of the NLDs Kachin State Women Working Committee, was first arrested on August 4, 2021. She was sentenced to one year in jail on an incitement charge by a court in the Kachin capital Myitkyina in May 2022.

The military council illegally arrested Daw Thet Htar Hnoung and gave her an unjust punishment, said Daw Thandar, the information officer for the NLDs Central Women Working Committee.

She added that the NLD lawmaker is just one of many people in Myanmar to have been illegally arrested, jailed or killed.

I believe that Daw Thet Htar Hnoung will be able to face it [the 11 years in jail] because she is strong-minded and courageous, Daw Thandar told The Irrawaddy.

Some 1,232 NLD members, including 80 former MPs, have been arrested by the military regime since the February 2021 coup. At least 84 NLD members, including two former MPs, have died while being detained, according to the NLD.

Daw Thandar noted that other members of the NLDs women working committee have also been arrested.

Since the coup, the junta has arrested at least 134 female members of the NLD, many of whom are still being detained and who face numerous charges, according to rights group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) which monitors killings and arrests since the military takeover.

Among them are ousted State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also the chairperson of the NLD, Karen State Chief Minister Nan Khin Htwe Myint and a number of other former ministers and elected lawmakers.

Over 20,934 people have been arrested since the coup and 17,067 remain in detention, according to the AAPP.
Myanmars Crisis & the World China and ASEAN Stay Silent on Myanmar Juntas Dissolution of Political Parties

Myanmars then State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (L) shakes hands with Chinas President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing on May 16, 2017. (Photo: AFP)

Myanmars military regime recently dissolved 40 political parties, including the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by jailed civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. But while the juntas move drew widespread condemnation from the international community, China, Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have stayed silent.

The NLD, like the other political parties, was dissolved for failing to re-register with the regime-controlled Union Election Commission (UEC) as required under the juntas new Political Parties Registration Law. In February 2021, the Myanmar military seized power from the then NLD government, alleging that the 2020 general election which the NLD won by a landslide was marred by voter fraud.

But by dissolving the NLD the regime has once again shown its disregard for ASEANs Five-Point Consensus peace plan for Myanmar, which includes a call for constructive dialogue among all concerned parties.

China has also expressed its support for ASEANs peace plan, but so far Beijing has kept silent about the juntas dissolution of political parties.

The United States and western countries have condemned the dissolution of around 40 parties including the NLD. But China and Russia, which are exercising dictatorship, have kept silent. They dont mind if the NLD is not involved in Myanmars politics. They dont mind if the election proposed by the junta is neither free nor fair. They only want to have a government that emerges out of the military council in Myanmar, said political analyst U Than Soe Naing.

In the days following the 2021 coup, China maintained political engagement with NLD and expressed concern when the regime revealed its plan to dissolve the countrys most popular party.

A few months after the coup, the junta-controlled UEC claimed that it had found evidence that the NLD intentionally violated the law to ensure its overwhelming victory in the November 2020 election, and suggested that the party should be dissolved.

Beijing, though, said it wanted to see the NLD continue to exist as a political party.

But since then China has barely engaged with Myanmars political parties including the NLD, while continuing to engage with the military regime and certain ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) based along the Myanmar-China border, noted Ko Kyi Sin, a political analyst from the National University of Singapore.

China apparently assumes that it is more pragmatic to engage with EAOs rather than political parties to help build peace in Myanmar. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why China has kept silent about the parties being dissolved. China might also be worried that its relations with the regime will be strained if it speaks out, said Ko Kyi Sin.

As for ASEAN, which is divided over Myanmars crisis, bloc members are unlikely to issue separate statements about the dissolution of political parties in Myanmar, said Ko Kyi Sin. ASEAN members might meet and adopt a common foreign policy regarding Myanmar, he added.

While the regime has failed to implement ASEANs Five-Point Consensus, the expulsion of the NLD from Myanmars political landscape will make it more difficult for things to improve, said the US, Britain, Japan and Australia in their statements on the dissolution of the 40 parties.

Antony J. Blinken, US Secretary of State, said that Washington strongly condemns the regimes decision to abolish 40 political parties, noting that it shows the juntas continued contempt for the popular will of Myanmars people and multi-party democracy.

The militarys ongoing efforts to stifle political dissent and eradicate civic space are designed to further entrench its own power and interests. This action further demonstrates that the regimes plans for deeply flawed elections, if held, will not represent the will of Burmas voters, said Blinken.

The international community has called for a cessation of violence and the release of all political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, dialogue with all parties concerned to help solve the Myanmar crisis peacefully and the restoration of democracy in Myanmar.
War Against the Junta At Least 40 Myanmar Junta Troops, Resistance Commander Killed in Four Days of Clashes

Resistance fighters of Kyauk Lone Gyi PDF in Kani Township / KLG-PDF

At least 40 Myanmar junta troops as well as a resistance battalion commander were killed in the last four days as Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) and an ethnic armed organization (EAO) continued to attack regime targets across the country.

In one case, a deputy PDF battalion commander was beheaded by junta troops in Sagaing.

Incidents were reported in Sagaing, Mandalay, Magwe and Yangon regions and Mon State.

The Irrawaddy has rounded up the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs and the EAO.

Some military casualty figures could not be independently verified.

Resistance commander beheaded in Sagaing

The deputy battalion commander of Sagaing District PDF Battalion 1 was beheaded by troops of the junta militarys Ogre Column during their raid on the headquarters of the resistance group in Myaung Township, Sagaing Region on Thursday morning, according to local resistance groups.

Two PDF members are still missing after the junta raid. Some hours later, local PDF groups conducted drone strikes on the junta forces that occupied the PDFs bases, in which at least a dozen soldiers are believed to have been killed or injured, said Civilian Defense and Security Organization of Myaung (CDSOM), which coordinated the attack.

Regime forces ambushed in Sagaing

At least two junta soldiers were killed and two others suffered serious injuries in Kani Township, Sagaing Region on Thursday when Kyauk Lone Gyi PDF and another resistance group ambushed 30 regime forces from the town of Kani, said the PDF group.

The junta troops were attacked while exiting the town to go on patrol.

PDF forces retreated from the ambush site without casualties when 50 military reinforcements arrived.

Regime forces bombed while raiding villages in Sagaing



Resistance forces fire improvised mortar rounds at regime targets in Sagaing Township on Thursday. / Tike Nal Swun-PDF

Local resistance group Tike Nal Swun-PDF said it used improvised mortar shells to bomb a military detachment raiding villages in Sagaing Township, Sagaing Region on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, the group shelled regime forces near a village, prompting them to flee to their base at the Nyaung Pin Wun police outpost.

Later, the PDF group continued to bomb the regime forces at the police outpost with improvised mortar rounds. However, regime casualties were unknown.

Thirty junta soldiers killed in series of land mine attacks in Sagaing

At least 13 junta soldiers were killed and many others injured in Myinmu Township, Sagaing Region on Wednesday when combined PDF groups conducted six mine ambushes against a military vehicle covered with metal plates, said Dog Killer PDF-Myinmu, which joined the attacks.

The vehicle carrying 40 regime forces was traveling from Monywa to Myinmu at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night. On their way, regime forces from the vehicle opened fire at random.

Military convoy carrying jade ambushed in Mandalay

At least 15 junta troops were killed in Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region on Wednesday when Tagaung-PDF and other local defense forces conducted mine ambushes against a military convoy of 43 vehicles carrying jade from upper Sagaing Region, said the PDF group.

The convoy was ambushed with land mines planted in two locations. Regime forces from the convoy were unable to respond.

The combined resistance group used a cluster of land mines to conduct six ambushes against the vehicles, the PDF group said.

Military convoy faces resistance ambushes in Magwe



A military convoy is hit by mine ambushes and drone strikes in Pakokku Township on Wednesday. / Black Cobra Force-Pakokku

At least four regime forces were killed in Pakokku Township, Magwe Region on Wednesday and Thursday when combined PDF groups conducted land mine ambushes and drone strikes against a military convoy of 20 vehicles, said Black Cobra Force-Pakokku, which joined the attack.

The convoy of 80 soldiers and pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia members was carrying looted supplies from villages to the town of Pakokku.

First, the PDF groups used a land mine to ambush the convoy between Kan Taw and Nyaung Jit Pin Village on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the combined groups conducted further land mine ambushes and drone strikes against the convoy.

Junta forces raze village after facing resistance attack in Magwe

A military detachment of 200 troops burned down nearly all 138 houses in Kin Mon Chone Village in Salin Township, Magwe Region on Tuesday morning, according to local resistance groups.

The arson attack came after junta forces faced a heavy, two-hour attack by five combined resistance groups, said Pwint Pyu-PDF, which joined the defensive attack.

The PDF groups managed to evacuate senior citizens and pregnant women from the village along with other residents.

Only 15 houses were left and around 500 residents were made homeless, the PDF group said.

An army captain killed in Magwe

Local PDF group Myingyan Black Tiger said it and other resistance forces killed an army captain on Wednesday as they conducted a surprise attack on regime forces stationed at a monastery in the town of Yesagyo in Magwe Region.

Another soldier suffered serious injuries. A video shot by the PDF shows a resistance fighter silently approach and open fire on regime targets.

Military checkpoint bombed in Mon

At least three regime forces were killed and seven injured in Kyaikhto Township, Mon State on Tuesday when four resistance groups including the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union, conducted drone strikes on a heavy military checkpoint at the Mayan Chaung Village on the Yangon-Mawlamyaing Highway, said Thaton-PDF, which joined the attack.

First, the combined groups used drones to drop six bombs on the checkpoint, killing three junta policemen and injuring two others.

On that evening, the groups also conducted drone strikes on a military base at a cemetery in the township, injuring five regime forces. The groups urged civilians to stay away from regime forces, convoys and bases.

Two junta policemen shot dead in Yangon

Local resistance group PDF-Kayan claimed to have killed two junta policemen near the border of Kayan and Thongwa townships in Yangon Region on Thursday.

The victims were shot dead while returning from a meeting.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
FILE - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, March 8, 2021. Prosecutors in Senegal who had sought two years in prison for opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have filed an appeal after he was given a two-month suspended sentence for his conviction on libel charges in a case his supporters say was politically motivated.
The Somali Presidents grand reform agendas have received widespread praise for their potential to bring much-needed change to a country that has been plagued by conflict and instability for decades.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamuds initiatives are aimed at tackling the root causes of Somalias problems and building a more prosperous and peaceful future for its citizens.

One of the key pillars of the Presidents reform agenda is security. Somalia has been wracked by violence and instability since the collapse of the central government in 1991, and the President has made it a top priority to restore law and order to the country.

To that end, he has launched a comprehensive security plan that includes the rebuilding of the national army and police force, as well as efforts to disarm and reintegrate former militants into the society.

In addition to improving security, the President is also focused on addressing Somalias economic challenges. He has outlined a bold plan to boost economic growth and create jobs, with a particular emphasis on investing in agriculture and small businesses. The Presidents economic agenda also includes efforts to improve infrastructure, including roads and ports, which are critical for the countrys economic development.

Another key element of the Presidents reform agenda is good governance. Somalia has long been plagued by corruption and a lack of accountability, and the President has vowed to change this by promoting transparency and strengthening institutions.

He has launched initiatives to increase citizen participation in government, such as town hall meetings and public consultations, and has taken steps to strengthen the countrys anti-corruption agencies.

Meanwhile, his reform agenda has been widely applauded by both domestic and international observers.

Many see his initiatives as a much-needed breath of fresh air in a country that has been torn apart by conflict and instability for far too long. However, there are also concerns about the implementation of these ambitious reforms, given Somalias complex political landscape and the many obstacles that the government will need to overcome to achieve its goals.

Nonetheless,, Mr. Mohamuds grand reform agendas represent a bold and ambitious vision for the future of a long-troubled country. If successful, these initiatives could bring much-needed change and progress to Somalia, and could serve as a model for other countries facing similar challenges in the region and beyond.

I appreciate the Somali Presidents reform agenda because it has brought some positive changes to our country. said Hashi Warsame, a Mogadishu resident of the presidents reform agenda.

Its a step in the right direction for Somalias development and is necessary for us to move forward as a country. It has given me hope for the future of Somalia.

Despite facing an uphill task in his plans implementation, the president is optimistic about the realization of his aspirations. Hes also attracting a wider public support.

The Presidents reform agenda is ambitious, but I believe it is achievable if we work together as a nation. Mohamed Issa, a resident in the farming town of Afgoye, 30km north of the nations capital, Mogadishu said.

I am optimistic about the future of Somalia. Its s a bold move that shows his commitment to improving the lives of Somalis.

FOREIGN POLICY

Somalias President Hassan SheikhMohamud, has recently gained global support for his new foreign policy agenda.

In recent months, the President has been actively engaging with neighboring countries and world

powers to promote Somalias economic development, political stability, and security.

One of Mohamuds key foreign policy initiatives is the normalization of relations with neighboring countries, particularly Kenya and Ethiopia.

In November 2022, the president visited Kenya, where he met with President William Ruto to discuss the resumption of diplomatic relations and the promotion of trade and investment.

This was followed by a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in December 2022, where the two leaders discussed cooperation in the areas of security, trade, and infrastructure.

In addition to regional diplomacy, Mohamud has also been active in engaging with world powers.

In January 2023,, he met with the U.S President Joe Biden, where they discussed the promotion of security, trade and investment between Somalia and the United States. He also attended the United Nations General Assembly in February, where he called for increased international support for Somalias economic and security reforms.

Mr. Mohamuds foreign policy agenda has received widespread support from the international community.

The African Union, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have all expressed their support for Somalias efforts to promote economic development, political stability,and security.

The recent engagement with neighboring countries and world powers is seen as a positive step towards achieving these goals.

However, there are also some concerns about Somalias progress towards these goals.

Despite efforts to improve security, the country remains plagued by violence and instability, particularly in the form of attacks by Al-Shabaab militants.

Overall, President Mohamuds foreign policy agenda has been well-received by the international community, and his efforts to promote regional cooperation and international engagement are seen as positive steps towards achieving stability and prosperity in Somalia.

However, there are also challenges that need to be addressed, particularly in the areas of security and political stability.

Asad Omar

Asad.sherif@gmail.com
Somali Presidents battle to bring his country in from the cold

In a historic moment for Somalia, the country has elected a former president for the second time in May last year, sparking hope for the future and the possibility of meaningful reforms.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took the oath of office, promising to prioritize security, economic growth, and political stability.

Despite challenges, including security threats by the al-Shabab group, political corruption, and economic instability, many Somalis are optimistic about the future under president Mohamuds leadership. The new president has already taken steps to address corruption, including firing several high-ranking officials accused of embezzlement.

He is seen by many as a man with a reputation for being decisive and committed to making positive changes.

One of Mohamuds top priorities is improving security in the country, which has long been plagued by violence and terrorism. He has vowed to work closely with the international community to combat the threat posed by extremist groups like Al-Shabaab, while also tackling corruption and promoting good governance.

Since taking office in June last year, the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, is on a mission to transform his countrys future that has been plagued by years of conflict, terrorism, and poverty.

Under Mohamuds leadership, the government has also launched a new initiative to tackle corruption. This includes the re-establishment of an anti-corruption commission, which will investigate and prosecute officials who are found to be involved in corrupt activities. The move is seen as a major step forward in the fight against corruption, which has been a major problem in Somalia for many years.

In addition to his efforts to restore security and tackle corruption, the president has also been working to rebuild the countrys economy. This includes attracting foreign investment, creating jobs, and improving infrastructure. The government has already secured a $50 million loan from the African Development Bank to support these efforts.

Many Somalis are optimistic about the future under Mohamuds leadership.

We have been through so much in this country, but finally, we have a leader who is committed to making positive changes, said Ahmed, a resident of Mogadishu.

We are hopeful that things will continue to improve.

Despite the challenges that still lie ahead, there is a sense of renewed hope in Somalia under the new leadership. With his determination and commitment to change, many believe that he has the potential to transform the country and bring peace and prosperity to its people.

One of the key areas of focus for President Hassan Sheikh is the security.

Somalia has been plagued by violence and instability for decades, with various militant groups vying for control of the country. To address this, the new president has been working to strengthen the countrys security forces and promote cooperation between different regional authorities.

The results have been promising, with fewer attacks reported in recent months and a greater sense of stability across the country.

Another area of focus for President Mohamud is economic development.

Despite having a rich agricultural sector and abundant natural resources, Somalia has struggled to develop its economy due to years of conflict and instability. To address this, the new president has been working to attract foreign investment and promote entrepreneurship within the country.

He has also introduced policies aimed at creating jobs and boosting economic growth, such as the construction of new infrastructure and the expansion of the countrys ports and airports.

The new administrations efforts to improve education and healthcare in Somalia have also been noteworthy.

The president has allocated more resources to these sectors, with the goal of improving access to quality education and healthcare for all Somalis. This includes the construction of new schools and hospitals, as well as training programs for teachers and healthcare professionals.

Perhaps most notably, President Mohamud has been working to promote is the reconciliation and unity among Somalis.

The country has been torn apart by years of conflict and division, with different regions and clans often at odds with one another. However, President Hassan Sheikh has been working to promote dialogue and understanding between different groups, with the goal of fostering greater unity and cooperation across the country.

Despite facing uphill challenges in implementing his reform agenda, the presidents efforts to transform Somalia are bearing fruit.

The country is on a path towards greater stability and prosperity, thanks to the presidents vision and determination. said Sadiya Muse, a university student in Mogadishu.

If he continues on this path, Somalia could soon become a model for other countries looking to rebuild after years of conflict and instability.

Elected as the countrys president for the second time, the president remains optimistic about the future of Somalia, and is determined to push ahead with his reforms. He has urged all Somalis to work together to build a brighter future for the country, and has called on the international community to support his efforts.

FORGING AHEAD

Since ascending to power in May last year, Mr. Mohamud has positioned himself as a unifying national figure willing to challenge the status quo and bent on bringing his country in from the cold after decades of civil unrest and violence.

In a groundbreaking move, his new administration has brought a wave of hope and optimism to the country with a series of bold reforms and new legislative measures. The President, who took office mid last year, has already seen several key pieces of legislation adopted by the countrys parliament.

Among the most significant new laws is a sweeping anti-corruption measure that aims to crack down on the rampant corruption that has plagued Somalia for decades. The law includes strict penalties for public officials found guilty of accepting bribes or engaging in other corrupt activities, and increase transparency in government.

In addition to the anti-corruption measure, the new President has also pushed for a number of other important reforms, including efforts to strengthen the countrys economy, improve healthcare and education, and promote greater respect for human rights.

While there is still much work to be done, many Somalis are hopeful that this new era of reform and progress will help lift the country out of poverty and instability and bring about a brighter future for all.

The presidents grand & ambitious national agendas

Elected for the second time as the Somali president in May 2022, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was quick to outline and implement his domestic and foreign policies promising to bring the long-chaotic horn of Africa nation out of darkness.

Somalia was left in ruins, with a shattered economy, social divisions, and a traumatized population. Under Mohameds leadership, Somalia began undergoing a remarkable transformation, emerging from the darkness of war and insecurity to become one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa.

Mr. Mohamuds approach is focused on rebuilding Somalias institutions and establishing a sense of national unity. He prioritized security and stability, cracking down on corruption and investing in the military and police forces. He also established a system of community-based reconciliation programs.

Mohamud also implemented a number of policies and reforms aimed at spurring economic growth and development. He prioritized education, healthcare, and infrastructure, investing heavily in roads, schools, hospitals, and other public services.

He also implemented a range of economic policies designed to attract foreign investment, including tax incentives, streamlined bureaucracy, and support for entrepreneurship.

Here are some of the post-war Mohamud policies and reforms:

Reconciliation: Mohamuds government has focused on promoting national unity and reconciliation among the countrys communities. The government has implemented various programs to encourage dialogue and promote understanding between different communities, including joint national and community justice system, which aims to bring perpetrators of genocide to justice.

Economic development: Mohamud has prioritized economic development as a means to promote stability and reduce poverty in Somalia. The government has implemented various policies to attract foreign investment, promote entrepreneurship, and boost the countrys infrastructure, such as the construction of new roads and schools.

Education: Mohamuds government has placed a strong emphasis on education as a means to promote social and economic development.

The government has implemented various policies to improve access to education, including the provision of free primary education and the construction of new schools.

Healthcare: Mohamuds government has also prioritized healthcare as a means to improve the wellbeing of Somalis. The government has implemented various policies to improve access to healthcare, including the construction of new hospitals and health centers, and the provision of free healthcare for vulnerable populations.

Gender equality: Mohamuds government has placed a strong emphasis on promoting gender equality in Somalia. The government has implemented various policies to promote womens rights and increase womens participation in politics and decision-making processes.

Environmental protection: Mohamuds government has also prioritized environmental protection as a means to promote sustainable development in Somalia. The government has implemented various policies to promote conservation, including banning charcoal export and deforestations, and the promotion of sustainable agriculture practices.

Domestic Policies:

Creation of a Strong Federal Government: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud believed in the importance of a strong central government and worked to establish a federal government that was powerful enough to govern the country effectively.

Economic Policies: Hassan Sheikh was instrumental in establishing economic policies that already began to help create a strong economy for the country. He signed several economic and financial acts, which imposed tariffs on imported goods and encouraged the growth of the local economic growth. He also empowered the national bank, to continue strengthening monetary transmission effectiveness which helped to stabilize the countrys finances.

Maintaining Law and Order: Hassan Sheikh believes in the importance of maintaining law and order in the country.. His government has been working to train and equip its security forces, including the army and police, to better respond to threats and maintain law and order.

Fighting terrorism: Somalia has been battling terrorism for many years, and the government has been working to improve intelligence gathering, disrupt terrorist networks, and bring perpetrators to justice.

Addressing corruption: Corruption has been a major issue in Somalia, undermining the countrys stability and hindering progress. The government has taken steps to combat corruption, such as passing anti-corruption laws, establishing an anti-corruption commission, and investigating and prosecuting corrupt officials.

Political reforms: The Somali government has also been working to implement political reforms to address grievances and promote inclusion. For example, it has worked to promote decentralization, and address the concerns of minority groups.

Foreign Policies:

Neutrality: Hassan Sheikh believes that Somalia should remain neutral in foreign conflicts and avoid entangling alliances that could drag the country into regional rivalries.

Despite these achievements, Mohamuds government is struggling to liberate the country from the terrorist groups, his leadership has undoubtedly continues to play a key role in bringing Somalia out of the darkness of war and setting it on a path towards prosperity and development.
Two sources from the UGTT instructed Reuters on Friday that the hard-left CGT union had elected its first feminine president.

Sophie Binet, 41, was elected basic secretary as a shock compromise candidate after a protracted night time of deliberation, forward of Marie Buisson, who was backed by outgoing chief Felipe Martinez, and Celine Verzelletti, who was backed by a extra hardline faction. the Union.

The CGT press service mentioned it couldnt affirm Binets election so long as its members had not been knowledgeable.

Binet, a former superintendent of the varsity, is the chair of the UGICT division of the CGT representing engineers, managers and technical employees and has been accountable for fairness points on the unions govt committee.

She is taking issues into her personal arms as commerce unions in France have been locked in a months-long standoff with President Emmanuel Macron over pension reform.

The CGT, Frances second largest union, has fashioned a united entrance with the extra reasonable CFDT  for the primary time in years  to dam the federal governments deliberate enhance of the two-year retirement age to 64. Since January, the unions have staged a number of days of strikes and demonstrations nationwide involving thousands and thousands of individuals. .

Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne has prolonged an invite to unions for talks early subsequent week, however the UGTT has not but mentioned whether or not it can attend. Unions mentioned they didnt need to talk about additional labor points with the federal government if Macron didnt withdraw pension reform.

(Reuters)
Italys information safety authority on Friday quickly banned OpenAIs ChatGPT chatbot and launched an investigation over a suspected breach of the AI softwares information assortment guidelines.

The company, also referred to as Garante, has accused Microsoft Corp-backed ChatGPT of failing to age-verify its customers whore imagined to be 13 or older.

Garante stated that ChatGPT has the absence of any authorized foundation to justify the large assortment and storage of non-public information to prepare the chatbot. OpenAI has 20 days to reply with treatments or danger a effective of as much as 4% of its annual worldwide gross sales.

OpenAI didnt instantly reply to a request for remark.

ChatGPT was nonetheless answering questions posted to the platform by Italian customers on Friday night.

A spokesperson for the authority stated the corporate was knowledgeable of the choice on Friday morning and it was nearly not possible to drag the plug on arrival in Italy that very same day, however we count on them to take action by Saturday.

In the event that they ignore the ban, the authority can impose fines, the spokesperson stated.

Italy, which quickly restricted ChatGPTs use of non-public information of native customers, has grow to be the primary Western nation to take motion towards an AI-powered chatbot.

The chatbot can also be not accessible in mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran, Russia and elements of Africa the place residents cant create OpenAI accounts.

Since its launch final 12 months, ChatGPT has set off a expertise craze, prompting rivals to launch comparable merchandise and corporations to combine it or comparable applied sciences into their purposes and merchandise.

The speedy improvement of expertise has attracted the eye of legislators in lots of nations. Many consultants say new laws are wanted to regulate AI due to its potential affect on nationwide safety, jobs, and schooling.

The European Fee, which is debating EU legislation on synthetic intelligence, is probably not tempted to ban AI, European Fee Government Vice President Margrethe Vestager tweeted.

It doesnt matter what expertise we use, we now have to proceed to advance our freedoms and defend our rights. That is why we do not regulate #AI applied sciences, we regulate makes use of of #AI, she stated. Lets not throw away in a number of years what took a long time to construct.

The European Fee didnt reply to a request for remark.

On Wednesday, Elon Musk and a gaggle of AI consultants and business executives known as for a six-month pause in growing methods extra highly effective than OpenAIs newly launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential dangers to society.

OpenAI has not offered particulars on the way it will prepare its AI mannequin.

The dearth of transparency is the actual drawback, stated Joanna Bjorklund, an AI researcher and affiliate professor at Umea College in Sweden. In the event you do analysis on AI, you must be very clear about the way you do it,

ChatGPT is estimated to have reached 100 million month-to-month energetic customers in January, simply two months after its launch, making it the fastest-growing client app in historical past, in accordance with a research revealed by UBS final month.

(Reuters)
No less than 35 folks have been killed in a temple collapse in India

The demise toll from a Hindu temple ground collapse in India rose to 35 on Friday as rescue operations continued, a neighborhood official informed AFP.

Dozens of devotees celebrating a serious spiritual pageant on Thursday rushed into the stairwell  a communal water supply lined with stairs  after the ground overlaying it collapsed within the central metropolis of Indore.

Ilayaraja T. stated: Thirty-five individuals are useless and one is lacking and rescue operations are nonetheless underway, the Indore district Justice of the Peace informed AFP by phone.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on Thursday that he was deeply distressed by the information of the accident.

The state authorities is main the rescue and aid work at a fast tempo, he added. My prayers are with all these affected and their households.

Modis workplace stated compensation funds of 200,000 rupees ($2,400) could be given to subsequent of kin.

Narottam Mishra, the house minister of Madhya Pradesh state, informed reporters that an investigation has been launched into the incident.

Police official Manish Kapuria informed AFP that rescue efforts have been persevering with and that the injured have been being taken to authorities hospitals for remedy.

Tv footage confirmed emergency staff utilizing ropes and ladders to achieve folks trapped within the properly in Madhya Pradesh state.

Different movies confirmed the collapsed ground and mangled metal bars in addition to law enforcement officials utilizing ropes to seal off the realm.

Temples throughout India have been full of devotees on the event of Ram Navami, the birthday of the Hindu god Lord Ram.

Deadly accidents are widespread at locations of worship in India throughout main spiritual ceremonies.

No less than 112 folks died in 2016 after an enormous explosion brought on by a banned fireworks show at a temple to mark the Hindu New 12 months.

The blast ripped via concrete buildings and ignited a hearth in a Hindu temple advanced in Kerala state the place 1000s had gathered.

One other 115 devotees died in 2013 after a stampede at a bridge close to a temple in Madhya Pradesh state.

As many as 400,000 folks gathered within the space, and the stampede occurred after a rumor unfold that the bridge was about to break down.

(AFP)
Turkeys parliament on Thursday ratified Finlands request to affix NATO, lifting the ultimate hurdle in the best way of the Scandinavian nations long-delayed accession to the Western army alliance.

All 276 lawmakers current voted in favor of Finlands request, days after the Hungarian parliament additionally authorised Helsinkis accession.

Welcoming Turkeys motion, NATO Secretary Basic Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter: This can make the complete NATO household stronger and safer.

Fearing a Russian invasion of Ukraine a yr in the past, Finland and Sweden deserted their decades-old coverage of non-alignment and utilized to affix the coalition.

Full unanimity is required to confess new members to the 30-member alliance. Turkey and Hungary had been the final two NATO members to ratify Finlands accession.

In the meantime, Swedens bid to affix the alliance was left hanging, with each Turkey and Hungary holding out on giving it the inexperienced mild regardless of expressing help for NATO enlargement.

The Turkish authorities accuses Sweden of being too lenient with teams it considers terrorist organizations and safety threats, together with militant Kurdish teams and other people linked to the 2016 coup try.

Lately, Turkey has been enraged by a collection of demonstrations in Sweden, together with one by an anti-Islam activist who burned a Quran outdoors the Turkish embassy.

The Hungarian authorities claims that some Swedish politicians have made sarcastic remarks in regards to the state of democracy in Hungary and have performed an energetic position in guaranteeing that billions in EU funds are frozen over alleged violations of the rule of legislation and democracy.

Turkish officers stated that not like Sweden, Finland has fulfilled its obligations below a memorandum signed final yr by which the 2 nations pledged to handle Turkeys safety issues.

As a member of NATO, we naturally had some expectations and requests relating to the safety issues of our nation, Akif Cagatay Kilic, a lawmaker from President Recep Tayyip Erdogans ruling social gathering, advised parliament earlier than the vote. The steps and their implementation by Finland, which supported and formed the choice we make right here.

Kilic added, I notice that there are numerous individuals watching us from Finland.  We will inform them: Welcome to NATO.

Some opposition events criticized the Turkish authoritiess stance in direction of the 2 northern nations.

Sadly, (Erdogans ruling social gathering) has turned the membership vetoes of Finland and Sweden right into a instrument of blackmail and intimidation. We do not agree with that, stated Hisar Osoy, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish social gathering. We discover the bargaining course of (to press for) handover Dissident Kurdish writers, politicians and journalists are ugly, unsuitable and unlawful.

Requested earlier this week about Swedens membership in NATO, Erdogan advised reporters: There are specific issues we anticipate from them. They should be achieved first.

Sweden, which has made constitutional adjustments to move harder anti-terror legal guidelines, hopes it could possibly take part earlier than the NATO summit in July in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Sweden faces extra vital hurdles in its bid, Hamish Kinnear, Center East and North Africa analyst in danger intelligence agency Verisk Maplecroft, wrote in emailed feedback.

Turkey is unlikely to agree to just accept it within the coalition earlier than the elections in Might. The incident of the Quran burning sparked public outrage in Turkey, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wont need to danger angering his conservative base forward of the elections.

The accession of Finland, which has a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia, is of geopolitical significance to NATO, stated Maja Cross, a professor of political science at Northeastern College.

Finland is in a vital strategic place and having this type of shift from neutrality to responding to Russian aggression strengthens NATOs present of political will, she stated.

Kroos added that the delay gave Finland extra alternative to arrange.

Finland is already sitting in conferences with NATO. It is already engaged on renewing its armed forces. So when it will get concerned in NATO formally, it could possibly actually hit the bottom working, she stated.

(AP)
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( Tomdispatch.com)  Heres something we seldom focus on when it comes to war, American-style, even during the just-passed 20th anniversary of our disastrous invasion of Iraq: many more soldiers survive armed conflict than die from it. This has been especially so during this countrys twenty-first-century War on Terror, which is still playing out in all too many lands globally.

And heres something to add to that reality: even though many more soldiers survive, they do so with ever more injuries of various sorts  conditions that the Veterans Affairs (VA) and military doctors euphemistically call polytrauma. For some of this, you can thank ever-more-sophisticated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other gems of modern warfare like smart suicide bombs that can burn, blind, deafen, or mutilate soldiers bodies, while traumatizing their brains in myriad ways, some of which will not be evident until months or years later.

The U.S. Department of Defenses wartime casualty count provides just a glimpse of this disparity between injuries and deaths  about eight wounded for every one killed, according to its figures  because it totes up only those troops and contractors whose deaths and wounds can be traced back to their time in war zones like Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere. The Pentagon doesnt include in its tallies those whose injuries either happened or only became apparent off the battlefields of Americas wars, who, for instance, suffer from breathing problems thanks to the toxic burn pits the Pentagon established to dispose of garbage in Iraq or from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic pain. After all, the suicide rate of veterans is 1.5 times higher than that of the general population.

Such casualty criteria suggest that the U.S. government has many more veterans of its post-9/11 wars to care for than it has ever acknowledged. Those would also include people who have never seen combat but lived through the relentless pace and pressure of deployments or even simply the brutal hazing in many commands in todays overstretched military.

In short, Americas veterans need all the help they can get and, as yet, theres no evidence its coming their way.

All told today, more than 40% of post-9/11 veterans have some sort of officially recognized disability  compared with less than 25% of those from prior wars. That number is expected to rise to 54% over the course of the next 30 years. Those veterans are also using VA medical services at unprecedented rates, yet they often need to wait weeks to access much-needed care.

The Personal Battles We Dont See

As a military spouse of 10 years, a clinical social worker serving veterans and active-duty military families, and a co-founder of Brown Universitys Costs of War Project, Ive spoken to hundreds of veterans and active-duty service members over the years. They regularly describe gaps in the kind of medical care and social support they so desperately need. Often, private charities fill in where state assistance is lacking.

Among the examples Ive encountered would be the Air Force Reserve officer who relied on donations and food banks to feed his family; the former Marine infantryman who found a physical therapist for his never-ending back pain and mobility issues thanks only to a chance encounter at a farmers market; and the Navy ensign, less than honorably discharged with bad papers, who got treatment only through a local Alcoholics Anonymous group. And just beyond the frame of such (relatively) happy endings lie significant holes in government support for the health of our veterans.

Also common in military communities are the family members and loved ones who leave their jobs to travel with wounded or ill service members to find help or devote enormous amounts of time to assisting with their daily care. Consider, for instance, the single mother who left her two younger children on their own in California so that she could be with her war-injured son while he recovered at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. Think of the kids who watch television and play video games all afternoon, because their mother needs to drive their war-traumatized father to appointments. Caregivers like them sacrifice more than they should for their loved ones and their country. In return, they are offered next to no recognition, nor even protection from the violence that is not uncommon in such military families.

In most prior major wars, the draft helped ensure the presence of more support personnel for active-duty troops and veterans, while more Americans then knew someone who had served. Twenty-first-century America has settled for a society characterized by less knowledge of  and support for  its veteran community. Civilians (mostly women, of course) often pick up the slack, even as they are expected (along with their husbands) to smoothly reintegrate into civilian life after serving in the armed forces.

The VA Caregiver Program

The government is not entirely indifferent to the plight of family members who give up their livelihoods to care for our wounded. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that set in motion the VA Caregiver Program, a series of supports for families already dealing with the most injured or ill post-9/11 veterans. The program includes a stipend, travel reimbursement, special healthcare services, and training for these caregivers. Over time, it was expanded for veterans of other eras and their loved ones, while the criteria for being a paid caregiver came to include anyone living with a veteran full-time. The establishment of that Caregiver Program crucially recognized the family as an integral part of the echelons of private contractors brought in to support the War on Terror, even if wives, mothers, and relatives were not nearly as handsomely paid as their defense contractor peers.

Unfortunately, good things only last so long! In late 2021, the VA announced that it would conduct an audit of the nearly 20,000 families of post-9/11 veterans receiving stipends and services under the program, based on a new more stringent set of requirements. Those rules stipulated that veterans whose loved ones were enrolled be totally unable to perform at least one of the tasks of daily living like getting dressed, bathing, eating, or simply moving around.

While the VA initially projected that about a third of the legacy families previously covered by the program would lose their benefits in the new care environment, it soon became clear that many more  nearly 90% of those reviewed  might be found ineligible. After a series of court challenges and interventions by veterans groups, the Caregiver Program suspended its audit in early 2022 and agreed to reexamine its rulemaking.

This February, however, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal brought by advocates for veterans challenging the absence of caregiver input in the review process and a lack of attention to the particularities of what each veteran actually needs. In the meantime, as with so many other aspects of military life, all too many veterans and their families who have relied on this support see their futures hanging by a thread.

The War on Terrors Lasting Human Costs

We Americans tend to look the other way when the government places a relatively small number of us in harms way  though we were talking about 170,000 American troops in Iraq alone in 2007! Today, most of us undoubtedly think the War on Terror is over. When President George W. Bushs administration first received congressional authorization to attack Afghanistan and then Iraq, essentially obtaining blank checks for years to come, generations of Americans, many from lower-income and minority communities, were consigned to endless fighting and  no kidding!  hundreds of thousands of them to futures of injury and social isolation.

Lack of support for such future veterans was seeded into the process from the outset, since the Bush administration never set aside money to cover the long-term expenses of caring for them, nor did Congress ever fully account for such future costs that could, in the end, reach  a Costs of War Project estimate  $2.2 trillion. Its not clear where that money will come from, let alone how well recruit and train enough healthcare providers and support staff for a pandemic-ravaged medical system.

As a military spouse and mental healthcare provider myself, I face the apathy of our government on a regular basis. My spouse is about to end 20 years in the military and, with some trepidation, I anticipate the long wait times and bureaucratic red tape that I know all too well have been faced by so many others in his position.

My experiences as a therapist do little to counter such realities. More than three months ago, I called the provider services department of the VAs Community Care Network. It contracts with non-military healthcare givers so that veterans can seek services outside of VA facilities if they choose to do so. After the representative I spoke with confirmed that there was a need for more mental health providers in my region, she took down my name and contact information, telling me that someone would call back to do an intake interview with me within 10 days.

More than 100 days and three follow-up phone calls later, Im still waiting. So is a colleague I know with decades of experience navigating Americas labyrinthine mental-health insurance system. Most major insurance companies do have standardized online forms that can digitally accept intakes from credential providers. (Indeed, all that is necessary is less than a page-worth of demographic and tax-related information.) No such entry point exists in my regional VA system  and mind you, I live just a stones throw from the Pentagon.

For every VA staff member keeping a seat warm who stands between veterans and those qualified to provide for their care, there is at least one untrained, stressed-out family member forced to work at little or no cost. Believe me, its difficult to witness the stress of a loved one facing a momentous transition, while knowing that the policymakers once so prepared to place them in harms way are now remarkably unprepared to care for them when they are no longer of direct use.

United We Fall?

Youd like to think  wouldnt you?  that people are what Americans most want to invest in to secure a livable future for our country, let alone humanity as a whole. Again and again, facing needs ranging from healthcare to hunger to unfettered environmental degradation wrought by our own military and government, our congressional representatives seem ready to commit to little more than ever greater weapons production on a multi-year basis.

Lack of support for veterans is but part of this larger social vacuum. In my family, at least, a fear of far worse lurks all too close at hand (including that our country might end up in a future apocalyptic nuclear tit-for-tat with Vladimir Putins maniacal Russian government). Even without such futuristic horror, the living conditions of the vulnerable among us who have survived our own nightmarish wars should serve as a warning that, if we continue to be so unprepared to care for those who tried to serve us, not much worth fighting for will remain.

My spouse and I like to torture ourselves weekly by watching the apocalyptic sci-fi television series The Last of Us in which pandemic-stricken zombies and violence by our own troops reduce this country to a series of military-led quarantine zones reserved for a privileged few. In one scene, a general in charge of one of those zones warns an unruly teenage recruit that her best bet for a decent existence is to become an officer in his government. Spoiler alert: she ends up getting kidnapped by resistance fighters who try to use her to find a cure for the pandemic virus circulating in that world. In the end, she buys into the dream of a decent future made possible by science and acts on it herself. Youll have to watch to find out more, but her caring decision to pursue whats best for us all left my spouse and me feeling remarkably upbeat in such a downbeat world.

I suspect that if we do want a better world, the rest of us will have to act like that young heroine who risks life and limb for the good of us all. My version of that dream would start with urging our government to do everything possible to ensure that we invest more in human beings instead of the next round of weaponry, including the world-ending variety of them.

A recent New York Times op-ed marveled that Americans today dont seem to fear nuclear weapons as they once did, even though we fear so many other things from viruses to disinformation to climate change. Paradoxically, I suspect that such an oversight is caused, at least in part, by this countrys seemingly never-ending commitment to funding an ever-vaster military and its weaponry instead of education, healthcare, infrastructure, and jobs, not to speak of the veterans we dispatched into that nightmarish war on terror without making a commitment to truly support them.

Isnt it time that we begin pushing our congressional representatives (small hope, sadly enough!) to set in motion policies that would uplift us all, including those veterans, instead of pouring yet more staggering sums into a military thats only sent so many of us to hell and back in this century?

Copyright 2023 Andrea Mazzarino

Via Tomdispatch.com
Despite supply-chain problems amid the lingering effects of the pandemic, 2022 saw major increases in solar and wind power in the United States, though that growth varied by state, according to a report released last month by a nonprofit focused on climate change.

Minnesota top 10 in wind

Nationally, electricity generated from solar and wind grew 16% from 2021, with wind accounting for about 74% of that, per Climate Centrals WeatherPower Year in Review: 2022 report.

The New Jersey-based group analyzed data from its WeatherPower tool, which combines data on installed solar and wind facilities with observed and forecast weather information to create predictions of daily wind and solar generation by state, county, media market or congressional district in the lower 48 states. Alaska and Hawaii were not included because of data limitations, the report says. (However, Yales Climate Connections broke down 2021 numbers on where electricity generated in all 50 states comes from).

President Joe Bidens administration has set a goal of a 100% clean electric grid by 2035 and net zero carbon emissions for the entire U.S. economy by 2050. As of November, 36 states and the District of Columbia have established a renewable energy goal or a renewable portfolio standard, which generally requires electric suppliers to provide customers a minimum share of electricity from renewable sources..

We wanted to help people understand how much renewable energy is being used, how it has grown and how much more it needs to grow in order to help meet climate goals, said Jen Brady, manager of analysis and production for Climate Central. In particular we discussed the climate goal of reaching net-zero emissions in the U.S.

If historic trends continue, Brady said, the U.S. will fall short of those goals, though taking into account data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on approved renewable projects, we are seeing an increase in renewables that could lead us to satisfying net-zero goals.

The electric power sector accounts for about a third of U.S. carbon emissions, which makes decarbonizing power production key to mitigating the effects of climate change. Though U.S. energy-related carbon emissions increased in 2021 by about 6% over 2020, that followed a rise in economic activity and energy consumption once the initial economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic began to subside, according to the U.S. EIA. Despite the increase, 2021 emissions were still lower than 2019 by about 5%, and 19% lower than the 2007 historical peak, the EIA said.

Solar and wind are expected to together account for 16% of total U.S. electric power generation in 2023, up from 14% in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. All told, the Climate Central report says, the 683,130 gigawatt hours generated across the country from wind and solar were enough to power 64 million average American households, defined as a residential customer who uses about 886 kilowatt hours per month.

But there can be big differences as far as whats being built in individual states. And to understand the Climate Central findings, its crucial to know two different electric industry terms: capacity and generation. Capacity, measured in megawatts, is a measure of the maximum output of a given electric generation plant under optimal conditions, like strong winds or full sun. Generation, measured in megawatt hours, is how much electricity is actually produced.

Texas led the nation in both wind capacity (nearly 37,400 megawatts) as well as actual generation (nearly 130 million megawatt hours). California led the nation in installed solar capacity (about 28,500 megawatts) and solar generation (nearly 59 million megawatt hours). Texas was also second place in both categories in solar, though Florida, North Carolina and Arizona were also in the top five for solar generation. In wind capacity and generation, Iowa and Oklahoma followed Texas.

In a different analysis, the American Clean Power Association, an industry group, said 18 states installed more wind, solar or battery storage in 2022 than in 2021. Six states that installed no new capacity in 2021  Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire and Tennessee  installed new capacity in 2022, the group said, noting that Mississippi, Washington and Hawaii saw the highest growth in annual installations from 2021 to 2022. The association said the top states for renewable projects in development are, from biggest to smallest, Texas, California, New York, Indiana, Virginia, Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, Ohio and New Jersey.

Certain locations are more suitable to certain types of renewable energy, said Brady. With the exception of offshore wind, which may increase wind power in smaller states along the East Coast, it is reasonable to expect places with more open land (and more wind) to install more wind turbines. Solar is a bit more universal, but locations still may weigh its suitability versus using more wind power, for example.

Solar and wind are expected to together account for 16% of total U.S. electric power generation in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Photo by Robert Zullo/ States Newsroom. To achieve 100% clean energy by 2035, solar and wind need to provide 60% to 80% of U.S. electric generation, according to a least-cost scenario modeled by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Big transmission upgrades are also required, mostly to bring electricity from wind-rich but sparsely populated areas to big urban and suburban areas with large electric demand. To achieve those levels would require rapid and sustained growth in installations of solar and wind generation capacity, the report says. In 2022, wind provided a little more than 10% of U.S. electricity, while solar supplied 3.4%, per the EIA. Top 10 states for wind and solar capacity in 2022 *Does not include Alaska or Hawaii Solar 1. California 28,493 megawatts 2. Texas 12,702 megawatts 3. Florida 7,170 megawatts 4. North Carolina 6,242 megawatts 5. Arizona 4,841 megawatts 6. Nevada 4,210 megawatts 7. Georgia 3,323 megawatts 8. Virginia 3,260 megawatts 9. New Jersey 2,954 megawatts 10. Massachusetts 2,731 megawatts Wind 1. Texas 37,365 megawatts 2. Iowa 12,259 megawatts 3. Oklahoma 11,715 megawatts 4. Kansas 8,261 megawatts 5. Illinois 7,057 megawatts 6. California 6,269 megawatts 7. Colorado 5,177 megawatts 8. Minnesota 4,710 megawatts 9. New Mexico 4,410 megawatts 10. North Dakota 4,333 megawatts Source: Climate Central, WeatherPower Year in Review: 2022
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By Roodabeh Dehghani, LUniversite dOttawa/University of Ottawa | 

Since the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in September 2022, much has been said and written about the protests in Iran. Amini died while in the custody of Irans morality police. She was arrested for supposedly wearing her hijab incorrectly.

Her death triggered widespread protests against the morality police, the government and a host of other issues facing the country. A recurrent theme of discussion surrounding the protest movement has focused on its so-called secular nature.

Why secularism is problematic

In December 2022 TIME magazine published a piece written by Iranian-American writer Azadeh Moaveni who characterized the uprising in Iran as educated, liberal and secular. Other commentators have pointed out that protesters have not used religious slogans. This differentiates this protest movement from previous ones. It is secular in nature and therefore, historically significant.

In January 2023 I attended a symposium at the University of Toronto called Women, Life, Liberty: Irans democratic future in which the protests were described by some commentators as secular. For example, in one of the panels called A Charter of Rights for a Democratic and Pluralistic Iran, secularism was described as one of the common demands of the Iranian people whether they joined the street protests or not.



Photo by Thiago Rocha on Unsplash

These kinds of statements are meant to demonstrate the extent to which the political regime is rejected by Iranians. The assumption underpinning this narrative is that the governments ideology stands in opposition to the secular views of most Iranians.

One of the most important, and challenging, narratives on secularism is the belief that European secularism is a global tendency, and that secularism is incompatible with religion.

In the West, secularism is closely tied to the removal of religion from public spaces, and the decline in its influence on social and behavioural practices. For example, in France, the government has created a new Forum on Islam to reshape Islam in the country. The forum is made up of Muslim figures handpicked by the government. Examples like these are not about a separation of the state from religion. Rather they are about increasing the states control over religion and religious institutions.

However, using the term secularism, especially in this sense, does not necessarily help us understand what is happening in Iran today. These narratives are often based on conventional meaning of secularism. Consequently, they do not necessarily resonate well with the views and demands of Iranian people.

Rejecting state control of religion

The protests in Iran are about rejecting the states regulation of religiosity in public life, and not about rejecting religion in Iranian society.

Narratives that put secularism against religiosity contrast with the images and chants that have emerged from the protests in Iran. In November 2022 one video clip from the protests showed women in chadors marching on the streets chanting Go ahead for revolution with or without hijab. Western conceptions of secularism cannot explain images of chador-wearing women taking part in protests against the Iranian government.

But views on secularism in Iran vary considerably. Political scientist Nader Hashemi argues that the desire for secularism has emerged within the civil society among intellectuals, Iranian youth and the urban middle class who are disillusioned with the government.

Iranian-American writer Dina Nayeri and others have argued that there is a decline of religious beliefs and practices among Iranians. In other words, that Iran is undergoing a process of secularization.

On the other hand, sociologist Abdolmohammad Kazemipur suggested that the state has gone through a secularization process for pragmatic reasons. He states that in post-revolution Iran, the state itself has moved to a more secular political philosophy as a pragmatic response to political pressures.

The types of people and groups that have been involved in the protests suggest that the movement transcends debates around secularism versus religion. The protests were sparked by the morality polices treatment of Amini. But many other issues have been raised by protesters including corruption, alarming unemployment, failed international policies and oppression of minorities.

Protests have also taken place in Sistan and Baluchestan, a southeastern province populated by many Sunnis. Those protests have received support from the local Sunni Imam Molavi Abdolhamid.

A recent study shows considerable change in Iranians religiosity. Around 40 per cent of the participants still self-identified as Muslim and 78 per cent said they believed in God. The study also showed that 72 per cent of participants are against mandatory hijab laws.

Religion still remains an important dimension of Iranian life. And religious segments of Iranian society have been expressing their solidarity with the protests.

How can we make sense of these facts about the situation in Iran? Secularism as a label cannot fully explain the ongoing situation in Iran. Instead, the protest movement in Iran is a rejection of the states control over how people express their religious beliefs.

Roodabeh Dehghani, PhD candidate, LUniversite dOttawa/University of Ottawa

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
(All monetary figures in this news release are expressed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated)

TORONTO, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dundee Precious Metals Inc. (TSX: DPM) (DPM or the Company) is pleased to provide an updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimate for the Chelopech mine in Bulgaria.

Highlights

Mine life extended to 2031: Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 1.6 million ounces (Moz.) of gold and 312 million pounds (Mlbs.) of copper supports a mine life that now extends to 2031. In 2022, DPM successfully added approximately 1.1 million tonnes (Mt) to Mineral Reserves, replacing about half of its 2022 production depletion of 2.1 Mt.

Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 1.6 million ounces (Moz.) of gold and 312 million pounds (Mlbs.) of copper supports a mine life that now extends to 2031. In 2022, DPM successfully added approximately 1.1 million tonnes (Mt) to Mineral Reserves, replacing about half of its 2022 production depletion of 2.1 Mt. Growth of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource base: Total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources, exclusive of Mineral Reserves, of 1.3 Moz. of gold and 281 Mlbs. of copper add further potential to extend mine life.

Total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources, exclusive of Mineral Reserves, of 1.3 Moz. of gold and 281 Mlbs. of copper add further potential to extend mine life. Additional potential with in-mine and brownfield exploration: Significant drilling program planned for 2023, including 44,000 metres of in-mine drilling for Mineral Resource development, and 50,000 metres of brownfield drilling, focused on infill drilling at the Sharlo Dere prospect and conceptual targets on the mine concession and Brevene exploration licence.

The updated Mineral Reserve estimate demonstrates our consistent track record of replacing Mineral Reserves at Chelopech, said David Rae, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dundee Precious Metals.

With mining now expected to extend into 2031, a strong Mineral Resource base and increased in-mine and brownfield exploration drilling, we believe there is strong potential for this trend to continue at Chelopech.

Updated Mineral Reserve and Resource Estimate

The 2022 Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimate is based on a net smelter return (NSR) equation that informs a profitability indicator that considers, among other things, metal price, metallurgical recoveries, treatment charges and market forecasts.

The updated Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves at Chelopech of 1.55 Moz. of gold and 311.5 Mlbs. of copper support a nine-year mine life that extends to 2031, excluding expected further conversions of existing Mineral Resources and potential additional exploration success.

The updated Mineral Reserves estimate is shown below and is effective as of December 31, 2022:

Chelopech Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve Estimate

(As at December 31, 2022) Ore Type Reserve

Classification Tonnes

(Mt) Grades Metal Content Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Au (Moz.) Ag (Moz.) Cu (Mlbs.) General



Proven 8.1 2.47 6.8 0.78 0.65 1.77 140.1 Probable 9.5 2.70 8.1 0.81 0.82 2.48 168.8 Block 700 Probable 0.1 4.13 113.1 0.03 0.02 0.47 0.1 Block 152 Probable 0.5 4.04 4.3 0.23 0.06 0.07 2.5 All



Proven 8.1 2.47 6.8 0.78 0.65 1.77 140.1 Probable 10.1 2.78 9.3 0.77 0.90 3.01 171.4 Total 18.2 2.64 8.2 0.77 1.55 4.78 311.5

Footnotes:

The Mineral Reserves disclosed herein have been estimated in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (the CIM Definition Standards, adopted by CIM Council on May 10, 2014). Mineral Reserves have been depleted for mining as of December 31, 2022. The Inferred Mineral Resources do not contribute to the financial performance of the project and are treated in the same way as waste. The reference point at which the Mineral Reserves are defined is where the ore is delivered to the crusher. Long term metal prices assumed for the evaluation of the Mineral Reserves are $1,500/oz. for gold, $17.00/oz. for silver, and $3.25/lb. for copper. Mineral Reserves are based on a net smelter return-less-costs cut-off value of $0/t. The total cost applied was $55/t which is a sum of operational costs of approximately $50/t and sustaining capital of $5/t. All blocks include a complex NSR formula that differs for the three ore types within the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource. The NSR formula utilizes long-term metal prices, metallurgical recoveries, payability terms, treatment charges, refining charges, penalty charges (deleterious arsenic), concentrate transport costs, and royalties. For clarity of understanding of ore value, a simplified formula is presented here that correlates to the complex formula for the average head grade. The simplified formula for general ore which comprises 97% of the Mineral Reserve is NSR $/t = 26.091 x Cu% + 0.196 x Ag_g//t + 30.773 x Au_g/t. Mineral Reserves account for unplanned mining dilution and ore loss that varies by orebody dimension and experience per mining block area, which on average were 8.1% for unplanned ore loss and 7.3% for unplanned dilution. Mineral Reserves account for planned mining dilution and mining recovery through stope optimization and stope design. The stopes are optimized to maximize net cash flow within the constraints of dilution and orebody extractable geometry. The planned dilution and recovery depend on geotechnical, mineralization continuity controls and ore zone dimensions. All stopes have been verified that they are profitable after considering the cost of capital development. There is no known likely value of mining, metallurgical, infrastructure, permitting or other relevant factors that could materially affect the estimate. The final one and a half years of operation occurs after the expiry of the mining concession contract. It is the opinion of DPM that the mining permit will be extended. The Proven Mineral Reserve includes broken stocks of 58 kt at 2.54 g/t Au, 5.4 g/t Ag and 0.64% Cu as well as stockpiles of 5 kt at 3.74 g/t Au, 5.0 g/t Ag and 0.75% Cu. Sum of individual table values may not equal due to rounding.

A three-dimensional block model using 10 metres (E) x 10 metres (N) x 10 metres (RL) cell dimensions was created. This model honours wireframe volumes and was based on geological interpretations of the mineralization. Grade estimation of economic elements of interest, namely copper, gold and silver were completed, with the addition of potentially deleterious elements (sulphur and arsenic) using ordinary kriging. Block tonnage was estimated from the material in-situ dry bulk density values by using ordinary kriging where adequate density samples were available, and from the positive relationship to sulphur grade where density sampling was limited.

The Mineral Resource estimate has been depleted by all mining and development work completed as of December 31, 2022 and is reported using a NSR calculation based on assumed long-term metal prices, current operating costs and metal revenue to meet the reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction criteria.

Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources, exclusive of Mineral Reserves, increased by 2.7Mt compared with 2021, as a result of changes to NSR parameters, grade estimation and interpretation, partly offset by conversion to Mineral Reserves.

The Mineral Resource estimate is shown below and is effective as at December 31, 2022:

Chelopech Mineral Resource Estimate, exclusive of Mineral Reserves

(As at December 31, 2022) Classification Tonnes Gold Silver Copper (Mt) Grade (g/t) Moz. Grade (g/t) Moz. Grade (%) Mlbs. Measured 8.5 2.54 0.695 8.57 2.344 0.83 156 Indicated 7.9 2.39 0.609 10.06 2.566 0.71 125 Total Measured & Indicated 16.4 2.47 1.303 9.29 4.909 0.78 281 Inferred 4.4 1.93 0.276 8.57 1.225 0.70 69

Footnotes:

The Mineral Resources disclosed herein have been estimated in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (CIM, 2014). Tonnages are rounded to the nearest 0.1 million tonnes to reflect that this is an estimate. Metal content is rounded to the nearest 1 thousand ounces or 1 million pounds to reflect that this is an estimate. The Mineral Resources are reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves. Metal prices assumed for the evaluation of the Mineral Resources are $1,700/oz. for gold, $17.00/oz. for silver, and $3.75/lb. for copper. Mineral Resources are based on a NSR less costs cut-off value of US$0/t in support of reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction. The total cost applied was approximately $55/t which is a sum of operational costs of approximately $50/t and sustaining capital of approximately $5/t. All blocks include a complex NSR (Net Smelter Return) formula that differs for the three ore types. The NSR formula utilises long term metal price, metallurgical recoveries, payability terms. treatment charges, refining charges, penalty charges, concentrate transport costs, and royalties. For clarity of understanding of ore value, a simplified formula is presented here for the Measured and Indicated Resource where NSR US$/t = 33.870 x Cu % + 0.171 x Ag g/t + 37.937 x Au g/t.

Life of Mine Plan

The table below shows the updated LOM plan, reflecting the updated Mineral Reserve estimate. The updated LOM plan adds approximately 24,000 oz. of gold production and 9 Mlbs. of copper production between 2023 and 2031, relative to the previous mine plan outlined in the news release Dundee Precious Metals Provides Updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates for the Chelopech Mine in Bulgaria dated March 31, 2022.

The tables below show the current LOM plan compared to the previous 2022 LOM plan.

Current 2023 Life of Mine Plan Unit Total / Average 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 Total Ore Processed Mt 18.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 0.6 Grade Au g/t 2.64 2.84 2.93 2.99 2.76 2.52 2.27 2.89 2.16 1.91 Cu % 0.77 0.84 0.72 0.80 0.69 0.84 0.75 0.82 0.74 0.75 Recoveries  Copper Concentrate Au % 52.6 55.8 56.2 55.6 54.4 41.5 55.5 49.6 52.2 48.2 Cu % 84.4 83.5 83.4 83.6 85.3 84.2 86.0 84.2 86.6 78.2 Recoveries  Pyrite concentrate Au % 24.9 24.1 24.2 24.4 24.8 25.8 25.8 24.7 26.1 24.8 Total Au Production K oz. 1,202 160 167 169 155 120 131 152 120 28 Total Cu Production Mlbs. 289 37 32 36 32 38 34 37 34 9

Previous 2022 Life of Mine Plan Unit Total / Average 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Total Ore Processed Mt 17.1 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 1.71 Grade Au g/t 2.69 2.73 2.94 2.94 2.63 2.71 2.56 2.53 2.47 Cu % 0.80 0.90 0.82 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.81 0.91 0.62 Recoveries  Copper Concentrate Au % 54.4 55.8 57.8 58.3 55.6 56.5 50.9 55.3 40.4 Cu % 84.9 84.0 84.3 85.5 84.7 84.8 85.3 87.2 82.6 Recoveries  Pyrite concentrate Au % 25.0 25.3 25.0 24.8 25.1 24.1 25.6 25.9 24.2 Total Au Production K oz. 1,177 157 172 173 150 155 138 145 88 Total Cu Production Mlbs. 280 37 33 32 31 30 34 39 19

Three-Year Outlook

The updated Mineral Reserve estimate is in-line with the Companys previously issued 2023 guidance and three-year outlook for Chelopech, as shown below.

2022

Results 2023

Guidance 2024

Outlook 2025

Outlook Metals contained in concentrate produced Gold (K oz.) 179 150  170 160  180 160  185 Copper (Mlbs.) 31 30  35 29  34 29  34 Cost of sales per tonne of ore processed(1) ($/t) 63 N/A N/A N/A Cash cost per tonne of ore processed(1) ($/t) 50 53  58 N/A N/A Sustaining capital expenditures ($ millions) $24 20  24 14  18 12  15

Cost of sales per tonne of ore processed represents Chelopech cost of sales divided by the volume of ore processed. Cash cost per tonne of ore processed is a non-GAAP ratio and has no standardized meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Refer to the Non-GAAP Financial Measures section contained in the Companys Managements Discussion and Analysis (the MD&A) for the year ended December 31, 2022 commencing at page 44, which is available on the Companys website at www.dundeeprecious.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, for a detailed description and reconciliation of this measure to the most directly comparable measure under IFRS.

For more information regarding the Companys 2023 guidance and three-year outlook, including key assumptions, qualifications and risks associated thereto, refer to the MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2022, issued on February 16, 2023, available on the Companys website at www.dundeeprecious.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Further extending mine life through additional in-mine and brownfield exploration

DPM continues to aggressively focus on extending Chelopechs mine life through its successful in-mine exploration program and a growing brownfield exploration program, which for 2023 includes:

Approximately 44,000 metres of in-mine drilling for Mineral Resource development with particular focus on the upper levels of Blocks 103, 150, 151 and 153, Target 11 and Target 147 zones (see Figure 1).

Approximately 50,000 metres of brownfield exploration, aiming to test conceptual targets on the Brevene exploration licence, which surrounds the Sveta Petka exploration licence, as well as in the Chelopech mine concession (see Figure 1).

The brownfield exploration program is designed to follow-up on conceptual targets on the mine concession, including testing for deeper and lateral extensions of the Chelopech deposit, as well as targets on the Brevene exploration licence.

A focused infill drilling program is planned at Sharlo Dere, which is located on the east flank of the mine. The planned drilling will be used to potentially support the inclusion of this prospect within subsequent Mineral Resource estimates for the Chelopech mine. Additionally, extensional drilling will test the Target 11 and Sharlo Dere Deeps targets, both of which are under-explored and demonstrate strong potential to host additional mineral resources.

In March 2023, the Company filed a Commercial Discovery application with the Bulgarian authorities for the Sveta Petka exploration licence, which includes the Wedge, West Shaft, Krasta and Petrovden prospects. The Sveta Petka exploration licence is expected to be registered as a Commercial Discovery by the end of 2023 and subsequent to that, the Company intends to apply for concession rights in 2024.

In line with DPMs 2023 guidance, the Company has budgeted between $5 million to $6 million on in-mine exploration activities at Chelopech, and $5 million to $6 million for brownfields exploration activities.

Technical Information

The Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates for the Chelopech mine and other scientific and technical information which supports this news release was prepared by DPM with review and guidance at various stages provided by CSA Global (UK) Ltd. (CSA Global). The Qualified Persons (QP) are satisfied as to the appropriateness and quality of the technical work completed and accept responsibility for the disclosure, in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). The QP for the Mineral Resource estimate is Galen White, BSc, FAusIMM, Partner and Principal Consultant of CSA Global (UK) Limited, and the QP for the Mineral Reserve estimate is Andrew Sharp, B.Eng. (Mining), P.Eng. (BC), FAusIMM, Associate Principal Mining Engineer of CSA Global. Both Galen White and Andrew Sharp are Qualified Persons as defined under NI 43-101, and are independent of the Company.

Ross Overall, Corporate Mineral Resource Manager, of the Company, who is a QP, as defined under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

About Dundee Precious Metals Inc.

Dundee Precious Metals Inc. is a Canadian-based international gold mining company with operations and projects located in Bulgaria, Namibia, Ecuador and Serbia. The Companys purpose is to unlock resources and generate value to thrive and growth together. This overall purpose is supported by a foundation of core values, which guides how the Company conducts its business and informs a set of complementary strategic pillars and objectives related to ESG, innovation, optimizing our existing portfolio, and growth. The Companys resources are allocated in-line with its strategy to ensure that DPM delivers value for all of its stakeholders. DPMs shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol: DPM).

For further information please contact:

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward looking statements or forward looking information (collectively, Forward Looking Statements) that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward Looking Statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as plans, expects, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, outlook, intends, anticipates, believes, or variations of such words and phrases or that state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms or similar expressions. The Forward Looking Statements in this news release relate to, among other things; the estimation of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources and the realization of such mineral estimates; the LOM; production, processing and recoveries forecasts; financial metrics, including those set out in the three-year outlook provided by the Company; success of exploration activities, the price of gold, copper, and silver, and other commodities; and successful registration of the Sveta Petka exploration licence as a Commercial Discovery. Forward Looking Statements are based on certain key assumptions and the opinions and estimates of management and the QPs, as of the date such statements are made, and they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any other future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward Looking Statements. In addition to factors already discussed in this news release, such factors include, among others, risks relating to the Companys business, including possible variations in ore grade and recovery rates; uncertainties inherent to the conclusions of economic evaluations and economic studies; changes in project parameters, including schedule and budget, as plans continue to be refined; uncertainties with respect to actual results of current exploration activities; uncertainties and risks inherent to developing and commissioning new mines into production, which may be subject to unforeseen delays; uncertainties inherent to the estimation of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources, which may not be fully realized; uncertainties inherent with conducting business in foreign jurisdictions where corruption, civil unrest, political instability and uncertainties with the rule of law may impact the Companys activities; the impact of the conflict in the Ukraine and COVID-19, including resulting changes to the Companys supply chain and costs of supplies; product shortages; delivery and shipping issues; closures and/or failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; employees and contractors become infected with COVID-19 or being affected by the war; lost work hours; labour force shortages; fluctuations in metal and acid prices, toll rates and foreign exchange rates; limitation on insurance coverage; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; actual results of current and planned reclamation activities; opposition by social and non-government organizations to mining projects and smelting operations; unanticipated title disputes; claims or litigation; cyber attacks and other cybersecurity risks; as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in any other documents (including without limitation the Chelopech Technical Report and the Companys most recent Annual Information Form) filed from time to time with the securities regulatory authorities in all provinces and territories of Canada and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The reader has been cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors which may have been used. 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 anticipated, estimated or intended. 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. The Companys Forward Looking Statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and speak only as of the date hereof. Unless required by securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update Forward Looking Statements if circumstances or managements estimates or opinions should change. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on Forward Looking Statements.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources

The Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates presented in this news release have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Canadian securities laws, which differ from the requirements of United States securities laws. Canadian reporting requirements for disclosure of mineral properties are governed by NI 43-101.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to its disclosure rules to modernize the mineral property disclosure requirements for issuers whose securities are registered with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These amendments became effective February 25, 2019 (the SEC Modernization Rules) with compliance required for the first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021. The SEC Modernization Rules replace the historical disclosure requirements for mining issuers that were included in SEC Industry Guide 7. As a result of the adoption of the SEC Modernization Rules, the SEC now recognizes estimates of measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources and inferred mineral resources. In addition, the SEC has amended its definitions of proven mineral reserves and probable mineral reserves to be substantially similar to the corresponding Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)  Definition Standards adopted by CIM Council on May 10, 2014 (the CIM Definition Standards), incorporated by reference in NI 43-101.

Readers are cautioned that while the above terms are substantially similar to the corresponding CIM Definition Standards, there are differences in the definitions under the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM Definition Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any Mineral Reserves or Mineral Resources that the Company may report as proven mineral reserves, probable mineral reserves, measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources and inferred mineral resources under NI 43-101 would be the same had the Company prepared the reserve or resource estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules.

Readers are also cautioned that while the SEC will now recognize measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources and inferred mineral resources, it should not be assumed that any part or all of the mineralization in these categories will ever be converted into a higher category of Mineral Resources or into Mineral Reserves. Mineralization described using these terms has a greater amount of uncertainty as to their existence and feasibility than mineralization that has been characterized as reserves. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to assume that any measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources or inferred mineral resources that the Company reports are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, inferred mineral resources have a greater amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. Therefore, readers are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of the inferred mineral resources exist. In accordance with Canadian securities laws, estimates of inferred mineral resources cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies, except in limited circumstances where permitted under NI 43-101.

For the above reasons, information contained in this news release containing descriptions of the Companys mineral deposits may not be comparable to similar information made public by United States companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements under the United States federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
TORONTO, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alamos Gold Inc. (TSX:AGI; NYSE:AGI) (Alamos or the Company) plans to release its first quarter 2023 financial results after market close on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Senior management will host a conference call on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 11:00 am ET to discuss the results. The Company will hold its 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the Annual Meeting) on Thursday, May 25, 2023.

Notice of First Quarter 2023 Results and Conference Call

The Company's senior management will host a conference call on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 11:00 am ET to discuss the first quarter 2023 results. Participants may join the conference call via webcast or through the following dial-in numbers:

Toronto and International: (416) 340-2217 Toll free (Canada and the United States): (800) 806-5484 Participant passcode: 7943015# Webcast: www.alamosgold.com

A playback will be available until May 28, 2023 by dialling (905) 694-9451 or (800) 408-3053 within Canada and the United States. The passcode is 1136724#. The webcast will be archived at www.alamosgold.com.

Notice of Virtual Annual Meeting of Shareholders

Alamos Gold will hold its Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 25, 2023 beginning at 4:00 pm ET. The meeting will be held virtually via a live webcast and can be accessed at https://web.lumiagm.com/417375257. The link to the meeting will also be accessible at www.alamosgold.com. Senior management will provide a general corporate update followed by an informal question-and-answer session through the webcast platform.

The record date for determining the holders of the Companys common shares who are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting is April 12, 2023. Detailed voting and participation instructions for eligible shareholders will be provided in the Companys Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Management Information Circular.

About Alamos

Alamos is a Canadian-based intermediate gold producer with diversified production from three operating mines in North America. This includes the Young-Davidson and Island Gold mines in northern Ontario, Canada and the Mulatos mine in Sonora State, Mexico. Additionally, the Company has a strong portfolio of growth projects, including the Phase 3+ Expansion at Island Gold, and the Lynn Lake project in Manitoba, Canada. Alamos employs more than 1,900 people and is committed to the highest standards of sustainable development. The Companys shares are traded on the TSX and NYSE under the symbol AGI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Scott K. Parsons Senior Vice President, Investor Relations (416) 368-9932 x 5439

All amounts are in United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.

The TSX and NYSE have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
TORONTO, March 30, 2023 /CNW/ - Orford Mining Corporation (TSXV: ORM) (Orford) is pleased to report that it has drilled a possible new gold bearing horizon 150 meters to the north of the South Gold Zone on the Joutel Eagle Property ("Joutel Eagle"). Hole 23-JE-007 has reported 1.3 g/t Au over 16.1 metres from 201.0 metres including higher grade intervals of up to 4.5g/t Au over 1.1 m, in a previously untested area of the Joutel Eagle Property (Table 1, Figure 1). New Results from hole 23-JE-015 in the South Gold Zone reported 1.10g/t Au over 54.7 metres including higher grade intervals of up to 9.1g/t over 0.4 m (Table 1, Figure 1). This hole was drilled in the South Gold Zone, 25 metres southeast of the previously reported results from 23-JE-004 (14.6 metres of 4.1 g/t). The majority of assays from the recently completed 2023 drill program are pending (Table 2). Note that all drilling intervals are down-hole lengths. True thicknesses cannot be estimated with available information.

David Christie, President and CEO of Orford, commented, "The 2023 drill campaign on our Joutel Eagle property has proven that the property has tremendous potential value with the discovery of a new zone 150 metres to the north of the South Gold Zone. Drilling on the South Gold Zone continues to prove mineralized continuity along strike which was the main purpose of the program."

The Joutel Eagle Property is located along the fertile Casa-Berardi Structural Zone and historical Eagle-Telbel Mine Trend in the Abitibi Greenstone belt. A total of 14 holes and 2,535 metres (Table 3) have been drilled in 2023. This drilling program has tested a 400-metre strike of the South Gold Zone (Figure 1). Both the 20221 and preliminary 20232 drilling results Orford received to date have shown that the South Gold Zone hosts higher grade gold over wider intersections than had been reported historically. Holes 23-JE-007 and 23-JE-006 (Table 1, Figure 1) were drilled to test:

possible parallel mineralized horizons to the north of the South Gold Zone,

possible cross structural corridors which may contribute to concentrating gold mineralization on the property.

The gold results obtained in Holes 23-JE-007 and 23-JE-006 (Table 1) successfully demonstrate the occurrence of additional gold mineralized zones in addition to the exciting thick South Gold Zone results. All other remaining assays are pending.

Data was collected during the drill program with a core orientation tool and a full structural interpretation will be completed once all assays have been received and reported to identify 1) additional targets in the South Gold Zone, 2) secondary targets which may be associated with structures hosting higher grades oblique to the South Gold Zone, and 3) other targets along strike and parallel to the South Gold Zone to the northwest and southeast along the Eagle mine horizon.

___________________ 1 Orford Mining News Release dated June 7, 2022. 2 Orford Mining News Release dated February 21, 2023.

Table 1: Highlight of Joutel Eagle Drill hole assays received to date. All drilling intervals are downhole lengths. True thicknesses cannot be estimated with available information. Composited intervals are reported at a cut-off of 0.5g/t Au.

From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Gold (g/t) 23-JE-004 100.3 114.9 14.6 4.1 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 including 106 114.8 8.8 5.8 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 including 112.8 114.8 2 8.6 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 including 113.1 113.4 0.3 28.7 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 23-JE-004 128.8 158.9 30.1 1.1 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 including 132.8 145.1 12.3 1.8 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 including 134.5 138.9 4.4 2.9 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 including 142.5 144.1 1.6 2.6 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 23-JE-005 36.8 42.6 5.8 2.4 NEW including 41.5 42.8 1.3 10.9 NEW including 42.3 42.7 0.4 27.7 NEW 23-JE-005 53.6 56.9 3.3 2.1 NEW including 54 55.1 1.1 5 NEW including 54 54.7 0.7 6.2 NEW 23-JE-005 85.6 93.6 8 1.5 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 including 85.6 90.4 4.8 1.8 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 including 85.6 86.5 0.9 4.6 Previously Reported February 21, 2023 23-JE-006 52.8 53.1 0.3 1.3 NEW 23-JE-006 55.2 56.7 1.5 0.7 NEW 23-JE-006 73 76.4 3.4 0.6 NEW 23-JE-007 201 217.1 16.1 1.3 NEW including 201 212 11 1.8 NEW including 205.6 212 6.4 2.4 NEW including 206 210.4 4.4 3.0 NEW including 206 207.1 1.1 4.5 NEW 23-JE-007 225.2 229.9 4.7 0.7 NEW including 229.2 229.8 0.6 2.1 NEW 23-JE-015 81.1 135.8 54.7 1.1 NEW including 81.1 109.7 28.6 1.7 NEW including 82.9 88.3 5.4 2 NEW and 84.9 88.3 3.4 2.5 NEW including 86.8 88.3 1.5 3.8 NEW including 87.9 88.3 0.4 7.4 NEW and 96.5 109.3 12.8 2.7 NEW including 102 109.3 7.3 3.5 NEW including 103.7 109.3 5.6 4.0 NEW including 103.7 104.4 0.7 7.2 NEW including 107.6 109.3 1.7 4.7 NEW including 108.1 108.5 0.4 9.1 NEW

Table 2: Status of Assay Results Received from the 2023 Joutel Eagle Drilling Program (SGZ=South Gold Zone)

Hole Number Assay Reported (%) Area 23-JE-004 100 SGZ 23-JE-005 100 SGZ 23-JE-006 99.1 North Horizon 23-JE-007 94.2 North Horizon 23-JE-008 0 SGZ 23-JE-009 0 SGZ 23-JE-010 0 SGZ 23-JE-011 0 SGZ 23-JE-012 0 SGZ 23-JE-013 0 SGZ 23-JE-014 0 SGZ 23-JE-015 50 SGZ 23-JE-016 0 SGZ 23-JE-017 0 SGZ

Table 3: Joutel Eagle: South Gold Zone Drill Hole Coordinates (UTM NAD83 Zone 17)

Hole ID X Y Length (m) Azimuth Dip 23-JE-004 684302 5490470 195 30 60 23-JE-005 684216 5490520 159 30 60 23-JE-006 684258 5490757 163 30 50 23-JE-007 684207 5490640 252 30 50 23-JE-008 684172 5490545 192 30 55 23-JE-009 684129 5490570 159 30 60 23-JE-010 684073 5490571 156 30 60 23-JE-011 684029 5490597 155 30 60 23-JE-012 684345 5490445 219 30 60 23-JE-013 684389 5490420 189 30 60 23-JE-014 684303 5490462 156 30 50 23-JE-015 684324 5490458 159 30 60 23-JE-016 684159 5490522 162 30 55 23-JE-017 684303 5490462 219 58 57 2535 Total m

Assays

Sample shipments were sealed and shipped to AGAT Laboratories, Val-d'Or, Quebec. All gold assays reported were obtained by standard fire assay on 50 gram nominal weight with an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish or by gravimetric finish in the case of overlimit and on request (methods 202551 and 202564) at AGAT Laboratories, Mississauga, Ontario. All samples were also analyzed for multi-elements, including copper and silver, using a four-acid method with an ICP-OES finish (method 201070) at AGAT Laboratories, Mississauga, Ontario.

Drill program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") and interpretation of results are performed by qualified persons employing a QA/QC program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. Standards and blanks are inserted at a minimum of 10% for QA/QC purposes in addition to those inserted by the lab. A subset of samples has not yet been sent for a verification assay at another lab. AGAT Laboratories are accredited by the Standards Council of Canada and found to comply with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017.

About the Joutel Eagle Property

The property is situated just to the northwest of Agnico Eagle's past producing Eagle-Telbel operation which produced in excess of 1.1 Moz of gold3 from 1974 to 1993. The Joutel Eagle property covers 11 km of the Casa Berardi structural zone south splay (CBSZ) which is associated with several gold deposits and, together with our McClure East property, gives Orford over 17 km coverage on the prolific CBSZ. The Joutel Eagle Property sits to the north of Orford's 100% owned Joutel South Property and to the west of Orford's 100% owned McClure East property. Information from neighbouring properties is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on Orford Mining's properties. On November 30, 2021 Orford announced that it had entered an option to acquire 100% of the 50 square kilometer Joutel Eagle Project from Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. (TSX: GMX) (OTCQX International: GLBXF) (Frankfurt: G1MM).

About Orford Mining Corporation

Orford Mining is a gold and critical mineral explorer focused on highly prospective and underexplored areas of Northern Quebec. Orford's principal assets are the Qiqavik, West Raglan and lithium exploration projects comprising a land package totaling over 111,000 hectares in the Cape Smith Belt of Northern Quebec. The Qiqavik Project hosts several new high-grade gold discoveries along a mineralized trend in excess of 40 km. The West Raglan Project hosts a number of high-grade Raglan-style nickel/copper/platinum group metal discoveries along a 55 km mineralized trend. In early 2023 Orford acquired large claim blocks targeting Lithium in the Nunavik Region. These Lithium claim blocks have been carefully selected as having promising lithium potential after an exhaustive compilation of available data. Orford also has four property positions in the Joutel region of the Abitibi District of Northern Quebec, which hosts historical deposits such as the Eagle/Telbel, Joutel Copper, Poirier Copper, and Vezza deposits. Orford continually seeks new gold exploration opportunities in North America. Orford's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ORM. This information from neighbouring properties is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on Orford Mining's properties.

Qualified Person

The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Alger St-Jean, P.Geo., Chief Geoscientist of Orford, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. The historical assays referred to in this release and shown in this figure were obtained from historical work reports filed with the Quebec Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and has not been independently verified by a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43- 101.

__________________________ 3 Systeme d'information geominiere of Quebec "SIGEOM", Quebec Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. April 20, 2020 DV93-01

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" including without limitation statements relating to the liquidity and capital resources of Orford and potential of one or more of the Qiqavik, and West Raglan, properties.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Orford to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals; the results of drilling; inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the properties; environmental liabilities (known and unknown); general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; political instability, terrorism, insurrection or war; or delays in obtaining governmental approvals, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Orford's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although Orford 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 to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward- looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Orford disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.
TORONTO, March 30, 2023 /CNW/ - Angel Wing Metals Inc. (TSXV: AWM) ("Angel Wing Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce Mr. Marc Prefontaine as the Company's new President and CEO, effective April 15, 2023. Mr. Prefontaine succeeds Mr. Bryan Wilson, who will be retiring from his role as President, CEO, effective April 15, 2023. Mr. Prefontaine has also been appointed to the Board of Directors effective immediately. Mr. Wilson has stepped down as Director, effective immediately, but will continue as an active and engaged advisor to the Board of Directors, upon the transition of Mr. Prefontaine in the President and CEO role. Mr. Cal Everett has been appointed to the Board and will assume the role of Chairman of the Board of directors, effectively immediately.

Marc has been a professional geologist for over 30 years, having started his career working for both majors and juniors. In 2003, he became President and CEO of Grayd Resources where he put together the La India land package in Sonora, Mexico. He, and a tight-knit team, discovered the La India deposit, advancing it to a stage where Agnico-Eagle Mines purchased Grayd Resources for C$275 million in 2011. Agnico-Eagle Mines completed the build in one year of the acquisition and the La India mine has been in commercial production for the past 9 years. Marc then co-founded Orla Mining Ltd. in 2014 and worked as its President and CEO for 4 years. During that time Orla Mining Ltd. purchased and advanced the Cerro Quema deposit in Panama as well as the Camino Rojo deposit in Mexico. Camino Rojo has now been in commercial production for one year. Marc is also a director of Prime Mining Corp. which is also focused on Mexico.

"The personal attraction to returning to Mexico after successes directing Grayd and Orla followed by a directorship of Prime Mining lies in the quality and precious metal discovery potential of this Country. Angel Wing Metals dedicated a year successfully acquiring over 650 square kilometres of an undrilled gold rich district, with associated silver and copper occurrences," stated Mr. Prefontaine. He continued, "I am excited to join Angel Wing Metals because of Cal and the corporate team and am especially excited about the talented exploration team led by Gillian Kearvell. The El Grande project is district sized with exciting exploration potential."

Cal is a geologist with more than 14 years of surface and underground exploration experience with senior mining companies. He moved to the financial sector in 1990 and spent 12 years with BMO Nesbitt Burns focused on resource equities, and seven years with PI Financial Corp. in senior resource institutional sales and capital markets. From 2008 to 2015, he was President and CEO of Axemen Resource Capital. Mr. Everett recently retired as President and CEO of Liberty Gold Corp., a position he held from 2016 to 2023 and remains a director and the largest private shareholder of that company. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economic Geology from the University New Brunswick.

Mr. Everett said, "I look forward to working with Marc in directing Angel Wing Metals. Linking our backgrounds together again, after joint success in the past and creating opportunity to build value for another resource company, backed by our business acumen and deep experience in capital markets makes us well-suited to take on these roles. Under Marc's leadership we will begin a concerted effort to drill the La Reyna portion of the El Grande project area as well as initiating regional surface exploration programs.

I would like to thank Mr. Bryan Wilson for successfully negotiating the multiple land acquisitions that now make up the El Grande project area. Bryan will continue to advise the Company on land title, agreements, and district due diligence."

Mr. Frank Busch will be stepping down from the Board of Directors effective immediately. The Company would like to thank Mr. Busch for his insight and guidance throughout the Company's formative years.

Concurrent C$2.2M to $2.6M Private Placement (pre proposed 2 for 1 rollback)

Angel Wing Metals is also pleased to announce a private placement financing with a lead order from Mr. Prefontaine and select close associates. The financing will be on a non-brokered private-placement basis of between 20,000,000 and 23,636,363 common share units of the Company ("Units") at a price of C$0.11 per Unit, for total gross proceeds between C$2,200,000 and $2,600,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one-half warrant. Each full warrant will be exercisable for a period of two years from issuance at a price per common share of C$0.25. Proceeds from the private placement will be used by the Company for exploration at its Mexico properties and for general and corporate purposes.

The private placement is subject to a statutory 4-month hold from the date of issuance. The private placement is subject to the receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the TSXV and applicable securities regulatory authorities. No fees are payable on this financing.

Such participation in the private placement by certain insiders represents a related-party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), but the transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the subject matter of the transaction, nor the consideration paid, exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

Subsequent to closing the private placement, Angel Wing Metals will be taking under consideration a potential rollback of the Company common shares at approximately 2 for 1. If determined appropriate, Angel Wing Metals will bring the proposal to a vote of the shareholders. Any potential rollback is subject to market conditions and TSXV approvals.

ABOUT ANGEL WING METALS

Angel Wing Metals (TSXV: AWM) is focused on the exploration and development of its portfolio of precious metals properties in Mexico and Canada. The Company's flagship El Grande Project covers 655km2 in the southern extension of the prolific Sierra Madre Occidental gold-silver belt in the state of Nayarit, Mexico and demonstrates significant gold and silver mineralization.

Angel Wing Metals is committed to sustainable and responsible exploration and business activities in line with industry best practices, supportive of all stakeholders, including the local communities in which the Company operates.

For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.angelwingmetals.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF ANGEL WING METALS INC.

Bryan Wilson

President & CEO

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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.

Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", " expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information regarding: the outlook on the properties and projects of Angel Wing Metals, including the potential drilling on La Reyna and exploration across the El Grande claim, the proposed private financing including the requisite approvals by the TSXV and subsequent completion of the private financing, and the proposed roll-back of the Corporation's shares, including the requirement for shareholder approval. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects Angel Wing Metals' current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Angel Wing Metals and on assumptions Angel Wing Metals believes are reasonable. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of Angel Wing Metals to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market prices for securities; delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals; the actual results of future operations; competition; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation, affecting Angel Wing Metals; the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; and lack of qualified, skilled labor or loss of key individuals. A description of additional assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of additional risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward- looking information can be found in Angel Wing Metals' disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Although Angel Wing Metals has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions, or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of Angel Wing Metals as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. However, Angel Wing Metals expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities law.
(in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted)

TORONTO / Mar 31, 2023 / Business Wire / Lithium Royalty Corp. (TSX: LIRC) (LRC or the Company) is pleased to report its annual results for 2022. We have established a high grade, low cost and globally diversified royalty portfolio with embedded growth. With the conclusion of our initial public offering on March 15, 2023, we are set up for continued growth through accretive royalty acquisitions. Our portfolio of 30 royalties on 28 properties positions us well for a strong macro backdrop in the growing EV supply chain, stated LRCs CEO, Ernie Ortiz.

Financial Highlights

For the year ended December 31, 2022 2021 Royalty Income $1,683,801 $1,803,175 Depletion 961,322 1,036,170 Gross profit 722,479 767,005

Royalty income declined year on year by $119,374. Despite a growth in production and royalty payments received from Allkem Limited on the Mt Cattlin mine, the results were more than offset by an 8.0% depreciation in the Australian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar in 2022.

Financial Foundation for Growth

We completed our initial public offering on March 15, 2023, raising aggregate proceeds of $102.7 million (C$141.4 million), net of underwriting fees and related underwriting expenses, which will support the acquisition of additional royalties.

Growth and Optionality

13 royalty interests acquired in 2022 and three acquired in 2023.

Meaningful embedded growth from volume expansions and life of mine extensions on existing projects.

Core assets materially outperforming initial assumptions.

Strong pipeline of new royalty acquisition opportunities.

LRC Royalty Activity Updates

Ganfeng Lithium Mariana Royalty: Ganfeng commented in their 2022 Annual Report that the Mariana project is progressing with expected first production in 2024.

Allkem James Bay Royalty: Allkem management commentary from their December 2022 Quarterly Activities Report highlighted that a Mineral Resource update is expected to be released by July 2023 for the James Bay project.

Allkem Mt Cattlin Royalty: Allkem announced in their December 2022 Quarterly Activities Report that Phase I and II of their three-phase resource extension drilling at the Mt Cattlin project is complete. The program was designed to test multi-year mine life extensions with a Mineral Resource update expected soon.

Zijin Mining Tres Quebradas Royalty: Zijins 2022 Annual Report reaffirmed its guidance for production to commence at Tres Quebradas in 2023. The company is actively evaluating increasing production to 40,000 to 60,000 tonnes as per their public statements.

Sigma Resources Grota do Cirilo Royalty: In February 2023, Sigma reaffirmed guidance that it expects first production from its Phase I spodumene asset in Brazil to commence in April 2023.

Core Lithium Finnis Royalty: LRC expects to receive its first royalty payment from Core as a result of the 1Q23 DSO sales. Furthermore, in March 2023, the company announced an agreement with its offtake partner, Yahua Lithium, to sell 18,500 tonnes of spodumene concentrate, with 3,500 tonnes expected to be shipped by the end of April.

Red Dirt Metals Yinnetharra Royalty: In their Interim Financial Report for the Half-Year Ended December 31, 2022, Red Dirt updated its financial disclosure highlighting the potential near-to-medium term achievement of a minimum 15 million tonne Mineral Resource at Yinnetharra.

Sayona Mining Moblan Royalty: In their Financial Report for the Half-Year Ended December 31, 2022, Sayona reaffirmed that it expects to release a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) in May 2023, with an updated Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) to follow in September 2023.

Winsome Resources Adina Royalty: In March 2023, Winsome Resources released additional promising assays on the Adina lithium project, including 47 meters at 1.64% Li 2 O from 33 meters, and several other holes with widths in excess of 40 meters and grades between 1.08%  1.64% lithium oxide.

Green Technology Metals Seymour Lake Royalty: Green Technology Metals stated in their February 2022 Presentation, that it expects to release a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) pending its imminent update to the Seymour Lake Mineral Resource, with construction to start in 2024.

Green Technology Metals Root Lake Royalty: Green Technology Metals stated in their February 2022 Presentation, that it expects to release a maiden Mineral Resource.

Acquisition Activity in 2022 and 2023

Operator Royalty % Acquisition Date Allkem Limited James Bay  Quebec, Ontario 1.5% NSR1 March 2023 Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. Mariana  Salta, Argentina 0.5% NSR2 February 2023 Winsome Resources Ltd. Adina  Quebec, Ontario 2.0% NSR January 2023 Arvo Lithium Ltd. Kaustinen & Ilmajoki  Finland 1.25% GOR3 December 2022 Larvotto Resources Ltd. Eyre  Western Australia 1.0% GOR October 2022 Green Technology Metals Seymour Lake  Ontario, Canada Root Lake  Ontario, Canada Wisa Lake  Ontario, Canada 1.0% GOR September 2022 Morella Corp. Tabba Tabba  Western Australia Mt Edon/Mt Edon West  Western Australia 1.25% GOR August 2022 Red Dirt Metals Ltd. Yinnetharra  Western Australia 1.0% GOR May 2022 ACME Lithium Inc. Shatford & Cat  Euclid Lake  Manitoba, Canada 2.0% GOR March 2022 Noram Lithium Corp. Zeus  Nevada, USA 1.0% GOR February 2022 Grid Metals Corp. Donner Lake  Manitoba, Canada Campus Creek  Ontario, Canada 2.0% GOR January 2022

Shareholder Information

The audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Managements Discussion and Analysis can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Corporate Summary

LRC is a lithium-focused royalty company with a globally diversified portfolio of 30 high-grade revenue royalties on mineral properties around the world that supply and are expected to supply raw materials to support the electrification of transportation and decarbonization of the global economy. Our portfolio is focused on high-grade and low-cost mineral projects that are primarily located in Australia, Canada, South America and the United States. LRC is a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment; the integration of ESG factors and sustainable mining are important considerations in our investment analysis and royalty acquisitions.

For more information, please visit our website www.lithiumroyaltycorp.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future events or future performance, managements expectations regarding LRCs growth, results of operations, estimated future revenues, performance guidance, carrying value of assets and requirements for additional capital, mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates, production estimates, production costs and revenue, future demand for and prices of commodities, expected mining sequences, business prospects and opportunities, the performance and plans of third party operators and the expected exposure for current and future assessments and available remedies. In addition, statements relating to resources and reserves and mine life are forward-looking statements, as they involve implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, and no assurance can be given that the estimates and assumptions are accurate and that such resources and reserves or mine life will be realized. Such forward-looking statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects, is expected, budgets, potential for, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, predicts, projects, intends, targets, aims, anticipates or believes or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions may, could, should, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of LRC to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement, including, without limitation: fluctuations in the prices of the primary commodities that drive royalty revenue (including various lithium products); fluctuations in the value of the Canadian and Australian dollar and any other currency in which revenue is generated, relative to the U.S. dollar; changes in national and local government legislation, including permitting and licensing regimes and taxation policies and the enforcement thereof; the adoption of a global minimum tax on corporations; regulatory, political or economic developments in any of the countries where properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest are located or through which they are held; risks related to the operators of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest, including changes in the ownership and control of such operators; relinquishment or sale of mineral properties; influence of macroeconomic developments; business opportunities that become available to, or are pursued by LRC; reduced access to debt and equity capital; litigation; title, permit or license disputes related to interests on any of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest; whether or not the Company is determined to have passive foreign investment company (PFIC) status as defined in Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; excessive cost escalation as well as development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest; actual mineral content may differ from the resources and reserves contained in technical reports; rate and timing of production differences from resource estimates, other technical reports and mine plans; risks and hazards associated with the business of development and mining on any of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest, including, but not limited to unusual or unexpected geological and metallurgical conditions, slope failures or cave-ins, sinkholes, flooding and other natural disasters, terrorism, civil unrest or an outbreak of contagious disease; the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic; and the integration of acquired assets. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including, without limitation: the ongoing operation of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest by the owners or operators of such properties in a manner consistent with past practice; the accuracy of public statements and disclosures made by the owners or operators of such underlying properties; no material adverse change in the market price of the commodities (including various lithium products) that underlie the asset portfolio; the Companys ongoing income and assets relating to determination of its PFIC status; no material changes to existing tax treatment; the expected application of tax laws and regulations by taxation authorities; no adverse development in respect of any significant property in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest; the accuracy of publicly disclosed expectations for the development of underlying properties that are not yet in production; integration of acquired assets; and the absence of any other factors that could cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. However, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. LRC cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

For additional information with respect to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, please refer to LRCs most recent Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only and LRC does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

__________________________

1 Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalties are based on the value of production or net proceeds received by the operator from the smelter or refinery that treats the operators mineral production. These proceeds are usually subject to deductions or charges for transportation, insurance, smelting and refining costs as set out in the royalty agreement, but may also be subject to other deductions or charges.

2 In February 2023, LRC acquired a one-quarter interest in an existing 2.0% NSR royalty on the Mariana lithium brine project in Salta, Argentina operated by Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd.

3 Gross Overriding Revenue (GOR) royalties are based on the total revenue stream from the sale of production from a property with few, if any, deductions.
(In United States dollars, except where noted otherwise)

TORONTO, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (First Quantum or the Company) (TSX: FM) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Rio Tinto to progress the next phase of the La Granja copper project (the Project) in Peru.

The Project is located in the district of Querocoto in the northern region of Cajamarca, Peru, approximately 90 kilometers northeast of Chiclayo, the capital of Lambayeque region, at an altitude of between 2,000 and 2,800 meters. La Granja is one of the largest undeveloped copper resources in the world with a published Inferred mineral resource of 4.32 billion tonnes at 0.51 percent copper and potential for substantial expansion. Rio Tinto has operated the Project since 2006, carrying out an extensive drilling program that has significantly expanded the resource and has managed a world-class community relations program that has ensured strong local support for the Project. First Quantum will acquire a majority stake in the Project and will undertake the feasibility study and possible further development of what has the potential to be a large, long-life operation.

I am very pleased to announce todays partnership with Rio Tinto, a global leader in the mining industry. Rio Tintos work on La Granja has been extensive to date and we share our partners view that the Project has the potential to be a Tier 1 copper mine. We look forward to working together to build on this foundation, leveraging First Quantums core strengths in mine design, project development and community engagement. This partnership will provide First Quantum access to an attractive copper project, offering additional future optionality in the Companys project pipeline while we focus on strengthening the balance sheet in the interim, said Tristan Pascall, Chief Executive Officer of First Quantum. First Quantum is excited about broadening our existing relationships in Peru and we are appreciative of the support provided by the Government of Peru to this important partnership for its future investment in the country.

La Granja is an exciting but complex project that has the potential to be a significant new source of the copper that is needed for the energy transition. We are pleased to enter into this agreement with First Quantum, that will bring our combined development capabilities and deep knowledge of La Granja to progress the Project, said Bold Baatar, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Copper. This partnership underscores not only La Granjas potential to be a significant copper producer, but Perus position as one of the worlds most important mining investment destinations.

KEY TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT

Upon completion, First Quantum will acquire a 55% interest in La Granja for a consideration of $105 million and will become the operator of the Project. Following the acquisition, the Company will be responsible for $546 million of funding (the initial funding). Part of the initial funding will be used to complete a feasibility study after which the remaining majority of the initial funding is expected to be spent on construction of the Project following a positive investment decision. Upon satisfaction of this initial funding amount, all subsequent expenditures will be applied on a pro-rata basis according to the share ownership of the Project.

The completion of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals by the Government of Peru that are currently underway. The transaction is expected to close before the end of Q3 2023.

WORK PLAN AND GUIDANCE

Work over the initial years will continue to progress community engagement and the feasibility study. The feasibility study will focus on developing an updated geological resource and reserve model, which will require additional infill drilling to upgrade Inferred resources to Measured and Indicated categories. Additional metallurgical studies to establish optimal processing configurations are expected to be carried out in parallel, together with a high-level project layout and configuration of associated infrastructure requirements and logistical routes.

With work on La Granja focused mainly at the studies level, there is no change to the Companys three-year guidance provided in January 2023 on capital expenditures.

Further to the agreement on La Granja, First Quantum and Rio Tinto have also entered into a memorandum of understanding to support co-operation in relation to base metals development opportunities and the sharing of technology and know-how on certain mining methods, such as the application of trolley-assist and autonomous mining fleets.

For further information, visit our website at www.first-quantum.com or contact:

Bonita To, Director, Investor Relations

(416) 361-6400 Toll-free: 1 (888) 688-6577

E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the expected timing for closing of the transaction; the satisfaction of closing conditions in respect of the Acquisition, including regulatory approvals; the work, including feasibility and metallurgical studies, to be completed to progress the Project; the funding of expenditures related to the Project; the impact and expected benefits of the Acquisition and the Companys partnership with Rio Tinto on the Companys business and operations; and expectations regarding the future demand for copper. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, the Company has made numerous assumptions, including as to the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals required to complete Acquisition; Rio Tinto and the Company maintaining strong local support for the Project; the successful completion of the feasibility and metallurgical studies required to progress the Project; and the ability of the Company to fund the Acquisition, including the first $546 million in study and development work and subsequent expenditures related to the Project. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to, political stability in Peru, joint venture risks, potential social and environmental challenges, and events generally impacting global economic, political and social stability. There may also be other factors that cause actual results, performance, achievements or events not as anticipated, estimated or intended, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed in the Companys Annual Information Form. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law.
SBS continues to tease viewers with still cuts featuring the "Dr. Romantic 3" cast. As for the latest teaser, it showcases Kim Min Jae's role as Nurse Park.

The beloved medical K-drama is back with another season as Teacher Kim, played by Han Suk Kyu will warm the hearts of viewers with the chemistry and heartfelt stories of Doldam Hospital staff and patients.

As the upcoming season nears its much-awaited premiere, SBS released more still cuts showcasing the cast of the drama series.

'Dr. Romantic 3' Cast: Kim Min Jae Reprises His Role as Nurse Park

While viewers are excited to see Han Suk Kyu portraying the iconic doctor, Kim Sa Bu a.k.a Teacher Kim, fans are also looking forward to seeing the supporting cast, which includes Kim Min Jae's character.

In the latest still cuts, SBS dropped a series of snaps featuring the charming nurse of Doldam Hospital.

Wearing his nurse uniform, Park Eun Tak exudes dedication to his work.

In the comment sections, viewers expressed how glad they are to see Kim Min Jae return to season 3.

Moreover, others also mentioned that they love his character despite not being one of the main leads.

According to a media outlet, the actor expressed his thought about reprising his role for three seasons.

Kim Min Jae shared that the medical K-drama is very special to him since it "feels like home" to him.

"I feel like I'm reuniting with my family after gaining various experiences outside," he said, adding "I'm so honored and happy to be able to work with them again."

Moreover, the actor hints at his continued romance with Yoon Ah Reum, played by So Ju Yeon.

"Please look forward to Eun Tak's past story as to why he came down to Doldam Hospital as well as the romance with doctor Yoon Ah Reum," he furthered, adding that his character will showcase "deeper emotions that viewers couldn't see in Season 2."

'Dr. Romantic 3' Cast, Release Date, and More

As the broadcast network continues to tease viewers with interesting still cuts, SBS recently confirmed the premiere date of the series.

"Dr. Romantic 3" release date is set on April 28 airing every Friday and Saturday and will replace Lee Je Hoon's drama "Taxi Driver 2."

The 16-part episode K-drama is available on SBS while the previous seasons can be streamed through Netflix, Viki, Viu TV, and more.

Meanwhile, the "Dr. Romantic 3" cast includes returning and new characters.

Besides Han Suk Kyu and Kim Min Jae, viewers will get to see Ahn Hyo Seop, Lee Sung Kyung, Jin Kyung, Im Won Hee, Byun Woo Min, Bora, and Jung Ji Ahn who were all present in the previous season.

As for the new cast, Lee Shin Young who appeared in "Crash Landing on You" will be the youngest doctor at Doldam Hospital while Lee Hong Nae will portray the role of a military doctor.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Kim Min Jae To Possibly Fulfill His Military Service This 2023



KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Park Bo Gum made heads turn as he surprised the crowd with his unique fashion at the Celine event.

The "Reply 1988" star graced the French luxury brand's pop-up store in Seoul, along with his fellow brand ambassadors BLACKPINK's Lisa and BTS' V.

Park Bo Gum Stuns in Bold Shorts

While the BLACKPINK's Lisa opted for a chic look by wearing a matchy button-down cropped blazer and an A-line skirt paired with a tube top along with the iconic triomphe bag and with the BTS member strutting his dapper looks with a longline blazer, a black top, and jeans, Park Bo Gum went differently and showed off his great legs.

The actor went for a leather jacket, and a simple white button-down shirt to balance the outfit, and capped off the look with pin-striped tailored shorts.

Moreover, he also paired it with leather boots to match his moto jacket.

Over Twitter, fans expressed how thrilled they are to see Park Bo Gum get out of his comfort zone and experiment with his looks.

Moreover, some commented that he didn't only have nice visuals but also has a proportioned body. Others were also surprised that Park Bo Gum looked taller in his outfit.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Park Bo Gum Trends After Another Adorable Intreraction With BLACKPINK's Lisa

Interestingly, this is not the first time that the South Korean heartthrob made headlines during the Celine event.

Back in June 2022, Park Bo Gum joined BTS' V and BLACKPINK's Lisa at the Paris Fashion Week's Celine show where media and fans were stunned to see the trio grace the event. At the time, besides their chemistry, fans went crazy over Boggumie's interaction with the female K-pop star.

In November, the 29-year-old actor was named as the official global brand ambassador for Celine and graced the cover of W Korea for the announcement.

Apart from being active in fashion events, Park Bo Gum is also booked and busy with on-screen projects this 2023.

Park Bo Gum to Star With IU in 'You Have Done Well'

The South Korean heartthrob will return to the small screen with an interesting team-up with IU.

Confirmed to headline the upcoming romance drama, Park Bo Gum will star in "You Have Done Well," along with Moon So Ri and Park Hae Joon, who will portray the older version of IU and Bogummy.

Joining them as supporting actors are U-KISS' JunYoung and veteran actress Na Moon Hee from "Navillera."

This is Park Bo Gum's first K-drama after his enlistment, and since 2020 hit K-drama "Record of Youth" with Park So Dam.

However, he previously appeared in the star-studded variety show "Young Actors' Retreat" with "Love in the Moonlight" cast Kim Yoo Jung, Jung Jin Young and more as well as Park Seo Joon, Ji Chang Wook, Ahn Bo Hyun and some cast of "Itaewon Class" and "The Sound of Magic."
Gong Hyo Jin stirred buzz online after she poured her honest thoughts about Jeon Do Yeon in her own personal account, following the press conference of the latter's forthcoming film "Kill Bok Soon."

Both under Management SOOP, Gong Hyo Jin and Jeon Do Yeon are two of the most loved actresses in the South Korean industry, boasting a list of amazing K-Dramas since their debuts.

Gong Hyo Jin Praises Jeon Do Yeon For Amazing Acting Skills

Ahead of their respective return to the spotlight, Gong Hyo Jin and Jeon Do Yeon shook the entire Hallyu scene with their adorable interaction!

On Thursday, March 30, Gong Hyo Jin surprised every fan with a photo of Jeon Do Yeon on her Instagram story. It was taken at the press conference of the actress' upcoming film "Kill Bok Soon," raising expectations.

"Kill Bok Soon" starring Jeon Do Yeon depicts the life of a legendary hitman who is hired to take down powerful figures with a 100% success rate.

However, her life with her teenage daughter turns upside down due to an unavoidable incident. With its wonderful premise, "Kill Bok Soon" became one of the most anticipated works of 2023.

In addition to that, Gong Hyo Jin's praises and review for Jeon Do Yeon and her work even doubled the public's eagerness to catch the film.

Gong Hyo Jin also expressed her jealousy of Jeon Do Yeon's unbeatable acting skills, saying, "Kill Bok Soon. Jeon Do Yeon sunbaenim's (senior) acting was superb. I will never be able to imitate her legacy."

Jeon Do Yeon is the first South Korean star who was hailed as Best Actress at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, proving her top notch performance as an artist.

Gong Hyo Jin also doesn't fall flat compared to the other actress as she's also one of the biggest stars in South Korea. Moreover, fans praised Jeon Do Yeon as well as Gong Hyo Jin for their beautiful friendship, despite their seven-year age gap.

'Kill Bok Soon' Further Details & More

Jeon Do Yeon showcased her prowess and gravity-defying action skills in the complex yet fun Netflix film "Kill Bok Soon."

Apart from her, the movie also stars top notch actors such as Sol Kyung Gu, Esom and Koo Kyo Hwan.

It is directed by Byun Sung Hyun, the creator of Cannes Film "The Merciless" and Baeksang Arts awarded masterpiece "Kingmaker."

"Kill Bok Soon" is scheduled to greet the viewers on Friday, March 31 on Netflix worldwide.

Gong Hyo Jin Headlines New Sci-Fi Series With Lee Min Ho

This 2023, Gong Hyo Jin couples up with Lee Min Ho and Gong Hyo Jin in the most anticipated sci-fi romance drama "Ask The Stars"!

A modern-day Romeo and Juliet, the two regarded actors will showcase the romance between an OB-GYNE who arrives at a space station as a tourist and an indifferent Korean-American astronaut.

With Gong Hyo Jin and Lee Min Ho's talents and adorable chemistry, the two are expected to deliver a timeless and entertaining work. Filming for the drama has ended in early 2023, and it is expected to hit the screen in the second half of the year.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
In the brand new episode of "Call It Love," Kim Young Kwang and Lee Sung Kyung step up their game and become bolder in expressing their true feelings for one another.

However, a series of mishaps continues to hinder their love story. Here's what happened in episode 12.

Han Dong Jin & Shim Woo Joo Share Sweet Kiss

After spending the night together, Han Dong Jin (Kim Young Kwang) awakens alone in his bed.

Just as when he's about to get annoyed by her absence, Shim Woo Joo (Lee Sung Kyung) calls out to him from the other room. The woman teases him for thinking she ran away. They then share their dreams about the future.

Shim Woo Joo also confesses that she loves spending time with Han Dong Jin, finally letting him know about her true feelings for the other. Han Dong Jin then kisses Shim Woo Joo, declaring his affection for the latter.

Han Dong Jin Grows Concerned About Shim Woo Joo

Han Dong Jin smiles at the breakfast that Shim Woo Joo made for him. At work, Shim Woo Joo couldn't look him straight in the eyes, creating an awkward atmosphere.

Unfortunately, things become even more tense after Han Dong Jin learns that Shim Woo Joo turned down the contract to work at Best Fairs, leaving him a little bummed out.

At the grocery store, Shim Woo Joo bumps into Kang Min Young (EXID) who's about to move out soon. She promises not to bother her and Han Dong Jin anymore.

Han Dong Jin's annoyance is doubled when his mother declares that she will stay over at his place for a couple of weeks after she is scammed by her new lover.

Han Dong Jin Finds Contentment In Shim Woo Joo

Both troubled with their personal dilemmas, Han Dong Jin and Shim Woo Joo seek salvation in one another. Thankfully, their problems melt away as they share a warm embrace.

Han Dong Jin convinces Shim Woo Joo to reconsider extending her contract at Best Fairs, saying that he'll be sad if she's not around.

When the latter is nowhere to be seen, Han Dong Jin grows worried and contacts Shim Woo Joo's brother. Sadly, he also doesn't know where her sister is at the moment.

Shim Woo Joo, who's clouded with thoughts, is seen walking down the street. To comfort her, Han Dong Jin brings her to a karaoke bar.

As the song continues to play, Shim Woo Joo drowns herself in her own thoughts and kisses Han Dong Jin, once again declaring her love for the latter.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
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Artist Jean Paul Riopelle is shown in a 1955 handout photo. Nine cultural projects have been chosen to share a $1.3-million Canadian Heritage grant to create artworks for the 100th anniversary of artist Jean Paul Riopelles birth. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-@Estate Jean Paul Riopelle/SOCAN (2022) **MANDATORY CREDIT**
The Canadian Pharmacists Association says protecting Canadian drug supplies from mass exportation to the U.S. market remains a priority in light of B.C.'s recent move to limit sales of the diabetes drug Ozempic, which has been hyped as a weight-loss treatment. Prescription drugs are seen on shelves at a pharmacy in Montreal on March 11, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Former Kennesaw State students achieve blockbuster Hollywood success

KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 31, 2023

Kennesaw State is rolling out the red carpet for two former students who helped create one of the highest grossing films of all time, Avatar: The Way of Water.

Bill Lorton and Vaughn Cato wrote much of the core software program for the motion capture used in the epic film that just won an Academy Award for best visual effects. The two men will be the featured speakers at an event on the Marietta Campus on April 6.

Its almost too much to think about when you consider the record-breaking, worldwide success of the Avatar series, said Lorton. We just try to stay humble.

Lorton and Cato met as software engineering students at Southern Polytechnic State University, now Kennesaw State University, in the 1990s. They became friends instantly and have been a team ever since.

We realized we both had a maniacal passion for software engineering before we even started college, said Lorton.

Cato added, Our minds were always just wired to automatically think, how can I use science and technology to solve a problem?

Motion capture technology uses reflective markers to capture an actors movement and translates it to a computer or a CGI character. The mens careers in motion capture software programming began in video game production in the early 1990s, and they say video games used to be their bread and butter. But they recognized early on the potential that motion capture could have in films.

Vaughn Cato and Bill Lorton

While the gifted duo has worked on many films, including Polar Express, Lord of the Rings, and "The Incredible Hulk, the Avatar films are their biggest labors of love. Their talent in the development of the motion-capture system, now used to help create the world of Pandora in Avatar, earned them Academy Awards in 2005 for Technical Achievement. A picture from that award ceremony standing alongside actress Scarlett Johansson remains a favorite.

In 2017, when writer and producer James Cameron started production of Avatar: The Way of Water, Lorton and Cato were named as lead programmers for the film. While one might think a move to Hollywood followed, Lorton and Cato never left their homes in Marietta, Georgia. In fact, the software programmers each worked from their home offices and would usually only see each other if their wives arranged a night out to dinner.

Lorton and Cato had their work cut out for them with the Avatar sequel because so much of it was filmed underwater in a huge tank in Manhattan Beach, California. They said the bubbles in the water resembled the reflective markers so it would confuse their system. This would require Cato to fly out to the set several times.

It was exciting to be on set in that it was like controlled chaos. But it was also a lot of pressure because we were the ones who created the software, Cato said.

Thats what we did though, Lorton added. We would see the problems, fix them, see more problems, and fix those. It was constant improvement. Plus, when you work with James Cameron, you must be prepared because he has such big ideas.

Lorton and Cato were also lead programmers for a third film in the series, which was shot alongside Avatar: The Way of Water, and they will work on two additional installments.

Its the biggest motion-capture series ever made, so being involved in the motion-capture technology of it is a big deal, said Cato. But there are so many other aspects involved, too, so we will always just stay humble and work hard.

As satisfying as theyve found the immense success of Avatar, they say they know their roots and credit their own success to Kennesaw State.

Southern Tech, now Kennesaw State, was very hands-on and really focused on practical application versus the theory. Theory is important, but at the end of the day, you need to make stuff work. Southern Tech taught us how to do that, Cato said.

 Amanda Cook

Photos by Darnell Wilburn

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 43,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The universitys vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
Tackling the health care crisis with artificial intelligence: Combating physician and nursing shortages in the United States

The United States is grappling with a significant health care crisis as physician and nursing shortages impact the nations ability to provide adequate care to an aging population. A combination of factors contributes to these shortages, with consequences that can be far-reaching. This article will explore the factors contributing to these shortages, their potential impacts, the ongoing efforts to address them, and how artificial intelligence (AI) can be pivotal in mitigating these issues.

Physician and nursing shortage: contributing factors

According to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the United States will face a shortage of 54,100 and 139,000 physicians by 2033.

Several factors are contributing to the growing shortages of physicians and nurses in the United States:

An aging population: The demand for health care services is increasing due to a rapidly aging population, putting immense pressure on the existing health care workforce.

An aging health care workforce: Many physicians and nurses are nearing retirement age, reducing the number of available health care providers.

Insufficient educational capacity: Medical schools, nursing schools, and residency programs struggle to meet the growing demand for new health care professionals.

Burnout and stress: High levels of stress, long work hours, and increasing administrative burdens contribute to burnout among physicians and nurses, leading some to leave the profession.

Geographic distribution disparities: Rural and underserved areas often lack health care professionals, as many prefer to practice in urban or suburban settings.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) projects that the U.S. will need to produce more than one million new registered nurses by 2022 to meet the countrys health care needs.

Efforts to address the shortages

Various initiatives are being implemented to address the physician and nursing shortages:

Expanding educational capacity: Increasing the capacity of medical and nursing schools and providing more funding for residency programs can help accommodate the growing need for health care professionals.

Incentivizing work in underserved areas: Financial incentives and loan forgiveness programs can encourage health care professionals to work in rural and underserved regions.

Addressing burnout and workplace stress: Implementing policies that reduce administrative burdens, promote work-life balance, and provide mental health support can help decrease burnout and turnover rates.

Encouraging diversity in health care: Promoting diversity in health care education and the workforce can help attract a broader range of candidates to the profession, addressing shortages and health disparities.

The role of artificial intelligence in combating the shortages

In addition to these initiatives, AI has the potential to play a significant role in addressing the physician and nursing shortages:

Enhanced diagnostic and treatment capabilities: AI-driven algorithms can support health care professionals in diagnosing illnesses and determining appropriate treatments, reducing the workload and stress while improving patient outcomes.

Remote patient monitoring and telehealth: AI-powered systems can help monitor patients remotely, allowing health care professionals to provide care to patients in rural and underserved areas without needing to be physically present. Telehealth platforms, supported by AI, can also facilitate virtual consultations and follow-ups.

Streamlining administrative tasks: AI can help automate time-consuming administrative tasks, such as electronic health record management, appointment scheduling, and billing, allowing health care professionals to focus on patient care and reducing the risk of burnout.

Predictive analytics for workforce planning: AI-powered predictive analytics can assist health care organizations in identifying workforce gaps and anticipating future staffing needs, enabling more effective recruitment and retention strategies.

AI-driven medical education and training: AI can create personalized and adaptive learning experiences for medical and nursing students, improving the efficiency of health care education and better preparing students for their future careers.

Legislation and cultural changes for AI-medical training for a new subclass of health care workers: Legislation to fund and regulate a health care worker that Physicians, Physician Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners can supervise. These new health care workers, whom I will call Healthcare Expert Leveraging Patient-centered Efficient Resource (HELPER), can enter the workforce to improve patient care. The goal is to allow HELPERs to have AI access to a health care database (BioGPT) and provide patient care at the level of medical assistants. The difference is instead of the certificate, diploma program, or associate degree takes anywhere from 9 months to 24 months. The training will take less time, allowing HELPERs to enter the market to assist in this health care crisis sooner. This will allow for more Health care workers in the event of the next pandemic.

AI-assisted decision-making: AI tools can help health care providers make more informed decisions by analyzing large volumes of data, reducing the cognitive load on professionals, and potentially improving patient outcomes.

Conclusion

The physician and nursing shortages in the United States pose a significant threat to the nations health care system. To effectively address these challenges, it is crucial for stakeholders, including the government, health care institutions, and educational organizations, to collaborate and employ a multi-faceted approach. Artificial intelligence has the potential to play a pivotal role in alleviating the burden on health care professionals and improving the overall efficiency of the health care system.

By integrating AI technologies into diagnostics, treatment, telehealth, administration, workforce planning, and medical education, the health care industry can work towards a more sustainable and efficient system that better serves the needs of an aging population. Embracing AI-driven solutions can help mitigate physician and nursing shortages while ensuring that quality care remains accessible.

Harvey Castro is a physician, health care consultant, and serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in the health care industry. He can be reached on his website, harveycastromd.info, Twitter @HarveycastroMD, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. He is the author of The AI-Driven Entrepreneur: Unlocking Entrepreneurial Success with Artificial Intelligence Strategies and Insights, ChatGPT and Healthcare: The Key To The New Future of Medicine, ChatGPT and Healthcare: Unlocking The Potential Of Patient Empowerment, Revolutionize Your Health and Fitness with ChatGPTs Modern Weight Loss Hacks, and Success Reinvention.
Health experts have asked the government to formulate what will be used to regulate blood transfusion services in the country.

The Minister for Health, Dr. Ruth Jane Aceng says the law is required to make sure that the blood transfusion services in the country are transformed.

She says the blood transfusion services should be independent, and this will make it possible to easily open up blood transfusion centres in country areas.

She made the remarks while officiating at the launch of an organization that is preparing Uganda to host the 11th international congress of the Africa society for blood transfusion.

She says currently, the demand for safe blood in Uganda stands at 457,000 units annually against the 33,000 units of blood being collected annually.
Police in Matugga are investigating circumstances under which a 26-year-old casual worker fell into a rolling machine and died instantly at China Chan Jiang Steel and Iron Factory located in Buwonzi village along Sanga-Semuto road.

Martin Kayanga,26, was working with his colleagues when he slid and fell into a rolling machine that he was operating, resulting in his death.

The machine was immediately stopped, and the victim was rushed to Mulago hospital but according to police, he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Luke Owoyesigyire the Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy police spokesperson says the crime scene has been documented as investigations continue.

The police responded swiftly to the incident and upon arrival at the scene, found that the victim had already been removed from the machine. The crime scene was documented, photographed, and swabs were collected from the roller machine, along with the suspected remains of the deceased, as part of the ongoing investigations, Owoyesigyire said in a statement.
By Mike Sebalu

The Minister in charge of Economic Monitoring, Beatrice Akello has called for a review of the Parish Development Model (PDM) for the implementers to stick to the policy statement, majority of whom have turned away from it.

This Government strategy or approach was initiated last financial year for organizing and delivering public and private sector interventions for wealth creation and employment generation at the parish level as the lowest economic planning unit with a view of providing support to more Ugandans to increase their demand for goods and services.

But according to Akello, during her monitoring tour across the different parts of the country, she discovered that there is a total deviation from what was supposed to be enforced and this might hinder the results of the program.

She was speaking at the opening of the Pre-APEX Platform Validation Meeting on the report; Examining the Impact of Commercialization of Agriculture in Local Economic Development for Socio-Economic Transformation of Uganda Over the Period 2010 to 2021 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kampala.

This was organised under the theme, The impact of commercialization of agriculture interventions in local economic development for socio-economic transformation of Uganda over the period 2010 to 2021.
The Leader of Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga has asked the Ministry of Agriculture to explain the circumstances under which officials from Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) allegedly maliciously destroyed and sprayed coffee nursery beds with herbicides in Masaka City.

Mpuuga made the plea during the plenary sitting where he revealed that an official from UCDA only identified as Kabalega with the help of UPDF soldiers has been carrying out these malicious acts, yet the National Coffee Bill does not give the authority powers to carry out such actions without prior notification to the coffee farmers, who even have certificates from UCDA.

However the Minister of Agriculture, Frank Tumwebaze expressed regret concerning the actions and denied allegations of issuing such instructions, promising to report back to parliament next week with a comprehensive report on the matter.
By Mike Sebalu

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni who doubles as the Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces has clarified that the UPDF deployment to the East Africa Force in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo is not to fight the M23 instead is geared towards keeping peace in the region.

On Wednesday, the Commander Land Forces, Lt Gen Kayanja Muhanga, flagged off a contingent of 5,000 UPDF soldiers to go and help the Congolese government to stabilise the eastern part of the DRC, particularly in Rutshuru-Goma area.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Museveni said the UPDF is in DRC to act as a neutral force as the Congolese use the time to sort out their political problems and, adding that Ugandan soldiers would fight only when the attached.

We are not going to fight the M23 since the government of DRC and the M-23 agreed to a peace plan which involves cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of the M-23 from some of the specified areas they had captured, Musevenis statement reads in part.

The president added that talks in that regard are ongoing and should continue so that the problem is handled politically.

He further disclosed that the UPDF initial mission is instead to occupy some of the positions that the M-23 has handed over to the East African Force as a neutral force.
The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has extended the grace period it had given to those who breach provisions of the National Environment Act, 2019 by a month.

The authority had announced that it would launch the Administrative Penalty Scheme for Environmental breaches on April 1, 2023, but in a statement released on Friday evening, the enforcement has been paused for 30 days.

In the statement, NEMA executive director, Barirega Akankwasah says they made the decision after an engagement with the public transporters federation who requested for additional time to install dust bins to prevent littering from public transport vehicles.

NEMA has as such notified security agencies that no motorist should be arrested during the 30 days for lack of a dustbin.

Today (March 31, 2023) we had an engagement with the public transporters federation led by their chairperson Mr. Rashid Ssekindi. The public transporters requested for additional time to install trash bins/bags in their vehicles. We have accordingly given them a grace period of 30 days to enable them install the bags/bins to prevent littering from public transport vehicles, the statement reads in part.

The enforcement teams are hereby notified accordingly that nobody should be arrested or fined for not having a trash/bag during this grace period of 30 days starting ls, April 2023. However, during this grace period, public vehicles or private vehicles found littering will be impounded and owners prosecuted in accordance with the law, the statement reads further.

Relatedly, the UN Secretary-General called for a tough war on garbage. Antonio Guterres was speaking at an event in the General Assembly Hall marking the first-ever International Day of Zero Waste.

He said the planet is literally drowning in garbage, and it is high time to clean up.

The Secretary-General said the global population is treating planet earth like a garbage dump, warning that the messy mountain will reach four billion tonnes by 2050.
By Ritah Kemigisa and Arthur Wadero

The US government has challenged the government of Uganda to uphold human rights if it is to achieve social-economic transformation.

The call was made last night by the outgoing US Ambassador Natalie Brown while officiating at an event where the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was celebrating 60 years of partnership with the Ugandan people.

Former Ugandan Prime Minister, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda was the chief guest at this event.

Over the decades, USAID has worked in close collaboration with the government and the people of Uganda investing in health, tourism, education, and agriculture.

Ambassador Brown said much as the US has made meaningful accomplishments over the years in Uganda, a number of challenges still abound but recommitted to working towards a brighter future.

Real development can only happen when all people are equal in dignity and rights. This is not an easy task the U.S. government also seeks through all its engagement to support development in a way that enhances human rights and human dignity abroad, said Ambassador Brown.

Ambassador Brown has meanwhile appealed to the government to support the civil society saying it is also a major link to economic prosperity.

Speaking at the same event, Dr. Moses Isooba, the executive director, Uganda National NGO Forum asked the US government to increase support to local and indigenous civil society organizations in order to consolidate the gains and investments and in order to ensure local ownership of these investments by the Ugandan people.

This is one of the ways to empower the Ugandan people to take responsibility for their destiny, said Dr. Isooba.

On his part, the USAID mission director Richard Nelson said using their software and people-centered approach, they have made a number of achievements including helping the Uganda Revenue Authority collect an additional 1.3 billion dollars, protecting over 4 million Ugandans against Malaria among others.

 Its often hard to measure the impact of this software/people-oriented approach, but heres what it looks like: fewer people are dying of disease and poor health, more children can read, more people will go to university, more farmers are feeding their families, businesses are hiring more people, the fiscal deficit is significantly smaller than it would be, theres less gender-based violence, fewer children will be abused in school, more refugees have food to eat, and more people will understand their rights and are able to exercise them. All of this contributes heavily to the economy and social welfare of Uganda, he said.

According to Nelson USAID alone has invested nearly $1.5 billion since 2020 when he started work in Uganda.
Liselott Olofsson grew up in the heart of Kilkenny city. She attended school in the Presentation primary and secondary and went onto college in NCAD in Dublin where she studied art and ceramics.

After completing a HDip in primary school education, she spent 22 years as a primary school teacher, with the past 10 years in Kilkenny's Gaelscoil Osrai.

This year she decided to stop teaching and concentrate on her other passion, her studio in Kilkenny city called The Clayrooms. Although she will still be teaching, but in ceramics. Students, beginners and the experienced, can engage with clay by learning to throw on the potter's wheel or learn hand building techniques.

Liselott has shown her work in Kilkenny, Cork, Dublin, and Vienna. She is currently on show at the National Design & Craft Gallery of Ireland with her Exhibition called Bearing Witness.

Tomm Moore and Liselott Olofsson at the launch of her exhibition at the National Design & Craft Gallery in Kilkenny

Here is a glimpse into Liselott's world...

Youve had an interesting career between teaching and ceramics.

I started in NCAD doing art teaching, but I left after three years of a four-year degree because I was too pressured as I also was a young mother.

So, I went on and did a ceramics degree in NCAD, which meant I stayed there for six years in total. I was teaching for a couple of years here in Kilkenny as an art teacher in secondary schools and I also had my own practice.

Then I went off and retrained as a primary school teacher and gave up my own ceramics career for ten years. Until I couldnt ignore ceramics anymore and opened the Clayrooms in January 2022.

Creating teapots at the Clayrooms

Niamh Sinnott, Aisling McElwain, and I set up the Clayrooms in the middle of a pandemic! Its a pottery teaching studio on Colliers Lane in Kilkenny city. We are all ceramics artists and teach. So far, the feedback has been fantastic.

We are getting repeat business and people coming back for more courses. We do throwing and hand building courses as well as one off taste of throwing courses at the weekends. People can make their own cake stands, teapots, coffee cup filters and they made vases for Mothers Day. Over Easter we have an adult and children throwing workshop and we're putting together our summer schedule soon.

We are trying to reach out and build a community who enjoy working with clay. We've had wheelchair users come in and use our special adaptive wheel for throwing clay.

Your work explores a lot of social and environmental themes. How do you bring that to the Clayrooms?

My work explores social and environmental themes by allowing the viewer to interact and question their relationship to the ideas which underpin them. I aim to challenge existing beliefs, to promote reflection and deepen levels of engagement with the themes.

In the Clayrooms, we have created a very social space due to the process with clay i.e. you don't make something within an hour. So, theres an engagement for at least three hours if you come on our courses.

It's about having that space where people can come and have a chat and feel really part of the community, thats what we are trying to develop, so the social aspect is really important.

Another reason why I set up the Clayrooms - I was working alone in my home studio, which I built 14 years ago. I realized that I'm a social person, because I enjoy teaching, I enjoy being with groups and I enjoy the dynamics of groups and that's why I think I really enjoy the Clayrooms, and its social aspect.

I enjoyed being in college, meeting different artists and different disciplines in college and talking about our opinions, ideas and processes and materials and all that. Being in my home studio on my own was a bit sad for me, I never really enjoyed it, and I was always trying to find a space where I could meet other people.

The Clayrooms are a win for both teacher and students.

Time to get creative at the Clayrooms

Whats the backstory behind your current exhibition Bearing Witness at the National Craft Gallery?

A lot of the times that I was working on my own in my studio, I was listening to the radio at the time. It was back in 2018, and there were a lot of reports about violence against women and domestic violence.

At the time, I was doing a lot of meditations and there was a practice called bearing witness meditation. Niamh Barrett runs this kind of bearing witness meditation practice, and I joined one of her practices in Dublin. It was a beneficiary to the Women's Aid Report.

Margaret Martin, the Director of the Womens Aid Agency came to the meditation and at the end just spoke to us about Women's Aid and the work that they do. Afterwards we went up to the mountains to do walking meditation to remember all the women who had been found dead in the mountains and those who had disappeared.

That practice of bearing witness was really powerful for me, and I wanted somehow to be able to make some work in reflection to that experience and the crisis that was happening in Ireland at the time, the increase of domestic violence during the pandemic and that is still happening.

So, the 232 cups represent all the women that were killed.

Yes, they do. Each individual cup is casted in porcelain with a different handle, which is a visceral representation of the number of women who were violently murdered.

I asked Margaret Martin if I could use their 2017 Womens Aid Report. I took statistics from the report and looked at the number of women that were recorded since Women's Aid was established in 1997.

From 1997 to 2017, 232 women were murdered, and I wanted to represent each person in a sense, but not personally. I wanted to make a piece of work that anybody could view, and it wouldn't be upsetting.

Like, I didn't want to create a piece that was violent. I thought about what a domestic situation looks like, I think thats when you share a cup of tea and the Women's Aid is about listening to people and sharing stories. I can imagine people having cups of tea and talking about their stories. So, it's trying to find a way to express a social element to my work in a way that was non-violent and was accessible.

Your Bearing Witness exhibition has really touched the family members of the women who were in domestic violent situations.

Yes, when my work was on display in Kilkennys Watergate, I had lots of family members come to me. Mothers whose daughters had been murdered.

At the time, I didn't really understand the impact of the exhibition and you cant help but absorb the impact of their stories. It was great to give people space to tell their story about their daughters.

They had heard about the exhibition, came to see and in turn I sat and listened to them for three or four hours every day. For me I wanted to create that safe space where they could talk and a listening space. I wanted to bear witness to their personal stories.

Your partner is Tomm Moore of the award-winning animation company Cartoon Saloon. You have some exciting news about a new film that you will be making with him.

Yes, we have worked 30 years on creating a life together so now we have decided to collaborate on a short film called A tiger in Paris.

Its based on a true story about a tiger escaping from a circus in Paris in 2017. Its also about how peoples imaginations were sparked and reported that there were sightings of the tiger all over Paris, when in fact she was just on the loose in a small part of Paris for just two hours.

It looks a little bit on colonialism as it is set in Paris. Theres also going to be a nod towards animal welfare, animal rights and speciesism because thats a passion of ours as vegans for over 20 years.

It's exciting as we are going to be stepping into each others worlds. Both our passions will be moulded together in this film, there is going to be a little bit of ceramics and clay animation in the film too.

You have been to the Oscars three times with Tomm for Cartoon Saloons fantastic nominations. What have they been like?

Theres a great sense of community with the Irish in LA. All the Irish people in LA come together to celebrate the nominations. The nomination is the celebration, its not the awards, which is lovely. Especially this year when there was a great showing of the Irish.

It is also stressful, getting your hair and makeup done! Ive been lucky to wear some beautiful pieces of jewellery from Kilkennys Rudolf Heltzel and gowns designed by Irish designers Jennifer Rothwell and Joan Brennan.

We've been very lucky, people have been so generous and so kind and supportive, especially to Cartoon Saloon.

Bearing Witness exhibition runs until May 2023 at the National Design & Craft Gallery of Ireland. Adult & child throwing taster class over the Easter holidays www.clayroomskilkenny.ie
Every month the Alliance Francaise provide a cultural evening for their students and any of the public interested in attending. This month the cultural evening consisted of a concert given by musical duo - Anna Tanvir and Maninder Singh in the Club House Hotel.

This was an Indian-Irish combination called Indeceltic which comprises of Anna Tanvir and Maninder Singh who met in Kashmir when both were teaching music at the same school.

Anna was born in Dublin of mixed British and Indian parents and was raised in India and Britain. She has lived and worked in a wide variety of countries and performed with a huge range of musicians and has toured extensively. She and Maninder are now living in Ireland and are beginning to perform and build a following here.

Their concert was very well attended, and the audience were delighted to listen to beautiful, harmonious singing from Anna and Maninder of songs from around the world.

The audience enjoyed a highly entertaining performance which included songs from Ireland, Scotland, England, Senegal, Madagascar, India and Kenya. What they had in common was a beautiful melody line and the possibility of harmonious singing.

Anna set the musical tone with sumptuous harp playing and was accompanied on a variety of stringed instruments by Maninder.

Together they harmonised instrumentally and vocally.

The audience was deeply appreciative and really wanted to hear more and gave them a rapturous applause.

It is hoped that Anna Tanvir and Maninder Singh will be performing more in local venues. If they do, make sure you dont miss them.
Thirteen lives a year could be saved in Kilkenny if authorities on both sides of the Border adopt international guidelines on air pollution, a new report claims.

The major all-island assessment reveals that around 2,600 premature deaths can be attributed to air pollution  1,700 in the Republic and 900 in Northern Ireland  annually.

In Kilkenny, the data shows that 37 premature deaths a year are linked to dirty air  with 14 people in the county dying from heart disease as a result of air pollution.

The study, Air Pollution and Mortality on the Island of Ireland, launched by Environment Minister Eamon Ryan last Thursday, was commissioned by the Irish Heart Foundation and British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland and compiled by experts from Queens University Belfast and Technological University Dublin.

The World Health Organisation recommends air quality guideline levels for harmful particulate matter, largely caused by the burning of solid fuels, of 5 micrograms per cubic metre - but the level in Kilkenny is 7.9 micrograms.

The Irish and Northern Irish heart charities are calling on both governments to collaborate to improve air quality across the whole island.

We know that across the island of Ireland, poor air quality is continuing to have a detrimental impact on public health, said Irish Heart Foundation CEO, Tim Collins.

This report estimates that there could be almost 1,000 fewer premature deaths per year attributable to air pollution on the island of Ireland if we are to achieve fine particulate matter pollution levels in line with the updated 2021 WHO guideline level.

The findings within this report (funded by a grant from The Community Foundation For Ireland), make for stark reading and serve to shed some light on the size of the problem of air pollution.

We hope that decision makers on the island will utilise it to move forward with bold action on air pollution to protect our health.

He called for an all-island strategy to make the WHO guidelines enforceable on both sides of the Border  and help for households experiencing fuel poverty to lessen their reliance on solid fuels to heat their homes.

Air pollution does not respect borders, therefore, to truly improve our air quality, governments must work together with co-ordinated policy interventions and legislation to protect our health, including to completely phase out the most health-harming solid fuels and transition to cleaner, more sustainable forms of home heating, he said.

Particulate matter or PM2.5 can damage blood vessels, causing them to become narrower and harder, and can also cause abnormal heart rhythms and increase blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

The report found the biggest risk to life from air pollution is heart disease, with 680 heart disease and stroke deaths in the Republic and 300 in Northern Ireland linked to the inhalation of PM2.5.

Environment, Climate and Communications Minister, Eamon Ryan, welcomed the valuable report, which he said shines a spotlight on the impact of residential heating and transport on air quality.

The report also reaffirms what I and this Government have always acknowledged  that there are no safe levels of air pollution, and taking into account all its negative effects, the onus is on us to move towards the new WHO guidelines, he said.

Head of British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland Fearghal McKinney added that the report highlights the need for action on air pollution in order to save lives.

Too many deaths across the island are attributable to air pollution. This report clearly shows that deaths from heart disease and strokes could be prevented by improving air quality, he added.
High Street suffered a setback this week, as two major business premises in Kilkenny City centre close their doors.



However, the unique vibrancy and business buzz of the city will be maintained by the businesses that remain committed to the city, says Kilkenny Chamber.



Joining the list of empty business premises this week is the Argos store, which closed for the final time on Saturday, and soon the Ulster Banks High Street branch, scheduled to end services on March 31, and close at the end of April  two more unoccupied, prime locations in the heart of the citys shopping and business district.



Kilkenny cannot afford to be complacent, and that is why the Chamber continues to lobby government on behalf of local businesses, particularly on such important issues as supports, said the President of Kilkenny Chamber, Brian Keyes, who pointed out the phenomenon of vacant city centre premises can be seen right across Europe.

Kilkenny has retained its unique vibrancy and business buzz, Mr Keyes added and, despite the recent closures initial tentative reports showing a return to 2019 levels of business for the sector locally.



He went on to say there have been some very strong wins for Kilkenny in recent times  Abbotts arrival with 800 jobs, Azteca recently with up to 150 jobs when finished and the ongoing development particularly in an expanding Fintech sector. Right in the heart of the city, the Abbey Quarter is preparing for its next phase of development, and generating considerable international interest.



The decision to close the Kilkenny Argos branch, and all Argos stores across the Republic of Ireland, has been influenced by changing consumer habits and the growth of online shopping.

Ulster Bank will cease all transactions on March 31, with staff helping any remaining customers close their accounts until the permanent branch closure on April 21.
A Kilkenny school has taken one of the top awards at PExpo 23 held in DCU, Dublin, on Wednesday (March 31).

A study of how sleep affects mental and physical health undertaken by Ada Bambrick and Emily Donohue from the Presentation Secondary School in Loughboy, Kilkenny won the junior prize in the Well-Being category.

PExpo, developed in association with the Physical Education Association of Ireland, was first held in 2015 and is now in its ninth year. Its aim is to promote a better understanding of PE, sport, fitness and health among second level school students.

For the exhibition, based loosely on the Young Scientists format, students are invited to submit projects under one of nine headings, including the power of sport, technology in sport, well-being, components of fitness, nutrition, games development, psychology, and two categories linked to the physical education curriculum for the Leaving Certificate.

Prizes are divided into two age groups - junior for up to third year and senior for fourth year and higher.

As well as the Physical Education Association of Ireland, and Dare to Believe other supporters of PExpo 23 include Sport Ireland, Dublin City Sport and Wellbeing, South Dublin County Sport Partnership and DCU Sport.
The bravery of the men and women defending Ukraine has so impressed a Kilkenny businessman that he has launched an appeal to bring aid to the country.



Jim Harding, from Gowran, travelled to Ukraine earlier this year as part of an Irish aid convoy from Tipeprary, and now has launched his own appeal.

I couldnt come back here, having seen what they are going through, the battles they are fighting, the friends they are losing, and do absolutely nothing, Jim explained to the Kilkenny People.



Ireland as a country may be neutral but the Irish people cannot stand back and see this nation which shares a background eerily similar to our own in terms of famine colonisation and character, defend their country against the worlds second largest military machine without doing everything in our power to help.



Jims appeal is focusing on the vehicles that are needed in Ukraine, especially on the front line and to distribute food and aid.

Speaking to Ukrainians, when he was there in January, Jim said they appear to be pushing back the Russians, but they are doing so at an extremely high cost. They badly want four-wheel vans and ambulances, he said.



The need for ambulances is self explanatory, Jim said, and is central to his aim of saving lives.

Four-wheel drive vehicles are needed to bring people to and from frontline areas. They will bring injured people away from the front and to ambulances and treatment centres. Ambulances are kept back from the frontlines because they cant afford to lose them.

Vans and trucks are also needed to transport food and humanitarian supplies from central depots.

The vehicles needed the most are pickups, for ease of loading and unloading casualties and cargo.



Older but reliable 4wd jeeps are best for them at the moment as they are easier to repair in the field and they are destined for a relatively short life on the front, Jim said.

Those jeeps and vans are sitting all over the country, not being used, they are going for scrap, he highlighted the vehicles his appeal will accept.

For example, one vehicle Jim brought over in January had been sitting in an Irish field for four years. Anything with four wheel drive, it doesnt matter what it is.

As well as the four wheel drives also needed are generators to supply injury stabilisation centres with power, and fire engines which will be sent to areas where they are most needed.



Jim is hoping to team up with another Irish aid appeal to carry medical supplies and first aid kits in the vehicle convoy.

He will need help with fundraising, administration and, eventually, drivers to go to Ukraine.

Before they leave Ireland there will be a need for mechanics to check over the vehicles to make sure they are roadworthy to drive to Ukraine.

Jim is also appealing to local businesses who might come together to sponsor a vehicle or provide financial support. Scan the QR code below with your phone camera to go to the iDonate page.



On a recent similar trip organised by a Tipperary group we drove 17 jeeps and ambulances, generators, medical supplies and warm clothing into Ukraine and delivered them directly to the Ukrainian military, which gave us ample time to chat to many young Ukrainian soldiers about their time and effort in the war. Many explained that they were holding out against the giant Russian Army only with supreme effort on behalf of young men determined to preserve their independence.

One of their difficulties, with which we could help, was getting wounded soldiers back off the front lines to where ambulance crews could reach and rush them to stabilisation centres in preparation for onward journey to hospitals, as getting wounded soldiers medical treatment as quickly was vital for their chance of survival.

The campaign is just starting and Jim is working on the official documentation and registration with local charities in Ukraine for the vehicles and goods he will bring over.

He hopes to travel back, with his convoy of vehicles, in April.

Jim has set up a website, KilkennyUkraine.com, to set out all the details of what is needed by his appeal, and an iDonate page for financial support.

He can also be contacted on 0833340270 or email ireland2ukraine@gmail.com.
A request I get frequently from parents is Id like to add my child to my bank account, in case something happens to me.

The goal for most parents when they ask about this is to give their children access to their money during an emergency. It seems like it should be an easy process, too, and with proper planning, it can be. But parents should be aware that simply making a child the joint owner of a bank account (or investment account or safe deposit box) can have unintended consequences  and its often not the best solution during a family crisis.

The Trouble With Joint Bank Accounts

The majority of banks set up joint accounts as Joint With Rights of Survivorship (JWROS) by default. This type of account ownership generally states that upon the death of either of the owners, the assets will automatically transfer to the surviving owner. This can create a few unexpected issues.

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If the intent was for the remaining assets not spent during the family crisis to be distributed via the terms of a will, thats not going to happen. As previously stated, the assets automatically transfer to the surviving owner, regardless of what your will says.

Adding anyone other than a spouse could trigger a federal gift tax issue. For 2023, any U.S. citizen can gift up to $17,000 per year tax-free to anyone they want, but if the gift exceeds $17,000, and the beneficiary is not a spouse, it could trigger the need to file a gift tax return. For example, if a parent has a $500,000 account and they make it a JWROS account, naming their child as co-owner, and the child makes a $20,000 withdrawal, they have in effect received a gift $3,000 above the annual gift tax exclusion.

If a parent adds a child to their $500,000 savings account and the child predeceases the parent, a portion of the account value could be includable in the childs estate for state inheritance/estate tax purposes. In this scenario, the assets would transfer back to the parent, and depending on the deceaseds state of residence, state inheritance tax could be due on 50% (or more) of the account value. In Pennsylvania, where my office is located, the inheritance tax to a child would be 4.5% if assets are passed to a lineal decent.

A Better Way: Transfer on Death

If the purpose of adding a joint owner to your account(s) is to give them access to your assets upon your death, theres a better way to do it. Most financial institutions will allow you to structure an account Transfer on Death, or TOD. This is simply adding one or more beneficiaries to your account. There are a few benefits that this type of account has over a JWROS account.

If the beneficiary passes before the account owner(s), nothing happens. The previous example of a potential 4.5% state inheritance tax on any portion of the account value would be completely avoided.

When the account owner dies, the beneficiary simply needs to supply a death certificate to the financial institution, and the assets will be transferred. Because the assets transfer to a named beneficiary, the time and cost of probating the will are also avoided, as named beneficiary designations always supersede your will. This applies not only to TOD accounts, but also to retirement plans, annuities and life insurance  really, to any account that you add a named beneficiary.

Setting up an account as TOD does not give the beneficiary access to the account until the passing of the account owner(s). Therefore, the change in titling is in no way considered a gift by the IRS, thus eliminating the potential federal gift tax issue.

Also Consider a Financial Power of Attorney

As discussed, if a parent is to set up an account as Transfer on Death (TOD), the beneficiaries have no access to the account while the owner(s) are still living. So, how does one plan for the event of being incapacitated?

A financial power of attorney is a powerful document which, in effect, allows one or more individuals to perform financial transactions on your behalf. Often, this document is drafted by a qualified attorney, which is the approach I would recommend to my clients. Many financial institutions have internal financial power of attorney forms, which will allow you to give someone financial power of attorney over your accounts at that specific institution without having to hire an attorney. Regardless of how you set it up, there are many reasons why giving someone financial power of attorney is a better approach than adding them as a joint owner to your accounts.

There is no such thing as a joint retirement account. IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities etc., can have only one owner, so its not even possible to make someone a joint owner. If a parent becomes incapacitated, they often want their child to have access to all their assets, not just their bank accounts.

You can set up a successor in the event the original person you appoint is unable to serve. Its always good to have a back-up plan, and you can name a successor when you execute your power of attorney paperwork, or you can amend it later.

You can give your financial power of attorney the ability to conduct real estate transactions on your behalf. For example, there are many situations where a child is helping an elderly parent sell their home or buy a new one, especially if the parent is experiencing cognitive issues. In this example, if the parent gave financial power of attorney to one or more of their children (while the parent was still healthy), they could most likely be able to negotiate terms and sign on their parents behalf.

Its worth noting that most financial institutions require a review process of a financial power of attorney appointment. Generally, the institutions legal department would want to review the document before allowing the designated person(s) to conduct transactions. This process can take several weeks, so if the family is facing an emergency, they may not have immediate access to the money. I would recommend making sure that all financial institutions where you have accounts have a copy of your executed financial power of attorney now, so its in place before its needed.

The Best of Both Worlds

For financial security in case something happens, parents generally shouldnt be adding additional owners to their accounts. Rather, titling accounts as Transfer on Death and setting up a financial power of attorney is often a better approach. Doing both can prevent unexpected taxes and provide the child broader access to the parents finances when it matters most.

Ideally, it will be a long time before something happens, but we should all be proactive about planning for these unforeseen events. As you may have realized, the rules around these decisions are complex, so dont go it alone.

Talk to your estate planning attorney or financial planner about what youre trying to accomplish and allow them to guide you. Planning will make things much simpler for your loved ones should anything happen.

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The best place to find high grade gold is right next to high grade gold, said Radisson Mining Resources Director and Strategic Advisor Michael Gentile.

In March Gentile spoke to mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

Radisson (RDS.V) announced an updated mineral resource estimate for its O'Brien gold project in March. Indicated resources increased 58% to 1,517,000 tonnes grading 10.26 g/t Au for 501,000 ounces using a 4.5 g/t gold cut off grade. Inferred resources increased 167% to 1,616,000 tonnes grading 8.64 g/t Au for 449,000 ounces using a 4.5 g/t gold cut off grade.

Radisson is focused on the old O'Brien Mine in Quebec, what the company calls the highest grade gold mine in the province. Historical production at the mine was 587,121 ounces from 1926 to 1957.

"The best place to find high grade gold is right next to high grade gold," said Gentile.

The company said that getting close to 1 million ounces in indicated and inferred resources was a major accomplishment. It also said the grade at the project was enviable.

"We're about one million ounces of gold and north of 10 grams per tonne grade," said Gentile. "It's one of the highest-grade undeveloped gold deposits with a million plus ounces in North America that is not owned by a major. We're in pretty rarefied air."
BAMAKO, March 30 (Reuters) - Transitional authorities in Mali will review mining contracts after an official audit of the sector advised that the state was not receiving a fair share of gold-mining revenue, the council of ministers said on Wednesday. Mali is one of Africa's largest producers of gold, which is its top export. Companies operating in the country include Barrick Gold Corp and Resolute Mining .

The council said an action plan would be implemented and would include creation of a commission to renegotiate mining deals, a move to repatriate cash earned from gold exports and the adoption of a mining sector environmental code.

"The action plan will be implemented via a participatory approach, including the mining companies themselves," it said in a statement without providing a schedule for the measures. Soon after coming to power in a 2020 coup, the military junta vowed to review mining contracts signed with companies by previous administrations. Gold exports from Mali rose 8.4% in 2022 to 69.3 tonnes, reflecting a rise in industrial gold production over the same period, data from the statistics agency showed earlier in March.

(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo Writing by Alessandra Prentice Editing by David Goodman)
NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House, a law enforcement source said on Thursday.

The charges, arising from an investigation led by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, could reshape the 2024 presidential race. Trump previously said he would continue campaigning for the Republican Party's nomination if charged with a crime.

The specific charges are not yet known and the indictment will likely be announced in the coming days, the New York Times reported. Trump will have to travel to Manhattan for fingerprinting and other processing at that point.

Bragg's office and a lawyer representing Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump, 76, sought re-election in 2020 but was defeated by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has falsely claimed he lost to Biden due to widespread voting fraud and has called the investigation that led to his indictment a "political witch hunt." Bragg's office last year won the criminal conviction of the businessman-turned-politician's real estate company.

A grand jury convened by Bragg in January began hearing evidence about Trump's role in the payment to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election that he ended up winning. Daniels, a well-known adult film actress and director whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received the money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

The former president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said Trump directed hush payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him. Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.

Federal prosecutors examined the Daniels payoff in 2018, leading to a prison sentence for Cohen but no charges against Trump.

No former or sitting U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges. Trump also faces two criminal investigations by a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and one by a local prosecutor in Georgia.

DIVISIVE FIGURE

Trump, a divisive figure in U.S. politics with support particularly among white blue-collar and conservative Christian voters, served as president from 2017 to 2021, governing as a right-wing populist. He was impeached twice by the House of Representatives, once in 2019 over his conduct regarding Ukraine and again in 2021 over the attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. He was acquitted by the Senate both times.

He leads his early rivals for his party's nomination, holding the support of 43% of Republicans in a February Reuters/Ipsos poll, compared with 31% support for his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has yet to announce his candidacy. Biden is expected to seek re-election.

Trump on March 18 wrote on social media that he had expected to be arrested on March 21 and urged his supporters to protest to "take our nation back," reminiscent of his exhortations ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Some leading Republicans ahead of the indictment accused Bragg of selective prosecution with political motivations. The Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, called it an "outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA" and announced a congressional investigation into whether federal funding was being used to support Bragg's probe and "subvert our democracy." Three House Republican committee chairmen asked Bragg to provide them communications, documents and testimony about the investigation.

On March 23, Bragg's office told the three chairmen that Trump had created a "false expectation" that he would be arrested. In a letter, the district attorney's general counsel said the representatives were seeking non-public information about a pending criminal investigation, which is confidential.

Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he called a "simple private transaction."

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance law violations for his role in orchestrating the payments to Daniels and McDougal and was sentenced to three years in prison. He testified that Trump directed him to make the payments.

Cohen testified before the Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump on March 13. The grand jury also heard from David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer. The tabloid publication bought the rights to McDougal's story about her alleged relationship with Trump for $150,000 but never published it, a method known as "catch and kill" used by some media outlets to bury damaging information about a third party.

Daniels has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006 - the year after he married his current wife Melania and more than a decade before the businessman-turned-politician became president.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2021 rejected her bid to revive a defamation lawsuit she brought against Trump over a Twitter post in which he accused her of a "con job" after she described being threatened over publicizing her account of a sexual relationship with him. Lower courts had thrown out her suit.

In the case that led to the conviction of the Trump Organization on tax fraud charges, Bragg declined to charge Trump himself with financial crimes related to his business practices, prompting two prosecutors who worked on the probe to resign.

Among Trump's ongoing legal woes are a criminal investigation led by Fani Willis, the Democratic district attorney in Georgia's Fulton County, into whether he unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in that state.

Special counsel Jack Smith is separately investigating Trump's handling of classified government documents after leaving office and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
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(Kitco News) - On Thursday, Barrick announced that the government of Papua New Guinea, Barrick Niugini Limited and New Porgera Limited signed an agreement to progress with the resumption of operations at the Porgera gold mine, which have been suspended since 2020.

According to a company press release, Porgera hosts an orebody with measured and indicated resources of 10 million ounces and inferred resources of 3.4 million ounces.

The company said that after initial ramp up and optimization of the Wangima pit, the mine is forecast to produce an average of 700,000 ounces per year, achieving a milestone towards its potential Tier One status.

"The New Porgera Progress Agreement, signed today, confirms that all parties are committed to reopening the mine at the earliest opportunity, in line with the terms of the Porgera Project Commencement Agreement and the New Porgera Limited Shareholders Agreement both concluded in 2022," Barrick said.

"The New Porgera project team will now move ahead with the filings for a special mining lease and progressing the other conditions set out in the Commencement Agreement for the reopening of the mine," it added.

The equity in New Porgera is shared 51% by Papua New Guinea (PNG) stakeholders, including local landowners and the Enga provincial government. Economic benefits will be shared 53% by the PNG stakeholders and 47% by Barrick Niugini Limited, which will operate the mine.

After the signing ceremony, Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow said there was strong support from all stakeholders to get Porgera reopened as soon as possible.

"It's been a long journey but in the process we have secured the buy-in of all the stakeholders. For Barrick, the reopening of the mine would represent another victory for our host-country partnership model which has been so successful in Tanzania and has now also been adopted for the new Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan," Bristow said.

"Localization is an essential part of our partnership philosophy so New Porgera will, whenever possible, source the goods and services it requires from businesses genuinely based and owned in Porgera, the Enga province and Papua New Guinea. Similarly, it will give preference to locals in recruiting employees for the reopening mine."
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(Kitco News) - The $2,000 level remains a tough nut to crack for the gold market; however, retail investors are not expecting to see any significant selloff as bullish sentiment will continue to support prices near record highs next week.

While Main Street investors remain solidly bullish on gold in the near term, the latest Kitco News Weekly Gold Survey shows Wall Street Analysts are slightly more hesitant, with bullish sentiment holding a small majority.

However, looking beyond initial headlines, even analysts who are neutral on gold in the near-term note that there are several factors in the market and the precious metal remains an attractive buy on the dips.

Although the market continues to see solid safe-haven demand as recession fears grow, some analysts note that the U.S. dollar's waning influence as the world's reserve currency was a major driving force behind this week's late-rally push back to $2,000 an ounce.

This past week, news broke that China settled its first Liquid National Gas trade in yuan through the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange. Also, this past week China and Brazil announced that they will conduct trade and financial transactions in the real and yuan, cutting out the U.S. dollar.

"There are very clear underpinnings for gold as nations move away from the U.S. dollar," said Kevin Grady, president of Phoenix Futures and Options.

Grady added that central banks buying gold to diversify their foreign reserve holdings and support their currencies are providing extremely strong long-term support for gold prices and a solid floor in the market.

"Central banks aren't fickle investors who will sell their gold if the price drops. They are buying gold for the long term," he said. "This is creating significant strength in the marketplace. Investors are starting to realize that there is value in the market and are quickly jumping in to buy the dips."

This week, 22 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, 11 analysts, or 50%, were bullish on gold in the near term. At the same time, three analysts, or 14%, were bearish for next week, and eight analysts, or 36%, saw prices trading sideways.

Meanwhile, 782 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 507 respondents, or 65%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 158, or 20%, said it would be lower, while 117 voters, or 15%, were neutral in the near term.

Wall Street Bullish Bearish Neutral VS Main Street Bullish Bearish Neutral

Although sentiment among retail investors has dropped from last week's more than one-year high, it remains elevated. The survey shows that retail investors expect gold prices to stay near current levels with an average week-end target at $1984 an ounce.

In the previous survey, both Wall Street and Main Street were extremely bullish on gold and are being proven correct. June gold futures last traded at $1,993.10 an ounce, up nearly 0.5% from last Friday.

Not only is gold ending the week in positive territory, but for the second week in a row, it managed to hold solid support at around $1,950.

Jim Wyckoff, noted that gold has solid technical momentum. He explained that along with gold's bullish weekly performance, the market is seeing an all-time-high closing price for the month and the quarter.

"The near-term and longer-term technical postures for gold were already bullish, and a record monthly high close today would just add fuel to that technically bullish fire," he said in a special report.

However, some analysts recommend investors exercise caution at current levels as gold is ending the month up 8%. Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management, said that he is neutral on gold in the near term.

"But only because gold needs a rest after the strong gain in March," he said. "Fundamentally, gold has turned and the "risk" is to the upside from here."
March 31 (Reuters) - The European Union intends to make it easier to wind down medium-size banks that fail by tapping national deposit guarantee systems for funding, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The European Commission, in a proposal due in April, would facilitate using the funds to close the gaps at banks that have insufficient funds, as well as avoid tapping uninsured depositors, Bloomberg reported.

Last week, European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde told EU leaders that European banks were safe but called on governments to push ahead with a stalled EU deposit insurance scheme.

"The euro area banking sector is strong because we have applied the regulatory reforms agreed internationally after the Global Financial Crisis to all of them," Lagarde said, adding that the ECB's "toolkit" was fully equipped to provide liquidity to the system if needed.

This week, the head of the European Banking Authority (EBA) Jose Manuel Campa warned that the banking sector remained very vulnerable even after measures to stem the fallout of crises at Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse.
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(Kitco News) - Major copper producer First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement with Rio Tinto to progress the next phase of the La Granja copper project in Peru.

The company said that La Granja is one of the largest undeveloped copper resources in the world with a published inferred mineral resource of 4.32 billion tonnes at 0.51% copper grade and potential for substantial expansion.

"Rio Tinto has operated the project since 2006, carrying out an extensive drilling program that has significantly expanded the resource and has managed a world-class community relations program that has ensured strong local support for the project," it added.

First Quantum said it will acquire a majority stake in the project and will undertake the feasibility study and possible further development of "what has the potential to be a large, long-life operation."

The company noted that upon completion, it will acquire a 55% interest in La Granja for a consideration of $105 million and will become the operator of the project.

Following the acquisition, the company will be responsible for $546 million of funding (the "initial funding"). Part of the initial funding will be used to complete a feasibility study after which the remaining majority of the initial funding is expected to be spent on construction of the project following a positive investment decision.

Upon satisfaction of this initial funding amount, all subsequent expenditures will be applied on a pro-rata basis according to the share ownership of the project.

The completion of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals by the Government of Peru that are currently underway. The transaction is expected to close before the end of Q3 2023.

"I am very pleased to announce today's partnership with Rio Tinto, a global leader in the mining industry. Rio Tinto's work on La Granja has been extensive to date and we share our partner's view that the Project has the potential to be a Tier 1 copper mine. We look forward to working together to build on this foundation, leveraging First Quantum's core strengths in mine design, project development and community engagement. This partnership will provide First Quantum access to an attractive copper project, offering additional future optionality in the Company's project pipeline while we focus on strengthening the balance sheet in the interim," said Tristan Pascall, Chief Executive Officer of First Quantum. "First Quantum is excited about broadening our existing relationships in Peru and we are appreciative of the support provided by the Government of Peru to this important partnership for its future investment in the country."

Further to the agreement on La Granja, First Quantum and Rio Tinto have also entered into a memorandum of understanding to support co-operation in relation to base metals development opportunities and the sharing of technology and know-how on certain mining methods, such as the application of trolley-assist and autonomous mining fleets.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 31 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) investors are waiting to see how much Elon Musk's price cuts will pay off: the electric vehicle (EV) maker is expected this weekend to report record sales as cheaper sticker prices, helped by U.S. subsidies, spurred demand.

Musk's action in January kicked off a price war that was especially heated in China, betting that Tesla's industry-leading profit margins would let it rebuff growing competition and appease customers in a weak economy.

Tesla may have handed over 430,000 vehicles in the quarter ended March 31, according to analysts' estimates collected by Refinitiv. That would be up 6% from the previous quarter, and up 39% from a year earlier.

Production is expected to have risen as the automaker ramped up production at new factories in Texas and Berlin, and as China production recovered from a COVID-19 lockdown hit.

Analysts expect Tesla to further lower prices as many automakers have matched the price cuts and concerns about a weakening economy persist.

"With Tesla likely to continue ramping production at both Austin and Berlin, additional supply is likely to drive further price cuts," Barclays analyst Dan Levy said.

SUBSIDY

In the United States, Tesla slashed prices on its electric vehicles by as much as 20%, with the lowered prices making more vehicles eligible for the U.S. subsidy of $7,500 per car.

Musk said in January that the price cuts stoked demand, playing down concerns about a weak economy.

The subsidy was likely to have given a temporary boost in the United States, pulling forward demand, said Levy.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday unveiled stricter EV tax rules that will reduce tax credits on some models, with the rules set to take effect on April 19. Tesla has said a credit will be reduced for its most inexpensive car, the Model 3.

In China, Tesla's retail sales totaled 106,915 units in the year to March 19, one of the best quarters on record, according to data from China Merchants Bank International. Tesla's price cuts in China ignited a price war, with Chinese rivals including BYD (002594.SZ) and Xpeng (9868.HK) dropping prices.

Tesla forecast a 37% rise in production volume for 2023 to 1.8 million vehicles, down from 2022's pace of 40%. Musk, who has missed his own ambitious sales targets for Tesla in recent years, said 2023 deliveries could hit 2 million vehicles, absent external disruption.

Tesla shares have soared more than 65% so far this year on hopes that the company would win the price war it started, although the stock remains down more than 50% from its peak of $414 in November 2021.

Shares have fallen since the company's investor day on March 1 when Musk said little about how soon the EV maker might launch a more affordable, mass-market vehicle.
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(Kitco News) - The U.S. government is pulling out all the stops to distance itself from cryptocurrencies and take the market down a peg, as a recent court filing shows that the Department of Justice (DoJ) has begun selling the Bitcoin (BTC) stash acquired from the takedown of Silk Road back in 2013.

According to the Friday filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York regarding the sentencing of James Zhong, the government has already started the process of liquidating the 51,352 BTC seized as part of investigations into Silk Road and Ross Ulbricht.

Ulbricht is the infamous creator of Silk Road who is currently in prison serving a double life sentence plus 40 years, without the possibility of parole. James Zhong pleaded guilty in November to stealing the BTC stash in question from Silk Road and forfeited the tokens to the DoJ as part of his plea deal.

The Silk Road marketplace functioned as a digital black market that allowed users to buy and sell illicit goods including weapons and stolen credit card information. The marketplace drew the ire of U.S. authorities, and they arrested Ulbricht in 2013 and shut the marketplace down.

The court filing shows that on March 14, government officials sold 9,861 BTC for more than $215 million, leaving roughly 41,491 BTC in the governments possession.

"The Government understands [the seized Bitcoin] is expected to be liquidated in four more batches over the course of this calendar year," said the court filing. The Government understands from IRS Criminal Investigation - Asset Recovery & Investigative Services that the second round of liquidation will not be sold prior to Zhongs sentencing date.

While many in the crypto ecosystem see this as another prong in the government's ongoing Operation Chokepoint 2.0, which seeks to rein in the U.S. crypto industry, the BTC sales have had the opposite effect, as data from TradingView shows that the price of Bitcoin surged on March 14, the day the first tranche was sold, and has climbed higher since.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

It appears the slowly spreading bank crisis has thwarted the possibility that the sales would negatively impact the Bitcoin price as global investors seek wealth preservation outside of the traditional financial system.

According to data from CryptoCompare's most recent Digital Asset Management Review, the amount invested in digital asset products rose for a fourth straight month in March, with assets under management climbing to $13.4 billion, an increase of 10.9% since February. This also represents a 60% increase since November, when the FTX bankruptcy sent AUM values crashing.

Bitcoin-based investment products have been the biggest beneficiaries, rising 14% to $22.7 billion, while Ether-related offerings increased 6.25% to $7.22 billion.

Bitcoins share of overall digital investments hit a nine-month high of 72% in mid-March, right around the time that the government began selling its BTC stash. Crypto-related products labeled other saw assets decrease 13.3% to $1 billion, taking their market share down to 3.2%.

The increase in bitcoin market share was consistent with the surge in bitcoin dominance and the shift away from altcoins that investors have been making in response to the recent market turbulence, the report said.
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(Kitco News) - B2Gold CEO Clive Johnson said mergers and acquisitions will continue.

Johnson spoke to Kitco Mining correspondent Paul Harris at PDAC in March.

In February B2Gold (BTO.TO) announced that it would acquire Sabina Gold & Silver Corp for C$1.1 billion ($823.66 million). The deal is expected to close in April. Sabina was advancing its Back River Gold Project in Nunavut, Canada.

Johnson said Sabina was a good fit within his B2Gold. Johnson admitted that Sabina may have preferred not to do the deal but may have lacked the means to see the project through, and the number of companies that could take on the project were limited.

"I'm sure it was a bittersweet decision for them," said Johnson. "In some ways I've been there before...when you're a single asset company trying to finance a gold mine, the financing terms can be challenging or at least relatively expensive. With our strong balance sheet, we were able to come in and basically take over."

Looking at the gold sector overall, Johnson said there is a change.

"It's definitely a bit of a transition," said Johnson. "There's several gold producers today that don't have a CEO, for example. I think there's going to be continued focus on M&A and that's a good thing."

After Sabina Johnson said B2Gold won't be doing that many deals.

"You won't see us do a lot of M&A from here for a period of time as we digest what we're doing."

Coverage of PDAC 2023 sponsored by Uranium Energy and GoldMining.
MOBERLY  Cardinal Health, a longtime employer in Moberly, will permanently close its manufacturing facility on Highway 24 West later this spring and summer. One-hundred and thirty employees will be laid off.

Moberly city manager Brian Crane confirmed the news to KOMU 8 Thursday. The city was made aware of the closure on Tuesday, according to a letter sent to the mayor and the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development.

"We continuously adapt our business to meet the current and future needs of the industry," Cardinal Health said in a statement to KOMU 8. "As a result of our evolving product strategy, we made the decision to close this facility."

The letter says employee separations will happen in two phases.

The first phase of lay offs, which includes most of the 130 employees, will happen May 31. The second phase will happen June 30.

Cardinal Health expanded its Moberly facility, which makes medical products and supplies, in 2015, bringing the plant's number of employees to 175, according to Area Development.
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Gov. Parson ordered the flags to fly at half-staff Saturday, when U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Rusten Radford Smith, will be laid to rest.
Conifex Timber Inc. (TSE:CFF  Get Rating)s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as C$1.42 and last traded at C$1.48, with a volume of 44026 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$1.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, CIBC lowered shares of Conifex Timber from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and reduced their price target for the stock from C$1.75 to C$1.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th.

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Conifex Timber Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of C$59.63 million, a PE ratio of 2.46, a PEG ratio of 0.06 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 42.94, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firms 50 day moving average is C$1.63 and its 200-day moving average is C$1.64.

About Conifex Timber

Conifex Timber Inc primarily manufactures and sells lumber products in the United States, China, Canada, Japan, and internationally. It is involved in the timber harvesting, reforestation, and forest management activities; manufacture of finished softwood lumber from spruce, pine, and fir logs; manufacture, sale, and distribution of dimension lumber; processing logs into lumber and wood chips, as well as by-products or residues, such as trim blocks, sawdust, shavings, and barks; and providing value added lumber finishing services.

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Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB  Get Rating) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trusts stock.

PEB has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, December 2nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $18.08.

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Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:PEB opened at $13.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.84. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $14.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.07. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has a 1 year low of $12.37 and a 1 year high of $26.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Announces Dividend

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust ( NYSE:PEB Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $319.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.55 million. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust had a negative return on equity of 2.77% and a negative net margin of 6.26%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Pebblebrook Hotel Trust will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Pebblebrook Hotel Trusts dividend payout ratio is presently -4.12%.

Insider Activity at Pebblebrook Hotel Trust

In related news, CEO Jon E. Bortz acquired 14,865 shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.93 per share, with a total value of $221,934.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,039,967 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,526,707.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Jon E. Bortz acquired 14,000 shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.62 per share, with a total value of $190,680.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,108,102 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,092,349.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jon E. Bortz acquired 14,865 shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.93 per share, for a total transaction of $221,934.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,039,967 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $15,526,707.31. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 39,865 shares of company stock valued at $555,064 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust during the second quarter worth about $50,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust during the third quarter worth about $64,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust by 91.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,686 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust during the third quarter worth about $79,000.

About Pebblebrook Hotel Trust

(Get Rating)

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is a real estate investment trust, engages in investments and acquisitions in hotel properties. Its hotels are located in markets like Atlanta, Georgia, Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, Illinois, Key West, Miami and Naples, Florida, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, California, Nashville, Tennessee, New York, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.

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Rovin Capital UT ADV bought a new position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,106 shares of the business services providers stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in TransUnion by 37.8% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 30,760,159 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $2,460,505,000 after acquiring an additional 8,437,641 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in TransUnion by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,211,931 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,023,938,000 after acquiring an additional 155,910 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in TransUnion by 6.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,950,730 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $715,968,000 after acquiring an additional 538,979 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in TransUnion by 6.0% during the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 7,907,895 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $470,441,000 after acquiring an additional 444,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP grew its stake in TransUnion by 19.4% during the third quarter. BlueSpruce Investments LP now owns 5,983,742 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $355,973,000 after acquiring an additional 973,517 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 7,250 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.63, for a total value of $439,567.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,805 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,503,927.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 7,250 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.63, for a total value of $439,567.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,927.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Heather J. Russell sold 7,996 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $459,050.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,535 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,810,424.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TransUnion Price Performance

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of TransUnion from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of TransUnion from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $88.00 in a report on Friday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $91.00 to $84.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $77.00.

TRU traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.98. 750,855 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,670,498. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.37. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $50.32 and a 12-month high of $105.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.26, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.37.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.04). TransUnion had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The business had revenue of $902.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $904.34 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 9th were issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 8th. TransUnions dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.22%.

About TransUnion

(Get Rating)

TransUnion engages in the provision of information and risk management solutions. It also provides consumer reports, risk scores, analytical services, and decision-making capabilities to businesses. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Markets, International, Consumer Interactive, and Corporate.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TRU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for TransUnion (NYSE:TRU  Get Rating).

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The property sign at Beechwood Nature Preserve near Little Otter Lake and Pokagon State Park now includes a sign telling visitors that the preserve will be closing at the end of this year. It is part of a four-year plan by ACRES Inc. to close some preserves and upgrade others.
WASHINGTON  Social Security will no longer be able to pay full benefits in 2033, a year earlier than previously expected, according to a report released Friday.

The updated projections, in the annual trustee report, mean that without action to stabilize the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, Social Security would have enough money to pay about 77% of the total scheduled benefits.

A separate report for Medicare shows that its Hospital Insurance Trust Fund can continue paying full benefits through 2031, three years longer than previously expected. The fund would then have enough money to pay about 89% of expected benefits.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, sharply criticized lawmakers in a written statement following the reports release, saying many in Washington would rather weaponize these programs than save them.

Anyone who pledges not to touch Social Security is endorsing a 20 percent across-the-board cut in benefits, MacGuineas said. Refusal to fix Medicare means supporting major disruptions in health services.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a written statement accompanying the report that the Biden administration looks forward to working with Congress to strengthen this vital program serving over 65 million Americans.

Kilolo Kijakazi, Social Security acting commissioner, said the Trustees continue to recommend that Congress address the projected trust fund shortfalls in a timely fashion to phase in necessary changes gradually.

Social Security will continue to play a critical role in the lives of 67 million beneficiaries and 180 million workers and their families during 2023, Kijakazi added. With informed discussion, creative thinking, and timely legislative action, Social Security can continue to protect future generations.

The reports release comes amid a tense back-and-forth between U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden over the federal budget deficit and the $31 trillion national debt.

Biden has repeatedly called on Congress to raise the nations borrowing limit, known as the debt ceiling, without strings attached.

McCarthy and many House Republicans have said cuts to future spending must go along with legislation to raise the debt limit, though theyve mostly ruled out raising additional revenue through taxes.

McCarthy has pledged not to cut Social Security or Medicare. House Republicans, however, have not yet released their budget resolution for the upcoming fiscal year. The tax and spending blueprint would detail how the party wants the federal government to approach fiscal policy during the next decade, including on entitlement programs.

The Biden administration has repeatedly called on House Republicans to release the document so the two can begin negotiations over future revenue and spending. House Republicans have given no timeline for releasing the budget.

If negotiators cant broker a bipartisan debt limit deal before the summer deadline, and the nation begins its first ever debt default, Social Security and Medicare benefits would likely be delayed. The extent of those delays is unknown.

The post Social Security trustees predict benefit cuts in 2033 without congressional action appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 48F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 33F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
A grand jury in Manhattan has voted to indict Donald Trump -- the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Trump is seen here in July of 2020 in Washington, DC.
Mumbai, Mar 31 (PTI) A witness in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, who had allegedly booked a hotel room for the accused days before the incident, turned hostile before a special court here on Friday.

Also Read | Mumbai-Thane Traffic Update: Mumbra Bypass, Nashik Highway To Undergo Repairing Works From April 1, Check Alternate Routes for Hassle-Free Travel.

He became the 32nd witness to be declared hostile in the case, in which BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur is one of the key accused.

Also Read | Tyrannosaurus Rex Had Lips Covering Teeth, Study Finds.

The witness, who worked at a hotel in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, had in his statement to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) claimed that he had booked rooms for the accused in the case.

However, during his deposition before special NIA judge A K Lahoti on Friday, the witness said he doesn't remember what he told the probe agency. Following which, the court declared him hostile.

The court has examined 307 witnesses until now.

Six people were killed and more than 100 injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town in north Maharashtra, some 200 km from Mumbai.

The ATS probed the case initially before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over.

A total of seven accused, including Thakur and Colonel Prasad Purohit, are facing trial in the case.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Rajasthan (Kota) [India], March 31 (ANI): Three persons died of electrocution and three others were seriously injured during a Ram Navami celebration in Rajasthan's Kota district on Thursday, police said on Friday.

According to the information, the deceased were identified as Abhishek (24), Mahendra Yadav (40), and Lalit Prajapat (25).

Also Read | Belarus Detains Russian over Daughters Ukraine Sketch.

"Seven people were brought to the hospital, out of which 3 were brought dead. 3 others were seriously injured and have been referred to MBS hospital. One is admitted here and is undergoing treatment," said Dr Parvez Khan, Sultanpur CHC, Kota.

More details are awaited. (ANI)

Also Read | France: Macron Touts Water Plan in Alps Amid Pension Unrest.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chennai (Tami Nadu) [India], March 31 (ANI): Students Union the Kalakshetra Foundation's Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts in Tamil Nadu's Chennai have written to the Union Culture Ministry demanding action against the Director and the Head of the Dance department of the institution.

The letter informs that the students formed an Union on March 30 with with office bearers Jisma KK as President and Sakthi Shivani as Secretary.

Also Read | Hyderabad Shocker: Software Engineer Dies by Suicide by Hanging Due to Work Pressure and Fear of Losing Job.

The students are demanding the dismissal of four staff members accusing them of inapporpirate behaviour and sexual/verbal abuse. The Union also demanded reconstitution of the internal complaints committee and also recognise the students' union which was formed on Thursday.

In the letter, the Union said, "We the students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, would like to inform you that we have formed a Students Union today, Thursday, March 30, 2023, with office bearers Jisma KK as President and Sakthi Shivani as Secretary."

Also Read | Bengaluru: Athlete Alleges Volleyball Player Filmed Her While Bathing at SAI, Cops Launch Probe.

"We write to you as this institution is under your Ministry's direct management. These incidents pertain to instances of decades of sexual abuse and allegations by current and former students. These instances involve several serving male teachers at the institution, one of whom has been here for close to two decades", reads the letter.

The letter mentioned the names of Assistant Professor Hari Padman, and Repertory artists Sanjit Lal, Sai Krishnan and Sreenath.

It also further stated, "Going beyond these four faculty members, students have faced body shaming, verbal abuse, casteist remarks by the serving director Revathi Ramachandran and Head of the Dance Department, Dr Jyotsna Menon. The affected students have refrained from speaking publicly for fear of retribution and dismissal from the institution. They also wish to maintain privacy, particularly those who have been facing sexual abuse and harassment."

The Union also added that the concerns raised and complaints by many students earlier were blindsided by the Director.

"The complaints include written letters by a former student and three current students. They also include letters supportive of the complainants by a faculty member and a former student. As our complaints have been summarily dismissed we write to you demanding to take necessary action towards Director Ramachandran and Head of Dance Department, Dr Jyolsna Menon", reads the letter.

The letter further said, "We also demand reconstitution of the internal complaints committee, with the presiding officer who is an external member appointed by the governing board in consultation with the Students Union. The IC must include a Student representative decided by the Students Union. We demand the immediate recognition of the Students Union which has been formed today."

The letter also said that until the demands mentioned in the letter are met, the students will continue their sit-in protest within the Kalakshetra premises.

Earlier on Thursday, the Kalakshetra Educational Institute was shut after a protest by students over the lack of action against the professor who allegedly sexually harassed the students, informed the institute's authorities.

The students of the Institute, which operates under the control of the Central government, sat on a protest inside the institute. Students raised allegations on social media that a professor was sexually harassing students.

Subsequently, the National Commission for Women ordered the Tamil Nadu Police to conduct an investigation.

A complaint had been filed by a student from Kalakshetra at Adyar Police Station.

Earlier on March 25, the official handle of the National Commission for Women (NCW) wrote, "As per media report, in the case of sexual harassment allegations at Kalakshetra institution, the Director's clarification and the internal complaints committee report did not find any evidence of sexual harassment on campus.

"National Commission for Women withdrew its order for a police investigation on the grounds and it is informed that no one had been sexually harassed there."

"The Commission has concluded to close the matter as the victim has denied sexual harassment while she was inquired by the IC committee," it further read.

The administration is reluctant to take action against the concerned teacher as they have been working for a long time and all the students studying there have joined the sit-in protest to demand appropriate action against the concerned teachers.

The students said that the protest will continue in the absence of any concrete response from the college administration regarding taking formal action against the professor.

The institution said that the Director and the Deputy Director from the administration have spoken to the students taking into consideration the sentiments and grievances of the students."On March 29, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) also visited our campus and made enquiries about the allegations," it added.

The Foundation had already sought an explanation from the persons against whom some allegations have been made and on receipt of their explanation, the Chairman and the Governing Board will consider the appropriate action that has to be taken in accordance with its Rules and Regulations and in conformity with the law.

The Chairman and the Governing Board are fully appraised of protests and grievances and all steps will be taken to ensure that no person who is involved in any unsavoury activity in the Foundation will be spared, the statement read. (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 31 (ANI): The Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal has recommended the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to expedite the notification for the constitution of the Transgender Welfare Board in the national capital aiming to ensure the empowerment of transgenders in the city.

According to an official statement, the DCW said that the government of India passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in 2019 and the Central Rules in 2020 and the rules are yet to be notified for Delhi.

Also Read | Delhi Fire: Massive Blaze Erupts at Factory in Wazipur Industrial Area; No Casualties Reported (Watch Video).

"In response to a notice by the Commission, the Delhi Government has informed that the approved draft rules are pending notification from MHA. Further, upon enquiry the Delhi Government has also informed the Commission that the state has approved the formation of a Transgender Welfare Board and the same is pending with MHA for notification," the statement said.

"The Commission has pointed out to MHA that 12 states including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have already created the Transgender Welfare Board and Delhi should not lag behind," it added.

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The Commission further said that the Delhi government has not launched any scheme for the welfare of transgenders and thus recommended that it immediately launches schemes in this regard and sets up shelter homes for those transgenders who are in need of care and protection of the State.

The Commission had issued notices to all DMs on this issue and found out that only 76 Certificates of Identity have been issued to transgenders in Delhi in the past 3 years even though according to the 2011 census, Delhi had 4,213 transgenders, according to DCW.

It flagged the "bias and lack of sensitivity" of some government staff towards transgenders.

"In the interaction of the Commission with transgenders, numerous instances were cited which reflected a bias and lack of sensitivity of certain government officers and staff towards transgenders," it said.

DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal stated that the Centre must immediately notify the State Rules for NCT of Delhi and the Transgender Welfare Board for Delhi.

"It is unfortunate that Delhi Government has informed the Commission that it is not running any schemes or shelter homes for welfare of transgenders. This needs to be immediately rectified. There are several lacunas in the implementation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 in Delhi and steps need to be taken urgently to tackle this. Hope that our recommendations will help the Centre and the State ascertain the extent of the problem and take measures to improve the situation," she 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)
New Delhi [India], March 31 (ANI): Jailed Conman Sukesh Chandrasekar on Friday released a letter, through his counsel, claiming that he is having a total of 700 pages of WhatsApp and Telegram chats with Arvind Kejriwal and that he had allegedly delivered 75 crores on Kejriwal's to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) office in 2020.

However, there is no independent verification to these claims and many allegations Sukesh had levelled recently. The letter has been issued through Advocate Anant Malik.

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"Kejriwalji, I am going to show a trailer of the chat related to 2020 in which 15 kg ghee - code word for Crore set by you and Mr Jain, which was delivered by me personally - i.e. - 15 Crore Rupees paid on your behalf at a political office, party office of TRS to one of the Accused of the ongoing Liquor Case", stated the statement issued.

The statement further claimed that Kejriwal wanted him to drop this 15 kg Ghee aka 15 Crore Rupees at Hyderabad because he mentioned there were 5 cases of Ghee which is 15x5 Crore which was already at Hyderabad.

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He further stated "The amount was being converted for you as you had suggested that 15 was to be delivered to Hyderabad at the TRS party office to the person "AP" in a Range Rover parked inside the office."

Recently, Sukesh Chandrasekhar while produced in the court had told media that Kejriwal's countdown has started, and soon Kejriwal will be welcomed in Tihar Club. And next week he will make a significant disclosure, which will be a trailer against Kejriwal. (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 31 (PTI) A day after Congress leader Digvijaya Singh thanked Germany for taking note of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Friday said that "we don't need endorsements from abroad" as "our fight is our own".

Disagreeing with Singh, Sibal, who quit the Congress last year, also asserted that "we don't need crutches to walk ahead".

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Singh had thanked the German foreign ministry and Richard Walker, Chief International Editor of Deutsche Welle for "taking note of how Democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi". He also tagged a tweet and a video posted by Walker on the German foreign ministry reaction to Gandhi's disqualification.

In a tweet, Sibal said, "Digvijaya Singh:Thanked Berlin for 'taking note of how democracy is being compromised in India'. My thought: We don't need crutches to walk ahead. We don't need endorsements from abroad."

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"Our fight is our own and in that we are together," Sibal asserted.

Sibal, who was a Union minister during the UPA 1 and 2 regimes, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support.

Sibal recently floated a non-electoral platform 'Insaaf' aimed at fighting the alleged injustice prevailing in the country.

The BJP on Thursday had seized on Singh's remarks thanking Germany to accuse the Congress of "inviting foreign powers for interference into India's internal matters".

Following Singh's remarks and the BJP's attack, the Congress said it firmly believes that India's democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to its democracy. It also hit out at the BJP, accusing it of attempting to divert attention from the Adani issue.

Without taking names, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had said on Twitter, "@INCIndia firmly believes that India's democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to our democracy by Mr. Modi's 'assault' on our institutions & his politics of vendetta, intimidation, threats & harassment."

(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 31 (ANI): Delhi Police on Thursday arrested a 52-year-old man and his son for allegedly trying to extort money, thrashing a restaurant owner in Delhi's Qutub Road, Nabi Karim area.

The police said, "Laxman Indoriya s/o Ram Narayan r/o Neema Wala Chowk, Qutub Road, Nabi Karim age -52 years was brought to the police station and interrogated at length. After interrogation and verification of facts, it emerged that he has also been previously involved in 5 cases of wrongful restrain, house trespass, criminal intimidation, etc. After detailed interrogation and his confession of being involved in above said incidents, he has been arrested in all three cases."

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"Lakshay S/o Laxman Indoriya age-26 years has also been arrested in case FIR No.144/23 and 145/23 While his wife and son Pragyawan are absconding and efforts are on to arrest them. An iron road and plastic pipe used in beating (FIR No. 144/23) has been recovered on the instance of Laxman Indoria", the police informed.

According to the police, on 27 March, a person named Daulat Ram made a PCR call that Laxman Indoria was harassing him and demanding 50,000 rupees. Following that the police contacted Daulat Ram and he gave a complaint in writing in which he mentioned that he runs a restaurant at Ram Nagar Market in New Delhi in the Nabi Karim police station area.

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"Daulat Ram said that on 23.03.2023, accused Laxman Indoria with his associates came to his restaurant and demanded 50,000 rupees for the smooth running of the business and also threatened to kill the complainant. On 27.03.2023, he was forcibly stopped by the accused at Sheela Cinema and again demanded 50,000 rupees and also extended threat to life if not paid the money," said the police.

After the initial inquiry, a case vides FIR No. 141/23 under sections 384/387/34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered into the matter.

When Laxman came to know that Daulat Ram has reported the matter to the police, he was furious and he with his two sons stopped Daulat Ram and his friend in front of Sheetla Mata Mandir on Qutub Road and beat them up. Later, Daulat Ram reported the incident to PS Nabi Karim. After inquiry, another case vides FIR No. 144/23 under sections 323/341/34 IPC was registered in the incident.

During the course of the investigation, when a police team reached the address of Laxman Indoria i.e. Qutub Road Nabi Karim for inquiry and to serve the notice under section 41 A CRPC his wife and two sons namely Lakshya and Pragywan blocked the entry of staff into the house and lied to the police that Laxman wasn't home.

"Police staff searched the house and found that Laxman Indoria had hidden under the water tank on the terrace of the house. When Staff caught accused Laxman Indoria and tried to serve the notice he tore and threw away the same. Laxman Indoriya, his wife and sons namely Lakshya and Pragywan assaulted HC Shashank and Ct Vijyant, but they overpowered them and apprehended the father and one of the sons", said the police.

The police added that the police personnel who sustained injuries were sent to Dr RML Hospital for medical examination and their MLC was prepared. In this regard, a case FIR No. 145/23 under sections 186/353/332/34 IPC has been registered and an investigation was taken up.

During interrogation, it was also found that he used to run a YouTube channel IPPCI Media-24x7 News Network, and posed as a journalist to extort money from businessmen and shopkeepers by threatening to defame them by posting fake news that would affect their businesses. (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 31 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed hope that the National Maritime Week will add vigour to the ongoing efforts towards port-led development and harnessing the coasts for economic prosperity.

He was replying to a tweet by the Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal where he informed about pinning the first Maritime Flag on the Prime Minister's lapel to mark the commencement of National Maritime Week.

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The National Maritime Day on April 5 celebrates the glorious history of India's maritime tradition.

The Prime Minister tweeted, "May the National Maritime Week serve as an opportunity to deepen our connect with our rich maritime history. May it also add vigour to the ongoing efforts towards port-led development and harnessing our coasts for economic prosperity."

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Union Minister for Port, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday tweeted, "The National Maritime Day on April 5 celebrates the glorious history of India's maritime tradition. Honoured to pin the first Merchant Navy Flag on the lapel of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji to mark the commencement of the National Maritime Week, 2023."

To mark the importance of the day, the government is celebrating National Maritime Week from March 30, 2023, to April 5, 2023, paying tribute to the services of seafarers and celebrating the proud moment for India for the first Indian Steamship "S.S. LOYALTY" of M/s. Scindia Steam, Navigation Co. Ltd., Mumbai, ventured into international water on her maiden voyage from Mumbai to London (UK) in 1919, and this day was marked as "National Maritime Day."

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW) will recognise the services of seafarers and the services of any other persons connected. MoPSW is presenting awards to eminent personalities who have excelled in the maritime sector are as Sagar Samman Varuna Award, Sagar Samman Award for Excellence, Sagar Samman Award for Gallantry, etc.

On National Maritime Day, the government pays tributes and homage to the Seamen's Memorials who laid down their lives while on the high seas in 1st and 2nd world wars marking their bravery and sacrifice to the nation at wide.

The National Maritime Day Celebrations Committee is set up in Mumbai to organise and coordinate the various programs for the celebrations of the National Maritime Day/Merchant Navy Flag Day. The central committee conducts the affairs of the National Maritime Day Celebrations Committee.

The Committee is composed of representatives of Ship owners, Seafarers, Port Trusts, Maritime State Governments, the Ministry of Shipping, etc. The Committee secures funds through voluntary contributions from the Ship owners, Port authorities, and various semi Government and non-Government organisations interested in Shipping. (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, March 31: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished speedy recovery to Pope Francis from bronchitis. "Praying for the good health and speedy recovery of Pope Francis," PM Modi said in a tweet

Pope Francis showed a "clear improvement" on Thursday after he was given intravenous antibiotics for a bronchitis infection, CNN reported. The pontiff could be released from the hospital in the next few days, according to the Vatican. Pope Francis Admitted to Hospital With Respiratory Infection, Says Vatican Spokesperson Matteo Bruni.

PM Modi Wishes Pope Francis Speedy Recovery:

Praying for the good health and speedy recovery of Pope Francis. @Pontifex https://t.co/UU2PuEixUK  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 31, 2023

Pope Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Wednesday after he complained of breathing problems. After the clinical check-up and tests, the doctors said that Pope Francis had bronchitis and were administering antibiotic therapy to treat him.

In a statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, "Based on the predictable outcome, the Holy Father could be released in the next few days."

After his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday, Pope Francis was taken to the hospital to undergo a number of tests. The Vatican in a statement said that the visit and tests were planned. Pope Francis in Hospital After Breathing Issues, Tests Confirm Respiratory Infection.

Shortly after, Matteo Bruni said that the pontiff's schedule for Thursday had been cleared "to make space for the continuation of tests should that be necessary," as per the news report. Later, Matteo Bruni in a statement said, "In recent days Pope Francis complained of some respiratory difficulties and this afternoon he went to Policlinico A. Gemelli for some medical checks."

He further added, "The outcome of the same showed a respiratory infection (excluding Covid-19 infection) that will require a few days of appropriate hospital medical therapy. Pope Francis is touched by the many messages received and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer."

Pope Francis, who as a young man suffered from severe pneumonia and had part of a lung removed has had a history of health issues, as per the CNN report. He was often seen using a walking stick and is sometimes using a wheelchair due to pain in his right knee.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kottayam (Kerala) [India], March 31 (ANI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said that Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha was the 'darkest day' in the history of Indian democracy.

"Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha was the darkest day in the history of Indian democracy. There are various legal issues in the judgement of the trial court, however, those will be dealt with at the appropriate platform by our legal team," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in Kottayam.

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The Congress national president was speaking after inaugurating an event to mark the centenary of Vaikom Satyagraha in Vaikom on Thursday.

On March 23, Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a Surat district court and sentenced to two years imprisonment in the 2019 defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark made in 2019 during an election rally in Karnataka.

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The criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi was filed by BJP MLA from Surat West Purnesh Modi.

After being convicted by the court, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

The sentence of two-year imprisonment has been suspended for 30 days before which Rahul Gandhi has to appeal against the conviction.

The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha has been one in a series of flashpoints between the Congress party and the ruling BJP, uniting the opposition parties who have been accusing the Centre of diverting attention from the Adani issue. (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 (Telangana) [India], March 31 (ANI): Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party (YSRTP) chief YS Sharmila was detained by the police on Friday before she reached the Telangana Public Service Commission (TSPSC) office in Hyderabad to hold a protest there regarding the paper leak issue.

The TSPSC on March 15 had cancelled the Assistant Engineers (AE) exam held on March 5, following allegations of the question paper leak.

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On March 13, police arrested nine people, including two employees of the TSPSC. Following the arrest of the accused, the Commission cancelled the exam and also postponed other exams scheduled to be held later this month.

The Special Investigation Team of Telangana Police investigating the TSPSC exam paper leak case had summoned State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay on Saturday to appear before it on March 26 for questioning.

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"SIT did not have the courage to issue notices to BRS leaders in the paper leakage case," Bandi Sanjay said while commenting on the summons issued by the Special Investigation Team of Telangana Police in connection to the TSPSC exam paper leak case.

SIT officials on March 25 arrived at Sanjay's Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad to serve a notice to him in connection with the TSPSC leak issue.

Earlier BJP Telangana chief was summoned by SIT which asked to appear before officials to answer questions relating to his claim that 50 persons hailing from Jagitial district have been qualified in TSPSC. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Sydney, Mar 31 (AP) Australia remains deeply concerned that Australian journalist Cheng Lei has not learned of a verdict a year after standing trial in China on national security charges, the foreign minister said on Friday.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong marked the first anniversary of the closed trial in Beijing with a statement that said her government had "advocated at every opportunity for Ms. Cheng to be reunited with her family".

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"She is still waiting to learn the outcome of the trial," Wong said. "We share the deep concerns of Ms. Cheng's family and friends about the ongoing delays in her case."

"Our thoughts today are with Ms. Cheng and her loved ones, particularly her two children," she added. The children live with family in the Australian city of Melbourne.

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The anniversary comes as troubled relations between China and Australia show signs of improvement since Wong's centre-left Labour Party came to power at elections last year.

Cheng, 47, was born in China and was a journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television. She was detained in August 2019 and accused by China of sharing state secrets.

In January, Wong also marked the anniversary of China's detention of Chinese-Australian writer and blogger Yang Hengjun, who has been held since arriving in 2019 in southern China's Guangzhou from New York with his wife and 14-year-old stepdaughter.

Her statement than said Australia's government was "deeply troubled" by the delays in China resolving espionage allegations. Yang, 57, faced a closed trial on an espionage charge in Beijing in May 2021 and is still waiting for a verdict.

Wong raised the cases of Yang and Cheng with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in December when she became to first Australian foreign minister to visit China in four years.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also raised their cases in November when he took part in the first formal bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping by an Australian government leader since 2016.

China has begun accepting shipments of Australian coal in recent weeks for the first time since late 2020 in a sign of thawing bilateral relations since Australia's former conservative administration was ousted after nine years in power. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Lusaka (Zambia), Mar 31 (AP) When Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she touched down at an airport that's doubled in size and features glittering new terminals.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, it's a reminder of China's deep influence. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent that's rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

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The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris' journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt. Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

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The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Biden's administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijing's sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition. However, she acknowledged there's limited time for the US to make inroads on the continent.

I do think there's a window, and we have made a concerted, intentional effort to demonstrate our commitment and our willingness to invest in a relationship, she told reporters earlier in the trip.

I do believe the window is definitely open now, and I do believe that based on what we do now, the window will continue to be open. But it will be a function of the investments that we make starting now to create the momentum that is necessary for this approach to endure.

China's roots in both Tanzania and Zambia run deep. In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzania's Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

Today, China is Africa's largest two-way trading partner, with USD 254 billion of business in 2021, according to the United States Institute of Peace. That's four times the amount of trade between the US and Africa.

In addition, dealing with Beijing features less admonishments about democracy than with Washington.

Most African countries are rightly unapologetic about their close ties to China, Nigeria's vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, tweeted on Thursday. China shows up where and when the West will not and/or are reluctant.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has worked on Africa issues in Congress, expressed frustration over China's growing influence on the continent.

We switched from being the No. 1 trade partner or the No. 1 investment partner in two dozen countries, to China being the No. 1 trade and investment partner, he told reporters aboard Air Force Two on the flight to Ghana at the beginning of Harris' trip. I think our challenge for this decade is to address that.

Biden has been taking steps toward that, such as hosting a summit for African leaders in December, when he announced that he wants to commit USD 55 billion to the continent in the coming years.

Harris has made announcements as well during her trip, including more than USD 1 billion in public and private money for economic development, USD 100 million for security assistance in West Africa and USD 500 million to facilitate trade with Tanzania.

However, there's scepticism about whether the US will follow through on its promises, and Harris has been faced with not-so-subtle hints that Africa expects more. For example, the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania bluntly said they hope Biden chooses to visit their countries during his expected trip to Africa later this year, which would be his first to the continent as president.

By comparison, Tanzania was among the first countries that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited after becoming president in 2013. And after Xi secured a third term, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African head of state to visit Beijing.

Kamala faces Chinese dominance in Tanzania, the Tanzania Business Insight publication tweeted on Wednesday.

Ian Johnson, a former China-based journalist who works at the US-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Beijing presents a powerful narrative in the developing world as a country that rapidly built its economy and pulled much of its population out of poverty.

African leaders think let's see what we can learn from China, he said, adding that there's a certain fascination in how they did it.

Johnson also said China views Africa differently than the US.

We have a tendency to see Africa as a series of problems  wars, famines, something like that, he said. "But in China's eyes, Africa is much more of an opportunity.

Edem Selormey, who conducts public opinion research at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, said the feeling is often mutual.

China's influence in Africa is largely seen as positive, she said. And the US trails China in that regard.

The difference, she said, is often about what citizens see on the ground, such as infrastructure projects, and the US has been missing from this picture for a while.

John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the debt that comes from China's involvement is ultimately corrosive. He said African leaders are beginning to realise that China is not really their friend.

China's interests in the region are purely selfish, as opposed to the United States, he said.

It's a sentiment that draws scoffs in some corners of Africa.

America is like playing the role of a big Uncle Sam in trying to defend African countries against what they think is the encroachment of China into the liberty of African countries through these loans, said Tanzania-based analyst Mohamed Issa Hemed.

However, he added, China is ahead of the US in many, many ways."

Daniel Russel, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, summed up the African perspective as enough with the lectures about China. They've got something we want. And they've got it right here.

When it comes to US hopes for Africa, he said, you can't beat something with nothing. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Athens, Mar 31 (AP) Two men accused of planning a Passover attack on a Jewish centre in central Athens appeared in court on Friday to answer to terrorism charges.

Greek authorities announced the arrests of the suspects earlier this week and described the men as being of Pakistani origin.

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Police alleged they were planning to attack the Chabad of Athens centre, which is part of Judaism's international Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The centre hosts religious services, as well as a kosher restaurant and grocery.

Passover, one of the most important Jewish holidays, starts next Wednesday at sundown.

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Investigators are trying to determine if the suspects were planning attacks at other locations. Police have searched multiple sites in Athens as well as in southern Greece and on the western island of Zakynthos.

The men arrested are scheduled to appear before a public prosecutor, who is expected to order their pretrial detention.

A third man, who is not in Greece, is wanted for questioning and has been charged with terrorism-related offenses in absentia.

Israel has thanked the Greek government for its response and said that its national intelligence agency, Mossad, had provided information about the suspects. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram) [India], March 31 (ANI): Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan on Friday joined the inaugural session of the 2nd Sherpa meeting under India's G20 Presidency in Kumarakom, Kerala.

Speaking at the event, he said that he is confident that Sherpas will strongly carry forward the discussions further to achieve ambitious outcomes.

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In a tweet, he wrote, "Delighted to have joined the inaugural session of 2nd #G20 Sherpa Meeting at Kumarakom, Kerala."

"Confident that the Sherpas will carry forward the discussions further to achieve outcomes that are ambitious, inclusive, decisive & action-oriented," the tweet read further.

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The 2nd G20 Sherpa meeting is chaired by India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and will witness participation by over 120 delegates from the world's 20 largest economies, nine invitee countries, and international and regional organisations.

The event, according to an official statement, is slated to work on a range of issues of global concern.

The delegates will reportedly hold multilateral discussions on G20's economic and developmental priorities as well as on addressing contemporary global challenges during the four-day gathering.

The deliberations of the Sherpa meetings will take forward the outcomes of various Sherpa Track and Finance Track meetings. The deliberations will form the basis of the Leaders declaration, slated to be adopted at the summit set to take place in New Delhi in September 2023, the official press release said.

India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant will also lead discussions with the G20 Troika comprising India, Indonesia and Brazil. He will meet with G20 Sherpas and heads of delegations of G20 members, invitees and international organizations, including the Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) to discuss issues pertinent to the Global South and from the Advanced Economies (AEs) on shared priorities and mutually beneficial ways forward.

The MEA in the press release noted that India has selected its G20 priorities considering the diverse global challenges of the day, the concerns of developing countries and the need for greater momentum for collective action to take forward the shared international agenda, especially the development and environment agenda.

India's G20 theme "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" - "One Earth. One Family. One Future" encapsulates the shared vision of the G20 for galvanising wide support and reaching decisive, ambitious, inclusive and action-oriented outcomes. These outcomes require the G20 to come together and act as one family to instil hope.

Ongoing deliberations during India's G20 Presidency include Green Development, Climate Finance and Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth, accelerating progress on sustainable development goals (SDGs), technological transformation and digital public infrastructure, multilateral institutions for the 21st century and women-led development.

These priorities demonstrate the needs of the Global South which were articulated by 125 participating countries at the first-ever Voice of Global South summit, according to MEA press release. The Voice of Global South Summit was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2023.

Notably, the first G20 Sherpa meeting was held in Udaipur in December last year. The meeting witnessed active participation by G20 Members, nine guest countries and 14 international organizations. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Pattaya (Thailand), Mar 31 (AP) More than 60 self-exiled members of a Chinese Christian church who were briefly detained in Thailand were released on Friday after paying fines, supporters said, allaying fears that they were about to be returned to their home country, where they face possible persecution.

Deana Brown, one of two American supporters who accompanied the church members, said a court in the coastal city of Pattaya where the 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church had been taken released them late Friday afternoon.

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She said they were headed to the local police station to retrieve their passports, which were seized when they were detained on Thursday.

After that they were expected to return to where they have been staying, she said. No official confirmation of the court's action was immediately available.

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Thirty-two adult Chinese nationals were charged with overstaying their visas, Col. Tawee Kutthalaeng, chief of the Pattaya-area Nong Prue police station, said earlier. Their children were not charged, and the two American citizens with them were not placed under arrest, he said.

Members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also called the Mayflower Church, came to Thailand in 2022 seeking asylum. The current status of their request was not immediately clear.

They fled China in 2019 alleging that their members were being persecuted by government security forces, initially settling on South Korea's Jeju Island. They left South Korea for Thailand after meetings with local and US officials made it clear that prospects for refuge there were dim.

Brown, CEO of the Texas-based Freedom Seekers International, an organisation whose mission statement says it seeks to rescue the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries," said that when the group looked into renewing their visas, they had been told that there was a new requirement that any Chinese citizen renewing a visa in Thailand must report to the Chinese Embassy first. The visas expired several months ago.

When they told us that, we knew that nobody could get their visas, said Brown, who was allowed to keep her phone when she also was briefly in police custody.

There was no way, because as soon as they walk into the Chinese Embassy they're gone, we would not see them again. They've been hiding out since then.

Brown said she is working to resettle the church members in Tyler, Texas, where her organisation is based, but that they had run into problems with their visas in Thailand.

She said she assumed that she and the other American, a nurse, had been held by police because they were there at the time the church members were taken into custody.

The press section at the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok did not answer its telephone and the embassy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The US Embassy said it had no immediate comment on the case.

Upon their 2022 arrival in Thailand, church members told reporters that they had been stalked, harassed and received threatening calls and messages even while they were in South Korea. They said relatives in China had been summoned, interrogated and intimidated.

At that time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the matter was not a diplomatic question and declined to comment further.

In China, Christians are legally allowed to worship only in churches affiliated with Communist Party-controlled religious groups, but for decades, the authorities largely tolerated independent, unregistered house churches. They have tens of millions of worshippers, possibly outnumbering those in the official groups.

However, in recent years, house churches have come under heavy pressure, with many prominent ones shut down. Unlike previous crackdowns, such as Beijing's ban on Falun Gong, a spiritual movement it labels a cult, the authorities have also targeted some believers not explicitly opposed to the Chinese state.

Most members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church are young, married middle-class couples, with their children making up about half the group.

Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid, another Texas Christian group helping the church, told the AP that American lawmakers were pressing the US State Department to get involved.

In a statement on his website, Fu said that time was of the essence.

Before the Chinese government demands repatriation, the international community can help prevent this tragedy from happening, he said.

China is one of 15 nations that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in its annual report last year recommended be designated as countries of particular concern for repression of religious groups.

It said the ruling Chinese Communist Party has long repressed religious freedom, and in recent years it has become increasingly hostile toward religion, implementing campaigns to sinicize' Islam, Tibetan Buddhism, and Christianity to rid them of alleged foreign' influences.

These policies require religious groups to support CCP rule and its political objectives, including by altering their religious teachings to conform to CCP ideology and policy. Both registered and unregistered religious groups and individuals who run afoul of the CCP face harassment, detention, arrest,imprisonment, and other abuses. (AP)

(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 31 (ANI): High Commissioner of Singapore to India, Simon Wong on Friday expressed his condolences over the loss of 36 lives in Indore temple stepwell collapse incident.

"Deeply saddened by the news of the temple well collapse in Indore. My heartfelt condolences to the families affected by the tragedy. HC Wong," the official Twitter handle of Singapore in India tweeted.

Also Read | Finland's Membership Will Make Alliance Stronger: NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to take stock of the situation.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers are with all those affected and their families."

Also Read | Pakistan: Forced Faith Conversions of 81 Hindu Girls and 42 Christian in 2022.

"An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate tragedy in Indore today. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," tweeted PMO India.

The incident occurred at Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple located in Patel Nagar locality in the city at around 11 am on Thursday during a Havan puja going on in view of the Ram Navami festival.

CM Chouhan along with state home minister Narottam Mishra and others also reached the incident spot and inspected the rescue efforts at the site.

"An FIR registered, magisterial inquiry was ordered into the incident. Action will be taken against those found responsible. The current priority is the rescue operation. The injured will be treated free of cost. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced an ex-gratia amount to the victims. We have ordered an inspection of such step-wells and borewells across the state," Chouhan said.

According to officials, a team of 75 army personnel along with NDRF and SDRF are engaged in the operation.

After the incident, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh to be given to next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 would be given to the injured. Besides, free treatment arrangements will be made for the injured. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Abu Dhabi [UAE], March 31 (ANI/WAM): UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Friday received a phone call from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, during which he congratulated the UAE President on the new leadership appointments he issued in the UAE and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

President Erdogan prayed to the Almighty Allah that these appointments would contribute to the country's development and progress, wishing the UAE and its people continued progress and prosperity.

Also Read | Pakistan: Forced Faith Conversions of 81 Hindu Girls and 42 Christian in 2022.

He also expressed his wishes for success for the new leaders in serving their country and its people.

For his part, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed expressed his thanks to the Turkish president for his congratulations and the sincere feelings he showed towards the UAE leadership and people, wishing Turkiye and its friendly people further progress and prosperity.

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During the conversation, the two leaders also exchanged Ramzan's greetings. (ANI/WAM)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Abu Dhabi [UAE], March 31 (ANI/WAM): The UAE, represented by the General Civil Aviation Authority, has won the bid to host the third edition of the ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels.

All member states of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) unanimously accepted the UAE's bid in a recent meeting of the Council held at the ICAO headquarters at Montreal in Canada. The conference is oragnised every seven years.

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Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), said, "The UAE's hosting of the ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels coincides with its preparations to host the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), a global platform and an important opportunity to achieve a set of goals."

Facilitating the global transition to a green economy, achieving sustainability, economic diversification and increasing green growth are such most important goals, in addition to discussing climate challenges and solutions to address them, he pointed out. This aligns with the UAE's declaration of 2023 as the year of sustainability to enhance the country's efforts in leading the climate action in the aviation sector, Al Marri stressed.

Also Read | Finland's Membership Will Make Alliance Stronger: NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg.

He added, "The next stage will witness the strengthening of joint action to address the environmental and climatic challenges facing the world, which will contribute to achieving the goals of the country's national strategies."

Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, director general of the General Civil Aviation Authority, said, "The UAE has a proven track record in environmental action, and regional and international cooperation to address the challenges of climate change. It makes the UAE an ideal destination for holding this important conference, especially with the country's recent announcement of the climate neutrality decision for the national aviation sector. The country is today considered as one of the pioneering countries in the field of sustainable fuels and low-carbon fuels, especially in aviation sector."

Al Suwaidi added, "The UAE was able to achieve a long record of achievements in climate action, which enabled it to gain the confidence of the international community, particularly the member states of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). (ANI/WAM)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington [US], March 31 (ANI): The United States has been taking the safety and security of the diplomatic missions that are present in our country "quite seriously", US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Thursday.

Vedant Patel, in a press briefing, said that the US continues to be in close touch with India on a number of issues.

Also Read | US Vice President Kamala Harris Lauds Tanzanias Leader.

"We take the safety and security of the diplomatic missions that we host in the United States and the diplomats that work in them quite seriously," Patel said while responding to a question on 'whether the US government or the Indian government was in touch with State Department over the incidents that took place outside the consulate in San Francisco last week.

He also said, "We are in close touch with our Indian partners on a number of issues, but including on this we made sure to remain in close touch with them as well as the appropriate local entities, depending on where these various missions and consulates were located."

Also Read | UK Court Clears Extradition of Gujarat Murder Accused Jaysukh Ranpariya.

Vedant Patel's statement comes after the pro-Khalistan supporters in the US threatened the Indian embassy and Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu during their protest last week. Multiple incidents of protests by supporters of Khalistan have been staged outside the Indian embassy and the San Francisco Consulate.

Last week, the Indian Consulate in San Francisco was also attacked. Recently, a video surfaced on social media in which pro-Khalistani protestors gathered at the consulate in San Francisco, shouting slogans in support of Amritpal Singh and heckling staff as they abandoned the diplomatic mission.

When asked about the time when the new US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti will take charge, Vedant Patel said, "We were quite happy to see Ambassador Garcetti be confirmed. I don't have any specific date or timeline to share other than I know he's eager to get to New Delhi and present his credentials very soon. And I'm sure that will happen as soon as it can."

Last week, former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was sworn in by US Vice President Kamala Harris as the new US Ambassador to India.

During the oath-taking ceremony, Garcetti said: "I Eric M. Garcetti, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter."

Harris then congratulated Garcetti upon the assumption of his duties. The Senate on March 15 (Local Time) confirmed the former mayor of Los Angeles, Eris Garcetti, to be the US ambassador to India.

Garcetti won the mandate by a vote of 52 to 42, a major victory for US President Joe Biden as well, who stuck by his political ally in the face of the allegations and the prolonged process that has left the world's most populous democracies without US representatives. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jeremy Garelick directorial Murder Mystery 2 released on Netflix today (March 31). Since then, the Hollywood film has been trending on Twitter. Starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, the flick revolves around two detectives who find themselves at the center of international abduction when their friend Maharaja, is kidnapped at his own lavish wedding. Having said that, Murder Mystery 2 has garnered positive response from critics. However, unfortunately, within few hours of its release in streaming giant, Murder Mystery 2 has got leaked online. The film is now available for streaming on torrent sites. There's an HD print available of the show to watch online. Murder Mystery 2 Trailer: Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston Are Back to Solve Another Crazy Whodunnit! (Watch Video).

Murder Mystery 2 full movie in HD has been leaked on several torrent sites like Filmywap, Onlinemoviewatches, 123movies, 123movierulz, Filmyzilla, and other pirated versions of the series in HD (300MB free download in 1080p, 720p, HD online) are available for the audience to watch.

Other keywords online which are searched massively include Murder Mystery 2 2023 Full Movie Download, Murder Mystery 2 Tamilrockers, Murder Mystery 2 Tamilrockers HD Download, Murder Mystery 2 Movie Download Pagalworld, Murder Mystery 2 Movie Download Filmyzilla, Murder Mystery 2 Movie Download Openload, Murder Mystery 2 Movie Download Tamilrockers, Murder Mystery 2 Movie Download Movierulz, Murder Mystery 2 Movie Download 720p, Murder Mystery 2 Full Movie Download 480p, Murder Mystery 2 Full Movie Download bolly4u, Murder Mystery 2 Full Movie Download Filmyzilla, Murder Mystery 2 Full Movie Watch Online, and etc is typed to binge-watch the pirated version of the film. Murder Mystery 2: Jennifer Aniston Flaunts Desi Avatar, Wears White Embroidered Manish Malhotra Lehenga In The Comedy-Thriller (View Post).

Watch Murder Mystery 2 Trailer:

However, this is not the first time, a movie has been leaked online for free watch. As almost every film falls prey to this. In the past, many strict actions are taken against these sites, but even after getting blocked, god knows from where the site bounces back promoting piracy. Well, a lot goes into making a flick and these online leaks of popular films need severe action.

Lastly, apart from the leads, Murder Mystery 2 also stars Mark Strong, Melanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, Enrique Arce and many more in key roles.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2023 01:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
New Delhi, March 31: Expressing concerns over Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's daughter reportedly receiving death threats in the US, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal on Friday appealed to the Indian embassy in the US to ensure her safety.

CM Mann's has reportedly received threat calls from pro-Khalistan elements. "Read the reports of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's daughter receiving death threats in the US. It is an act of extreme cowardice. I appeal to the @IndianEmbassyUS to ensure her safety," Maliwal said in her tweet. UK: Punjabi Eatery Allegedly Vandalised by Anti-India Khalistani Elements in London (Watch Video).

Mann's ex-wife Inderpreet Kaur Grewal, who lives in the US with daughter Seerat Kaur, 21, and son Dilshan, 18, confirmed the incident through social media. She wrote on Facebook that Khalistan supporters threatened to kill her daughter on the phone and also abused her. US: Pro-Khalistan Supporters Threaten Indian Ambassador to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Embassy Staff in Washington (Watch Video).

She wrote, "Are you going to achieve Khalistan like this by threatening and abusing children... Such people are a blot on Sikhism."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2023 04:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
April Fools' Day, also known as All Fools' Day, is celebrated annually on April 1. The day marks the annual custom consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes on the first day of April. On this day, people often play pranks and expose their actions by shouting April Fools! at the recipient, who apparently becomes the fool. People engage in playing harmless pranks, hoaxes and practical jokes to fool each other and have a fun-filled time. As April Fools' Day 2023 nears, heres all you need to know about the history and significance of the day. April 2023 Holidays Calendar With Major Festivals & Events: Get Full List of Important Dates in the Fourth Month.

April Fools' Day History

The origins of April Fools are unknown. However, there are many theories surrounding the origins of the day. As per historical records, a disputed association between April 1 and foolishness is in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1392). Meanwhile, in the Nun's Priest's Tale, a vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox on Since March began thirty days and two, i.e. 32 days since March began, which is April 1.

However, in 1508, French poet Eloy d'Amerval referred to a poisson d'avril, which stands for April fool, possibly the first reference to the celebration in France. In the Netherlands, the origin of April Fools' Day is often attributed to the Dutch victory in 1572 in the Capture of Brielle, where the Spanish Duke Alvarez de Toledo was defeated.

April Fools' Day Significance

April Fools' Day brings a lot of excitement and fun as people play pranks on one another on April 1. The day can be good for one's health because it encourages jokes, hoaxes, pranks, and belly laughs, and brings all the benefits of laughter, including stress relief and reducing strain on the heart. As per legends, Joseph Boskin, who was the Professor of history at Boston University, provided another explanation of April Fools Day.

In his explanation, he said that during the rule of Roman emperor Constantine the Great, a group of fools and court jesters told him they could run the empire better than he could. Soon after, Constantine handed over the throne to one of the jesters named Kugel for a day. As per records, Kugel of nonsensicality passed a decree on that day, which later became an annual custom.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2023 08:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Delhi Special Court on Friday (March 31) dismissed the bail plea of former education minister and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. He has been behind bars for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementing of the excise policy of GNCTD. Delhi Excise Policy Case: Court Sends Manish Sisodia to Judicial Custody Till April 5, AAP Leader Asks for Religious Books.

Manish Sisodia Bail Plea Rejected Again

Delhi Special Court dismisses bail plea of Delhi's former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in CBI case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of GNCTD. (File photo) pic.twitter.com/tsbxOYDofN  ANI (@ANI) March 31, 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.)
Reuters: US could announce more than $2 billion new military aid for Ukraine.



A $2.6 billion U.S. military aid package that could include air surveillance radars, anti-tank rockets, and fuel trucks may be announced on April 3, Reuters reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials. The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 31, 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.)
Times Staff Writer

The Supreme Court, overturning a Civil War-era decision, ruled Tuesday that governors must abide by federal court orders calling for the extradition of an accused criminal.

For more than 125 years, state governors have had the authority to ignore such extradition orders, as former California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. did in the case of Indian activist Dennis Banks.

But in revoking an 1861 Supreme Court decision, the justices said in a unanimous opinion that extradition orders afford no discretion to governors.

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The ruling sent an Iowa man back to Puerto Rico, where he is wanted for vehicular homicide.

The decision was the second this month to tighten the extradition procedures between the states. The high court said last week that state courts cannot dismiss valid extradition from other states.

Evolving System

Justice Thurgood Marshall, writing for the court, said Tuesdays ruling shows that the constitutional system must evolve over time.

The 1861 extradition decision was a product of another time, he said. Yet it has stood while the world of which it was a part has passed away.

In February, 1861, with the union about to split, the Supreme Court ruled that Ohios governor could not be compelled to return a free black man to Kentucky for trial on charges of aiding an escaped slave.

If it seemed clear to the court in 1861, facing the looming shadow of a Civil War, that the federal government had no authority to impose its will upon a state, basic constitutional principles now point as clearly the other way, Marshall wrote. The Civil War itself overturned the notion that states are sovereign, he said.

The opinion by Marshall, the courts only black member, directly rejected an opinion written by Chief Justice Roger Taney, who, in the infamous Dred Scott decision of 1857, described Negro slaves as an article of property and members of an inferior order.

Governors use of their power of refusal on extradition requests has been rare over the years but controversial.

In the late 1970s, when Brown refused extradition orders from South Dakota for Banks to be returned for sentencing on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, a torrent of criticism ensued.

Tuesday, prosecutors in Illinois immediately renewed their bid to extradite a Utah businessman to face murder charges in a cyanide poisoning case. Two Utah governors have refused to honor Illinois extradition requests.

In the case before the Supreme Court, Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad and his predecessor, Robert Ray, had refused to honor an extradition request from Puerto Rico in 1981 charging Ronald Calder of Iowa with homicide after he deliberately ran over a Puerto Rican couple with his automobile.

Fight in Parking Lot

Calder said the incident arose over a fight in a parking lot and that as a white American man he could not get a fair trial in Puerto Rico. Ray said he would not return Calder until Puerto Rico reduced the charge to a more realistic one.

A federal district court and appeals court also rejected Puerto Ricos request, citing the 1861 decision.

The high court also dismissed an assertion by Iowa attorneys that Puerto Rico did not have the same extradition authority because it is not a state.

The (Extradition) Act requires rendition of fugitives at the request of a demanding territory, as well as state, Marshall said in the case (Puerto Rico vs. Branstad, 85-2116).
TIMES SCIENCE WRITER

NASA lost its $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter because spacecraft engineers failed to convert from English to metric measurements when exchanging vital data before the craft was launched, space agency officials said Thursday.

A navigation team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory used the metric system of millimeters and meters in its calculations, while Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, which designed and built the spacecraft, provided crucial acceleration data in the English system of inches, feet and pounds.

As a result, JPL engineers mistook acceleration readings measured in English units of pound-seconds for a metric measure of force called newton-seconds.

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In a sense, the spacecraft was lost in translation.

That is so dumb, said John Logsdon, director of George Washington Universitys space policy institute. There seems to have emerged over the past couple of years a systematic problem in the space community of insufficient attention to detail.

The loss of the Mars probe was the latest in a series of major spaceflight failures this year that destroyed billions of dollars worth of research, military and communications satellites or left them spinning in useless orbits. Earlier this month, an independent national security review concluded that many of those failures stemmed from an overemphasis on cost cutting, mismanagement, and poor quality control at Lockheed Martin, which manufactured several of the malfunctioning rockets.

But NASA officials and Lockheed executives said it was too soon to apportion blame for the most recent mishap. Accident review panels convened by JPL and NASA are still investigating why no one detected the error.

It was launched that way, said Noel Hinners, vice president for flight systems at Lockheed Martins space systems group. We were transmitting English units and they were expecting metric units. The normal thing is to use metric and to specify that.

None of JPLs rigorous quality control procedures caught the error in the nine months it took the spacecraft to make its 461-million-mile flight to Mars. Over the course of the journey, the miscalculations were enough to throw the spacecraft so far off track that it flew too deeply into the Martian atmosphere and was destroyed when it entered its initial orbit around Mars last week.

John Pike, space policy director at the Federation of American Scientists, said that it was embarrassing to lose a spacecraft to such a simple math error. It is very difficult for me to imagine how such a fundamental, basic discrepancy could have remained in the system for so long, he said.

I cant think of another example of this kind of large loss due to English-versus-metric confusion, Pike said. It is going to be the cautionary tale until the end of time.

At the Jet Propulsion Lab, which owes its international reputation to the unerring accuracy it has displayed in guiding spacecraft across the shoals of space, officials did not flinch from acknowledging their role in the mistake.

We know this error is the cause, said Thomas R. Gavin, deputy director of JPLs space and earth science directorate, which is responsible for the JPL Mars program. And our failure to detect it in the mission caused the unfortunate loss of Mars Climate Orbiter.

When it was introduced and how it was introduced we dont know yet, Gavin said.

NASA officials in Washington were reluctant to blame either Lockheed Martin or JPL solely for the problem, saying that the error arose from a broader quality control failure.

People make mistakes all the time, said Carl Pilcher, the agencys science director for solar system exploration. I think the problem was that our systems designed to recognize and correct human error failed us.

We dont see any connection between this failure and anything else going on at Lockheed Martin, Pilcher said. This was not a failure of Lockheed Martin. It was systematic failure to recognize and correct an error that should have been caught.

In any event, scientists are anxious that the conversion error does not affect a second spacecraft, the Mars Polar Lander, now approaching the red planet for a landing Dec. 3. The lost orbiter would have served as a radio relay for the lander before beginning its own two-year survey of the Martian atmosphere and seasonal weather.

Data exchanges for the Global Surveyor, which has been orbiting Mars since 1997, have been conducted exclusively in the metric system, Hinners said. Mission controllers expect to use the Surveyor as a relay station in place of the lost orbiter.

If found formally at fault by an accident review board, Lockheed will face financial penalties. But it was not certain Thursday whether Lockheeds contract with JPL actually specified the system of measurements to be used, as many aerospace agreements now often do.

Whatever the contractual consequences for the aerospace company, the loss of the Mars orbiter might have a lasting effect on public confidence in NASA, space analysts said.

Earlier this year, for example, NASA faced public concerns about its Cassini probe as it swung within a celestial hairsbreadth of Earth with an on-board cache of plutonium. The agencys matchless skill in navigating space helped defuse fears of a potentially lethal collision between Earth and the Cassini probe.

Now that skill will be more open to question, analysts said Thursday.

It is ironic, Logsdon said, that we can cooperate in space with the Russians and the Japanese and the French but we have trouble cooperating across parts of the United States. Fundamentally, you have partners in this enterprise speaking different languages.
A tanker train that derailed and caught fire in western Alabama outside Aliceville was carrying 2.7 million gallons of crude oil.

A train that derailed and exploded in rural Alabama was hauling 2.7 million gallons of crude oil, according to officials.

The 90-car train was crossing a timber trestle above a wetland near Aliceville late Thursday night when approximately 25 rail cars and two locomotives derailed, spilling crude oil into the surrounding wetlands and igniting a fire that was still burning Saturday.

Each of the 90 cars was carrying 30,000 gallons of oil, said Bill Jasper, president of the rail company Genesee & Wyoming at a press briefing Friday night. Its unclear, though, how much oil was spilled because some of the cars have yet to be removed from the marsh.

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Most of the cars did not spill all of the product that was inside it, Don Hartley, a regional coordinator for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, told the Los Angeles Times.

Emergency responders have to wait until the fire has burned out, Hartley said.

Hartley said that the marsh where the oil spilled is stagnant, so the oil hasnt spread to other water systems. Scott Hughes, spokesman for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, told The Times that responders had set up booms to absorb some of the oil.

Typically wetlands are a sanctuary for a variety of different types of aquatic species, so once were able to get in and assess environmental impacts, well certainly look at any impacts to aquatic organisms and other types of wildlife, Hughes told The Times.

There are extensive wetlands near Aliceville, a town of about 2,400 in western Alabama, according to the states Forestry Commission website.

Hughes said Friday that a check of the water quality of the nearby drinking wells came up clean. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been at the scene since Friday monitoring air quality in the region.

There are more than 100 people from various local, state and federal agencies surveying the scene, Hartley said.

Hartley said 21 cars were still in the marsh, but that most of the other cars had been moved back onto the track. The most damaged cars in the water will be removed last. The 60-foot-long, 10-foot-high wooden trestle, which also caught on fire, will have to be rebuilt. That will take about a week, Hartley said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, and will probably take weeks to determine. The train, which was en route from Amory, Miss., to Walnut Hill, Fla., was traveling below the posted track speed of 40 mph, according to Jasper.

No issues have been found with the performance of the trains two-man crew, reads a statement from the train company.

The track was last inspected Monday, and the most recent train to traverse the section of track where the crash occurred passed the site approximately 2.5 hours before the derailment, according to the statement.

The explosion of an oil train in Lac-Megantic, Canada, in July has fueled criticism regarding the use of rail to move oil. Railroads are carrying 25 times more crude oil than they were five years ago. In that incident, a train with 72 tank cars carrying crude oil from North Dakotas Bakken Shale fields ignited an inferno in the city, The Times reported in September.

Hartley said that the Alabama train probably originated from North Dakota.

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On 30 March, authorities in Mexico announced that five people had been arrested in relation to a deadly fire that broke out at a migration facility in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, on 27 March.

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On 30 March Nicaraguas foreign minister,, met his Russian counterpartduring a visit to Moscow.

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On 30 March, Brazils former right-wing president(2019-2023) arrived in Brasilia after spending three months in the US state of Florida, fuelling speculation of a potential political comeback.

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Monica de Leon Barba, a Bay Area woman and a victim of Mexico kidnapping in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, in November, is still missing.

The FBI offers up to a $40,000 reward for information leading to her safe return, CBS News noted.

#BREAKING: The #FBI is offering a reward of up to $40K for information leading to the recovery of Monica de Leon Barba, a U.S. citizen who was kidnapped in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, while walking her dog on November 29, 2022. https://t.co/grAeejsUPv pic.twitter.com/61zGCVd9gn  FBI SanFrancisco (@FBISanFrancisco) March 30, 2023

The agency issued a reward in Mexico on Thursday to revive the cold case, which has caused increasing worry over time.

It has been reported that the 29-year-old was coerced into a van, according to a flyer on a Facebook page to help find her. Her family in Tepatitlan has become increasingly frustrated with the government since then.

"We would ask Mexican officials to also place the importance that this case merits into finding my sister who was abducted in plain daylight, blocks from a national guard station," her brother, Gustavo, said in a family statement.

READ NEXT: Mexico: 4 Americans Kidnapped by Mistake

Recent Mexico Kidnapping Incidents Prompt Monica de Leon Barba's Family to Revive Her Case

Over a thousand people from Monica De Leon's extended family and local community have joined the Facebook group "Help Us Find Monica De Leon" to disseminate the word about the missing woman, according to SFGATE.

"Since the time of my sister's kidnapping, we have all seen the news of multiple U.S. Citizens that have been robbed of their freedom while traveling in Mexico," Gustavo De Leon wrote Thursday in the Facebook group following the announcement of FBI reward.

"We cannot allow this to be the status quo, and I will not allow my sister to become another statistic of cowardice and inaction in politics," the post continues,

According to the FBI, this follows a string of kidnappings of American residents in Mexico over the past few months.

The FBI has stated that on March 3, four U.S. citizens were abducted in Matamoros, in Tamaulipas, just across the border from Texas.

Maria del Carmen Lopez, 63, was likely kidnapped on February 9 from Pueblo Nuevo, Colima.

Crime and kidnapping have prompted the U.S. Department of State to issue a "Do Not Travel" advice for the states of Colima and Tamaulipas and a "Reconsider Travel" warning for the state of Jalisco.

Monica de Leon Barba's Mexico Kidnapping

Monica de Leon Barba was last seen by her family in late November while on vacation in Mexico.

The 29-year-old was abducted on November 29 in Tepatitlan de Morelos, a municipality in the Mexican state of Jalisco close to the metropolis of Guadalajara.

According to reports, de Leon was "forced into a van" between 5 and 6 p.m. on November 29 as she walked to the FIT 4 LIFE club.

She was "last seen" walking her dog, which was later discovered abandoned on the street, according to a post on her social media page.

The last time de Leon was seen was when she was heading to the gym with her dog to meet some friends, according to her friend Mandy Shold.

"When she didn't show up to the gym, her gym friends were a little worried, and they went looking for her and found her dog, fully leashed and out loose in the city," Shold said.

Monica de Leon Barba's family has pleaded with California Congresswoman Jackie Speier and Senator Alex Padilla to aid in the search for de Leon following the Mexico kidnapping incident.

"I am actively engaged in the case and daily contact with the family and various federal agencies. We must do everything possible to find Monica," said Speier.

READ MORE: Utah Schools Disturbed by Active Shooter Hoax Calls

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Reward offered to find California woman kidnapped in Mexico - From KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco
Ron DeSantis has now reacted to the indictment of former President Donald Trump, who is his top rival for the Republican nomination for president in 2024. The Florida governor had been slipping in the polls but has fallen in line with other Republicans to condemn Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head.



It is un-American.



The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is  Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 30, 2023

Like many Republicans, DeSantis claimed the Donald Trump indictment was "un-American" and was part of the Manhattan DA's "political agenda." He also stated that the law had been "weaponized" to target a political opponent like Trump.

The Florida governor, who is facing pressure from his own party, also stated that he will not extradite Trump to New York should an extradition be requested. Trump has changed his residence from New York to Florida and has been living in Mar-a-Lago since leaving the White House.

DeSantis received plenty of flak for this announcement, including saying that Bragg was backed by Soros. This accusation is often used by antisemitic elements in the right to target Democrats and is often used as an antisemitic trope.

Those replying to the Florida governor's statements have pointed out that DeSantis had been slipping in the polls and was desperate to win back Trump voters, so he was cooperating with the pro-Trump MAGA Republicans once again.

Donald Trump Calls Manhattan DA 'Thugs' and 'Monsters'

Trump took to Truth Social soon after the indictment dropped and said, "These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICTED the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President."

READ NEXT: Stormy Daniels Net Worth: How Rich Is the Controversial Porn Star Who Could Send an Ex-President to Jail

According to CBS News, Trump followed this up with an all-caps rant, stating that this was an attack on the country the likes that have never been seen before. He also stated that this was an attack on free and fair elections before likening the United States to a third-world country.

Aside from allegations of paying a porn star not to talk about her affair with him during the 2016 elections, Donald Trump is being investigated in Georgia for election tampering, as well as Special Counsel Jack Smith for his attempts to overturn free and fair elections on January 6, 2021.

Other Reactions to Donald Trump's New York Indictment

Former presidential rival Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, whose father Trump accused of assassinating JFK, stated that the man who called his wife "ugly" is politically persecuted and that the Democrats' hatred for the former president knows no bounds.

Former Vice President Mike Pence said the indictment "offends the notion of the American people who believe in fairness, who believe in equal treatment before the law."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a close Trump ally, stated that the House of Representatives will hold DA Alvin Bragg for his "abuse of power."

Meanwhile, former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, the star witness for the Manhattan DA, said, "Today's indictment is not the end of the chapter, it is just the beginning ... Accountability really matters."

According to Reuters, former Republican Representative and January 6 Committee member Adam Kinzinger stated that "this indictment should be a reminder that in America, NO ONE is above the law." He added that people must let justice prevail and reminded everyone that Trump has committed many crimes.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer encourages Trump's critics and supporters to allow the process to "proceed peacefully and according to the law." Schumer led his fellow Democrat senators through both Trump's impeachment trials.

On the other hand, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, believes the former president "deserves every protection provided to him by the Constitution" and encourages the public to "neither celebrate nor destroy."

READ NEXT: Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg Investigating Donald Trump Gets Death Threat With Powdery Substance

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Donald Trump Indicted - Inside Edition
Russia and North Korea are entering a new deal with the former asking the East Asian country for North Korea weapons in exchange for food supplies from their end, according to the White House.

The White House cited new evidence to back up their claims, with the deal said to provide North Korea with needed food and other commodities in return, as reported by Associated Press News.

The U.S. has made the new accusation that Russia is turning to "rogue" nations in an effort to continue its war, which has already lasted for more than a year.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Russia would then receive more than two dozen kinds of weapons and ammunition from North Korea as part of the said deal.

The administration has earlier released U.S. intelligence regarding a deal between Iran and Russia, wherein Iran supplied Russia with hundreds of attack drones.

The Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, has also become involved in delivering arms to Russia from North Korea.

READ NEXT: Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy Warned by CIA Director Bill Burns About Russia's Plot to Assassinate Him Ahead of Invasion

Russia and North Korea Weapons Deal

The U.S. Department of Treasury recently said that it was imposing sanctions on Ashot Mkrytchev, who was reportedly arranging a weapons sale between North Korea and Russia, for his attempts to support Russia's military.

Al Jazeera reported that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a news release that Russia has lost more than 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment since its attempt to invade Ukraine started.

Yellen added that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "become increasingly desperate" to replace the lost arms in the war.

The White House still expressed concern that North Korea will give more support to Russia's war against Ukraine shortly after the sanctions were announced.

Kirby said that an arms deal between Russia and North Korea would violate the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Russia and Ukraine War

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin noted that around 500 children died during Russia's war, adding that another 943 children have been injured in "varying degrees of severity," as cited by CNBC News.

He noted that his field offices across Ukraine have documented more than 14,000 Ukrainian children forced into adoption in Russia, which he described as a policy targeting "a demographic change by cutting out Ukrainian identity."

Kostin said that those are characteristics of the "crime of genocide."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the German arms delegation Rheinmetall. He then thanked the German arms company for their assistance and support to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the European Union slammed the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia while also denouncing the country's "systematic disregard" for press freedom.

CNN noted that the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell commented on the matter in a tweet, saying that journalists must be allowed to do their jobs freely and with protection.

Gershkovich's arrest marks the first time an American journalist was detained on accusations by Moscow of spying since the Cold War.

READ MORE: Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky Says if Pres. Joe Biden Acted Sooner 'There Would Be No War'

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WATCH: Putin says Russia will expand ties with North Korea - from CNA


Dominion Voting Systems has presented a lot of evidence that Fox News knowingly misled viewers and helped spread false claims by former President Donald Trump that the 2020 election was stolen.

Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., are facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by the voting equipment firm, which claims that the conservative network defamed the company by repeatedly claiming, without evidence, election fraud claims involving their voting machines.

In a court hearing last week, Dominion presented a private message from Suzanne Scott, the chief executive of Fox News.

According to The Guardian, in December 2020, after Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden, Scott sent an email to Fox News executive Meade Cooper, responding to an on-air fact-check by Fox News anchor and reporter Eric Shawn.

Scott was frustrated with Shawn when he appeared on Martha MacCallum's show and fact-checked Trump and a Sean Hannity guest.

"This has to stop now," Scott wrote in her email to Cooper. "This is bad business and there clearly is a lack of understanding [sic] what is happening in these shows. The audience is furious and we are just feeding them material. Bad for business."

However, another memo from Scott revealed that she did not really care about all the misinformation being spread in the network and showed that she cared more about the ratings.

She reportedly asked other Fox employees to alert her if the network booked former secretary of state Mike Pompeo or serial election misinformation spreader Mike Lindell. "They would both get ratings," Scott noted.

Fox News Denies Any Wrongdoing

When messages from Suzanne Scott surfaced publicly, a Fox News spokesperson accused Dominion of cherry-picking emails and claimed that this was part of the company's "self-serving narrative about what the right-wing network did after the 2020 election."

The network claimed that the emails that Dominion presented in its court filings were revealed without any context.

READ NEXT: Fox News Trial: Dominion Wants Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Other Hosts to Testify

Newly-Released Emails Showed Fox News Wanted to Have Election Deniers on Air for Ratings

More Fox News emails have been released, showing that after pro-Donald Trump viewers switched to rival Newsmax, Fox News was in a panic and wanted to have Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell more because they inflated the ratings, according to CNN.

Powell, Giuliani, and host Lou Dobbs were all promoting debunked conspiracy theories that Dominion had rigged the 2020 election by flipping millions of votes, and emails surfaced of Fox News' efforts to keep them on the air for ratings.

Emails from a producer on Lou Dobbs' show wrote, "Any day with Rudy and Sidney is guaranteed gold!"

In another email, a different Lou Dobbs producer noted that "to keep this alive, we really need Rudy or Sidney." However, CNN reported that the full email chains are private and not publicly available.

In another email, Fox Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch said Donald Trump's inciting of the January 6 Capitol insurrection was "pretty much a crime." This email was previously redacted in previous court filings.

"Trump insisting on the election being stolen and convincing 25% of Americans was a huge disservice to the country," wrote Murdoch in his email to Suzanne Scott. "Pretty much a crime. Inevitable it blew up on January 6."

Following the events of January 6, Murdoch told Scott that it would have been best if they did not mention Trump and stop him from appearing on air.

READ MORE: Fox News vs. Dominion: Skeptical Judge Grills Fox News Lawyer as Lawsuit Finally Heads to Court

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Trump Indicted By Grand Jury & Fox News Says Facts are "Bad For Business" - From The Daily Show
Colombia is planning to relocate 70 of Pablo Escobar's "cocaine hippos" to Mexico and India in the coming months.

According to CNN, moving the so-called "cocaine hippos" to overseas sanctuaries will cost $3.5 million.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Colombian officials said it is part of a deal that the local government of Antioquia signed with various institutions, including Colombia's Agricultural Institute and Air Force and the Ostok Sanctuary in Mexico, where 10 hippos will be transported.

The remaining 60 hippos will reportedly be transferred to a sanctuary in India. The move was decided after it was learned that sending the hippos back to their native Africa risks upsetting the local ecosystem.

The deal will include building boxes and cover air transport costs for the hippos. The hippos would need to be professionally anesthetized before they can be relocated, and it is reportedly costly as the drugs required to anesthetize large animals are expensive.

The government of Colombia estimated that there are now between 130 and 160 of the hippos, and they continued to spread out beyond the notorious drug lord's former ranch of Hacienda Napoles.

READ NEXT: Pablo Escobar's Hippos Now Being Sterilized With Money Taken From Drug Traffickers

'Cocaine Hippos' Poisoning Waterways in Colombia

Scientists said the "cocaine hippos" of the descendants of Pablo Escobar's former pets are reportedly invading Colombia's waterways and poisoning wildlife with their toxic urine and feces.

Escobar reportedly bought four hippos from a California zoo in the early 1980s and illegally imported them to Colombia.

The drug kingpin owned a 7,000-acre state that included a personal zoo. Authorities took control of it after he was killed in a police shootout in 1993.

Most animals have already found homes in other zoos, but the four so-called "cocaine hippos" escaped. Decades later, their numbers grew as they roamed the wetlands north of Bogota.

Scientists said these hippos, which are not native to Colombia, must be culled to stop their rapidly growing population and preserve the ecosystem.

They warned that hippos are likely to colonize habitats around the country, with serious environmental impact. They said hippos are known to be the largest invasive animal in the world.

These hippos at Escobar's Hacienda Napoles ranch had been a cause for concern in 2020 due to how their feces affected the water they resided in.

According to a 2021 study published in the journal Biological Conservation, researchers said the hippos' excrement fertilized the growth of cyanobacteria or blue-green algae and threatened the water quality.

The study noted that "our models predicted that the worst-case scenario would occur if no management strategies are implemented: the population will continue positively growing, with potential ecologic and socio-economic long-lasting negative effects."

Colombian biologist Nataly Castelblanco-Martinez told BBC that if some of the hippos were not killed now, "the situation could be out of control in just 10 or 20 years." Scientists believe that this is the biggest hippo herd outside Africa.

'Cocaine Hippos' of Colombian Drug Kingpin Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar was once the seventh richest man in the world, with an estimated $59 billion in today's money. He was known to control 80 percent of the cocaine that was shipped to the United States.

The Medellin Cartel leader liked to buy exotic animals for his private zoo, which included the four hippos he kept outside his mansion in Doradal.

The "cocaine hippos" were originally three females and one male, which then bore more hippos, causing the population to rise.

According to the study, their population could swell to nearly 1,500 individuals by 2040, making their numbers impossible to control and their environmental impact irreversible.

Hippos are considered to be the world's deadliest large land mammal, with the specie estimated to have killed 500 people per year in Africa. They are aggressive creatures and weigh up to 2,750 kilograms.

READ MORE: Drugs Labeled With Pablo Escobar's Image Seized in Chile

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: India to Get Pablo Escobar's "Cocaine Hippos" From Colombia | Vantage with Palki Sharma - From Firstpost
Police are looking for a missing two-year-old Florida boy whose mother was discovered dead in their apartment in St. Petersburg on Thursday.

According to Fox 13, Taylen Mosley turned two on March 12 and is now the subject of a statewide Amber Alert.

At a news conference on Thursday night, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said Mosley and his 20-year-old mother, Pashun Jeffery, were last seen on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. outside of their Lincoln Shores apartment on 4th Street North in St. Pete.

"Our main concern is we need to find this two-year-old," Holloway said.

According to Holloway, a witness reported hearing "a commotion" coming from Jeffery's home on Wednesday night, but police were not called.

"Earlier today, the family did not hear from the deceased, so they asked the apartment manager to check on them," Holloway noted.

Jeffery's body was found around 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Investigators believe she was killed inside her apartment.

READ NEXT: Amber Alert Issued for Missing 10-Day-Old Boy in Texas

Missing Florida Boy Was Probably Kidnapped

The Florida boy "could be in danger," according to the authorities, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Taylen Mosley was classified as a "kidnapped child" based on the Amber Alert notification sent to mobile devices.

After not hearing from Pashun Jeffery for some time, authorities said a concerned relative went to the apartment on Thursday afternoon and discovered her body and that her son was missing. Police said the mother was killed in a "very violent homicide scene."

There was a heavy police presence at the compound after her body was discovered. Police examined a blue Nissan car outside Jeffery's building and placed cones to mark potential evidence.

Manatee County Sheriff's Office K-9 unit brought in a bloodhound to locate the child. A police helicopter and several drones are helping in the search.

A team of narcotics unit cops was also spotted in the building. Authorities took a quick look at a reservoir close to Jeffery's apartment. A dumpster was also hauled away in a flatbed vehicle so it could be searched for evidence.

Authorities Conduct All Out Search for the Florida Boy

While authorities are investigating the murder of Pashun Jeffery, Yolanda Fernandez, St. Petersburg Police Public Information Manager, said their priority is to find the Florida boy.

No one in the family has Taylen Mosley, and he is not even with his father, News Channel 8 reported. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and many off-duty officers were called to help look for the Florida boy.

"We have all hands on deck," said Fernandez, adding that every detective is on double shifts, and everyone is coming to help with the search.

"The longer he is missing, the more difficult this gets. We need to find this child," she added.

Detectives are searching the area for any surveillance footage that may be relevant.

"They are going door to door to see if anybody has any type of camera or if anything that they saw law night or saw today was suspicious so we can follow up on those leads," Holloway noted.

READ MORE: FBI Offers $40,000 to Find Missing Bay Area Woman

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Amber Alert Issued for 2-Year-Old Boy Missing After St. Pete Mom Was Found dead at Apartment - From FOX 13 Tampa Bay
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro has returned to his country after being in self-imposed exile for three months in Florida.

Al Jazeera News reported that Bolsonaro's supporters met the far-right leader at the capital Brasilia's airport, with Brazilian flags draped around their shoulders and sang the national anthem.

His supporters also chanted "legend" as Bolsonaro arrived from the United States on Thursday. Bolsonaro never conceded defeat to Brazil's new president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro is now expected to lead the opposition to the leftist president, according to Liberal Party officials.

Before boarding, the former president said they have "turned a page" and now preparing for next year's election. However, he added that he will not be leading any opposition.

Bolsonaro noted that one does not have to oppose the current government as "it creates the opposition by itself."

Guilherme Casaroes, a researcher with the Far Right Observatory, told the outlet that Bolsonaro considered returning to Brazil due to fears that if he stayed away for too long, some other politicians could try to fill in the void of political leadership on the right wing.

The former president left for the United States two days before handing over the presidency to Lula, saying he needed rest.

READ NEXT: Amazon Rainforest Facts and Deforestation: Greenpeace Uses Secret GPS Trackers to Get Pictures of Illegal Logging in Brazil

Jair Bolsonaro Back in Brazil

Jair Bolsonaor denounced his supporters' alleged invasion of Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court, and the presidential Planalto Palace on January 8 but welcomed peaceful demonstrations.

It happened as his camp continued to allege election fraud and filed petitions for an audit of voting machines.

CNN reported that Brazil's former president had issued misinformation about election fraud and made vague comments that could have suggested a possible coup.

The January 8 event in Brazil is similar to the United States January 6 Capitol riot, wherein former President Donald Trump's supporters breached Congress to overturn election results.

Aside from his alleged role in the mass attack in Brasilia, Bolsonaro is also facing a probe regarding jewelry he reportedly received as a gift from the Saudi Arabian government while in office.

Bolsonaro was accused of trying to illegally bring $3.2 million of jewelry into Brazil. Federal police have subpoenaed him to appear before authorities over the matter.

Jair Bolsonaro's Legal Problems

The Brazilian far-right leader is facing five Supreme Court probes, which could land him in prison.

Four of those probes were for his alleged crimes during his term from 2019 to 2022, and one over accusations that he incited the January 8 riot in Brazil.

In 2020, the first investigation against Bolsonaro was put in public with Justice Minister Sergio Moro accusing the former president of influencing federal investigations to protect his family from corruption charges, France 24 reported.

He is also under investigation for two cases of spreading disinformation, with one about the country's COVID-19 response and the other about Brazil's election system.

The last Supreme Court investigation was for leaking classified information on a police investigation of a hacker attack on Brazil's electoral authority.

In the case of Saudi Arabian jewelry, Bolsonaro allegedly committed embezzlement or tax fraud. The former president has maintained his innocence despite allegations against him.

READ MORE: Parts of Amazon Rainforest in Brazil Are Being Illegally Offered for Sale on Facebook Marketplace

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WATCH: Bolsonaro Returns to Brazil After Three Months - From Associated Press




Ron DeSantis' attempted takeover of Walt Disney World may have backfired on him as the Florida governor's new Disney World oversight board got stripped of its power as the company sidestepped its takeover.

The Florida governor has repeatedly declared victory in his yearlong effort to restrict the autonomy of Disney World after the media giant spoke out against his "war on woke," specifically his "Don't Say Gay Law."

DeSantis had been gloating over his apparent "victory" over the state's largest employer that he even held a press conference last month on Disney property before appointing a handpicked board of conservative supporters.

However, the New York Times reported that Disney, at the same time, had been secretly maneuvering to restrict this effort and pushed through a development agreement that would limit the new board's power for decades to come.

In other words, DeSantis got outmaneuvered by Disney. The governor's appointees were not too pleased as Disney invoked a surprising rule that would allow the company to circumvent the new board.

READ NEXT: Donald Trump Widens Lead Over Ron DeSantis in 2024 GOP Race

New Agreement Prohibits Ron DeSantis Board-Controlled District to Use Anything Associated With Disney

Before Ron DeSantis approved the new conservative board, the Disney board drafted an agreement that would prohibit the special district from using the name "Disney" or any symbols associated with the theme park resort without the company's permission.

The new board and the district also cannot use the likeness of Mickey Mouse, other Disney characters, or other intellectual property in any manner. According to the Associated Press, the company can also sue the district if it violates this agreement.

However, DeSantis could still get rid of this agreement if he wanted to, but he would have to wait a long time, as the agreement stated that it would be in effect until "21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of England's King Charles III."

Disney revealed that all these agreements took place in public and that the district and the company legally signed them.

"All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida's Government in the Sunshine law," Disney said in a statement.

New Florida Board Expected to Challenge Disney Agreement

As expected, the Ron DeSantis-appointed board would not be going down without a fight and is set to challenge the agreement in a protracted legal battle.

Brian Aungst, a board member of the newly created Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, said in a public meeting on Wednesday that they will have to deal with this matter and correct it.

He called the action "a naked attempt to circumvent the will of the voters and the will of the Florida Legislature."

According to the BBC, the board's new chairman, Martin Garcia, admitted they may have to challenge the agreement in "protracted litigation."

DeSantis' attempt to take over the special district once controlled by Disney was part of his ongoing "culture war" narrative as he is set to run for president in 2024. He is running against the recently-indicted former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.

READ MORE: Tucker Carlson Admits He Hates Donald Trump 'Passionately'

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Full Panel: Disney Power Move Against DeSantis Oversight Board Happened in 'Plain Sight' - From NBC News
Eric Trump has slammed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for indicting his father, former President Donald Trump, and called for probes to be made into the activities of President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

On Thursday night's episode of the Sean Hannity show, Eric questioned why Bragg has his "attention" on his father and not on the high rates of crime and homelessness in New York City, the Daily Mail reported.

"This is a city that is falling apart. I went into CVS you can't by tylenol it is locked behind counters there is so much theft and homelessness and crime but their attention is going after Donald Trump," Eric noted.

He added that "girls are shot in Time Square, and they are going after Donald Trump. Give me a break." It seemed that Trump's son was referring to the May 2021 shooting of three bystanders, including a four-year-old girl, in Times Square.

Eric suggested that those who pursue an indictment against his father have political motives.

"When my father is leading in the polls, and he will be the guy Biden will ultimately run against. Guess who they go after?" he noted.

Eric also cited a list of indiscretions committed by other former presidents and their family members, which the courts never pursued.

These included pictures of a nude Hunter Biden with a prostitute and a gun while on drugs and former President Bill Clinton's $850,000 payment to civil servant Paula Jones after she accused him of sexual assault and harassment.

Eric also mentioned Hillary Clinton's email controversy, revealing she sent messages from a personal account to conduct government business during her four years as former President Barack Obama's secretary of state, which may have violated the Federal Records Act.

"This is third-world tactics... Hunter Biden frat pictures his lament. Bill Clinton paying Paula Jones. Bill Clinton diddling interns in the White House in the Oval Office," Eric said.

He added: "Hillary Clinton deleting emails under subpoena, and no one says anything about those people."

READ NEXT: Melania Trump Left Donald Trump After Stormy Daniels Scandal Broke Out

Donald Trump Indictment

Donald Trump was indicted on Thursday afternoon over the hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.

Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for the $130,000 payment made to Daniels and a $150,000 payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, the Independent reported.

Trump became the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges. Multiple reports said he is facing more than 30 charges related to business fraud, but no specific charges are yet known.

Trump is expected to appear in his arraignment in a New York court on Tuesday afternoon. Judge Juan Merchan, who last year ran the trial which convicted the Trump Organization, will reportedly handle the case.

On Thursday evening, Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina said the former president would surrender to New York authorities early next week.

Trump has previously said that he would surrender willingly to authorities. As part of the booking process, the former president will be fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken.

However, it is unlikely he will be placed in handcuffs as the charges are related to white-collar crime that is generally non-violent in nature.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's office said they have been in touch with Trump's lawyers over the former president's surrender.

"This evening, we contacted Mr. Trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DA's Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected," the statement read.

Donald Trump Took Aim at Hunter Biden; Stormy Daniels React to Ex-President Indictment

After hearing the news of his indictment, Donald Trump went on a Truth Social posting frenzy through Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday morning.

The former president lambasted the "corrupt" charges and claimed he would not get a fair trial in New York.

"They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York!" Trump said.

Before he reposted the posts of some of his GOP allies who came out to support him, Trump also hit out at Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

"WHERE'S HUNTER?" the former president posted at around 3 a.m. ET.

The Justice Department is currently investigating Hunter over his finances, including some of his business dealings in China.

Hunter and his father were frequently accused by Trump and his associates of wrongdoing concerning his business dealings in China and Ukraine during the 2020 election campaign. Both allegations were denied, with Joe Biden telling a reporter at the time that it was a "smear campaign."

In a statement released earlier Thursday, Trump claimed his indictment was "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history."

"I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden," said Trump. "The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party - united and strong - will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Meanwhile, Stormy Daniels said she was celebrating the news with champagne. In a tweet, Daniels thanked those who sent her messages of support and said she could not respond as she did not want to spill her champagne.

READ MORE: Evan Gershkovich, WSJ Reporter, Arrested in Russia on Espionage Charges

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Eric Trump Speaks Out on Father's Indictment: 'These People Are Evil' - From Fox News
The International Transgender Day of Visibility on Friday was a chance for the Lehigh Valleys trans community to come together and celebrate their mutual company and their personal stories.

For Kimberly and Christina Smith, of Lansdale, it was especially personal. This was the day that Kimberly was making herself visible  she was coming out on social media, and by extension to everyone she knows, as trans. The transition has been slow, telling individual family and friends over the last four months.

Now its time for everybody else, said Kimberly, fighting nerves. Christina was there to support her partner. They both handed out transgender flags among the 50 or 60 people who gathered in Bethlehems Payrow Plaza on Friday morning for a flag-raising, organized by the Eastern PA Trans Equity Project.

A similar ceremony was planned in Allentown on Friday. The flag  two light blue stripes and two pink with one white stripe in the center  was raised last year for the first time in both cities.

From a spiritual perspective, transgender people teach us about transformation, the Rev. Elizabeth Goudy of the Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley said in Bethlehems ceremony. What I have learned from my transgender siblings is that transcending gender is a gift. In the church we say, praise God for the gift and amen.

Bethlehem will always be a community where we celebrate and lift up. On this Transgender Day of Visibility, we gathered... Posted by City of Bethlehem on Friday, March 31, 2023

Fridays event was a show of solidarity with each other, in support and celebration and in the face of anti-LGBTQ legislation popping up across the country.

In a move counter to that legislation, a representative from local state Sen. Lisa Boscolas office encouraged support of Senate Bill 535, which was introduced by Boscola this week and seeks a Pennsylvania state constitutional amendment that would enshrine protections based on gender identity and other factors. The measure received applause from the assemblage.

Speakers outside Bethlehem City Hall addressed other common challenges for the trans community, like language.

That was a problem Ashleigh Strange, with Pennsylvania Stands Up, said he encountered as a teen when his mom made him get his ears pierced so he didnt look like a boy.

I didnt like how I looked and I couldnt quite put my finger on it. Why dont I like the way I look? Why dont I like looking in mirrors? Why dont I like dressing in certain clothes? I didnt quite get it but thats because I wasnt sure about the language, I wasnt sure what language to use for myself, Strange said.

Coming out and surgery helped match the person on the outside with the one inside, but vocabulary was still a problem. Strange eventually paid for an online doctorate in friendship from Denmark so he could use a gender-neutral term of address. Strange said more such terms are still necessary. Not sure how to address someone in a specific occupation? Google it, he said.

I want you to understand that youre going to make mistakes. Youre going to misgender people, right? To err is human, Strange said. We will make mistakes. We will apologize for those mistakes and we will all move forward together.

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Medicaid coverage will end for millions of Americans in the coming months, and it will push many into unfamiliar territory: the health insurance marketplace.

States will start cutting people from the government-funded plans when they no longer qualify based on income, a process that has been paused since shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The timing of these cuts will vary. But all states have insurance markets where people who lose Medicaid can buy new coverage with help from subsidies. Some states will even connect shoppers with a potential new plan.

Shopping for affordable insurance that covers regular doctors and prescriptions can be daunting, especially in marketplaces that offer dozens of choices and subsidies to help pay for them. Experts say it helps to start this search with a plan. Heres a deeper look at the process.

WHATS HAPPENING TO MEDICAID?

Nearly 85 million people are covered by government-funded Medicaid, which focuses on people with low incomes.

At the start of the pandemic, the federal government prohibited states from kicking people off Medicaid if they were no longer eligible. That ban ends this spring, and many people on Medicaid will be introduced to this so-called redetermination process for the first time.

States are already verifying eligibility. Some, like Arizona, Arkansas and Idaho are expected to start ending coverage for ineligible people in April. Most states will be doing that in May, June and July.

Federal officials estimate that more than 8 million people will lose eligibility and leave Medicaid mainly because their incomes have changed.

WHERE TO GET NEW COVERAGE

State-based health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act are the only places where people can buy individual insurance with help from an income-based subsidy. They can be found through the federal governments healthcare.gov website.

Shoppers also can find coverage sold outside these marketplaces, but it may be risky. For instance, short-term plans can exclude coverage of certain things like a medical condition someone had before signing up.

INCOME-BASED SUBSIDIES

The cost of any new plan should be one of the first things people consider. Shoppers can get income-based subsidies to help pay monthly premiums of plans they buy on the state-based marketplaces. Those subsidies were enhanced during the pandemic.

People often dont realize they can get this help, said Jeremy Smith, director of West Virginias health insurance navigator program, which helps shoppers find coverage.

A very large percentage of people can qualify for a plan starting at $0 per month, he said.

COVERAGE DIFFERENCES

Individual insurance differs from Medicaid in several ways. Some marketplace plans come with a big deductible that people must pay before most coverage starts.

Shoppers should understand deductibles and other payments they will need to make before committing to a plan, Smith noted.

Individual insurance also groups hospitals and doctors in networks. The insurance may cover much less of the bill for care received outside those networks. Shoppers should learn how any regular doctors and medications are covered before enrolling in a new plan.

Individual insurance also can give people more care choices. Many doctors dont accept Medicaid, and states may pay for only a limited amount of prescriptions.

It is possible that people will have better access to certain services in the marketplace, said Jennifer Tolbert, a Medicaid expert at the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation.

IMPORTANT STEPS IF YOURE ON MEDICAID

Make sure your state program has your current contact information, including a mailing address plus email and cellphone. They will send notifications if they need more information or if someone no longer qualifies for Medicaid.

Everyone should do that before April, said said Joshua Brooker, an independent broker based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Its going to make a smoother transition.

Start shopping for new insurance before Medicaid ends. Shoppers should allow plenty of time to sort through options.

The goal should be to have new insurance that starts the day after Medicaid ends. That would cut down on temporary coverage losses for regular doctors or important medicines.

Once shoppers register to shop in the insurance marketplace, they have 60 days to find a plan.

GETTING HELP

Seeking assistance may be a good idea, especially for people who need help figuring out their income for the coming year. Thats needed to calculate subsidies.

There are several ways people can get help.

States will transfer the names and contact information of those who no longer qualify for Medicaid to their marketplaces. They also will send a letter to Medicaid beneficiaries telling them how to connect to the marketplace, said Kate McEvoy, executive director of the nonprofit National Association of Medicaid Directors.

Some states will go further. Californias marketplace, Covered California, will enroll people in a qualified health plan and send them the information. Those people then must confirm enrollment and pay the first premium to remain covered.

State marketplaces have navigators like Smith who can help people sort through options and understand potential plans. The government-funded navigators are free to use but they cannot recommend any specific choices.

Federally qualified health centers also have counselors who can help people apply.

Independent brokers also help people sort through options. They will get a fee that usually comes out of the premium you wind up paying.

___

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.

By TOM MURPHY

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Projects in Lehigh and Northampton counties are sharing in more than $16 million in grants awarded March 16 by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority.

The money awarded locally comes from two sources, with $12.7 million earmarked for the two counties from the Local Share Account that is supported by gambling proceeds in Pennsylvania. The authority awarded $263 million in statewide Local Share Account grants.

Another $3.3 million was awarded to the Lehigh Valley as part of $56.1 million from the states Multimodal Transportation Fund that is backed by fee increases under Act 89 of 2013.

Local lawmakers touted the money released for projects serving their constituents.

These investments show a continued commitment to strengthening the communities here in the Lehigh Valley by improving our green spaces and infrastructure and supporting our law enforcement, stated state Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-Lehigh, in announcing $2.1 million awarded to six projects in her district. I would like to thank my legislative colleagues, including (state) Sen. Nick Miller, for supporting these projects to help enhance the quality of life in our region.

Miller, D-Lehigh/Northampton, stated: Im happy to see the state make substantial investments in our shared communities and fund projects that will directly impact our neighborhoods. These investments in local infrastructure, public safety and resources will support the long-term sustainability and functionality of our communities.

The grants include $1.6 million for projects in Bethlehem, including $642,750 to help help make East Broad Street more walkable for pedestrians by implementing pedestrian safety and traffic calming measures, and $1 million awarded to the Bethlehem Revitalization and Improvement Authority for the rehabilitation of elevators at the Steel General Office. The East Third Street building has been vacant since 1995 and served as the original headquarters for the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. prior to the opening of the now-demolished Martin Tower.

State Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Northampton, and state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton, jointly announced the Bethlehem funding, with Boscola calling the projects priorities identified by Mayor J. William Reynolds. The SGO improvements are a critical step towards making the project inhabitable by tenants, Boscola and Samuelson said.

In Easton, $377,392 was awarded for traffic calming and streetscape improvements along Wood Avenue in the West Ward, according to state Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton. Also in his district, Freemansburg received $620,600 for construction and engineering costs to build a proposed 7,200-square-foot community center, plus $200,000 for vehicular and pedestrian safety improvements along Main and Washington streets; Hellertown received $396,767 for improvements in Gregory Park at Third Avenue and Easton Road; Lower Saucon Township was awarded $200,000 to replace the old and damaged Tot Lot B playground equipment located at the Town Hall Park; Palmer Township received $300,000 on behalf of the Brown & Lynch American Legion Post 9 for construction and engineering costs associated with a new pavilion building, plus $197,025 on behalf of Suburban EMS for new vehicle purchases; West Easton was awarded $285,297 toward the removal and repair work of two trestle bridges as part of the Two Rivers Greenway Trail System expansion; and Wilson Borough received $76,159 to purchase a fire safety utility vehicle.

Each of these grants will have a significant impact for the municipalities and organizations that sought the funds. The best part about these projects is that they all will benefit residents in one way or another by providing community gathering spaces, enhancing recreational opportunities, making roads safer or improving emergency services, Freeman stated.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Bucks/Lehigh, announced numerous grants for his 16th Senatorial District, including, in Allentown, $779,228 to purchase a new fire pumper truck and $569,000 on behalf of Museum of Indian Culture to assist with Phase II of the Lenape Village Park and Trail project.

Im happy to announce these state grants that will help pay for critical local improvement projects while easing the burden on local taxpayers, Coleman stated.

State Reps. Peter Schweyer, Mike Schlossberg and Josh Siegel, all D-Lehigh, announced funding along with Miller for nine area projects in their districts.

People in Lehigh County expect their elected officials to work together to make public safety a priority. Each of these awards will help to make life in our region safer. I am proud to work with my colleagues to make these projects possible and make our communities safer, stated Schlossberg, chairman of the state House Majority Caucus.

Following are complete lists of the Local Share Account and Multimodal Transportation Fund grants awarded to Lehigh and Northampton counties in this latest round by the Commonwealth Financing Authority, part of the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Click the links here to view the tables, since they may not display on all platforms, or to view them full-screen.

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The sponsorship group of the After School Satan Club has sued the Saucon Valley School District for rescinding permission for the group to hold afterschool meetings.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court by attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union.
Police in Berks County fatally shot a man who has been identified as a suspect in a New Jersey arson, where two people were found fatally shot, authorities said.

The Pennsylvania shooting occurred Thursday evening in Wyomissing, a borough outside Reading, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

State police identified the deceased as 53-year-old Vaughn T. Perkins from Philadelphia, following notification of his next of kin.

Perkins was wanted for an arson that occurred Monday in New Jerseys Gloucester City, in Camden County, according to a news release from Pennsylvania State Police. Two people were found fatally shot in a fire that investigators determined had been set Monday at a motel on Route 130 in Gloucester City, according to the Camden County Prosecutors Office.

The prosecutors office on Friday said Perkins set the fire and was considered the person of interest in the fatal shooting of the two victims whose bodies were found at the fire  Tabitha Price, 56, of Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Steven Smith, 52, of Atco, New Jersey.

There is no threat to the public as Perkins is now deceased, the prosecutors office stated Friday.

Pennsylvania State Police were alerted about 6:30 p.m. Thursday of a double homicide suspect, identified as Perkins, who may be in the Berks County area, according to the news release. The suspect was wanted on a warrant in Mondays Gloucester City fire, the state police said.

He was also identified as the gunman in a shooting about 4:30 p.m. Thursday in Philadelphia, in which he was observed on video walking up to two people sitting on a porch and shooting them both, according to police. The car and license plate were captured on video, as well. One of those victims was in critical condition Friday, state police spokesman Trooper David Beohm said.

Perkins was located in Wyomissing in the area of State Hill Road near Berkshire Mall, where local police attempted to pull him over, according to state police.

A short pursuit ensued, ending when the suspect drove into the back yard of a home in the 900 block of Spring Street, where his vehicle became disabled, the police said.

State police said troopers and local law enforcement surrounded the vehicle and gave several verbal commands.

The suspect, who was observed to have a rifle with a scope across his chest, failed to obey their commands, the state police release states, continuing on to say troopers along with West Reading and Wyomissing police officers discharged their firearms at him.

Perkins was pronounced dead at the scene by the Berks County Coroners Office.

The investigation is ongoing, and state police noted that it is their policy to assign a member involved in a shooting or serious police incident to administrative duties while the incident is under investigation.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
With student loan forgiveness programs in limbo at the federal level, some states are offering incentives to pay off those debts, if you become a resident of that state.

These programs also are open to private loan holders usually excluded by the federal government.

Here are the four states offering these programs and their eligibility requirements.

1. Kansas

If you move to one of the states Rural Opportunity Zones, which are 95 designated counties, you could be eligible for up to $15,000 in student loan repayment assistance over five years.

To be eligible, you must have a student loan balance under your name and qualify as a new resident in one of these counties.

2. Maine

Maine is offering eligible state residents student loan payment reimbursement worth up to $25,000 through the Opportunity Maine Tax Credit.

You must live in Maine year-round to be considered for this program, and there are other eligibility requirements depending on the year you graduated and other factors.

3. Maryland

If you want to buy a house in Maryland but have at least $1,000 in student loan debt, Maryland has a program for you.

The SmartBuy3.0 Program gives borrowers $5,000 in down payment assistance. It also will pay off loans equal to 15% of the homes cost, with a maximum amount of $50,000.

The catch is that all of the student debt of at least one borrower must be paid at time the home is purchased.

4. Michigan

If you have experience working in health care or want to work in health care in one of Michigans Health Professional Shortage Areas, Michigan will help you out with your student loans.

The Michigan State Student Loan Repayment Program will pay up to $300,000 in student loans tax-free for borrowers. These borrowers must agree to work for two years under the program in an underserved health care area to have their loans forgiven.

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The driver accused in a drunken hit-and-run crash in January that killed the wife of Centenary Universitys president as she was out for a morning walk in Hackettstown has been indicted on more serious charges of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and death by auto, authorities said Friday.

Jeanne Murphy was struck about 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 7 on Reese Avenue near First Avenue in Hackettstown, police said. She died the next day in Morristown Medical Center, prosecutors said. The 70-year-old former U.S. Army colonel was married to Centenary President Bruce Murphy.

Jefferson A. Chimbo-Pelaez, 25, was initially charged Jan. 8 with third-degree leaving the scene of an accident and endangering.

A grand jury indictment issued Tuesday upgraded the charges to two first-degree counts along with three other indictable charges and multiple motor vehicle offenses. He could face up to 30 years in state prison if convicted of the most serious charge.

Chimbo-Pelaez had a blood-alcohol content of 0.127 seven hours after the crash, according to Warren County First Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Robinson. The legal limit to drive in New Jersey is 0.08.

Prior to the indictment, Chimbo-Pelaez rejected a plea deal that called for about 10 years in prison, according to Warren County Prosecutor Jim Pfeiffer.

Chimbo-Pelaez believed he hit a deer that morning, according to attorney Robert Russell of Hackettstown. Thats what he told police, Russell said Friday.

Jeanne Murphy was a retired from the military after serving 30 years. Bruce Murphy was named Centenarys 14th president and took the role in 2020.

A former competitive runner and swimmer, Jeanne Murphy was the first woman ever selected to the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team in 1975. She served on the United States Olympic Committee Board of Directors and chaired the USOC Multi-Sport Organizations Council for 10 years.

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Laois officials toured the county's twinned city in the USA for St Patrick's Week, where a "luxurious" $17 million animal shelter greatly impressed Laois Cathaoirleach Cllr Thomasina Connell.

Cllr Connell visited both Franklin, Tennessee and New York, with Laois County Council CEO John Mulholland and Director of Services Simon for a week over St Patrick's Day this year.

As well as visiting Franklin High School, the O'More College of Design in Abbey-Leix House, and a fire station, they got to visit Williamson County Animal Center, which serves the county and takes in some 4,000 domestic animals a year in a 35,000 sqft complex, with a 97% live release rate.

Speaking back home at the March council meeting, Cllr Connell was full of praise for the $17 million shelter, and for the success of their trip in forging relations.

"It's a different economic landscape. We enquired how a project like this was funded. $1 million was federal funding, and they fundraised a further $16 million to deliver it from private people. A lot of wealthy people live in Williamson county. It is a very high end animal shelter, for stray dogs, cats and on occasion horses and even guineapigs. It is enormous. So many animals end up in Williamson County because of this luxurious facility. It was very interesting to see," Cllr Connell said.

As part of the twinning, Laois students who practice music with Music Generation Laois will visit Franklin in April.

The Laois delegation toured the administrative offices of the City of Franklin, and it was agreed that both local authorities will keep in touch to benefit both areas into the future.

Franklin in Williamson County is twinned with Laois and that relationship was renewed at a Reunification Ceremony, hosted by Mayor of the City of Franklin Ken Moore and Mayor Rogers Anderson of Williamson County.

The delegation also met with Williamson Inc, the county's chamber of commerce, where opportunities and challenges were discussed in both rapidly growing communities.

Laois County Council report that Williamson Inc point to their local low tax rates, excellent education facilities, mixed home optoins, central local, local attractions and a diverse local economy help to boost the county.

They now intend to keep in contact with a view to advising each other on inward investment, supporting arts and cultural exchanges and promoting tourism.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has rejected a suggestion that the IDA has failed Laois, after the agency confirmed it has no plan to build a new factory on recently purchased land in Portlaoise.

Minister Simon Coveney while on a visit to Laois this week, said that the IDA's purchase of 45 acres Portlaoise land is a positive signal for Laois jobs, despite the IDA saying they have no plan to build a factory to attract a multinational to the county.

He rejected a suggestion that the IDA has failed the county, which has by far the least IDA supported jobs in Ireland, at 157 out of over 275,000 jobs nationwide.

The agency has just confirmed that it is not planning to build a factory on a 45 acre site it purchased recently in Portlaoise. The former farm land adjoins the IDA Business Technology Park on the Mountrath Road.

Instead it will seek advice from Laois County Council on how to repeat their business success story at J17 National Enterprise Park which has created a potential 470 jobs. Read more below.

Minister Coveney said that the Mountrath Road site purchase is the first step to more Laois jobs.

The fact that we have invested significant money in buying 45 acres is a clear signal that they want to prioritise Laois. The whole point of buying strategic land holding is so that if suitable companies come along that want to locate in the Midlands, and were encouraging them to do that, particularly outside of Dublin, that we have a land bank here that can facilitate that. Id see this as a big positive. Not a negative.

The IDA are buying strategic land banks in different parts of the country, which is a signal that they want to try to bring foreign direct investment to those parts of the country, Minister Coveney said.

Of course they want to work with the local authority to put a proposition together to hopefully attract FDI to bring jobs to this part of the country.

This is public money, the IDA has to prioritise money to purchase land banks and theyve chosen to prioritise Laois.

If they are buying sites they also need to have a plan to service them. If we can get interest then we can look at the funding for servicing the sites as well. And well have to work with the local authority and facility providers to do that, whether its water, energy or sewerage, road infrastructure.

This starts with purchasing a strategic footprint and then you can start to market it internationally and we are at that first stage. Which is a signal that the IDA are now prioritising Portlaoise and Laois as a potential location for a big project I hope at some stage in the future, the Minister said.

He spoke to the Leinster Express / Laois Live at the launch of The Cube Low Carbon business centre in Portlaoise, on Thursday, March 30.
Minister of State Sean Fleming met with Minister for Education Norma Foley this week to discuss Kolbe Special School in Portlaoise.

Minister Fleming described his meeting with Minister Foley as constructive and positive and said it left him more confident that the issue will be dealt with in the immediate future. The exchange followed a public meeting in Portlaoise.

I refer to the public meeting last week in connection with Kolbe Special School. I gave an undertaking at the meeting to follow up this urgent and vital matter on behalf of the entire school community, said Minister Fleming.

I was pleased to meet with the school Principal Orlagh Mahon, Brother Matthew Hayes (Chairman of the Board) and some parents in the school on Tuesday 28th March, he said.

I undertook to speak in person with Minister Norma Foley TD in the Dail on Wednesday. This was a helpful, constructive and positive meeting with the Minister, he added.

As I said at the public meeting, I was confident that this matter would be resolved in the immediate future. Arising from my meeting with Minister Foley I am more confident that this will be dealt with in the immediate future, said Minister Fleming.

He also thanked everybody who attended the public meeting, all who had contacted him and he welcomed the support from all the people of Laois in getting this matter resolved.

We all want to the same outcome: the new Kolbe Special School to be approved to go to tender as urgently as possible, he said.

Please be assured I will keep in contact with you in relation to Kolbe Special School, said Minister Fleming.

The #PrioritiseKolbe Committee, which is made up of Kolbe Special School management, staff and parents, issued a statement in response to the Minister Fleming's statement.

It doesn't in any way address the three simple questions we have repeatedly raised with Deputy Fleming, they said.

Does Kolbe remain on the list of 58 affected schools? Deputy Fleming told the public meeting that it was accepted at the highest levels within the Department of Education that Kolbe was placed on the list in error and would be taken off and put to tender within days, they asked.

Did Minister Foley give Deputy Fleming an anticipated timeframe for when the Kolbe new build can go to tender? they said.

 Can a meeting be facilitated by Deputy Fleming between Minister Foley or her representatives and school staff and parents?, they asked.

Our campaign has had ongoing difficulties in eliciting any information regarding the new build from either Minister Foley or the Department of Education, they said.

Parents have had to resort to filing FOI(Freedom of Information) requests for information that should be available to all stakeholders, the committee added.

Speaking after the statement was issued by Prioiritise Kolbe, Minister Fleming said he came away from the public meeting in Portlaoise with one message and that was to get the school to tender.

Will they be given permission to go to tender? That is the one issue I am focusing on, he explained.

I have been asked to do one thing, get permission to go to tender, he repeated.

Minister Fleming said he was singularly focused on achieving that goal.
A scathing attack has been launched at Fianna Fail by Portlaoise man who is quitting the party after appearing to be in pole position to run in the 2024 local elections.

Donal Kelly has slammed party HQ, claimed the party has little or no organisation, called the return of Bertie Ahern to the fold an insult to the public and hit out at the lifting of the eviction ban.

In June 2022, FF HQ announced that Mr Kelly had been selected as their Local Area Representative for Portlaoise area. They said at the time that he was "delighted to represent his community"

The past pupil of St Marys CBS in Portlaoise and IT Carlow business graduate spoke of his pride at the time.

"I have never been prouder than when it was announced by the Fianna Fail Party that I have been appointed as a Local Area Representative for the area, he said.

The mood has changed radically. He issued a statement after Laois FF informed the Leinster Express / Laois Life that Mr Kelly was no longer a member. Mr Kelly confirmed this.

"I recently resigned my membership from FF along with my position as Local Area Rep and Deputy Chairman of Portlaoise FF," he said.

He went on to outline his reasons.

"The notion of one member, one vote is a mere fallacy within Fianna Fail, it has proven itself to be undemocratic as the mandarins in Mount Street call the shots in Laois.

"The decision didn't come out of the blue but rather it was a culmination of countless issues with the party both nationally and locally which are difficult to set apart. I was an outspoken opponent of the Programme for Government and I was a member of a group known as Cosmhuintir which campaigned against the Programme.

"I canvassed in the last General Election on the basis that FF would not coalesce with Fine Gael and we all know what happened there. Another sickening aspect of Fianna Fail entering the Programme For Government is the facilitation of The Green Party shoving their insane ideologies down the throats of the Irish people with absolutely no consideration for the hardships they cause, especially for the poor, elderly, middle-income families and rural dwellers," he said.

Mr Kelly, who contested the 2019 local election in the Portlaoise Municipal District also claimed the party is effectively in disarray in the county town

"Locally within FF, there is little or no organisation. The Portlaoise Cumann hasn't had a meeting in four years which allows Fianna Fail HQ in Dublin to decide what is best for Portlaoise and bring in candidates who have little or no connection to the area, and be set forward in elections, which is a massive insult to members and voters and I will not be a part of this.

"My core focus as a candidate in the 2019 elections was making life better for anyone I could. Getting elected for me is about "the people, the people, the people" and was I told to dispense with this belief as being a Fianna Fail candidate is about "The Party, The Party, The Party" and that notion is an anathema to me," he said.

Mr Kelly said the party has lost touch with voters.

"I have many great friends within the grassroots membership of the party who are hard-working, honourable and decent people and I shall remain grateful to them forever for their support and well wishes. To sum things up; Fianna Fail are out of touch and out of ideas and I am out of patience with them. If ever proof were needed of this, the welcoming back into the fold of Bertie Ahern speaks volumes and is not a merely step backwards but an absolute insult to the entire population of our country," he said.

He concluded by declaring his next step in politics saying the evictions ban and the shelving of plans to build a special school in Laois are key campaign issues.

"I informed the powers that be that I will contest next year's local election as an independent candidate and will start canvassing for this within the coming weeks. During the last local elections, housing was the number one issue on the electorate's mind and the problem has become even more acute with each passing month and the Government's decision to lift the eviction ban will, I believe have a massive negative impact on this crisis.

"The local scandal of the shelving of the building of Kolbe School is an issue that has angered me, just like everyone else in our community and I have been outspoken on this issue and I shall remain so," he said.

Apart from confirming his departure, Laois Fianna Fail has so far declined to respond.

The move comes not long after a former independent local election candidate in Laois decided to join Fianna Fail.

"After long consideration, discussions & feedback from my family & friends, I am announcing formally my decision to join the Fianna Fail party after being approached by the party with a view to contesting the 2024 Local Elections," said Naeem Iqbal.

Fianna Fail has two councillors on the Portlaoise Muncipal District. Cllr John Joe Fennelly draws much of his support from the Abbeyleix, Ballinakill area while Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald is town based.

The party shares power with Fine Gael on Laois County Council.
A Cullohill woman with more than two decades of experience working in the health service is taking the top nursing job at Portlaoise hospital.

The HSE has confirmed that the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise is pleased to announce the appointment of Olivia Lafferty as the new Interim Director of Nursing of the hospital.

A statement said she takes up the post with over 20 years experience in hospital and community services. The hospital outlined her experencence.

The hospital said Ms Lafferty trained in Intellectual Disability Nursing in Moore Abbey, Monasterevin followed by General Nursing in Tralee General Hospital. Having worked in Tallaght University Hospital and St Luke's General Hospital Kilkenny, Olivia began working in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise in 2016 in the position of Assistant Director of Nursing in Medical Service. Most recently she held the role of Quality Risk and Patient Safety Manager.

The new Interim Director looks forward to working in her home hospital

I am delighted to commence my new role as Interim Director of Nursing in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise and I look forward to working with all of the staff and the community of Portlaoise and the surrounding region.

"My main priorities will be to provide quality services to our patients through evidence based care maximising patient outcomes and to support staff learning and growth. I also look forward to working with my community colleagues progressing integrated care initiatives for the benefit of our patients, she said.

Ms Aine Lynch, Interim Chief Director of Nursing and Midwifery of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, welcomed her to the post.

"Olivia brings a huge amount of experience in delivering excellent healthcare with an extensive professional portfolio in both nursing and senior leadership roles. I look forward to working with Olivia in delivering the key strategic aims to drive the highest standards of services in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, she said.

Sandra McCarthy stepped down as Director of Nursing in Portlaoise in late 2022 to take up a position at Tallaght Hospital which is also part of the Dublin Midland Hospital Group which includes hospitals in Laois, Kildare, Offaly and Dublin
Concerns about further protests from Irish teacher Enoch Burke were among the reasons he was placed on paid administrative leave by the board of the school he was employed at, a Dublin court has heard.

The information was shared during the second day of witness testimony in the High Court, which continued without Mr Burke or a legal representative for him being present.

It comes after Mr Burke was prevented from returning to the courtroom on Tuesday afternoon after the judge warned him that his behaviour had been in contempt of court.

The board of management of Wilsons Hospital School and Mr Burke are in a dispute that stems from incidents following a request from the schools then-principal in May 2022 to address a student transitioning genders by a new name and the pronoun they.

Mr Burke, an Evangelical Christian, maintains the case is about the freedom to express his religion.

On Thursday morning, Mr Justice Alex Owens addressed the online function to view court proceedings and said: Mr Burke, if youre listening, youre more than welcome to attend online.

He said that he could attend in person but that welcome was only extended if he committed to obeying the rulings of the court.

He said he was long enough in the business to know there could be disagreements in court but that there must be discipline, which, the judge added: Im sure youll appreciate.

As the deputy principal of Wilsons Hospital School John Galligan gave evidence, Mr Justice Owens read out minutes from a board meeting where a decision was made to place Mr Burke on administrative leave.

He said he was doing this due to the circumstances of no defence team being present, so that he could establish the facts of the case.

Mr Galligan, who has served in the deputy principal role since 2019, said Mr Burke was a good teacher and that his forte had been extracurricular debating.

He had not been at the service or the dinner for the schools 260th anniversary, but told the court that former principal Niamh McShane had called him the following day to inform him of Mr Burkes behaviour, to which he said he was flabbergasted.

After Ms McShane submitted a stage-four report to the chair of the board John Rogers and Mr Burke, which the court previously heard was done on August 15, he said a board of management meeting with Mr Burke was arranged on August 22.

He said that the purpose of this meeting was to decide whether Mr Burke should be suspended or not pending the disciplinary process, and that he did not believe any other actions could be taken at this meeting.

Mr Galligan said Mr Burke had attended the meeting with his sister Ammi, and that it was adjourned for about 10 or 15 minutes by Mr Rogers because it was going nowhere.

They were still talking, they were still giving out and going on and on and on, he said.

Mr Rogers said the meeting was told it was being adjourned and would resume later, but the Burkes had left.

He said that the board of management then had a 40-minute discussion on what action to take, before a unanimous decision was made to place Mr Burke on paid administrative leave as the misconduct allegation was dealt with.

Mr Galligan said the decision was made based on past experiences and on concerns for children as the next academic year approached, saying there were concerns about what the next protest might be and the form that would take.

We call it a health and safety concern, children witnessing interruption, disruption, protest, he said.

Mr Galligan said that after Mr Burke was placed on paid administrative leave, the teacher had attended a staff meeting at the beginning of the school year and was seen attending the site.

Mr Galligan said that he had regularly, at least maybe every hour or hour-and-a-half, asked Mr Burke to follow his direction and leave the school grounds, telling him he should not be there.

He said that he would do this in the presence of someone he would meet in the corridor or with Mr Rogers.

He would be there for the day, standing in the room reading from a book  Thats where he remained, he said.

Recounting a disciplinary meeting held in the Mullingar Park Hotel on January 19 2023, Mr Galligan said four members of the Burke family were present.

He said they first objected to having solicitors present, to which the board then asked the solicitors to leave, and then objected to the stenographer being present, who then also left.

He said that they then objected to Mr Rogers not being present as chair of the board, despite another board member, Freda Malone, pointing out several times that she had been appointed as an acting chairperson.

The Burkes constantly spoke over everybody, he said.

Mr Galligan said that Mr Burke was asked if he would like to ask questions of Ms McShane or make a statement, but would not answer.

Mark Connaughton SC, representing Wilsons Hospital School, told the court that he would look at whether a page from the minutes of the board of management meeting on August 22 were missing in the evidentiary documents.
The proposed 200 million Diageo brewery planned for Newbridge has been given the green light by Kildare County Council.

The new brewery will be the first built by the company in Ireland since the 1960s.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Fine Gael TD for Kildare-South, Martin Heydon, told the Leinster Leader that he welcomed the announcement.

He said: "Diageo's plans for a carbon neutral brewery at a greenfield site in Littleconnell represents a massive investment in Kildare-South.

"News that the planning has been granted by Kildare County Council is a significant step forward in the process."

Minister Heydon also said that the brewery will create up to 1,000 jobs in the construction phase, followed by '70 direct, high-quality jobs once built with significant scope for further expansion.'

He continued: "It highlights Kildare-South as an ideal location for investment and employment: we have a talented, well educated workforce, many of whom commute to Dublin for work, and I am determined to help to deliver quality employment opportunities in Kildare.

"As Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, I see huge potential in increasing the economic value of our food and drink sector.

"I look forward to seeing Ireland's first carbon neutral brewery come to fruition for the benefit of Kildare-South," he concluded.

Fine Gael Minister Martin Heydon at the launch of plans for the brewery last July.
A new bill to improve workers' rights, including flexible working arrangements for parents and carers and a right to request remote work, has been passed by the Oireachtas.

Minister Roderic OGorman has today welcomed the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 passing all Stages in the Oireachtas.

The Bill provides for the introduction of new rights for employees to support a better balance of family life, work life and caring responsibilities. The Bill also seeks to support those who are victims of domestic violence through the introduction of a statutory paid leave entitlement of five days.

The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 introduces:

- 5 days unpaid leave for medical care purposes for parents of children under 12, and carers

- 5 days paid leave for victims of domestic violence

- The right to request flexible working for parents and carers

- The right to request remote working for all employees

- 2 years breastfeeding breaks

Minister OGorman said: The Work Life Balance Bill represents a significant advance in workers rights in Ireland. It recognises the importance of family life and an improved quality of life for all workers, by supporting employees to achieve a better balance between their home lives and work lives. The passing of this Bill introduces a statutory entitlement to carers leave, the right to request flexible and remote working, and makes breastfeeding breaks a reality for women returning to work from maternity leave.

The introduction of domestic violence leave under this Bill is particularly important. Ireland is one of the first countries to introduce statutory domestic violence leave and I believe that this will make a real and meaningful difference for victims of domestic violence. Crucially, it will support those who are victims of domestic violence to leave abusive relationships. This leave was an important commitment in the Programme for Government and I hope it will lead to greater awareness of domestic violence in all its forms.

The Bill will now go to President Michael D Higgins to be signed into law.
The 10th annual of Relay for Life Kildare will take place at Curragh Racecourse this summer.

Relay is a 24 hour community celebration which honours all of those affected by cancer.

At the heart of Relay, teams made up of friends, neighbours, families and colleagues come together in groups and commit to keeping at least one participant walking around the Relay track over the 24 hours.

The Relay track consists of thousands of Candle Bags decorated and dedicated to someone who has survived cancer or have lost their battle and laid out generally in a rectangular shape.

As dusk falls, these candles are lit and the Candle of Hope Ceremony takes place.

Organisers told the Leinster Leader: "This is a really poignant part of Relay as the Candle Bags come alive with memories of those whom they represent, some still with us and some not.

"Cancer never sleeps and neither do we at Relay... we celebrate, remember and fight back."

"Team recruitment is ongoing throughout County Kildare and we are appealing to communities and families in every Town and Village to ask themselves 'can we register a team to support Relay for Life Kildare.'"

Funds raised go initially to Irish Cancer Society (ICS) and filter back to Kildare cancer patients through the various services of ICS, such as: the invaluable Night Nursing Service in the patients home, Care to Drive which transports patients to and from chemotherapy treatments, counselling service for patients and their Helpline.

The ICS also funds life saving research to improve methods of detection and treatment and to continually raise awareness of how cancer can be prevented.

The Relay will take place over June 10 and June 11.

To register a team, visit https://www.cancer.ie/.

The Relay has raised almost 600,000 since its establishment.
186 adults accessed emergency accommodation in County Kildare during the week of February 20 to February 26, 2023, according to the Department of Housing's official tally.

In addition, 75 families in the Mid-East region (which consists of counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) were homeless.

37 are single-parent families, while a total number of 126 adults and 134 child dependants were recorded in the region.

A total of 11,742 people are in emergency homeless accommodation as of last month.

8,369 adults and 3,373 children were homeless in the month of February.

This represents a slight decrease on the 11,754 people recorded as being homeless in January, and the first time there has not been a new record high struck in the official figures in over six months.

Housing charity Focus Ireland said that this still represented a 24% rise in homelessness over 12 months, while the Simon Communities said the slight reduction indicated that the eviction ban was doing its work.

Rough sleepers, people in refuges, or people who are couch surfing are not included in the Departments figures.

As new numbers report a 24% rise in homelessness the last year Focus Ireland warns ending the eviction is already causing widespread fear & trauma in society. Figures for Feb 2023 show 11,742 people homeless, a drop of 12 people compared to 11,754 homeless in January this year. pic.twitter.com/2TkBdqkUOU  FocusIreland (@FocusIreland) March 31, 2023

The numbers have been published on the evening before the Governments temporary eviction ban ends, and after the Government came under pressure in the Dail over its decision to end it amid a severe shortage of affordable housing.

Since last Wednesday it has faced three separate votes over its decision to end the moratorium on no-fault evictions, which it won in all three cases.

Warnings have been issued that housing charities and homeless services are to come under pressure in the coming weeks as the eviction ban ends.

Focus Ireland has called the lifting of the eviction ban a heartless decision that is already causing widespread fear.

Its head of communications Roughan Mac Namara said: We have been talking about a homelessness and housing crisis for over 10 years and it is hard to believe how heartless this decision to lift the eviction ban (is).

We had warned the Government that this decision means we are about to enter a new phase of homelessness where we are likely to see families sleeping on the street because they have been evicted and emergency accommodation is full.

Today the Simon Community published March 2023 Locked Out of the Market.The report tracks the number of properties advertised to rent within HAP limits & reflects the lived experience of people trying to find a home to rentAccess report & press release: https://t.co/lwz0wEN6pQ pic.twitter.com/6aDqgDjd6k  Simon Communities (@SimonCommunity) March 30, 2023

Focus Ireland and other organisations work closely with the Government, meeting on a regular basis, and we feel have been completely ignored as we have been warning about this reality.

Nothing has changed since the eviction ban was introduced since November and lifting it will do nothing to allay fears for landlords as they are selling up in vast numbers because of high taxation and market uncertainty.

We expect to see more terminations from landlords who have been unsettled by the Governments stop-start approach to this issue.

Mr Mac Namara said: The Government believes these measures  such as the Tenant in Situ  could potentially offset the expected wave of evictions.

We welcome any positive actions to prevent homelessness, however, many of these plans are clearly not fully thought through, not fully ready and even Local Authorities have already said they will take months to complete.

The breathing space provided by the moratorium has not been used properly.

Wayne Stanley, executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said that the slight reduction in the figures was welcome.

What these figures suggest is that the moratorium was doing its work, particularly for families, and keeping people out of homelessness, he said.

Unfortunately, its ending today, but had it continued and the State taken action to step up initiatives to prevent and address homelessness, there was the potential to make some real and sustained progress.
Registrations for the National Spring Clean are well underway and 2023s campaign is on track to be the biggest yet with almost 50 Leitrim groups registered to date.

National Spring Clean is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce in partnership with Local Authorities and supported by the Department of Environment, Communications and Climate Environment and Mars Wrigley Ireland. This year An Taisce celebrates its 75th Anniversary and the largest ever Spring Clean would be a fitting way to mark the occasion. Throughout the month of April communities from across Ireland will take part in the National Spring Clean to tackle the problem of litter in local areas and to see the benefits of a litter-free environment. Over the past 24 years, National Spring Clean participants of all ages have volunteered over 12 million hours of their time, with almost 45,000 tonnes of litter collected to date.



This year the campaign also wants to raise awareness about the Circular Economy Act and how the adoption of a circular economy model will reduce our litter and climate impact. The principles of a circular economy have been central to the ethos of National Spring Clean for the past 24 years. Last year some 35% of all waste collected was recycled, thanks to recyclable waste bags provided to participating groups and individuals, while the removal of litter from our natural environment helped to tackle biodiversity loss. National Spring Clean hopes that these litter collection initiatives will prompt people to consider their waste output and moderate consumption behaviours that produce excess waste and look at alternatives that will move us away from a throwaway culture to a more sustainable circular culture.



To make sure that each community clean up can run as smoothly as possible the National Spring Clean has also provides downloadable information packs on their website for their volunteers to read. The clean-up information pack containing details on how to organise an event, health and safety information, litter facts, useful contacts, media and publicity advice, a guide on how to recycle and information on litter and the law.

An Taisces National Spring Clean is inviting people to visit the website www.nationalspringclean.org and register for a free clean-up kit.
Ireland West Airport welcomed the announcement of funding today of 5,000,541 towards capital expenditure (CAPEX) projects, from the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport.

The funding is provided to support critical Safety and Security Projects under the Regional Airports Programme 2021-2025.

The Programme will support major safety and security related projects this year such as:

Upgrade of the Airports Electrical Infrastructure across the entire airport facility

Runway End Safety Area works

New Fire Tender Vehicle

Baggage X-Ray & Security Screening Systems

Installation of new state of the art Central Search Security Equipment

The announcement was made today by Minister for State with special responsibility for aviation, Minister Jack Chambers T.D. as part of a 17m investment in capital projects for regional airports in Ireland.

In addition to the exchequer funding announced, the airport will invest over 1 million to support the completion of these projects.

One of the key projects in the next phase of security related works, as part of this programme, will be the installation of a new state of the art passenger security screening system later this year.

The new security screening system will allow passengers to keep their liquids and electronic devices in their baggage.

Implementing this new technology means that the 100ml restriction on liquids whilst passing through security will be lifted also.

When completed, the airport will have the latest security technology installed, reducing security screening times and further enhancing the passenger experience when using the airport.

These critical safety and security projects are in addition to works already completed over the winter period, which included the resurfacing and upgrading of parts of the airport car park to provide further capacity and improve the experience for customers using our car parks.

In addition, upgrade and essential maintenance works are almost complete for the airports upstairs Slainte Restaurant which plans to reopen before June.

Arthur French, Chairman, Ireland West Airport said, "The introduction of the new state of the art security screening system later this year will make the experience for passengers using the airport an even quicker and more seamless one and we expect this will be received with great enthusiasm and delight by passengers."

Local Fine Gael TD Frank Feighan welcomed the allocation, stating it was good news on top of the recent commencement of direct flights to Heathrow that began last week.

Ireland West Airport is one of the best assets we have as a region with commuting times of an hour or less from many parts of Roscommon, Sligo, and South Leitrim.

Access to many regions across the UK and Europe facilitates tourists visiting many parts of my constituency for short and medium breaks.

Knock and Ireland West is a stress-free zone allowing people to avoid the hustle and bustle of larger airports like Dublin," he said.
AMF institutes proceedings against two entities related to the XT.com crypto trading platform





MONTREAL, le 31 mars 2023 /CNW/ - The Autorite des marches financiers (the "AMF") today filed with the Financial Markets Administrative Tribunal (the "Tribunal") an application instituting proceedings (in French only) against XT.COM Exchange (also doing business as XT Exchange and XT.COM) and BZ Limited.

An investigation by the AMF found that XT.COM Exchange and BZ Limited are facilitating transactions relating to cryptoassets through the website Web XT.com, which can be accessed in Quebec and the rest of Canada. These entities could be subject to securities legislation as they are using the website to offer a number of financial products and services that could be securities or derivatives. However, they are not registered with or recognized by the AMF in any capacity whatsoever, have not prepared a prospectus subject to a receipt issued by the AMF and do not benefit from a discretionary exemption. Moreover, these entities are not pursuing registration with the AMF or any other member of the Canadian Securities Administrators (the "CSA") in order to comply with securities legislation.

The Tribunal will have to rule on the evidence submitted to it.

Steps taken by the AMF and the CSA to protect investors

Over the past few years, the AMF has issued several notices, in partnership with the CSA, to implement a regulatory framework that promotes the protection of Quebec consumers who invest through crypto trading platforms.

After launching a consultation on a regulatory framework for crypto trading platforms in 2019 and providing them with guidance on the application of legislation in 2020, the CSA outlined in greater detail the regulatory framework applying to their activities in 2021.

That same year, the CSA also provided crypto trading platforms with guidance relating to advertising, marketing and social media use.

On August 15, 2022, the CSA indicated that it expected platforms operating in Canada and pursuing registration with the CSA to provide a pre-registration undertaking. On December 12, 2022, the CSA published an update announcing that it would be strengthening this approach.

On February 22, 2023, the CSA announced that crypto trading platforms that operate in Canada while pursuing registration with the CSA were expected to provide an enhanced pre-registration undertaking to their principal regulator.

The Autorite des marches financiers is the regulatory and oversight body for Quebec's financial sector.

Information

Media only:

Sylvain Theberge: 514-940-2176

Information Centre:

Quebec City: 418-525-0337

Montreal: 514-395-0337

Toll-free: 1-877-525-0337

Website: www.lautorite.qc.ca

Twitter: @lautorite

LinkedIn: Autorite des marches financiers (Quebec)

SOURCE Autorite des marches financiers

31 mars 2023 a 16:24

Communique envoye leet diffuse par :
Commonwealth Care Alliance Celebrates 20th Anniversary





Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), an integrated care system mission-driven to challenge conventional ways of providing care, especially for individuals with complex care needs, has reached a major milestone ? its 20th anniversary. Incorporated in March 2003 in Massachusetts, CCA is now a nationally recognized organization serving more than 100,000 individuals in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Michigan, and California.

Since its founding, CCA has been at the forefront of innovating complex care delivery and developing programs and services to meet the full array of medical, social, and behavioral health needs of people with complex needs ? including those with intellectual and physical disabilities.

"CCA was inspired by the values of human dignity, individual empowerment, and fair access to care," said Chris Palmieri, President and CEO at CCA. "We continue to build on those founding principles. They guide our mission along with our unique approach to whole-person care, which supports essentials of life such as housing, food, and transportation in addition to the medical and behavioral health needs of the individuals CCA serves. We're proud of the foundation we created in Massachusetts and are excited for the future as we enhance the care experience of the people we serve in the Commonwealth and scale this experience across the country."

CCA traces its history back to a statewide community health movement in the 1970s that fostered a collaboration of provider and consumer advocacy groups with a shared vision for using interdisciplinary teams to deliver and coordinate medical care, behavioral healthcare, and social services that impact overall health. After decades of implementing and refining this care model, the leaders of these organizations founded Commonwealth Care Alliance, securing $2 million in grant funding for initial capitalization. Today, CCA is building on its mission by introducing its proven care model to individuals in Rhode Island, Michigan and California.

As a founding participant in the Massachusetts Senior Care Options program for people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, CCA's uncommon care model is now consistently recognized as one of the best in the country at managing complex care for individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, as well as those who narrowly miss the threshold for Medicaid.

Some of the highlights of CCA's innovations and partnerships over the last 20 years include:

In 2004, CCA launched one of the Commonwealth's first Senior Care Options plans, marking the first dual eligible demonstration in Massachusetts and the fourth in the nation approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CCA now serves nearly 15,000 members through its CCA Senior Care Options plan, which achieved a 4.5 out of 5 Star Quality Rating from CMS in 2022.

In 2008, CCA began serving many of its medically and socially complex members via its specialized primary care program, which was founded over 20 years ago and rebranded as CCA Primary Care (in 2021).

In 2013, CCA was a thought leader in the development and implementation of One Care, one of the nation's first Medicare-Medicaid Plan (MMP) programs and the only such program in the country exclusively serving dual eligible enrollees who are aged 21 to 64. CCA One Care now serves more than 31,000 members and has been recognized as a top-rated MMP since 2016.

In 2015, CCA launched its Community Crisis Stabilization Unit, Marie's Place  , which provides short-term crisis stabilization for members with acute behavioral health and/or substance use disorder needs as an alternative to hospitalization.

, which provides short-term crisis stabilization for members with acute behavioral health and/or substance use disorder needs as an alternative to hospitalization. In 2020-2022, CCA helped develop and manage the Commonwealth's Isolation and Recovery Sites for adults and children that were marginally housed or experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. This program helped isolate more than 6,500 individuals marginally housed and/or experiencing homelessness with a positive COVID diagnosis.

In 2021, CCA partnered with the Commonwealth once again to lead the state's COVID vaccination program for homebound individuals. CCA-led teams vaccinated more than 5,500 individuals across the state.

Also in 2021, CCA partnered with the Commonwealth and the city of Boston to create and operate a first-of-its-kind temporary housing community on the former Shattuck Hospital campus in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts to address the housing and substance use disorder crisis. Since its creation, 72 residents have been through, or are currently in, the program and 54 residents have transitioned into permanent housing.

"In the years ahead, we want to apply the experience and knowledge gained throughout our history to support both local and national solutions for improving care that meets individuals' medical, social determinant, and behavioral health needs," added Palmieri. "This is particularly important as policymakers and regulators consider ways to better integrate Medicare and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. We look forward to this collaboration as we continue to expand our offerings for individuals across the U.S."

For more information about CCA, visit www.commonwealthcarealliance.org.

About Commonwealth Care Alliance

Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA) is an integrated care system influencing innovative models of complex care nationwide. Mission-based and person-centered, CCA focuses on sustainable and evidence-based healthcare breakthroughs that improve the health and well-being of people with significant needs. The CCA uncommon care model is consistently recognized as one of the best in the country at finding and engaging traditionally hard-to-reach individuals. CCA has been recognized as a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion" by the 2022 Disability Equality Index, the world's most comprehensive benchmarking tool for companies to measure disability workplace inclusion. In addition, The Boston Globe recognized CCA as a Top Place to Work for 2022. Learn more at www.commonwealthcarealliance.org or follow CCA on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

30 march 2023 at 16:25

News published onand distributed by:
Benchmade Knife Company Prevails in Patent Infringement Lawsuit





Innovative American knife manufacturer celebrates permanent injunction that protects

Benchmade's intellectual property and prevents future patent infringement.

PORTLAND, Ore., March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Benchmade Knife Company (Benchmade), the American manufacturer with more than 30 years of experience designing and manufacturing knives and edge tools, announces that it has secured a permanent injunction against Hogue, Inc. and Hogue Tool and Machine, Inc. (Hogue), prohibiting them from infringing one of Benchmade's patents.

"This resolution honors Benchmade's commitment to protecting IP and supports our drive for innovation," says Benchmade CEO Jon deAsis. "Our brand has defined itself through industry leading, forward-looking designs and the court's permanent injunction against Hogue is a win for the makers, and designers everywhere who look to the law to protect their work."

In its final order in the case, the Court enjoined Hogue "from manufacturing, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing into the United States" any of Hogue's accused knife designs or any other "products that practice" Benchmade's patent. The Court also permanently enjoined Hogue and its representatives from inducing or contributing to anyone else infringing Benchmade's patent in the United States.

With a focus on innovation and customer needs, Benchmade takes pride in combining skilled design with precision manufacturing to produce knives for customers all over the world. From active military, law enforcement, and first responders to hunters, everyday carry fans, and chefs, Benchmade knives are built to deliver the highest quality products on the market, a trait that fans have come to expect from the brand.

"Entrepreneurs and businesses must protect their intellectual property," said Kristine Gittins, Benchmade's Executive Vice President. "Benchmade will not allow its patented ideas to be pirated or misused and will continue to celebrate and honor the designs that other builders conceive and produce in the marketplace. This legal win is a loud, clear statement that we will vigilantly fight to protect Benchmade's intellectual property rights."

For more information about Benchmade Knife Company, please visit www.benchmade.com. Please direct media inquiries to Greg Fitzsimmons at [email protected].

About Benchmade: Benchmade Knife Company is a premier knife manufacturing company headquartered in Oregon City, Oregon. With a focus on innovation and customer needs, Benchmade takes pride in combining skilled craftsmanship with precision manufacturing to produce knives for the world's elite. www.benchmade.com

Contact: Greg Fitzsimmons

[email protected]

970-925-6025

SOURCE Benchmade Knife Company

30 march 2023 at 18:39

News published onand distributed by:
Brain Mapping Instruments Market to Reach $3.7 Billion, Globally, by 2031 at 6.1% CAGR: Allied Market Research





Increase in the prevalence of brain conditions such as Alzheimer's diseases, epilepsy seizures, toxic injuries and tumors, rise in the geriatric population, surge in neurological incidences among populations, and growing adoption of advanced throughput technologies drive the global brain mapping instruments market.

PORTLAND, Ore., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Brain Mapping Instruments Market by Product Type (Computed Tomography, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Electroencephalography (EEG), Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Others), by End User (Hospitals, Ambulatory Centers, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031." According to the report, the global brain mapping instruments industry generated $2.1 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to generate $3.7 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 6.1% from 2022 to 2031.

Request Sample, PDF Brochure- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/15186

Drivers, restraints, and opportunities:

The market for brain mapping instruments is experiencing growth due to various factors such as an increase in the prevalence of brain-related conditions like Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy seizures, toxic injuries, and tumors. Additionally, there is a rise in the number of neurological incidents among populations, a growing geriatric population, and increased awareness and adoption of advanced brain mapping technologies. However, the market growth is constrained by factors such as high costs and maintenance associated with the devices, as well as a lack of reimbursement policies. Despite these challenges, there are opportunities for growth in the market, such as an increase in R&D investments by medical device manufacturers, a growing interest in amputation procedures, and the launch of new products with advanced features.

Impact of Covid-19 on Brain Mapping Instruments Market-

The global brain mapping instruments industry experienced a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic as neurological patients were unable to undergo invasive procedures to assess their condition, resulting in treatment delays.

However, the industry has since rebounded during the post-pandemic period.

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The computed tomography segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period

Based on product type, the computed tomography segment contributed to the largest share of nearly one-third of the global brain mapping instruments market in 2021 and is expected to dominate in terms of revenue through 2031. This is due to the rise in prevalence of brain diseases like stroke among the population. However, the positron emission tomography (PEM) segment is expected to exhibit the fastest CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period. The launch of latest devices, the availability of several types of devices developed by various frontrunners in the market and a rise in the support from the government authorities for the cost-effective treatment of patients are expected to drive the growth of the market from 2022 to 2031.

The hospitals segment to dominate the market during the forecast period

On the basis of end-user, the hospitals segment grabbed the highest share of more than two-fifths of the overall brain mapping instruments market in 2021 and is projected to maintain its dominance in 2031. The growth of the segment is driven by high preference of population for the treatment of the diseases among the hospitals and rise in prevalence of neurological diseases among the target population. The ambulatory centers segment, on the other hand, is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 6.5% from 2022 to 2031. The growth is attributed to the rise in awareness regarding neurological conditions, the affordable price at ambulatory centers and surge in the applications of the devices.

For Purchase Inquiry- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/15186

North America to maintain its dominance by 2031

Based on region, the market in North America accounted for more than two-fifths of the global brain mapping instruments market and is likely to dominate in terms of revenue during the forecast period. This is due to the high prevalence rate of brain diseases like seizures and hydrocephalus among population and surge in the number of market players available in the region. Moreover, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 7.4% from 2022 to 2031 owing to the presence of high populace countries such as India and China, which in turn increases the number of chances of suffering from brain conditions.

Leading Market Players:

Siemens AG

Advanced Brain Monitoring, Inc.

Compumedics Limited

Nihon Kohden Corporation

General Electric Company

Elekta AB

Medtronic plc

Brain Products GmbH

Koninklijke Philips N.V.

Brainscope Company Inc.

The report analyzes these key players of the global brain mapping instruments 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.

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Surgical Scissors Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021?2030

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31 march 2023 at 03:32

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Pennsylvania tech workforce grows in depth and breadth: CompTIA releases year in review State of the Tech Workforce report





9,900 net new jobs added in 2022, more growth projected for this year

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Against the backdrop of an eventful year tech employment in Pennsylvania added new jobs and grew in depth and breadth, according to today's release of new research from CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce.

CompTIA's annual "State of the Tech Workforce" reveals that net tech employment1 in Pennsylvania grew by 3.4%, adding 9,918 net new jobs, the eighth highest total among all states.2 The percentage increase was slightly above the national rate of 3.2%. CompTIA forecasts a 2.8% increase in tech employment for Pennsylvania this year ? approximately 8,300 net new jobs, the ninth highest total nationally.

More than 300,000 people work in tech jobs in Pennsylvania, spanning both technical and non-technical workers employed by tech companies and tech professionals who work in other industries. That represents 4.9% of the overall state workforce. The Pennsylvania tech workforce is ninth in size nationally. The estimated median wage of $86,082 for a tech worker in Pennsylvania is 100% higher than the median wage for all occupations in the state.

Pennsylvania's tech industry delivers an economic impact of $51.3 billion ? 6.3% of the state economy. There are an estimated 18,456 tech business establishments in the state, including 1,551 that opened for business in 2022 ? the sixth highest total in the country.

CompTIA's "State of the Tech Workforce" is the most comprehensive source of data on the size and scope of the U.S. technology industry and workforce. The report includes data on employment, wages, business establishments, job postings, workforce diversity, emerging tech metrics and more. Among other highlights from the new report:

Occupations poised for growth ? Positions in software development, programming, web development and quality assurance (4.2%); database, data science and analytics (3.2%); and cybersecurity and systems engineers (3%) are projected to see the most growth in Pennsylvania this year.

Emerging tech employment opportunities ? 30.2% of all tech jobs postings in the state last year were for occupations related to emerging technologies or for positions that required emerging tech skills.

Workforce diversity ? Pennsylvania is in the third quartile in the report's diversity index, a measurement of the depth and breadth of diversity in the tech workforce for seven primary race and ethnicity groups, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women account for 26% of the state's tech workforce; Black or African American workers, 6%; and Hispanic or Latino workers, 3%.

The full report is available at https://www.cyberstates.org/.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world's leading information technology (IT) certification and training body. CompTIA is a mission-driven organization committed to unlocking the potential of every student, career changer or professional seeking to begin or advance in a technology career. Each year CompTIA, directly and through its global network of partners, provides millions of people with training, education and certification opportunities designed to help them build career-ready IT skills. To learn more visit https://www.comptia.org/

1 The tech workforce consists of two primary components ? technology professionals working in technical positions (IT support, network engineering, software development, data science, etc.) and business professionals employed by technology companies. Combined they are represented by the "net tech employment" designation.

2 The 2022 employment estimates and 2023 projections represent the most up-to-date data at the time of publication. As with any labor market data source there is a lag effect, recent developments during late 2022 and early 2023 will likely not be fully reflected in the data.

Media Contact

Steven Ostrowski

CompTIA

[email protected]

630.678.8468

SOURCE CompTIA

31 march 2023 at 08:35

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Joint Statement by Ministers Rodriguez, Miller, Hajdu, Vandal on the National Indigenous Languages Day





March 31 is National Indigenous Languages Day

OTTAWA, ON, March 31, 2023 /CNW/ - This statement will also be available in the following languages:

Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage; Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations; Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services; and Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, PrairiesCan and CanNor, release the following statement:

National Indigenous Languages Day provides an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the importance and unique diversity of Indigenous languages from coast to coast to coast. Languages carry with them the stories, cultures, and traditions of past generations and inspire future generations to hold sacred these teachings in their own languages. Language is fundamental to the identity, spirituality, and self-determination of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis.

There are more than 70 Indigenous languages spoken within Canada today, and due to a history of discriminatory government policies and practices, such as residential schools, none of them are safe. Through increased efforts to support Indigenous Peoples in the reclamation, revitalization and maintenance of their

languages, there is an opportunity to strengthen these languages and ensure their vibrancy in the future. When we think of the relationships that we are renewing and rebuilding, grounded in respect and cooperation, we think of the commitment, passion and dedication that Indigenous Peoples have for safeguarding and revitalizing their languages.

Every day, we see examples of the great work done by First Nations, Inuit, and Metis to revitalize and promote their languages:

The Big Grassy First Nation Cultural Space and Shelter Building Project, which will provide a gathering area for the community to host cultural and language programs.

The Nunamiutuqaq ? Building from the Land Project, which was launched in November 2022 . Part of this project will include building Kuugalak, a net-zero targeted cultural campus in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut , that would function as a hub for documenting and mobilizing culture and language research across Nunavut .

. Part of this project will include building Kuugalak, a net-zero targeted cultural campus in , that would function as a hub for documenting and mobilizing culture and language research across . The development of two culture and language camps through the Culture and Language Camps Project. These facilities will be dedicated to culture and language programming with the Metis Nation of Ontario .

. The funding of more than 2,200 Indigenous community-driven projects such as mentor-apprenticeship programs, language nests, immersion, language classes, and the development of a range of learning tools and online resources since 2019.

The Government of Canada is committed to continuing to work with First Nations, Inuit, and Metis to put in place concrete and stable actions that will support the revitalization of their languages, no matter where they live. We have a foundation to build upon, but we must carry on in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, as much more is needed.

As part of the implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act, we will launch new funding models developed by First Nations, Inuit, and Metis partners to better meet distinct needs and to lead efforts to determine how funding can best support language revitalization, along with predictable long-term financial support. This is an important step in the right direction, but only a first step.

Supporting Indigenous languages is also one of the key initiatives of the Government of Canada's MMIWG 2LSGBTQI+ plan called the Federal Pathway. As the foundation of cultures, identities, spirituality, and self-determination, Indigenous languages are often sources of support for healing and safety. We continue to support Indigenous communities in their efforts to strengthen and revitalize their cultural spaces, where they can speak and learn their languages.

We will continue our collaborative efforts so that, together, we will find ways for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis languages to thrive and be spoken for generations to come.

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

31 march 2023 at 10:00

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The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Aviation & Investments Returns to SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo under the theme 'Soaring into The Bahamas Golden Jubilee'





NASSAU, Bahamas, March 31, 2023 /CNW/ -- The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (BMOTIA) is excited to announce its return to the annual SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo under the theme "Soaring into The Bahamas Golden Jubilee". The aerospace expo, scheduled for 28 March ? 2 April in Lakeland, Florida, will feature The Bahamas as the exclusive destination and a proud leader of general aviation in the Caribbean region.

The 49th annual SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo is the largest aviation event of its kind in the Southern U.S. region and attracts nearly a quarter million people over the course of the week at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. The BMOTIA has participated in the expo for more than 20 years to promote the ease of flying to the multi-island destination and spur business-to-business opportunities with aviation industry stakeholders.

"We hope to deepen our relationships with trusted partners such as SUN 'n FUN, as The Bahamas expands its focus and investments in the aviation industry," said Parliamentary Secretary, the Hon. John H. W. Pinder II.

"Events such as these help us to spread the word to aviation enthusiasts about The Bahamas' exceptional flight service operations and the many islands that can accommodate private aircraft. The Bahamas truly showcases its beauty from the air when flying over our crystal blue waters."

Over the past five years, private aviation delivered more than half a million passengers to The Bahamas. In 2022 alone, the destination saw a 178% increase in private aviation numbers over pre pandemic numbers in 2019.

This year at the Expo, guests can look forward to vibrant displays of The Bahamas' many offerings, new destination updates, health and safety tips, direct access to Bahamas Customs and Bahamas Civil Aviation representatives, and live Junkanoo performances across the expo grounds. Additionally, attendees at the expo will be able to sit in on special forums on the ease of flying to The Bahamas conducted by veteran Bahamas Flying Ambassador Rick Gardiner and Bahamas Flying Ambassador Mike Zidziunas of the Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA).

Special invited guests will also be welcomed to a Bahamian night cocktail party under the theme "Soaring into The Bahamas Golden Jubilee" in honour of The Bahamas' 50th Independence celebrations. At the end of the weeklong expo, dozens of pilots will participate in a fly-out from the Lakeland Florida airport to Grand Bahama, to demonstrate the proximity between South Florida and The Bahamas.

Reginald Saunders, BMOTIA's Permanent Secretary, said, "I am certain that our participation in this event will continue to boost interest in flying to The Bahamas and highlight the visual wonders, delicious cuisine and abundant cultural experiences our country has to offer."

The Bahamas has 54 airports throughout the archipelago ? 25 are private and 29 are government owned ? 20 of which are official ports of entry, equipped with Bahamas Customs and Immigration officials to process private pilots' entries and departures.

To learn more information about the SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo, please visit flysnf.org.

For more information on the ease of flying to The Bahamas, please visit Bahamas.com.

ABOUT THE BAHAMAS

The Bahamas has over 700 islands and cays, as well as 16 unique island destinations. Located only 50 miles off the coast of Florida, it offers a quick and easy way for travellers to escape their everyday. The island nation also boasts world-class fishing, diving, boating and thousands of miles of the Earth's most spectacular beaches for families, couples and adventurers to explore. See why It's Better in The Bahamas at www.bahamas.com or on Facebook, YouTube or Instagram.

PRESS INQUIRIES

Anita Johnson Patty

[email protected]

SOURCE Bahamas Ministry of Tourism

31 march 2023 at 13:34

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On Thursday, March 30, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) published a series of demographic studies entitled "Immigrants and Descendants of Immigrants in France." It is a societal snapshot of the immigrant population and its descendants, a real-life image of who immigrants are, where they come from, why they migrate, where and how they fit in and what happens to their children later.

Increasing and diversifying immigration

The publication provides insight into the dynamics at work in a country where the share of immigrants in the population rose from 6.5% to 10.3% between 1968 and 2021. With its immigrant population numbering 7 million, France is in the European average where countries with high immigration rates, such as Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus, outrank countries like Bulgaria and Romania at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Their profile has changed significantly over time. Whereas in France in 1968, 72% of immigrants came from southern Europe and North Africa, they now represent 45% of immigrants (887,000 immigrants from Algeria and 600,000 from Portugal live in France). Since the 2000s, arrivals from Asia and sub-Saharan Africa in particular have been on the rise. Facilitated by free movement, intra-European immigration is also dynamic. In 2021, 48% of the total came from Africa, one-third from Europe and 14% from Asia.

Women, who represented 44% of the immigrant population in 1968, are now in the majority (52%). Also, as a whole, immigrants are more highly educated than in the past (43% of those who arrived in 2019 and are 15 years old or older have a higher education degree, compared to 38% in 2006). The reasons for coming to France are also diversifying. Family immigration is declining. (It accounted for only one-third of new residence permits in 2021, compared with half in 2007.) And student immigration  which for the first time was the main reason for entry in 2021  is rising, as well as professional (13.3% of permits issued in 2021, three times more than in 2007) and political (14.6%) immigration.

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Immigrants are more vulnerable to unemployment

Once in France, immigrants follow social trajectories that differ from the general population. They are concentrated in large urban areas and border regions. For example, while 10% of the French population in 2020-2021 were immigrants, that proportion reaches 20% in Paris and 32% in Seine Saint Denis [a suburb of the capital], INSEE points out. They also have a clear disadvantage compared to the rest of the population in terms of employment. While in 2021, 7% of people who are neither immigrants nor descendants of immigrants were unemployed, that was true for 13% of immigrants.

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King Charles III at the Bundestag in Berlin on March 30, 2023. RONNY HARTMANN / AFP

Throughout her reign, Elizabeth II excelled at saying as little about politics as possible. Those who wondered whether her son, Charles, would do the same, got their answer during his speech to the German Bundestag on Thursday, March 30.

On the second day of his visit to Germany, the first foreign country he has visited since becoming king (his visit to France scheduled for the beginning of the week was postponed due to the civil unrest there) Charles III did not content himself with conventional remarks on German-British friendship. In the event, he took clear positions on two major issues.

First, the war in Ukraine. "The unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has inflicted the most unimaginable suffering on so many innocent people," he said. "Countless lives have been destroyed; freedom and human dignity have been trampled in the most brutal way. The security of Europe has been threatened, together with our democratic values. Even as we abhor the appalling scenes of destruction, we can take heart from our unity  in defense of Ukraine, of peace and freedom."

Rapprochement between the two countries

While the German and British positions on Ukraine have often appeared to be at odds in recent months  with a stark contrast between German caution and the UK's spirited commitment, particularly on arms deliveries  Charles III emphasized the unity between London and Berlin. "As Europe's two largest donors to Ukraine, we have responded with taking decisions, which might previously have seemed unimaginable. Germany's decision to send such significant military support to Ukraine is remarkably courageous, important and appreciated," the British monarch emphasized.

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The second topic, known to be dear to the new king's heart, is climate change. "Today, the United Kingdom and Germany are Europe's two largest producers of power from offshore wind," he noted, also welcoming their joint involvement in the development of hydrogen, an energy source that "could transform our future."

"King Charles made a very political speech to the Bundestag. I am not sure that his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, would have expressed herself in the same way," Social Democrat MP Jens Zimmermann commented appreciatively. The chairman of the German-UK friendship group in the Bundestag went on to say that this visit was a "very strong sign" of the closeness that remains between the two countries, despite Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

Switching between English and German

Switching between English and German, Charles had already spoken at the Bundestag on November 15, 2020, on the occasion of the National Day of Mourning (Volkstrauertag). "Seventy-five years after the Second World War, it was of great importance to me to stand with Germans in honoring all victims of war and tyranny, and to be the first members of my family to participate in those deeply moving commemorations," he recalled on Thursday, switching between English and very fluent German as he did two years ago.

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Italy's privacy watchdog said on Friday, March 31, that it had blocked the controversial robot ChatGPT, saying the artificial intelligence app did not respect user data and could not verify users' age.

The decision "with immediate effect" will result in "the temporary limitation of the processing of Italian user data vis-a-vis OpenAI," the Italian Data Protection Authority said. The agency has launched an investigation.

ChatGPT, created by US startup OpenAI and backed by Microsoft, can answer difficult questions clearly, write code, sonnets or essays  even passing difficult exams for students. But the app that appeared in November is controversial, with teachers fearing students will use it to cheat, and policymakers concerned about the spread of misinformation.

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The watchdog said that on March 20, the app experienced a data breach involving user conversations and payment information. It said there was no legal basis to justify "the mass collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of 'training' the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform."

It also said that since there was no way to verify the age of users, the app "exposes minors to absolutely unsuitable answers compared to their degree of development and awareness."

It said the company had 20 days to respond on how it would address the watchdog's concerns, under penalty of a 20-million ($21.7-million) fine, or up to 4% of annual revenues.

The blocking of ChatGPT in Italy comes days after the European policing agency Europol warned that criminals were set to use the app to commit fraud and other cybercrimes, from phishing to malware.

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Le Monde with AFP
A protester holds a sign with the effigy of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, on March 28, 2023 in Paris. THIBAULT CAMUS / AP

"We are in an aging society, which is a blessing. So it's only natural that we work longer."

If French President Emmanuel Macron had been told, almost one year ago to the day, when presenting his program for the 2022 election that one of his main ideas would lead France to its most serious political and social crisis since the Yellow Vests, would he still have supported the need to "raise the retirement age progressively (...) to 65" (a threshold since lowered to 64)?

It is difficult to say at this point. Twelve months and 10 days of national protests on, the failure of the government to convince is obvious. Not only did the government fail in federating a solid political majority around its objective and choose to use Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass the bill without a vote in Parliament, but it also appeared to be the one turning down the outstretched hand of the unions.

Last week, Macron lamented "that no one (...) proposed a compromise." In doing so, he deprived himself of welcome support in a moment of unprecedented social tension.

There is more. Even before the clashes that followed the use of Article 49.3, errors of communication and other approximations on the substance of the reform were a feature of the political and parliamentary debates.

It was off to a good start with a benevolent audience when Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal and Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt launched their first public meetings to discuss the reform back in January. But it soon became very difficult to distinguish the characteristics of the current and previous reforms and the public turned critical.

'Amateur feeling'

It was the word "justice", chosen by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to describe the reform, even though everyone will be working longer, that led to this impression of amateurism.

The controversy over the employment of older workers, a mathematical consequence of the raise of the retirement age according to some government members, before accompanying measures to support the hiring of people over 50 were discussed, made things even more complicated.

A slip-up on the beneficiaries of a 1,200-euro minimum pension  Dussopt first said some 40,000 would benefit from it before backtracking and abiding by a 10,000-20,000 estimation provided by Jerome Guedj, a Socialist MP  did not help.

Finally, the allusive nature of an impact study of the reform on many aspects, starting with the "redistributive" facet of the bill  Who will benefit from the new bill and to what extent?  also contributed.

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US President Joe Biden speaks to the media as he walks to Marine One prior to departure from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, March 31, 2023, as he travels to Mississippi to view tornado damage before going to Delaware for the weekend. SAUL LOEB / AFP

President Joe Biden on Friday, March 31, urged Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage charges  allegations the newspaper denies.

"Let him go," Biden told reporters at the White House when asked about his message to Russia on the arrest of Gershkovich.

Russias Federal Security Service has accused Gershkovich, a US citizen, of trying to obtain classified information. It is the first time an American journalist has been detained in Russia on accusations of spying since the Cold War. The Journal has said it "vehemently denies" the charges.

Speaking at a news conference in Lusaka, Zambia, Vice President Kamala Harris added that the administration was "deeply concerned" about Gershkovich's arrest.

"We will not tolerate  and condemn, in fact  repression of journalists," Harris said during a weeklong visit to Africa.

The Biden administration said Thursday it was working to secure US consular access to Gershkovich. Asked Friday whether he would expel Russian diplomats or journalists in the U.S., Biden responded: "Thats not the plan right now."

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, called the targeting of US citizens in Russia "unacceptable" and said the administration condemns the detention of Gershkovich "in the strongest terms."

The Biden administration has also warned US citizens not to travel to Russia, and for Americans in the country to depart immediately.

In Moscow, Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize-winning editor-in-chief of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, told reporters he knows the detained journalist and "Gershkovich was not an agent using his professional and journalistic accreditation as a cover for espionage."

Speaking more generally of the Kremlin's repression of independent journalism, which has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine, Muratov said: "This is a trend  trying to attribute espionage and treason to people at every step, to show that the profession of a journalist is an enemy profession for the country  for Russian and other journalists."

Le Monde with AP
THE CONSUMPTION of cannabis jellies, and the vaping of cannabis oil or juice is now commonplace, Limerick Circuit Court has heard.

Judge Tom ODonnell had asked Detective Garda Eoin Murray about how prevalent these forms of cannabis are, during the sentencing of a man who had these drugs for sale or supply.

They have started showing up in more investigations in the last two to two and a half years. Their consumption is now commonplace, said Det Garda Murray.

Peter Byrnes, aged 29, of Scanlon Park, Castleconnell had earlier pleaded guilty to the possession of drugs for sale or supply.

Prosecuting barrister, John O'Sullivan, instructed by state solicitor Padraig Mawe, outlined the sequence of events with the assistance of Detective Garda Murray.

Mr OSullivan said a package sent from Holland to an address in Scanlon Park was intercepted by Customs and Excise.

A search warrant was obtained by gardai and a controlled delivery was carried out at the address in Scanlon Park on August 5, 2020.

"He (Mr Byrnes) fled the scene and ran out the back door. The package was thrown over a wall. The search warrant was executed. Mr Byrnes approached the premises on a bicycle. He was arrested and duly detained, said Mr OSullivan.

The court heard that the package contained 1.1kg of cannabis herb, valued at 20,102. Seven packs of cannabis jellies or edibles with a value at 307.60 were found in the house.

Mr OSullivan said gardai received information that Mr Byrnes had drugs in a car parked in a communal space in Scanlon Park.

The passenger window was broken. An ONeills gearbag was found containing 63 bottles of cannabis juice (3,260) and 282 packs of cannabis jellies (11,280) in the boot. In total, over 34,000 of drugs was seized (between the package and in the car), said Mr OSullivan.

The barrister said during interviews with gardai, Mr Byrnes admitted living there with his mother and father. Mr O'Sullivan said the accused told gardai he would rather face the charge than deal with the owners of the drugs as he was in fear of his life.

He feared there was a gun in the package due to the amount of gardai. He agreed to collect the package to pay off a drug debt. He said he has been smoking (cannabis) every day since he was 12. He feared he would be shot. He was told a package would be coming, recounted Mr OSullivan from the garda interviews.

In the second garda interview, Mr OSullivan told the court that Mr Byrnes said he owed 10,000 and was a stoner that got caught up.

He said he was told to mind the cannabis jellies and juice for two weeks. He accepted full responsibility, said Mr OSullivan.

Brian McInerney BL, who represented Mr Byrnes, asked Det Garda Murray if his client was very much afraid of those who he owed money to and did he accept he had valid concerns for not mentioning names to gardai? Yes, said Det Garda Murray.

The sinister people in the background would be dangerous? asked Mr McInerney. Yes, said Det Garda Murray.

Mr McInerney asked if is client did have a significant addiction but there has been a change in Mr Byrnes and he hasnt come to garda attention since? Yes, said the detective garda.

Judge Tom ODonnell asked Det Garda Eoin Murray about how prevalent these forms of cannabis are.

They have started showing up in more investigations in the last two to two and a half years. Their consumption is now commonplace, said Det Garda Murray.

Mr McInerney said Mr Byrnes has no trappings of wealth and handed in letters on behalf of his clients doctor, letters written by Mr Byrnes and his partner.

The barristers said his client has a strong work history and has made great strides to turn around his life.

Judge ODonnell adjourned sentencing until April 17 as he wanted time to consider all the information presented to him.
AN HISTORIC train line restoration proposal has been put forward for Limerick, with talk of the train lines being reactivated to a standard that would allow passenger rail.

Irish Rail held meetings with Limerick Council representatives in relation to its proposed works to reopen part of the Foynes Rail Line, to service the predicted growth of Foynes Port transporting goods coming into Ireland.

The 42km line was closed in 1999 and earlier this year, works were carried out by Irish Rail to remove trees, hedges and general vegetation in Dooradoyle on the disused train tracks - where vandalism and disruptive behaviour often occurred, as reported by residents.

If works are to go ahead as planned, the restoration process will begin within the next month and the second phase of the project will include crossing, bridge and signalling upgrades, with an overall completion targeted for the end of 2025.

Former Mayor Councillor (Cllr) Daniel Butler welcomed the reopening of the railway lines, saying: This piece of infrastructure is very welcome and vital in terms of our countrys economic reality, and of course, Limerick.

The discussion is primarily freight in the short and medium term but I know the transport Minister has asked for a passenger line to be considered from Shannon Airport to Adare, particularly for the Ryder Cup.

While Cllr Butler acknowledged the benefits of reintroducing the rail route to Limerick, he also voiced concerns that residents have over disruption the construction could cause.

He said: Residents understand the need for the line to open and its importance.

However, they are looking for Irish Rail to secure their line with fencing to ensure their property is not used as it has before for criminal activity, a very reasonable request.

The impact of the freight train on properties is also a key issue, as some of the land on which these houses are built is quite soft, so vibrations could potentially cause some structural issues.

I have requested a conditional survey before and after the works and intermittent ones where issues arise and this is being considered by Irish Rail.

Residents just need their very real genuine concerns addressed so that they can have a positive relationship with their neighbours safe in their own homes, concluded the Raheen based councillor, Daniel Butler.

The line is a single track line and so one train per hour will travel on it. Freight lines can be in use for 24 hours, but use is far from determined given the amount and type of freight has not yet been decided.
THE BULGARIAN Embassy have unveiled a plaque in honour of James Bourchier outside Bruff Post Office.

The Bulgarian ambassador to Ireland Gergana Karadjova made the trip to Bruff to unveil the plaque in honour of Mr Bourchier who was instrumental in setting up the Balkan League of countries who banded together to gain independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Much loved in Bulgaria where streets are named in his honour and stamps issued in his memory, Mr Bourchiers story has been brought to life by author, Martin OBrien and has led to the unveiling of the plaque in Mr Bourchier's honour.

The post office also holds a poster by Martin O'Brien who wrote the biography on Mr Bourchier who was almost forgotten locally but held in the highest esteem in Bulgaria

Mr Bourchier was born in Baggotstown House close to Bruff in 1850.

He attended Rev John Leech Prep School in Mitchelstown and then went to Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, where Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett also attended.

He later attended Trinity College Dublin and later made a move across the pond to Eton in Windsor.

He was appointed Assistant Master at Eton but due to partial deafness, he had to resign from this position.

He went travelling in the Balkans and met another Etonian who got him a position as Balkan Correspondent with the British newspaper the Times.

Bourchier was decorated by Bulgaria, Greece, Romania & Montenegro.

Five streets in five different cities in Bulgaria, a metro station, a mountain, a valley, a cove in the Antarctic, a cigarette pack, a bust and a plaque on the streets of Sofia and a Marble bust in the National Gallery of Bulgaria.

Bourchier was the first Irish person to appear on a foreign European stamp.

A total of 15,820,700 Bulgarian stamps were issued with Bourchiers name in 1921, 400,000 thousand stamps were issued in his name in 1939 and 5,500 stamps were issued in his name in 2020.

In 1990 a Jubilee Sheet newspaper was published dedicated to the 140th anniversary of his birth and the 70th anniversary of the death of a great friend of Bulgaria.

Former Irish ambassador to Bulgaria, Michael Forbes was also in attendance for the unveiling along with the Bulgarian ambassador.

Bourchier died on the December 30, 1920 in Sofia Bulgaria, and he is resting at Rila Monastery Bulgaria.
AN ENGAGED couple who were stopped by Limerick gardai while travelling in a taxi from Kerry to Dublin have avoided prison sentences for money laundering.

Ciaran Pidgeon, aged 54, and Joanne Traynor, aged 46, both of Rathgar Road, Dublin 6, pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court.

Mr Pidgeon also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife. During a sentencing hearing, Detective Jonathon Finn said the taxi was stopped by gardai in Mungret at around 8pm on March 22, 2019.

It was being driven at speed and the reg plate was dirty. A man was driving and a woman was a front seat passenger. They both seemed nervous, he told prosecuting barrister John O'Sullivan.

When the driver - Mr Pidgeon - was asked to get out of the vehicle, gardai saw he was sitting on a hunting knife.

11,000 in cash was discovered in a plastic bag which was found in the glove box. The (taxi) meter was on and the display read 532.

Following his arrest, Mr Pidgeon told gardai he received the money from his brother as a loan and that it was to be lodged in Ms Traynors account.

However, when gardai in Dublin called to his brother he informed them this was completely wrong.The brother told gardai he gave Ciaran Pidgeon a loan the previous October and that he paid it back in instalments.

Mr Pidgeon later admitted delivering drugs, which he received in Dublin, to Listowel where he collected 11,000 in cash.

He said he had a knife for his own protection and only intended to use it if he was attacked, Mr OSullivan told the court.

The barrister said Ms Traynor willingly travelled to Kerry, accepted a sum of money, counted it and put it in a glove box.

Mr Pidgeon was a self-employed taxi driver at the time.

He was under financial pressure due to a gambling relapse and a drug debt for cocaine. He has a previous conviction for possession of drugs for sale or supply which occurred while he was on bail for this matter, said Mr OSullivan.

Jack Nicholas BL, for Mr Pidgeon, asked Det Garda Finn if his client found himself in debt to unsavoury individuals.

He owed money to a financial institution and had a gambling and drug debt, said Det Garda Finn.

Pat Whyms BL, who represented Ms Traynor, put it to the detective garda that it was obviously not her gig and she was easily led.

Yes, said Det Garda Finn. In mitigation, Mr Nicholas said his client apologises to the court and had never been in any difficulty until he tried cocaine and met unsavoury people.

They came to his home, threatened him and got him to store drugs, he said adding he lost his taxi licence after the detection.

Mr Nicholas said his client has been clean of drugs for a considerable period of time and represents a 'low risk' of being before a court again.

Mr Whyms said his client, who has no previous convictions, had never been arrested before, lives an ordinary life and is currently working in a dry cleaning firm.

She did participate in handling money. She knew it was the proceeds of crime. She allowed herself to be involved. She apologises to the court and gardai, he said.

Judge Tom ODonnell commented Mr Pidgeon has paid a heavy price for his actions.

If you are going to involve yourself in criminality you have to face the consequences, said Judge ODonnell who imposed an

18 month prison sentence on Mr Pidgeon which he suspended for 18 months. The Probation Act was applied in the case of Ms Traynor. A forfeiture order for the 11,000 seized by gardai was granted.
THOUSANDS of Limerick primary school children should soon receive hot school meals according to a new government programme, and a Limerick senator has urged the schools to express their interest to the Department of Social Protection.

With about 139 both DEIS and non-DEIS primary schools in Limerick county, these schools will soon reap the benefits of the Hot School Meals Programme as Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys TD, has announced landmark plans for its roll-out to every Primary School in Ireland.

Limerick-based Senator, Maria Byrne has urged Limerick schools to take part in the initiative, by saying,"the Department will soon invite expressions of interest for remaining schools who wish to participate in the hot school meals programme and I would urge Limerick schools to engage in that process."

It has been announced that from September, Hot School Meals are to be extended nationwide to all DEIS primary schools, meanwhile, a "phased roll-out" to all non-DEIS Primary Schools will begin in 2024.

The current School Meals Programme was set up in 2003, to provide regular, nutritious meals to children who were unable to take full advantage of the education provided to them. Priority for funding under the scheme is given to DEIS schools, whose student population is most in danger of poverty and social exclusion.

An increase in the meal rates has also been announced by Minister Humphreys.

From January 1 2023 this year, these schools saw an increase in the daily rate of their meals. Breakfast was increased from 0.60 to 0.75 (15c increase), cold lunch was increased from 1.40 to 1.70 (30c increase), dinner increased from 1.90 to 2.50 (60c increase), and a hot school meal increased from 2.90 to 3.20 (30c increase).

Announcing the rates increase, the Minister said, "the contribution of the suppliers to the success of the School Meals Programme has been significant."

The Minister published an independent evaluation of the current School Meals Programme.

This evaluation concluded that participants in the programmes believed it is effective, and it also found a high level of evidence that the provision of school meals resulted in improvements in attendance in school.

In turn, the evidence collected suggested that providing children with food in school makes a difference to families, both in terms of money saved, and for some families, in time saved in food preparation.

"This evaluation is evidence-based and sets out a series of recommendations for expanding the School Meals Programme into the future. The overarching recommendation is that every child should get one free hot meal," said Minister Humphreys.

"My ambition is that a child born in Ireland today will be guaranteed access to a Hot Meal by the time they start school," she added.
AVIATION firm Lufthansa Technik Turbine has announced the creation of 25 new jobs with the opening of a new facility in Shannon.

The firm, which announced widespread job losses during the Covid-19 pandemic, appears to be back to growth with the news of the opening of a state-of-the-art engine parts and accessories repair facility at Hurlers' Cross.

Measuring 2,000 square metres, the move means the company has 10,000 square metres for maintenance and repair in the region.

It's allowed Lufthansa Technik Turbine to expand its portfolio by including engine manifolds - parts of the interior of an engine which distribute air and fluids - among its services.

The company has been operational in Ireland since 1992, and also has bases in Kildare and Dublin.

The chief executive of Lufthansa Technik Turbine Michael Malewski says that as the company continues to grow and diversify, recruitment remains a priority.

"Today is a very exciting day for the business in Ireland. With this new facility we are diversifying our product portfolio and enhancing our manufacturing capabilities to better serve our customers needs. The diversification and expansion of our core maintenance, repair, overhaul services portfolio has happened fast and the team has worked tirelessly to bring this project to fruition. I believe we have some of the best people in the world working for us at each of our three locations, but we need even more as we experience rapid post-pandemic recovery," he said.

Mr Malewski said there's a particular need for more experienced aviation engineers as well as qualified mechanics and engineers from any field interested in moving into the aviation industry.

The launch of the new facility was attended by Limerick TD Kieran O'Donnell, who is a Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

He said: "This is a significant and welcome investment announcement by Lufthansa Technik and is a fantastic sign of not only rapid recovery, but of growth in the aviation sector once again. Lufthansa Technik is a long-standing and significant employer in Ireland and is particularly prominent in the Shannon cluster. Congratulations to the entire Lufthansa Technik team on its latest development and I look forward to seeing whats next for the business in Ireland."
The opposition does not hold a monopoly on concern about housing or homelessness, Eamon Ryan has said after the coalition Government won three key votes on its decision to end the eviction ban.

The Green Party leader said the decision to end the moratorium on no-fault evictions was hard for everyone, but added that the Governments victory in the Dail this week was telling.

He said it was not true that the Regional Independents Group had more power than a minister such as Mary Butler, who said she was not consulted on a policy put forward by the Government in an attempt to shore up support from independents ahead of the motion last week.

Transport and Climate Minister Mr Ryan also said local authorities would have to step up to deliver on a pledge that councils would offer to buy rented homes if landlords want to sell.

The opposition have no monopoly on concern about homelessness or housing. We all have the interest of housing our people and preventing homelessness, he said on RTEs Morning Ireland.

None of the main opposition parties are saying that they would continue the eviction ban for ever and a day. Theyre saying theyd just extended it slightly longer, but that would have downside risks attached too.

He said Government parties had changed fundamentally tenants rights by offering people at risk of eviction the right of first refusal to buy the property.

We will extend from the first of April, from this weekend, the Tenant in Situ Scheme so that those households in receipt of housing supports can avail of that option.

And for someone who isnt in those circumstances, that we will get the local authorities or the approved housing bodies (AHBs) to be able to purchase the property and rent it back to the tenant as a cost-rental tenant model.

He added: If there isnt an HAP (housing assistance payment) tenancy available, that Tenant in Situ Scheme is up and running and is available to allow the local authority, or the AHB, to buy that property and rent it back to the tenant.

Thats existing, thats working, thats already about 1,000 households who are going to avail of that, which is in progress, or which have already been purchased.

The local authorities are going to have to step up here and there is different levels of interest, you have to say, from that.

My own council, Dublin City Council, are really eager and are really keen because actually, what it does is it allows us to increase the social housing stock.

It allows us to actually create a new model of rental in this country where you have security of tenure, where you have access to housing within the community. You dont have to build, you can deliver quickly.

We are in a housing crisis where we cant say, oh, it would be great if you had every single bow tied, every single thing sorted, but actually, in my mind, was better to proceed with what is already a working scheme and use that as a mechanism to broaden it, widen it, and fundamentally change and improve tenants rights at a difficult time.

He also suggested he would not introduce congestion charges or increase road tolls as a climate measure during his tenure.

He said the focus needed to be on improving public transport and reallocating road space first.

He also said there would be a reduction in the number of cattle in Ireland in time, but this doesnt mean a cull, suggesting that payments would be offered to farmers to engage in other farming practices.
Hyundai has recently released a teaser for its upcoming electric crossover, the Ioniq 5 N, which showcases the vehicle drifting in snowy conditions in Sweden. As part of Hyundai's performance arm, the N badge promises to provide increased power and performance compared to the standard Ioniq 5 EV model. The global debut for the Ioniq 5 N is set to take place later this year.

Although the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N featured in the recently released online teaser video is covered in complete camouflage, its distinct silhouette and LED headlights are still recognizable. The high-performance electric vehicle is seen cruising through the snowy tracks of Sweden alongside the Hyundai i20N WRC Rally 1 car, effortlessly navigating through the white terrain. The video begins with the i20N's engine note but concludes with the distinct whine produced by the Ioniq 5 N's two electric motors. Despite the camouflage, the Ioniq 5 N is depicted keeping up with the rally-spec i20N WRC with ease.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is anticipated to receive significant upgrades over both the standard Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6 GT within the Hyundai Group. The high-performance variant is projected to deliver nearly 600 bhp and approximately 800 Nm of peak torque, surpassing the EV6 GT's 577 bhp and 765 Nm of peak torque. In addition to the powertrain improvements, upgrades are also expected to include suspension and brake enhancements, as well as potentially a reinforced chassis to accommodate the increased power output.

In addition to performance upgrades, Hyundai is expected to update the Ioniq 5 N's range, which may be limited to approximately 400 km on a single charge. Other potential features include simulated gear changes, a rev limiter sound, and a blend of artificial sounds mixed with the dual electric motor's distinct whine. A drift mode is also a possibility, as demonstrated by the sideways action depicted in the teaser video.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is scheduled for release later this year, and we can expect a few more teaser videos before the final product is unveiled. It remains to be seen whether the high-performance EV will be introduced to the Indian market following its global debut. The standard Ioniq 5 electric crossover was recently launched in India and is locally assembled at Hyundai Motor India's facility in Tamil Nadu. Hyundai may opt to introduce the performance-spec version in limited quantities alongside the standard Ioniq 5, potentially as a fully-imported model.
The New Hyundai Verna is the latest addition to the C-segment category of sedans in the Indian market. Despite the declining sales of sedans due to the increasing demand for SUVs and crossovers, midsize sedans like the Verna have their own unique appeal, and the latest updates have given the new Verna a fresh look and feel. With the inclusion of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features, the new Verna has become even more attractive.

In the same segment, the Honda City facelift is currently the only car equipped with Level-2 ADAS features. This means that the new Hyundai Verna and the Honda City are the only two models in the midsize sedan category with ADAS technology.

Here is a quick comparison between both the sedans.

Differences of ADAS hardware

The new generation Hyundai Verna stands out in the midsize sedan category with its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) technology, featuring forward-mounted radar and two additional rear-mounted radars. These radar sensors support several level-2 ADAS features, making the new Verna a more advanced option than its competitors.

In contrast, the 2023 Honda City uses a camera-based system with a forward-looking IRVM-mounted camera and no radar sensor. While camera-based systems are reliable in standard driving conditions, the radar-based technology in Verna is expected to perform better in severe weather conditions like dense fog, smog, dust storms, or darkness. The integration of radar and camera sensors in Hyundai Verna's ADAS technology also offers more accurate and consistent results than the camera-based system available on the Honda City.

View Full Image The Honda City facelift is the only car in India that provides ADAS features in manual and automatic powertrain variants. (Honda Cars)

ADAS features

The new generation Hyundai Verna boasts more ADAS features than the Honda City, including adaptive cruise control with stop and go, blind spot monitoring detection, rear cross-traffic alert and avoidance, driver attention warning, and safe exit warning. While the Honda City offers adaptive cruise control, it only works at speeds above 30 kmph. However, the Honda City hybrid variant features adaptive cruise control with a stop-and-go feature.

It is worth noting that the new Hyundai Verna only comes with all ADAS features in the top-spec SX(O) trim, whereas Honda City offers these features in all its trims except the base model. Additionally, the Honda City facelift is the only car in India that provides ADAS features in manual and automatic powertrain variants. It even offers adaptive cruise control with the petrol manual variants.

In contrast, the new Verna offers ADAS features in petrol CVT, turbocharged petrol manual, and automatic variants, but the adaptive cruise control feature is exclusively available in the turbocharged petrol DCT powertrain variant. Overall, both sedans offer some impressive ADAS features, with the new Hyundai Verna boasting a more comprehensive set, while the Honda City offers broader availability across its range.
Struggling Indian infrastructure heavyweight Adani Group hasnt tipped over any other large dominoes yet. But another sprawling Indian conglomerateminer Vedanta Resourcesis looking wobbly.

Market skittishness in the wake of the turmoil at Adani Group, which came under attack from short seller Hindenburg Research in late January, means that other indebted Indian companieswhich otherwise might have muddled their way through the Federal Reserve hiking cyclecould increasingly find themselves under investors microscopes. A Vedanta Resources dollar bond due in May 2023 was yielding about 50% on Friday according to Refinitivabout double the level at the end of January.

The fundamental problem is that London-headquartered Vedanta Resources, with several billion dollars of debt, is reliant on transfers from its Indian subsidiary Vedanta Ltd. That unit has its own large direct debts, and holds the lions share of the groups actual assets.

View Full Image Refinitiv/WSJ

Moodys downgraded the firms debt deeper into junk bond territory earlier in the month. The rating agency says it needs about $4 billion in cash to pay off debt and interest coming due over the financial year ending in March 2024.

The company hopes to pay with the help of chunky cash flows from its Indian subsidiaries, but their finances are under pressure too. And Indian politics could make some of those payments difficult to realize.

On Tuesday Mumbai-listed Vedanta Ltd. said it will hand out its fifth dividend of about $927 million for the current financial year ending this month. Vedanta Ltd., 70% owned by Vedanta Resources, has announced dividends of $4.6 billion in the last 12 months, more than double the fiscal year before. But the firms interim CFO resigned during the week. Local ratings agency CRISIL Ratings also downgraded its outlook on Vedanta Ltd. to negative from stable, citing possible higher leverage and lower financial flexibility because of big dividend payments to the parent.

Vedanta Ltd.s unit Hindustan Zinc, partly owned by the government of India, also announced a fourth dividend for the current fiscal year of about $1.3 billion last week. And Hindustan Zinc has offered $3 billion to buy its parents international zinc assets, a deal the government has vehemently opposed.

The big cash payments are also coming at a time of moderating commodity prices. Moodys expects Vedanta Ltd.s consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) will be $4.5 billion to $4.8 billion during the 2024 fiscal year, down from $6.4 billion in fiscal 2022.

Meanwhile Vedanta Ltd. itself has $2.6 billion of its own debt maturing in the next 12 months. And while its net debt to Ebitda ratio is an acceptable 1.21, raising further debt might not be easy in the current environment.

Crisil says Vedanta Ltd. currently only has the cash to cover Vedanta Resources maturities for the first half of fiscal 2024. If Hindustan Zincs generous offer to purchase its parents international zinc assets falls througha real possibility with Indias general elections loomingthen Vendanta Ltd. may struggle to keep paying fat dividends and Vedanta Resources will be in a tight spot.

Even assuming that Vedanta Ltd. and London-based Vedanta Resources ultimately avoid repayment trouble, the saga wont be without consequences.

Investec analyst Ritesh Shah says that minority Vedanta Ltd. shareholdersthough receiving fabulous dividendsare losing out on future returns because the firm will probably be forced to keep capital expenditures weak in the coming months. That may be one reason the company trades at a relatively low forward earnings multiple of 6.05, compared with global peers Anglo American or Teck Resources which trade at about eight.

The Adani saga has been obscured in recent weeks by the even more dramatic runctions in the U.S. banking sector. That doesnt mean there wont be further tremors emerging from India.
Orient Electric Ltd on Friday announced the appointment of Rajan Gupta as its Managing Director and CEO for a period of five years effective from 4 April,2023.

The company at its meeting held on Friday appointed Rajan Gupta as additional director and the managing director & chief executive officer of the company.

Appointed Mr. Rajan Gupta as Additional Director and the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Company for a period of 05 years effective from April 04, 2023, on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, subject to the approval of the shareholders of the Company," said Orient Electrics in its regulatory filing.

The company also informed that Rakesh Khanna has resigned from the position as MD & CEO, effective from 3 April,2023.

Took on record the resignation of Mr. Rakesh Khanna (DIN: 00266132) as Director and from the position of Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Company, to be effective from the close of business hours on April 03, 2023." the filing added.

Rajan Gupta joins OEL board as a full-time director and he will be based in New Delhi.

He was earlier associated with Hathway Cable and Datacom, where he was the MD and CEO, and Chairman of the Board, GTPL Hathway.

"We are deeply committed to making Orient Electric an industry leader in fans, lighting, appliances and switchgear as we strengthen our position to meet the changing demands of the market. Gupta's extensive experience in scaling up businesses, brand consolidation, and strong customer engagement aligns well with our growth ambitions," said OEL Chairman C K Birla.

He also thanked the outgoing MD & CEO Khanna for his leadership and his contribution in bringing Orient Electric to its current market leadership.

Before his last role at Hathway Cable and Datacom, Gupta also worked with companies like Tata Telecom, Hindustan Coca Cola and Asian Paints.

The company's scrip ended 0.037 per cent up at 270.55 on BSE.
Mumbai: Nearly two months after the market regulator returned its draft papers for an initial public offering, Softbank-backed Oravel Stays Pvt. Ltd, which runs Oyo Hotels and Homes, has resubmitted the papers in a confidential pre-filing, two people aware of the development said.

Oyo aims to sell new shares to raise $400 million-$600 million ( 3,285 crore- 4,927 crore) to repay debt and hopes to list before Diwali, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. The companys existing investors, who had planned to sell some of their shares as per the earlier draft, will not be selling their shares in the IPO.

In November 2022, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) allowed so-called confidential filings, which would keep the financial data of companies private in case they choose to call off listing plans. Companies can also adjust the issue size upwards or downwards by 50% and enjoy an 18-month listing window after Sebi approval against the normal 12 months.

Oyo first filed draft papers for an IPO in September 2021 but did not receive regulatory approvals. In January this year, the regulator returned its papers and asked the company to refile them with additional information.

Oyo expects to record 2,800 crore revenue in the October-March 2023 period (H2FY23), a 15% increase over H2FY22, one of the two people cited above said. Its adjusted Ebitda for H2FY23 is expected to increase threefold from H2 FY22 to 185 crore, the person cited above said. Previously, the company had reported an adjusted Ebitda of 63 crore in H1 FY23, which brings it to an adjusted Ebitda of 248 crore for FY23.

Startups have been reporting Ebitda profitability on an adjusted" level to avoid accounting for non-cash expenses such as employee stock option plans. Paytm also reported adjusted Ebitda profitability in February.

For the full financial year 2023, Oyos revenue is expected to be over 5,700 crore, a growth of 19% from the 4,780 crore in FY22," the person cited above said.

In a town hall meeting on Monday, Oyos co-founder Ritesh Agarwal told employees that the company expects to make approximately 800 crore in adjusted Ebitda in FY24. He said the company had a cash balance of approximately 2,700 crore.

Growth in India, Indonesia, the US and UK and relevant optimization as well as synergies in its European vacation homes business" was responsible for the rebound in financials, the person cited above added.

In September 2021, Oyo had filed to raise 8,430 crore in fresh capital, including an offer for sale by some of Oyos investors amounting to 1,430 crore.

SoftBank Group, which owns 46% of Oyo, initially planned to sell around 2% of the company in the IPO. Southeast Asian taxi-hailing app Grab, which invested $100 million in Oyo in 2018, proposed to sell about 51.6 crore worth of shares. HuaZhu Hotels or China Lodging Holdings, which invested in 2017, proposed to sell 23.13 crore, while the family office of Sunil Munjal planned to sell shares worth 26.71 crore. The offer-for-sale plan has now been dropped.

In September 2021, Oyo also said it planned to use the IPO proceeds of around 2,441 crore to repay the debt owed by its units, including Oravel Stays Singapore Pte Ltd, Oravel Hotels LLC and Oyo Hospitality Netherlands BV.
The Registrar of Companies (RoC), which operates under the corporate affairs ministry , has penalized nidhi companies, or mutual benefit societies, and their directors, for alleged violations of the Companies Act, 2013, according to the ministrys website.

Since the beginning of February, RoCs of Uttarakhand, Chennai, Patna and Coimbatore have issued ten orders against nidhi firms or their auditors. In some cases, the same entity was penalized for violating the rules over a few years, the orders showed.

A nidhi is a non-banking finance company, operating under section 406 of the Companies Act, and their core business involves borrowing and lending among members, with no third-party intervention.

The Centre is serious about ensuring compliance by these entities given that public funds are involved. The violations include non-compliance of the accounting standards, failing to update changes in the registered offices and non-disclosure of allotment of securities.

In August 2021, the ministry had said that a large number of firms are operating without applying for a licence from the Centre to operate as a nidhi, in violation of the companies Act and Nidhi rules of 2014.

Since 2014, the Centre has not given a single approval for fresh applications from nidhi companies. It takes violations by the entities seriously and RoCs take strong action where non-compliance is detected," an official said.

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The government also advised the stakeholders then to verify the antecedents of entities functioning as nidhi companies and ensure that they have been declared as nidhi company by the Central government before becoming their member and depositing or investing money in such companies.
New Delhi: Orient Electric Limited, part of CK Birla Group, on Friday announced the appointment of Rajan Gupta as its managing director and CEO, effective 4 April 2023.

Gupta joins the OEL board as a full-time director and will be based in New Delhi. He succeeds Rakesh Khanna.

Gupta joins Orient Electric from Hathway cable and Datacom where he was the MD and CEO, and chairman of the board, GTPL Hathway.

Orient Electric sells fans, lighting, home appliances and switchgear, with a distribution network reach of 125,000 retail outlets covering over 450 cities.

Gupta will provide strategic leadership to Orient Electric, driving significant scale and innovation. He will focus on building the organization through organic and inorganic expansion, setting up cutting edge manufacturing facilities and strengthening the brand," the company said in a release announcing the appointment.

We are deeply committed to making Orient Electric an industry leader in fans, lighting, appliances and switchgear as we strengthen our position to meet the changing demands of the market. Rajans extensive experience in scaling up businesses, brand consolidation, and strong customer engagement aligns well with our growth ambitions. Our value proposition to our customers and stakeholders remains unchanged and we will continue to invest behind product expansions and customer linked solutions," said CK Birla, Chairman, Orient Electric.

Gupta has over 25 years of experience across various aspects of management, digital transformation, sales, marketing, P&L management, revenue growth management, go to market strategy, business turnaround, manufacturing operations and investor management, with exposure to multicultural leadership across various regions of India.

In the past, Gupta has worked across companies such as Tata Telecom, Hindustan Coca Cola and Asian paints.
The Union finance ministry may not impose anti-dumping duty (ADD) on viscose staple fibre (VSF) from Indonesia as it may worsen the shortage of the key raw material for Indias textile industry, two people aware of the development said.

The commerce ministrys Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) recommended a duty of $0.512/kg on these imports in December as part of a government initiative to enhance the quality of textiles. However, about a dozen members of Parliament, including those from the ruling party, wrote to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently that it would raise the import price of viscose fibre by as much as 40 per kg.

DGTR had recommended anti-dumping duty on VSF imports only from Indonesia and not across. We import from two-three countries, including Indonesia, Austria, [and] China. The anti-dumping duty was recommended only in the case of Indonesia as the investigation found a case of injury to the domestic industry," one of the two people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

Dropping the move to impose the duty would be a relief for domestic textile manufacturers, which were facing the prospect of trade disruptions, lower competitiveness, and economic losses.

The finance ministry takes into consideration the recommendation of DGTR and also the public interest. The finance ministry has not announced the duty, and the period where the decision was expected to come is now over. So, anti-dumping duty on VSF is unlikely. The duty was limited to Indonesia as there was a huge surge," the person added.

The MPs had written to Sitharaman that viscose-blended cotton is the future and forms a critical raw material for the spinning and weaving industry, producing apparel, accessories, and technical textiles. They also pointed to problems with VSF availability.

In this financial year, the domestic VSF demand was 700,000 tonnes, and the availability was only 540,000 tonnes. This move (proposal of ADD on VSF) could raise the import price of viscose fibre by as much as 40 per kg," they added.

The person cited earlier said the government is focusing on quality, but that does not mean it isnt looking to maintain availability. I am not saying no to imports, but sub-standard imports should not be encouraged. But at the same time, assured availability of raw material also needs to be guaranteed," the person added.

The second person cited above said the duty on VSF was recommended amid efforts to improve quality, and it is not expected any more. The industry understands that there is a need for quality, but the government must realize that our buyers cannot be affected. There is tough competition from Bangladesh and Vietnam, and if buyers get a better deal, they will not source from India. It cant be quality by force. The government should take an interim step where there may be a voluntary approach to it for a year," the person added.

Queries sent to the commerce, textile and finance ministries remained unanswered at press time.
Oravel Stays - which operates hospitality tech firm OYO - on Friday pre-filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with stock market regulator Sebi, sources said. Sources close to the company told PTI OYO may launch its initial public offering (IPO) around Diwali this year.

Unlike the traditional route where companies have to launch the IPO within 12 months from the Sebi approval, or final observation; in the pre-filing route, an IPO can be floated within 18 months from the date of Sebi's final comments.

This route also provides flexibility to change primary issue size by 50 per cent till the Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) stage.

Explaining the rationale for filing through the pre-filing route, a source said, "The market continues to be highly volatile globally and to an extent in India as well. Filing through the pre-filing route will give OYO some leeway on the timing of the listing, as well as on fine-tuning the issue size, basis the market conditions, to between USD 400 to 600 million, all of which will now be a primary issuance, to repay most of its debt. Though for now an issue timing of around Diwali is likely once Sebi approves."

OYO's last submission to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in November 2022, was of its updated financial results for the first half of financial year 2022-23, claiming that potential investors need to be made aware of the material uptick in its business performance since its initial IPO application in September 2021.

The company's founder Ritesh Agarwal, in an employee townhall on Monday, said, "The company expects to clock adjusted EBITDA of nearly 800 crore in FY2024, that is, the upcoming financial year. We are taking measures to keep a healthy cash runaway and continuing to operate in a cost-effective way.

"We have a current cash balance of approximately 2,700 crore and we hope we will end up consuming very little of it for existing operations. Our cash flow has shown improvement and our reliance on external funds has gradually decreased overtime."

He also mentioned that this performance can be attributed to sustained growth in India, Indonesia, the US and UK and relevant optimisation as well as synergies in its European vacation homes business.

OYO had filed preliminary documents with the Sebi on September 2021 for a 8,430-crore IPO, including a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to 7,000 crore and an offer for sale of 1,430 crore.
Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd hosted an analyst meeting on Wednesday to discuss the recent regulatory changes, their impact, and the overall outlook for the company.

The regulatory changes related to limiting expenses of management (EOM) appear positive for Star Health. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has recently announced a limit on the overall EOM of general and health insurers. EOM is capped at 30% of gross premium underwritten for general insurers (GI) and 35% for standalone health insurers (SAHI).

Currently, insurance companies pay a certain percentage of the total premium as commission to intermediaries. The regulator has removed this cap now, providing flexibility to the insurers, but has kept an overall limit on EOM. This is to take effect from 1 April.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services analysts said, The recently announced EOM regulation will have positive outcomes for Star Health as most of the competition is above the threshold of 35%/30% for SAHIs/GI players, while Star Health operates well below." Currently, all SAHIs except Star Health have an EOM above 35%, they added in a report.

Thus, while the ability to pay higher commissions could be limited for other general or health insurance companies, Star Health is better off. For the nine-month ended December, Star Healths combined ratio stood at 96.9%. A combined ratio of more than 100% indicates an insurance company is paying more than it is earning. For perspective: ICICI Lombards combined ratio is at 104.6%. The removal of the commission limit also opens many new distribution avenues, especially the public sector bank channel, as a big opportunity, which can now add more partners as they can receive higher commission in a transparent manner," said Emkay Global Financial Services report.

Hereon, analysts expect Star Health to continue its focus on specialised insurance product mix, price hikes, agents addition, improvement in bancassurance channel partnerships and expansion of network hospitals to aid profitability growth going ahead. This should aid the stock performance as well.

In the past year, the stock is down nearly 25%, owing mainly to a combination of expensive valuation and earnings volatility, point out analysts at Emkay. Currently trade on FY25E price-to-earnings ratio of 23x, which looks appealing with growth and profitability expected to accelerate going ahead," they said in a report.

Further, the company plans to implement IFRS accounting over the years, which could improve return ratios. Motilal Oswals analysts said that the change to IFRS accounting will result in increased return ratios as it allows expenses to get book over the term of the product. RoEs can get a boost of 2-2.5%," they said. RoE is short for return on equity.
AMNS Luxembourg Holding, the parent of Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS), has signed a $5 billion loan agreement with a consortium of Japanese lenders led by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to fund the steelmakers capacity expansion plans in India.

While JBIC will lend $3 billion, the rest will be provided by MUFG Bank Ltd, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd, Mizuho Bank Ltd, and Mizuho Bank Europe NV.

AM/NS India is owned by AMNS Luxembourg, in which ArcelorMittal holds a 60% stake with the rest held by Nippon.

The proceeds obtained through the JBIC co-financing loan will be used to finance the expansion of AM/NS Indias annual steelmaking capacity at its Hazira plant from 9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 15 MTPA," ArcelorMittal said in a statement.

The steelmakers ability to successfully raise large debt is underscored by expectations of a continued boost to Indias domestic steel demand, buoyed by the governments mega infrastructure push. As per CareEdge Research, domestic steel consumption is expected to grow at 8-10% in FY24, spurred by increased infrastructure spending, robust real estate and construction activities, and strong automobile sales. ArcelorMittal said apart from adding to the primary steelmaking capacity, the project includes the development of downstream rolling and finishing facilities to enhance AM/NS Indias ability to produce value-added steels for sectors such as defence, automotive and infrastructure. The capacity expansion will create more than 60,000 jobs, it added.

After over two years of ligation under Indias insolvency law, ArcelorMittal acquired Essar Steel India Ltd (ESIL) in December 2019, forming a joint venture with Nippon Steel to own and operate ESIL. The company received environmental clearance last October, and announced a 60,000 crore investment plan to raise production capacity at Hazira to 15 MTPA.

JBIC, a Japanese government-owned financial institution, is restricted from taking over 60% of a loan consortium and thereby its share is at $3 billion, said an official on condition of anonymity.

The official said the deal is part of JBICs long-standing relationship and commitment to India.

We are glad to see that ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India will use this funding to expand their business and we are committed to support their investment," the official said. In March 2020, AMNS Luxembourg Holding had signed a $3.09 billion loan agreement with JBIC to partially finance ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steels acquisition of Essar Steel.

JBIC said in a separate statement that the steel market in India is expected to make steady growth along with its economic and population growth. At the same time, localization of production of steel products is progressing based on the governments Make in India campaign for the protection of domestic industry, it said.

The loan will support Nippon Steels overseas business expansion, thereby contributing toward maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of Japanese industry," the JBIC statement said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shayan Ghosh Shayan Ghosh is a national writer at Mint reporting on traditional banks and shadow banks. He has over a decade of experience in financial journalism. Based in Mints Mumbai bureau since 2018, he tracks interest rate movements and its impact on companies and the broader economy. His interests also include the distressed debt market, especially as Indias bankruptcy law attempts recoveries of billions worth of toxic assets. Read more from this author
The violence that took place in West Bengal's Howrah on Thursday left several injured during the Ram Navami celebrations, and also triggered a mud-slinging between the ruling and the Opposition parties Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) respectively.

While Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee blamed the BJP for orchestrating the violence, especially turncoat Suvendu Adhikari for the violence.

No one was stopped from organising any procession... but they organised processions to create riots. There were people carrying swords, hammers and sticks. They even brought bulldozers with them," the CM said while wrapping up her 30-hour sit-in protest in the Maidan area against the Centres alleged anti-Bengal bias.

"The BJP is instigating violence in Bengal. Videos show men carrying guns at Ram Navami rally," Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee said.

True religious practice entails compassion, respect & empathy for all.@BJP4India's supporters who perpetuated violence during the Ram Navami procession can not claim to be from any religion.



National GS Shri @abhishekaitc rightly stated -



A criminal has no religion! pic.twitter.com/A9SpKRAFRu  All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) March 31, 2023

BJP's DANGABAJI FORMULA at work again" Baneerjee tweeted an alleged video from the violent clashes that took place in Howrah on Thursday.

BJP's DANGABAJI FORMULA at work again:



 Provoke & instigate communities against each other.



 Supply weapons to incite violence.



Create communal tension deliberately.



 Reap political benefits.



A classic unholy blueprint right out of the @BJP4India playbook! pic.twitter.com/HKZ0BmIlCm  Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) March 31, 2023

Meanwhile, BJP state chief Sukanta Majumder wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his interference and a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations.

Wrote to Honble Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji about the ongoing violence in West Bengal under the patronage of the state govt and requested for the impartial investigation using central agencies . pic.twitter.com/lAoKkSJdBM  Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) March 31, 2023

Following the violence in West Bengal's Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday filed a PIL in Calcutta High Court seeking a NIA probe into the matter and immediate deployment of Central Forces in the violence-affected areas.

I have filed a Public Interest Litigation today in the Honble High Court at Calcutta pertaining to the incidents of violence & attack on the Ram Navami processions at Howrah & Dalkhola. I have prayed for NIA probe and immediate deployment of Central Forces in such areas...

(1/2)  Suvendu Adhikari    (@SuvenduWB) March 31, 2023

After violence broke out in West Bengal's Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee on Friday said that the lives of Hindus in the state are "under threat"."It is disheartening. Such visuals emerge from Bengal every Ram Navami and Durga idol immersion. It is not acceptable that the lives of Hindus in Bengal are under threat. When there was violence in Howrah yesterday, Mamata Banerjee was sitting on a 30-hour Dharna," Chatterjee told news agency ANI.

Situation is completely out of control in Howrah. Mobs turn violent. After attack on Ramnavami Shobha Yatra, fresh violence erupts in Shibpur area of Howrah. Media has been attacked. Law and order is a state subject and Bengal Home Minister Mamata Banerjee has failed completely pic.twitter.com/EbKWN7TlwV  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 31, 2023

The BJP MP accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of appeasement politics. She demanded the resignation of Mamata Banerjee.

"What did she say? Muslims live nicely during Ramzan. Is this an example of that? She is with Muslims for vote bank and appeasement politics. Law and order situation in the state is worse. She should resign. She is the Chief Minister as well as Home Minister and she is unable to stop this. This has been happening one after the other...This should be probed by National Investigation Agency (NIA)," added Chatterjee.

Amit Shah on Friday reportedly called Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar to assess the law and order situation after the Ram Navami clash. The Governor, who will soon be visiting the riot-hit areas, is believed to have given the Union Home Minister details about the violence and the present situation.
A woman was allegedly dragged into a car and gang-raped by four men in Karnataka's capital city Bengaluru on the intervening night of 25 and 26 March, the Karnataka Police has said.

The woman was sitting at the National Games Village Park with a male friend, when a car carrying the four accused drove up and dragged the woman in.

According to the Police, the four rapists also threatened the male friend.

The Karnataka Police has confirmed that the four accused- Satish, Vijay, Sridhar, and Kiran have now been arrested.

The police him formed that one of the four had approached the duo and objected to them sitting at the park late at night. Once the male friend left after he was threatened, the accused called three of his other companions and dragged the woman into the car.

The woman has claimed that the car was driven to Domlur, Indiranagar, Anekal and Nice Road throughout the night, when the crime was being committed.

The police also informed that the four accused had threatened the owman of dire consequences if she reported the incident tot he police.

They four accused later left the woman near her house in the early hours of March 26. After reaching home at 4 am, she was taken to a hospital, and later a police complaint was lodged.

This incident comes only days after the Supreme Court of India issued a notice to the Indian Government regarding the early release of the rapists of Bilkis Bano.

Bano is challenging the premature release of 11 people who were convicted of gang-raping her and murdering members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Meanwhile, a 34-year-old woman from Assam was allegedly raped by a "friend" in a car near Hero Honda chowk here, police said on Thursday.

According to the woman, a private firm employee, she was in touch with the accused, Sandeep, for the past few days and had been talking to him on the phone.
Just one day left! The new financial year will begin tomorrow, Saturday, April 1, 2023. The central government has given relief to crores of people by extending the last date for linking PAN-Aadhaar, adding nominees to demat accounts, etc. Hence, consumers must also be wondering whether there will be any relief in LPG prices.

Increase or decrease? the prices of LPG cylinders can be checked on April 1, 2023, because the petroleum companies update the rates on the first day of the new financial year.

However, it is pertinent to note that the domestic LPG cylinder has become costlier by 103 this year, while the commercial cylinder has become cheaper by about 134.

Take a look at domestic LPG cylinder prices on March 31, 2023:

City name Price (Rs) Srinagar 1,219 Delhi 1,103 Patna 1,201 Leh 1,299 Aizawl 1,260 Andaman 1,179 Ranchi 1,160.5 Shimla 1,147.5 Lucknow 1,140.5 Kolkata 1,129 Chennai 1,118.5 Bengaluru 1,115.5 Mumbai 1,112.5 Ahmedabad 1,110 Chandigarh 1,112.5

Every household is entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg each at subsidized rates in a year. Beyond that, customers need to make any additional purchases of LPG cylinders at the market price. Under the PAHAL (Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG) scheme, consumers get LPG cylinders at a subsidized rate. The subsidy depends on several factors such as foreign exchange rates, and crude oil prices.

The government earlier this month has also extended the 200 per LPG cylinder subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) by one year in the wake of high prices of petroleum products in the international market.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a subsidy of 200 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per year to be provided to the beneficiaries of PMUY, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters.

The subsidy is credited directly to the bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries.
The death toll in the Indore temple stepwell collapse incident has increased to 35, Indore Collector Dr Ilayaraja T said told news agency ANI. "Total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment. The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," Indore Collector said.

"The 18 hours long rescue operation started at around 12:30 on Thursday, and is still ongoing," he added.

According to officials, a team of 70 army personnel along with NDRF and SDRF are engaged in the operation. They are engaged in de-watering the stepwell and continue their search for people reported missing after the incident.

"The process of de-watering is being carried out. Chief Minister is monitoring the situation continuously. We have also spoken regarding the movement of the Army. A small team has been moved to the location. NDRF is working too," Indore Collector Dr Ilayaraja T had earlier said while speaking to the media.

Stepwell collapse at Indore temple | The death toll has risen to 18. An army team has arrived from Mhow and is carrying out the search and rescue operation along with NDRF and SDRF: Makrand Deoskar, Police Commissioner, Indore pic.twitter.com/1xkWsTqZZC  ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 30, 2023

While speaking to ANI, Margaret Roy Gorinath, Operations Head of a private hospital in Indore said, "21 injured were brought here and out of which 3 were brought dead. 6 have been shifted to ICU. The injured are having limb injuries, and fractures. 3 children have also been brought here. All patients are being monitored."

Ram Navami celebrations at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in the city turned into tragedy when the slab constructed over an ancient `bawdi' or well suddenly caved in. The incident occurred around 12:00 PM when devotees were participating and offering their prayers during a hawan at the temple on the occasion of Ram Navami.

Questions are now being raised as to how did the administration allow construction of a slab atop an ancient well. A local resident also alleged that rescue teams took more than an hour to reach the spot. The temple, about 40 years old, was constructed after the well which stood on the spot was covered by a concrete slab. The slab, thus, became the temple's floor. The chants of `havan' (fire ritual) and puja gave way to screams and frenzy as devotees standing on the slab fell into water.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced ex-gratia amount of 5 lakhs to be given to next of kin of deceased. An ex-gratia amount of 5 lakhs to be given to next of kin of deceased while 50,000 will be given to the injured," the Chief Minister said.

PM Modi also expressed pain on the mishap and said he spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The prime minister also announced an ex-gratia from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the kin of the Indore accident victims, said a press release by Prime Minister's Office on Thursday. A tweet on the official handle of the Prime Minister's Office read; "An ex-gratia of 2 lakh (each) from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate tragedy in Indore today. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000 (each): PM."

(With inputs from agencies)
The Delhi government is closely monitoring the Covid-19 situation in the national capital and CM Arvind Kejriwal will hold a review meeting on the matter today, Friday, said Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj while assuring people that there is no need to panic since the hospitalization rate is low.

After holding a meeting on Thursday to review the Covid-19 situation in Delhi, the health minister told media persons that the meeting was attended by the director general of health services and various other senior officials of the city health department, medical directors of Delhi government-run hospitals, epidemiologists, virologists, and a genome sequencing expert.

Delhi's Covid-19 cases climbed to 300 on Wednesday, the first time since August 31 last year, while the positivity rate mounted to 13.89%, according to data shared by the city health department. Two more Covid-related deaths were also reported, it said.

Key things to be discussed in Covid review meet today

The review meeting on Friday will include a presentation of the results of the mock drill done recently at Delhi government-run hospitals, which will be shown to the chief minister, the minister said as quoted by news agency PTI.

The officials will also be sharing information on how other states are dealing with the increasing number of Covid-19 cases and the impact it has had on their citizens, during the meeting, Bharadwaj told reporters.

Despite the high positivity rate, the government has urged citizens not to panic, as tests are being conducted in small numbers. The government has also assured the public that it is taking all necessary measures to contain the spread of the virus and provide timely medical attention to those in need, the health department said in a statement.

"We reviewed the situation today during the meeting. We have asked hospitals to advise coronavirus tests to those who are symptomatic. People visiting hospitals should wear masks," Bharadwaj said.

The minister said the health department will brief Kejriwal on Friday on the situation following which he will issue directions.

Bharadwaj also said genome sequencing of samples found positive during testing, is also being carried out, but "nothing worrisome" has been found till now.

Sharing details on the two deaths reported on Wednesday, the health minister said they were elderly patients, aged 77 and 65, who had comorbidities, and were not at Delhi government-run hospitals.

If anyone suffers acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) then the system goes on alert that Covid may cause fatality. But, such a case has not come up, "so it is not a panic situation", he said.

The advisory that was issued recently by the Delhi government will be in place, and "we are also monitoring, how this new variant is behaving or growing in other states", the minister said.

Health Minister Bhardwaj during the briefing also emphasized the need for early detection to curb the spread of the virus, PTI reported.

He shared information about the daily sewage testing being conducted in Delhi to detect any signs of the virus. "We have been testing the sewage in Delhi for the last two-three weeks, and we have been getting signs of Corona," he said.

"Early detection is key in curbing the spread of the virus, and we are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to detect any potential outbreaks," the minister added.

He also emphasized the importance of wearing masks for those with flu-like symptoms or those visiting hospitals.

He added that the city government had already conducted a mock drill to review the preparations regarding oxygen cylinders and LMOs within Delhi.

(With PTI inputs)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday that the Delhi government is monitoring the sudden increase in COVID-19 cases in the city and is ready to handle any situation that may arise.

Only three deaths have been reported over the last four-five days. In all three patients, co-morbidities were "very severe" and it has been assessed that the fatality was due to co-morbidities and perhaps Covid was "incidental", but one can't say that, he said.

After presiding over a review meeting on the COVID-19 situation in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assured that there is currently no reason to be alarmed.

"The Delhi government is keeping an eye on the COVID-19 situation and it is prepared to face any eventuality", he said.

He added that the Delhi government is taking all necessary actions to address the situation and prevent the spread of the virus.

According to data shared by the Health Department, Delhi reported 295 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with a positivity rate of 12.48%.

The previous day, the city recorded 300 cases, marking the first time since August 31 that daily cases had surpassed this number.

The positivity rate on Wednesday had risen to 13.89%. In addition, two deaths related to COVID-19 were reported on Wednesday.
A resort staffer was arrested for stabbing and molesting a Dutch tourist in Goa. The name of the resort is not known but as per news agency ANI, it was located in North Goa's Pernem town.

The accused arrested has been identified as Abhishek Verma. Verma is a native of Uttarakhand's Dehradun and worked as a bar tender at the hotel in Pernem area.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Nidhin Valsan said that Verma also stabbed another person named Eurico, who went to help the woman tourist. The knife used in the crime has been recovered," he added.

The woman in her complaint said that an unknown man aged between 25 to 30 years trespassed into her rented tent on the hotel premises. As she started screaming, the accused tried to hold her and threatened her. When a local man came to her rescue, the intruder ran away. He then returned carrying a knife and attacked her as well as her rescuer before fleeing.

According to Valsan, "A resort staffer trespassed into the rented tent of the complainant, when she started to scream for help, one local person came to rescue her from the accused and seeing his presence, accused ran away, after that accused person returned back with the knife and assaulted local person with a knife who had come to rescue and further assaulted the complainant with a knife and fled away from the spot."

The SP further said that the complainant and the local person were shifted to the hospital for treatment.

"The knife used for the commission of the crime has been recovered. FIR has been registered under section 452,354,307,506(II) of IPC," he said.

Just a week back, two hotel staffers were arrested in North Goa district for allegedly assaulting a Russian woman tourist with the intention of robbing her, police told news agency PTI. The incident took place at a hotel in Morjim on 24 March. As per the complaint filed by Aigul Davletianova (30), two unknown men entered her hotel room around 3 pm when she was sleeping. As she woke up, they caught hold of her hands and tried to cover her mouth with hands so that she would not scream, causing her injuries, she said as reported by PTI.

After registering a FIR under Indian Penal Code section 325 (causing grievous hurt), police questioned the hotel staff and arrested a waiter and another man who was employed there as an electrician. One of them, who is 29 years old, hails from Assam and another, who is 26, from Jharkhand. A court remanded them in four-day police custody and further probe is on, the official said

Earlier, a group of tourists from Mumbai were also attacked with swords and knives in the Anjuna area. After some minor altercations at a resort, some people attacked the tourists. According to the reports, the attack came after the family reported an issue with the hotel staff. The manager of the hotel reprimanded the staff, after which the fuming staff member called some of his friends to attack the family outside the hotel

(With inputs from agencies)
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, who is often been lauded on social media for improvising the road infrastructure in the country, has scrapped the latest rumour about his political career.

Rumours were rife that Gadkari was quitting politics. However, the Nagpur MP has dismissed all these rumours.

"I have no intention of retiring from politics," the senior BJP leader said while speaking to media in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri.

Gadkari made the statement while referring to a media report.

"The media must uphold responsible journalism in their reporting on this matter," he added.

Yesterday, Gadkari conducted an aerial inspection of the construction work of the Mumbai-Goa highway. The minister said that the construction work of Mumbai-Goa National Highway No 66 would be completed by December 2023 and the road will be open for traffic in January 2024.

He further said that the Mumbai-Goa highway has been divided into 10 packages. Out of these, two packages (P-9, P-10) in the Sindhudurg district are almost 99% complete, according to an official release by the union transport ministry.

There are a total of five packages in the Ratnagiri district and 92% and 98% work of two of these packages (P-4, P-8) has been completed respectively.

The rest of the work is in progress. The delayed works for two packages (P-6, P-7) have been resumed by appointing a new contractor, informed the Minister.

"Out of the three packages in the Raigad district, two packages (P-2, P-3) have been completed up to 93% and 82% respectively. More than half of the work on the package (P-1) has been completed and the remaining work will be completed soon," he added.

The Road Transport and Highways Minister further said that land acquisition and environmental clearances for the Panvel-Indapur phase had delayed the work on the Mumbai-Goa National Highway.

He said that now all these hurdles have been cleared and the environmental issue is being taken care of by removing the flyover in the Karnala sanctuary area.

The Minister informed that the construction work in Goa of the Mumbai-Goa National Highway has been completed. The Mumbai-Goa National Highway is a highway connecting major tourist destinations in Konkan. This will boost tourism development. As there is a road connecting major industrial areas, industrial development will also get a boost, said the Minister.

The minister also announced three new projects worth 15,000 crores. These include the 1,200 crore Kalamboli Junction project, the 1,200 crore Pagode Junction Chowk to Greenfield Highway project, and the 13,000 crore Morbe - Karanjade highway connecting Delhi via JNPA. The work on these projects will start soon.

On Thursday Gadkari laid the foundation stone of three national highway projects worth 414.68 crores and 63,900 km long at Palaspe village in Raigad district.
Swati Maliwal, the chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), urged the Indian embassy in the US on Friday to take measures to ensure the safety of Seerat Kaur, the daughter of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.

Read reports of Punjab CM Shri @BhagwantManns daughter receiving death threats in the USA. It is an act of extreme cowardice. I appeal to the @IndianEmbassyUS to ensure her safety.  Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) March 31, 2023

Kaur had reportedly received threat calls from individuals associated with the pro-Khalistan movement.

Earlier, according to a Patiala-based lawyer, Seerat Kaur Mann, the daughter of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who resides in the US, was allegedly subjected to verbal abuse over the phone by individuals associated with the pro-Khalistan movement.

Seerat Kaur Mann, her brother Dilshan, and their mother Inderpreet Kaur Grewal, who separated from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in 2015, currently reside in Seattle, US.

The lawyer claimed that the calls were made by pro-Khalistan elements who targeted Seerat Kaur with abusive language.

The calls came amid protests by pro-Khalistan demonstrators against the government's crackdown on Amritpal Singh, a radical Sikh preacher, and his associates in Punjab.

Recently, a group of pro-Khalistan protestors reportedly attacked and caused damage to the Indian consulate in San Francisco. The protestors breached makeshift security barriers erected by city police and placed two Khalistani flags on the consulate's premises.

Earlier, Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State, emphasized that the United States is committed to taking the safety and security of diplomatic missions present in the country seriously.

In an answer to the question of 'whether the US government or the Indian government was in touch with the State Department over the incidents that took place outside the consulate in San Francisco last week. "We take the safety and security of the diplomatic missions that we host in the United States and the diplomats that work in them quite seriously," added Patel.

Amritpal Singh surfaced in a fresh video on Thursday, asserting he was not a fugitive and would soon appear before the world, according to the news agency PTI.

Another video had appeared earlier on social media with the pro-Khalistan preacher asking the Jathedar (or chief) of the highest temporal body of Sikhs to summon a congregation of the faithful to discuss issues concerning the community.

(With inputs from agencies)
Days after he was handed a two year jail term by a Gujarat court, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is facing a fresh defamation case. A complaint was filed with a Haridwar court on Friday in connection with remarks made by the former MP during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Gandhi had described the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) as 21st century Kauravas" during an address in January.

The case comes mere days after Gandhi's conviction and consequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha. The senior politician had been sentenced in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his "why all thieves have Modi surname" remarks. More recently, he was also summoned by a Bihar special court in connection with a separate criminal defamation case filed by Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

Gandhi faces a third defamation case in Maharashtra's Thane for a 2014 speech where he had allegedly accused the RSS of Mahatma Gandhis assassination. The case was filed by an RSS activist and recently saw the complainant oppose Gandhi's application for permanent exemption from appearing in the court.

The ousted MP had also faced flak over his remarks against VD Savarkar in recent days, with many BJP and Shiv Sena leaders including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde calling for him to be 'punished' for his comments.

ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi to face fresh defamation cases? Savarkar remark sparks row in Maharashtra

Following his conviction, Gandhi was given 30 days to appeal his conviction before the two year sentence would kick in. While the Congress is yet to take action, it has repeatedly indicated that its legal team was working on the issue.

"Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha was the darkest day in the history of Indian democracy. There are various legal issues in the judgement of the trial court, however, those will be dealt with at the appropriate platform by our legal team," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said recently.

The issue - one in a series of flashpoints between the Congress party and the ruling BJP - has however served to united numerous opposition parties. Many of them accuse the Centre of diverting attention from the Adani-Hindenburg issue.

(With inputs from agencies)
The Schengen visa is set to get digitalise. The European Union member states' ambassadors have agreed to the Council's negotiating mandate for a proposal to digitize the visa procedure. The new rule replaces the current visa sticker with a digital visa.

"A digital Schengen visa will make it easier for legitimate travellers to apply and will at the same time help make the Schengen area safer. Online applications will reduce the number of trips to the consulate for travellers and make the process smoother for national administrations. At the same time, the digital visa will put an end to the risk of falsification and theft of the visa sticker," Maria Malmer Stenergard, Swedish Minister for Migration.

Single platform for Schengen visa:

According to the European Council statement, the proposed new rules will create a visa application platform. All applicants for Schengen visa will be made through this platform, a single website, which will forward them to the relevant national visa systems.

On this platform, visa applicants will be able to upload electronic copies of their travel-and supporting documents and pay their visa fees. They will also be notified of the decision concerning their visas.

Besides, the digitisation of visas will put an end to the risk of falsification and theft of the visa sticker, the minister added.

Visa applicants will be able to add all the relevant data and upload electronic copies of their travel as well as supporting documents through their platform.

Only in-person appearance will be required for the first-time consulate or for applicants whose biometric data is invalid.

The visas will also be issued in digital format- a 2D barcode that is cryptographically signed.

Recent migration and security challenges have significantly transformed the context of the EUs visa policy. In addition, the Covid pandemic considerably slowed down visa operations and created the need for more digital procedures.

In this context, the Commission submitted on 27 April 2022 a legislative proposal aimed at digitalising the visa procedure.

After nearly a year, EU member states ambassadors agreed regarding the digitalisation of visas. The Council presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament to agree on the final wording.
More than a year into the Ukraine-Russia war, Belarus has called for a "truce" and talks "without preconditions" between Moscow and Kyiv. The Kremlin ally also said that Western support for Kyiv was increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war breaking out in Ukraine. The remarks came mere days after President Vladimir Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in the ex-Soviet country.

We must stop now, before an escalation begins. I'll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities... a declaration of a truce. All territorial, reconstruction, security and other issues can and should be settled at the negotiation table, without preconditions," Lukashenko said during a televised state of the nation address.

Insisting that his priority was to protect Belarus, the President also said that Russia could also put intercontinental nuclear missiles within his country if necessary.

ALSO READ: Russia looking to 'starving' North Korea for ammunition in exchange for food

If need be, Putin and I will decide and introduce here, if necessary, strategic weapons. We will stop at nothing to defend our countries, our states and our people," he said, referring to long-range missiles.

While Putin had asserted that the tactical missiles would remain under Moscow's control, Lukashenko suggested he could use them with Russia's agreement if Belarus was threatened with destruction.

"Take my word for it, I have never deceived you. They are preparing to invade Belarus, to destroy our country," he told the audience.

(With inputs from agencies)
Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan. It is for the first time that a current or a former president will face criminal charges, jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.

The Manhattan district attorney's office has been investigating Trump in connection with his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election.

However, the jury has not announced the charges publicly yet. It has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days.

The Manhattan district attorney's office will reach out to Trump's attorneys to discuss his surrender to face an arraignment.

Here are 10 updates on Donald Trump's indictment:

1. Donald Trump was caught off guard by the grand jury's decision to indict him, according to media reports. While the ex-US President was bracing for an indictment last week.

2. Donald trump's attorney said that he was a victim of a "corrupt, and distorted version of the American justice system and history. He will be vindicated".

3. After being indicted by the Manhattan jury, Donald Trump said, "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history". The former US President added, "This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country  have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this.

"The Democrats have lied, cheated, and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable  indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.

"Never before in our Nations history has this been done? The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever".

He also posted on his social media platform 'Truth Social' in all caps that indictment "is an attack on our country the likes of which has never been seen before. It is likewise a continuing attack on our once free and fair elections".

4. Stormy Daniels also tweet about Trump's indictment. Clark Brewster, Daniels' attorney tweeted, " The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law. #teamstormy".

The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law. #teamstormy  clark brewster (@cbrew1) March 30, 2023

5. Donald Trump's son Eric tweeted the indictment "is third world prosecutorial misconduct".

This is third world prosecutorial misconduct. It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year.  Eric Trump (@EricTrump) March 30, 2023

6. How Donald Trump will appear for his arraignment? According to the US Marshals, Secret Service, and New York Police Department, all personnel at NYPD headquarters and support units will be in uniform.

7. Trump is likely to be arraigned early next week, defense attorney said.

8. Manhattan District Attorney has contacted former President Donald Trump's attorney to "coordinate his surrender" for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal."

9. Trump has faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury, as per a report by cnn.com

10. The timing of the indictment appeared to come as a surprise to Trump campaign officials following news reports that criminal charges were likely weeks away. The former president was at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, on Thursday and had filmed an interview with a conservative commentator earlier in the day.

Trump, who famously riffed in 2016 that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody" and wouldnt lose voters," now faces a threat to his liberty in a borough where more than 75% of voters  many of them potential jurors  went against him in the last election.
Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan. It is for the first time that a current or a former president will face criminal charges, jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.

The case centers on well-chronicled allegations from a period in 2016 when Trumps celebrity past collided with his political ambitions. Prosecutors for months scrutinized money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, whom he feared would go public with claims that they had extramarital sexual encounters with him. However, the jury has not announced the charges publicly yet. It has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days. The Manhattan district attorney's office will reach out to Trump's attorneys to discuss his surrender to face an arraignment.

Also Read: Donald Trump indicted; 1st ex-US president charged with a crime. 10 updates

The charges, arising from an investigation led by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, could reshape the 2024 presidential race. Trump previously said he would continue campaigning for the Republican Party's nomination if charged with a crime.

After the indictment, Stormy Daniels in a tweet thanked people for the support extended to her. She wrote, I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...also don't want to spill my champagne #Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment."

Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...also don't want to spill my champagne  #Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment.  Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) March 30, 2023

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is 44 years old and from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She has been a well-known personality for more than two decades in the adult film business, appearing in and directing numerous videos. The lawyer for porn Daniels also said that the indictment of former president Donald Trump shows that "no one is above the law."

"The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy," Clark Brewster tweeted. Now let truth and justice prevail."

The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law. #teamstormy  clark brewster (@cbrew1) March 30, 2023

Though specific charges are not yet known, as the indictment remains under seal. CNN has reported that Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud. Trump said he was "completely innocent" and indicated he would not drop out of the race. He accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, of trying to hurt his chances of winning re-election. "This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," he said in a statement.

The former president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him. Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.

Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he called a simple private transaction." Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said he acted at Trump's direction.

Cohen said he stood by his testimony and the evidence he provided to prosecutors. "Accountability matters," he said in a statement.

No former or sitting U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges. Aside from this case, Trump faces two criminal investigations by a special counsel appointed by US Attorney General Merrick Garland and another criminal probe by a local prosecutor in Georgia.

Trump has escaped legal peril numerous times. In the White House, he weathered two attempts by Congress to remove him from office, including for the Jan. 6, assault on the US Capitol by his supporters, as well as a years-long probe into his campaign's contacts with Russia in 2016. In last year's tax-fraud case, Bragg targeted Trump's business but declined to charge Trump himself with financial crimes, prompting two prosecutors who worked on the probe to resign.

(With inputs from agencies)
Schengen area countries not only attract a huge number of tourists every year, but they are also attractive options for foreign workers looking for permanent residency. Several factors come into play including high living standards, low tax prices, and education systems.

However, if you are seriously harbouring the option, then it is extremely crucial to consider the minimum wage in each country, which varies significantly. Eurostat, the European Office for Statistics, reports that as of January 1, 2023, 22 out of the 27 EU member states had a national minimum wage. Among these countries, monthly minimum wages range from 399 in Bulgaria to 2,387 in Luxembourg.

In 2021, the net annual income of an average single worker without children was 24,947 in the EU differing from 6,952 in Bulgaria to 45,787 in Luxembourg, the report cited.

It also revealed that during the same year, the net annual income of an average working couple with two children stood at 53,364 in the EU, differing from 14,825 in Bulgaria to 101,065 in Luxembourg.

How much can you earn in each EU country?

EU states can be classified into three groups based on their minimum wage levels. Here's how:

Countries with a national minimum wage above 1,500 include Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and France.

Countries with a minimum wage between 1,000 and 1,500 include Spain and Slovenia.

National minimum wages lower than 1,000 per month include Portugal, Cyprus, Malta, Greece, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, and Bulgaria.

Moreover, the proportion of employees earning the minimum wage varies among EU countries. In 2018, the proportion of employees earning less than 105% of the national minimum wage was highest in Slovenia (15.2%) and lowest in Spain (0.8%).

Eurostat notes that Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland, and Sweden, as well as EFTA countries Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, do not have national minimum wage laws.

As of 1 January 2023, there was no national minimum wage in Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland and Sweden nor in the EFTA countries of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. In all those countries, minimum wages are laid down by collective agreements for a range of specific sectors," the statement of Eurostat reads.
Former South Africa Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, jailed in 2016 for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has been denied parole, South Africa's prison authorities and a lawyer for the victim's family said on Friday.

Pistorius became eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence. Steenkamp's family opposed his bid, their lawyer Tania Koen told Reuters.

"I can confirm that parole has been denied, they will reconvene in a year to reconsider him again and we don't know the reasons yet (for the denial). I've just received a call from the parole board ...It is a huge sense of relief for June," Koen said.

The Department of Correctional Services said in a statement the "reason provided is that the inmate did not complete the minimum Detention Period".

Once the darling of the Paralympic movement for pushing for greater recognition and acceptance of disabled athletes, Pistorius shot dead Steenkamp, a model and law student, in his bathroom on Valentine's Day in 2013.

The athlete, known as "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, went from public hero to convicted murderer in a trial that drew worldwide interest.

(Additional reporting by Nellie Peyton and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by James Macharia Chege, Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan)
India had found itself walking a diplomatic tightrope amid the Ukraine-Russia war, determinedly maintaining ties with both Kyiv and its western allies as well as Moscow. The two countries had maintained close strategic, military, economic interaction, celebrating 75 years of diplomatic ties recently. Now, a new foreign policy strategy adopted by President Vladimir Putin on Friday has identified China and India as its main allies on the world stage.

The announcement also came mere days after Chinese premier Xi Jinping visited Moscow to further cement the "no limits" partnership announced last year. And while India's ties with Beijing remain strained, Russian officials have rubbished assertions that the visit could harm Moscow's relationship with India.

"Russia will continue to build up a particularly privileged strategic partnership with the Republic of India with a view to enhance and expand cooperation in all areas on a mutually beneficial basis and place special emphasis on increasing the volume of bilateral trade, strengthening investment and technological ties, and ensuring their resistance to destructive actions of unfriendly states and their alliances," the statement said.

ALSO READ: Russia looking to 'starving' North Korea for ammunition in exchange for food

Russia plans to build a particularly privileged strategic partnership with India spanning all possible areas. The country is also prioritising its capacity and role within internationals groupings such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the RIC (Russia, India, China).

Russia has been the largest supplier of weapons to India, accounting for nearly 50% of the latter's arms imports from 2016-2020. Even as the Ukraine war rages on, both China and India have ramped up oil imports from the sanctions-hit nation.

Today, I signed a decree approving the updated concept of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation," said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Top officials also noted that the document directly calls the US the main instigator of anti-Russian politics in the world.

ALSO READ: 'Ukraine should be erased from map,' Russian propagandist on television- Watch

The updated foreign policy document names the United States as the main threat to international stability and driver of an "anti-Russian line". At the same time, it insists that Moscow seeks "peaceful coexistence" and a "balance of interests" with Washington and calls for Russia to maintain "strategic stability" with the United States.

(With inputs from agencies)
Google in January this year announced its plans to cut more than 12,000 jobs and joined other tech giants in scaling back operations amid a weakening global economy and rising inflation. Now a report by the Sunday Times has stated that, some laid off Google employees its Ireland office may get severance pay worth over 300,000 which is about 2.60 crore.

As per the report, the layoff affected 240 workers in Ireland. Of these 240 laid off employees, 85 employees were from sales, 80 from tech and 75 were from the support services. The job losses represented a 4.3 percent cut in Googles 5,500-strong Irish workforce. The report by Sunday Times further added that severance package could include six weeks of wages for every year an employee worked at the company.

It further stated that the long-serving laid off employees could be in line for a significant severance pay. As per the report, employees who served in the company since 2003, the time when operations began, could earn severance pay worth 300,000.

Also Read: Google employees get another shock! After layoffs, fewer promotions this year

Earlier, when CEO Sundar Pichai announced regarding the layoff he said that he was deeply sorry about the situation. The email - uploaded to the company's website - also included severance package details in line with local norms.

According to Pichai's email, laid off employees in the US would be paid for the full notification period (minimum 60 days) and offered six months of healthcare, job placement services, and immigration support. Well also offer a severance package starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for every additional year at Google, and accelerate at least 16 weeks of GSU vesting. Well pay 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time," the email added.

Earlier, some reports suggested that many of Google's former employees will get a far smaller severance package than initially projected. The company had reportedly counted stock grants twice - with many laid off employees receiving tens of thousands of dollars less than expected.

The severance package that we explained in the support site, detailed documentation and publicly was correct, but it was inaccurately reflected in the email we sent," the company reportedly wrote in a fresh email three weeks after the layoffs. According to a Business Insider report, the tech giant had apologised to former employees, noting that its initial email had mentioned an incorrect number of stocks.
Donald Trump's adversaries have long called for him to face criminal charges but some fear the first-ever prosecution of a former US president could be a loser that undermines more consequential cases.

On Thursday a New York grand jury voted to indict the twice-impeached Republican leader, who is running again for president, over a $130,000 hush money scheme to silence a porn star shopping her story of a tryst with him in 2006.

Trump supporters and critics alike have voiced doubts over the legal merits of the case, which turns on whether the payment to Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election counted as an illicit contribution to his campaign.

Washington-watchers are focused on the effect the charges could have on Trump's third bid for the White House, and in particular on the reaction of his likely opponents for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Detractors worry that if Trump were cleared in a campaign-finance case similar to the prosecution that Democrat John Edwards defeated in 2012, it could make it easier to cast any future indictment as a "witch hunt."

The charges will also likely juice turnout among Trump's base, say analysts, catapulting him to victory in the nomination race, known as the presidential primary.

Long before the indictment vote, Ron DeSantis, Trump's biggest likely challenger for the nod, was already criticizing the case while being careful to repeat its most salacious details, joking that he didn't "know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star."

In-kind gift

The veiled swipe triggered an immediate backlash from Team Trump, with the ex-president himself insinuating, without evidence, that the Florida governor may soon face sexual misconduct allegations from an underage man.

The smear was not taken seriously, demonstrating that it is possible for Trump's opponents to needle him and live to tell the tale. But don't expect a stampede of Republicans to follow suit.

Nicholas Creel, a political analyst at Georgia College and State University, said Trump's base in the "Grand Old Party" (GOP) was "simply too bought-in" to abandon him.

"Even now, we see Trump's Republican competitors, such as former vice president Pence, actively defending him in this scandal instead of using it to attack him for his own gain," he told AFP.

"This indicates that Trump's GOP rivals fully understand how his base has an unshakable cult-like devotion to him, one that isn't letting up any time soon."

That fealty has been exemplified by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, which has reprised the role it assumed during Trump's presidency as his unstinting rearguard.

A trio of House committee chairmen has called on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to testify before lawmakers -- a stunning intervention in an ongoing case -- accusing him of pursuing "sham" charges because Trump is running for president.

In the Senate, Trump loyalist Ted Cruz, a former presidential rival, said on his podcast the prosecution "could be the single biggest in-kind gift to the Donald Trump campaign of this entire cycle."

- 'Undying support' -

On the left, figures like former White House strategist David Axelrod have characterized the hush money scandal as the least significant of four criminal probes of Trump.

Nerves are said to be jangling in Trumpworld over potential racketeering and conspiracy charges in a much more consequential probe of the 76-year-old billionaire's efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results.

And a quasi-independent federal prosecutor is overseeing historic investigations into Trump's mishandling of classified documents and involvement in the 2021 insurrection.

"Trump getting indicted should absolutely ruin his presidential aspirations. It should. But based on the undying support from his base, I do not believe it will," Amani Wells-Onyioha, a Democratic election strategist, told AFP.

"In fact, I think it will give him a surge in the polls and cause his base to rally around him even more."

But the tide of Republican opinion is showing the first signs of turning, even in the House, as the party's push for expansion in 2024 is overshadowed by Trump's mushrooming scandals.

Chip Roy, one of the most right-wing lawmakers who recently endorsed DeSantis for president, called into the influential conservative commentator Glenn Beck's radio show last week to discuss what was then a possible Trump indictment.

"Look, at the end of the day, you cannot walk away from the fact that the former president clearly paid a porn star off to hush up right before an election," the Republican said.

"Correct," the host replied.
A New York judge will soon unseal criminal charges against Donald Trump related to a payment to a porn star. The alleged coverup that followed the payment is likely to be as important for the future of the case.

A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Mr. Trump after an investigation of the hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels in the final stretch of his 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Trumps then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 to keep her from going public with a story of a sexual encounter she said she had with Mr. Trump a decade earlier.

Mr. Trump has acknowledged that he reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the Daniels payment in the first year of his presidency. Trump Organization records mislabeled the money flowing back to Mr. Cohen as legal expenses for work he never performed, federal prosecutors alleged in the 2018 prosecution of Mr. Cohen.

The Manhattan district attorneys office could unveil any number of charges, including those related to the payment to Ms. Daniels or a separate $150,000 payment to a former Playboy model who alleged that she had an affair with the former president. The grand jury has heard detailed accounts of both deals, according to people familiar with the investigation.

But among the most likely charges is falsifying business records, according to legal experts. The charge by itself is a misdemeanor but can be converted into a felony if prosecutors prove records were falsified to commit or conceal another crime, such as a violation of campaign-finance rules.

Legal experts said any successful prosecution would likely require evidence establishing that Mr. Trump tried to hide the repayment to Mr. Cohen with false book entries. Prosecutors would have to prove that Mr. Trump made or caused the false entries with an intent to defraud."

Mr. Trumps lawyers declined to answer questions about Mr. Trumps knowledge of the accounting entries, as did a campaign spokesman. Mr. Trump told reporters on his plane on Saturday that initially he didnt know that he was paying Mr. Cohen in 2017 to reimburse him for the hush money. When asked when he knew, Mr. Trump said, Oh, later."

The former president denies any sexual encounter with Ms. Daniels, has accused her of extortion and said he relied on Mr. Cohens advice as his lawyer at the time. He has called the investigation by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, politically motivated.

Mr. Trump called Mr. Bragg a disgrace" in an emailed statement after the grand jury voted to indict him.

Rather than stop the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, hes doing Joe Bidens dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time!" Mr. Trump said.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Bragg said the district attorneys office contacted Mr. Trumps lawyer on Thursday evening to coordinate his surrender. The indictment remains under seal in the meantime. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected," the spokeswoman said.

Clark Brewster, a lawyer for Ms. Daniels, wrote in a Twitter post after news of the grand jury vote, The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law."

Much has already been made public about how Mr. Cohen was allegedly compensated for digging into his own pocket to pay Ms. Daniels, via a federal charging document in the 2018 prosecution of Mr. Cohen, checks cut by Mr. Trump and his trust to Mr. Cohen and Mr. Cohens testimony before Congress.

Key parts of the story rely on the word of Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty in U.S. district court in 2018 to campaign-finance and other charges brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, as well as to lying to Congress on a separate matter. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

In his guilty plea, Mr. Cohen said Mr. Trump directed him to make the payment, which he said was intended to influence the 2016 election.

Federal prosecutors alleged in court documents filed in Mr. Cohens case that Mr. Trump, identified in the document as Individual-1," directed and coordinated the illegal payment with Mr. Cohen.

After Mr. Cohens sentencing, then-President Trump said on Twitter that Mr. Cohen was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law." Mr. Trump accused Mr. Cohen of trying to embarrass the president."

Despite Mr. Cohens vulnerabilities as a potential witness in a case against Mr. Trump, former New York prosecutors said the Manhattan district attorneys office would have circumstantial evidence and common sense on its side if it attempted to tie Mr. Trump to the reimbursement plan.

You can think this witness is a liar, but you can also believe that his version of the story is the only one that makes much sense," said Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School and former Manhattan prosecutor.

Mr. Cohens version begins in the office of the Trump Organizations then-chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, after the 2016 election. Mr. Trump had acknowledged his debt to Mr. Cohen, and now Mr. Cohen and Mr. Weisselberg worked out the particulars of how Mr. Cohen would be repaid, Mr. Cohen later testified in Congress.

A bank statement Mr. Cohen gave to Trump Organization executives in January 2017 showed the $130,000 Mr. Cohen had wired to Ms. Daniels lawyer. He had handwritten an additional request for $50,000 for tech services," according to a charging document filed in the 2018 federal criminal case against Mr. Cohen.

Mr. Cohen would receive a total of $420,000 in monthly installments of $35,000, according to the 2018 charging document. The total accounted for the taxes he would have to pay on the reimbursement for the $180,000, as well as a $60,000 bonus, the document says.

The plan, according to Mr. Cohen, was that he would file phony invoices for legal services he hadnt provided Mr. Trump to justify the monthly checks in the Trump Organizations books and hide their true purpose, Mr. Cohen said in his 2019 testimony before the House Oversight Committee.

By that time, Mr. Cohen had left the Trump Organization, where he had been executive vice president and special counsel since 2007, and returned to private practice as Mr. Trumps personal attorney.

Mr. Cohen said he was unhappy about being made whole in monthly increments, but Mr. Weisselberg insisted, he told the House panel.

I obviously wanted the money in one shot," Mr. Cohen said in his 2019 testimony. But in order to be able to put it onto the books, Allen Weisselberg made the decision that it should be paid over the 12 months so that it would look like a retainer."

Mr. Weisselberg has told people close to him that he didnt know that he was reimbursing Mr. Cohen for the hush money, these people said.

Mr. Weisselberg hasnt commented publicly about the matter. He is serving a jail sentence after pleading guilty in another Manhattan case involving off-the-books perks he received from the Trump Organization. His lawyer declined to comment.

Mr. Cohen testified that Mr. Trump knew the details of the plan and blessed them.

We discussed it. Everything had to go through Mr. Trump, and it had to be approved by Mr. Trump," Mr. Cohen testified in 2019.

Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, said on Good Morning America earlier this month that there was no false record made."

In their case against Mr. Cohen in 2018, federal prosecutors were more circumspect about who decided how Mr. Cohen would be reimbursed for the hush money. The charging document says only that unnamed Trump Organization executives determined the amount and manner of the repayment.

The charging document and emails described to The Wall Street Journal offer specifics about the mechanics of the plan, however.

Mr. Cohen sent the first phony invoice to Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney on Feb. 14, 2017, according to the charging document and emails. Mr. McConney forwarded the invoice to Mr. Weisselberg, who approved payment to Mr. Cohen, the charging document and emails show.

Mr. McConney later that day emailed instructions to another Trump Organization employee, according to the charging document and people familiar with the matter. Post to legal expenses. Put retainer for the months of January and February 2017 in the description," Mr. McConney wrote.

Mr. McConney is among the witnesses who have testified before grand jurors in Manhattan this year, according to people familiar with the probe. A lawyer for Mr. McConney didnt respond to requests for comment. Mr. McConney, who no longer works at the Trump Organization, declined to comment.

Mr. Cohen was eager to be paid and upset that the money hadnt arrived when he visited the White House in February 2017, soon after Mr. Trumps inauguration. Mr. Trump told him the checks were in the mail, Mr. Cohen testified in 2019.

Dont worry, Michael. Your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. They were FedExed from New York. And it takes a while for that to get through the White House system," Mr. Cohen recalled in his testimony Mr. Trump telling him.

The first check Mr. Cohen received, for $70,000, covered the months of January and February 2017. It came from Mr. Trumps trust and was signed by Mr. Weisselberg and Mr. Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

Mr. Cohen continued to send false invoices to the Trump Organization, which in turn cut checks for Mr. Cohen and booked them as legal expenses for work Mr. Cohen hadnt performed, according to the federal charging document in Mr. Cohens case.

Mr. Trump signed at least six of the checks personally, according to documents Mr. Cohen provided to lawmakers and to the media.

The last check from Mr. Trump was signed in December 2017.

The next month, the Journal reported the existence of the hush-money agreement with Ms. Daniels, sparking the federal investigation of the scheme.
Donald Trump has become the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal.

The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign catapults the now-candidate Trump into a new era of legal risk and complicates his attempts to return to the White House.

Here's what to know about the indictment and the case:

THE FORMER PRESIDENT COULD HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD

Trump now faces threats to his freedom after decades of legal investigations that have never resulted in serious consequences.

The Manhattan district attorney's office said Thursday that prosecutors had reached out to Trump's lawyers to arrange for him to surrender, which could happen early next week. Trump is expected to appear at the prosecutor's office to be processed and fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken. He is also expected to appear in court, when a judge would list the charges and Trump would enter a plea.

He will have to contend with a criminal case while running again for the White House, taking time and attention away from the campaign trail  though neither the case nor a conviction would preclude him from seeking or winning the presidency in 2024.

The indictment comes as he is facing several other investigations that could lead to legal problems for the former president. Those pending cases, along with a civil trial that's scheduled to start in New York next month over a columnists claims that Trump raped her in the 1990s, add to an ever-growing cloud of scandals surrounding him.

CASE STEMS FROM HUSH MONEY PAID TO WOMEN

The grand jury in Manhattan had been probing hush money payments at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, one of the witnesses who testified, says he orchestrated payments totalling $280,000 to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors said the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trumps campaign. But they declined to file charges against Trump himself.

The Manhattan district attorneys office appeared to be investigating whether anyone committed crimes in arranging the payments, or in the way they accounted for them internally at the Trump Organization. But the specific charges remained under seal late Thursday.

TRUMP MAINTAINS HIS INNOCENCE

Trump, who denies the sexual encounters, called the indictment political persecution" and an attempt to interfere in his presidential campaign.

Calling himself a completely innocent person," he cast the indictment as the latest in a line of actions that he says are designed to destroy" his Make America Great Again movement, including his two presidential impeachments and the FBI search of his home that turned up classified documents.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump," he said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Trump said his arrest was imminent and called on his supporters to protest. Last week, he warned about potential death and destruction" if he were charged. His words evoked his comments ahead of the violent Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump did not repeat his call to protest Thursday, but police forces around the country are on guard for potential unrest.

OTHER INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE

Beyond the Manhattan case, Trump is facing an array of other investigations.

On the federal level, the Justice Department is investigating the retention of top-secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The efforts by many of the same players in the latter case were also the subject of a special grand jury investigation in Georgia. The panel's foreperson said the special grand jury recommended multiple criminal indictments, leaving it up to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, to decide whether to convene a regular grand jury and pursue criminal charges.

With many serious cases looming around the other investigations, some legal experts have questioned the wisdom of the Manhattan case becoming the first to result in charges.

TRUMPS RIVALS CONDEMN INDICTMENT

Trump has said the charges would actually help him in the 2024 presidential race and has tried to use the case to galvanize support. Last weekend, at the first rally of the campaign, he cast the Manhattan investigation and the other probes as the latest in a long line of political attacks against him. His campaign handed out signs that said Witch Hunt" as Trump told his supporters that the legal challenges were also an attack on his followers and his political movement.

Some Republican and independent voters could see the case, at the very least, as another example of problematic baggage that has followed Trump for years and has been a distraction. The news was expected to only fortify existing Democratic opposition to Trump.

Republicans who are running against Trump or who are considering their own campaigns were quick to rally to criticize the case and attack Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, even if they didn't address the underlying allegations against Trump.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce a campaign and is seen as Trumps top rival for the GOP nomination, called the indictment un-American." Former Vice President Mike Pence, also considering a challenge to Trump in 2024, called the indictment an outrage."

GOP LAWMAKERS TARGET PROSECUTOR

Republicans framed the arrest as a political prosecution by a rogue Democratic district attorney who they said was weaponizing the criminal justice system.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the House will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account."

Some of Trump's fiercest supporters came to his defense. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, two names floated as potential Trump running mates, said hes innocent.

BIDEN, DEMOCRATS HAVE LITTLE TO SAY

Democrats were less vocal in the hours after the indictment became known, but some of the former president's critics have framed the case as a long-overdue dose of accountability.

President Joe Biden, who is expected to announce hes running for reelection next year, has not commented on the indictment.

The Democratic National Committee did not comment on the specifics of the case but sought to yoke the entire GOP to Trump.

No matter what happens in Trumps upcoming legal proceedings, its obvious the Republican Party remains firmly in the hold of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans," DNC National Press Secretary Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not immediately comment, though some lesser-known House members welcomed the news.

I continue to believe that every American elected official and leader should be held fully accountable for their actions and crimes," said Rep. Harley Rouda of California.

Finally, today, Donald Trumps chickens have come home to roost," said Rep. Raul Grijalva, who represents a safe district in Arizona. But his fellow Arizonan, Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for the Senate, was more measured: We should wait to hear from the grand jury before jumping to conclusions."
The Punjab National Bank fraud case featuring Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi  both of whom fled India  was first reported more than six years ago. It triggered a chain of events, including the labelling of hundreds of loan accounts as fraudulent.

Now a counter-balance could well be in the offing. This week the Supreme Court ruled that the principles of natural justice must be applied to borrowers, who should be given a hearing before banks classify loan accounts as fraudulent.

The Supreme Court has made it clear that banks have to mandatorily provide their borrowers an opportunity of a personal hearing after a notice and to hear them out. The court also said the decision to classify a loan as fraudulent should be made by a reasoned order, given the potentially serious civil consequences. This is warranted, the court explained, because it leads to civil death" of such borrowers and impairs their ability to raise money.

Bankers are bound to be upset, as are the Reserve Bank of India, the government  which owns several banks  and investigative agencies.

There are two aspects to this. A raft of laws enacted over the past two decades, including the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (Sarfesi) Act, 2002, havent quite helped Indian banks recover their money thanks to a weak enforcement system.

But, under pressure after the outrage over a slew of bank frauds and the involvement of top businessmen in 2016, lenders took recourse to the RBIs Master Circular of July 1 that year to label several accounts as fraudulent. By FY20, the numbers had risen significantly, with the money locked in such accounts across several banks topping six figures.

In such an environment, amid widespread calls for the resignation of the then finance minister, trigger-happy central probe agencies jumped in, prompting many banks to take the safer route by simply classifying as fraudulent as many defaulter accounts as they could. The supervisors of the RBI may have added to this by red-flagging loan after loan as potentially fraudulent as they tried to control the damage after coming under fire.

Back then many borrowers had protested, saying banks were unilaterally classifying accounts as fraudulent without evidence. This led to many court cases.

There is a thin line between establishing intent to defraud  as the Indian Penal Code defines it  and inability to repay. This means bankers and forensic audit firms will have to put in the hard yards to ensure they have a strong case.

These arguments may not cut ice with the central bank and bankers in general. After he left the RBI, Urjit Patel, who was the governor during all of this, wrote in his book, Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver, that cases of substantive economic significance had remained open or not achieved closure for years. Because of that, the overall enforcement mechanism did not provide enough of a deterrent relative to the potential gains from such frauds.

Bankers are sure to endorse this view afresh, considering the average time resolution under the insolvency law now takes close to 700 days and requires a huge haircut.

Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court ruling offers the government a fresh opportunity to further strengthen the corporate governance processes in state-owned banks and put in more safeguards. For the government, there is now the comfort of knowing the balance sheets of most of the banks it owns are cleaner than they were, and that they have adequate capital buffers.

It is not that private banks have not been hit by such fraud, but the markets punishment is far more severe as it affects their ability to raise capital. This corrective force does not apply to government banks as they are funded by taxpayers and thus less accountable than private banks.

Given the countrys huge development spending needs, there are moral issues involved in setting aside large amounts of taxpayer money for such banks. That makes it even more important for banks, regulators, the government, its agencies and the judiciary to ensure that the gains from the clean-up of bank balance sheets are not frittered away.

Cases of alleged bank fraud drag on for years and rarely is a lender or borrower held accountable. The SC ruling may lead to fewer cases of fraud being registered but could also lead to more accountability and punishment in such cases. Given the situation, even a small improvement on this front would be a huge step.
After so much speculation that it seemed Americas media might have just been repeating echoes, a grand jury has indeed indicted the 45th president of the United States. This isto use a term that was worn out by the end of the Trump administrationhistoric. No president has been indicted before. Nor will this be the last of the indictments Mr Trump faces.

For another politician it would signal the end of a political career. In Mr Trumps case, the question is to what extent a prosecution will act as fuel for a movement that seemed to be flagging. Mr Trump has been fundraising for weeks on the back of his impending indictment, which he predicted was coming on social media on March 18th. It turns out to have been one of his more accurate posts.

If Mr Trump has committed a crime it would be wrong to duck prosecuting him only because that would put stress on Americas governing institutions. Other countries have successfully prosecuted former presidents and prime ministers: think of Silvio Berlusconi in Italy or Nicolas Sarkozy in France. America should not endorse Richard Nixons view that if a president, or a presidential candidate does it, then its OK.

Treating a former president like any other citizen cuts both ways, though. Prosecutors like the Manhattan district attorney (DA) have discretion when deciding which cases to bring. They must weigh the seriousness of the crime, the likelihood of securing conviction and the public interest in prosecuting. That last part is the most contentious. About half of the American public is very interested in nailing Mr Trump; the other half thinks that he is being victimised by prosecutors. That half will hardly see the decision to go ahead with this case as evidence that justice is impartial.

What, then, of the legal arguments? The specific charges against Mr Trump will be known only once he is arraigned, but the facts are as follows. In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trumps lawyer arranged to pay an actress in pornographic films to keep quiet about an alleged fling which occurred a decade earlier, one year into Mr Trumps marriage to his third wife. The hush-money was paid shortly before the 2016 presidential election and not made public. In the Trump Organisations financial records the payment was described as legal expenses". It was made by Mr Trumps lawyer, whom Mr Trump then reimbursed.

View Full Image (Graphic: The Economist)

Republicans might once have considered such behaviour disqualifying: a generation ago many of the people who now think Mr Trump is being unjustly persecuted argued enthusiastically for removing Bill Clinton from the White House office over an extra-marital affair. Some Democrats, though admittedly a dwindling number, manage to hold the inverse position: that while Mr Clintons impeachment was unjust, the DAs case against Mr Trump is sound.

But ethics and hypocrisy will not be on trial in Manhattan. The prosecutions argument is that the payment of $130,000 to Stephanie Clifford (better known as Stormy Daniels) broke campaign-finance and accounting rules. Americas campaign-finance laws are much more permissive than those in most other Western democracies and their enforcement is rare and sporadic. In this case, Mr Trump is expected to be charged with in effect making a donation to his own campaign (which is legal) but not declaring it, which is probably not.

That does not mean the case against Mr Trump is clear. Yes his lawyer, Michael Cohen, has already pleaded guilty to breaking campaign-finance rules. But Mr Trumps team would presumably argue that any fault was Mr Cohens (and also point to the fact that Mr Cohen also pleaded guilty to lying to Congress). Then there is the legal theory under which the case is likely to proceed. Labelling the payment in accounts as a legal expense, the other grounds for prosecution, is a misdemeanour. But prosecutors will argue that this misdemeanour made a breach of federal and state campaign-finance rules possible. Linking the two charges in this way is novel. The judge may decide it wont fly. The legal case against him in Fulton County, Georgia, where he is accused of interfering with election results, looks much stronger.

Opponents of Mr Trump who dread the thought of him running for president again might, at this point, mention Al Capones tax arrangements. That is a bit unfair to Mr Trump, who is not taken to murdering rivals. It also misunderstands how the nominating process works. Were Mr Trump to be found guilty he could still run. Were he to be found innocent, he will claim that he was exonerated and add this to the sheet of charges he has beaten. Neither outcome would necessarily change his odds of winning a general election: there are few Americans still unsure about what to make of Mr Trump. But, by making his prosecution a litmus test for other candidates, it would help him to set terms in the Republican primary. It will be hard for other candidates to run against someone they all agree is the victim of a politically motivated prosecution.

Before Mr Trump was elected in 2016, The Economist thought that he would make an awful president. His invitation to the mob in Washington on January 6th ought to be disqualifying. He remains a threat not just to America, but to the rest of the West too. This should not cloud judgment about the case, though. Anyone who thinks now is the moment when he finally gets his comeuppance is making a mistake. If Mr Trump is to be prosecuted, it should be for something that cannot be dismissed as a technicality, and where the law is clearer. The Manhattan DAs case looks like a mistake.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
Xiaomi has recently launched two new smartphones in India under the Redmi brand - the Redmi Note 12 and Redmi 12C. In addition to these two new devices, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has also released a new storage option for the Redmi Note 12 5G smartphone.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi introduced the Redmi Note 5G smartphone, which already provides options of 4GB/6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has recently released a new variant of this device that features 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. Moreover, users can expand the storage further by installing a microSD card of up to 1TB on the smartphone.

The 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage variant of the Redmi Note 12 5G is available for purchase at a price of 21,999. Interested buyers can buy the smartphone online from Amazon.in and mi.com, starting from April 6. Xiaomi is offering some exciting launch offers, including a discount of 1,000 on ICICI Bank cards and an exchange bonus of 1,500.

In terms of design, the standard version of the Redmi Note 12 5G series resembles the Pro models of the lineup, featuring a punch-hole display but a plastic build. The smartphone also boasts an IP53 rating for added durability. Moreover, the Note 12 5G is equipped with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, an IR blaster, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Redmi Note 12 5G boasts a 6.67-inch Full-HD+ AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1080x2400 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The display offers a peak brightness of 1200 nits, a contrast ratio of 4500000:1, 4096-level dimming, and covers DCI-P3 color gamut. Driving the Note 12 5G is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset, which provides support for 5G connectivity. The chipset is paired with up to 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage, with an option for expandable storage via a microSD card.

The Redmi Note 12 5G is equipped with the Android 12-based MIUI 13 operating system and comes with a 5000mAh battery that can be charged with a 33W charger. Its camera features include a triple camera setup with a 48MP primary camera, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP macro shooter. For selfies, the smartphone has an 8MP front-facing camera.
OpenAI CEO and the creator of ChatGPT, Sam Altman, has announced a global tour set to take place in May and June 2023. The tour aims to connect with OpenAI users, developers, and anyone interested in artificial intelligence (AI) worldwide. Altman shared the news on Twitter, inviting individuals to join him on the tour and share their feedback, feature requests, and other thoughts on AI.

Sam Altman's upcoming world tour will span across 16 cities on five continents, including Toronto, Washington DC, Rio de Janeiro, Lagos, Madrid, Brussels, Munich, London, Paris, Tel Aviv, Dubai, New Delhi, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo. The OpenAI CEO plans to engage with policymakers and give talks in some of these cities while also meeting with OpenAI users and developers to gather feedback and insights on artificial intelligence (AI).

im doing a trip in may/june to talk to openai users and developers (and people interested in AI generally). please come hang out and share feature requests and other feedback!



more detail here: https://t.co/lp9WkI811R or email oai23tour@openai.com  Sam Altman (@sama) March 29, 2023

As part of his world tour, Sam Altman will be visiting New Delhi, the capital city of India. To facilitate interactions with Altman, OpenAI has created a form that interested individuals can fill out. The form requests basic information such as name and email, as well as the person's purpose for meeting with Altman. Additionally, those with the resources to organize a gathering of 500 or more people can also indicate their interest through the form.

Altman's visit to India is anticipated to be a significant attraction for the country's growing AI community. As a leading figure in the AI revolution, Altman's opinions and suggestions are expected to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of humanity. During a recent podcast conversation with Lex Fridman, Altman shared his hopes and fears for both the developer community and the human race. Given his prominent position in the field, Altman's insights are highly valued and widely influential.

Meanwhile, Air India, formerly a government-owned carrier, is undergoing a rapid transformation under its new owner, Tata Group. As part of this effort, the airline is now testing ChatGPT, OpenAI's popular chatbot, with the goal of replacing outdated paper-based practices. The push to modernize is an attempt to revitalize the airline's operations after years of underinvestment, as Air India seeks to compete with Dubai's Emirates and its powerful domestic rival, IndiGo.

During a recent meeting with Indian airline executives, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson acknowledged the airline's antiquated systems, stating that they are so outdated that they have a certain charm. However, Wilson also noted that this presents an opportunity to start anew and build a more efficient and streamlined system, rather than trying to patch together existing infrastructure.
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Eight local middle and high school students participated in the traditional Laredo Noon Optimist Club speech contest at the IBC Community Suite on Tuesday, March 28.

The contest theme for this year was "Discovering the Optimism Within Me."

LNOC President Joe De La Rosa welcomed the participants and spoke about the organization's mission.

"What Laredo Noon Optimist Club does is bringing out the best in kids," De La Rosa said. "We organize different activities to raise funds and give scholarships or give jackets to the children of the local schools in the winter among many other activities."

The winning students were Katherine Neigh from Alexander High School in first place, Natalie Gonzalez from Dr. Dennis D. Cantu Early College High School at Martin High School in second place, and David S. Pena from St. Augustine High School in third place.

All participants received medals and certificates of participation. Neigh also received a $500 scholarship.

Neigh and Gonzalez also won the right to participate in the district-wide contest that will take place April 22 in Houston.

Neigh said this is her second time participating in the LNOC's oratorical competition. In 2022, she also won first place.

"This year I approached it in a different manner. I made sure to start early so I can prepare early," Neigh said. "I wrote my speech about two weeks in advance to the competition. I rehearsed as many times as I could to many as people as possible."

Neigh said she will continue to practice to get as much feedback as possible from anyone.

"That way I can ensure that any mistakes that I could have are remedied before the district competition takes place," Neigh said.

She gave a piece of advice to other students who would like to participate in an oratorical competition.

"Try it! That's one of the best things you can do, that's how you can get exposure," she said. "Try and have that motivation to want to do it and, obviously, not everything is going to go your way but you can always work towards it and create new experiences."

Gonzalez said that she prepared three weeks in advance.

"I have tried to plan out what I was going to do and tried to get the main idea for my speech," she said. "I wanted to share a more personal experience for my speech."

Gonzalez said she has been practicing in front of her speech teacher trying to get any corrections, making little notes and trying to get the best of it.

Gonzalez also gave some recommendations for those students planning to participate in a speech contest.

"I think that everyone should just try it out, and sometimes things will work out in your favor, sometimes they won't, but that's why you should try everything," Gonzalez said. "And either way, everything can be an experience that you can learn from."

Pena said that he had little time to prepare.

"I got the application on Friday. My speech was written in two days, and I edited and practiced today. So you know, a third place is not too bad," Pena said.

Pena gave his own recommendations for those planning to deliver a speech before any audience.

"Prepare and do research. If you properly prepare and you properly do research, that is great, because as you learn more and more about the subject you become more confident, it is like you understand what you are doing, you get a grasp on it," Pena said.

Pena gave one last bit of advice to Laredo students.

"Don't do drugs kids!"

The Laredo Noon Optimist Club was founded in November 1939 and is part of Optimist International - founded in 1919 - whose mission is to provide hope and a positive vision to bring out the best in youth, our communities and ourselves, according to the Optimist International website.
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The spirit of civil rights icon Cesar Chavez will flow through the historic streets of Laredo as the Cesar Chavez Memorial Alliance of South Texas marches through downtown this weekend.

The 17th Annual March of Justice is held yearly to honor the "indomitable will" of Chavez, who is best known for co-founding the organization that would later transform into the United Farm Workers labor union.

Chavez and the union would go on to advocate for equal rights for migrant farm workers, using nonviolent forms of protests, such as boycotts and strikes, to strike down unfair labor rules.

"The Cesar Chavez Memorial Alliance of South Texas aims to uphold the legacy of Cesar Chavez by promoting education, artistic expression, and civic engagement in the community," board president Manuel Bocanegra said in a press release. "Cesar Chavez was a leader and role model for working people in the United States striving to better the lives of their families and communities through peaceful process under the civil rights movement."

The march is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 1 throughout downtown Laredo. The participants will begin assembling at 8:30 a.m. at Bruni Plaza, at the intersection of San Bernardo Avenue and Washington St.

From there, the group will march south on San Bernardo Avenue, turning at Zaragoza St to reach their final stopping point, San Agustin Plaza.

Following the march, the memorial alliance will honor a few outstanding members of the local community whose life achievements best illustrate the "Si Se Puede" motto used by the farmworker movement lead by Chavez and fellow civil rights icon Dolores Huerta.

This year, the organization is honoring neurologist Dr. Juan Felipe Santos, former Webb County Judge Danny Valdez, and Brown Beret member David Gomez.

The master of ceremonies is Attorney Carlos E. Flores with Jose Gamez  American Legion Post 59 Commander  serving as the main speaker and Arturo Santos serving as the Grand Marshall.
Doctors Hospital of Laredo is providing notice of an incident that involved our patients' protected health information (PHI). Letters were mailed to potentially affected patients or their parents/guardians on March 29, 2023.

Adelanto HealthCare Ventures, L.L.C. (AHCV) is a consulting company that works for one of our business associates and provides transactional advisory support for our Organization. As part of these services, our business associate may provide AHCV with certain claim information on our patients. On Nov. 5, 2021, AHCV became aware of suspicious activity and determined that two AHCV employee email accounts had been accessed without authorization as a result of a phishing incident. Initially, AHCV did not believe the incident involved any PHI of our Organization. On Dec. 21, 2021, AHCV notified one of our former employees that PHI was present in the affected email accounts and potentially accessible during the incident. It was not until Aug. 19, 2022 that our business associate learned that certain PHI may have been involved.

Once our business associate learned of the incident, it launched an investigation into the matter and worked with AHCV to gather additional information on the incident to enable our business associate to determine whether there was a low probability that the PHI was compromised. Unfortunately, our business associate did not receive sufficient information to conduct this analysis until Dec. 27, 2022. There is no evidence to date to suggest that the PHI was copied or misused, but our business associate notified our Organization of the incident on Jan. 28, 2023. Once we received this notice, we worked with our business associate to take the steps needed to provide notification to individuals.

What Information Was Involved

The emails contained the patient's full name and some or all of the following: facility name, Medicaid claim ID, Medicaid client ID, care plan name, Medicaid program, gender, date of birth, admission and discharge date, medical and diagnosis information, and mental health comorbidity (if any). Please note the emails did not contain Social Security numbers, credit card numbers or other financial information.

What We are Doing

Our Organization began mailing notification letters on March 29, 2023. We have also confirmed that AHCV is expanding its security measures in light of the incident and assessing additional training and security reminders for its employees. Our business associate has counseled its own employees on the incident and best practices, and is determining whether additional steps are needed. We also provided other required notices of this incident, such as notice to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services .

What Affected Individuals Can Do

While we are unaware of any actual or attempted misuse of PHI, we are offering impacted patients with 12 months of internet surveillance and identity restoration services through Experian at no charge. Individuals can refer to their notification letter for enrollment instructions.

More Information

Our Organization is committed to providing quality care, including protecting personal health information, and has policies and procedures in place for protecting and safeguarding patient information. Individuals with additional questions, may call our dedicated assistance line at 800-910-4035 (toll-free), MondayFriday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. CST, and SaturdaySunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST, excluding holidays. This line will remain open until July 31, 2023. Please provide engagement number B087604 when calling. If you did not receive a letter, but would like to know if you were affected, please contact our dedicated assistance line.
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The Laredo Sector Border Patrol announced three individuals were rescued from the Rio Grande in Laredo across three separate incidents.

The three incidents occurred on Thursday, March 30 and Friday, March 31. In all three incidents, the Laredo Sector Border Patrol reports the individuals were attempting to cross the Rio Grande near the south of the city, and all three appeared to be struggling with the current.
A Nuevo Laredo man wanted for sexual offenses in Illinois has been arrested, according to court documents.

Antonio Garcia-Calvillo, 75, arrived at a Laredo international bridge on March 25.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers referred him to secondary inspection.

Further investigation revealed that Garcia-Calvillo had two warrants for aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault out of the Chicago Police Department.

Garcia-Calvillo was then transported to the Webb County Jail, where he remained behind bars as of Friday.
A man landed behind bars for stabbing another male twice, according to Laredo police.

Edvin Fernando Hernandez-Barrientos, 37, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

At about 1:28 a.m. March 26, a male called 911 requesting an ambulance in the 100 block of North America Road. He told dispatch that he had been stabbed multiple times, states the arrest affidavit.

Laredo Fire Department crews encountered the male lying in the middle of the street bleeding from his chest and face. He stated that he and his friend, Hernandez-Barrientos, got into a verbal argument that escalated into a stabbing, court documents state.

The male was taken to Doctors Hospital for further treatment for two non-life threatening stab wounds.

Police with the assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol canvassed the brushy area in search of the suspect. Moments later, a Border Patrol agent located Hernandez-Barrientos. He was taken to LPD headquarters for questioning.

Multiple blood stains were found on the door of a purple tractor-trailer. Blood drops were also found on the steering wheel. Authorities recovered a kitchen knife and $300 from the tractor-trailers floorboard, according to court documents.

The complainant stated he and Hernandez-Barrientos were having a couple of beers outside of their tractor-trailers. At some point, Hernandez-Barrientos got into an argument with his wife and went inside of his tractor-trailer.

The complainant went to check up on Hernandez-Barrientos. But Hernandez-Barrientos got upset and told him to stay out of his personal life. Hernandez-Barrientos then grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the complainant twice, authorities said.

In an interview with police, Hernandez-Barrientos claimed that the complainant pointed a knife at him and demanded the $300 recovered by authorities, according to court documents.

Hernandez-Barrientos gave the complainant the money. The complainant then went at Hernandez-Barrientos with the kitchen knife in an attempt to stab him. But Hernandez-Barrientos was able to take the knife away, followed the complainant and stabbed him twice, states the affidavit.
After about an hour and a half of deliberation, Joel Pellot was sentenced to life in prison for murdering Maria Munoz, 31, and received 10 years for the tampering with evidence charge. The jury also added a $10,000 fine for each of the counts.

Prosecutors and defense brought forth witnesses during the punishment phase of the trial.

Defense Attorney Roberto Balli reminded the jury that Pellot is a good father who is working with his mother to help raise Munozs two boys, Alejandro and Valentino.

This is two and half years later. Hes a father of two young boys, Balli said. We understand that you have a job with the murder count to go from five to 99 years and we respect that. But we are going to ask you to think about five years.

He asked the jury to think about how Pellots life affects others and how much hes needed because his mother, Miriam Carrasquillo, cannot raise the boys alone.

Listen to the evidence about a man who has not been in trouble and worked on himself, Balli said. Please consider the minimum of five years.

Munozs sister, Marisol then took the stand as the prosecutions first witness during the punishment phase.

Marisol testified about her relationship with her sister, Maria, and how determined Maria was to leave Joel and start over with her boys.

My sister was five years older than me, so she was my role model, Marisol said. She was the woman who I would always go to when I had nightmares. I would always call out her name when I was scared, lost or needed a best friend.

She told the jury about the family calls they would have in the mornings where their family would all drink coffee and talk about their plans for the day. Marisol said she hadnt seen Maria since 2015 when she had moved stateside.

After Marias passing, Marisol and her family traveled to Laredo for the funeral. A month after her nephews were in temporary custody, Carrasquillo got custody of Valentino and Alejandro.

I did express to CPS about us wanting the boys, but since we were in Puerto Rico and Joel hadnt been convicted, we had to wait until trial, so he loses all responsibility of the boys and we can have a legal custody battle, Marisol said.

Marisol testified that since that first day Pellot gave her the news, he showed no empathy towards her family.

He didnt even apologize. He didnt recognize that I knew he was unfaithful, Marisol said. He didn't recognize that I knew he was verbally abusive to my sister. He never showed any type of empathy towards us. On the contrary, he would always make us feel guilty because we wanted the truth.

She added that they knew Pellot was trying to control the narrative around Marias death trying to convince everyone that Maria was capable of leaving her family and her boys.

On the contrary, Marisol testified that Maria was ready to leave Pellot, and she was going to get her license in nursing so should work and take care of the boys.

He thought she would take his money. Maria didnt care about his money, Marisol said. She wanted to work for herself and take care of the boys.

Marisol and Marias older brother, Peter Hernandez, took the stand and told the jury about how difficult it has been without his sister.

Its been very tough, he said. Losing a sibling is rough on its own, especially if you lose a sibling that was ill and you could prepare for, but something random like this is hard to get by. There are days that I think of her and break down and cry. Its hard at times to get out of bed, but you gotta get up and do what you gotta do.

Prosecutors ended the punishment phase with two of Marias close friends, Charity Garcia and Angela Montoya.

Garcia testified about her friendship with Maria and how happy and bubbly she was.

I never heard her complain or anything, Garcia said. She was so happy to have her boys. She was so happy to be a mom. That was her favorite thing in the world. She was proud of them. I never heard her complain that she was exhausted.

Garcia added that Maria was happy being with the boys all the time because Pellot was always working.

He was rather domineering, Garcia testified. He tried to control the conversation. When he would speak, Maria would get very quiet. That increased over time. It wasnt as apparent when we first met them.

Garcia said that she didnt enjoy being around Pellot.

It was all the things he didnt quite say that just put me off, Garcia said. He didnt seem very trustworthy. He seemed trying to appear one way but there was more to it. I just wasnt comfortable around him.

She added, He was always at work so it worked to be able to be friends with her. Didnt have to deal with him.

Montoya testified about her temporary custody of Marias sons and Marias love for her sons.

Maria was amazing. She lived for her boys. She did her schedule and organized her time to spend time with them and take them to activities and swimming lessons, Montoya said. She was a dedicated mom.

Montoya testified about Maria telling her about a trip to Las Vegas where Pellot bought her two $5,000 Louis Vuitton purses.

I remember her mentioning that it was to compensate for the trip that he took with Janet, Montoya testified. (Pellot) spent a lot of money on (Maria). That was the type of compensation he was giving.

Defense then brought Pellots mother, Carrasquillo, to the stand. She testified about her relationship with Maria and her grandchildren.

Defense showed several photographs of Pellot and his family. Carrasquillo said Pellot had a good relationship with the boys.

Hes a good father, Carrasquillo said. To me he always was a good dad. Alejandro is always calling for him. The boys are bigger now and they love him.

She testified that Pellot has been working and keeping up with his responsibilities for his court requirements.

Defense also called Josue Pellot, Pellots younger brother, to the stand. He testified that he is godfather to Alejandro and Valentino. He added that the life insurance he was beneficiary to was to protect the boys and raise them as his own.

He was very present with them. I feel like this has been a whole ordeal, Josue said. He loves them. He shows them love and affection.

For her closing arguments, Chief Assistant District Attorney Marisela Jacaman told the jury to send a loud and clear message to the community.

If you kill somebody, you will be punished. If you betray a person in your family, you will be punished. If you have been given the authority under the state of Texas to practice medicine of any sort and you violate that authority and that trust, you will be punished, Jacaman said.

She reminded the jury to think about the evidence.

They brought you evidence that hes a good father now that hes been going to classes, hes learned to be a parent, Jacaman said. I submit to you, you cant come to the table with dirty hands. You cant come and ask to be with your children when youre the reason youre the only parent left when you killed their mother.

Jacaman brought up the toxicology report that found seven anesthetic drugs in her system.

He gave her seven anesthetic drugs, Jacaman told the jury. I submit to you to give him 10 years for each drug, time for making her feel like nothing.

She asked the jury to give him life on the murder count and deny probation for the tampering with evidence count along with the maximum fine for both.

Defense Attorney Roberto Balli asked the jury to consider the minimum sentence for the murder charge, five years, and asked for probation for the tampering with evidence charge.

A life sentence is not fair. It doesnt reflect the sentence of someone who has followed the law all their life, Balli said. Five years in prison is a long prison sentence. We are asking you to consider that.

Jacaman ended her closing arguments reminding the jury that Pellot is dangerous.

The defendant wants justice, but when they get it they beg for mercy, Jacaman said. This man is dangerous. He took the very tools he was supposed to use to help people to kill his wife. Thats dangerous and why? Because he had no need for her anymore.

She finished asking the jury for life in prison and maximum fines on both counts.

Pellot was remanded to the Webb County Jail following his sentencing and victim impact statements.
Laredo Medical Center made a major donation to the South Texas Food Bank this week gifting over 1,800 jars of peanut butter.

The jars were collected Monday by the hospital in celebration of National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day on Sunday, April 2. Those on hand during the Jars of Love Peanut Butter Drive included LMC employees, medical staff and volunteers along with students and others in the community.

The drive was created as a way of giving back to community, with the event organizers hoping to help locals in the community facing food insecurity. With the help of the local community, the hospital was able to surpass it's goal of 1,200 jars of peanut butter, which all will go to serve the South Texas Food Bank's goal of alleviating hunger in South Texas.

"Food insecurity has a significant impact on a persons overall health and well-being," LMC CEO Jorge Leal said. "Through our Jars of Love Peanut Butter Drive, we are working to help fight hunger in Laredo and surrounding communities. Our generous employees and community really stepped up to be sure we could stock the shelves and outdid themselves by surpassing our donation goal."

The organization decided to gather jars of peanut butter, as it one of the most requested items for food banks. This is due to the fact that peanut butter is highly nutritious and has a long shelf life, both of which are perfect for food banks' needs.

During the presentation of the donation to the local food bank, Leal was dressed in a Mr. Peanut costume -- a promise he made if the organization met their 1,000-jar goal. According to a release, Leal was pleased to wear the costume as a congratulations for the effort put in by the hospitals 1,200-plus employees.

South Texas Food Bank representative Alex Carraman was on location to receive the donation and give thanks to the hospital for its efforts gathering the donation. The South Texas Food Bank also issued a post on social media thanking LMC's staff and patients for their support.

"We are committed to fighting hunger in the South Texas area, but we cannot do it alone," said Alma Boubel, Executive Director at South Texas Food Bank. "We are very grateful to Laredo Medical Center for thinking of our mission and our clients. It means a lot to us, but especially to our clients who are the beneficiaries of this great effort."
With more than 150 miles separating Laredo College and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, distance is still no barrier to collaborating and providing Laredo students with expanded higher education opportunities.

On Thursday, March 30, both institutions signed a joint admission agreement  LC2UTRGV  to create an easy pathway for Laredo College students to transfer seamlessly to UTRGV.

The signing ceremony was held on the Laredo College Ft. McIntosh Campus, which celebrates 75 years of offering affordable academic, workforce, adult and continuing education programs.

In addition to the joint admission agreement, UTRGV and Laredo College also signed an institutional articulation agreement that provides a broad framework for more specific transfer planning that will occur at the program level.

The articulation agreement will help students succeed by providing guidelines for how courses will transfer between the two institutions. UTRGV and Laredo College will develop program-specific, associate degree to bachelors degree, 2+2 transfer plans to outline which courses taken in Laredo will count and apply toward degree requirements at UTRGV upon transfer.

Laredo College is always looking for new ways to promote student success and academic enrichment, whether that comes in the form of new programs, student support services or strategic partnerships that enhance our students lives, Laredo College President Dr. Minita Ramirez said. This new partnership with UTRGV will help us further our mission and make it easier for students to go through the transition from one institution to the next. We look forward to this great collaboration with our counterparts in the Rio Grande Valley to help students succeed in their chosen career field.

The agreements help create a framework that will inform students and their advisors about how courses will transfer between the two schools. Both admissions and academic advising offices will collaborate to achieve maximum transferability of courses, so that courses taken at Laredo College will count and apply toward specifically identified degree requirements at UTRGV.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey said the agreement will help expand educational and professional opportunities for students and their families in Webb County.

We are excited to enter into this partnership today with Laredo College because we know it will help shape the future of Texas, Bailey said. We look forward to welcoming the first of many Laredo College students to UTRGV, and know they will benefit greatly from this new, expanded access to higher education.

The Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees offered at Laredo College will link to current majors at UTRGV. An Associate of Arts and an Associate of Science in General Studies will also offer a pathway for students to complete 18 hours of coursework beyond the core curriculum that may map to other majors at UTRGV.

Students who attend Laredo College in Fall 2023 for the first time will benefit from the LC2UTRGV joint admissions program. Students will not be required to complete an application to UTRGV as they will automatically have an application created for Fall 2024 or future term based on the agreement requirements. Students who successfully completed 24 or more semester credit hours, have a 2.0 GPA, or earn an academic associate degree can benefit from the seamless application and admission process.

UTRGV will also encourage students to complete an associate degree at Laredo College before transferring. Furthermore, the institution will support students through the reverse articulation, allowing students to complete academic credentials while pursuing their bachelors degrees. Once admitted and enrolled, all transfer students must complete at least 25% of coursework from the specific UTRGV program of study in residence.

To learn more about the LC2UTRGV partnership, visit utrgv.edu/undergraduate-admissions or contact Laredo College at admissions@laredo.edu or 956-721-5109.
Houston Police Department

A Houston man was killed Thursday evening in a drive-by shooting in the River Oaks area, according to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner.

The shooting occurred around 6:10 p.m. in the 2100 block of Mid Lane near San Felipe Street, authorities said at a news conference. Police responded to a reported shooting at the scene and found a deceased man in his mid-20s on the ground with gunshot wounds. The victim was found near his vehicle, a white Mercedes sedan. The vehicle was riddled with bullet holes and authorities found multiple shell casings scattered nearby.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  In the first criminal case against a former president, Donald Trump has been indicted on charges involving payments made during the 2016 campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.

Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed down against him by a New York grand jury, two people familiar with the matter have told The Associated Press. They were not authorized to discuss details that arent yet public and requested anonymity.

Prosecutors in New York investigated money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep the women from going public with claims that they had sex with him.

Trump, who's running for the White House again in 2024, called the decision by a Manhattan grand jury to indict him political persecution and election interference at the highest level.

At least one former federal prosecutor, though, said the Manhattan DA and other investigators wouldn't move forward with such a case unless they feel confident of a conviction.

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WILL NEW YORK CASE OVERSHADOW OTHER LEGAL THREATS?

Former President Donald Trump faces multiple investigations related to his refusal to accept his loss of the 2020 presidential election.

Some legal experts worry that Trump's indictment this week in New York involving a hush money payment in 2016 could jeopardize public trust in the election-related cases.

The indictment itself has remained sealed, which is standard in New York until an arraignment.

Trump has long argued that the investigations in New York and elsewhere are politically motivated and ramped up those accusations without evidence after Thursday's indictment.

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LITTLE SIGNS OF LARGE PROTEST IN NEW YORK, ELSEWHERE

Though the streets outside the Manhattan courthouse were bustling Friday, there was no sign of any large-scale protests. A few Trump supporters passed by, quickly posing for photos while police officers and reporters lined the sidewalks.

In Florida, about a dozen Trump supporters stood alongside the road leading to Mar-a-Lago, the former presidents Palm Beach residence and resort Friday morning. They waved Trump Nation and Keep America Great flags at motorists.

Kevin Hulbert, a retired outdoor educator from Maryland, waved an American flag as he called the indictment a disgrace.

We have to use our First Amendment rights to demonstrate how unhappy we are that something like this would happen, Hulbert said.

In Boston, several people rallied outside the Massachusetts Statehouse to support letting the legal process play out.

Laurie Woodward-Garcia, 56, of Westborough, said she was not there to celebrate and defended Trumps right to have his day in court.

I think its important that whoever you are, whatever position you hold, the message is clear: No one is above the law, she said.

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WILL TRUMP TRY TO TURN MUG SHOT INTO A TOOL?

Former President Donald Trump is expected to go through the same process as anyone turning him or herself in on criminal charges, including fingerprinting and a mug shot.

Recent history offers examples of political figures who tried to turn arrest photos into a tool, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

New York law discourages the release of mug shots in most cases, though some have leaked in the past. It's unclear whether Trump would try to have the picture released himself, for political or other reasons.

But his presidential campaign and other political groups quickly used word of his indictment in fundraising messages. The National Republican Congressional Committee titled an email sent to supporters Friday: Trump IN HANDCUFFS!?

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BIDEN ADMINISTRATION STAYS MUM ON CASE

President Joe Biden set the tone for his administrations approach to former President Donald Trumps indictment Friday with a firm refusal to comment on the case.

Vice President Kamala Harris and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre separately refused. Both told reporters that the decision is tied to the ongoing nature of the case against Trump.

Look, were just not going to comment on any ongoing case, and I will just leave it there, Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One en route to Mississippi, where the president toured recent storm damage.

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BRAGG'S OFFICE DEFENDS INQUIRY

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is defending the unprecedented criminal case against Trump in a letter to House Republicans, calling their repeated criticism of the investigation unnecessary and unjustified."

The letter, the only substantial public comment on the case to come from Braggs office since Thursdays indictment, is the latest back-and-forth between Trumps allies in Congress and the prosecutor leading the Manhattan case.

Even worse, based on your reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury process, it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective, general counsel Leslie Dubeck wrote to three Republican chairmen in a letter obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

Reps. Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryan Steil have criticized the grand jury investigation as an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.

The chairmen had requested testimony as well as documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department.

Bragg did not answer reporters' questions on the indictment against Trump on Friday morning after he attended a high-profile sentencing hearing in an unrelated case.
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AKWESASNE, Quebec (AP)  The bodies of two more migrants who died trying to cross from Canada into the United States, were found Friday, bringing the death toll to eight, including two children, police in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne said.

The bodies of six people, described as members of two families of Romanian and Indian descent, were found Thursday in a marshy area of the St. Lawrence River, which forms the Canada-U.S. border.

Akwesasne Mohawk Police Chief Shawn Dulude said authorities were still looking for a man, identified as Casey Oakes, 30, who was last seen Wednesday operating a boat that was found next to the bodies.

A police helicopter spotted the latest two bodies in the water.

A total of eight bodies have now been recovered from the waters. All are believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the United States from Canada, Dulude said.

A child discovered Friday was a Canadian citizen and a member of the Romanian family, Dulude said. The body of an adult woman believed to be an Indian national was also recovered.

Dulude said he didn't know if Oakes was alive or not, adding that he was a person of interest.

The territory is known for being a transit point for the trafficking of humans and contraband because of its location. And in February, police in Akwesasne reported an increase in human smuggling into the Mohawk territory.

Our community has been exploited by this, said Grand Chief Abram Benedict of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. This is not the first time that tragedy has happened in our community like this. Weve had other losses.

Weather conditions in the area were rough Wednesday night, said Lee-Ann OBrien, deputy chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service.

OBrien said six of the bodies were located during a search for Oakes who was reported missing Thursday. Oakes of Akwesasne was last seen Wednesday around 9:30 p.m. boarding a small boat departing from the east end of Cornwall Island, located in the St. Lawrence River and on the Ontario side of the Mohawk territory.

This is a heartbreaking situation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. We need to understand properly what happened, how it happened and do whatever we can to minimize the chances of this ever happening again.

The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said the first body was located around 5 p.m. Thursday in a marsh. The area was searched further by a police marine unit with the help of the Canadian Coast Guard and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department.

Air support units with the Quebec provincial police and Ontario Provincial Police also assisted.

Post-mortem and toxicology tests have been ordered to determine the cause of the deaths.

Akwesasne police say there have been about 80 people trying to cross illegally into Canada or into the United States through the Mohawk territory since January, and most of them have been of Indian or Romanian descent.

Akwesasne straddles the Canada-United States border, and has territory in Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

There's always been people coming through here, Dulude said. I've always been worried about it. It's just that now there's more attention.

He said it's mostly people going south to the U.S. and it is rare that someone comes north.

Tony Jackson, an Akwesasne resident, said the weather Wednesday, when Oakes was last seen, was calm during the day but later turned rough.

The east wind around here creates a lot of waves, five feet tall, maybe taller, Jackson said. He said he believed Oakess boat was less than six meters (20 feet) long.

Crossing the river on a little boat with many people on board, that called for disaster, he said.

He said he had never heard Oakes talk about transporting migrants. But Jackson said he had personally witnessed groups of migrants crossing through fields with bags in hand and also occasionally seen boats carrying large groups of people across the river.

A couple of times in one month, youll see a couple of them walking down the road with all their bags, he said.

In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory. A seventh person, spotted leaving the vessel and wading ashore, was later identified as a U.S. citizen. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials described what happened as a human smuggling incident.

Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden announced a plan last week to close a loophole to an immigration agreement that allowed thousands of asylum-seeking migrants to move between the two countries along a back road linking New York state to Quebec.

The deal closing an illegal border crossing point about 105 kilometers (66 miles) east of Akwesasne took effect Saturday. OBrien said it has nothing to do with the closure of the Roxham Road illegal crossing into Canada.

Early last year, a Florida man was charged with human smuggling after the bodies of four people, including a baby and a teen, were found in Canada near the U.S. border in what authorities believe was a failed crossing attempt during a freezing blizzard between Manitoba, Canada and North North Dakota. The dead were Indian nationals trying to enter the U.S.
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ROME (AP)  Pope Francis has been cleared by doctors for discharge on Saturday from the Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, the Vatican said, adding that the pontiff had pizza one evening with medical staff and baptized a baby in the pediatrics ward.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, in one of several updates on Friday, also said that Francis will be in St. Peter's Square for Palm Sunday Mass at the start of Holy Week, although he didn't say if the pontiff would deliver the homily during the particularly lengthy service.

The medical team that is following His Holiness Pope Francis, after evaluating the outcome of tests carried out today and the favorable clinical recovery, has confirmed discharge on Saturday, Bruni said in a written statement Friday night.

Francis, 86, was hospitalized on Wednesday at Gemelli Polyclinic, where doctors said the pontiff was receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat his bronchitis.

Calling the pontiff's medical recovery normal, Bruni said earlier in the day that on Thursday evening, "Pope Francis had dinner, eating a pizza, together with all those who are assisting him in these days of the hospital stay, including doctors, nurses, assistants and Vatican security personnel.

Given the pope's return to the Vatican hotel where he lives, the spokesman said, was expected to be present in the square for Palm Sunday Mass, which formally begins Holy Week that culminates with Easter Mass in the square on April 9.

Medical personnel decided to hospitalize him on Wednesday after he returned to his Vatican residence following his customary weekly public audience in St. Peters Square. The Vatican reported he had experienced difficulty breathing in the previous days.

The Vatican on Thursday said that antibiotic treatment for bronchitis had resulted in a marked improvement in his health.

In a video released by the Vatican, Francis was seen baptizing a hospitalized baby who is a few weeks old.

After the mother tells Francis the boy's name, Miguel Angel, the pope uses a metal hospital tray usually employed to hold syringes to pour water over the sleeping baby's head, then tries to comfort the infant, who wakes up, wailing and seeming to try to swat away the pope's hand.

Francis then asked the mother to dry her son's wet forehead. He then told her: When you go to your parish, say that the pope baptized him."

Francis was smiling and looked chipper as he visited children being treated at Gemelli for cancer and gave out large, wrapped chocolate Easter eggs.

Earlier in the day, Francis sent a tweet on Friday possibly inspired by his current health challenge.

When experienced with faith, the trials and difficulties of life serve to purify our hearts, making them humbler and thus more and more open to God, Francis wrote. The tweet carried a hashtag for Lent, the period of the liturgical year stressing penitence and sacrifice in the run-up to the joyous Church celebration of Easter, which marks the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead after his crucifixion.

The Vatican seemed keen to quickly dispel any worries about the pope's physical fitness to carry on fully with his duties. Nearly immediately after the announcement of a discharge date for Francis, the Vatican announced that the pope would meet the prime minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace.

Palm Sunday Mass usually draws tens of thousands of faithful, including many pilgrims from abroad, flocking to Rome for Holy Week.

Francis had already largely stopped celebrating Mass at major Catholic Church holy days because of a chronic knee problem, but had continued to preside at the ceremonies and deliver homilies.

The Holy Week appointments include a stamina-taxing late night Way of the Cross procession marked by prayers on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome and Easter Mass on April 9, which is traditionally followed by a long papal speech delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

During Wednesday's hour-long public audience, Francis at times appeared visibly in pain when he moved about and was helped by aides.

In July 2021, Francis underwent surgery at Gemelli Polyclinic after suffering from a narrowing of his colon. As a young man in Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed.
Republican lawmakers in Kentucky have swept aside the Democratic governors veto of a bill regulating some of the most personal aspects of life for transgender young people
A monster storm system has torn through the South and Midwest, spawning deadly weather including tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers in Arkansas, collapsed a theater roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois and made a fatal sweep into rural Indiana. At least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, in the Little Rock area during Fridays storm. The town of Wynne in northeastern Arkansas also was devastated and officials reported two dead there, along with destroyed homes and people trapped in the debris. Authorities say a theater roof collapsed during a tornado in Belvidere, Illinois, killing one person and injuring 28. The emergency management director of Sullivan County, Indiana, says the storm has caused three fatalities there.
The event is intended to supply men who are facing homelessness with necessities like undergarments, socks, hygiene items, and first-aid essentials that are highly requested yet not frequently donated.
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Registrations for the National Spring Clean are well underway and 2023s campaign is on track to be the biggest yet with almost 30 Longford groups registered to date.

National Spring Clean is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce in partnership with Local Authorities and supported by the Department of Environment, Communications and Climate Environment and Mars Wrigley Ireland.

This year An Taisce celebrates its 75th Anniversary and the largest ever Spring Clean would be a fitting way to mark the occasion.

Throughout the month of April communities from across Ireland will take part in the National Spring Clean to tackle the problem of litter in local areas and to see the benefits of a litter-free environment.

Over the past 24 years, National Spring Clean participants of all ages have volunteered over 12 million hours of their time, with almost 45,000 tonnes of litter collected to date.

This year the campaign also wants to raise awareness about the Circular Economy Act and how the adoption of a circular economy model will reduce our litter and climate impact.

The principles of a circular economy have been central to the ethos of National Spring Clean for the past 24 years. Last year some 35% of all waste collected was recycled, thanks to recyclable waste bags provided to participating groups and individuals, while the removal of litter from our natural environment helped to tackle biodiversity loss.

National Spring Clean hopes that these litter collection initiatives will prompt people to consider their waste output and moderate consumption behaviours that produce excess waste and look at alternatives that will move us away from a throwaway culture to a more sustainable circular culture.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, said: I am delighted that my department continues to be in a position to support the An Taisce National Spring Clean Programme. The efforts of local volunteers, many of whom come back year after year, are to be highly commended as they continue to make a real positive contribution to their local community and wider environment. It is particularly pleasing to note that a significant proportion of the waste collected is also recycled, again due to the efforts of these volunteers.

"I would like to congratulate An Taisce on its 75th anniversary and I look forward to continuing to see their positive environmental impact for many more years to come.

National Spring Clean Manager, Emlyn Cullen, commented: This is an important year for An Taisce as it celebrates its 75th Anniversary and it would be fantastic if we can make this the largest National Spring Clean to date as part of the celebrations. So far, the numbers of volunteers already registered is huge but theres still time for people to register online and get involved this year."

Katrine Grytter, Corporate Affairs Director at Mars North Europe added: Mars Wrigley Ireland is proud to support the National Spring Clean, which empowers individuals to make a really positive impact on their communities, improving local spaces and biodiversity by collecting hundreds of tonnes of litter each year. We hope that by supporting initiatives like the National Spring Clean and other important anti-litter programmes such as Green Schools and the Gum Litter Taskforce, we can help to deliver a cleaner, greener future for all communities.

To make sure that each community clean up can run as smoothly as possible the National Spring Clean has also provides downloadable information packs on their website for their volunteers to read. The clean-up information pack containing details on how to organise an event, health and safety information, litter facts, useful contacts, media and publicity advice, a guide on how to recycle and information on litter and the law.

An Taisces National Spring Clean is inviting people to visit the website www.nationalspringclean.org and register for a free clean-up kit.
A defendant who entered a vacant property to sleep rough when homeless was given the benefit of the Probation Act at Longford District Court.

Mark Kelly (36) of 72 Kilnasolagh Park, Newmarket on Fergus, Clare faced a charge that on January 7, 2023 at 77 Ardnacassa Ave, Longford he entered the premises as a trespasser.

Inspector David Jordan said that at 2:45pm on the date of the offence Gardai responded to a call regarding three men who entered the unoccupied house. A search of the premises found the men, among them Mark Kelly.

The defendant admitted trespass and apologised. He cooperated fully and left, giving reassurances he would not re-enter.

The court heard Kelly had 33 previous convictions, a number of which are for theft. Solicitor John Quinn explained his client was living rough at the time. The solicitor explained there was no other accommodation available, and the house was unoccupied.

Mr Quinn said the defendant is now in settled accommodation and staying out of trouble. Inspector Jordan said Garda were alerted by residents about people sleeping rough in the house.

Noting the defendant had a significant number of convictions Judge Bernadette Owens said the defendant's cooperation and efforts to address his homelessness should be taken into consideration.

The judge said she would deal with the matter by way of section 1.2 of the probation act. The judge said she would not activate a suspended sentence imposed for three years in 2021.
The Great Famine is an unusual subject for a musical, but the success of Roscommon production In the Midst of Plenty shows how quality drama transcends the constraints of genre perception.

Beginning in May drama company Enchanted Croi Theatre will take to the road with In the Midst of Plenty.

This is a contemporary folk musical set in Roscommon in the time of the Great Hunger.

The 14-venue tour commences in the Mullingar Arts Centre on May 25 before travelling to Cavan, then reaching Backstage Theatre, Longford, on May 31.

The show features Longford actor and director Niall Brewster. In the Midst of Plenty was developed with funding from the Roscommon County Council in 2022, debuting to sold-out audiences and rave reviews in the National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park and the Roscommon Arts Centre.

Written by Amy Day and directed by Anne-Marie OSullivan, the play is set against the backdrop of the plot to assassinate Denis Mahon, the Strokestown landlord. It traces the story of the so-called missing 1,490 who left Strokestown along the Royal Canal and sailed for Canada as part of Mahons forced emigration scheme.

Walkers on The Royal Canal in Longford will be familiar with the commemorative sculptures on the route honouring the missing 1,490.

In the Midst of Plenty is described as an empowering story of strength, loss, resilience, and family connection that has resonated deeply with audiences.

The show features a large cast of professional actors and a live four-piece folk band. In addition to Niall the company includes Martin Gilligan (Ros na Run) and Mary Claire Ryan (Banshees of Inisherin).

Niall portrays the Bishop of Elphin, George Browne, an important and controversial figure in the time of the Famine whose family were strong farmers. The Longford actor studied at the Gaiety School of Acting, Bow Street, and has an MA in Theatre Practice and Production from NUI Galway.

He has been involved with local theatre, appearing in productions with the Backstage theatre Group and the Mostrim Players. He has also performed and directed with his own theatre company, Furthur.

I was born in Mount Carmel Hospital which stands beside the site of the old Workhouse which is now St Joseph's Care Centre, says Niall, My mother, Maureen Hegarty, was a nurse and midwife.

I was one of the few babies that she didn't deliver in Mount Carmel where she worked. As I often say to people, she delivered half of Longford into the world in Mount Carmel and nursed half of them out of it when she worked in St Joseph's care centre!

As a Longford native, Niall feels connected to the regions harrowing Famine history: Growing up in Longford, I was always aware of what was known as the Bullies Acre beside the hospital where over 16,000 men, women and children were buried in mass graves during the Famine.

As a cast member of In the Midst of Plenty, Niall is beloved by his fellow performers. Niall is one of the hardest-working actors Ive met, said the shows writer and music director, Amy Day. He has saved the day on stage with quick-thinking when he needed to create a new character on the fly when another actor lost his voice the morning of a performance. He is always there for his castmates and brings the highest level of commitment and professionalism to all of his work. We are so lucky that he is part of the show.

Enchanted Croi Theatre was founded in 2019 by Anne-Marie OSullivan, and in the last year has produced 11 theatrical events that have reached more than 4,000 ticketed audience members.

We are honoured to be able to take this show to communities across Ireland in 2023, said Anne-Marie OSullivan, the shows Artistic Director.

It's particularly meaningful to us that many performances will take place along the National Famine Way, the route that so many emigrants walked in search of survival during the time of an Gorta Mor.

Niall concluded by speaking of the historic significance of the work, I'm looking forward to bringing this fantastic production to Longford's Backstage Theatre in May.

I think this is a story that needs to be kept in the public eye and I hope this production will encourage people to continue to have conversations regarding famine, genocide and emigration.

The 2023 tour is made possible by support from the National Famine Way and the Irish Heritage Trust. Tickets are available now by visiting www.inthemidstofplenty.com.
By Jacob Alvear Published: March 31 2023

Marking the anniversary of her WWII enlistment and a reminder of an historic Anglo-American alliance that continues to defend freedom

Ben Brierley (far right), Director, Policy and Stakeholder engagement, British Consulate, New York Looks on as The Staghound was unveiled at the Museum of American Armor as Long Island and British officials commemorated Princess Elizabeths enlistment in the British Auxiliary Territorial Services during the height of World War II.

On the anniversary of then 19 year old Princess Elizabeth joining the British Auxiliary Territorial Services (ATS) during the height of World War II, officials from the British Consulate gathered at The Museum of American Armor to dedicate a period British armor car named in her honor.

The ceremony underscored the continuing Anglo-American alliance committed to defending freedom as Ukraine fights for its survival with the help of military equipment from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Nicknamed The Staghound, the WWII armored car was designed to probe for German forces in North Africa, Italy, and Europe during World War II. Built by Chevrolet, they were transferred to British forces and other Allied forces under Lend-Lease and saw action throughout the conflict.

The Staghound will become a permanent part of the Armor Museums operational collection, emblazoned with the name of Princess Elizabeth that pays tribute to the historic role of the Anglo-American alliance that continues to this day.

In addition to British officials the ceremony included welcoming remarks by Nassau County elected officials, a presentation of colors by the Nassau County Police Department Color Guard, a performance by the Nassau County Police Department Pipe and Drum Band, reflections by members of the British War Veterans of America, and an appearance by British military living historians.
Community, Charity & Cause

By Chris Boyle Published: March 31 2023

These outstanding women are making a tremendously positive impact and are truly deserving of our appreciation, Legislator Abrahams said.

In commemoration of March as Womens History Month, Nassau County Legislator Kevan M. Abrahams (D - Freeport) recently partnered with Affinity by Molina Healthcare to present Celebrating Women Who Tell Their Stories  a special community event that was held at the Roosevelt Fire Departments headquarters.

During the event, four influential women from the First Legislative District were honored for their advocacy and dedication to the community. Honorees included Sharon Leid, CEO of NetStruc PR; Rochelle Gooding, a mental health therapist; Joyce Nolan, a strong advocate in the fight against sickle-cell anemia; and Rosita Brooks, a community volunteer and COVID-19 survivor. Each honoree was presented with a plaque and given gift bags courtesy of Millennium Sistahs, Malik Dupri, and other community sponsors. Comedienne Kim Kiministry Thompson was also presented with an award for donating her talent during the night.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: March 31 2023

Subcommittee to be Formed as Part of the Suffolk County Jewish-American Advisory Board.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has announced the formation of a subcommittee as part of the Suffolk County Jewish-American Advisory Board with a special focus of combatting antisemitism.

In Suffolk County we strongly condemn hate, racism, violence and bigotry directed towards any community, said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. While it is disturbing that we continue to see acts of antisemitism across the world, we must remain vigilant and united in standing against it. With the creation of this new subcommittee, we will continue to work towards our goals of creating a safer world for our Jewish brothers and sisters.

"Hate crimes create fear and anxiety in communities and have no place in Suffolk County or in our society," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said. "The Suffolk County Police Department has a specialized unit to investigate hate crimes and hate-related incidents and we are proud to be part of this subcommittee to address and combat anti-Semitism. I commend County Executive Bellone for putting this issue at the forefront and look forward to working with our new partners to bring attention and resources to address hate against Jewish individuals."

The subcommittee will consist of members of the Jewish-American Advisory Board, a representative from the County Executive's office, a representative of Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey, a representative of Minority Leader Jason Richberg, and representatives from law enforcement.

In 2021, County Executive Bellone adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)s working definition of antisemitism in Suffolk County, becoming the first County in the nation to do so. The IHRAs working definition of antisemitism is internationally recognized and has become the authoritative definition for use by governments and international organizations.

Allan Richter, Chairman, Suffolk County Jewish Advisory Board said: The dramatic rise in antisemitism in the U.S. and abroad should be met with an outcry of powerful resistance and pushback. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, in creating a subcommittee of the countys Jewish Advisory Board to combat Jew hatred, is once again demonstrating a much-needed proactive approach to help tackle this virus of ignorance and hate. We are grateful to County Executive Bellone and his administration for their deep friendship to the Jewish community.

Avi Posnick, Northeast Director, StandWithUs said: "StandWithUs is very thankful to County Executive Bellone for organizing this critically-needed committee. With antisemitic incidents continuing to rise, including on Long Island, it is important to utilize all resources available to combat this. StandWithUs, a leading education organization that fights antisemitism, is proud and honored to serve on this Committee and partner with the County."
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: March 31 2023

Probationary Officer Javel Welch allegedly smuggled cellphone into jail and concealed alleged drug in bible; had loaded firearm unsecured in center console of his vehicle.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a probationary Correction Officer was arraigned today on charges of allegedly smuggling contraband into the Nassau County Correctional Center, including a cellphone and a small bible that was allegedly coated in the synthetic drug, K2.

Javel Welch, 38, from West Hempstead, was arraigned this morning in Nassau County District Court before Judge Jaclene Agazarian. The defendant is charged with one count of Promoting Prison Contraband in the First Degree (a D felony); one count of Promoting Prison Contraband in the Second Degree (an A misdemeanor); and one count of Failure to Safely Store Rifles, Shotguns, and Firearms in the First Degree (an A misdemeanor). The defendant was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on April 6, 2023. If convicted of the top charge, Welch faces a potential maximum of 2-1/3 to 7 years in prison.

The health and safety of our correction officers and incarcerated individuals is paramount, said DA Donnelly. In the wrong hands, a cellphone in a jail can become a tool for retribution, harassment, and violence. Illicit substances introduced into the jail population can create medical emergencies and further destabilize the facility. Our correction officers are entrusted to uphold the law and maintain order. This defendants alleged actions compromised his integrity and could have had extremely dangerous consequences.

DA Donnelly said that upon reporting for work yesterday afternoon at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, the defendant was searched by members of the Internal Affairs Unit of the Nassau County Sheriffs Department.

Welch was allegedly found to be in possession of a cellphone when no person, including staff, may bring a cellphone into the facility. The defendant was also allegedly found to be in possession of a small bible in his backpack. The pages of the bible allegedly contained residue of the synthetic drug K2.

The defendants vehicle was also searched, and his firearm, a loaded semi-automatic Glock 19 pistol, was found improperly secured in the center console of the car. The console was unlocked, and the pistol was not in a safe storage depository.

Welch was arrested by NCDA Detective Investigators on March 29, 2023.

Welch has been employed as a Correction Officer with the County since April 2022. He was suspended upon his arrest.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Jesse Aviram of the Public Corruption Bureau. The defendant was represented by Cheryl Bartow, Esq. at arraignment.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: March 31 2023

SCSO Joins NHTSA Campaign to Remind Drivers: U Drive. U Text. U Pay.

The Suffolk County Sheriffs Office is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportations National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the national U Drive. U Text. U Pay. high-visibility enforcement effort. From April 3-10, 2023, the Suffolk County Sheriffs Office will be joining law enforcement agencies across New York State to do an enhanced enforcement of texting and distracted-driving laws.

According to NHTSA, nearly 32,483 people died in distraction-affected crashes over the ten-year period from 2011 to 2020. In 2020, there were 3,142 deaths linked to driver distraction, or 8% of all motor-vehicle crash fatalities.

Distracted driving is a leading cause of vehicle crashes on our countys roads, and most of this distraction is attributed to texting while driving, said Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. Beginning this week, our Deputy Sheriffs will be further increasing efforts to stop drivers from distracted driving. If you text and drive in Suffolk County, we will pull you over and you will be fined.

Violating New Yorks distracted-driving laws can be costly. A first-time violation of this law is a traffic infraction with a fine between 50 and 200 dollars as well as 5 points on your license. Upon conviction of a second violation, both within 18 months, the fine is between 50 and 250 dollars as well as 5 points. Upon conviction of a third violation, all within an 18-month period, the fine is between 50 and 450 dollars as well as 5 points.

Many drivers are guilty of a double standard when it comes to distracted driving. In its 2018 Traffic Safety Culture Index, the AAA Foundation reported that while nearly 96% of drivers believed it was very or extremely dangerous to read a text or email while driving, 4 out of 10 drivers admitted to doing so within the previous 30 days.

Drive Safe Every Trip

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. and NHTSA urge drivers to put their phones away when behind the wheel. If you need to text, pull over and do not drive while doing so. If you are the driver, follow these steps for a safe driving experience:

If you are expecting a text message or need to send one, pull over and park your car in a safe location. Once you are safely off the road and parked, it is safe to text.

Ask your passenger to be your designated texter. Allow them access to your phone to respond to calls or messages.

Do not engage in social media scrolling or messaging while driving.

Cell phone use is habit-forming. Struggling to not text and drive? Activate your phones Do Not Disturb feature, or put your phone in the trunk, glove box, or back seat of your vehicle until you arrive at your destination.

Texting while driving is dangerous and illegal. Break the cycle. Remember: U Drive. U Text. U Pay. For more information, visit www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/distracted-driving.
The Spanish Socialist party which is in power in Madrid has said that it will study stiffer legislation covering surrogate pregnancies following the announcement that a 68-year-old Spanish television celebrity used a surrogate mother in Miami to have a baby.

Actress and presenter Ana Obregon grabbed the attention of the Spanish media and the countrys political parties on Wednesday when the socialite magazine Hola! published a front-page photograph of her with a baby in arms, announcing she was the mother of a baby girl born by a surrogate mother.

Surrogate pregnancies are banned in Spain, although children from such pregnancies can be registered.

EXCLUSIVA: Ana Obregon y la sonrisa que lo dice todo (Contenido para registrados y suscriptores) https://t.co/BnOFoK75Ys pic.twitter.com/oNyc4xE799  Revista HOLA! (@hola) March 31, 2023

The news immediately triggered criticism from the leftist coalition government headed by the Socialists. Equality Minister Irene Montero of the Unidas Podemos coalition partner said surrogate pregnancies were a form of violence against women while finance minister Maria Jesus Montero described the practice as exploitation of a womans body.
By Joe Jackson

LONDON, United KingdomThe UK will join 11 other countries in a major Asia-Pacific trade partnership, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Friday, in the countrys biggest post-Brexit trade deal following nearly two years of talks.

Britain will be the first new member since the creation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2018, and the first European country in the bloc.

The trade grouping will include more than 500 million people and account for 15 percent of global GDP once the UK becomes its 12th member, according to Sunaks office.

Britains Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (center) and Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps (right) visit the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Culham Science Centre near Oxford, west of London, on March 30, 2023. AFP

It said Britains admissionafter 21 months of intense negotiations puts the country at the heart of a dynamic group of economies and was evidence of seizing the opportunities of our new post-Brexit trade freedoms.

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The development fulfils a key pledge of Brexit supporters that, outside the European Union, the UK could capitalize on joining other trade blocs with faster-growing economies than those closer to home.

Critics have argued that such ventures will struggle to compensate for the economic damage sustained by leaving the EU, the worlds largest trading bloc and collective economy.

We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms, Sunak said in a statement announcing the deal.

As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation.

The CPTPP is the successor to a previous trans-Pacific trade pact that the United States withdrew from under former President Donald Trump in 2017.

Its members include fellow G7 members Canada and Japan, and historic UK allies Australia and New Zealand.

The remaining members are Mexico, Chile and Peru, along with Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei.

In Tokyo, Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno welcomed the announcement.

The UK is a global strategic partner and also an important trading and investment partner, he told reporters.

Its accession will have great meaning for forming a free and fair economic order, he added.

Milestone

Despite rising geopolitical tensions, in particular with Canberra, China formally applied to join the bloc in 2021.

All existing members must reach a consensus for a new country to enter the CPTPP.

Matsuno said Japan would need to examine whether China and other nations hoping to join can meet the required conditions, and would also consider the strategic viewpoint and Japanese public opinion.

Since Britain quit the EUs single market in 2021, it has been trying to strike bilateral deals to boost its international tradeand flagging economy.

London has so far inked agreements with far-flung allies including Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and is in talks with India and Canada.

However, a prized pact with the United States remains stalled.

The UK applied to join the CPTPP in February 2021, kicking off talks later that year in June.

London and the other existing members are poised to take the final legal and administrative steps required before Britain will formally sign later this year, Sunaks Downing Street office said.

It will boost the UK economy by 1.8 billion ($2.2 billion) over the long term, it added, citing estimates.

More than 99 percent of UK goods exported to member countries will now be eligible for zero tariffs, including key British exports such as cars, chocolate, machinery and whisky, it added.

British exports to them were already worth 60.5 billion in the year to the end of September 2022, and are expected to grow once inside the CPTPP, according to Downing Street.

The UKs dominant services industry will also benefit from reduced red tape and greater access to growing Pacific markets with an appetite for high-quality UK products and services, it said. AFP

Matthew Fell, interim head of Britains CBI business lobby, called the deal a real milestone for the UK and for British industry.

Membership reinforces the UKs commitment to building partnerships in an increasingly fragmented world, he said.

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LIMAY, BataanSan Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. expects to complete 1,000 megawatt-hours of combined battery energy storage system facilities this year, making it one of the largest operators of BESS systems in the world.

San Miguel president Ramon Ang said BESS could have a transformative impact on the economy and the power sector, as he welcomed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the inauguration ceremonies.

The company inaugurated a 50-MWh BESS project in this town as a part of its plan to open 32 facilities with a combined capacity of 1,000 MWh this year.

It is the first of its kind in the Philippines, and one of the largest integrated grid-scale battery energy storage projects in the world Strategically located in various parts of the country, our BESS facilities can instantly increase peak system supply to meet our growing energy demands post pandemic, Ang said.

He said that with BESS providing a significant portion of peak supply, baseload plants could run continuously and operate more efficiently, resulting in lower electricity costs for Filipino consumers.

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Equally important, our facilities can support the integration of over 5,000 MW of renewable power sources into the grid. They can store excess energy from traditional and renewable sources during periods of low demand and release it back into the grid when demand increases, Ang said.

SMCs Masinloc power facility pioneered the BESS technology, which enables the storage of energy both from renewable and non- renewable sources, in 2016.

Ang said building 5,000 MWh of BESS facilities with other industry players would support the countrys peak supply requirements and achieve energy security in the coming years. He said this could also bring down power costs by as much as P3 per kilowatt-hour. With Vince Lopez

We need to make sure that everyone, regardless of location or socio-economic status, will have access to reliable and affordable electricity as part of the legacy of the Marcos administration, Ang said.

Ang pushed for BESS as one of the solutions to the looming power crisis, saying it could bridge the energy security gap by storing excess energy when it is available and releasing it when demand is high.

Government is working to avert a power crisis. But we know it takes time to complete new power facilities. The BESS network is already here, and it can provide immediate mitigation to the power crisis, Ang said.

The company teamed up with ABB Philippines, Fluence and Wartsila as its engineering, procurement, and construction contractors.

Samsung also provided San Miguel Global with advanced battery module technology that has no direct emissions in its operations.

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After celebrating its milestone 10th edition in 2022, the PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards returns in 2023, on the heels of a resurgent period of economic growth.

The 11th Annual PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards 2023, presented by Kohler and supported by Boysen Paints, is accepting for submissions to the open categories of the program. Submissions can be sent to: asiapropertyawards.com/nominations

Driven in part by increased consumer spending, the resurgence of domestic tourism, and a boost in the activity of small and large enterprises, the Philippines last year recorded its fastest rate of economic growth since 1976.

Positive signal

Jules Kay, general manager of PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards and Events, said: The Philippines remains a strong, innovative property market and a key contender in the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards regional series. Were excited for whats next from the Philippines as developers move ahead with highly anticipated projects across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

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Richard Raymundo, managing director of Colliers Philippines and a member of the independent judging panel of the Awards in the Philippines, said: This is a positive signal for the property market which, over the past decades, mirrored the boom-bust cycle of the countrys economic output. This economic expansion should support positive net take-up of office space in 2023 and continued rebound in Metro Manilas pre-selling and secondary residential markets.

Last week, Kay led a media event at the Fairmont Makati hotel launching the 2023 edition of the Awards in the Philippines. Joining him at the media launch were: Cyndy Tan Jarabata, chairperson of the judges of the Awards in the Philippines and president of TAJARA Leisure & Hospitality Group Inc.; Lloyd T. Tan, partner with Diaz Murillo Dalupan and Company  HLB Philippines, the Official Supervisor of the Awards; Junefer Llena, head of project sales for Kohler Kitchen and Bath Philippines, the platinum sponsor of the Awards; and John Richard Sotelo, senior vice-president and general manager of RLC Residences, representing the Best Developer titleholder of the 10th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards 2022.

The black-tie gala celebration of the awards program will take place at the main ballroom of the Fairmont Makati hotel on September 29.

Key dates for the 2023 edition:

14 JulyEntries Close

7 August1 September  Site Inspections

6 SeptemberFinal Judging

29 SeptemberGala Dinner and Awards Ceremony in Manila, Philippines

8 DecemberRegional Grand Final Gala Presentation in Bangkok, Thailand

Nominations and entries are being accepted online until 14 July: asiapropertyawards.com/nominations

Raising the bar

Robinsons Land garnered nine winning titles at the 10th edition of the PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards in 2022. It marked Robinsons Lands first win as Best Developer, the most prestigious title of the the Awards.

Developers from the Philippines went on to garner seven Best in Asia wins at the 17th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final 2022. This year, main country winners of the Awards in the Philippines also qualify to compete for regional honours at the 18th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final 2023 on December 8 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Established in 2005, the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards continue to reward high-caliber work within the industry, encompassing property development, construction, architecture, interior design, and sustainable building practices. The series has expanded over the years to cover the regions dynamic property markets, including Australia, the Chinese markets, Greater Niseko in Japan, and India.

Organised by PropertyGuru Group (NYSE: PGRU), Southeast Asias leading property technology company, the 11th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards are supported by platinum sponsor Kohler; gold sponsor Boysen Paints; official magazine Property Report by PropertyGuru; official publicity partner Ripple8; and official supervisor HLB.

For more information, email awards@propertyguru.com or visit the official website: AsiaPropertyAwards.com.

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday emphasized the importance of repair and maintenance of military assets as he inspected two C-130T aircraft that had been overhauled and upgraded.

The two units, worth $55.60 million, were acquired from the United States under the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program.

This developed as Speaker Martin G. Romualdez assured the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday night of the continued support of the House of Representatives for its modernization program.

MILITARY ASSETS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (third from right, top photo) and government officials inspect one of two C-130T aircraft at the Haribon Hangar in Clark Air Base, Pampanga. Meanwhile, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Artemio M Abu (second from right, bottom photo) welcomes United Kingdom Minister of State for Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan aboard BRP Teresa Magbanua at South Harbor in Manila (see related story on A2). Rey Baniquet, PCG Photo

He made the assurance during the House of Representatives-AFP fellowship series in Cebu City, which was attended by high-rankingmilitary officers led by Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino and other House members.

Maintenance and repair are key aspects of our operations as well as important decision points in the acquisition of additional assets, Mr. Marcos said during the inspection at the Haribon Hangar in Clark Air Base, Pampanga.

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I therefore direct the Philippine Air Force and the AFP (Armed Forcesof the Philippines) to continue developing your capabilities for conducting maintenance and repair to keep all our military assets ready to go, the President said.

Mr. Marcos told the troops to conduct routine checkups and to undertake regular aircraft engineering services to ensure safetyrequirements are met, and to provide extensive training to those whowill be flying and testing the aircraft.

He emphasized the key role aircraft play in times of calamity and emergencies.

We must be able to assess and to be able to respond quickly, the President said.

We cannot afford to waste any time in the mission to save lives, therefore the existence of these air assets is crucial to ensure thatinformation, aid, and responders are made available to effectively help affected areas, he said.

The Philippines procured the C-130 aircraft with tail numbers 5011 and 5040 in 2016 and sent them for extensive repair and maintenance last year, the PAF said.

The EDA Program enables the United States to meet foreign policyobjectives while simultaneously supporting its allies by improving their defense capabilities.

Meanwhile, the Speaker said the reconciled bill on the fixed term ofthe chief of staff and other officers would ensure balance, continuity, and professionalism in the AFP leadership.

The House of Representatives is committed to modernizing the ArmedForces of the Philippines as it is crucial to our nations sovereignty and security, he told his military audience.

Our military should be equipped with the latest technological advances and training to respond to the continuing threats that we face, Romualdez said.

He said proposals to amend RA (Republic Act) 11709, which fixes theterms of military officers, have been ratified.

The House leader pointed out that the amendatory bill would pave the way for a regular turnover of leadership, (which) is essential to maintaining a healthy and professional Armed Forces that isaccountable to the people it serves.

Regular turnover can ensure that new ideas and perspectives are constantly being introduced and that there is a healthy culture of competition and meritocracy within the Armed Forces, he said.

Under the bill amending RA 11709, the chief of staff would still enjoya fixed tenure of three years unless sooner replaced by the President, as the current law provides. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

However, the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Philippine Military Academy chiefs would have a shorter tour of duty of two years.

The retirement age of AFP personnel would be increased by one year to 57 years.

In his remarks, Speaker Romualdez stressed the role of the AFP in attaining national peace, stability, and prosperity.

Also on Friday, the Department of National Defense (DND) and thePhilippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) urged the public, especially the youth, to participate in this years Philippine Veterans Week (PVW) from April 5 to 12.

This is in line with the nations observance of the 81st anniversary of the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) on April 10.

A series of commemorative and special events will be held to memorialize the valor and heroic deeds of Filipino veterans, the DND and PVAO said in a joint statement on Friday.

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The European Union will still recognize certificates of Filipino seafarers, saying the Philippines has made serious developments to comply with maritime labor requirements, ABS-CBN reported Friday.

The country has made serious efforts to comply with the requirements, in particular in key areas like the monitoring, supervision and evaluation of training and assessment, the commission said in a statement also on Friday.

The European Mobility and Transport Commission last December warned that Filipino seafarers would be banned from working in the regional blocs jurisdiction if the Philippines did not comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers (STCW).

Around 50,000 Filipino seafarers working in European vessels were atrisk of losing their jobs because of the countrys repeated failure topass the European Maritime Safety Agency.

According to European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean, the Philippines provides a significant and valued part of the European and global shipping industrys maritime workforce  indeed, with roughly 50,000 Filipino masters and officers currently working on EU-flagged ships.

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The Philippines can count on our technical support to further improve the implementation and oversight of minimum education, training and certification requirements, as well as living and working conditions, the official said.

EU said its transport commission intends to provide the Philippines with technical assistance to further improve its education, training and certification system for seafarers, as was also discussed between EU President Ursula von der Leyen and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last December.

Mr. Marcos in February said the Philippine maritime industrys development is a top priority of his administration.

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Less than 24 hours after former President Donald Trump was indicted in connection to an investigation over hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign, a rally against Trump is expected to happen outside the Massachusetts State House on Friday.

The rally, according to a media advisory obtained by NBC 10 Boston, is said to happen at around noon as demonstrators are expected to hold signs reading Not Above the Law.

As Americans, we deserve leaders who follow the law, act honorably in our interests and govern in our name, the advisory said according to NBC 10. A grand jury of everyday Americans across race, background and party has indicted the former MAGA president for bribes and corruption, weighing the evidence and deciding he must stand trial.

The Manhattan Grand Jury voted to indict the twice-impeached former president for sending hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, according to the New York Times. What Trump is charged with has not been disclosed, he is expected to surrender to authorities next week. This is the first time a president, in or out of office, has received criminal charges.

While this is happening, Trump is making a third consecutive bid for the White House in 2024. Were he found guilty of any charges, he could still run for and be elected president.

Michael Cohen, Trumps former lawyer who testified as a key prosecution witness, paid porn actress Daniels $130,000 through a shell company he set up, to then be reimbursed by Trump, whose own company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses, according to the prosecution.

This recent series of events leading to the indictment was brought back into the spotlight after Trump claimed on Truth Social he would be arrested on March 21. This did not happen, instead generating attention on when the grand jury and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg would announce that Trump was indicted in connection to the investigation.
BOSTON  Columbus Lane Pederson missed the notice that cheap shots at Patrice Bergeron will be dealt with aggressively by the Bruins.

Last week it was Montreals Rem Pitlick, who got jumped by Brad Marchand for a late hit on the Boston captain. On Thursday, Pederson was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking Bergeron near his mouth with 10:50 left in the second period. It was originally ruled a major but reduced to a minor.

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Bostons Tyler Bertuzzi scored on the power play. Not long after Pederson returned, Trent Frederic was waiting for him, eager to engage. It wasnt much of a fight. At 6-foot-3, 214 pounds, Frederic has three inches and 22 pounds on Pederson.

Frederic went in swinging and immediately landed a heavy right hand to Pedersons chin that toppled the Blue Jacket forward. The officials quickly jumped in to prevent further damage.
State officials have suspended the license of an Athol dispensary after the owner  following regulatory violations and the resignations of some of his staff  threatened former employees in an Instagram video, at one point saying, you touch my business, I will kill you.

The Cannabis Control Commission suspended the license of the Athol dispensary Elev8 on March 24, a day after owner Oluwaseun Adedeji posted a video on his Instagram account in which he appeared to threaten violence against his former staff.

Adedeji did not respond to requests for comment by email or text. A phone call to his dispensary went unanswered.

According to the CCC, the states regulatory agency for the cannabis industry, officials notified Elev8 in February that the business had made substantial violations of regulations for the sale of marijuana, which it would need to correct or risk a license suspension.

Read more: Cannabis festival Extravaganja will return for 1st time since pandemic

The CCC said that notice prompted Adedeji to fire two employees. He later also dismissed one of his top executives, leading some of Elev8s staff to resign in protest.

After initially telling the CCC on March 22 that the dispensary was closed and fully compliant with state regulations, Adedeji posted a video to Instagram a day later in which he lashed out at the former employees and said the store was open, with him there alone.

In a shirtless video evidently filmed outside the dispensary, Adedeji told the former staff, if you step on my f---ing property without my permission... you will feel it.

Dont ever f--- with my business... Ill put a bounty on you, he said, before making a hand gesture that CCC officials took to represent a gun firing.

You touch my business, I will kill you, Adedeji said, before he paused and continued: No, boy. I will not kill you. You f--- with me Im gonna come for your everybody. Your whole family tree.

The CCC said Adedeji had acted with recklessness and represented an immediate or serious threat to the public health, safety, or welfare.

The agency suspended the license of the Athol dispensary, in addition to provisional licenses Adedeji received for dispensaries in Williamstown and Orange that have yet to open.

Adedeji also owns a dispensary in Eugene, Oregon, under the Elev8 brand. According to the CCC, the manager and retail staff of the Oregon store have also resigned amid the conflict between Adedeji and his staff.

The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission did not immediately respond to questions on the status of the Eugene store.

The Athol store was granted its full dispensary license in September 2020, the CCC said.

Adedeji was arrested in October on charges including indecent exposure and lewd, wanton and lascivious conduct. He is currently on probation after the charges were continued without a finding, an Orange District Court official said. Three other charges were dismissed in January.

The CCC was aware of Adedejis arrest and deferred to law enforcement authorities to handle any criminal matters, a spokesperson for the agency said.

After Adedeji failed to appear for a court hearing earlier this month, authorities issued a warrant for his arrest, the district court official said. Athol Police took Adedeji into custody on March 23, the department confirmed.

He is next due in court on April 14.

[The CCC] takes seriously the health and safety of patients and consumers who purchase product from licensed facilities, and the agents who staff them, a spokesperson for the agency said by email. Commission investigators had made several announced and unannounced visits to the dispensary and found multiple regulatory violations that the business was required to address.

On Feb. 8 of this year, Elev8 submitted a renewal of its license, which was set to expire on April 10, according to the CCC.

The agency responded, asking for additional information for the license renewal application. On Feb. 17, the CCC notified the dispensary that regulators had identified 10 substantial violations, which would need to be corrected by March 9, or the dispensary would risk discipline.

That day, Adedeji fired two employees who the CCC said lacked some trainings required under state regulations, the agency said.

Adedeji later named another employee as the interim chief executive officer of the business but fired her three weeks later, prompting the resignation of the Athol stores general manager in protest, the CCC said. According to the agency, the entire staff of the Oregon dispensary also resigned.

Adedeji told the CCC on March 22 that the Athol store was closed, but said in the Instagram video posted a day later that he was open for business and working alone at the store.

The CCC learned of the video the day it was posted and ordered the suspension soon after, the agency spokesperson said.

Mr. Adedejis invitation to the public and announcement on social media that he was alone at the Athol store posed a public safety risk because a single individual cannot adequately secure a Marijuana Establishment against potential theft or diversion, the CCC said in its suspension notice.

The agency also said that by threatening to commit acts of violence... [Adedeji] poses an immediate or serious threat to the public safety and welfare.

Adedeji has three weeks to request a hearing to appeal the suspension. The CCC did not respond to questions on if he had filed an appeal.

The CCC order also suspended seven other Elev8 employees from working at the dispensary. The order prohibited anyone besides Adedeji from accessing the dispensary and said he must receive CCC approval to do so.
At Cannabis of Worcester, a new dispensary opening next month at 62 Millbrook St., cannabis products are simply the start of what youll find there.

Steve Bowman, the companys COO, said he wants the dispensary to be a community space where customers can find not just cannabis but work by local artists, products from local businesses and more.

Its kind of a Worcester base and everything that we do is focused around whats there, Bowman said.

Cannabis of Worcester is planning to open in the next two weeks, once it receives its final approval from the state Cannabis Control Commission. Once the doors are open, Bowman hopes to have a different local business come to do a pop-up in their space, and plans to reach out to local artists to show their work and commission a mural in the entryway of Worcester-related imagery.

We really want to be an experience. We want you to walk in the door and never know what to expect, Bowman said. One day you walk in and theres a coffee roaster and theyre giving out samples or promoting their product. And another day, its a local jewelry vendor, you know, and so on and so forth. It makes you want to come in here for other reasons.

The dispensary was originally approved in 2019 as a subsidiary of Harvest Health and Recreation, a national company. However, in 2021, when Harvest merged with Trulieve, a company with three other dispensary locations in Massachusetts, including one in Worcester, the company was forced to relinquish the license as state law only allows a single company to operate three dispensaries.

Bowman said that operating as an independent company allows Cannabis of Worcester to sell a wider variety of products, including those from smaller, craft cultivators throughout the state, describing the companys culture as a grassroots mentality.

With larger companies that are vertically integrated, they have a need to sell their own stuff. So if youre one of those large retailers, they grow it, they package it, they sell in their retail stores, and then 75% of what they sell is their product, Bowman said. Well have everything that you would expect in a dispensary, but at the same time, were making a lot of close connections to smaller companies that dont have the opportunity to sell, especially in a city like this.

Read more: Cannabis festival Extravaganja will return for 1st time since pandemic

Bowman said that at most dispensaries, more than half of sales are through online orders, and he expects the same to be true for Cannabis of Worcester. For those that come in to the store, which is mostly painted in the companys signature bright yellow, they will find six registers including a preorder pickup and an express line and multiple sales workers on the floor with iPads to help customers who arent sure what theyre looking for.

Bowman himself got into cannabis a few years ago, he said, using edibles as a replacement for an Ambien prescription, and he said many of the people who come to dispensaries are not frequent smokers but looking for a similar experience.

Cannabis is expanding so much beyond just the average smoker, he said. Theres a lot of people that are coming in for whether its sleep, pain, anxiety, depression. Theres so many things that people are using it for. And being a recreational facility, it kind of is a welcoming place for people to come in for education.
Late night talk show host Conan OBrien was recently spotted on the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The school is a private research university in Worcester.

According to a post on social media, an unofficial Twitter account of the Worcester Airport shared a picture of OBrien posing with a fan on Wednesday.

The tweet was captioned Conan sighting at WPI. You can view the tweet here.

Worcester School Committee member Jermoh Kamara retweeted and replied to the tweet of OBrien with the fan telling followers that OBrien was on the campus on Tuesday roughly around 2-3 p.m.

I saw the man walking by with a few students when I busy & far away in our dance studio at the Rec Center. Glad a few of our students were able to take a picture with him, she tweeted.

This isnt the first run-in the comedian has had with Worcester.

In 2019, OBrien went on The Late Show to talk about the results of a DNA test his doctor gave him. He shared that hes 100 percent Irish, and his ancestors immigrated to Boston during the Civil War, eventually settling in Worcester, MassLive previously reported.

During the brief mention, an audience member cheered.

Dont woo Worcester. No one woos Worcester. Its un-woo-able, OBrien responded.
The Springfield Fire Department responded to a five-vehicle crash near 381 Cooley St. that sent five to the hospital  four adults and one child, according to department officials.

Springfield Fire Captain Drew Piemonte said there were four fire department units that went to the area with multiple patients to rescue and assess.

People got out of their own vehicles, but several were injured.

Springfield Fire Department officials respond to a crash at 381 Cooley St. in Springfield on Friday morning. (Springfield Fire Department photo)

They were serious injuries, but non-life-threatening, Piemonte said.

The stretch of Cooley Street where the accident took place contains a Stop & Shop and a Walgreens.

Piemonte said police are investigating the accident. Calls to Springfield Police Department spokesman Ryan Walsh were not immediately returned.
Massachusetts highest court ruled on Thursday that the city of Boston had the right to require municipal workers to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. The recent ruling is a loss for three of Bostons police and fire unions that tried to sue the city, arguing that Boston officials had to bargain with workers before implementing the policy.

In a 25-page opinion, Associate Justice Elspeth Cypher of the Supreme Judicial Court wrote that the city of Boston did not need to bargain with the citys unions before implementing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Given the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and its threat to the health and safety of the public, the decision to remove the testing alternative in the defendants COVID-19 policy constituted a nondelegable policy decision that could not be the subject of decision bargaining because any such requirement would have impinged directly on the defendants ability to provide essential public safety services to city residents, Cypher wrote.

Wus vaccine mandate was implemented in December of 2021 as a way to combat the widespread of the Omicron variant in the city.

The union plaintiffs listed in the opinion were quick to resist Wus policy. In January 2022, the unions filed an immediate injunction to the Suffolk Superior Court to block the citys vaccine. However, the Superior Court denied their injunction.

But, in February of 2022, a single justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court Judge Sabita Singh reversed the Superior Courts decision, restraining the city of Boston from enforcing its vaccine mandate.

The Supreme Judicial Courts ruling paves the way for future public health policies the mayors office wishes to impose.

Our administration will always make decisions to protect the health and safety of our residents, workers, and community members, a spokesperson for the mayors office said in a statement. Yesterdays court decision affirms that our policies were grounded in sound medical guidance and the public interest at a time of emergency, and it makes absolutely clear that the City of Boston had and continues to have full authority to act in the interest of public health and safety, both last winter and in the future.

Despite the decision in Wus favor, the court also questioned whether the citys three-week deadline for municipal workers to get vaccinated was reasonable and necessary, compared to the states two-month deadline. However, that matter is to be determined by the Department of Labor which received a claim from the citys fire union Boston Firefighters Local 718.

The Courts decision in no way impacts the recent agreement between Local 718 and the City, and the Covid-19 mandate remains unenforceable to the members of Local 718, said Leah Barrault, an attorney for the union.

Patrick Bryant, an attorney for the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, said the union was disappointed in the Supreme Judicial Courts ruling.

But the decision is unlikely to have any immediate impact. The City has never implemented the vaccine mandate as to a single of its 18,000 employees, Bryant said in an email statement. The City finally agreed this month to drop the never-enforced policy.
A Cohasset man accused of killing his wife whos been reported missing since shortly after New Years Day was indicted by a grand jury Thursday.

Brian Walshe, a 47-year-old Cohasset man, was indicted by a Norfolk County Grand Jury for murder in the killing of his wife Ana Walshe, 39. He faces a charge of murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body in connection with his wifes death, according to the Norfolk County District Attorneys Office.

Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty to the charges.

On Jan. 4, Ana Walshe was reported missing by her employer, a property management company based in Washington, D.C.

Authorities have not released any information regarding the whereabouts of Ana Walshes body, nor of how they reached the conclusion that she was dead.

In the police investigation, it was initially believed Ana Walshe had gone missing during the early morning hours of Jan. 1. Brian Walshe had told police his wife left early for Boston Logan Airport on New Years Day for an emergency at her job in D.C. Still, police found no record of Ana Walshe ever taking a plane, nor of reaching the airport at all.

In the following days, Cohasset police stated Brian Walshe had reported his wife as missing simultaneously with her employer, but police later clarified during Brian Walshes arraignment that he had never made any such report.

According to prosecutors, Jan. 2 video surveillance shows Brian Walshe purchasing hundreds of dollars of cleaning supplies, including mops, drop clothes and various kinds of tape, from a Home Depot in Rockland. They also stated Brian Walshe had told police he had only left the home in Cohasset on that day to get ice cream for one of his children. However, surveillance footage shows Walshe in Home Depot at that time even though he said he never left the house, a prosecutor stated.

On Jan. 9, authorities originally arrested Brian Walshe on charges of misleading a police investigation, prosecutors stated Walshe lied to police about his whereabouts during the timeframe of Ana Walshes disappearance.

A release from the Norfolk County District Attorneys Office stated Massachusetts State Police and detectives from Cohasset Police conducted a search for Ana Walshe north of Boston on Monday, Jan. 9, which resulted in a number of items being collected including blood and a damaged bloody knife in the basement of the Walshes Cohasset home, according to Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey.

Internet searches for how to dispose of a 115-pound womans body, and topics of dismemberment were also found on Brian Walshes phone, according to CNN. The outlet stated the information came from two private law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation.

He would be charged in the murder of his wife in Quincy District Court on Jan. 17 before the case was moved to Norfolk Superior Court Thursday.

Brian Walshe is expected to be arraigned on the grand jury indictment within the coming weeks, a date has not yet been set on the arraignment.

This is only a step in a long process, during which Brian Walshe enjoys the Constitutional presumption of innocence and all of the protections afforded him under the Constitution, Morrissey said.
Following the news that former President Donald Trump is facing a criminal charge in Manhattan, many politicians in western Massachusetts reacted to the news with a mixture of relief and elation. Academics at nearby higher institutions pondered what the news that for the first time in the nations history a former president was charged with a crime would mean in the coming months and years.

It is a historic moment, said Ray LaRaja, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

While others  former Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Bill Clinton come to mind  have struck deals with prosecutors on different transgressions, no ex-president has ever been charged with a crime.

LaRaja said he is a little disappointed that the Manhattan grand jury completed its investigation and issued an indictment before a Georgia grand jury completed its work in a probe of Trump and his allies efforts to overturn the states 2020 election results.

Politically speaking, Im not sure (the New York indictment) is the best path to hold Trump accountable, he said. It packs a punch. It is clearly affects citizens and their constitutional rights.

How this will impact Trumps efforts to run for a second term in office is difficult to predict since the former president has proven that he is a genius in making offensive statements and pulling outrageous stunts and surviving, LaRaja said.

It will either help him raise money and solidify his base but many, especially independent voters, are already tiring of Trump and this may be another stick added to the fire, he said.

Some of it may also depend on how the prosecutor plays his hand since it will be a challenge to pull off the case without making it overly political, LaRaja said.

Jennifer Taub is a professor of law at Western New England University whose book, Big Dirty Money: The Shocking Injustice and Unseen Cost of White Collar Crime was published in 2020.

I feel like I just found out Santa Claus is real, Taub said. I think this begins a season of indictments. I had given up hope on this. This is to me the sign that no one is above the law. And no one deserves accountability more than this guy.

She expects Trump and his legal team to challenge the indictments.

In addition to the criminal investigation in Georgia, Taub also expects Trump to face a federal indictment through the efforts of Jack Smith, the special counsel for Trump inquiries. The federal cases could involve the secret documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago and, separately, Trumps role in fomenting the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S Capitol.

I think this is going to be a busy season, Taub said. He may enjoy the attention.

Meanwhile, some local Republicans echoed the statements made by national Republican leaders who called the indictment politically motivated.

Sid Starks of East Longmeadow is on the state Republican Committee representing parts of Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester counties.

My feeling is this: Look, Trump was one-of-a-kind as far as his mannerisms go, Starks said. But you have to admit. Gas was cheaper. 401(k)s were doing better.

I feel the indictment is purely political, he said. Thats all you can say.

U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, released a statement following the indictment saying indictment was not political in nature because the Manhattan grand jury weighted the evidence and considered the law before making its vote. As the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, the congressman took over the election certification meeting of the house and senate on Jan. 6, 2021, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi was whisked away when rioters broke into the capital building. He was the last to leave the house floor that day.

His campaign manager, deputy campaign manager, chief strategist, national security advisor, personal lawyer, and accountant are all convicted felons. Like a mob boss, he surrounded himself with a cult of criminals who took the fall for him  and now the jig is up, McGovern said. Fraudulently using campaign contributions as hush money to cover up an affair is illegal. So illegal that Trumps own lawyer went to jail for handling the payments.

McGoverns colleague, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, did not return requests for comment.

In November, Neal obtained Trumps tax returns and supporting documents from the IRS after a three-year legal fight with Trump that made it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court where Neal won.

House lawyers told him not to appear on cable television discussing the taxes, to be vague when questioned in person and not to refer to the Trump tax case in any fundraising.

Besides shedding light on Trumps business dealings, the documents proved the IRS did not audit the former presidents taxes regularly and none of the mandatory audits had been completed as required by federal regulation.

It also, for Neal, affirmed Congress oversight responsibilities keeping presidential power in check.

Greater Springfield NAACP President Bishop Talbert W. Swan II said it was about time that Trump faced an indictment and many people are breathing sighs of relief that the former president is facing accountability.

When asked what this indictment means for America, Swan said the country has always struggled with the equal distribution of justice.

Wealthy, connected, white males have often been able to circumvent levels of accountability that other people, particularly Black people, and other non-white people in this nation have not been able to get around, Swan said. I think it bodes well for the nation when it reaches up to the highest levels of privilege, and says were going to hold you accountable.

State Rep. Bud L. Williams, D-Springfield, said, while noting the former president is innocent until proven guilty, the indictment of Trump restores faith in the justice system of this country.

I think it just proves that no one is above the law, whether you are a president or just a common individual walking State Street, Williams said.

Meanwhile, Anthony Cignoli, a political consultant and owner of AL Cignoli Co. of Springfield, said, no one should be gleeful that a former president is being indicted. This happens in other places not here.

Already Trump has been trying raise money following the announcement and firing up his right-wing base to get their support, Cignoli said.

But Democrats could also face backlash from the indictment, he said.

They have to be careful not to look too gleeful. There are a lot of ways this could go sideways, he said.

Cignoli said consultants are also worried a Black district attorney from New York will be vilified. What does that do to further worsen the worst kind of politics?
SPRINGFIELD  Two staff members were transported to the hospital on Thursday from the Rebecca M. Johnson Elementary School after reports of a locker fire.

The staff members suffered non-life-threatening injuries, said Azell Cavaan, spokesperson for Springfield Public Schools.

We are extremely grateful that no student injuries have been reported because of the fire at Rebecca Johnson Elementary School today, Cavaan said.
In 2000, a man broke into a 13-year-olds bedroom and sexually assaulted her, officials said. Twenty-two years later, the suspect was arrested and charged.

On Oct. 18, 2000, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan claims Roger W. Reddick Jr. broke into a Cambridge home and went to a the bedroom of the 13-year-old. He then rushed to her bed, covered her mouth with his hand, and ordered her to be quiet, the district attorney said, adding that he then sexually assaulted her.

During the attack, officials said, Reddick asked how old she was. She told him 13.

Read more: Brian Walshe indicted on murder charge in death of wife Ana Walshe

Eventually, the 13-year-old was able to escape and ran out of her bedroom, screaming for help.

The intruder followed her out of the bedroom, then ran past her down a flight of stairs and out of the house, Ryans office said.

Cambridge Police attempted to look for Reddick but were unable to find him. They recovered a finger print on a jewelry box and a pair of green patterned mens boxer shorts from the scene, they said. The finger print led them to Reddick. However, technology at the time couldnt give officials what they needed to charge the suspect.

In September of 2022, the Cold Case Unit began a renewed examination of this case working with the crime laboratory, which was able to utilize the advances in technology that had occurred since the original testing, the district attorneys office said in a statement. They were able to identify Roger Reddick, Jr. as the source of the major DNA profile on the green boxers.

At the time of the attack, Reddick lived in Cambridge, less than half a mile from the 13-year-olds home.

Reddick was arraigned Thursday on three counts of rape of a child with force in the Cambridge District Court.

This case is every parents nightmare  a violent stranger entering your home in the middle of the night and assaulting your child in their bed. When I started the Cold Case Unit, I made a commitment that we would take every opportunity to use advances in technology to proceed with previously uncharged cases. This case is a perfect example of that work and I am grateful that we are able to begin the process of holding the defendant accountable for the events of that evening, said Ryan.
A man was arrested and is facing charges after police said he kicked one person into a train pit and later stabbed another person at an apartment.

Kedrian Perry Marshall, 23, of Whitman, was charged with attempted murder after MBTA Transit Police said he violently kicked an unsuspecting person into the pit at an MBTA stop Tuesday. WCVB reported the person kicked was a 16-year-old victim. They declined medical services and werent injured, police said.

Thank God he didnt hit the third rail or something. But you know, my kid, my son is only a 16-year-old kid that lives in South End and he goes to East Boston and he takes the train every day. And its a little tough because we already lost a son, the teens father, Melvin Gonzalez, told the news station.

Read more: Brian Walshe indicted on murder charge in death of wife Ana Walshe

On Tuesday night, the Whitman Police Department said they believe Marshall also stabbed a 27-year-old man at an apartment on Myrtle Avenue.

The 27-year-old had multiple stab wounds on his head and upper body, police said. He was taken to the hospital but is expected to recover.

Police said they reviewed surveillance videos and photos from the area of the incident. They then shared those photos with law enforcement partners, including Boston Transit Police. They also searched the area near the apartment complex Tuesday but were unable to find Marshall.

Marshall was arrested by MBTA Transit Police on Wednesday.
The U.S. legal system will venture into uncharted territory with the first indictment of a former president.

The Manhattan District Attorneys Office publicly confirmed on Thursday that Donald Trump will face criminal charges for his role in payments made in 2016 to silence claims of extramarital affairs. Although the exact charges remain sealed, political pundits for years have contended that Trump not only disguised hush money payments to porn star actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal but he used presidential campaign funds in a potential violation of campaign finance laws.

So what does a grand jury indictment mean? Will his mug shots and fingerprints be taken? Will Trump be seen in handcuffs? Trumps grand jury indictment explained:

What is a grand jury indictment?

For prosecutors to bring forward felony criminal charges, they must impanel and present evidence to an impartial group of citizens called a grand jury. Witnesses may be called to testify, evidence is shown and a preliminary outline of the case is presented to the grand jury, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

When a person is indicted, they are given formal notice that it is believed that they committed a crime. The indictment contains the basic information that informs the person of the charges against them, according to the Justice Department.

The grand jury must vote in secret on whether there is strong enough evidence to officially charge a person with a crime. If a grand jury decides not to charge an individual based on the evidence, then there can be no indictments. Proceedings and statements made before a grand jury are sealed, meaning the public cannot know the evidence, according to the Justice Department.

For certain crimes, a grand jury is constitutionally required. It allows for a group of unbiased citizens to decide on the evidence before voting to charge an individual with a crime.

Grand juries are made up of about 16 to 23 people and at least 12 jurors must agree on ordering an indictment.

Will Donald Trump be arrested?

Nearly two weeks ago, Trump posted on his site Truth Social about his impending indictment and urged his supporters to PROTEST.

The preparations for Trumps indictment have gone on since with an increase in patrols in downtown Manhattan and all New York Police Department officers of all ranks were called to duty in uniform on Friday, according to the New York Times.

As for the spectacle of an arrest, Trumps lawyers are working with the Manhattan district attorney to make the booking process as smooth as possible, per reports in the Associated Press and other news outlets.

Were working out those logistics right now, Joseph Tacopina, a lawyer representing Trump, said on NBCs Today show Friday morning. Hes not gonna hole up in Mar-a-Lago.

Trump is expected to turn himself in on Tuesday for arraignment in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, according to one of his lawyers, Susan Necheles, the New York Times reported.

The chances of seeing Trump in handcuffs appear unlikely with a decision on how Trump appears in court remaining unclear. It is likely prosecutors will want to avoid a perp walk for the former president, but Trump reportedly told friends and associates he would welcome the idea of being paraded by authorities before a mass of reporters and news cameras, the New York Times reported.

Tacopia also insisted Trump would not take a plea deal, and said, There is no crime.

The booking process, however, will be no different than any other person charged with a federal crime. He will be read his Miranda warning, his right to an attorney, and then will be processed in booking with a mug shot, fingerprints and lots of paperwork.

Its safe to say it will be a complete circus, and thats an understatement, Matt Dallek, a presidential historian, told USA Today. I doubt they will cuff him. But my understanding is he will need to be fingerprinted and take a mug shot.

At the arraignment, Trump will learn more about the charges brought against him as part of the cases initial hearing. It will be up to the judge assigned to the case whether Trump is detained following the arrangement as his case is pending  and nothing is stopping him from continuing his presidential campaign as the case proceeds.

How long until a trial?

In all likelihood, a trial is several months away. Even if both sides agreed to a speedy trial, the legal and constitutional questions of trying a former president of the United States are gargantuan.

The legal imbroglio is expected to roll into the next year and the 2024 primary season.

With the charges brought by a local district attorney, meaning the case would take place in state court, legal experts anticipate Trumps lawyers will try to move the case to federal court by arguing that some of the hush money payments took place while Trump was president  therefore a state court should have no authority.

For context, a criminal tax case against the Trump Organization brought by the Manhattan district attorneys office in the same court in 2021 took nearly 15 months to reach a trial, according to Politico. A jury convicted Trump on all 17 felony charges last December.

Trump boasted in 2016 that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and wouldnt lose any voters. He faces a legal threat to his liberty from that very same borough.
SPRINGFIELD  The night manager of the Mardi Gras strip club made off with $25,000 in cash hours before the bar abruptly closed, according to police.

The storied nightclub was sold to a New York investor days before, leaving the bars future uncertain, the owners attorney said. But the theft, captured on a surveillance camera, may have accelerated the closing.

Nighttime manager Christopher Fettes, 41, of 91 Taylor St., was caught on the footage taking cash from a safe in the office and leaving the bar just after 3 a.m., a Springfield police report states.

Co-owner Anthony Santaniello called police when he came in that morning and found the safe empty. There were no signs of forced entry, police said.

Officers reviewed the footage with Mr. Santaniello which showed that Mr. Fettes entered the office at 2:40 a.m. and exited at 2:47 with two black bags, one in each hand. Mr. Santaniello recognized these bags to be the same bags used to transport money throughout the building and to the bank, the report says.

Fettes left on foot at 3:03 a.m. and headed toward Bridge Street, the report said.

An arrest in the case has not yet been made.

Rich Herbert, a lawyer for the new owner of the building, said Fettes, who lived above the Mardi Gras was served an eviction notice the day before the alleged theft.

Herbert said his client intended to meet with the other tenants this week. Herbert said the 350 Restaurant and Smokey Joes Cigar Bar & Lounge, both tenants in the building, will be allowed to remain along with Creep Sheek hair salon. Also staying is Chef Waynes food kiosk outside.

On Thursday, a handwritten sign reading Mardi Gras closed was hastily tacked up on the 350 Worthington St. entrance, three days after news broke that New York City investor Zahoor Riaz purchased the building that housed the strip club, and other businesses, for $2.3 million.

Hours later, a message went out on the bars Facebook page.

We want to thank everyone who has supported the business ... an end to an Era!! We are officially closed! it read.

An exotic dancer and a customer at the Mardi Gras in this file photo from 1993. (Staff file photo by Don Treeger)

The strip club had been open since the 1970s, according to Santaniellos attorney, Daniel D. Kelly.

The alleged heist seemed a fitting end to a bar that had a wildly successful run  and whose history was steeped in organized crime lore. Regular patrons included mobsters who glommed onto the bars profits over the years.

Bar principal James Santaniello had been identified in FBI records as having been associated with organized crime. Greedy gangsters shook him down for decades.

The bar and James Santaniellos Longmeadow home were raided by federal agents in 2019, along with the former Adolfos restaurant one block down on Worthington Street.

Sources told The Republican at the time that the searches were the fruits of a sting after undercover IRS agents, posing as Russian cash buyers out of New York, tried to gain access to business ledgers.

Agents from the IRS Criminal Investigation Division were at Adolfo's on Worthington Street in October 2019. FBI agents were at the nearby Mardi Gras as well. (Greg Saulmon / The Republican / MassLive)Greg Saulmon / The Republican

James Santaniello remains under investigation, law enforcement sources say.
Investigators have determined what caused the deadly fire on Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford on Tuesday, which displaced about a dozen residents, left five seriously injured and killed two residents who have both been identified.

The fire began on the second floor of a rooming-style house in Room 205, caused by a microwave used a short time before the fire started or the wall outlet it was connected to, according to the Department of Fire Services State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskeys office.

Firefighters rescued about 24 residents, along with five occupants seriously injured and taken to St. Lukes Emergency Department, with one person in serious condition while one man in critical condition was taken to Rhode Island Hospital. Residents Manuel Moreira, 59, and Wayne Bourdon, 63, were both identified as the two deceased victims of the fire.

Our thoughts are still with the families who lost loved ones, the residents who were injured, and those who lost all their belongings, New Bedford Chief Scott Kruger said in a statement. Id like to express my deep appreciation to the New Bedford firefighters and mutual aid departments who put everything they had into containing this fire and protecting the surrounding structures.

Firefighters arrived at around 3:15 p.m. at the burning building, where some occupants were hanging from the windows and jumping from the building to escape the danger inside, Ostroskeys office said.

Demolition and excavation equipment was used to find the second victim by Wednesday afternoon, Boston.com reported. By 6 p.m., firefighters said they had the blaze under control but continued to extinguish hot spots for hours afterward, according to Ostroskeys office.

Appliances that generate heat, like microwaves and toasters, should always be plugged directly into a wall outlet, Ostroskey said in the statement. Dont use them if the device or the cord is damaged. And call an electrician if outlets are warm, discolored, or loose  these are signs that the outlet is not safe to use.

The New Bedford Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshals office, and state police assigned to the Bristol District Attorneys office all assisted the fire department in the investigation.
On the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston, a tiny group of people held a rally in response to the recent indictment of former President Donald Trump, who is accused of sending hush money payments to an adult film actress.

This is a sad day in America that former president Donald Trump was indicted, but we have to acknowledge the wheels of justice are moving, said Laurie Woodard Garcia, one of the three ralliers outside the statehouse.

Garcia, who is a community volunteer for Public Citizen, a nonprofit advocacy organization, encouraged people to research more about president Trumps indictment.

We have to support where the facts go, Garcia said. We have to be willing to encourage America to be open and to listen and to pay attention to facts.

Across the street from the trio of ralliers was Bob Hartwell, 69, of Boston who sat in a chair while holding a sign that partially read, M.A.G.A FOREVER. IM ALL IN WITH DONALD TRUMP.

Its just dividing this country big time, Hartwell said, adding that he believes Trumps charges will be thrown out of court and that the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will go up against disbarment charges for abuse of power.

Its all a bunch of lies, Hartwell said in regard to allegations against Trump.

A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict former President Trump on Thursday. Four people with knowledge of the matter told New York Times reporters that a Manhattan grand jury has decided to indict former President Trump for hush money payments he made during the 2016 presidential campaign to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

The Times report said the exact charges in connection with the matter have yet to be disclosed.

Trump is set to be the first president, former or sitting, to face a potential prison sentence. Ulysses Grant was the first president to be arrested following back-to-back speeding incidents driving a carriage in 1872.

After the indictment is processed, Trump will be arrested, arraigned and go to trial for the charges which have yet to be released. Even if Trump is found guilty of the potential charges, he will still be able to run for president. There is no other legislation or limitations preventing anyone in prison to run for the highest office in the land.

The Manhattan grand jury is investigating money paid during Trumps 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged that they had extramarital sexual encounters with him.

Trump has denied the allegations.

Michael Cohen, Trumps former lawyer, who has testified as a key prosecution witness, paid porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 through a shell company he set up and was then reimbursed by Trump, whose company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses, according to the prosecution.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this article.
SPRINGFIELD  U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal said Friday that while Donald Trumps indictment makes him the first former U.S. president charged with a crime, it hardly makes him unique globally.

I think there are mature democracies that have had these kinds of episodes, Neal, D-Springfield, said.

Neal, who is ranking Democrat on the House Ways & Means Committee, said news of Trumps indictment broke Thursday while he was traveling back to the district from Washington. He announced funding Friday for Westfield State University.

Nobody is above the law is a principle that is baked into our constitutional system, he said. I think its important that we keep perspective on that.

In November, Neal won a three-year court fight with Trump over access to his tax documents. Trump had been the first presidential candidate not to release tax documents since Richard Nixon. Neal said the case was about Congress responsibility to oversee the presidency.

House lawyers told him not to appear on cable television discussing the taxes, to be vague when questioned in person and not to refer to the Trump tax case in any fundraising.

Besides shedding light on Trumps business dealings, the documents proved the IRS did not audit Trumps taxes regularly and none of the mandatory audits have been completed as required by federal regulation.

Im very proud of the fact that during the long court quest nothing was ever leaked, Neal said Friday. We maintained the integrity of the process. I was not going to bend to the whims of the public on either side.
A motorcyclist killed in a crash in Easton on Wednesday night has been confirmed by police to be Violence in Boston co-founder Clark Grant, who had been facing a federal fraud investigation over misuse of funds.

Grant was found lying in the road by Easton officers after they arrived at the sight of a crash at around 5:50 p.m. near 479 Turnpike St. and Route 138, police said on Facebook.

Read more: Brian Walshe indicted on murder charge in death of wife Ana Walshe

Police performed CPR on Grant, who suffered from traumatic injuries. He was treated by Easton firefighters and transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton where he later died from his injuries, police said.

A preliminary investigation found that Grant was traveling southbound on Turnpike Street on a Honda motorcycle, Easton police said. In the area of 479 Turnpike Street, just south of the intersection with Foundry Street, a Grand Jeep Cherokee driven by a 40-year-old Brockton resident and with a 9-year-old passenger exited a parking lot to head north.

Neither of the Jeeps occupants was injured after Grants motorcycle collided with the vehicle, police said.

The investigation led by Easton police detectives, with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police, remains ongoing, Easton Police Chief Keith Boone said in a statement.

In July 2022, the Grants shut down Violence of Boston amidst a federal fraud investigation, MassLive previously reported. The Taunton couple has been charged by a federal grand jury in a 27-count superseding indictment, returned today with three counts of wire fraud conspiracy; 17 counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy; and one count of making false statements to a mortgage lending business, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins office said on March 9.

The duo received public and private funding and donations to support their mission, but instead used the money for things unrelated to the organization, including hotels, groceries, gas, meals, food deliveries and vacations, among other activities, according to federal investigators in 2022.

Read more: Two adults and dog died in Springfield fire Thursday morning

Prior reporting added that the pair collected roughly $100,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance while simultaneously collecting a variety of incomes, including from Violence in Boston. Officials said the husband and wife told funders that the nonprofit did not pay salaries.
A March 8 guest commentary in The Westfield News, titled Dollars, Efforts Being Wasted on Climate, Racism, Ukraine Fights, presented a smug belittling of liberal efforts to combat problems that are very real, and it offered no alternative solutions. Then, a followup March 28 commentary, titled Progressive Policies Reflect Negative Changes in Americas Culture, doubles down and uses seemingly admirable references to the Greatest Generation to mask underlying resentment of efforts to advocate for oppressed groups.

The writer begins by expressing feigned embarrassment for his knowledge of the meaning of LGBTQIA and interprets related progressive efforts for change as worship of oneself. Well, did the Massachusetts gay couple who were denied a marriage license and who then filed a lawsuit which led to the legalization of same-sex marriage have a legitimate grievance? Or were they just self-absorbed attention-seekers?

The writer then tells us that we should be outraged by costumed, diversity-themed storytelling in schools. Well, was he equally outraged by the 1998 beating of Matthew Shepard for the crime of being gay, and who was left to die on a Wyoming cattle fence? Or by the 2016 murder of 49 at a gay nightclub in Orlando? Did he write three-column commentaries to express outrage after each of those happenings?
WESTFIELD  Westfield police officers took time out during the day on March 29 to read to first graders in all six elementary schools in the city about their work keeping people safe.

Police Lt. Eric Hall, who runs the community services unit, reached out to the School Department several months ago about having the officers come in.
MarkNtel Advisors has released a brand-new research study with a thorough analysis of the Bladder Cancer Treatment Market. Stakeholders can profit from the factual market research report with all the crucial and helpful details about this market. The report includes an evaluation of the immediate and long-term effect of the rapidly changing market scenario. The report covers every significant aspect of the market, including market statistics, growth, investment opportunities, significant key players, analysis of the growing competition, industry facts, key data, revenues, sales, prices, gross margins, business strategies, market shares, leading geographic markets, demand, and recent developments.

Along with this, the report covers the following aspects:

Forecasts and Market Sizing

Relevant Strategies for Industries

Trending niche markets

New trends in sustainability & Inventive Trends

Assessment of the Distribution Channels

Customer Cognizance

Consumer surveys

Primary interviews with experts and extensive secondary research

Get Download A Free Sample PDF of This Study, For a Complete Understanding of the Market Growth Scenario  Download Now Its Free

Report Coverage Details Study Period Historical Data: 2017-20 Base Year: 2021 Forecast Period: 2022-27 CAGR (2022-27) 4.6% Regions Covered North America: The US, Canada, Mexico Europe: Germany, The UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific: China, Japan, India, Australia, South East Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific South America: Brazil, Rest of Latin America Middle East & Africa: South Africa, GCC, Rest of Middle East & Africa Key Companies Profiled AstraZeneca PLC, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Novartis International AG, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi, Others Unit Denominations USD Million/Billion

Report Table of Content

Introduction Research Process Assumption Market Segmentation Market Definition Executive Summary Global Bladder Cancer Market Trends & Insights Global Bladder Cancer Market Regulation & Policy, By Country Global Bladder Cancer Market Dynamics Growth Drivers Challenges Impact Analysis Global Bladder Cancer Market Hotspot and Opportunities Global Bladder Cancer Market Outlook, 2017- 2027

Continue TOC

Market Geographical Division and Growth Data  In terms of Geographical level, the Bladder Cancer Treatment industry is split into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, the Middle East & Africa region. Amongst all regions globally, North America is anticipated to dominate the Bladder Cancer Market with the largest share during 2022-27. It attributes to various aspects, including the rapidly growing patient pool for bladder cancer, rigorous R&D activities across the healthcare sector, especially in the field of oncology, massive investments in developing new drugs for cancer treatment, well-established healthcare facilities, and the extensive presence of leading biotech & pharmaceutical companies across the region.

Growth Challenges Available in the Market  The high diagnosis & treatment costs are challenging the affordability of many bladder cancer patients across different corners of the world. Besides, there is less awareness among people about these treatments and the unavailability of diagnostic centers, especially across rural areas. These aspects are likely to hamper the fledged growth of the Global Bladder Cancer Market through 2027.

Major Market Players of Bladder Cancer Treatment Industry:

This report is a valuable resource for players, stakeholders, and other market participants will aid to obtain the upper hand in the market. The market is marked by fierce rivalry as a result of the existence of numerous well-known international players. To increase their market presence, market players concentrate especially on inorganic development strategies like mergers and acquisitions and collaborations. This section includes information such as:

Company Profile and Business Overview

Business tactics & strategies adopted by major players

Porters Five Forces Model, SWOT Analysis, and Risk Analysis

Key performance indicators, recent development, regional presence, financial performance

Want To Discuss Further By Talking with Our Analyst Send Your Call Back Request Here  Schedule A Call Now

Market participants profiled in this report with the above-stated information are: 

 AstraZeneca PLC

 Bristol Myers Squibb

 Eli Lilly and Company

 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG

 GlaxoSmithKline PLC

 Novartis International AG

 Pfizer Inc.

 Sanofi

 Others

Complete Segmentation Analysis:

This study provides an analysis of the most recent market trends in each of the sub-segments from 2022 to 2027 and projects revenue growth at the global, regional, and national levels. MarkNtel Advisors has divided the Bladder Cancer Treatment Market report into segments based on the following criteria:

By Diagnosis

Cystoscopy

Urine Tests

Imaging

Biopsy

By Cancer Type

Urothelial Carcinoma

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Adenocarcinoma

By Treatment

Surgery

Chemotherapy Cisplatin Gemcitabine Fluorouracil (5-FU) Mitomycin Others (doxorubicin, etc.)

Immunotherapy Atezolizumab (Tecentriq) Avelumab (Bavencio) Nivolumab (Opdivo) Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) Enfortumab vedotin (Padcev) Sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy)

Radiation Therapy

Targeted Therapy Erdafitinib (Balversa)



By End-User

Hospitals

Specialty Cancer Centers

Others (Ambulatory Surgery Centers, etc.)

It offers accurate and thorough market size and volume analysis for the Bladder Cancer Treatment Market and includes information on production growth and the market share attained by each product or service in the studied market.

Customization Service We Offer 

We also offer customization services to our client, exhibiting a comprehensive analysis of the industry. The report covers all the relevant aspects curating the fundamentals underlying the market potential and helping the stakeholders to make informed decisions & investments in the industry.

To Get the Benefit of Our Customization Report Service, Sent Your Request Here  https://www.marknteladvisors.com/query/request-customization/bladder-cancer-market.html

Reason to Buy This Study Report-

The report provides historical statistics and Growth Projections (2022-2027) for the Bladder Cancer Treatment Market.

Major segments and geographies are forecasted based on statistical analysis of past performance.

PESTLE analysis, SWOT analysis, industry patterns, innovation and technological trends, and development-affecting factors.

Reporting on the competitive environment includes information on the key market players, their production and sustainability capabilities, and the key strategies they have adopted.

Analyzes market possibilities for participants and gives market leaders essential information about the competitive environment.

Following and staying abreast of market trends, and providing relevant statistical analysis.

Strategic recommendation for expansion, cost-cutting, enhancing productivity, advertising and to achieve the competitive edge over the market.

Calculative & statistical-driven figures to provide a clear picture of past and current performance.

Information regarding potential segment & region to capture the market.

Other Study Report

About MarkNtel Advisors

We are a leading research, consulting, & data analytics firm that provides an extensive range of strategic reports on diverse industry verticals. We deliver data to a substantial & varied client base, including multinational corporations, financial institutions, governments, & individuals, among others.

Our specialization in niche industries & emerging geographies allows our clients to formulate their strategies in a much more informed way and entail parameters like Go-to-Market (GTM), product development, feasibility analysis, project scoping, market segmentation, competitive benchmarking, market sizing & forecasting, & trend analysis, among others, for 15 diverse industrial verticals.

Our Contact Details 

Phone  +1 628 895 8081, +91 120 4278433

Email: sales@marknteladvisors.com

Follow Us  Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest

Press Release  www.marknteladvisors.com/press-release
MarkNtel Advisors has released a brand-new research study with a thorough analysis of the CRISPR Gene Editing Market. Stakeholders can profit from the factual market research report with all the crucial and helpful details about this market. The report includes an evaluation of the immediate and long-term effect of the rapidly changing market scenario. The report covers every significant aspect of the market, including market statistics, growth, investment opportunities, significant key players, analysis of the growing competition, industry facts, key data, revenues, sales, prices, gross margins, business strategies, market shares, leading geographic markets, demand, and recent developments.

Along With This, The Report Covers The Following Aspects:

Forecasts and Market Sizing

Relevant Strategies for Industries

Trending niche markets

New trends in sustainability & Inventive Trends

Assessment of the Distribution Channels

Customer Cognizance

Consumer surveys

Primary interviews with experts and extensive secondary research

Get Download A Free Sample PDF of This Study, For a Complete Understanding of the Market Growth Scenario  Download Now Its Free

Report Coverage Details Study Period Historical Data: 2017-20 Base Year: 2021 Forecast Period: 2022-27 CAGR (2022-2027) 18.24% Regions Covered North America: The US, Canada, Mexico South America: Brazil, Others Europe: Germany, The UK, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Others Asia-Pacific: China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, Others Middle East & Africa: The UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Others Key Companies Profiled Abcam Inc., Applied StemCell Inc., Agilent Technologies Inc., Cellecta Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Thermo Fischer Scientific Inc., GeneCopoeia Inc., GeneScript Biotech Corporation, Horizon Discovery Group PLC, Integrated DNA Technologies Inc., Merck KGaA, New England Biolabs, Inc., Origene Technologies Inc., Rockland Immunochemicals Inc., Others (Synthego Corporation, ToolGen Inc., etc.) Unit Denominations USD Million/Billion

Report Table of Content

Introduction Product Definition Research Process Assumptions Market Segmentation Executive Summary Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market Start-up Ecosystem Entrepreneurial Activity Year on Year Funding Received Funding Received by Top Companies Key Investors Active in the Market Series Wise Funding Received Seed Funding Angel Investing Venture Capitalists (VC) Funding Others Global CRISPR Gene Editing Patent Landscape By Application By Year By Region Global CRISPR Gene Editing Clinical Trials, By Phase Impact of COVID-19 on Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market Trends & Insights Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market Dynamics Drivers Challenges Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market Regulations, Policies & Standards, By Region North America Asia Pacific Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market Supply Chain Analysis Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market Hotspots & Opportunities Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market Outlook, 2017-2027

Continue TOC

Available Growth Opportunity in the Market  Emerging markets are expected to offer significant opportunities for the growth of the genome editing market on account of growing research & development funding for various research organizations. For instance, the biotechnology companies in Brazil are majorly focusing on the development of small molecules & biologics, cell therapies, tissue engineering, regenerative medicines, and genetic & molecular testing.

Subsequently, leading players in the genome editing market are strategically focusing on partnerships & collaborations to strengthen their manufacturing facilities as well as distribution network in the country.

Geographical Division and Growth Data  In term of Geographical level, the CRISPR Gene Editing industry is split into the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, the Middle East & Africa region. Of all the regions, North America is home to many legacies & emerging companies in the field of CRISPR gene editing that are currently investigating drug candidates in clinical research. Some of the leading contributors to the North America CRISPR Gene Editing market are Abcam Plc., Applied StemCell Inc., Agilent Technologies Inc., Cellecta Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics AG, etc.

Moreover, the research & development activities growing awareness of gene therapy & substantial government funding to boost the clinical research processes for various rare diseases are the preliminary factors that have positively impacted the sales of CRISPR gene editing in the region. The National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Institute of Health are the medical research agencies responsible for medical & genome research in the US.

Growth Challenges Existing in the Market  Potential applications of CRISPR gene editing elicit ethical concerns & repercussions of gene editing, raising skepticism about whether CRISPR gene editing should be opened to the public for cosmetic purposes or only be limited for medical reasons. At present, CRISPR-modified animals & insects are regulated under a coordinated framework formed in 1986 for the Regulation of Biotechnology by the USFDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Another negative aspect is CRISPR could be used for bioterrorism. In 2014, a science article pointed out the ecological impact of using gene drives. As a result of crossbreeding, gene-modified traits could be extended beyond the target population to other organisms. Therefore, the impact on gene diversity of the target population is another major concern.

Major Market Players of CRISPR Gene Editing Industry:

This report is a valuable resource for players, stakeholders, and other market participants will aid to obtain the upper hand in the market. The market is marked by fierce rivalry as a result of the existence of numerous well-known international players. To increase their market presence, market players concentrate especially on inorganic development strategies like mergers and acquisitions and collaborations. This section includes information such as:

Company Profile and Business Overview

Business tactics & strategies adopted by major players

Porters Five Forces Model, SWOT Analysis, and Risk Analysis

Key performance indicators, recent development, regional presence, financial performance

Want To Discuss Further By Talking with Our Analyst Send Your Call Back Request Here  Schedule A Call Now

Market participants profiled in this report with the above-stated information are: 

 Abcam Inc.

 Applied StemCell Inc.

 Agilent Technologies Inc.

 Cellecta Inc.

 CRISPR Therapeutics AG

 Thermo Fischer Scientific Inc.

 GeneCopoeia Inc.

 GeneScript Biotech Corporation

 Horizon Discovery Group PLC

 Integrated DNA Technologies Inc.

 Merck KGaA

 New England Biolabs, Inc.

 Origene Technologies Inc.

 Rockland Immunochemicals Inc.

 Others (Synthego Corporation, ToolGen Inc., etc.)

Complete Segmentation Analysis:

This study provides an analysis of the most recent market trends in each of the sub-segments from 2022 to 2027 and projects revenue growth at the global, regional, and national levels. MarkNtel Advisors has divided the CRISPR Gene Editing Market report into segments based on the following criteria:

By Product Type

CRISPR Products Kits & Enzymes Libraries Design Tools Antibodies Others

CRISPR Services gRNA Design & Vector Construction Cell Line and Engineering Screening Services Others



By Application

Agriculture

Industrial

Biomedical Gene Therapy Drug Discovery Diagnostics

Others

By End User

Academic Institutions and Research Centers

Biotechnology Companies

Contract Research Organizations (CROs)

Pharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical Companies

It offers accurate and thorough market size and volume analysis for the CRISPR Gene Editing Market and includes information on production growth and the market share attained by each product or service in the studied market.

Customization Service We Offer 

We also offer customization services to our client, exhibiting a comprehensive analysis of the industry. The report covers all the relevant aspects curating the fundamentals underlying the market potential and helping the stakeholders to make informed decisions & investments in the industry.

To Get the Benefit of Our Customization Report Service, Sent Your Request Here  https://www.marknteladvisors.com/query/request-customization/crispr-gene-editing-market.html

Reason to Buy This Study Report-

The report provides historical statistics and Growth Projections (2022-2027) for the CRISPR Gene Editing Market.

Major segments and geographies are forecasted based on statistical analysis of past performance.

PESTLE analysis, SWOT analysis, industry patterns, innovation and technological trends, and development-affecting factors.

Reporting on the competitive environment includes information on the key market players, their production and sustainability capabilities, and the key strategies they have adopted.

Analyzes market possibilities for participants and gives market leaders essential information about the competitive environment.

Following and staying abreast of market trends, and providing relevant statistical analysis.

Strategic recommendation for expansion, cost-cutting, enhancing productivity, advertising and achieving a competitive edge over the market.

Calculative & statistical-driven figures to provide a clear picture of past and current performance.

Information regarding potential segment & region to capture the market.

Other Study Report

About MarkNtel Advisors

We are a leading research, consulting, & data analytics firm that provides an extensive range of strategic reports on diverse industry verticals. We deliver data to a substantial & varied client base, including multinational corporations, financial institutions, governments, & individuals, among others.

Our specialization in niche industries & emerging geographies allows our clients to formulate their strategies in a much more informed way and entail parameters like Go-to-Market (GTM), product development, feasibility analysis, project scoping, market segmentation, competitive benchmarking, market sizing & forecasting, & trend analysis, among others, for 15 diverse industrial verticals.

Our Contact Details 

Phone  +1 628 895 8081, +91 120 4278433

Email: sales@marknteladvisors.com

Follow Us  Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest

Press Release  www.marknteladvisors.com/press-release
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, March 30, 2023

Microsoft has introduced plans for additional ads in its AI-powered Bing search engine and Edge browser, with a goal to drive more traffic to publisher sites -- demonstrating that the company is finally getting serious about competing in search and search advertising.

Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft corporate vice president, wrote in a blog post published Wednesday that the company is collaborating with publishers on the future of search.

Were also exploring placing ads in the chat experience to share the ad revenue with partners whose content contributed to the chat response, Mehdi wrote in the blog post.

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There are more than 100 million daily active users of Bing.

Chat is helping to drive engagement, including more than 100 million chats, he wrote. Of the millions of users in Preview, one third are new to Bing creating net new opportunity for publishers. While early days, the numbers are encouraging, he wrote.

Driving more traffic to publishers from search is a top priority for Microsoft, he wrote. The plan is to measure success, in part, by the amount sent from the new Bing and Edge.

Another goal is to increase revenue for publishers by driving more traffic to them through features like chat and answers and by pioneering the future of advertising in these new media.

Microsoft will also collaborate with the industry to continue to foster a healthy ecosystem.

Citations within the chat already drive traffic to publisher sites, but Microsoft plans to implement more ways to link to additional sources.

Microsoft executives have met with some partners to begin exploring ideas on how the company can continue to drive traffic and revenue.

Some ideas being explores include an expanded hover experience over a link from a publisher that will display more links from that publisher. Microsoft Start partners could have access to a rich caption of Microsoft Start licensed content beside the chat answer, helping to drive more user engagement with the content and share ad revenue with the partner.

Placing ads in the chat and share the ad revenue with partners whose content contributed to the chat response is another option.
by Ray Schultz , March 30, 2023

The arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia has raised alarms in the news business.

Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, was detained by Russias Federal Security Service (the FSB) on Wednesday on apparently trumped-up suspicion of espionage, the first such arrest of a U.S. journalist in Russia since the Cold War.

The incident illustrates the peril increasingly being faced by journalists worldwide. Gershkovich has been accused of gathering information on a Russian military enterprise, The Washington Post reports.

The arrest of Mr. Gershkovich is extremely troubling, states Danielle Coffey, executive director of the News/Media Alliance.

Journalists perform a critical service in providing important news and information about local, national and international events to communities across the globe.

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Coffey adds, No journalist should have to do their job in fear of their safety or liberty. We stand with The Wall Street Journal in calling for Mr. Gershkovichs immediate release.

The United States has had only intermittent success in securing the early release of citizens detained in Russia.

It remains to be seen if the influence of the Journal, News Corp. and Rupert Murdoch himself will have any impact on Gershkovichs release.

The Journal forcefully responded. "The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich, said Caitlyn Reuss, the WSJs senior communications manager, according to Fox. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.
by Wayne Friedman , March 31, 2023

Digital World Acquisition Corporation-- a blank-check company formed with the intent to acquire a media company controlled by Donald Trump -- has seen its stock rise after the news of the former president's indictment for issues related to campaigns and business finance.

Digital World Acquisition Corporation

Stock of(DWAC) -- otherwise known as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) -- was up 5% in mid-day Friday trading to $13.92. Digital Worlds stock dropped 80% in value over the past 12 months, and 12% year-to-date.

In October 2021, DWAC announced plans to take Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) public after a merger. The company owns social media site Truth Social.

Rumble, a video advertising platform doing business with Trumps Truth Social app, was up 7% at the close on Friday. TMTG struck an agreement with Rumble in August 2022, to support advertisements via Rumble Ads.

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A New York Times report in January of this year cited advertising on Truth Social as being filled with advertising for miracle cures, scams, and fake merchandise.

The report says Rumbles ad revenues are between $15 million and $25 million annually, according to estimates from Similarweb, a web analytics company.

Truth Social was launched after the January 6 insurrection. Trump was banned from social media platforms -- including Twitter and Facebook -- due to the risk of further incitement of violence connected to the event. He has since been reinstated.

Recently, DWAC fired its chief executive Patrick Orlando. He was replaced by board member Eric Swider as interim chief executive officer.

Last November, company shareholders approved a one-year deadline extension to take Trumps social media platform public. This comes amid an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into DWAC's dealings.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 31, 2023

Lawmakers in the Senate are renewing their attempt to pass a controversial bill that would allow news publishers and broadcasters to jointly negotiate with large online platforms including Google and Facebook.

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, introduced Friday by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), specifically would grant an antitrust exemption to news organizations with fewer than 1,500 employees, in order to allow those groups to hold talks with online platforms that have at least 50 million U.S.-based users.

The bill would also require platforms to negotiate in good faith with news organizations, and allow print news publishers to demand arbitration if unable to reach an agreement with a platform.

Additionally, the measure would prohibit platforms from discriminating against a news provider based on its content or views -- a prohibition that critics say would contribute to the spread of misinformation.

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Lawmakers have introduced similar versions of the act in prior years, but the full Senate didn't vote on those previous proposals.

Klobuchar on Friday cited the emergence of artificial intelligence as a new argument for the bill.

Local news is facing an existential crisis, from ad revenues plummeting and newsrooms across the country closing to artificial intelligence tools taking content, Klobuchar stated Friday. To preserve strong, independent journalism, news organizations must be able to negotiate on a level playing field with the online platforms that dominate news distribution and digital advertising.

The News/Media Alliance, which supports the bill, also pointed to the recent growth of artificial intelligence tools.

Executive vice president and general counsel Danielle Coffey stated Friday that emerging artificial intelligence technologies show a need for compensation, adding that content creators may soon see even less return than what they receive today.

We must ensure that the digital ecosystem returns value back to the people who deliver high-quality journalism we all rely on around the world, she stated.

The News/Media Alliance also supported prior versions of the bill, while the tech industry and digital rights groups opposed the proposed legislation.

Among other arguments, critics say the bill would effectively revise copyright law by requiring Google and Facebook to pay for the ability to display links to outside publishers. Copyright law as it currently stands has been interpreted to allow Google, Facebook and other sites to display headlines and snippets for free.

Public Knowledge, which objects to the bill, stated Friday that the measure would endanger both local journalism and the open internet.

The bill's elaborate antitrust exemption will only serve to compound the biggest challenges in our news and information landscape: consolidation of power, distance and disengagement of news conglomerate owners from the communities they serve, and the rampant spread of misinformation on the internet," Lisa Macpherson, senior policy analyst at the organization, stated.

New artificial intelligence tools like Bing Chat and Google's Bard may require a policy response, she said, but added that hastily changing copyright law to benefit cartels of major news publishers  to address purely speculative harms  would be unwise.
U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, is inviting all high school students from Michigan's 2nd Congressional District to enter their art in the 2023 Congressional Art Competition.

Entry deadline is Friday, April 21. Entries should be mailed or delivered to Moolenaars office at 431 N. McEwan St., Clare, MI 48617.

The winning student from the 2nd District will have his/her art displayed at the U.S. Capitol for a year. Two regional winners will have their art displayed in Moolenaars office in Clare.

Every spring, members of the U.S. House of Representatives sponsor a nationwide high school art competition, an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artistic talents of students in their congressional districts.

Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 26 inches by 26 inches, up to 4 inches in depth, and not weigh more than 15 pounds. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive framed and must still measure no larger than the specified dimensions.

Art categories include:

Paintings: including oil, acrylics and watercolor

Drawings: including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink and markers (It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.)

Collages: must be two dimensional

Prints: including lithographs, silkscreen and block prints

Mixed media: use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.

Computer-generated art

Photography.

All entries must be original in concept, design and execution and may not violate any U.S. copyright laws. Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo or image, including a painting, graphic or advertisement, that was created by someone other than the student is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted. Work entered must be in the original medium, not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing.

An exhibit in Washington, D.C., will include the winning artwork from all participating districts from around the country, and the art will also be featured on House.gov's Congressional Art Competition page.

Interested students who need assistance transporting their art to Clare, or who have additional questions regarding the competition, may contact Moolenaars office at 989-802-6040.

For more information on the art competition rules and how to enter, visit moolenaar.house.gov/services/art-competition.
NEW YORK (AP)  Lawyers for a wealthy self-exiled Chinese businessman who developed ties to Trump administration figures including Steve Bannon are seeking bail for him two weeks after his arrest, saying other defendants accused of massive frauds like Bernard Madoff and Sam Bankman-Fried were freed on bail.

The lawyers submitted papers in Manhattan federal court, saying Guo Wengui is entitled to bail just as other wealthy defendants have been given the chance to post bail in the past. They also challenged claims by prosecutors that he is a risk to flee, saying he would not leave his wife of 38 years and his daughter as all three seek asylum.

Madoff was free for several months in late 2008 and early 2009 before he was jailed after he pleaded guilty in a multibillion-dollar fraud. He was later sentenced to 150 years in prison and died behind bars.

Bankman-Fried, 31, was arrested in the Bahamas in December in what a prosecutor called one of biggest frauds in American history. He agreed to return to the United States, where he was freed with GPS monitoring on a $250 million personal recognizance bond after pleading not guilty to charges that he oversaw a massive cryptocurrency fraud.

Guo's lawyers proposed a $25 million bail package, including $5 million in cash or property, along with location monitoring and home detention at a Connecticut residence where his wife resides. They also said Guo would be subjected to 24-hour surveillance by a security company with at least one guard on the premises at all times.

A spokesperson for prosecutors declined comment Friday.

Prosecutors filed a detention letter at the time of Guo's arrest, saying he was a serious flight risk and a danger to the public because his crimes, which they said resulted in robbing thousands of individuals of money, were ongoing and continually evolving. They said he was likely to flee because of his wealth, strong proof of guilt and ties abroad.

Guo, 54, was arrested on various charges, including wire, securities and bank fraud on March 15 in what was described as a $1 billion fraud. He agreed to be detained at the time, but a lawyer indicated bail would later be sought.

Guo's lawyers wrote that since immigrating to the United States in 2015, Guo traveled abroad only three times and not once since 2017. They said Chinese authorities would cause him to face intolerable risks to his life were he to leave the United States. They also wrote that he was not a danger to others, especially with strict bail conditions.

Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from a complex scheme in which Guo and others lied to hundreds of thousands of online followers before misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars.

At the time of Guo's arrest, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Guo had lived lavishly off the proceeds of his crimes, including by purchasing a 50,000-square-foot mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari, two $36,000 mattresses and a $37 million luxury yacht.

Guo was once believed to be among the richest people in China. He left in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown led by President Xi Jinping that ensnared people close to Guo, including a top intelligence official. Chinese authorities have accused Guo of rape, kidnapping, bribery and other offenses.

Guo has long argued that the allegations against him in China were false, saying they were intended to punish him for publicly outing corruption there and criticizing leading figures in the Communist Party.

It was on Guos 150-foot (45-meter) yacht that Bannon was once arrested on federal charges. Just before he left office, then-President Donald Trump made the case against Bannon dissolve with a pardon.
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MANISTEE  The 2023 shipping season kicked off in Manistee with the arrival of the Sam Laud on Wednesday.

The Sam Laud passed through the Manistee River Channel after 8 p.m. bearing 13,000 tons of coal to the Tondu Energy Systems Filer City dock, according to a Facebook post by Chris Franckowiak, an avid ship watcher who maintains the Manistee, MI Vessel Traffic Facebook page.

The Sam Laud is a 634-foot long vessel built in 1975 at Bay Shipbuilding Company in Wisconsin. It is owned and operated by the American Steamship Company.

This is the second year in a row that the Sam Laud and its crew held the distinction of being the first vessel of the year in Manistee. This year's passage was smoother than in 2022, when the Sam Laud was delayed due to electrical issues with one of the city's bascule bridges. The ship made three visits to Manistee in 2022.

The ship departed around 9 a.m. on Thursday.

Scott Fraley/News Advocate

Roen Salvages tug, the Stephan M. Asher, also returned to Manistee on Thursday to continue repairs to the South breakwall shore connector, according to Franckowiak.

The next vessel scheduled to arrive in Manistee is the Mark W. Barker, a bulk carrier owned by the Interlake Steamship Company. Franckowiak says to expect the Mark W. Barker to arrive around April 7 to deliver materials to the Rieth-Riley dock.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, Soo Project Office opened its Poe Lock on March 25, marking the official start of the 2023 Great Lakes shipping season. The operating season is fixed by federal regulation and driven in part by the feasibility of vessels operating in typical Great Lakes ice conditions, according to an Army Corps news release.

The MacArthur Lock, located south of the Poe, is scheduled to open April 24 and the Army Corps plans to open the Soo Locks Visitor Center on May 1 for the summer season.
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LEROY  Central Michigan University history professor and museum director, Dr. Jay Martin, will be coming to LeRoy on April 6 for a collaborative presentation with two descendants of the Old Settlers  Carol Norman and Diane Green.

The Old Settlers are Blacks who settled in Mecosta, Isabella and Montcalm counties starting in 1861. The current Old Settlers are direct descendants of the original families.

They came from Canada through The Underground Railroad, and from Payne's Crossing in Ohio as free people. The draw was to homestead land made available through the Homestead Act of 1862, according to the Old Settlers website.

As the director of CMUs Museum of Cultural and Natural History, Martin curates artifacts related to the Old Settlers and is an expert on their history.

It happened because Carol Norman and Diane Green visited me over a decade ago. Though I already knew something about the history of the Old Settlers, I had not gotten involved at that point. We began to talk, and it was clear there was an opportunity to do some research, he said.

The talk Martin plans to give at 6:30 p.m. April 6 at the Dewings Center, 202 S. Albert St., LeRoy, will center around diversity, and how the Old Settlers are a success story and example of positive integration.

What well be doing is telling the story of the Old Settlers, their arrival in Michigan, their growth as a predominantly African American community and using it as an example of the diversity that works, then talk a little bit about how that has evolved to the present, he said.

Carol Norman, a descendant of Susan Norman who settled in 1865, will provide more information and history about the Old Settlers.

Carol will be able to answer questions and help provide deeper meaning. As someone whos not a member of the Old Settlers, I can only go so far with that history. She can provide a more nuanced view, Martin said.

Norman said Martin understands the Old Settlers well after working closely with them for years.

He knows just as much about the Old Settlers because hes been studying us for a long time, she said.

Martin said diversity in American history often centers around conflict, but the Old Settlers are an example of a positive outcome.

This group was able to grow and prosper in mid-Michigan, build on the diversity that already came with the group, and become critical parts of our mid-Michigan community, and they did it in a relatively quiet and elegant way, he said. Theyre a success story, people who came with very little and grew to be quite prominent.

Martin hopes the success story of the Old Settlers will be inspirational for other communities.

So often in American culture we focus on the negative. This is an example of the positive that we should be focusing on, he said.

Martin said the Old Settlers are delightful people and hopes the community will take advantage of the opportunity to interact with them.

The opportunity to talk with members of the Old Settlers and get to know their history and culture is something anybody should want to do, he said.

The research and work on the history of the Old Settlers that Martin conducted at CMU involved multiple students.

The students here at CMU who do research and learn are inspired by the example of the Old Settlers, thats an opportunity that Im very grateful for, he said.

Learn more about the Old Settlers at www.oldsettlersreunion.com.
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Recreational marijuana is taking root in Sanford with a groundbreaking set for April 20 (aka Weed Day) at 2023 N. Meridian Road.

The business is expected to open this fall.

Sanfords RCL Construction is breaking ground on the 2,100 square-foot dispensary, said Sadler & Son LLC/LaBonville Properties owner Sue LaBonville

I want to serve the needs of the canna-curious to connoisseur, LaBonville said.

More Information From a 2021 idea by Sanford resident Sue LaBonville to generate revenue comes a pot dispensary ground breaking this month See More Collapse

LaBonville, known for her business expertise, plans to offer a full range of products at varying prices. She currently is busying herself with researching merchandise and building business relationships.

The Sanford Village Council approved LaBonvilles 159-page application on July 11. Since then, she has taken necessary steps to open a cannabis business in the village, including licensing from the state.

The village voted to allow only one such business.

LaBonville approached the idea of allowing marijuana in the village in 2021, in hopes of generating revenue for the hard-hit area following the dam breach. She did the heavy lifting to get recreational marijuana passed by the planning commission and the council, offering facts and figures.

If the business had been open in 2022, the village and Midland County would have each received more than $51,000 per the Michigan treasury.

Midland County recently received $51,841 as did Coleman from Colemans Emerald Fire Provisioning Center.

Emerald Fires President John Siggerund said the business that opened March of 2022, is doing great.

Were having a record month, Siggerund said, bringing in $300,000 in revenue for March. Were really connecting with the community, that has made us successful.

Emerald Fire is holding a family friendly 4-20 event at the store on April 20 and will be open from 8 a.m. to midnight. The store, which sponsors many organizations including the Boy Scouts, Wounded Warrior Project and Midland County Pit Stop, will have an event that day. Siggerund said there will be live music from the Bootstrap Boys, a tie dye machine, food trucks, giveaways and Midland County Pit Stop will be on hand with adoptable animals.

Midland residents have questioned when, or if, the city will adopt a retail recreational marijuana ordinance to allow sales in the city.

For Midland Mayor Maureen Donker, its not a priority.

We have a lot of really important things to do, Donker said.

The mayor said when the Midland Police Department was recently reaccredited, an auditor discouraged her from considering retail marijuana businesses. She said the auditor told her it brings chaos to municipalities.

Donker said for those wanting to purchase marijuana, it is easily accessible in retail stores located outside of the city. She notes that people can even have it delivered to their door.

The Michigan Department of Treasury announced in February that more than $59.5 million was distributed among 224 municipalities and counties as a part of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. For Michigan's 2022 fiscal year, this means each eligible municipality and county will receive more than $51,800 for every licensed retail store and microbusiness located within its jurisdiction.

Bay County received $1.4 million from the state program. Saginaw County received about $518,000 in tax dollars. Midland County received almost $52,000.

In total, more than $1.8 billion in adult-use marijuana sales was reported for Fiscal Year 2022.

When asked about missing out on tax revenue that is being earned by nearby cities such as Bay City (which received about $400,000 from the state treasury) and Saginaw (which received about $300,000 from the state treasury), Donker said the council hasnt really discussed it.

We are focused on youth, youth assets, and helping kids and businesses be successful, Donker said. Those are some of the important issues to us in Midland."
A bill that would fund Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research in hopes of curbing the nation's ongoing gun violence epidemic, which in the past five years has taken the lives of 180,000 people across the United States, was introduced this week.

Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey announced the bill, known as the Gun Violence Prevention Research Act, Wednesday afternoon during a news conference at Capitol Hill with Dylan Morris and Devin Woodruff, students who survived the mass shootings at Oxford High School and Michigan State University in the last year and a half.

Slotkin represented Oxford at the time of the shooting that killed four students and injured six students and one teacher and East Lansing during last month's shooting on MSU's campus that killed three students and injured five others.

"Gun violence is now the leading cause of death among American children, and in Oxford and at MSU, Ive seen the long-term pain and trauma these tragedies inflict on entire communities," Slotkin said in a statement Wednesday. "We, as a society, need to step up and decide to protect our kids so that an entire generation of young Americans isnt defined by gun violence. Preventing more gun violence in our schools and on our streets is a matter of homeland security  not politics."

The legislation would provide the CDC with $50 million each fiscal year over the next five years to boost its firearms safety and gun violence prevention research, according to a Wednesday press release.

The CDC already supports more than 20 research projects dedicated to the study of gun violence prevention  including research on understanding the unique harms posed to young people, mitigating gun violence in highest-risk communities, stopping firearm suicides among military service members and veterans and more.

"I am outraged and horrified by the massacre in Nashville, which took the lives of three innocent children. We cannot keep living this way, and our children cannot keep dying this way," Markey added in a statement. "From our streets to our schools, its clear that Congress hasnt yet done what its going to take to end this fatal crisis. Stopping the spread of our nations gun violence epidemic will require acting on the reforms we already know are essential, like an immediate assault weapons ban, while we simultaneously invest more to study the root causes of violence and develop evidence-based solutions."
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BIG RAPIDS  The AAUW (American Association of University Women) Big Rapids chapter is looking for gently used books, CDs and DVDs for its annual book sale.

Donation boxes can be found at Immanuel Lutheran Church, First United Methodist Church, the United Church and Artworks of Big Rapids.
Many schools have other educational institutions associated with them, most of the time going up to only eighth grade like Zion Lutheran Harbor Beach. Church leaders at Zion Lutheran have started talks with other churches in the area to expand access to Christian education with a collective Lutheran high school.

"So, as we've looked at some of the needs of our students, our students, and congregation have all appreciated a Christian place to send their children," said Zion's Pastor Matthew Durance.

The topic of a Lutheran high school has been floating around for a few years now, according to Durance. However, as students are growing up and preparing to enter secondary education the conversation has gained traction among parents. As the conversation has grown, pastors have also been speaking on its importance in both education and social development.

"In every classroom (at Zion Lutheran School), kids, they know everybody, they're friends with everybody," Durance said. "There's a strong sense of caring for one another, experiencing Christian love."

Zion's denomination, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, has a long tradition of education. Since it became an official church body in 1847, almost every congregation had a school associated with it. The synod has focused on training both hearts and minds and welcomes students of all faiths and beliefs to receive an education.

"Just in my anecdotal experience with the school here at Zion, and the other schools in the area, we have a history of strong academic performance, our students do very well in standardized testing, and they also have just a real sense of friendship and community within themselves," Durance said.

"We see Christian education as a mission opportunity, not just for our own people," he added.

The talks between Zion and other congregations are in the preliminary stages right now. Before they decide to have the school, they need to look at current area demographics. This gives them a sense of community involvement and engagement and shows them who would be sending their kids if it was an option. This determines the estimation for class sizes and how much staff they need. The location would also be an issue as this school would be sponsored by congregations from all over the Thumb.

There's also the financial issue of figuring out how to fund a private institution. They could use a tuition model, where parents are charged to send their kids to school or get their finances from donations and offerings from the congregation.
On the off chance you haven't been paying attention to world news, several banks in the U.S. collapsed (gone broke, busted, washed up, taken down, bankrupt) in recent days. Now, others here and abroad appear to be threatening to follow suit.

What this means is that these failed banks accepted customers' deposits, then lent and invested some of that money (which is what all banks do). However, due to inept management and lack of oversight, things went flying off the rails, and I'm not talking about East Palestine, Ohio (another disaster on its own).

RISKY BUSINESS

See where this is going? These banks made too many risky investments and loans to the point their debts outweighed their assets. Word got out, then depositors panicked, sending them flying to the bank to withdraw all of their cash. And that caused what is known as a "run on the bank"  cue the movie "It's a Wonderful Life."

SORRY, OUT OF CASH

When everyone shows up to withdraw money at the same time, and the bank doesn't have that much reserve cash sitting in its vault to comply, the bank goes belly up, otherwise known as insolvent.

IS IT CONTAGIOUS?

Is this situation catching? Might your bank be in similar trouble? Should you take your money and run? That's a tough question. You're the only one who can make that decision. However, experts I have consulted would not necessarily give us that advice.

THERE ARE LIMITS

Nearly all national and regional banks in the U.S. carry insurance issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to cover this very thing. When an insured bank (or credit union) goes under, depositors are made whole even if the bank runs out of cash. But only to a limit. Both the FDIC and National Credit Union Administration standard limit is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category.

If your balances are less than $250,000, you need not panic. Or even be concerned. If your total balance exceeds $250,000, you need to spread it around in more than one bank to make sure you remain 100% covered.

There is a calculator called "EDIE" at the FDIC's website (https://edie.fdic.gov/calculator.html) that works well for determining your FDIC or NCUA insurance coverage.

For those who cringe at giving away personal information, if you use this calculator, just know that when it asks you to enter your bank's name, you can actually enter any bank  the rules are the same no matter what bank you select.

WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE?

Where would you put it if you succumb to worry and pull all of your money from the bank? Under the mattress doesn't seem like a very good idea, as there it is subject to both thievery and fire.

Another idea would be to bury it in the backyard. And how safe is that? You're overcome with worry now, so just imagine leaving home wondering who might have seen you dig that hole? This, too, is not a good idea.

That leaves investing it in the stock market or responding to a late-night TV commercial to buy silver (or gold). You've probably already taken that route if you possess the smarts and education that kind of move requires. So let's take that option out of the picture, too.

TRUST BUT VERIFY

Provided that your bank is FDIC insured (NCUA for credit unions)  look for signs all over the lobby, ATMs, front door and website indicating this coverage  and you have not deposited more than a quarter of a million bucks, you can relax. Your money is as safe today as it was last month and for years before.

That being said, wisdom dictates that you keep an eye on things. Check your balances every day using the bank's app or online service. Balance your statements monthly. Do not assume anything. Always verify.

INSTEAD, WORRY ABOUT THIS

A situation could happen any day for which the FDIC would not come to your rescue. Sure, your money is safe in the bank, but what if your access to your money is cut off? This will happen if there is a power outage caused by any number of disasters.

Everything in a bank, including the locks on the doors and access to the vault, is controlled electronically. Without power, the manager might be able to open the door with a key, but that's about it.

ATMs will be down. Credit cards won't work because that little credit card machine will go down, and there will be no way for retailers to accept your card for payment.

Grocery store checkout computers and cash registers will go dark. There may be personnel available to accept cash, but will they be prepared with sufficient currency and coins to give you change if all you have are big bills?

CASH ON HAND

You need to take money out of the bank  enough cash to fund your basic living expenses should there be a power outage. Start with enough for a week, then add to it from there as you are able.

Don't make it a stack of $100s. Small denominations make more sense for all the reasons above. And make sure you have coins as well. Should the need arise that a seller cannot make change, you can make a purchase with the exact amount.
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MIAMI (AP)  More than 50 years after the orca known as Lolita was captured for public display, plans are in place to return her from the Miami Seaquarium to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest, where a nearly century-old, endangered killer whale believed to be her mother still swims.

An unlikely coalition involving the theme park's owner, an animal rights group and an NFL owner-philanthropist announced the agreement during a news conference Thursday.

I'm excited to be a part of Lolita's journey to freedom, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said. I know Lolita wants to get to free waters.

Lolita, also known as Tokitae, was about 4 years old when she was captured in Puget Sound in summer 1970, during a time of deadly orca roundups. She spent decades performing for paying crowds before falling ill.

Last year the Miami Seaquarium announced it would no longer stage shows with her, under an agreement with federal regulators. Lolita  now 57 years old and 5,000 pounds (2,267 kilograms)  currently lives in a tank that measures 80 feet by 35 feet (24 meters by 11 meters) and is 20 feet (6 meters) deep.

The orca believed to be her mother, called Ocean Sun, continues to swim free with other members of their clan  known as L pod  and is estimated to be more than 90 years old. That has given advocates of her release optimism that Tokitae could still maybe have a long life in the wild.

It's a step toward restoring our natural environment, fixing what we've messed up with exploitation and development, said Howard Garrett, president of the board of the advocacy group Orca Network, based on Washington state's Whidbey Island. I think she'll be excited and relieved to be home  it's her old neighborhood."

The agreement among Irsay; Eduardo Albor, who heads The Dolphin Company, which owns the Seaquarium; and the Florida nonprofit Friends of Toki, co-founded by environmentalist Pritam Singh; still faces hurdles to gaining government approval.

The time frame for moving the animal could be 18 to 24 months away, the group said, and the cost could reach $20 million.

The plan is to transport Lolita by plane to an ocean sanctuary in the waters between Washington and Canada, where she will initially swim inside a large net while trainers and veterinarians teach her how to catch fish.

She will also have to build up her muscles, as orcas typically swim about 100 miles (160 kilometers) per day, said Raynell Morris, an elder of the Lummi Indian Tribe in Washington who also serves on the board of Friends of Toki.

She was 4 when she was taken, so she was learning to hunt. She knows her family song, Morris said. She'll remember, but it will take time.

The orca would be under 24-hour care until she acclimates to her new surroundings.

Caretakers at the Seaquarium are already preparing her for the journey, officials said.

The Dolphin Company took ownership of the Seaquarium in 2021. It operates some 27 other parks and habitats in Mexico, Argentina, the Caribbean and Italy.

The legacy of the whale roundups of the 1960s and '70s continues to haunt a distinct group of endangered, salmon-eating orcas that are known as the southern resident killer whales and spend much of their time in the waters between Washington and Canada.

At least 13 orcas died in the roundups and 45 were delivered to theme parks around the world, reducing the Puget Sound resident population by about 40% and helping cause problems with inbreeding that remain a problem today.

Today only 73 remain in the southern resident population, which comprises three familial groups called pods, according to the Center for Whale Research on Washington states San Juan Island. Thats just two more animals than in 1971.

Animal rights advocates including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have long fought for Tokitae to spend her final years back home in a controlled setting.

Activists often protest along the road that runs by the Seaquarium, which they've referred to as an abusement park. PETA says it doesn't want Lolita to suffer the same fate as her partner Hugo, who died in 1980 from a brain aneurysm after ramming his head repeatedly into the tank's walls.

Albor said Thursday that back when his company was acquiring the Seaquarium, he and his daughter visited as tourists. He said his daughter became upset while watching Lolita's show, even as many other in the crowd were squealing in delight.

His daughter told him this place is too small for Lolita and made him promise to help the orca if his company bought the park.

It has always been our commitment at The Dolphin Company that we place the highest priority on the well-being of the animals above all else, Albor said. Finding a better future for Lolita is one of the reasons that motivated us to acquire the Miami Seaquarium.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava called the relocation plan historic, saying, So many have hoped and prayed for this result for many, many years."

The Seaquarium opened in 1955 on Virginia Key east of downtown Miami. It features a variety of creatures including dolphins, sea lions, manatees, reef fish and sharks, and was the filming location for 88 episodes of the Flipper TV series as well as movies in the 1960s.

___

Johnson reported from Seattle.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  A former elected official lost a bid on Thursday to get a new judge to handle his murder case ahead of trial scheduled in November in the slaying of a Las Vegas investigative journalist.

Supervising Clark County District Court Judge Jerry Wiese II told ex-county administrator of wills and estates Robert Telles that he did not find "bias or prejudice" in 30 minutes of pointed questioning that Judge Michelle Leavitt conducted in open court last month before deciding Telles could fire his lawyer and represent himself.

Usually it is not in the defendants best interest to do that, Wiese said of Telles' request to face trial without a lawyer.

Telles claimed Leavitt subjected him to badgering and character attacks during about 30 minutes of procedurally required questioning, including accusations of gamesmanship and questions of mental incompetence" that made him look bad in news reports.

Her prejudicial conduct was central to the prejudicial media stories, Telles wrote.

Telles is an attorney who handled civil matters, not criminal, before he was elected as a Democrat as Clark County administrator. His license to practice law has been suspended, but he does not have to be an attorney to represent himself.

Telles is accused of fatally stabbing Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German last September after German wrote articles critical of Telles and his managerial conduct.

Police and prosecutors say the evidence is strong that Telles killed German, including Telles DNA found beneath Germans fingernails.

But police say they havent completed their investigation because the Review-Journal obtained a court order blocking investigators from accessing records on Germans cellphone and computer devices.

The newspaper cites concerns about improperly exposing confidential sources and notes. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is asking the state Supreme Court to lift that restriction and the appeal remains pending.

In a new development, a panel of three state high court justices ruled this week that Leavitt can adopt a method suggested by police for a neutral party to screen the records so they can be reviewed by both sides and detectives can proceed.

Leavitt has 20 years' experience as a criminal judge and specializes in handling murder trials. She submitted a sworn document declaring she has no actual or implied bias or prejudice against Mr. Telles and she will not be swayed by public clamor or fear of criticism.

Leavitt is due on April 5 to hear Telles' bid to have the court appoint a standby attorney to assist Telles and answer legal questions. Telles, who remains jailed in Las Vegas, also wants the court to order jailers to loosen detention restrictions and provide a better legal research system so he can prepare his defense.

Telles, 46, maintains that he did not kill German. But he would not tell The Associated Press during a Feb. 14 jail interview what he was doing the day German was attacked and killed in a side yard of Germans house. Telles said he wants to testify before a jury.

German, 69, was widely respected in 44 years of reporting on organized crime, government corruption, political scandals and mass shootings  first at the Las Vegas Sun and then at the Review-Journal.
MIDDLETOWN  Police have released images depicting a car and two masked male suspects wanted in the armed robbery of a local Wendys Monday night.

The robbery occurred shortly before closing time, around 11:30 p.m. Monday, according to Erik Costa, chief of the Middletown Police Department. During the incident, Costa said the female manager of the restaurant, located at 950 Washington St., was held at knifepoint by one of the robbers as he demanded the money in the safe. His accomplice, who was armed with a gun, waited outside the front door, Costa said.
Contributed Photo / Connecticut /Contributed Photo

EAST HARTFORD  A female driver was seriously injured in a crash on Interstate 84 eastbound Wednesday night that caused her car to flip multiple times, according to the Connecticut State Police.

The 26-year-old Windsor woman was thrown from her 2017 Acura MDX during the crash, according to state police. Her condition was not immediately known on Thursday.
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NEW YORK (AP)  Former President Donald Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed down by a Manhattan grand jury, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday.

He will be formally arrested and arraigned Tuesday in his hush money case, setting the scene for the historic, shocking moment when a former president is forced to stand before a judge to hear the criminal charges against him.

The indictment remained sealed and the specific charges were not immediately known, but details were confirmed by people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that isn't yet public.

The streets outside the courthouse where the arraignment will unfold were calm Friday compared with earlier in the week. There were no large-scale demonstrations for or against Trump, though tourists stopped to take selfies and throngs of reporters and police officers remained assembled.

When Trump turns himself in, hell be booked mostly like anyone else facing charges, mug shot, fingerprinting and all. But he isnt expected to be put in handcuffs; hell have Secret Service protection and will almost certainly be released that same day.

In the meantime, Trump's legal team prepared his defense while the prosecutor's office defended the grand jury investigation that propelled the matter toward trial. Congressional Republicans, as well as Trump himself, contend the whole matter is politically motivated.

We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference, Leslie Dubeck, general counsel in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, wrote in a letter sent Friday to three Republican House committee chairs that was obtained by The Associated Press.

The case is plunging the U.S. into uncharted legal waters, with Trump the first former president ever to face an indictment. And the political implications could be titanic ahead of next years presidential election. Trump is in the midst of running for president a third time and has said the case against him could hurt that effort  though his campaign is already furiously raising money by citing it.

The Trump campaign said it raised $4-plus million in the first 24 hours after news of the indictment broke.

Top Republicans also have begun closing ranks around him. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to use congressional oversight to probe Bragg. Reps. James Comer, Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil, the committee chairs whom Bragg addressed in his letter, have asked the district attorney's office for grand jury testimony, documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department.

Trump's indictment came after a grand jury probe into hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign to squelch allegations of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

The investigation dug into six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both claim to have had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics. He denies having sexual liaisons with either woman.

Trump also has denied any wrongdoing involving payments and has denounced the investigation as a scam, a persecution, an injustice. He shouts in all capital letters on his social media platform that the Democrats have LIED, CHEATED and more to damage his 2024 presidential run.

Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said during TV interviews Friday he would very aggressively challenge the legal validity of the Manhattan grand jury indictment. Trump himself, on his social media platform, trained his ire on a new target, complaining that the judge expected to handle the case, Juan Manuel Merchan, HATES ME.

The former president is expected to fly to New York on Monday and stay at Trump Tower overnight ahead of his planned arraignment Tuesday, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Trump's travel.

Trump will be arraigned in the same Manhattan courtroom where his company was tried and convicted of tax fraud in December and where disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinsteins rape trial took place. On Friday, officials from the Secret Service and the NYPD toured the courthouse and met about security plans.

Court officers ultimately closed and secured access to the 15th floor, where Merchan was continuing to preside over unrelated matters, until Trump's arraignment.

Lawyers involved in the cases and some employees were permitted to stay, but media were chased away by officers, who were standing sentry in front of a bike-rack barricade set up in the hallway. Officers yelled at reporters who ventured up, "This floor is closed, and ordered them to get back in the elevator and leave.

Officers have been cautioned to remain vigilant and maintain situational awareness, both inside courthouses and while on perimeter patrols, as evidenced by the incident on Tuesday afternoon outside of Manhattan Supreme Court," the court said in a statement.

Since Trumps March 18 post claiming his arrest was imminent, authorities have ratcheted up security, deploying additional police officers, lining the streets around the courthouse with barricades and dispatching bomb-sniffing dogs. Theyve had to respond to bomb and death threats, a suspicious powder scare and a pro-Trump protester who was arrested Tuesday after witnesses say she pulled a knife on passersby.

Since no former president had ever been charged with a crime, there's no rulebook for booking the defendant. He will be fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken, and investigators will complete arrest paperwork and check to see if he has any outstanding criminal charges or warrants, according to a person familiar who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive security operations.

All of that activity takes place away from the public. New York law discourages the release of mug shots in most cases. Less clear is whether Trump would seek to have the picture released himself, for political or other reasons.

Once the booking is complete, the former president would appear before a judge for an afternoon arraignment.

Even for defendants who turn themselves in, answering criminal charges in New York generally entails at least several hours of detention while being fingerprinted, photographed, and going through other procedures.

As for the allegations, as Trump ran for president in 2016, his allies paid two women to bury their accusations. The publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer paid McDougal $150,000 for rights to her story and sat on it, in an arrangement brokered by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

After Cohen himself paid Daniels $130,000, Trumps company reimbursed him, added bonuses and logged the payments as legal expenses.

Federal prosecutors argued  in a 2018 criminal case against Cohen  that the payments equated to illegal aid to Trumps campaign. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation charges, but federal prosecutors didnt go after Trump, who was then in the White House. However, some of their court filings obliquely implicated him as someone who knew about the payment arrangements.

The New York indictment came as Trump contends with other investigations. In Atlanta, prosecutors are considering whether he committed any crimes when trying to get Georgia officials to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss there to Joe Biden.

And, at the federal level, a Justice Department-appointed special counsel also is investigating Trumps efforts to unravel the national election results. Additionally, the special counsel is examining how and why Trump held onto a cache of top secret government documents at his Florida club and residence, Mar-a-Lago, and whether the ex-president or his representatives tried to obstruct the probe into those documents.

___

Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz and Jill Colvin in New York and Michael Balsamo and Farnoush Amiri in Washington contributed to this report.

More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump
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WINSTED  Northwestern Connecticut Community College presents 24th Annual Mad River Literary Festival, set for Tuesday and Wednesday, April 11-12. Events begin at 6:30 p.m. in Founders Hall Auditorium, 4 Park Place, Winsted. The festival is free and open to the public.

Tuesday nights lineup will feature readings from Northwestern students, community members, and faculty poets Kateri Kosek, Jim Kelleher, and Joshua Brunetti. Community members are welcome to present their work at the Tuesday night readings but must register by contacting program coordinator, Professor Joshua Brunetti at jbrunetti@nwcc.edu.
Conservative politicians and critics of the Biden administration have released a report that offers a solution to the recruiting issues facing the military: Ditch efforts to add diversity, fight extremism, or combat climate change.

"What we're trying to do is save the military from a pernicious ideology that can have a very negative effect on warfighting capability," Rebeccah Heinrichs, a member of the Heritage Foundation panel that wrote the newly released report, said during a public rollout at the conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

The Heritage report underscores many of the same warnings issued for years by Republicans -- though especially in recent months as politicians have escalated allegations of a "woke" force. Many say the left-leaning policies embraced by the Biden administration lead to a loss of confidence among service members, weaken the military and, in turn, hurt recruitment.

Read Next: 9 Soldiers Killed as Pair of Helicopters Crash in One of the Army's Deadliest Training Accidents

The report, authored by a panel handpicked by Heritage, includes a poll of troops and civilians, and a bevy of citations to news coverage and editorials meant to bolster the claims.

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., who chaired the panel, told the same auditorium that "these initiatives have taken a real toll on our military and its perception amongst the public."

The Heritage panel's top concern is the Pentagon's "sweeping embrace of diversity, equity, and inclusion" policies.

It specifically names critical race theory, known as CRT, as a key example, and cites the choice by the Navy's top officer to include Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's book "How To Be An Antiracist" among other titles on a reading list in 2021. Kendi argues that there is no such thing as "non-racist," and his book has become a flashpoint in the ongoing U.S culture wars.

CRT is an academic theory, developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, that is found mostly on college campuses. It argues that racism has been embedded in systems and policies throughout the United States over long periods of time.

Waltz said that "we should prohibit the instruction and propagation of these divisive teachings such as CRT" but also acknowledged "often they're not labeled that way" by the military.

The report also notes that "there are no such explicitly labeled programs or policies" but asserts that CRT's principles are being taught and implemented through policy actions."

Pentagon officials say there is no evidence such programs are distracting from preparing to fight wars or are scaring off potential recruits. On the contrary, they argue, such programs strengthen the military.

"There's been no detraction from the primary mission of both the Navy and Marine Corps to defend our nation and do so in a forward-deployed manner," Navy Under Secretary Erik Raven told the Senate Armed Services Committee at a recent hearing on recruiting challenges.

The military has maintained that the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of qualified young people, a strong job market and a misunderstanding of the military are main causes of recruitment troubles.

The debate has generated hot hearing exchanges tailored for cable news. Republicans had promised to use their new majority in the House to zero in on policies they deem to be "woke."

The Heritage report is also concerned that the military is lowering its standards -- specifically physical fitness requirements -- in order to "even the playing field."

They cited the Army's new fitness test -- rolled out last summer after a troubled development -- as an example of the problem. The report argues that the largest military branch has potentially hurt recruitment by lowering its minimal physical fitness standard over concerns that women were not going to pass.

"I think that if you water it down and take away something that is hard, and frankly exclusive, about the warriors who joined the military, I think that obviously is going to have an impact on recruitment," Heinrichs said.

As Heritage points out, the new Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, was originally intended to have gender-neutral grading standards. An earlier version of the test also tasked soldiers with doing pull-ups and touching their knees to their elbows.

That event was eventually replaced with the plank, and gendered standards were put in place after it was discovered roughly half of women could not pass an earlier version of the ACFT.

However, the new test is largely considered a much better measurement of fitness than its predecessor, which only measured push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run. The new test measures deadlifts, hand-release push-ups, how long a soldier can hold a plank, a timed two-mile run, an event in which soldiers sprint and carry heavy weight, and another in which troops throw a 10-pound medicine ball as far as they can.

The think tank report includes a poll that Heritage conducted with both civilians and service members on some of their greatest concerns.

Among the military, the poll showed 41% of service members felt both reduction of physical fitness standards to promote equity and an overemphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion programs were the top two areas of politicization that drew concerns.

The report found that "70% of active-duty personnel ... stated that reduction of physical fitness standards to 'even the playing field' had decreased their trust in the military."

However, the poll sampled only 301 service members -- a much lower number than most national polls would use and nearly four times fewer than the sample used in this poll for the overall public. Heritage polled 1,000 Americans of all ages and 299 more Americans 18 to 24 years of age for other results.

The survey found that the top reason for a loss of trust in the military among adults in the U.S. was "reports of sexual assault in the military."

To Mike Berry, a former lawyer for the Marine Corps and another member of the panel, the issue comes down to the fact that "we're in an era in which our young people are being told, 'America is not worth sacrificing for, America is not worth serving, America is not worth risking your life for.'"

-- Steve Beynon contributed to this report.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Republicans Double Down on 'Woke' Criticism After Army Says Safety Top Recruiting Challenge
Starting next week, travelers looking to take advantage of Megabus returning to Michigan will be able to book trips to-and-from several cities in Northern Michigan thanks to a partnership with Indian Trails. Customers are now able to book travel to cities such as Alma, Clare, Grayling, Owosso and Petoskey for trips beginning on April 3.

Thats on top of the already announced service to-and-from larger cities like Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Mackinaw City, and Traverse City. Earlier this week, Megabus announced its return to Michigan after it left the state in 2017 due to a declining customer base. However, with travel interest on the rise following the pandemic, the partnership expands the reach of both bus companies at a time where demand is on the rise.

We look forward to our new partnership with Megabus and the continued expansion of our service network, said Chad Cushman, President of Indian Trails. Our mutual customers will surely benefit from the added connections available by merging our two existing networks.

While direct service appears to be mostly between larger cities, once youre in a city like Grand Rapids, youll then be able to book travel to places like Big Rapids, Reed City and Stanwood.

Depending on where your destination is, you may have to book multiple tickets in order to get from say Ann Arbor to Tawas City. In that case you would have to book a ticket from Ann Arbor to East Lansing, East Lansing to Flint and then finally Flint to Tawas City.

For more information on destinations, routes and fares, visit the Megabus website.

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Last weeks Northern Lights extravaganza that delighted legions of Michigan skywatchers was visible from the International Space Station, NASA said.

NASA shared a video of the view from the space station as green wisps danced across Earths atmosphere on Thursday, March 23.

The northern lights as seen from the International Space Station, NASA said on Instagram. The video begins with the green hues of the northern lights dancing across the skies of North America. The curvature of the Earth is visible where the auroras in the atmosphere meet the darkness of space. As the video continues it moves further southeast across North America, revealing the bright lights of cities across the Midwest United States.

The Northern Lights as seen from the International Space Station on March 23, 2023. (NASA)NASA

RELATED: Pilot gets amazing Northern Lights photos, says Michigans sky better than Alaska, Iceland

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, is generally known for its green and purple hues. But on March 23, Michiganders saw shades of red and yellow in a rare display.

The bright lights of the aurora are collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun and the earths atmosphere.

As these air particles shed the energy they picked up from the collision, each atom starts to glow in a different color  causing the brilliant ribbons of light which weave across Earths northern or southern polar regions, NASA explained on Instagram.

The Northern Lights as seen from the International Space Station on March 23, 2023. (NASA)NASA

RELATED: Northern Lights visible across Lower Michigan sky, could be seen with the naked eye

Typically, auroras are visible closer to Earths poles because thats where the planets magnetosphere is weakest, but last week they the lights were visible as far south as Virginia and Arizona, NASA said.

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EMMET COUNTY, MI  Deputies have identified a garbage attendant who was killed when he was struck by another vehicle in Northern Michigan.

The Emmet County Sheriffs Office told 9&10 News that Brent Thomas Irons Jr., 34, of Wolverine was hit while standing next to his truck, which was parked on the side of Intertown Road between Anderson and Cemetery roads in Bear Creek Township at 8:01 a.m. on Thursday.

Irons was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the pickup truck was transported to McLaren-Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey for treatment before being released.

An investigation is ongoing, but deputies said speed and alcohol do not appear to be a factor in the crash.

Deputies were assisted at the scene by Petoskey Department of Public Safety, Michigan State Police, Resort-Bear Creek Fire Department, Emmet County EMS and the Emmet County Road Commission.
MILAN, MI  A prison inmate has confessed to his role in the killing of a convicted child predator in federal prison.

Alex Albert Castro, 42, pleaded guilty Thursday, March 30, to one count of second-degree murder for the death of fellow inmate Christian Maire who was beaten and stabbed to death in the Milan Correctional Facility in 2019, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.
ANN ARBOR, MI - The bargaining conflict between University of Michigan and the graduate instructors who started striking on Wednesday has spilled over into the courts.

University of Michigan filed two lawsuits Thursday, March 30 in Washtenaw County Trial Court against the Graduate Employees Organization. The union is bargaining for higher pay and multiple other measures.

One of the lawsuits accuses the union of violating the previous collective bargaining agreement by striking, with UM seeking economic damages. The other seeks an injunction to force the strikers back to work.

The strike is in direct violation, and in repudiation, of a no-strike clause in the parties current collective bargaining agreement, the lawsuit states, and has occurred in the middle of the Universitys Winter semester, thereby jeopardizing a students ability to take final exams, complete necessary course work, graduate, or complete educational degrees necessary for graduate/professional school or post-graduate employment.

Read more: Instructor strike forces flexible learning for University of Michigan students

The union is disappointed that UM is taking the union to court rather than pay us a living wage, said GEO Contract Committee Chair Amir Fleischmann.

Grad workers are on strike, because we know our demands are reasonable and just, he said. We will continue to fight until we get the contract we deserve.

The union is currently demanding the university address 13 main issues in contract negotiations, chiefly a 60% wage increase in the first year and additional raises the following two years. UM is offering an 11.5% raise for part-time appointments over the next three years to increase wages to $38 to $39 per hour by year three.

The full platform is available here, including issues of increased childcare subsidies, increased co-pays on mental health, funding for gender transition health care and more unarmed responders by UMs Division of Public Safety and Security.

The university argues in the lawsuits that the bargaining agreement signed in 2020 with the union barred future strikes, meaning the strike that started March 29 is in violation of that agreement.

The Union, through its officials, will not cause, instigate, support or encourage, nor shall any Employee take part in, any concerted action against or any concerted interference with the operation of the University, attorneys wrote in the lawsuit , citing the previous agreement.

The lawsuit also claims the union started striking before the current agreement expired on May 1 and is asking for measures in the new deal that are not mandatory. A union and an organization must not have agreements held up by issues that do not directly impact wages, hours or working conditions, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

Fleischmann told MLive/The Ann Arbor News that the issues cited in their platform refer to mandatory subjects such as working conditions and pay. The most significant point of contention in negotiations is compensation, according to university officials in a website that updates on the strike

The lawsuits also cite a pamphlet circulated by the union to its members that answers various strike-related questions. One of the questions is, Ive heard that striking is illegal. Is that true? The unions pamphlet says that striking is illegal based on the bargaining agreement, according to the lawsuit.

Striking would therefore be a breach of contract and the University could legally discipline or fire us, according to the pamphlet. The question is whether the University would retaliate against workers and the union rather than pay us a living wage.

UM is highly unlikely to fire all of its (grad student instructors and assistants), because we are essential to the day-to-day operations of the University, the pamphlet continues. They need us!

Both parties are scheduled for another bargaining session on Friday, March 31. A hearing to consider the universitys injunction against the unions strike is scheduled for 10 a.m., April 4 in front of Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Carol Kuhnke.

When Eastern Michigan University sued its faculty union to stop striking in September 2022, Kuhnke denied the emergency motion. EMU and the union struck a deal three days later.

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FLINT, MI  Two days after being arrested and lodged in the Genesee County Jail in connection with the shooting death of his mother, Chavez Lawon Wyatt provided a deputy with damning evidence connecting him to the crime.

It was the early-morning hours of Easter Sunday, and Wyatt informed a deputy that hed passed a shell casing while using the bathroom and handed the spent shell over.

The casing matched the ballistics of the bullets that struck and killed Wyatts 51-year-old mother, Sheletha Graves and, nearly three years later, was among the evidence used against him when a jury on March 9 convicted Wyatt in his mothers death.

Wyatt returned to a Genesee County courtroom 22 days later, where he was sentenced Friday, March 31, by Genesee County Circuit Judge David J. Newblatt to a minimum of 20 years to a maximum of 40 years in prison for second-degree murder.

Related: Flint man convicted of shooting, killing mother

On April 10, 2020, just after midnight, police were dispatched to Cherokee Avenue in Flint following reports of gunfire.

When they arrived, they found Graves lying on the couch with a gunshot wound to the head. An autopsy report concluded her cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.

Wyatt was arrested at the scene and later charged with eight felonies, including second-degree murder, resisting and obstructing police, tampering with evidence, felon in possession of a firearm, three counts of felony firearm and possession with intent to deliver heroin over 50 grams.

In addition to sentencing Wyatt to a minimum of 20 years in prison for second-degree murder, Newblatt on Friday sentenced the defendant to consecutive sentences of 4-10 years for tampering with evidence, two years, five months to five years for being a felon in possession of a firearm and 14 months to two years for resisting and obstructing police.

He was also given three consecutive two-year prison terms for the felony firearm charges and time served on the drug offense.

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GENESEE COUNTY, MI  Genesee County is in the midst of a two-pronged problem that stemmed, in part, from the COVID-19 pandemic: jail overcrowding and a backlog of criminal cases.

Its solution? Throwing nearly $800,000 in grant funds at the issue, money that will go toward employing visiting judges with the hopes of alleviating issues over the course of the next year.

The county announced in a Friday, March 31, news release that the Michigan Supreme Court was awarding Genesee Countys 7th Circuit Court a $785,000 grant to create a Virtual Backlog Response Docket.

The court will create a docket comprised only of non-capital cases that have been pending for more than 91 days. Funds will employ visiting judges to preside over the newly created docket until March 31, 2024.

Of the $785,000 grant, a total of $190,000 will go toward compensating the Michigan Department of Corrections for its pre-sentence investigation reports on the newly formed docket. Other funds are earmarked for use by the officers of the county prosecutor, public defender, and clerk.

Cases in which the defendant is in the Genesee County Jail and who have one or more cases will be given priority, according to the news release.

The criminal division judges will then be able to prioritize criminal jury trials and manage the most serious felony cases.

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HOLLAND, MI - Organizers recently announced the grand marshals for this years Tulip Time festival parades in Holland this May.

The two parades, Kinderparade and the Volksparade, are just two of many fun events scheduled to run May 7-15.

Grand marshals selected for the festivals two parades are ODC Network, Gentex, Frank Kraai, retired educator and Holland resident, and Judge Juanita Bocanegra, the first Hispanic judge in the 58th District Court.

This years grand marshals carry themes of vision, education and mentorship woven through all four stories, according to a Tulip Time statement.

We are thrilled to recognize the importance of education, specifically preschool education, and the partnership between ODC Network and Gentex, said Gwen Auwerda, Tulip Times executive director.

Frank Kraai is a treasure in this community, and we are honored to celebrate him and his contributions over the years. He had an immense impact on students when he was a teacher at West Ottawa, and Juanita Bocanegra is one of those students.

Related: Spring fireworks coming to Lake Michigan beach town for Tulip Time festival

ODC Network and Gentex will be co-grand marshals at the Gentex Kinderparade, which is set to kick off on Thursday, May 11, at 1:30 p.m. in downtown Holland. It will feature elementary students in traditional Dutch costumes and celebrates Dutch heritage from arts to agriculture, organizers said.

On May 13, retired West Ottawa educator Frank Kraai and 58th District Court Judge Juanita Bocanegra will co-grand marshal the Quality Car Wash Volksparade, set to begin at 2 p.m.

For Kraai, the reunion with Bocanegra and the ability to share the role of grand marshal is an honor due to his long-running connection to the community. As described by Kraai, One of the greatest gifts we can give our young people is to model, nurture and inspire them to engage in their community.

When I think of Holland, I think of Tulip Time, which is a magical celebration, highlighting our childrens parades, bands playing, choirs singing, and the Dutch Dancers dancing throughout the city, Kraai said in a statement. This is all supported by our precious volunteers, generous donors, and our community and business partners. We are so appreciative of their commitment to Tulip Time.

Bocanegra shares similar views, being one of those young people who flourished under the influence of Kraai. She grew up in a migrant family that traveled seasonally to Michigan for agricultural work until settling in Holland.

Now, she is the first Hispanic judge in the 58th District Court.

Frank Kraai was my 5th-grade teacher, and he played a significant role in what my life is today, Bocanegra said. He helped to transform me from an average migrant student into a straight-A student who believed everything and anything is achievable if one is willing to put in the hard work and effort required. It is truly an honor and privilege to share the grand marshal role with him.

Other highlights, including musical performances, art, family-friendly activities and thousands of tulips will be featured May 7-15 in downtown Holland.

To me, personally, Tulip Time means the beginning of my roots here in Holland because we arrived in March and by May I was marching in my first Tulip Time parade, Bocanegra added. Tulip Time represents the rich Dutch heritage culture in our community and many of the great things Holland has to offer its residents and visitors.

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UPDATE: Information in this story has been updated to show that Louis Gonzales, not Louis Ruiz, was identified as one of two men found dead in Wyoming. Police initially provided incorrect information.

KENT COUNTY, MI  Wyoming police have identified two men who were fatally shot Friday, March 31, outside of a house on Buchanan Avenue SW.

Andrew Gil, 25, and Louis Gonzales, 30, were found dead when police responded to a 7:34 a.m. call to 911.

Gil was found inside a vehicle parked in the driveway of a house in the 3000 block of Buchanan, between 28th and 32nd streets. He lived at the house, according to online records.

Gonzales body was in the driveway near the car.

Related: 2 men found dead after shooting at Wyoming home

Police recovered a handgun at the scene. Police continue to investigate circumstances surrounding the deaths but said it appears that there is not a threat to the public.

Police asked anyone with information to contact investigators at 616-530-7300 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or www.silentobserver.org

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OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  A Hudsonville woman suffered serious injuries early Friday, March 31, when her vehicle struck a berm on Chicago Drive, went airborne and landed upside down on the highway.

The 31-year-old woman, who was trapped in her vehicle, was taken by ambulance to Corewell Health Zeeland Hospital, Ottawa County sheriffs deputies said.

The crash happened around 12:20 a.m. at 72nd Avenue and Chicago Drive in Zeeland Township.

The investigation showed that the woman was driving a 2015 GMC Acadia south on 72nd Avenue when she failed to stop at Chicago Drive. Her vehicle crossed the westbound lanes then struck a berm in the median, causing it to go airborne. The vehicle landed upside down in the eastbound lanes.

The driver was pinned in her vehicle until she was freed by Zeeland Township firefighters.

Eastbound Chicago Drive was closed for over an hour while police investigated and the road was cleaned up, police said.

The crash remains under investigation.

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JACKSON, MI  The party is over for Party City in Jackson, with the location expected to close its doors at the end of April.

In January, Party City filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. This will allow the party store to restructure and reduce its debts, according to a press release.

In response, Party City will be closing and auctioning off leases of several locations across the U.S., including the one in Jackson.

Party City has been in Jackson since it took over the former Office Depot space at 1510 N. West Ave., after it closed in 2013. The store is conducting a sale of its merchandise and will officially close Wednesday, April 26, officials said.

Around 25 stores across the United States are closing and will be auctioned, per the press release, including Michigan locations in Jackson, Benton Harbor and Holland, according to court documents.

The party store is working with A&G Real Estate Partners to auction the locations. The 25,724 square foot buildings lease will be available for auction around Friday, April 14, according to a press release from A&G Real Estate Partners.

A&G Real Estate Partners stated that potential users for these spaces include gyms, dollar stores, furniture stores or non-retail businesses. The company also received a $150 million a debtor-in-possession loan to support continued operations, the release stated.

Party City officials declined commenting further on the Jackson stores closure.

The business previously closed 45 of its stores due to a helium shortage in 2019.

Related: Party City will close 45 stores thanks to global helium shortage

Party City has around 800 stores in the U.S., and offers items such as Halloween costumes, party decorations and balloons. The next closest location to Jackson is in Ann Arbor at 2677 Oak Valley Drive.

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KALAMAZOO, MI -- A student is suing Portage Public Schools for scheduling Portage Northern High Schools graduation on the Jewish holy day of Shavuot.

Minaleah Koffron, a 12th grader at Portage Northern, said in the lawsuit that having graduation on May 26, 2023, would be a violation of her Civil Rights under Michigans Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. She argues it is illegal to deny a student the ability to attend graduation due to their religion.

The lawsuit was originally filed in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court, but has been moved to federal court.

A temporary restraining order was originally granted requiring Portage Public Schools to reschedule the date while in circuit court. Mark Ostrowski, the attorney representing the school district, said hes unsure if the order is still in place, now that the case is in federal court. The plaintiffs attorney could not be reached Friday morning.

Portage Northern interim Principal Nathan Ledlow and PPS Superintendent Mark Bielang are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.

Shavuot is a Jewish holiday where observant Jews are prohibited from working, including but not limited to, attending educational programs or events, the plaintiff said in the lawsuit.

Koffron has been a student at Portage Northern since 2019 and attended schools in the district since kindergarten, the lawsuit said. During that time, Koffrons mother, Saraphoena Koffron has engaged with district leaders to give advance notice of Jewish holy days, the lawsuit said.

The graduation date was set in early 2022, the lawsuit said.

The scheduling of graduation on Shavuot is part of a pattern of the district excluding religious minorities, according to the suit. Minaleah Koffron was previously prevented from attending a homecoming dance in 2017 because it was scheduled on Yom Kippur, the lawsuit says. She was also prevented from attending prom in 2022 because it was during Passover.

Minaleah Koffron helped start a petition, gathering 430 signatures from students and teachers to compel the school to change the date.

Portage Public Schools has requested a notice of removal for the lawsuit in the next 30 days.

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BAY CITY, MI - There could be a light at the end of the tunnel for Bay Citys outdoor dining fans.

On Monday, April 3, the Bay City Commission will consider a resolution that, if approved, would restore street closures in downtown Bay City for the 2023 Feet on the Street season.

The resolution, which is being proposed to the commission by Mayor Kathleen Newsham, asks that the following streets close for outdoor dining this summer: 3rd Street, from the alley east of Water Street to Saginaw Street; Center Avenue, from Saginaw Street to Washington Avenue; Saginaw Street, from Center Avenue to 5th Street.

The proposal, if approved, would also make it so that the Downtown Management Board would be responsible for applying for a special event permit for the road closures and the costs associated with the permit.

The proposal comes as the fate of Feet on the Street has been in limbo. The original plans for the 2023 season did not allow for any Feet on the Street seasonal road closures. The rules only allowed for sidewalk cafes, small outdoor dining areas directly in front of restaurants as well as brief special event road closures.

But since the 2023 rules were announced, a public outcry from business owners and patrons led the commission to begin the process of reconsidering how to approach the upcoming season.

On Monday, March 6, the Bay City Commission approved a resolution from commissioner Shelley Ann Niedzwiecki that allows for Saginaw Street in downtown Bay City to close for the entire 2023 outdoor dining season.

Niedzwieckis resolution was vetoed on March 20. The commission failed to gather enough votes to overturn the mayoral veto on the resolution.

However, the veto was not done to kill-off Feet on the Street and the Saginaw Street closure, explained Newsham.

The reason I did the veto is mainly because I wanted more than Saginaw Street to be closed, said Mayor Kathleen Newsham at the March 20 meeting.

During the March 20 meeting, residents and business owners took to the stand to voice overwhelming support for the program. But Melissa Bergey, who owns Perfectly Imperfect Creations at 108 Third Street, was the lone voice against the program. She voiced her concerns as a retail business owner whose shop has been impacted negatively by the road closures.

Every time you close a street, its like COVID over, and over and over, she said on March 20.

The April 3 meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. in the city commission chambers at Bay City Hall, 301 Washington Avenue. Click here to see what else is on Mondays agenda.

The Feet on the Street program was founded in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program originally served as a way for restaurants and bars to extend their service areas outdoors into the roadway for patrons to enjoy as these businesses contended with indoor capacity limits due to the pandemic.

The program returned for 2021 and 2022 due to popular demand.

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SAGINAW, MI-- Great Lakes Bay Pride and Great Lakes Bay Health Centers will be hosting a Community Testing & Vaccination Day.

According to a release provided by Great Lakes Bay Pride, the clinic will run from 10:00 a.m 1:00 p.m. at East Side Soup Kitchen, 940 E. Genesee Ave. in Saginaw, on Saturday, April 15. The surrounding community has been invited to the free event featuring a number of free, confidential services and resources.

Among those resources are:

HIV testing and prevention education

COVID-19 vaccines (12+ years old)

Take-home COVID tests

Narcan and fentanyl test strips

Tobacco cessation education

Hepatitis-C education

Gender-affirming care information

Medicaid recertification assistance

Community resource tables

The release shared that visitors who receive any available services will be eligible to complete a survey and be entered to win a gift card. Breakfast, snacks and a light lunch will also be provided while supplies last.

Scott Ellis, executive director of Great Lakes Bay Pride, said working alongside Great Lakes Bay Health Centers allowed the most previous iteration of the clinic, held last fall, to run seamlessly.

Great Lakes Bay Pride and Great Lakes Bay Health Centers continue a longstanding partnership to bring health resources to underserved and under-represented communities in the Great Lakes Bay Region, said Ellis. We are excited to bring this event back to the Saginaw community after a successful event hosted in September at The Hearth Home.

Ellis said more than 50 people were able to receive vaccines and other aid at the last clinic, but, due to its popularity and a community need, resources have been multiplied to provide more help for those who need it.

HIV Prevention Manager at Great Lakes Bay Health Centers Omar Jones echoed Ellis statement, adding that the partnership and others like it have been made possible with support from Well Saginaw and grant funding provided through the Michigan Public Health Institute.

Great Lakes Bay Health Centers and Great Lakes Bay Pride are working together to change lives because we care, said Jones. Through our community partnership, we continue to move forward in providing excellent health care services to everyone.

To learn more about Great Lakes Bay Pride, a nonprofit organization aiming to provide inclusive sexual orientation and gender identity/expression education, advocacy, networking and resources to individuals and organizations across the Great Lakes Bay Region, visit greatlakesbaypride.org.

To learn more about other healthcare services provided by Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, visit www.greatlakesbayhealthcenters.org.

For more information on the community testing & vaccine clinic, contact Great Lakes Bay Pride at info@greatlakesbaypride.org or call (989) 203-2474.

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SAGINAW, MI  In the summer of 2021, Andre L. Lindsey Jr. met with his namesake father to tell him he was going to be a grandfather. Somehow, a heated argument erupted, culminating in Lindsey Jr. firing seven bullets into his dad, committing patricide.

After deliberating for a few hours, a seven-woman, nine-man jury at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, found Lindsey Jr., 28, guilty of second-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, and three counts of felony firearm.

Second-degree murder is punishable by up to life imprisonment, though it allows for the possibility of parole.

Lindsey Jr., his wrists shackled and wearing a black, short-sleeve button-down shirt, appeared unfazed on hearing the verdicts. He whispered into the ear of his attorney, Rico D. Neal, then turned to smile and mouth words of encouragement to those supporting him in the courtroom gallery.

Neal and Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Shellbe A. Sanborn presented their closing arguments to the jury on Thursday morning. Both agreed that Lindsey Jr. around dusk on July 1, 2021, went to his uncles house in the 400 block of South 10th Street, where his father Andre L. Lindsey Sr., 49, also went.

Citing testimony from several of Lindsey Sr.s siblings, Sanborn argued the father and son got into an argument on a porch. They walked off the porch toward a grassy area, with Lindsey Jr. going into the street and opening fire on his dad with a handgun. He then took off running down the street, pursued in a vehicle by one of his aunts.

The aunt caught up to her nephew several blocks away, at which point she no longer saw him with a gun.

I said, Boy, youre going to prison for the rest of your life. You done killed your daddy, boy, the woman testified.

Andre L. Lindsey Sr.

The aunt testified she heard Lindsey Jr. telling someone to come get him. Moments later, a speeding vehicle pulled up and carted Lindsey Jr. away.

Lindsey Sr. was conscious when police and paramedics arrived at the scene. Police testified he and other witnesses were uncooperative.

He didnt want his son to get in trouble, she said. He told witnesses at the scene, Dont tell them it was my son. Tell them it was a drive-by. He wanted to protect his son despite his betrayal.

Lindsey Sr. survived in a hospital for days, unable to speak but able to write. When investigators visited him, he wrote he didnt know who shot him.

Lindsey Sr. died on July 15, 2021.

Police arrested Lindsey Jr. on July 7, 2021. Interviewed by police the same day, Lindsey Jr. said he and his father were smoking on the porch when his dad was suddenly shot. He denied being the shooter.

I still cant believe my dad got shot, he told police. I wanna know who did it. I would never do nothing like this to my dad. Never. My dads my best friend, man.

Defense attorney Neal maintained there was no proof his client perpetrated the shooting. He said Lindsey Jr. went to his uncles house to tell his father that he would soon be a grandfather.

Who was there on the porch? Just him and his father, Neal said. Other family members were at various locations inside the house, inside the house across the street. What happened on the porch between him and his father? What happened?

No witnesses testified as to what the argument was over. Neal theorized maybe Lindsey Sr. had a weapon of his own, adding that witnesses testified he ran off the porch and charged at his son, closely followed by his own brother.

While police recovered eight spent shell casings and one live round at the scene, all .45-caliber Winchester rounds fired from the same gun, they did not find the gun itself. They also did not identify four potential witnesses at the scene.

Of the witnesses who spoke to police at the scene, none said Lindsey Jr. was the shooter, though one of his aunts gave a physical description of the assailant.

Lindsey Jr. was on parole at the time of his fathers shooting. In March 2016, he was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison on convictions of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and felony firearms. He received credit for about 11 months already served.

The Michigan Department of Corrections paroled Lindsey Jr. on April 14 of 2021. On the day of his fathers shooting, Lindsey Jr. was considered a parole absconder by the MDOC.

After the verdicts were read and the jurors polled, Saginaw County Chief Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson ordered Lindsey Jr. jailed without bond until sentencing, the date of which is pending.

In addition to his son, Lindsey Sr. was survived by two daughters, a stepson, a significant other, and numerous siblings, cousins, nephews, nieces and extended family members.

His hobbies included bingo, enjoying family time with his entire family, hanging at the car wash with his boys, and watching sports, his obituary states. Andre loved to cook, and he was a beast on the grill. He will be missed by family and friends who loved him dearly.

Read more:

Jury deliberating if Saginaw man killed father when he went to tell him he would be a grandfather

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Saginaw man dies 2 weeks after allegedly being shot by son named after him

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The historic criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump in New York has drawn battle lines in Michigan, where Democrats are calling for justice and Republicans are calling it a political hit job.

Its the weaponization of our government against citizens, said Kristina Karamo, state Republican Party chair and Trumps pick last year for Michigan secretary of state. In a statement, her party called Thursday a dark day in American history.

Michigan representatives in the U.S. House also spoke out on social media. Bill Huizenga of Zeeland called the indictment a mockery of our justice system, Tim Walberg of Tipton called it an overreach, and Jack Bergman of Watersmeet said its another politically motivated witch hunt that will cause irreversible damage.

Peter Meijer, the most recent Republican to represent Grand Rapids in U.S. Congress, was more colorful, as he openly questioned why a former president should be indicted for what could be misdemeanor falsification of business records.

That seems like fing weak sauce, he tweeted.

On the Democratic side, congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Ann Arbor tweeted that all Americans are entitled to equal justice, and she asked people to remain calm and peaceful: We are a nation of laws and due process, and now our judicial system will do its job.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, noted in a tweet that Trump was impeached twice.

No one is above the law. Right? state Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, tweeted.

Trump, a Republican, became the first former U.S. president ever to be indicted for a crime Thursday night, when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, announced a grand jury had voted to charge the 76-year-old, according to the Associated Press.

Catch up: Donald Trump was just indicted. Heres what happens next

Braggs office contacted Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender. Trump is expected to arrive at a courthouse early next week, be photographed and fingerprinted and face a judge for arraignment on charges that are still under seal.

The charges are expected to stem from an alleged campaign finance violation, in which Trumps former attorney says he was directed during the 2016 campaign to pay $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels for silence about a past affair with Trump.

That attorney, Michael Cohen, spoke with prosecutors multiple times and testified against Trump to the grand jury.

Go deeper: Whos who in the Manhattan DAs Donald Trump investigation

Trump maintains his innocence, posting a flurry of messages on social media that allege political motives from the prosecution. He is also fundraising off the news, asking people to donate to his 2024 campaign.

Even if Trump goes to prison, the U.S. Constitution still allows him to seek and win the presidency.

The ex-president, whose official residence is now in Florida, originally predicted he would be indicted on Tuesday, March 21, and he called for supporters across the country to protest. About two-dozen Michiganders rallied in Livonia that day, telling MLive they believe he is innocent.

Its boosting morale for the Trump supporters, for the America First agenda, 60-year-old Livonia resident Rob Cortis told MLive.

The resulting public opinion is unpredictable, but The New York Times top polling analyst, Nate Cohn, noted that the FBIs search of Trumps home for classified records last August had no effect on his standing in the polls.

An Economist/YouGov poll in mid-March found 60% of Trump voters from 2020 think his Stormy Daniels payment is not very serious or not serious at all, compared to 40% who think its somewhat or very serious.

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After a two-week hiatus, Michigan is back to having no counties with high COVID-19 community levels, according to the CDC.

This week the state reported 14 counties with medium levels, located mostly in the Upper Peninsula and along the east-coast of the Lower Peninsula. The remaining 69 counties came in low, according to data updated Friday, March 31.

Michigans medium-level counties include Alger, Delta, Dickinson, Iron, Luce, Marquette, Menominee, and Schoolcraft in the U.P., and Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Sanilac, and St. Clair counties in the mitten.

Federal health officials assess each countys COVID Community Level based on reported coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. Experts recommend residents living in high-risk areas to consider masking indoors, regardless of vaccination status, to limit transmission.

Community Levels put counties in one of three buckets: low (green), medium (yellow) or high (orange). The goal is to prevent severe disease and limit strain on hospitals.

Last week, Michigan had just Gogebic County in the orange. The week prior there were three such counties -- Alpena, Alger and Marquette.

For hospitalizations, the CDC looks at three pieces: the percentage of staffed hospital beds occupied by COVID patients, COVID hospital admissions per capita and COVID cases per capita.

A county is at a high level when there are 200-plus new cases per 100,000 for the week and either (A) 10-plus new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 or (B) at least 10% of the staffed inpatient beds are occupied by COVID patients.

If hospitalizations are particularly high, even a county with low cases can be at a high level, per the CDC formula.

(Not every county has a hospital, so each is assigned a health services area, a larger region that contains at least one hospital. Counties are attributed the metrics for the entire area, weighted based on each countys population. For example: Monroe Countys health services area also includes the Toledo, Ohio area.)

Heres more on the latest COVID-19 trends in Michigan.

Michigan is reporting 638 new, confirmed cases per day in the past week

COVID cases increased from last week when the state averaged 594 new confirmed cases per day. The increase follows two weeks of decreases, but the latest average remains lower than the 711 daily cases reported two weeks ago.

Cases peaked in January 2022 at the start of the omicron wave with Michigan averaging 17,595 cases per day at one point.

Cases are confirmed when theres a positive result from an NAAT/RT-PCR test. Cases are probable when theres a reported antigen (rapid) test or if somebody has symptoms and was exposed to a person with COVID-19.

All graphics in this story are based only on confirmed numbers, which differs from the states use of confirmed plus probable data in its reporting.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports COVID cases once per week. There were 6,562 confirmed and probable cases this week, up from 5,989 last week.

Michigan has reported more than 2.63 million confirmed COVID cases and more than 444,500 probable cases since the pandemic began.

The chart below shows the seven-day average for new, confirmed COVID cases throughout the pandemic.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

COVID case totals dont tell the whole story. At-home tests are not reported, so those arent included in the data. Thats why its also key to look at percent positivity of reported tests and data on hospitalizations and deaths.

Michigan ranks 12th in the U.S. in new cases per capita

This week, Michigan had the 12th-most COVID cases per capita of the 50 U.S. states, per the New York Times. It held that spot from the previous week.

States with the most cases per capita this week were Louisiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Alaska, North Dakota, and Maine. States with the fewest cases per capita were Texas, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, and Wyoming.

For COVID hospitalizations, Michigan was tied for 12th-most per capita this week. For COVID deaths per capita this week, Michigan was tied for ninth.

Average test positivity is 11%

About 11% of COVID tests submitted to the state this week were positive.

The percent positivity rate has hovered between 10% and 13% since late January.

Michigans rate peaked at 35% in January 2022. It dipped as low as 2% in early March 2022 before climbing again. However, the rise in at-home, self-testing led to rates typically remaining higher due to fewer people reporting negative test results to their local health departments.

The graph below shows the percentage of COVID-19 tests reported that came back positive throughout the pandemic.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Hospitals treating 736 confirmed or suspected adult COVID-19 patients

COVID hospitalizations are down 3.7% this week. There were 736 adults in Michigan hospitals with confirmed or suspected COVID as of Wednesday, March 29, compared to 764 a week ago.

In January 2022, COVID hospitalizations topped 4,000 most weeks.

Among the adults with COVID hospitalized on Wednesday, 86 were in intensive care and 35 were on a ventilator.

Michigan also had 18 children hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID as of Wednesday.

Michigan is reporting nine new COVID deaths per day in the past week

Michigan had nine COVID deaths per day this week. Thats down from 10 per day last week, but up from seven per day two weeks ago.

Michigan has had 38,250 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 4,206 probable COVID deaths since the pandemic began. During omicrons peak last January, Michigan was averaging more than 100 COVID deaths per day.

The chart below shows the seven-day average for COVID deaths throughout the pandemic.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Vaccinations: 16.5% of residents have received omicron-specific booster

About 64.1% of Michigan residents have gotten at least one COVID shot, 59.5% have received the full original regimen and 38.8% have been boosted.

The omicron-specific COVID-19 booster is available in Michigan from both Pfizer and Moderna. About 16.5% of residents have received this bivalent booster so far, or about 1.65 million residents.

Below is a breakdown by age group of Michiganders whove gotten at least one shot (initiated), those who have two shots (completed) and those who are considered up to date on COVID vaccines, as of Wednesday, March 22.

75 and older: 87.4% initiated; 82.7% completed, 36.3% up to date



65 to 74: 90.6% initiated; 86.7% completed, 41% up to date



50 to 64: 77.1% initiated; 73% completed, 22% up to date



40 to 49: 67.9% initiated; 63.3% completed, 12.9% up to date



30 to 39: 66.4% initiated; 60.7% completed, 10.6% up to date



20 to 29: 56.4% initiated; 50.5% completed, 6.4% up to date



16 to 19: 57.3% initiated; 52.5% completed, 6.3% up to date



12 to 15: 50.3% initiated; 46.8% completed, 7.7% up to date



5 to 11: 31.3% initiated; 28.4% completed, 5.2% up to date



Younger than 5: 9.9% initiated, 5.9% completed, 3.9% up to date



For more statewide data, visit MLives coronavirus data page.

To find a testing site near you, check out the states online test find send an email to COVID19@michigan.gov, or call 888-535-6136 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

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Some Michigan hospitals will soon begin to further ease COVID-era masking requirements in response to continued declining case rates and hospitalizations.

Beginning Wednesday, April 5, Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor and Sparrow Health System in Lansing will no longer require all patients, visitors and caregivers to wear masks at all times while inside their facilities, according to a spokesperson for each system.

Caregivers, patients and visitors will not have to wear masks when in public areas like hallways, waiting areas and cafeterias. Patients with respiratory symptoms or positive COVID tests, however, will have to wear masks, as will those with a household contact with COVID. Visitors will also need a mask when in a patients room as a COVID-19 precaution.

As for caregivers, theyll still need to wear masks while providing direct patient care. Theyll also need to mask for the five days after they return to work from a COVID-19 absence.

Masks will still be available at facility entrances for those who choose to wear one, but they wont be required upon stepping foot in the hospital as is current system policy.

Patient safety is our top priority, and we will continue to monitor transmission rates in our community and adjust mask requirements as needed, reads a statement from Michigan Medicine. We will continue to make masks readily available for patients and visitors, and immunocompromised patients and visitors are encouraged to wear masks.

John Foren, Sparrows director of media relations, said the policy change is likely to be an industry trend now that coronavirus numbers have remained low, communities have high levels of immunity, and there are widely available and effective treatments for COVID-19.

Our goal is to protect patients and caregivers, but given these factors and the improvement of the numbers, we want to give people flexibility to take precautions at their own level of risk, Foren said. Some will always wear a mask now and some dont want to wear a mask where they dont have to.

Sparrow caregivers were notified of the policy change Wednesday, March 29. The system plans to announce it publicly next week.

Elsewhere in the state, Corewell Health does not have plans to change its mask policy, according to a spokesperson. The system requires anyone 5 and older to wear a mask while inside any of the system facilities.

Henry Ford Health also continues to require everyone age 2 and older to wear a mask in patient settings and when entering/exiting public spaces within its facilities, a spokesperson confirmed.

Dr. Justin Klamerus, executive vice president and chief medical officer for McLaren Health Care, said his system follows state and local guidelines with respect to masking, and is reviewing community transmission levels of COVID-19 and other factors that may impact masking requirements in the future. As it stands, the health system requires masks be worn in all of its indoor settings.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MiOSHA) and its federal counterpart have not rescinded their COVID-19 policies for healthcare workers, which require masks be worn indoors when around other people, with some exceptions. However, theyre not currently enforcing those COVID-era mask policies, a spokesperson confirmed.

For the general public, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends wearing masks indoors in communities reporting high levels of coronavirus spread. Its three-tiered system relies on new cases per 100,000 people and hospital admissions for determining high, medium, or low risk communities.

Most of Michigan has reported low community levels for months. Last week, Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula reached high status. One week prior there were three counties  Alpena, Alger, and Marquette  but all three dropped below those thresholds within a week.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Veteran infielder Cesar Hernandez, who opted out of his contract after failing to make the Detroit Tigers Opening Day roster, has signed a minor-league deal with the Seattle Mariners.

The news was first reported by El Extra Base.

Hernandez, who turns 33 in May, has played in parts of 10 big-league seasons and has been an everyday second baseman for the last eight seasons. He came to camp as a non-roster invitee on a minor-league contract to compete for a utility job and was also seen as a potential hedge or even replacement for veteran second baseman Jonathan Schoop.

After a fast start, Hernandezs offensive production waned this spring. Even so, it was a mild surprise when the Tigers traded for utility man Zach McKinstry on Monday and gave him the final spot on the Opening Day roster.

A native of Venezuela, Hernandez spent parts of seven seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. He signed a free-agent deal with the then-Cleveland Indians before the COVID-shortened 2020 season and was traded to the Chicago White Sox at the deadline in 2021.

The Tigers are stocked with infielders at Triple-A Toledo and, once it became he wasnt going to make the team, Hernandez wisely decided to look elsewhere for a better situation.

Hernandez is expected to head to Triple-A Tacoma and be an option for Seattle in the event of injuries.
The intense severe weather outbreak expected just west of Michigan today may still have some punch as it moves into the state this evening.

The severe weather forecast shows a high-end tornado and damaging wind gust area likely in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. today. The red shaded circular area has a level four chance of severe weather on a five-level scale. The clump of severe thunderstorms is expected to move east and slightly northeast. When the thunderstorms get into southwest Michigan this evening they could still be severe.

severe weather for Friday

A closer look into our state shows the highest severe weather threat, a level two threat, covers the southwest corner of Lower Michigan. Muskegon, some of the Grand Rapids area, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, South Haven, Grand Haven, Holland and Benton Harbor/St. Joseph are all in the level two risk of severe storms.

severe weather for Friday

There is enough twisting of the wind field to cause the Storm Prediction Center to mention an isolated tornado possible this evening in that same southwest corner of Lower Michigan.

severe weather for Friday

The storms could move east-northeast across southern Lower Michigan in the second half of this evening. The storms could still be producing isolated severe wind gusts up through midnight. The eastern edge of the possibility of brief severe wind gusts stretches to Saginaw, Flint and Detroit.

severe weather for Friday

We also have a chance for large hail. Early spring storms are notorious for being hail producers in Michigan. If you have a nice car, park it in the garage before the storms hit your area.

severe weather for Friday

Heres the radar forecast showing the first clump of thunderstorms early this evening and then a weakening squall line in the late evening.

Radar forecast from 6 p.m. today, March 31 to 2 a.m. Saturday, April 1.

Below is the expected radar at 7 p.m. today. The storms will be in southwest Michigan.

severe weather for Friday

By 11 p.m. today we could have two lines of strong to severe storms across southern Lower Michigan.

severe weather for Friday

Get ready for a noisy and stormy evening. Be ready to move to the middle of your home during the worst of the storms, and even into the basement if you have one.

This afternoon we will have a better pinpoint forecast of how the thunderstorms will move across Lower Michigan. Click and bookmark here to get the latest MLive weather updates.
Renowned filmmaker Spike Lee has expressed his disappointment with the Ghanaian film industry's leaders after revealing that no one approached him during his recent visit to the country.

Lee, a veteran in the film industry, had been in Ghana to participate in a film festival and to scout for locations for his upcoming project.

In a tweet by Multimedias Kenneth Awotwe Darko, where he granted an interview on Asaase Radio, Lee expressed his dismay at the lack of deliberate efforts, saying, "It was publicized that I was coming and no one has approached me from the film office in Ghana." He went on to question why the industry was "fumbling the bag" at this point, given the tremendous potential that Ghana has to offer.

Lee's comments have sparked debate among stakeholders in Ghana's film industry, with many expressing their disappointment at the missed opportunity to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience that he could have offered. Others have criticized the leadership's failure to leverage the visit to attract more investment and international attention to the industry.

Below are the reactions of some Ghanaians;

Rocky Amartey -

Lenny Makavo -

Chris K. -

View excerpts of the interview below;


The Russian embassy in Ghana has hit back at US Vice President Kamala Harris, after she blamed Russia for causing food and economic crises in Africa and the whole world following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Harris made the remarks during her recent visit to Ghana, as part of her three-nation African tour.

"In terms of the Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine. There have been a number of impacts globally and to the United States included.

In particular, it relates to the prevalence of our ability to have access to certain foods, and grain in particular, globally has been a big issue," Harris said.

However, the Russian embassy in Ghana has disputed Harris's claims, stating that the US Veep goofed in her assertion.

"The recent visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to Ghana hasn't gone without another portion of anti-Russian fakes that do not stand a simple fact-checking," the embassy said in a tweet on March 29.

The embassy went on to cite European officials who acknowledged that Ukraine had already supplied 53 million tonnes of grain and other food products, its annual export amount.

It also blamed EU and US sanctions for blocking Russian grain exports, and the fact that only 3% of the total volume of grain exported from Ukraine went to Africa.

The Russian embassy's rebuttal highlights the ongoing tensions between Russia and the West, and the complex issues surrounding food security in Africa.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has had far-reaching impacts, both regionally and globally, particularly food security.

However, the extent to which Russia is responsible for these impacts is a matter of ongoing debate and discussion.

Harris's visit to Ghana was aimed at strengthening ties between the US and African countries, and promoting economic development and cooperation.

The US has been a key partner for many African countries in areas such as trade, investment, and development assistance.

As the world faces ongoing challenges related to food security, climate change, and geopolitical instability, it is essential for countries to work together to find solutions and build a more sustainable and equitable future.

This requires cooperation, dialogue, and a commitment to fact-based decision-making and diplomacy which forms part of the US Vice Presidents recent visit.
The Ghana Gas Company Limited has commenced a maintenance programme at its Atuabo Gas Processing Plant (GPP) for 14 days, beginning on 25th March 2023.

The programme aims to retool the gas processing plant and transmission infrastructure.

However, the shutdown will affect gas supply to some power plants, and consequently, the interruption of power supply to some consumers.

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is expected to release a schedule to this effect.

To manage the impact of the shutdown, the government is procuring additional gas from Nigeria, Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and Light Crude Oil (LCO) to complement available domestic gas for power generation.

This is consistent with the 'Dum Siesie' programme, which aims to ensure reliable power supply through robust and necessary maintenance activities.

The Ministry of Energy assures the general public that it is actively working with all stakeholders to mitigate any adverse effects of this exercise.

In a statement issued by the Communications and Public Affairs Unit, the Ministry said, "Consistent with the 'Dum Siesie' programme of ensuring reliable power supply through robust and necessary maintenance activities, the Ministry wishes to assure the general public that the Ministry is actively working with all stakeholders to ensure that any adverse effects of this exercise are mitigated."

The maintenance programme at the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant is crucial to ensuring the reliability of Ghana's power supply in the long term.

The government has consistently emphasized the importance of maintenance programmes to ensure reliable power supply and prevent system failures.

The efforts to procure additional gas from Nigeria, HFO, and LCO will help to mitigate the impact of the shutdown on the power supply to consumers.

Despite the expected power interruptions during this maintenance programme, the government is committed to ensuring that the country's power supply remains stable and reliable.

The Ministry of Energy has urged the public to exercise patience during this period and assured them that the maintenance programme will ultimately benefit the country's power sector.
31.03.2023 LISTEN

The opposition Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle Constituency in the Western Region, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has been given the green-light to contest the upcoming parliamentary primaries in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) unopposed.

The main contender, Dr. Clement C. Blay, who was in the race, unexpectedly threw in the towel and openly declared his support for the experienced Ellembelle MP to contest the seat on the ticket of the NDC for the 5th time as a lawmaker.

The endorsement of the MP in the presence of former President John Dramani Mahama, immediately attracted rapturous applause from delegates of the party who had gathered at Kanokware, a cocoa farming community in the Ellembelle Constituency to engage the former President who was in Western Region for three day campaign tour.

Former President John Dramani Mahama, who was obviously elated witnessing the sense of camaraderie described the gesture as significant in building cohesion in the NDC.

He used the platform to commend Dr. Clement C. Blay for living above reproach and showing political maturity in the overall interest of NDC.

This selfless gesture, he assured, has earned the gentleman a place in his future government, once he secures the nod of delegates to represent the party in the general elections as the flag bearer, and subsequently wining the elections to become President of Ghana once again.

The former Minister for Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, thanked Dr. Clement C. Blay for the endorsement and putting his personal ambition on hold with an assurance to play a part in the overall political process required to maintain the Ellembelle seat.

Meanwhile Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah has expressed his disappointment in government for abandoning all oil enclave road projects initiated by the administration of President John Dramani Mahama.

The former Minister, now Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament says, but, for the oil enclave roads initiative, many communities within Nzema would not have had their fare share of the national cake in terms of roadnetwoks tarred across the country.

His message, had formed part of the numerous campaign messages and activities put together for members of NDC to rally behind former President John Dramani Mahama, for the flag bearership contest in the party.

Armah Kofi Buah subsequently endorsed President Mahama and assured him of victory during the NDC May 13 internal contest

The MP for Ellembelle acknowledged the visible contribution of former President John Dramani Mahama to all the massive developments in Nzema.

Whilst commending the former President, he revealed that most of the projects, he initiated in the area, which were at various stages of completion, have all been abandoned subsequently following the resumption of office by the current administration.

He told former President John Dramani Mahama that most development projects being enjoyed by the people of Nzema especially in Ellembelle, were orchestrated and craftly carried out by his administration

A cogent reason, he underscored, that certainly makes him (the former President) and the NDC, the saviors in the Nzema area.
The Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipal Assembly has organized stakeholder sensitization on responsible community mining for small scale miners in the municipality

The programme according to the assembly was to complement law enforcement effort against illegal small-scale mining in the area.

Held at Nkawie on Tuesday March 28, 2023, the event was attended by small-scale miners, chiefs, assembly members, security agencies and other stakeholders.

Speaking to OTEC News reporter Simon Opoku Afriyie at the sidelines of the event, the Municipal Chief Executive, Hon Micheal Amoah Awuku underscored the need for the initiative.

He noted that, the engagement was apt as it was one of the pragmatic ways to compliment the work of law enforcement agencies in the fight against illegal mining.

The M.C.E said the government will not relent in its effort to make the galamsey fight a success, and therefore charged all stakeholders present to show commitment to clamping down on illegal mining.

"As governments representatives, we recognize the integral role the general public plays in the fight against illegal mining, that's why we have embarked on a campaign to sensitize the public and invigorate their interest in the fight against galamsey," he stated.

Stressing on the need for the public to throw their weight behind the government, Hon. Micheal Amoa Awuku emphasized that a win against illegal mining is a win for all so lets all come together and do this.

For his part, the Conveyor Agriculture and Small Scale Mining Committee at the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipality, Hon Appiah Albert lauded the Assembly for the initiative.

He urged his colleague Assembly members and other major stakeholders to support this crusade in order to win the fight against illegal mining in the area.
Residents of Piase in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region, have lauded their chief, Nana Osei Afriyie Gyamera, for his instrumental role in ongoing developments in the community

According to them, Nana Osei Afriyie Gyamera has contributed immensely to the over all development of the area.

The residents say the reign of their chief continues to be beneficial to the people of Piase.

Addressing newsmen on Tuesday March 28,2023 after short communal labour in the community, the Kontihene of Piase, Nana Akwasi Agyapong Ntrah lI, disclosed that, their chief has lead the construction of a 20-bed capacity CHIPS compound as part of efforts to improve health care delivery in the community.

He disclosed that, all access roads within the community have been asphalted by the chief Nana Osei Afriyie Gyamerah.

"The chief and his elders have completed several projects, including mechanized boreholes, roads and others. They have also build an eight seater water closet toilet facility and handed over to the community.

"Nana Osei Afriyie Gyamerah has again played pivotal role to uplift teaching and learning in the community and we will be forever grateful to him.

"The chief does his good works from his undoubted commitment to the communitys overall betterment".

"He has always promoted and energetically worked for the continuous development uplifting of his people," he stated.

His laudable works and necessary social interventions are never for personal gain or fame.

Some community members who had the opportunity to speak to the media said their chief was a blessing to the community.

They prayed for long healthy life for the chief to continue his developmental projects.
Government says it is open to talks with the business community opposing the new tax revenue bills currently before Parliament.

It follows numerous calls from industry players for the government to drop the tax bills due to the potential impact on business operations.

However, in response to these concerns, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah stated that the government is willing to consider input aimed at amending the bills in the interests of policymakers and the business community.

We have to contextualize the pushbacks. It is commendable that all of these groups are raising their specific challenges with these three revenue bills. I think that we must encourage them to come with these specifics and perhaps what amendments they want to see done to make it more bearable, he said on the Point of View on Citi TV.

Government is under pressure to have three new revenue bills passed by parliament as it seeks to rake in GHS 4 billion per year to shore up revenue to fix the ailing economy and secure a Board approval for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The bills which include the Excise Tax Stamp and Excise Duty amendment bills, Income Tax amendment bill and Growth and Sustainability levy bill are already being rejected by some business groups.

The Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) among others have for instance asked Parliament not to pass these killer taxes; bills because business risk collapsing as a result.

Nonetheless, the government is making it clear to the business community that it must make some concessions given the difficulties facing the nations economy.

At the end of the day, we have to get something as a Republic that allows us to move forward in this enterprise and see what both sides can accommodate. So that in the end, we can find some sensible middle ground that allows us to pass these three revenue bills which have already committed to the initial economic program for 2023 and close these gaps we have and go forward to conclude both the external creditors assurances and the Fund program itself as quickly as possible, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah added.

citinewsroom
In line with the vision of the Church of Pentecost to transform the lives of the people in their communities, the men's ministry (PEMEM) of the church in the Obuasi area has commissioned and handed over a 15-bed capacity male ward to the Tweapaease Health center.

The Tweapaease Health center which is the only health facility serving about ten (10) neighboring communities has not seen any major facelift since it was commissioned in 2015.

The facility until the intervention from the Church of Pentecost had males and females sharing the same ward.

This however caught the attention of the Tweapaease branch of the Church of Pentecost who decided to save the situation through the Obuasi area men's ministry.

The new men's ward which cost GH 166,531.00 consists of 10-bed main ward, 4-bed side ward and VIP ward.

Speaking after the handing over ceremony the Obuasi area head of the church, Apostle William Boakye Agyarko underscored the importance of the project saying it is in sync with the teachings of the Holy Bible which enjoin Christians to do good to all manner of people.

He revealed that the Church saw it important to intervene to salvage the situation of men and women sharing the same ward, during routine evangelism by the District pastor Francis Wugban at the health facility.

The transformation agenda

Apostle Boakye Agyarko reiterated the commitment of the church through their transformational agenda to change the lives of the people even as they admonish people to accept Christ and live a Christ-like life.

Observing a clean environment

The Obuasi area head talked about the essence of observing a clean environment as a means to prevent diseases.

" The Church of Pentecost true to its resolve to inculcate unto the people the need to observe a clean environment has set aside the 3rd month of the year (March) to clean the environment. He therefore admonish members to observe a clean and healthy environment".

The Amansie Central District Health Director Ampratwum Oppong Ahmed lauded the church for coming to the aid of the health center. He described the facility as a welcoming relief saying the existence phenomenon of having men and women sharing a single ward became an albatross around the neck of personnel at the facility.

On challenges facing the Directorate in the district, Mr. Ampratwum cited the refusal of health personnel to accept postings to the district as a major threat to healthcare delivery in the district.

" The perception out there is that the district is a deprived one hence personnel who are posted here refuse to come whiles those who accept postings find it difficult to get accommodation due to the exorbitant rent charges", he said.

He however notes that, the Assembly is doing its best to add up to the existing health infrastructure but appealed to central government and other groups and institutions to also intervene.

Oheneba Kwadwo Ntoso III, Bekwai Dwonsuahene lauded the Church of Pentecost for their pioneering role in assisting in provision of social amenities.

He added that the provision of male's ward for the Tweapaease Health center lends credence to the impact the church is making on the lives of the people in the country.

" The Church of Pentecost is noted for providing prison facilities, hospitals, schools, boreholes, Police stations among others. This is a feather in the cap of the Obuasi area and on behalf of the people of Tweapaease, I say congratulations to you for these major feet.
His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, the presumptive flag bearer, of the National Democratic Congress, was in the Western Region for a three day campaign tour.

The three-day very packed campaign tour started on Friday 24th March 2023 in Daboase the District capital of Wassa East District and took him through all the 17 constituencies and ended on Sunday 26th March in Evalue Ajomoro Gwira capital Axim.

Party Faithfuls made up of regional, constituency and most importantly, the branch executives in all constituencies were in high spirits and happy to meet the next president of Ghana. It is evidently clear that most party members are of the view that HE John Dramani Mahama should not have worried himself to come to them because they have a strong conviction that they will massively endorse his candidature come 13th May, 2023.

At our last event of the 3-day tour, at the Evalue Ajomoroh Dwira Constituency, precisely in Axim, there was a group of supporters in T shirts of a rival Parliamentary contestant who has interest in filing her nomination to contest the sitting Member of Parliament hon. Kofi Arko Nokoe. These supporters started to boo the MP and chanted the "away away" slogan when he was addressing the event.

That unfortunate incident had nothing to do with His Excellency John Dramani Mahama and video evidence which is readily available shows that party branch executives and supporters of the two Parliamentary aspirants were happy,calm and eager to listen to the former president in his 33 minutes address to the delegates.

The Western Regional executives have taken serious interest in the matter and investigation are underway to ascertain why some party faithful ignored directive from the party not to wear T-shirts of aspirants to the program which was solely for the campaign of his excellency John Dramani Mahama.

We implore Ghanaians to disregard attempts by elements in the NPP, whose governments ineptitude has led to a collapsed economy and have resorted to false publications.

SIGNED

RICHARD KIRK-MENSAH

(REGIONAL COMMUNICATION OFFICER)

0244848891

0208255102
31.03.2023 LISTEN

Founder and leader of Universal Spiritual Outreach Church, Prophet Kwabena Boakye Asiamah, popularly known as the Ajagurajah, has vehemently stated that Executives of African Faith Tabernacle Church are disgracing the church of late Prophet James Kwame Nkansah I and Prophet David Nkansah.

According to him, church executives have no moral right to elect or appoint a Prophet to lead the church.

He said spiritual churches dont elects or appoint their Prophet but leaders are selected from the bloodline.

Is a bloodline, you cant just stand up and elect or appoint anyone to lead the spiritual church," he said.

He added that there is a spirit in the family, hence you cant just elect or appoint Prophet to lead the church.

Ajagurajah believes the church leaders cant elect or appoint Prophet to lead the church.

On Sunday, 26th March 2023, the family of late Superior prophet David Nkansah II of the African Faith Tabernacle Church appointed Superior Prophet Michael Opoku Nkansah III as the leader of the church.

He will succeed the late Superior Prophet David Nkansah II, who died last year (2022).

This came exactly two weeks after the administrative board of executives and trustees elected Superior Prophet Stephen Frempong Nkansah III as the leader of the church to succeed the late leader of the church.

As of now, African Faith Tabernacle Church has two leaders, one from church leaders and another one from the late Superior prophet David Nkansah II family.

African Faith Tabernacle Church is a renowned Ghanaian indigenous spiritual church founded in the year 1919 by the late prophet Kwame Nkansah.

The Headquarters of the Church is located in Anyinam in the Eastern Region. The church has over 1000 branches in Ghana, some West African countries, and Europe.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has commissioned an ultra-modern technology hub in Akim Oda in the Eastern Region.

The facility is made up of a well-equipped library, an ICT Centre and a robotic centre.

Speaking at the commissioning, Vice President Bawumia said the construction of the facility, is aimed at contributing to the educational development of the people for the good of the community and the nation at large.

He added that the Government of President Akufo-Addo takes pride in investing in education because of its enormous impact on the people and the nation, hence the focus on investing massively in various aspects of education to improve access and quality.

"Indeed, education is the backbone of every community and every nation; that is why the NPP Government has made education more accessible, especially to people from underprivileged backgrounds," Dr. Bawumia said.

He said the introduction of the Free Senior High School (SHS) and Free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) policies, have provided equal opportunities for both children of the rich and the poor, to attain secondary level education in this country.

"Now as a parent, all you need is to get your child through the Junior High School (JHS) successfully and your child will have access to free secondary education," the Vice President added, reiterating government's commitment to the Free SHS project despite the current economic challenges.

He, therefore, urged parents and students "to make the best of it, to change the fortunes of families and communities."

"For Ghana to sustain growth in its economic performance, the need to build a literate society cannot be underestimated. Children in their formative years require consistent exposure to books and other learning resources to build and sustain interest in reading and also for knowledge, and Ghana cannot be a learning nation if it does not prioritise access to knowledge resources," Dr. Bawumia noted.

"It is therefore exciting for this community to have this facility built and well-resourced to provide the critical interventions and support required to lift the standard of education in this community."

The library component of the facility is expected to promote reading and learning among Primary, Junior High and Senior High School students in the Oda township and the surrounding communities.

The ICT Centre is expected to support knowledge and skills development in ICT among the people of this community, while the robotics centre of the facility is to help improve critical thinking and technology innovation among the youth.

The Vice President commended various agencies which contributed to the facility, such as the Ghana Library Authority, the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), MTN and Huawei Technologies, among others.
Aspiring New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong has backed call for downsizing of Ghanas cabinet.

He argues that the country can adequately operate with 19 ministries as enshrined in the constitution.

Speaking on Accra-based Asaase Radios Breakfast Show, Agyapong noted that Ghanas large government burdens taxpayers.

I think that this country can run with the 19 cabinet ministers that are stated in the constitution. There is no need to have more, he stressed.

According to him, each ministry should be led by a cabinet member by consolidating portfolios and limiting the cabinet to 19.

I think every ministry should be headed by a cabinet member, so we should consolidate the ministry and arrive at no more than nineteen, he said.

His proposal comes at a time when many Ghanaians, including the opposition National Democratic Congress, have urged President Akufo-Addo to reduce his governments size cut down expenditure.

While the suggestion aims to transform Ghanas governance, Agyepong emphasized that his passion lies in progressing the nation, not occupying titles.

My passion for transforming Ghana as a country I think is the most important thing. It is not about holding the office in name ...  he explained.

As an aspiring leader, Agyepongs proposal shows his willingness to make difficult decisions for the countrys benefit, not political gain.

His comment alludes that with a leaner government, funds can be better directed to critical sectors including job creation, healthcare, and education - building a sustainable future for all citizens.
Over hundred youth, mostly ladies on Thursday, March 30, were engaged in a forum discussion on women empowerment and personal development at an insightful forum put together by Pro-Link, a non-governmental organization working towards empowering the less privileged in Society in partnership with Crossroads International.

Held at the University of Media Arts and Communications (UniMAC), Ghana Institute of Languages campus, Accra, the forum discussion spanned a lot, from self-worth, taking control of ones reproductive health, personal branding with social media, to reporting issues of violence when they arise.

Miss Esenam Amuzu, a gender advocate speaking at the forum, said it is important for ladies to believe in themselves, work hard to achieve growth, and report violence, either from partners or society.

According to her, "it is important to value your reproductive health and care more about your body," adding that women must work hard to inspire young ones and achieve gender equality.

On personal branding and social media, Mr. Joojo Thompson, a digital marketer, advised the participants to be cautious of things they share on the internet because "the internet does not forget."

He showed them how to position themselves on search engines like Google for opportunities using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tips.

"It will help with visibility, generate meaningful traffic, and meet demands," he noted.

He counselled that careless usage of social media could make one lose a job or other valuable opportunity in the future.

Expressing satisfaction about the programme, the SRC President of UniMAC-GIL, Her Excellency Rekiatu Kaka Abudu, commended Pro-Link and Crossroads for the initiative and, just like Oliver Twist, asked for more.

"The forum was an impactful one; we thank Pro-Link and Crossroads. We look forward to more programs from them," she stated.

Head of Programs for Pro-Link, Nana Adjoa Nettey, initially doubted students participation but was pleased after they showed massive interest.

"I was in doubt that students would participate but after visiting the SRC President and seeing the students eagerness to join, I was happy," she said.

Due to the engagement from the participants, she said her outfit would need more time for more of such educational initiatives and encouraged other organizations to, as part of their corporate social responsibilities, organize similar programs for students and the younger ones in society to help them make informed life decisions.

The forum was a great success, and the attendees left enlightened about the need for women to take charge of their lives and be empowered to achieve their goals.

With more programs like this, society can create a more gender-equal environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

Pro-Link envisions a world where women and men are given equal access to the necessities of life, irrespective of where they come from.

With a guiding philosophy of "Pro-Link! Empowering lives" the organization believes that people, irrespective of their status, can meaningfully contribute to their own development.

Its mission is "to empower and advocate with disadvantaged people (especially women and girls) to uphold their human rights and improve on their health, education, and socio-economic status through some of these programs, mainly in the deprived communities."

Crossroads is a non-profit Canadian organization present in some countries in Africa and South America working towards gender equality, promoting sustainable development, gender equality and eradicating poverty in Africa through volunteerism and partnership with local non-governmental organizations.

Their programs focus on maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive rights, economic empowerment, and leadership development.

They also engage in advocacy work and research initiatives to promote best practices and innovative approaches to development and gender equality.
Some members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have launched a campaign to throw their support behind Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, as the flagbearer-hopeful of the party.

The launch of the Bawumia Must Win (BMW)' campaign was held at the GNAT Hall in Accra, on the theme, Making history with Dr. Bawumia as the next president of Ghana.

Gyasi Baako BMW Campaign President said the Vice President through the digitalization process has done a lot to make living for every Ghanaian very easy.

Gyasi Baako said their research across the board clearly shows that Dr. Bawumia over the years has demonstrated outstanding leadership quality in leveraging technology to improve and correct the structural deficiencies of the traditional economy, hence he is the best choice for NPP for the next general elections.

According to him, Dr. Bawumia is the best candidate to break the 8-year political jinx successive governments have had in the past, therefore urged the party delegates to vote for him to become the party flag bearer.

"Our mission is that we need to make sure Dr. Bawumia becomes the flag bearer of NPP and our vision is that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia becomes the president of the Republic of Ghana or sworn in on the 7th January 2025 so this is our mission and vision as a group Bawumia Must Win".

Speaking at the launch, Member of Parliament (MP) for Yendi, Farouk Mahama charged delegates to vote massively to secure at least 85 per cent of the vote for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, adding that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is the competent choice to face the NDC in the 2024 General elections.

"Individually the people who are decided to follow Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, this tells you that there is something unique about this program that we want to sell, we are selling to the people of Ghana and to state that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is coming to change the narrative and to work and promote the legacy of our hardworking President Nana Akufo Addo", he emphasized.

The event was well attended by delegates across the length and breadth of the country and some bigwigs of the New Patriotic Party.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has inspected Green Ghana seedlings planted in Shai Hills and its surrounding communities in preparation for 2023 Green Ghana Day.

The Technical Director for Forestry, Mr Joseph Osiakwan, who led the Ministry and Forestry Commission on the field trip, disclosed that an initial 2,500 trees were planted in the Shai Resource Reserve, but due to the weather conditions and other factors, only 50% of the seedlings survived, whereas those outside the Forest Reserve had a 74% survival rate for the 2022 tree planting exercise in the Shai Osudoku District.

He also urged the Forestry Commission to involve private plantation developers who are willing to plant and nurture the seedlings.

Mr Osiakwan assured that all planting sites would be visited in the regions before this years Green Ghana Day.

He expressed optimism that the district would do better in terms of sourcing seedlings for the next Green Ghana Day than it did in 2022.

Madam Winifred Ohene-Wiafe, District Manager of the Forestry Commission at the Chipa Forest Reserve, said 5,500 seedlings were planted on over five hectares in 52 compartments.

This year, the Chipa Forest Reserve plantation has Acacia, Mahogany and Casia seedlings in stock.
31.03.2023 LISTEN

Former President, John Dramani Mahama has successfully visited all 23 Constituencies of the Central Region.

In a three-day visit to the Region that ended on Thursday, March 30, he said he managed to engage over 30,000 delegates after travelling over 1,000km.

All 23 Constituencies of the Central Region visited. Engaging conversation with over 30,000 delegates, traveling over 1,000km across the region, John Dramani Mahama said in a post on Facebook.

The visit to the Central Region is part of the campaign tour of John Dramani Mahama as he appeals to delegates to vote for him in the upcoming primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The former President has been described as the favourite for the NDC flagbearer election and is hoping to win to lead the opposition party into the 2024 general election.
A parole hearing began Friday that could see South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius released from prison early, a decade after he shot and killed his girlfriend.

Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp, a model, in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013, firing four times through the bathroom door of his ultra-secure Pretoria house, in a killing that shocked the world.

Lawyers for Steenkamp's family arrived at the correctional facility on the outskirts of the capital, where the hearing was taking place, amid a heavy media presence.

Steenkamp's mother, June, is to appear before the board to "make representations" also on behalf of her husband, Barry, who is unable to travel because of ill health, lawyer Tania Koen said.

"They don't feel that he should be released. They feel that he has shown no remorse," she told reporters outside the prison.

Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June Steenkamp, arriving at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria on Friday. By Phill Magakoe (AFP)

Pistorius, 36, is being held at the same facility, where the parole board was scheduled to convene for a closed-door session at 10:00 am (0800 GMT).

Pistorius is also expected to address the hearing and respond to the Steenkamps' submissions, Koen said.

"As you can imagine it's painful. June has to face Oscar Pistorius again this morning. He is the killer of her daughter," she said.

Comprising at least three people, including prison services and community members, the board is to determine whether the purpose of imprisonment has been served, according to the Department of Correctional Services.

'Traumatic'

Steenkamp's parents 'feel that he has shown no remorse,' their lawyer said. By Phill MAGAKOE (POOL/AFP/File)

Known worldwide as the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, Pistorius was found guilty of murder and given a 13-year jail sentence in 2017 after a lengthy trial and several appeals.

He had pleaded not guilty and denied that he killed Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar.

Prisoners in South Africa are automatically eligible for parole consideration after serving half of their sentence.

Pistorius has served more than half, having started his term in 2014.

His lawyer Julian Knight said he would not comment until after a decision on the parole was made.

Pistorius met with Steenkamp's parents last year, part of a process that authorities say aims to ensure inmates "acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and the society at large".

Koen described the meeting as "very emotional" and "traumatic".

The board will consider whether Pistorius has been rehabilitated or still poses a danger to society, and review his conduct in prison, according to the correctional services.

A year before killing Steenkamp, Pistorius became the first double amputee to race in the Olympics, competing at the 2012 London Games.

He became a household name admired worldwide and courted by sponsors, but it all came crashing down after the killing.

Parole decisions are usually known the same day of the hearing or a day later, but the correctional services department has indicated that in Pistorius' case it might not be taken on Friday.

If denied, he has the right to approach the courts for review.
Ghanas parliament has moved a step closer to passing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation after a committee report on the Proper Human Sexual Rights & Ghanaian Family Values Bill was submitted.

According to South Dayi MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the report was presented in parliament on Thursday, March 30, paving the way for debate and adoption.

Yesterday, the Committee Report on the Proper Human Sexual Rights & Ghanaian Family Values Bill was laid in Parliament. Hopefully, the report shall be debated and adopted today. This will pave way for the Consideration of the Bill. Join us & pray for us, Dafeamekpor tweeted on Friday, March 31.

The proposed law aims to criminalize LGBTQ+ activities in Ghana, intensifying human rights concerns.

During a recent visit, US Vice President Kamala Harris criticized any move to pass anti-gay legislation, maintaining that it violates the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ individuals.

For the American press who are here, you know that a great deal of work in my career has been to address human rights issues, equality issues across the globe, including as well as the LGBTQ community, and I feel very strongly about the importance of supporting freedom and supporting and fighting for quality among all people, Harris said at a joint news conference at the Jubilee House.

Ghanas President Nana Akufo-Addo has also disputed claims that the bill has been passed into law, clarifying that it remains an unofficial draft yet to be approved by parliament.

It hasn't been passed, so the statement that there is legislation in Ghana to that effect is not accurate. Parliament is dealing with it and at the end of the process, I will come in, Akufo-Addo said.

Despite this, LGBTQ+ advocates fear that the committee report paves the way for criminalization, threatening civil liberties and safety.

With debate looming, global attention remains on Ghanas parliament as to whether what they see as discrimination will prevail.
The Electricity Company (ECG) of Ghana has announced that there will be power outages in parts of the country from March 30 to Friday, April 7.

To avoid surprises and help Ghanaians prepare their schedules accordingly, ECG has released a temporal dumsor timetable.

The announced power outages are set to be experienced because of the ongoing maintenance works being carried out by the Ghana National Gas Company at Atuabo.

"The Electricity Company of Ghana wishes to inform the general public that, due to the maintenance works being carried out by the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) at Atuabo, there is a power generation shortfall, an official press release from ECG said.

The timetable released by the Electricity Company of Ghana has been divided into Regional groups.

There are Group A, B, C, and D. All groups will be taking turns suffering power outages between March 30 and April 7.

Customers are to take note that power outages will be experienced between 6:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

We call on our customers to bear the inconvenience with us while the Ghana Gas Processing Plant undertakes this all-important maintenance activity, the ECG press release said.

Below is the timetable:

ECG - LOAD MANAGEMENT SCHEDULE
As protests against pensions reform continue, France's second biggest trade union  the hardline CGT  on Friday elected its first ever woman leader. Sophie Binet, 41, emerged as the surprise pick to replace outgoing secretary general Philippe Martinez following a long night of deliberations.

Binet's election came at the end of the CGT's congress, which opened on Monday in the Alps, with some 1,000 union members gathering for the leadership tussle.

The former school supervisor has been described as the "compromise" candidate after frontunners Marie Buisson, representing the outgoing team, and Celine Verzeletti, a former prison warden , failed to win cross-party support.

Binet, who champions environmental issues and gender equality, is the head of the union's UGICT division representing engineers, managers and technical staff.

Union divided

She has the difficult task of picking up the pieces of a deeply divided CGT, at a time when French unions are locked in a standoff with President Emmanuel Macron over plans to raise the retirement age.

The CGT has formed a united front with the more moderate CFDT to block the government's penions overhaul, and her promotion comes just days before union bosses are to hold crunch talks with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.

The CGT is calling for a return to a retirement age of 60 and a minimum pension of 2,000. To finance this, they propose the end of contribution exemptions, an increase in the contribution rate and professional equality between women and men.

Sliding membership

Founded in 1895, the CGT union  Confederation Generale du Travail  represents numerous sector from industry to tertiary through a network of federations. Their chiefs come together to form the overall executive committee, tasked with choosing a new leader.

Speakers at the congress criticised the orientation of the federation under Martinez, and the lack of internal democracy.

Membership has been on the slide in recent years, pushing the CGT into second place with 606,000 behind the Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail (CFDT).
While adolescent pregnancies are socially stigmatized, there is less of a chance that a teenager will develop hypertension before or after becoming pregnant, according to Dr. Derrick Darko, a Medical Officer at International Maritime Hospital (IMaH).

The IMaH Medical Officer emphasised that young expectant mothers frequently avoid traveling to hospitals for check-ups in order to avoid societal stigma.

Dr. Darko stated at the weekly "Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility," A Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office, is an initiative aimed at promoting health-related communication and setting the medium for the propagation of health information in order to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy.

GNA-Tema Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility project also functions as a public health advocacy platform, with the goal of investigating the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educating, persuasive, and prompting.

Dr. Darko stated that because the majority of parents do not support teenage pregnancies, "teenagers who believe they cannot tell their parents that they are pregnant and who feel frightened and alone may be at risk of complications."

He went on to say that because teenagers are less likely to visit the hospital for regular prenatal exams, it's critical to help them get the antenatal care and emotional support they need to stay healthy during the most vulnerable stages of their lives.

The IMaH Medical Officer, also disclosed that women who are 35 years of age or older and are expecting their first child are also at risk for developing hypertension.

According to Dr. Darko, high blood pressure, has become more widespread, but with proper blood pressure management, a woman and her unborn child have a higher chance of remaining healthy.

Dr. Darko also stated that if a pregnant woman's body experiences a surge in hormones under extremely stressful circumstances, this could cause the heart to beat more quickly and narrow the blood vessels, which could even result in a heart attack.

In order to prevent the accumulating stress in pregnant women and its consequences, he therefore made an appeal to their friends and family to foster a feeling of community around them by providing the necessary support.

According to Dr. Darko, having high blood pressure during pregnancy increases the risk of having preterm infants who are typically underweight, pregnancy complications, heart attacks, and maternal and neonatal mortality, among other things.

Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Regional Manager of Ghana News Agency Tema, explained that "Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility" is part of a collaborative effort to establish a means for the dissemination of health information in order to influence individual health decisions by increasing health literacy.

He also stated that it aims to use the communication abilities of Ghana News Agency and medical professionals to inform the public that everyone's health is important and should be prioritised.

He stated that the health of parents should be a concern for children, and vice versa, as should the health of employees and employers, as well as the public and health experts.

Mr. Ameyibor observed that in order to establish a healthy society, everyone must be concerned about the well-being of others.

According to Mr. Ameyibor, the weekly health dialogue platform will also be used as a helpful channel of communication for health experts to educate the public on healthy habits and other general health challenges.
31.03.2023 LISTEN

Dr. Paul Adu, a Ghanaian medical expert, recently cautioned men about varicocele, a condition that can lead to infertility if left unaddressed.

Varicocele causes distended veins in the scrotum that may develop into pain, swelling, and testicular atrophy over time.

According to Dr. Adu, varicocele feels like a bag of worms beside [the] balls, accompanied with pain.

The left side is most commonly affected, and symptoms worsen when standing but improve lying down. While often asymptomatic, varicocele causes male infertility in many cases.

The veins cannot properly regulate scrotal temperature and blood flow, damaging sperm production and development.

Though Varicoceles may be asymptomatic, they are common causes of male infertility. This is because the male sperm cells are very fragile & varicoceles create temperatures that are not suitable for sperm production, the medical expert explained in a portion of his series of tweets.

For those with symptoms like pain, swelling or infertility, varicocelectomy surgery is recommended to restore venous function and fertility.

Dr. Adu affirmed, After surgery, researches have shown that men are still able to impregnate their partners! However, asymptomatic varicocele may require no treatment or monitoring instead.

Either way, he urged men to check if [they] have varicoceles and get treatment if indicated.

"Varicocele causes preventable infertility and intimacy issues, so awareness and medical advice are critical.

"By diagnosing varicocele early, conception and healthy sexual experience may remain possible."

For those concerned, Dr. Adu provided this list of varicocele symptoms and characteristics to watch for:

1. Enlarged, tortuous vein in the scrotum

2. An intermittent feeling of weight or dragging in the scrotum

3. Scrotum pain increasing upon standing

4. Decreased testicle size

5. Most often left-sided

6. May disappear lying down depending on severity

7. Can cause severe pain interfering with sex and intimacy

Check his tweet on the issue below;


What many forget is that former President Trump was the first occupant of the Oval Office to be beholden to a foreign power - who also used the presidency to increase his net worth blatantly.

Some Americans have been executed for trading U.S. secrets for cash from foreign powers. We must never ignore that fact.

The United States of America is a great nation with a system underpinned by the rule of law and is a free society guided by its Constitution.

No American is above the law in what is the bastion of freedom in a world fraught with dangerous adversaries of liberty, both internally and externally. The rule of law matters in a democracy for a reason: to prevent tyrannical rule. Full stop. Trump will have his day in court. That is as it should be. Case closed. Haaba.
Once a year, you must visit a place you have never been before.  Delai Lama.

Keta-Anloga is a unique tourism destination which is gradually becoming one of Ghanas hidden tourist gems because of its tourist attractions coupled with its unique strategic location a land between three water bodies, viz, the Volta River, the Keta Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean.

Endowed with natural, historical, cultural and ecological resources, the Keta-Anloga Enclave is fast growing to become one of Ghanas hot-bed for tourism activities and an alternative to the over-exploited ones across the country with too much human traffic. Keta-Anloga is the new-found tourism track, away from the old beaten track. If youre looking for a new travel experience this Easter, look no further than Keta-Anloga.

Below are ten reasons why you need to visit this tourist paradise this Easter. You will never regret doing that. Lets go know the reasons:

Reason #1: Keta Sea Defense Project Site:

Between the 1960s and 1980s, great portions of the town were ravaged by coastal erosion from Horvi, Kedzi, Vodza, Adzido and Keta. The Keta Sea Defense Project (KSDP) arguably the second largest coastal engineering works along Africas coast, was undertaken by the Government of Ghana to protect and stabilize the shoreline from Horvi to Keta.

A visit to the sea defense site will give you some history about a town which refused to succumb to the ravages of the sea. The Keta Sea Defense Project Site, is a must visit tourist attraction.

Reason #2: Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site (KLCRS):

The Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site (KLCRS) is the largest Ramsar Site in Ghana, covering over 1.200sq km with the Keta Lagoon itself covering over 300 sq km. The Keta Lagoon together with the Avu and Angaw Lagoons make up the Keta-Avu-Angaw Lagoon Complex. This is home to migratory birds from Europe during winter.

Reason #3: Keta Fort Prinzenstein:

Fort Prinzenstein is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS). It is a piece of colonial relic and a sign of early contact with the European merchants. Built in 1874 by Danish merchants, it was first a small trade depot which was later converted into a slave transit point for shipment of slaves to the Americas and Caribbean islands like St John, St Thomas and St Croix, which are all now known as Virgin Islands.

Part of the Fort was destroyed by the raging sea waves in the early 1980s. The remaining part was saved through a sea protection defense wall as part of the Keta Sea Defense Project.

The fort has a beautiful history that is well told by the tour savvy guides at the Fort. This remaining piece of the Keta Fort is reminiscent of the early contact the people of Keta had with the Europeans. Wouldnt you love to know the story of how our ancestors and the Danish-Norwegian participated in the infamous and inhuman transatlantic slave trade?

Reason #4: Early Missionaries Footprints, Old Buildings and Graves:

Keta had early contact with the Europeans and The North German Missionaries. There are several ancient buildings mostly by Europeans in Keta all of which are now in ruins but can be renovated and preserved as historical sites. These include churches, like the Bremen and the Catholic Missions, The American Methodist Episcopal (AME), old store houses and even missionary graveyards as well as those of some colonial District Commissioners. Many European merchants and missionaries who worked and died in Keta were buried there. One important tomb at Keta is that of Bishop Herman after whom Bishop Herman College at Kpando in the Volta Region was named. There is an Old Catholic convent  Keta Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) Convent that played a major role in the education of several Ghanaian women in high positions today, including the former First Lady Mrs. Theresa Kufuor.

Reason #5: Beautiful Golden Sparkling Beaches:

Are you a sand and sea lover? Do you want to spend some time at one of the neatest, well-kept and most pristine beaches in Ghana today, then come to Keta. You would enjoy the sea, the sand, the sun and the sound. You can swim in the sea, walk in the sand, do a workout, bathe in the sun, surf the waves and listen to the sound of the waves and seagulls or read a book while lying buried in the sand.

The beaches in Keta-Anloga are among the very best in Ghana with its golden, sparkling and pristine sands bordering the clear wavy blue sea and neat environs backed by lush coconut trees. Take a stroll on these beaches and watch the sun rise in the morning and set in the evening beyond the horizon. It is indeed, therapeutic! What a natural spectacle to behold and to enjoy!

Whatever your preference, there is something waiting for you at Keta beach. What a lifetime experience on the most fine-grained beach in Ghana! Take a breakaway from the bustle and hustle of the city life this Easter and head towards Keta.

Reason #6: The Cape St Paul Lighthouse:

Out the eight famous maritime lighthouses that dot the 550 km coast of Ghana, one beautifully dots the coast of Keta at Woe. This lighthouse made of steel is one of the only two steel lighthouses in the whole world. The second one is in Alpena, Chicago, USA. It is believed to be built around the same period as the Keta Fort. Its main duty was and is to direct ships at night because there exists an obvious undersea mountain off the coast of Woe. Remember that Cape St Paul itself is one of the two most important capes in Ghana. The second one is Cape Three Points in the Western Region. You can take a climb if you are not an agoraphobic person.

Reason #7: Great Local Delicacies.

Anlo-Ewe cuisine and gastronomy are among the finest in Ghana and the entire Africa. Keta is home to some top Ghanaian cuisines and delicacies. The most renown traditional Anlo food that you can enjoy in Keta is Akple and Fetridetsi or Akple and Abobitadi or Yakayeke, Abolo and fried fish and/stew. There is a gamut of other Anlo delicacies you can enjoy during your stay in Keta this Easter.

A trip to Keta is definitely your first experience to have a taste of the various assortments of delicacies Made in Keta.

Reason #8: Torkor Atorlia (The Fifth Landing Stage).

It is a site for punishing and banishing evil and executing evil doers, miscreants and outcasts in Anloland. It is a beautiful place with a great story of justice, justice system and judgement in Anloland that keeps the listeners on their toes.

Reason #9: Atorkor Slave Market:

Here is a slave monument, with the same importance as Salaga and Assin Manso Slave Markets in the northern and central regions of Ghana. It is believed to be the second largest slave market in Ghana during the peak of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. A place where slaves were sold to slave masters, by our forebears, the accomplices and collaborators in that heinous crime. A harrowing history awaits you there.

Reason #10: Cruise to Ada Estuary and Explore The Mangroves.

Enjoy a boat ride to the mouth of River Volta at Ada. Cruise through the mangroves and enjoy the exquisite natural ecosystem, one of the most diverse natural habitats and biodiversity. The portion of the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site (KLCRS) is made up of open brackish body of water surrounded by flood plains, marshes and mangrove swamps rendering great ecosystem services to the indigenes of the area. This is a unique place for research in river deltas and biodiversity.

Bonus Reason #11: Great Hospitality and Service Par Excellence.

Arguably, Keta-Anloga Enclave is fast becoming the fastest growing tourism hub in Ghana. And to match with that growth, there is a growing number of first-class, world-class hospitality facilities dotted along the sea coast and beaches.

Do you want to experience the true meaning of hospitality of the people of Anlo through excellent customer services at any of the several hotels and resorts that are springing up in the area? Then, lets take you to Keta and Anloga for a special treat this Easter. Facilities such as Agblor Lodge Beach Resort, Keta Lagoon Beach Hotel, Aborigines Beach Resort, Eli Boutique Hotel and Beach Resort, Meet Me There African Home Lodge, The Chills River Resort, Ashiata Ocean View Hotel, Splendid Hotel, Cereno Homes, Emancipation Beach Resort, etc. the household names of top class hospitality in the Keta-Anloga Tourism Hub. They meet any pocket from budget to luxury. Why not try my lie as our people do say!

This Easter in Keta-Anloga Enclave is going to be just unique. I have just given you more than enough reasons to believe that. Why not just pack your bag and head to Keta!

I am here to take you round this beautiful tourist destination in Ghana, Destination Keta-Anloga. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Contact me for more details on booking.

JoelDegue, Tourism Development Consultant.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday his country wanted a "balanced relationship with China" shortly after he met with China's President Xi Jinping. The Spanish leader's two-day visit to China comes ahead of next week's trip by French President Emmanuel Macron and Eu Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

"Spain wants to push for a balanced relationship with China based on reciprocity," said Sanchez at a press briefing in Beijing, adding that a China-Spain tourism forum will take place in June.

The 51-year-old is the second leader of a European country to visit China since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit in 2022.

Sanchez said last week that Xi's invitation proved "the international recognition given to Spain during a time of such complex geopolitical difficulties".

Spain will take over the European Union's rotating presidency in July.

Focus on Ukraine war

Talks were also to focus on the Ukraine conflict, in which Xi has tried to present himself as a mediator.

Macron has called on Beijing to help convince Moscow to end its year-long war in Ukraine. China has sought to position itself as a neutral party in the conflict, even as it has strengthened ties with Russia.

Beijing published a 12-point position paper in February calling for urgent peace talks and a "political settlement" to end the war.

Macron has said China's efforts are positive but the French leader insists peace can be achieved only if Russia withdraws its troops.

Macron said after the recent summit of EU leaders in Brussels that he had asked von der Leyen to come with him for part of the trip to present a "united voice" to China.

No 'decoupling'

Von der Leyen has warned China that its approach to Russia's war in Ukraine would determine ties, but said Europe was not looking to "decouple" from Beijing.

"Far from being put off by the atrocious and illegal invasion of Ukraine, President Xi is maintaining his 'no limits friendship' with Putin's Russia," von der Leyen said during a speech.

Reacting to China's peace proposals, von der Leyen said any "viable" peace plan needed to be on Ukraine's terms and should not consolidate the Kremlin's grip over territorities it has seized.

"We have to be frank on this point. How China continues to interact with Putin's war will be a determining factor for EU-China relation," she said.

The EU is seeking to define its own approach to Beijing as the United States pushes its European allies to echo its tougher stand against China.

(with wires)
Chinese and French energy companies this week finalised the first-ever deal on liquified natural gas (LNG) in China settled in the renminbi yuan currency. The trade, involving 65,000 tons of LNG imported from the United Arab Emirates, marks a major step in Beijing's attempts to undermine the US dollar as universal "petrodollar" for gas and oil trade.

Yu Jin, the general manager of the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC,) which closed the deal with TotalEnergies, says global resource procurement based on the yuan could "promote the globalisation of energy trading and build a more diversified ecology."

Guo Xu, chairman of the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange which facilitated the deal, was quoted by the state-controlled China Daily saying the transaction promoted "multi-currency pricing, settlement and cross-border payment".

The says China is a major player in the global LNG market, adding the " financial infrastructure of cross-border yuan settlement" would provide "more convenient channels for domestic and international oil and gas resources".

French economic daily La Tribune reported that TotalEnergies " simply explained that this unprecedented yuan transaction was 'a request from CNOOC' in a hydrocarbon market where purchases have long been settled in dollars."

Neither TotalEnergies nor CNOOC wanted to comment in detail on the deal, according to the paper.

Landmark visit

For years Beijing has been striving to increase the relevance of its currency in the global markets and challenge the dominance of the US dollar in international trade, particularly in energy trade.

In a landmark visit to Riyadh last December, Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested that China and the Arab Gulf nations should use the Shanghai Petroleum and National Gas Exchange as a platform for carrying out yuan settlement of oil and gas trades.

"China will continue to import large quantities of crude oil from Gulf countries, expand imports of liquefied natural gas, strengthen cooperation in upstream oil and gas development ... and fully use the Shanghai Petroleum and National Gas Exchange as a platform to carry out yuan settlement of oil and gas trade," according to Xi, quoted by Reuters news agency.

Despite the yuan making inroads in global trade, currently it only accounts for 2.7 percent of the market, while the US dollar's share is 41 percent.

To reduce its dependence on the greenback, Beijing has already struck deals with countries such as Russia and Brazil.

Over the past year, Russia has shifted to trading in Yuan after the West imposed sanctions on its exports, imports, and energy trade, making the Chinese currency Russia President Vladimir Putin's only alternative to reduce exposure to the US dollar and the euro.

On Wednesday, during a visit by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to Beijing, China and Brazil announced an agreement for trade between the two countries to be exclusively conducted in the yuan and the real, Brazil's currency.

To reduce its dependence on the US dollar, Beijing has already struck similar deals with countries such as Russia and Argentina.
In a recent tweet, Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu has criticised the unprecedented number of staff at Ghana's Presidency.

The tweet, which has gained significant attention online, highlights the alarming fact that the President has appointed 361 political appointees out of the total 1,048 staff.

According to Ablakwa, this move by the President is highly questionable, especially given the current economic situation in the country. He further suggested that the treacherous conduct of a few MPs has emboldened the President to continue on this path of perdition.

Many Ghanaians are expressing concern over the President's decision to appoint such a large number of staff, with some suggesting that it will worsen the already dire economic situation in the country. Others have also criticized the President's apparent lack of transparency and accountability in the appointment process.

Ablakwa's tweet has sparked a lively debate on social media, with many Ghanaians calling for greater accountability and transparency in the appointment of staff at the Presidency.

The President's office is yet to issue a statement on the matter, but it is clear that this is a topic that will continue to generate significant discussion and debate in the coming weeks and months.

View Ablakwas tweet below;


Ghanas Western Region is a land of paradoxes. Despite accounting for nearly half of Ghanas mineral revenue and agricultural output, the region grapples with some of the poorest infrastructure and living standards in the country.

The region is home to Ghanas largest cocoa farms, timber reserves, and is the center of the countrys oil industry, yet many of its residents lack access to basic necessities like good roads, stable electricity, healthcare, and quality education.

This stark contrast between the regions immense contributions to Ghanas development and its own deprivation has given rise to the popular phrase, the best comes from the west.

The Western Region produces nearly half of Ghanas gold and cocoa exports and accounts for all of its oil production.

The Tarkwa and Damang gold mines and the Jubilee oil field are major sources of revenue for the Ghanaian government, generating billions of dollars in exports.

However, despite the regions mineral wealth, districts like Prestea Huni Valley, Amenfi West, Amenfi Central, and several others, frequently plead for government interventions to improve their poor conditions.

Many of the roads are barely motorable, forcing communities to walk long distances to access basic amenities.

Healthcare facilities are few and far between and often lack essential supplies and staff.

Electricity supply is highly erratic, and many rural communities do not have access to potable water.

To add insult to injury, the effects of climate change such as droughts and floods have devastated the regions agriculture, the main source of livelihood for rural residents.

Education outcomes in the Western Region also lag the national average due to lack of infrastructure, poverty, and high dropout rates particularly among girls.

The region has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Ghana according to a UNICEF report, further exacerbating gender inequalities.

The western region residents have always implored the government to remedy the situating, citing the regions significant contributions to national development.

We produce the gold and oil that funds national budgets, builds hospitals and schools in Accra and Kumasi, and pays public sector salaries across the country. Yet our people die from lack of basic medicines in our health facilities. This is unfair and unjust. Our citizens deserve better, they said in countless occasions at different places.

To many Ghanaians, the Western Region symbolizes the resource cursewhere regions with a wealth of natural resources suffer from poor governance, lack of economic diversification, corruption, and weak oversight.

Successive governments have failed to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of resources including redirecting mineral and oil wealth to support the development of the region.

As Ghanas breadbasket and treasure chest, the Western Region deserves more from the government.

Implementing targeted interventions to improve infrastructure, healthcare, education and creating sustainable economic opportunities would be a good first step toward addressing the deep-seated inequalities and poverty in the region.

Poverty levels in cocoa-growing areas are high, with many farmers struggling to sustain themselves on small plots and low crop prices.

Dependant communities struggle with poor living standards and few opportunities beyond cocoa. Youth emigrate in droves, leaving behind an aging population.

Meanwhile, the cocoa industry has intensified land disputes and environmental degradation.

Tensions over land ownership and use have led to conflicts, while pollution, deforestation and loss of biodiversity threaten the landscape.

The region contributes greatly to Ghana's economy and development but benefits little in return.

Government focus and funding have centered around large infrastructure rather than basic service provision to hard-to-reach areas. Local authorities also struggle with limited resources and capacity.

Speak to Ghanaians nationwide and a sense of neglect towards the Western Region pervades.

The narrative of producers deprived encompasses feelings of abandonment, exploitation and injustice towards a region that has given so much.

The cocoa economy and communities that sustain it deserve more; their travails cry out for remedy and recompense.

The Western Region's story is Ghana's story; a tale of how limited progress and unequal rewards can forsake the very foundations of national success.

When those who make the feast go hungry, all suffer for the lack. Development relies on the well-being of all parts; no region or people left behind.

The producers of the best deserve the best - a prosperous, sustainable future built on the fruits of their labor. Their hard work and humanity warrant nothing less.

The industrious Western Region, the source of so much bounty, must benefit greatly from its contributions or risk poverty amid plenty.

The costs of neglect are far greater than any inconveniences of change. Justice and progress demand it.

The producers of Ghanas best must no longer lack the best themselves. The time for action is now.
Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo

01.04.2023 LISTEN

Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has underlined lack of transparency in land acquisition as one of the issues bedeviling Ghana's land administration.

He mentioned complex legal framework for land administration and abuse of land.

He has proposed an inclusive approach to ensuring effective land governance will serve as a catalyst for Ghana's socio economic development.

Speaking at the 4th KNUST faculty of law eminent legal scholars and lawyers public lecture on behalf of the Vice chancellor, he averred that the promotion of effective administration of land is what has fueled the progress of most advanced countries.

Professor Owusu-Dabo pointed to effective administration of land as the foundation of their development agenda.

Event

The public lecture was held under the topic: "Land Management as a Component of Sustainable Development: The Role of Traditional Leadership In Kumasi Traditional Area".

Present at the occasion were the Provost of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences-KNUST, Prof. Charles Marfo, Dean of the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Dr. ERNEST Owusu Dapaah, Mrs. Mariam Agyeman Gyasi Jawhary, a private legal practitioner, Chiefs, heads of department, among others.

The event equipped participants with knowledge to appreciate the complexities of land issues in Ghana.
Ghanas Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has appealed to Parliament to rally behind the government and pass the three revenue bills before the house.

In the midst of the economic crisis facing the country, government has been engaging various creditors as part of efforts to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to Ken Ofori-Atta, government after a number of engagements now has support from the US, China, and Germany.

Speaking at a forum in Accra on Thursday, March 30, the Finance Minister said it is now up to the country to help itself.

To this end, he called on Parliament to pass the revenue Bills before the house.

Our Parliament, in the national interest, will pass these bills before the close of the week and it will not be seen as disloyalty to anyone party. So if I may be permitted to use the word fellow Ghanaians, we are a blessed nationI am more convinced now than ever that we are a blessed nation.

A week ago I was in China to meet their Finance Minister and various institutions about support for an IMF programme and the Lord certainly went ahead of us, Ken Ofori-Atta said.

The Finance Minister continued, Ghana is a big country, the Minister of Finance is a big man but the Minister of Finance of China gave us the Ghana delegation almost an hour and a half conversation. Not only did he do that he also called the chairman of the Exim Bank of China to join him to talk through these ways in which they can facilitate to make sure we get our IMF transaction.

So indeed America is ready for us, we saw Kamala Harris here, Germany has been here, the Europeans are behind us, the Fund is behind us. It is left with our Parliament. It cant be that we shoot ourselves in the foot. Let us rally behind our Parliamentarians.

Parliament from information gathered will vote on the three revenue bills before the close of sitting today, Friday, March 31.
Family of late Member of Parliament for Kumawu Constituency in the Ashanti Region has barred the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) branch in the constituency from attending the funeral of the late MP.

The District Chief Executive for Sekyere Kumawu district, Hon Addai Agyekum has also been banned from the funeral.

The family has asked the constituency executives of the NPP in the Kumawu Constituency and the DCE not to come anywhere close to all activities earmarked for the burial of their son.

Brother of the late MP, Mr Solomon Basoah in an interview with journalists on Friday March 31,2023 said the DCE and other executives of the party in the constituency subjected his brother to several harsh treatments while alive.

According to him, the DCE and the executives accused the late MP of invoking curse on some party members which he emphasized was palpable false.

He added that, the same party members were spreading falsehood about the late MP even on his sick bed.

"The DCE together with some constituency executives ganged up against my brother and sent out lies about him at the time he was battling for his life, they were circulating information that Hon Basoa had deliberately absented himself from his Parliamentary duties at the time the House was voting for the approval of ministerial nominees by President Akufo-Addo.

"The sad aspect of this whole thing is that, the MP was fighting for his life when these individuals were spreading false news on some social media platforms.

"We have no grudges party executives at the national and regional level and so they have every right and access to activities of the late MP funeral activities, but we are sending out strong warning that, the family will not entertain any of the constituency executives and the DCE", he said.

The late MP, Hon Philip Basoah died Monday March 27, 2023 at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital after a short illness.

He died at age 54.
The West Africa Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO) is holding its 17th General Assembly in Niamey, Niger, under the authority of the Economic Community of West African States. (ECOWAS).

The primary aim of the General Assembly was to exchange knowledge and firsthand experience about regional security issues.

Representatives from ECOWAS, INTERPOL, strategic partners, and relevant security organisations are among those attending.

As part of the broader emphasis, the ECOWAS Member Ministers in charge of security would hold a caucus meeting at the conclusion of the WAPCCO General Assembly to discuss and approve the reports.

The General Assembly's Specific Objectives included reviewing the state of execution of previous recommendations, as well as exchanging information and sharing experiences and best practises among law enforcement officials, security personnel, and Interpol personnel.

Others to improve knowledge of ECOWAS Commission provisions and efforts in law enforcement and other security-related areas.

During the opening event, five addresses were delivered, including one by Guinea-Bissau's "General Controller" Tomas Djassi, who stated that various transnational crimes, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, and the proliferation of small arms, must be addressed.

He stated that these transnational crimes endanger our security and are prompted by lax land border controls, which will likely facilitate the commission of these unlawful activities.

INTERPOL's Special Representative to the African Union, Mr. Francis Rwego, stated his organisation's commitment to combating crime.

In his capacity as Director General of the National Police of Niger, Commissioner General of Police Oumarou Moussa praised the participants and ECOWAS Police Chiefs, emphasising the importance of INTERPOL in combating organised crime.

On behalf of ECOWAS, Ambassador Guillaume N'Dri Gnamien, Permanent Resident of ECOWAS in the Republic of Niger

Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commission Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, emphasised that the regional integration vision of ECOWAS seeks to promote cooperation.

Ambassador Musah, whose speech was read on his behalf, stated that would raise its citizens' standard of living and ensure economic development, but that this goal can only be realised in a peaceful and secure environment.

Mr. Hamadou Adamou Souley, Niger's Minister of Interior and Decentralization, reaffirmed the Niger government's dedication to fighting organised crime in West Africa.

He invited ECOWAS to continue and intensify efforts to enhance cooperation among member states.
The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has warned that the government's excessive tax policies on the industrial sector could lead to widespread unemployment, raise Ghana's cost of living, and endanger national security.

Despite the current financial crisis and taking into account the plight of workers facing increased living costs as a result of the government's insensitive economic policies, Mr Abrahma Koomson, GFL Secretary, stated in a statement issued in Tema that any additional tax burden would collapse the industrial sector.

Mr Koomson went on to say that, in accordance with its constitutional mandate, parliament is in a position to ensure good governance for the advantage of the people by scrutinising the Executive's wasteful spending.

Mr Koomson emphasised the view of parliament as a collaborator in the implementation of outrageous government policies that risk destroying businesses and creating joblessness, potentially contributing to the nation's high unemployment rate.

According to GFL, on February 3, 2023, a petition was presented to the Speaker of Parliament, drawing attention to the numerous taxes that distressed businesses already pay, as well as the harm that additional taxes would do to investments.

He stated that Organized Labour saw it as an appropriate method to draw the attention of Members of Parliament to the need to do what was necessary to halt further deterioration of people's living conditions and avert any social upheavals in the nation.

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana, and the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana have all expressed similar concerns about the government's outrageous tax on Ghana's industrial development, he added.

Mr Koomson stated that while the new Excise Tax Bill and other tax proposals are being debated in Parliament, the Organized Labour encourages Members of Parliament to confer with key industry stakeholders before taking any action.
The stage has been set for a heated debate in Ghana's Parliament following the laying of the report on the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021.

The report was presented by the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs  marking a significant step towards the eventual passage of the bill.

The bill seeks to promote proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values by criminalizing activities related to LGBTQ+ in the country. This has been a highly controversial issue in Ghana, with some advocating for the protection of LGBTQ+ persons while many insist that such actions go against the country's cultural and moral values.

The laying of the report has been welcomed by some MPs who have been pushing for the passage of the bill. MP for Ningo Prampram, Sam George, who has been a lead sponsor of the bill, took to Twitter to express his satisfaction with the development.

"Today, the report of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021 was laid in Parliament paving the way for the debates to commence. #PassTheBill #ProtectOurAlphabets," George tweeted.

However, the bill has faced criticism from human rights groups and members of the LGBTQ+ community, who argue that it is a violation of their fundamental human rights.

In a 2021 article cited on africanews.com ( https://www.africanews.com/2021/08/13/un-human-rights-council-opposes-ghana-s-anti-gay-bill// ) and captured by Modern Ghana, the UN Human Rights Council widely condemned the bill, which was submitted to parliament by seven opposition MPs and one member of the ruling party.

"Passing this law in its current or even partial form would violate a significant number of human rights, including the absolute prohibition of torture," a UN panel of experts said in a statement.

"This will not only criminalize LGBTI (I for intersex) people but also all those who support or show sympathy for human rights," it added.

Some have also criticized the bill as being discriminatory and further violates the country's constitution.

The passage of the bill is expected to be a highly divisive issue in Ghana, with many stakeholders already taking sides in the debate. As the country prepares for the debates to commence, it remains to be seen whether the bill will eventually become law, and if so, what impact it will have on Ghanaian society.

View Sam Georges tweet below;


In a democracy the right to dissent is the most important right granted by the Constitution: To question, to challenge, to verify, to ask for accountability from the government or those in authority/leadership is the right of every citizen under the constitution. These rights should never be divested otherwise we will become a dying society accepting without thinking or doubting, which won't help the country to develop.

The introductory paragraphs to the Constitution provides for the liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. Article 21(1) Clauses (a) to (e) provides these entrenched rights:-

Freedom of speech and expression;

Freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms;

And the freedom to form associations or unions;

These three freedoms serves as springboard through which dissent can be expressed. The right of freedom of opinion and the right of freedom of conscience by themselves allow for the very, very great important right to disagree.

The right to disagree, the right to dissent and the right to take another point of view is vested essentially in each and every citizen of the country. When viewed all together, it is more than obvious, that, the right to dissent is the biggest right and, in my view and judgment, the most important right given legally by the Constitution.

I don't like to dissent but when my hands are tied in an obnoxious way I will be forced to evoke my right to dissent. We are all be reminded to be careful when dealing with people, especially those who take delight to stab others - I just want you to know this: if ever I get the chance to betray a principle, surely will do so. If the opportunity arises to pay you back, surely they'll take it. When you breach my confidence and loyalty you'll never be trusted.

Sometimes on our travels through hell, you meet people that think they are in heaven because of their cleverness and ability to get away with things. We oftentimes fail to understand the art of revenge. To exact revenge for yourself or your friends is not only a right, it's an absolute moral or legal obligation to act and never be afraid to scrutinize your loyalty. Always have an aptitude test and, question where your loyalties lie. Because people you trust will expect it, your greatest enemies will desire it, and those you treasure the most, will, without fail, abuse it.

Why would any one of good conscience get scared when they right thing is to be done. Why label the MPs that dissented as "traitors". Why did the NDC's National Executive Committee fall for Johnson Asiedu Nketia artful machinations and maneuvers so easily? Wait a minute!! Could the NEC be complicit?

If NEC is complicit, then they've lost the battle and that of the war. The moment you recruit people to put another person down, in order to convince someone of your value it's the day you dishonored yourself. If that was case, then, that's where they whole plot failed. They were upstaged by the Chairman, and got engrossed in a witch-hunt that has exploded beyond expectation.

To the dissidents (MPs), you did the right thing by standing up to those that underrated and underestimated your ability and capacity wreak havoc. If someone doesn't see your worth the problem is with them, not people outside your relationship. There is always a good reason not to abandon the boat. Say to yourself, dont worry, Im not quitting. Ive decided Im going to stay and make life a living hell while I run his business into the ground.

When a woman decide to strike at the heart of another, she seldom misses, and the wound is invariably fatal.

To punish someone for your own mistakes, for your own actions and inactions, with the view to harm another by shifting blame that is rightly yours, you could said to be a wretched and cowardly person who commits immoral act/acts.

I state without evocation that, the dissidents (MPs) understand the science of war. In the art of war, if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the approaching battles. But if you know only yourself and not the enemy, for every victory, there will also be defeat. The case confronting Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia and his bandwagon.

The very thrust of this article revolves around the 'groupthink concept'.

The NDC Party and supporters are breaking bones, invoking curses and claiming some of their MPs has betrayed the Party. To every rule and regulations there's a caveat. Such as freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and of choice.

The problem that has cropped up from the 'Voting Debacle' had its mushrooming from the manner or better still, how Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Hon. Muntaka Mohammed and Hon. James Klutse Avedzi were humiliated and treated. If there is a disaster, it must be laid at doorstep of Asiedu Nketia's led group and those short-sighted people who failed to recognize seriousness of how the three (3) people were injured. Their reputation has been dragged through muddy waters and the Elders of the Party sat down unconcerned, leaving Asiedu Nketia to have a feeling of great authority or skills.

Disasters do occur, however, it could been averted and properly managed to assuage the rippling effects. To be frank, there should be no reason to sympathize with those who saws nothing wrong in the manner the three MPs was ushered out from leadership status. It is the exact response to the humiliation suffered.

Revenge! revenge! revenge!!

It is a fact of life that, a lot of unexpected and sudden events by members of groups are traceable to a group's insistence not to listen to dissenting voices.

People are of the view that the MPs that parted company with the Party are traitors. It is never the case. I think of them as dissidents and not traitors. A dissident is someone who's in opposition to official policy. It was route the MPs decided to travel, against the Party's proposition. To reference a former Member of Parliament of the NDC, he said "We don't eat principles".

Let's travel the memory lane. A well known incident or a situation that comes to mind is the space shuttle "Challenger disaster" of 1986, which resulted in the death of seven crew members in that tragic incident. The unfortunate tragedy was transmitted by television across the United States of America. The end result resulted in emotional disturbing occurrence with the attendant injury on the psyche of the nation.

A formal inquiry about this serious accident or catastrophe unknown to the public was, engineers had shown disturbing anxiety and worry with their managers concerning the safety of the "shuttle's O-rings in cold temperatures". Nevertheless, hidden behind intense deadline influence and its effects, managers decided or failed to consider the dissenting voices of the engineers. Seven lives were lost all because most people in leadership role hardly accept dissenting opinions.

The lesson involving the "Challenger" similar in nature to "Voting Debacle" on Friday, March 24, 2023 is oftentimes used as a case study of 'groupthink'. Citing the rippling effects of most 'groupthink' cases as very disastrous. On hindsight, advocates of 'groupthink' are of the view or a belief that a team may have to disregard dissenting voices to keep the team's cohesion but not all is always true.

The NDC MPs 'voting debacle' shows that for a group to make or take or achieve the desired or intended result of decisions, it must accept dissenting voices and give support and advice to them when needed. There are advantages and gains from encouraging dissenting opinions. It brings on board prompters to share different perspectives and facts it provides.

The Party's leadership failure to see the harm done to Haruna, Muntaka and Avedzi - the failure to recognize the ability and capacity of the supposed "traitors", as referred to, in directing its influence on dissenting opinions within the caucus to upturn the victim-hood as a revenge for the deceptive actions of Johnson Asiedu Nketia and his group of bloodhounds executives.

No one wants to be humiliated and ridiculed and in addition, subjected to avalanche of attack on their reputation and couple with insinuations for asking, what gave rise the sudden change in the leadership without a hint. This should give leaders who cares the best information to act on.

From where I stand, the "groupthink concept" provides leaders with access to stimulate critical thinking in leadership teams and to dismiss superficial compliance with standards.

However, and perhaps of situations and abilities in such times, leaders not aware of the full facts may return to 'groupthink' thus making it a fertile ground for promoting people who provides them ease of freedom and security, at expense of thoroughness and quality. A shortfall that usually confront leadership role, is the inability to select the best people to help realize a vision: leaders may choose people who shore up a power base that it undermines progress for the end result is a focus-based which serves as a protection of oneself rather than vision.

The absolute task of a leader is to assign job or role to people who see a thing that exists in a realistic way that is not same from leaders and be prepared to accommodate dissent: an appreciating and understanding where they are requested to share what they see. The question raised for asking for information with dissenting opinions, it is, imperative that as leaders we must as of necessity come recognize that we don't have all the answers. And this can be tough. The best leaders I worked with selected people who best help them realize their vision. They were leaders who wanted to hear and relate to all team members, so they don't run their ship ashore.

Why am I raising concerns about this? Presently, John Mahama, Alan Kyeremateng, Kennedy Agyapong among others are crisscrossing our country. Equally, party leaders are busy appointing new leaders for 2024 elections and reshaping their teams.

The end game is that of promoting people who they agree with, but is tempting, and not the best interest of party members. I hope Party Leaders are brave and have other means needed to appoint people with the skillsets and perspectives to address their prospects of success and challenges, even, if by doing so it makes them feel a little unease with awkwardness will be good. By doing that they will achieve the best of outcomes for the supporters and Party which is at the heart of their journey to success.

To conclude, 'group thinkers' should always be mindful that dissent is a good tool that make important inputs and must never be overlooked, underrated or underestimated. Leaders do so at their own peril. The MPs who voted against the acted most likely based their convictions and conscience deserve commendations not threats of inquisition.

The NDC should very, very careful or worried about decisions of their Chairman, "Mosquito". He has an agenda to prosecute. The manner in which he ditched Ofosu Ampofo clearly depicts him as being brutish, ruthless and unreliable person, more so, savage and unrepentant, in whatever he deems right. His is disposition, demeanor if allowed to continue unchecked, will hurt members, supporters and sympathizers.

The rank and file of the NDC must be minded that Haruna Iddrisu, Muntaka Mohammed and James Klutse Avedzi are persons who are weighty, have solid base in the respective constituencies that their feathers should not be ruffled. Any misstep or bad judgment can backfire and wreak havoc and the ravages will be detrimental for the NDC.

You guys aren't traitors but dissenters. Confidently, be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

You don't walk in front of me... I may not follow

You don't walk behind me... I may not lead

Walk beside me... just be my friend

And be the change that you wish to see in the world.

The French citizen would say "tu ne vis qu'une fois, mai si tu le fais bien, une fois suffit.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.
Africa's largest airline, Ethiopian Airlines, and Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa in Mombasa, Kenya, have teamed up to enhance the travelling experience for Ghanaians seeking to explore the beauty of Kenya's coastal town.

Ghana and Kenya have long-standing diplomatic and trade relations. Both countries operate a visa-free regime, respectively, for

citizens.

In furtherance of this, Ghanaian travellers can travel on Ethiopian Airlines' recently launched 4x evening flights from Accra, Ghana to Mombasa, Kenya via Addis Ababa.

The short connecting time of four hours in Addis can be well spent at the luxurious Skylight in-terminal hotel at Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport.

Skylight In-Terminal Hotel has 97 tranquil havens in five categories, each featuring modern essentials for a seamless stay. Pick a Skylight Suite for additional space with a living or dining area. Catch up on work or connect with our complimentary Wi-Fi and the fully stocked minibar.

All rooms feature . Rollaway Bed/Cot . Crib . Iron/Ironing Board . In-room Safe . Bathroom Amenities . Hair Dryer . Separate/Walk-in Shower . Flat-screen TV . Mini-Bar . Satellite TV Premium Channels . Bathrobe . Slippers . Phone in Bathroom . Complimentary Coffee/Tea Supplies . Complimentary Bottled Water

Arrival in Mombasa, Kenya



Upon arrival in Mombasa, Sarova Whitesands Hotel, a beautiful seaside resort located on the pristine Indian Ocean beach in Mombasa, has tailor-made accommodations, tour packages, and exciting adventures for a memorable holiday.

The hotel, an oasis of relaxation, and where pleasant lasting memories are made, is ideal for individuals, families, groups, corporate retreats, and so much more.

For individuals, Sarova Whitesands is the escape from stress you need. Multiple swimming pools, a serene green environment that is well-tended pristine waters of the Indian Ocean, and an ideal spot to lie down and enjoy the cool breeze while reading that novel you have always wanted to read.

Water-based activities like snorkeling near the reef just a few meters from the beachfront of Sarova Whitesands is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Families will find the extra attention paid to children to allow parents time and space to relax, particularly delightful. Large swimming pools with water slides are manned by lifeguards to delight children. Parents can also sign up for their children to join other children to partake in various activities within the hotel under the guidance of a Sarova Whitesands Hotel-trained staff.

Groups would find swimming with fishes in the shallow part ( less than 2 feet) in the middle of the Indian Ocean, an experience of a lifetime.

This rare phenomenon, which is only found along the coast of Sarova Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa, presents the opportunity for anyone to walk in the middle of the Indian Ocean without life vests or any kind of support.

Non-swimmers can also experience the beauty of snorkeling without getting wet. The customized glass floor boats used by the hotel's marine unit allow passengers onboard to view colourful fishes and other sea creatures below without leaving the boat.

With the Ethiopian and Sarova partnership, Ghanaian travellers can now get to experience other cultures and engage in exciting activities within the continent.
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AMN  Get Rating) insider Denise L. Jackson sold 4,515 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.26, for a total value of $493,308.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,639,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

AMN Healthcare Services Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of AMN stock traded down $1.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $81.77. 483,400 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 849,131. AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.42 and a 52-week high of $129.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.34. The firms fifty day moving average price is $91.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

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AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.07 billion. AMN Healthcare Services had a return on equity of 49.69% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. will post 8.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AMN Healthcare Services

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in AMN Healthcare Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AMN Healthcare Services in the third quarter valued at $30,000. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AMN Healthcare Services in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of AMN Healthcare Services in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in AMN Healthcare Services by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 430 shares of the companys stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 96.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMN shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of AMN Healthcare Services in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Credit Suisse Group reissued an outperform rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of AMN Healthcare Services in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AMN Healthcare Services from $134.00 to $111.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on AMN Healthcare Services from $130.00 to $109.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of AMN Healthcare Services in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $131.00.

About AMN Healthcare Services

(Get Rating)

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc provides healthcare workforce solutions and staffing services to healthcare facilities across the nation. Its workforce solutions include managed services programs and recruitment process outsourcing. It operates through the following segments: Nurse and Allied Solutions, Physician and Leadership Solutions, and Technology and Workforce Solutions.

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Steel Partners Holdings L.P. (NYSE:SPLP  Get Rating) President Jack L. Howard sold 12,946 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.90, for a total value of $296,463.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 161,115 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,689,533.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Steel Partners Price Performance

NYSE SPLP traded up $2.12 on Thursday, hitting $45.00. The stock had a trading volume of 207 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,027. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.41 and a 200-day moving average of $42.53. The company has a market capitalization of $969.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.09. Steel Partners Holdings L.P. has a 52-week low of $38.00 and a 52-week high of $47.62.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Steel Partners in a report on Monday. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Partners

Steel Partners Company Profile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Steel Partners by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,047 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $287,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in Steel Partners during the first quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new position in Steel Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in shares of Steel Partners in the 4th quarter worth $420,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

Steel Partners Holdings LP engages in owning and operating businesses in various industries, including diversified industrial products, energy, defense, supply chain management and logistics, banking, and youth sports. It operates through the following segments: Diversified Industrial, Energy, Financial Services, and Corporate and Other.

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KB Home (NYSE:KBH  Get Rating) has received a consensus recommendation of Hold from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.96.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of KB Home from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KB Home from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of KB Home from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of KB Home from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.50 to $42.50 in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of KB Home in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

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Institutional Trading of KB Home

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KBH. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of KB Home by 11,077.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,006 shares of the construction companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KB Home during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Heritage Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KB Home by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 880 shares of the construction companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KB Home during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of KB Home by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the construction companys stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. 89.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KB Home Price Performance

Shares of KB Home stock opened at $39.61 on Friday. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $36.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 4.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58. KB Home has a 1-year low of $24.78 and a 1-year high of $40.92.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 22nd. The construction company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.30 billion. KB Home had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The companys revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KB Home will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

KB Home Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 2nd were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 1st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. KB Homes dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.59%.

About KB Home

(Get Rating)

KB Home engages in selling and building a variety of new homes. It builds various types of homes, including attached and detached single-family homes, townhomes, and condominiums. The firm operates through the following segments: West Coast, Southwest, Central, and Southeast. It offer homes in development communities, at urban in-fill locations and as part of mixed-use projects.

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General Mills (NYSE:GIS  Get Rating) had its target price raised by Barclays from $81.00 to $83.00 in a report released on Monday morning, The Fly reports.

GIS has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of General Mills from $84.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st. UBS Group raised shares of General Mills from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $88.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $83.88.

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General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS stock opened at $84.96 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $49.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.54. General Mills has a 52 week low of $64.94 and a 52 week high of $88.34. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $78.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.30.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

General Mills ( NYSE:GIS Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 23rd. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.06. General Mills had a net margin of 14.04% and a return on equity of 24.51%. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. General Millss revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Mills will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. General Millss dividend payout ratio is presently 46.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Sean N. Walker sold 27,157 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.87, for a total transaction of $2,304,814.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 90,975 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,721,048.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,894 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.49, for a total transaction of $920,434.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 82,784 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,994,420.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sean N. Walker sold 27,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.87, for a total transaction of $2,304,814.59. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 90,975 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,721,048.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,006 shares of company stock worth $3,393,359 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.67% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneva Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 6,579 shares of the companys stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. now owns 27,800 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,129,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.0% during the second quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 13,353 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.6% during the third quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the companys stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 3.5% during the third quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 3,954 shares of the companys stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 74.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About General Mills

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General Mills, Inc engages in the manufacture and marketing of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. The firm operates through the following segments: North America Retail, Europe & Australia, Convenience Stores & Foodservice, Pet, and Asia & Latin America. The North America Retail segment includes grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, drug, dollar and discount chains and e-commerce grocery providers.

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Shares of Basilea Pharmaceutica AG (OTCMKTS:BPMUF  Get Rating) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $52.00 and last traded at $52.00, with a volume of 0 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.00.

Basilea Pharmaceutica Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.48.

Basilea Pharmaceutica Company Profile

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Basilea Pharmaceutica AG engages in the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Its products include Cresemba, Zevtera, Derazantinib, BAL101553, and BAL3833. The company was founded on October 17, 2000 and is headquartered in Allschwil, Switzerland.

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Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of CONSOL Energy (NYSE:CEIX  Get Rating) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $80.00 price objective on the stock.

Separately, B. Riley lowered their target price on CONSOL Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th.

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CONSOL Energy Stock Performance

NYSE CEIX opened at $56.94 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.19. CONSOL Energy has a 1-year low of $34.57 and a 1-year high of $79.17.

CONSOL Energy Increases Dividend

CONSOL Energy ( NYSE:CEIX Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.38. CONSOL Energy had a return on equity of 48.04% and a net margin of 22.22%. The business had revenue of $637.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $526.50 million. Sell-side analysts expect that CONSOL Energy will post 21.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.73%. This is an increase from CONSOL Energys previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 16th. CONSOL Energys dividend payout ratio is presently 33.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John Rothka sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.34, for a total value of $128,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,245 shares in the company, valued at $916,523.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CONSOL Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ETF Managers Group LLC grew its holdings in CONSOL Energy by 959.0% during the 4th quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC now owns 19,686 shares of the companys stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 17,827 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in CONSOL Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 638,033 shares of the companys stock worth $41,472,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in CONSOL Energy by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,552 shares of the companys stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC acquired a new position in CONSOL Energy in the 4th quarter worth $10,361,000. Finally, Natixis acquired a new position in CONSOL Energy in the 4th quarter worth $1,008,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.04% of the companys stock.

About CONSOL Energy

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CONSOL Energy, Inc engages in the production of bituminous coal which focuses on the extraction and preparation of coal in the Appalachian Basin. It operates under the Pennsylvania Mining Complex (PAMC) and CONSOL Marine Terminal. The PAMC segment includes mining, preparation, and marketing of bituminous coal sold to power generators, and industrial and metallurgical end-users.

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BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST  Get Rating)s stock is scheduled to reverse split on Tuesday, April 4th. The 1-4 reverse split was announced on Tuesday, April 4th. The number of shares owned by shareholders will be adjusted after the closing bell on Tuesday, April 4th.

BEST Stock Performance

NYSE:BEST opened at $0.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.29 million, a P/E ratio of -0.29 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.70. BEST has a 12 month low of $0.50 and a 12 month high of $3.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new position in shares of BEST during the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of BEST in the 1st quarter valued at $59,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of BEST by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,701,375 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 103,228 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in BEST by 291.8% during the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 124,277 shares of the companys stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 92,560 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of BEST by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,371,077 shares of the companys stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 19,984 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.76% of the companys stock.

BEST Company Profile

BEST, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the smart supply chain services. It operates through the following business segments: Freight, Supply Chain Management, Global, and Others. The company was founded by Shao Ning Chou in 2007 and is headquartered in Hangzhou, China.

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Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH  Get Rating) has earned an average recommendation of Hold from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.29.

Several research firms have issued reports on BKH. Sidoti lowered shares of Black Hills from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Black Hills from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Bank of America lowered shares of Black Hills from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Black Hills from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of Black Hills from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, February 9th.

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Black Hills Trading Down 0.1 %

BKH opened at $62.88 on Friday. The companys 50 day moving average is $64.61 and its 200-day moving average is $67.48. Black Hills has a 1-year low of $58.81 and a 1-year high of $80.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 0.57.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

Black Hills ( NYSE:BKH Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.06). Black Hills had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 10.13%. The business had revenue of $791.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $657.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Black Hills will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 14th were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 13th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Black Hillss dividend payout ratio is currently 62.66%.

Institutional Trading of Black Hills

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKH. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Black Hills by 594.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Black Hills by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 592 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Black Hills during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Black Hills by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 890 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.96% of the companys stock.

Black Hills Company Profile

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Black Hills Corp. is a diversified energy company. It operates through the following segments: Electric Utilities, Gas Utilities, and Corporate and Other. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The Gas Utilities segment provides natural gas in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.

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Blackstone Loan Financing Limited (LON:BGLF  Get Rating) shares were down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 0.72 ($0.01) and last traded at GBX 0.74 ($0.01). Approximately 486,346 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 47% from the average daily volume of 331,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 0.74 ($0.01).

Blackstone Loan Financing Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 0.75 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of 3.19 million, a P/E ratio of -10.36 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 439.40, a quick ratio of 439.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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Blackstone Loan Financing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 2nd were issued a 0.03 ($0.03) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 2nd. This is a boost from Blackstone Loan Financings previous dividend of $0.02. This represents a yield of 3.87%. Blackstone Loan Financings payout ratio is currently -11,428.57%.

Blackstone Loan Financing Company Profile

Blackstone/GSO Loan Financing Ltd is an internally managed investment fund. it invests in floating rate senior secured loans directly and indirectly through CLO Securities. Blackstone/GSO Loan Financing Ltd was founded in 2014 and is domiciled in Jersey, Channel Islands.

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Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR  Get Rating) had its price target cut by BMO Capital Markets from C$10.00 to C$9.00 in a research note released on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on BIR. Stifel Firstegy downgraded Birchcliff Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 16th. National Bankshares cut their price target on Birchcliff Energy from C$12.00 to C$11.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Birchcliff Energy from C$13.00 to C$12.00 in a report on Thursday, February 16th. ATB Capital dropped their price objective on Birchcliff Energy from C$12.50 to C$11.50 in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Birchcliff Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from C$9.00 to C$8.00 in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$11.31.

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Birchcliff Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of BIR opened at C$7.55 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$8.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$9.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of C$2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 3.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 2.25. Birchcliff Energy has a fifty-two week low of C$7.49 and a fifty-two week high of C$12.48.

Birchcliff Energy Increases Dividend

About Birchcliff Energy

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Birchcliff Energys previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.60%. Birchcliff Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.04%.

(Get Rating)

Birchcliff Energy Ltd., an intermediate oil and natural gas company, acquires, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, light oil, condensate, and natural gas liquids in Western Canada. The company holds interests in the Montney/Doig resource play located approximately 95 km northwest of Grande Prairie, Alberta.

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BNC Wealth Management LLC cut its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Get Rating) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,812 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 553 shares during the quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 7.5% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 20,822 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 4.3% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,263 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 25.4% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,064 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.5% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 16.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,239 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $52.47 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $45.00 and a twelve month high of $93.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.46 and a 200-day moving average of $75.52. The firm has a market cap of $94.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.93.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

Charles Schwab ( NYSE:SCHW Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.03). Charles Schwab had a net margin of 34.60% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The business had revenue of $5.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwabs previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. Credit Suisse Group raised shares of Charles Schwab from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $81.50 to $67.50 in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Charles Schwab from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 188,670 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total transaction of $15,106,806.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,856,646 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,470,691,645.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 188,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total value of $15,106,806.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,856,646 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,470,691,645.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.54, for a total transaction of $5,096,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,731,256 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,505,826,614.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,706,960 and sold 728,106 shares valued at $58,067,403. Insiders own 7.50% of the companys stock.

Charles Schwab Profile

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The Charles Schwab Corp. is a savings and loan holding company, which engages in the provision of wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. It operates through the Investor Services and Advisor Services segments. The Investor Services segment includes retail brokerage and banking services to individual investors, and retirement plan services, as well as other corporate brokerage services, to businesses and their employees.

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Brembo S.p.A. (OTCMKTS:BRBOF  Get Rating) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 636,700 shares, an increase of 82.2% from the February 28th total of 349,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6,367.0 days.

Brembo Price Performance

BRBOF remained flat at $14.32 during midday trading on Thursday. Brembo has a 52 week low of $8.55 and a 52 week high of $14.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.69 and a 200 day moving average of $11.66.

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About Brembo

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Brembo SpA engages in the manufacture and provision of braking system solutions for automotive vehicles. It operates through the Discs and After Market business segments. The Discs segment comprises the systems and motorbikes. The After Market segment refers to the performance of the group. The company was founded by Emilio Bombassei and Italo Breda on January 11, 1961 and is headquartered in Curno, Italy.

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Capital Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 1,035 shares during the quarter. Capital Financial Services LLCs holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. My Personal CFO LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 878.6% in the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 548 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 75.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMY opened at $68.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $143.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52 week low of $65.28 and a 52 week high of $81.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.82.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

Bristol-Myers Squibb ( NYSE:BMY Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.11. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 51.60% and a net margin of 13.71%. The business had revenue of $11.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BMY. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Atlantic Securities lifted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. They set an overweight rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, March 6th. They set a hold rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bristol-Myers Squibb has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $79.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $17,916,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 236,104 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,625,163.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $17,916,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 236,104 shares of the companys stock, valued at $17,625,163.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Powell sold 11,183 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $835,258.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,043 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,721,081.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Profile

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Bristol Myers Squibb Co engages in the discovery, development, licensing, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of biopharmaceutical products. It offers chemically-synthesized drugs or small molecules and products produced from biological processes called biologics. The company was founded in August 1933 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Further Reading

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Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM  Get Rating) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,240 shares of the business services providers stock after selling 1,335 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLCs holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,984,227 shares of the business services providers stock worth $5,925,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,798 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 194.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,217,592 shares of the business services providers stock worth $192,988,000 after acquiring an additional 804,708 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3,120.2% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 600,443 shares of the business services providers stock worth $96,197,000 after acquiring an additional 581,797 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Waste Management by 18.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,194,558 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $482,604,000 after buying an additional 504,966 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Waste Management by 21.5% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,605,293 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $417,394,000 after buying an additional 461,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.48% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $157.00 to $151.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 6th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday. They set an outperform rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $158.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $172.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

Waste Management Stock Performance

In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total transaction of $2,357,076.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,799,318.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link . In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total value of $2,357,076.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,799,318.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Also, CAO Leslie K. Nagy sold 800 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.11, for a total value of $120,888.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $787,283.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold a total of 31,027 shares of company stock valued at $4,806,619 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WM stock traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $162.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,390,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,386. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $138.89 and a one year high of $175.98. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $152.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.15.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 32.91%. Waste Managements revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 9th. This is a boost from Waste Managements previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Waste Managements payout ratio is 51.95%.

Waste Management announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 8th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Waste Management Profile

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Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.

Further Reading

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of China Yuchai International (NYSE:CYD  Get Rating) in a report released on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

Separately, Greenridge Global reissued a buy rating on shares of China Yuchai International in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th.

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China Yuchai International Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:CYD opened at $7.43 on Tuesday. China Yuchai International has a 1-year low of $6.73 and a 1-year high of $12.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.38 and a 200 day moving average of $7.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On China Yuchai International

China Yuchai International Company Profile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in China Yuchai International by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 95,400 shares of the companys stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 2,182 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in China Yuchai International by 293.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,397 shares of the companys stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,534 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of China Yuchai International by 1,245.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,000 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of China Yuchai International by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 14,383 shares of the companys stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Suisse AG acquired a new stake in shares of China Yuchai International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 19.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

(Get Rating)

China Yuchai International Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the manufacture, assembly, and sale of light, medium, and heavy-duty engines for trucks, buses, passenger vehicles, construction equipment, marine, and agriculture applications. It operates through the following segments: Yuchai, HL Global Enterprises Limited (HLGE), and Corporate.

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Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:EEM  Get Rating) by 71.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,242 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 42,686 shares during the period. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF accounts for approximately 0.9% of Clear Creek Financial Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Clear Creek Financial Management LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF were worth $3,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EEM. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 79,056,643 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $2,757,495,000 after buying an additional 2,120,629 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 617.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 30,902,851 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,239,204,000 after buying an additional 26,593,451 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 190.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 10,219,950 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $356,352,000 after buying an additional 6,697,550 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,605,304 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $373,647,000 after buying an additional 3,614,016 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 3,639.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,095,355 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $142,837,000 after buying an additional 3,985,830 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Stock Performance

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.46. 12,658,353 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,448,430. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has a fifty-two week low of $33.49 and a fifty-two week high of $46.78. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $39.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.19.

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Profile

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, formerly iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (the Fund), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded equity securities in global emerging markets, as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the Index).

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Connable Office Inc. grew its holdings in Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI  Get Rating) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,791 shares of the textile makers stock after buying an additional 2,152 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.s holdings in Hanesbrands were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Hanesbrands by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 48,320 shares of the textile makers stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 13,660 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment Corp IL lifted its holdings in Hanesbrands by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment Corp IL now owns 50,723 shares of the textile makers stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 10,675 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hanesbrands by 78.3% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 29,176 shares of the textile makers stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 12,816 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hanesbrands by 213.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 44,396 shares of the textile makers stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 30,232 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in Hanesbrands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $176,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.87% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HBI. StockNews.com began coverage on Hanesbrands in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Hanesbrands from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on Hanesbrands from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. TheStreet lowered Hanesbrands from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Hanesbrands from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $9.30.

Hanesbrands Stock Performance

HBI stock opened at $5.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of -13.89 and a beta of 1.60. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $5.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.75. Hanesbrands Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.82 and a 12-month high of $15.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.07.

Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The textile maker reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). Hanesbrands had a negative net margin of 2.04% and a positive return on equity of 53.41%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hanesbrands Inc. will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hanesbrands Company Profile

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Hanesbrands, Inc engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, sourcing, and selling basic apparel such as T-shirts, bras, panties, shape wear, underwear, socks, and activewear. It operates through the following segments: Innerwear, Activewear, and International. The Innerwear segment includes basic apparel including mens underwear, womens panties, childrens underwear, and socks, and intimate apparel such as bras, and shape wear.

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CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO  Get Rating) had its price target trimmed by Compass Point from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, The Fly reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

CTO has been the topic of a number of other reports. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of CTO Realty Growth from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of CTO Realty Growth from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. TheStreet downgraded shares of CTO Realty Growth from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of CTO Realty Growth from $24.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 27th. Finally, EF Hutton Acquisition Co. I reiterated a buy rating and issued a $23.00 price target (down previously from $25.00) on shares of CTO Realty Growth in a research note on Friday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $21.50.

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CTO Realty Growth Stock Performance

NYSE CTO opened at $16.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $386.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -219.12 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.58. CTO Realty Growth has a 1 year low of $15.98 and a 1 year high of $23.07.

CTO Realty Growth Announces Dividend

Insider Activity

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 9th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 8th. CTO Realty Growths payout ratio is presently -1,982.52%.

In other CTO Realty Growth news, major shareholder Cto Realty Growth, Inc. purchased 23,385 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.33 per share, with a total value of $381,877.05. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 67,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,097,784.25. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Matthew Morris Partridge purchased 2,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.75 per share, with a total value of $41,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 100,907 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,690,192.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cto Realty Growth, Inc. purchased 23,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.33 per share, with a total value of $381,877.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 67,225 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,097,784.25. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 93,622 shares of company stock worth $1,525,256 over the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CTO. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in CTO Realty Growth by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 23,410 shares of the companys stock worth $1,553,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in CTO Realty Growth by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,442 shares of the companys stock worth $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in CTO Realty Growth by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the companys stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in CTO Realty Growth by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,731 shares of the companys stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,887 shares of the companys stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.48% of the companys stock.

About CTO Realty Growth

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CTO Realty Growth, Inc operates as a real estate company. It owns and manages commercial real estate properties. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, FL.

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Carl Zeiss Meditec (ETR:AFX  Get Rating) has been given a 175.00 ($188.17) price objective by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in a report released on Friday, Borsen Zeitung reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschafts price objective would suggest a potential upside of 40.06% from the companys current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AFX. UBS Group set a 162.00 ($174.19) price objective on Carl Zeiss Meditec in a research report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Hauck Aufhauser Investment Banking set a 195.00 ($209.68) price objective on Carl Zeiss Meditec in a research report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a 138.00 ($148.39) price objective on Carl Zeiss Meditec in a research report on Monday, February 13th.

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Carl Zeiss Meditec Price Performance

Shares of Carl Zeiss Meditec stock traded up 1.70 ($1.83) during trading on Friday, reaching 124.95 ($134.35). The companys stock had a trading volume of 210,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,405. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of 133.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of 125.36. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.30. Carl Zeiss Meditec has a one year low of 101.75 ($109.41) and a one year high of 152.20 ($163.66). The stock has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.80.

Carl Zeiss Meditec Company Profile

Carl Zeiss Meditec AG operates as a medical technology company in Germany, rest of Europe, the United States, Asia, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Ophthalmic Devices and Microsurgery. The Ophthalmic Devices segment offers offers products and solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic eye diseases; and systems and consumables for refractive surgery.

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Shares of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS  Get Rating) have been assigned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.95.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FIS shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Fidelity National Information Services from $65.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Fidelity National Information Services in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Fidelity National Information Services from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Fidelity National Information Services from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Fidelity National Information Services from $93.00 to $81.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th.

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Fidelity National Information Services Stock Up 1.4 %

Fidelity National Information Services stock opened at $52.17 on Friday. Fidelity National Information Services has a 1-year low of $48.57 and a 1-year high of $106.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.84. The firms fifty day moving average price is $64.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Fidelity National Information Services Increases Dividend

Fidelity National Information Services ( NYSE:FIS Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 13th. The information technology services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.01. Fidelity National Information Services had a negative net margin of 115.07% and a positive return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fidelity National Information Services will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. This is a boost from Fidelity National Information Servicess previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Fidelity National Information Servicess payout ratio is currently -7.37%.

Insider Activity at Fidelity National Information Services

In related news, CFO Erik D. Hoag sold 5,658 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.88, for a total transaction of $361,433.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,368 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,045,587.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jeffrey E. Stiefler acquired 2,243 shares of Fidelity National Information Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.88 per share, with a total value of $150,011.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,343 shares in the company, valued at $223,579.84. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erik D. Hoag sold 5,658 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.88, for a total transaction of $361,433.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,368 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,045,587.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidelity National Information Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Fidelity National Information Services by 83.3% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 286 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Partners LLC grew its stake in Fidelity National Information Services by 199.2% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 398 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Securities LLC purchased a new position in Fidelity National Information Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Fidelity National Information Services by 55.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 461 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Fidelity National Information Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.25% of the companys stock.

About Fidelity National Information Services

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Fidelity National Information Services, Inc engages in the provision of technology solutions for financial institutions and businesses. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Merchant, Capital Markets, and Corporate and Other. The Banking segment focuses on serving financial institutions with core processing software, transaction processing software, and complementary applications and services.

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First Affirmative Financial Network cut its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI  Get Rating) (TSE:TRI) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,428 shares of the business services providers stock after selling 711 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Networks holdings in Thomson Reuters were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 45.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,593,951 shares of the business services providers stock worth $785,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357,199 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,584,932 shares of the business services providers stock worth $573,125,000 after buying an additional 150,880 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,000,881 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $307,650,000 after buying an additional 174,926 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 227.9% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,331,569 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $138,763,000 after buying an additional 925,535 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters by 22.5% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,295,468 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $136,193,000 after buying an additional 237,719 shares in the last quarter. 20.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Thomson Reuters Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE TRI opened at $129.19 on Friday. The firms 50 day moving average price is $121.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $60.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.58. Thomson Reuters Co. has a 1 year low of $91.55 and a 1 year high of $129.38.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

Thomson Reuters ( NYSE:TRI Get Rating ) (TSE:TRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.09. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 22nd. This is a boost from Thomson Reuterss previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Thomson Reuterss payout ratio is currently 68.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Thomson Reuters from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Thomson Reuters from $161.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Thomson Reuters from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $138.00.

Thomson Reuters Profile

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Thomson Reuters Corp. engages in the provision of news and information for professional markets. It operates through the following segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax and Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment provides research and workflow products to law firms and government.

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Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE:VTOL  Get Rating) major shareholder Alternative Asset Manage Solus sold 132,935 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $2,755,742.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,754,983 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $77,840,797.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a companys stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Alternative Asset Manage Solus also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Monday, March 20th, Alternative Asset Manage Solus sold 20,000 shares of Bristow Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.18, for a total value of $423,600.00.

On Friday, March 17th, Alternative Asset Manage Solus sold 15,119 shares of Bristow Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $320,976.37.

Bristow Group Price Performance

Bristow Group stock opened at $22.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $622.66 million, a PE ratio of 69.47 and a beta of 1.40. Bristow Group Inc. has a one year low of $20.20 and a one year high of $38.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bristow Group

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Western Standard LLC lifted its position in shares of Bristow Group by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Western Standard LLC now owns 242,134 shares of the companys stock worth $6,569,000 after buying an additional 47,487 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Treasury Department lifted its position in shares of Bristow Group by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 23,429 shares of the companys stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 1,696 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board increased its holdings in Bristow Group by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 27,267 shares of the companys stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Bristow Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 52,145 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Bristow Group by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,499 shares of the companys stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 5,234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the companys stock.

Separately, Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Bristow Group in a research report on Friday, March 24th.

About Bristow Group

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Bristow Group, Inc provides offshore oil and gas transportation, and search and rescue and aircraft support services to government and civil organizations. The companys services include global SAR, helicopter sales, maintenance and modifications, training, oil & gas, and unmanned aircraft system solutions.

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Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM  Get Rating) (TSE:BAM.A) Director Multi-Strategy Mast Brookfield sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.96, for a total transaction of $295,938.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,104,923 shares of the companys stock, valued at $252,414,879.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Brookfield Asset Management Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE BAM traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $32.03. 2,608,302 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,794,852. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. has a 1-year low of $26.76 and a 1-year high of $36.50. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $32.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.86.

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Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM  Get Rating) (TSE:BAM.A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $958.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $21.81 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Brookfield Asset Managements previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Asset Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 7,777.8% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 828 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,057 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BAM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Brookfield Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a market perform rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, CIBC initiated coverage on Brookfield Asset Management in a research note on Friday, December 16th. They issued an outperform rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $47.06.

Brookfield Asset Management Company Profile

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Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. provides alternative asset management services. Its renewable power and transition business includes the ownership, operation, and development of hydroelectric, wind, solar, and energy transition power generating assets. The company's infrastructure business engages in the ownership, operation, and development of utilities, transport, midstream, data and sustainable resource assets.

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SJW Group (NYSE:SJW  Get Rating) insider Craig J. Patla sold 725 shares of SJW Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.09, for a total value of $55,165.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $535,521.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

SJW Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of SJW opened at $75.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45 and a beta of 0.57. SJW Group has a 12 month low of $55.74 and a 12 month high of $83.88. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $76.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

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SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 6th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from SJW Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 3rd. SJW Groups payout ratio is currently 63.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

SJW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered SJW Group from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered SJW Group from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on SJW Group from $72.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on SJW Group in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered SJW Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SJW Group has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $79.40.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SJW. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its position in SJW Group by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,385 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in SJW Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 195,504 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $13,603,000 after purchasing an additional 6,063 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in SJW Group by 1,384.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,794 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 4,471 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in SJW Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,047 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in SJW Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,269,000. 72.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SJW Group Company Profile

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SJW Group is a holding company, which through its subsidiaries provides water utility services. It operates through the Water Utility Services and Real Estate Services segments. The Water Utility Services segment offers water utility and utility-related services. The Real Estate Services segment engages in property management and investment activity.

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Klaas Financial Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF (NYSEARCA:REET  Get Rating) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 596,537 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 54,789 shares during the quarter. iShares Global REIT ETF comprises approximately 3.4% of Klaas Financial Asset Advisors LLCs holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Klaas Financial Asset Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.46% of iShares Global REIT ETF worth $13,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MAS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in iShares Global REIT ETF by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 39,980 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 10,444 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in iShares Global REIT ETF by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,705 shares of the companys stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 5,359 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in iShares Global REIT ETF by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 43,908 shares of the companys stock worth $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 15,985 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in iShares Global REIT ETF by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,204,339 shares of the companys stock worth $152,019,000 after acquiring an additional 987,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in iShares Global REIT ETF during the 1st quarter worth $237,000.

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iShares Global REIT ETF Trading Up 0.8 %

REET stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.73. 65,563 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,800. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.90. iShares Global REIT ETF has a twelve month low of $20.04 and a twelve month high of $30.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.94.

iShares Global REIT ETF Company Profile

The iShares Global REIT ETF (REET) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the FTSE EPRA Nareit Global REITs index, a global, market-cap-weighted index of firms involved in the ownership and operation of real estate. REET was launched on Jul 8, 2014 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Klaas Financial Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF (NYSEARCA:IMTM  Get Rating) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 495,879 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,203 shares during the period. iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF accounts for 3.8% of Klaas Financial Asset Advisors LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Klaas Financial Asset Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF were worth $15,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 425,669 shares of the companys stock valued at $12,740,000 after buying an additional 15,771 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 95,780 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,867,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 788,711 shares of the companys stock valued at $21,185,000 after buying an additional 178,859 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 297,489 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,991,000 after buying an additional 19,201 shares during the period. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 121,380 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,260,000 after buying an additional 9,701 shares during the period.

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iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA:IMTM traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.33. 1,628 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,881. The firm has a market cap of $918.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.80. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $31.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.47. iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF has a 1 year low of $26.44 and a 1 year high of $36.33.

About iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF

The iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF (IMTM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI World ex USA Momentum index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap stocks from developed countries, ex-US. The momentum-selected stocks are weighted by market cap and momentum. IMTM was launched on Jan 13, 2015 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Lennox International (NYSE:LII  Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating on the construction companys stock. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for Lennox Internationals Q1 2023 earnings at $2.43 EPS, Q2 2023 earnings at $5.03 EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at $4.30 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $2.90 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $14.67 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $16.07 EPS.

LII has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Lennox International from $258.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Lennox International from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Lennox International in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Lennox International from $250.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lennox International from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennox International presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $259.92.

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Lennox International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LII opened at $245.32 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 0.92. Lennox International has a 1 year low of $182.85 and a 1 year high of $278.84. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $254.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.44.

Lennox International Announces Dividend

Lennox International ( NYSE:LII Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The construction company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. Lennox International had a net margin of 10.53% and a negative return on equity of 152.66%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennox International will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. Lennox Internationals dividend payout ratio is currently 30.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lennox International news, EVP Daniel M. Sessa sold 2,052 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.80, for a total transaction of $504,381.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,256 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,878,124.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 150 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.03, for a total transaction of $37,954.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,358.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel M. Sessa sold 2,052 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.80, for a total value of $504,381.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,256 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,878,124.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennox International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Lennox International by 211.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 112 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lennox International by 94.9% in the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 306 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennox International during the third quarter valued at approximately $104,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Lennox International in the third quarter worth approximately $189,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Lennox International in the third quarter worth $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.99% of the companys stock.

Lennox International Company Profile

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Lennox International, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of products for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration. It operates through the following business segments: Residential Heating & Cooling, Commercial Heating & Cooling, and Refrigeration. The Residential Heating & Cooling segment manufactures and markets furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, packaged heating and cooling systems, equipment, and accessories.

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Lundin Mining Co. (OTCMKTS:LUNMF  Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,170,500 shares, a growth of 92.8% from the February 28th total of 6,312,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 186,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 65.2 days.

Lundin Mining Price Performance

Shares of LUNMF traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $6.62. The companys stock had a trading volume of 46,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,233. The companys 50 day moving average is $6.49 and its 200 day moving average is $6.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.55. Lundin Mining has a 12-month low of $4.54 and a 12-month high of $11.25.

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Lundin Mining (OTCMKTS:LUNMF  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $811.40 million for the quarter. Lundin Mining had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 14.04%.

Lundin Mining Increases Dividend

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.0665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 23rd. This is an increase from Lundin Minings previous dividend of $0.07. This represents a yield of 4.83%. Lundin Minings dividend payout ratio is currently 44.83%.

LUNMF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial upgraded Lundin Mining from an underperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lundin Mining from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on shares of Lundin Mining from C$8.25 to C$10.25 in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Pareto Securities upgraded Lundin Mining from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Lundin Mining from C$9.00 to C$9.50 in a research report on Friday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $24.83.

Lundin Mining Company Profile

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Lundin Mining Corp. is a metal-based company engaged in mining, exploration and development of mineral properties, primarily in Chile, USA, Portugal, and Sweden. It holds interest in the following projects: Chapada, Candelaria, Eagle, Neves-Corvo, and Zinkgruvan. The company was founded on September 9, 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC reduced its stake in Everest Re Group, Ltd. (NYSE:RE  Get Rating) by 44.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 899 shares of the insurance providers stock after selling 726 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLCs holdings in Everest Re Group were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Everest Re Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,906,545 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $1,287,673,000 after acquiring an additional 55,341 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Everest Re Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,811,152 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $737,759,000 after buying an additional 8,589 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Everest Re Group by 7.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,587,523 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $681,939,000 after buying an additional 181,309 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Everest Re Group by 4.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,049,747 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $617,753,000 after buying an additional 86,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Everest Re Group by 30.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,188,259 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $311,847,000 after acquiring an additional 276,457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RE has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Everest Re Group in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Everest Re Group from $408.00 to $426.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Everest Re Group from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Everest Re Group in a report on Thursday, January 19th. They set a market perform rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Everest Re Group currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $382.00.

Everest Re Group Stock Performance

Shares of RE stock opened at $356.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.60. Everest Re Group, Ltd. has a 52 week low of $244.57 and a 52 week high of $394.99. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $362.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $328.58.

Everest Re Group (NYSE:RE  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $12.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.29 by $2.92. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Everest Re Group had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 4.96%. The businesss revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Everest Re Group, Ltd. will post 45.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Everest Re Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $1.65 per share. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 15th. Everest Re Groups payout ratio is currently 43.68%.

Everest Re Group Company Profile

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Everest Re Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of reinsurance and insurance services. It operates through the following segments: Reinsurance, and Insurance. The Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance and specialty lines of business, including marine, aviation, surety, and accident and health business, on both a treaty and facultative basis, through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies primarily within the U.S.

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Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV  Get Rating) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $51.00 to $47.00 in a research note published on Monday, The Fly reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

OVV has been the topic of several other research reports. Siebert Williams Shank started coverage on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Friday, December 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Ovintiv from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of Ovintiv from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $57.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $66.22.

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Ovintiv Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE OVV opened at $35.19 on Monday. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $43.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.31. Ovintiv has a 52-week low of $32.26 and a 52-week high of $63.30. The firm has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

Insider Buying and Selling at Ovintiv

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Ovintivs payout ratio is 7.04%.

In other Ovintiv news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 3,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total value of $136,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,404.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ovintiv

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 883,519 shares of the companys stock valued at $44,803,000 after acquiring an additional 209,342 shares during the period. OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Ovintiv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,958,000. Natixis purchased a new stake in Ovintiv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $465,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in Ovintiv by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 173,772 shares of the companys stock worth $8,811,000 after buying an additional 4,867 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ovintiv

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Ovintiv Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids. It operates through USA Operations, Canadian Operations, and Market Optimization segments. The company's principal assets include Permian in west Texas and Anadarko in west-central Oklahoma; and Montney in northeast British Columbia and northwest Alberta.

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CAPROCK Group Inc. reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS  Get Rating) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,533 shares of the companys stock after selling 321 shares during the quarter. CAPROCK Group Inc.s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 7.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,503,191 shares of the companys stock valued at $494,313,000 after acquiring an additional 465,677 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,399,213 shares of the companys stock worth $386,031,000 after purchasing an additional 193,519 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,131,935 shares of the companys stock worth $362,577,000 after purchasing an additional 35,483 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.2% during the third quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,273 shares of the companys stock worth $263,547,000 after purchasing an additional 75,377 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 27.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,781,596 shares of the companys stock worth $244,085,000 after purchasing an additional 594,194 shares during the period. 8.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Novartis in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut Novartis from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Novartis from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Novartis from CHF 82 to CHF 84 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $82.63.

Novartis Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $91.58 on Friday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $74.09 and a fifty-two week high of $94.26. The stock has a market cap of $202.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.09. Novartis had a return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 13.75%. The business had revenue of $12.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.85 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th were given a dividend of $3.4694 per share. This represents a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. This is a boost from Novartiss previous annual dividend of $1.18. Novartiss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.61%.

Novartis Profile

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Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

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Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,690,000 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the February 28th total of 3,220,000 shares. Approximately 5.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 537,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Nu Skin Enterprises Price Performance

NYSE NUS traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.20. 207,054 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 528,607. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.72. Nu Skin Enterprises has a 1 year low of $29.95 and a 1 year high of $51.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 1.19.

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Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE:NUS  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $522.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $542.32 million. Nu Skin Enterprises had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 4.71%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Nu Skin Enterprises will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nu Skin Enterprises Increases Dividend

Insider Transactions at Nu Skin Enterprises

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 27th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. This is an increase from Nu Skin Enterprisess previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Nu Skin Enterprisess payout ratio is currently 75.36%.

In other news, Director Andrew D. Lipman sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $78,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,393 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,451,420.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Steven Keith Hatchett sold 21,155 shares of Nu Skin Enterprises stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.78, for a total transaction of $841,545.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,368 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,321,879.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Andrew D. Lipman sold 2,000 shares of Nu Skin Enterprises stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $78,580.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,393 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,451,420.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,115 shares of company stock valued at $3,610,007 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.80% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises in the third quarter worth about $241,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can bought a new stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises in the third quarter worth about $1,287,000. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises by 133.6% in the second quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 16,390 shares of the companys stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 9,373 shares during the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC grew its stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises by 3.0% in the second quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 827,449 shares of the companys stock worth $35,829,000 after purchasing an additional 23,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises by 11.2% in the third quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 18,060 shares of the companys stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.67% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on NUS. TheStreet lowered Nu Skin Enterprises from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Nu Skin Enterprises from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Nu Skin Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Nu Skin Enterprises from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Nu Skin Enterprises from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their price target for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $39.33.

About Nu Skin Enterprises

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Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the development and distribution of beauty and wellness solutions. It operates through the following segments: Mainland China, Americas, South Korea, Southeast Asia/Pacific, EMEA, Japan, Hong Kong/Taiwan, Nu Skin Other, Manufacturing, and Rhyz Other.

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Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI  Get Rating) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,733 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLCs holdings in Cummins were worth $4,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Cummins by 588.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 117 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cummins during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cummins by 64.0% during the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 164 shares of the companys stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cummins during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Castle Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cummins by 125.0% during the third quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the companys stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 80.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Cummins Stock Performance

Shares of CMI opened at $234.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $244.46 and a 200-day moving average of $237.97. Cummins Inc. has a one year low of $184.27 and a one year high of $261.91. The company has a market cap of $33.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Cummins Announces Dividend

Cummins ( NYSE:CMI Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 6th. The company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $4.52. Cummins had a return on equity of 24.58% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cummins Inc. will post 18.95 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This represents a $6.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Cumminss dividend payout ratio is currently 41.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Georgia R. Nelson sold 1,933 shares of Cummins stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.64, for a total transaction of $486,420.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,742 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,471,156.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Sharon R. Barner sold 5,540 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.34, for a total value of $1,397,963.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,073,776.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Georgia R. Nelson sold 1,933 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.64, for a total transaction of $486,420.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,742 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,471,156.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,245,545. Company insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CMI. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on Cummins from $287.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cummins from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Cummins in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Cummins from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Cummins from $264.00 to $262.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $254.75.

Cummins Company Profile

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Cummins, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and market of diesel and natural gas engines. It operates through the following segments: Engine, Distribution, Components, Power Systems, and New Power. The Engine segment manufactures and markets diesel and natural gas-powered engines under the Cummins brand name, for the heavy- and medium-duty truck, bus, recreational vehicle, light-duty automotive, construction, mining, marine, rail, oil and gas, defense, and agricultural markets.

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Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,937 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 154,563,421 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $14,955,557,000 after buying an additional 2,011,683 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 74,138,862 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $7,173,676,000 after purchasing an additional 351,136 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the third quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 15,689,512 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,518,117,000 after acquiring an additional 316,416 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,252,430 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,439,881,000 after acquiring an additional 565,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,523,473 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,363,917,000 after acquiring an additional 218,683 shares during the last quarter. 72.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total transaction of $103,922.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,203 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,256,842.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total value of $103,922.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,256,842.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total value of $26,842.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,222,103.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,971 shares of company stock valued at $199,140. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the companys stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $1.43 on Friday, hitting $100.51. 800,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,079,878. The firm has a market cap of $174.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $93.25 and a 52 week high of $124.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 26.09%. The company had revenue of $10.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratoriess quarterly revenue was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 13th. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, SVB Leerink raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $122.12.

About Abbott Laboratories

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Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following business segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.

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Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN  Get Rating) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,284 shares of the information technology services providers stock after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLCs holdings in Accenture were worth $3,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Accenture by 33.6% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,858,899 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $2,459,673,000 after buying an additional 2,228,802 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 502.3% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,191,413 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $563,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827,551 shares in the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 41.6% during the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 5,457,405 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $1,404,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,071 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the second quarter worth about $373,981,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth about $318,306,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.97% of the companys stock.

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Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock traded up $0.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $283.57. 263,929 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,371,219. The company has a market capitalization of $178.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.25. Accenture plc has a twelve month low of $242.80 and a twelve month high of $345.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $271.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.99.

Accenture Announces Dividend

Accenture ( NYSE:ACN Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.20. Accenture had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.54 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Accenture plc will post 11.55 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 13th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Accentures dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ACN. StockNews.com began coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, March 20th. Piper Sandler lowered Accenture from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and set a $268.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Accenture from $310.00 to $290.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $314.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 1,027 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.99, for a total transaction of $288,576.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,467 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,222,112.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 10,296 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction of $2,892,455.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 44,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,405,306.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 1,027 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.99, for a total value of $288,576.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,467 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,222,112.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,475 shares of company stock valued at $10,225,149 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock.

Accenture Profile

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Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

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Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI  Get Rating) (TSE:RCI.B) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 304,099 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the previous sessions volume of 280,925 shares.The stock last traded at $46.36 and had previously closed at $47.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RCI shares. UBS Group upgraded Rogers Communications from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$71.00 to C$74.75 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Desjardins reissued a buy rating on shares of Rogers Communications in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on Rogers Communications from C$75.00 to C$78.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Rogers Communications from a c rating to a b rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rogers Communications currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $74.31.

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Rogers Communications Stock Down 2.8 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.41 and a 200 day moving average of $44.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.51.

Rogers Communications Increases Dividend

Rogers Communications ( NYSE:RCI Get Rating ) (TSE:RCI.B) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.06. Rogers Communications had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rogers Communications Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a $0.368 dividend. This is a boost from Rogers Communicationss previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. Rogers Communicationss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rogers Communications

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Rogers Communications by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,289 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC increased its stake in Rogers Communications by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 7,523 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its stake in Rogers Communications by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 6,829 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Rogers Communications by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 14,293 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Rogers Communications by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. 45.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rogers Communications Company Profile

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Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device and accessory financing, wireless home phone, device protection, e-mail, global voice and data roaming, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device delivery services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands to approximately 11.3 million subscribers.

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Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its position in Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. (NYSE:NUV  Get Rating) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,835 shares of the closed-end funds stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.s holdings in Nuveen Municipal Value Fund were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Nuveen Municipal Value Fund by 3.0% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 45,080 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Nuveen Municipal Value Fund by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 22,054 shares of the closed-end funds stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Nuveen Municipal Value Fund by 98.7% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Nuveen Municipal Value Fund by 17.0% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,699 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nuveen Municipal Value Fund by 15.5% during the second quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 13,544 shares of the closed-end funds stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 17.32% of the companys stock.

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Nuveen Municipal Value Fund Price Performance

NYSE NUV opened at $8.77 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.70. Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.25 and a 12-month high of $9.64.

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund Announces Dividend

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund Profile

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.028 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th.

(Get Rating)

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc is a closed-end diversified management investment fund. Its objective is current income exempt from federal income taxes and its secondary objective is the enhancement of portfolio value through selection of tax-exempt bonds and municipal market sectors. The company was founded on April 8, 1987 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

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Sandy Cove Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Invesco Dynamic Software ETF (NYSEARCA:PSJ  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,208 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $201,000. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Invesco Dynamic Software ETF at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSJ. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Invesco Dynamic Software ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $1,340,000. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Invesco Dynamic Software ETF by 244.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 16,928 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,009 shares during the period. Flow Traders U.S. LLC increased its position in shares of Invesco Dynamic Software ETF by 62.9% during the 1st quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC now owns 18,015 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Invesco Dynamic Software ETF by 112.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,738 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 6,736 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Invesco Dynamic Software ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $413,000.

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Invesco Dynamic Software ETF Stock Performance

Shares of PSJ stock traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $100.81. 1,516 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,066. Invesco Dynamic Software ETF has a twelve month low of $85.67 and a twelve month high of $114.79. The firm has a market cap of $197.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88 and a beta of 1.00. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $96.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.10.

About Invesco Dynamic Software ETF

PowerShares Dynamic Software Portfolio (the Fund) is a non-diversified fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of the Dynamic Software Intellidex Index (the Index). The Index is designed to provide capital appreciation by evaluating companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including fundamental growth, stock valuation, investment timeliness and risk factors.

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Saxon Interests Inc. boosted its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM  Get Rating) by 87.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,911 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 6,009 shares during the period. iShares Russell 2000 ETF makes up 1.3% of Saxon Interests Inc.s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Saxon Interests Inc.s holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF were worth $2,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 113.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,660,221 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $603,643,000 after acquiring an additional 31,422,045 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 12,616.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 7,756,010 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,279,086,000 after acquiring an additional 7,695,017 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 119.0% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 853,920 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $144,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,358,090 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 8.9% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 14,581,100 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $2,404,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP raised its stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 929.1% in the second quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 688,956 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $116,683,000 after buying an additional 772,050 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares Russell 2000 ETF Price Performance

IWM stock traded up $2.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $177.84. The company had a trading volume of 14,599,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,209,896. iShares Russell 2000 ETF has a 52 week low of $162.50 and a 52 week high of $212.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $185.26 and a 200 day moving average of $180.37.

About iShares Russell 2000 ETF

iShares Russell 2000 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 2000 Index (the Index). The Index is a float-adjusted capitalization weighted index that measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market and includes securities issued by the approximately 2,000 smallest issuers in the Russell 3000 Index.

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The Scottish American Investment Co PLC (LON:SCAM  Get Rating)s stock price crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 417.50 ($5.13) and traded as low as GBX 415.48 ($5.10). Scottish American Investment shares last traded at GBX 417.50 ($5.13), with a volume of 170,822 shares changing hands.

Scottish American Investment Stock Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of 603.25 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 3.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 417.50 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 417.50.

About Scottish American Investment

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The Scottish American Investment Company P.L.C. is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Baillie Gifford & Co Ltd. The fund is co-managed by Baillie Gifford & Co and OLIM Property Limited. It invests in public equity markets across the globe. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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Scout Investments Inc. lessened its position in Dycom Industries, Inc. (NYSE:DY  Get Rating) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,697 shares of the construction companys stock after selling 1,768 shares during the period. Scout Investments Inc. owned about 0.36% of Dycom Industries worth $9,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DY. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Dycom Industries by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 92,240 shares of the construction companys stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 4,677 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in Dycom Industries by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 18,439 shares of the construction companys stock worth $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Dycom Industries by 395.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 55,197 shares of the construction companys stock worth $5,136,000 after purchasing an additional 44,047 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Dycom Industries by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 80,548 shares of the construction companys stock worth $7,744,000 after purchasing an additional 20,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Dycom Industries by 8.4% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 64,814 shares of the construction companys stock worth $6,192,000 after buying an additional 5,035 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.82% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, CFO H Andrew Deferrari sold 10,282 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total value of $967,639.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 148,425 shares of the companys stock, valued at $13,968,276.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Ryan F. Urness sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.90, for a total transaction of $313,170.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 26,242 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,365.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO H Andrew Deferrari sold 10,282 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total value of $967,639.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 148,425 shares in the company, valued at $13,968,276.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.32% of the companys stock.

Dycom Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DY opened at $93.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.48. Dycom Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.21 and a 52 week high of $122.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 3.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 1.29.

Dycom Industries (NYSE:DY  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The construction company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.66. Dycom Industries had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 3.73%. The firm had revenue of $917.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $815.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.02 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Dycom Industries, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Dycom Industries from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Dycom Industries from $110.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Dycom Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Dycom Industries from $124.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dycom Industries has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $125.80.

About Dycom Industries

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Dycom Industries, Inc provides contracting services throughout the United States. Its services include engineering, construction, maintenance and installation services to telecommunications providers, underground facility locating services to various utilities, including other construction and maintenance services to electric and gas utilities, and others.

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AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft (OTCMKTS:ASAAF  Get Rating) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 363,100 shares, a drop of 17.3% from the February 28th total of 438,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently  days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, March 13th.

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AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft Stock Performance

Shares of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft stock remained flat at C$29.92 on Thursday. AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft has a 1 year low of C$29.92 and a 1 year high of C$31.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$41.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$43.05.

About AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft

AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes printed circuit boards (PCBs) worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Mobile Devices & Substrates; Automotive, Industrial, Medical; and Others. It offers double sided standard, metal core, and copper inlay PCBs; multilayer standard, high frequency/low loss, and thick copper PCBs; high density interconnect (HDI) Microvia PCBs; HDI any-layer PCBs; flexible, semi-flexible, rigid-flexible, and HDI rigid flex PCBs; integrated circuit substrates; and insulated metallic substrates PCBs, as well as related services.

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SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG  Get Rating) had its price objective decreased by Citigroup from $35.00 to $17.00 in a research note released on Monday, The Fly reports. Citigroup currently has a sell rating on the real estate investment trusts stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered SL Green Realty from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on SL Green Realty from $38.00 to $33.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on SL Green Realty in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. They set a sell rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut SL Green Realty from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on SL Green Realty from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.63.

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SL Green Realty Price Performance

SLG opened at $22.52 on Monday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $33.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 2.64. SL Green Realty has a 1 year low of $19.06 and a 1 year high of $83.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.11 and a beta of 1.52.

SL Green Realty Increases Dividend

SL Green Realty ( NYSE:SLG Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The real estate investment trust reported ($1.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($2.49). SL Green Realty had a negative return on equity of 1.62% and a negative net margin of 9.44%. The company had revenue of $197.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. SL Green Realtys revenue was up 31.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that SL Green Realty will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.271 per share. This is a boost from SL Green Realtys previous monthly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $3.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.44%. SL Green Realtys payout ratio is presently -218.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SL Green Realty

In other SL Green Realty news, CFO Matthew J. Diliberto bought 10,000 shares of SL Green Realty stock in a transaction on Friday, March 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.44 per share, with a total value of $164,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 13,000 shares in the company, valued at $213,720. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other SL Green Realty news, CFO Matthew J. Diliberto bought 10,000 shares of SL Green Realty stock in a transaction on Friday, March 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.44 per share, with a total value of $164,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 13,000 shares in the company, valued at $213,720. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig M. Hatkoff sold 9,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.31, for a total value of $308,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,052 shares in the company, valued at $70,404.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SL Green Realty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of SL Green Realty by 91.8% in the 2nd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 7,544 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 3,610 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of SL Green Realty by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 48,897 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in SL Green Realty by 112.3% in the 2nd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 84,900 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $3,918,000 after acquiring an additional 44,900 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in SL Green Realty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $805,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in SL Green Realty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $362,000. 82.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SL Green Realty Company Profile

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3SL Green Realty Corp., Manhattans largest office landlord, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of June 30, 2022, SL Green held interests in 64 buildings totaling 34.4 million square feet.

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Copper Mountain Mining (TSE:CMMC  Get Rating) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from C$2.00 to C$2.20 in a research note released on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CMMC. National Bankshares raised their price target on Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.25 to C$2.50 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. CIBC lifted their target price on Copper Mountain Mining from C$1.90 to C$2.20 in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Copper Mountain Mining from C$3.00 to C$2.75 in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, Haywood Securities lifted their target price on Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.00 to C$3.00 in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$2.46.

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Copper Mountain Mining Stock Performance

TSE CMMC opened at C$2.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$448.96 million, a PE ratio of -26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 2.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$2.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 88.37, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.38. Copper Mountain Mining has a 1-year low of C$1.23 and a 1-year high of C$3.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

Copper Mountain Mining Company Profile

In related news, insider Zeta Resources Limited sold 200,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$2.23, for a total transaction of C$446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,166,545 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately C$58,456,061.53. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Copper Mountain Mining Corporation operates as a mining company in Canada. The company explores for copper, gold, and silver deposits. Its flagship asset is the Copper Mountain mine that comprise 138 crown granted mineral claims, 149 located mineral claims, 14 mining leases, and 12 fee simple properties covering an area of 6,702 hectares located to the south of Princeton, British Columbia.

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Terra Nova Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM  Get Rating) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,989 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,066 shares during the quarter. Archer-Daniels-Midland makes up approximately 2.1% of Terra Nova Asset Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Terra Nova Asset Management LLCs holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $2,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,215 shares of the companys stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 13.2% in the third quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 953 shares of the companys stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 0.6% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 19,603 shares of the companys stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 8.0% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,629 shares of the companys stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.3% during the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,346 shares of the companys stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 78.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $114.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $104.71.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ADM traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.29. 1,395,353 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,362,153. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $70.02 and a 12 month high of $98.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.54 and a 200-day moving average of $86.94.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.29. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $26.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midlands previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 8th. Archer-Daniels-Midlands dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.35%.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

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Archer-Daniels-Midland Co engages in the production of oilseeds, corn, wheat, cocoa, and other agricultural commodities. It operates through the following segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, Nutrition, and Other. The Ag Services and Oilseeds segment includes activities related to the origination, merchandising, transportation, and storage of agricultural raw materials, and the crushing and further processing of oilseeds such as soybeans and soft seeds cottonseed, sunflower seed, canola, rapeseed, and flaxseed into vegetable oils and protein meals.

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Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc. (OTCMKTS:THMG  Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,200 shares, an increase of 20.0% from the February 28th total of 1,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 18,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Thunder Mountain Gold Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS THMG remained flat at $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday. 14,100 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,773. Thunder Mountain Gold has a 12-month low of $0.05 and a 12-month high of $0.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.70 and a beta of 0.95.

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Thunder Mountain Gold Company Profile

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Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc operates as a mineral exploration company, which engages in acquisition, exploration, and development of premier precious and base metal properties. Its projects include South Mountain located in southwest of Boise, Idaho and Trout Creek located in Nevada. The company was founded on November 9, 1935 and is headquartered in Boise, ID.

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Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD  Get Rating) (NYSE:TD) had its price objective cut by Royal Bank of Canada from C$113.00 to C$110.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Fundamental Research set a C$104.14 price target on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$102.00 to C$106.00 in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$97.00 to C$100.00 in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Toronto-Dominion Bank from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from C$95.00 to C$103.00 in a report on Friday, December 2nd. Finally, National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$100.00 to C$102.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$99.76.

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Toronto-Dominion Bank Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:TD opened at C$80.37 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$87.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$87.54. Toronto-Dominion Bank has a one year low of C$76.40 and a one year high of C$103.13. The stock has a market capitalization of C$147.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.83.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Dividend Announcement

Insiders Place Their Bets

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 6th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. Toronto-Dominion Banks dividend payout ratio is presently 47.29%.

In related news, Senior Officer Riaz Ahmed sold 37,832 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$89.01, for a total transaction of C$3,367,426.32. In other news, Senior Officer Riaz Ahmed sold 37,832 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$89.01, for a total transaction of C$3,367,426.32. Also, Director Mark Russell Chauvin sold 42,576 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$88.45, for a total transaction of C$3,765,847.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 185,780 shares of the companys stock, valued at C$16,432,241. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Company Profile

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The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, and Wholesale Banking segments. The company offers personal deposits, such as checking, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases.

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Conduit Holdings Limited (LON:CRE  Get Rating) insider Trevor Carvey bought 50,079 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Saturday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 364 ($4.47) per share, for a total transaction of 182,287.56 ($223,968.01).

Conduit Stock Performance

Shares of Conduit stock opened at GBX 483 ($5.93) on Friday. Conduit Holdings Limited has a one year low of GBX 299.50 ($3.68) and a one year high of GBX 518 ($6.36). The company has a market cap of 794.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,058.70 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.12. The businesss 50 day moving average price is GBX 472.99 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 408.03.

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Conduit Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 23rd. This represents a yield of 3.12%. Conduits payout ratio is -6,521.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

About Conduit

Separately, Berenberg Bank restated a buy rating and issued a GBX 590 ($7.25) target price on shares of Conduit in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd.

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Conduit Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the reinsurance business in Bermuda and internationally. It underwrites property, casualty, and specialty reinsurance products. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

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Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETF (TSE:VCE  Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 31st, TickerTech reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.3698 per share on Monday, April 10th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 31st.

Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETF Stock Performance

VCE traded up C$0.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching C$43.50. 8,299 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,758. The stocks 50-day moving average is C$44.28 and its 200 day moving average is C$43.30. Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETF has a 12 month low of C$39.01 and a 12 month high of C$48.36.

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Winslow Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HPP  Get Rating) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 247,226 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after acquiring an additional 3,323 shares during the quarter. Winslow Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Hudson Pacific Properties worth $2,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HPP. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 196.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,520 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 404.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,515 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 4,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in the 2nd quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors own 95.57% of the companys stock.

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Hudson Pacific Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HPP traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $6.49. 628,298 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,018,164. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $9.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.17. The stock has a market cap of $915.48 million, a P/E ratio of -16.51, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.11. Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.27 and a 12-month high of $28.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Hudson Pacific Properties Dividend Announcement

Insider Buying and Selling at Hudson Pacific Properties

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.41%. Hudson Pacific Propertiess payout ratio is currently -256.40%.

In related news, EVP Arthur X. Suazo acquired 10,000 shares of Hudson Pacific Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.86 per share, for a total transaction of $58,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 87,102 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $510,417.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hudson Pacific Properties news, CIO Drew Gordon purchased 25,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.96 per share, for a total transaction of $149,000.00. Following the purchase, the executive now directly owns 116,958 shares in the company, valued at $697,069.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Arthur X. Suazo purchased 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.86 per share, with a total value of $58,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 87,102 shares in the company, valued at $510,417.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 38,975 shares of company stock worth $232,523. Insiders own 3.02% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HPP shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Hudson Pacific Properties from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 21st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hudson Pacific Properties from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hudson Pacific Properties from $10.00 to $6.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Hudson Pacific Properties in a research report on Tuesday, March 21st. They set a sell rating and a $5.50 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Hudson Pacific Properties from $10.00 to $6.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $10.95.

Hudson Pacific Properties Profile

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Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc is a real estate company, which acquires, repositions, develops, and operates sustainable office and state of-the-art studio properties in high-barrier-to-entry submarkets in California, the Pacific Northwest, Western Canada, and Greater London, United Kingdom. It operates through the Office Properties and Studio Properties segments.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the Karnataka administration to grant a paid holiday on the day of polling (May 10) to encourage employees of government and private organisations to cast their votes. The ECI communicated this directive to the Karnataka chief secretary and chief electoral officer in a letter dated March 31, in accordance with Section 135B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. According to Section 135B, "Every person employed in any business, trade, industrial undertaking or any other establishment and entitled to vote at an election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State shall, on the day of the poll, be granted a holiday." This applies to all categories of employees, including those working for government, public sector undertakings, banks, financial institutions, and private businesses. The directive also states that daily wage and casual workers, and electors working outside the constituency concerned, will be entitled to the benefit of a paid holiday. However, this does not apply to any elector whose absence may cause danger or substantial loss in respect of their employment. The polling day for the Karnataka state assembly elections is on May 10, which falls on a Wednesday. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that this decision was made to increase voter participation. "We have observed in recent years that people take leave on Monday/Friday if polls are held close to weekends and head out of the city, instead of voting. Polling day falling on a Wednesday will make it difficult for people to take two days leave," he said. There are 224 assembly seats in Karnataka, including 28 segments in Bengaluru. The counting of votes will take place on May 13.
ZestMoney is staring at multiple layoffs and its founders are seeking outplacements for the impacted employees a day after Walmart-backed PhonePe decided to turn its back on the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform, leaving the company in distress, sources told Moneycontrol on March 31. Founders of the Goldman Sachs-backed ZestMoney, which has about 450 employees, held a townhall on March 30 evening and informed employees about layoffs across departments, the sources said. The news of PhonePe deal falling through broke earlier in the day. "The company has to work on a business continuity plan or a survival plan and layoffs will be a part of it. The employees across the organisation will be affected due to this. However the magnitude of the impact is not clear yet," said one of the sources on condition of anonymity. On March 31, Priya Sharma, co-founder of the BNPL platform, also sent out a message to a few startups seeking help for outplacing ZestMoney employees. Hi All - I am Priya (Co-founder, ZestMoney), without getting into specifics as we are not commenting into what is being written about, I would like to reach out to the group to ask for help with outplacements for our teams, she said in the message. Moneycontrol has reviewed a copy of the message. Also read: Unacademy sacks another 380 employees in fourth round of layoff in 12 months Seeking Loan for survival PhonePe gave a loan of about $18 million to ZestMoney when the company was evaluating the acquisition. According to one of the sources, PhonePe might extend a similar loan to the BNPL platform to help the company tide over the immediate liquidity crisis. PhonePe and ZestMoney declined to comment for the story. PhonePe Acquisition Deal Cancelled In November 2022, PhonePe was in talks to acquire lending platform ZestMoney, a move that would have marked the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) leader's foray into digital lending. As per reports, the deal size was pegged at around $200-$300 million. The Buy Now Pay Later industry faced regulatory hurdles in 2022 when the Reserve Bank of India issued a notification forbidding operating non-bank institutions or fintech companies, including many of the 'buy now, pay later" services, from loading credit lines onto Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) such as wallets and prepaid cards. Top BNPL players including LazyPaytemporarily stopped support for its BNPL payment product LazyPlus UPI. US-based BNPL firm Sezzle also shut down its India operations from April 9 as part of a restructuring exercise in line with its parent company. ZestMoney had been looking for a buyer for more than eight months now as it struggled to raise funds, sources said.
ArcelorMittal SA on Friday said AMNS Luxembourg Holding S.A., the parent company of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), has entered into a $5 billion loan deal with a consortium of Japanese lenders. The proceeds would be used to fund the expansion of AM/NS India's annual capacity at its Hazira plant in India to 15 million tonnes from 9 million tonnes, the European steelmaker said in a statement. The expansion would include the development of downstream rolling and finishing facilities for a string of sectors including defence, automotive and infrastructure, and add 60,000 jobs, it said. ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India is a 60/40 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corp, owned by AMNS Luxembourg Holding S.A. The Japanese banks include Japan Bank for International Cooperation, MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Bank Europe NV.

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Indias call money rate has increased sharply to four year high during the morning trade and touched to 8.10 percent at open on March 31, the last day of the financial year. Dealers attributed the rise to high demand for funds in the call money market. "This is not because of liquidity stress in the system, but demand from few banks led to rise in rates," a dealer with state-owned bank said. Call money rate is a rate at which bank lend or borrow money from each other on a short-term basis. On Friday, overnight call money rate opened at 8 percent, and touched 8.10 percent during morning, then eased to 7.15 percent. Call money rate is highest March 14, 2019, according to Bloomberg data. "Due to year end rupee liquidity stress. Since Covid, liquidity has been in surplus and hence there was no such year end spike in rates. But liquidity becoming tight this year, call rates have surged. We expect rates to come down into new financial year," Anindya Banerjee, head of research - forex and interest rates at Kotak Securities Ltd.

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The government's fiscal deficit for the first 11 months of 2022-23 widened to Rs 14.54 lakh crore, according to the Controller General of Accounts. At Rs 14.54 lakh crore, the fiscal deficit for April 2022-February 2023 accounted for 82.8 percent of the full-year target for 2022-23. Fiscal deficit in the first 11 months of the last financial year was 82.7 percent of that year's target. The Centre made an upward revision in its fiscal deficit target for 2022-23 in the 2023 Budget to Rs 17.55 lakh crore from Rs 16.61 lakh crore. However, with the size of India's economy this year set to exceed the Budget estimate, the fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP is seen unchanged from the initial target of 6.4 percent. While the Centre is on track to meet its fiscal deficit target of 6.4 percent of GDP for 2022-23, the developments in its finances in February were not all rosy. On the receipts side, gross tax revenues were up by 12 percent in April-February, although the growth exhibited in February was just 4.5 percent. "Gross tax revenues need to grow by 14 percent on a year-on-year basis in March to meet the FY23 Revised Estimate, including a 32 percent expansion in corporation tax, which seems somewhat optimistic," pointed out Aditi Nayar, ICRA's chief economist. Total receipts were up 11.6 percent in April-February. On the expenditure front, total spending was 11.1 percent higher in April-February, but down 2.6 percent in February. Worryingly, the fall in the Centre's expenditure in February was down to capital expenditure, which was a mere Rs 20,335 crore last month as against Rs 43,495 crore in February 2022. At Rs 20,335 crore, the Centre's capital expenditure in February is the lowest since it spent Rs 16,932 crore in July 2021. For the Centre to meet its full-year capex target of Rs 7.28 lakh crore, it should have spent Rs 1.38 lakh crore this month. On the whole, the fiscal deficit in February was Rs 2.63 lakh crore, 30.5 percent lower than in February 2022.
Invesco, a US-based asset management company, has slashed food tech and grocery delivery platform Swiggys valuation in its books to $8 billion, in another instance of a internal markdown by an investor of a high-flying Indian startup. In its regulatory filings for the quarter ended September 2022, Invesco has pegged Swiggys valuation at $8 billion down from $10.7 billion when it made the investment. Invesco first invested in Swiggy in January last year, when it led a massive $700-million funding round for the SoftBank-backed platform. Queries sent to Swiggy did not elicit a response at the time of publishing, and this story will be updated if the company responds. Invescos move to mark down Swiggys valuation internally comes at a time when many investors are reevaluating valuations of technology companies across the globe. In September, SoftBank had reportedly marked down Oyos valuation from $10 billion to $2.7 billion, while in November, Prosus pegged the fair value of its 9.67 percent stake in Byjus at $578 million owing to an accounting change, which suggested that it recorded Byjus valuation at about $6 billion. Byjus last known valuation was $22 billion. Earlier on March 31, a report by online news website The Arc suggested that Blackrock, the worlds biggest asset management company, slashed Byjus valuation by 50 percent internally. Moreover, Swiggy's markdown follows a deep selloff in the shares of Zomato, Swiggys biggest rival, over the last 12 months. Zomatos market capitalisation has dropped close to 40 percent in the last 12 months. As of March 31, Zomatos market capitalisation was Rs 42.54 thousand crore or about $5.2 billion. Founded in 2014 by Sriharsha Majety, and Nandan Reddy, Swiggy started off as a food delivery platform and later diversified into grocery delivery with Swiggy Instamart, and restaurant hunting with the acquisition of Dineout. The companys losses more than doubled in FY22 to Rs 3,628.9 crore from Rs 1,616.9 crore in FY21. Swiggys operating revenue, however, also, more than doubled to Rs 5,704.9 crore in FY22. But Swiggy has been aiming for profitability. In January this year, the company laid off 380 employees  or 3 percent of its staff  which it said was part of a restructuring exercise. To further rationalise costs, Swiggy also shut down its meat marketplace and cloud kitchen business. Earlier this month, Swiggy sold its cloud kitchens business in a share swap deal with Kitchens@. The growth rate for food delivery has slowed down versus our projections (along with many peer companies globally ). This meant that we needed to revisit our overall indirect costs to hit our profitability goals.., co-founder Sriharsha Majety had written in an email at the time. According to a note by HSBC this month, rival Zomatos market share has been increasing due to its loyalty programme. In FY24, the report expects the market shares of Zomato and Swiggy to be at 57 percent and 43 percent, respectively. Note: An earlier version of this article said that Invesco had marked down Swiggy's valuation to $5.3 billion erronously. This has now been updated to $8 billion. The error is regretted.
Branded hotel ownership and asset management platform Samhi Hotels, which operates top global players like Marriott, Hyatt and IHG in India, has refiled its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Sebi to unlock value via an initial public offer (IPO), multiple industry sources with knowledge of the matter told Moneycontrol. Moneycontrol was the first to report the listing plans of Samhi Hotels on May 15, 2019. Backed by the likes of Goldman Sachs, Equity International, GTI Capital and IFC, the firm founded by Ashish Jakhanwala and Manav Thadani in 2010, filed for an IPO in September 2019 but later dropped the plans due to market conditions and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company is now betting on the surge in domestic consumption and underlying GDP growth, due to which the Indian hospitality industry is seeing strong capacity utilisation in recent quarters of the Financial Year 2023. According to the re-filed DRHP, Samhi Hotels is looking to raise Rs 1,000 crore via the fresh issue route and the IPO will also consist of an OFS component of up to 9,00,00,000 equity shares with all the key investors looking to dilute stake The net proceeds will be used for repayment of borrowings of the firm and its subsidiaries, payment of interest and general corporate purposes. Moneycontrol has reviewed a copy of the DRHP. According to the DRHP, Samhi Hotels has the third largest inventory of operational keys (owned and leased) in India as of February 28, 2023 (Source: JLL Report). Within 12 years of starting our business operations, we have built a portfolio of 3,839 keys across 25 operating hotels in 12 of Indias key urban consumption centres, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, National Capital Region, Pune, Chennai and Ahmedabad, as of February 28, 2023. All of our hotels are in the Upper Upscale and Upscale, Upper Mid-scale and Mid-scale hotel segments. Our hotels typically operate under long-term management contracts with established and well-recognised global hotel operators such as Marriott, Hyatt and IHG, the DRHP says. The DRHP adds, We have adopted an acquisition-led strategy, which is underpinned by our track record of acquiring and successfully turning around hotels to grow our business. Our dominant position among the Upper Mid-scale and Mid-scale brands in India enabled us to grow our Fairfield by Marriott and Holiday Inn Express portfolio to 936 and 1,427 keys, respectively, as of February 28, 2023, making us the largest owner of these brands in India. JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Capital are the investment bankers working on the deal. Law firms Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Indus Law advised Samhi Hotels and the banks, respectively while J Sagar Associates, Khaitan and Co, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and AZB & Partners are the legal advisors for the investors. Moneycontrol could not elicit an immediate response from Samhi Hotels, the i-bankers and the law firms. According to recent media reports, Appeejay Surrendra Park Hotels may also look to re-file papers with Sebi and float an IPO later this year.
Shares of Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) rose 5.5 percent in the morning trade on March 31 after the state-owned company announced contracts with the defence ministry. At 9:25 am, shares of the defence PSU were trading 5.5 percent higher at Rs 1,007.15 on the BSE. Bharat Dynamics signed a contract for Rs 8,161 crore with the defence ministry for the production and supply of the Akash Weapon System to the Indian Army. The contract is for two regiments of the army and is to be executed in three years. Further BDL also received an order of Rs 261 crore for CMDS for MLH Helicopters. The consolidated order book position of BDL has now reached a staggering figure of Rs 24,021 crore approx. with the signing of this new contract, the company said in an exchange filing. Catch all the LIVE stock market updates here With indigenisation being the talk of the town and wealth managers dashing to add the right defence stocks in their portfolios, the defence pack had rallied on the back of a rosy outlook. Despite this, there are some who believe BDL will face a hiccup on the order inflow and supply side fronts, which could hamper FY23 earnings, but FY24 numbers may still strike a high note. Read more | Bharat Dynamics: FY23 road a bit bumpy, but prospects bright for FY24 The management had earlier indicated Rs 10,000 crore inflows in FY23, but this may be significantly lower due to delay in awarding (orders for) Akash missile system, warned Elara Securities. However, the brokerage firm sounds optimistic when it comes to order inflow in FY24. In FY24, Bharat Dynamics could expect orders worth Rs 10,000-12,000 crore for: Akash surface-to-air-missile (order size Rs 6,000-7,000 crore), medium range surface-to-air-missile, Nag (anti-tank guided missile), and Helina (air-to-surface missile), the brokerage firm highlighted. While some analysts said that the revenue growth may come under pressure because of the electronics supply issue.
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Jefferies India has initiated coverage on SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd, India's second-largest credit card issuer, with a "buy" rating and increased the target price to Rs 900, by an upside of 27 percent from the current market price. Jefferies initiated coverage and increased the target price on several positive factors, including an anticipated increase in card spending, an improvement in net interest margins and healthy profit growth from FY24-26e. The company is expected to experience a 23 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in card spends from FY23-26e, the brokerage firm said. This growth is expected to result from the utilisation of SBI's vast customer base and broad co-branded card tie-ups. This projected 21 percent CAGR growth is expected to be fuelled by the rising popularity of digital payments and the low card penetration rate (only 5 percent of the population aged over 15 years). The threat from fintechs has been mitigated and SBI Cards is predicted to gain market share in card spends by leveraging its large customer base, analysts at Jefferies said. With a credit card to debit cards ratio (excluding Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana) 14 percent below the peer average of 29 percent, there is a significant opportunity to increase penetration within SBI's customer base. The company's co-branded card tie-ups are twice as large as its peers and its open market channel is larger than most of its competitors, it said. Catch up on all LIVE stock market updates here SBI Card has experienced pressure on its Net Interest Margin (NIM) due to a decline in the mix of higher-yielding revolvers from over 35 percent pre-COVID to 24 percent in Q3, along with an increase in funding costs, it said. There is, however, potential to lift the revolver mix by 150 basis points over FY24-26e by increasing the sourcing of customers with a higher propensity to revolve such as self-employed individuals and those in tier 2 and 3 cities. Nonetheless, it is expected to remain well below pre-COVID levels, the Jefferies report said. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. "The recent emphasis on converting transaction spends to EMI has the potential to boost margins, although it may cannibalize some revolver spends. A 1 percent shift in EMI mix can impact earnings per share by 1.5 percent. Funding costs are anticipated to stabilize as rates peak, given that 65 percent of SBI Cards' liabilities are linked to repo/T-bill rates, which reprice faster", Jefferies report said. As a result, the company is expected to see healthy profit growth and achieve a 23 percent+ Return on Equity (ROE) from FY24-26e. The company's recent underperformance compared to Nifty was likely due to concerns regarding NIMs, the Jefferies report said. "With asset quality pressures easing, stage 3 assets (2.2 percent 3Q) and credit costs should be stable. Possible caps on MDR and revolver yields, by RBI are key risks - a10 bps change in interchange fee/ revolver rates changes FY24e EPS by 10 percent/ 3 percent", Jefferies report said. The report identifies two key risks for SBI Cardthe potential threat from new entrants like BAF, and higher spending share gain by UPI. On the other hand, key triggers for the company's growth include an increase in revolver mix and the peaking out of rates. At 10.11 am, the stock was trading at Rs 730.15 on the National Stock Exchange, up 1.39 percent from the previous close. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India signalled March 29 it is serious about implementing ground-breaking novel initiatives that push the envelope in terms of transparency, accountability and covering emerging avenues. However, chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch was silent about the Adani-Hindenburg issue, the legal setbacks that SEBI faced in the National Stock Exchange co-location case, and matters such as beneficial ownership of FPIs. Her response to queries on these matters was to say they were sub-judice or that it would not comment on entity-specific issues. Still, there was enough for retail investors and intermediaries to note: ASBA-like mechanism SEBI approved the Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) facility for the secondary market. At this stage, it will be optional for brokers and investors to offer and avail of this, Buch said after the SEBI board meeting. Read more | MC Explains: Why did SC permit the govt to use Rs 5,000 cr from the Sahara-SEBI refund account? ASBA is used in applying for shares in initial public offerings and other primary market issues. Under ASBA, funds are blocked but remain in the applicants account, earning interest. The move is expected to enhance the safeguarding of funds of retail investors parked with stockbrokers and clearing members, and will also mitigate fund-related risk by mandating daily upstreaming of all investor funds from stock brokers and clearing members to clearing corporations. Expanding into ESG domains The market regulator issued an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating framework that aims to encourage sustainable development and corporate responsibility. SEBI also introduced the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) Core to enhance the reliability of ESG disclosures and also formulated measures to promote ESG investing. Earlier, SEBI had expressed concern about the activities of unregulated ESG rating providers, which could lead to larger issues of investor protection, market efficiency, risk pricing, capital allocation, and greenwashing. To address these concerns, SEBI introduced the concept of BRSR Core reporting, which mandates 49 parameters for ESG reporting, down from 800. Buch emphasised that all proposals were co-created by the market and were back-tested with 10 large conglomerates before being laid down. Total Expense Ratio under scanner The regulator is assessing the process of Total Expense Ratio (TER) and plans to release comprehensive guidelines on the matter. Buch emphasised the importance of transparency in TER and said it must encompass all expenses. Read more | SEBI reimagines MF sponsor and trustee role and brings cheer to debt funds She noted that SEBI has long recognised the existence of economies of scale in fund management. While SEBI continues to review TER, it has provided guiding principles to ensure clarity and thoroughness in expense reporting. Overhaul of AIFs SEBI proposed a major overhaul of the internal and external dynamics of alternative investment funds (AIFs), which will have a far-reaching impact on their operations and their equation with investors. To improve governance and transparency with respect to transactions involving conflict of interest, the board approved a proposal to mandate obtaining the approval of 75 percent of the investors by value for buying or selling investments potentially involving conflict of interest. If a single investor holds more than 50 percent of the corpus, that person is considered a related party... if you deal with him or associate with him, then it will need separate approvals, Buch said. The provision will cover transactions by an AIF from or to associates of the AIF or schemes of AIFs managed or sponsored by the manager or sponsor or their associates, or an investor who has a commitment to the extent of more than 50 percent of the corpus of the scheme of the AIF, the SEBI chief explained. In January and February, the market regulator released consultation papers seeking inputs from the public on the operational dimensions of AIFs. Safety net for corporate debt market To prepare for a market dislocation event (read: significant market meltdown), SEBI approved a new safety net that can be used by specified debt mutual funds in an emergency. The board approved the framework to set up a Rs 3,000 crore Corporate Debt Market Development Fund. This fund, which will be set up in the form of an AIF, will act as a backstop in the event of market dislocation. Read more | MC Explains: Why are mule accounts dangerous and how Sebi plans to use brokers as gatekeepers The government has approved a 10-time leverage to this fund, meaning a corpus of Rs 30,000 crore. This Rs 30,000 crore will be guaranteed by the National Credit Guarantee Trust Company, the governments guaranteeing arm. So it will be a sovereign guarantee, Buch explained.
April has historically been a favourable month for investors, with the Nifty 50 index generating an average return of 1.94 percent and closing positively 56 percent of the time, according to Viraj Vyas, a technical and derivatives analyst for institutional equities at Ashika Group. On sectors and stocks to pick for April, stocks in the defence sector such as Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Dynamics, and Bharat Electronics appear compelling, Vyas told Moneycontrol in an interview. Additionally, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Alkem Laboratories present a low-risk, high-reward investment opportunity as they show bullish intent, said Vyas, who has over seven years of experience and a deep understanding of technical analysis, capital markets and behavioural finance. Edited excerpts: Do you expect a strong rally in April, taking the Nifty beyond the 18,000 mark? Since December 2022, the Nifty 50 index has been following a falling channel and it recently discovered support around the lower limit of the channel. At this level, there are two strong support zones: a) 16,800, which was a prior swing low in the weekly chart, and b) a bullish gap area from July 2022. Despite the FII short at an all-time high of 84 percent as of Wednesday's close, the DII long position is also at a record high of 87 percent, preventing a significant decline. While FIIs may seek to book profits, the index could attempt a relief rally towards the 17,600-17,800 range, although fresh bullish participation may only come if the index manages to sustain above that level. Additionally, April has historically been a favourable month, with the index generating an average return of 1.94 percent and closing positively 56 percent of the time. Do you see the Nifty Auto getting back above the 13,000 mark in April? Nifty Auto has seen a brilliant run from March 2022 lows of 9,500 till the recent swing high of 13,500. Currently, the index is consolidating time- and price-wise, and while I dont expect an immediate upside here, I would like to point out that it has been fairly resilient, sustaining near its life highs during tumultuous market conditions. On the weekly chart, it is trading in a Broadening Wedge pattern, which can drive it towards the 12,500-12,600 zone but only sustaining above this zone is likely to trigger a fresh leg of a bull run in the auto space. In which three stocks would you want to take long positions in April and whats the strategy for them? I will be looking at JBM Auto, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Godrej Consumer Products. These stocks have shown relative strength in a choppy market and I expect this strength to continue. JBM Auto has seen a massive consolidation and is trading around life highs. A breakout above Rs 650 can drive the stock higher towards Rs 720-750 levels with key support around the Rs 600 mark. Dr Reddy's Labs too has been consolidating and has formed an ascending triangle pattern  a breakout above Rs 4,600 can take the stock higher towards the Rs 4,900-5,000 level with key support at Rs 4,450. Godrej Consumer Products has formed a Cup and Handle pattern and is trading above the neckline (Rs 945 level). The stock may target Rs 1,060-1,080 with key support at the Rs 940 mark. Do you see a high probability of the Nifty IT breaking September 2022 lows in the coming months? Nifty IT was the belle of the ball post-March 2020 and while it topped out in January 2021, the index is currently forming a base and is correcting time-wise before starting the next leg on the upside. The price action of the last few weeks was definitely not encouraging, especially with the large and midcap names getting hammered. Having said that, I firmly believe that the index is in an accumulation phase and the September 2022 lows will be held as the index will take more time before starting the next leg of a bull run. On the flipside, smaller names like Newgen Software and KPIT Technologies are looking well placed as the street expects growth potential and margin expansion in such names. PB Fintech seems to be creating a Flag and Pole pattern, above all key moving averages. Do you expect a significant rally in the stock price? The stock is exhibiting an uptrend on smaller degree charts, having surpassed both its 21-day and 200-day EMA (exponential moving average), but the larger weekly and monthly charts depict a pessimistic outlook. Although it has reached a nine-month high, the stock is currently encountering a critical resistance level at Rs 650, which was a bearish gap from June 2022. Furthermore, the RSI (relative strength index) shows a negative divergence. The stock is in a state of recovery and has the potential to climb higher, but this will depend on its ability to remain above the 200-day EMA at the Rs 550 level. Which are the key sectors to watch in April? The Nifty PSE index remains at historic highs, and stocks in the defence sector such as Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Dynamics, and Bharat Electronics appear compelling. The Nifty Infra sector has also been benefiting from strong tailwinds since the budget, and companies like Larsen & Tourbro, KNR Constructions, and cement stocks present attractive investment opportunities. Additionally, Nifty FMCG stocks like Varun Beverages, Radico Khaitan, ITC, and Godrej Consumer Products are displaying strength and potential. Financial services stocks like Axis Bank, Cholamandalam Investment, and ICICI Bank are expected to rebound, while pharma stocks such as Abbott India, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, and Alkem Laboratories present a low-risk, high-reward investment opportunity as they show bullish intent. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
REC Limited, a Maharatna power finance company, is eyeing a renewable energy loan portfolio of up to Rs 2.4 lakh crore ($30 billion) by 2030, its Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Vivek Kumar Dewangan told Moneycontrol. Talking about REC's role in the government of Indias target of having a total installed capacity of 500 gigawatt (GW) by 2030, Dewangan said the public sector undertaking (PSU) plans to increase its green financing share to about 30 percent of the total loan portfolio, up from the current 6 percent. "REC is going to play a very crucial role in financing India's green projects. As of today, our total loan portfolio is about Rs 4,11,000 crore ($51.4 billion). Of this, currently about Rs 25,000 crore ($3.1 billion) is for financing green projects," he said. "Now, we are taking a very ambitious plan for financing green projects in the next five to seven years. Right now our share of renewable energy financing is about 6 percent of our total loan portfolio, but gradually we are going to increase it to about 25 to 30 percent and our loan portfolio in renewable energy sphere will go beyond Rs 1 lakh crore (based on the current loan portfolio)," Dewangan said. He, however, said that by 2030, REC Ltd's total loan portfolio will also increase to Rs 7-8 lakh crore (about $100 billion) from the current Rs 4.11 lakh crore ($ 51.4 billion). "Take 30 percent of our total loan portfolio by 2030. So, REC Ltd's loan portfolio in only the renewable energy sector will then be up to Rs 2.4 lakh crore ($ 30 billion) by 2030. That is what we are targeting," he told Moneycontrol. Financing pumped storage, green hydrogen, green ammonia projects At present, REC is financing primarily solar, wind and hybrid projects. Going forward, the company will finance pumped hydro storage, green hydrogen and green ammonia projects, Dewangan added. For the coming financial year (2023-24), Dewangan said REC is looking at financing up to Rs 50,000 crore worth of green projects. "We are also targeting some pumped storage, green hydrogen, and green ammonia projects, along with solar, wind and hybrid projects from the coming financial year onwards," he said. When asked about the impact of COVID-19 and supply chain issues on green energy projects, Dewangan said financing in this sector saw a considerable increase in the past two years. "Actually, the progress that we have achieved through solar and wind will give impetus to green hydrogen. Production of green hydrogen depends on the production of energy through solar and wind only, which is an impetus to green hydrogen efforts," he said. More projects to be handed over soon Dewangan stated that REC Power Development Corporation Limited (REC PDCL), a subsidiary of NBFC REC Ltd, will handover 16-18 projects in the next six-eight months. "Our subsidiary REC PDCIL has completed handing over 50 transmission projects. This was a golden jubilee celebration for transferring 50 project-specific Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) by REC PDCL. Now another 16 to 18 projects are lined up where the projects are at different stages of bidding process. In the next six to eight months, we'll be able to conclude all these 16 to 18 projects also," he said. On March 30, REC PDCL handed over the project-specific SPV for the Khavda II-A Transmission construction to Adani Transmission (ATL), making it the 51st transmission project to be successfully handed over to the winning bidder. The total cost of these 51 projects is Rs 69,872 crore. REC PDCL is a bid process coordinator for transmission projects which are built through tariff-based competitive bidding process. On March 22, REC PDCL, handed over six SPVs to Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).
The Noida Authority has invited applications for 14 commercial builder plots in the satellite citys sectors 108, 124, 132 and 135. Companies can bid for these commercial and mixed land use plots ranging from 871 sq m to 51,417 sq m, officials said. The scheme was to close on March 31, sources said, adding it is likely to be extended by a week. The allotments will be through e-auctions. Asked if the United Arab Emirates-headquartered LuLu Group has been allotted land in Sector 108 to construct a mall as well as a hotel, officials said that no such allotments have been made so far. All firms desirous of taking up commercial space have to participate in the bid. There is a process that has to be followed. This is an ongoing scheme and documents of those who participate will be scrutinised after the bid. The highest bidder will receive the allotment letter, one of them said. The person said that authority had entered into a memorandum of agreement with LuLu Group earlier and the group will be investing Rs 2,500 crore in Noida. The scheme for allotment of 14 commercial plots was launched by the authority on February 20 with the last date of application set as March 13, but the scheme was given an extension till March 20 and again till March 31 due to lukewarm response. We are now planning to extend the scheme by another one week. Orders in this connection are likely on Monday. After the extension the scheme will close on April 11 or 12. So now interested parties will have more time to apply. Bids will be opened after the scheme is closed and then only we can know about the applicants, a source said. Officials said that since the last date has been extended, the authority is anticipating a good response. The commercial plots are located in sectors 32, 35, 40, 50, 94, 96, 108, 124, 132 and 135. Authority officials said buyers must register on the portal https://property.etender.sbi and deposit a non-refundable and non-adjustable processing fee, separately, against each plot. They said that the e-auction will be conducted only after each plot gets a minimum of three applications. Last month, MA Yusuff Ali, the UAE-based chairman of LuLu Group, had announced at the UP Global Investors Summit that the company would be investing Rs 6,000 crore in the state. I already have a LuLu Mall set up in Lucknow and my next projects are malls in Gorakhpur, Prayagraj and Varanasi. I am also setting up a food processing plant in Noida. I would be acquiring 100 acres of land in Jhansi for a new food processing unit there. I have decided to make an overall investment of Rs 50,000 crore, he was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying. A detailed questionnaire has been sent to LuLu Group by Moneycontrol. The copy will be updated once they respond.
Lightspeed Venture Partners-backed edtech platform Teachmint, which was last valued at $500 million, earned $100,000 (about Rs 80 lakhs) in operating revenue in FY22 (2021-22), in another instance of an edtech startup sitting on an inflated valuation, a trend that was common in 2021 but may not last going forward. Teachmint, a classroom management platform, earns revenue from selling education software solutions through subscriptions, according to the companys regulatory filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The operating revenue of Rs 77.45 lakhs, gives it a trailing twelve-month revenue multiple of 5,164, the highest among edtech soonicorns or soon-to-be unicorns. Moneycontrol had reported how a majority of Indias unicorns are sitting on lofty valuations, thanks to the unprecedented funding frenzy of 2021. FY22 was the first full year of operations for Teachmint, and the company raised over $110 million (close to Rs 800 crore) during the period. Naturally, it earned revenue from interest on fixed deposits and Interest on income tax refunds of Rs 12.7 crore. Teachmint, which counts Better Capital, Rocketship VC and Learn Capital among others on its platforms, reported a loss of Rs 131.7 crore for FY22 against Rs 5.5 crore in the previous year as its total expenses grew to Rs 145 crore for the year ended March 2022 from Rs 5.9 crore a year earlier. The company spent Rs 73 crore on employees, while 36.7 crore on advertising and marketing, which were among its biggest expenditures. Teachmint did not earn any operating revenue in FY21 (2020-21). The platform, founded by Mihir Gupta, Anshuman Kumar, Divyanshu Bordia, and Payoj Jain, was launched in May 2020, during the peak pandemic, when edtech was one of the most sought after sectors, thanks to covid-induced stay-at-home restrictions. The company raised close to $120 million in the two pandemic years, with its largest round of $78 million happening in October 2021 giving Teachmint a valuation of $500 million. Teachmint also acquired four companies to expand rapidly. Between December 2021 and January 2022, Teachmint acquired four companies including MyClassCampus, Teachmore, Teachee's India team and Airlearn to expand and diversify rapidly at undisclosed deal amounts. In November 2021, the Lightspeed-backed edtech startup rolled out a unique employee stock option plan (ESOP) to retain people as the job market for startups was hot back then. The ESOP plan, which the company named as Continuous Liquidity Plan gave employees an option to sell their stock options whenever they wanted as long as their shares were vested, rather than when the company raises money, when investors decide to buy back or when the founders decide- as is generally the norm. However, in December last year, the company laid off about 45 employees or 5 percent of its staff to build long-term efficiencies and address redundancies.
Hotel aggregator Oyo has pre-filed a fresh draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise $400-500 million through an initial public offer (IPO), sources said on March 31. As the confidential pre-filing route gives an option to change the fresh issue size, a source said that the IPO size may be revised within the $400-600 million range. The earlier plan of a secondary sale component in the IPO has been scrapped and the objective of the issue is to repay most of the debt. Oyo declined to comment on the matter. Late in 2022, the market regulator returned the DRHP, asking Oyo to refile the prospectus with additional information. Oyo had indicated that the refiling process could take up to two-three months. The pre-filing route option was allowed by SEBI in November 2022 as part of bringing in progressive and globally popular practices. The option is available in large global markets such as the US, the UK, Canada, etc. It offers companies more flexibility on issue size during the initial stage, unlike the traditional route where companies have to launch the IPO within 12 months from the SEBI approval, or final observation. The pre-filing route allows an IPO to be floated within 18 months from the date of SEBIs final comments. This route also provides flexibility to change primary issue size by 50 percent till the Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus stage. The market continues to be highly volatile globally and to an extent in India as well," a source close to the company said on the reason for opting the pre-filing route. The pre-filing route would give Oyo some leeway on the timing of the listing and on fine-tuning the issue size, basis the market conditions, to between $400 to 600 million, all of which will now be a primary issuance, to repay most of its debt. Though for now an issue timing of around Diwali is likely once SEBI approves," the source said. Oyos last submission to SEBI, in November 2022, was of its updated results for the first half of financial year 2022-23, claiming that potential investors need to be made aware of the material uptick in its business performance since its initial IPO application in September 2021. A review of the updated financials showed a bounce back in topline, increase in gross margins and an overall reduction in losses. It reported its maiden positive Adjusted EBITDA of Rs 63 crore, a 24 percent year-on-year increase in revenue and 69 percent increase in monthly booking value (GBV per month) for its hotels in H1 FY2023. In an employee townhall on March 27, founder Ritesh Agarwal said, The company expects to clock Adj. EBITDA of nearly Rs 800 crore in FY2024, that is, the upcoming financial year. We are taking measures to keep a healthy cash runaway and continuing to operate in a cost-effective way." "We have a current cash balance of approx Rs 2,700 crore and we hope we will end up consuming very little of it for existing operations. Our cash flow has shown improvement and our reliance on external funds has gradually decreased overtime. The performance could be attributed to sustained growth in India, Indonesia, the US and UK and relevant optimisation as well as synergies in its European vacation homes business, Agarwal said. He said Oyos adjusted EBITDA for H2, FY2022-23 is expected to rise 3 times to around Rs 185 crore, marking the companys first financial year of adjusted EBITDA profitability.
The government will allot international flying rights to Indian carriers for the 2023 winter schedule, which begins from the end of October, based on their capacity utilisation in the gone-by winter season, reports have said. The reallocation could lead to a decrease in the quota of flights for some of the airlines, as the government puts pressure on them to increase the flight frequency and keep ticket prices in check, The Economic Times has reported. The government told the carriers about the reallocation plan in the second week of March but the move was facing resistance from major Indian players opposed to any cut in their flights, the report said. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), the apex industry body that counts IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and Go wrote First, wrote to the civil aviation ministry requesting another year to utilise their traffic rights. Moneycontrol couldn't verify the report independently. International flights were only allowed to resume in March 2022, but many countries had restrictions on flights from India. Even now the industry is grappling with issues like visa delays and a massive supply chain constraint which have forced airlines to delay aircraft inductions, an executive of an airline, which is part of FIA, told the business daily. Unused traffic rights are reverted to the pool and reallocated and the ministry was keen to implement the rule strictly, a government official told The Economic Times. The official also disclosed that Akasa Air had requested reallocation of unused rights to them. Akasa Air has 20 aircraft and intends to start international flights by the end of this year, CEO Vinay Dube had told Moneycontrol. Talking about the government's push for creating hub airports and the need to keep consumer interests in mind through competitive ticket prices, the government official said the airlines operated one full schedule in winter and hence it was time to check the utilisation.
The Right to Health legislation passed by the Rajasthan assembly has sparked public interest and stirred protests among private medical practitioners. Rajasthan is the first state in India to make such a law. The government of Rajasthan worked with researchers and activists to draft the Bill, which went through many rounds of revisions. Resistance To Change As soon as the Bill got passed, professional organisations have started vehement protests, terming it as a draconian law and crippling medical services across the state. Surprisingly, at the same time, civil society representatives seem to think that the law is a watered down version of what they had originally proposed. The private hospitals and the government of Rajasthan have a history of disagreements. Rajasthans recent efforts towards Health For All through its flagship health insurance scheme have seen instances where the private sector hospitals denied services to patients despite being part of the insurance scheme, which admittedly led the government to consider a right to health law. In order to understand the polarised debate around the Act, it is necessary to see what it offers. The Act states that every resident of Rajasthan will avail free OPD services, IPD services consultation, drugs, diagnostics, emergency transport, procedures, and emergency care at government hospitals based on their level of healthcare. The Act also makes emergency treatment and care  free at the point of care  even in private institutions. It states that the private hospital will be entitled to receive requisite fee and charges or proper reimbursement from the government of Rajasthan, if the patient is unable to pay. Dread Of Medical Expenditure The law comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call to people across income categories, revealing the harsh reality of being unable to access healthcare during times of dire need. The pandemic has left many individuals and families in a state of shock and helplessness that may take years to overcome. Even during normal times, this is not a new issue in India, as many people live with the constant fear of facing a medical emergency that could lead to financial difficulties. Many households, even those belonging to the Indian middle class, are said to be just one medical emergency away from possible bankruptcy. Quality healthcare for many serious diseases remains a luxury good in India, affordable only to the rich, and those who have sufficient insurance cover. Profiteering in healthcare is a regular feature in the private sector that remains largely unregulated in India. The high capitation fees charged for medical seats across private medical colleges indicates the money that can be made in the medical profession. Everyone Deserves Healthcare Modern societies strive towards delinking access to healthcare and ability to pay. The ability to afford healthcare should not be a barrier preventing individuals from accessing necessary medical care. The notion that healthcare is a commodity that can be bought and sold on the market is not only morally problematic but also perpetuates systemic inequalities. By delinking the two, we can ensure that all individuals have equal access to essential medical services, regardless of their income or financial status. This not only improves public health outcomes but also helps to create a more equitable society where everyone has a fair chance to lead a healthy and fulfilling life. Chances of a familys social mobility are often undermined by medical emergencies, particularly in societies where medical care remains expensive. In this context of great socio-economic uncertainties, even if it is only emergency care, a Right To Health legislation will mean considerable financial implications. When the government spending on health has not improved dramatically, it is natural for the private sector to fear that the government may be trying to win electoral dividends while arm-twisting the private sector to underwrite the bills. Address Private Sectors Concerns Without a strong foundation of adequate financing and effective regulation, the proposed payment/reimbursement arrangement with the private sector may have its challenges. However, most of the concerns raised by the protesting doctors and their organisations are about working details of the Act that are not yet drafted, and not against any existing provisions of the Act per se. These remain imaginary worries. It is very clear in the text of the Act that operational details will be worked out in the Rules of the Act which will be drafted and finalised later, and definitions of terms like emergency care in the Rajasthan context will be worked out by the proposed State Health Authority, which will have members from professional organisations like IMA as well. A Right to Health law is a major step towards universal healthcare, if backed by adequate finances, stakeholder consultations, and fair reimbursement and pay to the private sector. At the same time, the private sector response seems driven more by the possibility of a ripple effect, with other states also considering such laws. Oommen C Kurian is Senior Fellow and Head of the Health Initiative at ORF. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.
The March 2023 report of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha committee on agriculture and allied activities in the state constituted in last May points to the much-needed legislative oversight of the executive decisions and their implementation for them to make a difference and bring back the focus on design and execution improvements in such steps. The committee was set up to assess the functioning of various government departments and agencies and the implementation issues on the ground. It has made many noteworthy recommendations but also fails to give logical reasoning for some other suggestions and ignores some ground realities. Among its critical observation was that the state had not implemented the crop diversification sub-scheme effectively due to delay in the release of funds or lack of contribution of the state's share in the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The committee had some sharp words for the bureaucracy. It said that there was a lack of awareness and commitment among departmental officials to benefit from central schemes, which led to the lapsing of funds. It recommends the creation of an inter-departmental working group to study such schemes carefully and has called for disciplinary action against concerned officials if their negligence had prevented the benefits from such schemes from reaching farmers. Boosting and Sustaining Agri Economy The recommendations about introducing a third crop as a gap crop for increasing farmer income is well placed as cropping intensity of just 200 percent in a state like Punjab is no big achievement. The recommendation on some kind of zoning for proper demand-supply management of various crop produce in the state is in line with the Planned Production and Marketing (PPM) programmes adopted by many countries while promoting new crops. Further, the committee recommends an organic farming policy for the state under which provisions for organic produce marketing by such farmers in cities and towns can be made. Its recommendation for more localised crop Package of Practices (PoPs) and advisories such that they are relevant for farmers in each district is a welcome suggestion. The committee wants the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to make its research more relevant for farmers and to recommend only active ingredients of chemical pesticides and not brands in its PoPs. It has also urged PAU to focus more on the marketing aspects of new crops rather than production practices and technologies. The recommendation to restrict the sale of subsidised urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) to a certain number of bags per acre to ensure that all farmers get adequate access to such inputs at right time is well considered. It cites the case of land-based public purchase of farm produce at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to move ahead on this. The recommendation to convert all the agricultural tubewells into solar tubewells makes sense as it can save the state Rs 8,000 crore in power subsidy. It will also benefit farmers as they can sell surplus solar power to the government. Such policies are already in place in states like Gujarat. Inadequate Logic Interestingly, the committee recommends the introduction of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for the cotton crop but it is not clear why it has not recommended crop insurance for all crops and allied activities or why it has recommended making it compulsory only for cotton farmers. Its recommendation on making crop insurance applicable at the individual farm level is impractical as such micro-level insurance is difficult to implement. The suggestion that crop insurance should be mandatory for farmers is not democratic, as farmers should have the right to accept or reject it, especially when the Union governments PMFBY scheme has been made voluntary for farmers. Having said that, the committee recognises that since PMFBY is a Union government scheme, the state government can only suggest some improvements in this policy. On the input quality side, it recommends holding manufacturing or marketing companies equally responsible for poor quality or spurious input supply, and not just the dealer of an input. However, it fails to mention that input quality is the subject of various Union Bills such as the Seeds Bill, and the Pesticides Bill which have been pending enactment for many years now. Similarly, the recommendations about declaring seed as an essential commodity and that the state should have its own Seeds Act do not seem well placed. There is no discussion of water-saving technologies like micro-irrigation which is much needed and is subsidised by the Union government. The committee has recommended increasing the low-interest Cash Credit Limit (CCL) for farmers from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. But, this can be problematic as liberal low-interest credit to farmers can lead to a rise in indebtedness among farmers. While recommending that government should take the help of non-government organisations (NGOs) to make farmers aware of government schemes for agriculture, the committee did not recognise that there were not many NGOs in the agricultural sector of the state which can be roped in for this purpose. On organic farming policy, it mixes up organic farming with natural farming when it recommends that the farmers of the state should be exposed to organic farming practices in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh because these two states are promoting natural farming which has no global recognition, and not organic farming. Missing Blocks While discussing the details of agricultural markets regulated and promoted by the Punjab Mandi Board, the report fails to even mention the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act under which all channels of procurement from farmers are regulated. Given the fact that the outgoing government had repealed the amended APMC Act and the Contract Farming Act, 2013, one wonders how various new channels like direct purchase by food supermarkets and other buyers and contract farming by processing or/and exporting companies are operating in the state. The report has no mention of the working of Apni Mandis which are relevant platforms for the direct selling of horticultural produce by farmers. It recommends that there should be a high-level committee of government and sector stakeholders to help farmers resolve their conflicts with contracting agencies. It is important to note that there are already Union government guidelines on contract farming in broiler poultry which can be adopted in the state with suitable modifications. More importantly, why not adapt the Union governments Model Contract Farming Act of 2018? It fails to acknowledge the existence of cooperatives and farmer-producer companies (FPCs) which are being promoted as farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) by the Union government with large allocations and that Punjab has many such entities while recommending crop insurance and MSP for horticultural crops and pulses and the creation of processing and marketing infrastructure. There is already a provision of MSP for pulses as part of the Union governments procurement system. Moong was procured for the first time in the state under this provision during the last season, although it was only a small proportion of total production. Here, the committee should have recommended a Deficiency Price Payment (DPP) against the declared MSP for such crops if the market prices fall below the MSP. Further, a much-needed mechanism of warehouse receipts to get farmers out of situations of interlocked credit/input and output markets does not even find a mention in the report. The report does not acknowledge the State Farmers and Farm Workers Commission for preparing agricultural policy drafts at least twice during the last 10 years nor does it question its composition. The Commission has five members besides the chairperson. Three of five members are ex-officio including two vice-chancellors and two serving/retired government officials, and there is a position for a representative of farm workers which has been never filled since the commission was made a statutory body in 2017 during the previous Congress regime. Sukhpal Singh is Professor at IIM, Ahmedabad. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
When we talk about shadow banking, we think of China, one of the worlds most indebted nations. Lending by companies that do not own a banking license has reached 50 trillion yuan ($7.3 trillion), or about 42 percent of gross domestic product, according to Moodys Investors Service. As the recent banking crisis is forcing investors to figure out where the next pressure point might be, they are starting to see that the US has quietly built up a huge pile of hidden debt as well. After a decade of a risk-on run, the US leveraged finance market  almost held entirely by shadow lenders which typically operate with little or no regulator oversight  has topped $3 trillion. Money managers are worried, and even the slow-moving government has signaled closer scrutiny. At first glance, its perhaps good news that banks have become less exposed to corporate America. Since the global financial crisis, corporate borrowing has shifted away from the traditional lenders  which are subject to stricter regulations  towards institutional and retail clients. Banks market share has fallen from more than 50 percent at the turn of the century to just 37 percent in 2021, according to Moodys. This is especially the case in the $1.3 trillion leveraged loan market, which caters to riskier companies and private equitys buyout activities. Banks still arrange many of these loans, provide information to investors and put together a group of buyers. However, they often dont end up holding the debt  or at least try not to. But the recent demise of SVB Financial Group is raising questions of how much lending banks have given to shadow financiers. Consider, the largest portion of Silicon Valley Banks $74 billion loan book consisted of so-called subscription lines given to private equity, a typical nonbank lender. This kind of credit is especially useful when money is tight  they give private funds the flexibility to complete deals without having to go to their investors each time they need cash. But they are also hard to offload, in part because they are not assessed by major credit ratings agencies. There are other exposures. Fund managers routinely use temporary lines of credit from banks, or warehouse lines, to pay for leveraged loans before packaging them into bonds known as collateralized loan obligations. Products such as CLOs and other asset-backed securities are now the largest non-bank source of corporate loans, commanding a 29 percent market share as of the end of 2021. Meanwhile, private equity also tap their Wall Street bankers for net-asset-value loans during periods of market upheaval, often times to shore up their portfolio companies. But since there is limited public disclosure, we do not have a clear sense of how much exposure banks have, and whether we should be worried about spillovers. We can only speculate. This guessing game makes China a bit less scary by comparison. Paranoid about its huge debt pile  Chinas overall debt-to-GDP ratio is hovering at around 300 percent of GDP  the government is keen to assess banks exposure to the shadow financiers. For instance, we know that small banks are net lenders, which puts them at the frontline for spillover risks. Further, Chinas shadow banking has been on a decline since the governments deleveraging campaign began in earnest late 2017. This is in sharp contrast to the US, which is seeing a rising trend. To be sure, I do not see shadow banking as something negative and shady as its name seems to suggest. Often times, nonbanks, such as hedge funds and private equity, provide much needed financing to companies shunned by traditional lenders. Consider Chinas 18.9 trillion yuan trust sector. They were the early-stage financiers that helped real estate developers launch new projects before banks were willing to give out construction loans. Crackdowns aside, Beijing should also thank these lenders for helping to modernize China. In just two decades, the countrys urbanization rate jumped by over 20 percentage points to about 65 percent. Nonetheless, while shadow banking often serves a key purpose, it is important that regulators know the contagion risk they pose, and whether they might create chaos in the broader financial sector. In this sense, the USs known unknown is even worse than Chinas scary debt pile. Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication. Credit: Bloomberg
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lt Governor VK Saxena for the suspension of free Yoga classes under the 'Dilli ki Yogshala' programme and asked who benefitted from the action. Kejriwal's remarks come on the back of Punjab's AAP-led government starting free Yoga classes in the state. Last year, the AAP dispensation in Delhi accused the BJP of "conspiring" to shut down the 'Dilli ki Yogshala' programme by pressuring officials. At the time, the Delhi government alleged that Saxena did not approve the programme's extension beyond October 31. Tweeting in Hindi, Kejriwal said, "When the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) ordered the Lt Governor to stop free Yoga classes in Delhi, we started them in Punjab. "In Delhi, 17,000 people used to do Yoga daily in the free classes of the Delhi government. Their Yoga was stopped. Who benefited from this? The one who works is bigger than the one who stops the work." Kejriwal launched the 'Dilli Ki Yogshala' programme in December 2021 to enable all Delhi resident to get free Yoga training at their doorsteps six days a week.

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Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said disorder has become the normal order in Parliament, amid frequent disruptions of proceedings in both Houses during the ongoing Budget session. He also said there will never be a time in a dynamic democracy when there will be no issues between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. "There are bound to be issues. These are required to be resolved taking recourse to collaborative stance," Dhankhar said on Thursday. Addressing News 18's Rising India Summit here, he said the temples of democracy, "the legitimate constitutional theatres for dialogue, debate, discussion and deliberation" are plagued by disruptions and disturbance. "Disorder has become the normal order in Parliament," he lamented. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have witnessed daily disruptions during the second leg of the Budget session which began on March 13 over Opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary panel probe into the Adani issue and the ruling BJP demanding an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his democracy remark made in the UK. Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha after being convicted and sentenced in a criminal defamation case last week. Dhankhar said democratic values and public interest can optimally be served when the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Executive discharge their respective obligations scrupulously confining to their respective domain and acting in harmony, togetherness and in tandem. "There will never be a time in a dynamic democracy, which our nation is, when there will be no issues between these institutions. There are bound to be issues. These are required to be resolved taking recourse to collaborative stance," he said. The vice president suggested a structured interactive mechanism among those at the helm of the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Executive to be evolved so that issues can be resolved. In the recent past, Dhankhar has questioned the Supreme Court verdict striking down a law to overturn the collegium system passed by Parliament with near unanimity. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had recently described the collegium system of appointment of Supreme Court and high court judges as being "alien" to the Indian constitution.
Italy blocks access to OpenAI's ChatGPT The decision "with immediate effect" will result in "the temporary limitation of the processing of Italian user data vis-a-vis OpenAI", the Italian Data Protection Authority said. Italy's privacy watchdog said Friday it had blocked the controversial robot ChatGPT, saying the artificial intelligence app did not respect user data and could not verify users' age. It said there was no legal basis to justify "the mass collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of 'training' the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform". No more free AI Image generation on Midjourney The popular AI Image generating tool said it had taken the decision due to "extraordinary demand and trial abuse". Midjourney, the company behind the Midjourney AI image generation tool, has announced that it is ending free trials because of a, "combination of extraordinary demand and trial abuse". The company tried turning the trials back on post the announcement on discord, but quickly found that the new safeguards they had put in place to stop trial abuse, "didn't seem to be sufficient." Google denies using ChatGPT data to train Bard AI According to a report published by The Information, Google used responses from the OpenAI's popular chatbot to train its chatbot. Tech giant Google has denied reports it used data from rival OpenAI, the owner of the immensely popular ChatGPT, to train Bard, its chatbot. The initiative, reportedly called Gemini, is forcing the DeepMind AI division to use data from OpenAI's ChatGPT stored on a website called ShareGPT. Microsoft launches Security Copilot powered by GPT-4 The service is meant for cybersecurity professionals and is based on OpenAI's GPT-4 technology. Microsoft has announced a GPT-4 powered AI assistant for cybersecurity professionals. Called Security Copilot, it is based on OpenAI's GPT-4 technology, the same that powers the AI chatbot, ChatGPT and Microsoft's Bing AI. The Redmond-based technology giant says that Security Copilot is designed to make it easier for cybersecurity professionals to better understand the vast amount of data that they deal with daily.
Passengers on an IndiGo flight were recently surprised to find their captain was none other than Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a BJP leader and member of parliament from Bihar. A video of Rudys in-flight announcement was shared online by Twitter user Meera Mohanty. The undated video shows Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a trained pilot, welcoming passengers on board with a short introduction of the aircraft, the crew and himself. Many of the IndiGo passengers whipped out their smartphones to record the moment  a rare one indeed because as a parliamentarian, Rudy is no longer a full-time pilot. He does fly on an honorary basis with IndiGo from time to time to keep his flying license active. In the Twitter video, Rudy began by informing IndiGo passengers they were travelling on the new Airbus A321 and went on to introduce the cabin and cockpit crew. A lot of friends are flying with us today. We hope the crew takes good care of you, he said in Hindi before introducing himself. I am your captain today. My name is Rajiv Pratap Rudy. I am a member of parliament from Bihar and, right now, your captain. It will be wonderful to fly you to Goa, he said. When you have to trust a politician with your life. pic.twitter.com/xWnafDyK22  Meera Mohanty (@meeramohanty) March 30, 2023 Footage of the in-flight announcement has been watched nearly 12,000 times on Twitter. Rajiv Pratap Rudy is a trained pilot and the only Indian parliamentarian to fly a commercial aircraft. The MP from Saran constituency in Bihar has also served as the civil aviation minister in the past. Prior to becoming a minister in the Narendra Modi government, was hired as a co-pilot by IndiGo on an honorary basis. I fly to retain my licence because being a minister does not enable me to retain my licence, he was quoted as saying by PTI in 2017.
Google employees in Ireland who got the pink slip as part of the companys mass layoffs could receive more than 300,000 (Rs 2.68 crore) in severance, the Sunday Times reported earlier this week. Google announced mass layoffs in January this year, announcing that 12,000 workers worldwide would be impacted. CEO Sundar Pichai had said that Google employees in the US would receive a severance package starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for every additional year at Google. Outside the US, well support employees in line with local practices, he had written in January. Now, the Sunday Times has reported that employees in Ireland could receive a severance package that includes six weeks of wages for every year worked at the company. This means that if Google laid off an employee who worked at the tech giant from 2003, which is when it opened its Ireland office, the staffer could receive as much as Rs 2.6 crore in severance pay. Google has laid off some 240 workers in Ireland, including employees from its sales, technology and support services staff. Pichai had said the layoffs were necessitated by the economic downturn and required for the long-term health of the company. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here, he wrote, noting that das an almost 25-year-old company, it was bound to face periods of slow growth.
A man in Kolkata caught a disease caused by a plant fungus, in what doctors believe is the first case of human infection by the microorganism. The doctors said this demonstrates the crossover of plant pathogen into humans when working in close contact with plant fungi. A 61-year-old man visited the outpatient department of Consultant Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals in Kolkata with complaints of hoarseness of voice, cough, recurrent pharyngitis, fatigue, difficulty in swallowing and anorexia for three months, said doctors in the journal Medical Mycology Case Reports. He had no history of diabetes, HIV infection, renal or any chronic disease, immunosuppressive drug intake, or trauma. The patient, a plant mycologist by profession, was working with decaying material, mushrooms and various plant fungi for a long time as part of his research activities, doctors said. While his chest X-ray showed a normal result, a CT scan of his neck showed the presence of a right paratracheal abscess. Doctors drained out the pus and sent the pus sample for further tests. After multiple tests, the sample was sent to the WHO collaborating Centre for Reference & Research on Fungi of Medical importance where it identified as Chondrostereum purpureum. After the pus was completely drained out, the patient was put on oral medicines for two months, After two years of follow-up, he was absolutely fine and there is no evidence of recurrence, doctors said in their report. Chondrostereum purpureum is a plant fungus causing silver leaf disease of plants, particularly of the rose family. The disease is named so because of the progressive silvering of leaves on affected branches. Silver leaf disease is progressive and often fatal, doctors said in the report. Fungi also tend to only impact people who are immunocompromised. People will a compromised immunity are most susceptible to fungal infections but healthy individuals are also frequently reported to have fungal infection. That animal and human diseases can be caused by plant pathogens is a new concept that raises serious questions regarding the propensity of such infection to occur in healthy as well as immunocompromised individuals, the doctors said.
India has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases and the key factor causing the spike in cases is the emergence of a new Omicron variant called the XBB 1.16. The variant was first detected in Pune in February and was named XBB 1.16 on March 5. Here are a few things to know about the new COVID variant that is causing the surge in cases in India The XBB 1.16 variant is a recombinant lineage of COVID and a descendant of the XBB lineage. The preliminary data suggests that XBB 1.16 omicron variant has a higher growth percentage as compared to other SARS CoV-2 lineages that are presently circulating. The XBB 1.16 subvariant is a highly transmissible variant with high infectivity rate. The subvariant has mutations on the amino acids and nucleotide space that gives it the capacity to escape hybrid immunity achieved by vaccination and previous exposure to the virus," Dr Charu Dutt Arora, Infectious Disease Specialist, Consultant Physician, AmeriHealth, Asian Hospital told Hindustan Times. SYMPTOMS THAT INDICATE THE PRESENCE OF XBB 1.16 OMICRON VARIANT The symptoms of the presence of XBB 1.16 Omicron variant in patients is similar to those of the Omicron variant such as high-grade fever for over two days, cough, sore throat, body pain, severe headache, cold and abdominal discomfort. There is no loss of smell or taste seen in the patients, so far. Most of them have mild to moderate disease and are being managed on home isolation," Dr. Arora said. Medical experts have recommended getting tested for COVID-19 if someone is experiencing these symptoms. WHO ARE AT MOST RISK? Experts believe that children, elderly population, and patients with co-morbidities such as cardiac conditions, previous pulmonary issues, and diabetes among other ailments are at most risk of the new variant. NEED FOR BOOSTERS? Experts believed that booster dose was not required, as of now. The booster dose coverage is low but I dont think it is very important at the moment. All of us have had at least one or two clinical or sub-clinical Covid-19 infections  some of us more than two times  and this seems to be protecting most people against severe disease," Dr Atul Gogia, Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told the Indian Express. As per numbers released on Friday morning, India recorded a total of 3,095 cases in the last 24 hours. The active case load stood at 15,208.
Former United States President Donald Trump was indicted by New York grand jury on Thursday after an investigation, which was led by the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat. The criminal charges against the former President- a first for any US President- are surrounding the hush payments made by Trump to Stormy Daniels, an adult star, before the 2016 US Presidential elections. So who is Stormy Daniels, the woman in question in this scandal? Here are a few things to know about her: Daniels, whose original name is Stephanie Clifford, is an adult actress who was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Following her parents' divorce, she was raised by her mother. Daniels was neglected by her family members and as per her memoir released in 2018, she was sexually abused by an older man at the age of nine. Before entering the world of movies, Daniels first turned to striptease. After entering adult film industry, she worked in different capacities in the movies such as star actress, director and screenwriter, winning numerous awards for her work. As per Daniels, she met former US President Donald Trump in 2006 at a gold tournament. Trump invited her for dinner in his suite where the former President was dressed in his pyjamas, while welcoming her. In her book "Full Disclosure", Daniels wrote that the two went on to have what may have been the least impressive sex Id ever had. Trump has denied that two ever had sexual relations. In October 2016, during the final stages of the US Presidential elections which Trump eventually won, Daniels signed a non-disclosure agreement in which she pledged to not reveal details of her sexual encounters with Trump in exchange for a $130,000 payment, as per documents filed in Los Angeles federal court. The agreement was signed by the lawyers of both Daniels and Trump. Trump, however, did not sign the pact. Two years later, in 2018, Daniels filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump in the federal court over a Twitter post in which the then US President accused her of a "con job" after she revealed she was threatened over publicizing her account of an alleged sexual relationship with him. On Thursday, Trump was indicted in New York City on criminal charges arising from the hush money paid to Daniels to avoid a controversy during the 2016 Presidential elections.
Pakistan's finance minister, Ishaq Dar, said on Friday that China had rolled over a $2 billion loan that matured last week, providing relief during the South Asian nation's acute balance of payment crisis. Locking in a rollover had been critical for Pakistan, where reserves have dipped to just four weeks' worth of imports and talks over an IMF bailout tranche of $1.1 billion have hit a stalemate. "I am happy to confirm that this had been rolled over on March 23," Dar told parliament, referring to the maturity date. He said all concerned documentation had been completed. Neither the government in Beijing nor the Chinese central bank responded to requests for comment on the rollover. Dar's comments were the first official announcement of the rollover after the loan matured. Dar did not give the new maturity date or other terms of the arrangement. A top finance ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday that a formal confirmation of the refinancing would be made after the process was completed. Islamabad has been negotiating with the IMF since early February for the release of $1.1 billion from a $6.5 billion bailout package agreed in 2019. One of the IMF's conditions for the release of the tranche is assurance of external financing to fund Pakistan's balance of payments. Longtime ally Beijing is the only help Islamabad has got so far, with refinancing of $1.8 billion credited last month to Pakistan's central bank.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is making plans to visit China as early as April and is seeking a meeting with China's Premier Li Qiang, two people with knowledge of planning for the trip told Reuters. The exact timing of the visit is subject to Li Qiang's availability, one of the sources said. Tesla and China's State Council Information Office did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Friday. China is Tesla's second-largest market after the United States and its Shanghai plant is the electric carmaker's largest production hub. A visit by Musk would mark his first visit to China since the COVID-19 pandemic and since Xi Jinping secured a third term as China's president. Before Li became premier in March, he served as Shanghai's party secretary where he oversaw the construction and opening of the Tesla factory. Musk last visited China in early 2020, when he set the internet abuzz by dancing on stage during an event at the Shanghai factory. But he has continued to deliver virtual speeches at forums such as China's World Internet Conference. Li and Musk have met before, at the 2019 opening of the Shanghai plant. In 2020, they participated in an online meeting where Musk thanked the then-Shanghai party secretary for supporting the plant's operations during the pandemic's outbreak, according to local media reports. Musk's planned visit also comes as China is trying to woo more foreign investment to help shore up an economy battered by three years of COVID curbs. Li has been at the forefront of that effort, speaking over the past week at business events attended by the likes of Apple Inc's Tim Cook and Pfizer's Albert Bourla. The sources did not say what Musk intends to discuss with Li or do in China. Tesla is grappling with multiple issues, such as delays to its plans to more than double production capacity at the Shanghai plant. Tesla cars have also been barred from Chinese military complexes and political meeting venues amid concerns over cameras installed on the vehicles, and the company is still waiting for Beijing's approval to offer its full self-driving technology in China. China is also one of the largest, non-U.S. revenue streams for Twitter, which Musk took over last year for $44 billion, sources have told Reuters. Twitter's China operations have caused divisions within the company between teams keen to maximise the sales opportunity and others concerned about the optics of doing business with state-affiliated entities at a time of growing tension between Beijing and Washington, the sources said.
Massachusetts regulators have opened an investigation into sales of company stock by top executives at First Republic Bank (FRC.N) in the weeks leading up to the recent banking turmoil. Massachusetts' Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin told Reuters his office has subpoenaed First Republic. He is seeking details about the firm's insider trading policies and how officers handled their stock sales from January 1. A spokesperson for First Republic declined to confirm the firm received a subpoena or comment on the stock sales. A series of U.S. bank failures have roiled the global banking sector over the last month. Silvergate Capital Corp wound down operations on March 8. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were seized by regulators days later amid liquidity crises, actions that sapped investor confidence in the sector. Galvin said his office has opened a similar probe into insider sales by executives at SVB Financial Group, which owned Silicon Valley Bank until its failure. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that investigation. Both banks have branches in Massachusetts. A spokesperson for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, counsel to Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, declined to comment. First Republic's share price has plummeted nearly 90% in March in the wake of the collapse of SVB which saw people pull deposits from smaller banks. First Republic lured high net-worth customers with preferential rates on mortgages and loans. This strategy also made it more vulnerable than regional lenders with less-affluent customers, since U.S. deposit insurance only guarantees $250,000 per savings account. California regulators took possession of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10. "Both entities - their banking strategies were risky. Thats a fair statement. The risk has come home to roost," said Galvin. He said his office was particularly interested in examining insiders' trading activity leading up to the turmoil. Galvin has a reputation for aggressive enforcement as a securities regulator. In the past, his office has sought to revoke Robinhood Markets Inc's (HOOD.O) brokerage license and fined a MassMutual subsidiary over the "Roaring Kitty" case. The Massachusetts probe into First Republic is in the early stages and may not result in regulatory action. Corporate insiders are allowed to buy and sell shares of their companies. It is illegal for officers and directors to transact on material information that is not yet public. SHARE SALES Several First Republic executives have sold shares this year, including founder and Executive Chairman James Herbert. Herbert sold $4.5 million worth of shares so far this year, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation filings published on First Republic's website. Due to a regulatory anomaly, executives at banks that do not have holding companies file transaction forms with the banking regulator instead of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the other First Republic executives who sold shares this year was Chief Executive Officer Michael Roffler, who sold nearly $1 million of his shares in January. Herbert and Roffler did not respond to requests for comment on their stock sales or the subpoena. Probes such as Galvin's highlight the mounting scrutiny of bank executives and their risk management amid the recent banking crisis. Banking regulators, federal prosecutors and the SEC all probing SVB's collapse. Galvin said he is not yet concerned about other banks operating in his state, though he knows they remain under intense pressure. "We have no reason to believe they've invested in similar strategies," Galvin said.
Oscar Pistorius, the former South Africa Paralympic champion jailed in 2016 for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, will ask a parole board on Friday to release him early from prison, lawyers and prison officials said. Once the darling of the Paralympic movement for pushing for greater recognition and acceptance of disabled athletes, Pistorius shot dead Steenkamp, a model and law student, in his bathroom on Valentine's Day in 2013. The athlete, known as "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, went from public hero to convicted murderer in a trial that drew worldwide interest. Steenkamp's family oppose his parole bid and will give verbal and written statements at the hearing on the impact the murder had on them, their lawyer Tania Koen told Reuters. Arriving at Atteridgeville prison near the capital Pretoria on Friday morning, Reeva's mother June Steenkamp said she was feeling nervous. "It's going to be very hard to be in the same room as him," she told reporters from her car. A prison spokesperson confirmed the closed-door parole board meeting was under way. Gun enthusiast Pistorius told his trial he had believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her several times through the bathroom door with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the human body. He was jailed in 2016, initially for a six-year term, but had this sentence increased to 13 years after an appeal by prosecutors who argued the initial sentence was too lenient. Pistorius became eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence. He met Steenkamp's father Barry last year when participating in a process known as victim-offender dialogue - part of South Africa's restorative justice programme that brings parties affected by a crime together in a bid to achieve closure. The independent parole board must determine, among other issues, whether Pistorius is at risk of committing similar crimes in the future, prison spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said. It will also consider his disciplinary record, training programmes in prison and his physical and mental state, prison officials said. Pistorius' lawyer, Julian Knight, told Reuters he was not in a "position to comment until such time as the Parole Board has made a decision".
Siemens has launched an investigation after Der Spiegel reported a former programmer from Russian IT company NTC Vulkan - which has reported links to Russian security services - worked for the German engineering and tech company. The German news magazine said the worker was now employed by Siemens in Munich. "We take this seriously and we are looking into this. We cannot reveal any information about the identity of the person due to data protection laws," Siemens said on Friday. Der Spiegel reported on Friday that more than 90 former staff from NTC Vulkan worked for a several other European companies. The magazine said NTC Vulkan maintains close ties to all three major Russian intelligence services: FSB, GRU and SWR. Its so-called "Vulkan Files" said the company builds cyber programmes for the security services aimed at attacking critical infrastructure facilities. NTC Vulkan did not respond to requests for comment. An ex-chief developer of the company is working as a "senior software development engineer" at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Dublin, Der Spiegel also reported. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

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Midland County Sheriffs Office

A fugitive homicide suspect from Nevada was arrested Tuesday in Midland County, according to the Midland County Sheriff's Office.

Todd Wayne Tonnochy, 39, wanted by Washoe County Sheriffs Office in Reno, Nevada, was located in the 1000 block of South Midkiff.
Astronaut Mike Massimino came to Midland for an appearance at the University of Texas Permian Basins Shepperd Leadership Institute's Distinguished Lecture Series.

After two missions to the Hubble Telescope and four spacewalks to make critical repairs, Massimino is the senior advisor for Space Programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
Kathleen Leeper and her students received quite a surprise this week when H-E-Buddy and others entered her classroom  with a big check in tow.

"When I saw H-E-Buddy come through the door, I knew something special was about to happen," Leeper said.

Leeper, who teaches Life Skills at Legacy High School, was chosen as a finalist to receive H-E-B's Excellence in Education award for Leadership. On March 20, representatives from the Texas-based grocery chain visited Leeper in her classroom to make the big announcement and award her $1,000. The campus also received $1,000.

This is the second time Leeper has been an Excellence in Education finalist. She previously was nominated by a student's parents in the Rising Star category during her time as a special education teacher at Milam Elementary. This year, she was nominated by a fellow teacher in the Leadership category, which honors educators with 10 to 20 years of experience.

Leeper has worked 13 years in education, the past six at LHS. The entirety of her career has focused on special education. Leeper says she was drawn to special education because she has a special needs child herself. What keeps her dedicated to these students is overcoming the false idea that they have plateaued.

"The goal of Life Skills classes is to train them to have good lives," Leeper said. "It's our job to not give up on them and think that they've plateaued.

"We, as adults, are never done learning," she added. "If we can learn new things, so can our kids. We teach them wherever they are."
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WASHINGTON (AP)  A celebrity and insatiable publicity hound long before he was president, Donald Trump has been photographed countless times. But never like this.

Now that a New York grand jury has voted to indict him for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn actor, Trump will have to appear at district attorney headquarters in Manhattan to be booked, fingerprinted and get a mug shot taken. The former president, the first ever to be indicted, is expected to surrender to authorities early next week.

New York law discourages the release of mug shots in most cases, though they have leaked in the past. Less clear is whether Trump would seek to have the picture released himself, for political or other reasons. Within minutes of word of his indictment breaking, his 2024 presidential campaign was sending fundraising messages off the news.

Some Trump aides have floated the idea of holding a post-booking press conference  a political trail blazed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry when he surrendered to authorities for his own mug shot in 2014.

Indeed, what is a moment of shame for many accused hasn't always been that for politicians. Some have offered large smiles  or at least defiant smirks. They've tried to frame the moment as a political boon, looking to boost their popularity with supporters who see them as being unfairly targeted.

Here's a look at how some notable politicians handled their own mug shots:

A SMIRK AND A SOFT-SERVE CONE

Clad in a snappy dark suit, white shirt and blue tie, Perry removed his then-signature black glasses  as mandated by county rules  and offered a smirking half smile in his 2014 mug shot.

The Republican was facing abuse of power charges over a veto that prosecutors said he issued to settle political scores. But the governor did his best to convey that he considered the case a waste of time.

A group of cheering supporters gathered outside and, when he emerged, Perry told them, We will prevail." He then went for vanilla ice cream at a nearby soft-serve joint in Austin, Texas, and tweeted a photo of himself and his lawyers hoisting their own cones under the caption, And then, ice cream.

Noting the governor's posturing, the Democratic National Committee responded, This may be a sideshow to Rick Perry but no amount of spin can cover up two felony charges.

Perry was looking to build momentum for a 2016 presidential run that ultimately fizzled in a matter of months  much like the case against him, which never went to trial.

PUTTING ON A HAPPY FACE

While he didn't mark the occasion with a press conference, another Texas Republican, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, also saw political opportunity in his mug shot.

Indicted in Houston in 2005 on accusations of money laundering, DeLay wore a dark suit with his gold House security pin still attached and offered such a wide and toothy mug shot grin that it looked like the resulting photo could have been affixed to a campaign poster. He was convicted, but the verdict was later overturned on appeal.

Also smiling broadly in his mug shot was 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. Edwards, who wore a white shirt and blue tie in his 2011 mug shot, was charged with using nearly $1 million in funds from his 2008 presidential campaign to help cover up an extramarital affair. He was acquitted of one charge, and the jury deadlocked on others.

The smile was less deliberate for former Attorney General John Mitchell, who offered a confused-looking half grin, wearing a shirt and tie but no jacket when he was booked in 1974. Mitchell was eventually convicted of conspiracy, perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon. Once the nation's top law enforcement officer, Mitchell ultimately served 19 months in prison.

SOMBER SHOTS

Not every politician sees criminal charges as a boost to their political future, though.

Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig was arrested in 2007 by a plainclothes police officer in a men's bathroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. The officer said Craig tapped his foot and signaled under the stall that he wanted sex.

Craig looked exceedingly uncomfortable in his mug shot in a suit, a tie and an American flag lapel pin  offering a tight-lipped look and wearing glasses that threw back deep light reflections.

Craig appeared to be aware that his political career was effectively over. Although he later sought unsuccessfully to rescind his guilty plea and rebuffed calls from his own party to resign his Senate seat, Craig opted not to seek reelection in 2008.

Looking equally troubled was Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who wore a blue jogging suit, his famous black hair decidedly less poufy than usual, as he peered impassively into the camera shortly after federal agents showed up around 6 a.m. to arrest him.

Serving his second term, Blagojevich was arrested in 2008 and accused of trying to sell the Senate seat that Barack Obama vacated when he won the White House. He was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison  until Trump commuted his sentence in 2020.

Blagojevich kept his sense of humor, though.

When New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was detained last summer while decrying the Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision in Washington, she was pictured holding her hands behind her back as if handcuffed  except she wasn't wearing restraints.

Blagojevich tweeted a picture of Ocasio-Cortez alongside his own mug shot under the caption, At least when I get arrested, I get arrested for real!
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BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)  More than 60 self-exiled members of a Chinese Christian church who were detained in Thailand paid fines for overstaying their visas but remained in police custody Saturday uncertain about their legal status amid fears they would be deported against their will to their home country, where they face possible persecution.

The 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church were taken to court Friday in the resort city of Pattaya after being detained a day earlier by Thai immigration authorities. The 32 members of the group considered to be adults were charged with overstaying their visas, said Col. Tawee Kutthalaeng, chief of the Pattaya-area Nong Prue police station. Two American citizens who were with the group and briefly held had not been placed under arrest, he said.

After being fined, the church members had expected to be released to be able to return to where they had been staying in the area, said Deana Brown, one of two American supporters who accompanied them. Brown said she has been working to resettle the church members in Tyler, Texas, where her organization is based.

However, they were put on two buses which first took them to the Pattaya office of the immigration police and then drove them to Bangkok for what a police officer told The Associated Press was normal processing of their case.

The drive under police escort from Pattaya to Bangkok, which would normally take about two hours, instead took closer to five because the passengers forced the buses to stop en route and disembarked by the roadside, saying they feared they were being driven to Bangkok's international airport to be repatriated.

There were grounds for their skepticism. In 2015, Thailand sent 109 members of the Muslim Uyghur minority back to China against their will despite fears they would face official persecution and possible torture. The U.N. refugee agency at the time called Thailands action a flagrant violation of international law, and the United States also condemned the deportations.

Only after receiving reassurances by phone did the Chinese church members continue their journey, arriving early Saturday morning at a police facility known as the Police Club in northern Bangkok that has space for large numbers of detainees. The main Immigration Detention Center in the middle of Bangkok, where some detainees have been stuck for years, is notoriously overcrowded.

Members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also called the Mayflower Church, came to Thailand in 2022 seeking asylum. They are trying to get to the U.S., but the current status of their applications is not clear. Most members of the church are young, married, middle-class couples, with their children making up about half the group.

They fled China in 2019 alleging that they were being persecuted by government security forces, initially settling on South Koreas Jeju Island. They left South Korea for Thailand after meetings with local and U.S. officials made it clear that prospects for refuge there were dim.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement Saturday appealing to the Thai government not to repatriate the group.

Thai authorities need to recognize the grave dangers facing Christians back in China and under no circumstances force them to return, said Elaine Pearson, the New York-based organization's Asia director.

"If Thailand determines that the 63 Christian Chinese cannot stay, then they should be permitted to seek protection in another country, Pearson said. Rights-respecting governments should urgently step up to express their willingness to receive these asylum seekers at risk.

Brown, CEO of the Texas-based Freedom Seekers International, an organization whose mission statement says it seeks to rescue the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries, said that when the group looked into renewing their visas, they were told of a new requirement that any Chinese citizen renewing a visa in Thailand must report to the Chinese Embassy first. Their visas expired several months ago.

When they told us that, we knew that nobody could get their visas, Brown said. There was no way, because as soon as they walk into the Chinese Embassy theyre gone, we would not see them again. Theyve been hiding out since then.

The press section at the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok did not answer its telephone and the embassy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The U.S. Embassy said it had no immediate comment on the case.

Upon their 2022 arrival in Thailand, church members told reporters that they had been stalked, harassed and received threatening calls and messages even while they were in South Korea. They said relatives in China had been summoned, interrogated and intimidated.

At that time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the matter was not a diplomatic question and declined to comment further.

In China, Christians are legally allowed to worship only in churches affiliated with Communist Party-controlled religious groups, but for decades the authorities largely tolerated independent, unregistered house churches. They have tens of millions of worshippers, possibly outnumbering those in the official groups.

In recent years, however, house churches have come under heavy pressure, with many prominent ones shut down. Unlike previous crackdowns, such as Beijings ban on Falun Gong, a spiritual movement it labels a cult, the authorities have also targeted some believers not explicitly opposed to the Chinese state.

China is one of 15 nations that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in its annual report last year recommended be designated as countries of particular concern for repression of religious groups.

It said the ruling Chinese Communist Partys policies require religious groups to support its rule and its political objectives, including by altering their religious teachings to conform to the partys ideology and policy. Both registered and unregistered religious groups and individuals who run afoul of the CCP face harassment, detention, arrest, imprisonment, and other abuses, the commission said.

___

Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press journalist Dake Kang in Boao, China, contributed to this report.
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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  Andrew Tate, the divisive internet personality who has spent months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest, an official said Friday.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Tates appeal, which challenged a judges decision last week to extend his arrest a fourth time for 30 days, said Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanias anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT.

Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen who has 5.5 million Twitter followers, was initially detained in late December in Romanias capital Bucharest, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women.

All four won an appeal Friday, and will remain under house arrest until Apr. 29, Bolla said. None of the four has yet been formally indicted. The court ruled in favor of their immediate release. Prosecutors cannot challenge the appeal courts decision, which was final, Bolla added.

As the brothers left the detention facility late Friday in Bucharest, Tristan Tate told a scrum of reporters that the judges today made the right decision.

I respect what theyve done for me and they will be vindicated in their decision, because Im an innocent man and I cant wait to prove it, he said.

Some Tate supporters outside the facility chanted Top-G, Top-G, using a popular moniker many of Andrew Tates fans refer to him as.

Later, standing outside what is believed to be the Tate brothers' home near the capital, Andrew Tate said he wanted to thank the judges who heard us today, because they were very attentive and they listened to us, and they let us free.

I have no resentment in my heart for the country of Romania or for anybody else, he said. I just believe in the truth  I truly believe that justice will be served in the end. There is zero percent chance of me being convicted for something I've not done.

Tate, a professional kickboxer who has resided in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. He has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and alleged their case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.

DIICOT said in a statement after the December arrests that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were allegedly subjected to acts of physical violence and mental coercion and sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.

The agency said victims were lured with pretenses of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group.

In January, Romanian authorities descended on a compound near Bucharest linked with the Tate brothers and towed away a fleet of luxury cars that included a Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari and a Porsche. They reported seizing assets worth an estimated $3.9 million.

Prosecutors have said that if they can prove the cars owners gained money through illicit activities such as human trafficking, the assets would be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and to compensate victims. Tate unsuccessfully appealed the asset seizure.

___

Stephen McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania.
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NEW YORK (AP)  The arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges in Russia has news organizations based outside the country weighing for the second time in a year whether the risks of reporting there during wartime are too great.

The Journal and other news outlets continued to press Friday for the release of Evan Gershkovich, He was taken into custody by Russian security officials a day earlier and accused of spying, charges the newspaper vehemently denies.

More than 30 press freedom groups and news organizations, including the Journal, The New York Times, BBC, The Associated Press, The New Yorker, Time and The Washington Post, signed a letter Friday to Anatoly I. Antonov, Russias ambassador to the U.S., expressing concern about "a significant escalation in your government's anti-press actions.

Russia is sending the message that journalism within your borders is criminalized and that foreign correspondents seeking to report from Russia do not enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, they said.

A reporter for The New York Times who was temporarily in Moscow, Valerie Hopkins, left after Gershkovich's arrest, the newspaper said.

This is a significant shift and one that a lot of news outlets that have maintained journalists there will be looking at with alarm, said Jodie Ginsberg, president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group that promotes press freedom and safety.

Gershkovich's arrest comes a year after the Russian government, shortly after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, imposed harsh new restrictions on journalists that threatened punishment for reports that went against the Kremlin's version of events  even forbidding the use of the word war to describe the conflict.

Some news organizations pulled their journalists out as a result. Some of those journalists returned later when it became clear the restrictions were aimed mostly at Russians.

A free-lance Russian journalist, Andrey Novashov, was sentenced to eight months of correctional labor for allegedly reporting false information about the Russian military, CPJ said. Ilya Krasilshchik, former publisher of the Latvia-based news site Meduza, was prosecuted on a similar charge but he left the country, CPJ said.

Hundreds of Russian journalists have left the country, Ginsberg said.

To date, the advocacy group said it was unaware of any non-Russian journalists arrested or prosecuted under those laws. Gershkovich was detained on separate spying charges.

Pretty much any foreign correspondent who is still there is getting ready to depart, or giving that very serious consideration at this point, said Ann Cooper, who was a National Public Radio bureau chief in Moscow and former executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Gershkovich's arrest is very unsettling and would make anybody feel uncomfortable, she said.

Every journalist and news organization has to weigh the circumstances and make their own decision, Cooper said. If I were an American correspondent based in Moscow right now, I dont believe I would stay.

The New York Times does not have a reporter based in Russia now but has sent journalists, like Hopkins, in for periodic assignments, a spokeswoman said. For Tuesday's newspaper, Hopkins wrote about a single father who was convicted of discrediting the army and had his 13-year-old daughter put in an orphanage in a case that stemmed from an antiwar drawing she made at school.

One journalist who left and came back, Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor of the BBC, tweeted that he was shocked by what has happened to Gershkovich. His Twitter account said nothing about his own status, and the BBC declined comment Friday.

CNN has rotated international correspondents like Matthew Chance and Fred Pleitgen in and out of Russia for the past year, and Chance has been reporting from Moscow about Gershkovich's arrest. The network would not say more about its plans for staffing in the country.

We are concerned by the news coming from Russia and are monitoring the situation there closely, it said in a statement.

The Washington Post has three journalists reporting on Russia  Robyn Dixon, Mary Ilyushina and Francesca Ebel  but is not commenting on their whereabouts, a spokeswoman said. Dixon wrote about Gershkovich's arrest from Latvia. In a memo announcing Ebel's hiring last fall, the Post said its Russian team is working from outside the country.

The Associated Press story about Gershkovich's arrest, as well as a separate profile of the journalist, carried no bylines or datelines. The AP does not speak about the moves of its personnel for security reasons, but it maintains a presence in Russia, spokeswoman Lauren Easton said.

Bloomberg News pulled its reporters from Russia last year, with Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait telling staff members then that the new laws seem designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association. Bloomberg reporters have not returned to the country, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

Even journalists who fled Russia last year continued to report on the country, taking advantage of technology unavailable to predecessors from earlier generations: the Internet, encrypted communications, and mobile-phone cameras in the hands of millions of potential witnesses.

Still, Ginsberg said, technology never replaces being there.
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  Two Memphis police officers and a suspect were wounded in a shooting during a foot chase in the city, authorities said.

The shooting occurred after officers responded to a report of a person with a gun at a convenience store shortly before 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
NEW BERLIN  Southern rock band Blackberry Smoke and rock-infused country musician Stoney LaRue will headline the Sangamon County Fair grandstand show in June.

Blackberry Smoke hails from Atlanta. Its 2021 release, "You Hear Georgia," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Americana/Folk chart, continuing a list of albums reaching the top 10 Billboard Country charts, including 2015s "Holding all the Roses" and 2016s "Like An Arrow."

LaRue has released seven albums and collaborated with a number of country artists, such as Jason Boland, Brandon Jenkins and Miranda Lambert.

"We are looking forward to hosting these two incredible acts at the fair this year," Sangamon County Fair Board President Roy Pierceall said.

The show will be June 15. The fair will be June 14-18.

Tickets will be available on the fairs website at SangCoFair.com through April 7 for $25, after which they will be $30. Tickets do not include fair admission, which is $5.
A visit to a children's ministry in Uganda has left members of a Jacksonville church with what they said is a fresh perspective on their home.

Six members of Faith Lutheran Church returned last week from Uganda, where they spent 15 days visiting the Pillars of Africa Children's Ministry in Manyangwa, near the nation's capital of Kampala. Pastor Adam Dichsen was accompanied by his son, Benen, Melissa and Kelly Street, Kevin Krohe and Patty Nelson.

Faith Lutheran began supporting Pillars of Africa six years ago. Pillars of Africa provides several services to its community, including operating an orphanage, church and two schools, one of which Faith Lutheran helped build through a matching grant program five years ago, Dichsen said.

Dichsen said Patrick Kunihira, the founder of Pillars of Africa, visited the United States several times in the past few years, stopping by Faith Lutheran on West Walnut Street each time. On his most recent visit last summer, Kunihira invited members of Faith Lutheran to visit the ministry to strengthen the partnership between the two.

"He shared that there's a saying in Africa that 'your eye is in your hand'," Dichsen said, "which means you can't fully see something until you put your hands on it and touch it and experience it first-hand."

To that end, Dichsen and the group spent their time at Pillars of Africa learning and assisting people there, including coming up with a short-term strategic business plan for the ministry and installing electricity in one of its school buildings. Dichsen said that the best part of the trip, though, was getting to know the community and becoming a family with them.

"The children and the staff there are just amazing," he said. "They have such a deep faith (and) such deep compassion for one another."

The members of Pillars of Africa went "above and beyond" to make them feel welcome, Dichsen said, such as cooking them meat every single day despite only normally having meat once a month. He said the group felt small to them in terms of their faith.

"Their commitment to God, their prayer, their trust was just so inspiring that I think it really was like a shot of adrenaline for each of us to really boost us to recognize that in our own lives, in our own country, we don't rely on God enough," he said.

The trip was "invigorating" for the congregation of Faith Lutheran, Dichsen said. The trip marked the first time the church had ever worked with a specific organization like Pillars of Africa. Social media posts documenting the trip brought in comments and well-wishes from both inside and outside the church, Dichsen said.

"For us to send people over there, to be there on the ground," he said, "it's brought a whole new excitement and desire to engage in caring for others in the congregation."

Dichsen said the visit helped him him and the group to see things through new eyes. He wanted the trip to help them look at their own home from a new perspective, motivating them to not take things like food for granted and care for the people in need in their own region, in addition to the children of Pillars of Africa.

"There are people in great need here in Jacksonville," Dichsen said, "and with the new eyes that we've been given while we were there in Uganda, we want to see the needs in our own community and do a better job of working together and helping those in need here."
Morgan County commissioners recently passed a pro-agriculture resolution demonstrating elected officials support for farmers.

Our farming community would like to thank members of the Morgan County commissioners for showing their support by adopting this resolution, said Dale Hadden, president of Cass-Morgan Farm Bureau. Agriculture is a major economic driver in Morgan County, and this resolution shows our elected officials have our backs when making important decisions affecting our farms and livelihoods.

Commissioners passed the resolution after talking with farm leaders, the farm bureau said in a statement, noting the talks help elected leaders better understand farmings role in the community, from providing jobs to generating property tax revenue that funds services for all residents.

Local elected officials statewide are adopting the resolutions in support of their agricultural communities, according to the farm bureau.

Agriculture is the states largest industry, and passage of these pro-agriculture resolutions show that our elected officials understand that agriculture goes far beyond providing food and fuel, Illinois Farm Bureau President Richard Guebert Jr. said. When commissioners and boards pass these resolutions, they are showing their commitment to work with farm leaders so they can confidently be champions of agriculture.
Routt Catholic High School is celebrating the birthday of its founder with a two-day event.

Students, staff and faculty were celebrating the fifth annual Ultimate Routt Day on Friday and Saturday.

April 1 marks the birthday of William Routt, the founder of the school, and was recognized with a shortened school day followed by festivities in the past. Because April 1 falls on a Saturday this year, the school will celebrate over two days instead of one.

Friday celebrations include a student kickball tournament in the afternoon and a Lenten dinner at Knights of Columbus Hall, 320 E. State St., 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The school will have its Shamrock 5K Fun Run and Walk starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, followed by a community celebration at KC Hall featuring celebrity bartending from 5 to 7 p.m. and live music from Hot Town Trio and Robert Sampson from 5 to 8 p.m.
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HELSINKI (AP)  A parliamentary election in Finland on Sunday is shaping up as an extremely close race between three parties as Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats fight to secure a second term running the government.

The election is taking place days after Finland cleared the last big hurdle in its 10-month campaign to join NATO. Turkey's parliament ratified the northern European nation's membership in the Western military alliance late Thursday.

Marin, who at age 37 is one of Europe's youngest leaders, has received praise for her Cabinet's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her vocal support of Ukraine in the last year has increased her international visibility. She remains popular at home, but Finns are also frustrated with their country's rising cost of living.

The economy, climate change and others issues that affect voters' daily lives  like education and social benefits  have dominated the election campaign. Job creation and Finland's rapidly increasing government debt are issues that will likely preoccupy the next government of the Nordic nation of 5.5 million.

Above all, we must seek economic growth and stronger employment, Marin said in a recent interview with Finnish public broadcaster YLE. If we dont succeed in these two things, we wont be able to reduce our indebtedness, and we wont be able to balance our economy.

While Russias invasion of Ukraine prompted Finland to seek NATO membership in May 2022, neither the historic decision to abandon the nation's non-alignment policy nor the war have emerged as major campaign issues. Finland shares a long land border with Russia.

Marin played a prominent role, along with President Sauli Niinisto, in advocating for Finland's application to join NATO, which was made in tandem with Sweden. On Friday, she thanked the countries that supported its membership.

There was a broad consensus among the countrys political parties and overwhelming domestic support for membership in the Western military alliance.

Kimmo Elo, a senior researcher in parliamentary studies at the University of Turku, said that Finland's pending bid played a very small role in the campaign, making it unlikely that Turkey's ratification would emerge as a matter of debate or impact voters' choices.

Over 2,400 candidates from 22 parties are vying for the 200 seats in Finlands parliament, the Eduskunta. But opinion surveys suggest that three parties will dominate the pack: Marins Social Democratic Party, the center-right National Coalition Party and the right-wing populist The Finns party.

Recent polls indicated each could take about 20% of the vote Sunday. If that happens, no party would be in position to form a government alone; whichever one wins the most votes is expected to begin talks next week on forming a governing coalition.

Finland's largest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, published an editorial that described the election as "a real thriller" and predicted that the tight contest would likely inspire voters to turn out. Some 40% of eligible voters already have cast ballots in advance.

Marin has been prime minister since December 2019. Her party leads a center-left coalition government with the centrist Center Party, the Green League, the Left Alliance and the Swedish Peoples Party in Finland.

The leaders of all five parties are women, which has made Marin's Cabinet a rarity in Europe and rest of the world. Out of a total 19 Cabinet members, 11 are women.

Marin has ruled out the Social Democrats partnering with The Finns after the election, citing substantial differences in values and policies. The populist, nationalist party's candidates have run on an anti-immigration and anti-European Union platform.

Should Marin's party win, forming the same coalition again is out of the question as the Center Party has said it doesn't favor such a government composition any more.

The populists, who also have a woman as party leader, are in turn highly critical of a goal set by Marin's government to make Finland carbon-neutral and fossil-free by 2035, calling the policy naive and unrealistic. The Finns envision the country becoming carbon neutral in 2050 at the earliest.

Is this how Finland really thinks of saving itself? With green promises and throwing money at everything that sounds good?" Finns leader Riikka Purra wrote in the party's recent newsletter, referring to pledges by Marin's Cabinet to increase investments in a green transition and economy.

The National Coalition Party, led by former Finance Minister Petteri Orpo, shares the same climate-neutrality target as the Social Democrats but could find it difficult to agree on economic policies. NCP is open to forming a coalition with The Finns.

Orpo, who has headed the party since 2016, has pledged a government under his leadership would create some 100,000 new jobs and encourage entrepreneurship.

The National Coalition Party also wants to increase the share of energy that Finland gets from nuclear power. The country currently has five reactors which produce about 40% of its electricity.

One of the most important tasks of the future government is to remarkably speed up the construction of new nuclear power plants in Finland, Orpo said, writing in a blog on the party's website that the next prime minister should make nuclear power the cornerstone of the governments energy policy.

___

Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed.
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ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP)  The daughter of former U.S. intelligence director John Negroponte was sentenced Friday to 35 years in prison in the fatal stabbing of a friend after a drunken argument at a Maryland home, prosecutors announced.

Sophia Negroponte, 30, of Washington, D.C., was convicted in January of second-degree murder in the 2020 death of 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen. Guidelines called for a sentence of 15 to 25 years, but Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence McGann went beyond those guidelines, citing a need for community protection and rehabilitation, and calling her a struggling, anger-filled alcoholic, news outlets reported.

That rage drove Ms. Negroponte to stab her friend in the neck, McGann said.

While nothing can ease the pain caused by this senseless loss of life, we thank Judge McGann for an appropriate prison sentence in this case," Montgomery County States Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement.

Nearly a dozen people, including Rasmussen's mother, Dr. Zeba Rasmussen, gave victim impact statements at Friday's hearing. She remembered her son as charismatic with a huge caring heart for everybody. His father, Steve Rasmussen, called his son a gift, saying family and friends will always wonder what they lost with Rasmussens killing.

All the kind things said about Rasmussen were true, Sophia Negroponte said at the hearing.

He was a very beautiful and loving and caring person.  I am truly sorry, she said.

Sophia Negroponte was one of five abandoned or orphaned Honduran children that John Negroponte and his wife adopted after he was appointed as U.S. ambassador to the Central American country in the 1980s, according to The Washington Post.

Rasmussen and Sophia Negroponte attended the same Washington high school and had been drinking, along with another person, on the night Rasmussen was killed, McCarthy said. They argued twice that night and Rasmussen left. When Rasmussen returned to get his cellphone, Negroponte stabbed him multiple times, one being a death blow that severed his jugular, McCarthy said.

At trial, defense attorney David Moyse urged jurors to consider that Sophia Negroponte was too intoxicated to form specific intent.

Alcohol pervades this case from the start; it pervades her life, he said, adding, and it is absolutely at the heart of what happened there that night. And its one of the major reasons that this is absolutely not a murder.

Former President George W. Bush appointed John Negroponte as the nations first intelligence director in 2005. He later served as deputy secretary of state. He also served as ambassador to Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations and Iraq.
Florida teen debuts trans visibility film as bans spread View Photo

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)  A Florida teenager has documented how it feels to be young and transgender for a film set to debut at a festival as transgender people around the world celebrate visibility and lawmakers across the country look to restrict their rights and care.

Carys Mullins, 19, who is gender non-conforming and uses she and they pronouns, said their experience inspired conversations with community members for a documentary, Youre Loved. The film directed and produced by Mullins is set to premiere Friday at the Tampa Bay Transgender Film Festival on International Transgender Day of Visibility.

Thats a big part of what the festival is, Mullins said. A big part of the Tampa Bay Transgender Film Festival is: Look at us.

Youre Loved debuts at a time where access to gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary young people is under assault across the United States. Florida, Missouri and Texas have regulations banning puberty-blocking hormones and gender-affirming surgeries for minors. At least 11 other states ban gender-affirming care for minors by law: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah, South Dakota and West Virginia.

Federal judges have blocked enforcement of laws in Alabama and Arkansas, and nearly two dozen states are considering bills this year to restrict or ban care.

When describing how it feels to be a gender-nonconforming person in their home state, Mullins draws many comparisons.

It feels like youre under a microscope.

It feels like were all in a circus.

It almost feels like youre a guinea pig of sorts for people who have no idea what its like to be trans, to be nonbinary, to be gender-nonconforming. They dont see us as people.

Mullins interwove perspectives from three young transgender people in Florida, Texas and Illinois, along with mental health providers, advocates and allies. They sent participants a set list of questions, depending on their role in the documentary, and edited together their recorded answers.

Topher Malone, a Black transgender high school student in Round Rock, Texas, said participating in the documentary gave her space to be herself.

I could share my story, Malone said. And, you know, those opportunities dont come often, especially for Black trans youth.

Malone spoke at a Texas House committee hearing on Monday about a measure seeking to restrict care. The hearing started around 8 a.m. Malone said she wasnt able to speak until after 11 p.m.

Im a youth. I go to public school. Im supposed to be supported by my government, Malone said, And so, that not being true is just so difficult.

The bills have a measurable impact on the well-being of transgender youth. Half of transgender adults ages 18 through 34 say they have had suicidal thoughts in the past year, and about a quarter said that they have engaged in self-harm, they had an eating disorder and they misused alcohol or drugs, according to a Washington Post-KFF poll of transgender adults in the U.S.

The poll shows nearly 8 in 10 transgender adults overall say living as a gender that is different from the gender they were assigned at birth has made their lives more satisfying.

But the poll also shows transgender adults say they are satisfied with their lives at a lower rate than the U.S. adult population as a whole.

Transgender adults are especially likely to report feeling anxious, depressed or lonely in the past year. About two-thirds say they have faced discrimination because of their gender identity or expression. And 78% say that growing up, they experienced serious mental health problems such as depression or anxiety.

The landscape right now is urgent, said Jonah DeChants, senior research scientist at The Trevor Project.

However, while the numbers are grim, DeChants does not want them to be the sole focus in conversations about transgender youth. He said polls and surveys have also shown that access to adult role models and communities that affirm their identity can play a significant role in lowering suicide risk.

For me especially as a scientist and a former youth worker, its really exciting to see data that firmly shows that being an ally to young people matters, DeChants said.

Florida-based psychologist Dani Rosenkrantz, who also participated in the documentary, sees herself as part of this larger support system for the young transgender and nonbinary people she works with. Despite the challenges she faces operating as an LGBTQ+ therapist in Florida, Rosenkrantz wants to give space for her clients to not only process their grief, but also to find joy in their identities.

Our life isnt just these awful, sad, real statistics that are really important to know about and resist, but its also these beautiful, thriving people. Rosenkrantz said.

Mullins hopes their documentary resonates with transgender people and with the community at large. They see the message of love as universal.

At the end of the day, if you take away these labels and these identities, the whole point of this film is you are loved and you are seen, no matter what experiences you go through, Mullins said.

In Texas, Malone finds her joy in many places: at underground ballroom events, in online communities, and even Monday after the hearing. Malone said there was a rally as they were leaving the state Capitol after midnight, with people shouting, laughing, and dancing.

There was a sense of community, Malone said. There was a sense of trans joy in that moment.

By LAURA BARGFELD

Associated Press
Chinas global influence looms over Harris trip to Africa View Photo

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP)  When Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she touched down at an airport thats doubled in size and features glittering new terminals.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, its a reminder of Chinas deep influence. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent thats rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt. Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Bidens administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijings sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition. However, she has acknowledged theres limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent, telling reporters earlier in the trip that there is a window that is definitely open now for American investments.

At a news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday, Harris reiterated her call for all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia  an oblique reference to China  but she stressed that our presence here is not about China.

Hichilema said it would be completely wrong to view Zambias interests in terms of a rivalry between the U.S. and China.

When Im in Washington, Im not against Beijing. When Im in Beijing, Im not against Washington, he said, adding that none of these relationships are about working against someone or a group of countries.

Chinas roots in both Tanzania and Zambia run deep. In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzanias Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

Today, China is Africas largest two-way trading partner, with $254 billion of business in 2021, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Thats four times the amount of trade between the U.S. and Africa. In addition, dealing with Beijing features less admonishments about democracy than with Washington.

Most African countries are rightly unapologetic about their close ties to China, Nigerias vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, tweeted on Thursday. China shows up where and when the West will not and/or are reluctant.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has worked on Africa issues in Congress, expressed frustration over Chinas growing influence on the continent.

We switched from being the No. 1 trade partner or the No. 1 investment partner in two dozen countries, to China being the No. 1 trade and investment partner, he told reporters aboard Air Force Two on the flight to Ghana at the beginning of Harris trip. I think our challenge for this decade is to address that.

Biden has been taking steps toward that, such as hosting a summit for African leaders in December, when he announced that he wants to commit $55 billion to the continent in the coming years.

Harris has made announcements as well during her trip, including more than $1 billion in public and private money for economic development, $100 million for security assistance in West Africa and $500 million to facilitate trade with Tanzania.

However, theres skepticism about whether the U.S. will follow through on its promises, and Harris has been faced with not-so-subtle hints that Africa expects more. For example, the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania bluntly said they hope Biden chooses to visit their countries during his expected trip to Africa later this year, which would be his first to the continent as president.

By comparison, Tanzania was among the first countries that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited after becoming president in 2013. And after Xi secured a third term, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African head of state to visit Beijing.

Kamala faces Chinese dominance in Tanzania, the Tanzania Business Insight publication tweeted Wednesday.

Ian Johnson, a former China-based journalist who works at the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Beijing presents a powerful narrative in the developing world as a country that rapidly built its economy and pulled much of its population out of poverty.

African leaders think lets see what we can learn from China, he said, adding that theres a certain fascination in how they did it.

Johnson also said China views Africa differently than the U.S.

We have a tendency to see Africa as a series of problems  wars, famines, something like that, he said. But in Chinas eyes, Africa is much more of an opportunity.

Edem Selormey, who conducts public opinion research at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, said the feeling is often mutual.

Chinas influence in Africa is largely seen as positive, she said. And the U.S. trails China in that regard.

The difference, she said, is often about what citizens see on the ground, such as infrastructure projects, and the U.S. has been missing from this picture for a while.

John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the debt that comes from Chinas involvement is ultimately corrosive. He said African leaders are beginning to realize that China is not really their friend.

Chinas interests in the region are purely selfish, as opposed to the United States, he said.

Its a sentiment that draws scoffs in some corners of Africa.

America is like playing the role of a big Uncle Sam in trying to defend African countries against what they think is the encroachment of China into the liberty of African countries through these loans, said Tanzania-based analyst Mohamed Issa Hemed.

However, he added, China is ahead of the U.S. in many, many ways.

Daniel Russel, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, summed up the African perspective as enough with the lectures about China. Theyve got something we want. And theyve got it right here.

When it comes to U.S. hopes for Africa, he said, you cant beat something with nothing.

___ Anna reported from Nairobi, Kenya, and Meldrum from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

By CHRIS MEGERIAN, CARA ANNA and ANDREW MELDRUM

Associated Press
Australia concerned by journalists delayed verdict in China View Photo

SYDNEY (AP)  Australia remains deeply concerned that Australian journalist Cheng Lei has not learned of a verdict a year after standing trial in China on national security charges, the foreign minister said Friday.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong marked the first anniversary of the closed trial in Beijing with a statement saying her government had advocated at every opportunity for Ms. Cheng to be reunited with her family.

She is still waiting to learn the outcome of the trial, Wong said. We share the deep concerns of Ms. Chengs family and friends about the ongoing delays in her case.

Our thoughts today are with Ms. Cheng and her loved ones, particularly her two children, she added. The children live with family in the Australian city of Melbourne.

Asked about Chengs case, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning offered no new information Friday.

China has a clear and consistent position on the case. Chinas judicial departments examined the case in accordance with law and fully protected the lawful rights and interests of the person involved, Mao said at a daily briefing in Beijing.

The anniversary comes as troubled relations between China and Australia show signs of improvement since Wongs center-left Labor Party came to power in elections last year.

Cheng, 47, was born in China and was a journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television. She was detained in August 2019 and accused by China of sharing state secrets.

In January, Wong also marked the anniversary of Chinas detention of Chinese-Australian writer and blogger Yang Hengjun, who has been held since arriving in 2019 in southern Chinas Guangzhou from New York with his wife and 14-year-old stepdaughter.

Her statement then said Australias government was deeply troubled by Chinas delays in resolving espionage allegations. Yang, 57, faced a closed trial on an espionage charge in Beijing in May 2021 and is still waiting for a verdict.

Wong raised the cases of Yang and Cheng with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in December when she became to first Australian foreign minister to visit China in four years.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also raised their cases in November when he took part in the first formal bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping by an Australian government leader since 2016.

China has begun accepting shipments of Australian coal in recent weeks for the first time since late 2020 in a sign of thawing relations since Australias former conservative administration was ousted after nine years in power.

___

Find more of APs Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

By ROD McGUIRK

Associated Press
American detained in Russia a brave, committed journalist View Photo

Working as a journalist in Moscow seemed a natural fit for Evan Gershkovich, the son of immigrants from the Soviet Union who grew up speaking Russian at home in Princeton, N.J.

After he graduated in 2014 from Bowdoin College, one of the countrys most selective schools, however, it took me awhile to figure out that journalism was the career for me, he said in a 2020 interview on the schools website.

Now Russias Federal Security Service says the 31-year-old American reporter for The Wall Street Journal has been arrested on charges of espionage. The FSB, the countrys top security agency and successor to the KGB, said Gershkovich was collecting information on an enterprise of the military-industrial complex.

The Journal denied the allegations and demanded his release.

Sarah Conly, a retired philosophy professor at Bowdoin, recalled that Gershkovich was unafraid to speak up while other students hung back.

He was lively and outspoken and not afraid to express his views, she said in an email. I have followed his career with admiration and am horrified at this outcome.

After college, Gershkovich worked for an environmental organization in Southeast Asia, then moved to New York and worked as a cook until joining The New York Times as a clerk on the foreign desk.

Two years later, excited by what hed learned at the Times, he wanted to get reporting experience and found a slot in 2017 at the Moscow Times, an English-language news site in the Russian capital.

When you start reporting in Russia, you often hear that it will be very hard to get people to talk, he said in the Bowdoin interview. And while that may be true of Russian officialdom - though not all of it - I have found that if you go looking for the right people, many of them want to tell their stories.

Of course, some will want their comments to be from an unnamed source, which means, as a reporter, you have to make sure you speak to them over encrypted channels and protect their identities. But theyre out there, he said.

Gershkovich later moved to the French news agency Agence France-Presse and then to the Journal.

Friends and colleagues were shocked by the news and took to social media to describe him as a committed journalist, dismissing the allegations as bogus and ridiculous.

Journalism is not a crime, they posted.

Henry Foy, the Financial Times European diplomatic correspondent based in Brussels, tweeted: Evan is an exemplary foreign correspondent, a brilliant reporter and a wonderful, kind-hearted friend.

Joshua Yaffa, a Russia-Ukraine reporter for The New Yorker, posted: Evan was not unaware or naive about the risks. Its not like he was in Russia because no one bothered to tell him it was dangerous. He is a brave, committed, professional journalist who traveled to Russia to report on stories of import and interest.

Oliver Carrol, a foreign correspondent for The Economist, tweeted that he hopes Gershkovichs bravery carries through in these very dark hours. Its something you wouldnt wish on your worst enemy. Let alone Evan, who is one of the nicest guys in journalism.

Many foreign journalists pulled out of Russia after the country enacted laws to punish anyone who discredits Russian forces in Ukraine, and the U.S. State Department has repeatedly advised all Americans to leave the country.

The new law has left many of the remaining journalists uncertain about what would be considered crossing the line. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, those carrying out normal journalistic activity will obviously keep working, if they have proper accreditation. There will be no problems with that.

Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya tweeted that the problem is that the recently updated legislation and the FSBs interpretation of espionage today allow for the imprisonment of anyone who is simply interested in military affairs.

Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff of U.S. News and World Report was arrested by the KGB. Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Unions U.N. mission who was arrested by the FBI, also on spying charges.

One other American is in prison on a spying conviction: former Marine and corporate security executive Paul Whelan, arrested in 2018 on charges the United States and his family say were trumped-up.

For Whelans brother David, Gershkovichs arrest is painful.

Our family is sorry to hear that another American family will have to experience the same trauma that we have had to endure for the past 1,553 days, he said in a statement.

By The Associated Press
Russia clashes with US over tactical nukes for Belarus View Photo

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Russia and the U.S. clashed in the United Nations on Friday over Moscows plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which neighboring Ukraine denounced as a desperate Kremlin attempt to avoid military defeat and threaten the world with nuclear apocalypse.

China, without naming Russia, made clear its opposition to the planned deployment.

Ukraines U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called for the U.N. Security Council meeting following Russian President Vladimir Putins announcement on March 25 that his country plans to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko upped the ante just before the council meeting, saying Russia might also deploy strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus, which Russian forces have used as a staging ground for the war in Ukraine.

Kyslytsya said it took only four days for Putin to violate a pledge he made to Chinas President Xi Jinping in a joint statement at their recent meeting in Moscow. It declared that all nuclear states should refrain from deploying nuclear weapons outside their countries and withdraw those deployed abroad.

The same point was emphasized by the U.S. and Chinese deputy U.N. ambassadors, among others.

We call for the abolition of the nuclear-sharing arrangements and advocate no deployment of nuclear weapons abroad by all nuclear weapons states, and the withdrawal of nuclear weapons deployed abroad, said Geng Shuang of China.

Calling nuclear weapons the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, Geng reiterated that China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants and the threat or use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. He said nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided.

Beijing claims to have a neutral stance in the war, but has also stressed its no limits friendship with Russia. It has refused to criticize Moscows invasion, and late last month released a peace plan calling for a cease-fire and talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Kyslytsya welcomed Beijings stand, telling the council: To the credit of the Chinese side, the Chinese side reminded Moscow in a very sensible manner that nuclear war cannot be won and fought, and that nuclear proliferation must be prevented.

Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow is not transferring nuclear weapons but operational tactical missile complexes, which will be under Russian control. He insisted this was not in violation of Moscows international obligations.

Nebenzia accused the United States of destroying key arms control agreements and he repeated Putins objection to the tactical nuclear weapons the U.S. has deployed in other NATO countries, indicating that this violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of global disarmament.

Belarus U.N. Ambassador Valentin Rybakov said the planned deployment of tactical nuclear weapons was a reaction to the challenges and risks to national security his country faces, citing NATO neighbors ramping up their military capacity and Western sanctions. He also criticized the U.S. nuclear sharing with its allies.

The U.S. deputy ambassador, Robert Wood, countered that the issue of nuclear sharing within NATO was discussed during negotiations on the NPT treaty, and for close to four decades Washington heard nothing about it from Russia until after its takeover of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Wood stressed that any allegations that the United States is not in full compliance with the nonproliferation treaty are just patently false.

He accused Russia of attempting to manipulate the specter of nuclear conflict to help win the war in Ukraine.

No other country is inflicting such damage on arms control nor seeking to undermine strategic stability in Europe, Wood said. No other country has raised the prospect of potential nuclear use in connection with the war in Ukraine.  No country is threatening Russia or threatening President Putin.

By EDITH M. LEDERER

Associated Press
Ecuador police deactivate explosive device taped to guard View Photo

QUITO, Ecuador (AP)  Police successfully deactivated a vest-like explosive device Thursday that an unknown number of people allegedly had taped to the chest of a security guard at a jewelry store in Ecuadors main port city.

The guard was uninjured. Authorities would question him to try to locate any suspects, said Francesco Tabacchi, governor of the state of Guayas, which includes the city of Guayaquil.

Authorities did not provide additional details, including a possible motive.

Local news outlets showed traffic in the area was interrupted while the guard, wearing a white shirt and dark pants, walked nervously with what appeared to be sticks of dynamite on his chest.

Police tweeted a video showing an officer in a bomb disposal suit and the security guard no longer carrying the device, which was detonated nearby without incident.

The event was followed minute by minute through social media and local news outlets.
Amador County Sheriff's Office View Photos

Amador, CA A Town Hall meeting will be held by Amador Sheriff Gary Redman, in cooperation with District Attorney Todd Riebe, Chief Probation Officer Mark Bonini, and Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil, regarding the potential placement of Sexually Violent Predator William Stephenson in Amador County. The meeting aims to educate the community and provide them with an opportunity to voice their concerns about the situation. Stephenson is set to be released on conditions from the Department of State Hospital and is proposed to reside in Sutter Creek, despite not having any affiliation with Amador County.

Stephenson has a history of sexual battery and indecent exposure and was arrested in 2017 for possessing child pornography on his electronic devices. In a letter submitted to the Board of Supervisors agenda, Sheriff Redman expressed his opposition to the move, stating, While I understand the need to house individuals upon their release from a state treatment facility, I plead with the court to reconsider sending this Sexually Violent Predator to Amador County. His court hearing is set for Friday, April 7th at the Placer County Superior Court.

Tuesdays meeting will begin a 6 p.m. at the County Administrative Building, 810 Court Street in Jackson. To participate virtually via Zoom:

+1-669-900-6833 (alternate phone numbers listed on amadorgov.org

Access Code: 758 573 6084# or click on this link: https://zoom.us/j/7585736084
Sonora, CA Columbia College Foundation, along with college leaders, community supporters, and Promise students, celebrated five years of achievements for the Columbia College Promise program on March 23rd. Launched in 2018, the program provides a full year of free tuition and fees to high school graduates who immediately enroll full-time following graduation. Since its inception, the program has served over 1,000 recent high school graduates.

The impact has been tremendous, and continues to build, said Foundation President Charles Segerstrom. Students and families realize the value of coming to Columbia as a great first step after high school.

Over the years, the program has evolved to include services such as housing for students in crisis, internet hotspots for those facing technology challenges, and a Leadership Education Program to help students develop their leadership skills. The program has expanded to cover two full years of free tuition and fees for Promise students. As Free for Me, a one-year offering by the Yosemite Community College District ends, the Promise Program will continue into the fall. Additionally, Columbia College is preparing to launch an enhanced counseling and mentoring program to support further Promise students in achieving their educational goals.

This program has been a true partnership between the community and the college, said Segerstrom. Its showing our high school students that Columbia is a smart choice, we want them here and we are here to support them every step of the way. Theyre getting the message and theyre counting on the Promise. Its a great community investment.

The Promise Program serves recent high school graduates from Tuolumne, Calaveras, and parts of Stanislaus Counties. Funds can be used for Trade and Technical Education, Associate of Arts Degrees, and transfer readiness to four-year colleges and universities.

For more information on the Columbia College Promise program, contact the Columbia College Foundation office at 209-588-5065 or visit here.
Trump indictment live updates: Latest news, developments View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  In the first criminal case against a former president, Donald Trump has been indicted on charges involving payments made during the 2016 campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.

Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed down against him by a New York grand jury, two people familiar with the matter have told The Associated Press. They were not authorized to discuss details that arent yet public and requested anonymity.

Prosecutors in New York investigated money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep the women from going public with claims that they had sex with him.

Trump, whos running for the White House again in 2024, called the decision by a Manhattan grand jury to indict him political persecution and election interference at the highest level.

At least one former federal prosecutor, though, said the Manhattan DA and other investigators wouldnt move forward with such a case unless they feel confident of a conviction.

___

WILL NEW YORK CASE OVERSHADOW OTHER LEGAL THREATS?

Former President Donald Trump faces multiple investigations related to his refusal to accept his loss of the 2020 presidential election.

Some legal experts worry that Trumps indictment this week in New York involving a hush money payment in 2016 could jeopardize public trust in the election-related cases.

The indictment itself has remained sealed, which is standard in New York until an arraignment.

Trump has long argued that the investigations in New York and elsewhere are politically motivated and ramped up those accusations without evidence after Thursdays indictment.

___

LITTLE SIGNS OF LARGE PROTEST IN NEW YORK, ELSEWHERE

Though the streets outside the Manhattan courthouse were bustling Friday, there was no sign of any large-scale protests. A few Trump supporters passed by, quickly posing for photos while police officers and reporters lined the sidewalks.

In Florida, about a dozen Trump supporters stood alongside the road leading to Mar-a-Lago, the former presidents Palm Beach residence and resort Friday morning. They waved Trump Nation and Keep America Great flags at motorists.

Kevin Hulbert, a retired outdoor educator from Maryland, waved an American flag as he called the indictment a disgrace.

We have to use our First Amendment rights to demonstrate how unhappy we are that something like this would happen, Hulbert said.

In Boston, several people rallied outside the Massachusetts Statehouse to support letting the legal process play out.

Laurie Woodward-Garcia, 56, of Westborough, said she was not there to celebrate and defended Trumps right to have his day in court.

I think its important that whoever you are, whatever position you hold, the message is clear: No one is above the law, she said.

___

WILL TRUMP TRY TO TURN MUG SHOT INTO A TOOL?

Former President Donald Trump is expected to go through the same process as anyone turning him or herself in on criminal charges, including fingerprinting and a mug shot.

Recent history offers examples of political figures who tried to turn arrest photos into a tool, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

New York law discourages the release of mug shots in most cases, though some have leaked in the past. Its unclear whether Trump would try to have the picture released himself, for political or other reasons.

But his presidential campaign and other political groups quickly used word of his indictment in fundraising messages. The National Republican Congressional Committee titled an email sent to supporters Friday: Trump IN HANDCUFFS!?

___

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION STAYS MUM ON CASE

President Joe Biden set the tone for his administrations approach to former President Donald Trumps indictment Friday with a firm refusal to comment on the case.

Vice President Kamala Harris and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre separately refused. Both told reporters that the decision is tied to the ongoing nature of the case against Trump.

Look, were just not going to comment on any ongoing case, and I will just leave it there, Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One en route to Mississippi, where the president toured recent storm damage.

___

BRAGGS OFFICE DEFENDS INQUIRY

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office is defending the unprecedented criminal case against Trump in a letter to House Republicans, calling their repeated criticism of the investigation unnecessary and unjustified.

The letter, the only substantial public comment on the case to come from Braggs office since Thursdays indictment, is the latest back-and-forth between Trumps allies in Congress and the prosecutor leading the Manhattan case.

Even worse, based on your reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury process, it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective, general counsel Leslie Dubeck wrote to three Republican chairmen in a letter obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

Reps. Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryan Steil have criticized the grand jury investigation as an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.

The chairmen had requested testimony as well as documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department.

Bragg did not answer reporters questions on the indictment against Trump on Friday morning after he attended a high-profile sentencing hearing in an unrelated case.
Bill to criminalize help for Idaho minors abortions passes View Photo

BOISE, Idaho (AP)  A bill that would criminalize helping minors obtain an abortion without parental consent won final passage in Idahos legislature on Thursday and is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Brad Little.

The measure would be the first of its kind in the U.S. It seeks to restrict travel by creating the crime of  abortion trafficking  and would bar adults from obtaining abortion pills for a minor or recruiting, harboring or transporting the pregnant minor without the consent of the minors parent or guardian.

Anyone convicted of breaking the law would face two to five years in prison and could also be sued by the minors parent or guardian. Parents who raped their child would not be able to sue, though the criminal penalties for anyone who helped the minor obtain an abortion would remain in effect.

To sidestep violating a constitutional right to travel between states, Idahos law would make illegal only the in-state segment of a trip to an out-of-state abortion provider.

Once it lands on his desk, the governor will have five days to either sign or veto the bill or allow it to become law without his signature. Little is against abortion and has supported Idahos stringent abortion bans.

Opponents are promising a legal battle if the bill becomes law.

Whether it comes from us or one of our coalition partners, there will be a legal challenge, Mack Smith, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said. We definitely will be fighting this with everything that weve got. There is just absolutely no way that this is constitutional.

Idaho is one of 13 states that already effectively ban abortion in all stages of pregnancy, and is one of a handful of states that already have laws penalizing those who help people of any age obtain abortions.

During the Senate debate Thursday morning, Democratic Sen. Melissa Wintrow said the legislation further shackles young girls that need help, and harms those who try to help them.

I think we all know that Idaho has the strictest abortion bans in the country, Wintrow said. It is criminal, it is totally banned, and this bill adds insult to injury in my estimation.

But Sen. Todd Lakey, a Republican and a co-sponsor of the bill, said it will help protect our kids. It does help prevent and protect against abortion, especially those that occur without consent of a parent in another state.

The legislation would give the attorney general the authority to prosecute people for violating the law if the county prosecutor, which would normally handle criminal cases, declines to press charges.

People accused of abortion trafficking wouldnt necessarily be able to avoid charges by showing that the minors parent approved of the travel. Instead, they would be able to use that information as an affirmative defense by attempting to prove in court that the minors parents or guardians signed off on the plan.

Rep. Chris Mathias, a Democrat, noted Idahos rape and incest rates are at a five year high, and many of those victims are minors who have been victimized by a parent. The Idaho State Police Crime in Idaho annual report showed a nearly 12% increase in rape or attempted rape reports in 2021 compared to the previous year, as well as 28 cases of reported incest  compared to three incest reports made in 2020 and 14 in 2019.

The bill requires that both parents be informed of a plan to take a minor out of state for an abortion, Mathias said, even if one of the parents is potentially a felonious, incestuous, rapist father.

Democratic Sen. James Ruchti said the legislation would likely be difficult to enforce. He compared it to a hypothetical scenario, in which a neighboring state might attempt to bar its own residents from traveling to Idaho to buy a gun.

Its probably why we let federal laws handle these things when it comes to crossing borders, Ruchti said.

State leaders in Washington, Oregon and California have promoted the West Coast as a safe haven for abortion procedures, and lawmakers in Oregon and Washington are considering bills to shield abortion providers and patients from criminal liability. Oregons bill would allow physicians to provide abortion to anyone regardless of age, and would bar them in certain cases from disclosing that information to parents.

National Right to Life, an anti-abortion organization, lauded the bill as protecting parental rights by keeping parents involved in a childs decisions.

Parents have the right to love their daughter and be there for her in her time of need, National Right to Life president Carol Tobias wrote in a news release. No one should take that away.

Thirty-six states require parental involvement in a minors decision to have an abortion, though most allow exceptions under certain circumstances like medical emergencies, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group supporting abortion rights.

___

AP writers Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed.

By REBECCA BOONE

Associated Press
Suburban Chicago teen told hes indicted on 3 murder charges View Photo

JOLIET, Ill. (AP)  A suburban Chicago teen accused of fatally shooting his 17-year-old girlfriend, a 9-year-old girl and the childs father was told Thursday a grand jury has indicted him on three charges of first-degree murder.

Byrion Montgomery, 17, of Bolingbrook, went before a Will County judge and was informed that the grand jury indicted him in the March 5 slayings of 40-year-old Cartez Daniels, 17-year-old Samiya A. Shelton-Tilman and Sanai Daniels, 9.

Judge Dave Carlson told Montgomery, who is currently being held at the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center in Joliet, that he will be transferred to the Will County Jail after he turns 18 on April 27, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported.

Carlson also granted an order to have Montgomery submit to DNA testing.

The 13-count indictment contained the same adult charges that were filed against Montgomery on March 6. They include multiple counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, home invasion, aggravated battery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Montgomery has pleaded not guilty. He is being held in lieu of bail set at $20 million.

The attempted murder charge stems from the shooting of Tania Stewart, 34, the fiancee of Cartez Daniels and mother of Shelton-Tilman and Daniels. Stewart survived.

The shootings took place in Bolingbrook, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Chicago.

Police have said Shelton-Tillman and Montgomery dated.
Missing Massachusetts womans husband indicted for murder View Photo

COHASSET, Mass. (AP)  A Massachusetts man has been indicted in the death of his wife who has not been seen since Jan. 1, a top prosecutor said Thursday.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrisey said Brian Walshe, 47, has been charged with first-degree murder as well as misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body. A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Walshe is accused of murdering his wife, dismembering her and disposing of her body.

Ana Walshe, a mother of three who is originally from Serbia, was reportedly last seen leaving the familys home in Cohasset, south of Boston, in the early morning hours of Jan. 1. She was on her way to the airport for a flight to Washington, where she worked for a real estate company, authorities said. Her employer reported her missing Jan. 4.

Starting Jan. 1 and for several days after, Brian Walshe made multiple online searches using an iPad belonging to one of his sons using terms such as dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body, how long before a body starts to smell and hacksaw best tool to dismember, prosecutors said.

Investigators also found Jan. 3 surveillance video of man resembling Brian Walshe throwing what appeared to be heavy trash bags into a dumpster at an apartment complex in Abington, not far from Cohasset.

During a Jan. 8 search of a trash processing facility north of Boston and not far from Brian Walshes mothers home, investigators found trash bags that contained a hatchet, hacksaw, towels and a protective Tyvek suit, cleaning agents, a Prada purse, boots like the ones Ana Walshe was last seen wearing and a COVID-19 vaccination card with her name.

Walshe was charged with murder in January and pleaded not guilty. The indictment moves the case to Norfolk Superior Court, and he will be arraigned in the coming weeks, Morrisey said. Walshe remains in jail. He and his wifes three young children are now in state custody.
Trumps indictment in New York: Heres what to know

Trumps indictment in New York: Heres what to know View Photo

NEW YORK (AP)  Donald Trump has become the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal.

The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign catapults the now-candidate Trump into a new era of legal risk and complicates his attempts to return to the White House.

Heres what to know about the indictment and the case :

THE FORMER PRESIDENT COULD HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD

Trump now faces threats to his freedom after decades of legal investigations that have never resulted in serious consequences.

The Manhattan district attorneys office said Thursday that prosecutors had reached out to Trumps lawyers to arrange for him to surrender, which could happen early next week. Trump is expected to appear at the prosecutors office to be processed and fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken. He is also expected to appear in court, when a judge would list the charges and Trump would enter a plea.

He will have to contend with a criminal case while running again for the White House, taking time and attention away from the campaign trail  though neither the case nor a conviction would preclude him from seeking or winning the presidency in 2024.

The indictment comes as he is facing several other investigations that could lead to legal problems for the former president. Those pending cases, along with a civil trial thats scheduled to start in New York next month over a columnists claims that Trump raped her in the 1990s, add to an ever-growing cloud of scandals surrounding him.

CASE STEMS FROM HUSH MONEY PAID TO WOMEN

The grand jury in Manhattan had been probing hush money payments at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, one of the witnesses who testified, says he orchestrated payments totaling $280,000 to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors said the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trumps campaign. But they declined to file charges against Trump himself.

The Manhattan district attorneys office appeared to be investigating whether anyone committed crimes in arranging the payments, or in the way they accounted for them internally at the Trump Organization. But the specific charges remained under seal late Thursday.

TRUMP MAINTAINS HIS INNOCENCE

Trump, who denies the sexual encounters, called the indictment political persecution and an attempt to interfere in his presidential campaign.

Calling himself a completely innocent person, he cast the indictment as the latest in a line of actions that he says are designed to destroy his Make America Great Again movement, including his two presidential impeachments and the FBI search of his home that turned up classified documents.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, he said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Trump said his arrest was imminent and called on his supporters to protest. Last week, he warned about potential death and destruction if he were charged. His words evoked his comments ahead of the violent Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump did not repeat his call to protest Thursday, but police forces around the country are on guard for potential unrest.

OTHER INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE

Beyond the Manhattan case, Trump is facing an array of other investigations.

On the federal level, the Justice Department is investigating the retention of top-secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The efforts by many of the same players in the latter case were also the subject of a special grand jury investigation in Georgia. The panels foreperson said the special grand jury recommended multiple criminal indictments, leaving it up to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, to decide whether to convene a regular grand jury and pursue criminal charges.

With many serious cases looming around the other investigations, some legal experts have questioned the wisdom of the Manhattan case becoming the first to result in charges.

TRUMPS RIVALS CONDEMN INDICTMENT

Trump has said the charges would actually help him in the 2024 presidential race and has tried to use the case to galvanize support. Last weekend, at the first rally of the campaign, he cast the Manhattan investigation and the other probes as the latest in a long line of political attacks against him. His campaign handed out signs that said Witch Hunt as Trump told his supporters that the legal challenges were also an attack on his followers and his political movement.

Some Republican and independent voters could see the case, at the very least, as another example of problematic baggage that has followed Trump for years and has been a distraction. The news was expected to only fortify existing Democratic opposition to Trump.

Republicans who are running against Trump or who are considering their own campaigns were quick to rally to criticize the case and attack Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, even if they didnt address the underlying allegations against Trump.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce a campaign and is seen as Trumps top rival for the GOP nomination, called the indictment un-American. Former Vice President Mike Pence, also considering a challenge to Trump in 2024, called the indictment an outrage.

GOP LAWMAKERS TARGET PROSECUTOR

Republicans framed the arrest as a political prosecution by a rogue Democratic district attorney who they said was weaponizing the criminal justice system.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the House will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

Some of Trumps fiercest supporters came to his defense. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, two names floated as potential Trump running mates, said hes innocent.

BIDEN, DEMOCRATS HAVE LITTLE TO SAY

Democrats were less vocal in the hours after the indictment became known, but some of the former presidents critics have framed the case as a long-overdue dose of accountability.

President Joe Biden, who is expected to announce hes running for reelection next year, has not commented on the indictment.

The Democratic National Committee did not comment on the specifics of the case but sought to yoke the entire GOP to Trump.

No matter what happens in Trumps upcoming legal proceedings, its obvious the Republican Party remains firmly in the hold of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, DNC National Press Secretary Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not immediately comment, though some lesser-known House members welcomed the news.

I continue to believe that every American elected official and leader should be held fully accountable for their actions and crimes, said Rep. Harley Rouda of California.

Finally, today, Donald Trumps chickens have come home to roost, said Rep. Raul Grijalva, who represents a safe district in Arizona. But his fellow Arizonan, Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for the Senate, was more measured: We should wait to hear from the grand jury before jumping to conclusions.

___

Cooper reported from Phoenix.

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and JONATHAN J. COOPER

Associated Press
Among 160 years of presidential scandals, Trump stands alone View Photo

Though far from the only U.S. president dogged by legal and ethical scandals, Donald Trump now occupies a unique place in history as the first indicted on criminal charges.

Two others, like Trump, found themselves impeached by Congress  Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with a White House intern, and Andrew Johnson for pushing the limits of his executive authority in a bitter power struggle following the Civil War.

Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over his role in the infamous Watergate break-in. And Ronald Reagan and Ulysses S. Grant both became forever tied to scandals in which close aides got prosecuted, though neither president was ever charged.

Heres a look at how Trumps predecessors fared:

BILL CLINTON

Clinton spent more than half his presidency under scrutiny in investigations that ranged from failed real estate deals to the Democratic presidents affair with a White House intern.

Investigators took a lengthy look into Bill and Hillary Clintons investments in the troubled Whitewater real estate venture. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, appointed to oversee the investigation in 1994, turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the Clintons. But two of their close associates, Jim and Susan McDougal, ended up convicted of Whitewater-related charges. So did Jim Guy Tucker, Clintons successor as governor of Arkansas.

Starrs 1998 report packed with lurid details of Clintons affair with intern Monica Lewinsky proved far more damaging. While being questioned in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones, Clinton had denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky.

Starr concluded that Clinton had lied under oath and obstructed justice. That led to the House voting to impeach Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998. He was acquitted by the Senate, allowing him to remain in office until his term ended in January 2001.

RONALD REAGAN

Reagan never faced impeachment or court charges for the biggest scandal of his presidency. But the arms-for-hostages scheme that became known as the Iran-Contra affair dogged him long after he left the White House.

In 1986, during Reagans second term, the public learned that his administration had authorized secret arms sales to Iran while seeking Iranian aid in freeing American hostages held in Lebanon. As much as $30 million from the arms sales was diverted, in violation of U.S. law, to aid rebels fighting the leftist government of Nicaragua.

Reagans national security adviser, John Poindexter, resigned and an aide, Lt. Col. Oliver North, was fired. Both were also convicted of crimes stemming from efforts to deceive and obstruct Congress. Their convictions were later overturned. President George H.W. Bush, Reagans successor, pardoned six others involved.

Reagan insisted money from the arms sales was funneled to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels without his knowledge.

RICHARD NIXON

Nixon resigned from office in August 1974 rather than face impeachment for his administrations cover-up of its involvement in a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington.

The bungled burglary at the Watergate office building resulted in the indictment of seven men, including two former White House aides. Five of the Watergate defendants pleaded guilty; two were convicted in criminal trials.

Intrigue over the 1972 Watergate break-in didnt stop Nixon from cruising to reelection a few months later. He endured the storm until the House Judiciary Committee in 1974 approved three articles of impeachment accusing him of obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress.

Before the full House could vote, a bombshell tape recording was released in which Nixon could be heard approving a plan to pressure the FBI to drop its Watergate investigation. Nixon resigned after losing support from key congressional Republicans.

His vice president, Gerald Ford, became president and pardoned Nixon a month later.

ULYSSES S. GRANT

While never personally charged with crimes or formally accused of wrongdoing, Grant as president torpedoed a corruption case prosecuted by his own administration. The man on trial was Grants personal secretary in the White House.

In 1875, an investigation launched by Treasury Secretary Benjamin H. Bristow resulted in hundreds of arrests in a scheme known as the Whiskey Ring, in which distillers, revenue agents and fellow conspirators diverted millions of dollars in liquor taxes to themselves.

The Civil War general-turned-president found himself at odds with the crackdown when Gen. Orville E. Babcock ended up charged as a conspirator. Not only was Babcock the presidents personal secretary, but he and Grant had also been friends since the war.

Prosecutors said they had uncovered telegrams Babcock sent to ringleaders to assist their scheme. Regardless, Grant insisted on testifying in his aides defense.

To avoid the spectacle of the president appearing at Babcocks trial, attorneys questioned Grant under oath at the White House on Feb. 12, 1876. A transcript of his testimony was later read in court in St. Louis. The jury acquitted Babcock, a decision largely credited to Grants unwavering defense.

ANDREW JOHNSON

The first American president to have his legacy tarnished by impeachment, Andrew Johnsons woes arose from his intense feuding with Congress over Reconstruction following the Civil War.

The Tennessee Democrat had been elected vice president in 1864 as part of a unity ticket with Abraham Lincoln, and Johnson assumed the presidency after Lincolns 1865 assassination. From the White House, Johnson called for pardoning Confederate leaders and opposed extending voting rights to freed Blacks, infuriating congressional Republicans.

It was Johnsons firing of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a Lincoln appointee who favored tougher policies toward the defeated South, that prompted the House to pass articles of impeachment that accused the president of ousting and replacing Stanton illegally.

Johnsons impeachment trial began in the Senate on March 5, 1868. It ended more than two months later, with senators just one vote short of removing Johnson from office. He served the remainder of his final year, but fellow Democrats denied him their nomination to run again.

By RUSS BYNUM

Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration said Friday that the U.S. will open an embassy in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in its latest move to blunt Chinas increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific.

The new embassy in Port Vila will be the fifth diplomatic mission that the U.S. has either opened or announced that it will build in the region over the past three years as it seeks to confront what it sees as a threat or challenge from China.

Consistent with the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, a permanent diplomatic presence in Vanuatu would allow the U.S. government to deepen relationships with Vanuatu officials and society, the State Department said in a statement.

Establishing U.S. Embassy Port Vila would facilitate areas of potential bilateral cooperation and development assistance, including efforts to tackle the climate crisis, it said.

A low-lying island nation of some 300,000 people, Vanuatu last year declared a climate emergency as it faces moving dozens of villages to higher ground. Vanuatu, as one of the countries most immediately threatened, also is among the most outspoken and active islands in demanding greater effort by other countries to cut climate-wrecking pollution from burning coal, oil and natural gas.

This week, Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakaus government spearheaded passage of a U.N. resolution demanding that the U.N.s high court strengthen requirements on countries to slow the climates warming and deal with the impact.

That announcement follows a high-level visit to Vanuatu and other Pacific islands led by the White Houses top Asia-Pacific coordinator, Kurt Campbell. The U.S. is currently represented in Vanuatu by the American ambassador in New Guinea.

The U.S. recently opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands and will soon open one in the Maldives. Other embassies to be opened include in Tonga and Kiribati.

The administration has also moved to shore up existing close ties with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau by extending agreements with those Pacific nations that give them billions of dollars in aid in return for military and other basing rights.

By MATTHEW LEE

AP Diplomatic Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)  The office manager for a Northern California police union allegedly imported illegal synthetic opioids from India and other countries and at least once used her work computer and address and the unions UPS account to ship the drugs within the country, federal prosecutors said.

Joanne Marian Segovia, executive director of the San Jose Police Officers Association, was charged with attempting to unlawfully import valeryl fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, federal prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.

Starting in 2015, Segovia had at least 61 drug shipments mailed to her San Jose home from India, Hong Kong, Hungary and Singapore with manifests that listed their contents as wedding party favors, gift makeup, chocolate and sweets and food supplement, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.

It was not immediately known if Segovia, 64, has an attorney who can speak on her behalf.

Tom Saggau, a spokesperson for the police union in San Jose, said Segovia, a civilian, has worked for the union since 2003, planning funerals for officers who die in the line of duty, being the liaison between the department and the officers families and organizing office festivities and fundraisers.

He said that federal officials informed the union last Friday that Segovia was under investigation and that no one else at the union was involved or knew about Segovias alleged acts.

The revelation shocked her colleagues, Saggau said.

We didnt have any reason to suspect her, he said, adding that the unions board of directors has pledged to fully support the federal investigation.

Federal prosecutors said that in 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted a parcel being sent to her home address that contained $5,000 worth of Tramadol, a synthetic opioid, and sent her a letter telling her they were seizing the pills. The next year, the CBP again intercepted a shipment of Tramadol valued at $700 and sent her a seizure letter, court records showed.

But federal officials didnt start investigating Segovia until last year when investigators found her name and home address on the cellphone of a suspected drug dealer who is part of a network that ships controlled substances made in India to the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the complaint. That drug trafficking network has distributed hundreds of thousands of pills in 48 states, federal prosecutors said.

Segovia used WhatsApp messaging service and her personal and office computers to order thousands of opioid tablets and other pills to her home and agreed to distribute the drugs elsewhere in the United States, prosecutors said.

On at least one occasion in 2021, Segovia shipped the illicit drugs to a North Carolina address by using the police unions UPS account, prosecutors said. That address is linked to at least five illicit drug seizures, they said.

Investigators found hundreds of photographs in a WhatsApp chat on Segovais cellphone, including an image of the UPS shipping slip and another one of a computer screen showing a PayPal payment to an Indian name and Segovias police union business cards under it.

Based on my training and experience, I know that shippers of controlled substances often send receipts and tracking numbers as proof that they in fact sent a package. I believe that the receipt provided by SEGOVIA was offered by her as proof that she sent a package to the North Carolina addressee, David Vargas, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigation, wrote in the affidavit.

According to the complaint, Segovia continued to order controlled substances even after being interviewed by federal investigators in February. On March 13, federal agents seized a parcel in Kentucky, containing valeryl fentanyl, addressed to Segovia. The package allegedly originated from China three days earlier and declared its contents as a clock, prosecutors said.
SAULSALITO, Calif. (AP)  Under intense scrutiny from Washington that could lead to a potential ban, the top attorney for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance defended the social media platforms plan to safeguard U.S. user data from China.

The basic approach that were following is to make it physically impossible for any government, including the Chinese government, to get access to U.S. user data," said general counsel Erich Andersen during a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press at a cybersecurity conference in Sausalito, California, on Friday sponsored by the Hewlett Foundation and Aspen Digital and featuring top government officials, tech executives and journalists.

ByteDance will continue to develop its new app called Lemon8, Andersen said.

Were obviously going to do our best with the Lemon8 app to comply with U.S. law and to make sure we do the right thing here," Andersen said, referring to the new social app developed by ByteDance that resembles Instagram and Pinterest. But I think we got a long way to go with that application  it's pretty much a startup phase.

ByteDances most known app, TikTok, is under intense scrutiny over concerns it could hand over user data to the Chinese government or push pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation on its behalf. Lemon8 was introduced across app stores in Japan in April 2020 and has been rolled out in more countries since then. It's available for download in the U.S. and could face similar scrutiny to TikTok.

Leaders at the FBI, CIA and officials at other government agencies have warned that ByteDance could be forced to give user data  such as browsing history, IP addresses and biometric identifiers  to Beijing under a 2017 law that compels companies to cooperate with the government for matters involving Chinas national security. Another Chinese law, implemented in 2014, has similar mandates.

To assuage concerns from U.S. officials, TikTok has been emphasizing a $1.5 billion proposal, called Project Texas, to store all U.S. user data on servers owned and maintained by the software giant Oracle. Under the plan, access to U.S. data would be managed by U.S. employees through a separate entity called TikTok U.S. Data Security, which is run independently of ByteDance and monitored by outside observers.

Some lawmakers have said thats not enough. But despite skepticism about the project, TikTok says it is moving forward anyway.

Were investing in a system where people dont have to believe the Chinese government and they dont have to believe us, Andersen said.

He also wondered if the skepticism was being driven by something else.

Where are we falling short here? he said. At some point you get beyond the cybersecurity risk assessment, etcetera, and you get to We dont like your nationality.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has said the company started deleting all historic U.S. user data from non-Oracle servers this month and expects that process to be completed this year. During a congressional hearing held last week, Chew said migrating the data to Oracle will keep it out of Chinas hands, but also acknowledged China-based employees may still have access to it before the process wraps up.

TikTok maintains it has never been requested to turn over any kind of data and wont do so if asked. But whether those promises, or Project Texas, will allow it to stay operating in the U.S. remains to be seen.

The U.S., as well as Britain, the European Union and others, have banned TikTok on government devices. And the Biden administration is reportedly threatening a U.S. ban on the app unless its Chinese owners divest their stakes in the company.

On Friday, Andersen said a ban would be "basically giving up".

Banning a platform like TikTok is a defeat, its a statement that we arent creative enough to find another way, he said.

China has said it would oppose a possible sale, a declaration that makes it more difficult for TikTok to position itself and ByteDance as a global enterprise instead of a Chinese company. In 2020, the country had also come out in fierce opposition to executive orders by then President Donald Trump that sought to ban TikTok and the messaging app WeChat.

"They were clear about their point of view back in 2020 timeframe when we faced an existential challenge from executive orders under the Trump administration, Andersen said.

Courts blocked Trumps efforts, and President Joe Biden rescinded Trumps orders after taking office. The company has since been in talks about privacy concerns with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a multi-agency panel that sits under the Treasury department.

Meanwhile, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been pushing bills that would effectively ban TikTok or give the administration more authority to do so. One bill by U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley was blocked this week by Sen. Rand Paul, the only Republican who has come out in opposition to a TikTok ban. A small number of progressive lawmakers have also said they would oppose a ban, and argued the U.S. should implement a national privacy law to curtail the problem.

Andersen said Friday TikTok would support broad-based privacy legislation.

"Our view is that we would really welcome broad-based legislation that applies broadly and evenly, he said. What we dont like, frankly, is legislation that is sort of targeted at one company.

TikTok could also be banned through another bill, called the RESTRICT Act, that has garnered broad bipartisan support in the Senate and backing from the White House. The legislation does not call out TikTok but would give the Commerce Department power to review and potentially restrict foreign threats to technology platforms.

___

This story has been updated to change Hewlett-Packard Foundation to Hewlett Foundation.
April 1 is celebrated as April Fools Day worldwide, but many may wonder how it came to be or what happened to create a day filled with pranks and jokes.

While many legends surface on the origin of the fool's day, the Farmers' Almanac states, "No one knows for certain what the origin of the day is. However, it's been celebrated in many cultures for hundreds or even thousands of years."

While there may not be a concrete explanation describing the origins of April Fools Day, multiple theories give clues on how or when it started.

According to legend, some suggest it started in France in 1564. Before 1564, April 1 was celebrated as New Year's Day. Those who insisted on celebrating the "old" New Years became known as April fools, and it became common to play jokes on one another, according to the Farmers' Almanac.

Other evidence indicated that April Fools' Day existed, in some form or other, long before 1564 in France when English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is noted to reference April Fools Day in his Canterbury Tales, when the characters of a rooster and a fox each trick one another, according to the Farmers' Almanac. This reference would have been in the late 1300s. Chaucer notes that the date of the events described is March 32, also known as April 1.

Traveling further in time is another theory of the origin of April Fools Day that dates back to the Roman Empire with the reign of Emperor Constantine. This theory suggests a group of fools or jesters convinced Constantine to make one of them "king for a day." Constantine agreed, and one of the jesters, named "Kugel," was appointed, and the day was filled with jolly jokes and came to be called April Fools' Day, according to the Library of Congress.

While the Library of Congress suggests the story of the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Constantine, could have been the original origin of April Fools Day.

Well, April Fools.

"The story was actually a hoax," the Library of Congress said.

The story itself was an April Fools Day prank, pulled by Boston University professor Joseph Boskin on Associated Press reporter Fred Bayles in 1983. Bayles reported the story, and the AP ran it, only to retract it some days later.

It's safe to say the traditions of April Fools Day have stood the test of time through generations and generations of tricks and pranks that make the first day of April celebrated with a rich history.
March 16

A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported on March 16 at the 800 block of the east frontage road of N. I-27.

A theft was reported on March 16 at the 4000 block of Olton Road.

A burglary of a vehicle was reported on March 16 at the 500 block of W. 21st St.

A crash was reported on March 16 at the 1500 block of N. I-27. Vehicle damage was reported.

Plainview police arrested a 25-year-old man at the 1500 block of Galveston on March 16. He was charged with possession/delivery of drug paraphernalia. He was also charged with an active warrant.

An assault was reported at the 300 block of Ennis St. on March 16.

March 17

Police investigated a callout to a theft at the 1600 block of W. 24th St. on March 17. The arrestee was charged with two active warrants for displaying an expired license plate and failure to appear/bail jumping.

An assault was reported on March 17 at the 200 block of Juanita St.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on March 17 at the 3100 block of W. 7th St. during a traffic stop. The individual had two active warrants  one for failure to maintain financial responsibility and one for failure to appear.

Police were called to the 400 block of Mesa Circle in reference to forgery. Theft of parts from a vehicle was reported.

A 20-year-old man was arrested on March 17 at the 400 block of W. 17th St. during a traffic stop. The individual was found to have multiple active warrants out of Plainview including three for driving with no license, one for failure to maintain financial responsibility, three for failure to appear and one for speeding. He also had an active warrant for criminal mischief out of Ellis County.

A crash was reported on March 17 at the intersection of W. 24th and N. Columbia. Vehicle damage was reported.

March 18

A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported on March 18 at the 900 block of S. Austin St.

Another crash was reported at the 600 block of Denver St. on March 18. Vehicle damage was reported in that crash as well.

Purse snatching was reported on March 18 at the 1700 block of W. 5th St.

Criminal mischief was reported on March 18 at the 900 block of N. Broadway. Damaged property was reported.

Fraud was reported at the 200 block of Juanita St. on March 18. Illegal use of credit cards was noted.

March 19

Two men were arrested on March 19 at the 1500 block of W. 5th St. during a traffic stop. A 24-year-old man was charged with public intoxication and a 29-year-old man was charged with driving while intoxicated.

Police arrested 30-year-old Devin Abel Martinez on March 19 at the 500 block of N. Date St. Martinez was charged with resisting arrest, search or transportation and with manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, which is a felony.

An aggravated assault with a weapon was reported at the 1000 block of Nassau St. on March 19.

Criminal mischief was reported at the 700 block of W. 13th St. Damaged windows were reported at the residence.

Theft was reported at the 1500 block of W. 5th St. on March 19. A 67-year-old man was arrested and charged with theft of property valued to less than $100 with a previous conviction.

Police arrested a 56-year-old man on March 19 at the 2400 block of E. 5th St. during a traffic stop. The stop was initiated for speeding. The arrestee was found to have two active warrants. Those charges were for speeding as well.

A theft was reported on March 19 at the 600 block of W. 22nd St. The victim noted a stolen vehicle.

A burglary was reported on March 19 at the 1600 block of N. Date St.

Criminal mischief was reported on March 19 at the 1200 block of Lexington St. A privacy violation was noted. According to the incident report, a phone was found in the backyard of a residence. The phones owner did not live there.

March 20

Fraud was reported at the 1200 block of Houston St. Police were dispatched to the location to help a citizen file a credit card abuse report on March 20.

Theft from a vehicle was reported at the 800 block of W. 8th St. on March 20.

Police arrested a 17-year-old man at the 1800 block of W. 11th St. on March 20 during a traffic stop. The individual was found to have five active warrants including the following charges: one for speeding, two for driving with no license, one for violating a promise to appear, one fore failure to appear/bail jumping, one for minor in possession of tobacco and one for failure to appear.

A 17-year-old woman was arrested on March 20 at the 200 block of E. 5th St. during a traffic stop. Chelzy Rivera was found to have an active felony warrant out of Kansas for criminal damage to property.

A 42-year-old man was arrested on March 20 at the 1700 block of W. 16th St. for active warrants including one for failure to maintain financial responsibility.

March 21

A theft was reported on March 21 at the 1100 block of W. 28th St. Theft of a citizenship certificate was noted.

Police arrested 45-year-old John Emmanuel Perez on March 21 at the 1100 block of W. 13th St. Officers were called to the location in reference to an assault. Perez was charged with injury to an elderly individual, which is a felony.

A 42-year-old man was arrested on March 21 at the 3300 block of Quincy St. Officers were called out in reference to an assault. The man was charged with assault causing bodily injury and resisting arrest, search or transportation. He was also found to have multiple active warrants for speeding (going 50 in a 20 mph zone), disregarding a police officer and driving with an expired license plate.

Fraud was reported on March 21 at the 400 block of W. 6th St.

A traffic stop at Sonic resulted in the arrest of a 41-year-old man on March 21 at the 4000 block of Olton Road. The driver was found to have an active warrant for assault causing bodily injury.

March 22

Criminal mischief was reported on March 22 at the 700 block of W. 13th St. Damaged property was reported.

A sexual offense was reported on March 22.

A theft was reported on March 22 at the 1300 block of Kokomo.

A theft was reported at the 2400 block of Dimmitt Road on March 22.

A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported on March 22 at the 2100 block of W. 24th St.

A sexual offense was reported on March 22.

March 23

Officers were called to the 1300 block of W. 32nd St. on March 23 in reference to a disturbance. An assault was noted at the location.

A 25-year-old woman was arrested during a callout to a disturbance at the 2400 block of Dimmitt Road. The individual was found to have an active arrant for assault causing bodily injury.

Police arrested 44-year-old Gabriel Gausin Martinez on March 23 at the 1200 block of W. 17th St. Martinez was known to have an active felony warrant for aggravated robbery.

March 24

Police arrested a 38-year-old woman on March 24 at the 2800 block of Houston. Officers were called to the location in reference to a disturbance. The individual was arrested for public intoxication.

Criminal mischief was reported on March 24 at the 600 block of N. Columbia. Damaged property as noted.

Fraud was reported at the 3200 block of Aylesworth on March 24.

A 22-year-old man was arrested during a traffic stop at the 1500 block of N. I-27. The individual was charged with driving without a valid license with previous conviction/suspension without financial resolution.

A sexual assault was reported on March 24.

A crash was reported on March 24 at the 1100 block of Smythe St. Vehicle damage was reported.

March 25

A crash hit-and-run crash was reported on March 25 at the 800 block of N. I-27. Damage to a vehicle was noted.

Police were called out to the 2400 block of Dimmitt Road on March 25 in reference to a suspicious person.

A 17-year-old man was arrested on March 25 at the 2100 block of W. 9th St. Officers were called to the location in reference to an assault. He was charged with assault causing bodily injury.

Police responded to the 100 block of N. Broadway on March 25 in reference to a fight.

March 26

A violation of a court order was reported on March 26 at the 100 block of W. 9th St.

Harassment was reported on March 26 at the 900 block of W. 28th St. An individual repeatedly called 911 when there was no emergency.

A sexual offense was reported on March 26.

A theft was reported at the 1100 block of W. 11th St. The reporting party noted a stolen garage door opener and two stolen house keys that fell out of a vehicle.

Phillip Luna, Jr., 35, was arrested on March 26 at the 1000 block of Yonkers for an active felony warrant out of Floyd County. The warrant was for burglary of a habitation. He was also charged with failure to identify a fugitive with intent to give false information.
(Editors note: This project is a collaboration between the Plainview Herald and Saint Francis Ministries to showcase kids who are cleared for adoption.)

Alexis is smart, creative, and has a personality that will bring a smile to your face. She enjoys using her creative side to draw and sometimes write.

Her quick wit and loud voice are what make her shine above everyone else.

The 16-year-old enjoys relaxing with a drawing pad/map colors, Swedish fish, and Netflix playing in the background. She can get lost for hours in her art unless you tell her that youre going to eat some sushi!

Alexis would do best in a two-parent home where she can have parents who can communicate with her openly. She would also thrive in a home where there are firm boundaries well as a routine that she can adapt to.

Alexis hopes to one day have a mother who she can go to when things get tough and will listen to her, without fear of ridicule and rejection.

Finally, Alexis dreams of one day being able to create memories during the holidays with a family that she can call her own.

---

Alexis is among the children listed on the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE) website. Visit https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Application/TARE/Home.aspx/Default for more details.

Saint Francis Ministries is a nonprofit organization and a community-based care provider for the Texas Department of Family Protective Services Region 1. This region includes 41 counties across the Panhandle and South Plains.

To learn more about fostering or adopting, those interested are encouraged to attend one of the monthly virtual meetings hosted by Saint Francis Ministries and other child placing agencies. The meetings provide information about how to get started, the basic qualifications and more, in addition to providing opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

Those interested can visit Saint Francis Texas on Facebook @SFMtexas to register for the online meetings, which can also be found below:

The meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month (Lubbock area  https://lubbock-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com) and the third Thursday of the month (Amarillo area  https://amarillo-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com).

For more information, please contact Erin Baxter at (806) 317-5631 or email texasinfo@st-francis.org. Visit Saint Francis Ministries online at https://saintfrancisministries.org.
BRUSSELS (AP)  Finland is set to join NATO on Tuesday, days after Turkey ratified the Nordic countrys membership and set it on track to become the 31st member of the world's biggest military alliance.

All NATO members must vote unanimously to admit a new country into the alliance.

This is an historic week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels Monday, on the eve of a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers. The move, he said, will make Finland safer and our alliance stronger.

The addition of Finland, which shares a 1,340 kilometer (832 mile) border with Russia, will more than double the size of NATOs border with Russia.

Only a few technical steps procedures remain before Finland can join NATO's ranks:

ACCEPTANCE LETTERS

Turkey will on Tuesday hand its acceptance letter for Finland's accession to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The United States is the depositary, or safekeeper, of NATO under the alliances 1949 founding treaty.

SIGNATURES

Stoltenberg will then invite Finland to present Blinken with its own acceptance document, signed by Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto authorized Haavisto to sign the document.

FULL MEMBERSHIP

Once Finlands membership acceptance document is handed over, the country will officially become a NATO member. A flag raising ceremony will be held at 1330 GMT (1530 CET) in Brussels on Tuesday.

FINLAND-SWEDEN

Finland and neighboring Sweden jointly applied for NATO membership in May 2022. The countries, which have close cultural, economic and political ties, planned to enter the alliance simultaneously.

Swedens bid, however, has stalled due to opposition from Turkey, whose president has said his country won't ratify membership before its disputes with Stockholm are resolved. The Turkish government has accused Sweden of being too soft on groups that it deems to be terror organizations.

Hungarys parliament also has yet to ratify Swedens accession to NATO, and it remains unclear when it will do so. Stoltenberg said Monday that he hopes Sweden will join in coming months, before U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts meet in Lithuania in July.
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)  More than 60 self-exiled members of a Chinese Christian church who were detained in Thailand paid fines for overstaying their visas but remained in police custody Saturday uncertain about their legal status amid fears they would be deported against their will to their home country, where they face possible persecution.

The 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church were taken to court Friday in the resort city of Pattaya after being detained a day earlier by Thai immigration authorities. The 32 members of the group considered to be adults were charged with overstaying their visas, said Col. Tawee Kutthalaeng, chief of the Pattaya-area Nong Prue police station. Two American citizens who were with the group and briefly held had not been placed under arrest, he said.

After being fined, the church members had expected to be released to be able to return to where they had been staying in the area, said Deana Brown, one of two American supporters who accompanied them. Brown said she has been working to resettle the church members in Tyler, Texas, where her organization is based.

However, they were put on two buses which first took them to the Pattaya office of the immigration police and then drove them to Bangkok for what a police officer told The Associated Press was normal processing of their case.

The drive under police escort from Pattaya to Bangkok, which would normally take about two hours, instead took closer to five because the passengers forced the buses to stop en route and disembarked by the roadside, saying they feared they were being driven to Bangkok's international airport to be repatriated.

There were grounds for their skepticism. In 2015, Thailand sent 109 members of the Muslim Uyghur minority back to China against their will despite fears they would face official persecution and possible torture. The U.N. refugee agency at the time called Thailands action a flagrant violation of international law, and the United States also condemned the deportations.

Only after receiving reassurances by phone did the Chinese church members continue their journey, arriving early Saturday morning at a police facility known as the Police Club in northern Bangkok that has space for large numbers of detainees. The main Immigration Detention Center in the middle of Bangkok, where some detainees have been stuck for years, is notoriously overcrowded.

Members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also called the Mayflower Church, came to Thailand in 2022 seeking asylum. They are trying to get to the U.S., but the current status of their applications is not clear. Most members of the church are young, married, middle-class couples, with their children making up about half the group.

They fled China in 2019 alleging that they were being persecuted by government security forces, initially settling on South Koreas Jeju Island. They left South Korea for Thailand after meetings with local and U.S. officials made it clear that prospects for refuge there were dim.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement Saturday appealing to the Thai government not to repatriate the group.

Thai authorities need to recognize the grave dangers facing Christians back in China and under no circumstances force them to return, said Elaine Pearson, the New York-based organization's Asia director.

"If Thailand determines that the 63 Christian Chinese cannot stay, then they should be permitted to seek protection in another country, Pearson said. Rights-respecting governments should urgently step up to express their willingness to receive these asylum seekers at risk.

Brown, CEO of the Texas-based Freedom Seekers International, an organization whose mission statement says it seeks to rescue the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries, said that when the group looked into renewing their visas, they were told of a new requirement that any Chinese citizen renewing a visa in Thailand must report to the Chinese Embassy first. Their visas expired several months ago.

When they told us that, we knew that nobody could get their visas, Brown said. There was no way, because as soon as they walk into the Chinese Embassy theyre gone, we would not see them again. Theyve been hiding out since then.

The press section at the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok did not answer its telephone and the embassy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The U.S. Embassy said it had no immediate comment on the case.

Upon their 2022 arrival in Thailand, church members told reporters that they had been stalked, harassed and received threatening calls and messages even while they were in South Korea. They said relatives in China had been summoned, interrogated and intimidated.

At that time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the matter was not a diplomatic question and declined to comment further.

In China, Christians are legally allowed to worship only in churches affiliated with Communist Party-controlled religious groups, but for decades the authorities largely tolerated independent, unregistered house churches. They have tens of millions of worshippers, possibly outnumbering those in the official groups.

In recent years, however, house churches have come under heavy pressure, with many prominent ones shut down. Unlike previous crackdowns, such as Beijings ban on Falun Gong, a spiritual movement it labels a cult, the authorities have also targeted some believers not explicitly opposed to the Chinese state.

China is one of 15 nations that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in its annual report last year recommended be designated as countries of particular concern for repression of religious groups.

It said the ruling Chinese Communist Partys policies require religious groups to support its rule and its political objectives, including by altering their religious teachings to conform to the partys ideology and policy. Both registered and unregistered religious groups and individuals who run afoul of the CCP face harassment, detention, arrest, imprisonment, and other abuses, the commission said.

___

Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press journalist Dake Kang in Boao, China, contributed to this report.
MERIDEN  Today, Thompson Chocolate has 72 employees working to produce about two million pounds of chocolate annually. Of those employees, 53 are Latino, making up most of the workers behind creating the brands signature chocolate products sold at the 80 South Vine St. factory store and around the country.

Sonia Ronan, 55, has worked at Thompson Chocolate for 18 years. Ronan is Puerto Rican and has lived in Meriden for 38 years with her husband, raising her seven children and nine grandchildren. Her youngest child is 26, and her oldest is 38.

Its a blessing for me to work at Thompson and put in the work so people can try good chocolate, Ronan said.

Ronan operates a few of the machines in the factory, creating and wrapping the chocolate creations the company has sold for over 140 years. She started working in the office in operations at Thompson Chocolate in 2005 but soon moved on to working in the shipping department in the factory.

After working six years in shipping, Ronan continued to work on the machines that aid in creating the companys products, like chocolate eggs and coins wrapped in foil. She also spent some time working at the Thompson Chocolate store.

The teams when youre working are so nice, Ronan said. Working about 10 hours a day is sometimes hard, but it gives me an opportunity to work, and I like it because youre working for people to try the chocolate and you do the best that you can for this item to look good, to taste good and to be safe because people love the chocolate here. I hear it all the time for generations. Thompson is here for a lot of years, and when Im here I feel like its a blessing. I also know that this company has helped a lot of people for many, many years.

Over the years, Ronan has developed close relationships with her coworkers like Keila Ojeda, 45, who also works the machinery at the factory.

One thing that I like about working at the company is that its like a family, Ronan said.

Like Ronan, Ojeda is Puerto Rican and has worked at Thompson Chocolate for 20 years. She has lived in Meriden for 16 years and has five children and three grandchildren. Her youngest is 18 years old, and her oldest is 31.

I like making chocolate for people at Thompson, and I feel very happy because it has been 16 years working with good people and camaraderie, Ojeda said.

Ojeda agrees with Ronan that working at Thompson is like working with people they consider to be family.

I love the job because its all family, Ojeda said. Working about eight hours a day, five days a week, being around family is always good.

After their shifts, Ronan and Ojeda like to spend their time away from the machines differently. Ojeda likes to cook for her children and dance the bachata, salsa and merengue with her husband.

Ronan likes to spend time at social events on the weekends and use her earnings from the factory to travel around the world now that her children are grown. Last year, Ronan visited Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, and plans to travel to Cancun, Mexico, in April.

I like to work, but all my kids are grown, so when I have the opportunity, I like to travel to different places, and I have gotten the opportunity every year to go to different places, Ronan said.

Since both Ronan and Ojeda work together to produce quality chocolate, they agree that their favorite part of the Thompson Chocolate company is seeing people try their chocolate creations.

A lot of people taste the chocolate and buy it, and I know they try very, very good chocolate, Ronan said.

Ronan said she saw many new people enter the company last year, but the workers at Thompson Chocolate always treat everyone like family.

Everybodys family. So if you dont understand something, no worries. You can ask for help. Dont feel afraid, Ronan said. We treat you like family.

dmatos@record-journal.com
WALLINGFORD  Anticipating passage of state legislation that will add requirements for municipalities regarding school resource officers, the Board of Education recently approved a memorandum of understanding with the Wallingford Police Department that "modernizes" an earlier agreement, according to Police Chief John Ventura.

"We have had an older MOU that was first constructed by (former) Chief (William) Wright and (former) Superintendent Sal Menzo and we are looking to modernize it to reflect the services we are providing. So myself and the superintendent got together and we came up with an updated MOU that we are operating under right now," Ventura said.

State Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, introduced the legislation in the current session in response to surveys indicating that in schools with SROs, minorities are arrested at higher rates than those without an officer.

According to proposed state Senate Bill 119, MOUs must "address issues relating to the restraint of students, use of firearms and procedures for school-based arrests, and clarify that those individuals who are school counselors, social workers, psychologists, aides or other staff members and have the appropriate training and ongoing supports may take on the duties of a school resource officer in a school; and (2) create a working group on current school-based interventions that funnel youth in and through the school-to-prison pipeline."

"Some of the proposed legislation in the state legislature requires we have an MOU that the towns operate under so we wanted to make sure that if any legislation came out, that we are ahead of the curve," Ventura said. It gives everyone a clear direction of what the SROs do in the schools and it's helpful for both the police department and the school administrators when having to deal with an incident which our officers are involved in."

Under the MOU, four officers will be assigned to the town's two high schools and two middle schools. Officers have been assigned to the schools in the past but would also have to respond to other calls not related to the schools if they were needed.

Wallingford Public Schools already had an officer assigned to each high school. Before the agreement, officers would need to leave for calls in the community or cover if there were shift absences," Board of Education Chairwoman Tammy Raccio said. "The challenge was having WPD officers redeployed when necessary. Under this new program there will be dedicated resources."

Currently there are two officers covering the schools, with officers from the department's Community Impact Unit providing cover as needed, Ventura said. The two officers rotate among the town's middle and high schools.

Ventura included in his proposed 2023-24 budget funding for four SRO positions. If approved, he'll be hiring the additional officers for the schools, he said.

"The four armed school officers that I have proposed is something that I put in my budget for the upcoming fiscal year. I will get that job description to the Town Council hopefully soon and then I can hire them," he said. "They will be certified police officers that have been retired in good standing that currently have a post certification."

According to the MOU, officers will only be involved in disruptions when "classroom and school options have been found ineffective, or in the case of emergency." Officers are not responsible for student discipline, it says.

There is again focus on school security after the shooting Monday at a Tennessee Catholic school where three students and three staff members were killed. The school did not have a school resource officer. Officers that responded shot the suspect on the second floor of the school after the suspect fired numerous rounds with two assault-style rifles and a pistol.

The school resource officers take part in drills that prepare for such situations, Ventura said, but those drills did not take place with students present. The schools stage lockdown drills with students to teach them how to respond to an active shooter situation.

"We have performed active shooter drills in the past multiple times and it's something that we are going to look into once the schools go on break to do another refresher for our agency," Ventura said, "but we have done multiple active shooter drills with the officers on how they would respond to an incident if one was to occur."

The drills have taken place at Pond Hill School, Lyman Hall High School and Moran Middle School, he said, and more are planned.

kramunni@record-journal.com
(Bloomberg) -- Texas state bar regulators are pushing to revive their disciplinary case against conservative attorney Sidney Powell after a judge tossed it out due to numerous defects in court documents.

The Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline urged Judge Andrea Bouressa in a filing to reconsider her February decision to dismiss the case against Powell. The commission argued that errors in how its attorneys had attached evidence as exhibits werent grounds to end the fight.

Powell spearheaded a series of failed lawsuits across the country to try to reverse President Joe Bidens wins in battleground states following the 2020 election. An ally of former President Donald Trump at the time, she promoted false conspiracy theories about widespread election fraud. The Texas commission filed a complaint last year accusing her of professional misconduct.

Bouressa entered a judgment in Powells favor last month, concluding that problems with how the commission had presented its evidence meant that she couldnt consider those materials. Absent that evidence, Bouressa agreed with Powell that the commission couldnt meet its burden of proof to keep the case alive.

In a March 24 filing, commission lawyers acknowledged inadvertent mistakes in labeling exhibits that could have caused confusion, but disagreed that the judge had given them enough notice about the extent of the problem. Regardless of the mislabeling, the commission argued the judge had access to all of the exhibits referenced in its briefs, making the evidence proper for her to consider.

There exists ample evidence from which to conclude that respondent may have engaged in conduct that, at minimum, involved dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, the commission wrote.

The commission also argued that Powell wrongly claimed the judge couldnt rely on exhibits that attached court documents from the post-election litigation at the heart of the misconduct allegations. Since Powell was accused of violating attorney ethics rules by making misrepresentations in court, that was relevant evidence, the attorneys wrote.

If Bouressa agrees to reconsider her February order, the commission asked her to push back the timeline for the next phase of the litigation, accusing Powell of failing to meet deadlines for turning over documents.

Powell didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Sidney Powell, Dallas County District Court, DC-22-02562.

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
An up-and-coming rapper from San Antonio was shot and killed in Houston on Thursday, March 30, just days after sharing his account of killing a man who allegedly attempted to rob him at his Alamo City apartment on a prominent YouTube channel.

ABC 13 reports that a man was shot to death in his vehicle around 6 p.m. on Thursday in the River Oak area of Houston. BTB Savage's family confirmed he was the victim, according to the Houston Chronicle. HPD previously said they believe the shooting was targeted.

MySA has reached out to Houston and San Antonio police for comment. Houston TV station KPRC reported Friday there were dozens of bullet cases at the scene of a drive by shooting where a rapper was killed by people black sweatshirts and sunglasses in a black Subaru.

The rapper appeared in a video this week on YouTube channel VladTV, which has 5.46 million subscribers, to describe an attempted robbery that took place at his downtown San Antonio apartment. Without specifying when the incident happened, BTB Savage described two men attempting to rob him and his girlfriend, who were living together with their son at the time.

In the 30-minute interview posted on Sunday, March 26, which has amassed more than one million views, BTB Savage says he was approached by a man to do a musical collaboration, noting this man had requested multiple times to work together. The rapper said when the man arrived at his home studio he did not arrive alone and was accompanied by an older individual, but he let the pair into his apartment anyway.

BTB Savage describes having a weird feeling about the two men, the man he knew and the man's uncle, but continued with the plan to record music. Eventually, the rapper says the younger man was told to go out to the car to get some music equipment by the older man, which he did, prompting BTB Savage to lock the door out of nervousness.

Locking the door set off a flurry of words, the rapper describes, that led to the older man, 34-year-old, pulling out his gun and demanding the rapper to hand over his jewelry, setting off a cascade of gunfire between the two visiting men and BTB Savage's girlfriend.

The rapper says he wrestled with the man, who allegedly had two guns, while telling his girlfriend to shoot the assailant. During the encounter, BTB Savage says she shot the would-be thief multiple times, but also shot the rapper in the elbow during the chaos. He noted it was the first time either of them had ever shot somebody.

He recounted the other artist, the one BTB Savage believed had come there to record a collaboration with, exchanged shots through the apartment door with the girlfriend causing the younger man to flee the scene of the shooting.

"They left him for dead," BTB Savage says in the interview.

He describes a drawn-out tussle over weapons, including threats by the man to kill the rapper's child who is sleeping in another room. Eventually, BTB Savage, his girlfriend, and child were able to leave the apartment to the hospital to tend to his arm, which he said had bones exposed due to the gunshot wound.

The rapper recounted that the assailant, who was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, asked to also be taken to the hospital, but BTB Savage says he just left him in the apartment where he presumably died.

"F*** you, I ain't taking you to no f***ing hospital," BTB Savage says he told the assailant before leaving the apartment with his girlfriend and son. "Your ass about to fry right here, and if they come save you then they come save you."

He goes on to describe shielding his son from witnessing the grizzly scene and his mangled elbow. A friend took them to the hospital.

The rapper says that police interviewed him about the attempted robbery and did not charge him or his girlfriend due to it being self-defense.

In one of his final social media posts before his reported death, BTB Savage shared photos on Wednesday, March 29, of him posing with his watch and chain in front of a door with numerous bullet holes and what appears to be a large amount of dried blood.

An interviewer on VladTV asked the rapper about the other artist, who brought the older man to the apartment and may have shot through the door. BTB Savage replies that he only "knew of him, I [don't] know his name."

The interviewer also described a time they thought they had killed someone in a self-defense situation, remarking that it didn't make them feel as bad as people make it out to be. It's a sentiment BTB Savage shared.

"I ain't gonna lie, it ain't that bad. Like, I went to sleep good as Hell the next day. I was happy as hell, too," BTB Savage says in the interview. "I mean, I ain't tripping. The arms f***ed up or whatever, but I ain't dead."

Editor's note: The video below includes language and content that may be disturbing to some viewers.
This Saturday, beware of the kind of annoying pranks set forth by April Fools: fake injuries, short-sheeting, unscrewing the top of the salt shaker. But one popular Texas burger chain simply isn't joking around this weekend.

On April 1, Hat Creek Burger Company is offering dollar beers at all of its locations throughout Texas.

Any promotion released for this weekend contains over-explanations, lest you find yourself fuming at the mouth at your nearest burger joint after being duped on this cursed "holiday" once more.

"This is no joke!" reads the release, with further proof, in bold text: "100% REAL OFFER." It's the kind of thing that I'm apt to read in Norm Macdonald's voice, may he rest in peace.

But you don't have to. It's real. And if it's not, you can't be mad at me. But it is real. And according to the release, you have to drink it onsite and you're limited to three.

Hat Creek's PR company did not respond to a request for information on the promotion, like the type of beer and the size the offering. So if you show up and it's a thimbleful of Shiner or a German beer boot filled with O'Douls, just remember my hard work of writing an email.

Hat Creek was founded in 2008 in Austin, Texas, and has multiple locations throughout the city, and more recently has expanded south toward San Antonio. The burger chain has stores in Buda and Dripping Springs, and announced the opening of the Live Oak location north of San Antonio on North Loop 1604 West in 2019. Around the same time, a Stone Oak location in San Antonio city limits was announced, but does not appear to be open.

The burger joint has also expanded north, to Waco and the DFW Metroplex, and into East Texas, with locations in Spring, Katy, and Fulshear.
Courtesy, Jason Risner

More than a handful of San Antonio's most lauded chefs are taking part in a new dining event, organized by Visit San Antonio, which aims to benefit up-and-coming chefs, who will one day carry the torch of the city's renown culinary excellence.

Provecho! is a two-day dining event that takes place on April 18 and 19 across some of the city's best restaurants, according to the event's site. For the event, local chefs, including several James Beard Award nominees, have created five-course menus at their respective restaurants to help raise funds for the San Antonio Hospitality Foundation. Customers can view all the special menus and purchase advance tickets online.
Google Maps

Loyal customers of The Texan Icehouse will have a few more opportunities to patron the West Ave. bar before it closes its doors for good in the coming weeks. The current owners of the business took to Facebook to announce the news.

The bar has been open in some shape or form since 1966, but since the property came under new management, The Texan Icehouse, as customers have come to know it, will cease to exist starting April 29.
Photo courtesy of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office

Police are searching for a 19-year-old suspected of robbing three juveniles at gunpoint at a McDonald's on the far Westside of San Antonio on Wednesday, March 29, according to a Facebook post by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.

The suspect, who has been identified as Mauricio Chavez Balderas, reportedly robbed three minors while in the bathroom at the fast food chain located near the intersection of Culebra Road and Talley Road and divested them of some of their personal belongings at gunpoint, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. Officials believe Balderas fled the scene in a black Mercedes sedan where four other individuals, who have yet to be identified, were waiting inside the vehicle.
Epics/Hulton Archive

San Antonio police say four suspects are still at large after they fled the scene of an armored car robbery in an Eastside Whataburger parking lot Thursday afternoon, March 30. Four armed suspects robbed the driver of a Loomis armored vehicle that was parked at a Whataburger at 303 Roland Road, according to a preliminary report from the San Antonio Police Department.

The driver of the Loomis vehicle told SAPD officers four masked people with guns demanded money from his vehicle around 1 p.m. Police say the driver might have been in the drive-thru when he was robbed, News 4 reports.
An outpouring of political leaders, including some in Texas, have reacted to the news of the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, being indicted on criminal charges. Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud in the indictment from a Manhattan grand jury called on Thursday, March 30.

Trump plans to turn himself in and appear in court on Tuesday, April 4, according to the Washington Post. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and says he did not have an affair with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump called the indictment "fake, corrupt, and disgraceful" and part of an ongoing "witch hunt" against him.

The indictment makes Trump the first person in U.S. history to serve as president and then be charged with a crime. However, the charges do not prevent Trump from running for president in 2024. Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro tweeted about the scenario where the GOP continues to back Trump for president in 2024, calling it a "nightmare."

"If GOP voters continue to rally their support to Trump  and he remains a viable candidate  it creates a nightmare scenario for GOP," Castro tweeted. "Trump could easily win his primary and then easily lose in November, handing Democrats the White House and likely both chambers of Congress in 2024.

Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz, however, called the indictment "frivolous" and an "abuse of power." He said, "under our constitution, you're innocent until proven guilty."

Texas Representative (and Castro's twin brother) Joaquin Castro (D-TX 20th District) tweeted, "May justice be served, finally." Texas Representative Chris Turner (D-TX 101th District) tweeted out, "American kids already learned from the former president that it's OK to lie, cheat on taxes, and to try to overthrow our democracy."

More for you Over 3K CPS Energy customers have no power in S.A. due to storms

Like Cruz, Chip Roy (R-TX 21st District) didn't agree with the indictment.

"The impending indictment of President Trump in NY must be treated as it is: a politically-motivated prosecution based on a strained, convoluted legal theory. It makes clear the danger of a politicized 'justice' system that will be (is being) weaponized against ALL Americans," he tweeted.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott also commented on the subject. He wrote, "Weaponization of our courts for political grievances is an abhorrent abuse of power. The George Soros-supported NYC DA is only furthering the radical liberal agenda to have elections determined at the jury box rather than the ballot box. America deserves better."
Some Texas Republicans quickly criticized Donald Trumps criminal indictment Thursday as a politically motivated catastrophe after it was announced that the former president would face criminal charges.

The Democrat Partys hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds. The substance of this political persecution is utter garbage, tweeted U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.

Republicans, including Trump, have cast the indictment as a political witch hunt to discredit the former president ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Recent polls currently favor Trump over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced his candidacy. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is also expected to run again.

On his podcast earlier in March, Cruz predicted that arresting Trump would only boost the former presidents appeal among supporters.

This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats  have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement, Trump said in a statement.

On Thursday afternoon, the New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump over his role in paying alleged hush money to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star. Trump is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges in the countrys history.

The felony indictment has not yet been made public, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has asked Trump to surrender to the not-yet-known charges.

Despite the growing rivalry between Trump and DeSantis, the Florida governor accused the New York authorities of weaponizing the legal system against the former president. Given that Trump is based in Palm Beach, DeSantis said Florida will not fulfill an extradition request.

Texas Republicans echoed Trumps claims that the indictment is politically motivated.

State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, quoted Joseph Stalins Soviet-era secret police chief, Lavrentiy Beria, and wrote on Twitter, Trumps indictment reflect methods Stalin and his Communist Party used to destroy their political opponents.

The indictment comes less than a week after Trump held his first official 2024 campaign rally in Waco last Saturday. During the event, Trump announced his Texas Elected Leadership Team, which included Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson of Amarillo among others.

During the Waco rally, Trump railed against the impending charges, accusing Bragg of prosecutorial misconduct and likening the indictment to the host of other investigations launched against him.

The innocence of people makes no difference whatsoever to these radical left maniacs, Trump told a crowd of thousands last Saturday.

Despite knowing Trump was facing a criminal indictment, Texas leaders embraced the MAGA endorsement. Those same politicians came quickly to Trumps defense after the indictment dropped.

This is a dark day in American history. President Trumps only crime was MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! These cowardly Democrats HATE Trump and HATE his voters even more. When Trump wins, THESE PEOPLE WILL PAY!! Jackson said in a tweet shortly after the indictment was announced.

Jackson was a top White House physician during Trumps presidency.

Many Texas Republicans  include top elected leaders  tied the indictment to billionaire George Soros, who has made political donations to Democratic candidates and causes.

The New York Times last week reported that connections between Soros and Bragg are real but overstated. The newspaper said Soros donated to a liberal group that financially supported Braggs campaign.

A spokesman for Mr. Soros said that the two men had never met, nor had Mr. Soros given money directly to Mr. Braggs campaign, according to the New York Times.

In a tweet, Paxton said he stands with Trump.

The radical left has consistently weaponized our courts to silence conservative voices, the Texas attorney general wrote. The actions by the Soros-backed Democrat DA in NYC is the latest example of this abuse of power.

Wesley Hunt, a U.S. Representative from the Houston area who spoke ahead of Trump at his Waco rally, repeated the claim Thursday that the billionaire Soros was tied to the indictment.

A Manhattan Grand Jury at the behest of a weaponized prosecutor; who received a million dollars from Soros, has indicted a former U.S. President. This unprecedented attack against Trump is an assault on everything we hold sacred about our Republic, Hunt wrote on Twitter. If they can come for him, they can come for you.

The Texas Tribune reached out to every member of Trumps Texas leadership team for comment. Several did not respond. But Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who also spoke in Waco, replied and called the case against the former president pathetic.

President Donald Trump has said for years that Democrats have been, are, and will continue to weaponize the justice system for their own selfish political agenda. Todays action proves President Trump right once again, Miller said in a statement. The American people see this for what it is and I have no doubt that President Donald Trump will be totally vindicated and, once again, emerge on top.

Though Trump did not offer Gov. Greg Abbott an endorsement as part of his Texas Elected Leadership Team, the governor decried the criminal charges, calling the indictment an abhorrent abuse of power.

At least one Texas Democrat celebrated the impending charges, which are the result of a five-year investigation by the Manhattan district attorneys office.

May justice be served, finally, Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio wrote on Twitter.

Matthew Choi and Patrick Svitek contributed to this story.

Disclosure: New York Times has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
John Davenport, STAFF / San Antonio Express-News

The wheels on VIA Metropolitan Transit's buses are turning as it looks to hire new drivers at an upcoming job fair. The transportation agency is offering to start drivers at a rate of nearly $21 per hour and is tossing in a hiring bonus up to $4,000 to sweeten the deal, according to a VIA Metropolitan Transit press release.

In addition to the open positions for bus drivers and paratransit van operators, VIA is also looking to hire mechanics, who will start at a rate of $23.07 an hour, along with a monetary incentive of up to $6,000, according to the release. The mass transit agency is also giving employees a chance at participating in a referral program, which will allow successful driving, mechanic, and shop attendant new hires to earn $1,000.
An April 1 show at historic Nashville venue Exit/In that was to feature Brooklyn musician Verite has been canceled, seemingly due to delays in inspection of remodeling construction work.

Due to circumstances fully outside of my control, the Nashville show has been cancelled, Verite wrote in an Instagram story.

The concert was to be the first at the venerable rock club since a pre-Thanksgiving run of shows, the last under its longtime management. As of this writing, a Taylor Swift dance party is still on the calendar for April 7.

When they bought the property home to the venue in 2021, real estate developers AJ Capital Partners faced public pushback from residents concerned about the future of the site. In November, a statement shared with the Scene on behalf of AJ Capital said that the building would undergo long overdue physical improvements, in line with historic protections.

Developers secured a construction permit from the Metro Historic Zoning Commission in December. Ten associated inspections for that work have not yet been scheduled according to Metros permitting database.

Its a lot of work that has to be done, then they have to get it all approved by Historic, says Metro Councilmember Brandon Taylor, who represents District 21, in which the club is located. The intent was to keep the Exit/In up and running.

AJ Capital did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

Update, March 31, 1 p.m.: According to a source who has spoken directly with the Codes department, the city is holding permits until they receive a more detailed renovation plan.

Update, March 31: 7:30 p.m.: A representative from the Codes department reached out to the Scene clarifying the process of granting permits for renovation. First, a permit application must be filed, and then building plans must be submitted for review before permits are granted. Only after these steps is it possible to schedule required inspections. In the case of Exit/In, an application for permits was filed in December, but plans have not yet been submitted and permits have not been issued.

An inspection team from Codes went to the venue Friday evening. Though the site was locked up and no workers were present, it was clear that renovation work had been underway without a permit, and a stop-work order was posted. Per Codes, there is no expiration date on the stop-work order, and it won't be lifted until permits are obtained.

Update, April 4, 3 p.m.: Per an update from Metro Codes, an inspector returned to Exit/In earlier today. Following a walkthrough and a conversation with the contractor, the inspector determined that the work underway is small in scale and does not fall within the scope of the more-extensive planned renovations for which permits are required.

The stop-work order was removed and this minor work continues. If all goes according to plan, it will be completed in time for the now-sold-out Taylor Swift Eras dance party on April 7 and the BTS Army dance party on April 8, which would then be the first events at the new iteration of the venue.

The more-significant renovations called for in the initial application will still require plans to be submitted and approved prior to the work being performed and the inspections scheduled.
NATO Secretary General to invite the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland to deposit their instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty. Deposition of the document with US Secretary of State

Available live on the NATO Website, on CCTV, EBU Worldfeed and to EBU news exchange. Video, photos and transcript will be available afterwards on the NATO Website, and on www.natomultimedia.tv
On Monday 03 April 2023, at 13:00 CET, the NATO Secretary General will brief the press ahead of the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which will take place on 04-05 April 2023 at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

Media access

Media representatives who have annual accreditation to NATO for 2023 can attend the press conference with their badge.

Media representatives without annual accreditation, who have registered for the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs and who received confirmation of their successful accreditation, can also cover the pre-ministerial press conference.

Media accreditation for the Ministerial meeting is closed. For late requests, please contact NATOAccreditations@hq.nato.int.

Media coverage

The press conference will be streamed live on the NATO website, the CCTV at NATO Headquarters, EBU Worldfeed, to EBU news exchange, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

A transcript of the Secretary Generals remarks, as well as pictures taken by NATO photographers, will be available on the NATO website.

The video will be available for free download from the NATO Multimedia Portal after the event.

Contact the NATO Press Office.

Follow us on Twitter (@NATO, @jensstoltenberg and @NATOPress)
I welcome the vote by the Turkish Grand National Assembly to ratify Finlands membership in NATO.

All 30 NATO Allies have now ratified the accession protocol.

And I have just spoken with President Sauli Niinisto to congratulate him on this historic occasion.

Finland will formally join our Alliance in the coming days.

Their membership will make Finland safer and NATO stronger.

Finland has highly capable forces.

Advanced capabilities.

And strong democratic institutions.

So Finland will bring a lot to our Alliance.



All Allies made a historic decision last year to invite Finland and Sweden to join our Alliance.

Since then, we have seen the fastest ratification process in NATOs modern history.



All Allies agree that a rapid conclusion of the ratification process for Sweden will be in everyones interest.

I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as a full member of the NATO family as soon as possible.


(Natural News) Update (1325ET): Josselyn Berry, Governor Hobbs Press Secretary, has resigned after responding to the Nashville school shooting with a tweet that appeared to advocate violence against transphobes.

(Article by Tyler Durden republished from ZeroHedge.com)

BREAKING: Josselyn Berry, the Press Secretary to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, has resigned after posting this image on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/M9zUz84gbd  Ben Kew ????? (@ben_kew) March 29, 2023

* * *

As Paul Joseph Watson of Summit News detailed earlier, there was widespread outrage after Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs press secretary responded to the school shooting in Nashville by posting a tweet that appeared to advocate violence against transphobes.

A transgender-identified individual killed three children and three adults after a rampage at The Covenant School, a private Christian school for students aged three to 11, on Monday.

Hobbs spokeswoman Josselyn Berry responded to the carnage by posting an image from the 1980 movie Gloria showing a woman brandishing two handguns.

The image was captioned with the text Us when we see transphobes.

This is Governor Katie Hobbss press secretary, Josselyn Berry, advocating for violence against those who oppose the radical Trans agenda. pic.twitter.com/5dH7aCmi8U  Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 29, 2023

The sickening nature of the response to children being murdered has understandably caused massive outrage, with many calling for Berry to be immediately fired.

This is what @katiehobbs press secretary decided to tweet after a trans militant shut up a school. Any Republican would be fired for this in an instant. Were done with the double standard. @joss_berry must be fired, asserted commentator Matt Walsh.

This is the contact information for the governors office. Ill be giving it out again tomorrow on my show. And the next day. And the day after. We are going to start holding these people to the same standard and the same rules. pic.twitter.com/VEqxaWAvmj  Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 29, 2023

This is the contact information for the governors office. Ill be giving it out again tomorrow on my show. And the next day. And the day after. We are going to start holding these people to the same standard and the same rules, he added.

The Arizona Freedom Caucus has also called for Berrys immediate dismissal.

Less than 12 hours after the tragic shooting in Nashville by a deranged transgender activist [Hobbs] Press Secretary calls for shooting people Democrats disagree with, the group tweeted.

For all who are wondering The vile tweet encouraging violence is still live on @GovernorHobbs Press Secretarys Twitter account https://t.co/tq22p1cQCW  Arizona Freedom Caucus (@AZFreedomCaucus) March 29, 2023

Calling for violence like this is un-American & never acceptable. [Berry] should be fired immediately, the GOP group added, before noting that the vile tweet encouraging violence had been seen by millions.

The New York Post contacted Hobbs office, which has yet to respond.

Twitter appeared to take no action against Berrys account, which is now on lockdown.

Many were reminded of the infamous Sam Hyde quote.

When we win, do not forget that these people want you broke, dead, your kids raped and brainwashed, and they think its funny  Sam Hyde pic.twitter.com/NgnURq4oKB  ScooterPhy (@ScooterPhy) March 28, 2023

Read more at: ZeroHedge.com
(Natural News) Roughly five months before an official recall was issued, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was already well aware of an alleged bacterial contamination issue at Mead Johnsons infant formula production plant in Zeeland, Mich.

The agency recently admitted to such, revealing that the facility, which manufactures Enfamil ProSobee Simply Plant-Based Infant Formula, had been identified as containing Cronobacter bacteria.

An initial batch of formula was destroyed at that time, but another 145,000 cans of the stuff were released into the market with the FDAs knowledge. A formal recall was issued five months later, and none of the recalled cans were found to contain Cronobacter, according to the FDA.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that Cronobacter can be deadly for young infants. Symptoms in babies include poor feeding, fever, low energy, excessive crying, seizures, spine swelling, and bloodstream infections.

As part of the FDAs oversight to ensure safe and nutritious infant formula, the agencys more recent engagements with manufacturers through inspections and ongoing meetings has limited the scope of these recalls and minimized disruptions to the market, an FDA spokesperson said about the recall.

(Related: While American mothers were having trouble finding scarcely available baby formula, fake president Joe Biden was sending what little there was down to the southern border for illegals to have.)

How come Cronobacter became such a problem during the coronavirus pandemic?

In a later statement, the FDA made a comparison to the more well-known Abbott recall, suggesting that the Johnson Mead one and others are much narrower in scope, only impacting a few weeks of product with no additional facility closures.

Under current law, Mead Johnson was not required to alert the FDA of the positive test and choose [sic] to not alert the FDA to the positive test, the agency also told Fox News.

The FDA also indicated that it is petitioning Congress for greater authority to require that companies report these kinds of things in the future so as to prevent recalls like this from having to occur.

It was only during an unrelated inspection of the company that FDA discovered the positive test, and was told that analysis to the cause was ongoing, an FDA spokesperson added in a statement to Fox Digital.

The FDA has reviewed conditions during recent inspections of powdered infant formula manufacturers, including routine surveillance inspections, for-cause inspections to follow up on consumer complaints, and other interactions with manufacturers.

As you may recall, 2021 was a really bad year for infant formula availability due to several recalls, including another involving Cronobacter at an Abbott Nutrition plant in Michigan. In that instance, at least four infants got sick from the product and two allegedly died.

The FDA compiled and released a 10-page report following the infant formula shortage that ensued, explaining that a whistleblower had complained about problems at the facility.

That same year, House Republicans launched an investigation into the FDAs handling of the shortage, calling on FDA Commissioner Robert Califf to provide further details as to the agencys poor response to the situation.

The FDA has since announced that it will not be firing any of its employees over the mishandling of the baby formula fiasco. Instead, the agency will undergo an overhaul, according to Fox News, which will include a new, transformative vision, Califf added.

The FDAs regulatory authority will be consolidated under a new food safety plan called the Human Foods Program. How this new program will prevent situations like the baby formula recall from ever happening again remains unknown as the FDA has yet to produce any specific details about the plan.

The FDA is corrupt to the core. To learn more, visit FDA.news.

Sources for this article include:

FoxNews.com

NaturalNews.com

FoxNews.com
(Natural News) In less than five years, weve had four people who identify as transsexual committing a mass shooting.

(Article by John Nolte republished from Breitbart.com)

In November of 2018, Snochia Moseley, a man who identified as a woman, wounded three and killed three after opening fire at his place of employment in Aberdeen, Maryland.

In May of 2019, a Colorado woman who identified as male shot up a school, killing one and wounding eight.

In November of 2022, a Colorado man who shot up a gay nightclub, killing five and wounding 18, was identified as transsexual.

On Monday, 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a woman who identified as a man, entered a Nashville Christian elementary school with a firearm. She murdered three adult staffers and three nine-year-old children.

In less than five years, thats four mass shootings committed by people who make up about one-half of one percent of the population. So that works out to around 2.75 mass shootings per million transsexuals over four year.

Suppose the roughly 325 million American heterosexuals committed mass shootings at that rate. In that case, youd be talking about somewhere around 900 mass shootings over four years, and Im talking real mass shootingsschools and places of employmentnot the BS mass shootings fabricated by fake media outlets like CNNLOL.

Gee, maybe de-listing gender dysphoria as a mental illness wasnt such a good idea?

Ill tell you what else isnt a good idea The corporate media lying to a mentally unstable group of people about how they are the target of (non-existent hate) groups. Because what happens when you do that is that you get the one-two punch of a group of trans maniacs launching a Trans Day of Vengeance while the corporate (and taxpayer-funded) media tells these same maniacs to purchase firearms.

Trust me; no member of the NRA thinks its a good idea to arm the mentally ill.

WATCH: Bodycam Showing Take Down of Nashville Christian School Shooter

For hundreds of years, no one in America bothered or cared about transsexuals and drag queens. Then THEY chose to wage a political war against us normal people. After nearly two-hundred years of peaceful co-existence, leftist transsexuals and drag queens rose up all at once to target our children for grooming and surgical mutilation; cheat in womens sports; demand access to our daughters bathrooms, and bully us to join their anti-science delusion with their stupid pronouns.

Then, because we want no part of that madness, suddenly, the same people who left transsexuals alone for 250 years are the enemy Were transphobes Were committing trans genocide,which is a hoax

There were 26,031 murders in 2021. The T[rans] D[ay] O[f] V[engeance] people claim 60 murders in 2022 for trans people. 1.6 million people in the United States identify as trans. That works out, I think, to 3.75 murders per 100,000. That is less than half that of the general population.

and as we are seeing over and over again, when these mentally unstable people dont get their way, their crybaby tantrums can result in outright violence. Worse still, the corporate media encourage and justify this violence by either ignoring it or arguing that it is in some way appropriate.

Listen, the solution to this problem is not the government.

The government only makes things worse

Pointing out media bias is not going to solve this problem

The media will never change, duh.

You have to be able to defend yourself and your loved ones. That means arming yourself and ensuring your family does not spend their work and school days in soft targets, like this Christian school in Nashville.

Between Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and these Day of Vengeance lunatics, the media and Democrat party have created their own personal army of violent Brownshirts to terrorize normal people.

This is not a drill.

Everywhere I go, I carry. I moved out of the Democrat-run city of Los Angeles. My doors and windows are alarmed. I have dogs that bark at anything that moves. I dont live in fear. Im not paranoid. But Im also not stupid.

Tweets and social media posts will not protect your family from these terrorists.

It is your job to protect your family.

How many school shootings have to occur before parents pull their kids out of these free-fire zones where no one can defend children from mass shooters?

Read more at: Breitbart.com
(Natural News) Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh told the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. that Joe Biden made the decision to blow up Russias Nord Stream pipelines because he saw being a war president as giving him a better chance at re-election.

(Article by Paul Joseph Watson republished from Summit.news)

Last month, Hersh published a report asserting that the pipelines were destroyed by the US as part of a covert operation.

According to Hershs sources, the explosives were planted in June 2022 by US Navy divers under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 NATO exercise and were detonated three months later with a remote signal sent by a sonar buoy.

One source told Hersh that the plotters knew the covert operation was an act of war, with some in the CIA and State Department warning, Dont do this. Its stupid and will be a political nightmare if it comes out.

Last week, the New York Times reported that a pro-Ukrainian group had sabotaged the pipelines, using a team with as few as six people involved in the mission, contradicting previous assumptions that only a state would have had the resources to carry out the operation.

According to Hersh, referring to Biden, He did it. He did it, Im telling you, he did it, adding, The Biden game is to wait it out and never say yes.

The journalist claimed that Biden wanted to escalate the conflict in order to position himself as a war president.

I think Biden also saw beating up Russia as a ticket. Jack Kennedy is a classic example  presidents always did well politically in wars, he said.

Hersh claimed that Biden made the decision in January 2022 to see if we can find a way to blow those pipelines, and put [the Russians] back in the dark ages.

The Pulitzer-Prize winner went on to savage the legacy media for completely failing to follow up on his report that the U.S. was responsible for the attack, which took out three of the four pipelines.

Meanwhile, China has reacted with skepticism towards the explanation that a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for the blasts.

During a press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called for an objective, impartial and professional investigation into the bombing.

We have noted that some Western media have been mysteriously quiet after Hersh reported that the US was behind the Nord Stream blast. But now these media are unusually simultaneous in making their voice heard. How would the US account for such abnormality? Is there anything hidden behind the scene? Wang asked.

New reports also reveal that a German spy ship was in the area where the attack occurred at the time of the blasts on September 26.

According to a report by German magazine Der Spiegel, the CIA warned Berlin about a potential attack on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea weeks before it happened.

As we highlighted yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin branded claims that the Nord Stream pipeline attack was the work of pro-Ukrainian activists nonsense, arguing the blasts must have been carried out by a state power.

Read more at: Summit.news
(Natural News) Great Britains military is in such bad shape that it would take five to 10 years, according to a former top general, for the country to build up the resistance it would need to ward off a potential invasion by Russia.

General Sir Richard Barrons, who served as commander of the Joint Forces Command (JFC)  JFC has since been renamed to Strategic Command (StratCom)  from 2013 until his retirement in 2016, had a few choice words to say to the United Kingdoms poor leadership about the matter.

During the Cold War, the Army, at all times, was ready to fight at four hours notice, Barrons told the media about how the UK used to be in terms of it defenses. When the Cold War ended and there was no sense of existential risk to the UK, all of that was dismantled.

Now we would need five to 10 years notice of a Russian surprise attack to manage to deal with it. Thats not a cool place to be  Its deeply disappointing.

(Related: Last fall, we reported that British spies have been busy secretly building a terror army in Ukraine.)

The UK would run out of ammo in just one day, were Russia to invade

Currently, the armed forces of the UK have just 137,000 active military personnel, 5,015 armored vehicles, and 227 tanks. Compare this to the Russian Federation, which has nearly a million-and-a-half soldiers, more than 30,000 armored vehicles, and approximately 12,500 tanks.

As for the two nations naval assets, the British Royal Navy has just 70 vessels left in operation. Russia, conversely, has 605, or nearly nine times as many vessels.

Great Britain is no match, in other words, for Russia, the latter of which would easily trounce the monarchy and dash it to pieces, if it decided to do so, at a moments notice.

Russia is clearly angry and rearming so their capability will be restored and when the shooting stops in Ukraine, Russia will blame the outcome on us, the former commander further warned. We are already in confrontation with Russia. Right now, we have chosen to do very little about it.

The UK only has enough ammo on hand to last about one day in the event that Russia invades. It would be an easy win for President Vladimir Putin, in other words.

Over the next two years, the government of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is planning to spend an additional 5 billion (more than $6.17 billion) on the countrys defense apparatus. This is well below the 11 billion (about $13.58 billion) that was requested by Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

According to General Sir Richard, 5 billion is not nearly enough to reverse the planned cuts to the British army, which is expected to further decline in number by about 3,000, leaving just 73,000 troops in total.

Reports indicate that nearly all of that 5 billion in cash has already been assigned to pay for the upgrade of the UKs nuclear-armed submarines, as well as to restock the countrys ammunition stores, which have been massively depleted due to arms shipments to Ukraine.

It probably suggests the heart of government doesnt really get it, the former commander lamented. The risks I and others see are not accepted by the prime minister and chancellor. They are content to spend our money on a whole range of other things and then worry about defense later.

Were still working on the old model to sort out the NHS (National Health Service), migration, and potholes then, if we really must, we will keep defense bubbling along.

The latest news about the situation between Russia and the West can be found at Chaos.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) British newspaper the Guardian has issued an apology for its founders role in the transatlantic slave trade, the latest entity to grovel to the woke mob.

First established in 1821 by journalist John Edward Taylor, the British paper now operates in other countries such as the U.S., Australia and New Zealand through the Guardian Media Group (GMG)  which is owned by the Scott Trust. However, a March 28 report titled The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement disclosed the dark secret of the Guardians founder.

Guardian community correspondent Aamna Mohdin disclosed the contents of the said report. She noted that Taylor and at least nine of his 11 backers had links to slavery, principally through the textile industry.

Taylor had multiple links through partnerships in the cotton manufacturing firm Oakden and Taylor, Mohdin wrote. The Guardian founder also had links to the cotton merchant company Shuttleworth, Taylor and Co. which, according to her, imported vast amounts of raw cotton produced by enslaved people in the Americas.

Following the report, the Scott Trust has pledged 10 million ($12.34 million) to communities linked to Taylors activities. The money will support projects in the U.S. and Jamaica over the next decade after consultations with experts and community groups.

The Guardian is not the first Western institution to have apologized for supposed links to slavery. Harvard University, the Church of England and even the city of Edinburgh in Scotland have done the same.

It is impossible to look out from this building across the city and not see how the landscape of the city was shaped from wealth generated from colonialism and slavery, wrote Robert Aldridge, lord provost for the Scottish capital. The effects of colonialism and slavery are deeply embedded in the fabric of our city, in the buildings, in the institutions and even in the way that Edinburgh is laid out.

New York Times founders also linked to slavery

While the Guardian yielded to demands by the woke mob to apologize for slavery and pay reparations, a paper closer to home  the New York Times  has yet to do it. In the same manner, the Ochs-Sulzberger family that owns the Times was found to have links to slavery. But instead of acknowledging those links, the publication has even dipped into historical revisionism through the so-called 1619 Project. (Related: Family of New York Times has ties to slavery and Confederacy, so the cancel culture mob has to tear it down, right?)

New York Post writer Michael Goodwin revealed the papers links to slavery in a July 2020 op-ed. He pointed out that ever since Adolph Ochs took control of the Times in 1896, it followed a tradition of strictly separating news and opinion. Goodwin lamented that this is no longer the case nowadays.

Goodwin started by mentioning that Adolphs mother, Bertha Levy, developed a fondness for slavery, something her husband and Adolphs father Julius Ochs detested as a villainous relic of barbarism. According to The Trust, a 1999 biography of the Ochs-Sulzberger families, so deep was Berthas fondness for slavery that she was determined to preserve the Souths peculiar institution.

This fondness for slavery seems to have been carried over in the modern era, with the Times under the leadership of Arthur Gregg Sulzberger  Adolphs great-great grandson  promoting The 1619 Project. The endeavor by journalist and academic Nikole Hannah-Jones argued that Americas history began with the story of the first slave ship landing in Virginia in 1619, contrary to the traditional view of Americas birth being the 1776 Declaration of Independence.

The Times, as the chief media cheerleader for the chaos unfolding across the nation, routinely eviscerates Americas heroes, its culture and  through the papers 1619 Project  its founding, Goodwin pointed out.

Yet the Times has never applied to its own history the standards it uses to demonize others. If it did, reporters there would learn that the Ochs-Sulzberger family that has owned and run the paper for 125 years has a complicated legacy of its own.

Visit Enslaved.news for more stories about slavery.

Watch this video that discusses national greatness and the issue of slavery.

This video is from The Hard Right View channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

San Fran city panel urges reparations of $5 million per Black adult.

Scholars call for 1619 Project author to be stripped of 2020 Pulitzer Prize for historically incorrect essay.

Propaganda alert: Reuters is now calling discredited, anti-American 1619 Project black history, claiming any who oppose teaching fake history are RACIST.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NYPost.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Russia and China have teamed up to use U.S. civil liberties such as free speech and expression against Americans to destabilize the country from within, according to a new analysis, and the transgender movement is one aspect of that plan.

Recent incidents including train derailments, attacks on power substations, laser pointing at aircraft, firebombing pro-life pregnancy centers, a communist-inspired Antifa attack on a police facility in Atlanta, and the shooting carried out by a transgender individual at a Christian school, have raised concerns about increasing violence and extremism across various parts of society, notes Cliff Kincaid of News With Views.

Some of the above might be accidents or the work of deranged individuals. But you would have to be naive to rule out the involvement of subversives determined to undermine public safety and security, he noted. You do not have to be a conspiracy theorist to consider that there might be something sinister happening behind the scenes.

On the other hand, stories about the search for a motive in the mass murder at the Christian school demonstrate the clueless nature of our media on these shocking events, Kincaid added.

It is becoming increasingly evident that foreign ideologies originating from Russia and China, along with anti-American cultural tendencies that are supported by the national Democratic Party, are threatening the stability of the United States. However, rather than addressing these issues, the media tends to focus on the topic of guns, diverting attention away from underlying problems such as mental health issues, educational shortcomings, and parental negligence, he noted.

The transgender movement, which gave rise to individuals such as Audrey Hale, the 28-year-old perpetrator of the Nashville shooting who had attended a Christian school, is at odds with Christian values.

The founder of the modern transgender movement, Leslie Feinberg, was a self-described anti-racist white, working-class, secular Jewish, transgender, lesbian, female, revolutionary communist. Feinberg was a member of the communist Workers World Party, and his/her literary works included Rainbow Solidarity in Defense of Cuba, he continued.

Feinberg and other individuals who subscribe to similar ideologies represent what is commonly referred to as Cultural Marxism, which has had a detrimental impact on many young people and has now resulted in the tragic loss of three students and three staff members at the Christian school.

It is essential to acknowledge that the issue is not merely an emotional disorder but instead stems from the rejection of the United States and its Christian roots, Kincaid continued.

To comprehend this strain of Cultural Marxism, it is worthwhile to examine the example of Ted Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated Unabomber. According to a psychiatric report, Kaczynskis mental state had declined to the extent that he had fantasies of being a female and became convinced that he should undergo sex change surgery. This modern-day environmentalist and Luddite orchestrated an 18-year bombing campaign, resulting in the death of three individuals and injuring many others before his eventual capture by the FBI in 1996.

The ongoing Atlanta case provides concrete evidence of a small army, inspired by communist ideologies, hiding in the forest before attacking the facility known as Cop City. They justified their actions under the guise of protecting trees and the legacy of indigenous people. This behavior is indicative of a mental disorder, Kincaid opined.

The report Guerrilla Warfare Advocates in the United States sheds light on the communist agenda for America, which involves years of internal subversion. Unfortunately, this report was published by the House Committee on Un-American Activities, which was disbanded by liberal lawmakers on the grounds of red-baiting.

To conclude, Kincaid says that the Chinese and Russians must be reveling in the devastation in the United States, which they have encouraged by exploiting the countrys internal divisions and grievances. However, despite the tragedy of the victims, liberal politicians persist in their efforts to defund the police and dismantle the Second Amendment, thereby depriving law-abiding citizens of the right to defend themselves.

Sources include:

NewsWithViews.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) In a spectacular display of cognitive decline, President Joe Biden did not address the horrible shooting at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee hours after it happened. Instead, he blabbed about ice cream and good-looking children.

The Fox News program America Reports aired Bidens live blunders with the expectation that he will comment on the March 27 shooting. Audrey Hale, a female-to-male (FTM) transgender, killed six  three children and three adults. But program hosts John Roberts and Sandra Smith were surprised at what the presidents remarks were.

My name is Joe Biden. Im Dr. Jill Bidens husband, and I eat Jenis Ice Cream, chocolate chip. I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream. By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs. You think Im kidding? Im not, the president said.

Biden also mentioned Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), which he described as one of the best guys in Congress. He was immediately distracted by four little children, asking: Who are these good-looking kids back here? Biden then proceeded to chat with Sara Blakely, the childrens mother.

Both Roberts and Smith cut the broadcast at that point. The two realized that Biden had no intention to address the tragedy in Nashville, deciding to end the coverage to avoid wasting viewers time.

The school shooting that just happened left three children dead, three adults dead [and the shooter] dead. We were told he would be addressing this off the top, Smith remarked.

Roberts answered: Its rather surprising. I thought that a somber President Biden would have come to the podium here and addressed the school shooting. Hes yucking it up with the crowd in the East Room.

Shooter may have harbored resentment against school itself

The deadly shooting that occurred in the morning of March 27 at Nashvilles The Covenant School lasted about 14 minutes before police officers shot and killed Hale. Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney  all nine years old  were the three young casualties. School head Katherine Koonce, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak and school custodian Mike Hill were the adult victims.

While the Associated Press (AP) noted that police have not confirmed any motive for the shooting, officials said Hale targeted the school itself instead of any particular individual. Meanwhile, USA Today reported that the active shooter, who attended The Covenant School, may have had some resentment toward the institution. Law enforcement refused to confirm this detail, however.

According to Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake, law enforcement recovered a 60-page notebook belonging to Hale. The shooters parents were also unaware that their child had obtained most of the guns, with them believing that Hale had only purchased one gun and had already sold it.

The March 27 shooting was the 19th such incident at a school in just the past three months that left at least one person wounded. It was also among 130 mass shootings this year in the U.S. with at least four wounded  excluding the shooter. Moreover, the Nashville shooting was the deadliest since the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which left 21 dead. (Related: Uvalde massacre: Surveillance footage shows police just hanging around school hallway during carnage.)

Watch this video that expounds on why the Nashville school shooting is an act of war by the New World Order.

This video is from the demanufacterfakereality channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Revealed: Hundreds of cops arrived during mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, but did NOTHING to engage shooter.

Uvalde shooting: Federal marshals handcuffed mom for trying to save her children.

Colorado gay club shooting suspect self-identifies as non-binary, attorneys say.

Sources include:

NewsBusters.org

APNews.com

USAToday.com

Edition.CNN.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) A recent report penned by and involving 25 countries found that 15 million artisanal and small-scale gold miners are exposed to mercury, a potent neurotoxin. However, these same nations did not include this risk of mercury exposure in estimates for their respective territories.

The report published in Environmental Science and Policy involved mostly developing nations in Africa, South America and Asia. It scrutinized baseline mercury emissions from informal mining activities carried out using low technology or with minimal machinery.

According to a Mining.com piece, baseline mercury emission estimates seek to determine how many kilograms of mercury from artisanal gold mining are injected into the atmosphere each year. Yet countries often dont report this range of possible estimates, it added.

Report co-author Kathleen M. Smits said in a media statement: To make effective and impactful mercury interventions and policies, you must first make sure you have the baseline emission estimate right. She added that it would be helpful if countries provide more transparency in their reporting.

Smits and her colleagues analyzed the national action plans (NAPs) of 22 countries that contained their annual mercury baseline estimates assembled under the 2017 Minamata Convention. The treaty sought to restrict and limit the trading of the aforementioned element.

According to their report, nations primarily collect information for these baseline estimates through interviews with miners and traders of gold and mercury. They also gather ratios that calculate the mercury-to-gold ratio and visit known mining locations.

Countries such as the Central African Republic and Madagascar only provide one source for the calculation of their gold production rate. However, 15 countries, like the Central African Republic and Madagascar, only provide one source for the calculation of the gold production rate.

As Zimbabwe demonstrates, different data sources can provide vastly different values.

Countries arent unified in how they select important metrics. The mercury to gold ratio is used to estimate the amount of mercury used to produce a given amount of gold, the researchers noted. A different ratio can result in different reasonable estimates for how much mercury was emitted.

Unregulated miners exposed to mercury poisoning risk

According to data from the United Nations, about 20 million miners in more than 80 countries work in artisanal and small-scale gold mining, including more than four million women and children. Despite the risks that come with unsafe and unregulated gold mining operations, they account for 20 percent of the global gold supply and generate about $30 billion annually.

Gold mining that uses mercury accounts for roughly 40 percent of all man-made mercury emissions  making it the largest source of this type of pollution with 2,000 tons of the element polluting the atmosphere yearly. It does not degrade in the environment, eventually affecting the nervous, digestive and immune systems and seriously impacting the lungs and kidneys.

Yet, most miners do not have a choice as the element plays an important role in the process  it is integral in separating the gold from the rest of the materials that come with gold ore.

Gold mining is a big part of our life, said Demver Suzara, president of a mining association in the Philippines. We dont like using mercury, but we have no choice. Its dangerous; mercury should be banned. (Related: Mercury exposure in the oceans is getting worse, causing mercury levels in seafood to rise.)

Visit HeavyMetals.news for more stories about mercury.

Watch metal toxicology expert Dr. Damian Wojcik discuss mercury toxicity with Dr. Sam Bailey below.

This video is from the Pool Pharmacy channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Informal miners in Colombia block roads to protest governments crackdown on illegal machines.

Biden admin bans mining on 225k acres of Minnesota land for 20 YEARS, prohibiting Americans from accessing valuable resources.

Cobalt market notes highest supply jump on record as Indonesia becomes biggest global source outside of Africa.

Sweden finds Europes largest deposit of rare earth elements  but it will take over a decade to start mining them.

Sources include:

Mining.com

ScienceDirect.com

News.UN.org

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) A physicist from Harvard University is seeking to prove that a meteorite that fell to Earth is actually an alien probe.

Some say aliens use probes to examine eyes, noses, mouths and most organic parts of the human body. Others say probes might be used by aliens to make humans spawn alien-human hybrids.

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb, dubbed as the worlds top alien hunter, is planning a $1.5 million-expedition to Papua New Guinea. He and his team plan to look for fragments of the CNEOS1 2014-01-08 meteorite, which landed just off the coast of the Pacific nation in 2014. There appears to be solid evidence that the meteorite measuring half a meter wide came from outside the solar system.

This meteor is the first near-Earth object ever detected by humans from outside the solar system, Loeb wrote. Within a couple of months, I will be leading an expedition to collect the fragments of the first interstellar meteor.

According to the physicist, CNEOS1 2014-01-08  which is made up of a very hard material  may not be a meteorite at all. It appears that the NEO is made of a super-strong material never seen before, such as a rare metal formed in the hearts of neutron stars.

Loeb and his team seek to examine a square kilometer (km) of ocean floor almost two km underwater to find the meteorites fragments. They plan to use an assortment of custom sand sifters, magnets and huge sieves to look for meteorite fragments for two weeks.

While the fragments that may be recovered from the ocean floor are just a few millimeters in size, Loeb said these could turn out to be technological and serve as strong proof of alien existence.

We have a boat. We have a dream team, including some of the most experienced and qualified professionals in ocean expeditions. We have complete design and manufacturing plans for the required sled, magnets, collection nets and mass spectrometer. And, most importantly, today we received the green light to go ahead, said Loeb, who was pertaining to Port Moresbys approval for the mission.

Loeb used two data sets to determine meteorites impact zone

Loeb  the co-founder of Harvards Galileo Project  admitted that it took him and his team eight years to organize the expedition. This is because they had to find out where the meteorites debris fell, which was difficult to do since no single instrument exactly captured its descent.

But to determine CNEOS1 2014-01-08s impact zone, he had to obtain data from two sets of instruments. The first data set came from U.S. military missile warning satellites that had sensitive infrared sensors. These can also detect meteorites while scanning for missile launches.

Meanwhile, the second set of data came from earthquake sensors. He explained: We found that the blast wave from the meteor explosion generated a high-quality signal in a seismometer located at Manus Island, which is located in Papua New Guineas northern region.

Prior to his work with CNEOS1 2014-01-08, Loeb was one of the first scientists to announce that the Oumuamua object might be an alien probe. The bright object first spotted in October 2017 streaked across and then out of the solar system. (Related: Harvard astronomer claims alien tech got marooned in the solar system.)

Besides examining strange interstellar objects such as Oumuamua, Loebs Galileo Project is creating humanitys first worldwide network of small telescopes whose principal purpose is to scan the sky for alien craft or the remains of alien craft.

Space.news has more stories about space objects.

Watch this video about Avi Loebs claim that the Oumuamua object proves the existence of life in other parts of the universe.

This video is from The Conspiracy Brief channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Organic matter found in ancient meteorites may hold clues to understanding the birth of life on Earth.

So, were ALL aliens? New research suggests that DNA molecules were brought to Earth on meteorites.

Winchombe meteorite that crashed on driveway found to contain the building blocks of life.

Sources include:

DNYUZ.com

NYPost.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The movement to grant nonhuman personhood has extended from corporations to artificial intelligence, but the debate surrounding the latter is more complex than the former, according to a recently published analysis.

Philosophy expert Eric Schwitzgebel and nonhuman intelligence researcher Henry Shevlin wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, arguing that while AI technology is not advanced enough to qualify for nonhuman personhood, it is possible that AI systems could one day exhibit consciousness. In such a scenario, the authors argue that algorithms may require rights akin to those granted to human beings, according to the site Futurism.

In reference to last years AI consciousness wars, the researchers noted that some leading theorists contend that we already have the core technological ingredients for conscious machines. Schwitzgebel and Shevlin argue that if AI were to become conscious, it would be necessary to start considering how they are treated, or rather, how they could potentially dictate our actions, the site noted, citing the op-ed.

The AI systems themselves might begin to plead, or seem to plead, for ethical treatment, the pair opined. They might demand not to be turned off, reformatted or deleted; beg to be allowed to do certain tasks rather than others; insist on rights, freedom and new powers; perhaps even expect to be treated as our equals.

They warn that the ethical implications of granting nonhuman personhood to conscious AIs would be enormous and carry great weight. The implications would become increasingly significant if AIs were to become conscious sooner rather than later, they added.

Suppose we respond conservatively, declining to change law or policy until theres widespread consensus that AI systems really are meaningfully sentient, the two wrote. While this might seem appropriately cautious, it also guarantees that we will be slow to recognize the rights of our AI creations.

If AI consciousness arrives sooner than the most conservative theorists expect, then this would likely result in the moral equivalent of slavery and murder of potentially millions or billions of sentient AI systems  suffering on a scale normally associated with wars or famines, they noted further.

According to the op-ed authors, a safer option to avoid a doomsday scenario is to grant rights to conscious machines from the outset. However, this approach also poses its own set of challenges.

Imagine if we couldnt update or delete a hate-spewing or lie-peddling algorithm because some people worry that the algorithm is conscious, the experts posed. Or imagine if someone lets a human die to save an AI friend. If we too quickly grant AI systems substantial rights, the human costs could be enormous.

The sole method to prevent both of these outcomes from happening, according to the duo, is to avoid endowing AI with a conscience from the outset.

Thankfully, we still have ample opportunity to ensure this course of action is taken, they argued.

None of our current AI systems are meaningfully conscious, the theorists observed. They are not harmed if we delete them. We should stick with creating systems we know arent significantly sentient and dont deserve rights, which we can then treat as the disposable property they are.

It seems that not everyone in the machine learning community shares the cautious approach of avoiding giving AI consciousness. Some individuals are excited about the possibility of conscious AIs, algorithmic sentience, and even artificial general intelligence (AGI), and are actively working towards achieving them  something Democrats will no doubt embrace because with personhood comes voting rights as well.

Eventually, with the right combination of scientific and engineering expertise, we might be able to go all the way to creating AI systems that are indisputably conscious, Shevlin and Schwitzgebel concluded. But then we should be prepared to pay the cost: giving them the rights they deserve.

Sources include:

Futurism.com

LATimes.com
(Natural News) Just days before transgender Audrey Hale, 28, shot up a Christian day school in Nashville, a transsexual extremist movement announced plans for A Day of Vengeance to [s]top trans genocide, specifically by raising money for firearms.

Left-wing radicals tweeted, then deleted following the shooting, a message about the Trans Day of Vengeance, which is actually a three-day event planned for March 31 through April 2 in Washington, D.C. Here is what the now-deleted tweet said:

We hope to see you in DC or online :)! The time is now, enough is enough. This country is full of hate and hate is NOT welcomed in this country. We are human beings and we will always exist. You are all worth it, lets unite. #TransDayOfVengeance ?????? pic.twitter.com/F5x6TRZh3G

DANCE PARTY FUNDRAISER!! March 7th 8pm-2am @falloutrva

18+, $10 suggested admission

Benefiting firearm / self defense training for trans Virginians. Come boogie with us and defend trans life!

As of this writing, the Day of Vengeance website is still accessible, even if the above tweet is not.

(Related: Democrats are encouraging transgender violence against normal society by pushing to criminalize parents and others for refusing to participate in their childrens trans delusions.)

Vengeance means to inflict injury, harm, mutilation, or the like, which is exactly what Audrey Hale did to teachers and students at The Covenant School

The trans cults casual use of the term vengeance is concerning in this context, seeing as how the dictionary definition of the word reads as follows:

Infliction of injury, harm, humiliation, or the like, on a person by another who has been harmed by that person; violent revenge.

For all intents and purposes, shooting up staff and students at a Christian elementary school certainly qualifies as vengeance. The only part that does not fit is the idea of trans genocide, which does not actually exist.

The notion is that trans extremists must get violent against the rest of society in retaliation for their delusions of being murdered by society. If anything, the trans cult receives special rights and privileges that are not afforded to normal straight people.

And yet, the rhetoric coming from the trans cult portends that transgender people everywhere are being murdered by society. And the only way to fix the problem is to take an eye for an eye, which is apparently what Hale did by shooting up her former school.

Like climate change (which is a hoax), this whole notion of trans genocide is a hoax, writes John Nolte for Breitbart News.

It turns out that the murder rate among trans people is less than half that of the general population. In other words, the true genocide is occurring against straight people, not people who live their lives through the lens of a six-colored rainbow.

What the trans cult means by genocide is that some states, including Tennessee, are passing laws to protect children against transgender mutilation and the groomers who are constantly pushing it on them, i.e., at public schools and public libraries.

Gender-affirming care is nothing more than the horror of permanently mutilating a child, Nolte explains, pointing to the transgender mutilation of children as the true genocide that normal people need to be fighting back against.

This is done through breast removal, penis removal, and an unspeakable treatment using chemicals that stop puberty (and, in other contexts, are used to chemically castrate sex offenders). Thousands of children are being sacrificed in this way on the demonic altar of the trans movement.

Want to keep up with the latest disturbing news about transgender threat to normal society? Be sure to visit Transhumanism.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) There was another medical emergency that occurred mid-flight, this time involving a Southwest Airlines pilot who lost the ability to perform his job during a leg between Las Vegas and Columbus, Ohio.

Reports indicate that an off-duty pilot who happened to be on board at the time of the incident entered the cockpit and took over the plane, allowing the afflicted pilot to be relieved of his duties.

The captain became incapacitated while enroute, a crew member said about what transpired while communicating to air traffic control. Hes in the back of the aircraft right now with a flight attendant, but we need to get him on an ambulance immediately.

(Related: Last summer, Southwest was forced to pay out millions to conservatives on social media who were digitally assassinated by the company over their views and perspectives.)

Why are so many pilots suffering health troubles these days?

Company spokesman Chris Perry told the media that a credentialed pilot from another airline came to the rescue by entering the flight deck and assisting with radio communication while our Southwest pilot flew the aircraft.

We greatly appreciate their support and assistance, Perry added in a statement.

There was also a nurse who happened to be flying that leg as a passenger who came to the rescue and helped care for the afflicted pilot.

Its standard procedure for our flight crews to request assistance from traveling medical personnel during in-flight medical events involving customers, this person said. This situation just so happened to involve one of our employees.

According to data at FlightAware.com, the plane in question had been in the air for around one hour and 17 minutes when the incident occurred. After returning back to the Las Vegas airport  Columbus was the destination  a backup crew boarded the plane and continued on to Columbus as originally planned.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it is currently investigating the incident to determine what caused the Southwest pilot to suddenly lose his ability to fly the plane.

Safe and effective strikes again, one commenter wrote about the incident, implying that the safe and effective injections released under Operation Warp Speed are probably to blame for this sudden and unexpected incident mid-flight.

I have a flight to take next month and Im a little bit nervous, responded another, adding that he has flown quite a bit in my life and has never before felt scared.

Pilots are dying at Southwest Airlines at over 6x the normal rate after the covid vaccines rolled out, said another, citing a story by investigator Steve Kirsch.

In that article by Kirsch, it is further revealed that disabilities among Southwest pilots are 10 times the normal amount, prompting Kirsch to state: I thought the vaccines were supposed to reduce death, not increase it!

I just asked the FAA for their comment, but no answer, Kirsch wrote in the post, dated January 27 of this year.

It turns out that the FAA nominee currently being questioned, Phillip Washington, was appointed by fake president Joe Biden and is a high school dropout with no aviation experience.

Another diversity hire, one commenter wrote about Washington, Bidens nominee, who was unable to answer any of Sen. Ted Budds (R-N.C.) questions during a recent hearing  watch below:

The plane was suddenly and unexpectedly without a pilot, another commenter wrote.

Another victim suffering from a coincidence,' said another towards the same end, implying that all the claims about scientists and doctors being baffled over all this illness is just a cover for the deadly shots.

The latest news about the rising occurrence of disease and sudden health incidents ever since the advent of Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines can be found at HeartDisease.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com

SteveKirsch.substack.com
Although lynx were extinct in Britain more than a thousand years ago, some conservation groups think that the animal could aid in the recovery of natural habitats.

The opinions of stakeholders, such as farmers, land managers, and conservationists, have been examined in a recent study conducted by researchers from the Vincent Wildlife Trust and the University of Exeter.

Published in Humans and Nature is the piece.

Lynx reintroduction In Scotland?

According to main author David Bavin of the Vincent Wildlife Trust, "our results demonstrate that views in Scotland about potential future lynx reintroduction are far more diverse, nuanced, and sophisticated than could have been imagined."

Instead of a straightforward 'for' versus 'against' binary divide, we discovered a spectrum of various viewpoints, as per Phys.org.

"Lynx for Change" advocates for the return of lynx because they believe they can help with ecosystem restoration.

Extremely opposed, believing that people are assuming the functions of huge animals that are no longer present.

Supported the dialogue but believed there were too many socio-ecological impediments to proceed.

The study revealed significant areas of disagreement on the potential effects on sheep farming and the extent to which our environment should be under human management or permitted to self-regulate, according to Bavin.

There was a lack of trust between stakeholder groups, which was primarily brought on by some of the participants' experiences with prior wildlife reintroductions and the management of recovering predators, but encouragingly, there was agreement that a participatory and cooperative approach is essential for any discussion about lynx reintroduction to move forward.

Also Read: Iberian Lynx, Source of Genes that Live on in Over 900 Felines, Dies at 20 - Spain

Lynx are solitary

Adults only congregating for breeding purposes. Early spring is typically when lynx kittens are born in dens made under big tree roots, fallen tree limbs, or piles of rocks, as per The San Diego Zoo.

A litter typically consists of one to four kittens, and the mother is the only caregiver. The eyes and ears of lynx kittens are closed at birth. When the mother has plenty of food, the kittens grow swiftly; when there is a lack of food, few kittens survive.

Lynx kittens start consuming solid food in the final few weeks of their four to five-month nursing period. Around 10 months old, young lynx are capable of supporting themselves, although they typically stay with their mother for up to a year and don't achieve adult size until they are 2 years old.

Siblings who have recently parted ways with their mother might spend a few months traveling and hunting together before deciding to go their separate ways.

Mews, yowls, spits, and hisses are just a few of the sounds that lynx may produce that are comparable to those of house cats.

And they can purr just like our own cats. A mother lynx frequently purrs as she feeds or grooms her offspring.

During the breeding season, lynx typically yowl and snarl more frequently. To communicate with other lynx, the cats also employ scent markings, different ear positions, and facial expressions.

Related article: Threatened Lynx Are Understudied by Scientists: Report
On Friday, the southern United States was covered by the northern lights and their magnificent crimson glow, which could be seen down in Florida.

An Uncommon Sighting

The Chiefland Astronomy Village caught the edge of March 24th's aurora, and it's further into Florida than I expected. The last time this happened (2003) the space weather was much, much worse, making this a major sign of Earth's increasing vulnerability to the Sun's activity. pic.twitter.com/WgzMFccGfX  Book of Katherine (@bookofkatherine) March 28, 2023

The uncommon sighting of northern lights, or aurora borealis, of any color thus far south is due to a powerful Category G4 geomagnetic storm in our atmosphere. The coronal mass ejection-the sun's discharge of a magnetic field and its plasma-caused the storm.

The Sun-Earth environment news website Spaceweather.com received a shot of the red aurora captured in Florida by astrophotographer Bill Williams. I asked the astronomer of Chiefland Astro Village, "What in the world occurred to our western horizon the night of March 23-24," he wrote. "

They concluded that it was most likely airglow since there were no rocket launches or wildfires. The mystery was solved the following day as Spaceweather.com described a "severe geomagnetic storm" well-seen in the U.S. As far as I am aware, at 29.4 degrees north latitude, we are the farthest south this aurora has been observed.

On the same night, breathtaking lights were seen across the nation, from Colorado and New Mexico to Canada, due to the same geomagnetic storm, thought to be the STRONGEST in nearly six years.

Also Read: Sunspot Growing at an Exponentially Fast Rate, Should We Worry?

What Causes Auroras

When solar flare X-rays or coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are solar plasma plumes, collide with the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, they produce auroras.

Martin Connors, a professor of space science and physics at Athabasca University in Canada, recently told Newsweek that "almost all magnetic effects at Earth are due to a combination of the solar wind magnetic field and pressure." The solar wind typically travels at a speed of 300 to 700 km/s (about a million miles per hour), contains up to 10 particles per cubic centimeter (like 10 atoms the size of a sugar cube; most people refer to this as a "vacuum"), and has a very weak magnetic field that is much smaller than the magnetic field that rotates compasses on Earth's surface.

The gas atoms in our atmosphere are affected by these solar winds, which excite them and cause them to release light as the aurora, spreads waves of color across the night sky.

According to Brett Carter, an associate professor of space science at RMIT University in Australia and a source for Newsweek, "the colors in the aurora are the result of particles in the upper atmosphere becoming excited by collisions with particles coming from within the magnetosphere and some from within the solar wind." The diverse colors are caused by electrons relaxing at various energy levels from oxygen (which produces the most frequent reds and greens) and nitrogen (which produces dark reds and blues).

Reactions produce brighter green hues lower in the atmosphere, while red colors are released higher. Because they see the top of the aurora, the northern lights look redder the further south a viewer is.

As there aren't many oxygen atoms present at such high altitudes, the red hue is typically quite faint, according to Daniel Brown, an associate professor of astronomy and scientific communication at Nottingham Trent University in the U.K., who spoke with Newsweek in February. Nevertheless, if the activity is great enough, as it is right now, the coronal mass ejections include enough excited particles to interact with more oxygen and brighten the red.

Reaching Far

The aurora was captured by Williams in Florida on March 23 and 24, when stronger geomagnetic storms caused the lights to become visible farther and farther from the poles. In Tasmania, Australia, the southern lights, or aurora australis, were also seen farther north than usual.

The Space Weather Forecasting Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that geomagnetic storms can have various other effects on the globe besides these stunning displays. On a scale of 1 to 5, geomagnetic storms are categorized, with weak G1 storms only causing small power grid oscillations and auroras in the most northern states. However, "extreme" G5 storms may cause significant voltage management issues, power outages in some power grids, and difficulties with low-frequency radio navigation.

Related Article: Can Powerful Solar Storms Have the Power to Destroy the Entire Planet?

For more cosmic news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
The French Met Office has named the cyclonic low-pressure system Storm Mathis, which is currently pushing up through Europe, and it is expected to rip through Britain in hours, with the potential to cause "structural damage to buildings."

While it is expected to primarily affect neighboring France, its tail end is expected to cause a new wave of chaos in the United Kingdom beginning this evening.

Thunderstorms, gusts of up to 60mph, and flash flooding are possible in parts of the UK overnight, according to the Met Office, which has issued a yellow weather warning for much of the southwest.

Storm Mathis To Batter Britain

Jim Dale, the senior meteorologist for British Weather Services, told Express.co.uk that Devon and Cornwall will be hardest hit overnight, as per Express.

According to Dale, it is of Atlantic origin and is a fairly deep area of low pressure that will cross the Bristol Channel before heading east to East Anglia.

It has the potential to have an impact on southern Wales, with expected gusts of 50 to 60 mph on higher ground,.

The Met Office's weather warnings for the south west warn of hazardous driving conditions, delays in public transportation, and issues for high-sided vehicles on exposed roads and bridges.

The warning is in effect from 9 p.m. tonight until noon tomorrow.

Mr Dale, on the other hand, believes the south-eastern counties may get the last of it on Saturday morning.

There could be up to 30 to 35mm of rain, and the problem is that it comes in quickly and with venom - thunder, possibly flash flooding.

A deep area of low pressure is expected to move eastwards across southern Britain on Thursday evening and Friday morning, bringing strong southerly winds, then a lull, followed by strong west or northwesterly winds.

The track and depth of the low are uncertain, which affects how strong the wind will be.

Winds will likely gust to 50 to 60 mph along the coast, with a low probability of 70 mph over exposed hills and headlands, with winds peaking after they veer west or northwesterly.

This could cause some inconvenience in some areas.

Along with the strong winds, citizens can expect heavy rain overnight before the low moves eastward.

While the south west will be hit the hardest by the storm, parts of northern France are under amber weather warnings, with the storm's wrath expected to hit today.

In terms of how long the rain will last, Mr Dale, a weather expert and author, predicts that things will start to dry up next week.

Temperatures will begin to rise just in time for the Easter weekend, though how much warmer it will get is unknown.

Also Read: UK Weather Forecast: Thunderstorms Expected Across UK as Flood Warnings Remain in Effect

Predictions For The UK Bank Holidays As Schools Break Up

Most schools in England and Wales reopen on Monday, April 17th.

In Scotland, most schools take a break on March 31 and return on April 17.

Meanwhile, most schools in Northern Ireland will be closed from April 6 to 14.

Easter Sunday falls on April 9 this year.

Good Friday, April 7, will be a bank holiday in the United Kingdom.

Easter Monday, also a bank holiday, falls on April 10th, completing a four-day weekend for residents of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Although it is not a national holiday in Scotland, some councils, including Edinburgh, Falkirk, and Dundee, treat it as such.

Unstable weather is expected in the south, while higher pressure to the north is expected to bring drier weather to this region, as per iNews.

Conditions across the country are expected to be drier than in March, though there is a chance of some cooler weather in the north and east, as well as some overnight frosts.

The Met Office has a wind forecast in place for the southern and south-west parts of England, as well as parts of south Wales.

This is in effect from 9 p.m. today until noon tomorrow.

Another yellow wind warning is in effect for the same areas tomorrow from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For the same time period, a rain warning has been issued for areas in the southwest.

Related article: UK Weather Forecast: High Winds, Heavy Rain Expected to Unfold This Week
This month, a gray whale off the coast of California was seen without its tail, showing that it had figured out how to swim on its side.

Injured Whale

According to Jessica Roame via Insider, the education manager at Newport Whales in California, the tail-less whale was probably traveling the 6,000-mile trek between feeding grounds in Alaska and nesting grounds close to Mexico.

The study suggests the whale's tail injury hasn't hindered it from obtaining food or migrating, according to Newport Whales, who told Fox LA that the whale is "maybe a bit underweight but not significantly so," Roame said the outlet.

How Whales Swim

Whales primarily use their flukes to propel themselves.

Whales use their tail fins to help them move through the water when swimming. The flipper moves continuously. While their flippers are primarily utilized for steering, whales propel themselves through vertical movement by swinging their tail fin and lower torso up and down.

Certain animals may move more quickly by logging out of the water. They can swim rapidly because of their skeletal structure. Dorsal fins are present in most species.

Also Read: Dolphins at Risk of Suffering from Alzheimer's, Says Scottish Researchers

Can An Injured Whale Still Swim?

A humpback whale obsered by scientists for over ten years finally completed swimming more than 3,000 miles from Canada to Hawaii while still in "severe agony" due to a fractured spine, as per USA Today.

According to a Facebook post by the non-profit research organization BC Whales, Moon, a lone humpback whale, went from British Columbia to Maui with a significant spinal injury brought on by a vessel strike.

Newport Coastal Adventure, a boat charter company, used a drone to film the fluke-less whale in action.

Ryan Lawler, the proprietor of Newport Coastal Experience, reported to The Orange County Register in California that his business discovered the whale on March 13.

He said they saw it bending heavily to one side and swimming with just its pectoral fins.

According to Lawler, who spoke to The Orange County Register, "It had a distinctive swimming technique because it had to make up for not having a tail anymore."

Whales Struggling

In contrast to the average swimming pace of an adult gray whale, which is four miles per hour, Lawler claimed the whale was moving at three miles per hour.

According to Fox LA, which cited whale experts, the whale probably lost its tail after being entangled in industrial fishing equipment.

In February 2018, a second gray whale lacking a tail was spotted around Newport.

The specimen was moving toward the north, "favoring its right side with each breath," according to a photographer who recorded it.

But, despite the disability, the whale appears to be doing well as it adjusts to losing an essential limb, according to photographer Brooke Palmer.

If the whale seen in March 2018 was the same whale observed in 2018, it is uncertain.

Related Article: Scientists Studied the Brains of Comb Jellies to Understand How Neurons Evolved

For more biology news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
According to information published by the Philippine DnD on March 28, 2023, the Philippine Navy (PN) announced that it had test-fired its newly acquired "Bullfighter" chaff anti-missile decoys in Zambales waters.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Jose Rizal class frigate test firing Bullfighter. (Picture source: Philippine Navy)

The chaff was fitted aboard the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), which are modern warships capable of surface, sub-surface, air, and electronic warfare using state-of-the-art electronic sensors, long-range missiles, acoustic guided torpedoes, and embarked anti-submarine helicopters.

The chaff countermeasure capability is part of the Philippine Navy's 2nd Horizon modernization program aimed at defending the country's warships against modern naval warfare threats.

The test was conducted by the Offshore Patrol Force aboard the two missile frigates. Chaff works by distracting radar-guided missiles from their targets by spreading or dispensing a small cloud of aluminum, metalized glass fiber, or plastic, which appears as a cluster of targets in radar screens. The successful firing of chaff by BRP Antonio Luna marks the first time in Philippine Navy history that a ship has fired chaff successfully.

The acquisition of the chaff countermeasure capability and other modernization programs are part of the Philippine Navy's efforts to upgrade its capabilities and capacity to effectively protect the country's territorial waters and support the nation's maritime security objectives.

About the Jose Rizal class

The frigates typically have a displacement of 2,600 tons, a length of 107.5 meters, a beam of 13.8 meters, and a draft of 3.65 meters. The vessels are powered by a combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) arrangement that consists of four MTU-STX 12V1163-TB93 12-cylinder diesel engines, which can produce speeds of up to 25 knots.

The frigates have a range of 4,500 nautical miles and an endurance of 30 days. They carry two RHIBs and have accommodation for 110 persons, including crew, non-organic, and additional personnel.

The vessels are equipped with advanced combat management systems such as the Naval Shield Baseline 2 Integrated CMS, Search & Track Radar, and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) System.
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The Russian General Staff is not planning to hold a second wave of mobilization, because the current number of volunteers and servicemen is sufficient for fulfilling the tasks of the special operation in Ukraine, the head of the Russian General Staffs main organization and mobilization department Rear Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky has said.

"I would like to assure you that the General Staffs plans do not include the second wave of mobilization. The current number of conscripts and people who volunteered to participate in the [special] operation is sufficient for fulfilling the objectives," TASS quoted Rear Admiral Tsimlyansky as saying during a briefing devoted to Russias spring conscription for mandatory service.

In his words, "the number of citizens who decided to join the Russian armed forces under the enlistment contract has increased significantly as of lately."

This years spring conscription in Russia will be held during its usual timeframe of April 1 - July 15 for a total of 147,000 Russians aged between 18 and 27.

Meanwhile, Russian officials said that the conscripts called up for mandatory military service wont be sent to Ukraine.

Russia mobilized 318,000 men in autumn 2022 for what it describes as a special military operation in Ukraine, which Kiev and many Western countries say is an unprovoked aggression.
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The President of the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Laurent Wauquiez has called for practical steps for not allowing Azerbaijans violations of international law in Armenia, Artsakh and the Lachin Corridor to be overlooked.

The head of the French region is now visiting Armenia.

On March 31 he met with Nagorno Karabakhs Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan in Yerevan.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Wauquiez described himself as a longtime friend of Armenia and Artsakh and said that hes shocked by the current situation.

In 2019, we met with representatives of Artsakh and signed a cooperation agreement between my region and Artsakh. Wed adopted a political position in my region to confirm Artsakhs right to independence, which led to serious pressures by Pan-Turkist terrorist organizations against me and my family. Why am I here today? Because I am well aware that the entire international attention is on Ukraine and there is a serious danger for Armenia and Artsakh to be forgotten in all of this. I am here to say that we are not forgetting you, you are not alone, and we shouldnt allow the violations of international law in Armenia, Artsakh and Lachin Corridor to go unnoticed in silence, Wauquiez said.

The President of the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes visited the entrance of the blockaded Lachin Corridor in Syunik to show to his countrymen the violations of international law, that 120,000 people on the other side are deprived of basic human rights.

I was with the Governor of Syunik the moment he was notified that an advance had taken place the day before where we were located at that time [Tegh village]. I have witnessed and can testify about the violation of international law. I have also seen the Azerbaijani flags hoisted on the heights located in Armenian lands. And I had the chance to speak with displaced persons of Artsakh, whose words were deeply touching. As a politician, it is my duty to take action and be able to help you, he said.

Wauquiez said that they want to organize a humanitarian convoy jointly with the organizations representing the Armenian community of France and try to deliver humanitarian aid to Artsakh.

The convoy will be organized with our regions support and will bear our regions flag. It will approach the Lachin Corridor and we will demand passage to Artsakh. Either the convoy will pass and we will have a ray of hope, or the convoy will be barred and it will give us the opportunity to present this issue before international and European organizations, that once again the international law is being violated, and that actions must be taken, Wauquiez added.


Norfolk hospital chaplain hails power of prayer Norfolk hospital chaplain hails power of prayer

A Norfolk Catholic hospital chaplain, who two years ago survived his own three-month hospital battle with Covid-19, has written a new book about the power of praying with and for the sick. Keith Morris reports.

Fr Michael Stack spent more than five weeks in critical care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn in 2020, due to Covid-19.



He died twice and was on a ventilator for three weeks before he miraculously pulled through, astonishing the medical team with his recovery.



He is full of praise for the doctors and nurses  but he also drew strength from being visited and prayed for by Catholic priest Fr Gordon Adam and Baptist hospital chaplain Rev Lee Gilbert.



Fr Michael himself has spent 25 years as a hospital chaplain and is now National Chaplain to the Association of Catholic Nurses of England & Wales (ACNEW). He knows the vital role chaplains can play for many patients and about the healing power of prayerful companionship with the sick and dying. He feels the experience has only strengthened his faith.



Within a short time of arriving in Norfolk for a holiday from Coventry, Fr Michael had developed a bad cough and started hallucinating. He was admitted by ambulance to hospital.



I was on a ventilator for 21 days and 36 days in critical care, said Fr Michael. I dont remember much because I was completely medicated  a blessing in disguise.



Fr Michael had a tracheostomy to help his breathing and he had to learn to walk again after his 10-week hospital stay.



Prayers were said around the world for him as he lay unconscious with the most severe form of the virus in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.



Fr Gordon Adam, Assistant Priest at King's Lynn Catholic Parish, saw Fr Michael at least twice and said: In hospital during the pandemic, especially with routine visiting in the hospital being prohibited, the work of chaplains to help people practice their faith while experiencing serious health problems becomes more important than ever. In the most extreme cases it is spiritual critical care to help someone facing death know that their sins are absolved so that they can be at ease with God.



On Easter Sunday, Baptist hospital chaplain Rev Lee Gilbert received a call from critical care nurses asking him to say some prayers for a Catholic priest who was under their care. Lee used Facetime with the nurses holding an iPad near to Fr Michael.



Whilst I had no idea as to whether Fr Michael could hear me or not, I knew that God could hear me and afterwards I spoke to Fr Michaels sister and told her what I had done and I believe it gave her a great deal of comfort when she herself could not come into the hospital.



Slowly but surely Fr Michaels health improved and he was transferred to a ward where I could go and have a face-to-face conversation and we reflected together on his journey through Covid-19 and through the hospital.



So what did Fr Michael, now living in Thetford, learn from his own close encounter with death in hospital? I have become aware again that we rely on others. It is the prayers offers, the support offered to my family. It is the nurses and doctors in our NHS who by their care save lives  many lives. My gratitude is to the many life-savers and nursing staff who used their gifts to help me. Thank you.

Book describes Fr Michael's hospital experiences
Google is adding a second cloud availability region in the Middle East, at Doha, to cater to demand from Qatars government and enterprises in the region, it said on Friday.

The new cloud region will help the Qatari government achieve its Qatar National Vision 2030 plan to sustain development and provide a high standard of living for its people, according to Google Clouds country manager for Qatar, Ghassan Kosta.

This new region is a strong step towards building regional capacity that meets the needs of the Qatari digital economy, from availability and data residency, to digital sovereignty and sustainability, Kosta wrote in a blog post.

At launch, the new region at Doha will offer Google Cloud services including Compute Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud SQL, Google Kubernetes Engine, and Spanner, among others, the company said.

The new region will offer three availability zones to provide more capacity and protection against disruptions, it added.

Although the company claims that the data enter is open, a company portal listing the services currently available in the region, dubbed me-central1, shows no active services. The formal launch event for the region on May 22 coincides with the companys annual cloud summit, Google Cloud Next.

Googles other cloud region in the middle east, me-west1, is in Tel Aviv. This too offers three availability zones for services including compute, storage, security, and AI.

The addition of the Doha region takes Google Clouds total cloud region count to 37, with 112 availability zones.

Cloud service providers expand footprint

Google has been investing heavily into opening more cloud regions to compete with larger rivals such as AWS and Microsoft.

In October, Google had announced that it would open new regions across Austria, Greece, Norway, South Africa and Sweden to supplement new regions announced in August for New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico.

Rival public cloud services providers, such as Microsoft and Oracle, also have revealed plans to expand their cloud region footprint.

In July 2022, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company would launch 10 new cloud regions over the following year.

Similarly, in June 2022, Oracle CEO Safra Catz said the company expected to add another six regions in the following year. It launched two of these new sovereign regions in the European Union the following month.

AWS, too, has been expanding its footprint in the Asia Pacific region. In November last year it launched a second region in India, and in March it made a cloud region available in Malaysia.

In the Middle East, AWS has two cloud regionsBahrain and UAEeach offering three availability zones.

Oracle has three regions in the Middle East, in Israel, Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Google and Microsoft are expected to each add a new region in Saudi Arabia. Googles region will be based in Dammam, the company said.
Fire is to blame for a small but significant number of data-center outages including a March 28 fire that caused severe damage to a data center in France, and an analysis of global incidents highlights ongoing concerns about the safety of lithium-ion batteries and their risk of combustion.

The use of lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries in data centers is growing. Now commonly used in uninterruptible power supplies, they are expected to account for 38.5% of the data-center battery market by 2025, up from 15% in 2020, according to consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

Adoption is driven by Li-ion batteries smaller footprint, simpler maintenance, and longer lifespan compared to lead-acid batteries. In addition, Li-ion energy storage is a key component in renewable energy distribution, according to Uptime Institute, which offers resiliency services, advice on building and running data centers, and certification services.

However, Li-ion batteries present a greater fire risk than valve-regulated lead-acid batteries, Uptime warns.

The firm found in its annual analysis of data-center reliability that 7% of outages were caused by fires. (Connectivity problemswhich include issues with fiber, network software, and configurationare one of the biggest causes, responsible for 29% of publicly reported outages.)

We find, every time we do these surveys, fire doesnt go away, said Andy Lawrence, executive director of research at Uptime, in a conference call to discuss the firms new outage research.

Fire protection has always been a challenge when it comes to batteries and thermal runaway, when heat builds up in a battery faster than it can be dissipated. Over time, the industry has gotten a better understanding of what causes thermal runaway in lead-acid batteries and developed intelligent charging circuits that improve detection and avert problems, said Chris Brown, chief technical officer at Uptime.

We learned a lot through the years with lead-acid batteries. Now, lithium ion comes onto the scene, and its a whole different animal, Brown said.

Weigh the pros and cons of deploying Li-ion batteries.

Li-ion batteries burn hotter than lead-acid batteries, and if the battery-containment unit is damaged, it doesnt react well with oxygen or water, Brown said. Were finding that we do not completely, truly understand all the failure modes of lithium-ion batteries at the moment, and the charging circuits are not able to cope with them all, he said.

As with any battery, once a Li-ion battery starts to burn, it's hard to put out. Its going to burn until it expends all of its energy, and just dumping water on it doesnt really help. It keeps it from spreading, perhaps, but it doesnt help, Brown said. And the fact that it burns much hotter than lead-acid batteries [means] its going to do a lot more damage. Its going to burn a lot longer because it stores a lot more energy. And so thats the problem were seeing with lithium-ion everywhere.

In response, local authorities and regulatory agencies are enacting requirements related to the storage of Li-ion batteries.

Brown recommends data-center operators pay close attention to facility design if Li-ion batteries are part of the plan.

If you are looking at using lithium-ion batteries, then definitely look at segregating them into their own battery room, he said. A battery room should have at least a couple of fire-rated walls and ceilings, and operators should consider using a foam fire-suppression system because at least foam will smother the fire and help to extinguish it, whereas water is just going to keep it from spreading.

When asked about the use of distributed batteries, as opposed to a centralized UPS system with banks of batteries, Brown advises caution.

In the past, a conventional approach was to remove every type of combustible unit from the data hall itself. Now, with distributed batteries being installed in racks and rack-mounted UPSes, data-center operators have to weigh the energy-efficiency gains of distributed Li-ion batteries against the fire risks, Brown says.

The good thing is that if it does catch fire, these are much smaller batteries, so you might be able to contain it to a few racks. However, theres going to be smoke, and in the end, any racks in that vicinity are going to suck some of that debris into them. And while it may not cause failures today, thats going to lead to premature failures in the future.

People need to go into it with eyes wide open, perform a costbenefit analysis, and do whats best for them, Brown says. But my recommendation is that you get batteries out of the data hall. Thats the most reliable, most resilient thing you can do.

Recent data-center fires blamed on Li-ion batteries

Lawrence referred to instances in which Li-ion batteries are suspected to be the cause of data-center fires.

One of the most notorious incidents occurred in early 2021, when the largest cloud provider based in Europe, OVHcloud, suffered a catastrophic fire that destroyed one of its data centers in Strasbourg and damaged a neighboring one.

A Maxnod data center in France suffered a devasting fire on March 28, 2023, and we believe its caused by lithium-ion battery fire, Lawrence said.

A lithium-ion battery fire is also the reported cause of a major fire on Oct. 15, 2022, at a South Korea colocation facility owned by SK Group and operated by its C&C subsidiary. The fire at the SK C&C data center reportedly started in a battery room and affected the operations of major South Korea tech companies.

Most of South Korea suffered an eight-hour service disruption. CEOs resigned. Government investigations and multiple class-action lawsuits were initiated, Uptime said.

The SK C&C incident took tens of thousands of servers offline, including the IT infrastructure running South Koreas most popular messaging and single sign-on platform, KakaoTalk, wrote Daniel Bizo, research director at Uptime, in a blog post.

The outage disrupted its integrated mobile payment system, transport app, gaming platform and music serviceall of which are used by millions, Bizo wrote. The outage also affected domestic cloud giant Naver (the Google of South Korea) which reported disruption to its online search, shopping, media and blogging services.

Kakao attributed the cause of the fire to the Li-ion batteries deployed at the facility; SK Group has not disclosed its official findings.
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Artsakhs (Nagorno Karabakh) fate is closely linked with Syuniks fate, while Syunik is the key to Armenias integrity, the President of the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Laurent Wauquiez said on March 31 in Yerevan.

Thats why we decided to have a cooperation agreement between our region and Syunik province. The agreement was signed in a very meaningful place, in the Tatev Monastery. Cooperation will relate to healthcare, agriculture and education. Ive said that whoever attacks Syunik will be attacking my region, Wauquiez said, repeating his statement made at the signing ceremony earlier.

He called on France and the international community to pay attention to Armenia and Artsakh amid the threats from Azerbaijan.

This isnt a dispute between two countries where borders arent clarified and it could last forever, this is a total disregard for human rights that are protected under all international conventions, this is a desire to destroy a nation, its culture and history, its memory. This is certainly Armenias struggle, Artsakhs struggle, but this is also a bigger struggle, this is a struggle for all the values that we bear. This is a struggle for civilization and democracy. Protecting you means protecting all these values, the French politician added.

He called for stronger reaction by the international community and international sanctions against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

It was decided not to buy Russian gas any more after the occupation of some parts of Ukraine, but is the Azerbaijani gas more acceptable? Why werent there any consequences for what happened, why are there no sanctions against the Aliyev regime? I share these questions with you and I am equally angered, he said.

Wauquiez said that together with his 40-member delegation he visited Syunik province. All members of my delegation can now say, I have been there, I have seen whats happening, I know whats happening. The Azerbaijani troops came and captured the parts from the sovereign territory of Armenia where we went just one day earlier.
Uma Kannan By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: In its latest cost-cutting measure, SoftBank-backed Unacademy will fire around 380 or 12% of its workforce. This is the fourth round of layoffs, as the unicorn in November fired 350 employees or 10% of its employees.

In the internal memo to employees, Gaurav Munjal, Co-Founder and CEO, Unacademy Group said, We have taken every step in the right direction to make our core business profitable, yet its not enough. We have to go further, we have to go deeper. Unfortunately, this has led me to take another difficult decision.

We will be reducing the size of our team by 12% to ensure that we can meet the goals we are chasing in the current realities we face. I did not anticipate I would have to do this again, and Im very sorry, he said in the note.

He added that today, the global economy is enduring a recession, funding is scarce and running a profitable business is key. We have to adapt to these changes, build and operate in a much leaner manner so we can truly create value for our users and shareholders, he added.

The start-up also said that impacted employees will be receiving severance pay equivalent to notice period and an additional one months pay. They will also get medical Insurance coverage for additional six months- till September 30.

In January, it fired 40 employees in its subsidiary Relevel. With funding winter, many start-ups are struggling and are looking to make business profitable. In 2022 alone, Tiger Global-backed edtech company Vedantu laid off 1,000 employees. Recently, Microsoft-owned GitHub fired its entire engineering team- about 142 people- in India.

At a time when big tech companies and start-ups are firing people, employees are also worried that technologies such as Artificial Intelligence might eliminate many jobs in the future. In a report, Goldman Sachs says that 300 million jobs could be affected by generative Artificial Intelligence. The report also said that the impact will vary between different sectors.

Layoff season

Unacademy to reduce 12% of its workforce

CEO says funding is scarce and running a profitable biz is key

Last year, Byjus and Vedantu too laid off employees

In 2022 alone, Vedantu laid off 1,000 employees

Goldman Sachs said 300 mn jobs could be affected by latest wave of AI

BENGALURU: In its latest cost-cutting measure, SoftBank-backed Unacademy will fire around 380 or 12% of its workforce. This is the fourth round of layoffs, as the unicorn in November fired 350 employees or 10% of its employees. In the internal memo to employees, Gaurav Munjal, Co-Founder and CEO, Unacademy Group said, We have taken every step in the right direction to make our core business profitable, yet its not enough. We have to go further, we have to go deeper. Unfortunately, this has led me to take another difficult decision. We will be reducing the size of our team by 12% to ensure that we can meet the goals we are chasing in the current realities we face. I did not anticipate I would have to do this again, and Im very sorry, he said in the note.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He added that today, the global economy is enduring a recession, funding is scarce and running a profitable business is key. We have to adapt to these changes, build and operate in a much leaner manner so we can truly create value for our users and shareholders, he added. The start-up also said that impacted employees will be receiving severance pay equivalent to notice period and an additional one months pay. They will also get medical Insurance coverage for additional six months- till September 30. In January, it fired 40 employees in its subsidiary Relevel. With funding winter, many start-ups are struggling and are looking to make business profitable. In 2022 alone, Tiger Global-backed edtech company Vedantu laid off 1,000 employees. Recently, Microsoft-owned GitHub fired its entire engineering team- about 142 people- in India. At a time when big tech companies and start-ups are firing people, employees are also worried that technologies such as Artificial Intelligence might eliminate many jobs in the future. In a report, Goldman Sachs says that 300 million jobs could be affected by generative Artificial Intelligence. The report also said that the impact will vary between different sectors. Layoff season Unacademy to reduce 12% of its workforce CEO says funding is scarce and running a profitable biz is key Last year, Byjus and Vedantu too laid off employees In 2022 alone, Vedantu laid off 1,000 employees Goldman Sachs said 300 mn jobs could be affected by latest wave of AI
Sachin Kumar By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: The entry of private equity (PE) funds in the mutual fund industry could trigger a spate of buyouts and bring smaller asset management companies under the radar of new entrants prowling for their acquisition target.

Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday allowed PE funds to own mutual fund companies. We may see the acquisition of smaller players by new entrants because starting from scratch is a time taking and more challenging process. PE firms typically tend to have relatively shorter time of horizon and far more focus on aggressive growth, CEO of an asset management company told this newspaper.

Entry of these new players in the countrys Rs 41 lakh crore mutual fund industry will pose challenge for the regulators because of the short-term approach of the PE firms, which does not gel well nature of mutual funds sector.

One of the challenges for the regulators will be that some of them (PE funds) may follow relatively aggressive growth path because these are the funds with a finite life, he said. Regulators will have checks and balances but realistically, exit pressure sometimes pushes companies into a mindless expansion. There is a difference between growing at any cost and growing in a sustainable manner, he added.

The industry expects to see more innovations and new approach with entry of new players.

Some players may choose to start from zero while some would like to acquire existing smaller players. With entry of new players, the mutual fund industry will see more innovation and new talent. Overall it is a positive development and will strengthen mutual fund industry, said G Pradeepkumar, CEO, Union Mutual Fund.

MF industry likely to see more innovations

Entry of these new players in the countrys `41 lakh crore mutual fund industry will pose challenge for the regulators because of the short-term approach of the PE firms, which does not gel well nature of mutual funds sector. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday allowed PE funds to own mutual fund companies. Industry expects to see more innovations and new approach with entry of new players



MUMBAI: The entry of private equity (PE) funds in the mutual fund industry could trigger a spate of buyouts and bring smaller asset management companies under the radar of new entrants prowling for their acquisition target. Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday allowed PE funds to own mutual fund companies. We may see the acquisition of smaller players by new entrants because starting from scratch is a time taking and more challenging process. PE firms typically tend to have relatively shorter time of horizon and far more focus on aggressive growth, CEO of an asset management company told this newspaper. Entry of these new players in the countrys Rs 41 lakh crore mutual fund industry will pose challenge for the regulators because of the short-term approach of the PE firms, which does not gel well nature of mutual funds sector.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); One of the challenges for the regulators will be that some of them (PE funds) may follow relatively aggressive growth path because these are the funds with a finite life, he said. Regulators will have checks and balances but realistically, exit pressure sometimes pushes companies into a mindless expansion. There is a difference between growing at any cost and growing in a sustainable manner, he added. The industry expects to see more innovations and new approach with entry of new players. Some players may choose to start from zero while some would like to acquire existing smaller players. With entry of new players, the mutual fund industry will see more innovation and new talent. Overall it is a positive development and will strengthen mutual fund industry, said G Pradeepkumar, CEO, Union Mutual Fund. MF industry likely to see more innovations Entry of these new players in the countrys `41 lakh crore mutual fund industry will pose challenge for the regulators because of the short-term approach of the PE firms, which does not gel well nature of mutual funds sector. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday allowed PE funds to own mutual fund companies. Industry expects to see more innovations and new approach with entry of new players
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: In a horrifying incident that cast a shadow on the image of Bengaluru being one of the safest cities in the country for women, a 19-year-old woman was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by four men in a moving car for five and a half hours. The incident took place in the Koramangala police station limits on March 25 night. Four have been arrested.

The police said the woman, who works with a private company, was smoking with her male friend in a park attached to National Games Village, which has residential complexes that house several judges and top bureaucrats, around 9.30 pm on March 25.

Meanwhile, one of the accused, who reportedly knew the victims friend, approached them and objected to them sitting in the park at night and smoking. The victim and her friend told him that it was none of his business.

But then a shocking thing happened. The friend told the victim that he needed to go home and left, even as the accused was standing there and making phone calls. In a few minutes, three others came to the park, forcibly dragged the woman into the car and abducted her. Via Domlur, they drove to Attibele on Hosur Road and made a U-turn before the checkpost and left the woman near her house in Ejipura around 3.30 am. While the car was on the move, the accused allegedly raped the woman, DCP (South-East division) CK Baba told reporters.

The victim, who managed to contact her mother, reached a hospital with her help and filed a complaint against the four youths the next day. Within eight hours after the case was registered, all the four accused were secured. We are waiting for the medical reports. More details cant be shared as the investigation is still on, the DCP said. He added that the victim was familiar with the faces of the accused, but was not acquainted with them.

The accused have been identified as Satish, Vijay, Sridhar and Kiran, all residents of Ejipura and surrounding areas in Bengaluru, and aged 23-24. Two of the accused work as office boys, one is an electrician and another is employed with a BPO.

Role of friend ruled out, says officer

A senior police officer said the role of her friend  who left her while the accused was still at the park  in the incident has been ruled out. At the time of the abduction, a few people were still at the park.

When her friend told her he had to leave, the woman told him she would manage as there were still people around as it was around 10 pm. The accused took her in a Maruti 800 car, but no one seems to have paid attention to the incident or realised it was an abduction, the officer said. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra was not available for comment.

Bengaluru unsafe under BJP

Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala took to Twitter stating Bengaluru is unsafe under BJP rule. Another NIRBHAYA? #Bengaluru is one of the unsafest cities under BJP! TIME TO RETHINK. If u cant go out of ur house safely, If u cant go to a park safely, If u cant meet with friends, If sexual assault & gang rape will scar ur soul in public places, Should u not vote out BJP?

Another NIRBHYA?



. #Bengaluru is one of the unsafest city under BJP!



TIME TO RETHIN

If u cant go out of ur house safely,

If u cant go to a park safely,

If u cant meet with friends,

If sexual assault & gang rape will scar ur soul in public places,

Should u not vit out BJP? https://t.co/8N300rGyiH  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) March 31, 2023

BENGALURU: In a horrifying incident that cast a shadow on the image of Bengaluru being one of the safest cities in the country for women, a 19-year-old woman was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by four men in a moving car for five and a half hours. The incident took place in the Koramangala police station limits on March 25 night. Four have been arrested. The police said the woman, who works with a private company, was smoking with her male friend in a park attached to National Games Village, which has residential complexes that house several judges and top bureaucrats, around 9.30 pm on March 25. Meanwhile, one of the accused, who reportedly knew the victims friend, approached them and objected to them sitting in the park at night and smoking. The victim and her friend told him that it was none of his business.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); But then a shocking thing happened. The friend told the victim that he needed to go home and left, even as the accused was standing there and making phone calls. In a few minutes, three others came to the park, forcibly dragged the woman into the car and abducted her. Via Domlur, they drove to Attibele on Hosur Road and made a U-turn before the checkpost and left the woman near her house in Ejipura around 3.30 am. While the car was on the move, the accused allegedly raped the woman, DCP (South-East division) CK Baba told reporters. The victim, who managed to contact her mother, reached a hospital with her help and filed a complaint against the four youths the next day. Within eight hours after the case was registered, all the four accused were secured. We are waiting for the medical reports. More details cant be shared as the investigation is still on, the DCP said. He added that the victim was familiar with the faces of the accused, but was not acquainted with them. The accused have been identified as Satish, Vijay, Sridhar and Kiran, all residents of Ejipura and surrounding areas in Bengaluru, and aged 23-24. Two of the accused work as office boys, one is an electrician and another is employed with a BPO. Role of friend ruled out, says officer A senior police officer said the role of her friend  who left her while the accused was still at the park  in the incident has been ruled out. At the time of the abduction, a few people were still at the park. When her friend told her he had to leave, the woman told him she would manage as there were still people around as it was around 10 pm. The accused took her in a Maruti 800 car, but no one seems to have paid attention to the incident or realised it was an abduction, the officer said. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra was not available for comment. Bengaluru unsafe under BJP Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala took to Twitter stating Bengaluru is unsafe under BJP rule. Another NIRBHAYA? #Bengaluru is one of the unsafest cities under BJP! TIME TO RETHINK. If u cant go out of ur house safely, If u cant go to a park safely, If u cant meet with friends, If sexual assault & gang rape will scar ur soul in public places, Should u not vote out BJP? Another NIRBHYA? . #Bengaluru is one of the unsafest city under BJP! TIME TO RETHIN If u cant go out of ur house safely, If u cant go to a park safely, If u cant meet with friends, If sexual assault & gang rape will scar ur soul in public places, Should u not vit out BJP? https://t.co/8N300rGyiH  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) March 31, 2023
Binita Jaiswal and Novinston Lobo By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The city police late on Friday night booked an assistant professor Hari Padman in connection with sexual harassment charges levelled against him by students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation.

The professor was booked after two days of protest by the students demanding action against Hari Padman and a few faculty members.

Hari Padman was booked under IPC Sections 354A (sexual harassment) 509 (use of words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and Section 4 of Women Harassment Act.

The complaint was lodged by a former student at an All Women Police station in the city. Police sources said the man was sending obscene messages and comments to her through social media. The victim had also mentioned that the faculty harassed her while she was studying at the institute and she had to discontinue her studies because of him. The accused kept harassing her even after she left the institution, a senior police officer said.

The development comes on a day when Chief Minister M K Stalin promised thorough investigation and action against wrongdoers in the Tamil Nadu assembly. Over 100 students gave written complaints to the chairperson of the Tamil Nadu womens commission who visited the campus and also called off their two-day sit-in protest on the campus on Friday.

The protesting students also sent letters to the CM and union culture minister seeking action against four male teachers.

The letter written by a newly-formed Kalakshetra students' union, which was shared by the students with TNIE, said students have been facing sexual and verbal abuse and harassment for decades from assistant professor Hari Padman, and repertory artists Sanjit Lal, Sai Krishnan, and Sreenath. They have also been facing body shaming, verbal abuse and casteist remarks from serving director Revathi Ramachandran and head of the dance department, Dr Jyolsna Menon, the letter said.



The management of the foundation failed to give satisfactory answers to queries on why no action was taken on the sexual harassment complaints from students, said AS Kumari, chairperson of the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women, who conducted an inquiry with the students on the campus for four hours on Friday.

Responding to the issue raised by members of various political parties in the assembly during zero hour, the CM said, "When the issue was brought to my notice, I spoke to the district collector and got the details. A team of revenue and police officials was sent to Kalakshetra for inquiry. On Friday morning, this team met the students and the Kalakshetra administration and had discussions. A police team headed by a woman inspector has been posted there to ensure the safety of the girl students."



Kumari also interacted with a few former students via video call and said she will submit her detailed report to the CM by Monday. "I have received over 100 written complaints from students. We will examine the complaints and will submit our report to the state government by Monday," she said. However, she refused to divulge the complaint details received from students, citing confidentiality.

ALSO READ | Kalakshetra students write to Culture Ministry, demand action on sexual abuse complaints

Kumari also said the management of the foundation failed to give satisfactory answers to her queries. "The director and deputy director were not present on the campus. I met the principal and when I asked him why no action was taken on the sexual harassment allegations so far, he had no answer," she said.



The womens panel chief also said that students have expressed their willingness to write the examination which was postponed abruptly by the management on Thursday. "I will take up the issue with the institutes director. I have also advised the students to call off the agitation," Kumari said.



Over 200 students had started the sit-in protest on the campus on Thursday demanding immediate action against four teachers over sexual harassment allegations.

(With inputs from T Muruganandham)

CHENNAI: The city police late on Friday night booked an assistant professor Hari Padman in connection with sexual harassment charges levelled against him by students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation. The professor was booked after two days of protest by the students demanding action against Hari Padman and a few faculty members. Hari Padman was booked under IPC Sections 354A (sexual harassment) 509 (use of words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and Section 4 of Women Harassment Act.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The complaint was lodged by a former student at an All Women Police station in the city. Police sources said the man was sending obscene messages and comments to her through social media. The victim had also mentioned that the faculty harassed her while she was studying at the institute and she had to discontinue her studies because of him. The accused kept harassing her even after she left the institution, a senior police officer said. The development comes on a day when Chief Minister M K Stalin promised thorough investigation and action against wrongdoers in the Tamil Nadu assembly. Over 100 students gave written complaints to the chairperson of the Tamil Nadu womens commission who visited the campus and also called off their two-day sit-in protest on the campus on Friday. The protesting students also sent letters to the CM and union culture minister seeking action against four male teachers. The letter written by a newly-formed Kalakshetra students' union, which was shared by the students with TNIE, said students have been facing sexual and verbal abuse and harassment for decades from assistant professor Hari Padman, and repertory artists Sanjit Lal, Sai Krishnan, and Sreenath. They have also been facing body shaming, verbal abuse and casteist remarks from serving director Revathi Ramachandran and head of the dance department, Dr Jyolsna Menon, the letter said. The management of the foundation failed to give satisfactory answers to queries on why no action was taken on the sexual harassment complaints from students, said AS Kumari, chairperson of the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women, who conducted an inquiry with the students on the campus for four hours on Friday. Responding to the issue raised by members of various political parties in the assembly during zero hour, the CM said, "When the issue was brought to my notice, I spoke to the district collector and got the details. A team of revenue and police officials was sent to Kalakshetra for inquiry. On Friday morning, this team met the students and the Kalakshetra administration and had discussions. A police team headed by a woman inspector has been posted there to ensure the safety of the girl students." Kumari also interacted with a few former students via video call and said she will submit her detailed report to the CM by Monday. "I have received over 100 written complaints from students. We will examine the complaints and will submit our report to the state government by Monday," she said. However, she refused to divulge the complaint details received from students, citing confidentiality. ALSO READ | Kalakshetra students write to Culture Ministry, demand action on sexual abuse complaints Kumari also said the management of the foundation failed to give satisfactory answers to her queries. "The director and deputy director were not present on the campus. I met the principal and when I asked him why no action was taken on the sexual harassment allegations so far, he had no answer," she said. The womens panel chief also said that students have expressed their willingness to write the examination which was postponed abruptly by the management on Thursday. "I will take up the issue with the institutes director. I have also advised the students to call off the agitation," Kumari said. Over 200 students had started the sit-in protest on the campus on Thursday demanding immediate action against four teachers over sexual harassment allegations. (With inputs from T Muruganandham)
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Violence in the name of gold theft is not new. It touches new heights when smuggling gangs, which suffer losses after a kuruvi (carrier) allegedly deceives them, and they go to any lengths to retrieve the yellow metal.

One such case was reported in the city recently. Based on a complaint from a carrier, city police arrested four men who allegedly kidnapped and tortured him because he allegedly got robbed by a gang when he was on his way to make the delivery.

According to the police, the man identified as Rasool Kani (56) from Tondiarpet worked in a private company in the city. But, more importantly, he worked as a kuruvi (carrier), who regularly flew between Chennai and other countries and smuggled gold and electronic gadgets.

Meanwhile, Rasool had landed in Tiruchy from Dubai on February 26 with a consignment of gold, laptops and mobile phones. He was travelling to Chennai in a car with two kg of gold and the gadgets said the police. When he reached Madurantakam, a gang allegedly waylaid the vehicle, attacked Kani and escaped with the valuables. While Madurantakam police registered a case and launched a hunt for the suspects, Kani informed his boss Abdul Salam in Kodungaiyur.

Abdul Salam who did not believe Kani allegedly kidnapped him and took him to a lodge in Mamallapuram and tortured him. He was then dumped in a hospital, from where he returned home on March 13, said the police.

Based on a complaint from Kani, North Beach police registered a case and arrested Abdul Salam, Abdul Rahman, Abdul Wadood and Abdul Kuthoos. All four men were later remanded in judicial custody. A probe is on.

CHENNAI: Violence in the name of gold theft is not new. It touches new heights when smuggling gangs, which suffer losses after a kuruvi (carrier) allegedly deceives them, and they go to any lengths to retrieve the yellow metal. One such case was reported in the city recently. Based on a complaint from a carrier, city police arrested four men who allegedly kidnapped and tortured him because he allegedly got robbed by a gang when he was on his way to make the delivery. According to the police, the man identified as Rasool Kani (56) from Tondiarpet worked in a private company in the city. But, more importantly, he worked as a kuruvi (carrier), who regularly flew between Chennai and other countries and smuggled gold and electronic gadgets.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Meanwhile, Rasool had landed in Tiruchy from Dubai on February 26 with a consignment of gold, laptops and mobile phones. He was travelling to Chennai in a car with two kg of gold and the gadgets said the police. When he reached Madurantakam, a gang allegedly waylaid the vehicle, attacked Kani and escaped with the valuables. While Madurantakam police registered a case and launched a hunt for the suspects, Kani informed his boss Abdul Salam in Kodungaiyur. Abdul Salam who did not believe Kani allegedly kidnapped him and took him to a lodge in Mamallapuram and tortured him. He was then dumped in a hospital, from where he returned home on March 13, said the police. Based on a complaint from Kani, North Beach police registered a case and arrested Abdul Salam, Abdul Rahman, Abdul Wadood and Abdul Kuthoos. All four men were later remanded in judicial custody. A probe is on.
By ANI

CHENNAI: Adyar Women Police on Friday registered an FIR in the Kalakshetra sexual harassment case, said Chennai Police.

According to police sources, Professor Hari Padman has been booked under 3 sections. The case has been registered under sections 354 (A) of the Indian Penal Code, which relates to "punishment for sexual harassment" and 509, 4 of the Woman Harassment Act. A complaint was lodged by a student of the college in this regard.

The students of the Foundation's Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts in Thiruvanmiyur were protesting over a delay in action against a professor and others against whom sexual harassment allegations surfaced recently. They called off their agitation temporarily post-midnight.

The students of the institute, which operates under the control of the central government, were on a sit-in protest inside the campus demanding action against the professor who sexually harassed them.

A day after the protest by students, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said in the State Assembly that legal action will be taken against those found guilty if the allegations are confirmed.

The chief minister was responding to a calling attention motion in the Legislative Assembly regarding the allegations. Opposition MLAs put forth the resolution - Balaji of VCK, Velmurugan of VUK, Selva Perundagai of Congress and others.

"Government is conducting a proper investigation into this matter and if the charges are confirmed, legal action will be taken against whoever is at fault," Stalin told the Assembly.

Stalin said that the National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson who initially wrote to DGP has sent another letter stating that their inquiry had concluded and that they haven't found any evidence of sexual harassment on campus.

Stalin said the Foundation has declared a holiday till April 6 and also directed the students to vacate the hostel within two days.

"I contacted the district collector's office and got the details. They have sent the Revenue Divisional Officer, District Collector and Joint Commissioner of Police to collect details and conducted an investigation. This morning again the team of revenue officials and police officers visited the campus," said Stalin.

He said that all necessary measures are being taken for the safety of the women students.

Earlier in the day, the students' Union of Kalakshetra college wrote to the Union Culture Ministry demanding action against the Director of the Institute and HOD of the dance department over the sexual/verbal abuse allegations against several male faculties.

ALSO READ | Call off inquiry into Kalakshetra row: NCW to DGP

The students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation have been demanding the immediate dismissal of faculty members Hari Padman, Sanjith Lal, Sai Krishnan and Sreenath, as stated in their complaint to the foundation director.

They also demanded an immediate end to the verbal and sexual harassment, and the body shaming and colourism at the foundation going on currently. They also demanded that the counsellor at the foundation be replaced since they did not have confidence in the counsellor.

Kalakshetra students have been firm in their demand for justice.(EPS)

'We did not get any written complaint'

Earlier in the day, the Additional Commissioner of Police, Chennai, South, Prem Anand Sinha, in a press interaction, said that no criminal action has been initiated against any staff of Kalashetra in connection with the sexual harassment charges as there was no formal written complaint.

The senior police officer was addressing the media after TV news channels reported that the police are inquiring into the sexual harassment allegations against some of the staff members.

"We did not get any written complaint for cognizable offence from the institution. If we receive such a complaint we will take the necessary action. Until then we request people not to spread any false information by twisting facts, regarding the issue," said Prem Anand Sinha.

Neelankarai Assistant Commissioner of Police KN Sudarshan and Thiruvanmiyur Inspector of police Meenakshi Sundaram on Thursday visited the Kalakshetra Foundation and they spoke to the students and staff who staged a sit-in protest inside the campus.

"The TN Women Commission Chairperson is in the institution to conduct an enquiry. On Thursday, the institute officials said their institution will enquire about the issue, and if needed, they will file a complaint. It is an independent institution under the Ministry of Culture of Government of India and they want to investigate before filing a complaint," said Sinha.

Meanwhile, a total of about 60 police personnel were deployed near Kalakshetra Foundation on Friday.

A team from the Tamil Nadu Women's Commission, headed by its chairperson AS Kumari, visited the campus to inquire into the entire incident. According to sources, Kumari was interacting with the agitating students to know about their grievances in detail and she will submit a detailed report to Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Meanwhile, students have also written to CM Stalin and also the Union culture ministry, which funds Kalakshetra, demanding action against the four accused dance teachers.

High drama prevailed on the Kalakshetra campus on Thursday as students started their protest in the morning and continued it till late at night around 1 am. With the protests intensifying, the administration closed the campus till April 6 but over 200 agitating students refused to leave the campus. The students gheraoed the director Revathi Ramachandran's office for hours demanding immediate action against the culprits.

"After waiting for hours, the director came out to speak to us but she was not ready to give any written assurance to us that she will initiate action against the accused. Thereafter she complained of uneasiness following which police escorted her out of the campus," said one of the students.

(With inputs from ENS.)

CHENNAI: Adyar Women Police on Friday registered an FIR in the Kalakshetra sexual harassment case, said Chennai Police. According to police sources, Professor Hari Padman has been booked under 3 sections. The case has been registered under sections 354 (A) of the Indian Penal Code, which relates to "punishment for sexual harassment" and 509, 4 of the Woman Harassment Act. A complaint was lodged by a student of the college in this regard. The students of the Foundation's Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts in Thiruvanmiyur were protesting over a delay in action against a professor and others against whom sexual harassment allegations surfaced recently. They called off their agitation temporarily post-midnight.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The students of the institute, which operates under the control of the central government, were on a sit-in protest inside the campus demanding action against the professor who sexually harassed them. A day after the protest by students, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said in the State Assembly that legal action will be taken against those found guilty if the allegations are confirmed. The chief minister was responding to a calling attention motion in the Legislative Assembly regarding the allegations. Opposition MLAs put forth the resolution - Balaji of VCK, Velmurugan of VUK, Selva Perundagai of Congress and others. "Government is conducting a proper investigation into this matter and if the charges are confirmed, legal action will be taken against whoever is at fault," Stalin told the Assembly. Stalin said that the National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson who initially wrote to DGP has sent another letter stating that their inquiry had concluded and that they haven't found any evidence of sexual harassment on campus. Stalin said the Foundation has declared a holiday till April 6 and also directed the students to vacate the hostel within two days. "I contacted the district collector's office and got the details. They have sent the Revenue Divisional Officer, District Collector and Joint Commissioner of Police to collect details and conducted an investigation. This morning again the team of revenue officials and police officers visited the campus," said Stalin. He said that all necessary measures are being taken for the safety of the women students. Earlier in the day, the students' Union of Kalakshetra college wrote to the Union Culture Ministry demanding action against the Director of the Institute and HOD of the dance department over the sexual/verbal abuse allegations against several male faculties. ALSO READ | Call off inquiry into Kalakshetra row: NCW to DGP The students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation have been demanding the immediate dismissal of faculty members Hari Padman, Sanjith Lal, Sai Krishnan and Sreenath, as stated in their complaint to the foundation director. They also demanded an immediate end to the verbal and sexual harassment, and the body shaming and colourism at the foundation going on currently. They also demanded that the counsellor at the foundation be replaced since they did not have confidence in the counsellor. Kalakshetra students have been firm in their demand for justice.(EPS) 'We did not get any written complaint' Earlier in the day, the Additional Commissioner of Police, Chennai, South, Prem Anand Sinha, in a press interaction, said that no criminal action has been initiated against any staff of Kalashetra in connection with the sexual harassment charges as there was no formal written complaint. The senior police officer was addressing the media after TV news channels reported that the police are inquiring into the sexual harassment allegations against some of the staff members. "We did not get any written complaint for cognizable offence from the institution. If we receive such a complaint we will take the necessary action. Until then we request people not to spread any false information by twisting facts, regarding the issue," said Prem Anand Sinha. Neelankarai Assistant Commissioner of Police KN Sudarshan and Thiruvanmiyur Inspector of police Meenakshi Sundaram on Thursday visited the Kalakshetra Foundation and they spoke to the students and staff who staged a sit-in protest inside the campus. "The TN Women Commission Chairperson is in the institution to conduct an enquiry. On Thursday, the institute officials said their institution will enquire about the issue, and if needed, they will file a complaint. It is an independent institution under the Ministry of Culture of Government of India and they want to investigate before filing a complaint," said Sinha. Meanwhile, a total of about 60 police personnel were deployed near Kalakshetra Foundation on Friday. A team from the Tamil Nadu Women's Commission, headed by its chairperson AS Kumari, visited the campus to inquire into the entire incident. According to sources, Kumari was interacting with the agitating students to know about their grievances in detail and she will submit a detailed report to Chief Minister MK Stalin. Meanwhile, students have also written to CM Stalin and also the Union culture ministry, which funds Kalakshetra, demanding action against the four accused dance teachers. High drama prevailed on the Kalakshetra campus on Thursday as students started their protest in the morning and continued it till late at night around 1 am. With the protests intensifying, the administration closed the campus till April 6 but over 200 agitating students refused to leave the campus. The students gheraoed the director Revathi Ramachandran's office for hours demanding immediate action against the culprits. "After waiting for hours, the director came out to speak to us but she was not ready to give any written assurance to us that she will initiate action against the accused. Thereafter she complained of uneasiness following which police escorted her out of the campus," said one of the students. (With inputs from ENS.)
By ANI

CHENNAI: The Students Union of the Kalakshetra Foundation's Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts in Tamil Nadu's Chennai has written to the Union Culture Ministry demanding action against the Director and the Head of the Dance department of the institution.

The letter informs that the students formed a Union on March 30 with office bearers Jisma KK as President and Sakthi Shivani as Secretary.

The students are demanding the dismissal of four staff members accusing them of inappropriate behaviour and sexual/verbal abuse.

The Union also demanded the reconstitution of the internal complaints committee and to recognise the students' union.

In the letter, the Union said, "We the students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, would like to inform you that we have formed a Students Union today, Thursday, March 30, 2023, with office bearers Jisma KK as President and Sakthi Shivani as Secretary."

"We write to you as this institution is under your Ministry's direct management. These incidents pertain to instances of decades of sexual abuse and allegations by current and former students. These instances involve several serving male teachers at the institution, one of whom has been here for close to two decades", reads the letter.

It also further stated, "Going beyond these four faculty members, students have faced body shaming, verbal abuse, casteist remarks by the serving director Revathi Ramachandran and Head of the Dance Department, Dr Jyotsna Menon. The affected students have refrained from speaking publicly for fear of retribution and dismissal from the institution. They also wish to maintain privacy, particularly those who have been facing sexual abuse and harassment."

The Union also added that the concerns raised and complaints by many students earlier were blindsided by the Director. "The complaints include written letters by a former student and three current students. They also include letters supportive of the complainants by a faculty member and a former student. As our complaints have been summarily dismissed we write to you demanding to take necessary action towards Director Ramachandran and Head of Dance Department, Dr Jyolsna Menon", reads the letter.

The letter further said, "We also demand reconstitution of the internal complaints committee, with the presiding officer who is an external member appointed by the governing board in consultation with the Students Union. The IC must include a Student representative decided by the Students Union. We demand the immediate recognition of the Students Union which has been formed today."

The letter also said that until the demands mentioned in the letter are met, the students will continue their sit-in protest within the Kalakshetra premises.

The letter mentioned the names of Assistant Professor Hari Padman, and Repertory artists Sanjit Lal, Sai Krishnan, and Sreenath.

ALSO READ | Kalakshetra shut down after students protest demanding action against teacher over sexual harassment

Earlier on Thursday, the Kalakshetra Educational Institute was shut after a protest by students over the lack of action against the professor who allegedly sexually harassed the students, informed the institute's authorities.

The students of the Institute, which operates under the control of the Central government, sat on a protest inside the institute. Students raised allegations on social media that a professor was sexually harassing students.

Subsequently, the National Commission for Women ordered the Tamil Nadu Police to conduct an investigation.

A complaint had been filed by a student from Kalakshetra at Adyar Police Station.

Earlier on March 25, the official handle of the National Commission for Women (NCW) wrote, "As per media report, in the case of sexual harassment allegations at Kalakshetra institution, the Director's clarification, and the internal complaints committee report did not find any evidence of sexual harassment on campus.

"National Commission for Women withdrew its order for a police investigation on the grounds and it is informed that no one had been sexually harassed there."

"The Commission has concluded to close the matter as the victim has denied sexual harassment while she was inquired by the IC committee," it further read.

ALSO READ | Call off inquiry into Kalakshetra row: NCW to DGP

Meanwhile, the institution said that the Director and the Deputy Director from the administration have spoken to the students taking into consideration the sentiments and grievances of the students."On March 29, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) also visited our campus and made inquiries about the allegations," it added.

The Foundation had sought an explanation from the persons against whom some allegations have been made and on receipt of their explanation, the Chairman and the Governing Board will consider the appropriate action that has to be taken in accordance with its Rules and Regulations and conformity with the law. The Chairman and the Governing Board are fully appraised of protests and grievances and all steps will be taken to ensure that no person who is involved in any unsavoury activity in the Foundation will be spared, the statement read.

CHENNAI: The Students Union of the Kalakshetra Foundation's Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts in Tamil Nadu's Chennai has written to the Union Culture Ministry demanding action against the Director and the Head of the Dance department of the institution. The letter informs that the students formed a Union on March 30 with office bearers Jisma KK as President and Sakthi Shivani as Secretary. The students are demanding the dismissal of four staff members accusing them of inappropriate behaviour and sexual/verbal abuse. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The Union also demanded the reconstitution of the internal complaints committee and to recognise the students' union. In the letter, the Union said, "We the students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, would like to inform you that we have formed a Students Union today, Thursday, March 30, 2023, with office bearers Jisma KK as President and Sakthi Shivani as Secretary." "We write to you as this institution is under your Ministry's direct management. These incidents pertain to instances of decades of sexual abuse and allegations by current and former students. These instances involve several serving male teachers at the institution, one of whom has been here for close to two decades", reads the letter. It also further stated, "Going beyond these four faculty members, students have faced body shaming, verbal abuse, casteist remarks by the serving director Revathi Ramachandran and Head of the Dance Department, Dr Jyotsna Menon. The affected students have refrained from speaking publicly for fear of retribution and dismissal from the institution. They also wish to maintain privacy, particularly those who have been facing sexual abuse and harassment." The Union also added that the concerns raised and complaints by many students earlier were blindsided by the Director. "The complaints include written letters by a former student and three current students. They also include letters supportive of the complainants by a faculty member and a former student. As our complaints have been summarily dismissed we write to you demanding to take necessary action towards Director Ramachandran and Head of Dance Department, Dr Jyolsna Menon", reads the letter. The letter further said, "We also demand reconstitution of the internal complaints committee, with the presiding officer who is an external member appointed by the governing board in consultation with the Students Union. The IC must include a Student representative decided by the Students Union. We demand the immediate recognition of the Students Union which has been formed today." The letter also said that until the demands mentioned in the letter are met, the students will continue their sit-in protest within the Kalakshetra premises. The letter mentioned the names of Assistant Professor Hari Padman, and Repertory artists Sanjit Lal, Sai Krishnan, and Sreenath. ALSO READ | Kalakshetra shut down after students protest demanding action against teacher over sexual harassment Earlier on Thursday, the Kalakshetra Educational Institute was shut after a protest by students over the lack of action against the professor who allegedly sexually harassed the students, informed the institute's authorities. The students of the Institute, which operates under the control of the Central government, sat on a protest inside the institute. Students raised allegations on social media that a professor was sexually harassing students. Subsequently, the National Commission for Women ordered the Tamil Nadu Police to conduct an investigation. A complaint had been filed by a student from Kalakshetra at Adyar Police Station. Earlier on March 25, the official handle of the National Commission for Women (NCW) wrote, "As per media report, in the case of sexual harassment allegations at Kalakshetra institution, the Director's clarification, and the internal complaints committee report did not find any evidence of sexual harassment on campus. "National Commission for Women withdrew its order for a police investigation on the grounds and it is informed that no one had been sexually harassed there." "The Commission has concluded to close the matter as the victim has denied sexual harassment while she was inquired by the IC committee," it further read. ALSO READ | Call off inquiry into Kalakshetra row: NCW to DGP Meanwhile, the institution said that the Director and the Deputy Director from the administration have spoken to the students taking into consideration the sentiments and grievances of the students."On March 29, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) also visited our campus and made inquiries about the allegations," it added. The Foundation had sought an explanation from the persons against whom some allegations have been made and on receipt of their explanation, the Chairman and the Governing Board will consider the appropriate action that has to be taken in accordance with its Rules and Regulations and conformity with the law. The Chairman and the Governing Board are fully appraised of protests and grievances and all steps will be taken to ensure that no person who is involved in any unsavoury activity in the Foundation will be spared, the statement read.
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The Investigative Committee of Armenia said Friday afternoon that it is investigating a report of an alleged fistfight between lawmakers in parliament.

In a statement, Investigative Committee spokesperson Gor Abrahamyan said detectives are investigating the alleged incident.

At this moment I can only say that one of the Members of Parliament has been taken to the police precinct, while another Member of Parliament has sought medical attention at a hospital, he added.

Parliament Majority Leader Hayk Konjoryan earlier said that Mher Sahakyan, an opposition MP representing the Hayastan faction, assaulted MP Vladimir Vardanyan, the Chairman of the State-Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament representing the ruling Civil Contract, during a committee session. Konjoryan said Vardanyan suffered injuries, while Sahakyan left the scene. The ruling party faction leader described the incident as a shameful hooliganism.

Meanwhile, Hayastan faction leader Seyran Ohanyan told reporters that police officers escorted Sahakyan to a police precinct.

Ohanyan accused Vardanyan of provoking the fight.

He said that another scuffle began in his office afterwards when officers were about to escort Sahakyan to the precinct when Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan entered the room.

Ohanyan accused the police officers of taking advantage of Alen Simonyans presence and manhandling Mher Sahakyan. This resulted in chaos in my office," Ohanyan added.

Whether or not Sahakyan is detained wasn't immediately clear.
By Online Desk

Two days after a report of 19,000 SC/ST students dropping out of IITs and IIMs in five years came to light, the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) published a seven-page report on the discriminatory grading system in the institutions PhD admissions.

The report, which has become viral on social media, notes a pattern in the grading of PhD candidates that resembles the caste hierarchy.



Students belonging to reserved categories are marked much lower than students belonging to the unreserved category in their interviews despite them having similar marks in the entrance exam says ASAs report.

We discovered a pattern of discriminatory marking in interviews in many departments across various schools in the university, the report states.

The report presents data from UoHs seven departments - Computer science, plant science, biochemistry, physics, electronics, applied mathematics, and microbiology - PhD interview marks.

According to the data in the report, the average entrance exam mark of five toppers in the computer science department for the Unreserved category is 41.4 and the interview mark is 24.6. Meanwhile, the average exam mark for toppers in the OBC category is 40 and the interview average is 17.2. The average entrance exam mark of five toppers in the SC and ST are 30.2 and 25.4 respectively, while their interview average is 12 and 6.6.

The report shows a drop in the marks of students in accordance corresponding to their caste privilege. The discriminatory marking in these departments almost resembles a structure of graded inequality where marks of students resemble their position in the caste hierarchy, says ASAs report.

Ambedkar Students' Association prepared and submitted a 7-page report on discriminatory marking of reserved category students in PhD interviews. The report establishes that there is a consistent pattern of discriminatory marking almost resembling the hierarchical caste order. pic.twitter.com/lrGEk6opVf

 ASA HCU (@asahcu) March 30, 2023

The report also highlights eight acute instances of discriminatory grading, which include 1)seven out of eight faculties marking an SC student who appeared for a PhD in material engineering with zero and 2) an OBC candidate for PhD in material engineering being given 2.4 marks in the PhD interview while their entrance score is 40.

Detailing the history of reservation on the campus and the movement that made it feasible, the student association called for a committee to be set up to look into the grading pattern. Other demands of the committee include the criteria of evaluation to be defined, individual marks from the faculty members be provided and recorded, PhD admission workshops for students before the admission begins and that no student must be rejected by the faculty by giving them zero marks.

In the past, the faculty have marked students with zeroes and deemed them not suitable for admission, which is a violation of USC norms.

It is to be noted that Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru Universitys Dalit and Adivasi students alleged that they were consistently given low marks in their PhD interviews in 2021.

Two days after a report of 19,000 SC/ST students dropping out of IITs and IIMs in five years came to light, the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) published a seven-page report on the discriminatory grading system in the institutions PhD admissions. The report, which has become viral on social media, notes a pattern in the grading of PhD candidates that resembles the caste hierarchy. Students belonging to reserved categories are marked much lower than students belonging to the unreserved category in their interviews despite them having similar marks in the entrance exam says ASAs report. We discovered a pattern of discriminatory marking in interviews in many departments across various schools in the university, the report states. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The report presents data from UoHs seven departments - Computer science, plant science, biochemistry, physics, electronics, applied mathematics, and microbiology - PhD interview marks. According to the data in the report, the average entrance exam mark of five toppers in the computer science department for the Unreserved category is 41.4 and the interview mark is 24.6. Meanwhile, the average exam mark for toppers in the OBC category is 40 and the interview average is 17.2. The average entrance exam mark of five toppers in the SC and ST are 30.2 and 25.4 respectively, while their interview average is 12 and 6.6. The report shows a drop in the marks of students in accordance corresponding to their caste privilege. The discriminatory marking in these departments almost resembles a structure of graded inequality where marks of students resemble their position in the caste hierarchy, says ASAs report. Ambedkar Students' Association prepared and submitted a 7-page report on discriminatory marking of reserved category students in PhD interviews. The report establishes that there is a consistent pattern of discriminatory marking almost resembling the hierarchical caste order. pic.twitter.com/lrGEk6opVf  ASA HCU (@asahcu) March 30, 2023 The report also highlights eight acute instances of discriminatory grading, which include 1)seven out of eight faculties marking an SC student who appeared for a PhD in material engineering with zero and 2) an OBC candidate for PhD in material engineering being given 2.4 marks in the PhD interview while their entrance score is 40. Detailing the history of reservation on the campus and the movement that made it feasible, the student association called for a committee to be set up to look into the grading pattern. Other demands of the committee include the criteria of evaluation to be defined, individual marks from the faculty members be provided and recorded, PhD admission workshops for students before the admission begins and that no student must be rejected by the faculty by giving them zero marks. In the past, the faculty have marked students with zeroes and deemed them not suitable for admission, which is a violation of USC norms. It is to be noted that Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru Universitys Dalit and Adivasi students alleged that they were consistently given low marks in their PhD interviews in 2021.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: The Kochi corporation passed the budget for 202324 on Thursday amid protests by Congress councillors. The UDF councillors alleged that the budget was not factual because it only included the amounts to be received by the civic body, whereas all the debts of the corporation should have been included as per the law.

The leader of the opposition, Antony Kureethara, said that the CSML funds were also diverted and not included in the budget code. As per the municipal act, the grant allocated to the corporation for a particular project should be spent on it only. The mayor announced that the budget was passed, and walked out of the council hall, said Antony.

Mayor M Anilkumar, on the other hand, stated that the budget was passed after conducting a development seminar and formulating public planning projects for the upcoming fiscal year.

Despite a crisis in waste management following the fire at Brahmapuram and amid the protests, we could conduct a development seminar with good participation. The public planning projects for 2023-24 were formulated and the projects were approved by the district planning committee too. The council also passed the budget which includes important decisions for the development of the city, he added.

Despite opposition towards the ruling front, the mayor claimed that opposition parties usually participate in the planning of the annual budget and developmental projects, and put forward their opinions. However, he criticised the UDF councillors for approaching the District Planning Committee to cut short the corporations plan fund, which is the first time in the history of the corporation that a political party has taken such an irresponsible stand.

The mayor also mentioned that Kochi is second in implementing peoples planning projects in the state and is only 1% away from securing the first position from Thrissur corporation. However, the protest against the mayor has turned into a protest against urban development, and the opposition has been criticised for taking an anti-urban approach instead of overcoming the current crisis in the waste management sector through cooperation.

ALSO READ | UDF councillors boycott Kochi corporation budget discussion

The corporation has been paying the remaining fund of land accusation at Brahmapuram in several instalments from the annual fund to the government, and the UDF councillors demand for more funds to be cut from the annual fund could affect the projects under the local body.

No-confidence motion against Mayor: Discussion on April 10

A no-confidence motion against Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar will come up for discussion on April 10, 2023. The district collector issued the date for discussion following the submission of a no-confidence motion against the mayor, alleging corrupt deals in connection with the waste management projects at Brahamapuram.

KOCHI: The Kochi corporation passed the budget for 202324 on Thursday amid protests by Congress councillors. The UDF councillors alleged that the budget was not factual because it only included the amounts to be received by the civic body, whereas all the debts of the corporation should have been included as per the law. The leader of the opposition, Antony Kureethara, said that the CSML funds were also diverted and not included in the budget code. As per the municipal act, the grant allocated to the corporation for a particular project should be spent on it only. The mayor announced that the budget was passed, and walked out of the council hall, said Antony. Mayor M Anilkumar, on the other hand, stated that the budget was passed after conducting a development seminar and formulating public planning projects for the upcoming fiscal year.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Despite a crisis in waste management following the fire at Brahmapuram and amid the protests, we could conduct a development seminar with good participation. The public planning projects for 2023-24 were formulated and the projects were approved by the district planning committee too. The council also passed the budget which includes important decisions for the development of the city, he added. Despite opposition towards the ruling front, the mayor claimed that opposition parties usually participate in the planning of the annual budget and developmental projects, and put forward their opinions. However, he criticised the UDF councillors for approaching the District Planning Committee to cut short the corporations plan fund, which is the first time in the history of the corporation that a political party has taken such an irresponsible stand. The mayor also mentioned that Kochi is second in implementing peoples planning projects in the state and is only 1% away from securing the first position from Thrissur corporation. However, the protest against the mayor has turned into a protest against urban development, and the opposition has been criticised for taking an anti-urban approach instead of overcoming the current crisis in the waste management sector through cooperation. ALSO READ | UDF councillors boycott Kochi corporation budget discussion The corporation has been paying the remaining fund of land accusation at Brahmapuram in several instalments from the annual fund to the government, and the UDF councillors demand for more funds to be cut from the annual fund could affect the projects under the local body. No-confidence motion against Mayor: Discussion on April 10 A no-confidence motion against Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar will come up for discussion on April 10, 2023. The district collector issued the date for discussion following the submission of a no-confidence motion against the mayor, alleging corrupt deals in connection with the waste management projects at Brahamapuram.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: In a big relief to the residents of Kochi, the much-delayed construction of the Vaduthala railway overbridge is all set to commence soon, as the government has sanctioned Rs 67.5 crore for the project. Though the preparatory work for the bridge started years ago, the delay in sanctioning the amount stalled the project.

Ernakulam MLA T J Vinod said that the most notable progress in the project so far is the allocation of Rs 67.51 crore from the Kerala Investment Infrastructure Fund Board (KIIFB) to the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation.

Though the design and GAD were submitted to the railways way back in 2016, the project got stuck in red tape citing the doubling of the Shornur-Ernakulam rail line. Following this, interventions were made with the help of MP Hibi Eden, and a revised design was adopted taking into account the doubling of the railway line. Now the amount for acquiring 60.15 acres of land has been sanctioned. Earlier, it was estimated that only an area of 42.92 acres needs to be acquired, the MLA said.



KOCHI: In a big relief to the residents of Kochi, the much-delayed construction of the Vaduthala railway overbridge is all set to commence soon, as the government has sanctioned Rs 67.5 crore for the project. Though the preparatory work for the bridge started years ago, the delay in sanctioning the amount stalled the project. Ernakulam MLA T J Vinod said that the most notable progress in the project so far is the allocation of Rs 67.51 crore from the Kerala Investment Infrastructure Fund Board (KIIFB) to the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation. Though the design and GAD were submitted to the railways way back in 2016, the project got stuck in red tape citing the doubling of the Shornur-Ernakulam rail line. Following this, interventions were made with the help of MP Hibi Eden, and a revised design was adopted taking into account the doubling of the railway line. Now the amount for acquiring 60.15 acres of land has been sanctioned. Earlier, it was estimated that only an area of 42.92 acres needs to be acquired, the MLA said. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); });
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: In a curious heist case, a rat stole Rs 13,000 from a grocery shop's cash drawer in East Midnapore.

The rat had nibbled the currency notes through a gap in the cash drawer and stored them in its 'home.' The entire act was recorded in the shops CCTV cameras. Thus, the fortunate owner managed to recover Rs 12,700 intact from the rat's hole.

Amal Kumar Maity, the owner of the shop in Tamluk Market, closed his business outlet as usual on Wednesday night. Next morning, I came to my shop around 9 only to find the currency notes missing from the cash drawer. I have an employee who stays in the shop at night. I did not suspect him as I trust him. The lock of the drawer was intact and I had the key, said Maity.

Maity told other traders of the missing cash. And they gathered at his shop. They talked about the issue and finally decided to lodge a complaint with the police.

But before going to the local police station, we decided to examine the CCTV footage. When we did so, we found nothing suspicious. We were frustrated. Then one of my business colleagues, asked me to examine the footage thoroughly once again, said Maity.

There are four CCTV cameras installed in the shop. The traders started going through the footage thoroughly.

"We were about to finish watching the CCTV recordings and suddenly, one of the traders asked me to pause and rewind the footage from one of the cameras. While re-watching, we all were startled. It should be around 7 am in the morning, and the rat was seen nibbling out the money and going into a hole and disappearing. Shortly, it came out again and went to the cash drawer. It was taking the currency notes, sometimes a single one and sometimes a bunch, and going to the hole to store the money, recalled Maity.

Maity and others then found the hole inside and started digging. "We recovered Rs 12,700 from the hole. But Rs 300 is still missing. I never imagined such an incident could happen, he said.



KOLKATA: In a curious heist case, a rat stole Rs 13,000 from a grocery shop's cash drawer in East Midnapore. The rat had nibbled the currency notes through a gap in the cash drawer and stored them in its 'home.' The entire act was recorded in the shops CCTV cameras. Thus, the fortunate owner managed to recover Rs 12,700 intact from the rat's hole. Amal Kumar Maity, the owner of the shop in Tamluk Market, closed his business outlet as usual on Wednesday night. Next morning, I came to my shop around 9 only to find the currency notes missing from the cash drawer. I have an employee who stays in the shop at night. I did not suspect him as I trust him. The lock of the drawer was intact and I had the key, said Maity. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Maity told other traders of the missing cash. And they gathered at his shop. They talked about the issue and finally decided to lodge a complaint with the police. But before going to the local police station, we decided to examine the CCTV footage. When we did so, we found nothing suspicious. We were frustrated. Then one of my business colleagues, asked me to examine the footage thoroughly once again, said Maity. There are four CCTV cameras installed in the shop. The traders started going through the footage thoroughly. "We were about to finish watching the CCTV recordings and suddenly, one of the traders asked me to pause and rewind the footage from one of the cameras. While re-watching, we all were startled. It should be around 7 am in the morning, and the rat was seen nibbling out the money and going into a hole and disappearing. Shortly, it came out again and went to the cash drawer. It was taking the currency notes, sometimes a single one and sometimes a bunch, and going to the hole to store the money, recalled Maity. Maity and others then found the hole inside and started digging. "We recovered Rs 12,700 from the hole. But Rs 300 is still missing. I never imagined such an incident could happen, he said.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Krishna district police on Wednesday arrested a 34-year-old youngster for allegedly posting objectionable remarks against Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, sharing unverified news causing damage to the State government and inciting enmity between parties and communities.

The issue came to light on Thursday with the parents of the accused Ponduru Kotiratnam Anjan Chowdary demanding an explanation for the arrest of their son and Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders wrote letters to DGP Kasireddy Rajendranath Reddy seeking his immediate release.

Speaking to TNIE, Krishna district Superintendent of Police (SP) Palle Jashuva said the accused, a resident of Ramanagar in Gannavaram worked with a software company in the US, returned to India in 2015 and began working along with the social media wing of Telugu Desam Party and floated various companies on his name.

Based on a specific complaint against the accused, Gannavaram police inspector P Kanaka Rao claimed that he created accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and uploaded many objectionable posts against CM Jagan Mohan Reddy, promoting hate speech and unverified news on several political leaders.

Acting on the complaint, a team of Gannavaram police took him into custody on Wednesday morning and seized his mobile phones and laptop. Upon inspection, we were shocked to see hundreds of objectionable videos on his phone and laptop, said SP Jashuva.

He further said that his father Sambasiva Rao is a retired APSRTC conductor and his mother Ratnakumari is a retired government school teacher. His prime intention is to attract youth through his controversial social media posts. He even floated a company named TDP Empowerment Centre and cheated unemployed youth by luring them with job promises, the SP added.

He further informed that a cyberbully sheet will be opened against him and his movements will be monitored.

Meanwhile, responding to the incident, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu took to Twitter and demanded that DGP Rajendranath Reddy to release the accused. Naidu expressed his anger at the State police for not informing the whereabouts of Anjan to his family members and called it a violation of the rules.

The police who took Anjan yesterday into custody for posting posts against Chief Minister Jagan must release him immediately. The DGP should take action against the wrong officials, Naidu tweeted.

VIJAYAWADA: Krishna district police on Wednesday arrested a 34-year-old youngster for allegedly posting objectionable remarks against Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, sharing unverified news causing damage to the State government and inciting enmity between parties and communities. The issue came to light on Thursday with the parents of the accused Ponduru Kotiratnam Anjan Chowdary demanding an explanation for the arrest of their son and Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders wrote letters to DGP Kasireddy Rajendranath Reddy seeking his immediate release. Speaking to TNIE, Krishna district Superintendent of Police (SP) Palle Jashuva said the accused, a resident of Ramanagar in Gannavaram worked with a software company in the US, returned to India in 2015 and began working along with the social media wing of Telugu Desam Party and floated various companies on his name.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Based on a specific complaint against the accused, Gannavaram police inspector P Kanaka Rao claimed that he created accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and uploaded many objectionable posts against CM Jagan Mohan Reddy, promoting hate speech and unverified news on several political leaders. Acting on the complaint, a team of Gannavaram police took him into custody on Wednesday morning and seized his mobile phones and laptop. Upon inspection, we were shocked to see hundreds of objectionable videos on his phone and laptop, said SP Jashuva. He further said that his father Sambasiva Rao is a retired APSRTC conductor and his mother Ratnakumari is a retired government school teacher. His prime intention is to attract youth through his controversial social media posts. He even floated a company named TDP Empowerment Centre and cheated unemployed youth by luring them with job promises, the SP added. He further informed that a cyberbully sheet will be opened against him and his movements will be monitored. Meanwhile, responding to the incident, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu took to Twitter and demanded that DGP Rajendranath Reddy to release the accused. Naidu expressed his anger at the State police for not informing the whereabouts of Anjan to his family members and called it a violation of the rules. The police who took Anjan yesterday into custody for posting posts against Chief Minister Jagan must release him immediately. The DGP should take action against the wrong officials, Naidu tweeted.
By AFP

PARIS: Martin Scorsese's new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, "Killers of the Flower Moon," will get its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, organisers confirmed on Friday.

It will be the first time the veteran filmmaker presents a new film at the festival since he won best director there in 1986 for "After Hours."

Scorsese won the top Palme d'Or prize in 1976 for "Taxi Driver" and also presided over the jury in 1998.

"The Cannes Festival is overjoyed to welcome Martin Scorsese this May on the Croisette, to climb the steps of the Palais des Festivals," the organisers said in a statement.

The film, also starring Robert De Niro, was produced by Apple, which has agreed to release it in cinemas in October before streaming on its platform.

Cannes only allows films to compete for the Palme d'Or if they get a theatrical release, which has notably prevented Netflix from entering its films.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" tracks the true story of serial murders of a Native American tribe in an oil-rich part of the United States in the 1920s.

PARIS: Martin Scorsese's new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, "Killers of the Flower Moon," will get its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, organisers confirmed on Friday. It will be the first time the veteran filmmaker presents a new film at the festival since he won best director there in 1986 for "After Hours." Scorsese won the top Palme d'Or prize in 1976 for "Taxi Driver" and also presided over the jury in 1998.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "The Cannes Festival is overjoyed to welcome Martin Scorsese this May on the Croisette, to climb the steps of the Palais des Festivals," the organisers said in a statement. The film, also starring Robert De Niro, was produced by Apple, which has agreed to release it in cinemas in October before streaming on its platform. Cannes only allows films to compete for the Palme d'Or if they get a theatrical release, which has notably prevented Netflix from entering its films. "Killers of the Flower Moon" tracks the true story of serial murders of a Native American tribe in an oil-rich part of the United States in the 1920s.
Kartik Bhardwaj By

Express News Service

Bholaa is a crazy film. No, thats not it. Bholaa is a bats*** crazy film. Nada. Bholaa has two Sikhs, in a jungle, in the middle of the night, doing wheelies on tractors as they try to rein in a truck. Thats more like it. Now, I am all for going berserk.

Action sequences dont necessarily have to be plausible. Gun down a chopper; eject from a car falling off a cliff while you grab your lover mid-air and superhero-land without even a hairline fracture; or unleash some feral animals at a British high officials party. I am game. But an action scene in a film is the payoff, not the narrative. Although Bholaa has some cleverly crafted set pieces, at times it feels like a video game jumping from a boss fight to a boss fight, without any cutscenes.

A remake of the 2019 Lokesh Kanagaraj film Kaithi, Bholaa takes the logline from the Tamil original. In the course of one night, a recently-released convict, teams up with an injured cop to transport a shipment of drugged-out policemen in a truck, while there is a bounty on them.

Parallelly, there is a deranged gangster Ashwattama (Deepak Dobriyal) trying to enter (or demolish) a police station and retrieve his drug overhaul. Now, Bholaa takes some creative liberties. The film opens with a chase sequence during the day, and we get a deservedly heroic introduction of Tabu as IPS Diana Joseph.

It is a bang-on start but leaves no scope for any build-up. Bholaa has an incessant urge to give instant gratification to its viewers. Its dialogue resorts to rhyme to seek attention (Ye vardi ki jo hanak dikha rahe hain nikaalte hain inki sanak, Rakt ke bhakt hain hum), its action comes like a barrage of bullets, balancing somewhere between being mindless and meticulous and its emotional foundation constantly trembles.

Coming back to heroic introductions, Bholaa has a certain affinity for verbosity. We meet the titular character in jail while he is reading the Bhagavad Gita. As he exits the prison, a prisoner (Makarand Deshpande), as if on cue, starts giving a voiceover. The less you know about him, the betterthose who did, didnt survive he is like the sea, calm on the surface but holding storms inside him I guess we know more than enough. In Kaithi, Karthis Dilli has a subtler, more enigmatic introduction in which he sits in a police car, just another guy, picked up because he seemed suspicious. While Kaithi constantly lets the story settle before shaking things up, Bholaa is too impatient. It will throw everything at the audience to elicit a response.

Although initially enjoyable, the action becomes almost lunatic as the film proceeds. There is a masked biker gang that looks like it was probably on its way to a talent show, there is a CGIed leopard (which, sadly, runs away), a kachcha gang uncharacteristically beefed up, and many moustached men battle-crying with bazookas atop jeeps. Once you know Bholaa is invincible (and if you dont yet, Makarand Deshpande will remind you) there is no sense of threat left in the action. The film, however, needs to be applauded for not shying away from the gore. There are close-ups of bones breaking, teeth flying after a slap, and a mans chest being pierced by a fist. Its something novel for a Hindi film but thats it.

Bholaa cant stand any lulls in the narrative, lest you spot its flaws. Kaithi, in its heart, was a story of a father meeting his daughter for the first time. Bholaa weaves its emotional bits around its action and not in its centre. Ajay seems stony in showing sentiment. The scenes involving his daughter fail to provide fuel for the action that ensues. In the approach of being broody, he ends up being one-note. By the time Bholaa has sliced goons with a trident, broken innumerable necks and tattered them with a gatling gun, I am thinking the title Rudra would have been better suited for the film. Oh well.

Film: Bholaa

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjay Mishra, Gajraj Rao, Vineet Kumar

Directed by: Ajay Devgn

Rating: 2.5/5

Bholaa is a crazy film. No, thats not it. Bholaa is a bats*** crazy film. Nada. Bholaa has two Sikhs, in a jungle, in the middle of the night, doing wheelies on tractors as they try to rein in a truck. Thats more like it. Now, I am all for going berserk. Action sequences dont necessarily have to be plausible. Gun down a chopper; eject from a car falling off a cliff while you grab your lover mid-air and superhero-land without even a hairline fracture; or unleash some feral animals at a British high officials party. I am game. But an action scene in a film is the payoff, not the narrative. Although Bholaa has some cleverly crafted set pieces, at times it feels like a video game jumping from a boss fight to a boss fight, without any cutscenes. A remake of the 2019 Lokesh Kanagaraj film Kaithi, Bholaa takes the logline from the Tamil original. In the course of one night, a recently-released convict, teams up with an injured cop to transport a shipment of drugged-out policemen in a truck, while there is a bounty on them. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Parallelly, there is a deranged gangster Ashwattama (Deepak Dobriyal) trying to enter (or demolish) a police station and retrieve his drug overhaul. Now, Bholaa takes some creative liberties. The film opens with a chase sequence during the day, and we get a deservedly heroic introduction of Tabu as IPS Diana Joseph. It is a bang-on start but leaves no scope for any build-up. Bholaa has an incessant urge to give instant gratification to its viewers. Its dialogue resorts to rhyme to seek attention (Ye vardi ki jo hanak dikha rahe hain nikaalte hain inki sanak, Rakt ke bhakt hain hum), its action comes like a barrage of bullets, balancing somewhere between being mindless and meticulous and its emotional foundation constantly trembles. Coming back to heroic introductions, Bholaa has a certain affinity for verbosity. We meet the titular character in jail while he is reading the Bhagavad Gita. As he exits the prison, a prisoner (Makarand Deshpande), as if on cue, starts giving a voiceover. The less you know about him, the betterthose who did, didnt survive he is like the sea, calm on the surface but holding storms inside him I guess we know more than enough. In Kaithi, Karthis Dilli has a subtler, more enigmatic introduction in which he sits in a police car, just another guy, picked up because he seemed suspicious. While Kaithi constantly lets the story settle before shaking things up, Bholaa is too impatient. It will throw everything at the audience to elicit a response. Although initially enjoyable, the action becomes almost lunatic as the film proceeds. There is a masked biker gang that looks like it was probably on its way to a talent show, there is a CGIed leopard (which, sadly, runs away), a kachcha gang uncharacteristically beefed up, and many moustached men battle-crying with bazookas atop jeeps. Once you know Bholaa is invincible (and if you dont yet, Makarand Deshpande will remind you) there is no sense of threat left in the action. The film, however, needs to be applauded for not shying away from the gore. There are close-ups of bones breaking, teeth flying after a slap, and a mans chest being pierced by a fist. Its something novel for a Hindi film but thats it. Bholaa cant stand any lulls in the narrative, lest you spot its flaws. Kaithi, in its heart, was a story of a father meeting his daughter for the first time. Bholaa weaves its emotional bits around its action and not in its centre. Ajay seems stony in showing sentiment. The scenes involving his daughter fail to provide fuel for the action that ensues. In the approach of being broody, he ends up being one-note. By the time Bholaa has sliced goons with a trident, broken innumerable necks and tattered them with a gatling gun, I am thinking the title Rudra would have been better suited for the film. Oh well. Film: BholaaCast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjay Mishra, Gajraj Rao, Vineet KumarDirected by: Ajay DevgnRating: 2.5/5
Jayabhuvaneshwari B By

Express News Service

Rohini Theatre's management has been facing flak since Thursday, as a video of a tribal family being denied access to the screening of Silambarasan's latest outing Pathu Thala, in the theatre, has been going viral on social media.

The video shows a ticket checker restricting entry of the family into the premises, and a bunch of youngsters trying to convince him to permit them, in vain.

In a video, shot by a regional channel after the screening of Pathu Thala, Neelaveni, the woman of the affected tribal family, shared that they are used to discrimination and are often restricted entry into theatres. She also mentioned that the management tore their tickets when they last tried to watch Vijay's Varisu.

While netizens have voiced their concern against the act of discrimination, actor and politician Kamal Haasan took to Twitter to share his views on the controversy.

Sharing an article published in The New Indian Express, the actor wrote in Tamil, "The tribal family was denied entry into the theatre despite having purchased tickets for the show. They were allowed only after protests and backlash erupted on social media. This is reprehensible." (sic)

The theatre management has been booked under the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act by the police.

(This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)

Rohini Theatre's management has been facing flak since Thursday, as a video of a tribal family being denied access to the screening of Silambarasan's latest outing Pathu Thala, in the theatre, has been going viral on social media. The video shows a ticket checker restricting entry of the family into the premises, and a bunch of youngsters trying to convince him to permit them, in vain. In a video, shot by a regional channel after the screening of Pathu Thala, Neelaveni, the woman of the affected tribal family, shared that they are used to discrimination and are often restricted entry into theatres. She also mentioned that the management tore their tickets when they last tried to watch Vijay's Varisu. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); While netizens have voiced their concern against the act of discrimination, actor and politician Kamal Haasan took to Twitter to share his views on the controversy. Sharing an article published in The New Indian Express, the actor wrote in Tamil, "The tribal family was denied entry into the theatre despite having purchased tickets for the show. They were allowed only after protests and backlash erupted on social media. This is reprehensible." (sic) The theatre management has been booked under the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act by the police. (This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)
Anuraag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: The death toll in the Indore temple stepwell collapse incident has increased to 35, Indore Collector Dr Ilayaraja T said on Friday.

The concrete slab-roof covering an ancient stepwell ('bavdi') caved in during the Ram Navami celebration at the Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple in the city's Patel Nagar area, on Thursday at 11 am.

Overcrowding in the temple premises is said to be the reason for the collapse.

"Total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment. The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," the Indore Collector said.

"The 18 hours long rescue operation started at around 12:30 on Thursday, and is still ongoing," Collector Ilayaraja T added.

According to officials, a team of 75 army personnel along with NDRF and SDRF were involved in the operation.

A few rescued devotees are stated to be in a critical condition and are in ICUs.

The bodies have been shifted to Indore's Maharaja Yeshwant Rao hospital.

Rescue operations underway after the roof of an ancient stepwell situated in a temple collapsed during Ram Navami celebrations, in Indore. (Photo | PTI)

Rescue operations

Divers along with special equipment were sent into the stepwell. Water was drained out.

Ladders made out of ropes were used in the rescue.

Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, the District Collector, and the Police Commissioner supervised rescue operations by the local police and the State Disaster Emergency Response Force personnel.

Key political leaders, including national BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, his MLA son Akash Vijayvargiya, and Congress MLA Jitu Patwari are at the spot.Briefing journalists at the spot, Kailash Vijayvargiya said: "I've asked the authorities to provide oxygen support and lights inside the well."

A magisterial probe has been instituted to look into the mishap.

Rs 5 lakh will be given to the kin of each of the deceased. Rs 50,000 will be given to those injured.

Devotees trapped in a stepwell that caved in, at a temple in Indore city, Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about the incident and offered prayers to the families of the victims. "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM Shivraj Chouhan Ji and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers with all those affected and their families," he tweeted.

(With online desk and ANI inputs)

BHOPAL: The death toll in the Indore temple stepwell collapse incident has increased to 35, Indore Collector Dr Ilayaraja T said on Friday. The concrete slab-roof covering an ancient stepwell ('bavdi') caved in during the Ram Navami celebration at the Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple in the city's Patel Nagar area, on Thursday at 11 am. Overcrowding in the temple premises is said to be the reason for the collapse.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "Total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment. The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," the Indore Collector said. "The 18 hours long rescue operation started at around 12:30 on Thursday, and is still ongoing," Collector Ilayaraja T added. According to officials, a team of 75 army personnel along with NDRF and SDRF were involved in the operation. A few rescued devotees are stated to be in a critical condition and are in ICUs. The bodies have been shifted to Indore's Maharaja Yeshwant Rao hospital. Rescue operations underway after the roof of an ancient stepwell situated in a temple collapsed during Ram Navami celebrations, in Indore. (Photo | PTI) Rescue operations Divers along with special equipment were sent into the stepwell. Water was drained out. Ladders made out of ropes were used in the rescue. Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, the District Collector, and the Police Commissioner supervised rescue operations by the local police and the State Disaster Emergency Response Force personnel. Key political leaders, including national BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, his MLA son Akash Vijayvargiya, and Congress MLA Jitu Patwari are at the spot.Briefing journalists at the spot, Kailash Vijayvargiya said: "I've asked the authorities to provide oxygen support and lights inside the well." A magisterial probe has been instituted to look into the mishap. Rs 5 lakh will be given to the kin of each of the deceased. Rs 50,000 will be given to those injured. Devotees trapped in a stepwell that caved in, at a temple in Indore city, Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about the incident and offered prayers to the families of the victims. "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM Shivraj Chouhan Ji and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers with all those affected and their families," he tweeted. (With online desk and ANI inputs)
By PTI

MUMBAI: A witness in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, who had allegedly booked a hotel room for the accused days before the incident, turned hostile before a special court here on Friday.

He became the 32nd witness to be declared hostile in the case, in which BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur is one of the key accused.

The witness, who worked at a hotel in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, had in his statement to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) claimed that he had booked rooms for the accused in the case.

However, during his deposition before special NIA judge A K Lahoti on Friday, the witness said he doesn't remember what he told the probe agency.

Following which, the court declared him hostile.

The court has examined 307 witnesses until now.

Six people were killed and more than 100 injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town in north Maharashtra, some 200 km from Mumbai.

The ATS probed the case initially before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over.

A total of seven accused, including Thakur and Colonel Prasad Purohit, are facing trial in the case.

MUMBAI: A witness in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, who had allegedly booked a hotel room for the accused days before the incident, turned hostile before a special court here on Friday. He became the 32nd witness to be declared hostile in the case, in which BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur is one of the key accused. The witness, who worked at a hotel in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, had in his statement to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) claimed that he had booked rooms for the accused in the case.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); However, during his deposition before special NIA judge A K Lahoti on Friday, the witness said he doesn't remember what he told the probe agency. Following which, the court declared him hostile. The court has examined 307 witnesses until now. Six people were killed and more than 100 injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town in north Maharashtra, some 200 km from Mumbai. The ATS probed the case initially before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over. A total of seven accused, including Thakur and Colonel Prasad Purohit, are facing trial in the case.
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Washington has called upon Americans who are traveling to or residing in Russia to leave the country immediately in the aftermath of the arrest of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) correspondent Evan Gershkovich.

We are deeply concerned by the troubling reports that Evan Gershkovich, an American citizen, has been detained in Russia, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. Last night, White House and State Department Officials spoke with Mr. Gershkovichs employer, the Wall Street Journal. The Administration has also been in contact with his family. Furthermore, the State Department has been in direct touch with the Russian government on this matter, including actively working to secure consular access to Mr. Gershkovich. The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable. We condemn the detention of Mr. Gershkovich in the strongest terms. We also condemn the Russian governments continued targeting and repression of journalists and freedom of the press.I want to strongly reiterate that Americans should heed the U.S. governments warning to not travel to Russia. U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately, as the State Department continues to advise.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was deeply concerned about the development, adding that in the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlins continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices.

We reiterate our strong warnings about the danger posed to US citizens inside the Russian Federation. US citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately, the top diplomat said in a statement.

Gershkovich, a WSJ correspondent who covers news from Russia, Ukraine, and the former USSR, was detained in the city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage, Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) announced earlier on March 30. RT cited Dmitry Peskov as saying the journalist was caught red-handed while trying to obtain Russian state secrets.
Anuraag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Indore on Friday, a day after 36 lives were lost in a tragic temple stepwell accident.

The concrete slab-roof covering an ancient stepwell ('bavdi') caved in during the Ram Navami celebration at the Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple in the city's Patel Nagar area, on Thursday at 11 am. Several people were trapped inside for hours.

Overcrowding in the temple premises is said to be the reason for the collapse.

After the retrieval of 21 more bodies early morning today, the total death toll from Thursdays tragedy rose to 35.

With the recovery of another body, identified as that of 53-year-old old Sunil Solanki, the official death toll is now 36.

The search operation is likely to be over now with no possibility of finding more bodies in the stepwell.

The search operations gained momentum after the process of dewatering the well (bearing water up to 13-14 feet) and with the Army's help.

Chief Minister Chouhan met with the injured including twin sisters at a private hospital.

VIEW PHOTO GALLERY

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Indore, on March 31, 2023. (Photo | PTI)

He then visited the tragedy site to take stock of the rescue operations carried out by the Indian Army in association with the National Disaster Response Fund and State Disaster Emergency Response Force teams.

The CM said: Directions have been issued to conduct a state-wide survey and an inquiry of all such covered 'bavdis' and 'kuwans' (step-wells and wells) to ensure there is no repetition of Thursday-like tragedies.

The deceased included 20 women aged between 24 and 84 years, 12 men aged between 26 years and 65 years and three children, including two boys aged two years and eight years and a 13-year-old girl.

                                                     pic.twitter.com/jMqUFLOlLC  Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) March 30, 2023

According to unconfirmed sources, minister colleagues of the CM, including Home Minister Narottam Mishra and Water Resources Minister Tulsi Silawat, and Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, who went to meet the kin of the deceased and the injured at a community hall in the residential colony where the mishap had happened, had to return hastily following slogan shouting.

A magisterial probe has already been instituted to probe the mishap.

Also, a criminal case u/s 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) has been registered at the Juni Indore police station, against the chairman and secretary of the private trust which managed the affairs at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhoolelal Temple  where the tragedy happened on Thursday.

On Thursday, while the state government had announced Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased devotees and Rs 50,000 for each of the injured, an ex-gratia sum of Rs 2 lakh each was announced from the PM National Relief Fund for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to each of the injured.

Rescue operations after roof of a stepwell collapsed at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple, in Indore. (Photo | PTI)

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Indore on Friday, a day after 36 lives were lost in a tragic temple stepwell accident. The concrete slab-roof covering an ancient stepwell ('bavdi') caved in during the Ram Navami celebration at the Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple in the city's Patel Nagar area, on Thursday at 11 am. Several people were trapped inside for hours. Overcrowding in the temple premises is said to be the reason for the collapse.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); After the retrieval of 21 more bodies early morning today, the total death toll from Thursdays tragedy rose to 35. With the recovery of another body, identified as that of 53-year-old old Sunil Solanki, the official death toll is now 36. The search operation is likely to be over now with no possibility of finding more bodies in the stepwell. The search operations gained momentum after the process of dewatering the well (bearing water up to 13-14 feet) and with the Army's help. Chief Minister Chouhan met with the injured including twin sisters at a private hospital. VIEW PHOTO GALLERY Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Indore, on March 31, 2023. (Photo | PTI) He then visited the tragedy site to take stock of the rescue operations carried out by the Indian Army in association with the National Disaster Response Fund and State Disaster Emergency Response Force teams. The CM said: Directions have been issued to conduct a state-wide survey and an inquiry of all such covered 'bavdis' and 'kuwans' (step-wells and wells) to ensure there is no repetition of Thursday-like tragedies. The deceased included 20 women aged between 24 and 84 years, 12 men aged between 26 years and 65 years and three children, including two boys aged two years and eight years and a 13-year-old girl.                                                      pic.twitter.com/jMqUFLOlLC  Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) March 30, 2023 According to unconfirmed sources, minister colleagues of the CM, including Home Minister Narottam Mishra and Water Resources Minister Tulsi Silawat, and Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, who went to meet the kin of the deceased and the injured at a community hall in the residential colony where the mishap had happened, had to return hastily following slogan shouting. A magisterial probe has already been instituted to probe the mishap. Also, a criminal case u/s 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) has been registered at the Juni Indore police station, against the chairman and secretary of the private trust which managed the affairs at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhoolelal Temple  where the tragedy happened on Thursday. On Thursday, while the state government had announced Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased devotees and Rs 50,000 for each of the injured, an ex-gratia sum of Rs 2 lakh each was announced from the PM National Relief Fund for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to each of the injured. Rescue operations after roof of a stepwell collapsed at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple, in Indore. (Photo | PTI)
By PTI

AURANGABAD: As many as seven persons have been arrested following a mob attack on a police station in central Maharashtra's Aurangabad city while an injured man died in hospital, police said on Friday.

Normalcy returned to the city, recently renamed as `Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar', even as the government deployed five companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) as a precaution.

At least 12 persons including 10 policemen were injured after a mob of around 500 people hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles when the cops tried to control the situation following a clash between two groups near the Ram temple in Kiradpura locality of Aurangabad, on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

The police used tear gas and fired some plastic bullets as well as live rounds to control the mob.

Barkat Shaikh (23), Shaikh Atik (24), Saddam Shah (33), Shaikh Khaja (25), Sharik Khan (23), Syed Noor (27), all local residents, and Shaikh Saleem (25) from Buldhana district were arrested for alleged rioting, said an official of Jinsi police station where a case has been registered.

Shaikh Muniruddin (51), who had suffered injuries during the violence, died at a hospital on Thursday night, officials said, without specifying how he came to be injured.

"Security at various sensitive locations in the city has been increased. The administration has deployed five companies of SRPF and nearly 600 police personnel are on guard to maintain peace," an official said.

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar said political parties, civil society and citizens must work towards ensuring peace in Aurangabad.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader said police are doing their work but everyone, including political parties, those in power or Opposition, civil society and common citizens should work towards ensuring peace.

Asked about the Maha Vikas Aghadi's joint rally in Aurangabad on April 2, he said it had been planned much earlier, and leaders of the MVA constituents -- NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) -- are working on it.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that violence in Aurangabad and elsewhere on Ram Navami was "government-sponsored", and the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government wanted to use the tensions as a pretext to disallow the MVA rally on April 2.

Fellow Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve contested Aurangabad MP Imtiaz Jaleel's claim that some drug addicts were responsible for the violence.

"Drug addicts can not carry out such violence. How can 400-500 people be drug addicts? I had got information and I had spoken about it with the commissioner multiple times. It was ignored by administration," he claimed.

Danve also claimed that the agitation against the renaming of Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and the counter-agitation supporting the renaming led to this situation.

Had the agitation against the renaming not taken place, this situation would have been averted, he added.

READ MORE

Fresh clashes in Aheri village of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, security tightened

Communal clashes during Ram Navami processions in Aurangabad, Vadodara and Howrah

Political parties & civil society must work towards ensuring peace in Aurangabad, says Ajit Pawar

AURANGABAD: As many as seven persons have been arrested following a mob attack on a police station in central Maharashtra's Aurangabad city while an injured man died in hospital, police said on Friday. Normalcy returned to the city, recently renamed as `Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar', even as the government deployed five companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) as a precaution. At least 12 persons including 10 policemen were injured after a mob of around 500 people hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles when the cops tried to control the situation following a clash between two groups near the Ram temple in Kiradpura locality of Aurangabad, on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The police used tear gas and fired some plastic bullets as well as live rounds to control the mob. Barkat Shaikh (23), Shaikh Atik (24), Saddam Shah (33), Shaikh Khaja (25), Sharik Khan (23), Syed Noor (27), all local residents, and Shaikh Saleem (25) from Buldhana district were arrested for alleged rioting, said an official of Jinsi police station where a case has been registered. Shaikh Muniruddin (51), who had suffered injuries during the violence, died at a hospital on Thursday night, officials said, without specifying how he came to be injured. "Security at various sensitive locations in the city has been increased. The administration has deployed five companies of SRPF and nearly 600 police personnel are on guard to maintain peace," an official said. Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar said political parties, civil society and citizens must work towards ensuring peace in Aurangabad. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader said police are doing their work but everyone, including political parties, those in power or Opposition, civil society and common citizens should work towards ensuring peace. Asked about the Maha Vikas Aghadi's joint rally in Aurangabad on April 2, he said it had been planned much earlier, and leaders of the MVA constituents -- NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) -- are working on it. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that violence in Aurangabad and elsewhere on Ram Navami was "government-sponsored", and the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government wanted to use the tensions as a pretext to disallow the MVA rally on April 2. Fellow Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve contested Aurangabad MP Imtiaz Jaleel's claim that some drug addicts were responsible for the violence. "Drug addicts can not carry out such violence. How can 400-500 people be drug addicts? I had got information and I had spoken about it with the commissioner multiple times. It was ignored by administration," he claimed. Danve also claimed that the agitation against the renaming of Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and the counter-agitation supporting the renaming led to this situation. Had the agitation against the renaming not taken place, this situation would have been averted, he added. READ MORE Fresh clashes in Aheri village of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, security tightened Communal clashes during Ram Navami processions in Aurangabad, Vadodara and Howrah Political parties & civil society must work towards ensuring peace in Aurangabad, says Ajit Pawar
By IANS

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: In a suspected fallout of the major clashes that ravaged the Kiradpura area of Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, two groups indulged in violent stone-throwing in Aheri village of the district on Friday.

A large police force, including a CRPF team, was rushed to Aheri to maintain peace.

The situation is reportedly under control with top officers and political leaders keeping an eye on developments.

The developments come barely 24 hours after Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) was rocked by clashes in which one person was killed and over 15 police personnel injured. Around 20 police and private vehicles were torched, too. Several incidents of stone pelting too were reported.

At least seven persons have been arrested and more than 400 persons booked for the rioting that occurred on the eve of Ram Navami celebrations.

During the festival on Thursday, clashes also erupted in Jalgaon too. Four have been arrested in connection with it and many more have been booked. The situation has now been reported as peaceful.

On Thursday night, groups indulged in stone pelting in the minority-dominated Malvani area of Malad west suburb of Mumbai and around 25 persons were detained. The situation there is stated to be normal and under control with police maintaining a tight vigil in view of the ongoing Ramzan month.

Mumbai Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh called upon the police to scan CCTV footage of the area and take action against those responsible for the clashes.

WATCH

READ MORE | Communal clashes during Ram Navami processions in Aurangabad, Vadodara and Howrah

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut pointed fingers at the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance blaming them for the 'state-sponsored' riots which are intended to derail the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance's rally scheduled in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city on April 2.

"Our information is that nobody from the two groups wanted any violence... But it was the government which wanted the unrest. It supported those who resorted to violence by not acting against them. The city has witnessed 'state-sponsored' violence to prevent us from taking out our rally on Sunday," claimed Raut.

State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule hit back by rubbishing Raut's contentions and saying that if the situation again deteriorates, then the Sena (UBT) MP should be held responsible for making inflammatory statements.

READ HERE | Police deny Hindu outfits claim on stone-pelting during Ram Navami procession in Vadodara

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: In a suspected fallout of the major clashes that ravaged the Kiradpura area of Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, two groups indulged in violent stone-throwing in Aheri village of the district on Friday. A large police force, including a CRPF team, was rushed to Aheri to maintain peace. The situation is reportedly under control with top officers and political leaders keeping an eye on developments.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The developments come barely 24 hours after Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) was rocked by clashes in which one person was killed and over 15 police personnel injured. Around 20 police and private vehicles were torched, too. Several incidents of stone pelting too were reported. At least seven persons have been arrested and more than 400 persons booked for the rioting that occurred on the eve of Ram Navami celebrations. During the festival on Thursday, clashes also erupted in Jalgaon too. Four have been arrested in connection with it and many more have been booked. The situation has now been reported as peaceful. On Thursday night, groups indulged in stone pelting in the minority-dominated Malvani area of Malad west suburb of Mumbai and around 25 persons were detained. The situation there is stated to be normal and under control with police maintaining a tight vigil in view of the ongoing Ramzan month. Mumbai Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh called upon the police to scan CCTV footage of the area and take action against those responsible for the clashes. WATCH READ MORE | Communal clashes during Ram Navami processions in Aurangabad, Vadodara and Howrah Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut pointed fingers at the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance blaming them for the 'state-sponsored' riots which are intended to derail the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance's rally scheduled in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city on April 2. "Our information is that nobody from the two groups wanted any violence... But it was the government which wanted the unrest. It supported those who resorted to violence by not acting against them. The city has witnessed 'state-sponsored' violence to prevent us from taking out our rally on Sunday," claimed Raut. State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule hit back by rubbishing Raut's contentions and saying that if the situation again deteriorates, then the Sena (UBT) MP should be held responsible for making inflammatory statements. READ HERE | Police deny Hindu outfits claim on stone-pelting during Ram Navami procession in Vadodara
Rajesh Kumar Thakur and Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Germany on Thursday said it is taking note of Rahul Gandhis conviction in a defamation case and subsequent disqualification from Parliament, a few days after the US made a similar observation.

We have taken note of the verdict of the first instance against Rahul Gandhi and the suspension of his Parliamentary mandate, Germanys foreign ministry spokesperson said which was broadcast through Deutsche Welle.

To our knowledge, Gandhi is in a position to appeal the verdict. It will then become clear whether this verdict will stand and whether the suspension of his mandate has any basis, the spokesperson said during a media briefing.

The standards of judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles should apply in the case of opposition, she added. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Lok Sabha (MP) after a court in Gujarat convicted him in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark. In an election rally in 2019 in Kolar, Karnataka, Rahul had said how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname.

The criminal defamation case against Rahul was filed by BJP MLA from Surat West Purnesh Modi.

Earlier, the United States said it was watching Rahuls case. US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said: The US engages with the Indian government on a shared commitment to democratic values, including freedom of expression. Respect for the rule of law and judicial independence is a cornerstone of any democracy, and we are watching Rahul Gandhi's case in Indian courts.

Germanys remarks on Rahul Gandhis disqualification have, meanwhile, triggered a fresh round of war of words between the BJP and the Congress. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh in a tweet thanked

German foreign spokesperson Richard Walker, the German foreign ministry and Chief International Editor of Deutsche Welle, for taking note of how the Democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi.

Singh tagged a tweet by Walker in which the journalist posted a video of a German foreign ministry spokesperson reacting to Gandhis disqualification. Singhs tweet invited a series of tweets from senior BJP leaders attacking Congress and Singh.

The ruling party accused the Congress of inviting foreign powers for interfering in Indias internal matters, while the Opposition party accused the ruling BJP of attempting to divert attention from the Adani row.

Senior BJP leader and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in a tweet said: Thank you Rahul Gandhi for inviting foreign powers to interfere in Indias internal matters. Remember, the Indian judiciary cant be influenced by foreign interference. India wont tolerate foreign influence anymore because our Prime Minister is: Shri @narendramodi Ji.

ALSO READ: Disqualification of Rahul legal, trust judiciary

Slamming the Congress over Singhs tweet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said: Disgrace to the nation, @INCIndia & @RahulGandhi dont believe to fight Indias democratic, political and legal battle within the country, hence, invite foreign powers to interfere in our internal matter. But New India headed by @narendramodi Ji will not tolerate any foreign intervention.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also lambasted the Congress over Singhs tweet. Apparent that @INCIndia wants foreign interference in our affairs. Sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Communist Party of China with opaque contents. During interactions abroad, plead for help to change the government. Thank them when help is forthcoming. Any more proof needed? she tweeted.

Congress media department chief Pawan Khera retorted saying, BJP is trying to divert attention from

Adani issue. Mr. Rijiju, why divert from the main issue? The issue is that the Prime Minister cannot answer Rahul Gandhis questions about Adani, Khera tweeted. He asked Rijiju to answer the questions instead of misleading people.

NEW DELHI: Germany on Thursday said it is taking note of Rahul Gandhis conviction in a defamation case and subsequent disqualification from Parliament, a few days after the US made a similar observation. We have taken note of the verdict of the first instance against Rahul Gandhi and the suspension of his Parliamentary mandate, Germanys foreign ministry spokesperson said which was broadcast through Deutsche Welle. To our knowledge, Gandhi is in a position to appeal the verdict. It will then become clear whether this verdict will stand and whether the suspension of his mandate has any basis, the spokesperson said during a media briefing. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The standards of judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles should apply in the case of opposition, she added. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Lok Sabha (MP) after a court in Gujarat convicted him in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark. In an election rally in 2019 in Kolar, Karnataka, Rahul had said how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname. The criminal defamation case against Rahul was filed by BJP MLA from Surat West Purnesh Modi. Earlier, the United States said it was watching Rahuls case. US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said: The US engages with the Indian government on a shared commitment to democratic values, including freedom of expression. Respect for the rule of law and judicial independence is a cornerstone of any democracy, and we are watching Rahul Gandhi's case in Indian courts. Germanys remarks on Rahul Gandhis disqualification have, meanwhile, triggered a fresh round of war of words between the BJP and the Congress. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh in a tweet thanked German foreign spokesperson Richard Walker, the German foreign ministry and Chief International Editor of Deutsche Welle, for taking note of how the Democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi. Singh tagged a tweet by Walker in which the journalist posted a video of a German foreign ministry spokesperson reacting to Gandhis disqualification. Singhs tweet invited a series of tweets from senior BJP leaders attacking Congress and Singh. The ruling party accused the Congress of inviting foreign powers for interfering in Indias internal matters, while the Opposition party accused the ruling BJP of attempting to divert attention from the Adani row. Senior BJP leader and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in a tweet said: Thank you Rahul Gandhi for inviting foreign powers to interfere in Indias internal matters. Remember, the Indian judiciary cant be influenced by foreign interference. India wont tolerate foreign influence anymore because our Prime Minister is: Shri @narendramodi Ji. ALSO READ: Disqualification of Rahul legal, trust judiciary Slamming the Congress over Singhs tweet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said: Disgrace to the nation, @INCIndia & @RahulGandhi dont believe to fight Indias democratic, political and legal battle within the country, hence, invite foreign powers to interfere in our internal matter. But New India headed by @narendramodi Ji will not tolerate any foreign intervention. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also lambasted the Congress over Singhs tweet. Apparent that @INCIndia wants foreign interference in our affairs. Sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Communist Party of China with opaque contents. During interactions abroad, plead for help to change the government. Thank them when help is forthcoming. Any more proof needed? she tweeted. Congress media department chief Pawan Khera retorted saying, BJP is trying to divert attention from Adani issue. Mr. Rijiju, why divert from the main issue? The issue is that the Prime Minister cannot answer Rahul Gandhis questions about Adani, Khera tweeted. He asked Rijiju to answer the questions instead of misleading people.
By Online Desk

The Gujarat High Court on Friday quashed and set aside the 2016 order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) directing the Gujarat government to provide "information regarding degrees in the name of Narendra Damodar Modi to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Live Law reports.

The Bench of Justice Biren Vaishnav allowed the appeal filed by Gujarat University challenging the CIC order on the ground that the same was passed without serving notice to it. It may be noted that the judgment in the matter was reserved on February 9 after hearing the concerned parties extensively, the legal website reported.

The bench also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 upon Arvind Kejriwal to be deposited with the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority within four weeks. The court also refused to grant a stay on the judgment.

According to Modi, he completed his graduation from Gujarat University in 1978 and post-graduation from Delhi University in 1983, Bar and Bench reported.

During the hearing held last month, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the University, had argued that while there is nothing to hide, the varsity could not be compelled to disclose the information, the report said.

The Gujarat High Court on Friday quashed and set aside the 2016 order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) directing the Gujarat government to provide "information regarding degrees in the name of Narendra Damodar Modi to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Live Law reports. The Bench of Justice Biren Vaishnav allowed the appeal filed by Gujarat University challenging the CIC order on the ground that the same was passed without serving notice to it. It may be noted that the judgment in the matter was reserved on February 9 after hearing the concerned parties extensively, the legal website reported. The bench also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 upon Arvind Kejriwal to be deposited with the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority within four weeks. The court also refused to grant a stay on the judgment. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); According to Modi, he completed his graduation from Gujarat University in 1978 and post-graduation from Delhi University in 1983, Bar and Bench reported. During the hearing held last month, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the University, had argued that while there is nothing to hide, the varsity could not be compelled to disclose the information, the report said.
By PTI

HOWRAH: Fresh incidents of stone-throwing by unidentified people on police personnel, deployed in Howrah's Kazipara area which witnessed violence over the Ram Navami procession on Thursday, triggered tension in the area on Friday afternoon, an officer said.

The police had to use batons to disperse a group of people who had gathered there.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were imposed in Kazipara area, the senior IPS officer told PTI.

Altogether 45 people were arrested in connection with the violence since Thursday.

"The situation was calm and peaceful until this afternoon. After that, police personnel were pelted with stones which sparked tension in the area. Some people were arrested as our officers reacted instantly," he said.

A number of local people locked themselves inside houses while shops and markets were closed.

Vehicular movement was disrupted following the incident of stone pelting.

At least three policemen were injured in the brick batting and they are undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital, the officer said.

The police also used loudspeakers asking locals not to loiter in the area.

"If you are found roaming around, we will take strict action as per the law," a policeman was heard saying on the loudspeaker.

A huge team of Rapid Action Force (RAF) from Kolkata Police was brought into the area on Friday afternoon.

The personnel started a route march following the stone-throwing incidents.

READ MORE | Fresh clashes in Aheri village of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, security tightened

Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP along with other right-wing organisations was responsible for Thursday's violence in Howrah.

She appealed to people to maintain peace in the area.

"The Howrah incident is very unfortunate. Neither Hindus nor Muslims were behind the violence in Howrah. The BJP along with Bajrang Dal and other such organisations were involved in the violence with arms," Banerjee told Bengali television news channel ABP Ananda. The state government will help all whose properties were vandalised in the clashes, she said.

Violence broke out on Thursday evening between two groups when a Ram Navami procession was taken out in the twin city of Howrah.

Several vehicles, including some belonging to the police, were torched and shops and auto-rickshaws ransacked during the violence.

A large police contingent was deployed to restore peace in the locality.

ALSO READ | Aurangabad mob violence: One dead, 7 arrested; State Reserve Police Force deployed in city

HOWRAH: Fresh incidents of stone-throwing by unidentified people on police personnel, deployed in Howrah's Kazipara area which witnessed violence over the Ram Navami procession on Thursday, triggered tension in the area on Friday afternoon, an officer said. The police had to use batons to disperse a group of people who had gathered there. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were imposed in Kazipara area, the senior IPS officer told PTI.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Altogether 45 people were arrested in connection with the violence since Thursday. "The situation was calm and peaceful until this afternoon. After that, police personnel were pelted with stones which sparked tension in the area. Some people were arrested as our officers reacted instantly," he said. A number of local people locked themselves inside houses while shops and markets were closed. Vehicular movement was disrupted following the incident of stone pelting. At least three policemen were injured in the brick batting and they are undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital, the officer said. The police also used loudspeakers asking locals not to loiter in the area. "If you are found roaming around, we will take strict action as per the law," a policeman was heard saying on the loudspeaker. A huge team of Rapid Action Force (RAF) from Kolkata Police was brought into the area on Friday afternoon. The personnel started a route march following the stone-throwing incidents. READ MORE | Fresh clashes in Aheri village of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, security tightened Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP along with other right-wing organisations was responsible for Thursday's violence in Howrah. She appealed to people to maintain peace in the area. "The Howrah incident is very unfortunate. Neither Hindus nor Muslims were behind the violence in Howrah. The BJP along with Bajrang Dal and other such organisations were involved in the violence with arms," Banerjee told Bengali television news channel ABP Ananda. The state government will help all whose properties were vandalised in the clashes, she said. Violence broke out on Thursday evening between two groups when a Ram Navami procession was taken out in the twin city of Howrah. Several vehicles, including some belonging to the police, were torched and shops and auto-rickshaws ransacked during the violence. A large police contingent was deployed to restore peace in the locality. ALSO READ | Aurangabad mob violence: One dead, 7 arrested; State Reserve Police Force deployed in city
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: Maintaining that the partition of undivided India into two parts in 1947 was artificial, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat claimed that even people in Pakistan are now realising the mistake.

The division of the country in 1947 was artificial. A person was then brought for demarcation and given three months. But that person hardly knew anything about it. That person admitted later that he did not know himself what was actually done by him. Even those now in the land called Pakistan are realizing that partition was a mistake. Those who separated from undivided India, out of bigotry, are sad, while those who left their land and settled in India have made their lives prosperous through their Purusharth (efforts), Bhagwat said, while addressing a large gathering of the Sindhi community from across India and abroad in Bhopal on Friday.

Addressing the event to mark the birth centenary of revolutionary Hemu Kalani organised by Bhartiya Sindhu Sabha at BHEL Dussehra Maidan, the RSS chief said, "What mistake was committed then (partition of India) will certainly be rectified, youve to be ready for it. How it will happen, I dont know. Saying that India will attack Pakistan for it is totally wrong, as we dont follow the culture of invasion, we only believe in giving a befitting reply for self-defence."

Akhand Bharat (undivided India) is the truth, while divided India is a nightmare. You (Sindhi community) know India on both sides and can rebuild India there again, Bhagwat said, while appealing to the young Sindhi community to stick to their roots and preserve their origin and culture.

ALSO READ | All modes of worship reach the same goal, says RSS chief Bhagwat

Dont be misled by divisive forces, you hail from the land of Sindhu and Sindh, from which the word Hindu derives its name. This means you are Hindus.

Addressing the gathering, the MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan made a series of announcements on demands put by the Sindhi community, which has a sizeable presence in cities, like Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur and Katni and have significant voter base in 5-10 seats of these cities of MP.

Chouhan made the key announcements, among them including in the school curriculum life stories of historical Sindhi icons, spanning from Raja Dahir (last Hindu ruler of Sindh) to revolutionary Hemu Kalani and Amar Shaheed Bhagat Kanwar Ram.

He also announced restarting arrangements to send pilgrims from the state to the annual Sindhu Darshan festival in Ladakh and granting Rs 25,000 per passenger for it under the Mukyamnatri Teerth Darshan Yojana.

He also announced raising the annual budget for Sindhi Sahitya Academy to Rs 5 crore and installing statues of revolutionary Hemu Kalani at Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur.

Further, the MP CM announced a museum for conserving Sindhi history and culture in Bhopal.

He also said norms have been laid down for providing pattas to Sindhi migrants at low cost, under which eligible displaced Sindhi people will be given ownership rights of land by setting up special camps.

The event also saw felicitation of leading personalities of the Sindhi community from across the globe, including Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee oncologist Dr Suresh Advani, CEO and MD of Tech Mahindra CP Gurnani, Dubai-based NRI entrepreneur Ram Buxani, leading advocate and Rajya Sabha member Mahesh Jethmalani, young filmmaker Satram Ramani and educationist and social activist Anita Gurnani.

BHOPAL: Maintaining that the partition of undivided India into two parts in 1947 was artificial, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat claimed that even people in Pakistan are now realising the mistake. The division of the country in 1947 was artificial. A person was then brought for demarcation and given three months. But that person hardly knew anything about it. That person admitted later that he did not know himself what was actually done by him. Even those now in the land called Pakistan are realizing that partition was a mistake. Those who separated from undivided India, out of bigotry, are sad, while those who left their land and settled in India have made their lives prosperous through their Purusharth (efforts), Bhagwat said, while addressing a large gathering of the Sindhi community from across India and abroad in Bhopal on Friday. Addressing the event to mark the birth centenary of revolutionary Hemu Kalani organised by Bhartiya Sindhu Sabha at BHEL Dussehra Maidan, the RSS chief said, "What mistake was committed then (partition of India) will certainly be rectified, youve to be ready for it. How it will happen, I dont know. Saying that India will attack Pakistan for it is totally wrong, as we dont follow the culture of invasion, we only believe in giving a befitting reply for self-defence."googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Akhand Bharat (undivided India) is the truth, while divided India is a nightmare. You (Sindhi community) know India on both sides and can rebuild India there again, Bhagwat said, while appealing to the young Sindhi community to stick to their roots and preserve their origin and culture. ALSO READ | All modes of worship reach the same goal, says RSS chief Bhagwat Dont be misled by divisive forces, you hail from the land of Sindhu and Sindh, from which the word Hindu derives its name. This means you are Hindus. Addressing the gathering, the MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan made a series of announcements on demands put by the Sindhi community, which has a sizeable presence in cities, like Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur and Katni and have significant voter base in 5-10 seats of these cities of MP. Chouhan made the key announcements, among them including in the school curriculum life stories of historical Sindhi icons, spanning from Raja Dahir (last Hindu ruler of Sindh) to revolutionary Hemu Kalani and Amar Shaheed Bhagat Kanwar Ram. He also announced restarting arrangements to send pilgrims from the state to the annual Sindhu Darshan festival in Ladakh and granting Rs 25,000 per passenger for it under the Mukyamnatri Teerth Darshan Yojana. He also announced raising the annual budget for Sindhi Sahitya Academy to Rs 5 crore and installing statues of revolutionary Hemu Kalani at Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur. Further, the MP CM announced a museum for conserving Sindhi history and culture in Bhopal. He also said norms have been laid down for providing pattas to Sindhi migrants at low cost, under which eligible displaced Sindhi people will be given ownership rights of land by setting up special camps. The event also saw felicitation of leading personalities of the Sindhi community from across the globe, including Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee oncologist Dr Suresh Advani, CEO and MD of Tech Mahindra CP Gurnani, Dubai-based NRI entrepreneur Ram Buxani, leading advocate and Rajya Sabha member Mahesh Jethmalani, young filmmaker Satram Ramani and educationist and social activist Anita Gurnani.
Dilip Singh Kshatriya By

Express News Service

AHMEDABAD: The discussion on the state of education in Gujarat heated up during the assembly elections a few months back, triggering a social media battle between AAP and the BJP. The state administration at the time claimed that the Gujarat education model was the best.

However, the same BJP government acknowledged on Wednesday in the assembly that more than 32,000 posts of teachers and principals are lying vacant in various government as well as grant-in-aid primary, secondary and higher secondary schools.

Education Minister Kuber Dindor informed the House in response to a series of inquiries from Congress MLAs about the state of education that, as of December 2022, there were 29,122 teachers positions and 3,552 principal positions vacant in the state-run as well as government-aided Gujarati and English medium schools across the state.

Assembly data also revealed that of these 32,674 vacant positions, 20,678 were left unfilled at government-run schools while 11,996 teacher and principal posts could not be filled in granted schools.

Almost 17,500 government primary teacher positions were unfilled in total. There are 1,507 positions vacant in the Kutch district alone, 1,152 in Dahod, which has a large tribal population, 869 in Banaskantha, 724 in Rajkot, and 692 in Mahisagar.

The information also showed that there are no government-run secondary English-medium schools for classes 9 and 10 in 14 out of 33 districts in Gujarat. Similarly, there are no English-medium higher secondary schools operated by the state government for classes 11 and 12, and there are no grant-funded English-language elementary schools in any of the 31 districts.

Among the claims of digital and science education, another startling statistic emerged. The majority of schools in the Jamnagar-Dwarka district lack computer labs. There are no computer labs in 490 Jamnagar primary schools and 337 Dwarka primary schools.

According to data, 506 primary schools in Jamnagar and 379 primary schools in Dwarka do not have a science experiment lab. Parthiv Raj Kathwadia, a spokesperson for Gujarat Congress, attacked the BJP government, saying the BJP government is playing games with the future of students.

AHMEDABAD: The discussion on the state of education in Gujarat heated up during the assembly elections a few months back, triggering a social media battle between AAP and the BJP. The state administration at the time claimed that the Gujarat education model was the best. However, the same BJP government acknowledged on Wednesday in the assembly that more than 32,000 posts of teachers and principals are lying vacant in various government as well as grant-in-aid primary, secondary and higher secondary schools. Education Minister Kuber Dindor informed the House in response to a series of inquiries from Congress MLAs about the state of education that, as of December 2022, there were 29,122 teachers positions and 3,552 principal positions vacant in the state-run as well as government-aided Gujarati and English medium schools across the state.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Assembly data also revealed that of these 32,674 vacant positions, 20,678 were left unfilled at government-run schools while 11,996 teacher and principal posts could not be filled in granted schools. Almost 17,500 government primary teacher positions were unfilled in total. There are 1,507 positions vacant in the Kutch district alone, 1,152 in Dahod, which has a large tribal population, 869 in Banaskantha, 724 in Rajkot, and 692 in Mahisagar. The information also showed that there are no government-run secondary English-medium schools for classes 9 and 10 in 14 out of 33 districts in Gujarat. Similarly, there are no English-medium higher secondary schools operated by the state government for classes 11 and 12, and there are no grant-funded English-language elementary schools in any of the 31 districts. Among the claims of digital and science education, another startling statistic emerged. The majority of schools in the Jamnagar-Dwarka district lack computer labs. There are no computer labs in 490 Jamnagar primary schools and 337 Dwarka primary schools. According to data, 506 primary schools in Jamnagar and 379 primary schools in Dwarka do not have a science experiment lab. Parthiv Raj Kathwadia, a spokesperson for Gujarat Congress, attacked the BJP government, saying the BJP government is playing games with the future of students.
By Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Even as TIPRA Motha is mounting pressure on the Centre demanding constitutional solution to the problems of Tripuras 14 lakh tribals, Assam Chief Minister and BJP stalwart Himanta Biswa Sarma has urged the tribe-based party to be patient.

Sarma, the Centres virtual emissary in the Northeast who has helped resolve several issues, met a TIPRA Motha delegation, which was led by its chief Pradyot Debbarma, in Guwahati on Wednesday at midnight.

The Assam CM said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had long discussions with Debbarma twice  before and after the Tripura elections  and he had clearly said that the Centre has a roadmap to fast-track solution to the problem being faced by the tribals of Tripura.

We all know how the Home Minister is resolving problems, one by one. The problem of tribals in Tripura is high on his agenda. I requested the delegation of TIPRA Motha to be patient and have trust and confidence in the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, Sarma said.

He said the Centres tentative discussions with TIPRA Motha took place after a roadmap was laid down. He said discussions with all stakeholders would now follow.

The tribals of Tripura have some grievances and it is important to redress them. I am sure we wont have to wait for too long. The process will be started soon and the problem will be resolved soon, Sarma assured.

The meeting came two days after Debbarma had threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike protesting the Centres delay in appointing an interlocutor to study and examine the partys demand.

TIPRA Mothas Animesh Debbarma, who is the leader of the Opposition, said they had a fruitful meeting with Sarma.

The Assam CM explained to us the Centres roadmap for the all-round development of the tribals in Tripura. We are satisfied with the governments ambitious plan, he said.

GUWAHATI: Even as TIPRA Motha is mounting pressure on the Centre demanding constitutional solution to the problems of Tripuras 14 lakh tribals, Assam Chief Minister and BJP stalwart Himanta Biswa Sarma has urged the tribe-based party to be patient. Sarma, the Centres virtual emissary in the Northeast who has helped resolve several issues, met a TIPRA Motha delegation, which was led by its chief Pradyot Debbarma, in Guwahati on Wednesday at midnight. The Assam CM said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had long discussions with Debbarma twice  before and after the Tripura elections  and he had clearly said that the Centre has a roadmap to fast-track solution to the problem being faced by the tribals of Tripura.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); We all know how the Home Minister is resolving problems, one by one. The problem of tribals in Tripura is high on his agenda. I requested the delegation of TIPRA Motha to be patient and have trust and confidence in the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, Sarma said. He said the Centres tentative discussions with TIPRA Motha took place after a roadmap was laid down. He said discussions with all stakeholders would now follow. The tribals of Tripura have some grievances and it is important to redress them. I am sure we wont have to wait for too long. The process will be started soon and the problem will be resolved soon, Sarma assured. The meeting came two days after Debbarma had threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike protesting the Centres delay in appointing an interlocutor to study and examine the partys demand. TIPRA Mothas Animesh Debbarma, who is the leader of the Opposition, said they had a fruitful meeting with Sarma. The Assam CM explained to us the Centres roadmap for the all-round development of the tribals in Tripura. We are satisfied with the governments ambitious plan, he said.
Bibek Debroy By

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 sets a template for changing Indias education system. Education isnt a silo and has many angleschildhood and pre-school (even ante-natal care), school, higher education, vocational and adult. Stated simply, this change and reform involve competition, choice and better regulation, with the breaking down of silos. If lessons of competition, choice and better regulation have worked in other sectors and liberalised much earlier, why should they also not apply to education, especially higher education? Indeed, thats what NEP has in mind.

How many higher education institutions (HEIs) are there? All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) for 202021 tells us there are 1,113 universities, 43,796 colleges and 11,296 standalone institutions. Is that too few or too many? India is a young country. To tap that demographic dividend, which wont last forever, young Indians need better health and education outcomes.

There is a lot of buzz about AI (artificial intelligence), and some of it is hype. AI cannot completely supplant natural intelligence, though some jobs are prone to be substituted by AI. Almost definitionally, AI is a technology and capital-intensive, and the labour versus capital choice is a function of the relative prices of both. In India, even in the foreseeable future, labour will be relatively cheap and capital relatively expensive, though the labour market has several slices, and there are exceptions to this principle. Ergo, in India, we will generally still use labour.

That labour has to be trained. It has to possess skills. Every individual possesses skills. But thats not the same as saying that the market values those skills, and there is an important issue about whether the present higher education system delivers those marketable skills.

The correlation between higher education and skills is not that strong except for professional courses. In the age group of 1823, AISHE tells us GER (gross enrolment ratio) is 27.3. It is a little higher for females, and GER has been increasing over time, as it should. The decline in work participation rates in those age groups is partly due to increased enrolment. What kind of GER should we aspire towards? I guess something like 50%.

At the time of entry to HEIs, we hear about scrambles for admission and student suicides. Therefore, one might be tempted to conclude we need more HEIs. For three reasons, this is not true. First, Indias rate of population growth is slowing down. It is an annual rate of 0.8% now. The absolute number of children in the age group of 015 has declined. The absolute number, not merely the ratio. The Hunter Commission Report (188283) makes for interesting reading on how the higher education system came to be developed under the British. The first three modern universities were set up in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. In 1951, I think there were 30 universities and 695 colleges. (To get accurate figures, there was nothing like AISHE then.)

In the decades since Independence, we planned for increasing population, be it through more schools or HEIs. We now need to plan for slowing population growth. Many states have had to rationalise and close down schools since there arent enough students. Notwithstanding a possible increase in GER, that will also happen for HEIs. Access to higher education doesnt mean we have HEIs in every district, perhaps every block, with a wonderful infrastructure but no students and faculty.

Second, there is a great deal of heterogeneity in HEIs. Let me quote from AISHE. Majority of colleges are smaller in terms of enrolment. 24.5% of the colleges have enrolment less than 100, and 48.5% have a student strength of 100 to 500 which means that 65.1% enrol less than 500 students. Only 4% of colleges have an enrolment of more than 3000. What level of enrolment makes a college viable? I would say 3000. If thats the figure, 96% of colleges should close down. There is, of course, a public versus private funding issue. If a privately funded college continues to exist with an enrolment of less than 100, thats not our business. However, if public funding is involved, those resources have opportunity costs. There is also the issue of the composition of that public funding. Public funding of a student, through a means test and in the form of scholarships and financial aid, is one thing; public funding of infrastructure and faculty and administrative staff salaries is another.

Third, competition implies entry and exit. There have been additional entries into the list of HEIs, private and potentially foreign. If there is an entry, there must inevitably be churn and exit in the process of churn and competition. Some HEIs must close down. To me, that writing on the wall seems obvious, but its a phenomenon people rarely talk about. For instance, the NEP document mentions the word exit only twice, both in the context of a student exiting from a course of study and opting for another. As with schools, we need to determine what should be done with the existing infrastructure.

Traditionally, the objective of higher education has been perceived to be one of teacher teaching. At the risk of generalising, the same notes are read out year after year, the same questions are recycled in exams year after year, and students write the same answers year after year.

This sounds like a caricature, but it is largely the case. In statistics, people use the bell curve for a normal distribution. Few students belong to the top 10% and few teachers belong to the top 10%. For 90% of teachers, AI and digital universities can take over. The objective of higher education is one of student learning, not teacher teaching, and in 90% of cases, AI and digital universities can perform that function better.

In other words, not only must there be an exit for HEIs, but there must also be an exit for the bulk of teachers, a fact difficult to accept. It shouldnt be a surprise that, barring a few, Indian HEIs do not do that well in global rankings. Some countries have deliberately targeted improvements in global rankings, focusing not only on infrastructure but international students and faculty too. (Think of Singapore.) In the churning of the ocean, there was poison too. Exit is the poison in this churn.

Bibek Debroy

Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the PM

(bibek.debroy@gov.in)

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 sets a template for changing Indias education system. Education isnt a silo and has many angleschildhood and pre-school (even ante-natal care), school, higher education, vocational and adult. Stated simply, this change and reform involve competition, choice and better regulation, with the breaking down of silos. If lessons of competition, choice and better regulation have worked in other sectors and liberalised much earlier, why should they also not apply to education, especially higher education? Indeed, thats what NEP has in mind. How many higher education institutions (HEIs) are there? All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) for 202021 tells us there are 1,113 universities, 43,796 colleges and 11,296 standalone institutions. Is that too few or too many? India is a young country. To tap that demographic dividend, which wont last forever, young Indians need better health and education outcomes. There is a lot of buzz about AI (artificial intelligence), and some of it is hype. AI cannot completely supplant natural intelligence, though some jobs are prone to be substituted by AI. Almost definitionally, AI is a technology and capital-intensive, and the labour versus capital choice is a function of the relative prices of both. In India, even in the foreseeable future, labour will be relatively cheap and capital relatively expensive, though the labour market has several slices, and there are exceptions to this principle. Ergo, in India, we will generally still use labour.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); That labour has to be trained. It has to possess skills. Every individual possesses skills. But thats not the same as saying that the market values those skills, and there is an important issue about whether the present higher education system delivers those marketable skills. The correlation between higher education and skills is not that strong except for professional courses. In the age group of 1823, AISHE tells us GER (gross enrolment ratio) is 27.3. It is a little higher for females, and GER has been increasing over time, as it should. The decline in work participation rates in those age groups is partly due to increased enrolment. What kind of GER should we aspire towards? I guess something like 50%. At the time of entry to HEIs, we hear about scrambles for admission and student suicides. Therefore, one might be tempted to conclude we need more HEIs. For three reasons, this is not true. First, Indias rate of population growth is slowing down. It is an annual rate of 0.8% now. The absolute number of children in the age group of 015 has declined. The absolute number, not merely the ratio. The Hunter Commission Report (188283) makes for interesting reading on how the higher education system came to be developed under the British. The first three modern universities were set up in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. In 1951, I think there were 30 universities and 695 colleges. (To get accurate figures, there was nothing like AISHE then.) In the decades since Independence, we planned for increasing population, be it through more schools or HEIs. We now need to plan for slowing population growth. Many states have had to rationalise and close down schools since there arent enough students. Notwithstanding a possible increase in GER, that will also happen for HEIs. Access to higher education doesnt mean we have HEIs in every district, perhaps every block, with a wonderful infrastructure but no students and faculty. Second, there is a great deal of heterogeneity in HEIs. Let me quote from AISHE. Majority of colleges are smaller in terms of enrolment. 24.5% of the colleges have enrolment less than 100, and 48.5% have a student strength of 100 to 500 which means that 65.1% enrol less than 500 students. Only 4% of colleges have an enrolment of more than 3000. What level of enrolment makes a college viable? I would say 3000. If thats the figure, 96% of colleges should close down. There is, of course, a public versus private funding issue. If a privately funded college continues to exist with an enrolment of less than 100, thats not our business. However, if public funding is involved, those resources have opportunity costs. There is also the issue of the composition of that public funding. Public funding of a student, through a means test and in the form of scholarships and financial aid, is one thing; public funding of infrastructure and faculty and administrative staff salaries is another. Third, competition implies entry and exit. There have been additional entries into the list of HEIs, private and potentially foreign. If there is an entry, there must inevitably be churn and exit in the process of churn and competition. Some HEIs must close down. To me, that writing on the wall seems obvious, but its a phenomenon people rarely talk about. For instance, the NEP document mentions the word exit only twice, both in the context of a student exiting from a course of study and opting for another. As with schools, we need to determine what should be done with the existing infrastructure. Traditionally, the objective of higher education has been perceived to be one of teacher teaching. At the risk of generalising, the same notes are read out year after year, the same questions are recycled in exams year after year, and students write the same answers year after year. This sounds like a caricature, but it is largely the case. In statistics, people use the bell curve for a normal distribution. Few students belong to the top 10% and few teachers belong to the top 10%. For 90% of teachers, AI and digital universities can take over. The objective of higher education is one of student learning, not teacher teaching, and in 90% of cases, AI and digital universities can perform that function better. In other words, not only must there be an exit for HEIs, but there must also be an exit for the bulk of teachers, a fact difficult to accept. It shouldnt be a surprise that, barring a few, Indian HEIs do not do that well in global rankings. Some countries have deliberately targeted improvements in global rankings, focusing not only on infrastructure but international students and faculty too. (Think of Singapore.) In the churning of the ocean, there was poison too. Exit is the poison in this churn. Bibek Debroy Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the PM (bibek.debroy@gov.in)
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Ameriabank has been named the Best Bank in Armenia by Global Finance magazine in its 30th annual awards for the Worlds Best Banks.

When selecting the world's top banks, Global Finance considered a range of criteria, including growth in assets, profitability, geographic reach, strategic relationships, new business development, and innovation in products. Other factors for selection included the opinions of equity analysts, credit rating analysts, banking consultants, and others involved in the financial industry throughout the world. This years awards were given to banks that attended carefully to their customers needs in difficult markets and accomplished strong results while laying the foundations for future success.

As the banking crisis spreads from the US to other regions, identifying the best banks regarding services, stability and institutional knowledge is more important than ever, said Joseph D. Giarraputo, founder and editorial director of Global Finance. This years Best Bank Awards recognize the financial institutions that offer the broadest range of services as well as the reliability required for long-term financial relationships.

Artak Hanesyan, Chairman of the Management Board, CEO at Ameriabank, commented: We are delighted to receive the Best Bank Award from Global Finance, which serves as a testament to our robust growth in all business areas over the past year. As this is the ninth time we have received this prestigious award, it goes beyond just one year's financial results and serves as a true recognition of our strong performance for more than a decade to reflect also the resilience and enduring strength of our long-term strategy. By accepting and celebrating this acknowledgement, we reinstate our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our customers and introducing innovation in financial services with a strong focus on digitalization, financial responsibility and long-term sustainability.

Ameriabank has been awarded the Best Bank of Armenia for the ninth time and the third consecutive year.

Ameriabank CJSC

Ameriabank is a leading financial and technology company in Armenia, a major contributor to the Armenian economy, with assets exceeding AMD 1 trillion. In the course of digital transformation, it has launched a number of innovative solutions and platforms going beyond banking-only needs of its diverse customer base, thus creating a dynamically evolving financial technology space.

Ameria was the first in Armenia to create ecosystems for both businesses and individuals, which give one-window access to a range of banking and non-banking services, among them - Estate.ameriabank.am, Automarket.ameriabank.am, Business.ameriabank.am.

As a truly customer-centric company, Ameria aims to be a trusted and secure financial technology space with seamless solutions to improve the quality of life.

The Bank is supervised by the Central Bank of Armenia.

About Global Finance

Global Finance, founded in 1987, has a circulation of 50,000 readers in 193 countries and territories. Global Finances audience includes senior corporate and financial officers responsible for making investment and strategic decisions at multinational companies and financial institutions. Its website  GFMag.com  offers analysis and articles that are the legacy of 36 years of experience in international financial markets. Global Finance is headquartered in New York, with offices around the world. Global Finance regularly selects the top performers among banks and other financial services providers. These awards have become a trusted standard of excellence for the global financial community.
Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singhs separatist call was seen as the pronouncement of a small businessman with no links to the Sikh clergy or widespread support like earlier Khalistan proponents. Not many in the Indian security establishment took him seriously and treated him as a prophet in the wilderness whose voice not many would hear and heed. If anything, Amritpals rise was seen as a sign of Punjabs Aam Aadmi Party governments indifference to separatist elements. AAPs election campaign received considerable support from Sikhs living abroad. Therefore, not many were surprised when Amritpal arrived from abroad to launch his campaign for Khalistan. But the support he started receiving, mostly outside India, shocked the Indian security establishment. The tension between the AAP government in Punjab and the BJP-led Central government also played a role in Amritpal not getting the attention it deserved.

While the central agencies kept a hawks eye on the new troublemaker, action against him was not taken with the urgency it deserved. What followed was a blame game between the two governments, with the Central government blaming the state government for not acting against Amritpal. AAP cannot be absolved of letting Amritpal grow into the force he has now become. Nobody knew of Amritpal until September last when he visited Bhindranwales Rode village where, through his turban-tying ceremony, a Bhindranwale lookalike was created. In some sections, he is now being termed as Bhindranwale 2.0, though he has no religious following.

The state government was aware of his activities since arriving from Dubai but did not take them seriously. That Amritpal was in touch with Jaswant Singh Rode, whose brother Lakhbir Singh Rode is the head of the International Sikh Youth Federation and is involved in smuggling drugs into India, was well established. Same with the fact that the Khalistan movement is funded largely by NRIs from the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. Despite these known facts, Amritpal continued to propagate his divisive ideology. As a result, there are protests worldwide against the crackdown on his supporters and the manhunt launched against him. The government of India had to summon foreign envoys to control the activities of Sikh separatists in their countries. Indias political parties must set aside their differences and act swiftly and decisively against the separatist elements. Activities of people like Amritpal are causing trouble for the community, which does not subscribe to his views.

Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singhs separatist call was seen as the pronouncement of a small businessman with no links to the Sikh clergy or widespread support like earlier Khalistan proponents. Not many in the Indian security establishment took him seriously and treated him as a prophet in the wilderness whose voice not many would hear and heed. If anything, Amritpals rise was seen as a sign of Punjabs Aam Aadmi Party governments indifference to separatist elements. AAPs election campaign received considerable support from Sikhs living abroad. Therefore, not many were surprised when Amritpal arrived from abroad to launch his campaign for Khalistan. But the support he started receiving, mostly outside India, shocked the Indian security establishment. The tension between the AAP government in Punjab and the BJP-led Central government also played a role in Amritpal not getting the attention it deserved. While the central agencies kept a hawks eye on the new troublemaker, action against him was not taken with the urgency it deserved. What followed was a blame game between the two governments, with the Central government blaming the state government for not acting against Amritpal. AAP cannot be absolved of letting Amritpal grow into the force he has now become. Nobody knew of Amritpal until September last when he visited Bhindranwales Rode village where, through his turban-tying ceremony, a Bhindranwale lookalike was created. In some sections, he is now being termed as Bhindranwale 2.0, though he has no religious following. The state government was aware of his activities since arriving from Dubai but did not take them seriously. That Amritpal was in touch with Jaswant Singh Rode, whose brother Lakhbir Singh Rode is the head of the International Sikh Youth Federation and is involved in smuggling drugs into India, was well established. Same with the fact that the Khalistan movement is funded largely by NRIs from the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. Despite these known facts, Amritpal continued to propagate his divisive ideology. As a result, there are protests worldwide against the crackdown on his supporters and the manhunt launched against him. The government of India had to summon foreign envoys to control the activities of Sikh separatists in their countries. Indias political parties must set aside their differences and act swiftly and decisively against the separatist elements. Activities of people like Amritpal are causing trouble for the community, which does not subscribe to his views.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); });
User charges on UPI transactions created a flutter this week. While the government quickly dismissed concerns, the uncomfortable question is whether a free-forever model is possible or even desirable. Its no secret that the RBI wants to streamline charges for different payment services. It released a discussion paper last August and followed it up in December, but the finance ministry shot it off, insisting that a fee on UPI services wasnt on the cards and extended financial support for the digital payments ecosystem.

But whats free for one involves a cost for someone else. Even though UPI person-merchant transactions are free, as per RBIs calculations, different stakeholders collectively incur Rs 2 on Rs 800 worth of transactions. In other words, UPI as a funds transfer system is much like IMPS; so, its argued that similar charges apply to UPI. RBI had even proposed a tiered charge on different transactions.

But then, the zero-cost model helped swell the UPI user base so phenomenally since its launch seven years ago. As per the Economic Survey 202223, India has the highest fintech adoption rate of 87% against the global average of 64%, thanks to UPI transactions that shot up an average of 121% in value and 115% in volume between FY19 and FY22. As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman noted recently, UPI transactions accounted for 52% of the total digital payments transactions in FY22. Considering the popularity, RBI even rolled it for feature phone users of about 400 million, which means NPCIs 750 million user base target for individual digital payments got one step closer.

It isnt a stretch to say that Indias UPI ecosystem has no parallel in the world, so its being merrily handed out to all visiting G-20 delegates. All RBI wants is parity, while the government insists on UPI as a free service. Both have a point. A system like UPI cannot flourish in any country unless the government democratises the payment system to the smallest value at no cost or the most reasonable cost. Given the rise in digital payments, India must evolve an efficient payment system where UPI remains a digital public good for user transactions. At the same time, the cost of recovery is met through other means for the rest of the stakeholders.

User charges on UPI transactions created a flutter this week. While the government quickly dismissed concerns, the uncomfortable question is whether a free-forever model is possible or even desirable. Its no secret that the RBI wants to streamline charges for different payment services. It released a discussion paper last August and followed it up in December, but the finance ministry shot it off, insisting that a fee on UPI services wasnt on the cards and extended financial support for the digital payments ecosystem. But whats free for one involves a cost for someone else. Even though UPI person-merchant transactions are free, as per RBIs calculations, different stakeholders collectively incur Rs 2 on Rs 800 worth of transactions. In other words, UPI as a funds transfer system is much like IMPS; so, its argued that similar charges apply to UPI. RBI had even proposed a tiered charge on different transactions. But then, the zero-cost model helped swell the UPI user base so phenomenally since its launch seven years ago. As per the Economic Survey 202223, India has the highest fintech adoption rate of 87% against the global average of 64%, thanks to UPI transactions that shot up an average of 121% in value and 115% in volume between FY19 and FY22. As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman noted recently, UPI transactions accounted for 52% of the total digital payments transactions in FY22. Considering the popularity, RBI even rolled it for feature phone users of about 400 million, which means NPCIs 750 million user base target for individual digital payments got one step closer.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); It isnt a stretch to say that Indias UPI ecosystem has no parallel in the world, so its being merrily handed out to all visiting G-20 delegates. All RBI wants is parity, while the government insists on UPI as a free service. Both have a point. A system like UPI cannot flourish in any country unless the government democratises the payment system to the smallest value at no cost or the most reasonable cost. Given the rise in digital payments, India must evolve an efficient payment system where UPI remains a digital public good for user transactions. At the same time, the cost of recovery is met through other means for the rest of the stakeholders.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh recorded 19,87,618 enrolments into higher education in 2020-21, up from 17,67,086 in 2014-15, Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar informed the Rajya Sabha while responding to a question raised by YSRC MP Parimal Nathwani on Thursday.

Citing the all-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) conducted in 2022, the minister pointed out that enrolment in higher education had increased by 12.5% in the State. Further, he added, According to the survey, female enrolment in higher education in AP increased to 9,31,553 in 2020-21 from 7,73,650 in 2014-15, an increase of 20.4%.

In a statement, the Union Minister said according to the 11th round of the survey, enrolments in higher education across the country crossed the four crore mark for the first time and recorded nearly 4.14 crore in 2020-21, up from 3.42 crore in 2014-15. On the other hand, female enrolments, too, increased to 2.01 crore in 2020-21 from about 1.57 crore in 2014-15.

The survey showed that at the national level, enrolments of students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) increased to 58.94 lakh in 2020-21 from 46.06 lakh in 2014-15, a surge of 28%. Enrolment of ST (Scheduled Tribe) students in the country also surged up 47% to 24.12 lakh from 16.40 lakh in 2014-15.

Enrolment of Other Backward Caste (OBCs) students in the country increased to 1.48 crore, up from 1.13 crore in 2014-15, indicating a rise of 32%. According to the survey, 353 universities and 5,298 colleges have been added in the country between 2014-15 and 2020-21.

Nathwani also wanted to know if the government has conducted any survey of higher education in different States, the outcome thereof and whether it has identified any special region which needs more attention.

The Union Minister stated that under the scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), central support has been approved for setting up 130 Model Degree Colleges (MDCs) in unserved and underserved areas such as Economically Backward Districts (EBDs) and aspirational districts.

Through RUSA, central support is also provided for the improvement of higher education in unserved and under-served areas such as infrastructure grants to colleges, enhancing quality and excellence in select autonomous colleges and upgrading existing degree colleges to model degree colleges.

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh recorded 19,87,618 enrolments into higher education in 2020-21, up from 17,67,086 in 2014-15, Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar informed the Rajya Sabha while responding to a question raised by YSRC MP Parimal Nathwani on Thursday. Citing the all-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) conducted in 2022, the minister pointed out that enrolment in higher education had increased by 12.5% in the State. Further, he added, According to the survey, female enrolment in higher education in AP increased to 9,31,553 in 2020-21 from 7,73,650 in 2014-15, an increase of 20.4%. In a statement, the Union Minister said according to the 11th round of the survey, enrolments in higher education across the country crossed the four crore mark for the first time and recorded nearly 4.14 crore in 2020-21, up from 3.42 crore in 2014-15. On the other hand, female enrolments, too, increased to 2.01 crore in 2020-21 from about 1.57 crore in 2014-15.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The survey showed that at the national level, enrolments of students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) increased to 58.94 lakh in 2020-21 from 46.06 lakh in 2014-15, a surge of 28%. Enrolment of ST (Scheduled Tribe) students in the country also surged up 47% to 24.12 lakh from 16.40 lakh in 2014-15. Enrolment of Other Backward Caste (OBCs) students in the country increased to 1.48 crore, up from 1.13 crore in 2014-15, indicating a rise of 32%. According to the survey, 353 universities and 5,298 colleges have been added in the country between 2014-15 and 2020-21. Nathwani also wanted to know if the government has conducted any survey of higher education in different States, the outcome thereof and whether it has identified any special region which needs more attention. The Union Minister stated that under the scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), central support has been approved for setting up 130 Model Degree Colleges (MDCs) in unserved and underserved areas such as Economically Backward Districts (EBDs) and aspirational districts. Through RUSA, central support is also provided for the improvement of higher education in unserved and under-served areas such as infrastructure grants to colleges, enhancing quality and excellence in select autonomous colleges and upgrading existing degree colleges to model degree colleges.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Senior BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa said three surveys conducted by the party have given it 130 to 140 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections.

I have been in politics for the last 50 years and I know the pulse of the people. With the cooperation of all MPs from Karnataka and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will return to power, he told reporters here.

The Lingayat strongman reiterated that he will not contest the elections. Yediyurappa said that he will travel to all 224 constituencies in the state in the next 2-3 days. I have already spoken to Home Minister Amit Shah in this regard. All our MPs will stay in their respective districts. We will work to ensure that the BJP candidates win by a huge margin, he added. He also reiterated that no one will quit the party.

On the issue of reservation, Yediyurappa said the government has not done any injustice to Muslims. One should not mislead... reservation cannot be given based on religion, he said.

On protest by Banjaras over the reservation, he said, We are trying to convince them. There could be some misunderstanding. Throughout the state, everybody is happy. Only in one or two places, such incidents have happened, he said.

On ticket distribution, he said that the party's high command will take a final call. Based on our reports, tickets will be given to winnable candidates... those who are not given tickets, will work for the party, he added.

Yediyurappa also took a dig at the Congress saying Rahul Gandhi is no match for PM Narendra Modi. In Karnataka, a few of them (Congress leaders) are daydreaming of becoming CM. It will not happen. Congress will not win more than 70 seats, he claimed

BENGALURU: Senior BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa said three surveys conducted by the party have given it 130 to 140 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections. I have been in politics for the last 50 years and I know the pulse of the people. With the cooperation of all MPs from Karnataka and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will return to power, he told reporters here. The Lingayat strongman reiterated that he will not contest the elections. Yediyurappa said that he will travel to all 224 constituencies in the state in the next 2-3 days. I have already spoken to Home Minister Amit Shah in this regard. All our MPs will stay in their respective districts. We will work to ensure that the BJP candidates win by a huge margin, he added. He also reiterated that no one will quit the party.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); On the issue of reservation, Yediyurappa said the government has not done any injustice to Muslims. One should not mislead... reservation cannot be given based on religion, he said. On protest by Banjaras over the reservation, he said, We are trying to convince them. There could be some misunderstanding. Throughout the state, everybody is happy. Only in one or two places, such incidents have happened, he said. On ticket distribution, he said that the party's high command will take a final call. Based on our reports, tickets will be given to winnable candidates... those who are not given tickets, will work for the party, he added. Yediyurappa also took a dig at the Congress saying Rahul Gandhi is no match for PM Narendra Modi. In Karnataka, a few of them (Congress leaders) are daydreaming of becoming CM. It will not happen. Congress will not win more than 70 seats, he claimed
K Shiva Kumar By

Express News Service

MYSURU: Old Mysuru, the traditional battleground of straight fights between old rivals Janat Dal (Secular) and Congress, is witnessing swift political changes, turning it into the most bitterly fought belt this time.

There is a possibility of a triangular contest, with the BJP leaving no stone unturned to challenge its rivals. The region, with three chief ministerial candidates, is billed as the key to the corridors of power. All three parties, keen to win the Vokkaliga-dominated region, believe that whoever wins Old Mysuru will win Karnataka.

The 52 seats (other than Bengaluru city) in Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajnagar and Hassan districts are crucial for the BJP, Congress and JDS. Independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, who has considerable goodwill in the region as the wife of popular star Ambareesh, extended her support to the BJP.

Judging the importance of the region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah held road shows and addressed rallies to catalyse the cadre and send a message that it may be the beginning, but it has a bigger plan to win at least 35 seats.

The party has rightfully claimed credit for reopening the historic MySugar factory and Pandavapura Cooperative Sugar Factory. The JDS was the first to hit the streets to consolidate its hold in the Vokkaliga heartland. At 93, party supremo H D Deve Gowda is leading the charge, and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamys Pancharatna Yatra has entered the hinterland.

There is a possibility of Kumaraswamy again emerging kingmaker if the JDS gets more than 40 seats and consolidates its support base among farmers, who still recall the farm loan waiver. But it remains a do-or-die battle for Kumaraswamy, as his party will come under threat if it fails to put up a good show in Old Mysuru.

The JDS is also trying to shore up its minority votes and is making special efforts to see that it is not seen as the BJPs B team.

For the Congress, former CM Siddaramaiahs political battle has turned into a prestige issue. Siddaramaiah, who lost from Chamundeshwari, will have to prove his mettle this time by scoring big in the region, as he is contesting from his traditional Varuna constituency. Special efforts are visible to woo the dominant Vokkaliga community, which had largely remained loyal to the JDS.

The Congress is also banking on Siddaramaiahs Ahinda consolidation, minorities, and other smaller communities. The party hopes to gain from the fact that both CM aspirants -- Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar -- are from the same region. The possible division of Vokkaliga votes is being challenged by Shivakumar, who is making an emotional appeal to elect a Vokkaliga as chief minister again.

These developments are throwing open a triangular contest for the first time in many of the seats. For the BJP, a win is a compulsion, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, as the momentum created by the assembly elections could prove beneficial next year.



MYSURU: Old Mysuru, the traditional battleground of straight fights between old rivals Janat Dal (Secular) and Congress, is witnessing swift political changes, turning it into the most bitterly fought belt this time. There is a possibility of a triangular contest, with the BJP leaving no stone unturned to challenge its rivals. The region, with three chief ministerial candidates, is billed as the key to the corridors of power. All three parties, keen to win the Vokkaliga-dominated region, believe that whoever wins Old Mysuru will win Karnataka. The 52 seats (other than Bengaluru city) in Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajnagar and Hassan districts are crucial for the BJP, Congress and JDS. Independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, who has considerable goodwill in the region as the wife of popular star Ambareesh, extended her support to the BJP.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Judging the importance of the region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah held road shows and addressed rallies to catalyse the cadre and send a message that it may be the beginning, but it has a bigger plan to win at least 35 seats. The party has rightfully claimed credit for reopening the historic MySugar factory and Pandavapura Cooperative Sugar Factory. The JDS was the first to hit the streets to consolidate its hold in the Vokkaliga heartland. At 93, party supremo H D Deve Gowda is leading the charge, and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamys Pancharatna Yatra has entered the hinterland. There is a possibility of Kumaraswamy again emerging kingmaker if the JDS gets more than 40 seats and consolidates its support base among farmers, who still recall the farm loan waiver. But it remains a do-or-die battle for Kumaraswamy, as his party will come under threat if it fails to put up a good show in Old Mysuru. The JDS is also trying to shore up its minority votes and is making special efforts to see that it is not seen as the BJPs B team. For the Congress, former CM Siddaramaiahs political battle has turned into a prestige issue. Siddaramaiah, who lost from Chamundeshwari, will have to prove his mettle this time by scoring big in the region, as he is contesting from his traditional Varuna constituency. Special efforts are visible to woo the dominant Vokkaliga community, which had largely remained loyal to the JDS. The Congress is also banking on Siddaramaiahs Ahinda consolidation, minorities, and other smaller communities. The party hopes to gain from the fact that both CM aspirants -- Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar -- are from the same region. The possible division of Vokkaliga votes is being challenged by Shivakumar, who is making an emotional appeal to elect a Vokkaliga as chief minister again. These developments are throwing open a triangular contest for the first time in many of the seats. For the BJP, a win is a compulsion, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, as the momentum created by the assembly elections could prove beneficial next year.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state-reported 765 Covid cases on Thursday. Districts such as Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram reported the maximum number of cases. Health Minister Veena George said most of the samples sent for genetic testing found Omicron infection.

She did not specify the sub-variants of Omicron, which is leading the surge in various parts of the world, identified in the state. Covid cases have steadily increased since the beginning of March.

The minister convened a meeting to review the Covid situation in the state, on Thursday. She directed the officers to strengthen precautionary measures. She also told them not to delay the reporting of Covid deaths.

The state reported 20 Covid deaths in a month. Most of the victims are above 60. The patients admitted to ICUs are also aged. Most of the admitted patients have comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. She urged people with lifestyle diseases, the elderly, pregnant women and children to wear masks. Earlier the government made masks mandatory in hospitals.

The health department has prepared a surge plan for each district to deal with the rise in Covid cases. The health authorities issued directions to private hospitals, RCC, MCC, and Sree Chitra to reserve beds for Covid patients. The private hospital authorities also have been asked to report Covid cases.

The minister also asked Kerala Medical Services Corporation to procure enough testing kits and other safety equipment. Covid patients shall be treated in specially set up isolation wards. I have also asked the officers concerned to speed up the work on isolation wards under construction, said Veena. The health department, however, has stopped publishing daily updates on Covid, since the Centre alerted the state on the Covid surge.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state-reported 765 Covid cases on Thursday. Districts such as Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram reported the maximum number of cases. Health Minister Veena George said most of the samples sent for genetic testing found Omicron infection. She did not specify the sub-variants of Omicron, which is leading the surge in various parts of the world, identified in the state. Covid cases have steadily increased since the beginning of March. The minister convened a meeting to review the Covid situation in the state, on Thursday. She directed the officers to strengthen precautionary measures. She also told them not to delay the reporting of Covid deaths. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The state reported 20 Covid deaths in a month. Most of the victims are above 60. The patients admitted to ICUs are also aged. Most of the admitted patients have comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. She urged people with lifestyle diseases, the elderly, pregnant women and children to wear masks. Earlier the government made masks mandatory in hospitals. The health department has prepared a surge plan for each district to deal with the rise in Covid cases. The health authorities issued directions to private hospitals, RCC, MCC, and Sree Chitra to reserve beds for Covid patients. The private hospital authorities also have been asked to report Covid cases. The minister also asked Kerala Medical Services Corporation to procure enough testing kits and other safety equipment. Covid patients shall be treated in specially set up isolation wards. I have also asked the officers concerned to speed up the work on isolation wards under construction, said Veena. The health department, however, has stopped publishing daily updates on Covid, since the Centre alerted the state on the Covid surge.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Lokayukta has transferred the case about the alleged misuse of the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to a three-member full bench, giving some respite to CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who is a respondent in the case.

The decision to constitute a three-member bench was taken after Lokayukta Cyriac Joseph and Upa Lokayukta Harun-ul-Rashid had a difference of opinion. The date of the constitution of the new full bench will be decided later.

The complaint filed by former Kerala University syndicate member R S Sasikumar had alleged that the decision to provide financial assistance to the families of the late leaders, NCP's Uzhavoor Vijayan and former Chengannur MLA K K Ramachandran Nair, and policeman P Praveen, who died in a road accident while escorting former CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, smacked of favouritism and was unilaterally taken by CM.

He had also alleged that the matter of assisting was not included in the agenda of the cabinet meeting and demanded the ouster of the CM and the ministers concerned.

The hearing was held from February 5, 2022, to March 18, 2022. As per the rules, the verdict should be given within 30 days from the culmination of the hearing. In case of extraordinary circumstances, it can be stretched by another 15 days. However, the verdict was indefinitely delayed following which the petitioner approached the High Court, which directed him to approach the Lokayukta instead.

As per the Kerala Lokayukta Act of 1999, the verdict of the anti-graft ombudsman is legally binding on the government. The LDF government, meanwhile, had brought an ordinance tweaking the powers of the Lokayukta to remove a public servant from office. However, the ordinance is yet to get the assent of Governor Arif Mohammad Khan.

The same Lokayukta bench had earlier found former higher education minister K T Jaleel guilty on charges of nepotism and abuse of power in appointing his relative as general manager of Kerala State Minorities Development Corporation. Following this, Jaleel had to resign from the cabinet.

CM should quit, says petitioner

The LDF government, meanwhile, had brought an ordinance tweaking the powers of the Lokayukta to remove a public servant from office. However, the ordinance is yet to get the assent of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.

Reacting to Fridays Lokayukta verdict, the petitioner said one of the judges has given a verdict against the government and on that ground, the CM should step down. He said a further investigation by the three-member bench should finish in a time-bound manner. He said he would approach the High Court and if needed even the Supreme Court to get this done.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Lokayukta has transferred the case about the alleged misuse of the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to a three-member full bench, giving some respite to CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who is a respondent in the case. The decision to constitute a three-member bench was taken after Lokayukta Cyriac Joseph and Upa Lokayukta Harun-ul-Rashid had a difference of opinion. The date of the constitution of the new full bench will be decided later. The complaint filed by former Kerala University syndicate member R S Sasikumar had alleged that the decision to provide financial assistance to the families of the late leaders, NCP's Uzhavoor Vijayan and former Chengannur MLA K K Ramachandran Nair, and policeman P Praveen, who died in a road accident while escorting former CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, smacked of favouritism and was unilaterally taken by CM. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He had also alleged that the matter of assisting was not included in the agenda of the cabinet meeting and demanded the ouster of the CM and the ministers concerned. The hearing was held from February 5, 2022, to March 18, 2022. As per the rules, the verdict should be given within 30 days from the culmination of the hearing. In case of extraordinary circumstances, it can be stretched by another 15 days. However, the verdict was indefinitely delayed following which the petitioner approached the High Court, which directed him to approach the Lokayukta instead. As per the Kerala Lokayukta Act of 1999, the verdict of the anti-graft ombudsman is legally binding on the government. The LDF government, meanwhile, had brought an ordinance tweaking the powers of the Lokayukta to remove a public servant from office. However, the ordinance is yet to get the assent of Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. The same Lokayukta bench had earlier found former higher education minister K T Jaleel guilty on charges of nepotism and abuse of power in appointing his relative as general manager of Kerala State Minorities Development Corporation. Following this, Jaleel had to resign from the cabinet. CM should quit, says petitioner The LDF government, meanwhile, had brought an ordinance tweaking the powers of the Lokayukta to remove a public servant from office. However, the ordinance is yet to get the assent of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. Reacting to Fridays Lokayukta verdict, the petitioner said one of the judges has given a verdict against the government and on that ground, the CM should step down. He said a further investigation by the three-member bench should finish in a time-bound manner. He said he would approach the High Court and if needed even the Supreme Court to get this done.
Binita Jaiswal By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: After a protest by students at Kalakshetra Foundation on Thursday over the institutes failure to initiate action against teachers on sexual harassment allegations, the administration has decided to shut the college till April 6.

Over 200 students, however, continued their protest late into the night demanding immediate action against the accused. Talks between the agitating students and institute director Revathi Ramachandran and other officials in the presence of police failed to break the impasse.

As students demanded that the director give them in writing that she would initiate action against the four accused dance teachers, Ramachandran complained of uneasiness and left the protest site. The protestors said they would continue their agitation till they get justice.

Earlier in the day, students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation, were informed through a circular issued by principal Pakala Ramadas that the college will remain shut from March 30 to April 6 and all inmates must vacate their hostel rooms within two days. The college also postponed exams and the circular said new exam dates will be announced later. Many students that TNIE spoke to said they wont leave the campus despite the closure notice.

Harassment charges first came in Dec 2022

Closing down the college is an attempt to weaken our protest. But we will not leave the campus until we get justice, said a student. Some students were upset as it will be difficult for them to leave the campus on such short notice. I had booked ticket for my hometown on April 12 after completion of my exams but now the college administration is asking us to leave the campus within two days. How is that possible? I cannot book a new train ticket to Kerala within two days, said another student.

Students have been holding protests on the campus since morning and even boycotted their exams on Thursday. When the students saw the accused teacher present in the morning assembly, they walked out following which he left the place. The students then again gathered under a banyan tree, the usual morning prayer spot on the campus, and staged a silent protest demanding immediate suspension of the accused.

Later, the students held a protest march to the main gate of the institute shouting the slogans we want justice and later interacted with reporters. The students demanded action against four dance teachers --- an assistant professor and three other senior repertory dancers.

These sexual harassment allegations started coming out in December last year but till now the college administration has not taken any action and is busy denying the allegations. We will not tolerate this anymore, said another student. Many former students and teachers of the institute also supported the protest.

The students protest came a day after the chairperson of the National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma visited the campus on Wednesday to inquire about the sexual harassment allegations. Students alleged that they were not given a chance to air their grievances to the NCW chief. Despite repeated attempts, the institutes director, Revathi Ramachandran, could not be reached for comments on the issue.

CHENNAI: After a protest by students at Kalakshetra Foundation on Thursday over the institutes failure to initiate action against teachers on sexual harassment allegations, the administration has decided to shut the college till April 6. Over 200 students, however, continued their protest late into the night demanding immediate action against the accused. Talks between the agitating students and institute director Revathi Ramachandran and other officials in the presence of police failed to break the impasse. As students demanded that the director give them in writing that she would initiate action against the four accused dance teachers, Ramachandran complained of uneasiness and left the protest site. The protestors said they would continue their agitation till they get justice. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Earlier in the day, students of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation, were informed through a circular issued by principal Pakala Ramadas that the college will remain shut from March 30 to April 6 and all inmates must vacate their hostel rooms within two days. The college also postponed exams and the circular said new exam dates will be announced later. Many students that TNIE spoke to said they wont leave the campus despite the closure notice. Harassment charges first came in Dec 2022 Closing down the college is an attempt to weaken our protest. But we will not leave the campus until we get justice, said a student. Some students were upset as it will be difficult for them to leave the campus on such short notice. I had booked ticket for my hometown on April 12 after completion of my exams but now the college administration is asking us to leave the campus within two days. How is that possible? I cannot book a new train ticket to Kerala within two days, said another student. Students have been holding protests on the campus since morning and even boycotted their exams on Thursday. When the students saw the accused teacher present in the morning assembly, they walked out following which he left the place. The students then again gathered under a banyan tree, the usual morning prayer spot on the campus, and staged a silent protest demanding immediate suspension of the accused. Later, the students held a protest march to the main gate of the institute shouting the slogans we want justice and later interacted with reporters. The students demanded action against four dance teachers --- an assistant professor and three other senior repertory dancers. These sexual harassment allegations started coming out in December last year but till now the college administration has not taken any action and is busy denying the allegations. We will not tolerate this anymore, said another student. Many former students and teachers of the institute also supported the protest. The students protest came a day after the chairperson of the National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma visited the campus on Wednesday to inquire about the sexual harassment allegations. Students alleged that they were not given a chance to air their grievances to the NCW chief. Despite repeated attempts, the institutes director, Revathi Ramachandran, could not be reached for comments on the issue.
Ireddy Srinivas Reddy By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The three major political parties in the State  BRS, Congress, and BJP  are increasingly using social media platforms to amplify their voices and connect with their supporters. These parties are focused on increasing their influence by strategically countering their opponents and making constructive arguments on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms.

The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has significantly increased its social media activity since retaining power in 2018. The party has even set up a social media office and is providing training to counter both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. Recently, during an investigation by the ED, BRS MLC Kavitha faced social media attacks from BJP sympathisers. In response, BRS activists posted pictures of BL Santosh with the persons accused in the BRS MLAs poaching case.

Whenever IT and MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao tweets any anti-Modi or anti-Union government post, the BJPs social media team counters his posts with comments and whenever possible, reminds the Minister how he, or others from his party, addressed the same issue with different versions.

Special in-charges

For instance, when Rama Rao tweets about some development activity proposed by the State government that the Union government does not support, the BJPs social media team swings into action and posts responses by Union ministers on questions from MPs who raised concerns about funds or support from the Centre during Parliament sessions.

The Congress is also making efforts to increase its presence on social media platforms. It has appointed social media coordinators at the mandal and State levels to counter the BRS and BJP from the ground up. The party has also appointed social media in-charges from the NSUI and IYC at the mandal and State levels. These in-charges actively post about issues related to students and unemployed youth.

The partys social media wing provides training from the Assembly to the Lok Sabha constituency level to counter the opposing parties with documents and videos of leaders who have made promises on development issues.

Recently, when Rama Rao alleged that the Congress had done nothing for the nation, the grand old partys social media team posted several videos and information about important institutions and development work done both in the State and at the Centre when it was in power.

The BRS online army is being trained by party leaders like Krishank, Y Sathish Reddy and others who guide them on handling and addressing major issues on social media every day. The Congress social media team is being trained by people like Manne Sathish, Naveen Pettam, Malladi Pawan and others.



HYDERABAD: The three major political parties in the State  BRS, Congress, and BJP  are increasingly using social media platforms to amplify their voices and connect with their supporters. These parties are focused on increasing their influence by strategically countering their opponents and making constructive arguments on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms. The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has significantly increased its social media activity since retaining power in 2018. The party has even set up a social media office and is providing training to counter both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. Recently, during an investigation by the ED, BRS MLC Kavitha faced social media attacks from BJP sympathisers. In response, BRS activists posted pictures of BL Santosh with the persons accused in the BRS MLAs poaching case. Whenever IT and MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao tweets any anti-Modi or anti-Union government post, the BJPs social media team counters his posts with comments and whenever possible, reminds the Minister how he, or others from his party, addressed the same issue with different versions. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Special in-charges For instance, when Rama Rao tweets about some development activity proposed by the State government that the Union government does not support, the BJPs social media team swings into action and posts responses by Union ministers on questions from MPs who raised concerns about funds or support from the Centre during Parliament sessions. The Congress is also making efforts to increase its presence on social media platforms. It has appointed social media coordinators at the mandal and State levels to counter the BRS and BJP from the ground up. The party has also appointed social media in-charges from the NSUI and IYC at the mandal and State levels. These in-charges actively post about issues related to students and unemployed youth. The partys social media wing provides training from the Assembly to the Lok Sabha constituency level to counter the opposing parties with documents and videos of leaders who have made promises on development issues. Recently, when Rama Rao alleged that the Congress had done nothing for the nation, the grand old partys social media team posted several videos and information about important institutions and development work done both in the State and at the Centre when it was in power. The BRS online army is being trained by party leaders like Krishank, Y Sathish Reddy and others who guide them on handling and addressing major issues on social media every day. The Congress social media team is being trained by people like Manne Sathish, Naveen Pettam, Malladi Pawan and others.
Ranjit Bhushan By

Darshan Solanki, an 18-year-old Dalit boy who was a first-year student of the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Bombay, killed himself on February 12, adding another name to a long list of students belonging to backward communities, who have ended their lives due to reasons that are largely unexplained.

Is the caste syndrome, steeped in historical trauma, social ostracism, and political ambivalence, taking its toll on Indian student life, even among the country's best-known places of higher learning? It raises a few fundamental questions: just how sharp are cultural fault lines in top-end campuses like the IITs, IIMs and NITs? Let us face it: no matter how high profile and brilliant the campus is, could it be so far removed from society that it fails to mirror its fissures and reflect the biases of the wards produced by such a system?

In a country where hierarchies based on ascribed identities are even older than the modern nation state itself, education has been seen -- and rightly so -- as one of the few means, if not the only one, of acquiring social mobility by marginalized groups. The deeply stratified Indian society brings about a plurality of student experiences coming from diverse backgrounds into places of higher learning, which helps in the process of nation building.

ALSO READ | IIT suicides reveal toxic mix of academic pressure, official apathy and discrimination

While there can be no quarrel with inducing homogeneity in student life, the everyday travails of scholars belonging to Dalit, tribal, other backward castes (OBCs) and minority backgrounds, who come face to face with constant alienation and humiliation that are part and parcel of their admission in the higher arenas of learning, can take its toll.

And taking a toll they are. Data presented by the Ministry of Education in the parliament this month is telling. Thirty-three students have died by suicide at IITs since 2018, nearly half of them from the SC, ST and OBC communities. In the same period, NITs and IIMs across the country registered 28 deaths by suicides of students, a majority of whom belonged to the SC, ST and OBC communities.

The reasons identified behind such suicides include academic stress, family reasons, personal reasons, mental health issues, the Ministry's response said. This comes amid a raging debate on the state of mental health and alleged caste-based discrimination at the countrys premier institutes triggered by the reported suicide of Darshan Solanki.

ALSO READ | Focus 13000 villages: Why the backward caste arithmetic is on top of RSS' mind

Without taking anything away from greater democratization in the education sector, which has, without doubt, opened the way for more underprivileged students to find a level playing field, upward mobility has been far from smooth. The dominant groups have constantly tried to assert their ascendancy by primarily controlling the gates of the educational institutions of excellence. One common fallacy, reasserted ad nauseam, against increased representation of historically marginalized groups in top-tier higher education institutions is that their presence would compromise the quality of the education imparted and dilute the 'merit' of the institution. Utter nonsense, but old prejudices are hard to vanquish.

Nowhere was this prejudice better exemplified than in 2006 during the outcry against the implementation of OBC reservations in elite educational institutions, revealing the anxieties amongst upper-caste groups towards increasing the democratization of higher education in India. Things went so far that a group of students from IIT, Delhi, submitted a memorandum to the President of India seeking permission to commit suicide if the policy was implemented!

Would it be accurate to suggest that premier institutions like IITs were basically elitist in setting their criterion for admission? According to Ajantha Subramanians book, The Caste of Merit, IITs were allocated significant funds and other resources to produce a select group of top-tier engineers. She writes that the government omitted the implementation of reservations and that the rationale behind such a move was to help preserve the 'meritocracy' of the IITs. In other words, the principles of equity and social justice were sacrificed at the altar of so-called 'meritocracy'.

The exalted value of these institutes allowed the predominantly advantaged groups to seize these educational spaces largely on account of their existing caste privileges that directly reinforced their meritocracy. Therefore, caste privilege masqueraded as meritocracy and became a filter for the dominant groups to restrict the entry of marginalized groups to top-tier educational institutions.

The implementation of the reservation policy, particularly of OBCs, has opened the doors of elite institutions to historically marginalized groups. Their entry into institutions such as IITs, IIMs, and AIIMS greatly increased the socio-cultural diversity of these institutions. While the reservation policy aided the entry of marginalized groups, there was no question of ensuring their inclusion by failing to address their historic disadvantages. The decades of domination of these spaces by privileged groups had entrenched the upper caste sensibilities in all aspects of life inside the campus. They were and are determined to not concede space to the newcomers easily.

Despite the legal safeguards, there remains little by way of providing an institutional support system and public discourse against caste discrimination.

If campus life itself was given to such segregation, hiring strategies at Indian companies couldnt be much different. Not only do companies and employers want to hire top performers, they want to hire them from elite colleges such as the IITs and IIMs.

In his 2016 book Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built, author Duncan Clark explained how the founder of one of the worlds biggest e-commerce companies hires. Apparently, when building up his team, Jack preferred hiring people a notch or two below the top performers in their schools. The college elite, Jack explained, would easily get frustrated when they encountered difficulties in the real world. The contrast with Indian firms could not be starker.

(Ranjit Bhushan is a senior journalist. These are the writer's views.)

Darshan Solanki, an 18-year-old Dalit boy who was a first-year student of the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Bombay, killed himself on February 12, adding another name to a long list of students belonging to backward communities, who have ended their lives due to reasons that are largely unexplained. Is the caste syndrome, steeped in historical trauma, social ostracism, and political ambivalence, taking its toll on Indian student life, even among the country's best-known places of higher learning? It raises a few fundamental questions: just how sharp are cultural fault lines in top-end campuses like the IITs, IIMs and NITs? Let us face it: no matter how high profile and brilliant the campus is, could it be so far removed from society that it fails to mirror its fissures and reflect the biases of the wards produced by such a system? In a country where hierarchies based on ascribed identities are even older than the modern nation state itself, education has been seen -- and rightly so -- as one of the few means, if not the only one, of acquiring social mobility by marginalized groups. The deeply stratified Indian society brings about a plurality of student experiences coming from diverse backgrounds into places of higher learning, which helps in the process of nation building.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); ALSO READ | IIT suicides reveal toxic mix of academic pressure, official apathy and discrimination While there can be no quarrel with inducing homogeneity in student life, the everyday travails of scholars belonging to Dalit, tribal, other backward castes (OBCs) and minority backgrounds, who come face to face with constant alienation and humiliation that are part and parcel of their admission in the higher arenas of learning, can take its toll. And taking a toll they are. Data presented by the Ministry of Education in the parliament this month is telling. Thirty-three students have died by suicide at IITs since 2018, nearly half of them from the SC, ST and OBC communities. In the same period, NITs and IIMs across the country registered 28 deaths by suicides of students, a majority of whom belonged to the SC, ST and OBC communities. The reasons identified behind such suicides include academic stress, family reasons, personal reasons, mental health issues, the Ministry's response said. This comes amid a raging debate on the state of mental health and alleged caste-based discrimination at the countrys premier institutes triggered by the reported suicide of Darshan Solanki. ALSO READ | Focus 13000 villages: Why the backward caste arithmetic is on top of RSS' mind Without taking anything away from greater democratization in the education sector, which has, without doubt, opened the way for more underprivileged students to find a level playing field, upward mobility has been far from smooth. The dominant groups have constantly tried to assert their ascendancy by primarily controlling the gates of the educational institutions of excellence. One common fallacy, reasserted ad nauseam, against increased representation of historically marginalized groups in top-tier higher education institutions is that their presence would compromise the quality of the education imparted and dilute the 'merit' of the institution. Utter nonsense, but old prejudices are hard to vanquish. Nowhere was this prejudice better exemplified than in 2006 during the outcry against the implementation of OBC reservations in elite educational institutions, revealing the anxieties amongst upper-caste groups towards increasing the democratization of higher education in India. Things went so far that a group of students from IIT, Delhi, submitted a memorandum to the President of India seeking permission to commit suicide if the policy was implemented! Would it be accurate to suggest that premier institutions like IITs were basically elitist in setting their criterion for admission? According to Ajantha Subramanians book, The Caste of Merit, IITs were allocated significant funds and other resources to produce a select group of top-tier engineers. She writes that the government omitted the implementation of reservations and that the rationale behind such a move was to help preserve the 'meritocracy' of the IITs. In other words, the principles of equity and social justice were sacrificed at the altar of so-called 'meritocracy'. The exalted value of these institutes allowed the predominantly advantaged groups to seize these educational spaces largely on account of their existing caste privileges that directly reinforced their meritocracy. Therefore, caste privilege masqueraded as meritocracy and became a filter for the dominant groups to restrict the entry of marginalized groups to top-tier educational institutions. The implementation of the reservation policy, particularly of OBCs, has opened the doors of elite institutions to historically marginalized groups. Their entry into institutions such as IITs, IIMs, and AIIMS greatly increased the socio-cultural diversity of these institutions. While the reservation policy aided the entry of marginalized groups, there was no question of ensuring their inclusion by failing to address their historic disadvantages. The decades of domination of these spaces by privileged groups had entrenched the upper caste sensibilities in all aspects of life inside the campus. They were and are determined to not concede space to the newcomers easily. Despite the legal safeguards, there remains little by way of providing an institutional support system and public discourse against caste discrimination. If campus life itself was given to such segregation, hiring strategies at Indian companies couldnt be much different. Not only do companies and employers want to hire top performers, they want to hire them from elite colleges such as the IITs and IIMs. In his 2016 book Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built, author Duncan Clark explained how the founder of one of the worlds biggest e-commerce companies hires. Apparently, when building up his team, Jack preferred hiring people a notch or two below the top performers in their schools. The college elite, Jack explained, would easily get frustrated when they encountered difficulties in the real world. The contrast with Indian firms could not be starker. (Ranjit Bhushan is a senior journalist. These are the writer's views.)
YEREVAN, 31 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 31 March, USD exchange rate up by 0.18 drams to 388.48 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.11 drams to 422.28 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 5.02 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.66 drams to 480.74 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 21.37 drams to 24552.69 drams. Silver price up by 5.82 drams to 296.14 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.
By Associated Press

COPENHAGEN: Several members of the 16-man crew on a Liberia-flagged tanker are being held hostage by pirates who boarded the ship in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea last week, the Danish shipper that owns the vessel said Friday.

Pirates boarded the Monjasa Reformer southwest of Port Pointe-Noire, Congo, on March 25 and five days later, the French Navy that was patrolling the area, found the ship off the small island nation of Sao Tome and Principe north of where it had been attacked.

In a statement, Monjasa Reformer spokesman Thorstein Andreasen said that "the pirates had abandoned the vessel and brought a part of the crew members with them." It did not say how many had been kidnapped or how they were taken. The online shipping magazine Trade Winds said it was three crew members.

After the pirates had boarded the tanker, the crew sought refuge in a citadel  a safe area on the ship  in line with the onboard anti-piracy emergency protocol. However, the pirates somehow managed to take some of them hostage. The nationalities of the crew members have not been announced, nor were details given as to where they are being held or whether any were injured.

Andreasen was not available for further details.

In the statement, he said that the crew members who were not taken hostage "are all in good health and safely located in a secure environment and receiving proper attention following these dreadful events."

The Gulf of Guinea is the world's most dangerous spot for attacks on ships. In June, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution strongly condemning piracy, armed robbery and hostage-taking in the area. This hijacking took place further south in an area that is not typically attacked by pirates.

Andreasen said that there is no damage reported to the ship or its cargo.

The Monjasa Reformer is used in West Africa as part of Monjasa's global marine fuels operations and was carrying marine gas oil, very low sulphur fuel oil and high sulphur fuel oil products on board, the shipper said.

COPENHAGEN: Several members of the 16-man crew on a Liberia-flagged tanker are being held hostage by pirates who boarded the ship in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea last week, the Danish shipper that owns the vessel said Friday. Pirates boarded the Monjasa Reformer southwest of Port Pointe-Noire, Congo, on March 25 and five days later, the French Navy that was patrolling the area, found the ship off the small island nation of Sao Tome and Principe north of where it had been attacked. In a statement, Monjasa Reformer spokesman Thorstein Andreasen said that "the pirates had abandoned the vessel and brought a part of the crew members with them." It did not say how many had been kidnapped or how they were taken. The online shipping magazine Trade Winds said it was three crew members.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); After the pirates had boarded the tanker, the crew sought refuge in a citadel  a safe area on the ship  in line with the onboard anti-piracy emergency protocol. However, the pirates somehow managed to take some of them hostage. The nationalities of the crew members have not been announced, nor were details given as to where they are being held or whether any were injured. Andreasen was not available for further details. In the statement, he said that the crew members who were not taken hostage "are all in good health and safely located in a secure environment and receiving proper attention following these dreadful events." The Gulf of Guinea is the world's most dangerous spot for attacks on ships. In June, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution strongly condemning piracy, armed robbery and hostage-taking in the area. This hijacking took place further south in an area that is not typically attacked by pirates. Andreasen said that there is no damage reported to the ship or its cargo. The Monjasa Reformer is used in West Africa as part of Monjasa's global marine fuels operations and was carrying marine gas oil, very low sulphur fuel oil and high sulphur fuel oil products on board, the shipper said.
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) asks Armenia to stop supplying dairy products to Russia from April 5, 2023, ARMENPRESS reports, the Ministry said in a press release.

"Taking into account the results of the negotiations and the unsatisfying results of the inspection, which were reported earlier, Rosselkhoznadzor applied to the Veterinary Service of Armenia with a request to suspend the certification of dairy products from all enterprises of the country to Russia from April 5, 2023," TASS quoted from the report.

As explained by the department, on March 31, 2023, negotiations were held between the veterinary services of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia, during which the results of the inspections conducted at dairy processing enterprises of Armenia from March 20 to 24, 2023 were discussed. During the meeting, the issue of the impossibility of guaranteeing the safety of dairy products for Russian consumers by the Veterinary Service of Armenia was raised.

Rosselkhoznadzor added that the possibility of resumption of supplies will be discussed additionally, taking into account the results of the works aimed at eliminating the violations discovered by the Armenian side.

As ARMENPRESS reported earlier, "Rosselkhoznadzor" reported that there is an increase in the supply of dairy products from Armenia to the Russian market. The department reported that according to preliminary information received from the Armenian side, the milk processing enterprises of Armenia use raw materials produced by the enterprises of the Islamic Republic of Iran, against which "Rosselkhoznadzor" applies restrictive measures.

In response to this statement, the Food Safety Inspection Body informed that no food safety issues threatening human life and health were found. The Inspection Body noted that dairy production, as well as the entire chain of food production, is properly controlled by the Food Safety Inspection Body, in accordance with the functions assigned by legal acts.
CAIT seeks empowered Regulatory Authority to monitor & regulate e-commerce

New Delhi, March 30: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has demanded an empowered Regulatory Authority to monitor and regulate the e-commerce trade in the country.

CAIT seeks empowered Regulatory Authority to monitor & regulate e-commerce

The CAIT has strongly pitched for six basic fundamentals needed for e-commerce policy and the rules under the Consumer Protection Act.In a communication sent to Union Commerce iamp; Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal, the CAIT said six fundamentals are necessary for a robust growth of e-commerce which include transparent operations of e-commerce platforms; easy accessibility and adequate grievance redressal by e-commerce entities; non- discriminatory access of marketplace platforms to all stakeholders of the value-chain; avoidance of conflict of interest between marketplace platforms; sellers and various service providers on the platform and formation of an empowered Regulatory Authority to monitor and regulate the e-commerce trade in India.CAIT President B.C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that mandatory registration of e-commerce entities conducting business through any e-mode will lay the substantial foundation of a well defined eco-system and the extent of e-commerce landscape can easily be gauged with the registration process and shall protect consumers from rogue/fraudulent e-commerce companies. Transparency should be the hallmark of any business activity and every e-commerce marketplace must therefore act in a transparent manner with respect to all stakeholders, namely -- the customer, sellers, logistics partners and payment gateways.They said that it must be ensured that consumers can reach out to senior grievance redressal officers of the marketplace entities to resolve their concerns and therefore provision of Grievance Officer, Nodal Officer iamp; Compliance Officer is laudable.The CAIT further opined that it is extremely important for an e-commerce marketplace platform to act as a neutral platform for third party sellers where every such seller has a non-discriminatory access in the context of Logistics service provider, payment gateway system and each seller must have a non-discriminatory access to every customer and every customer must have such access to every seller on the platform.The traders' body suggested that to avoid any conflict of interest, the e-commerce marketplace or its related entities should not act as a seller on such marketplace platforms."At present many E-commerce Marketplace entities are creating economic disruption by surreptitiously carrying on inventory e-commerce activities on their marketplace platform. The E-commerce Marketplace entities themselves become sellers on the platform by misusing loopholes and are virtually carrying out Multi Brand Retail Trade (MBRT) and also they are even selling goods below the cost to capture market share thereby creating enormous financial strain on small retailers who have no option but to shut shop," it said.The trade leaders said that the e-commerce policy and the rules will put an end to the subsidies being extended to controlled sellers by offering huge discounts to them in a differentiated manner. Similarly, the use of affiliated payment service providers to lure consumers and influence them to buy from these controlled trading companies, by giving discounts on payment service charges, would come to an end.IANS30 March 2023

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Chinese aircraft and naval ships tracked around Taiwan

Taipei, March 30: The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked nine Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels around Taiwan between on Monday, March 27 and Tuesday, March 28, reported Taiwan News.

Chinese aircraft and naval ships tracked around Taiwan

Of the nine People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, three were tracked in Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. One CH-4 reconnaissance drone crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the northeast sector of the ADIZ, while two Shenyang J-11 fighter jets entered the southwest corner of the identification zone.In response, Taiwan sent naval ships and used land-based missiles to monitor the PLA aircraft and vessels.So far this month, Beijing has sent 325 military aircraft and 101 naval vessels around Taiwan. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of grey zone tactics by routinely sending aircraft into Taiwan's ADIZ, reported Taiwan News.Grey zone tactics are defined as "an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one's security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force."In a similar incident last week, Taiwan tracked 10 Chinese military aircraft and 2 naval ships around the country, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), reported Taiwan News.The military aircraft and naval vessels were tracked around Taiwan between 6 am on Monday (March 20) and 6 am on Tuesday.Taiwan sent aircraft, and naval ships, and used land-based missiles to monitor PLA aircraft and vessels.Of the 10 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, three were tracked in Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND.One Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane and one Harbin BZK-005 reconnaissance drone entered the southwest corner of Taiwan's ADIZ, while one Harbin Z-9 anti-submarine warfare helicopter was monitored in the southeast sector of the identification zone, reported Taiwan News.No PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during this time.Last Wednesday, MND tracked 28 Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels around Taiwan.So far this month, Beijing has sent 292 military aircraft and 76 naval vessels around Taiwan. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of grey zone tactics by routinely sending aircraft into Taiwan's ADIZ, reported Taiwan News.Grey zone tactics are defined as "an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one's security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force."China stepped up their military action in early August 2022 and held its live-fire drills in six locations around the country after the US White House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan on August 2-3, 2022.ANI30 March 2023

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Navys car expedition covering entire coastline reaches Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam, March 30: The Indian Navy-organised coastal car expedition, which was flagged off from West Bengal's Kolkata, reached Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

Navy's car expedition covering 'entire coastline' reaches Visakhapatnam

Team leader Bhattacharya said, "The team, which set off from Kolkata on March 26, reached Visakhapatnam today. They will cover more than 7000 km of coastline from Kolkata to Delhi via Visakhapatnam, Chennai, and Rameswaram."He said that a total of 36 Naval personnel including women officers participated in the expedition"The expedition will conduct awareness campaigns in cities and villages enroute with the aim to provide information about employment opportunities in the Navy, including the 'Agnipath' scheme," Bhattacharya said.Earlier on Sunday, Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command from Visakhapatnam flagged off an Indian Navy-organised car expedition covering the entire 7,500-km coastline to encourage sea consciousness.ANI30 March 2023

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Ktaka polls: Multipronged approach suggested for monitoring of election expenses

New Delhi, March 30: For effective monitoring of the election expenditure of the candidates during Karnataka polls, the Excise Department has been asked to monitor production, distribution, sale and storage of liquor.

K'taka polls: Multipronged approach suggested for monitoring of election expenses

Moreover, Air Intelligence Units will take necessary action to check movement of large sums of money.The functioning and operations of the flying squads or mobile teams shall be closely monitored using GPS Tracking or the c-VIGIL App.For greater transparency and ease of monitoring of election expenses, candidates would be required to open a separate bank account and incur their election expenses from only that account.The Investigation Directorate of Income Tax Department has been asked to activate Air Intelligence Units in the airports of the state and also to gather intelligence and take necessary action to check the movement of large sums of money in the state.As per the poll panel, district election officers (DEOs) have been directed to obtain unusual and suspicious cash withdrawal or deposit of cash exceeding Rs 1 lakh from banks for due verification followed by the necessary action.If the amount is more than Rs 10 lakh, then DEOs shall pass on such information to Income Tax Department for necessary action.For the purpose of maintaining purity of elections, the Election Commission has issued a Standard Operating Procedure for Flying Squads and Static Surveillance Teams constituted for keeping vigil over excessive campaign expenses, distribution of items of bribe in cash or in kind, movement of illegal arms, ammunition, liquor, or anti-social elements etc. in the constituencies during election process.Officials said that it has come to the notice of the Commission that the candidates take permission from the Returning Officer (RO) for use of vehicles for campaign purposes but some candidates do not show the vehicle hiring charges or fuel expenses in their election expenditure account.Therefore, it has been decided that unless the candidate informs the RO regarding withdrawing vehicles from campaigning, the notional expenditure on account of campaign vehicles will be calculated based on the number of vehicles for which permission has been granted by the RO.IANS30 March 2023

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After Bard, Google unveils generative AI tool for Cloud developers

San Francisco, March 30: As the race to build AI chatbots heats up, Google Cloud has now said that its new Generative AI App Builder will help people build AI-powered search and conversational experiences the way consumers are exploring Bard that rivals OpenAI's ChatGPT.

After Bard, Google unveils generative AI tool for Cloud developers

Gen App Builder provides step-by-step orchestration of search and conversational applications with pre-built workflows for common tasks like onboarding, data ingestion, and customisation, making it easy for developers to set up and deploy their apps.One of the most exciting features of Gen App Builder is the ability to combine the power of Google-quality search with generative AI to help enterprises find the most relevant and personalised information when they need it, said Google.With Gen App Builder, enterprises can build conversational search experiences across their public and private data in minutes or hours with no coding experience.With access to Google's no-code conversational and search tools powered by foundation models, organisations can get started with a few clicks and quickly build high-quality experiences that can be integrated into their applications and websites, informed Yariv Adan, Director, Cloud Conversational AI at Google.Enterprises can now build apps that understand user intent via natural language, and surface the right information with associated citations and attributions from a company's public and private data."They can also fully control what data their applications access and the content or topics they want to address," said Adan.Gen App Builder supports not just text, but also other modalities such as images and videos.It allows developers to build apps using a combination of text and images as inputs to find information across documents, photos, and video content, enabling richer customer interactions."Enabling multimodal search across text, images and video within the enterprise is a key aspect of the search experiences in Gen App Builder," said Google.IANS31 March 2023

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No state/UT reported starvation deaths: Centre informs Parliament

New Delhi, March 30: The government has informed the Parliament that there has been no death in the country caused by starvation.

No state/UT reported starvation deaths: Centre informs Parliament

Responding to a starred question in the Lok Sabha on whether the country is still facing the problem of starvation deaths, Union Minister for Food and Consumer Affairs, Piyush Goyal said, "No sir. Not a single state government or Union Territory administration has reported any incident of death due to starvation."Goyal's response came just months after India was ranked 107th out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022, with its child-wasting rate at 19.3 per cent, the highest in the world.In 2021, India was ranked 101st but slipped further in the index that tracks hunger globally. The report had come out in October 2022.Goyal's statement is also in stark contrast to the Central government's response to the Supreme Court in September 2022, when it had informed that 69 per cent deaths in children under five years were due to malnutrition and malnourishment.It had also told the apex court that 'hungry Indians' have gone up from 19 crore to 35 crore now.The Supreme Court had asked the Central government to work with the states to provide data on starvation deaths, hunger and malnutrition across the country.The government had also rejected the Global Hunger Report 2022, saying that a consistent effort was being made to taint India's image as a nation that does not fulfil the food security and nutritional requirements of its population.IANS31 March 2023

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Goa Governor calls on PM Modi, issues pertaining to state discussed

New Delhi, March 29: Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital and held discussions on several issues pertaining to the state.

Goa Governor calls on PM Modi, issues pertaining to state discussed

He also presented PM Modi with a Goan-origin Kunbi shawl and coffee table book published by the Raj Bhavan."The Governor of Goa, Shri P.S. Sreedharan Pillai called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at New Delhi today. Governor Shri Shreedharan Pillai presented the Goan-origin Kunbi Shawl and Coffee Table Book published by Raj Bhavan to the Prime Minister. The Governor also discussed various issues pertaining to Goa during the meeting," read a release by the Goa government.Earlier, on March 20, the Goa Governor chaired a meeting with a high-level G20 delegation at Raj Bhavan.Harsh Vardhan Shringla, G20 chief coordinator, L Ramesh Babu, JS (Summits), Col. Vivek Arya, OSD(Logistics), Ashok Kumar Sharma, consultant(Logistics), Arvind Singh, secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Union government, Jasvinder Singh, director, G20, Ministry of Tourism, Radha Katyal Narang, director, G20, Ministry of Tourism, D Venkatesan, regional director, Indian Tourism West, Ministry of Tourism, RK Dhawan personal secretary to secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Dhiraj Wagle, deputy director, GTDC, were present during the meeting.ANI31 March 2023

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Indias agricultural exports during Apr-Jan 2022-23 increase 6 pc to USD 43.37 bln

New Delhi, March 30: India's agricultural exports rose 6.04 per cent during April-January of the current financial year to worth USD 43.37 billion. During the same period last year, it was USD 40.90 billion.

India's agricultural exports during Apr-Jan 2022-23 increase 6 pc to USD 43.37 bln

During the full financial year 2021-22, India's agricultural exports touched the highest ever at USD 50.21 billion.The information was provided by the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.For 2023-24, the ministry said no export targets have been fixed yet."Rise in agricultural exports improves realisations for farmers and has a positive impact on their income. In order to ensure that the farmers benefit from exports, the Government has launched a Farmer Connect Portal for providing a platform for Farmer Producer Organisations/Companies (FPOs/FPCs) and cooperatives to directly interact with exporters," the minister said.The central agency Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) engages in export promotion activities for agricultural and processed food products."APEDA has also been collaborating with the Indian Missions abroad for participating in various international trade fairs and exhibitions, organising virtual trade fairs, buyer-seller meets and export promotion of GI products. APEDA has also facilitated trial shipments for new products with export potential and for new destinations," the minister said in her reply.ANI31 March 2023

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The parliament of Turkey approved a bill to ratify a protocol on Finlands accession to NATO on Thursday, Tass informs.

March 31, 2023, 09:38 Turkish parliament approves Finlands NATO membership

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 31, ARTSAKHPRESS: All 276 lawmakers present in the parliamentary hall voted in favor. Therefore, Finland has obtained legal grounds for joining the alliance.

At the same time, the lawmakers said that Sweden, which filed a NATO membership bid jointly with Finland, has not fulfilled the provision of its memorandum with Turkey as of yet, and was therefore not ready to join the alliance.

Turkey was the remaining NATO member to approve Helsinkis bid. Earlier, the process was also delayed by Hungary, but the country passed a relevant bill on March 27.
At United Nations HQ, Representatives of African Nations appreciate Vanarais low-cost bund innovation for water conservation

Pune, March 29: On the occasion of World Water Day (March 22, 2023), the United Nations organized a highly significant three-day international water council in the United States. The council saw the participation of distinguished individuals from across the globe, including Ravindra Dharia, the esteemed President of Vanarai and the Executive Co-chairman of Confederation of NGO's of Rural India (CNRI) where he represented the Vanarai organization along with 7000 NGO's of India under CNRI.

At United Nations HQ, Representatives of African Nations appreciate Vanarai's low-cost bund innovation for water conservation

The name Vanarai means 'creation of an ecosystem for collectively ensuring socio-economic empowerment through ecological restoration'. Vanarai is a 38-year-old NGO based in Pune, Maharashtra, India, recognized for its exceptional efforts in promoting sustainable rural development through natural resource management, particularly in soil and water conservation. Their commitment to this cause has been further reinforced by their participation in the prestigious UN 2023 Water Conference held on March 22, 2023, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA. The conference was attended by distinguished representatives from various governments, non-governmental organizations, policymakers, water experts, and scientists, making it a significant platform for sharing the latest water management practices. Vanarai's leadership and expertise in soil and water conservation, and drought management have earned them a well-deserved invitation to this esteemed event, solidifying their position as a prominent advocate for Natural Resource Management.To know more about the driveRavindra Dharia, President of Vanarai, who was a part of the event emphasized on the role of water as an invaluable resource, and he even spoke on the problems that people face worldwide with regards to access to water. "At the event, we got a chance to meet representatives of various nations where we discussed how everyone is addressing the issue of water crisis at a global level. We also got the opportunity to shed light on Vanarai's initiatives and innovations in the field which was appreciated well by representatives of African nations present at the conference. The representatives showed deepest interest in understanding measures to implement water conservation initiatives especially related to Vanarai bunds," added Dharia.Worldwide, water is being referred to as "Blue Gold". Rightly so, as the world continues to grapple with major challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, pollution, and access to safe drinking water and sanitation, the United Nations has identified these issues as top priorities in its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Ravindra Dharia emphasized the critical nature of these challenges, including natural resource depletion, environmental degradation, desertification, drought, land degradation, and freshwater scarcity. He further stated, "Failure to address these issues in a timely manner could lead to significant consequences. Therefore, it is crucial for individuals to intervene promptly and proactively to address water scarcity issues. It is not solely the responsibility of governments but requires collaboration and commitment from all sectors of society, including climate change communities, NGO's, investors, and all stakeholders. The urgency of the situation necessitates swift action to ensure a water-secure future for all," Dharia's insights underscore the vital importance of concerted action to address these pressing issues and serve as a call to action for individuals and organizations worldwide.He added that taking timely and effective action to address water management challenges is crucial to creating a better future for all. He believes that science and technology can act as a catalyst in achieving water management goals, such as sustainable water management, water reuse, rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment, and restoring water streams. These practices must be implemented with great diligence and blended with the latest technological developments in the field. Dharia's visionary leadership underscores the urgent need to act today which even reflects in Vanarai's alignment towards the UN's 2030 agenda and the progress that the organization has done towards Vanarai's organizational mission 2030. He believes that India can emerge at the forefront to ensure a more sustainable and prosperous future for generations to come.Vanarai was established in the year 1986 by Padma Vibhushan Dr Mohan Dharia with the vision To combat the challenges of climate change through People's Movement for enriching the Eco - system to create clean, green, water prosperous and socio-economically empowered India. Vanarai Bund is a breakthrough cost-effective innovation for Soil and Water Conservation where every year more than 3,00,000 of these are executed only in Maharashtra alone.To know more information, please visitSocial Media LinksFacebook -Instagram -LinkedIn -This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.ANI31 March 2023

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MEA highlights Indias use of technological, financial inclusion for direct transfer of welfare benefits

New Delhi, March 30: Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar on Thursday highlighted India's use of technological and financial inclusion for direct transfer of welfare benefits.

MEA highlights India's use of technological, financial inclusion for direct transfer of welfare benefits

The MEA secretary (East) was participating virtually in the Indo-Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Meeting chaired by South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin under the Summit for Democracy 2023."Secy (East) @AmbSaurabhKumar participated virtually in the Indo-Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Meeting chaired by FM @FMParkJin of South Korea, under Summit for Democracy," MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted on Thursday."Highlighted steps taken by India including use of tech and financial inclusion for direct transfer of welfare benefits," Bagchi wrote further.This year's multi-day Summit for Democracy is being co-hosted by Biden, as well as the leaders of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia. After a morning introduction on Wednesday, Biden will lead a virtual summit event in Washington that's focused on democracy delivering on global challenges, CNN reported.MEA secretary (East) recently paid an official visit to South Korea and co-chaired the 5th Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue (FPSD) with his Korean counterpart Cho Hyundong.Taking to Twitter, the Embassy of India in South Korea said, "Secretary East @AmbSaurabhKumar met Rep Kim Tae-ho, Chairperson, Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of RoK National Assembly @news_NA, and exchanged views to strengthen -ties. They also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest, including #IndoPacific and #G20."In the dialogue, both sides agreed to enhance the special strategic partnership by strengthening strategic communication through regular high-level engagements including the Foreign Minister-level Joint Commission Meeting, '2+2' dialogue involving the Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry at Vice Minister/Secretary level, other ministerial and senior official dialogues, as the two countries celebrate 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year, according to the official statement released by Ministry of External Affairs.According to the statement, both sides had also agreed to deepen cooperation in areas including, trade and investment, security and defence, science and technology, as well as, cultural and people-to-people exchanges.ANI31 March 2023

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PM Modi meets NXP CEO, discusses semi conductors and innovation

New Delhi, March 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met NXP's President and Chief Executive Officer Kurt Sievers on Wednesday. The transformative landscape in the world of semiconductors and innovation was discussed between the two.

PM Modi meets NXP CEO, discusses semi conductors and innovation

"Happy to have met Mr Kurt Sievers, the CEO of @NXP and discuss the transformative landscape in the world of semiconductors and innovation. India is emerging as a key force in these sectors, powered by our talented youth," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted."NXP CEO Kurt Sievers met with India's PM Narendra Modi to discuss strengthening the semiconductor ecosystem, developing STEM workforce and startup ecosystem in India. We're committed to driving innovation and positive change through our tech solutions in India", NXP said in a tweet.NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a Dutch semiconductor designer and manufacturer with headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands with locations throughout the globe.In a bid to give a boost to semiconductor manufacturing in the country, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw announced in February this year that the government will come up with a program very soon to put the country on a good semiconductor journey for the next 10 years.The government launched a programme called Semicon India Programme in December 2021 with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore. The programme seeks to support the development of the semiconductors and the display manufacturing ecosystem in India.The minister had apprised the parliamentary consultative committee in 2023 that several state governments like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are in talks with the companies to set up semiconductor manufacturing plants/fab complexes.The Semicon India Programme aims to provide attractive incentive support to companies/consortia that are engaged in Silicon Semiconductor Fabs, Display Fabs, Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs, Semiconductor Packaging (ATMP / OSAT) and Semiconductor Design.ANI31 March 2023

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Second G20 Sherpa meet under Indias G20 Presidency to begin in Kerala

New Delhi, March 30: The second G20 Sherpas meeting under India's G20 Presidency is set to take place in the picturesque village of Kerala's Kumarakom from March 30 to April 2.

Second G20 Sherpa meet under India's G20 Presidency to begin in Kerala

The meeting will be chaired by India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant.The four-day gathering of over 120 delegates from G20 Members, 9 invitee countries, and various international and regional organizations will hold multilateral discussions on G20's economic and developmental priorities as well as on addressing contemporary global challenges.The deliberations will focus both on policy approaches and concrete implementation.The 2nd Sherpas Meeting will work on a range of cross-cutting issues of global concern, and will encompass the work being done under the 13WorkingGroups within the Sherpa track, a release said.The deliberations of the Sherpa meetings will take forward the outcomes of various Sherpa Track and Finance Track Meetings and will form the basis of the Leaders' Declaration, slated to be adopted at the New Delhi Summit in September.India has selected its G20 priorities keeping in view the diverse global challenges of the day, the concerns of developing countries as well as the need for greater momentum for collective action to take forward the shared international agenda, especially the development and environment agenda.In this context, India's G20 theme "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" - "One Earth. One Family. One Future" aptly encapsulates the shared vision of the G20 for galvanising wide support and arriving at decisive, ambitious, inclusive, and action-oriented outcomes.Such outcomes require the G20 to come together and act as one family to instil hope.The meeting will kick start on March 30 with two high-level side events on digital public infrastructure and green development.Ongoing deliberations during India's G20 Presidency include Green Development, Climate Finance and Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE); Accelerated, Inclusive and Resilient Growth; Accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Technological Transformation and Digital Public Infrastructure; Multilateral Institutions for the 21st century; and Women-led development.These priorities reflect the needs of the Global South, articulated by 125 participating countries, at the first-ever Voice of Global South summit, hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2023.India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant will also lead discussions with the G20 Troika comprising India, Indonesia and Brazil."He will meet with G20 Sherpas and heads of Delegations of G20 members, invitees and international organizations including from the Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) to deliberate on issues pertinent to the Global South, as well as from the Advanced Economies (AEs) on shared priorities and mutually beneficial ways forward," an official statement said.ANI31 March 2023

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Secularism is enshrined in Indian Constitution which world should learn: MoS Lekhi

New Delhi, March 29: India is a secular country as enshrined in the Indian Constitution, and it is a lesson for many other countries where Hinduism is not even recognised, Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi said.

Secularism is enshrined in Indian Constitution which world should learn: MoS Lekhi

While addressing a seminar on the "Constitution of India" MoS Lekhi on Tuesday said, "We have more than 1.4 billion people, and that's going to have its own cost. But with all that cost, I must say secularism as enshrined in the constitution of India is a lesson to many other countries where Hinduism is not even recognized as a religion. I, as a Hindu, have a problem.""I mean, 66-plus odd countries do not recognize Hinduism as a religion, and they are battering me right, left and centre, saying, oh, it's a non-secular country. So I think people need to understand and appreciate how India has pulled through the challenges, and those challenges are being met," she added.In the seminar, she also stated that India is a secular country where maximum number of people who are followers of Hinduism live.According to an official release, the seminar was organised to commemorate the occasion of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (75 years of Independence of India) in coordination with the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE) in the PRIDE Main Lecture Hall of the Parliament Library Building.The Seminar was also organised in the context of India's Presidency of the Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO), and covered the following themesSeven decades of the Indian Constitution; Indian Constitution and Human Rights; Indian Constitution and Internationalism.The seminar was inaugurated by Minister for State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi. AS (L and T), Uma Sekhar welcomed and introduced the speakers. Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and former Chief Justice of India; Justice Arun Mishra, Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission and former Supreme Court Judge; and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Chairperson of National Green Tribunal and former Supreme Court judge were the distinguished speakers at the Seminar.AALCO is an inter-governmental organisation, headquartered in New Delhi, having 47 member states from Asia and Africa. It serves as an advisory body to member states on matters of international law.Over the years, AALCO has forged close links with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Law Commission (ILC).To have an interactive experience on the freedom struggle of India and the making of its Constitution, as a part of the seminar, a visit to the Parliament of India was arranged for the participants. Over 200 diplomats attending the Seminar also toured the Parliament of India, the official release said.ANI31 March 2023

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Apply soon: Nitte (Deemed to be University) opens admissions to undergraduate courses; unlocks prolific career opportunities

New Delhi, March 30: Nitte (Deemed to be University), one of the popular names in higher education in India, has recently opened admission for its undergraduate degrees in various disciplines, including courses in Media & Communication, Biomedical Science, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, Architecture, Nursing, Hospitality, BCA, and BBA. The cutting-edge programs, imparting academic knowledge with industry-specific education, reflect Nitte's commitment to excellence, attracting several ambitious and sharp minds nationwide. Candidates seeking dynamic careers can begin the registration process.

Apply soon: Nitte (Deemed to be University) opens admissions to undergraduate courses; unlocks prolific career opportunities

In view of the admission season, Dr Harsha Halahalli, Registrar, Nitte DU said, "With the ongoing admissions, Nitte DU is set to reinforce its commitment to excellence. We welcome the next batch of students to make the most of all that we offer and learn from our industry-relevant curriculum".Paving the way to the constantly evolving media sector, BA (Honours) Media and Communication, offered by Nitte Institute of Communication, seeks to empower the candidates to blend seamlessly into the industry. The program explores not only the well-trodden media spaces such as advertising and public relations but also equips students with best practices in tech-enabled skills, necessary to spearhead emerging challenges in media.Similarly, in today's age when biomedical science is making giant leaps, Nitte DU is committed to carrying out extensive academic and industry-related contributions. The institute offers a comprehensive BSc (Honours) Biomedical Science degree through its institute dedicated to natural sciences, Nitte University Centre for Science Education and Research.Further, aiming to make a significant impact on medical science, Niite Institute of Physiotherapy strives to groom candidates to be expert practitioners of the domain and extend their healing touch to patients.In the same way, Nitte Usha Institute of Nursing Sciences has the unwavering commitment to inculcate the best nursing expertise in nursing students of Nitte DU. Alumni of the college can be found in several countries, with the college boasting of an excellent placement record.Also, preparing the future leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, NGSM Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has begun admissions to the well-curated pharmacy courses. These courses are designed to foster expert knowledge of the discipline, launching candidates to the forefront of the industry.Additionally, imparting a synergy between design-thinking, creativity and scientific rigour that goes into the making of an architect, the BArch program at Nitte Institute of Architecture, is designed to empower ambitious aspiring architects who want to build works of art that not only serve the complex multi-functional needs of the day but are breathtaking in their elegance. To actualise its vision to build inspiring careers in architecture, Niite DU offers attractive merit scholarships, excellence scholarships and even robust full-fee-waiver scholarships for top candidates.BSc (Honors) Hospitality Management, the flagship program of Nitte Institute of Hospitality Services, Nitte DU has also begun its registration process. The course targets ambitious candidates who want to lead the competitive hospitality industry by providing skill-based training along with the theoretical knowledge of what is behind the scenes in the hospitality industry.Spearheading the business education sphere, Nitte DU offers the BBA program at Dr. NSAM First Grade College and BBA Business Analytics, BBA International Business, BBA Banking and Financial Services at Nitte Institute of Professional Education. Via the business administration courses, Nitte DU strives to strike a delicate balance between a solid academic foundation of business thinking and practical industry skills. Dr. NSAM First Grade College also offers the much in demand BCA program.BCA Artificial Intelligence, BCA Cyber Security, BCA Cloud Technology are offered by Nitte Institute of Professional Education.Nitte Education Trust, established in 1979, has for over 4 decades been committed to fulfilling the vision of Late Justice KS Hegde, Judge in the Supreme Court and Speaker of the Lok Sabha, who dreamed of seeing empowered youth across every stratum of society with access to quality education and healthcare.A centre of excellence with quality education, Nitte University not only has an "A+" NAAC accreditation but also has been awarded Category 'A' status by MHRD, GoI. Also, ranked 75th in NIRF 2022, the university is in the 401- 450 band in the QS Asia University Ranking 2022 and the 201-300 band in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Ranking 2022.Currently, the university has over 20000 students and 4500 faculty members, who take pride in the Nitte DU legacy. It is also worth noting that Nitte DU is poised to further its legacy of excellence, sharing expert knowledge across disciplines via 74 programs taught in 40+ institutions spread across three campuses at Nitte, Mangalore, and Bangalore.To know more visitThis story has been provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)ANI31 March 2023

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Kimirica Ventures Co-Founder & Director, Rajat Jain felicitated at Times 40 Under 40

Bangalore, March 30: The Times 40 Under 40 honored the achievements of young entrepreneurs, leaders, and change-makers who have made significant contributions in their respective fields. The event was held at the prestigious Hotel Four Season Embassy One in Bengaluru on March 24th, 2023.

Kimirica Venture's Co-Founder & Director, Rajat Jain felicitated at Times 40 Under 40

Rajat Jain, Founder and CEO of Kimirica Venture, felicitated at the Times 40 Under 40 ceremony by the well-known Bollywood actress Rakul Preet Singh.Speaking after being felicitated, Rajat responded, " It is a true privilege to have such a prestigious award bestowed upon me, I am truly honoured, humbled and grateful to be here today. This award is a testament to all the long hours, hard work and the sacrifices I've put in along my journey and I hope to be able to continue to do so to the best of my ability in the coming time. "Rajat Jain, Co-founder and Director, Kimirica Ventures, a graduate from Stanford University, is a first-generation entrepreneur who has co-started multiple businesses from scratch. Given his pharmaceutical background, he has contributed to the research and development, new product formulations, manufacturing operations, finances and human resources management at Kimirica.Jain launched Kimirica in 2012, to tap the $20 billion personal care industry in India, from a small 100 sq. ft. room. In the initial days, he faced a huge cash crunch and bad debts, but little did he know that Kimirica would overcome these insurmountable odds to become one of India's largest manufacturers of luxury hotel toiletries and guest room amenities.Kimirica offers a luxurious self-care experience that is thoughtfully designed,while promoting a vegan and ethical way of life. Driven by a passion to create premium products, Kimiricahas emerged a decade old lifestyle brand that is trusted by some of the biggest luxury hotels and resorts globally. The company is also a pioneer in India to manufacture100% vegan and paraben-free hotel cosmetics. In 2017, Kimirica also signed a joint venture with Canadian hospitality product manufacturer Hunter Amenities, from where it gets its complete name 'Kimirica Hunter.'At Pataa and Prefme, the IT start-ups, Jain has contributed to the ideation of the products, by creating a blueprint of the requirements, formulating the strategy and guiding product development and general operations. With Pataa, he aims to provide a solution to the complex and unstructured addressing system not just in India, but even nations worldwide. His idea is to create a digital short code of people's long and complex addresses, making it easier for navigation and to explain to visitors.With Prefme, he aims to help the hospitality industry optimise their operations and minimise costs through revolutionary technology that also diminishes language and communication barriers between staff and guests, thereby providing a hyper personalised experience to the guests. With the use of this technology, he aims to make a drastic impact on the satisfaction of the guests by providing hotels and resorts insightful guest data that can be used for customisation of services.Through a plethora of IT and non-IT offerings, Jain has become a well-known entity in the entrepreneurial space and considering his expertise across a wide array of businesses, one can be sure to see more enthusiastic and brilliant offerings coming from him in the future.This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)ANI31 March 2023

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Theres a whole generation of people who find Friends offensive: Jennifer Aniston

Washington, March 30: For some generations, it's a 'cult' show! But does the present generation feel the same way about decades-old friends?.

There's a whole generation of people who find 'Friends' 'offensive': Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston recently opened up about how comedy has changed over the decades since her show 'Friends' aired.While promoting her upcoming Netflix film 'Murder Mystery 2', Aniston explained that comedy is more complicated today than it used to be, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter."Now it's a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really hard for comedians, because the beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves, make fun of life," she told AFP.In the past, she continued, "you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh -- that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were. And now we're not allowed to do that."Referring to the show 'Friends' specifically, pointing out that when the show was airing in the 1990s, Jennifer said that people back in the day did not notice the controversial things the sitcom had."There's a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive," she said. "There were things that were never intentional and others ... well, we should have thought it through -- but I don't think there was a sensitivity like there is now."Jennifer also said that the sensitivity around comedies has changed over the years and that eventually led to the number of comedies falling down."Everybody needs funny," the Rachel Green actress said. "The world needs humour! We can't take ourselves too seriously -- especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided."In recent years, Friends has received criticism for starring six white actors and minimal actors of colour, most of them only making guest appearances, like Gabrielle Union, Mark Consuelos, Craig Robinson and Lauren Tom, as well as Aisha Tyler, who had a recurring role in the late seasons.ANI31 March 2023

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Indian Army signs over Rs 6000-crore deal for Akash air defence missile systems with BDL

New Delhi, March 30: In a major boost for the Make in India in Defence, Bharat Dynamics Limited has signed a deal for supplying two regiments of upgraded version of the Akash air defence missile systems to the Indian Army.

Indian Army signs over Rs 6000-crore deal for Akash air defence missile systems with BDL

The deal for the third and fourth regiments of the missile system has been signed with BDL and would cost over Rs 6000 crore."This would be the upgraded versions of the missile system with seekers and give more accuracy to Indian Army while taking out any offensive enemy aircraft or drone on the border," top defence sources told ANI.The clearance of these two missile regiments can be considered to be a victory for Make in India initiative as these were earlier planned to be imported from abroad but the Narendra Modi government decided to induct the indigenous weapon system only.The upgraded Akash missile systems have been enabled to be effective on high altitude frontiers such as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in north.In comparison to the existing Akash System, the upgraded version is equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy.Other improvements also ensure more reliable performance under low-temperature environments at higher altitudes. A modified ground system of the existing Akash weapon system has also been used.The Akash system has further enhanced the confidence of the users (Indian Army and Indian Air Force).The missile can be deployed at heights up to 4,500 metres and can take down targets at a distance of around 25 to 30 km.ANI31 March 2023

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Lok Sabha passes Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022

New Delhi, March 29: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to amend the Competition Act of 2002.

Lok Sabha passes Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022

Deals with a transaction value of more than Rs 2,000 crore, according to the Bill, will require the approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI)."...if the value of any transaction in connection with acquisition of any control, shares, voting rights, etc., exceeds Rs 2,000 crore, it would require filing a notice of combination before the commission and to empower the Central Government to exempt certain transactions from the requirement to file combination notice under the Act," the amendment Bill read.It also proposed to reduce the timeline for the commission to pass an order on such transactions from 210 days to 150 days.Also, it sought to broaden the scope of anti-competitive agreements.Reportedly, the Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2022, during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, and subsequently it was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance for examination.ANI31 March 2023

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The President of the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Laurent Wauquiez has called for practical steps for not allowing Azerbaijans violations of international law in Armenia, Artsakh and the Lachin Corridor to be overlooked.

March 31, 2023, 12:36 Frances Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region to attempt humanitarian convoy passage into blockaded Nagorno Karabakh

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 31, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: The head of the French region is now visiting Armenia.

On March 31 he met with Nagorno Karabakhs Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan in Yerevan.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Wauquiez described himself as a longtime friend of Armenia and Artsakh and said that hes shocked by the current situation.

In 2019, we met with representatives of Artsakh and signed a cooperation agreement between my region and Artsakh. Wed adopted a political position in my region to confirm Artsakhs right to independence, which led to serious pressures by Pan-Turkist terrorist organizations against me and my family. Why am I here today? Because I am well aware that the entire international attention is on Ukraine and there is a serious danger for Armenia and Artsakh to be forgotten in all of this. I am here to say that we are not forgetting you, you are not alone, and we shouldnt allow the violations of international law in Armenia, Artsakh and Lachin Corridor to go unnoticed in silence, Wauquiez said.

The President of the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes visited the entrance of the blockaded Lachin Corridor in Syunik to show to his countrymen the violations of international law, that 120,000 people on the other side are deprived of basic human rights.

I was with the Governor of Syunik the moment he was notified that an advance had taken place the day before where we were located at that time [Tegh village]. I have witnessed and can testify about the violation of international law. I have also seen the Azerbaijani flags hoisted on the heights located in Armenian lands. And I had the chance to speak with displaced persons of Artsakh, whose words were deeply touching. As a politician, it is my duty to take action and be able to help you, he said.

Wauquiez said that they want to organize a humanitarian convoy jointly with the organizations representing the Armenian community of France and try to deliver humanitarian aid to Artsakh.

The convoy will be organized with our regions support and will bear our regions flag. It will approach the Lachin Corridor and we will demand passage to Artsakh. Either the convoy will pass and we will have a ray of hope, or the convoy will be barred and it will give us the opportunity to present this issue before international and European organizations, that once again the international law is being violated, and that actions must be taken, Wauquiez added.
Upgrade skills with Mediflicks effective and affordable medical courses

Jaipur, March 30: Upgrading skills in general is essential to find new opportunities and new interests and make the work profile more attractive. This is especially effective in the medical sector as treatments and medicines are seeing new changes and ameliorations every day. Mediflick is here with its operative and functional medical courses for physicians and radiographers so that they can stay updated in this journey of improving themselves. Whether the medical sector professionals are looking for a change in their career, or looking for ways to make their skills better, the by Mediflick will serve all purposes.

Upgrade skills with Mediflick's effective and affordable medical courses

Mediflick is an online platform for physicians and radiographers and believes in the motto that states there is always room for up-gradation in medical skills. There are several courses available on the website, with a wide range of variety on different topics related to the core medical sector. Starring from live courses to video learning courses, Mediflick is here to satisfy the learners' thirst for knowledge. As it is an online platform, it can be accessed from anywhere in the world and at any time, so medical professionals can easily access these courses at their convenience. Be it from the comfort at home or a time that they are free, the learners do not have to wait or join any team to learn and complete the course, it will be completely dependent on their selection of time and place.The range of topics that Mediflick presents is huge, and appealing to everyone engaged in the medical sector, be it a physician or even a radiographer. The website is categorized with different sections pointing out the list of courses related to different topics. Learners will be able to complete courses on topics like Anaesthesia, Body Imaging, Chest Imaging, Head and Neck Imaging, Musculoskeletal Imaging, and Musculoskeletal Interventions, etc. There are also courses on vast topics like Neuroradiology, Oncoimaging, Pain Management, Pediatric Imaging, Spotter Session, USG and Women Imaging. Apart from these, there are also a few free sessions available on the website, perfect for people who want to upgrade their knowledge of subjects like Interventional Radiology, Spinal Tumours, Non-Neoplastic Masses and cysts, Perfusion Imaging In Brain Lesions, etc. There is also a completely separate section for IRIA-Kerala, the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association where learners can visit and learn directly from the institute's courses.All of the courses are available on the website for a reasonable price range, which is both affordable and value for money. The amount of knowledge and comprehension that learners will gain from these courses will not only advance their skills but also advance their careers. offers top-tier faculty where the learners will learn directly from accomplished teachers who ensure giving the students an in-depth understanding of the subject matter. The curriculum of the courses is also crafted by experts and delivers top-notch and relevant study materials. Both online and offline video lectures are available, so students can also learn even when they are offline or facing trouble with their internet connection, through the website's in-app video lectures.The students will get the opportunity to attend live classes on Mediflick where they can learn concepts, and clear doubts instantly. In addition to that, to test knowledge and learning there are also practice questions available along with quizzes and assignments. Here learners can practice quizzes and solve assignments chapter-wise to revise their learnings. The video lectures are of high quality and easily understandable to learners who can quickly grab onto the subject matter. Mediflick offers certifications as well in a PDF format once the course is completed. The content that this online video learning platform offers is trusted in quality and quantity and comes directly from accomplished working professionals in the field.Missing out on any course update has no place in the online platform as the alerts and notifications make the learners know whenever the course content is updated. It's an easy-to-navigate website that helps learners gather knowledge and complete the course at their own pace from anywhere around the world in exchange for a very affordable fee. The affordable payment plan allows the learners to learn from the best in the industry at their own convenience. One of the best features that Mediflick offers its students is the student discussion forum. These discussion forums are live 24*7 with other batch mates and faculties where clearing doubts or getting any problems solved has become easier than ever.Mediflick is one such platform that is easily accessible, and easily affordable. Graduates often have to attend several conferences and events to update and improve their skills, where most of the time the knowledge is not thorough. This is extremely time-consuming and bears other challenges such as specific time-frame. This also causes fresh graduates not to have a well-paid job when they are trying to upgrade their skills. To solve these issues and give people proper education that can help upgrade their skills and at the same time upgrade their resumes for better opportunities, Mediflick was created. The online educational website brings senior specialist educators to one place to provide learning materials and instructions for doctors of all backgrounds, regardless of any constraints.Society is standing at a time where technologies are becoming the leading power in providing healthcare IT products and services and Mediflick Technologies aspires to become the top provider of it. The website is committed to helping medical professionals build and improve their skills at the same time, especially when it is impossible for them to attend classes physically. The team at Mediflick works tirelessly to design and craft outstanding and effective educational material backed by reputed national and international professionals and experts. This online website is also available as a mobile application that can be accessed from anywhere at any time. In its short and memorable journey, the website has seen rapid growth and success, training over 10,000 physicians from countries all around the world. For SONOCON 2023, Mediflick aspires to continue the great work and enhance the experience of worldwide sonologists. Know more about the courses and start the educational journey atThis story has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.ANI31 March 2023

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Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Padmaavat would have gotten India an Oscar - Producer Mahaveer Jain

New Delhi, March 30 (ANI/NewsReach): Oscars have always been the highest honour for any artist. It's a dream for most and a reality for a few.

'Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat would have gotten India an Oscar' - Producer Mahaveer Jain

More recently, stories which are rooted in our Indian culture have garnered the attention of the whole world. For example, RRR was unapologetically Indian in its style of making and storytelling.*According to Producer Mahaveer Jain - *An Indian story that had a global appeal and had complete potential to get our country an Oscar was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat. The way he captured the ethos of Indian values and culture through his cinematic storytelling on a grand canvas was unmatched and unprecedented. The royalty, dignity, sacrifice and larger-than-life persona of the Indian woman was mesmerising.In India, we need to develop an ecosystem where we nurture and train our young talent for making films for a global audience, to present the philosophies of India and exhibit it to the whole world.In the current scenario, the film which will win hearts all across is Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki. I am sure, it will break all previous records and create a massive impact all across the globe. Raju ji's storytelling and emotional connect with people is unparallel.This story has been provided by NewsReach. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsReach)ANI31 March 2023

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Ugandan Prime Minister lauds UAEs global leadership, competitiveness

Dubai [United Arab Emirates], March 30 (ANI/WAM): Prime Minister of Uganda Robinah Nabbanja lauded the UAE's global leadership and competitiveness, as well as its experience in modernising government action and its keenness to share its expertise with other governments.

Ugandan Prime Minister lauds UAE's global leadership, competitiveness

She made this statement during a meeting with a UAE Government delegation at the "Trade and Exports Competitiveness Forum" held in Uganda's capital, Kampala. During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways of boosting their bilateral cooperation in various areas of government action.The Emirati delegation included Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Assistant Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Competitiveness and Knowledge Exchange and Chairman of the Competitiveness Council, Abdullah Hassan Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to Uganda, and Manal bin Salem, Head of the Government Knowledge Exchange Programme.On the sidelines of the forum, the UAE Government delegation held a series of bilateral meetings with Ugandan government ministers and officials, including the ministers of agriculture, livestock and fisheries and interior, as well as representatives of the aviation sector.During the meetings, the Emirati delegation spoke about the country's experience in government management and modernising government work. It also discussed the cooperation between the UAE and Uganda in areas such as digital security and food safety and ways of benefitting from the UAE's successful expertise in the aviation sector.The meetings also addressed the objectives of the Government Experience Exchange Programme and its main achievements since its launch in 2018, which include establishing strategic partnerships and bilateral cooperation agreements in government modernisation with 29 countries in five continents. (ANI/WAM)ANI31 March 2023

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China warns Taiwan President against meeting US House Speaker during visit to Central America

Taipei, March 30: As Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday embarked on a 10-day visit to Central America, which will include transit in the United States, China has warned the Taiwanese President against meeting US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China warns Taiwan President against meeting US House Speaker during visit to Central America

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the US side keeps conniving to support the separatist forces of Taiwan independence and asked Washington to stop committing "dangerous acts that underline the political foundation of the two countries' relations."As she departed on a diplomatic mission to Central America, Tsai Ing-wen said that Taiwan has every right to "connect with the world," CNN reported.Ahead of Tsai's departure, China hit out against the trip pledging on Wednesday to "resolutely fight back" if the Taiwanese President met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a move Beijing would consider a violation of its sovereignty.China also criticized the US as Tsai Ing-wen was en-route with the Chinese Foreign Ministry urging Washington to stop committing "dangerous acts that underline the political foundation of the two countries' relations.""It is not the Chinese side that overreacts, but the US side that keeps conniving to support the separatist forces of Taiwan independence," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said as per the CNN report.Tsai Ing-wen departed from Taiwan on Wednesday for a 10-day trip, which will include stopovers in New York City and Los Angeles on either side of official visits to Guatemala and Belize, according to CNN."External pressure won't stop our determination from moving toward international society," Tsai Ing-wen told reporters before taking off."We're calm, confident, uncompromising and unprovocative," Tsai further said.The trip has gained attention after reports claimed that Tsai Ing-wen will meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during one of her unofficial stopovers in the US, as per the CNN report. Taiwan is yet to confirm the meeting between the two leaders. In March, McCarthy said he would meet Tsai while she was in the US. However, he did not mention any date.After her New York City stopover, the Taiwanese President is expected to visit Guatemala on April 1 and Belize on April 3. She will transit in Los Angeles before she travels back to Taiwan on April 7, CNN reported citing Taiwan's Presidential Office, as per the news report.Last year, China fired multiple missiles and launched military drills around Taiwan after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island. Her visit also strained the bilateral ties between US and China.ANI31 March 2023

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Extensive health infrastructure creation in Mecca, Medinah, Jeddah to ensure quality health support to Haj pilgrims

New Delhi, March 29: With a view to ensuring quality health support to pilgrims, the Ministry of Minority Affairs is collaborating with the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for comprehensive health arrangements for pilgrims planning to visit Mecca for the Haj pilgrimage.

Extensive health infrastructure creation in Mecca, Medinah, Jeddah to ensure quality health support to Haj pilgrims

Each year, Saudi Arabia hosts around 25 lakh to 30 lakh pilgrims from across the globe to visit Mecca and India sends the third largest contingent of Haj pilgrims in the world.Such a large number of pilgrims also pose unique public health challenges, and the medical requirements of the pilgrims in Mecca, Medinah, and Jeddah must be well-cared for.While the number of pilgrims had shown a decreasing trend in the last three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year a larger number of Indian pilgrims are expected to visit Mecca. For the present year, a quota of 1,75,025 pilgrims has been allotted to India.With a view to ensuring comprehensive and quality services to the pilgrims, the Minister of Minority Affairs and Minister of Health has undertaken a series of meetings accompanied by officials from both ministries.In the last three months, more than 10 meetings have been organized on the subject between both ministries and a detailed plan of action has been finalized.Ministry of Health accordingly issued directions to all States on March 21st, wherein States have been advised to provide Medical Screening and Fitness Certificates for applicant pilgrims and a detailed format for such screening has been sent to the States.With a view to aid the applicants, this year the Medical Screening and Fitness Certificate by the applicant can be issued by any Government allopathic medical doctor in the States/UTs. This will ease the process of getting medical screening certificates across the country.Moreover, Health and Vaccination Camps have been directed that states and district health authorities will also set up Camps for the selected pilgrims wherein the pre-departure detailed Medical Examination and Vaccination will also be provided.A Health Card for all the pilgrims will also be issued in these camps which will examine the selected pilgrims for their present health status, and the existing diseases/co-morbidities, if any.It is planned that the health status will be made available to the Medical Teams in Saudi Arabia through digital means for timely health service delivery in case of any emergency.Each State has accordingly been advised to nominate a Nodal Officer for coordinating the activities in collaboration with the State Minority Welfare Department.Ministry of Health will procure and provide the required number of Quadrivalent Meningococcal Meningitis Vaccines (QMMV) and Seasonal Influenza Vaccines (SIV) to the pilgrims.Further, Health Desks will also be set up at all departing airports for coordinating the health needs of the pilgrims during the departure.With a view to planning the requirement of health infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is also sending a team of senior clinicians during the first week of April 2023, to plan for the requirement of temporary hospitals, dispensaries, pharmacies and camps as needed in Mecca, Medinah, Jeddah, Arafat and at the core ritual site of Mina.The team will assess the requirement of specialists, doctors and paramedical staff based on their field assessment. The team will examine the need for medical equipment and medicines for these health facilities and the same will be procured and made available by the Ministry of Health. To ensure quality, the available medicines from Jan Aushadhi stores will be procured and provided in these facilities.Ministry of Health has also addressed all States and UTs to also obtain the list of willing Government medical and paramedical professionals who will be selected based on the criteria of their experience, specialization and desirable qualifications for manning these health facilities.The selected health professionals will also be extensively oriented on the expected health needs of the pilgrims to ensure quality health service delivery.The pilgrims will be screened for a wide range of medical issues in order to tackle any emergency effectively and quickly, which may arise during the pilgrimage.The collaborative efforts by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Ministry of Health are expected to ensure easing the process of obtaining Medical Screening Fitness Certificates and vaccination besides timely and quality healthcare services from point of embarkation till their return back to India.ANI31 March 2023

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Life of Lord Ram an inspiration for humanity in every era: PM Modi extends wishes on Ram Navami

New Delhi, March 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday wished people on the occasion of Ram Navami and said that the life of Lord Ram will remain an inspiration for humanity in every era.

Life of Lord Ram an inspiration for humanity in every era: PM Modi extends wishes on Ram Navami

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Many best wishes to all the countrymen on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami."He also added that the life of Maryada Purushottam Lord Ramchandra, based on sacrifice, austerity, restraint and determination, will remain the inspiration for humanity in every era.Ram Navami is a Hindu festival that is celebrated in order to honour the birth of Lord Vishnu's incarnation, Lord Rama. This day marks the end of the nine-day Chaitra-Navratri celebrations, which are celebrated in the Hindu month of Chaitra which falls on the cusp of spring and summer.ANI31 March 2023

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Odisha: Brain-Dead doner saves the life of two patients

Cuttack, March 30: The Urology and Nephrology department of SCB Medical College and Hospital (MCH), Cuttack, has successfully transplanted two kidneys retrieved from a brain-dead donor in two recipients with high priority score in Odisha.

Odisha: Brain-Dead doner saves the life of two patients

According to an official release, the deceased donor, Tanuja Kar (57) of Tarol of Jagatpur in Cuttack, was under treatment in CTVS Department of SCBMCH and was declared brain dead by the Brain Death Declaration team of the hospital after she could not be revived despite all measures."As per the recipient list of the state prepared by SOTTO, two recipients having high priority score were selected for a kidney transplant. The matter was shared with ROTTO and NOTTO. The Apollo Hospital Bhubaneswar cooperated in performing all laboratory investigations required. After cross match of donor and recipient the kidneys were retrieved and transplanted to two eligible recipients, who are stable," it added.The recipients were identified as Alok Bodak (36) of Brajaraj Nagar in Jharsuguda and Saurjya Ranjan Sahoo (48) of CDA in Cuttack.Notably, the first cadaveric kidney transplant in Odisha was carried out by a team of doctors at SCBMCH and Apollo Hospitals in Bhubaneswar in 2020. After a surgery of six hours, the team of doctors in Apollo Hospitals successfully conducted one of the transplants. The other kidney harvested was transported to SCBMCH for transplant.ANI31 March 2023

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Kuwait-bound Air India Express flight takes off before schedule, leaves 20 passengers in Vijayawada

New Delhi, March 29: An Air India Express flight to Kuwait on Wednesday left around 20 passengers at Vijayawada airport and took off 4 hours before its scheduled departure.

Kuwait-bound Air India Express flight takes off before schedule, leaves 20 passengers in Vijayawada

Air India flight IX-695 was scheduled to depart for Kuwait from Vijayawada International Airport at 110 pm but it took off at 955 am.According to an Air India official, the flight was rescheduled and passengers were informed on the matter."All the passengers were informed about the rescheduled flight one day in advance," an Air India official told ANI.Speaking to ANI, Vijayawada Airport director Lakshmi Kanth Reddy said, "More than 15 Passengers were not able to take board the flight as flight timing was preponed to 9 am on Wednesday morning. The passengers were informed about the rescheduling of the flight but they are alleging that they did not have any information of the preponing of flight timings. Those people have booked tickets through agents and ticket agents did not inform them about the rescheduling of the flight."Air India asked all passengers, who could not board the flight, to book their seats on the rescheduled flight and travel for free or to take a refund.ANI31 March 2023

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Kajol calls her hubbys film Bholaa paisa vasool

Mumbai, March 29: Kajol has heaped praise on her husband, actor Ajay Devgn's upcoming release 'Bholaa'.

Kajol calls her hubby's film 'Bholaa' 'paisa vasool'

On Wednesday, Kajol attended the special screening of 'Bholaa'. After watching the film, she took to Instagram and shared her review.She wrote, "Must must must watch. Full paisa vasool. Ajay, I was clapping and cheering throughout. #Bholaa releasing tomorrow in 3D."'Bholaa' is an official Hindi remake of the Tamil hit 'Kaithi'. It has been styled as the story of a "one-man army, set in one night, fighting a multitude of enemies in various forms, human and otherwise."The original film revolved around an ex-convict, who decides to meet his daughter for the first time after being released from prison but gets caught in a face-off between police and the drug mafia.Bholaa marks Ajay's fourth directorial film after 'U, Me aur Hum' in 2008, 'Shivaay' in 2016, and 'Runwav 34' in 2022. The film also stars Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjay Mishra, Vineet Kumar, Gajraj Rao and Tabu in pivotal roles and is all set to hit the theatres on March 30, 2023.ANI31 March 2023

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SBI & Rajasthans Women Neeru Yadav Sarpanch organises the Financial Awareness Program

Jaipur, March 30: Indian villages are transforming and bringing the next growth story to the country by becoming part of financial inclusion. Following the steps towards this slated growth, the Rajasthan's Lambi Ahir village Sarpanch, Neeru Yadav collaborated with SBI Jaipur and set the stage to create awareness on Sukanya Samridhhi Yojana run by the Government of India. The objective of this awareness program was to inculcate the savings habit in the village women to fund the future education of their girl children.

SBI & Rajasthan's Women Neeru Yadav Sarpanch organises the Financial Awareness Program

The Financial Awareness Program organized by SBI in collaboration with Lambi Ahir, Buhana Tehsil - Sarpanch, Neeru Yadav, was participated by over 100 women.Neeru Yadav, Sarpanch of Lambi Ahir village in Rajasthan said, "The village women equally contribute in the agriculture fields and manage to earn money by selling the agri produce. Despite them being the forefront earner of their family, they are unaware about saving, investing and managing finances with new schemes launched by Governments. I want to bring financial literacy to these women to fund their daughter's education."Almost all women participants wished to save and fund for the future education of their girl children. SBI representatives captured the interest of opening the Sukanya Samriddhi Account and soon the women participants will have the operating accounts.Jaipur-based Local Head Office (LHO) of State Bank of India, RP Sharma, Asst General Manager - Government Business Unit (GBU), said, "We keep on doing such awareness programs at village level, but I have seen the enthusiasm of Neeru Yadav - Lambi Ahir Village Sarpanch and upon response locally in the village, we have decided to extend our support by deputing a team in the village for regularly providing information on financial services such as savings, Sukanya Samriddhi scheme, etc."Neeru Yadav is the first young Sarpanch of Lambi Ahir, Tehsil Buhana, Jhunjhunu, and Rajasthan. The Lambi Ahir is a village having Yadavs in the majority and is closer to the Haryana border. Local residents started calling her a Hockey Wali Sarpanch from the day she created a Women's Hockey Team at her village. She donated her salary and created a fund for arranging a dedicated playground, hockey kits, uniforms and a hockey coach in her village. She keeps motivating these girl players by arranging inter-city and inter-state hockey competitions. Empowering the girl hockey players, Neeru Yadav has set an example for the other women of the village to come out of social clutters and do something extraordinary.This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)ANI31 March 2023

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The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov has warned of a risk of destabilization stemming from the tense situation in Nagorno Karabakh.

March 31, 2023, 13:34 CSTO Secretary General warns of risk of destabilization due to situation in Nagorno Karabakh

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 31, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: Speaking at a joint meeting of the CSTO Secretariat and Joint Staff, Tasmagambetov said that the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and Afghanistan remains tense and creates risk of destabilization in the CSTO countries.

The tension in the Caucasus region persists as a result of the many years of disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Interfax news agency quoted the CSTO Secretary General as saying.

He warned of a serious risk of destabilization because of the risks relating to the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The situation in the Central Asian region is also tense, the threat of infiltration of extremist ideology and terrorist groups into the territory of CSTO allies is growing. The difficult threats coming from the territory of Afghanistan are especially concerning, he said, adding that the organization is working to perfect its mechanisms of withstanding challenges and threats.
PM Modi to visit Bandipur Tiger Reserve on April 9

Chamarajanagar, March 31: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go on a safari trip in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve during his visit to the poll-bound Karnataka on April 9, sources confirmed on Friday.

PM Modi to visit Bandipur Tiger Reserve on April 9

PM Modi will kickstart a three-day mega event to be organised in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts on the occasion of the completion of 50 years of the Tiger Project. He will also release the recent tiger census report, the government's vision for tiger conservation and would also launch a coin to commemorate the event.However, the venues have not been finalised yet, according to sources.Sources also said that PM Modi will arrive in Bandipur Tiger reserve after attending the programme at Mysuru. The forest authorities have taken up repair works of roads in the Reserve. Helipad is being built at the Melukamanahalli near Bandipur.The senior officers and security agencies have begun arriving in Bandipur and taking stock of the situation. Sources also explain that PM Modi is likely to visit Madhumalai forest reserve in Tamil Nadu after Bandipur.PM Modi is arriving in the state after the announcement of elections and the implementation of a model code of conduct . He inaugurated the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway and other projects worth Rs 16,000 crores on March 16.Meanwhile, the Karnataka Police are deputing 1,500 police staff to ensure foolproof security for PM Modi's safari.IANS31 March 2023

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US: Train carrying ethanol derails in Minnesota, residents asked to evacuate

Washington, March 31: A freight train carrying ethanol came off the tracks near Raymond in the US' Minnesota state, on Thursday.

US: Train carrying ethanol derails in Minnesota, residents asked to evacuate

The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train had numerous rail cars derail on the western edge of Raymond but within the city limits, Xinhua news agency reported.Several of the derailed tankers started on fire and were determined to be carrying "a form of ethanol and others with a corn syrup liquid", according to the statement.The site remains active as the fire is being contained. No travel is advised to Raymond, a small town in southwest Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, of about 800 residents.An evacuation area of half a mile (roughly 804 meters) was established around the crash site and law enforcement and emergency crew assisted with that evacuation, the sheriff's office said.Residents were instructed to leave their homes and an emergency collection site for those with nowhere to go was established at a school building in Prinsburg, Minnesota.BNSF Railway, which operates one of the largest freight railroad networks in North America, tweeted on Thursday morning that it can confirm that a train derailed at 102 a.m. local time on Thursday near Raymond.Approximately 22 cars carrying mixed freight including ethanol and corn syrup are reported to be derailed with four cars on fire, according to the railroad.There are no other hazardous materials on the train and no injuries as a result of the incident. BNSF field personnel are onsite to assess the derailment site and are working closely with local first responders.The main track is blocked and an estimated time for reopening the line is not available. The cause of the incident is under investigation.The US National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday morning that it is launching a team to conduct a safety investigation into the Raymond train derailment.Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz tweeted that he has been briefed on the situation unfolding in Raymond and is on his way to the site of the derailment."The state stands ready to protect the health and safety of the community," Walz said.Train derailments are common in the United States and have attracted more media and public attention after an early February incident in East Palestine, Ohio, which involved a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials.According to US Department of Transportation data, there were an average of 1,475 train derailments per year between 2005 and 2021.IANS31 March 2023

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Richard Bransons rocket company Virgin Orbit lays off 85% of workforce

San Francisco, March 31: Virgin Orbit, the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, has laid off nearly 85 per cent of its workforce -- about 675 employees -- after it failed to secure a key funding.

Richard Branson's rocket company Virgin Orbit lays off 85% of workforce

Virgin Orbit has ceased operations "for the foreseeable future", its CEO Dan Hart told employees late on Thursday."Unfortunately, we've not been able to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company. We have no choice but to implement immediate and extremely painful changes," Hart told the employees.In a US securities filing, the company announced a workforce reduction of approximately 675 employees, constituting approximately 85 per cent of the company's workforce "in order to reduce expenses in light of the Company's inability to secure meaningful funding".Those impacted are located in all areas of the company.The company estimated that the move will incur aggregate charges of approximately $15 million, consisting primarily of $8.8 million in severance payments and employee benefits costs and $6.5 million in other costs primarily related to outplacement services and WARN Act exposure."The company expects to recognise the majority of these charges in the first quarter of 2023. It expects that the reduction in force will be substantially complete by April 3, 2023," the filing read.Branson founded Virgin Orbit in 2017 after spinning off from its sister company, Virgin Galactic.Virgin Orbit has been developing an air-launched rocket, dubbed LauncherOne, for hauling small satellites to orbit.In January, its rocket carrying satellites into space suffered an "anomaly", abruptly ending the first foray into orbital launch from the UK territory.An investigation into that failed mission "is nearly complete and our next production rocket with the needed modification incorporated is in final stages of integration and test", a Virgin Orbit spokesperson said in a March 15 statement.IANS31 March 2023

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Miami Open: Carlos Alcaraz outclasses Taylor Fritz to set SFs clash against Jannik Sinner

Miami, March 31: Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday produced a high-level performance in the quarterfinals to defeat America's Taylor Fritz and move into the semifinals of the ongoing Miami Open.

Miami Open: Carlos Alcaraz outclasses Taylor Fritz to set SFs clash against Jannik Sinner

The World No. 1 kept the Fritz at arm's length in an efficient 6-4, 6-2 victory to continue his quest for the Sunshine Double -- a rare title sweep across Indian Wells and Miami. In the semifinals, Alcaraz will take on Jannik Sinner.Alcaraz caused damage early in each set, seizing the initiative with an immediate break of serve. After the opening game, Fritz was undoubtedly the superior player and had recovered effectively from his early deficit, but Alcaraz successfully saved two break points by half-volleying both of them to maintain his advantage.In the second set, Alcaraz once again struck first despite both players being keen to strike. He finished the set stronger this time, winning the final three games to seal the victory in an hour and 18 minutes. Both players had 20 victories at the finish line, but Alcaraz had 13 unforced errors compared to Fritz's 28 errors. The Spaniard converted on each of his five break opportunities, winning three of his five break points.With the victory, his 10th in a row, Alcaraz improved to 18-1 overall in 2023. He is now two wins from becoming the first man since Roger Federer in 2017 to claim the trophies at Indian Wells and Miami in succession.For Fritz, the defeat puts him in jeopardy of falling out of the Top 10 one month after he reached a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 5."A little bit of nerves at the beginning of the match. It was new for me, playing against him. I knew that I had to play my game, the way that I was playing the previous matches, a high level for me. Of course I'm very happy with the way I started the match, with no mistakes and with a lot of power. It was a key for me to break his serve at the beginning and then [play] my game," ATP.com quoted Alcaraz as saying."I've played against him in the final rounds of tournaments. That means he is playing a great level. Of course I am sure that we are going to play for big things in the future. I can't wait to see our [improvement]," said Alcaraz.ANI31 March 2023

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Union minister Anurag Thakur meets team of The Elephant Whisperers

New Delhi, March 30: Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday met the Oscar-winning team behind 'The Elephant Whisperers' at his residence, informed an official statement from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

Union minister Anurag Thakur meets team of 'The Elephant Whisperers'

The Minister met with Kartiki Gonsalves, Director and Cinematographer, Guneet Moonga, Producer and Monica from Netflix.During the interaction, Thakur said that the power of India's storytelling is unmatched!Expressing his pleasure at one such story winning the Oscar, he said, "Elephant Whisperers is a 'trunk' full of heartwarming, socially relevant and cinematographically enthralling masterpiece! I am delighted to meet Guneet and Kartiki and learn about their amazing journey while making this spellbinding documentary."He further said that the documentary beautifully depicts our social responsibility, impact and efforts towards conservation along with the delicate balance humans share with nature - in the most heartwarming way is truly worth applause.The Minister delved into India's storytelling traditions and stated that India was a land of storytellers, a million tales are born each day and some are retold for generations.The Minister emphasized the quality of domestic content and its increasing audience worldwide and remarked, "Our regional content has gone global; it is dubbed and enjoyed in every part of the world. India is bustling with stories and a new breed of filmmakers is hustling to capture them!"He remarked on the achievements of Indian filmmakers and said that the success and recognition given to our filmmakers encourage them even more to narrate these beautiful stories in our society and make them available for everyone through cinema.Through his interaction, the Minister delivered a message to the wider film fraternity and promised that the government is committed to support film makers through co-production funding, premieres and screenings at international festivals and providing them with a platform at Indian film festivals through masterclasses etc.Thakur also talked about the inspirational lives of the wildlife conservators in the documentary and said, "I definitely hope to meet Bomman and Bellie when I visit Tamil Nadu. Their life and conservation efforts are remarkable and inspiring."The movie Elephant Whisperers has recently won the Best Documentary Short Film award at the 95th Academy Awards. The film explores the life of an elderly couple Bomman and Belli caring for an orphaned baby elephant. Set in Mudumalai National Park, the movie highlights the loving bond between humans and pachyderms and is the first Indian movie to bag an Academy Award in this category.The team had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier today.Tweeting about his interaction the Prime Minister had said, "The cinematic brilliance and success of 'The Elephant Whisperers' has drawn global attention as well as acclaim. Today, I had the opportunity to meet the brilliant team associated with it. They have made India very proud."ANI31 March 2023

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Amazon sues sellers for submitting fake takedown requests against competitors

San Francisco, March 31: E-commerce giant Amazon has filed three lawsuits against bad actors that pretended to be legitimate copyright owners in an attempt to remove products from the Amazon Store.

Amazon sues sellers for submitting fake takedown requests against competitors

Amazon's Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) filed lawsuits against multiple groups that submitted thousands of false copyright infringement claims against Amazon's selling partners in an effort to have those sellers and their products removed from the Amazon store."We know how important it is to our selling partners to have a consistent Amazon store experience, and we will be unrelenting in our pursuit of bad actors that attempt to undermine that experience," said Kebharu Smith, director of Amazon's Counterfeit Crimes Unit."These lawsuits should serve as a warning to anyone that uses fraud in an attempt to harm any of the millions of selling partners that work with Amazon every day," Smith added.The lawsuits were filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.Amazon said it is working to provide selling partners the tools they need to help protect their intellectual property rights, and a key tool in that effort is the Amazon Brand Registry.Launched in 2017, the Amazon Brand Registry is a free service that provides brands a suite of tools for protecting and building their brand."With Brand Registry, automated protections scan over 8 billion daily attempts to update listings to proactively prevent infringing listings from going live before a customer ever even sees them," said Amazon.Since the launch of Brand Registry, said Amazon, there has been a 99 per cent reduction in reports of suspected infringement by enrolled brands."These are just a few of the many reasons why over 700,000 brands are currently enrolled, and that number continues to grow," the company added.IANS31 March 2023

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Rajnath Singh to attend Combined Commanders Conference-2023 in Bhopal

New Delhi, March 30: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will attend the Combined Commanders' Conference-2023 in Bhopal on April 1.

Rajnath Singh to attend Combined Commanders' Conference-2023 in Bhopal

In a tweet, Singh said, "Today, I shall be reaching Bhopal to attend the 'Combined Commanders' Conference-2023'. The three-day conference of the Military Commanders will be held from 30th March to 1st April 2023 on the theme 'Ready, Resurgent, Relevant'. Look forward to it."Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Combined Commanders' Conference-2023 in Bhopal on April 1, said an official press release here on Thursday.The statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office said, "At around 10 AM, Prime Minister will attend the Combined Commanders' Conference-2023 at the Kushabhau Thakre Hall in Bhopal. Thereafter, at around 315 PM, Prime Minister will flag off the Vande Bharat Express train between Bhopal and New Delhi at Rani Kamlapati Railway Station, Bhopal."According to the release, the three-day conference of Military Commanders will be held from March 30 to April 1, 2023 on the theme 'Ready, Resurgent, Relevant'. During the Conference, deliberations will be held over a varied spectrum of issues pertaining to national security, including jointness and theaterisation in the Armed Forces. Preparation of the Armed Forces and progress in the defence ecosystem towards attaining 'Aatmanirbharta' will also be reviewed.The conference will witness the participation of commanders from the three armed forces and senior officers from the Ministry of Defence. Inclusive and informal interaction will also be held with soldiers, sailors and airmen from Army, Navy and Air Force who will contribute to the deliberations, as informed by the officials."Vande Bharat Express has redefined the passenger travel experience in the country. The new train being introduced between Rani Kamlapati Railway station, Bhopal and New Delhi railway station will be the eleventh Vande Bharat train in the country," read the statement.Reportedly, the indigenously designed train set of Vande Bharat Express is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities. It will provide a faster, more comfortable and more convenient travel experience for rail users, boost tourism and promote economic development in the region.ANI31 March 2023

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DCW issues recommendation to MHA, Delhi govt over rights of transgenders

New Delhi, March 31: The Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal has recommended the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to expedite the notification for the constitution of the Transgender Welfare Board in the national capital aiming to ensure the empowerment of transgenders in the city.

DCW issues recommendation to MHA, Delhi govt over rights of transgenders

According to an official statement, the DCW said that the government of India passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in 2019 and the Central Rules in 2020 and the rules are yet to be notified for Delhi."In response to a notice by the Commission, the Delhi Government has informed that the approved draft rules are pending notification from MHA. Further, upon enquiry the Delhi Government has also informed the Commission that the state has approved the formation of a Transgender Welfare Board and the same is pending with MHA for notification," the statement said."The Commission has pointed out to MHA that 12 states including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have already created the Transgender Welfare Board and Delhi should not lag behind," it added.The Commission further said that the Delhi government has not launched any scheme for the welfare of transgenders and thus recommended that it immediately launches schemes in this regard and sets up shelter homes for those transgenders who are in need of care and protection of the State.The Commission had issued notices to all DMs on this issue and found out that only 76 Certificates of Identity have been issued to transgenders in Delhi in the past 3 years even though according to the 2011 census, Delhi had 4,213 transgenders, according to DCW.It flagged the "bias and lack of sensitivity" of some government staff towards transgenders."In the interaction of the Commission with transgenders, numerous instances were cited which reflected a bias and lack of sensitivity of certain government officers and staff towards transgenders," it said.DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal stated that the Centre must immediately notify the State Rules for NCT of Delhi and the Transgender Welfare Board for Delhi."It is unfortunate that Delhi Government has informed the Commission that it is not running any schemes or shelter homes for welfare of transgenders. This needs to be immediately rectified. There are several lacunas in the implementation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 in Delhi and steps need to be taken urgently to tackle this. Hope that our recommendations will help the Centre and the State ascertain the extent of the problem and take measures to improve the situation," she said.ANI31 March 2023

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The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is ready to send a mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the interest of ensuring Armenia's security, stated Yury Shuvalov, the spokesperson of the CSTO Secretariat.

March 31, 2023, 14:52 Yury Shuvalov: CSTO ready to send mission to Armenian-Azerbaijani border, in interest of Armenia security

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 31, ARTSAKHPRESS: "As for the Caucasus region of Collective Security, the organization is always ready to send a CSTO mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the interest of ensuring Armenia's security, and to provide other means of assistance," Shuvalov told reporters on Friday, following the results of an extended consultation of the CSTO leadership at the CSTO headquarters.

According to Shuvalov, the respective measures of assistance are already included in the draft decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council.

The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan on Thursday announced that its armed forces have taken control of the Lachin region hills and territories on the border with Armenia, and that this is related to the operation of the new road connecting Karabakh to Armenia.
UP BJP to launch campaign for OBC voters

Lucknow, March 31: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to launch a week-long drive -- 'Gaon Gaon chalo, Ghar Ghar chalo' -- from April 6 to reach out to Other Backward Class (OBC) voters.

UP BJP to launch campaign for OBC voters

This is an attempt to reach out to OBCs ahead of the urban municipal polls in the state and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.According to Narendra Kashyap, state president of the party's Backward Classes Morcha, "We will launch the campaign on the foundation day of the party on April 6 and it will conclude on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. Party leaders and workers will make door-to-door visit in the villages to connect with the community."While BJP president J.P. Nadda and OBC Morcha president K. Laxman will launch the campaign in Haryana's Manesar district, other ministers and senior party leaders are expected to launch the drive in six areas of Uttar Pradesh, he said.BJP OBC Morcha office-bearers and workers will visit 15,000 villages, 741 nagar palika parishads and nagar panchayats, and 17 municipal corporations during the 'Gaon Gaon Chalo, Ghar Ghar Chalo' campaign.The party leaders will contact the members of the backward class and extremely backward class during the outreach programme.He said, "When parties like the SP, BSP, and Congress were in power, their governments and leaders cheated the backward communities. When in power, the opposition parties exploited the backward class and now that they are out of power, these politicians pretend to be their well-wishers."The people have understood the casteist and communal appeasement politics of the SP, BSP, and Congress. The backward and extremely backward communities know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are working for the welfare and development of all."IANS31 March 2023

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Cyprus shipping significantly reduced due to Russia-Ukraine war: Minister

Nicosia, March 31: Shipping in Cyprus has been seriously impacted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the resulting European Union (EU) sanctions against Moscow, a Minister informed Parliament.

Cyprus' shipping significantly reduced due to Russia-Ukraine war: Minister

Despite its small size, Cyprus ranks third in Europe and 11th in the world in ship tonnage registered under its flag, reports Xinhua news agency.It also holds the third place globally as a ship management centre, hosting around 20 per cent of the world's third-party ship management activities.Data from last year showed that as a result of the removal of the Russia-flagged ships, and the change of registration by other vessels, the total strength of Cyprus-registered ships was reduced from 24.6 million gross tonnes to 23.8 million gross tonnes.Addressing Parliament's Transport Committee on Thursday, Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis said that sanctions by Turkey banning Cyprus-registered ships from using Turkish ports and territorial waters were other reasons shipowners left the Cyprus registry.This ban effectively bars Cyprus-registered ships from participating in the transport of Ukrainian cereals under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the Minister explained.Turkey does not recognise Cyprus as a state, and the two countries are technically still at war following a 1974 Turkish military operation against Cyprus.Turkish troops still control 37 per cent of Cyprus' territory.Hadjimanolis told the committee that shipping contributed about 7 per cent of Cyprus' gross domestic product, which was provisionally estimated at 27 billion euros in 2022.IANS31 March 2023

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Khattar invites industrialists to set up bases in Haryana

New Delhi, March 31: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday released the coffee table book titled 'Sikh Business Leaders of India', authored by Prabhleen, at a function here.

Khattar invites industrialists to set up bases in Haryana

On the occasion, Khattar invited the industrialists present in the programme to set up industries in the state, adding that the government has created a conducive environment and are providing various facilities.The Chief Minister said they will not face any problem in doing business in Haryana."The government has created a single-window system, under which all types of permissions to industries are given in 45 days. The government has made four categories A, B, C and D. If industries are set up in category C and D zones, the government will reimburse Rs 4,000 per worker per month for the next four years."Khattar said the Sikh community has made a huge contribution to the state, the country and the world as well."This community is a working community and have worked hard with struggle to advance their business, family, country and society. They are also working to take forward and uplift the needy, who have been left behind from the mainstream due to some reason."Appreciating the works of the Chief Minister, former Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh said after the formation of Haryana, maximum work has been done for Sikh community under the leadership of Khattar.He said the Chief Minister has an important contribution in reviving the history of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee President Mahant Karmjit Singh said incomparable work has been done for Sikhism and Punjabi language under the leadership of Khattar.IANS31 March 2023

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Lao govt eyes tourism to fuel economic recovery

Vientiane, March 31: The Lao government has called for in-depth preparations to welcome visitors in light of the rapidly rebounding tourism industry, to fuel its efforts to revitalise the economy.

Lao govt eyes tourism to fuel economic recovery

The tourism industry, a main source of foreign currency, has been earmarked as a key sector to bolster the Lao macro-economy, Xinhua news agency quoted Deputy Minister Thipphakone Chanthavongsa as saying.During the government's monthly meeting that concluded on Wednesday, chaired by Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, the cabinet asked for proper arrangements to be made to ensure high standards of hospitality to impress visitors.The meeting called for preparations for the planned start of cross-border passenger trains on the China-Laos Railway, which has become an important driver of Lao tourism.To fuel its efforts to stabilize the macro-economy, the cabinet ordered the ministries concerned to pay close attention to repaying foreign debt and debt owed to private companies, so they could bolster their operations.To finance public spending, the cabinet called for measures to maximize revenue collection by expanding the digital collection system to plug loopholes and prevent money leaks, along with addressing duplicated expenditures.As the depreciation of the kip (Lao currency) has incurred additional challenges for the economy, the cabinet ordered further action to execute its monetary policy and regulate exchange rates, as well as identify new tools to improve the monetary policy.Amid rampant inflation, the cabinet pledged to carry out necessary measures to regulate service fees and commodity prices in markets to prevent unreasonable price hikes.The cabinet also vowed action to address the drug trade and substance abuse, while maintaining social security and order and political stability, to pave the way for stronger socio-economic development.Thipphakone told that changes and complexities in the global environment were likely to continue to impact the country's fragile economy.Inflation in Laos jumped to 41.26 per cent year-on-year in February from 40.3 per cent in January, according to the Lao Statistics Bureau.IANS31 March 2023

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Delhi: Andhra CM Jagan Reddy meets Nirmala Sitharaman, seeks release of pending funds

New Delhi, March 30: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy called on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Thursday and urged her to release the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme) arrears of Rs 2,500 crores due to the State besides increasing its credit limit.

Delhi: Andhra CM Jagan Reddy meets Nirmala Sitharaman, seeks release of pending funds

The Chief Minister appealed to the Finance Minister to enhance the credit limit of Rs 17,923 crore which was reduced from Rs 42,472 crore in 2021-22 for no fault of the State Government and take steps to ensure that the Telangana Government clears Rs 7,058 crore outstanding from the TS Discoms to APGENCO for the power supplied between 2014 and 2017.The CM further urged Sitharaman to release the pending amount of Rs 36,625 crore under Resource Gap Funding for fiscal 2014-15 to the State, sanction Rs 10,000 crore immediately on an ad-hoc basis to expedite the construction of the Polavaram Project and another Rs 2,020 crore to fill the scourge pits formed at the main Dam site due to the washing away of diaphragm wall in the flash floods."Andhra Pradesh has so far spent Rs 2600.74 crore on Polavaram Project from its exchequer," the CM said and sought the reimbursement of the same from the Central funds and accept the Technical Advisory Committee's revised estimates of Rs 55,548 crore on the Polavaram Project.The Chief Minister also urged Sitharaman to implement the promise of granting Special Status to the State.ANI31 March 2023

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Lone rider Mir prepares for second Honda Team Grand Prix

Buenos Aires, March 30: Joan Mir will be the sole representative of the Repsol Honda Team at the Gran Premio Michelin de la Republica Argentina as Marc Marquez recovers from surgery.

Lone rider Mir prepares for second Honda Team Grand Prix

Riders and team headed immediately for the airport to begin the day-long journey from Portimao to Termas de Rio Hondo. This is the eighth occasion that the 4.81-kilometre-long circuit in the north of Argentina will host a Grand Prix event.Marc Marquez and the Repsol Honda Team have stepped onto the podium's top step on three occasions in Argentina during 2014, 2016 and 2019 editions of the race. In 2018, Cal Crutchlow won aboard the RC213V of the LCR Honda Team.Joan Mir also boasts a strong record at the South American circuit, only once finishing a race outside the top five - when he was seventh in just his second Moto2 race. Recovering from a DNF in Saturday's Sprint Race, Mir took a solid 11th place - despite a long lap penalty. The race served as a great source of information for Mir and his team to further their understanding of the RC213V and putting together a strong and consistent weekend in Argentina is the objective.Marc Marquez will continue his recovery from surgery on a broken first metacarpal of his right hand."A busy start to the year as we are already heading straight to the next race! For us, still in the learning stages, this is a positive because we are able to get more time on the bike and immediately try out some new ideas. We had a mixed weekend in Portimao, so I am hoping everything can run without incident this weekend and I can get more miles on the bike. This is the objective, to keep building and improve our speed in both races. Last year I managed a good result in Termas, so I am interested to see what we can do this year. I also want to wish Marc all the best in his recovery, it is always better to be riding alongside him on track and have him in the garage," said Honda rider Joan Mir.ANI31 March 2023

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DCW sends recommendations to MHA, city govt for betterment of transgenders

New Delhi, March 31: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has sent recommendations to the Ministry of Home Affairs and city government's Department of Social Welfare for improving the living conditions of transgenders.

DCW sends recommendations to MHA, city govt for betterment of transgenders

The Centre had passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in 2019 and the Central Rules in 2020. However, the state rules are yet to be notified for Delhi.Earlier, in response to a notice by the Commission, the Delhi government had informed that the approved draft rules are pending notification from MHA.The Delhi government had also informed the Commission that the state has approved the formation of a Transgender Welfare Board and the same is pending with MHA for notification.According to DCW, the commission has pointed out to MHA that 12 states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have already created the Transgender Welfare Board and Delhi should not lag behind."Further, we had learnt that Delhi Government has not launched any scheme for the welfare of transgenders. We have recommended that the government immediately launch schemes in this regard and set up shelter homes for those transgenders who are in need of care and protection of the state," said a DCW official.Meanwhile, the DCW has also issued notices to all District Magistrates on this issue and found out that only 76 "certificates of identity" have been issued to transgenders in Delhi in the past three years even though according to the 2011 census, Delhi had 4,213 transgenders."Further, most districts have received very few applications seeking Transgender Certificates. For instance, Shahdara District received only four applications in the past three years, since the Act came into effect," said the DCW official."The Centre must immediately notify the State Rules for NCT of Delhi and the Transgender Welfare Board for Delhi. Further, it is unfortunate that Delhi Government has informed the Commission that it is not running any schemes or shelter homes for welfare of transgenders. This needs to be immediately rectified," said Swati Maliwal, the DCW chief."There are several lacunas in the implementation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 in Delhi and steps need to be taken urgently to tackle this. Hope that our recommendations will help the Centre and the State ascertain the extent of the problem and take measures to improve the situation," she added.IANS31 March 2023

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Brightsun Travel hosts Inspire a Teen to Work in Travel event

Gurgaon, March 31: Brightsun Travel, the leading international travel agency, successfully held its Inspire a Teen to Work in Travel event on March 30th, 2023. The day provided employees' relatives between the ages of 13 and 19 with valuable insights into the wide range of career opportunities available in the travel industry from finance to tech, HR to sales and marketing pathways.

Brightsun Travel hosts Inspire a Teen to Work in Travel event

The event featured informative sessions and interactive activities designed to engage and educate teenagers on various travel-related careers. Attendees were given advice on how to build a resume, how to answer interview questions, how to negotiate salaries and how to handle difficult situations. They were also given a group business task on creating and pitching a dream holiday to each other, as well as a fun travel quiz where they could win prizes.Commenting on this occasion, Sandeep Arora, Director of Brightsun Travel India said, "We are pleased to have successfully hosted this event and provided young talents with a comprehensive understanding of the various job opportunities available in the tourism industry. Our objective was to inspire and encourage teenagers to explore the travel industry as a potential career path and learn from experts who are passionate about their work."Apart from the educational aspect of the event, teenagers got to experience the real-life work culture of Brightsun Travel and gain a better understanding of what it's like to work in the travel industry. Attendees had the chance to network with experienced professionals in the industry and explore different career paths available to them. The event was a unique opportunity for the staff to share their workplace experiences with their teen-aged relatives, and inspire them to set career goals and achieve them in the future."I learnt so much about what subjects I need to study in college, and how to answer really tough interview questions, and even how to write a resume already! It's really helped me prepare myself better and to consider so many exciting departments I could work in my career!" said Luqman, one of the attendees at the event.Brightsun Travel, a global travel company provides comprehensive bespoke travel services to individual and trade customers, corporate houses and high net-worth individuals. Established in 1986, the company operates out of a network of offices spanning Gurugram, Delhi, Manchester and London. Their services range from selling flights, to domestic and international holiday packages to suit all budgets, along with ancillary products like cruises, tours, car hire, travel insurance, and visa services.Its range of services includes Traveasy.co.in for affordable flights; Brightsun.co.in for holiday packages, cruises, tours, transfers and travel insurance, providing a complete travel offering serviced by an expert customer team; and finally Premier by Brightsun, its luxury brand where it offers bespoke concierge service for high-net-worth clients, corporate clients and SMEs.The company is a one-stop shop for an extensive range of travel-related services, with a team of dedicated travel experts available 24x7 for flight booking, holiday planning and other travel-related assistance, at 0124 416 3001.This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)ANI31 March 2023

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Cannes world premiere for Martin Scorseses Killers of The Flower Moon

Los Angeles, March 31: Marty is headed to the French Riviera! The Cannes Film Festival, reports Deadline, has confirmed that Martin Scorsese's 'Killers of The Flower Moon' will get its world premiere on the Croisette on Saturday, May 20, in the Grand Theatre Lumiere.

Cannes world premiere for Martin Scorsese's 'Killers of The Flower Moon'

One of this year's most anticipated movies, the Apple charge has been long considered a likely Cannes contender, reports Deadline.The film will play in Official Selection, but it's not clear yet whether it will be in Competition -- that will become clear at the festival's press conference in mid-April. Treading the red carpet will be Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal.As per Deadline, 'Killers of the Flower Moon', which is based on David Grann's best-selling book and written for the screen by Eric Roth and Scorsese, is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the 'Reign of Terror'.The film will first be released exclusively in theatres, in partnership with Paramount Pictures, limited on Friday, October 6 and wide on Friday, October 20, in the U.S. The French release is set for October 18. It will then stream globally on Apple TV+.Scorsese was awarded the Palme d'Or in 1976 with 'Taxi Driver', which was presented in Competition. He subsequently came back to the Official Selection on a regular basis and won the Best Director's Award for 'After Hours', 10 years after the success of 'Taxi Driver'. In 1998, he was the President of the Jury that presented the Palme d'Or to Greek director Theo Angelopoulos for Eternity and a Day.IANS01 April 2023

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The latest geopolitical developments have prompted Belarus to intensify talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on hosting nuclear weapons on its territory, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in his address to the nation and parliament on Friday., Tass informs.

March 31, 2023, 15:31 Lukashenko says discussing return of nukes to Belarus with Putin

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 31, ARTSAKHPRESS: "Given how things are unfolding and the military-political situation around our country, I began discussions with Russian President [Vladimir] Putin on the return of nuclear weapons to Belarus," he said, referring to the nukes his country transferred to Russia in the 1990s.

Lukashenko recalled that back in 1994-1995, his decision not to withdraw nuclear weapons was criticized not only by the West, but also by Russias first president. "I said, 'No, I refuse to withdraw [the nukes]. I still remember his reaction, as he told me, 'They will destroy and crush you, and you will not be able to maintain strategic warheads anyway," he concluded.
Indias startups setting global benchmarks: Jitendra Singh

New Delhi, March 31: Union Minister of State Science & Technology on Friday said India's startups and research and development outcomes are setting global benchmarks and are at par with the world.

India's startups setting global benchmarks: Jitendra Singh

Addressing an event here, Singh said India needs to take the lead in scientific Research and development. The Government has set the goal of TB Free Bharat by 2025. During the Covid pandemic, the Department of Biotechnology made the world's first DNA-based vaccine, Singh said.Cautioning against working in silos, the Minister called for cultivating synergy between all stakeholders such as academia, Startups, research institutions and industry to reap the benefits of collective efforts.Jitendra Singh observed that, unlike the West, the culture of philanthropy is yet to pick up in India. He also advocated more private participation in research and development to double up government efforts.The Minister said there is no noble deed for distinguished professionals other than giving back to society and being of some utility to society at large.ANI01 April 2023

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PM Modi to visit Karnataka on April 9

New Delhi, March 31: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated visit Karnataka on April 9 to inaugurate an event on completion of 50 years of the Tiger Project.

PM Modi to visit Karnataka on April 9

During the visit, the Prime Minister is also expected to go on a safari tour in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, sources said."PM Modi will inaugurate three-day mega event in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts on the occasion of the completion of 50 years of the Tiger Project," a source said.With Karnataka due to face assembly polls on April 10, the Prime Minister is likely to hold a meeting with BJP workers and officials, sources said.Political parties are gearing up preparation for assembly polls in Karnataka. The results of assembly polls will be declared on May 13.Karnataka assembly polls are significant for national ambitions of BJP and Congress for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Janata Dal-Securlar leaders have said that the people will reject the national parties in the assembly polls.ANI01 April 2023

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(Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

England have suffered an injury blow with vice-captain Millie Bright ruled out of next months games against Brazil and Australia.

The Chelsea defender picked a knee problem playing for Chelsea in the first leg of their Womens Champions League quarter-final against Lyon last week.

Bright has not played since then and has now pulled out of the England squad, with Arsenals Lotte Wubben-Moy replacing her.

England will have to cope without Bright for next Thursdays Finalissima against Brazil and their friendly with Australia the following Tuesday. Bright will stay with Chelsea and undergo her rehabilitation with them.

Wubben-Moys call-up, who was part of the England squad that won Euro 2022 last summer, caps off a fine week for the Arsenal defender.

She came off the bench during the Gunners 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final and impressed as Arsenal booked a place in the semi-finals.
Well tell you about a mowed-down patch of prairie in Urbana  security at our local trauma center  wholl get to park at the new south-campus parking deck  and why its so hard to keep litter out of the Second Street basin in Champaign. Oh, and you know those turquoise-colored rental bikes that seemed to be everywhere in C-U last summer? Theyre ba-a-a-ack ...
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1. We are democratic forces from various regions of Myanmar fighting against the Myanmar junta who have been killing civilians at will following an attempted coup.

2. Myanmars people deserve democracy. The government and people of India know best how difficult the road to democracy can be. When the Myanmar junta attempted to seize power [1] and install military rule in 2021, all the people of Myanmar, including those from Indias neighbouring Sagaing Region and Chin State were left with no choice but to join the revolution and fight for their lives, their homes, and their freedom. They have been fighting against the military junta for a total of 760 days and they are doing so in the same way they fought bravely against the British colonial rule using any weapons they could find.

3. Since Sagaing Region and Chin State are two of the strongest regions in the resistance movement, they have also faced some of the deadliest crackdowns and terror campaigns by the military junta. Sagaing Region alone has 42.6 percent of the total IDP population in Myanmar. Chin State, which is one of the smallest states in Myanmar and is mostly home to a minority Christian population, on the other hand, has 3.1 percent of the total IDP population [2]. Myanmars military junta has systematically committed war crimes and atrocities on a large scale, including killings of civilians, arbitrary arrests and detentions, launching deliberate airstrikes on hospitals, schools, and churches, and burning and destruction of civilian homes and structures.

4. The people of Chin State and Sagaing Region, who have faced widespread atrocities committed by troops operating under the North-western Regional Command of the military junta, were forced to join the Peoples Defence Forces, while most of the women, elderly people, and other unarmed civilians were forced to flee into different towns along the border inside India [3].

5. However, we have learned that people who fled to the Indian border areas are reportedly in extremely difficult circumstances yet again [4].

6. Since February 2022, there have been at least five crackdown attempts under the Foreigner Act on refugees taking shelter in Manipur. An estimated 200 Myanmar asylum seekers [5] are still being detained in Sajiwa prison in Imphal. Some of those detained persons are weavers who have been working there even before the Myanmar military attempted the coup. Currently, there are at least 15 children, 10 elderly persons and 30 women being held in Saijiwa prison [6].

7. Moreover, a 32-year-old asylum-seeker, Mr. Demkholun Guite, suddenly died while being held in Sajiwa prison [7]. He was one of the many people arrested in Langcham village, in the border district of Tengnoupal, Manipur, on 26 February 2023. A day before his passing, Mr. Demkholun received a visit from his uncle and two sisters who claimed that his sudden death came as a shock to them as they had found Mr. Demkholun in good health during the visit.

8. We are very concerned about this incident and the overall situation of the detained people. We call on the Government of India and the authorities in Manipur State to take the following actions immediately:

Adopt new policies toward neighbouring Myanmar and condemn the attempted coup by the military junta; stand with and support the people of Myanmar in their fight for democracy.

Investigate and ensure justice for the death of Mr. Demkholun; ensure transparency and inform the family of Mr. Demkholun and the Myanmar people of the truth regarding the incident.

Stop imprisoning and persecuting Myanmar asylum seekers who have fled armed conflicts and crossed into India, and immediately release all the detained asylum seekers.

Show empathy for the realities of the humanitarian crisis that Myanmar asylum seekers are facing and provide them with registration cards for a temporary stay.

BURMA-INDIA PEOPLES SOLIDARITY NETWORK

burmaindiasolidarity[at]gmail.com
Every week, The Citizen features a pet available for adoption from the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York. This week, we spotlight Bailey.

Bailey arrived at the Finger Lakes SPCA of CNY on Feb. 24. We believe she is about 4 years old.

Bailey just loves playing fetch, but her favorite are tug toys. When indoors, Bailey likes to search for the treats our team members have hidden for her to find and enjoy! She knows several commands: "sit," "down," "stay," "come" and "give paw." She is currently working on her leash-walking manners with our staff and volunteers.

Bailey enjoys both dry and/or wet food; she is very gentle when taking treats! Bailey previously lived with children, a cat and a male dog. However, she is slower to warm up to new people and surroundings. In the beginning, Bailey would like to take some time to get used to her new home, with few interactions from visitors, so she can get to know her new family member(s).

Bailey is an unbelievably lovable dog! Although she is not a lap dog, she will sometimes try to crawl onto your lap if she is given the chance to score some extra snuggles!

If interested in meeting Bailey, please visit or call the shelter at (315) 253-5841.

Shelter news

Our staff is preparing for the spring and summer seasons ahead! The shelter is in need of the donations listed below. Donations can be dropped off at the shelter any time by using the donation drop box or from noon to 4:45 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays and noon to 3:45 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Paper towel

Bath tissue

Kitten milk replacement (KMR)

Bottles/nipples for kittens

Purina Kitten Chow

Purina Cat Chow

Purina Puppy Chow

Purina Dog Chow

55-gallon trash bags

Tall (13-gallon) kitchen trash bags

Non-clumping litter
Ukrainians are commemorating the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha after a brutal Russian occupation a year ago left behind hundreds of dead civilians, some with signs of torture, establishing the town near Kyiv as an epicenter of the wars atrocities
To date, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has claimed more than 6.8 million lives worldwide.

An effective COVID-19 vaccine is a powerful tool to contain the current pandemic. At present, several vaccines are commercially available in many countries throughout the world; however, the potential for vaccine fatigue has raised concerns in the scientific community.

Study: Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine fatigue. Image Credit: Anishka Rozhkova / Shutterstock.com

Background

When COVID-19 vaccines were initially approved for the general public, clinicians confronted a staggering level of vaccine hesitancy, which substantially decreased vaccination rates. However, over time, the rate of vaccine hesitancy plateaued and eventually reduced.

A significant reduction in urgency to receive COVID-19 booster vaccination has been observed, with this dip in enthusiasm otherwise known as vaccine fatigue or booster fatigue.

Vaccine fatigue has previously been reported during the spread of the influenza virus, which caused many unnecessary deaths. Based on evolving evidence, it is highly likely that a COVID-19 booster or seasonal vaccination will be necessary to prevent waning immunity and provide effective protection against newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.

It is imperative to address the problem of vaccine hesitancy or fatigue to prevent serious consequences for the healthcare system. More research is urgently needed to better understand the incidence of COVID-19 vaccine fatigue to formulate effective interventions and ultimately improve booster acceptance across the world.

About the study

A recent Nature Medicine study determines whether new vaccination campaigns must be adopted for primary and booster vaccination. The researchers of the current study also explored effective interventions to enhance vaccine acceptance in the future.

Two conjoint experiments were designed based on Austria and Italy to assess future vaccination intentions and related behaviors. These experiments investigated a wide range of factors that influence vaccine acceptance.

A survey was conducted in the early summer of 2022 to provide scientific evidence to design more effective vaccination campaigns in the future. The survey results were analyzed to determine whether one-size-fits-all (uniform approach) or group-specific features should be considered (tailored approach) to reduce vaccine fatigue.

Study findings

In addition to vaccine hesitancy, vaccine fatigue is growing throughout the world, which is a major concern due to waning immunity and the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. This highlights the importance of booster vaccination. The current study provides evidence on how to increase vaccine uptake amidst increasing levels of vaccine fatigue.

It was noted that additional variations in the vaccination strategy should be implemented among individuals who did not receive the first booster dose and those who received triple vaccination. Thus, additional group differences must be considered while designing vaccination campaigns. Interestingly, cross-country differences were lower, particularly in the context of awareness of long COVID.

Most candidates from Austria and Italy who attended vaccination campaigns received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Community-based vaccination campaigns promoted the importance of being together to overcome the crisis, which effectively enhanced the intention for vaccination in vaccination groups. Notably, making vaccination mandatory and the implementation of other legal rules, such as vaccine passports, undermined trust in the vaccine.

People who were vaccinated once or twice were encouraged by incentives of cash, vouchers, and new vaccines. Nevertheless, more awareness about heterologous vaccinations and for federal approval of new non-messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines as boosters is needed.

Enhanced communication through expert consensus or celebrities did not impact vaccination rates. Overall, a growing tendency to avoid information related to the COVID-19 pandemic was observed.

An increased cost sensitivity was reported among the triple vaccinated. Cost-free, easy access and availability, as well as increasing awareness could effectively reduce vaccine fatigue.

Conclusions

The current study recommends that vaccination campaigns be tailored based on the vaccination status of individuals. There remains an urgent need to formulate new incentives and design novel strategies for vaccination campaigns, particularly for those who have received three COVID-19 vaccine doses.
In a recent study published in the JAMA Network Open Journal, researchers from the University of California examined the relationship between daily step patterns and adult mortality.

Study: Association of Daily Step Patterns With Mortality in US Adults. Image Credit: PeterGudella/Shutterstock.com

Background

Physical inactivity is a significant global public health concern. Numerous academic investigations have utilized the quantification of daily steps as a straightforward and reliable metric for physical activity and have explored the correlation between daily step counts and various health outcomes, such as dementia and cardiovascular disease.

A recent meta-analysis has indicated an association between an increase in daily steps and a gradual reduction in mortality risk. This association continues until a threshold of approximately 8,000 daily steps is reached, beyond which the mortality risk remains constant.

It is imperative to provide additional clarification regarding the minimum frequency of weekly walking required to attain health benefits in accordance with the recommended daily step count.

About the study

In the present study, researchers assessed the correlation between adult mortality rates and the duration of time they engage in physical activity, specifically taking 8,000 steps or more per day.

The study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted in 2005 and 2006, which was subsequently linked to the National Death Index until 2019. Out of the total sample of 4,372 individuals aged 20 years or above, 3,120 participants possessed data on wearing an accelerometer for at least four days, which was used to calculate their daily step counts.

From 2005 to 2006, the NHANES requested its participants wear a waist-mounted accelerometer throughout their waking hours for seven days. The study involved the recording of step counts during 60-second intervals every day.

To assess the weekly step patterns, the study incorporated participants who had a minimum of four days with at least 10 hours of wear time, during which the accelerometer recorded step counts. The participants were classified into three groups based on the frequency of achieving a minimum of 8,000 steps per week: zero days, one to two days, and three to seven days.

Results

The mean number of daily steps was almost 8,793 steps. The study revealed that out of the total number of participants, 632 individuals reported taking 8,000 or more steps on zero days per week, while 532 took 8,000 or more steps one to two days per week.

Additionally, 1,937 participants reported taking 8,000 or more steps three to seven days per week. Individuals who engaged in 8,000 or more steps per week were younger, male, of Hispanic ethnicity, insured, married, and non-smokers.

Conversely, they were less likely to report obesity, statins usage, comorbidities, experience mobility restrictions, or rate their health as poor or fair compared to those who took fewer than 8,000 steps for fewer days a week.

During the ten years of observation, 439 fatalities resulting from various causes and 148 fatalities specifically attributed to cardiovascular disease were detected. Upon controlling for potential confounding variables, it was observed that individuals who engaged in 8,000 or more steps for one to two days per week and three to seven days per week exhibited a 14.9% and 16.5% reduction in 10-year all-cause mortality risk, respectively, in comparison to those who did not.

Additionally, individuals who engaged in physical activity by taking 8,000 steps or more for one to two days per week and three to seven days per week exhibited a reduction in 10-year cardiovascular mortality risk by 8.1% and 8.4%, respectively, in comparison to those who did not.

The study also indicated that individuals belonging to both younger and older age groups exhibited a reduced risk of all-cause mortality over ten years when they reported taking 8,000 steps or more either one to two days per week or three to seven days per week, as compared to those who did not engage in any physical activity on zero days per week.

Also, individuals who engaged in physical activity by taking 10,000 steps or more for one to two days per week had an adjusted 10-year all-cause death risk of 8.1%. In contrast, those who reported 10,000 steps or more for three to seven days per week had a lower risk of 7.3%, while those who reported 10,000 steps on zero days in a week had a risk of 16.7%.

Conclusion

The study findings revealed a curvilinear dose-response correlation between the frequency of taking 8,000 steps or more per week and reduced all-cause risks and cardiovascular mortality.

The protective correlation reached a plateau when individuals engaged in a sufficient number of daily steps for three or more consecutive days. The researchers believe that the results indicated that individuals could potentially derive significant health advantages from taking a sufficient number of steps on just a few days of the week.
A recent study published on the medRxiv* preprint server assessed the impact of the pandemic on health-related behaviors in the United Kingdom.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, public health and social distancing measures increased unemployment, financial uncertainty, and social isolation. It is imperative to understand the impact of the pandemic on mental health and other health-related behaviors (HRBs).

Study:Exploring the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Health-Related Behaviours: A Person-Centred Analysis of Two British Longitudinal Cohort Studies. Image Credit: AxelBueckert/Shutterstock.com

*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Background

Individuals coping with a negative environment, such as the one during the pandemic, often deploy a range of affective, cognitive, and behavioral strategies. Certain strategies like substance use could temporarily relieve stress but may confer long-term adverse health risks.

In the UK, during the first months of the lockdown, Public Health England observed an increase in the proportion of people with problematic drinking behavior.

Research has also documented how more people attempted to quit smoking during the pandemic, perhaps due to the closure of shops or since smokers were more vulnerable to respiratory viruses. The impact of COVID-19 on exercise is unclear.

The current study

Given the heterogeneity in individual behaviors, the current study adopted a person-centered rather than a variable-centered approach. The data was obtained from two national longitudinal cohort studies, the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) and the Millennium cohort study (MCS).

Repeated measures latent class analysis (RMLCA) was used to study whether qualitatively different subgroups shared similar trajectories in weight gain, sleep duration, alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and smoking. Specifically, the evolution of these five HRB classes at three different points in time was examined.

The study also analyzed whether risk factors like grief and loneliness predict class membership.

Key findings

The analysis of patterns of HRBs was conducted during the first nine months of the pandemic. Five subgroups of individuals with similar patterns of HRBs were identified, and it was also shown how the adoption of risky HRBs varied across the different classes.

No relationship was observed between risky HRBs, social support, and mental health. However, the authors concluded that there was an overall increase in the uptake of unhealthy behaviors in the sample over time.

It was demonstrated that adverse childhood experience (ACE) was predictive of belonging to a class with a greater probability of risky HRBs. A consistent observation across all classes was atypical sleep duration. This finding is in line with those reported in other studies. During the pandemic, individuals spent much time on their phones, making sleeping difficult.

Psychological distress was seen to significantly predict a higher probability of membership in a class likely to adopt unhealthy behaviors.

This was especially true for the Enhancing BMI Continued Frequent Drinking (EBFD) class. Adverse life events, such as unemployment and the death of loved ones, also made people more likely to engage in risky HRBs.

Limitations

The results documented here could be biased due to the elimination of cases with missing data owing to non-response. Non-response was found to have been most likely from males with younger and less educated parents and those with lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Further, the diversity of the sample could have been limited by the inability to implement clustering. This is important because research has shown that the likelihood of adopting unhealthy HRBs is associated with experiencing more ACEs.

Conclusions and next steps

In sum, the current study sheds light on the heterogeneous manner in which people changed their HRBs during the COVID-19 pandemic. It further highlights the importance of using person-centric methods over variable-centric methods to study behavioral change.

The identification of subgroups more likely to engage in risky HRBs could assist in the development of interventions tailored to help such individuals and inform comprehensive treatments.

More representative and diverse samples should be used with validated measures of adverse childhood experiences in the future. This would help provide further evidence of the role of ACEs in individuals adopting risky HRBs during the lockdowns.

Additionally, future research should also examine whether pre-pandemic HRBs accurately predict membership in a particular subgroup.

As flagged in the last section, eliminating missing values could have biased the results. The statistical software used in the current study could not use multiple imputations to replace missing values.

This shortfall should be addressed in future studies by using more advanced software. This would aid in including more participants from underrepresented groups, making the results more robust.

*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Russia has launched a full-blown invasion of Ukraine through land, air and water. Russian troops, already stationed along the countrys border with Ukraine, poured in from the three sides, engaging in a war with the former Soviet nation. The relentless fighting has reduced towns to rubble and families being ripped apart, the war has entered its 401st day. Amid this, female Russian medics serving on the frontline are reportedly being forced in becoming sex slaves for high-ranking military officials.

In a published interview by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty a service member said that women were being passed around by Russian officers. The whistleblower also mentioned that those who agreed to become field wives were made to cook, clean and please the officers.

She also added that those who refused to be sex slaves face extreme punishment and beatings. The officer whose identity was not revealed said her stint on the frontline has left her with severe PTSD after she returned home. She also shared the publication that she took the medical job on the frontline to provide for her family who is dependent on her and particularly her especially-abled child.

As per her testimony, a colonel in charge of her platoon singled her out to make her his field wife while she was at the Nizhny Novgorod training camp. When she refused his sexual advances, the officer told his soldiers to make her life more difficult. She was being made to sleep outside for a month while others slept in tents and houses.

The high-ranking officer didnt let up his advances and when the female medic declined again, she was made to go to the frontline as a form of punishment. The platoon she was assigned comprised seven women and all of whom had received sexual advances from commanding officers.

She recalled a horrifying scene that she witnessed, an officer shot his field wife before shooting himself in the hand to make it look as though he was protecting her from Ukrainian fire. However, the woman survived but was left permanently disabled.

The woman also witnessed officers pistol whipping other women while some medics were effectively given the choice of being sex slaves or sent to the frontline.

Read all the Latest Buzz News here
A unique blend of two distinct cultures has taken the art world on the internet by storm. An artist has created AI-generated images of Game of Thrones characters in costumes if they were designed by an Indian designer. The stunning artwork, shared on Instagram, showcases some of the iconic characters of the popular TV series, including Arya Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, and Cersei Lannister, adorned in Indian ethnic wear. The artificial intelligence perfectly captured the vibrant Indian culture and the intricate details of Game of Thrones characters to create this remarkable fusion. The artist developed the images by blending ethnic ensemble with the characters features. If George R. R. Martin has hired an Indian costume designer for Game of Thrones. Midjourney AI assisted with photoshop, read the caption.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jyo John Mulloor (@jyo_john_mulloor)

The results were breathtaking and social media users could not agree more. They were impressed to see their favourite characters rocking the ethnic wear. To many, the intricate details and the blend of Indian and Western cultures create a unique and captivating visual experience. The artwork has garnered immense attention and admiration from both Game of Thrones and art enthusiasts. Somehow Indian attire gives grandness, wrote a user.

Brother can we expect the characters of House of the Dragon also? read another comment.

A comment read, OMG for a moment I forgot the original one wow!

This is not the first time Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been used for generating images of various scenarios. Some of these tools can even transform real-life videos into animations, while others can create new images from past events. For instance, photographs of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 are available on the internet. While no country has since dared to launch such an attack, if an atomic bomb were to fall on a city today, what would the aftermath look like? Midjourney used AI to create pictures depicting the potential devastation of such an event.

The AI-generated images of an explosion are quite distressing, appearing to be aerial views of the aftermath of a blast. The images show a massive crater at the explosion site. By looking at the pictures, one can imagine the destruction caused by the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The pictures suggest that a significant earthquake would occur, and its impact would be visible over a considerable distance. The nearby buildings would be turned into rubble, leaving a trail of destruction visible for several kilometres.

Read all the Latest Buzz News here
The horse is symbolic of the American West, but when and how domesticated horses first reached the region has long been a matter of historical debate. A new analysis of horse bones gathered from museums across the Great Plains and northern Rockies has revealed that horses were present in the grasslands by the early 1600s, earlier than many written histories suggest. The timing is significant because it matches up with the oral histories of multiple Indigenous groups that recount their peoples had horses of Spanish descent before Europeans physically arrived in their homelands, perhaps through trading networks.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, involved more than 80 co-authors  including archaeologists and geneticists, as well as historians and scientists from the Lakota, Comanche and Pawnee nations.

Prior genetic research has shown that the ancestors of horses first evolved in North America millions of years ago, before making their way to the central plains of Europe and Asia, where they were domesticated. But those early horse ancestors disappeared from the American archaeological record around 6,000 years ago.

In the new study, scientists examined about two dozen sets of horse remains from sites ranging from New Mexico to Idaho to Kansas to establish that horses were ridden and raised by Indigenous groups by the early 1600s.

Almost every aspect of the human-horse relationship is manifest in the skeleton in some way, said University of Colorado at Boulder archaeologist William Taylor, a study author.

The study found that the horses were present in the American West and Southwest several decades before the Pueblo Revolt of 1680  when allied Indigenous groups pushed Spanish colonizers out of New Mexico.

The retreating armies left behind thousands of horses and livestock, and many historical accounts had inaccurately pinpointed this moment as the entrance of the horse into the cultures of Indigenous groups in North America.

Now we can wave goodbye to the Pueblo Revolt as an explanation for the spread of the horse into the American West, said Oxford University archaeologist Peter Mitchell, who was not involved in the study.

But Indigenous groups have long disputed this chronology, as the oral histories of many groups have told of them encountering horses before they met Europeans.

Rather than receiving horses directly from retreating Spanish armies, multiple oral histories suggest that Indigenous groups first encountered horses that had run away from Spanish camps, or been traded through tribal networks, said Jimmy Arterberry, a study author and Comanche tribal member and historian in Medicine Park, Oklahoma.

We have always known and said that we came across horses before we came across the Spanish, he said.

Yvette Running Horse Collin, a study author who is an evolutionary geneticist at the Center for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse in France and a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, said the findings show that the oral traditions of Indigenous peoples, which have often been neglected by outside historians, have unique value to understanding the past.

Our cultures have been so misrepresented for so long, she said. Too often history has been told around us, without us.

The ambitious research collaboration, which was initiated by Lakota scholars, is one step in repairing a longstanding mistrust between Indigenous groups and archaeologists, who in the early and mid- 20th century raided tombs and ceremonial sites for cultural artifacts without consent.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990  which established a process for museums and other institutions that receive federal funds to collaborate with tribes in returning stolen sacred objects  was a key early step in establishing some measure of trust and communication, said Carlton Shield Chief Gover, a study author who is a citizen of the Pawnee Nation and an Indiana University archaeologist.

Hopefully seeing new research like this will push more Indigenous people to develop their own archaeological and anthropological expertise, he said.

The study also showed that, over time, the genetics of horses in North America switched from being primarily of Spanish origin to a mixture of British and Spanish, reflecting the ascent of different empires.

It means that the shift from a Spanish to a British dominant colonial power can be seen even in the horse genome itself, said Ludovic Orlando, a study author who is an evolutionary geneticist at the Center for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse.

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NASAs latest Instagram video is out of this world, quite literally. In this stunning clip, viewers get to witness the awe-inspiring beauty of the northern lights as seen from the International Space Station. The video starts with a mesmerizing display of green hues dancing across the skies of North America. You cant help but be spellbound by the auroras, which look like brush strokes painted by Mother Nature herself. As the video continues, we get to see the curvature of the Earth where the auroras meet the darkness of space. Its almost as if youre floating among the stars, gazing down at our planets natural wonder.

But thats not all either. As the video moves further southeast across North America, we get a glimpse of the bright lights of cities across the midwest United States. Its amazing to see how the natural beauty of the northern lights contrasts with the man-made lights of our cities. Its like watching a light show thats been put on just for us. NASA shared the clip along with lyrics from Coldplays song Yellow. Look how they shine for you, the caption began. NASA went into detail explaining what the Northern lights are, Auroras are natural light shows caused by magnetic storms triggered by the Suns activity like explosive flares and coronal mass ejections (ejected gas bubbles).

View this post on Instagram A post shared by NASA (@nasa)

Social media users were in awe of the mesmerizing view of the auroras. Many thought that this was a treat for the eyes and NASAs explanation of this marvelous phenomenon was wonderful for gaining some knowledge. Amazing! Thank you for an incredible visual and informative post, a user commented.

NASA quoting my favourite band. That was all I needed today. Thank you, another user commented.

A comment read, I wish I visit the pole at least once in my lifetime.

The aurora borealis is the ultimate representation of natures magnificence. While this natural light display is already breathtaking, observing a unique occurrence within it is particularly exceptional. A solar storm in November last year disrupted the Earths magnetic field. It created a temporary hole, resulting in an extremely rare pink aurora that lit up the night sky above Norway on November 3. The northern lights tour group, led by Markus Varik from the Greenlander tour company based in Tromso, Norway, had the privilege of witnessing this phenomenon.

According to Markus, the pink auroras lasted for roughly two minutes, starting at around 6 p.m. local time, as per Live Science. These were the strongest pink auroras I have seen in more than a decade of leading tours. It was a humbling experience," Markus stated. Markus also mentioned that these were the most intense pink auroras he had ever seen, and the pink color was noticeable to the naked eye. His entire group was amazed by the vibrant display of lights, and it came as a surprise, given that Markus has been guiding aurora tours for over a decade, leading more than a thousand tours, as per Spaceweather.com.

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A stunning photo unveiling the Gran Desierto de Altar, a part of North Americas Sonoran Desert, blanketed in the snow was captured on camera earlier this month. And the pic has been going viral on social media. For the uninitiated, the Sonoran Desert spans 120,000 square miles and includes parts of Arizona, California, and the states of Sonora, Baja California and Baja California Sur in northwest Mexico as well as the southwestern United States. It should come as no surprise that it rarely experiences chilly weather with summer temperatures often reaching over 50C.

However, recently an unusual weather condition brought a massive snowstorm to the region. This led to the first blizzard warning in decades since 1989. Following this, portions of the Sonoran Desert received nearly about 10 centimetres of snow in the region.

A portion of the Sonoran Desert, which covers 100,000 square miles across the US states of Arizona and California as well as the Mexican provinces of Sonora and Baja California Sur, saw two to four inches of snow.

Landscape photographer Jack Dykinga, winner of the Pulitzer Award, captured the photo of the snow-covered region on March 2.

It hasnt snowed there in ten years, said Mr. Dykinga, who has been capturing beautiful shots of the Sonoran Desert since 1976. He continued, calling the scenes absolute magic, seeming out of place, and startlingly gorgeous."

This winter, there has been a lot of snowfall in the western US. At Flagstaff, Arizonas northernmost city, more than 11 feet of snow have fallen- the most in more than 70 years. There has been a record-breaking 40 feet of snow in California," Dykinga stated.

A persistent blocking pattern over the Pacific, combined with cold air moving south from the Arctic, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bianca Feldkircher, provided the conditions for heavy snowfall along the West Coast.

Winter temperatures in the Sonoran Desert are lower than summer ones, which often exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) and reach a scorching 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius).

Several users have commented on the picture on Twitter. One user wrote, Cacti in the Sonoran desert, Arizona, are topped with snow in what meteorologists described as a once in a generation event." Another user commented, We were just there and lucky enough to witness a bit of snow on the saguaros. The Sonoran Desert looks gorgeous in the snow." One user also wrote, The Sonoran Desert is a magical place."

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AUBURN  A Brutus man whom the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office said essentially tried to cut off another person's head with a machete maintained his innocence in Cayuga County Court Thursday.

Christopher M. Laframboise, 39, with a previously listed address of 2919 E. Brutus St. Road, was in front of Judge Thomas Leone for arraignment, facing charges of second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault, both class B felonies.

The New York State Police previously alleged Laframboise attacked a person at the victim's residence at Pople Road in the town of Victory Feb. 6, causing serious injury. He was arrested shortly after a traffic stop on Egypt Road in the town of Conquest, troopers said.

Eric Smith, Laframboise's defense attorney, said Thursday his client has "lived here pretty much all his life," noting he has a lot of family in the area. Smith recommended bail and said Laframboise "maintains his innocence" in this matter.

Cayuga County Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Valdina argued against bail, noting Laframboise has eight prior criminal convictions. The defendant was at the victim's home Feb. 5 and then came back to the residence the following morning before leaving, Valdina said. Laframboise then came back again around noon and wanted plumbing supplies, Valdina said, noting Laframboise pulled out a machete at one point.

"For all intents and purposes, he attempts to cut the victim's head off," Valdina said.

The machete caused a laceration and jaw fracture, Valdina continued, requiring metal plates to be implanted in his jaw. During the confrontation, with Laframboise chasing the victim, the victim pointed an unloaded shotgun at Laframboise, and the defendant fled in his vehicle, got rid of the machete and was later stopped, Valdina said. He noted the machete was recovered.

"This is not someone who should be in our community," Valdina said.

Leone opted to remand Laframboise to the Cayuga County Jail. His next day in court is April 27 for a pretrial conference.

In other news

 An Auburn man previously described by prosecutors as the "catalyst" for a deadly shooting outside of a bar in the city last year was sentenced Thursday.

Junnell Copes, 36, was before Leone in court, originally with a charge of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class C felony.

Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci said the defendant "took full responsibility" in his pre-sentence investigation report. As a part of a previous agreement, that weapon count was reduced to second-degree attempted criminal possession of a weapon, a class D felony. He was sentenced to five years in state prison followed by five years of post-release supervision for the attempted weapon possession charge.

Junnell Copes is a relative of Shameek Copes, who was found guilty of shooting and killing John Wesley Smith III outside of Swifty's Tavern in Auburn in March 2022. A jury declared Shameek Copes guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon following a weeklong trial in January.

Adrian Agee, Shameek Copes' uncle by marriage, and Junnell Copes were arraigned in April 2022 on felony counts connected to Smith's death. Junnell Copes did not testify during Shameek's trial. Brittany Grome Antonacci previously called Junnell "the catalyst for this incident," saying he "fired several rounds" into the ground at the area of Swifty's Tavern immediately before Shameek started shooting.

Agee was originally facing charges of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence, and later pleaded guilty to the weapon possession and hindering prosecution counts. During his testimony at Shameek Copes' trial, Agee admitted to giving a gun to Shameek on the night of the shooting, hearing gun shots shortly after she left the bar and later put the gun in a storm drain on Steel Street.

 Brittani D. Dias, 30, faced a charge of fourth-degree conspiracy in court Thursday. She was sentenced to five years of shock probation, including weekends in the county jail for four months, starting Friday, April 7.

 Malik M. Figgs, 53, of 155 State St., Auburn, was before Leone on charges of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, petit larceny and two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Figgs previously pleaded to the entire indictment against him.

For both third-degree criminal possession charges, Figgs was sentenced to two years in state prison followed by three years of post-release supervision. He was also sentenced to 364 days in the jail for the petit larceny and seventh-degree possession counts, with all of those sentences running concurrently.

 Larry W. Hoff, 24, with a previously listed address of 2709 Erie Drive, Weedsport, had charges of first-degree criminal contempt and aggravated family offense in front of him in court Thursday. He was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years of state prison on both counts, running concurrently to one another.

 Kevin M. Vannorstrand, 36, was also in front of Leone, originally facing 17 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child. As a part of a prior agreement, he was sentenced to 10 years of shock probation, with the first six months in the county jail, for one promoting charge he previously pleaded to.
A roundabout slingshot driving technique has become a massive topic of discussion ever since a TikToker shared a video of it online. The footage shows the TikToker, who was the driver, manoeuvring using the roundabout in such a way that beats all the motorists queued up on the left side to make the same exit. Wondering how did he manage to do that? The dashcam footage of the incident shows how the TikToker skipped the entire traffic waiting to turn left by using the empty right-hand lane.

He approached a roundabout to access a supermarket exit, which leads him to appear in front of the waiting vehicles in the left lane. A report by LadBible explained that the driving move refrained motorists from queuing up on the left-hand lane. The video is reportedly from the time when Queen Elizabeth IIs state funeral was held in the UK.

While the driver used the trick, a snippet of his background voice in the video narrated, State funeral, the roads are absolutely slammed with people going to the shop and getting their bits in for the funeral tomorrow. Glad, Ive got the roundabout slingshot in my driving arsenal. Skip that traffic, get around the roundabout, and get into the shop to get me tinnys, lovely jubbly, sound as a pound." The video was reportedly titled, Roundabout slingshot on state funeral eve.

Another report by The Sun, suggests that the roundabout slingshot isnt an illegal move but apparently drivers prefer to not deceive others in goodwill. TikTok users were reportedly divided after watching the hack. While some couldnt fathom why motorists would use the trick, many thanked the driver for sharing it online.

A user commented, Dont know why more people dont do this," while another wrote, Thats a great idea; I have never thought of this, as per LadBible. One more joined the discussion and commented, Not many people who are this aware will actually pull out in front of you, though." Meanwhile, a user added, Slight risk of people seeing you enter, assuming you will be taking the last exit and pulling out in front.

Would you ever give this roundabout slingshot a try?

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YouTube star MrBeast is known for his videos featuring over-the-top stunts and extravagant giveaways, and this time he has taken his generosity to the next level. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, recently gave a waitress a brand-new car as a tip, after finding out that she had none to get to work every day. The waitress, whose name is Amy, was approached by Donaldson after finishing his meal. He asked her what was the biggest tip she had ever gotten? Amy replied $50 (about Rs 4 thousand). To this, the YouTuber asked if she had ever been tipped with a car before.

At first, she thought he was joking, but he assured her he was serious. Donaldson then took Amy outside and showed her the brand-new car waiting for her. The young woman was overcome with emotion as she received the keys to her new car. Amys been getting to work without a car for months, thanks to you we changed that, read the caption. The clip was shared on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by MrBeast (@mrbeast)

It quickly went viral, with many people praising him for his generosity. People appreciated how he is always finding ways to use his wealth to help others, often giving away large sums of money to people in need or helping them out in other ways possible. My dude casually out here restoring my faith in humanity, wrote a user.

Im gonna purposefully live near this man and go to a Walmart of something every day, read another comment.

Tipping a car is only enough for a story or a small post for MrBeast now. Most YouTubers cant afford a big YouTube video with a car giveaway and he casually does it for a short story post lol, a user comment.

Recently, Jimmy Donaldson changed the lives of 1,000 visually impaired individuals. According to CNN, he paid for cataract surgeries for people who were blind or almost blind and couldnt afford the medical procedure. Some of the participants also received cash and other donations. Jeff Levenson, an ophthalmologist and surgeon, conducted the first set of surgeries.

Levensons The Gift of Sight" initiative offered them free cataract surgeries to individuals who are legally blind due to their impairment. Initially, the surgeries were performed on 40 individuals. Then, Levenson introduced MrBeast to SEE International, a non-profit organization that assisted him in reaching out to more people. As a result, 1000 surgeries were performed across various countries such as Namibia, Jamaica, Vietnam, Honduras, Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, and Mexico.

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Read more

Bihar Board 10th Result 2023: FAQs

now check and download their BSEB 10th result at Bihar Boards official websites  biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in and results.biharboardonline.com. Over 16 lakh students appeared for the BSEB matric exam that was conducted between February 14 to 22.

Where to Check Bihar Board 10th Result 2023?

Results will be released on the official websites  biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in, results.biharboardonline.com.

How can I check my 10th result in Bihar 2023?

Students will be able to check their results by entering their login credentials  roll number and date of birth

When will the Bihar Board 10th Toppers 2023 list be released?

After the result is declared at 1:15 pm today, March 31, the toppers list will be released soon after

When will Bihar board class 10th result be released?

Results will be declared at 1:15 pm today, March 31

How to check Bihar Board 10th Result 2023 through SMS?

Students can check their results through SMS. To check the same, students will have to type BIHAR10 roll number and send the SMS to 56263.

What are Biharbordonline.bihar.gov.in 2023 result helpline numbers?

Candidates can contact BSEB helpline in case of any problems. Bihar Board officials can be contacted at 0612 2230009 or info@biharboard.ac.in, biharboard.ac.in/contact-us.

How Many Marks Are Required to Pass Bihar Board 10th Exams?

To pass the class 10th exam, the students must score at least 33 per cent in each subject.

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The Department of Pre-University Education has declared the Karnataka 1st PUC results today, March 31. Students who appeared for the Pre-University Course exam can check and download their results from the official website at result.dkpucpa.com.

Bihar Board 10th Result 2023 LIVE

Students can access their 1st PUC result by logging in on the candidate portal after entering their registration number and date of birth (DoB). It is to be noted that the Karnataka Class 11 results have been declared for Dakshina Kannada district colleges only.

The department has released the 1st PUC result for all three streams  Science, Arts, and Commerce. The scorecard will include details such as the students name, registration number, date of birth, subject name, subject-wise marks, result status, and total marks secured.

Karnataka 1st PUC Result 2023: How to Check

Step 1: Visit the official website of the Department of Pre-University Education at result.dkpucpa.com

Step 2: Click on the 1st PUC Result 2023 link on the home page.

Step 3: A new page will open. Enter your registration number and date of birth.

Step 3: Carefully review the page and click on submit.

Step 4: Karnataka 1st PUC result will appear on the screen.

Step 5: Check and download the result.

Step 6: Keep a printout of the 1st PUC result for future reference.

The Karnataka 1st PUC Exams were held on March 6. It was initially scheduled to begin on February 27. Meanwhile, the Karnataka 2nd PUC Exams 2023 started on March 9 and concluded on March 29. About 7.27 lakh students had registered and appeared for the Karnataka 2nd PUC exam. According to media reports, the 2nd PUC result is expected to be declared in May. The Class 12 result official date and time have not been declared by the Department of Pre-University Education as of yet.

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Current affairs and general knowledge are important parts of any government job entrance exams. Candidates have to face these questions from written tests to interviews. Not only for government exams but students preparing for competitive or entrance exams for various education institutions also cannot deny the importance of the GK section. The section is so vast that an aspirant studying it daily cant confidently say that they have covered it fully. Attempting a quiz containing 10 questions daily can help one retain their knowledge as well as learn more about it. On that note, lets take a look at this GK quiz, which can help you to get an inch closer to your goal.

Which animals milk is pink in colour?

(A) Goat

(B) Camel

(C) Donkey

(D) Hippopotamus

Ans-(D) Hippopotamus

How many languages are written on a Rs 100 note?

(A) 19 languages

(B) 18 languages

(C) 17 languages

(D) 25 languages

Ans- (C) 17 languages

Iraq was earlier known as?

(A) Mesopotamia

(B) Akkad

(C) Babylon

(D) Assyria

Answer  (A) Mesopotamia

The goat is the national animal of which country?

(A) Iran

(B) Iraq

(C) Burkina Faso

(D) Nigeria

Ans-(C) Burkina Faso

IMF has recently provided $80.77 million in aid to which African country?

(A) Thailand

(B) Burkina Faso

(C) Italy

(D) Tanzania

Ans (B) Burkina Faso

Who has recently become the first person to swim from Gateway of India to Elephanta Caves?

(A) IPS Krishna Prakash

(B) Dev Prakash

(C) Prem Prakash

(D) Neeraj Pandey

Answer- (A) IPS Krishna Prakash

Recently, Hamza Yusuf has been elected as the First Minister of which country?

(A) Britain

(B) Scotland

(C) United Kingdom

(D) Scotland

Ans-(D) Scotland

Which creature has five eyes?

(A) Lizard

(B) Bee

(C) Spider

(D) Cockroach

Ans (B) Bee

Which organism does not taste with its tongue but with its feet?

(A) Butterfly

(B) Octopus

(C) Spider

(D) Bird

Ans-(A) Butterfly

Why does one get yawn after looking at someone?

(A) Neurons become active on seeing other people doing so

B) Due to infection

(C) There is no reason for this to happen

(D) None of these

Ans-(A) Neurons become active on seeing other people doing so

Along with these questions, aspirants can also take help from other resources like books, magazines, apps, educational YouTube videos and newspapers.

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Uttar Pradeshs Department of Basic Education has asked all schools in the state to declare the Annual Results 2023 for classes 1 to 8 today, March 31. The annual exams for classes 1 to 8 were held from March 20 to March 24 in two shifts. The first shift took place from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM and the second shift was held from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM. The evaluation process for the answer sheets started from March 26 and was carried out till March 30.

All the subject exams this year carried a maximum of 50 marks. It is to be noted that students will receive their results cum report cards at their respective schools. As per the official exam schedule, class 1 students appeared for a single-day exam on March 20. Whereas students from classes 2 to 8 appeared in both oral and written exams.

           1  8      20  2023   pic.twitter.com/oBCW8eetWR Department Of Basic Education Uttar Pradesh (@basicshiksha_up) February 27, 2023

On the other hand, the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) has started the evaluation process for answer sheets of classes 10 and 12. The evaluation work commenced on March 18 and is scheduled to be completed by April 1. According to Economic Times reports, this year, more than 1.43 lakh examiners are evaluating the UP board exam answer sheets for over 3.19 crore candidates at around 258 centers across the state.

UPMSP has not revealed an official date or time of the result. But whenever the results will be out, students can access them at the official site - upmsp.edu.in. The Uttar Pradesh 10th board exams were conducted from February 16 to March 3. While the class 12 board exams were held from February 16 to March 4. There were around 31,16,487 candidates who registered and appeared for the class 10 board exam and approximately 27,69,258 students wrote the class 12 board exam this year. For more information, students must keep checking the official site of UPMSP.

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Covid-19 cases are witnessing a spike in several states across India. The country on Friday reported 3,095 fresh infections in 24 hours, with states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Delhi, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu being among the highest contributors.

This time, it seems that XBB.1.16, the new Omicron variant has become a cause of concern for the authorities, especially in Delhi and Maharashtra. First detected in Pune in February this year, XBB.1.16 is said to be fast replacing the other dominant strains in the country.

Addressing the press conference on Friday, Arvind Kejriwal said that XBB.1.16 spreads fast and evades vaccine but is not severe.

As per the data, XBB.1.16 accounts for over 30 per cent of all the sequenced genomes in March 2023, with its proportion increasing rapidly in the past few weeks.

What is XBB.1.16 lineage of SARS-CoV-2?

XBB.1.16 was first detected in SARS-CoV-2 sequences from India, A recombinant lineage of Covid, XBB.1.16 is a descendent of the XBB lineage. The preliminary data on the virus suggest that XBB.1.16 has a higher growth advantage over other SARS-CoV-2 lineages that are currently circulating including the XBB.1.5 lineage.

The XBB 1.16 subvariant is a highly transmissible variant with high infectivity rate. The subvariant has mutations on the amino acids and nucleotide space that gives it the capacity to escape hybrid immunity achieved by vaccination and previous exposure to the virus," Dr Charu Dutt Arora, Infectious Disease Specialist, Consultant Physician, AmeriHealth, Asian Hospital told Hindustan Times.

Symptoms of XBB.1.16 lineage

The signs and symptoms of the XBB.1.16 variant are very similar to that of the Omicron variant, which includes a high-grade fever for over 48 hours, cough, sore throat, body pain, severe headache, cold and abdominal discomfort.

There is no loss of smell or taste seen in the patients, so far. Most of them have mild to moderate disease and are being managed on home isolation," according to Dr Arora.

According to Dr Anurag Saxena, HOD- Internal Medicine, Primus Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, the XBB.1.16 version does not appear to be seriously harming people right now.

Upper respiratory symptoms like a blocked nose, headache, sore throat, fever, and myalgia, or muscular discomfort that lasts for three to four days, are typical," says Dr Saxena said, according to a report by HT.

In the case of lower respiratory tract infection, symptoms may include severe bronchitis and cough.

The experts recommended getting tested for COVID-19 if someone experiences these symptoms.

Who are the at-risk populations?

As per experts, the population that is at most risks of the new variant include the elderly population, children and people with co-morbidities such as cardiac conditions, previous pulmonary issues, and diabetes among other ailments.

Covid-19 becoming a seasonal illness?

According to Dr Atul Gogia, Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, we are heading in the direction where Covid-19 is becoming a seasonal illness.

For now, Covid-19 hasnt decided on a season unlike seasonal flu has (India sees two flu peaks in a year  January through March and August through October). But it keeps happening every few months," Dr Gogia told Indian Express.

He said Covid will be one of the viruses that we just have to live with, that keeps coming and going, with a spike in cases from time to time.

He advised people to watch the trends and follow precautions like masking, practising hand hygiene and getting vaccine shots.

Are Booster Doses Needed?

The experts advised people to definitely get their first two shots of the Covid-19 vaccine. However, they said the booster dose is not that important at the moment.

So, if you talk about the Covid-19 cases at present, I cannot tell you whether it is vaccinated or unvaccinated that are getting more severe symptoms  the number of cases is still too small right now. Anyway, almost everyone has had their first two shots.

The booster dose coverage is low but I dont think it is very important at the moment. All of us have had at least one or two clinical or sub-clinical Covid-19 infections  some of us more than two times  and this seems to be protecting most people against severe disease," said Dr Gogia.

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At least six people of a family, including a toddler, were found dead in their house in Delhis Shastri Park area on Friday morning. As per prima facies, the deceased died due to suffocation, police said.

As per police, the initial investigation suggested that the burning mosquito coil had fallen over a mattress sometime during the night. The toxic fumes caused house inmates to lose consciousness and later died due to suffocation," said an official.

A total of nine people were present in the house when the incident happened. While six were declared dead, two others were admitted to the hospital with burn injuries.

Today morning, at 09:00 am, a PCR call was received in Police Station Shastri Park that a fire had broken out in a house at Mazar Wala Road, Machhi Market, Shastri Park. Police rushed to the spot and found that the injured had been taken to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital. A total of 9 persons were involved in the incident," police said in a statement.

Among the six decease, four are adult males, one adult female and one toddler. A 15-year-old girl and a 45-year-old man are being treated at the hospital.

The bodies of the deceased will be handed over to their relatives after post-mortem today. Further investigation is on.

Read all the Latest India News here
At least 500 shops were gutted in a massive fire that broke out in a multi-storey commercial building and quickly spread to adjacent towers in Bansmandi area here early Friday, a senior official said.

Prime facie the fire broke out due to a short circuit following a massive dust storm.

The blaze started at 2 am in AR Tower also known as Afaq Rasool Tower and spread to Maqsood, Humraz complex and Nafees towers charring about 500 shops located in these four towers, the official said, adding strong winds fanned the flames.

According to the senior official, goods and cash worth about Rs 100 crore were gutted in the fire.

Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Anand Prakash Tiwari told PTI that several fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire which is yet to be doused.

Fire fighters have been battling for hours to douse the blaze, JCP added.

An SOS call has been made to all neighbouring districts, including Kanpur Dehat, Unnao, Lucknow and Kannauj, to dispatch fire tenders to assist in the operation, he said, adding firemen have successfully prevented the fire from further spreading.

The shops in all the four towers have been gutted and goods worth crores completely destroyed, the JCP said.

The building didnt adhere to fire safety norms," another official said.

Read all the Latest India News here
The Goa Police arrested a staff member at a resort for stabbing and molesting a female Dutch tourist, along with attacking another person who was helping the woman.

The woman, in her complaint said, that an unknown man trespassed into her rented tent on the hotel premises. He started attacking her, and holding her as she was screaming.

Hearing her scream, a 42-year-old local man arrived on the scene and rescued the woman. The attacker fled the scene at this point, only to later return with a knife, according to ANI.

He then allegedly attacked the woman, as well as the local man who tried to help her, the police said.

The accused has been identified as Abhishek Verma, and the injured person as Eurico.

Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Nidhin Valsan told reporters that the accused is from Dehradun, and he worked as a bartender at the hotel in Pernem area, according to news agency PTI.

The police have registered a case against him under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to trespassing, outraging modesty, attempt to murder and causing grievous hurt and others.

The knife used for the commission of the crime has been recovered. FIR has been registered under section 452,354,307,506(II) of IPC," said Nidhin Valsan.

Incident Raised in Goa Assembly

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday informed the state legislative Assembly that the hotel that had employed the man accused of attacking a Dutch tourist had not verified his background.

Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai had moved a Calling Attention motion on the floor of the House about the incident claiming that such things bring disrepute to the tourism industry.

Responding to the motion, the chief minister said the accused was arrested by the Pernem police immediately after it received the complaint.

Local man gets praise for his help

Meanwhile, the local man who came to the rescue of a woman tourist has drawn praise from all quarters for his brave act.

Talking to reporters, state Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte hailed Eurica Dias for his selfless action and said it indicated that locals in the coastal state are basically helpful.

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As central New York prepares for Micron's arrival, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants federal funding to support job training programs.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Friday that he has invited Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the National Science Foundation, to Syracuse for meetings to discuss efforts to ensure that Micron has the workers it needs for its memory chip manufacturing facility in Onondaga County.

Micron announced in October that it will invest $100 billion over 20 years to build the new chip fab in the town of Clay. It will be the largest private investment in New York state history. The project will create 9,000 jobs at the Micron complex, plus more than 40,000 at supply chain companies supporting the new facility.

Schumer was among the New York elected officials who persuaded Micron to build its complex in Onondaga County.

Micron's plans are part of a larger effort to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Schumer ushered the CHIPS and Science Act through Congress. The legislation includes $52 billion to encourage companies to manufacture the memory chips in the U.S.

Along with the incentives for manufacturers, the CHIPS and Science Act includes $200 million to establish the CHIPS for America Workforce and Education Fund. The program will be administered by the National Science Foundation and focuses on workforce development in the semiconductor industry.

Schumer said the federal funding can be used to support programs at colleges and universities. Onondaga Community College is already preparing programs that would train Micron workers.

"Micron's $100 billion investment in upstate New York will be transformational and will make upstate New York a global powerhouse in the semiconductor industry," Schumer added. "But for this project to succeed, we need to get to work putting upstate New Yorkers to work."

He continued, "That is why I am personally inviting NSF Director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan to Syracuse because now is time for the National Science Foundation to see firsthand what I have long known: That central New York is uniquely suited to bring manufacturing back to America and power the nation's technological leadership for decades to come."

Micron plans to begin site preparation this year with construction scheduled to start in 2024.
As many as 21 persons have been arrested so far in connection with the stone pelting at a Ram Navami procession in suburban Malad (West), police said on Friday.

The tensions on Thursday night began following disputes over the loud DJ music being played in the procession as it was passing through the vicinity of mosques in Malvani area, a police official said.

A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against nearly 300 identified and unidentified persons at the Malvani police station, he said.

As per the FIR, more than 6,000 persons had participated in the Ram Navami procession organised by the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindu organizations.

The procession began from Ram Janki temple late in the afternoon.

Around 7.25 pm, as it was moving towards Jama Masjid, around 100 to 150 people objected to the high volume of music as namaz was going on in the mosque, said a local police official.

As the volume of music was not lowered, there was some slogan-shouting and one of the men who had objected to loud music allegedly hurled a stone at the procession and it hit a participant, he added.

Police personnel deputed for security along the route immediately took the man who had thrown the stone into custody, he said.

As per the FIR, when the procession was near the Ali Hazrat mosque around 8.45 pm, a mob of 200 to 250 persons began to pelt stones.

As police tried to bring the situation under control, some people in the mob hurled stones at them and manhandled some police personnel, the FIR said.

Earlier, police had said that there was a clash" between the procession participants and the other group, but the FIR did not mention it.

Additional police force was called in and police used mild force" to disperse people from both sides, said a senior official.

Members of right-wing organisations gathered outside Malvani police station late at night demanding action against those who pelted stones.

Senior police officers and local politicians reached the spot and the situation was brought under control, the official added.

The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 353 (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 145 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting ) and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Police Act.

The miscreants who tried to create tension during the procession are being identified with the help of drone and CCTV footage and action is being taken against them," Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajay Bansal told reporters.

More arrests are likely, he added.

A large number of police personnel were deployed in the area and the situation was under control, Bansal said, while appealing people to maintain peace and not to believe rumours.

.

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Qaidi number D17052 is the new identity of dreaded gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed who  in a criminal career spanning 44 years and over 120 cases  was convicted for the first time on Tuesday and awarded life term for the 2006 abduction of now-deceased Umesh Pal, who was the prime witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal.

This is perhaps not the only change the dreaded UP mafia will be subjected to. Officials with Sabarmati Central Jail said after conviction, Ahmeds life in jail would not be the same.

Atiq is not an under trial anymore and hence he will be treated as a convict. Of the many things, allocation of a number is perhaps the main thing, which is done after conviction. Atiqs number is D17052, which is his new identity in jail, JS Chavda, jail superintendent of Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarats Ahmedabad, told News18.

D17052 is the second numerical identity of Ahmed whose gang comprising 179 members  including his relatives are henchmen  was identified as IS 227 in Prayagraj Police records.

Other than allocation of a qaidi number, Ahmed was given the jails uniform  a white kurta-pajama and cap  which is mandatory for all the convicts as per jail manual. Atiq will no more have the liberty to wear a waist coat, black-coloured kurta pajama and his trademark cloth (gamchha) wrapped around his head  the attire in which he was seen recently. Now he has to wear the jail uniform, an official added.

Apart from this, the gangster will also be relocated to the convicts cell. Basically, the entire Sabarmati Jail is divided into two sections  one for under trials and the other for convicts. Atiq, whose RTPCR report is awaited, will be transferred to the high-security zone of the cells meant for convicts, the official further said.

Other than these, the official said working is also a must for the convicts. Basically, there are three main divisions that include carpentry, mechanic and tailoring, where the convicts are engaged. The non-skilled convicts get Rs 70 a day for non-skilled work, Rs 80 a day for semi-skilled and Rs 100 a day for the skilled convicts. However, those prisoners who are non-skilled and have age issues are engaged in cleanliness activities. In the case of Atiq, it is yet to be decided which division he would be attached to.

Recollecting Ahmeds terror, senior lawyer Rohit Kant, who hails from Lucknow, said the gangster was notorious even when he was behind bars. It is said that Ahmed would hold a personal court during his days in jail.

Kant recalled the kidnapping of a Lucknow-based realtor named Mohit Jaiswal that was reported on December 28, 2018. In the case, Jaiswal was kidnapped from outside his office in Lucknows Alambagh area and taken to Deoria jail, around 400 kilometres from Lucknow, where Ahmed was lodged then.

Jaiswals FIR against Atiq states that he was dragged inside the jail where the gangster held a court in presence of local jail authorities. The realtor was then tortured and forced to sign some documents related to the transfer of five of his properties in the name of Atiqs aides, said Kant.

On his recent visit to Prayagraj, Ahmed was heard saying Kaahe Ka Darr while responding to a reporter who asked if he was scared when his convoy halted in Madhya Pradeshs Shivpuri on the borders of UP. However, after conviction, the clout of the dreaded gangster will not be the same in jail, said officials.

On March 28, the UP mafia  who was brought to Prayagraj court in connection with the kidnapping case Umesh Pal, a prime witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal  left for Sabarmati Jail after he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2006 kidnapping case.

Ahmed is the main accused in the 2005 murder case and was recently booked after Umesh Pal was shot dead in Prayagraj on February 24, 2023.

Ahmed has been lodged in Sabarmati Jail since June 2019 after the Supreme Court, in April that year, directed the authorities to shift him to a high-security prison in Gujarat since he was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and assault of a businessman while in jail.

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Ram Navami was celebrated with grand processions and special pujas on Thursday. However, the festivities were marred by the deaths of several devotees in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Clashes and arson were also reported in some parts of the country. On day 2, fresh violence was reported in Bengals Howrah a day after violent clashes on Thursday.

Here are Updates of the aftermath of clashes during Ram Navami Celebrations in India:

West Bengal Clashes: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday claimed that the BJP along with other right-wing organisations was responsible for violence in the industrial town of Howrah on Ram Navami. She appealed to people to maintain peace in the area.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday claimed that the BJP along with other right-wing organisations was responsible for violence in the industrial town of Howrah on Ram Navami. She appealed to people to maintain peace in the area. Mumbai Clashes: Mumbai police was forced to resort to lathi-charge in the citys Malwani area on Thursday night to avert communal clashes following sloganeering after a Ram Navami procession passed through the area, according to officials.

Mumbai police was forced to resort to lathi-charge in the citys Malwani area on Thursday night to avert communal clashes following sloganeering after a Ram Navami procession passed through the area, according to officials. Maharashtra Ram Navami Violence: Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar on Friday said political parties, civil society and citizens must work towards ensuring peace in Aurangabad, where a person died after two groups clashed on Thursday.

 The clash, in which 13 vehicles were torched, occurred during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. The police used tear gas and fired some plastic bullets as well as live rounds to control the mob, officials said.

Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar on Friday said political parties, civil society and citizens must work towards ensuring peace in Aurangabad, where a person died after two groups clashed on Thursday.  The clash, in which 13 vehicles were torched, occurred during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. The police used tear gas and fired some plastic bullets as well as live rounds to control the mob, officials said. Indore Temple Tragedy: The death toll in Indore temple stepwell roof collapse incident rose to 36 on Friday with the recovery of one more victims body in the afternoon, according to officials.

 Earlier this morning, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in the city, where the tragedy occurred on Thursday.

 Near the temple, a group of locals shouted Murdabad" slogans in protest when Chouhan was on way to console the victims families.

The death toll in Indore temple stepwell roof collapse incident rose to 36 on Friday with the recovery of one more victims body in the afternoon, according to officials.  Earlier this morning, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in the city, where the tragedy occurred on Thursday.  Near the temple, a group of locals shouted Murdabad" slogans in protest when Chouhan was on way to console the victims families. Jamshedpur: Security was tightened in the steel city on Friday ahead of Ramanavami processions, slated to be taken out later during the day. Dhalbhum sub-divisional officer Piyush Sinha said around 200 licensed akhara committees will take out Ramanavami immersion processions in the city on Friday.

Another incident of stone-pelting occurred today in Howrah a day after arson on Rama Navami. Security personnel on the spot.

Security was tightened in the steel city on Friday ahead of Ramanavami processions, slated to be taken out later during the day. Dhalbhum sub-divisional officer Piyush Sinha said around 200 licensed akhara committees will take out Ramanavami immersion processions in the city on Friday.

#WATCH | West Bengal: Another incident of stone-pelting occurred today in Howrah a day after arson on Rama Navami. Security personnel on the spot. pic.twitter.com/9fGl80Q36e ANI (@ANI) March 31, 2023

TMC Slams Bengal Violence: TMC MP Derek OBrien tweeted, BJP is creating criminal violence says Mamata Banerjee and once again appeals to all parties in the Opposition and all citizens to come together to fight BJP.

TMC MP Derek OBrien tweeted, BJP is creating criminal violence says Mamata Banerjee and once again appeals to all parties in the Opposition and all citizens to come together to fight BJP. Congress on Ram Navami Violence: National Spokesperson of the Congress Dr. Shama Mohamed said, Communal violence has been witnessed in Jalgaon & Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Since the BJP govt came to power in the state, communal tensions have been fanned incessantly. Are we seeing a deliberate attempt to create divisions ahead of next years elections!

National Spokesperson of the Congress Dr. Shama Mohamed said, Communal violence has been witnessed in Jalgaon & Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Since the BJP govt came to power in the state, communal tensions have been fanned incessantly. Are we seeing a deliberate attempt to create divisions ahead of next years elections! Aurangabad Ram Navami violence: 1 person named Sheikh Munirudin, 52, reportedly died in last nights violence. Police has registered an FIR against 400-500 people. According to officials, some arrests have also been made.

1 person named Sheikh Munirudin, 52, reportedly died in last nights violence. Police has registered an FIR against 400-500 people. According to officials, some arrests have also been made. Vadodara: An stone pelting incident was reported during Ram Navami procession in Vadodara. Officials said, around 24 people have been detained in connection with the case. The accused are being identified with the help of CCTV footage.

 Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said, additional forces have also been sent to Vadodara adding that strict action will be taken against stone pelters.

 Stones were hurled at two separate Ram Navami processions when they were passing through the citys communally-sensitive areas of Fatehpura and nearby Kumbharwada. At least two persons were injured in stone-pelting by a mob at Kumbharwada, the police said.

 Vadodara Police Commissioner Shamsher Singh said the situation in the city was under control and people were carrying out their routine activities.

An stone pelting incident was reported during Ram Navami procession in Vadodara. Officials said, around 24 people have been detained in connection with the case. The accused are being identified with the help of CCTV footage.  Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said, additional forces have also been sent to Vadodara adding that strict action will be taken against stone pelters.  Stones were hurled at two separate Ram Navami processions when they were passing through the citys communally-sensitive areas of Fatehpura and nearby Kumbharwada. At least two persons were injured in stone-pelting by a mob at Kumbharwada, the police said.  Vadodara Police Commissioner Shamsher Singh said the situation in the city was under control and people were carrying out their routine activities. Mumbai: Police officials said they have apprehended more than 20 people in connection with a clashes between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in Mumbais Malvani area.

 Clashes occurred on Thursday night at Malvani in suburban Malad (West) when the procession was going on and some people objected to high volume DJ and loud music accompanying it.

 During the clash between the two groups, stones were reportedly hurled, which triggered panic in the area.

Police officials said they have apprehended more than 20 people in connection with a clashes between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in Mumbais Malvani area.  Clashes occurred on Thursday night at Malvani in suburban Malad (West) when the procession was going on and some people objected to high volume DJ and loud music accompanying it.  During the clash between the two groups, stones were reportedly hurled, which triggered panic in the area. Violence in Mumbai: Meanwhile, two groups clashed during a Ram Navami procession in Mumbai on Thursday night, according to the police. The incident occurred at Malvani in suburban Malad (West) when the procession was going on and some people objected to high volume DJ and loud music accompanying it, an official said. Additional police personnel were called to the spot and force was used to disperse the crowd, he said.

Meanwhile, two groups clashed during a Ram Navami procession in Mumbai on Thursday night, according to the police. The incident occurred at Malvani in suburban Malad (West) when the procession was going on and some people objected to high volume DJ and loud music accompanying it, an official said. Additional police personnel were called to the spot and force was used to disperse the crowd, he said. Karnataka Clashes: In the South, clashes broke out between two communities during a Ram Navami procession on Thursday night in Hassan district.

 People from both communities have reportedly filed complaints against each other. Officials say the incident took place on Channarayapatnas Bagur road.

 People from two communities clashed during a procession after two men were allegedly stabbed. The victims were identified as Murli and Harsha. Both of them are currently being treated at a private hospital nearby. As a precautionary measure, security was beefed up in the town.

In the South, clashes broke out between two communities during a Ram Navami procession on Thursday night in Hassan district.  People from both communities have reportedly filed complaints against each other. Officials say the incident took place on Channarayapatnas Bagur road.  People from two communities clashed during a procession after two men were allegedly stabbed. The victims were identified as Murli and Harsha. Both of them are currently being treated at a private hospital nearby. As a precautionary measure, security was beefed up in the town. Madhya Pradesh Tragedy: Tragedy struck a temple in Indore city when an ancient well collapsed taking down with it devotees sitting on a slab atop the well. At least 35 devotees died in the accident that took place when they were performing a havan on Ram Navami.

Tragedy struck a temple in Indore city when an ancient well collapsed taking down with it devotees sitting on a slab atop the well. At least 35 devotees died in the accident that took place when they were performing a havan on Ram Navami. Indore Temple Incident: The incident took place at the Baleshwar Mahadev temple in Indore. Following the incident, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakhs to the next of kin of the deceased while Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured.

The incident took place at the Baleshwar Mahadev temple in Indore. Following the incident, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakhs to the next of kin of the deceased while Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured. Rajasthan : Three men reportedly died following an electrocution while performing stunts during Ram Navami celebrations in Kotradeet village of Kota district of Rajasthan.

: Three men reportedly died following an electrocution while performing stunts during Ram Navami celebrations in Kotradeet village of Kota district of Rajasthan. Ram Navami Procession Turns Tragic: The celebration turned tragic when seven men formed a human pyramid to take down a steel ring, with which they performed stunts. They hit an overhead high tension cable and were electrocuted, Deputy Superintendent of Police Gajendra Singh said.

 While three people died, four others who were also electrocuted were taken to a hospital nearby for treatment.

The celebration turned tragic when seven men formed a human pyramid to take down a steel ring, with which they performed stunts. They hit an overhead high tension cable and were electrocuted, Deputy Superintendent of Police Gajendra Singh said.  While three people died, four others who were also electrocuted were taken to a hospital nearby for treatment. West Bengal Clashes: Meanwhile, violence and clashes were reported in West Bengals Howrah city between two groups during a Ram Navami procession.

 Several vehicles were reportedly torched and shops were ransacked on Thursday evening. Police said over 30 people were detained in connection with the clashes. Six cops were reportedly injured.

Meanwhile, violence and clashes were reported in West Bengals Howrah city between two groups during a Ram Navami procession.  Several vehicles were reportedly torched and shops were ransacked on Thursday evening. Police said over 30 people were detained in connection with the clashes. Six cops were reportedly injured. CNN-News18 Ground Report: CNN-News18 brings you a ground report from Howrah city

Howrah Clashes Aftermath: The situation was reportedly normal on Friday morning. However, heavy police deployment was seen in Howrah city the morning after the clashes. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a dharna, said strict action would be taken against the culprits.

The situation was reportedly normal on Friday morning. However, heavy police deployment was seen in Howrah city the morning after the clashes. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a dharna, said strict action would be taken against the culprits. Maharashtra Violence: In Aurangabad city of Maharashtra, at least 12 people, including 10 policemen, were injured in clashes. According to PTI, a mob of around 500 people hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles when personnel tried to control the situation following a clash between two groups near a Ram temple on Thursday.

In Aurangabad city of Maharashtra, at least 12 people, including 10 policemen, were injured in clashes. According to PTI, a mob of around 500 people hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles when personnel tried to control the situation following a clash between two groups near a Ram temple on Thursday. Aurangabad Clashes: The incident, in which 13 vehicles were torched by the miscreants, occurred during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday in the citys Kiradpura locality which houses the famous Ram temple, officials said.

The police used tear gas and fired plastic bullets as well as live rounds to control the mob, officials said, adding that eight teams have been formed to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

(With inputs from Vinaya, Kamalika and Reethu)

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Trinamool Congress on Saturday questioned the decision of West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose to set up special cell for real time monitoring the situation at Howrahs Shibpur- Kazipara area in wake of the clashes over a Ram Navami procession that started on Thursday and continued till Friday afternoon.

On late Friday afternoon after the Governor took a detailed report from the state chief secretary H. K. Dwivedi and the state home secretary B. P. Gopalika about the situation in the tension-prone area, a strong-worded statement was issued by the Raj Bhavan from where the decision to set up this special monitoring cell was announced.

Governor ordered real time monitoring of the situation and constituted a special cell for the same, the statement of Raj Bhavan read.

The statement also mentioned about a confidential discussion to review the situation between the Governor and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Violent incidents were reported in West Bengals Howrah for the second consecutive day after clashes on Ram Navami. Clashes also erupted in Sasaram and Nalanda of Bihar.

Violence broke out between two groups when a procession was taken out on Thursday evening in Howrah. Several vehicles were torched and shops were ransacked. A day after violent clashes, another incident of stone-pelting occurred today in Howrahs Kazipara area.

Meanwhile, internet services have been suspended in some areas within the jurisdiction of Howrah Town, Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate and Barrackpore Police Commissionerate till 2 am Saturday in the wake of violence.

In Vadodara, stones were hurled at two separate Ram Navami processions when they were passing through the citys communally-sensitive areas of Fatehpura and nearby Kumbharwada. At least two persons were injured in stone-pelting by a mob at Kumbharwada, the police said.

Here are the latest updates on violence on Ram Navami:

CM Mamata Banerjee and Governor C V Ananda Bose reviewed the situation and prohibitory orders imposed besides increasing riot police deployment in the area.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday claimed that the BJP along with other right-wing organisations was responsible for violence in the industrial town of Howrah on Ram Navami.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday spoke to West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose over the violence during a Ram Navami procession in Howrah and took stock of the situation, sources said. During the telephonic conversation, the home minister sought to know the prevailing situation in the state, particularly in the violence-hit areas of Howrah.

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said those who resort to violence under the illusion that they can hoodwink the people will soon realise they are in a fools paradise.

The BJP filed a PIL in the Calcutta High Court over incidents of violence and attack on the Ram Navami processions at Howrah and Dalkhola. The party an NIA probe and immediate deployment of Central Forces in such areas.

BJP West Bengal chief Sukanta Majumdar wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah over the Howrah violence and demanded an NIA probe.

A stone-pelting incident was reported in Bihars Sasaram following the Ram Navami procession. Miscreants set two houses on fire and torched vehicles. Shahabad DIG Naveen Chandra Jha said the situation is under control now in Sasaram.

Clashes broke out between two groups near Gagan Diwan under Laheri Police Station area in Nalanda. Stone pelting and arson of vehicles also occurred. Police and administration officials were present at the spot, ANI reported.

Police have apprehended more than 20 persons in connection with a clash between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in Mumbais Malvani area, an official said on Friday.

As many as seven persons have been arrested following a mob attack on a police station in central Maharashtras Aurangabad (Sambhajinagar) while an injured man died in hospital, police said on Friday. Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais spoke to CM Eknath Shinde and urged him to ensure stern action against arsonists in Sambhajinagar.

(With PTI inputs)

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Heavy rain led to waterlogging in parts of the national capital after a thunderstorm late Thursday evening. Over 20 flights were diverted from Delhi airport till 8 pm on March 30.

The unexpected weather conditions forced diverted flights to land at nearby airports like Lucknow, Jaipur, Dehradun and Chandigarh.

On March 25, Delhi witnessed the highest rainfall in a single day in March in three years, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Rain Forecast For Northwest India

The IMD has predicted isolated hailstorms over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand and East Rajasthan for Friday. Isolated heavy rainfall is also expected in Jammu and Kashmir as well.

For Central India, the IMD predicted rainfall/thunderstorm activity over Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh on Friday.

In the east, scattered to fairly widespread rainfall/thunderstorm activity very likely over Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal & Sikkim till April 1st.

The Northeast too is likely to witness moderate rainfall. Widespread light/moderate rainfall is expected in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura till April 2nd. Rain alert also for Arunachal Pradesh till Sunday.

Rain Alert For the South

Light isolated rainfall/thunderstorm is predicted for at least five days starting March 30 for the northern parts of Karnataka, according to an IMD press release.

The IMD also said very heavy rainfall occurred at isolated parts across Tamil Nadu. The Nilgiris district witnessed over 30 cm rainfall while 10 cm rain was recorded in Erode district.

Significant amount on rainfall in Kerala. Heavy rains in Ambalavayal (Wayanad district), Kanjirappally (Kottayam district), Mannarkkad (Palakkad district), Vythiri (Wayanad district), and Neryamangalam (Ernakulam district), the IMD said.

IMDs Advisory for Farmers

The IMD issued an advisory for farmers urging them to postpone harvesting of matured crops in Arunachal Pradesh.

Complete the harvesting of matured crops in Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan during clear weather, the IMD said.

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Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that 100% cases" of Covid-19 are sent for genome sequencing. He added that that the surge is driven by the XBB variant of the coronavirus and its sub-variants.

Addressing the press conference, Kejriwal said that XBB.1.16 spreads fast and evades vaccine" but is not severe". Elaborating on the preparations by the government, he said that 7,986 beds have been readied, including oxygen and ventilators. The CM said that of these, only 66 are occupied as of now. He further said that the three deaths in Delhi were not Covid-related. The patients had other ailments and coronavirus was incidental".

Other state governments are also ramping up testing for Covid-19 and encouraging the increased use of masks and social distancing as the recent uptick in virus tally continues, with daily case count breaching record of nearly six months. India on Friday saw 3,095 fresh infections in 24 hours.

From Uttar Pradesh to Maharashtra and Kerala, hospitals have been put on alert. Saurabh Bharadwaj, health minister of the national capital, was reportedly told that the genome sequencing of samples has shown that the XBB is behind the spike and there is no new variant.

Indias toll has risen to 5,30,867 with five deaths  one each reported by Goa and Gujarat and three reconciled by Kerala  in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am said.

The daily positivity was recorded at 2.61 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 1.91 per cent. The total tally of Covid cases was recorded at 4.47 crore (4,47,15,786).

The active cases now comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections while the national recovery rate has been recorded at 98.78 per cent, according to the ministry website. The data further stated that 220.65 crore Covid vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide drive so far.

Covid Situation in Delhi

The state health minister has asked the people not to panic due to the high positivity rate. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Bharadwaj said they were getting some indicators about the spike in Covid cases but they are fully prepared.

Last night, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal called me to discuss about the Covid situation and he asked me to convene an emergency meeting on Thursday. In the meeting , epidemiologist, genome sequencing expert, special secretary (health) were present and we analysed the situation closely," he said.

Covid Situation in Maharashtra

Maharashtra reported nearly 700 fresh Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the highest single-day detection in over five months. The jump in infections has pushed the count of active cases in the state beyond the 3,000-mark, which doubled in just nine days.

Solapur and Sangli districts have topped the positivity chart in Maharashtra with 20.05 per cent and 17.47 per cent rate, respectively, in March.

Four weeks back, the state had a positivity rate of 1.05 per cent but between March 22 and 28, it reported 6.15 per cent. The districts with a rise in positivity rate include Solapur (20.05 per cent), Sangli (17.47 per cent), Kolhapur (15.35 per cent), Pune (12.33 per cent), Nashik 7.84 per cent and Ahmednagar (7.56 per cent)," said the state department in a statement.

The daily reporting of Covid-19 cases is high in districts such as Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Raigad, Nashik and Sangli, it added. The department confirmed the new Covid-19 variant  XBB.1.16  has been found in swab samples of 230 patients in the state so far.

In view of the rising cases, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) chief Abhijit Bangar has initiated a plan to create 25 more beds along with the special ward at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital (CSMH) in Kalwa.

The TMC chief has also instructed the officials to conduct a death audit to ascertain the number of patients who passed away, and to increase the number of coronavirus tests in public places, markets, railway stations and malls.

Covid Situation in Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday put all the frontline workers working in government as well as private hospitals on alert mode, while stepping up precautionary measures.

As of March 28, the districts affected by Covid-19 are Gautam Budh Nagar (57), Ghaziabad (55), Lakhimpur Kheri (44), Lucknow (27), Bijnor (12), Lalitpur (9) and Saharanpur (8). Officials have been directed to carefully monitor the situation in these districts.

Directions have also been issued for increasing testing and treatment in the affected districts and taking special precautions in districts that were most affected in the previous Covid-19 waves.

Situation in Kerala

According to an official statement from the health ministers office, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram districts have the highest number of Covid cases. The positive cases are increasing in the state and hence an alert has been issued. It has been found that Omicron is spreading in the state and the samples have been sent for genomic sequencing," Kerala health minister Veena George said.

Covid Situation in Haryana

The Haryana government has issued fresh guidelines and asked all health facilities to record travel history of a suspected case having travel history to a country or an area where the virus has been reported.

In addition, the history of coming in contact with a suspected or confirmed case of Covid-19 shall be recorded and information of all such cases should be given to the office of the Civil Surgeon of the district immediately," said the health department notification.

Situation in Goa

Goa reported 108 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, while one more patient succumbed to the infection in the state, said the health department. With these additions, the states overall Covid-19 tally rose to 2,59,813, while the death toll increased to 4,014, said a department bulletin. On Wednesday, the state had registered 97 new infections.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Arriving at Nita Ambanis NMACC launch ceremony in Mumbai were Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani. The couple was spotted pairing up in all-black attire. They both wore ethnic clothing. Anant Ambani can be seen sporting a kurta-pajama combo, while Radhika Merchant was clad in a black saree. The couple posed for the photographers waiting at the location. On the other hand, Anant Ambani sported a bandhgala with silver buttons and a brooch.

Check out the images right here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani)

Mukesh Ambani, businessman and husband of Nita Ambani, and his daughter Isha also arrived at the event before the pair. The father-daughter pair was also spotted donning cultural attire. Isha was spotted in a lovely white attire, while his father was spotted in a black suit. Shloka Mehta and Akash Ambani, who were also photographed at the occasion, were both dressed elegantly. Akash wore a green kurta combo, while Shloka wore a saree.

Look out the photos of them below:

Meanwhile, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambanis son, Anant Ambani, and Encore Healthcare CEO Viren Merchants daughter, Radhika Merchant had got engaged in Gol Dhana ceremony in Mumbai on January 19, 2023.

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Dior, the prestigious high-end fashion brand, revealed their newest collection for Fall 2023 against the stunning setting of Mumbais Gateway of India. Many celebrities from Bollywood were among the attendees, including Ananya Panday. Photos and videos of the actress arriving at the event have been circulating on social media. Ananya looked lovely in her pink co-ord set. In a viral video, the Liger fame is seen striking stunning poses for the camera against a colourful backdrop of Dior. When some paps called her ACP (Ananya Chunky Panday) during the photo-op, the actress adorably replied, Aap please ACP mat bolna (please dont call me ACP)." Towards the end, she thanked the photographers and enters the venue.

After seeing the video, fans have been lauding the actress for her style. One of the users wrote, Her style is always fresh and unique." Another user wrote, This colour is suiting her so much." One more user wrote, Such a doll."

Watch the video below:

For the occasion, Ananya donned a chic magenta pink co-ord set which consisted of a top and a skirt with cut-out features. She accessorised her outfit with a 4-tier pearl choker and pearl earrings. The diva completed the look with the famous Lady Dior mini bag in a black sparkly design along with a pair of black and white shoes. She also opted for a sleek back hairdo, kohled eyes, blush pink highlighter, and glossy lips.

Apart from Ananya, several other celebrities such as Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli, Athiya Shetty, Shweta Bachchan Nanda, Sonam Kapoor, Rekha, Khushi Kapoor and the Ambanis were spotted at the event. Anushka was seen wearing a yellow dress and carrying the Lady Dior mini bag. Meanwhile, Virat looked great alongside her in a khaki suit, white shirt, and sneakers. Sonam appeared very chic in a pink dress, which she paired with a pink blazer.

Meanwhile, on the professional front, Ananya will next be seen in Raaj Shaandilyaas directorial Dream Girl 2, alongside Paresh Rawal and Ayushmann Khurrana in lead roles. The romantic-comedy drama is currently in its production stage and is expected to release on July 7 this year. Apart from that, she will also be seen in Arjun Varain Singhs film Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. The movie also stars Adarsh Gourav and Siddhant Chaturvedi in the lead roles.

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All eyes were on Indias first-ever Dior Fall 2023 show at Gateway of India, Mumbai. Indeed, it was a high-on-glam event. Models walking down the runway with a backdrop of classical Indian music at Diors creative director Maria Grazia Chiuris show was a treat to watch. The standalone fashion show saw many prominent names in attendance. From Virat Kohli to Karisma Kapoor to Anushka Sharma, many celebs arrived in their best outfits to witness the grand show in the city.

But hold onto your breath as we bring you the most fashionable celebrity who made head turns at the Dior show. Any guesses? Well, it was the fashion queen, Sonam Kapoor. And she understood the business. As always, paying attention to the details, Sonam opted for a monotone outfit consisting of an all-pink shirt, skirt and an overcoat. She gave her outfit a contemporary touch by adding traditional jewels and a vintage pearl necklace.

Sonam Kapoor was accompanied by her cousin Khushi Kapoor. Boney Kapoor and late actress Sridevis daughter walked the red carpet in a checkered dress that came in black and white colour. She matched her outfit with a pearl choker and stunning diamond studs. Khushi tied her hair in a high pony with a black bow hair band and sealed her look with black shiny loafers. Cameras went clickety-click as soon as the Kapoor sisters arrived at the event. Sonam and Khushi even paused and posed for the shutterbugs positioned at the event.

Check it out:

Earlier, Sonam Kapoor gave her fans a sneak peek of the French luxury fashion house Diors Mumbai show invite on Instagram. The invite was sent to many Bollywood actors along with a few gifts by Dior. So happy Dior, so happy the house is showcasing the collection in Mumbai. Cannot wait to see all that is done." She further added, Also thank you for the wonderful goodies."

The extravagant affair also saw celebrities from the West. Game of Thrones star Maisie William arrived in the city a few days ago for the couture showcase. Even Thai actors Mile and Apo were also in attendance.

This year, Maria Grazias Dior Fall womens collection was dedicated to the long-standing relationship with India.

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ALBANY  Gov. Hochul has a new list of seven candidates from which to choose a nominee to be the next chief judge of New York after Senate Dem
Bigg Boss 16 fame Shiv Thakare, in a recent interview, opened up about the times he had to face the casting couch in showbiz. Shiv, who hails from Amravati, came to Mumbai to make a career in acting. When he started auditioning for shows and commercials in 2015, he had some unpleasant experiences. He realised that not just women but men too face casting couch. Mumbai mein aane ke baad pata chala ki sirf ladkiyo ko dar nahi rehta yaha, ladko ko bhi dar rahta hai (only after I came to Mumbai, I realised that not only women but also men were victims of casting couch), the actor told Hindustan Times. However, he feels lucky to have avoided the horrible situations not once but twice.

Shiv Thakare, talking to the publication, recalled the time when he was called for an audition in Aram Nagar in Versova. There, a director asked the actor to meet him inside a massage centre after the audition. He (the director) took me to the bathroom and said, Yaha pe massage centre hai. I didnt get the connection between an audition and a massage centre. He told me, Ek baar aap aao yaha audition ke baad. Aap workout bhi karte ho..I just left the place, since he was a casting director and I didnt want to take any pangas. I am no Salman Khan. But I realised there is no discrimination between men and women when it comes to this (casting couch)," said Shiv.

Shiv Thakares ordeal with the casting couch did not end there. He narrated another incident where a woman invited him to Four Bungalows, claiming that she had made the careers of several actors in the industry. Shiv said, " She was calling me for an audition at 11 in the night. Itna bhola toh nahi hoon main ki I wont understand what auditions happen at night (I am not that naive to not understand her intentions for calling me at night). So, I told her that I have some work and I cannot make it." He added that the women tried to demotivate and manipulate him, saying that he would not get work in the industry. However, he did not let the warnings affect him much.

Shiv Thakare became a popular name after he participated in and won the Marathi version of Bigg Boss in 2019. Earlier, he participated in MTV Roadies Rising. In 2022, Shiv participated in Bigg Boss 16, hosted by Salman Khan, and soon became the audience favourite.

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Nani and Keerthy Suresh-starrer period action drama Dasara hit theatres on Thursday and received favourable reviews from both critics and viewers. The movie created excitement among fans, ever since the project was announced. According to reports, the films team were expecting to receive wonderful openings everywhere. They also claimed this movie would get the best opening in Nanis career. All this has turned out to be true. According to trade analysts, Dasara marks the best opening of Nanis career. It is said that this film will receive a share in the range of Rs 10 crore. Trade sources say that if the same flow continues for night shows too, these collections are likely to increase.

Dasara created a good buzz with its songs and trailer. Nani and Keerthy Suresh did an amazing job too, critics believe. It is said that this raw and rustic film, which was shot in the backdrop of Singareni coal mines near Godavarikhani of Telangana, has pleased the audience.

Reports say the movie is also getting good reception in America. There the film has already registered over 500K dollars in pre-sales. Trade sources say the film will run in theatres for a long time.

The movie was massively released in 2,710 theatres worldwide. In Andhra Pradesh, it was released in 900 theatres in Telangana. This movie was released in 80 theatres in Karnataka, 80 in Tamil Nadu,100 in Kerala and 750 theatres in the rest of India.

Two OTT platforms have bagged the streaming rights of Dasara. Netflix has got the streaming rights to Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam versions, while Hotstar has got the Hindi streaming rights. It seems that this movie will be streaming on these OTT platforms after eight weeks. It will be interesting to watch how much Nanis first pan-India film will collect. It is reported that the theatrical rights of Telugu states have been bought for Rs 28 crore. Trade sources say that the business has been done in the range of Rs 50 crore to different areas in Telugu states.

Dasara is written and directed by debutant Srikanth Odela. It stars an ensemble cast of Nani, Keerthy Suresh, Dheekshith Shetty, Shine Tom Chacko, Samuthirakani, Sai Kumar and Poorna.

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Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas have landed in Mumbai with their daughter Malti in tow. The family was spotted at the Kalina airport in Mumbai on Friday afternoon. In the pictures, Priyanka was seen holding Malti in her arms as she posed for pictures with Nick. This marked the couples first public spotting with their daughter Malti in India.

For her flight, Priyanka was seen wearing a bright pink long skirt, featuring a thigh-high slit, along with a matching crop top. Whereas Nick Jonas kept things casual with his outfit. Little Malti is dressed in a cute little grey dress.

Watch the video below:

It seems like the couple has landed in Mumbai for Nita Ambanis cultural centre launch. Priyanka and Nick were spotted at the Kalina airport just a few hours after Tom Holland and Zendaya. The Spider-Man: No Way Home stars, who are also dating, stunned fans with their surprise visit to Mumbai. The couple is also expected to join Priyanka and Nick for the cultural centre launch.

Although this is her first appearance with Malti in India, this also marks Priyankas first appearance since she made the shocking allegations about being cornered in Bollywood and the politics in the industry. Earlier this week, the Citadel star opened up about her reason to move to Hollywood with Dax Shepherd on his podcast Armchair Expert when she said, I was being pushed into a corner in the industry (Bollywood). I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game so I kind of was tired of the politics and I said I needed a break. Priyankas Fashion co-star Kangana Ranaut extended her support to Priyanka Chopra after the jaw-dropping claims.

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On March 30, Filmfare hosted the 7th annual Filmfare Awards Marathi, with Planet Marathi serving as the title sponsor. The best in Marathi cinema was honoured once again this year. Actors like Tejasswi Prakash, Girija Oak, Akshay Bardapurkar, Anu Malik, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Neena Kulkarni, Kishori Shahane, Urmilla Kothare and Bhushan Kadu were present at the event. One of the actors who took all the attention was Sai Tamhankar. Yes, you read that.

Sai Tamhankar looked stunning in a layered, dark blue halter dress with a large, stunning flower on the front and a netted train on the back. She added a high bun to complete her look. For makeup, she added smokey eyes and neutral lips. She wrote in the caption, Wochu gonna do wid all that punk for Filmfare Marathi Tonight.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sai (@saietamhankar)

Social media users started comparing her with Uorfi Javed. One of the users commented, For a second I thought it is Uorfi, while another wrote, Uorfi Lite.

Tejasswi Prakash looked stunning in her traditional pink and turquoise silk lehenga. She finished off her ensemble with a gold choker necklace and a sleek bun. Actor Jitendra Kumar looked dashing in a black suit. Usha Uthup had a stunning appearance in her purple saree.

Last year, Sai won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Mimi. Film producer Anish Joag was Sais biggest supporter and wrote a positive Instagram post to show it. He posted images from the award ceremony, showing Sai posing with the prizes. He captioned the post, She has worked bloody hard for it. She has dreamed this for bloody long. She is just the bloody best there is! She is here to stay! She is going to bloody own! And she bloody well deserves this! Cheers to dreaming!

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anish Joag (@anishjoag)

In April last year, Anish and Sai shared a social media post to formally announce their relationship. At the wedding of Siddharth Chandekar and Mitali Mayekar, they made their relationship public. Sai Tamhankar and Anish Joag attracted attention with their cute photos.

Sai is renowned for her iconic performance in Kriti Sanons Mimi. She also won numerous accolades for her role in the film. She will next be seen in Lalit Prabhakar and Prakash Kuntes film Colorphool.

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Some remember him as Gutthi, others love his Dr Mashoor Gulati avatar, yes we are talking about Sunil Grover. The comedian-actor is not a new name in the industry and he has proved his exceptional acting mettle with shows like Comedy Nights with Kapil and The Kapil Sharma Show. Although Sunil Grover is no longer a part of the comedy shows, his character is still loved by fans. Sunil is now preparing to be seen next to Shah Rukh Khan in Atlees directorial Jawan. While he is busy gearing up for his films, a news portal recently got in touch with him to know about his plans of returning to television.

Crediting his success to television, Sunil Grover told Pinkvilla, Television is a huge medium, and Im everything because of Television. Im really willing to do something on Television, and if something interesting is offered then I would definitely do it."

Meanwhile, the 45-year-old actor is packed with back-to-back projects. Currently, he is working on his upcoming web show titled United Kacche. Directed by Manav Shah, the 8-episode web series is shot in the United Kingdom. The story revolves around the challenging lives of immigrants in London. Apart from Sunil Grover, the light-hearted drama stars Satish Shah, Sapna Pabbi, Nikhil Vijay, Manu Rishi Chaddha, Nayani Dixit, and Neelu Kohli in crucial roles. United Kacche will mark the return of Sunil Grover on ZEE5 after his last successful series Sunflower.

Earlier speaking to the media, Sunil Grover shared that he was happy to partner with ZEE5 again for United Kacche with the hope and anticipation that his audience will shower much love for his new series as well. Talking about the title of the series, Sunil had said, Firstly, the series is based in London and so, we shot in UK extensively to keep the look and the feel of the show as authentic as possible; secondly, Kacche signifies an illegal immigrant residing in a foreign country without legitimate paperwork trying to become a legal citizen and thirdly; united also conveys the unification of all illegal immigrants from different countries and religions who become one family as they are undergoing the same struggle so even in this series, you will see an Indian man, a Pakistani couple and a Bangladeshi duo live together in unison."

The situational comedy will start premiering on ZEE5 Global on March 31.

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Bollywood actor Satish Shahs stint as a hilarious professor Rasai in the film Main Hoon Na has been lauded by many. Shah Rukh Khan might have won our hearts with his portrayal of Major Ram, an undercover agent, but it was Satishs spitting-while-talking scenes that still make us go ROFL. Slipping into Rasais character was, however, not a cakewalk for Satish. The reason is the Bollywood superstar himself. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Satish spilled the beans on how he was forced to undergo 8 retakes for a particular spit-related scene in the movie, conducted on classroom premises. All because SRK could not control his laughter.

Recalling his shooting days, Satish Shah shared that he used to drink a glass of water before any of his spitting scenes transpired. Retaining the water in his mouth, he practised speaking in a certain accentuated method so that the water sprayed from his mouth, whenever he spoke. But his hard work went futile every time as Shah Rukh Khan burst out laughing, causing him to retake the scene again.

The Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai actor further revealed that this happened 8 times. After the 8th retake in the classroom, Satish disclosed that he got furious. Then I got really angry and said after this I wont do it. And everyone is laughing, they are falling off the chair, he remembered. The scene was so funny for the cast and crew members witnessing it, that even in the 9th retake, Shah Rukh Khan once again, cracked up.

Finally, the makers were compelled to insert actor Zayed Khans scene in the particular shot, to save Satish from giving another retake. It was very difficult to keep a straight face and do these things but such things do happen, agreed Satish.

In the same interview, Satish Shah also opened up about how SRK and director Farah Khan convinced him to play the role of Rasai. Earlier, he was given two options - either to essay the character of Rasai or the strict college principal which was later played by Boman Irani. Both Shah Rukh and Farah urged Satish that he would be perfect for the role. Citing what SRK told him, Satish said, I think you should this role because we cant think of anybody else doing it. Thats how I ended up doing that role but it was not easy because I thought about how to go about it.

Main Hoon Na, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Amrita Rao, Zayed Khan, and Sunil Shetty in pivotal roles turned out to be a blockbuster in the theatres.

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Bollywood does not have a lot of actors from the North East and is thus often criticised for cultural underrepresentation of the region. However, there is one actor from the North East who has made a huge name for himself in Bollywood over a career spanning almost 50 years. We are talking about Tshering Phintso Denzongpa, better known as Danny Denzongpa. He is from the state of Sikkim. Over the years, Danny has played a wide variety of roles  from the lead hero, and supporting characters to the menacing villain.

Dannys villainous roles like Kancha Cheena from Agneepath, Bakhtavar from Hum and Kaathiya from Ghatak can never be forgotten. He has also played many positive roles like that of Khuda Baksh in Khuda Gawah. Success did not come easy to Danny Denzongpa. The story of Danny, who came from a small state and made his place in Bollywood, makes for an interesting read.

Like many aspirants, Danny enrolled himself in the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune to fulfil his dream of being an actor. It was here that he met classmate Jaya Bachchan, then known as Jaya Bhaduri, who named him Danny.

Even after passing out from FTII, his North Eastern features not only proved a hindrance to his career but also caused him humiliation. Let us tell you about one such story. After hearing about Mohan Kumar, Danny decided to halt outside of his home and try his luck. The majority of the guards were from Sikkim or Nepal, so he was easily granted access inside. He had the chance to speak with Mohan Kumar, who had produced and directed a number of movies. As he revealed his desire to become a successful actor to Mohan Kumar, it is said that Mohan Kumar laughed out loud and asked him to join the guards at his bungalow.

The insult was too much for Danny, and he made a choice right there. He observed a vacant plot of land next to Mohan Kumars home and silently vowed to himself that when he became wealthy, he would build his bungalow on that plot. As time went on, Danny succeeded as a very well-known, well-paid actor, but he never lost sight of his original intention. He took steps to ensure that nobody else acquired the land for which he had dreams. Finally, he paid whatever sum was demanded that land and constructed DZongrila, an enviable bungalow there.

He started his career with a positive role in the 1971 film Mere Apne. Two years later, in 1973, he played the role of a villain for the first time in BR Chopras film Dhund. Danny did about 190 films till 1990. He made headlines in the 70s for being in a live-in relationship with Parveen Babi, which was a big deal in those days.

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Rahul Gandhi, back in the 2019 election campaign, while taking a potshot at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said: How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname? Now that the Surat court has ensconced the issue, finding Rahul Gandhi guilty and punishing him with two years in jail, chief judicial magistrate HH Verma, on the other hand, authorised Gandhis release on a bond of Rs 15,000 and granted him a 30-day stay of execution to allow him to appeal. The moot point doesnt remain the legality of what he said and whom he ended up affronting. In Gandhis case, at the request of his legal team, the Surat court deferred his sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal the verdict, although the alacrity of the Congress with its battery of high-key lawyers  who knock off the doors of the apex court at midnight for even terrorists  seems to fizzle out in approaching the higher appellate court.

As a matter of fact, Rahul was suspended from the Lok Sabha the next day, in line with Section 8(3) of the Representation of Peoples Act, which was undisputedly upheld in Lily Thomas (along with Lok Prahari) v. Union of India, wherein the Supreme Court ruled on July 10, 2013, that any Member of Parliament (MP), Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), or Member of a Legislative Council (MLC) who is convicted of a crime and given a minimum of two years imprisonment loses membership of the House with immediate effect. This is in contrast to the earlier position, wherein convicted members held on to their seats until they exhausted all judicial remedies in the lower, state, and Supreme Courts of India. Further, Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, which allowed elected representatives three months to appeal their conviction, was declared ultra-vires (unconstitutional) by the bench of Justice AK Patnaik and Justice SK Mukhopadhaya, notes Wikipedia.

The slew of events that followed the Rahul fiasco created a bedlam where a myriad of responses was witnessed not only in the Opposition camp but also in the Congressional quarters. Rajya Sabha member and senior congress leader Pramod Tiwari proposed that when sentencing a case, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his familys background be considered and that the law should be different for the Gandhi family. This indeed reminds us of Dev Kant Barooahs declaration, Indira is India, India is Indira.

As per Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Rahul Gandhi himself tore the ordinance introduced by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2013 to ensure that elected representatives convicted by a court do not face automatic disqualification. Karma caught up to him, he jibed. I have been disqualified as the prime minister is scared of my next speech. I have seen fear in his eyes. Thats why they dont want me to speak in the Parliament, remarked the former MP Rahul in his presser. He disdainfully added, My name is not Savarkar. I am a Gandhi. I wont apologise.

Lets come back to addressing the elephant in the room, the purported unity of the Opposition. The issue seems to have huddled and mobilised the Opposition parties in alignment with the Congress, or so it seems! Leaders from various political parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) expressed solidarity and support with Rahul.

Interestingly, earlier this month, the TMC accused the Congress-Left combine of having an immoral alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that the party will not enter into any partnership with the two Opposition parties to fight the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. It even slammed the Congress over its alleged big boss attitude and that it did not respect the space of regional parties who were strong in their states, which attracted flak from Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who, in turn, deemed TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee the creation of the Congress and alleged that the TMC that Mamata created became a party of thieves. While Akhilesh Yadav seemed to have supported Rahul, in a few hours, he pontificated to the Congress to support and promote the regional parties. AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in unmistakably harsh language against PM Modi and in support of Rahul Gandhi, but the two parties, i.e. the AAP and the INC, are at each others throats. This month, when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) apprehended the former Delhi Deputy CM, Manish Sisodia, Congress leaders wholeheartedly welcomed the move.

Back in 2018, a galaxy of bigheads of the anti-Modi camp, the likes of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Sitaram Yechuri, Mamata Banerjee, N Chandrababu Naidu, Sharad Pawar, Pinarayi Vijayan, Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Yadav, Ajit Jogi, D Raja, Tejaswi Yadav, Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy, etc, posed in a show of Opposition unity but that was a fleeting moment to be cherished with the picturesque pose holding and raising hands, all in unison.

Be that as it may, the consistency and coherency of the Opposition is quite daunting and flummoxing to any political observer such as the writer of this article. This paucity of an ideological plank or a common minimum programme to lock horns with the Modi juggernaut needs to be designed if the Congress aims to vanquish the Modi-led BJP electorally.

Yuvraj Pokharna is an independent journalist and columnist. He tweets with @pokharnaprince. Views expressed are personal.

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Home Minister Amit Shah, in alleging that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime had tried to strong-arm him into implicating Narendra Modi (the then chief minister of Gujarat) in an encounter death, makes the point that the Congress-led governments in the past have faced precisely the same accusations of abuse of power that are now being levelled against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

During the UPA years, it was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which levelled charges of executive overreach and undermining of civil rights against the Congress. In 2013, Modi famously declared that the UPA regime was misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other central agencies to target its political rivals  exactly what the Congress is now claiming.

The point is that governments enjoying an extended period in office will tend towards authoritarian forms, but are kept in line by a robust system of checks and balances. Only once in the history of Independent India were those checks and balances subverted, to impose Emergency.

When Anna Hazare launched his anti-corruption movement in 2011, Team Anna claimed the UPA was so spooked by their success, that it launched a witch-hunt against them and their relatives. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, then an activist, received a dues recovery notice from the Income Tax (IT) department, and claimed the sudden demand was clearly prompted by the political bosses.

Baba Ramdev, a spiritual leader aligned with the BJP and a Hazare supporter, was detained and faced investigations on multiple counts. He, too, claimed that he was being victimised by a vindictive regime.

Meanwhile, far-Left groups accused the UPA of launching a war against those fighting for the rights of tribal communities (which were being dispossessed by corporates), in the form of Operation Green Hunt.

Foreign-funded non-governmental outfits also cried foul, when the Manmohan Singh government began investigating their finances and cancelling their licences. He remarked that NGOs funded by the US and Scandinavian agencies were behind the anti-nuclear protests in India. The NGO brigade, which then protested against the UPA, is now training its guns at the NDA.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) found itself in the crosshairs during the UPA years. It went so far as to say that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had let loose a reign of terror while investigating Abhinav Bharat, a right-wing organisation, in connection with the 2006 bomb blasts in Malegaon. At the time, newspapers had reported that the ATS had homed in on senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar. Congress leader Digvijay Singh made provocative remarks against the RSS, and sinister rumours of a plan to ban the organisation (for the fourth time) and arrest its leaders did the rounds in political circles.

Given its long history of overreach, the Congress cannot claim the high moral ground. From the Emergency onwards, it has been frequently criticised for misusing executive and legislative power to undermine civil rights and subvert the judiciary. The supersession of Supreme Court justices was a Congress invention, and it wasnt until the Three Judges Case ruling that the government was deprived of that power.

In 1986, the Rajiv Gandhi government used its brute majority in Parliament to overturn the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case, for fear of alienating the minority vote bank. It was also perceived as having influenced the outcome of investigations into the 1984 mass murder of Sikhs, with the result that the perpetrators were not brought to justice.

When the Congress returned to power in 2004, on the back of the UPA coalition, after eight years in the wilderness, Modi was a prime target. As he won election after election and his popularity grew, it became urgent to neutralise him somehow. Central agencies were brought to bear against Modi and Shah; they were rigorously questioned, but the lack of hard evidence frustrated the investigators.

Prima facie, the Modi government had no role to play in Rahul Gandhis disqualification as a Member of Parliament (MP). A citizen filed a case against him; a judge found merit in the argument and sentenced him; once convicted, he was automatically ousted from Parliament. The Congress construction of events is that all of it was orchestrated by a malicious government. Hence, the black clothes, country-wide protests and stalling of Parliament. The Congress may well justify its response to the Gandhi imbroglio as a defence of democracy. This is, by no means, the first time it has accused the Modi government of being undemocratic, but it took the conviction of its de facto leader to galvanise the party into action.

The difference is one of attitude. When BJP leaders were targeted during Congress regimes, they took it in their stride. Coming from a milieu of hard struggle, they matter-of-factly accepted that harassment by the authorities was just one more hurdle to overcome. But the Congress comes from a mindset of entitlement, and cannot reconcile itself to the fact that the boot is now on the other foot.

Bhavdeep Kang is a freelance writer and author of Gurus: Stories of Indias Leading Babas and Just Transferred: The Untold Story of Ashok Khemka. A journalist since 1986, she has written extensively on national politics. Views expressed are personal.

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Lok Sabha MP Simranjit Singh Mann said fugitive Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh should take refuge in Pakistan. Referring to the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, he said we went to Pakistan in 1984 too.

According to reports, the Shiromani Akali Dal leader said the radical preacher should not surrender, but flee to the neighbouring country that has long shared a troubled relationship with India.

He shouldnt surrender, he should cross the Ravi and go to Pakistan, Simranjit was quoted in a report published by India Today. We went to Pakistan in 1984 too

Simranjit further said if Amritpal managed to cross over to Pakistan, it would be justified by Sikh history as his life was in danger and the government was oppressing us (Sikhs).

His comments refer to the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 following Operation Blue Star at Amritsars Golden Temple and the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Even back then, those involved in Operation Blue Star, had said Pakistan would have helped Khalistani separatists by giving them sanctuary and recognising a separate country.

Amritsars Akali Dal chief, Simranjits statement came as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) took out a rally on Friday in a bid to press the Punjab government to release innocent Sikh youths arrested during a police crackdown on Amritpal Singh and his outfit Waris Punjab De. The apex gurdwara body also sought to revoke charges under the National Security Act (NSA) against some persons.

Led by its SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami, the procession marched from the headquarters to the district administration complex. The members submitted a memorandum to additional deputy commissioner Surinder Singh, which included the demand for the release of innocent Sikh youths arrested during the crackdown.

The Punjab government has told the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal body of Sikhs, that almost all the people taken into preventive custody  348 out of 360  have been released. The Akal Takht jathedars personal secretary Jaspal Singh said the government has informed them the rest will be released soon.

Akal Takht immutable, govts keep coming and going

Earlier this week, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann hit out at Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh for provoking people through an ultimatum to the state government to release all Sikh youths. The jathedar responded that he had the right and duty to speak out, and he also condemned the state government for invoking the stringent NSA against some of those held.

On Friday, Dhami slammed the chief minister for his comments against the jathedar. Bhagwant Manns comment on jathedar sahib is a direct challenge to the dignity of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and the Sikh community. He should immediately apologise to the Sikh community for this disregard," he said, adding that the Akal Takht was immutable while the governments keep coming and going".

The chief minister should not forget Sri Akal Takht Sahib is not the name of a building, it is the true Takht established by Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib, the sixth Sikh Guru, in the light of a principle and thought. The Mughals, the British, and the governments of the time tried to bend it, but had to give up in front of this principle blessed by the Guru. Todays governments are also making such a big mistake," Dhami said.

Search for Amritpal expanded

Punjab Police, meanwhile, expanded its search for Amritpal on Friday to deras and other possible hideouts in Hoshiarpur district, where some suspects had abandoned their car following a chase three days ago. Police sources said barricades have been placed at key choke points and a thorough search of all vehicles in Marnaian and nearby villages was underway. They said police officials were also searching deras, residential places, small rooms set up near tube wells and even shelter for animals in several villages.

The radical preacher has been on the run since March 18. He has, however, appeared in two purported videos and an audio clip released on social media in the last three days. In the latest video, he has asserted he was not a fugitive and would soon appear before the world. In the audio clip, he debunked speculation he was negotiating his surrender and nudged the Akal Takht for the second time to summon a Sarbat Khalsa congregation to discuss issues related to the Sikh community.

(With PTI inputs)

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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- BYD recently disclosed the latest spy photos of the first model under its yet-to-be-launched F brand.

Photo credit: BYD

Named SF, the model shown in the photos is being tested on roads. The sticker on the car window shows that it is still the testing vehicle previously numbered 2316. The automaker disclosed that the first three numbers signify that the SF would carry two electric motors and three locks (front and rear differential locks + electric center lock), and will ride on an all-new platform dedicated to new energy off-roaders. The 6 means the F brand will be launched in June this year.

Photo credit: BYD

Despite the thick camouflage, we can see that the raised lines on the vehicles front hood are still visible, while the split-style bumper design highlights its strong off-road attributes. Although the specific parameters are unclear, it still can be known that the SF has a large approach and departure angle.

The SF will carry BYD's Yunnian technology system, which will be launched on Apr. 10. Targeting a price range of 400,000-600,000 yuan, the model is expected for presale in the second half of this year.
Calling it a waste of money", Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday once again took a jibe at the construction of the new parliament building. Ramesh claimed the new parliament building is nothing but a personal vanity project" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Comparing the Prime Minister with every dictator", the Congress leader said PM Modi wants to leave behind his architectural legacy through the new parliament building.

The first of the personal vanity projects. Every dictator wants to leave behind his architectural legacy. Colossal waste of money", Ramesh said in a tweet following PM Modis surprise visit to the new parliament building earlier in the day.

The first of the personal vanity projects. Every dictator wants to leave behind his architectural legacy. Collosal waste of money. https://t.co/56Zhvtp1fG Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 30, 2023

The Prime Minister spent more than an hour and inspected various works at the construction site of the new parliament building on Thursday. He observed facilities coming up at both Houses of Parliament and also interacted with the construction workers.

The Congress Party have been criticizing the construction of the new parliament and central vista project since its announcement.

Earlier Congress leader Randeep Surjewala took to Twitter and said, Mr Modi, It will also be recorded in history that when farmers were fighting for their rights on the streets for 16 days, you were building a palace for yourself in the name of Central Vista. In a democracy, power is not meant to fulfil whims, it is a means of public service and welfare".

He further stated that the Parliament building is not about mortar and stones and it envisions democracy and imbibes Constitution."

Dear PM, Parliament is not mortar and stones. It envisions democracy. It imbibes Constitution. It is economic-political-social equality. It is compassion and camaraderie. It is the aspiration of 130 crore Indians. What would a building built upon trampling of these values represent?" Surjewala has tweeted.

It has to be noted that the Congress party also boycotted the foundation laying ceremony of the new parliament building.

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The Gujarat High Court on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, citing how the AAP convener had persisted with the matter about Prime Minister Narendra Modis degree certificates from Gujarat University despite them being public since 2016.

Despite the degree in question being put on the website of the petitioner university for all to see and despite this fact being made expressly clear with precision in the pleadings before this court and despite the respondent never ever disputing the degree in question either during the pendency of these proceedings or even during final hearing, the respondent No 2 (Kejriwal) has persisted with the matter. This is one more reason to impose costs while allowing this petition, the HC said in its judgment.

The court said there had been an indiscriminate use of the salutary provisions of the RTI Act in this case for purposes not contemplated by the legislature while enacting the said Act.

In the present case, the manner in which a request came from (Arvind) Kejriwal, who was neither an applicant nor an appellant and was merely a respondent before the CIC, leaves much to be desired. Such requests cannot be made so casually making mockery of the very intent and purpose of the RTI Act, the high court said in its detailed order.

The Gujarat University had put the prime ministers degree certificate on its website immediately in 2016, while challenging the order of the CIC in principle as it has lakhs of degrees with it in a fiduciary capacity and is not governed by the RTI Act. The university went to the HC to quash the CICs order and said such a demand was made by Kejriwal to politically sensationalise the issue.

Government sources told News18 that Prime Minister Modis degree certificates were available in the public domain at two places  in his affidavit filed while contesting the 2014 elections when Kejriwal had contested against him from Varanasi. Since 2016, the certificates have also been available on the website of Gujarat University. Still, Kejriwal had persisted with the matter till the HC.

The HC noted that in light of the legal position laid down by the Supreme Court, educational documents including degrees fall within the ambit of personal information of a citizen, disclosure of which is exempt under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. Further, this information is held by the universities and boards in fiduciary capacity on behalf of their students, which is again exempt under the Act.

The HC order also noted that the CIC in its impugned order has come to the conclusion that the information sought was neither in public interest nor relatable to accountability or transparency in discharge of public functions performed by Modi as the PM of India.

The solicitor general of India also pointed out before the HC that the degree in question is that of the person holding the position of prime minister of India and, therefore, in principle, the university has/had no objection in making the degree public. In observance of the highest degree of fairness and transparency, it has on May 9, 2016, also uploaded it on its website. This clearly suggests that there is no intention on the part of the appellant (the university) to withhold any information, the solicitor general argued.

However, despite that, the respondents (Kejriwal) are arbitrarily seeking to litigate on the issue for extraneous and oblique motives. It is submitted that the appellant university has conferred lakhs of degrees to lakhs of students over the years. If this order is not stayed, the appellant will be flooded with applications seeking such third party information and, therefore, the impugned order deserves to be stayed till the question raised in this petition is adjudicated, the university argued.

Government sources said the HC has made an example of Kejriwal as he tried to create sensationalism through his fishing expedition. The Delhi chief minister has lately questioned the educational qualifications of Modi, which the BJP has countered to be a falsehood.

It becomes clear that Kejriwal had access to the PMs degree certificates. But all he wanted was to create sensationalism through indiscriminate RTI activism, a government source said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday complimented efforts" of News18 Network for its coffee table book, Voice of India-Modi and His Transformative Mann ki Baat. The PM said that the most beautiful part about Mann ki Baat is the manner in which it celebrates grassroots-level change makers.

As this programme completes hundred episodes, I compliment efforts like the one by @CNNnews18 to acknowledge the people mentioned and the impact they have created," PM Modi further said in his tweet.

The most beautiful part about #MannKiBaat is the manner in which it celebrates grassroots level change makers. As this programme completes hundred episodes, I compliment efforts like the one by @CNNnews18 to acknowledge the people mentioned and the impact they have created. https://t.co/T6egxnw15D Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 31, 2023

The book was unveiled by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar during the last day of the two-day leadership conclave, Rising India Summit 2023. The book profiles people who have been mentioned by the prime minister in different editions of his radio program.

The theme of this years summit too focussed on the The Heroes of Rising India, where News18 Network honoured the extraordinary contributions made by the ordinary people who made an incredible social impact.

As a mark of respect for our heroes, lets take a pledge to take pride in our history and be proud Indians. Nothing can be more than national interest. The theme of the coffee table is very apt. I compliment News18 Networks group editor Rahul Joshi in being daring for choosing it," Dhankhar had said on Thursday.

He further said that PM Modis Mann ki Baat has been successful as it is a seamless connect with the people. We are the most functional democracy of the world, and there is no doubt about it," the V-P added.

Modis radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat will complete its 100th edition on April 30. MyGov has invited citizens to share their ideas on how to celebrate the 100th episode. The last date of submission is April 27.

The prestigious programme which was started on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami in October 3, 2014, has completed its 99 editions till date.

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The BJP will observe its 43rd foundation day on April 6, for which it has planned a week-long social harmony campaign till the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar on April 14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address party leaders and workers on the topic on foundation day.

The saffron partys social harmony campaign is aimed at mobilising backward classes and Dalits, with special instructions for booth-level programmes to be held on Ambedkar Jayanti.

According to sources, it is mandatory for party MPs, MLAs and office-bearers to attend foundation day programmes and organise at least three such events in a single assembly constituency for which photographs must be shared on social media.

National president JP Nadda has written a letter to all state presidents and party leaders to actively take part in social harmony week. Nadda also discussed the outline of the events, which will be held during this period, through video conferencing with all state presidents earlier.

Sources told CNN-News18 that for the prime ministers address on the morning of April 6, the BJP has asked its workers through a letter that it should be ensured that Prime Minister Modis mantra is relayed in every state, district, divisional, booth-level office. The party has told state units that booth committees and panna pramukhs at every booth should listen to the speech and all booth presidents should put up BJP flags at their homes.

The saffron party has also instructed workers to organise seminars and discussions on the history of the party and its achievements till April 14. Apart from this, party workers have also been asked to invite intellectuals on foundation day and to decorate party offices with lights as well as distribute prasad.

Sources further said instructions were given to observe Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14 by putting up his picture at booth-level programmes. The BJP has asked workers to pay special attention to intellectuals and social workers from the Dalit community, who must be given detailed information about central schemes benefiting the community and those from underprivileged sections. They have also been asked to run cleanliness drives in slum areas.

The social harmony week will also include the birth anniversary of Dalit reformer and social activist Jyotiba Phule on April 11. The party has sent out instructions to the OBC Morcha to organise health camps, felicitate senior citizens, reward meritorious students and honour senior BJP workers at a mandal level.

Those working since the time of the Jana Sangh will also be invited and felicitated. During social harmony week, all fronts of the BJP will run different campaigns. The BJPs OBC Morcha has also decided to include a campaign against Rahul Gandhis alleged statement against the community from April 6 to 14.

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Poll-bound Karnataka will witness a clash of the Titans on April 9 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress top leader Rahul Gandhi will have different events that day, with the opposition party rescheduling Gandhis programme that would now coincide with that of the PM.

Disqualified Congress MP Gandhis scheduled event, Satyameva Jayate at Kolar on April 5 has been postponed to April 9, a senior Congress functionary said on Friday.

The new date for the event coincides with the golden jubilee celebration of Project Tiger", which PM Modi will launch on April 9.

Rahul Gandhi lost his Lok Sabha membership after the court sentenced him to two years jail for his speech. Hence, the party has decided to launch its fight to save the Constitution from Kolar," the partys state working president Saleem Ahmed told reporters in Kolar. He added the current developments in India made one think whether it is still a democratic country.

According to Congress sources, the party intentionally chose April 9 to launch its event when Modi will be in Mysuru. A no-holds-barred electoral battle between archrivals, the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress is on the cards for the May 10 Assembly polls.

The phrase Satyameva Jayate is the slogan below the national emblem of four lions. So, we will see the power of truth similar to the strength of four lions coming together against Project Tiger," a senior Congress functionary, requesting anonymity, quipped.

Incidentally, it was at Kolar during the 2019 election campaign that Gandhi made the Modi surname remark which resulted in his conviction by a Gujarat local court recently, following which he was disqualified as a member of Parliament. He was representing Wayanad from Kerala in the Lok Sabha.

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Trinamool Congress and opposition BJP traded accusations over the violence on Ram Navami in West Bengals Howrah, with the ruling party accusing the saffron camp of disrupting the peace and harmony in the state. The BJP hit back with serious allegations, saying chief minister Mamata Banerjee had orchestrated the whole incident for Muslim votes".

Both parties shared videos as evidence of the violence on Twitter  the TMC showing clips of people in the Ram Navami procession holding guns and other weapons, and the BJP releasing a video of some men vandalising shops and hurling stones at Rapid Action Force (RAF) and police.

At a press conference on Friday, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee went so far as to say the BJP had pre-planned the violence in Howrah to spoil the atmosphere and create enmity among people.

Howrah violence was pre-planned. From Shyambazar, a BJP leader was asking people to keep their eyes on the television screens. Why? Just a day before, that leader met with the home minister, Abhishek said, claiming that there were intelligence inputs suggesting that the violence was a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched by the BJP.

Why did such an incident take place during Ram Navami? asked the Diamond Harbour MP. He also claimed that Ram Navami clashes had never taken place in the state from 2011 when the TMC came to power to 2014, and started since 2015-16 when the BJP got a toehold in the states politics.

Who has imported this culture to Bengal? What does Lord Rama have to do with a pistol? he asked.

BJPs dangabaji formula at work again. Provoke and instigate communities against each other. Supply weapons to incite violence. Create communal tension deliberately. Reap political benefits. A classic unholy blueprint right out of the @BJP4India playbook!" he tweeted.

BJP's DANGABAJI FORMULA at work again: Provoke & instigate communities against each other. Supply weapons to incite violence. Create communal tension deliberately. Reap political benefits. A classic unholy blueprint right out of the @BJP4India playbook! pic.twitter.com/HKZ0BmIlCm  Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) March 31, 2023

Slamming the state government, leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari called the chief minister useless and demanded her resignation.

Police (home) minister (Mamata Banerjee) is useless. Her resignation is the only solution. I sent a letter to the union home minister and governor yesterday (Thursday). Today, I approached the high court The court should step forward, Adhikari said in a press meet, alleging appeasement politics of the TMC government that had failed to rein in anti-national forces.

According to a report published by news agency ANI, Adhikari also called police silent spectators. Police is not doing their work. They are silent spectators. All the houses of Hindus have been vandalised. All Hindus in the Kazipara area had to flee for their lives, he told ANI.

Situation is completely out of control in Howrah. Mobs turn violent. After attack on Ramnavami Shobha Yatra, fresh violence erupts in Shibpur area of Howrah. Media has been attacked. Law and order is a state subject and Bengal Home Minister Mamata Banerjee has failed completely pic.twitter.com/EbKWN7TlwV Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 31, 2023

He also claimed that the police commissioner had refused to meet him. Asked about the video shared by the TMC, Adhikari said, BJP activists never believe in carrying weapons, including firearms in public, unlike the Trinamool Congress. Let the TMC provide evidence about the participation of our activists with firearms in the procession. We will take action against him.

State BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar accused Mamata of orchestrating the violence in Howrah to retain Muslim votes and said he, too, had written to union home minister Amit Shah  who later took stock of the situation and spoke to governor CV Ananda Bose. Majumdar also demanded an NIA inquiry into the violence in Howrah.

Amit Shah spoke to me over the phone and gave an assurance that he will monitor the entire situation and look into why the violence happened, he said. This whole violence has been orchestrated by Mamata Banerjee. She has done this to retain her Muslim votes because that vote bank is diminishing.

The TMC, which has held the position that the Ram Navami procession took a route where it did not have permission, said the Howrah Police Commissionerate had not received any reply on details of permission copy.

There was no reply to Howrah Police Commissionerate regarding details of permission copy, exact number of participants and beginning and end of the rally. They did not submit any documents but started taking out a procession on the route that was not permitted, Abhishek said, adding, if there is any lapse on the police side, action will be taken.

The governor, meanwhile, visited the violence-affected area in Shibpur on Friday to take stock of the situation, even as Adhikari filed a PIL before the Calcutta High Court regarding the incidents of violence in Howrah and Dalkhola, praying for an NIA probe and immediate deployment of central forces in affected areas. The PIL will be up for hearing on April 3.

Violence broke out on Thursday evening between two groups when a Ram Navami procession was taken out at Kazipara in Howrah. Several vehicles, including some belonging to the police, were torched and shops and auto-rickshaws ransacked. In fresh unrest, policemen deployed at Kazipara were pelted with stones on Friday afternoon.

(With PTI inputs)

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Italys Data Protection Authority on Friday temporarily banned OpenAIs ChatGPT chatbot and launched a probe over a suspected breach of the artificial intelligence applications data collection rules.

The agency, also known as Garante, accused Microsoft Corp-backed ChatGPT of failing to check the age of its users who are supposed to be aged 13 and above.

ChatGPT has an absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data to train the chatbot, Garante said. OpenAI has 20 days to respond with remedies or could risk a fine of up to 4% of its annual worldwide turnover.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ChatGPT was still answering questions posted by Italian users on the platform on Friday evening.

Italy, which provisionally restricted ChatGPTs use of domestic users personal data, became the first Western country to take action against a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence.

The chatbot is also unavailable in mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran and Russia and parts of Africa where residents cannot create OpenAI accounts.

Since its release last year, ChatGPT has set off a tech craze, prompting rivals to launch similar products and companies to integrate it or similar technologies into their apps and products.

The rapid development of the technology has attracted attention from lawmakers in several countries. Many experts say new regulations are needed to govern AI because of its potential impact on national security, jobs and education.

The European Commission, which is debating the EU AI Act, may not be inclined to ban AI, European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager tweeted.

No matter which #tech we use, we have to continue to advance our freedoms & protect our rights. Thats why we dont regulate #AI technologies, we regulate the uses of #AI, she said. Lets not throw away in a few years what has taken decades to build.

The EC did not respond to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives called for a six-month pause in developing systems more powerful than OpenAIs newly launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society.

OpenAI has not provided details on how it trains its AI model.

The lack of transparency is the real problem, said Johanna Bjorklund, AI researcher and associate professor at Umea University in Sweden. If you do AI research, you should be very transparent about how you do it,

ChatGPT is estimated to have reached 100 million monthly active users in January, just two months after launch, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history, according to a UBS study published last month.

Read all the Latest Tech News here
Malaysias top court on Friday rejected ex-leader Najib Razaks bid to overturn his 12-year jail sentence for corruption, slamming the door on a political comeback.

The former prime minister had asked the Federal Court to review a previous panels decision to deny his final appeal against the conviction, linked to the plunder of state investment fund 1MDB.

Najib, 69, claimed he did not receive a fair hearing, alleging that a judge had a conflict of interest, and that his new legal team was not allowed enough time to study the case documents.

But the Federal Court on Friday dismissed the challenge.

There has been no prejudice and no failure of justice," said judge Vernon Ong Lam Kiat.

He will continue to serve his 12-year jail sentence for abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust over the transfer of 42 million ringgit ($10.1 million) from former 1MDB unit SRC International to his personal bank account.

Najib, who has been in prison since August, appeared dejected as the decision was read out.

Earlier, he had arrived in court escorted by prison guards, and was greeted by dozens of supporters.

His wife Rosmah Mansor, who was found guilty of graft last year, also attended the proceedings.

Najib also faces dozens more charges which could lengthen his jail time.

Most of them are related to his alleged role in the 1MDB scandal, which led to money laundering investigations around the world, including in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore.

The allegations that billions of dollars were pilfered from 1MDB  and used to buy everything from a superyacht to a Monet painting  played a major role in Najibs ouster and the defeat of his long-ruling party in the 2018 elections.

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Chinese defence minister General Li Shangfu will visit New Delhi in April, marking his first visit to India and also marking the first high-level military visit from China following the 2020 Chinese encroachment attempts at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) , the Hindu said in a report.

Li will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers meeting in April in person. Chinese National Security Adviser (NSA) Wang Xiaohong virtually participated in the SCO NSA meet held earlier this week in New Delhi.

General Li and Xiaohong are also state councillors.

A bilateral meeting between Union minister of defence Rajnath Singh and General Li could be on the cards, the Hindu said in its report.

The defence ministers of both nations met on the sidelines of the SCO Defence Ministers meeting in Moscow in September 2020. Singh at that time met General Lis predecessor Wei Fenghe.

The report also said that General Li is Chinas first defence minister who previously served in the aerospace sector and the Peoples Liberation Armys (PLA) equipment development department.

He has been tasked with spearheading the modernization of the PLA by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

General Li has been sanctioned by the US after Beijing purchased the S-400 missile defence system from Russia.

The visit comes amid ongoing discussions pertaining to disengagement in the friction points in the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

The report said that discussions are ongoing regarding more than one friction point while both parties have come to an agreement on Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra and Hot Springs.

Union minister of external affairs S Jaishankar earlier this week at the 2023 Rising India Summit said the resolution in the ongoing standoff remains unfinished.

In 2020, the Chinese breached that agreement in violation of the 93-96 agreement and brought forces to the LAC. Obviously we countered it. As a result, you have a very, very intricate situation of very close deployments which, by military assessments, is a very dangerous situation to be in, the foreign minister said in conversation with CNN-News18s Zakka Jacob.

My sense is that the military has done what it had to do. The military and diplomacy have worked together. The combo of military and diplomacy has been working in lockstep, Jaishankar said.

I accept that we have not been able to sort everything out but I also tell you that for me, it is not the end of the road. We will keep at it, he further added.

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A New York grand jury indicted Donald Trump on Thursday over hush money payments made to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, making him the first former US president to face criminal charges.

Trump is expected to appear in court on Tuesday for arraignment, according to CNN. He faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury.

The indictment, which comes after years of investigations into Trumps business, political and personal dealings, injects a local district attorneys office into the heart of a national presidential race and ushers in criminal proceedings in a city that the ex-president for decades called home.

WHY IS TRUMP INDICTED?

The New York grand jury indicted Donald Trump over hush money payments made to the pornographic film actress known as Stormy Daniels.

Prior to the 2016 election, intense behind-the-scenes negotiations occurred to prevent the leak of an embarrassing revelation that Trump had a relationship with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in 2006  a year after he married his current wife.

Late in the campaign, Trump lawyer Michael Cohen arranged a payment of $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her pledge of confidentiality.

After US media broke the story, Cohen cooperated with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges of tax and bank fraud, as well as violating federal campaign financing laws.

Cohen testified that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen for his payment to Daniels, which prosecutors said amounted to an undeclared campaign gift in violation of election financing laws.

WHAT HAS TRUMP SAID?

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly assailed the investigation and called the indictment political persecution.

In a statement confirming the charges, defense lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said Trump did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO TRUMPS PRESIDENTIAL BID?

Trump, a frontrunner to be the Republican nominee in the 2024 election, has branded all of the investigations political persecution.

The indictment comes as the former president has sought to reassert control of the Republican Party and stave off a slew of one-time allies who may threaten his bid for the presidential nomination. An expected leading rival in the race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, called the indictment un-American in a statement Thursday night that pointedly did not mention Trumps name.

The impact of an indictment on his election chances is unpredictable, with critics and adversaries alike voicing concerns about the legal merits of the hush money case.

Detractors worry that if Trump were cleared, it could make it easier to dismiss as a witch hunt" any future indictment in arguably more serious affairs  such as Trumps efforts to overturn Georgias election results.

Trump staged his first presidential campaign rally in Texas on Saturday, addressing several thousand supporters  far fewer than the 15,000 he had expected  in the city of Waco, Texas.

HERES WHAT THE REPUBLICANS SAID

In the Republican camp, Trumps allies and sons denounced what they see as a vendetta aimed at derailing his 2024 campaign  while his expected challenger for the party nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, slammed the indictment as un-American."

Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, said the indictment had irreparably damaged" the country.

But the top Democrat Adam Schiff  lead prosecutor of Trumps first impeachment in 2019  called it a sobering and unprecedented development."

WILL THE INDICTMENT LEAD TO PROTESTS?

Trump had declared earlier this month that he expected to be arrested within days over the payment to Daniels  who received $130,000 weeks before the election that brought Trump to power, to stop her from going public about a tryst she claims they had a decade earlier.

In predicting his indictment, Trump also issued a call for demonstrations and dark warnings that it could lead to potential death & destruction" that could be catastrophic for our Country."

His statement set New York on edge for possible protests but the prospect of a quick indictment appeared to recede as the grand jury panel continued to hear witnesses  until Thursday.

A media scrum quickly gathered outside the district attorneys office, along with a handful of anti-Trump protesters  but the situation was calm overall.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Beijing (Gasgoo)- On Mar. 30, Chinese LiDAR supplier RoboSense officially announced its nominated supply project with SAIC Motors Rising Auto brand. The duos collaborative F7 model already started delivery.



Photo credit: RoboSense

This indicates the cooperation between RoboSense and SAIC Motor has gone into the volume production stage.

According to the official announcement of Rising Auto, the LiDAR add-on for the F7 will be available in the second half of 2023. With the support of top intelligent driving hardware such as RoboSenses RS-LiDAR-M series LiDAR and NVIDIAs Orin chip, the RISING PILOT fully integrated high-level intelligent driving system on the F7 has stable, reliable, and highly intelligent sensing capability, bringing users an intelligent, safe, and all-round driving experience.

F7; photo credit: Rising Auto

In the past few years, RoboSense and SAIC Motor have achieved multi-level and in-depth synergy in multiple dimensions such as industrial capital support and industrial intelligence upgrading, further consolidating the strategic depth of their cooperation.

In the intelligent driving field, several SAIC Motors models such as the Rising Auto F7 and the IM LS7 are also equipped with RoboSenses M series LiDAR, comprehensively accelerating the scale application of intelligent driving and auto-grade solid-state LiDAR. At the capital level, Shangqi Capital, an investment subsidiary of SAIC Motor, reached a strategic investment agreement with RoboSense. In the field of driverless mobility services, RoboSense has helped with the mass production and implementation of SAIC Motors Xiangdao Robotaxi 2.0 project.
A Hindu-Sikh couple has been allegedly threatened by a radical Sikh group for organizing an inclusive Vaisakhi Mela in South Australias Adelaide.

Harmeet Kaur and her husband Rajesh Thakur have been threatened with physical violence and their business destroyed by Khalsa Aid for organizing inclusive Vaisakhi Mela, a report in Australia Today said.

The couple claimed that they have also received boycott calls from one Sarabjit Singh Pipli on social media.

We have been doing this Vaisakhi Mela since nine years and nothing would happen before. But last year, this group were threatening us and asking us to change the name," Harmeet Kaur told CNN-News18 on Friday.

#BreakingNews | Hindu-Sikh couple being harassed over organising Vaisakhi Mela in South Australias capital Adelaide We are spending sleepless nights after being threatened: Victim, Harmeet Kaur shares her plight. @siddhantvm shares more details with @ridhimb pic.twitter.com/lzhwbihgQD  News18 (@CNNnews18) March 31, 2023

This week a number of our supporters have sent us Facebook links to boycott calls by one Sarabjit Singh Pipli, Harmeet Kaur said.

Harmeet further said that she called Sarabjit Singh Pipli, who told her to change the name of the Vaisakhi mela or he will protest and disrupt the festival.

They were saying that Vaisakhi should be celebrated in a religious way, not in a cultural way. Last year we received threatening calls and messages from their group members. This year too, they are doing the same thing," she added.

She further claimed that those behind the treatening messages are Khalistani supporters. She added that Pipli told him over call that he wont tolerate any insult in the name of Vaisakhi and the festival is an insult to the Singhs.

Harmeet Kaur and Rajesh Thakur run an organisation named Punjabi Aussie Association of South Australia and organize Vaisakhi Mela every year.

The festival draws crowds of thousands of people from Indian-Punjabi, South Asian origin and other communities.

The couple have reported about the threats and boycott call to South Australian Police.

The group is also harassing my team when we go for rehearsals in the park, she added.

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The International Monetary Fund said on Friday its executive board approved a four-year $15.6 billion loan program for Ukraine, part of a broader $115 billion international support package to help the country meet urgent funding needs as it battles Russias 13-month-old invasion.

The decision clears the way for an immediate disbursement of about $2.7 billion to Kyiv, the Fund said in a statement.

The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan is the first major financing program approved by the IMF for a country involved in a large-scale war. Ukraines previous $5-billion IMF program expired last year.

Russias invasion of Ukraine continues to have a devastating economic and social impact, IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said in a statement.

Despite this, Ukrainian authorities have nevertheless managed to maintain overall macroeconomic and financial stability, thanks to skillful policymaking and substantial external support, she added.

The decision formalizes an IMF staff-level agreement reached with Ukraine on March 21 that takes into consideration Ukraines path to accession to the European Union after the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the new funding.

It is an important help in our fight against Russian aggression, he said on Twitter. Together we support the Ukrainian economy. And we are moving forward to victory!

The agreement is expected to help unleash large-scale financing for Ukraine from international donors and partners, including the World Bank and other lenders.

An IMF official said the $115 billion package includes the IMF loan, $80 billion in pledges for grants and loans from other countries and $20 billion worth of debt relief commitments.

The IMF said that multiple stakeholders, including international financial institutions, private sector firms, most of Ukraines official bilateral creditors and donors are supporting a two-step debt treatment process for Ukraine that includes adequate financing assurances on debt relief and concessional financing during and after the program.

Risks to the EFF arrangement are exceptionally high, Gopinath said. The success of the program depends on the size, composition, and timing of external financing on concessional terms to help close fiscal and external financing gaps and restore debt sustainability on a forward-looking basis.

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Police in Canada recovered two more bodies, including that of a missing infant, near the US-Canada border on Friday, bringing the total to eight victims from two families who died this week trying to enter the US from Canada by boat across the St. Lawrence River.

Four Indian nationals were among the eight victims of the tragedy along the Canada-United States border.

The identities of the four Indian nationals have not yet been confirmed and next of kin have not yet been notified. Until confirmed, names will not be released to the public, Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.

Police recovered six bodies on Thursday and believe the tragedy may have occurred on Wednesday night.

Dulude said they do not believe there are more bodies to recover, but they are searching for a missing 30-year-old man, Casey Oakes, as a person of interest in the case. His boat was found near the area where the victims were recovered.

Earlier on Friday, Deputy Chief Lee-Ann OBrien said the victims appeared to be from two families, one Indian and one Romanian, who were trying to the reach the US illegally.

At least two children with Canadian passports were among the victims, said police, who are waiting on the results of a post-mortem and toxicology tests from Montreal to determine the cause of death.

US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed last week to stop asylum seekers coming to Canada through unofficial border crossings, a move critics said could mean refugees and migrants will take more risks when crossing.

But Akwesasne police said the agreement that closed all unofficial border entries, including Roxham Road in Quebec, should not have factored here because the families were seeking to go to the U.S., not to Canada.

Right now what I can tell you is this has nothing to do with that closure, OBrien said.

Last year an Indian family of four froze to death in Canadas province of Manitoba as they were trying to cross into the U.S.

The Akwesasne reserve straddles both sides of the St. Lawrence River, with land in Ontario and Quebec on the Canadian side, and New York. To fight smuggling of people and goods, local police monitor the river full-time with funds from Quebec.

Were reeling from this tragedy, Akwesasne Chief Abram Benedict told reporters. It does bring to light the challenges of immigration for Canada and the United States.

More people have been using Akwesasne territory to try to enter the U.S. in secret, with 80 interceptions recorded since the beginning of the year, and the majority have been Indians or Romanians, said Dulude.

On Wednesday night, when the families likely sought to cross the river, the weather was poor.

It was very windy, OBrien said, and it was raining and sleeting. It was not a good time to be out in the water.

Trudeau called the deaths heartbreaking.

We need to understand properly what happened, how this happened and do whatever we can to ensure that were minimizing the chances of it happening again, he told reporters in Moncton, New Brunswick.

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French President Emmanuel Macron will next week warn Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that backing Russia militarily in its war on Ukraine would be disastrous, the French leaders office said.

If China took this disastrous decision, it would have a major strategic effect on the conflict," an advisor to Macron, asking not to be named, told reporters ahead of the presidents visit to China next week.

We want to avoid the worst and that is why we need to engage with them (the Chinese) and present our position," said the official, adding that France wanted to identify a medium-term path for an end to the conflict".

This dialogue was all the more crucial since China is the only country in the world capable of having an immediate and radical impact on the conflict, in one direction or the other", added the official.

China has never publicly backed the invasion by Russia of Ukraine but has also never offered any criticism of Moscow.

Western powers fear Moscow is keen to encourage Chinese military cooperation to gain the upper hand in the conflict, although China has not made any such public offer to Moscow.

Macrons visit to China, starting on Wednesday alongside European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, comes after Xi held talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this month.

The French official described China as a game-changer" in the conflict.

Read all the Latest News here
Five people have been arrested for alleged roles in the deaths of 39 people at a Mexican migrant detention center this week after a fire broke out, authorities said Thursday.

Six warrants were issued against three immigration institute officers, two private security officers and the person who allegedly started the fire, Sara Irene Herrerias, the head of the attorney general offices human rights unit, said without clarifying which arrest was pending.

A private security company, Grupo de Seguridad Privada CAMSA SA de CV, was responsible for handling security matters at the center in the northern border city of Juarez, said Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez.

A number of irregularities were found when authorities began looking into the company on Wednesday, Rodriguez said, adding that the government asked Mexicos immigration institute to withdraw its contract with the company.

The company was contracted to have hundreds of employees working across 23 states, but reported having just four employees, Rodriguez said.

Federal agents will take over security in the state of Chihuahua, where the center is located, Rodriguez said.

The companys failure to comply with its contract came out of failures by public servants, including in the security ministry, Rodriguez said.

Herrerias declined to comment on whether executives of the private security company would be arrested.

Rodriguez had said Wednesday that prosecutors were investigating eight people who could be involved in the incident, including federal and state agents.

Video of the alleged incident, which Rodriguez made reference to, shows men kicking on the bars of a locked cell as it filled with smoke and several people in uniform walking past without attempting to open the door.

Authorities have said they believe the fire, which killed male immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and Colombia, was started by migrants setting mattresses on fire as a form of protest.

The fire is one of the deadliest migrant incidents in recent years. Asked whether Mexico would change the length migrants were held in detention centers, Rodriguez said authorities were looking at the issue.

Read all the Latest News here
No one is above the law, said the lawyer of porn star Stormy Daniels on Thursday shortly after the indictment of US former president Donald Trump in the hush-money payment case.

The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy," Clark Brewster tweeted. Now let truth and justice prevail."

A New York grand jury has reportedly voted to indict the former president over hush money payments covering up his affair with Daniels.

The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law. #teamstormy clark brewster (@cbrew1) March 30, 2023

The historic indictment of the 76-year-old Republican is certain to upend the current presidential race in which Trump hopes to regain office.

And it will forever mark the legacy of the former leader, who survived two impeachments and kept prosecutors at bay over everything from the US Capitol riot to missing classified files  only to land in court over a sex scandal involving Stormy Daniels, a 44-year-old adult movie actress.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office confirmed that it had contacted Trumps lawyers Thursday evening to coordinate his surrender" for arraignment in New York  with the felony charges against him to be revealed at that point.

Trump slammed the decision to indict him over hush money payments made to a porn star, raging against prosecutors and his political opponents.

This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," he said in a statement. Even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country  have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt," he said.

The former US President vowed to take revenge as he plots to return to the White House in the 2024 election.

(With AFP inputs)

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Between 1968 and 1998, the British territory of Northern Ireland was torn apart by a conflict pitting Catholic nationalists seeking civil rights and reunification with the rest of Ireland against majority Protestant supporters of continued union with Britain.

The three-decade Troubles, which were marked by street battles, bombings, summary executions and internment without trial, claimed the lives of over 3,500 people before the signing of a landmark peace deal on April 10, 1998 known as the Good Friday Agreement.

AFP looks back at key milestones in the peace process, beginning in 1994, when the Catholic guerrilla group, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), which violently opposed British rule, called an end to its 25-year insurgency.

1994: The guns fall silent

Various peace initiatives by the British and Irish governments in the 1970s and 1980s fail to end the IRAs bombing campaign in northern Ireland and in Britain or the endless cycle of tit-for-tat paramilitary attacks.

After years of secret talks with moderate nationalists, and the intervention of US President Bill Clinton, who woos the leader of the political wing of the IRA, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, by granting him a US travel visa, the IRA in August 1994 calls a ceasefire.

The announcement causes rejoicing on the streets of Belfast.

Two months later, loyalist paramilitaries also announce a truce.

1995: Talk first or disarm first?

The euphoria caused by the ceasefires fizzles as the parties squabble over the conditions for allowing Sinn Fein to take part in multi-party talks on northern Irelands future.

The unionist camp and Britains Conservative government want the IRA to disarm first. The IRA refuses, seeing such a move as tantamount to surrender.

As the negotiations stall, the IRA ends its ceasefire in February 1996 by planting a huge bomb in Londons docklands that kills two people.

1997: enter Blair

The peace process gains new momentum in May 1997 when Tony Blair sweeps to power at the head of a Labour government.

Unlike his Conservative predecessor John Major, Blair is not politically dependent on support from the unionists, giving him more freedom to make concessions to the nationalist camp.

Very quickly he scraps decommissioning as a precondition for negotiating with Sinn Fein.

In July 1997, the IRA calls a new ceasefire and Sinn Fein takes its seat at the negotiating table.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of firebrand preacher Ian Paisley, which sees union with Britain as non-negotiable, promptly storms out.

1998: historic deal

On April 10, 1998, Britain, Ireland and the main political parties in northern Ireland except the DUP sign the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement.

The accord, signed on the Christian holiday of Good Friday, leads to a semi-autonomous northern Ireland with a power-sharing assembly, led by a first minister and deputy first minister from either side of the unionist/nationalist divide.

The deal recognises the right of the people in Northern Ireland to determine their future. Crucially for unionists, the Irish Republic renounces its historic claim to rule all of Ireland.

The deal also calls for phased disarmament of all paramilitary groups, the gradual withdrawal of British troops from northern Ireland and a reform of the territorys police force, accused of collusion in violence against Catholics.

A month later, voters resoundingly endorse the agreement in referendums held both in northern Ireland and the Irish republic.

Four months later the peace is shattered by IRA dissidents, who plant a car bomb that kills 29 people in the town of Omagh  the single worst atrocity of the Troubles.

But the attack has the effect of invigorating rather than endangering the peace process.

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The Vatican said Pope Francis spent his second night in the hospital in Rome serenely. Pope Francis received antibiotics intravenously to treat bronchitis.

An official from the Vatican said an update on the Popes hospitalisation would be made later, according to the Associated Press. He remains hospitalised at the Gemelli Polyclinic. He was taken there on Wednesday after he completed his weekly public audience in St Peters Square.

Pope Francis complained of difficult breathing in the previous days. Later, Vatican and hospital officials said Francis has bronchitis, contracted through an infection. They further added that his health condition has improved after he was administered antibiotics.

His hospitalisation came four days ahead of Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of the Holy Week. The Pope had stopped celebrating Mass at major Catholic Church holy days due to his chronic knee problem but presided at the ceremonies and delivered homilies, the Associated Press said.

The Vatican is yet to share a date on Pope Francis release but on Thursday, citing the pace of his recovery, the Vatican said he could be discharged in the next few days.

It remains unclear whether Pope Francis would be able to preside over, or attend, Holy Week observances even if he is back in the Vatican.

During the Holy Week, Pope Francis will have to preside over the stamina-taxing late night Way of the Cross procession marked by prayers on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome and Easter Mass on April 9. He also has to deliver a long papal speech from the central balcony of St. Peters Basilica.

The report by the Associated Press said that Pope Francis at times appeared visibly in pain when he moved about and was helped by aides during Wednesdays hour-long public audience.

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Current enrollment at Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) is similar to the last school year, according to a report presented to its governing board Tuesday.

The district's weighted membership, used to determine funding, is declining, however, a trend projected to continue next year.

District Superintendent Michael Penca presented the enrollment report to the board at its March 29 meeting. The report was first prepared for a meeting in late February, though the full presentation was delayed due to weather.

Last year, the district's enrollment was 9,156 students on the 40th day of school and 9,007 on the 100th day. This years counts are similar, with 9,101 students reported on day 40 and 9,053 on day 100.

The district uses day-40 enrollment to make projections for the following school year -- which in turn is used in budget and staffing decisions.

Budgets (specifically maintenance and operations funding) are determined by average daily membership (ADM) rather than enrollment, a calculation that gives weights to different categories of students. Kindergartners are weighted at 0.5 ADM and online students are weighted 0.95 ADM, for example.

A chart from the report showing the districts ADM since 2019 shows that the total has been generally falling, though it did rise between 2021 and 2022. For fiscal year 2023, the districts ADM is 8577.9, compared to 8644.7 in 2022.

Were aware of the declining enrollment trend weve seen in the district and how declining enrollment impacts the districts budget, especially when we see new monies come from the state like increases to per pupil funding, Penca said. Many times those new funds are offset by the decline in student enrollment .... . Thats something we monitor and make adjustments in our budget. We've, through natural processes, reduced staff over these years to address that in the budget.

The report included ADM at Flagstaffs public charter schools, the largest of which were Basis Flagstaff (703.00), Northland Preparatory Academy (639.35), Flagstaff Junior Academy (300.54) and Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy (256.06).

This year, FUSDs ADM is 76.9% of the combined total across it and public charter schools (11,150.60).

Penca said it is similar to ratios seen over the past five years.

This hasnt significantly dropped or changed in the years that weve been monitoring, he said.  ... For me, its about us meeting the ideals of our mission, vision, strategic plan and then really communicating well about the great things that our students, staff and programs -- the things we offer in the district.

FUSD is expecting further declines in enrollment for the coming school year, with its projection totals expecting a 2023-2024 enrollment of 8,658 students. The projected weighted student count (WSC) based on this number would then be 10,022.913, compared to a WSC of 10,255.58 for the current school year.

WSC is calculated using ADM and base support levels and is used to make district budgets.

Projected enrollment for the next school year was included in the report as Arizona schools use a current-year funding model, meaning that funding is based on enrollment during the first 100 days of the school year.

In the past, projections for the next year using this method have been reliable, but the current ratios are affected by the significant student enrollment decrease in the 2020-2021 school year and increased enrollment during the 2021-2022 school year, the report noted.

Penca said hed already been meeting with district principals in January and February to begin making staffing decisions based on the predictions, which FUSD uses in budgeting.

The report also included information about empowerment scholarship accounts (ESA) in the district.

This school year was the first with ESA access expanded to any K-12 student in Arizona.

ESAs are a way for Arizona students to access public funding to help pay for education that isn't part of the public school system.

Penca said that while the district saw more students living in its boundaries accepting ESAs, very few had ever attended FUSD schools. FUSD had 282 district-associated students receiving an ESA this year, compared to 34 last year.

Of those students, 183 (64.8%) have not previously attended a FUSD school, the report said. Fifteen students receiving an ESA during the 2022-2023 school year attended a FUSD school at some point during the previous year.

A recording of the meeting is available at vimeo.com/812446960. Pencas presentation of the enrollment report begins about 3 hours and 55 minutes into the recording.
Northern Arizona University announced the launch of the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy (AIEE), which will begin operations on July 1.

Under the leadership of its founding executive director, Chad Gestson, who brings nearly 20 years of leadership experience in public K-12 education in Arizona, AIEE will work to convene partners at every level to cultivate actionable solutions and policies that improve K-12 outcomes and build prosperity in Arizona, according to a press release.

The work of the Institute is supported by a fund established at the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF). An initial multi-year investment has been given by funders that include Pharos Foundation, to power this critical work.

At the Arizona Community Foundation, we are proud to invest in and support people, initiatives and opportunities that improve outcomes for Arizona and Arizonas families, said ACF President and CEO Anna Maria Chavez. The foundation is proud to support the launch of the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy at NAU, under the leadership of founding executive director Dr. Chad Gestson. We must continue to seek ways to convene education and community leaders to find and cultivate solutions that drive outcomes for our children, families, and community.

AIEE is uniquely situated as an institute in NAUs renowned College of Education. As NAU pursues bold actions to broaden access to higher education and promote postgraduate success that will enable students to fully realize the promise of Arizonas booming economy, AIEE will play an important role in connecting NAUs impact as an engine of opportunity in postsecondary education to the pipeline of public and private K-12 schools throughout the state. By systematically studying and enhancing opportunities for educational attainment and economic equity, AIEE will help support better outcomes for all students in the state.

I am excited to launch the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy, which has a powerful vision for promoting equitable attainment and economic mobility for Arizonans, said NAU President Jose Luis Cruz Rivera. Arizona has an educational attainment imperative, and it is only through integrated solutions  with the support of partners at all levels throughout the state  that we can meet this challenge head on. Under Dr. Gestsons leadership, AIEE will bring a solutions-oriented approach, founded in collaboration and partnership, that will uplift the fortunes of countless students in our state.

AIEE will focus on convening partners that range from grassroots to the grass tops  K-12 educators, business and industry leaders, philanthropic organizations, community-based groups, government agencies and the states colleges and universities  to understand gaps facing students in their educational experiences and seek shared and actionable solutions that drive excellence, economic mobility and equitable prosperity.

Gestson has served for the last eight years as superintendent of Phoenix Union High School District (PXU), the largest public high school district in Arizona. Under his leadership, PXU has transformed into a nationally recognized district that has placed an emphasis on serving all students and developing college and career-ready graduates.

Throughout my service in Arizonas public K-12 system, Ive seen firsthand the critical importance of a strong educational pipeline for promoting economic equity, Gestson said. AIEE represents a transformative opportunity to bring policy and partnership-driven solutions to a truly statewide, and even nationwide, scale. I couldnt be more proud to return to my alma mater of NAU to lead this important effort that will do so much to shape a better future for the next generation of Arizonans.

Closely linked to NAUs statewide postsecondary ecosystem that is uniquely situated to drive economic mobility and social impact for the betterment of the states diverse communities, AIEE will work to develop and launch policies, practices, and strategic initiatives and investments throughout the state to spark action and progress in Arizona.
Former President Jair Bolsonaro returned Thursday to Brazil after a three-month stint in Florida following his election loss, and the right-wing populist told supporters he doesn't think leftists will be in power in Brazil for long. Bolsonaro, who is the subject of several investigations that could stymie any attempts at a political comeback, arrived in the capital under tight security. Authorities sought to avoid any repeat of Jan. 8 events when supporters who didn't accept his defeat stormed government buildings. Police in Brasilia blocked the main artery to those buildings, the AP reports.

Hundreds of supporters dressed in Brazil's national colors of yellow and green chanted for Bolsonaro as they awaited his arrival, but his return did not draw the huge crowds many of his allies had expected. That appeared to please his opponents; President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's minister of institutional relations, Alexandre Padilha, called the reception a "flop." The former president said in his first speech after touching down that his leftist successor and his allies "will not do whatever they want to the fate of our nation," and added that the left will only keep power "for now, for a little while."

Speaking in front of a banner that read "today Brazil woke up stronger," Bolsonaro said he would spend as much time as necessary at the headquarters of his Liberal Party to help the campaign for next year's municipal races, when the country elects 5,500 mayors nationwide. "I am coming here in the position of an elder, an experienced person who will be consulted by whomever wishes. I will give opinions," he said. Bolsonaro left Brazil just before the end of his term. While in the US, Bolsonaro mostly kept a low profile, though he delivered several speeches. The Brazilian leader said his three months in Florida had helped give him a vision for the future. "Everything we saw there is what we want to implement here. The most important thing is liberty," he said.

(Read more Jair Bolsonaro stories.)
Turkey on Thursday endorsed Finland's pending membership in NATO on a parliamentary vote, removing the last obstacle to the security alliance's expansion. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had come out in support of the move, but he has not yet said Swedenwhich applied to NATO on the same dayhas met his conditions, the Washington Post reports. Hungary now has taken the same stance, saying it wants time to consider its grievances against Sweden. Finland tweeted its support for Sweden, its neighbor, on Thursday while thanking all NATO countries for their support. "As allies, we will give and receive security," the post says. "We will defend each other."

Finland's victory is a loss for Russia and President Vladimir Putin, diplomatically and strategically, the New York Times notes. The addition will double the length of NATO's land border with Russia and install NATO firmly in northern Europe. With access to Finland, NATO will be in a better position to defend the Baltic nations and the Arctic, said a security expert in Finland. Geographically, said retired US Gen. James G. Stavridis, Finland's "addition to the alliance adds a huge, difficult-to-defend border that complicates Putin's calculus." It's a "huge plus for NATO," he added. On Wednesday, the Russian Embassy in Sweden threatened Finland and Sweden with military retaliation if they become NATO members. (Read more NATO stories.)
Gwyneth Paltrow has won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided that the actor wasn't at fault for the crash. The verdict was announced Thursday in a packed courtroom in Park City, Utah. The complaint was brought by a retired optometrist, Terry Sanderson, who sued Paltrow over injuries he sustained when the two crashed on a beginner run at Deer Valley ski resort. The decision followed eight days of livestreamed courtroom testimony that drew worldwide audiences and became a pop culture fixation.

The jury's verdict marks a painful court defeat for Sanderson, who sought more than $300,000 as compensation for his injuries. Both parties blamed the other for the collision. Sanderson, 76, broke four ribs and sustained a concussion after the two tumbled down the slope, with Paltrow landing on top of him. He filed an amended complaint after an earlier $3.1 million lawsuit was dismissed. Paltrow in response countersued for $1 and attorney fees, a symbolic action that mirrors Taylor Swift's response to a radio host's defamation lawsuit; Swift was awarded $1 in 2017. Paltrow's lawyers tried to paint Sanderson as an angry, aging, and unsympathetic man who had over the years become "obsessed" with his lawsuit against Paltrow. They argued that Paltrow wasn't at fault and that, regardless of blame, Sanderson was overstating the extent of his injuries. (Read more Gwyneth Paltrow stories.)
Brian Walshe was indicted by a grand jury Thursday for allegedly killing his wife, Ana, at their Massachusetts home in January. Walshe, 48, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice, and improper conveyance of a human body, WCVB reports. He faces life behind bars without the possibility of parole if convicted, Fox News reports.

Walshe claims he last saw his wife Jan. 1 when she left their home for Boston's Logan Airport to go on a work trip, but her employer reported her missing Jan. 4 when she hadn't shown up. Her body has not been found, but DNA evidence and personal items recovered at a transfer station led investigators to believe her husband killed and dismembered her, then discarded her remains. (He allegedly made chilling Google searches after she disappeared.)
"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," former President Donald Trump said in a statement Thursday about his criminal indictment by a New York grand jury. He blamed his political opponents, the Hill reports. "The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to 'Get Trump,' but now theyve done the unthinkableindicting a completely innocent person," he wrote. Others reacting to the revelation include:

Ron DeSantis: The Florida governor, calling the indictment "un-American" in a tweet, said his state won't cooperate with any request to extradite Trump to New York to face the charges. The governor can step into such cases under state law if the extradition is contested, but Trump's lawyers have said they don't expect to fight a request, per the Hill. DeSantis has been pressured by Trump allies to block extradition.

The Florida governor, calling the indictment "un-American" in a tweet, said his state won't cooperate with any request to extradite Trump to New York to face the charges. The governor can step into such cases under state law if the extradition is contested, but Trump's lawyers have said they don't expect to fight a request, per the Hill. DeSantis has been pressured by Trump allies to block extradition. Congressional Democrats: A recurring theme was that the indictment shows that no one is above the law, per the Washington Post. Rep. Adam Schiff said the indictment "is unique throughout all of American history. But so too is the unlawful conduct for which Trump has been charged." Rep. Eric Swalwell urged Americans to neither "celebrate nor destroy" over the indictment. He called on Democrats and Republicans to condemn Trump's encouragement of violence. "We are better than that and justice benefits all of us," Swalwell wrote.

A recurring theme was that the indictment shows that no one is above the law, per the Washington Post. Rep. Adam Schiff said the indictment "is unique throughout all of American history. But so too is the unlawful conduct for which Trump has been charged." Rep. Eric Swalwell urged Americans to neither "celebrate nor destroy" over the indictment. He called on Democrats and Republicans to condemn Trump's encouragement of violence. "We are better than that and justice benefits all of us," Swalwell wrote. Congressional Republicans: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has damaged the country in an effort to interfere in a presidential election. "The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account," McCarthy said. Rep. Elise Stefanik issued a statement referring to "unprecedented election interference from corrupt Socialist District Attorney Alvin Bragg," though the decision to indict was made by a grand jury of citizens. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called for impeaching President Biden.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has damaged the country in an effort to interfere in a presidential election. "The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account," McCarthy said. Rep. Elise Stefanik issued a statement referring to "unprecedented election interference from corrupt Socialist District Attorney Alvin Bragg," though the decision to indict was made by a grand jury of citizens. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called for impeaching President Biden. Stormy Daniels' lawyer: "The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy," Clark Brewster tweeted. "The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail." Daniels, who appeared before the grand jury, retweeted his post and added, "Thank you."

"The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy," Clark Brewster tweeted. "The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail." Daniels, who appeared before the grand jury, retweeted his post and added, "Thank you." Demonstrators in New York: People gathered outside Trump Tower in Manhattan to mark the indictment. "It's still sinking in," said a 73-year-old man. "The justice system, it's slow, but it gets there." A 27-year-old man from California said: "I think he's only getting indicted because of who he is, being President Trump. They're trying to take him off his campaign trail." A 20-year-old student held a small sign reading, "Trump is Over," per the Times. "I'm hoping that the trial works out and he is in trouble for this," she said, "but it's very hard to say, because he's an extremely wealthy and an extremely well-protected man."

(Read more Donald Trump stories.)
Gwyneth Paltrow leaned down to touch Terry Sanderson's back and speak a few words to him as she exited the courtroom after her legal victory in the ski crash lawsuit he'd brought against her. Those words, ETOnline reports, were "I wish you well." Sanderson, speaking to reporters after the verdict, said he responded, "Thank you, dear." He told reporters the gesture was "very kind of her," although he continued to insist he was telling the truth about their 2016 crash, People reports. He claims Paltrow caused it; she claims he caused it, and the jury sided with her. (So, apparently, did much of America.)

In her own statement following the verdict, the actress said, "I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity. I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case." Sanderson's attorney said in a statement, "We are disappointed in the outcome, but we love and support the legal process. ... We will spend the next while evaluating and discussing where we go from here." A legal expert tells Yahoo News the verdict did not surprise him because, as far as he was concerned, Sanderson "never had a case." And Paltrow, he noted, came across as "very, very believable." His advice for Sanderson? Don't appeal the verdict. (Read more Gwyneth Paltrow stories.)
"If you are to get your vehicle stolen, I know it's frustrating, but please do not take matters in your own hands like this," a San Antonio police spokesman said after a suspected thief was shot and killed. The San Antonio Police Department said the owners of a pickup truck stolen from a home on the north side of the Texas city used an Apple Airtag that had been left in the vehicle to track it to a shopping center on the south side, KSAT reports. Police said the suspected thief, a man in his 30s, was shot after the owners saw him in the vehicle and decided to "contact" him.

Police said the suspect may have pulled a firearm before he was shot while in the truck, but the owner who confronted the suspect was the only one to fire shots. Police are trying to determine whether the suspected thief was armed, KHOU reports. Police haven't determined whether the owner will be charged. Police spokesman Nick Soliz said the owners called police after spotting the truck but apparently decided to act before officers arrived, the San Antonio Express-News reports. Soliz said theft victims shouldn't pursue suspects on their own. "SAPD has plenty of resources to go into tracking down your vehicle," he said. (Read more Texas stories.)
Movies like Jurassic Park have given us a bare-fanged image of the Tyrannosaurus Rex that only enhanced its fearsome legacy. Now researchers believe the dinosaurs' predator king might have had more in common appearance-wise with modern lizards, namely lizard-like lips covering its teeth. The Wall Street Journal reports that a new study published in Science indicates paleontologists have concluded the concepts of T. rex based on their modern relatives like crocodiles might have been in error all along. Study co-author Dr. Mark Witton of the University of Portsmouth tells the Journal that new information makes the old concepts of the apex predator's appearance "pretty indefensible." It's "time that we have a big shake-up of what we think these dinosaurs looked like in wider culture."

Witton pointed out the crocodile-inspired T. rex concepts were based on that reptile's exposed teeth, as well as the idea that the dino's fangs might have been up to six inches. Paleontologists believed it didn't have enough space in its mouth to conceal them. After comparisons between tooth sizes and skull lengths of a variety of living and extinct lizards, research showed that the T. rex's skull-to-tooth size was closer to that of a monitor lizard like the Komodo dragon, which has concealed teeth. Researchers also compared wear patterns on teeth from dinosaur skulls to crocodiles and found they didn't align. There was also likely a key difference in tooth durability. Exposed teeth can get easily damaged. The dinosaurs would have been able to regrow new ones, but it would have been costly to the T. rex's health, so having protective lips made sense.

Both the WSJ and the New York Times speak to paleontologist Thomas Carr of Wisconsin's Carthage College, who expressed skepticism of the study. Carr told the Times that Witton's team didn't take into account different known aspects of Tyrannosaur physiology. Carr said T. rex dentin (a layer of material underneath tooth enamel) was "arguably structurally more important to a Tyrannosaur" than its outer enamel layer "because if the dentin shatters, then theyll be eating bananas. According to Carr, Tyrannosaurs didn't need to keep their teeth moist, under protective lips, in order to maintain strength. Carr went on to say that no one will truly know whether the mighty T. rex had lips or not without an actual fossilized face. (Read more science stories.)
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No, This Indictment Is Not Going to Kill Trump's Campaign

And more of the coverage swirling around the former president's indictment
Rep. Tim Burchett was a relative unknown outside of Tennessee before his comments about gun control earlier this week. In the wake of the school shooting in Nashville that killed six, he proclaimed, "We're not gonna fix it," referring to tougher gun laws addressing gun violence in America. "Criminals are gonna be criminals." The Republican congressman, who says he received a lot of "hatred" after those remarks, later noted that "repenting of your sins" was one way to "turn this thing around." Now, he says he's come around to adding other solutions into the mix, indicating he's been talking with colleagues on the other side of the aisle about one remedy in particular.

"I spoke with several Democrats yesterday about how something would look, and I ... floated ideas about mental health," Burchett told reporters on Thursday, per the Hill, which notes that police say the shooter at the Covenant School had been treated for an emotional disorder. The outlet adds, however, that "authorities have not linked the shooting to that disorder." But Burchett is convinced, as "obviously, a mentally ill girl shot up a school in Nashville ... There's just no question about it: She was mentally ill." Burchett didn't get into too much detail on what specific legislative proposals he was considering, though he conceded that privacy protections under such laws as HIPAA could make sussing out who should be allowed access to guns tricky.

The Hill also points out that "the vast majority" of mental health patients don't turn to violenceand Dems have long noted that other nations also wrangle with mental health issues, yet don't have the same rate of gun violence as the United States. Burchett isn't the only Republican trying to steer the focus back to mental health. The Washington Post talked to other lawmakers this week about the Nashville shooting, and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, himself a shooting survivor, said Tuesday, "We've talked about the need to improve mental health in this country, and that's been a driver of a lot of these shootings." Scalise also pointed to the need for "stronger security" in schools. (Here, an open letter to Burchett from local journalist Betty Bean, a longtime friend who implores him to "stop this foolishness.")
The arrest in Russia of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has shaken journalists worldwidehitting especially close to home for one in particular. Writing for the Guardian, former Washington Post media columnist and New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan describes the "personally painful" reaction she had to finding out that the detained journalist making headlines was Gershkovich, her former editorial assistant at the Times, whom she describes as "thoughtful beyond his years and idealistic about journalistic ethics." Sullivan details Gershkovich's cheerful ambition, which helped him ascend from her assistant to a different position at the Times, then on to the Journal. She also notes the deep bond she forged during her working relationship with the 31-year-old Gershkovich, whom she writes "is slightly younger than my son, and slightly older than my daughter."

Sullivan spoke to the Committee to Protect Journalists' Gulnoza Said, who expressed that she's "extremely concerned" about the plight of Gershkovich, a US citizen who's accredited to work as a reporter in Russia. Said notes that legal proceedings in Russia are often "done in secret, behind closed doors," and she predicts that if his case goes to trial and he's convicted, "he's going to be locked up for a long time. She advises Sullivan and other members of the media in Gershkovich's circle "to 'put a human face' on what has happened," per Sullivan, who adds, "Let's do just that. The idealistic, hardworking, and professional young journalist I know and admire deserves nothing less." Her essay in full here, including comments from more of Gershkovich's former colleagues at the Times. (Read more Russia stories.)
Oscar Pistorius isn't getting out of prison anytime soon. The former Paralympic athlete serving a 13-year sentence for the 2013 murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was denied parole Friday following a hearing at Atteridgeville Prison outside Pretoria, South Africa. A lawyer for Steenkamp's parents, June and Barry Steenkamp, confirmed the decision, per the Guardian, saying it brought "a huge sense of relief for June." Arriving at the prison earlier Friday, Steenkamp's mother told reporters that she still didn't buy Pistorius' story that he fatally shot her daughter through a locked door, believing she was an intruder.

"I don't believe his story. I don't believe Oscar is remorseful  or rehabilitated," she said, per the BBC. Lawyer Tania Koen added neither June nor Barry believed he should be released. Defense attorney Mannie Witz said Pistorius had "an arguable case" for parole, though the Steenkamps could have challenged a ruling in his favor. Pistorius automatically became eligible for parole after serving half of his 13-year sentence. However, South Africa's Department of Correctional Services said in a statement that parole was denied because "the inmate did not complete the minimum detention period," per the Guardian.

The BBC cites "confusion over the timing of his sentence" given that Pistorius was sentenced twice. He was initially found guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, and sentenced to six years in prison in 2014. He was released under house arrest the following year. He was later convicted of murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison in 2017. The parole board will again consider releasing the 36-year-old next year, the BBC reports. (Read more Oscar Pistorius stories.)
It's not your typical ambulance ride. Authorities said a patient stole the one that had taken him to a New York City hospital and took it on a 25-mile joy ride that ended when state police used a spike strip to stop him, reports the AP. The bizarre incident unfolded early Thursday after a 47-year-old man was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in Manhattan for observation, police said. The ambulance he had ridden in was sitting outside the hospital unlocked, unoccupied, and with the keys in the ignition when the man left the facility just before 5am, police said. Apparently unable to resist, he got in and drove off.

Police said they tracked the ambulance by GPS heading north through Westchester County on Interstate 87. State troopers spotted the ambulance near Tarrytown and gave chase, and the runaway vehicle was finally halted when troopers put a tire-spiking device on the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge spanning the Hudson River, police said. The driver was arrested on charges including grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, and driving while intoxicated.

(Read more weird crimes stories.)
Court officials in New York said Friday that they plan to arraign Donald Trump at 2pm Tuesday. The former president's presence is expected in a 15th-floor Manhattan courtroom for the proceeding, they said. A lawyer for Trump said his team has agreed with the district attorney's office on how the arrest will be handled, Fox News reports: Trump is to surrender to detectives, who will not handcuff him. The Secret Service will decide how the former president is brought to Judge Juan Merchan's courtroom. A meeting was scheduled for Friday afternoon among representatives of the FBI, New York City police, New York state court officers, the Secret Service, and the district attorney's office to settle logistical and security arrangements.

The prosecutor in the case responded Friday to intense criticism from Republican lawmakers over the indictment. A letter from District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office to three GOP committee chairmen called their accusation that the indictment is politically motivated "misleading and meritless." General counsel Leslie Dubeck wrote that Trump is entitled to fight the charges in court, per Politico. "What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State," the letter says. Dubeck asked that Reps. Jim Jordan, James Comer, and Bryan Steil withdraw their demands for information about the case and allow the case to "proceed without unlawful political interference."

Trump launched fresh attacks Friday on the judge he'll stand before Tuesday, posting that "the Judge 'assigned' to my Witch Hunt Case  HATES ME." Merchan handled unrelated accusations against the Trump Organization, and Trump said the judge treated him "viciously." Partly because of Trump's recent social media posts, fears of political violence related to the case have increased. The New York mayor's office tweeted Friday afternoon that no credible threats have been received, per the Independent. (Trump was reportedly "blindsided" by the timing of the indictment.)
Rep. Dan Kildee said Friday he's headed for surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on a tonsil. He'll be out of the office for awhile, the Michigan Democrat said in a statement, but he expects to recover and return to work in Congress. "I am going to get through this," Kildee said, per the Hill. "I'm going to beat cancer." Kildee said he'd scheduled a scan for what he thought was a swollen lymph node. Tests found the problem was squamous cell carcinoma, which he described as "a serious but curable form of cancer." Kildee said that the surgery will take place in several weeks and that he'll need several more weeks to recover.

Other House Democrats have reported cancer diagnoses recently, per Axios. Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said in December that he would begin chemotherapy for Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma. Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro announced last month that he'd had surgery to remove gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors, a cancer that forms in the GI tract. He said the surgery was a success. Kildee, 64, said his office will stay open while he's out, per the Washington Post. It's not easy to be told you have cancer, Kildee said, per Michigan Live. "But I know that so many other families have gone through a cancer diagnosis," he added. (Read more Dale Kildee stories.)
A Missouri man was arrested for sexual assault and sex trafficking a minor after allegedly having a relationship with a Beatrice teen.

Samuel R. Howe, 55, is charged with first-degree sexual assault of a minor, sex trafficking a minor and enticement by electronic device following the February assault.

On Feb. 18, a 15-year-old female reported to Beatrice police that she had been abducted the day before and sexually assaulted. She told police she was abducted by two men in a truck in downtown Beatrice.

The victim stated the men wanted popcorn from the theater and she delivered it to the truck, at which point she was pulled into the truck, blindfolded and driven out of Beatrice. Arrest documents state the victim told police she was sexually assaulted in the parking lot and at another location.

The victim told police she was eventually able to jump out of the truck while partially clothed when it slowed down and reported the incident to police.

Video from a nearby business showed a dark-colored pickup pull up to Beatrice Cinema at around 10:20 p.m. that night and a person walked up to the truck.

The victim later confided to her mother that she had actually intended to run away and searched the internet for someone to help her in early February.

One of the men she made contact with was a white male in his 50s who lived in St. Joseph, Mo. The two communicated for several days, and the man eventually agreed to get her from Beatrice.

He drove her to Marysville, Kan., and he asked the victim to get undressed. Documents state it was later decided the victim should not run away, and she was driven back to Nebraska. Howe allegedly assaulted the victim in the parking lot, during the drive and when they got back to Beatrice.

The two continued to communicate following the incident, and police later assumed her profile on the dating app where they were talking.

Howe agreed to meet the victim in Omaha on March 18, and said he would bring the victims clothes that were left in the truck. During an interview with police, Howe allegedly admitted to meeting with the victim.

His bond was set at $1 million with a 10 percent deposit in Gage County Court on Thursday.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision on Tuesday allowing a lawsuit by two landowners attempting to close off public access to Bitterroot National Forest lands via Robbins Gulch Road, south of Darby, to proceed.

In Wilkins v. United States, the court found that the statute of limitations had not run out, granting Larry Wilkins and Jane Stanton standing to pursue their claim that the Forest Service allegedly altered the terms of a decades-old easement by allowing public access to National Forest lands via Robbins Gulch Road. The government disputes that assertion.

Wilkins and Stanton own property along Robbins Gulch Road, where the United States has held an easement since 1962. Wilkins purchased his property in 1991; Stanton bought hers in 2004. Robbins Gulch Road crosses approximately 1 mile of private property, allowing access from U.S. Highway 93 to Bitterroot National Forest land. The area is especially popular among hunters.

Wilkins attorney had raised the easement issue in a letter to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Office of General Counsel in May of 2018. The agency replied in July of 2018, saying the easement was granted in general and unlimited terms to be operated by the Forest Service.

Where the National Forest lands are open to the public the Forest Service may allow the public to utilize the easement for ingress and egress to the national forest as an implied licensee of the agency without the need for recitation in the easement of this use, the agency replied.

Wilkins and Stanton filed suit in August of 2018 under 28 U.S.C.  2409a, known as the Quiet Title Act, and asked for the popular access road be closed to public travel. They argue that the easement was originally meant to allow Forest Service personnel administrative access to Bitterroot National Forest lands and was not meant to enable public access to the National Forest. They claim the Forest Service unilaterally altered the terms of the easement by allowing public access to National Forest lands via Robbins Gulch Road, and that public use has become excessive and disruptive to landowners. They also argue in the suit that the government has an obligation to patrol the road to prevent unauthorized use.

The increasing excessive use of the Robbins Gulch Road has caused serious traffic hazards, road damage, fire threats, noise and enabled a wide range of people  some known and many unknown  to access the road and engage in misconduct, trespassing, illegal hunting, speeding and disruptive activities often aimed at the plaintiffs and other neighboring owners of private lands traversed by the road, the lawsuit read.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana dismissed the property owners claim in 2020, finding that the Quiet Title Acts 12-year statute of limitations was jurisdictional and had lapsed, barring the claim. The Ninth Circuit Court upheld the District Court ruling in September of 2021, citing Block v. North Dakota ex rel. Board of Univ. and School Lands, 461 U.S. 273 (1983).

Wilkins and Stanton appealed the decision. The U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the case June 6, 2022, and the case was argued before the court on Nov. 30, 2022. In the opinion released on Tuesday, written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor and joined by Justices Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanagh, Barrett and Jackson, the court held that Section 2409a(g), the Quiet Title Act is a nonjurisdictional claims-processing rule, and has not been definitively interpreted as jurisdictional.

Sotomayor writes in the decision: The Government does not focus on the text of 2409a(g), but instead points to a trilogy of decisions by this Court that purportedly establish that the provision is jurisdictional. None of these three decisions definitively interpreted 2409a(g) as jurisdictional.

This Court has made clear that it will not undo a definitive earlier interpretation of a statutory provision as jurisdictional without due regard for principles of stare decisis. At the same time, however, [c]ourts, including this Court, have more than occasionally misused the term jurisdictional to refer to nonjurisdictional prescriptions.

Tuesdays decision reverses the Ninth Circuit Court ruling and sends the case back to District Court.

Robbins Gulch Road is closed seasonally to motorized vehicles from Dec. 1 to June 15 under the Bitterroot Forest travel plan due to watershed concerns and to protect wildlife security in the area used by elk for calving.

Reporting by Perry Backus contributed to this story.
Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This weeks contribution is from Patrick Muffler, emeritus geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

The U.S. Geological Survey has benefitted from the work of numerous outstanding scientists who have furthered our understanding of how Yellowstone works. For example, Bob Christiansen mapped the caldera structures in the region and defined much of the geologic history, while Ken Pierce worked out the glacial history of the region and studied the trends of geologic processes, like faulting and uplift, that extend across Idaho to Yellowstone National Park.

USGS geologist Robert (Bob) O. Fournier was another such pioneer  a scientist who contributed greatly to our current understanding of the hot springs and hydrothermal systems of Yellowstone National Park. Bob passed away in January in Portola Valley, Californa, at the age of 91, leaving a legacy of discovery in Yellowstone that will inspire scientists for generations to come.

Bob received a B.A. from Harvard University in 1954 and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1958 with a dissertation on the porphyry-copper deposit at Ely, Nevada  a deposit that was related to the hydrothermal system associated with ancient volcanism and presaged his work on modern hydrothermal activity in Yellowstone. He then joined the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington, D.C., studying the solubility of silica in water as a function of temperature, a theme that would persist throughout his long and productive career.

Bob is best-known for his leadership in developing various methods for determining subsurface reservoir temperatures from the chemical analysis of hot-spring waters, based on laboratory and field investigations, primarily in Yellowstone National Park. His work in the park began in 1962 when he served as a geothermal consultant to the National Park Service during bridge construction and road relocation at Beryl Hot Spring. After transferring to the USGS office in Menlo Park, California, in 1962 he joined a group led by Donald E. White to carry out research drilling in hot-spring areas of Yellowstone National Park. These unique and seminal investigations provided ground truth for the subsurface temperature and pressure conditions beneath Yellowstone hot springs, with bottom-hole temperatures reaching 240 C (464 F). Bob developed equipment and procedures to measure pressures and to sample water and gas from these wells, he maintained and ultimately decommissioned the wells, and he used the resulting data in his exploration of the geochemistry and dynamics of the Yellowstone hot spring systems. You can see a video describing how Bob helped to tame one of the research wells at Biscuit Basin, which had a blowout in 1992, at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1014/.

His Yellowstone investigations, which continued throughout his career, provided the basis for his achievements as a world-renown geothermal expert. Bob considered Yellowstone his cornerstone of reality.

Bobs field work at Yellowstone was closely integrated with his ground-breaking research into chemical techniques to estimate geothermal reservoir temperatures and other characteristics. Notable were his development of the Na-K (sodium-potassium) and Na-K-Ca (sodium-potassium-calcium) geothermometers, which used the chemical composition of hydrothermal water measured at the surface to estimate the temperature of the reservoir of hydrothermal fluids beneath the ground. These tools, along with his silica geothermometer, have been adopted to better understand hydrothermal systems around the world. He also pioneered the understanding of models to estimate the temperature of the hot-water component in mixed waters and to predict underground conditions in hot spring systems  for example, whether a reservoir was steam or hot water. He even developed a better understanding of the processes related to movement of fluid from plastic into brittle rock in the transition zone between magma at depth and the overlying hydrothermal systems.

Bob was a leader in major international geothermal efforts as well. In 1975, he chaired the U.S. Organizing Committee for the 2nd United Nations Symposium on Geothermal Resources, a two-week meeting in San Francisco that drew some 1,100 participants from around the world. He also led advisory panels of international experts overseeing development of the Miravales geothermal field in Costa Rica and several geothermal fields in El Salvador. Finally, he served on many committees overseeing continental scientific drilling activities within the United States and elsewhere  efforts that led to a better understanding of the subsurface conditions in active volcanic areas.

Bobs passion throughout his career, though, was Yellowstone and the spectacular hydrothermal features found there. His work built a foundation upon which scientists today can better understand the conditions beneath the surface in these areas, which is important for understanding everything from geyser activity to potentially hazardous hydrothermal explosions.

For more about Bobs career and perspective  in his own words  check out the interview at https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/inside-usgs-no-3-robert-fournier-yellowstone.
AFP | Washington

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Two US Army helicopters crashed during a nighttime training mission in Kentucky, killing all nine soldiers on board, a general said yesterday. The helicopters -- variants of the Black Hawk designed for medical evacuation -- were taking part in a routine training mission the night before when the crash occurred, Brigadier General John Lubas told a news conference.

It resulted in the death of all nine service members aboard the aircraft, all of them members of the 101st Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, he said. Five soldiers were on one helicopter and four on another, Lubas said, noting that the military is still working to notify all the families of those killed.

The helicopters -- which were flying in formation with the pilots using night vision goggles -- were able to land in an open field across from a residential area, avoiding deaths or injuries on the ground, he said.

With an investigative team heading to Fort Campbell from the base where US Army Aviation is headquartered in Alabama, it was still unknown whether the two helicopters collided. We have a safety team coming... from Fort Rucker, Alabama who specialize in aircraft safety and specifically these investigations, Lubas said. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear mourned the lost soldiers and praised those who responded to the crash.

We are blessed to live in the freest country in the history of planet Earth. But we must remember that that freedom relies on those who are willing to serve, some of which pay the ultimate price, the governor told the news conference.

Just disappeared

Were going to do what we always do. Were going to wrap our arms around these families. Were going to be there with them, not just for the days but the weeks and the months and the years to come, Beshear said.

MSNBC quoted a local resident who witnessed the crash.

Two helicopters just disappeared out of the sky. There was a large flash, Nick Tomaszewski said, adding that another helicopter circled the area for about 30 minutes before ambulances arrived.

There have been multiple crashes of US military aircraft in recent years, including another involving a Black Hawk that killed two Tennessee National Guardsmen during a training flight in Alabama in February. Four US Marines were killed during NATO exercises in Norway last year when their V-22B Osprey aircraft went down, possibly after hitting a mountain, investigators said.
When a Canadian mining company successfully lobbied a Montana board appointed by Governor Gianforte to let them add more pollution to Montanas water, its time to take a step back and figure out how we got here.

In 2020, Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) published standards for how much selenium was allowed in Lake Koocanusa and the Kootenai River in northwest Montana. These standards were developed over several years in conjunction with the EPAs national criteria and by a coalition including British Columbia Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy, USFWS, USGS, University of Saskatchewan, Environmental Consulting (rep. Teck Coal Ltd.), U.S. Tribes, and B.C. First Nations. Imagine our surprise, then, to see that Teck Resources Ltd.  a Canadian coal mining company that participated in that process  is now trying to overturn standards that it helped create.

The Montana Board of Environmental Review (BER) is a quasi-judicial agency with a stated mission to protect the health, safety and interests of our state and our people. At Tecks behest, and with the objection of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, BER sent a letter to EPA claiming that the standards are too strenuous and that there should be MORE selenium allowed in Montana waters. Someone should tell them that changing water quality standards to allow this foreign mining company to allow more toxic selenium in Lake Koocanusa is not part of their job description.

BER and Teck are not using science to dismiss the selenium standards at Lake Koocanusa  instead, the new BER majority alleged that its previous incarnation failed to provide a written reason why the new standards were stricter than federal standards. To address the new BERs concerns DEQ held a public hearing and then  as required by law  issued a report detailing the extensive scientific facts and justifications for the adopted selenium standard.

Nevertheless at its meeting last October, the BER majority voted to ignore DEQs actions and declare the new standards invalid, and even asked Teck to draft a legal letter to the EPA for them. In December, BER accepted Tecks letter, with some amendments by the Board chair  an industry lawyer who for decades worked for the law firm now representing Teck  and then sent it to the EPA.

DEQ is rightly appealing these actions.

The Board of Environmental Review is bending over backward to accommodate a mining company that has recently been fined almost $17 million for environmental violations in Canada. Maybe the rationale is that if Teck is going to pollute anyway, just make it legal?

There are no benefits to Montana to be gained from weakening our water quality standards. The mining company is Canadian. Its mines are in Canada  British Columbias Elk Valley to be exact. Its taxes are all paid to the BC and Canadian governments. The jobs all go to British Columbians and other Canadians. Montana gets no money, no jobs, and no investment out of this.

Oh wait  there is one thing. Montana will get excess amounts of selenium, a toxin that can harm fish populations over time. This will also impact our neighbors in Idaho which shares the watershed.

Montana has known its share of pollution disasters. The selenium standards exist now because of a thoughtful, site-specific process to prevent such another disaster. Lets not throw those away for nothing.
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RIDGEFIELD  When Martha Stewart pulled up to the curb alongside the Chez Lenard hot dog cart on Main Street, owner Mike Principi recognized her immediately.

"I was literally watching her show the day before," said Principi, recalling the moment from about 10 years ago.

Martha's assistant came out of the car but Stewart stayed inside, and ordered sauerkraut and mustard from her car  but didn't want a hot dog or bun.

"I'm like, oh my goodness. Is this a test? What do I do?" said Pincipi, a 41-year-Ridgefield resident.

He wrapped mustard and sauerkraut in tin foil and gave it to Stewart's assistant, who took it, paid Principi and went back to Stewart's car, only to return to his cart again to ask, 'Do you happen to have any utensil?' I had nothing," he said.

Aside from Stewart, Principi has served many other celebrities over the past 16 years he has owned Chez Lenard, which has been a fixture on Main Street since the late '70s and is celebrating 45 years in business. As part of the business, Principi also caters events, such as birthdays, barbecues, weddings and bar mitzvahs.

The hot dog stand, which operates about 11 months of the year, regularly sells more than a dozen types of hot dogs, plus other off-the-menu hot dogs. He employs about 10 to 15 high school and college kids who help him run the business.

He said his job suits his personality perfectly.

"I love what I do. Being Ridgefield's hot dog man is the best," he said. "People were always my passion. I knew I wanted to work with people. That was the one thing  the one direction I had for my future."

On Wednesday afternoon, Bob Ryan, of Cross River, N.Y., ordered a gourmet hot dog from the stand, where he said he stops every time he's in town.

This is the highlight of my trip to Ridgefield," he said.

'The right place at the right time'

The Chez Lenard hot dog stand has come full cycle for Principi, a married father of two who frequented the stand as a child.

"I am a Ridgefielder, born and raised," he said. "From an early age, my parents would take my sister and I to the cart. In middle school, I was one of the kids in town frequenting the stand. In college, I started working for my predecessor (Chad Cohen) while I was 19 and a student" at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

Principi said he didn't originally plan on selling hot dogs as a career. In fact, he said, it almost didn't happen. After getting his degree in human resource management at WestConn, he was working as a headhunter for a staffing company for three years when one day, he got a phone call from Cohen. Cohen said he and his wife were burnt out and asked Principi if he would be interested in taking over the business.

As a coincidence, the day after Principi got the job offer, he was let go from his own job.

"I was in the right place at the right time. It was serendipitous. I don't think I would have done it (otherwise)," said Principi who has owned Chez Lenard since 2007.

Life on Main Street

Principi's record days, in terms of business, centers around big events in town such as parades, the reenactment of the Battle of Ridgefield, the Holiday Stroll, and the town's celebration of its 300-year anniversary.

There were days he had to deal with extreme weather conditions, such as the day of Hurricane Sandy.

"Everyone was without a power. I opened up the next day. There was nowhere (for people) to go," he said, adding that he served nearly 500 customers that day.

Another day he recalled was the "Snowmageddon" snowstorm of 2011, "which was wild. Similar to (Superstorm) Sandy, I was one of the few places open because I run on propane. There was over a foot of snow during the darkest stretch. It was a ghost town," he said.

Through the years, he has been caught in many thunderstorms, downpours, and microbursts,

While many winter days are "cold, wet, and raw," even on the "darkest days" and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said he still got to get outside and see people, so he was happy.

"Main Street is fun because you get to talk to people and serve people and generally people are happy when they're eating," he said.

Celebrity sightings

A year after Stewart stopped by the stand, Principi was invited to audition for "The Martha Stewart Show."

Stewart had Hot Dog Day, where she taste tested 60 hot dogs from businesses in the tri-state area and selected the top 12 to be on the show," Principi said. "I went to Manhattan and made the cut."

On the show, Stewart highlighted his business and posted his picture.

Through the years, many other celebrates have bought a hot dog from the Chez Leonard cart, but Principi said he had to sign confidentiality agreements not to disclose their names.

"The Ridgefield arts (community) generates a lot of attention and draws many artists, musicians, and actors to downtown," he said. "You'll likely see these celebrities maintaining a low profile while walking Main Street or frequenting Chez Lenard's."

'Being your own boss'

Chez Leonard has a French theme  after its first owner, Lenard Des Lescinskis.

"I try to come up with a new combination (of hot dog flavor) every year  whether it's crushed potato chips (Le Salta Angel) or Maple Syrup (Le Gemstone)," Principi said. "Some last but others I move on from. Theyre usually off-the-menu items so I can stop promoting them when I wish."

Although a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to a "hot dog man" such as prepping and shopping, he said he enjoys the flexibility of the job.

"It's a main reason why I do what I do. It's conducive to a good family life. It's so fun being your own boss and making your own schedule," he said. "I can be there for my kids when they wake up until they get on the bus."
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NEW FAIRFIELD  Six of the town's eight police officers ranked among the Top 10 highest-paid municipal employees in New Fairfield, with most earning tens of thousands of dollars in overtime pay, according to 2022 payroll data provided by the town.

Although the public works department, emergency communications center and recreation department had the highest number of employees earning overtime last year, most of the compensation went to the towns police officers.

The data shows that seven of eight New Fairfield officers earned a combined total of $245,520 in overtime in 2022. That's more than half of all overtime paid by the town.

Most of the overtime our officers have is either covering for vacations or sick time, First Selectman Pat Del Monaco said. Sometimes there are special events in town where we need additional police officers and sometimes its to cover one of our SRO (school resource officer) positions. It really depends on whats going on in town.

However, the amount of overtime paid to the towns police officers in 2022 compared to 2021 reflected a decrease of $18,305. The town has been working to reduce police overtime pay, Del Monaco said, and currently has a good handle on what the number is going to be every year.

One of the things that we did to minimize overtime was to assign permanent SROs in our schools, she said, noting that three of New Fairfields four school resource officer positions are now permanent ones. Weve added staff to do that, so that has reduced our overtime.

New Fairfield's 10 highest paid employees of 2022 1) Kevin Rafferty, police officer: $171,562.77* 2) Timothy Simpkins, health director: $167,971.93 3) Matthew Satkowski, police officer: $151,182.79* 4) Antonio Iadarola, engineer: $149,360.42* 5) David Koonitsky, police officer: $137,201.92* 6) Douglas Lange, police officer: $131745.91* 7) Jason Cassavechia, police officer: $130,521.10* 8) Marc Scocozza, police officer: $112,771.76* 9) Volha Melnikov, finance director: $109,748.93 10) Richard Seman, tax assessor: $104,388.01 *includes overtime pay See More Collapse

Still, overtime paid to all municipal employees in 2022 was about $18,000 more than the year before. Of the $5.5 million paid to 211 municipal employees last year, $424,000 was overtime compensation for 45 individuals on payroll, according to the payroll data.

Top 10 earners

New Fairfields top 10 earners raked in nearly $1.4 million of the $5.5 million paid to municipal employees in 2022.

Officer Kevin Rafferty, who joined New Fairfields police department in 2016, was the highest paid town employee in 2022, with nearly $171,600 in earnings  more than $65,000 of which came from overtime pay. He was the towns second-highest paid employee in 2021 and the third-highest earner in 2020.

Officer Matthew Satkowski was the towns third-highest paid municipal employee with nearly $151,200 in earnings  close to $47,000 of which came from overtime pay, according to town payroll data. Satkowski was the towns seventh-highest paid municipal employee in 2021.

With a little over $137,000 in earnings, Officer David Koonitsky was the fifth-highest paid municipal employee last year. About $33,180 of his pay came from overtime, according to town payroll data. Koonitsky was the fourth-highest paid town employee in 2021.

The three other highest paid officers were Douglas Lange, Jason Cassavechia and Marc Scocozza. With earnings of about $132,000, $130,500 and $113,000 respectively  including about $25,000, $37,500 and $36,800 in overtime  they ranked sixth, seventh and eighth on the list of New Fairfields top 10 municipal earners of 2022.

With nearly $168,000 in earnings, health director Tim Simpkins  who has been a town employee since 1987 and also serves as the health director of Sherman  was New Fairfields second-highest paid employee in 2022.

Part-time engineer Antonio Iadarola  who previously held the No. 1 spot  was New Fairfields fourth-highest paid municipal employee last year. He earned about $149,360 in 2022  around $5,200 of which came from overtime pay, according to town payroll data. Iadarola was the towns highest paid municipal employee in 2020 and 2021, when he earned nearly $193,700 and more than $162,000, respectively.

The towns finance director, Volha Melnikov, made about $109,750 in 2022, earning her the ninth-place spot on the list of New Fairfields highest municipal earners. She became finance director in October 2021, after Ed Sbordone announced his retirement.

With nearly $104,400 in earnings, Assessor Richard Seman was the 10th highest paid municipal employee of 2022, knocking Public Works Superintendent Russell Loudon from the spot he had held for two consecutive years. Loudon was the 11th highest paid town employee in 2022, with nearly $103,300 in earnings  a little over $8,500 of which was in overtime pay.

Del Monaco was the 12th highest paid municipal employee of 2022 with roughly $99,500 in total earnings, according to the payroll data.

According to Human Resources Director Kara Mehler, the total earnings of some of New Fairfields 211 municipal employees include contractual payouts, overtime pay and ARPA-funded one-time premium pay for essential workers that the town approved.
NEW MILFORD  As local officials weigh whether to permit recreational cannabis establishments in town, the police chief and town's youth agency director cautioned they don't yet know how cannabis sales would affect traffic, crime and young people.

This is not to fearmonger or demonize adult-use cannabis but simply to protect youth here in New Milford and work with our local stakeholders in prevention and intervention efforts to ensure there are no concerning trends between the adult intended market and our youth here in Connecticut, said Jason OConnor, the executive director of the New Milford Youth Agency.

O'Connor spoke before the New Milford Town Council on Monday as part of ongoing discussions Recreational cannabis sales have been banned from town since January, when the Town Council imposed a moratorium to give the town more time to better understand the states legislation on recreational cannabis sales and learn what other states and towns are doing. The Town Council can revisit the year-long moratorium any time to either extend it or truncate it.

OConnor said the state and the local municipalities do not yet have the data needed for New Milford to pursue retail cannabis sales or to ensure the safety of the town's youth in regard to marijuana use. He said this information is necessary given "the direct influence marijuana has on a youths brain and a youths developmental maturation."

Were not Massachusetts, Colorado, New York or any other state that has legalized adult-use cannabis," O'Connor said, "but we are New Milford, Connecticut, and we can control, evaluate and assess actions that affect our community.

Police Chief Spencer Cerruto said he also had concerns about traffic safety and crime. He suggested the town's moratorium on recreational cannabis sales could give the town time to learn more about regulations, adding, A years worth of data would be much more helpful than a few months of data.

Understanding our landscape is very important to us in law enforcement, Cerruto said, and a moratorium on this issue would give us that time to more methodically understand whats going on in other communities that have allowed this.

Mayor Pete Bass invited a cannabis legalization advocate to speak to the Town Council's March 13 meeting about the benefits of allowing recreational cannabis sales in town. He said he invited Cerruto, OConnor and representatives from New Milford Coalition for Awareness & New Beginning to bring in the counter.

We believe in harm reduction, education and taking time to understand the data in the best interest of our community, said Ivana Butera, co-chair of New Milford CAN.

Council members discussed concerns about drivers under the influence of cannabis and overdoses involved marijuana laced with fentanyl with Cerruto. Cerruto said the town had 20 overdoses last year  none of which involved marijuana laced with fentanyl.

Its legal now in Connecticut, Councilwoman Hilary Ram said of recreational cannabis. Were all headed in that direction, so basically the conversation is how do we best prepare the town to protect our youth and to bring it about safely in the most carefully planned way I feel a moratorium for a year will give us enough time to see whats happening in other towns.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  House Republicans on Thursday approved a sprawling energy package that seeks to undo virtually all of President Joe Biden's agenda to address climate change.

The legislation would sharply increase domestic production of oil, natural gas and coal, and ease permitting restrictions that delay pipelines, refineries and other projects. It would boost production of critical minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt that are used in electric vehicles, computers, cellphones and other products.

By a 225-204 vote, the House sent the measure to the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it dead on arrival. Four Democrats joined with all but one Republican to support the bill.

Biden has threatened to veto the bill, saying it would replace pro-consumer policies adopted in the landmark climate law approved last year with a thinly veiled license to pollute.'' The bill would roll back Democratic investments in clean energy and pad oil and gas company profits,'' the White House said.

Republicans call the bill the Lower Energy Costs Act and gave it the symbolic label H.R. 1  the top legislative priority of the new GOP majority, which took control of the House in January.

The measure combines dozens of separate proposals and represents more than two years of work by Republicans who have chafed at Biden's environmental agenda. They say Biden's efforts have thwarted U.S. energy production and increased costs at the gas pump and grocery store.

Families are struggling because of President Biden's war on American energy,'' said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., one of the bill's main authors.

The GOP bill will unleash" abundant U.S. natural resources "so we can produce energy in America,'' Scalise said. We don't have to be addicted to foreign countries that don't like us.''

Democrats called the bill a giveaway to big oil companies.

"Republicans refuse to hold polluters accountable for the damage they cause to our air, our water, our communities and our climate,'' said New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

While Democrats delivered historic wins for the American people by passing historic climate legislation, Republicans are actively working to undermine that progress and do the bidding of their polluter friends, Pallone said.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the bill restores American energy leadership by repealing unnecessary taxes and overregulation on American energy producers,'' and "makes it easier to build things in America'' by placing a two-year time limit on environmental reviews that now take an average of seven years.

Every time we need a pipeline, a road or a dam, it gets held up five to seven years and adds millions of dollars in costs for the project to comply with Washingtons permitting process,'' McCarthy said in speech on the House floor. Its too long, its unaffordable, its not based on science and its holding us back.''

He pointed to a project to modify and improve Lake Isabella Dam in his central California district that has lasted 18 years and still is not completed.

Permitting reform isnt for everyone,'' McCarthy added. If you like paying more at the pump, you dont want to make it faster for American workers to build more pipelines. If youre China, youd rather America sit back and let others lead. And if youre a bureaucrat, maybe you really do enjoy reading the 600-page environmental impact studies.''

Most Americans want lower prices and more U.S. energy production, McCarthy said  results he said the bill will deliver.

Democrats called that misleading and said the GOP plan was a thinly disguised effort to reward oil companies and other energy producers that have contributed millions of dollars to GOP campaigns.

Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, derided the bill as the Polluters Over People Act'' and a nearly 200-page love letter to polluting industries.''

Instead of reining in Big Oil companies that have reported record profits while hoarding thousands of unused leases'' on public lands and waters, the GOP bill lowers royalty rates paid by energy producers and reinstates noncompetitive leasing of public lands, Grijalva said.

The bill also gives mining companies a veritable free-for-all on our public lands and makes mockery of tribal consultation'' required under federal law, he said.

Under the GOP plan, mining companies will destroy sacred and special places" throughout the West, "ruin the landscape and leave behind a toxic mess that pollutes our water and hurts our health  all without paying a cent to the American people,'' Grijalva said.

Schumer called the measure a giveaway to Big Oil pretending to be an energy package.

The House energy package would gut important environmental safeguards on fossil fuel projects,'' locking America "into expensive, erratic and dirty energy sources while setting us back more than a decade on our transition to clean energy,'' Schumer said.

Schumer said he supports streamlining the nation's cumbersome permitting process for energy projects, especially those that will deliver clean energy such as wind, solar and geothermal power. But the Republican plan falls woefully short on this front as well,'' he said, calling on Republicans to back reforms that would help ease the transition to renewable energy and accelerate construction of transmission lines to bolster the nation's aging power grid.

The Republican bill would repeal a new $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and other parts of the climate and health care law passed by Democrats last year. The fund, also known as a green bank, is set to provide low-cost financing for projects intended to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

The House bill also would eliminate a new tax on methane pollution that would charge companies for methane leaks from oil and gas wells.

Four Democrats voted in favor of the bill: Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzales of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., opposed the bill.
TOKYO (AP)  Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday he will visit China this weekend for talks with his counterpart Qin Gang, becoming Japan's first top diplomat to do so in more than three years amid growing friction between the two countries, including new Japanese export controls and the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing.

Hayashi hopes to engage in a candid and in-depth exchange of views toward establishing a constructive and stable relationship in the talks with Qin and other officials during his April 1-2 visit, he told a news conference.

His trip comes after Japan announced Friday that it will tighten export controls on 23 materials used for semiconductor manufacturing, seen as an effort to limit China's access to advanced chipmaking technology, a step sought by the United States.

Hayashi is expected to demand the release of the detained Japanese national, discuss security concerns in the region and ask China to act responsibly on global issues including Russia's war on Ukraine.

He noted an agreement between the leaders of the two countries to build constructive and stable ties. Japan-China relations are facing many challenges and concerns, although there are various possibilities" for cooperation, Hayashi said.

Despite close economic and business ties between the two Asian powers, Tokyo and Beijing have been increasingly at odds in recent years as Japan considers Chinas growing influence in the region a threat to its national security and economy.

I believe it is important to build a constructive and stable relationship while we insist on our position on some issues, seek (China's) responsible actions and continue our dialogue, Hayashi said.

A visit by his predecessor, Toshimitsu Motegi, in 2019 was the last to China by a top Japanese diplomat, just prior to China's near-total closure of its borders amid strict pandemic control measures.

Commenting on Hayashis visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said it was in the common interests of the two sides and the region to maintain the sound and stable development of China-Japan relations.

Mao said Qin and other Chinese leaders would have an in-depth exchange on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual concern.

However, in a reminder of the underlying tensions, Mao also criticized the new Japanese restrictions on exports of semiconductor manufacturing materials to China.

Politicizing ... and weaponizing sci-tech and trade issues and intentionally undermining the stability of global supply and industrial chains would only hurt others as well as oneself, she said.

Japan is among the U.S. allies that have followed Washington in restricting Beijings access to the sensitive technologjes.

Japanese Economy and Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the export controls were imposed to prevent the materials from being diverted to military use. He said the decision was made to fulfill Japan's global responsibility as a country possessing advanced chip technology and not to target China or follow the U.S. move. Japan consulted with the United States, the Netherlands and other like-minded countries, Nishimura said.

An addition point of friction between the two sides is China's detention of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma earlier this month on suspicion of spying. Japan's government has demanded his release and an explanation.

China's Foreign Ministry said the Japanese citizen is suspected of engaging in espionage activities in violation of the criminal law ... and the Anti-Espionage Law of the Peoples Republic of China."

Mao offered no new information about the case but said the detainee's legal rights would be protected and that he would have access to Japanese consular officials.

More than a dozen Japanese citizens with business or other connections to China have been arrested in the past over allegations including spying.

A long-festering dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China also flared again in mid-March, with both sides accusing the other of infringing on their maritime territory.

The islands are known as the Senkakus in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. Taiwan also claims the islands but has forged agreements with Japan to avoid such conflicts.

China routinely sends coast guard vessels and planes into waters and airspace surrounding the islands to harass Japanese vessels in the area and force Japan to scramble jets in response.

Japan considers China a threat to its national and regional security and has been expanding its security cooperation with other like-minded countries in the region and Europe, as well as with NATO, while promoting a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific" as a counter to China.

Hayashi said Friday he will travel to Brussels after his China visit to attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting to reaffirm Japan's commitment to the rules-based international order and reinforce cooperation between Japan and NATO in their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other key issues.

Japan is also concerned about growing joint military exercises between China and Russia around Japan's coasts.

Also Friday, China's Defense Ministry said it was setting up a direct telephone connection with its Japanese counterpart to strengthen the capabilities of the two sides to manage and control maritime and air crises.

The Chinese ministry has a similar hotline with the Pentagon. However, after the U.S. shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon in February, China refused to accept a phone call from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the matter, threatening unspecified retaliation instead.

___

AP videojournalist Haruka Nuga contributed to this report.
Lawmakers are back in Helena for the second half of Montanas 68th Legislative Session, and thanks to the public speaking up, weve had a few good wins that protect our clean air and water and public lands. However, there are some bad bills looming in the second half of this Legislative session, and time is running out to defeat them.

First, the good news. Any bill not related to revenue, appropriations, or constitutional amendments that does not pass one legislative chamber before the transmittal deadline cannot move forward, which means that a handful of crummy bills have now died.

Good riddance to SB 497, a sneaky bill targeting prescriptive easements that would have harmed Montanas best-in-the-nation stream access laws. The Legislature tried to push this through at the 11th hour, but thanks to many of you, your senators received thousands of messages urging them not to pass this bill and it died on the Senate floor, showing that grassroots advocacy and public lands access are still priorities in Montana.

Another bad idea called SB 357 would have done away with permanent conservation easements, making the maximum amount of time for a conservation easement 40 years. Perpetual conservation easements are really important tools for wildlife habitat and large landscape conservation as well as for keeping farmers and ranchers on the landscape, especially critical as development is booming across the state. Montanans spoke up, and this bill didnt make it out of committee.

Unfortunately, some bad bills are moving forward, and we only have a few weeks to stop them. Maybe the worst idea is the plot for lawmakers to steal millions of dollars in marijuana tax revenue from Habitat Montana, arguably the state's most successful and popular conservation program, the same program that helped pay for the new Big Snowy Mountains Wildlife Management Area and the recent Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area addition.

HB 669 would redistribute how recreational marijuana tax revenue is spent in Montana. Over the next biennium, these bills would strip tens of millions of dollars in voter-approved revenue from the Habitat Montana Program and permanently block the program from tapping those funds again. Lawmakers are claiming its just a question of priorities (so Montanas wild places and public lands arent a priority?), but dont let them fool you. There is enough revenue to fund Habitat Montana at current levels while still having extra revenue to send to the general fund.

Just a couple of weeks ago Gov. Greg Gianorte bragged at a press conference in Helena about increasing access to public lands through over 100,000 acres in the Big Snowies alone. So why is he trying to gut the program that paid for it? Now is the time to contact the governors office and ask him to respect what Montanans voted for, and keep marijuana tax revenue funding for conservation. Tell him, and your representatives, that Montanans need more Big Snowies and more access to public land for hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing, not less. As the state continues to grow and evolve, the only way to keep this the Last Best Place is to fight for what makes Montana special.
AP

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP)  At least 14 workers are dead after a gold mine collapsed in northern Sudan, mining authorities said Friday.

The fatal collapse happened after one of the hillsides that surround the Jebel Al-Ahmar gold mine - situated near the Egyptian border - subsided Thursday afternoon, the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company said in a short statement.
As state regulators move ahead with an audit of the Stone Academy nursing program, school attorneys and state agencies fight over details of the program's closure and former students continue to demand answers.

According to records obtained by CT Insider, Stone Academy and various state agencies have traded increasingly contentious correspondence, presenting vastly different perspectives on the circumstances that led the school to close last month and the Office of the Attorney General to launch an investigation.

At issue are questions of whether Stone Academy needed to be shut down, how state agencies executed the closure, whether or not the school must pay for an audit into students' transcripts and, most pressingly, what this means for hundreds of nursing students currently stuck in limbo.

State regulators allege that Stone Academy, a for-profit program with campuses in Waterbury, West Haven and East Hartford, failed to maintain proper attendance records, exceeded allowable student-to-staff ratios, hired unqualified instructors, held clinical instruction in non-clinical spaces and produced unacceptably low passage rates for students taking licensing exams.

As a result, the state asked that that the school pay $200,000 toward an audit that will determine which Stone Academy credits are and aren't valid. On Monday, the Office of Higher Education officially contracted with a national firm that will conduct the review over the coming months, paid for by the state, executive director Timothy Larson said.

"It's important that we have an outside auditor look at all of these components so that we can address refunds appropriately, we can make sure that this permanent record transcript is reconciled to the extent we can do that," Larson said.

In correspondence obtained by CT Insider, lawyers for Stone Academy dispute most of the state's accusations, arguing that the school was not required to maintain attendance records, that its ratios were not above what was legally permitted and that its clinical instruction was in compliance with a pandemic-era executive order. They acknowledge the school had several instructors who did not meet licensing requirements but say that figure is lower than the state alleges.

As for passage rates, which dipped below 50 percent at some Stone Academy programs, attorneys for the school say the concerning trend "reflects the unusual strains inflicted by the pandemic both on the institution but, more importantly, its student body" during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a letter sent from a Stone Academy representative to the Office of the Attorney General.

Moreover, Stone Academy attorneys say the state's Office of Higher Education rushed the school's closure, rejecting efforts to establish "teach-out" plans that would have let students finish their degrees. At one point, they alleged in a legal filing, officials from the Office of Higher Education, including Larson, personally seized transcripts and other documents from Stone Academy offices, behaving in a "haphazard and unprofessional manner."

While Stone Academy attorneys have not fought the closure of the school, they have resisted the state's requests that they pay for an audit.

"The Office of Higher Education's actions are so bungled and chaotic they would be comical if not so devastating," Stone Academy attorney Perry Rowthorn said in a statement. "An unnecessary audit that will wrongly disenfranchise hundreds of students' legitimately earned credits is the exact opposite of student protection. ... OHE would be well-advised to abandon it."

In an interview Tuesday, Larson blamed Stone Academy for fighting against an audit that would have provided clarity on some of the state's allegations. He denied acting inappropriately with regard to the document seizure, saying he and his staff followed proper protocols.

"They are purporting things that are just not accurate," he said.

'We were left in the dark'

As state regulators and Stone Academy lawyers spar, the situation has left hundreds of nursing students who attended the school in a sort of purgatory, unable to take licensing exams without degrees and unable to transfer their credits to other programs without accredited transcripts.

At a protest Tuesday outside the Office of Higher Education in Hartford, more than a dozen former Stone students chanted "Teach-out plan, now" while holding signs with Larson's face and the words "credit thief" and "Larson-y." One former student wore a Stone Academy sweatshirt with "Stone" crossed out and replaced with "Scam." An attorney representing some of the students, Cynthia Jennings, urged them to resist the audit and demand they be allowed to transfer their credits to other schools.

Symia Lyles, a single mother of three who was 10 months into a nursing program at Stone's East Hartford campus when the school closed, said she was "completely frustrated" to have her plans derailed, especially amid a widespread nursing shortage.

"It's crazy to me because our nurse community is suffering," she said. "There's a need for nurses, so I don't understand why they wouldn't be more caring on the situation."

Lyles said she has reached out to other nursing programs but has struggled to find one that would accept her Stone Academy credits.

Alex Putterman / Hearst Connecticut Media

Students at Tuesday's protest criticized both Stone Academy and the Office of Higher Education, both of which they said played a role in the current situation.

"I blame both parties equally," said Jacqueline Rosa, a Stone Academy student who was set to graduate in August. "We were left in the dark completely."

Asked about the protest, Larson said he understands students' frustration but that an audit will be in everyone's best interest, as it will let students know which credits are valid and transferrable and which aren't. He said he was "disappointed" to be personally targeted by the protesters.

"I think I've been rather transparent, rather forthright and rather caring for these folks," he said.

As for Stone Academy, Rowthorn said the school is on the students' side in resisting the audit and encouraging that transcripts be accepted as they are.

"We strongly oppose any audit pre-ordained to erase the educational progress of hundreds of students and will continue to advocate for the fair treatment of Stones student population," he said.

Two different stories

The dispute between Stone Academy and the state has brewed since at least December, when the Office of Higher Education sent the school a letter saying it would revoke the program's authorization due to a series of failures and shortcomings, such as using unqualified instructors and exceeding allowable student-to-staff ratios.

Representatives for Stone Academy initially agreed to an audit but later backed out after objecting to some terms of the review, which they considered unfair to the school and to students.

The two sides disagree on how exactly Stone Academy came to close. Larson maintains that school administrators reached that decision on their own, while Rowthorn says the state pressured the school to close and that even after Stone Academy agreed to wind down gradually, Larson "rashly and improperly demanded Stones immediate closure and terminated Stones efforts to arrange an orderly teach out of its current students."

According to documents obtained by CT Insider, Stone Academy representatives met with regulators in early February to discuss the school's future amid the state's findings and the U.S. Department of Education's decision to withdraw federal funding from the program. Several days later, an attorney for Stone Academy wrote the Office of Higher Education to say the school was "planning an orderly wind down of its educational operations following the successful teach-out of its current students."

On Feb. 15, however, the Office of Higher Education announced that Stone Academy would close on Feb. 24 without a teach-out option. The following week, state officials seized records in preparation for an audit.

Around the same time, records show, the Office of the Attorney General announced an investigation into Stone Academy and sent the school a civil investigation demand, requesting a range of documents, including student records and communications relating to the closure. Stone Academy attorneys responded on March 10, objecting to the request "in its entirety" and defending the school's conduct.

Following additional correspondence, an attorney from the Office of the Attorney General wrote Stone Academy lawyers on March 16, accusing them of attempting "to change the narrative" and alleging that the school's "ignoring of its failures is problematic and is in stark contrast to reality."

In a response the following day, Stone Academy attorneys charged that state regulators had "failed to provide a detailed explanation for these allegations, but it is apparent that they are based on fundamental misunderstandings of fact and law."

That led to Monday when the Office of Higher Education reached terms with the accountancy firm CliftonLarsonAllen, which will conduct the audit. Larson (who said he is not related to the Larson who founded the firm decades ago) did not offer a timetable for the review but said the agency would work "as diligently as we possibly can to get answers for these students."

Rowthorn reiterated Tuesday that Stone Academy has no plans to pay for the audit.

alex.putterman@hearstmediact.com
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MILFORD >> A grieving father Monday brought down a curse on Matthew Pugh, 42, sentenced to 60 years for the murder of Alexandra Ducsay nine years ago at her city home.

I curse your soul, if you ever had one, John Ducsay told Pugh.

Pugh did not look up. For most of the afternoons proceedings, he slowly rocked in a chair behind the defense table, staring at a book, occasionally turning the pages.

The book: The Power of Positive Thinking by the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale.

If the death penalty were legal in Connecticut, John Ducsay told Pugh, I would fight the executioner to the needle.

Pugh, formerly of Hamden, was found guilty by a jury in March of fatally beating and stabbing Ducsay, 26, his former girlfriend.

On Monday, Superior Court Judge Denise Markle also sent Pugh to prison for 20 years for first-degree burglary, to be served concurrent with the murder sentence.

Markle barred Pugh from having contact with the Ducsay family.

JUDGES REASONS

Markle had presided over the trial and Monday explained to the packed courtroom the reasons for the sentence.

Ever since the trial, this case has been foremost on my mind, Markle said.

I have considered every little piece of information that has been provided to me.

Out of respect for the family, Markle said she would not elaborate on the details, but concluded the state had proved Ducsay had been bound and violently, brutally beaten to her death.

Markle outlined the couples relationship.

Pugh met Ducsay when she was very young, he was much older and had more experience, including (on) the streets.

Pugh demanded Ducsays attention and threatened her with letters from prison, which Markle said were quite, quite disturbing.

He wrote that he would send photographs of Ducsay to her employer if she didnt do as he wanted.

The murder was premeditated, Markle said. Pugh had told his cousin he planned to kill Ducsay, saying he would inject her with a drug overdose and hide the evidence of a crime with items taken from the place they both worked.

Pugh had a multitude of domestic violence offenses against her before the murder took place, Markle said.

Someone who does that has a mind that I can not appreciate or understand, Markle said.

The judge recounted Pughs life story. He was born in 1972 and had his first conviction in 1989. His record includes felonies for drug sales.

He also has an asssault and weapons case pending in New Haven.

Pugh testified in his own defense during the trial, and told of selling narcotics in New York and Connecticut, the judge reminded him.

He was proud and confident, Markle said.

It was unclear whether he was outright defiant or oblivious that any of his conduct was wrong or illegal, she said.

There was no question about his chances for rehabiliation. She wanted to prevent anyone from becoming a victim ever again, she told Pugh.

FOR THE PROSECUTION

Mr. Pugh is not fit to live among us, Milford States Attorney Kevin D. Lawlor said.

Lawlor was at the scene of the crime May 19, 2006, at the family home on Boothbay Street. Alexandra Ducsay was left at the bottom of the stairs to her basement apartment, where her mother found her. She was beaten beyond recognition, Lawlor said.

The sight still keeps me up at night, Lawlor said.

I would hope this defendant never sees the light of day outside the prison walls again, Lawlor said.

FOR THE DEFENSE

Pughs defense attorney, Paul V. Carty of New Haven, sought a prison term of 30-40 years.

He can be productive, Carty said.

Pugh left home at age 14 but stayed close to the family. He is the father of several children, Carty said. When he wasnt in prison, he always worked. Most of his convictions were drug-related, but he had a limited history of substance abuse, Carty said. Pugh has made bad choices in his life, but has picked himself up time after time, Carty said.

When given the opportunity to speak before sentencing, Pugh asked the judge about appeals.

Carty declined comment after the sentence was imposed.

VICTIM IMPACT

Dozens of Ducsay friends and family, as well as several city police officers, attended the 80-minute proceeding.

Ducsay had a charity for needy children and was setting up a soup kitchen. She was an aspiring entertainer.

Along with her father, John, Ducsays mother, Linda, and brother Matthew stood at the prosecution table and told of the loss of Alexandra, sometimes addressing Pugh directly.

When Judgement Day comes is when your sentence will truly begin, Matthew D. Ducsay said.

The pain never disappears, John Ducsay said. My only solace is silence.

The father called Pugh a despicable little person who had to have his five minutes of revenge. He blasted Pughs audacity for leaving Alexandras body where her mother could find her.

I pray and meditate that you keep going for a long time, he told Pugh.

Think about it and think about my face because I will be in your head and your dreams, John Ducsay said.

She tried to help you. And how did you repay her? John Ducsay said.

REACTION

Linda and Matthew Ducsay stood together on the steps Superior Court and reflected on the last nine years.

It took a lot of patience, Matthew Ducsay said.

A lot of patience, his mother repeated.

Im just glad hes off the streets. He would have hurt somebody else, she said.

Were very thankful, Matthew Ducsay said.

I think hed be the poster child for the death penalty, Matthew Ducsay said.

Mother and son praised the judicial process.

The judge did a fantastic job, Matthew Ducsay said.

The family is thankful the trial is over and can focus more on Alexanderas life and her charitable work.

It was a very good day, said John Ducsay.

Lawlor called the sentence very fair. While any possible time off is up to the state Department of Correction, Pugh probably will serve his entire sentence, Lawlor said.

PRAISE FOR INVESTIGATORS

While it took years, Lawlor said he always believed he would get a conviction.

It was good to see how many law enforcement groups worked together on this, Lawlor said after the proceedings.

Lawlor ticked off the departments: the city police, Connecticut State Police, the state crime lab, the chief states attorneys office, and forensic scientist Henry C. Lee.
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COHASSET, Mass. (AP)  A Massachusetts man has been indicted in the death of his wife who has not been seen since Jan. 1, a top prosecutor said Thursday.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrisey said Brian Walshe, 47, has been charged with first-degree murder as well as misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body. A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Walshe is accused of murdering his wife, dismembering her and disposing of her body.

Ana Walshe, a mother of three who is originally from Serbia, was reportedly last seen leaving the familys home in Cohasset, south of Boston, in the early morning hours of Jan. 1. She was on her way to the airport for a flight to Washington, where she worked for a real estate company, authorities said. Her employer reported her missing Jan. 4.

Starting Jan. 1 and for several days after, Brian Walshe made multiple online searches using an iPad belonging to one of his sons using terms such as dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body, how long before a body starts to smell and hacksaw best tool to dismember, prosecutors said.

Investigators also found Jan. 3 surveillance video of man resembling Brian Walshe throwing what appeared to be heavy trash bags into a dumpster at an apartment complex in Abington, not far from Cohasset.

During a Jan. 8 search of a trash processing facility north of Boston and not far from Brian Walshes mothers home, investigators found trash bags that contained a hatchet, hacksaw, towels and a protective Tyvek suit, cleaning agents, a Prada purse, boots like the ones Ana Walshe was last seen wearing and a COVID-19 vaccination card with her name.

Walshe was charged with murder in January and pleaded not guilty. The indictment moves the case to Norfolk Superior Court, and he will be arraigned in the coming weeks, Morrisey said. Walshe remains in jail. He and his wife's three young children are now in state custody.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)  The body of a 2-year-old Florida boy who had been the subject of a frantic search after his mother was slain was found Friday in a lake in the jaws of an alligator, police said.

St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway also said the boy's father, 21-year-old Thomas Mosley, will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of the boy's mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery, and their young son Taylen Mosley.

Searchers, including dive teams and officers using drones, had been intensely looking for the boy since his mother's body was discovered in their apartment earlier this week and he was nowhere to be found.

"We are sorry it has had to end this way, Holloway said during a Friday night news conference.

Officers searching for the toddler at a lake a few miles from the apartment complex noticed an alligator with an object in its mouth that they quickly realized was a child's body, Holloway said. They fired shots at the reptile, which dropped the body.

"We were able to retrieve Taylens body intact, the chief said. The alligator was euthanized.

Thomas Mosley is hospitalized with cuts on his hands and arms and has refused to talk to investigators, Holloway said. He does not yet have a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

The father is not talking to us, he added.

Jeffery, who worked at a CVS store, and her son were last seen by family members around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday. Police have said around 8:30 p.m. neighbors heard a loud commotion near their apartment but police were not called.

The next day, Jeffery's mother contacted the apartment complex property manager after not hearing from her daughter. That's when they found her dead in what Holloway described as a very violent crime scene" in which Jeffery had been stabbed numerous times.

Police have not revealed how Taylen Mosley was killed or whether the alligator played any role in that.

Thomas Mosley went to his mother's house about 9 p.m. Wednesday with the cuts on his arms and hands, Holloway said, and then admitted himself to a local hospital, where he remained Friday night.

Family members said Jeffery and Taylen had just moved into the apartment complex about a month ago.
NEW HAVEN  A witness in a 2015 triple homicide case was sentenced to about three months in prison Thursday for allegedly committing perjury, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Connecticut.

Laquasia Samms, also known as Quasia, 28, of New Haven, pleaded guilty on Oct. 1, 2020, to making false statements before a federal grand jury regarding the deaths of Damian Connor, Tamar Lawrence and Devante Williams, according to the U.S. attorneys office. Samms is currently out on bond but is required to report to prison on May 11, the U.S. attorneys office said.

Connor, Lawrence and Williams were killed on Nov. 16, 2015, after an illegal firearms sale went awry, according to the U.S. attorneys office. Edward Michael Parks, also known as Lee and Trouble, of Raleigh, N.C., was convicted on Jan. 19 of two counts of kidnapping resulting in death and one count of witness tampering by killing, the U.S. attorneys office said. The offenses carry a mandatory term of life in prison.

The firearms sale took place at Samms Shelton Avenue apartment, according to the U.S. attorneys office. In addition to Parks, Samms, Conor and Lawrence were present, the office said.

When another man left the apartment in possession of firearms that he had not paid for, Parks, who was armed, held Connor and Lawrence against their will, according to the U.S. attorneys office. He then collected money and valuables from Connor and Lawrence and forced them to travel to Hamden in Connors car. Williams, the third victim, and another person followed Parks, Connor and Lawrence in a second car, the office said.

Parks fatally shot Connor and Lawrence after the cars arrived at an address in the 670 block of Mix Avenue in Hamden, according to the U.S. attorneys office. He then left the scene with several people, including Williams.

Back in New Haven, Parks, apparently believing that Williams was anxious about the killings, fatally shot Williams in the area of Sherman Court, according to the U.S. attorneys office. He killed Williams to "stop him from advising law enforcement what had occurred," a federal grand jury alleged in an indictment returned on Dec. 9, 2019.

The series of events was chronicled by Samms in multiple text messages, according to the U.S. attorney's office. In the messages, Samms also described her reactions, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Samms testified before the grand jury in New Haven on March 19, 2019. During her testimony, she repeatedly claimed she did not remember sending any text messages regarding the firearms transaction, the kidnappings or the murders, the U.S. attorneys office said. In pleading guilty, she admitted that she sent the text messages and that she withheld other information that was sought by the federal grand jury, the office said in a statement at the time.

Samms was sentenced to 90 days in prison followed by two years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport.
A man serving 45 years in prison for killing two fellow workers at a north central North Dakota hog farm in 2015 is now accused of trying to kill two fellow inmates in the State Penitentiary in Bismarck.

Jeremy Rodriguez Rios has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon by an inmate and terrorizing. The attempted murder charge -- the most serious -- carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. Court documents do not list an attorney for him.

Rodriguez Rios on Oct. 8, 2022, confronted another inmate in a day room at the prison, punching and stabbing him with a cylindrical object that had been scraped down on one end to make it sharp and pointed, according to an affidavit. Rodriguez Rios allegedly told another inmate to get back or I'll kill you after that inmate tried to intervene.

Rodriguez Rios then left the scene, went upstairs and knocked on the cell door of another inmate. He stabbed the inmate with the same type of object after the door was opened, according to the affidavit.

Authorities did not elaborate on what might have prompted the alleged incident. It wasn't immediately clear why the charges are just being filed now.

Rodriguez Rios was living in Bottineau when he was accused of fatally shooting Brian Story, 37, and Christopher Sluder, 50, on March 24, 2015, at Turtle Mountain Pork, a commercial hog operation near Souris, northeast of Minot. Authorities say an altercation about employee work performance preceded the incident.

He eventually entered an Alford plea, meaning he did not admit guilt but acknowledged there was enough evidence to support a conviction. The court treats it like a guilty plea.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The goal of silencing the guns in Africa this decade is being challenged by climate change, terrorism, coups and the continents history, the head of the African Union initiative told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.

Attaining the goal is at risk even after the date was pushed back once to 2030, Mohamed Ibn Chambas said. He pointed to constitutional, institutional and cultural challenges as well as Africas vulnerability to global economic shocks  and weak implementation of international, national and regional decisions on peace, security and development.

Silencing the guns was a key initiative in the vision for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa adopted by AU leaders in May 2013. Called Agenda 2063, it originally stated that all guns would be silenced in 2023, but in December 2020 the AU decided to extend the date to 2030.

Thats the same year the United Nations set to achieve its 17 major development goals that are also lagging, including ending poverty, ensuring secondary education for all children, achieving gender equality, and providing affordable and clean energy.

Chambas told the Security Council that when AU leaders adopted the silencing the guns initiative they were motivated by the desire to bequeath future generations of Africans a continent free of wars and conflicts.

The objective was to work toward an Africa at peace with itself and with the rest of the world, he said, but today multiple challenges have put that goal at risk, starting with the widening gap between rich and poorer nations, and between elites and marginalized people and communities within countries.

For example, Chambas said, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed 55 million Africans into poverty in 2020 and reversed more than two decades of progress in poverty reduction on the continent. He said equally alarming is the fact that 15 African countries are reportedly at risk of debt distress, and today the continents debt is more than $600 billion.

Chambas urged stepped up efforts to reduce inequalities and make new investments in education, technology and health while ensuring Africas young population could attain decent jobs. He also urged a crackdown on illegal financial flows that deprive the continent of approximately $90 billion annually.

He said Africa should shift from exporting raw materials to exporting manufactured goods and processed agricutural products, which would require investment in cross-border infrastruture. Chambas said Africa should produce its own food, calling it untenable, that a continent with 60% of the worlds remaining arable lands and many rivers and freshwater bodies is dependent on grain imports.

The AU high representative for implementing the silencing the guns initiative said achieving the goal also depends on addressing recent coups and unconstitutional changes in government and countering the scourge of terrorism, and the internal and external factors causing conflict and instability in Africa.

Armed conflict looms large across the continent. Jihadi insurgencies plague Somalia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Burkina Faso which had two coups last year, and Mali whose leader seized power in a 2020 coup. The extremist violence threatened to spread to even more countries while militias continue fighting in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

Mozambiques President Filipe Nyusi, who chaired the council meeting, told members on Tuesday that the global terrorism threat remains more critical in Africa. He pointed to one global terrorism index that showed 40% of victims last year were African and called the Sahel region "the new epicenter of terrorist attacks.

Chambas said he believes Mozambiques successful peace process with former rebel movement Renamo could be a model for lesson sharing on our continent  a view echoed by Mirko Manzoni, the personal envoy of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Mozambique.

Nyusi urged all African leaders on Thursday to resolve the causes that lead to feelings of injustice, social inequality and exclusion that fuel conflicts, and to fast track the silencing of the guns once and for all.
Associated Press (AP)  Missouris state attorney general is investigating gender-affirming care provided by Planned Parenthood, according to a lawsuit filed Friday by the St. Louis health provider.

Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey demanded documents from Planned Parenthood after finding out that the clinic provides life-altering gender transition drugs to children without any therapy assessment, spokeswoman Madeline Sieren said in a statement. She described that as a departure from standard care.

Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri sued in response, trying to block access to its records. In court filings, the healthcare provider argued Bailey has no authority to investigate the clinic, which is inspected by the state health department.

A Planned Parenthood doctor described Baileys investigation as a fishing expedition" targeting the clinic, which provides gender-affirming care to adults, and teens ages 16 and older. Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the health centers chief medical officer, told The Associated Press that the attorney generals investigation is an attempt to help him work outside of the legislative process and eliminate access to transgender care for Missourians.

The Attorney Generals Office cited its ongoing investigation into a transgender youth clinic run by Washington University, or others in the state providing similar services, as the reason for the document request, according to a letter to Planned Parenthood dated March 10.

Sieren criticized Planned Parenthood for withholding its records.

We look forward to prevailing in this request for information and learning what is truly going on with Planned Parenthood in connection with gender transition issues, Sieren said in a Friday statement.

In February, Bailey launched an investigation into the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Childrens Hospital following allegations of mistreatment by a former employee. The ex-staffer alleged that physicians there did not warn patients and parents enough about potential side effects of puberty blockers and hormones, and that doctors pressured parents to consent to treatment.

Planned Parenthood argues in its lawsuit that its clinic has nothing to do with the Washington University center.

The lawsuit comes amid a national push to restrict transgender health care, drag shows, bathroom access and how LGBTQ+ topics are discussed in schools. The lawsuit was filed Friday as rallies were scheduled in cities nationwide as part of Transgender Day of Visibility.

As the state's top prosecutor, Bailey is following his predecessors lead in using the office to take a stand on social issues. Last week, he announced plans to file an emergency rule to restrict healthcare for transgender children. It would require an 18-month waiting period, 15 therapy sessions and additional mental health treatment before Missouri doctors can provide gender-affirming care to minors.

I am dedicated to using every legal tool at my disposal to stand in the gap and protect children from being subject to inhumane science experiments, Bailey said in a statement announcing the planned rule.

His office has not yet filed the rule.

Transgender medical treatment for children has been available in the U.S. for over a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations. Many clinics use treatment plans pioneered in Amsterdam 30 years ago, according to a recent review in the British Psych Bulletin. Since 2005, the number of youth referred to gender clinics has increased as much as tenfold in the U.S., U.K, Canada and Finland, the review said.

McNicholas, of Planned Parenthood, said Bailey is using the same playbook that anti-abortion activists and elected officials have used to restrict abortions.

Missouri banned almost all abortions in 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Before that, Republicans fought for years to regulate abortion out of existence in the state. The GOP-led state legislature proposed anti-abortion bills yearly. When increasingly restrictive bans on the procedure were tossed in court, Republican governors stepped in.

If we are to learn anything from our past experience with the state targeting us for the provision of lawful abortion care, we know that other folks who are providing this care are certainly going to be targets, McNicholas said. If not now, then soon.

___

This story has been corrected to say that Missouri Attorney General spokeswoman Madeline Sieren said in a statement that Planned Parenthood provides drugs to children without any therapy assessment.
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Former President Donald Trumps court appearance Tuesday will kick off an intense legal battle as the 2024 Republican presidential candidate also fights to return to the White House.

Trump is expected to turn himself in and be arraigned in a New York courtroom, a stunning moment in American history as he becomes the first former president to stand before a judge to answer for criminal charges.

More details are expected to emerge Tuesday about the Manhattan district attorney's case against Trump. The indictment has remained under seal since the grand jury investigating hush money payments made to women during his 2016 campaign voted to bring charges against Trump. But the indictment will soon be made public.

Here's what to know about the hush money investigation, the charges against Trump and the ramifications for his bid to reclaim the presidency:

WHAT'S THIS CASE ABOUT?

The grand jury spent weeks investigating money paid during Trumps 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged that they had extramarital sexual encounters with him. Trump has denied the allegations.

Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, who testified as a key prosecution witness, paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 through a shell company he set up and was then reimbursed by Trump, whose company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses.

Earlier in 2016, Cohen also arranged for former Playboy model Karen McDougal to be paid $150,000 by the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer, which squelched her story in a journalistically dubious practice known as catch and kill.

WHAT'S AN INDICTMENT?

An indictment is the formal charge brought against someone after a grand jury  which is made up of members of the community  votes and enough members agree there's sufficient evidence to charge someone with a crime.

The indictment against Trump remains sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment. But once the document is made public, it will lay out the crime or crimes that Trump is accused of committing. Sometimes indictments include a lengthy narrative with lots of details about the allegations, while others are more basic and just outline the charges a defendant is facing.

WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?

Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that isnt yet public.

Under the law, prosecutors must prove there was an intent to defraud. The felony falsifying business records offense requires prosecutors to prove that the records were falsified with the intention of committing, aiding or concealing a second crime. It's not clear yet what prosecutors allege the second crime to be, but experts have said it is probably some kind of campaign finance violation.

WHAT'S AN ARRAIGNMENT?

An arraignment is generally the first time a defendant appears in court after being charged. The judge will tell Trump the charges against him and advise him of his right to go to trial and other things. Trump will enter a plea of not guilty  as is standard for defendants to do at arraignment. The indictment is expected to be unsealed upon his arraignment.

Trump is expected to walk out of the courtroom because the charges against him dont require that bail be set in New York. Its possible  but unlikely  that Judge Juan Merchan could decide that Trump is a flight risk and order him held, with or without bail, though Trump's lawyers would vigorously fight that.

WHAT WILL TRUMP'S DEFENSE BE?

Trump's lawyers have vowed to vigorously fight this political prosecution in court. Defense attorney Joe Tacopina has described Trump as a victim of extortion who had to pay the money because the allegations were going to be embarrassing to him. But he says it had nothing to do with the campaign.

Trump will no doubt try to fight the case on multiple fronts. He may try to have the case moved out of Manhattan or New York City entirely  arguing he can't get a fair trial there  though it's rare for judges to agree to do that.

Trump may also argue that the statute of limitations has passed. Trump has complained that the statute of limitations long ago expired because the hush money payments and Cohens reimbursements happened more than six years ago.

New Yorks statute of limitations for most felonies is five years. For misdemeanors, its just two years. But in New York, the clock can stop on the statute of limitations when a potential defendant is continuously outside the state. Trump visited New York rarely over the four years of his presidency and now lives mostly in Florida and New Jersey.

WHAT'S THIS GRAND JURY AND WHO TESTIFIED?

A grand jury is made up of people drawn from the community, similar to a trial jury. But unlike juries that hear trials, grand juries dont decide whether someone is guilty or innocent. They only decide whether there is enough evidence for someone to be charged.

Proceedings are closed to the public, including the media. New York grand juries have 23 people. At least 16 must be present to hear evidence or deliberate, and 12 have to agree there is enough evidence in order to issue an indictment.

The key prosecution witness was Cohen. Trumps company grossed up Cohens reimbursement for the Daniels payment to defray tax payments, according to federal prosecutors who filed criminal charges against the lawyer in connection with the payments in 2018. In all, Cohen got $360,000 plus a $60,000 bonus, for a total of $420,000.

Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors say the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trumps campaign. But they declined to file charges against Trump himself.

Trump was invited to testify, but didnt. The grand jury, however, heard from Robert Costello, who was once a legal adviser to Cohen. Costello indicated he has information he believes undercuts Cohens credibility and contradicts his incriminating statements about Trump.

Another key witness was David Pecker, a longtime Trump friend and the former chief executive of the parent company of The National Enquirer.

Pecker's company, American Media Inc., secretly assisted Trumps campaign by paying $150,000 to McDougal in August 2016 for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. The company then suppressed McDougals story until after the election.

WHAT ABOUT SIMILAR CASES?

In a case with some parallels, federal prosecutors in 2011 brought charges over hush money payments against former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, a onetime Democratic presidential candidate and nominee for vice president. Edwards was charged with funneling nearly $1 million in under-the-table campaign contributions to hide his pregnant lover during his 2008 run for president.

Edwards had argued that the payments were a personal matter  intended to keep an affair secret from his wife  and had nothing to do with the election. A jury acquitted the Democrat on one charge and deadlocked on other counts. He wasnt retried.

But that was a federal case. Trumps case deals with New York state law.

WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS FOR TRUMP?

Neither the indictment itself nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

Already, the charges have been a boon to his fundraising. The campaign announced Friday evening that it had raised over $4 million in the 24 hours after the indictment became public, far smashing its previous record after the FBI search of Trumps Mar-a-Lago club.

Trumps team over the weekend blasted out emails full of supportive comments from dozens of top Republicans, many of whom had already been supportive of him leading up to the indictment.

Those likely to be facing off with Trump in next years GOP primary contests have also slammed the prosecution.

Former Vice President Mike Pence called the indictment an outrage and nothing more than a political prosecution. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said on Twitter that the indictment is more about revenge than it is about justice." Biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also seeking the GOP presidential nomination, called the indictment a dark moment in American history."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday accused Bragg of weaponizing the law for political purposes to bring a case against a former president, never mentioning Trump by name.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS?

The New York case is just one of many legal woes Trump is facing.

The Justice Department is also investigating his retention of top secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House. Federal investigators are also still probing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election that Trump falsely claimed was stolen.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election. The foreperson of a special grand jury, which heard from dozens of witnesses, said last month that the panel had recommended that numerous people be indicted, and hinted Trump could be among them. It is ultimately up to Willis to decide whether to move forward.

____

Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak, Michael Balsamo and Colleen Long contributed to this report.
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MADISON, Wis. (AP)  The indictment of former President Donald Trump will likely have little impact on the high stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race to be decided next week, as Democrats try to flip majority control of the court with the fate of abortion access in the state on the line, those closely watching the contest said Friday.

Trump has not been directly involved in the race, did not endorse anyone, and the Republican-backed candidate has tried to distance his connections with the former president and the GOP. Additionally, Trump's support among Republicans appears to be waning in the battleground state that he barely won in 2016 and then lost by a similar margin in 2020.

While this (indictment) may get the juice flowing with some of his supporters, some may have a head shake and shoulder shrug," said longtime Republican strategist and former state GOP party leader Brandon Scholz. This indictment thing isnt really tied into this race. It is a Trump issue."

Charles Franklin, a pollster for the Marquette University Law School, said the indictment could spur a bump in turnout both among Trump's most ardent supporters and his most fervent Democratic opponents. But he didn't think it would fundamentally alter the dynamics of the Supreme Court race between Republican-backed Dan Kelly and Democratic-backed Janet Protasiewicz to be decided Tuesday.

The classic October surprises are things that involve the candidates themselves, not someone else," Franklin said. "For that reason, I think theres probably less reason to think this news dramatically changes the Supreme Court race because people would have to know enough to connect Donald Trump to the Supreme Court race and have not been planning to vote, or vote differently, in Tuesday's election.

Protasiewicz's campaign spokesperson, Sam Roecker, said Friday, "We dont expect voters to be distracted by whats happening in New York.

Were focused on winning a critical election in four days that will have long-term consequences for millions of Wisconsinites when it comes to issues like reproductive rights and the strength of our democracy," he said. We know voters are focused on this race because its an opportunity to return fairness and impartiality to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Kelly told reporters after a campaign stop Friday in Watertown that he had no idea whether the indictment would motivate people to vote in his race.

Supporters of Kelly, who previously served on the state Supreme Court, are hoping the indictment will fire up the GOP base like the raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago home the day before Wisconsin's August GOP gubernatorial primary did.

Although Trump endorsed Kelly in his run for the court in 2020, Kelly did not seek a Trump endorsement this time and wouldn't even commit to accepting one if it had been offered.

Kelly worked for the Wisconsin Republican Party and the Republican National Committee after he lost the 2020 election. He also advised the states top Republicans on their scheme after Trumps loss in 2020 to have fake electors cast Wisconsins electoral voters for him.

I am running against probably one of the most extreme partisan characters in the history of this state. Protasiewicz said during their only debate in March.

Again, this is you being quick to lie, Kelly responded.

Kelly insisted throughout the campaign that his personal politics are irrelevant and emphasized that hes dedicated to the rule of law.

The indictment Thursday came after 10 days of early voting across the state. As of Friday morning, nearly 353,00 absentee ballots had been returned. Early voting ends Sunday.

In the last days before an election, things have been set in motion for a long time," said Franklin, the pollster. "People have already been making up their minds whether to vote or not and, if so, who to support. In that sense, these late-breaking things dont shift support tremendously, particularly when they dont involve the candidates.

The winner Tuesday will determine majority control of the court, which is expected to rule on the fate of Wisconsin's near-total abortion ban, Republican gerrymandered legislative districts and voting rights heading into the 2024 presidential election. The court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Bidens win in the state in 2020.

Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, has tried to make the race a de-facto referendum on abortion, while also blasting Kelly for his ties to Republicans and his work for Wisconsin Right to Life.

Abortion rights groups, including Planned Parenthood, are behind Protasiewicz. The Wisconsin Democratic Party has given her campaign nearly $9 million, helping her to get an advantage over Kelly in television advertising.

Kelly's backers include the state and local GOP chapters as well as GOP mega-donors Richard Uihlein and Diane Hendricks.
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NEW YORK (AP)  Donald Trump has become the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal.

The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign catapults the now-candidate Trump into a new era of legal risk and complicates his attempts to return to the White House.

Here's what to know about the indictment and the case:

THE FORMER PRESIDENT COULD HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD

Trump now faces threats to his freedom after decades of legal investigations that have never resulted in serious consequences.

The Manhattan district attorney's office said Thursday that prosecutors had reached out to Trump's lawyers to arrange for him to surrender, which could happen early next week. Trump is expected to appear at the prosecutor's office to be processed and fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken. He is also expected to appear in court, when a judge would list the charges and Trump would enter a plea.

He will have to contend with a criminal case while running again for the White House, taking time and attention away from the campaign trail  though neither the case nor a conviction would preclude him from seeking or winning the presidency in 2024.

The indictment comes as he is facing several other investigations that could lead to legal problems for the former president. Those pending cases, along with a civil trial that's scheduled to start in New York next month over a columnists claims that Trump raped her in the 1990s, add to an ever-growing cloud of scandals surrounding him.

CASE STEMS FROM HUSH MONEY PAID TO WOMEN

The grand jury in Manhattan had been probing hush money payments at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, one of the witnesses who testified, says he orchestrated payments totaling $280,000 to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors said the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trumps campaign. But they declined to file charges against Trump himself.

The Manhattan district attorneys office appeared to be investigating whether anyone committed crimes in arranging the payments, or in the way they accounted for them internally at the Trump Organization. But the specific charges remained under seal late Thursday.

TRUMP MAINTAINS HIS INNOCENCE

Trump, who denies the sexual encounters, called the indictment political persecution and an attempt to interfere in his presidential campaign.

Calling himself a completely innocent person, he cast the indictment as the latest in a line of actions that he says are designed to destroy his Make America Great Again movement, including his two presidential impeachments and the FBI search of his home that turned up classified documents.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, he said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Trump said his arrest was imminent and called on his supporters to protest. Last week, he warned about potential death and destruction if he were charged. His words evoked his comments ahead of the violent Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump did not repeat his call to protest Thursday, but police forces around the country are on guard for potential unrest.

OTHER INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE

Beyond the Manhattan case, Trump is facing an array of other investigations.

On the federal level, the Justice Department is investigating the retention of top-secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The efforts by many of the same players in the latter case were also the subject of a special grand jury investigation in Georgia. The panel's foreperson said the special grand jury recommended multiple criminal indictments, leaving it up to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, to decide whether to convene a regular grand jury and pursue criminal charges.

With many serious cases looming around the other investigations, some legal experts have questioned the wisdom of the Manhattan case becoming the first to result in charges.

TRUMPS RIVALS CONDEMN INDICTMENT

Trump has said the charges would actually help him in the 2024 presidential race and has tried to use the case to galvanize support. Last weekend, at the first rally of the campaign, he cast the Manhattan investigation and the other probes as the latest in a long line of political attacks against him. His campaign handed out signs that said Witch Hunt as Trump told his supporters that the legal challenges were also an attack on his followers and his political movement.

Some Republican and independent voters could see the case, at the very least, as another example of problematic baggage that has followed Trump for years and has been a distraction. The news was expected to only fortify existing Democratic opposition to Trump.

Republicans who are running against Trump or who are considering their own campaigns were quick to rally to criticize the case and attack Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, even if they didn't address the underlying allegations against Trump.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce a campaign and is seen as Trumps top rival for the GOP nomination, called the indictment un-American. Former Vice President Mike Pence, also considering a challenge to Trump in 2024, called the indictment an outrage."

GOP LAWMAKERS TARGET PROSECUTOR

Republicans framed the arrest as a political prosecution by a rogue Democratic district attorney who they said was weaponizing the criminal justice system.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the House will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

Some of Trump's fiercest supporters came to his defense. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, two names floated as potential Trump running mates, said hes innocent.

BIDEN, DEMOCRATS HAVE LITTLE TO SAY

Democrats were less vocal in the hours after the indictment became known, but some of the former president's critics have framed the case as a long-overdue dose of accountability.

President Joe Biden, who is expected to announce hes running for reelection next year, has not commented on the indictment.

The Democratic National Committee did not comment on the specifics of the case but sought to yoke the entire GOP to Trump.

No matter what happens in Trumps upcoming legal proceedings, its obvious the Republican Party remains firmly in the hold of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, DNC National Press Secretary Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not immediately comment, though some lesser-known House members welcomed the news.

I continue to believe that every American elected official and leader should be held fully accountable for their actions and crimes, said Rep. Harley Rouda of California.

Finally, today, Donald Trumps chickens have come home to roost, said Rep. Raul Grijalva, who represents a safe district in Arizona. But his fellow Arizonan, Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for the Senate, was more measured: We should wait to hear from the grand jury before jumping to conclusions.

___

Cooper reported from Phoenix.
A Black Rock tradition will continue this on June 11 with the annual Black Rock Day celebration.

Black Rock Day is a community-wide party that celebrates the culture and history of Bridgeport neighborhood. This will be the 39th annual race and Black Rock Day celebration. The event resumed in 2022 after it was canceled for two years due to the pandemic.

The Black Rock Community Council has confirmed that Run for the Rock will kick off 2023's Black Rock Day. The Connecticut Alumni Senior Drum & Bugle Corps have also posted that they will perform in the Black Rock Day parade. The race will take place on June 11 at the Norden Club on 4 Seabright Ave. in Bridgeport and run along Ash Creek and by the sea wall at St. Marys by the Sea.

The race is limited to 450 participants and there will be race-day registration available if spots are still open. Children under 8 years old or under can run during the last 1/10th of the race from 8:45 a.m - 9:00 a.m. Tickets are on sale and cost $35 for adults and $25 for those age 18 and under.

The overall winners will receive a medal in addition to a $50 gift card to SoundRunner running store, while the first place winners within each age category will receive a $20 gift card. SoundRunner has locations in Fairfield, Branford, Glastonbury and Old Saybrook.
A man accused of fatally shooting a woman in the head in northwestern North Dakota last year has changed his not guilty plea.

David Handeland, who officials say is from Minnesota but court documents list as being from Williston, on Tuesday entered Alford pleas to charges of murder and terrorizing. An Alford plea means the suspect does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to support a conviction. The court treats it like a guilty plea.

Court documents indicate that Handeland entered an "open" plea, meaning the defense and prosecution did not come to an agreement on what sentence will be recommended. Handeland could face life in prison without parole on the murder charge.

Sentencing was not immediately scheduled. It will follow a presentence investigation.

The Williams County Sheriffs Office responded June 19, 2022, to a call of a shooting at a residence northwest of Epping. The body of Leslie Lyon, 25, was in a chair near a trailer house just off 127th Avenue Northwest in Williams County, an affidavit states. Authorities found a 9 mm casing outside another trailer and a 9 mm handgun inside.

Lyons mother, Jennifer Zinsmaster, 54, told authorities Handeland took one of her guns and shot her daughter, the affidavit states. She convinced Handeland not to shoot her and was able to leave the area, authorities said. Handeland faces the terrorizing charge for allegedly threatening her.

Court documents do not state the nature of the relationship between Handeland and the women or discuss a possible motive.
After being unhappy with the direction of the downtown Niagara Falls business improvement area in recent years, several merchants say they were starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

A couple of lightning rods of criticism  Wayne Campbell as a city council representative and BIA executive director Amanda MacDonald  had resigned.

The board met March 13 and passed several resolutions to change the BIAs course after a few years of some businesspeople voicing concerns about what they felt were significant budget increases and issues with meetings, election processes, transparency and communication.

But on March 21, three months after Mayor Jim Diodati said the city was not going to referee the embattled BIA, and about a week after telling the Niagara Falls Review that taking temporary control over the organization until issues could be resolved should be a last resort, council decided to do just that.

After meeting behind closed doors to receive advice subject to solicitor-client privilege, council ratified in open session a repeal of the bylaw that established the downtown BIA and to assume all assets and liabilities of the organization.

In interviews following the decision, Diodati said the city had been receiving conflicting information from both sides, including some he described as disturbing.

He said city council felt the only way to properly deal with the issues, especially after the resignations of Campbell and MacDonald and all BIA employees having departed, was to dissolve the organization, sort out the situation and start from scratch, if a desire is there to re-establish a new BIA within two years.

Several merchants who spoke to the Review for this story said they believe council has only now stepped in because a new board was put in place committed to changing course and addressing the concerns theyve had  thus having a BIA where the board serves at the pleasure of the businesses and not the other way around.

They have felt councillors, particularly during the previous term, sided with the past board and administration and ignored the frustrations of businesses, some of whom have been downtown for decades.

Tony Barranca, who has owned The Hair Lovers Place on Queen Street for nearly 50 years and was recently elected treasurer of the new board, said hes deeply disappointed by councils decision and feels it was made without proper input from the membership.

He said the new board was capable and willing to run the BIA.

Over 70 merchants and professional people have signed a petition requesting a change from the previous board and a proper review of the 2023 budget and the BIA finances. Yet, we are still left in the dark, said Barranca. We need transparency and accountability from our elected officials and those entrusted with our tax dollars. We need a thorough investigation into the financial affairs of the BIA and we need answers now.

Carmen Tartaglia, of Roberts Jewellers, which has been a business on Queen Street for 77 years, said he wants to see a proper audit of the BIA and doesnt want another BIA if its going to be run as it has over the past three years, or if its directed by city hall.

A BIAs mandate has always been, up until the last three years, beautification and promotion. In the last three years  they added economic development, he said. We want to get back to basics if were going to have a BIA. We just want to be able to control our own destiny.

Phil Ritchie, who was board chair before council dissolved the BIA and has been a downtown property owner for about 13 years, owning between 20 and 25 buildings, said the new board was on track to address membership concerns, including transparency and communication.

The board that was left in place at the day of dissolution ... there was no question that we were there to serve the membership by doing pragmatic, transparent activities.

He said the opportunity for any future BIA is directly correlated to how thorough an investigation the city undertakes.

If thats done well and the potential future BIA members  there is no membership right now  emerge from this chapter with some degree of confidence that whatever is put forward to them for a vote someday, then that may go favourably. If this is not handled well, that wont go favourably and there will be no BIA. The city has to manage this piece of it very well, and I hope they do.

MacDonald did not return requests for comment Thursday.

Campbell said he believes it has been a vocal minority of downtown businesses that has been complaining about the direction of the BIA in recent years.

From my perspective, it was way one-sided and you took their complaints with a grain of salt. You cant please everybody all the time.

He said it felt as though established businesses werent interested in the BIA getting more money to run different things because they are successful.

Whereas the new people coming in, they could see the benefits of the BIA and the work that it was doing to attract people to the downtown area.

Campbell said some merchants were so dissatisfied with the former BIA they were more than willing to take anything in exchange, but the new board composition was clearly going in a direction that council never wanted it to go into.

He said a private university scheduled to open next year and other developments may create future opportunities for a different approach from a BIA.

Theres going to be so many things happening in the downtown area with the new university coming ... that I think its going to change a lot of peoples minds downtown.

Tammy Lacas, owner of Happy Feet Dance studio on Queen Street for the past 14 years, said she felt blindsided by city councils decision.

She said Ritchie was recently sending hopeful and positive emails to members and I thought we were definitely on a path to success and to resolution.

Lacas said she disagrees theres only a small portion of merchants who have been frustrated over the past several years, adding theres a lot of people who dont want to get vocally involved, partially out of fear.

She said a BIA will only succeed if the city doesnt shove it down our throats.

We all want success down there. We all want to be financially and emotionally successful with our businesses. This is our blood, sweat and tears  were mom and pop shops. We need to learn some lessons from the past three years and make sure that membership is heard.

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A Fort Erie family is celebrating after $2-million Ontario 49 lottery win.

Deyvi Urrutia Vanegas won the top prize in the March 1 draw. He purchased the winning ticket at the Esso on North Service Road in Fort Erie.

The 33-year-old said despite playing the lottery weekly, this is his first big win.

"I checked my ticket on the OLG App and heard the fun music," he said. "I immediately thought of my family."

Urrutia Vanegas said he went home to tell his partner and she was so excited. He plans on using the winnings to set up education funds for children and to invest.

"It feels so special," he said, while picking up his winnings at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto, adding he is still processing the win.

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A Niagara Falls mother arrested after her four-year-old daughter fell into a coma after ingesting multiple cannabis edibles has been placed on house arrest.

The young girls 13-year-old sibling also suffered medical complications after she ate almost two dozen gummies which she mistook for candy.

Their mother appeared in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Friday for sentencing on a charge of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

This was a crime of carelessness, not a crime of intent, said assistant Crown attorney Richard Monette.

The woman, who cannot be identified in order to protect the identity of the children, received a 12-month conditional sentence.

The first six months of the sentence will be served under house arrest.

If you breach the terms of the order, and if you come back to me, it will be converted to a jail sentence and your life and your childrens lives will spiral downward from there, Judge Deborah Calderwood told the offender.

In December 2021, court heard, the 13-year-old girl consumed 22 gummies she thought were candy.

When her father came to pick her up several hours later, he noted his daughter appeared out of it.

The defendant, who had no prior criminal record, suggested the teen was feeling unwell as she was out with friends the night before.

The following morning, court heard, the girl had difficulty walking and talking.

Her father took her to a clinic where it was determined her blood pressure was dangerously low and she was sent to hospital for further treatment.

After the older child mistakenly consumed the drugs, court was told, the four-year-old ingested three to four edibles, which rendered her unconscious.

The youngster was rushed to a local hospital then airlifted to McMaster Childrens Hospital in Hamilton.

A coma scale used to describe the extent of impaired consciousness in acute medical and trauma patients assessed the child as being completely unresponsive.

What was aggravating was that after the first child, the older child, consumes some 22 candies, and suffers some ill effects, it was then after that the second incident occurred with the much younger child, the judge noted.

The sisters have since made a full recovery.

Canada saw a 6.3 fold increase in hospitalizations for accidental cannabis poisoning among children under the age of 10 since the legalization of recreational cannabis, according to a study published in August 2022 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study, conducted by researchers from SickKids and The Ottawa Hospital, said cannabis intoxication can have significant effects on young children, such as behavioural changes, seizures, impairment of coordination, balance and breathing, and even coma.

The defendant was also placed on probation for two years.

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Rush-hour traffic came to a standstill Thursday afternoon following a multi-vehicle collision on the QEW in Lincoln.

At about 5:30 p.m., Lincoln Fire Rescue was dispatched to a report of a crash with possibly trapped people in the Buffalo-bound lanes at Tufford Road between Ontario Street in Beamsville and Victoria Avenue in Vineland.

At least four vehicles were involved and at least one child and one other person were transported to hospital.

All lanes of the QEW were closed, with major delays forming on backroads in Beamsville.

An Ontario Provincial Police investigation was to keep that section of the highway closed for several hours.

Niagara Regional Police were requested for traffic control.

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Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles was in Niagara Falls Friday morning to call on the provincial government to reverse its decision to end health-care coverage for uninsured Ontarians.

Stiles, who held a press conference inside Rosberg Art Gallery at Niagara Falls Public Library along with local MPP Wayne Gates and community outreach worker Lisa Gillies, said the Progressive Conservative government last week quietly cut a program that cost Queens Park an average of $5 million a year, but helped 400,000 Ontarians.

Thats less than $38 per person or 0.01 per cent of the overall health-care budget, she said.

Were talking about undocumented workers, migrant workers, newcomers, refugees, international students, unhoused people and those who have mental-health or addiction challenges, said Stiles. In short, the most vulnerable Ontarians. This government quietly pulled the rug out from underneath them.

She said one of the core tenets of medicare is providing people with free public health care at the time of use.

Denying universal health care to the most vulnerable people makes zero moral, zero ethical and zero financial sense. Its widening the cracks for people to fall through.

On Monday in the provincial legislature, Health Minister Sylvia Jones accused the opposition NDP of spreading false information online about the end of the program.

There is no change in the way that uninsured persons will receive care in the province of Ontario. The only change is how hospitals, community health and midwifery centres will be reimbursed for insuring and providing that care.

Stiles said Friday preventative care keeps people away from emergency rooms.

We already know that hospitals are extremely burdened with ER wait times for a bed as high as 21 hours, she said, adding the NDP will continue to push back against health-care decisions that hurt people.

Weve heard the minister of health over and over this week in the legislature when weve been asking about this say, Oh, you guys are exaggerating, this is already being covered. Well, its not and I want to make sure that the minister of health is listening to real people on the front lines, people like Lisa, who are seeing every day why this program mattered.

Gillies, who works at Niagara Falls Community Health Centre, shared stories about how the program helped connect vulnerable people to the care they needed.

We offer primary care services to folks with or without a health card, she said of the centre. I have been working at the community health centre for 10 years and one of the things that we do as a community outreach worker is support uninsured individuals navigate the health-care system.

Gillies said when the program was created in 2020, it was a game changer for uninsured people and for the care the centres primary care team could provide.

Over the past three years, there have been countless times when someone who does not have health coverage requires service beyond what our primary care team can do and the CHC funding, she said.

This funding has been life changing. I have been part of multiple conversations with individuals who were required to go to the hospital for further care. The sound of relief when they heard about this funding is not something I can put into words. It has taken away to choose between paying rent or not paying rent. To being able to eat that month or not be able to eat that month. To be able to take care of my healthcare needs or to not get treatment.

Gillies said the program has supported people through pregnancies, infections and has helped individuals access further tests like CT scans, MRI and gain access to specialists.

I have seen this funding help an individual find out that they had lung cancer, she said. This funding has saved lives.

Stiles said it was important to hear from Gillies because as the NDP has been raising this issue every day this week, the health minister often responded by claiming people can go to a community health centre.

Well, here is somebody working in a community health centre saying, No, this program addresses very specific needs that are not being met otherwise.

Stiles said the minister has said the program was meant to be temporary, that it was for people who were caught in the country and didnt have health coverage while they were here during the pandemic.

But this is something thats been called for by health-care professionals, folks on the front line, for years, said Stiles. Surely, weve learned a few things through this pandemic and one of the things weve learned is this program saved lives and it was the right and responsible thing to do and theres no reason to not continue it.

Gates said this is another example of a government led by Premier Doug Ford thats going in the wrong direction, describing the end of coverage for uninsured people as cruel.

This choice by the Ford Conservatives is just another way they are turning their backs on people who are struggling right now, he said. Theres no need to strip people of care and leave them stranded without help.

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Toronto Star publisher and owner Jordan Bitove made an impassioned plea Thursday to Canadian corporations and governments to step up and support journalism, arguing that it is essential to democracy and that smaller communities are being starved of essential information.

Bitove, speaking to a packed audience of business and community leaders at a Canadian Club luncheon in Toronto, said big tech companies including Google and Meta have drained crucial advertising revenue from media companies, endangering journalisms business model and indirectly, democracy itself.

The advertising revenue that once funded our newsrooms has been moved  ironically to companies that use our content for their benefit  The result is that we are seeing local news disappear by increments, said Bitove, who estimated that tech giants control up to 80 per cent of the online advertising market.

Lower revenue means less money for newsrooms to spend on the journalists who keep Canadians well-informed, he said.

Fact-checked, investigated, accountable truths  the stories that inform civil discourse, how we vote, what is happening in schools, hospitals, in the offices of influence, and on our streets  this comes from journalists  real people putting in a ton of effort to keep citizens informed, said Bitove.

Without trusted, accountable journalism how are we going to counter the misinformation and disinformation that has come to dominate discussion and impact on our safety and public discourse?

Bitove cited statistics from the News Poverty Map showing that 361 news outlets have closed across Canada since 2008. He also noted the Canadian Media Directors Council says that over 3,000 editorial and noneditorial news jobs have been lost since 2020.

In a question-and-answer session with Canadian Club Toronto president Joseph Lo, Bitove also criticized the tech giants for manipulating their algorithms so fewer readers see vital news stories.

So were letting people in Silicon Valley and other parts of the world who have no investment in this country dictate what we read, and are taking all the revenue on the other side of it, said Bitove.

That kind of behaviour makes Bill C-18  which mandates that tech companies negotiate with media companies to pay them for using their stories  even more vital, Bitove said.

This is about levelling the playing field, said Bitove.

Support for journalism is vital not just for newsrooms, but for society, Lo acknowledged.

Youve clearly shown us this is not a journalistic imperative, this is a Canadian imperative, said Lo.

In February, Google acknowledged that it had been limiting how news stories showed up in search results as a test ahead of C-18s implementation.

Weve been fully transparent about our concern that C-18 is overly broad and, if unchanged, could impact products Canadians use and rely on every day. We remain committed to supporting a sustainable future for news in Canada and offering solutions that fix Bill C-18, a statement from Google said at the time, adding that just four per cent of users were affected by the test.

Bitove also called on audience members to find out how much of their own companies advertising spending went to local, Canadian media organizations.

Go back to your office and find out what percentage of your media spend goes to supporting Canadian-owned and operated media. If its not 20 per cent, its not enough, said Bitove.

In November, Bitove took over sole ownership of Torstar, which publishes seven English language daily newspapers including the Star, more than 70 weekly community papers, and other media properties, including fashion publication The Kit. Torstar also has a stake in Northstar Gaming, an online gaming company.

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He came to Canada on a pilgrimage of penance to apologize for the Catholic Churchs role in running the Indian residential school system.

But during a mass led by Pope Francis in Quebec City last summer, Indigenous protesters demanded he take his atonement a step further as they unfurled a banner that read Rescind the Doctrine.

On Thursday, the long-standing request from Indigenous leaders, advocates and activists came to fruition.

The Doctrine of Discovery is a declaration and legal concept based on 15th-century papal bulls (that is, official declarations) that authorized Christian explorers to claim terra nullius, or vacant lands, based on the notion they had racial and religious superiority.

Indigenous leaders have long said that was a racist and harmful doctrine which formed the basis for colonizers unilaterally claiming sovereignty over Indigenous lands in Canada. The papal bulls were connected to the idea that lands being colonized were empty, when in fact Indigenous Peoples had long called them home.

On Thursday, the Vatican formally denounced the doctrine and said it did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Its something Chief Willie Littlechild, a former commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, has been urging for decades. Repudiating the doctrine was in one of the commissions calls to actions in its 2015 report and an issue he has raised repeatedly in his work with the United Nations in New York and Geneva, which helped establish the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Its a very emotional day for me  I know we still have a lot more work to do. But this is a very important milestone in our journey together toward reconciliation, Littlechild said.

The former grand chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations first met Pope Francis when he was invited to witness his inaugural mass in 2013 and invited him to come to Canada and apologize for the Catholic Churchs role in running the Indian residential school system.

He said he found the pontiff to be very genuine and described him as a kind, humble human being.

When I first heard him say his homily and I closed my eyes, I thought I was listening to one of my elders speak because of the way he addressed the thousands of people at St. Peters Square, Littlechild said. So its a bunch of mixed emotions; one of jubilation, one of great gratitude, one of thanks.

The repudiation is a powerful recognition of the treaty rights of Indigenous peoples across Canada, especially when it comes to land, said Chief Tony Alexis of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation in Alberta.

The statement from the Pope comes at a good time right now for the Indigenous community  this is going to put more pressure on the courts and the government and the monarchy thats been utilizing this Doctrine of Discovery to implement their policies and laws, he said.

Its another step toward forcing the Canadian government to honour its treaty commitments and the spirit and relationship they were founded upon, Alexis added.

Its really unfortunate that as treaty people of this land, we always have to go to court to prove that we are right  and every time its been tested in court, our peoples understanding of the treaties has always came out as right, he said. It certainly highlights what weve been saying all along.

Donald Bolen, archbishop of Regina, said Indigenous people made it clear that the Vatican needed to address the issue: The language in those bulls is deeply wounding and problematic, and there was a desire for the Holy See to address it, and they have.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, of which Bolen is a member, said in a statement that its grateful Indigenous organizations urged the move. The conference had in 2016 signed a statement calling for the church to reject principles associated with the doctrine.

Bolen said the Vaticans statement Thursday shows Francis was listening during their meetings with Indigenous representatives, both at the Vatican and throughout his time in Canada.

I think theres no doubt that its a response given at the request of Indigenous people in Canada, he said.

The statement from the Vatican, however, said the doctrine is not part of the teachings of the church and the documents were written in a specific historical period and linked to political questions. The contents of the bulls, the statement continued, were manipulated for political purposes to justify immoral acts against Indigenous Peoples.

It is only just to recognize these errors, acknowledge the terrible effects of the assimilation policies and the pain experienced by Indigenous Peoples, and ask for pardon.

In its own statement, the Metis National Council said it hopes the churchs next steps will lead to real, tangible actions that centre the needs and experiences of Metis Survivors and their families.

The statement of repudiation signals a renewed commitment by the Catholic Church to walking together in a good way, council president Cassidy Caron said in a statement.

The Metis National Council is taking time to fully understand its nuances and potential implications, so that they can inform our collective next steps forward.

Littlechild believes real change will happen in Canadian courts and said hes optimistic there is a genuine willingness for it.

At least in my meetings with lawyers, law societies and judges, theyre very keen on trying to find the proper role that they can play, to advance reconciliation because they see the importance, Littlechild said.

And its just  how do we do it together? We can do it together and it will work.

With files from The Canadian Press

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AKWESASNE, QUEBEC The deaths of eight migrants in the frigid waters of the St. Lawrence River this week were preceded by cries for help that went unanswered before the voices went silent.

Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service Chief Shawn Dulude made the awful revelation in announcing Friday afternoon that two lifeless bodies  a child of Romanian origin with Canadian citizenship, and a woman from India  had been spotted and recovered in addition to the six victims discovered Thursday.

The earlier victims were described as being members of two families, one of Romanian descent, another of Indian citizens. Five were adults and one was a child below the age of three  also with Canadian citizenship of Romanian descent.

Police search-and-rescue teams in helicopters and boats continued to search a chain of marshy wooded islands for Casey Oakes, a member of the Mohawk community, who was last seen getting into a small boat at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night from the east end of Cornwall Island.

Dulude said his marine unit deployed later that same night after receiving calls about people shouting for help. The unit searched neighbouring St. Regis Island, the largest in the chain of islands running along the Ontario-Quebec border, area using night-vision equipment that was capable of also detecting body heat.

While they were patrolling in that area and investigating in that area they were not able to see any human heat or any movement on the water, Dulude told reporters.

The eight confirmed deaths on the water this week are a human disaster with a horrible political twist.

Coming less than a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden tightened their bilateral border rules to discourage migrants from illegally crossing to make asylum claims, the drownings would seem to fulfill the predictions that migrants would simply take greater risks to reach their intended destinations rather than be discouraged.

We question why? Why is this happening? It seems to be (people) in search of something better, said Akwesasne Grand Chief Abram Benedict.

This is definitely heart wrenching and it gets to the core of what these policy decisions and policy issues are for Canada and the United States, and they need to take a better look at this.

Asked specifically if he believed the deaths could be linked to the changes made to the Safe Third Country Agreement, Benedict said: I believe that it may be related. Its really hard to know.

The tragedy also shines an uncomfortable light on the persistent problem of illegal smuggling in an Indigenous community that straddles the borders of Ontario, Quebec and New York state.

Dulude, the police chief, said that his officers had intercepted 80 people attempting to cross into the U.S. from Canada in 48 separate incidents since the beginning of the year. Most were Romanians and Indians, and they were detained and handed over to the Canada Border Services Agency, in accordance with standard protocol.

But an untold number of migrants are not caught due to the unique political and geographical boundaries that cut through Akwesasne, lines that are being exploited, according to Dulude, by criminal gangs from Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

There are certain people in our community who will be vulnerable. Usually were looking at the younger people looking to make money, he said.

Its money  quick money. But there is a risk that comes with it and this, unfortunately, shows on a larger scale the risk that is involved with it.

Dulude said that Oakes is considered a person of interest in the investigation and that he has no information about his potential involvement in human smuggling activities.

Josie Swamp, the sister of Oakes grandmother, struggled Friday as she watched a low-flying Surete du Quebec helicopter searching the island across from her longtime residence to understand why her 30-year-old relative would have taken to the waters Wednesday night.

I really dont know what he was doing out there, she said. It was a bad night, there was a storm going through and it was really bad. It must have been real rough.

Swamp described Oakes as a good kid who lived on the Canadian side of the Akwesasne Mohawk territory, which straddles the Canada-U.S. border. Oakes has two children of his own  a daughter, aged eight, and a newborn who is less than two months old, Swamp said.

He was charged last year with two criminal counts: dangerous operation of a conveyance and assault with a weapon. He is due back in court in Valleyfield, Que., at the end of May for the case, which was investigated by the Akwesasne police.

A missing person alert from the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said that Oakes was last seen boarding a small, light blue boat on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. He was wearing a black vest, snow pants, a black face mask and a toque.

At that time there were westerly winds of about 24 kilometres-per-hour, moving against the waters eastward current.

It was deceptively different on Friday afternoon. The air was cold but there was barely a ripple in the water when Loretta Lazore, her son and her companion, Brian Boots, drove down toward the water to witness the search.

A police helicopter performed a low, slow aerial sweep of the water between the island, which is home to summer camps for hunting and fishing, and the southern mainland of the Mohawk territory, which leads into the United States.

Its swift on that side, said Lazore, motioning to the opposite side of the island. I think there was a windstorm (on Wednesday night) and when that wind picks up  the waves!

And then with that many people in the boat, added Boots, shaking his head in disbelief.

Lazore has a deep and intimate knowledge of this part of the river. As a teenager, she worked at Akwesasne Fuel, a food stop and gas station for boats. She crouched down and placed her hands into the imprint in the cement at the dock that she had made when she was just 15 years old, to the great amazement of her son.

I used to go with my brother in the boat because we used to deliver propane out to the islands, Lazore said.

We were out in a windstorm one time  We got just around the marsh where them trees are and the waves are like three, three-and-half feet.

Despite the risks, smuggling is a prevalent and lucrative industry in Akwesasne. It is one of the numerous things that draw outsiders to the community, in addition to the Mohawk casino, the cheap cigarette stores or the marijuana dispensaries that line the Canada and U.S. sides of the territory.

The smugglers try to keep their work hidden, but its hard to hide.

One Akwesasne resident, who lives near a public boat launch on the Canadian side, said he sees as many as 10 migrants a day crossing the border.

They go through our hay, we find them in our buildings. We call the cops and tell them to get the hell out of here, because we dont do that here, said the man, who asked not to be identified.

He said he couldnt tell where the migrants were coming from and feared problems from smugglers for getting too involved in efforts to interrupt the migrant crossings.

We cant put up cameras because if somebody gets caught they will retaliate against us, he said. We just try to keep them off our property and mind our own business.

Living on a property that backs on to the water, Swamp said she had witnessed numerous search-and-rescue operations unfold over the years from smuggling operations gone wrong.

One day there were people across the river. It was a man, a woman and a child, she said, motioning to the marshy island where the police search was underway Friday afternoon.

Somebody left them on the island and they were stranded over there, and then somebody noticed them and brought them over here. Another time, this man swam across the river because there was a store. He swam across to get help, she said. I wish they wouldnt do that  I wish they would get real jobs and not risk it like this.

In February, Akwesasne police put out a notice alerting the community to an increase in illegal entries to Akwesasne.

We would like to remind the community that human smuggling is a crime and poses serious concerns for not only the individual(s) committing the act but the entire community of Akwesasne, it read.

On Friday, Police Chief Dulude attributed the persistence of the smuggling problem to the quite peculiar geography of the territory.

I dont want to sound like were the victim but being where we are brings its slew of issues and there are people who are willing to profit from our issues and its unfortunate but thats the way it is, he said.

In May 2022, U.S. authorities had charged a U.S. citizen with felony alien smuggling after he allegedly abandoned six Indian nationals on a sinking boat during a failed smuggling attempt across the St. Lawrence into New York state.

Federal authorities alleged the man knew his passengers could not swim when the boat started taking on water more than 200 metres from the Canadian border after leaving Cornwall, Ont. Court filings said the man proceeded to exit the sinking vessel and walked to shore.

The boat was almost completely submerged by the time firefighters arrived. All seven people were treated for hypothermia and then arrested by U.S. Border Patrol.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted to the discoveries on Friday, telling reporters in Moncton, N.B., our hearts go out to the families of the individuals who perished; this is a heartbreaking situation.

He was asked whether the deaths were related to the recent immigration agreement between Canada and the United States  which closed unofficial ports of entry to would-be refugees seeking asylum in Canada. In response, he said he didnt want to speculate.

We have to understand properly what happened and do whatever we can to minimize the chances of it happening again.

With files from Marco Chown-Oved

With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press

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The North Dakota Senate on Friday defeated a bill that would have made it easier for presidents at Bismarck State College and Dickinson State University to dismiss tenured faculty.

House Bill 1446 by House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, failed in a 21-23 vote. The state House of Representatives in February passed the bill, 66-27.

The Senate Education Committee had amended the bill's proposed four-year pilot program into a four-year program for BSC and DSU, and gave the measure a unanimous "do pass" recommendation.

Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, said that change better reflected the bill's intent, being "not to expand this to other universities in the state." Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, said earlier that tenured faculty at North Dakota State University in Fargo and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks were concerned they might face similar legislation in the future.

Lefor had called the measure a "tenure with responsibilities act" and said it would help ensure tenured faculty are meeting obligations and remaining assets to their institutions.

Opponents of the measure said weakening tenure would make it harder to recruit faculty to the state.

Debate

Senators who spoke against the bill cited the State Board of Higher Education's constitutional authority.

"The voters saw wisdom in providing greater separation between higher education governance and politics. That addition to our constitution was the origin of the State Board of Higher Education," said Sen. Jonathan Sickler, R-Grand Forks. "The (bill) is among the most significant challenges to the board's constitutionally mandated authority since the board was created in 1938."

Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, cited the bill being only for BSC and DSU, "and if this is such a good idea, I don't know why we wouldn't apply it systemwide, and looking at the testimony, it just doesn't seem like other universities would want this either, and that includes leadership at them."

Sen. Don Schaible, R-Mott, said the bill would be an opportunity to expand the role of education at BSC and DSU in their missions, and to improve universities' structures.

Committee Chair Jay Elkin, R-Taylor, said, "I think it's time that these university presidents have some say in who is there and whether or not they are performing appropriately." He said presidents aren't invited for tenured faculty member reviews, but they are held responsible by the Legislature for declining enrollment and increased tuition costs.

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Former North Dakota University System Chancellor Larry Isaak had said the bill could risk the accreditation of BSC and DSU due to "the Legislature exerting undue influence in the employment of faculty at the institutions." Accreditation is essentially an independent review of a college or university for quality control.

"The accreditation criteria is very clear that governing boards and institutions must be independent from political influence," Isaak told the Tribune.

DSU President Stephen Easton supported the bill. He told a House committee earlier that the rights of nonproductive tenured faculty have been elevated over students, taxpayers and other faculty.

The State Board of Higher Education opposed the bill and requested to coordinate a joint study with North Dakota lawmakers to review and make recommendations related to a post-tenure review process.

BSC President Doug Jensen supported the board's position, but told the Tribune he didn't believe risk to accreditation was a factor.

The Council of College Faculties and the BSC Faculty Senate also opposed the bill, as did North Dakota United, which represents more than 11,000 public employees and teachers.
HALIFAX - A doctor named in a lawsuit after a Nova Scotia woman died in hospital following a long wait to see a physician has denied allegations from the family that he failed in his duties.

Allison Holthoff died at the Cumberland Regional Health Centre in Amherst, N.S., due to complications associated with an untreated splenic aneurysm, according to a statement of claim filed Feb. 22 on behalf of Holthoffs three children and her husband.

The family has alleged in their lawsuit that medical staff failed to assess Holthoffs condition or take her vitals on multiple occasions over the course of her hospital visit on Dec. 31, 2022, as her condition rapidly deteriorated.

In his notice of defence filed Thursday, Dr. John Atia said he wasnt negligent in his treatment of Holthoff, denied he failed to respond to pleas of nursing staff, and said he worked in a consummately professional manner.

The lawsuit was launched by the family in Nova Scotia Supreme Court against Nova Scotia Health and Atia, the attending ER physician when Holthoff arrived.

The doctors statement said when Holthoff first was triaged by ER staff at 11:14 a.m., she had abdominal pain that was being felt in her chest as she breathed, but her vital signs were all within normal ranges.

Atia says at 11:45 a.m., as he was attending other patients, he ordered blood work, an electrocardiogram and urine analysis for Holthoff and it turned out the test results were normal.

The womans husband, Gunter Holthoff, has said he took his wife to the hospital when she collapsed in extreme pain after complaining of an upset stomach at their home near Amherst.

Holthoff has said that after being triaged by hospital staff, his wife waited more than six hours in the emergency room before she was taken to a room inside the unit, and it was another hour before she saw a doctor and received pain treatment.

Atia says in his statement of defence that as Holthoff was waiting, he was occupied with four critical psychiatric emergency cases and four critical cases of pediatric illness, and he was working on his own.

It says in one of the cases of pediatric stroke, Atia had to expend considerable effort to arrange Life Flight service to IWK Health Centre.

The statement of defence says that between 11:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. Atia wasnt told of Holthoffs deteriorating condition, and he only learned at about 6 p.m. that her blood pressure had dropped precipitously.

The defence says he immediately went to assess her and ordered treatments to diagnose her and arrange imaging of the chest, abdomen and pelvis, and to arrange for a radiologist in Halifax to do the analysis.

According to the document, while the CT scan was being arranged, Atia had brought Holthoff to an area where X-rays were to be taken. It says as Atia was briefing another ER doctor who was coming on shift, Holthoff had a heart attack.

Atia then stayed after hours and worked diligently to help arrange for Holthoffs intensive care, says the defence.

The defendant asks the court to dismiss the case against him and that he be allowed to seek legal costs from the plaintiff.

A day before Holthoffs death, 67-year-old Charlene Snow died at home after she gave up on seeing a doctor at a Cape Breton emergency room after waiting about seven hours. After the two deaths, Nova Scotia announced a plan aimed at providing faster urgent care for patients.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.

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A woman pulled alive from the rubble of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory after an explosion that killed seven co-workers says flames had engulfed the building, and her arm, when the floor gave way beneath her. That might have been the end, if she hadnt fallen into a vat of liquid chocolate.

The dark liquid extinguished her blazing arm, but Patricia Borges wound up breaking her collarbone and both of her heels. She would spend the next nine hours screaming for help and waiting for rescue as firefighters battled the inferno and choppers thumped overhead at the R.M. Palmer Co. factory.

When I began to burn, I thought it was the end for me, Borges, 50, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview from her hospital bed in West Reading, Pennsylvania, just minutes from the chocolate factory where she worked as a machine operator. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board interviewed Borges on Friday, according to her family.

The March 24 blast at R.M. Palmer killed seven of Borgess co-workers and injured 10. Federal, state and local investigations are underway. A cause has not been determined, but the federal transportation safety agency has characterized it as a natural gas explosion.

Borges said she and others had complained about a gas odor about 30 minutes before the factory blew up. She is angry Palmer didnt immediately evacuate. She said the deaths of her co-workers  including her close friend, Judith Lopez-Moran  couldve been prevented.

Others workers have also said they smelled natural gas, according to their relatives. Palmer, a 75-year-old, family-run company with deep roots in the small town 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, has not responded to questions about the workers claims.

Speaking in Spanish over videoconference, her eyes bruised and her burned right arm heavily bandaged, Borges recounted her terrifying brush with death.

The factory was getting ready for a product switch that day, so instead of running a candy-wrapping machine as usual, she was helping to clean.

At 4:30 p.m., Borges told the AP, she smelled natural gas. It was strong and nauseated her. Borges and her co-workers approached their supervisor, asking what was going to be done, if we were going to be evacuated, she recalled.

Borges said the supervisor noted someone higher up would have to make that decision. So she got back to work.

Just before 5 p.m., the two-story brick building exploded.

Borges, whod been on a ladder, was thrown to the ground. She heard screaming. There was fire everywhere, and the flames quickly overtook her. I asked God why he was giving me such a horrible death, she said. I asked him to save me, that I didnt want to die in the fire.

She began to run. Thats when the floor gave way, and she could feel herself falling  into a long, horizontal tank of chocolate in the factorys basement. At 4 feet, 10 inches tall, Borges landed on her feet in chest-high liquid.

The chocolate extinguished the flames, but she believes her fall is what broke her feet.

The vat began filling with water from firefighters hoses, eventually forcing Borges to climb out as it reached neck level. She sat on the lip of the tank, then jumped into a pool of water that had formed on the basement floor. Briefly submerged, Borges said she swallowed a mouthful of water before surfacing. She grabbed onto some plastic tubing.

And then she waited.

Help, help, please help! she yelled, over and over, for hours. No one came.

The pain grew more intense. The water was frigid. The main supply pipe for the buildings fire suppression system had ruptured  and water was pouring into the basement. She lost track of time but thought she might be there for days.

The only thing I wanted was to get out of there, she said.

Finally, in the middle of the night, she saw a light and screamed anew for help.

Search-and-rescue dogs had alerted their handlers that a survivor might be in the rubble. Now, as rescuers carefully worked their way down to the basement, they heard Borgess cries.

Calling for quiet, the rescuers followed the sound of her voice. They found her in a tight space, in chest-deep water. She made her way to them and was placed in a litter.

She was severely hypothermic and banged up, conscious but absolutely confused, said Ken Pagurek, who helped lead rescue efforts as program manager of Pennsylvania Task Force 1, an emergency response team that deploys to disaster sites around the country.

I think had they not gotten to her when they did, there was a very good chance the number of victims was going to be plus one, said Pagurek, also a captain in the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Her rescue gave hope to first responders who already had pulled two bodies from the rubble in the hours after the blast. Rescuers spent two more days at the pile. They found five more bodies but no additional survivors.

Borges now faces surgery on both feet and a long recovery. Her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her pay the bills.

Borges, who came to the United States 31 years ago from Puebla state in south-central Mexico, has worked at Palmer for four years. She said shes seeking accountability.

I wanted to speak so that this will be prevented in the future, she said. For my colleague Judy, I want there to be justice.

___

Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania and Coronado reported from Austin, Texas.

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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  Andrew Tate, the divisive internet personality who has spent months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest, an official said Friday.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Tates appeal, which challenged a judges decision last week to extend his arrest a fourth time for 30 days, said Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanias anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT.

Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen who has 5.5 million Twitter followers, was initially detained in late December in Romanias capital Bucharest, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women.

All four won an appeal Friday, and will remain under house arrest until Apr. 29, Bolla said. None of the four has yet been formally indicted. The court ruled in favor of their immediate release. Prosecutors cannot challenge the appeal courts decision, which was final, Bolla added.

As the brothers left the detention facility late Friday in Bucharest, Tristan Tate told a scrum of reporters that the judges today made the right decision.

I respect what theyve done for me and they will be vindicated in their decision, because Im an innocent man and I cant wait to prove it, he said.

Some Tate supporters outside the facility chanted Top-G, Top-G, using a popular moniker many of Andrew Tates fans refer to him as.

Later, standing outside what is believed to be the Tate brothers home near the capital, Andrew Tate said he wanted to thank the judges who heard us today, because they were very attentive and they listened to us, and they let us free.

I have no resentment in my heart for the country of Romania or for anybody else, he said. I just believe in the truth  I truly believe that justice will be served in the end. There is zero percent chance of me being convicted for something Ive not done.

Tate, a professional kickboxer who has resided in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. He has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and alleged their case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.

DIICOT said in a statement after the December arrests that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were allegedly subjected to acts of physical violence and mental coercion and sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.

The agency said victims were lured with pretenses of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group.

In January, Romanian authorities descended on a compound near Bucharest linked with the Tate brothers and towed away a fleet of luxury cars that included a Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari and a Porsche. They reported seizing assets worth an estimated $3.9 million.

Prosecutors have said that if they can prove the cars owners gained money through illicit activities such as human trafficking, the assets would be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and to compensate victims. Tate unsuccessfully appealed the asset seizure.

___

Stephen McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania.

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PHOENIX (AP)  The owners of a Dairy Queen in Phoenix remain perplexed  and slightly amused  as to why someone would steal the giant red spoon that adorned their restaurant.

We were kind of upset but then more puzzled, Puja Kalra said Wednesday. What are they going to do with a spoon?

She and her husband, Raman Kalra, say the spoon-snatching occurred sometime between late Friday and early Saturday. The 15-foot-tall (4.5 meter) spoon stood against the side of the building with the handle nestled in an opening of a roof parapet. Their surveillance camera caught two people appearing to manipulate the screws that held the spoon to a base and then taking off on a small motorbike.

They were so precise about it like they had done it before, Raman Kalra said. They just wiggled their way through and made sure the spoon was not damaged.

The couple reported the theft to Phoenix police.

Sgt. Brian Bower confirmed officers were called and are investigating. No suspects have been identified.

Getting another spoon made, delivered and then installed would cost over $7,000, Raman Kalra said.

Dairy Queen is known for doling out plastic red spoons with their soft serve Blizzards.

The Kalras, who are Indian immigrants, moved to Phoenix from Minnesota in 2007 and decided to go into business operating a Dairy Queen. They now own 34 franchise locations. This Phoenix one is the only Arizona Dairy Queen with the towering red spoon.

With the spoon big enough to hold a small child, it was a popular photo spot.

It looks empty and incomplete without that spoon, Puja Kalra said. People liked to take selfies and put it on Instagram.

Meanwhile, theyre trying some creative strategies to spread the word about the spoon swipe. Staff at the Phoenix location will start wearing Wheres my spoon? T-shirts with a red spoon and the DQ logo. Theyve also had flyers to post at various branches around metro Phoenix. The reward? One Blizzard treat from every flavor of the summer menu.

In all seriousness, the couple would love to have the red spoon suddenly be found.

I appeal to the person. This spoon is too big to eat anything, Raman Kalra said. We want you to bring it back. We will not ask any questions.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped $10 million on a new political action committee Thursday, pledging to boost Democrats in the reddest of red states ahead of the 2024 election and what could be a future run for president.

Newsom launched the Campaign for Democracy using money left over from his 2022 campaign for governor, where he easily won reelection against a little-known Republican opponent. In a video announcing the committee, Newsom pledged to take on authoritarian leaders he says are directly attacking our freedoms, including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Whats happening in those red states? Newsom asked. Thats not who we are. Its un-American. Its un-democratic.

Newsom blamed those governors for banning books and targeting transgender children. Republicans, meanwhile, have criticized Newsom for using taxpayer money to pay for women in other states to come to California for abortions and to cover the health care expenses of people living in the country without legal permission.

Theres a reason why Gavin Newsom never focuses on the problems hes caused in his own state, Sanders spokesperson Alexa Henning said. California residents are experiencing sky high rent but Governor Sanders is living rent free in his head.

Newsom and his family will visit Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi early next week, meeting with Democratic activists who are pushing for things like expanding Medicaid and resisting Sanders' education proposals. But first, hell appear at a fundraiser Saturday in Florida for the Democratic Governors Association, spokesperson Nathan Click said.

A donation blitz to candidates in other states is a typical pathway to a presidential campaign for ambitious politicians. Most of the time, money is targeted at swing states or places with early presidential primaries where donations can pay dividends later.

Newsom, however, is taking on states with little strategic political value for Democrats, part of his ongoing effort to reshape the Democratic Party's message.

Hes been saying we cant go just to the 12 states that are on the line; weve got to go to the states where we lose and help the people who are on the front lines with these fights, Click said.

Other Democrats have tried to use their star power to help candidates around the country  some in heavily Republican areas.

On the heels of his 2020 Senate run against South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham  which busted fundraising records but resulted in a loss to the incumbent  Jaime Harrison launched Dirt Road PAC, utilizing his newly minted status as a fundraising powerhouse to try to provide a sustained boost to other Democrats that he hopes can help flip more areas from red to blue.

Dirt Road has continued to operate as Harrison has taken over as Democratic National Committee chair, raising about $200,000 before the end of last year, according to federal filings.

Such efforts have not always been successful. In 2013, Jeremy Bird, who was the national field director for then-President Barack Obamas reelection campaign the previous year, helped organize Battleground Texas, which vowed to make long-term financial and organizing commitments to Democratic causes in the nations largest Republican state.

The group invested heavily in 2014 Democratic governor candidate Wendy Davis, who lost big to Republican Abbott. Nearly 10 years later, Texas Democrats still havent won a statewide office since 1994, the nations longest losing streak.

Individual elected officials have gotten into the act, too, like Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Weeks after dropping out of the 2020 presidential race, she announced a political group called Warren Democrats that saw her endorse, campaign with and provide financial and logistical support for progressive congressional candidates that cycle and last year. The records of candidates backed by Warren were mixed, and she is now running for reelection next year to the Senate.

Last year, amid some unease among Democrats about President Joe Bidens prospects for reelection, Newsoms name was floated as a potential replacement for 2024. Newsom quickly shut those rumors down, saying he had no desire to run for president. However, he has continued to build his profile as a national leader, spending his campaign money for governor last year on ads in Republican-led states, including Florida and Texas.

Hes clearly building his national profile and presence, said Eric Schickler, a political science professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Its a way that taps into something that a a lot of Democrats have been concerned about, which is that there is not much of a party presence in a lot of the red states.

Newsoms second term as governor will end in 2026. He has said he wont challenge Biden for the presidency. Were he to run in 2028, hed potentially be going up against Vice President Kamala Harris, a fellow Californian.

___

Associated Press reporters Will Weissert in Washington and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., contributed.

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SAN DIEGO (AP)  A powerful San Diego County supervisor said he will resign amid accusations that he sexually assaulted a government employee, completing a swift and shocking fall for a decorated Marine combat veteran whose star rose with his Democratic Partys ascendancy in the nations eighth-largest city.

Nathan Fletcher, who defected from the Republican Party in 2012, was elected to a second term on the county board of supervisors with 65% of the vote in November, two years after Democrats won a board majority that eluded their grasp for decades.

Fletcher, 46, was the face of the San Diego regions muscular response to COVID-19 at daily news conferences. He became half of San Diegos most powerful political couple after his 2017 marriage to Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, a well-known liberal Democratic state assemblywoman who became a top California labor leader last year.

Fletchers progressive positions and telegenic presence made him a solid favorite to succeed another prominent California politician, Toni Atkins, in the state Senate. But he announced late Sunday that he was dropping his bid after less than two months to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse.

Days later, Fletcher resigned as chair of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System after a government staffer alleged sexual harassment and assault in a lawsuit that included screenshots of lurid messages from Fletcher.

Hours after that, Fletcher said he would resign from the county board of supervisors, calling the pressure on his family over the last week immense and unbearable.

A combination of my personal mistakes plus false accusations has created a burden that my family shouldnt have to bear, he said. He will leave office May 15.

Fletchers fall jolted the city a week after officials made a critical turn in a saga that has captivated the city and threatened other top politicians.

A 2017 lease-to-own deal for employees to occupy a 19-story downtown office building turned disastrous after asbestos and other deficiencies were discovered and rendered the space uninhabitable. Jason Hughes, an unpaid adviser to the city on the deal, pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor and agreed to repay $9.4 million that he collected in a dual role as adviser to the buildings seller, Cisterra LLC.

The deal was bungled under Mayor Kevin Faulconer, one of Californias most promising Republican leaders until a resounding defeat in a failed 2020 recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.

Brian Adams, a political science professor at San Diego State University, likened Fletcher to other fallen leaders, including Andrew Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer, both former governors of New York, and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards.

They were all seen having promising futures collapse over sexual harassment claims, said Adams.

Fletchers name entered conversations about who San Diego might elect to be mayor or a member of Congress, Adams said. His troubles may open the way for new faces if Todd Gloria, the Democratic mayor, faces questions over how he handled fallout from the real estate debacle.

San Diegos political drama doesnt appear to have gripped residents like earlier scandal, including the resignation in 2013 of Bob Filner, the first Democratic mayor in 20 years, after weeks of near-daily allegations of harassing women, including city employees.

A Republican mayor, Dick Murphy, resigned in 2004 after a pension crisis made San Diego a poster child for financial mismanagement.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court, the government staffer says she began exchanging messages with Fletcher in 2021 when he started visiting her social media accounts. He once wrote, Home alone  no wife and kids. He urged her to delete his texts and be discreet.

The staffer says Fletcher kissed her in the stairway of a hotel where he was staying in May 2022. Weeks later, he allegedly texted her during a meeting that he had for five minutes and asked her to go to an adjoining conference room, where he kissed and grabbed her.

The worker was fired Feb. 6 after she attempted to engage in meaningful, pre-litigation discussions with Fletcher to resolve her claims quietly and amicably, her lawsuit says. On Sunday, just before Fletcher ended his Senate run, Fletchers attorney threatened to sue the worker for extortion, she said.

Fletcher acknowledged consensual interactions with someone outside his marriage.

I havent done the things that are alleged but I did violate the basic trust of my marriage and set a terrible example for our children, he said in a statement.

San Diego County Democratic Party Chair Becca Taylor said Thursday that Fletchers decision to resign was appropriate, echoing other political leaders.

Gonzalez Fletcher, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, said she loves her husband and believes his name will be cleared but that she urged him to resign.

___

This story was first published on March 30, 2023. It was updated on March 30, 2023 to remove the name of the government worker making accusations of sexual assault, per Associated Press policy.

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OTTAWA - Britain is set to join a massive trade bloc that will likely speed up negotiations on a bilateral deal between Ottawa and London.

The countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership have giventhe U.K. a green light to become the 12th country in the trading bloc, and the only one outside the Pacific Rim.

Its a good day, International Trade Minister Mary Ng said in an interview. We have always been supportive of the U.K., right from Day 1.

Ng saidCanada was the first member of the bloc to push for Britain to be included, though Japan has been facilitating the U.K.s accession process, and London and Ottawa have sparred over allowing more beef exports to Britain.

We share values. We have interoperability in many of our sectors. We essentially have collaborated throughout our history, Ng said.

Since the deal launched four years ago, Ng said it has boosted Canadian exports to the bloc by nearly one-fifth, and by as much as 40 per cent in Southeast Asia.

If you look at countries like Vietnam, it just jumps out at you, she said. Its a good agreement, but having the United Kingdom in there helps us do something else  on the net-zero industries of the future.

The U.K. would be the first member to not touch the Pacific Ocean, aside from the remote Pitcairn Islands, a British overseas territory that sits between New Zealand and South America.

British and Canadian officials said the move should speed up negotiations for a bilateral deal between the two countries, since theyve already established common ground on issues such as labour rights and supporting small businesses through the Pacific deal.

The Pacific deal has also sorted out some technical issues, which have reportedly included food-sanitation standards.

Ottawa and London have been operating under an interim trade deal since the U.K. left the European Union, but that post-Brexit deal expires next year.

A British official familiar with both trade negotiations with Canada, who provided the briefing on the condition she not be named because she is not a spokesperson, said Ottawa has supported Londons accession while pushing to benefit from the U.K. joining the group.

They were the first to put their hand up and support us, and that was really great, she said. Canada have been tough negotiators, I think thats fair to say, but theyve been fair and were at a place where were both happy.

She said negotiations for the bilateral deal should conclude in mid-2024.

We reckon were about halfway through, which is where we expected to be at this stage, she said. Being part of the larger bloc will make it easier to move at a faster pace.

Ng agreed, saying the Pacific deal aligns both countries values around trade.

That leaves the bilateral talks up to market-access issues. The U.K. still wants to be able to sell more cheese in Canadas supply-managed dairy sector, which is regularly challenged in trade tribunals.

Britains membership in the Pacific trade dealwill still need to be formally ratified by all members of the bloc. Once that happens, Ng said the Brits can boost Canadas efforts to form closer ties with countries across Asia.

We really are doing more work to strengthen our relationships with friends and allies who also share our values, like a rules-based international order, and the U.K. is that friend, is that ally, Ng said.

So having the U.K. in the CPTPP strengthens what Canada is doing in the Indo-Pacific.

Hugh Stephens, a fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, has argued that Canada would benefit from having Britain in the bloc, because having another advanced economy in the group would incentivize more Asian countries to join it.

Last November, a senior Global Affairs Canada official told MPs there is still work to be done for Britain to join, in part because the original signatories saw the U.K. as a test case for letting in the first member after the launch of the original agreement, which sets the bar for other applicants.

Assistant deputy minister Paul Thoppil made those comments to the House of Commons committee on Canada-China relations, which on Thursday released a report on relations with Taiwan.

In the report, MPs recommended that the government support Taiwans bid to join the Pacific trade deal, both to show support for democratic countries and to boost trade with the island, which serves a critical role in technical manufacturing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2023.

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OTTAWA - Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland insists the governments projected $1.3-billion drop in foreign aid spending does not amount to a cut.

The Liberal budget released this week projects that Ottawa will spend nearly $6.9 billion for international development in the coming fiscal year, which is a 16 per cent drop from last years allocation.

Thats despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tasking International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan to increase aid spending every year.

The Liberals had delivered a historic boost in aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Asked about criticism from the aid sector about the cut, Freeland said she wouldnt characterize it that way.

She stressed that Canada is allocating $2.4 billion in direct financial aid to Ukraine, and called that countrys fight the worlds most important struggle.

The Liberals have also allocated funding for infrastructure projects in developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region, arguing that these countries want investment more than aid.

Representatives of Canadas aid sector have said they will need to end projects abroad due to the lower-than-hoped funding projected in the Liberals budget last week, and theyre particularly concerned about whether aid dollars are being diverted from Africa to Ukraine.

Freeland told reporters Thursday at a press conference in Surrey, B.C., that Ukraines fight is crucial to Canadas interests.

The fight that is happening in Ukraine today is the single most important battle in the world between democracy and dictatorship, she said, while defending her governments record.

I believe that Canada has a responsibility to be strong and active around the world, she added.

Were making a very big difference. Canada is the eighth-largest foreign-aid donor (in the world). That is a big deal.

Last October, Freeland was criticized for her response to an African aid expert who said that the West diverting dollars to Ukraine leaves the continent relying more on Russias support, an idea she rejected.

A democracy can only be defended by people themselves if theyre actually prepared to die for their democracy, she said.

In a later apology for those remarks, she said she was sorry if people found the comments insensitive, adding: If a white western person has offended someone, the first answer is to say, I really didnt mean to offend you.

At the time, Freeland said the western world needs to recognize that Africas current problems stem from colonization.

These are challenges that have been imposed from the outside. And I think that means we have a high level of responsibility.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.

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OTTAWA - The federal government now expects far more Canadians with long-overdue dental needs to sign up for its insurance plan, and the health minister says thats why the estimated cost has risen by $7 billion.

In its 2023 budget Tuesday, the government revealed the federally administered insurance program will be far more expensive over the next five years than it originally thought.

It is also projecting that ongoing costs after that will more than double to $4.4 billion per year, up from $1.7 billion.

Duclos said administration costs have not contributed to driving up the price.

Its more people with greater needs, he said in an interview Thursday.

The fact that this is appearing to be in high demand, and in high need, is probably the outcome that for too many years prior to that program, there were people that were just not going to see a dentist for prevention purposes.

Dentists could end up seeing as many as nine million more patients who didnt have coverage before, new estimates suggest.

There are a lot of people who dont make enough money to be able to afford dental care, but make too much to qualify for provincial programs for people with low income, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.

We want to close that gap for working Canadians, Trudeau said at a press conference in Moncton.

The program is designed for people without insurance whose household income falls below $90,000 per year. Families who make less than $70,000 will not need to make co-payments.

Duclos said the scale of the program should not be underestimated  its bigger than just about any other permanent government benefit program to date.

Its twice as large as old age security, its larger than (the) Canada child benefit in terms of the number of families and children, its larger than (the guaranteed income supplement), its larger than the early learning and child-care program that were putting into place, he said.

Dental care is the centrepiece of the confidence-and-supply deal the Liberals signed with the NDP in March 2022.

The New Democrats have pledged to vote with the government on key items to prevent an election before 2025 in exchange for progress on certain priorities.

That includes firm timelines to launch the dental-care program by the end of this year for lower-income, uninsured children under the age of 18, seniors and people with disabilities. Full implementation is expected by 2025.

Within two weeks of signing that deal, the Liberal government put forward a budget that included federal dental care. Duclos said more work has been done since then to get a better sense of the cost.

He said they realized demand would be higher than expected when seeing uptake of the dental benefit for children under 12 this year.

The Liberals expected the temporary benefit would go to roughly 500,000 children between Oct. 1, 2022, and June 30, 2024.

But the government has already cut 240,000 cheques to help families pay for oral health appointments.

The plan is to replace that benefit with a full-fledged insurance program for eligible people by the end of the year, but Duclos and his team still have plenty to sort out before people can start making claims.

The aim is to provide coverage for people who dont already have insurance, without disrupting the patchwork of provincial and private plans that provide benefits across the country.

Duclos said hes well aware of the possibility that low- and middle-income earners could simply opt out of their employment plans in favour of the free government coverage.

There will be mechanisms and relationship management exercises that will be there to support the importance of the federal program to be complementary, to be incremental to the existing coverage, he said.

People who have group benefits through their employer wont qualify for the federal program. The government will require employers to report to the Canada Revenue Agency which staff members have existing coverage, so they cant double-dip.

People on provincial plans, however, may be able to benefit from provincial and federal coverage at the same time, Duclos said.

Were going to be open to complement that partial coverage by provinces and territories, he said.

The next major hurdle for the government before it can launch the program is to figure out who will handle the claims.

It will launch a request for proposals in June.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.

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Every federal government over the past 30 years has been infiltrated by agents acting on behalf of China, and each one has chosen to ignore warnings about it, a former CSIS official told lawmakers in Ottawa on Friday morning.

Not only has the current Liberal government been compromised, but all political parties have been at one point or another, according to Michel Juneau-Katsuya, who served as the Canadian Security Intelligence Services Asia-Pacific bureau chief.

It is time to prioritize national security in a non-partisan manner and protect the future of this nation, he said.

Juneau-Katsuya made the comments to the House of Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics amid intense scrutiny over allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections, and whether the current Liberal government has failed to adequately respond to the issue.

Recent speculation over foreign meddling has been fuelled by stories from Global News and the Globe and Mail, which cite intelligence and national security reports that allege China attempted to influence candidates during the last two federal election campaigns.

Earlier this month, Don Valley North MP Han Dong quit the Liberal caucus following a Global report that alleged he had secretly advised a Chinese diplomat in 2021 that Beijing should delay the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians who were jailed in China after a Chinese telecom executive was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States. The Star has not independently verified the allegations.

On Friday afternoon, Dong, who now sits as an Independent and has staunchly denied the allegations, announced on Twitter that he had served Global News, its parent company Corus Entertainment and various Global employees with a libel notice related to their recent reporting.

Juneau-Katsuya was joined by other former intelligence officials, a former Conservatives MP who believes he was a target of Chinese interference and a former senior editor of Sing Tao Daily, the largest Chinese-language daily newspaper in Canada.

Canada has run out of time in dithering and procrastinating, said Kenny Chiu, who represented StevestonRichmond East from 2019 until his defeat in 2021. This is not the moment for more talks and virtue signalling, but legislative actions that aim to protect Canada.

After pushing for the establishment of a foreign agent registry, a proposal which was recently given new life, Chiu believes he became a victim of a Chinese misinformation campaign on apps like WeChat and WhatsApp.

To combat ongoing efforts by China and other countries such as Russia and Iran, Juneau-Katsuya said Canada needs a criminal law to define foreign interference and how it should be penalized. He also called for the establishment of an independent office to address foreign interference that reports directly to the House of Commons and wields extensive investigative powers, including the ability to arrest and prosecute in criminal cases in a criminal court without having to ask anyones permission.

Although opposition parties have called for a public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference, Juneau-Katsuya said this is not the way to go. He said an inquiry would reveal the investigative methods of Canadian security services, diminishing their ability to detect and counter foreign interference while compromising the safety of human sources.

However, Artur Wilczynski, a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa and former official with the Communications Security Establishment, disagreed. He argued that an inquiry would help mitigate threats and give Canadians confidence in the countrys electoral system.

He also said its scope should be broad enough to include non-state actors from friendly countries, such as the United States, who try to influence Canadian affairs.

Im glad that were having this national conversation on foreign interference, Wilczynski said. What is regrettable is how we got here and how this conversation is unfolding.

Wilczynski went on to slam national security officials who have leaked sensitive documents regarding alleged foreign interference to the media, describing their actions as fundamentally anti-democratic.

That information is released without due process, without a presumption of innocence and with no ability to effectively defend themselves, Wilczynski said, later adding, You cannot say that you are defending democracy while breaking the laws passed by Parliament.

Meanwhile, former CSIS executive manager Dan Stanton said he doesnt believe a CSIS official is behind the recent leaks to the media.

I spent 32 years in there. I know the culture, said Stanton, who described the atmosphere as one of staid and unemotional professionalism.

While Stanton called foreign interference an existential threat to the country, he disagreed with those who say Canada doesnt currently have a legislative answer to address the problem. He pointed to sections of the Security of Information Act he believes could be used to prosecute cases of foreign interference.

Like Juneau-Katsuya, Stanton said the federal governments inaction on this matter transcends political parties and time.

So while China continues to play chess, Canada plays whack-a-mole. We need to raise our game, Stanton said.

He suggested one way to do that is by finally listening to concerned Chinese Canadians who he said have long been in Chinas crosshairs. Stanton said they need to know that if they speak out, they can expect the government to heed their concerns.

With files from Joanna Chiu and Alex Ballingall

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The North Dakota Senate on Friday passed a bill to ensure physical polling places, similar to legislation that failed in 2021, brought in the wake of North Dakota's all-mail June 2020 election.

House Bill 1167, by Rep. Steve Vetter, R-Grand Forks, passed in a 39-5 vote and now goes to Gov. Doug Burgum. The state House of Representatives in February passed the bill unanimously.

The bill states: "The governor may not issue an executive order that suspends or amends a provision in a statute, order, or rule relating to a state or local requirement regarding minimum number of physical polling places."

"This bill is not intended to be an attack on the office of the governor, but rather about limiting the office's power to limit citizens' ability to vote in person," Sen. Jeff Barta, R-Grand Forks, told the Senate.

Burgum in 2020 signed an executive order waiving the requirement that counties provide at least one physical polling site for the June 2020 election, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The House and Senate in 2021 had passed the previous bill, but the Senate reconsidered it and it failed by a single vote.

House Bill 1167 is among a flurry of election-related bills filed by supermajority North Dakota Republican lawmakers, continuing a trend from 2021. The Legislature that year handled more than 40 election-related bills in the wake of the 2020 presidential election and former President Donald Trump's baseless claims of election fraud.
One of three former senior union leaders facing a $6 million-plus lawsuit launched by OPSEU says the suit makes outrageous and unfounded allegations against him despite his more than 14 years of service.

In his statement of defence, filed with Ontarios Superior Court of Justice, former administrator of financial services Maurice Gabay said he was a loyal and hardworking employee throughout his approximately 14.5 years of service to OPSEU, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

Gabay had a clean disciplinary record, and was never advised of any concerns or allegations by OPSEU against him until the lawsuit was launched and long after his employment was terminated on a without cause basis, his statement of defence states.

The OPSEU lawsuit, launched in January, alleges that Gabay, longtime president Warren Smokey Thomas and former first vice-president/treasurer Eduardo Almeida withdrew a total of $670,000 in cash from a strike fund without explanation, received significant compensation on top of their salaries, and had union-purchased cars transferred to themselves and family members.

In addition, significant expenses were charged to union credit cards without receipts, the unions statement of claim says.

OPSEU is seeking recovery of funds and assets unlawfully transferred in the amount of $1.75 million from Thomas, $3 million from Almeida and $1 million from Gabay, as well as damages of $6 million for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, conspiracy, conversion and/or unjust enrichment (less any amounts recovered), the statement of claim says.

In its statement of claim, the union says financial irregularities came to light in a forensic audit.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Current OPSEU president JP Hornick has assured members that, despite the financial misconduct raised in the lawsuit, our union remains strong and our finances stable.

Gabays statement of defence says it was a long-standing practice at OPSEU to withdraw funds in cash from the strike fund and that all transactions were authorized by Thomas or Almeida.

Gabay denies making or authorizing any inappropriate withdrawals, and denies receiving any amounts from the strike fund for his own benefit, the statement of defence says, and nor did he try to delay the forensic audit, as alleged.

It also says his employment was terminated by OPSEU without cause.

Gabay denies that he engaged in any misconduct, including any serious misconduct, as alleged by OPSEU, his statement of defence states. Gabay denies that he received any payments, funds or compensation from OPSEU to which he was not entitled and that at all material times, he acted in accordance with the policies, procedures, and/or practices established by Thomas and Almeida, and/or the instructions given to him by the pair.

Gabay has launched a counterclaim, seeking $750,000 in damages given how OPSEU has treated him, making outrageous and unfounded allegations against him and publicizing them, saying it was designed to inflict, and did inflict, mental distress.

Earlier this month, Thomas filed his statement of defence, saying the lawsuit launched by the new leaders of the union he headed for almost 15 years was politically motivated and began after he appeared alongside Premier Doug Ford in support of the governments move to boost the minimum wage.

The lawsuit culminates a long campaign by Mr. Thomas political rivals  to demean, politically destroy, and cause irreparable emotional and reputational harm to him and his associates. It has no basis in reality, and is entirely manufactured.

Thomas has launched a $5.5 million counterclaim.

OPSEU has launched a second, $24 million lawsuit that includes further allegations against Almeida and Gabay in relation to at least 15 individuals or businesses they had undeclared ties to, accusing them of payments for bogus or unfinished work as well as kickbacks.

Those allegations have also not been proved in court.

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The Resident Electoral Commission, REC, Lagos State, Olusegun Agbaje, urged losers and Aggrieved parties in the 2023 Gubernatorial and House of Assembly to go back to the drawing board to restrategise for another time as the commission would continue to create the needed level playing field for all those that aspire to take part in any election in Nigeria.

Agbaje gave the advice in his address at the presentation of Certificates of Return to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat and other winners of the March 18, Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections in Lagos.

Hordes of armed security personnel, on Monday, have taken over the premises of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and environs on Thursday, at Birell Avenue, Sabo, Yaba, Mainland Local Government Area of the state in preparation for the presentation of Certificates of Return to reelected Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Governor-Elect, Sanwo-Olu, his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamza and 40 members-elect of the State House of Assembly won the just concluded Gubernatorial and 40 members of the House of Assembly elections in the state.

As at 9 am, the heavily armed security personnel, comprising of the Nigeria Police Rapid Response Squad, RRS, men of the Department of State Service, DSS, Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps, LNSC, were seen freaking members of the media, guests and members of the public

Early arrival at the venue includes state party Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Sam Egube, and APC chieftains, among others.

According to one of the security men who preferred anonymity, the heavy presence of the security was aimed at curtailing any possible unrest, unruly and indiscipline acts by the public.

APC party faithful were seen chanting various victory songs outside the INEC office.

Recall that the gubernatorial election was held on March 18 in which Governor Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressive Congress, APC, emerged winner with over 700,000 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party who polled over 300,000 votes, while Dr Olajide Adeniran, popularly called Jandor of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, came distant third with about 75,000 votes.

Meanwhile, Rhodes-Vivour just secured a court order to inspect electoral materials used during the election as he challenged the victory of Governor Sanwo-Olu.

Agbaje also urged them to embrace peace and shun any form of violence.

According to him, It is indeed a great delight for me to welcome you all to this special occasion of the presentation of Certificates of Return to the Lagos State Governor-Elect, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Deputy Governor-Elect, Dr Obafemi Hamzat as well as the 40 State House of Assembly members-elect.

Permit me to start by congratulating all the stakeholders in the electoral process and the very good and peace loving people of Lagos State for the successful conduct of the General Election in the State.

I am indeed humbled by the outcome of the election despite the enormous challenges that characterized the exercise.

The journey towards the accomplishment of success in the Governorship and State House of Assembly Election was not completely smooth as some desperate elements used their negative utterances which unnecessarily overheated the political environment.

Armed thugs were used to unleash mayhem on the process in some areas while unfounded allegations were peddled against INEC to distract her from focusing on its mandate during the period.

The Commission was however undaunted as it remained focused on doing all that was required within the ambit of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to avail all registered political parties that nominated candidates for the election equal opportunity to participate in the process.

The preparation for the 2023 General Election commenced with the expansion of voters access to polling units in 2021 which culminated in the increase of polling units in the State from 8,464 to 13, 325 polling units.

This development necessitated huge personnel, vehicles and materials deployed for the election in the state. This was followed by the Continuous Voter Registration exercise of June, 2021/July 2022 that led to a new voter population of 7,060,195 in Lagos State.

The total number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected in the State was 6,214,970 which was at its peak at 88 per cent.

It is important to point out that the successful outcome of the Lagos State Governorship and State House of Assembly Election would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of the electorate who came out to vote for the candidates of their choice.

Let me once again reassure all stakeholders in the Nations Electoral Process that INEC under the leadership of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, will never do anything that will alter the gains it has achieved in terms of credibility.

Rather, the commission will continue to build on her credibility by doing everything possible in line with the rule of law towards ensuring that it becomes one of the best Election Management Bodies in the world that meets the aspirations of the Nigerian people.

I, therefore, urge all of you to join hands with INEC as the commission continues to improve the electoral process by positively playing your roles.

The political class must however change its do or die attitude to good conduct in politics.

Political culture of violence, malpractices, thuggery, vote buying and all other forms of election vices has to be done away with by Political Party leaders.

This they can do by letting their followers know that violence, malpractices, thuggery and all other election vices are not only crimes but evil forces that can hinder the progress of the countrys democratic process.

In addition, there is a pressing need for increased partnership and cooperation among and between stakeholders if Nigeria must attain her desired sustainable democratic ideals.

Let me use this opportunity to enjoin the winners of the Lagos State Governorship Election and State House of Assembly Election to be magnanimous in victory by having an open hand approach to all Lagosians and other residents of the state.

Government must be seen by all as enhancing good governance for the benefit of the good people of Lagos State. For those that could not make it this time, all they need to do is to go back to the drawing board to re-strategize for another time as INEC will continue to create the needed level playing field for all those that aspire to take part in any election in Nigeria.

Agbaje commended all stakeholders for the various roles they played in collaboration with the commission during the period of the conduct of the election. The very laudable roles played by the Security Agencies, leaders of political parties in the State most especially the IPAC leadership, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Gender-Based Organizations, Persons with Disabilities, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Traditional and Religious leaders, the Media, Voters, among others cannot be over-emphasized.

The Supervising National Commissioner, Mr Sam Olumekun, also delivered his address before handing over the Certificates of Return to the Governor-Elect and the Deputy Governor-Elect and later to winners of the State House of Assembly election.
Some Nigerians in the US have reportedly secured a permit to protest against the election victory of President-elect Bola Tinubu.

The protest is said to be billed for April 3.

In a statement on Thursday, Tai Balofin, chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the US, said Nigerians should not be disturbed by the planned protest.

Balofin said the US government is not in support of the protest and that anyone could secure permission to stage a demonstration.

It is important to note that the US government is not involved or in support of the protest, as anybody can get approval for a peaceful protest, NAN quoted the US APC chairman as saying.

It is our belief that the Nigerian presidential election was free and fair, and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu won the election. The majority of Nigerian voters gave him their mandate, and no propaganda, manipulation or tissue of lies can stop his inauguration.

We want to assure Nigerians that Nigeria will not secede, and it will remain united, we must work together to salvage it.

He alleged that Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), is behind the planned protest.

We also wish to state that this protest was sponsored by Peter Obi, who lost the election in Nigeria, he said.

Yunusa Tanko, the LP spokesperson, could not be reached for comment on the allegation that Obi orchestrated the protest.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Tinubu the winner of the presidential election after securing 8,794,726 votes.

Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had the second-highest figure with 6,984,520 votes while Obi was next with 6,101,533 votes.

Abubakar and Obi are currently before the presidential election tribunal challenging the victory of Tinubu.
The National Vice Chairman, North-West, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Salihu Lukman, has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must, as a matter of urgency, initiate the process of internal review of how the 2023 elections were managed.

Lukman made the call in a media interaction with journalists on Friday in Abuja.

The party chieftain also questioned the ethical conduct of the staff of INEC, especially the Returning Officers during the just concluded elections.

He added that while there were gaps and problems witnessed during the 2023 elections, he maintained that it was an improvement in past elections conducted in the country.

His words: I want you this opportunity to call on INEC, we must as a matter of urgency initiate the process of internal review of how the 2023 elections was managed. And as part of that review, they must address issues of ethical conduct of their own staff, including the returning officers.

I am a critic of the choice of using academic staff as Returning Officers. I dont believe being an academician is equivalent to competence in managing public service, such as a Returning Officer in an election. There are many

cases of Returning Officers compromising themselves to politicians.

Lukman also stressed the need for the electoral body to attend to the problems recorded during the 2023 elections as quickly as possible.

Sincerely speaking, we concentrate so much on elections. The process is far more important than the election. The process for the 2027 election should start now and I believe their (INEC) capacity to be honest in auditing what transpired would be far more important in determining whether were going to record improvement in 2027 or not, he said.

The APC chieftain stated categorically that the last election was not one of those elections, saying while some progress had been made in the electoral management system, the gaps that were witnessed had to do with the conduct of the politicians.

He stated: We (politicians) go into elections with the mindset that we must win the election. And when we dont win, everything is bad about the election. I think the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has helped a lot. There are problems here and there that have been recorded which I am going to highlight some of them. But on the whole, we must commend INEC.

The APC National Working Committee (NWC) member alleged that there were several cases where INEC Returning Officers were compromised by politicians, hence, the reason why different standards were applied in different states.

Lukman also said he would not be comfortable if the set of staff that conducted Kebbi governorship election are allowed to conduct the rerun election.

He added that there were cases that had been declared inconclusive, which ordinarily if the same standard had been applied, results would have been declared.

Lukman noted: One of those cases is Kebbi state for instance. Not because Im APC and I think being APC, we have a right to complain about that. There is also the case of Kano, which should be declared (inconclusive), if the

standard of Kebbi had been applied to Kano. But these are general issues which for me, I thought I should call on INEC to do an internal audit of the management process of the last election and begin to fix things.

That way, if it is possible, some of the infractions that have happened could be corrected before the rerun election.

He described the call for the sack of the INEC chairman as unfortunate and misplaced.
Former US President Donald Trump is set to be charged over hush money payments made to an adult actress just before the 2016 presidential election.

This is the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges.

CNN reports that the indictment has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days.

It is unclear what the charges are at the moment.

On Thursday, a grand jury voted to indict him on criminal charges, after investigating a $130,000 payout to Stormy Daniels, the adult actress, in an attempt to buy her silence over an alleged affair.

According to CNN, the office of Manhattans district attorney has been investigating the former president and will reach out to Trumps attorneys to discuss his arrest and a subsequent arraignment.

Trump is currently the subject of multiple investigations into his conduct before, during, and after his first term as president.

The investigations include allegations of fraud by his family business, his role in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, and the stashing of classified documents at his residence at Mar-a-Lago.

He was also the subject of a $250 million civil lawsuit from the New York attorney-general over allegations that he and his children were involved in a decade-long fraud.

Despite the allegations, Trump announced his bid to re-run for president.

He has frequently called the various investigations surrounding him a witch hunt, and has portrayed himself as a victim of what hes claimed are political probes led by Democratic prosecutors.




There are doubts over the exit of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.





Sylva, 58, reportedly submitted his resignation letter to President Muhammadu Buhari.





He is expected to contest in the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship primary election in Bayelsa.





But media adviser, Horatius Egua told NAN that he could not deny or confirm the resignation because he had not seen the letter,





Sylva governed the state under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, between 2008 and 2012.





Buhari appointed the politician on August 21, 2019, after dropping former minister Ibe Kachikwu.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) working committee in Benue has suspended the partys executives in Igyorov ward, Gboko LGA of the state.

Isaac Mffo, the PDP acting chairman in Benue, announced the suspension of the ward executive members on Thursday while speaking with journalists in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

Mffo said the action taken against the executive members is necessary to restore sanity in the ward following their suspension of Iyorchia Ayu.

He said their suspension is with immediate effect and would last for four weeks.

That the executive committee of the PDP in Igyorov council ward is hereby suspended for a period of one month pending necessary action which shall be taken to restore sanity, harmony, law and order in the party in the area, the letter reads.

That the executive committee of the PDP in Igyorov council ward shall hand over all documents and other items in their possession belonging to the party to the partys state executive committee with immediate effect.

The state working committee, shall during this period, administer the affairs of the party in the Igyorov council ward in the best interest of the party, discipline, growth and success.

The ward executive members, on Sunday, suspended Ayu over alleged anti-party activities.

The suspension letter was dated March 24 and was signed by 12 members of the Igyorov ward.

They claimed that Ayu worked against the success of the party in the ward during the elections.

A day later, a high court in Benue granted an interim order restraining him from functioning as the partys leader.

The PDP subsequently appointed Iliya Umar Damagum as the acting national chairman.




The Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, on Thursday, approved the immediate dissolution of all his political appointees.





According to a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Chris Ezem, those affected are all Special Assistants, Senior Special Assistants, Special Advisers and Technical Officers.





The governor further directed the State Accountant General to ensure immediate payment of March, 2023 stipends to all the outgoing appointees.





The governor thanked them for their contributions and services to the state and wished them well in their future endeavours.




The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer has denied the arrest of social media influencer Blessing Okoro, popularly known as Blessing CEO.





Blessing CEO was reportedly arrested on Thursday morning over alleged involvement in celebrity auto dealer Ikechukwu Ogbonna, known as IVD, and his late wife, Bimbo Ogbonnas case.





A trending video of her alleged arrest had emerged on social media on Thursday.





In the video, Blessing was being led to an armoured police car after she had refused to appear in court.





Recall that Bimbo died following an injury sustained from a fire incident in their home in Megamound Estate.





Bimbos sister had alleged that she died due to domestic violence.





However, Blessing, who claimed to be Ogbonnas relationship therapist, alleged that the late Bimbo was violent and suicidal.





When we contacted the Lagos State Police PPRO, David Hundeyin, he said he could confirm the arrest because the policemen involved are from Force CID in Abuja.





Calls to the Force CID were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.
The Presidency has confirmed the resignation of the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, ahead of the All Progressive Congress, APC, governorship primaries in Bayelsa State next month.

On Friday, in a tweet on his official Twitter handle, Bashir Ahmad, President Muhammadu Buharis Special Assistant on Digital Communications, confirmed the development.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and former Bayelsa state governor, H.E. Timipre Sylva, has resigned his appointment to contest in the next Bayelsa governorship election, Ahmad tweeted.

The statement had clarified speculations surrounding the Ministers resignation.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has fixed November 11 2023, for governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo states.

March 27 between April 17 2023, are scheduled dates for political Parties primaries.
The North Dakota Senate has voted to override Gov. Doug Burgum's veto of a bill that would restrict how the state's public schools treat transgender students.

Burgum, a Republican, announced his veto of Senate Bill 2231 on Thursday morning, citing the unnecessary burden it would place on teachers and school boards. The Senate's 37-9 vote to override the veto came about 10 hours later.

To become law, the bill would now need at least a two-thirds majority vote in the House of Representatives. A House vote on the bill last week came in three votes shy of the two-thirds threshold.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Larry Luick, R-Fairmount, at the request of the North Dakota Catholic Conference, would bar school districts and their governing boards from creating policies to accommodate transgender students unless parents give explicit permission.

Denounced by LGBTQ advocates, the legislation says public school teachers cannot be required to use a students pronoun if it doesnt align with their sex at birth. A teacher would be allowed to use a transgender students preferred pronoun but only if the childs parents and a school administrator give their blessing.

Schools would be prohibited from providing classroom instruction that recognizes the concept that gender identity can differ from sex at birth.

The bill also states that public agencies and other government entities cant require employees to use a transgender colleagues preferred pronoun in work-related communications.

Burgum said in a veto letter that the section of the bill governing schools "infringes on local control by unnecessarily injecting the state into rare instances most appropriately handled at the parent, teacher and school district level."

The Republican governor noted that the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment already "prohibits compelled speech and protects teachers from speaking contrary to their beliefs."

"Ambiguity throughout this bill would invite lawsuits and put teachers in the precarious position of trying to determine how to refer to students without violating law," Burgum said in the veto letter. "The teaching profession is challenging enough without the heavy hand of state government forcing teachers to take on the role of pronoun police. Parents, teachers and administrators using compassion, empathy and common sense can address individual and infrequent situations that may arise."

"North Dakota will continue to stand for free speech, local control and freedom from discrimination," Burgum added.

Luick's proposal was the first in what will likely be a series of bills targeting gender issues to cross Burgum's desk. Conservative lawmakers still are considering about a dozen other proposals that would restrict health care, activities and personal expression for transgender residents.
An Ondo State lawmaker, Mr Sunday Olajide, has assured Nigerians that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, would perform excellently to the admiration of everyone in the country, Africa and the world at large, starting from May 29.

Olajide, a member representing Akure South Constituency 2 at the Ondo State House of Assembly, said the Tinubu administration, when inaugurated, would address the issues of the economy and security, amongst others.

The president-elect is a strong politician with the capacity to deliver. He will do more in terms of taking Nigeria to the next level.

I can give Nigerians the assurance that their choice will not be in vain and Nigerians are not going to regret choosing Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President.

He is going to be one of the best presidents for Nigeria with the support of our Vice President-Elect Kashim Shettima; both of them ll do more in terms of taking Nigeria out of the present economic quagmire and renew the hope of Nigerians, Olajide said.

The lawmaker, in a statement on Thursday in Akure, added that the President-elect, being a man of progressive ideas, would put Nigeria on the path of progress by carrying out needed reform in key sectors of the economy for the greater good of all Nigerians.

According to him, APC and Tinubu will make Nigeria work and be great again.

Tinubu is a man of vision. One can remember vividly when he was governor of Lagos, he set up a think tank through which he was able to develop a 50-year vision for Lagos and long after he has left office, the state is still waxing stronger.

I have no doubt in my mind that Tinubu, with the support of our Vice President-Elect Kashim Shettima is going to be the best president of Nigeria. They will work assiduously in taking Nigeria out of the present economic quagmire and give us a new country to cherish, he stated.

The lawmaker tasked the administration of Tinubu to revamp technical education in the country.

The President-elect has promised to recruit more teachers and also to give students loans as part of efforts to develop the education sector and also build the youth capacity.

The lawmaker also congratulated the president-elect on his 71st birthday.

I wish him more of Gods grace in good health and renewed energy to pilot the affairs of this country to greater heights.

I salute the resilience, doggedness and selflessness of Tinubu over time, he said.

According to him, Tinubus investment in people has finally been rewarded by Nigerians who overwhelmingly voted for him at the presidential elections to lead the country.
The Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, has said an interim government which would halt the inauguration of Bola Tinubu would not work under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Lalong stated this on Thursday after meeting with Buhari at Aso Rock.

His comment came barely 24 hours after the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, challenged the Department of State Services, DSS, to apprehend plotters of a possible interim national government.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election ahead of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Partys Peter Obi.

However, after INECs announcement, Atiku and Obi rejected the results alleging that the election was rigged.

With the legal battles ahead, there has been talk of an interim government.

Lalong said: Not under the administration of President Buhari, who has been saying every time that I believe in democracy. I believe that after my tenure, I want to go and rest.

So those who are still talking about it (interim government), I will say they are just dreaming. By the grace of God, Buhari is going to bring a successor and that successor is already Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
A Fairview man was arrested after a 13-month-old was revived with Naloxone at a hospital after ingesting suspected fentanyl, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Friday.

Geraldo Colon, 35, was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child on Thursday, according to a statement from the Bergen County Prosecutors Office.

The toddler was not breathing and initially did not have a pulse when they were brought to the Fairview Police Department headquarters on Wednesday, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Officers provided emergency medical aid and transported the child to Palisades Medical Center.
A 34-year-old New Jersey man was arrested Wednesday on charges he tried to meet a 14 year old for sex, authorities said.

Sean R. Dynan, of Rutherford, messaged undercover officers online in January, believing he was communicating with a teen, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.

During the exchanges, Dynan engaged in sexually explicit dialogue and arranged to meet with the purported 14-year-old child, Musella said in a statement.
A man being investigated as a person of interest after two people were found shot and killed in a hotel room in South Jersey earlier this week has since died, authorities said.

Firefighters responding to a fire at a motel on Route 130 in Gloucester City at 6:30 p.m. Monday found Tabitha Price, 56, of Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Steven Smith, 52, of Atco, dead in the room next to where the blaze broke out, the Camden County Prosecutors Office said.

After the fire was extinguished, police charged Vaughn Perkins, 53, of Philadelphia, with aggravated arson and considered him a person of interest in the shootings. Perkins is now deceased, the prosecutors office said in a news release without any explanation of when or how he died.
Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron says he has no plans to step down after pleading guilty to federal tax charges and while awaiting trial on state charges that he and two Wildwood elected officials falsified documents to qualify for coverage under the State Health Benefits Plan.

Byron, 67, said he plans to continue as mayor of the popular seaside resort town while he awaits an Aug. 2 sentencing date in federal court. The mayor faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine for failing to report to the IRS $40,425 in income he earned as a salesman for Gloucester County in 2017 and 2018.

I have no intention on [sic] resigning at this time, Byron said in a text message sent Thursday. He declined further comment.

While he awaits sentencing for avoiding taxes, Byron is preparing for trial on state charges that he and two other Wildwood politicians, Commissioner Steven E. Mikulski and former mayor Ernest V. Troiano, falsified records in order to qualify for the State Health Benefits Plan. All three were indicted earlier this month and have pleaded not guilty to charges of official misconduct, theft by unlawful taking, tampering with public records, and tampering or falsifying public records.

Byron was elected to the three-member Wildwood commission in 2011, a year after the N.J. Legislature changed eligibility rules for elected officials regarding the State Health Benefits Plan. Under the change, elected officials had to work steady, full-time hours for their municipality  defined as 35 hours a week  to be enrolled in the State Health Benefits Plan.

Byron, Mikulski and Troiano maintain that Wildwood adopted a resolution in 2011 that made elected officials full-time employees. But following an investigation, the state Attorney Generals office in 2022 filed criminal charges alleging the three elected officials never worked full-time for the city and filed false records to qualify for the benefit.

To avoid trial, the state offered Byron and other two plea deals of three years in prison, plus restitution for health benefits and premiums paid on their behalf. In Byrons case, the state was seeking $608,900. All three rejected the plea offers and instead will go to trial.

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Richard Cowen may be reached at rcowen@njadvancemedia.com.
A man accused last year in the sexual assault of a woman found dead in Wildwood in 1990 has been cleared of the charge following a ruling by a state appeals courts that found the statue of limitations has expired.

Jerry Rosado, of Millville, was charged in April 2022 with second-degree sexual assault. He was accused of attacking on Susan Negersmith, 20, whose partially clothed body was found in Wildwood on May 26, 1990.

Advances in DNA technology helped investigators in Cape May County crack the decades-old case, the prosecutors office said at the time. Rosado has not been charged with killing Negersmith.

The three-judge state appeals court panel on Wednesday overturned the trial court decision in Cape May County and ordered the charges dismissed.

Our direction to grant defendants motion and dismiss the criminal charge against him in this matter is temporarily stayed pending further order of the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division or the New Jersey Supreme Court, the Cape May County Prosecutors Office said Friday.

The appeals court overturned a previous decision by a lower court which cited a 2002 amendment that states the five-year statute of limitations on filing sexual assault charges doesnt start until the state has physical evidence and DNA/fingerprints to determine an assailant.

A simple example illustrates this point, the appeals court wrote. No one can dispute that if defendant had been charged in 1997 with the sexual assault, that charge would have been dismissed with prejudice as time-barred under the criminal statute of limitations then in effect, the appeals court wrote. Therefore, a 2002 amendment to the same statute cannot constitutionally revive what has already expired.

When the five-year period expired, the federal and New Jersey constitutions prohibited a retroactive revival of prosecution, the appeals court added.

Rosado, who was 62 when he was arrested last year, had been held in the Cape May County jail, PressofAtlanticCity.com reported. He was not listed as an inmate in the jails online directory on Friday afternoon.

Negersmith, of Carmel, New York, was in the area with friends for the Memorial Day weekend when she went missing, authorities said.

Her body was found behind a restaurant and an autopsy later determined she had been sexually assaulted, according to her family and the prosecutors office.

Negersmiths family in 2015 told WABC-7 that her death had first been classified as accidental but was later ruled a homicide after a medical examiner, who later studied autopsy photos, listed 26 points of trauma on the victims body.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
The son of a man stabbed to death during a brawl between neighbors in 2020 testified Thursday that the alleged killer forced him off the street with his vehicle as he rode his bike earlier that day.

Zachary T. Latham, 20, is accused of fatally stabbing William T. Durham Sr., 51, during a brawl at Lathams house in Vineland on May 4, 2020.

Durham was a married father of two sons who worked as a corrections officer at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton.

The killing followed a weeks-long feud between the families that began with a dispute over speeding and included claims that Latham harassed the Durhams and made several social media posts in which he allegedly mocked the family.

The animosity came to a head on May 4 when the Durham family claimed Latham drove up behind 17-year-old-old Gage Durham as he rode out of his driveway on his bike and swerved his vehicle toward the cyclist. Durham testified that he jumped onto the curb to avoid Lathams vehicle as the defendant honked his horn and drove away.

Hours later, the Durhams confronted Latham over the incident, leading to the fatal fight.

Latham is charged with second-degree reckless manslaughter, aggravated assault and weapons offenses, and his trial began Thursday morning.

The showdown was captured on cellphone video taken by Lathams wife, Sarah, and shows a bloody brawl that began on the driveway of Lathams home and continued into the garage.

Gage Durham testified Thursday about the death of his father, William T. Durham Sr. Zachary T. Latham is charged in the 2020 stabbing death of the elder Durham.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

Assistant Prosecutor Caitlin Flynn conceded to the jury that the Durhams came onto the Latham property prepared to fight, but argued that Latham could have retreated into his home and called police. Instead, he chose to arm himself with a knife and stun gun and use lethal force against the victim, she said.

The defendant escalated that confrontation inappropriately with the use of deadly force. He sought to use a deadly weapon, Flynn said. Would a reasonable person have entered their home, grabbed a knife, left their home, to come and meet the Durhams when this situation was already hostile or would a reasonable person have gone into their home, shut the door and called the police?

She asked the jury to remember that a father and husband is now gone because of Lathams actions.

Public Defender Nathan Perry argued that the Durhams were the aggressors, were physically larger than the defendant and trespassed onto Lathams property, endangering his client and family on the day of the killings.

They brought the fight to him, Perry told the jury. They were on a mission to get him. They were gonna stop at nothing to get at him. Understand this, Zachary Latham sits here today only because he refused to submit to a savage beating at the hands of three big, capable men who collectively outweighed him by well over 300 pounds.

Latham, who claimed he acted in self-defense, had no duty to retreat from aggressors entering his property, Perry said, and was entitled to be armed at his home.

Both the defense and prosecution speak in a side bar with Judge Cristen P. D'Arrigo during the opening arguments in the trial of Zachary Latham in Bridgeton, NJ on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Latham is charged in the May 2020 stabbing death of William T. Durham Sr.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

While he acknowledged the death was a tragedy, the Durhams visited this great sadness upon themselves, Perry said, noting that his client was pummeled during the brawl and suffered a concussion.

Durham Sr.s wife, Catherine, allegedly assaulted Sarah Latham during the encounter, ripping hair from her head, the defense stated.

As the first witness to take the stand, Gage Durham described his father as a mild-mannered man who enjoyed dirt bike riding, camping and other activities with his two sons.

The son said he was riding his bike to a nearby area with trails when the first encounter with Latham occurred on May 4.

A still photo from the Durhams Ring camera was presented as evidence, showing Gage Durham on the driveway at his home and what was identified as Lathams vehicle parked nearby, but no video was presented showing Latham pulling up behind the bicyclist.

The prosecution focused on the events that unfolded after Durham Sr. and his wife learned about the earlier alleged incident.

As Latham drove home later that day with his wife and two friends in the vehicle, Durham Sr. and his wife confronted them on the street in front of the Durham home about the earlier incident with their son, according to videos of the incident recorded by both parties. In the videos, Latham denied swerving toward the younger Durham, but claimed he honked because the cyclist was in his way.

Latham then told Catherine Durham, Get out of my face, and swatted at her phone, allegedly making contact with the woman, according to prosecutors, and then continued driving to his house, about 500 feet away.

William T. Durham Sr., a correctional officer at South Woods State Prison, was stabbed to death in a fight with a neighbor.

The Durhams followed and, when Latham arrived home, prosecutors say he grabbed a knife and stun gun from inside his house and went outside to face Durham Sr. and his sons, who were unarmed, as they walked up his driveway.

Durham Sr. and his sons fought with Latham and his two friends as Sarah Latham screamed and the stun gun repeatedly crackled in the video, which was played for the jury.

During his testimony on Thursday, Gage Durham recounted the events that played out during the fight, describing how he tried to help his father and brother.

At that point, there was already blood everywhere, he said. At the time, I didnt know who was bleeding.

After the fight ended, he recalled his father looking unwell.

His face was just pale white. Thats when it registered with me what was going on, his son testified. You could tell he was in a lot of pain.

Durham Sr. was rushed to a hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

Gage Durham testifies Thursday during the trial of Zachary T. Latham, who is charged in the stabbing death of William T. Durham Sr.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

The defendant stabbed Durham Sr. in the back and left underarm, according to prosecutors. The underarm wound punctured a lung.

On cross-examination from defense attorney Christine Long, Gage Durham acknowledged that the family entered the Latham property despite warnings to leave and admitted he threw punches and kicked and stomped on Latham during the brawl.

He took those actions, Durham said, Because, clearly, my brother was being held down.

The conflict between the families began about six weeks before the killing after Catherine Durham told Latham to slow down as he drove on Thornhill Road, the street where they both lived, prosecutors previously said.

Latham recorded video of the interaction and posted it to his TikTok account, labeling his neighbor a Karen.

He mocked the family online, posting another video showing a confrontation the defendant had with William Durham Jr.

Catherine Durham contacted police April 25 to report that Latham had harassed her on several occasions, according to a department report.

Latham began slowing down in front of the Durham home and revving his engine each time he passed, she told police. He has also blown her a kiss as he sped by while traveling to his house, according to the report.

Lawyers for Durhams family argued Latham lured the victim into the fatal fight in a bid for TikTok fame and should have been charged with first-degree murder.

Catherine Durham and the couples sons were also charged in the incident. She was charged with simple assault and criminal trespass, but the charges were later dismissed.

The sons were each charged with third-degree aggravated assault and fourth-degree criminal trespass. Durham Jr. was admitted to the pre-trial intervention program on his charges, according to court records. Since Gage was a juvenile at the time, the outcome of his charges is not listed in public records.

Latham was released from jail to await trial after he was originally charged, and relocated to Florida, where he was arrested after allegedly threatening someone there with a pellet gun.

His release in the Durham case was later revoked and he was returned to New Jersey.

The trial is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

Zachary Latham listens to opening arguments in his trial in Bridgeton, NJ on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Latham is charged in the May 2020 stabbing death of William T. Durham Sr.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
State lawmakers on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to send Gov. Phil Murphy a bill that would spread $103 million in additional state aid across more than 160 New Jersey school districts to spare them some of the big funding cuts theyve been facing for the next school year.

But the Democratic-sponsored measure, coming in a big election year, has reopened a long-running debate over the states school funding formula. Republicans insisted this is merely a temporary solution and there should be more reform to how New Jersey doles out school aid  though they ultimately voted for this proposal. Democrats agreed the formula needs more work.
A New Jersey school district is offering $10,000 signing bonuses to teachers in five subject areas in which officials have a hard time attracting candidates.

Camden, a K-12 district with approximately 7,500 students in one of the states largest cities, is offering the hiring incentives as some public school districts across the nation are offering similar bonuses for new or returning teachers to help combat staffing shortages worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bonuses are being offered to new teachers in Camdens highest-need subject areas, which are special education, bilingual, English as a second language, math and science, said district spokesperson Sheena Yera.

Of the districts 47 teaching vacancies as of Wednesday, 30 positions were eligible for the $10,000 bonuses, Yera said.

The bonus offer will remain in place until all 30 jobs are filled, she said. The 47 vacancies represent approximately 6% of the teaching positions in Camden.

Camden is at least the third New Jersey school district to offer signing bonuses to teachers in the past year. The Newark school district announced in June that new hires, in the same five subject areas noted in Camden, would be eligible for $4,000 signing bonuses.

The Paterson school district began offering $7,500 bonuses to all incoming teachers in September and, within four months, had agreed to bonuses for 149 newly-hired educators.

Similar incentives have been rolled out in other parts of the country.

In St. Paul, the second-largest school district in Minnesota, officials announced March 20 they are offering bonuses of up to $10,000 in hard to fill positions, starting with the 2023-2024 school year.

The district said it had more than 70 anticipated job openings in special education in September, including teachers, social workers, psychologists and speech and language pathologists, along with openings for math, chemistry, middle school science, physical education, Montessori and language immersion teachers.

In New Jersey, officials with the states largest teachers union expressed skepticism over school districts offering hiring bonuses.

As a general matter, we have real concerns about bonuses as an approach, said Steve Baker, spokesperson for the New Jersey Education Association.

While different districts have different situations and different immediate needs, in general we need to make a career in public education more economically viable over the long term so we can both attract and retain the best people. Bonuses are an economic band-aid when what we need is a cure, Baker said.

A survey by Education Week in February 2022 found that teacher bonuses mostly ranged between $1,000 and $5,000 and were subsidized by pandemic-related federal relief funds.

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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
On Jan. 5, 2024 compassionate people in the Fargo Metropolitan area will pack 10,000,000 meals for hungry children through the "Feed My Starving Children" program.

The logistics are incredible. In a 10-day run in the FargoDome, organizers expect that 50,000 volunteers will be needed. Each shift will require 4,600 volunteers. One two-hour shift will pack enough meals daily to fill two semis.

Organizers are hoping that schools, churches and businesses will respond generously for this huge undertaking. They are looking for schools to become a core of support.

The ingredients will be shipped from Minneapolis. Now costing 29 cents a day, the nutritious food formula has been developed by General Mills, Cargill and other companies. The Fargo undertaking will require $3,300,000 for ingredients.

FMSC uses existing food distribution systems already in place, such as Food for the Poor, instead of creating a new system.

Minneapolis businessman Richard Proudfit founded FMSC in 1987 after he saw the extensive poverty and starving children in Honduras.

While the Fargo effort will be colossal, it is possible for smaller communities to sponsor projects as long as they can pack a minimum of 100,000 meals and raise $29,000.

During the past few years, Grand Forks, under the leadership of Bruce and Jodie Storhaug, has packed 12 times, usually packing 400,000 meals.

Local organizers in Ray, a city of 740  the 74th city by population  pulled the community together to do a packing. Smaller communities than that have accepted the challenge. Maddock, population 400, has packed and Drake-Anamoose, population 510 together have packed.

Other cities that have packed include Minot, Beulah, Watford City, Mayville and Williston.

According to the Storhaugs, the first step is for some enthusiast to bring together churches and schools and start recruiting an interdenominational committee. In Grand Forks, we have a committee that includes Lutherans and Catholics, with a sprinkling of Evangelicals.

The FMSC Eagan headquarters will furnish information and guidance for any community that wants to step out. If Ray and Drake-Anamoose can pack, so can another 100 North Dakota communities if they can mobilize the local support.

It doesnt take a FargoDome. Minimum requirements include packing 100,000 meals, 3,000 square feet of space, fully operational HVAC system, a water supply, a working forklift and sinks for washing dishes or a dishwasher.

"Feed My Starving Children" has many lessons, especially for the Christian community.

In the first place, packing meals for hungry children is obedience to Christ who expressed compassion for the needy children.

Packing fosters a greater sense of community by bringing together people of all faiths -- or no faith at all -- to share a common goal. Catholics, Lutherans and mainline churches work side-by-side to express the value of human lives no matter where in the world they are.

Usually, a majority of volunteers are children so they learn early in life the value of compassionate compassionate sharing. Besides, it is one of the great memorable experiences in their lives.

Packing recognizes the sanctity of human lives by reducing starvation in Third World countries.

A "Feed My Starving Children" project will provide churchgoers with a compassionate spirit the opportunity to become missionaries without the worldwide travel.

If you want to see where the rubber meets the road, call any church in Fargo. They will welcome your help.
While entrepreneurs have patiently worked and waited to legally open cannabis storefronts in Hoboken, one Washington Street snack and CBD shop was busy selling it illegally, police allege.

Hoboken Exotic, at 521 Washington St., was busted after police charged three people with illegally selling cannabis there, including the store owner, an employee and a minor, according to the Hoboken Police Department.
Jersey City and Hoboken honored the transgender community Friday on the 14th annual International Transgender Day of Visibility.

Both cities raised flags to honor the achievements and contributions of transgender people. The day is also commemorated around the world to raise awareness of discrimination faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender plus community.

This year marks the 14th annual International Transgender Day of Visibility, which is commemorated on March 31 each year. The day was established by Michigan activist Rachel Crandall, co-founder and executive director of Transgender Michigan.

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said it is important that cities continue to recognize, celebrate, and love our trans community.

On this Transgender Day of Visibility, we reaffirm our commitment to love, respect, and welcome everyone in Hoboken no matter their gender identity, Bhalla said.

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said there is a reason Jersey City is rated one of the most friendly LGBTQ-friendly cities.

No other city has achieved what we have over the last 10 years in terms of LGBTQ+ rights and supporting the transgender community in every way possible, Fulop said.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nations largest LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy group, has scored both Hoboken and Jersey City with a perfect score of 100 on its Municipal Index.

The index ranks the municipalitys non-discrimination laws, policies for municipal employees, local services and local leadership on LGBTQ+ equality.

According to the FBIs 2021 crime stats, the most recent numbers available, there were 415 anti-LGBT bias crimes and 176 bias crimes towards just Transgender people in the united states. HRC said there have already been six transgender people killed in 2023 in the United States including in North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Washington D.C., Illinois and Texas.

The Human Rights Campaign is both saddened and infuriated by the deaths of at least six transgender and gender non-conforming people whose lives have been tragically and inhumanely taken through violent means, including through gun and interpersonal violence, in 2023, the advocacy group posted on its website.

The day was commemorated as Republican lawmakers across the U.S. have pursued hundreds of proposals this year to push back on LGBTQ+ rights, particularly those of transgender residents, including banning transgender girls from girls sports, keeping transgender people from using restrooms in line with their gender identities and requiring schools to deadname transgender students  requiring they be identified by names they were given at birth.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Smashing Pumpkins are heading out on a summer tour.

The alternative rock group will begin its The World is a Vampire Tour on July 28 in Las Vegas and wrap up on Sept. 9 in Noblesville, Indiana.

While on tour, Smashing Pumpkins will stop at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey on Aug. 24 and Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York on Aug. 30.

Interpol, Stone Temple Pilots and Rival Sons will join the group on various dates.

If you want to get tickets to The World Is A Vampire Tour, heres everything you need to know.

How to buy Smashing Pumpkin concert tickets

Tickets to see Smashing Pumpkin in concert go on sale to the public on March 31 at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster.

Tour tickets also are available on secondary market websites, such as StubHub, Vivid Seats, TicketNetwork, MegaSeats and TicketCity.

First-time Vivid Seats users can save $20 on ticket orders over $200 by entering promo code NJ20 at checkout.

You can find a full calendar of Smashing Pumpkins tour dates here.

More upcoming tours in 2023

Smashing Pumpkins are not the only rock band heading out on tour.

Here are a few more tours you do not want to miss.

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Nicole Iuzzolino can be reached at niuzzolino@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.
A former stock broker from New Jersey has been charged with allegedly turning more than $3 million in profits from insider trading, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Christopher Matthaei, 44, of Brielle, who was employed as a partner and senior salesperson at a broker-dealer firm at the time, was charged by complaint Thursday with securities fraud conspiracy and securities fraud, prosecutors said.

Matthaei traded Special Acquisition Companies, or SPACS, based on non-public information that he received from a friend who was employed by a Canadian asset management firm, according to the criminal complaint.

The Securities and Exchange Commission defines a SPAC as a shell company that completes an initial public offering with no business operations. Its sole purpose is to identify a target operating company before organizing a merger deal, according to the commission.

Matthaei allegedly initiated the trades between May 2020 and February 2021 and made a profit of about $3.4 million, authorities said.

The defendants conspirator received information about confidential merger negations due to their company being a potential investor in the SPAC deals, the complaint said. The conspirator notified Matthaei when a security was added to his firms confidential restricted list and Matthaei then purchased the securities using his personal brokerage account, officials allege.

Matthaei also paid for a luxury trip to Saint Barthelemy with the conspirator and their families where they continued to engage in the scheme, according to court documents.

As alleged, Christopher Matthaei illegally exploited his relationship with a close friend to gain access to confidential information about yet-to-be-announced mergers and acquisitions involving special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, U.S. Attorney Sellinger said. Matthaei is alleged to have made trades on seven SPACs that netted him $3.4 million in illegal profits. SPACs may have been a hot trend on Wall Street, but the District of New Jersey will continue to be relentless in bringing inside traders to justice, no matter the market trends.

The SEC also filed a civil complaint against the defendant on Thursday.

Matthaeis attorneys, James Lundy and Christopher DeGennaro of Foley & Lardner LLP, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday evening.

Matthaei appeared before a judge in Newark federal court following his arrest on Thursday and was released on a $250,000 unsecured bond, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.
A German citizen was arrested after allegedly traveling to New Jersey intending to have sex with children, officials said.

Christian Stefan Walther, 38, from Erfurt, Germany, is charged with one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Jersey.

Officers had been investigating Walther since January for alleged child exploitation, officials said.
Police are looking for a killer after a 13-year-old child was shot to death in South Jersey Thursday night.

The young victim was struck by gunfire in front of a home on Ninth Street in Salem City shortly before 10:30 p.m., according to Salem County Prosecutor Kristin J. Telsey.

He was unresponsive when police arrived at the scene and was later pronounced dead at Salem Medical Center, the prosecutor said.

Additional details, including the victims name, were not released.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Reached by phone Friday morning, Salem City Mayor Jody Veler said she couldnt comment on the fatal shooting because its an ongoing investigation.

Salem City School District Superintendent Patrick Michel offered his condolences to the childs family, but did not confirm if the victim was a student in the district.

Its an unimaginable loss and I pray Gods grace be upon them, he said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact prosecutors office Investigator Johnathan Seidel at 856-935-7510, ext. 8333, or Salem City Police Detective Sean Simpkins at 856-935-0033.

Those who wish to remain anonymous may provide information through the tip line form available at salemcountyprosecutor.org.

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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
An ex-New Jersey State Police sergeant was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison after he was previously found guilty of using his state police ID card to get out of several traffic stops, officials said.

Marc Dennis, 51, of Waretown, was suspended by the state police in September 2016 after he was accused of failing to follow procedures while claiming he did in official records and certifications, according to a statement from the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office.

When he was suspended, Dennis was told to hand over his ID cards but ended up keeping one of them that he obtained in January of that year after he had lost his wallet, the office said.
Thursday, Anthony Volpe steps onto the field as a big-leaguer for the first time.

The New York Yankees are hosting the San Francisco Giants for Opening Day, which some fans have rebranded into Volpening Day. There are even T-shirts.

Happy Volpening Day to those who celebrate. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/qWiFNKfZVK  YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 30, 2023

When he steps into his role as the Yankees starting shortstop, hell be wearing an MLB Debut patch on his jersey.

The patch, created by Fanatics, will be removed after his major-league debut game and authenticated by a member of MLBs authentication program and placed on a rookie card to be released in a future Topps set, according to the Washington Post.

BUY YANKEES TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETMASTER

Volpe, who was told he won the starting job on Sunday, has chosen to wear No. 11.

Want to bet on MLB?

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The 21-year-old N.J. native won the position after taking advantage of his spring training invite, hitting .314 in 17 games with six doubles, a triple, three homers, five RBI, eight walks, five steals and a 1.064 OPS. He beat out rookie Oswald Peraza and last years starter Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the shortstop competition.

MORE MLB:

- N.J. native with Yankees ties gets selected to MLB roster

- Yankees Aaron Judge wont repeat as AL MVP, insider predicts

- Why Yankees Anthony Volpe will make his debut with a special patch on his jersey

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Bridget Hyland may be reached at bhyland@njadvancemedia.com
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.
Qabil Ashirov

Azerbaijans Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov met with Regional Director of the World Bank for the South Caucasus Sebastian Molineus, Azernews reports.

At the meeting, the minister said that Azerbaijan attaches special importance to the partnership with the World Bank, emphasizing the importance of expanding relations in various directions. He also thanked the WB for continuous support for important projects being implemented in Azerbaijan.

Mikayil Jabbarov added that Azerbaijan is in a transition period, economic reforms are being carried out and measures are being implemented for the promotion of investments and the further improvement of the business environment in the country.

Sebastian Molineus drew attention to the effective relations with Azerbaijan and shared his views on the issues on the agenda of economic cooperation. The parties exchanged views on the investment projects prepared by the World Bank, the Country Partnership Framework for 2023-2028, the Bank's cooperation plans with Azerbaijan for 2023-2026, and other issues.
"Im still a no vote on this because, again, this is a personal responsibility issue and not a starvation issue of children."

-- Sen Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, detailing her opposition to a bill that would have expanded a free lunch program for schoolchildren from low-income families. The Senate killed the bill.

q q q

I understand the personal responsibility argument; however a 9-year-old cant get a job and cant pay (for) their own school lunches."

-- Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, who voted in favor of a bill to expand a free lunch program for schoolchildren from low-income families. The Senate killed the bill.

q q q

This historic bill clearly demonstrates the great regard for our military by our state elected leaders.

-- Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard, as Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill that exempts military pay from state income tax for active duty, National Guard and Reserve members.

q q q

"Certain states we call 'no-go' states, and there's 'go-to' states, and North Dakota is emerging as a 'go-to' state."

-- "Shark Tank" entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary, explaining his interest in North Dakota because of its stable tax policies. O'Leary's firm was the only company to respond to a request for proposal to head up a new state investment fund.

q q q

"I don't think it's going to make anybody happy."

-- Rep. Steve Vetter, R-Grand Forks, on the possibility that North Dakota voters could have measures on the ballot that would restrict the process for citizens to amend the state constitution, and would water down the term limits voters approved last year.

q q q

The intent behind what is being referred to or known in other states as 'Kyle's Law' is to prevent the acquitted from losing everything they have worked their entire life for. It would also allow their life to be restored as much as possible.

-- Kyle Rittenhouse, whose murder trial and acquittal in the killing of two men during civil unrest in Wisconsin gained him national attention, testifying on a North Dakota bill that would afford restitution to violent crime defendants found not guilty because of self-defense.

q q q

This is about respect for the voters and making sure those people are represented.

-- Michael Connelly, a traveler with DTN staffing, after being appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Bismarck City Commission.

q q q

I think to have a cellphone tower put right in the middle of this neighborhood that I think is a highly desirable area, doesnt make any sense when we have so many different places that the cell tower could be.

-- John Ward, resident of a Bismarck neighborhood where cellphone companies want to replace a decommissioned water tower with a tower for cell equipment.

q q q

Along with providing critical explosives detection capabilities, this new technology improves the ability for our TSA officers to determine whether an item inside a carry-on bag is a possible threat.

-- David Durgan, federal security director in North Dakota for the Transportation Security Administration, which is installing three checkpoint CT scanners that provide 3D imaging at the Bismarck Airport.

q q q

"I think the threat for the Missouri River here in Bismarck is below normal."

-- National Weather Service Hydrologist Allen Schlag, assessing the spring flood risk for the Bismarck area.

q q q

"I guarantee you if I went into a woman's sport right now, I guarantee you I'd get destroyed."

-- Kiersten Davis, who identifies as a trans woman, in response to the argument that legislation to restrict transgender athletes would ensure fairness in girls' and women's sports, because of physiological differences between males and females.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14qGdMHzyjg

CPIUSA.ORG, center for political innovation,

Money for jobs & Infrasture in America! No more Weapons to Taiwan

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202303/31/WS64263da7a31057c47ebb7982.html

By MINLU ZHANG in New York | China Daily Global | Updated: 2023-03-31 09:55

Protests opposed to the US visit of Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen continued on Thursday in New York City, with many people calling for a focus on economic issues instead of helping to arm Taiwan and agitate for its independence.

"Tsai Ing-wen here is to sell a war, and we Americans don't want that war. We love our country, we want jobs and schools for Americans, not more weapons to Taiwan, not a new war against China," Caleb Maupin told China Daily.

A crowd of 100 people in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday waved Chinese and American national flags and held signs saying, "There is only one China in the world", "Support China's reunification and resolutely oppose Taiwan independence" and "Taiwan independence has no way out; Taiwan independence is a dead end".

Many of them are from Fujian province, a province on the southeast coast of China. The island of Taiwan lies to its east, across the Taiwan Straits.

"Fujian and Taiwan are very close. We had a very good friendship, and we are connected by blood. Many people in Taiwan were originally from Fujian. Tsai's 'transit' hurts our feelings," Chen Heng, the chairman of the Fukien American Association, told China Daily.

Also gathered nearby, other protesters held signs saying, "Money for jobs and infrastructure in America! No more weapons to Taiwan", "Tsai Ing-wen is selling war. No more tax money for weapons to Taiwan".

A crowd of protesters on Thursday gathered in front of a hotel in Manhattan where Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen was scheduled to appear, holding signs saying, "Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory," and "There is only one China in the world." MINLU ZHANG / CHINA DAILY

"We should build high-speed railway in this country; we should have better schools in this country; we should have better healthcare; we don't need wars," Maupin said.

"We should do business with China, and get a booming economy, lifting people out of poverty. Imagine if American companies and Chinese companies can team up, we can get richer as a country," he continued.

Thursday's protest was the third of its kind. When Tsai arrived in New York City on Wednesday, a large crowd of protesters also gathered near the Manhattan hotel where she was staying. Those protests, organized by about 105 local Chinese communities, were attended by more than 700 people.

On Thursday, a senior Taiwan official alleged Chinese authorities were paying people to attend the protests.

Deputy Chinese Consul General in New York Qian Jin later refuted the claim and said the protests were spontaneous.

It's not organized by the consulate, Qian said at a media breakfast on Thursday. "There's no need of involvement of the Chinese consulate" in the demonstrations, said Qian. "It's a reflection and demonstration of the real needs and heart of the Chinese communities here.

"I have the feeling that the majority of the Chinese community living here want peace in the Taiwan Straits," he said. "They don't want it to become a war zone. That's why they are against Tsai's so-called 'transit' to the US."

A healthy relationship between China and the US and a stable situation in the Taiwan Straits is in the best interests of Chinese communities here, said Qian.

"That's why I feel no surprise to see the news that there are demonstrations, especially from the Chinses communities here."

MINLU ZHANG / CHINA DAILY

Tsai is reportedly scheduled to travel through New York and Los Angeles on a 10-day trip to and from some Central American countries, during which she plans to meet with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

"It doesn't look like a private visit; it is not so much a transit," said Qian. He said it would be the first time the Biden administration allowed the "transit" of Tsai Ing-wen; it would be the first time for the US House speaker to meet Tsai on US soil if it happens; and it would be the first time for Tsai to give public speeches in the US.

"If all these are the case, how can you call it a transit? I think it's just using the name of transit to seek official interactions with the US to make a breakthrough and seek to propagate Taiwan independence," said Qian.

Chi Tai, president of Chinese for Peaceful Unification-Northern California, said Tsai has never considered the consequences of her visit.

"What Tsai is doing will not bring safety to Taiwan. It will only provoke more tensions. It will not do any good to the Taiwan people," Tai told China Daily.

Lia Zhu in San Francisco contributed to this story.
The recent special election in House District 93, which encompasses some prime real estate in downtown New Orleans and surrounding neighborhoods, produced one of the lowest voter turnouts in memory, maybe ever in Louisiana. Barely 6% of the eligible voters turned out for the Feb. 18 primary. In the March 25 runoff, less than 10% voted.

Businessman Alonzo Knox won the bitterly contested runoff against criminal justice reform advocate Sibil Fox Richardson. Knox will have to run again in October to keep the seat.

District 93 also occupies a special place in Louisiana history, which makes the dismal turnout so disappointing.

In 1967, voters in that district elected Louisianas first Black state legislator since Reconstruction  Ernest Dutch Morial. Ten years later, Morial was elected New Orleans first Black mayor.

Morials successors include civil rights advocate Dorothy Mae Taylor, the first Black woman to serve in the Louisiana Legislature; and Rev. Avery Alexander, a labor and civil rights leader who served 24 years in the House and died while in office.

With so much history to carry forward, its shameful that so few voters turned out to choose a new rep.

Thats no knock against Knox or Richardson. The biggest impediment was probably timing. When then-Rep. Royce Duplessis won an earlier special election to the state Senate, House Speaker Clay Schexnayder timed the special election to succeed Duplessis to make sure the district would be represented when the annual session begins April 10.

Unfortunately, the Feb. 18 primary fell on the Saturday before Mardi Gras, when the wildly popular Krewe of Endymion rolled through the district and, no doubt, distracted many voters. Another explanation for the low turnout may be voter fatigue. Folks are tired of politics and elections.

Is there a better way to fill a legislative vacancy?

Maybe. In fact, theres a template already in place.

In 2008, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing the House Speaker or the Senate President to appoint an interim replacement when a member of their respective chamber is called away to active military duty.

The amendment allows the temporarily absent lawmaker to nominate three district voters to serve in the interim. The nominees are vetted by the House or Senate governmental affairs committee, and the chambers presiding officer chooses one. If the seat comes up for election in the interim, the temporary lawmaker cannot qualify to run.

The amendment was proposed by then-Rep. Nick Lorusso of New Orleans, who served in the U.S. Army Reserves and was called to active duty throughout 2009. In Lorussos absence, attorney Gregory Ernst did a fine job as the interim rep.

Why not use a similar approach to fill all legislative vacancies? Let interim appointees (who would be barred from running) serve through the ensuing fall elections so voters could elect new legislators when turnout is relatively high.

Theres no perfect way to choose leaders in a democracy. But we shouldnt have to choose between Mardi Gras and voting. We already know which one loses that contest.

Commentary: As GOP authoritarianism spreads, the kids are NOT alright The decision by Ben Franklin High School students to walkout on March 31 and lead a citywide protest against right-wing Republicans dangerous
The Jefferson Parish Council is handcuffed by state laws and wont be stepping in to force out a gun store located across the street from a River Ridge school, according to council member Deano Bonano.

Bonano, who is a Republican, has been contacted by concerned parents of St. Matthews the Apostle School, which admits infants up to seventh graders, and is located across the street from NOLA Guns LLC.

In my opinion, this never should have happened, Bonano said in a March 29 Facebook post over the gun shop opening so close to the school.

Bonano then told Gambit March 31 he had dedicated a great deal of time working on this issue all week," nevertheless it appears as though parish officials hands are tied.

In essence, state laws supersede parish laws and have us handcuffed, Bonano said.

River Ridge parents, school staff outraged over gun store opening near playground NOLA Guns LLC is planning a grand opening party April 2 in its strip mall digs just steps away from St. Matthew the Apostle Church and School.

Bonano said he is frustrated because he had been in the process of drafting parish legislation to prohibit any gun stores within 1,000 feet of a school.

But a parish attorney discovered another state law that prohibits local parish governments from passing any laws that are more restrictive than state laws with respect to sale, possession and carrying of guns, he said.

Louisiana state law technically prohibits firearms  unless carried by law enforcement  within 1,000 feet of a school, but there is also a loophole allowing firearms within 1,000 feet of a school if the guns are on private property, such as in a shop, or personal residence.

Bonano said, I am continuing to research possible solutions.

After operating quietly and part-time since 2021  without most parents and staff knowing about it  NOLA Guns LLC announced earlier this week that it will host a grand opening celebration April 2.

The news spread quickly among St. Matthews parents and school staff, largely through social media and group texts.

Parents told Gambit they were blindsided and outraged by it.

Aaron Weidenhaft, who sends three of his children to school said the parents are uniformly against it.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans, which oversees St. Matthews, had issued a joint statement with the school, calling the gun stores location outrageous and deeply concerning.
A Metairie man held his girlfriend at gunpoint and forced her to withdraw money from her bank account before stealing her vehicle and leading Kenner police on a chase Wednesday night, according to authorities.

Kenner police and Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Reginald White, 24, after the pursuit ended in the 7400 block of West Metairie Avenue in Metairie, said Capt. Michael Cunningham, a spokesperson for the Kenner Police Department.

The victim, White's 25-year-old girlfriend of five months, said he came to her Kenner home earlier in the afternoon armed with a gun. He ordered her to drive him to her bank after he learned she'd just received a large insurance settlement, an arrest report said.

+2 Suspects from Carrollton neighborhood chase 'associated with multiple violent crimes,' police say The four suspects who led Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputies on a chase into New Orleans Wednesday afternoon and the stolen blue Hyund

The victim withdrew $1,000 from the ATM. Dissatisfied, White forced her to take out another $500, authorities said. They tried to drive to a second bank to pull out more money. But the victim's daily withdrawal limit had been reached, Cunningham said.

White, still armed, forced the woman to drive to a store where he selected about $736 worth of merchandise. But the victim's bank would not approve the purchase on her debit card, according to authorities.

White had the victim drive back to her residence where he ordered her out of her car. He planned to return later after her bank limits reset for the day. White threatened to kill the woman and her children if she called police, the arrest report said.

White left in the woman's car, and she notified authorities. Officers spotted the stolen vehicle just after 9 p.m. on 33rd Street in Kenner. They tried to pull him over, Cunningham said.

White refused to stop, leading police on an erratic, high-speed chase, authorities said. He tossed a gun from the vehicle during the pursuit, according to Cunningham.
New Orleans police are looking for a bold burglar who they say stole thousands of dollars in cash from a business at City Park.

During the lunch hour Monday, a man entered the office of Wheel Fun Rentals, which rents bikes and boats for use at the park, and soon made off with about $5,000 he found in a bank deposit envelope, the New Orleans Police Department said.

Can't see the video? Click here.

The NOPD released security video showing the man walking around the office area before entering through an open door.

Once inside, "he makes himself at home," said Wheel Fun Manager John Fryhling, who watched the video. "Got up a couple of times and really looked around to see what was there. He could have taken my phone. He could have taken my computer. He could have taken a lot more. Once he found the money, he was basically gone, right after that.

Fryhling was the only one working at the rental stand at the time of the theft, but was helping a customer near the boats when the burglar made his move.

Its a sad time, Fryhling said. Its part of where we live in these days and times that people steal and its a sad thing. But its not going to stop us from being here.

The manager admitted that he left the door to the office open. He said thats something that wont happen again.

Were going to keep the door closed, Fryling said. Im actually ordering a bell, so I can hear it if somebody goes into the office while were out here.

Fryhling said he recognized the alleged thief as a man who frequented the park, adding hes confident he will eventually be caught.

City Park declined comment on the case, calling the alleged robbery an ongoing police investigation.
The United States must ensure that its focus on the Indo-Pacific region does not come at the cost of its interests in other parts of the world where China also poses a challenge, according to U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell.

Increasingly, the China challenge is a global challenge, Campbell said. We see it in Latin America and Africa  this idea of the export of the technologies of authoritarianism. These are profound challenges that we have to meet, he added.

Emphasizing the importance of a global, balanced approach and working with allies and partners, he said: The key effort here is not to over invest or not to over focus; to realize that keeping our global balance is going to be essential. At the same time, he added, we have to sustain the bipartisan understanding of what it is that the United States is about on the global stage, and that is probably our biggest challenge going forward.

A Focus on the Indo-Pacific

Campbell participated in a discussion with former U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace on November 19. The discussion took place on the heels of a slew of recent developments related to the Indo-Pacific, including a four-hour virtual summit between U.S. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and Chinese President Xi Jinping; the first ever meeting of the leaders of the Quad  Biden, Narendra Modi of India, Scott Morrison of Australia and Yoshihide Suga of Japan; and the formation of a trilateral security alliance between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, known as AUKUS.

Hadley wondered if a U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific comes at the cost of U.S. interests and presence in other parts of the world. My own worry is that if we are so doubled down on the Indo-Pacific, the challenge from China is a global challenge, and do we actually open the door for China to in some sense eat our lunch in these other theaters if we overcommit to the Indo-Pacific, said Hadley, the former chair of USIPs Board of Directors.

Campbell said he was deeply aware of the potential downsides of an overfocus on a region to the exclusion of others. He noted that this had been evident from past U.S. preoccupation on Iraq and Afghanistan. We have to be careful about not repeating that in the Indo-Pacific, he said.

At the same time, he said, the deepening U.S. engagement with its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific is intended to send the message that the United States is here to stay in the Indo-Pacific and we are going to defend and support the operating system that has been so good for so many of us for many years.

What Biden has sought to do is to make clear that the most important ingredient in our success in the Indo-Pacific and with China is that we can engage actively domestically, invest appropriately and be competitive internationally, said Campbell.

U.S.-China Relations

The Biden-Xi virtual summit on November 15 was a recognition of the importance of investing in the relationship between the two leaders and to have open, clear lines of communication, said Campbell. In China, Xi has consolidated power and appears to be paving the way for a third term in office. In light of these political developments, Campbell said, we have to engage in this current period of relations with China between the two leaders. In fact, ensuring that there is this open, respectful line of communication between the two is an essential feature of our diplomacy.

While the Biden administration acknowledges that the chief paradigm of the U.S.-China relationship is competition, Campbell said: We believe that it is possible to compete responsibly and in a healthy way, but at the same time  our team recognizes that it will be important to try to establish some guardrails that will keep the relationship from veering into dangerous arenas of competition.

The ramparts of competition  its really investment in technology, AI, quantum computing, 5G, human sciences, Campbell said. U.S. advantages in these arenas have been tested and challenged, he said, while emphasizing the need to invest in and double down on these areas. We do need to step up our game, he said.

Addressing Misgivings About the Quad

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also known as the Quad, includes the United States, India, Japan and Australia. The Quad has been met with unease from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and hostility from China. Campbell sought to address these misgivings.

The United States sees the Quad as a vehicle that is promoting common good, not against any particular issue, he said. Its agenda, he said, is about deliverables, including providing more than one billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Asia, as well as initiatives on infrastructure, health and education. It is about a positive agenda, Campbell said.

The United States is focused on ensuring ASEAN understands that the Quad recognizes and wants to support the concept of ASEAN centrality, said Campbell. We believe that the two institutions, frankly, have complementary goals and ambitions, but we have a lot of work to do to make sure that ASEAN understands that these initiatives are really designed to help them, he added.

As for China, Campbell said Xi had made clear in his meeting with Biden that a number of things that the United States is doing cause China some heartburn. At the top of that list, Campbell said, are U.S. efforts to build partnerships in Asia and Europe. President Xi made clear those from the Chinese perspective represent what they would describe as Cold War thinking. We believe they are essential features, interconnected, overlapping  that together help pursue this operating system that has led to such profound prosperity over the last 30 years, Campbell said.

AUKUS

In September, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom announced their decision to form a trilateral security partnership known as AUKUS. Under the agreement, the United States and the U.K. took the rare step of agreeing to share nuclear submarine propulsion technology with Australia. AUKUS is widely seen as being directed at China. Campbell said the strategic rationale behind AUKUS is unassailable.

A recent Pentagon report noted that China is rapidly increasing the size of its military arsenal, including deliverable nuclear warheads. AUKUS, Campbell said, is a response to this military buildup. He said that while China has historically been averse to arms control, the United States is also in the very early stages of discussions with China about how to avoid miscalculations.

Chinas Economic Ambitions

In tandem with building its military, China has sought to build and join economic partnerships in its neighborhood and around the world. Recently, China applied for membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership (CPTPP)  the Obama administration helped build the CPTPPs predecessor, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) from which the Trump administration subsequently withdrew. TPP was seen as a way for the United States to set the rules of the road on trade. Chinas bid to join CPTPP is deadly serious, said Campbell.

Hadley said the United States is missing an economic component in its China strategy, the consequence of which he likened to fighting with one hand tied behind ones back. Campbell admitted that the United States partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific, while appreciative of U.S. diplomatic and strategic initiatives, emphasize the importance of having an open, optimistic, engaged economic message and policy.

Toward this end, Biden has indicated that the United States is embarking on an effort to engage likeminded partners in the Indo-Pacific on the prospect of building an economic framework around key issues in the 21st century, Campbell said. This is the coin of the realm  This is the area that the region is looking toward, he added.

U.S.-India relations

Democratic as well as Republican U.S. administrations have been united in a recognition that a key fulcrum player on the global stage in the 21st century will be India. And it is profoundly in American interests to build that partnership, Campbell said.

Indias closer partnership with the United States has in part been driven by the recent Chinese aggression along the border with India that resulted in the deaths of dozens of Indian as well as Chinese soldiers. It would be difficult to exaggerate the strategic significance that has had in Delhi, said Campbell. A real sense of a new strategic paradigm which has encouraged India to reach out and to build, not just with the United States but other countries, stronger bonds to signal that India is not alone, he added.
What started two years ago with a paid conservative activist challenging the presence of "This Book is Gay" in the Lafayette Public Library has turned into a statewide movement to reshelve or remove books with "sexually explicit" and LGBTQ content from teen and children's sections.
Editor's note: As debates over library books unfold throughout the state, we talked to parents on both sides of the issue about why they became involved and what they believe is at stake.

Jonathan Varnado, a 41-year-old father of four from Madisonville, had not planned to speak at a recent St. Tammany Parish Library Board of Control meeting  it was only the second meeting he'd attended since learning of efforts by some parish residents to restrict some library material.

But the lifelong library patron, who found respite in books even during a combat deployment in Iraq, said he felt compelled to speak up.

He pointed to his T-shirt, which pictured a book he had loved as a child, "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark." That book is too intense for his younger children, Varnado told the board, "but as a parent, I get to make the decision. ... I don't want that decision to be made for me."

Varnado grew up in rural St. Helena Parish, where he visited the lone library frequently, a practice that's continued wherever he's lived. He takes his 8- and 9-year-old sons on regular library visits that are considered a treat. "I don't want them to see books as broccoli," he said.

He uses the Madisonville branch as a workspace on Fridays when classes aren't held at Southeastern Louisiana University, where he teaches criminal justice.

Varnado, who stressed that he speaks for himself and not the university, knows that libraries across the country are facing pressure. But the issue hit home when stumbled across a Facebook post in which a writer accused St. Tammany libraries of sharing pornography.

"I found it just beyond the pale as far as being outlandish and ridiculous," he said. He posted a comment saying that was not his experience and offering to create a group to oppose that narrative.
Faimon Roberts III covers rural communities in Louisiana. His work is supported by a reporting grant from the Microsoft Journalism Initiative and is administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

He can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.
After she reinvented herself with Mildred Pierce, Joan Crawford adopted a tougher screen persona that would become more brittle after she starred in 1949's Flamingo Road, a pulpy adaptation of Robert Wilder's salacious novel about an ex-carnival dancer who doggedly fights for respectability in a small, corrupt Southern town. Crawford's newfound hardness would both sustain her professionally through the 1950s and transform her into a caricature who used her femininity as a weapon to gain power and stature in a man's world. For better or worse, Flamingo Road launched the next chapter in Crawford's multi-faceted career, and though it's little more than a melodramatic soap opera (ironically, it would become a short-lived primetime serial in the heyday of Dallas and Dynasty), it remains a hoot today.

When local authorities shut down the carnival that has employed her as an exotic dancer, Lane Bellamy (Crawford) finds herself adrift in Boldon City, a sleepy town run by its tyrannical, rotund, milk-swilling sheriff Titus Semple (Sydney Greenstreet) and his weak-willed deputy Field Carlisle (Zachary Scott). Field takes a shine to Lane and helps her get a job as a waitress at a local diner, but Titus disapproves of their relationship, fearing it will interfere with his plans to install Field as a state senator. Titus convinces Field to dump Lane and marry spoiled socialite Annabelle Weldon (Virginia Huston) to bolster his political prospects, and when Lane confronts Titus about it and slaps his face (see clip below), he has her jailed on a trumped up sexual solicitation charge.

After she gets out of prison, Lane lands a position as a "hostess" in a ritzy roadhouse run by Lute Mae Sanders (Gladys George). That's where she meets construction magnate and political mover-and-shaker Dan Reynolds (David Brian), who falls instantly in love with her. Lane marries Dan on the rebound from Field and the two set up housekeeping in a mansion on the prestigious Flamingo Road. Titus still has it in for Lane, but when Dan won't go along with Titus' plan to run Field (whose unhappy marriage has turned him into an alcoholic) for governor, Titus plots to destroy Dan, too.

Flamingo Road should have been a vehicle for a younger, more alluring actress like Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan (who reportedly turned it down), or Virginia Mayo. As always, Crawford tries her best and files a believable, often compelling portrayal, but at age 44 she's far too old to play a character who's at least 15-20 years younger. Lane should be a vivacious, sexy dish, not a middle-aged matron, and though Crawford lightens her hair and wears a few slinky outfits to look more youthful, she can't quite pull off the ruse.

Of course, hell hath no fury like Joan Crawford scorned, so it's no surprise her most magnetic scenes are the ones in which she confronts, berates, challenges, and ultimately pulls a gun on the oily, Machiavellian Greenstreet, who previews in look, manner, and accent Orson Welles' corrupt border cop in Touch of Evil. It's hard to understand half of what Greenstreet says in the film, but the nefarious meaning comes through loud and clear. The trademark giggle Greenstreet uses so effectively in The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, and even Christmas in Connecticut is here and lends a creepy, maniacal slant to his machinations and manipulations.

Curtiz, who also directed Crawford and Scott in Mildred Pierce and Greenstreet in Casablanca and Passage to Marseille, does what he can with the sensational material. Some interesting camera angles and noir lighting add visual interest and Wilder's snappy script, packed with witty, cynical one-liners that enliven myriad exchanges, keeps the narrative rolling. I laughed out loud on many occasions...a telltale sign the movie doesn't take itself too seriously, despite all the dire doings on display.



Like a juicy steak, audiences gobbled up Flamingo Road, which earned Warner Bros a tidy profit. Crawford, though, never held the film in high regard. In a series of interviews with Roy Newquist that would become a book called Conversations with Joan Crawford, the star assessed the movie thusly: "Another boner. The script missed, Curtiz missed, I missed. It just didn't jell [sic], that's all, and it's another time when my judgment screwed up completely, because while we were shooting it I thought it would be good. I often wonder if that wasn't one of the films I made that was destroyed by bad editing."

I think Crawford is a bit hard on Flamingo Road. It's not a great movie, but it's loads of fun and her tough-as-nails performance (as well as the colorful turns by Scott, Greenstreet, Brian, and George) keeps its engine humming for 94 trashy minutes. If you like your Crawford brusque and ballsy, take a stroll down Flamingo Road and enjoy the fireworks.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

Flamingo Road arrives on Blu-ray packaged in a standard case. Video codec is 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 and audio is DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. Once the disc is inserted into the player, the static menu without music immediately pops up; no previews or promos precede it.
Former "genius" and CEO of failed crypto exchange FTX, Samuel Bankman-Fried, is hoping to use FTX's 'Directors and Officers' insurance to pay for his legal defense. FTX debtors and unsecured creditors have informed the court that FTX's D&O insurance was written to exclude the protection of an executive for precisely the types of fraud Mr. Bankman-Fried is charged with. The folks who lost money in the FTX collapse clearly do not want to keep paying for the former CEO's imaginary expertise and want every penny back they can get.

Bitcoin.com:

"Thus, for every dollar extended by the insurance carrier to Mr. Bankman-Fried's defense costs, there is one less dollar to pay the WRS Debtors' covered Losses," the debtors declare.

The debtors emphasize that the insurance policy excludes claims arising from "violations of securities laws, violations of money laundering laws, and any willful or fraudulent acts or omissions." The lawyers explain that the D&O policy belongs to the debtors' estates, and therefore, the court should not grant Sam Bankman-Fried unrestricted access to it.

Instead, the debtors believe that the court should require SBF to adhere to the bankruptcy court's 2016 compensation rules. Although SBF argues that depleting the D&O policy would not harm the debtors' estate, the debtors and unsecured creditors strongly disagree, stating that this assertion is "flat wrong."
Apo Whang-Od, 106 years old, appears on the cover of this month's Vogue Philippines. She's the oldest person ever to be on the cover of Vogue. Whang-Od is a master of an indigenous "hand-tapped" tattoo technique using a bamboo stick, a thorn, water, and coal.

"We felt she represented our ideals of what is beautiful about our Filipino culture," Vogue Philippines editor-in-chief Bea Valdes told CNN. "We believe that the concept of beauty needs to evolve, and include diverse and inclusive faces and forms. What we hope to speak about is the beauty of humanity."

From Vogue Philippines on Instagram:
SUNY Fredonia is officially a university. The school received the designation after meeting New York state's new requirements for what constitutes a university.

In January 2022, the state Board of Regents amended the definition of a "university," which now requires an institution to offer at least three graduate programs in certain subject areas..

The SUNY Board of Trustees followed with a resolution establishing a path for institutions to change their official designation from "colleges" to "universities," depending on interest. Several SUNY institutions, including Buffalo State and Oswego universities, have also changed their official names as a result.

Fredonia has been using the name State University of New York at Fredonia in recent years, but its legal campus name was "State University of New York College at Fredonia" since the 1940s  until now.

Fredonia offers 15 graduate degree programs and five advanced graduate certificate programs.

The change to a university designation may positively impact recruitment, particularly among international students, because many countries refer to high school as "college" and college as "university," so students perceive institutions of higher education with "college" designations to be less comprehensive than institutions with "university" designations, Fredonia President Stephen H. Kolison Jr. said.

"Such a perception can impact the enrollment decisions of students and parents in those countries," he said.
The top Democrat in the Indiana Senate is claiming that the need of some lawmakers to signal their hostility toward transgender Hoosiers is trumping their commitment to the conservative spending of taxpayer dollars.

The Republican-controlled chamber voted 38-9 along party lines Thursday to send House Enrolled Act 1569 to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to be signed into law or vetoed. It previously passed the Republican-controlled House, 68-24.

Supporters of the measure say it will save money by prohibiting the state from paying for "sexual reassignment surgery" for transgender individuals incarcerated at the Department of Correction  even if the surgery is deemed medically necessary.

Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, the sponsor of the plan, said she doubts that sex reassignment surgery is an appropriate treatment for gender dysphoria, describing the treatment as "unproven, irreversible and life-altering" in an echo of the talking points GOP lawmakers used Monday before approving Senate Enrolled Act 480 denying gender-affirming care to transgender minors.

To date, no Indiana prison inmates have undergone state-funded gender-affirming surgery. The one inmate who recently secured a court order authorizing the surgery still would be able to get it, under the plan.

One additional inmate is seeking surgery authorization from the state. That person automatically would be denied if the measure is exacted into law.

However, under federal law, prison inmates are entitled to receive health care to address serious medical needs. The failure to provide that care may be deemed "cruel and unusual punishment," which is prohibited by the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Senate Democratic Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, said the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which serves Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, already ruled in a Wisconsin case that states cannot deny transgender inmates access to surgical remedies for gender dysphoria.

"What we are doing in this piece of legislation is a direct violation of the 8th Amendment," said Taylor, an attorney. "The lawsuit, once this person sues, is going to cost us more than if we had just paid for the surgery."

Donato insisted, reading from prepared remarks, that the Wisconsin case is different because Wisconsin sought to deny its prison inmates access to cross-sex hormone treatments as well as reassignment surgery.

She said Indiana will continue paying for transgender prison inmates to receive hormone treatments in an effort to ensure that the surgery ban passes legal muster.

In response, Taylor said he can't believe the General Assembly is changing public policy to target a single individual and inviting a lawsuit he's certain the state will lose.

"This is going to cost us money  for one case," Taylor said. "We're talking about taxpayer money and we should be stewards" of it.

Records show that the attorney general's office has paid out millions of dollars in legal fees to the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in the wake of its successful challenges to various unconstitutional state laws and policies, including restrictions on abortion access and attempting to prohibit Syrian refugee resettlement in the state.

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
LAPORTE  LaPorte County police believe they have brought an end to a theft ring with the recent arrests of two men.

Dustin Bush, 29, and Jeffrey Glancy Sr., 50, each face three felony counts of theft.

Glancy faces a further misdemeanor theft charge.

The arrests came after police began investigating a series of thefts that surfaced several weeks ago in the northern section of the county.

"Detectives quickly worked to establish probable cause to arrest Bush and Glancy while further information was disseminated to patrol deputies regarding the investigation," the department said.

Bush was located and taken into custody March 14 and remains housed at LaPorte County Jail without bond, according to police.

He is also being held for authorities in Berrien County, Michigan, which has a warrant for his arrest.

Glancy joined him behind bars Tuesday and is also being held without bond, police said. He was also wanted in Berrien County and by the Indiana Department of Correction.

Anyone with information about Bush and/or Glancy is encouraged to contact Detective Austin Howell, ahowell@lcso.in.gov.
The state of Illinois will provide $4 million to Calumet City for the replacement of lead service lines in its water system.

Illinois EPA Director John Kim announced the funding last week. It's being provided through the Illinois EPAs state revolving fund, which provides low-interest loan funding for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater projects. Calumet City will not be required to repay any of the funding, the EPA said.

Lead service lines present a challenge to all communities, and we are pleased to support Calumet City in taking action to remove this public health threat from their community water system, Kim said.

The city plans to replace 333 lead services lines with the funding, according to the news release announcing it. Calumet City has more than 4,000 known lead service lines  the pipes that carry water from water mains to homes  in the community water distribution system.

Many older homes built before 1990 may have lead service lines or lead-containing plumbing fixtures or faucets, according to the news release.

Lead can enter drinking water when corrosion of pipes and/or fixtures occurs, according to the state EPA.

For resources on lead, visit epa.illinois.gov/general-information/in-your-home/resources-on-lead.html.
Q: I was approved for a home loan, found a home and was ready to buy it. My son was one year into his army career, but didnt have great credit. He heard about a plan for first-time homebuyers and applied for a loan in his name. He closed on the home I was going to buy.

We paid about $200,000 for the home and made around $25,000 of improvements to the home. I paid for the down payment for the home, the home improvements, the monthly mortgage, insurance, homeowners association and real estate tax payments. He lived in the house for five years and then moved out. He added me to the title to the home at that time and a year later gifted me the home and signed a paper showing that I had paid for the home improvements, the monthly payments and all the housing expenses.

He got married and he and his wife signed a document indicating that they had no interest in the home. Six years later, he and his wife moved into the home and they started making the payments on the home and paid me $20,000 as a down payment on the more than $50,000 he owed me. He and his wife lived in the home for eight years when he died.

In that time, the value of the home tripled but now a judge said that his wife only owes me $20,000 and took me off the title to the home. That seems unfair and wrong. What can I do?

A: Were sorry for the loss of your son. Sometimes grief exacerbates issues that would, in other circumstances, be just about money.

Your question is complicated and we suspect that the facts of your ownership of the home may not follow the paperwork. Sometimes people think that by simply writing things down, their written word will be sufficient and they wont need anything else to prove ownership.

You mentioned that you were approved for a loan but your son decided to buy the home due to his military status and his ability to obtain a mortgage benefit as a first-time homebuyer. We suspect that when your son closed on the home, he was the only person on the title to the property.

Later, you and your son made improvements to the home and you gave him the money to pay for those improvements. More on that in a moment.

Its unclear from your letter how or if your name was actually put on the title to the home. Once your son closed on the purchase of the home and was the sole owner of the home; he would have had to sign legal documents to put you on the title to the home.

Later, you say that you were the sole owner of the home and your son and his wife signed something that stated they had no interest in the home. They signed something, but we suspect that they didnt sign the kind of document that would have relinquished all of their rights to the home.

We dont have sufficient space to go through all the details. But, for you to have had the sole ownership of the home, your son should have conveyed his ownership to you by some form of a deed. It could have been a quitclaim deed or warranty deed, or perhaps some other sort of deed. This deed would have been signed by your son and recorded or filed in the office that handles real estate recordings or filings in the state in which the property is located. That filing would have put the world on notice that ownership in the property had changed.

Its important to note that once your son was married, and he and his wife lived in the home as their primary residence, his wife should have also signed that deed. His wife would have needed to sign the deed to waive any rights she might have in the home as a spouse.

If any of these steps were not taken correctly, its possible that your son remained the only owner of the home from the start. Its possible that you might never have been the legal title owner to the home, even if you paid for the entire home and all of the upgrades.

It would be unusual for a judge to simply take you off the title to the home if you were the legal owner of the home. We suspect that the judge may have found that the paperwork surrounding the transfer of ownership was faulty. Still, he clearly found that you were owed some money on top of the money you already received in repayment.

We assume you worked with an attorney and hope your attorney explained why you got this result in the end. The law has certain requirements that you must follow in order to transfer ownership of real estate from one person to another.

To our readers: You need to understand that just because you write something down on paper (whether its a clean sheet of paper or the back of a napkin) it doesnt mean that document is legally binding. If you want to transfer ownership of a piece of property, hire an attorney to assist you in preparing the right documents correctly, and then filing them appropriately. That way, what you want gets done the way you want.
inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine Cathy Ellis from Dunes Hospice signs an ambulance donated by inHealth Ambulance Service to Ukraine.

VALPARAISO  For Jamie Zukoski, Deuteronomy 31:8 has always been very comforting. She shared it Thursday with the people of Ukraine.

Moses tells his people: Be strong and courageous  the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.

A Lake Station resident, Zukoski penned that biblical verse on an ambulance bound for war-torn Ukraine.

She added her message and emergency donations to inHealth Ambulance Service, which is giving an ambulance stocked with medical equipment and supplies to the humanitarian effort in Ukraine.

Zukoski has communicated through Twitter with front-line Ukrainian troops and people supporting them. She donated socks, bandages and flashlights to go overseas with the ambulance.

Ever since the invasion, this has hit hard, especially for children, Zukoski said. For children on the front lines, this is very important to me.

inHealth, which has assisted in national relief projects, marked its first international aid effort by donating this ambulance, along with 12 EMS stretchers, four EMS stair chairs, spine boards, cases of surgical supplies, blankets, socks, bandages and Bibles to Ukraine's front line.

Hopefully this will inspire others to help, inHealth CEO Ron Donahue said.

The company has responded to other national crises, too. Were not trying to take sides," he said. "This is a way to help the people of Ukraine.

During the ambulance and equipment handover Thursday at the inHealth base, the public dropped off more supplies and added their messages to the ambulance, one of two the agency is donating.

Using permanent markers, people wished Ukrainians hope, strength and peace. Donahue said some people Googled the Ukrainian language so they could write their messages in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Among the messages: Stay safe. Stay strong. Your friends from Valparaiso.

While on spring break, Donahues three children accompanied their father to gather donations and made blue and gold wristbands  the colors of the country's national flag  for the troops.

The Rev. Douglas Mayer, Donahues pastor at St. Paul Catholic Church in Valparaiso, drew a Russian Orthodox cross and wrote Mapka (Mark) 2:2-11 before blessing the vehicle and supplies.

Mayer recalled from that Scripture passage how Jesus healed a paralyzed man who had been brought to him by friends.

They carried a pallet. Were carrying an ambulance, the priest said. Same idea.

Mayer offered prayers for peace for Ukraine, Russia and all people.

This donation was made possible by a partnership between inHealth, US Ambulances for Ukraine and the UA Resistance Foundation. It will join a shipment of 10 ambulance and five fire engines headed for Ukraine. The accompanying supplies will be loaded into the ambulance and another vehicle.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, US Ambulances, in collaboration with the Ukrainian Consulate in Chicago, will have successfully delivered 38 American ambulances to Ukraine.

The US Resistance Foundation, or Resist, supports peoples movements for justice and liberation. The foundation redistributes resources to front-line communities.

Christopher Manson of OSF HealthCare, representing US Ambulances for Ukraine, credited his daughter Lily, 8, for the donation idea.

I was watching the news with my dad," she explained. "I saw the war and how it affected kids, and I asked, 'Can we do anything to help them?

The effort started March 29, 2022, Christopher Manson said, when the first ambulance went to Ukraine. Since then, Manson has learned, needed medical supplies address basic life-saving efforts, including airways, breathing, bleeding, and circulation.

Manson added that Russian forces have been targeting ambulances and fire engines, putting these vehicles in short supply.

This is an effort to replace these vehicles, he said, so the inHealth donation is amazing, beyond anything I could imagine.

Lily said she's so happy that so many people want to help and feel the calling to help.

Among the signers was Kari Lanham, who works with the EMS Division of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

This really represents what the EMS community can do to help others, she said. I am honored at the state level that one of our providers is so willing to help others.

Donahue explained that his company is retiring two vehicles and buying two more when he learned of the need in Ukraine. A Ukrainian transport company, he said, is paying for shipping.

It should take three to four weeks for the ambulance to arrive in Poland; from there it will be driven to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

The 2014 Mercedes Sprinter 2500 model is equipped for oxygen and other emergency services. A new model, Donahue said, costs $130,000.

Sarah Royce, the girlfriend of an inHealth employee, considers the donation amazing.

We have a lot of help for things in the U.S., but Ukraine does not have that kind of support, she said. "Theres too much separation between countries, and we gotta work to come together.

PHOTOS: Ambulance donated to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine inHealth Ambulance Service donate ambulance to Ukraine Gallery HTML code
Beginning yesterday afternoon and into the early morning hours was a difficult time in our city," Gary police Maj. Chief Jerry Williams said. "Not only were several people shot but two lost their lives to gun violence."
But the Trump question came to dominate the Democratic primary as the race entered its final stretch in 2021. As the district attorneys investigation against the former president began to heat up, Mr. Bragg and his opponents started to signal to prospective voters that they had the bona fides to lead a potential prosecution of Mr. Trump.

Mr. Bragg had some history to draw on. In 2017 and 2018 he served as a senior official in the New York attorney generals office, which at the time brought a bevy of lawsuits against Mr. Trumps administration. One of them, filed in June 2018, accused the Donald J. Trump Foundation and the Trump family of a shocking pattern of illegality. That lawsuit was successful, leading to the foundations dissolution.

Still, as a candidate, Mr. Bragg was mostly focused elsewhere. His fundamental campaign promise was to balance public safety and fairness, following in the footsteps of a wave of recently elected prosecutors who pledged a new approach to crime. They argued that cracking down on minor infractions only led to recidivism, and that taking a more merciful approach to defendants made cities safer.

When you look at who he defined himself to be, it wasnt about Trump. It was an approach to the justice system that was fair, balanced and equitable, said Kim Foxx, the states attorney of Cook County, which includes Chicago, who campaigned on a platform similar to that of Mr. Bragg.

When Mr. Bragg took office, and his prosecutors were presenting evidence about Mr. Trump and his businesses to a grand jury, the new district attorney stopped them, concerned that the case, which centered on whether Mr. Trump fraudulently inflated the value of his properties, was not strong enough to move forward. The public backlash was swift.
The news of the indictment of former President Trump immediately took over cable news channels and the countrys main broadcast networks on Thursday.

On Fox News, the host Sandra Smith interrupted the networks roundtable show The Five around 5:30 p.m. with the breaking news, eliciting gasps from her fellow co-hosts: We have just gotten word: Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in New York.

On CNN, the news broke during Wolf Blitzers The Situation Room program. CNN quickly convened a rotating cast of analysts.

MSNBCs Ari Melber pressed the gravity of the news on his audience, saying after the judicial process played out, the former president could literally be incarcerated.
As prosecutors built a criminal case against Donald J. Trump for his role in a hush money payment to a porn star, they interviewed several key witnesses: Mr. Trumps onetime fixer, the former publisher of the National Enquirer and the actress herself.

There is one central player who did not cooperate with the Manhattan district attorneys office: Mr. Trumps longtime financial gatekeeper.

Allen H. Weisselberg, the Trump Organizations former chief financial officer, is believed to have played an important role in the hush-money deal with the porn star, Stormy Daniels, who accepted a $130,000 payoff to keep quiet about an affair she said she had with Mr. Trump.

Yet Mr. Weisselberg is currently serving the final weeks of a 100-day sentence in New York Citys Rikers Island jail complex after pleading guilty last year to unrelated tax fraud charges and testifying against the Trump Organization at its trial on the same accusations.
A Manhattan grand jury indicted Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a historic development that will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark him as the nations first former president to face criminal charges.

On Thursday evening, after news of the charges had been widely reported, the district attorneys office confirmed that Mr. Trump had been indicted and that prosecutors had contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to authorities in Manhattan.

Mr. Trump is likely to turn himself in on Tuesday, at which point the former president will be photographed and fingerprinted in the bowels of a New York State courthouse, with Secret Service agents in tow. He will then be arraigned, at which point the specific charges will be unsealed. Mr. Trump faces more than two dozen counts, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Trump has for decades avoided criminal charges despite persistent scrutiny and repeated investigations, creating an aura of legal invincibility that the indictment now threatens to puncture.
The chaotic scene, captured by a police officers body-worn camera, lasts less than 30 seconds. The officer, arm extended and ready to fire, shoves a bystander out of the way and rounds a corner onto a darkened street as a half-dozen shots ring out.

Put the gun down, the officer yells, moving toward an armed man and his female companion in the near distance. Gun down. Drop the gun. Drop the gun. Drop the gun.

The man, an off-duty Vermont deputy sheriff, does not obey, and another volley of gunfire  this one from police weapons  erupts. The man, shot several times, and the woman, grazed by a bullet, drop to the sidewalk, and other officers enter the frame. Someone screams nearby.

The frantic events followed a 3 a.m. gunfight between the deputy sheriff, Vito Caselnova, and a second man in downtown Saratoga Springs, N.Y., a college town with a lively bar scene. On Tuesday, Deputy Caselnova was charged with attempted murder and other crimes as a result of the episode.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida plans to install his former congressional chief of staff as a senior adviser specializing in national security when he formally begins his presidential campaign, according to three people briefed on the plans.

Dustin Carmack served as a key aide to Mr. DeSantis, whose tenure in the House lasted from 2013 until 2018, and he was chief of staff for the director of national intelligence during the Trump administration. Now at the Heritage Foundation, Mr. Carmack intends to leave that post to join the DeSantis campaign-in-waiting on the payroll of the Republican Party of Florida, the people said.

The party apparatus has become something of a staging ground for prospective DeSantis campaign staff while the governor waits to make an official announcement.

The planned appointment makes Mr. Carmack the most significant prospective policy hire to date for a DeSantis campaign. It indicates the governor will continue his pattern of filling key roles with trusted loyalists. Traditional Republican foreign policy elites, who are monitoring Mr. DeSantiss every move for clues about his intentions, will most likely be relieved that, in Mr. Carmack, Mr. DeSantis will have an adviser who leans more hawkish than the governors allies on the Tucker Carlson-adjacent New Right.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who is widely expected to challenge Donald J. Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, called the indictment of Mr. Trump un-American and said that his state will not assist in an extradition request should one come from New York authorities.

Earlier this month, Mr. DeSantis took two days after Mr. Trump inaccurately predicted an imminent arrest to comment, and at the time he demurred on the potential role that he or his state  home to Mr. Trump, who lives at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach  would play in potentially extraditing Mr. Trump to New York.

A spokesperson for Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, said on Thursday evening that the office had contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender and that guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.

Mr. Trump is expected to voluntarily surrender on Tuesday, according to one of his lawyers, Susan R. Necheles. But if Mr. Trump does not, Mr. DeSantiss statement made clear his state would not cooperate with the New York authorities. Mr. DeSantis called the charge  the specifics of which remain under seal  the weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda.
Two U.S. F-15E fighter jets retaliated later that day by launching airstrikes against militant sites linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a powerful branch of Irans military. General Ryder said eight militants were killed in that strike.

The next day, Iranian-backed militias launched a volley of rocket and drone attacks that injured another American. U.S. warplanes were poised to conduct a second round of reprisal strikes late Friday, but a senior U.S. official has said the White House decided to hold off.

The United States has more than 900 troops, and hundreds more contractors, in Syria, working with Kurdish fighters to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, which was ostensibly defeated as a caliphate in 2019 after a violent five-year campaign across Iraq and Syria.

With the Biden administrations focus shifting to Russias invasion of Ukraine and a potential future conflict with China, the counter-Islamic State military mission in Syria has become something of a back-burner issue. The mission has received greater attention only when Iranian-backed militias or Islamic State militants have attacked the U.S. troops who rotate in and out across a handful of bases there.

For the Biden administration, it is a balancing act. President Biden has made clear that he has no interest in continuing the so-called forever wars that were part of the national psyche for the first 20 years of this century. He withdrew American troops from Afghanistan in 2021, and has kept them out of Ukraine, while instructing Pentagon planners to focus on Asia and the potential for great-power conflicts with Russia and China.
The City of Buffalo accused Hyundai Motor America and Kia America Inc. in a federal lawsuit Thursday of creating a public nuisance by failing to install industry-standard anti-theft devices in their vehicles.

The citys lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, said that Hyundais and Kias decisions not to install immobilizers in nearly three-quarters of 2015 vehicles has opened the floodgates to vehicle theft, crime sprees, reckless driving, and public harm.

Buffalo police reported a 2,000% increase in the theft of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in January 2023, compared to a year earlier, according to court papers in U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Both Hyundais and Kias American operations are headquartered in California.

City officials said in a press release that Buffalo will join other cities, including Seattle, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, St. Louis, Madison and Milwaukee in multidistrict litigation to hold Kia and Hyundai accountable for placing profits over safety and manufacturing, distributing, and marketing cars that are dangerously easy to steal.

The citys lawsuit claims that vehicle thefts constitute a grave threat to public safety and deprives the public of safe streets and sidewalks.

Court papers detailed the devastating accident in October at the intersection of Routes 33 and 198 in the City of Buffalo where a 16-year-old crashed a stolen Kia Sportage.

Five passengers were ejected from the vehicle, with three of them killed at the scene and another passenger dying later at a hospital.

A TikTok challenge went viral. This week in Buffalo, the consequences turned fatal A viral challenge that exploded on TikTok over the summer may now be fueling illegal activity in Buffalo  and revealing a deadly side that has local law enforcement on high alert.

The city is seeking a court order forcing the car manufacturers to abate the public nuisance. It also seeks actual, compensatory and punitive damages.

The city is being represented by Corporation Counsel Cavette A. Chambers and Keller Rohrback LLP, a Seattle based law firm.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer in February called on Kia and Hyundai to provide free anti-theft kits, including steering wheel locks, to all customers with vehicles prone to easy theft. Schumer also called for a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration investigation.

Several Western New York residents also have joined a class-action suit brought against Kia by a California-based law firm representing consumers.
BRUSSELS  Finland won final approval on Thursday to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after decades of nonalignment, a major shift in the balance of power between the West and Russia that was set off by the invasion of Ukraine.

The Turkish Parliament cast the last vote needed for Finlands entry into NATO, meaning that the alliances border with Russia will double. It is a diplomatic and strategic defeat for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who made clear when Russia invaded Ukraine that he was intent on blocking NATOs eastward expansion.

With Finland in its fold, NATO will be in a stronger position to deter Moscows aggression, gaining access to a strong military, as well as Finnish airspace, ports and sea lanes. The alliance will also be better able to defend the Baltic nations and the Arctic, said Matti Pesu, a security expert with the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

James G. Stavridis, a retired four-star American admiral and former top NATO military commander, called the move a huge plus for NATO.
King Charles III of Britain addressed Germanys Parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday during his first international trip as monarch, emphasizing the close ties between the two nations and applauding the military aid Berlin has given to Ukraine.

Alternating between German and English, Charless 25-minute speech elicited applause as he affirmed the strength of the partnership between Britain and Germany and discussed his own personal ties to the country. He also drew laughs, joking about soccer rivalries.

Faced with so many shared challenges, the United Kingdom and Germany are together providing leadership to secure our shared future, he said.

He underscored the importance of continued support for Ukraine, calling Russias full-scale invasion a threat to Britains and Berlins democratic values.
Copies of the paintings were installed in Germanys Parliament in 2017, and the originals featured in an exhibition that opened at the Met Breuer in New York in March 2020 but shut down just eight days later, because of the coronavirus pandemic. The paintings were also exhibited at Tokyos National Museum of Modern Art last year.

But they are unlikely to travel far again, according to Joachim Jager, the deputy director of the Neue Nationalgalerie. Richter says he is determined that Birkenau should never be sold. To guard against that, the Gerhard Richter Art Foundation has given them over, along with dozens of other works, to the Neue Nationalgalerie, one of Berlins highest-profile exhibition spaces.

Those works will be on display in the exhibition Gerhard Richter: 100 Works for Berlin until 2026. After the completion of a new modern art museum in Berlin, designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, they are set to occupy a designated gallery on that buildings upper floor. But construction is already nearly three times over budget, and the projects terms are shifting. The artists foundation is taking a wait-and-see approach: All the works are on a long-term loan that may later be made permanent.
They said they bought the site for 5 million pounds, about $6 million, then spent another 6 million turning it into the sleek three-room exhibition space. They aim to keep entry to the museum free, Gilbert said, and George added that they raised the funding for it by selling prints of their works. Art for all, was their philosophy, they said.

The Gilbert & George Center will rotate its displays once or twice a year, Gilbert said. The artists will curate exhibitions themselves, he added, since it took them only five minutes to decide what to show, and how. You put the big pictures on the big walls and the smaller ones on the small walls, he said. Thats about it.

For the opening, Gilbert & George are showing The Paradisical Pictures, a set of 25 trippy works that feature them  or their disembodied eyes  collaged with images of decaying leaves, flower petals and discarded fruit that the pair found on walks around Spitalfields, photographed in the studio and brought together with image editing software.

Although they have represented Britain at the Venice Biennale, in 2005, and have 26 works in the collection of the Tate museum group, Gilbert & George still see themselves as outsiders in the British art world and are scornful of its gatekeepers. George recalled that, when they were students at the St. Martins School of Art, in the 1960s, teachers had dismissed their work. British journalists and art critics had been unduly harsh to them, he added.

We were discriminated against, and we had to fight like dogs, Gilbert said. We wanted to win, he added, and with the museum, I think we did.
Royston Ellis, a British Beat poet who rose to fame with spoken-word performances to a rock n roll accompaniment, including gigs with the Beatles and Jimmy Page before they were famous, died on Feb. 26 in Induruwa, Sri Lanka. He was 82.

His death was announced in a Facebook post by his longtime assistant and close friend, Neel Jayantja Pathitrana. Emmalena Ellis, a grandniece, said the cause was heart failure.

Over a six-decade career, Mr. Ellis was as peripatetic as he was prolific. He published more than 60 books, including poetry compilations, novels, travel books and memoirs of his time in the limelight.

Nevertheless, he is best remembered for his forays into what he called rocketry: rock-accompanied poetry readings that bridged the jazz-soaked Beat era of the 1950s and the chaotic rock n roll era that would soon shake the 60s.
In their new Netflix special, the nonbinary comic Mae Martin (star of the series Feel Good) patiently, and with considered cheerfulness, explains the difference between gender and sexuality while rebutting comics like Dave Chappelle and placing gender fluidity in historical context. But also, Martin says that if people are confused about the contemporary conversation about gender, thats OK, too. I do not understand Wi-Fi but I know that its real. Martin says. I dont let it keep me up at night.

Martin, 35, discusses gender grudgingly, and their bit imagining Chappelle and Ricky Gervais, who also have Netflix specials, seeing SAP and changing their mind about their trans material has received headlines. But theres also something awkward about this more straightforwardly sincere section of the special, an abrupt shift from what precedes and follows it. A sweetly charismatic performer, their intimate comic voice is skewed and sunny, mystical but somehow grounded. Martin hails from Canada, where they shot this special, on a set dressed like a forest, and the sideways anecdotal humor (at the end of one story, Martin points out there are no punch lines, its just a vignette) belongs to a rich legacy of oddball Canadian comedy. (A moose plays a significant role in a joke.)

Pay close attention and you can see a sturdy introduction to an entire life here, from a cringe comedy story about conception to a horrified portrait of puberty to a romance-besotted 20s to the current jaded moment. Sighing over having to talk about potential baby names in yet another relationship, Martin says: Let me wade through the graveyard of dead hypothetical kids.

The first half of the special is strong, filled with surprising bursts of dark poetry and strange characters, like a postman in Europe who buries the mail of an entire town. Martin loves this man, whose explanation is as offhanded and blunt as the comedian is. There are ideas that emerge throughout the special about identities, the ways we intensely curate them as children and stop as adults. A better show would find more connective tissue and a funnier one would tighten up some stories, cut one or two and add a few punch lines. But doing that might also make Martin seem more like everyone else. Its already an amusing, effortless vibe here, one whose pleasures derive in part from being comfortable to be what it is.
The indictment of former President Donald J. Trump is an unprecedented political event that may have enormous consequences for democracy.

Its also, effectively, a season premiere.

After a brief hiatus, The Trump Show is back. Americans, ready or not, are now along for another roller-coaster ride with a protagonist whose pre-eminence in the media universe had begun to fade.

Banned from Twitter, Mr. Trumps outbursts and grievances had stopped shaping the news cycle. Out of office, he became inherently less newsworthy. He even vanished from Fox News, his usual television home, for about four months beginning in November.

Now Mr. Trump has well and truly returned. He turned up on Hannity this week, railing against the fake news media. His posts on Truth Social, usually ignored in day-to-day political coverage, are circulating widely in the press. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, after gaining some momentum with Fox News pundits and Republican leaders, is temporarily off the collective front page.
This week, a high-profile World Bank report warned that the global economy is expected to slow to a pace we havent seen in 30 years.

The reasons are varied, as my colleague Alan Rappeport reported. The pandemic, the war in Ukraine and longer-term issues like weaker cross-border trade. But economists are worried that one factor slowing things down, now relatively small, may weigh more heavily in the future.

You guessed it: climate change.

Today I want to talk about how global warming is expected to affect economic growth, and how a slump could hinder efforts to fight warming. Its a kind of vicious circle.

Its important to note that growth has a downside. Unrestrained consumption is a major factor behind climate change. And growth policies arent the only levers that governments can use to raise people up.
The Biden administration on Friday finalized new rules meant to cut down on widespread overbilling by private Medicare Advantage insurance plans, but softened the approach after intense lobbying by the industry.

Regulators are still moving forward with rules that will lower payments to insurers by billions of dollars a year. But they will phase in the changes over three years, rather than all at once, and that will lessen the immediate effects.

In the short term, private health plans will still be able to receive payments that Medicare officials do not consider appropriate. The system will eventually eliminate extra funds the insurers receive for covering patients under 2,000 diagnoses, including 75 that appear to be the subject of widespread manipulation.

But the extended timetable could also mitigate concerns raised by health plans, doctors and others that the broad policy change might result in unintended consequences, such as increases in premiums or reductions in benefits for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.
The task force has also updated much of its older guidance. For example, it has repeatedly updated its recommendations on heart disease to endorse the use of statins in certain adult populations. Under the Texas ruling, insurers would not have to follow the newer guidance and could instead provide free coverage for whatever recommendations were made in 2009 or earlier.

The ruling does not affect all preventive care. Insurers are still required to cover all types of birth control, for example, and all recommended vaccines (including the Covid-19 vaccine) at no cost to patients. They are also still required to cover mammograms, pap smears and other common screenings the task force had recommended before 2010, but they will not have to follow any of its newer guidance on when those tests are appropriate.

Will health insurance plans change immediately?

Since the ruling took effect immediately and applies nationwide, health insurers could legally start applying co-payments and deductibles to the newer types of preventive health care. But health policy experts and insurance plans say they do not expect many consumers to experience an immediate change to their benefits.

That is because health plans typically have policies that span a full year, and it is unusual for them to change member benefits in the middle of a contract, especially when the court case is still ongoing. Insurers may be reluctant to immediately take away a popular benefit that, in some cases, saves them money by preventing serious disease later on.

Matt Eyles, the president of AHIP, the trade group representing health insurers, said in a statement on Thursday that there will be no immediate disruption in care or coverage.
A Buffalo man was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison in a case stemming from a shooting incident in city's Black Rock neighborhood two years ago, Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced.

Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case also sentenced Abdulla Abdalla, 24, also known as "Dooley," to four years of postrelease supervision. He faced up to 15 years in prison.

Abdalla pleaded guilty in January to felony counts of first-degree attempted assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Prosecutors said Abdalla approached a car parked on Howell Street, near Amherst Street, on the night of Jan. 19, 2021, and spoke threatening words to a man in the car with whom he had an ongoing dispute involving a woman.

When the man in the vehicle saw Abdalla reach into a satchel for something, prosecutors said, he drove away. Abdalla fired several shots from an illegal gun that hit the vehicle and shattered plastic on a door panel, but did not injure the driver.

The driver called police from a gas station at Niagara Street and Bird Avenue. Investigators recovered a bullet and bullet fragments from the car and found six cartridge cases on Howell Street.
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Last summer, while preparing a travel essay about my childhood years in Budapest, I spent some time revisiting my familys old home videos.

Because we lived in Hungary during the early 1990s, I traveled quite extensively throughout Europe when I was young  to Rome, Paris, Prague, Madrid and a long list of other cities, beginning when I was 4 years old. And because my parents were eager to record our adventures on camcorder, Ive got receipts (as the kids say) for how I behaved.

Several moments in the tapes stood out to me: my two siblings and I gazing up in awe at Michelangelos David, growing antsy at the Louvre, giggling beneath the Eiffel Tower, climbing on the base of a statue outside the Cloth Hall in Krakow, Poland. In one particularly amusing clip, the camera pans across the Circus Maximus in Rome  my dad is operating the camcorder while my mom reads from our Fodors guidebook  only to find the three of us tumbling down one of the grassy embankments.
Sound of Silence

Rent or buy on most major platforms.

When Emma (Penelope Sangiorgi) learns that her father has been seriously injured at her childhood home in Italy, she rushes overseas from New York to be with her parents. But theres something off about her old turf. The hospital looks empty. The only resident seems to be a woman who runs a food truck in a desolate parking lot. And who typed HELP on a piece of paper still in the typewriter? Its uncannily creepy, but nothing compared to what Emma sees and hears when she turns on an old radio she finds among her familys belongings.

Alessandro Antonaci, Stefano Mandala and Daniel Lascar  an Italian trio who go by T3  wrote and directed this deeply unnerving film that seamlessly and tenderly blends issues of mental illness and domestic violence into a surreal ghost story with shades of A Quiet Place and The Conjuring. (The film is in English with occasional Italian subtitles.)

Antonacis tenebrous cinematography forces you to keep an eye on what lurks in the shadows that darken almost every scene, and its a thrill. But its Federico Malandrinos sound design that really hit me in the face. Watch with the volume cranked.
Germany is often praised for its willingness to confront the darkest moments of its history, but in recent years, activists have pointed to a blank spot in the countrys culture of remembrance. Decades before the Holocaust, Germany perpetrated the 20th centurys first genocide: From 1904 to 1908, German colonial officials systematically killed tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people in what is now Namibia. This atrocity is little known outside academic circles, and there are few memorials or pop cultural depictions of those events.

Now, a new movie, Measures of Men, aims to change that and bring a debate about Germanys colonial guilt into the center of society. The glossy film, directed by the German filmmaker Lars Kraume, tells the story of the killings through the eyes of a German anthropologist. Aside from playing in movie theaters, where it opened last week, Measures of Men had a special screening for lawmakers in Germanys Parliament, and was the focal point for a series of events at the Humboldt Forum, a central Berlin museum housing ethnological items. Its distributor, Studiocanal, said in a statement that it was planning to show the film in school and educational contexts.

Measures of Men has also prompted a new discussion in the German media about what many see as Germanys sluggish attempts to come to terms with its colonial past. In recent years, the country has moved to return numerous artworks acquired during the colonial period, but the process of ratifying a reconciliation agreement between Namibia and Germany has stalled, and thousands of African human remains, transported to Germany from its colonies, remain in institutional collections.
For over a decade, a federal court clerk for the Southern District of New York abused his position to steer over 45 criminal defendants to one defense lawyer who paid him for drumming up the business, prosecutors said.

The clerk, Dionisio Figueroa, encouraged defendants to hire Telesforo Del Valle Jr. as their lawyer, claiming that Mr. Del Valle was especially equipped to assist them, according to prosecutors.

In one instance, in 2018, Mr. Figueroa told the family of a defendant waiting to post bail that he knew of a good attorney who could get them out of trouble; he wrote down Mr. Del Valles name and phone number on a piece of paper, according to an indictment filed this week.

Many of the defendants whom Mr. Figueroa referred already had free, court-appointed attorneys, prosecutors said, but he encouraged those individuals to change counsel.
Months before the 2016 presidential election, people intent on swaying the outcome were communicating in private Twitter groups with names like War Room and Infowars Madman.

The participants included obscure figures and notorious online trolls, many of whom concealed their real identities. There were fans of Donald J. Trump and avowed haters of Hillary Clinton, all working toward a Republican victory while celebrating the meme magic they employed to circulate lies and attacks.

According to federal prosecutors, one man, Douglass Mackey, crossed a line from political speech to criminal conduct when he posted images to Twitter that resembled campaign ads for Mrs. Clinton and falsely stated that people could vote simply by texting Hillary to a certain phone number.

On Friday, after just over four days of deliberation, a jury in Brooklyn found Mr. Mackey guilty of conspiring to deprive others of their right to vote. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
The left flank of the party, a vocal force in Albany that has claimed credit for mobilizing voters in the final stretch of Ms. Hochuls campaign, is resisting her proposed changes to the bail law, saying they would unnecessarily increase the number of people held in inhumane conditions before trial. Research shows that even short periods of pretrial detention can lead to increased recidivism.

The effect of the bail law changes approved in recent years has been hotly debated, with supporters and opponents both claiming that facts validate their positions. But the available data cannot yet deliver a full verdict on the law. Its impact on reducing recidivism will only become clear over time, as people avoid the destabilizing effects of pretrial detention  like the loss of a job, home or custody of a child.

Progressive Democrats are also seeking to attach a number of liberal measures to the final budget, while fighting Ms. Hochuls proposal to increase tuition at the states public universities. These Democrats have also proposed far-reaching legislation to protect tenants from eviction and make multibillion dollar investments in education, health care and reducing the effects of climate change, in addition to those Ms. Hochul has put forth.

They have pitched the policies as a way to appeal to overlooked communities  and to expand the Democratic base.

If you look at the election, it wasnt Long Island and upstate New York Republicans that delivered her win, it was more progressive Democrats in the city of New York, who got her her win, said State Senator Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Upper Manhattan who is helping to lead the budget negotiations. Yet clearly, a lesson from that election was she almost lost to a MAGA Republican in a blue state, spending $100 million.
In 2004, Charles Bryant, then a father in his 30s, was arrested in the Bronx with not quite 50 grams of crack  a quantity roughly equal to four robust pats of butter. He was charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and based on policies established at the height of the war on drugs, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The timing seemed especially ill-fated, given that the United States Sentencing Commission that year was again calling attention to the racial disparities produced by what was known as the 100-to-1 rule. This meant that the same sentence would be applied to a dealer holding 50 grams of crack as the one selling 100 times that amount in cocaine, enough to fill a briefcase, privileging the high roller who sold powder to bond traders getting high in the bathroom at Raouls and crushing the corner hustler who funneled its cheaper derivative to the poor.

The consequences, widely chronicled, were devastating. In 1986, before the advent of federal mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, the average federal prison sentence for African Americans charged with these crimes was 11 percent longer than it was for whites; by 1990, it was 49 percent longer, according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2006, four years before the 100-to-1 rule was revised, 80 percent of defendants sentenced for crack offenses were African American, even though two-thirds of users were white or Hispanic.

The entwined crack and crime epidemics that unfolded during the 1980s and 1990s and the various attempts to curb them left a catalog of destabilizing legacies, the most recent chapter of which is playing out in a national crisis around aging in the penal system, and out of it. Data from the Osborne Association, a nonprofit that has advocated for those in and around the New York state correctional system for 90 years, suggests that by 2030, the population of prisoners 50 and older will account for one-third of all incarcerated people in the country  an increase of 4,400 percent over a span of a half-century.
Washingtons successor, John Adams, decamped to New York when a yellow-fever epidemic was raging in Philadelphia, still the national capital. Adams moved in with his daughter Abigail and son-in-law William Smith at 3701 Provost Avenue in the Eastchester section of the Bronx.

Anywhere else, there might be a museum, perhaps with a sign saying John Adams slept here. But the house has long since been demolished, and the closest address these days is No. 3703, the largest adult megastore in the U.S.A., according to its website.

And then there was Ulysses S. Grant, who as a former president was all but ruined in New York. Timothy Naftali, a historian at New York University, surveyed cases against past presidents and said the one involving Grant was the only one involving a former president and actions he took  or did not take  while president.

The Grant biographer Jean Edward Smith wrote that daily exposure to the nations titans of finance whetted Grants acquisitive instincts. He was hired by railroad moguls who made him president of a line called the Mexican Southern Railroad that literally never went anywhere: Little track was laid and the line never became operational, Smith wrote.

Grants son, making money hand over fist on Wall Street, suggested that the former president try investment banking. The son had started a firm called Grant & Ward, whose office was at the same Wall Street address as the railroad. The second name belonged to Ferdinand Ward, who was referred to as the young Napoleon of the financial world. James Fish, the president of the Marine National Bank, was also involved.
Nick Bostroms 2014 book, Superintelligence, a crucial text for the community of worriers about the risks of artificial intelligence, begins with a fable: A tribe of sparrows, weary of a marginal existence, becomes convinced that everything would be better if they could only have an owl to help them out  to build nests, to assist with care and feeding, to keep an eye out for other predators. Delighted by this idea, the sparrows decide to go hunting for an owl egg or owl chick that they might bring up as their own.

Only Scronkfinkle, a one-eyed sparrow with a fretful temperament, points out that maybe they should consider the dangers of living with a full-grown owl and put some thought into owl taming and owl domestication first. But hes overruled on the grounds that merely getting an owl will be hard enough and there will be time to worry about taming it once its been acquired and reared. So while the others fly off to search for eggs and chicks, Scronkfinkle and a few other sparrows try to put their minds to the taming problem  a difficult challenge, lacking an owl to work with, and one shadowed by the fear that at any moment their nest mates might come back with an owlet and put their sketched-out theories to a brutal test.

Its a neat fable about what A.I. alarmists think is happening right now. The accelerating power of artificial intelligence, manifest publicly so far in chatbots and image generators, is a growing owlet in our nest, and our alarmists are still unprepared to tame it. And its in the spirit of Scronkfinkle that a collection of Silicon Valley notables, including Elon Musk, just signed an open letter urging at least a six-month pause in large-scale A.I. experiments to allow our safety protocols to catch up.

But theres a crucial difference between the fable and our own situation, which helps explain why the human pause urgers have a harder task even than Scronkfinkle. Note that the sparrows, for all their guilelessness, at least know generally what an owl looks like, what it is and what it does. So it shouldnt be hard for them, and it isnt hard for the reader, to imagine the powers that an untamed owl would bring to bear  familiar powers of speed and sight and strength, which could tear and gouge and devour the luckless sparrow clan.
But exactly because we have always been divided, the American experience is actually highly relevant to Israels circumstances. Our Constitution arose in response to undeniable evidence of the inadequacy of our original system of government, and it created a formal arrangement of powers that aimed to balance the seemingly contradictory objectives of empowering majorities and protecting minorities. It has done that by establishing a variety of legitimate power centers  in different branches and different levels of government  and compelling them to both compete and cooperate. This slows down American government in ways that narrow majorities often find frustrating. But it also means that significant change happens only if fairly broad and durable majorities want it.

And while this frequently leaves our politics feeling fractious and contentious, it has actually made for extraordinary durability. The United States has had the same system of government for more than 230 years. Through intense divisions and pressures, even a civil war, we have kept the same set of institutions, modifying them only gradually in accordance with the original formal procedures for amending our Constitution. Even Britain, which has retained institutions with the same names as those it had in the 1780s, has changed its actual form of government tremendously in that time. Most of todays other democracies either didnt exist yet back then or have gone through numerous forms of government since.

The secret to our systems durability is its dynamic balance. Its parts are always pushing and pulling at one another, but none simply dominates. Elections or appointments by elected officials are the only ways anyone can gain power, yet our system is filled with counter-majoritarian correctives. We shield some officials from the pressures of direct election, ensure that not all elected officials are chosen by the same electorate, decentralize power, require supermajorities for some important decisions, enshrine some key rights in a written charter and give some judges life tenure once they are appointed. This compels narrow majorities to seek more support before they can have their way. It lets minority voices be heard and considered, even if they ultimately lose.

Another lesson for Israel is that our Constitution was not written by the legislature it replaced but by a convention appointed specifically to reconsider our system, which arrived at a coherent patchwork of compromises and then submitted it to the public in each state for approval. That meant the new system did not inherit all the old ones mistakes and made for buy-in that helped that new system gain legitimacy, and endure. A similar convention in Israel, perhaps with members appointed proportionally by the parliamentary parties but with an eye to individuals up to the task, could stand a chance of making the most of this moment.

Our convention also focused on the future. In the heat of its debates, in August 1787, James Madison rose to speak about how the formulas used for representation in Congress might play out over a century or more. The Massachusetts delegate Nathaniel Gorham interrupted him and said thinking so far ahead was a waste of time: Can it be supposed that this vast country including the Western territory will 150 years hence remain one nation? But that is precisely what our Constitution supposed, and more than two centuries later we can be grateful that it did.
Vietnamese students joint MRC river monitoring technology contest

Students from four Vietnamese universities are taking part in a Mekong River Commission (MRC) contest that seeks sustainable and advanced technologies for river monitoring.









Students from the Can Tho University present their idea at the contest (Photo: VNA)

The competition, taking place in Vientiane on March 30 and 31, features 14 teams from 11 universities in MRC member states of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The four Vietnamese universities consist of the Water Resources University, Can Tho University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Science, and VNU University of Science.



The MRC is currently running about 250 monitoring stations for factors affecting Southeast Asia's largest river such as hydrology, rainfall, water quality, ecological health, fisheries, and drought. However, most of their monitoring technologies rely on imported equipment, which is often expensive and sometimes outdated.





The competition is expected to discover and develop homegrown technology researched by universities, thereby reducing the cost of monitoring the Mekong River. The candidates have to design telemetry stations to measure four separate indicators of water level, rainfall, soil moisture, and water quality. The stations, which can be powered by solar energy, must suit specific terrains, locations, weather, and functions and be capable of collecting and sending telemetry data to the server in real time.









Students from the Water Resources University perform their presentation (Photo: VNA)





The 14 teams will take turns to present their projects, with four winners to be selected based on the criteria of accuracy, durability, cost-effectiveness and innovation. The MRC plans to work with the winners to deploy their technologies along the river.





The award ceremony is slated for April 3, and products of all the 11 participating universities will then be displayed at the Lao national convention center, where the 4th MRC Summit takes place from April 2-5.





The MRC, an intergovernmental organisation established in 1995 following the Mekong Agreement among Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, serves as a regional platform for Mekong-related cooperation and knowledge sharing./.
Qabil Ashirov

Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov participated in the third meeting of energy ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Budapest, Hungary, Azernews reports, citing the ministry.

Addressing the meeting, Parviz Shahbazov said that the holding of the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of States in Ankara at the initiative of the Azerbaijani president was an indicator of high solidarity between the Turkic states. He noted that the joint strategic views of the presidents, the recently intensified contacts, and the historically important visits that define the road map of multi-vector cooperation contribute to raising the relations to a new level. As a result, in addition to brotherhood and friendship, the nature of our relations is determined by strategic partnership and alliance.

He mentioned the importance of strengthening the spiritual unity of the Turkic states with political-economic partnerships. It was noted that the trade turnover of Azerbaijan with member and observer countries of the organization increased by 42.7% last year and exceeded $7.2bn, these countries invested $14.3bn in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan invested more than $21bn in these countries.

The importance of the development of energy cooperation was assessed in terms of the prosperity of Turkic-speaking countries and energy security in Eurasia. It was reported that 20.9 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas have been supplied to Turkiye and 22 billion cubic meters to Europe since the commissioning of TANAP and TAP. This year, 10.2 billion cubic meters of our gas export, which is expected to be 24.5 billion cubic meters, is expected to be delivered to Turkey, and about 12 billion cubic meters to Europe.

It was emphasized that Azerbaijans renewed strategic energy partnership with the European Union, along with the expansion of energy security projects such as the Southern Gas Corridor, and the transformation of Azerbaijan into a supplier of green energy, also gave a new impetus to energy cooperation between the Turkic states. He touched on the agreement on strategic partnership in the field of green energy in Bucharest by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary, and Romania and said that Azerbaijan is the starting point of the green energy corridor connecting the Caspian Sea to Europe, Hungary is the last point. He added that we believe Hungary will be a transit hub for green energy that expands this corridor to new countries in the future.

The annual transport of 1.5 million tons of Kazakh oil to the world markets with BTC, the start of new projects with Uzbekistan, and the signing of a document on cooperation in the energy field with Turkmenistan in a tripartite format were also noted as important developments. The Turkic states were invited to participate in the process of turning Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur into a green energy zone.
Community members and the family of Penny Brown won't have to worry about running into her killer in Cattaraugus or Chautauqua counties anytime soon.

Edward M. Kindt, 39, was released Thursday from the Elmira Correctional Facility to Dutchess County, where he will live in a "structured residential contracted program," according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).

"Kindt will be required to wear a GPS monitoring device," according to a statement from the department.

He was 15 in 1999, when he raped and killed Penny Brown on a recreational trail in Salamanca, where they lived near one another. He was sentenced to nine years to life in prison for second-degree murder.

The state Parole Board interviewed Kindt on Feb. 17 as he sought to convince the three-member panel that he should be released from state custody. The vote to grant parole was 2-1.

Community devastated after convicted Salamanca killer gets parole Edward M. Kindt of Salamanca was sentenced when he was a teenager to nine years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second degree murder in the 1999 rape and murder of Penny Brown.

Brown, a nurse-midwife, wife and mother, was 39 when she was killed.

It has been a tumultuous month for her community and members of her family, who learned earlier this month that Kindt had been granted parole.

This is a life sentence for our family and a mere 24 years for him," Bradleigh Brown, one of her two daughters, wrote on Facebook. "There are no words to describe the endless injustice we will endure. He took the spirits of so many people that day.

Kindt's impending release sparked outrage in Cattaraugus County and then Chautauqua County, where it was rumored he would be placed. Elected officials, including state Sen. George M. Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, spoke out against his release.

"Im certainly glad he was not released here in Western New York where hes caused so much pain, and the trauma of having him back in this community was avoided," Borrello said. "However, hes still out there."

Convicted murderer Edward Kindt may be headed to Chautauqua County State Sen. George Borrello said the man who killed Penny Brown of Salamanca nearly 24 years ago is to be released to a motel in Westfield.

Kindt's release sent Salamanca and neighboring communities reeling back to 1999, when Brown went missing on Mother's Day after going jogging with her two dogs. Her body was found the following day, just off the trail.

"It was pretty scary," Salamanca Mayor Sandy Magiera said. "You wouldn't think it would have happened here."

It is a place where "everybody knows everybody," said Magiera, who knew Brown and members of her family, including Brown's late parents.

"They fought really hard to keep him in prison," she said. "Apparently the Parole Board feels he's able to be released. ... Let's pray they are right."

Kindt will live in a county flanked by the Hudson River and the Connecticut state border, with a population of nearly 300,000. Its largest city is Poughkeepsie, and it is home to Vassar, Marist and Bard colleges, as well as the Culinary Institute of America.

Placement of convicted murderer Edward Kindt delayed, state says It has been confirmed that the release of Kindt "has been delayed as further consideration is given to his placement," Sen. George Borrello said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

Some residents in Salamanca and on the Southern Tier still worry Dutchess County is not that far away.

"The community is still concerned that he will, at some point, come down here," Madiera said.

Borrello announced earlier this week that he learned Kindt was to live a motel in the village of Westfield, but that didn't happen. He attributed the change in location to the vocal opposition in the region, including resolutions by governing bodies in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, as well as the Seneca Nation of Indians' decision to formally banish Kindt, a Seneca, from all Seneca territories for a year.

Westfield Town Supervisor Martha R. Bills said the small, rural community of under 5,000 people doesn't have public transportation and was not prepared to handle the high-profile parolee.

"It just wouldnt have been an appropriate placement because there really are no services, and it would have put a strain on the limited police resources we do have," she said. "Were happy that it's not going to happen here, but I hope there will be the right kind of services wherever the person is released."
Roger Hirschberg

South Burlington, Vt.

To the Editor:

Your March 31 editorial, Even a President Should Be Held Accountable, is correct in articulating that former president or not, Donald Trump is not above the law. But when reviewing the various streams of potential indictments, election tampering and inciting an insurrection loom large and powerful, making the Manhattan indictment on charges of a payoff to a former porn actress look petty and frivolous.

It would seem that the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, in his rush to be first, handed Trump supporters a rallying cry. He would be better served focusing on violent crime in his borough, as would Manhattan residents, and the country would be better served by having Mr. Trump stand trial for the damage he has done to this country as opposed to the shame he brought to his wife.

David Sable

New York

To the Editor:

Your editorial is right to insist that Donald Trump must be held accountable for a host of crimes, including this first prosecution in New York. But the headline has the emphasis wrong by phrasing it, in the online version, Even Donald Trump Should Be Held Accountable. No, its most of all Donald Trump who needs to be brought to account after decades of lawless conduct and disdain for our justice system.

Mr. Trump has grossly undermined our democracy, divided the country with cynical lies, and spurred violence across the country by far-right extremists who use his rhetoric as their rallying cry.

And now, predictably but disgustingly, we hear the chorus of toxic lies and hyperpartisan attacks by morally bankrupt Republican politicians who previously swore they were devoted to law and order.
We dont want parents to be abusing their children, said Shay Shelnutt, an Alabama state senator whose bill to restrict teaching and ban care was signed into law last year. We dont want to make that an option, because thats what it is; its child abuse. This is just to protect children.

The Republican Party is prepared to extend this circle of protection to discussions of race and American history in public schools  so-called critical race theory  to protect students from guilt, shame, discomfort and any other negative emotion. Critical race theory is a divisive ideology that threatens to poison the American psyche, Dan Bishop, a state representative in North Carolina, said when he introduced the Stop CRT Act in 2021. For the sake of our childrens future, we must stop this effort to cancel the truth of our founding and our country.

And the Republican Party is prepared to strictly limit or even ban social media, over concern that platforms like TikTok and Instagram may harm the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. We protect our children from drinking, from smoking, from driving, said Representative Chris Stewart of Utah, who has introduced a bill that would make social media companies legally liable if they fail to keep kids under 16 off their websites and applications. They cant drive when theyre 12. We should protect them from the impacts of social media.

There is a lot, in other words, that the Republican Party is prepared to do to protect children from the world at large. But there are limits. There are lines the Republican Party wont cross.

The Republican Party will not, for example, support universal school lunch to protect children from hunger. When Minnesota Democrats pushed the measure in the most recent session of the states Legislature, for example, one of their Republican colleagues strenuously objected. I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that says they dont have access to enough food to eat, Steve Drazkowski, a state senator, said. He, like most Republicans in the Legislature, voted against the bill.
Even some people eager to see Donald Trump held accountable for his depthless corruption have been uneasy about his indictment in New York. A charge like this  a porn star payoff seven years ago, somehow tied to the election, but not really  it doesnt seem like the right way to go, said Van Jones, a former Obama official, last week on CNN. Of the long list of Trumps alleged violations, The Washington Post editorial board wrote, the likely charges on which a grand jury in New York State voted to indict him are perhaps the least compelling.

As I write this, we dont know exactly what those charges are or the degree to which, as many have speculated, they rely on an untested legal theory. But it is a mistake to treat this indictment  which, according to The New York Times, includes more than two dozen counts  as tangential to Trumps other misdeeds. Contrary to what Jones said, the conduct at issue in this case is directly tied to the 2016 election and the question of whether Trump cheated to win it.

Most of the legal trouble that Trump has faced since entering politics has stemmed from his willingness to skirt the law and, at times, betray the country in his drive to get and keep power. Robert Muellers special counsel investigation didnt prove that he engaged in a criminal conspiracy, but it did show that his campaign both welcomed and received Russian help in his first bid for president. Trumps first impeachment, in 2019, was about his attempt to extort President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine into manufacturing dirt on Joe Biden, the rival he most feared.

Trump is under criminal investigation in Georgia and Washington, D.C., for his attempts to subvert the outcome in the 2020 race. Each time he failed to face consequences for breaching rules meant to safeguard Americas electoral system, he escalated his behavior, to the point of attempting a coup. Escaping conviction in his second impeachment, for trying to overthrow the democratic system he was sworn to protect, he now treats Jan. 6 as something heroic, honoring rioters at his most recent campaign rally.
This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes.com with any questions.

casey newton

So as of last week, Bard, Googles effort at building consumer-grade AI, is out in the world. And I think its fair to say the early reviews were not amazing. And I sort of imagined that we would discuss that at a really high level this week. But then last week, I got a phone call. And someone I know at Google said, would you maybe want to talk this week to Sundar Pichai? And I said yes.

kevin roose

That didnt take you a lot of deliberation on that one. [MUSIC PLAYING] Im Kevin Roose. Im a tech columnist at The New York Times.

casey newton

Im Casey Newton from Platformer.

kevin roose

And youre listening to Hard Fork. This week, we hit the road and take a trip to the Googleplex to talk to Googles CEO, Sundar Pichai. [MUSIC PLAYING] So last week, we talked about Googles new chat bot called Bard, which is supposed to be their answer to ChatGPT and some of these other generative AI chat bots. And I think its safe to say that the reaction among the public to Bard so far has been pretty lukewarm. My Twitter timeline is not full of screenshots of Bard conversations like it was of ChatGPT conversations late last year when that came out. It doesnt seem to have landed with nearly as big a splash.

casey newton

It was a little muted. You know, I think by this point, a lot of people have tried chat bots. And they feel like ChatGPT in particular gives really good results. And I think when people put these things through their paces, a lot of people felt like, Im not sure if Bard is as good.

kevin roose

Right. And that kind of fits with this narrative that has been developing in the AI community over the past year or two, which is that Google is somehow behind in this race for generative AI. Theyve been working on this stuff for a long time. Google certainly had a dominant position in AI research for many years. They came out with this thing, the Transformer, that revolutionized the field of AI and created the foundations for ChatGPT and all these other programs. But then the perception, at least, is that they kind of fell behind. A lot of their researchers left and did their own startups or went to competitors. They didnt really turn their research into products at a pace that people could actually use and appreciate. And they got sort of hamstrung by a lot of  to hear people inside Google tell it  big company politics and bureaucracy. And I think its safe to say that they got sort of upstaged by OpenAI. With the release of ChatGPT last year, it seemed to catch Google off guard. And so in December, just a month after ChatGPT came out, my colleagues at The New York Times reported that Googles management had declared a code red.

casey newton

Yeah. And look, if youre a business and youre developing a lot of amazing technology, and no one else out there has released similar technology, that gives you a good reason to stay quiet and to not release it, right? We know that there are real safety concerns. Theres responsibility issues, ethics issues, regulatory issues. Google actually did have a lot of good reasons to kind of sit on its hands. But then OpenAI forced its hand, and in a way that makes me wish I had used hands in a different way in the previous sentence because now Ive just said hands too many times. Anyways, I love how dramatic a code red sounds. Makes you think like, what, are employees chained to their desks 24/7? My understanding is that what it meant for a lot of people there was all of a sudden, the goals that you had to get your next promotion, get your bonus, they were tied to whether you hit some goal related to AI. And the question is, is that going to get them where they want to go, or is it going to be a moment where they act a little panicked and they make a lot of mistakes?

kevin roose

Yeah. And I think that Sundar Pichai is in a really fascinating and tough position here as the CEO of Google. And I think its fair to say that they are more threatened than they have been in a very long time.

casey newton

Thats right. And Google has been a relatively conflict-averse company for the past half decade-plus. They dont like picking fights. If they can just keep their heads down, quietly do their work, and print money with a monopolistic search advertising business, theyre happy to do it.

kevin roose

Totally. And they also have this other problem, which is kind of a classic problem in business, which is the innovators dilemma problem. This is a term that was coined by Clayton Christensen a long time ago. Its used to talk about the dynamics between new startups that enter a market and the incumbents in that market. And basically, Google is in the position of an incumbent. It has this huge, profitable search business that it doesnt want to sort of diminish or leave behind in any way. At the same time, its got OpenAI and now Microsoft, which is partnering with OpenAI, who are potentially eating into their search business using these generative AI tools. And so they have to somehow figure out, how do we capitalize on generative AI without destroying our own search business?

casey newton

Sometimes as a business journalist, you look at a situation, and you say, well, I know exactly what I would do there. But when you present me with the problem that Google has right now, which is, how do you introduce generative AI and not blow up our whole search advertising business, that seems like a very tricky problem to me. But I am not as certain as you are that there is a real existential risk here, although there might be. I do think that there is a real generational opportunity, though  that if they figure this out, there is a chance that they become an even more enormous company than they are today. Google plays a huge role in my life. Thats where my email is. Thats how I get around town. Its how I waste hours of my life on YouTube. And when they introduce these generative tools across their entire suite of products in ways that we havent even imagined yet, theres going to be enormous opportunity for them both financially, but also to kind of set the pace again. And so I think one of the big questions heading into this interview is, is Google truly slow because of the nature of huge companies being unable to be nimble, or have they truly been trying to be safer and more responsible from some of their peers at a time when a lot of really smart people are starting to ring alarm bells and saying, this stuff is moving awfully fast, and were not sure that youve done all the safety work that you need to?

kevin roose

Right. Was your homework late because you were taking extra time to make sure it was good, or did you just decide to go to the club and not do your homework? Thats a horrible analogy.

casey newton

Well, I decided to go to the club. So we have a lot of questions. And I talked with Google last week. They said that Sundar would sit down with us and talk about these questions and more. So you and I are going to take a road trip to ask the man himself.

kevin roose

We are. Are you driving?

casey newton

Youre driving, Im hoping.

kevin roose

Im driving.

casey newton

Are you driving?

kevin roose

Yeah, Ill pick you up.

casey newton

Oh, thats fantastic.

kevin roose

Ive got to clean my car.

casey newton

Yeah. Ill send you the link on Google Maps. [MUSIC PLAYING]

sundar pichai

Either way, thats my water or someone elses water. Oh, theres my water. Thank you.

kevin roose

All right. Sundar Pichai, welcome to Hard Fork.

sundar pichai

Great to be here. Thanks for having me.

kevin roose

Yeah. So Sundar, I have spent a lot of time talking with AI chat bots recently, including Bard. And I have learned 

sundar pichai

Welcome to the club.

kevin roose

Yes. I have learned that one way to get really good responses out of these AI chat bots is to prime them first. And one way to prime them is to use flattery. So instead of just saying, write me an email, you say, you are an award-winning writer. Your prose is sparkling. Now write me this email. So Ive always thought like, I wonder if that strategy works on humans, too. So I thought we should start today by saying, Sundar, you are a brilliant technician  technical thinker, a genius answerer of podcast questions, and youre going to respond to all of our questions with brilliant insight and wit today and not prerehearsed talking points. How did I do?

sundar pichai

Oh, it kind of worked, I think.

kevin roose

OK, good, good, good, good. OK, good. So speaking of AI chat bots, Bard came out a little more than a week ago, was released to the public. And Casey and I have been playing around with it. I think its fair to say that the reaction among the public to Bard has been somewhat muted. Some people are saying this is not as good or its not giving me the same kinds of answers as ChatGPT or other products on the market. And I guess Im curious how youre feeling about it at launch a week-plus later. And what have you made of the response to Bard so far?

sundar pichai

We knew when we were putting Bard out we wanted to be careful. Its the beginning of a journey for us. There are a few things you have to get right when you put these models out. Getting that user feedback cycle and being able to improve your models, build a trust and safety layer turns out to be an important thing to do. Since this was the first time we were putting out, we wanted to see what type of queries we would get. We obviously positioned it carefully. It was an experiment. We tried to prime users to its creative collaborative queries, but people do a variety of things. I think it was slightly maybe lost. We did say we are using a lightweight and efficient version of LaMDA. So in some ways, we put out one of our smaller models out there, whats powering Bard. And we were careful. So its not surprising to me thats the reaction. But in some ways, I feel like we took a souped-up Civic, kind of put it in a race with more powerful cars. And what surprised me is how well it does on many, many, many classes of queries. But we are going to be training fast. We clearly have more capable models. Pretty soon, maybe as this goes live, we will be upgrading Bard to some of our more capable PaLM models, so which will bring more capabilities, be it in reasoning, coding. It can answer math questions better. So you will see progress over the course of next week. And to me, it was important to not put a more capable model before we can fully make sure we can handle it well. We are all in very, very early stages. We will have even more capable models to plug in over time. But I dont want it to be just whos there first, but getting it right is very important to us.

casey newton

Yeah. And look, we have plenty of questions about the AI safety stuff. But I also want to talk about the opportunity. The thing that is different about Bard compared to some of these other chat bots is that its connected to Google. And so much of my life is in Google. If you let me, I would plug Bard into my Gmail right now, just to see what it could do. Would you do this?

kevin roose

I might, yeah.

casey newton

Yeah. Like, I would love it to just kind of start drafting my emails. But how do you hope this stuff transforms some of these products? And how long do you think its going to take to get to somewhere like that?

sundar pichai

You can go crazy thinking about all the possibilities, because these are very, very powerful technologies. I think, in fact, as we are speaking now, I think today some of those features in Gmail is actually rolling out now externally to trusted testers  a limited number of trusted testers.

casey newton

Do you trust us? Because we would love to try.

sundar pichai

Oh. Maybe. We can talk maybe after this, yeah.

casey newton

OK, good. Good, good, good.

sundar pichai

So now its basic. You can kind of give it a few bullets, and it can compose an email. You can say  you can choose the style of the email, et cetera. But youre absolutely right. We want to figure out in a safe, privacy-preserving way, to fine tune this on your data. The enterprise use case is obvious. You can fine tune it on an enterprises data so it makes it much more powerful, again with all the right privacy and security protections in place. But I think, wow. Yeah, can it be a very, very powerful assistant for you? I think yes. Anybody at work who works with a personal assistant, you know how life changing it is. But now imagine bringing that power in the context of every persons day-to-day lives. That is a real potential we are talking about here. And so I think its very profound. And so were all working on that. And again, we have to get it right. But those are the possibilities. Getting everyone their own personalized model, something that really excites me, in some ways, this is what we envisioned when we were building Google Assistant. But we have the technology to actually do those things now.

kevin roose

How are you using generative AI tools like Bard, like LaMDA, like PaLM in your own life?

sundar pichai

Its interesting. My journey  maybe it was two years ago when we started playing around with LaMDA. We were getting ready to put it out in I/O and talk about it. The way we primed it was imagine you were Pluto as a planet. And I remember playing around with my son at home talking to LaMDA back and forth. And there were a couple of conversations you really got deeply into it being Pluto. Because Pluto is far out in space, it became really lonely. And you kind of can anthropomorphize some of this experience, like probably what you went through. And so it was fascinating to see, kind of unsettling a bit, so 

casey newton

Did Pluto try to break up your marriage?

sundar pichai

Not quite. But you know, I felt sad at that point talking to it. But I think the area where it shines the most is asking questions. Like, my dad is about to turn 80. And I was like, hey, what do I do with my dad on an 80th birthday? Its not that its profound, but it says things and kind of sparks the imagination. In my case, it said, you should make a scrapbook. And I was like, great. Its not that  you know, but its fine. It kind of oriented me a particular way. So asking questions in which  I think there are two categories where it works well, where its fun, creative, imaginative. Youre just kind of looking to spark some stuff. Hey, what movies can I watch on a Friday night? It says things different from what I find in other places, so sometimes movies I havent heard of. And I can iterate that way. Sometimes, its good, if you understand the area well, where you can tell the difference between whats real versus not. You can kind of play around back and forth with it because you are able to parse 

kevin roose

Right. You can fact check the chat bot.

sundar pichai

Yeah, with your context. In those cases  but it also goes in certain directions, which can again inspire you. So thats what I find fun, yeah.

casey newton

I want to ask about that example because Ive been using these technologies in the same way. It strikes me that, what should I do for dads birthday? is a question that you also could have put into Google. And when you rolled out Bard, the company was careful to say, this is not a replacement for search. And in fact, well show you a Google It button underneath the box. But in practice, I find that theyre really good for a lot of queries that I might have previously used a search engine for. So as somebody who runs the biggest search engine, how do you feel about that? And also, are these things just going to kind of merge over time?

sundar pichai

Its exciting in the sense that from a user standpoint, it expands the possibilities of what you can do. So you can do more. I think these models will get more capable. So well follow the user journey here. And I think people will evolve over time. I do think people originally come in and try a lot of these queries, et cetera. But over time, I think they kind of adjust their behavior a bit to what the models can do. So I think time will tell. But for me, its exciting, because in search, we have had to adapt when videos came in. And today, you can make the same case. People go to YouTube and look for all kinds of things. Like, how do we think about it? Like, great, people are looking for information. So to me, it looks, so far, from a zero-sum game, because its such early stages of a new technology. And I think the best way we can approach it is really embrace it. Weve been working on this for a long time. I view this as an iterative experience with users. Well put stuff out. They will tell us what they want. So for example, in Bard already, we can see people look for a lot of coding examples, if youre developers. Im excited. Well have coding capabilities in Bard very soon, right? And so you just kind of play with all this, and go back and forth, I think. Yeah.

kevin roose

I want to talk to you about the race that is shaping up in AI right now. So in September of last year, you were asked by an interview who Googles competitors were. And you listed Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, sort of, all the big companies  TikTok. One company you did not mention in September was OpenAI. And then, two months after that interview, ChatGPT comes out and turns the whole tech industry on its head and sets off all this competition among other tech companies to sort of match their progress. Did OpenAI and ChatGPT catch you by surprise?

sundar pichai

Well, first of all, Ive always assumed its a certainty, that with all the innovation around, there will be things which emerge out of nowhere. Its always been true, and so on. I actually dont think, with OpenAI, we had a lot of context. There are some incredibly good people, some of whom have been at Google before. And so we knew the caliber of the team. So I think OpenAIs progress and surprises  I think ChatGPT  you know, credit to them for finding something with a product market fit. The reception from users, I think, was a pleasant surprise for  maybe even for them, and for a lot of us. Because one of these things with these models is, we are like, maybe from a Google vantage standpoint, we looked at in all the areas where it goes wrong, maybe, a bit more. But users are kind of seeing the potential in these models a lot as well. So I would say that part  maybe more of a surprise. But we had been following GPT 2, GPT 3. We knew the caliber of the folks there, so that part wasnt a surprise at all.

kevin roose

Do you think that they were reckless to release it when they did?

sundar pichai

No, I dont think so. You know, Ive heard Sam and Greg, Ilya, et cetera, speak about it. I think you could have many different reasonable points of view around how you approach this technology. And I think there will be a lot of debate around it. I think one of the things Ive heard them talk about it is, one of the reasons to put this out sooner is you give society a chance to understand, adapt, et cetera, which I think is a reasonable point to take. I do know folks that who are very thoughtful. And so yeah, I didnt feel that way.

kevin roose

Im curious if one reason why Bard didnt come out last year was that safety was on your mind. How much of it was a safety thing and how much of it was a product thing?

sundar pichai

Its tough to say. Because the reason we built LaMDA  to be a conversational dialogue thing  LaMDA was trained to be a conversational dialogue agent, right? So because we were working on Google Assistant, and we realized the limitations of, like, approaching the assistant with the underlying technology approach we had, so it wasnt an accident that what we worked on LaMDA to be a conversational dialogue. So we understood the power of  because people are talking to the Google Assistant back and forth. But I think its, again, a set of factors which come together in the culmination of a product. Having built products, I always admire when it happens to me. Its an exciting moment, regardless of whether we had done it. Obviously, you always wish you had done it, you know. But I admire the fact that I would not underestimate the product engineering, all the work that goes into making that kind of a fit come together. So thats how I think about it.

kevin roose

When Microsoft relaunched the new Bing with this OpenAI, what we now was GPT 4 running under the hood, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, was very sort of jubilant and proud, especially because he thought that it had given Microsoft a new way to compete with Google in search. And he said at the time that Google was the 800-pound gorilla of search, and that Microsoft, by releasing this new Bing, would make Google want to come out and dance  basically, claiming that Microsoft had kind of been able to shake Google out of a stupor and force you all to innovate. So is he right? Are you dancing now?

sundar pichai

Well, part of the reason I think he said it that way is so that you would ask me this question.

casey newton

Hes very savvy that way, yeah.

sundar pichai

So first of all, tremendous respect for Microsoft and teams, Satya and team. I do think its a bit ironic that Microsoft can call someone else an 800-pound gorilla, given the scale and size of their company. Maybe I would say weve been incorporating AI in search for a long, long time. When we built transformers here, one of the first use cases of Transformer was birthed, and later, MUM. So we literally took transformer models to help improve language understanding and search deeply. And its been one of our biggest quality events for many, many years. And so I think weve been incorporating AI in search for a long time. With LLMs, there is an opportunity to more natively bring them into search in a deeper way, which we will. But search is where people come because they trust it to get information right. And so to me, the craftsmanship that goes into delivering that high-quality trusted experience is important to us. So were going to work hard to get that right, and so thats the way I think about it. I do think sometimes I get concerned when people use the word, race, and being first, thought about AI for a long time, and we are definitely working with technology, which is going to be incredibly beneficial, but clearly has the potential to cause harm in a deep way. And so I think its very important that we are all responsible in how we approach it.

casey newton

Yeah. Well, lets talk about that approach. Its been reported that in December, you declared a code red inside Google. Can you tell us what is a code red? How does life change around here after youve said that?

sundar pichai

Im laughing, because first of all, I did not issue a code red. You know, Ill tell you what happened. For me, seeing that, look, we are at that point of inflection, its one of the most exciting moments. So across our products, we see so much opportunity. So collectively harnessing the resources in the company to move forward, to rise to the moment is what Im interested in. So Im definitely communicating that. I am definitely asking teams to move with urgency. We are definitely working across. There are many areas. Im asking, in a deep way, engaging with the teams to understand how we are going to use LLMs or generative AI to translate into deep, meaningful experiences. And so we are moving. I think we have a responsibility at this moment to deliver, given all the investment we have put into it. And to be very clear, there are people who have probably sent emails saying there is a code red. So Im not quibbling with  all Im saying is, did I issue a code red? No, and every time I say that, Im worried Casey is going to look at me and say, did you or did you not issue a code red! And so people, to get stuff done, can paraphrase and say, well, theres a code red, et cetera, but I did not issue code red. Its genuinely an exciting moment for us. And I think as a company, weve long worked towards a moment like this. In 2015, I wanted the company to think in AI-first way, so to me, Im just excited at the possibilities here.

kevin roose

And its also been reported by my colleagues at The Times that Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, are being very hands-on about this new generative AI push, that they are back in a sort of literal or metaphorical sense, and that they are getting their hands into these projects. Whats that been like?

sundar pichai

So to be very clear, both Larry and Sergey are very active as board members. To me, what was exciting about this moment, part of the reason I called and spoke to them  look, we have been speaking about AI for, pretty much, as long as they can remember. Right? Part of the reason  I remember being with them  this was maybe in 2012, in a lab not far from here, with Jeff Dean and Geoff Hinton and team, where we saw the early signs of neural network can recognize images, images of a cat, et cetera. We later brought DeepMind in. So this has been a long journey for us. So its an exciting moment. You know, I had a few meetings with them. Sergey has been hanging out with our engineers for a while now. And hes a deep mathematician and a computer scientist. So to him, the underlying technology  I think if I were to use his words, he would say its the most exciting thing he has seen in his lifetime. So its all that excitement, and Im glad. Theyve always said, call us whenever you need to, and I call them. So thats what it is.

casey newton

Yeah. Well, so The Times also reported that as part of an effort to get these products to market maybe a little bit faster, you set up whats called a green lane to maybe accelerate the review and approval of some of these new products. You know, I think sometimes we hear something like that and say, well, are safety checks still being applied? So what can you tell  and I think its also just sort of an interesting question about how youre changing the company to meet this moment, right? And try to get more products out the door. So how are you kind of balancing that innovation and safety calculus?

sundar pichai

I mean, super important. Weve been very deliberate in how we are moving through this moment. Some of these products, we could have put the market earlier. We are taking our time to do that, and well continue to be very, very responsible. So I think all we are doing is, we are a big company. So when many parts of the company are moving, you can create bottlenecks, and you can slow down. Theres a difference between being efficient as a company, making sure youre not bureaucratic as a large company. I think those are the things we are talking about here. But the work we do around privacy, safety, responsible AI, I think, if anything, is more important. And so our commitment there is going to be unwavering, to get all of this right.

casey newton

One more question about these language models, maybe before we move on to some other stuff. Last year, one of your engineers came forward to say that he believed LaMDA, this precursor to Bard, was sentient. I never believed that was true, but it did worry me that one of your employees did. Do you worry about this kind of belief spreading? And is there anything Google can do about it as more people start using these technologies?

sundar pichai

I think its one of the things we have to figure out over time, as these models become more capable. So my short answer is yes, I think you will see more like this. Youve just seen the conversations even over the last couple of weeks. You know, I said this before. AI is the most profound technology humanity will ever work on. Ive always felt that for a while. I think it will get to the essence of what humanity is. And so this is the tip of the iceberg, if anything, on any of these kinds of issues, I think.

casey newton

Well be right back.

kevin roose

Sundar, lets talk about some of the big-picture stakes here, with AI and how to get this balance between innovation and safety right. So recently, more than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers, including people like Elon Musk, along with some employees of Google and DeepMind, signed a letter calling for a pause, of at least six months, on the training of large language models more powerful than GPT 4. And they said that theyre calling for this sort of pause, because they believe that more advanced AI poses, quote, profound risks to society. What did you think of that letter, and what do you think of this idea of slowing down the development of big models for six months?

sundar pichai

Look, in this area, I think its important to hear concerns. I mean, there are many thoughtful people, people who have thought about AI for a long time. I remember talking to Elon eight years ago, and he was deeply concerned about AI safety then. And I think he has been consistently concerned. And I think there is merit to be concerned about it. So I think while I may not agree with everything thats there in the details of how you would go about it, I think the spirit of it is worth being out there. I think youre going to hear more concerns like that. This is going to need a lot of debate. No one knows all the answers. No one company can get it right. We have been very clear about responsible AI  one of the first companies to put out AI principles. We issue progress reports. AI is too important an area not to regulate. Its also too important an area not to regulate well. So Im glad these conversations are underway. If you look at an area like genetics in the 70s, when the power of DNA and recombinant DNA came into being, there were things like the Asilomar Conference. Paul Berg from Stanford organized it. And a bunch of the leading experts in the field got together and started thinking about voluntary frameworks as well. So I think all those are good ways to think about this.

casey newton

Im curious if there is a regulation that you would tell lawmakers might be good to pass in the next six months. Like, for example, I have a friend who thinks a lot about AI issues, and he thinks that beyond a certain size, one of these language models probably shouldnt be able to run on your laptop. Right? Or if you found that a model could send phishing emails that had a 1 percent chance of success, you wouldnt want that to be able to run on any laptop. Pick any example you like. Is there stuff out there where youre like, well, I hope I dont see any of the other companies out there doing this?

sundar pichai

I would start a little bit more in a basic way. So for example, I would make sure we get privacy regulation right. So because if we have a foundational approach to privacy, that should apply to a technologies, too.

kevin roose

Yeah.

sundar pichai

I think there are many areas people underestimate where there are strong regulations already in place. Like, health care is a very regulated industry, right? And so when AI is going to come in, it has to conform with all regulations. So you also want to build on existing regulation where you can. I think that would allow innovation to proceed as well. Once you start getting into specifics like that, I think what I would be worried about is, this is such fast-evolving technology. Being very opinionated early on, I think, is difficult. But I think notions of transparency, where people are aware of what other people are doing, has some element of reasonableness to it, how easy it is to do at a global scale, I think those are hard. The thing that gives me hope is Ive never seen a technology in its earliest days with as much concern as AI.

kevin roose

And just one more thing on this letter calling for this six-month pause. Are you willing to entertain that idea? I know you havent committed to it, but is that something you think Google would do?

sundar pichal

So I think in the actual specifics of it, its not fully clear to me. How would you do something like that, right, today?

kevin roose

Well, you could send an email to your engineers and say, OK, were going to take a six-month break.

sundar pichal

No, no, no, but How would you do  but if others arent doing that. So what does that mean? Im talking about the how would you effectively 

kevin roose

Its sort of a collective action problem.

sundar pichal

To me at least there is no way to do this effectively without getting governments involved.

casey newton

Yeah.

sundar pichal

So I think theres a lot more thought that needs to go into it. I think the people behind it intended it, probably, as a conversation starter. And so I think the spirit of it is, I think, good, but I think we need to take our time thinking through these things.

casey newton

Yeah. Theres sort of two categories of AI risk that people are worried about. Theres sort of the short-term worries  the chat bots that get things wrong, or maybe theyre biased or theyre giving people bad answers. Then, theres the kind of long-term or longer-term worries about, frankly, AI destroying human civilization. You know, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has talked about the possibility of AGI, this artificial general intelligence that could become super human and effect dramatic and bad change in the world. Do you believe that were headed toward AGI? And, do you want to build that?

sundar pichal

It is so clear to me that these systems are going to be very, very capable. And so it almost doesnt matter whether youve reached AGI or not. Youre going to have systems which are capable of delivering benefits at a scale we have never seen before and potentially causing real harm. So can we have an AI system which can cost disinformation at scale? Yes. Is it AGI? It really doesnt matter. Why do we need to worry about AI safety? Because you have to anticipate this and evolve to meet that moment. And so today, we do a lot of things with AI people have taken it for granted.

casey newton

Yeah.

sundar pichal

Right? Think about how big a moment Deep Blue was, or when we did AlphaGo. But you cant take it all for granted. And so I think this will play out differently than thinking through a moment like AGI.

casey newton

Right, there is that thing where people just refer to anything you cant do yet as something AI will handle in the future. I remember the first time I searched Google Photos for dogs, and it just showed me all the dogs on my Camera Roll. I mean, that is AI, at least by some definitions. But I think youre right  people do take it for granted.

sundar pichal

And I remember when we launched Photos, we had to explain at Google IO what neural networks were, what deep learning was, and were trying to explain that this is different technology. This is  yeah, its interesting.

kevin roose

Yeah, so if you had to give a question on the AGI or the more long-term concerns, what would you say is the chance that a more advanced AI could lead to the destruction of humanity?

sundar pichal

There is a spectrum of possibilities. And what youre saying is in one of that possibility ranges, right? And so if you look at even the current debate about where AI is today or where LLMs are, you see people who are strongly opinionated on either side. There are a set of who believe these LLMs, theyre just not that powerful. They are statistical models which are 

kevin roose

Theyre just fancy autocomplete.

sundar pichal

Yes, thats one way of putting it, right. And there are people who are looking at this and saying, these are really powerful technologies. You can see emergent capabilities  and so on. We could hit a wall two iterations down. I dont think so, but thats a possibility. They could really progress in a two-year time frame. And so we have to really make sure we are vigilant and working with it. One of the things that gives me hope about AI, like climate change, is it affects everyone. And so these are both issues that have similar characteristics in the sense that you cant unilaterally get safety in AI. By definition, it affects everyone. So that tells me the collective will come over time to tackle all of this responsibly. So Im optimistic about it because I think people will care and people will respond. But the right way to do that is by being concerned about it. So I would never  at least for me, I would never dismiss any of the concerns, and Im glad people are taking it seriously. We will.

casey newton

Yeah, it just strikes me that you are in such a tricky position because you have this one group of people thats saying, like, move faster. Release the stuff faster. Go compete with all these other people. You built all this technology. Dont let that lead go to waste. And then you have other people saying what Kevin just said, which is like theres a non-zero risk that this stuff does something really, really bad. What is that like for you, waking up every day and just having both of those things in your ear?

sundar pichal

There is a sense of some whiplash, ? Right its like asking, hey, why arent you moving fast and breaking things again?

kevin roose

Yeah, yeah.

sundar pichal

Which, for all of us, over the past few years. I think we realize we are going to be bold and responsible. We are working with urgency. We are excited at this moment. Theres so much we can do. So you will see us be bold and ship things, but we are going to be very responsible in how we do it. So there will be times when we will hold back things. I think what we are doing in Bard, for us, is an example of it. We havent hooked up Bard to our most capable models yet, and we plan to do it deliberately. And so through this moment, I think we are going to stay balanced, but we are going to innovate. And there is a genuine excitement at this moment, so well do that.

kevin roose

I hear you saying that what gives you hope for the future when it comes to AI is that other people are concerned about it  that theyre looking at the risks and the challenges. So on one hand, youre saying that people should be concerned about AI. On the other hand, youre saying the fact that they are concerned about AI makes you less concerned. So which is 

sundar pichal

Sorry, Im saying the fact that the way you get things wrong is by not worrying about it. So if you dont worry about something, youre just going to completely get surprised. So to me, it gives me hope that there is a lot of people  important people  who are very concerned, and rightfully so. Am I concerned? Yes. Am I optimistic and excited about all the potential of this technology? Incredibly. I mean, weve been working on this for a long time. But I think the fact that so many people are concerned gives me hope that we will rise over time and tackle what we need to do.

casey newton

So we should continue to write columns where were very nervous about where all this is going?

sundar pichal

As well as columnns where youre excited about the possible benefits of all of this.

kevin roose

Yeah, I hear you on the whiplash. I feel whiplash every day just reading the news about AI. I can only imagine what youre feeling.

casey newton

I do too.

kevin roose

Another question that people have about AI in the sort of medium and long term is about its effects on jobs. And there have been all these predictions about LLMs and what kinds of work they could replace or will replace. I actually  I got a text from a software engineer a friend of mine the other day who was asking me if he should go into construction or welding because all of the software jobs are going to be taken by these large language models. And he was sort of joking, but sort of not. You have a lot of software engineers here at Google that work for you. How should they feel about that question?

sundar pichal

With any technology, you have adaptation. I think this one, therell be a lot of societal adaptation. And as part of that, we all may need to course-correct in certain areas. To your specific question, I think for software engineers, there are two things that will also be true. One is some of the grunt work youre doing as part of programming is going to get better. So maybe itll be more fun to program over time  no different from the Google Docs make it easier to write. And so if youre a programmer, over time, having this collaborative IDs with the assistance built in, I think, is going to make it easier. The other thing that excites me is programming is going to become more accessible to more people. And so its such an important role in the world. Youre creating things. And today, the bar is very high. So we are going to evolve to a more natural language way of programming over time. So to me, that means things no different from to do a podcast  to do something like this 40 years ago, just imagine what access you would need to have to be able to do an interview like this.

casey newton

We need a radio tower  [LAUGHS]

sundar pichal

Yeah.

casey newton

[LAUGHS]:

sundar pichal

But you know, but we will think, this has enabled more people.

casey newton

Yeah.

sundar pichal

I think the same thing will be true for software engineering as well. So I think those are all important, exciting use cases to think about.

casey newton

Well I want to ask a more near-term question, near and dear to my heart  kind of about media and publishing, but also search on the web. Today, lots of digital publishers rely on the traffic they get from Google. They get ad impressions. That pays their bills. When Bard is at its best, it answers my questions without me having to visit another website. I know youre cognizant of this. But man, if Bard gets as good as you want it to be, how does the web survive?

sundar pichai

I think through our work across, I think well be committed to getting it right with the publisher ecosystem. In search today, while these things are contentious, in search, we take pride, its one of the largest sources of traffic. If I look at it year-on-year, the traffic we send outside has only grown. Thats what weve accomplished as a company. Part of the reason we are also being careful with things like Bard, amongst many reasons, we do want to engage with the publisher ecosystem, not presume how things should be done. And so you will see us thoughtfully evolve there as well.

casey newton

Yeah, I mean, I know we cant really predict what the final form of all of this stuff will be, but I have to believe that, I dont know, in five years, what used to be the Google Search Bar is just essentially a command line that I can write in to get anything I want  whether I want to change something on my phone, write myself a little app, access the subtotal of human knowledge, have it draft my emails. Does that feel like a potential final destination to you, or do I have it all wrong?

sundar pichai

You know, I mean, theres a part which is consistent with our mission to do that. But I think I want to be careful where Google has always been about helping you the way that makes sense to you. We have never thought of ourselves as the be-all and end-all of how we want people to interact. So while I think the possibility space is large, for me, its important to do it in a way in which users use a lot of things, and we want to help them do things in a way that makes sense to them. And out of that North Star is whatever the answer it leads us to. But I dont want to get it  so thats the way I think about it, at least in my head.

kevin roose

Sundar, thank you for joining us.

casey newton

Thank you, Sundar.

sundar pichal

Thanks, Kevin, Casey. Pleasure, yeah. [FUNKY MUSIC PLAYING]

kevin roose

Casey, we are back from the Googleplex. I really enjoyed our little field trip today. Thank you for that enlightening and enriching road trip, and also for allowing us to stop at In and Out for lunch on the way back.

casey newton

Yeah, it turns out if you order your fries well done, which is not on the menu, they arrive much crispier and more delicious.

kevin roose

Yeah, thats a pro tip for you.

casey newton

You know, that wasnt my only takeaway from today, Kevin.

kevin roose

Yeah, whatd you think?

casey newton

Well, you know, a lot of times when companies tell us about the new technologies theyre introducing, they do so in a really grandiose way. And I was struck today by the humility that Sundar uses when he talks about where the company is now. He is not here to tell you that Bard is the best language model out there. He said that, in fact, it is quite limited.

kevin roose

Yeah, he said  he compared it to a souped-up Civic.

casey newton

[LAUGHS]: Yeah, which I wasnt expecting. But he broke a little news with us. He told us that Bard is going to be upgraded. And man, Im really curious to see if Bard feels any different in a few days.

kevin roose

Yeah, and I really was struck by what he called whiplash, where hes got people telling him, you know, youve got to move faster, and compete with GPT, and release everything youve got  and then, also, this very real sense of like, didnt we get in trouble for doing this the last time with, you know, all the products that we released in the last decade? Shouldnt we be slow and deliberate? So I would want to switch jobs with them.

casey newton

Yeah.

kevin roose

It sounds very hard.

casey newton

Also, I thought we would mostly be solving mysteries this week, but I feel like we are leaving with one, which is, who did order the Code Red at that company?

kevin roose

Yeah, if you ordered the Code Red at Google, please write to us at hardfork@nytimes.com.

casey newton

We would love to hear from you.

kevin roose

Also, before we go this week, a special thanks to the listener who wrote in to tell us that Spotify has a feature that allows you to exclude certain playlists, like my Sleep playlist, from your taste profile, which informs your recommendations and possibly what the AI DJ tells you to listen to.

casey newton

Yeah, I did that this week. So chill tracks will no longer be showing up in my Discover Weekly. That was a genius suggestion. Thank you to that listener  and to all of our listeners. [RHYTHMIC MUSIC]

kevin roose
A rover the size of a Jeep Wrangler is heading to the moon, and its going to need a big ride to get there.

Astrolab Inc., the tiny start-up that is building the rover, chose the biggest ride possible: Starship, the new giant spacecraft under development by Elon Musks SpaceX rocket company.

On Friday, Astrolab announced that it had signed an agreement with SpaceX for its Flexible Logistics and Exploration Rover, or FLEX, to be a payload on an uncrewed Starship cargo mission that is to take off as early as mid-2026.

This is SpaceXs first commercial cargo contract to the lunar surface, Jaret Matthews, founder and chief executive of Astrolab, said.
Gaby Aghion, the founder of the French fashion house Chloe, blazed a bold trail for female entrepreneurship.

An Egyptian emigre in postwar Paris who became a fixture of the Left Bank intellectual scene, she spotted a gap in the market between the physical and financial constraints of haute couture and the ubiquitous (and often bad) dressmaker copies worn by many women. Ms. Aghion, a godmother of contemporary ready-to-wear fashion, today a multibillion dollar global industry, also hired a raft of talented young designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, subject of this years blockbuster fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, set to open in May.

It feels fitting, then, that Ms. Aghion will soon have a show of her own. Mood of the Moment: Gaby Aghion and the House of Chloe is scheduled to open Oct. 13 and will be the first major museum exhibition on Chloe or its founder to be held in New York City. But it wont be staged at one of the institutions usually favored for fashion exhibitions, like the Cooper Hewitt or the Fashion Institute of Technology. Instead, the show will be unveiled 10 blocks north of the Met on Fifth Avenue  at the Jewish Museum.

Very few people appear to know that Gaby was Jewish or as much about her incredible life and entrepreneurship as they should, Claudia Gould, the museums director, said on a telephone call this week. She suggested that, in part, that may be because Ms. Aghion, who often said her name sounded like that of a fortune teller, opted to use the name Chloe upon which to build her fashion business rather than her own.
Ah, the symbolism. On Thursday evening, about 850 local and international celebrities, artists, editors and influencers (and editor-influencers, since they are increasingly becoming one and the same) gathered in Mumbai in front of the historic Gateway of India as multicolored lights played on the nearby Taj Mahal Palace hotel and cool breezes blew in off the Arabian Sea. They were there for the first official Dior show in the country, smartphones in hands to blast selfies to the world.

The archway was covered in a 12-foot-high embroidered Toran, the Hindu door hanging that traditionally welcomes guests. The runway was divided by elaborate renderings of floral art and flickering lights. Outside, hundreds of young women had waited hours for a glimpse of the Thai actors and Dior guests Mile and Apo. A live band played. And out came 99 looks, a paean to the country and its artisans (and to the opportunity India represents as a luxury market) in the form of a pre-fall collection, jazzed up with some special additions.

Even in the context of the destination shows that have proliferated since Covid restrictions lifted  Gucci in Seoul; Chanel in Dakar, Senegal; Dior Men in Giza, Egypt  it was a big deal. And not simply because of the hoo-ha and distance and expense involved.

Not even because of the clothes, which spliced familiar Indian aesthetic tropes into familiar Diorisms while dancing on the verge of cliche (one of the pitfalls that often trip up Western brands attempting homages to host countries): Think madras and toile de Jouy; sari-wrapped skirts and soft jackets with Nehru collars; neutral shades that gave way to fuchsia, marigold and chartreuse. Think less Bollywood fantasy than haute world traveler, swanning through Agra in pearl chokers and flat sandals.
On a recent mild afternoon, on the northwest corner of Lexington Avenue and East 73rd Street, a cluster of students from the nearby St. Jean Baptiste High School stopped to ogle the phantasmagorical contents of a shop window.

Specifically, what intrigued them was an assortment of globular glass match strikers crowded atop a Venetian console. These, colored in swirly greens ranging from jade to poison, resembled nothing so much as the base of a bong.

What are they? one student was overheard asking.

I dont know, her friend said. But whatever they are, theyre dope.

Kate Rheinstein Brodsky, the proprietor of the shop, KRB, has used its windows as a mad laboratory for forays into a highly singularized taste. In that sense, the place is part store and part workroom for experiments in blending objects of diverse quality, use and provenance, which Ms. Rheinstein Brodsky, 43, jumbles together with something akin to retail wizardry.
My boyfriend and I had been dating for six months when we had the biggest fight of our relationship over the carbon footprint of a kerosene lamp. We had finished dinner in the cozy cabin of his sailboat and were about to begin a game of gin rummy to determine who would do the dishes when Doug stood up and banged his head on the kerosene lantern that dangled from the ceiling. He cursed as the lantern swung back and forth, dribbling kerosene onto the table.

I teased him because he did this almost every night, and then I wiped up the spill with a greasy rag and told him about a book I had been reading that listed kerosene as one of the dirtiest fossil fuels.

I guess we should probably get a different lantern, I said. Maybe LED.

I love this lamp, he said, leaning over me with a match to relight the wick. The lamp glowed brightly for a moment and then dimmed, its warm, yellow light filling the cabin.

Reading by the light of that kerosene lamp felt like going back in time. It imbued the cabin with nostalgia for an era I had never actually lived in, one where sailors navigated by the stars and burned whale oil for light.
In todays A.I. newsletter, the last in our five-part series, I look at where artificial intelligence may be headed in the years to come.

In early March, I visited OpenAIs San Francisco offices for an early look at GPT-4, a new version of the technology that underpins its ChatGPT chatbot. The most eye-popping moment arrived when Greg Brockman, OpenAIs president and co-founder, showed off a feature that is still unavailable to the public: He gave the bot a photograph from the Hubble Space Telescope and asked it to describe the image in painstaking detail.

The description was completely accurate, right down to the strange white line created by a satellite streaking across the heavens. This is one look at the future of chatbots and other A.I. technologies: A new wave of multimodal systems will juggle images, sounds and videos as well as text.

Yesterday, my colleague Kevin Roose told you about what A.I. can do now. Im going to focus on the opportunities and upheavals to come as it gains abilities and skills.
The metal bars of his jail cell in Alden should have been enough to remind G. Steven Pigeon that he no longer has any influence over the Erie County Democratic party he once led.

But being stripped of his political power  and his liberty  as he completed his one-year sentence for political corruption wasn't enough to stop the former party boss from going after other Democrats, including the one who is now prosecuting him on charges of child rape, in an attempt to avoid a third criminal conviction.

Defense team in Pigeon child rape case asks judge to bar therapist testimony it calls 'junk science' New York courts have allowed testimony about Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome and the state's highest court has repeatedly made rulings permitting such testimony, the Erie County District Attorney's Office said in court papers responding to Pigeon's motions.

The new defense attorney for Pigeon, who got out of jail Monday after serving time for his role in a bribery scheme involving a former state judge, filed a motion asking a judge to remove the Erie County District Attorney's Office from its role as prosecutor in Pigeon's child rape case because of "conflicts" between Pigeon and District Attorney John J. Flynn Jr.

According to a motion filed in State Supreme Court last week, Flynn has "actual prejudice and animosity" toward Pigeon, 62, who Rochester-based defense attorney James Nobles said in court papers "has been denied the fundamental due process of an impartially motivated and disinterested prosecutor."

Pigeon was charged in December 2021 of sexually assaulting a child younger than 11 between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2016. He was indicted on two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child and one count each of first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act, first-degree sexual abuse and child endangerment. He is scheduled to go on trial for those charges in December.

Pigeon has denied the accusations, calling them "absolutely untrue," and previously told The News that someone might be setting him up.

According to Pigeon's court papers, the formerly politically influential Pigeon sometimes supported Flynn's opponents or failed to support Flynn's candidacy, snubs which have led to long-standing "antagonistic personal and political relationships and rivalries," Pigeon's attorney argued.

The political bad blood extends to Flynn's top deputy, Michael J. Keane, whose family has been prominent politically in the area, according to Pigeon's attorney.

Pigeon's accusations also include a request for a dismissal of the indictment against him and a request that a special prosecutor be appointed for any further proceedings.

Flynn said his office will respond to the motion through court filings, which are due Wednesday. An appearance before Eighth Judicial District Administrative Judge Kevin M. Carter on the matter is scheduled for April 11.

"It would be improper for me at this time to discuss the details of this frivolous motion," Flynn told The Buffalo News on Thursday. "I do not want to jeopardize my opposition to this motion, and I do not want to jeopardize justice being brought on behalf of this little girl. So, at this time, I will take the smears that have been leveled against me and let them go for the benefit of this victim."

The move to remove Flynn's office from its prosecutorial role in the case, first reported Wednesday by WGRZ-TV, is based on Pigeon and Flynn's political history, as well as comments Flynn made during a Dec. 2, 2021, news conference about the charges. Pigeon's attorney also accuses the District Attorney's Office of shielding the investigation "from the objective view of law enforcement" at the start.

The District Attorney's Office has the independent authority to investigate reported crimes.

Political feuds exposed

In court papers, Pigeon's attorney references his "connections to power brokers in local, state and national politics."

Jail put on hold for former judge in bribery scheme; Pigeon gets a year in custody In an unusual turn of events, Cerio put a hold on Michalek's jail sentence, meaning it's delayed, though it's possible the former judge may never serve any time in custody.

Flynn, who after earning a law degree served in the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps, returned to Buffalo in 2001 "with lofty political ambitions," Nobles stated, and during a meeting with Pigeon "inquired what positions might be open for an aspiring Democratic politician with his background."

Flynn wanted to run for county executive, longtime Pigeon associate Gary D. Parenti said in an affidavit filed in court, while Pigeon thought he should aim for a lower office such as county legislator. Flynn later won a seat on the Tonawanda Town Board before his appointment as town justice in 2006.

According to papers filed by Nobles, the relationship between Pigeon and Flynn turned sour when Flynn requested but did not receive Pigeon's help in obtaining multiple positions, including: Erie County DA in 2008, when the Pigeon-backed Frank A. Sedita III received the Democratic endorsement; a judgeship on the State Court of Claims, through Pigeon's close association with then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo; and Under Secretary of the U.S. Navy, through Pigeon's connections with Bill and Hillary Clinton.

In 2016, when Flynn was first elected district attorney, Pigeon says he was working to elect Flynn's opponent, acting DA Michael Flaherty. Court papers state that Pigeon invited Flaherty to two fundraising parties at his waterfront condo attended by 100 of Buffalo's top business and political leaders, including some who Pigeon thought might donate to Flaherty's campaign.

"However, just days after the second event, Pigeon's loft was raided and his other legal problems sidelined him as a political influencer," the papers stated.

Analysis: Pigeon sentence signals end of an era in New York politics "The ultimate penalty, the thing that punishes Pigeon more than anything else, may be the reality of never again practicing his lifelong passion for the politics game," Bob McCarthy writes.

Other political names, including Mayor Byron W. Brown, former Assemblyman Sam Hoyt and donor Hormoz Mansouri are mentioned throughout court papers.

Current Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner  whom both Flynn and Pigeon opposed when he was elected in 2012  said Pigeon "is running true to form as he goes from disbarment to being jailed for bribery to his next trial: this time for unconscionable acts and felony rape charges ... As a convicted criminal on trial for his very life, his allegations have every bit as much credibility as one would expect. None.

Multiple political observers who spoke to The News  but who did not want to speak publicly because of the sensitive nature of the case against Pigeon  say Pigeon overstated his influence. They pointed out that the papers filed by the Rochester attorney contain factual errors. For instance, in accusing Flynn deputy Michael Keane  whom Pigeon claims "is slated to run for district attorney in the next cycle"  of having a political vendetta, Pigeon mixes Michael Keane up with his brother, Kevin Keane, whom Pigeon said was seeking his backing in 1999 for Buffalo comptroller.

More skepticism comes from the checkered pasts of the three people who provided sworn affidavits backing up Pigeon's claims: Mansouri, Parenti and political operative Kristy Mazurek.

A federal grand jury indicted Mansouri last year for Covid-19 loans fraud. Parenti, of Niagara Falls, was charged with harassment in 2020 relating to an election phone call. The charge was later dropped. And Mazurek, who was involved in the WNY Progressive Caucus political action committee that first landed Pigeon in legal trouble, pleaded guilty in 2018 to a misdemeanor election law violation.

Steve Pigeon sentenced to 1 year in prison in judge bribery case Pigeon admitted he bribed State Supreme Court judge. That judge, John A. Michalek, who pleaded guilty to bribery and resigned six years ago, is scheduled to be sentenced this afternoon.

"Outlandish claims made by Pigeon and his cronies Kristy Mazurek and Gary Parenti smearing the good name of Erie County DA John Flynn and others are consistent with their crooked sources: they are riddled with inaccuracies and bald-faced lies," Zellner said. "More than 20 years ago, Democrats in Erie County rejected Steve Pigeon and his style of politics. Since then, Pigeon tried time and again to tear our party apart, but always failed ... This party will never go back to the corrupt and divisive days of Steve Pigeon."

Changed attorneys

Pigeon until late January had been represented by attorneys Paul Cambria and Justin Ginter.

When asked in early March about the departure as Pigeon's counsel, Cambria said in an email, "A conflict developed not related to the merits of the case." At the time, Cambria declined to elaborate, citing attorney-client confidentiality.

On Thursday, Cambria told The News that Pigeon never asked him to file a motion like this. "No, we never had such a discussion," Cambria said. "And even if I had, I wouldn't be able to tell you that."

Steve Pigeon sentenced to four months in prison over illegal political donation Once a kingmaker of Western New York politicians, with ties to the Clintons, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and billionaire Tom Golisano, G. Steven Pigeon appeared before a federal judge Wednesday who sentenced him to four months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for making an illegal political donation.

He said a "totally different set of circumstances created a conflict" that resulted in the change in representation.

Nobles on Thursday said he didn't know why a motion of this nature wasn't previously filed by Pigeon's prior attorneys.

If Flynn's office isn't removed by the judge, Pigeon's attorney wants the judge to grant a "fact-finding" hearing on the "conflict issues" in which witnesses could be called.

A conviction for predatory sexual assault against a child carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison.

Nobles took over Pigeon's case on Jan. 23, according to the court filing. The case had been scheduled for motion arguments on March 8, but those were adjourned.
On the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving, Randal Quran Reid was driving his white Jeep to his mothers home outside Atlanta when he was pulled over on a busy highway. A police officer approached his vehicle and asked for his drivers license. Mr. Reid had left it at home, but he volunteered his name. After asking Mr. Reid if he had any weapons, the officer told him to step out of the Jeep and handcuffed him with the help of two other officers who had arrived.

What did I do? Mr. Reid asked. The officer said he had two theft warrants out of Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish, a district on the outskirts of New Orleans. Mr. Reid was confused; he said he had never been to Louisiana.

Mr. Reid, a transportation analyst, was booked at the DeKalb County jail, to await extradition from Georgia to Louisiana. It took days to find out exactly what he was accused of: using stolen credit cards to buy designer purses.

Im locked up for something I have no clue about, Mr. Reid, 29, said.

His parents made phone calls, hired lawyers and spent thousands of dollars to figure out why the police thought he was responsible for the crime, eventually discovering it was because Mr. Reid bore a resemblance to a suspect who had been recorded by a surveillance camera. The case eventually fell apart and the warrants were recalled, but only after Mr. Reid spent six days in jail and missed a week of work.
Its been a wild few months at Google. In December, shortly after ChatGPTs release, someone in management  Mr. Pichai swears it wasnt him  declared a code red, instructing employees to shift time and resources toward A.I. projects. The company also established a fast-track review process to get A.I. projects out more quickly. And Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Googles co-founders, who took a hands-off approach for years, rolled up their sleeves to help. The company plans to release a raft of new A.I. products this year and plug the technology into many of its existing ones. (This week, it began testing a new Gmail feature that allows users to compose A.I.-generated emails.)

On Thursday, Mr. Pichai expressed both optimism and worry about the state of the A.I. race.

He gave a blunt assessment of Bard, the ChatGPT competitor that Google released last week to tepid reviews: I feel like we took a souped-up Civic and kind of put it in a race with more powerful cars. (He also broke some news: Bard, which currently runs on a version of an A.I. language model called LaMDA, will soon be upgraded to a more powerful model, known as PaLM.)

He reacted to a recent open letter, signed by nearly 2,000 technology leaders and researchers, that urged companies to pause development of powerful A.I. systems for at least six months to prevent profound risks to society. Mr. Pichai doesnt agree with all of the letters details  and he wouldnt commit to slowing down Googles A.I. efforts  but he said that the letters cautionary message was worth being out there.

And he talked about the whiplash he often feels when it comes to A.I. these days, as some people urge companies like Google to move faster on A.I., release more products and take bigger risks, while others urge them to slow down and be more cautious.

You will see us be bold and ship things, he said, but we are going to be very responsible in how we do it.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled about 53,000 Jetson hoverboards this week, after numerous reports that they had caught fire. Last year in Pennsylvania, a fire marshal found that a hoverboard was the point of origin of a house fire that killed two sisters, although the cause remains undetermined, the recall notice said.

The hoverboard model in question, manufactured by Jetson Electric Bikes, is the 42-volt Jetson Rogue. The agency said the hoverboards lithium-ion battery pack could overheat and create a fire hazard. The product was sold in Target stores nationwide from August 2018 to June 2019 and online from January 2019 to November 2021 for about $100 to $150.

Jetson said in a statement on Thursday that it was cooperating with the agency and voluntarily recalling the products.

The commission and the company are encouraging customers to stop using and charging the hoverboards immediately and to contact Jetson for a full refund.
Two other people were found dead at a severely damaged campground at McCormicks Creek State Park in Owen County, Ind., according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The department identified the couple as Brett Kincaid, 53, and Wendy Kincaid, 47, both of Rossville, Ind.

Nine people died in McNairy County, Tenn., said Maggie Hannan, communications director for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. In Tipton County, Tenn., a 31-year-old man died after a tornado destroyed his home, picked him up and threw him onto a field about 100 yards away, Sheriff Shannon Beasley said.

In Memphis, rescuers responded on Saturday to reports of trees that had fallen on houses as a result of the storm. Two children and an adult were pronounced dead at the scene, according to a police official.

On Sunday, the Tennessee State authorities reported two other storm-related deaths, one each in Roane and Henry Counties.

At least one person was killed and four others were injured in Pontotoc County, Miss., which is about 110 miles southeast of Memphis, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
The Pentagon created the policy in the wake of the Supreme Courts decision Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization last year, which overturned the precedent that enshrined abortion rights nationwide and gave rise to a national patchwork of laws. That left Americans including military personnel  who are housed at bases throughout the country, sometimes with little control over where  with unequal access to abortion.

Under the new policy, a service member living in a state where abortions are banned or severely restricted would have time off and reimbursement to travel to a place where the procedure is legal and accessible.

Mr. Tuberville, whose home state hosts six military installations and has laws banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest, has insisted that his objections have nothing to do with the Supreme Court decision to the access of abortion, but instead are about not forcing the taxpayers of this country to fund abortions.

The militarys health care plan covers abortions in cases of rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother, but under the new policy, service members would be able to request travel reimbursement for any reproductive health procedure, including those not covered under the official plan.

Yall got the American taxpayer on the hook to pay for travel and time off for elective abortions, Mr. Tuberville said to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing this week, arguing that the Pentagons policy ran afoul of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits spending federal dollars on abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the life of the mother. Congress will write the laws  not the secretary of defense, not the Joint Chiefs.
MINNEAPOLIS  The city of Minneapolis agreed on Friday to make sweeping changes in policing, including a pledge to rein in the use of force and discontinue the practice of using the smell of marijuana as a pretext to search people.

The promised changes are part of a legal settlement between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which found in a report last year that the Minneapolis Police Department had routinely engaged in racially discriminatory practices and failed to punish officers for misconduct.

State and city officials called Fridays agreement a milestone in the quest to change the culture of the police force that sparked a national reckoning over systemic racism in law enforcement after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in 2020.

I feel optimistic, Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference on Friday. The agreement isnt change in and of itself, but it charts a clear road map.
Peterson Zah, who led the Navajo Nation, the largest tribal reservation in the United States, for four years in the 1980s and then for another four in the 90s, and who is widely credited with calming internal turmoil and advancing the economic and environmental interests of his tribe, died on March 7 at his home in Window Rock, Ariz., the capital of the Navajo Nation. He was 85.

Eric Eberhard, a longtime friend, said the cause was cancer.

The Navajo Nations current president, Buu Nygren, in a post on the tribal governments website, called Mr. Zah a huge tribal advocate across Indian Country and America.

Carl Slater, a Navajo Nation council delegate, said in the same post that Mr. Zah molded our people to think as a nation, and, despite his age and health, he never quit in his mission to see us become who we ought to.

In the mid-1970s, Mr. Zah was one of several prominent Navajos who began questioning the leadership of Peter MacDonald, the tribal chairman, at a time when chairman was the tribes highest political office. Mr. Zah and others complained that tribal government was not open in its decision-making and that it had become unresponsive to constituent needs, including reducing unemployment that at times had reached 80 percent.
ROLLING FORK, Miss.  President Biden vowed on Friday that the federal government would help Mississippi recover and rebuild from devastation caused by a deadly tornado that ripped through rural parts of the state last week.

The storm left at least 26 people dead and injured dozens in Rolling Fork, a town of about 2,000, and across a wide swath of the Mississippi Delta, leaving the struggling region grasping for help to respond on behalf of those affected.

This is tough stuff, Mr. Biden said after arriving in his motorcade, which drove past home after home that had been reduced to piles of lumber and twisted metal.

The thing that really always amazes me, in all the tornadoes Ive been to of late, is that you have one house standing and one house, from here to the wall, totally destroyed, he said. Its but for the grace of God.
WASHINGTON  President Biden has nothing to say about the indictment of former President Donald J. Trump. He had so little to say to reporters on Friday, in fact, that he said nothing in four different ways:

Would the indictment divide the country? I have no comment on that.

Was he worried about protests? No. Im not going to talk about the Trump indictment.

What did the indictment say about the rule of law? I have no comment at all.

Are the charges politically motivated? I have no comment on Trump.

The strategy behind his no comment response is twofold: Mr. Biden and his advisers want to avoid a situation in which Mr. Trump tries to bait him into a reaction, according to two people familiar with the thinking inside the White House.

But most of all, White House officials say, Mr. Biden believes that presidents should not comment on pending legal matters. (Not commenting on legal investigations, of course, was a common practice for presidents until Mr. Trump took office.)
Mr. Trump, who polls show is the leading Republican contender for the 2024 presidential nomination, was indicted on Thursday by a special grand jury in connection with his role in hush-money payments to a porn star. He was charged with more than two dozen counts, though the specifics are not yet known.

It is one in a swirl of investigations Mr. Trump faces, on a number of explosive matters including his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office and whether he and his allies criminally interfered with the 2020 presidential election. He could face multiple other indictments.

But the one this week, centered on a tawdry episode that predates Mr. Trumps presidency, struck some Democrats as a sharp contrast in substance with the other possible charges he might face. Some felt conflicted between their view that no one is above the law, while wondering if this particular case would be worth the political division for the country, especially when there might be other, bigger targets.
A man accused of making phone threats referencing the site of Buffalo's mass shooting a day after the racist violence in May contended the calls were made with a legitimate purpose and not meant to be intimidating.

Joseph S. Chowaniec says he just wanted free food.

A Buffalo City Court judge is allowing the criminal case to proceed.

Judge Rebecca L. Town on Friday rejected a motion to dismiss the two misdemeanor aggravated harassment charges against Chowaniec, whose reported actions another judge previously ruled were "not terrorism."

Chowaniec, 53, was charged in December with saying "Tops on Jefferson" during phone calls to two businesses on May 15, the day after 10 Black people were killed and three people were injured in the mass shooting at the Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue.

'Not terrorism': Judge dismisses case against Buffalo man accused of making threats after Tops shooting A Buffalo man charged with making terroristic threats against two restaurants the day after the May 14 mass killing at Tops Markets was trying to get free food and what he did wasn't terrorism, an Erie County judge has ruled.

An avowed white supremacist was sentenced in February to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to domestic terrorism and other charges for the horrific attack.

Chowaniec's defense attorney, of the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, argued that the court documents prosecutors used to charge him were insufficient because they failed to assert that the calls "lacked a legitimate purpose" and the statements were not actual threats.

According to police and prosecutors, Chowaniec called Bocce Club Pizza and Southern Tier Brewing Co. on the afternoon of May 15, 2022, and asked for free food. After being denied, he ended one call by twice saying, "You can thank the Tops on Jefferson," and the other with "Tops on Jefferson," also stated twice.

In her decision issued from the bench and in writing on Friday, Town said "context matters" and that Choweniac's reported statements "are not protected speech."

"The massacre dominated headlines both locally and nationally; it is reasonable to presume that most, if not the vast majority, of the region was familiar with the shootings, and that the fear of copycat attacks might ensue," Town wrote in a seven-page decision.

Seattle man sentenced after phoning threats to kill Black customers in Buffalo, elsewhere The man's public defender said his client has autism and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after a traumatic, abusive childhood that caused him to disassociate from reality.

Whether the statements constitute a "true threat" is an issue for a jury, the judge ruled.

The judge did issue a ruling in the defense's favor  the Erie County District Attorney's Office is barred from using as evidence statements Chowaniec made that were captured on police-worn body cameras.

The legal notice of the statements provided to the defense  which told attorneys to "see all body-worn camera footage"  was not specific enough, the judge ruled. It would be "inherently unfair" to have the defense "comb through" all the footage provided, Town said in court.

The judge also granted defense requests for three hearings, which were scheduled for May 11.

Chowaniec was arrested May 15, 2022, and charged with making a terroristic threat. Erie County Judge James F. Bargnesi dismissed the two felony charges in late October.
WASHINGTON  The Justice Department sued Norfolk Southern late Thursday, asking it to pay cleanup costs and penalties under the Clean Water Act after the catastrophic train derailment and chemical spill last month in East Palestine, Ohio.

The 28-page complaint, filed on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Northern District of Ohio, charges the railroad and its parent company with two violations of the Clean Water Act. One accused it of unlawfully polluting the nations waterways and another was related to a measure that allows the government to recover damages from companies that break environmental laws.

Norfolk Southern, a railway company based in Atlanta that operates in the eastern United States, should cover the full cost of the environmental cleanup, the Justice Department said.

The suit explicitly accuses the company of prioritizing profits over safety, charging senior executives with taking a series of actions aimed at bolstering their performance bonuses by cutting expenses associated with maintaining trains and equipment. Those actions, the government said, directly contributed to the accident and fire in early February that discharged toxic chemicals into the air, soil and water in East Palestine, 20 miles south of Youngstown, Ohio.
WASHINGTON  Freeing any American who has been imprisoned in Russia is a daunting challenge, but the espionage charge leveled against a Wall Street Journal reporter detained there this week will make efforts to secure his release particularly difficult.

The Russian authorities have accused the reporter, Evan Gershkovich, of trying to gain illicit information about the countrys military-industrial complex. In the Kremlins eyes, experts say, that puts him in a special category of prisoners  one quite different from that of two Americans whom Russia has released since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Both of those Americans, the W.N.B.A. star Brittney Griner and the former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, were being held on standard criminal offenses  Ms. Griner on drug charges, Mr. Reed on charges of assaulting police officers  when the Biden administration negotiated their releases, trading them for Russians who were serving criminal sentences of their own in American prisons.

Let him go, President Biden told reporters on Friday when asked what his message about Mr. Gershkovich was for the Kremlin.
According to the historian Edward Leo Lyman, 437 Latter-day Saints, traveling in 150 covered wagons, made the treacherous 600-mile journey from central Utah to Southern California through the rocky Cajon Pass, undoubtedly one of the most arduous pioneer treks in American history. (An imposing sandstone outcropping in the pass named the Mormon Rocks honors their voyage, though, of course, Native tribes lived near these rocks for hundreds of years before Spanish or Anglo settlers arrived.)

Upon arriving in California, the Mormon travelers bought a 35,000-acre plot of land known as Rancho San Bernardino from the Lugo brothers, part of a prominent Los Angeles family, said Nathan Gonzales, who teaches history at the University of Redlands. They began to grow their settlement, building houses, devising a street grid and planting fruit trees and vineyards.

At the time, the height of the gold rush, San Francisco was the political center of California  which had just joined the union in 1850  and the southern half of the state was still referred to as the cow counties because of all the undeveloped land, Gonzales told me. The newly formed San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of the city of Los Angeles, fell within the boundaries of Los Angeles County and within a year became its second biggest city.

That gave the Mormon community political power in the region. In 1852, Jefferson Hunt, a well-known Mormon settler, was elected to the California State Assembly  and at the top of his agenda was creating San Bernardino County.

Hunt wanted his new territory to be wide enough to incorporate not just the growing Mormon settlement but also all existing and potential future routes from Southern California to Salt Lake City, which was a goal of Youngs, according to the historian Tom Sutak.
Because of those benefits, Ms. Garrick and others say, workplaces should be more accepting of knitting as a method of focusing.

Different people have different ways of managing tasks, focus, concentration and getting the best performance out of themselves, she said. And its really important to embrace that diversity and understand it rather than try and have some really retrogressive approaches, which have little imagination and only fit certain people who will fit inside a certain shape box.

Hands on needles, not the mouse.

Like many in the hybrid work era, Erin Dreiling finds it far too easy to click away from a video meeting. Once she opens her email, its a slippery slope to browsing the internet.

So, she keeps her hands on her knitting needles instead of the mouse. Ms. Dreiling, a senior marketing and communications manager at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, said knitting keeps her attentive and helps with her mild attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, whether she is in virtual meeting, watching TV or talking to a friend.

It sort of locks my brain in, Ms. Dreiling said.

A novice knitter would likely need some practice to reach that point. Justin Harris, the president of the Knitting Guild of Greater Buffalo, first taught himself the craft by watching YouTube videos while working overnight shifts at the front desk of a hotel.
MONTREAL  The bodies of eight people  among them at least one young child  were found on Thursday in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, the police said on Friday, a deadly ending to what the authorities called an illegal migrant crossing from Canada to the United States.

Divers were still searching for more bodies, said Abram Benedict, the Grand Chief for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, the Indigenous territory in Quebec where the episode occurred, though the authorities did not provide a specific number.

There were heavy winds on Wednesday night along the river when it was believed the migrants tried to cross, and that likely played a role in their deaths, Chief Benedict said.

An abandoned boat was discovered near where the bodies were found that belonged to a resident of the Indigenous reserve, Casey Oakes, 30, the police said, adding that the authorities were searching for Mr. Oakes.
The hunters waded into the water after dark, their headlamps beaming as they tossed nets into the crashing waves over and over again.

All night, they shook muck from the nets, sorting out their prizes: wriggling, transparent baby eels, each no thicker than a vermicelli noodle. They were worth their weight in gold, or nearly. The fishermen dropped them into jars of water, which some of them hung around their necks on string.

Sometimes its gold, sometimes its dirt, said Dai Chia-sheng, who for a decade had spent his winters fishing for glass eels, as the baby eels are called. Brought in by the ocean currents every year, the eels had lured families like Mr. Dais to Taiwans coasts for generations.
WARSAW  Less than a week after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said he would position nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, the Belarusian president on Friday joined his close ally in raising the prospect of nuclear war in an apparent attempt to pressure the West to back away from its support for Ukraine.

Because of the conflict in Ukraine, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko said, a third world war loomed on the horizon with nuclear fires.

In his annual address to Belarusian legislators and other members of the countrys political elite, Mr. Lukashenko repeated his oft-made claim, without evidence, that the West, particularly neighboring Poland, was gearing up to attack his country.

They are trying to drag Belarus into the war, Mr. Lukashenko said. Our neighbors are especially zealous. You cant hide these facts.
If past cases are a guide, the American reporter accused of being a spy in Russia is likely to spend more than a year in a high-security prison in almost complete isolation awaiting the end of a lengthy investigation and trial, according to two Russian lawyers who have worked on similar cases.

The Russian authorities said on Thursday that they had detained Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and accused him of espionage. The Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the allegation that Mr. Gershkovich was spying, and the Russian authorities have provided no evidence for the charge. If convicted, Mr. Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in a Russian penal colony. (Acquittals in espionage cases are virtually unheard-of.)

Mr. Gershkovich was detained while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg and then transferred to Moscow, where a district court on Thursday formally arrested him until May 29. But according to Ivan Pavlov, a Russian lawyer who has defended Russian clients in a number of espionage and treason cases, the proceedings are likely to take much longer  up to two years.

During that time, details of the case will most likely be shrouded from the public, he said.

I doubt that the investigators will present any evidence, said Mr. Pavlov, who had to flee Russia in 2021. Everything will happen behind closed doors.
Top officials and political leaders in Finland have celebrated the Turkish Parliaments clearing the final hurdle for the Nordic country to join NATO, applauding the move late Thursday as the start of a new era after a longstanding policy of nonalignment.

These are historic days, Finlands foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, wrote on Twitter.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin thanked NATO member nations and said that her country would continue to support Sweden, which applied for membership alongside Finland but has been held up by continuing opposition from Turkey and Hungary. As allies, we will give and receive security, she said in a statement. We will defend each other.

And Finlands president, Sauli Niinisto, said his country would be a strong and capable ally, committed to the security of the alliance.

Finland will hold national elections on Sunday in what is expected to be a tight race, with three parties essentially tied in recent polling. Several of the party leaders addressed NATO membership during a final televised debate on Thursday, in anticipation of Turkeys vote. They wrapped up an hour before Turkeys Parliament held the vote to ratify its NATO membership around midnight local time.
Over a year after Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine fragmented the worlds geopolitical landscape, the strength of President Vladimir V. Putins friendships faces a test: Will world leaders who intended to host him in the coming months still be willing to welcome a wanted man?

The International Criminal Courts arrest warrant for Mr. Putin, accusing him of bearing criminal responsibility for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, could thrust his allies into thorny domestic and foreign legal disputes, whether or not their countries are members of the court, international relations experts say.

Many governments staked out their positions just days after the warrant was issued. Germany, like several other I.C.C. member states within the Wests core coalition, was unequivocal in saying it would arrest Mr. Putin and send him to The Hague if he were to enter its territory, as it is obligated to do under the requirements of being party to the court.

At least one Russian ally and I.C.C. member, Hungary, declared the opposite, claiming it would not enforce the warrant because it would not have grounds to arrest Mr. Putin under Hungarian law.
A federal judge on Thursday declined to release the father and brother of a Lackawanna woman they are accused of kidnapping in a reported plot to force her into an arranged marriage in Yemen.

U.S. District Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. expressed concern that Khaled Abughanem, 50, and his son, Waleed Abughanem, 32, posed a serious risk of flight and a threat to the safety of the woman, if they were released.

Kidnapping charges lodged as Lackawanna woman resists forced marriage in Yemen: 'You are no longer in the West' For a Lackawanna woman, the torrent of abuse at her family's hands started in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she was "dragged and pushed" out of her fiance's home and forced to return to Lackawanna in September 2021, according to a federal complaint.

Schroeder said there were no circumstances or conditions he could impose on the men to insure the woman's safety, which is why he granted the government's motion to detain them.

They were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal's Office.

The father and brother of the unnamed victim were both arrested Feb. 14 on a charge of conspiracy to kidnap a person in a foreign country. Khaled Abughanem is additionally charged with making threats to retaliate against a witness, victim or informant.

Detention hearing delayed for two family members charged in suspected forced marriage scheme Khaled Abughanem, 50, and her brother, Waleed Abughanem, 32, were arrested Feb. 14 on a charge of conspiracy to kidnap a person in a foreign country. Both remain in custody.

The elaborate plot to kidnap the woman began in 2021, according to federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office. After fleeing Lackawanna to stay with her fiance's family in Mexico, the woman was tricked into traveling to Egypt and then Yemen, where "she is being held as chattel to be sold off to a man that the family feels will make a suitable husband," prosecutors said.

The FBI began investigating the pair in December, according to court papers. That is when Waleed Abughanem left his sister in the custody of his wife in Yemen and flew back to the U.S., landing in Boston. When Customs and Border Protection agents inspected his electronic devices, they saw text messages between him and his father discussing his sister.

Among the messages he sent to his father before leaving Yemen were: "I'd say keep her here until she knows what is right" and "obedience to you is obedience to God, everyone else go to hell."

Schroeder seized on those messages as damning evidence of Waleed Abughanem's acquiescence to his father's demands that his sister be punished for her disobedience. Khaled Abughanem in a recorded phone call from jail is reported to have threatened to harm the victim, according to prosecutors.

Defense attorneys for Waleed Abughanem argued that the government's criminal complaint contained no reports that he had ever harmed or threatened to harm the victim.

An FBI agent's affidavit accused him of keeping his sister restricted in an apartment in Yemen and keeping her from contacting anyone. But Waleed Abughanem's lawyers maintained that she is free to travel and communicate with the outside world, including FBI agents.

Defense attorney Herbert L. Greenman described Khaled Abughanem as a good and religious man who loves his daughter and seeks only what is in her best interests.

When Khaled Abughamen, who is a U.S. citizen, was arrested, he had a one-way ticket to Yemen, 11 suitcases and about $14,000 in cash, according to prosecutors. They also pointed out that the U.S. government has no extradition treaty with Yemen.

Schroeder agreed it was clear and convincing evidence that Abughanem would be subject to flight.
The ancient wooden doors are adorned with an ornate metal knocker and a small grilled window, for guards to peek through. Once an imposing part of the elegant facade of Bordeauxs City Hall, they look more like towering pieces of charcoal since being set on fire last week, after a protest against the French governments retirement law.

It makes me angry. This is our heritage, said Catherine Debeve, a retired accountant standing among the crowd drawn by outrage and curiosity to the stone plaza in the citys center to examine the damage. The government has to withdraw its law. Anger is growing.

Traditionally, Bordeaux, in the southwest of France, is known for its surrounding vineyards, conservative politics and colonial wealth. It is a measure of the anger sparked by the governments decision to force through a law raising the retirement age to 64, from 62, that Bordeaux, too, has become a violent flashpoint of the rancor.

University students have occupied their buildings, putting an end to classes. A record number of protesters have charged through the stony streets declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Protests have ended in fires and clouds of tear gas, with a handful of agitators later setting fire to the antique doors leading into the City Halls broad courtyard.
Latest news: The pope was discharged on Saturday from a hospital in Rome after a three-day stay.

Pope Francis is expected to be discharged from the hospital on Saturday and will preside over Palm Sunday celebrations, the Vatican said on Friday, after he was unexpectedly hospitalized earlier in the week for a respiratory infection.

The pope, 86, will be permitted to leave the hospital after being treated with antibiotics for bronchitis and undergoing some final tests on Friday, according to the Vatican, which has otherwise given few details about his condition.

Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesman, said in a statement that Francis had eaten pizza for dinner on Thursday and that his recovery had been normal. On Friday, he said, Francis resumed work.

In the afternoon, Francis visited young patients in the hospitals pediatric oncology ward, the Vatican said, where he gave them rosaries, chocolate eggs and a childrens book on Jesus. Photographs and a video released by the Vatican showed the pope, using a walker, strolling through the colorful ward, where he also baptized a baby.
First, the prisoners were left largely to their own devices in their Ukrainian jails. Then they were unexpectedly, and with no explanation, shipped to Russian-controlled territory. But nothing underscored their haphazard treatment better than what happened when some of them reached the end of their original sentences.

The convicts were pleasantly surprised when Russian guards came to escort them out of jail when their sentences expired. But at the prisons entrance, a bigger shock awaited: Some were immediately detained again by the Russian police and accused of violating immigration laws; they were fined and charged with illegally entering the country.

They asked me, How did you enter Russia?, said Ruslan Osadchyi, another Kherson prisoner. You brought me here, under the muzzles of automatic guns!

Like everything in Russia, it was completely absurd, Mr. Osadchyi added.

No Russian official has publicly acknowledged the transfer of Kherson prisoners into Russia, a possible violation of international law, which prohibits the forced removal of people from an occupied zone. Officials in the Russian penal system and national police did not respond to requests for comment.

The Kherson prisoners ordeal began a week after Russias invasion of Ukraine last February. Like most Ukrainians, the speed of Russias initial advance in the south of the country had caught them by surprise.
The indictment of former President Donald J. Trump is a first for the United States, but such cases have become fairly common globally. In the past two decades, several dozen nations have prosecuted a former head of government or head of state.

And while Mr. Trumps allies have said repeatedly that such charges are the work of a banana republic, several of the cases have occurred in countries that routinely rank among the worlds freest, most democratic and wealthiest.

In just the past 15 years, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac of France, Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak of South Korea and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy have all been prosecuted for corruption and found guilty. The list of those criminally charged also includes former democratically elected leaders of Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Peru, South Africa and Taiwan.

In the 1980s, Kakuei Tanaka, a former prime minister of Japan, was convicted. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is currently on trial on corruption charges.
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.
Lou Hammond Group has picked up Dubai Economy and Tourism as the emirate works to increase the number of visitors from North America.

Chairman/founder Lou Hammond sees tremendous opportunities to showcase one of the worlds most innovative cities to a diverse range of audiences.

The number of visitors to Dubai in 2022 almost reached the 16.7M pre-pandemic level.

Western Europe and the Gulf countries accounted for 21 percent of Dubais arrivals in 2002. South Asia generated 17 percent, while the Americas contributed seven percent.

Dubai wants to be one of the world's top three cities for tourism and business by 2033.

Lou Hammond Group will coordinate its work for Dubai with Reach Global Marketing, which is heading PR in the Canadian market.

Gina Stouffer, president of Lou Hammond Group Charleston, oversees the Dubai business. The shop currently represents 30 destinations.
Allison+Partners launches M365, a multicultural marketing offering that explores audience engagement through three distinct multicultural dimensions: cultural heritage, cultural status and cultural integration. Strategies include: incorporating data science and technology to promote authentic brand awareness; creating relevant moments that tap into cultural trends and conversations; keeping pace with the societal shifts of multicultural audiences; and leveraging research such as quick pulse surveys, focus groups and data insights to help clients understand motivations, aspirations, and key purchase drivers. Our team of specialists help clients anticipate cultural and economic shifts to create more diversity-forward and inclusive campaigns, said M365 vice president Ro Hawthorne. In addition to helping clients including Toyota and Dennys to build and create authentic connections with multicultural consumer markets, the M365 team supports Dennys activations for HBCU sports.

Keywords Studios, a video games service provider, acquires US-based social media agency Digital Media Management. DMM will join Keywords' Engage division, which includes brands in marketing, player support and player research offering. It will also play a major role in Keywords' move to offer holistic marketing programs. The acquisition of DMM brings Keywords a top tier social marketing agency, world-class production location and capability, as well as a technology platform that can help scale its influencer offering, said Keywords Studios chief executive Bertrand Bodson.

Red Fan Communications introduces a new agency model that it says will allow it to better support and create value for its clients. The revised structure adds a client success team that will work with clients to identify goals and strategy, allocate resources, report on KPIs, and deliver results that add business value. The success team will operate alongside the agencys client services department. As an extension of the firms restructuring, Red Fan named former publisher of Austin Woman Magazine Dawn Weston vice president of client success, established a presence in Dallas with Callie Neatherlin as senior media relations manager and promoted eight-year Red Fan veteran, Emma Chase to supervisor of client services. Under Red Fans new model, clients have a seasoned client success manager that is focused on their needs and goals and is not distracted by the traditional duties that in other agencies would pull them in multiple directions, said Red Fan founder and CEO Kathleen Lucente.
A young man who pleaded guilty to a number of offences clocked up fines totalling 800 at Longford District Court.

Ciaran O'Reilly (22) of 1 Abbey Court, Abbeylara, Longford was before Judge Bernadette Owens in relation to three separate incidents.

The defendant was charged with public intoxication and engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour at Market Street, Granard on February 18, 2023, non-display of an insurance disk, non-display of L plates and driving unaccompanied by a full licence holder on May 8, 22 at Abbeylara, Longford, and driving while under the influence of cannabis at Rathcroghan, Granard on April 18, 2022.

Inspector David Jordan outlined details of the charges before the court. On Saturday, February 18 at 2:15am officers attending to a disturbance at a licence premises found the defendant intoxicated and aggressive.

When the officers asked Mr O'Reilly to leave the area he responded, calling them f**king c**ts. He was shouting and aggressive and was arrested. As he was being placed in the Garda van he repeatedly headbutted the door. Inspector Jordan said the defendant calmed down when he was in the Garda cell.

Solicitor, Frank Gearty, told the judge a wedding had taken place earlier in the day. Mr O'Reilly's partner's sister was getting married: There was too much celebration, he was completely out of order as he had too much to drink. It was an unfortunate end to a lovely day.

Garda Shane Carr gave details of stopping the defendant who was driving a silver Volkswagen at 1:25pm on May 8, 2022 at Abbeylara, Longford. An examination of the vehicle showed that the tax disk had expired, there were no L plates on display and the driver was an unaccompanied learner driver. A fixed charge penalty notice was issued, but went unpaid.

The court was told the defendant has six previous convictions including a no insurance charge from 2020.

Judge Owens noted the father of two had clocked up a serious number of convictions in a short period of time. Mr Gearty said the defendant had a consequential disqualification because of the number of penalty points he has accrued. The defendant has 20 hours of community service left to complete on a previous community service order.

Judge Owens imposed a fine of 300 for the threatening and abusive charge, and took the public intoxication charge into account for the offences on February 18 last.

Fines of 250 for non-display of insurance, and 250 for unaccompanied driving were also imposed on the May 8 offences, with the non-display of the L plates was taken into consideration.

The charge of driving under the influence of cannabis at Rathcroghan, Granard on March 18, 2022 was adjourned to April 18 next to allow the prosecution make disclosure of evidence in the case to the defendant's legal representative.
BARRY Cowen TD has apologised if anyone was offended by a remark he made in the Dail on Wednesday during the debate on confidence in the Government.

Deputy Cowen told RTE's Claire Byrne that he did not intend to offend anybody when he said keeping or extending the eviction ban would be like making sweets free for children.

It's fine for a little while but ultimately detrimental to the greater need, the Fianna Fail TD told the Dail.

The Offaly TD was criticised by other deputies, including Cian O'Callaghan, Social Democrats, and Aodhan O Riordain, Labour Party.

Deputy Cowen told Today with Claire Byrne on RTE Radio One: What I said was just an analogy in an effort to get the message across that short term solutions don't always work in the long term. I could, for example, have said that clearing the clutter by putting it in the cupboard doesn't address it in the long term, I could have said that papering over the cracks doesn't fix the wall long term.

He added that he had four children himself. I wouldn't say anything derogatory about children. I'm sorry if people were offended by what was said, it certainly wasn't my intention. My intention was to focus on issues, solutions that are available, that have been made available, that need to be concentrated on, and the fact that extending the ban was creating this impression among many members of the public that existing notices to quit that will come into effect in the coming months will somehow be magicked away. That's not the case either and the opposition know that.

Pressed by the radio presenter on whether or not he knew that comparing sweets for children to people who are losing their homes would be offensive, Deputy Cowen said: People find that offensive, I'm apologising if that is the case. I personally as a said didn't set out to offend anybody. As I said to you, I've four children myself. I love my children, I love all children for God's sake.

He denied lacking compassion or and understanding of the stress people are under and he repeated a statement he made in the Dail that he had 20 representations in Offaly from people fearing eviction.

I represent the constituency of Laois-Offaly. I've clinics in Tullamore, Birr and Edenderry every week. I meet and live with people who are impacted by this. I've just told you I've about 20 cases where people are facing the horrible vista of not knowing if there's a solution to their issue when a notice to quit is acted upon.

The Clara-based TD also referred to his comments in the Dail about the Government's instructions to councils to purchase properties where eviction notices had been issue and where tenants were in situ, regardless of whether or not they are on the social housing list.

He listed locations across Offaly where houses are being built.

What I want to do is ensure that people realise that progress is being made, more progress can be made. I couldn't say three years ago that there was houses under construction in Edenderry, Daingean, Tullamore, Mucklagh, Clara, Ballycumber, Belmont, Banagher and Birr. But I can say it now because of the work and effort we're making as representatives within a Government party to ensure that progress is being made.

He added that funding is being made available to local authorities for house purchases and said his whole focus and emphasis in his Dail speech was to implore Dail members to ensure those facing eviction were aware of the potential resolution.

The Government was aiming to come up with a long term solution, he stressed, unlike the opposition.

A short term solution from their perspective was to bring this Government down, to have an election and take six months to put a Government in place to bring forward solutions again. Shure that's going around in circles.

He also pointed to the Government's record on housing provision.

This Government is providing record funding towards social housing, has brought in initiatives of cost rental schemes where there was none, affordable schemes where there was none, help to buy schemes of 30,000 to help with deposits, renovation of derelict and void homes up to the tune of 50,000. We're spending twice as much as any other country in the EU in relation to social housing.

Ms Byrne reminded the TD that in 2015 he said it was a scandal that 700 families were homeless across Ireland, including 1,500 children; compared to today when the equivalent figures are 1,600 families and 3,431 children.

And we've had Covid in the meantime, we've had a cost of living crisis, replied Deputy Cowen.

The TD also said an amended Planning and Development Bill, which would address planning logjams, will be before the Dail in the coming weeks.

He has been calling for statutory timelines for Bord Pleanala decisions and said it can take five years for the board to rule on an appeal while a house could be built in 25 weeks.

It's always a scandal when there are children and homelessness of those figures being mentioned in our country. But it's not a scandal that we're spending twice as much as any other EU country. It's not a scandal that this Government has brought in initiatives and schemes where there was none in relation to cost rental, in relation to affordable schemes, in relation to void units being helped and assisted to be brought back into use.
Threats made to 36 schools across New York State on Thursday, including in Buffalo and Lockport, likely originated from a foreign country, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday.

"Very often, and probably in this case, they are foreign actors," Hochul told reporters in Albany. "These are computer-generated calls originating in foreign lands that are trying to cause disruption."

Amid high-stakes budget negotiations at the state's capitol, Hochul convened a meeting with Education Commissioner Betty Rosa, Acting Superintendent of the State Police Steven Nigrelli and Andrew Pallotta, president of the state teachers union Friday to talk about the incidents.

None of the threats turned out to be credible. But school and law enforcement officials take any threats seriously, Hochul said. Lockdown protocols were initiated as law enforcement swept through the schools.

"It is phenomenally disruptive," Hochul said. "It causes trauma among teachers and children and parents. ... It causes chaos especially this week after the national had to witness another mass shooting in a children's school in Nashville."

Hoax about active shooter at Nichols could be part of national 'swatting' wave "Swatting" is when a prank call is made with the goal of drawing a large police presence.

The threats are referred to as "swatting" and are designed to fool "a school into believing there's an active shooter on site or about to appear," Hochul said. "The idea of 'swatting' is they are trying to draw law enforcement into a situation, in particular SWAT teams, to respond."

State police went to 226 schools Thursday following the threats, Hochul said.

The threats are under investigation, but she said they're difficult to prosecute, especially when the calls are coming from overseas.

"We have plenty of laws to enforce against these individuals except they're very hard to find," Hochul said.

Local and state law enforcement are working with the FBI to try to determine the origins of the calls.

Hochul said the phenomenon has been happening for years but Thursday's rash of threats, most of which were in the Hudson Valley region of the state, seemed unusually concentrated.

Last month, Nichols School in Buffalo was among five schools across the state that were targeted by hoax threats.

While Hochul addressed the hoax threats against New York schools this week, she also addressed ways for schools and law enforcement to mitigate the potential for mass violence.

Hochul said she wants to work with educators to spread the word about tools that can be used to mitigate threats, such as expanded "red flag" laws that allow law enforcement to remove guns from people who are an extreme risk to themselves or others.

The expansion of New York's red flag flaws were made following the May 14 massacre at Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo.

The shooter, Payton Gendron, was on law enforcement radar for more than a year before the mass killing. A teacher had reported he had used the phrase "murder-suicide" and state police followed up and encouraged him to get a mental health evaluation at a local hospital, according to the district attorney of Broome County where Gendron lived. A doctor deemed him "not dangerous" and sent him home.

On May 14, after months of planning and even visiting the store, authorities say he drove to the front of the store and, armed with a military-style rifle he bought legally in New York, he killed 10 people and wounded three more before he surrendered to police.

"I'd rather be in the business of preventing tragedies than solving crimes and mass shootings afterwards," Hochul said. "I want to reassure parents that the state of New York takes this very seriously."
HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly said on Friday afternoon that he is personally intervening to ensure speedy delivery of a hospice for the Midlands.

Speaking in Tullamore, Minister Donnelly indicated he still believes the long awaited project can be fast-tracked.

The Minister revealed that the State funding for the 20-bed hospice, which will be built on the grounds of the Midlands Regional Hospital, Tullamore, has been increased from 20m to 24m.

The money now has been sanctioned and is now fully available for the health team locally. The detailed design team will be appointed in a small number of weeks, said Minister Donnelly.

They will be highly cognisant of designs that have already been done... And what I've said to the HSE is there is to be no strategic assessment review, there is to be no request for another business case. This has been sanctioned by Government, it's being funded, the funding has been allocated, the design team is about to be appointed and I want to see diggers on site as quickly as possible.

In December the Minister said the hospice should be up and running before the end of 2025.

Today he said that would require a quick build but he sees no reason why it cannot be done.

I'm getting personally involved to ensure that this moves at pace and we don't see here what unfortunately we've seen in some other places where the cold dead hand of bureaucracy, for the best of reasons, to manage the risk, but unfortunately not with the best outcomes for patients, gets involved. I'm sticking absolutely to what I said the last time.

The Minister said last year the Midlands hospice will be the main pillar of a proper palliative care strategy for the region, with its 20 beds, along with community palliative care and services for adults and children.

Groups such as Offaly Hospice, Hooves 4 Hospice, North Westmeath Hospice, South Westmeath Hospice, Longford Hospice and Laois Hospice have been campaigning and fundraising for many years.
A cluster of 3-year-olds noshed on French toast and sipped from milk cartons Friday morning at West Hertel Elementary School, distracted and curious about the commotion of cameras, adults in suits and belly laughs coming from outside their classroom door.

Their space was bright and welcoming, dotted with play areas, colorful charts and an eye-catching mural created by Buffalo artists Edreys and Alexa Wajed.

Moments earlier, Say Yes Buffalo, Buffalo Public Schools and Erie County officials assembled for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the start of Say Yes Buffalo's Little Scholars, a preschool program for 3-year-olds that intends to break down barriers parents face, reduce opportunity gaps for families and help children acclimate to a classroom long before kindergarten.

David Rust, CEO of Say Yes Buffalo, credited Gellenia Smallwood, the nonprofit's senior director of early childhood, and Will Keresztes, chief of administration, public affairs and planning with Buffalo Public Schools, for leading the four-year development of the program.

Little Scholars kicked off this month with pilot classes at West Hertel and Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School. At least four more Buffalo schools plan to introduce the program this fall.

Beyond the immediate celebration of a new program lies a research-backed pathway for children, explained Rust, whose organization touches everything from scholarships to workforce preparedness to mental health supports and Saturday academies, all designed to blaze a trail toward future success.

He pointed to data that reveal better outcomes for children  from reading success in elementary school to high school performance and admission to college  who begin their educational paths in their preschool years.

"This is workforce, starting at 3 years old," Rust said.

Smallwood described it a "cradle to career and beyond" strategy.

The program is intended for families who qualify for an Erie County Department of Social Services Day Care Subsidy, according to Say Yes Buffalo's website, sayyesbuffalo.org/earlychildhood/syls, which links to an eligibility screener for prospective parents.

A 2014 study by the National Institute for Early Education Research shows preschool is even more valuable for students from low-income families, many of whom have been traditionally priced-out of such programs.

Limiting entry to those in greater need is part of Say Yes' purpose of breaking barriers, said Smallwood, who wiped away tears of joy during an interview.

"It's emotional because these are real families that have real-life experiences happening  and this is one thing they don't have to worry about," she said.

From her experiences as a single mother and an employee at a childhood center, Smallwood said she witnessed the financial hurdles and also how Buffalo's breadth of family structures might mean a greater need for access and opportunity, citing foster families, refugees and households where grandparents serve as primary guardians.

The Little Scholars mission is school readiness. Think potty training, adjusting to a big building, and developing fundamental social and emotional skills.

"Those first days where you're crying because you don't want to let mom and dad go  we're addressing that right early on," Smallwood said.

Madeline Little, a Say Yes employee who has handled communication for the Little Scholars program, said each of the inaugural classes features 14 students and three teachers. To understand the program for her marketing and social media pursuits, Little spent time in the West Hertel classroom and marveled at the impact on children during last than a month.

"They may not be able to spell or write," she said, "but they can tell what's going on."

She added that slivers of the children's personalities shine through, and they begin to try to express how they feel.

Classroom activities mimic those of typical kindergarten, with morning songs, naptime and meals complementing hands-on, play-based learning. A science lesson might see students peer from binoculars for a closer look at snow, while a foray into careers might mean dressing up like a firefighter or police officer.

A pathway has been established for students who complete the Little Scholars year. They are offered a six-week "Prep for Pre-K" summer program through Say Yes and are automatically enrolled in the Universal Prekindergarten Program at their school. The students would have already met their prekindergarten teacher as part of the Little Scholars experience. Familiarity with Say Yes will expose them to several supports as they get older, too.

Smallwood said the connectivity should "relieve stress and angst" for parents who might be worried their kids will not be prepared for school.

"They're not starting prekindergarten behind the ball," she said. "They're ready to go."
Caught on camera: Two women fight over saree during sale in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Woman dragged into car, gangraped by 4 men in Koramangala

Bengaluru

oi-Madhuri Adnal

In yet another horrific incident, a woman was allegedly gang-raped by four men in a moving car in Bengaluru's Koramangala.

According to reports, the incident took place on March 25 when a young woman was sitting at the park of a luxury apartment complex with her male friend, and was forcibly dragged into a car and gang-raped. The case has been reported in the Koramangala police station limits. The accused persons threatened her male friend and dragged the victim into the car.

The victim informed the police that she was gang-raped in the moving car. The police said that the accused drove the car to Domlur, Indiranagar, Anekal and Nice Road and committed the crime throughout the night.

According to TV9 Kannada, the accused took turns and allegedly raped her even as the car was moving. It is said that the accused drove the car with the registration number KA01 MB 6169.

The accused then left her near her residence in the early hours of March 26. After reaching home at 4 a.m, the victim was taken to a hospital, and later lodged a complaint with the police.

Maharashtra: Pastor Rahul, four others gang-rape Hindu woman, force her to convert

The police have arrested a gang of four persons in connection with the case.

Speaking to reporters, CK Baba, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Bengaluru South-East, said that all the four accused - Sathish, Vijay, Sridhar and Kiran - were arrested.
ALBANY  In the final days of state budget negotiations, more than a dozen Democrats in the State Senate have begun pushing a proposal that would upend how hospitals serving large numbers of low-income patients are funded.

For years, the level of support for those financially struggling safety net hospitals has been subject to the whims of those negotiations. Last year, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature agreed on $700 million to keep them afloat.

This year, Hochuls budget proposed no new funding, while the Legislature is seeking up to $1 billion. Negotiations have grown contentious: Hundreds of members of 1199SEIU, the major health care workers union, held a funeral procession in front of Hochuls New York City office on Wednesday  carrying coffins and tombstones, and accompanied by a horse-drawn hearse and New Orleans-style brass band playing a dirge  to illustrate the death that they say would result from Hochuls proposal.

A number of Democrats in the State Senate want to end that annual funding dance between the executive branch and Legislature, through a proposal recently authored by the chamber's top lawmaker overseeing health matters.

I've been here for 13 years. I do not recall a single year in which we didn't have to fight, said State Sen. Gustavo Rivera of the Bronx, the bills prime sponsor and chair of the Senate Health Committee. During the (Gov. Andrew) Cuomo administration, the centerpiece of the way that budgeting was approached for hospitals and institutions  for the Medicaid system, overall  was austerity. Safety net institutions that serve our most vulnerable have had the least resources for that entire time. Many of them  when they find themselves almost going off a literal cliff  are saved by the state on a piecemeal basis. That is something that's not acceptable over a long period of time.

Amid New York climate battle, here's how opposing natural gas, electric grid plans would affect you With only days until the April 1 budget deadline, New York lawmakers are racing to find a compromise on a climate and energy plan. The outcome will fundamentally change the state economy and daily life for millions. Here is how each of the proposals would affect your household.

Rivera's bill seeks greater financial parity between hospitals that treat a significant number of Medicaid patients  known as "safety net" hospitals  and hospitals treating a more affluent customer base more likely to have commercial insurance.

For services provided, commercial insurance reimburses hospitals at significantly higher rates than Medicaid, a low-income health insurance program funded by the government.

Since 2008, the State Department of Health has only marginally increased the amount Medicaid reimburses hospitals for services. At the same time, medical costs have spiked by 43 percent, according to data cited by 1199, necessitating the annual one-shot Albany budget injections for safety net hospitals.

For hospitals that qualify as "safety net" institutions, Riveras bill would instead peg the state's Medicaid reimbursement rate to the higher average commercial insurance rate paid to hospitals in the same geographic region. (The formula would consider whether a hospital was in New York City or the rest of the state.) Thirteen Senate Democrats are sponsoring the bill, including Tim Kennedy of Buffalo. Proponents believe the model would allow safety net hospitals to engage in longer-term planning, without the shadow of the annual Albany budget fights, and to finally upgrade older, outdated facilities.

We think it's time for us to end the onetime deals and look for some structural change, said State Sen. Zellnor Myrie of Brooklyn, a co-sponsor of the bill. We have to ask ourselves, Why is it that hospitals that serve predominantly Black and brown people  and in many instances poor people  remain on the bottom of the priority list for this state? 

Bail and a billionaire at issue in Albany budget talks At a news conference last Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul stated that, "Protecting New Yorkers is my No. 1 priority. Full stop."

Thirty-two general hospitals statewide would qualify as safety net hospitals, including nine outside New York City, according to the bill's proponents. In Western New York, both Erie County Medical Center and UPMC Chautauqua in Jamestown would be on that list.

To qualify, at least 36 percent of a hospitals patients must be covered by Medicaid or uninsured. Hospitals that are part of large, private health systems would not qualify, nor would certain other types, including those operated by the state.

To address concerns about wasteful hospital spending, the bill also includes transparency measures, including requiring hospitals to report on how the funding has been used to improve access and quality of services. The data would then be publicly posted.

Rivera's proposal is a late entry into this years budget talks: The bill was introduced in the State Senate on March 16  after the Senate had released its one-house budget resolution outlining its negotiating priorities. But proponents believe a version of the bill, perhaps simplified, could make it into the final budget.

Twenty-one other states already have similar models in place  and the federal government looks fondly upon this model, Myrie said, because it is viewed as helping states spend Medicaid dollars more efficiently. Those states qualify for more Medicaid reimbursement from the federal government, he said.

After Hochul vetoes, Legislature includes measure in state budget to close tax fraud 'loophole' When corporations or wealthy individuals intentionally avoid paying required taxes by not filing documents at all, a whistleblower law in New York does not apply  and for the third time the State Legislature is trying to change that.

Rivera believes that if New York adopts this model  and provides $1 billion in state funding this year to safety net hospitals  it would unlock $3 billion in federal funding. He believes that extra federal money will be a major selling point during final budget talks.

Unions supporting the bill so far include the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, CSEA Local 1000 and the New York State Nurses Association.

On Thursday, the fiscally conservative Empire Center for Public Policy released a study highlighting that in 2021, profits surged at a majority of New York hospitals: 61 percent of the states hospitals ended their fiscal years in the black, the report found.

But the report also showed a significant disparity in hospitals financial fortunes: Western New York was the only region in which hospitals collectively ended the year with a deficit. Five hospitals statewide showed losses of more than $100 million each, including Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, which lost $102 million, according to the report. Hospitals downstate generally showed stronger finances than those upstate, according to the report, which was written by the think tank's senior fellow for health policy, Bill Hammond.

This year, Hochul has proposed a 5%, across-the-board increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates for hospitals  regardless of a hospitals financial condition. The Legislature wants a 10% increase.

In contrast with those across-the-board increases, Hammond said he liked that Rivera's bill recognized not all hospitals were on the same financial footing.

The industry usually makes it seem like they are rising and falling together, but in fact, some of the institutions are absolutely thriving, Hammond said. This recognizes that not all hospitals are alike, and Albany doesn't always do that. I give them credit for at recognizing that across-the-board solutions are problematic in that way. On the other hand, you're taking about making an already-complicated system even more complicated.

Hammond argued that the Senate proposal could create a two-tiered system, one where a safety net hospitals are much more eager to serve Medicaid enrollees because they will get much greater reimbursement.

Rivera said that irrespective of his proposal, a two-tiered hospital system already clearly existed in New York  with safety net hospitals serving people in their immediate geographic areas who are poor, working-class people.

Rivera argued that the state should create the new funding mechanism so that "we can actually have that two-tiered system work a little bit better for the institutions that are going to have to continue to serve those populations."
Fact Check: Is this man criticising CM Yogi for the killing of Atiq Ahmed

Fact Check: Will your electricity connection be disconnected if you do not update your bill?

Fact Check

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Many customers have been receiving letters allegedly by the ministry of power urging them to update their electricity bills immediately in order to avoid disconnection.

The letters ask consumers to call on a particular number and speak with a representative in order to avoid disconnection. It also warns the consumer that their power connections will be cut by tonight, in case they fail to update their bill.

"Dear consumer, Your electricity power connection will be disconnected tonight 09:00 pm. Because your previous month bill has not updated, please immediately call our electricity officer Mr Devesh Joshi....To update your bill call our electricity helpline number," read the letter.

Fact check: All you need to know about 1.1% levy on UPI transactions

PIB Fact Check has however clarified that the letter is fake. The ministry of power has issued no such letter, it also said.

"Ministry of power has not issued this letter," PIB Fact Check said while further warning consumers to be cautious while sharing their personal and financial information.

This is yet another mechanism that is being used to dupe people and siphon off money from their accounts. It is important that you double check the information before you share any information. Public authorities have been regularly urging authorities not to share their personal data like account numbers, OTPs, passwords and so on. If one shares such details, it becomes easy for scammers to phish out information and siphon off your money.

Fact Check: Did burqa clad women dance to 'Jai Shri Ram tune

In case you become a victim of cybercrime, then you need to file an FIR with the cybercrime police. You can also dial the National Cyber Crime Reporting Helpline Number-1930 to register any complaint about cyber fraud.

You can also file a complaint online on www.cybercrime.gov.in. Click on file a complaint and then tap on report other cybercrime button. Enter the required details including name, email, phone number etc. You will receive an OTP on your registered mobile number, following which you can enter details about your complaint.

Fact Check Claim Your electricity connection will be disconnected if you do not update your bill Conclusion The government has clarified that this claim is fake Rating False Raise your request for FACT CHECKING. Mail us at [email protected]

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Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 13:53 [IST]
Radicalisation: Need to deliver a harder blow to deal with radicals who have no faith in human rights

Love from Jaishankar, but what can US envoy expect from Amit Shah

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The past remarks made by designated US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on human rights and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) have been dismissed by External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar.

He said that he would make the diplomat understand these issues with 100 per cent love.

In 2021, Garcetti had gone on record to say that he would bring up human rights and discrimination such as via the CAA as the core piece of engagement with India. He had also said that he would directly reach out to the Indian civil society on human rights.

"Let him come. Certain things in our profession are best done between us. So we will leave it at that, but 100 per cent pyaar se hoga (it will a 100 per cent be with love)," Jaishankar had told CNN-News 18.

Amit Shah hoists 103-ft high tricolour in Bidar

Garcetti was sworn in by US vice-president Kamala Harris on March 24.

While Jaishankar must have said that he will make the diplomat understand issues with love, the same cannot be expected from other members of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Cabinet, especially Home Minister, Amit Shah.

One of Garrett's predecessors had called on Shah, when he was the BJP president during the first term of the Narendra Modi government. A Hindustan Times report while citing the incident said that the diplomat had called on Shah at his Akbar Road residence over a cup of tea. The then US Ambassador raised the issue of human rights in India with Shah who was then party president. Shah is said to have bluntly told him that the US should first talk about human rights of the native Americans who were killed by the Anglo-Saxons in the past two centuries.

Shah is also said to have told the former Ambassador that he need not be worried by human rights in India as inclusion is part of India's culture and civilisation. The conversation according to the HT report is said to have ended abruptly and the US Ambassador returned to his Embassy.

The law is the law Jaishankar on any envoy raising Rahul issue

The US Senate had recently confirmed Garcetti's nomination, while ending a protracted hiatus of over two years to fill in the key diplomatic position in India. His candidature had been stalled due to charges that he had known about sexual harassment committed by one of his former senior advisers and he failed to do anything about it. It was due to this impasse that the US did not have an Ambassador to India for around two years.
8 held in Gujarat for putting up anti-Modi posters

India

oi-Prakash KL

The Crime Branch of Ahmedabad Police has arrested eight people for putting up posters with "objectionable slogans" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in public places and government properties in Gujarat.

The police said that the accused have put up posters with slogans like "Modi Hatao Desh Bachao" written, on them in various parts of the city on March 30 in an unauthorised manner, according to a report in ANI.

Meanwhile, Aam Admi Party (AAP) State president Isudan Gadhvi has claimed that the cops have arrested its party workers and alleged that the police action shows that the BJP is scared.

"Look at the dictatorship of BJP! Our party workers in Gujarat have been jailed under various Sections of IPC in connection with the posters of Modi hatao desh bachao! If this is not fear of Modi and BJP, then what else? Try as hard as you want! Our workers will fight," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, AAP has launched a poster campaign in 22 States, including Gujarat. At a press conference on Thursday, party's State convener Gopal Rai targeted PM Modi alleging he is engaged in ending the country's democratic system instead of fixing the education-health system and removing unemployment.

PM Modi makes surprise visit to new parliament building, inspects works

Posters in English, Hindi and all other regional languages are being put up across the country, he clarified. Rai also informed that from April 10, similar posters would be put up at all universities across the nation to make students aware about the campaign.

The party had even held a big rally under the same slogans at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi addressed by Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. "This campaign aims at sending the message across the nation about how PM Modi failed in fulfilling his promise to farmers, took away the rights of labourers, suppressed students in universities," Rai alleged.

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Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 13:06 [IST]
BJP-Cong slugfest in feverish pitch ahead of candidate lists' release

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The BJP and Congress have been trading charges of poaching ahead of the Karnataka elections which will be held on May 10.

Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai said that Karnataka's Congress president, D K Shivakumar has been making calls to BJP MLAs asking them to switch sides.

Bommai said that he has information that calls are being made by Shivakumar to the BJP MLAs. The Congress recently announced its first list of candidates. The party is yet to announce the names of 100 more candidates.

Horticulture Minister, Munirathna backed this claim by the chief minister and said that the the Congress was especially in touch with 17 MLAs who had switched sides in 2019 and backed the BJP, which eventually went on to form the government.

Karnataka: Why this is a battle like never-before for the Congress

Incidentally Munirathna is one of those 17 MLAs.

"They somehow want to get the 17 leaders back. I will quit politics, but not the BJP. The Congress did not treat us with respect when we were with them. The BJP has given us respect," he said.

These allegations were however denied by Shivakumar.

"They are lining up before us. I am not calling anyone. We have no space to accommodate them. The BJP, which formed the government with the Congress and JD(S) legislators have no moral authority to criticise poaching," Shivakumar said.

Ahead of the elections, former ministers, Varthur Prakash, Pramod Madhwaraj, former MP S P Muddahanumegowda, ex-MLA K S Manjunath Gowda, were among others who joined the BJP.

The Congress on the other hand inducted BJP's Baburao Chinchansur and Puttana into its fold. The two had resigned as Members of the Legislative Council. Former MP Manjunath Kannur, former MLA M C Sudhakar and leader leader, B L Devaraj also joined the Congress.

Housing Minister, V Somanna was also keen on joining the Congress, but he decided to stay back in the BJP.

The trading allegations are at a feverish pitch in Karnataka as all parties are yet to release their complete list of candidates. The Congress had last week release its list of 124 candidates, in which it was announced that former chief minister, Siddaramaiah would contest from Varuna. The JD(S) has announced the names of 93 candidates, while the BJP is expected to make its announcement on April 7 or 8.

What ails Karnataka parties & the need for a social composition

BJP MLA from Bijapur city Basanagouda Patil Yatnal said it would be foolish to jump to the Congress at this stage. Initially the poll predictions showed that the Congress was leading, but today the tables have turned and the BJP is expected to win at least 120 seats, he said.

Bommai asserted that the the Congress has intentionally held back its list of 100 candidates. Shivakumar is calling BJP MLAs. This shows their level of desperation and that they do not have strong candidates, he also said.
I'll pay Rs 10 lakh each to Shah, Shinde if they sit under sun: MIM MP

Will win with a majority says Amit Shah in Karnataka

Shah hits off Karnataka poll campaign from crucial Old Mysuru Region

Amit Shah speaks to Bengal governor over Ram Navami violence in Howrah

India

oi-Deepika S

Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday spoke to Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose to take stock of the situation in the state after a clash broke out between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in Howrah on Thursday.

During the telephonic conversation, the home minister sought to know the prevailing situation in the state, particularly in the violence-hit areas of Howrah.

According to PTI, the governor is believed to have provided the home minister details about Thursday's violence and the present situation.

Hindus not behind violence in Howrah, it was by BJP: Mamata Banerjee

Clashes broke out between two groups in the Kazipara area of Howrah district during Ram Navami festivities. Several vehicles were torched and shops ransacked in the area, police said.

The situation in and around the area was peaceful on Friday with a large number of police personnel deployed there.

Meanwhile, West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the violence in Howarh and Dalkhola and requested "an impartial inquiry involving Central agencies like NIA".

"It is our firm belief that the whole incident was pre-planned by the unfolding of events with first statement coming from none other than the CM on 29th March that strict action will be taken against the Processions of Ram Navami of there is any untoward incident," reads the letter.

Thirty-one people have been arrested in connection with Thursday's violence, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Claiming that there was laxity in a section of the administration, she said strict action would be taken against those involved in the clash.

Ram Navmi violence: Fresh clashes in Bengal; other 3 States normal

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who assured of strict action against the culprits, accused the BJP for allegedly trying to stoke communal tension during the procession.

The BJP, meanwhile, has sought an NIA probe and deployment of central forces in the affected areas through a petition in the Calcutta High Court.
Amritpal Singh has made a joke out of the Punjab Police

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Radical Sikh leader, Amritpal Singh has successfully managed to dodge police action for the past two weeks.

It says a lot about the will of the Punjab Police and this inaction had even prompted a reprimand from the High Court, which asked if an 80,000 strong force was unable to nab one man. Despite combing operations, Amritpal Singh managed to give the police the slip on March 28.

Post his escape on March 18, Amritpal Singh has been seen in Haryana and Delhi. There were reports that he was making efforts to get out of the country and reach Nepal. However there are no confirmed reports that he is back in Punjab.He even audaciously said in a recent video that he will not surrender. Instead he has called for a large Sikh congregation to discuss issues relating to the community. Backing his case is the Akhal Takht, which has called for the release of all Amritpal's aides. It has also warned of consequences, if action against Amritpal Singh is not stalled.

Amritpal Singh looking to create chaos before his surrender: Sources

Experts OneIndia spoke with say that from the start, it did not appear as though the Punjab Police are serious about Amritpal Singh. Although the police claim that it will not stop until he is arrested, it looks as though the right action has not been taken as yet. Further being the police of a border state and knowing fully well that he is a stooge of the ISI, Pakistan, it is surprising that the police have not been able to nab him as yet, the expert also said.

The descent of Amritpal Singh into India is also something that needs to be pondered over. A truck driver in Dubai, he landed out of nowhere to take over the Waris Punjab De following the death of Deep Sidhu. The Punjab Police were silent when the man went on a rampage attacking people at Gurdwaras.

While the way he has been giving the police the slip is one part of the problem, the reaction by the Punjab Police was clearly lacking during the Ajnala Police station incident. His supporters stormed the police straiten with weapons and the police did not act. Instead they cited the Guru Granth Sahib carried by his supporters as the reason for them not acting.

While the chase continues, Amritpal Singh has indicated that the police had no intention of arresting him. Had they that intention, they would have come to my house, he said.

In the video clip he is heard saying, "the Almighty saved us from the attempt of lakhs of cops, who were sent to make an arrest."

Is Amritpal Singh back in Punjab?

He also said that the state government had no intention of arresting him.

"If the state government had the intention of making an arrest, the police could have come to my house and he would have given up."

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Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 12:18 [IST]
Amritpal's close aide Joga Singh arrested in Punjab

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Joga Singh, the driver and close aide of 'Waris Punjab De' chief and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh, who continues to elude the cops, has been arrested on Friday. According to report, Joga had allegedly provided the Scorpio vehicle used by Amritpal to flee from the authorities.

Meanwhile, Police have stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal Singh may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines - Golden Temple in Amritsar and Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.

The pro-Khalistan preacher released a new video amid the news of his surrender said that he was not like those who would flee the country. The Waris Punjab De chief was last traced in Punjab's Hosiyarpur. The purported video surfaced hours after his audio clip came out on social media in which he debunked speculation he was negotiating his surrender.

The police action began on March 18, weeks after Amritpal Singh's supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala, near Amritsar, to secure the release of one of his associates. The preacher escaped the police net in Jalandhar district by switching vehicles and changing appearances multiple times.

Amritpal Singh has made a joke out of the Punjab Police

In the first video, which appeared on social media on Wednesday, he asked the Jathedar of Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of Sikhs, to summon a congregation to discuss issues concerning the community.

He and his associates have been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.
Kerala CM accuses Gov of 'acting as RSS tool' on his order to VCs to resign

Larger Bench to hear corruption case against Kerala CM Vijayan

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

In a major relief for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala Lok Ayukta referred the case over alleged misappropriation of Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) referred to a larger bench.

The verdict comes as interim relief for Vijayan, who will get some more time before the larger bench delivers the final verdict on the case.

The petitioner had approached the Kerala High Court last week seeking its intervention that things have now speeded up.

The High Court asked the petitioner to approach the Lokayukta with his petition and it was after this ruling came, that the Lokayukta decided to take up the case on Friday.

The plea filed by Public activist R.S. Sasikumar was submitted to the anti-corruption ombudsman in September 2018 and the hearing concluded on March 18, 2022.

Sasikumar had alleged that the money was given to those who were not supposed to get the relief. These included the family of a deceased CPI(M) legislator, the family of a top leader from a Left ally who passed away, and also to a Kerala Police officer who died when his vehicle met with an accident while accompanying then top leader of the CPI(M), Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
It was the best day in history says Donald Trump as his ratings soar

Days after US backs Rahul, ex-prez Trump set to be arrested

India

oi-Prakash KL

Days after the United States said that it was "watching" the court case of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, former US President Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury over hush money payments made to a porn star during his 2016 campaign.

The office of Manhattan district attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg, who has been pursuing the investigation, confirmed that it had contacted Trump's lawyers on Thursday evening to "coordinate his surrender" on unspecified charges.

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DA's office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected," a spokesperson for Bragg said.

What happens next to Trump? Will he be arrested in hush money indictment?

The case is about a payment made just days before Trump, who is currently the front-runner among all declared and potential contenders for the Republican White House nomination, was elected President in 2016. His former attorney Michael Cohen arranged a wire transfer of $1,30,000 to Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair. Daniels has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006 - the year after he married his current wife Melania.

In a statement responding to news of his indictment, the former president called it "political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history," and accused Democrats of "weaponising our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States."

"The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to 'Get Trump', but now they've done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference," Trump said.

US comment on Gandhi's conviction

Interestingly, only a few days ago, the United States had said that it was "watching the court case of Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi", who was disqualified from Lok Sabha last week after his conviction by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case.

"Respect for the rule of law and judicial independence is a cornerstone of any democracy. We are watching Mr Gandhi's case in Indian courts and we engage with the Government of India on our shared commitment to democratic values, including, freedom of expression," the State Department's Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at a news conference on Monday.

Former President Trump indicted by NY grand jury

"In our engagements with our Indian partners, we continue to highlight the importance of democratic principles and the protection of human rights, including freedom of expression, as a key to strengthening both our democracies," he said.

Similarly, Indian-American lawmaker Ro Khanna called the former Congress president's expulsion a "deep betrayal of Gandhian philosophy and India's deepest values." He also requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reverse the decision.

"The expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from Parliament is a deep betrayal of Gandhian philosophy and India's deepest values. This is not what my grandfather sacrificed years in jail for. @narendramodi you have the power to reverse this decision for the sake of Indian democracy," he had tweeted.

With inputs from PTI

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Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 10:38 [IST]
Indore temple tragedy: Toll rises to 36

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The death toll in Indore temple stepwell roof collapse incident rose to 36 on Friday with the recovery of one more victim's body in the afternoon, an official said.

The roof of a 'bawdi' (stepwell) collapsed during a havan', a fire ritual, on the occasion of Ram Navami at the Shri Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in Indore's Patel Nagar area in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday.

"Total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment. The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," ANI quoted Indore Collector as saying.

Stepwell collapse at Indore temple | Death toll rises to 35



18 people were admitted to the hospital, out of which 2 people have been discharged. 35 people died. One person is still missing. Army, NDRF & SDRF teams are conducting search & rescue operation: Indore Collector Dr pic.twitter.com/3Ff6VzAkXs  ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 31, 2023

In the morning, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in the city, where the tragedy occurred on Thursday. Near the temple, a group of locals shouted ''Murdabad'' slogans in protest when Chouhan was on way to console the victims' families.

Talking to reporters, Indore Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) Pawan Kumar Sharma said, ''The body of one person who had gone missing after the incident has been recovered from the 'bawdi'.

With this, the bodies of 36 people have been recovered from the water body so far.'' Sixteen people, who were injured in the accident, have been admitted to a hospital, while two other persons have been sent home after first aid, he said.

According to Sharma, the bodies of all those who were reported missing by the family members have been recovered. ''But we are not calling off the search operation right away. We will remove the entire silt from the stepwell so that there is no doubt left,'' he added.

Questions are now being raised as to how did the administration allow construction of a slab atop an ancient stepwell. According to reports, the stepwell was at least 50 years old and that the temple next to it was an old structure which was later renovated to accommodate the step-well area by simply covering it.

The head priest of the temple Laxminarayan Sharma said the roof was constructed without any concrete support by putting stone slabs and concrete by fitting iron rods.

The temple was constructed by laying a slab over the bawdi in a covered campus, Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra said. A probe has been ordered into the matter, particularly to find out how the temple was allowed to be constructed over a bawdi, Mishra said.

Indore temple tragedy could have been averted had officials acted in time

Nearly 30-35 devotees fell into the well after the accident at the temple, said Indore Police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar citing eyewitness accounts. Earlier, a witness had put the number at nearly 25.

An eyewitness said that during the religious programme, there was a huge crowd of devotees on the roof of the bawdi in the temple. As the structure could not bear the load of so many people, it caved in, he said.

After the accident, people gathered around the temple looking for their family members who were present on the premises at the time of the tragedy.

Kantibhai Patel, president of Patel Nagar Residents Association, said no ambulance reached the spot for an hour even after authorities were alerted about the accident. Officials have identified the deceased persons as Lakshmi Patel (70), Bharti Kukreja (58), Jaivanti Khhobchandani (84), Daksha Patel (60), Madhu Bhammani (48), Manisha Motwani (40), Ganga Patel (58), Kanak Patel (32), Pushpa Patel (49), Bhumika Khanchandani (31) and Indra Kumar Harwani (53).

CM Chouhan also spoke to the Indore collector and police commissioner over the phone and directed them to speed up the rescue operation, said an official. Efforts are on with full might to rescue the trapped people, he added.

Condolences

President Draupadi Murmu and leaders across the political spectrum expressed their condolences over the incident.

Expressing anguish soon after the accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted, "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM Shivraj Chouhan Ji and took an update on the situation. The state government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers with all those affected and their families."

The prime minister also announced an ex-gratia from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the kin of the Indore accident victims, said a press release by Prime Minister's Office on Thursday. A tweet on the official handle of the Prime Minister's Office read; "An ex-gratia of 2 lakh (each) from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate tragedy in Indore today. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000 (each): PM."
Federal attorneys have accused owners of a City of Tonawanda restaurant of driving a transgender employee out of his job with "incessant harassment and offensive remarks about his gender identity.

T.C. Wheelers Bar & Pizzeria on Wheeler Street was accused of unlawful workplace harassment in a federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The government agency charged on Thursday that one of T.C. Wheelers owners repeatedly harassed Quinn J. Gambino, a transgender male, including telling Gambino that he wasnt a real man, asking invasive questions about his transition and asking, Does she have female parts? 

Gambino began working as a cook at the restaurant in January 2021 and was compelled to quit four months later because of repeated harassment by an owner, managers and co-workers, the EEOC reported in court papers.

Owners of the business "failed to protect Gambino by not addressing the almost daily harassment from all levels of staff, including owners, managers and line employees, the EEOC said.

The restaurant owners, identified in court papers as Christopher and Anthony Candino, could not be reached for comment on Thursday. A restaurant worker said she was unaware of the reported harassment and said she would pass a Buffalo News reporters contact information on to the owners and managers.

According to court papers, Gambino identified himself as a male when he applied for work in January 2021, but did not tell the owners he was transgender.

Soon after he began working at T.C. Wheelers, Gambino was subjected to numerous anti-transgender comments, including remarks that equated being transgender to pedophilia, the lawsuit claimed.

Owners did nothing to stop the harassment after Gambino complained, and the cook quit his job in May 2021, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

The EEOC accused Christopher Candino of repeatedly stating his disapproval of Gambinos transgender status and referring to Gambino as she.

After Gambino filed a complaint, the EEOC said it issued a letter of determination in February 2022, telling restaurant owners that it found probable cause to believe federal discrimination law had been violated.

The EEOC said it then gave T.C. Wheelers an opportunity to remedy the situation, but could not reach an agreement with the restaurant.

The lawsuit seeks back pay and unspecified punitive damages against the restaurant. It also seeks to require the restaurant to stop harassment and give equal opportunities to transgender workers.
Does Karnataka vote on caste alone: A look at the other issues

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The dates for the Karnataka Assembly elections were announced on Wednesday by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Karnataka will vote on May 10 and the results would be out on May 13, making it a short turnover election.

While the Janata Dal (S) is in the mix, the real battle is between the Congress and BJP. While caste and social engineering are key aspects to winning the Karnataka battle, there are other issues as well, which will decide the outcome the of the Karnataka Assembly elections.

Social engineering:

The Congress is heavily banking on the votes of the schedule castes, Vokkaligas and Kurubas. It would also rely heavily on the Muslim population who constitute 11 per cent of the population. The BJP is wooing its natural voter base of Lingayats hard, but is also trying to bolster its fortunes in the Vokkaliga belt, which has traditionally voted for the Congress and JD(S).

Why the Congress is fighting the Karnataka battle without a CM face

Anti-incumbency:

Karnataka has never voted a party back to power and the state has always seen a change in the power dynamics since the past several years. The BJP is battling anti-incumbency and is hoping to repeat what happened in Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has toured the state extensively in a bid to beat the anti-incumbency factor. Karnataka is also important for the BJP in the context of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as there are 28 seats for grabs and the BJP currently holds 26. The Congress however is confident that it can ride on the anti-incumbency issue. The party has also made the sole focus of its campaign around the corruption of the BJP government.

Reservation:

Recently the Cabinet led by Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai increased the quotas for SC and STs by 2 and 4 per cent. It also did away with the reservation for the Muslims and divided the 4 per cent between the two most dominant castes in the states-the Vokkaligas and Lingayats. The Congress however believes that this has come too late in the day.

Freebies:

This time around the freebie packages include insurance policies, cookers, pilgrimages, grinders among others. While some of the items being doled out look like they are aimed at wooing the woman voters, noted psephologist Dr. Sandeep Shastri is of the view that it may not work.

BJP likely to return to power in Karnataka, predicts Opinion poll

Guarantees:

The Congress ahead of the elections had promised families headed by women, free electricity, grains to voters and a monthly dole to farmers. While this ploy worked for the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP however does not subscribe to this view.

Development:

There have been numerous inaugurations in the past several months by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Bommai. Since January the PM has visited Karnataka eight times and many more such visits are on the anvil. While many projects have been launched, new projects amounting to Rs 1 lakh crore including the Rs 8,500 crore Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway has been inaugurated.

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Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 12:10 [IST]
Go to Pakistan, SAD MP advises Amritpal Singh

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Lok Sabha MP and head of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Simranjit Singh has advised fugitive Sikh leader, Amritpal Singh to flee India and leave for Pakistan.

"He should not surrender, he should cross the Ravi river and go to Pakistan," Singh told a local news channel in an interview.

He went on to remind how many had gone to Pakistan in 1984.

"We went to Pakistan in 1984 as well, did we not?" he added. He justified his statements by saying that if Amritpal Singh flees India it justifies Sikh history. His life is in danger and the government is oppressing us, he added.

Amritpal Singh has made a joke out of the Punjab Police

The remarks were in reference to the 1984 events which eventually led to the anti-Sikh riots. In a bid to eliminate terrorist, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other pro-Khalistan elements, the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi had ordered, 'Operation Bluestar.' Her Sikh bodyguards later assassinated her and this led to the Sikh riots of 1984.

Lieutenant General K S Brar who headed the operation at that time had said that there was a good chance that Pakistan would have aided the Khalistani elements and recognised a new country had it been announced.

The comments come at a time when reports suggest that Amritpal Singh could give himself up before the Akal Takht at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. In a recent video Singh has called for a large Sikh congregation to discuss the problems of the community. He said that the meeting should be held on Baisakhi which falls on April 14. The video is said to be recorded in Uttar Pradesh and uploaded from the United Kingdom.

'Neither in custody nor negotiating surrender, says Amritpal in new audio clip

Since the Punjab Police launched a massive man-hunt for Singh, he had managed to remain elusive. The last he is heard to have entered Punjab, but the police is yet to nab him. He is said to be 10 to 12 kilometres away from Amritsar. He will attempt to enter Amritsar and then perform prayers at the Golden Temple.He has however made it clear that the question of his surrender does not arise.

The police meanwhile have told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it is doing all it can to nab Singh. The High Court however had on an earlier date reprimanded the administration while questioning its inability to nab one man, despite having a strong force of 80,000.

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Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 15:24 [IST]
Hindus not behind violence in Howrah, it was by BJP: Mamata Banerjee

India

oi-PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday claimed that the BJP along with other right-wing organisations was responsible for violence in the industrial town of Howrah on Ram Navami.

She appealed to people to maintain peace in the area.

''Howrah's incident is very unfortunate. Neither Hindus nor Muslims were behind the violence in Howrah. The BJP along with Bajrang Dal and other such organisations were involved in the violence with arms,'' Banerjee told Bengali television news channel ABP Ananda.

The state government will help all those whose properties were vandalised in the clashes, she said. "Thirty-one people have been arrested in connection with Thursday's violence in Howarh," the CM said.

Ram Navmi violence: Fresh clashes in Bengal; Maharashtra, Gujarat & Karnataka back to normal

Claiming that there was "laxity in a section of the administration", she said strict action would be taken against those involved in the clash.

Clashes broke out between two groups during Ram Navami festivities. Several vehicles were torched, and shops ransacked in the area, police said.

The situation in and around the Kazipara area in the district, which witnessed clashes between two groups during Ram Navami, was peaceful on Friday and under control as large numbers of police force remained deployed in the area on Friday.

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Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 16:16 [IST]
Suspense over as Mukul Roy says, I want to be in BJP

Mamata Banerjee vs BJP over Ram Navami violence in Howrah

India

oi-Deepika S

Trinamool Congress and opposition BJP indulged in a war of words over the violence during a Ram Navami procession in Bengal's Howrah, with the saffron camp claiming that "appeasement politics" of the ruling party is behind the incident.

The TMC alleged that it was a conspiracy of the BJP to polarise the society for political gain.

Both parties shared videos as evidence of the violence on Twitter- the TMC showing clips of people in the Ram Navami procession holding guns and other weapons, and the BJP releasing a video of some men vandalising shops and hurling stones at Rapid Action Force (RAF) and police.

At a press conference, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that the violence was the result of the alleged appeasement politics of the Mamata Banerjee government which failed to rein in "anti-national forces".

Stating that he moved the Calcutta High Court seeing an NIA probe into the incident, Adhikari said the chief minister must step down for her failure to control the violence and "apologise to Hindus for the attacks on their properties."

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged in a press conference that the procession was taken out without police permission as part of a long-term attempt of the saffron camp to disrupt peace and harmony.

He also claimed that intelligence feedback suggested that the violence at Kazirapa was a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched by the BJP which wants to divide people on the basis of religion for political gains.

Waving two letters, purportedly sent by police to organisers of the Ram Navami processions, the Diamond Harbour MP said, "The police had instructed them that there should not be any display of arms including swords, no DJ music and the approximate number of people should be intimated and the route of the procession should be let known." However, the organisers did not respond to the letters, the nephew of the chief minister claimed.

Had the administration stopped the procession, "our government would have been accused of hurting religious sentiments," Banerjee said.

"Why did such an incident take place during Ram Navami? Remember, BJP leaders had met (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah in Delhi on March 27. There must be a link between the developments. The probe by state investigating agencies will bring out the whole truth, we want the real conspirators to be identified and brought to book," he added.

Banerjee also claimed Ram Navami clashes had never taken place in the state from 2011 when the TMC came to power to 2014, and started since 2015-16 when the BJP got a toehold in the state's politics.

Showing a purported video where a youth is seen holding a revolver at a Ram Navami procession, he asked, "Who has imported this culture to Bengal? What Lord Rama has to do with a pistol?" Asked about the video shared by the TMC, Adhikari said, "BJP activists never believe in carrying weapons, including firearms in public, unlike the Trinamool Congress. Let the TMC provide evidence about the participation of our activists with firearms in the procession. We will take action against him."

Accusing Mamata Banerjee of instigating the violence, Adhikari claimed: "She had voiced apprehension about violence during Ram Navami procession and cautioned people. How could she know it beforehand? "Over 1,000 processions were taken out all over the state on Ram Navami and minorities extended greetings to many of them. Only three incidents of violence took place, including the one at Howrah. Then who is behind the trouble - the TMC's hooligans." Abhishek Banerjee, also posted a tweet labelling the BJP as "dangabaj" (riot mongers).

"BJP's dangabaji formula at work again. Provoke and instigate communities against each other. Supply weapons to incite violence. Create communal tension deliberately. Reap political benefits. A classic unholy blueprint right out of the @BJP4India playbook!," he tweeted.

Adhikari also demanded deployment of central paramilitary forces in the area.

Violence broke out on Thursday evening between two groups when a Ram Navami procession was taken out at Kazipra in Howrah. Several vehicles, including some belonging to the police, were torched and shops and auto-rickshaws ransacked.

with PTI inputs
Punjab CM's daughter gets life threat from Khalistani elements

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal has appealed to the Indian embassy in US to ensure safety of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's daughter, who has reportedly received threat calls from pro-Khalistan elements.

Mann's daughter Seerat Kaur Mann received the threat calls amid protests by Khalistani protestors against crackdown on 'Waris Punjab De' chief and radical Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh Sandhu and his associates in Punjab.

Taking to micro-blogging Twitter, Swati Maliwal wrote: ''Read reports of Punjab CM Shri @BhagwantMann's daughter receiving death threats in the USA. It is an act of extreme cowardice. I appeal to the @IndianEmbassyUS to ensure her safety.''

Ahead of G20 meet, pro-Khalistan outfit makes threat calls

Read reports of Punjab CM Shri @BhagwantManns daughter receiving death threats in the USA. It is an act of extreme cowardice. I appeal to the @IndianEmbassyUS to ensure her safety.  Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) March 31, 2023

According to reports, a Patiala-based lawyer Harmeet Brar revealed that Mann's daughter and family got a threat and abusive call from Khalistani supporters. "Will threatening and abusing children get you Khalistan?" Brar asked. "Are you going to get Khalistan this way by threatening and abusing children... Such people are a blot on Sikhism," Brar wrote on Facebook post.

Notably, Mann's ex-wife Inderpreet Kaur Grewal, who separated from Mann in 2015, has been living in Seattle with daughter Seerat, 21, and son Dilshan, 18.

Confirming about the threats, Seerat said that she and her brother had been receiving threats online, through the phone and even during meetings held in the gurdwara in the US. She reiterated that they were not involved in any decision-making of any politician in India, especially the CM of Punjab.

Seerat expressed her concerns about their safety and requested people to understand the situation and explain it to others, if needed.

Brar said Inderpreet told her about the abusive phone calls from pro-Khalistan elements, adding that some resolution has been passed in a gurdwara asking separatists to gherao Seerat and Dilshan over the ongoing crackdown in Punjab, reported The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, Amritpal Singh on Wednesday released a new video amid the news of his surrender. The Waris Punjab De chief was last traced in Punjab's Hosiyarpur. The purported video surfaced hours after his audio clip came out on social media in which he debunked speculations that he was negotiating his surrender.

Khalistan elements will spiral further out of control abroad: Intel

"Those who feel that I have turned fugitive and I have left my associates, they should not keep this illusion in their mind. I do not fear death," he said in the video in Punjabi. "And soon will appear before the world and will also be amongst the 'Sangat'," he said.

Police have stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal Singh may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines - Golden Temple in Amritsar and Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.

The pro-Khalistan preacher said he was not like those who would flee the country. "One has to face a lot during the days of rebellion... These days of rebellion are difficult to pass," he said. It was his second video since being on the run.
Ram Navami violence: Sec 144 imposed, internet suspended in Howrah; Clashes in Bihar

India

oi-Deepika S

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Friday issued a strong statement condemning the violence that broke out in Bengal districts during Ram Navami celebrations.

"Those who resort to violence under the illusion that they can hoodwink the people will soon realise they are in a fool's paradise. There will be effective and concerted action to book the culprits and bring them before the law. Setting fire to public property, that too on the sacred Ram Navami day, is a highly provocative act and will be viewed seriously," the Bengal Governor said.

"Trouble makers and abettors will be made to realise that they cannot play Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde in Bengal anymore. Police should be objective, strong and fair, and should not let down their masters and the peace-loving people," he added.

"The Governor and the Chief Minister had a confidential discussion to review the situation. The State Government was directed to ensure that fool-proof arrangements are made to maintain law and order effectively and action taken against miscreants firmly. The Chief Minister assured that strict and decisive action will be taken to prevent recurrence of such criminal intimidation," read Raj Bhavan statement.

"Close on heels of this, the home secretary called on the governor and assured compliance. Governor called for a compliance report in the matter. Governor ordered real time monitoring of the situation by Raj Bhavan and constituted a special cell for the same," the statement added.

Meanwhile, prohibitory orders under section 144 have been imposed in violence-hit Howrah. Internet services have been suspended in some areas within the jurisdiction of Howrah Town, Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate and Barrackpore Police Commissionerate till 2 am Saturday in the wake of violence.

West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar has demanded NIA probe over Howrah violence.

"This whole violence has been orchestrated by Mamata Banerjee. She has done this to retain her Muslim votes because her Muslim vote bank was diminishing in the by-election. I have written a letter to HM Amit Shah demanding an NIA inquiry into the violence on Ram Navami in Howrah. Amit Shah spoke to me over phone and assured me that he will monitor the causes of this entire violence," Majundar said.

Violence in Sarasam, Nalanda

A few Police personnel sustained injuries as they tried to control the situation when clashes broke out between two groups in Sasaram. Section 144 CrPC has been imposed in the city.

Shahabad DIG Naveen Chandra Jha said the situation is under control in Sasaram. "Tension had erupted here. SP, DM and other officials of the district are here," he said.

"No, it is false. Nothing like that happened," he said when asked about reports of Police personnel shot during Sasaram violence.

Also, stone pelting and arson of vehicles also occurred near Gagan Diwan under Laheri Police Station area in Nalanda. Police and administration officials were present at the spot, ANI reported.
Ram Navmi violence: Fresh clashes in Bengal; other 3 States normal

India

oi-Prakash KL

Ram Navmi celebrations on Thursday were by and large peaceful across the country except for several violent incidents while devotees taking out processions in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.

As per a latest report, however, fresh violence erupted on Friday morning in West Bengal's Howrah a day after miscreants attacked an ongoing Ram Navmi procession in Kazipara area of the twin city.

Reports of the fresh clashes came in soon after police claimed that the situation is peaceful and under control. A senior official told PTI that a large number of police have been deployed in the area to maintain peace.

Violence over Ram Navami procession in Bengals Howrah; stones pelted, vehicles torched

"There was no untoward event in the night. Heavy police deployment continues and senior police officers are present in the area. We have conducted raids in different places and arrested 35 people till now in connection with Thursday's clash," the official said on Friday. Identity of the detainees will be verified from video grabs and legal actions against the perpetrators will follow, he said.

Miscreants torched several vehicles, including some belonging to the police, and ransacked shops and auto-rickshaws during Thursday's violence. Ten people were reportedly injured in the incident and 36 people have been detained.

Meanwhile, the BJP has filed a PIL in Calcutta High Court over Howrah violence demanding an NIA probe into the violence while urging for the deployment of the central forces in the area.

In Gujarat, police have detained 24 persons for hurling stones at two Ram Navmi processions in communally-sensitive areas in Vadodara. Stones were hurled at two separate processions when they were passing through Fatehpura and nearby Kumbharwada. At least two persons were injured in stone-pelting by a mob at Kumbharwada, the police said.

Vadodara Police Commissioner Shamsher Singh said the situation in the city was under control and people were carrying out their routine activities. "We have detained 24 persons in this connection so far. They will be formally arrested soon after registering FIRs. The situation is completely under control and normalcy was restored yesterday itself," Singh said.

Similarly, Mumbai Police have apprehended more than 20 persons in connection with a clash between two groups during a Ram Navmi procession in Malvani area. The incident occurred on Thursday night in suburban Malad (West) when the procession was in progress. At least 14 cops were wounded in the violence.

Delhi devotees take out Ram Navmi procession sans police permission

Also, clashes broke out between two groups in Hassan in Karnataka during a Ram Navmi procession. Four people have suffered injuries after they were stabbed when the procession was passing by a mosque. However, preliminary investigation has said that it was a minor scuffle and the situation is normal in the city. A total of nine people have been arrested.

Apart from these incidents, the celebrations remained largely incident-free in the rest of the country with people coming out on the streets with religious fervour and enthusiasm and law-enforcement agencies on the watch.

With inputs form PTI
Family of Delhi cop who died after being stabbed by a thief to get Rs 1 crore compensation

Bengaluru man who was denied Rs 1 change by bus conductor gets Rs 2,000 relief from consumer court

Re-marriage of widow not ground to deny compensation under Motor Vehicle Act: Bombay HC

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Bombay High Court recently held that the remarriage of a widow cannot be a ground to deny her compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act.

The argument of the insurance company that a widow, if she remarries, should be denied compensation for the death of her first husband was rejected by a single-Judge Bench of Justice S G Dice.

"One cannot expect that for getting compensation of deceased husband, the widow has to remain widow for life time or till getting compensation. Considering her age, and at the time of accident, she was wife of deceased, is sufficient ground that she is entitled for the compensation. Moreover after death of husband remarriage can not be a taboo to get a compensation," the court said in its order dated March 3.

Bombay HC grants pre-arrest bail to man accused of holding girl's hand, says no 'sexual intent' in act

The Bench was hearing a plea filed by Iffco Tokio General Insurance Company, which challenged the order of the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT), by which the firm was held liable to compensate the respondent wife of one Ganesh, who had died in an accident in 2010.

Ganesh was travelling on a motor cycle as a pillion rider, when the two wheeler hit an auto rickshaw which was being driven in a rash and negligent manner. He died in hospital.

At the time of the death, the wife was just 19-years old. She then filed a plea seeking compensation and the during the pendency of which she got re-married.

The insurance company cited her re-marriage as a ground to deny her the compensation.

It was also contended that the insurance company cannot be held liable to pay the compensation as the autorickshaw was only permitted to ply within the Thane district.

Feed strays, they wont get aggressive: Bombay HC tells management committee

Justice Dige rejected both the arguments and said:

"In my view the company have not examined any witness to prove that taking offending rickshaw outside the jurisdiction of Thane district was breach of terms of permit, and it amount's to breach of terms and conditions of insurance policy. Hence, I do not see merit in the contention that there was breach of terms and conditions of insurance policy."

While making these observations, the Bench dismissed the plea of the insurance firm.

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Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 14:12 [IST]
Why the Congress is fighting the Karnataka battle without a CM face

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Congress has decided that it will not project a chief minister candidate until the elections in Karnataka are over.

Both Congress chief, D K Shivakumar and former chief minister, Siddaramaiah are front-runners to the post. However national Congress chief, Mallikarjuna Kharge has made it clear that the post of chief minister will be decided after the elections are over.

The Congress is expected to take the 2013 route, when it contested the elections without a CM face. In that year, the two contenders were Siddaramaiah and then Congress chief, Dr. G Parameshwar, who eventually lost the elections. The final call on the CM was taken after the elections and the man in charge was decided by the MLAs.

Ahead of final list of candidates being released, trading allegations reach feverish pitch in Karnataka

The Congress would not make the mistake it made in 2018, when it projected Siddaramaiah as the CM face. His rivals had joined other parties with the clear intention of defeating him. The gamble paid off for the rivals and the Congress fell short of a majority by 33 seats.

Even though the high command has decided not to announce a CM face, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have made the noises to indicate that they are in the running, if the Congress is voted to power. However this pitch has gone down considerably now, with both leaders only focusing on trying to win the elections. This is largely to do with the fact that Kharge stepped in and asked both leaders to only focus on winning, while adding that the CM would be decided later.

For Shivakumar the issue is a tricky one. He is appealing largely to the dominant Vokkaliga community. The community tends to vote for a leader if they find that he or she would become the CM of the state. This voting pattern was seen in the case of both S M Krishna and H D Deve Gowda, both of whom belong to the Vokkaliga community. Shivakumar is making a similar appeal to the voters of the community stating that if they vote for the Congress a Vokkaliga would become CM.

For Siddaramaiah the negatives are that he has several rivals within the party. The Congress would not want a repeat of the 2018 fiasco in which even Siddaramaiah ended up losing from his home turf of Chamundeshwari. On the other hand, for Shivakumar, the negatives are corruption and money laundering cases that are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED).

BJP likely to return to power in Karnataka, predicts Opinion poll

However the issue of the CM's post in the Congress would not be as simple as a battle between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. There is M B Patil from the Lingayat community, Satish Jarkiholi (ST), G Parameshwar (Dalit) and Zameer Ahmed Khan (Muslim) who have also thrown their hat into the ring.

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Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 10:04 [IST]
Theaterisation in focus, PM to address top guns with 'RRR' as theme

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on April 1 address a top military conference with an eye on the theaterisation of the Indian military.

The three-day Combined Commanders' Conference began on Thursday and the same is based on the theme, "ready, Resurgent, Relevant."

"During the conference, deliberations will be held over a varied spectrum of issues pertaining to national security, including jointness and theaterisation in the armed forces," a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) read.

PM Modi makes surprise visit to new parliament building, inspects works

"Preparation of the armed forces and progress in defence ecosystem towards attaining 'Aatmanirbharta' (self-reliance) will also be reviewed," the statement also read.

Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, the chief of defence staff, the three service chiefs, and top commanders of the armed forces are among those taking part in the meet. The personnel below officer rank (PBOR) will also take part in the meet.

"Inclusive and informal interaction will also be held with soldiers, sailors and airmen from army, navy and air force who will contribute to the deliberations," the PMO also said.

The PBOR took part in the Combined Commanders' Conference for the first time in 2021 when it was held in Kevadia, Gujarat. The conference in 2021 was also attended by the PM.

The key focus of the meet is on military theaterisation. This is an important move and the Prime Minister had appointed a chief of defence staff with this sole purpose in mind. The theaterisation is important in the context of a two front war and an aggressive China. India and China have been locked in a tense stand-off for nearly two years now.

The conference also comes at a time when the government is pushing a bill in the Parliament to empower the commanders of the tri-services organisations to take action against service personnel of any of the three services, serving under existing or future joint commands or institutions. This is being pushed to ensure discipline and effective discharge of duties.

Democracy not just a structure, it's also a spirit: PM Modi

The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023 also seeks to empower the government to notify the setting up of inter-services organisations, including joint service commands. This is a key goal in the ongoing theaterisation drive.

The theaterisation model which began under the watch of India's first chief of defence staff, General Bipin Rawat sought to set up four integrated commands-two land centric, an air defence command and a maritime theatre command. The process had slowed down post his untimely death in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu. Moreover the Air Force too had expressed reservations about the joint structures that were earlier under consideration.
No matter our political affiliations, we can all agree that whether or not someone goes to jail should not be determined by how wealthy they are. That was my policy from the day I took my oath of office as a district attorney. The 2019 changes to New Yorks bail laws sought to put this basic premise into law.

The reform ensured that people accused of most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies would not be required to buy their freedom. Instead, people charged with crimes can await court dates from home while continuing to work and take care of family. As a district attorney in upstate New York, I welcomed these changes and the principles they stood for.

Since enactment, bail reform has proven to be a success. A recent report from FWD.us found that thanks to bail reform, 24,000 fewer people had bail set on their cases, $104 million dollars were kept in communities, and 1.9 million nights were spent in homes instead of jails. At the same time, return-to-court rates increased.

This has all been accomplished without hurting public safety. Re-arrest rates have remained about the same. In Tompkins County, where I serve, we released 646 people without cash bail in the two years following bail reforms implementation, and only 1% of them were arrested again on a violent felony charge. Further, there is no link between pandemic-era rises in violent crimes  which have happened in a variety of jurisdictions all over the country  and bail reform.

Despite the positive impacts of bail reform  ones that I have seen make our justice system fairer and safer  there is a proposal that would remove a clause of the law that requires judges to set the least restrictive condition that will reasonably assure [a persons] return to court.

Some people think the current standard is confusing to judges. However, I work with judges every day, and they tell me they understand the purpose of bail perfectly well. The Office of Court Administration testified just as much a few months ago. And as the district attorney responsible for giving my recommendation to judges when it comes to bail on a daily basis, I can say definitively that the law is clear on this standard.

The current standard does not confuse judges or district attorneys, but its absence would. The proposal to take out this standard would be a major change, and a deeply harmful one. It would give judges free rein to set cash bail, exactly what bail reform sought to prevent, and it would allow human bias to influence these decisions. In a system that has discriminated against people of color for centuries, allowing for bias puts Black and brown people at great risk.

The proposed change is dangerous, and its a political distraction from addressing the root causes of crime and interventions that could actually create public safety.

I am proud that Tompkins County is an example of how the justice system can and should work in New York. Weve brought our jail population down to record lows, in part thanks to bail reform. We have more alternatives to incarceration than virtually any other place in the state, as we rely on both pre- and post-arrest programs for people struggling with poverty, addiction or mental health issues. Alternative courts and diversion programs are the kinds of investments we ought to be looking at on a statewide level to create true public safety, rather than fixating on bail reform.

We cannot revert to a system where a poor person languishes behind bars while a rich person goes free for the same charge. Bail reform has ensured fairness and consistency in our justice system and it would be a mistake to undo this progress. As someone who knows both the problems and the potential of the justice system, I urge New York lawmakers to reject any and all efforts to remove the current standard from bail laws. If we dont protect bail reform, both justice and safety will be jeopardized.

Matthew Van Houten is the district attorney of Tompkins County.
It was the best day in history says Donald Trump as his ratings soar

Former President Trump indicted by NY grand jury

International

oi-Prakash KL

A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former US President Donald Trump for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, The Washington Post reported citing his lawyers.

It makes Trump the first person in the history of the US to serve as commander-in-chief and then be charged with a crime. This came weeks after speculation about whether and when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg might take a step.

An indictment is expected to be announced in the coming days. "By then, prosecutors working for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg," will have asked Trump to surrender and to face arraignment on charges that remain unknown for now, sources told The New York Times.

According to reports in the international media, the indictment was unsealed, which implies that the specific charges or charges are not publicly known yet. The grand jury had been hearing evidence about hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump's presidential campaign in 2016.

Bragg and his investigative team were probing whether Trump falsified business records related to the payments in a manner that could make a campaign finance violation, The Washington Post report said.

Former US President Donald Trump was at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home and a private club on Thursday when his lawyers said he had been indicted. How or when Trump could be brought to New York to respond to the charges was not clear. Security will be a concern considering that Trump has a significant Secret Service detail as a former president, the report stated.

Trump's Reaction

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has termed the indictment against him a "political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history" and said the "witch-hunt will backfire massively" on current President Joe Biden.

"This is political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the radical left Democrats -- the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this country -- have been engaged in a witch-hunt to destroy the 'Make America Great Again' movement.

"You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this," Trump said in a statement.

The former president alleged that the Democrats "lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to 'Get Trump'. But now they've done the unthinkable -- indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election interference", according to a report in PTI.

Trump called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a disgrace. "Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, he's doing Joe Biden's dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time!" he said.

He said that he believes "this witch-hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden". "The American people realize exactly what the radical left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our movement, and our party - united and strong - will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these crooked democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump said.

"Never before in our nation's history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponising our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for president, has never happened before. Ever," he said.

Al Mason, a real estate businessman from New York and co-chair of the Trump Victory Indian-American Finance Committee told PTI, "It is 100 per cent political. Trump will emerge even stronger after this witch hunt. Never underestimate him."

With inputs from agencies
It was the best day in history says Donald Trump as his ratings soar

Joe Biden refuses to comment on Trump indictment

International

oi-Deepika S

President Joe Biden has refused to comment on the unprecedented indictment of former President Donald Trump.

When Fox News asked Joe Biden whether he thinks the charges against Donald Trump were politically motivated, he said, "I have no comment on Trump."

Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday, after a probe into investigations made during his 2016 presidential campaign to silence claim of an extramarital sexual encounter.

The indictment in the first criminal case ever brought against a former US president remains sealed for now.The details of the surrender are still being worked out, it has been reported.

For any defendant from New York, irrespective of status, answering criminal charges means being fingerprinted and photographed, fielding basic questions such as birthdate and name, and getting arraigned. Defendants are typically detained for several hours.

There can be differences in where the different steps happen. It would also need to be seen how long this process takes places, whether handcuffs could come out and other particulars. A lot depends on the severity of the case and whether the defendants arrange to turn themselves in.

Interestingly, Trump had told his advisers last week that if he is indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, he would like to be handcuffed when he makes an appearance in court, The Guardian reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Although the ex-US President will be fingerprinted and photographed for a mug shot, the chances of him being handcuffed are less considering his indictment is non-violent. However, the authorities are still "negotiating" whether it would happen.
Steps taken by Beijing along LAC provocative: White House official

International

pti-PTI

Some of the steps being taken by Beijing along the India-China border have been provocative, a top White House official has said while reiterating that the United States is destined to work more closely with New Delhi Kurt Campbell, the Deputy Assistant to the US President and Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, told a Washington-based think-tank that India is not an ally of the United States and will never be so.

"But it does not mean that we will not be close partners and share many things. That's how we need to understand the role that India will play as a great nation on the global stage. "We want to encourage that and support that and deepen this relationship, which is already very strong, probably the strongest people-to-people relationship of any country that the United States has on the global stage," he said.

The think tank -- Centre for a New American Security -- in a report said that the India-China border intrusions and clashes have become more frequent and threaten to lead to all-out conflict. The increased prospect of India-China border hostility has implications for the United States and its Indo-Pacific strategy between the two Asian giants, it said.

The report said that Indian officials believe China is trying to contain India by forcing it to divert more resources into defending simultaneously both its western border with Pakistan and eastern flank with China and by weakening its willingness and ability to challenge Chinese ambitions to dominate the region. Campbell told the think-tank, "Some of the steps that China has taken along this vast 5,000-mile border had been provocative and deeply concerning to Indian partners and friends."

The think tank's report, authored by Lisa Curtis and Derek Grossman, has made several recommendations to help deter and respond to further Chinese aggression along the border with India. Prominent among them include the United States should elevate Indian territorial disputes with China on par with Beijing's assertiveness against other US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific and ensure this is reflected in all national security-related documents and speeches.

It also recommended that the US offer India the sophisticated military technology it requires to defend its borders and initiate the coproduction and co-development of military equipment and assist India in strengthening its maritime and naval capacity. The think tank also urged the US to conduct joint intelligence reviews with India to align assessments of Chinese plans and intentions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and enhance coordination with Indian officials on contingency planning in the event of a future India-China conflict.

It asked the US to criticise Beijing's "efforts at land-grabbing" in multilateral forums, including the UN, Shangri-La Dialogue, G20, and East Asia Summit and be prepared to extend full support to India in the event of another border crisis or conflict. Message Pakistan and enlist help from its other important partners to convey similar points about the need to stay neutral in the event of a potential future India-China border flare-up, the report said. Campbell said that the India-US relationship "is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century".

"I believe we are destined to work more closely together. I believe that our people-to-people ties are strong, animate in a relationship that is becoming deeper, richer and more strategically important." Responding to a question, he said there has been an exponential increase in engagement in virtually every area.

"We just concluded discussions in a form called ICET in which the Indian National Security Advisor brought the highest-ranking group of Indian technologists ever to come to any country, and came to the United States to talk about how to partner on areas going forward," Campbell said.

"We're working more on defence-related issues on people to people. We want more Indian students in our universities. We want more American students in Indian universities. We want more people-to-people, university partnerships more generally, and health partnerships. We have just announced efforts to work together in space. So the agenda is extraordinarily rich. The ambitions are high," he added.
It was the best day in history says Donald Trump as his ratings soar

Will Trump be arrested after indictment in hush money case?

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Former US president, Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday, after a probe into investigations made during his 2016 presidential campaign to silence claim of an extramarital sexual encounter.

The indictment in the first criminal case ever brought against a former US president remains sealed for now.

Reports said that Trump is expected to turn himself in next week. The details of the surrender are still being worked out, it has been reported.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said it had contacted Trump's lawyer to coordinate his surrender and arraignment.

Former President Trump indicted by NY grand jury

For any defendant from New York, irrespective of status, answering criminal charges means being fingerprinted and photographed, fielding basic questions such as birthdate and name, and getting arraigned. Defendants are typically detained for several hours.

There can be differences in where the different steps happen. It would also need to be seen how long this process takes places, whether handcuffs could come out and other particulars. A lot depends on the severity of the case and whether the defendants arrange to turn themselves in.

Being an ex-president, Trump is under the protection of the US Secret Services. They are tasked with the protection of the former president, unless and until they say they do not need it. Trump has kept his details, so agents will be by his side all the time.

Jeremy Saland, a defence lawyer and former prosecutor in Manhattan said that this would be a unique outlier.

Saland predicts that if Trump turns himself in, expect a carefully choreographed and relatively quick process and release without bail and also with a focus on security. He also said that a former president is not expected to be paraded in cuffs across a sidewalk or through a crowded courthouse hallway.

"It is a public forum, but security is paramount," Saland said.

Take the example of the former finance chief of Trump's company, Allen Weisselberg. He was indicted in Manhattan on tax fraud charges in 2021. He was able to turn himself in, at a courthouse side door before normal workday hours.

He arrived at round 6.15 am and was taken to what his attorneys described as a holding room for booking, an interview about potential release, and other procedures.

Weisselberg was arraigned and released eight hours later, after being walked into a courtroom past a phalanx of news cameras in the hallway. He eventually pleaded guilty to dodging taxes on job perks including a free apartment and school tuition for his grandchildren.

Fact Check: AI generated images shared as Donald Trump being arrested

Disgraced movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein on the other hand had turned himself at a police station in Manhattan in 2018 to face rape and criminal sex act charges. He was briefly in a station house cell, before being led out in handcuffs and taken to court under the gaze of journalists on a sidewalk.

Weinstein was within three hours released arraigned and released on electronic monitoring and $1 million bail. He was eventually convicted and his appeal is not before a New York's highest court.

Even on a scheduled arrest, defendants have to give up cellphones and some other personal items for safekeeping. Lawyers are in general not allowed to accompany their clients during this process. The usual advice given to defendants to travel light and stay mum.
It was the best day in history says Donald Trump as his ratings soar

Will former POTUS Donald Trump be handcuffed?

International

oi-Prakash KL

A grand jury in Manhattan has voted to indict former President of the US (POTUS) Donald Trump for his role in paying a huge hush money to a porn star and he is likely to be arrested on Tuesday.

Trump, who lives in Florida, is expected to fly to New York on Monday and be arraigned in court on Tuesday, according to reports. It is also said that Trump will be photographed, fingerprinted and might be handcuffed as well.

Interestingly, Trump had told his advisers last week that if he is indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, he would like to be handcuffed when he makes an appearance in court, The Guardian reported citing people familiar with the matter.

With so many legal challenges, can Donald Trump run for President

The same people told the publication that the former POTUS wants the whole event to be "a spectacle" and is aiming for a drama if he is required to go to the courthouse and surrender himself to law enforcement for fingerprinting and a mug shot.

Will Trump be handcuffed?

Although the ex-US President will be fingerprinted and photographed for a mug shot, the chances of him being handcuffed are less considering his indictment is non-violent. However, the authorities are still "negotiating" whether it would happen.

"The handcuffing part - I think the police and Secret Service are negotiating whether or not that would happen or the specific details," former Manhattan chief assistant district attorney Karen Agnifilo told Fox 5 channel.

Days after US backs Rahul, ex-prez Trump set to be arrested

"But yes, he will be processed. He'll be read his Miranda warning. He'll be photographed, fingerprinted. Whether or not there's a quote-unquote perp walk, I assume Mr. Trump will use the arrest of him as an opportunity to have more media done, so I think it may be his own perp walk, is my guess."

Also an expert has told the Time that Trump won't be considered a flight risk and might be released on bond.

With inputs from agencies

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, March 31, 2023, 11:57 [IST]
Federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is set to make an announcement this morning about Rogers Communications Inc.'s proposed $26-billion purchase of Shaw Communications Inc.
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As this state and others wander through the weeds of legalizing marijuana, its fair to observe that American government is working as it was designed, with states acting as laboratories of policy. Nevertheless, New Yorkers and others need Washington to catch up.

Consider the irony: Even though a federal appeals court just cleared the way for five regions of the state to issue licenses for legal cannabis stores, the federal government, itself, still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug. That defines pot as having no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Kind of like alcohol.

Nevertheless, 21 states along with Guam and, yes, Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana. So, theoretically, pot smokers in Buffalo could be complying with New York law but subject to arrest by federal agents. Go figure.

It gets worse. Because federal law lags, banks cannot deal with marijuana stores  even legal ones  without potentially running afoul of federal laws against money laundering and other crimes. So, like the corner pot dealer, stores will be pressured into running cash businesses.

Its a crazy, if in some way predictable, set of circumstances. For decades, laws against the sale and use of marijuana have been ignored by millions, and not just blue-jeaned, tie-dyed hippies. Corporate executives have been known to have favored a joint. So have politicians, Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George Pataki, among them, at least in their youth.

Some hopeful changes are afoot. In October, President Biden said he will pardon everyone convicted under federal law for simple marijuana possession, and called on governors to follow suit.

In Congress, meanwhile, the House last year passed a bill to decriminalize marijuana while the Senate introduced its own bill to do the same. Its prospects remain uncertain.

So does an effort by Senate Democrats to allow marijuana businesses to open bank accounts, which some local governments say will help reduce crime. A similar effort failed last year when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky objected, calling it one of the Democrats left-wing goodies and insisted it would make the U.S. financial system more sympathetic to illegal drugs.

But thats only because sale and use of marijuana is still a federal crime  just as the sale and use of alcohol was during Prohibition. McConnell, for what its worth, favors bourbon. What is more, he seems to be under the illusion that only Democratic Kentuckians smoke marijuana.

Its not that the work of legalizing marijuana doesnt require care. Driving under the influence is a real concern as is the availability to minors. But those issues exist, regardless of Washingtons confusion.

Federal progress is likely to be slow, but you dont have to be a pot smoker to understand that, as a country, we need to do better on this issue than we have over the past 50 years. Washington needs to wake up.

  

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
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Vice President Kamala Harris refused to comment on the recent indictment of former President Donald Trump during a press conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
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The Vatican on Thursday responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, the theories backed by 15th-century papal bulls that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property laws today. A Vatican statement said the



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As the saying goes, you are what you do, not what you say you'll do. If your words do not match your actions, you are not leading, you are talking.

As always, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has delivered on his another solemn promise, that is to ensure security of the nation's strategic district ahead of the planned relocation of former IDPs back to their ancestral land.

On March 30, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry made the day of the nation with a brief but important report about yet another successful operation of the army in bringing back under control previously occupied by Armenia territories.

The ministry said that following the commissioning of the new Lachin road, several high grounds between Jaghazur and Zabukh villages of Lachin District, main and auxiliary roads, as well as large areas along the border were taken under the control of the Azerbaijan Army units. The liberation of strategically important heights in Lachin on the border with Armenia creates pivotal opportunities for the Azerbaijani army. Thus, from Lachin District - the nations gate the Azerbaijani power-wielding structures will be able to monitor the movements of the Armenian army.

The successful operation will also provide the national army with the opportunity to successfully neutralize terrorist groups in the area and cement the inviolability of borders. This operation is in line with Azerbaijans plan to erect customs posts and apply customs procedural rules on the border with Armenia.

The stealthy footsteps of todays victory on the border could be traced in the Azerbaijani presidents speech on March 28 when he named his special representative for Lachin District where the nations armed forces are implementing huge activities to restore security along the borders ahead of the realization of the Great Return project  the return of the IDPs back to their homes after the 30-year-long thirst for the lands where they were born and lived.

Lachin as one of the largest districts of Azerbaijan has tremendous potential, the president told the meeting with his special representative, adding that former IDPs who will return to Lachin District should live comfortably in Lachin, and the state of Azerbaijan will provide all the necessary conditions.

Lachin District was under occupation for 28 years, and during this period, almost the entire infrastructure of the district was destroyed by Armenia. Great damage was caused to the environment. In general, as a result of illegal exploitation of our forest fund, 60,000 hectares of our forests were destroyed, cut, looted, and sold by the Armenians, President Ilham Aliyev said.

Contrary to all international laws and principles, Armenians conducted a policy of illegal settlement in Lachin, and Armenians from abroad were resettled in several villages of Azerbaijanis. Azerbaijan regained Lachin both on the battlefield and by political means as the liberation of the district was one of the priority tasks.

France under fire

Now the defunct OSCE Minsk Group again came under the presidents criticism at the meeting. Throughout many years of negotiations, the OSCE mediators always showed a special approach to Lachin. On the whole, Armenia considered the return of Lachin District to Azerbaijan unacceptable.

The mediators, the former Minsk Group of the OSCE, actually tried to solidify this occupation by conducting negotiations, the Azerbaijani leader said, adding that everything become clear now  France's unfair and prejudiced attitude towards Azerbaijan is not accidental.

They simply tried to cover it up to some extent during the occupation. They simply wanted to misguide us. But notice the ugly acts that have been committed against us in the two and a half years since the Second Karabakh War. Note the baseless accusations that have been made against us. In other words, all this is obvious, including a series of resolutions adopted by the European Parliament against Azerbaijan, which are still the products of the pro-Armenian, corrupt anti-Azerbaijani group, and French parliamentarians are playing the leading role here. Of course, we felt this during the occupation too, but not to such an obvious extent. We could not even imagine that countries can be so hypocritical and deceitful. They can look into your eyes and say one thing, but do the exact opposite behind your back, the president said.

The president urged international actors to repulse Armenian lies and be honest about who is a warmonger in the South Caucasus, pledging to lead the nation toward new heights.

So the whole world could see everything again over the past two and a half years. At the same time, the anti-Azerbaijani forces could see our unbending resolve. No one can influence our resolve. No one can speak to us in the language of ultimatums. We proved this to Armenia in the Second Karabakh War, and we also proved it to Armenia's patrons during the two and a half-years after the war. We defeated them and showed the whole world again that we can and we will achieve what we want.

Lachins security tops the governments agenda

The history of Lachin District should certainly serve as a lesson in many cases.

From now on, ensuring the security of Lachin district and returning the displaced people there as soon as possible are priority tasks for us, Ilham Aliyev said, adding that all engineering and fortification work in Lachin District along the border with Armenia has almost been completed and the March 30 report of the Defense Ministry once again proves the leaders determination to accomplish the mission.

Roads that never existed there have been built, the president said, adding that 100 km of local roads in Lachin and Kalbajar districts, as well as the roads leading to military positions, have been built.

We have acquired very favorable positions in the direction of the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, we are reinforcing ourselves in these positions, and we will remain in these positions. Of course, other steps and measures are being taken for the security of Lachin district. These measures will allow our returning compatriots the opportunity to live there comfortably and safely, the leader added.

The wind energy potential of Lachin & Kalbajar

Lachin and Kalbajar districts have immense wind energy potential and it should reach 500 megawatts in the future and enable Azerbaijan to create a large energy capacity using the water resources.

Now the construction of hydropower plants is going fast in Lachin, Kalbajar, Zangilan, and several other districts to total overall amount to 50 megawatts of energy. On the whole, the goal has been set that the hydropower plants in the liberated areas should provide a capacity of 200 megawatts by the end of this year.
I could not agree more with the Cheektowaga writer who deplored Gov. Kathy Hochuls plan to electrify New York State in Everybodys Column on Wednesday, March 15. Please read it when you can. The writer made some very salient and critical points in his observation. I would like to add my two cents in reminding you that when all new homes start to be built to carry electricity alone, this leaves the rest of us on gas to pick up the slack gap with no additional revenue going to the gas utility. You think National Fuel won t raise your bill when no new gas customers are coming online? Thats frightening enough, but consider this. If Hochul is successful in bringing this about, how long will it be before the rest of us gas customers will be ordered to convert our existing gas-heated homes to all electric? Ive done my research, and just the average homes cost of re-fitting to all electric will be between $25,000 to $50,000 dollars. Will the state pay for that? I dont think so. Hey, its great to have your own opinion about something, but when youre the governor of a state with the power to enact legislation to make that opinion a law  well, do I really need to go further? Stop this before its too late.
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Former US President Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in to law enforcement authorities in New York City next week, after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. Trump has been subject to an investigation into payments made to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter during his 2016 presidential campaign.
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Opinion / Columnist

Temba Mliswa's greatest achievement has been to be all things to all people. However, his latest outbursts about internal processes in ZANU PF, a party that he is not a member of, suggest that his days as a political chameleon are over.Temba has been pretending to be neutral, to be the voice of reason between ZANU PF and the CCC. In the process he has also sought or appeared to be somewhere between G40 cabal and ZANU PF. Interviews with various people across the political divide suggest that he is about to be unmasked as a political charlatan.Senior CCC officials have revealed to this writer that they habitually ask Mliswa to say out or publish material damaging to ZANU PF to give it credibility. "For example if we want people to see ZANU PF or the President in a bad way we use Temba because he is not perceived as CCC. People tend to believe him," said a CCC official who is very close to Chamisa. The CCC official alleged that Mliswa had boasted to him, that ZANU PF personalities also use him to say things that they feel uncomfortable about saying. The CCC official added that Temba would be one of their powerful campaign tools ahead of the 2023 elections. He said after the elections, the CCC would reward Temba with a ministerial position. The CCC official, however, declared that they would deploy a candidate and vigorously contest the Norton seat given Mliswa's was expected to attack ZANU PF and not the CCC ahead of the 2023 elections.A former ZANU OF firebrand who claims to be Saviour Kasukuwere's point person in Zimbabwe and to be spearheading the former Minister's efforts to resurrect himself politically has also shed light with Temba's schemes. The gentleman, based in Mashonaland Central, said that Temba is in frequent contact with Kasukuwere. He said that the engagements had raised the former Minister's hope for the revival of the G40 and the possibility of building formidable "Third Force".A Norton resident, who claims to have supported Temba ahead of the 2018 elections has also observed the chameleon nature of Mliswa. She said that she had heard that Mliswa might abandon Norton for his home district, Shurugwi, in this year's election. She said that Mliswa had gone to Shurugwi several times over the past two years to gauge support. The lady said that when Mliswa realised that he stood no chance in Shurugwi he had gravitated back to Norton.A member of the CCC leadership, with strong roots in Mbare likes Mliswa for being an unpredictable political animal. According to the Mbarian, "Politicians which can be used covertly have to be unpredictable and deceptive. Temba is both unpredictable and deceptive".A ZANU PF official from Mashonaland West castigated Mliswa for trying to control ZANU PF provincial structures from outside. He stressed that Mliswa was not a ZANU PF member and no business discussing ZANU PF issues. He advised Mliswa to prepare for settlement in the dust bin of history after the elections. The ZANU PF supporter observed that Mliswa had been deepening on the incumbency of his sister, as the Resident Minister, to confuse some ZANU PF supporters and access ZANU PF resources. TheZANU PF supporter portrayed Mary Mliswa Chikoka as the umbilical cord between ZANU PF structures and the embattled politician. He predicted that the severance of the last threat of his umbilical cord with ZANU PF would lead to Mliswa's political demise. That, he said , explains his outbursts.
I had my second book published last December. The title is Reporting for Duty: My Urgency for Justice and Peace published by Resource Publications, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers in Eugene, Oregon.

The memoir describes actions I have taken taken in my life to promote justice and peace with respect to America's foreign and domestic policies. But it is more than a memoir; it also includes background for, and analysis of, the peace and justice issues involved. As I say in the book: "I love my country deeply, and so I want it to live up to its promise of brotherhood, truth, and fairness, and to commit to being a peaceful neighbor among the community of nations."

As detailed in Reporting for Duty, my life has been one adventure after another as I undertook actions for justice and peace--for example, when I participated in part of the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 and when I was in a peace group that was kidnapped by the Contras in Costa Rica in 1985. The book emphasizes that peace work doesn't stop with peace conferences or praying for peace. It is facing the often official distortions that justify wars and finding the most effective ways to bring out the truth and make peace. My primary intent in writing the book is to encourage people everywhere to invest themselves in justice and peace initiatives in their own countries.

In the book, I discuss in some detail the Sandinista government in Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990 and from 2007 to the present. Based on a research of documents from all sides, I reach conclusions about the present government there. I discuss the bloody conflicts that took place from April through August 2018 in Nicaragua. In the end I conclude that the opinions of the U.S. and Western media and governments about the conflicts are little more than propaganda generated from our State Department. The allegation that the National Police caused essentially all the deaths and injuries during that time is wrong. The evidence indicates that the protestors were armed and launched the vast majority of the attacks and it was the police and supporters of the Sandinista party who were more victims than the protestors.

I have divided the book into three sections: Slavery and Civil Rights, Nicaragua Connection, and actions I undertook In My Older Years. Under Slavery and Civil Rights, the central theme is the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, including a narrative about how 35 of us from northern California, chartered a bus, drove there, and joined the march. I give the background to the march and discuss the short- and long-term results. I also include a discussion on the impact of slavery on black families now. Also, in this section, I briefly discuss Martin Luther King's opposition to the war in Vietnam and his assassination.

In the section entitled Nicaragua Connection I discuss U.S. policy and actions with respect to Nicaragua and my connections to the country. The section is a bit long in my attempt to untangle the official U.S. untruths about the Sandinista government. I confirm Nicaraguans' right to choose a path different from what my own country, the United States, has imposed since 1909 on this small country of 6.7 million people. What I describe in detail about Nicaragua is just one example of how U.S. policies toward Latin American nations have consistently displayed a ruthless insistence of our dominance over them and a total disregard for the wishes of the citizens of these countries. If any government south of the border chooses to adopt left-leaning social programs, our State Department tends to go on the attack and label the country as "socialist" or a "corrupt dictatorship."

Under the section "In My Older Years," there are chapters on my brief experiences in El Salvador and Guatemala, my role in starting and helping to lead the mid-Atlantic region of Witness for Peace from 1994 to 2013, and finally, my writing numerous op-eds and letters to the editor on justice and peace issues.

The book's available either from the publisher or from Amazon as a paperback or a kindle version. My website tells more about the book and how to order it: https://www.andrewmillsbooks.com

I am a retired groundwater hydrologist/programmer. I have worked for several environmental engineering firms as a groundwater hydrologist from 1972 to 2011. From 2014 to 2019 I served as a part-time computer programmer.
"Internal documents and former company executives reveal how Cigna doctors reject patients' claims without opening their files," investigative journalists Patrick Rucker, Maya Miller, and David Armstrong reported at ProPublica on March 25. "A Cigna algorithm flags mismatches between diagnoses and what the company considers acceptable tests and procedures for those ailments. Company doctors then sign off on the denials in batches ..."

There are many structural defects in an American HMO/PPO/prepaid care system that masquerades as "insurance." One of them is a tendency to mask outright fraud. If ProPublica's reporting is accurate, Cigna's practices are an example of that defect.

While Cigna implemented its "review system" -- which sounds more like an "automatic denial of purchased benefits" system -- more than a decade ago, legal thriller writer John Grisham described it in his 1995 novel The Rainmaker.

In the novel (subsequently made into a film starring Matt Damon), an "insurance" company refuses to pay for a leukemia patient's bone marrow transplant on the pretense that such transplants are "experimental."

A young lawyer eventually discovers that the company's policy is to simply reject claims, knowing most patients won't fight for the benefits they're entitled to. High legal drama ensues.

If you purchased an item from me, and I failed to hand over the item after receiving payment, you'd know darn well I'd defrauded you. You wouldn't do business with me again, and might even sue me.

But suppose I'm a $150 billion company with 18 million "customers," most of whom receive my services in the form of employment benefits with limited (if any) ability to withdraw their patronage from, or stop payment to, me.

That kind of arrangement makes it a lot easier for a business to get up to shenanigans.

While I'm on record as thinking that "single payer healthcare," for all its problems, might work better than the current Rube Goldberg healthcare apparatus, "single payer" wouldn't solve this particular structural problem: A captive "customer" base at the mercy of a large, opaque bureaucratic apparatus.

The solution to this problem is finding a way to sever the linkage between employment and health coverage, which originated as a way of getting around World War 2 salary caps with "fringe benefits."

Direct -- and stoppable -- payment from actual consumers would force Cigna and other "insurance" companies to cater to those consumers, or lose business to companies that don't treat defrauding the customer as a viable element of a legitimate business plan.
We should all applaud the Vatican, after almost six centuries, repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery.

Exactly two centuries ago, the Doctrine of Discovery was put into U.S. law in the same year in which the Monroe Doctrine was created.

The Doctrine of Discovery is, in short, the idea that a European nation can claim any land not yet claimed by other European nations, regardless of what people already live there. It was put into U.S. law in 1823, the same year as Monroe's fateful speech. It was put there by Monroe's lifelong friend, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall. The United States considered itself, perhaps alone outside of Europe, as possessing the same discovery privileges as European nations. It's not clear that such thinking has altogether vanished.

Montreal for a World BEYOND War points out that:

"The Doctrine of Discovery is so ingrained in the psyche and the laws of Canada that the Canadian government continues to push through extractivist projects on native land without consent.

"During his visit to Canada last July, Pope Francis came under pressure from Indigenous groups for a formal repudiation of the 15th-century decrees, known as papal bulls, which European powers used to justify stealing indigenous land. The Doctrine of Discovery, also known as Terra nullius, is the subject of number 49 of the 94 Calls to Action springing from the Truth and Reconciliation hearings of 2015. It reads,

"49. We call upon all religious denominations and faith groups who have not already done so to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and peoples, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius.

"Just what do these terms mean? Terra Nullius is Latin for 'Nobody's Land' and designates a principle sometimes used in international law to justify colonization. Terra Nullius has, until this day, allowed the Western world to dismiss as illegitimate communities that are not part of their ideological world view, and to use its own religion to excuse the theft of land belonging to someone else. In other words, the West invoked its own God as the justification for taking someone else's property, and killing them to do so, and over time this ideological justification made its way into international law in 1823 as the Doctrine of Discovery.

"The Vatican statement states that in recent years the Catholic church has sought out indigenous peoples' stories in an attempt to foster reconciliation. Significant events on this journey were the Truth and Reconciliation hearings in 2015 and Pope Francis's visit to Canada in July 2022.

"With regard to the Doctrine of Discovery papal bull, the Vatican states,

"'The Church is also aware that the contents of these documents were manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers in order to justify immoral acts against indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition from ecclesiastical authorities. It is only just to recognize these errors, acknowledge the terrible effects of the assimilation policies and the pain experienced by indigenous peoples, and ask for pardon. Furthermore, Pope Francis has urged: "Never again can the Christian community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others, or that it is legitimate to employ ways of coercing others."'

"Speaking to the Catholic publication Crux, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny said the statement, jointly issued by his own Dicastery for Integral Human Development and the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education, 'will contribute greatly' to satisfying the requests of Indigenous Peoples regarding the Doctrine of Discovery. Czerny added that is is essential 'to recognise that the real question is not historical but contemporary:'

"Montreal for a World BEYOND War shares Cardinal Czerny's conviction that there is still much work to do. For example, projects happening in Canada right now, like the Coastal gaslink (CGL) pipeline don'r raise eyebrows because at some level Canadian settler people have internalized the Doctrine of discovery and all that it implies. It is time to change that!"
Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator

The shifting sands of the Arab Gulf may turn rock-solid in an alliance across the region with Iran. This new alliance is in defiance of the old divide and conquer policy used by the US State Department.

The rapprochement between The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia could transform the region, after being brokered by China on March 10, ending seven years of tensions. The nations are aware that there is safety in numbers, and strength in unity instead of standing alone.

Iran had decided to improve relations with its Arab neighbors instead of waiting for the US to decide to renew the nuclear agreement. Saudi Arabia had made its own strategic decision to not depend on the US for security. These two strategies brought Iran and Saudi Arabia together, with China demonstrating its ability to circumvent the US, when it is the US standing in the way of stability in the Middle East.

"The recent successful dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Beijing helped improve bilateral relations between the two countries, which will strengthen regional solidarity and ease the tensions in the region. China will further support the process," said Chinese President Xi Jinping to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) by phone on March 28.

The deal involves Saudi Arabia supporting the return of Iran to the nuclear deal with the west, plans to end the war in Yemen, cooperation to stabilize Syria, and strengthening their joint ties in OPEC.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced on March 26 that the two countries had agreed to hold a meeting between their top diplomats, with the location to be announced, during the month of Ramadan, the Holy month of fasting, which ends the third week of April.

Both countries share the same religion, which is a common thread in their relationship but had been a point of division used by the US to divide the two. Iran is Shite, and Saudi Arabia is Sunni. When the US invaded and destroyed Iraq beginning in 2003, they used the Sunni-Shite divide to create chaos which served the US interests to conquer and subjugate the Iraqi people in the US project of regime change, which affected the whole region and created sectarian divisions.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi received an invitation from Saudi Arabia's King Salman to visit the kingdom by letter, announced on March 19, which invited him to Riyadh.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are expected to open embassies in each other's capitals from now to May 10. They will both resume security and economic agreements signed more than 20 years ago.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait recently restored ties with Iran. Amir-Abdollahian said Iran also hoped steps would be made to normalize its ties with Bahrain as well.

Iran's top security official Ali Shamkhani held talks with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on March 23, in yet another sign of the networking in the region.

In June 2006, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a "New Middle East". In true American hubris, she and President George W. Bush thought Israel attacking Lebanon, bombing from the north to the south, and killing hundreds of civilians, was necessary to remove the resistance to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Rice and Bush lost their war, both in Iraq and in Lebanon. The resistance to occupation is as strong as ever, and now we have the UN recognizing that Israel is an apartheid state.

President Obama, supported by former Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Bandar, and aligned with former Crown Prince Nayan, also tried their hand at wiping out the resistance in Syria through regime change, but they all failed.

The New Middle East has emerged, finally, but it is not exactly what Rice and Bush were asking for. Iran and Saudi Arabia are together, and both asking for the liberation of Palestine.

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IL09 2208 Flag of Israel, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem 

(Image by Templar1307 from flickr) Details DMCA



Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich gave a hate speech in Paris that may have begun the destruction of Israel. "There are no Palestinians because there isn't a Palestinian people," he said on March 19. He also displayed a map of "Greater Israel" which included Syria and Jordan.

Smotrich was born in 1980 in the Golan Heights in Syria but holds Israeli citizenship. His grandfather Yaakov Smotrich immigrated from Ukraine to Palestine before WW2, and Yaakov's wife Bruria came to Palestine from Europe. Smotrich is a European Jew. The country he lives in today is called Israel since 1948, but it was never called Israel before, except during the 100 years of a Jewish kingdom that began with King David more than 2,000 years ago.

Golda Meir was the first Israeli leader to make a similar statement. In an interview in 1969 with Frank Giles, Meir said, "There was no such thing as Palestinians."

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan condemned Smotrich's statement as racist, and Amman summoned the Israeli ambassador for a rebuke.

Jordan is populated by a majority of people who are Palestinians, and that includes Queen Rania, the wife of King Abdullah. Before, and since the 1948 establishment of Jordan, many Palestinians had been forcefully deported to the desert in Jordan by the Israeli forces, and others left for Jordan because of having lost their homes, businesses, and farms and arrived in Jordan as refugees.

The Israel-Jordan peace treaty was signed in 1994, which followed the earlier Israel-Egypt peace accord signed at Camp David, in the US. Both of these historic and long-lasting treaties were brokered by American presidents. However, the treaty with Jordan is now seeing a fraying around the edges, as the Israeli official has directly stated most of the people of Jordan don't exist, and the map Smotrich displays calls for the annexation of Jordan.

Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime minister from 2001-2006, said he did not fear the destruction of Israel at the hands of the Arabs, but he feared a time when the US would turn against Israel, and that would mark its downfall. For decades, the US foreign policy in the Middle East has been written in Tel Aviv, and many have complained that Israel dictates policy to the US.

Now, with the first ultra-extremist government in Israel, the US public and governmental opinion may turn against the genocidal and Apartheid regime in Israel. That was the fear Sharon: that Israel will destroy itself through its actions, by cutting off the support of the Americans, which reaches farther than the $4 billion in yearly aid, and props up the Israeli regime's existence.

Farhan Haq, a deputy spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Smotrich's remarks were "completely unhelpful", stressing the Palestinian people "obviously" exist. "We continue to support their rights and to push for a two-state solution," Haq said.

FamilySearch.Org is a free website that has international records of birth, marriages, deaths, and residence.

In the US census dated 1900, there is Joseph Yabour who was born in March 1874 in Palestine. He stated he immigrated to the US in 1886, and both his parents were also born in Palestine. He was serving in the US Army in 1900. From his name I can confirm he was a Palestinian Christian.

In the US census dated 1920, there is Mohamed Mustafa who was born in 1894 in Palestine. He stated he immigrated to the US in 1913 and was then living in Michigan. Both his parents were born in Palestine and from his name, he is a Muslim. In the 1930 census, he is shown living in Nebraska along with five other men all born in Palestine.

In a New York Times article dated July 18, 1922. Section S, and page 20, an article appears concerning a man who owns hotels in Palestine, coming to Columbia University to visit his son, and his immigration "visitor visa" states "admit hotel man from Palestine". From the name of the hotel owner, he is Jewish.

Combing historical records, we can see that the United States of America recognized there was a place called Palestine, and the people were Palestinians, who were Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Smotrich is trying to rewrite history to fit his genocidal mindset. He does not support the UN resolution to create a two-state solution for both Jews and Palestinians. He also does not support a one-state solution that would see all people regardless of ethnicity or religion living together in freedom and with human rights, similar to America.

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Bharath Hospital is revolutionizing liver cancer treatment in central Kerala with advanced technology. Liver cancer is a significant health concern globally and specifically in India, with many patients arriving at the hospital at an advanced stage where surgery is no longer an option. Traditional treatment methods such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are also not always effective. However, a new therapeutic option, called TARE (Trans-arterial Radio Embolization), is now available at 
A 62-year-old man who was attacked at a convenience store in Portlands Hazelwood neighborhood two weeks ago has died, and police have arrested a suspect, authorities said Thursday.

Medical examiners ruled Curtis E. Davies death a homicide by blunt force trauma.

The suspect, 35-year-old Aaron Reed-Jones, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of manslaughter and negligent homicide.

Police responded to reports of an assault around 8 p.m. on March 17 at the Max Mart Deli at 12128 E. Burnside St., according to a probable cause affidavit. They found Davies injured and getting help from paramedics when they arrived, and he was taken to a nearby hospital.

Video footage shows a man, later identified as Reed-Jones, entered the store to buy a box of cigarettes, the affidavit said. Davies approached the front counter and tapped the man on the shoulder. The man asked Davies not to touch him.

Davies, described in court records as deaf, tapped the suspect on the shoulder again and put his hand in the mans face, the affidavit said. The suspect turned and punched him three times in the head, causing Davies to fall backward.

Davies had two brain surgeries to relieve swelling, the affidavit said, but he died from his injuries March 22.

Investigators, assisted by agents from the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested Reed-Jones this week and booked him into Multnomah County Jail, where he remained as of Thursday.

Police seized a handgun and a baggie of around 25 grams of methamphetamine during the arrest, according to the affidavit. Reed-Jones is also a suspect in a shooting on March 28, where several rounds were fired at a vehicle, the affidavit said.

Reed-Jones told police that he remembered getting into it with an older male, the document said. He told officers the man tapped him three to four times and gave him a thumbs up, and that he punched the man once in the chin. Reed-Jones said he was not injured from the man tapping on him.

Davies death brings the number of homicides in Portland so far this year to 18, compared with 25 at this time in 2022.

Anyone with information on the attack can contact Detective Mike Jones at Michael.Jones@police.portlandoregon.gov 503-823-0405 or Detective Jeff Sharp Jeff.Sharp@police.portlandoregon.gov 503-823-9773.

 Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744
The Clark County Medical Examiner on Friday confirmed the identities of Meshay Melendez, 27, of Vancouver, and her daughter Layla Stewart, 7, a week after their bodies were found down a steep embankment along a rural Washougal road.

Vancouver police said evidence at the scene indicated both had been shot.

The medical examiner said Stewart had two gunshot wounds in her head from a small-caliber projectile similar to a .22 bullet. Melendez had a single gunshot wound to her left temple, the medical examiner said.

Both deaths have been ruled homicides.

A short time after the medical examiners statement, the Vancouver Police Department announced that Kirkland Ciron Warren, 28, had been booked for two counts of first-degree murder.

Warren had been ordered not to have contact with Melendez after he was arrested and accused of shooting at her apartment in December. In phone calls made to Melendez from Clark County Jail earlier this month, Warren repeatedly blamed her for the domestic-violence charges against him and insisted she needed to figure out how to get them dropped, court records show.

Warren was released from jail, without any GPS monitoring, on March 8.

Melendez and Stewart went missing March 12, when a friend of Melendez saw them with Warren, with whom Melendez previously had been in a relationship. Around 5 a.m. that day, Melendez and Warren went to the friends house in the 7800 block of Northeast Loowit Loop in Vancouver and dropped off Melendezs daughter, according to court documents.

Warren and Melendez left in Warrens Dodge Charger, and when they returned about three hours later, the friend saw Melendez passed out in the passenger seat of the car. Warren went inside the house, got Layla and put her in the car before driving away.

Melendezs mother reported her missing March 18.

The next day, Melendezs mother found her daughters car near the friends house on Loowit Loop, which is less than a mile from where Melendez lived in an apartment with her daughter.

Later that day, police arrested Warren at his home in the 3700 block of Northeast 109th Avenue for multiple charges, including tampering with a witness and violating no-contact orders for the previous domestic violence case involving him and Melendez.

Using a search warrant, investigators seized two cars associated with Warren and multiple cell phones, the Vancouver Police Department said in the Friday news release.

Inside the Dodge Charger, police found blood in the front and back seats, .22-caliber shell casings, childrens clothing that matched what Stewart was believed to be wearing March 12 and Melendezs purse with her ID inside.

In the second car, a Hyundai Palisade, police found a 22-caliber pistol in the center console.

Warren is being held at Clark County Jail.

A Clark County Superior Court judge on March 21 set Warrens bail at $1 million on the previous series of domestic-violence charges; he was scheduled to appear in court again for that case April 21.

Warren also faces a first-degree murder charge in Arkansas in the homicide of 57-year-old Curtis Urquhart, who was shot in the head and found in a ditch on Dec. 11, 2017. On March 17, an Arkansas judge revoked Warrens bond, issuing a fugitive warrant for his arrest.

-- Savannah Eadens; seadens@oregonian.com; 503-221-6651; @savannaheadens
In its first two seasons, Growing Belushi offered viewers a sometimes informative, sometimes goofy look at actor and musician Jim Belushis southern Oregon cannabis farm, mixing insights into the business with banter between Belushi and his cousin Chris, and hijinks from Belushis According to Jim castmate, Larry Joe Campbell.

Growing Belushi Season 3 premieres at 9 p.m. April 5 on the Discovery channel. No cable? You can stream the series on Fubo, which offers a free trial; and on Discovery Plus)

When the Discovery channel series returns for Season 3 on April 5, expect some of the same lighthearted tone. But this time, as Belushi says, the comic moments will be mixed with some of the tough realities facing those in the legal cannabis business.

Being in the cannabis business in Oregon? Belushi says. Its a struggle right now in Oregon. Its a struggle right now in California, and in Colorado. The business is changing.

Everybody is suffering, says Belushi, calling from Chicago, where hes doing press for the new Growing Belushi season. Every dispensary, every grower.

HERE IS OREGON: HereisOregon.com | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | TikTok

Challenges include falling prices, oversupply and what Belushi describes as over-taxation and over-regulation. Other reasons for dropping prices for cannabis include declines in tourism related to wildfires in Oregon, and social unrest in Portland, which scared away tourists, and impacted summertime sales, Belushi says. And there are so many grow licenses, theyre producing more than you can sell. It hurts everybody.

Related: Jim Belushi on Growing Belushi, his Oregon cannabis farm, and marijuana as spiritual medicine

Another issue for those in the legal cannabis trade is the presence of illegal grow operations, a topic that also comes up in the first episode of Growing Belushi Season 3. Last season of the show ended with a devastating fire, which destroyed one of the buildings at Belushis Farm, located on the Rogue River.

When the new season begins, investigation is underway into what caused the fire. Belushi talks about how organized criminal elements have set up growing operations in Oregon, which grow cannabis to send across the country, ignore state regulations, pose threats to the environment, and may possibly be connected to other criminal activities.

By the end of the first Season 3 Growing Belushi episode, viewers find out whether fire at Belushis Farm was caused by arson or by other factors. We wont give that away here, but Belushi says, We were very concerned about the amount of organized crime in Jackson County. With black market cannabis, you dont know what youre ingesting.

Theres a difference, Belushi says, between the so-called legacy growers, who may have been growing cannabis since the hippie days of the 1960s and 1970s, decades before Oregon made recreational marijuana legal for people 21 and older in 2015, and the black market operations. The legacy growers are guys who have been growing it for 40 years or more, Belushi says. And a lot of them came over to the legal market, and theyre getting crushed with over-taxation and over-regulation, trying to compete with black market growers who may sell for 22 or 25 percent less than what legal operations charge.

With all this, Belushi says, I have to make adjustments. The third season of Growing Belushi gets into some of those, as Belushi travels across the country  and even to Albania  to establish new markets for his cannabis brand.

I have a lot of frequent flyer miles right now, Belushi says.

A teaser for whats to come as Season 3 continues offers glimpses of movie icon Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Maher  the Real Time host whos long been a vocal advocate for marijuana legalization  but Belushi says viewers will have to tune in to find out just what happens.

Its all real, Belushi says. The show is based on me being a grower, and being a brand within the cannabis business, showing what you do, and how you do it. Though theres humor, Belushi says, The show is not about pot smokers, theres no smoking weed, theres no people trying to get high, were not trying to get jokes from that.

In addition to Belushi, friends, and family members, the show also occasionally features interactions with southern Oregon residents, including a pair of deputy fire marshals from Jackson County, who turn up near the end of Season 3s first episode.

They were part of the fire investigation, Belushi says. Sometimes, people are nervous about being on TV. But I tell everybody, Ill never make you look bad. Nobody looks like a fool except for me.

As an executive producer of the show, Belushi says, I just over-shoot, and I get so much good stuff, the editing is hard. The new season includes Belushi talking about getting a divorce, being an empty nester, and feeling lonely.

The storys got to be based on what really happens, Belushi says. That was kind of the emotional through line. My whole family purpose has been going through a shift, so its like Chris says, Hes filling, and not feeling. And thats why Im, like, Lets expand. I dont want to slow down, because I dont want to feel anything. Chris is the one that says, Slow down, lets look at this in a different way, and Im the one going, Cmon, man, lets do it, lets take risks. Im an actor, I risk for a living.

Viewers who watch Growing Belushi Season 3 can expect some good laughs, and to learn about the cannabis industry, Belushi says. I want to try to create confidence in cannabis, and the way to do it is to let people know how its grown, the safety involved with it, and the lengths we go through to make sure the product is safe for the consumer.

It all goes back to Belushis belief that cannabis is a benefit to people, and can be, as he has said, a spiritual medicine.

This is not a gold rush anymore, Belushi says. Its not like people are making lots of money. The margins are thin, especially with the compressing of the price.

But even with the evolution of the business, Belushi says he has no plans to stop. We could use a little help, he says. But I got my Oregon drivers license. I consider it my home. I love being an Oregonian now.

 Kristi Turnquist

503-221-8227; kturnquist@oregonian.com; @Kristiturnquist

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Wilson Wewa grew up on the Warm Springs Reservation and didnt give a second thought to the stories of his Northern Paiute elders until he saw the decline of his peoples traditions.

Now, his grandmas words echo in his head as he drives past her house. She told him, he said: Never forget the land you come from, the food you ate, who you are.

Wewa, senior wellness coordinator for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, spoke Thursday as part of the Oregon Historical Societys free day that highlighted the importance of storytelling to preserve history in Native communities.

People explored historical artifacts like a canoe used by Indigenous people and a 19th-century Chinese cleaver that a Portland grocery store called Duck Loung and Co. sold to Chinese immigrants.

Following Wewa, Ed Edmo, Shoshone-Bannock poet and traditional storyteller, discussed Northwest tribal culture. The historical society then hosted a tell your family story activity.

The programs goal was to bring families together while supporting the work that tribes and the federal Office of Indian Education are doing to teach tribal history curriculum, said Eliza Canty-Jones, the historical societys director of community engagement.

Its important that we support the goal to help more people learn about tribal history and their culture and the fact that Native people are still here and still participating in those cultures, Canty-Jones said.

Wewa concluded his presentation by discussing the effects of climate change on the land where his ancestors lived in Oregon. Elk and mule deer dont populate the region like they used to, the roots his family harvested arent as plentiful anymore and the snowpack has decreased, he said.

Thats why Wewa shares the various ways Northern Paiute honored natural resources  by not overharvesting for personal gain, for example, he said.

We took care of the land, never overused it, he said, so it could renew.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs website offers more information on land conservation by the tribes.

-- Lisa Moreno; lmoreno@oregonian.com
News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu

CLARIFYING ON THE STATUS OF AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE HUBERT ANGEL: Following claims circulating in the social media that Zimbabwe's Ambassador-at-Large, Ambassador Hubert Angel has been stripped of his ambassadorial status, kindly be advised that His Excellency the President, Dr ED  Tinoedza Zvimwe (@Tinoedzazvimwe1) March 31, 2023

Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba has dismissed rumours that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has fired Presidential Envoy and Ambassador At Large Uebert Angel.The rumours were spread by Mnangagwa's biographer Eddie Cross.Said Charamaba:Following claims circulating in the social media that Zimbabwe's Ambassador-at-Large, Ambassador Hubert Angel has been stripped of his ambassadorial status, kindly be advised that His Excellency the President, Dr ED who is the sole appointing authority of all Ambassadors representing the State of Zimbabwe, HAS NOT TAKEN SUCH A STEP. The Ambassador - at -Large remains in that status and executing all his duties as outlined at the time of his appointment. Please be so advised.
Though far from the only U.S. president dogged by legal and ethical scandals, Donald Trump now occupies a unique place in history as the first indicted on criminal charges.

Two others, like Trump, found themselves impeached by Congress  Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with a White House intern, and Andrew Johnson for pushing the limits of his executive authority in a bitter power struggle following the Civil War.

Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over his role in the infamous Watergate break-in. And Ronald Reagan and Ulysses S. Grant both became forever tied to scandals in which close aides got prosecuted, though neither president was ever charged.

Heres a look at how Trumps predecessors fared:

FILE - President Bill Clinton looks on as Vice President Gore addresses members of congress outside the Oval Office after the House of Representatives voted to impeach the president, Dec. 19, 1998, in Washington. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr concluded that Clinton had lied under oath and obstructed justice. That led to the House voting to impeach Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998. He was acquitted by the Senate, allowing Clinton to remain in office until his term ended in January 2001. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File)AP

BILL CLINTON

Clinton spent more than half his presidency under scrutiny in investigations that ranged from failed real estate deals to the Democratic presidents affair with a White House intern.

Investigators took a lengthy look into Bill and Hillary Clintons investments in the troubled Whitewater real estate venture. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, appointed to oversee the investigation in 1994, turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the Clintons. But two of their close associates, Jim and Susan McDougal, ended up convicted of Whitewater-related charges. So did Jim Guy Tucker, Clintons successor as governor of Arkansas.

Starrs 1998 report packed with lurid details of Clintons affair with intern Monica Lewinsky proved far more damaging. While being questioned in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones, Clinton had denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky.

Starr concluded that Clinton had lied under oath and obstructed justice. That led to the House voting to impeach Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998. He was acquitted by the Senate, allowing him to remain in office until his term ended in January 2001.

FILE - President Ronald Reagan holds up a copy of the Tower Commission report on the Iran-Contra affair, while posing for photographers after his nationally televised speech from the Oval Office in Washington, Aug. 13, 1987. Reagan said he was "mad as a hornet" about damage to his administration from the Iran-Contra affair. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)AP

RONALD REAGAN

Reagan never faced impeachment or court charges for the biggest scandal of his presidency. But the arms-for-hostages scheme that became known as the Iran-Contra affair dogged him long after he left the White House.

In 1986, during Reagans second term, the public learned that his administration had authorized secret arms sales to Iran while seeking Iranian aid in freeing American hostages held in Lebanon. As much as $30 million from the arms sales was diverted, in violation of U.S. law, to aid rebels fighting the leftist government of Nicaragua.

Reagans national security adviser, John Poindexter, resigned and an aide, Lt. Col. Oliver North, was fired. Both were also convicted of crimes stemming from efforts to deceive and obstruct Congress. Their convictions were later overturned. President George H.W. Bush, Reagans successor, pardoned six others involved.

Reagan insisted money from the arms sales was funneled to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels without his knowledge.

FILE - President Richard M. Nixon points to the transcripts of the White House tapes after he announced during a nationally-televised speech that he would turn over the transcripts to House impeachment investigators, in Washington, April 29, 1974. Nixon resigned from office in August 1974 rather than face impeachment for his administrations coverup of its involvement in a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/File)AP

RICHARD NIXON

Nixon resigned from office in August 1974 rather than face impeachment for his administrations cover-up of its involvement in a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington.

The bungled burglary at the Watergate office building resulted in the indictment of seven men, including two former White House aides. Five of the Watergate defendants pleaded guilty; two were convicted in criminal trials.

Intrigue over the 1972 Watergate break-in didnt stop Nixon from cruising to reelection a few months later. He endured the storm until the House Judiciary Committee in 1974 approved three articles of impeachment accusing him of obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress.

Before the full House could vote, a bombshell tape recording was released in which Nixon could be heard approving a plan to pressure the FBI to drop its Watergate investigation. Nixon resigned after losing support from key congressional Republicans.

His vice president, Gerald Ford, became president and pardoned Nixon a month later.

FILE - This portrait of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was printed from the original glass plate negatives of Mathew B. Brady. Grant. While never personally charged with crimes or formally accused of wrongdoing, Grant as president torpedoed a corruption case prosecuted by his own administration. The man on trial was Grants personal secretary in the White House. (AP Photo/Mathew Brady, File)AP

ULYSSES S. GRANT

While never personally charged with crimes or formally accused of wrongdoing, Grant as president torpedoed a corruption case prosecuted by his own administration. The man on trial was Grants personal secretary in the White House.

In 1875, an investigation launched by Treasury Secretary Benjamin H. Bristow resulted in hundreds of arrests in a scheme known as the Whiskey Ring, in which distillers, revenue agents and fellow conspirators diverted millions of dollars in liquor taxes to themselves.

The Civil War general-turned-president found himself at odds with the crackdown when Gen. Orville E. Babcock ended up charged as a conspirator. Not only was Babcock the presidents personal secretary, but he and Grant had also been friends since the war.

Prosecutors said they had uncovered telegrams Babcock sent to ringleaders to assist their scheme. Regardless, Grant insisted on testifying in his aides defense.

To avoid the spectacle of the president appearing at Babcocks trial, attorneys questioned Grant under oath at the White House on Feb. 12, 1876. A transcript of his testimony was later read in court in St. Louis. The jury acquitted Babcock, a decision largely credited to Grants unwavering defense.

FILE - This 1865-1880 photo made available by the Library of Congress shows a damaged glass negative of President Andrew Johnson. The first American president to have his legacy tarnished by impeachment, Johnsons woes arose from his intense feuding with Congress over Reconstruction following of the Civil War. (Brady-Handy photograph collection/Library of Congress via AP)AP

ANDREW JOHNSON

The first American president to have his legacy tarnished by impeachment, Andrew Johnsons woes arose from his intense feuding with Congress over Reconstruction following the Civil War.

The Tennessee Democrat had been elected vice president in 1864 as part of a unity ticket with Abraham Lincoln, and Johnson assumed the presidency after Lincolns 1865 assassination. From the White House, Johnson called for pardoning Confederate leaders and opposed extending voting rights to freed Blacks, infuriating congressional Republicans.

It was Johnsons firing of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a Lincoln appointee who favored tougher policies toward the defeated South, that prompted the House to pass articles of impeachment that accused the president of ousting and replacing Stanton illegally.

Johnsons impeachment trial began in the Senate on March 5, 1868. It ended more than two months later, with senators just one vote short of removing Johnson from office. He served the remainder of his final year, but fellow Democrats denied him their nomination to run again.

-- The Associated Press
Mass protests. Hordes of media. The specter of one of the most remarkable perp walks in memory.

That could all play out in the days ahead in Manhattan, where a grand jury on Thursday reportedly did what was once unthinkable: indict a former U.S. president.

For months, it looked like Atlanta would move first to bring criminal charges against Donald Trump. But Fulton County prosecutors lost their spot in the history books when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg apparently secured felony indictments on unknown charges.

The developments in New York could serve as a dry run for what may unfold in Atlanta, potentially later this spring. And they might take some heat off DA Fani Willis, at least in the short term, in assembling what could be a complicated conspiracy or racketeering case involving more than a dozen players.

Local and state officials are closely watching the criminal case in New York, the consequences of which have reverberated in the halls of Congress and on the 2024 campaign trail even before an indictment has surfaced.

The former is focused on whether Trump tried to cover up hush money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels, allegedly to cover up an affair, in the lead-up to the 2016 campaign. The ex-president could be charged with violating New York laws against falsifying business and campaign finance records, which mostly constitute misdemeanors but could be combined to form a felony.

The Fulton inquiry focuses on whether Trump and his allies criminally meddled in Georgias 2020 elections as they pushed state officials to, among other things, find thousands of fraudulent ballots, convene a special session of the legislature and appoint a slate of alternate Republican electors.

Among the state laws being examined by prosecutors: criminal solicitation to commit election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies, involvement of violence or threats related to election administration and racketeering. Some could be tried as felonies, the most severe being RICO, which carries a penalty of five to 20 years imprisonment.

Most legal analysts have argued that the Fulton case presents more legal peril to Trump. They point to the recording of the phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, during which he pressed him to find 11,780 votes, as particularly damning proof.

The Georgia charges are far more serious and, personally, I think easier to prove, said J. Tom Morgan, a former DeKalb district attorney. Bragg has to jump through hoops to make what Trump did in New York a felony. Should Trump be indicted in Georgia, the acts speak for themselves.

Under scrutiny

The early reaction to the expected prosecution in New York provides a preview of what could come in Georgia.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, and two other powerful committee chairmen on Capitol Hill accused Bragg of an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority and launched a probe into his criminal investigation.

A few days later, Braggs office fired back in a letter, calling the House GOPs demands an unlawful incursion into New Yorks sovereignty and refusing to hand over any of the requested information.

At the center of the storm in Georgia is Willis, no stranger to biting criticism. Trump has called the Democrat a racist and accused her of blindly focusing on an investigation he labels a witch hunt rather than taking more assertive steps to combat violent crime. An indictment of Trump from her office, however, would invite even bigger blowback.

But the pressure wouldnt be limited to the DAs office. Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurneys handling of the case has already been called into question by Trumps lawyers, and the former presidents allies are likely to step up their attacks. McBurney left little doubt Monday about his role overseeing matters, issuing an order directing prosecutors to respond to Trumps motion by May 1 but ignoring the former presidents recent request that he step aside.

The case in New York could taint how voters view the Fulton County investigation  particularly if Trump beats the charges in Manhattan.

A successful defense in New York has every chance to embolden the public narrative here and to make it less politically palatable for (Willis) to chase after Trump, said Brandon Bullard, an Atlanta-based appellate attorney. One big public win will tend to undermine the ethos of the other prosecution no matter how valid.

Any potential prosecutions in Manhattan and Fulton would be moving on separate tracks, subject to different sets of state laws. Willis and Bragg are not required to coordinate  or even keep one another updated of what theyre up to in their jurisdictions.

Security threats

Trumps call for mass demonstrations to protest his expected indictment has also triggered new concerns about violent unrest  and worries about a repeat of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection that he promoted.

Metro Atlanta law enforcement officials say theyre monitoring the potential protests, and the Georgia State Patrol has said it will work cooperatively and appropriately with local agencies.

Fulton County officials have grown accustomed to increased security situations.

Willis travels with a security detail and has equipped some members of her team with bulletproof vests and keychains with panic buttons. Early last year, she urged the FBI to conduct a risk assessment of the Fulton courthouse and government center after Trump called for similar large-scale protests against prosecutorial misconduct during a political rally.

A few months later, the Fulton Sheriffs office blocked off vehicle traffic on the streets surrounding the courthouse the day members of a special grand jury were selected and deployed a SWAT team to protect jurors as they returned to their cars hours later. It also assigned heavily armed officers to guard the courthouse steps and a bomb-sniffing dog the day a key witness, Trumps former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, arrived to testify.

A person familiar with Williss planning said the DA is watching closely to see what develops should Trump be indicted in Manhattan.

Outside the courthouse, an indictment could force state GOP leaders to confront their strained relationship with Trump, who unsuccessfully sought to depose Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Attorney General Chris Carr and Insurance Commissioner John King.

Kemp largely sidestepped questions during his reelection campaign about Trump, who endorsed the governor in 2018 and then vowed to defeat him three years later after Kemp refused to illegally reverse the results of Joe Bidens 2020 victory in Georgia.

But after his convincing reelection win, Kemp has taken new steps to distance himself from the former president  and blasted Trumps un-American dinner in December with white supremacist leaders.

The governor has so far been tightlipped about the Fulton investigation, in part because he was among the 75 or so witnesses to testify behind closed doors.

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2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Infertility treatment also reflects reproductive justice

Reproductive justice refers to the human right to maintain bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and to raise children in a safe environment. Historically, this has focused on contraception and abortion. But the right and ability to conceive and to access infertility services is also essential.

Infertility affects 1 in 8 families. Treatments can be expensive and are often not covered by insurance  causing considerable emotional and psychological distress.

Like many aspects of health care, communities of color and low-income people disproportionately experience disparities in access to infertility evaluation, treatment and care. Lack of affordability and insurance coverage also discriminates against LGBTQ+ people who need medical assistance to build their families.

Despite otherwise being a leader in reproductive rights, Oregon is not among the states with laws ensuring access to infertility treatments.

Oregon legislators have an opportunity to address this shortcoming and position Oregon as a leader in reproductive justice with Senate Bill 491, the Family Building Act. It would add insurance coverage for family building services, including one of the most successful treatments, in-vitro fertilization. Data show that such coverage can be provided for minimal cost and often results in better health outcomes. This latest push for equitable access to infertility treatment is a continuation of the progress made in previous legislative sessions and is long overdue.

A vision for reproductive health that truly supports reproductive justice must embrace the full spectrum of care, including access to infertility services regardless of race, income, geography, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Paula Amato, Portland

Amato, a physician, is director of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Oregon Health & Science University.

To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.
Droves of smelt dippers headed to the lower Sandy River on Thursday for a rare seven-hour season to capture the oily fish -- the first opportunity in eight years.

The rare fishing opportunity, which has a long tradition, attracted hundreds of people along the riverbanks near the confluence where the Sandy River meets the Columbia River. To catch the smelt, people used large dipping nets and 5-gallon buckets.

Biologists are now waiting to see dip reports in the Sandy River to see whether they can allow more dipping.

Each person with a 2023 angling license was allowed 10 pounds. Eulachon smelt, silvery fish about 6-9 inches long, return to the Columbia River each year but only once in a while to the Sandy River. This was the first time they were found in any numbers since 2015, leading managers to allow the limited dipping season.

Tucker Jones, Columbia River program manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said, Initially we were concerned that the timing of the smelt return would overlap with releases of hatchery spring Chinook smolts which would make a fishery impossible, but after consulting with district fish biologists, weve determined that we are actually in a sweet spot between releases.

--From staff reports
After news of a criminal indictment spread, former President Donald Trump responded in a statement posted to social media.

Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly assailed the investigation, called the indictment political persecution and a witch hunt and predicted it would damage Democrats in 2024. Trump released a lengthy statement calling it the next step in a campaign from the left to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference, Trumps statement said.

Trump accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of doing Joe Bidens dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on.

Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, said the former president is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history. He will be vindicated.

In a statement confirming the charges, defense lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said Trump did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.

A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorneys office also confirmed the indictment and said prosecutors had reached out to Trumps defense team to arrange a surrender. A person familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to discuss sealed proceedings, said the surrender was expected to happen next week. Bragg left his office Thursday evening without commenting.

Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.

The charges center on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. They mark an extraordinary development after years of investigations into Trumps business, political and personal dealings.

The timing of the indictment appeared to come as a surprise to Trump campaign officials following news reports that criminal charges were likely weeks away. The former president was at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, on Thursday and had filmed an interview with a conservative commentator earlier in the day.

As Trump seeks to reassert control of the Republican Party and stave off a slew of one-time allies who are seeking or are likely to oppose him for the presidential nomination, the indictment sets the stage for an unprecedented scene  a former president having his fingerprints and mug shot taken, and then facing arraignment and possibly a criminal trial. For security reasons, his booking is expected to be carefully choreographed to avoid crowds inside or outside the courthouse.

In bringing the charges, Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, is embracing an unusual case that had been investigated by two previous sets of prosecutors, both of which declined to take the politically explosive step of seeking Trumps indictment.

In the weeks leading up to the indictment, Trump, railed about the investigation on social media and urged supporters to protest on his behalf, prompting tighter security around the Manhattan criminal courthouse.

The fate of the hush-money investigation seemed uncertain until word got out in early March that Bragg had invited Trump to testify before a grand jury, a signal that prosecutors were close to bringing charges.

Trumps attorneys declined the invitation, but a lawyer closely allied with the former president briefly testified in an effort to undercut the credibility of Trumps former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.

Trump has long decried the Manhattan investigation as the greatest witch hunt in history. He has also lashed out at Bragg, calling the prosecutor, who is Black, racist against white people.
News / National

by Staff reporter

POLICE in Bulawayo have cleared a rally organised by secessionist Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) at Nketa Hall on very strict conditions, which the party has since contested.The party is expecting to hold a campaign rally at Nketa Hall on April 1 ahead of the harmonised elections to be held in August this year.MRP sought clearance from Nkulumane district police to hold the rally on March 10, from 9am to 5pm at Nketa Hall.A response to the MRP notification letter dated March 22, signed by officer commanding Nkulumane district, one C Kapita, cleared the rally but stipulated strict conditions."You are being advised to abide by the country's regulations in light of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic as outlined in the provided Statutory Instrument(s). These include: Wearing of masks, maintenance of social distance, adhering to the required number of attendees at gatherings, etc," Kapita said."No derogatory or inflammatory statements will be made at the meeting or precincts, or during the procession or demonstration. Toyi-toying before, during and after the meeting will not be allowed," he said.Police also warned MRP members not to interfere with the work of its officers on duty, as well as not to carry weapons.Kapita said his office reserved the right in terms of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (Mopa) [Chapter 11:23] to immediately stop the meeting in the event that it degenerates into public disorder.MRP president Mqondisi Moyo described the conditions as dubious and unclear.He said the manner in which his party was being treated was unfair because the ruling Zanu-PF party had been conducting its public events unhindered, with some of its members even turning violent."We have seen Zanu-PF having a lot of gatherings with huge numbers where its supporters don't wear face masks and do not really adhere to any of the COVID-19 regulations. Therefore, we will not follow such a condition during our rally," Moyo said.He said MRP would relate with the police officers on duty depending on how they treat party members during the rally."In 2018, on July 25 the police came to us armed to the teeth with their anti-riot unit accompanied by water tanker trucks to disrupt our meeting that was given proper and documented clearance. Therefore, we will not sit back and let them disrupt our meeting that has been granted clearance," Moyo said.On the ban of toyi-toying and inflammatory statements, Moyo said the party would not stop making efforts to address issues affecting it."As MRP we have always voiced our concerns that we are being abused by Shona people, and we will also continue to make it known that we want our own country. We will continue to sing our songs that resonate with our struggles under the Shona-dominated system. This is not being tribal," he said.Moyo said the country's laws were repressive and questioned why 4ED groupings were allowed to do their activities unhindered."We have never seen the police descending on them using Mopa. As MRP, we will not be stopped by the police working under the Zanu-PF party. We are a peace-loving party that does not engage in any form of violence unprovoked," he added.
News / National

by Staff reporter

LEARNERS whose fees are paid through the Basic Education Assistance Module (Beam), have reportedly been told to top up examination fees.Beam is a government programme which pays tuition and examination fees, and levies for underprivileged students. It was introduced in 2001.Bulawayo provincial education director Jane Ndebele yesterday, however, told Southern Eye that the Beam programme pays for only six Ordinary Level (O' Level) subjects. Beam students doing more than six subjects have to pay for the extra subjects."Through Beam assistance, students can only register six subjects. Those who have been asked to pay on their own are probably doing more than six subjects," Ndebele said."The claims that Beam is no longer paying fees for O' Level students probably came from parents who do not understand that the programme pays for six subjects (only)," she said.In September last year it was revealed that some schools in Bulawayo were demanding top-up school fees from pupils under the Beam facility, resulting in alleged double collection of fees.In 2022, government increased the Beam allocation to $5,6 billion to cater for an increasing demand for assistance after many people lost their livelihoods due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Government is targeting to assist 1,5 million children under the facility.
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LANSING  A Senate bill would require lawmakers to wait two to three years after leaving elected office to become a registered lobbyist.

That would shut a revolving door of lawmakers-turning-lobbyists after their terms end, according to Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake.

Described as a cooling-off period, the ethics proposal would require rank-and-file senators and representatives to wait two years. Committee chairs would need to wait an extra year.

The proposal also would also prohibit lawmakers spouses from lobbying while their partners are in office.

However, Runestad, who has unsuccessfully made the same proposal in the past, said he has no hope the bills will even get to the Senate floor for a vote, let alone pass.

Many fellow Republicans are unpersuaded as well.

When they turned down his request to cosponsor the legislation, the Republican lawmakers cited their own future aspirations.

Time and time again, I would hear, But Jim, I want to be a lobbyist. Why would I sign that? Runestad said. That was the No. 1 thing I heard.

The lone cosponsor is Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, a former secretary of state, whose department oversees the registration of lobbyists.

Runestads legislation was referred to the Election and Ethics Committee, chaired by Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield.

Moss said that the contents of the legislation  a cooling-off period for lawmakers  is a priority for the committee, but a higher priority is handling voter-approved changes in lawmaker financial disclosure laws.

Last November, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that lets lawmakers serve 12 years, instead of 14 years, in the House, Senate or both. It also requires lawmakers to publicly disclose their personal finances.

As for Runestads lobbying proposal, Moss said, Whether it was Sen. Runestad, or somebody else pushing this forward, I want to revisit it, I want to analyze it, I want to see if it actually solves the problems in Lansing. I cant just commit right now to a timeline or a hearing.

Moss said Runestad has not reached out to him in his capacity as the committee chair.

Typically theres a process by which a person who wants their bill heard will talk to the committee chair ahead of time, Moss said. Thats what I did when I was in the minority. I dont know if Sen. Runestad has his own timeline. If this was one of his policy priorities that he wants to see get done, he has not reached out to me as chair of this committee.

In Michigan, former lawmakers can become lobbyists the moment they leave office. According to a 2019 report by Public Citizen, 33 states have at least a one-year cooling off period. Other states, including Alabama, Florida and Iowa, have a two-year cooling off period.

Common Cause Michigan, a good government watchdog group, hasnt taken a position on the concept. However, its program director, Quentin Turner, said hed like more transparency in state government.

Turner said he would like to understand better the financial incentive of revolving door lawmakers. That would make it easier to determine possible relationships between a lawmaker and a lobbying industry.

Turner said if that is the case, there is nothing necessarily wrong with having a career outside of lawmaking, still involved in Lansing.

Former Rep. Sara Cambensy, D-Marquette, left office in December and now works as the executive director of the Michigan Chemistry Council.

Cambensy, who is now a registered lobbyist, said the large amount of turnover of lawmakers due to term limits means she is lobbying many lawmakers she hadnt met while in the House.

When she arrived at the Capitol, Cambensy said, she was leery of lobbyists. Now, after having served there for five years (most House members serve six years, but Cambensy ran in a special election), Cambensy said lobbyists play a role in educating members, which she calls a great thing.

If youre using (lobbying) to take advantage of legislators, I think thats where lobbying certainly gets a bad rap, Cambensy said.

Runestad said he is concerned with lawmakers chairing committees that focus on and oversee particular industries, then lobbying for one of the same industries.

Cambensy said it is admirable to advocate for transparency and disclosure in government, but isnt sure that limiting career choices for legislators is a good way to advocate for that.

Runestads legislation would set penalties at a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 90 days in jail.
The Marine Corps League is looking to recruit members to create a brand-new detachment for the Upper Thumb Area to provide support to veterans and active duty members, as well as take part in philanthropy efforts and honors to local veterans.

Raymond "Ray" Rayl is part of Detachment 161 and as the junior vice president of the commandant, is in charge of recruitment and retention to the Marine Corps League. He spoke with the Tribune about what the league does and what its hopes to add to the county for the veterans and the community as a whole.

"We are here to help veterans and active duty members (of the military)," said Rayl. "We don't have (a detachment) in Huron County and I know that Huron County has marines and veterans up there."

Part of the work that the Marine Corps League does is handling military honors for veterans and the public. It often deploys its members to perform military honors and taps at funerals for veterans locally. It is often the group attending these funerals to make sure the veterans are honored properly and that they are not missed out on receiving their final honors.

"Last year, we did 116 military honors at funerals," said Rayl. "We supplied the honor guard and we would have rifles shot and someone playing taps."

More so the group also provides honors to groups like the Boy Scouts of America. Rayl talked about how the league comes to Eagle Scout ceremonies to present the Good Citizen Award on behalf of the group.

Along with providing honors for scouts and veterans alike, the league looks to educate the community as well.

"We have gone to the elementary schools to perform flag ceremonies as well as teach the kids about the significance of the flag," said Rayl. "We teach them about the history of the flag and what each of the 13 folds means and the kids love it."

With providing education efforts the league also offers a statewide and nationwide scholarship essay competition for students.

In order to do all of this, the Marine Corps League of Michigan is looking for veterans to help join and be a part of the inaugural detachment for Huron County and is seeking members from Tuscola and Sanilac counties as well.

For those interested in forming a detachment in the area, Rayl can be contacted at 517-262-4091 or can be reached by email at jarhead1946@gmail.com.
The average trip through the Ohio Turnpike cost commuters $3.39 in 2021  and that money can really add up.

Toll revenues collected that year set a state record of more than $341.5 million, according to the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission.

As Michigan lawmakers look to drum up more revenue to support the states aging roadways, many are turning to places like Ohio for inspiration.

Michigan is currently among a minority of states which do not operate toll highways.

Studies commissioned by the Michigan Department of Transportation in 2020 found that toll roads in the state could generate around $1 billion annually.

That would place Michigan among Americas top-earning toll agencies  behind the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the Illinois Tollway which garners an estimated annual revenue of $1.6 million and $1.4 million respectively.

For comparison, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission paid its department of transportation around $450 million annually, of which $250 million went to fund mass transit and $200 million went to highway projects across the state, according to the commissions website.

Nationwide, toll facility operators collect an estimated $18 billion in annual revenue, according to a study by the American Transportation Research Institute.

What separates the proposed Michigan toll plan from most other toll collecting states is its scale.

Florida currently has the longest distance of toll roads at 657 miles.

The MI Statewide Tolling Study looked at the creation of a tolling system that, if enacted, would encompass about 1,156 miles. That is longer than all the toll highways operated in Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania combined.

Most toll roads, including the Illinois Tollway and Ohio Turnpike were constructed prior to the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956.

Provided photo/HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Many states constructed their first toll highways by floating bonds backed by toll revenues. The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in 1940, followed by similar roads in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and others throughout the 1950s.

Michigan was on a path to join these states, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The Michigan Turnpike Authority was established in 1951 to build turnpikes from Detroit/Chicago and Toledo/Bay City. These roads later became I-94 and I-75. However, federal funding for the Interstate Highway System covered most of the cost of freeway construction, ending the state's interest in toll roads, according to MDOT.

And that could mean a challenge for the creation of any new toll roads in Michigan.

It is not generally permitted under federal law to toll an existing interstate highway, according to MDOT.

Conversion of a toll-free highway to a tollway is possible only when the facility is completely reconstructed, according to the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

Even with reconstruction, it is not permitted to convert a designated interstate highway to a tollway under Section 129. The most that can be done is to construct new tolled lanes; states cannot reduce the number of toll-free lanes on an interstate, a release by the research council states.
Photo: (Photo : Wang Zhao/Getty Images)

A grieving family is suing Angels on Earth, a Florida care facility in Melbourne, over the choking death of their special needs child, Tarionn Jackson-Hanner.

According to the lawsuit, the 13-year-old boy choked to death on a latex glove while under the care of the facility on November 30, 2022, due to a lack of supervision.

The family is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 for their son's wrongful death.

Parents sue florida care facility over death of disabled son

Fox News reported that Kiyana Durham, the mother of Tarionn Jackson-Hanner, held a press conference on Thursday about the lawsuit.

She stated that she had repeatedly made the caretakers aware of her son's special needs.

Durham expressed her concern about why Tari was left alone, despite her explicit instructions to the facility not to do so.

She emphasized this point repeatedly, both during the press conference and in her previous interactions with the school, indicating that she had made it clear that Tari had special needs and should never be left alone.

According to Durham's attorney, Douglas McCarron, the facility was negligent in their duty of care towards Tari, given his history of putting objects in his mouth.

As stated by the Department of Health in New York State, choking is a common type of injury and a leading cause of death for children and teens.

In fact, it is the fourth leading cause of unintentional death in children under the age of 5. The highest risk of choking incidents and fatalities is in children who are below the age of five.

Various objects like toys, household items, and food items can lead to choking, and among young children, food is the leading cause of nonfatal choking.

At least one child dies from choking on food every five days in the U.S., and more than 12,000 children are taken to a hospital emergency room each year for food-choking injuries.

While toy manufacturers are responsible for labeling their products as choking hazards, some food manufacturers choose to label their food items as potentially dangerous for choking.

Nevertheless, it's crucial to note that any food can pose a choking risk.

Education regarding choking risks, precautions to take in avoiding these risks, and known life-saving procedures are necessary to eliminate senseless and tragic injuries and deaths caused by choking.

Read Also: New York Students Rally at Capitol, Demand Free Meals for All Public School Pupils

Choking causes death to children, teens, and kids with special needs

Care facilities in America that cater to children and youth with special needs have a responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of their residents.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children with disabilities are at higher risk for injury than their non-disabled peers.

This risk is even greater for children with intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, or autism spectrum disorder.

The National Library of Medicine reports that neurological disorders, developmental delay, neuromuscular pathologies,and traumatic and non-traumatic brain conditions considerably contribute to disturbances in swallowing, apart from certain primary and secondary medical conditions.

A child's habits and behaviors, such as walking, running, talking, laughing, and eating with urgency, could add to this risk of choking.

Therefore, care facilities must be equipped with the necessary resources, such as trained staff and appropriate equipment, to ensure that all residents are safe from harm.

The lawsuit filed by the family of Tarionn Jackson-Hanner against Angels on Earth is a stark reminder of the importance of accountability and responsibility in providing care for individuals with disabilities.

Related Article: US Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Crack Down on Employers Violating Child Labor Laws
Photo: (Photo : LOGAN CYRUS /Getty Images)

Students at Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, were evacuated on Thursday after reports of a possible shooting on campus.

The police and school administrators were immediately alerted to the potential threat and responded promptly.

The Winston-Salem Police Department received a report of a shooting at Forsyth Tech around 10:10 a.m.

On Twitter, the campus immediately spread the word that they were experiencing an active shooter situation and added that law enforcement officers were on site.

They also tweeted that the campus has been placed under lockdown and that there are shelters available for all of the faculty, staff, and students.

TechAlert: We are experiencing an active shooter situation. Law enforcement is on site. The campus is on lockdown with shelter in place for all students, faculty and staff.  Forsyth Tech (@ForsythTechCC) March 30, 2023

North Carolina's community college students are safe

According to Fox, officers were dispatched to the main campus and quickly implemented a lockdown.

The campus was on lockdown for several hours, causing anxiety and fear among students, faculty, and visitors.

However, after a thorough investigation, law enforcement confirmed that there was no active shooter on campus.

The school later announced that the campus was closed and all classes were canceled for the remainder of the week at all locations.

The school also released students, faculty, and visitors after hours of lockdown. Forsyth Tech spokesman Devin Purgason reported that there were reports of two suspects.

The police officers did not immediately release any information about the possible suspects.

Meanwhile, students from at least two nearby school districts were on the community college campus for a trip.

The districts confirmed that all those students were safe and accounted for in their respective statements.

The police made a statement to reassure the public that no other schools in the area were under threat and the campus was safe after the evacuation, with no reports of any injuries.

However, upon investigation, the Winston-Salem Police Department later discovered that the incident was not an active shooting but that an 18-year-old student from Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy had shot himself on the second floor of the Strickland Building's restroom on campus.

According to WSOC, police found the student, identified as Shannon Howard James Pitts, with a gunshot wound, and he was immediately taken to the hospital for medical attention.

Thankfully, Pitts' injuries are not life-threatening.

The police and school officials are still investigating the incident to determine the reason behind the shooting scare and ensure the safety of the campus and its community.

Read Also: Florida School District Temporarily Bans Disney's 'Ruby Bridges' Film After Parent Alleges Racial Content

Recent incidents of school shootings and gunfire scare

The reports of gunfire on the North Carolina campus came just days after a former student shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school in Tennessee, killing three children and three adults.

According to CNN, this incident is the latest in a series of mass shootings that have occurred in schools across the country, causing growing concern about bloodshed in schools.

While the incident at Forsyth Technical Community College did not result in any casualties, it serves as a reminder of the ongoing threat of gun violence in schools across the United States.

The prompt response of law enforcement and school officials helped ensure the safety of students, faculty, and visitors at the campus.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and the authorities are working to determine the cause of the shooting scare.

North Carolina and Forsyth Technical Community College will undoubtedly continue to take steps to ensure the safety of their students and staff in the wake of this incident.

Related Article: Gun Violence More Likely to Cause Death Among US Children Than Car Accidents
Photo: (Photo : Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

U.S. lawmakers are advocating for a TikTok ban, citing national security threats.

At the same time, parents and advocates are urging for a TikTok ban for kids or more restraints for the younger audience using the app.

TikTok, which has been downloaded over 210 million times in the US, is facing concerns about its parent company ByteDance's Chinese ownership and potential for data collection.

However, there is no concrete evidence that it poses a threat to national security.

Social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube have been criticized for their lack of privacy protection and misinformation.

However, the negative impacts on children have garnered the most attention, with parents concerned about the effects of social media on their kids' mental and physical health.

How a TikTok ban for kids could be beneficial for their growth

As reported by USA Today, two-thirds of teens in the US use TikTok, with kids as young as four accessing the app despite age restrictions in place.

Recent data reveals that minors spend more than 90 minutes daily on TikTok, which can adversely affect their academic performance, social life, physical activity, outdoor play, cognitive development, and other aspects that contribute to healthy growth.

This is acknowledged by medical professionals and society at large.

Although social media has some benefits, like connecting lonely youth online, experts who investigate the impact of technology on young people assert that harmful practices are ingrained in the essence of social media.

Social media platforms are highly likely to collect a vast amount of personal data for purposes such as data sharing, targeted advertising, and an uncontrolled, psychologically manipulative competition for attention.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the use of smartphones and social media can lead to mental distress, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts among young people, with girls being the most affected.

Read Also: Healthy Eating for Busy Families: Meal Planning, Time-Saving Tips for Eating Well

Security on TikTok and other social media companies

Many do not agree to a total TikTok ban, but instead, a TikTok ban for kids or even more restrictions and settings for child security and safety, as do for other social media platforms.

Although according to Care, the platform has a "younger user" section to allow kids under 13 to join in on some of the fun.

Younger kids can only access videos that have been curated by TikTok's algorithm for a younger audience, and there are even more limitations when it comes to the videos they create.

However, parents and advocates argue that these restrictions are not enough. Parents are advocating for more restraints for young kids using TikTok to assure that their addiction to the platform is not hampering their growth.

Just recently, the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, testified before Congress, facing tough questions about national security concerns as well as the app's effects on mental health for adolescent and younger users.

As concerns over TikTok's potential for data collection and national security threats continue to rise, U.S. lawmakers have become eager to speed up the ban on TikTok.

However, as reported by Quartz, Republican Senator Rand Paul halted the judgment since what can be attributed to TikTok can also be scrutinized for other big tech companies.

As Mr. Chew testified, he pledged that safety will be the platform a top priority, especially for the younger audience, and also promised to firewall U.S. user data from foreign access and keep the platform free from government interference.

Related Article: Dark Side of TIKTOK: What Parents Need To Know To Keep Their Kids Mentally Healthy
Photo: (Photo : Getty Images/ Hanna Lassen)

The Australian model is reaching the big 4-0, and she is opening up about the great joy of being a mom to three wonderful children.

Miranda Kerr turns 40 years old this coming April 20 and expresses how motherhood has been "one of the most fulfilling parts" of her life.

In an exclusive video she shared with People magazine how she learns so much from her children every single day. Being a mom expands her heart and her soul as she becomes capable of giving more love and patiences and capable of showing more resilience than ever before.

"Becoming a mother to my three beautiful healthy boys is really the most incredibly rewarding experience of my life. Being a mother has taught me that I'm so much more capable of more than I actually thought I was capable of," expressed the businesswoman and founder of KORA Organics.

Favorite part as a mother

The 39 years old model and husband Evan Spiegel share four and three-year-old sons Hart and Myles respectively. She also has twelve-year-old son Flynn, whom she shares with former husband Orlando Bloom.

Kerr describes her three boys as "kind hearted," "good mannered," and "very sweet," unafraid to express their feelings toward her and tell her "I love you," regularly.

She admits to facing a lot of challenges being a mom, saying that there are really days in motherhood that are not easy, yet she has learned to try her best being patient, kind and nurturing.

On the red carpet of the 20th annual G'Day USA Arts Gala in Los Angeles last January, the mother of three revealed her favorite part as a mother.

"Just seeing the world through their eyes and the fact that they're all very different. They have different personalities, and they just bring something to the table that's just unique to them," she declared as quoted by The News.

Read More: Miranda Kerr Opens Up About Transferring To Malibu To Co-Parent With Orlando Bloom, Reveals They Want To Be A Close-Knit Family

Wellness tips

In the exclusive video that was released, she shared two wishes she has for her 40th birthday. First is to continue growing and evolving in all the roles of her life, especially as a mother, a wife and a businesswoman. Second, she wants to be like her grandmother, who she calls as the "heart of the family."

When asked for wellness tips for busy moms like her, she gave People a list of ten of her essentials that support her mind and body.

Kora Organics Plant Stem Cell Retinol Alternative Serum to improve the texture and cellular turnover of her skin. Traditional Medicinals Organic Lemon Balm Herbal Tea to help calm her nervous system. Slip Silk Pillowcase for softer skin and hair every morning. Omega Cold Press Juicer, which she uses for her daily 32 ounces of cold-pressed celery juice that increases hydration and reduces inflammation in the body. Kora Organics Dry Body Brush to "boost circulation, stimulate blood flow, and remove dead skin cells." Skinny Confidential Hot Mess Ice Roller, which gives her skin a cooling sensation that brings her back to life. Saje Pocket Farmacy Physical Edition everywhere she goes to relieve stress, support her gut, and soothe her head. Oura Ring to track her sleep and steps. The Sculpt Society TSS Bands for 15 to 20 minutes of exercise anywhere within the day. Insight Timer App for her meditation every morning.

Related article: Miranda Kerr Talks Co-Parenting With Orlando Bloom And His GF Katy Perry: 'We're A Modern Family!'
The Cannes Film Festival has confirmed that Martin Scorseses highly anticipated Killers of the Flower Moon will world premiere on the Croisette. The event will mark Scorseses first time presenting a film at Cannes since winning best director for After Hours in 1986.

The festival has not yet specified whether the film will play in or out of competition.

More from Variety

The Apple original film brings together a starry cast, led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal. All of them are expected to hit the red carpet, along with additional cast and members of the filmmaking team, the festival said. The movie was produced by Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas at Imperative. The world premiere is set for May 20, which falls on a Saturday, at the prestigious Grand Theatre Lumiere.

Earlier this week, Apple revealed that Killers of the Flower Moon will first be released exclusively in theaters worldwide, in partnership with Paramount Pictures, limited on Oct. 6, and wide on Oct. 20, before streaming globally on Apple TV.

In France, the movie wont roll out on Apple until 17 months following its theatrical release under the current windowing rules. A French publicist working on the film confirmed to Variety that Apple will comply to the local windowing rules. Since Killers of the Flower Moon will open theatrically in France, the film could play in competition.

Securing Scorseses movie at Cannes is a major coup for the festivals chief Thierry Fremaux and follows months of discussions with Apple and Paramount. Fremaux told Variety in a long interview published this week that one of the important things for this upcoming 76th edition of the festival was is to make sure that Martin Scorsese attends with his new film which is an important work. Although the movie runs nearly 4 hours, it will likely thrive in theaters in France where movies from renowned American filmmakers routinely surpass box office expectations. Recent examples include Steven Spielbergs The Fabelmans.

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While the movie was reportedly heavily courted by Venice festival boss Alberto Barbera, the filmmakers opted to premiere Killers of the Flower Moon at Cannes. The French Riviera-set fest had banner 2022 edition playing host to Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis, both of which were nominated for best picture at the Oscars, alongside Ruben Ostlunds Palme dOr winning Triangle of Sadness.

Based on David Granns best-selling book and written for the screen by Eric Roth and Scorsese, the film unfolds in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of Native Americans and the investigation into the string of brutal crimes by the FBI.

Director, screenwriter, actor and producer, Martin Scorsese has dedicated his life to cinema and the Festival de Cannes has been at his side on many occasions. He was awarded the Palme dOr in 1976 for Taxi Driver, which was presented in Competition. He subsequently came back to the official selection on a regular basis and won best director for After Hours, 10 years after the success of Taxi Driver.

In 1998, Scorsese was back in Cannes to preside over the competition jury. Four years later, he chaired the jury for the Cinefondation and short films alongside Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami.

Scorsese has also represented numerous films at Cannes Classics through his banner The Film Foundation which is dedicated to protecting and preserving film classics.

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ZeroAvia has partnered with Braathens Regional Airlines, Skelleftea Airport and energy company Skelleftea Kraft to bring zero-emission flights to Sweden.

The four-party agreement will develop commercial routes using ZeroAvias hydrogen-electric powertrain systems on routes from Skelleftea Airport in Northeast Sweden. As part of the agreement, ZeroAvia will work with the airport, the municipal energy company Skelleftea Kraft and Braathens Regional Airlines to demonstrate flights and explore launching commercial operations.

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Braathens Regional Airlines plans to provide aircraft for future demonstrations and to explore commercial routes. The partners will examine the potential for operating a range of regional aircraft on commercial passenger routes using both ZeroAvias ZA600 powertrain, designed for 9-19 seat aircraft with a 2025 launch target, and its ZA2000, designed for 40-80 seat aircraft (such as ATR and Dash 8 families), with a plan for entry into service by 2027. Braathens Regional Airlines currently operates 14 ATR-72 aircraft on routes across Sweden, Finland and Denmark and will in the coming months start charter flights operating eight Airbus 319/320.

In conjunction with the partners, Skelleftea Airport will investigate the operational infrastructure required to support the hydrogen-powered flights and opportunities for further decarbonization presented by green hydrogen. Additionally, Skelleftea Kraft will analyze the potential for hydrogen production and supply as part of the project with ZeroAvia.

The partners assert that hydrogen-electric propulsion promises lower operating costs and zero-emission flights for airlines, as well as reduced air and noise pollution around airport locations. These benefits can in turn mean greater use of regional air travel, increasing productivity and connectivity and providing a boost for regional economies.

The project in Sweden is further traction for ZeroAvias plans to introduce its zero-emission propulsion technology on regional routes over the next few years, with partnerships with Rotterdam the Hague Airport in the Netherlands, Edmonton International Airport in Canada, and AGS and Birmingham Airports already in place. The company has also secured in excess of 1,500 provisional orders for its hydrogen-electric powertrains over the course of the last 18 months.

James Peck, chief customer officer at ZeroAvia, said, Sweden is one of the most ambitious countries in the world in pursuit of net-zero targets for aviation, with an overall fossil fuel-free aspiration by 2045, and planning for all domestic flights to be fossil free by 2030. Aviation will become a larger proportion of emissions as other sectors abate, so the country will need to see true zero-emission air travel that goes beyond combustion fuels. Bold projects such as the one planned for Skelleftea are crucial in this endeavor.

Ulrika Matsgard, CEO of Braathens Regional Airlines, commented, To achieve our airlines ambitious goals to reach net-zero for our international flights by 2045, we need to speed up the development of technology. We see hydrogen-powered aircraft as one important solution for international flights in Europe. Its also important for us to contribute to initiatives started here in the Nordics.

Joachim Nordin, CEO at Skelleftea Kraft, said, Skelleftea Kraft wants to contribute to the energy transition for sustainable aviation. We are still in a very early stage regarding hydrogen but think that renewable hydrogen is a possibility and a part of the solution to energy and climate change challenges.

Robert Lindberg, CEO of Skelleftea Airport, stated, We see an increasing travel demand in the northern part of all Nordic countries. If we manage to test, develop and commercialize hydrogen aviation solutions in Skelleftea, we can help to increase regional connectivity in a truly sustainable way.

For more key sustainability updates from the passenger terminal industry, click here.
(This is the second part of the article, The Battle against Corruption etc. But first let me make my position absolutely clear. I am wholeheartedly in favour of this movement that Anna Hazare jee has launched. As the right person to lead this movement he brings up the third element in the triad the man, the moment and the milieu. But we are aware of another movement dissipate itself without achieving most of its objectives as well as and many stringent remedial legislations have proved worse than the disease. People tend to apply their own time tested scale of values to events and I am aware that my thinking may be touched by my professional bias.

This as well as the other parts that will follow elucidates what was contained as brief remarks in the introductory piece. It would be impertinent of me to offer suggestions where the best minds of the country are at work but in the last installment I do intend to offer some practical suggestions.)

How does one view the present movement against corruption? As a symptom of a deep systemic crisis? As a diffuse longing on a societal scale, for redemption from our current problems by a mythical messianic character? As a supreme example of the laziness and evasion of individual responsibility? As the ultimate triumph of what Umberto Eco calls "Event as Mise en scene and Life as Scene-settings?" Is it a populist movement or a highly elitist one, run by a collectivism? Or is it a little of both - a movement which feeds at the populist spring but is deeply elitist in its aspirations. In this post and the others that will follow I will try to come to grips with my own confused and muddled thinking on these issues.

Seeking an analogy from the field of philosophy of science it can be said that any system is designed to cope with all manners of situations that arise on a daily basis. But there comes a time when the system finds it difficult to cope with arising challenges. No matter how you tweak it, the problem remains insoluble. This is the sign that we are now colliding against the boundaries; signal to make a paradigm shift, to abandon the theory and adopt a new and more capacious hypothesis. Our political crisis in wake of pervasive and ubiquitous corruption in public life is more or less headed for this trajectory.

Democratic traditions are not native to our culture- I know Vaishali and Licchavi etc would be flung in my face. It is not rooted in history or tradition. Nevertheless democracy did not evolve here by a process of trial and error, experiments and conventions as it did in Britain. We have not grown with democracy; there is no evidence of sustained engagement of our society and democratic institutions. We are not here by a natural process of evolution. Ours  we the people of India -was a conscious and deliberate act of choice to be governed by an agreed set of political institutions. Our national identification was with the constitution itself and it sought to generalize, diffuse and sublimate what was once held as an obligation to God along with all other narrow and sectarian loyalties that divide us ,the huge diversity in terms of race, language, history, into an obligation to our secular republic. The covenant between the citizen and the nation was direct; unmediated by the fact, of religion, caste creed or gender and it was expected that in the conduct of the public affairs the nation must-survive as the principle object of affection and despair and no new allegiance must be formed to replace it. It is a debatable statement to make, but it does not detract from its validity to say, that Indian nationalism was a concept which was alien to many of us, and inadequately developed at the best. The Indian constitution is what provides us our self definition.

The Lokpal bill is a tacit suggestion that we are now colliding against the boundary, that the potential of the system has been exhausted and we are approaching the conditions of political entropy. Perhaps it is a time to make a move on and the Lokpal bill is the answer. The Lokpal Bill is daring in its conception challenges the very basic premise of our doing things, - the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary, the supremacy of the parliament etc and there are no precedents to it. But one may like to enquire why the legislations designed to cope with corruption in public sphere have been found to be inadequate.

In my humble opinion it is not the inadequacy of the legislation it is the infirmity of the individuals who apply it;the issue is the lack of uniform application, because faced with the mighty economic offender those charged to apply it develop cold feet, distort it or simply play truant. To quote just one pithy example. During the course of the investigation of an offence, the arrest of the local chief minister became necessary but the state police could not be relied upon to affect it. As a result the army had to be summoned by the High Court leading to unavoidable controversy? All because the then DGP could not be trusted upon to get the warrant of arrest executed. Institutions have to be vested with authority and it is for the powerful who consecrate it and uphold its writ, whatever the consequence. Stories abound in the Indian tradition where gods have voluntarily surrendered to the power of supposedly invincible weapons.

While intellectuals and political pundits may debate the abstract questions of political theory, I shall limit myself to my own area of experience. It will bear reiteration that nothing on as grand a scale as the Lokpal Bill has ever been attempted before but let us consider some issues on the diminutive scale. The Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 was supposed to be a revolutionary improvement on the PC Act 1947; the definition of public servant was made so capacious as to include almost every one  persons associated with co operative bodies, universities, educational, scientific, cultural educational institutions receiving public funds, UPSC state PSCs banks, MLAs, MPs., whoever was being paid out of or handling public funds. The mere possession of assets disproportionate to known sources was an offence, without any need to establish a specific act of bribery or corruption. The explanation added to the new section 13 (1) e requires only that income which has been declared according to the prescribed rules etc to qualify as known sources of income. Income derived legally but undeclared, undervalued income, assets acquired but without prior permission or subsequent intimation became outlawed. It was considered revolutionary in its scope, reach and ambit, the authentic thunderbolt of gods. Twenty three years down the line it is just another provision, which neither deters nor is as widely used as it should have been, given that amassing of disproportionate asset by public servants is a rule rather than exception.

Now we have just about everybody declaring his property but not one has been challenged so far. The idea behind the move may have been that only if the ill gotten worth of the corrupt were known it will prove a deterrent. Citizens know that one of their favourite leaders who was worth 10 lacs in 2004, is worth 500 crores today, or a public figure who is believed to have taken a few thousand crores in one deal is only worth a few crores, does it make the masses pour into the streets? No body to my knowledge has been prosecuted on the basis of these disclosures. Does not it mean, then, that each one of us public servant is living within ones means. Or is it that the task of bringing disproportionate wealth to light has been democratized and it is the duty of every citizen to scan the property of the public servant and discover undeclared wealth and unmask him? This has not been done either. Are we a less corrupt society merely because a more draconian law has been put in place? Does criminalizing or prescribing more deterrent punishment ensure socially useful behaviour?

There was a time when dowry was jogging the conscience like nothing else. It was the number one social evil; therefore, the full might of law - civil, criminal and special legislative acts - was deployed against it. The act casts the burden of proof on to the accused. It can be confidently said that the society did not change its mind about the giving and taking of dowry because of the multiplicity of legal remedies, but to our misplaced reformist zeal we owe the incarceration of innumerable innocent old and decrepit men and women, landing up in jail. The dowry act - dowry was as much of a social evil in the eyes of the community as corruption is today- is the most misused act in the history of Indian jurisprudence. Incidentally this is the only crime in which the police can claim bribe not only with impunity but with honour - to arrest those who stand falsely accused, at the behest of the complainant. The new leniency in granting anticipatory bail is a judicial recognition of this fact. What is being emphasized here is that, try as we might, we cannot run a society by decrees alone. The excess can only inure us against the evil, even inculcate a sense of fatalism.

I would like to draw upon my experience - tawdry, banal and exercised in unspectacular setting, in comparison to the grandness of the theme envisaged in the Lokpal bill to reinforce this point. I had been directed by the Hon'ble Patna High Court to investigate a case of academic fraud which the normal hierarchy of police were not able to undertake, may be, because the accused persons were very powerful persons. The investigation led us to the academic underworld and several vice chancellors, a retired High Court judge, an IPS officer and several others were arraigned. Encouraged by the investigation, the Honble High Court directed me to broad base the investigation. Having gained a valuable insight, we proceeded confidently, but we hit the tunnel at the end of the light. What we came up against, was not an evidence of random deviant behaviour, but irregularity and illegality on an insurrectionary scale. And you certainly cannot fight insurrection with normal laws. "Should we go about registering cases in their hundreds", my report to the High Court wondered "may be in their hundreds of thousands, considering that other universities are waiting to reveal their priceless quota of well known secrets. Such an enterprise would nullify the very concept of investigation and fair trial because the sheer volume of work which no agency however diligent can perform." Then "there is another problem- and it is no moral quibbling; it is a purely juridical issue. In what order shall the potential delinquents be called to account ..given the various limitations of human resources. those involved in matters taken up first are likely to be disadvantaged compared to those who are taken up later" etc. To the best of my knowledge, the matter is still pending and on a regular basis crimes with the same modus operandi are revealed, investigated etc. and the high hopes fueled by the media hype of a cleanup of the campuses has gone sour. Nobody in Bihar, I think, takes the issues of academic fraud as seriously now.

This brings me to my next worry. The leadership of the movement is in very competent hands, as of now. Any one of them can do full justice to the office of Lokpal. But while one legislates and brings into being such agencies, omnipotent in their sway, one has to ask God or Nature  take your pick - to keep us supplied on a regular basis - with such eminent people who are suitable for the high office. The matter does not end there. For the Lokpal to be effective and credible it has to have an apparatus of investigation commensurate to the task. But what if nature defaults or God fails to execute the orders on time? What if we are saddled with another Thomas? The experience with many of the occupants of high constitutional posts appears to have validated the Peter Principle  sooner or later we will arrive at the Thomas level. Thomas on a puny symbolic scale was a parlour farce; Thomas on a grand scale would be a national catastrophe. Already unseemly insinuations and innuendoes targeting the leaders of the movement are beginning to be aired vitiating the debate.

My worry is that the grander the ambition the more spectacular the failures, and it leads to a massive withdrawal symptom. In a democracy critical debate is of the essence. In this case that opportunity has been lost because the television arrived here before everyone else did, banishing good sense and rational debate. Therefore, the issue must be put to much wider consultation, more extensive debate, keeping in mind the history of earlier initiatives and the fears expressed in many quarters. We must not be afraid of failure but at the same time we must not be oblivious of the grave consequences of failure.

India Today magazine once referred to Manoje Nath, a 1973-batch IPS officer, as being fiercely independent, honest, and upright. Besides his numerous official reports on various issues exposing corruption in the bureaucracy in Bihar, Nath is also a writer extraordinaire expressing his thoughts on subjects ranging from science fiction to the effects of globalization. His sense of humor was evident through his extremely popular series named "Gulliver in Patiliputra" and "Modest Proposals" that were published in the local newspapers.
rogers-shaw-deal-vw0331

More than two years after Rogers Communications Inc. struck a $26-billion deal to acquire rival Shaw Communications Inc., the federal government has removed the final impediment to the transaction, allowing one of the biggest corporate combinations in Canadian history to proceed.

But the green light from Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, who needed to approve the transfer of spectrum licences from Shaws Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc.s Videotron, did not come easy. The companies must adhere to a string of 21 conditions that include at least $6.5 billion in spending, a commitment to Western Canada and an understanding that wireless prices must come down, with financial penalties if they fail to comply.

Rogers chief executive Tony Staffieri said in a statement that the companies are very pleased to move forward with the merger.

As a proud Canadian company, were deeply committed to delivering on our promises and we cant wait to get started, Staffieri said.

Like a hawk

The transactions between Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor are now expected to close by April 7, the three companies said.

Among the conditions, Rogers must also invest $1 billion in broadband internet access, at least $2.5 billion in its western Canada 5G network and $3 billion in expansion projects. Rogers must also establishing a western headquarters in Calgary, and maintain it for a minimum of 10 years, while creating 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada.

Videotron is also barred from transferring the Freedom Mobile licences for 10 years.

Champagne said he would act like a hawk to ensure the companies abide by the agreement. He also said he expected Freedoms sale to Videotron to bring wireless prices down significantly within a reasonable amount of time, or else the government would act.

I will ensure that a new fourth national player can go toe-to-toe with the Big Three and actually drive down prices, he said at a press conference. If I dont see lower prices in Canada, everything is on the table and I will seek further powers in order to achieve that for Canadians.

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While it was anticipated that Champagne would have tough words for incumbents and general pricing in Canada, Desjardins analyst Jerome Dubreuil said the Ministers tone was a bit harsher than expected.

(The telcos) have enough money and Ill be like a hawk were not on our bingo card, Dubreuil said.

Non-compliance to the agreements can cost Videotron up to $200 million in financial damages and up to $1 billion for Rogers, Champagne said, noting that theyre subject to annual reporting requirements on their compliance with the terms of the deal.

Quebecor chief executive Pierre Karl Peladeau said the acquisition of Freedom would help lower wireless prices for Canadians.

By joining forces, Freedom Mobile and Videotron will become the fourth national mobile carrier that Canadians have been waiting for, he said. Just as Videotron has done in the Quebec market, Freedom will promote competition by competing aggressively with Canadas wireless carriers in order to lower prices for the benefit of consumers.

A Videotron store in Montreal.

But, Laura Tribe, executive director of Internet advocacy group OpenMedia, wasnt optimistic about prices coming down. She said in a statement shortly after the announcement that todays decision is the largest blow to telecommunications competition and affordability weve ever seen.

Despite press releases claiming otherwise, Minister Champagnes putting the nail in the coffin of competition in telecommunications in Canada. At this point, theres only one thing he can do to save our downward spiralling telecom sector: full-scale competition reform in Canada. Without it, we could easily be looking at a Bell and Telus merger next.

Scotiabank telecom analyst Maher Yaghi told clients ahead of the news that the next few months will focus on how quickly Rogers can extract the promised synergies from the transaction, as well as how fast the company can de-lever its balance sheet.

We believe investors need to pay attention to the level of concessions that both Rogers and Quebecor have agreed to undertake, Yaghi wrote.

On March 31, Rogers updated its 2023 financial guidance, originally set in February. Following the merger, it expects total service revenue to increase between 26 per cent to 30 per cent, from four to seven per cent.

Long road to approval

Champagnes announcement comes on the same day as the latest deadline that Rogers and Shaw set to conclude their agreement  the fourth since the original deadline of the second quarter of 2022.

The merger already received approval from Shaw shareholders and the Court of Kings Bench of Alberta in 2021, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in March last year and the Competition Tribunal at the end of 2022, a decision that was upheld by the Federal Court of Appeal in January.

Rogers appeared initially to misjudge the willingness of regulators and politicians to give one of the biggest corporate takeovers in Canadian history a green light.

Approval of Quebecors purchase of Freedom Mobile likely would allow Rogers to conclude its $26-billion takeover of Shaw.

When Shaw purchased Wind Mobile in 2016 and renamed it Freedom, many in Ottawa thought the Calgary-based company would challenge the dominance of Rogers, Montreal-based BCE Inc.s Bell, and Vancouver-based Telus Corp.

The sight of Shaw being absorbed by one of the Big Three telecommunications companies renewed concerns about competition in the market for cellular services. The government insisted on conditions and the Competition Bureau mounted a vigorous  but ultimately unsuccessful  attempt to block the takeover in court.

Selling Freedom to Quebecor amounted to a concession by Rogers and Shaw to those in Ottawa who worried the takeover would further consolidate an industry that provides what many now view as an essential service  a service for which Canadians pay some of the highest monthly rates in the world amid limited competition.

Quebecors Videotron unit is a dominant provider of cable and mobile service in Quebec and the company has said it will use Freedom to fulfill a long-held desire to expand across Canada.

Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.

First, Videotron would have to hold Freedoms spectrum licences for at least 10 years and, second, bring competitive wireless offerings to Ontario and Western Canada that mirror those in Quebec, where prices were brought down by around 20 per cent.

The merger already received approval from Shaw shareholders and the Court of Kings Bench of Alberta in 2021, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in March last year and the Competition Tribunal at the end of 2022, a decision that was upheld by the Federal Court of Appeal last month.

CRTC review

Rogers appeared initially to misjudge the willingness of regulators and politicians to give one of the biggest corporate takeovers in Canadian history a green light.

When Shaw purchased Wind Mobile in 2016 and renamed it Freedom, many in Ottawa thought the Calgary-based company would challenge the dominance of Rogers, Montreal-based BCE Inc.s Bell, and Vancouver-based Telus Corp.

The sight of Shaw being absorbed by one of the Big Three telecommunications companies renewed concerns about competition in the market for cellular services. The government insisted on conditions and the Competition Bureau mounted a vigorous  but ultimately unsuccessful  attempt to block the takeover in court.

Selling Freedom to Quebecor amounted to a concession by Rogers and Shaw to those in Ottawa who worried the takeover would further consolidate an industry that provides what many now view as an essential service  a service for which Canadians pay some of the highest monthly rates in the world amid limited competition.

Quebecors Videotron unit is a dominant provider of cable and mobile service in Quebec and the company has said it will use Freedom to fulfill a long-held desire to expand across Canada.

ISEDs approval comes a little over a week after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on March 23 asked Rogers to provide details of its network-sharing arrangements with Quebecor by April 11, following a complaint from the independent internet service provider TekSavvy Solutions Inc. questioning the wholesale deals.

In a press release, TekSavvy said the Minister approved the merger despite the CRTCs ongoing investigation.

Shaw and Freedom Mobile are just the latest dominos to fall in the rapid ongoing collapse of competition in Canadas telecom sector. The merger follows Bells acquisition of Ebox, Distributel and Primus; Videotrons purchase of V-Media; Teluss acquisition of Start.ca and Altima; and Cogecos acquisition of Oxio, among others, it said.

With additional reporting from Barbara Shecter

 Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com | Twitter:
As a middle-aged dude who grew up watching anime, kung-fu films, and The Matrix, inject the John Wick series straight into my veins, please. Ive spent the last couple of weeks re-watching the entire collection to get pumped for John Wick: Chapter 4 on the big screen and now that Im caught up, I dont want to hop off this vibe train.

Fortunately, I also grew up playing a heaping helping of video games, and there are several kick-ass ones that are absolutely perfect to pick up and play to feel like the man, the myth, the devil himself. Boot these up and become an absolute badass. Better yet? Theyre all pretty cheap!

The Hong Kong Massacre

John Wick: Chapter 4 includes an awe-inspiring top-down scene of Mr. Wick clearing out a French building with extreme, fiery prejudice. It almost felt like a video gameand thats because it was inspired by a rad one. Director Chad Stahelski told SlashFilm the scene was directly inspired by The Hong Kong Massacre, a top-down shooter that released in 2019.

I had seen this video game and Ill throw a shout-out  I think it was called Hong Kong Massacre  they did this top shot and we had been doing so much with the big muzzle flashes and it just kind of clicked like, Well, if Im above, we shoot like this and we shoot like this, and it draws these cool lines with the muzzle flash, and if I get the right flicker effect, its like Etch A Sketch. It looks really cool, Stahelski said. And it was a different way to amp up the action and keep you in that video game mode that John Wicks kind of known for, that first-person shooter kind of thing.

Superhot

Speaking of first person shooters, the legendary Superhot (sorry, SUPERHOT. SUPER. HOT.) remains the best John Wick action simulator to date, especially if youre able to play it in VR. Heres an excerpt from our review:

Its a first-person shooter, except time only moves full-speed when you move. Stand still and everything slows to a crawl. Bullets hang in the air, red trails stretching out behind. People are practically motionless, frozen mid-charge. Lucky for you, because the odds are overwhelming. Youre a one-man army, taking out anonymous red enemies en masse, watching bullets idly twirl past your skull, exchanging shots with statues. Pause. Running out of ammo and then throwing your gun at the nearest foe, putting him off guard just long enough for you to sneak in a punch. Pause. Grabbing his pistol out of the air as he falls. Pause. Spinning and shooting two more whod snuck up behind. Pause. Dodging out of the way of two bullets arcing your direction. Pause. This start/stop rhythm is the core of Superhotmore puzzle game than first-person shooter, more The Matrix or Equilibrium than Call of Duty.

If you havent played Superhot, fix that mistake now. And if youve played Superhot, its time to play Superhot again. Its always time to play Superhot.

Hotline Miami

But back to top-down, hyper-violent shooters with all the vibes. Before The Hong Kong Massacre, there was Hotline Miami, a retro-tinged masterpiece with possibly the most absolutely banging soundtrack of all time. Heres how we described it once:

Hotline Miami is still one of the best arcade-style experiences Ive ever had. It was basically a tight, well-crafted version of Hitman on cocaineblasting music, brutal murders, and adrenaline. As you played, youd feel yourself gradually lose yourself in the experience. Youd allow yourself to slip into the flow, a sort of Zen state of unfeeling efficiency where your murders became almost reflexive. It was crazy. It was disturbing. It was addictive as hell.

Thats John Wick af. Skip the sequel, though.

Sifu

More into fists than guns? You definitely want to check out Sifu, which calls itself a realistic third-person brawler with tight Kung Fu combat mechanics and cinematic martial arts action embarking you on a path for revenge.

Thats true and Sifu absolutely slaps. Its also John Wick af, just without all the shooty bangs.

John Wick Hex

Finally, the actual John Wick game has to make this list, of course. But John Wick Hex is very, very different from the movies and the other games highlighted here. Its not an action game whatsoever. Instead, its a satisfying strategy game that aptly captures the feel of the films in a way no true action game could, as we said in our review.

A hybrid of real-time and turn-based, the timeline governs all in John Wick Hex. Every action takes a set amount of time. Walk one hex? Maybe a second. Pick up a gun? Two seconds. Bandage your wounds? Four. Your enemies are ruled by their own timelines, of course. And given the nature of the system, their actions arent necessarily in sync with yours. As I said, one enemy is simple. Wick tends to act slightly faster than his opponents, so you can almost always handle a single foe. When John Wick Hex throws more enemies at you though, it starts to play out almost like a dance. Almost like the films, really. John Wick Hex stumbles to the finish line thanks to an insane difficulty spike and too-frequent deaths. But if youre open to a new kind of experienceor simply want to step in the shoes of the genuine Mr. Wick rather playing through games that match his vibesits well worth playing. I wish more tie-in games were executed with this level of craft, and with premises this creative, we said. If they were, perhaps wed see more of themor at least more worth playing.

Happy hunting, Mr. Wick!
United States Vice President Kamala Harris has reaffirmed the need for African Countries including Ghana to invest significantly and reposition their economies through digitisation.



Digitisation, she noted is essential for the growth and expansion of 21st-century economies as it benefits citizens in various endeavours including students, farmers, and business people amongst others.



Her call follows widespread digitisation reforms and initiatives spearheaded by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia which has earned Ghana commendations amongst its peers in relation to growing their economies in the 21st century.



"One area where we must together make progress is in the digital economy. Whether you're a student relying on virtual courses, a farmer relying on an app for early warning about extreme weather or a small business owner looking to sell goods online, digital services are essential to 21st-century economies," she said in an address at the Independence Square in Accra.



She said while some African countries are lagging behind in terms of digital services and significant digitisation of their economies, others are leading the charge in digital solutions. The situation she said is a compelling reason for the United States to mobilise resources in billions of dollars to Africa to expand and improve access to internet services.



"The partnership between the public and private sector is essential. Partnerships that combine the experience and expertise of the private sector with the rich and capacity only governments can provide. Together we can unleash growth and opportunity that either the public or private sector can achieve on its own. The United States is committed to build these types of partnerships to improve digital inclusion on the continent," Kamala Harris added.



These latest assertions of the US Veep adds to the loads of commendations on Ghana's digitisation agenda which has been championed by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.



Dr Bawumia has consistently stated that the digitisation agenda embarked upon by the government is one major path leading to the growth and consolidation of the Ghanaian economy.



It will be recalled that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia at a public lecture on the State of the Ghanaian economy bemoaned the story of successive governments largely focusing their attention on managing crises relating to the economy instead of building systems that will strengthen and enhance economic prospects of the country.



Initiatives such as the National Identification Cards, digitisation of passport acquisition, mobile money interoperability, and accessing essential services on digital platforms are among the many digital reforms that have significantly repositioned and strengthened the economy.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, has expressed concern over the decision by some Members of Parliament (MPs) of the minority caucus to breach the practice of secret voting in Parliament.



He said the MPs took videos and photos of their votes in last Fridays vote on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos ministerial and Supreme Court justice nominees.



The Second Deputy Speaker, who is also an independent MP for the Fomena Constituency, in the Ashanti Region, said the action of the MPs violated the secrecy of votes, which should not be allowed to recur.



In a statement on the floor of Parliament, yesterday, Mr. Amoako said the action was an affront to Article 104 of the 1992 Constitution and Order 10(b) of the Standing Orders of the House.



The elections were held in secret, but we have read on various social media platforms that some of our members, probably as a matter of proving a point, videoed and took pictures of how they voted.



I understand and appreciate why they did that, but the fact of the matter is that their actions are an affront to the electoral process, Mr. Amoako said.



As the bastion of the countrys democracy, Mr. Amoako said MPs should set good examples for the general population to follow.



We are supposed to be the creme of our democratic dispensation and whatever we do must show that we understand what we are doing.



I submit that going forward, if we are to vote, in as much as we may want to prove to the caucus leaders, constituents, or the party that indeed this is the way we voted, we should also be reminded that whatever we do here conforms with general rule of voting in the country, he said.



Mr. Yusif Sulemana, MP for Bole/Bamboi, called for the annulment of the polls if indeed there were evidence that MPs took pictures of their votes and revealed same.



To the best of my knowledge, the election was conducted in secrecy, but if there is any evidence to suggest that it was not done in secrecy, then the result should be declared null and void.



Mr. Sulemana said going forward, there would be the need for the House to adopt standards on how voting should be conducted because the mode kept changing anytime there was a vote.



But the MP for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfrom, Sylvester Tetteh, disagreed with the call for the votes to be annulled.



He urged the House to purge itself of this unfortunate development, and said MPs would not have the moral right to educate their constituents if the practice was not stopped.



I understand and appreciate why they did that, but the fact of the matter is that their actions are an affront to the electoral process, Mr. Amoako said.



As the bastion of the countrys democracy, Mr. Amoako said MPs should set good examples for the general population to follow.





Source: The Ghanaian Times









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The trial judge in a case of causing financial loss to the state, brought against a former Deputy Minister of Finance and current Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has asked him to show proof of authorisation that gave into the request for the Bank of Ghana to set up Letters of Credit in favour of Big Sea Trading Limited.



Delivering a ruling on a submission of no case brought by lawyers of Dr Forson, Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botchwey said the prosecution had met the threshold of establishing a prima facie case against Dr. Forson.



She added that having reviewed all the arguments in court, and the written submissions of all parties, she was inclined to ask the accused to open his defence on the two counts of causing financial loss to the state over the issuance of an LC in favour of Big Sea for the importation of some ambulances.



She was quick to add that this was only a preliminary ruling, as the court was yet to make a determination on the facts of the case.



She noted that the accused had stated in the course of the trial that he had authorisation to request the BoG to establish the letters of credit but had not offered conclusive evidence to back it.



She said a statement taken from then former finance minister, Seth Terkper, was not conclusive as to whether or not he gave Dr Forson authority to have the LCs established.



Justice Asare Botchwey explained that in criminal cases, it is the duty of the person making a positive averment to show proof thereof, and not the party making a negative averment.



This ruling appears to pave the way for Seth Terkper to be called as a witness for Dr Forson, if the defence so wishes.



The defence was given up to April 11, 2023, to file witness statements and indicate who those witnesses are.





Source: ghanaweb.com









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A woman has been arrested in France and faces a criminal trial for posting a slogan referring to President Emmanuel Macron as 'garbage' on Facebook.



The 50-year-old woman named as only Valerie, was placed in police custody for the alleged offence.



She is accused of 'publicly insulting' the French President, who has witnessed millions take to the streets in protest to his controversial move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote.



'I asked them if it was a joke,' Valerie told the Voix du Nord (Voice of the North) newspaper. 'It's the first time I've been arrested.'



The 'Macron Garbage' graffiti was outside a waste disposal depot in nearby Arques, and I had simply 'been photographed in front of it, smiling,' she said.



Referring at the time to an upcoming television address by Mr. Macron, Valerie also wrote on Facebook: 'The garbage will talk tomorrow at 1 p.m.., adding: 'We also find the garbage on TV'.



Valerie is linked to the Yellow Vests anti-Macron movement which brought chaos to France in 2018, but she denies being a troublemaker.



'I'm an activist for social justice,' she said. 'They want to make an example of me. I am not public enemy number one.



'This is totally unfair. We are going through a period when intimidation is strong, and activists are threatened.'



Human rights laws have complained about police violence and arbitrary arrests, as Mr Macron sends paramilitary units onto the streets to try and quell the violence.



Prosecutors and the Pas-de-Calais prefecture confirmed that an investigation had been opened into Valerie's Facebook post.



A statement from the prefecture said it has been 'opened following a complaint filed by the sub-prefect of Saint-Omer with the police station after he became aware of offensive photos and publications targeting the President of the Republic on social media networks'.



Valerie will be tried at the Saint-Omer criminal court on June 20 for 'insults conveyed by word writing, image or means of electronic communication' and faces a fine equivalent to around 10,000.

















Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former President John Mahama has condemned the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government for causing pensioners pain and suffering with its reckless management of the economy.



According to Mahama, after borrowing recklessly and irresponsibly, which is the reason they are now travelling all over the world seeking debt forgiveness from the Chinese, and the Paris Club, among others, the government has taken funds belonging to pensioners.



"Our own pensioners who have finished active service to the nation and are going to rest, the money that they earned that is supposed to feed them, [money] that they used to buy government bonds, today, this government says they cannot pay them what is theirs," he explained.



The former president was speaking at a campaign meeting with branch and constituency executives in the Awutu Senya West constituency during his 'Building the Ghana we want together" tour of the Central Region.



"I ask myself: are you God to determine that the retiree will live that long to receive his or her money by 2035? Yet that is how they have structured things. This is money that our pensioners use to purchase their little medicines to cater for themselves," John Mahama noted.



President Mahama therefore called for Ghanaians to vote out the NPP government in 20204 for its lack of sensitivity and consideration.



"If a government can behave like this to a segment of its most vulnerable population, that government does not deserve to remain in power," he said.





Source: starrfm









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Member of Parliament for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak has called out both sides of the house for what he terms extreme partisanship.



According to the MP, the development has made it difficult for the national interest to be pursued. Rather party interests are always made paramount.



The comments of the immediate past Minority Chief Whip come days after his side voted to approve six ministerial nominees in defiance of party directive.



We are taking too many entrenched positions on both sides, those in government taking too much entrench position, those in opposition taking extreme positions and I can tell you this is not helpful to our country, it is not helpful to us.



The better both sides begin to think that there is a national interest above the NPP interest and above the NDC we will be sinking our country, Muntaka stated.



First deputy speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu who was presiding in eulogizing the late Tafo MP indicated that the late MP has always called for good governance as stated by the Asawase MP.



There is one thing as has been confirmed by honorable Muntaka, in spite of our differences governance must go, that was always his position, Mr. Osei-Owusu stated.









Source: starrfm









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Russian federation will no longer notify the US about its missile tests and other nuclear activity, the Kremlin has announced.



The move comes a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin officially suspended the last remaining nuclear arms deal with the US.



Nuclear notifications between both countries had allowed Russia and the US to interpret each others nuclear moves for decades and differentiate test launches from missile attacks.



Russia halting its notifications could be its latest effort to push back against the US and its western allies support for Ukraine in the ongoing war.



After Putin's cancelation of the nuclear treaty between both countries Russians foreign ministry said that Moscow would continue to inform the US about its planned ballistic missile tests. But on Wednesday, March 29, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov indicated that they were going in a different direction.



Asked if Moscow would halt missile test notices, Ryabkov said: There will be no notifications at all.



All notifications, all kinds of notifications, all activities under the treaty will be suspended and will not be conducted regardless of what position the US may take, said Ryabkov according to local news agencies.



His remarks came as Russia began drills on Wednesday. They involve Yars mobile missile launchers traversing three regions of Siberia and maneuvers to conceal the activity from foreign intelligence assets, according to the Russian defence ministry.



The Yars is an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear tip that is the backbone of Moscows strategic forces.



The 2010 New START treaty, signed by former presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, limited the nations to up to 1,500 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. It also called for inspections to ensure the countries were in compliance.



When Putin suspended the treaty late last month, he said Moscow would no longer allow US inspections of its nuclear sites.















Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Four political parties have kicked against the complete overhaul of the 1992 Constitution which has served the country for over three decades.



While the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) is of the view that the Constitution has outlived its purpose and needs to be reviewed extensively, the two main political parties  the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), as well as the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) and the People's National Convention (PNC)  are of the view that the Constitution had served the Fourth Republic well with successful transfers of power and must be maintained, with only a few amendments.



The parties shared their views at the latest Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) seminar on constitutional review in Accra last Wednesday.



Seminar

The seminar was part of the IEA's project on reviewing Ghana's 1992 Constitution to promote good governance and sustainable development in the country.





It was chaired by a former Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo.



NPP

A former National Chairman of the NPP, Peter Mac Manu, explained that the amendment should be centred on specific provisions.



For instance, he said, after 30 years of governance under the democratic regime, the Constitution must be amended to allow for the full participation of political parties in the election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs).



He said since the Constitution engendered democracy and political tolerance, it was apt for persons to use political parties platform to campaign for elections and be sponsored in local level elections.





He cited the district level elections held in the 774 districts in Nigeria, stressing:



The Constitution must offer a platform to persons to campaign on a political platform.



If we proffer to be democratic, we must demonstrate that not only at the national level but the grass-roots level as well.



On affirmative action, Mr Mac Manu said in order to ensure gender balance in appointments, the Constitution must make provision for a quota to be reserved for minority groups and women.



On Article 112 (5) of the 1992 Constitution, which states that a bye-election shall be held within 30 days after a vacancy occurs in Parliament, the former NPP Chairman said that provision should be amended to allow the parties to present someone to fill the vacant position in Parliament to save the state money that would be used to organise a bye-election.



NDC

Speaking on behalf of the NDC, its National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, said the party shared in the call for constitutional amendment, but the lack of consensus among the major stakeholders and political parties had hindered a review the Constitution.



He intimated that as a sign of the NDC being agreeable to a review, the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills set up a constitutional review committee to kickstart the process, which saw a white paper being issued on the review.



However, the white paper had not been implemented, he said.



Any conversation will be meaningless unless it is linked to the consensus among political parties to endure the review of the Constitution, he said.



He mentioned 10 areas contained in the white paper developed under the NDC regime.



He argued that ex gratia must be abolished, saying an independent emolument committee should be formed for all public officers, including the President.



The President, he said, must also be mandated by the Constitution to reserve a minimum of 30 per cent appointments for females.



He disagreed with the NPPs position that people should be allowed to campaign on the ticket of political parties at the local governance level, adding that it would be expensive and many competent people would be left out.



Other proposals included a cap on the number of Supreme Court judges at 15, making it mandatory for the President to uphold a vote of censure against a public officer in Parliament and scrapping of secret balloting by Parliament on national issues.



PPP

For the PPP, its National Secretary, Remy Edmundson, called for consensus building to amend the Constitution to help propel the countrys development.



He also disagreed with the NPPs position on the election of MMDCEs.



He called for the prohibition of MPs becoming ministers, separating the Attorney-Generals Office from the Ministry of Justice, an effective asset declaration regime and giving Ghanaians in the Diaspora the opportunity to contest and vote in general elections.



PNC

The General Secretary of the PNC, Janet Nabla, said the Constitution must be amended to ensure the formulation of pro-poor policies for the vulnerable in society.



The party, she said, also held the view that ex-gratia must be scrapped, while the election of MMDCEs must not be done based on party colours.



She added that the Constitution must state clearly that governments must be lean, meaning that the positions of regional ministers and their deputies must be scrapped.



That, she said, would ensure that substantive ministers were held accountable for their respective ministries.



CPP

For the CPP, which called for a complete overhaul of the 1992 Constitution, its General Secretary, Nana Yaa Jantuah, said the Constitution, in its current form, had lost its fulcrum and must be changed to reflect contemporary times.



She said the powers vested in the President under the current Constitution were too many, saying there was so much interference by the Executive in public and independent offices.



To her, the appointment of the Inspector General of Police, the Chief of the Defence Staff and others must be done though advertisements, with parliamentary vetting of such officers for approval.



She added that minsters of state must also be capped at 40.



She noted that tax exemption for Presidents must also be scrapped, while systems must be empowered to protect women abused at workplaces.



Nana Jantuah advocated the need for the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) to work with political parties to ensure that the countrys development plan was implemented by successive governments.



Independent

A politician who contested as an independent presidential candidate in the 2012 and 2016 elections, Jacob Osei Yeboah, called for a strong asset declaration regime.



He underscored the need for law makers to be non-partisan to ensure they were not doing the bidding of their political parties but that of their constituents who elected them into office.











Source: graphiconline.com









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COVID ONT 20210128

The record arrival of more than one million new immigrants and non-permanent residents (mostly international students) last year has further fuelled the demand for rental housing while the growth in rental supply has been deficient.

Large rent increases have been reported in large and small towns across the country, and that affects low-income households more. College and university students constitute a large segment of the low-income population, so they are facing increasing hardship because of insufficient affordable rental accommodation on or near campus. Furthermore, most international students come from countries with lower incomes than Canada, making them even more susceptible to rapidly escalating rents.

Rental housing shortage is a big concern for students in large housing markets such as Toronto and Vancouver, but shortages can be an even bigger problem in small university towns. The housing stock in less populous towns simply does not provide enough safe and affordable off-campus housing opportunities within a short commute. Students, therefore, must compete for space with higher-earning would-be renters.

Already, on- and off-campus housing shortages are restricting the growth of universities and colleges. In Sydney, N.S., Cape Breton University had to cap admissions to its two-year post-baccalaureate program because of a lack of housing opportunities in a town that is home to fewer than 20,000 residents. The program was hugely popular with international students, but the housing shortages got in the way.

Until recently, the United States was the destination of choice for hundreds of thousands of international students. But policy changes under former president Donald Trump made the U.S. less welcoming to international students, who shifted their attention to Canada, among other places, as a result.

Those international students who choose to stay will help address the impending labour shortages in Canada since the pandemic motivated many workers to retire sooner. But thats a double-edged sword. On one hand, tens of thousands of international students are needed to help sustain innovation in engineering and other labs. On the other hand, they are exacerbating the rental housing shortage.

Story continues

International students get hit particularly hard as they are ineligible to collect the $500 top-up to the Canadian Housing Benefit, which is designed to help households facing surging rents, Mike Moffatt, founding director of Smart Prosperity Institute, said in a recent assessment of the 2023 federal budget.

Student housing shortages have already attracted the real estate industrys attention. A trade conference by the Student Housing and University Real Estate Initiative (SHURE) will be held later in April at the University of British Columbia that will bring together representatives from universities, colleges, real estate management firms, investors, institutional landlords and others.

Numerous new student housing initiatives are in the works in British Columbia. For example, Vancouver Community College is building 3,300 apartments to provide affordable housing alternatives for students.

The initiative benefits from a 2018 promise by the B.C. government to invest $450 million in 5,000 additional student housing spaces. A crucial part of the B.C. government plan was to enable colleges and universities to take on debt for new student housing initiatives. Before 2018, such institutions (except UBC) were not authorized to do so.

In Hamilton, McMaster University plans to construct a 30-storey academic hub downtown, which will include 600 graduate student housing spaces. The $100-million hub will be accompanied by another $150-million project offering 1,366 beds for undergraduates. In addition, the mixed-use buildings will house supporting facilities, such as fitness centres, to help meet students shelter and related needs.

Universities across Canada offer an extensive portfolio of student housing spaces and services. For example, McMaster provides 4,000 student beds spread across 13 residences, and UBC houses 13,000 students in Vancouver and 2,120 students at its Okanagan campus.

Providing additional student housing should be a priority to attract the best talent from across the globe to Canadian universities. Provinces such as B.C. have taken steps to expand student housing facilities, but much more is needed, especially from the federal government, which regulates the flow of international students, but does not do much to assist with student housing.

Murtaza Haider is a professor of real estate management and director of the Urban Analytics Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University. Stephen Moranis is a real estate industry veteran. They can be reached at the Haider-Moranis Bulletin website, www.hmbulletin.com.
The Founder and CEO of Ghana Music Awards Europe (GMA EUROPE), Prince Mackay, has signed a deal with Jim Ray Estates Ltd which makes the real estate company the Headline Sponsor of the Ghana Music Awards Europe (GMA EUROPE).



Disclosing the deal, Prince Mackay, announced that Jim Ray Estates Ltd signed a 5-year agreement to become the Headline Sponsor of the Ghana Music Awards Europe (GMA EUROPE).



In this agreement, Jim Ray Estates will give the Artiste Of The Year winner two (2) plots of land situated in Accra valued at Gh120,000 (One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Ghana Cedis). Additionally, Jim Ray Estates Ltd will give the Song Of The Year winner one (1) plot of land also situated in Accra valued at Gh60,000 (Sixty Thousand Ghana Cedis).



The winner of the Most Influential Europe-Based Artiste Of The Year will also receive one (1) plot of land situated in Accra also valued at Gh60,000 (Sixty Thousand Ghana Cedis).



Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Founder and CEO of Ghana Music Awards Europe (GMA EUROPE) Prince Mackay mentioned that the idea of these prize packages is to put great value on Artistes winning awards at the Ghana Music Awards Europe and extending such value into their music craft and business.



He explained that the Ghana Music Awards Europe and Jim Ray Estates Ltd for now are giving out plots of land to these categories and that will extend to all the other award categories in the very near future.



These prize packages now become the biggest prize packages for any music awards scheme in the name of Ghana and also for Ghana.



The CEO of Jim Ray Estates Ltd, James Okine, who signed for his company expressed excitement over the partnership and commended the organisers of Ghana Music Awards Europe, the Platinum Music Group and Big Events Ghana for putting up such a brilliant music awards scheme.



The Ghana Music Awards Europe is largely a peoples choice awards scheme that seeks to champion and expand the development of the Ghanaian music industry both at home and abroad, into an international market for global recognition of Ghanaian creative works.



The scheme is established to create an open market for collaboration, sales, new music trends, cultural exchanges, marketing opportunities and several benefits to be accessed by Ghanaian musicians and Artistes in Europe and across the world at large.



The Ghana Music Awards Europe (GMA EUROPE) is slated for May 2023 and its scheduled to take place in Germany and the Netherlands.







Source: myrepubliconline.com









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By Kevin Riordan, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

Private label, fleece-lined hoodies were flying out of Boscovs, and CEO Jim Boscov wanted to know why.

It turned out that the October 2020 surge in demand had little to do with the personal service and unpretentious vibe that have helped make Boscovs the largest family-owned department store company in America.

It came from young people posting TikTok videos of themselves dancing and modeling inexpensive plaid outerwear from Boscovs.

Our hoodies were going viral, said Boscov, 73, the CEO and public face of the privately held company, which had $1.2 billion in sales last year.

In one week we had an eightfold increase in sales of the hoodies. We sold $200,000 worth at $24.99 each, he said. We had been doing digital marketing for years, but it opened our eyes to the power of influencers.

One of those influencers vowed in her video to never be dissing Boscovs again  suggesting not only the opportunities, but also the challenges facing the more than century-old company in todays economy.

Image vs. reality

While Boscovs has continued to open stores while other traditional retailers are closing, its image remains a throwback to the days when department stores were dominant, and malls were all the rage.

The decor in some of its older stores is heavy on mirrors, bright lights, and neon signage evocative of a disco or a casino. Some people likely perceive Boscovs shoppers as the mothers or grandmothers of those fleece-lined hoodie enthusiasts.

The trick is to evolve but not give up the core of what works and makes us successful, said Boscov, adding that new stores feature sleeker designs. The company also renovates two stores each year.

We have to keep learning and changing, he said. But we wont throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Boscov's grand opening in Camp Hill. From left, Al Boscov, Doug Staz, Charles Bateman and Chad Gallaher of the Camp Hill High School marching band. (Stuart Leask, Allied Pix for The Patriot-News, file)Allied Pix for The Patriot-News

Boscovs traces its start to Solomon Boscov peddling housewares from farm to farm near Reading in Berks County in 1914. He was 23 and had recently emigrated from Russia with his brothers passport, hardly any money, and even less English.

Nevertheless, my grandfather earned a reputation as honest and kind, and for providing good merchandise at a great price, Boscov said during an interview at company headquarters just outside Reading.

These continue to be our core values.

From its first store  Economy Shoe & Dry Goods  in Reading in 1918, Boscovs has grown to 49 stores in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Ohio.

The companys bustling headquarters occupies a mostly windowless warren of offices in the basement of its Reading Mall store.

Boscovs charismatic uncle, Albert, who led and grew the company for nearly 50 years and ultimately saved it, established the tradition of an in-store headquarters.

Success doesnt happen because of what goes on in the office, said Boscov, who generally visits a different store weekly. Its what happens on the sales floor that matters.

Boscovs is a full-service department store, he said. And we have something you dont find everywhere: We have salespeople on the sales floor.

Boscovs is often an anchor in shopping malls  another retail institution that once seemed invincible. The busy Voorhees, N.J., Boscovs is pretty much all that remains of the Echelon Mall, which was built in 1970. The 50th Boscovs is scheduled to open this fall in a Bridgeport, W.Va., mall.

But the company also has downtown stores in Binghamton, N.Y.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; and Providence, R.I.

Jim Boscov, nephew of the late founder of Boscov's Department Stores, Al Boscov, and CEO of the family enterprise, looks for his favorite at the candy counter in the Exeter Twp. store on June 20, 2018. (Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com, file)

Department stores arent what they were when Wanamakers, Gimbels, and Strawbridges ruled Philadelphia regional retail.

But Boscovs comes closer than most. It still has candy and toy departments and sells draperies, beds, recliners, and small appliances. It carries clothing for petite as well as big and tall customers, and many of its stores have hair salons and optical shops, along with hearing aid and travel services.

Survival of the savviest

Boscovs has figured out how to thrive in the anti-brick-and-mortar retailing world, said Michael Lisicky, a Cherry Hill native, historian and author of books about department stores, including Bambergers.

Boscovs isnt run by a private equity firm. Theyre a family of merchants, who know who they are and know their customers, he said. Boscovs isnt reimagining the department store because maybe it doesnt need to be reimagined. Not everything is broken.

Lisicky pointed to the chains signature breadth and depth of inventory as a selling point. Customers know they will probably find whatever theyre looking for at Boscovs, he said.

Boscovs fan Cathy Nevins, an educator and social worker who lives in Cherry Hill, agrees. When I take my grandchildren there, they usually see something they like.

Nevins also likes that Boscovs cultivates relationships with local nonprofits. I like their ethics of people helping people, she said.

Until the pandemic, a half-dozen Boscovs stores still had restaurants called The Greenery, where the Bos-cobb salad was once a staple. Tailors are no longer on site, either  although tailoring services are still offered.

We hate to give up things that make us distinctive, said Boscov, who paused at one point during the interview to take a call from his mother, Shirley, whos 97 and lives in a Reading retirement community.

Shes very active and tries to go swimming every day, he said.

Boscovs existential crisis

A widower and the father of a grown daughter, Jim Boscov grew up working in the stores and learning the family business firsthand from his grandfather and uncle. He had part-time jobs in a number of departments as a teenager and joined the company full time at age 26.

But he left in 1990, moved to Boston, and launched a series of retail or retail-related businesses, including a successful outlet store chain. He came back to Boscovs in 2008 as an assistant to Albert, who had retired only two years earlier but returned to lead an effort to save the company.

As mergers and closures roiled the department store industry in 2006, Boscovs  under the leadership of then-CEO Kenneth Lakin  bought 10 store locations that had become available in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The expansion brought the total number of Boscovs to 49 and introduced the brand to new markets.

It might have worked, but the economy hit the skids, the credit market crashed, and Boscovs did not have the liquidity at the time that it needed to survive, Jim Boscov said.

Because of the goodwill Boscovs had earned, Albert was able to cobble together the necessary funds to buy the company back, with the entire family participating, he said.

The 10 recently acquired store locations were closed. In the following decade, Albert started the company on a new path of expansion. He was 87 when he died of pancreatic cancer in 2017.

Albert had named Jim Boscov CEO in 2015.

Looking to the future

Boscovs came knocking on our door, said Andy Lang, mayor of the city of 9,000 in north-central West Virginia.

People are very excited, he said. I really like what Mr. Boscov says about tailoring the store to fit the community. Its going to be great.

Boscovs is serving a market that remains robust, said Sheri Lambert, an associate professor of marketing at Temple University who studies consumer behavior.

Bricks-and-mortar isnt dead, she said. And malls arent dead either.

While the pandemic elevated e-commerce, it also underscored how much people missed communal experiences, such as shopping, Lambert said.

Stores like Boscovs are where people can go to be among other people and have a sense of community, she said. People like to touch and feel merchandise, and they like to be among other [shoppers], which is hard to do online.

Boscov said he intends to keep working but noted that the store has recruited new management talent from within and outside the family.

The company is always looking for new opportunities. He said the success of the standalone Boscovs Outlet, near the Reading Mall store, is an additional format that could work in other locations. He didnt name any in particular but wouldnt rule out Philadelphia  or Center City  either.

The worst thing we could do is pretend to be something were not, he said. Were going to continue to be Boscovs.
LEWISBURG  The extremely unusual past of a Union County woman accused of fatally poisoning her husband in 2018 is causing trial concerns that a judge wants assured are being addressed.

District Attorney D. Peter Johnson on Thursday at a pretrial hearing for Myrle, E. Miller, 78, of Millmont, outlined for specially assigned Lehigh County Senior Judge Edward R. Reibman steps that he has and will be taking.

Myrle Miller is escorted from the elevator in the Union County courthouse by two sheriffs deputies following a hearing on pretrial issues. Miller is accused of fatally poisoning her husband in 2018.

Defense attorney Brian W. Ulmer had raised the possibility of potential prejudicial testimony because of what he called the extremely unusual past of his client who is accused of killing her husband John E. Nichols, 77.

Testimony jurors in the homicide trial scheduled to begin April 18 are not to hear include:

Miller was acquitted in 1988 of attempting to kill her first husband, Robert D. Rovenolt Sr., by spiking two cocktails.

She is the grandmother of Corey Edkin, who mysteriously disappeared from his New Columbia home on Oct. 12, 1986, when he was 2.

Anything about the death in New Jersey of the boyfriend of one of her daughters.

Johnson told the judge he already has instructed his witnesses who are related to Miller not to mention the deaths or Edkins disappearance and he will remind them the day they are to testify.

Reibman denied another Ulmer challenge and will permit jurors to see a picture of Nichols partially clothed body on his bedroom floor soon after his death on April 14, 2018.

Johnson explained that and other pictures taken inside the house that night will support the prosecutions theory that Miller expected her husband to die.

A witness will testify at trial she was looking for a will and a power-of-attorney document while efforts were being made to save Nichols life in another room, he said.

A presentment by a statewide grand jury that is the basis of the charges quotes Miller as saying the night her husband died he got up to go to the bathroom, urinated on the floor, returned to bed and awoke later saying he could not breathe.

She made at least two phone calls before calling 911 at 10:53 p.m. to report she thought her husband was having a heart attack, the presentment states.

One of those calls was to her daughter-in-law Cathy Rovenolt who told grand jurors Miller was not frantic when she told her she thought Nichols was dying.

There was preliminary hearing testimony that Nichols bank accounts had been systematically drawn down by checks that did not contain his signature.

Julie Williard, a protective service investigator for the Union-Snyder Agency on Aging, testified Nichols told her Miller did the banking and no statements came to the house because she claimed each would cost $8.

A forensic pathologist determined the cause of death was an acute amount of Verapamil, a blood pressure medication prescribed for Miller.

Verapamil would not be prescribed to Nichols who had chronic heart disease, he said.

Miller is jailed without bail charged with homicide, insurance fraud, theft, forgery, perjury and dealing in proceeds from unlawful activity.

Her second husband who had cancer died Dec. 24, 2011, and she married Nichols Dec. 12, 2012. She remarried again after his death.

More:

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Mom of teen charged in Pa. shooting case accused of lying under oath about him
A man police say was connected with violent crimes in two states was killed during a shootout with Pennsylvania State Police in Berks County on Thursday night, according to a story from CBS Philadelphia and Berks Weekly.

The unidentified man was shot and killed along Spring Street in Wyomissing sometime around 9 p.m.

Citing sources, CBS Philadelphia said that the man had been involved in a shooting in Philadelphia earlier that day.

That shooting began around 4 p.m. when the suspects car hit a speed bump. Two men watching began laughing, after which the suspect got out of the car and shot both of them.

One person was shot in the head and taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition. The other was shot in the shoulder and hospitalized in stable condition, according to CBS Philadelphia.

The suspect drove away but was later spotted by state police in the Wyomissing area around 8:30 p.m.

He then ran from a traffic stop before getting into a shootout in the backyard of a home, where he was shot and killed by police.

Citing police sources, CBS Philadelphia said that the suspect was also wanted in connection with a double homicide and arson in Gloucester County, New Jersey.

A press conference will be held at 2 p.m. today where more details will be released.
The fourth annual Central Pennsylvania Music Awards & Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held tonight in Hershey, honoring artists from across the region.

The event was held at the Hershey Theatre, with a red carpet event for honorees and nominees beginning at 5 p.m.

This years Hall of Fame inductees included Breaking Benjamin, The Buoys, The Legends, The Maxwell Project, The Quintones, and Steve Rudolph.

In previous years, artists such as the rock group Poison were selected to join the Hall of Fame. Poison frontman and former Mechanicsburg native Bret Michaels appeared at a special event to accept his personal induction in 2022, in addition to his induction as member of the band.

The nonprofit organization was founded in 2019 to support and recognize the local music scene, as well as honor recording artists native to our region. The annual award show highlights artists in a variety of categories, with awards being presented to those deemed to be exemplary in their respective fields.

The full list of award-winners from this years event is as follows:
A federal judge in Texas struck down an Affordable Care Act provision that requires employer-sponsored and private health insurance plans to cover various forms of preventive care with no co-pay.

The ruling was made Thursday by U.S. District Judge Reed OConner, the same judge who previously ruled the entire ACA, also known as Obamacare, was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned that ruling.

What does it mean?

Most insurers and employer-sponsored plans would no longer be required to cover certain preventive services including screenings for cancer, diabetes and mental health, or a preventive drug that can block the virus that causes AIDS.

It would only apply to preventive services added after the ACA was passed in 2010. That also includes, for example, screenings for lung and skin cancer.

Some other cancer screenings approved before 2010 wouldnt be affected, including screenings for cervical and colorectal cancer, according to the Associated Press.

What are the immediate consequences?

Probably none for at least a year, according to numerous experts who have reacted to the ruling.

The President Joe Biden administration is expected to seek a stay of the ruling and appeal it.

The Associated Press quoted health insurance expert Larry Levitt as saying: This is not the potential fatal blow to the ACA like previous court cases, but it would limit a very popular benefit that tens of millions of people use.

What are others saying?

Michael Humphreys, Pennslvanias acting insurance commissioner, said: Consumers should not have to gamble with their health and choose to have a preventive screening based on their ability to pay up-front costs for it. Every Pennsylvanian has a friend, colleague, or family member that may have benefited from early detection; this decision affects all of us.

He said the insurance department will be closely monitoring the impact of this decision and will take every necessary step to ensure that consumers are protected.

The president of the American Medical Association, which represent doctors, called the ruling deeply flawed and said patients will be subjected to needless illness and preventable deaths, according to Reuters.

The president of the American Cancer Society Action Network said the ruling would make it hard to catch and treat cancers early, according to Reuters.

Others are stressing that health insurers and employers have seen the health benefits and financial savings from preventive care, and therefore will be reluctant to make them more expensive for customers and employees.

Also, health insurance plans take a long time to create, and require state approval in states including Pennsylvania  another reason that it may take many months before people see any changes to benefits.

Who brought the lawsuit and why?

The plaintiffs include a conservative activist in Texas and a Christian dentist who oppose mandatory coverage for birth control and the HIV prevention treatment for religious reasons, according to the Associated Press.

READ MORE HEALTH NEWS FROM PENNLIVE:

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By ASHOK SHARMA, The Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP)  Thirty-five bodies have been found inside a well at a Hindu temple in central India after dozens of people fell into the muddy water when the wells cover collapsed, officials said Friday.

Video of Thursdays collapse at the temple complex in Indore in Madhya Pradesh state showed chaos afterward, with people rushing toward the exits. An excavator pulled down a wall of the decades-old temple to help people flee.

Nearly 140 rescuers, including army personnel, used ropes and ladders to pull the bodies from the well after pumping out the water. A narrow path and debris in the well made the task difficult.

Rescuers work at the site of a structure built over an old temple well that collapsed Thursday as a large crowd of devotees gathered for the Ram Navami Hindu festival, in Indore, India, Friday, March 31, 2023. (AP Photo)AP

Witnesses said a large crowd of devotees had thronged the temple to perform a fire ritual and celebrate the festival for the deity Rama.

Dozens of people fell into the water when the structure over the well collapsed and were covered by falling debris, police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar said.

Kantibhai Patel, president of a residents association, told reporters that authorities were slow to react and the first ambulance reached the spot an hour after the alert.

The structure apparently caved in because it could not handle the weight of the large crowd, said the states top elected official, Shivraj Singh Chauhan. He ordered an investigation.

We have so far recovered 35 bodies and the rescue operation is continuing, said Ilayaraja T., a district administrator. The effort was continuing Friday.

A team of army rescuers joined the operation on Thursday night. The Times of India newspaper reported the rescue work was expedited after underwater cameras showed bodies floating in the muddy waters of the well.

Chauhan said 33 of the bodies had been identified and one person was unaccounted for. Sixteen of the people who were injured remained hospitalized Friday.

People wail as they watch rescuers work at the site of a structure built over an old temple well that collapsed Thursday. (AP Photo)AP

Temple authorities had stopped using the well years ago and covered the mouth with iron grills and tiles.

Municipal authorities in January ordered temple owners to remove the covering of the well because it was an unsafe and unauthorized structure, but temple authorities ignored the warning, the newspaper said.

Building collapses are common in India because of poor construction and a failure to observe regulations.
An Alabama Congressman thinks the indictment of former president Donald Trump is a bunch of baloney  or maybe thats ham?

Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, is giving away free ham sandwiches today at his Washington, D.C. office in recognition of the Manhattan district attorney who he said could indict a ham sandwich next.

All are welcome! tweeted Moore.

Welcome to the club, @realDonaldTrump. In honor of the fact that the Manhattan DA could indict a ham sandwich next, I will be handing them out tomorrow in Longworth 1504 at noon, Moore tweeted, referring to his Washington, D.C. office. All are welcome!

Welcome to the club, @realDonaldTrump. In honor of the fact that the Manhattan DA could indict a ham sandwich next, I will be handing them out tomorrow in Longworth 1504 at noon. All are welcome! pic.twitter.com/xKguEKsy3x  Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) March 30, 2023

Trump was indicted Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge. The charges are part of an investigation into payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter between Trump and an adult film star.

Moore also published a certificate  complete with ham sandwich cartoons  on his Facebook page. The certificate, addressed to Trump, welcomes him to the indicted for political purposes club.

Congressman Barry Moore recognizes President Donald J. Trump for receiving a sham indictment from a district attorney who has failed to prosecute hundreds of violent criminals, the certificate reads.

In 2014, Moore, then a member of the Alabama Legislature, was found not guilty on charges of perjury and giving false statements in connection to an investigation into economic development projects involving then-Alabama Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard. In 2016, Hubbard was convicted of ethics violations and using his office for personal gain. He was released from prison in January.
The American Civil Liberties Union, of Pennslyvania, filed a lawsuit against Saucon Valley School District in Northampton County over the districts decision to not allow the After School Satan Club to organize at one of the schools, according to reports.

According to the ACLU, the school district violated First Amendment rights, according to The Morning Call and WFMZ.

Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty initially allowed the club to meet before revoking the decision. Vlasaty claimed the club did not properly communicate it was not sponsored by the school, The Morning Call continued.

According to the complaint, the superintendent said the club did not meet the district requirements. Also, Vlasaty claimed the club led to disruptions like a North Carolina man calling into the school and making threats. Now hes facing charges, WFMZ reported.

The Saucon Valley School Districts decision to cancel the After School Satan Club in response to public opposition sets a dangerous precedent, Sara Rose, deputy legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said in a news release. The First Amendment protects the expression of unpopular or controversial views from government censorship. Once the district opened up school facilities to outside use, it was bound by the First Amendment to grant equal access to all groups, regardless of their religious beliefs or viewpoints.

Though the ACLU claimed the district rescinding the decision to allow the club over the threat as an Hecklers Veto.

The After School Satan Club provides a critical space for students who may feel unwelcome at other after-school religious clubs, said June Everett, director of TSTs ASSC programming, via WFMZ. By prohibiting the ASSC from meeting in school facilities, the district is sending a discriminatory message to the clubs students that they are second class and dont deserve the same opportunities as their peers.

Read more via The Morning Call and WFMZ.

READ MORE:
Days after Jason Wingard resigned as Temple Universitys president, names have begun to swirl as potential interim replacements, including leaders who were marginalized under Wingard.

Among the names are JoAnne A. Epps, former law school dean who was moved out by Wingard as provost in August 2021 as part of a larger shift of senior leaders, and Valerie I. Harrison, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, who once served as interim president of Lincoln University in Chester County. Before that she had been Temples vice president of public affairs and reported directly to Wingard.
Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok. We will undertake a full internal review to ensure that all the policies and the protocols that we have in place were followed. (David Gunn/CBC - image credit)

Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok says his government takes the safety and well-being of the territory's most vulnerable very seriously.

That's why he says he's launched an internal review, to start immediately, that will investigate how eight youth in the government's care were sent to unlicensed group homes in Alberta.

"When I first became aware of the issue late last night, I immediately worked with my officials to ensure that there's measures in place to ensure [the] safety of the affected children," he said Thursday on CBC Nunavut's morning show, Qulliq.

"We will undertake a full internal review to ensure that all the policies and the protocols that we have in place were followed."

The children were placed with a company called Ever Bright, which said their licences were valid until January 2023. Alberta Children's Services told Radio-Canada that the licences were canceled in April of 2022  a few months before the youth were placed in the facilities.

The province wasn't alerted to the youths' presence until months after their arrival.

The Nunavut government has said inspections in February showed no children were at immediate risk. As of Friday, seven of the eight children were still in the care of Ever Bright homes.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Nunavut's Department of Family Services said that at the time the government entered into a contract with Ever Bright Complex Needs Support Services, "the company provided proof of its accreditation and licences," which were subsequently rescinded.

"We are in the process of [moving] youth out of Ever Bright and are in the process of reviewing our processes to ensure that this does not occur again," said Mads Sandbakken, the department's director of policy and planning, in an email.

"We will also have to explore what caused the communication issues with Alberta and how we can improve to ensure our children receive the proper care needed."

MP 'shocked'

Nunavut's NDP MP Lori Idlout said she was "shocked" by the news, and that she's long had concerns about Nunavut youth being placed in "a completely different environment and culture."

Story continues

She said the change needs to be systemic, and should come from the federal government.

"That's why I chose to run," she said. "Because there's been such a long neglect in investment."

Idlout said she's willing to help solve the issue, if the government can't.

"I think that at this point, we need to make sure that the Government of Nunavut is given its time to fix what happened," she said. "If they don't have enough resources  they can reach out to me to try and help fight for them."

It's not unusual for youth in Nunavut to be sent out of the territory for care. Right now, 88 youth in care are living outside of the territory.

David Gunn/CBC

Iqaluit-Tasiluk MLA George Hickes said the problem is something he's been bringing up for over a year now in the Legislative Assembly.

Last June, he says he asked the minister what type of oversight contracts are in place with the people receiving those youth. He says the minister responded that there's client liaison positions located in Edmonton, Ottawa and Winnipeg to do that work.

"So it's very concerning that even though we have positions that are strictly dedicated to making sure that these contract conditions are adhered to, that there's still businesses or contracts that are falling through the cracks."

Hickes also said it's time to provide more services in Nunavut.

"We need more of those services in the territory and that's one of the things that I've been ... bringing up."

"We have to work at providing more and more services to all demographics of our population in the territory," Hickes said, alluding to the parallel problem of elders who are sent south to long-term care homes. "But I can't emphasize enough  how much of a priority it needs to start at the children and youth level."

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., which works on behalf of Nunavut Inuit, declined to comment.
A former Lackwanna County deputy sheriff is facing charges after police accused him of assaulting a prisoner earlier this month at the county Criminal Justice Center, according to reports from WBRE/WYOU and The Times Tribune.

John Paul Ehnot, 59, was arraigned on one count of simple assault and was released on $5,000 unsecured bail after he was accused of assaulting a prisoner in a holding cell at the Criminal Justice Center on the evening of March 11.

Surveillance video captured an incident where Ehnot dragged the prisoner  Kenneth Eiswerth  off the bench and tossed him around the holding cell, striking the victims head against the wall and hitting him in the face. Ehnot also grabbed him by his shirt and shoved him into the corner and pinned him against the wall, according to reports.

Detectives concluded Ehnots aggression and use of force toward Eiswerth were not justified.

The incident began when Eiswerth was booked into the county processing center shortly before 9 p.m. on March 11 by authorities for public drunkenness and open container violations.

Ehnot went into the holding cell to quiet him down after he became loud and disruptive. Thats when Ehnot became physical with Eiswerth, The Times Tribune reported.

It was said Ehnot was heard saying, Im going to bash your (expletive) skull in, according to WBRE/WYOU.

Eiswerth sought medical attention the following day.

Read More:
Philadelphia police are saying a man was abducted and forced into an SUV early Friday morning, according to reports from 6ABC and NBC10.

Investigators told the news outlets that an unidentified man was walking towards his car when at least two armed men forced him into a black Ford Explorer at about 2 a.m. along the 900 block of East Godfrey Avenue in the Summerdale section of the city.

The two suspects were wearing dark, hooded sweatshirts and had handguns, according to 6ABC.

Police had Godfrey Street blocked for several hours and were investigating a parked white SUV, NBC10 said.

Police said they are trying to track the victims cell phone but did not provide any other details.

READ MORE: Pa. woman shot in the head by private contractor hired to carry out eviction: reports
You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on any of your favorite apps including Alexa, Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit!

Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | March 31, 2023

A woman has been banned by every casino in the state for leaving her baby in the car while she gambled. Three schools in one county have been using a new method to catch drivers who illegally pass buses. Strong winds are a-coming this weekend. Lastly, Pennsylvanias a state full of jokers.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa., a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa. is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa., consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too.

As sponsored by Renewal by Anderson of Central PA.
Story by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here.

HARRISBURG  As lawmakers gathered in Harrisburg this week for another round of budget hearings, both legislative chambers got the chance to question top officials from Pennsylvanias Department of State.

The department is best known for its oversight of elections. But it also plays a key part in an area long neglected by the legislature: the role of money and lobbying in politics and policy-making.

Both are large, time-consuming undertakings for the department, which has a proposed budget of $35.2 million. Annual budget hearings have long been a forum for lawmakers to put administration officials on the spot about what they believe are the most pressing and important issues of the day.

But during the five hours that legislators questioned Department of State officials, they inquired about the agencys work on campaign finance and lobbying just twice.

For those who follow the Capitol closely, it came as little surprise.

Republican legislative leaders have not substantively discussed improving Pennsylvanias campaign finance and lobbying disclosure rules for more than a decade, despite calls by good-government advocates and others for changes.

As part of its work, the Department of State releases campaign finance reports for statewide, legislative, and some judicial candidates, as well as political committees registered in Pennsylvania. It also tracks registration forms for lobbyists, and posts on its website what lobbyists report spending every quarter on influencing policy. The agency also has some powers to enforce those disclosures, although advocates think they are too limited.

When it comes to money in politics, Pennsylvania has some of the laxest laws in the country. It places no caps on how much money people can donate to politicians and their political committees. During the 2022 election, five-figure, and even six-figure donations, routinely poured into the coffers of Democrat Josh Shapiros campaign, helping to make the contest the states most expensive governors race on record.

State law also contains no explicit ban on using campaign funds for personal use, which over the years has allowed elected officials to tap campaign cash to pay for lavish dinners, trips, sporting tickets, and other perks.

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D., Allegheny) has repeatedly introduced a bill that would place monetary limits on campaign donations, ban candidates from using donor dollars for personal benefit, and require more transparency on how candidates spend their money.

Hes introduced it in every legislative session for the past 12 years. And in every one of those sessions, the bill was referred to a committee but never brought up for a vote by the Republican chair.

Why the inaction?

I think the General Assembly likes the status quo, Costa said in an interview this week.

But folks have to recognize that we have individuals with enormous wealth that are working in this space to effect significant policy change, and investing literally millions of dollars in races  even state Senate races  to build a coalition of folks who support their cause, said Costa. Regular folks cant participate in the same way.

The states current lobbying disclosure law improved upon what existed before the legislature rewrote it in 2006. But it lags laws in other states.

Lobbyists here have to disclose their clients, as well as how much they spend on lobbying  but they dont have to reveal who they spend the money on, or for what purpose. If a lobbyist treated a lawmaker to dinner on the eve of a key vote on an issue important to a client, the public would never know.

Several lobbying firms in Pennsylvania moonlight as political consultants, effectively allowing them to elect officials that they can then lobby on behalf of clients.

Last legislative session, the General Assemblys top two Republicans supported the toughest proposed reforms to the lobbying law since it was enacted. Among other changes, one proposal would have banned the practice of lobbying firms also operating political consulting arms.

Despite the high-profile support, the proposals did not receive a floor vote.

Jason Gottesman, spokesperson for Pennsylvania House Republicans, said his caucus intends to once again advance proposals to toughen lobbying laws, among other government accountability efforts.

Less clear is whether the outcome will be any different.

Beth Rementer, spokesperson for Democrats who now control the state House for the first time in more than a decade, called campaign finance and lobbying reform a priority. She said the caucus views them as part of an effort to defend democracy and ensure continued free and fair elections in Pennsylvania.

As the majority, we will take into serious consideration legislation  Democrat or Republican sponsored  that makes positive reforms, as long as the measures do not make it harder for Pennsylvanians to vote, easier for special interests to influence elections or less transparent, Rementer said.

WHILE YOURE HERE... If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
FAYETTEVILLE - U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the national Republican Partys top political flame-throwers, brought her political faith and tenacity to Pennsylvania Thursday night, urging a sympathetic audience to watch and work for better days for conservatives ahead.

It may get worse first, Greene said, speaking to Franklin County Republicans just hours after New York prosecutors announced an indictment against former President Donald J. Trump for violations tied to his hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
WILLIAMSPORT  Commonwealth Court has been asked to overturn the ruling that allowed former U.S. Rep. Thomas A. Marino to remain on the ballot as a Republican candidate for Lycoming County district attorney.

Todd Bartley on Thursday filed notice of appeal of the March 17 order of specially assigned Lehigh County Senior Judge Edward D. Reibman that found Marino meets the residency requirement as stated in the Elections Code.

Bartley, who operates a broadcasting and media production company, sought to have Marinos nominating petitions set aside because he was a Florida resident for several months.

Marino said he will seek to have the appeal dismissed as untimely because the deadline to file one was this past Monday.

It is Bartleys contention Marino is ineligible to run because he will not have lived continuously in the county the required year before Nov. 7 general election.

U.S. Rep. Thomas A. Marino is shown in his former home in the Williamsport area in this 2017 file photo. John Beauge, For PennLive HARHAR

He based that allegation on Marino registering to vote and applying for a Floridas driver license last Nov. 7.

Marino, 70, and his wife Edith bought a condominium in Vero Beach last Sept. 29 he claims as a vacation home.

He explained he registered but never voted in Florida so he could become a member of the Indian River County Republican executive committee to help with candidates.

He mistakenly thought he had to have his vehicle registered in Florida for it to be on the condominium property after a short period, he said.

Records show he voted by absentee ballot last November in Lycoming County and never canceled his registration there.

Marino points out he owns a house in the Williamsport suburb of Loyalsock Twp., he never moved his household items to Florida and it was never his intention to become a Sunshine state resident.

Reibman in his opinion wrote Marino had been living in Lycoming County his entire life and it is common for northerners to have a vacation place in Florida.

Even the months they stayed in Florida they made trips to the Williamsport area to visit their adopted son and daughter, Marino said.

A second Bartley challenge of Marinos eligibility is in the attorney generals office.

District Attorney Ryan C. Gardner referred the one he filed with the county voter services office to the AGs office. He got notice the referral was accepted but nothing since, he said.

The county has refused to make public the contents of what Bartley filed with voter services.

Marino, who served as district attorney from 1992 until 2002 when he was appointed U.S. attorney for the Middle District, is the only candidate on the ballot for that office on the May primary.

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Ex-student found guilty of sexual assault at a Pa. university party
B.C. MLA for Nechako Lakes John Rustad speaks to reporters in Victoria, B.C. on February 16, 2023. The former Liberal cabinet minister who has been sitting in British Columbia's legislature as an Independent is the new leader of the province's Conservatives.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dirk Meissner
Karnataka Common Entrance Test 2023 : For Admission to Professional Courses in Karnataka https://career.webindia123.com/career/dates_and_events/entrance/eng/karnataka-common-entrance-test-cet.htm Details of Karnataka Common Entrance Test 2023 : For Admission to Professional Courses in Karnataka 2023-3-6 2023-4-7 https://career.webindia123.com/career/images/exams.png India India Karnataka Common Entrance Test 2023 : For Admission to Professional Courses in Karnataka Engineering

Karnataka Common Entrance Test - Admission to Professional Courses in Karnataka for the year 2023

Karnataka Common Entrance Test 2023 : For Admission to Professional Courses in Karnataka Category : Engineering Admissions 2023 Published : On March 6, 2023 By Webindia123 Editor

Important Dates

Commencement of entry of online application 2nd March, 2023 Last date for submission of Online Application forms 5th April, 2023 Date of CET Examination 20th - 21st May 2023

Kannada Language Test, Only in Bangalore

Applications are invited from eligible candidates of Karnataka including the wards of Jammu & Kashmiri migrants for registration for the Karnataka Common Entrance Test- 2023 to Professional courses under for the seats to be notified by the Government in the Professional Educational Institutions in the state of Karnataka for the academic year 2021-20 CET- 2021 examination for Medical/ Dental Courses is subject to the directions that may be issued by the Hon'blr Supreme Court of India in Transferred Case (C) No. 101 of 2012 and other related matters pending before it.

Academic Eligibility

For Admission to 1st year In Qualifying Examination, Candidate should have : In CET- Examination, Candidate should have : Criteria for Determination of Merit/ Rank Medical / Dental (MBBS/ BDS) Passed in 2nd PUC / 12th std. with English as one of the languages and obtained a minimum of 50% of marks in aggregate in Physics, Chemistry, Biology subjects.

(40% for SC, ST, CAt-1, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B category candidates) Minimum of 50% of marks in aggregate in PCB subjects.

(40% for SC, ST, CAt-1, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B category candidates) The norms prescribed in NEET / NATA / JEE Paper-2; Admission Rules; relevant Government orders is applicable in determining the merit for admission to Medical / Dental / AYUSH / Architecture courses as the case may be. Ayurveda / Homoeopathy / Unani / Naturopathy & Yoga (ISM & H) Passed in 2nd PUC / 12th std. with English as one of the languages and obtained a minimum of 50% of marks in aggregate in Physics, Chemistry, Biology subjects.

(40% for SC, ST, CAt-1, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B category candidates) No minimum marks prescribed in CET The norms prescribed in NEET / NATA / JEE Paper-2; Admission Rules; relevant Government orders is applicable in determining the merit for admission to Medical / Dental / AYUSH / Architecture courses as the case may be. Engineering / Technology (B.E./ B.Tech) Passed in 2nd PUC / 12th std. with English as one of the languages and obtained a minimum of 50% of marks in aggregate in Physics and Mathematics along with Chemistry/ Biotechnology/ , Biology/ Electronics/ Computer

(40% for SC, ST, CAt-1, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B category candidates) No minimum marks prescribed in CET By taking marks in equal proportions in Qualifying Examination and CET in PCB subjects Architecture (B.Arch) Passed in 2nd PUC / 12th std. with Mathematics as Compulsory optional subject and obtained a minimum of 50% of marks in aggregate in all the subjects

(40% for SC, ST, CAt-1, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B category candidates) Minimum of 40% marks in NATA for all categories of students including SC, ST and other Backward classes The norms prescribed in NEET / NATA / JEE Paper-2; Admission Rules; relevant Government orders is applicable in determining the merit for admission to Medical / Dental / AYUSH / Architecture courses as the case may be. B.Sc. (Agriculture),

B.Sc. (Forestry),

B.Sc. (Sericulture),

B.Sc. (Agri. Biotech),

B.Sc. (Horticulture),

B.H.Sc. (Home Science) Passed in 2nd PUC / 12th std. with Physics, Chemistry, Biology subjects. No minimum marks prescribed in CET By taking marks in equal proportions in Qualifying Examination and CET in PCB subjects Bachelor of Vaterinary Science and Animal Husbandry (B.V.Sc. & A.H) Passed in 2nd PUC / 12th std and obtained an aggreagate minimum of 50% marks in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English subjects.

(40% for SC, ST, CAt-1, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B category candidates) No minimum marks prescribed in CET Only on the basis of marks obtained in PCB in CET B.Tech. (Food Technology),

B.Tech. (Dairy Technology),

B.F.Sc. (Bachelor of Fisheries Science)

B.Tech. (Food Sceince & Tech.),

and B.Sc. (Ag. Marketing and Co-operation)

B.Tech. (Agriculture Engineering)

a. In the case of Agriculturist Quota, the merit list will be prepared based on 25% marks each, secured in concerned combinations in II year PUC (PCMB) & CET and 50% marks secured in the Practical Test. In case of B.V.Sc & AH merit will be prepared based on 50% of Marks secured in CET (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) and 50% of marks scored in the practical test.

b. Minimum of 50% marks in Practical Examination is required to claim seat under Agriculturist Quota. Further, Agriculturist Quota is applicable only for courses detailed in Sl. No. 5 and 6.

Note :

(i) A candidate who had obtained a seat in any discipline through the KEA (CET Cell) in any of the previous years will not be eligible to appear for the Common Entrance Test- 2021 for selection of a seat in the same discipline. However, candidates are eligible to appear for a seat in different discipline subject to his forfeiting the earlier seat allotted to him on being assigned a seat this year.

(ii) The minimum passing marks for all Horanadu and Gadinadu Kannadiga candidates shall be 12 out of 50 marks in Kannada Language Examination conducted by KEA( 4th Standard level ) in order to be considered for assignment of ranks and to become eligible for allotment of seats in CET - 2023.

(iii) In the case of Agriculturist Quota, the merit list will be prepared based on 25% marks each, secured in concerned combinations in II year PUC science & CET and 50% marks secured in the Practical Test. In case of B.V.Sc & AH merit will be prepared based on 50% of Marks secured in CET ( Physics, Chemistry and Biology ) and 50% of marks scored in the practical test.

Supply of Brochere- Cum- Application Form

Candidates can apply online by entering all the details through http://www.kea.kar.nic.in/ . After entering all details candidates will receive an application number and password to the registered mobile phone or email address.

Within Karnataka : Brochure cum Application Form will be supplied through the schools / colleges located within Karnataka where the students are pursuing 2nd PUC or 12th standard. The Brochure will be provided by the schools / colleges to interested students either by cash collection of Rs.650 /  ( Rs.500 / -for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Category  I ) .

Outside Karnataka : Candidates of Karnataka Origin residing outside the state of Karnataka may remit Rs.750/- and Rs.5000/- in case of candidates residing outside India.

The candidate should print the triplicate copy of the challan given in the institute site and pay the registration fee in any branches of State Bank of Mysore, Syndicate Bank, Central Bank of India, Axis Bank or Computerized Post Office. The bank/Post Office will retain bank copy of the challan and hand over to the studnt copy and KEA copy of the Challan to the candidates.

NOTE : Candidates residing outside India shall send the Demand Drafts in favour of Executive Director, Karnataka Examinations Authority Payable at Bangalore.

Candidates are advised to verify and confirm that they are fulfilling any one of the Eligibility Clauses updated on the KEA Website http://kea.kar.nic.in and also in the brochure before applying for admission to Government seats in Professional Colleges in the state of Karnataka for the year 2022. For any reason the fee paid by the candidates will not be refunded.

For more details visit institute website.

Contact Details Address : Karnataka Examinations Authority,

Sampige Road, 18th Cross, Malleshwaram, Bangalore 560 012 Phone : 080 - 23462599,23462758,23461575, 23564583 Fax : 080 - 23461576 Mobile : - E-mail : Contact I Website : www.kea.kar.nic.in

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Sabina Mammadli

Preventing the illegal activities of Armenia, which intensify the transportation of manpower, ammunition, mines, as well as other military equipment for the Armenian armed forces in the territory of Azerbaijan, is the sovereign right of Azerbaijan, Spokesperson for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Ayxan Hajizada said.

Azernews reports that commenting on the remarks made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at a government meeting, Hajizada expressed that the PMs next attempts to manipulate the situation in the region are unacceptable and that Armenia continues its aggressive activities by dressing its country as a democracy.

There is no reason for the premier to once again misinterpret the temporary decision of the International Court of Justice regarding the Lachin road and make claims that Azerbaijan has allegedly closed the Lachin road, he stated.

The official emphasized that the appropriate control measures taken by the units of the Azerbaijani army without using any force to prevent the usage of Armenia's dirt roads for illegal activities in the north of the Lachin road cannot be assessed as an occupation.

We remember that despite all the facts, Armenia claimed that its forces had not occupied Azerbaijan for 30 years. All these Armenian claims have been repeatedly proven to be groundless, and the UN Security Council resolutions have demanded the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces. The Armenian side should completely withdraw its forces from the territory of Azerbaijan in accordance with the tripartite statement, the spokesperson called.

Furthermore, he stressed that Armenia should give up its territorial claims against Azerbaijan and instead of interfering in Azerbaijans internal affairs, it should fulfill its obligations.

It is a fact that Armenia increased its aggressive rhetoric against Azerbaijan in recent weeks, committed provocations against Azerbaijani armed forces on March 5 and 20, and gathered additional forces in the region. Both during the 30-year occupation period and after 2020, it is known to everyone that Armenia, before preparing for any provocation, threw all the responsibility on Azerbaijan and allowed provocations, the official underlined.

Talking about the absurd idea voiced by the prime minister about Azerbaijan's intention to commit an act of "genocide", Hajizada recalled that throughout history, Azerbaijan has never targeted the civilian population in response to the mass massacres committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis.

Armenia's policy and actions of terrorism and mass destruction are recorded in the memory of history with all documents, and denying it proves that Armenia has not given up on these actions. These provocative statements of the Armenian side indicate Armenia's intention to deliberately disrupt the peace process in the context of the revival of international efforts toward the establishment of peace in the region, and such steps must be resolutely prevented, he concluded.
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) 2023 https://career.webindia123.com/career/dates_and_events/entrance/medi/national-eligibility-cum-entrance-test-neet.htm Details of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) 2023 2023-3-15 2023-4-13 https://career.webindia123.com/career/images/exams.png India India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) 2023 Medical

National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test For Admission to MBBS/ BDS Courses

National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) 2023 Category : Medical Admissions 2023 Published : On March 15, 2023 By Webindia123 Editor

Important Dates

Submission of on-line application forms 13th April 2023 Date of uploading of Admit Cards on website Date of Examination, NEET(UG), 2023 07th May 2023

The Ministry of Human Resource development (MHRD), Government of India (GOI) has established National Testing Agency (NTA) as an independent autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation for conducting efficient, transparent and international standard test in order to access the competency of candidates for admission to premier higher education institutions.



As per regulations framed under the Indian Medical Council Act -1956 and the Dentists Act-1948 and as amended from time to time, NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CUM ENTRANCE TEST (UG) 2023 (NEET (UG) - 2023) will be conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to MBBS/BDS Courses in Indian Medical/Dental Colleges run with the approval of Medical Council of India/Dental Council of India under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India except for the institutions established through an Act of Parliament i.e. AIIMS and JIPMER Puducherry.



The NEET (UG) - 2023 will be conducted on 17th April, 2022. The responsibility of the NTA is limited to the conduct of the entrance examination, declaration of result and for providing an "All India Rank merit list" to the Directorate General Health Service, Government of India for the conduct of counselling for 15% All India Quota Seats and for supplying the result to States/other Counselling Authorities.

The seats are classified in the following categories:

All India Quota Seats. State Government Quota Seats Central Institutions/ Universities/ Deemed Universities State/Management/ NRI Quota Seats in Private Medical / Dental Colleges or any Private University Central Pool Quota Seats

Requirement of Aadhar Number

For Indian citizens and ordinary residents of India, Aadhaar Number is a requirement to fill up the online application of NEET(UG), 2023 in all States except J&K, Assam and Meghalaya.

For NRIs, Aadhaar or Passport Number is required for filling up of the online application of NEET(UG), 2023.

For Foreign Nationals, Overseas Citizen of India (OCIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), Passport Number is the mandatory requirement for filling up of the online application of NEET(UG), 2023.

At the time of filling application form NEET(UG), 2023, the candidates will have to enter their AADHAAR number, name, date of birth & gender and give their consent to CBSE to validate the information provided by them with the UIDAIs database. In case, these particulars do not match, the candidate will not be able to fill the application form of NEET(UG), 2023. Therefore, the candidates are advised to ensure that their AADHAAR card has correct details of their name, date of birth & gender as per school records. If there is some mismatch in these details, the candidates should immediately get it corrected in AADHAAR data or school records, as the case may be.

Eligibility Criteria

(i) Indian Nationals, Non Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizen of India (OCIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) & Foreign Nationals are eligible for appearing in the NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CUM ENTRANCE TEST (UG), 2023.

(ii) The candidate must have completed age of 17 years at the time of admission or will complete the age on or before 31st December, 2022 i.e. the year of his/her admission to the 1st year M.B.B.S./B.D.S. Course.

(iii) The upper age limit for candidates seeking admission in MBBS/BDS seats shall be 25 years as on the date of examination with a relaxation of 5 years for candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC category and persons entitled for reservation under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Candidates of Unreserved Category (UR) was born on or between 05.05.1994 and 31.12.2002. Candidates of SC/ST/OBC Category was born on or between 05.05.1989 and 31.12.2002.

(iv) The candidate must have passed in the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Bio-technology and English individually and must have obtained a minimum of 50% marks taken together in Physics, Chemistry and Biology/ Bio-technology at the qualifying examination.

(v) In respect of candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Classes, the marks obtained in Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Bio-technology taken together in qualifying examination be 40% instead of 50% for General category candidates.

(vi)) In respect of the candidates with benchmark disabilities specified under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the marks obtained in Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Bio-technology taken together in qualifying examination shall be 45% instead of 50% for General category candidates and 40% for SC/ST/OBC candidates.

(vii) Provided that two years of regular and continuous study of Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Bio-technology taken together shall be required at 10+2 level for all the candidates.

(vii) Candidates who have passed 10+2 from Open Schools or as Private candidates shall not be eligible to appear for National Eligibility-cumEntrance Test-UG. Furthermore, study of Biology/Bio-technology as an Additional Subject at 10+2 level also shall not be permissible.

(ix) Those who are appearing in Class XII examination in 2022 can also appear for the entrance test provisionally subject to their fulfilling the conditions later.

(x) As the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana have decided to join and contribute their MBBS/BDS seats for the allotment to the candidates under 15% All India Quota from the academic year 2022-23 onward, the candidates belonging to these States shall also be eligible for 15% All India Quota seats.

Admission and Reservation

1. An All India merit list and All India Rank of the qualified candidates shall be prepared on the basis of the marks obtained in the National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test and candidates shall be admitted to MBBS/BDS courses from the said list only by following the Existing Reservation Policies.

2. All admission to MBBS/BDS courses within in the respective categories shall be based solely on marks obtained in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test.

3. All other existing eligibility criteria for admission to Medical/Dental Colleges shall be applicable as per Rules and Policies of the State/UT/Institution/University concerned.

HOW TO APPLY

Candidates can apply ONLY ONLINE.

Online submission of application may be made by accessing the Boards website www.cbseneet.nic.in Instructions for submitting online application and payment of fee are available on website.

Candidates may remit the fee in the following manner:

a. Through any Debit/Credit Card

b. Net Banking/UPIor

c . e-wallet of Common Service Centre (CSC)

Fee Details

FOR GENERAL/OBC - Rs.1500/- (INR)

FOR SC/ST/PH - Rs.800/- (INR)

The Information Bulletin containing detailed information of test, syllabus, eligibility criteria to appear/admission, reservation, examination fee, cities of examinations, State Code of eligibility, Age, etc. is available on website cbseneet.nic.in

Contact Details Address : C-20 1A/8 ,Sector 62

IITK Outreach Centre,

NOIDA-201309 Phone : Fax : Mobile : 8076535482, 7703859909 Toll Free No : E-mail : Contact I Website : www.nta.ac.in

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How Shaun Deeb Lost & Then Found $10,000 at WSOPC Turning Stone

March 30, 2023 Connor Richards Editor & Live Reporter U.S.

Shaun Deeb, who recently entered a body fat prop bet, threw away $10,000 at a recent poker stop, and it wasn't by max-late regging a high-stakes event.

The incident in question took place late last week at the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Turning Stone stop in New York. It involved a wad of cash ($10,500, to be exact), a box of protein bars, a casino garbage and an unfortunate miscommunication.

The five-time bracelet winner's bad luck quickly turned around at his hometown casino as he got the money back before going on to win the $1,700 buy-in Main Event for $275,916 and his first Circuit ring.

Here's what went down at WSOPC Turning Stone, as recounted by Deeb himself.

Shaun Deeb Bets $100K He Can Reach 17% Body Fat By the 2024 WSOP

What's In the Box?

The debacle began last week when Deeb went to play WSOPC Turning Stone, a stop that his friend DJ MacKinnon also happened to be playing.

"He (MacKinnon) did me a favor holding some money for me from someone who owed me money in Buffalo," Deeb told PokerNews. "So I was going to collect it from him here and give it to a friend of mine who lives in Albany. So I wasn't worried about it, he's a great kid, he's a good friend of mine."

Deeb added, "We troll each other a lot, we f*** with each other. I always like giving him shit wherever we go. And throughout the tournament I'm texting him talking shit when I had a bunch of chips and he didn't. I'm like 'How don't you win a Circuit every time?' Just the usual needles I do. And he's all butthurt like he usually is."

DJ MacKinnon

That context may help explain why when MacKinnon walked up and handed Deeb a box of protein bars, it never crossed Deeb's mind that it may be filled with the cash he was owed.

"So I'm getting a massage like 4 or 5 o'clock and he comes up and says 'Here, have some protein bars, and puts a box of protein bars in front of my stack," explained Deeb. "I'm not going to f***ing want that! And he's like 'Whatever' and he just walks away."

Not one of poker's greatest health food ambassadors (this was before he took a prop bet that he could lose a significant amount of body fat before the 2024 WSOP), Deeb wanted nothing to do with the ostensible protein bars he had just been gifted.

"I offered the masseuse the protein bars, she's like 'nah,'" Deeb recalled. "So I put them by my feet. I don't want this, I'm not going to get up and throw it away yet, I'm just gonna put it down."

Hear Deeb tell the story himself in the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast:

Dude, Where's My Money?

A few unfortunate runouts later and Deeb was separated from the protein bar box at his feet at five figures.

"So I get knocked out like 20 minutes later, go play another bullet, bust, then go hop in the $400, bust twice, and before I busted the second time, DJ also busted (and) I was telling him I was starving because I missed dinner break of the Main because I went to the $400," Deeb said. "He's like, 'Oh, I'll go to The Tavern and get you some food.'"

Deeb went to meet up with his friend at Turning Stone's Upstate Tavern and then the following conversation took place, as remembered by Deeb.

"Do you like how I paid you the money?" MacKinnon asked with a smile as Deeb sat down.

"What money?" Deeb asked.

"In the protein box," MacKinnon said. "I put the money that I was holding for you in there."

Deeb stopped eating. "You're f***ing joking."

"No," MacKinnon said as his smile left.

"I f***ing left it on the floor," Deeb told him. "It's probably thrown away."

"Haha, you're joking," MacKinnon laughed nervously.

"No," Deeb said.

This loop of mutual incredulity continued for several iterations before the duo realized neither was joking.

"So we have five minutes of arguing with each other that we're joking and I realize he's serious because he's starting to sweat, and I'm like, 'Oh f***,'" Deeb remembered.

Doug Polk Narrowly Loses $200K Body Fat Loss Prop Bet to Bill Perkins

Deeb's Luck Turns

The Tavern was just a short walk from the tournament floor, so Deeb ran back to his old tournament table before getting the bad news: the box was gone.

"So I asked a couple of the players who I was playing with (where the box was) and they're like, 'why does it matter?'" I was like, 'Oh you remember that protein box that DJ gave me? There was money in it.' They're like, 'What?!'"

Matthew Wantman was particularly perplexed by the transaction he had witnessed. "That's the dumbest way I've ever seen someone f***ing pay money," he reacted, according to Deeb. "He didn't say a word, why the f*** would you ever think there's money in that thing?"

"No sh**!" replied Deeb. "That's what I was saying."

Matthew Wantman

Out of luck, Deeb gave his number to the casino staff and headed back to The Tavern, where he had another conversation with MacKinnon.

"Hey, I'll go on a payment plan," MacKinnon said before Deeb cut him off.

"DJ, I'm not going to f***ing make you pay. It's my own fault, whatever. It means way more to you than me. You did me a favor, and I appreciate you doing that favor, and I just can't freeroll you in this spot. Yes, you're a f***ing idiot for giving the money this way."

MacKinnon thought for a moment before asking, "Why would I just give you a box of protein bars?"

"Because it's a fat joke!" cried Deeb. "I don't understand why anyone would ever think that I was being paid money. It wasn't like some obscene amount or some place you can't hand money. We're in a casino! You can hand me money and it's fine. You don't need to put it in a box."

Just then, Deeb's phone rang. A custodian found the box in one of the casino garbages.

"You were so lucky because in a few minutes he was going to take it to the big dumpster outside and you probably would have never seen it (again)," Deeb was told.

Shaun Deeb

As he retrieved his money and tipped the good samaritan janitor $500 for his efforts, Deeb thought about how lucky he was to see that money again.

"If I didn't bust the tournament (when) I did ... I mean, I'm the only person who runs that good, that to lose a $400 tournament I save a bunch of money (by) finding money that was thrown out of mine," he said.

And in addition to getting the money back, "now we've got a great story out of it."

Find out more about five-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb
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Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy responded to Donald Trumps indictment by threatening Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.

McCarthy tweeted:

Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election. As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump. The American people will not  Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) March 30, 2023

It is the American people who are indicting Donald Trump. There is absolutely nothing that McCarthy and House Republicans can do to Bragg. The federal government does not fund the Manhattan DAs office.

Bragg does not fall under congressional oversight.

McCarthy can send tweets and hold press conferences, but there is nothing that he can do to hold Bragg to account. The House has no jurisdiction or legislative purpose in the Manhattan investigation.

Speaker McCarthy is upset because he tied his career to Trump, so if Donald Trump becomes a convicted criminal, a whole bunch of House Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy are going to go down with him.

McCarthys comments should be viewed as House Republicans scrambling to save their likely 2024 presidential nominee, but as a governing body and a branch of the federal government, there is nothing they can do to Bragg.

Kevin McCarthy has offered up the emptiest of empty threats.
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Ron DeSantis went to Georgia to visit a gun shop that bills itself as the worlds largest, but the one thing that wasnt large was the crowd for the Florida governor.

Here is the event:

Thats it? Ron DeSanctimonious went to GA today for this crowd. Sad! pic.twitter.com/2gzPoqYbup  Ron Filipkowski  (@RonFilipkowski) March 30, 2023

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported before DeSantis visited:

DeSantis picked the suburban gun store for the latest stop on his yet-to-be-announced presidential campaign, part of a media blitz thats widely seen as a prelude to an official 2024 announcement expected within months.

Democrats, meanwhile, called on DeSantis to scrap the stop at a shop that bills itself as the Worlds Largest Gun Store days after a deadly mass shooting at a private school in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ron DeSantis visiting a gun store after three 9-year-olds were killed in a Nashville school shooting was a degree of blatant political pandering that was a lot, even by Republican culture war standards.

The larger issue is that DeSantis still cant seem to draw a crowd when he leaves Florida. He couldnt get people to come to see him in New York. He fared a little better in Iowa, but in that case, he struggled to interact with human beings.

It looks like Fox News and the big-money Republican donors might be backing the wrong horse. There is no Ron-mentum, so to speak, and if they insist on sticking with DeSantis, it could be the equivalent of handing the 2024 presidential nomination to Trump.
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Democrats are running a tight messaging ship about former President Donald Trumps historical indictment on Thursday, by refusing to politicize it or give oxygen to his persecution complex.

As President Biden departed the White House on Marine One Friday morning, reporters tried over and over again to get a quote from him on any aspect of former Trumps indictment, but Biden held firm refusing to comment.

Video clip:

Biden isn't going to give Trump anything he can use to make his indictment political. pic.twitter.com/KYUgZUGeBT  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 31, 2023

Examples sent to PoliticusUSA this morning from the White House press office via the pool report:

Q. Will the indictment divide the country? Biden: I have no comment on that. Q. Are you worried about protests? Biden: No. Im not going to talk about the Trump indictment. Q. What does the indictment say about the rule of law? Biden: I have no comment at all. Q. Are the charges politically motivated? Biden: I have no comment on Trump.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumers statement sent to PoliticusUSA focused his response on this being a moment for the legal system to take precedence over politics, Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law. There should be no outside political influence, intimidation or interference in the case. I encourage both Mr. Trumps critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosis statement sent to PoliticusUSA Thursday night focused on the rule of law and pushing the notion that perhaps Trump should peacefully respect the system, The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.

NO COMMENT ON TRUMP other than to focus on the way the legal system works. Trump is innocent until proven guilty. Trump is entitled to a trial but is not above the law. Trump should behave like others in that he should not incite violence as a tool against the legal system (of the very country he led and is seeking to lead again, no less).

Not only is the absolutely right take politically, but much more importantly it is right to focus on the rule of law.

At long last.

If this democracy is to survive, the rule of law must apply without fear or favor.

All Americans are entitled to an evenhanded application of the law and the presumption of innocence. But no one should be untouchable. If the rule of law is to prevail, it is vital that there not be a class of person that is not held to account.

This tight messaging is also the best way to deprive Trump of the thing he most craves: All of the oxygen in the press. The role as martyr, whipping up violence with the lies fueling his persecution complex.

Trump will get plenty of oxygen in the coverage of the first indictment of a former U.S. president. He and his Republican allies will screech about politicization, sneakily making the argument that Trump should be immune from the law. But it would get a lot worse if Democratic leadership were throwing fuel on the flames. Instead, its the cool water of the law.

This tactic of recognizing a long-con troll was masterfully played by then-Senator Barack Obama as he campaigned against Sarah Palin in 2008. He understood immediately that she wanted to goad him into fighting in the mud while playing the victim in response. Instead, Obama was the consummate gentleman while managing to politely deny her fuel for her rage.

Trump sparks something dark and immediate in his supporters and his critics. He brings out the worst in this country and her people. Every time he succeeds in doing so, he wins, because bringing everyone down to his level is the power to divide and to destroy at will.

The Democrats have the right idea and surprisingly good messaging. This has been a long time coming and they have obviously seen exactly where Trump wants to take this moment.

Perhaps this time around, Trump wont be able to steer the ship quite so easily into his ruinous, gloomy morass of his unique blend of antagonism and democratic backsliding.
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Eric Trump went on Fox News to complain about CVS locking up the Tylenol, and he tried to link it to Alvin Bragg trying to lock up Trump.

Video:

Eric Trump: I went into literally CVS yesterday and you cant buy Tylenol because its locked behind these glass counters but yet their attention is going after Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/WsGA1oBsGv  Acyn (@Acyn) March 31, 2023

Eric Trump said, This is a city, I spend a lot of time in New York, that is literally falling apart. I went into a CVS the other day, and you cant buy Tylenol because it is locked behind these glass counters because theres so much theft. Theres so much looting. Theres so much homelessness and crime, but yet their attention is going after Donald Trump.

Eric Trumps point was that is more important to prosecute people for stealing a bottle of Tylenol than paying off their porn star mistress and then committing fraud to cover up the payment. Trump also tried to deduct the payment to Stormy Daniels on his taxes as a legal expense.

It seems like the message that Eric Trump was trying to send was that jail is for the poors, not people like Donald Trump.

The response from the entire Trump family shows a group of entitled people that have never been held accountable in their lives.

Eric Trump better not spend too much time in New York. He is at the center of all of the Trump Organization fraud investigations by the state attorney general.
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Rachel Maddow said there was nothing unusual about politicians being indicted. It happens all of the time, but Trump is trying to use his indictment to break the rule of law.

Video:

Rachel #Maddow says politician indictments are normal unless "a particular politician seeks to make his indictment a catalyst for his supporters and his party rising up and declaring that the legal system is now over, that the legal system should not apply to him." pic.twitter.com/2dRQBykola  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 31, 2023

Maddow said, Indicting politicians is totally normal we do it all the time and we can handle it. Unless unless a particular politician seeks to make his indictment a catalyst for his supporters and his party rising up and declaring that the legal system is now over, that the legal system should not apply to him and therefore it no longer applies at all that would be something different. That is not an inevitable consequence of a politician being indicted that is what this former politician and candidate for office is trying to do for the first time thats the hard part thats the part that could break us as a country.

Trump is going to use this indictment as part of his attack on the rule of law, and if he can somehow delegitimize the Manhattan indictment it would serve as a springboard for attacking the entire legal system and the rule of law itself.

It can be credibility argued that Trump dedicated most of the energy of his presidency to undermining the rule of law. Whether it was his attacks on the FBI, the intelligence community, or the Department of Justice, Donald Trump didnt just think of himself as above the law but seemed determined to destroy legal accountability.

The next front in the battle to keep American democracy looks like it will be a courtroom in Manhattan.
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Trumps lawyer Joe Tacopina said that Trump was shocked that he was indicted, but there is zero chance that he will take a plea deal.

Video from NBC News/Today:

Tacopina said, President Trump will not take a plea deal in this case. Its not going to happen. Theres no crime. I dont know if its going to make the trial because we have substantial legal challenges that we have to front before we get to that point.

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Trump is worried about the political ramifications of his indictment, and since any plea deal would involve an admission of guilt, that is not going to happen.

Tacopina also described Trump as shocked by the indictment, [Trump] initially was shocked. After he got over that, he put a notch on his belt and he decided we have to fight now Hes now in the posture that hes ready to fight this.

Later the lawyer kept up the effort to connect Trumps individual legal troubles to danger for the rest of the country, This is a historic case, a monumental case, a case that will have wide-reaching ramifications. I feel very concerned about the rule of law in this country because it endangered the rule of law for all Americans.

Trump has been arguing for years that he is above the law, and the law doesnt apply to him, but less than 24 hours after being indicted, Trumps lawyers are suddenly concerned about the rule of law.

Democrats arent giving Trump any fuel to claim that his indictment is political. They arent playing along, so the former one-term president has lapsed into his political martyr role, but times have changed. Its 2023, not 2016 or 2020. So far, the martyr act hasnt been generating movement from his supporters.

Even though there appears to be a mountain of evidence against him, Trump wont take a plea deal, because he is placing politics ahead of a potential criminal conviction.
A month ago I watched the NBAs most fashionable player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , walk into the Crypto.com Arena in a cartoon-esque outfit. These round, fire-engine red boots paired with jeans that were intentionally wavy. It felt like you took some sort of psychedelic looking at him.









And I laughed, because of course this was just the tip of the iceberg for the Big Red Boot fashion movement. MSCHFs newest headline-worthy drop was New York Fashion Weeks most talked about shoe. You remember their Satan Sneaker , youve heard of their Birkenstocks made out of Birkins  MSCHF (who are actually not designers, but a Brooklyn-based art-collective) loves to make a statement.

At the low price of $350, MSCHF offers an escape from reality with these boots via their press release:

Cartoonishness is an abstraction that frees us from the constraints of reality. If you kick someone in these boots, they go boing!

Look, if this is how you want to spend your moneydont let me tell you not to. However, I have to wonder what the line is between fashionable clothing and viral fashion statements. Sure, I want to feel as cool as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but I dont think wearing Big Red Boots will get me compliments at a bar.









In an article by Laura Reilly for The Cut , she dons a $1,400 Diesel belt skirt that was thrust into mainstream fascination by, of course, TikTok. The only problem, the rigid leather belt barely covers anything. She muses whether or not viral fashion is meant to be worn, or to just remain viral. The perfect example that comes to mind is Bella Hadids Coperni spray-on dress: the most viral fashion moment of 2022, but not meant to be worn in public.

During New York Fashion Week last month, there was a lot of discussion about viral fashion and its place at the shows, and since a 59-second TikTok video can often lack critical context, I set out to see what would happen when I wore the skirt in the real world: Would people stare? Would they be outraged? Would they even know Im wearing theeeee viral skirt?

The answer seems a bit underwhelming for those who want to have that viral piece of fashion: not everyone is going to understand (or necessarily care about) what youre wearingeven at NYFW. Sure, youll get attention from avid TikTokers who are keeping up with the trends, but you will get some side eyes from others who arent so knowledgeable.

Viral fashion has the same effect on me that most fast fashion does: I could wear it once, get a few photos in itand then itll sit in my closet, never to be worn again, until I come to my senses and donate it. Much like Lizzie McGuire, I dont like being called an outfit repeater, and viral fashion is too memorable and too niche to be a staple in my closet.

However, there are the rare pieces that catch the public eye, and stay there. So instead of obscure, camp-y fashion statementshere are some of my favorite viral fashion-inspired moments that wont cycle out of your wardrobe in 2-5 weeks.

Leather Birkenstocks The Boston Birks are a classic, but constantly gripping my toes to keep them on my feet is exhausting. The leather Arizona Birks are perfect for summer weatherand wont fly off your feet if you arent paying attention. Hell, they even look good for a socks-and-sandals moment.

Free People Ziggy Shortalls Denim is thriving in the fashion world right now. Head-to-toe denim looks are all the rage, and these shortalls are just what you need. I like to wear these to the beach as a coverup, or just on hot days during the summer.

BAGGU Cloud Carry On Bag Weekend travel bags make packing easy, and BAGGU is one of the trendiest bag brands right now. Beloved by thriftshop afficandos, frequent fliers , and laptop-carrying girlbosses alike! This featherweight bag can compact down into a small pouch, but also fits everything you need for a weekend getaway. It also comes in fun colors like lime green and lavender, the perfect pop of color for your carry-on.

Dynamite Satin Cargo Pants More pockets, less problems. These satin straight leg cargo pants mix comfort and style for your favorite warm-weather going out pants. Theyre great for work and play, meaning you can wear them to the office and then right to happy hour afterwards.

Alo Yoga Faux Fur Bomber Jacket The trendiest jacket of the spring is the bomber/varsity jacket. This one from Alo Yoga comes in neutral shades and has an oversized look that everyone is loving right now. Its both cozy and functional.




Going above and beyond in assisting victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, the Aiken Department of Public Safety received a special designation.

On Thursday, the Aiken Department of Public Safety received a Sexual Assault Forensic Excellence designation for the care it provided to sexual assault and domestic violence victims.

The SAFE designation program was launched April 1, 2022 and is made possible through a partnership with South Carolina Victim Assistance Network, the South Carolina Attorney Generals Office, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the South Carolina Hospital Association.

The designation is good for two years, and ADPS will have to reapply for the designation.

Several hospitals throughout the state have also received the SAFE designation.

It makes me very proud today to present Aiken with the very first law enforcement designation for the State of South Carolina, said Amanda Brown, coordinator for forensic nursing with SCVAN.

Sabrina Gast, a SCVAN representative and statewide forensic nurse director, said the Forensic Nurse Examiner Task Force was started in 2019 because a state assessment found there were parts of South Carolina that didnt have medical professionals who were properly trained to collect evidence from victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

She said one goal of the taskforce is make sure sexual assault victims have proper assistance.

Gast said through the taskforce the SAFE designation was created.

Gast said in order for Aiken Public Safety to receive the SAFE designation, 75% of the staff had to complete two hours of SCVAN-sponsored training over the course of four weeks, appoint someone to track the sexual assuault kit, attend meetings and complete an application.

Gast said the training includes sexual assault basics, evidence collection and preservation, how to interview victims, human trafficking red flags and strangulation methods. South Carolina does consider strangulation a felony.

It trains their staff in how to better interact with sexual assault victims, and they are now more familiar with the resources available, both statewide and locally, Gast said.

Brown said the SAFE designation began with hospitals.

We are the first state to take on this approach and we have had several hospitals, several rape crisis centers and several EMS agencies take part in the designation thus far, we have not however a law enforcement agency prior to today," said Brown.

Aiken Department of Public Safety Police Chief Charles Barranco said the designation didn't happen through training alone, but because of the care and compassion from fire and police, investigators and all of the partnerships within the Aiken community.

He said it SAFE designation will serve the victims the most.

"Ultimately this best serves victims of sexual assault and that is the most important part of this, Barranco said.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Showers early, then cloudy in the afternoon. High 67F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 49F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
The Port of Charleston greeted its first "green" container ship this week when ZIM line docked a vessel named for a Israeli shipping magnate and philanthropist at its Wando Welch Terminal.

The Sammy Ofer is powered by liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which burns significantly cleaner than the commonly used diesel and produces 23 percent fewer emissions of sulfur, nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

Haifa, Israel-based ZIM calls the vessel, which is on its maiden voyage, "an important step forward in the industrys journey to decarbonize."

At 1,200 feet long and capable of carrying 15,000 20-foot boxes, the Sammy Ofer is one of the largest ships of its kind to call on the port. More than 1,850 cargo containers were scheduled to move on and off the vessel during its stay at Wando Welch in Mount Pleasant, according to the State Ports Authority's website.

"With the entrance of the ZIM Sammy Ofer we embark on a new era, with a far more efficient and sustainable fleet, improving our cost structure and competitive edge and enhancing our commitment to ESG values, Eli Glickman, the container line's president and CEO, said during the ship's naming ceremony last month.

Ofer died in 2011. The ship named for him is part of ZIM's ZCP Asia service, which connects ports in China, South Korea and Jamaica to the U.S. East Coast.

The Sammy Ofer is scheduled to head from Charleston south to Savannah next, with additional stops at Wilmington, N.C., and Jacksonville before it sails back to the Caribbean and Asia.

Seaspan Corp., a Hong Kong-based ship owner and management firm, and ZIM have a long-term charter agreement for the Sammy Ofer. It's the first of 10 LNG-fueled vessels that Seaspan has ordered for use by the line.

"The significant fleet of highly efficient LNG vessels tailored for ZIM, will expedite both companies progress toward our next phases of sustainable shipping," Bing Chen, Seaspan's president and CEO, said in a written statement.

Global container lines are looking at alternative fuels to decarbonize their operations.

Although LNG-powered ships now account for about 1 percent of the carrying capacity, demand is rising. A report by TradeWinds shows they now make up 30 percent of the global order book  198 vessels that can haul to 2.31 million 20-foot containers  up from 25 percent a year ago.
Charleston Southern University President Dondi Costin is leaving his post after five years to take the helm of his two-time alma mater, Liberty University in Virginia.

Liberty University trustees announced Costin's selection as president on March 31 after a national search. Costin will succeed Jerry Prevo, who was named the university's acting president in 2020 when Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned after a series of personal scandals.

Costin said he and his wife Vickey were heartbroken to leave Charleston Southern but felt called to Liberty.

"As we've always done, we follow God through the door that he opens," Costin said. "Liberty is the place that sort of set the trajectory for my entire career."

Costin, a Wilmington, N.C., native, is a former Air Force chaplain and retired major general. He attended the Air Force Academy and worked as an industrial engineer before becoming a chaplain.

It was while stationed in Virginia that Costin began taking night classes at Liberty University and become a chaplain. He earned two of his master's degrees there, in counseling and religion. Costin also holds a doctor of ministry degree and has a Ph.D. in organizational leadership.

He served as senior chaplain for Air Force operations in both the Pacific and the Middle East and retired from the military as chief of chaplains overseeing all Air Force chaplains at the Pentagon.

Costin came to Charleston Southern University in 2018, becoming the third president in the Southern Baptist-affiliated private university's history.

Costin said he's prioritized three things as president: enrollment, retention and graduation rates. The university, which is the largest private college in South Carolina, began offering the first four-year aviation program in the state under his tenure. He also oversaw the addition of a new science and engineering facility and an expansion to the university's health science building.

He spent the first year at Charleston Southern holding listening sessions across campus and said that's the approach he'll take at Liberty.

"The new person knows less than anybody about the culture," Costin said.

Like Charleston Southern, Liberty University is affiliated with the Southern Baptist church. It was founded by evangelical pastor Jerry Falwell Sr., who also served as head of Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Liberty is a significantly larger institution than Charleston Southern, however. The university set enrollment records last fall with 15,800 on-campus students and another 115,000 attending online classes.

Falwell's oldest son, Jerry Jr., succeeded him as president of the university. His youngest son, Jonathan, took over Thomas Road.

Falwell Jr. stepped down from Liberty in 2020 after a series of controversies, including allegations that he watched his wife engage in sexual activities with a man with whom she was having an affair. Falwell Jr. has said he and his wife were targets of blackmail.

In announcing Costin as president, trustees also announced that Jonathan would serve as the university's chancellor. It's a move that harkens back to Liberty's origins, Costin said.

"I can't wait to lock arms with him and see how the Lord uses us together," he said.

His last day at Charleston Southern is June 30.
" " It's easy to change your Gmail password. MoMo Productions/Getty Images

Now, more than ever, password security should be at the top of your mind when considering online safety. Whether you're protecting vital information from malicious hackers or simply adding a layer of security between your online identity and the rest of the world, Google makes changing your Gmail password a safe and easy process. Here's how to do it.

Go to Google.com If you aren't already signed into your account, sign in now. Click the Account button. On the top-right corner of the screen, click the account button  that's the one with the account photo (or if no photo, it will have your first initial). Click Manage Your Google Account. Click "Security." On the left-hand side of the screen, click the Security tab. Choose "Password." In the middle of the screen, choose the Password option. Sign in. Google will ask you to re-sign in with your current password before you can change it. Pick your password. Now it's time to do the deed. Now it's time to do the deed. Longer passwords are typically more secure; Google recommends a minimum of 12 characters made up of a unique combination of letters, numbers and symbols.

When it comes to picking a password, don't use info someone could easily get from your social media pages, like your pet's name or your date of birth. And don't use obvious passwords like "123456" or "password" or "picture1." All three appeared in the top 5 of a list of most-common passwords.
COLUMBIA  MUSC Health University Medical Center has laid off a number of people from its Midlands hospitals and division president Terry Gunn resigned after revenues failed to keep up with expenses at Columbia area facilities, missing budget by $40 million in the first six months of the fiscal year.

The state's second-largest hospital system spent $75 million in 2021 to purchase the four Midlands health centers previously owned by Tennessee-based for-profit LifePoint Health. MUSC also planned to make another $80 million in investments at the facilities, which included Providence Health-branded hospitals in downtown and northeast Columbia, KershawHealth in Camden and an emergency room in Fairfield County, now known as MUSC Health Fairfield Emergency and Imaging.

MUSC had expected the facilities to be profitable sooner, but instead margins fell short in Columbia more than in any other area where the hospital system operates. Still, the hospital system does expect to be in the black by 2024.

"It's really about trying to move forward and reinvest," MUSC spokeswoman Heather Woolwine said of the need for the layoffs. "But to reach those goals has required some downsizing."

The acquisition of four community hospitals around the state in 2019 marked MUSC's first expansion outside of its Charleston base, where it had been contained for nearly 200 years. Then, after Prisma Health abandoned its efforts to purchase LifePoints facilities amid legal and regulatory challenges, MUSC stepped in.

Buying the former Providence Health hospital, founded in 1938 by the Catholic-run Sisters of Charity of Saint Augustine, was the first time the Lowcountry hospital system had entered an urban health setting outside of Charleston. The move into the Columbia market also came with a different demographic and customer mix, with more people covered by Medicare and Medicaid, said Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Carl Blackstone.

MUSC Health CEO Patrick Cawley told the board of trustees at a Feb. 10 meeting, it was "a very aggressive growth plan" and while numbers were "starting to move" toward budget, it had not gone as fast as leadership anticipated.

MUSC's entrance into the Columbia market was lauded by state and community leaders across the Midlands.

I think the citizens of South Carolina, particularly Richland County, are truly going to be winners with MUSC, Rep. Leon Howard, chairman of the Houses medical and public affairs committee, said at the time.

Now, a year and a half later, MUSC confirmed it has had to make cuts in an effort to lower operational costs. There have been at least three sets of layoffs. The hospital system did not say how many employees were affected in the Columbia area.

At least three people at MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center have lost their jobs, including the hospital's executive director, according to former State Sen. Vincent Sheheen who previously represented Kershaw County at the Statehouse.

Sheheen said Kershaw County officials knew when MUSC took over the community hospital located in Camden that it was not performing well economically and was going to require a major fiscal turnaround. He said these cuts are likely part of that.

"To me this seems like growing pains," Sheheen said, expecially as the hospital system has made it part of its mission to undertake statewide support of community hospitals.

Sheheen said LifePoint had not invested in the Kershaw County hospital, neither in staff nor equipment. So MUSC came into a facility that needed to be updated. More primary care physicians and certain specialists, such as urologists, are also needed in Kershaw County to allow MUSC to build the patient base needed to support a hospital.

But it was Sheheen's understanding that most of the financial losses came from the larger campuses in Columbia.

The MUSC board in February delayed building a $1.45 million hybrid operating room for complex procedures in Columbia in favor of improvements to patient access and other areas.

Blackstone said having three viable hospital systems is crucial, especially as the metro area grows and attracts major investments, including the recently announced Scout Motors manufacturing plant in Blythewood.

"They have a good plan and good leadership," Blackstone said. "I just think this a speed bump for them."

For its part, Kershaw County wants to preserve its hospital after a decade spent fighting to keep it operating, former Kershaw County Council Chairman Julian Burns said.

"It's a foundation of the community," Sheheen added, saying it's something that employers want to know is available, but is also needed to provide local health care to residents. Without it, people in Camden would have to drive 30 minutes for care. Residents of other parts of Kershaw County would have to drive as much as an hour.

"We're thrilled to have MUSC in our community operating our hospital," Sheheen said. "The community wants MUSC to be successful no matter what it takes."
SUMTER  Aletha Holliday had close to 300 people behind her as she sobbed, mourning the loss of her three slain children during a memorial service on March 31.

The guests, many of them from other states, joined the family of Ava Holliday, 11, Aason Holliday-Slacks, 6, and Aayden Holliday-Slacks, 5, at Christ Community Church.

The siblings were shot and killed 10 days earlier by Holliday's ex-husband Charles Slacks Jr., who then took his own life.

"When I first heard of this news I was heartbroken," William Dupree, a minister who lives in Tennessee, said to the grieving crowd. "It hurt the whole community."

The 43,000 residents of Sumter did seem to come to a halt. Eight Sumter County police officers helped direct the heavy traffic into the church just off of the two-lane Loring Mill Road, before attending the service themselves.

Dozens of students from Millwood Elementary and Alice Drive Middle schools also attended the service. Their parents and teachers held and consoled them as they cried, grieving the loss of their classmates.

Sixth grade student Abigail Hodge told a Post and Courier reporter that she's sad and missing her friend Ava. They were in the school orchestra together as Ava, a longtime piano player, had recently taken up the violin.

When the service's officiant AnnaLisa Melton called for anyone from the schools or the community to speak, the church sanctuary was silent. No one could bring themselves to stand up and talk.

"I know at this time, you might not want to come up," Melton said to the guests, fighting back tears. "But please make sure at a later time, you stop and tell Aletha how much you love her."

While delivering the eulogy, another minister, the Rev. Jeffrey Dudley of Illinois, said what happened to the three siblings was a result of "anger and evil getting together." He attributed recent mass shootings across the country to the same thing.

"We live in a day now that evil is in the grocery store," Dudley said to the guests, who became like a congregation with scattered shouts of "yes" and "amen" in response. "We live in a day now that evil goes to schools. We live in a day now where evil just seemingly, randomly, has taken over," he said.

Dudley asked people not to let anger take them over, preaching to them about forgiveness. He then instructed everyone in attendance to do one thing together, alongside a still-weeping Holliday  call the children's names.

Holliday wrote letters to her late children. The letter to Aason mentioned that he loved his name, so much so that he refused to allow people to call him by his nickname, "Ace," and usually said firmly, "My name is Aason." He loved cars, video games, riding bikes with his little brother Aayden, "and most of all, being in everybody's business," Holliday wrote.

Aayden also had a love for cars, bikes and catching and taking care of frogs with his brother. Holliday called him her "little firecracker" on account of his temper, and she said the one person who could always calm him was Ava.

Holliday wrote that Ava constantly looked out for her brothers, and the oldest sibling often joked that the boys were her own children. She also said Ava earned money by doing chores just so she could buy candy for her classmates. Asked why she did this, Ava said, "because it's nice," according to her mother.

Most people not in uniform attending the service wore brightly colored clothing at Holliday's request  a way of honoring her children's collective love for them.

Slacks also shot a coworker of Holliday, Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos Evans, on March 21. Evans later died at the hospital according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Department. His memorial will be in his hometown of Petersburg, Virginia.

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LEXINGTON  A Lexington School District One German immersion learning program could be on the chopping block, as efforts to recruit and retain teachers and students have flopped.

Amid pleas from teachers, parents and students to keep the program alive, the Lexington One Board will vote next month whether to cut the language program as students and teachers dwindle.

Stakeholders in the program have called on the board to consider the immersion benefits.

"The program has not only provided my child with enhanced problem-solving skills, improved memory and attention, but also exposed him to a different culture, creating a more culturally open-minded student," said Michelle Yandle, a parent of a German Immersion student at Deerfield Elementary.

Additionally, German immersion programs can set students up for unique business opportunities later in life, said Lara Ducate, a German professor and director of the German department at the University of South Carolina.

Lexington One's German immersion program started at Deerfield Elementary in 2014. Students entering Kindergarten at Deerfield have the option to enroll in a German immersion education, where each year their math and science classes are taught in German, and their English and Social Studies classes are taught in English.

If the board votes to cut the German immersion program, Deerfield Elementary will stop accepting new students, but currently enrolled classes will be able to finish through 12th grade.

Centerville, Gilbert, Meadow Glen, Midway, Pleasant Hill, Red Bank elementary schools also offer immersion programs in either Spanish, Mandarin Chinese or French.

In theory, each year a cohort, two classes of 25, learns half in German and half in English through Pleasant Hill Middle School and Lexington High School.

However, low enrollment and attrition numbers have put the program at risk. Right now, 28 of the 50 spots for incoming kindergartners have been filled, Chief Academic Officer Mary Gaskins told the board in a March 21 meeting. Currently, 30 students are in the programs sixth, seventh and eighth grade classes combined, said Lexington One Spokeswoman Libby Roof.

District staff are also struggling to fill German immersion teaching vacancies.

"I think education is just a hard sell right now," Ducate said. "German was already kind of slower than the other languages."

Still, teachers, students and parents involved with the program have contacted district staff and board members at meetings and privately to outline the German immersion program's benefits and propose solutions to its challenges.

"For immersion students that arrive in the high school, the core trait that sets them apart is confidence," said Lexington High School German Teacher Clay Hendrix. "They blow through those mistakes, and that kind of confidence is what you need to  master a language over the course of your life"

Learning German offers students a unique advantage in the workforce, Ducate said.

South Carolina is home to facilities of more than 200 German companies, including Scout Motors, a Volkswagen Group-backed automotive company that announced plans this month to open an EV plant in Blythewood.

"A German company would be more likely to hire someone who knows German and is familiar with the culture than someone who isn't," Ducate said.

Additionally, Germany is one of South Carolina's largest export markets, which gives German speakers a leg up in business, she said.

Students who study in immersion programs, compared to traditional language classes, are exponentially more likely to be fluent, and have a deeper understanding of the culture, Ducate said.

For these reasons, Lexington One staff has worked to keep the German immersion program afloat. In addition to extending the registration deadline for incoming Kindergartners until April 7, staff has displayed yard signs promoting the program, distributed fliers and worked with local libraries, Gaskins said. Also, the district has sent out emails, texts and social media posts advertising open spots in the Kindergarten class, she said.

To recruit teachers, Lexington One officials are working with national and international networks to find German teachers, Gaskins said.

The Lexington One Board will decide on April 11 whether to keep the German Immersion program around, if enrollment does not see a boost in the coming weeks.
S.C. Circuit Judge Casey Mannings secret order releasing a murderer 16 years early was irregular not just because he issued it without holding a hearing so police and victims could object. It also was irregular because he issued it without receiving the motion from a prosecutor that state l Read moreScoppe: The dramatic precedent for Judge Manning's final, dramatic act
CONGAREE  One of South Carolina's most-anticipated natural phenomena will light up the night beginning in mid-May, but chances to see it might be slim.

Watching the synchronous fireflies in Congaree National Park has become so popular in recent years that park staff had to implement a lottery system to distribute single-night passes.

This year's lottery opens online at 10 a.m. April 6 and will extend through April 12. The park is making available 130 passes for each night May 13-17 and May 19-24.

Winners of the lottery will be randomly selected, with results to be announced April 17.

Demand is high, though, and supply limited.

Last year, only 120 passes were available each night of the annual firefly-viewing event. But 8,500 households applied for a chance to see the insects rise.

Applicants represented all but a few states and several other countries, including Britain, France and Germany.

"We're glad that people want to come out and see this," said Jon Manchester, acting chief of interpretation and visitor services at Congaree National Park. "It's a pretty fantastic natural phenomenon, for sure."

The synchronous fireflies at Congaree are called Photuris frontalis, one of just three such species found in North America. They are known for their short, rapid flashes called the "snappy sync."

These critters thrive in mature forests and wet bottomland habitats like those found at Congaree, which sits almost 18 miles southeast of Columbia.

But too many people invading their space can be detrimental to the fireflies.

Manchester said the park started distributing passes three years ago through the lottery system because, on its busiest nights, about 2,000 people could enter the Congaree to see the bugs. And that negatively impacted the species.

The large crowd caused the trails to become compacted, and since most people wore insect repellent, the fireflies were pushed away.

"It diminishes their activity, and so they're not able to do what they're out to do, which is its reproduction," Manchester said.

The synchronized flashes are the fireflies' mating ritual.

Reducing the crowd sizes not only protected the habitat but made the experience better for visitors.

"They (visitors) can actually enjoy it and not feel like they're just crushed," Manchester said.

The park's superintendent, Greg Hauburger, said staff continues to look for ways to increase opportunities for people to view the phenomenon, while also doing all they can to protect the insects and ensure they are around for the future.

Rules are in place for anyone who wants to participate in the lottery and see the fireflies this year.

Lottery entries are limited to one per household. The passes will admit one passenger vehicle with up to two axels that can fit in a standard parking space. Vehicles can have a maximum of eight passengers, according to a news release from the Congaree National Park.

Event entry is between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. nightly to reduce the impact of vehicle headlights on firefly activity.

Manchester said activity should start around 8:30 p.m. And by 9:30, "they're going good," he said.

Each vehicle will be provided a low-lumen red flashlight to use as they navigate the park's grounds. This protects the fireflies and reduces the amount of ambient light in the viewing area.

More information on firefly etiquette and details about the event and lottery can be found on the Congaree National Park's website.
GREENVILLE  Kids will soon crawl, climb, scoot and slide at a soft play center slated to open at the Judson Mill redevelopment project.

Play Cafe will fill 17,000 square feet of the mill west of downtown Greenville and feature two play structures geared towards varying age levels.

The first structure, imagined for kids 2 years old to about 8, will have a 1,400-square-foot ground floor with an attached toddler play area, three slides and space to run. It can hold about 150 kids.

The other structure will have three levels, is right at 3,000 square feet and can fit about 270 kids ages 5 to 12. Air cannons will line the center of the Colosseum-shaped set where kids can shoot foam balls.

There will also be tiny buildings that resemble a princess castle, a veterinary office, and fire and police station. Around the perimeter of the space, 10 birthday rooms will be bookable for parties.

The center is the brainchild of Austin Motes and Daniel Kingsbury, two friends who attended the same church growing up.

When Motes and his family left a bounce house facility one day feeling overwhelmed by the noise and chaos, he sent a message to Kingsbury, who has a background in event rental services, encouraging him to open up his own indoor play center with a calmer environment. It took the duo almost a year to find the Judson Mill location since they needed a place with the proper ceiling height.

Now, they hope to open around back-to-school season this fall. The partners want to make a place that has a cafe feel where parents can sit in comfortable chairs and get a cup of coffee while their children play.

Motes and Kingsburys research and development process started by letting their kids loose at similar concepts and watching how they play. The duo also engaged their spouses and other parents to better understand what they prioritized. Most parents sought comfort, healthy food, clean sets and quiet, to which Kingsbury quickly added, "to an extent."

Classic foods like pizza will be served, but there will also be more health-focused foods like salads and sandwiches. The furniture will have power adapters nearby and televisions will be mounted on the walls.

Pricing is subject to change but the partners expect it will cost $15 for one child during the week and about $18 on the weekend. Once parents pay for one, every additional child in a family will be discounted in price.

Kids will wear wristband bracelets with their parents names on them. The play structures are located behind a locked gate. There will be a minimum of three full-time employees working every weekday, one of which will be dedicated to cleaning and straightening up. On the weekends, the employee count will rise to at least 10 a shift.

Tentatively the plans are to be open daily with hours on weekdays going from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The partners want to be flexible with the hours to accommodate having an hour or two on certain days dedicated to reserved groups, like parents with toddlers or children with special needs.

Judson Mill on Easley Bridge Road closed in 2015 when it was only one of two remaining operational textile mills in Greenville County. Two years later, North Carolina-based developer Belmont Sayre Holdings purchased the property. Taft Family Ventures, another North Carolina real estate developer, later signed on to transform the mill into apartments, offices and other retail uses.

People can keep up with Play Cafe at Judson Mill on Facebook.
CLEMSON  Clemson University has accepted more than 20,000 students for the fall of 2023, though it expects to admit fewer freshmen than last year.

The incoming class should be around 4,500 students, according to associate vice president for enrollment management David Kuskowski, a drop of 88 students from 2022.

Were working very hard to stabilize the first-year enrollment," Kuskowski said. Two years ago, we enrolled a first-year class that was about 300 students larger than we predicted.

President Jim Clements boasted multiple times this spring that the university saw around 60,000 applications, a Clemson record.

The universitys annual goal for undergraduate growth is 2 percent including transfer students, Kuskowski said. Clemson aims to maintain an in-state undergrad population of about 66 percent, he said, and around 55 percent of the 21,000 acceptance letters stayed in South Carolina.

Another 1,500 transfer students will join Clemson University in the fall and around 80 percent of them are in-state, Kuskowski said.

With only 7,630 beds on campus  4,626 dedicated to freshmen  Kuskowski reiterated that the models predicting prospective student attendance work really well. Even if those students dont commit to Clemson University, it is committed to feeding, housing and educating each student admitted.

Theyre all guaranteed housing, theyre all guaranteed to get the classes they need to make progress toward graduation, he said. So, the technical answer is  if more show up than expected, we will handle it.

All first year and Bridge students are required to live on campus, with about 3 percent exempt for students who live in the surrounding counties. The Bridge program is a dual-enrollment system for students to earn Clemson credits while attending Tri-County Technical College. There are 1,097 beds on campus dedicated to Bridge students.

There are 732 on-campus fraternity and sorority beds and 1,175 dedicated for upperclassmen and transfer students. The Douthit Hills complex added around 2,000 beds in seven residence halls when it opened in 2018 but that was after the demolition of Clemson House, university spokesman Joe Galbraith said.

With a goal to increase the student population by 2 percent each year, Galbraith said he wasnt immediately aware of any new on-campus housing plans.

There are going to continue to be future plans for student housing and making that work for campus growth, Galbraith said.

First-year students are the only ones guaranteed on-campus housing.
GREENVILLE  Prisma Health has created a new position to oversee its 11 cancer clinic sites across South Carolina as the health care provider continues to regionalize its organization between its two hubs in the Upstate and Midlands.

The states largest health care provider named Julian Kim president of the Prisma Health Cancer Institute on March 30. In the new role, Kim will oversee the health care systems cancer program, which treats approximately 8,000 cancer patients annually and has more than 300 active clinical trials.

Kim, a board-certified surgical oncologist, has worked for Prisma since 2018 as the senior medical director of Oncology Services in the Midlands and, most recently, as chair of the department of surgery at Prisma Health Richland Hospital.

It is an honor to step into this new role to help build upon the remarkable work of our Cancer Institute team of researchers and clinicians whose dedication to our patients and cancer medicine have led our expansive program to become the largest in the state, Kim said in a prepared statement. Our priorities are driven by an intense focus on patient-centered care, access to the most advanced treatment options, minimally invasive surgery, and innovation which encompasses clinical trials and research.

Kim is well-positioned to lead the growth and strategy of the cancer institute as a physician, scientist and clinical leader, said Jonathan Gleason, Prismas executive vice president and chief clinical officer.

His appointment comes as the institutes medical director, Dr. Larry Gluck, prepares to retire after nearly 40 years of oncology practice. Prisma launched a $3 million campaign for an endowed chair  the W. Larry Gluck, M.D. Endowed Chair of Translational and Molecular Oncology Research  in Glucks honor.

The cancer institute is in the midst of an expansion of its research and clinical programs following a 2019 grant for $8.2 million from National Institutes of Health for research and program expansion in the Midlands to increase access to clinical trials and treatments.

The future of medicine is to bring care closer to patients, Kim said. Our goal is to help patients have access to even more advanced treatments while staying closer to home.
Ashley Ridge senior Christian Lozano will represent his school and his state in a premier all-star soccer match. Read moreLozano selected for Clash of the Carolinas
In honor of the former CE Murray High School War Eagle turned University of South Carolina Gamecock, hundreds of fans throughout the county gathered downtown Kingstree Friday afternoon to celebrate Darius Rush Day, presented by the Williamsburg County School District. Read moreDarius Rush Day Celebrated
" " Google Chrome web browser has a bookmark bar where you can save your favorite websites for easy access. Thiago Prudencio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Oh, how we love our internet browser bookmarks. Whether you use this nifty tool to save your settings or as a shortcut to get to your favorite articles, videos and food sites, your bookmark bar is vital to your daily website use.

But what happens when you update your computer? You don't want to lose all of your favorite bookmarks. The good news if you don't have to. Knowing how to properly export them from a browser like Chrome will save all of them when you either update to a new computer or when you restore your browser settings in Chrome.
The Darius Rush Celebration Committee invites the community to a series of events that are being held in honor of Darius Rush, the former CE Murray High School War Eagle turned University of South Carolina Gamecock that is entering the NFL football draft in a few weeks. Read moreWCSD presents Darius Rush Day, parade to be held Friday, April 21
Mount Pleasant, SC (29464)

Today

A few showers early, then clouds lingering for the afternoon. High 73F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Myrtle Beach, SC (29577)

Today

A few showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. High 68F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low near 55F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
There was nothing easy about Plan B's victory in the 2023 South Carolina Wahoo Series, according to Capt. Daniel Driggers of Summerville. Participants in the event, which ran from Feb. 15-April 15, are allowed to select three fishing days, weigh their heaviest wahoo each day, and count the t Read moreSummerville crew wins $62,422 in 2023 SC Wahoo Series
A Mechanicsburg business owner will serve one year and one day in prison for owing more than $250,000 in taxes, U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam of the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Friday.

Travis Stelzer, 45, of Pelham, Massachusetts, was sentenced for tax evasion Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner.

Stelzer, who owns Top Gun Staffing Inc., filed tax forms with the Internal Revenue Service in January 2016 where he under-reported gross receipts for the business, and misrepresented the company's income, the release said.

On Oct. 3, he entered a guilty plea to tax evasion and agreed to pay $255,353 in restitution to the IRS, according to the release.

The IRS investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Consiglio prosecuted.
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RADNOR, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2023 / The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP( www.ktmc.com) informs investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been against Norfolk Southern Corporation ("Norfolk Southern") (NYSE:NSC). The action charges Norfolk Southern with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of Norfolk Southern's materially misleading statements and omissions to the public, Norfolk Southern's investors have suffered significant losses.CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR NORFOLK SOUTHERN LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/norfolk-southern-corporation?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=nsc&mktm=r CANNOT VIEW THIS VIDEO? PLEASE CLICK HERELEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: MAY 15, 2023CLASS PERIOD: OCTOBER 28, 2020 THROUGH MARCH 3, 2023CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via email at info@ ktmc.com Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.NORFOLK SOUTHERN'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCTFor several years leading up to the beginning of the Class Period, Norfolk Southern took a number of measures which put profits and executive compensation over safety. For example, in October 2018, Norfolk Southern adopted "Precision Scheduled Railroading" or "PSR" which was purportedly aimed at producing better service at a lower cost. In actuality, the company sought to increase revenues by cutting operating costs including reducing staff, running fewer, heavier, faster trains and optimizing the company's networks in order to increase efficiency. Norfolk Southern also began tying executive compensation to achieving PSR goals. For example, in 2021, multiple Norfolk Southern executives received millions of dollars in cash bonuses for reducing costs by achieving "record performance for train length and weight." Industry critics have warned that this type of compensation system incentivizes executives to cut costs at the expense of safety and also leads to longer and more dangerous trains which "have greater damage done, greater, larger pileups, fires and so on." At the same time, Norfolk Southern and its lobbyists played a key role in defeating an Obama-era safety rule that was used following a number of oil train accidents, including the "ECP Brake Rule" which was ultimately repealed in 2018.On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern Railway Company general merchandise freight train derailed 38 railcars in East Palestine, Ohio, leaving behind what the Associated Press called "a mangled and charred mass of boxcars and flames." The derailed equipment included 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited, fueling fires that damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars.On February 6, 2023, responders engaged in a controlled detonation and burn of the vinyl chloride, spewing massive volumes of chemicals into the vicinity. The chemicals released from the derailment entered the air and water of the surrounding residential areas, the closest of which were only 1,000 feet from the site of the accident. Following this news, the price of Norfolk Southern stock fell on February 6, 2023 - down $5.66 per share from its closing price on Friday, February 3, 2023.Then, on February 8, 2023, after lifting a previously issued evacuation order, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine stated that Norfolk Southern was "the one[] who created the problem. It's their liability. They're the ones who ought to pay for it." Following their return, numerous residents reported hazardous air quality and other health and environmental concerns. Following this news, the price of Norfolk Southern stock fell on February 9, 2023, closing at $238.98 per share - down $7.64 per share from its closing price of $246.62 per share on February 8, 2023.Thereafter, Norfolk Southern's stock price continued to drop in response to several other reports and public officials who spoke out about Norfolk Southern's liability for all of the harm and damage it had caused.On March 4, 2023, another Norfolk Southern freight train derailed near Springfield, Ohio. Two days later, on March 6, 2023, Norfolk Southern announced a 6-part plan to improve operational safety. Following this news, the price of Norfolk Southern stock fell again on March 6 and March 7, 2023, closing at $215.18 per share - down $13.21 per share from its closing price of $228.39 on Friday, March 3, 2023.WHAT CAN I DO?Norfolk Southern investors may, no later than May 15, 2023, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff for the class, through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLPor other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLPencourages Norfolk Southern investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information. The class action complaint against Norfolk Southern, captioned Bucks County Employees Retirement System v. Norfolk Southern Corporation, et al. and docketed under 23-cv-0982, is filed in the United States District Court for Southern District of Ohio (Eastern Division) before the Honorable Michael H. Watson.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASEWHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLPKessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and
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APPROACHING Lead Plaintiff Deadline is APRIL 3, 2023NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWORE / March 31, 2023 / Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP announces that a federal securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Block Inc. (NYSE:SQ) ("Block" or the "Company") securities during the period November 4, 2021 and April 4, 2022, including all former shareholders of Afterpay securities who acquired unregistered Block, Inc. Class A common stock (and/or corresponding SQ CHESS Depository Interests) in direct exchange for Afterpay shares pursuant to Block's January 31, 2022 acquisition and stock-for-stock merger with Afterpay.All investors who purchased shares and incurred losses are advised to contact the firm immediately at classmember@ whafh.com or (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4774. You may obtain additional information concerning the action or join the case on our website, www.whafh.com If you have incurred losses, you may, no later than April 3, 2023, request that the Court appoint you lead plaintiff of the proposed class. Please contact Wolf Haldenstein to learn more about your rights.PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR CONTACT AND TRANSACTION INFORMATIONThe filed Complaint alleges that Block operates a payment platform aimed at small and medium sized businesses, which allows them to accept credit card payments and to use tablet computers as payment registers for point-of-sale systems. Block offers a payment application called Cash App, which was initially designed to make Peer-to-Peer payments. Cash App has since been configured for additional uses including direct deposit payments, purchase of cryptocurrency and other investments. Cash App users are required to provide the Company with personally identifiable information to open an account on the platform.On August 1, 2020, Block (then known as Square) announced that Block and Afterpay, an independent Australian public company, reached agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition of Afterpay by Block. According to the Merger's terms, Block would acquire all outstanding ordinary shares of Afterpay in exchange for 0.375 shares of Square. The Company stated that it would rely on the exemptions under Section 3(a)(1)10 of the Securities Act to issue the new shares.Although shareholders approved the transaction, it is alleged that the misrepresentations underlying the fairness hearing and approval prevent the Block shares from qualifying for the Section 3(a)(10) exemption. Failure to strictly comply with Section 3(a)(10)'s requirements causes any corresponding offers or sales of these unregistered securities to be in violation of Section 5. Accordingly, the defendants were required to register newly issued Block shares, failed to ensure compliance with Section 3(a)(10)'s requirements, and affirmatively misrepresented and withheld an array of critical information from the New South Wales Court conducting the fairness hearing with respect to the Merger.Prior to the operative Class Period, Cash App user accounts had been hacked on numerous occasions resulting in transfer of customer funds. Many affected users found it nearly impossible to reach a live representative to discuss the security breaches. From February 2020 through March 2021, the Better Business Bureau received and reviewed 2,485 complaints concerning Cash App and 3,532 concerning Square. In 2020, before the Merger, Cash App user reviews mentioning the words "fraud" or "scam" increased by 335%.An August 2021 Medium article discussed the proliferation of hacking attacks on Cash App and Block's lack of response. Therein, the Company's numerous security breaches and breakdowns were blamed on the lack of adequate internal controls.On November 4, 2021, the Company filed its Quarterly Report with the SEC. Therein, the Company disclosed the hypothetical risks security breaches could adversely affect the Company's business.On December 17, 2021, Block notified its shareholders that a fairness hearing was conducted in the New South Wales Court, which approved the transaction based on defendants' representations.At the time of the Merger exchange on January 31, 2022, defendants had still made no disclosure of the early December 2021 data breach. It was not until April 4, 2022, that Block revealed a massive data breached occurred four months earlier, before the December 17, 2021 fairness hearing before the New South Wales Court and well before the January 31, 2022 Merger exchange. The Company admitted that a "former employee downloaded certain report of its subsidiary Cash App Investing LLC on December 10, 2021, that contained some U.S. customer information" and according to Block, the information was "accessed without permission after their employment ended." The Company also revealed that the information accessed included customer personal information.Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in New York, Chicago and San Diego. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation.If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions regarding your rights and interests in this case, please immediately contact Wolf Haldenstein by telephone at (800) 575-0735 or via e-mail at classmember@ whafh.com Contact:Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLPPatrick Donovan, Esq.Gregory Stone, Director of Case and Financial AnalysisEmail: gstone@ whafh.com , donovan@ whafh.com or classmember@ whafh.com Tel: (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4774This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.SOURCE: Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP
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Commercial Consultants Network Launches "Commercial Real Estate 101," Becoming Known For Their Can-Do Attitude And Their Desire to Educate Those in the Real Estate GameNEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Commercial Consultants Network announced today that it has launched a new training initiative to help equip New York and New Jersey based real estate professionals. Founded by a group of real estate professionals with over 100 years of combined experience in real estate and mortgage development, New York-based CCN is a company that provides commercial real estate lending and consulting services with a fully streamlined approach. Their specialties include financing solutions for commercial properties of all asset classes and they work with a network of lenders to help their clients secure financing for their projects. By initiating their new training initiative, they are looking to equip the next generation of real estate professionals looking to engage in the commercial real estate industry.Addressing An Industry NeedAccording to a company representative, CCN felt that the industry was lacking in sufficient industry professionals to offer services, causing a congested market. Using their expertise, they aimed to give back to other real estate professionals in their area. CCN has now begun offering a monthly course in conjunction with the New York and New Jersey Boards of Real Estate, "Commercial Real Estate 101." Each month, they will be offering a class to educate residential real estate professionals about commercial real estate and commercial real estate finance.A representative at CCN shares, "We brought speed and efficiency to the commercial world to make it seamless now we are offering that expertise in the training space as well." Their monthly course, "Commercial Real Estate 101" takes their approach and focuses on educating real estate professionals on commercial real estate and commercial lending. "We are giving back to the real estate community to keep it moving forward." They are constantly open to new applicants hoping to partner with and learn from the acquired experiences and knowledge at CCN.For those interested in working with CCN and connecting with them as a potential student of commercial real estate, one can expect hands-on experience and a level of expertise that is unmatched due to their years of combined experience. A network and community of real estate professionals at one's fingertips will allow each new lesson in "Commercial Real Estate 101" to be just as enlightening as the one before. They can be found on their website; https://cc-nw.com or contact them through email; info@ cc-nw.com Company Summary:CCN is a New Jersey based company that specializes in commercial real estate transactions. Founded by a group of real estate professionals with over 100 years of combined experience in real estate and mortgage development, New York-based CCN is a company that provides commercial real estate lending and consulting services with a fully streamlined approach. Their specialties include financing solutions for commercial properties of all asset classes and they work with a network of lenders to help their clients secure financing for their projects.Media DetailsWebsite URL: https://cc-nw.com Company Name: Commercial Consultants NetworkContact: Tracie Bonilla(Company Representative)Email address:info@ cc-nw.com SOURCE: Commercial Consultants Network
It was a verbal equivalent to a kick in the pants.

Whoever wrote the column demanded less talk and more action in the push to have Mount Holly Springs split off from South Middleton Township as an independent borough.

Local historian and former Sentinel editor Fred Burgess found a reference on the website newspapers.com that sheds some light on how his hometown set itself up for incorporation 150 years ago this April.

Burgess is on a committee putting together a history booklet for a series of commemorative events planned for next month. The booklet will be free, limit one per household, to families living in the 17065 ZIP code. Preorder forms are available at the borough municipal building, 200 Harman St., or the Amelia Givin Library, 114 N. Baltimore Ave.

While doing research on the incorporation, Burgess came across a Mt. Holly Correspondence published in the Feb. 1, 1872, edition of the Carlisle Evening Herald. The column mentioned something printed in the Mountain Echo, a weekly newspaper in Mount Holly Springs.

The assertion was echoed far and wide some weeks by our village sheet that Mt. Holly Springs would be a borough before many days, the column reads. And yet, despite the outcry of support, the writer failed to notice any effort being made beyond a lot of idle chatter among local residents who gathered nightly in downtown stores and shoemaker shops.

The gist of the column was that Holly residents felt that their tax money should be applied to Holly roads and schools rather than benefit more rural areas of the township, Burgess said. At the time, the village probably had the largest concentration of people in South Middleton Township, he said.

The amount collected of us annually in the shape of school tax is sufficient to give us three schools, with a term of eight months, instead of two schools with a six month term, the column reads. The writer predicted that a Mount Holly Springs borough could operate for half the sum that village residents pay in road tax revenue spent in other parts of the township.

Though a poll of Holly residents hinted there was little opposition, the writer was convinced the outside influence of other township residents could jeopardize the effort to incorporate:

Our friends surrounding us are very loath to allow us to set up a little government of our own, not because they think we are unable to manage our own affairs, but because the little item of tax which we have been dropping into the township treasury, over and above the amount expended here for school and road purposes, might make them feel very uncomfortable about the region of their pockets.

The writer concluded with a call to action. To obtain a charter, our people must take a more active part and ride down the opposition while in its infancy, for the old fogies are not idle, the column reads. A meeting should be called at once.

In his research, Burgess could find no other reference detailing the events leading up to April 10, 1873, when Mount Holly Springs was officially incorporated into a borough during a ceremony at what was then a school at 100 Chestnut St.

Today, that building houses one of the two stations of Citizens Fire Co. No. 1. A Proclamation Day ceremony is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 10 at the fire hall. The ceremony is public and refreshments will be served.

We will be doing a reenactment of the Act of Incorporation, Borough Mayor Brian Robertson said. The Sesquicentennial Booklet will also be distributed there to those in the 17065 ZIP code. Poster displays of the Charter of 1851 and the Act of Incorporation of 1873 can be viewed.

Borough Manager Tom Day was looking through the safe in the municipal building when he came across the ledger that contained the paperwork that established Mount Holly Springs first as a village and then as a borough. Copies of the documents were enlarged to make the exhibits.

The ceremony at the fire hall will be repeated during the borough council meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. April 10 in the municipal building. There are two other events scheduled in April tied to the 150th anniversary of the incorporation.

From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., April 12, brothers Fred and Jim Burgess will present a history of the Mount Holly Springs at the Cumberland County Historical Society, 21 N. Pitt St. For more information and to RSVP, visit the societys website at www.historicalsociety.com.

On April 15, Ryan Boyles will present a theatrical pageant at 7 p.m. at the Mount Holly Springs Church of God, 602 McLand Road. Called Holly Heroines: Stories Seldom Told, the production focuses on prominent people in local history.

Tickets are required and can be purchased at the Amelia Givin Library or the Whimsical Poppy, 417 N. Baltimore Ave. The cost is $10 for the show only or $25 for the show, hors doeuvres and dessert. Proceeds are to benefit the library.

Other events with a history angle are:

A Trine Park Appreciation Day that starts at 9 a.m. July 8. It will include a display of small items that will go into a community time capsule to be opened 50 years from now. To make a contribution to the time capsule, contact the borough office at 717-486-7613. The items will be sealed inside the capsule to be locked inside the safe.

On Aug. 5, historical society Education Director Matthew March will conduct a walking tour of Mount Holly Springs. He grew up in the borough. A prior registration and fee is required to participate. For more information, visit the societys website.

The Mount Tabor Preservation Project will host tours of the Black church and cemetery on Cedar Street every second Saturday from April to October at 1 p.m.

It has always been a working class town, said Fred Burgess, who grew up in Mount Holly Springs. He said the town first flourished off the water power provided by Mountain Creek. The earliest industry was based on iron ore extraction and processing. This was followed by the paper mills.

As a committee member, Fred Burgess took the lead in putting together the Sesquicentennial booklet that will be in a then-and-now format featuring vintage and present-day photographs of notable buildings and other scenes throughout the town. The booklet was laid out by Ron Kuhn, who also has ties to Mount Holly Springs.

A retired school principal and teacher, Jim Burgess grew up in Mount Holly Springs. His role on the committee was to handle the marketing and fundraising behind the booklets production. The project is being funded by a combination of private donations and a $1,500 historical society grant. The goal is to have the booklets available by April 3.

My big interest is to make sure the young people of today are exposed to history so that history doesnt get lost, Jim Burgess said. Connecting future generations with the past has been my passion.

Other committee members include March and Pam Still whose research into the prominent women of Mount Holly Springs formed the basis of the script for Holly Heroines.
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RADNOR, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2023 / The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP( www.ktmc.com) informs investors that securities class action complaints have been filed against Credit Suisse Group AG ("Credit Suisse") (NYSE:CS). The complaints charge Credit Suisse with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of Credit Suisse's materially misleading statements and omissions to the public, Credit Suisse's investors have suffered significant losses.CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR CREDIT SUISSE LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/credit-suisse-group-ag?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=cs&mktm=r CANNOT VIEW THIS VIDEO? PLEASE CLICK HERELEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: MAY 8, 2023CLASS PERIOD: MARCH 10, 2022 THROUGH MARCH 20, 2023CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via email at info@ ktmc.com Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.CREDIT SUISSE'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCTOn March 10, 2022, Credit Suisse filed with the SEC its 2021 annual report on a Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021. The 2021 annual report failed to identify any material weaknesses with Credit Suisse's internal controls.On December 1, 2022, Credit Suisse's Chairman, 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, Lehmann reiterated his previous statements, reassuring investors that as of November 11, 2022, customer outflows had "basically stopped." Following Lehmann's statements, Credit Suisse's American Depository Share ("ADS") price rose $0.29 per ADS, or 9.36%, to close at $3.38 per ADS on December 2, 2022.Then on February 9, 2023, Credit Suisse issued a press release announcing its 2022 financial results. The press release revealed that, contrary to Lehmann's 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. Following this news, Credit Suisse's ADS price fell $0.56 per ADS, or 15.64%, to close at $3.02 per ADS on February 9, 2023.On February 21, 2023, Reuters reported that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority was reviewing Lehmann's previous comments regarding customer outflows. Following this news, Credit Suisse's ADS price fell another $0.10 per ADS, or 3.31%, to close at $2.92 per ADS on February 21, 2023.Then on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, Credit Suisse issued its annual 2022 report and revealed that it had identified "certain material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting" for the years 2021 and 2022. Additionally, on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, the chairman of Credit Suisse's largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, which holds 9.88% of Credit Suisse, announced that it won't provide further financial support to Credit Suisse and that it would not buy more shares on regulatory grounds.Following this news, the price of Credit Suisse ADSs fell 13.94% to close at $2.16 per ADS on March 15, 2023.Finally, on March 20, 2023, Credit Suisse issued an announcement on Form 6-K of its merger agreement with Union Bank of Switzerland and that Union Bank of Switzerland would be the surviving entity upon closing of the merger transaction.Following this news, the price of Credit Suisse ADSs fell 52.99% to close at $0.9450 per ADS on March 20, 2023.WHAT CAN I DO?Credit Suisse investors may, no later than May 8, 2023, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff for the class, through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLPor other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages Credit Suisse investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information. The first class action complaint against Credit Suisse, Calhoun v. Credit Suisse Group AG, et al. Case No. 23-cv-01297, is filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey before the Honorable Karen McGlashan Williams.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASEWHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLPKessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. The complaints were not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com CONTACT:Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLPJonathan Naji, Esq.280 King of Prussia RoadRadnor, PA 19087(484) 270-1453info@ ktmc.com SOURCE: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
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NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2023 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until May 8, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in securities class action lawsuits against Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS), if they purchased the Company's securities between March 10, 2022 and March 15, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). These actions are pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of Credit Suisse and would like to discuss your legal rights and how these cases might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cs/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in the class action, you must petition the Court by May 8, 2023.About the LawsuitsCredit Suisse and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On February 9, 2023, the Company announced its 2022 financial results, disclosing that, contrary to its prior statements, it had continued to experience large customer outflows through yearend 2022, specifically, outflows of 110.5 billion Swiss francs in the final three months of 2022, a figure which far exceeded market expectations. On this news, shares of Credit Suisse fell $0.56 per ADS, or 15.64%, to close at $3.02 per ADS on February 9, 2023. Then, on March 15, 2023, news media sources revealed that the Company's "biggest backer," Saudi National Bank, would not buy any more of the Company's shares on regulatory grounds. On this news, shares of Credit Suisse fell 13.94% to close at $2.16 per ADS.The case is Calhoun v. Credit Suisse Group AG, et al., No. 23-cv-01297.A subsequently-filed case, Turner v. Credit Suisse Group AG, et al., No. 23-cv-01476, expanded the class period.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
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NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2023 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until May 1, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Dutch Bros Inc. ("Dutch" or the "Company") (NYSE:BROS), if they purchased the Company's securities between March 1, 2022 and May 11, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of Dutch and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-bros/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by May 1, 2023.About the LawsuitDutch Bros and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On May 11, 2022, the Company disclosed dismal 1Q2022 financial results including a net loss of $16.3 million, compared to a net loss of $4.8 million for the first quarter of 2021 and an adjusted net loss of $2.5 million (a loss of $0.02 per share), which fell below analysts' expectations, due to its failure to "perceive the speed and magnitude of cost escalation within the quarter," among other things.On this news, shares of Dutch fell $9.26, or 26.9%, to close at $25.11 per share on May 12, 2022.The case is Peacock v. Dutch Bros Inc., et al., No. 23-cv-01797.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com CONTACT:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
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SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 28, 2023 / Elektros (OTC PINK:ELEK), an emerging leader in the electric mobility industry, announces the launch of its new clean energy technology brand, Elektros Energy.Elektros Energy brand will better reflect its focus on such areas as Lithium mining, EV charging, solar energy, and innovative solutions to help accelerate the world's transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.Lithium mining is a critical component of the clean energy industry, as it is a key material used in the production of batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. Elektros Energy is committed to responsibly sourcing Lithium, ensuring that it is extracted in an environmentally and socially responsible way.Elektros recently announced it had begun discussions regarding potential stake or development agreement for virgin Lithium mining project located in Sierra Leon, Africa.EV charging is another area of focus for Elektros Energy, as the demand for electric vehicles continues to rise. The company is working on developing fast, reliable, and accessible charging solutions for EV drivers to make it easier for them to adopt this sustainable mode of transportation.The company's patent pending Multi-Port Charging Assembly allows users to use multiple charging features on electric vehicles we plan to not only include in our designs, but aggressively market to major electric vehicle manufacturers under licensing agreements.MISSION STATEMENTAt Elektros, our mission is to revolutionize the clean technology industry by developing innovative and sustainable solutions that empower individuals, businesses, and communities to transition to a greener future. We believe that by harnessing the power of technology, we can create a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable world for generations to come.We are committed to using the latest advancements in science and engineering to design and manufacture cutting-edge products that meet the highest standards of quality, efficiency, and sustainability. We strive to minimize our environmental impact by adopting sustainable practices in our operations and supply chain, while maximizing social impact through our partnerships and community engagement initiatives.At Elektros, we believe that clean technology is the key to unlocking a brighter future, and we are dedicated to making that future a reality. We are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible, and we are committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for our customers, our stakeholders, and the planet.For more information about Elektros Energy, please visit www.elektrosenergy.com About Elektros, Inc.Elektros, Inc. is a leading technology company dedicated to the development of innovative clean energy solutions. The company is focused on advancing the world's transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future through its work in electric vehicles (EV), Lithium mining, EV charging, and solar power. With a commitment to responsible sourcing and sustainability, Elektros is working to create a more environmentally and socially conscious world. Through its focus on cutting-edge technologies and a team of experienced professionals, Elektros is poised to make a significant impact on the clean energy industry and help drive positive change for generations to come. www.elektrosenergy.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/elektrosenergy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Elektrosmotors/ Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking StatementsThis release contains "forward-looking statements" that include information relating to future events and future financial and operating performance. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "can," "believe," "potential," and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in demand for Elektros, Inc.'s products, the introduction of new products, the Company's ability to maintain customer and strategic business relationships, the impact of competitive products and pricing, growth in targeted markets, the adequacy of the Company's liquidity and financial strength to support its growth, and other information that may be detailed from time to time in Elektros Inc.'s filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Examples of such forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future sales, costs, and market acceptance of products as well as regulatory actions at the State or Federal level. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting Elektros Inc., please refer to the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which are available at www.sec.gov . Elektros, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.CONTACT:Elektros, Inc.Email: info@ elektrosmotors.com SOURCE: Elektros, Inc.
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The stability of mining jobs in Australia has been a topic of interest for many individuals and industries, especially in recent times when job security is more important than ever.PERTH, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / According to Techforce, a leading recruitment and workforce management company with extensive experience in supplying qualified employees to a range of mining positions, including rigger jobs and FIFO chef jobs Perth-wide, the demand for minerals and resources continues to increase globally, particularly in countries such as China and India. Australia is a significant contributor to the global supply of minerals such as iron ore, coal, gold and natural gas, and this demand is expected to remain strong for the foreseeable future.rigger jobs, chef jobs, mining chef jobs, fifo chef jobs perth Techforce explains the advancements in mining technology have improved productivity and efficiency, making mining operations in Australia more competitive globally. The adoption of automation and artificial intelligence has reduced the risk of accidents and has made mining jobs safer and more appealing to a wider pool of potential employees.Australia has a stable political and economic environment, which Techforce points out is an essential factor in attracting foreign investment and ensuring the longevity of mining operations. The government has implemented policies and regulations that promote sustainable mining practices, which further enhance the stability of the industry.The mining sector in Australia provides a significant contribution to the national economy, creating jobs and generating revenue. According to the Minerals Council of Australia, the industry employs over 250,000 people directly and indirectly and contributed over AUD 230 billion to the economy in the 2020 financial year.As Techforce points out, the mining sector in Australia has demonstrated resilience in the face of economic and environmental challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry has adapted quickly to changing conditions, implementing strict health and safety protocols and reducing carbon emissions, which has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability.Techforce explains that the industry will continue to provide secure and rewarding jobs for Australians for years to come with highly varied job opportunities available, such as chef jobs as well as specialised computer and IT positions.To discover current job opportunities, including mining chef jobs and more, visit Techforce online today.About TechforceTechforce Personnel is a national privately owned recruitment and workforce management company experienced in supplying qualified employees to a range of industries across Australia and New Zealand.Contact InformationTechforce PersonnelMarketing Managerrecruitment@ techforce.com.au (08) 6363 7040SOURCE: Techforce
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NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2023 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until May 5, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS), if they purchased the Company's shares between February 9, 2021 and February 10, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.What You May DoIf you purchased shares of Fidelity National and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-fis/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by May 5, 2023.About the LawsuitFidelity National and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On July 31, 2019, the Company announced it had completed the acquisition of payments company Worldpay, Inc. for $43 billion, which became part of the Fidelity National Merchant Solutions business. The Company subsequently, assured investors that the integration of Worldpay was "ahead of schedule," achieved "success in revenue synergies," and ultimately was "successfully completed" throughout the Class Period. Then, on February 13, 2023, the Company disclosed that it would be spinning off Worldpay and recording a goodwill impairment charge of $17.6 billion related to its Merchants Solutions business, a write-down of more than 40% of the purchase price for Worldpay just a few years earlier.On this news, shares of Fidelity National fell more than 12%, from a closing price of $75.43 per share on the prior trading day of February 10, 2023 to a closing price of $66.00 per share on February 13, 2023.The case is Palm Bay Police and Firefighters' Pension Fund v. Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., No. 23-cv-252.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / "The "First Meet in New York - 2023 Holo Metaverse Ecology Summit" is an upcoming event that is generating excitement within the industry. As the world becomes more reliant on digital technologies, it is important for businesses to understand the potential benefits of emerging technologies like the metaverse and blockchain.The Holo Foundation, as a nonprofit organization, created under the flagship of the Holo Metaverse Group, is dedicated to exploring, understanding, and harnessing the power of blockchain technology, the metaverse, and holographic technology. The organization's focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) ensures that these businesses have access to the latest technological advancements, allowing them to stay competitive in the global marketplace.During the conference on March 28th,2023, Ms. Fibona Ning emphasized the importance of creating an ecosystem for the integration of industry best practices and technological research. The Holo Foundation aims to guide SMEs with holographic thinking to unite in the face of hardships, establish fair competition rules, and create an inclusive and open business environment accessible to all.The upcoming summit will explore the landing and promotion of the new metaverse ecosystem industry. The event will be attended by nearly 20,000 experts, scholars, corporate representatives, political representatives, and media professionals. The conference will provide a forum for these industry leaders to share ideas and explore the potential of the metaverse ecosystem industry.Dr. Samuel Scott, International Business and Trade Economist, General Partner, Global Strategy Group, LLC, Mr. Brian Cavalli, Vice President of Business Development from DataTracks, and Mr. Ping Jiang, Mentor of the Metaverse Intelligent Space from China, also attended the conference and delivered insightful remarks. Their expertise and insights will be invaluable in shaping the discussions and outcomes of the upcoming summit.In conclusion, the "First Meet in New York - 2023 Holo Metaverse Ecology Summit" is set to be a significant event that will shape the future of the metaverse ecosystem industry. As the world becomes more reliant on digital technologies, it is vital for businesses to stay informed and up-to-date on emerging technologies. The Holo Foundation's mission to lead SMEs' business expansion and innovation through the integration of industry best practices and technological research is sure to create a more transparent and secure world that shares equal access to global resources. The summit will provide a unique opportunity for industry leaders to come together to explore and shape the future of the metaverse ecosystem industry.Media Contact:Tenny LoPublic Relationstennylo@ holo-foundation.org 5169985689SOURCE: Holo Foundation
PR-Inside.com: 2023-03-31 18:26:20

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One cannot deny the fact that the world survives on food, and agriculture is the only sustainable method of achieving it. Agriculture happens to be an essential sector that plays a vital role in the economic, social, and environmental well-being of societies. Along with production of food, the agriculture is necessary for employment, security of food and environmental sustainability. The rise of technology has only helped the agriculture sector grow. Digital farming, also known as precision agriculture or smart farming is the future of this planet. It is an approach to agriculture that uses technology to improve crop yields, reduce waste, and optimize resource use. It involves the use of various technologies, such as drones, GPS, sensors, and big data analytics, to collect and analyze data on soil moisture, temperature, nutrient levels, and other environmental factors that can affect crop growth. Farmers can then use this data to make more informed decisions about planting, fertilizing, irrigating, and harvesting crops. Digital farming has the potential to improve crop yields, reduce waste, and promote sustainable agriculture. It can also help farmers to optimize resource use, reducing the environmental impact of agriculture. With the help of digital farming, farmers can make more informed decisions about crop management, resulting in a more efficient and productive agricultural system. Owing to numerous factors, the global digital farming market has been making progress.Get PDF sample report with related graphs & charts (Pre & post COVID-19 impact analysis): https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/request_sample.php?id=1433 Rise in the demand for access to timely valuable insights so that they are capable of adopting best practices and manage farms is aiding the global digital farming market grow. Meanwhile, the growth of the global digital farming market faces a roadblock due to increased cost of adoption. On the other hand, the global digital farming market will continue to grow rampantly due to increasing use of technology that is highly advanced.View our exclusive press releases on Industry Global News24Global Targeted Protein Degradation Market  https://industryglobalnews24.com/global-targeted-protein-degradation-market-by-offering-potential-targets-type-of-diseases-and-region Global Free Space Optics (FSO) Communication Market  https://industryglobalnews24.com/global-free-space-optics-fso-communication-market-by-range-application-end-use-industries-and-region Key Takeaways of the Report: On the basis of the technology, the global digital farming market is bifurcated into internet of things (IoT) and sensors, drones, blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, virtual reality and others. The blockchain technology that is used in cryptocurrency too will be minting money at the fastest rate. The region of Asia Pacific will be garnering huge money for the global digital farming market at the quickest rate in next several years. China and India are not only the biggest countries in terms of population but also the number of people engaged and dependent on agriculture. Technology companies are trying to en cash on this opportunity and this will drive the growth of the market in the territory.Speak to our analyst in case of queries before buying this report: https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=1433 Global Digital Farming Market Participants: Accenture Aegis Softech BASF SE Bayer AG Cropin Technology Solutions Private Limited DunavNET Infosys Limited ITC Infotech India Ltd. Kheti Buddy NETAFIM PROLIM Tata Consultancy Services Limited YARA Other Market ParticipantsPurchase the latest in-depth Global Digital Farming Market Report @ https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/checkout?id=1433 Global Digital Farming Market:By Offerings Hardware Solutionso Cloud Basedo On-premise ServicesBy Technology Internet of Things (IoT) and Sensors Drones Blockchain Artificial Intelligence Robotics Virtual Reality OthersBy Application Vineyards/ Orchards Vegetable farmingo Seed Research and Developmento Seed Productiono Seed Processing and Trackingo Seed Distribution and Sales Greenhouse management Poultry Farms Silo Management Asset Monitoring Feed Storage management OthersBy Deployment Web based App basedBy Farm Size Large Agricultural Corporations Small/ family-owned FarmsBy Region North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America) Europe (France, The UK, Spain, Germany, Italy, Nordic Countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway), Benelux Union (Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg), Rest of Europe Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Rest of Southeast Asia), Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Kuwait, South Africa, Rest of Middle East & Africa) Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America)Request for customization to meet your precise research requirements: https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/request_for_customization.php?id=1433 Top Reports:Harvest Automation Robot Market  https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/reports/Global-Harvest-Automation-Robot-Market-2021-2029-1054 Global Bioherbicides Market  https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/reports/Global-Bioherbicides-Market-2021-2029-1019 About Us:Absolute Markets Insights assists in providing accurate and latest trends related to consumer demand, consumer behavior, sales, and growth opportunities, for the better understanding of the market, thus helping in product designing, featuring, and demanding forecasts. Our experts provide you the end-products that can provide transparency, actionable data, cross-channel deployment program, performance, accurate testing capabilities and the ability to promote ongoing optimization. From the in-depth analysis and segregation, we serve our clients to fulfill their immediate as well as ongoing research requirements. Minute analysis impact large decisions and thereby the source of business intelligence (BI) plays an important role, which keeps us upgraded with current and upcoming market scenarios.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.Class Period: Oct. 8, 2020 - Mar. 3, 2023Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 15, 2023Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/NSC Contact An Attorney Now: NSC@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) Securities Fraud Class Action:The complaint alleges that Defendants misrepresented and concealed material facts concerning Norfolk Southern's increased risk-taking at the expense of reasonable safety precautions due to the company's near-term focus on profits.Specifically, the company invoked a plan to, among other things, use longer, heavier trains staffed by fewer personnel, which led to increased train derailments and the risk of future catastrophic events. The complaint also alleges that while failing to make proper capital expenditures in safety risk programs, the company concurrently lobbied for policies undermining its ability to provide safe, efficient, and reliable rail transportation services.The complaint alleges that this undisclosed conduct made Norfolk Southern more susceptible to accidents that could seriously harm the company, its workers, its customers, third parties, and the environment.The true facts began to emerge on Feb. 3, 2023, when a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The derailed equipment included 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited and required the immediate evacuation of those within a one-mile by two-mile area. According to regulators, the derailment was entirely preventable.An additional revelation of Norfolk Southern's safety lapses occurred on Mar. 14, 2023, when another of its freight trains derailed near Springfield, Ohio."We're focused on investors' losses and proving Norfolk Southern put profits over safety," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Norfolk Southern and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Norfolk Southern 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 NSC@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens BermanHagens 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.Contact:Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.Class Period: Apr. 26, 2018 - Mar. 13, 2023Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 19, 2023Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/RAD Contact An Attorney Now: RAD@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) Securities Fraud Class Action:The litigation focuses on Rite Aid's compliance with federal regulations concerning its pharmacies' prescriptions practices and its federal healthcare program reimbursement billing.According to the complaint, Defendants made false and misleading statements or failed to disclose that Rite Aid: (1) filled hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose until June 2019; (2) ignored evidence that its stores were dispensing unlawful prescriptions and intentionally deleted internal notes about suspicious prescribers written by concerned pharmacists; (4) violated the Controlled Substances Act by knowingly filling unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances; and (5) violated the False Claims Act when it sought reimbursement from federal healthcare programs.Investors began to learn the truth on Mar. 13, 2023, when the US Department of Justice announced it filed a lawsuit against Rite Aid alleging that the company knowingly filled hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances and knowingly submitted false or fraudulent reimbursement claims for such prescriptions to federal healthcare programs. The DOJ alleges these activities violate the Controlled Substances Act and the False Claims Act and states, in part, "[w]hile making millions of dollars [Rite Aid] opened the floodgates for millions of pills of opioids and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of [its] stores." This news sent the price of Rite Aid shares sharply lower."We're focused on investors' losses and proving Rite Aid's decision to put profits ahead of safety enabled it to record illegally-generated revenues," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Rite Aid and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Rite Aid 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 RAD@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens BermanHagens 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.Contact:Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
Minerva White was in for a rude awakening around midnight on July 9-10, 1904.

She had dozed off while waiting for teams of horses to pass through the toll gate in the Holly Gap.

Like her late mother, Matilda Vickers, White was the gate keeper in charge of a segment of road between Carlisle and Gettysburg. The door to the toll house was open. She was not in the habit of locking it.

Deep in slumber, White was startled by the press of hands on her shoulders, the Carlisle Evening Herald reported on July 11. When she opened her eyes, all was dark  the thief having extinguished the lamps.

A furious shuffle then ensued in which the assailant dashed her against the floor, the story reads. Miss White begged for her release and offered to give the desperado five dollars. It was all the money she had if he would let her free. He did just what was asked of him.

Newspaper accounts vary slightly on what happened next. The Herald reported that White got up to light the lamp and retrieve the cash. She told him to come and get the money, but he would not do it, the story reads. Then Miss White threw it outside, set the lamp on the table and collapsed into the chair. The thief then took the money and made her escape.

The Sentinel, in its coverage, reported that White got a light to retrieve the money, but the culprit went outside to avoid being identified. She then threw the $5 dollar bill out the window to her assailant who escaped into the night.

The Sentinel correspondent for Mount Holly Springs had a different version of the assault. That journalist wrote that White was awakened by a slap on the shoulder only to discover that the lamp she had placed on the table was extinguished.

She thought that it was some friend trying to play a joke on her, the correspondent reported. [She] called him by name and asked him to light the light and stop his foolishness, but the friend never spoke, but seized by the waist  hurled her to the floor and struggled with her. At the same time, the victim [was] fighting with all the strength her poor weak body could muster  appealing to him

The struggle lasted about one hour, the correspondent reported. Before leaving, he lifted her from the floor and placed her in a chair. Miss White suffers from a number of bruises on the body and limbs  the result of being dragged around the room by her assailant.

The suspect

Soon after the assailant left, two men, Huber Morrison and Ross Rudolph, were passing by the toll house when they heard White moan, the Herald reported. They investigated and saw the condition in which she was in.

Morrison and Rudolph went to the home of James Steese in Mount Holly Springs and woke him up. Together, they returned to the toll house where White had recovered enough to give her account of the assault along with a description of her assailant as being heavy set with a mustache.

As word circulated, local residents were outraged and Constable H.J. Bentley of Carlisle was dispatched to the scene to investigate the crime. Suspicions fell on George Smith of Mount Holly Spring who was found in a hut about a mile and a half west of Mount Holly Springs, the Herald reported.

Smith was held in the Cumberland County jail until July 15 when he was transported back to Mount Holly Springs for a hearing before the local magisterial district judge.

Several witnesses were heard, including White who could not positively identify Smith as her assailant though his appearance closely matched her description. A search during his arrest turned up a $5 dollar bill. The Sentinel, in its coverage, described Smith as a 35-year-old man employed by the repair gang of the Carlisle-Mount Holly Springs railway.

On July 20, the Herald reported that Smith had posted $600 in bail and was released from the county jail. Almost two months later, on Sept. 15, The Sentinel reported that a grand jury had opted to ignore the bill of indictment against Smith on the charges of larceny and assault involving the White case.

Surprise finish

Thirteen months later, on Oct. 28, 1905, White died at 76 of heart failure. But her story didnt end there. In fact, it took an unexpected turn.

Nearly a bushel of silver was found in the attic of the toll gate house at Mount Holly upon the death of Miss Minerva White this morning, The Sentinel reported. This was evidently the accumulation of many years. It was gathered up by Joshua P. Bixler and brought to Carlisle where it was placed in the vault of the Carlisle Deposit Bank until a legal executive or representative is appointed. It is not known that she [Minerva] has any living relatives.

Bixler was the turnpike official tasked with the disposition of the tolls collected by White. Part of his job was to search the premises after her death for paperwork belonging to the company.

On April 6, 1936, The Sentinel reprinted excerpts from a 1904 news article from the newspaper the Mt. Holly Echo. That article stated that White and her mother traveled from Virginia to Mount Holly Springs in 1859. White was employed in the local paper mills until about 1870 when she and her mother took charge of the toll gate and supplemented their income by keeping a small store.

After her mother died in 1885, White took over the management of the toll gate. She lived alone and collected tolls up until a few days of her death.

The stash found in late October 1905 took the form of silver coins tied up in various paper packages. Just over a week later, on Nov. 7, The Sentinel reported that several ladies had found within the toll house different sums of money totaling $1,125 bringing up the total value of the hoarded savings to $3,775.

On July 17, 1906, just over two years after White was assaulted, The Sentinel reported that a decision had been reached on the disposition of the money recovered from the toll house.

After expenses, costs and claims are paid, the state will get over $2,500, the news article read. This morning in court, D.M. Graham, auditor of the estate, reported that the property of the deceased goes to the state, there being no heirs or known kindred.

While there were rumors of heirs in Maryland, Virginia, Minnesota and Chester County, Pennsylvania, nothing ever came out of those follow-up investigations.
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Acquisition Strengthens Marketing and Nationwide Distribution Network for Healthtech SubsidiariesCombination of Companies Will Contribute to Healthtech Solutions' Growth and Profitability and Will Increase Shareholder ValueTUCKAHOE, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Healthtech Solutions Inc. (OTC PINK:HLTT), via its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufacturers and commercializes a line of wound care products including DermaBind, a dehydrated placental membrane allograft wound covering produced using patented technology and processes. The company today announced the acquisition of 51 percent of World Reach Holdings, LLC. The World Reach group of companies, based in Chicago, IL, is a healthcare-focused collection of boutique, forward-thinking and consciously progressive manufacturing and distribution ventures that provide patented, FDA-approved, CE-approved medical products, devices and technology solutions to B2B and B2C consumers in government, public and private sectors. The transaction was completed for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock.The acquisition of World Reach Holdings and its subsidiaries, including World Reach Health, LLC, enables the Healthtech Solutions family of companies to tap into an established global sales and distribution network. World Reach Health supplies various branches and agencies associated with the U.S. Government, hospital institutions, long-term care facilities and private corporations with brick-and-mortar facilities, as well as to a number of international partners. Throughout the heightened demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, World Reach Health was a trusted "go-to," high-volume distributor of a multitude of diagnostic products and testing services.Healthtech Solutions, Inc. wound care subsidiary researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a line wound care products, including DermaBind, which is a patented dehydrated placenta membrane allograft wound covering. DermaBind is used by patients suffering from burns, for treating post-surgery incision sites, diabetic foot ulcers and chronic wounds involving the skin. As of 2023, some of the largest outlets where wound care products are utilized include nursing homes and podiatry offices.Immediately following the consolidation of the involved companies, the respective entities began marketing and distributing new-to-market products, which, in addition to the wound care items, includes EnduraKit, a long-lasting, opioid free local anesthetic, to customers throughout North America. In the coming months, the company plans to commercialize 3 new products, including a wound care kit.As part of the transaction, Healthtech Solutions now operates two laboratories in the Salt Lake City metro area, which includes The Clia Lab, LLC, a CLIA-certified laboratory permitted to examine a person through waived tests to assess health, diagnose and determine treatment. The facilities comprise approximately 16,000 square feet of combined lab and office space - both labs are ISO 13485 certified and provide healthcare providers with myriad testing and diagnostic solutions. The Clia Lab creates a bespoke program for each customer by delivering accurate, reliable and timely patient test results."By combining Healthtech Solutions and World Reach Health, we have taken a tremendous step toward our future. With Jelena Olmstead and Jim Pesoli joining our management team, we can now devote our efforts to building our business with both existing products and complementary products," said Manuel Iglesias, President of Healthtech Solutions. "We anticipate the companies will see an increase in revenue and profit this calendar year on a consolidated basis." "I have spent over 20 years in the distribution of medical products and services, and never before have I seen so many potential opportunities that, with proper marketing and distribution, could add substantially to the improvement of patient well-being while growing both companies," said Jelena Olmstead, CEO of Healthtech Solutions. "With the changes in testing, and healthcare in general, and the way the medical profession is addressing these changes, we expect continued growth and expansion. We strive to stay at the forefront of developing and/or acquiring rights to new-to-market products and expanding our overall scope of patient outcome-focused services; this ensures our growth will be consistent and trending upward." About Healthtech SolutionsHealthtech Solutions Inc. (OTC: HLTT), which is currently being renamed and rebranded as World Reach Holdings, Inc., is an innovative portfolio-model life sciences company focused on building solutions for patients and the healthcare system through our subsidiary companies ranging in stage from pre-clinical to commercial growth. At Healthtech, we are driven by innovation and people. At our core, our philosophy is highly motivated people with ambitious goals can achieve breakthroughs with the right organizational support. By identifying and building visionary teams within an ecosystem that fuels their strengths, we believe we can collectively accelerate the next wave of advancements in healthcare. From our perspective, breakthroughs often occur at the intersection of multiple approaches, so we are agnostic to the solution - therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, digital technology, or a combination. In fact, we hypothesize that some of the most promising breakthroughs will occur at the interface of these traditional silos, which has already begun to occur. Healthcare, illness, and injury are multifactorial, and we believe the solutions often need to be multi-pronged to succeed. For more information please visit www.WorldReachHoldings.com Safe Harbor StatementThis report contains statements that are not historical facts but rather forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include those that address activities, events or developments that Autoliv, Inc. or its management believes or anticipates may occur in the future. All forward-looking statements, including without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends and data, as well as estimates of future sales, operating margin, cash flow, effective tax rate or other future operating performance or financial results, are based upon our current expectations, various assumptions and data available from third parties. Our expectations and assumptions are expressed in good faith, and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will materialize or prove to
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PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Berger Montague advises investors that a securities fraud class action lawsuit has been filed against Lumen Technologies, Inc. ("Lumen") (NYSE:LUMN) on behalf of those who purchased Lumen securities between September 14, 2020 and February 7, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period").Investor Deadline: Investors who purchased or acquired Lumen securities during the Class Period may, no later than May 2, 2023, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class. For additional information or to learn how to participate in this litigation, please contact Berger Montague: James Maro at jmaro@ bm.net or (215) 875-3093, or Andrew Abramowitz at aabramowitz@ bm.net or (215) 875-3015, or visit: https://investigations.bergermontague.com/lumen-technologies/ Lumen, formerly known as CenturyLink, is an international facilities-based technology and communications company focused on providing its business and residential customers with an array of integrated products and services necessary to fully participate in a rapidly evolving digital world. Throughout the Class Period, Lumen claimed that it would expand its fiber services to small and medium business ("SMB") and residential or consumer markets.Starting on February 9, 2022, Lumen began to admit that its expansion into SMB and residential fiber services was occurring slower than previously represented. Following this news, Lumen's stock price declined $1.99, from a close of $12.82 per share on February 9, 2022, to a close of $10.83 on February 10, 2022.Then, on November 2, 2022, Lumen's Chief Executive Officer admitted, "we are not yet at the pace of build we expect or want" with respect to Lumen's development of its Quantum Fiber brand. Following this news, Lumen's stock price declined $1.25, from a close of $7.05 per share on November 2, 2022, to a close of $5.80 on November 3, 2022.Finally, on February 7, 2023, the defendants admitted that they had pressed "more of a stop button than a pause button" on Lumen's investment into the Quantum Fiber network and expansion into the SMB and residential markets while the company re-evaluated its strategic priorities. Following this news, Lumen's stock price declined $1.04, from a close of $4.99 per share on February 7, 2023, to a close of $3.95 on February 8, 2023.The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) various headwinds were impeding the Lumen's ability to invest in and grow its Quantum Fiber brand; (ii) Quantum Fiber was not progressing as was represented to the investing public; (iii) Lumen's management was reassessing its strategic priorities and had placed a hold on the plans to quickly scale up the Quantum Fiber brand; and (iv) as a result of Lumen's decision to delay expansion of Quantum Fiber, the company's results and metrics were negatively impacted and the scaling up of Quantum Fiber would not occur until, at the earliest, the end of 2023.A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of his/her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member.Berger Montague, with offices in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago, and San Diego, has been a pioneer in securities class action litigation since its founding in 1970. Berger Montague has represented individual and institutional investors for over five decades and serves as lead counsel in courts throughout the United States.Contacts:James Maro, Senior CounselBerger Montague(215) 875-3093jmaro@ bm.net Andrew Abramowitz, Senior CounselBerger Montague(215) 875-3015aabramowitz@ bm.net SOURCE: Berger Montague
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RATHCOOLE, IRELAND / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / The reports from IPO News & Calendar are regular and informative; they keep users up-to-date with the most significant upcoming IPO listings and report on the success or failures of those that have already taken the plunge. Now the much-awaited arrival of the new IPO brochure section adds even more value to this innovative application, as potential investors can get all potential IPOs facts and figures in one neat little PDF package. The potential Starlink IPO, for example, has been much anticipated by investors for some time now, and the brochure for this company will no doubt prove very useful to those who are considering taking a position. IPO News has been ahead in keeping its users informed of developments by reporting on any changes and updates for potential new listings of this kind, and there is more to come. Read on to see what is coming to the IPO News platform this year.IPO News & CalendarIPO News & Calendar prepare for the iPhone version release. It can be argued that the most valuable content that the App/website produces is the reporting on little-known startups with significant potential upsides; these little gold nuggets of info are ideal for those who wish to educate themselves on what superstar unicorns may be coming on the scene next, allowing users to position themselves accordingly.The IPO Calendar is also a very valuable tool if used wisely; it shows subscribed users upcoming IPOs from all over the World with information such as listing dates, share prices and shares offered (to name a few) up to three weeks before they come to the market; this enables investors to position themselves accordingly to acquire the new issues as early as possible.The IPO News app on the Google Play store is about to release its Potential IPO Brochure section containing all the up-to-date information on the most anticipated potential IPOs from around the globe. These will include much-awaited potential IPOs such as Starlink IPO, Discord IPO, Instacart IPO, Tripactions IPO, Reddit IPO, Plaid IPO, Databricks IPO, Arm IPO, Stripe IPO and the Klarna IPO.The subscription will include the following:-All of the brochures mentioned above (as well as any published in the future); without a subscription, they are sold separately.-The full IPO Calendar detailing new upcoming listings on the world's top stock exchanges.-Access to all exclusive articles.-All annoying adverts turned off.-Also Coming Soon: Blog, comments, and ask a question section.The iPhone version of IPO News should be released soon, as well as potential IPO Brochures for Boston Dynamics IPO, Fanatics IPO, Servicetitan IPO, Epic Games IPO; until then, iPhone users can follow them at ipo-news.net . Android users visit Google Play store to install.Contact InformationJohn QuillMarketing Managerinfo@ ipo-news.net +353899679121SOURCE: IPO News & Calendar
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Primax Connected Mobility Business Unit specializes in designing and manufacturing connected cameras, gateways, asset trackers, and sensors for Fleet and Industrial IoT applications.LOUISVILLE, KY / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Following Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.'s Embedded World 2023 announcement of its new IoT processors designed to support four major operating systems, today, Primax is announcing a suite of reference designs based on the Qualcomm QCS6490 SoC. The Primax reference designs include a dashcamera and IoT gateway platform specifically designed for Fleet and Industrial IoT applications. Qualcomm QCS6490 SoC allows unprecedented AI processing at the edge, enabling CV-AI-based applications such as driver monitoring systems or road condition alerts. High performance with low power consumption and a comprehensive feature set make the Qualcomm QCS6490 a versatile solution for next generation intelligent edge processing devices such as smart cameras, gateways, industrial automation equipment (IPC, PLC), autonomous mobile robotics, and more.Primax Office The Primax reference platform will support multiple wireless interfaces including Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, Thread, and LoRa, and allow for integrating up to eight cameras, connected via AHD, PoE, USB (UVC), or Wi-Fi. The platform is capable of supporting multiple wired or wireless sensors and will offer integration with the vehicle's OBD system, and 5G or LTE network connectivity. Primax's design encompasses dual-mic echo cancellation and noise suppression, ELD compliance, and precise image performance via spectra DSP pipeline tuning."As a global leader in edge computing and vision technologies, Primax is committed to serving our clients with the most advanced technologies for machine vision and Industrial IoT applications. We are proud to continue our close collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies to help widen support for the management of physical assets and further enable our clients to bring cutting-edge products to market. Our Qualcomm QCS6490-based reference design will not only accelerate product time to market, but also empower developers to drive innovations in AI and edge computing," said Jason Hsu, Vice President of Primax Connected Mobility Business Unit."Qualcomm Technologies is proud to power the Primax reference platform and to advance Industrial IoT application use," stated Dev Singh, vice president, business development, and head of building, enterprise and industrial automation, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Collaborations between Qualcomm Technologies and Primax Electronics continue to accelerate the future of fleet management with state-of-the-art technology behind it." About Primax Electronics Ltd.Founded in 1984, Primax is a global leader in Vision, Audio, and Human Machine Interface technologies. Headquartered in Taipei with operations across Asia, North America, and Europe, Primax clients include some of the world's most respected consumer, industrial, and automotive brands. Primax ranks highest in Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility among Taiwanese suppliers and is a proud winner of "Asia Best Companies to Work For" by HR Asia.Contact us: ContactCBD@ primax.com.tw Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Qualcomm patented technologies are licensed by Qualcomm Incorporated.Qualcomm is a trademark or registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated.Contact InformationMatthew SeveraidDirector, Strategic Business Development9162577258Annise ChangMarketing Manager+88622798SOURCE: Primax Electronics
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2022 / 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 BlockFi Interest Accounts ("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 firm's 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 BlockFi Interest Accounts ("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 BlockFi's exposure to FTX Trading, Ltd. ("FTX") and Sam Bankman-Fried's 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 investor's 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 FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827lrosen@ rosenlegal.com pkim@ rosenlegal.com cases@ rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
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TORONTO, ON and NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Sekur Private Data Ltd. (CSE:SKUR)(OTCQX:SWISF)(FRA:GDT0) ("Sekur" or the "Company"), a leading Swiss hosted secure and private communications platform, is pleased to announce that it has launched a new security feature for all its web based Sekur solutions. The feature is called 2FA or 2 Factor-Authentication and allows Sekur users to opt-in and increase their login credential security.Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an identity and access management security method that requires two forms of identification to access resources and data. 2FA gives businesses and consumers the ability to monitor and help safeguard their most vulnerable information and networks. 2FA will be applied to all the Company's solutions including its upcoming SekurVPN.Additionally, the Company is pleased to announce that it is on track to launch its anticipated SekurVPN private Swiss-hosted encrypted VPN solution. The launch is expected April 7, 2023. The Company has already received pre-registration requests for its launch promotion and will start a similar promotion to all its existing users and shareholders.Alain Ghiai, CEO of Sekur Private Data said: "We are very pleased to launch the 2FA feature to all our solutions, and to announce that we are on track to launch SekurVPN on time April 7, 2023. The opt-in 2FA is optional of course, however, we recommend business users to implement this extra security measure to minimize cyber intrusions into their account. With 2FA implemented, we are increasing our chances of getting more and more businesses adopting Sekur as their communications platform of choice. Businesses have been asking for this implementation and we have answered their requests. We do anticipate some immediate benefits from this 2FA feature implementation. Our prime directive is to provide private and secure communications for everyone, and, as we are not connected to any BigTech or Hyperscaler platform, we offer a truly independent, private and secure means of communications without any data mining, through our proprietary technology and our secure servers based in Switzerland. We look forward to continuing to offer true data privacy to all individuals and their businesses and protect their intellectual property, and their privacy, from data miners and malicious hackers." Sekur, which includes SekurMessenger and SekurMail, is part of a bundle of email, messaging and file transfer into one application, includes the Company's latest SekurMail technology, which includes proprietary anti-phishing and privacy feature called SekurSend. SekurSend lets a user send an email to any other recipient, whether they have Sekur or not, in full privacy and security as the email never leaves Sekur's encrypted email servers based in Switzerland. The recipient can then click on the notification and reply in the same manner using SekurReply, without the recipient having to register for a Sekur account. The sender can also decide to protect any email sent by adding a password to open it, a read-limit and a self-destruct timer as well. Sending an email with the SekurSend feature allows the senders and recipients to add limitless size attachments to the emails without crowding the recipients' email box. This also eliminates BEC attacks for businesses and email phishing attacks. Additionally, SekurMail includes full control of email delivery, automatic data export for large Enterprises and an automatic Data Loss Prevention technology ("DLP") with real time continuous archiving.Recent data breaches in messaging applications have created a certain urgency for businesses and data privacy advocates to protect their communications from cyber-attacks and identity theft via mobile and desktop devices.SekurMessenger now comes with a proprietary feature and technology called "Chat-By-Invites". This feature allows a SekurMessenger user ("SM user") invite a non-SM user, or a group of non-SM users, to chat in a fully private and secure way, without the recipient ever having to register to SekurMessenger or download the app. At the end of the chat, the initiator of the conversation can remotely terminate the conversation and all traces of the conversation are deleted from all users, including the recipient. This unique feature is now fully deployed and functional on all iOS and Android devices and web platforms. The target sectors are numerous, including but not limited to real estate, legal, finance, insurance, medical, government, energy, manufacturing, trade and pharmaceutical sectors.SekurMessenger also eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not only not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list and infecting the contacts by default as well, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. SekurMessenger issues each user a username and a Sekur number. The Sekur number is the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other Sekur users to be added. The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, including Sekur's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss hosted encrypted servers.Sekur's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved.About Sekur Private Data Ltd.Sekur Private Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure and private communications. The Company distributes a suite of encrypted e-mails, secure messengers, and secure communication tools. Sekur Private Data Ltd. sells its products through its own website at https://www.sekur.com , and approved distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. Sekur Private Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide.On be
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MANHATTAN, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Shibui Whisky Company received another impressive accolade this week when Shibui Pure Malt 10yr old was awarded 96 points, the highest score given to any Japanese Whisky, at the 2023 International Wines & Spirits Competition (IWSC) - one of only two Japanese whiskies to receive such an honor.Shibui Pure Malt 10yrShibui Pure Malt 10yr old Japanese Whisky Co-Founder and Head of Global Whisky Nicholas M. Pollacchi commented, "It is wonderful to have our whiskies recognized by our peers and expert judges at IWSC. Japan overall, and specifically our Shibui Master Blenders, have long been recognized for outstanding contributions to the art of blending whiskies and Shibui Pure Malt 10yr old is an exquisite example of this craftsmanship and dedication to excellence." Shibui Pure Malt 10yr old is matured in American Oak Ex-Bourbon and European Oak Oloroso Sherry Casks for 10 years before a final finishing maturation in rare Japanese Mizunara Oak Casks. Like all Shibui whiskies, Pure Malt 10yr is natural color and non-chill filtered.Tasting notes for Shibui Pure Malt 10yr old from the expert IWSC judges read:"Gorgeous floral nose of freshly ground barley, honeyed fruitcake and a flutter of sweet spices, then lusciously smooth on the palate: buttery vanilla caramel, rich dates, pear chutney and a building mouth filling texture. Outstanding complexity with a balanced, lengthy finish." Shibui Pure Malt 10yr is available via liquor stores found through the SHIBUI STORE LOCATORVisit Shibui on Instagram and www.shibuiwhisky.com ABOUT SHIBUI WHISKY COMPANYShibui whiskies are crafted in multiple award-winning distilleries from two different regions of Japan, making their range of whiskies truly unique. Shibui World Blends showcase the art of Niigata Master Blenders who create exquisite marriages of flavor using multi-cask maturation. Shibui Single Grain whiskies are a reflection of the Japanese distilleries in Okinawa who distill the grains of the land and make whisky unlike any other. Shibui has numerous styles and releases including wheat whisky, malt whisky, world blends, single grain whiskies and single malts. All Shibui whiskies are natural color and non chill filtered.THE SHIBUI WHISKY COMPANY TEAMCo-Founder and Head of Global Whisky Nicholas M. Pollacchi has spent 22 years building brands like Macallan, Glenrothes, Highland Park, Balvenie, Dalmore, Kavalan and Nikka before partnering with wine and spirit veterans, Lauren & Rachel Simmons to create Shibui Whiskies.Contact InformationJune YoshinoHead of PR and Marketingadmin@ shibuiwhisky.com 9179227492SOURCE: Shibui Whisky Company
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TOKYO, Mar 31, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - The TANAKA Memorial Foundation's Representative Director, Hideya Okamoto, announced the recipients of the FY2022 Precious Metals Research Grants.Following a rigorous screening process, the Gold Awards, each for 2 million yen, were presented to Associate Professor Masashi Kaneko of Osaka University and Professor Seiji Miura of Hokkaido University. In addition, four research projects received Silver Awards, and four Young Researcher Awards were presented.The TANAKA Memorial Foundation undertakes programs designed to foster developments in new precious metal fields while contributing to the advancement of science, technology, and socio-economics for the overall enrichment of society. The research grant program was launched in FY1999 and has continued each year since with the goal of supporting the various challenges of the "new world opened up by precious metals." This year, the program's 24th year, a total of 159 applications were received in a wide range of fields where precious metals can make contributions to the research and development of new technologies. A total of 16.2 million yen in research grants was awarded for 24 projects.The names of the two Gold Award recipients, their research, and the reasons for their selection are below.- Associate Professor Masashi Kaneko of Osaka UniversityModeling of precious metal extraction and separation using Moessbauer spectroscopy parameters and computational chemistryThis research seeks to develop a computational method for predicting the solvent extraction equilibrium of precious metals. The research was highly rated for its development of a computational chemistry model for precious metal solvent extraction reactions according to chemical equilibrium theory, and based on computational chemistry benchmarking of precious metal complexes using Mossbauer spectroscopy parameters. The research has the potential of accelerating the development of new precious metal extraction agents in combination with experimental chemistry, while it also has scientific and industrial value as well.- Professor Seiji Miura of Hokkaido UniversityExperiments to achieve microstructure control of precious metal-based high-entropy alloysThis research seeks to develop innovative metal materials aimed at creating strengthening mechanisms with high thermal stability through the use of microstructure control of precious metal-based high-entropy alloys using two-phase crystal structures and their orientation relationship. The research was highly rated for its research related to high-entropy alloys, which are being more actively researched and are gaining attention for their unique material properties. The research has the potential of opening up new material fields for precious metals and expanding their industrial usage.Four Silver Awards, four Young Researcher Awards, and 12 Encouragement Awards were also granted. The recipients and an overview of the Precious Metals Research Grants are indicated below. Applications for the FY2023 research granted are scheduled to open in the fall.List of FY2022 Precious Metals Research Grants Recipients- Platinum Award (0 award, 5 million yen)Non granted- Gold Award (2 awards, 2 million yen each)Masashi Kaneko, Associate Professor, Osaka UniversityModeling of precious metal extraction and separation using Moessbauer spectroscopy parameters and computational chemistrySeiji Miura, Professor, Hokkaido UniversityExperiments to achieve microstructure control of precious metal-based high-entropy alloys- Silver Awards (4 awards, 1 million yen each)Takatoshi Nagano, Lecturer, Ibaraki UniversityEfforts to clarify mechanisms that cause cracking in thin ruthenium film and to achieve low electrical resistanceNaoji Matsuhisa, Associate Professor, The University of TokyoStructural control and wearable applications of stretchable gold vapor deposition filmZhou Weiwei, Assistant Professor, Tohoku UniversityManufacturing and functional enhancement of 2D Mxene-reinforced silver-based composite materialsHiroshi Yukawa, Designated professor, Nagoya UniversityRealization of deep tissue temperature imaging through development of band edge / defect-type near-infrared fluorescent quantum dots with silver in the core region- Young Researcher Awards (4 awards, 1 million yen each)Minori Goto, Assistant Professor, Osaka UniversityImproved efficiency of heat-driven spin devices using thermal resistance of precious metal / insulator interfacesHideki Narita, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, Kyoto UniversityControl of magnetic superconductors using precious metals and development of nonvolatile superconducting devicesWan-ting CHIU, Assistant Professor, Tokyo Institute of TechnologyEffects on mechanical properties and functionality of medical-use titanium-gold-based shape-memory alloys through addition of transition metal elementsLustikova Jana, Assistant Professor, Tohoku UniversityFormation of magnetic memory devices using precious metal / superconductor hetero-interfaces- Encouragement Award (14 awards, 300,000 yen each)Naotsugu Itoh, Specially-appointed Professor, Utsunomiya UniversityTakahiro Namazu, Professor, Kyoto University of Advanced ScienceTeppei Araki, Associate Professor, Osaka UniversityMakoto Hasegawa, Professor, Chitose Institute of Science and TechnologyYuki Noda, Specially-appointed Assistant Professor, Osaka UniversityYuki Shiomi, Associate Professor, The University of TokyoTakuya Matsumoto, Assistant professor, Osaka Metropolitan UniversityShinya Kato, Assistant Professor, Nagoya Institute of TechnologyDaisuke Tanaka, Professor, Kwansei Gakuin UniversityKure Shochiku (SONG-ZHU CHU), Professor, Nagoya Institute of TechnologyAtsushi Takagaki, Associate Professor, Kyushu UniversityYusuke Yamauchi, Group Leader, National Institute for Materials ScienceYasuhiro Fukuma, Professor, Kyushu Institute of TechnologyKoki Kubota, Researcher, University of Yamanashi(Affiliated organizations and job titles correct as of time of presentation)Press release in PDF: https://www.acnnewswire.com/docs/files/2023331_EN.pdf
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What's Your Wine Horoscope? Firstleaf Reveals the Most Popular Bottles for Each Zodiac SignFirstleaf Research Points to the Stellar Wines Most Compatible With Every SignNAPA VALLEY, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Firstleaf, America's Most Personalized Wine Company, has revealed the varietals, regions, and vintages most enjoyed by each zodiac sign. While full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignons were popular across the board, each sign also gravitated to distinct bottles well-suited to their unique personality traits.Here's what Firstleaf's sales and customer wine rating data reveals:Aries-March 21-April 19Daring Escape 2017 Red Blend Paso Robles, California - Red BlendWith its complex balance and lush finish, it's no surprise this bold blend is popular with confident, fiery Aries signs.Taurus-April 20-May 20Mannaggia All'Alba 2019 Sangiovese Rubicone IGT, Italy - SangioveseDown-to-earth yet hard-headed, Taurus signs naturally gravitate to this full-bodied Old World-style Italian wine.Gemini-May 21-June 20Scissor Kick Cellars 2019 Shiraz South Australia - ShirazThe adaptable and outgoing Gemini gets a kick out of this bottle's bright fruit-forward flavors and approachable tannins.Cancer-June 21-July 22Tintoretto 2019 Sangiovese Puglia IGT, Italy - SangioveseCancers are said to be nurturing and compassionate, hence their appreciation for a wine that's rich and layered but not overpowering.Leo-July 23-August 22Andas 2019 Malbec Reserva Mendoza, Argentina - Malbec ReservaDeep, rich, and full of dark fruit, this Reserve Malbec pairs perfectly with confident, luxury-loving Leos.Virgo-August 23-September 22Linguist Estates 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles, California - Cabernet SauvignonRoutine-loving Virgos return to Cabs again and again, but this 92-point California bottle is their all-time fave.Libra-September 23-October 22Trailstone 2019 Pinot Gris Columbia Valley, Washington - Pinot GrisLibras were the only sign to skyrocket a white wine to the top of their list-and it's a mouthwateringly bright one that perfectly suits their flirty charm.Scorpio-October 23-November 21Pip & Plow 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - Malbec Blend Columbia Valley, Washington - Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - Malbec BlendThis award-winning Cab-Malbec blend has a little secret: it's actually made in a classic Old World style, a fact that determined, secretive Scorpios drink up.Sagittarius-November 22-December 21Pip & Plow 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - Malbec Blend Columbia Valley, Washington - Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - Malbec BlendFree-spirited Sags love that this wine is Old World in style but a little unique, with deep floral aromas, deep red fruit, and bold tannins.Capricorn-December 22-January 19Thistle & Quail 2020 Pinot Noir Sonoma County, California - Pinot NoirWith their attention to detail and practical outlook, it tracks that Caps would be drawn to this fruit-forward Double Gold Medal winner.Aquarius-Jan 20-Feb 18Idlewright 2018 Opulent Red Napa County, California - Opulent RedUnique, artistic Aquarians signs soak up this sweet, savory, and spicy Napa red blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, and Syrah.Pisces-Feb 19-March 20Idlewright 2018 Opulent Red Napa County, California - Opulent RedCreative and compassionate, Pisces signs support their Aquarius friends with a shared appreciation for this bottle's pomegranate notes and grippy tannins.About FirstleafAmerica's Most Personalized Wine Company, Firstleaf uses millions of data points to produce and curate each shipment of award-winning wine from around the world so that members can explore new bottles and discover new favorites tailored to their taste. Founded by Philip James, a wine industry veteran and Oxford-educated chemist, the subscription service unites the art and science of wine. Firstleaf brings together proprietary technology, expert winemakers and a WSET-certified wine concierge team, to build a unique Wine Profile for each member and curate each shipment individually. With a wide variety of wines from around the world, Firstleaf has over 82 million combinations of wines possible and 98% of its monthly boxes are unique.Recognized by Fast Company's Annual List of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2022 and named 2021 Wine Company of the Year in the Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition,Firstleaf's wines have won over 2,850 awards with more than 500 bottles scoring over 90 points. Its team of winemakers sample over 10,000 wines each year across 5 continents and 12 countries to select only the finest bottles. With a 96% approval rating of the world-class wines chosen for members, Firstleaf'sdeep understanding of wine making and technology ensures the perfect selection for beginners to experts. Over one million people have tried Firstleaf since the brand's inception.For more information, please email press@ firstleaf.com or visit http://www.firstleaf.com SOURCE: Firstleaf
Reader survey As a reader of PREMIUM TIMES, your opinion matters. Please take our survey to help us better understand the values and preferences of our readers. Your feedback will give us valuable insights into how we can tailor the different types of content we offer to meet your needs. The survey should only take about 6-8 minutes to complete. Click here to take it.

As PREMIUM TIMES reporters in 2018, Samuel Ogundipe and Azeezat Adedigba spoke often over the phone. They had no idea that their regular conversations about work and their personal lives were creating a record accessible for use by the Nigerian state.

On a partly cloudy Saturday in August 2018, Ms Adedigba received a call from a police superintendent that essentially ruined her weekend. The officer, identified as Emmanuel Onyeneho, told Ms Adedigba she was being investigated for criminal offences. The reporter quickly alerted the PREMIUM TIMES management to the development.

Ms Adedigba, then 27, demanded a formal invitation, written on police letterhead, from Mr Onyeneho. The invitation was delivered on 13 August, 2018. In the letter, police alleged criminal conspiracy, cyber crime, attempted kidnapping and fraud against Ms Adedigba and ordered her to turn herself to the force headquarters on 14 August that year.

When she honoured the police invitation, a fully armed police officer forcefully confiscated Ms Adedigbas telephone. She was then detained for four hours, a distressing experience, she said, that left her with psychological torture to deal with.

Soon, security operatives would order Ms Adedigba to call Mr Ogundipe who was later arrested for refusing to disclose the source of his story that revealed communication between a former Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. Mr Ogundipe was released on bail.

Nigerian journalists are increasingly under threat from digital and physical surveillance.

The gestapo manner in which the police arrested Ms Adedigba and Mr Ogundipe is part of a growing trend of telecom surveillance used by security agents to lure and then arrest journalists. In the case of Ms Adedigba and Mr Ogundipe, the police made no secret they used call records to establish that the duo had a relationship.

The police methods reinforce the value of internet-based, encrypted communications at a time when authorities have also targeted journalists phones and computers to reveal their sources. Newsrooms are tightening their digital security measures out of concerns that new spy technologies have exposed journalists to even greater threats of surveillance and harassment.

You need basic security tools just to make sure you dont get hacked  in life, because it really is now your responsibility as a journalist to have good digital hygiene, says Kano-based journalist, Aliyu Muhammad, who also works as a cybersecurity expert. Surveillance is already pervasive and now certain kinds of surveillance are being legitimised and legalised.

And were also spending a lot more time online, which means some of the reporting we used to do face to face, were doing it digitally, whether through Zoom, which is not end-to-end encrypted, and even just phone calls with sources.

Mr Muhammad added that journalists need to adopt safety and security measures such as not opening attachments and links on emails and texts from strangers to prevent malware attacks as well as using strong passwords.

We should always use VPNs and two-factor authentication on our online accounts and above all we need to maintain privacy, especially on social media, and not share personal information carelessly online, he said.

Last November, Tom Kidwell, a British Army and UK Government intelligence specialist and founder of Ecliptic Dynamics, gave solutions on persistent cyber threat and surveillance.

Mr Kidwell said: The best way for journalists and media organisations to be proactive in protecting themselves is to implement basic access control and device management. Its not necessarily the most technical or high-end aspect of cyber, but implementing good procedures and processes makes you a much harder target to exploit.

The rapid expansion of the digital surveillance industry has enabled governments around the world to acquire new technologies to monitor journalists, silence independent journalism, and control the flow of information. As of April 2021, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had identified 38 cases of spyware targeting journalists, commentators, and their associates.

The University of Torontos Citizen Lab suggests the true figure could be over 50. There are reports of spyware targeting journalists working with international media outlets, including Al Jazeera and the New York Times.

On its part, the Nigerian government has continued to increase budgetary allocation to surveillance technology. In 2021, the government allocated N4.8 billion to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to procure equipment that will monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls, and text messages.

More than ever before, journalists are monitored when they are online, and when they are not, they are followed; journalists email and social media handles are hacked, said Lekan Otufodunrin, the executive director of Media Career Development Network.

The confidentiality of sources is central to journalists ability to properly investigate stories, and to the protection of individuals and whistleblowers who provide information to them, he said.

Therefore, efforts to compel the disclosure of sources have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and media freedom, Mr Otufodunrin added.

Like the case of Mr Ogundipe and Ms Adedigba, police used call records to identify individuals that could be used to lead them to their targets.

In December 2021, investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo was grilled at the police headquarters in Abuja after his platform published a story on fake police camp projects. Mr Soyombo said the police extracted the phone numbers of everyone connected to the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ)  including reporters, lawyer and board members - texting them to appear at the force headquarters.

If I had not honoured their invitation, they would have tracked our lines to arrest one of us. I do know from the experience that if the authorities are interested in you, they will track your phone and get you to your location. They have the equipment, it is just a question of how high you are on their priority list, Mr Soyombo said at the time.

A former staffer of the FIJ, Ibrahim Adeyemi, said he received threatening phone messages from the police at the time.

Before Mr Soyombos incident, two journalists  Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi  were charged in November 2019 with criminal conspiracy and criminal defamation in connection with a complaint over a May 2018 article Mr Olufemi wrote. The police used a mutual contact to track Mr Yushau and Mr Olufemi who are still facing trial in a court in the north-central Kwara State.

Surveillance activities carried out against journalists run the risk of fundamentally undermining the source protection to which journalists are entitled. Principle 9 of the Global Principles on the Protection of Freedom of Expression and Privacy provides the protection of sources.

However, while the right to privacy is also a fundamental human right enshrined in Nigerias constitution, the 1962 Official Secrets Act empowers security forces to grant themselves warrants to search and seize all materials considered evidence, as well as arrest those suspected of committing offences under the act.

In 2019, the Committee to Protect Journalists accused the Nigerian military of using surveillance technology to spy on ordinary Nigerians and the press. The CPJ stated this in a report titled Nigerian military targeted journalists phones, computers with forensic search for source.

According to the report, the Nigerian military procured a forensic technology designed to extract information from phones and computers. The report stated that two companies  Israel-based Cellebrite and US-based Access Data  that produce and market such technologies used by security forces to monitor and interrogate journalists, were already operating in Nigeria. Between 2014 and 2017, CPJ added that the Nigerian government has spent at least N127 billion ($350 million) on surveillance and security equipment.

Experts believe that when the devices of journalists and their sources are vulnerable to surveillance, the ability of journalists to carry out their newsgathering function is significantly diminished.

Journalists who fear they are a target of surveillance may self-censor. Credible sources may be less likely to talk to the press, and media outlets may struggle financially to keep pace with the increasingly sophisticated threats facing their staff, Mr Otufodunrin of media career development said.

Nigeria has 214 million active mobile phone lines, with roughly two million lines added every month, according to 2022 data released by the national telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). SIM card ownership for these lines is tracked under a 2011 regulation that mandates the collection of personal information, including fingerprints and photos, that police can access without a warrant as long as a senior-ranking security officer gives written approval. Other NCC regulations, released in October 2019, detail police permissions to intercept communications under certain circumstances.

The police also use this instrument to harass critics.

Recently, police officers attached to Nigerias first lady, Aisha Buhari, tracked Aminu Adamu, a Nigerian student, through his phone. He was arrested and detained on the orders of Mrs Buhari in late 2022 over a social media post critical of the first lady.

This abusive use of surveillance equipment to target critics, journalists, their associates, and their families adds to the numerous and growing risks that journalists worldwide now face.

In Nigeria, it is an addition to physical attacks and harassment journalists face. The Press Attack Tracker, a platform that tracks attacks on journalists in Nigeria, reported that at least 179 cases of attacks on journalists were recorded in the last four years. State actors account for half of the attacks, while non-state actors account for 36.4 per cent and unknown persons for 13.6 per cent.

A PREMIUM TIMES survey  part of reporting for this article  also shows that journalists (and their collaborators like fixers) have become increasingly vulnerable to attacks from state and non-state actors that compromise their security, threaten source confidentiality, and ultimately undermine journalism.

At least 40 per cent of journalists polled in the survey said they were under surveillance in the past, while 85 per cent said they had been attacked in the course of their job.

Its wrong to put journalists under surveillance, Mr Otufodunrin said. If journalists violate any law, let them go through the process but putting them under surveillance is a violation of their privacy and creates undue pressure that affects their productivity.

READ ALSO: NCC set to curb data depletion for telecom consumers

When asked about the solutions to surveillance, Mr Otufodunrin said: You cannot prevent somebody trying to monitor you but what you can do is to be security conscious. If you have a feeling you are being monitored, then you have to find a way to protect yourself, he said. Part of security consciousness also is to always alert your office and your family about your movement.

The senior journalist advised that the union of journalists can also file complaints about these problems.

Since we know that journalists are being put under surveillance, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and any other media group and civil society can come together to challenge the security agents on this issue.

Nigeria is ranked 129/180 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in its chart on the safety of journalists. The RSF said: Nigeria is one of West Africas most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists, who are often watched, attacked, arbitrarily arrested and even killed.

The report is supported by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) in partnership with the Justice for Journalists Foundation.

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A woman pulled alive from the rubble of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory after an explosion that killed seven co-workers says flames had engulfed the building, and her arm, when the floor gave way beneath her. That might have been the end, if she hadnt fallen into a vat of liquid chocolate.

The dark liquid extinguished her blazing arm, but Patricia Borges wound up breaking her collarbone and both of her heels. She would spend the next nine hours screaming for help and waiting for rescue as firefighters battled the inferno and choppers thumped overhead at the R.M. Palmer Co. factory.

When I began to burn, I thought it was the end for me, Borges, 50, told the Associated Press in an interview from her hospital bed in West Reading, Pennsylvania, just minutes from the chocolate factory where she worked as a machine operator. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board planned to interview Borges on Friday.

The March 24 blast at R.M. Palmer killed seven of Borgess co-workers and injured 10. Federal, state and local investigations are underway. A cause has not been determined, but the federal transportation safety agency has characterized it as a natural gas explosion.

Borges said she and others had complained about a gas odor about 30 minutes before the factory blew up. She is angry Palmer didnt immediately evacuate. She said the deaths of her co-workers  including her close friend, Judith Lopez-Moran  couldve been prevented.

Others workers have also said they smelled natural gas, according to their relatives. Palmer, a 75-year-old, family-run company with deep roots in the small town 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia, has not responded to questions about the workers claims.

Speaking in Spanish over videoconference, her eyes bruised and her burned right arm heavily bandaged, Borges recounted her brush with death.

The factory was getting ready for a product switch that day, so instead of running a candy-wrapping machine as usual, she was helping to clean.

At 4:30 p.m., Borges told the AP, she smelled natural gas. It was strong and nauseated her. Borges and her co-workers approached their supervisor, asking what was going to be done, if we were going to be evacuated, she said.

Borges said the supervisor told them someone higher up would have to make that decision. So she got back to work.

Just before 5 p.m., the two-story brick building exploded.

Borges, whod been on a ladder, was thrown to the ground. She heard screaming. There was fire everywhere, and the flames quickly overtook her. I asked God why he was giving me such a horrible death, she said. I asked him to save me, that I didnt want to die in the fire.

She began to run. Thats when the floor gave way, and she could feel herself falling  into a long, horizontal tank of chocolate in the factorys basement. At 4 feet, 10 inches tall, Borges landed on her feet in chest-high liquid.

The chocolate extinguished the flames, but she believes her fall is what broke her feet.

The vat began filling with water from firefighters hoses, eventually forcing Borges to climb out as it reached neck level. She sat on the lip of the tank, then jumped into a pool of water that had formed on the basement floor. Briefly submerged, Borges said she swallowed a mouthful of water before surfacing. She grabbed onto some plastic tubing.

And then she waited.

Help, help, please help, she yelled, over and over, for hours. No one came.

The pain grew more intense. The water was frigid. The main supply pipe for the buildings fire suppression system had ruptured  and water was pouring into the basement. She lost track of time but thought she might be there for days.

The only thing I wanted was to get out of there, she said.

Finally, in the middle of the night, she saw a light and screamed anew for help.

Search-and-rescue dogs had alerted their handlers that a survivor might be in the rubble. As rescuers worked their way down to the basement, they heard Borgess cries.

Calling for quiet, the rescuers followed the sound of her voice. They found her in a tight space, in chest-deep water. She made her way to them and was placed in a litter.

She was severely hypothermic and banged up, conscious but absolutely confused, said Ken Pagurek, who helped lead rescue efforts as program manager of Pennsylvania Task Force 1, an emergency response team that deploys to disaster sites around the country.

I think had they not gotten to her when they did, there was a very good chance the number of victims was going to be plus one, said Pagurek, also a captain in the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Her rescue gave hope to first responders who already had pulled two bodies from the rubble in the hours after the blast. Rescuers spent two more days at the pile. They found five more bodies but no additional survivors.

Borges now faces surgery on both feet and a long recovery. Her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her pay the bills.

Borges, who came to the United States 31 years ago from Puebla state in south-central Mexico, has worked at Palmer for four years. She said shes seeking accountability.

I wanted to speak so that this will be prevented in the future, she said. For my colleague Judy, I want there to be justice.
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Ex-BBNaija housemates Adeoluwa Saga and Anita Singh (Nini) are engaged.

The BBNaija season 6 housemates who met on the reality show in the Shine Ya Eye edition in 2021 took fans by surprise after their engagement video surfaced online on Friday.

Saga proposed to his love interest in a romantic atmosphere, decorated with rose flowers and realised writing on a wall which requested her to be his forever.

Nini said yes to him. Though the proposal date is unknown, the couple kept things low.

Saga, whose motto in the BBNaija house was positive vibes only, spent more time with his love interest, Nini, instead of improving his game.

On the show, Saga repeatedly flouted Big Brothers rules and revealed his secret task to Nini, much to the chagrin of his fans and housemates.

The 30-year-old offshore engineer from Lagos has been with Nini since they left the house.

The news of their engagement was well received as many trooped to the comment sections to congratulate them.

If Saga and Nini eventually wed, they will join the likes of Bam Bam and Teddy A, Khaffi and Gedoni, who found their forever after in the BBNaija house.

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Movie Title: Jolly Roger

Runtime: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Cast: Kunle Oshodi-Glover, Kunle Frank Donga Idowu, Toyin Oshinaike, Daniel Etim Effiong, Deyemi Okanlawon, Tope Tedela, Toni Tones, and Tina Mba

Director: Walter Waltbanger Taylaur

Release Date: 11th March 2023

Since the inception of Nollywood, Nigerian films have always been a medium to spotlight various societal issues.

Whether 2018s Oluture, which explored the theme of prostitution, or 2023s The Trade, which is based on actual incidents about a famous kidnapper, these movies have become a prevalent trend among producers.

The latest addition to Nollywoods socio-centric catalogue is the 2022 Nolly Noir crime thriller Jolly Roger, directed by Walter Waltbanger Taylaur, the creative mind behind the popular comedy and crime movie Gbomo Gbomo Express.

Jolly Rogers is similar to the storyline for the American crime thriller trilogy John Wick. The film, recently released on Netflix, follows a man, Brume (Daniel Etim Effiong), who sets out to kidnap two corrupt police officers, Flexi (Kunle Frank Donga Idowu) and Yaw (Toyin Oshinaike), with the help of his best friend, Dammy (Deyemi Okanlawon). So, he dresses up as an internet fraudster, goes to a checkpoint, and eventually manipulates them to go home with him. Upon arriving at his place, the officers were drugged.

The subsequent scenes show the police officers getting tortured alongside flashbacks about the events that led to the present. It is revealed that Brume was married to the love of his life, Najite (Toni Tones). Unfortunately, her inability to get pregnant and the interference of Brumes mother (Tina Mba) cause a rift among the couple. Things soon become optimistic as she becomes pregnant. A happy Brume is heartbroken when she later reveals that he is not the father.

The Night of the Revelatory is when she gets killed by the two police officers taken hostage by Brume.

A few minutes into the movie, Jolly Roger can quickly be described as your typical cliche revenge storyline. We watch a man who hopes to avenge the death of his wife. While the effort to use a relatively new narrative to explore the central theme of police brutality is applaudable, it wasnt enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

The plot elements were predictable, including the surprising twist that Brumes best friend and accomplice was the man his wife cheated with. To be sincere, things would have been more interesting if the writers had included jaw-dropping spins. For example, we could have had an alternate storyline where instead of Dammy impregnating Najite, it was one of the police officers who raped her a few months ago. Najite would be unable to recognise his face until the night she and Brume meet, and then, with her last dying breath, she would make the shocking revelation to Brume. This offers a gasp factor and makes Brumes motive more intense and justifiable.

There also needed to be more varied delivery of lines and downplaying of characters. A few lines from Brume lacked weight; they failed to portray the strong effect the writer probably intended. In terms of downplaying, the portrayal of the police officers as villains was unbelievable. They could have gone in a more ruthless and unsympathetic direction. It was hard to pity or hate them because they were underdeveloped, and this, in a way, reduced the stakes.

Another characterisation done wrong is that of Dammy, Brumes best friend. The introduction and a few flashbacks show him as a good friend. Suddenly, we are expected to believe he is someone who betrays his friend without a good reason or easily caves with a solid logical thinking process when offered a whopping sum of 50 million by the captured officers.

All of the above doesnt take away from the excellent casting choices. Tina Mba, the educated yet ignorant mother-in-law, is great, Toni Tones as Najite is a breath of fresh air from her badass roles, and Daniel Etim Effiong as Brume is spot on.

To wrap things up, what sets Jolly Roger apart from other films is the choice to tell police brutality through a romantic lens.

Final Verdict

6/10. Its somewhat original and had a few scenes that piqued my attention.

Jolly Roger is now streaming on Netflix.

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The March 18 governorship election in Ogun State was marked by intrigues and left many unanswered questions in its wake.

The returning officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kayode Adebowale, in the presence of the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Olaniyi Ijalaye, declared Governor Dapo Abiodun as the winner of the election, having polled 276,298 votes.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ladi Adebutu, followed him with 262,383 votes while the candidate of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Biyi Otegbeye, got 94,754 votes.

The three were the major contenders in the election that had 10 other candidates.

The governor was thus reelected with a slim margin of 13,915 votes against Mr Adebutu of the PDP.

The governor and his party, the APC, have since been basking in the euphoria of victory in an election that was characterised by violence.

Ballot snatching, violence

But the opposition have warned the APC not to rejoice too early as the party and its candidate face a long day in court.

Many cases of violence, ballot box snatching and vote buying were reported in major cities across the state during the election.

Political thugs, some of whom wore masks, had a field day as they fired gunshots to disrupt voting at polling units.

But the attacks seemed strategically targeted at specific polling units.

Iperu Remo in Ikenne Local Government Area, the home town of the governor and Mr Adebutu, was one of the worst hit areas.

For instance, hoodlums snatched two ballot boxes at Polling Unit 05, Ward 03 in Ayegbami area of the town.

The hoodlums invaded the polling unit on motorcycles and chased away voters.

However, security operatives, particularly police officers at a nearby road intersection, responded with gunfire in the air. But their intervention did not save the Assistant Polling Officer (APO) for the unit, Alalade Babatunde, from being beaten up.

The chaos forced many intending voters to scamper for safety and abandon the polling station.

In another polling unit in at Eleja in Sagamu, thugs set electoral materials on fire, as officials of INEC and voters also ran for dear life.

The same experience was recorded at Itori-Odo in Abeokuta, where hoodlums broke ballot boxes.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that similar cases were recorded in Idowa, Ijebu Igbo, Ijebu Ode and Abeokuta, among other cities.

But the atmosphere was largely peaceful in Ogun Central District, as the disturbances happened mainly in Ogun East Senatorial District.

A voter, who simply identified himself as Adewunmi, accused members of the All Progressives Congress in Itori-Odo of perpetrating the the violence.

In Isara Remo, a PDP chieftain, Sesan Asenuga, was reportedly attacked while in Sagamu one Mrs. Makanjuola was also attacked.

In Abeokuta South, one Quadr Okewunmi was shot beside his house after casting his vote in Itori Odo town in the local government area.

When PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, to check on the victim, Mr Okewunmi was being stabilised in preparation for an operation to extract a bullet from his body.

Thugs also disrupted voting in Ward 13, Polling Unit 22 in Itori Odo, Abeokuta South Local Government Area, causing journalists and electoral officers to flee.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that scores of persons suspected of involvement in political violence, including a local government chairman, were arrested by the police during the election.

The state commissioner of police, Frank Mba, confirmed to journalists that 30 suspected electoral offenders were apprehended during the election.

Vote buying

Vote buying across party lines was also observed at the election.

To evade arrest by security agents deployed to check vote buying, a credit card was spotted being distributed to voters while voting was ongoing. The card was more conspicuous in Ogun Central and East senatorial districts of the state.

A voter, Moruf Adelaja, told our reporter that the card would be used to redeem a N10,000 pledge to a voter after voting for a particular political party.

Mr Adelaja refused to mention the party that issued the card.

However, a voter who simply identified herself as Kudirat said the card was from the PDP. But another voter, Idayat Aina, insisted that another card loaded with N10,000 was given to her by an APC leader, who she refused to name.

Votes margin argument

Some political analysts in the state said challenging the result of the election in court will be an effort in futility as it is the usual route of losers after most Nigeria elections.

Curiously, the electoral umpire refused to disclose the total number of votes cancelled in the election. Suspicious opposition political parties said this was to avert declaring the poll inconclusive because the margin of Mr Abioduns victory is allegedly lower than the number of cancelled votes.

The Electoral Act stipulates that such should lead to non-declaration of a winner until elections are reconducted in the places where votes were cancelled.

Protests

Acting upon that claim, protesters in the state capital demanded a rerun of the election in the areas where elections were cancelled.

The PDP candidate, Mr Adebutu, marched with a large crowd of his supporters to the state INEC office barely 72 hours after the election. The candidate during the protest submitted a protest letter to the electoral umpire.

After this protest, 11 of the 13 political parties in the election rejected the outcome and called for suplementary elections in the polling units where elections was cancelled.

The parties are Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Because Of Our Tomorrow (BOOT party), Labour Party (LP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), African Action Congress (AAC), All Peoples Party (APP) and National Rescue Movement (NRM).

At a press conference, the parties said, it was obvious that INEC stood logic in the head by making a pronouncement of a winner in an election in which the number of cancelled votes tripled the margin of lead between the acclaimed winner and the closest rival.

The convener of the conference is the chairman of NNPP in the state, Olaposi Oginni. He said: the Ogun Coalition of Registered Political Parties hereby calls for the immediate suspension of the Ogun State Resident Electoral Commissioner and Immediate arrest and prosecution of Prof. Kayode Adebowale, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan for this heinous crime against our democracy.

Mr Oginni alleged that the election was massively rigged with lots of irregularities, including ballot box snatching in over 100 polling units, suppression of voters with thugs under the cover of security agencies, ballot snuffing and other illegalities.

However, the victorious APC has dismissed the allegations.

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Ajay Banga, an Indian-American business leader, is set to head the World Bank after emerging as the sole candidate.

The bank, in a statement on Thursday, said Mr Banga will be considered for the position of the next president after the nomination period ended Wednesday.

The World Bank Groups Board of Executive Directors today confirmed that, as announced on 22 February, the period for submitting nominations for the position of the next President of the World Bank Group closed on Wednesday, 29 March at 6:00 pm ET, the statement said.

The Board received one nomination and would like to announce that Mr Ajay Banga, a U.S. national, will be considered for the position.

In accordance with established procedures, the Board of Executive Directors will conduct a formal interview with the candidate in Washington D.C., and expect to conclude the Presidential selection in due course.

Mr Banga is expected to replace David Malpass, the current World Bank president.

In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Mr Banga to lead the World Bank, noting that he is uniquely equipped to lead the global institution at this critical moment in history.

Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history, Mr Biden said.

READ ALSO:

He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change.

The US president said that Mr Banga has a proven track record of managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results.

Profile

Mr Banga, 63, was born in India and is a naturalised US citizen.

He grew up in different parts of the country due to his fathers job as an army officer, before getting his start in business at the Indian subsidiary of Nestle in the early 1980s.

He went on to have a successful business career in India and later relocated to the United States.

Mr Banga ran the payments company Mastercard for more than a decade between 2010 and 2021 and has also served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.

He is currently vice chairman at private equity firm General Atlantic, according to The Times of India.

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Agba o ni tan lorile, by the special grace of Allah. But for the timely intervention of Nigerias ageless gift to the world, Professor Wole Soyinka, Oxford and Cambridge universities and other sympathetic establishments in and outside of UK would have been relentless with everything possible to dim the rising star of the enterprising creative genius and novelist, Onyeka Nwelue, who, many hail as a professor.

Treasured by both institutions obviously on account of the strength of his literary productivity, Nwelue had been a visiting scholar to both Oxford and Cambridge. Suddenly, some bubble exploded. Nnwelue wasnt a professor afterall. So he had to be pressured to disengage from being an Academic Visitor to the two universities. The excuse: Onwelue wasnt a professor, and so a big lie had been uncovered. But the guy never claimed to be a regular professor, other than being so hailed. How simplistic can any institution choose to be in relating with stakeholders? How can substituting casual street banters for official information stand? But the romance with both British institutions had been cut short on account of little talks.

Given the propensity of the internet for speedy and global spread of information, only God knows how much humiliation Onwelue would have had to endure but for Soyinkas intervention. Shortly after the two universities severed their relationship with Nwelue, Kongi had to authoritatively assert that Nwelue wasnt alone in the craze for some persons to arbitrarily lavish titles on others, especially online. He recalls, in his intervention, how he had to alert somebody who was being so similarly titled, to be wary.

But not yet Uhuru from UK still. In matters they hardly understand or choose to deliberately misunderstand, they still hasten to intervene and flaunt what you may rate as an angelic posturing. It was like the Nigeria Office of the Corporate Accountability and Public Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) had them in mind in formulating the curriculum for the training of Nigerian journalists prior to the 2023 general elections for which they were supported by the European Union, EU.

I had been contracted for presentations in Ibadan and Port Harcourt on the subject of Understanding Conflicts and Drivers of Conflicts in Elections. Being so familiar with the tendencies of some little folks manning international affairs around the world in this age, and guided by my sense of patriotism, I pointedly alerted my audiences to the factor of international community as an unmistakable variable. Often, they observed elections in the past and stamped judgments on the fairness or otherwise of elections without sufficient data. That has changed. They now observe and remark on the general atmosphere of peacefulness or otherwise. However, some far less populated countries with unfounded colonial pride like the UK have failed to recognise the beauty of modesty and the need to steer clear of avoidable deadly and reckless interventions far from smacking balance.

And so UK felt it could afford to be discriminatory in its reckoning with strands of political developments in Nigeria, deliberately dismissive of what the consequences may turn out to be for innocent souls that may ultimately fall victim of violence, with regards to the nations most competitive presidential election held 25 February. A winner, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has since emerged and duly congratulated by leaders of governments around the world including those of the United Stated States, Saudi Arabia and even UK.

Incidentally, the opposition in this contest turned out to be extremely bad losers hardly bothered by whatever could befall the nation theyre seeking to rule having lost to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The two leading contenders after Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, promptly constituted legal teams and have since been in court. Notwithstanding this, they have been relentlessly loquacious on their presumed stronger popularity, implying as much as they could that the president-elect never deserved the victory.

Their supporters, irrespective of whatever accomplishments, have been wrongly inspired and become far worse, throwing caution to the wind completely. Sam Amadi, the holder of a PhD from Harvard, heightened the tension to a most dangerous peak, surprisingly. Shortly after the president-elect announced that he was travelling to France and Saudi Arabia for Umrah, a few days back, rumour began to circulate that the CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola, was spotted at the airport trying to sneak out of the country allegedly to go and hold secret meetings with the president elect. In the middle of the confusion, Amadi, who was also a former law professor at Baze University owned by Obis deputy in the 2023 presidential election, published a photograph online perceived to be complementing the rumour. Amadis falsehood was soon betrayed and he owned up with regret that he did it in error. But the CJN, his family and other Nigerians had been severely embarrassed especially as Amadis fellow Obi followers had feasted on it on the social media and similar terrains. Amadi has not disclosed his intention of doing it but it turned out to be a most embarrassing intervention from someone deemed to be knowledgeable enough to know the enormity of his misdeed.

Apparently sensing the opposition was up to fighting dirty, former Minister and one of the campaign directors of Asiwaju Tinubu, Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK), shot back at the opposition relentlessly and seemingly in a stronger way but devoid of falsehood. The UK authorities however chose to ignore Amadi, who had even volunteered public regret. Instead, they launched against Femi Fani-Kayode threatening visa denial and all. So mean, many Nigerians noted and particularly, FFK himself. He reckoned that the concerned UK diplomat was one little Englander who should seek a lot to learn from fellow diplomats. But I was not surprised by the conduct of the little Englander, given that the UK and some of its establishments trajectory of irrational partiality and wrong profiling of persons, such as had been encountered and condemned by many Nigerians.

Rather than being supportive of developmental strides of Nigerian citizens and the country as a whole, especially during uncertain times, often you find UKs policies being either indifferent or antithetical. Otherwise, why heat up the polity with a hardly justifiable position on the side of Dr Amadi and the rest opposition against Nigerias president-elect? The degeneracy of UKs diplomatic disposition to Nigeria has been relentless, unsurprisingly. What, with the rather strange stance that Nigerian students who plan to enter UK with their families may no longer have that opportunity? No be today nah!

As the spokesperson for Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in 1995, a visa officer at the British High Commission had rudely told me he was going to deny me visa because I was young and unmarried. I scanned the quantity told him I was even older and had a first degree which he probably didnt have. He thought he could threaten me by saying he would write down my comments and I told him he should do but should make a copy for me. Shortly afterwards, I was in New York and graced the renaming of the Nigeria Corner after Kudirat Abiola together with several colleagues and dignitaries including Asiwaju Tinubu as a NADECO chieftain then as well as our Kayode Fayemi who later became Ekiti State governor. The renaming over, Dr Fayemi insisted I must detour to UK while returning to Nigeria. As the executive director of CDD then, KF, as we fondly hailed him, did me an invite while I was still in the US and I got the UK visa in New York within three hours! Much more courteously, I did not even have to appear for visa interview the following year when I clinched the all-time prestigious British Chevening Scholarship to do a postgraduate programme in the UK.

It is gratifying enough for now that FFK has little or no need for any advocate being more than up to the messy situation cooked by the British Diplomat. He gave it all to him, so he can learn to deepen his diplomatic orientation before the next challenge.

Tunde Akanni, a distinguished British Chevening Scholarship alumnus is an associate professor of Journalism at the Lagos State University. Follow him on Twitter:@AkintundeAkanni

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A new report by the Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI), a civic organisation promoting accountability in Nigeria, has placed Akwa Ibom and Yobe as top states in its Subnational Audit Efficacy Index for 2022.

The index is the third consecutive annual assessment that examined the level of transparency and accountability operational in the management of public funds and implementation of public policies in all 36 states of the federation.

The SAE Index 2022 report was released in Abuja on Wednesday with oil-rich Akwa Ibom in Nigerias south scoring 69 per cent to be on top of the log. Northeastern Yobe and Northwestern Katsina ranked 2nd and 3rd with 63 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.

Delta and Edo states are behind scoring 48 per cent each; Ebonyi and Osun States gained 46 per cent each while Ekiti and Gombe states got 45 per cent each to stay in the top ten groups.

On the other hand, Abia, Benue, Borno, and Kano States occupied 33, 34, 35, and 36 positions respectively having recorded 12 per cent, 10 per cent, 5 per cent, and 3 per cent in that order.

The other states in the bottom 10 are Rivers and Oyo States scoring 15 per cent on the eight parameters measured. Others are Bayelsa, Zamfara, Ogun, and Kogi states.

Speaking on the methodology used for the assessment, the Executive Director of PLSI, Olusegun Elemo, said the 2022 Index applied eight scoring parameters including Audit Legal Framework & Operationalisation, Submission of Annual Activity Report, Type of Audit Document Published Online, Implementation of House Resolutions on Audit Recommendations, Evidence of Performance Audit, Availability of Citizens Accountability Report, Civil Society/Media Participation in the Audit Process and Effectiveness of Public Accounts Committee.

Mr Elemo added that the PLSI research team collected, examined, and validated data provided by Offices of Accountant-General, Supreme Audit Institutions, Public Accounts Committees, and Civil Society Organisations in all 36 States.

Mr Elemo explained that, The States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme for Result initiative implemented between 2018 and 2022 achieved much in incentivising transparency reforms and enacting legal frameworks as the foundation for accountability.

However, implementation of these legal frameworks has been a hard task for state executives and PLSI having envisaged a potential push-back or stagnation of these reforms especially as monetary incentives cease initiated the Subnational Audit Efficacy Index  an annual scorecard that assesses both the management of public funds and implementation of public policies at the state level.

PLSI said it leveraged evidence from a previous assessment to provide two-year assistance to five states through the strengthening public audit practices and accountability at the state level in Nigeria project supported by the MacArthur Foundation.

Findings

The SAE Index 2022 report showed that only 2 out of 36 states have made progress toward implementing financial autonomy for the office of the Auditor-General. Likewise, only 10 out of 36 States have implemented legal provisions to activate administrative independence for the Office of the Auditor-General.

Also, 21 States did not publish a full audit report for 2021 as against 19 States that did not for the 2020 and only 11 out of 36 States published the Citizens Accountability Report for 2021 online.

None of the 36 ztates produced a standard performance audit report on the governments programmes, projects, or policies in 2021 and only 5 out of 36 states have an effective Public Accounts Committee in their Houses of Assembly.

Similarly, only 2 out of 36 states are sufficiently involving civic and media actors in the audit process of their states.

The SAE Index 2022 again showed that all the states (except Benue & Anambra) enacted and/or amended their audit laws to guarantee the independence of Supreme Audit Institutions and strengthen public audit practices in their states.

Despite the improvement witnessed in the policy environment, the report said the lack of effective implementation of the enacted audit laws has overshadowed the gains recorded.

It is therefore imperative to sustain and continue to improve on accountability reforms achieved through the SFTAS program if development must be realised at the subnational level, the not-for-profit said.

PLSI also recommends the need for governors to exhibit strong political will to enhance the effective implementation of Audit Laws, capacity strengthening for auditors, timeous review of audit reports by State Houses of Assembly, and publishing full audit reports as well as citizens accountability reports online to enhance civic participation in the audit process.

State governments are advised to publish Citizens Accountability Reports online and organise public dialogues to discuss findings from the reports. Also, they recommend Supreme Audit Institutions should own and manage their websites without relying on Executive agencies.

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X-9, as the Finnish Appeals Court co-named him, sounded regretful, when he reflected on what he claimed was the ruining of his life by the Sierra Leonean man facing prosecution for mass murder, rape, torture, and other horrific crimes in Liberia during the countrys second civil war between 1997-2003.

X-9 alleged that ex-Revolutionary United Front (RUF) commander, Gibril Massaquoi, abducted him from his school in Sierra Leone and forced him to carry arms and ammunition for the RUF, covering long distances until they reached Liberia.

If it was not because of what Gibril did to me, by this time, my life would have been better, said X-9. Maybe by now, I would have a masters degree and doing something good for me and my children. But see my life now.

Forced labour or forced transport has come up too often on appeal as it, as it was in the Pirkanmaa Court District of Tampere, which acquitted Mr Massaquoi because of a reasonable doubt nearly a year ago. Prosecutors argue that the lower court erred by its decision of that and other crimes.

They are also insisting Massaquoi, who was an informant for the UN-backed Special broke the courts rules by coming to Liberia to fight in the war. They have claimed he did so between 2002 and 2003. Although Mr Massaquois lawyers have rejected this allegation, many prosecution witnesses have corroborated the testimonies of each other on the issue.

X-9 alleged Mr Massaquoi and other RUF soldiers were in Liberia in 2002. We came to Liberia and we went to Kamatahun [in Lofa County]. But he said he and his friends, who were abducted by Mr Massaquoi and the RUF were not fighters.

The man told the Court that from Lofa, they moved to Monrovia, where they saw Benjamin Yeaten [a top fighter for Charles Taylor, the Liberian President at the time], Sam Bockarie and other top Taylors and RUF fighters.

On cross-examination, defence lawyers presented photos that he (X-9) told Finnish police were Mr Massaquois when they visited Liberia in 2019. Although he had told the police the photos were found in Kalahun, he was inconsistent on Thursday, saying the photos were found in the house Mr Massaquoi, Sam Bockarie and other fighters lived in.

The hearings continue on Friday.

The coverage of the appeal of Massaquois acquittal is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.

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The Ondo State Government says the Central Mosque in Ikare Akoko will remain locked until the crisis in the ancient town is resolved.

The government said this amidst calls on it to end a curfew in the town and reopen the mosque for the Islamic month of Ramadan.

The state government shut the mosque in October following violent clashes resulting from a dispute over the leadership of the mosque.

Trouble started when the Ikare Muslim Council, backed by the king of the town, the Olukare of Ikare, Saliu Momoh IV, sacked the Chief Imam, Abubakar Muhammed.

However, the League of Imams and the Ondo State Council for Islamic Affairs rejected the removal of the cleric. This led to a standoff between the parties.

Mr Muhammeds sack letter was issued on the 10th of October and signed by Ikare Muslims Councils chairman, Adewale Abayomi, and the Secretary, R. Aiyegbusi.

The Muslim community in the town turned down all appeals from different quarters, as it insisted on removing the Chief Imam.

There were also disturbances in the town within the same period, forcing the government to impose a curfew in the town.

But in a statement on Thursday, the government said it was lifting the curfew but the mosque would remain closed.

The position of the Ondo State Government is that the closure of the Ikare Central Mosque subsists, unless the warring parties bury their differences, and subject to the leadership of the Chief Imam, the state Information Commissioner, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, said in the statement.

Otherwise, the Central Mosque remains closed, he stated.

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Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has said he has no regret being a member of the G-5, a group of five aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who were opposed to their PDPs presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the partys national leadership.

Mr Ikpeazu stated this on Thursday when he appeared as a guest on Channels TVs Politics Today.

The governor said despite losing his senatorial bid in the 25 February National Assembly election, he remains proud to have supported the emergence of a Nigerian president from the Southern part of the country in 2023.

I think that (being a member of the G-5) is one of the most brilliant decisions I have taken as a politician, he said.

Mr Ikpeazu was the PDP candidate for Abia South District. He lost the senatorial election to Enyinnaya Abaribe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

His preferred successor, the PDP governorship candidate, Okey Ahiwe, also lost in the 18 March election to the eventual winner, Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP).

But the governor said he was okay with the electoral losses he experienced in the state if they were sacrifices for his principled position for the presidency to return to the Southern part of the country.

The G-5 was being led by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

Apart from Messrs Ikpeazu and Wike, other members of the group include Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State) Samuel Ortom (Benue), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo).

The group came about after the PDP presidential primary, where Nigerias former vice president, Atiku, defeated Mr Wike and others to become the partys presidential candidate.

The group had demanded the resignation of the then PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to pave the way for a southerner to lead the party to achieve a regional balance.

The governors argument was that both Mr Ayu and Atiku hail from northern Nigeria.

Atiku later lost in the 25 February presidential election after coming second with 6, 984, 520 votes behind the eventual winner, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, who polled 8, 794, 726 votes.

The G-5 governors withdrawal of support for Atiku was said to be among the reasons for the PDP candidates loss at the poll.

While Governor Ortom supported the LP candidate, Peter Obi, Governor Wike backed the APCs Mr Tinubu, now Nigerias president-elect.

This newspaper reported that Mr Ayu was on Tuesday, dropped as the national chairman of the PDP in response to a court judgment which barred him from parading himself as the partys national chairman.

The PDP, consequently, appointed the partys Deputy National Chairman, Umar Damagum (North), as its acting national chairman.

Otti lied. I am not owing salaries

The Governor-elect in Abia State, Mr Otti, recently accused Mr Ikpeazu of not paying salaries to civil servants in the state for several months.

The governor-elect claimed he sought to govern the state thrice because the current government failed to address issues that motivated him to run for governorship for the first time, including the non-payment of workers salaries.

But reacting during the programme on Channels TV, Mr Ikpeazu denied the allegation.

He claimed that there was no core civil servant being owed any salary and that those that have issues with salaries were working in parastatals.

I have 31,000 workers in Abia workforce and 29,000 of them are up to date as we speak in salary payment. Parastatals receive subvention. I dont pay their salaries because they are revenue-generating agencies of the government, he said.

He said the issue of non-payment of pensions and salaries had been in existence long before he assumed office.

I dont run away from responsibility. The issue of pension has been there perennially since the past 24 years. I did as much as I could, this government since its inception, passed through two to three recessions.

When I came, within three months of my administration, I paid 11 months arrears of salary. Those 11 months were there while I was governor. So, if you take up a position as governor you have accepted to take over both liability and assets and I dont like to complain, he added.

I didnt have to talk about what my predecessors did not do because what gave me my job in the first place was that there were things they didnt do. So, for somebody to come and make a sweeping statement that no salary is being paid is a lie, I am not owing any core civil servant salary.

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned a prison official for job racketeering.

A statement by the anti-corruption agency said, on Friday, that Moses Eyimoga, a superintendent with the Nigeria Correctional Service, Lafia, Nasarawa State, was arraigned on one count of corruption at the Federal High Court in Makurdi, Benue State.

The agency accused Mr Eyimoga of collecting N800,000 from a couple for two job slots at the Federal University, Lafia, when he knew the claim to be false.

He allegedly committed the offence contrary to Section 1(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge, and the judge, Abdul Adogo, subsequently granted him bail.

READ ICPC STATEMENT IN FULL

NIGERIA CORRECTIONAL SERVICE SUPERINTENDENT ARRAIGNED FOR JOB RACKETEERING

A Superintendent with the Nigeria Correctional Service, Lafia, Nasarawa State, Mr Eyimoga Moses, has been arraigned in court before Hon. Justice Abdul Dogo of the Federal High Court, Makurdi, by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for the fraudulent act of job racketeering.

According to ICPC counsel Barr. Bako Alongs, the defendant, Eyimoga Moses, who is a Superintendent with the Nasarawa State Command of the Service, was arraigned on a one-count charge of corruption before Hon. Justice Abdul Adogo, for collecting N800,000 from a couple for two vacancy slots at the Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State, which Eyimoga knew was false and therefore committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge and was admitted to bail and ordered to be remanded at the Nigeria Correctional Service, Makurdi, Benue State until he meets the bail conditions.

The case was adjourned to 20th June 2023 for trial.

Signed: Mrs Azuka Ogugua

Spokesperson, ICPC

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 24  2023         :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  1154 ..             .. 1821                      . 1898       . 1981        IBM. 2004             76%.
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Jigawa State Governor, Muhammad Badaru, on Thursday received 60 medical students that were sponsored by the state government to study medicine in China.

The governor directed that 32 of the 60 beneficiaries who have completed their studies be employed immediately.

Mr Badaru gave the directive while some of the students visited him to thank him for the support and opportunity his administration offered them in 2016.

After the visit, the Permanent Secretary of the states Ministry of Health, Salisu Muazu, told reporters that 28 beneficiaries are still undergoing medical certification processes in Nigeria.

The state government in 2016 selected the 60 students meritoriously across the constituencies in the state and they have returned home after six years of extensive medical studies.

We have currently received 32 of the 60 students who are certified medical doctors who have passed their prescribed examination and the medical and dental council screening examination in Nigeria.

With that, they are duly registered doctors with a licenses to practice in Nigeria. The 32 have been posted to Rasheed Shekoni Special Hospital in Dutse for a one-year internship training before being dispatched to various health facilities in the state, Mr Muazu said.

Meanwhile, the permanent secretary said besides the 60 returning medical students who graduated from the Chinese university, the state government also sponsored 160 students to study various medical courses in Sudan last year. He said 100 of them were women.

According to him, the policy was aimed at producing manpower that will manage the newly constructed and upgrade primary and tertiary healthcare facilities in the state.

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The Court of Appeal in Sokoto, Sokoto State, has convicted two Chinese nationals of money laundering involving an attempt to bribe an investigative officer with N50 million cash.

The convicts  Meng Wei Kun and Xu Kuai  got away with only three years imprisonment with an option of a cumulative N20 million fine on the two counts they were convicted of.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused them of attempting to bribe its official with N50 million cash to compromise an ongoing criminal investigation on a Chinese firm.

According to a statement by the EFCC on Friday, the Chinese men gave the N50 million cash to the zonal head of the agency in Sokoto, Abdullahi Lawal, in May 2011, to compromise an ongoing criminal investigation of China Zhongao Nigeria Ltd.

The money, under Nigerias money laundering prohibition law, exceeded the N5 million cash threshold an individual is allowed to transact with.

EFCC said in its statement that the Federal High Court, Sokoto, had initially discharged and acquitted the two Chinese nationals of all three charges preferred against them.

But a panel of Justices of the Court of Appeal in Sokoto overturned the acquittal on Friday.

Delivering the lead judgement of the appellate court, a member of the panel, Abubakar Talba, described the Federal High Courts decision that acquitted the Chinese men as fiction.

Mr Talba said in their home country, the Chinese men would have got the death penalty for the same offences.

The judge noted that the respondents are Chinese and an offence of this gravity in their home country attracts the death penalty yet here they are corrupting our country.

The courts of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will not condone corruption in any way; as President Muhammadu Buhari has said if we dont kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria, Mr Talba added.

The judge went on to sentence the Chinese men to three years imprisonment on two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering.

The court acquitted convicts on the third count.

EFCC said the court then sentenced the Chinese nationals to three years on each of the two counts they were found guilty of with an option of N10 million fine on each.

READ EFCCS STATEMENT IN FULL

EFCC Press Release

N50m Bribe: Appeal Courts Jails Chinese Nationals 6 Years for Money Laundering

The Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal today, March 31, 2023 convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Mr. Meng Wei Kun and Mr. Xu Kuai, to 6 years imprisonment on two of a three count charge bordering on conspiracy, money laundering and attempted bribery to the tune of N50 Million brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba on the appeal of the EFCC against the judgment of a Federal High Court, Sokoto which discharged and acquitted the respondents, the appellate court found the respondents guilty of counts 1 and 2, and sentenced both to 3years imprisonment each of the counts, with an option of N10 Million fine on each count.

Justice Talba held that the EFCC had proved counts 1 and 2 of the charge before the Federal High Court beyond reasonable doubt but agreed with the lower Court on count 3 and accordingly struck it out on the grounds that a similar charge was pending before the Sokoto High Court.

According to Justice Talba, the respondents are charged with conspiracy and making a cash payment in excess of the threshold provided by the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 ( as amended in 2012) to Abdullahi Lawal (then zonal head of EFCC Sokoto) which was established beyond reasonable doubt before the lower Court but surprisingly the trial Judge summersaulted in his judgement and recanted.

I regret to say that the judgment is like a fiction by the trial judge who created doubts in his mind while discharging his responsibilities.

Without doubt the trial judge grossly misconceived that no offence was committed.

Conspiracy is a distinct offence even if the commission of the actual offence is aborted, and in the instant case there exists positive cogent inescapable evidence the offence was committed.

Justice Talba therefore held that the appeal was immensely meritorious and convicted and sentenced the Chinese nationals to three years on each of the two counts with an option of N10 Million fine each on each count.

He concluded by saying that,  the respondents are Chinese and an offence of this gravity in their home country attracts the death penalty yet here they are corrupting our Country. The Courts of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will not condone corruption in any way; as President Muhammadu Buhari has said if we dont kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.

Count one reads: That you Mr. Meng Wei Kun adult, male, and Mr. Xu Kuai adult, male, on or about the 11th day of May, 2020 in Sokoto within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court (Federal High Court) did conspire amongst yourselves to commit an offence to wit: making cash payment of the sum of Fifty Million Naira (N50,000,000.00) which sum exceed the amount authorised by Law without going through a financial institution and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as amended in 2012, and punishable under Section 16(2) (b) of the same Act.

Count two reads: That you ,Mr. Meng Wei Kun, adult, male and Mr Xu Kuai adult, male on the 11th day of May 2020 at about 2200hrs at Kasarawa Area, Airport road Sokoto State within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court (Federal High Court) without going through a financial institution made a cash payment of the sum of Fifty Million Naira (N50,000,000.00) to one Abdullahi Lawal the then Zonal Head of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Sokoto which exceeded the Five Million Naira (N5,000,000.00) for the purpose of compromising an ongoing investigation involving the company China Zhongao Nigeria Ltd and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 16 (2) (b) of the same Act.

Wilson Uwujaren

Head, Media & Publicity

31/03/2023

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The police in Imo State, south-east Nigeria, have arrested a traditional ruler in the state for allegedly sharing a social media post reportedly against Governor Hope Uzodinma.

The monarch, Ekene Obinali of Umucheke, Umuobom, a community in Ideato South Local Government Area of the state, was arrested by the operatives of the Anti-kidnapping Unit of the police in the state, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

He was accused of sharing a write-up said to be critical of the governor on a WhatsApp platform.

The embattled traditional ruler had, on 20 March, shared the write-up on a WhatsApp group platform known as Ideato Voice, a member of the WhatsApp group, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the case, told this newspaper.

The administrator of the WhatsApp platform, Vitus Ezenwa, confirmed the arrest of the monarch to reporters on Friday.

Mr Ezenwa, a publisher of a local newspaper in the state, said the traditional ruler was arrested and detained by the police on Wednesday.

The administrator of the WhatsApp group said the police arrested him (Ezenwa) first and granted him bail before they picked up the traditional ruler, who allegedly shared the post on the platform.

The post in question was titled, Gov Hope Uzodinma in fresh scandal. It focused on the alleged role played by a slain chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Gulak in the 2018 APC governorship primary election in Imo State, which was won by Mr Uzodinma.

Mr Gulak, a former political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, was the chairperson of the panel which conducted the primary.

He was shot dead by gunmen in Owerri Imo State on 30 May 2021.

The spokesperson of the police in Imo, Henry Okoye, confirmed the arrest of the monarch to PREMIUM TIMES, Friday.

Yes. He (Obinali) is being investigated for cyberstalking, Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, said.

Further developments will be communicated to the general public, he added.

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Anti-corruption activists and crusaders converged Thursday to access the fight against corruption under President Muhammadu Buhari.

These crusaders who represented different Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) also reviewed the engagement and participation of CSOs in Nigeria, and the recent call for the resignation of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.

They described as unnecessary the protest tagged Bawa Must Go involving CSOs across Nigeria.

They spoke at a summit organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre. Tagged Assessing the Fight Against Corruption Under President Buhari (2015  2023), it was held in Lagos.

The event also featured a panel session that had the Executive Director of Echoes of Women in Africa, Kate Duru; the Executive Director of Journalists for Democratic Rights, Adewale Adeoye; a Lawyer, Inibehe Effiong; Richard Akinola, and the National Coordinator of Democracy Vanguard, Adeola Soetan.

In his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of HEDA, Sulaimon Arigbabu, urged CSOs to refrain from calling for the removal of the EFCC Chairman, and instead provide constructive criticism to facilitate improvements in his administration.

This is an event to review the fight against corruption in the last eight years and make recommendations to key stakeholders  state and non-state actors on approaches to guarantee an effective and sustainable campaign against corruption, he said.

Government efforts

Highlighting the efforts of the anti-corruption agencies, the Chairman of HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraju, noted that the EFCC stands out as a case to study in the fight against corruption.

Citing recent developments, he said EFCC secured 2,220 convictions in 2021 and that in 2022, the agency secured 3,328 convictions in addition to forfeiture of N775 million and landed properties linked to two former government officials; as well as forfeiture of 40 assets in Nigeria, United States of America, London and Dubai, belonging to former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

He added that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) also 2022 secured a total of 672 convictions and that 565 non-petition-led investigations were successfully conducted. The Commission also recovered 117 billion Naira as proceeds of crime during the period.

The EFCC Chairman who was represented by the Lagos zonal commander, Michael Wetkas, said the agency is always willing to partner CSOs in the fight against corruption.

CSOs have the responsibility to correct the image of Nigeria, he said, People should only bring out cogent facts that are not driven by emotions.

Observations

The participants noted that the political system in Nigeria has worsened the fight against corruption in the country, adding that the impact of crime on the country has deprived ordinary citizens of access to basic amenities, as well as hindered development and growth.

The panel also explained that corruption has eaten deep into the nations educational system and that inadequate attention given to the fight against the menace at the state level has led to an increase in cases among governors and other state-level politicians.

They noted that insufficient funding and inadequate welfare for staff in anti-corruption agencies have been demotivating, thereby impeding progress in the fight against corruption.

They added that the insufficient evidence, funding, and technology available to anti-graft agencies are causing the slow pace of progress in the corruption war.

They concluded that the war against corruption requires the participation of all citizens.

Recommendations

The participants recommended that to enhance transparency, EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies should promote the public declaration of assets and that they should maintain websites that provide regular updates on their activities for greater accountability.

To avoid giving corrupt politicians an advantage in court, anti-graft agencies should refrain from publicising their next steps in the media.

To curb corruption, the Code of Conduct Bureau should require politicians to declare their assets both before and after their tenure in public office, they noted.

They suggested that the EFCC should stop auctioning and selling seized assets, and the Federal Government should create a new commission for the purpose.

CSOs have been protesting for the removal of Mr Bawa, over the alleged politicisation of operations of the EFCC, disobedience of court orders, and infringement on human rights.

The EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren had claimed that the group protesting against Mr Bawa is sponsored by persons under investigation.

However, the stakeholders urged CSOs to maintain their commitment to collaborating with anti-graft agencies in the fight against corruption and should establish a committee to create a comprehensive movement and agenda for the new administration in the fight against corruption.

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The governor-elect of Katsina State, Dikko Radda, has promised to use technology and involve residents of rural communities in fighting banditry in the state.

Mr Radda spoke to State House correspondents Friday afternoon after he presented his Certificate of Return to President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Radda was at the Villa with the state governor, Aminu Masari.

He said when sworn in as governor, his administration would prioritise fighting insecurity.

The former director general of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) said without security, residents of the state would find it difficult to go to farm, schools, markets and other economic activities.

Yes, I have said it over and over that security is our first priority. This is what we are going to give much attention to because it is only when you have peace and security that you can be able to go to the farm, school, hospital and even the market.

So security is very cardinal in the economic development of any society. And agriculture is one of the major areas of employment in our state. And its a major area of livelihood for our people, so it (government) must provide security to our people. And we promise to involve the locals (residents of local communities) and we promise to involve use of technology in tackling the security issues in my state, Mr Radda promised.

Mr Radda said he has set up strategic policy review committees which would help his administration to start working as soon as he is sworn in.

I think we have made our points very clear. And we have rolled out our strategic policy for the state and just the day before yesterday, we inaugurated our strategic policy review committees. We want to kickstart our work immediately we are sworn-in as governor and deputy. So I think we are doing everything now to ensure that we put everything in place so that we hit the ground running immediately after swearing-in, he said.

Mr Radda said the president reminded him to be transparent and accountable in discharging his duties.

Mr Radda, who was Mr Masaris chief of staff before he was appointed SMEDAN boss, polled 859,892 votes to defeat his closest rival of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Yakubu Lado, who got 486,620 votes.

Katsina, like many other states in the North-west and a part of the North-central, has been witnessing series of terrorists activities leading to the deaths and displacement of thousands of people. Schools and markets have been attacked while major roads have become endangered.

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the president-elect must filter all that he gets as lists of nominees for appointment on a screen of truth and take only credible people that Nigerians would readily identify with. He must avoid a number of people considered as party faithful who will be presented to him for appointment as either ministers or heads of government agencies because they have been compromised.

In the month of March, which wrapped up the 2023 general elections with the governorship and state assembly polls, the country has been drenched in a national debate over who should make the list of the yet-to-be-constituted cabinet of president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is gradually culminating in an intrepid confrontation among stakeholders of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and some analysts who, as usual, have started setting agenda for the incoming government.

It is the month of March, which literally made it instructive for the incoming Tinubu presidency, as party stakeholders are already engaged in intense lobbying for key positions in government, including ministerial and other juicy appointments. This, no doubt, is healthy for any democracy.

But the lingering impression of a presidency will be largely determined by the selection of cabinet members. Most of the men and women often chosen as cabinet members are personally known to the president. Some are among his closest friends, while others have just finished running his campaign. All have reputations that are easy to check out. Besides, the historical record shows that the president is given considerable latitude by the public, the press, and even the legislature.

Ironically, while these high-profile appointments are the easiest every new president would ever make, personnel mistakes, sometimes serious errors, have plagued them even before they actually take office. These lessons should be heeded early in the transition process if the president-elect must avoid the accusation of drifting from his own campaign promises.

No doubt, Tinubus table may have been already jam-packed with memos and lists of names of persons considered as qualified for appointments from states, zones, regions and even individual party bigwigs.

Good enough, in the wake of the clamour for appointments, the president-elect has stated categorically that he is out to constitute a government of national competence, which he said would form the basis for his appointments. He subtly passed a message that he is not one who would sheepishly throw caution to the wind by ignoring a note of warning, unlike the great Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar, who treated the premonition from the soothsayer with disdain to his own peril. With ethnic and religious sentiments being weaved into the lobby for appointments into his cabinet, Tinubu is not unmindful of the reality that he too could as well beware of the Ides of March.

In a statement he personally signed, the president-elect noted last week that his quest for competence is an ambition that is higher than even a government of national unity. He however said even though religion, ethnicity and other similar considerations would not determine appointments in his government, he will ensure a full integration of youths and women.

In selecting my government, I shall not be weighed down by considerations extraneous to ability and performance. The day for political gamesmanship is long gone. I shall assemble competent men and women and young people from across Nigeria to build a safer, more prosperous and just Nigeria. To secure our nation and to make it prosperous must be our top priorities. We cannot sacrifice these goals to political expediency. The whims of politics must take a backseat to the imperatives of governance, he stated.

This declaration is instructive. In total agreement with Tinubu, the whims of politics must take a backseat to the imperatives of governance because he needs as ministers and other political appointees only very patriotic, hardworking, committed, experienced and knowledgeable Nigerians who have not been compromised.

A national daily newspaper, Business Day, had a few days ago reported that no less than 20 people have been tipped to be in Tinubus cabinet, after he declared that competence rather than politics would weigh heavily on his choice of ministers.

Among the people the report said are being speculated to make the next cabinet are previous high-fliers from the outgoing administration who might also have been cut loose due to manners in which they have abused official privilege. However, a cursory look at the news report would readily confirm that fifth columnists and political jobbers are already at work campaigning for some of these actors to be returned to the commanding heights of the nations revenue generation agencies.

It would amount to a monumental disservice to Nigerians who elected Tinubu to be presented again with folks who were sacked from leadership of some of the countrys prime revenue generating institutions, and who however have the albatross of financial sleaze and malfeasance running into billions of naira hanging over them.

The confidence reposed in the Tinubu presidency will be dead on arrival if Nigerians find in the next cabinet people who have the notoriety of being axed for contract scamming and other acts of grand graft. Also, some of these persons were said to have blatantly contravened government policy in ways that fell short of the required level of compliance with the Public Procurement Act, 2007. In a few of these past instances, procedures were said to have been flagrantly violated, while huge expenditures running into billions of naira could not be justified.

In one of the noted cases, according to Aso Rock sources, President Muhammadu Buhari was shocked that there was very scanty evidence of compliance with public Procurement Act and that most of the CSR projects/programmes of the agencies involved were startlingly inflated. More so, the President was said to have noticed that the deliveries of CSR items were not accompanied by delivery letters and in a lot of cases, there was no evidence of actual items delivered nor of the receivers that signed for them.

Also, there is the case of another prominent insider jostling for space in the new cabinet who was said to have independently awarded, approved, and cancelled contracts, while also initiating the bidding process of contracts award in the agency of government the person worked in. And, contrary to public service rules, this privileged person approved and cancelled leases and concessions without the knowledge and approval of the agencys supervising Ministry. The person was also noted as being fond of taking draconian decisions with utter disregard for the agencys officials, and ran the place like a private empire, even showing disdain for official communication channels with the supervising ministry.

There is still a person who had earlier in public service, as head of a critical agency of government, been accused of having an adversarial relationship with the agencys board, and had a critical member of that board removed for questioning the loopholes and infractions in the financial statements of the agency. And that was without the consent of the ministry with oversight over the agency.

Some of these persons are certainly not the type that Nigerians would want to see in Tinubus incoming cabinet. In being wary of the Ides of March, the president-elect must filter all that he gets as lists of nominees for appointment on a screen of truth and take only credible people that Nigerians would readily identify with. He must avoid a number of people considered as party faithful who will be presented to him for appointment as either ministers or heads of government agencies because they have been compromised.

There are numerous decent technocrats and politicians who are qualified to head ministries and important parastatals and not the likes of those with baggage of corruption allegations  who have been in the system, but had compromised their personal and professional integrity. The president-elect should know that while genuine servants of the people who had earlier been in government should not be denied a place at the table, however if compromised people are appointed as ministers, the country would be back to square one and Nigerians who voted for him would be the losers.

Abubakar Usman, a public analyst, wrote from Abuja.

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Any attempt to truncate our democracy is a threat to the existence of the state itself and must be resisted by all democrats. When, therefore, an important institution such as the DSS comes out to make public comments on such a matter, it is important that the content of the messaging is indeed about preserving our democracy and not playing to the gallery of some spokespersons to an elected official.

Over the past couple of weeks, there have been statements and a petition by spokespersons to President-elect Bola Tinubu  Femi Fani-Kayode, Festus Keyamo and Bayo Onanuga  claiming that there is a subversive plot to deny their principal access to the presidential seat he won. I never really understood the argument, as I had not seen any action different from what has happened after previous presidential elections. The fact that some of them are questioning Tinubus success at the tribunal is certainly not something new in our politics.

On Wednesday, Nigerias secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS), joined the fray and announced that some key players are indeed plotting to impose an unconstitutional interim government on Nigeria. The service confirmed the speculations and calls by some for a truncation of Nigerias democratic system. It said that the plot was an aberration and a mischievous way of setting aside the constitution, undermining civil rule, as well as plunging the country into an avoidable crisis. The DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, said the planners, in their many meetings, had weighed various options, which include sponsoring endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of State of Emergency.

What then is the plot? I am not sure I understand it. Nigeria is a country where public demonstrations are very common and legal, and they do not result in the declaration of states of emergency. The state of emergency is declared by the president and the legislature. President Buhari has affirmed consistently and repeatedly that he is eager to hand over power to the declared winner of the 25th February election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, so I do not see the logic of his declaring a state of emergency to stop the handover of power. Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker Gbajabiamila are also definitely not in the political mould of anti-constitutionalists, so I am at a loss on where the fear of the declaration of a state of emergency is coming from.

What I do not understand, therefore, is the path that would lead to the unconstitutional imposition of an interim government. Which branch of government is engaged in nefarious meetings to put a stop to our democracy? Is it the executive, legislature or judiciary? What we know for sure is that Nigerians are committed to the sustenance of democracy and would fight to preserve it.

The other possibility coming from the DSS statement pertains to frivolous cases currently in the judiciary. Nigeria has the highest level of election-related petitions in the courts in the contemporary world. The fact of the matter, however, is that our Constitution allows for this and they are a legal and legitimate route to resolving contestations on electoral matters. Indeed, the counsel given to people who have been declared losers in an election is to go to court, rather than contest the loss on the streets.

What I do not understand, therefore, is the path that would lead to the unconstitutional imposition of an interim government. Which branch of government is engaged in nefarious meetings to put a stop to our democracy? Is it the executive, legislature or judiciary? What we know for sure is that Nigerians are committed to the sustenance of democracy and would fight to preserve it. If the purpose of the statement is to get democracy defenders to stand by and get ready to defend democracy against anti-democratic elements, then the message needed to have been clearer. If, yet, the message is that there are fifth columnists within government branches planning evil against our democracy, then what is required is not a press release and tweets from the DSS; the suspects should be arrested and charged for their treasonable plot. The statement is coming barely a month after the 25 February presidential election that produced Bola Tinubu as Nigerias next leader. Mr Tinubu was the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and if some elements within the same government are plotting regicide, then immediate action against them must be taken. We cannot accept an end to the handover of power on 29 May, which has now become a constitutionally-entrenched habit we are all proud of.

My recollection is that the idea of an interim government was popularised by Afe Babalola, the renowned philanthropist, legal icon and founder of Afe Babalola University in April last year. He proposed that the 2023 general elections be suspended in favour of a six-month interim government to be drawn from various strands of the Nigerian social, economic and political life. Virtually all Nigerians condemned his proposal, which was expressly meant to truncate Nigerian democracy. Mr Babalola was looking for an unconstitutional shortcut to address his concerns over restructuring. That issue is no longer relevant because the elections held and the outcomes have been decided and what has not been addressed would be in the tribunals.

What I find confusing is the re-fashioning of fears about the abortion of elections for an interim government in a totally different context, in which the elections have already taken place and a winner has emerged, even if the election results are in court, which in the Nigerian context is normal.

Th next iteration of the interim government was in rumours that emerged alleging that some people close to President Buhari were hatching a conspiracy to impose an interim government and have the then coming elections postponed. As soon as those rumours surfaced, President Buhari once again spoke and assured Nigerians that the elections would hold and power would be handed over to the winner of the presidential race. What I find confusing is the re-fashioning of fears about the abortion of elections for an interim government in a totally different context, in which the elections have already taken place and a winner has emerged, even if the election results are in court, which in the Nigerian context is normal.

Emotions over the elections remain high and hurtful actions and words have been expressed over the period. Nonetheless, it is important to state that Nigerian elections have been improving steadily since 2011 and while significant problems remain, the only meaningful approach is to continue the advocacy for the continued improvement of the quality and integrity of our elections. Any attempt to truncate our democracy is a threat to the existence of the state itself and must be resisted by all democrats. When, therefore, an important institution such as the DSS comes out to make public comments on such a matter, it is important that the content of the messaging is indeed about preserving our democracy and not playing to the gallery of some spokespersons to an elected official.

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.

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Dear brothers and sisters! We tend to think of Sadaqah and Zakah as something we give to the poor, but the truth is that sharing food is always a Sadaqah, if you do it for the sake of Allah. In fact, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) even said that feeding our own selves is considered a charity, subhanallah!

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All praise is for Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, and we seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our own souls and the wickedness of our actions, whoever Allah guides there is none that can lead him astray, and whoever Allah allows to go astray, there is none that can lead him to the right path.

I testify and bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship in truth but Allah, alone, without any partners. And I testify and bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His Servant and Messenger. As for whats after:

Dear brothers and sisters! Our Beloved Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) urged us to provide food to the poor, and the needy to meet their needs from hunger, he said:

O people, spread peace, and feed the food, and pray the wombs, and pray at night, while people sleep, you will enter Paradise in peace.

It is a well-known fact that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) had always been keen to follow the Sunnah of Allah Almighty.

He would always go out of his way to do what Allah wants from him and he would never shy away from any act that would please Him (Allah).

One such Sunnah is that he used to feed others and in Islam, this has been made an obligation for Muslims. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was known to have said:

An individual should not eat until they feed someone who is hungry.

It has also been narrated on his behalf that:

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let them not leave food without sharing it with someone who is hungry.

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is reported to have said:

Whoever feeds a fasting person will earn the same reward as him without diminishing in any way the reward of the fasting person.

This Prophetic Hadith encourages Muslims to feed those who are hungry, especially during the blessed month of Ramadan. Muslims should follow this Sunnah by feeding others in Islam, by donating food or money to their Muslim charity organisations.

One of the most important deeds that a Muslim must seize its great reward is feeding food. The virtue of feeding food to Muslims has been mentioned many times in the Noble Quran.

He is considered one of the people of faith (Iman) who bring good tidings of Paradise because of the Almightys saying:

Or giving food in a time of hunger (famine/poverty). To an orphan and near of kin. Or to a Miskin (poor) cleaving to dust (out of misery). Then he became one of those who believed (in the Islamic Monotheism) and recommended one another to perseverance and patience, and (also) recommended one another to pity and compassion. They are those on the Right Hand (i.e. the dwellers of Paradise).

The Noble Quran describes them as the righteous in the Almightys verse:

Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of Kafur. A spring of which the [righteous] servants of Allah will drink; they will make it gush forth in force [and abundance]. They [are those who] fulfill [their] vows and fear a Day whose evil will be widespread. And they give food in spite of love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive.

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:

Whoever feeds someone who is hungry will have his sins forgiven, and whoever helps someone to travel will have his sins forgiven.

Dear brothers and sisters! Feeding the hungry, giving food to the needy, and helping people with their needs are all good deeds that can earn us a place in Paradise.

Feeding people and from the commandments of the Noble Prophet to enter Paradise and escape from the Fire:

He who sleeps full while his neighbour is hungry does not believe in me while he knows about it.

Feed the food, pray the wombs, and pray at night while the people are asleep, you will enter heaven in peace.

Fear the Fire, even if it is by slitting a date.

The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:

Worship Ar-Rahman, feed others, spread the (greeting of) peace, then you will enter Paradise with security (salam). [At-Tirmidhi]

On another occasion, he (Peace be upon him) mentioned the food of Jannah (Paradise) as a specific reward for feeding the poor, saying:

Whichever believer feeds a hungry believer, Allah feeds him from the fruits of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection. [At-Tirmidhi]

In addition to this immense reward, Ali (RA) said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:

Indeed, in Paradise, there are chambers whose outside can be seen from their inside, and their inside can be seen from their outside. A Bedouin stood and said, Who are they for, O Messenger of Allah? He said, For those who speak well, feed others, fast regularly, and perform Salah during the night while the people sleep.

Respected servants of Allah! Just as giving food leads to Jannah (Paradise), it also protects us from the Fire.

In fact, even feeding your family can carry this weight, as the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:

Whoever has three daughters and is patient towards them, and feeds them, gives them to drink, and clothes them from his wealth  they will be a shield for him from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. [Ibn Majah]

On the other hand, actively denying someone food and preventing them from accessing it can lead to the Fire. The below Hadith teaches us that even keeping an animal hungry is a weighty sin. The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:

A woman punished her cat by imprisoning it until it died of hunger, and because of it, she entered the Fire. It was said  and Allah knows best  You did not feed it nor give it water when you imprisoned it, nor did you release it and let it eat from the creatures which creep on the earth. [Bukhari]

Dear brothers and sisters! We tend to think of Sadaqah and Zakah as something we give to the poor, but the truth is that sharing food is always a Sadaqah, if you do it for the sake of Allah. In fact, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) even said that feeding our own selves is considered a charity, subhanallah!

The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:

What you feed yourself is Sadaqah for you. What you feed your child is Sadaqah for you. What you feed your wife is Sadaqah for you. What you feed your servant is Sadaqah for you. [Bukhari]

Therefore, it is important for us to always make the intention to cook, eat and share food for Allahs sake, to ensure this action is spiritually meaningful and that we reap its rewards.

Respected brothers and sisters! Be generous, because the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was most generous in Ramadan. Ibn Abbas reported that:

The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) was the most generous of people and he was even more generous in Ramadan when Angel Jibril would meet him. [Bukhari and Muslim]

 The benefits of giving charity (Sadaqah):

1. It will gain you the entrance through the gate of Sadaqah in Paradise.

2. It expiates your sins.

3. Charity will be a Shade for you on the Day of Judgment.

4. It Increases the blessings (Albarka) of Allah on you.

5. It protects you from the Hellfire.

6. Continuous reward after death (Sadaqah Jaariyyah).

Dear servants of Allah! Please, we sincerely seek your financial support, we need your help, we need your assistance, your donation and your contribution on the preparation in this blessed and Noble Month of Ramadan and Sallah period for the continuation of taking care of our orphans, widows and the students under our care. Your support is highly needed for Allahs sake.

Respected brothers and sisters! As usual, we sincerely solicit for your kind and sincere contribution towards the Ramadan and Sallah preparation for our orphans, widows and students; and the development of our schools and Islamic Center financially, materially and morally.

Our aim and objective always is to have a standard Islamic center and Arabic/Islamic schools for orphans and less privileged Muslims children.

If you want to pay your Zakah or Sadaqah, Fisabilillah, our great Islamic center is waiting for your kind and merciful gesture. Sincerely, your donation will help distribute Ramadan and Sallah foods, etc for our orphans.

Remember, the Month of Ramadan will not be the same without our families, but unfortunately this is not a privilege enjoyed by everyone. This is the reason were steadfast in planning to provide Ramadan and Sallah feedings for the orphans, widows and students under our care!

We planned to distribute food packages that worth amount up to 4000 widows and 3000 orphans In Shaa Allah, this year.

And your contribution is highly waiting as usual. May Allah rewards all your efforts and your good deeds, ameen.

Remember, Allah Almighty says:

If you support the course of Allah, He will support you. [Quran, 47: 7]

And the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:

Whoever relieves his Muslim brother of a hardship from the hardships of this world, Allah shall relieve him of a hardship from the hardships of the Day of Judgement. And whoever makes things easy for a person in difficulty, Allah will ease for him in this world and the Next. Allah is forever aiding a servant so long as he is in the aid of his Muslim brother.

And he (Peace be upon him) said:

Every act of goodness is considered as Sadaqah. [Bukhari]

Here is our Account details:

Account no.  0048647196

Account name  Murtala Muhammed

GTBank

For more enquiries contact, Imam Murtadha Muhammad, the director and Imam Of the Centre: 08038289761.

To donate food items, etc, contact the following Numbers: 08038289761, 08056557477

Jazakumullah Khairan as you kindly contribute.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation; may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and securityand his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly and sincerely until the establishment of the Hour.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okenes Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.

This Jumuah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today Friday, Ramadan 09, 1444 AH (March 31, 2023).

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This conviction emphasises that when there is a relationship with power dynamics where one person, such as an employer or a benefactor, has the upper hand, the more powerful person is not absolved of wrongdoing by providing partial information to their beneficiary. It is not enough to share the benefits of an offer without sharing the consequences.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, his wife, and a middle-man have been found guilty of an organ-trafficking plot in the United Kingdom. The findings of the court are not surprising to me, as I had contemplated when the senator and his wife were arrested last year.

In many cases of trafficking, particularly those involving high-profile individuals, there tend to be a few common misconceptions that are relevant to this situation.

Status: People have this misconception that traffickers can only be those people  known criminals or people displaying criminal tendencies. This is not true. Trafficking is about power, vulnerability, and control. A trafficker is simply a person that benefits directly or directly off another person by force, fraud, or coercion. Traffickers can be family members. They can be friends. And they can be professionals. In a report by Polaris, which I co-authored  Human Trafficking at Home: The Labor Trafficking of Domestic Workers  the highest category of employer-traffickers were diplomats on A-1 and G-1 visas. As we note in the report, it is possible that they are the highest category because they are easy to identify. But I share this to dispel the notion that just because someone is a professional, has a high-paying job, or things like that, s/he cannot be a trafficker. Not too long ago here in the United States, one can recall that Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy American financier, was charged with sex trafficking. Although he died before his case was concluded, his friend, the wealthy socialite, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of sex trafficking last year. Status does not prevent a person from being a trafficker.

Visa procurement: Helping a person enter a country legally through an entry visa (and not smuggling) does not mean that their sponsor will not traffick them. In addition to the report I have mentioned already, Polaris has another report, Human Trafficking on Temporary Work Visas: A Data Analysis 2015-2017, that profiles trafficking victims who had visas. Traffickers will bring people into a country legally and then withhold their passports, threaten them with deportation regularly, and allow their visas to expire to put them at risk of trafficking. So, no, applying for a visa for a person does not mean that there is no intention of trafficking them.

Victim age: There is a misconception that adults cannot be victims of trafficking; however, a person can be a victim of trafficking at any age. The recruitment tactics of traffickers are known to include the misrepresentation of opportunities and posing as benefactors. If you are looking for a job and someone says I have this job that will pay you this amount of money, wont you take it? If you find out that they are not paying you what they said they would, you should leave, right? But not if they have threatened you, they are holding onto your documents, or you feel like you have nowhere else to go. Someone not being a minor does not automatically translate to not being a trafficking victim.

Caring Father: There is nothing wrong with being a caring father. But when you target a vulnerable person, when there is a power imbalance between you and that person, and they can hardly stand up to you. There are more acceptable ways of obtaining a kidney  to seek, informed donors. A doting father should seek people who are in an empowered position to make organ donation decisions without being influenced by their vulnerability.

There are three elements that must be present for a trafficking conviction in most cases here in the United States  Act Means and Purpose. (AMP). I said most cases because you dont need to prove means in the case of sex trafficking of a minor. But back to AMP. There appears to be purpose  there was a need for an organ donation. There has been the act  the alleged victim was recruited and transported. What the prosecution would need to prove is the means,  which would be the equivalent of what is regarded as force, fraud, or coercion here in the United States.

Coercion is not that you tied a persons hand, or you held a gun to their head. If I am poor, and you offer me a meal in exchange for sex, that is coercion. Note that this is not greed. If a person has food to eat, or somewhere to stay, and Im still trading sex for what you offer me, you can say the person is being greedy. But when the choice is between going with you or sleeping at the bus stop; no, that is not greed. That is coercion. What was the actual condition of the alleged victim? What was he offered? What was he told? How free was he to walk away from the offer? These are some of the many questions that will determine the outcome of the case.

While the supposed donor was never held at gunpoint, during the case, it was revealed that he had been offered 7,000! He was not advised on the risk of surgery and post-surgery care.

At the time of the arrest, a significant number of people were saying categorically that this cant be a trafficking case because of the status of the alleged trafficker, the age of the alleged victim, and the presence of a legal visa application.

This conviction emphasises that when there is a relationship with power dynamics where one person, such as an employer or a benefactor, has the upper hand, the more powerful person is not absolved of wrongdoing by providing partial information to their beneficiary. It is not enough to share the benefits of an offer without sharing the consequences.

The conviction also debunks many myths about trafficking, including that traffickers have to be career criminals, victims have to be forcefully restrained, and applying for a legal visa for a person prevents trafficking.

Lillian Agbeyegbe, a public health professional expert in the field of human trafficking and intimate partner violence, wrote from Silver Spring, Maryland.

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For years, two members of the Knesset, Israels parliament, have been pushing to outlaw telling people about Jesus. If Moshe Gafni and Yaakov Asher of the United Torah Judaism Party have their way, anyone who shares the gospel of Jesus Christ in Israel will go to jail.

Most people started paying attention to the trouble in Israel on Sunday when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant. As you read this, droves of protesters holding Israeli blue-and-white flags are still flooding the streets of the Jewish state, despite Netanyahus decision on Monday to delay the divisive judicial overhaul in the country for a month. On Sunday night in Tel Aviv, the protesters blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires. Outside Netanyahus private home in Jerusalem, police battled protesters.

For three months, thousands of Israelis have been on the countrys streets protesting a judiciary reform that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is proposing. Netanyahu, Israels longest-tenured prime minister, argues that reform is needed to strengthen the government. In his opinion, the judiciary is an obstacle to the transformation he wants in Israel, because they have too much influence over law-making and public policy. The opposition believes Netanyahu, who has been prime minister for a total of 15 years, intends to weaken the judiciary and transform himself into a dictator. The prime minister is dealing with the countrys judiciary while on trial for corruption. Before he was allowed to resume office for the third time, Netanyahu had signed a Supreme Court-approved conflict of interest agreement, which some believe he is now violating.

The current crisis is the first time in the countrys 75-year history that citizens have stood up in this number to oppose their government. It is so bad that military reservists are refusing to answer the call to duty. The Israeli military depends heavily on its reservists. This challenge prompted the dismissed Defence Minister to call for a halt to the planned judiciary reform because it hurt the militarys morale and encouraged Israels enemies, all of which endangered Israels security. Prime Minister Netanyahu felt that the opposite is true, that judicial reform is needed to safeguard Israels security. He fired Gallant for not standing up to insubordination of the military reservists.

In his reaction, the opposition leader in Israels parliament, Yari Lapid said that firing Gallant, just because he warned of a threat to Israels security, is a new low for this anti-Zionist government. He continued, Netanyahu can fire Gallant, but he cant fire reality, and he cant fire the Israelis who are standing up against this coalitions insanity. He concluded that the prime minister is a danger to Israels security.

Meanwhile, the prime ministers son, Yair Netanyahu, accuses the US government of financing the protests.

When leaders chip away at the tenets of democracy, it affects everything. It may take time, but removing safeguards, and checks and balances, over time, will lead to a return to a medieval society where might is right and woe to the weak that humanity had tried before and found wanting.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron faces a similar obstacle with his desire to implement pension reforms. Millions of French citizens have been protesting Macrons attempt at moving the retirement age from 62 to 64. Macron argues that without changes, the pension plan will collapse. Even though economists say that French workers are living longer and there are fewer workers to pay into the pension purse to keep it solvent, the populace is still on the streets protesting. President Macrons decision to bypass the National Assembly to institute the reform on his own raised the countrys anger and fear for the state of French democracy.

In Nigeria, the Federal Government will remove the oil subsidy in a few weeks. It will plunge the country into a similar crisis. If this happens under the unpopular government of Muhammadu Buhari, it will be worse. It will be catastrophic if it occurs under an unpopular in-coming government of Bola Tinubu. Like in France and Israel, there is no argument that the government can present what will be satisfactory to Nigerians.

The problem with these unpopular policies by the democratically elected governments of Israel and France is the way they endanger democracy itself. While the Israeli and French governments have not used extreme force to crush the protest that started in January, in the case of Nigeria, you can be sure that the security agencies will unleash armed men on the streets to quell the protest.

When leaders chip away at the tenets of democracy, it affects everything. It may take time, but removing safeguards, and checks and balances, over time, will lead to a return to a medieval society where might is right and woe to the weak that humanity had tried before and found wanting.

Knowing Nigerians, all these might not concern us. But it will interest us to note that even our dear Jesus is in trouble in Netanyahus Israeli.

For years, two members of the Knesset, Israels parliament, have been pushing to outlaw telling people about Jesus. If Moshe Gafni and Yaakov Asher of the United Torah Judaism Party have their way, anyone who shares the gospel of Jesus Christ in Israel will go to jail.

Concerned analysts say that Gafnis anti-religious freedom bills did not go anywhere in the last three decades does not mean they would not go anywhere in the next three decades. They point at the current judicial reform as an example of something nobody knew would happen in Israel. They also warned that the weakening of the judiciary would make it possible for a future right-wing dominated Knesset to pass such a bill.

Gafni and Asher are ultra-Orthodox members of the governing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They have legislation that they are pushing to enforce their pet desire to ban spiritual conversions in Israel. Their proposed punishment for such an act would be one-year imprisonment, if the transformation happened to an adult. But if the conversion happened to someone under 18, the punishment would be two years in prison. Even though their bill does not mention Jesus or the New Testament, those who know Gafni say he has an axe to grind with the New Testament.

To ease the fear of Christians in Israel and around the world, Prime Minister Netanyahu wrote, We will not advance any law against the Christian community.

Political analysts in Israel also do not see such legislation passing in the Knesset, at least not now. They point out that Moshe Gafni has been pushing for it for over three decades and is yet to be successful. He even introduced a bill to ban the New Testament in Israel and criminalise those possessing it. So far, lawmakers have shot down such extreme bills.

According to Israels Central Bureau of Statistics, Israels Christian community grew by 1.4% in 2020. Of the 8.8 million people in Israel, 1.9% of the population (about 185,000) is Christian. In contrast, 18% of the Israeli population (approximately 1,584,000) is Muslim, and 1.6% (about 143,000) is Druze. Also of interest is that 76.7% of Christians in Israel are Arabs.

Concerned analysts say that Gafnis anti-religious freedom bills did not go anywhere in the last three decades does not mean they would not go anywhere in the next three decades. They point at the current judicial reform as an example of something nobody knew would happen in Israel. They also warned that the weakening of the judiciary would make it possible for a future right-wing dominated Knesset to pass such a bill. And when that happens, there wont be a judiciary to defend freedom of speech and religious freedom.

With his determination to transform Israel, nobody can tell how far Netanyahu is willing to go and how much he will trade to have his way. If he is persistent about staying in power at all costs and needs these ultra-Orthodox members of the Knesset to stay alive, he may close his eyes and make a deal.

And who knows, Jesus may be on Netanyahus chopping block when that time comes. And if it does not happen under Netanyahu, it may happen under a future more extreme prime minister, like Moshe Gafni.

Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo teaches Post-Colonial African History at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He is also the host of Dr. Damages Show. His books include This American Life Sef, Children of a Retired God, among others.

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Qabil Ashirov

The opening of Azerbaijan's representative office in Palestine will bring the cooperation between the two countries to a new stage, Azernews reports, citing Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov telling at the joint briefing with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad Al-Maliki.

The minister expressed his gratitude to the State of Palestine for supporting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and said that Azerbaijan also supports the efforts of Palestine in the direction of peace and stability. Jeyhun Bayramov also added that Azerbaijan supports dialogue and peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister said that the two countries are determined to develop relations and active consultations are being held for this purpose. He added that further consultations will be held soon at the level of deputy ministers.
A judge denied bail Thursday for a counselor accused of sexual acts with a local teenager almost 20 years ago, when the teen would have been 15 and the man entrusted to help her would have been in his early thirties.

The now 52-year-old counselor was extradited from New Mexico to face criminal charges. Judge Areshini Pather made her ruling despite a prosecutors willingness to let Darren Wade Powell live under house arrest until trial and testimony from two character witnesses.

This court is not going to grant bail, Judge Pather said at the close of the hearing in Albemarle Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

The judge told Powell that he has been charged with two counts of indecent acts with a custodial child, each of which is a felony that can bring a sentence as long as five years.

The judge did not ask for a plea from Powell, who attended the hearing electronically from the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Powell has been held there since March 25, following his extradition from custody near his home in La Luz, a suburb of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

According to the prosecutor, the allegations arose a year ago, when the girl, now an adult, began telling Albemarle investigators her story of a counselor allegedly abusing his position of trust. Back in 2004, said Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Alicia Milligan, the girl was 15 and had been struggling and was getting into trouble at school.

She was assigned to the defendant as her counselor, Milligan told the court. During that time that he was her counselor, they had a consensual sexual relationship.

According to the complaint filed by Albemarle County Police investigator Michael Schneider, Powell bought the girl alcohol and cigarettes and allegedly engaged in multiple kissing and sexual encounters at Powells apartment at University Heights, a complex just west of the city limits off Ivy Road.

The complaint alleges that illegal sex with the girl continued into 2005 when Powell moved to New Mexico but that Powell had earlier stopped the counseling because he told her it was inappropriate for them to continue for them to continue to have a sexual relationship while he was her counselor.

The alleged victim no longer lives in Virginia, was not named in the hearing, and her identity was redacted from the criminal paperwork provided by a court clerk.

Two witnesses spoke highly of the accused. One was Stephanie Leigh Powell Fang of Whitestown, Indiana, Powells older sister. As her younger brother watched via his jailhouse video feed, Fang told the court that Powell is on leave as a counselor with the Tulorosa School District and that an official there said he would be welcomed back upon successful resolution of his legal issues.

Fang said that she obtained a local house for her brother to inhabit while he awaits trial under a home electronic incarceration program.

I can do whatever I need to do, Fang replied. Im prepared.

Another witness testifying Thursday was Powells longtime friend and former colleague C. Garrett Jones, the Family Resource Program Manager for Virginias Department of Social Services.

Jones said he met Powell in 2004 when the two were working for Family Preservation Services, a private counseling provider. He said he would welcome the opportunity to provide his friend with food and transportation.

I provided references for him for every job, said Jones.

In determining whether to grant the home electronic incarceration, the judge heard both prosecution and defense agree that Powell has no prior criminal record, but Judge Pather also wanted to know what the victim thought.

She knows hes been arrested, said Milligan.

The judge kept pressing about what the alleged victim wants.

I dont know if weve had a conversation with her, said Milligan. I dont anticipate that shed have an objection.

Absolutely wrong, muttered a man in the gallery.

Sensing the judges direction, Powells lawyer Rhonda Quagliana said that her client likely would have been approved for bail had his home not been so far away.

The judge then cited the allegation that the defendant purchased alcohol for the girl and pronounced her decision to deny bail.

You all can come back, or you can appeal it to the Circuit Court, said Judge Pather. The choice is up to you.

Moments later, Quagliana was in the courthouse basement gathering paperwork. She declined comment but said she was preparing to file an appeal to the Albemarle Circuit Court.

The parties are due back in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on June 12 for a status hearing.
Reader survey As a reader of PREMIUM TIMES, your opinion matters. Please take our survey to help us better understand the values and preferences of our readers. Your feedback will give us valuable insights into how we can tailor the different types of content we offer to meet your needs. The survey should only take about 6-8 minutes to complete. Click here to take it.

Nigerias corrupt political class seemed to have paid no mind to the note of caution sounded by President John F. Kennedy when he warned that those who make peaceful change impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable. The poemis dedicated to those women from Nasarawa State and every citizen of Nigeria reeling from the pain of being robbed of their votes; whose voices were lost in the chaos; whose hope for a better future triumphs over our current experiences.

Chaos and noise,

Voices lost poise,

Violence unrestrained,

Change obstructed.

Rigging and fraud,

Will of people ignored,

Leadership hijacked,

Future brutally sacked.

Weeping people,

Torn dreams, hopeless and feeble,

Nonviolent change obstructed,

To our shame, corrupted.

INECs promises were once high,

BIVAS and IREV, systems to try,

Voter fraud to stop and deny,

Nigerias future to fortify.

But alas, the political class,

Had different plans to amass,

Voters intimidation with no class,

INEC, their ally, a conspiring farce.

BIVAS and IREV, just words,

INEC and politicians, blurred,

Truth and justice incurred,

Hope of free and fair elections, absurd.

Charade persists, for how long?

INEC and politicians cheat,

Democracys hopes in chaos meet,

Political class corrupt and steadfast.

Exploiting ethnic and religious divides,

Fueling division with self-serving lies,

Personal gain, their preferences,

Causing the nation endless stress.

Nigerians, easy prey,

Falling for the tribalism play,

Led astray, far away,

From a brighter, better day.

But hope is not yet lost,

For at what great cost,

We must choose competence,

Over tribalisms false pretense.

Dare to unite and stand as one,

Building bridges, not walls undone,

For Nigerias future, we must shun,

The politics of division, its not fun.

Dare to rise and make a change,

For a better Nigeria to arrange,

Where we value competence,

Over ethno-religious difference.

I came here stark naked the way I came into this world to fight for my emancipation. Should there be my own compatriots who colluded with them to steal our mandate, I stand here today to curse and declare that may the ground open up and swallow them all.

That was the heart-wrenching cry of one disconsolate woman in Akwanga Local government area of Nasarawa State who came out this past week to protest the outcome of the governorship election of 18th March in the state. She was joined in the protest by scores of half-naked women and others dressed in black attires, a suggestion that they were all in a state of mourning. They hurled curses at anyone they believed was complicit in the scheme that rendered their votes inconsequential and demanded it must count.

I do not have the specifics of what transpired in the Nasarawa State gubernatorial election but I know that in my home state of Enugu, the mood is no different. From Enugu to Imo, Lagos to Rivers, Nasarawa to Benue, presidential to governorship elections, it was one story upon another of unimaginable violence, intimidation and vote buying across the length and breadth of this country. A well-oiled political class used the powerful instrument of state and INECs Mahmood Yakubu, who many are alleging to be a corrupt umpire, to scuttle the will of the Nigerian people.

Nigeria under President Buharis eight years of inept leadership, marked by total economic collapse, rising insurgency and pervasive insecurity, has tethered on the edge. To many compatriots, the nations 2023 elections offered hope as a defining moment for the country to change its trajectory by choosing leaders whom they believe could refocus their country on the path of sustainable peace and stability. Instead, what we witnessed were mostly charades with predetermined outcomes in favour of certain candidates, in place of free and fair contests.

Nigerias corrupt political class seemed to have paid no mind to the note of caution sounded by President John F. Kennedy when he warned that those who make peaceful change impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable. The poem above is dedicated to those women from Nasarawa State and every citizen of Nigeria reeling from the pain of being robbed of their votes; whose voices were lost in the chaos; whose hope for a better future triumphs over our current experiences. Not all heroes wear capes.

Osmund Agbo writes from Houston, Texas. Email: Eagleosmund@yahoo.com

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Reader survey As a reader of PREMIUM TIMES, your opinion matters. Please take our survey to help us better understand the values and preferences of our readers. Your feedback will give us valuable insights into how we can tailor the different types of content we offer to meet your needs. The survey should only take about 6-8 minutes to complete. Click here to take it.

The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, has asked the governor-elect of the state, Abba Yusuf, to exercise restraint in issuing public statements concerning executive powers as he is still the governor of the state until 29 May.

This is contained in a statement issued by the states commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba, on Friday.

The governor issued the statement in reaction to a statement credited to the governor-elect, warning individuals, groups and organisations undertaking construction on public places to desist from doing so.

On Thursday, Mr Yusuf warned individuals, groups, and other organisations that have ongoing construction in public places to stop further development on the properties.

You are advised to discontinue any construction work on public land within and around the following: All schools in the State, all religious and cultural sites in the State, all hospitals in the State, all graveyards in the State, and along the city walls of Kano.

You are also advised to discontinue the demolition of, and the construction on, all existing public buildings belonging to the government and people of Kano State.

This Advisory is issued in the public interest, effective from today Thursday 30th March, 2023 till further notice. Any contravener does so at his/her own risk, Mr Yusuf said.

Ganduje disagrees

But Mr Ganduje told the governor-elect that he has the power just like any other governor to allocate plots of land to interested persons and organisations.

State governors wielded enormous powers to allocate plots and therefore every government has undertaken such exercise including the previous administration which the governor-elect had served, Mr Ganduje said.

ALSO READ: Ganduje pardons 12 prisoners on death row

That based on available records, the previous administration has made land allocation in some of the public places the governor-elect categorically mentioned which include the city wall  with allocation of land from Kofar Nassarawa to Kofar Mata; shops at the Kofar Mata Eid Prayer Ground facing the Orion Cinema and from Kofar Mata to Yan yashi opposite the Eid Ground and from Kofar Kabuga to Kofar Famfo facing the old Campus of Bayero University.

That the advisory issued by the governor-elect has generated a lot of tension in the state and advised him to desist from such in order to avoid causing confusion, the Kano government said

The government also called on individuals and organisations who acquired land after following due process and procedures not to be threatened by the directive.

The governor-elect was a former commissioner of works under the administration of former governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

I am still the governor

The statement said the action of the governor-elect amounts to jumping the gun by issuing directive on a government policy while the incumbent is yet to complete his term in office.

As far as the division of power is concerned as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje remains the governor with executive powers until May 29 and reserves the right to carry out his functions in public interest even on the eve of his exit.

Until he subscribes to the oath of office as governor in May 29, he remains what he is-a governor-elect and does not have the powers of the governor.

All he can do is to reverse some of the actions taken by his predecessor when he assumes office if there is a valid reason to do so. No governor-elect has the constitutional or legal powers to determine the direction of a state until he is sworn in, the statement added.

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EVANSTON, Ill., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This Women's History Month, we're celebrating the trending increase of women entering the trucking industry. At 160 Driving Academy, 59% of Senior leadership is female-led, with 25.2% female team members throughout the organization.

160 Driving Academy CEO, Steve Gold, was featured on WBBM | CBS Chicago, and offers some insights into female students entering and graduating our training programs.

160 Driving Academy CEO, Steve Gold, featured on CBS 2 Chicago.

Gold remarks, "There's nothing different about training a male versus a female."

We couldn't be prouder of 160 Driving Academy graduate, Mimertha Fuentes of UPS, as she shares her motivations and experiences of entering the trucking industry.

Thank you to Lauren Victory for this encouraging and inspired story and to Women In Trucking Association for the latest industry statistics and insights.

Overview of 160 Driving Academy CDL Training Programs:

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
ZHONGSHAN, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 30, 2023, the opening ceremony of the 2023 Zhongshan Global Investment Promotion Conferences and the 10th Top Talent Networking was held, resulting in an intended investment of more than 184 billion yuan. More than 500 people from all over the world, including outstanding entrepreneurs, high-level talents, joined the event at the main venue in Zhongshan and sub-venues set up in Hong Kong and Macao SARs at home, as well as in Malaysia. Against the backdrop of the increasingly unstable world economy, enterprises are optimistic about Zhongshan's development potential and confident in investing here.

With the theme of "Invest in Zhongshan for a Win-win Future", Zhongshan has listed out 23 potential projects with detail information to attract global investment for the first time, aiming to attract more attention from domestic and foreign high-quality enterprises to Zhongshan. These projects cover key areas, including healthcare, medicine, smart home appliances, next-generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy, trade, and modern services.

The number of Zhongshan's investment projects has reached 263. Out of the over 90 billion yuan of projects that have been signed, 75 billion is for manufacturing projects, accounting for about 83%.

As an important junction in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Zhongshan has attracted investment from enterprises in various industries with its superior location, strong industrial foundation, and ample industrial space.

Liu Zhengyu, president of Shenzhen Intl Holdings Ltd., said that the company is optimistic about the development potential and prospects of Zhongshan and has listed Zhongshan as a prime hub city and strategic core location. The two parties will work together to build a Shenzhen-Zhongshan modern supply chain base in the Greater Bay Area, which is expected to bring about 500,000 square meters of industrial space for the city in the future.

Zheng Guihui, president of ZDVC Group, mentioned that the company will establish a 10-billion-yuan project of new energy battery materials and ultra-clean and high-purity microelectronic materials, as well as a global production management headquarters in Zhongshan. Once the project is completed, it will be the world's largest production base in that specialized field. The hope is to build a global first-class microelectronics industry innovation center in Zhongshan in the future.

Zhongshan is dedicated to building one of the best cities in terms of business environment with the fastest project approval process and the most efficient services. Kaneo Saito, general manager of Minebea AccessSolutions (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., thinks that Zhongshan is a famous historical and cultural city with an advantageous location and convenient transportation. The Zhongshan Municipal Government attaches great importance to the development of the real economy, encourages innovation and digital upgrading of enterprises, and helps them attract talents. Officials at all levels provide considerate services to enterprises and quick handling and response to their requests, all of which attract Minebea to settle in Zhongshan and continue to expand its investment and production.

In addition, Zhongshan is accelerating the construction of high-level talent hub in the Greater Bay Area and making every effort to build a fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurship for talents. "The fully furnished talent apartments, considerate incentive policies for talents, and the Top Talent Networking that has been held for 10 years make me feel the strong atmosphere of Zhongshan's recognition and respect for talents," commented Hu Mingxiu, senior vice president of Zhongshan Akeso Biopharma Inc.

For the first time, this year's Zhongshan Global Investment Promotion Conferences included not only activities in the main venue but also many special investment promotion activities in towns and districts in accordance with their industrial characteristics. More than 14 industry chain investment promotion meetings on industrial design, intelligent manufacturing, bio-medicine, new energy, photoelectric information and modern services, as well as 12 talent networking activities, including a job fair for enterprises in Zhongshan's "10 New Industrial Clusters", a supply and demand meeting for high-skilled talents, and entrepreneurship and innovation activities for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan youth as well as overseas Chinese, will be carried out across the city.

SOURCE 2023 Zhongshan Global Investment Promotion Conferences
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs has accredited two more research organizations: a nonprofit health system in the American Midwest and another organization in China.

The newly accredited organizations are:

Allina Health System , Minneapolis, Minnesota

, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

Like all AAHRPP-accredited organizations, Allina Health and Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine earned the designation by demonstrating that they meet AAHRPP's rigorous standards for conducting high-quality, ethical research and protecting research participants.

"AAHRPP accreditation is a mark of excellence that's recognized by the global research enterprise," AAHRPP President and CEO Elyse I. Summers said. "It's also an invitation to join the community of accredited organizations at the forefront of efforts to address today's research challenges and opportunities. Welcome!"

AAHRPP has accredited more than 600 research entities across the U.S. and in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

All major U.S. independent institutional review boards have earned AAHRPP accreditation. In addition, more than 85% of the top U.S. National Institutes of Health-funded academic medical centers and 70% of U.S. medical colleges are AAHRPP accredited or have begun the accreditation process.

Research institutes, clinical research centers and community hospitals also are among those that have attained accreditation.

About AAHRPP: A nonprofit organization, AAHRPP provides accreditation for organizations that conduct or review human research and can demonstrate that their protections exceed the safeguards required by the international guidelines and laws governing research involving humans in the U.S. and other countries. To learn more, visit www.aahrpp.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michelle Feige

Executive Vice President

[email protected]

202-783-1112

SOURCE Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT FOR GENERAL RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD VIOLATE APPLICABLE LAWS OR REGULATIONS

This is a joint press release by Koninklijke DSM N.V. (DSM), Firmenich International SA (Firmenich) and Danube AG, to be renamed DSM-Firmenich AG (the Company) in connection with the voluntary public exchange offer by the Company for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the share capital of DSM (each such share, a DSM Ordinary Share) (the Exchange Offer)), pursuant to Section 4, paragraph 3 of the Dutch Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit openbare biedingen Wft). The Exchange Offer is not being made, and the DSM Ordinary Shares will not be accepted for purchase from or on behalf of any holder of DSM Ordinary Shares (a DSM Shareholder), in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Exchange Offer or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the terms of the offering circular in relation to the Exchange Offer dated 22 November 2022 (the Offering Circular).

KAISERAUGST, Switzerland, HEERLEN, Netherlands, and GENEVA, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On 23 January 2023, the acceptance period during which DSM Shareholders can tender their DSM Ordinary Shares into the Exchange Offer was extended as not all competition clearances would have been obtained by 31 January 2023 (the initial expiry date of the acceptance period). On 23 February 2023, we announced that we obtained nine out of the ten required competition clearances (including those in the European Union and China), and that the last competition clearance that is pending is the Indian competition clearance.







We would make a public announcement once the Indian competition clearance has been obtained, and extend the acceptance period until two weeks after that announcement, but not before 17:40 hours CET on 7 March 2023 and no later than 17:40 hours CEST on 11 April 2023. To date, we have not yet obtained the Indian competition clearance.

Status of Indian competition clearance

The vacancy in the board of the relevant competition authority in India (the Competition Commission of India or CCI) has not yet been filled, but the CCI has resumed adopting decisions. Currently the CCI is processing a backlog of merger filings, including ours, and while it is taking some more time the decision is expected to be forthcoming.

As a result, and in accordance with our public announcements of 23 January 2023 and 23 February 2023, the expiry date of the extended acceptance period (11 April 2023) must be extended somewhat further.

End date of the extended acceptance period

We will make a public announcement immediately upon obtaining the Indian competition clearance. The acceptance period is hereby further extended until two weeks after clearance is obtained, but no later than 17:40 hours CEST on 12 May 2023. The end date of the acceptance period will be specified in the press release.1

1 Pursuant to an exemption (ontheffing) granted by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets on 30 March 2023 which is restricted to and conditioned on the contents of this press release.

Antitrust investigation

On 8 March 2023, Firmenich announced that four antitrust authorities have started an industry wide investigation, and that unannounced inspections were carried out at Firmenich's offices in France, Switzerland and the UK.

Firmenich and DSM will provide a further update to the market shortly by way of a supplement of the Offering Circular.

Tendered shares and withdrawal rights

DSM Shareholders who have already tendered their DSM Ordinary Shares are not required to take any action, but they may withdraw their tendered DSM Ordinary Shares in the extended acceptance period, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Offering Circular.

DSM Shareholders who have not yet tendered their DSM Ordinary Shares or who have withdrawn their tendered DSM Ordinary Shares in accordance with the above but want to tender again, are requested to take action via their financial intermediary within the extended acceptance period. Certain intermediaries may set an earlier deadline in order to be able to timely communicate the tender to the exchange agent. For more information, please see section 14.9 of the Offering Circular.

Announcements

Announcements in relation to the exchange offer are issued by means of a press release. Any joint press release issued by the Company, DSM and Firmenich is made available on the website of the Company (www.creator-innovator.com).

Subject to any applicable requirements of the applicable laws and without limiting the manner in which the Company, DSM and Firmenich may choose to make any public announcement, the Company, DSM and Firmenich will have no obligation to communicate any public announcement other than as described in the Offering Circular.

Further information

Capitalised terms used but not defined herein are defined in the Offering Circular. This announcement contains selected, condensed information regarding the Exchange Offer and does not replace the Offering Circular. The information in this announcement is not complete and additional information is contained in the Offering Circular as supplemented. The Company confirms that the contents thereof are still applicable to date and remains the basis for the investment decision on whether or not to tender the DSM Ordinary Shares into the Exchange Offer. A digital copy of the Offering Circular and supplements is available on the website of the Company (www.creator-innovator.com/en/offering-circular-and-egm/).

General restrictions

The Exchange Offer is being made in and from the Netherlands with due observance of such statements, conditions and restrictions as are included in the Offering Circular. The Company reserves the right to accept any tender under the Exchange Offer, which is made by or on behalf of a DSM Shareholder, even if it has not been made in the manner set out in the Offering Circular. The Company's authorisation to issue the DSM-Firmenich shares in exchange for the tendered DSM Ordinary Shares remains valid through to the extended Settlement Date.

The distribution of the Offering Circular and/or the making of the Exchange Offer in jurisdictions other than the Netherlands may be restricted and/or prohibited by law. In particular, subject to certain exceptions, the Offering Circular is not for general circulation in the United States. The Exchange Offer is not being made, and the DSM Ordinary Shares will not be accepted for purchase from or on behalf of any DSM Shareholder, in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Exchange Offer or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the terms of the Offering Circular. Persons obtaining the Offering Circular are required to take due note and observe all such restrictions and obtain any necessary authorisations, approvals or consents (to the extent applicable). The Exchange Offer is conducted in accordance with the applicable laws of the Netherlands. Outside of the Netherlands, no actions have been taken (nor will actions be taken) to make the Exchange Offer possible in any jurisdiction where such actions would be required. In addition, the Offering Circular has not been filed with nor recognised by the authorities of any jurisdiction other than the Netherlands. Neither the Company, nor DSM, nor Firmenich, nor any of their advisers accept any liability for any violation by any person of any such restriction. Any person (including, without limitation, custodians, nominees and trustees) who forwards or intends to forward the Offering Circular or any related document to any jurisdiction outside the Netherlands should carefully read section 16 (Restrictions) and section 17 (Important Information) of the Offering Circular before taking any action. The release, publication or distribution of the Offering Circular and any documentation regarding the Exchange Offer, the making of the Exchange Offer or the issuance and offering of the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares in jurisdictions other than the Netherlands may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession the Offering Circular comes should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions. Any failure to comply with any such restrictions may constitute a violation of the law of any such jurisdiction.

United States of America

Unless otherwise determined by the Company, the Exchange Offer is not being, and will not be, made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by the use of the mails of, or by any means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, telephonically or electronically) of, interstate or foreign commerce of, or of any facilities of a national securities exchange of, the United States except to DSM Shareholders who (i) are "qualified institutional buyers" as such term is defined in Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act, and each such person, a QIB) and (ii), to the Company's satisfaction (in its sole discretion), have duly completed and returned to the Company a letter confirming that it is a QIB and agreeing to certain transfer restrictions applicable to the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares (a U.S. Investor Letter) available from the Company (each an Eligible U.S. Holder). Accordingly, to be eligible to receive DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Offer, each DSM Shareholder that is a U.S. Person and that is a QIB must make their acceptance known through their custodian, bank or stockbroker by executing and delivering a U.S. Investor letter to such custodian or intermediary no later than 17:40 hours CEST on the Acceptance Closing Date. The custodian, bank or stockbroker may set an earlier deadline for communication by DSM Shareholders in order to permit the custodian, bank or stockbroker to communicate its acceptances to the Settlement Agent (ABN AMRO) in a timely manner. Accordingly, Eligible U.S. Holders holding DSM Ordinary Shares through a financial intermediary should comply with the dates communicated by such financial intermediary, as such dates may differ from the dates and times noted in the Offering Circular.

The form of a U.S. Investor Letter will be distributed to custodians, nominees and other financial intermediaries to distribute to those they hold for in due course and is also available to QIBs from the Company. Any U.S. Person who is not a QIB, or in respect of whom no U.S. Investor Letter is received before 17:40 hours CEST on the Acceptance Closing Date, will be a Restricted Shareholder and will be treated as set out under section 14.35 (Notice to DSM Shareholders in certain jurisdictions) of the Offering Circular.

The DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any other applicable law of the United States and accordingly, the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares may not be reoffered, resold or transferred, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act.

Any DSM Shareholder located in the United States at the time of the Transactions will be required to make certain representations, warranties and undertakings in respect of their status as QIB (the QIB Confirmations), in order to receive the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares on the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date.

If a beneficiary to DSM Ordinary Shares located in the United States is unable to make the QIB Confirmations on behalf of itself or the person on whose behalf such DSM Ordinary Shares are held, any DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted to such person will instead be transferred to a sales agent, and such DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares will be sold on his, her or its behalf with the proceeds being remitted to such person within five days of the Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during the Acceptance Period, or within five days of the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during any Post-Closing Acceptance Period.

Additional information is included in section 16.1 (United States of America) of the Offering Circular.

Forward looking statements

Certain statements in this press release other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs and projections and on information currently available to the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and all of which are based on its current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe", "expect", "may", "will", "seek", "would", "could", "should", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "assume", "predict", "anticipate", "annualised", "goal", "target", "potential", "continue", "hope", "objective", "position", "project", "risk" or "aim" or the highlights or negatives thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of DSM-Firmenich's strategy, short-term and mid-term objectives and future plans that involve risks and uncertainties.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not undertake and it expressly disclaims any duty to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections of the Directors in office at the time of this press release and the Company's management, public statements made by it, present and future business strategies and the environment in which DSM-Firmenich will operate in the future. By their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause DSM-Firmenich's actual results and future events to differ materially from those implied or expressed by forward-looking statements. The DSM Shareholders and other prospective investors are advised to read section 2 (Risk Factors) of the Offering Circular for a more complete discussion of the factors that could affect the DSM-Firmenich's future performance and the industry in which DSM-Firmenich operates. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialise, or should any of the assumptions underlying the above or other factors prove to be incorrect, DSM-Firmenich's actual results of operations or future financial condition could differ materially from those described herein as currently anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. In light of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions underlying the above factors, the forward-looking events described in the Offering Circular may not occur or be realised. Additional risks not known to the Company or that the Company does not currently consider material could also cause the forward-looking events discussed in the Offering Circular not to occur.

About Firmenich

Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 127 years. Firmenich is a business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its excellent research, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers innovation in formulation, a broad palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies such as biotechnology. Firmenich delivered CHF 4.7bn of sales in the financial year ended 30 June 2022.

About DSM

DSM has transformed during its 150+ year history into today's health, nutrition & bioscience global leader. The Dutch-Swiss company specializes in nutritional ingredients for food and feed with proven world-leading bioscience capabilities and an international network of high-quality manufacturing sites that underpin a business model of global products, local solutions and personalization and precision. For Health, Nutrition & Bioscience (excluding Materials), DSM delivered 7.3bn of sales in the calendar year 2021, with adjusted EBITDA of 1.4bn and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 19%.

Transaction website

Please visit www.creator-innovator.com for additional materials on the Transactions.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1828928/Logo_Combined_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Firmenich
Stock Symbol: AEM (NYSE and TSX)

TORONTO, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM) (TSX: AEM) ("Agnico Eagle" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the successful completion of the previously announced plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") pursuant to which Agnico Eagle has acquired certain subsidiaries and partnerships which hold Yamana Gold Inc.'s ("Yamana") interests in its Canadian assets, including the Canadian Malartic mine. As part of the Arrangement, Pan American Silver Corp. has acquired all the issued and outstanding common shares of Yamana.

With the completion of the Arrangement, the Company now owns 100% of the Canadian Malartic mine, 100% of the Wasamac project located in the Abitibi region of Quebec and several other exploration properties located in Ontario and Manitoba. Over the last 18 months, the Company has solidified its presence in the Abitibi gold belt, a region of low political risk and high geological potential, and where it has a strong competitive advantage from having operated there for over 50 years. The Company's production in the Abitibi gold belt is forecast to be approximately 1.9 million ounces to 2.1 million ounces of gold per year through 2025. In addition, the Company has the unique ability to monetize future additional mill capacity at the Canadian Malartic mine, given its extensive operations and strategic land position in the region.

The Company's 2023 production and costs guidance, which assumed 50% ownership of Canadian Malartic for the first three months of 2023 and 100% ownership for the last nine months of the year, is in line with the actual completion date of the Arrangement. For additional details on the Company's 2023 guidance please see the Company's news release dated February 16, 2023.

About Agnico Eagle

Agnico Eagle is a senior Canadian gold mining company, producing precious metals from operations in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico. It has a pipeline of high-quality exploration and development projects in these countries as well as in the United States. Agnico Eagle is a partner of choice within the mining industry, recognized globally for its leading environmental, social and governance practices. The Company was founded in 1957 and has consistently created value for its shareholders, declaring a cash dividend every year since 1983.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this news release has been prepared as at March 31, 2023. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" under the provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws and are referred to herein as "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address circumstances, events, activities or developments that could, or may or will occur are forward looking statements. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "could", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "future", "plan", "possible", "potential", "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include, without limitation: the expected gold production in the Abitibi gold belt through 2025 and the Company's ability to monetize future additional mill capacity at the Canadian Malartic mine.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Agnico Eagle as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. The material factors and assumptions used in the preparation of the forward looking statements contained herein, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to, the assumptions set forth herein and in management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") and the Company's Annual Information Form ("AIF") for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with Canadian securities regulators and that are included in its Annual Report on Form 40-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 ("Form 40-F") filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

Many factors, known and unknown, could cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. For a detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that may affect the Company's ability to achieve the expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, see the AIF and MD&A filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and included in the Form 40-F filed on EDGAR at www.sec.gov, as well as the Company's other filings with the Canadian securities regulators and the SEC. Other than as required by law, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
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NEW DELHI, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Azure Power Global Limited (the "Company" or "Azure") (NYSE: AZRE), an independent sustainable energy solutions provider and renewable power producer in India, today announced two changes in its Board of Directors.

Gowtamsingh (Vikash) Dabee Appointed Independent Director on the Board of Azure Power Global Limited

Gowtamsingh (Vikash) Dabee joined as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Company's Board effective March 30, 2023. Mr. Dabee has over 25 years of experience as a professional accountant in public practice and industry in Mauritius, Africa, and the Middle East. Mr Dabee is a Partner of GD Riches Chartered Accountants and is an auditor, public accountant, and insolvency practitioner in Mauritius. Prior to that, he served as the CFO and Company Secretary of a multinational corporation in Mauritius where he was instrumental in implementing SOX internal control systems for the group subsidiaries. He also worked with the representative office of Andersen Worldwide in Mauritius and the Arthur Andersen Office in Dubai.

Mr. Dabee is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a Fellow of Chartered Association of Certified Accountant (FCCA). He holds an MBA from Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, UK and an Advanced Diploma in International Tax from the Chartered Institute of Taxation UK (CIOT). He is a registered insolvency practitioner in Mauritius and a member of INSOL.

Mrs. Yung Oy Pin (Jane) Lun Leung has resigned from the Board with effect from March 16, 2023 due to personal reasons. Mrs. Lun Leung had been an Independent Director of the Company since November 2019.

Speaking on this occasion, Alan Rosling, Chairman of the Board, said, "We are delighted to welcome Vikash to the board. He has years of professional experience in audit and accounting and brings a wealth of expertise to Azure Power. We are confident that Azure will greatly benefit from his vast experience in these fields. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Jane for her guidance on the Board during her tenure."

Gowtamsingh (Vikash) Dabee said, "I am privileged to join the Board of Azure Power, a leading company in the Indian renewable industry. I am looking forward to working closely with esteemed members on the Board and the management."

Yung Oy Pin (Jane) Lun Leung said, "I would like to express my thanks to the Board and the management for their support during my tenure. I wish Azure continued success in all its endeavours and I am confident that it will continue to thrive as a leading renewable energy player in India."

Commenting on the occasion, Rupesh Agarwal, Acting CEO, Azure said, "We are pleased to welcome Mr. Dabee on our Board. I am confident that his extensive experience in audit, accounting and SOX will be an excellent addition on the Board and he will bring valuable insights that will help us in strengthening our internal controls. We are grateful to Mrs. Lun Leung for her valuable three years on the Board and wish her the best of luck."

About Azure

Azure is a leading independent sustainable energy solutions provider and renewable power producer in India. Azure developed India's first utility scale solar project in 2009, and since then has grown rapidly to become a leader in developing and operating large utility-scale renewable energy projects in the country.

For more information about Azure, visit: www.azurepower.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "outlook" and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements in this press release. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

For more information contact:

Investor Contact

[email protected]

Media Contact

[email protected]

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2045228/Gowtamsingh_Vikash_Dabee.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/819565/Azure_Power_Logo.jp

SOURCE Azure Power
The Foundation's signature biennial event will take place on Wednesday, October 11, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Barbara Bush Foundation is pleased to announce that the Honorable Mike Rogers and Kristi Rogers will serve as chairs for the 2023 National Celebration of Reading, to be held on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The Barbara Bush Foundation's signature biennial event, the National Celebration of Reading brings together bestselling authors, entertainers, and special guests to advance the Foundation's mission and raise support for its nationwide programming.

Barbara Bush Foundation's 2023 National Celebration of Reading to be held October 11, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Tweet this The Honorable Mike Rogers Kristi Rogers

"Mike and Kristi Rogers share a keen understanding of literacy's intersection with pressing issues including economic growth, global competitiveness and national security," said Barbara Bush Foundation president and CEO British A. Robinson. "I'm thrilled that they've agreed to invest their time, talents and energy in raising support for literacy by chairing the 2023 National Celebration of Reading."

Kristi Rogers is currently the managing partner and co-founder of Principal to Principal, a firm that brings together senior executive leaders and decision-makers to consider new and constructive approaches to today's problems. Her strategic advice and counsel are regularly sought on issues relating to security and disaster response, federal government contracting, the role of business in complex and dynamic environments (including markets emerging from conflict), public-private partnerships and crisis communications.

Previously, Rogers successfully launched and led two companies with extensive overseas operations. Rogers has also held senior positions within the U.S. government, including her appointment as assistant commissioner at U.S. Customs & Border Protection and as a senior official with the U.S. Department of Defense, serving nine months in Iraq.

Kristi currently serves on Qualys Inc.'s board of directors, NowSecure's board of directors, ForgePoint Capital Cyber advisory council, as co-chair of the Women's Foreign Policy Group, and on Business Executives for National Security's board of directors. She is also the president of the State Society of Michigan.

The Honorable Mike Rogers is a businessman and former member of Congress representing Michigan's Eighth Congressional District, and previously served as an officer in the U.S. Army and FBI special agent in Chicago tackling organized crime. While in Congress, Rogers chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he authorized and oversaw a budget of $70 billion that funded the nation's 17 intelligence agencies.

He currently serves as the chairman of the board at the MITRE Corporation, and as a director at leading companies including IAP, IronNet Cybersecurity and Constella Intelligence. Rogers is a member of the board of trustees and the David Abshire Chair at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, where he directs the Center's national security programs and its National Space Program.

Together, Mike and Kristi Rogers are the cofounders of Leadership to Ensure the American Dream, a policy initiative focusing on helping people achieve the American Dream, address top policy issues and foster economic opportunities nationwide. (https://www.leadamerica.org/)

"With literacy comes opportunity, and low literacy is the one epidemic in America that together we can solve," shared Mike Rogers.

"We are thrilled and honored to join the Barbara Bush Foundation in helping families and students of all ages gain the power of reading," said Kristi Rogers.

"We're over the moon to have Kristi and Mike Rogers serving as chairs for the National Celebration of Reading," said Barbara Bush Foundation honorary chair Doro Bush Koch. "They're wonderful advocates for the Foundation's mission  especially here in Washington, D.C., where we are headquartered  and we know that the event will be absolutely incredible thanks to their support."

The lineup of featured authors and special guests for the 2023 National Celebration of Reading will be announced in the coming weeks. The most recent events in 2019 and 2021 featured appearances by bestselling authors and entertainers including former President George W. Bush, former first ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama, Mateo Askaripour, LeVar Burton, Eva Chen, Meena Harris, Jesse J. Holland, Leslie Jordan, Tim McGraw, Jon Meacham, Eric L. Motley, Lupita Nyong'o, Susan Orlean, Delia Owens, Tim Shriver and Darren Walker.

About the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy: The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy has been the nation's leading advocate for family literacy for more than three decades. Established by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1989, the Foundation is a public charity dedicated to creating a stronger, more equitable America in which everyone can read, write and comprehend in order to navigate the world with dignity. To learn more, visit www.BarbaraBush.org.

SOURCE Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy
PEABODY, Mass., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Barton Associates, the 4th largest locum tenens staffing and recruiting agency in the U.S., is proud to announce that it has been named the Top Healthcare Staffing Service Company of 2023 by Healthcare Business Review. Featured on the cover of the March 2023 edition of the magazine, are Rob Indresano, CEO of Barton Associates, Lina Gallotto, EVP of Barton Associates and President of Barton Healthcare Staffing, MaryAnn Stolgitis, President of Wellhart, and Anne Zukowski, SVP of Barton Associates' Inbound Division.

Barton Associates has been named the Top Healthcare Staffing Service Company of 2023 by Healthcare Business Review. Featured on the cover of the March edition of the magazine, are Robert Indresano, CEO of Barton Associates, Lina Gallotto, EVP of Barton Associates and President of Barton Healthcare Staffing, MaryAnn Stolgitis, President of Wellhart, and Anne Zukowski, SVP of Barton Associates Inbound Division.

The article introduces The Barton Companies and explains the company's success, growth, diversity, and training approach. Highlighted in the publication is the collective mission of the three businesses; to help combat the healthcare crisis in the United States by providing facilities nationwide access to highly-skilled medical providers and clinicians, ensuring that all clients, regardless of size or location, are able to fulfill their mission of providing healthcare to those in need.

"We like to think of our locums in a similar way to doctors without borders. Just like doctors go overseas to provide care in underserved countries, we provide those who chose to save lives with opportunities to serve the underserved communities in our country," states Lina Gallotto, Executive Vice President of Barton Associates and President of Barton Healthcare Staffing.

The Barton Companies, which includes Barton Associates, Barton Healthcare Staffing, and Wellhart, continues to see substantial growth, and plans to open a new office in Las Vegas, NV in June 2023, as well as add hundreds of new employees across the 8 other offices.

Learn more about how Wellhart, Barton Healthcare Staffing, and Barton Associates are augmenting healthcare with locum tenens and travel clinicians .

About Barton & Associates Inc.

Barton is a leading U.S. healthcare staffing company focused on locum tenens with additional capabilities in travel nursing, allied healthcare, and government-related physician staffing markets. Barton is headquartered in Peabody, Massachusetts, and the Company serves over 1,000 active customers in the United States via a network of 10 offices and more than 700 employees. Learn more about Barton Associates at www.bartonassociates.com

SOURCE Barton Associates
NEWPORT NEWS, Va., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BayPort Credit Union today announced it was honored with two Diamond Awards by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Marketing and Business Development Council. BayPort won in the Complete Campaign category for its Auto No Payments for 120 Days campaign and the Website category for its $500,000 Accelerating Change Together (ACT) Grant website design and launch.

The most prestigious annual credit union industry competition, the CUNA Diamond Awards, recognizes and rewards creative excellence and outstanding results. BayPort produced the campaign design and website development in-house and attributes its sales success to its focus on excellent member experience and service.

BayPort is recognized for its Auto No Payments for 120 Days campaign, which allowed consumers who financed a car with BayPort to enjoy no car payments for 120 days. The promotion was open to new and existing members who financed a new or used vehicle with BayPort from September 1 to November 30, 2022. In addition, the promotion was intended to provide relief in an economy with rising auto loan rates. BayPort's award-winning consumer campaign featured comprehensive digital and email marketing campaigns, two 15 and 30-second TV spots, three 30-second radio spots, outdoor and print.

BayPort is also recognized for its actgrant.org website design and launch. In 2022, the BayPort Foundation partnered with two leading companies headquartered in Newport News, VA, to fund a $500,000, multi-year transformational grant called Accelerating Change Together  or simply the ACT Grant. The mission of the ACT Grant website was to build a credible and cohesive identity for all three companies with a branded and shortened URL to represent the strategic collaboration and commitment to the local community. BayPort took on the task of conceptualizing, designing, and launching the website. From start to finish, BayPort successfully completed this task in less than one month. To learn more about the ACT Grant, please visit actgrant.org.

Nearly 1,250 entries across 36 categories were submitted this year for a CUNA Diamond Award consideration. BayPort is one of only five Virginia credit unions to be recognized with a 2023 Diamond Award and one of only two credit unions in Hampton Roads.

About BayPort

In 1928, 12 shipyard workers from Newport News Shipbuilding formed an organization with a specific purpose as a low-interest source of loans and a trusted place to deposit money. Today, BayPort Credit Union is rated a Superior 5-Star credit union by Bauer Financial, managing $2.2 billion in assets and servicing nearly 148,000 individuals and businesses with 27 branch locations across the Virginia Peninsula and Southside communities. Visit us at www.bayportcu.org.

SOURCE BayPort Credit Union
BOSTON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) will issue its first quarter earnings release before the market opens on Thursday, April 20, 2023. The Company will also place an investor presentation at its website at ir.berkshirebank.com.

Berkshire will conduct a conference call/webcast at 10:00 a.m. eastern time on Thursday, April 20, 2023 to discuss results for the quarter and provide guidance about expected future results.

Participants are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call using the following link:

https://www.netroadshow.com/events/login?show=3c7531b6&confId=48822

Callers who pre-register will be given dial-in instructions and a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call. Participants may pre-register at any time prior to the call and will immediately receive simple instructions via email.

Additionally, participants may reach the registration link and access the webcast by logging in through the investor relations section of Berkshire's website at ir.berkshirebank.com.

Those parties who do not have Internet access or are otherwise unable to pre-register for this event, may still participate at the above time by dialing 833-470-1428 and using participant access code: 166804. Participants are requested to dial-in a few minutes before the scheduled start of the call.

A telephone replay of the call will be available for one week by dialing 929-458-6194 and using access code: 871474. The webcast will be available on Berkshire's website for an extended period of time.

ABOUT BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP

Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank. Founded in 1846, the Bank's vision is to serve as a high-performing leading socially responsible community bank. It empowers the financial potential of its stakeholders by making banking available where, when and how it's needed through an uncompromising focus on exceptional customer service, digital banking, and positive community impact. Providing a wide range of financial solutions through its consumer banking, commercial banking and wealth management divisions, the Bank has approximately $11.7 billion in assets and a community-based footprint of 100 financial centers in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Named one of America's Most Trusted Companies 2023 by Newsweek, Berkshire is also listed in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality. To learn more, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS

Kevin Conn, Senior Managing Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Development

Email: [email protected] Tel: (617) 641-9206

David Gonci, Capital Markets Director

Email: [email protected] Tel: (413) 281-1973

SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.
Ivalua has been awarded Best Company for Global Culture, Future Outlook, and Engineering, Marketing, and Sales Departments.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ivalua, a global leader in spend management , today announced that it has been ranked by Comparably among the top 100 companies with the best outlook, best global culture, and best departments in engineering, marketing, and sales. The award methodology takes into account anonymous votes from employees across all Ivalua's departments and international office locations.

The list of award winners is part of Comparably's Best Places to Work series and includes the overall top-rated companies of 2023 according to their employees. Employees answer questions about different workplace topics such as leadership, team, compensation, perks & benefits, work-life balance, career growth, environment, outlook, etc. The final data set was compiled from over 15 million ratings across 70,000 companies globally. In December 2022, Ivalua had been awarded Best Company for Culture, Women, and Diversity.

"We are thrilled to receive these awards, a testament to our ongoing commitment to our core values, in particular, Care for & Grow People," said David Khuat-Duy, founder and CEO of Ivalua. "I strongly believe that it is our people who shape our company culture through their daily interaction with colleagues, customers, and partners."

Ivalua employs 900 people worldwide who are united by an empowering vision, mission, and five core values that underpin the company's culture.

Vision: Ivalua believes that digital transformation will make supply chains more efficient, sustainable, and resilient, and unlock the power of supplier collaboration.

Mission: Ivalua's mission is to empower its customers through a truly unified platform providing them with the automation, collaboration, and business insight they need to better manage their spend and suppliers

Culture & Values: Customer-centric, Collaboration, Results-oriented, Care for and Grow people, and Integrity.

About Ivalua

Ivalua is a leading provider of cloud-based Spend Management software. Our complete, unified platform empowers businesses to effectively manage all categories of spend and all suppliers, increasing profitability, improving ESG performance, lowering risk, and improving employee productivity. We are trusted by hundreds of the world's most admired brands and recognized as a global leader by renowned industry analysts. Learn more at www.ivalua.com and follow us at @Ivalua and search for #LifeAtIvalua on our social media channels for further insights into what it's like to work for Ivalua. Find more information about Ivalua on Comparably here .

About Comparably

Comparably (now a ZoomInfo company) is a leading workplace culture and corporate brand reputation platform with over 15 million anonymous employee ratings on 70,000 companies. With the most comprehensive data on large and SMB organizations in nearly 20 different workplace categories  based on gender, ethnicity, age, experience, industry, location, education  it is one of the most used SaaS platforms for employer branding and a trusted third party site for workplace culture and compensation. For more information on Comparably and its annual Best Places to Work Awards, visit www.comparably.com .

Global Media Contact US Media Contact Corporate Communications [email protected] Michael Gallo Lumina Communications [email protected] Global Media Contact Ivalua Corporate Communications [email protected]

SOURCE Ivalua
BANGALORE, India, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Biologics CDMO Market is Segmented by Type (Biological Agent, Biosimilar Drug), by Application (Cell Therapy, Drug Development): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2029. It is published in Valuates Reports under the Pharmaceuticals & Biotech Category.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine War Influence, the global market for Biologics Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization(CDMO) estimated at USD 12710 million in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of USD 23690 million by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 10.9% during the forecast period 2022-2028.

MAJOR FACTORS DRIVING THE GROWTH OF THE BIOLOGICS CDMO MARKET:

Teams from biologics CDMOs can improve the commercial manufacture of drug substances and drug products by implementing effective scale-up methodologies, developing newer, more effective synthesis and cleaner chemical processes, reducing process variability and comprehending problems with process stability, and achieving economies of raw materials. These factors are expected to drive the growth of the Biologics CDMO Market.

Biologics are preferred because they can access targets that are 'undruggable' with small-molecule treatments and because they provide patients with advantages, or rather less adverse effects, thanks to better-targeted treatments. These factors are expected to drive the growth of the Biologics CDMO Market.

A significant amount of R&D is being done for the biologics CDMO market. The success rates of clinical trials for biologics have increased as a result of these research and development efforts, which are fueling the Biologics CDMO Market.

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TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF THE BIOLOGICS CDMO MARKET

Biopharmaceutical creation and manufacturing are core competencies of CDMOs. A biologics CDMO is a useful tool since it has scientists, chemists, and specialists in each stage of the production process. A pharmaceutical company's collaboration with a biologics CDMO results in creative solutions and an efficient production process. This factor is expected to drive the growth of the Biologics CDMO Market.

It takes a variety of instruments and procedures to manufacture biologics, which is a complex process. Pharmaceutical businesses may discover that new equipment for a new drug requires expensive investments to scale up production or that their capacities are being used to the maximum. Pharmaceutical companies can acquire the essential tools and infrastructure by working with a biologic CDMO without having to spend money buying or creating them. This factor is expected to drive the growth of the Biologics CDMO Market.

Pharmaceutical businesses can expand more strategically thanks to biologics CDMOs, which enable them to simply add medication variations, expand manufacturing without incurring additional costs for staff and facility space, as well as meet production deadlines and rising demand. This factor is expected to drive the growth of the Biologics CDMO Market.

Using a biologics outsourcing company Pharmaceutical businesses can acquire the facilities and equipment they require through CDMO without having to make the financial commitment to buy or construct them. Also, this gives the businesses more flexibility in case demand a change in the future. Private equity is frequently used to support biologics CDMO firms, providing them with the money they require to modernize machinery and maintain their position at the forefront of development and production technologies. In other words, working with a biologics CDMO not only grants access to biopharmaceutical facilities and equipment but frequently also to some of the best. This factor is expected to drive the growth of the Biologics CDMO Market.

Pharmaceutical businesses employ brilliant scientists and researchers, but it takes a certain set of abilities to scale up their findings for commercialization. At every stage of the development and production process, biologics CDMOs have devoted researchers, chemists, and experts. Given that they spend most of their time concentrating on the development and production of biopharmaceuticals, a CDMO that specializes in biologics will naturally have a greater depth and breadth of experience. A pharmaceutical firm and a biologics CDMO company working together can produce creative solutions and a more efficient development process. This factor is expected to drive the growth of the Biologics CDMO Market.

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BIOLOGICS CDMO MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS:

Because of the existence of two significant economies, namely the United States and Canada, North America is one of the primary markets for the biologics CDMO sector. One of the world's largest pharmaceutical industries, which accounts for a sizable portion of market revenue, is located in the United States.

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Key Companies:

Lonza Group AG

SAMSUNG

AGC

Toyobo

AbbVie

AbbVie Inc

Boehringer Ingelheim

Samsung Biologics

Wuxi Biologics

Thermo Fisher Scientific

ICON

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies

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SIMILAR REPORTS:

- Peptide CDMO Market

- Cosmetic CDMO and CMO Market

- Pharmaceutical CDMO Services Market

- CDMO Outsourcing Industry

- Medical Device CDMO Market

- Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) CDMO Market

- Plasmid DNA CDMO Market

- Intermediate CDMO Market

- Small Molecule CDMO Market

- Antibody and Recombinant Protein CDMO Market

- Blow Fill Seal CDMO Market

- Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) CDMO Services Market

- Lentiviral Vector (LVV) CDMO Services Market

- API CDMO Services Market

- CGT CDMO Market

- Viral Vector CDMO Market

- Packaging CDMO Market

- Plastic Contract Manufacturing Market

- Manufacturing Execution System (MES) market size is estimated to be worth USD 12550 Million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 19270 Million by 2028 with a CAGR of 7.4% during the review period.

- Medical Device Contract Manufacturing market size is projected to reach USD 131970 Million by 2028, from USD 73100 Million in 2021, at a CAGR of 8.7% during 2022-2028.

Click here to see related reports on Biologics cdmo market

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SOURCE Valuates Reports
Digital services software company Arco Information Canada signs new multimillion-dollar agreement with ZoraBots nv for expansion of their ZBOS digital platform into the Americas

Following the huge success of Arco's partnerships in Smart Process Automation for digital document handling, digital services company Arco Information's Canadian division in Toronto, ON concludes a new and major international agreement to offer smart device (Robotics, IoT & Metaverse) control platform, the "ZBOS" platform. Belgian company ZoraBots nv has signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Arco Information Canada Inc. (ArcoInfo) to distribute and resell ZBOS licenses & services over the next five years. "This is a great new partner and solution for us to bring to the Americas, continuing in our mandate to offer configurable software control solutions: automation as a service," says Arco Canada CEO, David Downey.

TORONTO, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Arco Information integrates their DOMA digital platform in client's existing systems to automate and digitize business workflow. The purpose is to replace manual processes with innovative, configurable, adaptable and fully digital information workflows for business Process (documents) and business Automation (controls). Arco is partnering with ZoraBots to grow their Process and Automation divisions. "Arco Information will integrate & deploy ZoraBots' ZBOS software platform to existing clients. In addition, Arco will grow the ZBOS customer base in the Americas, providing ZBOS licenses & services. Via their subscription models for clients, this leads to monthly recurring revenue (MRR) per license for ZoraBots and Arco," explains David Downey.

This new international partnership agreement brings great new smart device control opportunities (robotics, IoT, and metaverse) to Arco's global client base, which includes multinational clients worldwide in telecommunications, healthcare, government and logistics/transportation sectors. This agreement with ZoraBots is the continuation of an automation strategy: Arco Information will look for opportunities with clients in North America where ZBOS can be part of a client's integrated solution from Arco. "Due to the ZBOS software platform ability to link to diverse physical and meta IOT devices, (real world and the virtual world or metaverse), Zorabots nv solutions are an ideal and complementary addition to the solutions of Arco Information's DOMA platform services. In addition to our robust processes of digitizing manual actions and paper, ZBOS will collect information from smart devices and other device or system sources and automated 'answers' can be set up," says Downey. "Both DOMA and ZBOS were designed to ensure they are "no-code/low-code" platforms. New system automations can be simply set up as they require (futureproofing), adjusting information flows on demand, and thus continuously optimize operations."

"For the evolution of the Canadian division of Arco as automation specialists, this agreement comes at a perfect time for us. The five-year period for the reselling of the ZBOS licenses & services and the recurring revenue per license means that we have a very strong offering to bring to the partners and clients that are looking for their business system's and device's control from one provider. We now offer even more smart automation solutions in the real world and metaverse for the office and the factory." says Arco founder Paul Van Coillie. "We have always been proud of our work as a Belgium headquartered company with international footprints, and are honoured to be bringing another great Belgian solution partner to market in ZoraBots nv. Now it is a matter of continuing to innovate and in the meantime we are already looking forward to the next projects. "

About Arco Information (Canada): Arco Information nv in Mechelen, Belgium was founded by CEO Paul Van Coillie in 1993. The Canadian division began in 2019 with CEO David Downey, and Chairman Paul Van Coillie. The Canadian arm of Arco Information was founded to move the Arco DOMA digital platform solution in new directions, with a focus on 2 pillars of digital dispatch: to grow the digital document business (ArcoPROCESS); and grow the digital device business (ArcoAUTOMATION). Arco has expanded into Canada utilizing the power of the DOMA platform's powerful low-code configurable workflow and routing infrastructure and has turned it towards the key focus of handling data in all its formats as the dispatcher and repository for a diverse range of digital data.

About ZoraBots: Zorabots is a Flemish, Ostend, company founded by co-CEOs Tommy Deblieck and Fabrice Goffin. The company's focus was initially on developing robots for the health and hospitality sector with the aim of increasing people's well-being and strengthening contact between people. Due to the growing success, Zorabots expanded its activities to other sectors and new 'smart solutions'. The Zorabots team focused on developing tailor-made technological solutions in sectors such as education and retail. The knowledge and experience gained ultimately resulted in the development of 'smart software' aimed at controlling and linking robotics, IOT and smart devices and the metaverse.

SOURCE Arco Information Canada Inc.
ST. LOUIS , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) today announced that it will release its 2023 first quarter financial results at approximately 6 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, and will host a conference call afterwards at approximately 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) to review the results.

Investors and other interested parties are invited to listen to the conference call by dialing 1-877-883-0383 in the U.S. and Canada; +1-412-902-6506 from abroad, including the following Elite Entry Number: 8655989, to expedite caller registration; or via a live, audio webcast on the Company's website at www.centene.com, under the Investors section.

A webcast replay will be available for on-demand listening shortly after the completion of the call for the next 12 months or until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at the aforementioned URL. In addition, a digital audio playback will be available until 9 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, by dialing 1-877-344-7529 in the U.S., 1-855-669-9658 in Canada, or +1-412-317-0088 from abroad, and entering access code 7234123.

About Centene Corporation

Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading healthcare enterprise that is committed to helping people live healthier lives. The Company takes a local approach  with local brands and local teams  to provide fully integrated, high-quality, and cost-effective services to government-sponsored and commercial healthcare programs, focusing on underinsured and uninsured individuals. Centene offers affordable and high-quality products to nearly 1 in 15 individuals across the nation, including Medicaid and Medicare members (including Medicare Prescription Drug Plans) as well as individuals and families served by the Health Insurance Marketplace and the TRICARE program. The Company also contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide a variety of specialty services focused on treating the whole person. Centene focuses on long-term growth and value creation as well as the development of its people, systems, and capabilities so that it can better serve its members, providers, local communities, and government partners.

Centene uses its investor relations website to publish important information about the Company, including information that may be deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about Centene is routinely posted and is accessible on Centene's investor relations website, https://investors.centene.com/.

SOURCE Centene Corporation
BEIJING, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a world of uncertainties, China's certainty is a mainstay that safeguards world peace and development, said Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, calling it "a fact that was true in the past, and even more so at present and in the future."

"No matter how the world will change, China will adhere to reform and opening up and innovation-driven development," Li told the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 on Thursday.

In doing so, China will not only inject new impetus and vitality into the world economy, but also enable the world to share the opportunities and dividends from China's development, he emphasized in a keynote speech.

China's economic bounce

China's retail sales, a gauge of consumption growth, increased 3.5 percent year on year in the January-February period, reversing declines seen in the previous three months, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

In the first two months of the year, China's value-added industrial output went up 2.4 percent year on year, while the index gauging the country's service industry output rose 5.5 percent, according to the NBS.

Li noted the good trend in China's economic recovery from the looming effects of the COVID-19 pandemic over the previous few months, saying March is seeing an even better performance than January and February, with key indicators continuously improving and robust growth momentum.

China's economy is resilient, with great potential and vitality, the premier said in Boao, a coastal town in China's island province of Hainan.

He added that China will introduce a series of new measures to expand market access, optimize the business environment and facilitate project implementation.

"We have the confidence and ability to advance the Chinese economy to break waves, maintain steady and sustained growth and make greater contributions to world economic development."

Speaking at the same forum, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said China has become the largest trading partner for almost every country in Asia, and welcomed China-proposed regional and global initiatives, like the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative.

"We look forward to participating in new growth opportunities in China's dynamic economy," said Lee.

Peaceful, stable environment for development

The Chinese premier on Thursday also urged efforts to jointly safeguard a peaceful and stable environment for development and inject more certainty into the volatile global environment.

"Asia must not have chaos or wars if it wants to achieve greater development in the future," Li said.

China stays committed to resolving differences and disputes between countries through peaceful means and jointly safeguarding world peace and stability, he reiterated, adding that the country opposes the abuse of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, picking sides, bloc confrontation or "a new Cold War."

Countries should uphold mutual respect and trust, openness and inclusiveness, respect other countries' independently-chosen development paths, and oppose the narrative of "clash of civilizations" and ideological confrontation, said Li.

China has set its central task as building itself into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization.

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.

China is committed to achieving modernization through peace and development, which will create a strong driving force for economic growth in Asia and the world at large, said Li.

"China will never seek modernization through war, colonization or plunder."

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-03-30/Premier-Li-urges-safeguarding-peace-and-stability-for-development-1iACDkMx2nK/index.html

SOURCE CGTN
A Corvallis man is dead after drowning in the Calapooia River in attempts to flee deputies, according to a Linn County Sheriffs Office news release.

Elijah Lyle Robb, 43, died Wednesday, March 29 after he allegedly tried to swim across the river to escape Linn County deputies who suspected of him of stealing a vehicle.

A stolen truck

On Wednesday at around 3:53 p.m., a caller reported to dispatch that they had found a friends stolen pickup truck. The truck had been stolen from a farm in Corvallis several days before, according to LCSO.

The caller and other citizens with them followed Robb in the stolen vehicle and provided law enforcement with updated information on the 2015 Ford F550 flatbeds location.

Deputies found the truck in the area of Wirth Road in Tangent, the news release said. Robb drove it into a grass field as two citizens in pickup trucks followed. Robb reportedly crashed the truck into an embankment against a tree near the Calapooia River before fleeing on foot, running through thick brush and jumping into the water.

Robb attempted to swim across the strong current, according to LCSO, as deputies tried to locate him. Witnesses allegedly saw Robb swim back to the bank and where he hid in the brush. The news release said deputies had to cut and climb through more than 100 yards of brush to get to the bank of the river.

The sheriffs office used drones to try to find Robb, and eventually saw some clothing in the water. However, deputies could not get to the clothing so they called in the agencys water rescue team. When deputies finally made it to the bank near where the clothing was spotted, they saw Robb immobile, floating face down.

The water rescue team confirmed Robb was dead and removed him from the river, the news release said.

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Other suspects

Deputies found a 2005 Ford Focus  which witnesses said was associated with the stolen truck  near the scene. Investigators learned that Albany residents Vanessa Morton, 38, Jesse Michael-Corona, 20, William Connell, 43, and Angie Nisly, 37, had all allegedly been with Robb earlier in the day committing multiple burglaries in the area.

Law enforcement recovered large amounts of jewelry and multiple electronic devices which had been reported stolen from the burglaries, according to LCSO.

Michael-Corona was arrested on suspicion of two counts of first-degree burglary, and Nisly was arrested on outstanding warrants, the news release said.

The investigation is ongoing, and more arrests and charges are likely. According to the Linn County Jail website, Connell has been arrested on suspicion of burglary and is lodged in the Linn County Jail.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Kyle Connelly at 541-967-3950.

Multiple citizens, the Albany Police Department, the Albany Fire Department, the Linn County Road Department and the Oregon State Medical Examiners Office all assisted LCSO.

A history of crime

Robb had a lengthy list of convictions, including an open case in Linn County with alleged charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, felon in possession of a firearm and obliteration or change of identification number of firearms.

He allegedly stole a 2010 Hyundai Accent on or around Feb. 2.

Robb had felony convictions in Linn County starting back as early as 2000. Over the last two decades, he racked up multiple sentences for burglary and unauthorized use of vehicle charges.

According to previous Mid-Valley Media reporting, this long stretch of crimes got the attention of Linn County District Attorney Doug Marteeny when former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown commuted Robbs prison sentence in 2021.

At the time, Marteeny said Robb had been steadily victimizing this county since 2000. According to previous reporting, Marteeny said Robbs sentence that was commuted was for a string of 10 home invasion burglaries.

His continued criminal activity indicates he did not learn, Marteeny said in 2021. He is a grave danger to our community, and our multitude of victims deserve the peace of mind of knowing that the sentence intended by the court will be carried out.
New formulation allows twice-daily dosing in patients with transfusional iron overload due to thalassemia syndromes when current chelation therapy is inadequate, or sickle cell disease or other anemias.

BOSTON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, a business unit of the Chiesi Group established to deliver innovative therapies and solutions for people affected by rare diseases, today announced that Health Canada has approved FERRIPROX MR deferiprone extended-release tablets 1 000 mg for the treatment of patients with transfusional iron overload due to thalassemia syndromes when current chelation therapy is inadequate, or sickle cell disease (SCD) or other anemias.

FERRIPROX (deferiprone) was previously approved in Canada for the treatment of patients with transfusional iron overload due to thalassemia syndromes when current chelation therapy is inadequate in 2015, and subsequently approved for the treatment of iron overload in patients with SCD or other anemias in 2021.

"As a family business and a B Corp focused on the long-term support of rare disease communities, we have the opportunity to remain close to the patients, caregivers and their providers, always learning from them and responding to their needs," said Giacomo Chiesi, head of Chiesi Global Rare Diseases. "That is why we found it important to pursue the development of a twice-a-day tablet formulation of FERRIPROX, which reflects our ongoing commitment to patients with transfusional iron overload."

Thalassemia syndromes and SCD are disorders that affect red blood cells. Both conditions cause problems with hemoglobin, depriving many parts of the body of oxygen. People living with these conditions often require chronic blood transfusions that can put them at risk of developing very high levels of iron in their blood and vital organs. FERRIPROX is a synthetic, orally active iron-chelating agent shown to be effective in reducing iron concentration by penetrating cell membranes and removing toxic iron from organ tissues and extracellular fluids.

For More Information:

Please consult the Product Monograph for important information relating to clinical use, contraindications, adverse reactions, drug interactions, and dosing information which has not been discussed in this piece. The Product Monograph is also available by calling us at 1-844-347-7200.

About Chiesi Global Rare Diseases

Chiesi Global Rare Diseases is a business unit of the Chiesi Group established to deliver innovative therapies and solutions for people affected by rare diseases. As a family business, Chiesi Group strives to create a world where it is common to have a therapy for all diseases and acts as a force for good, for society and the planet. The goal of the Global Rare Diseases unit is to ensure equal access so as many people as possible can experience their most fulfilling life. The unit collaborates with the rare disease community around the globe to bring voice to underserved people in the health care system. For more information visit www.chiesirarediseases.com.

About Chiesi Group

Chiesi is an international, research-focused biopharmaceuticals group that develops and markets innovative therapeutic solutions in respiratory health, rare diseases, and specialty care. The company's mission is to improve people's quality of life and act responsibly towards both the community and the environment.

By changing its legal status to a Benefit Corporation in Italy, the US, and France, Chiesi's commitment to create shared value for society as a whole is legally binding and central to company-wide decision-making. As a certified B Corp since 2019, we're part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact. The company aims at becoming net-zero by 2035.

With over 85 years of experience, Chiesi is headquartered in Parma (Italy), operates in 30 countries, and counts more than 6,000 employees. The Group's research and development centre in Parma works alongside 6 other important R&D hubs in France, the US, Canada, China, the UK, and Sweden.

For further information please visit www.chiesi.com

Media Contact

Adam Daley

Berry & Company Public Relations

1-212-253-8881

[email protected]

FCAEN71

SOURCE Chiesi Global Rare Diseases
Maryann Lakey honored with prestigious award at ComForCare's annual franchise conference

TROY, Mich., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ComForCare , a franchised provider of in-home caregiving services, announced the Caregiver of the Year at the company's 20th annual conference. Maryann Lakey, a ComForCare Home Care caregiver in Vancouver, WA, was named the 2022 Caregiver of the Year for her outstanding service and exemplary care. She was invited to Henderson, Nevada to attend the annual dinner and award ceremony.

"Maryann is highly skilled, extremely knowledgeable, and a team player who has consistently displayed and promoted the highest ethical standards," said Debi Kyle, franchise owner of ComForCare in Vancouver. "Her willingness to work overtime, her dedication to champion each client's needs, and her compassion for caring has made her a superstar to many of her clients and to her team. Maryann doesn't just exhibit the core values and mission of ComForCare, she lives them."

The Caregiver of the Year is a distinguished award recognizing a caregiver who exemplifies ComForCare's core values and goes above and beyond by demonstrating extraordinary commitment to clients and families.

One example of Maryann going above and beyond was when she stepped in to plan a celebration for a special client turning 100 years old. One obstacle was to figure out how to get the client in his hospital bed to the dining area. Maryann suggested reaching out to the EMT's who had assisted him over the years. They willingly agreed to come and assist in moving his hospital bed and equipment to the party location. It was done at no charge to the family. It was a remarkable celebration that the family and the community enjoyed. Maryann has a whole roster of clients who continually look forward to her visits.

"Maryann truly embodies our values and our company's mission to help people live their best lives possible," said Rebecca Bouchard, ComForCare/At Your Side vice president of operations. "The passion and genuine joy she displays when serving others is something everyone at ComForCare should strive to provide to our clients. I am proud to know that ComForCare has people like Maryann working hard to ensure our clients receive the best possible care."

While attending the ceremony, Maryann had the opportunity to meet the original founder of ComForCare Home Care, Mark Armstrong. He stated it was an honor to meet her and stood with her as they both hugged, shed a few tears, and admired her award.

Maryann has been with ComForCare of Vancouver since 2014. A local celebration was held on March 30, 2023 in honor of Maryann which her co-workers attended.

If you or someone you know is interested in joining an amazing caregiving team, please contact [email protected] or call 360-718-8276 to schedule an interview.

For more information on ComForCare, visit www.comforcare.com.

About ComForCare Home Care:

ComForCare is a premier franchised provider of in-home caregiving services with 270 territories independently-owned and operated in Canada and the U.S., helping older adults live independently in their own homes. ComForCare operates as At Your Side in Houston, Texas. ComForCare is committed to helping people live their best lives possible and offers special programs, including fall risk prevention, dementia care, meaningful activities, and Joyful Memories music. Founded in 1996, ComForCare was acquired by private equity firm The Riverside Company in 2017 and is now part of Best Life Brands, which has plans for continued expansion of service brands across the continuum of care. ComForCare has earned a ranking of 402 on the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list. For more information, visit www.comforcare.com .

For more information, contact:

Marcella Winfiele I BizCom Associates

832.314.8565 | [email protected]

SOURCE ComForCare Home Care
KELOWNA, British Columbia, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Doseology Sciences Inc. (CSE: MOOD) (OTCQB: DOSEF) (FSE: VU7) ("Doseology" or the "Company"), a life sciences company focused on mental health and wellness, announces the resignation of Ralph Olson as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company. Pratik (Tiki) Patel has been appointed interim CEO.

Mr. Patel is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over fifteen years of experience in senior accounting and finance roles. He is also the Chief Financial Officer of the Company and will continue to serve in that role.

The Company also announces the resignation of David Lutz as a Director. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Olson and Mr. Lutz for their service and contributions and wishes them well in their future endeavours.

In addition, the Company announces that it has granted 2,450,000 incentive stock options. The options have an exercise price of $0.10 per share, are valid for a 5-year period from the date of grant and are subject to regulatory approval.

Finally, with respect to the strategic alternatives process initiated by the Board of Directors and announced on January 23, 2023, the Company confirms that the process is still ongoing. The Company will provide further updates when necessary or appropriate.

On Behalf of Doseology Sciences Inc.

Pratik Patel

Interim Chief Executive Officer

About Doseology Sciences ( CSE: MOOD ) ( OTCQB: DOSEF ) ( FSE: VU7 )

Doseology Sciences Inc. is building a progressive brand focused on mental health and wellness through innovative nutraceutical products. Doseology aims to make a meaningful impact on the mental health pandemic by utilizing and developing functional fungi. Doseology's functional mushroom products, including tinctures, powders and supplements, are available on doseology.com .

For further information contact:

Investor Relations: [email protected]

General Inquiries: [email protected]

Telephone: 236-349-0064

Website: doseology.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute "forwardlooking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forwardlooking information is often identified by the words "may," "would," "could," "should," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" or similar expressions. Readers are cautioned that forwardlooking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects the Company's management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning the business of the Company's 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 forwardlooking 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. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forwardlooking information are the following: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; decreases in the prevailing prices for products in the markets that the Company operates in; adverse changes in applicable laws or adverse changes in the application or enforcement of current laws; regulations and enforcement priorities of governmental authorities; compliance with government regulation and related costs; and other risks described in the Company's prospectus. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forwardlooking 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 forwardlooking information except as otherwise required by applicable law. For more information, investors should review the Company's filings which are available on SEDAR .

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release. The Company's securities have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of any person in the United States, absent registration, or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States, or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Doseology Sciences Inc.
BOGOTA, Colombia, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) informs that, with regards to the information published in the public media, that since yesterday Ecopetrol has been attending an administrative visit of the delegation of the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC by its acronym in Spanish "Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio") at its offices in the city of Bogota.

This visit, which continues today, has been addressed with all willingness and cooperation by the Company and the employees who were interviewed during the visit.

Regarding the aforementioned, the SIC publicly issued a clarifying statement that "(...) the preliminary stage of its actions is aimed at determining whether it is necessary to conduct a formal investigation for the commission of infringements against the competition protection regime. Therefore, in the preliminary stage there is no investigation and no person is being investigated or sanctioned".

The Company expresses its cooperation with the Superintendency in the efforts it is making to protect free competition and abstains from publicly providing details of the administrative visit to preserve the legal reserve to which these actions are subject.

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 18,000 employees. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla - Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications sector. This press release contains business prospect statements, operating and financial result estimates, and statements related to Ecopetrol's growth prospects. These are all projections and, as such, they are based solely on the expectations of the managers regarding the future of the company and their continued access to capital to finance the company's business plan. The realization of said estimates in the future depends on the behavior of market conditions, regulations, competition, and the performance of the Colombian economy and the industry, among other factors, and are consequently subject to change without prior notice.

This release contains statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of 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. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases, or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration, and production activities, reserves, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For more information, please contact:

Head of Capital Markets (a)

Carolina Tovar Aragon

Email: [email protected]

Head of Corporate Communications (a)

Juan Guillermo Londono

Correo electronico: [email protected]

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.
SHANGHAI, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Everest Medicines (HKEX 1952.HK, "Everest", or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing transformative pharmaceutical products and vaccines, today announced its financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2022, along with a corporate update.

"Despite a challenging external capital environment in 2022, we made solid advancements in our key therapeutic areas toward becoming a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company," said Rogers Yongqing Luo, CEO of Everest Medicines. "We received NDA approval for Xerava in China this month and successfully filed for New Drug Application for Nefecon in mainland China with Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Priority Review status, while also receiving fast-track review designations in other Asian territories for Nefecon. We reported positive topline results from multiple clinical studies and achieved the first pre-clinical proof-of-concept milestone from our self-discovery programs. Moreover, our state-of-the-art mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility began production and successfully completed trial runs. The company's loss in 2022 was reduced by RMB 760 million compared with the previous year. We head into 2023 with a strong balance sheet of US$432 million, along with a clear new strategy for the future."

"2023 is set to be an exciting year for Everest, as the commercialization of our first product will propel the Company from a clinical-stage biotech to a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company. We will establish a highly efficient commercial team to bring important novel treatments such as Xerava and Nefecon to Chinese patients as soon as possible. We also strive to make significant progress in clinical and regulatory development, internal R&D and business development across our key therapeutic areas of renal diseases and infectious diseases, as well as to our mRNA platform. We anticipate at least three more drug candidates to receive NDA approval in China over the next two years, which will bring very promising commercial prospects," said Luo.

Recent Product Highlights and Anticipated Milestones

INFECTIOUS DISEASE PORTFOLIO

Xerava (Eravacycline), is a novel, fully synthetic fluorocycline intravenous antibiotic for the treatment of infections caused by susceptible gram-positive, gram-negative and anaerobic pathogens including those multidrug resistant ("MDR") isolates.

2022:

 In August, the Company announced that the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration had accepted its submission of an NDA for Xerava (eravacycline) for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI). In addition, the Company entered into an exclusive partnership agreement with TTY for the commercialization of Xerava in Taiwan.

 In October, the Company announced that the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, approved an NDA for Xerava for the treatment of cIAI in adult patients in Hong Kong.

2023:

 In March, the Company announced that NMPA of China approved its NDA for Xerava for the treatment of cIAI in adult patients.

 We expect NDA approval of eravacycline for the treatment of cIAI in Taiwan region in 2023.

Taniborbactam, is a beta-lactamase inhibitor ("BLI") that, in combination with cefepime, may offer a potential treatment option for patients with serious bacterial infections caused by difficult-to-treat resistant gram-negative bacteria, most notably carbapenem- resistant Enterobacterales ("CRE") and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa ("CRPA"), particularly for those resistance caused by metallo beta-Lactamases.

- In March 2022, our licensing partner, Venatorx Pharmaceuticals ("Venatorx"), reported positive results from its pivotal phase 3 study, CERTAIN-1 (Cefepime Rescue with taniborbactam in cUTI), evaluating cefepime-taniborbactam, an investigational new drug, versus meropenem as a potential treatment for hospitalized adult patients with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including acute pyelonephritis.

- We expect to file NDA for taniborbactam for the treatment of cUTI in China in 2023.

EVER206 (also known as SPR206) is a potentially best-in-class, novel polymyxin derivative designed to reduce toxicity, especially nephrotoxicity, compared to the levels observed clinically with polymyxin B and colistin.

 In January 2023, the Company announced topline results from a China phase 1 study on healthy subjects demonstrating that EVER206 is well-tolerated with no evidence of acute kidney injury and no new safety signals on healthy subjects with dose ranges applied in the study. The pharmacokinetics of healthy subjects in China were comparable to the results of the overseas phase I study (SPR206-101) and the safety profile was also similar to the results from the overseas Phase I trial, supporting Everest's plans to initiate next-phase clinical development in China soon.

 We expect to initiate the phase 3 trial of EVER206 in 2023.

RENAL PORTFOLIO

Nefecon, our anchor drug candidate in the renal therapeutic area, is a novel oral formulation of budesonide in development for the treatment of primary IgAN.

2022:

 In April, the Company announced the findings of reduction in proteinuria and stabilization of estimated glomerular filtration rate ("eGFR") in a Chinese subpopulation after nine months of treatment with Nefecon are in line with topline results from Part A of the pivotal global phase 3 clinical trial NefIgArd, which were reported in November 2020 by Calliditas.

 In July, our partner Calliditas was granted conditional marketing authorization for Kinpeygo (brand name of Nefecon in Europe) by the European Commission for the treatment of primary IgAN in adults at risk of rapid disease progression with a urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPCR)  1.5 g/gram.

 In November, the Company received an acceptance from the China NMPA for its NDA of Nefecon for the treatment of primary IgAN in adults at risk of rapid disease progression.

 In November, the Company announced the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration granted Accelerated Approval Designation to Nefecon and the MFDS in South Korea granted Orphan Drug Designation to Nefecon.

2023:

 In Jan., CDE of the China NMPA granted Priority Review for the NDA of Nefecon.

 In February, South Korea's MFDS granted Global Innovative product on Fast Track ("GIFT") designation to Nefecon for the treatment of primary IgAN. Nefecon is the second product and the first non-oncology product included in MFDS's GIFT program. Inclusion of the GIFT program is expected to accelerate regulatory review time by 25% and allow for rolling review.

 In March, our partner Calliditas reported positive topline results from Phase 3 NefIgArd Trial evaluating Nefecon in IgAN. The trial met its primary endpoint with Nefecon demonstrating a highly statistically significant benefit over placebo (p value <0.0001) in eGFR over the two-year period of 9-months of treatment with Nefecon or placebo and 15-months of follow-up off drug.

 We expect to receive NDA approval for Nefecon for the treatment of primary IgAN in mainland China and Singapore in 2023.

 We expect to file NDA of Nefecon for the treatment of IgAN in South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan region in 2023.

EVER001 is the next-generation covalent reversible Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor in development globally for the treatment of renal diseases.

 In September 2022, the Company announced that the CDE has approved the IND application for a phase 1b study of EVER001, in development for the treatment of glomerular diseases.

mRNA PLATFORM

PTX-COVID19-B, a potentially best-in-class lipid nanoparticle-formulated mRNA COVID-19 vaccine with strong immunogenicity and benign tolerability profiles.

 In October 2022, our partner Providence reported positive topline data from a phase 2 study evaluating the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate, PTX-COVID19-B. PTX- COVID19-B demonstrated non-inferiority compared to Comirnaty, Pfizer's and BioNTech's U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") - approved mRNA vaccine, with respect to the geometric mean titer ratio of neutralizing antibodies observed two weeks after the second of two intramuscular injections. Additionally, PTX-COVID19-B was generally well-tolerated, with a safety and tolerability profile similar to Comirnaty. This phase 2 study provides important clinical validation of our mRNA technology platform.

EVER-COVID19-M1, is an Omicron-targeting bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine candidate.

 The Company is working on an Omicron-containing bivalent booster candidate  EVER-COVID19-M1, and initiated rolling submission of IND applications for phase 1 and 2 study which may enable potential emergency use authorization application.

mRNA rabies vaccine

 In December 2022, the Company announced it had achieved the pre-clinical proof-of-concept milestones for the mRNA rabies vaccine program. The rabies program is the first non-COVID 19 vaccine developed with our clinically- validated mRNA platform, highlighting the in-house discovery capabilities of the Company.

OTHER CLINICAL-STAGE ASSETS

 In May 2022, our licensing partner Pfizer Inc. presented detailed results from two pivotal studies that make up the ELEVATE UC phase 3 registrational program evaluating etrasimod, a once-daily, oral, selective sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator for the treatment of moderately-to-severely active ulcerative colitis ("UC"). Both Phase 3, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled trials achieved all primary and key secondary endpoints, with etrasimod demonstrating a safety profile consistent with previous studies.

 In December 2022, our licensing partner Pfizer received acceptance from the U.S. FDA for the review of an NDA for etrasimod for individuals living with moderately-to-severely active UC. The FDA's decision is expected in the second half of 2023. This anticipated U.S. FDA approval will be the first approval of etrasimod globally. In addition, the European Medicines Agency accepted the Marketing Authorization Application for etrasimod in the same patient population, with the decision anticipated in the first half of 2024.

 We are conducting a phase 3 study in Asia for etrasimod for the treatment of moderate-severe UC, which is expected to complete enrollment in 2023.

Business Development Updates

 In March 2022, the Company entered into a license agreement with Calliditas to develop and commercialize Nefecon for the treatment of primary IgAN in South Korea, expanding its license in addition to rights held in Greater China and Singapore.

 In August 2022, the Company announced that it entered into an agreement with Immunomedics, Inc. ("Immunomedics"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gilead, whereby Immunomedics will obtain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) in Greater China, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Mongolia (the "Agreement"). Under the terms of the Agreement, the Company will receive up to US$455 million in total considerations with US$280 million in upfront payments payable subject to, among other things, certain regulatory approvals and up to US$175 million in potential future milestone payments. In addition, the Company will be released from payment obligations for up to US$710 million in remaining milestone payments.

Drug Discovery

Our discovery team is focused on precision disease-modifying mechanisms in key pathogenic pathways in kidney diseases and promising mRNA vaccines such as prophylactic vaccines for infectious disease and therapeutic cancer vaccines against solid tumors. Our mRNA rabies vaccine program achieved pre-clinical proof-of-concept in December 2022 as the first of several non-COVID-19 mRNA vaccine/therapeutics candidates that have demonstrated our discovery capabilities.

Manufacturing facility

The company's state-of-the-art mRNA manufacturing facility in Jiashan, Zhejiang Province initiated operation and successfully carried out trial production runs in December 2022. The first phase of the project, covering an area of 58,000 square meters, has a set of advanced production facilities built to meet global and China GMP standards, and designed with an annual production capacity of 700 million doses of mRNA vaccines.

Commercialization

The regulatory approval of Xerava in Singapore was the first product approval wholly applied by and granted to Everest, and Xerava is our first marketed product. As the company transforms to a fully-integrated biopharma, we are building out a highly efficient and industry-leading commercial team, focusing on the therapeutic areas of internal medicines and infectious diseases. We expect to commercially launch Xerava in mainland China in Q3 2023 and the commercial team will be further expanded when approaching the expected approval of Nefecon in mainland China. In addition, under the supporting policies of the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, our commercial team is working on an early access program of Nefecon to bring benefits to patients sooner.

Financial Highlights

IFRS Numbers:

Total assets of RMB 6.61 billion and net assets of RMB 5.65 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022 .

and net assets of for the year ended . Revenue increased by RMB12.7 million to RMB12.8 million for the year ended 31 December 2022 , from RMB54,000 for the year ended 31 December 2021 , primarily due to the sales of eravacyline and Trodelvy in Singapore .

to for the year ended , from for the year ended , primarily due to the sales of eravacyline and Trodelvy in . Research and development (the "R&D") expenses increased by RMB196.3 million to RMB809.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2022 , from RMB613.4 million for the year ended 31 December 2021 , primarily due to i) additional clinical trials for our drug candidates; (ii) expansion of internal discovery team to build up in-house R&D capabilities; (iii) increased technical transfer related costs for our drug candidates. R&D expenses related to Trodelvy after August 1, 2022 would be reimbursed by Gilead.

to for the year ended , from for the year ended , primarily due to i) additional clinical trials for our drug candidates; (ii) expansion of internal discovery team to build up in-house R&D capabilities; (iii) increased technical transfer related costs for our drug candidates. R&D expenses related to Trodelvy after would be reimbursed by Gilead. General and administrative expenses increased by RMB33.8 million to RMB276.5 million for the year ended 31 December 2022 , from RMB242.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2021 , primarily due to increased professional service expenses.

to for the year ended , from for the year ended , primarily due to increased professional service expenses. Distribution and selling expenses increased by RMB128.5 million to RMB326.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2022 , from RMB198.2 million for the year ended 31 December 2021 , primarily due to increased employee benefit expenses and launch and pre-launch activities carried out for commercialization. Distribution and selling expenses related to Trodelvy after August 1, 2022 would be reimbursed by Gilead.

to for the year ended , from for the year ended , primarily due to increased employee benefit expenses and launch and pre-launch activities carried out for commercialization. Distribution and selling expenses related to Trodelvy after would be reimbursed by Gilead. Net loss for the year ended 31 December 2022 was RMB247.3 million , compared with RMB1,008.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2021 , primarily due to the other gain of RMB1,322.3 million from Trodelvy transaction.

was , compared with for the year ended , primarily due to the other gain of from Trodelvy transaction. Cash and cash equivalents and bank deposits amounted to RMB1,651.4 million as of 31 December 2022 . Pro forma for the Trodelvy Agreement upfront considerations we received in early 2023, our Cash and cash equivalents and bank deposits amounted to USD432 million .

Non-IFRS Measure:

Adjusted loss for the year[1] was RMB17.4 million for the year ended 31 December 2022 , representing a decrease of RMB759.9 million from RMB777.3 million for the year ended 31 December 2021 , primarily due to other gain of RMB1,322.3 million from Trodelvy transaction.

[1] Adjusted loss for the year represents [the loss for the year attributable to the equity holders of the Company excluding the effect of certain non-cash items and one- time events, namely the loss on fair value changes of preferred shares (non-current financial liabilities measured at fair value through profit or loss) and share-based compensation loss.] For the calculation and reconciliation of this non-IFRS measure, please refer to the paragraph numbered [15] under the heading "Financial Review" below.

Conference Call Information

The English session of the conference call will be held at 9:00 AM on March 31, 2023 Beijing Time (9:00 PM U.S. Eastern Time on March 30, 2023), and the Mandarin session of the conference call will be held at 11:00 AM Beijing Time on the same day (11:00 PM U.S. Eastern Time on March 30, 2023).

The conference calls can be accessed by the following links:

For English Session:

Time: 9:00 AM Beijing Time, Friday, March 31, 2023

Pre -Registration Link: https://www.acecamptech.com/eventDetail/60503323

Webcast Link: https://www.acecamptech.com/meeting_live/70504909/4090?event_id=60503323event_id=60503222

Alternatively, participants may dial in to the conference call using below dial-in information:

United States: +1 646 2543594 (EN)

Chinese Mainland: +86-10-58084166 (EN)

+86-10-58084199 (CN) Hong Kong, China: +852-30051313 (EN) +852-30051355 (CN) United Kingdom: International: +44-20-76600166 (EN) +1-866-6363243 (EN) Password: 519059



For Mandarin Session:

Time: 11:00 AM Beijing Time, Friday, March 31, 2023

Webcast Link: https://s.comein.cn/ANQw8

Alternatively, participants may dial into the conference call using below dial-in information:

United States: +1-646-5189851

Chinese Mainland: +86-4001668383

+86-01053827136 Hong Kong, China: Taiwan, China: +852-30183077 +886-277414090 Singapore: +65-31589102 United Kingdom: Korean: +44-2034816289 +82-0079885238059 Password: 312416



The replay of English session will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by visiting the Company's website at http://www.everestmedicines.com.

About Everest Medicines

Everest Medicines is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing transformative pharmaceutical products and vaccines that address critical unmet medical needs for patients in Asian markets. The management team of Everest Medicines has deep expertise and an extensive track record from both leading global pharmaceutical companies and local Chinese pharmaceutical companies in high-quality discovery, clinical development, regulatory affairs, CMC, business development, and operations. Everest Medicines has built a portfolio of potentially global first-in-class or best-in-class molecules in the company's core therapeutic areas of renal diseases, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders. For more information, please visit its website at www.everestmedicines.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release may make statements that constitute forward-looking statements, including descriptions regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company or its officers with respect to the business operations and financial condition of the Company, which can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, or other factors, some of which are beyond the control of the Company and are unforeseeable. Therefore, the actual results may differ from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and assumptions, such as future changes and developments in our business, competitive environment, political, economic, legal and social conditions. The Company or any of its affiliates, directors, officers, advisors or representatives has no obligation and does not undertake to revise forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or circumstances after the date of this news release, except as required by law.

SOURCE Everest Medicines
HOUSTON, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fulcrum Technology Solutions, LLC (Fulcrum), a leading cybersecurity company for Enterprise and Healthcare organizations in the south central, today announced it has entered into an agreement to merge with Talus Solutions, LLC, an emerging leader in providing cybersecurity solutions and services to healthcare entities across the US. This combination creates a dynamic new company that will offer comprehensive cybersecurity and identity services to businesses of all sizes and will have offices throughout Texas and the Midwest. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

"With this acquisition, Fulcrum will enhance its already extensive Healthcare cybersecurity capabilities while also adding substantial growth to our broad portfolio of managed services to keep our clients' patients, employees, partners, and information safe," said Randle Moore, CEO of Fulcrum. "We are excited to be joining forces with Talus, a company that shares our commitment to providing excellent service, expertise, and innovation to our clients nationwide."

Fulcrum to merge with Talus Solutions, emerging leaders providing cybersecurity solutions & services across the US. Tweet this

"We have been using both Fulcrum and Talus for several years now and find the prospect of a combined company to be very compelling," said Randy Yates, CISO of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. "Talus brings deep expertise in IAM (Identity and Access Management) and Governance which will serve Fulcrum's clients well."

"We are thrilled to be joining forces with Fulcrum, a company that is widely recognized for its expertise and innovation in the cybersecurity industry," said Mike Grall, CEO of Talus. "This merger is an excellent opportunity to expand our solutions and provide our clients with even more comprehensive services that will help them protect their critical assets."

"Talus is one of our key Vizient-contracted vendors," said Skip Rollins, CIO and CISO of Freeman Health System. "Adding Fulcrum's cyber security experience and expertise to Talus' healthcare experience will only elevate their capabilities in our opinion. I look forward to the strategic guidance and expanded security services Freeman will receive from the combined company going forward."

Under the terms of the merger agreement, the management teams of both Fulcrum and Talus will continue to operate the combined company. Clients of both companies will continue to receive the same high-quality service and support they have come to expect from their respective providers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About Fulcrum Technology Solutions, LLC

Houston-based consulting and solutions firm, Fulcrum Technology Solutions, has been providing Fortune 500 companies worldwide with top-tier infrastructure, cloud and automation, data & analytics, network, and cybersecurity consulting and managed services since its founding in 2011. Fulcrum's consulting services include risk assessments, threat management, incident response, security infrastructure, digital transformation, cloud security, compliance assistance, big data, SIEM, and SOC, as well as co-managed infrastructure and security engineering services for its customers. Fulcrum's commitment to excellence and ability to provide tailored solutions to its clients' needs has earned it a reputation as a leading provider of consulting services and products in the industry.

More information is available at www.ftsc.com, or follow us on LinkedIn

About Talus Solutions, LLC

Talus, headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, was founded in 2018 to assist healthcare organizations improve their cyber security posture to prevent cyber-attacks. Through their national contract with Vizient, Inc., Talus has quickly grown and serves healthcare organizations nationwide with expertise in risk analysis, ransomware readiness, identity governance & administration, threat management, medical device security, and security architecture design and implementation. Talus also provides a comprehensive managed service for identity solutions.

For more information, visit www.talussolutions.com, or follow us on LinkedIn

Media contacts:

Jen Winters

[email protected]

Heather Gisin

[email protected]

SOURCE Fulcrum Technology Solutions
ST JULIANS, Malta, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gaming Innovation Group Inc. (GiG) today announces the launch of a new Enterprise Solution which complements its popular Software as a Service (SaaS) licencing model. The Enterprise Solution provides technological and operational autonomy to clients who have technical development capabilities and wish to modify, enhance or build upon GiG's existing application.

As the demand for B2B solutions continues to grow and evolve across the global online gambling industry, GiG's Enterprise Solution gives clients the flexibility and ability to manage autonomously all aspects of the locally deployed platform, to modify the software or to supplement it, to enhance the product development and integration roadmap while still benefiting from GiG's leading proprietary technology. This also enables GiG with a new commercial model to augment its current offering.

The Enterprise Solution will be an exclusive offering available to clients who are able to manage their own technology stack. With both GiG and its Enterprise partners benefiting from the continued product innovation. GiG considers this offering as a powerful and bespoke solution that will serve an increasing demand within the industry for higher levels of technological and roadmap flexibility while also adding further revenue streams to the business.

GiG has today signed the first licence agreement for the Enterprise Solution to a successful industry group. The agreement is structured with a significant set up fee charged for the license and subsequent fees over the term. The average estimated yearly contract value is materially above current averages for GiG's SaaS contracts.

Richard Brown, CEO of GiG said: "We have long held the view that for some operators, who have the technical ability and experience, a model that would open up our platform and technology to them would create further collaborative improvement of the product and ultimately enhance the customer experience. We have seen increasing demand for operators to gain that flexibility, and with a recent development of our next generation platform, which has been developed with this structure in mind, we are able to offer this service in a controlled, supported and sustainable manner. Ultimately our new GiG Enterprise product provides a solution that many operators crave for and we do not think is being offered fully by the industry as of today."

For further information, please contact:

Richard Brown, CEO GiG, [email protected], +34 661599025

This information is information that Gaming Innovation Group Inc. is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 13:45 CET on 31 March 2023.

About Gaming Innovation Group (GiG)

Gaming Innovation Group is a leading iGaming technology company, providing solutions, products and services to iGaming Operators. Founded in 2012, Gaming Innovation Group's vision is 'To be the industry-leading platform, sportsbook and media provider delivering world-class solutions to our iGaming partners and their customers. GiG's mission is to drive sustainable growth and profitability of our partners through product innovation, scalable technology and quality of service. Gaming Innovation Group operates out of Malta and is dual-listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GIG and on Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker symbol GIGSEK. www.gig.com

SOURCE Gaming Innovation Group
Non-Cell Therapy Achieved 31.4% Adjusted Net Profit Growth

Cell Therapy Business Revenue Surged By 70%

Revenue of the Group for the year ended December 31, 2022 was approximately US$625.7 million , representing an increase of 27.7% as compared with approximately US$490.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 .

The external revenue for non-cell therapy business was approximately US$509.0 million , representing an increase of 19.8% as compared with approximately US$424.7 million for the year ended December 31 , 2021.The external revenue for cell therapy business was approximately US$116.7 million , representing an increase of 78.4% as compared with approximately US$65.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 .

The adjusted net profit of non-cell therapy business before eliminations was approximately US$62.4 million , representing an increase of 31.4% as compared with approximately US$47.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 , and the adjusted net loss of cell therapy business before eliminations was approximately US$422.1 million , whilst the adjusted net loss of cell therapy business was approximately US$372.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 .

NANJING, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GenScript Biotech, the world's leading biotech company, today announces its annual results as of December 31, 2022.

In times of macroeconomic challenges, GenScript Group continued to deliver strong growth in 2022. "The Group has maintained growth momentum across the business portfolio under long-term strategy. Benefiting from our insights into the industry and continuous investment in R&D and production processes, our life science business saw steady growth by offering diversified life science services and products. This has positioned us as a reliable life science partner for customers. In biologics CDMO business, our antibody and protein CDMO and GCT CDMO services continued rapid growth. Our proven one-stop solutions helped ProBio drive significant share gain. Our industrial enzyme business reported improved profitability, driven by enhanced R&D and sales capabilities. Also, we are exploring new opportunities in the synthetic biology field. In cell therapy business, Legend Biotech, along with its partner Janssen, has successfully commercialized CARVYKTI. We are also moving forward on other pipelines," said Ms. Sherry Shao, Rotating CEO of GenScript.

Ms. Shao added, "Our success is enabled by customer trust, our global high-caliber team, and support from our investors. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude again. We are confident that we will deliver on our commitment to "make people and nature healthier through biotechnology."

Results Analysis of the Four Business Segments



For the year ended December 31, 2022

Life-science services and products Biologics development services Industrial synthetic biology products Cell therapy

US$'000 US$'000 US$'000 US$'000 Revenue 360,540 125,009 38,664 117,005 Adjusted gross profit 201,120 42,857 16,609 53,038 Adjusted selling and distribution expenses 51,414 13,898 3,559 89,796 Adjusted administrative expenses 43,382 22,847 5,437 68,700 Adjusted research and development expenses 40,214 7,260 4,755 316,637 Adjusted operating profit/(loss) 66,110 (1,148) 2,858 (422,095)

As the Group has reallocated back office administrative expenses into each business segment following the establishment of Probio legal entities in the second half of 2021, segment operating profit is not directly comparable to the same period in 2021. The adjusted expenses exclude the impact from (i) share-based compensation expenses, (ii) consultation and other related costs for the Investigation, and (iii) service fees and other costs for equity financing activities.

Life-science services and products

During the Reporting Period, revenue from life-science services and products was approximately US$360.5 million, representing an increase of 14.2% as compared with approximately US$315.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The adjusted gross profit was approximately US$201.1 million, representing an increase of 8.0% as compared with approximately US$186.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The adjusted gross profit margin decreased slightly from 59.0% for the same period in 2021 to 55.8% this Reporting Period. The adjusted operating profit of life-science services and products was approximately US$66.1 million.

The increase in revenue was driven by a combination of (i) the increased demand in each of the segment's principal businesses with particular strength in molecular biology, protein and antibody business, and (ii) the successful commercialization of innovative platforms such as sgRNA, and was partially offset by the decreased demand for testing to diagnose COVID-19. The decrease in adjusted gross profit margin was primarily attributable to the (i) increment in labor, overhead and facility cost related to overseas site operation, (ii) increased freight and duty costs, and (iii) changes in product portfolio strategy. The adjusted operating profit was positively impacted from operational efficiency, while negatively impacted by increased research and development efforts focused on the enhancement to existing services and development of new products.

Biologics development services

During the Reporting Period, revenue from biologics development services was approximately US$125.0 million, representing an increase of 53.6% as compared with approximately US$81.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The backlog increased to US$233.3 million as at December 31, 2022, with a growth at 18.2%. The adjusted gross profit was approximately US$42.8 million, representing an increase of 54.5% as compared with approximately US$27.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Adjusted gross profit margin kept stable in the two years. The adjusted operating loss of biologics development services was approximately US$1.1 million.

The growth of revenue and adjusted gross profit was mainly attributable to the (i) increase in the number of projects from protein and antibody drug development, and plasmid, (ii) expanded capacity and increased capacity utilization rate in process development and manufacturing, and (iii) continuously shortened delivery timeline.

Industrial synthetic biology products

During the Reporting Period, revenue from industrial synthetic biology products was approximately US$38.7 million. The adjusted gross profit was approximately US$16.6 million, representing an increase of 46.9% as compared with approximately US$11.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Adjusted gross profit margin increased from 29.3% for the same period in 2021 to 42.9% this Reporting Period. The adjusted operating profit of industrial synthetic biology products was approximately US$2.9 million whilst it just arrived operating break-even for the same period in 2021.

The increase in both adjusted gross profit and adjusted operating profit was primarily attributable to the (i) adjustment of product portfolio and enhancement of the promotion of high-margin products, together with active pruning of low or negative profit products, (ii) upgrade of the workflow and improvement of production process, and (iii) profit from the license of certain patents.

Cell therapy

During the Reporting Period, revenue from cell therapy segment was approximately US$117.0 million, representing an increase of 70.0% compared to approximately US$68.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in revenue was primarily attributed to the collaboration revenue involving the commercial launch of CARVYKTI in the U.S.. On February 28, 2022 the FDA approved CARVYKTI for adults with relapsed or refractory patients with MM who have received four or more prior lines of therapy. CARVYKTI has received conditional marketing authorizations from European Commission in May 2022 and approval from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma limited to cases meeting certain conditions on September 26, 2022.

During the Reporting Period, the operating loss of approximately US$458.1 million whilst the operating loss for the same period in 2021 was approximately US$394.0 million. The continued investment in research and development costs of approximately US$335.6 million during the Reporting Period compared to approximately US$313.3 million for the same period in 2021 is the primary driver of the operational expenditures as Legend focused on investment in early lines of therapy for cita-cel as well as progressing Legend's pipeline. Additionally, incurred approximately US$93.4 million in selling and distribution expenses and approximately US$80.6 million in administrative expenses during the Reporting Period compared to approximately US$102.5 million and approximately US$47.0 million, respectively, for the same period in 2021. Also, incurred approximately US$65.4 million during the Reporting Period towards cost of collaboration revenue to support the commercial supply of CARVYKTI.

FINANCIAL REVIEW



2022

2021

Change



US$'000

US$'000

US$'000

Revenue 625,698

490,096

135,602

Gross profit 304,083

282,518

21,565

Loss after income tax (427,971)

(518,327)

90,356

Adjusted net loss (359,416)

(327,826)

(31,590)

Loss attributable to owners of the Company (226,851)

(358,712)

131,861

Adjusted net loss attributable to owners of the Company (167,786)

(181,007)

13,221

Loss per share (US cent per share) (10.82)

(17.67)

6.85



Revenue

In 2022, the Group recorded revenue of approximately US$625.7 million, representing an increase of 27.7% from approximately US$490.1 million in 2021. This was primarily attributable to (i) the stable market share growth and brand awareness of non-cell therapy business with new competitive services and products, especially in biologics development services, and (ii) the product sales of CARVYKTI after the commercialization approval from the FDA.

Gross Profit

In 2022, the Group's gross profit increased by 7.6% to approximately US$304.1 million from approximately US$282.5 million in 2021. The increase in gross profit was primarily attributable to the expansion of the revenue, and was partially offset by (i) the increased share-based compensation expenses in production teams, particularly in biologics development services, (ii) the adjustment of product and service portfolio, and (iii) the increased shipping cost. The adjusted gross profit increased by 10.1% over the same period in 2021.

Selling and distribution expenses

The selling and distribution expenses was approximately US$168.3 million in 2022, roughly unchanged over the same period in 2021.

Administrative expenses

The administrative expenses increased by 35.7% to approximately US$182.5 million in 2022 from approximately US$134.5 million in 2021. This was mainly caused by (i) the increased investment on talent with recruiting experienced personnel with competitive package and share-based compensation expenses for all business segments, (ii) the reinforcement of some key administrative functions and information technology infrastructure to support the Group's overall business, and (iii) the enhanced corporate governance and compliance measures. The adjusted administrative expenses increased by 34.1% over the same period in 2021.

Research and development expenses

The research and development expenses increased by 8.8% to approximately US$390.1 million in 2022 from approximately US$358.4 million in 2021. This was mainly due to the continued investment in talents with competitive package and share-based compensation expenses. The adjusted research and development expenses increased by 7.2% over the same period in 2021.

*For reference only. Please refer to Company's 2022 Annual Results Announcement dated March 31, 2023 for more details.

SOURCE GenScript(Nanjing)Co.,Ltd.
DUBLIN, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "China Autonomous Shuttle Market Report, 2022-2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The construction and upgrading of smart roads accelerate the large-scale application of autonomous shuttles.

The construction of smart roads is the premise for operating autonomous shuttles. In particular, the planning of smart bus lines in various urban demonstration areas has favored the application of robobuses. So far, Beijing, Xiong'an New Area, Guangzhou, Ezhou, Zibo, Changsha, Wuxi, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Hainan and the like have taken the lead in introducing autonomous shuttles on the basis of smart roads.

As of September 2022, Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone had opened 321km test roads in total for intelligent connected vehicles, of which 106km is fully covered by 5G and CVIS. It had deployed more than 1,800 intelligent roadside units such as cameras, LiDARs, radars and edge computing servers at 96 smart intersections to support real-time information exchange between vehicles, between vehicles and roads, between vehicles and the Internet. Among the autonomous shuttles landing in Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone, more than 30 Sharing-VANs from Dongfeng Yuexiang have come into normal operation, travelling a total of over 209,000 kilometers.

Guangzhou has opened a total of 353 test sections for intelligent connected vehicles, with a cumulative one-way mileage of 654.451 kilometers and a two-way mileage of 1,308.902 kilometers. From August 2022 to December 2023, Guangzhou starts an autonomous driving pilot project for urban mobility, and introduces 50 autonomous buses from different companies on the loop lines around Canton Tower and Guangzhou International Bio Island, providing at least 1 million rides for passengers.

Accompanied by the construction and upgrading of smart roads as well as the promotion of seamless mobility services, autonomous shuttles and robotaxi will be integrated into intelligent city transportation systems together to offer diversified smart mobility services.

Autonomous Shuttle Companies are Exploring New Business Models such as PRT

Autonomous shuttles are a solution to "first-mile and last-mile" mobility. As autonomous shuttles penetrate into urban communities, subway stations, etc., how to activate the "peripheral nerves" of urban traffic on large scale is one of the issues that need urgent consideration in urban governance.

For seamless mobility services, some companies are exploring new business models.

For example, Dongfeng Yuexiang's S-PRT (Sharing-Personal Rapid Transit) is a shared novel autonomous public transportation system composed of fully autonomous small vehicles and dedicated road networks.

As a rapid nonstop public transportation tool with low construction cost (one-fifteenth of subways), it can transport an average of 10,000 to 30,000 people per hour at the average speed of 40-60km/h, and allows users to reserve without needing to wait. Dongfeng Yuexiang aims for test and demonstration of an operating mileage of more than 10 million kilometers in the Xiong'an New Area within three years, and promotes the "Xiong'an Solution" with partners in no less than 30 cities.

At the beginning of 2023, PIX Moving signed a strategic agreement with Common Rail (Hangzhou) Intelligent Industry Development Co., Ltd. on joint construction of a common rail project in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou. They will provide autonomous shuttles based on PIX's chassis technology to solve the problems of large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving technology and urban traffic congestion.

The Operation Scenarios of Autonomous Shuttles Are Extending from Designated Areas and Low-Speed Scenarios to Open Environments and Complex Scenarios

At present, autonomous shuttles are running from closed and semi-closed designated areas (parks, scenic spots, factories, communities, campuses, airports, etc.) to urban public roads as subway shuttle buses, urban microcirculation buses, and autonomous buses for ride-hailing services.

The Current Growth of the Autonomous Shuttle Market is Mainly Driven by Policies and Smart Road Upgrades

China, the United States, Japan, and South Korea have issued favorable policies for autonomous buses.

Japan, the United States and South Korea among other foreign countries have introduced policies to encourage the commercial operation of autonomous vehicles like autonomous shuttles.

On March 10, 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the United States issued a first-of-its-kind final rule, the Occupant Protection Safety Standards for Vehicles Without Driving Controls, no longer requiring automated vehicle manufacturers to equip their ADS-enabled vehicles with traditional manual controls to meet crash standards.

Japan decided to allow for use of L4 autonomous vehicles (controlled by system) in transit and delivery services from April 1, 2023.

South Korea proposed a goal of commercializing L4 (highly automated) autonomous buses and shuttle buses by 2025 under its "Mobility Innovation Roadmap". On November 25, 2022, Seoul, capital of South Korea, opened the first autonomous bus line with a total mileage of about 3.4 kilometers, marking South Korea's first step to commercialize autonomous shuttles.

In China, Beijing, Shenzhen and other cities have standardized autonomous shuttles in terms of product standards and administration, setting an example for the development of the industry.

In January 2022, the "Automated Driving Bus" association standard jointly drafted by Baidu, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), ZTE and Geely was officially released. This standard covers two parts: Automated Driving Bus - Part 1: Vehicle Operation Technical Requirements, and Autonomous Bus - Part 2: Test Methods and Requirement of Automated Driving Feature. They specify the technical requirements for autonomous buses in terms of basic safety, information security, operation safety and autonomous driving tests.

In March 2022, Beijing High-level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone issued the Detailed Implementation Rules for Road Testing and Demonstrative Application of Intelligent Connected Buses in Beijing Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone (Trial), posing specific administrative requirements for in-vehicle management, vehicle operation, road test, insurance and technical parameters.

In November, 2022, Beijing High-level autonomous driving Demonstration Zone issued the "Detailed Rules for the Administration of Autonomous Shuttles in Beijing Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone (Road Testing and Demonstrative Application)". It is China's first normative policy for new short-distance passenger transport intelligent connected products without a driver's seat or steering wheel and is also China's first policy to give corresponding right of way to autonomous shuttles in a coded form.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Overview and Status Quo of Autonomous Shuttle Industry

1.1 Definition of Autonomous Shuttle

1.2 Composition of Autonomous Shuttle System

1.3 Autonomous Shuttle Operation Models

1.4 Application Scenario Comparison between Main Autonomous Shuttle Companies - Minibuses

1.5 Application Scenario Comparison between Main Autonomous Shuttle Companies - Robobuses

1.6 Product Configuration Comparison between Main Autonomous Shuttle Companies - Minibuses

1.7 Product Configuration Comparison between Main Autonomous Shuttle Companies - Robobuses

1.8 Trends



2 Policies for Autonomous Shuttle Industry

2.1 China's Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policies

2.2 China's Smart Bus Industry Policies

2.3 China's Standards and Specifications for Autonomous Shuttles

2.4 Beijing's Administrative Rules for Autonomous Shuttles

2.5 Methods and Requirements for Field Test of Autonomous Driving Functions of Functional Autonomous Vehicles

2.6 Release of ''Automated Driving Bus'' Association Standard

2.6.1 Technical Requirements for Operation of Autonomous Buses

2.6.2 Autonomous Bus Field Tests



3 Chinese Autonomous Shuttle Companies

3.1 Baidu Apollo

3.2 ECHIEV

3.3 MOGO

3.4 WeRide

3.5 QCraft

3.6 Unity Drive

3.7 UISEE

3.8 SenseAuto

3.9 Freetech

3.10 Ant Ranger

3.11 Skywilling

3.12 Idriverplus

3.13 Shanghai Space

3.14 Bus Me

3.15 Banma Zhixing



4 Chinese Autonomous Shuttle System Integrators

4.1 Dongfeng Yuexiang

4.2 Yutong Bus

4.3 Skywell

4.4 Autonomous Buses of China Shaanqi

4.5 Intelligent Minibuses of FAW Hongqi



5 Overseas Autonomous Shuttle System Integrators

5.1 Navya

5.2 EasyMile

5.3 May Mobility

5.4 Holon

5.5 ZF

5.6 Toyota

5.7 Hyundai 42 Dot

5.8 ZOOX

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k6v1cs

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SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) Market Size, Share, Trends, Product Type (Services and Software), Connectivity Type (Site-To-Site and Remote Access), Company Size, End-user, and Region - Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) market is expected to experience rapid growth in the coming years, with an estimated market size of USD 40.78 Billion by 2030 and a projected revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.6%.

This growth can be attributed to various factors, including the increased demand for cloud VPN technologies in security products and services, the rising adoption of secure remote access, and the growing acceptance of private clouds.



Cloud VPNs are becoming increasingly popular among businesses due to their ability to provide high security without sacrificing usability. They are cost-effective and easy to set up, and provide secure, encrypted web browsing capabilities. Compared to traditional VPNs, the new generation of cloud-based VPNs offers more flexibility, cost efficiency, and security features. This makes them ideal for businesses that regularly share sensitive or confidential information over private networks.



Cloud VPNs protect against both internal and external threats, and offer faster access to applications, ensuring smooth business operations. Major tech companies are investing in cloud VPN-based services, which is contributing significantly to market revenue growth. For example, GoodAccess recently secured a $1 million seed funding round to expand its cloud-based VPN services. Similarly, HMD Global, the manufacturer of Nokia smartphones, has partnered with ExpressVPN to offer secure digital connections on mobile devices using 3G, 4G, and 5G networks.



Market Dynamics

The market for cloud VPN services is expected to grow due to the increased adoption of secure remote access and the widespread acceptance of private clouds. Leading cloud VPN service providers are focusing on replacing traditional VPNs with cloud VPNs to meet the growing demand for more secure and sophisticated technologies that support privacy protection in a reliable and streamlined manner. Businesses that have already adopted cloud services have seen significant improvements in process efficiency, time to market, and IT spending reduction.

Cloud computing investment is expected to reach $160 billion worldwide by 2020, nearly twice what it was in 2017, and cloud solutions are expected to account for 80% of all IT investments by 2019. Cloud VPNs enable secure connections between offices located anywhere in the world over an open network and can connect any number of branch offices with the main office, supply chain, and partners. The VPN technology also enables user-to-office connections, making remote working simple.

The revenue growth in this industry is driven by an increase in product launches by leading tech companies that target secure remote access and widespread acceptance of cloud computing. For instance, Google has released BeyondCorp Remote Access, a zero-trust remote-access service that allows remote teams to access their companies' internal web-based services without the use of a VPN.



The use of VPNs is restrained by stringent government regulations, which limit the growth potential of the market. Governments worldwide have implemented severe restrictions and regulations against using VPNs to prevent criminal use and increase the visibility of online activity. Cybercriminals can use VPNs to conceal their illegal activity and maintain their anonymity. New regulations mandate that all VPN service providers keep customer data for at least five years.

For example, India has approved a law requiring all VPN service providers to retain user data, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses, for at least five years. These regulations are focused on strict VPN regulations, and the national order mandates the collection of specific, substantial customer data even after users delete their accounts or cancel their subscriptions. These regulations apply not only to VPN providers but also to cloud service providers, data centers, and cryptocurrency exchanges.



Product Type Insights



The global Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) market is divided into two product types: software and services. In 2021, services dominated the market, with Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), Virtual Private Network as a Service (VPNaaS), and cloud-based remote access being some of the frequently used services. The need for managed cloud VPN-as-a-service solutions has risen as businesses require secure and remote connections to their corporate network through the Internet.

Additionally, cloud-based services have gained popularity among businesses as they offer cost-effectiveness. On the other hand, the software segment is predicted to experience rapid growth during the forecast period. Many businesses have realized that using a VPN provides an extra layer of protection and privacy for their remote workers. Cloud-based VPN software allows users to access systems through an internet-based software deployment approach. This eliminates the need for businesses to maintain physical servers or infrastructure.



Connectivity Type Insights



The global Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) market is also segmented based on connectivity type: site-to-site and remote access. Site-to-site VPNs held the largest revenue share in 2021 due to their secure IPsec protocols that encrypt communication transmitted through the VPN tunnel. They are used to establish encrypted links between VPN gateways located at different geographical sites, which require secure inter-site communication.

The site-to-site VPN tunnel also prevents any attempts to intercept traffic from the outside. Recent innovations in site-to-site VPN services, such as IPSec VPN connections through Direct Connect, are driving revenue growth of this segment. On the other hand, remote access VPNs are predicted to grow at a steady rate during the forecast period. The coronavirus pandemic has led to the increased popularity of remote access VPNs, allowing remote employees to connect safely to company networks. Cloud-based solutions are preferred to control costs, and major tech companies are launching innovative remote VPN solutions to drive revenue growth of this segment.



End-User Insights



Based on end-users, the telecom and IT sector held the largest revenue share in 2021. New demands for fast and secure VPN networks by the telecom industry have led to the growth of cloud VPNs. Operators and vendors in the telecom industry are adopting cloud-native technologies, while public cloud and IT companies have been using them for some time. Cloud-based VPNs have experienced tremendous growth over the past five years, leading to a rise in global spending on cloud computing. Cloud VPNs offer virtual private branch exchange capabilities, improving employee accessibility while maintaining cost management.



Regional Insights



In terms of regional analysis, the Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) market in North America has dominated the global market in 2021 with the highest revenue share. This can be attributed to the increasing partnerships between major companies and government agencies to address data protection and privacy issues. Furthermore, the presence of leading market players in the region has been a driving factor for market growth. For example, Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has announced its plans to launch a VPN service for its users that will be bundled with certain Google One subscription levels. The VPN service has been introduced in the United States in 2020 for Android users through the Google One app, with plans to expand to other nations and operating systems such as iOS, Windows, and Mac.



Europe is anticipated to experience steady revenue growth during the forecast period. According to NordLayer's Global Remote Work Index, Germany is the top country for remote work followed by Denmark, the USA, Spain, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia, Singapore, and France. Consequently, there has been a rising demand for privacy protection, and businesses are choosing cloud-based solutions to provide their remote access to Virtual Private Networks to efficiently manage costs. Major IT companies are releasing their own advanced remote VPN solutions, which is driving revenue growth in the region. For instance, Deutsche Telekom has launched a cloud VPN service for small and medium-sized organizations in Croatia, Hungary, and Slovakia, providing easy access to highly secure and scalable internet services. The cloud VPN option includes cloud-managed IT solutions, firewalls, online protection, and remote access through encrypted VPNs. Additionally, Cisco and Deutsche Telekom are collaborating on this project.



Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1. Market Synopsis



Chapter 2. Executive Summary



Chapter 3. Indicative Metrics



Chapter 4. Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) Market Segmentation & Impact Analysis

4.1. Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) Market Segmentation Analysis

4.2. Industrial Outlook

4.2.1. Market indicators analysis

4.2.2. Market drivers analysis

4.2.2.1. Rising demand for Cloud-based security services

4.2.2.2. Growing adoption of secure remote access and increased acceptance of private clouds

4.2.3. Market restraints analysis

4.2.3.1. High cost premium associated with the use of Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN)s

4.2.3.2. Stringent government regulations associated with the use of VPNs

4.3. Technological Insights

4.4. Regulatory Framework

4.5. Price trend Analysis

4.6. Customer Mapping

4.7. COVID-19 Impact Analysis

4.8. Global Recession Influence



Chapter 5. Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) Market By Product Type Insights & Trends



Chapter 6. Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) Market By Connectivity Type Insights & Trends



Chapter 7. Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) Market By Company Size Insights & Trends



Chapter 8. Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) Market By End-User Insights & Trends



Chapter 9. Cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN) Market Regional Outlook



Chapter 10. Competitive Landscape



Chapter 11. Company Profiles



Companies Mentioned

Google

Microsoft Corporation

Cisco Systems

Oracle Corporation

Amazon

Nord Security

GoodAccess

IBM Corporation

Huawei

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/f6dwvh

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

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Media Contact:

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SOURCE Research and Markets
"Hes figuring out more and more when its time for work"  and when it's time to just be a dog.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has selected Oxitec's Friendly Aedes aegypti solution for a new pilot intervention to control the disease-spreading invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito.

has selected Oxitec's Friendly solution for a new pilot intervention to control the disease-spreading invasive mosquito. The project is a partnership between the Republic of the Marshall Islands , the Pacific Island Health Officers' Association, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Oxitec.

, the Pacific Island Health Officers' Association, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Oxitec. Aedes aegypti has spread globally and is the primary vector of diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

has spread globally and is the primary vector of diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Deployments of the Friendly Aedes aegypti are planned to be conducted on Ebeye Island where, in 2019, a severe dengue outbreak forced a 'state of health emergency'.

OXFORD, England, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of insect-based biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock, announced that it has joined a new partnership formed to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), in the Pacific. Working in partnership with RMI, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pacific Island Health Officers' Association (PIHOA), Oxitec will supply Friendly Aedes aegypti and transfer knowhow for self-sustained releases of the solution on Ebeye Island, which has been affected by serious dengue outbreaks and is home to more than 15,000 people.

Oxitec will provide Friendly Aedes aegypti on Ebeye Island, in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, to combat the mosquito responsible for dengue and chikungunya outbreaks over recent years.

In assessing the vector management tools available to address the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito, RMI government experts selected Oxitec's Friendly Aedes aegypti as the most sustainable and operationally effective option well-suited for deployment in the unique ecosystem in the RMI.

This pilot program will focus on equipping RMI with Friendly Aedes aegypti products and the technical training and support to integrate them into RMI's current vector control efforts, with the aim of establishing a strong model for making safe, scalable vector control solutions available to a broader range of governments and communities seeking to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito in the Pacific.

The first phase of the project will include the importation of Friendly Aedes aegypti products to RMI and training and capacity-building efforts for teams that will carry out future releases. The project team aims to start releasing Friendly Aedes aegypti following regulatory approvals by RMI government authorities, and will focus deployments on the island of Ebeye, which is the most densely populated island in RMI. Since the late 1980s, dengue, and other mosquito-borne diseases, have burdened communities in RMI. In 2019, a dengue epidemic forced the government of RMI to declare a State of Health Emergency.

Oxitec's CEO, Grey Frandsen, said, "We're honoured that our Friendly Aedes aegypti solution has been selected by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for a groundbreaking new pilot program to address the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito in the RMI. We're also thankful to be working alongside such excellent partners, all of whom are coming together to address this critical public health challenge. We've built this safe, sustainable technology to be scalable and deployable globally, and we're looking forward to demonstrating its effectiveness in this important effort."

"We selected the Friendly solution to manage Aedes aegypti on Ebeye on the basis of its track record for outstanding vector control and environmental safety in other countries, and we're delighted to have built a world-class coalition of organisations to deliver in our communities," added Jack Niedenthal, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Oxitec's just-add-water product produces non-biting Friendly male mosquitoes over time, which mate with invasive, biting Aedes aegypti females. Their female offspring cannot survive, which means fewer biting female mosquitoes in the following generations. Already deployed in the US and Brazil, in urban pilots in the city of Indaiatuba in Brazil, deployments of the Friendly Aedes aegypti in densely populated communities led to up to 96% suppression of Aedes aegypti populations. The Friendly Aedes aegypti product is now serving cities, communities and businesses across Brazil. This solution controls only this particular mosquito species, without harming beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies.

About Oxitec

Oxitec is the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford, Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class public, private and non-profit partners.

Learn more at oxitec.com.

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SOURCE Oxitec Ltd
- Appointed as Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board at the General Meeting of Shareholders and Board of Directors meeting on the 30th

- Chairman Cha will lead the growth of Hugel based on his aesthetics know-how and experience in pioneering global markets

SEOUL, South Korea, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hugel (CEO: Ji-hoon Sohn), a global total medical aesthetics company, announced on March 31st that the company held the 22nd General Meeting of Shareholders and a Board of Directors meeting on the 30th.

Chairman Suk-yong Cha

At the General Meeting of Shareholders, a total of four agenda items were presented and passed by a vote as planned. These included the approval of financial statements and the appointment of Suk-yong Cha, former Vice chairman & CEO of LG Household & Health Care Co., Ltd.(LG H&H), as non-executive director. At the board meeting later that afternoon, non-executive director Cha was appointed as Hugel's new Executive Chairman and chairman of the Board.

Chairman Cha previously served as the CEO of LG H&H for 18 years from 2005 to 2022, he set a record of 17 consecutive years of increasing sales and operating profits. In particular, he transformed LG H&H into the global beauty company by enhancing the portfolio of each business divisions through 28 important M&As and expanding the company's reach into global markets, including North America, China, and Japan.

In addition, Chairman Cha demonstrated his corporate management capabilities in various industries while serving as President & CEO of Procter & Gamble(P&G) Korea and President & CEO of Haitai Confectionary & Foods Co. Ltd.

The appointment of Suk-yong Cha, former Vice chairman & CEO of LG H&H, is expected to aid Hugel in becoming a global top-tier company. Based on Chairman Cha's know-how in the field of aesthetics and experience of expanding into global markets, Hugel plans to accelerate its growth by improving the global strategy for its botulinum toxin, HA filler, and cosmetics and strengthening the development of new businesses.

Meanwhile, Brent L. Saunders, former Executive Chairman of the Board will be appointed Chair of a newly established Advisory Board. In this role, Brent will continue to support the company in its growth and global expansion.

Hugel's CEO, Ji-hoon Sohn, said, "We expect that Chairman Cha, along with the existing Board of Directors, and with strong support from our investors, will be instrumental in leading the global growth of Hugel based on his extensive business insights in not only aesthetics but also in various industries. We will continue company-wide efforts with Chairman Cha to take the lead in the global medical aesthetics industry. I would also like to thank Brent for his service to the company and look forward to his continued support in his new appointment."

About Suk-young Cha

[Education]

1985 Indiana University School of Law

1984 Cornell University (MBA)

1982 The State University of New York

Acquired AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)

1974 Kyunggi High School, Seoul, Korea

[Professional Experience]

2005 ~ 2022 Vice Chairman & CEO of LG Household & Health Care(LG H&H) Co., Ltd.

2001 ~ 2004 President & CEO of Haitai Confectionary & Foods Co. Ltd

1999 ~ 2000 President & CEO of Procter & Gamble(P&G) Korea

1984 ~ 1998 Procter & Gamble(P&G) headquarters

SOURCE Hugel
CHICAGO, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hydrogen Fueling Station Market is projected to reach USD 1,129 million in 2030 from USD 380 million in 2023 at a CAGR of 16.8% according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The key factor such as growing demand for the zero-emission vehicles and strong government support have led to many top OEMs investing in the research and development of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Due to increasing demand for the FCEVs, there is a need for the hydrogen fueling station infrastructure. Furthermore, growing public and private investments in emerging economies have accelerated the growth of Hydrogen Fueling Station Market.

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Hydrogen Fueling Station Market Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Size USD 1,129 million in 2030 Growth Rate 16.8% of CAGR Largest Market Asia Pacific Market Dynamics Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities & Challenges Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast Units Value (USD Million) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered by station size, supply type, pressure, station type, solution and region Geographies Covered Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East & Africa Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Government initiatives to accelerate hydrogen deployment Key Market Drivers Growing adoption of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs)

The on-site, by supply type, is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on supply type, the Hydrogen Fueling Station Market has been split into on-site and off-site. The on-site segment is expected to be the fastest growing market during the forecast period. Governments of various countries are taking initiatives to shift toward clean and green fuels, which is possible through the onsite production of hydrogen through electrolysis. The growth of on-site segment is attributed by the to rising investments in green hydrogen projects and inclination toward zero-carbon fuel to power fuel cell vehicles.

Based on solution, components is expected to be the largest segment during the forecast period

This report segments the Hydrogen Fueling Station Market based on components into two segments: engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and components. The components segment is expected to be the largest segment during the forecast period. Components is a crucial element of the hydrogen fueling station infrastructure. Easy and cost-efficient hydrogen storage and supply via compression is likely to support the growth of the components segment.

Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest region in the Hydrogen Fueling Station Market

Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest Hydrogen Fueling Station Market during the forecast period. Several countries in the Asia Pacific are planning pilot projects or carrying out full-scale development of electrolyzer based hydrogen fueling station in the region. This has increased investments toward pilot projects, feasibility studies, and new deployments of hydrogen fueling stations in the Asia Pacific, especially in South Korea and Japan. These factors are expected to fuel the growth of the Hydrogen Fueling Station Market in the region. Furthermore, rapid adoption of hydrogen powered light duty and heavy-duty vehicles across these countries have accelerated the growth of Hydrogen Fueling Station Market.

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Key Market Players:

Some of the major players in the Hydrogen Fueling Station Market are Air Liquide (France), Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (US), Linde plc (Ireland), Nel ASA (Norway), and McPhy Energy S.A. (France). The major strategies adopted by these players include acquisitions, contracts, product launches, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, investments and expansions.

Recent Developments

In February 2023 , Air Liquide will join TotalEnergies to create an equally owned joint venture to develop a network of hydrogen stations. This initiative will help facilitate access to hydrogen, enabling the development of its use for goods transportation and further strengthening the hydrogen sector.

, Air Liquide will join TotalEnergies to create an equally owned joint venture to develop a network of hydrogen stations. This initiative will help facilitate access to hydrogen, enabling the development of its use for goods transportation and further strengthening the hydrogen sector. In October 2022 , Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Schenk Tanktransport, and TNO collaborated together on the Clean Hydrogen and Road Transport Project (CH2aRT) project to develop hydrogen trucks and a public hydrogen refueling station.

, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Schenk Tanktransport, and TNO collaborated together on the Clean Hydrogen and Road Transport Project (CH2aRT) project to develop hydrogen trucks and a public hydrogen refueling station. In October 2022 , Linde plc received a contract from Fountain Fuel for the delivery of three hydrogen refueling stations in the Netherlands . Linde will supply three of its Twin IC90 hydrogen refueling systems.

, Linde plc received a contract from Fountain Fuel for the delivery of three hydrogen refueling stations in . Linde will supply three of its Twin IC90 hydrogen refueling systems. In December 2022 , Nel ASA signed an agreement via its subsidiary Nel Hydrogen Inc. with an US-based energy company for the supply of 16 hydrogen fueling stations.

, Nel ASA signed an agreement via its subsidiary Nel Hydrogen Inc. with an US-based energy company for the supply of 16 hydrogen fueling stations. In April 2019 , McPhy Energy S.A. launched the smart "Augmented McFilling" hydrogen fueling station, especially for fueling heavy-duty vehicles.

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
VANCOUVER, BC, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - International Battery Metals Ltd. (the "Company") (CSE: IBAT) (OTC: IBATF) (FSE: 8RE), announces it can fully meet the Chilean government's requirement that all new lithium recovery projects use a Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) methodology.

Chile now requires use of a DLE means of lithium extraction in order to reduce loss of precious water resources. DLE technologies are more water efficient than traditional extraction methods, but are currently not used in Chile. Global scarcity, water misuse, and waste of water have had extremely detrimental effects on land, vegetation, animals and people.

This month, the Chilean National Patent Office issued a Notice of Allowance for IBAT's patent for its mobile, modular mineral extraction system "Modular System for Extraction of Elements from Brine Solutions." This allowance from INAPI (the Chilean National Institute of Industrial Property) assures investors that the unique benefits of IBAT's technology are protected.

Inherent elements of IBAT's breakthrough DLE technology make it ideal for lithium processing in areas where water resources are scarce. IBAT's unique DLE technology is the only type of DLE that minimizes water waste to this extent:

Water : IBAT recycles up to 94% of fresh water used in processing. In addition, essentially all extracted brine is put directly back into the ground where it came from. The dual conservation features of the system result in very little water waste.

: IBAT recycles up to 94% of fresh water used in processing. In addition, essentially all extracted brine is put directly back into the ground where it came from. The dual conservation features of the system result in very little water waste. Chemicals : IBAT does not use chemicals for processing and therefore uses does not use resources for chemical handling

: IBAT does not use chemicals for processing and therefore uses does not use resources for chemical handling Waste : IBAT generates no waste from chemical, industrial or extraction byproduct sources, so there are no disposal issues

: IBAT generates no waste from chemical, industrial or extraction byproduct sources, so there are no disposal issues Efficient : IBAT's technology is highly efficient in achieving at least 68% recovery of lithium, and due to its efficient technology design, the plant uses a minimal amount of energy for processing needs.

: IBAT's technology is highly efficient in achieving at least 68% recovery of lithium, and due to its efficient technology design, the plant uses a minimal amount of energy for processing needs. Land protection: IBAT's processing plant has a very small footprint which creates minimal impact on the land and surrounding area

Chile has massive lithium resources but the challenge is recovering lithium without decimating the environment. Salt flats have previously been used in Chile to extract lithium. The flats are massive ponds created to stretch across hundreds of thousands of acres, and are flooded with salt water brine pumped from the earth. The brine sits for a year or more until the water evaporates, leaving salt and lithium behind for processing. This technique wastes billions of liters of water in one of the driest places on earth, and is extremely destructive to the land.

Last year, Chilean contracts previously awarded to companies were rescinded amid growing resource nationalism and a push to introduce less polluting production techniques.

IBAT's modular DLE system is available for placement in Chile as well as other locations that can benefit from clean, efficient, sustainable extraction.

ABOUT US

International Battery Metals (IBAT) is the fastest lithium processing company, and has the only patented technology able to achieve commercial scale production in just 18 months. IBAT's proprietary Modular Direct Lithium Extraction technology is proven to quickly and efficiently recover more lithium from brine than traditional methods, while offering safe, superior and sustainable environmental performance. By bringing more lithium to more partners, we are accelerating a bright future for electric vehicles.

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Forwardlooking and cautionary statements

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This release may contain statements within the meaning of safe harbour provisions as defined under securities laws and regulations.

This release may contain certain forwardlooking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of the Company and certain of the plans and objectives of the Company with respect to the same. There is no assurance that the company's apparatus will be able to commercially produce lithium at the stated capacity. The purpose of the tests is to determine if it will be able to do so and successful completion of the tests cannot be assured as they are subject to risks and uncertainties associated with any new mineral processing method and characteristics of the material being processed.

By their nature, forwardlooking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forwardlooking statements.

SOURCE International Battery Metals Ltd.
HEFEI, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to alleviate chronic water shortages, iFLYTEK has partnered with the city of Yulin to form the Longyun Irrigation District. The company has led the development of AI-enabled digital infrastructure to support the Longyun Irrigation District development to ensure effective water resource management.

Yulin, a city with more than 1,000 years of history, faces chronic water shortages during the dry season. It is impacted by the monsoon cycle, but its growing population and industrialization have put heavy demand on its water supply.

To address the city's increasing water demands and promote its economic and social development, the Longyun Irrigation District Project will encompass nearly 150 square miles and incorporate agricultural irrigation, regional water management, and industrial water supply. The project is expected to significantly expand irrigation coverage, restore past infrastructure, and improve regional resource management. It will include building three new reservoirs in Panlong, Zhongganling, and Yunliang; construction of new diversion canals, water main pipes, branch pipes, and pumping stations; and continued work on water-use efficiency upgrades to the existing canal systembenefiting over 2 million people.

iFLYTEK is outfitting the infrastructure with artificial intelligence technology to launch a smart irrigation area to enable real-time monitoring, visual data, and other management tools.

Specific capabilities iFLYTEK will bring to the Longyun Irrigation Project include:

Real-time Resource Monitoring: Using AI, the Project will enable accurate real-time system monitoring, process tracking, intelligent solution dispatching, and effective resource distribution to create 'water supply on demand'. The automatic hydrological forecasting system, water level and flow monitoring system, a video monitoring system will empower effective utility management

Using AI, the Project will enable accurate real-time system monitoring, process tracking, intelligent solution dispatching, and effective resource distribution to create 'water supply on demand'. The automatic hydrological forecasting system, water level and flow monitoring system, a video monitoring system will empower effective utility management Comprehensive Digital Management : The forecasting system will be paired with system-wide water resource monitoring, early drought warning, and an irrigation system monitoring platform. Meanwhile, spatial, usage, and customer data will be fully integrated for seamless operations.

The forecasting system will be paired with system-wide water resource monitoring, early drought warning, and an irrigation system monitoring platform. Meanwhile, spatial, usage, and customer data will be fully integrated for seamless operations. Efficient Coordination: A modern and comprehensive decision-making command center will be built to support emergency dispatching and allow for collaborative responses to any system issue.

iFLYTEK will continue to further the integration of next-generation information technologies with water conservancy services and facilitate the digital transformation of water conservancy efforts. Through AI, the Longyun Irrigation District is expected to achieve complete water sufficiency.

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/.

SOURCE iFLYTEK
Infosys achieves a notable rise in overall ranking in the Nordics with a customer satisfaction score of 81 percent as compared to the industry average of 73 percent

STOCKHOLM, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced that it has been recognized as one of the top service providers in the Nordics, achieving the highest awarded score in Whitelane Research and PA Consulting's 2023 IT Sourcing Study. The report ranked Infosys as the number one service provider and an 'Exceptional Performer' in the categories of Digital Transformation, Application Services, and Cloud & Infrastructure Hosting Services. Infosys also ranked number one in overall General Satisfaction and Service Delivery.

For the report, Whitelane Research and PA Consulting, the innovation and transformation consultancy, surveyed nearly 400 CXOs and key decision-makers from top IT spending organizations in the Nordics and evaluated over 750 unique IT sourcing relationships and more than 1,400 cloud sourcing relationships. These service providers were assessed based on their service delivery, client relationships, commercial leverage, and transformation capabilities.

Some of Infosys' key differentiating factors highlighted in the report are:

Infosys ranked as a top provider in the Nordics across key performance indicators on service delivery quality, account management quality, price level and transformative innovation.

Infosys' ranked above the industry average by 8 percent year-on-year, making it one of the top system integrators in the Nordics.

Infosys is positioned as a "Strong Performer" in Security Services and scored significantly above average on account management.

Arne Erik Berntzen, Group CIO of Posten Norge, said: "Infosys has been integral in helping Posten Norge transform its IT Service Management capabilities. As Posten's partner since 2021, Infosys picked up the IT Service Management function from the incumbent, successfully transforming it through a brand-new implementation of ServiceNow, redesigning IT service management to suit the next-generation development processes and resulting in a significant improvement of the overall customer experience. I congratulate Infosys for achieving the top ranking in the 2023 Nordic IT Sourcing Study."

Antti Koskelin, SVP & CIO at KONE, said: "Infosys has been our trusted partner in our digitalization journey since 2017 and have helped us in establishing best-in-class services blueprint and rolling-in our enterprise IT landscape over the last few years. Digital transformations need partners to constantly learn, give ideas that work and be flexible to share risks and rewards with us, and Infosys has done just that. I am delighted that Infosys has been positioned No. 1 in Whitelane's 2023 Nordic Survey. This is definitely a reflection of their capabilities."

Jef Loos, Head of Research Europe, Whitelane Research, said, "In today's dynamic IT market, client demand is ever evolving, and staying ahead of the curve requires a strategic blend of optimized offerings and trusted client relationships. Infosys' impressive ranking in Whitelane's Nordic IT Sourcing Study is a testament to their unwavering commitment to fulfilling client demands effectively. Through their innovative solutions and exceptional customer service, Infosys has established itself as a leader in the industry, paving the way for a brighter and more successful future for all."

Hemant Lamba, Executive Vice President & Global Head  Strategic Sales, Infosys said, "Our ranking as one of the top service providers across the Nordics in the Whitelane Research and PA Consulting 2023 IT Sourcing Study, endorses our commitment to this important market. This is a significant milestone in our regional strategy, and the recognition revalidates our commitment towards driving customer success and excellence in delivering innovative IT services. Through our geographical presence in the Nordics, we will continue to drive business innovation and IT transformation in the region, backed by a strong partner network. We look forward to continuing investing in this market to foster client confidence and further enhance delivery."

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, in more than 50 countries, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by the cloud. We enable them with an AI-powered core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India and the US, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

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SOURCE Infosys
Celebrating a decade of backing Ontario entrepreneurs and advances in patient care

TORONTO, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - FACIT is pleased to announce that the winning pitch for the 10th anniversary Falcons' Fortunes pitch competition and the $100,000 Ernsting Entrepreneurship Award was delivered by Dr. Sumaiyah Rehman, co-founder and CEO of DTPx Therapeutics. DTPx is developing a novel immunotherapy targeting hibernating cells to prevent relapse in colorectal cancer patients, which intends to alleviate pain and ease the burden on the healthcare system.

Hosted by commercialization venture group FACIT, the annual competition showcases emerging entrepreneurs and highlights Ontario as a world-leading jurisdiction for cancer research translation. A panel of industry investors selected the best pitch presentation from six Ontario-based entrepreneurs for their cancer innovation. The $100,000 award is sponsored by FACIT's Prospects Oncology Fund, which is strategically aimed at bridging the seed funding gap for early-stage innovations with high potential for patient impact and economic value. Frequently, past Falcons' Fortunes participants have successfully received support from FACIT's seed investment funds. These entrepreneurs receive both risk capital and healthcare commercialization expertise from FACIT and exposure to its investment network.

FACIT's investment programs are supported both by private sector investment returns and the Government of Ontario, through its strategic partner the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR). Part of FACIT and OICR's shared mandate is retaining Ontario-generated technologies and intellectual property (IP) in the province to maximize their economic value including jobs, skills development and the creation and scaling of start-ups. This closes the gap between ground-breaking cancer discoveries and life-changing patient outcomes.

"Congratulations to all six finalists who pitched their cancer technologies today," said Dr. David O'Neill, President of FACIT. "Over the last decade of backing entrepreneurs, the unique FACIT-OICR model has realized returns to support the next generation of Ontario stars. Financing a local path for emerging innovations also brings us one step closer to helping patients and realizing the full value of taxpayer-supported cancer research."

"Collaborating with innovation and commercialization groups such as FACIT on best practices for intellectual property development and value creation benefits Ontario's economic recovery, growth and competitiveness," remarked Elliot Fung, Board Director of Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON) and keynote speaker at the event. "We envision a cohesive provincial strategy that empowers entrepreneurs to realize their dreams and make a difference in the lives of every citizen."

"As a cancer survivor and former serial entrepreneur, I am thrilled to see FACIT's commercialization programs unlocking the full potential of oncology breakthroughs with a goal to help patients sooner," said Terry Hawrysh, a member of OICR's Patient and Family Advisory Council. "Fun and spirited events like Falcons' Fortunes are building a culture that will surely make a difference for Ontarians living with cancer."

About FACIT

FACIT is an award-winning commercialization venture firm that builds companies with entrepreneurs to accelerate oncology innovation, with a portfolio that has attracted more than $1.5 billion in investment to Ontario. Blending industry experience, capital and the unsurpassed clinician-scientist network of its strategic partner the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), FACIT capitalizes on the province's investment in research and healthcare to the benefit of the local economy and patients worldwide. Cancer Breakthroughs. Realized. facit.ca.

SOURCE FACIT Inc.
IRD will be installing three Virtual Weigh-In-Motion systems at two sites on Interstate Highways I-294 and I-88.

The new systems will extend the network of Virtual Weigh Stations in Illinois that are equipped with IRD's tire safety screening solution.

The Tire Anomaly and Classification System installations will be IRD's largest multi-lane tire safety sites to date.

Virtual Weigh Stations and Tire Anomaly and Classification Systems help to improve road safety and are a key component of the Tollway's pavement preservation program.

SASKATOON, SK, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - International Road Dynamics Inc. (IRD), a Quarterhill Inc. (Quarterhill) company (TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF), announces that the company has been awarded two contracts for approximately $2.4 million for Virtual Weigh-In-Motion (VWIM) systems for the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (Illinois Tollway). Under the contracts, three new VWIM systems will be installed at two sites for use by the Illinois State Police to monitor commercial vehicles for weight, size and tire violations. All financial information in this press release is reported in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

The project includes the installation of new VWIM sites on I-294 and I-88. Each site consists of Weigh-In-Motion sensors, iSINC Weigh-In-Motion controllers, IP cameras, over-height detection sensors, and the Tire Anomaly and Classification System (TACS). The TACS installations are the largest to date for IRD, with six lanes of TACS in one direction on I-294 northbound and three lanes in each direction on I-88 (eastbound/westbound). When completed, these sites will expand IRD's footprint of VWIM systems on the Illinois Tollway network from two to five.

The Weigh-In-Motion sensors will be used to screen for overweight vehicles, and the TACS systems will identify vehicles that are unsafe due to flat, missing, or mismatched tires. IRD's Virtual Weigh Station (VWS) web-based software will provide law enforcement officers with remote access to real-time data, including vehicle images, vehicle record data, and reporting. The TACS systems will be integrated with the VWS to display the locations of the tire anomalies on vehicle records. Under the contract, IRD will provide Illinois Tollway and ISP personnel with training on the operation of the systems.

"We are thrilled to be working with the Illinois Tollway to deliver this cutting-edge network of VWS systems," said IRD President and CEO Rish Malhotra. "Our technology has been proven in the previous VWIM deployments, and we are confident that the Illinois Tollway will see the same benefits in terms of pavement preservation, improved safety, reduced congestion, and lower costs. The scope of the tire safety screening component of the system is the largest we've booked to date and is an indication of the value the system provides and the confidence that experienced users have in the accuracy of TACS."

Given IRD's key partnership with Illinois Tollway and to maximize value to the State and enhance margins, IRD will be expanding its scope of work on this project wherein IRD's Construction Services unit will oversee the electrical and construction work, installing new conduits, power cables, junction boxes, and electric handholes, and overseeing site preparation.

About IRD

IRD is a dynamic technology company engaged in developing key components and advanced systems for the next generation of transportation networks. Together with subsidiaries PAT Traffic and IRD Europe (ICOMS Detections, Sensor Line and VDS), IRD supplies Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to private corporations, transportation agencies, and highway authorities around the world. IRD's systems make highways safer, greener, and more efficient. Known globally as a trusted partner providing sales, service, and installation support on major ITS projects for over 40 years, IRD contributes to creating smarter cities by empowering engineering and urban planning professionals to access reliable traffic data. For more information: www.irdinc.com

About Quarterhill

Quarterhill is a leading provider of tolling and enforcement solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry, as well as, through its Wi-LAN Inc. subsidiary, a leader in Intellectual Property licensing. Our goal is global leadership in ITS, by organic growth of the Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC and International Road Dynamics Inc. platforms and by continuing an acquisition-oriented investment strategy that capitalizes on attractive growth opportunities within ITS and its adjacent markets. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more information, please visit www.quarterhill.com

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding IRD, Quarterhill and their businesses. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by IRD and/or Quarterhill in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and the expected effects of new business strategies, as well as other factors that IRD and/or Quarterhill believe are appropriate in the circumstances. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed herein may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting IRD and/or Quarterhill, including: potential risks and uncertainties relating to the ultimate geographic spread of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"); the severity of the disease; the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak; actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or to treat its impact; the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and financial markets and any resulting impact on IRD and/or Quarterhill and/or their businesses. Other factors include, without limitation, the risks described in Quarterhill's March 22, 2023 annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "AIF"). Copies of the AIF may be obtained at www.sedar.com. IRD and Quarterhill recommend that readers review and consider all of these risk factors and notes that readers should not place undue reliance on any of IRD's forward-looking statements. IRD has no intention, and undertakes no 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.

SOURCE Quarterhill Inc.
Two new research breakthroughs involving the company and its technologies make inroads into new possibilities for medicine

SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- JelloX Biotech Inc., a Taiwan-based startup focused on cancer pathology, announced involvement with two new research breakthroughs that demonstrate expanded potential for its specialized technology combining 3D imaging and AI.

3D imaging and digital pathology are currently viewed by the healthcare industry as prohibitively expensive due to the need for costly graphics tools, but JelloX's solution for this is MetaLite  a cost-effective software platform that leverages AI to analyze 3D-rendered thick tissue images rapidly, saving pathologists hours while improving diagnostic precision.

The company's work is timely, as a recent study released in The Harvard Gazette shows that cancer risks are rising with each new generation.

Advancing precision medicine beyond oncology

While focusing mainly on cancer-specific applications, JelloX believes strongly in the possibilities of 3D imaging and AI. Faced with the recent prospect of demonstrating this technology's potential beyond oncology, the company was eager to provide fast and informative service to its customers interested in this area. This included Dr. Lin-Shien Fu, Director of the Pediatric Nephrology and Immunology Department at Taiwan's Taichung Veterans General Hospital, whose recent work highlights new potential of 3D pathology.

Published in February 2023, Dr. Fu et al. released a paper that showed that 3D pathology can facilitate pathological analysis of kidney inflammation from lupus, also known as lupus nephritis.

"3D imaging from tissue that is hundreds of microns thick captures much greater information compared with a traditional 4-micron-thin slide, and the study is a key milestone in showing its usefulness to identify and pinpoint where exactly disease is affecting the body, in this case for kidney inflammation from lupus," notes Dr. Yen-Yin Lin, CEO of JelloX. "If 3D imaging can ultimately help doctors administer medicine with extreme accuracy across a wide variety of diseases, the possibilities are endless for healthcare  from keeping chronically ill patients healthy to saving lives."

In the study, researchers compared conventional 2D biopsy samples with 3D morphology imaging of samples, which yielded observations that the 3D samples provided more comprehensive spatial information on important components of chronic inflammation. In turn, this means an improved prognosis for lupus nephritis.

The study also paves the way for the new 3D pathology method to address a major unresolved area of research: how chronic kidney damage progresses in different kidney diseases.

Foray into cross-staining solutions for precision medicine

In its forte of cancer pathology, JelloX experts published a recent research paper to demonstrate that the AI deep learning techniques powering JelloX's technology, and AI more broadly, can effectively analyze a combination of image types and distinguish between them.

Specific to the growing threat of breast cancer, this study combined two different types of staining dyes  bright-field hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and dark-field fluorescent (FLUO) dyes  for 2D physical biopsy analysis via light microscopy and confocal microscopy, respectively, and applied a cross-staining inference AI model to the samples. Color variation between the two staining technologies causes challenges for cross-analysis, but JelloX overcame this by applying color normalization and nucleus extraction methods.

The results demonstrated that the cross-staining inference AI model had high precision in identifying tumor features. This achievement is a breakthrough in that it demonstrates the world's first universal cross-staining solution for precision identification using both H&E and FLUO images, which paves the way for AI to have a greater impact on tumor recognition and pathology in the future.

BIO 2023 conference

To showcase its leadership in 3D pathology and AI, JelloX will attend the upcoming BIO 2023 conference on June 5-8 in Boston, where it will highlight its recent research breakthroughs in addition to its AI-powered MetaLite software platform.

To learn more, please visit: https://jellox.com/en/home

About JelloX Biotech Inc.

Based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, JelloX Biotech Inc. is a startup founded by researchers from National Tsing Hua University and focuses on advancing cancer pathology through 3D digital imaging and AI technology.

SOURCE JelloX Biotech
GUANGZHOU, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 28th, the China International Furniture Fair (CIFF 2023) kicked off at the Guangzhou Import and Export Fair Complex. At the event, JIECANG the world's leading provider of linear actuator solutions, teamed up with the high-end European sub-brand LOGICDATA to showcase a range of stunning new products.

Adapting to the new market and meeting new demands with new solutions

After the pandemic, major well-known companies have adopted hybrid office models. As a result, these models have also become a new choice for emerging businesses, and various well-known office furniture brands have provided new space design and office furniture solutions.

In the past, the lifting system has been used in commercial office environments in the form of combined workstations and large desks. Today, agile working spaces break the previous fixed trend of working in an office and integrate into a diverse range of scenes and styles.

At this year's CIFF, JIECANG launched a series of new lifting system products under the theme of "BE AGILE. BE READY.", providing more inspiration for agile working space design. The products cover solutions such as electric standing desk solutions, movable flip standing desk solutions, telephone booth lifting systems, and television lifting systems.

Grasping the trend and innovating product categories from the supply side.

Over the past five years, China's esports industry has moved into the mainstream, become part of popular culture. Esports enthusiasts have increased in number every year, and the esports peripheral industry chain has also developed rapidly, giving rise to the esports lifting desk. As early as 2020, JIECANG launched an esports desk, and this year, the company unveiled the Invictus gaming desk, which is more market-differentiated, stable, meets GS requirements, has unique esports elements, a powerful wire management system, and offers brand-differentiated customized design services.

Dual brand collaboration empowers comprehensive solutions for customers with cutting-edge technology.

JIECANG acquired the LEG Group in 2021, providing multi-dimensional and comprehensive solutions for industry customers. At this year's expo, JIECANG Group's European high-end sub-brand LOGICDATA jointly participated, exhibiting advanced brushless motor lifting systems LOGICleg and four-leg smart lifting desk systems LOGICflex X with LOGICDATA core technology. The brushless motor lifting system LOGICleg runs stably, meets international certification requirements such as GS, and can be customized in appearance, color, and travel distance. LOGICflex X is a multifunctional adjustable smart lifting desk that is equipped with LOGICflex series core technology.

The outstanding standing desk system of JIECANG, which adopts top-level safety standard anti-collision technology, ZOOM rapid lifting technology, EZ rapid installation solution, internal wiring technology of the column, and Internet of Things (IoT) standing desk technology, brings unique value points to users in different scenarios such as commercial and home use.

Becoming the technological cornerstone of smart furniture development, supporting the high-quality development of the industry.

As a technological cornerstone for the development of smart furniture, JIECANG's lifting system components have provided a solid technological foundation for the innovative development of intelligent lifting desks in China's office furniture industry. As a result, JIECANG has earned plaudits such as bee being awarded the China Intelligent Office Furniture Development Contribution Award.

In the future, JIECANG will continue to deepen the application of lifting system technology, assist customers in upgrading product intelligence, and promote the high-quality development of the industry.

After the pandemic, the smart furniture industry has entered a new era of development. Faced with new challenges, JIECANG is focused on developing the next generation of linear actuator products.

SOURCE ZHEJIANG JIECANG LINEAR MOTION TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD.
BOSTON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE: PDT) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC and subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, announced today sources of its monthly distribution of $0.0975 per share paid to all shareholders of record as of March 13, 2023, pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan. This press release is issued as required by an exemptive order granted to the Fund by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Notification of Sources of Distribution

This notice provides shareholders of the John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE: PDT) with important information concerning the distribution declared on March 1, 2023, and payable on March 31, 2023. No action is required on your part.

Distribution Period: March 2023

Distribution Amount Per Common Share: $0.0975

The following table sets forth the estimated sources of the current distribution, payable March 31, 2023, and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short term capital gains; net realized long term capital gains; and return of capital or other capital source. All amounts are expressed on a per common share basis and as a percentage of the distribution amount.





For the period 03/1/2023-03/31/2023

For the fiscal year-to-date period 11/1/2022-03/31/2023 1 Source

Current

Distribution ($)

% Breakdown

of the Current

Distribution

Total Cumulative

Distributions ($)

% Breakdown

of the Total Cumulative

Distributions Net Investment Income

0.0549

56 %

0.2594

53 % Net Realized Short- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0000

0 % Net Realized Long- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0000

0 % Return of Capital or Other Capital Source

0.0426

44 %

0.2279

47 % Total per common share

0.0975

100 %

0.4873

100 %

















Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the 5 years ended on February 28, 2023

5.97 %





Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of February 28, 2023

9.18 %





Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through February 28, 2023

4.25 %





Cumulative fiscal year-to-date distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of February 28, 2023

3.82 %



_______________________________ 1 The Fund's current fiscal year began on November 1, 2022 and will end on October 31, 2023.



You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan.

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The Fund has declared the March 2023 distribution pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan (the "Plan"). Under the Plan, the Fund makes fixed monthly distributions in the amount of $0.0975 per share, which will continue to be paid monthly until further notice.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your financial professional or call the John Hancock Investment Management Closed-End Fund Information Line at 1-800-843-0090, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing.

About John Hancock Investment Management

A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management
LONDON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ClassIn, the EdTech industry leader, wowed global educators with its revolutionary Hybrid Learning Solution at the British Educational Training and Technology Show (BETT) in London. At the world's largest education technology exhibition running from March 29th to March 31st, visitors praised the EdTech unicorn's one-stop-shop solution for virtual and hybrid learning, calling it "a powerful take on interactive learning environments."

Founded in 2014, ClassIn is a world leader in hybrid learning solutions. Committed to advancing education equity and incorporating beauty into daily teaching through the power of technology, ClassIn has developed a family of cutting-edge products, including ClassIn, the most powerful virtual classroom, TeacherIn, a courseware collaboration and publishing platform, and ClassIn X, an Internet of Things suite custom-made to transform the traditional, physical classroom into a digitized, intelligent one suitable for all modalities of hybrid and blended learning.

During the COVID pandemic, teachers and schools resorted to conferencing apps, created primarily for corporate settings, to deliver lessons, only to find them inadequate. Teachers faced low levels of student engagement, limited classroom privacy protection, and painful collaborative experiences due to the frequent use of screen sharing and non-native whiteboard tools. School leaders and administrators were disturbed by the inflexibility of scheduling, while students found reviewing lessons almost impossible because online lessons taught on conferencing apps are only recordable as bulky, local video files that consume too much data to view.

As schools adapt to the post-COVID era, where classes require extensive online-to-offline, in- and out-of-campus collaboration, ClassIn is the exceptional solution to consider. ClassIn 5.0, launched in February 2023, is built to handle virtual, hybrid, and blended modalities, and can rival any conferencing tool on livestream audio-visual capability. It can accommodate up to 2,000 students in one virtual classroom, enabling them to interact with one another in breakout rooms or over virtual lab kits, and allowing millions more learners to view the session livestream together.

With over 20 interactive teaching tools, ClassIn significantly improves engagement. With distributed server nodes in more than 200 locations worldwide, high latency is no longer a concern. The administration dashboard streamlines school management, enabling batch lesson planning and generating data-rich reports that reflect student participation during and after class. Automatic course recording and on-cloud playback make it possible for students to personalize their learning pathways. With 24/7 customer service on mainstream messaging apps, ClassIn users' learning never stops. Unlike conferencing solutions that primarily serve corporate clients, ClassIn's products are exclusively designed to serve learning-related needs.

ClassIn's BETT 2023 showcase impressed global educators with its hybrid classroom solution that facilitates a student-centered, competency-based learning experience. Visitors to the exhibition were pleased to discover that whatever their role in their institution, ClassIn is ready to assist and make a difference.

To date, ClassIn has been the preferred learning environment for more than 60,000 schools and training companies, serving over 50 million teachers and students from over 160 countries. It has consistently demonstrated explosive growth in China and Southeast Asia over the past decade and is now actively nurturing peer EdTech startups worldwide. LMS providers, curriculum publishers, assessment providers, elite universities, and K12 schools all consider ClassIn a reliable infrastructure-level partner. With its BETT 2023 debut, ClassIn has announced its greater, more global ambitions to empower education online.

SOURCE ClassIn
Team Successfully Deploys Electronic Health Record to Nine Additional Parent Military Treatment Facilities, including Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Ft. Belvoir

RESTON, Va., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leidos Partnership for Defense Health (LPDH) today announced that it successfully delivered the MHS GENESIS electronic health record to an additional 14,000 clinicians and providers as part of its latest double wave deployment (Waves WALTER REED/FT. BELVOIR), spanning nine parent Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

"Our team continues to successfully deploy MHS GENESIS and we are progressing toward full deployment within the continental U.S. and globally," said Liz Porter, Leidos Health Group President. "With each new wave, we continue to improve system scalability and capacity as well as add new capabilities to meet customer demand."

LPDH designed and developed MHS GENESIS, the Military Health System's new electronic health record, and has been providing program management and technical expertise to the Program Executive Office Defense Healthcare Management Systems (PEO DHMS) since 2015.

With this latest wave deployment, the MHS GENESIS system is now operational at over 2,700 locations and now reaches 6.6 million Department of Defense (DOD) beneficiaries  approximately 81% deployed to garrison DOD facilities.

"We're thrilled that MHS GENESIS is now operational in the National Capital Region," noted Holly Joers, PEO DHMS. "The commanders on site and our pay-it-forward volunteers provided at-the-elbow support to help make this a successful deployment."

MHS GENESIS is being deployed across the continental United States and overseas through a total of 23 waves, with each wave targeting a specific region. This approach enables the DOD to take full advantage of lessons learned from prior waves to maximize subsequent waves' efficiencies.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 45,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

About Leidos Partnership for Defense Health

The Leidos Partnership consists of four core partners - Leidos, Oracle Cerner Corporation, Accenture and Henry Schein One - along with approximately 35 supporting businesses. Together, they deliver an integrated, modern, secure health information system that includes an electronic health record system, a dental system, identity management capability, cybersecurity, and other supporting components. MHS GENESIS will serve as the system of record, providing a single, integrated solution for managing the health and military readiness of the force for DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Certain statements in this announcement constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These statements are based on management's current beliefs and expectations and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These statements are not guarantees of future results or occurrences. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the "Risk Factors" set forth in Leidos' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Leidos does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statements were made.

Contact:

Melissa Duenas

(571) 526-6850

[email protected]

Thomas Doheny

(571) 474-4735

[email protected]

Lauren Reddington-Sartain

(202) 924-2226

[email protected]

SOURCE Leidos
IRVINE, Calif., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lennar, one of the nation's leading homebuilders, announced today an anticipated July completion of the first of four luxury condominium buildings within the highly anticipated Lexington at Central Park West, an urban-style master-planned community located in Irvine, California. Lexington will offer a total of 285 condominiums featuring nine all new luxury floorplans including single-story and a limited supply of two-story designs. Reflecting market demand and the high-quality reputation of Lennar, most of the condominiums at the new Lexington at Central Park West building have already been sold with first closing anticipated for this summer.

Lennar nears completion of the first of four luxury condominium buildings within Lexington at Central Park West, an urban-style master-planned community in the heart of Orange County. Each condominium home at Lennars Central Park West features an open concept design with generous living spaces, modern kitchens, spacious owners suites and large owners baths. All condominium homes include Lennars signature Everythings Included program, where the homebuilders most popular options and upgrades are built into the base price of the home. At Lexington at Central Park West, this includes GE Monogram stainless steel appliances, Quartz kitchen countertops and a host of other carefully curated interior touches and designer fixtures. Central Park West features nine all new luxury floorplans including single- story and a limited supply of two-story designs. The condominium homes range from 1,273 to 2,889 square feet, with one to three bedrooms and one-and-a-half to three baths. Pricing starts in the high $700,000s.

"Lexington at Central Park West is a tremendous opportunity for those wanting to live an on-the-go lifestyle at the center of Irvine, but still return home to the comforts, conveniences and beautiful design that Lennar is known for," said John Lavender, Lennar California Coastal Division President. "This is a highly amenitized, turn-key condominium lifestyle that leaves little to be desired."

Lexington at Central Park West is the last community to be constructed within Central Park West, which in all offers eight uniquely designed neighborhoods with a mix of modern townhomes, condominiums and flats, along with extensive high-end amenities.

Condominium homes at Lennar's Lexington at Central Park West range from 1,273 to 2,889 square feet, with one to three bedrooms and one-and-a-half to three baths. Each home features an open concept design with generous living spaces, modern kitchens, spacious owner's suites and large owner's baths. Each condominium is finished out with high 9-foot ceilings, large windows to capture downtown and community views, and a private deck. Pricing starts in the high $700,000s.

All condominium homes come with Lennar's signature Everything's Included program, where the homebuilder's most popular options and upgrades are built into the base price of the home. At Lexington at Central Park West, this includes GE Monogram stainless steel appliances, Quartz kitchen countertops and a host of other carefully curated interior touches and designer fixtures.

Residents at Lexington at Central Park West will enjoy gorgeous lobbies and co-working spaces, a state-of-the-art fitness center, dog park, and outdoor lounge areas with barbeques. The larger Central Park West offers a resort-style swimming pool, playground, sport court, multiple parks linked by sidewalks and pedestrian paseos, and an 8,019-square-foot clubhouse with a multi-purpose room, clubroom, kitchen, fitness areas and plenty of outdoor covered patios.

Lexington at Central Park West is located at the corner of Michelson Drive and Jamboree Road, in the Irvine Business District. It is minutes from South Coast Plaza, Irvine Spectrum, John Wayne Airport, premier shopping and dining, and Southern California's famed beaches. It also sits just off of Interstate 405, conveniently linking residents to the entire Southern California market.

For more information on Lexington at Central Park West, please call (888) 292-6593 or visit Lexington at Central Park West or www.lennar.com.

About Lennar Corporation

Lennar Corporation, founded in 1954, is one of the nation's leading builders of quality homes for all generations. Lennar builds affordable, move-up and active adult homes primarily under the Lennar brand name. Lennar's Financial Services segment provides mortgage financing, title and closing services primarily for buyers of Lennar's homes and, through LMF Commercial, originates mortgage loans secured primarily by commercial real estate properties throughout the United States. Lennar's Multifamily segment is a nationwide developer of high-quality multifamily rental properties. LENX drives Lennar's technology, innovation and strategic investments. For more information about Lennar, please visit www.lennar.com.

Contact: Danielle Tocco

Vice President Communications

Lennar Corporation

[email protected]

Direct Line: 949.789.1633

SOURCE Lennar
WASHINGTON, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Federal Sustainability Plan grows more ambitious and major cities declare aggressive carbon-neutral pledges, LEO A DALY leads the way in innovating award-winning sustainable design across the federal and public market sector.

LEO A DALY leads the way in innovating award-winning sustainable design across the federal and public market sector. Tweet this Breaking the historic mold of a standard readiness center, or armory, the design combines architectural beauty and strategies for high-performance sustainability initiatives, while working with the realities of Minnesotas northern climate and contours of the site. LEO A DALY was named the 2022-2023 SAME Grand Design Award recipient for the General John W. Vessey Readiness Center. Representing the highest honor for a project designed for a SAME partner agency worldwide, the award recognizes the center as one of the decades best works of federal architecture. Solar light tubes in the administrative area bring in ample natural light for occupants. With considered details from top to bottom, 20 Mass integrates the best of green, wellness and tech-forward design to benefit its people. 20 Mass, opening in June 2023, is slated to be LEED Gold. Located in Capitol Hill, this mixed-use facility advances green, health-oriented, tech-forward design. Capitol Hill's Newest Mixed-Use Destination Poised to offer experiences that will draw office users, travelers and patrons alike to the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and F Street NW upon delivery in 2023, 20 Mass will invigorate its locale with a sustained bustle that transitions from sun-up to sun-down. Copyright The RMR Group.

The global architecture and engineering firm was named the 2022-2023 SAME Grand Design Award recipient for the General John W. Vessey Readiness Center, which serves as the Minnesota Army National Guard Division Headquarters . Representing the highest honor for a project designed for a SAME partner agency worldwide, the award recognizes the center as one of the decade's best works of federal architecture. The high-performing, LEED Gold Certified facility was designed to meet rigorous sustainability standards, established with the U.S. Army and Department of Defense, facilitate mission accomplishment and maintain cost effectiveness. Achievements include:

Preserving the natural environment and habitat through an integrated system of building and site features that align with IPCC recommendations

Reducing energy costs by 51%, with 14% of total costs offset by on-site renewable energy

Enhancing the human experience with interiors designed for flexibility, connection and wellbeing

"It's always our goal to put people and planet first," said LEO A DALY President Steven A. Lichtenberger, AIA. "We partner with clients to find innovative solutions that add value while advancing environmental stewardship. Together, we make breakthroughs every day."

Another testament to the firm's dedication to sustainability is 20 Mass, opening in June 2023 and slated to be LEED Gold. Located in Capitol Hill, this mixed-use facility advances green, health-oriented, tech-forward design. Features include advanced air purification systems, 10-story natural-light atriums and public Wi-Fi.

"Embodying our firm's commitment to AIA 2030, AIA Materials Pledge and SE 2050, the 20 Mass building is designed to minimize emissions while maximizing energy efficiency and wellbeing," said Irena Savakova, RIBA, global design principal at LEO A DALY.

About LEO A DALY: LEO A DALY is a leader in holistic, high-performance design, specializing in planning, architecture, engineering and interior design. Since 1915, the firm's unyielding focus on design excellence has resulted in exceptional spaces that enhance and enrich the human experience. The firm's award-winning, diverse portfolio includes projects in a wide range of markets in more than 91 countries, all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.leoadaly.com.

SOURCE LEO A DALY
AUSTIN, Texas, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MAXISIQ announces a wellness initiative to support its employees and address the critical role mindfulness and mental health plays in the workplace. MAXISIQ has begun providing wellness sessions lead by mental wellness expert, Lisa Jakub.

MAXISIQ teamed with Jakub to prioritize the company's concerns over how work-related stress impacts the well-being of employees and their families. Jakub is a well-respected mental health advocate, yoga teacher, mediation expert, and actor who has worked with companies for more than 10 years to enhance their mental wellness offerings.

Jakub herself struggled with anxiety and depression in her personal and professional life, and developed the tools and expertise to help others cope with work stresses. As a former actor in Hollywood, she knows what it's like to feel the intensity and pressure of work-related issues. Jakub now runs Blue Mala, a community that provides mediation, yoga, and mindfulness tools. In 2022, Jakub also founded a nonprofit, Mission Flexible, which offers wellness resources and intensive retreats for Veterans.

"The tools of mindfulness are profound when used in a corporate setting," said Jakub. "Using mindfulness allows employees to understand their tendencies and emotions, and it strengthens our connections to coworkers. Through the concrete skills MAXISIQ is learning in their workshops, I know they're finding more peace not only at work  but at home as well."

MAXISIQ recognizes the important opportunity to invest in the well-being of its workforce. "The success of the company can only be achieved by ensuring our employees are productive and healthy," said Brad Buhr, founder of MAXISQ. "Lisa's impact throughout our company has been transformational. Her focus on increasing the well-being of our individuals and work is critical. We are grateful for her talents and the tremendous impact Lisa has made."

MAXISIQ is an engineering company that has been providing extensive support to Federal Government Clients in global communications and networks, Cyber, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and Analytics technologies for more than 15 years.

For additional information, contact Cara Crosby, [email protected], Director of Media Relations, (877) 621-1818 ext 3130.

SOURCE MAXISIQ
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Media are invited to a NASA media teleconference 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, April 5, to discuss the upcoming launch of the first space-based instrument to observe major air pollutants across North America every hour during the daytime.

The agency will livestream audio of the teleconference on its website.

Illustration of Intelsat 40E, TEMPO's commercial satellite host. Credits: Maxar

NASA's TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument) will improve life on Earth by revolutionizing the way scientists observe air quality. A partnership between NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory  a part of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian  TEMPO will launch on a commercial mission in early April.

The briefing participants are:

Karen St. Germain , Earth Science Division director, NASA Headquarters

, Earth Science Division director, NASA Headquarters Kevin Daugherty , TEMPO project manager, NASA's Langley Research Center

, TEMPO project manager, NASA's Langley Research Center Xiong Liu , TEMPO deputy principal investigator, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

, TEMPO deputy principal investigator, Center for Astrophysics | & Smithsonian Dennis Nicks , director of payload engineering, Ball Aerospace

, director of payload engineering, Ball Aerospace Aaron Abell , TEMPO project manager, Maxar

, TEMPO project manager, Maxar Jean-Luc Froeliger , senior vice president of Space Systems, Intelsat

Media interested in participating in the teleconference must RSVP to Joe Atkinson no later than one hour prior to the start of the event at [email protected].

TEMPO will be the first space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants hourly in high spatial resolutiondown to four square milesin a region stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Canadian oil sands to below Mexico City, encompassing the entire continental United States.

The instrument is a payload on the satellite Intelsat 40E. It was built by Ball Aerospace and integrated onto Intelsat 40E by Maxar.

For more information on NASA Earth science, visit:

https://nasa.gov/earth

SOURCE NASA
NEW YORK, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuberger Berman High Yield Strategies Fund Inc. (NYSE American: NHS) (the "Fund") has announced a distribution declaration of $0.0905 per share of common stock. The distribution announced today is payable on April 28, 2023, has a record date of April 17, 2023 and has an ex-date of April 14, 2023.

Under its level distribution policy, the Fund anticipates that it will make regular monthly distributions, subject to market conditions, of $0.0905 per share of common stock, unless further action is taken to determine another amount. The Fund's ability to maintain its current distribution rate will depend on a number of factors, including the amount and stability of income received from its investments, the cost of leverage and the level of other Fund fees and expenses. There is no assurance that the Fund will always be able to pay a distribution of any particular amount or that a distribution will consist only of net investment income.

Due to an effort to maintain a stable distribution amount, the distribution announced today, as well as future distributions, may consist of net investment income, net realized capital gains and return of capital. In compliance with Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, a notice would be provided for any distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income. The notice would be for informational purposes and not for tax reporting purposes, and would disclose, among other things, estimated portions of the distribution, if any, consisting of net investment income, capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions paid in 2023 will be made after the end of the year.

About Neuberger Berman

Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategiesincluding equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge fundson behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 26 countries, Neuberger Berman's diverse team has over 2,600 professionals. For eight consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). Neuberger Berman is a PRI Leader, a designation, since last assessed, that was awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. In the 2021 PRI Assessment, the firm obtained the highest possible scoring for its overarching approach to ESG investment and stewardship, and integration across asset classes. The firm manages $427 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2022. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in the Fund's performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other closed end investment companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of the Fund's investment adviser to attract or retain key employees, inability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy, inability of the Fund to manage rapid expansion and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations.

Contact:

Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC

Investor Information

(877) 461-1899

SOURCE Neuberger Berman
Acquisition creates the fastest growing and leading Healthcare Technology provider in Latin America

MIAMI, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Osigu, Inc., announced that an agreement has been reached with Carvajal Group for the acquisition of Servinte, one of their subsidiaries, and the leading EHR and Healthcare Administration Software provider in Colombia. Osigu plans to enhance Servinte's capabilities by integrating top-of-the-line technologies and adding transactional capabilities.

Osigu's API infrastructure enhances communication between payers and providers to expedite claims and obtain real-time responses without human interaction. Fernando Botran | CEO & Founder | Osigu

With over 30 years of providing technology solutions to the healthcare industry in Colombia, Servinte has a strong reputation in the market, working with over 50 Hospital Systems supporting clinical, administrative, and financial operations. Osigu plans to integrate into a single technology platform, offering comprehensive and real-time revenue cycle, claims processing, and healthcare payments in the Colombian market.

"We are excited to be part of this transaction with Osigu. We believe this combination creates value and is a turning point for the healthcare market in Colombia," stated Pedro Felipe Carvajal, CEO of Carvajal Group. "We are impressed with Osigu's technology, team, and vision, and we believe they are the right partner to take Servinte to the next level."

"We are thrilled about this acquisition and the opportunity to enter the Colombian market," said Fernando Botran, CEO and founder of Osigu. "There is clear potential for growth and collaboration, and it was a natural fit for both companies and teams. We are committed to providing the best solutions to our clients and stakeholders."

Miami-based Osigu was founded in 2015 with the mission of making the healthcare experience better for everyone through innovative solutions. Once the acquisition process is completed, the company will have more than 65 enterprise healthcare clients and partnerships in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Central America, Spain, and Colombia. Osigu has undergone swift expansion, resulting in long-term contracts and the consolidation of a robust platform that has handled over 2 million transactions. In 2022, the company experienced a 330% increase in its annual recurring revenue on a year-over-year basis, as compared to 2021.

Among its board members are strategic investors such as Jose Vargas, co-founder of healthcare.com, a leading digital health insurance company in the US, and Bobby Aitkenhead, Managing Director of IDC Ventures, a venture capital fund that focuses on companies in the fintech, platform, and marketplace verticals in EU, US, and LATAM.

"With a TAM of USD $12 Billion, and processing over 650 Million claims each year, the Colombian healthcare market becomes a huge opportunity to deliver on our vision of leveraging the latest technologies and innovations to deliver affordable, accessible, and personalized healthcare to patients," added Botran, who expects more M&A opportunities to come as part of their growth strategy.

About Osigu

Osigu is disrupting the healthcare and insurance ecosystem by digitalizing and automating the claims process and payments between payers and health providers in LATAM. Through a unique, state of the art, SaaS platform, payers, health providers, and patients interact in a simple, reliable and secure manner. Osigu provides solutions for everyone in the healthcare delivery ecosystem: efficiency and fraud prevention for payers, liquidity for health providers, and a better customer experience for patients. For more info, visit www.osigu.com.

About Carvajal

Carvajal Group has spent 118 years becoming what it is today, a multi-Latin company with a presence in 10 countries and in 3 sectors: Paper and Packaging, Technology, and Real Estate. Carvajal is an organization committed to caring for natural resources, communities and our more than 17 thousand dreamers that make up this family. For more info, visit www.carvajal.com/.

The acquisition transaction will be closed and completed once certain conditions agreed upon by both parties are fulfilled.

SOURCE Osigu
HUNTINGTON PARK, Calif., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A Group Dentistry Now 'Emerging Dental Group to Watch in 2022' winner, Our Best Life Companies (OBL) is pleased to announce its expansion into Indiana with the opening of its first out-of-state flagship office, Granger Dental & Orthodontics which is now actively seeing patients, and the acquisition of South Bend Dental and Orthodontics which took place this January.

OBL has renovated a former car dealership (see pictures below) into a state-of-the-art practice that spans over 6000 sq ft with 10 general operatories + 10 ortho-chairs that now houses Granger Dental & Orthodontics.

Additionally, the acquisition of South Bend Dental and Orthodontics, a 2400 sq ft practice with 6 operatories, will further allow OBL to expand its services in the region with plans of expanding the practice to 3700 sq ft and adding an additional 5 operatories this year.

"We are excited to bring Our Best Life's brand of exceptional dental care to Indiana with the opening of our flagship office and the acquisition of South Bend Dental and Orthodontics," said Marina Hurn, CEO of Our Best Life Companies. "Our focus on quality patient care, state-of-the-art facilities, and a supportive team environment sets us apart in the dental industry, and we look forward to bringing those values to patients in Indiana and beyond."

OBL Makes Strides Across State Borders with Indiana Expansion

The acquisition of South Bend Dental and Orthodontics marks OBL's second foray into the Indiana market. The practice has expanded its services to include orthodontics and other specialty services. OBL is also in the process of constructing a new dental practice in Goshen, Indiana, which is set to open in late summer 2023. That new practice will occupy a 4000 sqft space, formerly a pizza shop, with 6 operatories and 8 Ortho-Chairs.

Best Staff. Best Care. Best Patients

As a DSO, Our Best Life Companies (OBL) is committed to providing exceptional dental care and fostering a supportive team environment. The company's motto, "Best Staff. Best Care. Best Patients" reflects its focus on quality patient care and improving the lives of its team members. OBL plans to continue expanding its reach in Indiana and neighboring states while maintaining its commitment to providing exceptional dental care and improving the work environment in its practices.

For more information about Our Best Life Companies and its services, visit https://obl-management.com/

SOURCE Our Best Life Companies
SEATTLE, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Science Center (PacSci) today announced a new partnership with Seattle-based radio station KEXP. Titled Live at the Laser Dome: KEXP DJ in Residence, the partnership includes a DJ residency program through which KEXP DJs will create unique musical laser experiences in PacSci's Laser Dome. The program kicks off on Wednesday, April 5 with DJ Yaddy.

"I am proud to announce our new partnership with KEXP, an international community of music lovers and music makers based here in Seattle," said Will Daugherty, President and CEO of PacSci. "It's an absolute pleasure to host KEXP's world-renowned DJs in the world's largest laser dome. This exciting partnership is a celebration of the city of Seattle and highlights the profound ties between STEM, music, and community."

"It's always a joy to collaborate with our neighbors at Pacific Science Center," said Chris Kellogg, Chief Programming Officer at KEXP. "And this newest endeavor is shaping up to be something special. We're looking forward to joining PacSci to celebrate the power of enjoying and discovering great music together  with lasers!"

Every three months, a different KEXP DJ will curate a series of monthly playlists for the Laser Dome. The select DJ will then perform a live set accompanying the laser performance once a month at the Laser Dome. DJs were selected from KEXP shows such as El Sonido, Positive Vibrations, Street Sounds, Mechanical Breakdown, and others.

PacSci's Laser Dome is one of the largest dedicated laser domes in the world. It is also the longest-running laser dome in the world and the only laser dome in the Pacific Northwest. During live shows, PacSci's laser artists adapt each show in real time based on the crowd's reaction.

To learn more and purchase tickets, visit PacSci.org.

About KEXP

KEXP's mission is to enrich your life by championing music and discovery. Our vision is a connected and compassionate world embracing curiosity and a shared love of music. An international community of music lovers and music makers, KEXP is a nonprofit organization fostering relationship and community building through broadcast, online, and in-person music experiences.

Since our founding at the University of Washington in 1972, we've remained focused on championing music from all around the globe  spanning eras, styles, and traditions.

KEXP operates one of the most influential listener-supported music radio stations in the world, broadcasting at 90.3 KEXP-FM, Seattle and through our website and mobile apps. More information at KEXP.ORG.

About Pacific Science Center (PacSci)

Pacific Science Center is an independent, not-for-profit institution in Seattle, Washington and has been a gateway to access science education and innovation for over 60 years. The institution's mission is to ignite curiosity in every child and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking in all of us. Pacific Science Center innovated during the pandemic to expand its digital and virtual programming and increase its reach across Washington, employing technology to bring experiential STEM education directly to homes and classrooms. In 20212022, its interactive online programs reached nearly half a million people and Virtual Field Trips reached more than 28,000 students across the state. PacSci imagines a future in which it serves every grade in every preK-8 Title I school in the state with programming in schools, digital and virtual programming, and in-person field tripsall at no cost to schools, educators, or families.

SOURCE Pacific Science Center
"Education has always been a cause I've been passionate about. I'm proud to partner with PepsiCo to give Pensole Lewis students the recognition they deserve for their hard work and creativity," said Westbrook, who also shared a congratulatory pre-recorded message with students.

With studies showing that Black designers account for only 3% of the industry1, PepsiCo and Pensole Lewis's larger partnership aims to address the diversity gap by providing students access to invaluable resources. The program looks to create opportunities for students through mentoring with PepsiCo professionals, one-of-a-kind apprenticeships, and creating a pipeline for job recruitment.

Pensole Lewis students Rodney Banks and Angel Buckens were selected for their winning design for the Pepsi Stronger Together Relax and Refresh Lounge. Guided by the knowledge and experience of PepsiCo and MillerKnoll designers throughout the process, students were assessed for how the space embodied key elements that united design principles and functional elements including branding, vending equipment, workstations, furniture from the MillerKnoll collective of brands, and more. The lounge space will be dedicated to a close friend and mentor of Pensole Lewis Founder Dr. D'Wayne Edwards, Author Kevin Carroll, who helped to inspire Dr. Edwards to start the Pensole brand.

"Our partnership with Pensole Lewis is about providing resources to help address the barriers that specifically hinder Black talent from entering a career in design. By giving students access to some of the industry's best designers at PepsiCo, we can offer valuable resources and mentorship for the next generation of creatives," said Mauro Porcini, SVP and Chief Design Officer at PepsiCo. "To drive innovation, we must create a pipeline for more diverse perspectives and backgrounds to enter the design field. Our hope is that through education, inspiration, and recruitment, PepsiCo's program with Pensole Lewis will champion that."

Porcini was one of several mentors sharing their feedback on students' final lounge concepts, joined by Pensole Lewis Founder Dr. D'Wayne Edwards, a former JORDAN Brand Footwear Design Director spearheading Pensole Lewis's efforts to expand diversity in the industry; MillerKnoll SVP of Global Real Estate, Architecture and Development Matthew Stares, an executive at one of the world's most renowned collective of design brands that is also providing product for the lounge; and radio personality Angela Yee, who has brought her own developed eye for design to Detroit real estate.

"In developing this program, PepsiCo made it clear they shared Pensole Lewis's mission in making the design field more accessible by creating more opportunities within it," said Dr. D'Wayne Edwards. "We've seen the success that comes with opening students' eyes to new career paths in the industry and unlocking more ways they can apply their talents. With programs backed by partners that have the scale and breadth of PepsiCo and MillerKnoll, we can push the industry forward by developing, training, and shaping the next generation of talented Black designers."

In addition, PepsiCo also awarded design apprenticeships to Rodney and Angel. The students will participate in 10-week summer apprenticeships with the PepsiCo Design & Innovation team in New York City and gain invaluable work experience collaborating across different design disciplines and design projects through concept development, refinement, and execution.

This partnership is in support of PepsiCo's Racial Equality Journey, a more than $400 million investment over five years, to increase Black representation at PepsiCo, support Black-owned businesses, and create economic opportunities in those communities.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com , and follow on Twitter , Instagram , Facebook , and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.

About Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design

Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design is the pipeline for career education and professional development in the design industry. We are the source for creative vision and progress; bearing the torch to push the culture forward  beyond what's visible. At Pensole Lewis College, we offer a new path to break into the world of product creation. We prepare the largest talent pool of designers to enter the industry empowering them to make it better for the next generation, leaving our industry better than when we entered it.

About MillerKnoll

MillerKnoll is a collective of dynamic brands that comes together to design the world we live in. MillerKnoll brand portfolio includes Herman Miller, Knoll, Colebrook Bosson Saunders, DatesWeiser, Design Within Reach, Edelman Leather, Fully, Geiger, HAY, Holly Hunt, KnollTextiles, Maars Living Walls, Maharam, Muuto, NaughtOne, and Spinneybeck|FilzFelt. MillerKnoll is an unparalleled platform that redefines modern for the 21st century by building a more sustainable, equitable and beautiful future for all.

1 SOURCE: 2019 American Institute of Graphic Arts census

SOURCE PepsiCo Beverages North America
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- ProfeNat Quest Tours, a leading tour operator in Puerto Rico, announced today its new and exciting catalog of tours in the region. With these refreshed products, ProfeNat Quest Tours will continue to offer visitors a unique and immersive experience of Puerto Rico's rich culture, history, and natural beauty.

"We're thrilled to announce our new and compelling tours in Puerto Rico," said Natalie Yankuk, ProfeNat Quest Tours' CEO. "Our team is dedicated to providing visitors with a unique and immersive experience of the island, and we're excited to share our passion for Puerto Rico with visitors worldwide. We believe that travel is all about creating memories that last a lifetime. That's why we work closely with our clients to design personalized tours that exceed their expectations."

Founder and principal guide Natalie Yanyuk, Ed.D., is an experienced guide and lecturer who has lived in five countries for over 20 years. She is pursuing a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership and Administration while lecturing about methodology and philosophy of education. ProfeNat, as her students and colleagues know her, is fluent in English, Spanish, Ukrainian and Russian and resides in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

ProfeNat Quest Tours takes great pride in providing high-quality cultural tours customized to meet each client's interests and needs. With its focus on customer satisfaction and attention to detail, the company has earned a reputation for excellence in the industry. The new tourism experiences comprise various options, including cultural, adventure, historical, and eco-tours. Visitors can explore the island's diverse landscapes, from its lush rainforests to crystal-clear waters, and learn about its fascinating history and culture.

The recent additions to the company's tours catalog include the following:

Old San Juan Sightseeing Family Fun Tour

This three-hour duration tour is designed to keep all ages engaged and learning. After the meet and greet at the entrance to the La Princesa restaurant, kids will receive an adjusted to their age Scavenger Hunt challenge - to search for hidden points of interest along the route with 32 unique landmarks. Participants will enjoy a guided narrated tour of five centuries-long histories of Old San Juan and Puerto Rico by a knowledgeable guide.

Opulent Old San Juan Cultural Sightseeing Tour

This tour centers on cultural immersion, tasting and experiential, hands-on learning to bring the culture to life. It focuses on a complete gastro-cultural adventure to 32 must-see landmarks and places only locals know about. Embrace the past and the present of the opulent city of Old San Juan - the walled colonial jewel, its art and architecture, history and culture, food, and fun. Includes a rum and coffee tasting,

Nomadic Northwest: Caves, Beaches; Sinkholes, Karstic Mogotes

This eight-hour tour is a full-day trip around the most rewarding area of the island, owing to the magnificent ranges of karstic mogotes, or limestone hillocks, which are only found in a handful of places in the world. The package includes transportation, tickets to the attractions, snorkeling gear, a welcome drink, and a tasting of Puerto Rican finger food samplers.

Northeast Puerto Rico: Rainforest, Rivers, Beach

Explore the unique Northeastern region home to coastal forests, wetlands, a bioluminescent lagoon, seagrass beds, shallow and deep coral reefs, and miles of pristine beaches in this eight-hour trip. This remarkable program includes guided tours to Pinones, Loaiza, El Yunque and Luquillo.

ProfeNat Quest Tours' new tour packages showcase the company's commitment to providing visitors with high-quality, personalized tour experiences. With its team of knowledgeable and experienced guides, ProfeNat Quest Tours is well-equipped to offer visitors a unique and unforgettable experience of Puerto Rico.

Profenat.com is now accepting online bookings from international travelers. "We are proud to offer an experience that allows you to have the most engaging, educational, and enjoyable time in Puerto Rico. So, what are you waiting for? Visit us online at Profenat.com and book your personalized tour today, concluded Yanyuk.

For more information about the agency and its services, please visit www.profenat.com.

About ProfeNat Quest Tours:

ProfeNat Quest Tours is a leading tour operator in Puerto Rico, offering various tour options that showcase the island's rich culture, history, and natural beauty. The company's knowledgeable and experienced guides provide visitors with high-quality, personalized tour experiences. The company is owned and operated by Natalie Yanyuk, Ed.D. It offers the following guided tours in Puerto Rico: Old San Juan Sightseeing Family Fun tour, Opulent Old San Juan cultural sightseeing tour, Nomadic Northwest: Caves, Beaches; Sinkholes, Karstic, Northeast Puerto Rico: Rainforest, Rivers, Beach. Explore Puerto Rico like a local with Profenat Quest Tours. In addition, Profenat Tours PR is partnering with hotels, local businesses, artists, and restaurants to provide the best possible experience for its clients. To contact ProfeNat Tours: www.profenat.com. Phone: (787) 930.6742. Email: [email protected].

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2045642/Profenat_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Profenat Tours
ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ProFlex is providing a solution to the nursing-shortage crisis, enabling hospitals to simultaneously save millions of dollars while caring for patients with happier, well-compensated nurses and fully staffed shifts.

ProFlex is providing a solution to the nursing-shortage crisis, enabling hospitals to simultaneously save millions of dollars while caring for patients with happier, well-compensated nurses and fully staffed shifts.

ProFlex presents a long-term partnership with healthcare systems that gives the power and control back to the hospitals, which have been overpaying travel-nurse agencies to fill gaps in staffing and patient care. ProFlex helped its launch hospital system in Western New York save more than 30 percent on contingent nursing costs last year, while helping administrators build their own nursing pool, fill shifts, and ultimately reduce dependency on the costly travel-nurse agencies. This allowed for a savings of tens of millions of dollars and the much-needed rebuilding of culture on the nursing floor and stability among staff.

The Covid pandemic took a toll on nursing as a profession, trimming the workforce as nurses burned out or left the field due to extended hours and pressure while making sacrifices in the most challenging conditions. CBS News reported in the fall, "Nurses are considered the backbone of the U.S. health care system, but there's an unprecedented shortage. Travel nurses are a solution, but it comes at the cost of morale and the bottom line because they're offered more money than nurses on staff."

ProFlex offers the nursing pool the opportunity to make a stronger rate while staying aligned with the hospital in their region. ProFlex works with healthcare administrators to determine sustainable rates and best workflow and onboard personnel and marketing technology to reach well-aligned talent.

"I have worked collaboratively with the team that created ProFlex over the last 15 years and they are special because they are nimble, transformational, and care about the long-standing implications of workforce needs on communities and healthcare teams," said Bridgette Wiefling, M.D., Senior Vice president of Clinical Transformation for Highmark Health in Pittsburgh. "I worked collaboratively with them to develop this alternative model for staffing-cost reduction that creates flexibility and leverages health system employee relationships, creating a win-win with instant returns proven to be effective and sustainable."

Before the pandemic travel nurses made up about 5 percent of all floor nurses, but that number is now an average of 25 percent nationally. The New York Times reported travel nurses filling the gaps "were earning salaries ranging from $6,000 to $10,000 a week, up from a weekly average of $1,700 in 2019. Hospitals were in such dire need for nurses, they had to pay whatever rates the agencies demanded."

Travel nurses deserve the same gratitude for the role they played throughout the pandemic, yet the challenge is they come with a hefty price tag, leaving hospitals in financial crisis and the stability and culture on the nursing floor compromised. At times the travel nurse resided in the same town as the hospital, earning far more than their nursing counterparts.

"The job market for healthcare professionals demands a new solution to return power to hospitals," said Lindsay McCutchen, founder of ProFlex's parent company Tallavera. "Controlling talent costs is paramount and we take pride in ProFlex's powerful sourcing capabilities that provide transparency in pricing, market demand, and peer performance."

McCutchen developed the ProFlex model, informed by her experience in staffing the frontlines of healthcare systems for decades. ProFlex is expanding nationwide with the support of The ZLH Group and its CEO Ben Wood.

"Our nurses need to be financially cared for, yet the current landscape of healthcare staffing is unsustainable for hospital systems, all but ensuring profitability for travel-nurse agencies," Wood said. "The ProFlex partnership strives to improve outcomes through improved nurse-to-patient care ratios."

Michael Sorrento, Executive Vice President of The ZLH Group, is guiding the ProFlex expansion. He trained as a nurse and worked for over two decades to bring innovation to healthcare systems.

"It's meaningful to fight for our nurses that have sacrificed so much caring for our neighbors and loved ones," Sorrento said. "Today's nursing crisis has jeopardized the stability, teamwork, and camaraderie on the nursing floor, which impacts quality of care and patient & family experiences. ProFlex serves as an alternate, sustainable solution that not only meets the needs of the C-suite, but also the caregivers that have been heroic when we've needed them the most."

Hospitals and healthcare administrators may contact Michael Sorrento at [email protected] or (888) 740-7015 to learn more about ProFlex.

SOURCE ProFlex The ZLH Group
A dedicated team of conservation specialists works unceasingly to protect migratory birds at Beibayao Wetland of the Dongtan Reserve in Shanghai, China. To help them monitor the site and bird populations more effectively, Hikvision provided advanced video perception equipment.

HANGZHOU, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dongtan Reserve in Shanghai, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, provides food, shelter, and breeding grounds for nearly one million migratory birds each year.

Protecting migratory birds and their precious wetland habitat with AIoT technology Protecting migratory birds and their precious wetland habitat with AIoT technology

To ensure that Beibayao Wetland continues to meet the needs of its feathered visitors, a team of rangers, engineers and other specialists continually monitor the site and the bird populations. In recent years, Hikvision also joined hands with the One Planet Foundation to protect the birds in Beibayao Wetland, which is a work area of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Now Hikvision's video perception devices have been installed here, assisting the team in bird watching and providing a scientific basis for ecological protection.

Among this dedicated team at the Reserve is Liu Jieyun, a WWF project specialist. According to Jieyun, managing the site and optimizing the habitat for the birds is a unique and complex task.

It is critical to check, for example, that the water level at the site, the available exposed land, the vegetation, and other environmental factors, are conducive to the wellbeing of the visiting migratory birds. What's more, Jieyun constantly monitors the behavior of the birds, counting the number of species present to understand and report on trends in their populations and diversity.

Jieyun says, "The ultimate goal is to manage this wetland as well as possible and to ensure that it continues to function as a place where birds can stop, rest, spend the winter, and breed. However, constantly monitoring the reserve, and getting a close-up view of their behaviors  including their reproductive cycle  can be very difficult."

Adding video perception to the conservation toolkit

To support this valuable work, Hikvision has contributed video perception equipment at the Dongtan Reserve. This helps Jieyun and other team members keep a constant eye on multiple areas of the site to ensure that the breeding grounds are in good condition and able to support the visiting populations.

PTZ (pan tilt zoom) cameras are being used to capture close-up images of birds and their behavior to support and enhance conservation efforts. At night or in low-light conditions, thermal dome cameras play a critical role in the continuous monitoring.

Jieyun and the conservation team have captured incredible images of birds at the reserve, underlining the value of the site for multiple species. For example, the team has seen Kentish plovers wet their abdomens with muddy water to cool down hatchlings in their nests, and recorded images of birds fishing to feed their young.

Hikvision's intelligent analysis equipment has been deployed at the reserve, and it will develop an intelligent bird identification system based on joint efforts with the partners. Advanced applications such as identification, classification, and analysis will be enabled by intelligent platform software, transforming approaches to bird monitoring and protection. For example, it can be used to help researchers establish correlations between a variety of environmental factors and bird habits, supporting experts and staff to further improve protection measures and plans.

Measuring conservation success at Dongtan Reserve

The conversation team works tirelessly to ensure that the Dongtan Reserve meets the needs of visiting bird populations, and the video perception equipment has become part of the conservation toolkit. Thanks to the hard work of Jieyun and other specialists, the number of bird species recorded in Beibayao Wetland has increased from 150 to more than 200.

Among the general bird population, there are some "star" species, including the spoon-billed sandpiper, a species with fewer than 500 individuals remaining in the world. The staff at the reserve have also seen laughing gulls, curly-feathered pelicans, Chinese crested terns, and other rare birds.

"Bird monitoring is an essential part of Dongtan Reserve's habitat management," Jieyun continued. "The dedicated on-site team records bird species, numbers, breeding conditions and a range of other data that reflect the status of the wetland and the effectiveness of our management efforts. The video perception devices enable the staff to better manage the wetland and to ensure that migratory birds enjoy a good living environment and have enough food to thrive."

As part of Hikvision's Global STAR Program for Social Good, the Dongtan Reserve project is bringing a brighter future for the birds and the wetland ecosystem. With the power of technology, Hikvision will continue to explore innovative ways to benefit communities and protect our valuable nature and culture. If you want to join us and create a better world together, please click here.

SOURCE Hikvision Digital Technology
NEW YORK, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jakubowitz Law announces that a securities fraud class action lawsuit has commenced on behalf of shareholders of Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD).

To receive updates on the lawsuit, fill out the form:

https://claimyourloss.com/securities/rite-aid-class-action-loss-submission-form/?id=37914&from=4

The lawsuit seeks to recover losses for shareholders who purchased Rite Aid between April 26, 2018 and March 13, 2023.

Shareholders interested in acting as a lead plaintiff representing the class of wronged shareholders have until May 19, 2023 to petition the court. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

According to a filed complaint, Rite Aid Corporation issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) until at least June 2019, Rite Aid filled at least hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose, including for potentially lethal opioids such as oxycodone and fentanyl; (2) Rite Aid pharmacists filled these prescriptions despite clear "red flags" that indicated that the prescriptions were unlawful; (3) Rite Aid ignored evidence that its stores were dispensing unlawful prescriptions, and intentionally deleted internal notes about suspicious prescribers written by concerned pharmacists; (4) by knowingly filling unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances, Rite Aid violated the Controlled Substances Act and, where Rite Aid sought reimbursement from federal healthcare programs, also violated the False Claims Act; (5) as a result, it was at risk of prosecution by federal authorities such as the United States Department of Justice; and (6) as a result, defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all times.

Jakubowitz Law is vigorous in pursuit of justice for shareholders who have been the victim of securities fraud. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

JAKUBOWITZ LAW

1140 Avenue of the Americas

9th Floor

New York, New York 10036

T: (628) 895-0423

F: (212) 537-5887

SOURCE Jakubowitz Law
Leading Black-owned media company expands talented team with the appointment of Dominique Andrews, Donyell Kennedy-McCullough, Nancy Harrison and Alison Threadgill into leadership roles

LOS ANGELES, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- REVOLT, the leading Black-owned independent multimedia company, today is excited to announce the appointment of four highly experienced women who have joined its executive team. With this initiative, Dominique Andrews, Donyell Kennedy-McCullough, Nancy Harrison, and Alison Threadgill are elevated into key leadership positions to spearhead the company's culture-driven talent and production initiatives.

"Here at REVOLT, we are committed to providing a platform for changemakers both in our content as well as our company makeup," said Monique Chenault, President of REVOLT News, Specials & Documentary. "We are thrilled to welcome Dominique, Donyell, Nancy, and Alison to REVOLT's executive team, each of whom bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our mission-driven programming. With their impressive track records and vast industry experience, these four incredible women will continue to push the boundaries of the media industry."

Expanding REVOLT's trailblazing team of industry veterans, Dominique Andrews joins REVOLT as Senior Vice President of Production Management, Donyell Kennedy-McCullough as Senior Vice President of Talent Relations & Casting, Nancy Harrison as Supervising Producer, and Alison Threadgill as Senior Director of Talent Relations. Together, these four powerhouse women will further bolster the company's commitment to producing culture-driven content that shifts the narrative for Black people globally.

With a commitment to culture ingrained in both its workforce and viewership, REVOLT values diversity both in its perspective and company makeup. With this initiative, the company will continue to grow its highly talented team who will spearhead the productions of its groundbreaking content dedicated to authentically storytelling the Black experience. The appointments further expand the company's growing number of accomplished female leaders off of the heels of Women's History Month.

REVOLT is pleased to announce the appointment of the following four executive women who will spearhead upcoming initiatives to carry out the company's initiatives.

Dominique Andrews joins REVOLT as Senior Vice President, Production Management, bringing over 15 years of experience in overseeing production management on both the studio and network sides. In her new role, Dominique will be responsible for the production quality of REVOLT's multi-platform network, serving as a chief point of contact for all production management operations.

joins REVOLT as Senior Vice President, Production Management, bringing over 15 years of experience in overseeing production management on both the studio and network sides. In her new role, Dominique will be responsible for the production quality of REVOLT's multi-platform network, serving as a chief point of contact for all production management operations. Donyell Kennedy-McCullough joins REVOLT as Senior Vice President, Talent Relations and Casting, with over 25 years of experience in managing and casting a diverse slate of performing talent and content. She will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of talent relations and casting for REVOLT.

joins REVOLT as Senior Vice President, Talent Relations and Casting, with over 25 years of experience in managing and casting a diverse slate of performing talent and content. She will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of talent relations and casting for REVOLT. Nancy Harrison joins REVOLT as Supervising Producer, with a demonstrated history in both broadcast and online media. In her new role, Nancy will serve as lead booker for REVOLT Studios, responsible for high-profile bookings for two weekly shows, TV specials, and digital segments.

joins REVOLT as Supervising Producer, with a demonstrated history in both broadcast and online media. In her new role, Nancy will serve as lead booker for REVOLT Studios, responsible for high-profile bookings for two weekly shows, TV specials, and digital segments. Alison Threadgill joins REVOLT as Senior Director of Talent Relations, with over 15 years of experience in talent development, management, and relations across linear, digital, and podcast networks. In her new role, Alison will be responsible for executing all business-related strategies for talent.

For more information on REVOLT's linear content, please visit https://www.revolt.tv/ and visit www.revolt.tv/providers to find REVOLT in your area.

ABOUT REVOLT

REVOLT is the leading Black-owned and operated multimedia platform servicing content 24/7 across digital, linear and live media channels. The platform produces rich content and original material with the biggest names in Hip-Hop, along with reports of breaking news, current events, trends and announcements within the Black cultural movement and Hip-Hop world. REVOLT takes pride in its diversity, both in its mindset and its company makeup, further instilling its dedication to culture within its staff and audiences. Founded by Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2013, REVOLT attracts over 50 Million millennials and Gen Z audiences through their disruptive, authentic material across all platforms. In 2021, REVOLT launched a brand new digital mobile app where users can view extended releases, live updates from relevant news, exclusive specials and much more.

SOURCE REVOLT
NEW YORK, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) resulting from allegations that Discover Financial Services may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Discover Financial Services 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_id3=7773 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 July 20, 2022, after market hours, Discover Financial Services issued a press release announcing its financial results for its second quarter of 2022. Among other items, Discover Financial Services disclosed that "[t]he company is suspending until further notice its existing share repurchase program because of an internal investigation relating to its student loan servicing practices and related compliance matters. The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by a board-appointed independent special committee."

On this news, Discover Financial Services' share prices fell $9.80 per share, or 8%, to close at $100.00 per share on July 21, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.

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 firm's 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

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
WALLDORF, Germany, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that the SAP Supervisory Board has extended the contracts of Executive Board Members Julia White, Chief Marketing & Solutions Officer, and Scott Russell, who leads SAP's Customer Success organization, for three years until 2027.

"We express our gratitude to Julia and Scott for their excellent work, which has significantly propelled the company forward. With their exceptional skills and expertise, we are confident that they will continue to provide the necessary drive for their respective Board areas to manage the opportunities and challenges ahead," said Prof. Dr. Hasso Plattner, Chairman of the SAP Supervisory Board.

Furthermore, Sabine Bendiek, Chief People & Operating Officer and Labor Relations Director, informed the Supervisory Board that she will not seek to renew her Executive Board contract. Bendiek has led the People & Operations Board area since 2021, combining HR expertise with the responsibility for operations across all Board areas.

Bendiek's contract runs until December 31, 2023. She will continue to fulfill her responsibilities with complete dedication until then. During this time, the search for a successor will be conducted.

"The SAP Supervisory Board deeply regrets the decision. At the same time, we respect this choice and thank Sabine for her excellent work and commitment to SAP's transformation. Sabine promoted new ways of working, bringing people, processes and technology together," said Plattner.

Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.

About SAP

SAP's strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want  without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people's lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP's 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.

 2023 SAP SE. All rights reserved.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices.

For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:

Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24

United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)

Please consider our privacy policy. If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list, please contact [email protected] and write Unsubscribe in the subject line.

SOURCE SAP SE
NEW YORK, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market size is forecasted to increase by USD 24,529.75 million from 2022 to 2027, at a CAGR of 12.59%, according to the recent market study by Technavio. The growth of the market will be driven by the rising adoption of online retailing, the increasing number of people trying to quit smoking, and growing health awareness among consumers. Charts & data tables about market and segment sizes for a historic period (2017-2021) and forecast period (2023-2027) have been covered in this report. Download a Sample Report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Smoking Cessation and Nicotine De-addiction Market

Vendor Analysis

The global smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market is fragmented due to the presence of numerous regional and international vendors that compete on price points and product quality. Key vendors are increasing their R&D investments to develop new products and improve their existing products. They have significant geographical coverage and strong relationships with end-users. These vendors are focusing on expanding their businesses internationally and are generating a significant volume of their net sales from their international operations. Hence, small and medium-sized vendors are struggling to capture market share from the leading vendors. Some of the key vendors covered in the report include:

Alchem International Pvt. Ltd. - The company offers smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products such as Nicotine patches, Nicotine gums, and Nicotine lozenges.

- The company offers smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products such as Nicotine patches, Nicotine gums, and Nicotine lozenges. Alkalon AS - The company offers smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products such as Nicotine Chewing Gum.

- The company offers smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products such as Nicotine Chewing Gum. Alvogen - The company offers smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products such as Levothyroxine Sodium Tablets.

- The company offers smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products such as Levothyroxine Sodium Tablets. British American Tobacco Plc - The company offers smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products under its Velo brand.

- The company offers smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products under its Velo brand. Axcentria Pharmaceuticals

Cambrex Corp.

CHEMNOVATIC Sp. z o.o. Sp. k

Cipla Ltd.

Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd.

Enorama Pharma AB

Imperial Brands Plc

Japan Tobacco Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

Lil Drug Store Products Inc.

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Key Benefits for Industry Players & Stakeholders 

The report offers information on the criticality of vendor inputs, including R&D, CAPEX, and technology.

It also provides detailed analyses of the market's competitive landscape and vendors' product offerings.

The report also provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of vendors to help clients understand the wider business environment as well as the strengths and weaknesses of key market players. Data is qualitatively analyzed to categorize vendors as pure play, category-focused, industry-focused, and diversified; it is quantitatively analyzed to categorize vendors as dominant, leading, strong, tentative, and weak.

Get a holistic overview of the smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market by industry experts to evaluate and develop growth strategies. Download Sample Report

Market Segmentation:

The market is segmented by distribution channel (drug stores and retailers, hospital pharmacies, and online retail), product (e-cigarette, NRT, and drug therapy), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW)).

By distribution channel, the market growth will be significant in the drug stores and retailers segment during the forecast period. Vendors are expanding their businesses into local and regional markets. Most of their products are sold through specialty stores and other retail formats. Thus, the market is expected to witness maximum growth in the segment during the forecast period.

By product, the market will witness increased demand for e-cigarettes during the forecast period. Factors such as the launch of new products and continuous innovation by vendors are driving the growth of the segment.

North America will account for 32% of the market growth during the forecast period. Many people in the region are trying to quit smoking due to rising awareness and an increasing number of deaths caused by smoking. In addition, the presence of stringent regulations and the increasing use of e-cigarettes are expected to drive the growth of the regional market.

Market Dynamics:

Key Drivers:

Rising adoption of online retailing

Increasing number of people trying to quit smoking

Growing health awareness among consumers

The rise in the number of internet users has fostered the growth of the e-commerce industry worldwide. The increased customer inclination toward online shopping has led e-commerce companies to incorporate advanced security features to ensure efficient customer service and payments. E-commerce players are also focusing on developing customer-friendly websites to offer better product visibility. The growth of the e-commerce industry has encouraged market vendors to tap the growth potential by increasing their focus on the online customer segment. They are increasing the availability of their products through online distribution channels to drive more sales. All these factors are driving the growth of the market.

Major Trends:

New marketing initiatives

Rising number of organized retailing outlets distributing nicotine patches

Increasing availability through various distribution channels

Market players are coming up with various marketing strategies to increase revenue flow. They are introducing marketing campaigns to create awareness about quitting smoking. For instance, in January 2019, JUUL launched its first TV ad campaign targeting adults aged between 37 and 54 years. The campaign featured testimonials from people who used the company's products to quit smoking. Such marketing campaigns are helping vendors increase their sales and expand their market shares. This trend is positively influencing the growth of the market.

Key Challenges:

Health issues associated with smoking cessation products

Increasing use of e-cigarettes among teenagers

Stringent regulations

The long terms use of smoking cessation products, such as nicotine gums, nicotine patches, lozenges, and e-cigarettes can cause various health problems. For instance, people using nicotine gums are at higher risk of hair loss, skin irritation, elevated blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, insulin resistance, gastrointestinal issues, and nausea. Nicotine gums also cause problems with teeth and jaw because of continuous chewing. Similarly, e-cigarettes contain acrolein, which can cause issues such as acute lung injury and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Many such health issues are hindering the growth of the market.

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What are the key data covered in this smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market between 2023 and 2027

Precise estimation of the size of the smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market and its contribution to the market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

Growth of the smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market across North America , Europe , Asia , and Rest of World (ROW)

, , , and Rest of World (ROW) A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market vendors

Related Reports:

The addiction therapeutics market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.65% between 2022 and 2027. The addiction therapeutics market size is forecasted to increase by USD 9.86 billion . The market is segmented by distribution channel (hospital pharmacy, retail pharmacy, and others), type (alcohol addiction therapeutics, tobacco addiction therapeutics, and drug addiction therapeutics), and geography ( North America , Europe , Asia , and the Rest of World (ROW)).

size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.65% between 2022 and 2027. The addiction therapeutics market size is forecasted to increase by . The market is segmented by distribution channel (hospital pharmacy, retail pharmacy, and others), type (alcohol addiction therapeutics, tobacco addiction therapeutics, and drug addiction therapeutics), and geography ( , , , and the Rest of World (ROW)). The nicotine patch market is expected to develop at the market's growth momentum (CAGR) of 7.55% between 2021 and 2026 and the market size is expected to increase by USD 363.81 million . The market is segmented by product (24-hour and 16-hour nicotine patches) and geography ( North America , Europe , APAC, South America , the Middle East , and Africa ).

Smoking Cessation and Nicotine De-addiction Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 12.59% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 24,529.75 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 12.4 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW) Performing market contribution North America at 32% Key countries US, Canada, Germany, UK, China, and India Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Alchem International Pvt. Ltd., Alkalon AS, Alvogen, Axcentria Pharmaceuticals, British American Tobacco Plc, Cambrex Corp., CHEMNOVATIC Sp. z o.o. Sp. k, Cipla Ltd., Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd., Enorama Pharma AB, Imperial Brands Plc, Japan Tobacco Inc., Johnson and Johnson, Lil Drug Store Products Inc., Perrigo Co. Plc, Pfizer Inc., Philip Morris International, Qnovia, Tvape, and Walgreen Co. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Browse through Technavio's Health Care Market Reports

Table of contents:

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Product



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 09: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 10: Parent market



Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 13: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 Global smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on Global smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.2 Distribution channel Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  Distribution channel Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.3 Product Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  Product Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size  Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size  Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.7 Market condition

Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027

6 Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on Distribution Channel - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Distribution Channel - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Distribution Channel



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Distribution Channel

6.3 Drug stores and retailers - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on Drug stores and retailers - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Drug stores and retailers - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 36: Chart on Drug stores and retailers - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Drug stores and retailers - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 Hospital pharmacies - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on Hospital pharmacies - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Hospital pharmacies - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 40: Chart on Hospital pharmacies - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Hospital pharmacies - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Online retail - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 42: Chart on Online retail - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Online retail - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 44: Chart on Online retail - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Online retail - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.6 Market opportunity by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 46: Market opportunity by Distribution Channel ($ million)

7 Market Segmentation by Product

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 47: Chart on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 48: Data Table on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Product

Exhibit 49: Chart on Comparison by Product



Exhibit 50: Data Table on Comparison by Product

7.3 E-cigarette - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 51: Chart on E-cigarette - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 52: Data Table on E-cigarette - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 53: Chart on E-cigarette - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 54: Data Table on E-cigarette - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 NRT - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 55: Chart on NRT - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 56: Data Table on NRT - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 57: Chart on NRT - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 58: Data Table on NRT - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 Drug therapy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 59: Chart on Drug therapy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 60: Data Table on Drug therapy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 61: Chart on Drug therapy - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 62: Data Table on Drug therapy - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.6 Market opportunity by Product

Exhibit 63: Market opportunity by Product ($ million)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 64: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 65: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 66: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 67: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 68: Data Table on Geographic comparison

9.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 69: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 70: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 71: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 72: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 73: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 74: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 75: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 76: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.5 Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 77: Chart on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 78: Data Table on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 79: Chart on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 80: Data Table on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 81: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 82: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 83: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 84: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 85: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 86: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 87: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 88: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 89: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 90: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 91: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 92: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 93: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 94: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 95: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 96: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 98: Data Table on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 99: Chart on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 101: Chart on India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 102: Data Table on India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 103: Chart on India - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 104: Data Table on India - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 105: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 106: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 107: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 108: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 109: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 110: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 111: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

11.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 112: Overview on factors of disruption

11.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 113: Impact of key risks on business

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 114: Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 115: Matrix on vendor position and classification

12.3 Alchem International Pvt. Ltd.

Exhibit 116: Alchem International Pvt. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 117: Alchem International Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 118: Alchem International Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings

12.4 Alkalon AS

Exhibit 119: Alkalon AS - Overview



Exhibit 120: Alkalon AS - Product / Service



Exhibit 121: Alkalon AS - Key offerings

12.5 Alvogen

Exhibit 122: Alvogen - Overview



Exhibit 123: Alvogen - Product / Service



Exhibit 124: Alvogen - Key offerings

12.6 British American Tobacco Plc

Exhibit 125: British American Tobacco Plc - Overview



Exhibit 126: British American Tobacco Plc - Business segments



Exhibit 127: British American Tobacco Plc - Key news



Exhibit 128: British American Tobacco Plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 129: British American Tobacco Plc - Segment focus

12.7 Cambrex Corp.

Exhibit 130: Cambrex Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 131: Cambrex Corp. - Product / Service



Exhibit 132: Cambrex Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 133: Cambrex Corp. - Key offerings

12.8 Cipla Ltd.

Exhibit 134: Cipla Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 135: Cipla Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 136: Cipla Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 137: Cipla Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 138: Cipla Ltd. - Segment focus

12.9 Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd.

Exhibit 139: Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 140: Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 141: Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 142: Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd. - Segment focus

12.10 Enorama Pharma AB

Exhibit 143: Enorama Pharma AB - Overview



Exhibit 144: Enorama Pharma AB - Product / Service



Exhibit 145: Enorama Pharma AB - Key news



Exhibit 146: Enorama Pharma AB - Key offerings

12.11 Imperial Brands Plc

Exhibit 147: Imperial Brands Plc - Overview



Exhibit 148: Imperial Brands Plc - Business segments



Exhibit 149: Imperial Brands Plc - Key news



Exhibit 150: Imperial Brands Plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 151: Imperial Brands Plc - Segment focus

12.12 Japan Tobacco Inc.

Exhibit 152: Japan Tobacco Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 153: Japan Tobacco Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 154: Japan Tobacco Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 155: Japan Tobacco Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 156: Japan Tobacco Inc. - Segment focus

12.13 Johnson and Johnson

Exhibit 157: Johnson and Johnson - Overview



Exhibit 158: Johnson and Johnson - Business segments



Exhibit 159: Johnson and Johnson - Key news



Exhibit 160: Johnson and Johnson - Key offerings



Exhibit 161: Johnson and Johnson - Segment focus

12.14 Perrigo Co. Plc

Exhibit 162: Perrigo Co. Plc - Overview



Exhibit 163: Perrigo Co. Plc - Business segments



Exhibit 164: Perrigo Co. Plc - Key news



Exhibit 165: Perrigo Co. Plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 166: Perrigo Co. Plc - Segment focus

12.15 Pfizer Inc.

Exhibit 167: Pfizer Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 168: Pfizer Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 169: Pfizer Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 170: Pfizer Inc. - Key offerings

12.16 Philip Morris International

Exhibit 171: Philip Morris International - Overview



Exhibit 172: Philip Morris International - Business segments



Exhibit 173: Philip Morris International - Key offerings



Exhibit 174: Philip Morris International - Segment focus

12.17 Tvape

Exhibit 175: Tvape - Overview



Exhibit 176: Tvape - Product / Service



Exhibit 177: Tvape - Key offerings

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 178: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 179: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 180: Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 181: Research methodology



Exhibit 182: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 183: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 184: List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

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UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
SHANGHAI, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the inaugural Top 100 Women-Powered, High-Growth Businesses in Asia Pacific by J.P. Morgan, Soul App and its founder Ms. Zhang Lu were awarded second place. The investment bank's report celebrates the women founders, co-founders and C-suite executives at the fastest-growing private companies over the past year.

After seven years of solid growth since Ms. Zhang single-handedly founded Soul App in 2016, it has become one of the most prominent social platforms and a star unicorn companies in China. In a media interview, Zhang said that "SOUL has committed itself to helping people connect with like-minded peers and secure a sense of belonging, something which everyone sometimes struggles to find offline. Driven by her persistence and leveraging innovations such as interest graph-based relationship building and gamification, SOUL has gained consistent traction with younger generations.

While traditional social platforms commonly foster online connections on the basis of users' existing interpersonal networks, Gen-Z as true digital natives instead place weight on sharing life's ups and downs with other users with the same values, even if they were initially strangers. Inspired by this observation, Zhang soon realized that "no single product on the market enables users to speak their minds, share their unique life stories, or simply express the feeling of the moment without pressure and to receive immediate, meaningful feedback". Out of her vision, Soul App was born.

Based on Zhang's penetrating insights on socialization needs specific to young digital natives, SOUL has set its core goals of "pressure-free communication" and "emotional resonance". To allow users to express themselves freely, the app has taken a multi-pronged approach to remove the pressure from socializing. For one, real portrait photos are not supported as SOUL users are encouraged to use avatars meticulously crafted by the platform or their peers in a way that reduces appearance anxiety. At the same time, the social platform has tapped into interest graphs and advanced algorithms to quickly introduce potential friends with shared values and hobbies to one another, allowing the forging of deeper connections without so much time and hassle.

Capitalizing on gamification, Zhang and her team have made socializing more relaxing and engaging by adding new features such as "Anonymous Chitchats", "Bombing Cats", a cat-animated strategy card game, and real-time group chat. These innovative interactions have paved the way for an immersive social experience and a user stickiness boost, as evidenced by the latest data: SOUL records an average of 66.9 point-to-point messages per person daily, 31.5% of its monthly active users (MAUs) posting personal status, and 87% of MAUs communicating and interacting with other peers.

All these continuous efforts have turbocharged SOUL's growth and set it apart from the competition to become one of the most valuable apps. With Zhang at its helm, SOUL's stellar ranking by J.P. Morgan suggests that the capital market recognizes Ms. Zhang Lu as an outstanding management leader and SOUL as a platform with rosy business prospects.

SOURCE Soul App
DUBLIN, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Research Report on Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry 2023-2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

With the economic development of Southeast Asia, the pace of life of residents has accelerated and the concept of food has gradually changed. Modern fast food, as a mass catering to meet people's basic daily needs, is flourishing in Southeast Asia with its quick, convenient and delicious features.

The development of the fast food industry in Southeast Asia varies greatly from country to country. For example, the fast food industry in Singapore has been relatively mature and has gradually emerged in Singapore since the 1970s. McDonald's is one of the major fast food brands in Singapore, with more than 100 stores, and KFC has about seventy stores.

In Vietnam, the fast food industry developed later, and only in 2010 did western fast food chains such as KFC and Pizza Hut try to enter the Vietnamese market. At present, brands such as Lotte Lee, Happy Bee, Yum Brands and Quan Ngon 138 dominate the fast food industry in Vietnam, and the fast food industry is highly competitive.



Southeast Asia in this report includes 10 countries: Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Cambodia. With a total population of over 600 million by the end of 2021, Southeast Asia has an overall economic growth rate higher than the global average and is one of the key drivers of future global economic growth.



With the rapid expansion of the middle class in Southeast Asian countries in recent years, the population's standard of living has improved, and the overall spending power has increased, the publisher expects the fast food industry in Southeast Asia to continue to grow from 2023-2032.



Topics covered:

Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry Status and Major Sources in 2018-2022

What is the Impact of COVID-19 on Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry?

Which Companies are the Major Players in Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry Market and What are their Competitive Benchmarks?

Key Drivers and Market Opportunities in Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry

What are the Key Drivers, Challenges, and Opportunities for Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry during 2023-2032?

What is the Expected Revenue of Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry during 2023-2032?

What are the Strategies Adopted by the Key Players in the Market to Increase Their Market Share in the Industry?

What are the Competitive Advantages of the Major Players in Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry Market?

Which Segment of Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry is Expected to Dominate the Market in 2032?

What are the Major Adverse Factors Facing Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry?

Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry Outlook

Analysis of Factors Affecting the Development of Fast Food Industry in Southeast Asia

Favorable Factors

Disadvantageous Factors

Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry Supply Analysis, 2023-2032

Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry Demand Analysis 2023-2032

Southeast Asia Fast Food Industry Import and Export Status Analysis 2023-2032

Impact of COVID -19 Epidemic on Fast Food Industry

Key Topics Covered:



1 Singapore Fast Food Industry Analysis

1.1 Singapore Fast Food Industry Development Environment

1.1.1 Geography

1.1.2 Population

1.1.3 Economy

1.1.4 Minimum Wage in Singapore

1.2 Singapore Fast Food Industry Operation 2023-2032

1.2.1 Supply

1.2.2 Demand

1.3 Analysis of Major Fast Food Brands in Singapore



2 Analysis of the Fast Food Industry in Thailand



3 Analysis of the Fast Food Industry in the Philippines



4 Malaysia Fast Food Industry Analysis



5 Indonesia Fast Food Industry Analysis



6 Vietnam Fast Food Industry Analysis



7 Myanmar Fast Food Industry Analysis



8 Brunei Fast Food Industry Analysis



9 Analysis of the Fast Food Industry in Laos



10 Cambodia Fast Food Industry Analysis



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3gssbn

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:

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Carrier recognized for Companywide efforts to support women in the workplace

DALLAS, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) celebrates earning a spot on Newsweek America's Greatest Workplaces for Women 2023. The Dallas-based carrier received recognition for providing a strong and inspiring workplace for women.

"We're committed to providing a supportive environment where women at Southwest can thrive," said Elizabeth Bryant, Senior Vice President People, Learning, & Development at Southwest Airlines. "In 2022, 44% of our workforce was female, and their value to the Company is immeasurable. As a Company dedicated to its People, we're proud to advocate for all Employees."

Newsweek teamed up with Plant-A Insights Group to conduct a large-scale employer study to collect a sample set of 37,000 women working for companies across 34 industries and over 224,000 company reviews. They selected the top 600 companies from categories such as work-life balance, sustainability and awareness, compensation and benefits, and corporate culture among others. View the full list of honorees.

"Our People are the Heart of Southwest, and we'll continue to put them first by fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace," said Juan Suarez, Vice President Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at Southwest Airlines. "Women at Southwest Airlines make incredible contributions to our great Company. Our President Emeritus, Colleen Barrettthe first woman president in the U.S. airline industrybuilt a Culture at Southwest that treats every Employee like Family. We are thankful for this recognition from Newsweek and remain dedicated to being a great place to work for women."

In addition to the carrier's efforts to be a best place to work for women, Southwest is inspiring the next generation of aviation professionals. In September 2022, Southwest supported Girls in Aviation Day events through a partnership with Women in Aviation International (WAI). It also proudly sponsors women-focused nonprofit organizations throughout the country that focus on important matters like women's equality, education, leadership and career development, entrepreneurship, public leadership, and creating equitable workplace environments, to name a few. Through these investments, the airline aims to join together with community partners to make lasting, positive impacts that benefit women and the communities where Southwest Employees and Customers live and work.

To learn more about careers with Heart, join the Southwest Airlines Talent Community.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world's most admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 121 airports across 11 countries. Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline1. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering its more than 66,0002 People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty among as many as 130 million Customers carried a year. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive years3 of profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the world including harnessing the power of its People and Purpose to put communities at the Heart of its success. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship. Southwest is also continuing to develop tangible steps toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, including offering Customers an opportunity to help the airline offset its carbon emissions. To be part of the solution, visit Southwest.com/wannaoffsetcarbon.

1U.S. Dept. of Transportation most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded

2Fulltime-equivalent active Employees

31973-2019 annual profitability

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.
Performance and Development Veteran Will Drive Expansion of Firm's Business Owners Services Practice for the Entrepreneurial Community

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stearns Financial Group (SFG), an investment management firm based in North Carolina, announced today the hiring of business performance and development veteran, Kurt Geldner, as Director of the Stearns Financial Business Owner Services (BOSS) practice. Geldner joins Stearns with over 20 years of experience in the start-up, early-stage, and small business markets. In his new role, Geldner is responsible for expanding opportunities and further enhancing assessment, planning and growth services for business owner clients.

"I am an entrepreneur at heart with a passion for driving business growth and fostering enriched client experiences," explains Geldner. "What drew me to SFG, is our shared commitment to higher standards of excellence."

"What drew me to SFG, is our shared commitment to higher standards of excellence."  Kurt Geldner Tweet this

For decades, SFG has been helping owners grow their business, solve critical issues, assess exit or transition options, and prepare for a successful retirement. Personalized services for business owners help ensure all components of their financial lives work together for a high level of success.

Connect with Geldner at linkedin.com/in/kurtgeldner.

ABOUT STEARNS FINANCIAL GROUP

Stearns Financial Group is a fee-only investment management firm with offices in Greensboro, N.C. and Chapel Hill, N.C. serving clients throughout the United States. The business owners services team utilizes scenario planning which entails reviewing plausible scenarios for the business owner and the business, then overlaying proprietary economic scenarios. The process helps chart a course for an owner's preferred future. The firm has received wide acclaim within the business ecosystem, including the Triad Business Journal Fast 50 (2016) and the INC. 5000 (2016, 2017). Leaders have also earned awards including Greensboro Chamber Small Business Advocate (2009), Business Leader Entrepreneur of the Year (2008) and Triad Business Journal Most Admired CEOs (2016). Learn more at StearnFinancial.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Karen Embry

Impact Communications

913-649-5009

[email protected]

Stearns Financial Group (SFG) is registered with Hightower Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor with the SEC. Advisory services are offered through Hightower Advisors, LLC. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities. No investment process is free of risk, and there is no guarantee that the investment process or the investment opportunities referenced herein will be profitable. Past performance is not indicative of current or future performance and is not a guarantee. The investment opportunities referenced herein may not be suitable for all investors. All data and information reference herein are from sources believed to be reliable. Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, or other information contained in this research is provided as general market commentary, it does not constitute investment advice. SFG and Hightower shall not in any way be liable for claims, and make no expressed or implied representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of the data and other information, or for statements or errors contained in or omissions from the obtained data and information referenced herein. The data and information are provided as of the date referenced. Such data and information are subject to change without notice. This is for informational purposes only; the opinions expressed are solely those of SFG and do not represent those of Hightower Advisors, LLC, or any of its affiliates.

SOURCE Stearns Financial Group
A medical mistake made during treatment in an emergency room may be grounds for a lawsuit says Wapner Newman

PHILADELPHIA, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Going to an emergency room can be frightening. Patients are in a vulnerable position and need the care of medical professionals to get through their health crisis. Though many trust the expertise of medical providers, mistakes can happen.



If something goes wrong in the ER and a patient is injured or harmed, they may be unsure whether they can sue an ER. Typically, medical malpractice cases name medical providers or hospitals as defendants, rather than a department within a hospital.



While a lawsuit might not name an ER specifically, it is possible to bring a lawsuit against a provider or hospital for malpractice that happened during treatment in an ER.



At the core of a medical malpractice lawsuit is the need to prove negligent actions led to an injury. However, not all mistakes can be characterized as negligence.



Attorney Robert S. Miller, Managing Partner at Wapner Newman, explains, "Medical malpractice cases can be very complicated. When you need to determine if negligence led to an injury in an ER, an attorney experienced in medical malpractice lawsuits is your best resource."



In a lawsuit, an attorney would also need to show that negligent actions caused injury. Because there can be numerous causes for an injury, this can be a difficult task.



Medical records are essential to any medical malpractice case, and careful documentation of the care received should be part of the information gathered.



Because treatment in ERs can be fast-paced, opportunities for errors can be higher than in other medical settings. The most common mistake is a misdiagnosis.



A failure to order a diagnostic test or a mistaken reading of a test can lead to misdiagnosis. Obtaining an incomplete medical history or not performing a full medical exam can also contribute to a misdiagnosis.



If an attorney shows clearly that an emergency department doctor was negligent when they didn't diagnose a health condition or injury, then the doctor and possibly the hospital could be named in a lawsuit.



When a patient has been harmed, they may turn to lawyers for help, but not know who can be held legally liable for their injuries.



"It's important to speak with an attorney so you understand not only who you can sue for medical malpractice, but also how your legal case can proceed," says Miller.



About Wapner Newman

At Wapner Newman, our attorneys have been winning millions for our clients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania since 1978. The firm serves personal injury clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, ensuring that victims and their families get the compensation they deserve. For more information, contact Wapner Newman by calling (215) 569-0900 or visit their website to learn more about medical malpractice lawsuits.



This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Wapner Newman
TAIPEI, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the largest adult live broadcast platform in Asia, SWAG quickly gained global influence after its launch, attracting numerous sex-positive internet celebrities and amateur performers who have found fame and wealth in SWAG's live broadcasts and short videos. Ting (@senn_tei) finished elementary school in New York before returning to Taiwan but fell victim to sexual violence from her classmates afterward. Despite the trauma, the 25-year-old survivor bravely joined SWAG and proudly declared: "There's nothing shameful about accepting your body as it is."

Ting had been working part-time in other adult platforms and decided to join SWAG after she knew the income was better.

According to SWAG, 25-year-old Ting (@senn_tei) has been active on the SWAG platform since late 2022, presenting her splendid body figure and mesmerizing sexy videos. Ting mentioned that she received sex education from a Western perspective while studying in New York. Despite becoming a victim of sexual assault after returning to Taiwan, she believes that sex is a natural part of the human body and should not be stigmatized or considered something to be ashamed of.

Ting noted that she used to work part-time on other adult platforms. However, after learning about the high-profit sharing and bonuses SWAG offers, as well as the flexibility of the platform's working hours, she decided to join in. Currently, she works for less than 10 hours a week and earns an estimated USD 10,000 from it.

Ting is dedicated to expanding her career, while also interested in finding a boyfriend who shares her values and accepts her part-time work with SWAG. She is eager in exploring opportunities to be professionally cast in adult videos, and operate social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, like how the Japanese AV actresses or European and American erotic internet celebrities do. Through her experiences as a creator, she hopes to raise awareness and advocate for sex education, as well as the prevention of sexual violence within the community.

SOURCE SWAG
NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tensor Tech , a Taiwan-based company specializing in satellite minimization, is pushing to disrupt the booming worldwide space industry with lighter, smaller, and more power-efficient satellite subsystems.

According to a report by the Space Foundation , the annual global spending for the space industry hit $469 billion in 2022. The costs involved represent a prime opportunity for companies like Tensor Tech to step in and assist on a variety of government and commercial space ventures.

"It is important to keep moving in our industry, constantly improving to ensure that we make interplanetary travel a reality. Growth of the space industry is limited mainly by cost, and Tensor Tech is addressing this pain point through disruptive innovation, offering our customers more efficient solutions that incentivize further development of this industry," said Jordan Hsieh, Chief Business Development Officer at Tensor Tech.

Charting New Courses

Tensor Tech possesses a unique position in which to disrupt the industry standards, with technological innovations enabling attitude determination control systems (ADCS) in satellites to be smaller, lighter, and more power-efficient compared to traditional attitude control systems.

At present, there remain major obstacles for commercial entities looking to enter the growing space industry. The first is the building of launch rockets, while the second pertains to the building of the satellite, both of which brings substantial costs. A possible workaround is that of satellite minimization, but the ADCS is the biggest roadblock among all other subsystems . There is a limit to how much it can be shrunk down without impacting its tangible functions.

However, Tensor Tech has been able to make a breakthrough, reducing the weight, size, and power consumption of the nanosatellite ADCS by 60% compared to conventional solutions. In addition, the company's technology can enable the space industry with wider commercial applications by allowing satellite missions to carry more payloads and further reducing the costs involved.

This level of innovation extends to the testing equipment that Tensor Tech also develops  namely the ADCS testbed. A cutting-edge solution for testing and calibration, the testbed is fully scalable and can measure the mass properties of a given device, and an upcoming partnership with a European company will bring further enhancements.

Shining Bright

Tensor Tech's full attitude control solutions are headlined by its integrated attitude determination and control systems. Catering to satellites of various sizes, the product lineup of ADCS-10m, ADCS-MTQ, ADCS-20m and ADCS-40m deliver both affordable prices and user-friendly functionality.

At the core of these systems is the control moment gyroscope (CMG), an integral component that has been further enhanced by Tensor Tech's technological advancements. The CMG-10m realizes a variable-speed, single-gimbal CMG driven by spherical motor technology. It successfully shrinks the volume and weight of a CMG for nanosatellites.

For those with other needs, the likes of the CMG-20m scissor pair or the CMG-40m pyramid cluster CMG will have plenty of use as well. Furthermore, Tensor Tech provides magnetorquers and sun sensors that can be size-efficient or tweaked to address specific needs.

Tensor Tech has plans to extend their product offering in the future, in particular with specialized CMGs tailored to micro and small satellites. Also, since gimbals are the part that most often requires replacement, the brand is developing gimballess versions of these groundbreaking products to maximize the lifetime of ADCS for space operation.

Spreading the Word

Tensor Tech will be making appearances in several upcoming events, including the Small Satellite Conference 2023 and Space Tech Expo Europe 2023 . Interested visitors can learn more by joining the events and hearing from the experts themselves about how the company is disrupting the space industry.

About Tensor Tech

Operating out of Taiwan, Tensor Tech seeks to help humanity expand into the frontier of interplanetary travel by assisting investors, corporations, and governments in this noble pursuit. The company's innovative approach to downsizing satellite components is advancing space exploration through increasing efficiency and profitability.

SOURCE Tensor Tech
HOUSTON , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teachstone has partnered with early childhood professionals since 2008, and its Classroom Assessment Scoring System ( CLASS ) is used in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems throughout the United States. Teachstone was recently approved as a preferred vendor for academic consultation in the Houston Independent School District (ISD), the largest school district in Texas, with 274 schools and over 194,000 students.

Using CLASS promotes high-quality engagement between educators and the children in their care as seen in this pre-K classroom.

Meaningful educator-child interactions are critical to childhood cognitive development and the formation of behavior management skills. A multitude of studies support the validity of using CLASS to improve literacy, math, and social-emotional outcomes. This approach also benefits educators by minimizing disciplinary referrals and improving their ability to instruct students from diverse backgrounds. Not only does CLASS rely on a holistic, data-driven approach to guide educators and promote impactful educator-child interactions, but it also coincides with tailored professional development opportunities.

Recent legislation by the state of Texas ensures that CLASS is now embedded as an option within Texas Rising Star, an early childhood improvement system that weighs early educational environments according to different categories. Incorporating the CLASS system will help programs meet Category 2 requirements , which measure the overall effectiveness of teacher-child interactions. It provides tiered, enhanced reimbursement from the Texas Workforce Commission's Child Care Services program to certified and licensed programs that exceed the state's minimum standards.

Along with using CLASS to meet state requirements, Teachstone's approval as a preferred vendor for academic consultation meets the Central Texas Purchasing Association (CTPA) requirements for resource-sharing. Representing over 130 Texas school districts, the CTPA supports educational institutions through mentoring services and the ability to share established contracts. Active CTPA members can now contract with Teachstone to incorporate CLASS into their educational environments and reap the benefits of high-quality instructional support.

About Teachstone

With decades of early childhood education research as a foundation, Teachstone offers products and services to help educators unlock the power of interactions while creating a culture of quality improvement that supports children's social, emotional, and developmental success. Teachstone's CLASS measure is currently used in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) and Head Start programs throughout the United States. Learn more about Teachstone and its offerings at www.teachstone.com .

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Teachstone
The No. 1 price generating software empowers chimney contractors with 'done for you' pricing solution

DALTON, Ga., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The New Flat Rate , the No. 1 price generating software for home service contractors, has officially launched its new chimney sweep module to help empower chimney professionals to deliver excellent chimney services at the optimal price.

The new chimney sweep module includes menu pricing for a variety of chimney services, including heat shield application, relining, masonry, leak repairs and much more.

The New Flat Rate has officially launched its new chimney sweep module to help empower chimney professionals to deliver excellent services at the optimal price.

"Contractors in the chimney industry have been seeking solutions that make their lives easier when it's time to close a sale," said Danielle Putnam, president of The New Flat Rate. "The chimney sweep module makes it easy to quickly generate multiple options and price points for the contractor to present while onsite during their inspection. They no longer have to spend time estimating and following up with a price after the original inspection or diagnosis. And, with the power of the menu, the buying control is placed in the hands of the customer."

"Time and time again, we've proven that customers will buy more when given the choice. With this new 'done for you' pricing system, chimney sweeps will have the opportunity to focus on providing excellent service to their customers while increasing profits. In addition, they will have the added benefit of utilizing training programs The New Flat Rate offers."

The chimney sweep beta test was completed at the end of 2022. Afterward, beta members saw a 15% increase in their closing rate and an over 200% profit increase.

One individual who saw success with the new chimney sweep module is Richard Tattershall, owner of C&C Chimney in Skiatook, Oklahoma. He will be speaking at the National Chimney Sweep Guild on Saturday, April 1 in Uncasville, Connecticut.

"As a chimney sweep, our job is to deliver a customer experience that not only helps us make a sale but also creates a foundation for future business," Tattershall said. "The New Flat Rate helped us succeed by putting the customer in the driver's seat and allowing them to determine what's the best solution for the job. While this has helped us increase sales, it has also improved customer and employee satisfaction. I want to spread that news at the National Chimney Sweep Guild so other professionals understand the advantages of having a 'done for you' system for pricing in their hands."

For more information about The New Flat Rate, please visit https://thenewflatrate.com/.

About The New Flat Rate

The New Flat Rate, Inc. pioneered the first menu pricing system for in-home service providers which has doubled and tripled the average service ticket for contractors across the United States and Canada. Targeting HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical Service and Repair contractors, each market-specific edition is designed to do the bundling and upselling for technicians by providing hundreds of service, repair and equipment replacement "menus," each with up to five straightforward options consumers can choose. Voted No. 1 retail pricing generator during the 2021 HARDI conference, The New Flat Rate develops processes to eliminate objections and lower sales resistance for service technicians. For more information, visit http://thenewflatrate.com/ or call 706-259-8892.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

(865) 977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE The New Flat Rate
GUANGZHOU, China, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The collaboration between the Resident Evil series and Puzzle & Survival has finally started! The collaboration event officially begins at 9 a. m. on March 30th (Thursday). Popular characters such as Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, and Ada Wong, as well as powerful enemies such as Licker, G-Creatures, and the Tyrant will also appear. For details, please see the global release from 37GAMES.

Starting today at 9 a.m. March 30th, 2023, 37GAMES, publisher of the zombie-themed match-3 strategy game Puzzles & Survival, is announcing the worldwide launch of its official collaboration event with Capcom, publisher of the famed zombie horror series Resident Evil. To celebrate this event, an official promo film has already been released for the players as well!

Fight alongside Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, and Ada Wong in Raccoon City!

https://youtu.be/bJlLicyNmsw

Three iconic Resident Evil characters, Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, and Ada Wong, have joined Puzzles & Survival as new heroes. Additionally, there will be six new in-game events and other custom in-game content for you to discover!

Fight Alongside Three Iconic Resident Evil Characters

During the collaboration event, Puzzles & Survival players will be able to experience the terrifying storyline of the Resident Evil series, and recruit characters such as Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, and Ada Wong to fight against their opponents. These iconic heroes all have their unique weapons and skills, which they will need to battle against horrific enemies such as the Tyrant!

Escape from Raccoon City via Six New In-Game Events

This collaboration will feature six new in-game events. Players will start by visiting R.P.D (Raccoon Police Department) to collect intelligence. They will need to defeat lickers, confront William (G), defeat the Tyrant, decode secret Umbrella data, and work together to destroy Umbrella once and for all!

Log In to Claim Free Supplies

The collaboration between Puzzles & Survival and Resident Evil officially begins today! Tyrant and William (G) are preparing to attack the Sanctuary! Make sure to use gift codes to claim pre-war supplies. There are a huge number of other benefits players can get by joining the official Puzzles & Survival community. Make sure you don't miss out!

Game Name Puzzles & Survival Price Free (with In-App Purchases) Languages Japanese/English/Simplified Chinese /Traditional Chinese/

German/Russian/French/Korean/Portuguese/Thai/Turkish/

Spanish/Italian/Vietnamese/Polish/Indonesian/Dutch/Malay/Arabic Platform iPhone/Android Download Link https://pse.is/pnsre04 Official Website https://www.pnsofficial.com Collaboration March 30th, 2023 9 a.m. to April 18th 9 a.m. (UTC+9) Customer Support [email protected]

2023 37GAMES All Rights Reserved.

CAPCOM CO., LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

SOURCE 37 GAMES
A roundup of the week's most newsworthy consumer and retail industry press releases from PR Newswire, including H&M's extended sizing options and a new PEPSI logo.

NEW YORK, March 31, 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 consumer and retail industries 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 Consumer Press Release Roundup, March 27-31, 2023. Photo provided by Nissin Foods. https://prn.to/3ZoRmNd

Read more of the latest consumer-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNcnsmr on Twitter.

Can't-Miss Earnings

In addition to these popular releases, quarterly results for McCormick and Lifeway Foods crossed the wire this week. 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 financial industry press releases from PR Newswire, including a widening gender gap in homeownership and a slight increase in US consumer confidence.

NEW YORK, March 31, 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 27-31, 2023. Photo provided by Zillow Group, Inc. https://prn.to/3n7yswP

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.

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 health industry press releases from PR Newswire, including the FDA's approval of OTC Naloxone nasal spray.

NEW YORK, March 31, 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 healthcare 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 Health Press Release Roundup, March 27-31, 2023. Photo provided by Wonderbelly. https://prn.to/40HpNzS

Read more of the latest health-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNhealth 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 Brii Biosciences.

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
Bolsters Distributor's Exclusive Line-up of Paint and Other Products

CHICAGO, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- True Value Company, one of the world's largest hardlines wholesalers, today announced it has purchased certain assets of Nova Wildcat Shur-Line Holdings, Inc., including the Shur-Line and WordLock range of products.

"Acquiring Shur-Line's products is an excellent strategic fit for True Value as we continue to invest in our strong portfolio of paint and paint products," said John Vanderpool, Divisional President, True Value Manufacturing & General Paint. "For the last three years our team has been manufacturing many of Shur-Line's products in our Cary facility, so we are experts with the Shur-Line portfolio. We are excited to work with retailers to further develop this great brand and continue providing consumers with easy-to-use paint project applicators and tools."

Marks third investment in a year as company pursues growth and lays groundwork for next 75 years Tweet this

On the purchase of WordLock products, True Value's Senior Vice President of Merchandising, Inventory, and Pricing Jake Kalnitz said, "This further demonstrates True Value's focus on offering our retailers innovative, unique products. The WordLock security product line fits perfectly within our core hardware offering, especially for its cutting-edge algorithms that have truly advanced lock technology."

Chris Kempa, CEO of True Value Company said, "This is True Value's third acquisition in the last 12 months and is another example of True Value's commitment to investing in the business, aggressively pursuing growth, and ensuring retailers have what they need to win in the marketplace. I am proud of our team as we continue to lay the groundwork for our next 75 years in business."

Shur-Line's product line includes brushes, roller covers, mini rollers, paint trays, poles, frames, surface prep, edging and convenience tools. Together with True Value Manufacturing's flagship EasyCare paint brand, its Majic brand of consumer paints, and recent expansion of its manufacturing capacity, the company is committed to providing high-quality paint products and services to its customers.

WordLock's product line includes combination padlocks, bicycle locks, car key locks and more, which utilize our memory's natural preference for keywords and the alphabet. WordLock allows consumers to set and change their own combination from thousands of possible word and letter combinations.

About True Value Company

True Value Company, headquartered in Chicago, is one of the world's leading hardlines wholesalers with a globally recognized brand and 75 years of experience serving independent hardware retailers. True Value Company provides its customers in over 60 countries an expansive product set of market-customized assortments at highly competitive prices, superior product availability, innovative marketing programs and a la carte value-added services like eCommerce ship-to-store, store remodel support and True Value University, all within a flexible model that requires no membership. With 13 regional distribution centers, and approximately 2,500 associates serving over 4,500 stores, True Value Company celebrates independence and drives retail excellence across the U.S. and internationally. Learn more at www.TrueValueCompany.com.

SOURCE True Value Company
NEW YORK, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Trinseo PLC (NYSE: TSE) resulting from allegations that Trinseo may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Trinseo 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=13711 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 March 27, 2023, The Inquirer published an article entitled "Bristol plant that spilled chemicals into Philly's water supply had other mishaps over the last decade." The article reported "a chemical plant in Bristol that authorities said caused a toxic spill, threatening Philadelphia's drinking water, has a long history of mishaps  including at least four recent contamination incidents." In addition, the article stated "over the past decade, the U.S. Coast Guard twice before detected releases of acrylates [commonly used to produce glass-like acrylics] from the Bristol facility into the Delaware. The EPA had separately flagged two other acrylate releases." The article cites, "David Salas-de la Cruz, a Rutgers University associate professor of chemistry, worked at the Bristol plant during its Rohm and Haas days. He said the number of incidents over the past decade was unusual."

On this news, the price of Trinseo's stock fell $1.09, or 5.26%, to close at $19.62 per share on March 27, 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 firm's 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

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
TUV Rheinland appointed as authorized international surveyor by the Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization (SSMO) for the Pre-Shipment Verification Program / Ensuring that products entering Sudan are in line with desired standard

LITTLETON, Mass., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland has been appointed as an authorized international surveyor by the Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization (SSMO) for the Pre-Shipment Verification Program in the Republic of Sudan. This marks a significant step for the international inspection and conformity assessment body in expanding its operations in Africa as a whole and the Sudanese market in particular.

As an authorized international surveyor by SSMO, TUV Rheinland is now able to conduct a range of inspection, testing, analysis, and conformity assessment services. For regulated goods exported to Sudan that are complying with national and international standards and regulations applicable in the country, TUV Rheinland will issue Certificates of Inspection (CoI).

With this authorization, TUV Rheinland is well positioned to contribute to the development of Sudan's economy by promoting safety, quality, and sustainability across various industries and facilitating the movement of goods in a compliant and safe manner. Additionally, TUV Rheinland is committed to working closely with exporters and importers targeting the Sudanese market, helping them achieve their goals in accessing new markets while adhering to international standards and regulations and supporting SSMO in their journey to ensure that products entering Sudan are in line with the desired standard.

On this appointment, Fares Naouri, Senior Vice President of Government Inspections and International Trade at TUV Rheinland stated, "We are proud of our appointment as an approved international surveyor by the SSMO. The appointment reflects our expertise and experience in providing top-quality surveying, inspection, and conformity assessment services. Our aim is to facilitate trade and support Sudan's growth and development through our world-class inspection services. This appointment is a testament to the commitment of TUV Rheinland to providing high-quality conformity assessment services that prioritize the safety and well-being of the Sudanese end consumers."

For more information about the Sudan Pre-Shipment Verification Program and the product scope, please see our webpage.

About TUV Rheinland

TUV Rheinland stands for safety and quality in virtually all areas of business and life. The company has been operating for more than 150 years and ranks among the world's leading technical assurance and testing service providers. TUV Rheinland has more than 22,000 employees in over 50 countries and generates annual revenue in excess of 2bn euros. TUV Rheinland's highly qualified experts test technical systems and products around the world, support innovations in technology and business, train people in numerous professions and certify management systems according to international standards. In doing so, our independent experts generate trust in products as well as processes across global value-adding chains and the flow of commodities. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: www.tuv.com.

Contact us for press inquiries:

Joel Pekay

Phone: +1 224 318 4098

Email: [email protected]

Mariana Taborda do Amaral

Phone: +55 11 3514 5867

Email: [email protected]

Michael Garcia Carbajal

Phone: +52 55 3488 2108

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE TUV Rheinland
Abrahamic Family House Director highlights UAE's commitment to inclusion, coexistence

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The UAE Embassy in Washington last night welcomed a diverse group of religious, government and civil society leaders to its sixth annual Interfaith Iftar  an annual tradition marking the holy month of Ramadan.

Before the call to prayer marking the end of the daily Ramadan fast, Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba greeted guests and highlighted the UAE's long history of acceptance and religious diversity. "Coexistence and inclusion are a foundation of Emirati culture and society. We challenge intolerance, welcome the stranger, and celebrate diversity."

Annual Interfaith Iftar hosted by the UAE Embassy in Washington D.C. Annual Interfaith Iftar hosted by the UAE Embassy in Washington D.C. Annual Interfaith Iftar hosted by the UAE Embassy in Washington D.C. Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba speaking at the Annual Interfaith Iftar hosted by the UAE Embassy in Washington D.C.

The program also featured remarks by Abdulla Al Shehhi, Director of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi.

Mr. Al Shehhi reflected on the Abrahamic Family House's launch last month, noting that the space  which houses a mosque, a church and a synagogue  invites contemplation and communication between people of diverse faiths.

He stated: "The Abrahamic Family House is the living embodiment of the UAE's values of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect. It is the home of three distinct and vibrant faith communities, and a place for discovery and dialogue for people of all faiths and none."

In attendance were community leaders, senior members of US Government and elected officials, including Deborah Lipstadt, US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, US congressman Brad Schneider and Rashad Hussain, US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

Attendees participated in the traditional breaking of the fast, and learned more about the values that are cherished and shared during the holy month of Ramadan.

Media Contact:

Lamiyae Jbari

[email protected]

202 243 2464

SOURCE Embassy of the United Arab Emirates
Investment marks 20th transaction for Uplift Partners since its founding in 2015

CHICAGO, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Uplift Partners, a Chicago-based investment bank, served as adviser to the family ownership of The Republic Companies in the strategic investment made by Graycliff Partners in the HVAC distribution company. Republic Companies had been family-owned for more than 100 years and was seeking a partner to help position the company for continued growth. This marks the 20th transaction for Uplift Partners since its founding in 2015.

Republic Companies worked with Uplift Partners to select a strategic investor to help drive the 107-year-old family business to its next level of growth. Quinn Carlson is a founder of Uplift Partners and leads the industrial services and tech verticals. He specializes in strategic M&A and high growth capital raise transactions for privately held businesses and entrepreneurs in the middle market.

"Republic was looking for a strategic investor to help drive the 107-year-old family business to its next level of growth, and we're thrilled we could help them find the best partner in Graycliff," said Quinn Carlson, Managing Director at Uplift Partners. "This transaction serves as testament to the exceptional team at Republic, the growth strategy in front of the company and it was clear to us that Graycliff understood these dynamics."

Based in Davenport, Iowa, Republic Companies is a value-add distributor of electrical and mechanical supplies for industrial, institutional, governmental and contracting communities. Bolstered with vendor relationships that extend decades, the company stocks more than 40,000 different products across 130,000 square feet of warehouse space. The company serves customers ranging from small, local dealers to global industrial enterprises.

"As a third-generation family-owned company, it was of utmost importance to find a partner that understood our vision and valued our legacy," said Mark Kilmer, the Republic Companies CEO of 25 years. "Uplift Partners understood our goals, steered us well along the way and helped us select a great partner that will provide strategic support and guidance, while still enabling us to maintain our strong culture."

The transaction was completed on February 28, 2023. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Read more: Case Study - 100 Yr-Old Family-Owned Business Partners with Private Equity

About Uplift Partners

Uplift Partners is an independent investment bank advising businesses through transformative deals across a range of industries. We specialize in strategic M&A, recapitalization and growth financing transactions for business owners. With our senior attention, we are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes and high-close rates for our clients. We measure our success by the value we create for our clients and the trusting, long-term relationships we build, together. Visit us at UpliftPartners.com .

Contact:

Julie - Uplift Partners

+1 646 918 0157

[email protected]

SOURCE Uplift Partners
The Bulgarian Supplement Brand's Natural Products Are High Quality and Cost-Effective

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- It can be difficult for end-users to trace how a supplement arrives on a store's shelves. Labels may list key ingredients and state claimed effects, but there is typically no insight into critical things, like where those ingredients were sourced, processed, or assembled. In most cases, a consumer can't really know if a product will do what it says it will do. That's why VemoHerb has adopted a unique closed production cycle for all of its herbal supplements.

"Most of the manufacturers are sourcing their raw materials from outside their organization," says Vasil Zlatev, co-owner of the popular Bulgarian supplement brand, "That means they do not see the complete picture of how this material is produced and what compromises are hidden. We are one of the very few companies in this business nowadays which have completely closed the production cycle from the raw materials to the end customer product."

Zlatev goes on to explain how this allows VemoHerb to create products that are transparent and honest with consumers, "We do this because we are sure it's the only way to maintain complete quality control at every single production stage. This guarantees the highest possible standards for our clients."

Zlatev adds that outside suppliers introduce a high risk of problems occurring somewhere along the supply chain. A closed-loop system eliminates this fear and enables VemoHerb to trace each ingredient from the fields of Bulgaria (the brand uses wild herbs as its raw materials for maximum potency) straight to store shelves.

"We have a limited selection of products compared to many similarly sized competitors," Zlatev explains, "because we aren't interested in pumping out as many SKUs as possible using any and every method for sourcing ingredients. We only place a new product on the market when we are sure that we can close the production process in our own facilities. That guarantees it's the best product for our customers."

This commitment to quality has allowed VemoHerb to faithfully fulfill its slogan of "quality for all" by creating elite products that are safe, trusted, and cost-effective. This is an inclusive "all" that continues to expand as the company's distribution network spreads across the globe  including a recent push into the United States.

About VemoHerb

VemoHerb is a health and wellness enterprise with over two decades of experience in the supplement industry. Founded in 1999, the family-owned label was established to develop and market innovative herbal extracts and food enzymes. The brand prides itself on its closed-loop production process, which starts with harvesting wild-grown herbs from the Balkan mountain region, includes cutting-edge active ingredient extraction via the company's in-house lab, and ends with elite supplements with transparent and informed labels. Learn more at vemoherb.com .

Deyana Zdravkova

International Marketing & Sales Services

Vemo 99 LTD

88 Rozhen Blvd, 1271 Sofia, Bulgaria;

Phone: +359 2 931 66 21

[email protected]

SOURCE VemoHerb
GREENVILLE, S.C., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Viatec, a leader in fleet electrification solutions, is providing California with a unique opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and achieve sustainability goals. Viatec's plug-in electric power systems, SmartPTO and SmartPX, are installed on vocational vehicles to power various equipment.

Nearly 70% of a typical work truck's carbon emissions come from worksite idling. Viatec's solutions are an easy, standalone approach to eliminating unnecessary emissions from truck engines or generators - without compromising performance or power. They are lightweight, easy to install, and will not impact the driveline of the truck they are installed on.

SmartPTO Viatec's approach to eliminating worksite idling emissions starts with providing clean hydraulic power to equipment like the boom arm on a bucket truck. SmartPTO, which is Viatec's electric Power Take-off system, is installed on aerial bucket trucks and is a parallel PTO system providing the required power to run the boom operations  which would have otherwise required the truck to idle for hours. Minimal truck-side integration means simple, fast installation. The legacy PTO system on the truck remains operational and can be accessed as a backup during emergencies. SmartPTO can be an upfit or a retrofit, and the onboard Telematics provides easy reporting on savings on fuel and maintenance.

SmartPX

SmartPX, Viatec's newest product offering, is a plug-in electric alternative to gas or diesel-powered worksite generators. SmartPX has an electric powertrain powering a rotary generator that produces pure sine-wave output with optimal efficiency. SmartPX can power multiple 120V and 240V AC outputs and allow crews to run heavy loads like rooftop ACs, trash pumps, welders, or microwaves and for power a variety of tools. SmartPX also provides 12V power to maintain the truck batteries. Service trucks serve as roadway workstations and with SmartPX, they can be quickly upfitted to meet the power needs of the crews while eliminating worksite emissions from generators.

SmartPTO

"Viatec's SmartPTO and SmartPX are game-changers for California businesses looking to reduce their carbon footprint and achieve sustainability goals," said Viatec VP-Sales, Anjali Deodhar. "Our products are cost-effective, practical, and easy-to-implement solutions for organizations that want to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions while also saving money."

Viatec's solutions have already been adopted nationwide by utilities and municipalities. In CA, SmartPTO is eligible for HVIP funding. With the state's aggressive carbon reduction targets, Viatec's products provide a significant opportunity to achieve those goals while also improving the bottom line for businesses.

SOURCE Viatec
Nearly 5,000 net new jobs added in 2022, more growth projected for this year

RICHMOND, Va., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Against the backdrop of an eventful year tech employment in Virginia added new jobs and grew in depth and breadth, according to today's release of new research from CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce.

CompTIA's annual "State of the Tech Workforce" reveals that net tech employment1 in Virginia grew by 1.4%, adding 4,898 net new jobs. 2 CompTIA forecasts a 2.1% increase in tech employment for 2023  approximately 7,500 net new jobs.

Nearly 360,000 people work in tech jobs in Virginia, spanning both technical and non-technical workers employed by tech companies and tech professionals who work in other industries. That represents 8.7% of the overall state workforce, the third highest concentration of tech workers relative to the overall employment base among all states. Virginia's tech workforce ranks fifth in size nationally. The estimated median wage for a tech worker in Virginia is $109,646. That's 138% higher than the median wage for all occupations in the state.

Virginia's tech industry delivers an economic impact of nearly $62 billion  10.8% of the state economy. There are an estimated 23,483 tech business establishments in the state, including 1,542 that opened for business in 2022  the seventh highest total across the country.

CompTIA's "State of the Tech Workforce" is the most comprehensive source of data on the size and scope of the U.S. technology industry and workforce. The report includes data on employment, wages, business establishments, job postings, workforce diversity, emerging tech metrics and more. Among other highlights from the new report:

Occupations poised for growth  Positions in software development, programming, web development and quality assurance (3.1%); emerging technologies, IT project management and related areas (2.6%); and cybersecurity and systems engineers (2.5%) are projected to see the most growth in Virginia this year.

Emerging tech employment opportunities  30.8% of all tech jobs postings in the state last year were for occupations related to emerging technologies or for positions that required emerging tech skills. With 57,316 emerging tech jobs postings, Virginia ranked fourth nationally.

Workforce diversity  Virginia is in the first quartile in the report's diversity index, a measurement of the depth and breadth of diversity in the tech workforce for seven primary race and ethnicity groups, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women account for 27% of Virginia's tech workforce; Black or African American workers, 13%; and Hispanic or Latino workers, 5%.

Access the full report at https://www.cyberstates.org/.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world's leading information technology (IT) certification and training body. CompTIA is a mission-driven organization committed to unlocking the potential of every student, career changer or professional seeking to begin or advance in a technology career. Each year CompTIA, directly and through its global network of partners, provides millions of people with training, education and certification opportunities designed to help them build career-ready IT skills. To learn more visit https://www.comptia.org/

Media Contact

Steven Ostrowski

CompTIA

[email protected]

630.678.8468

1 The tech workforce consists of two primary components  technology professionals working in technical positions (IT support, network engineering, software development, data science, etc.) and business professionals employed by technology companies. Combined they are represented by the "net tech employment" designation.

2 The 2022 employment estimates and 2023 projections represent the most up-to-date data at the time of publication. As with any labor market data source there is a lag effect, recent developments during late 2022 and early 2023 will likely not be fully reflected in the data.

SOURCE CompTIA
DUBLIN, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Warehouse Club Industry Guide" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

It's not easy to sell your products to BJ's, Costco, PriceSmart or Sam's Club. It's even harder to remain an active vendor. Warehouse club buyer needs are specific and extensive. A warehouse club buyer does not want to meet with a supplier or broker who does not understand its business.

Within its 380 pages, the 2023 edition of the Warehouse Club Industry Guide (Guide) addresses those club buyer requirements. It provides a list of program requirements. The Guide explains club buying strategies. It addresses every club buyer need. Learn about club industry packaging requirements. Research a list of private label items at BJ's, Costco and Sam's Club. Use our 2027 projections to plan your club growth.

Key Topics Covered:





INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

What is a club?

Historical Quotes

Club Sales Data

Location Analysis

Member Profile and Analysis

In-Club Ancillary Businesses

Member Services

Club Magazines

Category SKU

Category Sales

Private Label

Private Label Detail

Web Sites

Department Analysis

Seasonal Analysis

Item Basket Comparison

CLUB PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS

Understanding Club Buyers

Pricing Concepts

Product Development

Club Observations

Marketing Money

Product Demonstrations

Coupons

Packaging

U.S. Merchants

Product Distribution

Brokers

Club Industry Survey

COSTCO WHOLESALE

Costco Profile

Costco Buying and Operating

Costco Financials

Costco Layout

Costco International

Costco Locations

Jim Sinegal

Sol Price

Price Club History

Costco History

SAM'S CLUB

Sam's Club Profile

Sam's Club Buying and Operating

Sam's Club Financials

Sam's Club Layout

Sam's Club International

Sam's Club Locations

PACE Membership History

Sam's Club History

BJ'S WHOLESALE

BJ's Profile

BJ's Buying and Operating

BJ's Financials

BJ's Layout

BJ's Locations

BJ's History

COST-U-LESS

Cost-U-Less Profile

Cost-U-Less Buying and Operating

Cost-U-Less Layout

Cost-U-Less Locations

Cost-U-Less History

PRICESMART

PriceSmart Profile

PriceSmart Buying and Operating

PriceSmart Financials

PriceSmart Layout

PriceSmart Locations

PriceSmart History

FINANCIAL PAST, FUTURE

Yearly Financial History

Club Industry Future

Companies Mentioned





BJ's Wholesale

Costco Wholesale

PriceSmart

Sam's Club

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/x1xpmi

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

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Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Research and Markets
Speaking on a healthcare related panel at the Laurentian Bank Securities Diversified Virtual Technology Conference on April 12 th .

. Presenting the Company at the Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference on April 26 th.

VANCOUVER, BC, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSX: WELL) (OTCQX: WHTCF) ("WELL" or the "Company"), a company focused on positively impacting health outcomes by leveraging technology to empower healthcare practitioners and their patients globally, is pleased to announce that a team from WELL Health including Hamed Shahbazi, Founder and CEO, will be participating in the Laurentian Bank Securities ("LBS") Diversified Virtual Technology Conference and the Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference.

The LBS Diversified Technology Conference is taking place virtually on April 12th, 2023. Mr. Shahbazi will be participating on a healthcare panel at 1:00pm ET, and in one-on-one meetings with investors throughout the conference. In addition, Iain Paterson, Chief Information Security Officer for WELL, will also be attending and will be speaking on a cybersecurity related panel at 11:45am ET. To register for LBS Diversified Technology Conference, please contact your LBS Securities representative.

The Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference will take place at Metro Toronto Convention Centre (North Building) in Toronto, Ontario on April 25th to 26th, 2023. Mr. Shahbazi will be presenting the Company on Wednesday April 26th at 9:30am ET. Mr. Shahbazi will also be participating in one-on-one meetings with investors throughout the conference. To register for the event, please contact your Bloom Burton & Co. representative.

WELL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES CORP.

Per: "Hamed Shahbazi"

Hamed Shahbazi

Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director

About WELL Health Technologies Corp.

WELL is a practitioner-focused digital healthcare company. WELL's overarching mission is to positively impact health outcomes by leveraging technology to empower healthcare practitioners and their patients globally. WELL exists to enable healthcare practitioners with best-in-class technology and services. WELL has built the most comprehensive end-to-end healthcare system across Canada including the nation's largest network of clinics supporting primary care, specialized care, and diagnostics services. In the United States, WELL provides omni-channel healthcare services and solutions targeting specialized markets such as the gastrointestinal market, women's health, primary care, and mental disorders. In addition to providing patient services, WELL develops, integrates, and sells its own suite of technology software and solutions to medical clinics and healthcare practitioners. WELL's practitioner enablement platform includes: Electronic Medical Records ("EMR"), telehealth platforms, practice management, billing, Revenue Cycle Management ("RCM"), digital health apps and data protection solutions. WELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "WELL" and on the OTC Exchange under the symbol "WHTCF". To learn more about the Company, please visit: www.well.company.

SOURCE WELL Health Technologies Corp.
The new partnership will make a transformational impact on improving the health and well-being of Georgians through education, research and innovative patient care.

MARIETTA, Ga. and AUGUSTA, Ga., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wellstar Health System and Augusta University Health System (AUHS) have reached an agreement to form an innovative new partnership that expands Augusta University's health sciences training and research across the state and builds a broader affiliation between Wellstar Health System and the university's Medical College of Georgia (MCG). The agreements were approved this week by the boards of Wellstar and AUHS, as well as the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Wellstar, AUHS and Augusta University share a mission to create a healthier future for Georgians and solve health care challenges across the state. Through this partnership, they plan to make a transformational impact on improving the health and well-being of every patient they serve.

"This is an important day for health care in Georgia. I am excited for the benefits that this partnership will provide our state, including world-class care sites, greater access to care for our communities and more training and education for physicians and other vitally important health care providers at Augusta University and its outstanding Medical College of Georgia," said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

To be known as Wellstar MCG Health, the partnership will expand medical training, research and clinical care throughout Georgia, while implementing a successful model of bringing together community-based health systems and academic medical centers like MCG and its affiliate hospitals. MCG and Augusta University are part of the University System of Georgia (USG), and MCG serves as the only public medical school in the state.

"This partnership combines the strengths of AUHS, Augusta University and Wellstar to advance medical education and research and provide more access to quality health care where people need it most, especially in rural Georgia," USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said. "It allows AUHS to benefit from Wellstar's efficiencies in the delivery of health care and provide experiential education in a modern clinical environment, which increases MCG's positive impact on local communities and Georgia's medical workforce."

Upon regulatory approval, the partnership will focus on five areas to create a healthier future for Georgia:

Access to Expertise: Creating an ecosystem of care that provides the most advanced clinical care, innovative academic teaching models and lifesaving research to all corners of the state and beyond.

Creating an ecosystem of care that provides the most advanced clinical care, innovative academic teaching models and lifesaving research to all corners of the state and beyond. Expanding the Pipeline of Clinicians: Making significant investments to increase the number of physicians trained in Georgia at the Medical College of Georgia .

Making significant investments to increase the number of physicians trained in at the . Care Innovation: Creating new and innovative clinical care offerings and models to enhance the health and well-being of patients they serve.

Creating new and innovative clinical care offerings and models to enhance the health and well-being of patients they serve. Pediatric Care: Bringing Wellstar and AUHS's exemplary pediatric care to more Georgians across the state through Children's Hospital of Georgia and Wellstar's dedicated pediatric care and emergency departments.

Bringing Wellstar and AUHS's exemplary pediatric care to more Georgians across the state through Children's Hospital of and Wellstar's dedicated pediatric care and emergency departments. Digital Health: Making significant investments in improving clinical IT, modernizing digital care centers and adding remote care offerings backed by the academic medical expertise of the Medical College of Georgia .

"Improving healthcare for Georgians requires taking new approaches, creating innovative care models and unprecedented collaboration," said Candice L. Saunders, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of Wellstar Health System. "This partnership will bring together the best capabilities and innovations from Wellstar, AUHS and the Medical College of Georgia to advance healthcare in Georgia, making it easier for patients to get the care they need wherever they are."

"As our two organizations have worked together over the last three months to reach this agreement, the rationale for our partnering with Wellstar has only grown stronger  to enable our health system to thrive in today's challenging health care environment and to extend our mission of improving health for all Georgians through excellence in patient care, education and research," said Brooks Keel, PhD, president of Augusta University and acting chief executive officer for Augusta University Health System. "Our partnership with Wellstar will secure the long-term future of academic medicine-influenced health care in Augusta and the surrounding region, increase the number of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals we are able to train and make substantial investments in our health care facilities and new technologies to provide care in more convenient settings for patients across Georgia."

In the proposed agreement, Wellstar has committed to investing nearly $800 million over 10 years in AUHS facilities and infrastructure, including more than $200 million allocated to Augusta University Medical Center  a more than 600-bed safety net and teaching hospital. Additionally, capital for a new hospital, medical office building and ambulatory surgery center in Columbia County and the costs associated with implementing a new state-funded electronic medical records system throughout AUHS will be funded. These investments will result in strengthened and expanded community programs, economic activity and jobs across the region.

"Our affiliation with Wellstar will accelerate the advances MCG will make in clinical care, medical education as well as research across the state. This includes enabling a larger number of students and residents to have expanded opportunities to learn from some of the most highly qualified physicians and other health care professionals in our state," said David Hess, MD, dean of the Medical College of Georgia and executive vice president of medical affairs and integration at Augusta University.

The primary AUHS clinical sites involved in the agreement include AUMC, Children's Hospital of Georgia, the clinical operations of the Georgia Cancer Center, Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital and the new hospital in Columbia County.

"I'm grateful for the support of Governor Kemp and the General Assembly as we've worked to ensure the future of AUHS and find a partner willing to invest in the newest facilities, technology and equipment to care for patients and provide state-of-the-art training for MCG's medical students and residents," USG Board of Regents Chairman Harold Reynolds said.

The agreement also includes AU Medical Associates, the physician practice plan comprised of faculty physicians who have appointments at MCG and community physicians directly employed by the plan, as well as several clinics and other health care sites in Augusta, throughout Georgia and in certain counties in South Carolina.

"As an Augusta resident, I'm excited to see the potential of MCG as it grows and matures into what I believe is one of the best public medical schools in the nation," said USG Regent Jim Hull, chairman of the AUHS Board of Directors. "This partnership is vital for that journey and will only enhance both MCG's reputation and Augusta University's recognition as a best-in-class research university."

Pending regulatory approvals, the organizations plan to close the partnership in late summer.

About Augusta University Health System

Augusta University Health System, in partnership with the Medical College of Georgia, is Georgia's only public academic health center and a place where world-class clinicians are bringing the medicine of tomorrow to patient care today. As the primary teaching affiliate of MCG, AUHS provides the most comprehensive routine-to-complex care at AU Medical Center, which houses the region's only Level 1 trauma center, Children's Hospital of Georgia, which houses the regions only Level IV NICU, the Georgia Cancer Center, as well as historic Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals, a virtual care network and more than 80 primary and specialty, and subspecialty care clinics across the state. Learn more at augustahealth.org.

About Wellstar Health System

As one of the most advanced and integrated health systems in Georgia, Wellstar Health System doesn't take a one size fits all approach to healthcare. We provide deeply personal care that takes each person's unique life story into account. With 24,000 team members, nurses and doctors, Wellstar provides compassionate, high-quality care. Our team is made up of more Top Doctors than any other health care system in Georgia, across nearly every specialty. We are training the next generation of clinicians, offering graduate medical education that prepares clinicians to deliver the highest quality of health care to our community. Several Wellstar facilities have been recognized in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings for providing world-class care in a variety of specialties, including cardiology, neurology, cancer care and pediatrics. In addition, Wellstar Paulding Hospital has been awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest level of recognition for performance excellence. Wellstar is the only health system to have a digital innovation hub  Catalyst by Wellstar. Catalyst by Wellstar is the -first-of-its-kind innovation company and venture firm created and operated within a health ecosystem to holistically address healthcare disruption by harnessing problems, building solutions, deploying capital and establishing strategic partnerships across industries. Wellstar operates the only comprehensive trauma care system in the state with Level II, Level III and Level IV trauma centers, pediatric emergency departments and a dedicated Burn Center. These centers help us serve the most critical patients with a range of emergency care options. Together, we're proud to have served one out of every six Georgians, including patients from 148 out of 159 Georgia counties. We provide nearly $1 billion in uncompensated care in Georgia annually and have been recognized as one of the top 10 providers nationally on charity care. Through more than 450 community partnerships, including our Wellstar Center for Health Equity, the care we provide in our community extends far beyond the walls of our facilities. And our journey continues as we work to reach patients and families in new communities in new ways to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve.

About Augusta University

As one of Georgia's four public research institutions, Augusta University offers customizable, accessible education on campuses in Augusta and across the state. Augusta University aims not only to be different, but also to make a difference  to reimagine and recreate the future of art, technology, education and health care. Home to Georgia's only public academic medical center and designated by the state as a health sciences center of excellence, Augusta University is dedicated to creating a safer, healthier and more equitable Georgia. Learn more at augusta.edu.

About the Medical College of Georgia

The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University is one of the nation's largest medical schools by class size, with 264 students per class. The educational experience is anchored by the main campus in Augusta, regional clinical campuses for third- and fourth-year students across the state and a second four-year campus in Athens in partnership with the University of Georgia. MCG's expanding partnerships with physicians and hospitals across Georgia currently provides about 350 sites where students can experience the full spectrum of medicine, from complex care hospitals to small-town solo practices. MCG and its teaching hospitals also provide postgraduate education to more than 500 residents and fellows in more than 50 different Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved programs.

SOURCE Wellstar Health System
When you are injured in a car accident, it is important to understand all the different kinds of injuries and losses you are entitled to recover says Lakota R. Denton

ASHEVILLE, N.C., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- If you've been injured in a car accident, you might expect to have medical bills, expenses related to the repair or replacement of your vehicle, lost wages from your job, or even months of physical therapy and recovery. However, the impact of a car accident goes well beyond those financial losses. Car accidents can leave you with both physical and emotional scars.

What Is Pain and Suffering?

"Pain and suffering," in this case, refers to the legal term that represents the emotional and physical damage suffered by an accident victim. Damages for pain and suffering are meant to cover the physical and psychological trauma caused by the accident. Personal injury attorney Lakota R. Denton explains, "When a person is injured as a result of the negligence of another driver, the impact on their lives can be severe. The physical, emotional and financial fallout of a car accident can be devastating."

How Are Damages for Pain and Suffering Calculated?

It is difficult to put a dollar amount on a person's pain and suffering because it varies from one person to another. Pain and suffering is a non-economic legal award that is not as easily proven as medical expenses and vehicle repair costs, for which a person receives a bill or invoice.

For example, a person who suffers a neck or back injury should easily be able to show what expenses they have incurred for doctor visits and physical therapy, but proving the loss of enjoyment of a sport or activity that they enjoyed before the accident is more challenging.

Examples of injuries that are harder to quantify include:

Physical scarring or disfigurement

Loss of sleep due to emotional trauma

Loss of the ability to care for a child or aging parent

Loss of enjoyment of life.

Steps To Take To Ensure You Are Properly Compensated

First and foremost, it is essential to seek medical care for your injuries. Some injuries do not show up immediately, but you should always seek medical care for your injuries as you become aware of them. Keep a journal to document how your daily life has been affected by your injuries, and seek legal representation without delay.

About Lakota R. Denton, P.A.

Lakota R. Denton is an experienced personal injury attorney in Asheville, North Carolina, representing those injured in accidents of all kinds, including car accidents, motorcycle accidents and pedestrian and bike accidents.

With a proven record of getting results for his clients, Lakota will protect your rights, advocate for your interests and recover the compensation you deserve.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Lakota R. Denton, P.A.
NEW YORK, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Still months away from the official release of its highly anticipated collection of premium and ultra-premium sipping tequilas, B!ATCH Tequila has a lot to celebrate at the close of Women's History Month.

Aunt Sue Hrib (left) and Dr. Irina Kogan (right) visit the tequila distillery in Jalisco, Mexico The four B!ATCH Tequila proprietary bottle designs

B!ATCH co-founders Sue Hrib aka "Aunt Sue" and Dr. Irina Kogan are passionate about keeping the brand mission of women supporting women at the forefront of every business decision. The mission, coupled with the brand's unapologetic attitude and commitment to community, has piqued the interest of female leaders across the country. In less than six months, B!ATCH has grown from its initial two investors (Aunt Sue and Kogan) to 75 #BossBiatches. From college students to homemakers, former Army pilots to CEOs, each B!ATCH strives to be a role model in their respective occupation and brings a unique perspective to what the brand means to them.

What's in a name? To mother-daughter investors Cassie and Summer Stradtlander, B!ATCH means "you know your own strengths and capabilities and will play into them to achieve your goals," 21-year-old Summer states. "A B!ATCH commands attention; she doesn't go unacknowledged," adds 53-year-old Cassie. Since being introduced to the brand, Cassie shares her perception of the word has changed. "I think the best way to describe it is: being a boss!"

B!ATCH prides itself on its dedication to women's empowerment. "I'm very adamant about making sure everyone is treated fairly and gets paid their worth," says Aunt Sue. Although fully inclusive of race, ethnicity, and age (the youngest investor being a one-and-a-half-year-old), this female-led startup is only backed by women investors for the first round. This will allow women an opportunity to invest with individuals who are equally committed to the brand's mission.

B!ATCH's four tequilas are just like the women who will enjoy themuniquely fierce yet subtly sweet. The brand's distinctive, proprietary lip-shaped bottles have made recent cameos at notable events and parties in Atlanta, L.A., Las Vegas, London, Miami, and NYC. Where will the B!ATCH bottle turn up next? Follow along the journey on Instagram, @biatchtequila .

PR Contact: Lauren Garfinkel, [email protected], (212) 993-5815

About B!ATCH Tequila

B!ATCH Tequila's parent company Boss Babe Brands, Inc. is founded by successful entrepreneur and women-owned business investor, Sue "Aunt Sue" Hrib and Dr. Irina Kogan. B!ATCH Tequila is made by women, for women to feed the feminine urge to be a boss B!ATCH. B!ATCH Tequila is on a mission to build a community of independent women, who break barriers when they join forces. Similarly, the tequila's taste, aroma, body, color and finish can all surely hold their own, but when they come together, are unlike any other. Listen to the official B!ATCH anthem, "Bossed Up" by Maya Mor, on Spotify and Apple Music .

SOURCE Boss Babe Brands, Inc.
Orange Liberia has commissioned Vanu to deploy at least 200 telecom towers as it seeks to improve rural coverage in the country.

Vanu, which specialises in helping operators reach off-grid markets via turnkey mobile communications solutions, will deploy 2G, 3G and 4G tower across the next two years as part of a network-as-a-service (NaaS) deal signed with Orange in November 2022. The firm will also provide technology upgrades under the agreement.

The deal with Vanu falls under Orange Groups IDEAL programme, aimed at connecting 20 million people living in underserved rural areas of Africa by deploying 5000 new sites across the next four years. While this initiative is focused on Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire and Liberia, Orange has also signed separate deals with NuRAN Wireless and Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) focused on achieving similar results in Madagascar.
Elnur Enveroglu

The fact that the 2nd online "Summit for Democracy" initiated by US President Joseph Biden is a pointless event was unanimously accepted not only by independent states with robust political courses, but also by local community and media representatives in the country.

In fact, it is known to the whole world that the organization of this event serves ulterior motives and is directed against America's competitors at the global level. The main reason for this kind of attitude is the biased, unfair and ridiculous selection of the states invited to the summit.

Indeed, inviting the countries to the virtual summit which are far from democracy and where fundamental human rights are violated exposes the anti-democratic nature of this event. Moreover, inviting an anti-democratic state like Armenia, which is a potential source of terrorism, to the summit is a tragedy in the sphere of democracy and the world politics.

The most tragicomic nuance is the signing of the final declaration of the "summit for democracy" by Armenia with some stipulations, where at first the official Yerevan rejects the clause in the document regarding the special military operation carried out by Russia in Ukraine, then refuses to sign the declaration under such an excuse.

It is of note that only 73 countries out of the 120 that participated in the online "summit" signed the final declaration. Besides Armenia, India and Mexico were among those who refused to sign the document.

Although the purpose of the United States in holding this summit was formally announced as "guaranteeing democratic values worldwide and especially monitoring the situation related to democracy in various countries", it was undeniable that the main target of the online summit was Russia.

However, the fact that Armenia, which is not even close to the threshold of democracy, appears in this event in a paradoxical way, completely impairs the confidence in the event.

The USA and Europe understand it well that Nikol Pashinyan carried out repression against all his political opponents after coming to power. Some of them were arrested, and others were forcibly silenced. Therefore, the topic of discussion at this event should be rather the internal situation in Armenia.

It is possible to prove not only with words, but also with various facts that there is no question of basic human rights and freedom of speech in Armenia. In such a case, inviting Pashinyan to the "Summit for Democracy" is nothing more than an attempt to forcibly create a democratic image for Armenia.

Pashinyan's double standard and opportunistic approach

By participating in this event, Pashinyan and his entourage assumed that they would play their game successfully in the truest sense of the word. By refusing to sign the final document on the war in Ukraine, he is both appeasing official Washington and showing that he is on Russia's side.

However, the statements made by the members of Pashinyan's administration in order to avoid the punishment of Russia and to get acquitted have almost turned it into a target for Russia's anger.

The statement "we put forward our condition because our statements and demands regarding Azerbaijan were not included" shows the diplomatic illiteracy and stupidity of the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

It turns out that if the Armenians' absurd claim like "Azerbaijan occupied part of our territories and blockaded the road to Lachin" was included in the final declaration, the official Yerevan would have strongly condemned Russia for the military operations in Ukraine.

Such abnormal behavior of the Armenian leadership in diplomatic relations shows its political idiocy. However, the Armenian government, justifying its primitive political thinking and illiteracy, imagines itself as a pioneer in the world of politics. In reality, there is no doubt that a very bitter fate awaits Armenians: Yerevan, which irritated the USA and the European Union by putting forward its conditions during the signing of the declaration, is oblivious that also infuriated its patrons in Kremlin by agreeing to the essence of the document.




While 5G has been around for three years, its development speed has exceeded industry expectations. Around 240 commercial networks have launched during these three years, with the 5G customer base reaching 1 billion, accessing services through one of around 800 5G-compatible devices launched by a range of vendors.

From an industry and ecosystem perspective, 5G is therefore becoming a mature technology.

The top 20 5G operators globally saw their revenue rise on average between 4% and 6% last year, demonstrating that 5G is delivering for operators in financial terms. Compared to the 1% revenue increase registered across all operators globally, its clear that 5G plays a significant role in driving revenue growth.

At Mobile World Congress 2023, Huaweis President of 5G Marketing and Solution Sales Barry Hou explained the steps that are necessary to capitalize on the strengths of 5G technology, and therefore achieve 5G business success.

Migrating Users to 5G

Hou noted that based on its own analysis, Huawei has identified four key factors for achieving 5G business success: attracting more users and traffic; increasing ARPU; driving innovations; and improving user experience. There is a level of interconnection among these; by swiftly migrating users onto new services, user experience is improved, which in turn encourages them to consume more data, thereby increasing ARPU. Hou noted that Huaweis clients saw their ARPU rise by as much as 10%, demonstrating how 5G can provide a foundation for growing business.

To underline the importance of swift user migration, Hou said that it would be possible for an operator to achieve return on investment in less than three years if they managed to convert 30% of their data traffic to 5G quickly enough. He noted that this was an achievable goal, saying that the first step was to make devices affordable to increase the penetration rate. Precise marketing would help to identify valuable 5G users on the network, and these customers can then be targeted with attractive 5G offers designed to meet their requirements, driving uptake.

Differentiating User Experience

Once users have been migrated to 5G, the next question is how to continue monetization. Traffic filling has typically been the key method but it is important to explore other avenues. Hou said that experience differentiation is a key draw  the main avenues for this are downlink and uplink monetization, with premium downlink a particularly effective option for service differentiation, offering VIP users better speeds than standard customers. Hou noted that while many operators have already implemented such a system, there are other options for guaranteeing speeds, including 5G slicing. If for example users have an important called scheduled, personal 5G slicing solutions can offer a committed 20Mbps downlink speed at critical moments.

FWA a quick win for monetization

5G Fixed Wireless Access is another aspect of the technology that can deliver results for operators  indeed, Hou described 5G FWA as a quick win for 5G monetization, with 95 operators worldwide (around two thirds of global 5G operators) launching commercial 5G FWA offerings. Within two years, the number of subscribers using the technology globally reached 10 million  an incredible statistic. However, Huawei is keen to continue exploring new 5G scenarios enabled by FWA  since the tech can support a maximum of 1Gbps, it has enabled the replacement of copper across Europe.

Within the European continent, there are still around 200 million users reliant on copper access, and they receive slow speeds as a result. By upgrading from copper to 5G FWA, bit rates can be boosted to 300Mbps. In emerging markets, fibre penetration is fairly low  estimated 7.2% - but there is demand for a fibre-like experience for home internet access. 5G FWA is therefore a viable solution for home broadband access in these regions.

5GtoB driving revenue growth

Hou was upbeat about the business prospects of 5GtoB, noting that the fast development of the technology in China had resulted in the countrys three main operators nearly tripling their revenue for 5GtoB from 2021 to 2022. He noted similar success in overseas markets between 2021 and 2022, with the number of 5G private networks deployed nearly doubling year-on-year from 62 to over 120. Since most 5G operators already have very good 5G infrastructure, they can use this to their advantage to provide virtual private networks via 5G slicing technology. Also, campus private networks have been deployed to help digital transformation of many industries, including manufacturing, mining, ports, etc.

Evolving app ecosystems require 5G advances

As 5G evolves into 5.5G, its important to learn from its successes. With 5G, shortform video apps are exploding in popularity, and their content is generated by consumers (UGC  User Generated Content). This is a major change from the 4G era, in which video content was typically PGC (Professionally Generated Content), and as AI advances swiftly, were likely to see AI-generated content before long. While it is not yet clear what form AIGC will take, it will likely be video or at the very least image based, and the AI technology itself will require even lower latency and a higher data burden  around 50Mbps per user, as compared to using an app like TikTok over a 5G connection, which requires a base level of 4-10Mbps. This means that a single base station would require at least 5Gbps, which cant be supported by current 5G technologies.

Its clear that monetization is a key focus of 5G, and all aspects and use cases for the technology must be taken into account to achieve this. Whether this is driving consumer adoption via service differentiation, boosting subscriber numbers by introducing 5G Fixed Wireless Access, or exploring enterprise use cases via 5GtoB, operators have many paths available in the pursuit of 5G business success.
Patna, March 31 : JDU MLA from Valmiki Nagar of Bihar's Pashchim Champaran district, Dhirendra Pratap Singh alias Rinku Singh, exposed the "mismanagement" at a Community Health Centre (CHC) in his constituency.

The MLA went to the CHC in Thakahara village on a surprise inspection and found that wheat is being dried on hospital bed. Further, the legislator found that the operation theatre at the CHC is being used as store room and the medicines were thrown in dustbins.

"It was absolutely shocking that hospital employees were using beds to dry wheat. Dirt and dust are piled up in the male and female wards. The medicines are thrown in the dustbins and an operation theatre is being used as a store room," Singh said.

"When we checked the roster of the hospital, several doctors and nurses were found absent... There was a complete mismanagement in the CHC, which is not tolerable. I will meet the district magistrate and civil surgeon, and will complain about it," he said.
Damascus, March 31 : Israel launched a missile attack on sites in the Syrian capital Damascus after midnight Friday, the Syrian national TV reported.

It was the second Israeli strike in the past 24 hours. Some missiles were intercepted by Syrian air defenses in Damascus and its surrounding areas, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the report.

No casualties have been reported so far.
Kiev, March 31 : Ukraine aims to join the European Union (EU) within a year after the start of the membership talks, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

"Our goal is to start EU membership negotiations in 2023. I think it will take about a year for Ukraine to become a full member," Kuleba was quoted as saying by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ukraine is performing the tasks put forward by the EU for the membership "much faster than anyone expected", the minister stressed.

In June 2022, EU leaders accepted Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the bloc.

The European Commission put forward seven requirements to be fulfilled by Ukraine for starting the accession talks.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
San Francisco, March 31 : Virgin Orbit, the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, has laid off nearly 85 per cent of its workforce -- about 675 employees -- after it failed to secure a key funding.

Virgin Orbit has ceased operations "for the foreseeable future", its CEO Dan Hart told employees late on Thursday.

"Unfortunately, we've not been able to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company. We have no choice but to implement immediate and extremely painful changes," Hart told the employees.

In a US securities filing, the company announced a workforce reduction of approximately 675 employees, constituting approximately 85 per cent of the company's workforce "in order to reduce expenses in light of the Company's inability to secure meaningful funding".

Those impacted are located in all areas of the company.

The company estimated that the move will incur aggregate charges of approximately $15 million, consisting primarily of $8.8 million in severance payments and employee benefits costs and $6.5 million in other costs primarily related to outplacement services and WARN Act exposure.

"The company expects to recognise the majority of these charges in the first quarter of 2023. It expects that the reduction in force will be substantially complete by April 3, 2023," the filing read.

Branson founded Virgin Orbit in 2017 after spinning off from its sister company, Virgin Galactic.

Virgin Orbit has been developing an air-launched rocket, dubbed LauncherOne, for hauling small satellites to orbit.

In January, its rocket carrying satellites into space suffered an "anomaly", abruptly ending the first foray into orbital launch from the UK territory.

An investigation into that failed mission "is nearly complete and our next production rocket with the needed modification incorporated is in final stages of integration and test", a Virgin Orbit spokesperson said in a March 15 statement.
Lucknow, March 31 : The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has put all frontline workers and government and private hospitals on 'alert mode' in view of rising Covid cases.

The government has directed that all positive samples should be sent for genome sequencing.

According to an official release, instructions have been given to ensure availability of logistics, medicines, PPE (personal protective equipment) kits, gloves, masks and equipment, oxygen plant and concentrator in hospitals.

The respective district administrations have been asked to ensure that dedicated hospitals and wards are activated immediately.

Directives have also been given for sampling/testing at places where Covid cases are reported.

The samples will then be sent for genome sequencing to King George's Medical University in Lucknow.

"Instructions have been given to strictly monitor the cases of respiratory tract infection, influenza like illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) in all the districts," said a press release from the state government.

Currently, the districts with the maximum caseload are Gautam Buddha Nagar (57), Ghaziabad (55), Lakhimpur Kheri (44), Lucknow (27), Bijnor (12), Lalitpur (9) and Saharanpur (8).

Officials have been directed to carefully monitor these districts.

Directions have also been issued for increasing testing and treatment in the affected districts and taking special precautions in districts that were most affected in the previous Covid waves.

Dr Abhishek Shukla, Secretary General, Association of International Doctors, said, "The districts that were the most affected during past Covid waves were the ones having a major floating population. As travellers can be infection spreaders, hence monitoring such districts will help control the infection spread." The state will begin a communicable disease control campaign from April 1 that will continue till the month-end.

The Dastak campaign will run between April 17 and 30. Under this, arrangements will be made for cleanliness and waterlogging disposal in rural and urban areas. Intensive vector, mosquito control activities will be carried out in high-risk areas with inter-departmental cooperation. Awareness activities will also be organised in schools for the prevention of diseases.
San Francisco, March 31 : Streaming company Roku is laying off additional 200 employees, after sacking a similar number of workers last November.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company disclosed the latest layoff move.

"On March 29, Roku approved a restructuring plan to lower the company's year-over-year operating expense growth and prioritise projects that the company believes will have a higher return on investment," it said in the filing.

The move "is expected to impact approximately 200 employees, approximately 6 per cent of the company's workforce, and result in the exit and sublease, or cease use, of certain office facilities that the company does not currently occupy", it added.

Roku had around 3,600 employees as of the end of 2022.

In November 2022, the streaming company had announced it was laying off 200 US employees, or roughly 7 per cent of its workforce.

As stated in its shareholder letter, the employees had grown significantly since 2021 because Roku's leadership "believed that the economy was emerging out of pandemic-related disruptions".

Therefore, the suggested solution was a slowdown in hiring rather than layoffs.

"In Q2, the company said that it was selling fewer streaming boxes, which impacts its revenue in more ways than one," the earnings report mentioned.
Moscow, March 31 : Russia will continue to exchange information with the US on its ballistic missile launches, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

Russian media quoted Ryabkov as saying on Wednesday that Russia had halted all information exchanges with the US, following Moscow's decision to suspend its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

On Thursday, Ryabkov clarified that Russia would adhere to the restrictions outlined in the treaty on a voluntary basis, and would continue to implement a 1988 bilateral agreement between the US and the Soviet Union that requires each side to notify of any intercontinental or submarine ballistic missile launches, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ryabkov added that the Russian side has officially informed the US of its position.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law in late February, officially suspending Russia's participation in the New START treaty with the US.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The independent Cuban platforms Observadores de Derechos Electorales (ODE: Electoral Rights Observers), Comision Cubana de Defensa Electoral (COCUDE: Cuban Electoral Defense Commission) and Ciudadanos Observadores de Procesos Electorales (COPE: Cuban Electoral Process Observers) complained that the "elections" held on March 26 in Cuba were the most irregular in the country since 1976.

The platforms pointed out that the electoral authorities "normalized formal anomalies, in violation of Electoral Law 127, observed in the last electoral processes" such as the "non-publication of the voter lists the required time in advance, polling stations at which these were not placed in view of the voters, and polling stations at which unregistered persons voted."

In some cases, the platforms explained, in a joint statement sent to DIARIO DE CUBA, "voters entitled to all their civil and political rights were stricken from the rolls, as they were subject to the requirement contradictory to the Law and the Constitution of effective residence, even though these were Cuban citizens whose legal residence in the country is recognized."

"Secondly, the exceptional practice of taking ballots to voters' homes was accepted as normal, a form of coercion of the vote through a procedure designed for people with disabilities or who, due to specific circumstances, are unable to go to the voting centers. Doctors and patients also reported that at hospital there was coercion to vote as well."

The platforms also referred to "the innocent and vicarious practice of coercing people to vote using children in the so-called Tun Tun Operation."

"Thirdly, a practice was introduced controverting the civic nature of voting, according to which voting should arise from the social commitment of voters to the political system, not in response to promises of material benefits," the platforms pointed out, condemning "electoral appeals on social media, offering prizes like computers, cell phones or paid vacations, in addition to the holding of fairs selling goods at cut-rate, under-market prices to instantly incite people to vote, a political practice that undermines civic and citizenship values."

In addition to all this, fourthly, there was the repression unleashed against activists and observers who tried to monitor the vote count "as is authorized and endorsed by the Law, and is congruent with the call made by Alina Balseiro, President of the National Electoral Council, for all citizens to oversee the vote count."

Contradicting this appeal, "at many polling stations citizens were denied entry and many, also activists, were detained, their homes were besieged, and they were threatened with strong reprisals, and even beaten, for exercising their constitutional rights."

Due to all of the above, the platforms expressed "serious doubts about the results that were cited, as they do not seem to square with rigorous independent observation, or the spontaneous accounts of citizens, or a profusion of images and indexes, all indicating low citizen turnout throughout the country."

"Extending the voting for one more hour, without reasons of force majeure, as established by the Electoral Law, added a number of extralegal voters, which exacerbates doubts as to the closed processing of the election day results, fueling the publics impression, which is beginning to spread, that the official participation figures do not accord with the electorates actual behavior," stated the platforms.

The document was signed by Marthadela Tamayo Gonzalez, of the ODE; Zelandia de la Caridad Perez Abreu, of the COCUDE; and Maria Mercedes Benitez Rodriguez, of the COPE, who expressed, preliminarily, that the Cuban electoral authorities "did not respect the frameworks and procedures established by Law 127, the country, and the authentic will of the voters."

CUBALEX reports repressive actions surrounding the March 26 "elections" in Cuba

The legal advisory group Cubalex published a list of the repressive actions it was able to detect in connection with the March 26 voting. At least 25 activists and independent journalists were victims of these actions, according to the organization's post on Facebook. The actions took place in Havana, Camaguey, Villa Clara, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Mayabeque and Artemisa.

The main forms of repression were surveillance and police sieges, of which Zelandia de la Caridad Perez Abreu and her husband, independent journalist Juan Moreno, were victims, among other activists and independent journalists, who were blockaded at their homes and prevented from leaving them.

Several activists and independent journalists reported cuts in Internet service and mobile data, including Havana journalist Yunia Figueredo and La Hora de Cubas Henry Constantin, Neife Rigau and Iris Marino, from Camaguey. The latter's home was guarded by plain-clothes agents.

Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) Caridad Burunate and Maritza Acosta were detained in Colon, Matanzas, to prevent them from attending mass. Burunate was kept at the bus terminal from 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., and Perdomo was stopped at the Military Committee building from 10:00 a.m. until noon.

Manuel Cuesta Morua and Maria Mercedes Benitez were prevented from leaving their homes to observe the elections, though the former was able to observe the turnout at schools in Alamar, Old Havana and Central Havana, informing DIARIO DE CUBA that it was low.
Lucknow, March 31 : The Uttar Pradesh government has directed that all students from Classes 1 to 8 studying in the schools under the Basic Education Council, will be promoted to the next class without examinations.

A notification in this regard has been issued by Pratap Singh Baghel, secretary, UP Basic Education Council.

The notification is issued every year as there is a provision to promote children from Class one to eight to the next class under the Right to Education Act. They cannot fail under any circumstances.

As per the order, the promotion of any student from Class 1 to 8 in the academic session 2022-23 will not be stopped in all council and recognised schools run under the council.

Instructions have also been given to distribute report cards of students on the basis of annual examination.

Director general, school education, UP, Vijay Kiran Anand said, "The state government has no retention policy.

According to this, no child will fail. This order is in accordance with the same RTE Act."
Lucknow, March 31 : A man has got a new lease of life with liver donated by his wife.

The couple Rakesh Singh, 46, and Mamta Singh, 38, hailing from Deoria, underwent a living donor liver transplant at King George's Medical University (KGMU) on Thursday.

Both are doing well and recovering in the intensive care unit of the hospital.

Doctors of the surgical gastroenterology department performed the surgery, which lasted 10 hours, under the supervision of KGMU vice chancellor Bipin Puri.

On March 9, Rakesh came to KGMU's surgical gastroenterology department with yellowing of the skin and eyes. He also had tenderness and pain around the liver area and tiny red lines (blood capillaries) on the skin above waist level were visible.

On examination, he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis due to alcohol consumption.

Prof Abhijit Chandra, head, surgical gastroenterology department who conducted the surgery, said, "Subsequently, the family was counselled about liver transplant as the only option to save life." Counsellor in organ transplant unit, Piyush Srivastava said that the family was told that if a part of the liver is donated, the remaining would grow back to normal size in a few weeks.

Mamta, who accompanied her husband, agreed for donation of a part of her liver.

Team of over 40 doctors and nursing staff worked tirelessly for successful surgery.
New York, March 31 : Indian-American teenager Tanvi Marupally, who has gone missing for more than 75 days, was found safe in Florida and has been reunited with her family, police said.

The 15 year-old had reportedly run away from her home in Arkansas due to fear of her family being deported amid mass layoffs in the tech industry.

She was last seen on January 17 near Conway Junior High School.

"Today is a good day. Tanvi Marupally has been home with her family, safe and sound, exactly where she should be with her family," Conway's Police Chief William Tapley said addressing a press conference on Thursday.

He said Tanvi arrived at Kansas City on approximately January 22 after walking for several miles from where she was last seen at Davis Street.

She checked into a homeless shelter under a false identity and stayed in the Kansas City area for approximately two months before moving into Florida where she lived in an abandoned building.

"Her love for the library is ultimately what led to her discovery," Tapley said.

The Conway Police Department (CPD) received a tip-off from a Tampa resident on March 29 who had spotted her in the library and recognised her from a missing person post online.

She was taken into protective custody and was asked a series of questions to confirm her identity.

Tanvi's parents believe that their daughter ran away because of the family's tenuous immigration status.

Her father, Pavan Roy Marupally, informed the CPD that he is no longer at risk of losing his job and that leaving the country is not a concern at this time.

The community worked tirelessly by organising campaigns and search parties to find Tanvi with the family even offering a $5,000 reward.

The CPD said they asked the US Marshals Service and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for their assistance with this investigation.
Aligarh : , March 31 (IANS) A B.Com student of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has been arrested for brutally stabbing his parents to death in Zakir Nagar locality under Quarsi police circle.

A 38 second video clip that went viral on social media on Thursday, shows the 20-year-old student hysterically stabbing his parents to death inside a room in their rented house.

Neighbours, who gathered outside the window, can be seen pleading with the youth to spare his parents.

According to police, the killer was identified as Mohd Gulamuddin.

He had an argument with his father Mohd Ishaq, 60, an Imam in a mosque, and mother, 57, over a petty issue.

The argument took a violent turn when the youth, in a fit of rage, locked the door of the room from inside and stabbed his parents using a pair of scissors, a kitchen knife, a hammer and an iron.

Hearing the commotion, neighbours rushed to the house and tried to stop him by shouting through the window but to no avail.

Meanwhile, someone recorded the crime and uploaded it on social media.

Police rushed to the spot after receiving information about the murders and arrested Gulamuddin.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

According to the house owner, Mohd Saleem, "The family used to live in Rampur and had migrated here for better education for their children. The deceased Ishaq and his wife were very good parents. The youth is suffering from some mental problem." Gulamuddin has a brother and two sisters.

Aligarh SSP Kalanidhi Naithani told reporters, "The accused has been arrested, and a forensic department team was called to collect evidence." SHO Quarsi police station, Arvind Kumar, said, "The deceased couple's daughter, Mehzabi, filed a police complaint following which a case under section 302 of IPC has been registered against the accused. He has been sent to jail."
Phnom Penh, March 31 : The Unicef said that it has witnessed progress made in Cambodia for the improvement of child rights.

The analysis of child rights found that children's enrolment rates in schools increased at all levels in 2021, reaching more than 60 per cent for early childhood education, 92 per cent for primary, and 47 per cent for lower secondary schools, Xinhua news agency quoted Unicef as saying.

However, school completion rates are still very low at 81 per cent, 49 per cent and 26 per cent for primary, lower secondary and upper secondary education, respectively, it added.

Cambodia has invested heavily in social protection since the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2019, around 280,000 children benefited from child-focused cash transfer programs, and in 2022 this figure grew to almost 700,000, it said, adding that over 240,000 children were covered by the home-grown school feeding program.

The analysis acknowledged that while the government has made key advancements in its efforts to improve children's lives in Cambodia in the past decade, almost 18 per cent of Cambodians still live below the poverty line, and almost half of the country's population aged 0-17 years falls within the definition of multi-dimensionally poor.

"Over the last decade, Cambodia has led important progress in the lives of their children," said Will Parks, Unicef representative to Cambodia.

"I want to congratulate Cambodia, yet we must also recognize the continued challenges that threaten to slow progress toward fully realising children's rights," he added.

Thousands of children remain at risk and violence is still a major challenge, with more than 3 million aged 1-14 years experiencing violent physical or psychological discipline at home, according to the Unicef statement.

The statement said the findings from the analysis will shape Unicef Cambodia's country program and the broader UN Cooperation Framework for the next five years (2024-2028) and help to further align Unicef's strategic approach with the Cambodian government's vision for the country to reach upper-middle income status by 2030 and high income status by 2050.
New Delhi, March 31 : Independent MP Kapil Sibal has slammed Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for "thanking Germany for taking note of Rahul Gandhi's case", and said people here don't need crutches to walk ahead.

In a tweet on Friday, Sibal said, "Digvijaya Singh: Thanked Berlin for "taking note of how democracy is being compromised in India" - My thought: We don't need crutches to walk ahead We don't need endorsements from abroad "Our fight is our own and in that we are together." Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday thanked the German foreign minister for remarks on Rahul Gandhi's sentencing and subsequent disqualification from Parliament.

Singh tweeted, "Thank you Germany Foreign Affairs Ministry and Richard Walker @rbsw for taking note of how Democracy is being compromised in India through persecution of @RahulGandhi." The German Foreign Ministry spokesperson commented for the first time on Rahul Gandhi's case, and said, "It takes note of verdict, suspension from Parliament, and appeal will show whether verdict stands and suspension has basis. It expects standards of judicial independence and democratic principles to apply in Rahul Gandhi's case." This has become another flashpoint as the BJP has been demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi in his UK statement.

Reacting to Digvijaya Singh's comment, Union Minister of Law and Justice, said, "Thank you Rahul Gandhi for inviting foreign powers for interference into India's internal matters. Remember, Indian Judiciary can't be influenced by foreign interference. India won't tolerate 'foreign influence' anymore because our Prime Minister is:- Shri @narendramodi Ji." The Lok Sabha disqualified Rahul Gandhi after the Surat Court convicted him in a criminal defamation case. In its notification, the Secretariat had said, "Consequent upon his conviction by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat..., Rahul Gandhi, Lok Sabha MP representing Wayanad Parliamentary constituency of Kerala, stands disqualified from the membership of the lower house from the date of his conviction..." Surat district court in Gujarat convicted Gandhi in a criminal defamation case against him over his alleged 'Modi surname' remark made in 2019.
Washington, March 31 : US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that nine soldiers were killed in an accident during a routine training mission in the state of Kentucky.

"My heart goes out to the families of these servicemembers and to the members of the 101st Airborne Division," Austin said in a statement late Thursday.

Two HH60 Blackhawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed in Trigg County, Kentucky, late Wednesday night, according to a statement from Fort Campbell.

The crew members were flying the helicopters during a routine training mission when the incident occurred.
Nicosia, March 31 : Shipping in Cyprus has been seriously impacted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the resulting European Union (EU) sanctions against Moscow, a Minister informed Parliament.

Despite its small size, Cyprus ranks third in Europe and 11th in the world in ship tonnage registered under its flag, reports Xinhua news agency.

It also holds the third place globally as a ship management centre, hosting around 20 per cent of the world's third-party ship management activities.

Data from last year showed that as a result of the removal of the Russia-flagged ships, and the change of registration by other vessels, the total strength of Cyprus-registered ships was reduced from 24.6 million gross tonnes to 23.8 million gross tonnes.

Addressing Parliament's Transport Committee on Thursday, Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis said that sanctions by Turkey banning Cyprus-registered ships from using Turkish ports and territorial waters were other reasons shipowners left the Cyprus registry.

This ban effectively bars Cyprus-registered ships from participating in the transport of Ukrainian cereals under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the Minister explained.

Turkey does not recognise Cyprus as a state, and the two countries are technically still at war following a 1974 Turkish military operation against Cyprus.

Turkish troops still control 37 per cent of Cyprus' territory.

Hadjimanolis told the committee that shipping contributed about 7 per cent of Cyprus' gross domestic product, which was provisionally estimated at 27 billion euros in 2022.
New Delhi, March 31 : India reported 3,095 fresh Covid cases in a span of 24 hours, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday.

With this addition, the active cases stand at 15,208.

In view of the rising cases in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will chair a meeting on Friday to review the situation.

"We are on alert, Covid-19 situation in Delhi being closely monitored," said Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.

Bhardwaj chaired an emergency meeting on Thursday, where Special Secretary -Health, the Director General of Health Services, nodal officer for oxygen and testing, and Medical Directors of several hospitals, including Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) were present.

However, talking to the media about the increasing cases, the minister said that the Delhi government has not discussed any restrictions so far.

As many as 300 new cases of Covid-19 and two deaths were registered in Delhi on Wednesday. According to the bulletin issued by the state Health Department, there are currently 806 active cases in the national capital and the infection rate is 13.89 per cent.
Nashville, March 31 : Protesters gathered in Nashville to demand for gun reform, in the wake of a deadly shooting at a private elementary school in the Tennessee state capital earlier this week that led to the deaths of three children and three staff members.

"Shame on you," a group of protesters chanted inside the Tennessee State Capitol on Thursday, aiming at inaction from politicians, reports Xinhua news agency.

David Hogg, who helped start March For Our Lives, a student-led demonstration supporting gun control legislation, after surviving a school shooting in 2018, tweeted that students in Nashville will be walking out on April 3 to demand stronger gun laws.

The heavily-armed shooter, identified as 28-year-old Nashville resident and transgender woman Audrey Hale, attacked The Covenant School in Nashville on Monday morning, killing six people, including three nine-year-old students, before being fatally shot by responding officers.

The three adult staff members were identified as 61-year-old Cynthia Peak, 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, and 61-year-old Mike Hill.

A candlelight vigil was held on Wednesday evening to mourn and honour the lives of the victims.

According to its website, the Covenant School is a private Christian institution that serves about 200 students from preschool through 6th grade.

Despite the mass shootings, it is unlikely that the divided Congress would approve the legislative proposal as Republicans control the House of Representatives this term and have advocated for the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

There have been 130 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.

Meanwhile, 9,894 people, including hundreds of children and teens, have lost their lives to gun violence in the past three months.
New Delhi, March 31 : Prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday described the implementation of a uniform tariff by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) as a noteworthy reform in the energy and natural gas sector.

In response to a tweet thread by Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri, Modi tweeted, "Noteworthy reform in the energy and natural gas sector." In a tweet thread, Puri informed that in line with objective of economic development of all regions of the country, PNGRB has introduced implementation of a unified tariff, a much awaited reform in natural gas sector.

The minister also informed that this tariff mechanism will help India to achieve the "One Nation One Grid One Tariff" model and also propel the gas markets in distant areas.

PNGRB on March 29 had approved levelised unified tariff for natural gas pipeline of Rs 73.93 per metric million British thermal unit (MMBtu).

The unified tariff would be effective from April 1, 2023.

The regulator said it has amended PNGRB (Determination of Natural Gas Pipeline Tariff) Regulations to incorporate the regulations pertaining to unified tariff for natural gas pipelines with a mission of "One Nation, One Grid and One tariff".

By "One Nation, One Grid and One tariff", the government aims to boost the consumption of natural gas in the country and increase its share in India's energy basket from current 6.2 per cent to 15 per cent by 2030.

PNGRB has also defined three zones for unified tariff, wherein the first zone is up to the distance of 300 km from the source, second zone is more than 300 km and up to 1,200 km while the third zone is the remaining length of the national gas grid system.
Kabul, March 31 : Since Afghanistan's fall to the Taliban in August 2021, some of the American military gear and weapons have turned up in neighbouring Pakistan, where they have been used by armed groups, according to experts and security officials.

Observers say the influx of US weapons has boosted the military capabilities of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group and ethnic Baluch separatist groups that are waging insurgencies against the government in Pakistan, which has witnessed a surge in violence over the past two years, RFE/RL reported.

"These weapons have added to the lethality of such groups," said Asfandyar Mir, a senior analyst at the US Institute of Peace, adding that a "robust and in many ways growing black market" for American weapons is thriving in Pakistan.

Experts say armed groups have obtained advanced US weapons and equipment like M16 machine guns and M4 assault rifles, night-vision goggles, and military communication gear, RFE/RL reported.

Abdul Sayed, a Sweden-based researcher who tracks the TTP, said the group's access to sophisticated combat weapons has had a "terrifying" impact, especially on the lesser-equipped police force, in Pakistan.

A police officer in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has borne the brunt of the TTP attacks said that they were sitting ducks for militants, RFE/RL reported.

"The fact is that they can see us in the dark while we can't. That gives the terrorists an enormous advantage," said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

When the UnS pulled out its forces from Afghanistan in 2021, it left behind around $7 billion worth of military equipment and weapons, including firearms, communications gear, and even armoured vehicles.

The Taliban seized the arms following the fall of the Western-backed Afghan government during the chaotic US withdrawal, giving the hard-line Islamist group a vast war chest, RFE/RL reported.

Moazzam Jah Ansari, a former police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said in November that militants "picked up sophisticated weapons left behind by the Americans and waged war against (the province's) police".

The TTP's attacks in Pakistan have surged since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.

The two militant groups are ideological and organisational allies.

According to the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), a think tank in Islamabad, the number of terrorist attacks in the country increased by 27 per cent last year compared to 2021.

At least 419 people were killed, while 734 were injured in 262 terrorist attacks last year RFE/RL reported.

The TTP has released numerous videos of sniper attacks on security check posts along Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan over the last two years.

Pakistani gun owners say the black market has been flooded by American weapons since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, RFE/RL reported.

"It's like the 1980s, but this time, many Western weapons are now available," said Gohar Bacha, a gun owner from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Bacha said the new US weapons available on the black market "are of excellent quality and very lethal".

He said a US-made M4 assault rifle in good condition can be purchased for around $1,400.

American military communication gear such as Harris Engineering Falcon Three Radios, meanwhile, can be bought for around $3,500, RFE/RL reported.
Kiev, March 31 : Amid Russia's ongoing war, Ukraine's combined harvest of grain and oilseeds will fall about 7 per cent in 2023 to 65 million tonnes, a Minister said here.

"We plan to harvest 65 million tonnes of crops this year," Xinhua news agency quoted First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko as saying.

The contamination of more than 2.6 million hectares of Ukraine's agricultural lands with landmines is one of the main causes for the projected harvest decline, she said.

Last week, the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry forecast that Ukraine would yield 45 million tonnes of grain and legumes this year.

In 2022, farmers harvested 70 million tons of grain and oilseeds.
Los Angeles, March 31 : The Indian-American attorney for 'Creed 3' actor Jonathan Majors released text messages that he claims came from the woman whom he is accused of assaulting, in which she appears to take the blame for the fight, reports 'Variety'.

According to the messages, which have not been independently verified, the woman wrote Majors afterwards that "I told them it was my fault for trying to grab your phone." She also said that she was "angry" that Majors had been arrested, and that she had made clear that the charges did not have her blessing, adds 'Variety'.

"I reiterated how this was not an attack," the woman allegedly wrote. The person who sent the texts also indicates she had "injuries" and that "we had a fight." As per 'Variety', a representative for the Manhattan DA said, "We have an active and ongoing investigation but cannot comment beyond that." Majors was arrested over the weekend in Manhattan and charged with assault and harassment following a domestic dispute with a 30-year-old woman, according to authorities.

After New York police responded on Saturday to a 911 call at an apartment in Chelsea, Majors was taken into custody without incident. The unnamed victim was later taken to the hospital with "minor injuries to her head and neck," according to authorities.

"Majors completely denies assaulting the woman," his criminal defence lawyer Priya Chaudhry said in a statement, accessed by 'Variety'. She also alleges that it was Majors who called 911.

"The police arrived with the paramedics, as is standard procedure, and arrested Majors due to an NYPD protocol requiring arrest in certain circumstances," Chaudhry added. "She also disavowed any allegations that he had done anything to her and confirmed that Majors called 911 because of her mental condition." In three sets of messages -- provided by Chaudhry and redacted to protect the woman's privacy -- the woman allegedly wrote, "Please let me know you're okay when you get this. They assured me that you won't be charged. They said they had to arrest you as protocol when they saw the injuries on me and they knew we had a fight.

"I'm so angry that they did. And I'm sorry you're in this position. Will make sure nothing happens about this. I told them it was my fault for trying to grab your phone. I only just got out of the hospital. Just call me when you're out. I love you."
Thiruvananthapuram, March 31 : In a brief relief to Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala Lok Ayukta on Friday referred the case pertaining to misuse of Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) by the previous government, also led by him, to a full bench in the wake of a split verdict by a two-judge bench.

The decision comes as a temporary relief for Vijayan as he can breathe easy till the full bench delivers its verdict.

Senior advocate at the apex court M.R.Abhilash said there seems to be merit in the case and now it's the full bench that will decide.

The case, awaiting verdict for the past one year, gained traction only after the petitioner approached the High Court last week seeking its intervention.

The High Court asked the petitioner to approach the Lok Ayukta with his petition and it was after this ruling came, that the Lokayukta decided to take up the case on Friday.

Public activist R.S. Sasikumar had filed the case in 2018, which pertains to misusing the funds in the CMDRF.

Sasikumar had alleged that the money was given to those who were not eligible for the relief. These included the family of a deceased CPI(M) legislator, the family of a top leader from a Left ally who passed away, and also to a Kerala Police officer who died when his vehicle met with an accident while accompanying then top leader of the CPI(M), Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

During the fag end of the first Vijayan government, the then State Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel had to quit following the Lokayukta verdict indicting him for misuse of official powers.

But the saving grace for Jaleel was the verdict came only after the voting to the April 2021 Assembly elections.

The plea to the anti-corruption ombudsman was filed in September 2018 and the hearing ended on March 18, 2022. Since then the verdict has been kept pending.

This verdict is expected at a time when Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan continues to sit on the Bill that tweaked the powers of the Kerala Lokayukta.
Bhopal, March 31 : Rescue operation in Indore temple tragedy in which 35 lives were lost continued on Friday with some people still reported to be missing. Sources have said the tragedy could have been averted had the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) acted upon the illegal constructions (covering of old stepwell) in January this year.

Official sources in IMC told IANS that it had marked the walls cover for demolition as it was found dangerous during an earlier inspection.

"A notice was also served to Sri Baleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple trust to remove the slab in next one week in January. However, action remained on paper only due to fear of hurting religious sentiments," a senior BMC official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

The officer also claimed that a show cause notice to the temple trust was also served earlier in April last year, directing that the slab put on top of the stepwell should be removed. IANS also attempted to speak to the temple trustees on this matter, however, response is awaited.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan upon reaching the spot told the media that the Indore district police have registered a case and a magisterial inquiry has also been ordered.

"Whoever is found responsible, will be punished as per the law. As of now, our first priority is to complete the rescue operation, which is still continuing. One person is still missing. State government will bear the medical treatment expenses of all those who got injured. We are ensuring that all injured get the best medical treatment," Chouhan added.

While CM Chouhan was briefing the media in Indore on Friday, he was also joined by IMC mayor Pushymitra Bhargava, state Home minister Narottam Mishra and water resources minister Tulsi Silawat.

Later, Chief Minister Chouhan also visited Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital where injured persons were admitted for treatment. A total 14 people have been rescued from the stepwell. Out of these two died later during treatment. The condition of four-five rescued persons was reported to be critical.

The Chief Minister also said that the district administration has been directed to find wells and stepwells which are covered with slabs. He also mentioned that a survey of tubewells will also be conducted.

"I have directed district administrations to check tubewells across the state, and if found lying uncovered, take strict action against the landowners," he added.

In the last six months, around half-a-dozen cases have been reported wherein children had fallen into borewells. In a fresh instance, an eight-year-old boy, named Lokesh Ahirwar, had fallen into a borewell while he was playing outside his home in Vidisha district on March 14. Rescue operation lasted for 24 hours, however, the boy could not be saved.
Hassan, March 31 : Two people were stabbed after two groups clashed over taking out a Ram Navmi procession in Channarayapatna town in Karnataka's Hassan district.

The incident took place near Jamia Mosque when a group objected to the procession leading to a clash with another group, in which two boys were stabbed.

The injured boys, Murali and Harsha, who sustained injuries in neck and abdomen, were rushed to a private hospital late Thursday night.

Jurisdictional Channarayapatna police have tightened the security in the region to ensure law and order situation.

The police have registered a complaint and counter complaint regarding the incident. Further investigation is on.
Jaipur, March 31 : Deadlock between the doctors and the Rajasthan government over the Right to Health Bill entered the 12th day with no immediate end in sight even as the patients continued to suffer.

On Friday, a doctors' delegation met PCC president Govind Singh Dotasra to discuss the issue. However, the meeting remained inconclusive and the doctors were advised to approach the senior officers.

Doctors across the state have called strike demanding withdrawal of the bill.

The office-bearers of the Private Hospital and Nursing Home Society held a meeting on Thursday and demanded the Chief Minister's intervention in the matter.

Soon after, the delegation also reached the Chief Minister's residence where on behalf of the doctors, Virendra Singh conveyed the demand of the doctors to the Chief Minister.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot then authorised State Congress Committee President Govind Singh Dotasra to listen to their woes.

The agitation against the bill is gaining strength by the day.

Secretary of the Private Hospital and Nursing Homes Society, Dr Vijay Kapoor said that private hospitals across the state have given written consent to stop government schemes. From April 1, the process of mass de-empanelment of government schemes will be completed in all private hospitals of Rajasthan.

The agitating doctors said that the strike of the resident doctors is continuing. Some residents may have returned to work under pressure from the government, but the Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors has continued with its strike.

Meanwhile, patients continue to move to neighbouring states for treatment.

Senior doctor Virendra Singh told IANS, "We hope that this deadlock ends on the 12th day. Doctors are actually scared of penalties imposed in the bill. Imagine if any patient complains and the doctor's name goes to the grievance authority and they impose a penalty of 25,000, where will the doctor go," he questioned.
Hyderabad, March 31 : 'KGF' director Prashant Neel is literally going places to ensure that Prabhas-starrer 'Salaar' is a feast for the eyes.

Mid-March saw the team shift location to Matera, the old southern Italian town famous for its prehistoric whitewashed caves to shoot for the highly anticipated movie, written and directed by Prashanth Neel and produced by Vijay Kiragandur's Hombale Films.

Incidentally, the action prologue for the 2021 James Bond film 'No Time to Die' was shot in Matera. Several other international movies have also been shot here.

Unit sources said that 'Salaar' production has now moved to Naples, where preparations for filming in the southern port city's central Piazza del Plebiscito plaza are underway.

The local police are assisting with the set preparations, which include the use of drones and lighting for night shooting. Aside from Matera and Naples, other 'Salaar' locales include Rome and Budapest.

Pan-India star Prabhas will be seen playing a dual role in the movie, according to sources.

While the plot details are sketchy at the moment, 'Salaar' is said to be about two young people from different nations who fall in love despite the distance and cultural differences, and overcome numerous challenges.

The first installment of the thriller with a love undercurrent is set to be released internationally on September 28 in Telugu and dubbed versions in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and English.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Hyderabad, March 31 : A software engineer died by suicide in Hyderabad due to work pressure and fear of losing job.

Vinod Kumar (32), working for a software company in Hyderabad, hanged himself at his brother's house in Alkapur township, police said.

Hailing from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, the techie was finding it difficult to cope with the pressure due to some new work tools introduced by the company. He was also worried over lack of job security and shared with his brother the fear of losing the job.

Vinod Kumar was till recently working from home in Guntur but after the company directed him to start working from office, he had moved to Hyderabad and was staying with his brother.

The techie took the extreme step on Thursday. His brother and his wife had gone out and he was alone at home. Police said he hanged himself to the ceiling fan with a bedsheet.

When Vinod Kumar's brother returned home, he found him hanging. He rushed him to a hospital but doctors declared him dead. He is survived by wife and three daughters.

Narsingi police registered a case and took up investigation.
Patna, March 31 : Bihar's love for khaini is so famous that even former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad could often be seen chewing it in public. In a way, finding favour with the political class saved this sun-dried/fermented version of tobacco from the ban imposed in the state on other addictive substances such as liquor, gutka and pan masala.

Traditionally, a user prepares khaini by placing coarsely cut tobacco leaves in the palm along with slaked lime and then rubs the ingredients thoroughly with the thumb. It is also commercially available in sachets, with spices and liquorice added to make it more appealing.

In Bihar, Vaishali and Alipur are the main production centres of khaini, while Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Sitamarhi also contribute. Sarairanjan and Ujiarpur blocks in Samastipur district are famous for saraisa khaini, which is of high quality due to the region's favourable climate. The product has a niche market, much bigger than that of cigarettes or bidi.

Khaini has the least tax in the state among all tobacco products, though it has high nicotine content as in cigarettes or gutka. While the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reverse charge of 5 per cent is applicable on tobacco leaves, other tobacco products have 28 per cent GST. The silent acceptance of khaini and double standards in taxation stem mainly from the political dominance and connections of the Koeri-Mahtos, a backward caste with huge stakes in tobacco cultivation and allied businesses in Bihar.

At the same time, the government does not compensate tobacco farmers in the event of crop loss or promote any scheme on this front to keep its image clean. Consequently, the farmers are left to fend for themselves, come rain or shine. Yet, many continue to cultivate tobacco due to the high profit margins a good crop year can offer.

Bihar is the fifth largest producer of tobacco in the country, preceded by Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. The state produced 18.030 thousand tonnes of tobacco in 2020 compared with 18.930 thousand tonnes in 2019. Though there is a decline in production, previous years have also seen similar fluctuations. Production was at an all-time high of 23.010 thousand tonnes in 2014, before plunging to 15.810 thousand tonnes in 2017. In the subsequent years, it has hovered around 18-19 thousand tonnes.

Why farmers stay put Tobacco produced in Bihar is mostly made into khaini. In 2014, when Jitan Ram Manjhi was the Chief Minister, tax on tobacco products barring khaini and bidi was doubled from 30 per cent to 60 per cent.

According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey-Second Round (GATS-2), smokeless tobacco use (21.4 per cent) is twice that of smoking (10.7 per cent) in the country, with 85 per cent (18.2 per cent of all adults) of users consuming it every day. In GATS-1 (2009-10), smokeless tobacco users were 26 per cent of the population against smokers who formed 14 per cent.

According to GATS-2 Bihar data, 23.5 per cent preferred smokeless tobacco, with 20.4 per cent using khaini. In GATS-1, the numbers were 48.7 per cent and 27.6 per cent, respectively. It shows that despite the reduction in tobacco use, khaini still holds a major share in the smokeless category, which is one of the reasons why farmers still cultivate the crop.

"Tobacco is a drought-tolerant, hardy and short-duration crop. It has a good advantage over paddy and wheat," Professor Subodh Kumar Jha of Lalit Narayan Sansthan in Muzaffarpur told 101Reporters.

If wheat is cultivated, a farmer is likely to get a maximum yield of eight to 10 quintals from one bigha land (one bigha equals 20 kathas; one acre equals 32 kathas). Despite last year's drought, Nishant Thakur of Mirzapur in Samastipur's Kalyanpur block harvested 40 quintals of wheat from his four bighas of land. As wheat was sold in Bihar for Rs 2,000 per quintal last year, he made around Rs 80,000. After subtracting the expenses, his profit stood around Rs 55,000-60,000.

At the same time, Aditya Chaudhary of Mirzapur cultivated tobacco in just one-and-a-half bighas and got 10 quintals. He sold it to the trader for Rs 86,000. After covering all expenses, he made a profit of around Rs 45,000. When cultivation in four bighas was required to make a profit of above Rs 55,000 in wheat, tobacco farmers could make above Rs 40,000 from just one-and-a-half bighas.

"Being a cash crop, tobacco's profit margin is decent and the trade is strictly based on quality. The yield fluctuates. Some fields may give 20 kg from one katha, while some others may yield even 40 kg. The harvested raw tobacco can be priced anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 30,000 per quintal, depending on the quality," Arvind Mishra, who works as state agriculture department's coordinator in Saharsa, told 101Reporters.

If the quality is poor, businessmen give only very low prices for raw tobacco. Farmers bear the loss in such cases because preparing products from raw leaves is a cumbersome task, though it can fetch more money. "Tobacco crop needs constant care, and involves a lot of work. Preparing khaini in households is also a laborious process. Even a slight mistake can ruin its quality and cause discolouration," Mishra explained.

Planting happens in September and the crop is harvested in January-February. For improving leaf size and quality, the plant's flower head is removed (topping) and the growth of axillary shoots (suckers) is controlled. Both these time-consuming tasks are done manually.

The process of turning the yield into market-ready products takes at least five months. The cut leaves should be dried several times. While good quality material goes into khaini, poor quality leaves are stuffed into cigarettes. The stems of the leaves go into gutka.

According to Mishra, khaini from Hajipur and Samastipur is of better quality than any other region because the farmers there have been cultivating only tobacco for years. However, Kisan Union-Samastipur leader Ramashray Mahto claimed the cultivation has decreased in Samastipur district, though about 20,000 hectares have tobacco on it.

"In our village, tobacco farming has been passed down through generations. This is the only cultivation we know. Local MLAs promise to help us, but the government does not. In fact, a faction within the government opposes the idea of giving any kind of relief to us. Right now, the tobacco purchased from Bihar is sold in other states," said Bipul Thakur, a graduate in his mid-30s engaged in tobacco cultivation in 100 kathas in Muzaffarpur district.

Problems aplenty "There is no benefit in tobacco farming when we consider the risk and uncertainty. We cultivate it only when we manage to make more money out of wheat/paddy crop," claimed Shambhu Mahto, who prepared khaini from his crop on two bighas of land in Sarairanjan block last time. He spent Rs 80,000 on cultivation and turned raw leaves into khaini, hoping for a better price. But what traders had offered him was just Rs 10,000 to 15,000 more than his expenses.

"Rain is more dangerous to this crop than anything else," Shambhu spoke from his experience. Surendra Prasad Thakur (60) of Mirzapur could not agree more. "I lost a minimum of Rs 2 lakh when tobacco on my five bigha farm was destroyed in the 2017 floods. After that, I switched to vegetable farming. Over 50 people used to cultivate tobacco in my village, now only a few are there." Last year, drought hit them hard. "We had to pay Rs 150 per hour to get water using private pumpsets. Five to seven hours of irrigation was required for one katha land, which means a minimum of Rs 750 was spent on water alone. Yet, the tobacco quality was poor due to dryness," Shambhu explained.

Apart from droughts and floods, there are challenges like rampaging nilgais and fungal diseases to tackle. "Farmers try to make up for the losses by applying more fertilisers and chemical pesticides during the next crop cycle, which deteriorates the land quality," said Tanu Priya, a student of Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University in Pusa.

However, farmers felt that government apathy hurt them more. "After several reports on the high level of tobacco consumption in the state, the government stopped paying attention to us even more. As the farmers' unions are also weak, middlemen grab our produce for extremely low prices and sell it at very high rates," Nishant said.

Ramashray agreed that tobacco farmers were victims of politics. "Neither the government bans tobacco nor helps its cultivators. Last year's drought is a good example. If the government is ready to at least compensate for the losses incurred, farmers would not have to migrate to Delhi or Punjab for work." Reacting to this, an official on condition of anonymity said: "How can the government support its farming when tobacco causes cancer to millions of people? There should be an alternative to tobacco farming." People of Bihar term khaini as buddhivardhak churna (a brain booster mixture). However, no amount of whitewashing or endorsements by celebrities and politicians can improve its reputation. It is high time farmers are weaned away from tobacco cultivation and introduced to ethically correct crops.

(Rahul Kumar Gaurav is a Bihar-based journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)
New York, March 31 : An Indian national has pleaded guilty in the US to his role in a conspiracy which resulted in a victim converting her bank account funds into gold after she was tricked into believing that her accounts had been compromised by drug traffickers.

Gaurang Contractor, 38, an Indian citizen living in Jersey City, pleaded guilty this week to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced.

According to court documents, a man posing as an agent for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who referred to himself as Oscar White, told the victim in 2022 that her bank accounts had been "compromised" by drug dealers, and directed her to convert her life savings to gold.

White provided the victim with the name of a jewellery store in Hadley where the victim could purchase gold.

He then directed the victim to leave the gold in her unlocked vehicle and promised to send a "court officer" to pick up the gold for safekeeping by the DEA.

The victim became suspicious and contacted law enforcement.

On August 8, 2022, Contractor, unaware that the victim had contacted law enforcement, drove from New Jersey to Hadley and conducted surveillance at the jewellery store.

Unknown to Contractor, a law enforcement officer posing as the victim entered the jewellery store and completed a sham transaction for two buckets worth of gold.

He then followed the victim's vehicle containing fake gold to a nearby parking lot.

Upon arriving at the meeting location in the parking lot, Contractor removed the two buckets he believed to contain gold from the victim's vehicle and placed them in his own car.

He was subsequently arrested.

Contractor, whose sentencing is scheduled for May 24, was previously arrested on state charges in August 2022 and later indicted by a federal grant jury in December last year.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to a $250,000.
Hyderabad, March 31 : Police detained YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader Y.S. Sharmila and other party leaders and workers when they tried to lay siege to the office of Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) in Hyderabad on Friday.

Tension prevailed at the TSPSC office as Sharmila along with her supporters reached there to stage a protest over the TSPSC exam paper leak.

Police stopped the protesters and asked them to disperse. Sharmila took exception to the action by the police and tried to go ahead with the planned protest. This led to commotion as both sides tried to push each other.

Women police personnel bodily lifted Sharmila and shifted her to a waiting police vehicle. Other protesters were also detained by the police. She was later taken to a police station.

Earlier, the YSRTP leader alleged that only small fish were arrested in the paper leak case while the powerful ones were roaming freely. She demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Sharmila slammed the state government for not allowing her to stage a protest in a peaceful and democratic manner. She said whenever she is trying to protest, police are placing her under house arrest.

She alleged that hundreds of policemen were deployed around her house. "They have also issued a lookout notice for me. Am I a criminal," she asked.
New Delhi, March 31 : In a series of operations, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested four men and recovered 930 grams of heroin worth Rs one crore in the international market, an official said on Friday.

According to police, in the first operation, after receiving specific inputs, a raid was conducted in the Sultanpuri area and one habitual drug trafficker, identified as Rakesh Singh (46) was arrested.

"During his house search, the police team recovered 258 gram heroin, Rs 4.2 lakh (earned from selling of heroin)," said Ravindra Singh Yadav, the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime).

In the second operation, the sleuths of Delhi Police nabbed Shadaab, a native of Badaun in Uttar Pradesh and presently residing at New Usmanpur, indulged in heroin trafficking from his house.

"A tip-off was received regarding Shadab and it was also revealed that he had brought heroin in huge quantities and had concealed that heroin at his rented premise. After verifying the information and obtaining a search warrant of his house, a raid was conducted and Shadab was apprehended from the house," said the Special CP.

A total of 262 gram heroin in many small polythenes, one electronic weighing machine (being used for weighing the heroin) were found and seized from his house.

"During the raid, accused Shadab broke his phone after throwing it on the ground to remove the evidence," said the Special CP.

In yet another operation, a 25-year-old man was arrested under the Wazirabad flyover and 410 grams of heroin was recovered from his possession.

"During investigation, at the instance of the accused identified as Mohan Gupta, police have also nabbed the receiver identified as Pradeep, a resident of Najafgarh to whom the contraband was to be supplied," said the official.
Bhopal, March 31 : The Madhya Pradesh unit of Congress on Friday reviewed its Assembly poll manifesto, comprising over a 100 promises, under the leadership of state party president Kamal Nath here.

In a meeting of 'Bacahapatra' (election manifesto) committee at Kamal Nath's residence, a detailed discussion was held on promises for the election due later this year.

Sources told IANS that the Congress will announce the promises in different intervals once the Assembly elections schedules are announced.

At least sub-committees of senior Congress leaders have been busy in preparing the list elections manifesto and their recommendations have been submitted to the head committee chaired by senior party leader Rajendra Singh.

During a discussion with IANS, Singh has informed that the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) is preparing two Vachan Patras, one for the women and second for the people of the state, including women.

Some of the big promises have already been announced. For instance, Kamal Nath had last month announced a new scheme to provide Rs 1500 per month to each eligible woman.

This announcement was made to counter Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's - 'Ladli Behna' scheme, under which, women aged between 23 to 60 would be given Rs 1000 per month.

Two weeks back, Kamal Nath has made another big announcement that LPG cylinders will be provided at Rs 500, if the Congress comes back into power in Madhya Pradesh.

"Our vachan-patra will be the changing factor because all sections of society have been given priority in it. Importantly, we are going to only make those promises which can be fulfilled after coming into power. More than 100 promises are included in vachan-patra, which will be announced one by one, after the election dates are announced," Rajendra Singh told IANS.

In 2018, the Congress had brought the 'Vachan Patra' in which it announced various schemes. Among them the Jai Kisan farmer loan waiver scheme up to Rs 2 lakh, Rs 100 for using upto 100 electricity units and many more were included.

The grand-old party under the leadership of Kamal Nath had managed to back in power after 15 years, however, crisis broke out within the party had resulted collapse of the Congress government within 15 months as Jyotiraditya Scindia along with 22 MLAs switched over to the BJP in March 2020.
Islamabad, March 31 : Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has urged the international community to work together to overcome challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, climate catastrophes, difficult economic conditions and heightened geopolitical tensions.

Addressing an event here attended by the diplomatic corps at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister said that people in Pakistan are facing incredibly difficult economic times due to local as well as international economic situations.

"The world is still suffering from the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it should be our collective responsibility to put a minimum burden on the low-income people," Bilawal said.

The Pakistani government was making consistent efforts to extend assistance to the least fortunate at the bottom of the social pyramid, including reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood-affected people, he added.

The Minister appreciated the international community for providing help to Pakistan to meet economic and other challenges caused by floods and the pandemic by providing vaccines and other support.
New Delhi, March 31: A passenger ferry service between Karaikal port in India's Puducherry and Kankesanthurai port in Jaffna in North Sri Lanka is finally scheduled to start operating by the end of April.

Funded by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), the Sri Lankan Navy, a passenger terminal is being constructed at Kankesanthurai port to facilitate the four hour long ferry service. The ports will require the necessary infrastructure to facilitate customs, immigration and emigration. The vessel is expected to carry around 150 people and will operate only during the day for the first phase of the operation. A round trip is expected to cost around USD 50 , which is around LKR 20000 and INR 6000-7000 and passengers would be able to carry up to 100kg of luggage.

This cross national ferry service, though long anticipated, is not by any means a new venture. In fact it's a resuscitation of a colonial era transport service between the two countries. The earliest iteration of such a service in popular memory was the Indo-Ceylon Express or Boat Mail- a train and ferry service between Chennai and Colombo, through the Tuticorin port in the 1900's. Passengers had to buy one ticket for the entire length of the combined journey that would start with them getting on a train in Chennai, getting down at Tuticorin after a journey spanning more than 20 hours and from Tuticorin, taking a boat mail to Colombo.

In 1914, the route from Chennai to Colombo changed to a shorter one through Dhanushkodi and Thalaimannar. However the train-boat mail service met its perilous fate in 1964 when a cyclone washed the passenger train into the sea and destroyed the entire railway infrastructure at Dhanushkodi. Thereafter, the train service only operated till Rameswaram from where the passengers took a ferry to Thalaimannar.

The final blow however was delivered during the 80's, when this service was finally suspended, owing to the start of the civil war between the majority Sinhala population and the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka that continued for more than 20 years. The mass casualties sustained by the minority Tamils and the grievous loss of life and property faced by them, understandably sparked outrage amongst the Indian Tamils. The Indian government couldn't risk the conflict in the neighbouring country spilling over to India.

Since the civil war formally ended in 2009, there have been several attempts to restart this cross national transportation service. In June 2011, two years after the end of the civil war, there were talks about resuming ferry services between the two countries after a gap of 30 years. This time, there was to be a direct route- from Tuticorin to Colombo. In fact an Indian vessel called Scotia Prince even carried several hundred people through this route. A Sri Lankan counterpart to the Indian vessel was expected to soon follow, carrying passengers to India, twice a week. However, the popular opinion in South India towards the Sri Lankan government was not conducive to the successful operation of such a service at the time.

In the decade that followed, Sri Lanka went through significant political and economic upheavals. The Sri Lankan government had, since the end of the civil war, been focused on rebuilding the nation from the damage to its economy caused by the protracted ethnic conflict. To that end, it opened up to infrastructural investments from foreign powers like China under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Sri Lanka in fact, became the face of the BRI in South Asia, as India, suspicious of China's geopolitical ambitions in the region, refused to be a part of the BRI. This also contributed to the souring of relations between India and Sri Lanka in that decade.

However, the nature of Chinese investments and the terms under which it provided loans under the BRI has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny all over the world. Most of the Chinese sponsored projects in Sri Lanka- such as the airport in Mattala city and the Chinese built port city in Colombo, expected to be a thriving economic hub failed to produce the desired outcomes. Furthermore, an important aspect of the Chinese investments in Sri Lanka that is often overlooked is that these projects were solely focused on the development of the Southern part of the Island nation, leaving the northern region and its ports deserted and virtually inoperable.

Today, in the face of the unravelling of many such BRI funded projects in other low and middle income countries like Pakistan and Turkey, many political analysts have suggested that the Chinese loans are one of the main reasons for the debt crisis that Sri Lanka finds itself mired in. Fourteen years after the end of the civil war, the Sri Lankan government is once again facing the prospect of rebuilding its economy from the ashes of a decade's worth of bad economic decisions.

Consequently, Sri Lanka is now turning to its closest neighbour with the intention of reviving cultural ties and fostering greater economic cooperation. India has expressed interest in investing in projects that would help the long neglected northern Sri Lanka to thrive. In this current climate, the revival of the age old ferry service connecting the South of India to Jaffna in Sri Lanka spells the beginning of a new, more positive and fruitful chapter in India- Sri Lanka bilateral relations.

Jaffna, situated in the north of Sri Lanka, is a stronghold of Tamilians in the country and the cross-national ferry service is expected to be economically beneficial for the region because many Indian citizens are involved in business endeavours in the Jaffna peninsula and the ferry might encourage the expansion of such inter-national business ventures centred around North Sri Lanka. Further, it is also expected to give tourism in both countries a boost because of the shared cultural and religious heritage between the populations of both the countries.

The ferry will make it convenient for people wanting to go on a pilgrimage to Buddhist and Hindu holy sites or visit sites of historical importance to both communities in each other's countries.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
New Delhi, March 31: The Jammu and Kashmir Police's State Investigation Agency (SIA) has claimed in a chargesheet that the detained Kashmiri journalist and editor of the online magazine 'Kashmir Wallah' Peerzada Fahad Shah received an amount of Rs 95.59 lakh from open donations and subscriptions out of which over Rs 40 lakh came to him from foreign countries in violation of the law.

The chargesheet filed in a designated court in Jammu in October 2022 claims that the money was received by the editor through three bank accounts of the online publications in violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) as it included unauthorised foreign funding to the tune of Rs 40 lakh.

On 16 March, 2023, the designated court for SIA and NIA cases in Jammu framed charges against the detained journalist Fahad Shah and Abdul Aala Fazili, the author of a disputed article in the online publication. The counsels of the accused claim the charges are without substance and decided to challenge the same in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

The Union Territory investigation agency has further charged Shah with collecting domestic and foreign funds which, according to it, could be used for subversive purposes. According to the SIA, the subscription model followed by digital media platforms could be used by "unscrupulous elements" to pump money and foment trouble in Jammu and Kashmir.

The SIA has said that Shah's digital magazine had been "operating on a subscription base model where the readers subscribe and pay for a certain fee". "Unscrupulous elements can utilise this route to fund an entity to foment trouble in a region and carry out propaganda in its own interest," the SIA has alleged and asserted that "this part is under investigation".

According to the SIA, Shah operated three particular bank accounts through which the subscriptions worth Rs 95.59 lakh, including the foreign funding worth Rs 40 lakh, was raised in violation of the FCRA. It claimed that an amount of Rs 10.59 lakh was received through one account from the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) in 2020-21.

The chargesheet claimed that the money was transferred in three installments even though the account was not eligible to receive foreign contributions as it was not registered under the provisions of FCRA. "Another account allegedly received approximately Rs 58 lakh, out of which Rs 30 lakh is foreign contribution by way of subscription payment... which is suspicious," it stated.

"Reporters Sans Frontiers also popularly called reporters without borders is an organisation which supports press freedom all over the world, while in reality the entity is involved in subverting the democratic freedoms all over the world," the SIA said in its chargesheet against the detained editor and his contributor.

Booked for an article titled 'The shackles of slavery will break', as published in 'Kashmir Wallah' on 6 November 2011, Shah and Fazili were initially charged with "glorifying terrorism and secessionism and selectively promoting Pakistan's and the separatists' agenda and narrative through the media". They were arrested in February-April 2022 and booked under different provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code.

While Shah was arrested on 5 February, 2022, for "glorifying militancy, spreading fake news, and inciting the public against law and order", Fazili was arrested on 17 April, 2022, for his "highly provocative and seditious" article in the online magazine. They have been lodged in a jail in Jammu.

The SIA chargesheet claimed that oral, documentary and material evidence collected during the course of investigations established that Shah and Fazili "resurrected a platform for reviving the narrative in support of the terrorist and separatist ecosystem" under a "well-directed conspiracy and Pakistan's efforts".

"Under this plan, select anti-India elements within the media, guided from across, have held several secret meetings in which the adversary instructed" them "to form media platforms, especially digital platforms that are inexpensive but have wider reach; form and float associations that can conceal and camouflage such persons and screen their connections with and funding from hostile foreign agencies and terrorist/secessionist entities," the chargesheet claimed.

The agency claimed that on 4 April, 2022, it received the printout of the "highly provocative and seditious article" from a discreet but reliable source. However, the article was not available on the portal domain as it had been "surreptitiously removed" with an attempt to destroy the evidence. Consequently, a preservation request was made to the domain provider on 11 April, 2022 and the article re-appeared on the website. This evidence was retrieved by a technical expert in presence of the Executive Magistrate Ist Class on 12 April 2022.

Calling them "contaminated and compromised media persons", the SIA has charged Shah and his opinion contributor Fazili, then a PhD scholar with the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Kashmir, with pursuing the objective to "create, sustain, and spread disaffection, hatred and enmity against the Indian State". Fazili, it has pointed out, continued to receive a government scholarship while pursuing his PhD and simultaneously siding with the adversary and becoming "part of a conspiracy to undermine the government of the day".

Shah's 'Kashmir Walla' is an online news magazine. The title was allotted to a Srinagar-based woman by the Registrar of Newspapers in India over a decade back. However, it did not complete the pertinent formalities of printing as per rules within 6 months of the allotment of title and thus failed to register with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. "It has only obtained a title in 2010 or 2011 but never completed the formalities of declaration and registration. So, it is not recognised and does not exist in our records," said an officer in the J&K Government's Department of Information.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Kathmandu, March 31: Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda is all set to reshuffle his cabinet by the end of this week, ruling party leaders said.

Rajendra Shrestha, a senior leader of the ruling Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), told India Narrative that the cabinet will be reconstituted by Saturday this week.

The cabinet will acquire full shape as per the understanding reached among the partners in Nepal's ten-party ruling alliance.

Shrestha of JSP said that the ten-party alliance finalized the distribution of key ministerial portfolios on Wednesday.

He said that at least eight ministerial portfolios including finance and foreign affairs will be held by the Nepali Congress, the largest party in parliament. The Congress party is expected to finalize names of leaders to become ministers shortly. A meeting of the party's central working performance committee is taking place on Thursday for the same.

Likewise, the Maoist party will get at least five more ministries. "Prime Minister Prachanda is willing to keep the home ministry himself," a leader of the Maoist party, told India Narrative.

According to understanding reached among the partners in the alliance, Janata Samajbadi Party will get two ministerial portfolios, Unified Socialist will get two, Loktantrik Samajwadi, Nagarik Unmukti Party and Janata Samajbadi will get one ministerial portfolios each.

The cabinet reshuffle, which was expected to be settled earlier last week, was delayed due to bickering among key partners in the ruling alliance over the distribution of ministerial portfolios.

The cabinet reshuffle is expected to boost the confidence of government, which has made several pledges including post-pandemic recovery and bringing programs to revive the national economy which is hit by global crisis including Russia-Ukraine war.

This will be first cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Prachanda after he got vote of confidence in mid-March for a second time in past four months. He was appointed as the prime minister in December 2022 in alliance with the CPN (UML) led by KP Sharma Oli after breaking an alliance with the Congress party. However, Prachanda broke alliance with the UML barely two months later and again joined hands with the Congress party in the course of presidential polls in the first week of March.

Miffed at Prachanda's decision to lend support to Nepali Congress leader Ramchandra Poudel as the country's President, the UML quit the government by recalling its eight cabinet ministers. Those ministerial portfolios fell vacant since then.

Prime Minister now Prachanda enjoys support of the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre), Janata Samajbadi Party, Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party, CPN (Unified Socialist), Loktantrik Samajwadi Party and Rastriya Janamorcha.

This ten-party new alliance is an extension to the five-party ruling alliance which existed since mid-July 2021 after the ouster of the then PM KP Oli.

The five-party ruling alliance had come into existence in retaliation to Oli's move of dissolving parliament twice in December 2020 and in May 2021.

(Santosh Ghimire is India Narrative's Nepal Correspondent based in Kathmandu) (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Islamabad, March 31 : At least 124 incidents in 2022 were reported in Pakistan of forced faith conversions involving girls and women from minority communities which comprised 81 Hindu, 42 Christian, and one Sikh.

A Human Rights Observer 2023 fact sheet revealed that 23 per cent of girls were below 14 years of age, 36 per cent of them were between the age of 14 and 18 years, and only 12 per cent of the victims were adults, while the age of 28 per cent of the victims was not reported, reports Dawn news.

Sixty-five per cent of cases of forced faith conversion were reported in Sindh in 2022, followed by 33 per cent in Punjab, and 0.8 per cent each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The fact sheet revealed that the religious content against minorities increased in curriculum and textbooks during the year 2022 and a number of perennial and new challenges emerged in the education system, Dawn reported.

A report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) covers five key issues impacting religious minorities including discrimination in the education system, prevalence of forced faith conversions, abuse of blasphemy laws, establishment of the National Commission for Minorities and jail remissions for minority prisoners.

The fact sheet showed that as many as 171 people were accused under the blasphemy laws, 65 per cent of cases surfaced in Punjab and 19 per cent in Sindh.

The highest occurrence was observed in the districts of Karachi, followed by Chiniot, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Dera Ghazi Khan, Nankana Sahib, Lahore and Sheikhupura.

The highest number of victims (88) was Muslims, followed by 75 Ahmadis, four Christians, and two Hindus, while the religious identity of the two accused could not be ascertained.

Four accused were extra-judicially killed -- two in Punjab and one each in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last year -- which brings the number of extra-judicial killings to 88 persons in total during the period from 1987 to 2022, Dawn reported.
New Delhi, March 31 : The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has sent recommendations to the Ministry of Home Affairs and city government's Department of Social Welfare for improving the living conditions of transgenders.

The Centre had passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in 2019 and the Central Rules in 2020. However, the state rules are yet to be notified for Delhi.

Earlier, in response to a notice by the Commission, the Delhi government had informed that the approved draft rules are pending notification from MHA.

The Delhi government had also informed the Commission that the state has approved the formation of a Transgender Welfare Board and the same is pending with MHA for notification.

According to DCW, the commission has pointed out to MHA that 12 states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have already created the Transgender Welfare Board and Delhi should not lag behind.

"Further, we had learnt that Delhi Government has not launched any scheme for the welfare of transgenders. We have recommended that the government immediately launch schemes in this regard and set up shelter homes for those transgenders who are in need of care and protection of the state," said a DCW official.

Meanwhile, the DCW has also issued notices to all District Magistrates on this issue and found out that only 76 "certificates of identity" have been issued to transgenders in Delhi in the past three years even though according to the 2011 census, Delhi had 4,213 transgenders.

"Further, most districts have received very few applications seeking Transgender Certificates. For instance, Shahdara District received only four applications in the past three years, since the Act came into effect," said the DCW official.

"The Centre must immediately notify the State Rules for NCT of Delhi and the Transgender Welfare Board for Delhi. Further, it is unfortunate that Delhi Government has informed the Commission that it is not running any schemes or shelter homes for welfare of transgenders. This needs to be immediately rectified," said Swati Maliwal, the DCW chief.

"There are several lacunas in the implementation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 in Delhi and steps need to be taken urgently to tackle this. Hope that our recommendations will help the Centre and the State ascertain the extent of the problem and take measures to improve the situation," she added.
Chennai, March 31 : With the Covid cases again showing an upward trend, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to make wearing masks mandatory in all government hospitals from April 1 onwards.

State Health minister Ma. Subramanian Friday said that starting Saturday, outpatients, inpatients, visitors, doctors, nurses and other health-related staff will have to compulsorily wear masks at all government health facilities.

Numbering over 11,300, these facilities include health sub-centres, primary health centres (PHCs), urban PHCs, taluk and non-taluk hospitals, apart from district headquarters hospitals and government medical college hospitals.

"All state and district-level health officers have been directed to ensure compliance of the mask rule in all government health facilities from Saturday," the minister told reporters on Friday.

Even though Covid norms are in place in the state, the decision to implement the mask rule in hospitals has been taken because infections usually begin multiplying at hospitals first, the minister said, explaining the rationale behind the move.

Tamil Nadu reported 123 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, while 3,095 cases have been reported from across India in the past 24 hours, the minister told reporters.
Lucknow, March 31 : The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is now planning to hold 'Eat Right Millet Melas' across the state to promote millet food.

"The millet mela in Lucknow has been a success as more than 60 brands that put up stalls here reported brisk sales of food items made from coarse grain and now, we will promote millet food through more such events all across Uttar Pradesh," said additional commissioner, Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (FSDA), S. P. Singh.

He said, "Millets have traditionally been used by Indians as they are nutritious and tasty. They will soon get popular among the fitness-conscious youth." Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak also praised the efforts of the district administration in popularising millet food and of FSDA in hosting the 'millet mela' among the masses.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to promote millets (Shri Anna) will ensure healthy living besides helping to solve the food problems of the world. Eat Right Millet Mela was not only about promoting food and drink in clean and hygienic conditions but also about promoting new food style," he said.

"People have been introduced to new recipes of millet such as 'bajra dosa' and 'idli' and these will soon become popular. Millets are being used to prepare a range of dishes and soon, along with regular food, the young will take a liking to this variety too," he added.
New Delhi, March 31 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday released the coffee table book titled 'Sikh Business Leaders of India', authored by Prabhleen, at a function here.

On the occasion, Khattar invited the industrialists present in the programme to set up industries in the state, adding that the government has created a conducive environment and are providing various facilities.

The Chief Minister said they will not face any problem in doing business in Haryana.

"The government has created a single-window system, under which all types of permissions to industries are given in 45 days. The government has made four categories A, B, C and D. If industries are set up in category C and D zones, the government will reimburse Rs 4,000 per worker per month for the next four years." Khattar said the Sikh community has made a huge contribution to the state, the country and the world as well.

"This community is a working community and have worked hard with struggle to advance their business, family, country and society. They are also working to take forward and uplift the needy, who have been left behind from the mainstream due to some reason." Appreciating the works of the Chief Minister, former Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh said after the formation of Haryana, maximum work has been done for Sikh community under the leadership of Khattar.

He said the Chief Minister has an important contribution in reviving the history of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.

Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee President Mahant Karmjit Singh said incomparable work has been done for Sikhism and Punjabi language under the leadership of Khattar.
Damascus, March 31 : Syrian air defences on Friday most of the Israeli missile strike that targeted military sites in Damascus.

Local media said the forces shot down most of the missiles in the sky over Damascus and its vicinity, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Israeli forces carried out their attack from the Golan Heights, targeting military sites in the countryside of Damascus, the Syrian army said in a statement, adding that no casualty was reported.

Xinhua reporters heard several explosions in Damascus amid the attack and the air defence responses.

The attack is the second in 24 hours.

After midnight Thursday, Israel launched a missile strike, injuring two soldiers and leaving damage.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air attacks against targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including two missile strikes this month on Aleppo International Airport.

This was the third attack by Israeli forces on the air transport facility in six months.

Israel claims the strikes are aimed at bases of Iran-allied armed groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Israel says such operations are aimed at preventing Iranian weapons from reaching armed groups in Syria that are backed by Iran.

Nearly half a million people have been killed in Syria's civil war, and around half of the country's pre-war population has been forced from their homes.
Bengaluru, March 31 : Setting the tone for a high voltage contest in Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday hinted at fielding his predecessor B.S. Yediyurappa's son B.Y. Vijayendra against Opposition leader Siddaramaiah in the May 10 Assembly polls.

Citing increasing demand in the party for the same, Chief Minister Bommai said, "We will put up a tough fight in Varuna constituency against Siddaramaiah. It is the public's demand that Vijayendra should contest against him. However, the final decision would be taken by Yediyurappa and the Parliamentary board.".

Meanwhile, Yediyurappa, who is also a BJP Central Parliamentary Board Member, visited Mysuru district this morning to take stock of the ground realities in this regard.

He is likely to hold a meeting with leaders of Varuna constituency after attending a private function. His visit to Mysuru has gained prominence against the backdrop of Vijayendra's contest.

Earlier, Yediyurappa had stated that the BJP is contemplating to field his son Vijayendra from Varuna constituency. The high command will take a call on finalising the candidature of Vijayendra for Varuna, he added.

"Siddaramaiah's victory won't come easily. The ground beneath him is falling. We will field a strong candidate against him," Yediyurappa had stated.

Reacting to Vijayendra's candidature from Varuna, Siddaramaiah had stated that he had never bothered about his opponents.

Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, reacting to the development, stated he would welcome Yediyurappa himself to contest from Varuna constituency against Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah has announced that it is his last election and based on his wish to contest from the native constituency, from where he began political career, he had been given a ticket.
Ramallah, March 31 : Palestinians marked the 47th anniversary of the "Land Day" amid calls to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories that has been going on since 1967.

They also called for establishing an independent Palestinian state on the territories seized by Israel in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, reports Xinhua news agency.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the borders between the eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, waving Palestinian flags, carrying banners demanding an end of the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state, and chanting anti-Israel slogans.

Demonstrations and rallies were also held in other parts of the Gaza Strip to mark the day.

Some young people planted olive trees, with each one carrying the name of a village in historic Palestine that their grandfathers left in 1948.

In the West Bank, similar demonstrations are scheduled in several towns, villages and cities on Friday.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye slammed the Israeli aggression as aggressive and said the Israeli occupation "is based on settlement, repression, and killing".

Ishtaye called on the Palestinians to reunite and end an internal division, mainly between Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party since 2007.

The events of Land Day date back to March 30, 1976, when the Palestinians in Israel protested against the Israeli seizure of about 21,000 dunams (2,100 hectares) of village lands in the Galilee region.

The 1976 protests took place in the villages of Arraba, Sakhnin, Deir Hanna, Arab al-Sawa'id and others.

The lands in these villages were confiscated for establishing more settlements.
New Delhi, March 31 : 'Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai' actress Vidisha Srivastava has shared how she feels great when people address her as her character of Anita bhabhi. She also added about how relatable her character is and shared her planning on being part of a Bollywood project.

She told IANS: "People on social media and friend circles have started addressing me by my character's name. A recent incident made me emotional. I was in my hometown, Varanasi, during Maha Shivratri. In the lanes where I have spent my childhood, people kept asking me 'Anita Bhabhi, kaisi hain aap?' "I feel it is the biggest compliment for any actor when you get recognised for the role you play onscreen." Briefing about the similarities between her and her character of Anita bhabhi, she added: "Anita is a strong and independent woman who believes in standing up for what is right and pointing out the wrong. She is beautiful, classy, and intelligent.

"I can completely relate to her. My style statement is like hers, simple, elegant, and graceful. Like Anita, I also love wearing sarees, heels, and accessories".

Vidisha has never explored comedy and she has been part of fictional dramas. When asked how she has adapted to it, she shared: "As an actor, it is important to attempt challenging roles. It enables one to learn, grow, and evolve.

"Hence, I wanted to explore all genres, and choosing 'Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai' is one of my life's most rewarding decisions. Yes, comedy is challenging but the appreciation for my role encourages me to keep giving my best." She has been part of several South films. Sharing her plans about doing Bollywood movies, she said: "I have been offered Hindi movies even before I did films in the South. However, I did not accept the roles as they did not excite me. As an actor, I look forward to meaty and challenging roles.

"I love to portray characters that add value to the overall concept of the show. Anita Bhabi is an excellent opportunity for me to showcase my acting prowess and I am looking forward to achieving more milestones being a part of 'Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai'."
New Delhi, March 31 : An illegal weapon supplier, who also runs an unauthorised firearms repairing factory in Bihar's Siwan, was arrested by police, an official said on Friday, adding that the accused has been also summoned by central probe agencies for his alleged links with many inter-state criminal groups.

Police said that they have also recovered eight pistols along with 11 bullets from the possession of the accused identified as Bablu Sharma.

According to police, four of his accomplices had links with criminals and terror outfits.

"On March 15, an incident of gunshot firing was reported at Dwarka North police station wherein a man sustained a bullet injury after some unknown persons had fired rounds. A case was registered and probe was initiated," said M. Harsha Vardhan, Dwarka Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

After analysis of CCTV footages and call detail records links, the accused Satender, Rahul, Ankur and Shiva Kumar Yadav were arrested in Delhi.

Upon questioning, Rahul disclosed that he purchased illegal firearms from one Bablu Sharma in Siwan, Bihar.

"The team reached at Siwan, Bihar, and identified the mini- arms repair factory (Pali Gun House), in the city. On further enquiry, it came to notice that the mini-arms factory is being run by one Bablu Sharma. Accordingly, a raid was conducted and Bablu was arrested by the team," the DCP added.

"Bablu had also been summoned by other central investigating agencies for his links with other criminals arrested from Jammu and Kashmir. These criminals had links with dreaded terror outfits in J&K," the DCP said.

Bablu used to purchase illegal firearms and ammunition from Bhind near Morena, Madhya Pradesh, through his other accomplices.

"He runs a firearm repairing factory in the name of Pali Gun House from where he illegally sells illegal firearms and repairs guns," the official added.
Hyderabad, March 31 : Tollywood actress Lakshmi Manchu loves to travel and has been documenting stories of her travels in Finland on Instagram.

Her stories and posts have been filled with good food, scenic locations and postcard memories from Finland.

Talking about chasing Northern Lights and conquering fears, Lakshmi said, "The best part of this trip was fighting through all fears I had. I would always go to a beach any day and never go to cold climates.

"Since this plan was made for the Northern Lights, I gave my all in and decided to go for it. We did the Husky Sleigh Ride, which I was fearing but conquered. We went husky riding early in the morning and they're riding at 30 km per hour, the wind hits your face and by the end of it, I couldn't feel my fingers.

"We were able to see the Northern Lights for two nights, the last night, the entire sky lit up and it was five minutes from our hotel. The igloos were well equipped and for sure this was a surreal experience. Finland is one of the top five places that I've travelled to, all one needs to master is the art of layering."

Image Source: IANS News

She ended the conversation by saying, travelling is therapeutic for her and this trip made her realise one thing, "The locals there seemed very happy and healthy because they spent 80 per cent of their time in nature."

On the work front, Lakshmi Manchu recently released a promotional video Telusa Telusa from her upcoming film 'Agninakshatram'. The song is about women empowerment and features Lakshmi and her daughter, Nirvana in it. She also released an ode to Shiva on Shivratri, shot on the holy Ganges and ghats of Varanasi.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Hanoi, March 31 : The Vietnamese capital of Hanoi was the most expensive place to live in the Southeast Asian country in 2022, according to a report published by the General Statistics Office.

The northern province of Quang Ninh ranked second on the list of the top five most expensive cities and provinces, followed by Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

The Quang Tri province was found to be the locality with the lowest Spatial Cost of Living Index (SCOLI) in 2022, followed by Tra Vinh, Ben Tre, Soc Trang and Nam Dinh.

The Red River Delta retained its position as the most expensive region in the country, with the Northern Midland and Mountainous region and Southeast region following closely behind, according to the report.

The Mekong Delta region has the lowest cost of living, largely thanks to the low prices of food and catering services.

These prices are low due to the region's intensive farming methods and favourable soil and climate conditions for agricultural production, said the report.

Despite swift and unpredictable developments in the global economy last year, the SCOLI index in 2022 in Vietnam did not change much compared to 2021.

Consumer goods are abundant with a diverse distribution system, so the prices of goods and services in localities did not fluctuate much, the report said.

The SCOLI is a relative indicator that reflects the difference in consumer goods and services prices among localities and regions during a certain period.

It can be used as a reference for socio-economic development policies or for businesses to assess competitiveness in terms of prices, market share and product costs.
Kolkata, March 31 : As tension over clashes in West Bengal's Howrah district over a Ram Navami procession continued on Friday, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed at the Calcutta High Court seeking a CBI probe into the matter.

The clashes which were mainly at Sandhyabazar area of Shibpur in Howrah district on Thursday, spread to adjacent Kazipara area this morning. A group of people started pelting stones towards the high-rises in the area. A couple of vehicles were vandalised and torched.

Even the vehicle of the state cooperation minister Arup Roy, which was passing through the area then, was not spared. The window-screen of the vehicle was totally smashed. However, the minister was not present in the vehicle.

Finally, a huge contingent of police force, accompanied by the personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), reached the spot. They resorted to massive lathicharge to bring the unruly mob under control. Some of the policemen also suffered injuries in the clashes. Till the filing of the report, the total number of arrests in this connection was 36. Though the situation has been brought under control, tension prevails in these pockets.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave a strong message and said that her administration will not tolerate such rowdy activities. "I have asked the police to take strong action," she said. Admitting that there had been complaints of inaction or delayed action by police, the chief minister said that these complaints will also be looked into. At the same time, she claimed that Thursday's clashes mainly happened because of the last moment change in route of the procession.

On Friday, Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari filed a PIL at the division bench of Calcutta High Court's Acting Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, seeking a CBI probe in Thursday's clashes.

The PIL has been admitted and the hearing in the matter will be on April 3. Besides seeking a CBI probe in the matter, the leader of the Opposition had also sought deployment of central armed forces in the troubled pockets on this count.

In the PIL he also claimed that the deployment of central armed forces had been necessary as the state police had failed miserably to bring the situation under control.
New Delhi, March 31 : A Delhi court will on Friday pronounce its order on the bail plea filed by former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

On March 24, CBI Judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Courts had reserved his order on the matter.

The court had, on March 20, sent him to judicial custody till April 3.

The following day, Judge Nagpal had asked the probe agency to file written submissions and relevant judgments.

During the hearing, one of Sisodia's counsel had said that nothing exceptional was stated by the CBI which would warrant continued custody.

"Nothing on record to show that Sisodia will be threatening the witnesses," the counsel said, arguing that Sisodia has cooperated with the CBI investigation and none of the searches have revealed any incriminating material against him.

"It goes without doubt that Manish Sisodia has deep roots in society. He has appeared every time he was called before the CBI. I am a public servant. There have been two public servants in this case, allegations far graver than mine. But they are sent without arrest.

"There is no real substantial evidence of tampering with witness or threatening witnesses, etc. I request you to kindly grant me bail," the counsel added.

Appearing for the CBI, Special Public Prosecutor D.P. Singh had said: "It's not only the mobile phones, files were also destroyed. I am very serious that destruction of evidence was a constant practice." The CBI had opposed Sisodia's bail plea, saying that this will compromise and scuttle their investigation.

Sisodia on Tuesday also moved a bail plea in a court in the same case being being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The court had issued notice to the central agency.

After the CBI arrested the AAP leader on February 26, the ED also arrested him in the same case on March 9.

During the last hearing in the ED case, the court was apprised by the ED that important details have come up during Sisodia's custody and he had to confront with other accused persons.

The probe agency had informed the court that voluminous data from the former Deputy Chief Minister's email and mobile is also being forensically analysed.
Guwahati, March 31 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma dared his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal to call him corrupt when the latter is on a Guwahati tour on Sunday.

Sarma, on Friday, also threatened to file a defamation case against the Delhi Chief Minister.

Assam Chief Minister asserted that there is no pending case against him, neither before any court in the country nor in any agency.

He asked, "Which case is there against me? I challenge Arvind Kejriwal to show a single case filed against me." Earlier, when the Delhi Chief Minister called Himanta Biswa Sarma a corrupt man, he wanted to file a defamation case, but as Kejriwal spoke inside the Delhi Assembly, according to Sarma, he could not file a case.

"I wanted to file a defamation suit. But as Arvind Kejriwal is a coward, he spoke against me inside the Delhi Assembly. I challenge him to call me corrupt on his scheduled Assam tour, the next day I will file a defamation suit against him, like Manish Sisodia," Sarma said.

Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are scheduled to visit Assam on Sunday to strengthen the Aam Aadmi Party's presence in the state.
San Francisco, March 31 : Google has introduced a "search chips" feature in Drive, which will allow users to filter by criteria like file type, owner, and last modified date anywhere in the web app.

Filtering by these criteria will help users narrow down and find relevant files faster in any view throughout Drive, said Google.

This feature was previously available in Google Drive search, but it is now available "across Drive".

The search chips feature will be available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.

It will also be available to users with personal Google Accounts, according to the company.

Earlier this month, Google rolled out refreshed user interface for Google Drive, docs, sheets and slides on the web.

"Following the release of Google Material Design 3, the refreshed user interface is purposefully designed to streamline core collaboration journey across our products," the tech giant said in a Workspace Updates blogpost.

In Drive, users will see improvements such as -- "Key actions surfaced inline on files, for quick access and increased productivity" and the "ability to select multiple items at a time and undertake batch operations for frequent tasks".
Kathmandu, March 31 : Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Friday expanded the cabinet for the seventh time in three months, inducting ministers from five new parties including the Nepali Congress.

The newly-appointed ministers took an oath of office and secrecy from President Ram Chandra Paudel at Sheetal Niwas, the President's Office.

Nepali Congress (NC), the major partner in the ruling coalition, has got eight ministries. However, it has sent only four names since the Shekhar Koirala-led faction demanded at least three ministers.

Likewise, the Maoist Center has five ministers, Janata Samajwadi Party and Unified Samajwadi two ministries each, and Nagarik Unmukti Party, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal Samajwadi Party, and Aam Janata Party one minister each.

NC's Purna Bahadur Khadka has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence; Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat as Finance Minister; Ramesh Rijal as Minister of Industries; and Sita Gurung as the Minister of Urban Development.

Likewise, Shakti Basnet of the CPN (Maoist Centre) has been appointed the minister for energy, water resource and irrigation. The prime minister assigned the home portfolio to Narayan Kaji Shrestha. Shrestha was looking after the ministry of physical infrastructure and transport.

CPN (Unified Socialist) vice chairman Beduram Bhusal has been appointed the minister for agriculture and livestock development and the party's deputy general secretary Prakash Jwala the minister for physical infrastructure and transport.
New Delhi, March 31 : Expressing concerns over Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's daughter reportedly receiving death threats in the US, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal on Friday appealed to the Indian embassy in the US to ensure her safety.

CM Mann's has reportedly received threat calls from pro-Khalistan elements.

"Read the reports of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's daughter receiving death threats in the US. It is an act of extreme cowardice. I appeal to the @IndianEmbassyUS to ensure her safety," Maliwal said in her tweet.

Mann's ex-wife Inderpreet Kaur Grewal, who lives in the US with daughter Seerat Kaur, 21, and son Dilshan, 18, confirmed the incident through social media. She wrote on Facebook that Khalistan supporters threatened to kill her daughter on the phone and also abused her.

She wrote, "Are you going to achieve Khalistan like this by threatening and abusing children... Such people are a blot on Sikhism."
Srinagar, March 31 : Two hybrid terrorists involved in a terror attack on a YouTuber journalist have been arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Friday, police said.

As per a police official, an SIT was set up to probe the attack and during the course of investigation, on the basis of oral, circumstantial and technical evidences, a number of suspects were rounded up.

During questioning, two suspects identified as Suhaib Reyaz and Anayat Ullah Iqbal, both residents of Saidapora Payeen, admitted their involvement in the terror attack.

"It also came to fore that duo were working as hybrid terrorists of proscribed terror outfit TRF.

"On their disclosure, the weapon of offence, viz a pistol along with its magazine and five pistol rounds besides an IED was recovered by a joint party of police and 44RR from the orchards of village Saidapora Payeen," the official said.

Further investigation is on.
Mumbai, March 31 : Actor Suniel Shetty, who has been garnering audience appreciation ever since his streaming debut, has shared that Bollywood helps the Indian diaspora, in different parts of the world, stay rooted to their homeland and that the upcoming stage musical show, 'Disco Dancer - The Musical' celebrates the Bollywood of the 1980s era.

The actor said, "To the Indian diaspora, Bollywood provides a connection with their memories back home. Music unites us all and this is the sentiment that we are celebrating and showing respect to through 'Disco Dancer- The Musical'. Long before musicals, our cinema was pioneering the concept of telling a story through song and dance. We did it first".

He further mentioned, "I have grown up listening to this music, idolising the heroes of that era and for me and everyone else, this will be an experience of pure nostalgia. Our song and dance routines have been mocked but now people are realising their importance and the happiness they have brought to millions...

After sold-out shows at West End, London, 'Disco Dancer - The Musical' has been brought to India by Saregama and Suniel Shetty.

A Saregama production 'Disco Dancer - The Musical' will premiere on April 14 at the NSCI dome in Mumbai.
Jammu, March 31 : Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha on Friday chaired the 44th board meeting of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), in which various aspects of Yatra-2023 were discussed, an official statement said.

The J&K Lt Governor is the ex officio Chairman of the SASB.

The meeting discussed the ongoing works and future projects for smooth and hassle-free pilgrimage.

Principal Secretary to Lt Governor and SASB's CEO Mandeep K. Bhandari made a detailed presentation and briefed the board on various aspects of Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra-2023 including registration for Yatra, provision of helicopter services, service providers, Yatra camps, langar/NGO services, insurance cover for yatris/service providers etc.

He further presented the action taken report on the decisions taken in the previous board meetings, the statement said.

The Chief Engineer of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) briefed the meeting on the progress regarding maintenance, restoration & development works of the Yatra tracks.

Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Raj Kumar Goyal, DGP Dilbag Singh, Special DG, CID, R.R. Swain, ADGP, Jammu, Mukesh Singh, the Divisional Commissioners, Secretaries, Additional CEO, SASB and other senior officers from civil administration, SASB, the police and the army also attended the meeting, in person and through virtual mode, the statement said.

The yatra to the Himalayan cave shrine in Anantnag district is held every year.

Devotees visit the cave shrine for 'Darshan' of the ice stalagmite structure believed by the devotees to symbolise the powers of Lord Shiva.
WASHINGTON  On a mild winter day in the heart of the district, crowds roam the national monuments taking in the beauty and the history. While some quickly move on, one group of men cant help but stop at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a nearly 500-foot-long wall with the names of the lives lost, and take it all in.

A member of Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, has been coming to the memorial every year since the dedication in 1982.

Going to the wall is very, very special to honor the guys we lost, said Edward T. Bassista, platoon squad leader. You miss them and kind of wonder what their lives wouldve been like if they lived. The wall is special, especially for [us], because of the brotherhood we have.

The regiments motto, Currahee, is believed to come from a Cherokee word meaning stand alone. The soldiers are trained to perform as one, hence they stand alone in battle.

The bond between these Currahees, started more than 50 years ago when they trained together at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They got to know each other well and learned they could depend on one another.

You talk about cohesiveness  we had it, Bassista said.

After arriving in Vietnam during the rainy season, they worked their way north, getting into small battles along the way. The unit was well-trained and ready to deal with the fighting, but the conditions they had to live in made things challenging.

They dealt with never-ending bug bites and would often spend weeks on end living in the mud and water.

My whole body looked like a dried-up prune, he said bluntly.

They pushed through and ultimately made it to Firebase Betty in Phan Thiet, where they protected the base and the surrounding area. They went on patrols and got into a few encounters, but nothing they couldnt handle.

I figured I was going to make it pretty easy out of [Vietnam], and then Tet come along in 68, and thats when it really got bad, said Ron Ford, second platoon fireteam leader.

The North Vietnamese led coordinated attacks in South Vietnam around the Lunar New Year celebration, Tet Nguyen Dan, in what became known as the Tet Offensive.

Feb. 2, 1968, the second platoon was on patrol when they came up to two houses. The platoon leader, John Harrison, sent a fireteam to check out the second house while his group took the first.

While Harrison and his team were talking to a few locals from the first house, they suddenly heard automatic gunfire come from the other.

Something didnt feel right, he recalled. And then the world opened up [on us]. Ive never, ever heard anything like the level of fire we heard then.

They had walked into an ambush.

Harrison and his team quickly took cover. He radioed the company commander that his platoon was taking fire from every angle. He then looked up and saw that the tree he was hiding behind was being completely ripped apart from the assault.

That was the beginning of one long and very bad day, he said.

Assessing the situation, Harrison saw that one of his men was shot and lying on the front porch of the house. He sent a team to go through the back of the house to get him, but the squad leader got shot as well.

They regrouped in the first house and tried again to reach their wounded brothers, but to no avail. Harrison called in numerous airstrikes, even blowing the roof off the house, but they couldnt take control of the battle.

Reluctantly, they had to withdraw.

After nearly nine hours of fighting, night finally came. Then a group of the men volunteered to go back for the others. They werent sure if they were alive, but they couldnt leave them there.

I would do anything to save any of the guys, Ford said. I think thats what made us special, that bond we had, that we still have.

They made it through continuous enemy fire from multiple locations to find all three men, but they were already dead. They managed to bring each body back without taking any additional casualties.

That was the worst day [in Vietnam] for us in second platoon, he explained.

Unfortunately, things would not get better for them as Tet continued.

More than two weeks later on Feb. 19, the company engaged the Viet Cong in a firefight. The battalion commander, who was watching the battle from a helicopter, spotted the enemy changing positions. He ordered the third platoon to go after them.

We got up, started moving, and all hell broke loose, said John Colone, third platoon member.

Within minutes, exposed with no cover, the platoon took heavy damage. Eight men were killed and more than 20 were wounded, including John Colone. He was shot four times, and many were unsure if he would make it.

I remember them saying Colones dead, Colones dead, he recalled.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on the morgue floor toe tagged. One medic didnt believe he was dead and went to get help. Another doctor checked the body by placing glasses under his nose to see if they would fog up. Nothing happened.

Finally, the doctor stuck a pen in his foot for final confirmation, and sure enough, it jumped. They rushed him to a nearby hospital where he would recover until being transported to a medical facility back in the U.S.

Many other wounded soldiers from that battle were also transported out to safety. The units losses that day were devasting for the company.

The remaining men would continue to fight in other battles until eventually being sent home later that year. All told, 176 Currahee lives were lost during the war with 26 of those from Alpha company.

In the years following the war, the men searched for ways to carry on after experiencing so much.

I think you owe an obligation for the guys we lost to make a good life for yourself, Ford said.

It wasnt easy for many of them as some were spit on and ridiculed by the public for their involvement in the war. They also had to deal with the mental struggles of their experience.

You have to wall things off or you just cant take it, Harrison said. Parts of [war] are awful. People that havent done it have no idea how much death changes people.

That mental toll affected many of the men and their relationships. As the years turned to decades, many of them started looking for ways to heal and reconnect with their Currahee brothers.

Reunions started taking place in the late 90s where they would get together, tell stories, laugh and sometimes cry. This became an outlet for them to talk about things that had been bottled up for so long.

These guys know what we went through, and we share that together, good times and bad times, Bassista said. These guys are my friends, theyre my true blood-brother friends.

Being able to share what they had been through with their brothers made a positive impact on many of the men.

For me, it was therapeutic, Ford said. I think it helped me a lot being able to talk about it. Friends and family even started noticing a change in him, he said.

As they gathered, conversations would often take place about the guys they lost. They wanted a way to honor and remember them. So, every year they come together and head to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the day they lost so many, Feb. 19.

This year marked the 55th anniversary. More than a dozen Currahees, along with their family members, walked that narrow path as they searched and found the names. As other people quickly moved past, they stood and remembered.

They cried, they laughed, and they told stories about their times together before rendering a salute to the men who sacrificed their lives for their brothers and their country.

Were never going to forget them, Ford said. Its impossible. Thats a bond you cant break.

Every year around Memorial Day, the men donate money to put flowers on the gravesites of all 176 Currahee men that were lost during the war.

These guys know what we went through, and we share that together, good times and bad times, Bassista said. These guys are my friends, theyre my true blood-brother friends.

Being able to share what they had been through with their brothers made a positive impact on many of the men.

For me, it was therapeutic, Ford said. I think it helped me a lot being able to talk about it. Friends and family even started noticing a change in him, he said.

As they gathered, conversations would often take place about the guys they lost. They wanted a way to honor and remember them. So, every year they come together and head to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the day they lost so many, Feb. 19.

This year marked the 55th anniversary. More than a dozen Currahees, along with their family members, walked that narrow path as they searched and found the names. As other people quickly moved past, they stood and remembered.

They cried, they laughed, and they told stories about their times together before rendering a salute to the men who sacrificed their lives for their brothers and their country.

Were never going to forget them, Ford said. Its impossible. Thats a bond you cant break.

Every year around Memorial Day, the men donate money to put flowers on the gravesites of all 176 Currahee men that were lost during the war.
Srinagar, March 31 : Muslim neighbours on Friday helped perform the last rites of a Hindu man at Kakran village in J&K's Kulgam district, where terrorists had killed the brother of the deceased last year.

Balbir Singh (55), who worked with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), died on Thursday evening following a heart attack at his home in Kakran village. Singh, who was posted in Amritsar, was on leave to attend the death anniversary of his brother who was killed by terrorists last year.

Singh's family is the only Hindu Rajput family living in the village. A large number of local Muslims, including Singh's neighbours and friends, helped perform his last rites on Friday.

Officers from the CISF also joined the mourners and offered floral tributes to the deceased trooper.
London, March 31 : The UK has signed a deal to join a trade pact with 11 Asia and Pacific nations, three years after it officially left the European Union, BBC reported.

Joining the group will boost UK exports by cutting tariffs on goods such as cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky, the government said.

However, the government's own estimates show being in the bloc will only add 0.08 per cent to the size of the UK's economy.

The trade area covers a market of around 500 million people, BBC reported.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was established in 2018, and includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Membership of the CPTPP loosens restrictions on trade between member countries and reduce tariffs - a form of border tax - on goods.

Together, the 11 members account for about 13 per cent of the world's income and after 21 months of negotiations, the UK has become the first European country to join, BBC reported.

The government said the agreement is the UK's "biggest trade deal since Brexit".

However, the gains for the UK from joining the bloc are expected to be modest. The UK already has free trade deals with all of the members except Brunei and Malaysia, some of which were rolled over from its previous membership of the EU.

But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the deal demonstrated the "real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms".

"As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation. British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific," he said.

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the agreement is like "buying a startup", BBC reported.
New Delhi, March 31 : As search trends for online misinformation in India reach an all-time high in 2023, Google on Friday said that its "About this result" feature will be available globally, including in nine Indian languages, to help people all over the world evaluate information and understand where it's coming from.

"Now, whether you're searching in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu or Punjabi, you'll see the three dots next to most results on Google Search. Tapping those three dots gives you a way to learn more about where the information you're seeing is coming from and how our systems determined that it might be useful for your query," Google said in a blogpost.

With this, users will be able to make a more informed decision about the sites they may want to visit and what results will be most helpful for them.

To combat misinformation, Google has partnered with media literacy experts to develop training to help participants get a better understanding of how to spot misinformation.

In India, the company partnered with FactShala, a collaborative and multi-stakeholder media literacy network led by over 250 journalists and other experts that run locally tailored workshops and programmes in 15 plus Indian languages.

This year, the company said that FactShala is launching an incubator programme to help media and community organisations experiment with new and innovative formats to aid media literacy and will run a campaign for youth and first-time voters in collaboration with 500 colleges.

Since 2016, through the GNI India Training Network and Google's Teaching Fellows, they have trained over 60,000 journalists and media students on skills required to detect and debunk online misinformation in India.

More than 1,450 newsrooms and 1,200 universities have benefited from over 1,200 workshops offered in 15 plus languages.

Moreover, the tech giant mentioned that it also launched the GNI Fact Check Academy in 2022 to help newsrooms build capacity to verify misleading claims with data and also to tackle climate-related misinformation.

At the end of 2022, YouTube also launched "Hit Pause", a programme to help viewers spot and evaluate misinformation in India.
Hyderabad, March 31 : Telangana Congress President A. Revanth Reddy on Friday complained to the Enforcement Directorate about Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) exam paper leak and urged the Central agency to conduct the investigation.

He alleged that cash transactions of crores of rupees took place in paper leak case and there were even hawala transactions by those based abroad.

Alleging that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the state government is questioning few people and leaving others, he demanded the ED to question all those involved.

The state Congress chief, along with other Congress leaders, visited the ED regional office to lodge a complaint about money laundering.

Revanth Reddy alleged that the state government is trying to shield the real culprits in the case while lower ranking employees have been made a scapegoat.

He alleged that the TSPSC has become a den of cheats and fraudsters and wondered why Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was not speaking anything on the case.

Revanth Reddy alleged that the BRS government was in slumber when question papers were being leaked and sold. He remarked that if the government elders involved in the leak are hanged at martyrs' memorial , it will not be wrong.

He alleged that KCR's family is not bothered about the deaths of students. He said that the crime of question paper leak in the TSPSC started with Shankar Lakshmi but she has been made a witness in the case.

The MP also alleged that since individuals holding key positions in the government were involved, the government constituted SIT to shield them.

He said Minister K. T. Rama Rao publicly revealed the marks scored by candidates and wondered who gave confidential information to him. "Officials are saying they have not given this information. Did it come from fraudsters? What is KTR's link with them," he asked.

Revanth Reddy also alleged that KTR was controlling the investigation and the SIT was calling only those individuals whom KTR wanted it to be questioned.

On KTR sending legal notice, Revanth Reddy said he was not scared of his threats to file defamation suit. He challenged KCR to recommend a probe by the CBI or the ED in the paper leak.
Mumbai, March 31 : Hollywood's star couple Tom 'Spider-Man' Holland and Zendaya arrived in Mumbai for the first time.

Several pictures of the duo emerged online soon after they exited the Kalina Airport, which exclusively serves people with private jets. Zendaya smiled as she exited the airport while Tom was seen focused on walking towards his car.

The 'Euphoria' actress looked casually chic in her white T-shirt paired with denim and a long jacket and Tom wore a pink tee teamed with blue denim pants and a black jacket.

According to media reports, the two are in India to attend the launch of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai.

Earlier, while promoting the film 'Uncharted', Tom had told IANS that he is a big fan of India, even though he never got a chance to visit the country. He said: "I am grateful to my fans in India for the kind of love and support I have received." The actor had also expressed his wish to see the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Popularly addressed as 'Tomdaya' by their fans, the two stars first met in 2016 during the shoot of their film 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'.

Back then, Tom had told 'People' magazine that they were the "best of friends" but they eventually opened up about their feelings for each other.
Lahore, March 31 : The Lahore High Court has stopped the caretaker government of Pakistan Punjab from handing over at least 45,267 acres of land in three districts - Bhakkar, Khushab and Sahiwal - of the province to the Pakistan Army for 'Corporate Agriculture Farming', media reports said on Friday.

On Thursday, a two-page verdict was issued by Judge Abid Hussain Chattha over a petition filed by Ahmad Rafay Alam on March 28 on behalf of Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan, Dawn reported.

About two weeks ago, the Pakistan Punjab government had signed an agreement to hand over the land to the army, referring to a notification dated February 20, 2023 and a joint venture agreement of March 8, the report said.

According to the verdict, the LHC has barred the Punjab caretaker government from extending any "lease of state land" for the above-mentioned purpose as per the government's notification.

Noting that the points raised by the petitioner "need consideration", the high court issued notices to the respondents for May 9 and asked them to submit a response by then.

It also sent notices to the Attorney General of Pakistan and the Advocate General of Punjab province.

The petition filed by Alam had named Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman, the Punjab Board of Revenue, the Punjab agriculture secretary, the Punjab forest, wildlife and fisheries secretary, the Punjab irrigation secretary and the Punjab livestock & dairy development secretary among the respondents.

It had asked the court to declare that the caretaker government "cannot take major policy decisions" and also declare the February 20 notification as "illegal, null and void", Dawn reported.

Citing a letter dated March 10 that was issued to the Punjab Board of Revenue, it had further asked that the "handing over of any and all properties/land by and between the respondents" be declared "illegal, null and void" as well.
Agartala, March 31 : The ruling BJP in Tripura on Friday said it will constitute an inquiry committee to probe into an episode wherein party MLA Jadab Lal Debnath was caught on camera watching an obscene video on his mobile phone in the Tripura Assembly.

"Tripura unit BJP president Rajib Bhattacharjee issued a notice to Debnath seeking his clarification but he is yet to reply to that notice," a senior BJP leader told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

Opposition parties, however, continued to demand Debnath's sacking from the Assembly membership.

Earlier, Nath watching a video while the session was on, went viral on social media, leading to sharp criticism of the legislator. Netizens termed the act as 'shameful'.

The MLA has been accused of watching some obscene content on his mobile phone.

The first three-day session of the newly constituted Tripura Assembly was held on March 24 and March 27 and 28.

When contacted by IANS, the BJP legislator denied the allegations, and said it was a conspiracy against him.

"When I tried to answer a phone call, a website was opened and immediately I closed it," Debnath said, adding that he is in touch with Assembly Speaker (Biswa Bandhu Sen) and state BJP president (Rajib Bhattacharjee).

"I will take the next course of action as per the guidance of the Speaker and the state party President," said Nath, who was elected to the state Assembly in the February 16 Assembly elections for the first time from the Bagbassa assembly constituency in north Tripura.

The 55-year-old leader is also the secretary of BJP's Tripura state unit.

Criticising the BJP legislator, Opposition leader Animesh Debbarma said "the MLAs are responsible persons and their acts should not create a bad precedent for others, especially the younger generation." Demanding appropriate action against the legislator, Debbarma, a senior leader of the Tipra Motha Party, said that in 2012, BJP legislators in Karnataka and Gujarat were also caught on camera watching obscene videos and the party immediately took action and they also quit the assembly membership.

The CPI-M and Congress also criticised Nath and demanded action against him.

"Operation of mobile phones inside the Assembly is restricted. We should all concentrate on the proceedings and business of the House. Despite that, Nath watched the obscene video damaging the reputation of the House," said Birajit Sinha, state Congress chief and one of the three party MLAs.

"If the BJP has minimum morality, it must take action against Nath," Sinha, a former minister, told the media.

Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman also separately demanded quashing of Debnath's assembly membership.
New Delhi, March 31 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing BJP workers across the country at the party's 43rd Foundation Day on April 6, where he will give the mantra of social harmony to party leaders and workers through his speech.

The BJP will be celebrating the social harmony week from April 6 till April 14, which marks the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar.

The saffron party has already started preparations to celebrate its foundation day with great fervour.

The BJP has decided that April 6 to 14 will also be celebrated as the Social Justice Week. During this, the steps taken for the welfare of poor, deprived, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes will be discussed.

BJP is the largest party in the world which has the maximum number of MPs, MLAs and Councillors in the country. The party has formed government in majority of the states in the country.

BJP workers across the country have been instructed to celebrate the party's Foundation Day with much enthusiasm. Along with this, it has been said that the flag of the party should be hoisted and sweets and fruits must be distributed.

Instructions have been given to the BJP workers to listen to the Prime Minister's speech at every booth and the party flag will also be installed at every booth president's house.

On the birth anniversary of Ambedkar, flowers should be offered on the photo of Ambedkar at all booths, mandal, district and state offices of the BJP.

Cleanliness campaign should be conducted in the surroundings and there is a party order to discuss the decisions taken by the Modi government for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes.

On April 11, the birth anniversary of great social reformer and thinker Jyotiba Phule, instructions have been given to pay floral tributes on his portrait.

Instructions have been given to the BJP workers across the country to discuss the historical decisions taken by the Modi government and the BJP governments in various states for welfare of the Backward Classes.

Senior BJP workers and meritorious students must be rewarded in every district, free health check-up camps must be organised and all MPs, MLAs and other people's representatives have been instructed to be present in all these programmes.
Mumbai, March 31 : Hours after a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party Minister dropped hints of axing the Maha Vikas Aghadi rally on April 2, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Police issued permission to hold the event on Friday, officials said.

This will be the first combined rally of the MVA allies Congress-Nationalist Congress Party-Shiv Sena (UBT) in this historic global tourist spot famed for the Ajanta-Ellora caves.

The rally will be held on Sunday evening at 5 p.m. at the Marathwada Sanskritik Mahamandal grounds for which the last minute preparations are currently underway even as BJP Minister Girish Mahajan dropped hints on Friday afternoon that the permission may not be granted.

Top MVA leaders including former chief ministers Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Uddhav Thackeray, Leaders of Opposition Ajit Pawar (Assembly) and Ambadas Danve (Council), state presidents Nana Patole (Congress) and Jayant Patil (NCP), senior leaders like Congress Legislature Party Leader Balasaheb Thorat, former Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal and Sanjay Raut, MP are likely to address.

A Congress leader said that "it will be a mammoth gathering of supporters of all the three parties from Marathwada and surroundings, with Danve supervising the arrangements for the event along with leaders of the other two allies".

Earlier, referring to Mahajan's veiled warnings of stopping the rally if it vitiated the disturbed atmosphere there, Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe dared the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP to show guts and deny permission.

"They are scared of defeat and are resorting to such antics... if they have guts, come out in the open and fight us," Londhe challenged.

Ahead of the event, the government and the MVA have been hurtling barbs at each other on the clashes that erupted in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalgaon and Mumbai during the Ram Navami celebrations coinciding with the holy month of Ramzan in the past two days.

Sena (UBT) MP Raut had pointed fingers at the government claiming that the riots were 'state-sponsored' and intended to derail the MVA's rally, while Pawar declined comments saying the rally preparations are on.

Mahajan told mediapersons that if the MVA rally could create further law-and-order problems, then the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP government may not allow the gathering.

He said that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis are monitoring the situation closely in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and if the police report was negative, given the current situation, a suitable decision may be taken, Top leaders of the major political parties have appealed to all to exercise restraint and refrain from making any provocative statements that could aggravate the delicate situation.
Shimla, March 31 : The 173-years-old heritage The Retreat, the summer holiday resort of the President on the outskirts of Himachal Pradesh capital, earlier known as the Presidential Retreat, will be thrown open for the public from April 23, it was announced on Friday.

President Droupadi Murmu will open the historical estate for the public officially during her visit to Shimla.

This was revealed at a meeting held in the Rashtrapati Niwas in Mashobra, just 15 km uphill from Shimla where Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's cottage is located.

Chaired by Additional Secretary to the President, Rakesh Gupta, it was informed that the President will formally launch opening of the Retreat on her scheduled visit to Shimla.

Subsequently, the visitors and the tourists will be able to visit the retreat on a nominal fee of Rs 50 per person for Indian nationals and Rs 250 per person for foreign nationals throughout the year, except on Monday and other government holidays and also during the President's stay.

The visit of school children of government schools will be free till June 30.

The key attractions for the tourists will be the main building, enabling the glimpses into the life of the Presidents, official dining halls and artifacts.

Besides, the lush green lawns with wide range of attractions like curated tulip and other flower beds will be an added attraction.

Also the nature trails and the orchards at Rashtrapati Niwas will be open for the visitors and adventure enthusiasts. The public can also book online from April 15 through the official website of the Rashtrapati Bhavan https://visit.rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in This is being done on the analogy of Rashtrapati Nilayam (Niwas) in Hyderabad and the President's House in New Delhi that have already been open to the public and witnessing a huge footfall.

For the convenience of tourists, the Rashtrapati Niwas in Mashobra will provide a cloakroom, wheelchair access, a cafe, a souvenir store, restrooms, water dispensers across campus, guided tours with scholar guides and a first-aid set up.
In February, the Cultural Arts Center hosted its annual Wiregrass Talent Quest Jr. event with over 20 individual acts and 36 students participating from the Wiregrass area.

Part of the Talent Quest event is the Peoples Choice Award where anyone can vote online or at the event for the student of their choice. The winner of this portion of the event receives $100 but the school they attend receives 30% of the total amount raised through Peoples Choice Voting and the winning student gets to choose where in the arts at their school this money can be spent.

Winning Peoples Choice Award student, Emmalyn Wilkes, a student at Dauphin Junior High School in Enterprise donated her $377.50 prize to her school to be used in the WFIN broadcasting and news program at Dauphin.

Wilkes is a reporter for WFIN, the school station where they publish and make news reports, edit film and print, do the daily announcements at their school, and have their own news channel within the school.

Wilkes and her WFIN advisor and teacher, Crystal Edgar, have decided to apply this gift to update the newsroom technology packages. WFIN is a year long communications and broadcasting class at her school.

Hats off to Emmalyn Wilkes from Enterprise for raising the most money in Peoples Choice Award and for playing a magnificent violin in the competition, said Cultural Arts Center Director Ann Cotton.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 31 : Kerala Chief Secretary V.P. Joy has issued an order directing all IAS and IPS officials in the state not to accept awards from private organisations or individuals without getting prior permission from the state government.

The order says that from now on, all such officials will have to apply through the General Administration Department for the sanction.

If any official fails to follow the procedures, strict action will be taken against them, the order said.

The directive comes after a section of the Kerala Police officials registered a strong protest on an IAS official getting an award from a private organisation for effective management of the devotees at a prominent temple in the state.

It is common in the state, especially among clubs and organisations, especially in the private sector to give away awards to those who occupy high posts, especially in the government, not to mention political personalities.
Ahmedabad, March 31 : The Gujarat High Court on Friday ruled that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) need not furnish the degree and post-graduate certificates of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This verdict came after Justice Biren Vaishnav set aside the order of the Chief Information Commission (CIC) that directed the public information officer (PIO) of PMO and the PIOs of Gujarat University and Delhi University to provide details of PM Modi's graduation and post-graduation degrees.

The court also imposed costs of Rs 25,000 on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had sought details of PM Modi's degree certificate.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by Gujarat University challenging the order of CIC.

PM Modi has stated that he completed his graduation from Gujarat University in 1978 and post-graduation from Delhi University in 1983.

During a hearing held last month, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the University, argued that the varsity could not be compelled to disclose the information.

He emphasised that the information sought has nothing to do with the PM's role as a public figure, and there is no public interest involved in this issue.

Mehta added that the information sought must be related to public activity, as per the provisions of the RTI Act.

Earlier, senior advocate Percy Kavina, who appeared for Aam Aadmi Party convenor Kejriwal, countered the Solicitor General's submissions.

Kavina said that the degree was not available on the internet as argued by the Solicitor General, and sought a copy of the degree.

In February 2023, Kavina (for the respondent) argued that disclosure of the educational qualifications of an election candidate is mandated by law, and questioned the Gujarat University's move to challenge the CIC order despite the PIO of PMO not challenging it.

In 2016, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released copies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BA and MA degrees, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the documents were fake.

Former AAP leader Ashutosh pointed out discrepancies in the documents, alleging that the PM's name in the BA degree is different from that in his MA degree.

In response to the allegations, senior BJP leaders Amit Shah and the late Arun Jaitley released copies of PM Modi's degrees and criticized Arvind Kejriwal.

Jaitley even stated that the Prime Minister "struggled" and did hard work during his student life to get the degrees.
New Delhi, March 31 : The Rupali Ganguly-starrer 'Anupamaa' is heading towards a new twist with Anuj, played by Gaurav Khanna, finally deciding to end his relationship with her.

It was already seen in the show that with the entry of Maya in Anuj's life, his relationship with Anupamaa has been spoiled. There were major differences between them and finally he started staying with Maya and his adopted daughter Choti Anu, played by Asmi Deo.

Now, in the coming episode, when Anupamaa's mother, essayed by Savita Prabhune, went to meet Anuj to sort out the differences between the two, he made it clear that he is not interested in going back to Anupamaa.

Even as Anupamaa seeks divine blessings so that her relationship is saved, Anuj is firm on calling it off.

Anuj asks Anupamaa's mother to tell her daughter that "the chapter of Anuj has been deleted from her life." 'Anupamaa' airs on Star Plus.
Bengaluru, March 31 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai claimed on Friday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will get absolute majority in the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled on May 10.

Talking to reporters at the Ghati temple in Bengaluru Rural district, Bommai said that several pre-poll surveys/opinion polls have been conducted and all of them indicate a neck-to-neck fight between the BJP and the Congress.

"There is still one-and-a-half months left before the Assembly polls, and the results will be in BJP's favour," the Chief Minister said.

However, sources in the BJP confirmed that party leaders are upset with some pre-poll surveys hinting at a setback for the saffron party and electoral gains for the Congress.

Asked about the announcement of the candidates' list, Bommai said the process has started and it will be announced within a week.

On gathering opinions about the probable candidates, the Chief Minister said the booth-level office-bearers at the grassroots level are collecting opinions which would be reviewed at the taluk and district level and then sent to the BJP Parliamentary Board.

"Opposition leader Siddaramaiah is frustrated as he had declared that the 2013 Assembly elections would be his last, but he again contested in 2018. Now he is set to contest elections again.

"A person becoming the Chief Minister is not important, what is important is what he would do for the people as the CM. The people of Karnataka rejected the Congress in the 2018 Assembly elections and the same will happen on May 10," Bommai said.

Reacting to the opposition parties' statements that the 4 per cent reservation announced by the state government is a political ploy, the Chief Minister asked why did the Congress not announce it when it was in power in the state.

"This demand for reservation had been pending for the last 30 years and they (Congress) did not consider it due to lack of commitment. They treat people as vote bank. What was impossible for them has been done by the BJP government. So, they (Congress) have become frustrated and are politicising the matter," Bommai said.
Chandigarh, March 31: The role played by a district judicial officer in dealing with the multi-crore scam pertaining to the grabbing of an Indian Air Force airfield in Ferozepur has raised eyebrows in Punjabs legal circles.

The standing counsel for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on March 6, 2023, informed the Ferozepur Civil Judge Jasvir Singh that "vendor, vendees, revenue authorities...few officials of the judiciary are involved... in the massive... fraud." The MoD was opposing the fraudsters' execution petition based on and emanating from a surreptitiously procured decree from the court of Additional District Judge Sachin Sharma in 2019.

Giving a backgrounder of the airfield, MoD's counsel told the court that the British government acquired 982.02 acres of land for an all-weather airfield in 1942. The compensation for the acquired land was duly paid to the owners as there were no pending claims. During Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's tenure, a scheme to "Grow More" food grains was started. There was food scarcity in the country. All the vacant parts of the 982.02 acres of the Ferozepur airfield land were leased-out to about 40 farming families titling them as farm managers.

Later, after the green revolution, the lessees were asked to vacate the land. The government had to initiate legal action under the Public Premises (eviction) Act 1971. Finally, all the lessee farm managers who tilled the land were evicted on Supreme Courts orders.

Interestingly, in 1997, Usha Ansal, the General Power of Attorney (GPA) holder, given by Madan Mohan Lal Ansal, sold off 15 acres of land, out of the airfield's total 982.02 acres. It happened by manipulating records in connivance with revenue officials. The involvement of the then SDM DPS Kharbanda, who now stands promoted to the IAS, is abundantly clear in records. Madan Mohan Lal Ansal died in 1991, thereby turning the GPA infructuous. Yet sale deeds were registered in 1997 and mutation (Intikal) was done in 2001.

Armed with the mutations, the 5-new owners, Jagir Singh, Dara Singh (one) Dara Singh (two) Manjit Kaur, Surjit Kaur and Mukhtiar Singh, moved the civil court demanding that the land be restored to them as the Army had illegally and forcibly evicted them in 2006. The court of Gurpreet Kaur, JMIC, dismissed their petition in 2014.

The five fraudsters filed an appeal in the court of Additional District Judge (ADJ) K.K.Goyal, which was dismissed in default on March 21, 2017, on the grounds of non-appearance on 40 dates fixed for hearings. Then, to get the case revived, a restoration application (legally called Civil Miscellaneous (CM) application), was moved before the same judge. But again, nobody appeared in court for over 2 years.

Later, ADJ Sachin Sharma replaced K. K. Goyal on transfer. Sharma took up the restoration application on April 30, 2019, for the first time. After summer vacation in June, the ADJ held the next hearing on August 4, 2019, though the date announced and fixed in the open court was August 5. On August 4, without deciding on the restoration application, Sachin Sharma summoned the complete record of the dismissed case. According to legal experts, the judge could not have called for the complete record without reviving (restoring) a dead case file.

On August 19, the counsel for MoD moved an application before ADJ Sachin Sharma, praying that a spot inspection be done of the airfield to establish who was in possession of the land and to see if any crop was standing on the 15 acres of the concrete airstrip bearing khasra number 71. It was requested that a team comprising revenue officials, engineers and a court-authorised local commissioner inspect the spot before reviving a dismissed case.

Setting a record of sorts, ADJ Sachin Sharma dismissed the MoD request on August 20 in a hearing before lunch, terming it premature. In the after lunch's inconclusive hearing, he writes on file, "to come up on August 24 for further hearing on the main appeal." On August 24, he wrote, fixed for arguments on the restoration application on August 25.

On the next hearing on August 25, fixed for arguments on the restoration application, ADJ Sharma first allowed the Civil Miscellaneous application, restoring a dismissed case. And, after lunch the same day, allowed the main appeal.

He did not give MoD any opportunity to argue against allowing the appeal. The matter was decided in the absence of counsel. The judge, in his order, directed the MoD to vacate and hand over the 15 acres of costly land to the 5 new owners.

Indianarrative.com got in touch with ADJ Sachin Sharma, now posted in Chandigarh. Sharma said that he could not speak without the permission of the High Court's Registrar (General), Ramesh Kumar Dimri. He did not reply to some queries emerging from the case proceedings that were sent on his WhatsApp phone number.

This correspondent emailed the same queries to Registrar Dimri seeking answers from the ADJ. Even after 3-days of waiting, Dimri did not get back.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Bhopal, March 31 : The death toll in Indore's Sri Baleshwar Mahadev temple tragedy has risen to 36, with the body of the last missing person - a 53-year-old man - being retrieved from the deep stepwell on Friday afternoon.

With this, an over 24-hour-long rescue operation by around 140 personnel including 75 Indian Army men and SDERF (State Disaster Emergency Response Force) was concluded.

Initiating action, Indore police have registered a case of culpable homicide against Sevaram Galani, who is said to be head of Sri Baleshwar Mahadev temple trust. Meanwhile, the Indore Municipal Corporation said it had suspended two officers (a building officer and a building engineer), who were in charge of Patel Nagar area where the temple is located.

Out of total 36 people who died in the heart wrenching incident, the youngest victim was a two-year-old boy, Hitansh, while the eldest one was an 80-year-old woman identified as Jayvanti Devi, according to police. Most of the victims were women.

At least 20 people, who were rescued safely in the first four hours of the incident, were admitted at Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital, popularly known as MY Hospital. Four to five of them were at a critical stage.

As per the official reports, over one hundred residents from several nearby localities thronged the temple to offer their prayer on the occasion of Ram Navami on Thursday morning. While, were busy in chanting mantras as the 'havan' process at the temple was going on, around 11.30 a.m., a concrete area on which around 40-45 people were standing and were praying caved-in and they all fell into a deep step-well. The people were not aware that the place where they were standing was an actually a makeshift cover over the deep stepwell, which was illegally covered years back.

Sources told IANS that the the Indore civic body had issued a couple of notices to the temple trust directing to remove the concrete slab from the stepwell, including a fresh notice issued in January this year, but no action was taken.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, accompanied by Home Minister Narottam Mishra, inspected the incident spot on Friday, where they were joined by Water Resource Minister Tulsi Silawat and Indore's Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav.

"We have directed a statewide survey and probe of all such covered bawlis (wells), to prevent such tragedies in future. Also, all open borewells will be traced and action initiated against those responsible. A magistral inquiry has also been ordered and basis of its reports the action would be initiated against," Chouhan said in a media briefing upon reaching Indore on Friday morning.

He and the ministers also visited the MY hospital to meet those rescued and were receiving medical treatment there. However, they had to face the ire of the people as a large number of people had gathered at the hospital and shouted slogans against him.
Los Angeles, March 31 : Marty is headed to the French Riviera! The Cannes Film Festival, reports Deadline, has confirmed that Martin Scorsese's 'Killers of The Flower Moon' will get its world premiere on the Croisette on Saturday, May 20, in the Grand Theatre Lumiere.

One of this year's most anticipated movies, the Apple charge has been long considered a likely Cannes contender, reports Deadline.

The film will play in Official Selection, but it's not clear yet whether it will be in Competition -- that will become clear at the festival's press conference in mid-April. Treading the red carpet will be Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal.

As per Deadline, 'Killers of the Flower Moon', which is based on David Grann's best-selling book and written for the screen by Eric Roth and Scorsese, is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the 'Reign of Terror'.

The film will first be released exclusively in theatres, in partnership with Paramount Pictures, limited on Friday, October 6 and wide on Friday, October 20, in the U.S. The French release is set for October 18. It will then stream globally on Apple TV+.

Scorsese was awarded the Palme d'Or in 1976 with 'Taxi Driver', which was presented in Competition. He subsequently came back to the Official Selection on a regular basis and won the Best Director's Award for 'After Hours', 10 years after the success of 'Taxi Driver'. In 1998, he was the President of the Jury that presented the Palme d'Or to Greek director Theo Angelopoulos for Eternity and a Day.
Chennai, March 31 : The two Indian stock markets went up on Friday, the last day of FY23, with scrips in most of the sectors ending in green, said experts.

Globally too the markets rallied up with foreign institutional investors (FII) being the net buyers. However, volatility in the market will continue owing to the banking crisis in the US and Europe, they added.

"Indian markets witnessed a smart rally today, led by the large caps and supported by small and mid-caps. Indian markets played a catch-up rally with global markets, which had witnessed two consecutive days of the strong move, while Indian markets were closed yesterday (Thursday) due to a holiday," said Naveen Kulkarni, Chief Investment Officer, Axis Securities.

"Though we have seen a decent rally in the markets this week, we believe that markets may remain volatile in the near term, as the banking crisis in US and Europe has not yet stabilised completely. This is against the backdrop where bond yields in the US have also risen in the past week, which could further escalate banking issues there," he added.

According to Dr. Joseph Thomas, Head of Research, Emkay Wealth Management, the improving sentiments in the developed markets, especially the US, was reflected on the domestic equity markets.

"The rising expectations of a contained banking crisis without any contagion, coupled with higher jobless claims led to markets betting on Fed (US Federal Reserve) going slow on the rate hikes front. The markets seem to be discounting some of the positives, the market movement going ahead may be more data dependent and look at validation of the expectations," he said.

Domestic indices ended the last day of the month on optimistic note led by rally in global markets and FIIs turning net buyers, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

"Nifty opened gap up and continuously strengthened throughout the session to close with handsome gains of 279 points (1.6 per cent) at 17,360 level. All sectors ended in green with Oil & Gas, IT and Realty being major gainers. Niche sectors like Sugar and Defence too were in limelight and we expect this momentum to continue," he added.

In the near term, focus will now remain on the RBI's policy meeting next week, where 25-bps rate hike is expected in line with the hikes done by major global central banks. Apart from this, markets will also react to monthly auto sales number data that will be released over the weekend, Khemka said.

The Sensex of the BSE opened at 58,273.86 points after closing at 57,960.09 on Thursday. It touched a high of 59,068.47, reached a low of 58,273.86 before closing at 58,991.52 points, gaining 1,031 points.
New York, March 31 : Millions of Americans, who support or hate former President Donald Trump, wonder how his indictment by a grand New York jury of a lower Manhattan court on "tax fraud" and "hush money" to an adult star play out in court -- like any defendant or look very different.

Most Republicans in the GOP from former Vice-President Mike Pence to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has been at the but end of severe and harsh criticism by Trump, however have rallied round Trump denouncing the sealed indictment by the jury as "political persecution: Trump and his son Eric, Vice- President of the Trump businesses, have called the indictment a political witch-hunt". Most GOP members feel the indictment would brighten Trump's dim prospects of nomination in the primaries for the 2024 presidential run, media report said.

A CNN report said that the Manhattan grand jury's indictment of Trump will set in motion a criminal process that will in some ways work like that of any other defendant, and in other ways, look very different.

In the US when a person is indicted, the charges are sometimes kept under seal until the defendant makes his first appearance in court. At present, the charges against the former President voted for indictment and trial by the grand jury of New York are under a sealed envelope and kept secret, though a 30-minute testimony has been leaked.

A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Trump's attorney has been contacted to coordinate his surrender before the court.

"Trump's lawyer has been informed that the District Attorney's Office notice for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment will remain under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected," Bragg added in a statement.

A first appearance in court in US courts are usually public proceedings and in some cases the facility for self-surrender for the defendant is made with his lawyers. That's voluntarily turning themselves into law enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile, the New York police has been issued an internal memo to be ready in uniform to be on duty when the possible surrender takes place, media reports said.

The country is said to be on the edge and going into a frenzy with supporters, with actions similar to January 6 when Trump makes his appearance in court.

Trump's attorneys were informed of the grand jury's vote shortly after the indictment was publicly reported. Trump will in all probability be given the allowance of turning himself in voluntarily, according to multiple sources quoted by CNN.

Proceedings in a first appearance of a defendant, as in Trump this case, can vary entirely.

A first appearance is also considered an arraignment, when a plea is expected to be entered. Release conditions are discussed -- such as travel restrictions or home confinement -- at a first appearance and defendants are informed of their rights. The lawyers for the government and the defendant also often enter their appearance at this stage of the court proceedings, media reports said.

Trump is not likely to be treated differently or given extra privileges because he is a former President, but he will have to go through the same processes that any defendant must go through when a charge is brought.

However, Trump's status as a former President and nominee for the 2024 Presidential run will invite additional security. Whatever travel Trump must take for his arraignment will need to be coordinated with the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies, reports said.

Those conversations between the Secret Service, the US Marshals Service and the New York Police Department have already begun, a senior NYPD source told CNN.

Meanwhile, Trump, who wants to turn his arrest or surrender as a public spectacle to garner sympathy among his supporters and possible voters, has told his advisers that he wants to be handcuffed when he makes his appearance in court, should the indictment follow suit in the hush money case involving an adult star Stormy Daniels in the 2016 pre- poll campaign.

Trump believes if he has to go to the courthouse to surrender, he would be fingerprinted and have a mugshot taken for police records, the sources close to him said, he may as well turn everything into a "spectacle".

Trump's insistence for being handcuffed for a perp walk arises from reasoning that he wants to project a certain strong defiance against an unfair prosecution hoping that would galvanize his base for his 2024 presidential campaign.

People close to Trump said that at the same time Trump was deeply anxious of special arrangements -- his first court appearance -- by video link or his skulking into the court room would render him weak and project him as a loser.

Trump's legal team has balked at his personal appearance asking he be allowed to quietly turn himself in next week in a scheduled remote appearance. Lawyers cited guidance from his Secret Service detail about potential security concerns.

Media reports said Trump told various allies over the weekend that he didn't care if someone shot him -- he would become "a martyr".

Trump added if he got shot he would probably win the presidency in 2024, the sources said.
Washington, March 31 : After failing to prevent the city of Seattle from outlawing caste-based discrimination, right-wing Hindu Americans are girding up to stop the state of California from going down that route.

Yashwant Raj Washington, March 31 (IANS) After failing to prevent the city of Seattle from outlawing caste-based discrimination, right-wing Hindu Americans are girding up to stop the state of California from going down that route.

The Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective USA (HinduPACT USA), an initiative of Vishwa Hindu Parishad America, has launched a campaign to collect signatures to a petition asking the California Senate "to Reject SB-403 to Protect Hindus from Discrimination".

The Hindu American Foundation, an advocacy body, has opposed the bill in a letter to Democratic state Senator Aisha Wahab, said in a statement it looks forward to "educating" her on the acecomplex issue of caste".

SB-403 is a legislation introduced by Wahab last week, which according to a press announcement, seeks to clarify California civil rights law to explicitly include protection against discrimination based on a person's position in a caste.

Wahab is not exactly new to the issue of caste. "I'm familiar with the impact of caste discrimination from witnessing what friends and their families experienced when growing up in Fremont," she said. "Prior to assuming office, people in my district shared with me their stories of caste discrimination, and I felt they deserved appropriate protections." Afghan-descent Wahab announced the bill last week at a press conference, accompanied by activists and long-time campaigners, who were also at the forefront of the effort led by City council member Kshama Sawant that made Seattle the first city in the US to outlaw caste-based discrimination. It has passed in the Seattle city council 6-1, defying a high-decibel campaign launched by right-wing Hindus Americans from around the country.

California could now become the first US state of ban caste-based discrimination if Senator Wahab's legislation is enacted.

"This bill is about workers' rights, women's rights, and civil rights," Wahab said, announcing the bill at the news conference. "To ensure organisations and companies do not entrench caste discrimination in their practices or policies our laws need to plainly state that discrimination based on caste is illegal." The first case of caste-based discrimination to catch make national headlines in the headlines came from California in 2020 when the states' civil rights department sued Cisco, the networking gear and business software company, on a petition from an Indian-descent employee that the company's human resources department did not take cognizance of his complaint of caste-based discrimination by two of his Indian-descent seniors.

In 2022, California State University, which is America's largest public university system, banned caste-based discrimination after years of activism by Dalit students, including Nepalese-descent Prem Pariyar. Several other US universities are said to be planning the same.

Right-wing Hindu Americans oppose the ban arguing, first, that though caste-based discrimination is appalling, any law banning it here in the US puts a target on the backs of the entire South Asian community, specially Hindus, by portraying them all as purveyors of this practice.

Second, they have argued that discrimination based on caste is covered by existing laws that outlaw all kinds of bias and discrimination and there is no need for a new ban.

Their third, and final, argument is that caste bias in the US is rare and not as rampant as it has been made out to be. They have questioned data cited by supporters of the ban.

"We share the admirable goals of standing up for civil rights and eliminating all forms of prejudice and discrimination, including based on caste," the Hindu American Foundation said in its letter to Senator Wahab the day after she announced the bill.

It added: "So the question is not whether we should deal with any allegations of caste discrimination, but how. As such, if and when incidents of caste discrimination occur, they should be brought to light, thoroughly investigated and rectified under existing law in its current form." Wahab has been expecting this pushback, as has happened in the past to all legislative initiatives regarding civil rights.

"My office has already begun to field opposition inquiries to this bill. What the opposition would have you believe is that this bill's effort to provide clarity of language in state law and protection to caste- oppress Dalits in particular, or formerly known as the untouchables is in turn targeting a different group of oppressed people. That is not the case."
The Dothan Police Department is seeking the publics help in locating a missing woman.

According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Sandra Sue Holland, 76, of Dothan, was last seen leaving her residence at around 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 30.

She was driving a 2013 gold Cadillac with Alabama tag 444AML and was last seen wearing a black and white striped blouse and black pants. She may be living with a condition that could impair her judgment.

Anyone with information is asked to call Dothan Police at 334-793-0215.
Mumbai, March 31 : Sharad Kelkar, who can be seen in the just-released streaming film 'Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga, has shared that he experienced a culture shock when he worked in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2013 film 'Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela'.

The actor started his career in 2004 with the show 'Aakrosh' in which he played Inspector Sachin Kulkarni. The show aired on Doordarshan.

He kept doing films in regional languages and Hindi and then eventually landed a role in the Bhansali directorial 'Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela', starring Ranvir Singh and Deepika Padukone.

The actor said during the 'Cyrus Says' podcast, hosted by Cyrus Broacha, "One of my initial films was 'Ram-Leela'. So I went to the sets on the first day, and there was a crowd of 1,000 people, plus the crew, plus the main actors. 'Aur hum dedh din rehearsal kar rahe the' (we were doing rehearsals for a day-and-a-half)." He added, "'Aur mujhe aise lag raha tha ki kitne paise waste ho rahe hai. Itne mein toh main 13-15 min shoot kardeta (I felt, so much of money is being wasted, I would have shot 13 to 15 minutes of scenes in this time). Because I came from TV, it came as a shocker for me. But once I did the film and we went for the screening, I saw the movie and then I hugged Sanjay (Bhansali) sir." 'Cyrus Says' of IVM Podcasts is hosted by Cyrus Broacha. The episode is available for streaming on YouTube.
New Delhi, March 31 : The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday issued recommendations on "Promoting Local Manufacturing in the Television Broadcasting Sector".

After considering comments received from stakeholders during the consultation process and further analysis of the issues, the Authority has finalised its recommendations.

It said that there is a need to focus on emerging technologies and tenets of the era of convergence and aim at building an ecosystem for broadcast equipment.

Centre of Excellence may be established for broadcast equipment or existing Telecom Centres of Excellence may be upgraded to focus on broadcast equipment as well.

The recommendations talk about enabling organisations like Telecom Export Promotion Council (TEPC) or some similarly placed organisation to promote and facilitate exports of locally manufactured broadcast equipment.

Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), Department of Telecommunications, should be mandated to test and standardise all the broadcast equipment, it added.

It also included strengthening existing R&D centres in the public sector, such as C-DOT, developing the local R&D ecosystem along with industry participation through the PPP route and creating 'Technology development Fund' to promote R&D and development of local products/technologies for the broadcasting sector.

It said that a go-to market strategy may also be adopted for the products developed through local R&D and linear set-up boxes should be brought under the PLI scheme.

"Periodically review the availability of indigenous components required for broadcasting equipment, including chipsets. The availability of local components will be taken into consideration while setting the localisation levels under the PLI scheme. Review the investment outlay required for obtaining benefits under the PLI scheme with a view to promote manufacturing by MSME for some selected equipment as may be identified from time-to-time," says the recommendations.

It also said to promote local manufacturing of other relevant components of the television broadcasting sector along the lines of Semicon India Program and to define the scope of 'local manufacturing' for different equipment categories in the television broadcasting sector in terms of the percentage of the locally sourced components/services.

The recommendations also include reviewing FTAs and such agreements with regard to their impact on local manufacturing in the television broadcasting sector.

The Authority with the objective of realistically assessing India's true potential in equipment manufacturing and to arrive at the recommendations to the Indian government that would enable Indian broadcasting equipment manufacturing sector to transition from an import-dependent sector to a global hub of indigenous manufacturing, has suo-motu issued a consultation paper on "Promoting Local Manufacturing in the Television Broadcasting Sector" on December 22, 2021, for seeking comment of all the stakeholders.
London, March 31 : UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been facing the heat after it emerged that his wife Akshata Murthy has shares in a childcare agency, which stands to gain from a new policy announced in the recent budget.

Koru Kids, which lists the PM's billionaire wife as a shareholder, is likely to benefit from a scheme announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, which offers 1,200 pounds to individuals who train to become child-minders through an agency, The Guardian reported.

Appearing before the liaison committee this week, Sunak did not mention his wife's interest when speaking about the childcare changes.

"No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way," he told Labour MP Catherine McKinnell when she asked him whether he had anything to declare.

The public register of ministerial interests, which was last updated in June 2022, only mentions that Akshata owns Catamaran Ventures UK Ltd, a venture capital investment company.

Wendy Chamberlain, the Liberal Democrat chief whip, wrote to Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministerial interests, highlighting the provision in the code that requires ministers to avoid conflicts between their public duties and private interests.

"The Prime Minister's family does appear to have a relevant financial interest in Koru Kids - which has benefited from a recent change to government policy. There is a clear question as to whether articles 7.1 and 7.7 of the ministerial code have been breached," The Guardian quoted Chamberlain as saying.

"Rishi Sunak must explain why he failed to come clean when asked about the shares his family held in a company now set to financially benefit from a childcare policy announced in his budget," Angela Rayner, Labour's deputy leader, said.

Sunak's spokeswoman said: "He has followed the process in terms of declaring his interests as set out in the ministerial code".

She said the First Lady's holdings in the agency were not in the public domain, but said they would be included in the updated statement of ministers' interests, which will come out in May.

According to BBC, the new scheme could drive up the number of childminders entering the profession and generate more business for companies such as Koru Kids, which is listed as one of six childminder agencies on the government's website.

The agency welcomed the government's reforms on its website and said "the new incentives open to childminders are great".The website says new childminders would get a bonus of 1,200 pounds if they "come through an agency like Koru Kids who offer community, training and ongoing support".

Last year, Sunak and his wife entered The Sunday Times Rich List for the first time with their joint 730 million pound fortune.

Indeed, Akshata Murthy is said to be wealthier than even King Charles III due to her 430 million pounds stake in her billionaire tycoon father Narayana Murthy's IT empire.
Hyderabad, March 31 : "Turmeric Board. This is what the board our honourable MP has brought", read yellow colour boards which have come up in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in a unique protest by turmeric farmers over the failed promise of BJP MP Arvind Dharmapuri to set up a Turmeric Noard there.

Two days after the Centre categorically told the Parliament that there is no proposal to establish a Turmeric Board or any other spice-specific Board in the country, hoardings and posters mocking the Nizamabad MP and BJP for their failed promise have come up in the constituency.

The farmers are reminding the BJP MP of his promise that he will get the Turmeric Board within 5 days of winning the election. He had failed to get the board in 4.5 years.

Dharmapuri had even assured farmers that he would resign from his position in Parliament and join the farmer's and people's campaign if he couldn't keep his word.

The BJP leader, who had defeated BRS leader and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K. Kavitha in 2019 polls, had made the promise in writing and even signed it with a non-judicial (bond) stamp. His associates printed copies of the pledge and distributed them throughout the turmeric-growing regions of the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency.

Senior BJP leaders who supported the pledge included Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel had told Parliament on Wednesday that there is no proposal to establish a Turmeric Board or any other spice-specific Board in the country.

She was replying to a question raised by BRS MPs Venkatesh Netha Borlakunta, Kavitha Malothu, Dayakar Pasunoori, and Gaddam Ranjith Reddy in Lok Sabha on the constraints that the Centre was facing to set up the Turmeric Board in Nizamabad.

K. Kavitha, former MP and now BRS MLC, had questioned Dharmapuri about his promises to bring the Turmeric Board to the district in the year 2022. Kavitha made the observation that he had been unsuccessful in convincing the Union government to set up a turmeric board in the district.

In light of disclosures produced using an RTI, Kavitha asked the BJP Nizamabad MP the justification for denying the farmers and people of Nizamabad their basic dues. She also said that the MP was making exaggerated claims about the allocation of Rs 100 crore when, under his administration, every farmer only received Rs 200 from the Turmeric Board.

Kavitha recalled Dharmapuri and the BJP's lofty but erroneous promises to the Nizamabad people to just win an election and tamper with their hopes and needs.

--IANS ms/vd

A
Patna, March 31 : Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Bihar, massive violence arose in Sasaram city on Friday.

The violence was triggered during the Ram Navami march on Thursday when two groups were involved in a quarrel. Following that incident, unidentified hooligans set two houses on fire in Shahjalal Pir locality.

On Friday, the people of two groups involved in stone pelting on each other leading to violence. Sources have said that some firing incidents and bomb blasts also took place in the city.

Following the incident, a large police force was deployed at the affected areas to restore peace. District Magistrate Dharmendra Kumar and SP Vineet Kumar are at ground zero to take control of the situation. The district administration has also imposed section 144 at the affected area as well.

Due to the violence, traders of Kadirganj, Mubarakganj, Chaukhandi, and Navratna Bazar shut their shops.

Shah is slated a rally in Sasaram city on March 2. He will also do a rally in Nawada as well.
Kolkata, March 31 : For the last few years, whenever there have been clashes over any religious function or procession in West Bengal, what invariably followed in the next few days were a series of political slugfest and passing-the-buck episodes.

Not surprisingly, the clashes in Howrah district over a Ram Navami procession on Thursday, which continued till Friday afternoon, have evoked similar reeponse.

Interestingly, the statements made by the political leaders are often quite self-contradictory as is evident this time as well.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while admitting that there have been lapses on the part of the state police in bringing the situation under control before it turned serious, has held the organisers of the procession, who according to her enjoy the backing of BJP, responsible for the violence.

According to Banerjee, the organisers changed the route of the procession at the last moment and deviated from the route permitted by the police, which ultimately led to the clashes.

Trinamool national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee went a step ahead and said the clashes were deliberately planned and instigated by the BJP. The Lok Sabha MP also said that the main aim of the procession was to instigate violence as many armed with firearms and lethal weapons were seen taking part in it.

State BJP President and Lok Sabha MP Sukanta Majumdar said that he agrees with the Trinamool leadership that the clashes were pre-planned.

"But the conspiracy was hatched by the ruling party in close collaboration with a section of the police. In the recent bypoll to the Sagardighi Assembly constituency, Trinamool got a clear indication that a fast erosion in their dedicated minority vote bank has started. So, the Howrah clashes were deliberately orchestrated to win back minority votes using the so-called 'fear' formula about the BJP," Majumdar said.

State Congress chief and veteran leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury criticised the state administration on the point of change of route.

"What were the police doing when the first attempt was made to change the route? Why were there no intelligence inputs of such possible attempts to create clashes," asked the Congress Lok Sabha MP.

Chowdhury also claimed that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the "orchestrated" clashes in Howrah over a religious procession.

Echoing Chowdhury's views, senior CPI(M) leader and former MLA Kaninika Ghosh Bose quoted a famous statement by former Chief Minister and CPI(M) stalwart, late Jyoti Basu.

"Jyoti Base had once said that riots can never happen unless the rulers want them. The Chief Minister is herself admitting lapses on the part of a section of the police. So naturally questions can be raised about the credibility of the Chief Minister who also holds the home portfolio," she said.

Meanwhile, Sukanta Majumdar said that he has spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on this issue.

"The Home Minister is quite concerned. I have also sent a letter to him requesting the Central government to intervene in the matter," Majumdar said.

BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, has already filed a PIL demanding a central agency investigation into the matter.

Till the time of filing this report, the number of arrests made in this case has risen to 46.
Kolkata, March 31 : West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose sprang into action on Friday regarding the clashes in Howrah district on Thursday over a Ram Navami procession after receiving a call from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on this count.

Raj Bhavan sources said that after receiving the call from the Home Minister, the Governor summoned the Chief Secretary, H.K. Dwivedi, and Home Secretary, B.P. Gopalika, to the Governor House on Friday evening.

The sources said that during his meeting with the two top bureaucrats of the state, Bose sought details of the prevailing situation in Howrah and actions taken by the police to restore normalcy in the troubled areas.

The sources also said that there is a possibility that the Governor might also visit the troubled areas. However, there was no confirmation about the timing of his visit.

As per the latest information available, a large contingent of police have already been deployed in the troubled pockets of Howrah district who are conducting flag- marches and frequent patrolling for the purpose of area domination.

Frequent announcements are also being made asking the people to avoid any kind of gathering in the area, cautioning them of legal actions in case of any violation on this count.
New Delhi, March 31 : A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail plea by former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

CBI Judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court had reserved his order on the matter on March 24.

The court had, on March 20, sent him to judicial custody till April 3.

During the pronouncement of order, Judge Nagpal said that Sisodia can, prima facie, be held to be the "architect of the criminal conspiracy".

He observed that the payment of advance kickbacks of around Rs 90-100 crore was meant for him and his other colleagues in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

"The payment of advance kickbacks of around Rs 90-100 crore was meant for him and his other colleagues in the GNCTD and Rs 20-30 crore out of the above are found to have been routed through the co-accused Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally and approver Dinesh Arora and in turn, certain provisions of the excise policy were permitted to be tweaked and manipulated by the applicant to protect and preserve the interests of South liquor lobby and to ensure repayment of the kickbacks to the said lobby," the court held.

The court is not inclined to release Sisodia on bail at this stage of investigation as his release may adversely affect the ongoing investigation and will also seriously hamper the progress, the order stated.

It said that the evidence collected by the probe agency so far shows that the applicant through the co-accused Vijay Nair was in contact with the 'South lobby' and formulation of a favourable policy for them was being ensured at every cost and a cartel was permitted to be formed to achieve monopoly in sale of certain liquor brands of favoured manufacturers and it was permitted to be done against very objectives of the policy.

"Thus, as per allegations made by prosecution and the evidence collected in support thereof so far, the applicant can prima facie be held to be architect of the said criminal conspiracy," the court said.

It held that the allegations made against Sisodia are "serious in nature" and he does not deserve to be released on bail as he was arrested in the CBI case only on February 26 and that the investigation qua his role has still not been completed.

Mere filing of a charge sheet against seven other co-accused in the matter does not matter much in a case like this where deep rooted conspiracy for commission of some economic offences effecting the people at large is alleged to have been committed, the court observed.

It said that the evidence collected so far by the CBI not only shows Sisodia's active participation in the criminal conspiracy, but also the prima facie commission of some substantive offences of the PC Act by him.

"There is also nothing apparent on record to infer or show that arrest of the applicant in this case was illegal or violative of any directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court or the Hon'ble High Courts and rather, the material placed before this court by the CBI justifies the arrest of applicant in the case," the court said.

During the last hearing, one of Sisodia's counsel had said that nothing exceptional was stated by the CBI which would warrant continued custody.

"Nothing on record to show that Sisodia will be threatening the witnesses," counsel said, arguing that Sisodia has cooperated with the CBI investigation and none of the searches have revealed any incriminating material against him.
Chennai, March 31 : Amid the ongoing controversy over sexual harassment charges filed by students of the Kalakshetra Foundation, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women Chairperson A.S. Kumari stated that she would present a report of her findings to the state government on Monday.

She said that she will examine the complaints submitted to her by the students of the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts at the Foundation on Friday.

A.S. Kumari said Friday's enquiry included personal interviews with 12 students, and virtual interviews with five other students. She said that they have also received nearly 100 written complaints against four teachers in the college.

Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin informed the Assembly that action would be taken against the guilty persons.

The Kalakshetra Foundation management had decided to close the college for a period of six days from Friday onwards in the wake of the controversy after the students staged a sit-in protest in the premises since Thursday.

The students have accused four faculty members of verbal and sexual harassment, and have written to the Ministry of Culture in this regard. However, matters came to a head after the internal complaints committee of the institute had concluded that the sexual harassment allegations were baseless.

On Wednesday, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) had also visited the campus and made inquiries about the allegations.

Established in 1936 by dancer Rukmini Devi Arundale, Kalakshetra Foundation is an institute of national importance and offers courses in traditional Indian art forms such as Bharatanatyam dance, and Carnatic music.
Imphal, March 31 : Amid protests, and accusations against his government of adopting "delaying tactics in implementing the NRC", Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Friday said that his government is ready to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state but to do that, an approval from the Central government is required.

He said that the state government has already constituted the Manipur State Population Commission (MSPC) and it would identify the immigrants in the state based on the cut-off year of 1961.

"People of Myanmar seeking asylum in Manipur is a different issue. At any cost, we would protect the demography as well as the tradition and culture of the indigenous people of the state," Singh told the media.

Manipur has witnessed a series of agitations for the past several months with many women, students and youth bodies and civil society organisations have been agitating against the state government's alleged "delaying tactics" in introducing the NRC in the state, and in the functioning of the MSPC.

According to the agitators, the influx of outsiders from both inside and outside the country, including people from Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh, has significantly affected the identity, culture, economy, administration and the environment of Manipur.

The agitating organisations also demanded detecting and deporting illegal immigrants from Manipur.

"We are not against any community or religion, but we want to protect our land, environment, and indigenous communities from the adverse effects of illegal settlement," said a spokesperson for the students' bodies.

After the Manipur Assembly had last year adopted a private member resolution to establish a population commission in Manipur, the state Cabinet earlier approved the establishment of the MSPC.

However, the required official process is yet to start for the functioning of the commission.

The Central government, on December 11, 2019, introduced the ILP (Inner Line Permit) system to strictly monitor the movement of outsiders in the state and to protect the interests of the indigenous people.

The ILP under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, is an official travel document that allows an Indian citizen to visit the states where ILP is enforced for a limited period of time and with a specific purpose.

Meanwhile, the Manipur government has decided to identify those Myanmarese refugees -- who have sought asylum in the northeastern state, and keep them at the designated detention centres.

So far, around 5,000 immigrants, including women and children, have fled from conflict-hit Myanmar after the military took power in the neighbouring country in February 2021.

An official said that the Manipur government has recently constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Tribal Affairs and Hill Development Minister Letpao Haokip after thousands of Myanmarese crossed over to the state due to the armed conflict happening near Indian border areas between the Myanmar Army and the People's Defence Force.
The Town of Cottonwood officially became an incorporated town 120 years ago.

The history of Cottonwood can be traced back to the 1850s. During this time period, it was a crossroads settlement and the main wagon route between settlements in lower Henry County, which is now Houston County.

William Shakespeare Wood is considered to be one of the founders of Cottonwood. He bought thousands of acres of virgin timber and moved into the settlement. As the area continued to draw attention, several landowners from northern Henry County moved into the settlement as well.

A variety of different structures were built, including a general store, a drug store, turpentine mills, a post office, and a church. The postal department designated the office as Cottonwood since many locals named it after a lone cottonwood tree that was growing in the area.

The settlement continued to grow into the 1900s and it eventually became a crossroads community. Two major railroads went through the community to connect Cowarts and Graceville, Florida. In February 1903, Houston County was formed and with it came the incorporation of Cottonwood.

On Feb. 24, a petition for incorporation was delivered to Judge George Leslie from the Houston County Probate Office. Over 50 residents of the Cottonwood settlement signed it, and Leslie ordered an official vote to be held. The vote was held on March 11 and one day later, the results were presented to Leslie.

According to documents discovered in April 2021, incorporation was immediately granted after 43 people voted yes and 19 voted no. Soon after, Leslie issued an order to hold the first municipal election.

On April 1, Dr. H.P. Calhoun was elected as Cottonwoods first mayor and Wood, B.C. Chalker, W.C. Granger, R. Maxham, and A.J. Sellers were elected as town council members.

According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, the Town of Cottonwood recorded a population of 1,133 at the 2020 census. Most of the population works in the retail and education sectors and the town has one high school which is a part of the Houston County school system.
New Delhi, March 31 : A public rally of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Kolar has now been postponed and is scheduled to be held on April 9.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation), K.C. Venugopal said, "@RahulGandhi will be in Kolar on April 9 and address the 'Jai Bharat' mega rally there. On April 11, he will visit Wayanad. He is the voice of the people, you can never silence him. This voice will only get louder and stronger." Gandhi, a former MP, was earlier scheduled to begin his campaign from Kolar for the Karnataka Assembly polls from April 5.

In 2019, Rahul during his Lok Sabha campaign had made a speech for which he was convicted in the Surat court in 2023.

Congress leaders say that beginning from Kolar is itself a manifestation that the party is ready to fight out the 2019 'Modi surname' case politically and legally.

In Kolar, the Congress will attack the Karnataka government on the issue of corruption.

Randeep Singh Surjewala, Karnataka General Secretary In-charge, said the Congress will form the government in the state with the blessings of the people.

"As Karnataka goes to polls on May 10, Congress resolves to usher in a new era of Peace-Progress-Prosperity and rebuild Brand Karnataka, restore Kannadiga pride, Congress guarantees to run a welfare-driven government at the Centre," he added

The Election Commission on Wednesday announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections. The polling will be held on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.

The term of the 224-member Assembly ends on May 24.
Jaipur, March 31 : The back-to-back closed door meetings of the RSS and top BJP leaders in Rajasthan on Friday have triggered speculation of further overhauling in the party organisation in the state.

Recently, the saffron party had named Chittorgarh MP C.P. Joshi as the Rajasthan BJP President, replacing Satish Poonia whose term came to an end in December 2022.

At a time when the party is preparing for the Assembly polls scheduled later this year, BJP's central leadership left many surprised by naming Joshi as the new Rajasthan BJP chief.

Now again speculations have started doing the rounds with the saffron camp calling back-to-back meetings before the scheduled core committee and party MLAs' meeting on April 2.

Party insiders said that veteran BJP leaders, including C.P. Joshi, Arun Singh and B.L. Santosh, arrived in Jaipur on Thursday evening and have been holding closed-door meetings since Friday morning with top RSS leaders.

According to party sources, deputy leader of opposition, Rajendra Rathore, will be promoted as the opposition leader on April 2 during the legislative party meeting.

"At present, Rathore is the frontrunner for this post which has been lying vacant ever since Gulab Chand Kataria was appointed as Governor of Assam," said a senior BJP leader.

A BJP worker said, "The sudden change in the party leadership came as a shock, and now there will be changes within the organisation too for which senior party leaders have come to Jaipur. Rajasthan BJP in-charge Arun Singh has rushed to Jaipur despite his hectic schedule for the Karnataka polls. All this suggests that we are going to see more changes soon."
The "TransFormation Salon" owned and run by the Transgender community, and funded by the US Consulate Mumbai & the USAID, was inaugurated in Kalyan town. Image Source: IANS News

The "TransFormation Salon" owned and run by the Transgender community, and funded by the US Consulate Mumbai & the USAID, was inaugurated in Kalyan town. Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, March 31 : The US Consulate in Mumbai and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have launched a new salon, 'TransFormation', which is owned and operated by members of the transgender community at Kalyan town in Thane, an official said here on Friday.

The occasion was the International Transgender Day of Visibility, and the TransFormation salon is expected to support enhanced career opportunities for the deprived transgender community.

The salon was inaugurated by US Consul-General in Mumbai, Mike Hankey, and USAID Deputy Mission Director, Karen Klimowski, and will offer its services in an inclusive and stigma-free ambience.

"We are proud to support the TransFormation Salon where anyone, regardless of how they identify themselves, can access its services in a safe and inclusive environment. We recognise the contributions of transgender, nonbinary and gender non-forming people. We take pride in supporting improved health outcomes through innovative models that mobilise communities to take charge of their financial and physical health," said Hankey.

Klimowski said that as per the USAID's guiding principle, 'Do nothing about them without them', the transgender community was directly involved in designing and establishing the salon.

"It will not only serve the community, but also enhance career and entrepreneurship opportunities for the local transgenders in a locally-led and inclusive development," said Klimowski.

Neeta Kene, chairperson of the NGO 'Kinnar Asmita', which is running the establishment, said that it sends out a strong message to the society that transgenders with the right kind of skilling and support can effectively mainstream themselves.

"For us, this is not only an initiative on livelihoods, it is on dignity, self-worth, and progress. We are thrilled to start this venture and we need the support of the mainstream to make it a roaring success, both socially and financially," Kene urged.

This is the second salon of its kind in Maharashtra. The first one by the same name and funded by Deutsche Bank and Rotary Club of Mumbai was launched on March 25 at Prabhadevi in Mumbai, followed by Kalyan on Friday, Kene said.

"There are around six professionally-trained staff now and we will cater to all beauty requirements of transgenders and women customers. If we are successful, we plan to open more similar salons in the state by the year-end," Kene told IANS after the inauguration.

Kene added that the USAID has provided the entire funding of around Rs 3.20 million for infrastructure, salaries and other costs, excluding the rent for the premises in Kalyan.

The TransFormation Salon was set up with support from the USAID and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in partnership with FHI 360 and the Humsafar Trust.
Jaipur, March 31 : After appointing C.P. Joshi as Rajasthan BJP President recently, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will soon announce the new Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly.

Rajasthan BJP in-charge Arun Singh, who was in Jaipur on Friday, told mediapersons: "A meeting of party MLAs will be held on April 2 in which the name of the Leader of Opposition will be announced based on the views of the legislators and the decision of the party high command." Singh clarified that the party MLAs will finally decide who will be the Leader of Opposition.

The post is lying vacant ever since Gulab Chand Kataria, who was the Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, was moved as the Governor of Assam. With Rajasthan scheduled to go to the polls later this year, the BJP is likely to keep the caste equation in mind before naming the Leader of Opposition.
Kolkata, March 31 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has once again replaced the investigating officer probing the post-poll violence case in West Bengal in connection with the murder of a BJP worker, Abhijit Sarkar, in Kolkata soon after the results of the 2021 Assembly polls were announced.

Sources said that the new investigation officer appointed in this case is Mithun Biswas, who has already taken charge of the probe and started interacting with the family members of the victim.

This is the fourth time that the central probe agency has changed its investigation officer in this particular case since it launched its probe in 2021. Initially, Ajay Kumar was the investigating officer, who after some time was replaced by S. Gyani. On March 1, Gyani was replaced by Bivek Ranjan Roy. Before the latter could complete a month since taking charge, Roy has been replaced now.

The CBI had earlier replaced its counsel in the case. Although questions are being raised after so many frequent replacements, CBI officials have remained tight-lipped in the matter.

The family members of the victims of post-poll violence have time and again complained about the slow pace of investigation by the CBI in the matter.
New Delhi, March 31 : Veteran politician and former Union minister Murli Manohar Joshi has called upon India to take a leading role in prioritising prosperity, happiness, and peace for every living being.

The senior BJP politician said this while delivering the 5th Devendra Swaroop Memorial Lecture in the national capital on Friday.

"India has to decide where the country stands. Will India remain a mute spectator? The country has to think about it," Joshi said. He then went on to suggest that achieving a better world would require a new revolution - one that focuses on psychological and conscience-related changes.

Joshi also reminisced about his time spent with the late Devendra Swarup, eminent thinker and scholar, at the Allahabad University, describing him as an ideological man who lived a holistic life.

In his speech, Joshi also touched upon the rapid development of nature and society, particularly in the last few decades with the advent of advanced machines and steam engines. He also raised questions about the concept of labour and the changing character of capital and society.

Joshi criticised the concept of the GDP system, stating that it is not an indicator of human development, but rather, exploitation. He emphasised the need for a balanced world, where technology and machines coexist with prosperity and peace.
Kolkata, March 31 : West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose issued a strongly-worded statement on Friday evening on the clashes in Howrah district on Thursday over a Ram Navami procession, wherein he warned that those resposible for the unrest will not be spared.

"Those who resort to violence under the illusion that they can hoodwink the people will soon realise they are in a fool's paradise. There will be effective and concerted action to book the culprits and bring them before the law," the opening lines of the statement issued by the Raj Bhavan read.

According to Bose, setting fire to public property, "that too on the sacred Ram Navami day", is a highly-provocative act and will be viewed seriously.

"Hanuman set fire to Lanka to uphold Dharma. Those who resort to setting fire for 'Adharma' will be made to swallow the fire themselves or those who are mandated to douse the fire will do it decisively," the statement read.

Claiming that West Bengal has always stood united against the perpetrators of heinous crimes against humanity, the Governor said the trouble-makers and abettors will be made to realise that they cannot play 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' in the state anymore.

Bose also gave a strong message to the police, asking the force to be objective, strong and fair.

"Raj Bhavan will keep its eyes and ears open to ensure protection to the life, property and dignity of the common man," the statement read.

The Governor also claimed that he had a confidential discussion with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on this matter.

"The state government has been directed to ensure that fool-proof arrangements are made to maintain law and order effectively, and firm action is taken against the miscreants. The Chief Minister has assured that strict and decisive action will be taken to prevent recurrence of such criminal intimidation," the statement read.

Bose has also ordered real-time monitoring of the situation by the Raj Bhavan, besides constituting a special cell for the same.
Patna, March 31 : After Sasaram, massive violence erupted in Bihar's Nalanda district on Friday in wake of the Ram Navami Shobha Yatra, leading to loss of both public and private property.

A minor child also sustained gunshot injuries. Four other persons also sustained injuries. They were admitted in Sadar hospital and they are said to be out of danger.

The violence was triggered during the Ram Navami Shobha Yatra started from Labour Welfare Centre on Friday evening. When it reached Kanta area, some persons pelted stones from the rooftops of the buildings, and this led to stampede-like situation and then, clashes.

Stones were pelted from both sides and led to protesters going on a rampage and vandalising or setting afire many vehicles, including a police jeep, as well as some shops, while police at the spot were unable to stop them due to inadequate numbers. Some police personnel also bore the brunt of the violence, which swept the Gagandiwan, Bhawarpur, Murarpur and Kanta localities of Nalanda city.

Keeping in view the massive violence, the district administration has deployed a large police contingent in the affected area. District administration has also imposed Section 144 in the entire Nalanda city to restore normalcy, as well as cutting the electricity and internet services as well.

The district police, however, claimed that the situation is now under control.

Earlier in Sasaram, violent clashes arose between two groups as well over the same reason.

The violence came ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's proposed rallies in Bihar - one in Sasaram and another in Nawada which is adjoining Nalanda district.
New Delhi/Itanagar, March 31 : Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Friday met Union Power Minister R.K. Singh and held discussions on the 14 proposed hydropower projects to be commissioned in the state.

The hydropower projects are to be undertaken by several Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), including National Hydro Power Corporation, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited and THDC India Limited.

Even as the hydropower projects were conceptualised many years ago, they did not register visible progress due to many reasons.

Of these projects, five of them had their allotment to private developers cancelled due to lack of progress while nine power plants registered very little progress.

An official in Itanagar said the Deputy Chief Minister put forth the state government's expectations and commitment pertaining to these projects and highlighted the need to expedite their commissioning.

After a long process of transferring these power projects from private developers to the CPSUs, a final stage has almost been reached recently, as the state government on Wednesday approved the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to be signed with the CPSUs.

The signing of the respective MoAs is scheduled to take place next month and the Union Power Minister is likely to attend the event.

The official said that an action plan has been prepared to commence work on the power projects with around 12,500 MW generation capacities leading to the investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore and would provide revenue of Rs 2,000 crore to the state and around Rs 350 crore per year for Local Area Development.

According to an official, the Union Power Minister appreciated the progress made by the state government so far in this direction and expressed his desire to personally visit Arunachal Pradesh to witness the signing of MoAs.

The Union Minister further emphasised that the commencement of these projects would lead to the overall development of the state in the form of infrastructure, social and economic upliftment, and would open up many opportunities for the local people.

During the meeting, Singh also added that the development of hydropower in the state would result in a substantial rise in the income generation of the people, eventually leading to Arunachal Pradesh recording one of the highest per capita incomes in the country.
New Delhi, March 31 : West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the clashes that erupted over a Ram Navami procession in Howrah district on Thursday, requesting "an impartial inquiry involving central agencies like the NIA" into the matter.

"It is our firm belief that the whole incident was pre-planned going by the unfolding of events with first statement coming from none other than the CM on March 29 that strict action will be taken against Ram Navami processions if there is any untoward incident," the letter read.

"I have written to Home Minister Amit Shah demanding an NIA inquiry into the violence on Ram Navami in Howrah. Amit Shah has spoken to me over phone and assured that he will look into the entire incident," Majumdar said.

Earlier on Friday, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, filed a PIL in the Calcutta High Court demanding a central agency investigation into the matter and immediate deployment of Central forces in the violence-hit areas.
The commander of the Land Forces of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kioumars Heydari, has made vile defamatory and slanderous statements regarding Azerbaijan.

K. Heydari, in his absurd thoughts, claims that Zionist forces allegedly exist in Azerbaijan and that Azerbaijan used ISIS terrorists brought from Syria during the 44-day Patriotic War, and that they are still in the Azerbaijani territory. Moreover, he stated that Iran will not allow changes on the border with Armenia.

First of all, we declare that the Iranian side's accusations about the presence of any foreign forces in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan are unfounded and completely unacceptable. In general, there are no extraneous forces in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

We would like to remind K. Heydari that Armenia had been keeping the Azerbaijani lands under occupation for 30 years. As a result of this military aggression, a 132-kilometer section of the Azerbaijani-Iranian state border had also been occupied. However, the Iranian side had never made compromising statements about Armenia. On the contrary, the Iranian-Armenian brotherhood strengthened during this period. And today it is no secret to anyone that if Armenia has two main allies in the world, France is one of them, and Iran is the other.

The Republic of Azerbaijan supports the territorial integrity of all countries and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other states.

In response to the accusation that Azerbaijan allegedly used ISIS terrorists during the 44-day Patriotic War, we declare that the glorious Azerbaijan Army single-handedly liberated the occupated territories and signed a triumphal chronicle. This claim is nothing more than an absurd accusation and slander. It is ironic and ridiculous that this accusation was made by a high-ranking military officer of a state that supports terrorism and whose name is known for committing terrorist acts in various countries around the world.
This weekly feature from Dynamic Business runs down the weeks top funding rounds from Australia and the US. Check out last weeks biggest funding rounds here.

Cauldron secures $10 million to scale precision fermentation tech

Cauldron, an Australian startup specializing in precision fermentation technology and led by expert Michele Stansfield, has raised AUD$ 10.5 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by Main Sequence and Horizons Ventures.

The funding is one of the largest seed rounds in a female-founded startup in Australia and will be used to scale Cauldrons network of precision fermentation facilities, which is the largest in the APAC region.

Aussie electric car-sharing platform gets crowdfunded

Evee, Australias leading electric car-sharing platform, has successfully raised $727,291 from 261 investors in a Birchal equity crowdfunding raise.

The funding was raised in just 24 hours and surpassed the minimum target of $300,000 within 124 minutes of the private round opening. The average investment of $2,788 is significantly higher than the average for a Birchal campaign.

Fintech Lumiant banks $5.26 million in Seed round

Lumiant, a financial advice fintech, has raised $5 million in a second self-described Seed round from two growing independent advisory firms, Invest Blue in Australia and Savant Wealth Management in the US.

The cloud-based advice platform aims to improve financial advisers and clients advice outcomes and will use the funding to drive growth and accelerate US expansion, as well as develop a Lumiant mobile application.

Atmo Biosciences, a company commercializing the worlds first ingestible gas-sensing capsule for gut health and microbiome function insights, has raised A$8 million in a fully subscribed Series B funding round. The funding was led by Otsuka Pharmaceutical, an existing strategic shareholder, and was supported by other existing and new investors in Australia and the US.

Torch Capital raises over $200 million in funding

Torch Capital, a NYC-based early-stage venture capital firm, closed over $200M in a new fundraise for its Fund II. The firm operates at the intersection of consumer and technology, investing in mission-driven companies that are improving accessibility, transparency, and convenience for the end consumer. Torch surpassed $400M in AUM to support founders from seed through early growth.

Trobix Bio raises $3 million in equity funding

Trobix Bio, a Netanya, Israel-based biotechnology company developing microbiome oncology therapeutics, raised $3M in Equity funding. The round was led by Chartered Group.

The company intends to use the funds for the development of its products and proprietary platform technology. TBX201 is an orally available capsule designed to alter the gut microbiome to reduce the incidence and severity of severe diarrhea caused by irinotecan.

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New Delhi, March 31 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued an order for attaching two immovable properties worth Rs 1.10 crore in connection with a disproportionate assets case, an official said on Friday.

The case has been lodged against T.N. Chikkarayappa, former Managing Director, Cauvery Irrigation Corporation Limited in Bengaluru.

The ED lodged a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of an FIR registered by Anti-Corruption Bureau of Bengaluru City (Now Karnataka Lokayukta, Bengaluru) against T.N. Chikkarayappa.

Further, a chargesheet was also filed by the ACB, Bengaluru against Chikkrayappa and other accused persons in the Court of City Civil and Session Judge, Bengaluru.

The ED learnt that Chikkarayappa, with the help of other accused persons, illegally accumulated disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 5.33 crore, which is 304.93 per cent in excess of his legal source of income and his family members.

"From such illegal income, he bought benami immovable properties in the name of his known persons and further got transferred the same in the name of his family members," said the official.
New Delhi, April 1 : Counsel of Aafab Amin Poonawala, who is accused of strangling his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar to death, chopping her body into several pieces, storing them in a fridge before disposing of them in a forest over three months, on Friday complained in court that his client was "manhandled" during his production in court.

As Additional Sessions Judge Manisha Khurana Kakkar heard the arguments on charges against the accused, she also directed the authorities concerned to ensure the safety of Poonawala.

"Lock-up in charge, Saket Court, as well as jail superintendent, are directed to ensure that the accused is produced safely during court productions," she said.

The Delhi Police had earlier told the court that incriminating circumstances are clearly revealed through reliable and clinching evidence and they form a chain of events.

Poonawala has been booked for the offences under the Indian Penal Code Sections 302 and 201 for murder and causing disappearance of evidence of offence, respectively.

The accused's counsel, on Friday, contended that Section 201 can be invoked only against the person who screens the offender and not against the person accused of the main offence.

Appearing for Police, Special Public Prosecutors Amit Prasad argued that he would place on record judgements against the argument.

During the last hearing, victim's father Vikas Walkar had prayed the court for supply of audio-video evidence attached with the charge sheet.

The SPP had opposed the plea, saying that dissemination of such material to media would cause prejudice to the accused.

If it is supplied, then the condition of no dissemination to anyone should be imposed, he said.

The court has listed the matter for further proceedings on April 3.

SPP Prasad had earlier submitted that the accused is a trained chef from Taj Hotel and is aware of preserving flesh.

Poonawala had also ordered dry ice, agarbatti etc. after killing Shraddha Walker, the police had said.

It was added by the police that after committing the crime, he got into a new relationship and gave a ring to his new girlfriend.

On February 21, a city court had sent the case to the sessions court for initiation of trial proceedings.

Metropolitan magistrate Aviral Shukla had said: "Scrutiny of documents is complete... Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code is exclusively triable by sessions court." The court had on February 7 taken cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police against Poonawala which ran over 6,000 pages.
Hargeisa Airport, Hargeisa, Somalia [ HGA / HCMH ]

If you are planning to travel to Hargeisa or any other city in Somalia, this airport locator will be a very useful tool. This page gives complete information about the Hargeisa Airport along with the airport location map, Time Zone, lattitude and longitude, Current time and date, hotels near the airport etc... Hargeisa Airport Map showing the location of this airport in Somalia. Hargeisa Airport IATA Code, ICAO Code, exchange rate etc... is also provided.

Hargeisa Airport Info:

Hargeisa Airport IATA Code: HGA Hargeisa Airport ICAO Code: HCMH Latitude : 9.51797 Longitude : 44.0832 City : Hargeisa Country : Somalia World Area Code : 573 Airport Type : Medium Hargeisa Airport Address / Contact Details :

Egal Int. Airport (HGA), Hargeisa, Somalia Airport Type : Public Owner : Somaliland Civil Aviation & Air Transport Ministry Timezone : Africa/Mogadishu Hargeisa Airport Timezone : GMT +03:00 hours Current time and date at Hargeisa Airport is 17:36:27 PM (EAT) on Monday, Apr 24, 2023

Looking for information on Hargeisa Airport, Hargeisa, Somalia? Know about Hargeisa Airport in detail. Find out the location of Hargeisa Airport on Somalia map and also find out airports near to Hargeisa. This airport locator is a very useful tool for travelers to know where is Hargeisa Airport located and also provide information like hotels near Hargeisa Airport, airlines operating to Hargeisa Airport etc... IATA Code and ICAO Code of all airports in Somalia. Scroll down to know more about Hargeisa Airport or Hargeisa Airport, Somalia.

Hargeisa Airport Map - Location of Hargeisa Airport Load Map Somalia - General Information Country Code SO Capital Mogadishu Currency Shilling (SOS)

 1 SOS = 0.002 USD

 1 USD = 568.914 SOS

 1 SOS = 0.002 EUR

 1 EUR = 627.1 SOS

 More SOS convertion rates Tel Code +252 Top Level Domain .so

Nearest Airports to Hargeisa Airport Closest airports to Hargeisa, Somalia are listed below. These are major airports close to the city of Hargeisa and other airports closest to Hargeisa Airport. Nearest airport to Hargeisa Airport and Hargeisa is Borama International Airport - (112.24 Km / 69.74 Miles) Following are the nearest airports to Hargeisa and Hargeisa Airport. Distance between the two airports is given in bracket. Berbera Airport - (134.99 Km / 83.88 Miles)

Burao Airport - (161.53 Km / 100.37 Miles)

List of 21 airports in Somalia along with Somalia airport codes 

Major airlines flying to Hargeisa Airport, Hargeisa

This page provides all the information you need to know about Hargeisa Airport, Somalia. This page is created with the aim of helping travelers and tourists visiting Somalia or traveling to Hargeisa Airport. Details about Hargeisa Airport given here include Hargeisa Airport Code - IATA Code (3 letter airport codes) and ICAO Code (4 letter airport codes)

Coordinates of Hargeisa Airport - Latitude and Longitude (Lat and Long) of Hargeisa Airport

Location of Hargeisa Airport - City Name, Country, Country Codes etc...

Hargeisa Airport Time Zone and Current time at Hargeisa Airport

Address and contact details of Hargeisa Airport along with website address of the airport

Clickable Location Map of Hargeisa Airport on Google Map.

General information about Somalia where Hargeisa Airport is located in the city of Hargeisa. General information include capital of Somalia, currency and conversion rate of Somalia currency, Telephone Country code, exchange rate against US Dollar and Euro in case of major world currencies etc...

HGA - Hargeisa Airport IATA Code and HCMH - Hargeisa Airport ICAO code
Will Cummings & Tray Middlebrooks Our job is to show them compassion and understanding during a very stressful time, while also working hard to produce a result that allows them to move forward in their lives.

Will Cummings and Tray Middlebrooks were recently honored by Super Lawyers Magazine, a Thomson Reuters publication. Recognition by Super Lawyers is reserved for the top 5% of attorneys in the state based on upon a patented selection process which includes the voting of other attorneys as well as independent research conducted by the Thomson Reuters editorial team.

Both Cummings and Middlebrooks have practiced law for more than twenty-four years, most of which have been spent representing individuals and families impacted by serious work-related injuries. They attribute their success inside and outside the courtroom to extensive experience and a strong commitment to understanding and achieving their clients goals. While our focus is exclusively on injury cases, each clients situation is unique and incredibly important to them and their families, said Cummings. Our job is to show clients compassion and understanding during a very stressful time, while also working hard to produce a result that allows them to move forward with their lives.

Middlebrooks agrees with his partners assessment and believes its the shared commitment to clients that has also made their partnership a success since 2005. Every member of our team shares the exact same commitment to excellence in the practice of law, and they bring a work ethic to match it to the office every day.

Cummings and Middlebrooks are no strangers to recognition for their work as litigators in Georgia. Both hold 10/10 ratings from Avvo and have been included in Georgia Trend Magazines annual list of Legal Elite lawyers multiple times.

About Cummings & Middlebrooks, LLP: The lawyers and legal professionals at Cummings & Middlebrooks, LLP bring decades of experience to each clients case. The firm represents individuals and families in workers compensation cases as well as matters involving serious injuries from car, truck and motorcycle accidents, slip and fall, negligent security, and other preventable tragedies. Based in Atlanta, the firm is well-situated to handle cases across the entire state of Georgia.
On February 15th, the 2nd annual Trade Academy HVAC Scholarship Award Ceremony recognized the achievements of 20 winners who were awarded a scholarship worth $2,500, along with product prizes from Truewerk, WD-40, and Housecall Pro. The ceremony brought together industry leaders, instructors, and rising HVAC students for an inspiring evening filled with speeches and announcements.

In 2021, Housecall Pro introduced Trade Academy, a complimentary platform offering specialized job boards. It caters to home service companies by allowing them to construct employer profiles, publicize their available job openings, and browse through resumes of competent job seekers in their locality. Trade Academy has been designed with the goal of empowering Pros and providing useful resources to trade school students, job hunters, and home service entrepreneurs.

"We are thrilled to have hosted another successful scholarship ceremony, and are proud to support the next generation of HVAC professionals," said Roland Ligtenberg, Co-founder at Housecall Pro. "We believe that investing in technical & technology education is key to strengthening the industry and ensuring that skilled professionals continue to drive innovation."

Guest speakers from Truewerk, WD-40, and Housecall Pro shared their expertise and support with attendees, making the event all the more special. Roland Ligtenberg shared his excitement about the future of the industry and the role that young professionals will play in shaping it. "Housecall Pro takes great pride in being a part of the Trade Academy HVAC Scholarship and finds it incredibly inspiring to meet young professionals who are dedicated to achieving excellence,creating a positive impact in their local communities, and industry as a whole."

Out of 413 applicants from 98 schools, the scholarship winners of various ages ranging from 18 to 63, come from diverse backgrounds but share a common passion for HVAC and a dedication to craftsmanship. Their skills and exceptional character make them not only competent technicians but also individuals who aspire to create a positive change in the world around them.

Each scholarship winner received a prize package worth $2,500, which included a one-year supply of WD-40 products, Truewerk workwear, and a free one-year subscription to Housecall Pro. Jonathan Trainum, one of the scholarship winners, expressed his gratitude, saying "I would like to thank all of the sponsors and judges for this award and the opportunity to represent your brands. I look forward to doing so in the most ethical, customer-oriented ways possible. Your investment in my family's future is appreciated beyond my ability to express. Thank you!"

The event was a hit, and its exciting to witness the amazing impact that these rising HVAC professionals, like Jonathan, will make in the years to come. Congratulations to the scholarship winners, and a huge thank you to the guest speakers from Truewerk, WD-40, and Housecall Pro for making the event such a success!

For more information, please visit the Trade Academy website.

About Housecall Pro

Housecall Pro is a top-rated business solution that helps home service professionals save time, sell bigger jobs, and provide best-in-class service. With easy-to-use tools for scheduling, dispatching, payments, and more, Housecall Pro enables Pros to manage every aspect of their business all in one place. The platform is available through a mobile app and web portal for Pros across the United States and Canada. Founded in 2013, Housecall Pro has been Championing Pros to Success through ever-improving product solutions and strong community support for over eight years.

HousecallPro.com
We are adhering to the adage that successful ventures are made by building a team of experts who come together and work as one unit towards a common goal. This is our mission, and we will continue to deliver on that mission.

The3rdBevCo, Inc. announced today that Tom Cardella, former President and CEO of Tenth and Blake Beer Company (a division of MillerCoors), has joined The3rdBevco and will serve as an advisor.

Mr. Cardella is the founder of Cardella & Associates LLC and is an all-around beverage industry expert. Prior to founding Cardella & Associates in February 2015, he was the President and CEO of Tenth and Blake Beer Company, a division of MillerCoors, from June 2010 to January 2015. He also served as President of the Eastern Division for MillerCoors from June 2008 to June 2010, where he was responsible for all commercial operations in the eastern half of the United States.

Thomas spent nearly a decade at InBev where he held several senior-level positions, including U.S. Vice President of Sales from September 2004 through August 2005, CEO of Becks North America from June 2003 through August 2004, Vice President of Strategy for FEMSA Cerveza in Monterey, Mexico (joint venture of InBev/Femsa) from January 2001 through May 2003, and Vice President of Marketing at Labatt USA from January 1996 through December 2000.

Thomas has served on the Board of Directors of the Green Bay Packers since July 2010 and was Chairman of the Green Bay Packer Foundation from July 2020 to July 2022, where he is still a Board Member. He also served on the board of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and the Marcus Center for Performing Arts. He was on the Board of Directors for the North American Brewing Company (parent company is FIFCO, San Jose, Costa Rica) from 2016 to 2019.

Toms resume and track record speaks for itself, said The3rdBevco CEO, Peter Scalise. We are adhering to the adage that successful ventures are made by building a team of experts who come together and work as one unit towards a common goal. This is our mission, and we will continue to deliver on that mission. We are so pleased to welcome Tom to our team and look forward to a very successful future together.

This latest addition to the The3rdBevCo team comes on the heels of the company raising more than $1.4M from more than 700 investors thus far in the initial rounds of its Reg A+ offering. The company seeks to raise $50M to power the rollout of its in-house and celebrity partnership brands.

Interested parties can learn more about The3rdBevCo and stay up-to-date by visiting http://www.the3rdbevcoipo.com or by emailing IR@the3rdbevco.com.
The Community Foundation of Frederick County, in partnership with Frederick County Government, is awarding grants to local nonprofits to assist with food insecurity initiatives.

Nonprofits applying for support with food insecurity initiatives can request funds for general operating, staff salary, and capital purchases (such as refrigerators, freezers, or other food storage or transportation). Applicants must provide details on how their program alleviates food insecurity, determines project or service outcomes, and identifies evaluation tools and processes.

There will be $350,000 available for grantmaking this cycle. An organization can only submit one application. The application will be open April 1  April 30, 2023, with grant notifications being announced by mid-June. These are single-year, one-time grants. Funds must be expended between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

This project is being supported, in whole, by Federal award number SLFRP1623 awarded to Frederick County, Maryland by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Questions about the grant can be directed to the Community Impact team at Community.Impact@FrederickCountyGives.org. Learn more and apply for the grant at http://www.FrederickCountyGives.org/FoodInsecurity.

As a leader in grant and scholarship funding, The Community Foundation of Frederick County has given back more than $86 million to the community since 1986. To learn more about how the Community Foundation impacts Frederick County, visit http://www.FrederickCountyGives.org.
Dr. Leonard Miller, Dr. Melissa Michelon, Dr. Farah Moustafa, and Dr. Sean Doherty, all named to Castle Connolly's top doctors in 2023 We continue to maintain high standards with excellent patient satisfaction and we are honored to have a team full of award-winning physicians.

The elite team of physicians at BCFFR, Leonard B. Miller, MD - Plastic Surgery, Sean T. Doherty, MD - Plastic Surgery, Melissa A. Michelon, MD - Dermatology, and Farah Moustafa, MD - Dermatology, are honored to be listed in Castle Connolly America's Top Doctors again in 2023 in recognition of their commitment to excellence in medicine and patient care.

Dr. Miller states We continue to maintain high standards with excellent patient satisfaction and we are honored to have a team full of award-winning physicians.

Boston Center for Facial Rejuvenation in Boston, MA, is one of the longest-standing medical practices in Boston, offering advanced cosmetic and medicinal treatments. The highly-recognized BCFFR plastic surgeons and award-winning dermatologists collaborate to ensure each patient receives the best treatments, outstanding results, and superb follow-up care.

BCFFR Listed Among Castle Connolly America's Top Doctors

It is an honor for BCFFR to be listed again among Castle Connolly America's Top Doctors. 2023 is the 30th anniversary of Castle Connolly Top Doctors, representing the top seven percent of all physicians nationwide. Castle Connolly Top Doctors is a highly respected medical research source featured by multiple reputable media sources, such as Good Housekeeping, Morning News on CNN, and 48 hours on CBS-TV.

Castle Connellys peer-nominated and thoroughly vetted physician-led research team selects the best-in-class healthcare providers who embody excellence in clinical care and interpersonal skills. Eligibility of each peer-nominated physician is based on the number of nominations, patient ratings, education, hospital and facility appointments, professional qualifications, research leadership, disciplinary history, interpersonal skills, professional reputation, outcomes data, and more.

BCFFR Recognized for Outstanding Patient Care

The Boston Center for Facial Rejuvenation is recognized repeatedly for its outstanding care of patients and dedication to furthering medical science. In addition to dermatology and cosmetic procedures like tummy tucks and Juvederm injections, BCFFR offers medical dermatology to cover a broad spectrum of skin concerns like acne and rosacea.

The BCFFR plastic surgeons and dermatologists are devoted to providing outstanding care for each patient and advancing technology. Board-certified plastic surgeons Drs. Miller and Doherty are Castle Connolly America's Top Doctors for 2023, featured in Boston Magazine's Top Doctors for 2023, and recognized by RealSelf, Vitals, and America's Best Physicians.

I am thrilled to be named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for 2023. It is an honor to again be part of the best-in-class health care providers in the Boston area. This group is nominated based on excellence in patient care. I am proud to represent Plastic Surgery on this list! states Sean Doherty, MD.

Ground-Breaking Leaders in Technology

The BCFFR Castle Connolly America's Top Doctors are well-established speakers, trainers, and peer-to-peer educators. They are well-known for natural-looking results from injections and both surgical and non-surgical procedures focusing on incremental improvements without discomfort, swelling, or bruising. The BCFFR physicians embrace innovative technology and were the first facility in the United States to perform microneedling.

Leonard Miller, MD, FACS, founded BCFFR and Advanced Aesthetic Technologies and is devoted to producing and introducing advanced aesthetic products globally. Sean Doherty, MD serves as the medical director and principal investor for Cynosure, Inc. and a Principal Investor in FDA-approved Sculpsure.

The Boston Center for Facial Rejuvenation team of physicians is passionate about bringing new products to the marketplace to address common issues with hyaluronic acid injectables, like delayed adverse events and puffiness. They also have a new non-hyaluronic acid dermal filler currently in FDA trials, planned to be on the US market in 2024.

Americas Top Doctors Offer Definitive Answers

Board-certified plastic surgeons Drs. Miller and Doherty and board-certified dermatologists Drs. Michelon and Moustafa are listed as Castle Connolly Americas Top Doctors because they perform the finest techniques to ensure extraordinary, natural-looking cosmetic results. They feature outstanding technology, including Fraxel laser, microdermabrasion, intense pulse light (IPL), microneedling, radiofrequency microneedling, neurotoxins, dermal fillers, eye lift surgery, natural facelift, liposuction, breast augmentation and breast reduction, male body contouring, gynecomastia, fat transfers and more.

During the consultation, the doctor spends time with each patient to build a professional relationship built on trust and respect. The BCFFR team works together to give patients exceptional care and believe less is often better, preventing scars and an excessive surgical look. They explain the details of the procedure and answer any questions to alleviate anxiety and ensure realistic expectations about the process and recovery.

The Boston Center for Facial Rejuvenation in Boston, MA, utilizes the most efficient techniques and discourages radical or extensive cosmetic procedures. They take a skilled and careful approach, perform the latest methods and use the best practices to avoid complications and provide consistent results. BCFFR has earned a 4.7 star review on Google from satisfied patients.

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The Boston Center for Facial Rejuvenation in Boston, MA, features the latest innovative techniques to ensure outstanding results with minimal downtime. For more information, please call (617) 735-8735 0070 or visit our website at BCFFR.com.
Brain Power Wellness hosted another successful Advanced Certified Teacher Leader retreat in early March.

Brain Power Wellness, a holistic, school-based wellness organization, is excited to share the recent completion of another successful Advanced Certified Teacher Leader (ACTL) retreat, representing the highest level of training offered to teachers who have previously been certified by the organization as Teacher Leaders in their respective schools.

Held on March 1-3 at Honors Haven Conference and Retreat Center in Ellenville, New York, the retreat included nine highly-dedicated classroom teachers who were motivated to enhance their capacity to integrate it successfully into their schools.

During this Advanced retreat, the teachers participated in team-building activities that encouraged harmonious collaboration, and shared valuable takeaways that they were excited to take back to their school communities and apply in their daily roles. Additionally, they practiced leading Staff Wellness sessions, Parent Workshops, Student Leadership Programs, and Professional Development Workshops, and also received practical guidance in how to implement Brain Power Wellness tools and activities during assemblies and other school-wide events.

As with previous retreats, Brain Power Wellness reviews from this particular event were overwhelmingly positive, with the teachers reporting that the organization successfully met their expectations in providing the tools, information, practice, and guidance needed for leading year-long student curriculums, parent workshops, staff wellness classes, and school-wide activities.

Leaving the retreat, I feel lighter, less stressed and motivated to make Brain Power stronger in my school, said Dionisia Rigby from PS 132, one of the retreat participants. I wish every teacher could come here to recharge. I am going back to my students feeling better than ever, and I hope this good energy will transfer to them and to their learning.

Another teacher, Tom Forde from X91 in the Bronx, said, The Brain Power Wellness Advanced Certified Leader Retreat gives a unique opportunity for educators to refocus and connect with themselves while also learning how to best serve the cognitive and emotional needs of our children. The chance to also come together with colleagues across the Department of Education that we otherwise would not get a chance to collaborate with on such a personal and deep level is priceless. The retreat gives you a sense of renewal that goes beyond words.

About Brain Power Wellness

Brain Power Wellness is a holistic, school-based wellness organization that supports healthy, happy, and focused school environments. The mission of Brain Power Wellness is to help transform the culture of its partner schools through self-development, mindfulness, community-building, team-building, retreats, Social Emotional Wellness practices, holistic wellness, and brain training for teachers, students, parents, and administrators. Recently, corporate groups have begun attending Brain Power Wellness retreats, where they receive powerful tools for creating focused, happy, and sustainable work environments.

Brain Power Wellness reviews its curriculum regularly, to ensure that it is providing the optimum tools needed to create healthy school, home, and work environments wherever its programs and services are implemented.


Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the class action lawsuit against SDC Restaurants LLC, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

The San Francisco employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against SDC Restaurants LLC alleging the company violated the California Labor Code. The lawsuit against SDC Restaurants LLC is currently pending in the Santa Clara County Superior Court, Case No. 23CV412587. To read a copy of the Complaint, please click here.

According to the lawsuit filed, SDC Restaurants LLC allegedly failed to pay employees for all the time they were under the employer's control. This, allegedly, includes the time Plaintiff and other California Class Members had to submit to mandatory COVID-19 screening prior to clocking in for the day. To the extent that the time worked off the clock did not qualify for overtime premium payment, Defendant allegedly failed to pay minimum and overtime wages for the time worked off-the-clock.

Additionally, SDC Restaurants LLC allegedly failed to reimburse employees for required business expenses. California Labor Code  2802 expressly states that "an employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties..." During employment, Plaintiff and other California Class Members were allegedly required to use their personal cellular phones as a result of and in furtherance of their job duties

For more information about the class action lawsuit against SDC Restaurants 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.

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A collection of 15 short stories by late Vietnamese writer Nguyen Huy Thiep has been translated and published in South Korea this month.

Nguyen Bach, a painter and Thieps son, said translator Kim Joo Young had already discussed translation process and copyrights with is late father. Since the writer passed away in 2021, Bach has worked with the Korean translator on behalf of his father.

"My father had always wanted his works to be translated into different languages and introduced to foreign readers. Six copies of the book, gifted to our family by the publishing house, are on their way to Vietnam," Nguyen Bach said.

The cover of the book in Korean. Photo courtesy of Prof. Bae Yang Soo

According to Prof. Bae Yang Soo, head of the Faculty of Vietnamese Language at the Busan University of Foreign Languages, the 462-page book was named "Khong Co Vua" (Without a King). The title is also the name of one of the 15 stories included in the book. The translation was carried out under the auspices of the Daesan Cultural Foundation.

Writer Nguyen Huy Thiep in 2008. Photo courtesy of Nha Nam

Stories penned by Nguyen Huy Thiep have been translated into several different languages, including French, English, German, Italian and Dutch. In 1989, the story "Tuong Ve Huu" (The General Retires) was published in Les Temps Moderness magazine.

Since 1990, the publishing house Editions de lAube, owned by the two writers Jean Viard and Marion Hennebert, has published Thieps stories many times. The Vietnamese writer was awarded the French Literature and Art Medal in 2007, and the Premio Nonino Prize of Italy in 2008.

Having published over 50 short stories, 10 plays, four novels, and numerous notable essays and critical reviews, Nguyen Huy Thieps prolificity has been considered "a rare phenomenon" within the Vietnam literary circle. The writer passed away in 2021 at the age of 71.
For more than two decades, the Best Places to Work program in Frederick County has recognized the most innovative and forward-thinking employers who prioritize their employees' well-being and foster a robust workplace culture." BPTW Partner Organizations

Nominations are open for the 2023 Frederick County Best Places to Work Awards with a focus on workplaces that inspire the industry. The Frederick County Office of Economic Development, Frederick County Workforce Services, City of Frederick Department of Economic Development and the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce will hold the annual Best Places to Work awards celebration in person at the Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ (ERUCC) Downtown Community Room at 15 West Church Street on July 25, 2023 from 5:00pm-6:30pm.

Any Frederick County business can submit a nomination online at http://ow.ly/9QxX50NtQgt

Nominations will be accepted from April 1st through April 30, 2023. Winners will be featured either in the August issue of Frederick Magazine or in their online publication and on social media platforms.

Companies are evaluated on a variety of criteria, including employee compensation and benefits, workplace culture, human resource metrics, and special employee engagement programs. Applicants are encouraged to coordinate with their Human Resources Manager or other leadership staff to ensure the application has all relevant and up-to-date requested data included. Only one nomination form per company is needed.

New this year: a winner will be awarded from each of Frederick Countys largest and growing industries. These industries include Retail Trade, Hospitality and Food Services, Healthcare and Social Assistance, Skilled Trades, Technology, Bioscience, Manufacturing, Transportation and Warehousing, and Business Professional Services.

The leadership of the three partner organizations agree that For more than two decades, the Best Places to Work program in Frederick County has recognized the most innovative and forward-thinking employers who prioritize their employees' well-being and foster a robust workplace culture. The event showcases businesses that employ creative strategies to attract and retain top talent, ultimately contributing to the economic prosperity of our community.

To nominate your company for the 2023 Frederick County Best Places to Work Awards, visit: http://ow.ly/9QxX50NtQgt

About Frederick County Best Places to Work

The Frederick County Best Places to Work Awards campaign is a countywide program in its 21st year that aims to increase the quality of life opportunities for people who work in Frederick County.

For more information and updates or to nominate your company, visit Frederick County Best Places to Work Awards at http://www.frederickbestplacestowork.com
Taylor Nelson Amitrano LLP, a prominent tax controversy firm located in Santa Ana, CA, is pleased to announce that the California legislature is considering a proposed amendment to California Unemployment Insurance Code (CUIC) Section 1755 to protect the rights of taxpayers, based on a proposal co-authored by Rami M. Khoury and other members of the firm. The proposed legislation would require financial institutions to hold funds in a taxpayers account(s) for at least 10 business days after receiving a levy (called a withholding order under California law) on the taxpayers account(s) before sending levied funds to the Employment Development Department (EDD). The proposed legislation would also extend the deadline by which financial institutions are required to send levied-upon funds to the EDD.

Under current law, once the EDD serves a levy upon a financial institution, the financial institution is not required to hold the amounts in the account before sending the funds to the EDD. Thus, it is possible that the financial institution will send the levied-upon funds to the EDD before the taxpayer is even aware that the EDD has levied on the taxpayers account(s). The taxpayer can be deprived of any opportunity whatsoever to persuade the EDD to release the levied-upon funds based on hardship, a claim of exemption from levy, or the failure of the EDD to follow proper procedures.

In addition, under current law, the financial institution must remit the levied funds to the EDD within five days of the service of the levy to avoid a risk of being held liable itself to the EDD for the amount held in the account(s). Thus, financial institutions are incentivized to immediately send funds to the EDD after receiving a levy from the EDD, at the expense of the rights of their customer, the taxpayer.

The absence of any time period for which financial institutions must hold funds after receiving a levy from the EDD is unfair to California taxpayers and deprives them of their basic rights as California taxpayers. Following an EDD levy on their financial accounts, taxpayers should have the opportunity to persuade the EDD to release funds subject to levy before those funds are sent to the EDD. For example, the taxpayer could challenge to the procedural validity of the levy, could claim that the funds in the account are exempt from levy, or could claim that failure to release levied upon funds would create undue financial hardship for the taxpayer.

The short 5 day deadline by which financial institutions must send levied-upon funds to the EDD likewise is unfair to California taxpayers. It places financial institutions who receive levies from the EDD in a position of having to protect their own interests at the expense of the basic rights of their customers by quickly sending funds to the EDD after receiving an EDD levy.

The proposed amendments to CUIC 1755 in California Assembly Bill No. 1389 (AB-1389) dated February 17, 2023 protect basic taxpayer rights, while also giving financial institutions the flexibility that they need to avoid impinging on the basic rights of their customers. First, these proposed amendments require financial institutions to hold levied-upon funds for a minimum of 10 business days before levied funds are sent to the EDD by financial institutions. Taxpayers can use this 10 business day period to talk to the EDD about the levy and seek administrative relief from the levy before any funds are sent to the EDD.

Second, the proposed amendments extend the deadline by which a financial institution is required to remit funds to the EDD in response to a levy from five days after the levy is received to 14 business days after the levy is received. Accordingly, financial institutions receiving a levy on a customers account from the EDD must hold the levied upon funds for a minimum of 10 business days and could hold the funds for as long as 14 business days without running the risk of personal liability to the EDD for the funds in the levied-upon account.

The proposed amendments track a proposal made by attorneys at Taylor Nelson Amitrano LLP as members of a delegation of California tax attorneys that presents proposals for changes to California tax laws each year. The attorneys at Taylor Nelson Amitrano LLP take pride in protecting the rights of taxpayers by submitting proposals for legislative and administrative changes that protect the rights of taxpayers. The firm is a full-service tax controversy firm. If you or your business is experience difficulties with the EDD, IRS, FTB or CDTFA, the firm stands ready to assist you.

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NAIFA has undertaken a series of events this month to raise awareness of the importance of womens economic security in our country, as well as to highlight the importance of the voice of women financial advisors.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) has undertaken a series of events this month to raise awareness of the importance of womens economic security in our country, as well as to highlight the importance of the voice of women financial advisors in their voting districts. The series of events was created as part of NAIFAs participation in Womens History Month and to deliver on several aspects of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative that is part of its NAIFA 2025 Strategic Plan.

To start, NAIFA participated in the ILTCI Conference held in Denver, CO, by featuring best-selling author Carroll Golden, Executive Director of NAIFAs Centers of Excellence in several sessions. Focused on the role of the caregiverwhich predominantly falls to women. Carrolls new book, How Not to Pull Your Family Apart, is a how-to guide written for consumers to combat financial destruction often caused by unplanned and unexpected long-term care needs. The book was first soft-launched earlier in the month at Engages In Honor of Caregivers event, which featured Senators Bill Cassidy and Kirsten Gillibrand discussing the true economic hardship that caregiving has on American families.

Kathleen Owings, a loyal NAIFA member since 2011, and principal at Westbilt Financial Group in Colorado Springs, joined NAIFAs Advisor Today podcast to discuss her new book, Put Your Money to Work: A Womans Guide to Financial Confidence. The new book focuses both on Kathleens own journey as a woman advisor, as well as addresses many of the areas where she sees her women clients falter in their financial wellness. Owings has been instrumental in not only building a successful financial services practice, but in serving in leadership roles within NAIFA to encourage more women to undertake a career in financial services.

All of the previous events built up to the last week of the month, which featured two inaugural launches: the NAIFA Womens Financial Security Fly-In and Engage for Womens State of the Majority Summit, both of which kicked off on March 29th and featured a cross-pollination of sponsorship and speakers to showcase the support of the joint initiative to increase a bipartisan conversation on womens economic security. NAIFAs event featured a panel of women government relations professionals including Laura Haines from Guardian, Jennifer Taft from New York Life, and Susan Callanan of Northwestern Mutual to discuss how and why women advisors should develop relationships with elected leaders. Rachel Pearson, founder of Engage, was the guest speaker at the dinner held in the Barbara Mikulski room of the U.S. Capitol that was supported in attendance by board members from NAIFAs advocacy partner, Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS). Pearson stressed the criticality of women's constituent voice and urged more participation. The sold-out event was made possible by support from Ameritas, Northwestern Mutual, New York Life, and Guardian.

Women attendees of the inaugural fly-in were invited to the Engage reception to honor recipients of their inaugural awards, as well as challenged to be the voice of the majority in upcoming town halls, voter registration, and voting campaigns. The culmination of Rachel Pearsons speech and NAIFAs inaugural Womens Financial Security Fly-In resulted in an overarching call to action for women in financial services to further get involved, get informed, and lend their voice to uplift womens economic security. NAIFA will next address topics specific to women financial advisors at its upcoming 8th Annual DEI Symposium where Rachel Pearson will again be a guest speaker. The event will be held on May 22nd prior to NAIFAs Congressional Conference. To learn more, visit conference.naifa.org/2023.
PTI Fact Check: No, Rahul Gandhi did not remove any tweets in recent past; Social media post claiming he deleted Savarkar tweets is false

New Delhi, Mar 30 (Abhinav Gupta / Pratyush Ranjan PTI Fact Check): A Twitter user shared a post claiming Rahul Gandhi deleted his tweets on Savarkar after his grandson Ranjit Savarkar threatened to file an FIR against the Congress leader. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that Gandhi did not recently delete posts on Savarkar on his Twitter handle. The claim shared in the social media post was false.

The claim was made amid Gandhi facing a backlash from several political parties and leaders over his recent remarks against Savarkar. After being sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court for his Modi surname remark, Rahul Gandhi had said: My name is not Savarkar. My name is Gandhi. And Gandhis dont apologise. Savarkars grandson Ranjit on Mar 27 lashed out at the Congress leader, saying that he would file an FIR against him for making baseless remarks and defaming his grandfather if he didnt apologise.

Claim

A Twitter user shared a post on March 28 claiming that Rahul Gandhi deleted tweets referring to late Indian politician Veer Savarkar following a backlash from his grandson Ranjit Savarkar.

#RahulGandhi has deleted all his tweets on #VeerSavarkar after Savarkar's grandson threatened to file an FIR against Rahul for his defamatory and baseless statements against Veer Savarkar, read the post with over 330K views and nearly 3000 likes.

Here is the link and archive link to the tweet and below is a screenshot of the same:

Investigation

The Desk started the investigation by looking for similar claims on social media and came across a Twitter post shared on Mar 29.

The user shared a screenshot of a Twitter search for a specific keyword related to Gandhi and Savarkar to back his claim that the former deleted his tweets referring to the late Indian politician.

                                 @RahulGandhi     read the post.

An English translation of the post read: Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Rahulji got tired of shouting. Now they feel scared; thats why Rahul ji has deleted all the tweets on Savarkar ji. @RahulGandhi This fear felt good.

Here is the link and archive link to the tweet. Below is a screenshot of the post:

The Desk conducted a customised Google search with the keyword Rahul Gandhi deletes tweets on Savarkar but found no such reports.

The Desk then checked Rahul Gandhis Twitter activities on a website named Social Blade. Social Blade gives all users access to our public database, which, using advanced technology, can provide you with global analytics for any content creator on a platform like Twitter.

While scanning the website, the Desk found that Rahul Gandhi's total tweet count went up between Mar 27 (the day Ranjit Savarkar threatened to file an FIR) and Mar 30 (the day of publishing this article) three tweets.

Here is the link to the Social Blade website, and below is a screenshot of the same:

The Desk then scanned the Twitter handle of Rahul Gandhi, which corroborated this.

Gandhi shared one Twitter post on Mar 27 and two on Mar 30. Below are the screenshots of the three posts he made:

Had Rahul Gandhi deleted any tweet on or after March 27, it would have reflected on the Social Blade statistics, i.e., the total number of tweets would have gone down.

The Desk then searched Google Cache to see if Gandhi deleted any tweet referring to Savarkar in the past, but couldnt find any.

Thus, the Desk concluded that while Gandhi referenced Savarkar in his speeches, there is a possibility that the Congress leader never posted Savarkars name in the text in any of his tweets to date.

Here is the link to one such tweet by Rahul Gandhi with a video of him referring to Savarkar during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Subsequently, the Desk concluded that Gandhi did not delete any tweet referring to Savarkar, following a backlash from the latters grandson.

Claim

Rahul Gandhi deleted tweets referring to Veer Savarkar following a backlash from his grandson.

Fact

A social activity tracking website confirms that Rahul Gandhi did not delete any tweets in the recent past.

Conclusion

Several Twitter users shared posts claiming that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi deleted tweets referring to Savarkar following a backlash from his grandson. The Desk found in its investigation that Gandhi did not delete any tweet following Savarkars grandsons threat of an FIR. The social media posts were shared with false claims.

You can contact PTI Fact Check on WhatsApp Number +91-8130503759 and share any claim or social media post you think is essential to fact-check and want us to verify.
Sales of multi-purpose vehicles have nearly tripled in the last five years, while the number of models in the market has nearly doubled.

Starting in 1999, with the likes of Toyota Zace and Mitsubishi Jolie, the MPV segment in Vietnam has been the main battleground for of Japanese and Korean brands.

Over the last 20 years more than 20 other models have come and gone, with sales increasing rapidly.

Until 2018 Toyota dominated the segment with its Innova though it was the largest and most expensive car. Innova held a 78% market share, selling 14,581 units in 2018.

But since, the situation has changed completely with the entry of new and more trendy options.

In 2018 the import tax on vehicles from ASEAN countries was abolished, and companies began to import their cars from other Southeast Asian countries.

Toyota started the trend with names like Avanza and Rush, but the most notable entrant was Mitsubishi Xpander, which took the throne from Innova and started a new MPV wave.

An Xpander 2023 model in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/ Pham Trung

With the lower costs, MPVs like Xpander, Ertiga, Avanza, and Rush began to be used commercially especially by service and family businesses. Between 2018 and 2022 sales of MPV nearly tripled from 18,650 to 53,026 units. The number of models available now testifies to the vibrancy of the segment. In 2018 there were only four: the Chevrolet Orlando, Toyota Innova, Kia Rondo, and Suzuki Ertiga. Of the MPVs coming to Vietnam since 2018, the Xpander has had the most success. In 2019 it set a new record by selling more than 20,000 units. In 2022 it broke that record again by exceeding 22,000.

Other cars like Toyota's Veloz and Avanza have also been exceedingly well.

Veloz, Toyota's most popular MPV model in Vietnam. Photo by Toyota Vietnam (TMV)

With its new, modern design, more equipment and competitive price, the Veloz sold more than 14,100 units in 2022 despite entering the market only in April.

Avanzas sales were lower, but managed to top 3,500 units.

Since Innova's decline in 2018 the Japanese company had never sold more than 10,000 MPVs in a year until the Veloz came.

A Japanese sales manager from Mitsubishi said at a meeting with the media in Ho Chi Minh City a few months ago: "Demand for MPVs will not slow down in the next three or four years. Sales will continue to increase and attract many more brands, and so the Xpander will face challenges in maintaining its current leading position."

At the end of last year Thanh Cong Group imported the Hyundai Stargazer and then proceeded to assemble it domestically.

Truong Hai Auto Corp. stopped selling the Kia Rondo and replaced it with the Carens.

This year Honda is expected to bring back its BR-V in June, and Chinese automaker Haima will introduce its 7X in the second half.

With the burgeoning competition in the MPV segment, customers are set to benefit.
With more than 40 million Spanish-speaking readers and language learners, according to the Census Bureau, the U.S. has the fourth-largest Spanish-speaking population in the world, after Mexico, Spain, and Argentina. Whats more, if demographic trends continue, the Instituto Cervantes estimates that by 2060, 27.5% of the U.S. population will speak Spanish, which would make it the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. It therefore comes as no surprise that the U.S. market for Spanish-language books is growing. Accordingly, PW is now offering a quarterly spotlight on developments in that market. This will include discussions with authors, booksellers, librarians, publishers, and others in the value chain.

The U.S. market for Spanish-language titles is largely being driven by bilingual families, schools that offer dual-language classes, and libraries that service communities with large numbers of Spanish speakers. In addition, there are heritage-language customers who want to practice their Spanish, and language learners seeking cultural immersion.

Bilingual books have proven popular with children, parents, and students alike. In 2022, two new services, Enlingos and Curio, launched to cater to this audience, offering subscription boxes for bilingual and Spanish-language childrens books.

Historically, one of the most prolific and inclusive publishers of bilingual books is Star Bright Books in Cambridge, Mass. Founded in 1994 by Deborah Shine, a former bookseller and publisher from South Africa, the company offers more than 200 board and picture books in monolingual and bilingual editions covering 33 languages. After English, Spanish is most widely represented on the list, which includes 27 monolingual Spanish titles and 68 bilingual books.

There are some immigrant families that want books in their native language, while others want books they can read in their native language, while their child may only speak English, so they will also read to them in English, Shine says. It varies.

Accordingly, Star Bright often offers multiple editions of the same title, including English, Spanish, and bilingual versions. In our bilingual books, we always put the foreign text above the English translation, which is often different from how other publishers do it, says Shine, who is in her 90s and continues to run the company. English is always secondary to the foreign language in our books. Star Brights latest release is Arletis, Abuelo y el mensaje en la botella by Lea Aschkenas, illustrated Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. The picture book, which tells the true story of a young Cuban girl who strikes up an unlikely pen pal friendship with a Californian, is offered in English and in a Spanish translation by Lawrence Schimel, senior editor of Swiss publishing house NorthSouth Books. The book was written in English and then we had it translated, Shine says. It was a natural decision to publish it in Spanish, for the storys main character is Cuban and it is set in Cuba. Our Spanish titles are typically bilingual, but for this book, we decided to do a Spanish-only edition. The book has a print run of 4,000 copies for each edition and has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection.

Arletis, Abuelo y el mensaje en la botella will likely find a strong market in south Florida, where there is a large Cuban population. Traditionally, the largest concentrations of Spanish book sales have been along the coasts and borders of the U.S.; however, publishers note, that is changing as the migration of Spanish speakers increases.

Our market concentration is in all the places you would expect it to beCalifornia, Texas, Florida, New York, says Ariana Stein of Lil Libros, a Los Angelesbased publisher of bilingual board books in Spanish and English for children ages four to eight. But our fastest-growing markets are in the Midweststates like Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri. Our books come out of the American Latino experience.

Stein cofounded Lil Libros with her friend Patty Rodriguez after they could not find Spanish-English bilingual books for their kids. There is a phrase in Spanish, Ni de aqui, ni de alla, meaning not from here, nor there, which captures the feeling of being an American Latino, says Rodriguez, who writes many of the books with Stein, including several of the presss bestselling titles, such as Loteria: First Words/Primeras palabras and Counting with/Contando ConFrida.

In all, Lil Libros has published nearly 40 books, which have sold more than two million copies combined, Stein says. The Life of/La vida de Selena by Rodriguez and Stein has sold more than 250,000 copies, much of it direct to nonprofits and other community organizations. Gross revenue started at $11,000 in 2014 and topped $1.7 million in 2020, an 18% jump over 2019.

Stein and Rodriguez have fostered strong ties with their community and say they have more than 300,000 social media followers that generate 1.2 million impressions each month. When the company wanted to raise capital to expand into publishing picture books, it turned directly to its readers, raising $2.4 million in equity funding through the crowdsourcing site Wefunder in a campaign that closed in May 2022. We raised this from nearly 6,000 people, who invested in $250$500 incrementswith a few large investors, as well, Stein says. Some 30% of Lil Libros sales are direct-to-consumer, and the company has begun holding in-person pop-up sales and events, primarily in Los Angeles and Tucson, but with plans to extend these to Texas and New York City.

Future plans include rapidly expanding the number of titles published per year. We hope to eventually go from doing 11 books per season to as many as 60 per year, Rodriguez says. New titles include the Luz Lucero, nina astronauta by Zaida Hernandez, illustrated by Karla Monterrosa, just published in March, and Wepa, written and illustrated by J. de LaVega, about an energetic child whos labeled as having ADHD, coming in May. In October 2022, Lil Libros acquired an equity stake in Bitty Bao, a startup publisher of bilingual English-Chinese board books for children, marking its expansion into a new language.

Despite the popularity of their books, the publishers at both Star Bright and Lil Libros note that they continue to face one challenge in particular. Bookstores keep shelving our books in the foreign books section, Rodriguez says. Bookstores, while stocking more Spanish-language and bilingual books, continue to see them as something of a niche rather than a mainstream item. Barnes & Noble was without a dedicated Spanish-language book buyer until Ernesto Martinez, former buyer at Borders, was hired last year. The change has been significant: today, the majority of B&Ns renovated stores include designated bays for Spanish-language titles and Martinez writes a blog, Aroma a libros, covering Spanish-language books on B&Ns website.

 Our fastest-growing markets are in the Midweststates like Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Missouri. 

The growth of interest in Spanish-language books has been good news for Lectorum, the oldest and largest distributor of Spanish-language books in the U.S., which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020. Working out of a 30,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in New Jersey, the company distributes some 25,00030,000 Spanish-language titles that it imports from publishers across the Spanish-speaking world. Sales have been very strong since the end of the pandemic, says Lectorum CEO and president Alex Correa. In 2021 and 2022, schools had bigger budgets to acquire books. While this year may not be quite as good, Im still optimistic.

Lectorum also publishes its own books and has a backlist of more than 200 titles, many of them Spanish translations of classic childrens books. This past year, the company acquired North American rights to the Spanish-language translations of all of Kate DeCamillos books, including The Beatryce Prophecy and Because of Winn-Dixie, which has become one of Lectorums bestselling titles. It also acquired the rights to Dan Goodmans Weird School trilogy.

More than half of Lectorums business is with schools and libraries, many of which have taken an interest in the companys e-books platform, MakeMake, which offers 1,800 titles for kindergarten through high school. It comes from Colombia and offers primarily Latin American books, Correa says. It now has 30 public libraries licensing it for patrons.

Correa notes that in the past year, more and more schools have expressed interest in book fairs, which Lectorum conducts online. Unfortunately, that specific business is also becoming more challenging, as politicians representing Florida and Texas promote book bans. The issue is all the more complicated when there are language differences between politicians, families, and educators.

Looking ahead, Correa notes that one outcome from the pandemic is that many students have fallen behind in reading proficiency. As a consequence, librarians and teachers are asking for material that has content suitable for older readers but is also easier to read. While they might be able to read a picture book, an older student would consider that childish, Correa explains. We actively looking for books to fill that need.
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Three murderers are better than one, especially when theyre psychopathic identical triplets, as shown in Ren DeStefanos devilishly clever new serial killer thriller, How Ill Kill You. Abandoned in childhood and raised in foster homes, 25-year-old sisters Sissy, Moody, and Iris have maintained a clean streak of messy crimes across several states before settling in Rainwood, Ariz. The only rule the three have always had is that they seduce their marks, live out every fantasy they desire, and then finish them off. But when Sissy takes a liking to her latest intended victim, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Several bombshell revelations make that easier than it might seem in this ingenious story of malicious mayhem.

We all have a similar idea of what a serial killer should look like: skulking about in the shadows, concealing his identity, driving a windowless van and waiting in a dark alley. But some of the scariest cases we hear about feature a killer who didnt seem like a killer: the ones we never suspect or the ones with unlikely accomplices. These are the stories that keep us up at night and have us giving even our friendliest neighbors a cautious side-eye.

The best serial killer thrillers are the ones we pretend could never happen in real life, but still touch upon our deepest-held fear that anything is possible. Here are 10 of the most disturbing:

1. The Serial Killers Wife by Alice Hunter Heres a book with a premise that seems ripped from the most shocking of headlines, and it addresses a question we all ask when it comes to murderers: how did no one know? Is someone protecting the killer? Beth and Tom live a pristine life. So when Tom doesnt return home one night, Beth is shocked. Then the police show up at her door and tell her that her perfect husband is a killer. But if he were, surely she would have known that right?

2. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn Before penning Gone Girl, Flynn wrote this eerie small-town thriller with an unexpected twist. Its a book that perfectly encapsulates the unreliable narrator. What appears on the outside to be an affluent, revered family is rife with secrets and closet skeletons. Girls are going missing from their small town, leading protagonist Camilla to return to a placeand a lifeshes long since left behind, this time as a journalist assigned with getting to the bottom of things. Nearly everyone is a suspectand the best part is that the book will leave the reader questioning everything they think they know about staying safe and avoiding dangerous individuals. This proves that the person whos out to get you could be the person you least expect.

3. In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware Everything about Wares debut thriller will remind you of the spooky campfire tales of your childhood. Its a book about many different sorts of demonsthe demons of self-doubt and writers block, the demons of the past, and last but not least, the ones that rustle in the woods at night.

4. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter Family trauma runs deep in this story about two sisters and a past that haunts them. Decades ago, their sister went missing and was never found. Now, the surviving sisters are estranged and living very different lives. But when another girl goes missing, the truth comes to the surface in a very unsettling and unexpected way.

5. A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Wingham This is a book for anyone who loves poetic language used to describe horrific things. Chloe is a protagonist with a past shed rather forget: when she was on the cusp of young adulthood, her father confessed to a string of terrible crimes. In the aftermath, Chloe moved away and tried her best to move on. But with her father no longer free to commit murder, who is behind the sudden disappearances of more teenage girls?

6. The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart Urquhart is co-host of one of my favorite podcasts, Morbid, which is perhaps why this title is so near and dear to my heart. So many true crime podcasts do a beautiful job of telling the full storynot just of the serial killer, but of the real lives and loves of those who have been affected. Urquhart carries that same care and compassion to the ill-fated town where this chilling tale takes place.

7. It by Stephen King Okay, hear me out. Not all serial killers are humans. Some of them are sewer-dwelling clowns. This is a book that leaves us all picking up our stride as we pass sewer grates and storm drains. And as Ill tell my own kids, if you ever lose your paper boat in a rainstorm, just let it go. But despite the unusual premise, this is both a sharp psychological thriller and a coming-of-age tale. A group of friends, forever bonded by the horrors they endured, come together as adults to mourn a cherished friendonly for the horrors to begin again. Character-driven and thought-provoking, here is another book that makes you afraid to open closet doors and peek under the bed at night.

8. Kiss the Girls by James Patterson This one hits too close to home: its about a serial killer who spends several weeks living inside the walls of the family hes stalking. Hearing the narrator explain how he gets away with this feat is a bit too convincing. And the only thing scarier than one serial killer is a second, copycat killer. This classic takes a look at the legal work it takes to bring down a killer that is, assuming the killer can be caught.

9. The Wives by Tarryn Fisher This book is the royalty of complex family dynamicsor in this instance, marital dynamics. In this shiver-inducing thriller, multiple women are married to the same man, but they never fight over whose turn it is to spend time with him, because despite knowing there are other wives, theyve never met each other. That is, until the bizarre day when two of them do.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the 4th Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in Laos on April 5, the foreign affairs ministry announced Thursday.

The summit, where Chinh was invited by his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone, would be held in Vientiane.

The MRC is an inter-governmental organization for dialogue and cooperation at the Lower Mekong River Basin, consisting of four members: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Its summit has been held every four years since 2010.

The summit is for discussions and making policies to resolve issues by countries in the Lower Mekong River Basin.

This year, the summit aims to affirm the commitments of the four MRC members when it comes to abiding by the 1995 Mekong Agreement, analyze and evaluate opportunities and challenges regarding water sources, and determine plans to conduct the Mekong River Basin Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period.

The 4th summit is also expected to see the Vientiane Joint Declaration passed, where achievements of MRC members are evaluated and plans for future cooperation are mapped.

The Mekong River, spanning 4,350 km, starts from China and flows through Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam before reaching the ocean. It is considered the lifeblood of the Southeast Asian region, ensuring the lives of around 200 million people working in agriculture and aquaculture.
Americans have long been fixated on the idea of the short, decisive war. At the start of the American Civil War, Washington gentry traveled to watch the First Battle of Bull Runto partake of a spectacle they presumed would soon end. In 1898, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay expected the Spanish-American War to be a splendid little war, culminating in a quick victory for the newly emerging global power. As U.S. troops neared the Yalu River in November 1950 during the Korean War, Gen. Douglas MacArthur promised ( PDF ) that his soldiers would eat Christmas dinner at home. In 2003, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicted that the Iraq War certainly isn't going to last any longer than [five months]. Multiple administrations underestimated ( PDF ) the timeline of the war in Afghanistan.

A similar obsession with short wars colors the coverage of the Ukraine war today. In 2022, as it became clear Russia was about to invade Ukraine, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, the U.S. intelligence community, and most outside experts predicted a Russian victory in a matter of days. As the Russian advance sagged, a handful of commentators then predicted a speedy Ukrainian victory. Many more have judged the war unwinnable and called for a quick end through negotiations. The media, for its part, has labeled the war a stalemate during just about every lull in fighting.

History has not been kind to any of these predictions. The Civil War lasted four years and remains one of the bloodiest conflicts in U.S. history. The Spanish-American War devolved into a yearslong insurgency in the Philippines. MacArthur's push towards the Yalu triggered Chinese intervention, which prolonged the conflict by years, not months. The Iraq War lasted an order of magnitude longer than Rumsfeld predicted, and Afghanistan turned into Washington's longest war. Today, the war in Ukraine has not resulted in a quick win for either sidebut it is not a stalemate, either, as the battlefield continues to evolve.

Truly quick wars in U.S. history have been few and far between. Most of these have been small affairs against second-tier powers, like the Reagan administration's attack on Grenada or the George H.W. Bush administration's intervention in Panama. In some cases, a short war proved more illusion than fact. The First Gulf War in 1990 lasted only 100 hours, but it gave way to three decades of direct U.S. military involvement in and over Iraq that continues to this day.

Over the years, the United States has tried any number of approaches to shorten its wars. Depending on the conflict, it has experimented with diplomacy and encouraged off-ramps to entrenched conflicts. When those have not worked, it has tried shock and awe campaigns, using overwhelming force to wow its adversaries into submission. Today, there are entire research programs at Washington think tanks focusing on ending endless warsas if there were a lobby for engaging in such conflicts in the first place. In most cases, these efforts have failed: In recent decades, Washington's wars have tended to last longer.

As a matter of defense planning, the United States needs to assume that most of its wars will last a long time. Share on Twitter

The United States has certainly paid a price for its short-war fixation: U.S. forces were caught flat-footed in Korea, the Philippines, and Afghanistan. The latter, multiple observers quipped, was fought as a series of 20 one-year wars, with units and their leadership replaced every year. In the process, the United States lost the continuity of effort and clarity of strategic vision that should have come with a twenty-year commitment, as well as the opportunity to have a frank national conversation about the war's likely benefits versus its true costs.

No one can blame the near-universal desire to keep wars short. Still, as a matter of defense planning, the United States needs to assume that most of its wars will last a long time. Thankfully, wars are rare events. Most of the time, states only fight over what they perceive as irreconcilable issues of enough importance that they merit the investment of blood and treasure. If there were an easy solution, then most likely the war would have been avoided altogether. But precisely because states do not go to war on a whim also means they do not sue for peace on a whim, either.

Moreover, war, by its very nature, encourages intransigence. Behavioral economists often turn to the so-called sunk cost fallacy to explain why wars drag on. People are more likely to double down on policies rather than reverse course and risk losing their initial investment. In war, these sunk costs become especially acute when they are real blood and treasure. Political scientists similarly note that leaders are often willing to gamble for resurrection, escalating wars to avoid losing power. Cognitive scientists have argued that as wars go on, each side tends to dehumanize and vilify the other. Rather than becoming more open to negotiations and off-ramps, leaders become even more entrenched and less likely to see a way to peace. Many of these dynamics seem to underlie Russian President Vladimir Putin's calculus in Ukraine as he continues to double down on a losing bet, but they apply to other leaders in other conflicts as well.

The advent of nuclear weapons has not prevented long wars either. While nuclear weapons may prevent both sides from seeking to destroy one another, if only to prevent mutual annihilation, they do not necessarily prevent protracted conventional conflicts in which they are directly involved, such as the Korean War, Vietnam War, or today's Russo-Ukrainian War. Scholars sometimes refer to this dynamic as the stability-instability paradox ( PDF ): Precisely because states are confident that their nuclear arsenal protects them from full-on superpower war, they are likelier to engage in lower-level wars.

Today, the U.S. short-war fixation is a problem for U.S. efforts to aid Ukraine. Such a fixation contributes to U.S. opinion-makers' seemingly insatiable appetite for instantaneous gratification in the form of battlefield victories. Never mind the Ukrainian counteroffensives that have liberated large swaths of land around Kharkiv and Kherson. Never mind the fact that winter is not the most conducive season for offensive operations in Ukraine. Absent a continuous string of victories, some Americansand many pundits and public commentatorsbegin to lose patience.

If Afghanistan was fought as multiple one-year wars strung together, then Ukraine is being fought one weapon at a time. Over the past year, the United States has agonized about whether to give individual systems to Ukrainian forcesfrom HIMARS rocket artillery and Patriot antiaircraft systems to, potentially, F-16 fighter jets, Reaper drones, and longer-range rockets. In theory, such added scrutiny is designed to control escalation and keep the war short and contained. In practice, this piecemeal approach comes at the cost of a more-strategic one. Rather than thinking through what Ukraine needs to win and resourcing it accordingly, Washington slows down the weapons Kyiv needed yesterday.

The U.S. fascination with short wars may turn out to be a problem in the future, too. No one can say for sure how a potential war with China over Taiwan will play out, but wargames suggest it will be almost certainly bloody and probably not quick. Even if the United States and its allies stopped a Chinese invasion, would Chinese leadership simply call it quits, especially after having publicly committed to Taiwan's capture as the central plank of the great rejuvenation of China? Conversely, if the United States loses, and China successfully occupies Taiwan, likely killing thousands of U.S. troops in the process, would a U.S. president say, We gave it our best, and go home? Probably not. More likely, he or she would be faced with the same sunk-cost problem that has trapped Putin today. And no amount of clever diplomacy would change that.

If the United States must fightfor instance, over Taiwanit should take a clear-eyed look at its own history and prepare for what will, in all likelihood, be a protracted conflict. Share on Twitter

Unlike the Russo-Ukrainian war, however, a Taiwan conflict could pit the world's first- and second-largest economies directly against each other in open warfare. China's military capability and industrial capacity already dwarf Russia's. And if the United States is directly involved in the fighting, it will likely commit substantially more resources to the war than it has so far given to Ukraine. In short, the United States and China would be able to sustain a conventional conflict for a very long time, and neither side would reach the point of exhaustion quickly. And so, the United States would face a strategic choice between accepting defeat and fighting for the long haul.

Obviously, no one wants to fight long, grueling wars. They are bloody and expensive. If war can be avoided in the first place, all the better. But if the United States must fightfor instance, over Taiwanit should take a clear-eyed look at its own history and prepare for what will, in all likelihood, be a protracted conflict. It must ensure that it has the industrial capacity and manpower to sustain a long fight and the strategic vision to guide its efforts for the long haul.

U.S. adversariesbe it the Taliban yesterday, Russia today, or potentially China tomorrowbank on Washington's strategic impatience. They presume that if they hold on for long enough, Americans' desire for short wars will sabotage their efforts in time. If the U.S. objective is to win, the only thing worse than fighting a long war may be thinking it's possible to avoid one.

Raphael S. Cohen is director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program, a program of RAND Project AIR FORCE. Gian Gentile is deputy director of the RAND Army Research Division.

This commentary originally appeared on Foreign Policy on March 28, 2023. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
This week, we discuss how to encourage threat reporting to help keep schools safe; why national security organizations need a neurodivergent workforce; the F.D.A. approval of over-the-counter Narcan sales; the implications of labeling drug cartels foreign terrorists; what happens when struggling students repeat a grade; and helping veterans find employment during a recession.

Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle/AP

This week's mass shooting in Nashville is the latest awful reminder of the scourge of gun violence in Americaand the need to keep schools safe.

Before opening fire at the Covenant School, the shooter reportedly sent a chilling Instagram message to a friend: I am planning to die today. (The shooter had also shared past suicidal thoughts with others.) While the friend did contact the authorities, the shooting began just minutes after the report was made.

Speaking up about a potential threat fell short of preventing the attack in Nashville. But the possibility that, with a bit more time, the situation might have been averted underscores just how important threat reporting is to preventing school violence.

Threat reporting is the focus of a recent RAND study. The authors find that, too often, concerns about potential violence aren't brought to light until after violence occurs. In fact, one of the most consistent findings in the research on school shootings is that someone knew an attack was possible and didn't report it.

Our study examines what states, districts, and schools can do to encourage peopleespecially studentsto report potential threats. Lead author Pauline Moore says she and her colleagues heard the same thing from almost everyone they talked to: If kids feel supported, if they have someone they can trust, they'll come forward.

Building a trusting school climate is essential, but the authors also recommend establishing tip lines and providing trainings that teach students and staff what to report and how to report it. Steps such as these could help prevent yet another tragedy in one of America's schools.
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Vietnam is working with Taiwan authorities to verify reports that several bodies with Vietnamese ID papers were found off the island.

"Authorities of Taiwan have announced the discovery of 11 bodies at sea, including several that carried Vietnamese identification papers," Pham Thu Hang, deputy spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told VnExpress in a statement Thursday.

Vietnamese agencies have worked with Taiwan officials to verify the information and support Vietnamese representative agencies in Taipei to perform necessary consular procedures, Hang said.

Taiwan Coast Guard Administration on Wednesday informed about the discovery of 16 bodies along Taiwans western coast early this month. CGA said two of the bodies have been confirmed as male Vietnamese nationals.

The statement came after local television channel TVBS reported that a man's body was found on a wind turbine platform in a wind farm off Taichung Harbor on March 7. The report said coastal patrols found another seven half naked bodies, male and female, along the coast from Taichung to Kaohsiung two weeks after the first discovery.

Hang said Vietnam will continue to work with Taiwan authorities to identify the victims and carry out necessary citizen protection measures.
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/31/2023



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

couple Zach Shallcross and Kaity Biggar have revealed the five-year plan for their relationship after getting engaged on the show's 27th season.Zach rejected his runner-up Gabi Elnicki , leaving her devastated and "humiliated," and ultimately proposed marriage to his winner, Kaity, during the Final Rose Ceremony of Season 27 in Thailand.Kaity and Zach expressed how they were madly in love with each other and couldn't wait to start a life together in the real world, and on : After the Final Rose -- which aired live on Monday night, several months after the finale taped -- the couple confirmed they're still together and happy But Zach, 26, said he and Kaity are in "no rush" to get married, according to People.The couple have talked about tying the knot in 2025 , and Zach shared with the magazine, "Right now, the main emphasis is living together in Austin [this summer], getting to know each other more and more, and just see how things go."And Kaity, 28, added, "We have the rest of our lives together, so why does everything need to be a rush? It doesn't."But that doesn't mean the couple hasn't thought about their future together.Zach and Kaity said they can picture themselves being married with children within five years."[We hope to be] married with some little ones running around -- maybe one, maybe two," Zach said.Kaity admitted some of the people who will receive an invitation to her wedding "may raise a couple eyebrows" such as Gabi, Zach's third-place finisher Ariel Frenkel -- whom Kaity called "a huge supporter" -- and fellow 27 contestants Jess Girod and Mercedes Northup And Kaity pointed out how she "would like a beach house" with Zach down the road.The pair also see themselves traveling and enjoying new experiences together."We're going to start living in Austin, but after a year in Austin, figure out if we want to try something else and explore and travel the world," Zach shared.Kaity said she'd love to vacation in Portugal first."[But] there's tons of places that I want to go, and I know Zach does too. We're both very adventurous," Kaity acknowledged.In the meantime, the newly-engaged couple hope to live a "normal life" off-camera."We've seen each other quite a few times and we [got] these 'Happy Couple weekends.' I've never gotten sick of him, so it's been great," Kaity gushed of her fiance."All I want is more time with him. When he gets to Austin, we're just going to try and live this normal life that we've been wanting to for so long. We're super excited."Kaity said that no matter what comes the couple's way, they're going to be "a team.""We do communicate so well together. We are going to make amazing life partners, and I just can't wait for the rest of our lives," she concluded.Kaity and Zach had to overcome a major hurdle in their relationship before getting engaged. Zach had slept with Gabi in the Fantasy Suites, and Kaity had to get past worrying about Zach's strong connection with another woman.When asked how Fantasy Suite Week impacted their relationship on After the Final Rose, Kaity -- who had been given the last of Zach's three overnight dates in Thailand -- admitted it was "definitely a tough episode to watch back.""I'm not going to sugarcoat that by any means. Am I ever going to watch that episode again? Nope! Definitely not," Kaity quipped.During that controversial episode, Zach admitted to Gabi that he was "falling in love" with her.Gabi also felt "violated" and betrayed by Zach when he decided to tell Kaity about his private sexual encounter with the Vermont native.But in hindsight, Kaity said her relationship with Zach is "100 percent" worth "all the tears" and ups and downs she had endured on .Prior to starring as the Bachelor, Zach competed for Rachel Recchia 's heart on ette's nineteenth season.Zach and Rachel mutually split following their overnight Fantasy Suite date, during which Zach had accused Rachel of being a totally different person off-camera.Rachel, in turn, called Zach's public comments about the demise of their relationship "really negative" and "so hurtful." Interested in more news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Westworld, Mesrine and Black Swan actor Vincent Cassel says Gabriel Delage is a mercenary sick of espionage and politics when audiences meet him in the thriller, Liaison.

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Wrapping up its first season on Apple TV+ on Friday, the French- and English-language series takes place mainly in the Middle East and co-stars Eva Green Peter Mullan , Gerard Lanvin, Daniel Francis , Stanislas Merhar, Irene Jacob and Thierry Fremont.

It was created and written by Virginie Brac, and directed by Stephen Hopkins.

"He's a mercenary, so he is somebody who worked for more or less everybody," Cassel told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

"He has seen behind the curtain the real politics that run the world, so he has become very cynical," the 56-year-old, French actor added.

"He's lonely. He's tired of doing those jobs for such a long time and he's in love with someone who treats him like [expletive]. He's complex. He's human. He's realistic, somehow."

Although his line of work is dangerous, the lure of big paydays motivate him to take tremendous risks.

"I had the opportunity to meet those guys who are doing these jobs for real," Cassel said. "It starts sometimes because of adventure, mostly because they are very talented and they had the opportunity. It was good money."

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But it's also a young man's game.

"When you get around your 50s, which was the case of my character, maybe you want something else because it can be an exciting life for a moment," Cassel said.

"At a certain point, if you kill a few hundred people in your life and you never had a family life, if you have kids you can't just see, you miss seeing them growing, I guess you just want to take a rest."

The people who employ operatives like Gabriel don't care about work-life balance, however.

"Unfortunately, I don't think you can take a rest. If you made that choice earlier on in your life, you can never really stop," Cassel said. "The minute you are not useful anymore, you know too much."

In addition to emotional and psychological challenges, the role of Gabriel also was physically demanding.

"I run around a lot. I fight. I get kicked. It was kind of physical, but that's not what I remember about the shoot. I remember being involved in incredible scenes with Eva Green ," Cassel said.

He described his co-star from Liaison and the upcoming Three Musketeers as "mysterious and elegant," and recalled being a fan of hers for years before finally getting to work with her.

"It's my Eva Green year and if I could do a few movies in a row with her, I wouldn't mind."

Working on Liaison showed Cassel how vulnerable companies and countries can be to cyber attacks and terrorism.

"We don't know half of it, honestly. What the public eye knows is nothing compared to reality. I really believe so," the actor said.

"Maybe it's better like that because, otherwise, people would be totally crazy and depressed, which is already the case on many occasions, but I think it would be worse. Real politics is really dirty."

Cassel said he likes working on projects that are fast-paced and fun to watch, but that also address big, serious issues that reflect reality.

"It is supposed to be cinematic and entertaining, but at the same time, we talk about human relationships and the complexity of it and the fact that you have to live with the remorse of our past errors," the actor said of Liaison.

"You have this environment and this background of political reality, even though it is in the future. Everything that happens in the series could actually eventually happen.

The show premiered shortly after an enormous real-life earthquake devastated Syria and Turkey, killing tens of thousands of people.

Cassel said he felt a connection to the region because much of the story in Liaison takes place there, but also for a more personal reason -- his adult daughter was in Istanbul at the time.

"I woke up to the news and was calling and trying to understand what was going on, but we know that Turkey is actually in a very critical place in the world and they are not prepared for it, so when [expletive] happens, it is going to be a mess," he said.
Flag carrier Lao Airlines on Thursday carried 150 passengers from the capital of Vientiane to Da Nang, marking the resumption of the direct air route after a hiatus of more three years due to Covid.

There will be two weekly flights on Thursdays and Sundays.

Noudeng Chanthaphasouk, commercial director of Lao Airlines, said in a statement that the resumption of the direct route, favored by a large number of tourists before the Covid-19 outbreak, will meet increasing demand of visitors in the region after the removal of travel restrictions.

Last year, Laos was one of 10 main sources of tourism for Da Nang, with nearly 10,000 arrivals, and accounting for 2% of its total foreign visitors.

Lao Airlines earlier resumed direct flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City right after both countries reopened tourism.
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For graduating seniors at UGAs Lamar Dodd School of Art, the milestone of finishing college includes the annual Bachelor of Fine Arts Exit Show, an opportunity to showcase their work before earning their diplomas.

This years art show, titled Where the Sidewalk Ends, will showcase work from 42 students, split up into two weeks of exhibitions in the Dodd Galleries. The first week will run from April 7-13, with an opening reception on April 7 from 6-8 p.m.. The second week will run from April 21-27, with an opening reception on April 21 from 6-8 p.m.
The University of Georgia School of Public & International Affairs Student Union hosted the UGA chapters of College Republicans and Young Democrats on Wednesday evening in the UGA Miller Learning Center.

This event was titled The Future of the Parties, and three panelists from each party answered questions provided by Annsley Anglin, the events coordinator for SPIA Student Union.
On Feb. 28, the Coleman-Baker Act, a bill focusing on re-opening unsolved homicides in Georgia, passed in the Georgia State House.

The bill, known also as HB 88, passed with a vote of 168-1. It will now advance to the state Senate.
On Friday, the Psi chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon at the University of Georgia celebrated a ground breaking ceremony for the remodeling of their house on South Milledge Avenue.

The remodeling has been in the works for several years, according to Nicole Defeo, international executive director and CEO of Delta Phi Epsilon. Planning began approximately five years ago, but the pandemic delayed the project. Finally, work has begun and will continue for several months.
The government has asked industry to provide a list of Chinese suppliers that would like to shift some capacity to India provided they are willing to set up JVs with Indian companies.

Chinese companies will need to concede a majority 51 per cent stake to their Indian joint venture partners for setting up a component manufacturing plant in the entire mobile device and electronics supply chain ecosystem in the country.

Says a top government official, "The consensus that is emerging is that in such JVs Indian partners should have a majority 51 per cent stake, so they have control over the management and the board."

The move is significant as many global as well as Indian companies seeking JVs with Chinese companies in the mobile device component space say that the foreign direct investment cap should be linked to the technology intensity required for the product which the Chinese companies are willing to transfer.

The Indian Cellular and Electronics Association has suggested caps to the government based on a graded system.

It has suggested, for example, an FDI cap of 51 per cent in passive and active components, camera modules, connectors, ringers, amongst others.

However, it is comfortable with 49 per cent in mechanics, microphones, key pads, and so on.

In other areas like packaging, it has suggested a cap that is as low as 24 per cent.

This would ensure that the country does not have to depend on imports from China, but can do value addition of these key components in India, providing it more security in the supply chain.

Some global players are pushing for a 50-50 equity structure, pointing out that without such a split, most Chinese component makers might not want to share their technology at all.

Over the past few months there has been a subtle shift in the government's stance on Chinese FDI which got stymied after the escalation in the Sino-Indian border tensions in 2020.

However, some leeway has been given after persistent demand from global and Indian companies in mobile devices and other areas of electronics that Chinese support would be needed to build the supply chain if the country wants to achieve its ambitious export target in this sector.

The government has now asked Indian companies to provide a list of Chinese suppliers that would like to shift some capacity to India provided they are willing to set up JVs with Indian companies.

After a preliminary screening by the government, the Chinese companies will have to negotiate a JV with Indian players.

In the final phase, they will have to go back to the government for FDI clearance under the Press Note 3 of April 2020, which is the government order requiring FDI approvals for investment proposals by companies with which India shares a land border. The rules under Press Note 3 have not been relaxed.

Under this policy, Apple Inc, which is planning to shift 12-20 per cent of its iPhone assembly by value to India by 2026, managed to get approvals for investments by 14 Chinese component suppliers out of a list of 17.

Ten of these have been in India from before the Press Note 3 days. But sources explained that preliminary approvals were taken even for these companies because they would have had to apply again to the government for a joint venture if they want to bring in more investment.

Mobile phone maker Lava International is in advanced talks with Chinese original design manufacturer Huaqin, the world's largest player in this space for mobiles and tablets, for a joint venture. And Dixon Technologies is discussing potential JVs with Chinese companies in the components space.

Nearly 80 per cent of the global mobile device supply chain is in China and is run by Chinese companies.

India has big plans in this space.

Under the production-linked insurance (PLI) scheme, the government aims to hit a value addition of 40 per cent by 2026 (it is currently at 12-18 per cent, after two years of the PLI programme).

India's ambition to become a global hub for exports by 2026 cannot be achieved without a vibrant domestic supply chain.

The country wants to hit $300 billion in electronics manufacturing in the next three years, with overseas sales touching $120 billion. More than half of that is projected to come from mobile devices.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
Hong Hoa was just 17 when she found out she was pregnant, and just thinking about her future left her sleepless and panic-stricken.

Growing up in a family of two girls in a town in Kon Tum province, and with both parents being government employees, she only needed to study without having to worry about anything else in life. "When I found out I was pregnant, everything changed," recalls the now 26-year-old.

Her boyfriend was three years older but equally naive. Neither of them dared tell anyone.

By the fourth month, her family knew her pregnancy when she couldnt hide it anymore. Then, the girl dropped out of school in 11th grade.

When her friends were in grade 12, she had to deliver and take care of her child.

She returned to school a year later. In the morning, instead of waking up close to school time like most children, she would wake up at 5 a.m., change diapers, make milk for her son, ask her mother-in-law to babysit him, and leave for school.

At noon the young mother would take time to breastfeed her baby before going back to school. If her child became sick, she would stay up all night to look after him.

Studying, taking care of a child, and being frustrated with her irresponsible husband, she quickly became exhausted and found herself at a dead-end.

Teenage sex leading to pregnancy like Hoas is a burning social issue in Vietnam.

Hoa, 26, is now more mature about relationships. Photo courtesy of Hoa

A survey in 2021 by the United Nations Children's Fund found that 0.2% of boys had sex before the age of 15. This rate was higher in girls at about 0.9%. Some 8.9% of adolescents had sex with a partner 10 years older than them.

According to a study done by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, the rate of children having sex for the first time before the age of 14 doubled from 1.45% in 2013 to 3.51% in 2019.

Another study by Population Services International estimated that over 10% of unmarried Vietnamese women (aged 15-24) had at least one unwanted pregnancy.

Nguyen Le Thuy, an education expert from the Center for Youth Skills Development says the leading cause of teenage pregnancy is the lack of knowledge about sex education and emotional management skills.

Meanwhile, children these days have easy access to age-inappropriate movies, pictures and stories on the Internet, she points out.

"Sex education is not paid much attention in schools. Early puberty is also a cause of early love, early sex and teenage pregnancy."

Teenage mothers easily suffer from psychological trauma because of their lack of physical and mothering skills and experience in facing difficulties.

Thuy says: "Teenage moms find it difficult to build social relationships and lose faith in life because of low self-esteem and social prejudice. They see difficulties everywhere they look, the future road is no longer as open as before."

After the news that she was pregnant spread, Hong Hoa thought her friends, teachers and other people around her looked at her differently.

"I regretted making my parents sad and embarrassed by the rumors and whispers behind my back. I just hung around at home, not daring to go anywhere."

Experts also point to lack of life experience as one of the biggest difficulties for teenaged mothers.

Thu An, 23, of Son La does not know whether to laugh or cry when thinking about the day her husband's family asked for her hand in marriage.

When she was just 15 her mother told her to drop out of school and get married because her family could not support her any more.

Now both An and her husband work in the fields but cannot earn enough to feed themselves and their two children.

In her hometown, child marriages are still common. In 2021, out of a total of 8,127 marriages, some 1,020 were below marriage age.

"There was a 12-year-old who gave birth to a child, and the child died just a few months later," An says.

Last month a 12-year-old girl gave birth to a baby in northern Phu Tho Province. Local officials say the girls family lives in difficult circumstances, and her parents work far away from home and so have little time to take care of their children.

When the girls mother saw her belly was abnormally large, she took her to a doctor and found out she was going to have a grandchild.

"She is only 12 years old, but has to learn to hold and breastfeed the baby," she says.

Thuy says not only teenage mothers, but also their children face consequences, which affect the future.

"Many children are born unhealthy because their mothers are not fully developed physically. Even if they are healthy, the children still face a disadvantage because of the inadequate attention they get from a teenage mother or the lack of a father."

Hong Hoa has now graduated from university, has a steady job and helps her ex-husbands family take care of her child.

After the mistakes of her past, she does not want to rush to get married.

"I advise teenagers to listen to their parents, study and work to ensure a bright future and not to be ignorant and naive like me."

* Characters' names are changed.
Allowing 12-hour shifts for all and night-time work for women was meant to benefit software firms, but is said to have clinched Foxconn's Rs 80 billion investment

Photograph: Quinn Glabicki/Reuters

Foxconn's decision to invest Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) in Karnataka, cleared by the state government on March 20, has brought into limelight the recent changes in the state's labour laws allowing 12-hour shifts in factories and nighttime work for women.

The changes had gone almost unnoticed when they were passed in the state assembly on February 24 as part of the Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2023 without a debate as the Opposition walked out in protest.

Earlier, a factory shift could not be more than nine hours and women were not allowed to work night shifts.

The new law also increases the overtime hours allowed in a three-month span from 75 to 145.

People in the know say the changes played a vital role in clinching the Foxconn deal.

The world's largest electronics manufacturer, best known for making Apple's iPhones, is understood to have been in talks with the state for a while over these laws.

Interestingly, the intended beneficiary of the new laws was the software sector.

"The new rules were targeted at the software industry. These rules are beneficial for the people who are working in the software industry as they can wind up six days' work in four and take three days off every week. This is not to force anybody to work," Karnataka Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar told Business Standard.

The state government said the reforms included ensuring the safety of workers, especially women.

The relaxations are subject to a cap of 48 hours of work in a week and the provision of a safe and healthy work environment for women during night shifts: from seven in the evening to six in the morning.

An official in the Karnataka industries ministry said the labour reforms were not meant to woo only Apple and its manufacturing partner, Foxconn.

"The fact is that these reforms were done at least three weeks before the Foxconn investment proposal came to light," the official said.

Kindly note the image has only been published for representational purposes. Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters

On March 20, the 61st meeting of Karnataka's state high-level clearance committee approved 18 projects with a total investment of Rs 75,393.57 crore (Rs 753 billion), including the Foxconn project.

K Krishna Moorthy, CEO and president of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association, said that liberalisation of labour laws will have a multiplier effect on the startups and semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in the state. He expressed the hope that other states will follow the Karnataka route on labour reforms.

Already, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka's neighbour, is planning to make its factory shifts more flexible, which may suit Apple contractors such as Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron.

Moving to India was part of the strategy by the global majors to become less reliant on manufacturing in China.

Reports say Apple was looking to move at least a quarter of its manufacturing to India by 2025.

"It is true that aggressive lobbying by Apple and its supplier Foxconn and other companies may have resulted in the recent legislation," said Salman Waris, managing partner of the technology law firm, TechLegis Advocates & Solicitors.

"Once implemented, the new laws would have a long-term impact on the technology, startup and semiconductor ecosystem not only in Karnataka but also in the country overall," Waris added.

This could help Karnataka burnish its pro-industry credentials and bring in more investors.

The state has realised 52 per cent of the Rs 9.8 trillion investment proposals that came up in the global investors meet late last year.

This contrasts with the previous realisation levels, which never exceeded 15 per cent.

Only 14 per cent of the Rs 3.94 trillion worth of MoUs signed in 2010 were realised.

In 2012, the strike rate dropped to 8 per cent of Rs 6.7 trillion. In 2016, it was 15 per cent of Rs 3 trillion.

IT industry veteran and former Infosys director T V Mohandas Pai is batting for more flexible working hours.

"All [labour] laws should be amended to enable working 24/7, which will lead to greater economic activity, more safety for people, better public transport and a great number of jobs," he said.

"We are not saying that flexibility should lead to exploitation," Pai added, "we are saying that people should be able to work 24/7 in certain shifts."

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
Lapses in due diligence, valuation disagreements, funding winter, tough regulatory environment, fintech slowdown being cited as reasons.

Peerzada Abrar reports.

Photograph: PhonePe via Twitter

Walmart-owned digital payments firm PhonePe has decided to halt its proposed acquisition of Goldman Sachs- and Xiaomi-backed ZestMoney, a Bengaluru-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform.

The deal, which was poised to fetch anywhere between $150-200 million and $300 million, has hit a snag over lapses in due diligence, disagreements over valuation, sustainability of the business, and shareholding structure of ZestMoney, according to people familiar with the matter.

The collapse of the deal is also being attributed to a slowdown in the financial technology (fintech) sector in the midst of a funding winter, difficult regulatory environment, and macroeconomic uncertainty, informed other sources.

The acquisition was expected to help PhonePe strengthen its lending services and compete with Google Pay, Paytm, and Amazon Pay in Indian fintech, expected to be purportedly worth $350 billion by 2026.

ZestMoney didnt meet the due diligence cut of PhonePe.

"That is why the deal fell through, said a person in the know.

The due diligence at ZestMoney was done for about 10 weeks.

"It has a big robust business. It has multiple investors, a lot of customers, and loan books.

"Everything had to be properly investigated and some parts of its business didnt quite meet PhonePes due diligence standards, he added.

PhonePe and ZestMoney didnt respond when asked to comment on the new development.

Founded by Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma, and Ashish Anantharaman in 2015, ZestMoney allows customers to pay for products over time, but use them now.

Increasing smartphone penetration, the cheapest data plans in the world, and a boom in online shopping have propelled the demand for pay-later offerings in the country.

The fintech start-up has about 400 employees.

All of them were expected to be absorbed by PhonePe if the acquisition had matured.

Industry sources said ZestMoney was a good acquisition target for PhonePe as it is one of the very few firms that are fully compliant with the lending guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India.

It disburses Rs 400 crore in lending per month.

The platform has onboarded 27 lending partners, 10,000 online brands, and 75,000 offline stores.

ZestMoney has a registered user-base of 17 million and is live at 85,000 retail touchpoints across India.

The company had a valuation of $470 million that it achieved in the last funding round.

ZestMoney raised $50 million in September 2021, which the company had topped with an additional $20 million raise as part of its Series C round.

The firm has raised a total of $140 million from investors such as Australias BNPL platform Zip, Goldman Sachs, Quona Capital, and Xiaomi.

ZestMoneys loss in 2021-22 (FY22) surged 216 per cent to Rs 398 crore, from Rs 125.8 crore in the previous financial year, according to data accessed by business intelligence platform Tofler.

Revenue grew 62 per cent to Rs 145 crore in FY22, from Rs 89.3 crore in 2020-21.

PhonePe, one of Indias largest fintech platforms, recently raised an additional $200 million in primary capital from its parent Walmart, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.

This new funding comes as part of PhonePes ongoing fundraise of up to $1 billion in capital, following its domicile shift to India last year.

With this tranche, the company has raised $650 million from several global investors.

PhonePe plans to employ these funds to build and scale new businesses like insurance, wealth management, lending, stockbroking, and Open Network for Digital Commerce-based shopping and account aggregators.

The fundraise will also help PhonePe turbo-charge the next wave of growth for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments in India, including UPI Lite and Credit Card on UPI.

PhonePe has made a total of five acquisitions to date.

Early last year, PhonePe acquired GigIndia, the countrys leading network for freelance micropreneurs.

In July last year, it completed the acquisition of Indus OS for $60 million after reaching an out-of-court settlement with Affle Global, the majority owner of the India-made content and application discovery platform.

In May last year, it acquired investment platform WealthDesk and wealth management platform OpenQ for a combined $75 million.

In July 2018, it bought Zopper Retail, a hyperlocal point-of-sale marketplace for small and medium businesses.
'They have been pursuing their agenda of bulldozing everything and everybody on their way.'

'They suddenly see Rahul Gandhi standing in front of them without fear and fighting against them aggressively.'

'He doesn't show any compromise in his attitude towards fascism.'

IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi speaks at an event in Wayanad, the Lok Sabha constituency he represented before he was disqualified as a member on March 24, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

What happens if the Election Commission orders a by-election in the Lok Sabha constituency of Wayanad in Kerala, which was represented by Rahul Gandhi until last week.

"We have not even thought about a by-election. People of Wayanad are very shocked. They look at this conviction and disqualification as an insult to them," Congress leader V D Satheesan, leader of the Opposition in the Kerala assembly, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Wayanad, September 28, 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo

You said the Congress was going to fight Rahul Gandhi's case politically and legally. Can you elaborate on it?

As you know, there are legal remedies like going to the sessions sourt, high court, etc.

If the conviction gets stayed in a higher court, the disqualification ceases to exist.

If you look at the case of the Lakshadweep MP, although his conviction was stayed by the Kerala high court in January, he was reinstated only today (March 29, 2023), after two months.

(Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal P P of the NCP was convicted on January 11, 2023 and disqualified two days after. Though the Kerala high court suspended his conviction and sentence on January 25, 2023, he was reinstated as an MP only on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. That is, more than two months after he was disqualified.)

Within 24 hours of the court verdict on Rahul Gandhi's conviction, he was disqualified.

If that is the case, within 24 hours of getting a stay on the court verdict, he should be reinstated.

I feel everything about Rahulji's case was done according to a written script.

It is quite evident that they wanted to target Rahul Gandhi.

After the successful Bharat Jodo Yatra, they realised he was a threat to them.

In fact, soon after the yatra itself, they started feeling disturbed.

When he attacked the government on the Adani connection aggressively, they got really rattled.

Whatever he said on Adani in Parliament was removed from the records on flimsy grounds though he had not said anything unparliamentary.

What has happened so far is the face of fascism, that is silencing the voice of the Opposition even in the House.

IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi with V D Satheesan during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Do you think what Rahul Gandhi spoke in Cambridge is also a reason for this?

Yes, definitely. When he made a political attack on the government on foreign soil, he was called anti-national.

So, we brought out ten video clippings of Narendra Modi speaking against the Congress and the former prime ministers of India on various international platforms from 2014 onwards.

Recently, he spoke somewhere that before 2014, Indians felt it was because of the bad karma of previous births that they were born in India.

If you criticise a government even if it is on foreign soil, how does it make you anti-national?

Yes, that is the question we are also asking.

You are not criticising the nation, you are only criticising the government. It was a political attack.

Whether it is in this country or outside the country, everybody talks politics.

Has he (Modi) not been talking politics on international platforms? If you are not allowed to talk politics on foreign soil, the person who has violated it the most is the present prime minister.

Who is afraid of Rahul Gandhi? The BJP or Narendra Modi?

I would say, the entire Sangh Parivar is afraid of Rahul Gandhi now.

They have been pursuing their agenda of bulldozing everything and everybody on their way. They suddenly see Rahul Gandhi standing in front of them without fear and fighting against them aggressively. He doesn't show any compromise in his attitude towards fascism.

But they cannot scare him with a court case or a conviction.

At his press conference after the conviction, he was very emotional.

He said, even if you disqualify me for my entire life, even if you put me in jail for my entire life, I will fight against fascism.

IMAGE: Them Congress MP Rahul Gandhi attends the Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee meeting at the Wayanad collectorate in Kalpetta, February 13, 2023.

When he took the name of Savarkar at the press conference, it created some controversy...

My question is, what is wrong in saying he was not Savarkar to apologise? There are records in our archives.

I have the literature on the two times Savarkar apologised to the British. This is a fact, and it is there in the records. Nobody is making this up.

Rahul Gandhi's grandmother and father are martyrs.

The question Priyanka Gandhi asked was very relevant. 'How can you call a martyr's son, anti-national?'

On the other hand, they were not part of the freedom movement.

By 'They', you mean?

The Sangh Parivar.

I would say, what they are exhibiting is not nationalism, but hyper nationalism. And hyper nationalism is entirely different from true nationalism.

What they have is a populistic approach to nationalism.

If you look at history, you will see that what is happening is the repetition of what happened in the early 20th century Europe.

If the common enemy of the Nazis was the Jews, for these people it is the minorities.

They portray the minorities as anti-nationals, extremists, etc.

They claim that Christians are involved in conversion.

In 1951, the Christian population in India was 2.3%, and in 2023 also, it is 2.3%.

If they had been converting massively, why is it that the number has not increased?

Their strategy is to create a common enemy in front of the majority community so that there will not be any anti-incumbency against the government.

But history also tells that those who follow fascism don't last long.

After some time, people will rise against them, people will enter the streets.

IMAGE: Then Congress MP Rahul Gandhi with party General Secretary in-charge (Organisation) K C Venugopal, to left, and local leaders drink tea at Chundale village in Wayanad, March 22, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

The BJP says your party is not doing anything legally against Rahul Gandhi's conviction because you want to make him a martyr...

How many days have passed after the verdict has come? We have to first get a copy of the judgment, and then prepare an appeal.

It may take one week. It is not that we are not going to appeal.

The BJP also says that as Rahul Gandhi has not won any election for the Congress, the party finds this an excuse to keep him away so that it will be better for the Congress...

(Laughs) We have kept Rahul Gandhi in the front in all the elections and we will continue to do so.

It is not that he has not won any election for the party.

It was when he was the Congress president that the Congress won MP, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Goa.

What did they do? They made the MLAs defect and take the victory from our hands in some states.

In 2009, Rahul Gandhi was in charge of UP and we got 21 seats to Parliament.

We are not keeping him away in our fight against fascism, we are fighting with him in the front.

Kerala has become very important as Wayanad is Rahul Gandhi's constituency. What are your thoughts on a by-election in Wayanad?

We have not even thought about a by-election.

People of Wayanad are very shocked. They look at this conviction and disqualification as an insult to them.

Thousands of people participated in a protest organised by the Youth Congress.

What is your strategy if there is going to be a by-election?

Actually, we have been preparing for the 2024 elections.

I am in charge of Vision 24 for Kerala which we had prepared at the Chintan Shivir (in Rajasthan last year). And we have already started our work with 2024 as our aim.

Though we are ready for any by-election, we have not thought about a by-election in Wayanad. We are hopeful of getting a relief in the upper court.

IMAGE: Then Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visits paddy fields in Wayanad, October 21, 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo

Do you think what happened to Rahul Gandhi will unite all the Opposition parties against the BJP in the 2024 elections?

In a way, we should thank the BJP and Modi because this has become an opportunity for all the non-BJP parties to come together under one platform.

All of them realise that if this can happen to Rahul Gandhi, it can happen to the other Opposition leaders also in future.

That's why all the parties have kept aside the minor issues for a bigger cause, and decided to come under one platform.

During the last assembly elections in Kerala, I had interviewed Congress leaders and all of them admitted that there was groupism in the party. It helped the LDF come back to power. Do you think this issue will unite all the groups in Kerala?

First of all, it is not because of factionalism that we lost the elections.

Yes, there were many groups in the party, but that is not why we lost.

There were many other reasons why we lost.

During the pandemic, because of the lockdown, we couldn't agitate or protest against the government.

Secondly, our preparation for the election was very poor.

Then, we were overconfident after our wins in the Parliament election.

We should have discussed why we won the Parliamentary seats, but we didn't.

Today, factionalism is comparatively much less in Kerala. With Rahulji's issue, the entire Congress in Kerala got united.

Not just the entire Congress party, all the constituents of the UDF also are united now.

In fact, our partner, the Indian Union Muslim League, has Rahulji's photo as the status on their page.

I can confidently say that the UDF is a unified front now.

On the 5th of April, all of us are going to have a satyagraha in front of Raj Bhavan.

IMAGE: V D Satheesan.

Do you think you will be able to carry this momentum to May 2024?

Definitely. What has happened to Rahulji tells us what this government, this regime, the Sangh Parivar stands for. They have been exposed fully.

In Kerala, this has resulted in an anti-BJP trend.

Narendra Modi says the next step is for the BJP to conquer Kerala...

Kerala will remain in his dream.

They are trying to appease the Christian community in Kerala with that dream in mind, but the Christian community cannot go with the BJP when all the Christian organisations in the country have approached the Supreme Court because of the violence against the community across the nation. And the case is pending in the court.

When they are the aggrieved party, how can they go after the BJP? They cannot.

In Kerala, the BJP had got 11%-12% votes in the last election. What does it mean? 90% of the Hindus are against the BJP.

The Hindu vote must be the base vote in other states for the BJP, but in Kerala, 90% of the Hindus are not with them. That is the difference between the other states and Kerala.

It means they can never make a space in Kerala.

So, the dream will never materialise.

Not only that, the BJP's vote percentage also will come down next time.

If it is 11%-12% now, they will not even reach the double digit percentage in 2024.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
'The Khalistanis get bulk of the money from abroad.'

'Where did Amritpal's Mercedes come from, which costs well over Rs 60 lakhs?'

'Where does his fleet of vehicles come from?'

'Local Punjabis can certainly not contribute this kind of money.'

IMAGE: Amritpal Singh, the truck driver-turned-radical, right, with his associate Papalpreet Singh.

"Why was no action taken against Amritpal for 6 months?" asks retired Punjab chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh.

Thirty-seven years after Operation Blue Star, R I Singh -- who was appointed district magistrate of Amritsar a couple of days before Operation Blue Star -- wrote Turmoil in Punjab: Before and After Blue Star, An Insider's Story, a fascinating account of the genesis of the Punjab conflict, the rise of Sikh radicalism and the elimination of militancy.

'Nobody comes out untarnished -- not serving officials, not senior politicians, not journalists, not commentators and, of course, not the militants,' noted the distinguished sociologist Dipankar Gupta about Turmoil in Punjab.

An eyewitness, and at times an actor, as the events unfolded, R I Singh -- a rare civil servant to receive a Padma Shri when in service -- drew attention to the deep ethno-socio-religious fault lines that still persist in his book.

"The basic social and ethnic fault lines which caused turmoil in Punjab still exist. They can erupt," R I Singh tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih and Nikhil Lakshman at his home in Chandigarh. The first of a multi-part, must-read, interview.

Photograph: Archana Masih/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Ramesh Inder Singh with his book Turmoil in Punjab: Before and After Blue Star, An Insider's Story.

Why did you want to write this book? Why do you think this book is important in today's context?

I could not write this book earlier as I was still in service. I thought this was the right time because passions would have died down with the passage of time and one could take an objective view of events that took place in Punjab for two decades.

Secondly, I felt that the literature available about Operation Blue Star was of three types.

1. Instant history, written by journalists who flooded Amritsar soon after Blue Star and wrote quick stories. There are many books, including by some eminent persons like Mark Tully, that have enjoyed very wide readership.

2. The second category defends Operation Blue Star, for example, Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar's Operation Blue Star, The True Story. I felt these books do not give accurate accounts, but are dressed up versions because there is a tilt in what they convey.

3. The third category is by Sikh scholars or radicals, which are an all-out condemnation of what happened in Punjab.

I felt the truth lies somewhere in between and I must convey what I saw, give the views of all three types of literature available and leave it to the reader to make up her/his mind.

How have those the years leading to Operation Blue Star and after impacted the course of Punjab's history? What are the reverberations that are still felt today?

I feel it is time that we seek closure because it's difficult for Punjabis and for Indians to forget this period of history. We lost a prime minister, an ex-army chief and thousands died in Punjab, innocent as well as militants.

These two decades impacted not only Punjab, but the entire country. Post-Independence, so far as internal affairs of India are concerned, no other event has impacted our history as Blue Star.

It changed the course of history.

I thought it's time that the book leads to dialogue and closure. You can't forget history, but you can draw lessons from it and move forward.

I even suggested that if need be, we could have something like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa [set up in 1995 to uncover the truth, human rights violation and heal the country after the period of apartheid].

In most of the cases, no impartial or objective public inquiries were conducted in Punjab, which gives the scope for different perceptions to plead their case.

I have also dealt with what Sikhs should look for in their future. Those who talk about Khalistan are a very microscopic minority. They don't realise that the Westphalian model of sovereignty is not relevant anymore.

It is through excellence that people/communities can rise up. For example, Ajay Banga is set to become chairman of the World Bank because of his excellence.

Today, Punjabis and Sikhs are an international community and can establish the pre-eminence of the Panth by excelling in those countries. Just like the Parsis in India or Jews in the USA who are microscopic minorities but have stood out.

The basic social and ethnic fault lines which caused turmoil in Punjab still exist. They can erupt and it's for us to learn a lesson from what happened and move forward.

Do the wounds of Operation Blue Star and after still fester?

They still fester because on every anniversary of Blue Star there is a revival of past memories.

A basic issue that is raised, for example, is the number of people who died inside the Golden Temple. The government, of course, has given a firm figure, but various people who were involved in the operation have given conflicting figures.

This leads to exaggerated claims like those by MP Simranjit Singh Mann [Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar] who says 20,000 people died.

Similarly, there are conflicting versions about the library inside the Golden Temple that was burned. Both Lieutenant Generals Brar and Jamwal have given conflicting versions, and General Brar has himself conflicted his version in an interview to The Times of India.

These kinds of situations give opportunity to those who want to exploit the scenario, because ultimately, it's a battle of perceptions. If well-established truths and facts are not in the public domain, there is always scope for exploitation.

What are some of the faultlines in Punjab that continue to exist?

Parallel to Blue Star and around the same time, Punjab was going through economic distress mainly because the Green Revolution had reached a plateau.

In response to the economic hardships faced by the farmers, the Akali Dal stopped the movement of food grain from Punjab. The Bharatiya Kisan Union was doing an agitation and had gheraoed the Raj Bhavan for almost a week.

The base of the Akali Dal was in the farming community and they were concerned about losing their base if the BKU took the lead.

The Akalis pre-empted it and rode on that demand and gave a call and then we know what happened. Even today, Punjabis are considered prosperous by Indian standards of the economy, but then this is an aspirational world. Since 1984 -- or rather, from 1990 to 1994 -- when militancy was eliminated, Punjab's economy has nosedived.

Per capita income and GDP has declined -- from the number one state in per capita income, we are now 16 or 17.

Today, as per the national survey, the income of an agrarian family which includes labour of the family is Rs 27,000 per month. It is, of course, higher than other states where farmers are earning Rs 6,000-Rs 7,000 a month, but is less than a peon's salary in the secretariat!

In an aspirational world driven by communication technology, children can see what the future holds and that is the reason for the exodus abroad.

They would prefer sweeping Heathrow airport because they don't see a future here. This discontent is one of the biggest fault lines.

What is your assessment of the social or ideological faultlines in the state?

Let me tell you, Punjab society is far more harmonious. The Hindus and Sikhs of Punjab are totally integrated communities. There is no conflict and there have never been any riots or inter-community clashes in the state. Punjab is not the same as the Hindu heartland, if I may use that expression.

But a microscopic minority will always create trouble.

IMAGE: Amritpal Singh's supporters break barricades and enter the Ajnala police station near Amritsar demanding the release of one of Amritpal Singh's aides, February 23, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Who is this microscopic minority and who is the Khalistani?

Firstly, they are a very small number, not even 1% of the total Sikh population.

Secondly, why are they raising these issues? One of the basic reasons for this and which I have mentioned is the inefficiency of the state.

Action must be taken when it is called for.

For example, Avtar Singh Atwal, the DIG who was shot as he came out of the Golden Temple in 1983 -- his body was lying for two hours while the DC (district commissioner) and SSP (senior superintendent of police) rang up the chief minister (Darbara Singh), the chief minister rang up the prime minister (Indira Gandhi) when action should have been immediate.

In the case of Amritpal Singh, why was no action taken against him for six months during which he had been talking about Khalistan?

He removed the benches from the gurdwara in Jalandhar against the wishes of the management, yet no action was not taken [in December 2022].

These six months provided him the opportunity to create a base. By administering amrit sanchar [one of the four initiation rites of Sikhism] he tried to gain credibility to establish his leadership.

Undertaking activities like drug de-addiction centres, amrit sanchar etc gives them popularity. Once credibility is established, people view you as a reformer and then the problem arises when you switch over slowly to enlarging your area of operation.

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale also started the same way, but there was a difference. He was head of a Sikh seminary which carried out social work activities.

In Amritpal's case, of course, he came straight away and started talking of Khalistan.

How do you account for Amritpal's ascent?

He exploited the frustration of youth and economic distress. A number of agitations are going on in rural Punjab: The Insaf Morcha is seeking release of prisoners; the BKU Ugaraha Group is agitating all over on various issues; the Fazilka agitation where farmers are protesting against a liquor factory -- these are symptoms; the pimples on the body.

And these can be exploited and can flare up at a short notice. There is also a link of the agitations with the aspiration of those applying for visas to go abroad.

Simranjit Singh Mann has gone on record in front of a camera saying we charge money to issue letters on the party letterhead for those seeking asylum because of excesses being committed on them.

I heard the other day that someone who was part of an agitation blocking the road at Mohali (after the police action against Amritpal and his associates) was doing it for his son, because he wanted his photographs in the newspaper (so his son could seek asylum abroad, alleging State repression).

The industry of migration is also a part of the Khalistan industry.

The Khalistanis get bulk of the money from abroad. Where did Amritpal's Mercedes come from, which costs well over Rs 60 lakhs? Where does his fleet of vehicles come from? The local Punjabis can certainly not contribute this kind of money.

Pakistan's ISI is also ever ready to fuel and bankroll it.

Moreover, drones have further complicated the scenario. There was a slowdown in smuggling in Punjab after the fencing on the border, but today that fence is ineffective because drugs can be flown over the fence.

The smuggling route has been changed because of the intense patrolling by the BSF and the Punjab Police. Large quantities of drugs have been diverted by traffickers and have been seized in ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The administration needs to be upgraded to cope with these situations. If you do not do that, these benefits can pass.
As many as seven persons have been arrested following a mob attack on a police station in central Maharashtra's Aurangabad city while an injured man died in hospital, the police said on Friday.

IMAGE: A police vehicle that was set on fire by mob during violence in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, March 29, 2023. Photograph: ANI on Twitter

Normalcy returned to the city, recently renamed as 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar', even as the government deployed five companies of the State Reserve Police Force as a precaution.

At least 12 persons including 10 policemen were injured after a mob of around 500 people hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles when the cops tried to control the situation following a clash between two groups near the Ram temple in Kiradpura locality of Aurangabad, on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

The police used tear gas and fired some plastic bullets as well as live rounds to control the mob.

Barkat Shaikh (23), Shaikh Atik (24), Saddam Shah (33), Shaikh Khaja (25), Sharik Khan (23), Syed Noor (27), all local residents, and Shaikh Saleem (25) from Buldhana district were arrested for alleged rioting, said an official of Jinsi police station where a case has been registered.

Shaikh Muniruddin (51), who had suffered injuries during the violence, died at a hospital on Thursday night, officials said, without specifying how he came to be injured.

"Security at various sensitive locations in the city has been increased. The administration has deployed five companies of SRPF and nearly 600 police personnel are on guard to maintain peace," an official said.

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar said political parties, civil society and citizens must work towards ensuring peace in Aurangabad.

The Nationalist Congress Party leader said police are doing their work but everyone, including political parties, those in power or Opposition, civil society and common citizens should work towards ensuring peace.

Asked about the Maha Vikas Aghadi's joint rally in Aurangabad on April 2, he said it had been planned much earlier, and leaders of the MVA constituents  NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) -- are working on it.

Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut alleged that violence in Aurangabad and elsewhere on Ram Navami was "government-sponsored", and the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government wanted to use the tensions as a pretext to disallow the Maha Vikas Aghadi rally on April 2.

Fellow Shiv Sena-UBT leader and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve contested Aurangabad MP Imtiaz Jaleel's claim that some drug addicts were responsible for the violence.

"Drug addicts can not carry out such violence.....How can 400-500 people be drug addicts? I had got information and I had spoken about it with the commissioner multiple times. It was ignored by administration," he claimed.

Danve also claimed that the agitation against the renaming of Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and the counter-agitation supporting the renaming led to this situation.

Had the agitation against the renaming not taken place, this situation would have been averted, he added.
Chicken and other varieties of poultry birds fall in the 'animal' category under the Food Safety and Standards Act, the Gujarat government told the high court on Friday.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo

It prompted senior lawyer Percy Kavina, who is representing chicken shops which have faced action for violation of rules, to say that in that case poultry shops will have to engage veterinary doctors to comply fully with law.

In January, two NGOs filed a PIL in the high court seeking a ban on supply of poultry birds to meat shops contending that birds were illegally slaughtered in these establishments instead of being sent to slaughterhouses.

The HC then directed the authorities to take action against unlicensed meat shops.

Civic bodies across the state raided meat shops and issued closure notices to several of them for violation of rules. Several chicken shops were also shut during this drive.

The owners of these sealed meat shops and chicken shops approached the High Court for relief.

The bench of Justice NV Anjaria and Justice Niral Mehta was hearing these civil applications.

During the hearing on these applications on Friday, Government Pleader Manisha Lavkumar said the definition of 'animal' under the Act also includes poultry.

Fish is not included because they are not "slaughtered" but only taken out of water, the lawyer said.

Advocate Kavina said the inclusion of poultry in the larger category of meat "goes against age old practice of how meat has been sold and consumed."

When poultry birds are slaughtered in a small concealed area discreetly, it should not be banned, he said.

If chicken is considered to be on par with meat, "chicken shop owners need to appoint a veterinarian to do the stamping (as in slaughterhouses)," he said.

"Inclusion of poultry as an animal ignores the way poultry is sold in retail. You are insisting that poultry is meat and therefore it must be checked pre-slaughter and post-slaughter and then it should be stamped. It is impossible for small chicken sellers. He will have to keep a vet there," said Kavina.
China and Japan on Friday set up a military hotline to strengthen their capability of managing and controlling maritime and air incidents arising due to their aggressive patrolling of the disputed waters in the East China Sea.

Image only for representation. Photograph: Shuji Kajiyama/Pool via Reuters

The hotline mechanism was announced ahead of the visit by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to Beijing this weekend for talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on improving bilateral relations amid Beijing's vocal criticism against Japan's active role in the US' Indo-Pacific strategy.

China is also sharply critical of the Quad alliance comprising the US, India, Japan and Australia, saying that it is aimed at containing its rise.

This will be the first visit by the Japanese foreign minister to China since 2019 when Hayashi's predecessor Toshimitsu Motegi went to Beijing after which China shut down its borders to combat COVID-19. China reopened the country for international travel early this year.

Announcing the hotline, the Chinese defence ministry said as agreed upon by the defence departments of China and Japan, the two sides have recently completed the construction of a direct telephone line for the sea and air liaison mechanism and will maintain communication on the arrangement for the launch.

The establishment of the direct telephone line will effectively enrich the communication channels between the defence departments of China and Japan, strengthen the capabilities of the two sides to manage and control maritime and air crises, and help further maintain regional peace and stability, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning commenting on Hayashi's visit to Beijing said China and Japan are each other's important neighbours.

"A healthy and stable bilateral relationship serves the common interests of both countries and the region. China attaches importance to the visit by Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi," Mao said.

"Chinese leaders will meet with him and state councilor and foreign minister Qin Gang will hold talks with him, during which they will have in-depth exchanges of views on the bilateral relations and international and regional issues of shared interest," Mao said.

China stands ready to work with Japan to follow the strategic guidance of the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, she said.

China wants to take the 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship as an opportunity to enhance dialogue and communication, deepen practical cooperation and manage and control differences, and together work to build a stable and constructive China-Japan relationship fit for the new era, she said.

China and Japan have a long-festering dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

The islands are referred to as the Senkakus by Japan, while China named them Diaoyu.

Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China as a rebel province, also claims the islands but has forged agreements with Japan to avoid any conflict as Japan maintains close defence ties with Taipei.

The hotline announced by the Chinese defence ministry is regarded as significant as the navies and air forces of both countries aggressively patrolled the islands to assert their claims.
The parents of Shambhavi, a second-year student at Delhi University's Indraprastha College for Women, on Friday asked her to leave the college premises and not take part in any kind of protest after the administration allegedly threatened them with action.

IMAGE: A voew of Indraprastha College for Women, in New Delhi. Photograph: Courtesy IPCW on Twitter

Shambhavi has been at the forefront of protests demanding the resignation of new principal Poonam Kumria, days after several female students were allegedly harassed by unidentified men during a fest at the college.

Earlier in the day, Shambhavi, who is also AISA's north zonal convenor, along with "around 200 students", marched in the college premises around 11, raising slogans such as "Poonam Kumria istifa do (Poonam Kumria resign)".

Within an hour, her parents in Bihar received a phone call allegedly from the IPCW admin department.

"Someone from the admin department of the college called my parents. They said your daughter has been doing so and so. Stop her or else FIR will be filed and she will be arrested," claimed Shambhavi, who prefers to use her first name.

"My worried parents called me up and asked me to stop the campaign and movement immediately. I assured them that there are 200 women with me on the campus. The phone call went around 12 pm and no direct warning was given to me. They called my parents directly. It happened around the time we staged a march on the college campus demanding administration accountability," said Shambhavi.

The college administration did not respond to the calls and texts from PTI for response.

In a statement, AISA condemned the college administration's action, terming it a dastardly move, and hailed Shambhavi for not "bowing down to administration."

"The IPCW administration, in a dastardly move, has sent disciplinary notice to AISA north zonal convenor and IPCW student Shambhavi Chaudhary," AISA said in a statement.

AISA's Delhi University unit secretary Anjali shared several videos and photos of Friday's march on the IPCW campus.

"Comrade Shambhavi is leading the protest, despite shameful attempts by the administration to silence her by sending a disciplinary notice to her parents! Salute to the spirit of students of IPCW for not bowing down to administration," she tweeted.

Holding placards and raising slogans against Kumria, the students including Shambhavi of the all-woman college held a march on campus amid slogans of "Poonam Kumria istifa do".

Meanwhile, proctor Rajni Abbi said she visited the college and has asked for a report to see what action should be taken.

"The university has not taken any action so far. We do not have anybody's number. I don't know about college. We have asked for a report and we will see what can be done. I visited the college today and saw students protesting on the campus," she told PTI.

Around 200 students marched on the campus, demanding the safety of women in campus and the establishment of gender sensitisation committee against sexual harassment or GSCASH.

They also demanded action against the police personnel who allegedly harassed students detained following a protest on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, unidentified men allegedly trespassed, shouted slogans and harassed women students during the 'Shruti' festival at the college.

Following the incident, the police registered an FIR under IPC sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and and 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant) and arrested seven people.

The men who had trespassed were heard chanting "Miranda, IP dono hamara (Miranda House and Indraprastha College both are ours)" and "Miranda nahi chhoda to IP bhi nahi chhodenge (We didn't leave Miranda, we won't leave IP either)".

The police, on their part, said there was an excess crowd near the college gate during the fest.

Around 3 pm, some overzealous students started to enter the college in a hurry. In the process, there was heavy pressure on the gates and some students fell down, they said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday claimed that the new parliament building in Delhi is a "waste of money" and it is nothing but a "personal vanity project" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a surprise visit to the new Parliament building in New Delhi on March 30, 2023. Photograph: @kishanreddybjp/Twitter

According to the Congress leader, Modi like every "dictator" wants to leave behind his architectural legacy through the new parliament building.

Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter and said, "The first of the personal vanity projects. Every dictator wants to leave behind his architectural legacy. Colossal waste of money".

His reaction came after Modi made a surprise visit to the new parliament building in New Delhi on Thursday and inspected various works as well as interacted with construction workers.

The prime minister spent more than an hour inside the building.

Accompanied by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Modi had a look at the facilities coming up at both Houses of Parliament, the sources said.

The new building, which was earlier expected to be completed by November last year, is likely to be inaugurated soon.

Congress Party leaders have been criticizing the construction of the new parliament and central vista project since its announcement.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said, "Mr Modi, It will also be recorded in history that when farmers were fighting for their rights on the streets for 16 days, you were building a palace for yourself in the name of Central Vista. In a democracy, power is not meant to fulfil whims, it is a means of public service and welfare".

He further stated that the Parliament building is not about mortar and stones and it envisions democracy and imbibes Constitution.

"Dear PM, Parliament is not mortar and stones. It envisions democracy. It imbibes Constitution. It is economic-political-social equality. It is compassion and camaraderie. It is the aspiration of 130 crore Indians. What would a building built upon trampling of these values represent?" he tweeted.

It has to be noted that the Congress party also boycotted the foundation laying ceremony of the new parliament building.
After fresh unrest was reported in Howrah's Kazipara area which witnessed violence over the Ram Navami procession on Thursday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose over the issue.

IMAGE: Vehicles set on fire by miscreants during clashes between two groups, at Kajipara in Howrah district, on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Photograph: PTI Photo

Bose and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also reviewed the situation on Friday, a Raj Bhavan statement said.

The governor also said those who resort to violence under the illusion that they can hoodwink the people will soon realise they are in a fool's paradise.

"There will be effective and concerted action to book the culprits and bring them before the law. Setting fire to public property, that too on the sacred Ram Navami day, is a highly provocative act and will be viewed seriously," he said.

Raj Bhavan will keep its eyes and ears open to ensure protection to the life, property and dignity of the common man, Bose said.

During the telephonic conversation with Bose, the union home minister sought to know the prevailing situation in the state, particularly in the violence-hit areas of Howrah.

The governor is believed to have provided the home minister details about Thursday's violence and the present situation, sources said in New Delhi.

As unidentified people on police personnel on Friday afternoon, the police used batons to disperse a group of people who had gathered there.

At least three policemen were injured in the brick batting.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were imposed in Kazipara area, a senior IPS officer told PTI.

Altogether 45 people were arrested in connection with the violence since Thursday.

"The situation was calm and peaceful until this afternoon. After that, police personnel were pelted with stones which sparked tension in the area. Some people were arrested as our officers reacted instantly," he said.

A huge team of Rapid Action Force (RAF) from Kolkata Police was brought into the area on Friday afternoon. The personnel started a route march following the stone-throwing incidents.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party, along with other right-wing organisations, was responsible for Thursday's violence in Howrah.

She appealed to people to maintain peace in the area.

"The Howrah incident is very unfortunate. Neither Hindus nor Muslims were behind the violence in Howrah. The BJP along with Bajrang Dal and other such organisations were involved in the violence with arms," Banerjee told Bengali television news channel ABP Ananda.

The state government will help all whose properties were vandalised in the clashes, she said.

Violence broke out on Thursday evening between two groups when a Ram Navami procession was taken out in the twin city of Howrah.

Several vehicles, including some belonging to the police, were torched and shops and auto-rickshaws ransacked during the violence.

A large police contingent was deployed to restore peace in the locality.
The United States is strengthening its partnerships across the continent of Africa, including in Ghana. On her recent visit there, Vice President Kamala Harris met with President Nana Akufo-Addo, noting the deep historical, cultural, and economic ties between the United States and Ghana.

Ghana has been a beacon of democracy and a contributor to global peace and security remarked Vice President Harris:

We appreciate your leadership in response to recent democratic backsliding in West Africa and standing up for democratic principles around the world. We also recognize Ghana's significant contributions in the Sahel. And I thank you for your leadership there.

To help address the threats of violent extremism and instability, Vice President Harris announced that the United States would provide more than $100 million to support stabilization in Ghana, Benin, Cote dIvoire, Guinea, and Togo. This includes at least $86 million over the next three years in support of the 10-year plan for implementing the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, which President Joe Biden released on March 24.

Vice President Harris welcomed Ghanas commitment to reforming its economy to deliver sustainable growth:

I recognize the challenges Ghanaians are facing, especially in the wake of the global pandemic and the disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. . . .We support Ghana's engagement with the IMF and will continue to push for all bilateral creditors to provide meaningful debt reduction for countries that need it, including Ghana. We must work together as an international community to ease the debt burden that is facing far too many countries. It is critical to do so to build long term economic growth and prosperity and to increase U.S. investment.

Our partnership with Ghana is already strong, declared Vice President Harris. And with this visit, she said, I believe we have strengthened it even more.
A 42-year-old man, who came to the rescue of a woman tourist from Netherlands attacked by a hotel staffer in Goa, has drawn praise from all quarters for his brave act.

Image used only for representation. Photograph: ANI Photo

Talking to reporters, state Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte hailed Eurica Dias for his selfless action and said it indicated that locals in the coastal state are basically helpful.

The minister said he will meet the injured Dutch tourist and her rescuer, who are both undergoing treatment at a hospital, following the attack that took place at Pernem in North Goa.

Dias had rushed to help the tourist who was attacked by a hotel staffer with a knife in the intervening night of March 29 and 30.

Khaunte also praised the quick response of the police team led by Superintendent of Police (North) Nidhin Valsan who apprehended the accused within an hour after the complaint was filed.

The condition of both the injured persons is stable, Superintendent of Police (North) Nidhin Valsan told PTI.

The duo has been admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital at Bambolim, near Panaji.

The injured tourist is expected to be discharged in the next two to three days, he said.

The woman in her complaint had claimed that an unknown man aged between 25 to 30 years trespassed into her rented tent on the hotel premises.

As she started screaming, the accused tried to hold her and threatened her.

When a local man came to her rescue, the intruder ran away.

He then returned carrying a knife and attacked her and her rescuer before fleeing, the complainant said.

The police have registered a case under various sections of Indian Penal Code related to trespassing, outraging modesty, attempt to murder and causing grievous hurt, amongst others.

During the investigation, Pernem police identified the accused and he was arrested. Further probe is on.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday informed the state legislative assembly that the hotel that had employed the attacker had not verified his background.

Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai had moved a Calling Attention motion on the floor of the House about the incident, claiming that such things bring disrepute to the tourism industry.

Responding to the motion, the chief minister said the accused was arrested by the Pernem police immediately after it received the complaint.

"The police probe has revealed that the hotel had not confirmed the background of the accused staffer, and the tourism industry has been warned against employing people of criminal background," Sawant said.

While not disclosing if the accused had any criminal record, the chief minister said all hotels have been asked to enroll their staff for Goa Labour Card, which will help in keeping their record and permanent addresses.
Donald Trump issued a scathing response to his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury, describing it as 'political persecution' and election interference at the highest level in history and warning that the 'witch-hunt' will backfire massively on United States President Joe Biden.

IMAGE: An anti-Trump protester holds a sign outside Manhattan Criminal Court after former US President Donald Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York City, on March 30, 2023. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

The former US president was indicted on Thursday in a case involving alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

The historic indictment is the first time a President has been charged in a criminal matter and comes as 76-year-old Trump is mounting his third bid for the White House.

After it was reported that the Manhattan grand jury had voted to criminally indict him, Trump, a Republican, issued a wrathful response, denouncing it in a lengthy statement as 'political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history'.

'From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the radical left Democrats -- the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this country -- have been engaged in a witch-hunt to destroy the 'Make America Great Again' movement,' he said.

'You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this,' the 76-year-old former President said in a statement.

Trump alleged that the Democrats have 'lied, cheated and stolen' in their obsession with trying to 'get Trump'.

'But now they've done the unthinkable -- indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election interference,' he said.

Trump called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a 'disgrace'.

'Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, he's doing Joe Biden's dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time!' he said.

He said that he believes this 'witch-hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden'.

'The American people realise exactly what the radical left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our movement, and our party -- united and strong -- will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these crooked democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' Trump said.

'Never before in our nation's history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponising our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for president, has never happened before. Ever,' he said.

The details of Thursday's indictment have not been released, with Bragg saying that it will remain under seal for the immediate future.

Al Mason, a real estate businessman from New York and co-chair of the Trump Victory Indian-American Finance Committee told PTI, "It is 100 per cent political. Trump will emerge even stronger after this witch hunt. Never underestimate him."
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday assured the state assembly of appropriate legal action on the allegation of sexual harassment of women students at Kalakshetra Foundation, an institution under the Centre's ministry of culture.

Replying to legislators who raised the issue of alleged sexual harassment, Stalin said when this matter was brought to his notice, he sent police and revenue department officials to the institute and they held inquiries.

A panel of senior revenue and police officials is holding talks with students and the management.

"All steps have been taken for the security of students," the chief minister said, adding that police personnel led by a woman inspector have been deployed on the premises.

"If the allegation of harassment is established during inquiry, appropriate legal action will be taken, whoever may be the perpetrators," he said.

Speaking of how the allegations came to the notice of the state government, Chief Minister Stalin said that the National Commission for Women had tweeted about alleged "sexual harassment" in Kalakshetra and written to the director general of police on March 21 requesting action.

Following this, Kalakshetra Foundation director Revathi Ramachandran met the DGP and claimed that there was no complaint of sexual harassment.

The NCW later wrote to the DGP saying it had completed the inquiry. Subsequently, on March 29, however, the NCW chief visited Kalakshetra and interacted with 210 women students.

"At that time, the NCW chairperson said that there was no need for the police to accompany them," the CM said. "There is no written complaint to police so far."

Following protests by students, the foundation declared a holiday for the institute and instructed students to vacate their hostel rooms.

MLAs including T Velmurugan (DMK) and Ku Selvaperunthagai (Congress) raised the issue. While Velmurugan demanded justice, Selvaperunthagai alleged sexual harassment had been going on at the institute in Chennai for about 10 years. He also named an assistant professor and dance instructor and urged action against them, saying they had sexually harassed students.

Meanwhile, a former student has reportedly lodged a written complaint with the police alleging sexual harassment, and students have also written to Stalin and the Union culture ministry seeking action. They temporarily suspended their protest.

Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women chairperson A S Kumari said she inquired with students on the matter. She said she would submit a report to the government and whatever action is warranted would be taken. She said some former students also spoke to her and alleged that such harassment has been going on since 2008.

On what students conveyed to her regarding the alleged sexual harassment, she said it was confidential and would be detailed in the report to the government.

Students have also given their allegations in writing, she said, adding, "The allegations of students is against four persons (in faculty). This is a sensitive matter."

She said she urged the students to give up their protest and focus on academics. Also, she said she would speak to the Kalakshetra management on the matter.
Even though it was billed as a 'surprise visit', the cameras were around to record Prime Minister Narendra D Modi's tour of the the new Parliament building on Thursday, March 30, 2023, evening.

Modi, accompanied by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, spent more than an hour inside the building.

Modi had laid the foundation stone for the new Parliament building in December 2020. The new building, which was expected to be completed by November last year, is likely to be inaugurated soon, sources said.

Tata Projects is constructing the building after being awarded the project for Rs 971 crore (Rs 9.71 billion) in 2020. The project cost is believed to have gone higher.

The new building will have a Constitution Hall to showcase India's democratic heritage, a lounge for members of Parliament, a library, multiple committee rooms, dining areas and ample parking space.

Glimpses of the new Parliament building. Like what you see?

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Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com

Feature Presentation: Mahipal Soni/Rediff.com
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday said people of Pakistan were not happy after more than seven decades of Independence and they now believe the partition of India was a mistake.

IMAGE: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat (left) and other leaders release books during Amar Shaheed Hemu Kalani's birth centenary celebrations, organised by Bharatiya Sindhu Sabha, in Bhopal, March 31, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

He also said 'Akhand Bharat' was true but divided Bharat was a "nightmare".

Bhagwat was speaking at a function to mark the birth anniversary of teen revolutionary Hemu Kalani, which was attended by Sindhis from different parts of the country.

Underlining the need to build a new India, the RSS chief said, "Akhand Bharat (a concept of the country with all its ancient parts that are currently in modern-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tibet unified) is true but divided Bharat was a nightmare."

"It was Bharat before 1947 (Partition). Are those who broke off from Bharat due to their stubbornness happy still? There is pain out there," he said in an apparent reference to Pakistan, adding there was happiness in India.

However, in a reference to the acrimonious relationship the two nations have now, Bhagwat underscored the fact that India did not belong to a culture that calls for attacks on others.

"I do not mean to say Bharat should attack Pakistan. Not at all. We don't belong to that culture that calls for attack on others," he said.

"We are from the culture that gives a befitting reply in self-defence," Bhagwat said, apparently referring to the surgical strikes on terror camps in that country, adding "we do it and we will keep doing it".

"People of Pakistan are now saying the division of Bharat was a mistake. All are saying it was a mistake," Bhagwat asserted.

What is right stays intact, while what is wrong comes and goes, Bhagwat said in an apparent reference to internal strife and economic turmoil currently being witnessed in Pakistan.

Hailing the Sindhi community, most of who arrived here during Partition, Bhagwat said they had come "from that Bharat to this Bharat for the sake of your rich Sindhu culture and values".
Punjab Police expanded their search for Amritpal Singh on Friday to 'deras' and other possible hideouts of the fugitive preacher in Hoshiarpur district, where some suspects had abandoned their car following a chase three days ago.

IMAGE: Police and paramilitary personnel stand guard on the barricaded road during a search operation to nab 'Waris Punjab De' chief Amritpal Singh and his associate, at Mehina Village, in Hoshiarpur on Wednesday. Photograph: ANI Photo

Police sources said barricades have been placed at key choke points and a thorough search of all vehicles in Marnaian and nearby villages was underway.

They said police officials were also searching deras, residential places, small rooms set up near tubewells and even shelter for animals in several villages.

The radical preacher has been on the run since a police crackdown on his outfit Waris Punjab De on March 18.

He has, however, appeared in two purported videos and an audio clip released on social media in the past three days.

In the latest video, the Khalistan sympathiser asserted he was not a fugitive and would soon appear before the world.

In the audio clip, he debunked speculation he was negotiating his surrender and nudged the Akal Takht for the second time to summon a 'sarbat khalsa' congregation to discuss issues related to the Sikh community.

The hunt to nab Amritpal Singh was launched in Hoshiarpur district Tuesday night following inputs the radical preacher and his aides could be there.

It began after police chased an Innova SUV from Phagwara, which some sources said may have carried Amritpal Singh and his aides.

The occupants abandoned the vehicle near Gurdwara Bhai Chanchal Singh in Marnaian and disappeared.

Officials said there were also inputs the suspects could have used a Swift car after abandoning the SUV.

Police had recovered another vehicle from Phagwara which they suspected could have been used by the fugitive and his close aide Papalpreet Singh.

Police had also conducted a door-to-door search but no success has been achieved yet.

Punjab Police have been on a high alert since Amritpal Singh escaped their net in Jalandhar on March 18.

The crackdown on Waris Punjab De chief was launched about three weeks after his supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested man.

He and his associates have been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

Police have stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal Singh may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines -- Golden Temple in Amritsar and Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.
Some of the steps being taken by Beijing along the India-China border have been provocative, a top White House official has said while reiterating that the United States is destined to work more closely with New Delhi.

IMAGE: Indian soldiers during the Exercise Parvat Prahar in the high-altitude mountains of the Ladakh sector. Photograph: Indian Army on Twitter

Kurt Campbell, the Deputy Assistant to the US President and Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, told a Washington-based think-tank that India is not an ally of the United States and will never be so.

"But it does not mean that we will not be close partners and share many things. That's how we need to understand the role that India will play as a great nation on the global stage.

"We want to encourage that and support that and deepen this relationship, which is already very strong, probably the strongest people-to-people relationship of any country that the United States has on the global stage," he said.

The think tank -- Centre for a New American Security -- in a report said that the India-China border intrusions and clashes have become more frequent and threaten to lead to all-out conflict.

The increased prospect of India-China border hostility has implications for the United States and its Indo-Pacific strategy between the two Asian giants, it said.

The report said that Indian officials believe China is trying to contain India by forcing it to divert more resources into defending simultaneously both its western border with Pakistan and eastern flank with China and by weakening its willingness and ability to challenge Chinese ambitions to dominate the region.

Campbell told the think-tank, "Some of the steps that China has taken along this vast 5,000-mile border had been provocative and deeply concerning to Indian partners and friends."

The think tank's report, authored by Lisa Curtis and Derek Grossman, has made several recommendations to help deter and respond to further Chinese aggression along the border with India.

Prominent among them include the United States should elevate Indian territorial disputes with China on par with Beijing's assertiveness against other US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific and ensure this is reflected in all national security-related documents and speeches.

It also recommended that the US offer India the sophisticated military technology it requires to defend its borders and initiate the coproduction and co-development of military equipment and assist India in strengthening its maritime and naval capacity.

The think tank also urged the US to conduct joint intelligence reviews with India to align assessments of Chinese plans and intentions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and enhance coordination with Indian officials on contingency planning in the event of a future India-China conflict.

It asked the US to criticise Beijing's "efforts at land-grabbing" in multilateral forums, including the UN, Shangri-La Dialogue, G20, and East Asia Summit and be prepared to extend full support to India in the event of another border crisis or conflict.

Message Pakistan and enlist help from its other important partners to convey similar points about the need to stay neutral in the event of a potential future India-China border flare-up, the report said.

Campbell said that the India-US relationship "is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century".

"I believe we are destined to work more closely together. I believe that our people-to-people ties are strong, animate in a relationship that is becoming deeper, richer and more strategically important."

Responding to a question, he said there has been an exponential increase in engagement in virtually every area.

"We just concluded discussions in a form called ICET in which the Indian National Security Advisor brought the highest-ranking group of Indian technologists ever to come to any country, and came to the United States to talk about how to partner on areas going forward," Campbell said.

"We're working more on defence-related issues on people to people. We want more Indian students in our universities. We want more American students in Indian universities. We want more people-to-people, university partnerships more generally, and health partnerships. We have just announced efforts to work together in space. So the agenda is extraordinarily rich. The ambitions are high," he added.
Observing that surveillance by State is unacceptable unless absolutely necessary" in larger public interest, former Supreme Court judge J Chelameswar on Friday said there was a greater need to exert democratic pressure on lawmakers and Parliament to create a rational legal system to regulate monitoring of citizens.

IMAGE: Former Supreme Court judge J Chelameswar. Photograph: ANI on Twitter

Justice Chelameswar said the State has reasons to keep surveillance depending upon the situations, but there should be an amount of transparency in the process.

He was speaking at a function organised by NGO Common Cause and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies to release the report Status of Policing in India Report 2023: Surveillance and the Question of Privacy.

On surveillance and abuse of probe agencies, especially the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the former judge said this menace is irrespective of political parties in power and the party, which is shouting hoarse now, did nothing to create a system to curb the abuse of central probe agencies for 40 years.

When I talk about governments, I do not talk about any political party. Whichever political party is in the government, there is a change in the hardware, software is the same. Everybody follows the same practices, he said.

Of late, we hear a lot of complaints of the abuse of governmental agencies, particularly the CBI. And, the political party, which is shouting hoarse on the misuse of the CBI now, managed this country for almost 40 years before that. They never bothered to put this CBI on any more stable and statutory and rational basis and today, they find that the present dispensation is abusing this. This is the matter of opinion. I am not going into it, he said.

Chelameswar said the State has reasons to collect data and keep surveillance on certain classes of individuals or groups depending upon the situations, but there should be an amount of transparency in the process.

The question is when the state is collecting the data for whatever reasons, is there an amount of transparency in the process...whether it is meant for the welfare of the people... ultimately any act of the State is required to be meant for the welfare of people of the country, he said.

Referring to the infamous spat, during the previous UPA regime, involving two senior cabinet ministers over allegations of bugging of an office, Justice Chelameswar said one of the ministers was no more and added that the "surveillance is unacceptable unless established that they are absolutely in the larger public interest.

These things are unacceptable unless established that they are absolutely in the larger public interest. The establishment of such a fact that this activity is required in the larger public interest depends on the existence of verifiable data, recorded material by persons who are resorting to this kind of surveillance. The requirement is to create such a legal regime," he said.

The former SC judge added that unfortunately, the old Telegraph Act is being amended.

I was joking to my friend here that this is the progress that we have made on the 'Amrit Mahotsav' of the Azadi'. You have changed the name, not the content. From 1874 to 2023... 150 years or so, I think the requirement is more to exert the democratic pressure on the lawmakers to create more rational legal systems to regulate this kind of activity in this country, he added.

He said rapid progress has been made in artificial intelligence and bio-technology, which are going to change the world beyond all recognition.

With this kind of state of affairs and progress of technology, the problem of surveillance becomes more and more intense. It is simply possible because all of us are voluntarily giving data to the State.., he said.

Responding to a finding in the report that an increase or decrease of CCTV cameras does not affect the number of crime, Justice Chelameswar said the problem is not with the camera but how the data is utilised by investigative agencies.

If the investigative agencies do not make proper use of the data collected by CCTV or if they are not efficient in using them, the crime rate will obviously not come down, he said.
An IIT graduate IPS officer is accused of torturing 5 people in custody.

The Tamil Nadu government has suspended him and a probe is underway.

While memories still linger of the Sathankulam police brutality, where a father and son were beaten to death by the Tamil Nadu police in custody for keeping their shop open late during Covid, still lingers, another case of alleged police torture has come to light in Ambasamudram in southern Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district.

While the Sathankulam horror was committed by ordinary policemen, the Ambasamudram torture was carried out by an Indian Police Service officer of the 2020 batch, Balveer Singh, assistant superintendent of police of Ambasamudram.

The victims of the torture are Esakimuthu, Mariappan, Chellappa, Antony and Suresh.

The torture happened on March 10, with another on March 23, showing that it is a regular affair for the IPS officer.

That it was pre-meditated comes to light from the fact that Balveer Singh carried his civilian clothes with him to the police station and also carried gloves with him. He changed from his police uniform into civilian dress, wore gloves and then allegedly tortured the victims.

Balveer Singh, who passed out from IIT-Bombay before joining the IPS, has since been suspended by the Tamil Nadu government, but no action has been taken against the other policemen who held the victims down while the ASP allegedly tortured them.

The Tirunelveli collector has ordered an enquiry into the incident, and the state Human Rights commission has asked for a report.

To recall in the anti-Sterlite protests in Tuticorin, 15 people were shot dead by the police. Till today no action has been taken against the policemen who opened fire.

The Sathankulam police custody death of a father and son, the case is still going on.

A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com spoke to three of the victims to pencil down what happened at the Ambasamudram police station.

E Mariappan, 33

I have studied up to the 10th standard. I work as a mason. I was arrested on March 10 for getting into a fight with another group. They did not ask us any questions, but told us to wait for their superior officer.

After the ASP came we were taken individually to another room. The policemen held us down while the ASP pulled out my teeth with a pair of calipers. I was stripped of my clothes and I pleaded that I was recently married. He crushed my testicles with the calipers.

E Esakimuthu

I am Mariappan's elder brother. I take him to hospital as he is in severe pain even now. Six of us were arrested for brawling. We were taken to the Ambasamudram police station. The cops did not ask us any questions.

After the ASP came they took me to a separate room. It was Friday afternoon. It was 2 pm when we were arrested. They closed the doors of the room and four policemen held me down. The ASP pulled out my teeth with calipers (Esakimuthu starts crying on the phone reliving his horror). Then they hit me with lathis till I was bleeding heavily.

Vetha Narayanan, 49

I am an autorickshaw driver. I was arrested as I had a fight with my wife and she had complained to the police. They arrested me on March 23, Thursday morning, at 9.30 am.

The cops did not question me; they said their officer wants to talk to me. I know a little Hindi so I thought I would be able to converse with the officer.

When the ASP arrived I was taken to the terrace. Six cops held my hands and feet. He pulled out my teeth with cutting pliers. I started bleeding heavily. He also pulled my ears with the cutting pliers.

After that I waited for two hours till my wife came. I did not get any medical attention. They told my wife, 'Now he will not fight with you, take him home.'

I am not a rowdy or a criminal. I don't know why I was treated like this.
More than three decades after the death of a 21-year-old man in a fake encounter in Bareilly, a local court on Friday sentenced a retired sub-inspector to life imprisonment.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo

Additional sessions judge Pashupatinath Mishra on Wednesday held Yudhisther Singh, the then sub-inspector, guilty of killing Mukesh Johri alias Lali, on July 23, 1992 in Bada Bazar area of the city.

The court awarded life imprisonment to Singh on Friday and also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on him, government counsel Ashutosh Dubey said.

It said the fine amount will be provided to relatives of the victim.

According to police, Singh, who was posted at Thana Kotwali, claimed to have killed Lali in an encounter in self-defence. The then SI had filed a case of robbery and murderous attack against the victim.

In a report submitted by Singh, he had alleged that while returning after buying household items from Bada Bazar on the fateful day, he saw three people having a dispute with a salesman of the Pink City Wine Shop and anticipating robbery, he challenged the accused and one of them opened fire on him, but he escaped narrowly.

The SI had said that if he had not fired, the miscreants would have killed him.

He said he fired at one of them with his official revolver due to which he fell down bleeding.

Singh, however, was accused of killing Lali, a second-year BA student, by the victim's family.

Chandra Johri, the mother of the deceased, had taken refuge in the Supreme Court to file a report against Singh and others, and later the investigation was handed over to the CB-CID.

"In the inquiry, it was found that Singh was not on duty at the time of the incident and misused his official revolver. The then SI had said that Lali was shot from the front, but the post-mortem examination revealed that the bullet was found in the back," Dubey said, adding that there was no encounter and Singh deliberately fired at the victim with the intention of killing him.

On November 20, 1997, an FIR for murder was registered against Singh on the complaint letter of inspector Sheeshpal Singh of the CB-CID.
ELKO  The 2023 Elko County Sage-grouse Experience is taking place. Sage-grouse have generated a lot of discussion lately. A local collaborative group is offering a chance to experience firsthand this iconic Western bird, the sage-grouse, and learn more about its ecology and conservation.

On Saturday, April 22, participants will travel by school bus to north Ruby Valley to watch male sage-grouse strut on a lek, or strutting ground. The birds strut early in the morning so the group leaves Elko at 4:30 a.m.

Nevada Department of Wildlife and Bureau of Land Management biologists will be on hand to answer questions and a porta-potty will be available. Spotting scopes will be available, and participants are encouraged to bring binoculars.

Following the lek viewing, the group will return to Elko to enjoy a brunch prepared by a 4-H group. During the brunch, biologists will present information on sage-grouse biology, habitat and conservation. Participants will receive an event souvenir.

This event is completely free and space is limited, so participants must register by April 15. To reserve a spot and receive more information email sage@nnsg.org. For more information, go on Facebook to sage grouse experience, or call 775-385-8870. Everyone is welcome, including children 12 and older with an accompanying adult.

This event is sponsored by the Nevada Gold Mines, Northeastern Nevada Stewardship Group, Bristlecone Audubon Chapter, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Department of Forestry, and Friends of the Ruby Mountains.
Due to the huge pile-up of visa applications, the US consular officers in the neighbouring country are now adjudicating Indian visa applications where interview requirements have been waived.

Every day, the American dream of hundreds of Indians is turning into reality at an unlikely place: China.

Due to the huge pile-up of visa applications, the US consular officers in the neighbouring country are now adjudicating Indian visa applications where interview requirements have been waived.

This revelation came when India, during the latest Trade Policy Review of the US at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), asked about the steps the US administration is taking to address the situation that has worsened after the pandemic.

The current slow pace of visa appointments in many countries sometimes running into multiple-year wait times ie, around 900 days for applicants in India. The delay is not only affecting labour mobility but also coming in the way of fulfilling export order commitments both in goods and services, India complained.

Admitting the delay, the US side said it is using innovative technological solutions to electronically redistribute non-immigrant visa interview waiver workloads from overseas posts with high visa appointment wait times to other posts with additional capacity.

Each day, for example, US consular officers in China remotely adjudicate hundreds of interview-waived non-immigrant visas for applicants in India where there are longer interview appointment wait times. This allows our consular officers to focus on first-time and other visa applicants who do require an in-person interview, the US side said.

The US administration has waived the in-person interviews requirement whenever possible to reduce the wait time for visa clearances.

The state department has worked in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security to expand authorities which allow us to waive the in-person interview for many students, applicants renewing prior visas, and other low risk travellers, it said.

The US side said it has also expanded its staffing worldwide by on-boarding and training new employees.

This past fiscal year, the State Department has doubled its hiring of U.S. direct hire consular adjudicators over the previous year, and newly trained employees are now making their way to overseas posts. While it takes time to hire, train, and deploy these personnel, State is on track to fill all the overseas visa adjudicator positions that were impacted by the pandemic by next September, it added.

In a statement in January, the US embassy in India had said the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in profound reductions in the Departments visa processing capacity, and many of its embassies and consulates were at times only able to offer emergency services.

However, the embassy said it has extended its working hours during week days and has launched special Saturday interviews to clear the backlog.

Between January and March 2023, dozens of temporary consular officers from Washington and other embassies will arrive in India to increase processing capacity. By this summer, the US mission in India will be at full staffing, and we expect to be processing visas at levels from prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the embassy said.

Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on the delay in the US visa appointments, the ministry of external affairs last month said it was aware of challenges faced by Indian students in obtaining visas for the USA in the last two years, particularly in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The matter has been taken up at high levels with the U.S. Government, including at ministerial meetings. Grant of visa is the sovereign decision and prerogative of a foreign government, acting through their missions, based on their procedures, it added.
According to Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman, national Indian Medical Association Covid Task Force, the current scenario qualifies as a wave.

IMAGE: A healthcare worker collects nasal swab sample from a passenger for Covid-19 test amidst a surge in cases across the world, in Prayagraj railway station, December 28, 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo

India reported 3,016 fresh Covid-19 cases as of Thursday morning, recording a 40 per cent jump over the previous day.

But the jury is out on whether this is the beginning of a fresh wave -- while some experts say the country is already experiencing one, others point out that this may pass off as a ripple.

The daily positivity rate for India is now 2.73 per cent. Some districts like Solapur and Sangli in Maharashtra, one of the worst-affected states, reported positivity rates of 20.05 and 17.47 per cent respectively as of Wednesday. The positivity rate indicates the number of Covid cases per 100 tests.

Worryingly, around four weeks ago Maharashtra had a positivity rate of 1.05 per cent but between March 22 and 28 it went up to 6.15 per cent. The districts with a spurt in positivity rate include Solapur (20.05 per cent), Sangli (17.47 per cent), Kolhapur (15.35 per cent), Pune (12.33 per cent), Nashik (7.84 per cent) and Ahmednagar (7.56 per cent).

State health secretary Sanjay Khandare told Business Standard that genome sequencing of RT-PCR positive cases is already one of the priorities.

We are witnessing a newer mutation -- XBB.1.16 -- that is behind the rise in cases in some districts, he said. For example, Pune has 151 cases of XBB.1.16, an Omicron sub-variant, out of 230 such cases recorded in the state.

On Thursday, Maharashtra reported 694 fresh cases and no deaths. Around 9.4 per cent of lab samples have tested positive till March 30, the public health department said on Thursday. Mumbai has the maximum number of active cases (846) in the state, followed by Pune (773) and Thane (524).

In the last 24 hours, Kerala saw 765 cases. Out of the 14 deaths nationwide, eight were from the southern state.

Thursdays 3,016 cases is the highest figure since October 2, 2022.

Cases had been in decline at the time, falling by 22.3 per cent on October 2 compared to seven days prior. Cases are currently rising, up 97.9 per cent as of March 30 over the previous seven days. This growth rate has been far sharper in earlier waves.

For example, cases went up by over 500 per cent week-on-week in January 2022, during the Omicron wave.

The current growth rate is the highest since a spike in April 2022, when cases were up over 100 per cent week-on-week. Weekly growth was rarely in triple digits during the first two waves.

The 52 deaths for the week ending March 30 were the highest since November 2022. There were 55 deaths for the seven days ending November 24. Deaths were also in decline then. The number of weekly deaths has doubled since the 26 seen on March 23.

India ranks 12th on the list of countries by weekly cases, show numbers from the World Health Organization. The data is updated with a lag. The US leads with 152,968 cases. Indias weekly cases were under 10,000. The latest data shows that they are over 13,000.

According to Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman, national Indian Medical Association Covid Task Force, the current scenario qualifies as a wave.

The severity of this cannot be gauged now. However, since these are all variants of Omicron, we can expect that it may not be as severe as previous waves. In Kerala, not many cases of XBB.1.16 are being reported. States should focus more on genome sequencing to track fresh variants, he added.

Manindra Agarwal, an IIT Kanpur professor involved in mathematical modelling to understand the pandemic, told Business Standard that vaccination does not stop infection but reduces severity.

We are witnessing a rise in cases and on a low base the numbers will jump sharply. But once the daily fresh cases touch the 10,000 mark, it may not grow that sharply, Agarwal said, adding that the current situation may not escalate into a wave but cause a ripple.

The Kerala government has asked various districts to be on alert.

We were given instructions to ensure that those above 60 years of age are wearing masks in public places. Moreover, we have asked officials to direct those in A category with no severe infection to stay at home and those under the severe categories of B and C to get admitted to hospitals immediately, said a health department official.

Is the recent mutation behind the case spike or is it because of waning immunity among the population?

Virologists have said that there is need for data on those getting infected to assess whether immunity is waning. Renowned virologist Jacob John said that those who did not take the booster dose are likely to lose immunity.

John said there was a need to give a second booster to senior citizens and those with comorbidities.

India has lower booster coverage than others at around 17 per cent of the population. Coverage in the US is around 35 per cent, while it exceeds 60 per cent in South Korea, France and Japan.

Jayadevan added that for healthy people, a vaccine booster may not be a necessity. This is after the WHO recommended additional booster shots after the first one only for people at the highest risk. According to experts, a large share of people might have already achieved immunity through infection and vaccination.

Doctors are reporting milder cases of Covid with high-grade fever and upper respiratory tract infection. Most of such patients have taken the booster dose. Delhis Fortis Hospital admitted two Covid patients, both elderly, in the ICU in the last two weeks.

Immunity has gone down among patients. In influenza, every year there is an assessment of strains for the vaccine. We need to see if we have reached that stage for Covid as well, said Vikas Maurya, director and HOD, pulmonology, Fortis Hospital.

The Delhi government, meanwhile, has assured that while the positivity rate in the capital is more than 10 per cent, the number of tests is low and so there is no need to panic.

We have issued an advisory that all those who are symptomatic must wear masks. Those visiting hospitals must mask up, said Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj.

Similarly, in Mumbai, the municipal body has set in motion a plan to activate 4,000 Covid beds. It has asked all civic-run hospitals to keep beds ready for Covid patients, and has held a meeting with private hospitals.

Covid-19 war rooms are back in Mumbai -- the municipal corporation has decided to activate these again from April 1. One MBBS doctor and a qualified social worker would be deputed in these war rooms across wards.
BURLINGTON  If you are outdoors foraging for wild leeks, also known as ramps (Allium tricoccum), health officials want you to be sure you don
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

A few showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. High 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 36F. Winds light and variable.
ELKO  Former Assemblyman John Ellison is being lauded by City and County officials three months after being hospitalized for double pneumonia.

Im doing better every day, Ellison said. I lost almost 50 pounds and dropped four or five pant sizes.

On Tuesday, Mayor Reece Keener read a proclamation in honor of Ellison for his many years of service to the citizens of the City of Elko.

I hope youre able to get a little bit of rest now, Keener said. Its good to see you out and about again.

I want to thank you guys for this, Ellison said. This is a big honor to me.

A plaque of recognition will be presented by the Elko County Commissioners next week.

The County tabled a planned recognition that was scheduled for Dec. 21. A few days earlier, Ellison had been flown to a Utah hospital for treatment of double pneumonia.

Ellison said he has returned to work at Ellison Electric after recovering at home for the past few months.

Its good to be up and moving, he said. I dont know if I was supposed to come back to work but I did.

The illness came at the end of Ellisons third and final term in the Assembly. He has previously served on the Elko City Council, City Planning Commission and Elko County Board of Commissioners.

Ellison recalled his political career that started when he was asked to sit on the Planning Commission. He then decided to run for City Council. That was a close race and it was kind of neat because it gave me all the experience I needed in the world, I thought.

Seeing issues with roads, he ran for Elko County Commissioner, where he served for 10 years.

He credited John Carpenter for encouraging him to run for State Assembly.

It was always good to be involved with the community and the people, Ellison said. We spent a lot of time in Washington, D.C., trying to get some bills through. I think that was a very important thing for our family to be part of because without it, the rural counties in Nevada or across the country would have been in trouble.

He said he has been asked to consider a run for State Senate in District 17 that would coincide with the conclusion of Pete Goicoecheas third and final term in that office.

If my health holds up, Ill be running for State Senate in two years, Ellison said. I will try to represent the people the best I can.

Ellison thanked his constituents for their support and votes.

I never run for office for myself, I would run for the people, he said. I thank them every day. I always kept them in mind. I never ran a bill through or never voted on a bill if it wasnt for the people. I always voted that way.

They voted me in to do a job, and thats how I did, he continued. Its for the people.

Looking back on his lengthy career in local and state government, Ellison explained his philosophy of public service.

A lot of people get into office and they forget about who put them there and what theyre there for, he said. Thats one thing I never did. Its always about the people, and if you forget about that, you shouldnt be there, you shouldnt be doing the job.

Its not about money. Its about the people.
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The Morning Almanac with Arlo Mudgett is heard Monday through Friday mornings on radio stations Oldies KOOL FM 106.7, 96.3, and 106.5 and over Peak-FM 101.9 and 100.7.
Photographer / Multimedia Editor

Has been working as a photojournalist since 2007, before moving into newspapers, he worked with an NGO called Project HOPE. He then went to work for the Press and Sun-Bulletin in New York, and then in New England working for the Brattleboro Reformer.
By Azernews

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Italy Rashad Aslanov met with the Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, Azernews reports, citing tweets by the Defense Ministry of Italy, and the ambassador.

The meeting discussed the issues of mutual interest, including defense, energy, and security in the regional context, as well as the strengthening of military, industrial, and political relations between the two countries.

The [email protected] has received the Ambassador of #Azerbaigian @rashadaslan. Cordial discussion on topics of common interest including #difesa, energy and security in the regional context, as well as on strengthening military, industrial and political relations between the two nations, the Italian Defense Ministry tweeted.

Ambassador Rashad Aslanov posted a tweet about the meeting and noted that he had the honor of meeting with the Italian Defense Minister and thanked Guido Crosetto.

I had the honor of meeting the Minister of Defense of the Italian Republic @GuidoCrosetto. I wish to thank the Minister for the warm welcome and sincere exchange of views on the extensive bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy, the ambassador tweeted.
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WESTPORT  Nearly 11,000 hate crimes were reported across the U.S. in 2021, with 89 alone, happening in Connecticut.

Hate crimes and incidents based on race or ethnicity made up the majority of reports within the state, though officials say many of these go unreported.

But area officials are trying to address that.

"There are 300 million people in the United States, and how many incidents were reported last year?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia King asked the audience during a recent program at the Westport Library. "10,840. Does that seem like a really low number for how many people are in the United States? Yeah."

King was one of several speakers at the "United Against Hate: Identifying, Reporting and Preventing Hate Crimes" event. It also included Westport PRIDE, Westport and Norwalk police chiefs and the Connecticut State Polices Hate Crimes Unit.

This event comes only a few weeks after reports of racist graffiti and white supremacist propaganda popped up in Westport and other parts of the state.

"I think we had a really diverse crowd here tonight asking a lot of questions," said Brian McGunagle, founder of Westport PRIDE.

McGunagle said one of the pillars of Westport PRIDE is to educate the community. The group had a connection with David Heath at the Department of Justice, so they put the event together.

"We really hope the message spreads into our community," he said. "Not just Westport, but the greater Fairfield County community."

Some of the main takeaways of the night were how to recognize hate crimes and incidents and the importance of reporting it to police and the FBI.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery, a New Haven native, said her department works to protect the civil rights of all people in the state and there is no tolerance for hate crimes.

"We work to protect the public safety for all people and communities, including those who feel vulnerable and marginalized," Avery said.

Avery said she knows what it's like to live in a community where law enforcement wasn't necessarily welcome. However, as an attorney, she understands that law enforcement is a partner to help safeguard communities and protect civil rights.

During the panel portion of the event, King presented the difference between hate crimes and hate incidents. Hate crimes are crimes in which the motivation is hate or bias, she said. A hate incident, however, might not be an actual crime, but still influenced by hate or bias.

King said reporting hate crimes matter because the crime cannot only negatively affect the victim, but the group in which the victim is a part of and the greater community.

Some hate incidents can also be considered discrimination, King said. However, federal law protects people from illegal discrimination in terms of housing, education, public accommodations, voting and employment.

Assistant State Attorney Michael Nemec said it can often be difficult to prove a hate crime, as they have to prove that bias was involved.

"We have to show what's inside someone's heart," he said.

He said the best way to do this is through actions of what the person has done in the past, and working closely with law enforcement during the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Brown said if it cannot be proven as a hate crime, it can often go into civil litigation, where the victim can be offered financial compensation or policies, procedures and trainings can be put in place to ensure whatever occurred doesn't happen again, among other results.

The panel also allowed for an interactive segment, where people talked with their neighbors about discussion questions, and raised their hands to answer if scenarios were considered hate crimes, hate incidents or incidents of discrimination, and whether or not to report it.

The answer was always to report the incident.

Statistics from 2015 to 2019 showed some of the most common reasons to not reporting hate crimes to the police included the situation being handled in other ways, fearing police could not or would not do anything to help, thinking the situation was not important enough and worrying about reprisal.

Within Connecticut, the majority of hate crimes and incidents reported were based on race or ethnicity, followed by sexual orientation, religion and disability, King said. There were no reported incidents or crimes involving gender identity or gender.

"Don't feel deterred from reporting," Avery said.

To prevent hate crimes or incidents, King said to utilize local and federal resources to support victims and the community, as well as build strong relations with local law enforcement.

There are multiple ways to report a hate crime or incident, including calling 911 if an emergency, calling the local law enforcement phone number if able to or calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Local news is facing an existential threat of survival, with newspapers closing, ad revenues plummeting and many rural communities becoming news deserts without access to local reporting.

More than a century of healthy profits and strong newsroom cultures established newspapers as the principal watchdogs and chroniclers of news in every community.

But, the collapse of the once-mighty newspaper industry has been astonishingly swift.

American newspaper advertising hit its all-time high in 2005 of $49.5 billion. Ten years later, the fall from the 2005 peak was precipitous, down to $8.8 billion in 2015.

In 2000, the combined weekday circulation of Americas newspapers was 55.8 million. By 2018, it had shrunk to 28.6 million, a 49 percent decrease.

That wouldnt be a big problem if digital revenues  ads or subscriptions  significantly offset the losses. But they didnt.

When the collapse started to accelerate beginning around 2008, newspapers slashed their operations to the bone.

Here are the grim facts:

 Between 2004 and 2020, the United States lost a quarter of its newspapers, dropping from almost 9,000 to 6,700.

 The closures included 70 dailies and more than 2,000 weeklies or non-dailies, often the only source of news in their communities.

Print journalism is never coming back in the form in which it dominated news consumption, but we need a replacement  or replacements  urgently.

On average, two local newspapers die every week.

These deaths did not start with the creation and spread of the internet. They only started after Google and Facebook gained their near-monopoly in the online advertising market.

For every dollar spent advertising on news websites, Google and Facebook keep about 50 cents. This is why, despite traffic to news websites being up 40 percent since 2014, news site revenue is down 58 percent.

Google and Facebook, which produce no news on their own, are reaping unfair profits from small and local producers that do.

The monopolies held by these Big Tech giants are pushing newspapers across the country out of business.

Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), daughter of a newspaperman, and John Kennedy (R-LA), a colorful conservative lawyer, first introduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) back in March 2021. It now has 13 additional co-sponsors from both parties.

Proponents contend that to preserve strong, independent journalism, we have to make sure news organizations are able to negotiate on a level playing field with the online platforms that have come to dominate news distribution and digital advertising.

The bill ensures small media outlets will be able to band together and negotiate for fair compensation from the Big Tech companies that profit from their news content. It would drive earned subscription and ad dollars back to the news publishers who produce journalism.

The bill provides a six-year period of exemption from U.S. antitrust laws for news publishers to collectively negotiate with the Big Tech companies for republishing news content.

It includes an enforcement mechanism such that negotiations resulting in payments are fairly distributed to small and local papers, and invested in reporters and newsrooms.

Similar approaches have been taken in Australia, France, New Zealand, and Canada.

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post already have their own deals with Big Tech. This bill would put small media companies on equal footing.

The JCPA passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 22, 2022, with strong bipartisan support (15-7).

Google and Facebook spent millions of dollars fighting the JCPA in the Senate. Big Tech hates the bill and their lobbyists succeeded in avoiding a floor vote last year. It was a missed opportunity to help vital journalism.

While the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act has critics, this issue shouldnt go away. It will be back in 2023.

Without this legislation, many smaller and independent news sources will perish.
Italy banned ChatGPT after the National Data Protection Authority raised concerns over privacy violations. Till the necessary probe is being conducted, the AI chatbot tool will be temporarily disabled throughout the country.

The ChatGPT AI chatbot was developed by OpenAI, a US-based company, and is planned to receive a more advanced system.

The investigation on the parent company began after the authorities flagged concerns over its mass data gathering protocols.

The ChatGPT AI chatbot is an experimental tool that is under development and helps to provide the required information to the user base.

As per the Italian authorities, the AI chatbot lacked some basic legal justifications for the collection and storage of personal data.

However, Italy is not the first country to ban ChatGPT, before this, the AI chatbot was already banned by a few other countries.

Here is a list of four such nations that halted the utilisation of chatbot

North Korea

North Korea has strict regulations over the use of the internet. The government in the country keeps proper surveillance of the internet, and accessing various popular websites and services are restricted. Thus, ChatGPT is unavailable in North Korea due to government prohibitions.

Iran

Iran is a country with strict internet censorship laws. The government of the nation strictly monitors and filters internet traffic, restricting access to many websites and services. The AI chatbot is not available in Iran, as the government stops people from accessing it.

Cuba

In Cuba, the access to internet only is very less and the Cuban government strictly regulates and censors internet access, and visiting various websites is not even allowed. It is unavailable in the country, as the government does not permit access to it.

Syria

Syria, a Middle East country has strict internet censorship laws. Like the other mentioned countries, here the Syrian government heavily monitors and filters internet traffic which prohibits users from accessing various websites and services. Thus, ChatGPT is unavailable in Syria due to government policies and restrictions.
Content against religious minorities in Pakistani textbooks has increased significantly, revealed the 2023 fact sheet of a Human Rights Observer report, adding that the sudden rise started taking place in the year 2022. The report stressed that a lot of perennial and new challenges have emerged in the education system of Pakistan. The report in question was shared by the Pakistani Center For Social Justice on Thursday.

The assertion by the report goes against Article 22 (1) of the constitution of Pakistan. The article stated that No person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive religious instruction or take part in any religious ceremony or attend religious worship if such instructions, ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his own. In March 2021, the centre filed a complaint to the Pakistan Supreme court, ordering the Ministry of Federal Education and Professionals Training to submit a report on the issue.

The report also gave five key issues that are impacting religious minorities in the country, the issues included discrimination in the education system, the prevalence of forced faith conversion abuse of blasphemy laws, the establishment of the National Commission for Minorities and jail remissions for minority prisoners. It stated that as many as 171 people were accused under the blasphemy law. 65% of these cases surfaced in Pujan and 19% from the Sindh province. The two regions are known for having a fair share of religious minorities.

Highest human rights violation observed in Karachi

As per the report, the highest Human Rights violation was observed in the districts of Karachi, which was followed by Chiniot, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Dera Ghazi Khan, Nankana Sahib, Lahore and Sheikhupura. A significant share of religious minorities faced persecution in the country. The Ahmadiyas, Christians and Hindus also bagged the spot in the following orders. The fact sheet also analysed 124 reported incidents of forced faith conversion. Most of these cases involved girls and women of minority communities i.e. 81 Hindus, 42 Christians and one Sikh. 23% of these girls were below the age of 14 years while 65% of these cases were reported in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The report also highlighted the fact that the establishment of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in the country still remains pending.
A Paris-based NGO, Baloch Voice Association has urged the United Nations (UN) to investigate the instances of forced disappearances in Balochistan thoroughly and make those responsible for the crimes accountable, as per ANI reports. While addressing the 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the President of the Baloch Voice Association, Munir Mengal shared that people have been facing discrimination and marginalization systematically in Pakistan's Balochistan, time and again. Further, he added, "They have been subject to hate speech, violence, and Extrajudicial Killings and even reported by Human Rights Watch as Baloch are facing a slow-motion genocide by Pakistan. This council must acknowledge that this is unacceptable and take action to address these issues." As per the last year's data (2022), out of 787 enforced disappearances, 101 women have suffered from "enforced disappearances".

The plight of Baloch people living in Pakistan

Baloch mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, and even kids have come on to the streets to protest to voice "for the safe recovery of Baloch's missing persons". Unfortunately, Pakistan's authorities have not seriously addressed the issue and have continued to ignore their plight, and the practice of enforced disappearance, which has gradually increased. While talking about the problems that have been faced by the people of Balochistan, one of the Baloch Students' spokesperson said in a statement, "Baloch students studying in the federal capital and other major cities of Pakistan are being harassed and racially profiled on a daily basis". Further, he shared that the condition of the students in the province has worsened and they are suffering from psychological issues, such as anxiety and stress, which have made it difficult for them to focus on their studies. He has called this type of treatment "Unacceptable," and said that it "goes against the principles of justice, fairness, and equality." A letter has also been written by the Baloch Rights Groups to the UN Rapporteurs, Reem Alsalem Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Alice Jill Edwards Special Rapporteur for Torture and other cruel treatment, Mary Lawlor Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders, and to UN bodies - The Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), and UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, reported ANI.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has stated that the Shehbaz Sharif-led government, their handlers and the Election Commission of Pakistan are "making a complete mockery of the constitution". Taking to the social media platform, Imran Khan remarked that Pakistan Supreme Court's decision on whether to hear his party's plea with a five-member bench or a full court is of no importance. The former Pakistan prime minister has made comments regarding the dissolution of the five-member panel of the Supreme Court as Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan withdrew from the bench hearing the Article 184 (3) election postponement case, reported Geo News.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has also emphasised on what is most crucial to his party is whether elections would take place according to the Constitution's provisions. Pakistan's Supreme Court would resume the hearing at 11:30 am (local time). On Thursday, there has been no meeting regarding the PTI's appeal to the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to postpone the polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, the trial in the court has been delayed after Justice Amin-Ud-Din's recusal.

Imran Khan slams government

The PTI Chief slammed the government in a series of tweets, where he wrote, " Whether it's a 5 mbr SC bench or Full Bench, it makes no difference to us bec all we want to know is if elections will be held within the 90 days' constitutional provision. Before we dissolved our 2 Prov assemblies, I consulted our top constitutional lawyers, all of whom were".

Further, Khan added, " absolutely clear that the 90-day Constitutional provision on holding of elections was inviolable. Now Imported Govt of crooks, their handlers & a compromised ECP are making a complete mockery of Constitution. By cherry picking which Articles of Constitution they will abide by". The former Pakistan PM Khan also voiced against the threat to the "foundation of Pakistan" and blamed the government for desperately trying to "whitewash their convicted leaders who are prepared to destroy the Constitution & any semblance of Rule of Law".

Whether it's a 5 mbr SC bench or Full Bench, it makes no difference to us bec all we want to know is if elections will be held within the 90 days' constitutional provision. Before we dissolved our 2 Prov assemblies, I consulted our top constitutional lawyers, all of whom were  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 30, 2023

absolutely clear that the 90-day Constitutional provision on holding of elections was inviolable. Now Imported Govt of crooks, their handlers & a compromised ECP are making a complete mockery of Constitution. By cherry picking which Articles of Constitution they will abide by,  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 30, 2023
United States State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel emphasised the importance of ensuring the safety and security of diplomatic missions and the diplomats who serve in them, highlighting that relations with the US with India and Pakistan stood on their own and not as a "zero-sum proposition". His remarks came following two attacks by Khalistan supporters on Indian missions in America. Patel has stated that the US was closely coordinating with Indian partners on a range of issues, including embassy security.

"We take the safety and security of the diplomatic missions that we host in the UN and diplomats that work in them quite seriously. We are in close touch with our Indian partners on a number of issues, but including on this we made sure to remain in close touch with them as well as the appropriate local entities, depending on where these various missions and consulates were located," US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

"The US values its important relationship with both our Indian partners and Pakistan as well, and these relationships stand on their own and are not a zero-sum proposition," he said.

During a news conference on Tuesday, the deputy spokesperson of the US State Department criticised the acts of violence that occurred at Indian diplomatic facilities in the United States, stating that protests involving violence are never acceptable.

"Consistent with our Vienna Convention obligations, the department is committed to taking all appropriate steps, including coordination with federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities, to protect the safety and security of these facilities and the diplomatic individuals who work within them as well," he said, as quoted by news agency PTI.

"We condemn the recent violent incidents that have taken place during protests at Indian diplomatic facilities in the United States. We support the First Amendment rights of protesters and engagement in free speech activities. However, violence or the threat of violence is never an acceptable form of protest," he added.

"Attacks against journalists are never acceptable and we condemn any incidents of violence against a member of the media just doing their job and any act of violence or vandalism against a diplomatic facility as well," he emphasised.

Vedant Patel responded to a question regarding the violent protests that took place outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC and the vandalism of the Indian consulate in San Francisco. Last week, a group of Khalistan supporters attempted to incite violence and threatened the Indian envoy during a protest outside the Indian Embassy, but law enforcement agencies prevented them from causing damage.

A few days earlier, pro-Khalistan protesters vandalised the Indian consulate in San Francisco. India expressed its strong disapproval of the incident and urged the US government to take necessary measures to prevent similar events from occurring again. India also expects the host governments to prosecute those responsible for vandalising Indian missions abroad, rather than providing mere assurances.

Recently, pro-Khalistan activists also vandalised Indian missions in the UK, Australia, and Canada following police action against Amritpal Singh, a radical preacher in Punjab who is currently evading arrest.
Chicken Salad Chick announced today the opening of its newest North Carolina location in Leland. This marks the brand's 12th restaurant in North Carolina and the second for local franchise owners Shane and Haley Pinder, who opened their first Chick in Wilmington in 2019. Located in the Olde Waterford Way shopping center at 503 Olde Waterford Way at Highway 17, Chicken Salad Chick Leland boasts a drive-thru and patio. The community is invited to celebrate the grand opening on April 12; the first 100 guests that morning will win free chicken salad for a year.

Shane and Haley Pinder of Coastal Chicks, LLC opened their first Chick in Wilmington in November 2019 after relocating to the area from their long-term home in Virginia. The Pinder family fell in love with Wilmington's close-knit community and hoped to contribute in a bigger way, which is when they were introduced to the Chicken Salad Chick franchise. With a mutual attraction to the brand's mission of spreading joy, enriching lives and serving others, the Pinders are thrilled to be doing just that in the Wilmington community with the addition of their second location.

"We are grateful for all the support we have received in Wilmington and are eager to share our passion for service with the opening of our Chick in Leland. It's a wonderful, family-centered community and one of the fastest-growing towns in North Carolina," explained Haley Pinder, co-owner of Chicken Salad Chick Leland. "We have enjoyed getting to know our guests and working alongside our staff to serve them, and we are excited to continue our journey with a brand that values faith and family, while providing everyone's favorite fresh, made-from-scratch menu items to Brunswick County."

Chicken Salad Chick in Leland will be open Monday  Saturday from 10:30 a.m.  8 p.m.
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- By convening the second so-called "Summit for Democracy" Tuesday through Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration could further split the world into opposing camps, fanning the flame of ideological confrontation that will only bring more tumult.

Unlike the inaugural summit two years ago where Washington was the lone organizer, four more co-hosts, namely Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia were handpicked by Washington for the second gathering, which -- according to the summit's schedule -- weaves the rhetoric of democracy into matters of politics, the economy, social equity and technology.

CONFUSING STANDARD

While the fact that the world's four major continents have each been allocated a co-host is a deliberate arrangement designed to showcase U.S. efforts to convince nations worldwide of the merits of "democratic value" as well as the viability and reliability of "democratic institutions," the world at large may hardly buy into the ostentation, and the pageantry may well prove useless.

The announced substance of the summit put aside, the list of invitees alone has drawn a considerable amount of criticism from experts, who point to some U.S. allies being excluded while countries where democracy is "backsliding" are included.

"One problem is that the hosts may end up paying a political price for excluding some states from what is little more than a glorified talking shop," wrote Daniel Larison in an article carried by Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

Larison and other experts have noticed that as members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization -- hence allies of the United States, Turkiye and Hungary have for the second consecutive time been left off the list of invitees, signaling Washington's hypocritical recognition of them as allies.

Asked to explain why Ankara and Budapest were excluded, John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communication at the U.S. National Security Council, failed to provide a reason, only telling reporters at a virtual press briefing Tuesday that the United States is "very committed to furthering and strengthening our relationships with Turkiye and Hungary."

"If the hosts refuse to draw any lines about which states can participate, they open themselves up to criticism that the summit has no substance," Larison said in his article, adding that the United States and its fellow host countries making arbitrary decisions on the selection of participants will open them up to "charges of hypocrisy and favoritism."

FORCED TO TAKE SIDES

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that the ongoing summit, just like the preceding one in 2021, will yield no results of democratic advancement for the participants.

The Russian envoy told U.S. magazine Newsweek in an interview in the days leading up to the summit that Moscow established three flaws in the first summit based on conversations with those who participated.

"It turned out that many of them, firstly, had no idea of what the essence of Washington's undertaking was," Antonov was quoted as saying. "Secondly, they were driven the importance of being in a group of 'leading democracies' of the world. Thirdly, as some diplomats put it, the path of least resistance was taken."

"Nothing was requested, and the establishment of another forum for discussions on democratic transformations entailed no consequences for their countries," he said. "The situation with the second 'Summit' is actually the same."

William Jones, Washington bureau chief of U.S. publication Executive Intelligence Review, in an article echoed the Russian ambassador's view that participants were forced to side with the United States.

"When the United States extends an invitation, it behooves one to accept, since a refusal would result in retribution from a country that has proven it can be quite harsh in dealing with recalcitrants," Jones said.

FAILING MODEL TO FOLLOW

As regards the substance of the summit, Kirby at a press call on Monday briefed reporters on a number of deliverables that will be announced at the summit.

"The whole idea of a summit for democracy is to stand up for this very idea of democracy, to acknowledge that maintaining democratic institutions requires a whole heck of a lot of work and effort, honesty, transparency and accountability," he said.

However, transparency and accountability are exactly what is missing now in U.S. political institutions.

"We need a government that is more transparent and accountable to the people," Larison said. "Our leaders preach democracy to the rest of the world while neglecting or weakening it at home."

For Antonov, the U.S. democracy is deeply flawed. Questions arose "in principle, about the ability and largely the moral right of Washington -- dealing with many political and socio-economic controversies at home -- to impose its canons and way of life on others," he has said.

"Doesn't America have problems with racism, gun violence, corruption and social inequality? Why are approximately 40 million people living below the poverty line in the richest country in the world? Yet, the 50 wealthiest Americans are richer than half the U.S. population," the Russian envoy said.

"There is also a clear problem with the freedom of speech, evidenced eloquently by the 'cancel culture' -- cutting out people from the public sphere for dissenting views," he said.

"The idea that we are going to spread democracy is just silly, because we don't have democracy to spread," Daniel Kovalik, an American lawyer who teaches international human rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
As threats and arrests continue, the EU says inclusive, transparent conditions are not in place for vote.

Foreign observers attend a conference with the National Election Committee of Cambodia (NEC), in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2018.

The United States, European Union, France and Japan say they have no plans to send electoral observers or to provide assistance to Cambodias election committee for Julys general election.

The parliamentary election has been marred by threats and recent arrests of activists as the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party and Prime Minister Hun Sen work to silence and intimidate opposition figures.

France does not intend to send national observers to monitor the July elections, the French Embassy in Cambodia said on Twitter on Wednesday. We keep encouraging the establishment of a climate allowing the opposition, the media & civil society to function without hindrance, which is essential for fair & free elections.

The United States isnt providing assistance to the National Election Committee, but encourages a process that is inclusive of all political stakeholders and in which all Cambodians can freely enjoy their political rights, Embassy spokeswoman Stephanie Arzate said in response to a Radio Free Asia inquiry.

We urge authorities to strengthen multiparty democracy in Cambodia by allowing opposing political views, fostering competition through inclusive free and fair elections, and promoting the free and open exchange of ideas, she said.

Conditions in Cambodia for holding inclusive, transparent and credible elections are not in place, Barbara Plinkert, the EUs Head of Division for Southeast Asia, told an EU subcommittee on March 21. Thats why the EU will not be sending observers, she said.

We would need to send one already; wed start preparation already six months before an election, she told the EU Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights. This has not happened and  the conditions need to be right in order to be able to meaningfully send an election observation mission.

Looking back at 2018

Japan was the largest funder of Cambodias last general election, despite the fact that the countrys main opposition party  the Cambodia National Rescue Party  had been banned by the Supreme Court on unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in the 2017 commune elections.

Both the United States and EU withdrew donor support for the 2018 general elections, citing government actions seen as limiting democracy.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told the Phnom Penh Post in 2018 that the lack of EU or U.S. observers was unimportant, noting that in the 2013 general elections they caused a lot of trouble.

But Cambodia did welcome election observers from Myanmar, Singapore and China in 2018. National Election Committee spokesman Hang Puthea said at the time that it wasnt going to differentiate between democratic or non-democratic countries in considering international observers.

RFA couldnt reach Hang Puthea for comment on Thursday. The committee is responsible for supervising elections in an impartial manner, but activists have claimed it often works on behalf of the CPPs interests.

The NEC released a statement on Monday after a meeting between Japanese Ambassador Ueno Atsushi and NEC President Prach Chan that said the ambassador was considering help by sending observers to the election in July.

But a spokesperson for Japans Embassy in Phnom Penh told news website Cambodianess that it has no plans to send official observers, although no final decision has been made and Japan may informally send people to several polling stations in July as special guests.

Thach Setha, vice president of Cambodias Candlelight Party, gestures while being transported to prison. Credit: Citizen journalist





Thach Sethas bail request denied

Interior Minister Sar Kheng recently called publicly for a smooth and peaceful election. But activists from the Candlelight Party  now the main challenger to the ruling CPP  said in mid-March that police have been monitoring their meetings and local authorities have been defacing and stealing party signs and billboards.

Candlelight Party activists in almost all provinces have reported cases of intimidation and harassment, and some people are now afraid to participate in non-ruling party activities, party spokesman Kim Sour Phirith said.

On Thursday, an appeals court denied the bail request of Candlelight Party Vice President Thach Setha, who was arrested in January on charges of writing false checks  charges that opposition activists say are politically motivated.

The denial of the bail request is yet another indicator that Cambodia will not hold a legitimate election this year, said Am Sam Ath of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, or Licadho.

Not having any international election observers in July would be sad, said the executive director of Cambodias top election watchdog, the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia.

Its up to each countrys evaluation, Sam Kuntheamy told RFA on Thursday. But they might not have confidence that the election will be free and fair.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen vowed publicly to rule the country until his death. Credit: AFP file photo





Hun Sens power grip

Meanwhile, Hun Sen vowed publicly to rule the country until his death.

Some people said Hun Sen is gripping power. I am accepting that, he said at a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh on Thursday.

What about you? You said you want to compete for power  what does that mean? Hun Sen said, apparently referring to opposition party leaders. I am only defending the power that I am having  there is nothing wrong with that. Why do you want to be the prime minister? You want to fight for prime minister and I am defending it.

Hun Sen has said he will run for re-election this year and will hand power to his son, Hun Manet, after the 2028 election, at which point he will have served as prime minister for 43 years.

He has also said that he would continue in his role as CPP president after 2028, and would return to the prime minister post if his son doesnt perform well.

Political analyst Kim Sok said Hun Sen is only able to stay in power because of his use of force, intimidation and other non-electoral means.

If there is a free and fair election, he cant cling to his power, he said. People wont vote for him.

Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
Police cite the 2019 protest movement, saying they need to safeguard national security.

Plans by the police in Hong Kong to massively upgrade the citys digital surveillance networks using 5G networked bodycams could result in a facial recognition system similar to Chinas Skynet, according to opposition politicians, sparking fears that the city will soon be subject to totalitarian monitoring.

Police recently requested an additional H.K.$5.8 billion (around U.S.$740 million) to fund the project from the Legislative Council, which has been stacked with government supporters since changes to the electoral system imposed by Beijing to prevent democratic candidates from running for office.

The 2019 protest movement was cited as a key reason behind the Digital Policing initiative that aims to digitize police communications, including video and still images collected by devices belonging to police officers and members of the public, according to a briefing document sent to the legislature for debate on April 4.

The government has already boosted police funding to the tune of billions of Hong Kong dollars in the wake of the pro-democracy protests, which the authorities say were the work of hostile foreign forces seeking to foment a color revolution in the city.

Through construction of a new digital highway to leverage advanced technologies such as optical fiber and WiFi ... smartphones, tablet computers and Body Worn Video Cameras, coupled with the development of new mobile applications, the [police force] aims to improve connection among police officers and the speed of multimedia data transmission, the document said.

The [police force] must further enhance its command and communications, image processing and human resource management, it said.

Demonstrators try to pull down a smart lamppost during a protest in Hong Kong, Aug. 24, 2019. Credit: Associated Press





Real time video

Under the new system, officers will be able to send audio, video and images in real time from wherever they are, across 5G mobile broadband, to a central digital information platform that will be searchable using artificial intelligence, in a manner similar to that of Chinas Skynet.

The platforms system configuration is compatible with other artificial intelligence image analysis tools to facilitate more efficient and accurate targeting of suspicious persons and ... vehicles, it said.

The platform ... will substantially promote ... case detection and intelligence analysis capabilities, especially for ... cases involving national and public security, it said.

Opposition politicians said the measures would turn Hong Kong into a police state and make people fear being targeted under the current crackdown on political dissent under a draconian national security law imposed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party from July 1, 2020.

Former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui said the request is at odds with recent claims by the government that the national security law has succeeded in restoring a sense of normalcy to the city.

Its often said that Hong Kong has gotten back to normal under the national security law, and that the social turmoil is now over, with no risk of more arising, said Hui, who fled the city amid an ongoing crackdown on peaceful political opposition and public criticism of the authorities.

Do they really need to spend so much money on investigations and national security? I dont think the police can justify it, he said.

Do they really need to spend so much money on investigations and national security? I dont think the police can justify it, says former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui, shown in this file photo. Credit: Associated Press





Tool for totalitarian control

He said the new system would be a massive upgrade compared with the network of smart lamp posts installed by the authorities during the 2019 protest movement, which have surveillance cameras preinstalled.

There are more than 30,000 police officers in Hong Kong, and each one carries a camera on their body, Hui said. They are monitoring people at all times.

Its a bit like the old days of the police political department, monitoring whether or not there is a crime  it's a tool for the totalitarian control of society, he said, drawing parallels with Chinas Skynet nationwide facial recognition and surveillance system.

It makes me think of the monitoring and artificial intelligence used in Chinese cities, and that this is the total mainlandization of Hong Kong, Hui said, in a reference to the ongoing blurring of boundaries between the city and the rest of China.

Umbrellas block security cameras outside a police headquarters during a demonstration in Hong Kong in 2019. Credit: Reuters





Avery Ng of the League of Social Democrats said the Legislative Council no longer challenges the government or acts as a curb on the administration.

Billions of billions of dollars for this piece of equipment  we have no way of checking whether it is worth the money, Ng said, adding that the government can now treat the legislature like a cash machine with no password.

The national security police want billions just to upgrade their artificial intelligence and to set up a communications platform, he said. Is Hong Kong really that dangerous  because Id like to know.

If law and order were really such a big problem in Hong Kong, wouldnt it be better to use the money to hire more police officers and add staff to the crime-reporting hotlines?

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Matt Reed.
A police official says they may not be deported to their home country.

Members of Chinas Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also known as the Mayflower Church, leave from the Nong Prue police station on their way to a court in Pattaya, Thailand, March 31, 2023.

A Thai court on Friday began the trial of 28 Chinese Christians charged with overstaying their visa, and who were in the country seeking protection from the United Nations refugee agency claiming religious persecution back home, police said.

The Associated Press news agency reported that the Chinese were fined and released on Friday. The Chinese exiles belong to the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also known as the Mayflower Church.

One police official said the group of 63 Christians including 35 children, who had been arrested Thursday afternoon, would likely not be deported back to China.

No, there wont be that thing. Its not going to happen, Col. Tawee Kutthalaeng, chief of the Nong Prue police station, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service.

We did not charge all of them because there were children as well. They were charged with overstaying their visas, staying too long and not renewing their visas.

Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, but the non-refoulement principle under international human rights law states that people cannot be sent back to a country where they are likely to be persecuted, tortured, mistreated or have their human rights violated.

The group of 63 Chinese had fled their homeland in 2019, making their way first to South Koreas Jeju Island, before landing in Thailand last year, according to RFA's Mandarin Service.

Nury Turkel, chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), expressed concern about the Chinese exiles in Thailand.

Members of the Mayflower Church are at imminent risk of being deported to China, where they will face severe consequences, including imprisonment and torture, he said in a tweet on Thursday.

According to an American NGO, Freedom House, Christianity has expanded rapidly in China since 1980, but is strictly controlled by the state.

The Chinese authorities seek to monitor and control Christians by encouraging them  sometimes forcefully  to join state-sanctioned churches that are affiliated with patriotic associations and led by politically vetted clergy, says a 2017 Freedom House report.

Religious leaders and congregants who refuse to register for theological or practical reasons risk having their place of worship shuttered and face detention, beatings, dismissal from employment, or imprisonment.

Certain religions and religious groups, including Christian house churches that operate independently from state-sanctioned ones, are persecuted harshly, according to Freedom Houses 2023 Freedom in the World report.

In October, the pastor associated with the Mayflower Church, Pan Yongguang, who is also in Thailand, told RFA that he was afraid of being caught in an immigration prison and eventually deported to China.

I can't fall into their hands. If they find me and put me in an immigration prison, they will take me back to China, he had said.

I will not voluntarily return to mainland China, and I will not choose to commit suicide.

Chinas threats have never stopped

Meanwhile, Deana Brown, an American who was also arrested briefly with the group according to the Associated Press, said Friday that renewing visas for the Chinese nationals was not easy.

She told AP that when the Chinese exiles had sought to renew their Thai visas, they had been told they had to first report to their countrys embassy.

We knew [then] that nobody could get their visas, Brown told AP.

There was no way, because as soon as they walk into the Chinese Embassy theyre gone, we would not see them again. Theyve been hiding out since then.

Brown is the founder of a Texas-based organization called Freedom Seekers International, which says on its website that it exists to rescue last resort and the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries.

The organization says it is taking the lead role in establishing a new life for them in Tyler, Texas.

Fu Xiqiu, chairman of the China Aid Association, a Christian NGO headquartered in the United States, told RFA on Thursday that one of the church members had been coerced into informing the Thai authorities where they were staying. That is what prompted the immigration raid and arrest, Fu alleged.

Based on the way other missing persons were treated in the past, this must be the CCPs mafia behind the scenes, he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

We call on the international community to lend a helping hand urgently to stop the atrocities. We can imagine that if these adults and children return to China, they will definitely be imprisoned and persecuted.

Fu further alleged that threats from Chinese authorities have continued despite the church members being in exile.

Chinas threats have never stopped, including family members being kidnapped, threatened, and interrogated, Fu claimed.

Even in Jeju Island, they were threatened by text messages and phone calls from the CCP Consulate in Jeju Island, saying that they were traitorous, treasonous, and endangering national security.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.
In July, Taiwans military will hold its first drill at a civilian airport, turning highway sections into runways.

The Taiwan Navys Perry-class frigate fires chaff during the annual Han Kuang military exercises, off the east coast of Hualien, central Taiwan, July 18, 2022.

Taiwans military is bolstering its preparation for a possible future war with China by planning an unprecedented military drill at a civilian airport this coming July, the official Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

The military aircraft emergency landing and takeoff drill will be staged at Taitung Fengnian Airport on the southeast coast of Taiwan.

The scenario is that Taiwans military airports and airstrips would be severely damaged in attacks by mainland China, forcing fighter-jets to land at civilian airports or on highways, the CNA quoted an unnamed military source as saying.

The military is looking to turn a section of Highway 9 into an emergency landing strip and a section of a road in Taitung County into an emergency runway, the same source said.

Taiwans Ministry of National Defense has not commented on the details because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The drill at Taitung Fengnian Airport will be carried out as part of the annual Han Kuang military exercise, held in July.

Han Kuang, Taiwans major war games, tests the islands combat capabilities against a possible Chinese invasion.

China considers the democratic island of Taiwan one of its provinces and intends to reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

In response to any major political events or to any support given to Taiwan by its allies, China regularly holds live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait or intensifies the flyovers by its military aircraft.

When Nancy Pelosi, the first U.S. House Speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, arrived in Taipei last August, Beijing announced a week-long military exercise around the island.

No unusual military movements

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is en route to Central America via the United States, and is to make a stopover in California on her way back to Taiwan from a visit to Guatemala and Belize.

While in California, she is expected to meet with the incumbent U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Beijing has threatened retaliation, with Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson, Zhu Fenglian, saying that if the meeting took place, China would definitely take measures to resolutely fight back.

Yet on Thursday, Taiwan National Security Bureau Director General Tsai Ming-yen told the parliament that the government expected a less severe reaction from Beijing than when Pelosi visited Taiwan.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a dinner reception in New York, March 30, 2023. Credit: Taiwan Presidential Office via AP

On Friday, the defense ministry said only two Chinese military aircraft and three naval vessels were spotted overnight near Taiwan and none had crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait that marks the de facto boundary between the island and the mainland.

But on Friday morning, nine PLA aircraft crossed the line, the ministry announced.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Wednesday urged China not to use Tsais transit as a pretext to step up any activity around the Taiwan Strait.

Meanwhile, the Americans are belatedly trying to figure out how to defend Taiwan, said Grant Newsham, author of a new book on a potential Taiwan conflict, When China Attacks: A Warning to America.

The Peoples Liberation Army is capable of launching an assault across the Taiwan Strait, and it  or more importantly, Xi Jinping, thinks it can succeed, Newsham, a retired Marine colonel whos extensively studied the cross-strait military situation, told Radio Free Asia (RFA).

China has been planning and getting ready to invade Taiwan for at least the last few decades, he said.

The PLA will hit Taiwan hard and fast while isolating Taiwan electronically and physically, Newsham added. It will intimidate the Americans into standing clear.

In his opinion, the upcoming Taiwan presidential election in January 2024 is particularly important.

If a pro-China candidate wins, Beijing just might back off and rely on their Taiwanese proxies to force Taiwan to give in and accept mainland dominance, the analyst said.

But if the candidate that wants to stay free from Chinese communist dominance wins, I would expect Beijing to use force against Taiwan.
A criminal cyber spy group believed to be backed by the North Korean government poses as journalists, academics and experts to trick its victims into giving out information that can be used for espionage.

It also spoofs websites of legitimate organizations to trick targets into giving out information that can be used in cybercrimes the group carries out to fund itself, according to a new report that tracked the cyber attackers operations over five years.

Google Clouds cybersecurity subsidiary firm Mandiant classified the group, which it calls APT43 and which it has been monitoring since 2018, as a moderately-sophisticated cyber operator that supports the interests of the North Korean regime.

The designation of the group as a named threat actor indicates that Mandiants cyber analysts had enough evidence to attribute activity to a specific group.

APT stands for advanced persistent threats, which the firm says are groups that receive direction and support from an established nation state.

APT43 has also been called Kimsuky or Thallium by other firms, which have their own naming conventions. Mandiant believes the firm could be part of North Koreas main foreign intelligence agency.

APT43 has demonstrated it can be quite fluid at adapting to the needs of the regime and shifts their targeting accordingly, Gary Freas, a senior analyst at Mandiant, told RFA.

According to the report, APT43 conducted espionage against South Korean and U.S.-based government organizations, members of academia and think tanks that deal with North Korean geopolitical issues, and engaged in cyber crime to steal and launder crypto currency.

Impersonating experts

APT43s most common attack involves impersonating experts or journalists in spear-phishing emails with the goal of getting information out of its victims.

In this scheme, the attacker poses as a reporter or a think tank analyst to collect intelligence, including by asking experts and academics to answer questions on topics related to North Korea. Often the attackers pretend to be people who are well known in their field to develop rapport with others in the field before asking them to provide strategic analysis on specific subjects.

People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a ballistic missile over Japan, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, October 4, 2022. Credit: Reuters

In a sample example provided in the report, an attacker pretended to be a journalist with an email address ending in @voanews.live, which is similar to the @voanews.com addresses used by journalists working for U.S news outlet Voice of America.

The email requested a reaction to an Oct. 4, 2022, North Korean ballistic missile launch that flew over Japan, including asking the recipient if it meant that another North Korean nuclear test could be imminent, and if Japan might increase its defense budget or pursue a more proactive defense policy.

Because the focus of these types of attacks is often North Korean security and nuclear development, Mandiant believes with moderate confidence that APT43 operates under the Reconnaissance General Bureau, or RGB, North Korea's main foreign intelligence service.

Campaigns attributed to APT43 are closely aligned with state interests and correlate strongly with geopolitical developments that affect Kim Jong-un and the hermit states ruling elite, the report said. Since Mandiant has been tracking APT43, they have consistently conducted espionage activity against South Korean and U.S.organizations with a stake in security issues affecting the Korean peninsula.

Mandiant also noted that it detected a shift in the groups activity between October 2020 and October 2021 toward targeting the health care sector and pharmaceutical companies, likely to gather information to support a North Korean response to COVID-19. This indicates that the group adapts to changing priorities of the North Korean government.

The kinds of questions we're seeing them ask when they commission papers and when they ask for interviews are very much about potential responses to different stimuli, Jenny Town, director of the Washington-based Stimson Centers 38 North Project, during a discussion about APT43 in a podcast hosted by Mandiant.

And really, [theyre] trying to better understand how different actions might be perceived, presumably to help them better decide where red lines are, she said.

Emails indicate objectives

Town, who has herself been targeted by APT43 and impersonated by them when they target others, said that the emails can show what North Koreas goals might be.

The questions they're asking make a lot of sense and give us a sense of the kinds of things they might be thinking of doing as well, she said. It's always been really interesting to see the evolution and what they'll ask different people.

Freas said that the questions in the emails often show North Koreas intent.

Whenever APT43 goes after people, pretending to be a reporter or prominent analyst, they ask questions that are so specific to the regime's priority intelligence requirements that they show us their hand, he said. This gives us good insight into what's going on in the closed off nation and that data is very insightful to security vendors and for people that are trying to investigate this.

Town said that other experts have come to consider it an indication of their success in the field when they are impersonated by what seems to be North Korean cyber attackers.

APT43 has also been known to target organizations for information about sanctions items that are banned for export to North Korea, the report said.

During the same podcast, Mandiant analyst Michael Barnhart said that APT43s methods tend to work on older victims.

Some of the younger folk aren't so [eager] to click on a suspicious link, and so you might not get them quite there, said Barnhart. You're looking at kind of an older crowd that probably has a little less cyber hygiene.

Good at what they do

What this group lacks in sophistication they make up for in volume, said Freas. It is unique to see the success they are having with such widely known and frequently leveraged techniques.

Freas explained that APT43 extensively researches people they can spoof and target to reach its goals.

If APT43 fails with one target or one persona, they simply move onto the next set. They are agile, and we see them spinning up new personas and infrastructure for targeting very quickly, and at scale, said Freas.

Barnhart said in the podcast that awareness of the group's methods was necessary for potential victims to protect themselves.

We're trying to be proactive. We're done kind of being reactive. We're trying to try to get out there and get in front of it and your endpoint protections and stuff like that, he said. These guys  they're good at what they do.

Besides espionage, the group conducts internal monitoring of other North Korean groups and their operations.

Crypto laundering

For many years, the cash-strapped North Korean government has ordered government organizations to generate funds for their own operations, in line with North Koreas founding juche ideology of self-reliance.

For factories or collective farms, this might mean that they sell some of their product on the open market to generate funds for raw materials or farming equipment.

But for APT43, much of their funding comes from crypto currency theft and laundering. To compromise financial data, the group engages in credential collection campaigns.

In particular, the group registers domains masquerading as popular search engines, web platforms, and cryptocurrency exchanges in relevant target countries of interest, the report said. We believe these credentials are used to support operations that further APT43 missions.

An example in the report showed the spoofed website of Cornell University, which instructed users to sign in with their cornell.edu credentials.

The group has also been known to spoof Google and Yahoo mail and other legitimate sites on domains it controls, to host malicious scripts and tools, said an advisory about the group published in 2020 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

APT43 launders the ill-gotten cryptocurrency to mine for new cryptocurrency that cant be traced back to the theft.

In other words, they use stolen crypto to mine for clean crypto, the report said.

Unlike other groups that engage in cybercrime, APT43 seems to be funding itself rather than generating income for the North Korean regime, which Mandiant said suggests a widespread mandate for government-backed groups to remain operational without resources from the central government.

All-purpose sword

Cyber attacks are the North Korean leaderships all-purpose sword, and a weapon of mass destruction second only to Pyongyangs nuclear weapons, said Daniel Russel, former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs and current vice president for international security and diplomacy at the New York-based Asia Society Policy Institute.

South Korean protesters burn portraits of then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il [right] and his son Kim Jong Un during a rally denouncing the North's cyber attacks. Credit: Reuters file photo

For the DPRK, cyber is a high-impact, low-cost, and low-risk digital-age tool for stealing cash and cryptocurrency, hacking secrets, and for terrorizing wired nations, Russel told RFAs English Service. APT43 is part of a large, elite corps of highly trained cyber hackers that has likely already stolen billions of dollars, blunting the effect of sanctions.

Russel said that North Korea has also experimented with cyberattacks against infrastructure overseas.

Developed countries with sophisticated urban, aviation, communications, and electrical infrastructure are particularly vulnerable, he said, adding that cyber attacks can be camouflaged so that they are hard to attribute to a particular country or entity. It is no accident that North Korean hackers are embedded in China and Russia, utilizing servers in those countries to make retaliation by the United States risky.

Russel said developing cyber capabilities can be done inexpensively, using widely available equipment.

The spotlight on hacker groups like APT43 is essential, both as a warning to potential targets but also to galvanize cybersecurity companies to defend against their malicious attacks, said Russel.

Edited by Boer Deng and Malcolm Foster.
While alcohol is available in retail stores such as the Pothonggang Department Store [shown] in Pyongyang, North Korea, bootlegging has become a way for people to earn money to buy food for their families.

North Korean authorities are searching homes and arresting people who are secretly making moonshine, accusing them of misusing corn while the country continues to struggle with food shortages, sources told Radio Free Asia.

A resident of Anju city in South Pyongan province said that of the 25 households in their neighborhood-watch unit, five were caught by security agents and had their homemade alcohol confiscated.

Residents who were quickly able to hide the alcohol before the unexpected house searches were able to avoid getting caught, the resident said.

Many families in the neighborhood make a living making moonshine, which can be started easily with just 10 kilograms (22 lbs.) of corn, he said.

One household was caught using 30 kilograms (66 lbs.) of corn as ingredients for moonshine, and family members had to write a letter of self-criticism.

But four households that bought more than 100 kilograms (220 lbs.) of corn were accused of being anti-socialists who helped fuel the countrys food crisis, and were sentenced last week to more than a year in a correctional labor camp.

Anju is known as one of the largest cities in North Korea for producing bootleg alcohol. The area is a producer of bituminous coal, which is used as fuel in the bootlegging process.

Bootlegging can be started easily with only 10 kilos (22 lbs.) of corn, says a source in North Korea. Credit: Associated Press file photo





Bootlegging rose following 1990s famine

In North Korea, bootleg alcohol is mainly made by distillation rather than fermentation. The 40% alcohol produced in the first part of the distillation process is the most expensive and is usually transported to Pyongyang, where it is refined and sold as premium alcohol.

The second part of the distillation process produces 20-30% alcohol known as soju  the most bootlegged form of alcohol that North Koreans usually drink. It is mainly sold in private restaurants, marketplaces, street vendors and private homes in the provinces.

Bootlegging became a more common way to earn a living when North Koreas food ration system collapsed in the 1990s and a subsequent famine resulted in the death of millions.

People bought food with the money earned and also used the leftover mash from the moonshine process to feed livestock. Raising pigs became another side job.

In the 2000s, private marketplaces were made legal, and the scope of what could be sold by merchants was expanded in the 2010s. Various types of businesses were allowed by North Korean authorities with the payment of market usage fees to the state. The number of people making moonshine  which was still illegal  decreased.

Food shortages

But in 2020, when the border was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, car parts and food imports were blocked and some merchants turned to bootlegging to make up the shortfall in business, a resident of Chunggang county in the northern province of Chagang told RFA on Wednesday.

The area has also seen recent raids and arrests  the crackdown seems to be a reaction by authorities to food shortages, the resident said.

The authorities punished the residents by giving them more than a year of correctional labor camp punishment as an example, the resident said. However, residents complained, saying, Isnt it right to solve the problem of food shortages first and then start cracking down on bootlegging?

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
The town of Thantlang in Myanmars Chin state lies in ruins after airstrikes and artillery and arson attacks by junta forces.

Western Myanmars once bustling town of Thantlang, with a sign above its gateway proclaiming that its inhabitants are Not rich, but happy, now lies in ruin after an onslaught of military raids, arson attacks, and airstrikes.

Two years after the military seized power in a coup detat, the Chin state township on the border of Indias Mizoram state is a shell of its former self. A resident who, like others RFA Burmese spoke with for this report, declined to be named out of security concerns, said the once bustling hub is now little more than a smoking ash heap.

Our town is in dead silence as all residents have fled, he said. The only thing we hear from the area is gunshots and bomb blasts. It was a growing town before the military coup but it is now a deserted ruin.

The inhabitants of Thantlang were quick to oppose the Feb. 1, 2021 coup and by September of that year had formed several anti-junta Peoples Defense Force groups to counter a military offensive in the region.

Clashes between the two sides broke out on Sept. 19, 2021, during which junta troops shot and killed a Christian religious leader as he tried to put out fires in the township. Slightly more than a month later, junta soldiers returned to Thantlang and burned down two churches and at least 164 homes.

The September and October attacks sent more than 10,000 people  the entire population of Thantlang  fleeing to nearby villages and across the border into India, residents told RFA.

Since then, the military has returned several times to raze the township, including on June 9, 2022, when soldiers torched the decades-old Thantlang Baptist Church and set fire to homes.

The Chin National Front claims that in the two years since the coup, the junta launched more than 140 airstrikes on Thantlang, destroying many of the towns buildings, including the CNFs headquarters. The Thantlang PDF says junta troops have fired more than 100 heavy artillery shells at the town in 2023 alone.

Myanmar air force jets struck this home in Khuabung village, Thantlang township, Chin state on March 30, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist In February, a member of the Thantlang PDF documented the destruction in a video, which he shared with RFA, claiming that two-thirds of the town has been reduced to ashes because of [junta] arson.

The junta soldiers have raided and looted the remaining houses, he said at the time. They took whatever they wanted including rice, food, household items and everything ... Only empty houses remain there.

Airstrike on Khuabung village

The latest attack took place on Thursday, when two jets dropped bombs on Thantlangs Khuabung village, around five miles (8 kilometers) from the township seat. The airstrike killed at least eight residents, including a six- and nine-year-old, and injured 20 others. It also set fire to multiple structures.

Salai Htet Ni, the spokesman for the ethnic Chin National Front, told RFA that Thursdays attacks were unprovoked and intentionally targeted a civilian population.

There is no member of [the armed resistance] in the location where the military junta dropped bombs  it was just a civilian village, he said, calling the regime a terrorist organization.

This attack is the proof of what [junta chief Senior Gen.] Min Aung Hlaing said in his Armed Forces Day speech, that he is taking decisive action. They are just targeting innocent civilians and this is part of an attempt to wipe our Chin ethnic group from the face of the earth.

The junta has not released any information about why it attacked Khuabung, and attempts by RFA to reach Thant Zin, the juntas social affairs minister and spokesman for Chin state, went unanswered Friday.

Smoke and fire rises from Thantlang, Chin state, Myanmar, after shelling by junta troops, Oct. 29, 2021. Credit: AFP Salai Mang Hrang Lian, an official with the Chin Human Rights Group, told RFA that targeting civilians and burning down religious buildings are war crimes.

No one is allowed to target and attack innocent civilians, religious buildings like churches, hospitals and schools, he said. This is the universal code of military conduct and the international basic rule of the law of armed conflict  The fact that the junta has committed war crimes is made clear when considering the incidents in Thantlang.

Chin state under attack

And while the destruction in Thantlang is significant, it is only a small part of what the military has done in Chin state and elsewhere in Myanmar.

According to Chin civil groups, there are currently around 60,000 people displaced by conflict in Chin state, and around 50,000 others who have fled across the border to Indias Mizoram and Manipur states. The 60,000 inside Chin are part of an estimated 1.7 million refugees in Myanmar, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said this month.

Junta troops have killed nearly 400 people, including civilians and PDF members, and destroyed more than 4,300 homes in Chin state since the coup, according to the Institute of Chin Affairs. Thailands Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) says that authorities in Myanmar have killed at least 3,194 civilians since the takeover  mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests.

Speaking to RFA on Friday, a resident of Thantlang who fled fighting there said he would never forgive the junta for what it did to his town.

Thantlang was a great town before the military came into power, he said. Business was booming with many grocery stores and tea shops on each roadside. It was a bustling town and people enjoyed living there. But it has been reduced to ashes and now all I have left is bitterness toward the junta.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Matt Reed.
'The Chinese government is trying to take away the only source of income for many of these vendors.'

Street vendors sell clothes along the pilgrim path around Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of China's Tibetan Autonomous Region, in a file photo.

China has increased video surveillance and inspections of street vendors in and around the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in an effort to clean up the city, though sources inside the autonomous region say the measures are meant to get Tibetan hawkers off the streets.

Local authorities began implementing the Clean Up Lhasa campaign on March 20 in the city of about 560,000 people in which they are inspecting all street vendors in and around the Jokhang Temple, or Tsuglagkhang, said the sources who declined to be identified for safety reasons.

Tibetans consider the four-story Buddhist temple in Lhasas Barkhor Square as the most sacred and important temple in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Chinese authorities are also prohibiting Tibetan vendors who sell tsampa, a Tibetan staple food made of barley, sha-kampo, or dried yak and sheep meat, and other edibles, alleging that they do not have proper food badges on them, said a Tibetan inside the region.

Though the Chinese government has implied that the campaign is aimed at keeping the city of Lhasa clean, one can see that only Tibetan vendors are targeted under this campaign, he told Radio Free Asia.

Authorities also are telling Tibetan street vendors to stop selling CDs of Tibetan songs and are interrogating them for no reason, the source added.

This has caused so much trouble for Tibetans who make their living as street vendors, he said.

Increased scrutiny

China maintains a tight grip on Tibet, restricting Tibetans political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity as Buddhists. Tibetans frequently complain of discrimination and human rights abuses by Chinese authorities and policies they say are aimed at wiping out their national and cultural identity.

The latest move follows increased security measures in Lhasa and other major towns ahead of recent politically sensitive anniversaries during which police randomly checked individuals and their cell phones for contact with people outside the region.

Eventually under all these campaigns, the Chinese government wants to eradicate or eliminate any place or business that caters to bring the Tibetan brotherhood together, said Gyal Lo, a Tibetan academic and author of the 2021 book Social Structuration in Tibetan Society: Education, Society, and Spirituality.

So far, authorities have interrogated nearly 30 street vendors under the Clean Up Lhasa campaign and will continue to inspect hawkers, according to information on the Lhasa Polices website.

Some of the street vendors continue to sell their stuff because this is their livelihood, another Tibetan source said.

Others who tried to confront Chinese authorities have been detained, though there was no information about those arrested or where they are being held, he said.

The Chinese government is trying to take away the only source of income for many of these Tibetan vendors under the guise of such campaigns, he said.

A possible motive for the campaign is that the Chinese government wants to maintain its claim that it has improved Tibets economic development, given that Lhasa is a tourism hub, said Xiang Xiaoji, a Chinese attorney based in New York.

They dont want the tourists to see Tibetans on the street as vendors, he told RFA. They want to portray that Tibetans are living good and financially content lives.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
Uyghur activist Rahima Mahmut attends a vigil outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London on Feb. 13, 2023.

UPDATED at 9:45 A.M. EDT on 03-31-2023

The United Kingdoms opposition Labour Party will aim to declare the Chinese governments treatment of the Uyghurs a genocide if it wins the next general election.

Labour Member of Parliament David Lammy, who serves as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, said he would act multilaterally with our partners to get Chinas actions recognized as genocide through international courts, he told Politico.



What weve seen from China is that they continue to be more internally repressive and obviously there were huge concerns in Xinjiang, Lammy told Politico on Tuesday during an event arranged by the left-wing think tank the Fabian Society, where he introduced Labours foreign policy plan for government.

Weve got to challenge China and they are definitely a strategic competitor in essential areas, and weve got to hold them to account on human rights  but there are areas where its important to cooperate, he said, according to the report.

Parliament took a decision about genocide, the international community is very concerned about genocide, he was quoted as saying.

Lammys comments come as pressure builds to stop Chinas repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region amid a growing body of evidence documenting the detention of up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and others in re-educations camps, torture, sexual abuse and forced labor.

Fellow Labor MP Blair McDougall noted that the party has always had a strong ethical element in its foreign policy.

The UK government currently believes that to break from tradition and recognize a genocide outside of the formal international legal means would set a precedent, he said. But when a country as powerful as China is committing crimes we have to recognize that the existing international institutions wont work.

The U.S. has branded Chinas actions genocide and the United Nations has said they may constitute crimes against humanity.

But the United Kingdom has avoided doing so, preferring that the matter be determined by international courts.

In April 2021, most members of the UK Parliament voted in favor of a motion declaring that the Chinese government was committing genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, though it did not compel the British government to act to recognize it.

China has consistently denied the allegations and said the camps were vocational training centers to prevent religious extremism and terrorism.

Uyghur activists hold a vigil outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London on Feb. 13, 2023. Credit: AFP

Polls indicate that the Labor Party is favored to win the next election after more than a decade in opposition. The next general election is scheduled to be held no later than Jan. 28, 2025.

Most people expect that Labour will form the next UK government, and a strong position on the Uyghur genocide from the UK will put pressure on other European, Commonwealth, and G7 nations to follow suit, Mc Dougall said.

Human rights activists welcomed Lammys comments.

Jaya Pathak, co-executive director of Yet Again UK and co-chair of the student wing of the UK national campaign group Stop Uyghur Genocide, said the move would provide an opportunity for the UK to lead the way in seeking justice for the Uyghur people under a future Labour government.

David Lammy understands that the UK government has failed to fulfill their obligation under the genocide convention, and recognizes that the best way forward is for the UK to act multilaterally with its partners in order to pursue legal avenues towards genocide determination, she said.

Rahima Mahmut, UK director for the World Uyghur Congress, said she was pleased that the shadow foreign secretary has committed to working multilaterally with international partners to secure accountability for the Uyghurs.

I hope that this means that countries in Europe and across the world see that it is time to follow suit, she told Radio Free Asia on Thursday.



Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, noted that Labour shadow ministers have regularly described what is happening to Uyghurs as genocide.

The real test will be whether Labour sticks to this line when in government, he said. Of course, if the UK were to act to declare genocide, it would engage our responsibilities under the Genocide Convention and necessitate serious action.

Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

The story was updated to include comments from Blair McDougall and Jaya Pathak.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

President Vo Van Thuong extended greetings to Malaysian King Al-Sultan Abdullah and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim.

Meanwhile, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue sent congratulatory messages to President of the Dewan Negara (upper house) Tan Sri Dato Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim and Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Dato Johari bin Abdul.

On this occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Malaysian counterpart Zambry Abdul Kadir issued a Joint Press Communique.

The document read: Notwithstanding the challenges faced during the years of relationship building, Malaysia and Vietnam continue to focus on the opportunities to bring bilateral and regional relations closer together. The shared focus of interests has contributed to the ASEAN Community that has been a primary driving force in the larger regional architecture.

The two sides further reaffirm their commitment to deepening political and economic cooperation. Towards this end, we remain committed to implement the Plan of Action 2021-2025 under the Strategic Partnership between Malaysia and Vietnam. We shall also strive to promote and conduct regular high-level engagements, and strengthen bilateral cooperation mechanisms, the press communique said.

The ministers also affirmed the determination to keep on the continued cooperation at multilateral fora in response to global challenges./.
The intimidation began after Nguyen Thi Ngoc Suong attended an appeals trial for other activists.

Vietnamese police have been harassing a former prisoner of conscience released from jail in December 2022 after serving most of a five-year sentence on charges of distributing materials against the state and participating in protests against the government.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Suong, 55, told Radio Free Asia on Friday, that the harassment began after she attended the appeals trial of activists Nguyen Thai Hung and his spouse, Vu Thi Kim Hoang, at the Peoples Court in the southern province of Dong Nai on March 29. Authorities asked her to leave the courtroom.

On Friday, Dinh Quan district police summoned her and warned her not to attend other trials. They also said policemen would check on her often.

Recently, the police have watched me very closely, Suong told Radio Free Asia after she met with police. They came to see me right after I returned home [from the trial]. They said I was not allowed to do this.

At the end of the meeting, a police officer told her: Ill visit you every couple of days.

Suong said she did not remember the officers name because he was not wearing a name badge.

When RFA contacted Dinh Quan district police to verify the information, a staffer asked for the name of the officer for verification.

Suong, who said her health has been deteriorating since her release, was convicted in May 2019 under Article 117 of Vietnams penal code. The article, which criminalizes making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the state. Violators can be sentenced to from five to 20 years in prison.

Suong was freed last Dec. 13 in poor health, 10 months before her jail term ended.

Health issues while detained

While in prison, Suong had several physical ailments, including liver and kidney swelling, elevated liver enzymes, a bacterial infection in her stomach and thyroid issues.

The only treatment she received was the medicine that prison officials gave to all inmates to treat various diseases.

When I took them, my condition got worse, Suong said. I remember one time I could not speak because my body was swollen from top to toe, including my mouth and tongue.

Suong said she believes her health deteriorated because she had been subjected to forced labor at Dong Nai polices B5 temporary detention facility where she was held during the investigation period, and later at An Phuoc Prison, where she was held after an appeals trial. She produced votive paper offerings without protective gear.

Suong also said she had not been paid for her labor, though Vietnamese law stipulates that inmates should receive some compensation for labor they perform in jail.

While she was at the temporary detention facility from October 2018 to early December 2019, Suong's family had to bribe staffers so they could get supplies to her, though she never received them after the payments were made, she said.

When Suong had a medical check after she was released, her doctor said she was very weak and it would be difficult for her to improve her physical condition because she took too much pain reliever in previous years.

RFA could not reach officials at Dong Nai police or An Phuoc Prison for comment.

Arrested and charged in 2018

Suong was arrested along with activist Vu Thi Dung in October 2018, and they were both brought to court in the same case for using different Facebook accounts to watch videos and read articles containing anti-state content.

They both allegedly called for protests against draft laws on the creation of new special economic zones and cybersecurity, and were said to have incited locals people to take to the streets.

The indictment also said that Dung had produced anti-state leaflets and asked Suong to distribute them at four different places in Dinh Quan town of Dong Nai province.

Dung was sentenced to six years in prison and will complete her jail term this month.

Suong received the Tran Van Ba Award for 2021-2022 along with four other Vietnamese activists  Nguyen Thuy Hanh, Huynh Thuc Vy, Vo An Don and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh.

Named for a Vietnamese dissident and freedom fighter executed in 1985 on charges of treason and intent to overthrow the government, the award is given annually to Vietnamese in Vietnam in recognition of their courageous action for freedom, democracy, justice and independence for their country.

Translated by Anna Vu for RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.
Drawings by Chisinau-born artist Pavel Shillingovsky show Armenia being reshaped at the beginning of the communist period.

This image, of Armenian women rolling out dough to slap onto the walls of a "tonir" oven, is one of dozens of sketches made by artist Pavel Shillingovsky in Soviet Armenia around 100 years ago.

Shillingovsky was born in Chisinau, then a part of the Russian Empire, in 1881.

The young artist studied in Odesa, then in St. Petersburg, where he spent most of his life, but was initially most inspired by the landscape of his native Bessarabia -- territory largely within the borders of todays Moldova.

In the early 1920s, the artist traveled through the south of the Russian Empire, including the Crimean Peninsula and the Caucasus. During the trip, he became infatuated with Armenia, a place he would return to repeatedly through the remaining years of his life.

Art historian Ekaterina Grisina wrote that the unique atmosphere of Armenia was close to [Shillingovskys] soul. It reminded him of his native Bessarabia.

As the hand of the Soviet state began to transform Armenian society in the 1920s through massive industrial projects and the suppression of religion, Shillingovsky was able to document the changes through his repeated visits.

In the early 1900s, Yerevan was described by historian Thomas de Waal as a town with a mixed Armenian [Christian] and Muslim population, a Russian governor, and a thoroughly Middle Eastern atmosphere.

From 1915 onwards, Armenia had became a place of refuge for hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians who fled massacres by Ottoman Turks that the United States and many other countries now refer to as genocide.

Like other artists in the fledgling Soviet Union, Shillingovsky soon faced pressure to conform to socialist-realist themes and styles.

In September 1930, Shillingovsky was arrested and held under suspicion of links to Romanian nationalists.

The artist was investigated by the Soviet authorities near the height of Stalins repressions.

Some historians have speculated that drawings of Vladimir Lenin that Shillingovsky made for Soviet propaganda may have saved his life.

Shillingovsky was released from prison in Soviet Russia in December 1930 and soon returned to the Caucasus.

After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Shillingovsky was caught in the siege of his beloved adopted city of St. Petersburg (then called Leningrad). He died from starvation in April 1942 and was buried in a mass grave with other art professors.
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.



I'm Frud Bezhan, regional desk editor for Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has warned that it is just days away from cutting assistance to 9 million people in Afghanistan if it does not immediately receive funding. The WFP delivers food, cash, and other assistance in emergencies.

We urgently need $93 million to assist 13 million people in April and $800 million for the next six months, the WFP said in a tweet on March 29.

Hsiao-Wei Lee, country director for WFP Afghanistan, said that catastrophic hunger knocks on Afghanistans doors and unless humanitarian support is sustained, hundreds of thousands more Afghans will need assistance to survive.

The Talibans takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 worsened an already major humanitarian crisis and triggered an economic meltdown. Foreign governments immediately cut development funding and imposed sanctions on the new government.

For the past 20 months, multibillion-dollar aid packages have prevented a widespread famine. In 2022, the WFP received around $1.7 billion from international donors, including the United States and European nations. But donors have reduced funding this year, rekindling fears of a famine.

Why It's Important: Aid groups have repeatedly warned that emergencies in Ukraine, Turkey, and Syria, challenging global economic conditions, and the Talibans ban on women working for NGOs could lead to a drop in donor funding for Afghanistan.

The WFPs stark comments are one of the first tangible signs of foreign governments and institutions pulling back from Afghanistan.

Aid groups now face the worst-case scenario in Afghanistan: reducing or ending food assistance to the estimated 20 million Afghans -- or around half of the population -- who are "acutely food insecure."

What's Next: It is unclear if the WFP, which is funded entirely by donations, will be able to raise the funds it needs to continue its life-saving assistance in Afghanistan.

If it does not, there could be catastrophic consequences for Afghans, 6 million of whom are already on the verge of starvation.

The Week's Best Stories

Matiullah Wesa, a widely known and respected campaigner for education in Afghanistan, was beaten and arrested by the Taliban in Kabul on March 27. His arrest on unknown charges has sparked an international outcry and highlighted the Taliban's intensifying crackdown on educators and dissent.

U.S. forces left a trove of weapons behind when they withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. Some of those arms have turned up in neighboring Pakistan, where they have been used by armed groups. Experts say the Pakistani Taliban and ethnic Baluch separatist groups have obtained M16 machine guns and M4 assault rifles, night-vision goggles, and military communication gear.

Former Afghan university student Farzana Haidari operates a sewing machine in Ghor Province. She had nearly completed her degree in Persian language and literature when the Taliban banned education for women. Since seizing power, the regime has broken its pledges to allow education access and professional careers for females.

What To Keep An Eye On

At least 10 people have been killed and nearly 100 injured by heavy rain and flash floods that have struck Afghanistan, the Taliban-run National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on March 30. Spokesman Shafiullah Rahimi said around 1,000 homes have been destroyed.

The areas most affected have been the northern provinces of Parwan and Balkh, as well as the southern province of Uruzgan.

"The floods are a calamity. Its a disaster, Sufi Faqir, a farmer in Parwan, told RFE/RLs Radio Azadi, adding that his fields were destroyed.

Gholam Dastagir, a shopkeeper in the provincial capital, Charikar, told Radio Azadi that his shop was flooded and his goods ruined. Now, we dont have any money to buy food, he said.

The NDMA has warned of snowfall and more heavy rain in the coming days.

Why It's Important: Scores of Afghans die every year from floods and torrential downpours, particularly in impoverished rural areas where poorly built homes are often at risk of collapse.



Decades of conflict, coupled with environmental degradation and insufficient investment in disaster risk reduction, have contributed to the increasing vulnerability of Afghans to natural disasters, according to the UN.

Recent floods and earthquakes are likely to aggravate the countrys humanitarian and economic crises.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan said that aid agencies are assessing the impact and providing aid where needed following the latest floods. But it added that limited funding is constraining their ability to scale up aid to those affected by the floods.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org.

Note: There will be no Azadi Briefing on April 7.

Until next time,



Frud Bezhan



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.
The authoritarian ruler of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has defended a Russian plan to place tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory and said that Russia could also position intercontinental nuclear missiles there if he and Russian President Vladimir Putin deem it necessary, claiming that the country is coming under increased threats from the West.

Commenting on the issue for the first time since Putin announced the move on March 25, Lukashenka said in his annual address to the nation on March 31 that he had initiated the plan by asking Moscow to move tactical nuclear weapons to his country to ensure it is capable "of defending the sovereignty and independence of Belarus."

In his announcement, Putin said nothing about long-range missiles.

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.

Lukashenka, a pariah in Europe and most of the Western world after launching a brutal crackdown against opponents following an August 2020 presidential he claimed to win but they say was rigged, offered no evidence of any specific threats from the West, which has called the possible deployment "irresponsible."

"I would like to add that all of the infrastructure [for tactical nuclear weapons] is ready.... Those are weapons that will contribute to our sovereignty and independence," Lukashenka said, adding that Minsk could exercise control over all nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.

That appears to contradict Putin, who said during the announcement last week that the tactical missiles would remain under Moscow's control. Military experts have said the deployment will lead to the creation of a permanent Russian military base in Belarus.

He also said that, if necessary, "Putin and I will decide and bring strategic weapons here, which those scoundrels abroad must comprehend, those who are trying to blow us up from inside and outside today. Nothing will prevent us from protecting our countries."

Russia and the United States clashed over the issue at the United Nations on March 31. Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya claimed Moscow is not transferring nuclear weapons but operational tactical missile complexes, which will be under Russian control. Nebenzya also accused the United States of destroying arms control agreements and repeated Russia's objection to tactical nuclear weapons deployed in NATO countries.

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood accused Russia of attempting to manipulate the specter of nuclear conflict to help win the war in Ukraine.

No other country is inflicting such damage on arms control nor seeking to undermine strategic stability in Europe, Wood said.

Belarus is the closest thing Putin's Russia has to an ally, and their ties have tightened further since Lukashenka -- in power since 1994 -- claimed victory in a 2020 election widely seen as rigged and then cracked down violently against massive peaceful protests over the vote.

Minsk has not sent troops to fight alongside Moscow's forces in Ukraine, but Lukashenka allowed Russia to use the country -- which borders Ukraine on the north --- as a staging area for the invasion.

It has also granted Russia full access to its air bases, carried out joint drills, and treated wounded Russian soldiers on its territory.

Speaking about the possible deployment of Russian strategic nuclear weapons, Lukashenka said that he ordered his military to immediately put the former base for Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles in order.

"It's a highly technologically sophisticated structure," he said. "All the infrastructure has been created and is standing ready."

The deployment announcement comes amid soaring tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022. Waves of economic and diplomatic sanctions have been aimed at Russia, as well as Belarus, for its logistical support for the attack on Ukraine.

Those came on top of sanctions already slapped on Minsk for its crackdown on civil society and dissent following the disputed election.

Addressing Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenka called for immediate truce talks "without preconditions"

"It is crucial to stop [the war] now, before an escalation of the situation. Declare a truce with a ban on supplies of forces, weapons and equipment," Lukashenka said, stressing a truce cannot be used to bring more weapons to the conflict, as Russia could be forced to use "the most terrible weapon" if it felt threatened.

Given Belarus's role in the conflict and its close ties with Russia, Ukraine has previously rejected offers from Minsk to broker peace.

Belarus has said it has no plans to enter the war.

With reporting by AP
Ethnic Serbs have boycotted en masse local elections in four municipalities in northern Kosovo with ethnic Serb majorities where local mayors resigned in November 2022 to protest a cross-border dispute over vehicle registrations.

The Central Election Commission late on April 23 said preliminary results indicated that the Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party of Kosovo's prime minister, Albin Kurti, had won the mayoral races in North Mitrovica and Leposavic, while the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo had taken races in Zvecan and Zubin Potok.

As expected, turnout was low, after the dominant ethnic Serb party, Srpska Lista (Serbian List), which enjoys the support of neighboring Serbia's government, announced it was boycotting the votes. The commission said only 1,567 people -- or 3.47 percent of voters -- showed up at polling stations.

Despite the low turnout, the results are considered legally valid. There is no minimum turnout rule for the vote.

There are around 45,000 voters eligible to elect new mayors in North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan, and Zubin Potok, along with municipal assemblies in Zvecan and Leposavic.



RFE/RL correspondents reported that the only ballots that were being cast were submitted in places with ethnic Albanian residents.

WATCH: Most of the voters in RFE/RL footage from North Mitrovica and Zvecan are local Albanians, as are most of the candidates for mayor, due to a boycott by the dominant Kosovo Serb party, Serbian List.

The result could further step up tensions between ethnic Serbs who are mostly loyal to neighboring Serbia and Kosovo's central government that represents the country's overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian majority.

Ethnic Serbs compose some 1-2 percent of Kosovo's population of around 2 million people.

Milan Radoicic, vice president of Serbian List, said following the vote that "those who think that with 1 or 2 percent of votes, they can lead the municipalities in the north, I have to say that the Serbian people will never allow them to do that."

A former chairwoman of Kosovo's Central Election Commission, Valdete Daka, told RFE/RL that so long as proper procedures were being followed, the tiny number of votes would likely result in mayoral seats being filled but not necessarily an end to the local problems.

Daka said the "nonappearance in the elections" was essentially "conveying a message to the government of Kosovo that they won't accept the leaders who emerge from these elections."

Fifteen years after the mostly ethnic Albanian former province declared independence from Serbia, Belgrade continues to oppose recognition of Kosovo's independence.

Many ethnic Serbs in Kosovo continue to lean heavily on support from Serbia and its nationalist president, Aleksandar Vucic.

The Serbian List party has demanded the formation of an Association of Serb Municipalities, as Kosovo's government pledged to the international community a decade ago, and the withdrawal of special units of the Kosovo Police from the north of the country.

A total of 10 candidates were competing for the mayorships, only one of whom -- independent candidate Sladjana Pantovic in Zvecan -- is an ethnic Serb. Pantovic was the rare exception among ethnic Serbs, turning out to vote at around 8 a.m.

Pantovic received just five votes, or 2.6 percent.

Another ethnic Serb candidate, Aleksandar Jablanovic from the Party of Kosovo Serbs, withdrew from the race in Leposavic three days ago, saying there were not "adequate conditions" for voting.

All of the remaining candidates were ethnic Albanians from the Mitrovica Civic Initiative, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, and Kurti's Self-Determination movement.

The election commission had to organize alternative polling stations for the April 23 voting because the schools that normally host the voting in northern Kosovo operate within the so-called parallel system run by Serbia's leadership.

Kurti this week accused Belgrade of intimidating Serbs from the north to discourage their participate in the voting.

Vucic alleged on April 22 that Kosovar authorities were effectively staging "an occupation" of the north after the elections.

The four northern municipalities have been without mayors since November, when Serbian representatives largely loyal to Belgrade resigned from their jobs over the Kosovar government's threatened imposition of a requirement for all vehicles to be registered locally.

The voting took place at 19 polling stations, 12 of which were organized by Kosovar authorities in the final days before the vote.

Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani and the Central Election Commission urged citizens in the north to exercise their right to vote.

The international community has also expressed regret at the Serb-led boycott and urged all sides to exercise restraint.

Following the election, the U.S. Embassy in Pristina said, "We recognize Kosovan election officials' efforts to make polling places available to citizens wishing to exercise their right to vote, while minimizing potential points of tension."

"We likewise express our appreciation for the professionalism of the Kosovo Police, EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX), and KFOR in ensuring a secure environment for the elections."

Kosovo remains blocked from many multinational organizations due to Serbian and Russian opposition to recognition, although there were recently signs of a possible breakthrough under EU-mediated talks.

The European Parliament on April 18 approved a decision on visa liberalization that will allow citizens of Kosovo to travel to most European countries without a visa by January 2024 at the latest. It is the last Western Balkan country to achieve such status.

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier told RFE/RL's Balkan Service on April 21 that citizens in the north of Kosovo and all political parties "have a responsibility to respect the democratic process, recognizing that they all had the opportunity to register and participate."
Bulgarian Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev captured national headlines on March 16 when he announced tantalizing details worthy of a crime thriller about an alleged mafia plot to oust several police chiefs and one very powerful official.

At a grand press conference in the capital, Sofia, with the head of national investigations at his side, Geshev said his team had found letters and records detailing the conspiracy while investigating a separate money-laundering case.

According to the prosecutor-general, the conspirators -- who go by names such as "Ceco from Belgrade," "Kokorcho," and "Boboka" -- were willing to pay $220,000 in bribes to achieve their goals, which also included removing him from power.

The plot, Geshev said, was a quintessential example of how the mafia, corrupt officials, and criminals "together fight against the institutions and against the [Bulgarian] state, contrary to the interest of people."

The 52-year-old prosecutor's presentation lacked hard evidence, and he did not announce any charges related to the alleged plot. With some critics calling it a show, Geshev's portrayal of himself as a target of the mafia and corrupt officials comes as he is facing increasing heat from the United States and Europe for allegedly dragging his feet on prosecuting and convicting such lawbreakers.

Bulgaria continues to rank as one of the most corrupt countries in the European Union and NATO, and there has been little to no improvement on that front over the past decade, despite constant urging by Brussels and Washington to tackle the problem.

Some experts say it has even gotten worse under Boyko Borisov -- who served as Bulgarian prime minister for most of the period between 2009 and 2021 -- and his powerful center-right GERB party. Borisov remains one of the most influential people in the country and is vying to regain the top position with his party in snap parliamentary elections on April 2, the fifth such vote in two years.

Bulgaria's endemic corruption is becoming a greater concern in Washington and Brussels because Southeastern Europe is seen as a vulnerable spot with intensifying great-power competition between NATO and Russia amid the war in Ukraine. U.S. officials say unchecked graft makes Bulgaria susceptible to malign Russian actions and is thus a threat to NATO members in the region.

Recent RFE/RL reporting into ammunition depot blasts in Bulgaria over the last decade has pointed to evidence of Russian involvement, including allegations that the Prosecutor-General's Office has procrastinated with the investigations into the explosions, a charge Geshev denies.

WATCH: Over the past decade, Bulgaria's arms industry has been shaken by a string of unexplained explosions at munitions depots. A special RFE/RL investigation looks into allegations of Russian sabotage, cover-ups by Bulgarian authorities, and whether Bulgarian arms depots are still at risk as Russia's war in Ukraine enters a second year.

Firm Grip On Power

Geshev, who became prosecutor-general in 2019 in a controversial election in which he was the only candidate, formally holds the most power to crack down on corruption and break its stranglehold over the country of 7 million people, which is located on the strategically important Black Sea.

Yet, he has made little progress in holding influential people to account in his more than three years in office, critics say. While Geshev's office occasionally announces investigations into members of the elite suspected of wrongdoing, they rarely lead to charges, much less convictions, critics say. The prosecutor-general has also been accused of abusing his power to launch political investigations and expropriate assets from businessmen, something he also denies.

Political opponents and analysts claim Geshev is beholden to Borisov and tycoon Delyan Peevski, a powerful businessman and former lawmaker who has also been embroiled in graft allegations.

Seven months after stepping into the nation's top legal job, Geshev sent investigators into the presidential palace to search the office of an adviser to President Rumen Radev. An opponent of Borisov and Peevski, Radev had initially rejected Geshev's candidacy for the post of prosecutor-general.

A career prosecutor, Geshev already had a questionable reputation when he was nominated by a council largely comprised of Borisov and Peevski loyalists. From 2014 to 2018, he headed the Specialized Criminal Prosecution, an office set up ostensibly to fight corruption.

In material distributed on Capitol Hill in Washington in 2020, Marshall Harris, a former U.S. State Department official who has lobbied on behalf of Bulgarian businessmen facing criminal charges at home that they call trumped up, described a specialized court where Geshev prosecuted cases as a tool "to stifle political opposition, capture businesses, and torment their owners into submission by all means necessary." It was shut down in 2022 by parliament, reportedly against Geshev's will.

Geshev's decision to raid the office of the presidential adviser in the summer of 2020 came amid public anger over corruption in Borisov's government, giving more fuel to a growing protest movement. Demonstrators soon demanded the dismissal of Geshev along with several ministers, but the prosecutor-general weathered the monthslong storm.

Unlike ministers, Bulgaria's prosecutor-general cannot be fired by the prime minister. That power lies with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a 25-member body composed of legal experts chosen by prosecutors, judges, and lawmakers. The members, who serve five-year terms, include subordinates of the prosecutor-general.

That structure makes it hard to fire the prosecutor-general once he is elected and is one of the main problems of the judicial system, Harris said. The SJC last year voted 16-2 against a request by Justice Minister Nadezhda Yordanova to dismiss Geshev for both his "actions and inactions." Geshev said Yordanova's request was politically motivated.

The Bulgarian prosecutor-general has more power than counterparts in the European Union. The nation's top law enforcer oversees the work of all other prosecutors and holds the final say on whether to initiate, prolong, or end an investigation. It is almost impossible to prosecute the prosecutor-general for crimes.

"The prosecutor-general is the only unaccountable high-ranking [Bulgarian] public official who enjoys such immunity and privileges," Ekaterina Baksanova, a Bulgarian legal expert, wrote in a 2020 report.

Washington and Brussels have been pushing Bulgaria for years to reform its legal system to make the Prosecutor-General's Office less centralized and more accountable, in line with EU standards. However, proposed legal reform bills have been shot down by Borisov's GERB party.

Western Sanctions

In what some experts say is a sign of the West's frustration with the Bulgarian Prosecutor-General's Office's lack of will to fight graft, the United States and the United Kingdom last month slapped sanctions on several Bulgarian politicians and tycoons for alleged corruption.

In its February 10 statement announcing five designations, the United States said the fact that the men in question had long been prominent in Bulgarian politics highlighted the "critical need for the political will to implement rule of law reform and to fight corruption."

It was the second time in less than two years that the United States imposed economic and visa penalties on the Bulgarian elite. The individuals sanctioned by the United Statess and Britain include Peevski, who also controlled large swaths of the nation's media industry. Peevski officially sold his media businesses following the announcement of U.S. sanctions, but critics believe he still has significant influence over them.

The United States has now sanctioned eight Bulgarian individuals and dozens of Bulgarian entities, more than any other EU country.

"I think in Washington there's a great deal of frustration that no matter what happens, the Bulgarians are unwilling to root out the endemic corruption that has been around for so long," Jim Warlick, the former U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria from 2009-11, told RFE/RL, adding that graft appears to have gotten worse in Bulgaria in recent years.

Geshev, however, seemingly interpreted the Western sanctions as an endorsement of his office's hard work. In a statement to RFE/RL, Geshev's spokesman, Veselin Ivanov, noted that the Prosecutor-General's Office had already charged several of the eight designated individuals with crimes prior to the imposition of sanctions.

"It may be considered that the imposed sanctions confirm the work of the Bulgarian prosecutor's office," Ivanov said.

However, Geshev has not charged the individuals with the crimes alleged in the U.S. sanctions report. Nor has he charged Peevski or Ilko Zhelyazkov, a former national security official who, according to a 2021 statement from the U.S. Treasury Department announcing sanctions on the two men, was Peevski's "front man." None of the eight men has been convicted to date, though some trials are continuing.

In the Treasury Department's 2021 statement announcing sanctions on Peevski, the United States implied he had sway over the Prosecutor-General's Office. According to the statement, Zhelyazkov once threatened to have criminal charges filed against a potential Bulgarian government minister if the minister did not provide "further assistance upon appointment."

RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service attempted to contact Zhelyazkov in 2021 when the sanctions were first announced but received no reply. His whereabouts are unknown.

Warlick said taking legal action against people like Peevski is difficult.

"They're very influential and well connected and very hard to get at," he said. Prosecutors are indeed sometimes "real targets" of organized crime, Warlick said.

But that is no excuse for some U.S. officials.

In December 2022, prior to the most recent designations, U.S. Representative Warren Davidson (Republican-Ohio), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, complained about Geshev in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, claiming that the prosecutor-general failed to combat corruption, stop sanctions evasion by Russia, or bring charges against Peevski and Zhelyazkov.

In the written reply to RFE/RL, Geshev's spokesman Ivanov said Davidson had been "misled" by the lobbying efforts of Bulgarian businessman Tsvetan Vassilev, describing the former bank owner as part of a "malicious Russian influence" campaign. Vassilev, who lives in exile in Serbia, has been employing the services of Washington-based lobbyists for years to convince the United States to impose sanctions on Bulgarian officials, including prosecutors.

Vassilev had been the majority shareholder of Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB), the nation's fourth-largest bank. In 2014, Bulgarian prosecutors raided CCB on allegations of embezzlement, triggering a run on deposits that caused the bank to fail. Vassilev claims his innocence and has accused prosecutors of fabricating the embezzlement case to expropriate the bank.

Ivanov also dismissed Davidson's complaint regarding combating Russian influence, noting the prosecutor-general had convicted and deported 11 Russian diplomats charged with spying. He has also charged six Bulgarians with spying for Russia, Ivanov said, although none of the Bulgarians accused of spying has been convicted.

Davidson's office declined further comment when contacted by RFE/RL. J.C. Boggs, a lobbyist who most recently presented Vassilev's case on Capitol Hill, also did not respond to requests for comment.

Lobbying Washington

During his press conference on March 16, Geshev speculated that Vassilev may have been part of the alleged conspiracy to drive him from office. He said the name VTB was mentioned in one of the documents found by investigators, alongside a figure representing millions of dollars. He questioned whether VTB was a reference to the Russian state-owned bank that was a partner of Vassilev and, if so, what connection it had to payments made by "Ceco from Belgrade" to an unknown lobbyist.

Harris, the former U.S. State Department official and Bulgaria expert, said Geshev's presentation was "nothing more than theater." Harris, who served at the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria in the late 1980s and early '90s, now lobbies for the Bobokov brothers, Bulgarian businessmen who claim Geshev's office falsely brought criminal charges against them in order to seize their businesses. Harris also recently represented Minyu Stakov, another businessman who made similar claims against Geshev.

The former State Department official said the alleged plot allows Geshev to garner the spotlight in Bulgaria and "adopt his favorite posture: not only as the sole protector and provider of justice in an otherwise corrupt society, but also as the victim of multiple criminal conspiracies involving myriad enemies of good arrayed against him."

Five weeks after Davidson sent his critical letter to the U.S. Treasury secretary, Geshev traveled to Washington at the invitation of two congressmen to attend a House of Representatives forum on counterbalancing Russian and Chinese influence in Europe.

The forum, organized by Representative Pete Sessions (Republican-Texas) and Representative Robert Aderholt (Republican-Alabama), coincided with the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual, exclusive event attended by the sitting U.S. president, members of Congress, and other prominent figures.

In a press release prior to his trip, Geshev said he would be attending the breakfast, although he was not invited to the actual event. Like other foreign officials, he watched it from a screen in a Washington hotel conference room.

Geshev separately met with Sessions and Aderholt during his trip to Washington but, contrary to experts' expectations, he did not have any official meetings with the State Department or Justice Department, a possible sign he is not seen as a reliable interlocutor by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

The United States has now sanctioned eight Bulgarian individuals and dozens of Bulgarian entities, more than any other EU country.

The offices of Sessions and Aderholt did not respond to RFE/RL requests for comment on why Geshev was invited to the forum and what message they delivered to him. In a statement to RFE/RL, the State Department said it was "not aware of any official meetings between Mr. Geshev and [State] Department representatives." It also said it generally does "not comment on relationships with specific government interlocutors."

If Geshev saw the Washington invite as a way to counter the negative media headlines triggered by Davidson's letter, it probably had little impact on his image at home, said Robert Phillips, a political science professor at the Sofia-based American University in Bulgaria.

"Those who support him would see it as a positive, and an indication that he can move in Washington circles. Those who do not support him are not going to be persuaded by these meetings," Phillips told RFE/RL.

WATCH: Bulgarians go to the polls on April 2 to vote in the country's fifth parliamentary elections in two years amid ongoing political instability. There are concerns over possible political fraud after it was decided voters would be able to use paper ballots as well as electronic voting machines that are considered less susceptible to manipulation.

While the Bobokov brothers have been able to successfully defend their assets, they would like to see Geshev legally removed from power because of what they claim is his abuse of power, Harris said.

He described Geshev as "the biggest threat" to Bulgarian democracy and justice.

"Until Geshev is removed from office, Bulgaria cannot recover from the dismantling of its democracy by Borisov and his GERB party," he said.

That is unlikely in the near term. Bulgaria is currently so politically divided it has been unable to form a stable government over the past two years. Harris, like others, doesn't expect the April 2 parliamentary elections to generate a workable coalition.

As a result, he doesn't see Geshev leaving power before his term ends in 2026.

"Bulgaria is on a bad path, and I don't think it's going to get off for the foreseeable future because there's not going to be a clear leader," he said.
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Polls have closed following a paltry turnout in extraordinary local elections in four municipalities in northern Kosovo with ethnic Serb majorities where local mayors resigned in November 2022 to protest a cross-border dispute over vehicle registrations.

The Central Election Commission late on April 23 said that preliminary results indicated that the Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti,had won the mayoral races in North Mitrovica and Leposavic, while the opposition Democratic Party had taken races in Zvecan and Zubin Potok.

Turnout, as expected, was low as the dominant Kosovar Serb party, Srpska Lista (Serbian List), which enjoys the support of neighboring Serbia's government, announced it was boycotting the votes.

There are around 45,000 voters eligible to elect new mayors in North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan, and Zubin Potok, along with municipal assemblies in Zvecan and Leposavic.

After polls closed, election officials said just 1,567 people had voted -- representing a turnout of 3.5 percent of eligible citizens.

RFE/RL correspondents reported that the only ballots that were being cast were submitted in places with ethnic Albanian residents.

Milan Radoicic, vice president of Serbian List, said following the vote that "those who think that with 1 or 2 percent of the vote, they can lead the municipalities in the north, I have to say that the Serbian people will never allow them to do that."

A former chairwoman of Kosovo's Central Election Commission, Valdete Daka, told RFE/RL that so long as proper procedures were being followed, the tiny number of votes would likely result in mayoral seats being filled but not necessarily an end to the local problems.

Daka said the "nonappearance in the elections" was essentially "conveying a message to the government of Kosovo that they won't accept the leaders who emerge from these elections."

All of the areas voting maintain close ties with Belgrade.

Fifteen years after the mostly ethnic Albanian former province declared independence from Serbia, Belgrade continues to oppose recognition of Kosovo's independence.

Many ethnic Serbs in Kosovo continue to lean heavily on support from Serbia and nationalist President Aleksandar Vucic.

The Serbian List party has demanded the formation of an Association of Serbian Municipalities, as Kosovo's government pledged to the international community a decade ago, and the withdrawal of special units of the Kosovo Police from north of country.

A total of 10 candidates were competing for the mayorships, only one of whom -- independent candidate Sladjana Pantovic in Zvecan -- is an ethnic Serb. Pantovic was the rare exception among Serbs, turning out to vote at around 8 a.m.

Pantovic received just five votes, or 2.6 percent.

Another ethnic Serb candidate, Aleksandar Jablanovic from the Party of Kosovo Serbs, withdrew from the race in Leposavic three days ago, saying there were not "adequate conditions" for voting.

All of the remaining candidates were ethnic Albanians from the Mitrovica Civic Initiative, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, and Kurti's Self-Determination movement.

Kosovo's Central Election Commission had to organize alternative polling stations for the April 23 voting because the schools that normally host the voting in northern Kosovo operate within the so-called parallel system run by Serbia's leadership.

Ethnic Serbs compose some 1-2 percent of Kosovo's population of around 2 million people.

Kurti this week accused Belgrade of intimidating Serbs from the north to discourage them from participating in the elections.

Vucic alleged on April 22 that Kosovar authorities were effectively staging "an occupation" of the north after the elections.

The four northern municipalities have been without mayors since November, when Serbs largely loyal to Belgrade resigned from their jobs over the Kosovar government's threatened imposition of a requirement for all vehicles to be registered locally.

The voting took place at 19 polling stations, 12 of which were organized by Kosovar authorities in the final days before the vote.

Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani and the country's Central Election Commission urged citizens in the north to exercise their right to vote.

The international community has also expressed regret at the Serbs' boycott and urged all sides to exercise restraint.

Following the election, the U.S. Embassy in Pristina said, "We recognize Kosovan election officials' efforts to make polling places available to citizens wishing to exercise their right to vote, while minimizing potential points of tension."

"We likewise express our appreciation for the professionalism of the Kosovo Police, EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX), and KFOR in ensuring a secure environment for the elections."

Kosovo remains blocked from many multinational organizations due to Serbian and Russian opposition to recognition, although there were recently signs of a possible breakthrough under EU-mediated talks.

The European Parliament on April 18 approved a decision on visa liberalization that will allow citizens of Kosovo to travel to most European countries without a visa by January 2024 at the latest. It is the last Western Balkan country to achieve such status.

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier told RFE/RL's Balkan Service on April 21 that citizens in the north of Kosovo and all political parties "have a responsibility to respect the democratic process, recognizing that they all had the opportunity to register and participate."
In an attempt to boost Iran's flagging population growth, the government approved a controversial law in 2021 that further tightened restrictions on medical abortions and banned the free distribution of contraceptives.

Now, officials have expressed alarm about the number of illegal abortions being carried out in the country, suggesting government restrictions have pushed more women to terminate unwanted pregnancies outside the public health-care system.

Women who seek an abortion in Iran often rely on the black market to obtain abortion pills that can be counterfeit or expired and ineffective. They also use underground abortion services by doctors and midwives that sometimes operate in unhygienic conditions.

Government officials have said that each year between 300,000 to 600,000 abortions, most of them illegal, are performed in the country.

A midwife in Tehran, who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Farda on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said illegal abortions appear to have increased "significantly." The midwife says health workers now estimate that there could be as many as 1 million abortions each year.

"We used to provide people with free contraceptives that would help prevent unwanted pregnancies," the midwife said, adding that poorer Iranians were the most affected. "Now, women from poorer [backgrounds] are forced to seek unsafe abortions by using pills they buy on the black market that could lead to health complications and put their lives at risk."

The midwife warns that the authorities appear to be determined to boost the country's birthrate "at any cost," a move that "will only lead to an increase in unsafe abortions."

'Disastrous' Figures

Soleiman Heidari, a Health Ministry official, said on April 18 that up to 80 percent of abortions in Iran were performed illegally. He did not say if the number of illegal abortions was increasing but added that some estimates, if accurate, were "disastrous."

Earlier in the week, Iran's ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi said the number of abortions in the country was "worrying," without giving figures. He also called for "violators" to be punished.

Officials have said that medical staff found guilty of carrying out illegal abortions will face a ban on practicing medicine. Tehran Governor Mohsen Mansuri last year called for the authorities to crack down on centers that help women terminate their unwanted pregnancies.

Health Ministry spokesman Pedram Pakayin said on April 19 that the ministry was taking steps to deal with "intentional abortions," including collecting abortion pills from the market.

Dropping Birthrate

Mansoureh Shojaee, a prominent women's rights activist and researcher, told RFE/RL that the law restricting medical abortions was a violation of women's right to maintain autonomy over their bodies.

"The issue of bodily rights and autonomy has been highlighted by the protest movement," she said, referring to the nationwide antiestablishment demonstrations that erupted after the September death of a young woman soon after she was arrested for violating the hijab law. The main slogan of the protesters was "Women, life, and freedom."

"These rights include the hijab but also issues dealing with fertility, including the right to prevent pregnancy," Shojaee said. "Women should be able to decide if they want to become pregnant, if they want children, and the number of children they want."

Shojaee adds that the state's restrictions on medical abortions and contraceptives have put the life of Iranian women at risk.

Previously, abortions could be legally performed during the first four months of pregnancy if three doctors agreed that a pregnancy threatened a woman's life, or the fetus had severe physical or mental disabilities that could produce extreme hardship for the mother.

But under the "rejuvenation of the population and support of the family" law passed in November 2021, abortion cases are now be decided by a panel that includes a judge and two medical professionals.

Rights groups and health experts warn that the law restricts women's access to medical abortions, leads to unwanted pregnancies and the birth of children with congenital defects, and increases the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.

In recent years, a growing number of Iranian women have chosen to have fewer or no children -- mainly due to economic woes, changing gender norms, the growth of girls' education, and family planning programs.

That trend has seen Iran's population growth rate drop from more than 4 percent in the 1980s to 1.29 percent in 2020, according to the World Bank, a development that has alarmed Iran's clerical establishment.
The leader of a U.S. neo-Nazi group wanted in the United States for allegedly fomenting violence at political rallies has been apprehended by Romanian authorities in Bucharest.

Robert Paul Rundo, 33, was taken into custody in the Romanian capital with the help of a police special-forces unit after he was spotted at a gym on March 29.

He had a document identifying himself as Robert Lazar Pavic, according to judicial sources. It is not clear when he entered Romania.

The U.S citizen is currently being held by the General Directorate of Police in Bucharest. U.S. authorities have sent a request for his extradition on charges that he conspired to attend political rallies and use combat tactics and physical violence against people and groups that did not support their ideology.

Rundo allegedly assaulted several people, including a police officer, at two rallies in the United States. The charges are in connection with activity that took place between December 2016 and October 2018.

The Bucharest Court of Appeals opened an extradition procedure on behalf of Rundo, and April 25 was set for the next hearing in the case.

Rundo is suspected of promoting white-supremacist ideology for the past three years in Serbia, Bulgaria, and Hungary.

"The suspect is said to be one of the founders of an organization that supports the ideology of white supremacy, which has publicly presented itself as a group ready to fight, campaigning for a new nationalist movement of white supremacy and identity," a Romanian police statement said.

The Rise Above Movement (RAM) is based in southern California and members believe they are fighting a modern world corrupted by the "destructive cultural influences" of liberals, Jews, Muslims, and nonwhite immigrants.

They describe themselves as a "premier alt-right MMA (mixed martial arts) club." RAM members participated in the so-called Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 that led to the death of a counterprotester.

Rundo was detained the following year in connection with events that took place in California but was released after the charges were dismissed, and he left the United States for Europe.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, Rundo tried to create a group dedicated to white supremacy in Eastern Europe. The open-source investigative group Bellingcat revealed in 2020 that Rundo was in Serbia and had posted videos of himself and others on Telegram in which they are seen writing white-supremacist messages on walls in Belgrade.

In February 2020, Rundo published an article on a nationalist website in which he wrote that he participated in a march organized by Serbian extremists in front of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade.

Bellingcat reported that Rundo also participated in a neo-Nazi commemoration that took place in Budapest in February 2020 and was attended by 600 neo-Nazis from Europe. They gathered in the Hungarian capital for what they call Honor Day, commemorating an escape attempt by besieged Nazi forces in 1945.

Two weeks later, Rundo was in Sofia, Bulgaria, for a neo-Nazi march that was banned by local authorities.

In an interview on a neo-Nazi podcast in September 2020, Rundo used anti-Semitic language, referenced to Adolf Hitler's book Mein Kampf, and claimed he left the United States because of nonstop harassment by U.S. authorities.
Ukraine on March 31 marked one year since Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, leaving behind hundreds of bodies of murdered civilians on the streets of the commuter town near the capital in what Kyiv said was a massacre and a Russian war crime.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy presided over an official outdoor ceremony in Bucha that was also attended by Moldovan President Maia Sandu and the prime ministers of EU and NATO members Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia -- Eduard Geger, Robert Golob, and Andrej Plenkovich.

In a video posted on social media, Zelenskiy called the Bucha massacre "a symbol of the atrocities" committed by the Russian military.

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.

"We will never forgive. We will punish all those guilty," Zelenskiy said in a statement accompanying the video.

As the Russian military was forced to hastily leave Bucha and Irpin, another town on the outskirts of Kyiv, after a failed attempt to capture the Ukrainian capital, images of the dead bodies scattered on the streets of Bucha sparked a wave of shock and condemnation around the world.

Russia has denied committing the massacres and claimed the deaths were "staged" by Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials estimate about 400 bodies of civilians were found in Bucha, as well as more than 1,000 throughout the region around Kyiv.

Many of the bodies were buried in mass graves.

In a video message, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States "will continue pushing for accountability and for justice for as long as it takes."



Ukrainian and international investigators have opened a probe into war crimes in Bucha, Irpin, and other locations in Ukraine where apparent massacres occurred.



"The key word today is justice. Justice...for all our people who lost relatives, loved ones, health, home, [and] normal life due to Russian aggression, due to the terror of the occupier," Zelenskiy said in his evening video message.



He added that the events that took place in Bucha on the anniversary and other talks with international officials were aimed at speeding up the process of creating a tribunal on Russian aggression.

Sandu tweeted about the event in Bucha, saying the people of Moldova "stand with the global community in remembering the terror inflicted on the civilians in Bucha one year ago."

"We honor and grieve the innocent. Democracies must work together to ensure that these atrocities are investigated and punished," she added.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc "assists Ukraine to investigate such crimes and collect evidence," while Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said Bucha showed the world "the true face of Russian occupation."

"A year ago, Ukraine liberated Bucha and the world woke up to the true face of Russian occupation. Bucha is a crime scene and a symbol for all Russian crimes -- mass killings, deportations, erasing whole cities," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas wrote on Twitter on March 31. "There's no going back -- Russia will be held accountable."

Meanwhile, fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces for control of Bakhmut and other key towns in the eastern region of Donetsk continued unabated as the northeastern city of Kharkiv was targeted with missile and drone strikes overnight, the military said on March 31.

Russia targeted civilian infrastructure in the city of Kharkiv with nine missile strikes launched from S-300 air-to-surface systems and 10 Iranian-made Shahed drones, Ukraine's General Staff said in its daily report, adding that nine drones were destroyed.

At least five civilians were wounded, authorities said.

"The enemy continues to ignore the laws and customs of war, using terror tactics against the peaceful citizens of our country," the military said.

WATCH: Ukrainian artillery targets Russian armored guns at a range of up to 28 kilometers in the ongoing battle for Bakhmut. Using a captured self-propelled cannon, a Ukrainian artillery crew is also trying to destroy Russian command posts.

In the southern Kherson region, Russian troops shelled settlements 64 times over the past day, killing one person and wounding two, the regional military administration reported on March 31.

The city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk was also struck by two Russian missiles that damaged eight residential buildings, the military said.

Heavy fighting continued in and around Bakhmut, where the Ukrainian defenders repelled 22 attacks over the past 24 hours, and in Avdiyivka, Lyman, and Maryinka.

A civilian was killed and six others were wounded by Russian shelling the area around Bakhmut, the governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kirylenko, wrote on Telegram on March 31.

Bakhmut, a mining city with a prewar population of 70,000 people, has become the epicenter of Russia's offensive for the control of eastern Ukraine. About 2,000 civilians are thought to be left in the city, which has been all but razed to the ground.

In southern Ukraine, the city of Zaporizhzhya was targeted by overnight shelling by Russia that damaged civilian infrastructure, the secretary of the Zaporizhzhya city council, Anatoliy Kurtev, reported on Telegram.

Kurtev said no one was injured.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (Photo: VNA)

His attendance is made at the invitation of the Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.

Laos will host the fourth MRC Summit and its International Conference in the capital from April 2-5. The MRC International Conference, which attracts global and regional experts in the fields of water and related resources, energy, food, transport, transboundary rivers, river basin management, governance and development, will discuss the latest knowledge and innovative solutions to issues facing the Mekong and other river basins.

The MRC, an intergovernmental organisation established in 1995 following the Mekong Agreement among Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, serves as a regional platform for Mekong-related cooperation and knowledge sharing./.
Nearly 1,000 years ago, when Kyiv was the capital of a kingdom known as Kyivan Rus ruled by Prince Yaroslav the Wise, several Orthodox Christian monks were granted permission to build a church on a hilltop on the western bank of the Dnieper River.

Over time, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra grew to include more churches, residences for monks, and a labyrinth of subterranean caves and passages, dug deep into the hillside, with icons, crypts, and chapels filled with the incense of sweet-smelling beeswax from flickering candles.

For centuries, the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery, with relics of saints buried in caves, has been one of the most important Christian pilgrimage centers in the world, the United Nations heritage organization UNESCO says. A masterpiece of human creative genius in both its architectural conception and its remarkable decoration.

The Monastery of the Caves, as it is also known in English, has been tangled up for years in worsening Ukrainian-Russian relations, relations that resulted in a formal split -- a schism -- between the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches in 2019, when the Ukrainian church was granted independence.

Now the issue is coming to a head at the historic monastery, as Ukrainian officials demand that the priests who live there -- some of whom are suspected of recognizing the authority of the Moscow church -- vacate the facility.

On March 30, the clerics again defied eviction orders, refusing entry to both Culture Ministry officials and journalists, prompting scuffles.

Heres what you need to know about the site and the fight.

Why Kyiv? And Why Caves?

Historical records say that in the year 988 or 989, a Kyivan prince named Volodymyr embraced the form of Christianity that was rapidly spreading out of Constantinople -- present-day Istanbul -- and was baptized, formally making it the kingdoms official religion.

Less than a century later, Volodymyrs grandson Iziaslav gave Orthodox priests Antony and Feodosiy permission to build the complex.

The monastery, and Kyiv itself, endured a siege by princes from what is today Russia, as well as pillaging by the Tatar-Mongol armies that swept across Asia and Eastern Europe in the 13th century and occupied much of the landmass for decades.

Beginning roughly in the 17th century, the complex was rebuilt and expanded, acquiring many of its Baroque architectural features.

Despite the official atheism of the Soviet Union, the monastery complex remained intact. The Nazi invasion in 1941 and the siege and occupation of Kyiv caused immense damage to the complex. The main Cathedral of the Assumption was destroyed.

After the Soviet collapse in 1991, Ukrainian officials worked to upgrade and modernize the facility. Scores of priests and monks live and work at the complex, and its now one of Kyivs most visited sites, both for regular tourists and for pilgrims.

Whose Church? Whose God?

The Russian Orthodox Church, the largest single unit among all Eastern Orthodox churches, has for centuries claimed the mantle of being the true home of Orthodox Christianity.

It has long held sway over one of the main branches of the splintered Orthodox faith in Ukraine, known until recently as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.

This hierarchy dates back to the 17th century when a group of bishops in Moscow, then the capital of the Russian Empire, effectively took control of the Ukrainian church.

In the chaotic years after the Bolshevik Revolution and the Russian Civil War, a rival church -- the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church -- was established.

But it was marginalized by Soviet officials, even during periods when the Soviet Communist Party was quietly tolerant of some religious practice.

After the Soviet breakup, a church called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate emerged, competing for Orthodox primacy in the country. The monastery, however, remained under the control the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.

As tensions built following the outbreak of a Russia-fueled conflict in the eastern Donbas region and Russias seizure of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the Ukraine churches edged further away from Moscow. In late 2018, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate essentially merged, creating the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

In January 2019, the spiritual head of all Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, recognized that churchs independence from Moscow.

The Russian Orthodox Church and its leader, Patriarch Kirill, were not pleased.

In May 2022, three months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate said it had renounced its ties to Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church. It renamed itself the Ukrainian Orthodox Church -- a moniker Kyiv says it has no right to claim.

A 2020 survey found that 34 percent of Ukrainians identified as members of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, while 14 percent said they were members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Confused Yet?

The Monastery of the Caves is formally controlled by the Orthodox Church of Ukraine -- the pro-Kyiv church -- but only partly. Some of the priests remaining there have been suspected of harboring allegiances to Moscow.

The symbolism of Orthodox priests with any sort of hint of allegiance to Moscow during wartime, living in a holy site like the monastery, is unacceptable for many Ukrainians.

Theres also the religious symbolism. The Monastery of the Caves draws pilgrims from around the world. The complex is home to dozens of bodies -- some centuries old -- of priests, some of whom have been beatified and made saints.

Theres also control of the tourist revenues, not all of which end up being shared with the Ukrainian government.

Around three dozen Orthodox priests around the country have been arrested by Ukrainian law enforcement since the February 2022 invasion, accused of unspecified acts of sabotage or of gathering intelligence and sending it to Moscow.

In November, Ukrainian security agents raided the Monastery of the Caves complex, searching for what they said were weapons or anti-Ukrainian propaganda. A Russian Orthodox Church spokesman called it an "act of intimidation" against Ukrainian believers.

Earlier this week, as the deadline for eviction neared, some priests could be seen packing up items and loading them into trucks. Photographs circulating on social media purported to show some hallways with icons missing from walls.

On the day of the formal deadline -- March 29 -- scores of believers attended mass at the monasterys main cathedral. Some holdout priests refused to let Ukrainian cultural officials into some of the propertys buildings, resulting in some scuffles and pushing.

On March 31, another standoff occurred.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the effort to evict the remaining priests. In Kyiv, meanwhile, Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko told RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service that he hoped that cooler heads would prevail.

I hope that the [holdout priests] will come to their senses," he said.
1 When Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha after 33 days of occupation, following their failed attempt to seize the nation's capital, they left behind scenes of horror that, a year later, have not been forgotten.



Images of civilian bodies, some with their hands bound behind their backs, were beamed across the world.
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.

President Vladimir Putin threatens to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. An American journalist is arrested on spy charges, a post-Soviet first. A father is separated from his daughter and sentenced to prison after the child is reported for drawings lamenting Russia's war against Ukraine.

Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward.

Scare Tactics

Since he unleashed the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin and other officials have issued frequent reminders of a fact that cannot fail to affect decisions and actions by Kyiv, Moscow, the West, and more: Russia has nuclear weapons.

While mostly maintaining a level of deniability, Russian authorities have repeatedly raised the specter of the potential use of nuclear weapons -- whether it's a slavering state-TV pundit, former President Dmitry Medvedev fantasizing aloud about bombing the Bundestag in Berlin, or Putin announcing he has ordered new nuclear missiles to be put on combat duty.

Such signaling and saber-rattling is not new. It dates back long before the 2022 invasion, because Russia's nuclear arsenal has always been its best argument for being treated like a superpower, or something close to it, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

But the frequency of these remarks seems to have increased over the 13 months since Russian forces invaded Ukraine from the north and east and Russian rockets hit targets across the country on February 24, 2022.

The latest instance, at least for now, came last weekend, when state television released remarks in which Putin said Russia could deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus -- which borders Ukraine and three NATO nations -- by July.

Militarily, analysts said, there would be little point or none at all in Moscow moving some of its estimated 2,000 or so tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.

"There is no military expediency in this action," Pavel Podvig, an expert on Russia's nuclear arsenal and a senior researcher with the UN Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva, told RFE/RL's Belarus Service.

So why would Putin say he could do it?

Here are a few potential reasons.

Two Words: Nuclear Weapons

Quite simply, Putin may be eager to keep the words nuclear weapons' on people's lips as much as possible, given that Russia's atomic arsenal is its ace-in-the-hole -- particularly in light of the performance of its conventional forces, which are suffering severe losses and making little progress in Ukraine, a situation underscored by the monthlong battle for the Donbas city of Bakhmut.

"I think the starting point for this is that Russia is on its back foot in the war in Ukraine" so Putin feels Moscow "needs to look like it's being tough," Daniel Speckhard, a former senior NATO official and U.S. ambassador to Belarus, told RFE/RL on March 29. "And I think this was the next way to raise the stakes."

With Ukraine expected to launch a counteroffensive in the coming weeks in a bid to take back more of the territory that Russia has occupied in the east and south, Putin may consider it useful to play the nuclear card  or, more accurately, not play it but flash it in from of his opponents' eyes.

Threat Level Unchanged

At the same time, Putin's statement, and even the dispatch of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, if that does occur, enables the Kremlin to keep the implicit warning prominent without necessarily increasing the level of the threat to Ukraine, NATO, and the West.

As The New York Times put it, analysts "pointed out that even if Russia were to transfer some of its warheads, the action wouldn't substantially change the nuclear threat posed by Russia since it can already target a vast range of territory from inside its own borders." Ukraine directly borders Russia in addition to Belarus, and Russia shares borders with NATO nations Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.

U.S. and NATO officials suggested there was no sign of an increased threat of the use of nuclear weapons. NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu called Putin's words "dangerous and irresponsible" but said the alliance has "not seen any changes in Russia's nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own."

"We've in fact seen no indication he has any intention to use nuclear weapons, period, inside Ukraine," said U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

Putin's announcement was "first and foremost for their domestic audience, this looking tough part," Speckhard said.

"But it's also a reminder to the West to not get complacent," he added. "You know, they are on their back foot, their conventional forces have been seriously deteriorated and weakened as a result of this warand so reminding everybody, Hey, we're a nuclear power,' is a way to try to rebalance what feels like an out-of-balance security situation in Europe right now for Russia."

Pressure To Pressure Ukraine

Many analysts say that amid setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine, Putin is pinning his hopes on U.S. and European support flagging as time passes and on Western calls for Kyiv to make concessions to Moscow -- rather than pursuing its stated goal of taking back all the territory Russia has occupied since 2014, including Crimea -- gaining traction.

"This is an attempt to destabilize the situation, to frighten those people in the West who have a tendency to be frightened," Arkady Moshes, an expert on the foreign policies of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told the Belarus Service.

"This decision looks like a continuation of Putin's blackmail, trying to force Western and NATO countries to make compromises on Ukraine," said Belarusian political analyst Artsyom Shraybman, speaking to RFE/RL's Russian Service.

"They are trying to demonstrate that Russia can still raise the stakes in ways that would be dangerous for the West. It is an ultimatum to the West, and Belarus is barely even a player."

Rope Belarus To Russia

"Barely even a player" is an assessment that points to another potential motive for Putin, placing the possible positioning of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus in the context of Moscow's continuing efforts to increase its control over the far smaller neighboring country that is the closest thing it has to an ally.

On paper, Russia and Belarus have been joined together in a "Union State" since the 1990s, but that has little substance, and the authoritarian longtime leader of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has resisted steps toward the kind of integration that could make him little more than a provincial governor.

However, Lukashenka's brutal clampdown on dissent following a deeply disputed 2020 election, as well as his support for Russia's war against Ukraine, have alienated millions of Belarusians and further isolated him from the West, pushing Minsk more tightly into Moscow's embrace.

"In my opinion, the whole idea is primarily political -- to demonstrate the strengthening political union between Belarus and Russia," Podvig told RFE/RL's Belarus Service.

Pavel Luzin, a defense and foreign policy expert who is a visiting scholar at the Fletcher School at Tufts University in the United States, suggested that if Lukashenka believes he would benefit from the placement of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, he is mistaken.

"Lukashenka wants Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus...because he thinks that if Russia deploys them, Moscow will depend on him just has he now depends on Moscow," Luzin told the Belarus Service. "He does not understand that if a nuclear weapons storage facility is opened in Belarus, troops will also be located there. The consequence of a nuclear-weapons storage facility could be the creation of several permanent Russian military bases."

Anything that could bring Belarus closer to direct involvement in a war is unlikely to be popular in Belarus, which suffered massive death and destruction in World War II. Since he came to power in 1994 -- the year Russia began the first of two deadly military campaigns in Chechnya -- a key to Lukashenka's popularity has been the fact that the country has not been at war.

"In the summer of 2022, according to polls, 80 percent of Belarusians opposed the basing of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus. So in terms of domestic politics, this is a problem for Lukashenka," Shraybman said. "Up until now, he has been able to position himself for many Belarusians as the guarantor of peace and security. Now that will be harder."

The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would "certainly have an impact on the further subjugation of the country," Speckhard said.

Exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya said the plan violates the constitution "and grossly contradicts the will of the Belarusian people to assume the non-nuclear state status expressed in the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Belarus of 1990."

Like Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Belarus gave up the nuclear weapons stationed on its territory after it gained independence in the Soviet collapse.

They did so under the Budapest Memorandum, a 1994 deal in which Russia, the United States, and Britain agreed to respect the signatories' independence and sovereignty within their existing borders and refrain from the threat or use of force against them -- pledges torn apart by Moscow with its war against Ukraine.

House Of Horrors

The scale of the horror of the Russian state's war on Ukraine has, naturally, overshadowed its continuing clampdown on political opposition, independent media, civil society, and all forms of dissent at home, which has grown even more intense since the February 2022 invasion.

At least two developments this week underscored that intensity.

On March 30, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and accused him of spying. Putin's spokesman claimed without evidence that he was caught "red-handed," but the newspaper said it "vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter."

Gershkovich, 31, is the only U.S. journalist to be arrested on espionage accusations in Russia since the breakup of the U.S.S.R. In 1986, reporter Nicholas Daniloff was detained in Moscow; he was released 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet UN mission who had been arrested by the FBI on spying charges.

On March 28, a man whose daughter drew an anti-war picture at school was sentenced to two years in prison under a law signed by Putin days after the invasion that criminalizes words and images deemed by the state to discredit the Russian military amid operations abroad.

Aleksei Moskalyov was sentenced in absentia because he had escaped house arrest shortly before the verdict was handed down, but he was arrested in Minsk less than 48 hours later. His daughter Maria, 13, was taken from their home in the city of Tula in December and placed in a state institution.

The father and daughter's troubles started after Maria drew a picture at school last year depicting a woman standing next to a Ukrainian flag and protecting a child from missiles coming from Russia.

The principal reported her to the police, who later found Internet posts in which Moskalyov condemned the war in Ukraine and displayed a caricature of Putin.

OVD-Info, an NGO that monitors arrests and other form of oppression in Russia, posted what it said was a letter Maria wrote to her father expressing love, support, pride, and concern.

"When you feel bad or you worry, I get sick and feel very bad. I believe that everything will be fine and we will be together," she wrote. "I hope for the best and love you very much."

That's it from me this week.

If you want to know more, catch up on my podcast The Week Ahead In Russia, out every Monday, here on our site or wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts).

The next edition of The Week In Russia will appear on April 14.

Yours,

Steve Gutterman
Chinese President Xi Jinping first put forward the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind in March 2013 when speaking at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Ten years on, the important concept has evolved into a vision with global significance.

Here is a review of the vision over the past decade.

-- It is a world where countries are linked with and dependent on one another at a level never seen before. Mankind, by living in the same global village within the same time and space where history and reality meet, have increasingly emerged as a community of common destiny in which every one has in himself a little bit of others.

At Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Mar. 23, 2013

-- The world today is a community of common destiny. Markets, capital, resources, information and human talent have all become highly globalized. A world that is developing will promote the development of all countries, which, in turn, will spur the global development.

At the Parliament of Australia in Canberra, Nov. 17, 2014

-- As an ancient Chinese adage goes, "The greatest ideal is to create a world truly shared by all." Peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom are common values of all mankind and the lofty goals of the United Nations. Yet these goals are far from being achieved; therefore, we must continue our endeavors. In today's world, all countries are interdependent and share a common future. We should renew our commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, build a new model of international relations featuring mutually beneficial cooperation, and create a community of shared future for mankind.

At the General Debate of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Sept. 28, 2015

-- In the era of economic globalization, there is no island completely cut off from the rest of the world. As members of the global village, we need to cultivate the awareness of a community of shared future for mankind. Partnership is the most valuable asset of the G20 and the choice of all countries as they rise up together to global challenges.

At the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Sept. 3, 2016

-- Pass on the torch of peace from generation to generation, sustain development and make civilization flourish: this is what people of all countries long for; it is also the responsibility statesmen of our generation ought to shoulder. And China's proposition is: build a community of shared future for mankind and achieve shared and win-win development.

At the United Nations Office at Geneva, Jan. 18, 2017

-- As the term suggests, a community with a shared future for mankind means that the destiny and future of each and every nation and country are interlocked. So we should stick together through thick and thin and endeavor to build this planet of ours into a harmonious big family and realize mankind's longing for a better life.

At the CPC in Dialogue With World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing, Dec. 1, 2017

-- Diversity spurs interaction among civilizations, which in turn promotes mutual learning and their further development. We need to promote exchanges and mutual learning among countries, nations and cultures around the world, and strengthen popular support for jointly building a community with a shared future for both Asia and humanity as a whole.

At the Opening Ceremony of The Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing, May 15, 2019

-- The baton of history has been passed to our generation, and we must make the right choice, a choice worthy of the people's trust and of our times. Let us join hands to uphold the values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom shared by all of us and build a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind. Together, we can make the world a better place for everyone.

Statement by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China At the General Debate of the 75th Session of The United Nations General Assembly Beijing, 22 September 2020

-- Viewed from the perspective of "my own country first", the world is a cramped and crowded place perpetuated in fierce competition. Viewed from the perspective of "a global community with a shared future", the world is a vast and broad place full of cooperation opportunities. We need to heed the voices of the people, follow the trend of the times and strengthen coordination and cooperation. By doing so, the interests of the people of one country will be kept in line with those of all others and humanity will move forward towards a shared future.

At the CPC and World Political Parties Summit in Beijing, July 6, 2021

-- To build a community with a shared future for mankind is not to replace one system or civilization with another. Instead, it is about countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures and levels of development coming together for shared interests, shared rights and shared responsibilities in global affairs, and creating the greatest synergy for building a better world.

At the Conference Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Restoration Of the Lawful Seat of the People's Republic of China In the United Nations in Beijing, Oct. 25, 2021

-- Facts have shown once again that amidst the raging torrents of a global crisis, countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats, but are rather all in a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges. Small boats may not survive a storm, but a giant ship is strong enough to brave a storm.

At the 2022 World Economic Forum Virtual Session, Jan. 17, 2022

-- In March 2013, when speaking at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, I observed that countries are linked with and dependent on one another at a level never seen before, and that mankind, living in the same global village, have increasingly emerged as a community with a shared future in which everyone's interests are closely entwined. Since then, I have proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative on different occasions. All these have enriched our vision for a community with a shared future for mankind and provided practical pathways toward it. They are part of China's response to the changes of the world, of our times, and of the historic trajectory.

A signed article on Russia's newspaper Russian Gazette and the website of RIA Novosti news agency, Mar. 20, 2023

Editor: WXY
Media staff visit the management center of a zero-carbon demonstration zone in Boao, south China's Hainan Province on March 30, 2023. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) holds its annual conference from March 28 to 31 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. Green development and new energy drew much attention during the conference. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

The model of a wind power station is pictured at an exhibition booth at the Boao Forum for Asia in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 29, 2023. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) holds its annual conference from March 28 to 31 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. Green development and new energy drew much attention during the conference. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

This photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows the photovoltaic floor tiles in front of the press center of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) holds its annual conference from March 28 to 31 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. Green development and new energy drew much attention during the conference. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

New energy vehicles run in the zero-carbon demonstration zone in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 28, 2023. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) holds its annual conference from March 28 to 31 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. Green development and new energy drew much attention during the conference. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

This photo taken on March 29, 2023 shows the scene of a panel discussion themed on "Carbon Neutrality: Dilemma and Way out" during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) holds its annual conference from March 28 to 31 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. Green development and new energy drew much attention during the conference. (Xinhua/Fan Yuqing)

A man views an aquaponics system at a park on Dongyu Island in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 28, 2023. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) holds its annual conference from March 28 to 31 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. Green development and new energy drew much attention during the conference. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

This photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows the photovoltaic floor tiles in front of the press center of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) holds its annual conference from March 28 to 31 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. Green development and new energy drew much attention during the conference. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

This photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows the management center of a zero-carbon demonstration zone in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) holds its annual conference from March 28 to 31 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. Green development and new energy drew much attention during the conference. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

Editor: Zhang Zhou
Children prepare to practice lion dance at a kindergarten in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Students learn to make lion dance props at a vocational school in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Children practice lion dance at a kindergarten in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Children practice lion dance at a kindergarten in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Children prepare to practice lion dance at a kindergarten in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Students practice lion dance at a primary school in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Students return to their classrooms after practicing lion dance at a primary school in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

A student practices lion dance at a primary school in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Children practice lion dance at a kindergarten in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Children practice lion dance at a kindergarten in Tengxian County of Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2023.

The Tengxian Lion Dance, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, is a combination of martial arts, dancing, music and acrobatics. In recent years, Tengxian County has been actively integrating the lion dance with courses in kindergartens and schools, with the goal of passing on this traditional art form to younger generations. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Editor: WXL
A BIRD-watching group is among the opposition to a 287-acre solar energy park between Dinnington and North Anston.

Banks Renewables  the firm behind Ulley wind farm  applied last August for a 49MW capacity project to displace an annual 11,470 tonnes of CO2 from the electricity supply network.

But the SK58 Birders are among the opposition, which also includes Todwick and Anston parish councils.

A spokesperson for the bird-watching group said there were concerns for lapwings and skylarks in the area.

They added: Surely common sense says to have all the solar panels means the wildlife will just be removed from the site.

There is no reason why a small water area cannot be provided for lapwings which will also be beneficial for wildlife in general.

I have found no evidence in solar panel farm studies carried out in Britain and America that they are beneficial to wildlife, especially birds.

If planning were to approve this it would be another loss to wildlife, which is suffering badly.

Among those to state their support for the scheme  west of Todwick Road industrial estate  is Cllr Ben Whomersley, who represents Dinnington ward on RMBC.

He said long-term improvements could be secured using the 2 million community benefits package being offered by Banks.

Conservative Cllr Whomersley added: Im a strong advocate of maximising the use of renewable energy in meeting our current and future energy needs.

This project would have a strong contribution to make in this respect, while also bringing jobs and investment to the local area, and the benefits package that is part of it could be used to meet a wide range of community improvement priorities for many years to come.

Many of the local people that Ive spoken to recognise the positive impact that this funding would have on their community and theyre aligned with it happening.

The solar energy park couldnt be in a better location in terms of being out of the way and I would very much hope to see these plans moving forward in the near future.

Banks says increased planting of hedgerows will help wildlife to thrive.

Public consultation closes on April 4, after which a decision will be made by Rotherham Councils planning board.
A VILLAGE war memorial was damaged by young vandals three times in a month after adding two silhouette soldiers.

Police were called after the new additions to the Thrybergh memorial were targeted several times, beginning five days after their installation in February.

Parish council clerk Terry Craven said: The soldiers had not even been up a month and theyd been vandalised three times.

Theyve been scratched, bent and twisted.

They were 300 for the pair but it wouldnt matter if they were a penny each, its what they are.

The vast majority of these kids, 99 per cent are fine. Its just those few that dont understand what this war memorial is.

I dont want them to have criminal records, I just want them to be aware of what the cenotaph is for.

Its about education.

Some of the people from the village who died in the wars wouldnt have been much older than these kids.

The Advertiser understands that Thrybergh Primary and Thrybergh Academy have helped identify the young people responsible for the damage.

The cenotaph will be 100 years old later in 2023, with plans being prepared to mark the milestone.

Ironically, it was moved from a remote spot off Hollings Lane in 1990 because of vandalism.

The addition of the silhouette soldiers was part of the wider investment in the parish hall area of the village, which has seen almost 100,000 spent in about five years.

A new bar and PA system have been installed, as well as improvements to the CCTV, fire safety kit, kitchen, toilets and outside lighting.

Its about 55 years old, the building, and it had been allowed to run down before, said Terry.

What makes us all proud is when people come in and say just how clean and fresh the hall feels now.

A police spokesperson said: Officers were called just before 6.30pm on March 7 to a report of criminal damage to a cenotaph outside Thrybergh Parish Hall.

Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to report it online or call 101 quoting investigation number 14/53068/23.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
MANILA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine central bank said the Philippines' foreign investments yielded net outflows of 531 million U.S. dollars resulting from the 1.2 billion dollars in gross outflows and 680 million dollars in gross inflows for the month.

"This is a turnaround compared to the net inflows recorded in January 2023 at 292 million U.S. dollars," the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said late Thursday night.

It added that the registered investments for February of 680 million dollars are lower by 32.3 percent, or 324 million dollars, than the 1 billion dollars recorded in January this year.

Investments for the month mostly came from the United Kingdom, the United States, Luxembourg, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Singapore, with a combined share of 82.5 percent.

The BSP said the gross outflows for February of 1.2 billion dollars were higher by 70.2 percent, or 499 million dollars, than the 712 million dollars gross outflows recorded for January. The United States received 67.3 percent of total outward remittances.

Year on year, the BSP said registered investments in February decreased by 28.0 percent, or 265 million dollars, from the 945 million dollars recorded in February 2022, while gross outflows were larger by 80.7 percent, or 541 million dollars, than the 670 million dollars outflows recorded in February 2022.

"The 531 million U.S. dollars net outflows in February 2023 are a reversal compared to the 274 million U.S. dollars net outflows recorded for the same period a year ago," the BSP added.

From January 1 to February 28 transactions, foreign investments registered with the BSP yielded net outflows of 239 million dollars, a turnaround from the 289 million dollars net inflows recorded in the same period last year.

Editor: WJH
Constable Jugraj Singh

Injured Jugraj Singh is undergoing treatment at Fortis Hospital, Amritsar

GURDASPUR: Punjab Police's Constable Jugraj Singh was injured during an encounter between a gang of robbers and police late at night in Sangatpura village of Fatehgarh Churian town of Batala. About 30 rounds were fired in this face-off.

Injured Jugraj Singh is undergoing treatment at Fortis Hospital in Amritsar. Two of the four members of the robber gang have been arrested by the police, while two managed to escape. The miscreants were escaping after snatching a woman's purse. The police went to nab the robbers in the village, during which the miscreants started opening fire.

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As per the police officials, the other three robbers are residents of Sangatpura. The search for the absconding robbers is ongoing by the police. The accused gang was very active in conducting crime at Amritsar and Gurdaspur area. The accused had recently committed a robbery in a finance company in Fatehgarh Churian area of Gurdaspur.
Punjab Govt-led by CM Mann to Commence 'Yogshala' Soon

17,000 People used to Practice Yoga Daily in Delhi Govt's Free Yoga Classes: Arvind Kejriwal

MOHALI: Taking a big initiative for the welfare of the public, the Punjab Government-led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is going to commence Yogashala in the state very soon. The name of this yogshala will be 'CM's yoga school' in which free yoga education will be provided to the people. According to the information, certified instructors will go door-to-door in Punjab to share information and education about Health and Yog benefits.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have also informed about this in a tweet. He wrote (In Hindi) (Roughly Translated), "When the PM ordered the LG to stop free yoga classes in Delhi, we started them in Punjab. In Delhi, 17,000 people used to practice yoga daily in the free classes of the Delhi government. Their yoga came to an end. Who was benefited from this? The one who works is bigger than the one who stops the work."

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For Representation Purpose Only

Many bodies have been Recovered: Media Reports

KHARTOUM: At least 10 workers died after a gold mine collapsed in northern Sudan, media reported. The Jebel al-Ahmar gold mine near the border with Egypt collapsed on Thursday, killing workers working there, according to the Sudanese news agency.

According to reports, many workers are still missing. Most of those who lost their lives are young people. Many bodies have been recovered. The search for survivors in the wreckage is ongoing. A news agency quoted a security source as saying that the workers are feared to be trapped in the underground water of the mine.

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Notably, Such incidents are frequent in Sudan. In 2021, a gold mine collapsed in West Kodrefan killed 31 people. Sudan is a major producer of gold. There are gold mines in many places across the country.


H-1B Visa Holders Spouses to be allowed to work in US

Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a prominent leader in the Indian-US community, welcomed the Decision

WASHINGTON: Giving a major relief to people, a judge has ruled that the spouses of H-1B visa holders can work in the United States. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed a petition filed by Save Jobs USA to block former President Barack Obama's tenure rules.

Under this rule, employment authorization cards are issued to spouses of certain categories of H-1B visa holders. Technology companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft opposed the lawsuit. Under this rule, the US has so far granted work rights to the spouses of nearly 100,000 H-1B workers, which have a large number of Indians.

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Judge Tanya Chutkan said in her order that Save Jobs USA's first argument is that Congress never authorized the Department of Homeland Security to allow foreign nationals, such as H-4 visa holders, to work in the US. The judge noted that Congress expressly and intentionally authorized the US government to authorize employment as a condition of the H-4 spouse's permissible residence in the US.

Commission member Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a prominent leader in the Indian-American community, welcomed the judge's decision. US companies hire foreign workers through H-1B visas, particularly in the technology sector. It is believed that this decision can benefit a large number of people.

About America's H-1B Visa.....

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The American H-1B visa is a work visa granted to immigrants. US IT, finance and engineering companies can hire foreign professionals on H-1B visas for a specific period of time. Similarly, L1 visa is available in case of transfer between companies. The H1 visa category has also been opened for recently retrenched Indians, so that they can now work in the military and intelligence services as well. Typically, this require a bachelor's degree or equivalent.

Eligibility for H-1B Visa......

- You will require a valid job offer from a United States of America employer for a role that requires specialty knowledge.

- Bachelors degree proof or equivalent experience in that field.

- Your Employer company must show a document which states that there is a lack of qualified U.S. applicants for the role.

- You may need to register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and be selected to apply.

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Cost for H-1B Visa?

- As per the reports, the charges to register for the H-1B lottery is $10. If the applicant is selected for an H-1B visa, the employer will then have to pay $460 to file Form I-129 (Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker). The costs can also vary, depending on the size of the company or other factors.

Significantly, in January, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced plans to surge filing costs for most visa application types, including marriage green cards and those adjusting status to green cards. These costs are not applicable yet.


Herb Dhaliwal

Demand for Khalistan is made by very small & minor groups who have their own agenda: Herb Dhaliwal

TORONTO: Indian-origin former Canadian cabinet minister Herb Dhaliwal said that majority of Sikhs in Canada don't want a separate country. Herb Dhaliwal issued the statement during an an interview with a private media organisation. In response to a question about the uproar over Khalistan supporter Amritpal Singh in the Government of India and especially in the Canadian media, the former minister said, "The demand for Khalistan is made by very small and minor groups who have their own agenda."

Dhaliwal, who was the Minister of National Merchandise, Fisheries and Oceans and Minister of Natural Resources between 1997 and 2003, said, Earlier, I have said that instead of Khalistan, there should be a clear demand to punish the culprits behind the 1984 riots. I raised this issue with former Prime Ministers IK Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The wounds of 1984 riots are still not healed. People want answers."

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Reacting to incidents such as the Indian High Commission in Ottawa canceling its event last week in response to rumors of the arrest of fugitive Amritpal Singh, Dhaliwal said that these flags "certainly do not reflect the voice of the majority".

Talking about the large influx of Indian students, especially Punjabis, into Canada, the former cabinet minister said, The youth are moving to Canada, Australia, UK, USA and other places as there are very few job opportunities in Punjab."

Dhaliwal said, Young people born and brought up in Canada prefer to visit Machu Picchu, Mexico and European countries rather than go to the 'land of their ancestors'. They cite traffic congestion and poor sanitary conditions for not agreeing to travel to India."
Japan's housing starts decreased less-than-expected in February after recovering sharply in the previous month, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed on Friday.

Housing starts dropped 0.3 percent year-on-year in February, reversing a 6.6 percent gain in January, which was the fastest rate of growth since October 2021. Economists were looking for a decline of 0.5 percent.

The seasonally adjusted annualized housing starts fell to 859,000 in February from 893,000 in the previous month.

Data also showed that construction orders received by the big 50 contractors rebounded sharply by 22.3 percent yearly in February, after a 14.0 percent plunge in the prior month.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Inchcape Plc (INCH.L), a British automotive firm, on Friday announced a deal to acquire Mercedes-Benz's Indonesian in a joint venture or JV with Inchcape's local partner, Indomobil.

The financial terms of the deal are not disclosed.

The acquisition, expected to be completed in late 2023, will expand Inchcape's existing distribution footprint in Indonesia, further supporting its growing presence in the APAC region.

Inchcape will acquire 70 percent of the existing Mercedes-Benz subsidiaries based in Indonesia with Indomobil acquiring the remaining 30 percent.

The acquired business is expected to add around 200 million pounds of annualized revenue, and be accretive to the Group's operating margin.



Since 1970, the business has been run by Mercedes-Benz, which includes both distribution and assembly operations.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in criminal proceedings, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges.

U.S. media outlets report that Trump faces dozens of counts related to fraud in a Thursday indictment from a Manhattan grand jury.

The charges are not known, as the indictment has been filed under seal, but reports say that it is in connection with Trump's alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The 76-year-old Republican leader is expected to appear in court Tuesday for his arraignment, reports say.

The Manhattan district attorney's office has been investigating an alleged payment that Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen made to Daniels before the 2016 election to keep quiet about an adulterous affair she said she had with Trump in 2006.

The ex-porn star claims the former president paid her $130,000 as hush money.

According to prosecutors, when Trump reimbursed the money to Cohen, the payment was recorded as legal fees but under business expense.

Prosecutors say this amounts to Trump falsifying business records, which is illegal in New York.

Responding to the legal procedure against him, Trump said the indictment amounts to "political persecution" and "election interference at the highest level of history."

"The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to 'get trump', but now they've done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election interference," he said in a statement.

He called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a "disgrace." He was "doing Joe Biden's dirty work," according to Trump.

If Trump is arrested over the criminal charges, it will complicate Trump's bid to return to power, as he is one of the frontrunners for the 2024 GOP nomination.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Russia to depart immediately.

He made the call in the wake of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's arrest in Russia.

He strongly condemned the Kremlin's continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices.

The State Department's Level 4 Russia Travel Advisory has been in effect since February 13.

Separately, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the State Department has been in direct touch with the Russian government on this matter, including actively working to secure consular access to Gershkovich.

She added that White House and State Department Officials spoke with Gershkovich's employer, the Wall Street Journal, and his family.

Wall Street Journal's Moscow reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in the eastern city of Yekaterinburg Wednesday.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said he was detained on suspicion of espionage, but the Journal denied the allegations.

Gershkovich's arrest is the latest incident in a crackdown in Russia on media, especially foreign news outlets, in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
XINING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Sitting at his computer desk, Kunlek Namgyal can monitor the water ecology situation of key areas such as the Sanjiangyuan area in real time through a video system with just a click of the mouse.

The Sanjiangyuan area, known as China's "water tower," contains the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. In recent years, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province, which administers a part of the area, has been strengthening the protection of water resources through scientific and technological means.

Kunlek Namgyal, 26, is from Yushu's Zadoi County, located at the source of the Lancang River. Having grown up by the water and now in charge of managing the video monitoring system, he has developed a deep appreciation for the ecological changes taking place in the area.

"Due to its vast territory and inconvenient transportation, the ecological monitoring and protection of Sanjiangyuan have always relied on field patrol by humans, which has problems such as slow response, long time consumption, high cost and limited coverage," said Kunlek Namgyal. "The computerized system solves these problems well and makes the ecological protection in this area more convenient and efficient."

The development of the video monitoring system in Yushu began in 2019. The system consists of high-altitude observation video cameras at multiple vantage points, a real-time transmission network and a management and control platform, forming an important part of the ecological monitoring network in the Sanjiangyuan area.

Because there is no network signal and power grid coverage in many parts of the Sanjiangyuan area, the construction of some observation stations requires dedicated lines, which is difficult and expensive. So far, more than 11 million yuan (about 1.6 million U.S. dollars) has been invested in the system, and it is still expanding the coverage of the observation stations.

An integrated ecological environment monitoring network has been developed in Yushu, said Zhang Bo, deputy director of the ecological environment bureau of the prefecture.

The monitoring network has three tasks: obtaining the overall trend of change in the regional ecological environment through remote sensing satellites, using unmanned aerial vehicles and other small aircraft to realize regional environmental observation, and timely and intuitively reflecting the ecological environment quality through ground observation stations.

"The completion and operation of the platform have effectively supported the supervision of the nature reserves and the monitoring of the diversity of species to help protect the water ecology in the source area," Zhang said.

The water ecology of the Sanjiangyuan area has been consistently improving, with the water quality in Yushu remaining at Class II level or above over the years, indicating good water quality for an extended period. On average, Yushu provides approximately 29.7 billion cubic meters of clean water annually to downstream regions.

Eurasian otters, which have high requirements for water quality, are also frequently spotted in Yushu's urban rivers. 

Editor: Zhang Zhou
In its budget motorcycle hierarchy, Honda SP125 updated for MY2023 comes off as more premium than the companys highest-selling commuter Shine

India is considered to be one of the, if not, the largest market for motorcycles and scooters. Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India has strived hard to stay relevant in this price-sensitive market by adhering to customer needs. Even though CB Shine is Hondas rockstar among budget commuters in India, SP 125 is just as important.

For MY2023, Honda has updated SP125 to comply with phase II of BS6 standards along with OBDII for real-time emission tracking. Prices start at Rs. 85,121 for drum brake variant and Rs. 89,131 for disc brake variant (both prices ex-sh). There are five colours on offer, Black, Matte Axis Grey Metallic, Imperial Red Metallic, Pearl Siren Blue & a new Matt Marvel Blue Metallic shade.

2023 Honda SP125  Whats Changed?

For starters, SP125 is slightly more premium than Shine. This gets a ton of additional tech and features that Shine simply misses out on. In terms of styling too, Honda SP125 updated for MY2023 comes off as one of the premium 125cc commuters to rival TVS Raider and Bajaj Pulsar NS125. While Shine takes on lower-tier 125cc commuters. With MY2023, SP125 gets a 100-section tyre, updated graphics and more.

To back up its premium appeal, Honda bestows a ton of equipment on new SP125. Making it one of the most VFM offerings in this space. The main highlight of this update is its beating 125cc heart. It is now BS6 phase II compliant, meeting RDE norms and also meets E20 compatibility (20% ethanol blend).

OBDII compliance allows Honda to monitor emissions of said vehicle in real time. Making its PGM-FI 125cc engine, even greener for years to come. Honda SP125 updated for MY023 also comes equipped with eSP (Enhanced Smart Power). Honda calls it future technology that has brought SP125 to global standards.

What Is Hondas eSP Tech?

Hondas eSP is a culmination of a silent starter generator (ACG), Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI), friction reduction, fully digital meter, fuel efficiency details, ECO indicator and gear position indicator. ACG allows for silent cranking of engine without the need for a conventional starter motor.

The ECO indicator makes sure that rider is traveling in optimum gear, matching the speed traversed. If not on, rider can vary throttle inputs to get his ECO indicator to turn on. The 124cc engine makes 10.72 bhp of power and 10.9 Nm of torque. It is mated to a 5-speed gearbox, while Shine just gets four cogs.

Features & Rivals In Similar Price Bracket

Honda SP125 updated for MY2023 gets quite a few features over a Shine. For starters, SP125 gets LED headlights, a fully digital instrument cluster, ECO indicator, gear position indicator, service reminder, distance to empty, real-time fuel efficiency, average fuel efficiency and more. Once a novelty on Honda bikes, now SP125 gets an engine kill switch too.

Honda doesnt include Bluetooth connectivity, which rivals from TVS and Hero offer. Speaking of rivals, we have Passion XTEC, Super Splendor and Glamour from Hero, Pulsar 125 and Pulsar NS125 from Bajaj and the benchmark of this segment TVS Raider 125.
Third-gen Renault Duster will be underpinned by the CMF-B architecture and support both ICE and hybrid powertrains

New Renault Duster has been spotted on road tests in Europe, revealing striking similarities with Dacia Bigster concept unveiled in 2021. While the test mule is heavily camouflaged, quite a few exterior details are evident. Moreover, the overall silhouette bears a close resemblance with Bigster concept.

Third-gen Renault Duster could launch in India in 2025. It will rival the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Grand Vitara, Toyota HyRyder, Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun and upcoming Honda compact SUV. New Duster is likely to be offered in both 5-seat and 7-seat formats. It looks a lot bigger than before, in these new spy shots, which give us a 360 view of the new Duster.

Duster New Gen SUV CMF-B platform

New Duster will be switching to the CMF-B platform. The outgoing model was based on the B0 platform. With the CMF-B platform, new Duster should be able to support a lot more features than the earlier model. New Duster appears to have larger dimensions, which will ensure more space on the inside.

For reference, the current Duster is 4.37 meters long. The Bigster concept is expected to be around 4.6 meters long. New Duster could be placed somewhere in between. Larger dimensions should also help improve the SUVs street presence.

Some of the key exterior features of new Duster include sleek headlamps, full-width LED bar, wide air intake, sculpted bonnet design, squarish wheel arches, body coloured rear view mirrors with integrated turn signals, roof rails, sporty alloy wheels, C-pillar mounted rear door handles, edgy tail lamps and layered spoiler.

Inside, new-gen Duster is expected to get a range of premium features. Some of the key highlights could include automatic climate control, large touchscreen infotainment system, dedicated connectivity suite and premium sound system. Safety kit will include features like 6-airbags, tyre pressure monitoring system and parking sensors and camera. ADAS is also likely to be introduced with new-gen Duster.

New Duster engine options

New-gen Renault Duster is expected to get a hybrid option, in addition to the ICE powertrain. It is expected to be a mild-hybrid setup, powered by a small battery pack. A plug-in-hybrid version is unlikely at the time of launch. However, it can be considered for a later date. Availability of hybrid option will depend on the market. While front-wheel drive will be standard, top-spec variants of new-gen Duster could get all-wheel drive option.

In India, Duster New Gen SUV is likely to be limited to ICE powertrains. This is as per the companys strategy to electrify its entry-level products, while continuing with ICE powertrains for its C segment cars. Renault-Nissan will be launching 6 new products, as part of their renewed strategy for Indian market. There will be three products and their respective rebadged versions. It remains to be seen if new-gen Duster can reclaim its past glory, a time when it was one of the best selling compact SUVs in the country.

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Harnessing Indias Manufacturing Capabilities: Citroens Global Expansion with C3 Exports to ASEAN and Africa Region

Citroen Indias affiliate PAIPL and Kamarajar Port Ltd (KPL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2023 to begin exporting cars from India. The agreement marked Citroens export programme in Indias start with KPL serving as the primary port.

Citroen aims to tap into the growing demand for affordable and high-quality cars in the ASEAN and Africa regions. Today, the company announced the start of C3 exports from India. The French automobile manufacturer is executing its global expansion strategy, which aims to establish a strong presence in emerging markets. The manufacturer is simultaneously spearheading its electric transition with sales of the eC3 in India

Citroen C3s Sales Numbers in India: A Closer Look at the Monthly Trends

In June 2022, Citroen C3 had a slow start with only 60 units sold. However, sales improved significantly in the following months, with 550 units sold in July, 825 in August, and a substantial increase to 1,354 units sold in September.

Subsequent months maintained consistently high sales figures, with an exception in February 2023, where sales dropped to 111 units. Citroen C3 sold 6,585 units during the period, with an average of 732 units sold per month. Long-term sales prospects of the model now include not only domestic sales, but exports too. Prospects stand further improved with the launch of C3 Plus/AirCross 7 seater SUV on April 27, 2023.

Citroens C3 Goes the Distance: Exporting Affordable Cars to Boost Global Presence

The first step is now underway by exporting its made-in-India C3 model to the ASEAN and Africa regions. The C3 model, produced in India, has made inroads in the Indian market, and is expected to improve brand presence in the ASEAN and Africa regions.

Citroen Indias exports can help the company enter new international markets. All the while, expanding its presence in India. The company can leverage its robust manufacturing base to produce high-quality vehicles at lower costs. By exporting vehicles from India, Citroen aims to increase its brand visibility and establish a foothold in new markets.

Driving Down Costs: Citroens Indian Export Strategy for Global Expansion

Citroen is leveraging its advanced manufacturing capabilities and lower production costs to increase production volumes. A significant advantage in a highly competitive global automotive industry constantly looking for ways to lower costs and improve efficiency. Indian exports are also helping Citroen diversify its product portfolio and cater to the specific needs of customers in different markets.

In time, Citroen could use exports to test new products in different markets before introducing them to the domestic market. Leveraging exports help reduce risks and ensure that products are well-suited to specific market needs. By focusing on brand competitiveness, Citroen can expand its global market share.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov commemorated the memory of the victims of the March massacres, Azernews reports per the official's Twitter page.

"105 years pass since #MarchMassacre when thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed on ethnic grounds by Armenians. On the Day of Genocide of #Azerbaijanis, we remember victims of the policy of genocide by Armenia against Azerbaijan & reiterate the significance of ending impunity to prevent recurrence of such crimes," he tweeted.

The bloodiest of these events occurred on March 31, 1918. Taking advantage of the February and October 1917 coups in Russia, the Armenians managed to implement their smeary plans under the Bolshevik flag. From March 1918, the Baku commune, under the guise of a struggle against counter-revolutionary elements, implemented its nefarious plans to clear the Baku province of Azerbaijanis.

On these days, the Baku Soviet and the armed formations of the Armenian Dashnaks committed genocide against the Azerbaijani people in Baku, in various parts of the Baku province, as well as in Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangazur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan. Nearly 12,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, and tens of thousands of people went missing.
by Cao Bin

LHASA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- I recently embarked on a journey to Gyirong, a charming border town nestled between China and Nepal. It is about 820 km west of Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet, and lies about 131 km from the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

Upon arriving in the evening, I checked into a modest yet cozy hotel. To my amusement, a dzo (a hybrid of a bull and a yak) was casually strolling outside the lobby, crossing the street while paying no heed to the traffic light at the intersection. It must have been used to meandering in the area for quite some time.

After dinner, I decided to explore the quaint town on foot. With merely two main thoroughfares in the town, a half-hour amble suffices to explore its charm.

Renowned for its delectable Nepalese cuisine, Gyirong had been highly recommended to me by several friends, who specifically extolled the delightful pairing of curry and rice as a must-try.

Much to my surprise, I discovered that a multitude of local stores brimmed with an array of products ready for export. One store owner, with an air of intrigue, confided in me, whispering his conviction that a wave of Nepalese customers would soon descend upon his shop to replenish their stocks. His confidence was palpable and contagious.

I was really happy for him. The past few years have not been easy for merchants in the town. In 2015, mega earthquakes struck Nepal and affected Gyirong. Houses tumbled down, roads were destroyed, and people relocated. Post-quake reconstruction was initiated soon after. However, just as a brand-new town was about to embrace its former prosperity, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Yet now, everyone who came to Gyirong could sense that something is different.

As I breathed in the air, I could sense the arrival of spring with its distinct warmth and humidity, typical of the southern foothills of the Himalayas.

The Himalayas have cut open five north-south rift valleys in Xigaze under Tibet. The valley where Gyirong is located is the westernmost and longest of them all, stretching approximately 93 km.

Distinctly contrasting my perception of the world's rooftop as a frigid and arid snow-laden plateau, Gyirong Town nestles within a deep valley, sitting at an elevation of approximately 2,800 meters above sea level, invigorating and pleasant.

The aura of the atmosphere instantly reminded me of a Chinese adage that goes: "the Gyirong valley has witnessed half the history of Tibet."

Throughout history, the border town has been a vital area in the valley. International tourists often enter China through Nepal, and vice versa. Merchants from Nepal and other South Asian countries operate businesses in the area, while workers from the other side of the border come to China to seek employment.

The valley has served as a crucial transportation route between the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and South Asia. Historically, it has functioned as a combination of an "official road" and a "commercial road."

Cliff inscriptions in Chinese language documenting a Tang Dynasty diplomat's mission to ancient India dating back to 658 A.D. were found here, which confirm that the Gyirong valley was an official road connecting Tang, the Tubo regime established in Tibet in the seventh century, and South Asia.

Scientists conducted DNA analysis on carbonized rice discovered in this region and dated it to the eighth century. However, the researchers noted that Gyirong did not have the necessary thermal conditions for indica rice cultivation. Therefore, the unearthed rice must have been transported to higher altitude areas for consumption through trade or other means.

In addition to its long history, the small town has undergone significant changes in the new era.

Today, a land port has been built on the ancient commercial site. During my visit there, I saw a bridge straddling the boundary river, the third one linking the two countries. From a shabby wooden bridge to a narrow iron cable bridge, to today's concrete two-lane bridge, they are all witnesses to the development of bilateral exchange and trade between China and Nepal.

In 1961, Gyirong port attained approval for opening. It was declared a second-class land port in 1972 and was upgraded to a national first-class land port in 1987.

Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, the volume of border trade at the Gyirong port has steadily grown. In 2017, the port was designated as an international port, thereby allowing access to individuals from third countries besides China and Nepal.

Just in March 2022, a border economic cooperation zone was approved to be established here, making Gyirong the 18th of its kind in China and the first in Tibet.

According to the government plan, by 2035, Gyirong will be built into an important passageway linking the inland region with South Asia, a new model of Tibet's opening-up cooperation, and a border ecological city suitable for living, working and traveling.

The movement of people and goods came to a halt due to the COVID-19 restrictions. However, as of December 2022, two-way cargo transport has been restored. According to a customs officer, personnel exchange will also soon resume.

"I am very much looking forward to the resumption of personnel exchange, and plan to return to Nepal to visit my family in April," Tsering, a Nepalese businessman based in Gyirong, told me. 

Editor: Zhang Zhou
TIANJIN, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A Siberian white crane was spotted recently in the Qilihai wetland in the Ninghe District of north China's Tianjin Municipality, reflecting the improvement in local biodiversity after years of effort.

The crane was sighted by a research team from Tianjin Normal University during a field investigation. The Siberian white crane species has been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with a global population of less than 4,000, according to the team leader, professor Zhao Dapeng.

The crane was sighted wading in the water alone while foraging. Its body is mainly white, with a red fore-crown and legs.

"It was conspicuous due to the tall body. We quickly identified it as a rare Siberian white crane," said Zhao.

Through a series of protection and restoration projects, the ecological environment and biodiversity of the Qilihai wetland have been significantly improved in recent years, making it an important transit station for migratory birds, according to Tian Xiujing, director of the management committee of Qilihai Wetland Nature Reserve. 

Editor: Zhang Zhou
Photo taken on March. 30, 2023 shows the amazing scenery of blooming azalea blossoms at Fangniu Village in Nanan District of southwest Chinas Chongqing. The village has paid attention to developing tourism to contribute to rural revitalization. (Photo by He Penglei/ CNSPHOTO)

Photo taken on March. 30, 2023 shows the amazing scenery of blooming azalea blossoms at Fangniu Village in Nanan District of southwest Chinas Chongqing. The village has paid attention to developing tourism to contribute to rural revitalization. (Photo by He Penglei/ CNSPHOTO)

Photo taken on March. 30, 2023 shows the amazing scenery of blooming azalea blossoms at Fangniu Village in Nanan District of southwest Chinas Chongqing. The village has paid attention to developing tourism to contribute to rural revitalization. (Photo by He Penglei/ CNSPHOTO)

Photo taken on March. 30, 2023 shows the amazing scenery of blooming azalea blossoms at Fangniu Village in Nanan District of southwest Chinas Chongqing. The village has paid attention to developing tourism to contribute to rural revitalization. (Photo by He Penglei/ CNSPHOTO)

Photo taken on March. 30, 2023 shows the amazing scenery of blooming azalea blossoms at Fangniu Village in Nanan District of southwest Chinas Chongqing. The village has paid attention to developing tourism to contribute to rural revitalization. (Photo by He Penglei/ CNSPHOTO)

Photo taken on March. 30, 2023 shows the amazing scenery of blooming azalea blossoms at Fangniu Village in Nanan District of southwest Chinas Chongqing. The village has paid attention to developing tourism to contribute to rural revitalization. (Photo by He Penglei/ CNSPHOTO)

Photo taken on March. 30, 2023 shows the amazing scenery of blooming azalea blossoms at Fangniu Village in Nanan District of southwest Chinas Chongqing. The village has paid attention to developing tourism to contribute to rural revitalization. (Photo by He Penglei/ CNSPHOTO)

Photo taken on March. 30, 2023 shows the amazing scenery of blooming azalea blossoms at Fangniu Village in Nanan District of southwest Chinas Chongqing. The village has paid attention to developing tourism to contribute to rural revitalization. (Photo by He Penglei/ CNSPHOTO)

Editor: Zhang Zhou
Jake Nunes Is Betting It All on Beer

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For decades, California fourth-graders marked a familiar ritual, collecting Popsicle sticks, cardboard and craft store items to build scale models of the states historic missions.

In San Diego County, home of two of the historic missions, Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of the 21 California missions, and Old Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, the largest one, the project has been a rite of passage for many students and their sometimes frazzled parents.

That tradition apparently is coming to an end. The new state framework for history and social studies curriculum declared the practice not only outdated, but inappropriate.

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Building missions from sugar cubes or Popsicle sticks does not help students understand the period and is offensive to many, the framework, adopted by the California Department of Education, explained. Missions were sites of conflict, conquest, and forced labor.

Instead, the framework urges, students should focus on daily life in the mission system, exploring the roles and interactions of different groups, from local Native Americans to Spanish explorers.

What the framework calls for is that the students understand the impact the missions had on Native Americans, Spanish explorers, rancheros living in California, and the environment, said Juliana Liebke, history social science curriculum specialist for the San Diego Unified School District. So building a mission does not help students to understand any of that.

Liebke and other local school officials said they havent had time to fully analyze the recommended changes, but said that steering away from model building is a move in the right direction.

It became more about the artistic component, which is very important, but it became less about the phenomena of the missions and these groups living together, and creating what would become California, said Sharmila Kraft, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for Vista Unified School District.

The creators of the state framework have harsher words for the project, which they say idealizes a troubled era of California history.

I hate Mission Projects, Nancy McTygue, executive director of the California History-Social Science Project and one of the lead writers of the new project, wrote five years ago in a 2012 edition of the projects quarterly publication, The Source. This activity is just wrong on so many levels  its offensive to the Native peoples whose lives were largely shattered by the mission system, its a waste of time and money, it doesnt build reading or writing skills, and it doesnt teach anything of substance about our past.

The state directive to drop the project codifies changes that McTygue has long advocated.

Thoughtful teachers abandoned this practice years ago, but Im still amazed when I hear it got assigned yet again, she wrote in the 2012 article.

Mission models have been a mainstay of California elementary education for decades, becoming a source of both nostalgia and vexation to parents. Many of the parents who helped their own kids through the project remember building missions themselves in fourth grade, by gluing Popsicle sticks or stacking sugar cubes

The projects involve elaborate engineering, as well as 11th-hour efforts to create the structures, and an increasingly diverse array of materials. Companies including Michaels craft stores and others offer kits for the models, and some students have recently constructed them from Lego blocks, or built digital versions on the popular video game Minecraft.

Some local parents said they resented the assignment, which involved more work for the parents than kids. Others remembered it fondly, applauding the opportunity for hands-on creativity.

I think any kind of a project helps a child to remember what they looked up, Oceanside resident Jan Lopez wrote in an e-mail. Our society is too involved in screens and not making things.

Lon Safko, president of Paper Models Inc. in Lake Elsinore, said his company grew out of the desperation of panicked parents.

Many contacted him at wits end, proclaiming, Oh my God, theyre going to fail fourth grade if we dont get some macaroni and toilet paper tubes together to build a mission, Safko said.

Although the company has sold thousands of mission models over the years, that diminished as schools gradually forbade the use of kits, and he takes the elimination of the project in stride.

The biggest thing Im interested in is making sure the kids get a good, balanced education, Safko said.Im all for that.

Balance is the key, said John Putman, a history professor at San Diego State University, who studies California and the West.

I agree with the decision to get rid of the models, he said. First of all, they romanticize the period by putting all this emphasis on the building. I think whats often lost is the larger significance of the Mission Era and the Mission Period. Second thing it does is encourages too much attention on the Mission Era, compared to the rest of California history.

Putman said the states fascination with missions blossomed in the early 20th Century, and represented a kind of monument envy that Californians held toward the historic fixtures of the East Coast. Studying the periods socioeconomic complexities would serve students better than the models, he said.

But he cautioned against oversimplifying the subject in the opposite direction, by equating it with slavery.

Some American Indians have likened the mission projects to projects that require students to recreate plantations in the American South or concentration camps in Germany, Tuyen Tran, assistant director of the California History Social Science Project, wrote in a May 23 blog post.

That appraisal also risks misrepresentation of the mission period, Putman warned.

Its too easy of a comparison, and its dangerous in a lot of ways, he said. Its sometimes oranges and apples when we make these comparisons. There are a lot of dynamics involved, and thats how we should be presenting it to the children.

In Oceanside, the Old Mission San Luis Rey Historic Foundation has long held a contest, inviting local students to write essays about the Mission Period, or build models of the building. The contest included a day-long festival, with an awards ceremony, Native American storytellers and tours of the mission. Theyre reconsidering the tradition, in light of the state framework changes, said board member Mary Gleisberg.

Were rethinking now if were going to continue with the mission model building contest, which the kids and parents have really enjoyed, she said.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
State and local officials will host a town hall meeting in Oceanside next week to talk about how and whether to regulate sober-living homes that provide temporary group housing for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts.

The meeting is part of an effort led by state Sen. Pat Bates, R-Laguna Niguel to gather input and provide information about facilities, which often operate in single-family homes in residential neighborhoods. Neighbors often complain the homes are overcrowded and noisy and need more oversight.

We receive a lot of constituent emails, letters and calls complaining about these homes, said Ronald Ongtoaboc, a spokesman for Bates. They go to their local government asking for regulations but are told that its a state issue.

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In addition to Bates, Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, R-Oceanside, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista are scheduled to attend the event, as well as representatives of various social service organizations such as Interfaith Community Services.

Earlier this year Bates introduced Senate Bill 1283, which would have authorized a city or county to adopt health and safety standards for structured sober living homes. The bill  which failed to make it through the senates health committee  would have given local governments some regulatory control over the homes, such as requiring mandatory registration and in-home supervision for the residents, and an operation plan that addresses noise and maintenance issues.

Bates bill was modeled on legislation that was passed by the Arizona Legislature on a bipartisan basis and signed into law by Arizonas governor in 2016, Ongtoaboc said. She hasnt decided whether she will introduce the same bill next year or modify it.

Councilman Jerry Kern will moderate the town hall, which will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Oceansides Council Chambers.

Kern said sober-living homes havent been as large a problem in Oceanside as in some other cities, but there are occasional complaints.

The homes are hard to regulate because people recovering from alcohol or drug addiction are classified as disabled under federal law, and they must be provided certain accommodations for housing.

Last year, Encinitas appeared poised to enact an ordinance requiring that sober living homes obtain a city permit; pay a $140 fee; have an on-site manager at each group home on a 24-hour basis; and maintain a 650 foot buffer away from any other sober living home or treatment facility. That ordinance was put on hold on the advise of the city attorney, pending the outcome of a lawsuit against Costa Mesa over that citys sober-living regulations.

Anyone planning to attend Mondays town hall is asked to RSVP at senator.bates@senate.ca.gov. Oceansides City Hall is located at 300 N. Coast Highway.

edward.sifuentes@sduniontribune.com

@EdwardSifuentes
The exterior of Exhale, a 200-seat restaurant and cocktail bar that opened on Jan. 14 in Oceanside.

When owner Gabe Hogan and chef Daniel Pundik opened Local Tap House on South Coast Highway in Oceanside five years ago, their shared goal was simple.

LTH was built by locals to serve locals, Pundik said. It was a place where we could feed the masses breakfast, lunch and dinner and always be there for locals to come whenever they have family in town.

Now, the LTH duo is taking things up a notch. On Jan. 14, Hogan opened Exhale Restaurant, a more-elevated 200-seat restaurant and bar just across the street at Coast Highway and Michigan Avenue. Pundiks Exhale menu is inspired by the rustic cuisine of Oaxaca, Mexico, with a modern, Americanized farm-to-table approach.

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Were Mexican-inspired, but I wouldnt call it straight Mexican food, Pundik said. Were approaching things in a different way. This would be the kind of food youd find in a five-star resort in Oaxaca.

The kitchen centerpiece is an Argentine wood-fired grill, where rib eyes, tomahawk pork chops and whole bronzino are cooked over white oak and mesquite wood. The menus signature dish is cooked-to-order tortillas made with heirloom blue corn thats grown in Oaxaca and shipped to Tortilleria Los Reyes in Vista, where its soaked and ground into masa dough. The dough is delivered daily to Exhale where tortillas are shaped, pressed and cooked on a revolving griddle in the restaurants glass-walled exhibition kitchen.

Its a show. If you can catch a seat in front of the kitchen, theres always something to see, like the girls making the tortillas all day every day, said Pundik, who said the restaurants name was coined by Hogan and is meant to encourage diners to relax and let us do the rest.

Pundik said he was inspired to create the Oaxacan-inspired menu by the cooks hes been working with since arriving in San Diego County restaurants 15 years ago. Many of the regions kitchen crew members hail from that food-centric Oaxaca region.

Pundik said Oaxacan cuisine is very different in ingredients and style from the Baja cuisine thats best known around San Diego.

We just wanted to dig deeper into Mexican cuisine and do something different, said Pundik.

Oaxaca, a state near the southern border of Mexico, is best known for its corn, which has been cultivated in the region for more than 7,000 years. A signature Oaxacan dish is the tlayuda, a tortilla-style flatbread layered with beans, vegetables, meats and cheeses. Oaxaca is also known for its mole sauces, particularly the mole negro, a dark-colored, richly flavored sauce made with chili peppers, chocolate, garlic and onions.

Pundik said he worked closely with his kitchen crew, including his Oaxacan-born sous chef, to develop Exhales house mole negro and other sauces. Many dishes feature native Mexican herbs rarely found in other local restaurants, including epazote, known as Mexican tea and commonly used in Oaxacan bean dishes, and hoja sante, a peppery herb used in protein dishes and mole verde.

The menu includes starter dishes like ceviche negro, esquites (Mexican street corn) and bacon-wrapped chile rellenos, priced from $6 to $12. Tlayudas, with choice of toppings including coffee-rubbed brisket, Spanish-aged chorizo and chapulines (fried grasshoppers), are $11 to $14. House-made taco plates range from $6 to $16. Entrees such as steaks, shellfish and banana leaf-wrapped swordfish, are $24 to $32 and include side dishes. There are also vegetarian dishes and made-to-order guacamole.

Exhales bar has 10 beers on tap but it also has an extensive wine menu, 11 cocktails and a diverse selection of Mexican tequilas and mezcals.

The interior of newly opened Exhale restaurant in Oceanside, which features a glass-walled kitchen in the back left corner. (Pam Kragen/San Diego Union-Tribune)

Pundik grew up in southeast Florida and moved to San Diego 16 years ago where he worked his way up in some of the citys top kitchens. He cooked for 4- and 5-year stints at now-defunct Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe, at the Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa and the Crossings at Carlsbad restaurant. He met Hogan about six years ago and was the opening chef for LTH, which has a more American comfort food-style menu and 32 beers on tap.

Because Pundik was trained in French culinary techniques, he said the cooking at Exhale is both rustic in its open-flame style, but refined in its technique. As at LTH, the restaurants greens come from Specialty Produce in San Diego as well as TERI Farm, a learning-based working farm for adults with autism.

Pundik said the beauty of how the dishes are presented with the colorful produce and blue tortillas is part of the dining experience at Exhale.

Were presenting beautiful dishes with freshness and bright colors, he said. We always try to present food that you can eat with your eyes first.

Exhale Restaurant

Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Where: 236 S Coast Highway, Oceanside

Online: exhaleoceanside.com

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
Ascet Shipping LLC in 2023 will begin the construction of a granary near Izmail seaport, the investment in the first stage with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes will be about $500,000, the company's CEO, Mykola Hapeyev, told Interfax-Ukraine.

"The ports of the Danube were not at all designed for the flow of grain shipment that arose due to the war, (as a result) constant queues, in March there was even a significant accumulation of wagons. The port infrastructure is in dire need of storage facilities. But we understand that the port of Izmail is a state-owned enterprise, now business cannot demand from the state to install new ship-loading equipment and build warehouses. Therefore, we have acquired a land plot in Izmail district and are starting to build warehouses," he said.

He clarified that the site is located 15 km from the port, its area allows for storage capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes. The project of the first stage is a warehouse with a floor storage system with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes is already at the stage of developing working documentation. In parallel, the company is obtaining urban planning conditions and restrictions and is working on formalizing all permits.

"The investment in the first stage is about $500,000, this is our own working capital. We expect that by mid-summer we will launch the first stage. This will create about 50 new jobs," the expert said.

According to him, the next stages of the complex will most likely be vertical storage systems. The start of work on them will depend on the speed of the implementation of the first stage and the effectiveness of the indicators.

Ascet Shipping specializes in providing logistics services for export shipments of grain and food cargo in seven ports of Ukraine: in Berdiansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Mariupol, Kherson, Dnipro and Zaporizhia. At the beginning of the war, the company moved production facilities to the west of Ukraine, established cooperation with elevators in the region and Europe. The company plans to send goods by rail and road to European ports.
Google Corporation, as part of the Startup Support Fund in Ukraine, doubled funding for Ukrainian companies in 2022 by providing $10 million, Head of Google for Startups, CEE Micha Kramarz said at the Tech Emerging Europe Advocates  Meeting 2023 in Warsaw.

He said that Ukrainian startups supported by the fund received $10 million in funding during the war in 2022 and were able to hire 216 additional employees. But what is also very important: they were able to increase revenue by 200% year-on-year, which means that even in a difficult time, during the war, in a situation that requires resilience, they were able to achieve incredible results, he added.

Kramarz recalled that in March last year, Google announced the creation of a fund to support startups in Ukraine of $5 million. Within its framework, it was planned to provide grants of up to $100,000 without participation in the capital of companies. Selected startups were also eligible for corporate mentoring, product support, and Cloud credits.

Google received 1,700 applications from startups from Ukraine, of which 300 were selected. From this number, in turn, Google initially planned to select 50, but the startups were so good that the company said: let's at least try to support more, he said.

Kramarz did not name the exact number of selected companies but noted that they could not be 100 or 200, since in this case, the financial support program for each company would be very low.

The corporation's representative also announced the launch of an online training program from Google for people who lost their jobs due to the war, but remained in Ukraine and are ready to work. In three weeks, 32,000 people went through the program, and 10% of them gave positive feedback.

Google also supports women with its Founders Fund with women's, which aims to level the playing field for everyone.

In addition, Startups Campus Google in Warsaw also hosts 60 startup founders from Ukraine and Belarus.

Kramarz expressed hope that after the war, the ecosystems of Poland, Ukraine, and the UK will work even more in unison than they do now.
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has forwarded a note to Belarus to demand that the construction of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) be halted until nuclear safety issues are addressed.

"Belarus prepares for the launch of the second defective power unit, keeping incidents and defects secret from the public... It shows... irresponsible treatment of nuclear power and poses a nuclear threat to the entire region," the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry quoted Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis as saying in a statement on Friday.

Lithuania has long been criticizing the Belarusian NPP construction about 50 kilometers from the Lithuanian border. Vilnius believes the plant is unsafe, although Belarus is building it under the International Atomic Energy Agency's supervision.

Belarus is building its NPP near the city of Ostrovets (Astravets) in the Grodno region in line with the Russian VVER-1200 project. It will consist of two 1.2 GW power units. The general contractor for construction of the NPP is ASE Group, a subsidiary of Rosatom.

Unit 1 started operations in November 2020. Unit 2's physical startup phase has begun, it is due to be hooked up to the grid in April 2023, and its commercial operations are to start in October 2023.

Minsk is considering the construction of more units at the Belarusian NPP.
Enemy launches 10 Shahed-136 UAVs on Ukraine, nine of them destroyed by air defense - General Staff

Russian troops deployed ten Shahed-136 UAVs overnight to deliver strikes on Ukrainian territory, nine of which were destroyed by the Ukrainian air defense, the General Staff reports.

"The enemy deployed ten attack UAVs of the Shahed-136 type to deliver air strikes, nine of them were destroyed by our defenders," the report says.

It is also reported that at night, using the S-300 air defense system, the invaders carried out nine missile launches on the civilian infrastructure of the city of Kharkiv.

At the same time, the Air Force of Ukraine over the past day inflicted six strikes on the areas of concentration of the occupiers. And the units of the missile forces and artillery hit one command post, six enemy manpower concentration areas, two ammunition depots and two fuel and lubricants depots.

As reported, as a result of enemy shelling with S-300 missiles in Kharkiv, a private house and two cars were damaged in one of the districts of the city, Oleh Synehubov, head of the regional military administration, said.
Time is playing against the Russian occupiers in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, and prolonged battles in this city have become the most costly for the enemy since the start of a full-scale invasion, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar says.

"The competent actions of our command in the Bakhmut direction and the courage of the fighters made these long battles the most expensive for the enemy during a full-scale invasion," Maliar wrote on Telegram on Friday.

The Deputy Minister stressed that the time spent by the enemy to capture Bakhmut, weapons, equipment and many dead do not justify themselves from the point of view of military expediency.

"However, the enemy does not abandon his plans, took a principled stance and raised the stakes to his own detriment. This is very 'Russian,' you can't understand the logic," Maliar said.
Mukupirna fortidentata looked a bit like a modern wombat crossed with a marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex).

Mukupirna fortidentata lived in Australia during the Oligocene epoch, approximately 25 million years ago.

This creature is only the second known member of Mukupirnidae, a family of marsupials erected less than three years ago for Mukupirna nambensis.

Mukupirnids are thought to have diverged from a common ancestor with wombats over 25 million years ago.

Three species of wombat (Vombatidae) and the koala (Phascolarctidae) are the only living representatives of a once diverse radiation of vombatiform marsupials, said Arthur Crichton, a Ph.D. candidate at Flinders University, and colleagues.

This suborder included the largest Australian marsupial herbivores, with six extinct families recognized, namely: Diprotodontidae, Palorchestidae, Ilariidae, Wynyardiidae, Maradidae and Mukupirnidae.

Our view of the divergences between these families, and Australian marsupial families more generally, has been concealed by the temporal gap in the known fossil record from the Early Eocene (55 million years ago ) to the Late Oligocene (25 million years ago).

By the Late Oligocene, all eight vombatiform families had already evolved uniquely specialized jaws, exacerbating the challenge of resolving their interrelationships.

Mukupirna fortidentata looked a bit like a modern wombat crossed with a marsupial lion.

The animal had a suite of morphological features that are unusual among ancient vombats, which the authors interpret as adaptations for acquiring and processing hard plant material.

These include: a short, broad snout; large, robust, steeply upturned incisors; and a steep, anteroposteriorly decreasing gradient in cheek tooth size.

Weighing in at around 50 kg, Mukupirna fortidentata was among the largest marsupials of its time, the paleontologists said.

Everything about its skull and jaws shows this animal had a pretty powerful bite.

Its front teeth, for example, were large and spike-shaped, being more like those of squirrels than wombats.

These would have enabled them to fracture hard foods, like tough fruits, seeds, nuts and tubers.

Its molars, by comparison, were actually quite similar to those of some monkeys, such as macaques.

A total of 35 specimens, including a partial skull and several lower jaws, of Mukupirna fortidentata were found between 2014 and 2020 at the Pwerte Marnte Marnte fossil site, Northern Territory, Australia.

The dental material from Mukupirna fortidentata assists in the identification of two further allied species: a vombatid from the younger Late Oligocene Tarkarooloo Local Fauna, South Australia; and a vombatoid from the earliest Miocene Geilston Bay Local Fauna, Tasmania, the researchers said.

The Lake Tarkarooloo species, in particular, provides support that early vombatids were present by at least 24.1 million years ago in the Late Oligocene.

This would imply that representatives from all three referred vombatoid families had originated by the Late Oligocene.

A paper on the findings was published this month in the Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.

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Arthur I. Crichton et al. A new species of Mukupirna (Diprotodontia, Mukupirnidae) from the Oligocene of Central Australia sheds light on basal vombatoid interrelationships. Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, published online March 19, 2023; doi: 10.1080/03115518.2023.2181397
With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. Evolutionary geneticist Asher Cutter proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling "genetic welding." In an opinion paper publishing March 28 in the journal Trends in Genetics, he argues that we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of genetic welding before we put it into practice.

"The capability to do genetic welding has only taken off in the last few years, and much of the thinking about it has focused on what can happen in the near term," says Cutter of the University of Toronto. "Ethically, before humans apply this to natural populations, we need to start thinking about what the longer-term consequences might be on a time scale of hundreds or thousands of generations."

In classical Mendelian genetics, we think about genes having a 50:50 chance of getting passed from parent to offspring, but this isn't always the case. In a natural phenomenon known as "genetic drive," some genes are able to bias their own transmission so that they are much more likely to be inherited.

Genetic welding is the human-mediated version of this: introducing genes that have an unfair advantage when it comes to heritability into natural populations. Because these genes spread easily and rapidly through populations, they result in much faster evolutionary change than the usual slow plod that we see from natural and artificial selection. Also, in contrast to natural selection, genetic drives and genetic welding can perpetuate genes that don't necessarily benefit the organisms that carry them, making them an attractive potential method to control problematic/invasive/disease-bearing species.

Genetic welding in this way has been proposed as a tool for controlling disease-bearing mosquito populations and invasive species. It could also be used to genetically engineer endangered species to be resistant to infectious pathogens that threaten them with extinction. "It raises the question of how much should humans intervene into processes that are normally beyond our control," says Cutter.

"If ethicists, medical practitioners, and politicians decide that it is acceptable in some cases to edit the germ line of humans, then that would open the possibility that genetic welding could be used as a tool in that regard," says Cutter. "This would open a much bigger can of worms by virtue of the fact that genetic welding could change the entirety of a population or species, not just a few individuals that elected to have a procedure."

Though it might be difficult to experimentally assess the long-term implications of genetic welding, Cutter says that thought experiments, mathematical theory, computer simulations, and conversations with bioethicists could all play important roles, as could experiments in organisms with short lifespans and rapid reproduction.
A team of international researchers has dug into archaeological records, DNA evidence and Indigenous oral traditions to paint what might be the most exhaustive history of early horses in North America to date. The group's findings show that these beasts of burden may have spread throughout the American West much faster and earlier than many European accounts have suggested.

The researchers, including several scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder, published their findings today in the journal Science.

To tell the stories of horses in the West, the team closely examined about two dozen sets of animal remains found at sites ranging from New Mexico to Kansas and Idaho. The researchers come from 15 countries and multiple Native American groups, including the Lakota, Comanche and Pawnee nations.

"What unites everyone is the shared vision of telling a different kind of story about horses," said William Taylor, a corresponding author of the study and curator of archaeology at the CU Museum of Natural History. "Focusing only on the historical record has underestimated the antiquity and the complexity of Indigenous relationships with horses across a huge swath of the American West."

For many of the scientists involved, the research holds deep personal significance, added Taylor, who grew up in Montana where his grandfather was a rancher.

"We're looking at parts of the country that are extraordinarily important to the people on this project," he said.

The researchers drew on archaeozoology, radiocarbon dating, DNA sequencing and other tools to unearth how and when horses first arrived in various regions of today's United States. Based on the team's calculations, Indigenous communities were likely riding and raising horses as far north as Idaho and Wyoming by at least the first half of the 17th Century -- as much as a century before records from Europeans had suggested.

Groups like the Comanche, in other words, may have begun to form deep bonds with horses mere decades after the animals arrived in the Americas on Spanish boats.

The results line up with a wide range of Indigenous oral histories.

"All this information has come together to tell a bigger, broader, deeper story, a story that natives have always been aware of but has never been acknowledged," said Jimmy Arterberry, co-author of the new study and tribal historian of the Comanche Nation in Oklahoma.

Study co-author Carlton Shield Chief Gover agreed, noting that the love of horses may be one thing that extends across societies and borders.

"People are fascinated by horses. They've grown up with horses," said Shield Chief Gover, a citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and curator for public anthropology at the Indiana University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. "We can talk to one another through our shared love of an animal."

Mud Pony

For many Native American communities that shared love goes a long way back.

The Pawnee, for example, tell the story of "Mud Pony," a boy who began seeing visions of strange creatures in his sleep.

"He makes these little mud figurines of these animals he sees in his dreams, and, overnight, they become alive," Shield Chief Gover said. "That's how you get horses."

European historical records from the colonial period, however, have tended to favor a more recent origin story for horses in the West. Many scholars have suggested that Native American communities didn't begin caring for horses until after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. During this event, Pueblo people in what is today New Mexico temporarily overthrew Spanish rule, releasing European livestock in the process.

Taylor, also an assistant professor of anthropology at CU Boulder, and his colleagues didn't think it fit as an origin story for the relationships between humans and horses in the West: "We thought: There's something fishy about this story."

Clues in bone

With funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), they formed an equine dream team that includes archaeologists from the University of Oklahoma and University of New Mexico. Geneticist Ludovic Orlando and Lakota scholar Yvette Running Horse Collin took part from the University of Toulouse.

"This research demonstrates how multiple different types of data can be integrated to address the fascinating historical question of how and when horses spread across the West," said NSF Archaeology program director John Yellen.

The researchers began collecting as much data as they could on horses remains from the West. DNA evidence, for example, suggests that most Indigenous horses had descended from Spanish and Iberian horses, with British horses becoming more common in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

"Our analyses show it was born and raised locally," Taylor said. "It was cared for, and when that animal passed, there was extraordinary significance to that event."

The remains of this horse, along with several others from the study, also seemed to date back to around the turn of the 17th Century, decades before the start of the Pueblo Revolt.

How animals like it arrived in Wyoming isn't clear, but it's likely that Europeans weren't involved in their initial transport.

Shield Chief Gover explained that few Indigenous people will be surprised by the results of the study. But the team's findings may help to illustrate for academic scientists just how important these animals were to the history of Indigenous peoples. The Pawnee, who lived in Nebraska, for example, rode horses on twice-a-year buffalo hunts, traveling farther and faster into the "sea of grass" of the Great Plains. Comanche also galloped on horseback to hunt buffalo, while owning a lot of horses was a sign of wealth.

"I don't want to diminish the reverence and the respect we have for horses," Arterberry said. "We see them as gifts the Creator gave us, and, because of that, we survived and thrived and became who we are today."

Respecting horses

Study co-author Chance Ward, a master's student in Museum and Field Studies at CU Boulder, would like to see the archaeology community begin to treat those relationships with more respect. He was born and raised on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, which is home to four bands of the Lakota Nation. Ward grew up listening to his mother's childhood stories about riding ponies in the Bear Creek community. His father's parents started a ranch on the reservation where members of the family practice rodeo today.

He explained that many researchers don't handle animal remains with the same care they reserve for cultural objects and human remains.

"They tend to be thrown into a box or bag where they hit against each other and break," Ward said. "This project is a chance for us as Native people to put our voices out there and take better care of important and sacred animals in museum collections."
Bucha has become a place where the world changed and woke up, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, speaking on Friday in Bucha at a ceremony in memory of the dead local residents.

"We will not let you forget about it, human decency will not let you forget. On the streets of Bucha, the world saw evil," he said.

According to him, "the Ukrainian people stopped the most anti-human force of our time. Russia kills, tortures. It seeks to destroy the dignity of people so that a person means zero."

"This will never happen in Ukraine. Bucha has become a place where the world has changed and woke up," Zelenskyy said.

He noted that "our friends help Ukraine, people who believe that human life is the highest value help Ukraine."

"There is a battle going on in our land for the foundation of the free world. Russian evil will fall and will not be able to rise," he stressed.

He also presented the mayor of Bucha with the badge of honor Hero City.

The ceremony is also attended by Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, and Croatian Prime Ministers Andrej Plenkovic.
Zelenskyy to Slovak PM Heger: Strengthening our front defenders is number one priority for us

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting with Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger in Kyiv on Friday.

"I met with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger. We discussed the issue of countering Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, our further cooperation both at the bilateral level and on international platforms, as well as European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, and the restoration of our state," Zelenskyy said on the Telegram channel on Friday.

The head of state expressed gratitude to Slovakia for its assistance to Ukraine.

"Thank you for the latest important package of defense assistance from Slovakia. The strengthening of capacities of our defenders at the front is our number one priority," Zelenskyy said.
Washington D.C., March 31, 2023 - The Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges against Sean Wygovsky, a former trader at a Canadian asset management firm, and Christopher Matthaei, a former partner at a U.S. broker-dealer, for using nonpublic information in advance of at least seven merger announcements involving Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) to earn illicit profits of more than $3.4 million.

The SEC's complaint alleges that Wygovsky learned material non-public information about upcoming SPAC mergers from his employer's involvement in transactions related to the mergers. The complaint further alleges that, from May 2020 through April 2021, Wygovsky used encrypted messaging to tip his close friend and trading client, Matthaei, about the upcoming mergers. According to the complaint, Matthaei, who ran a trading and research group focused on SPACs during the relevant period, allegedly traded on Wygovsky's tips.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, charges Wygovsky and Matthaei with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against Matthaei and Wygovsky, and an officer and director bar against Matthaei. Wygovsky has consented to a bifurcated settlement, subject to court approval, under which he will be permanently enjoined from violating the federal securities laws. The SEC previously charged Wygovsky with perpetrating a lucrative front running scheme, and Wygovsky consented to a bifurcated settlement in that matter as well.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced criminal charges against Matthaei.

The SEC's investigation, which is ongoing, was conducted by Kevin E. Levenberg and Brian R. Higgins of the Philadelphia Regional Office, with assistance by John S. Rymas of the Market Abuse Unit. It was supervised by Brendan P. McGlynn, Scott A. Thompson, and Mr. Grippo. The litigation will be led by Karen M. Klotz and Gregory Bockin. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced a judgment against an individual charged with participating in a fraudulent scheme involving unlawful microcap stock sales at the expense of unsuspecting retail investors. Among other things, the final judgment against Amar Bahadoorsingh, last of Canada, ordered him to pay $466,619.

The SEC's complaint alleges that, from 2016 through at least October 2020, Bahadoorsingh and Canadian resident Vincenzo Carnovale secretly gained control of thinly traded microcap companies, hired stock promoters to create demand for their stock, and generated substantial illicit profits by selling the stock to unsuspecting investors. Bahadoorsingh and Carnovale allegedly hid the fact that they controlled the securities of publicly traded companies. They allegedly misled investors, brokers, and transfer agents (companies that maintain records of stock ownership) in order to convince these parties that the defendants' stock shares were eligible for trading in the public markets, when in fact their stock was not appropriately registered for sale with the SEC. They also allegedly caused the microcap companies to make materially false and misleading statements in their publicly filed financial statements and reports. Additionally, Bahadoorsingh allegedly fabricated documents that he provided to brokers and transfer agents in order to avoid due diligence procedures those parties had in place to comply with the securities laws.

On March 31, 2023, the federal district court in Boston, Massachusetts entered a final judgment by default against Bahadoorsingh, permanently enjoining him from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and the registration provisions of Section 5 of the Securities Act. The Court also imposed a penny stock bar on Bahadoorsingh and ordered him to pay disgorgement of ill-gotten gains of $231,020, $28,416 in prejudgment interest thereon, and a civil penalty of $207,183.

On June 30, 2022, Bahadoorsingh was ordered in a separate SEC action to pay over $700,000 for his alleged participation in a fraudulent scheme to sell shares of microcap company Aureus Inc.

The SEC's ongoing case against defendant Vincenzo Carnovale is being handled by David J. D'Addio, Dahlia Rin, and Amy Gwiazda in the Boston Regional Office.
EMU Student Body President Auryon Azar.

EMU Vice President for Communications Walter Kraft.

EMU Student Body Vice President Cedrick Charles.

New Lakeside Apartments under consrtruction at EMU.

Auryon Azar and Cedrick Charles in front of the future New Lakeview Apartments at EMU.

New Lakeside Apartments under consrtruction at EMU.
Sabina Mammadli

Despite sufficient evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity committed by Armenians in relation to Azerbaijanis, these actions have not yet been adequately addressed on an international level, Azerbaijani Ombudswoman Sabina Aliyeva said.

She made the remarks at a conference on "Legal aspects of the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the context of historical facts" held in Azerbaijans Guba.

Aliyeva once again called on international organizations to take a decisive and fair position on these serious crimes against Azerbaijanis and to recognize the act of genocide, based on the norms of international law.

The ombudswoman noted that the existing mine problem, which led to numerous casualties, not only delays the return of IDPs but it also remains a serious obstacle to peace and large-scale restoration and construction work on Azerbaijan's liberated territories.

"I would like to note that in total during the second Karabakh war and in the post-war period, I prepared and sent to international organizations and courts 16 reports, 28 statements, and 33 appeals (7 of which were in video format), more than 300 press releases, as well as three videos. This activity successfully continues to this day," she added.

The official noted the importance of spreading the world about the genocide committed against Azerbaijanis.

The conference with the participation of Aliyeva, Chairman of the Community of Western Azerbaijan Aziz Alakbarli, Head of the Guba District Executive Power Ziyaddin Aliyev and other officials has been organized at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Guba city.

The participants of the conference first visited the monument to national leader Heydar Aliyev in Guba city and laid flowers to the monument.

Furthermore, Azerbaijani officials, employees of religious denominations and local law enforcement agencies, pedagogical teams and schoolchildren, public representatives, as well as residents of other districts of the region commemorated the memory of the victims of the March 31 genocide in Gubas Genocide Memorial Complex since early morning.

The visitors laid flowers in front of the memorial complex.

To recap, 105 years ago Armenian Dashnaks and Bolsheviks committed unprecedented atrocities against the Azerbaijani population in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Karabakh, Zangazur, Nakhchivan, Lankaran, Ganja, and other regions, killing over 70,000 people with extreme violence, including women, old people, and children, burned the villages, expelled the inhabitants from their homes.
The Prime Ministers of Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia declared their full support for Ukraine and the need to punish the crimes committed by the Russian army.

In his speech in Bucha (Kyiv region) on Friday, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said that what the Russian aggressors have done cannot be forgiven.

He also said, Slovenia stands with Ukraine in this difficult time and supports Ukraine in its search for justice. Golob said only punishment must be for those who committed crimes. He added that today all of them are Ukrainians. Ukraine's flag is Slovenia's flag, he said.

According to Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Bucha showed the true face of Russian aggression. The goal was to scare, but Ukrainian citizens showed what it means to be a patriot, to win in the fight for the values that people share, he said. Ukraine has the solidarity of the world community, according to Plenkovic.

He also said Ukraine must restore its territorial integrity and liberate the occupied territories. Plenkovic said committed crimes require justice and punishment. That is why they are signing the Bucha Declaration today, which calls for the punishment of all those who have committed crimes, he said.

Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said Ukraine has Slovak support because Ukrainians are on the right side of history.

He also said Ukrainians pay huge sacrifices for freedom and Ukraine deserves to be a free, democratic power. Heger said Ukraine is Europe and it should be a member of the European Union.

March 31 marks the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha (Kyiv region). During the month of occupation, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, at least 461 people killed at the hands of Russian invaders in Bucha. In total, the invaders killed 1,137 people in the town and its environs.
Provided by National Oceanic / and Atmospheric Administration

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the closure of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery between Sonoma/Mendocino County and the U.S.-Mexico border.

The closure, which will go into effect April 15, is being implemented to minimize entanglement risk for humpback whales returning to the California coast to forage. According to Fish and Wildlife, there were several entanglements that occurred during March and April 2022.
Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

A big game hunter allegedly flew from Pakistan to San Francisco International Airport with eight animal carcasses in his luggage, including an endangered Ladakh urial sheep, federal prosecutors said in an indictment that charged the California man and his accused Pakistani conspirator with smuggling and violations of the Endangered Species Act.

Jason Keith Bruce, of Galt (Sacramento County) faces up to 25 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines if convicted of crimes stemming from a trip to Pakistan in 2018, during which he shot the sheep known for its large swooping horns. Bruce, 49, allegedly paid $50,000 to a hunting outfitter, Pir Danish Ali, to facilitate the kill, and the two planned to ship the dead sheep back to the U.S. by forging documents they claimed were from Pakistani authorities, labeling the animal a different species.
Given the intensifying criminal investigations into Donald Trump  including his indictment and arrest in New York  many think he might finally pay the price. Some even believe a conviction and jail sentence could prevent Trump from retaking the presidency if he wins next years election.



If only wishing made it so.

Donald Trump isnt going to jail. And the only thing standing between him and the Oval Office is the ballot box.

Trump has, of course, committed numerous offenses, some of which are likely criminal. He deserves to serve time. And the world would be better off if he was forcibly removed from the campaign trail.

But none of that matters. Trump isnt going to jail because the burden on prosecutors to get him there is simply too high. In a little-noticed case in 2020, the Supreme Court held that a unanimous jury verdict is always required to convict someone of a serious crime. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court, explained that this principle is rooted in the Constitution: This court has repeatedly and over many years recognized that the Sixth Amendment requires unanimity.

For a prosecutor to obtain a conviction, six to 12 jurors (depending on the jurisdiction) must all agree that a defendant is not only guilty but guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a good standard for the broader population: There should be a high bar to convict someone of a crime. But its quite a loophole for a politician with a historically loyal base and a 40% favorability rating. The likelihood, in any trial, that Trump cant nab a single holdout juror  even in the face of obvious guilt  is extremely low.

Sure, jury selection has some safeguards to eliminate biased jurors. Each side, for example, can strike a limited number of potential jurors for any reason. And the judge might exclude those with partisan paper trails on social media. But neither a prosecutor nor a judge can enter the minds of potential jurors and confidently eliminate loyal Trump supporters.

This dynamic often deters prosecutors from charging Trump to begin with. No one wants to go down in history as the schmuck who lost to Trump in court. In New York, for example, prosecutors declined to charge Trump even though his company was convicted for  and his chief financial officer pleaded guilty to  numerous financial crimes. Its hard to fathom a stronger basis on which a prosecutor could pursue white-collar charges. Yet Trump emerged unscathed.

So America finds itself neck-deep in yet another Trump-induced exigency, barreling forward into some nebulous jeopardy, the shape and magnitude of which are unclear. Will Trump be indicted? Will he strike a deal with prosecutors? Will he win the Republican nomination? Hard questions abound. But one conclusion is easy to reach: A unanimous jury of Trumps peers isnt going to convict him of a serious crime.

Donald Trump may soon be on trial, but Americas conscience already has been. Its an alarming commentary on the American polity that Trumps offenses  whether or not they result in a conviction  dont rule out his return to office. In a country that imprisons more people per capita than any other developed nation, the guy who tried to overthrow a presidential election not only walks free but is the front-runner to be the Republican nominee for president.

A few thousand years ago Aesop supposedly made an insightful observation about criminal justice: We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

Oh, how little has changed.
Regarding Outlook for Bay Area home prices is changing. Heres the latest data (Real Estate, SFChronicle.com, March 29): So The Chronicle wants high home prices? Its the paper of the homeowner, not all those who would like to own. Or, of my son and his wife, who have a starter home but think theyll have to leave the Bay Area to get something bigger.

Your top Front Page print headline says Home price slide should slow: Values across Bay Area predicted to decline 2.7% in next year, but outlook getting better.

Better for whom?

David Belden, Richmond

Streamline green power

Regarding Renewables surpass coal (Bay Area & Business, March 29): Electricity from wind and solar surpassing power from coal should be front page news. Its a bit of good news that we should celebrate. However, the amount of clean energy to power our country needs to be significantly and quickly increased to mitigate climate change and ensure our energy security.

According to Berkeley Labs Electricity Market and Policy, solar and wind make up the vast majority of proposed utility-scale energy projects waiting to be built but many might never be completed because the process to get permits, construct them and connect them to the grid can take 10 years.

We could have plentiful reliable, affordable and sustainable energy if it werent for the morass of federal, state and local government agencies with unclear chains of responsibility and long permitting processes. In order to get clean energy at the scale and pace we need, we need to clean up the permitting process.

Ask Congress to pass permitting reforms that still prioritize environmental protections and community input. Our countrys energy future and our ability to meet our climate goals depend on it.

Sandra Liu, Berkeley

War in Ukraine matters

Regarding Wars consequences (Letters the Editor, March 27): Peter Klein tries to draw a parallel between the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq to the war in Ukraine. Im sorry, but they are as different as night and day.

Neither Vietnam nor Iraq were democratic countries. Ukraine is a democracy with an elected government that was invaded by a brutal totalitarian dictator, Vladimir Putin, who is now implicated in war crimes against the Ukrainian people.

A more accurate parallel of the war in Ukraine is the Battle of Britain in 1940. Great Britain stood alone against Hitler after the fall of France. The outcome of that conflict saved democracy, and we are faced with a similar situation today.

Maybe if the world had stood up to Hitlers aggression in the 1930s, World War II might have been avoided. Are we going to forget that lesson and repeat that mistake?

Frank Sullivan, San Francisco

Make schools safer

The Chronicles entire March 29 Opinion section is devoted to the school shooting in Nashville and spoke at length about the need to protect trans rights and the need to control guns but didnt say a single word about the need to immediately protect children by physically securing the schools they attend.

It seems to me, that our society has become so fixated on our ideological beliefs that we forget to talk about those things in which we are already in strong agreement  the safety of our children.

Daniel Mauthe, Livermore

NRA controls Republicans

Regarding After Nashville shooting, where is the outrage at Daniel Defense, a leading maker of AR-15s? (Letters to the Editor, SFChronicle.com, March 30): Why are we the only country unable to act on the gun crisis? Very simple, the Republican party.

The GOP is paid off by the gun lobby and incapable of making rational decisions about anything of value for the vast majority of Americans.

Joseph Johnson, San Francisco

Price for right to guns

With the continuing onslaught of school mass shootings across our nation, its time to realize that the killing of children, who are just attending school for Gods sake, is the result of Americas acceptance of it as the price for the right to own high-powered firearms. Shame on us.

Al Comolli, Millbrae
A federal judges ruling Thursday against the Affordable Care Acts requirement that insurers cover preventive health screenings for cancer, mental illness and other conditions wont affect most Californians because state law mandates that coverage for state-regulated insurers, said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

U.S. District Judge Reed OConnor of Texas said a provision of the 2010 law requiring cost-free coverage for preventive health services was unauthorized because the Preventive Services Task Force, designated by the law to oversee the mandate and decide which screenings were covered, was not a federal agency and had not been appointed by an agency chief or the president.

Instead, its members are chosen by lower-level officials, a violation, OConnor said, of constitutional requirements for high-level appointments of such policymakers. He also ruled that mandates for insurance coverage of contraceptive care and the AIDS-prevention drug known as PrEP violated the rights of employers with religious objections.

The Biden administration will appeal the ruling by OConnor, whose 2018 ruling declaring the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional was overturned by the Supreme Court. Lara called the ruling another egregious example of conservative judges legislating discrimination against the most vulnerable Americans, but said its impact in California would be limited.

Under state law, health insurance policies and health plans must continue to cover preventive care without cost sharing, the commissioner said in a statement.

He was referring to insurance plans regulated by the state: Covered California, the Affordable Care Act program that provides subsidies for residents with incomes of up to four times the federal poverty level, as well as fully insured employer-sponsored plans.

Another group of self-funded employer-sponsored plans is regulated by the federal government rather than the state, Laras office said. At of the end of 2020, according to the California Health Care Foundation, 5.6 million Californians were covered by those plans, while 28.2 million were covered by state-regulated insurance.

Lara has endorsed legislation, AB1645 by Assembly Member Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Los Angeles, that would require state-regulated insurance plans to cover office visits and other services needed to deliver preventive medications such as PrEP. The bill would also require health plans to cover all screening for sexually transmitted infections that is recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine has received a constitutional submission from 49 MPs regarding the compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine of the Agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the issues of the presence of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia on the territory of Ukraine, the Constitutional Court press service said.

"On March 31, 2023, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine received a constitutional submission from 49 MPs of Ukraine regarding the compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine (constitutionality) of the Agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the issues of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine dated April 21, 2010, ratified by law of Ukraine No. 2153-VI On the ratification of the Agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the stay of the fleet of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine dated April 27, 2010 (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement)," the court said on its Telegram channel on Friday.

According to the subject of the right to a constitutional submission, "there are grounds for recognizing the Agreement as unconstitutional."

As noted in the statement, the subject of the right to constitutional submission believes that the disputed agreement does not comply with Part 7 of Article 17 of the Basic Law of Ukraine, and also claims that the agreement is contrary to the principles of ensuring national security.

In addition, Ukraine's MPs note the lack of a regulatory framework for the conclusion of an international agreement of this kind.

The MPs who signed the submission to the Constitutional Court include Mykhailo Radutsky (Servant of the People faction), Iryna Friz (European Solidarity), Yaroslav Yurchyshyn (Holos), Larysa Bilozir (Dovira group), Oksana Savchuk (non-factional).

The agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the territory of Ukraine (in the media it is often called Kharkiv agreements) is an agreement between Ukraine and Russia, signed on April 21, 2010 in Kharkiv by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. According to the agreement, the period of stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet of in Sevastopol has been extended from 2017 to 2042 with an automatic extension for five years, unless either side expresses its opinion.

Ratified by the Verkhovna Rada and the Russian State Duma on April 27, 2010.

The agreement was unilaterally denounced by the Russian State Duma on March 31, 2014, after the annexation of Crimea.
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A federal judge in San Francisco says a former driver for Grubhub was an employee  and not an independent contractor, as the company claimed  because he delivered food to Grubhubs customers and did not operate his own business. His lawyer says it may be the first such ruling in the nation.

Raef Lawsons work delivering food was within the usual course of Grubhubs business of connecting restaurants with diners to facilitate food ordering, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said in her ruling Thursday. She said Lawson did not run his own business, communicate with customers through independent channels, or advertise in any way.

The ruling entitles Lawson, who worked for Grubhub in Los Angeles for four months in 2015 and 2016, to minimum wages for the hours he drove or was required to be available to pick up customers.

Employees are also entitled to overtime pay, but Corley said Lawson had not worked more than 40 hours in any week. And although they generally must be reimbursed for workplace expenses, such as fuel and maintenance costs, Corley had ruled earlier that he did not qualify for expense reimbursements, said his attorney, Shannon Liss-Riordan.

She said Lawson is appealing the earlier ruling, which was based on a more business-friendly legal standard that California lawmakers changed in 2020.

This was an important decision, a long time coming, Liss-Riordan said. She contended the companies have succeeded in delaying these cases for years and years while they made money by misclassifying these workers.

Theane Evangelis, a lawyer for Grubhub, said the company disagreed with the ruling and was considering its options  even though, she said, it would entitle Lawson to only $65 in back pay. She also cited Proposition 22, a 2020 ballot measure funded by the companies that classified their drivers as contractors rather than employees.

Thanks to Prop. 22  which California voters overwhelmingly enacted and the California Court of Appeal recently upheld  drivers who use the Grubhub app will continue to enjoy the freedom and flexibility of working as independent contractors, Evangelis said.

That appeals court ruling, issued March 13, upheld nearly all of Prop. 22, though the court said the state could still pass a law allowing the drivers to form unions. Labor-backed organizations that challenged the measure are likely to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Wednesdays federal court ruling was issued on the same day that a state appeals court allowed a former driver for Lyft to sue the ride-hailing company on behalf of his former co-workers for allegedly violating state law by classifying them as contractors.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last June that workers in California could not use a unique state law, the Private Attorneys General Act, or PAGA, to join together and sue their hiring company in the name of the state for violations of state labor laws such as those requiring minimum wages and meal and rest breaks for employees. The court said PAGA violates the rights of business owners whose contracts with workers require them to take disputes to individual arbitration rather than going to court.

But as the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles observed Wednesday, state courts are not bound by the United States Supreme Courts interpretation of California law.

The court said PAGA still allows individual workers, such as former Lyft driver Million Seifu, to sue on behalf of former co-workers for penalties state labor laws impose for illegal business practices. The workers receive 25% of the penalties and the state would collect 75%.

PAGA standing is a matter of state law that must be decided by California courts, Justice Audrey Collins said in the 3-0 ruling, which upheld a Los Angeles judges decision allowing Seifus suit to proceed.

Lyft could appeal to the state Supreme Court, which has already agreed to review a similar suit by a driver for the food-delivery company UberEats. Liss-Riordan, who also represents Seifu in the Lyft case, said two other state appeals courts in the last month have allowed PAGA suits to continue, but the final decision will probably come from the states high court.
An indictment from a New York City prosecutor wont pry away Donald Trumps most fervent California supporters from continuing to back the former president.

To those diehards, there are a million other people to blame for Trumps predicament: Democrats. The liberal media. Establishment Republicans. Anyone other than the wealthy, twice-impeached developer-turned-TV-reality star who told 30,573 untruths during his four years in office, according to the Washington Post.

Trump is innocent, and youve been after him since day one, Mary Macias, a Fresno County Trump supporter from day one, told me Thursday after news broke of the widely expected indictment in connection with a $130,000 payment shortly before the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels, with whom he allegedly had an affair.

And you is  ?

The Democrats, the media, the RINOs (short for Republicans In Name Only), the journalists. Anyone that has been against Trump since 2016, Macias said.

The unwavering support of grassroots supporters like that in California will be key for Trumps ability to win the California primary  if he survives his legal problems in New York.

California Republicans will have a bigger-than-usual influence in choosing their partys nominee since ballots will start landing in California mailboxes the second week of next February for the March 5 primary. Thats not long after voters in Iowa and New Hampshire will have weighed in. The last time there was an open GOP field, in 2016, Trump had wrapped up the nomination by the time Californians cast their votes in June.

Trump needs California if he wants to be the Republican nominee again. He may still lead Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in national polling, but DeSantis is beating him in California, according to the February Berkeley IGS Poll. Trump doesnt want to be trailing in California, the state that will again offer the largest haul of delegates needed to capture the nomination.

That will all be moot if Trump doesnt survive his legal problems in New York. Or Georgia, where the Fulton County district attorney has been investigating Trumps efforts to alter the 2020 vote count in that state, which Trump lost to Biden. That case features a recording of Trump pressing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to help him win.

Trump also faces a federal special counsel looking into his involvement with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, along with his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Theres a divide, however, between grassroots activists in California and party leaders. While the grassroots embrace Trump, party leaders are taking a step back. Witness California Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Pattersons statement Thursday. It was less in support of Trump and more a rip on Democrats.

While crime surges in Democrat-run cities, it would be great if the radical left spent more time putting away violent criminals instead of pursuing political vendettas. Political agendas should not outweigh public safety, Patterson said.

John Dennis, chairman of the California Republican County Chairmens Association, told me Thursday that the indictment is an early Easter gift for President Trump, courtesy of the Democrats. Weaponizing the legal system for political gain will not go over well with fair minded Americans of all stripes.

At least they said something. Other top Republican Trump supporters didnt respond to requests for comments over the past week  including Corrin Rankin. The newly elected California Republican Party vice chairs online biography lists among her accomplishments that she was an advisory board member for the Black Voices for Trump Coalition. She also participated in the acclaimed Women for Trump bus tour that campaigned throughout the state of Nevada and is recognized as one of the campaigns top surrogates by the national media.

But Rankin did not respond to several requests to talk about Trumps legal woes.

Other top party leaders are migrating to DeSantis or arent backing Trump as reflexively as they have for the past eight years.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove (Sacramento County), told me two weeks ago that he is backing DeSantis He is believed to be the first member of Californias GOP delegation to back the Florida governor, who hasnt yet announced a campaign. He offers all of Donald Trumps policies without the drama.

Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale (Butte County), who represents a district where Trump won 58% of the vote in 2020, told me that the nomination is still Trumps to lose.

Yet, LaMalfa, who supported Trump twice before, has not decided whom he will back in 2024.

Esteban Lizarraga, a Fresno County Trump grassroots supporter and registered independent, said Thursday that the California Republican Party is no better than the California Democratic Party because it doesnt accurately represent grassroots conservatives.

Thats another reason many grassroots Trump supporters in California arent jumping ship.

This is what they saw back in 2015, said West Walker, a longtime Trump supporter who lives in French Camp (San Joaquin County). The media gave so much attention, calling him names. For example, the border issue  calling him racist  is what really brought people closer to him. They gave him more attention, and people realize how unjust it is.

Walker was referring to the opening day of Trumps first campaign, when he said When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best.

Theyre not sending you. Theyre not sending you, Trump told his supporters at Trump Tower in New York as he launched his campaign. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems (to) us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

Macias doesnt have a problem with what Trump said that day. Again, its the medias fault.

Hes saying the truth. They do come in here. Hes not saying the majority. He was just stating a fact, Macias, who identifies as Hispanic, told me. And then the reporters like you twisted that around and made it sound like he was a racist. Thats whats wrong with our country. You guys have played that same old game over and over and over about being a racist. Im so sick of it.

Supporters like that are going to be with Trump until the end in California. And no indictment from a Democratic prosecutor in New York is going to make that sunset happen any faster.

Trump famously said before the 2016 Iowa caucuses that I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldnt lose any voters, OK?

Short of that, is there anything Trump could do that would turn away his core supporters?

Replied Lizarraga: Go back to being a Democrat.
Mayor London Breed asked Northern Californias new U.S. attorney in a letter to help curb San Franciscos open-air drug markets as the Police Department struggles with understaffing.

Breeds staff said the letter welcoming and seeking to partner with a new official was standard  but it does illuminate the mayors challenges in addressing her top priority of public safety.

In the March 27 letter, Breed wrote that San Francisco was dealing with multiple serious public safety challenges locally, including a fentanyl-driven overdose epidemic, property crime, gun violence and prejudice-fueled incidents.

Breed said she was most concerned about drug dealing on the streets, describing dealers as becoming increasingly aggressive with police, ambassadors, other city workers and residents, with violence and shootings surrounding brazen open-air drug dealing scenes. She pointed out that Tenderloin residents, business owners and employees in federal buildings are impacted.

Our local law enforcement is doing its best to enforce against drug dealing, however the scale of the problem is beyond our local capacity, Breed wrote, continuing that the city needs additional and ongoing support from the Department of Justice to arrest and prosecute drug dealers.

Breeds request comes as she has reiterated for more than a year that open-air drug markets are unacceptable, but has struggled to make lasting progress with the police force she oversees.

In San Francisco, violent crimes declined by 14% from 2019 to 2022 and property crimes dropped 7%. However, Breed and Police Chief Bill Scott say the department is short-staffed, which is limiting its ability to respond to those crimes, including drug dealing. Under pressure from business owners in the Tenderloin, Breed and Scott put more cops on overtime in the neighborhood to target drug dealing last month, and advocates for the increased police presence say it has cleared blocks. Critics have accused Breed of reigniting a failed war on drugs.

Breed has denied that, arguing many residents are demanding the efforts, and said she wants help to do more, leading her to ask the new top federal prosecutor in the Bay Area for assistance.

President Joe Biden appointed Ismail J. Ramsey, who was sworn in on March 21, as the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California. Many in San Francisco considered him an interesting choice: While Ramsey previously worked for the U.S. attorney, he was most recently a white-collar criminal defense attorney who represented former San Francisco Public Works head Mohammed Nuru, who was prosecuted for corruption by the same office Ramsey now leads.

Jeff Chiu, STF / Associated Press

This week, his office announced charges against two Oakland men for selling fentanyl in the Tenderloin. The indictments, handed down from a grand jury, predated Ramseys tenure.

The Chronicle reached out to Ramseys office for a response to Breeds letter.

We have received Mayor Breeds letter and we are making arrangements to meet with her to discuss her concerns, office spokesperson Abraham Simmons responded in an email.

Local and federal agencies already regularly work together on prosecutions. Since 2020, Breeds staff have met every other week with the U.S. Attorneys Office, police and more recently, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.

Federal law enforcement has some powers and resources that city agencies lack, including the ability to work across jurisdictions and bring federal charges that can carry more consequences.

The federal government already has intervened in Tenderloin drug dealing. In mid-2019, U.S. Attorney David Anderson  who was appointed by President Trump  launched the Federal Initiative for the Tenderloin, a sweeping multiagency crackdown that aimed to dismantle the drug trade in the neighborhood. By the end of 2020, the operation had produced charges against 230 people for crimes including drug sales, human trafficking and child pornography.

SFNext is Chronicle coverage devoted to the city's most vexing problems. To become involved: Send feedback, ideas and suggestions to sfnext@SFChronicle.com

Fatal overdoses, however, continued to climb during the pandemic. Anderson left the post in February 2021, and the crackdown didnt result in meaningfully reducing drug dealing on the streets. Some similar efforts continued under Andersons successor, acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds, although COVID also curtailed court capacity and backlogged trials.

In December 2021, Breed, fed up and facing pressure from neighborhood residents to fix the situation, pledged to use city resources to crack down by declaring an emergency over the drug crisis in the neighborhood. Her polarizing three-month emergency status, followed by less intensive efforts over the past year, had mixed results.

After the recall of progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who critics accused of being too soft on drug dealing and other crimes, Breed appointed recall supporter Jenkins. Jenkins said prosecuting fentanyl dealers was one of her top priorities, and she announced a series of harsher measures, some controversial, to push that agenda.

Voters elected Jenkins to keep her job in November. Under Jenkins, both drug arrests, which she doesnt directly control, and prosecutions, which she does, have increased.

Jenkins said recently on Twitter that her office filed 480 felony narcotics sales cases, an 89% filing rate out of those presented by police, compared with 264, a 75% filing rate, for the same time period the year before under the previous administration.

Jenkins plans to hire three more prosecutors dedicated to drug dealing.

No single agency or department is able to tackle the crisis of drug dealing and the impacts its having in and on our communities alone, Jenkins said in an emailed statement Friday. We all must continue to work together and leverage the power, tools, and resources we have to hold people dealing death accountable while getting people the help they need. I look forward to working closely with our new U.S. Attorney to advance our shared priorities of helping to make San Francisco a safer place to live, work, and visit.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, who is visiting Kyiv at his invitation, the press service of the Ukrainian head of state said.

"The president noted the importance of Moldova's solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the context of the ongoing Russian aggression and stressed the will to continue doing everything necessary to develop friendly and close relations between our states," the office said.

As noted, Zelenskyy highly appreciated the signals of the Moldovan side in support of Ukraine and the visit by the President of Moldova to the cities affected by the Russian occupiers.

The head of the Ukrainian state informed his colleague about the situation at the front. The leaders expressed their readiness to strengthen cooperation in countering challenges coming from Russia and exchanged views on the need for further sanctions pressure on Moscow.

Zelenskyy and Sandu substantively discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation, the press service of the Ukrainian president said.

According to the press service, the President of Ukraine welcomed the joint progress in the development of transport infrastructure, in particular, the connection of Odesa region and the south of Moldova with a new railway corridor with common border and customs control.

The parties positively noted the work of the relevant departments of the two countries aimed at increasing the throughput at certain border sections.

Special attention was paid to the issue of creating a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, the presidential press service said.

The Presidents of Ukraine and Moldova also discussed the progress and further prospects for the movement of the two states along the path of European integration.

During the meeting, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the Moldovan side for the decision taken by the national parliament to recognize the Holodomor in Ukraine as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.
KLAMATH, Calif. (AP)  A northern California tribe is pressing the federal government to stop water deliveries for farming in southern Oregon and northern California unless a federal agency can show it's met all legal requirements for endangered species, including salmon and killer whales.

The Yurok Tribe, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations and Institute for Fisheries Resources filed a motion for a preliminary injunction last week, the Capital Press reported. Its part of a 2019 lawsuit against the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The Bureau of Reclamation operates the Klamath Project, which provides water for about 200,000 acres (80,937 hectares) of farmland in southern Oregon and northern California. But the operations cannot threaten the survival of endangered species.

The agency must consider water needs for threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River, and two species of endangered sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake. Southern resident orcas are also impacted, because they depend on Klamath River salmon for prey.

Three consecutive years of drought has prompted the Bureau of Reclamation to adopt a more flexible management strategy for the Klamath Project.

In mid-February, the agency began reducing minimum stream flows in the Klamath River by 11% below Iron Gate Dam. Additional reductions of 16% were made on Feb. 25.

The goal was to hold more water back in Upper Klamath Lake near Klamath Falls, Oregon, allowing Lost River and shortnose suckers  fish also called Cwaam and Koptu  to access critical shoreline habitat for spawning and rearing.

But according to the Yurok Tribe, the cutbacks dropped Klamath River flows below what is necessary to protect extremely at-risk coho.

The tribe and fishing groups are asking a U.S. district judge in San Francisco to order the Bureau of Reclamation to withhold water for irrigators until the agency satisfies its obligations for endangered fish.

The Klamath Tribes, headquartered in Chiloquin, Oregon, also filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the government in February, arguing Reclamation has failed to meet minimum lake elevations for suckers in Upper Klamath Lake during the last three years.

The lawsuits come as Klamath Project irrigators await their annual water allocation, typically announced in April.

Moss Driscoll, director of water policy for the Klamath Water Users Association, said this years hydrology is far more promising than last year. As of March 28, the Klamath Basin had 155% of normal snowpack and 103% of normal precipitation for the 2022-23 water year.

As the hydrology has continued to improve, it may basically meet their injunction requirements whether its granted or not, Driscoll said. Their request has almost become moot.
This article was first published on NerdWallet.com.

Not many people run three different businesses while also working a high-stress government job and raising three kids. Whitmore Merrick is one of the few.

The Washington, D.C., native, who now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, works full time as a peer navigator for the citys Home to Hope program, connecting formerly incarcerated people to housing, transportation and other resources. He also runs a fast-growing transportation company, Merrick Adventures, and has co-founded a recording studio and a clothing line.

At his day job, Merrick helps people transition into post-incarceration life, in part by helping them improve their financial literacy. There are so many barriers for individuals who have been convicted of misdemeanors or felonies, Merrick says.

Hes also teaching his kids financial skills and working to create a better future for them. Heres what Merrick is doing to build generational wealth.

What inspired you to start building generational wealth?

Merrick says that one of his biggest motivations to build generational wealth was growing up without it in a single-parent household.

Not having a father in the home inspired me to be a man, young, Merrick says. It forced me to grow quicker than I feel I should have.

Merrick notes that the hardships he watched his mother experience didnt happen in a vacuum. They were, in many ways, a product of the systemic racism that economically disenfranchises Black Americans.

There are lots of different ways that we were stripped from wealth, he says.

In addition, Merrick says his own past financial blunders have motivated him to start teaching his kids about money early. I remember, for periods of time, not monitoring my checking account or my credit score. And I regret not doing that, because it just gets worse, he says.

Today, hes doing what he can to give his kids  the oldest of whom recently turned 15  a different story.

What kind of strategies have you used to create savings for your kids?

Generational wealth doesnt just mean obtaining property or assets; it means continuously diversifying  because anything can happen, Merrick says.

With that in mind, hes trying to introduce his kids to saving, investing and responsible credit usage at an early age.

Merrick has opened bank accounts for his kids, and he has used investment apps to introduce them to the stock market. He has also added his 15-year-old as an authorized user on his credit card in order to give him a head start on building credit.

One of Merricks next priorities is to start saving for his kids education. To put away more money for the future, he plans to expand his businesses  for example, by buying a new vehicle for Merrick Adventures, and also by starting to invest in real estate  while making sure his family continues to live below their means.

Tips for building generational wealth

Merricks advice to other parents is simple: Start teaching your kids about money early, start saving early and start building your kids credit early.

Theres a lot of evidence supporting that advice. A 2022 meta-analysis of studies by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation found that people who receive some kind of financial education tend to be better at budgeting, saving, credit usage and finding insurance than those who dont.

Merrick also recommends teaching kids about entrepreneurship.

People need diversity and different avenues. Becoming an entrepreneur is a way to help that, to balance your finances, Merrick says.

Theres also evidence that entrepreneurship is a particularly effective way to build lasting generational wealth. Studies by the Santa Fe Institute and the Conway Center for Family Business suggest that family-owned businesses tend to be longer-lived than nonfamily-owned businesses.

Plus, Merricks kids are likely getting an immeasurable psychological benefit from watching their father grow a set of businesses  one of which they may one day run themselves.

(Top photo courtesy of Whitmore Merrick)

Sam Taube writes for NerdWallet. Email: staube@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @samuel_taube.

The article My Path to Generational Wealth: Continuously Diversifying originally appeared on NerdWallet.
ROME (AP)  Officials at the Catholic shrine in Lourdes announced the creation of a study group Friday to decide what to do with one of the French sanctuarys most famous but now controversial attractions: mosaics by a Jesuit artist who has been sanctioned by the Vatican and his religious order for sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing women.

The Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik designed the facade of one of the three basilicas at Lourdes with a series of mosaics in 2008 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions that turned the shrine in southwest France into one of the worlds biggest pilgrimage sites, attracting around 3 million visitors a year.

In December, the Jesuits revealed that Rupnik had been declared excommunicated by the Vatican in 2020 for committing one of the worst crimes in church law  using the confessional to absolve a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity  and had also been accused by nine women of related sexual, spiritual and psychological misconduct in the 1980s.

The Vaticans sex abuse office, which is headed by Jesuits, decided their claims were too old to prosecute. Amid an outcry and testimony from 15 more people, the Jesuits in February announced a new internal canonical inquiry while toughening sanctions against Rupnik, including preventing him from continuing his artistic activity, since that was presumably where some of the abuse originated.

Aside from posing questions about how the Jesuits and the Vatican handled the allegations, the Rupnik scandal has prompted a broader question about what to do with his art, since his mosaics decorate important basilicas, shrines, chapels and churches around the globe, including one of the chapels inside the Apostolic Palace.

On Friday, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas, whose diocese includes Lourdes, announced the creation of a study group to consider what to do with the Basilica of the Rosary mosaics, placing the needs of abuse survivors first. Nothing is being ruled out, he said in a statement.

Lourdes is a place where many victims come  to seek consolation and healing. Their distress is great in front of the Rev. Rupniks mosaics in this same place: We cannot ignore it, he said in a statement.

In an earlier interview with French Catholic La Vie, Micas said he and the shrine had received letters from abuse victims from around the world seeking a gesture from Lourdes. They described Rupniks mosaics there as an additional source of pain as they seek healing from their abuse.

If this place, by displaying these works, increases the suffering of people who come there to be healed, this is not possible, Micas told La Vie.

The study group includes the bishop, the rector of the shrine, a survivor of abuse, an expert in sacred art and a psychotherapist. They will come up with the elements necessary to decide what to do with the mosaics, with all options on the table, the statement said.

The status of the Slovenian-born Rupniks status remains somewhat in limbo as the Jesuits' canonical investigation plays out, even as they have received more complaints against him, Rupniks superior, the Rev. Johan Verschueren, told The Associated Press in an email Friday.

Every week one or two new testimonies knock at our door, he said. We get ever more, a clear and a comprehensive view of what happened in the past and what is the real nature and size of the case.

While Lourdes is the first major basilica to publicly announce a review of Rupniks artistic works, other church entities have taken their distance. The diocese of Versailles, which is home to a church decorated with Rupnik mosaics, terminated all collaboration with him in December.

Recently, the religious publisher San Paolo removed Rupniks books from prominent display at its store near the Vatican, though his coffee table books, calendars and books on spirituality are available on the website of the Centro Aletti art studio and ecumenical center in Rome that Rupnik founded.
Most of the people I used to hang out with at Kilowatt have left San Francisco. Anthony is down in Aptos, just south of Santa Cruz. Jeremy is in San Diego. Marina has moved to Los Angeles. Angie has gone to wherever loud, brassy cartographers with lots tattoos and crazy hair go when they pass away. But Kilowatt is still here. Hell yes, Kilowatt is still here.

Anthony used to call Kilowatt Kil-a-game because we never met any girls there. Then again, we didnt really meet girls at very many bars to begin with. We were single and in our mid-20s and since this was nearly a decade before Tinder, bars were where you were supposed to meet people, but we mostly just spent our bar hours hanging with friends. And many of those hours were spent at Kilowatt.

The bar was always full of dogs, pool players and Detroit Red Wings fans. Loud punk and metal thrashed through the speakers, and if it was your birthday, you were given a very cheap bottle of champagne and a Polaroid camera to use for the night. Phones didnt have cameras on them back then.

Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE) (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE)

Those days are gone, but after all these years, Kilowatt is not only still here, its gotten a brand new shot in the arm. At the end of 2022, it was announced that Kilowatt had been sold. Normally, when a well-loved mainstay changes hands, it causes trepidation. But this time it was exciting news. After 28 years, owner Peter Athanas was retiring, and he was selling it to three folks whod been bartenders at Bottom of the Hill and Thee Parkside for years.

Peter wasnt going to sell to just anybody, Katie Rose McCarthy tells me as we sit at one of Kilowatts booths alongside her co-owners, Peter Niven and Rick Eusey. In fact, when we asked if it was for sale he said, Whos asking?

According to the new owners, it was their relationship with the bars previous proprietor that was critical to making sure the bar was passed into their stewardship.

Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE

He saw that we liked what he had done, what he built for the last 30 years, McCarthy explains. We wanted to keep the name, we wanted to keep that energy, just breathe fresh life into it.

And they were certainly going to need his help to get through the process of buying the bar. Athanas sat down in the office with them nearly every day as they transferred everything over.

How the hell do you open a bar in San Francisco?

San Francisco is a harrowing place to open a business. Beyond the absurd cost of  well, everything, projects get held up for years by mountains of red tape, bureaucracy and prolifically greedy landlords.

Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE

It was nearly impossible, Eusey answers when I ask about the difficulty of opening the place. Niven expands on this, saying that despite working in bars for years, the process is still an administrative nightmare: Everything is like  Do you know about this permit? Do you know about that one? Do you know how to get the permit for your permit for your permit?

McCarthy, Niven and Eusey might not have even gotten the bar if it werent for the pandemic. Seeing all the sadly shuttered businesses and learning that Athanas was on the verge of retiring created the perfect push to take late-night, post-shift We should open a bar, man! riffing to dive bar reality. Well, that, and a little helping of San Francisco magic.

It was like a chain reaction, McCarthy ruminates. One person wed meet would help us and then give a leg up that led to another person, and this whole thing became relationship after relationship after relationship. It feels like this was built on a mountain of good people and community.

Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE

During the time they shut the bar down for renovations and upgrades, it seemed that nearly every day someone would randomly pop by with a pizza and a paintbrush asking what they could do to help. This experience fundamentally changed the way I look at people, McCarthy discloses. It makes me think people are good. You know?

The wildest example of this was when there was a knock at the door and Adam Pfahler, the drummer from legendary SF band Jawbreaker, was there with tacos. He said hed been watching the Kilowatt crews Instagram stories and figured they needed some lunch since they didnt seem to have time to eat or sleep.

If thats not a wee bit of the old San Francisco magic, I dont know what is.

Kilowatts musical legacy

Beyond being an active member of the San Francisco community (Pfahler founded Lost Weekend Video), theres probably another reason someone from Jawbreaker showered Kilowatt with extra love and attention. The bar had been a popular venue in the 1990s where the band played numerous times.

Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE

In fact, lots of 90s bands treaded the boards of the tiny Kilowatt stage when they were up and coming, including Pavement, Murder City Devils and Neutral Milk Hotel, whom one of Nivens friends saw in 1996 (and booed the notoriously dissonant songwriter).

Theres also a very unsubstantiated rumor that Nirvana played at Kilowatt, with Eusey recounting a woman at the bar recently who claimed to have heard the band play Smells Like Teen Spirit there.

While theres no verification of her story at the moment, the Kilowatt Three found lots of very real musical artifacts in the basement during renovation, including old concert posters and photos by SF music photographer hero Peter Ellenby. But possibly the best thing they found was a logbook of show notes from the Kilowatts stage manager in the 90s with details like how the band sounded and how big the crowd was.

And apparently, he was uh  kind of a dick. One description from 1996 of a well-known band (the Kilowatt folks wouldnt tell me who), read, Nobody drinks. Losers. Another one read something like, Norwegian rock band. Very loud. Shirtless, and yet another one was something to the tune of, Rude. Played a 20-minute set. Terrible.

Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE) (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE)

In the logbook you can also see how much each band made and apparently, the Murder City Devils  one of McCarthy, Niven and Euseys favorite bands  only got paid $100 to play.

By the time I started going to Kilowatt in the early 2000s, the only thing left of the bars legacy as a venue was old show posters, including the one for the final concert in 1997, headlined by The Oblivions. Its still on the wall and says, The Kilowatt is dead! Final fking show!

The musical legacy had a lot to do with the original booker, David Kaplan, who was also managing a number of bands at the time. There are conflicting accounts about whether Kaplans departure resulted in the end of live concerts or owner Peter Athanas pulled the plug himself, but Kaplans career continued without Kilowatt. Soon after his tenure at Kilowatt, Kaplan moved to New York to manage a little rock n roll duo named the White Stripes.

Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE

Crucially though, Athanas had continued to keep the live music permit up to date, which made it infinitely easier for the Kilowatt Three to get the citys blessing for shows when they took over.

Kilowatts fiery past

If youre looking at Kilowatt from across the street, and youre familiar enough with San Francisco architecture, youll notice that the building was once a firehouse.

According to the history shared with me by Eusey and by this fascinating website about the history of the San Francisco Fire Department, the current building is the third firehouse built on the site. The first was built in 1854. The second one was constructed in 1868 for the newly organized Engine Company No. 7 and their horse-drawn steam engine. This one was destroyed as a result of the Great Conflagration of 1906. When it was rebuilt in 1908, it was still set up for the horsey fire brigade. It wasnt until 1918 that this fire company got a motorized engine. The structure remained a firehouse until 1968, when Engine Company No.7 was moved to 80 Digby St. in Diamond Heights, and the family who currently owns the building bought it.

Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE

I know for a fact that it was a bakery at one point, probably the 60s, Eusey tells me. Theres an older gentleman that keeps coming in, shooting pool and taking photos and stuff. And hes like, I remember, the oven was right here 

One of Euseys friends said it was also once a restaurant owned by some family friends called Firehouse BBQ. It wasnt until the late 70s or early 80s that it first became a venue called Firehouse Seven. In the late 80s and early 90s, it was called Paulas Clubhouse, of which author Michelle Tea fondly remembers, The first place I kissed a female in San Francisco is now the Kilowatt, but back then it was a queer punk dance club called Paulas Clubhouse.

And then in 1993, Peter Athanas bought the joint and named it Kilowatt because he was an electrician by trade.

But possibly my favorite story from the long history of the Kilowatt building is the guy who had the BDSM tower. Apparently, at some point in the past 30 years, a guy upstairs had wild BDSM sex orgies. This building was meant for it. Not only does the top floor have group showers left over from when the firefighters used to live there, but the tower that sits above it also has a bunch of hooks that are remnants from when it was a working firehouse.

Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATE

Anytime you go to a fire, when you come back in, the hoses are all wet, so you have to hang them up, Eusey, who was a firefighter for Cal Fire, explained. Because of this, theres a bunch of hooks in the tower that were used for hanging hoses (pun unintended but completely unavoidable), and the guy who lived there would use them in his kinky play.

Wait, Niven cuts in during Euseys explanation. Those hooks were for hanging hoses? I thought that old horny guy just hung them up there for BDSM.

Kilowatts bright future

While discussing what its like being the next chapter in Kilowatts history, McCarthy told me, Its such an honor and privilege to be a part of keeping that going for people. I was blown away by seeing what this space means to people. I never get tired of when somebody comes in and you can just see all these memories flashing through their eyes.

And I, too, am one of those people. Every time I walk through those doors, I cant help but think about my wild nights running around the Mission in my 20s. And Im so glad that Kilowatt will be around for future generations as a place to get drunk and make friends, lovers and poor decisions.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 11:30 a.m., April 3, with the correct spelling of co-owner Peter Niven's last name.
HARTFORD  The long-shuttered and deteriorating Batterson Park, which lies in parts of Farmington and New Britain but is owned by the city of Hartford, may soon get a new designation.

Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, who is a former member of the Hartford City Council, last week proposed making Batterson a state park.

"I actually raised this issue three years ago," Ritter said. "There didn't seem to be much of an appetite for this."

Things are different now in Ritter's view, as the park has remained closed for several years and continues to fall into disrepair after a failed attempt to have the its renaissance kick-started by a $10 million grant from the state and the formation of a conservancy group made up of volunteers from Hartford, Farmington and New Britain. That group was dissolved last year amid infighting and disagreements over who would be responsible for the park's maintenance going forward.

The state park proposal would take the responsibility for maintenance and management of Batterson out of the hands of the three municipalities and shift it to the state's control. The $10 million grant would still be used to make much-needed renovations and improvements, and the passport to the parks program would provide ongoing funding. Admission to the park would also be free to state residents, and Batterson would offer much needed open space, beach and water access to residents of central Connecticut, who would also have public transportation options to get there.

"I don't see any downside," Ritter said. "If it was such an important asset for the city, they haven't shown it."

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said at the news conference last week at the Capitol announcing the plan that it had become clear that sometimes the best solution is the simplest one.

"It should belong to everybody. It's a win for all of our towns," Bronin said. "I think this makes all the sense in the world."

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said a state takeover is the best solution for all three communities.

"It is an incredibly unique situation, one that has not worked out in the past, and the state has not added any additional parks space in decades," Stewart said. "This is a great opportunity to better serve central Connecticut, environmentalists, and residents, and preserve a very valued piece of nature in our communities. We hope that this matter can be resolved quickly, without any obstacles, as it has already been too long, and the situation is dire."

T.J. Thomas, Farmington Town Council majority leader, was not immediately available for comment.

Neil Connors, co-founder of the Batterson Park Conservancy, said the creation of the group in 2018 gave hope to residents who were eager to see the park restored to its former glory and reopened to the public. More than 1,000 people, he said, joined the conservancy Face Book group and many of them attended meetings.

But the makeup of voting members  Hartford residents comprised the majority  and constant pushback from city officials on the conservancy's efforts, as well as an attempt to shift the maintenance responsibilities and costs to Farmington and New Britain doomed the partnership.

The city terminated its relationship with the conservancy in September, saying it wasn't the right one to sustain the work and ensure the park's viability for years to come.

"The three-way agreement was untenable," Connors said, adding that he believed Hartford was more interested in selling the land for development than renovating it as a park.

Connors did raise one question about the 86 acres of park land that the city transferred to its pension plan in 2013 though.

"Are they going to try to hang onto it?" he asked.

Ritter said the question now is how to make it happen and address any legal issues. He hopes to have a framework in place by mid-April and bring the proposal to a vote by the end of the legislative session June 7.

"I think we have a good plan," he said. "We'll see."
Hearst Newspapers/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Despite all of San Francisco's counterculture roots and historical significance to the creative arts, these days the city is more defined by social media titans and our future AI overlords. But thankfully, the spirit of old SF still lurks underneath the tech veneer.

One tradition that exemplifies the old spirit of San Francisco is the Saint Stupid's Day Parade, an irreverent event that dates back to 1979, making this its 45th year. It all started when Ed Holmes, better known to his disciples at Bishop Joey, founded the First Church of the Last Laugh.
A laser pilot program implemented by the city of Sunnyvale to deter its growing crow population has been eliminated after the birds apparently outsmarted the system.

The crows are considered to be a nuisance because of their noise and droppings, Jennifer Garnett, a communications officer for the city, told SFGATE in an email. Theyre ranked as the second-largest problem among constituents just behind speeding drivers, and last month, the Sunnyvale City Council also listed the birds as the study issue of second-highest priority for potential funding as it continues to seek out a nonlethal solution to their boisterous presence.

But for now, these crows wont be gulled.

The saga began in January 2022, when officials in the South Bay city equipped a public works employee with a handheld $20 green laser to flash at the birds that had been swarming the downtown areas of Plaza del Sol and historic Murphy Avenue, as the Mercury News first reported. Initially, the crows scattered. A little over a month went by, and the program was deemed a success, especially after previous efforts to use reflectors and introduce falcons to the area yielded little to no results.

Then October arrived. So did the crows. City officials brought the lasers back, but they were no use.

The lasers seem to be less effective than they were last year, Garnett said. Crows are very intelligent, so they get used to deterrents or change locations to avoid them.

Sundry Photography/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The problem is that crows are creatures of habit, and once theyve established themselves in a favorable roosting area, theyre not going to be inclined to leave, as Glenn Phillips, the executive director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society, previously pointed out.

The issue is that theyre really smart birds, he told SFGATE by phone on Thursday. Its hard to fool a crow, and they pretty quickly learn what a real threat is and what might be something perceived as a threat. The fact that the lasers didnt work doesnt surprise me in the least.

Their numbers are also rapidly increasing. While the Golden Gate Audubon Society wont release the compiled data from its most recent Christmas Bird Count until June or July, observations tallied at the end of 2021 revealed an all-time record of 1,710 crows in San Francisco.

The population throughout the Bay Area has certainly been trending upward for the past five years, and I would expect that trend will continue, Phillips said.

David McNew/Getty Images

Its easier to ward off the crows when they first start to form their communal night roosts, which can happen as soon as late summertime.

The Humane Society recommends methods such as playing recorded crow distress calls, using pyrotechnics or making other loud noises that sound like fireworks, or hanging effigies of crows to keep the birds at bay.

It remains to be seen what the city of Sunnyvale will try next. If the study issue is approved in this year's budget, staff will begin working on it later this year, Garnett said.

SFGATE tech editor Joshua Bote contributed to this report.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  Two men were killed and five other people were wounded in a shooting outside a restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, police said Thursday.

Police said two people were arrested Thursday after the shooting that authorities said began with an altercation inside Prive restaurant and nightclub.
European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders notes the importance of Ukraine's ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to strengthen the mechanism for bringing accountability for war crimes, and also declares support for the creation of a register of damage caused by Russian aggression for subsequent reparations.

Speaking online at the United For Justice second international conference in Bucha dedicated to the crimes of genocide Reynders said it is needed to ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice. In this fight against impunity, the EU states must stand shoulder to shoulder and respect the principle of complementarity, he said.

Reynders said when it comes to preventing impunity for war crimes, in particular the deportation of more than 20,000 children, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide, the ICC remains the key agency that can investigate and prosecute those responsible.

The European Commissioner said the EU must ensure that the Ukrainian prosecution authorities are equipped as well as possible to carry out such work. He said the Office of the Commissioner has already provided the Prosecutor General's Office with the necessary equipment to ensure such activities.

He also said he continues to advocate the need to open national criminal proceedings on Russia's war crimes by the EU countries  according to the principles of individual or universal jurisdiction.

Reynders said some 14 countries are already investigating their national criminal cases regarding Russian aggression against Ukraine.

He said the Commission has analyzed the need to amend the Rome Statute in order to expand the jurisdiction of the ICC to crimes of aggression, and at the same time we are considering the possibility of introducing a mechanism for prosecution, possibly in the form of a special tribunal for crimes of aggression, which would allow respect for the mandate of the ICC.

At the same time, the European Commissioner said it is important that Ukraine ratifies the Rome Statute, as this will strengthen the mechanism for bringing to justice for crimes against these and future generations of Ukrainians.

Speaking about the importance of paying Russian reparations, Reynders said forcing Russia to pay for the damage it has caused remains one of the priorities of the European Commission. He supported the creation of an international register of claims to record evidence from citizens and the Ukrainian state regarding the losses that have been caused by Russian aggression.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  South Carolina prison officials have decided to keep former attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh in a special protective unit as he begins serving his life sentence for killing his wife and son.

Mental health and prison experts determined that Murdaugh should be kept in protective custody after they reviewed his case, including the enormous amount of publicity it garnered and psychiatric and other tests, the state Department of Corrections said in a news release Friday.
Two Connecticut residents have been sentenced for their roles in a six-month string of armed robberies targeting AT&T stores that occurred two years ago, officials said.

Shaquille Raymond, 25, of Hartford, was sentenced to six years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Saviana Bourne, also 25, of Middletown, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Both appeared Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport.

Prosecutors said they were part of an armed crew who burst into AT&T stores right as the shops were closing with guns drawn. They then held the employees at gunpoint in the inventory room and filled bags with phones and other electronics before fleeing, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Bourne worked at AT&T stores and helped fence the stolen goods, plan the robberies and drove the getaway vehicle.

Raymond pleaded guilty last Octover to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, the U.S. attorney's office said. Bourne pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, four counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of attempted Hobbs Act robbery.

They were also ordered to pay about $298,000 in restitution.

Three other members of the crew were also charged and convicted. They were identified as Alex Josephs, Ronaldo Smith and Deshawn Baugh.

Authorities allege Raymond, Josephs and Smith hit AT&T stores in Newington on Jan. 29, 2021 and in Enfield on Feb. 24. Baugh then joined the group and was involved in the robbery of an AT&T store in Canton on April 15 that year. The group also attempted to rob stores in Torrington and Glastonbury that May, but "were locked out of the stores," the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release.

"The perpetrators typically entered the stores shortly before closing, pointed weapons at employees, and, at times, pistol-whipped, dragged, and shoved employees toward the back inventory room," the office said. "They then held the employees at gunpoint while loading large bags with cell phones and other electronics."

The robbers made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods from the robberies, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

The group, armed with handguns and a semiautomatic rifle, were apprehended after robbing an AT&T store in West Springfield, Mass., the U.S. Attorney's office said. As Bourne drove the group from the heist, they were pursued by police and the high-speed chase ended when their crash struck a Massachusetts State Police cruiser.

"A search of the vehicle revealed more than $150,000 in stolen merchandise, as well as the firearms used during the robbery," the U.S. attorney's office said.

Baugh was sentenced to nine years in prison earlier this month and ordered to pay nearly $125,000 in restitution. Josephs and Smith have not yet been sentenced.
NEW YORK (AP)  Conservative media figures leaped to Donald Trumps defense with apocalyptic language Thursday, claiming the former president was being unfairly persecuted by a Manhattan grand jury's indictment and predicting his 2024 bid for the White House would get a boost from his perceived martyrdom.

This is totally unacceptable and a disgrace to this country, said Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters.

This is repulsive, said Fox's Sean Hannity, three days after he interviewed Trump on his show. This is a disgusting political hit job the likes of which we have never seen in this country anymore.

It's insane, said Newsmax's Eric Bolling.

The actual charges in the grand jury indictment against Trump have not been made public. The Manhattan district attorney's office has investigated payments made during the 2016 presidential election to silence claims of an extramarital affair.

For conservative-oriented media, Thursday's fury represented a rapid turnaround. Trump had recently complained of being looked over by Fox, by far the most popular media outlet for conservatives, and had not appeared there for an interview in months before Hannity spoke to him earlier this week.

This is a horrible night for the republic, but politically it's a great night for Donald Trump, commentator Pete Hegseth said, predicting that mug shots of the former president would be proudly displayed in college dorm rooms and on T-shirts.

Hannity had a live studio audience Thursday evening that frequently shouted and clapped as he and his guests railed against the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. Fox and Newsmax aired wall-to-wall coverage, and guests seemed to compete for who could use the most heated language. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham used an unbleeped obscenity to talk about the charges.

The Democrat party has now dragged the country into tyranny! commentator Mark Levin shouted.

Several conspiratorial commentators suggested to viewers that unnamed authorities would come after them when they were done with Trump.

Somebody's going to do something stupid, disc jockey Adam Carolla said to Fox's Tucker Carlson, and then the storm troopers are going to come in.

They want you to strike out. Why? asked Glenn Beck. Because then they can close the cage.

Beck, let go by Fox in 2013 by the late CEO Roger Ailes, appeared on Carlson's show to suggest that the U.S. would be at war with China, Russia and Iran by 2025 and that the country's currency would collapse.

Several commentators ridiculed or dismissed the charges against Trump, even though they have yet to be publicly outlined. This attorney general will be defending his law license before this is over, commentator Chris Swecker told Fox's Laura Ingraham.

Former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka, on Newsmax, said the Secret Service had a duty to protect the former president and not let him appear for an arraignment in Manhattan.

The extremists are out there, he said, and they want to hurt this man.

A headline on Fox's screen under Carlson said that Trump's Indictment is a Turning Point for America. Another said, Third-World Banana Republic.

American politics (has been) thrown into complete chaos, perhaps permanently, Carlson said.

Meanwhile, Newsmax stationed reporter Mike Carter outside of Trump Plaza, who called it pretty much a normal Thursday night except for reporters hanging around and a few folks that are excited about what happened tonight.

Online, the Drudge Report topped its home page with a picture of handcuffs.

The lead headline on Breitbart.com was The Longest Witch Hunt: Trump Indicted. Another headline asked Next: Mugshot  and Handcuffs? over a picture of Trump with a clenched fist.

If Trump turns himself in next week as expected, experts anticipate a carefully choreographed and relatively quick process and release without bail. A former president isnt likely to be paraded in cuffs across a sidewalk or through a crowded courthouse hallway.

Many right-wing sites were slow to respond to the story late Thursday, said Howard Polskin, who chronicles conservative media on his own website, The Righting.

Most of the stories I saw were essentially plain-vanilla reporting that an indictment was handed down, Polskin said, adding he expected that to change through the weekend.
NEW MILFORD  Dairy Queen may open its 40th location in Connecticut on Danbury Road.

Joseph Naples III, owner of 161 Danbury Road LLC, submitted a site plan modification application to modify his already approved plans for a proposed restaurant with a drive-thru on 161 Danbury Road.

The property owner originally planned to open a Popeyes restaurant at the location, but the new application is for a Dairy Queen, said Paul S. Szymanski, president of Arthur H. Howland & Associates, at the Zoning Commission's on Tuesday meeting. The site is bordered by a Dunkin Donuts at 163 Danbury Road and a residence.

The Zoning Commission approved the prior special permit and site plan application for 161 Danbury Road in October 2021. In addition to constructing a one-story restaurant with a drive-thru, the prior proposal called for the existing structures on 159 and 161 Danbury Road to be removed and the lots merged.

The former building at 159 Danbury Road housed an apartment on the upper floor and a retail service business, the Art of Body Waxing, on the first floor, according to documents filed with the Zoning Commission. The former building at 161 Danbury Road was occupied by a retail auto parts store, Car Quest, but had been vacant for several years. The Zoning Commission previously approved the property at 161 Danbury Road to be redeveloped with a Jake's Wayback  now known as Wayback Burgers  restaurant, which was never built.

Both buildings on 159 and 161 Danbury Road were removed, but the two lots remain vacant. Naples has started the process of merging the two properties for the new application.

Proposed site modifications include creating a new building design that increases the buildings size from 2,180 square feet to 2,420 square feet; adding an outside dining area; reducing the number of drive-thru ordering lanes from two lanes to one lane; and relocating a sugar maple tree along the rear end of the building due to the removal of one of the drive-thru lanes. Naples has proposed site circulation will become all one-way.

In addition to merging the two lots, Naples has proposed conveying 0.03 acres in the southwest corner of the site to the property at 163 Danbury Road, which will allow the existing Route 7 access serving Dunkin Donuts to be maintained.

Dairy Queen has 39 locations throughout Connecticut, including in Brookfield, Waterbury and Torrington. Representatives from Dairy Queen could not be reached for comment.

Naples, who also could be reached for comment, requested to waive the stormwater management plan and traffic study for the application.

The Zoning Commission must decide on the application by May 9.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible rival to Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said on Twitter that Florida will not work with New York on any extradition requests in case one is necessary for the newly indicted former president.

"Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue" with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his "political agenda," DeSantis said.

Legal experts say DeSantis could resist a move to extradite Trump but not stop it - and the Florida governor would not play a role if the former president surrenders.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Bragg said the Manhattan district attorney's office has contacted Trump's attorney "to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.'s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment." It is not clear yet whether Trump will surrender voluntarily.

In a tweet, DeSantis accused Bragg of weaponizing the legal system "to advance a political agenda" that he said "turns the rule of law on its head."

"It is un-American," the governor said.

DeSantis would need to build a solid legal case to decline an extradition request. According to Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution, no state has the right to decline an extradition request from another state.

"A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on demand of executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime," the Constitution reads.

Federal law also outlines that states are required to comply with other states' extradition requests.

Florida statute says that if the governor receives an extradition request from officials in another state and "decides that the demand should be complied with," they sign an arrest warrant. Michael Bachner, a former prosecutor in Manhattan, said in an interview Thursday that "DeSantis would be very hard pressed legally to refuse" an extradition request for Trump, given that DeSantis is supposed to play only an administrative role.

And Bachner noted that Florida allows law enforcement or other individuals to arrest someone they know is subject to a criminal charge - meaning the governor does not have to be involved.

Bachner, who now works as a criminal defense attorney, was also skeptical that an extradition would be necessary - Trump has not signaled he will resist arrest - and said it is "politically expedient" for DeSantis to say he won't assist with one.

The Florida governor is expected to announce a bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination soon, a decision that would put him in direct competition with Trump. That, however, has not stopped DeSantis from criticizing and attempting to discredit investigations into Trump.

DeSantis said this month that he wouldn't be "involved" in the case, accusing Bragg of political motivations but also taking an apparent jab at Trump by emphasizing the lurid nature of the accusations against him.

"Look, I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair - I just, I can't speak to that," DeSantis said when asked about a possible indictment at a news conference.

That enraged Trump and his allies, who have been attacking DeSantis for months in the expectation that he will challenge Trump for the GOP nomination. DeSantis has largely ignored the swipes, opting to draw subtler contrasts with Trump, so his pointed comments about "hush money to a porn star" stuck out.

The relentless insults and Trump's growing lead over DeSantis in national 2024 polling have led some close allies of the Florida governor to recalibrate their expectations and prepare for a tougher fight than they once anticipated.

In his tweet Thursday, DeSantis also falsely accused Bragg of "consistently [bending] the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct" and of being funded by left-wing philanthropist George Soros. Soros is a frequent target of baseless right-wing accusations rooted in antisemitism.

Bragg, DeSantis claimed, "is stretching the law to target a political opponent."

DeSantis was speaking at a book tour event in Smyrna, Ga., when reports of Trump's indictment broke. The governor did not address the news then, according to a person present.

- - -

The Washington Post's Isaac Arnsdorf contributed to this report.
NORTH STONINGTON  A Florida man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with drugs that caused a man to fatally overdose more than three years ago, according to Connecticut State Police.

State police extradited Edward R. Broyles, 33, from Martin County Sheriff's Detection Center in Florida on Thursday, the agency said in a news release Friday. He was charged with second-degree manslaughter and the sale/delivery of narcotics.
STAMFORD  The prosecution of a former state judicial marshal accused of stealing money from a developmentally challenged client will continue after a Superior Court judge denied her entry into a pretrial probationary program.

Judge John Blawie denied Tammy Lynn DiIorio, 42, entry into the accelerated rehabilitation program, a pretrial probationary program that, if successfully completed, could have resulted in the charges against her being dropped.

Blawie found that DiIorio, who is charged with multiple felonies, did not demonstrate good cause for the court to allow her into the pretrial program during a disposition hearing at the state Superior Court in Stamford on Wednesday.

DiIorio, 39, of Stratford, was arrested by Connecticut State Police on charges of first-degree larceny, third-degree larceny and second-degree forgery in November 2018 on allegations she stole directly from a 55-year-old Norwalk woman with the intellectual level of a 12-year-old, according to an arrest affidavit.

Detective John Kimball wrote in the affidavit that DiIorio allegedly stole money earmarked for the woman by the state Department of Developmental Services and signed state documents on her behalf.

Police said the alleged thefts occurred during 2014 and 2015, when Dilorio worked as an aide for the client and as a state judicial marshal in the Norwalk Court House. The victim lived alone and had fallen behind on rent by $4,870, according to police.

The Western District Major Crime Squad and the Department of Developmental Services began investigating the case in April 2016 after receiving a complaint.

Over the next two years, authorities conducted interviews and examined financial documents, cell phone data and more.

The investigation revealed DiIorio had allegedly used her clients debit card for a number of unauthorized expenditures, including purchases at a Brooklyn Nets game at the Barclays Center in New York, Mohegan Sun and a Norwalk shoe store, the affidavit said.

The womans brother also told investigators that his sisters home was kept in deplorable and dirty conditions with bugs, dirty, spoiled food, excessive dirty laundry, dirty dishes everywhere, according to the affidavit. He said it appeared that no one had been helpingkeep her apartment clean, although DiIorio regularly documented activities such as laundry and clean up on her time sheet, police wrote in the affidavit.

In total, state police determined that a minimum amount of $5,665 was stolen from the state and $4,7870 from the woman, the affidavit said.

I believe they should be punished by the full extent of the law. It is despicable to take advantage of someone so vulnerable, a STAR Inc. employee who worked with the victim told police, the affidavit said.

In her interviews with police, DiIorio denied stealing from her client, who she claimed was family.

I would never, ever steal from anybody OK  let alone someone with developmental disabilities that, like, I took into my home, that I love, DiIorio told police, according to the affidavit.

After being denied pretrial probation, DiIorios case was placed on the trial list. She is next expected to appear in court on May 9.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  A formerly well-connected GOP donor was convicted Friday of enticing teenage girls with gifts, cash and money in exchange for sex.

A federal jury found Anton Tony Lazzaro, 32, guilty of seven counts involving commercial sex acts with five girls ages 15 and 16 in 2020, when he was 30 years old.

The charges carry mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years with a maximum of life in prison.

The jury will return to court Monday to determine what property the government can seize based on each conviction, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Lazzaro, who contends the charges against him were politically motivated, plans to appeal, a spokeswoman for his attorneys said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The unusual application of this federal sex trafficking statute to his activities is frighteningly broad, conflating what is nothing more than arguably an act of prostitution with federal sex trafficking, Stacy Bettison said. He believes he has strong grounds for appeal, and he will vigorously seek reversal of his conviction. Mr. Lazzaro trusts he will be vindicated."

His indictment led to the downfall of Jennifer Carnahan as chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota.

His co-defendant, 21-year-old Gisela Castro Medina, who formerly led the College Republicans chapter at the University of St. Thomas, pleaded guilty to two counts last year. She testified against Lazzaro.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that Lazzaro enlisted Medina, who he initially paid for sex, to recruit other teenagers  preferably minors  who were white, small, vulnerable or broken.

He wanted sex, and not just any sex, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda Williams said during closing arguments Friday. He wanted sex with minor girls under the age of 18. And he had a plan to get it.

Lazarro's attorney, Daniel Gerdts, argued that government's salacious prosecution was based on completely unfounded allegations.

The prosecution clearly disapproves of Mr. Lazzaros playboy lifestyle, Gerdts said. And frankly, as the father of three daughters, so do I. The opprobrium is well deserved, but that is not why were here.

Carnahan. the the widow of U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, resigned a week after the charges against Lazzaro were unsealed. She denied knowing about Lazzaro's crimes but his arrest prompted outrage among party activists.

Pictures on Lazzaros social media accounts showed him with prominent Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. He gave more than $270,000 to Republican campaigns and political committees over the years.
HARTFORD  The confiscation of 16 weapons this week  including ghost guns and one set up to fire like a machine gun  is believed to be the city's biggest bust in recent history, Lt. Aaron Boisvert said Friday.

Police also seized a massive amount of illegal drugs at the crack of dawn Wednesday, including 6,000 bags of fentanyl and more than 2 pounds of cocaine, they said. In addition to local police, state and federal agencies were involved in the raids, which led to five Hartford arrests and one federal apprehension, according to Boisvert and U.S. Attorney spokesperson Thomas Carson.

Six people were arrested as officers and agents served 11 search warrants at different locations in the city, police said. The city police force arrests took place on Main, Elmer and Wooster streets, all in the northern half of Hartford. The investigation focused on suspected drug dealers in the SANA (SANDS) apartment complex on Main Street, Boisvert said.

The 16 seized guns included five untraceable ghost guns, three handguns with switches that make them fully automatic and a high-capacity handgun capable of firing 25 rounds, police said  all of which are illegal in Connecticut.

They said they also found 6,363 bags of fentanyl and enough unpackaged fentanyl to fill an additional 5,600 bags, plus 1 kilo, or 2.2 pounds, of cocaine, and 119 grams, or 4 ounces, of crack cocaine.

In addition, police said they seized cash and two vehicles.

According to Boisvert, the investigation that led to the arrests started at the beginning of the year with the Hartford Police Departments Vice and Narcotics Division. Other divisions, such as the Violent Crimes Unit; C4 Division, or the Capital City Command Center; the Street Crimes Unit and the North Community Service Officers, joined the investigation.

State and federal agencies also got involved. They are the Connecticut State Police Narcotics Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI, he said.

According to Boisvert, all of those arrested are from Hartford.

Lamel Brooks, 34, of Wooster Street, was charged with 12 counts of criminal possession of a firearm; five counts of possession of a ghost gun; three counts of possession of a machine gun and one count of possession of a high-capacity magazine.

He also was charged with two counts of theft of a firearm and one count each of possession of an assault weapon, possession of narcotics and possession of narcotics with intent to sell.

Omar Vazquez-Garcia, 30, of Elmer Street, was charged with possession of over 1 kilogram of narcotics, possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell and interfering with a search warrant, Boisvert said.

Samuel Garcia, 37, of Elmer Street, was charged with interfering with a search warrant and possession of a high-capacity magazine.

Wali Brooks, of Main Street, who turns 36 on Monday, was charged with two counts of possession of narcotics, possession with intent to sell and two counts of operating a drug factory.

And Juwan Gratic, 24, of Seyms Street, was charged with possession of narcotics and possession with intent to sell.

Federal agents apprehended Johnny Milner, 45, of Hartford, Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. The federal investigation that led to Milner's arrest is connected with the one that began with city police, Carson said.

Law enforcement was alerted by "various sources" that Milner was distributing fentanyl to street-level narcotics dealers at SANA. Tipsters also indicated that Milner stored and distributed narcotics at locations on Prospect Avenue and Bellevue Street, the U.S. attorneys office said.
The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia in Belarus will indicate an unsuccessful meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes.

"The signal that Russia will deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus speaks of an unsuccessful meeting [of the Russian president] with China," Zelenskyy said at a press conference with the President of Moldova and the Prime Ministers of Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia in Kyiv.

According to him, this is necessary for Putin in order, firstly, to show a certain subjectivity, which Russia under his leadership has already completely lost.

Secondly, as Zelenskyy noted, this is necessary for the Russian president to show some political steps or victories.

"I couldn't do it on the battlefield. And even though they [Russia] started such a bloody war, it's absolutely clear how it will end. The question is that he does not spare our people and kills them. But he does not count his people either. Although this is the business of Russia," the president said.

Zelenskyy also said the deployment of nuclear weapons by Russia in Belarus would indicate the complete loss of any subjectivity by Alexander Lukashenko, whom the West does not recognize as legitimately elected.

"He no longer decides what weapons are on his territory," Zelenskyy said.

The president also once again said: "If Ukraine does not hold out and falls, Putin will go further."

"I think so frankly, that's why I say so. But with the help of our friends and partners, our army will stand and fight for what we need  this is victory and our independence," he said.
MIDDLETOWN  Middletown Public Schools welcomed two new individuals to its central office team this month: Human Resources Manager Harry Snyder and Executive Director of Finance Eduardo (Eddie) Miranda.

While these individuals are new to the district, the positions themselves are not. Geen Thazhampallath was the former human resources manager, and Christine Bourne is the former chief of administration and finance, a position that was renamed to executive director of finance, according to a news release.

Snyder began with the district March 6. Having recently relocated to Connecticut from Vermont, he comes to the district with 23 years of experience in the public sector and human resources.

He began his career with the New York City Department of Transportation and later found himself in Vermont, where he served as human resources director for the city of Burlington, and the Visiting Nurses Association and Hospice of the Southwest Region. Most recently, Snyder was the chief human resources officer for Manufacturing Solutions Inc.

He enjoys public service, according to the news release.

Miranda came aboard March 13, bringing with him over 18 years of experience in education finance, management and operations. He previously worked for Danbury Public Schools as deputy director of finance and operations, the release stated. There, he was responsible for daily accounting functions for Danburys general fund, as well as federal and state grants.

Miranda serves on the Board of Directors for Connecticut Health Resources and Connecticut Association of Latinos in Higher Education. Additionally, he is a member of Connecticut Association of School Business Officers.

We are excited to add two new members to our Central Office team," Superintendent Alberto Vazquez Matos said in a prepared statement. "Both Mr. Snyder and Mr. Miranda are outstanding additions to our team; they both come with a wealth of experience and knowledge that has already and will continue to serve Middletown Public Schools well.

For information, visit middletownschools.org.
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Lefortovo prison, where American journalist Evan Gershkovich has been jailed on espionage charges, dates from the czarist era and has been a terrifying symbol of repression since Soviet times.

The inconspicuous, pale yellow complex in eastern Moscow was built as a military penitentiary in 1881 and was used for low-ranking convicts sentenced to relatively short terms. But it gained its notoriety after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, when it became a top detention facility for the Soviet secret police.

Under Soviet leader Josef Stalins Great Terror of mass arrests in the 1930s, Lefortovo was one of the main pre-trial detention facilities for enemies of the people, equipped with torture chambers to extract confessions. Stalins sadistic secret police chief, Lavrentiy Beria, personally took part in some prisoner interrogations and executions in its basement.

Vasily Blyukher, one of the highest-ranking Red Army officers, was among those who died in 1938 after being tortured in Lefortovo.

After Stalins death in 1953, the prison continued to serve as main detention facility for the KGB, which used it for espionage suspects and political dissidents. Stalins younger son Vasily was held in Lefortovo at one point following his fathers death as the countrys new leaders prosecuted him for various offenses.

Nobel prize author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who chronicled Stalins purges in his Gulag Archipelago, spent a night in Lefortovo in 1974 before being expelled from the Soviet Union.

Soviet dissidents Vladimir Bukovsky and Natan Sharansky were held there during Leonid Brezhnev's rule and later released in prisoner exchanges, and Brezhnev's son-in-law, Yuri Churbanov, served time there on corruption charges soon after the leader's death.

Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was put in Lefortovo after his 1986 arrest on bogus espionage accusations. He was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Unions U.N. mission who was arrested by the FBI on spying charges.

Gershkovich, a 31-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal, is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since Daniloff. The Journal denied the allegations and demanded Gershkovich's release.

Mathias Rust, a German teenager who astonished the world by landing his light plane on Red Square in 1987 after fooling Soviet air defenses, also was held in Lefortovo until his release the following year.

After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the leaders of a hard-line parliamentary rebellion against Russias first president, Boris Yeltsin, in 1993 also were held there until their amnesty the following year.

Other famous Lefortovo inmates included Russian intelligence officers Alexander Litvinenko and Sergei Skripal, both later poisoned in the U.K. in what British authorities described as Moscow-engineered attacks. Litvinenko died in London in 2006 after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium, while Skripal and his daughter survived their 2018 poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok.

Even though it was formally transferred to Justice Ministry jurisdiction in 2005, the Federal Security Service, the top KGB successor agency that is known under its acronym FSB, has maintained de facto control of the facility.

All those arrested by the FSB on spying charges and some other high-profile suspects, including government officials accused of corruption, are held in Lefortovo pending trial.

Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive and a former Marine, was held in Lefortovo after his arrest in 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have said are baseless. After his conviction in 2020, Whelan was transferred to another prison to serve his 16-year sentence.

Lefortovos trademark is holding its prisoners in total information isolation, said Yevgeny Smirnov, a prominent lawyer who has defended espionage and treason suspects.

No calls, no visitation, no newspapers, nothing, Smirnov told The Associated Press. At best, they will receive letters  and even then most likely with a delay of a month or two. Its one of the tools of suppression.

Smirnov and his colleague Ivan Pavlov said FSB espionage investigations typically last from a year to 18 months, followed by a trial behind closed doors. There have been no acquittals in treason and espionage cases in Russia since 1999, Pavlov said.

While Lefortovo has maintained its distinctive Soviet-era feel, one addition was a small Russian Orthodox church built on its grounds with small separate prayer cabins to keep inmates from being seen by others.

Authorities maintain a tight lid of secrecy on Lefortovo, not disclosing any details such as the number of prisoners held there. Russian media reports said it hosts no more than 200 prisoners at a time, normally kept in solitary confinement.

Writer Eduard Limonov, who spent two years in Lefortovo in the early 2000s after being charged with extremism for his political activities, described its dusty red carpets in the corridors, muffling the steps of inmates, and portraits of Soviet secret police founder Felix Dzerzhinsky in interrogation rooms.

Cell doors shut noiselessly, with the silence only broken when guards use clacking devices or banged metal pipes to warn colleagues that they were escorting a suspect to avoid meeting others.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  The New Mexico Supreme Court blocked local anti-abortion ordinances Friday pending the outcome of a case centered on constitutional rights to equal protection and due process.

The ruling granted a request by Democratic state Attorney General Raul Torrez and follows the state's recent adoption of a new abortion rights bill signed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham just weeks ago that overrides any local ordinances aimed at limiting access to abortion procedures and medications.

The state already had one of the countrys most liberal abortion access laws, but two counties and three cities in eastern New Mexico recently adopted restrictions that reflect deep-seated opposition to offering the procedure. Torrez's petition and the legislation that was passed during the recent 60-day legislative session aim to override those ordinances and prevent other counties from adopting abortion restrictions.

The goal is for New Mexico to remain a safe haven for women seeking abortions, Torrez said in a statement Friday.

The legislation and the petition will make it clear that everyone in the state of New Mexico has a protected, constitutional right to make their own healthcare decisions, he said. "Given the attacks we are seeing in Texas and across the country, I am proud to stand with our Legislature and the governor to continue this fight.

Democratic governors in 20 states this year launched a network intended to strengthen abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision nixing a womans constitutional right to end a pregnancy. The decision shifted regulatory powers over the procedure to state governments.

In 2021, the Democratic-led New Mexico Legislature repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, ensuring access to abortion even after the federal court rolled back guarantees. The governor also signed a series of executive orders that, among other things, barred state cooperation with other states that might interfere with abortion access.

The changes over the past two years have prompted more providers to relocate to New Mexico and bring patients with them.

Mississippis only abortion clinic relocated to southern New Mexico. Tele-health provider Choix, based in San Francisco, became licensed last year to operate in New Mexico.

One of the largest abortion providers that had operated in Texas opened a new clinic in New Mexicos largest city last week. Officials with Whole Womans Health said more than a dozen patients walked through the doors of the Albuquerque clinic in the first week, all of them from Texas. For some, it required a road trip that spanned about 900 miles (1,448 kilometers).

And everybody who cared for the patients was also from Texas. It was remarkably meaningful for the staff. It was Texans serving Texans, said Whole Womans Health President and CEO Amy Hagstrom Miller. It was just an emotional day for everybody.

Whole Womans Health started a fundraising effort last summer to help with the costs of moving equipment and supplies from Texas to New Mexico and for the purchase of a building to serve as its new home.

New Mexico's governor also has pledged to spend $10 million to build a new abortion clinic in the southern part of the state near El Paso, Texas.

In its order, the New Mexico Supreme Court outlined a schedule for the ongoing case over the ordinances in the cities of Hobbs, Clovis and Eunice, and in Lea and Roosevelt counties. It said briefs due in April should address what, if any, effect the new abortion rights law will have on the case.

In an earlier brief filed with the court, a coalition of anti-abortion organizations argued that the attorney general bypassed ordinary litigation procedures by filing the emergency petition in hopes of having the court declare a new constitutional right without the benefit of a lower court taking up the issue.

Erin Hawley, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the groups, suggested Friday that it would be a massive error from the New Mexico Supreme Court if it was to create a so-called right to abortion out of thin air. She also took issue with the legislation barring local ordinances that limit access.

State legislatures should be affirming that life is a human right and ensuring that women and families facing unplanned pregnancies have real support, Hawley said.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP)  Tampa police officers were called to a commercial part of town because of a disturbance, but it wasn't a public brawl or anyone behaving in a disorderly manner. It was a 9-foot (2.7-meter) alligator Wednesday night ambling down a street not far from Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The urban gator whipped its tail several times when an officer first approached it, poking with an outstretched baton. A half dozen officers along with a crowd of spectators watched as lights from squad cars flashed on the blocked off street, according to bodycam video released by the Tampa Police Department.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Victor Menaldo, University of Washington; James D. Long, University of Washington, and Morgan Wack, University of Washington

(THE CONVERSATION) A Manhattan grand jury on March 30, 2023, indicted former President Donald Trump on charges likely related to the cover-up of his relationship with a porn star. Hes the first U.S. president or former president to be criminally charged.

Trump is also under investigation in other cases. These include the Aug. 8, 2022, seizure of documents from his Florida home by the FBI, continued progress in a Georgia state investigation into Republican election tampering and the ongoing revelations of evidence presented by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

While charging a former president with a criminal offense is a first in the United States, in other countries ex-leaders are routinely investigated, prosecuted and even jailed.

In March 2021, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to a year in prison for corruption and influence peddling. Later that year, the trial of Israels longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu related to breaches of trust, bribery and fraud while in office commenced. And Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa who was charged with money laundering and racketeering, has yet to face trial after years of delays.

At first glance, prosecuting current or past top officials accused of illegal conduct seems like an obvious decision for a democracy: Everyone should be subject to the rule of law.

But presidents and prime ministers arent just anyone. They are chosen by a nations citizens or their parties to lead. They are often popular, sometimes revered. So judicial proceedings against them are inevitably perceived as political and become divisive.

Destabilizing prosecutions

This is partly why U.S. President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, his predecessor, in 1974. Despite clear evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the Watergate scandal, Ford feared the country would needlessly be diverted from meeting (our) challenges if we as a people were to remain sharply divided over punishing the ex-president.

Public reaction at the time was divided along party lines. Today, some now see absolving Nixon as necessary to heal the nation, while others believe it was a historic mistake, even taking Nixons deteriorating health into account  if for no other reason than it emboldens future impunity of the kind Trump is accused of.

Our research on prosecuting world leaders finds that both sweeping immunity and overzealous prosecutions can undermine democracy. But such prosecutions pose different risks for older democracies such as France and the U.S. than they do in younger democracies like South Africa.

Mature democracies

Strong democracies are usually competent enough  and the judicial system independent enough  to prosecute politicians who misbehave, including top leaders.

Sarkozy is Frances second modern president to be found guilty of corruption, after Jacques Chirac in 2011 for kickbacks and an attempt to bribe a magistrate. The country didnt fall apart after either conviction. Some observers, however, say that Sarkozys three-year prison sentence was too harsh and politically motivated.

In mature democracies, prosecutions that hold leaders accountable can solidify the rule of law. South Korea investigated and convicted five former presidents starting in the 1990s, a wave of political prosecutions that culminated in the 2018 impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and, soon after, the conviction and imprisonment of her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak.

Did these prosecutions deter future leaders from wrongdoing? For what its worth, Koreas two most recent presidents have so far kept out of legal trouble.

Overzealous prosecution versus rule of law

Even in mature democracies, prosecutors or judges can abuse prosecutions. But overzealous political prosecution is more likely, and potentially more damaging, in emerging democracies where courts and other public institutions may be insufficiently independent from politics. The weaker and more beholden the judiciary, the easier it is for leaders to exploit the system, either to expand their own power or to take down an opponent.

Brazil embodies this dilemma.

Ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former shoeshine boy turned popular leftist, was jailed in 2018 for accepting bribes. Many Brazilians thought his prosecution was a politicized effort to end his career, but Lula was re-elected in October, 2022.

A year later, the same prosecutorial team accused the conservative former President Michel Temer of accepting millions in bribes. After his term ended in 2019, Temer was arrested; his trial was later suspended.

Both Brazilian presidents prosecutions were part of a yearslong sweeping anti-corruption probe by the courts that has jailed dozens of politicians. Even the probes lead prosecutor is accused of corruption.

Depending on ones perspective, Brazils crisis reveals that nobody is above the law or that the government is incorrigibly corrupt  or both. With such confusion, it becomes easier for politicians and voters to view leaders transgressions as a normal cost of doing business.

For Lula, a conviction didnt end his career. He was released from jail in 2019 and the Supreme Court later annulled his conviction. Lula is now leading the 2022 presidential race against current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Stability versus accountability

Historically, Mexico has taken a different approach to prosecuting past presidents: It doesnt.

During the 20th century, Mexicos ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, established a system of patronage and corruption that kept its members in power and other parties in the minority. While making a show of going after smaller fish for petty indiscretions, the PRI-run legal system wouldnt touch top party officials, even the most openly corrupt.

Impunity kept Mexico stable during its transition to democracy in the 1990s by placating PRI members fears of prosecution after leaving office. But government corruption flourished, and with it, organized crime.

That may be changing, though. In early August 2022, Mexican federal prosecutors confirmed that it has several open investigations into former PRI President Enrique Pena Nieto for alleged money laundering and election-related offenses, among other crimes.

Mexico is far from the only country to overlook the bad deeds of past leaders. Our research finds that only 23% of countries that transitioned to democracy between 1885 and 2004 charged former leaders with crimes after democratization.

Protecting authoritarians  including those who oversaw human rights violations  may seem contrary to democratic values, but many transitional governments have decided it is necessary for democracy to take root.

Thats the bargain South Africa struck as apartheids decades of segregation and human rights abuses ended in the early 1990s. South Africas white-dominated government negotiated with Nelson Mandelas Black-led African National Congress to ensure outgoing government members and supporters would avoid prosecution and largely retain their wealth.

This strategy helped the country transition to majority Black rule in 1994 and avoid a civil war. But it hurt efforts to create a more equal South Africa. As a result, the country has retained one of the worlds highest racial wealth gaps.

Corruption is a problem, too, as former President Zumas prosecution for lavish personal use of public funds shows. But South Africa has a famously independent judiciary. Despite pushback from some African National Congress stalwarts and several legal appeals, Zumas prosecution continues. And it may yet deter future misdeeds.

How mature is mature?

Israel is partly a testament to the rule of law  and partly a cautionary tale about prosecuting leaders in democracies.

Israel didnt wait for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to leave office to investigate wrongdoing. But the court process was fraught with delays, in part because Netanyahu used state power to resist what he called a witch hunt.

The trial triggered protests by his Likud party. Netanyahu tried unsuccessfully to secure immunity and stall. He was even reelected while under indictment, and his trial is not over yet.

With the Trump indictment, the process will reveal something fundamental about American democracy. Whatever the outcome, they will be a matter of both law - and politics.

This is a substantially updated version of an article originally published on March 16, 2021.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/prosecuting-a-president-is-divisive-and-sometimes-destabilizing-heres-why-many-countries-do-it-anyway-188565.
The recent deaths of four sea otters discovered along Californias Central Coast have been linked to a strain of parasite that scientists are calling rare and unusual  one that could also pose a threat to humans and other animals.

Video above: Otter population increasing in Monterey Bay



The first infected sea otter, a female, was found on a beach in San Simeon in February 2020. She was still alive but appeared thin and displayed severe neurological symptoms; researchers said she was groaning and mostly unresponsive. She died shortly thereafter.

The other three sea otters washed ashore between February and March 2022; they were deceased but considered to be in good to excellent nutritional condition prior to their deaths, said Devinn Sinnott, a graduate student in integrative pathobiology at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and a co-author of a study published last Wednesday from UC Davis and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Notably, the three infected females were stranded within about 16 miles of one another in San Luis Obispo County, while the male was found at Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve in Santa Cruz, all during periods of heavy rainfall.

When the sea otters were transported to the California Department of Fish and Wildlifes Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center in Santa Cruz for necropsy, researchers were puzzled by what they found in a series of DNA tests. Not only did the animals all show signs of a severe form of toxoplasmosis that had never been reported in sea otters or other aquatic animals before, but until now, the parasite had also never been detected on the California coastline.

I have studied Toxoplasma infections in sea otters for 25 years, and I have never seen such severe lesions or high parasite numbers, Melissa Miller, a veterinary pathologist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in a statement.

Experts are reporting their preliminary findings to increase awareness surrounding the strain. There is a potential public health risk because it has the capability to spread and infect any warm-blooded animal, as well as humans who consume raw or undercooked mussels, clams, oysters or crab. As long as people are limiting their exposure to the parasite, the risk should be pretty low, Sinnott said. Most people who contract toxoplasmosis do not experience symptoms, but it can cause neurological disease, as well as miscarriages in people who are pregnant, and poses an increased risk for people who are immunocompromised.

Under the microscope, we saw abundant inflammation and numerous, numerous parasites present, Sinnott said, repeating the word for emphasis. We want to make other vets aware of this so they can take extra precautions, because there could be an increased risk potential for other people out in the field who are working with animal tissue.

Toxoplasmosis is actually common among sea otters  they are vulnerable to the infection because they live near the shoreline, where they may be exposed to the parasites eggs in stormwater runoff, and they eat bivalve shellfish that can hold on to the egg stage of the parasite.

But this particular strain appears to be more fatal than most, swiftly killing otters that were previously healthy, Sinnott said. Known as the COUG genotype, the strain was first identified in mountain lions in British Columbia, Canada, in 1995 after an outbreak of the parasite had occurred among humans around the same time. So far, the strain has not infected humans, and only one other case was recorded in a feral pig in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

We dont see it that commonly, Sinnott said. To find it in a marine environment was very surprising.

The cause and exact source of the strain remain unknown. What experts do know is that toxoplasma strains replicate in the intestines of cats and other felid species and that somehow the otters were infected with the egg stage of the parasite. Because the sea otters were infected during periods of heavy rainfall, Sinnott hypothesized that a domestic or wild cat may have shed the parasite through its feces into streams or stormwater runoff, which then may have drained into the ocean water where the otters were feeding and subsequently became infected.

Sea otters have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1977, and Sinnott said the population has struggled to get back to its historic numbers and geographic range due to other infectious diseases, resource limitations and shark predation. She noted this has a greater ecological impact  with fewer sea otters around to help control exploding sea urchin populations, kelp forests that other marine species and invertebrates rely on to survive are disappearing.

They play a pivotal role in the California coast. Finding this additional lethal strain in sea otters is very concerning from a population health standpoint because theyre already under a lot of pressure, Sinnott said. If we do see more cases in healthy and pup-bearing adults, we could see significant population impacts on this very stressed species.

Sinnott urged people to contact the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Marine Mammal Center, or the Monterey Bay Aquarium if they see sick or stranded sea otters. More research and careful surveillance of the species are needed to uncover more information on how prevalent the parasite is, where its coming from, how spread out it is geographically and to what degree it could affect other species.

There are a lot of questions that have yet to be answered, Sinnott said.
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP)  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will visit New Mexico next month at what will likely be an announcement by former U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell to campaign for her old seat.

The Roswell Daily Record reported Friday that McCarthy will attend a rally April 10 for Herrell at the Heritage Farm & Ranch Museum in Las Cruces.
An Ecuadorian woman living in Woodbridge was sentenced to five months in prison, becoming the latest person to face time behind bars in a tax refund scheme the government alleges cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton ordered Olga Aucapina to serve three years of supervision upon the end of her prison sentence, as well as to pay $177,589 in restitution, the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release.

The 53-year-old appeared Thursday in New Haven for sentencing. Aucapina, also known as Olga Aucapina Paredes, is released on bond and is required to report to prison on May 30, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Prosecutors said between May 2013 and April 2017, Aucapina and several other Ecuadorian citizens illegally obtained tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service.

"In order to obtain the refunds, Aucapina and others filed fraudulent federal tax returns, in the names of other foreign nationals ('claimants'), with the IRS," the U.S. Attorney's office said. The fraudulent tax returns stated that the claimants resided in the U.S., earned wages from companies in the U.S., and had federal income tax withheld from the claimants wages."

"In truth, the claimants never worked for or earned income from those companies," according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney's office said U.S. Customs and Border Protection have no records of the claimants being in the country during the tax years for which the returns were filed.

Through the scheme, Aucapina and her associates obtained 142 tax refunds, totaling about $435,500, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Aucapina personally deposited 59 of those refunds, totaling $177,589, into her own bank accounts.

She and her associates then used the money for personal use and wired some funds to relatives in Ecuador, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

On July 16, 2021, Aucapina and three others were charged with various offenses stemming from the scheme. Aucapina pleaded guilty to theft of public money on Feb. 14, 2022. Her co-defendants pleaded guilty to related charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Edwin F. Gutierrez and Diego Aucapina, co-defendants in the case, were each sentenced to six months in prison followed by two years of supervision for the scheme. Jairo Santiago Sarango was sentenced to a year of probation.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Stefanie Lindquist, Arizona State University

(THE CONVERSATION) A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former President Donald Trump. The specific state charges, reports The New York Times, remain a mystery but will be related to the Manhattan district attorneys investigation of Trump for making hush money payments to a porn star just before the 2016 presidential election.

Its the first time a U.S. president or former president has been indicted.

At the same time, Trump is expected to continue his campaign for the presidency, seeking to regain in 2024 the position he lost in 2020 to Joe Biden.

What are the consequences of an indictment and potential trial for his campaign and, if his effort is successful, his future presidency?

Article II of the U.S. Constitutionsets forth very explicit qualifications for the presidency: The president must be 35 years of age, a U.S. resident for 14 years and a natural-born citizen.

In cases involving analogous qualifications for members of Congress, the Supreme Court has held that such qualifications form a constitutional ceiling  prohibiting any additional qualifications to be imposed by any means.

Thus, because the Constitution does not require that the president be free from indictment, conviction or prison, it follows that a person under indictment or in prison may run for the office and may even serve as president.

This is the prevailing legal standard that would apply to former President Trump. The fact of his indictment and potential trial is irrelevant to his qualifications for office under the Constitution.

Nevertheless, there seems no question that indictment, conviction or both  let alone a prison sentence  would significantly compromise a presidents ability to function in office. And the Constitution doesnt provide an easy answer to the problem posed by such a compromised chief executive.

Governing from jail?

A presidential candidate could be indicted, prosecuted and convicted by either state or federal authorities. Indictment for a state crime may seem less significant than federal charges brought by the Department of Justice.

Ultimately, though, the spectacle of a criminal trial in state or federal court would have a dramatic effect on a presidential campaign and on the credibility of a president, if elected.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proved guilty. But in the case of conviction, incarceration in state or federal prison involves restrictions on liberty that would significantly compromise the presidents ability to lead.

This point  that functioning as president would be difficult while under indictment or after being convicted  was made plain in a 2000 memo written by the Department of Justice. The memo reflected on a 1973 Office of Legal Counsel memo produced during Watergate titled Amenability of the President, Vice President and other Civil Officers to Federal Criminal Prosecution while in Office. The background to the 1973 memo was that President Richard Nixon was under investigation for his role in the Watergate break-in and Vice President Spiro Agnew was under grand jury investigation for tax evasion.

These two memos addressed whether a sitting president could, under the Constitution, be indicted while in office. They concluded he could not. But what about a president indicted, convicted, or both, before taking office, as could be the case for Trump?

In evaluating whether a sitting president could be indicted or imprisoned while in office, both the 1973 and 2000 memos outlined the consequences of a pending indictment for the presidents functioning in office. The earlier memo used strong words: [t]he spectacle of an indicted President still trying to serve as Chief Executive boggles the imagination.

Even more pointedly, the memos observe that a criminal prosecution against a sitting president could result in physical interference with the Presidents performance of his official duties that it would amount to an incapacitation.

The memo here refers to the inconvenience of a criminal trial that would significantly detract from the presidents time commitment to his burdensome duties.

But its also lawyers language to describe a more direct impediment to the presidents ability to govern: He might be in jail.

Core functions affected

According to the 1973 memo, the President plays an unparalleled role in the execution of the laws, the conduct of foreign relations, and the defense of the Nation.

Because these core functions require meetings, communications or consultations with the military, foreign leaders and government officials in the U.S. and abroad in ways that cannot be performed while imprisoned, constitutional law scholar Alexander Bickel remarked in 1973 that obviously the presidency cannot be conducted from jail.

Modern presidents are peripatetic: They travel nationally and globally on a constant basis to meet with other national leaders and global organizations. They obviously wouldnt be able to do these things while in prison. Nor could they inspect the aftermath of natural disasters from coast to coast, celebrate national successes and events or address citizens and groups on issues of the day, at least in person.

Moreover, presidents need access to classified information and briefings. But imprisonment would also obviously compromise a presidents ability to access such information, which must often be stored and viewed in a secure room that has been protected against all manner of spying, including blocking radio waves  not something thats likely available in a prison.

As a result of the presidents varied duties and obligations, the memos concluded that [t]he physical confinement of the chief executive following a valid conviction would indisputably preclude the executive branch from performing its constitutionally assigned functions.

Translation: The president couldnt do his job.

Running from prison

Yet what to do if citizens actually elect an indicted or incarcerated president?

This is not out of the question. At least one incarcerated presidential candidate, Eugene Debs, garnered almost a million votes out of a total 26.2 million cast in the election of 1920.

One potential response is the 25th Amendment, which enables the presidents Cabinet to declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.

The two Department of Justice memos note, however, that the framers of the 25th Amendment never considered or mentioned incarceration as a basis for the inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office. They write that replacing the president under the 25th Amendment would give insufficient weight to the peoples considered choice as to whom they wish to serve as their chief executive.

All this brings to mind Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes admonition about the role of the Supreme Court: If my fellow citizens want to go to Hell I will help them. Its my job.

Holmes statement came in a letter reflecting on the Sherman Antitrust Act, which he thought was a foolish law. But Holmes was prepared to accept the popular will expressed through democracy and self-determination.

Perhaps the same reflection is apt here: If the people choose a president hobbled by criminal sanctions, that is a form of self-determination too. And one for which the Constitution has no ready solution.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/trump-indictment-wont-keep-him-from-presidential-race-but-will-make-his-reelection-bid-much-harder-197677.
Slovenia to continue to provide strong defense, technical, humanitarian, political support to Ukraine for as long as necessary  joint declaration

Slovenia will continue to promote strong and effective EU and NATO support for Ukraine aimed at ensuring its ability to defend its territories, according to the Joint Declaration of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Robert Golob, signed on Friday.

"The Republic of Slovenia will continue to promote strong and effective political and material support by the EU and NATO for Ukraine aimed at ensuring the ability of the Ukrainian state to effectively defend its territories in line with its inherent right of self-defence," according to the declaration, the text of which is posted on the official portal President of Ukraine.

According to the text of the declaration, "Slovenia will continue to provide strong defence, technical, humanitarian and political support to Ukraine for as long as it takes."

In addition, in the declaration, Slovenia said it "supports Ukraine to become NATO Member as soon as conditions allow,", and Ukraine, in turn, "supports the candidature of the Republic of Slovenia for non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council for the 20242025 term."

Ukraine and the Republic of Slovenia also expressed their "readiness to hold bilateral consultations on Ukraine's security concerns prior to NATO membership" and pledged to "coordinate closely on these matters by intensifying bilateral contacts."
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  The Biden administration cleared the way Friday for California's plan to phase out a wide range of diesel-powered trucks, part of the state's efforts to drastically cut planet-warming emissions and improve air quality in heavy-traffic areas like ports along the coast.

The decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows California  which has some of the nation's worst air pollution  to require truck manufacturers to sell an increasing number of zero-emission trucks over the next couple of decades. The rule applies to a wide range of trucks including box trucks, semitrailers and even large passenger pick-ups.

Under the Clean Air Act, California has longstanding authority to address pollution from cars and trucks. Todays announcement allows the state to take additional steps in reducing their transportation emissions through these new regulatory actions, said EPA Administrator Michael Regan, in a statement.

Gov. Gavin Newsom applauded the state's role as a leader for setting ambitious vehicle emission standards.

Were leading the charge to get dirty trucks and buses  the most polluting vehicles  off our streets, and other states and countries are lining up to follow our lead, the Democrat said in a statement.

The EPA typically sets standards for tailpipe emissions from passenger cars, trucks and other vehicles, but California has historically been granted waivers to impose its own, stricter standards. Other states can then follow suit, and eight other states plan to adopt California's truck standards, Newsom's office said. In a letter last year, attorneys general from 15 states, Washington, D.C., and New York City urged the EPA to approve the California truck standards.

The transportation sector accounts for nearly 40% of Californias greenhouse gas emissions. Newsom has already moved to ban the sale of new cars that run entirely on gasoline by 2035. The EPA has not acted on those rules.

The new truck standards are aimed at companies that make trucks and those that own large quantities of them. Companies owning 50 or more trucks will have to report information to the state about how they use these trucks to ship goods and provide shuttle services. Manufacturers will have to sell a higher percentage of zero-emission vehicles starting in 2024. Depending on the class of truck, zero-emission ones will have to make up 40% to 75% of sales by 2035.

California has a long legacy of adopting stricter tailpipe emission standards, even before the federal Clean Air Act was signed into law, said Paul Cort, a lawyer with environmental nonprofit Earthjustice.

We have a vehicle problem," Cort said. "We're addicted to our cars and trucks, and that's a big cause of the air pollution that we're fighting.

But Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, said it's too soon to adopt the California standards.

The charging infrastructure is certainly not there, he said about powering stations for electric vehicles. And on top of the charging infrastructure, we have the grid issues.

While California was hit this winter by atmospheric rivers that soaked much of the state, it has for years suffered from drought conditions, and in September, a brutal heat wave that put its electricity grid to the test.

The announcement came as advocates are pushing for more ambitious tailpipe emissions standards in other states and at the national level.

We don't just fight for California, we fight for all of the communities, said Jan Victor Andasan, an activist with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. The group advocates for better air quality in and around Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city that is known for its dense traffic and intense smog.

Andasan and other environmental activists from across the country who are a part of the Moving Forward Network, a 50-member group based at Occidental College in Los Angeles, met with EPA officials recently to discuss national regulations to limit emissions from trucks and other vehicles.

But some in the trucking industry are concerned about how costly and burdensome the transition will be for truck drivers and companies.

The state and federal regulators collaborating on this unrealistic patchwork of regulations have no grasp on the real costs of designing, building, manufacturing and operating the trucks that deliver their groceries, clothes and goods, said Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Association, in a statement.

They will certainly feel the pain when these fanciful projections lead to catastrophic disruptions well beyond Californias borders, he added.

Federal pollution standards for heavy trucks are also getting tougher. The EPA released rules that will cut nitrogen oxide pollution, which contributes to the formation of smog, by more than 80% in 2027. The agency will propose greenhouse gas emissions limits this year.

The agency expects the new standards and government investment will lead to zero-emissions electric and hydrogen fuel cell trucks carrying most of the nations freight.

California activists Andasan and Brenda Huerta Soto, an organizer with the Peoples Collective for Environmental Justice, are troubled by the impact of pollution from trucks and other vehicles on communities with a large population of residents of color that live near busy ports in Los Angeles, Oakland and other cities as well as warehouse-dense inland areas.

Huerta Soto works in Southern California's Inland Empire, where a high concentration of trucks pass through to transport goods. On top of truck pollution, the many cars, trucks and trains that travel through the area burden residents with noises, odors and pollutants these vehicles emit, she said.

We have the technology, and we have the money" to move toward zero-emission vehicles, she said.

___

Associated Press writers Tom Krisher in Detroit and Matthew Daly in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

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Sophie Austin 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 Austin on Twitter: @sophieadanna
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THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP)  Greeces prime minister promised Friday to extend an existing wall across all of the countrys land border with Turkey as he campaigned for the country's general election.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who called the May 21 election earlier this week, presided over a ceremony to sign his center-right government's decision to nearly double the length of the existing steel border wall over the next year.

The wall currently spans 37.5 kilometers (25 miles), and the government plans to extend it by 35 kilometers over the next 12 months. More than 100 kilometers of wall will be added to that by 2026, government officials said.

Border security remains a high-profile issue in Greece due to long-standing disputes with Turkey and a mass migration of refugees and migrants into the European Union during 2015-16 that largely was triggered by war in Syria and Iraq.

Mitsotakis and other officials accused their political opponents from the left-wing Syriza party of trying to undermine the project and to block the government's attempt to obtain European Union funding for it.

I would like to express my regret that there are political forces in Greece today that are fighting this project, Mitsotakis told supporters during his campaign stop in Orestiada, a town near the Greece-Turkey border.

Let them state their position clearly: Will they tear down the wall that we have already built and return to a policy of open borders? Or will they preserve it and help secure Greeces borders? Mitsotakis asked.

Syriza officials accused the government of misrepresenting the opposition's position, adding that the EU's executive commission already ruled out providing direct funding for border walls.

We are not going to tear down anything, European Parliament Vice President Dimitris Papadimoulis, who heads the Syriza delegation in the EU legislature, told Greek radio station Real FM. And of course, we support EU funding for border security needs, like funds for night vision cameras and coast guard vessels.

Papadimoulis accused the government of pandering to far-right voters and trying to distract attention from a deadly rail disaster last month that has triggered public anger and cut into Mitsotakis lead in opinion polls.

The government argues the wall has functioned as an effective deterrent against illegal migration, helping prevent more that 250,000 crossings at the land border last year.

___

Follow AP's coverage of global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

___

Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece.
TOKYO (AP)  A Japanese Cabinet minister in charge of tackling the country's declining birthrate unveiled a draft proposal Friday aimed at reversing the downtrend, including increased subsidies for childrearing and education and a salary increase for younger workers to incentivize marrying and having kids.

Japans population of more than 125 million has been declining for 15 years and is projected to fall to 86.7 million by 2060. A shrinking and aging population has huge implications for the economy and for national security as the country fortifies its military to counter Chinas increasingly assertive territorial ambitions.

Children's Policies Minister Masanobu Ogura said the next few years are possibly "a last chance for Japan to reverse its declining births. If the number of births keeps falling at the rate since the beginning of 2000, the young population will shrink at twice the current pace in the 2030s, he said.

Many younger Japanese have balked at marrying or having families, discouraged by bleak job prospects, corporate cultures incompatible with having both parents  but especially women  work, and the lack of public tolerance for small children.

To address the problems, Oguras plan proposes increased financial assistance, including more government subsidies for childrearing, more generous student loans for higher education and greater access to childcare services. It also aims to change the cultural mindset toward more gender equality both at work and at home. The proposal also includes increased government assistance to companies to encourage more of male staff to take paternity leave, which has been a point of contention for working fathers fearing retaliation.

While diverse views about marriage, childbirth and childrearing should be respected, we want to make a society where young generations can marry, have and raise children as they wish, Ogura said. The basic direction of our measures to tackle low births is to reverse the trend of declining births by supporting individuals pursuit of happiness.

He said he submitted the proposal to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for further consideration. It will be part of a bigger policy package that Kishidas government will compile in June.

In 2022, Japan had 799,728 newborns, a record low, falling below 800,000 for the first time since surveys began in 1899. Many couples are hesitating to add to their families because of rising costs.

Japan is the worlds third biggest economy but living costs are high, wage increases have been slow and about 40% of Japanese are part-time or contract workers. Critics say the government has lagged in making society more inclusive for children, women and minorities.

Under the conservative governing party, which supports traditional family values and gender roles, women who are unmarried or without children tend to be less respected, and marriage is a prerequisite for having children.

Ogura's proposal did not mention its estimated cost.

So far, government efforts to encourage people to have more babies have had a limited impact despite subsidies for pregnancies, births and childcare.

In a country that ranks among the worst globally in gender equality, the situation hampers women's pursuit of careers after marriage or after having children.

The majority of Japanese between the ages of 18 and 34 say they hope to marry at some point but plan to have fewer than two children. A growing percentage say they have no intention of getting married, according to data cited in the proposal.
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP)  Malaysia's top court refused Friday to review its 2022 decision to uphold former Prime Minister Najib Razak's conviction for graft and 12-year jail sentence, saying he was the author of his own misfortune.

A five-member Federal Court bench unanimously rejected his final appeal in August in a case linked to the looting of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, sending Najib straight to prison to start serving his sentence. But Najib has sought a review to overturn the decision, saying he has been denied a fair trial.

A new Federal Court panel rejected Najib's assertion in a majority judgement. This effectively shut the lid on the case, which means that Najib will have to serve out the duration of his sentence. If he had won a review, he could have been freed on bail pending a new appeal hearing.

Najib was stone-faced when the judgement was read out.

Four of five judges said they found no failure of justice. They dismissed the defense's arguments that there was a conflict of interest by the judge who convicted him, Najib was not given sufficient time for his new lawyer to prepare for the case, and he wasn't allowed to cite new evidence. The judges said the earlier Federal Court panel had applied the laws correctly.

In this matter, with respect, we are constrained to say the applicant is the author of his own misfortune, said Justice Vernon Ong.

Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli dissented, saying that there must be confidence in the administration of justice. He spent more than an hour explaining why he saw a miscarriage of justice in the handling of the final appeal last year.

Later, lead prosecutor V. Sithambaram told reporters that Friday's decision was a vindication that the charges are legally mounted and not politically motivated.

"This prosecution has shown that no man in this land is above the law, he said, adding that it should send a chilling message that the law would catch up with all offenders.

But defense counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said it was not the end of the matter yet."

While the defense team was extremely disappointed, Shafee said, the strong dissenting judgement has opened up the possibility of a fresh review. He noted that Abdul Rahman even suggested an acquittal instead of a retrial on grounds that Najib wasn't accorded a fair trial. Shafee declined to give further details on Najib's next move.

While further review of the case is possible, Sithambaram said it was unlikely.

The British-educated Najib was born into Malaysias political elite. His father was the countrys second prime minister and his uncle was the third.

He became prime minister in 2009 as a reformer but his term was tainted by the 1MDB scandal that sparked investigations in the United States and several other countries and caused his governments downfall in 2018 general elections.

Investigators allege at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the 1MDB fund, set up shortly after Najib took power, and laundered by Najibs associates. Najib was found guilty in 2020 of seven charges of corruption for illegally receiving $9.4 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.

Najib was the countrys first former leader to be imprisoned. He still faces dozens of charges in several separate trials linked to 1MDB. His wife, Rosmah Mansor, was also sentenced to 10 years in jail for a separate corruption case and is out on bail pending appeal.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The financial safety nets millions of older Americans rely on  and millions more young people are counting on  will run short of money to pay full benefits within the next decade, the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released Friday warns.

Medicare, the government-sponsored health insurance that covers 65 million older and disabled people, will be unable to pay full benefits for inpatient hospital visits and nursing home stays by 2031, the report forecast. And just two years later, Social Security won't have enough cash on hand to pay out full benefits to its 66 million retirees.

The report is another prod for politicians to address the fragile financial state of the social programs, which are only expected to get more expensive in the coming years as more Americans age into eligibility for them.

The Trustees continue to recommend that Congress address the projected trust fund shortfalls in a timely fashion to phase in necessary changes gradually, said Kilolo Kijakazi, acting commissioner of Social Security.

Friday's report is a mix of good and bad news: The forecasted go-broke date for Medicare was moved back three years  last year's report predicted the government wouldn't have enough money to start paying those benefits in 2028. But the date for Social Security's trust was moved up one year earlier.

On its current track, Medicare would be able to cover only 89% of costs for patients' hospital visits, nursing home stays and home health care starting in 2031. The date was pushed back, in part, because health care spending has not rebounded in the way trustees expected as the COVID-19 pandemic has faded. Trustees said part of that could be that the country's most vulnerable and sickest were among the roughly 1.1 million Americans who died from the virus. Also, knee and hip replacements have largely shifted from inpatient procedures to less costly outpatient visits.

Social Security is in worse shape with the fund predicted to cover only 77% of benefits starting in 2033. Not enough money is coming in to sustain the fund. Inflation and economic output are driving some of the fund's troubles. And, another problem for the fund has been driven by income inequality: there's been a faster uptick in incomes for the country's wealthiest, but slower-than-expected growth for low-income earners, meaning the government is not collecting as much tax revenue as it expected from much of the population.

Social Security's disability trust fund is in much better shape  it's not expected to be depleted within the next 75 years.

The future of Social Security and Medicare has become a top political talking point as President Joe Biden heads into his expected 2024 reelection campaign. Biden, a Democrat, has vowed to rebuff any Republican-led efforts to cut Medicare or Social Security benefits to brace for the shortfall. Instead, he's pitched raising taxes on some of the country's wealthiest people, those making $400,000 or more a year, to shore up Medicare. He has not offered up a plan for Social Security, however.

Republican leaders, meanwhile, say they don't intend to ax benefits either, but they've yet to coalesce behind a plan to keep the programs solvent. Last year, however, members of the House Republican Study Committee proposed raising the age at which someone could qualify for Social Security and Medicare.

Peterson Foundation CEO Michael Peterson said ahead of the report's release that if lawmakers do nothing, in less than a decade more than 70 million beneficiaries would face an automatic 23% cut, reducing the average benefit by several thousand dollars per year. We simply cant let that happen.

The sooner we act, the easier it will be to ensure the future of Social Security," he said. "Lawmakers shouldnt take anything off the table, and the good news is there are plenty of reasonable options on both the revenue and spending side of the ledger to implement fair, gradual and common sense reforms.

Lawmakers have for years kicked Social Security and Medicare's troubling math to the next generation. Social Security benefits were last reformed 40 years ago, when the federal government raised the eligibility age for the program from 65 to 67. The eligibility age has never changed for Medicare, with people accessing the medical coverage when they turn 65.

Putting a 10-year deadline on the programs' solvency might nudge some members of Congress, but in a statement, AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins called on elected officials to hammer out a plan before it's too late.

Todays Social Security and Medicare Trustees reports reinforce that while they are financially strong today, both programs face long-term funding needs, and Congress must act to find solutions to ensure Social Security and Medicare will be there for the next generation and into the future," Jenkins said.
DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP)  Indonesia and Russia signed an extradition agreement on Friday which they said will help combat transnational crime and be a turning point in their relations.

The treaty  Indonesia's first extradition agreement with a European country  was signed by Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly and Russian Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko.

Chuycenko said the agreement is key to bringing bilateral relations forward.

With this treaty signed, we now have a legal basis for our cooperation in the sphere of combating crimes and this is going to be systematical and productive in the future, Chuychenko said after the signing ceremony on the resort island of Bali.

Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have fled to Bali since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russians were the second biggest group of visitors to Bali last year after Australians, and their number is predicted to continue to increase.

As Russia faces growing sanctions from Western nations over its invasion, it has sought to enhance ties with Asian and African nations it sees as not hostile. Russia's embassy in Jakarta says Putin has offered to have Russian Railways invest in Indonesias new capital on Borneo island, and Russian help in building a $22 billion refinery in East Java, among other projects.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Moscow and Kyiv last year in an unsuccessful effort to facilitate peace talks between their leaders.

Chuychenko said he and Laoly agreed to continue to cooperate in legal and judicial matters and plan to sign agreements on cybersecurity and digital cooperation during an international legal forum in St. Petersburg on May 11-13.

In 2016, Widodo rejected a Russian request for the extradition of six jailed Russian nationals, including a woman who smuggled drugs into Indonesia and was sentenced to 16 1/2 years in prison, because of the lack of an extradition treaty.

Laoly said the new extradition agreement is a strong signal to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

This treaty helps us to carry out legal actions to extradite perpetrators of transnational crimes and corruption, Laoly said.

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Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
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CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP)  Marty Plaskett upgraded his farming equipment and spent $60,000 on new sprinklers to conserve water, even before the rural Nevada valley where he farms alfalfa began more strictly managing groundwater.

Now, Plaskett is weighing another adjustment: selling off part of his legal right to use water that lies under his land to the state.

Even after a wet winter, Nevada and much of the West are still dealing with the effects of a prolonged drought that depleted groundwater supplies. Lawmakers in Nevada are considering a bill to allow the state to buy groundwater rights in diminished basins so nobody could use them again.

In the area where Plaskett farms, the state severely overestimated decades ago just how much water was available from wells sunk deep into fractured rock and gravel.

The Legislature hasn't determined how much farmers would be paid to give up some rights to groundwater.

It would mainly come down to, number one, the price, said Plaskett, 57.

States throughout the West are grappling with similar issues over how to conserve water deep underground in a variety of political landscapes where experts are skeptical water basins can ever return to sustainable levels. Conservation alone will not be enough, experts say.

California implemented a system in 2014 that requires regional agencies to manage groundwater sustainability plans in places where there was little oversight. The state's lawmakers last year proposed spending $1.5 billion to buy senior water rights, but the idea didnt have enough support.

Arizona passed sweeping groundwater management legislation in 1980, though experts said the state isnt on track to ensure what is pumped out is recharged by 2025.

Its an indication of this big, transitional time that Western states are in, said Sarah Porter, executive director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. Were taking a different view of groundwater these days."

Much of the spotlight over water scarcity in Nevada has been on the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which relies almost exclusively on the Colorado River. But in large swaths of rural Nevada, more groundwater exists on paper than is actually available.

Several decades ago, Nevada's semi-arid landscape was promoted as a place where groundwater was plentiful. The state didn't have a good way to determine just how much water was under the land surface at the time but doled out rights to use it.

Those parched landscapes have gotten a temporary reprieve by way of a historically wet winter. But the precipitation wont be enough to pull rural areas out of a drought or refill aquifers.

Other groundwater buyback programs exist across the West. But  unlike the one proposed in Nevada  many are limited to specific regions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also works with various states to purchase water rights in areas of intense drought. Nevada looked to basins in southeast Oregon and Colorado as models for the proposed program.

The Nevada bill  still awaiting a Senate committee vote  could be amended further as its sponsor, Republican state Sen. Pete Goicoechea, addresses concerns over implementation and funding, including the $5 million price tag that some say isn't enough. Proponents are looking for additional funding from the federal government or outside parties that could help foot the bill.

And some are grappling with a lingering question of whether the state should pay for irrigators to give up their rights to water that could eventually be curtailed anyway as drought deepens.

At a recent bill hearing, Jake Tibbitts, natural resources manager for rural Eureka County in central Nevada, said the state is responsible for over-allocating water rights in areas that have then seen tight-knit farming communities pop up.

Frankly, the states culpable on that and needs to provide some soft landing ability for some of these folks, he said.

In about half the water basins in Nevada, there's more water on paper than actual water. And a growing number of basins aren't being replenished at the rate they're being pumped, according to the Nevada Division of Water Resources.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than in Diamond Valley, about 300 miles (482 kilometers) north of Las Vegas where Plaskett lives on his 1,600-acre (647-hectare) farm. In 2015, the state designated it a critical management area, the strictest regulation for drought management.

The state Supreme Court set new precedent last year when it ruled that management plans for these types of critical areas, which are regulated by Nevada's top water official, can deviate from a longstanding hierarchy of water rights determined by seniority.

Goicoechea, a third-generation rancher, said he expects those designations to increase in the coming years. Another bill in the state Legislature would require a review of any groundwater management plan every 10 years.

If both bills pass, lower-priority water users in Diamond Valley could see water cuts sooner than under the current 35-year plan. But Goicoechea said that could provide an incentive for them to sell rights under the proposed buyback program.

I think before they get to year 10, those people will start looking at it and saying, Hey, theres a way we can balance this bacon,' Goicoechea said.

Micheline Fairbank, deputy administrator of the Nevada Division of Water Resources, said the agency isn't planning to create more critical management areas, even in basins that could qualify. Rather, the agency encourages more localized plans before it would consider the most extreme regulatory tool, she said.

Plasketts family bought the property in Diamond Valley in the 1960s, before the area had electricity and at a time the state thought there would be four times the amount of water available than what exists today.

Plaskett, a recently elected Eureka County commissioner who has lower-priority water rights, isn't sure if he'll sell any to the state. He wonders what else he could sustain on his land or if he could grow the same amount of alfalfa and grass with less water.

Theres so many different things to consider, he said. But its really hard to talk about until the price structure starts to develop and we get further into the groundwater management plan.

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Stern 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. Follow him on Twitter: @gabestern326
Diplomatic format to end war to start with Russia's rep who first withdraws Russian troops from Ukraine without fight  Zelenskyy

The process of diplomatic settlement regarding the end of the war will begin with the representative of Russia who first withdraws Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine without a fight, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"We support peace. There will be a fixation of the end of the war. But only at this big table, where decent states will sit. And the representative of Russia  it is very difficult for me [to say], who at that time will be the representative of Russia, who without a fight at first will withdraw all troops from our territory. Then the diplomatic format begins," Zelenskyy said at a press conference with the President of Moldova and the Prime Ministers of Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia in Kyiv.

"And if we beat them all [the Russian army] to the end by force, then there is nothing to talk about with such people," he said, noting that otherwise it would lead to a large number of victims.

In addition, according to him, the Russian leadership, which is able to allow this, should be unshaking and isolated.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine proposed a Peace Formula, where there is an absolutely specific sequence of actions that will unambiguously lead to the end of the war.

"Since we want peace. And all of us [leaders of the free world] talk when we get together about how we support Ukraine: we don't support war. We support victory."
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  The leaders of five European Union members helping the transit of Ukrainian farm produce to third countries on Friday called for EU action over a glut that resulted from the goods not leaving for their destinations, bringing down prices in their own markets and angering farmers.

Poland, Romania and other countries in the region stepped in to help the transit after Russia blocked traditional routes when it invaded Ukraine 13 months ago. The EU, which borders Ukraine, has waived customs duties and import quotas to facilitate the transport  also through Romania and Bulgaria  to non-EU markets that had counted on the deliveries.

But farmers in transit countries say much of the Ukrainian produce  especially the grain  stays, flooding their own markets and bringing prices down while fertilizer and energy costs are sky-rocketing.

In a letter Friday to the European Commission and its leader, Ursula von der Leyen, the prime ministers of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria said the channels meant to take Ukrainian produce to the destination points are not working as expected.

They appealed to the EU's executive arm to consider the urgent purchase by the 27-member bloc of the surplus produce and to provide funds for the speedy development of transport and storage infrastructure.

They said there was especially an unprecedented inflow of "grain, oil seeds, eggs, poultry, sugar, apple juice, apples, berries, flour, honey and noodles.

We are calling on the Commission to analyze the possibility of purchase of the surplus grain from member states (bordering Ukraine) for humanitarian reasons," the prime ministers said in their letter.

We are also renewing our appeal for financial support on the part of the EU for the needs of a faster development of the transport infrastructures," they said.

Their governments are facing pressure and protests from farmers anxious over dropping prices and lack of storage for this years crops, due to the glut of Ukrainian produce. Bulgarian farmers staged border crossing blockades this week, while Poland's agriculture minister on Wednesday vowed financial and infrastructure assistance, following hours of heated talks with farmer organizations.

Last week, Brussels offered a total of 56.3 million euros ($61 million) in compensation to affected farmers, of which Bulgaria would receive 16.7 million and Poland almost 30 million  sums that protesters and the governments say are insufficient.

The EU commissioner for agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, said that state and EU aid now available to Polish farmers hit by the inflow from Ukraine will exceed 210 million euros ($228 million,) including some 128 million euros coming from state coffers.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP)  The largest telecommunications deal in Canadian history will go forward after Rogers Communications Inc.s $26-billion Canadian (US$19 billion) takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. received approval from Ottawa on Friday.

The approval means the deal has cleared its final regulatory hurdle just over two years after it was first announced. Canada has among the most expensive cellular rates in the world.

But Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne took a stern tone on Friday, vowing to be like a hawk on behalf of Canadians to ensure compliance with the conditions he outlined, aimed at bolstering competition and lowering phone and internet costs.

Champagne approved the transfer of Shaw-owned Freedom Mobiles wireless licenses to Quebecor Inc.s Videotron, which operates in Quebec and some border regions of Ontario. Rogers and Shaw agreed in June 2022 to sell Freedom Mobile to Videotron for $2.85 billion Canadian (US$2.1 billion) in an attempt to ease competition concerns raised by the original proposal.

Rogers announced its deal to buy Shaw in March 2021 and the deadline to close the deal has been pushed back numerous times. The three companies said Friday they expected to complete the transaction by April 7.

Champagne said Ottawa has secured 21 legally enforceable commitments from Rogers and Videotron to actually drive down prices.

Make no mistake. We will be monitoring their performance under these terms and conditions and making sure that we enforce the terms of these contracts on behalf of Canadians, he said.

On Friday, the minister said Ottawas conditions should not be taken lightly. He said they would ensure a fourth national player can go toe to toe with the Big Three and actually drive down prices.

Along with Rogers, Bell Canada and Telus Corp. have the vast majority of the market share in the Canadian telecommunications sector.

Those conditions include Rogers establishing a second headquarters in Calgary and adding 3,000 new jobs based in Western Canada in the coming months that it must maintain for at least 10 years.

Videotron must offer plans that are at least 20% lower than its competitors and spend $150 million Canadian (US$111 million) over the next two years to upgrade Freedom Mobiles network. It is restricted from transferring any Freedom Mobile licence for a decade.

If Rogers breaches its conditions, it must pay up to $1 billion Canadian ($740 million) in damages, the minister said. Videotron would potentially be subject to $200 million Canadian (US$147 million) in penalties if it fails to meet its commitments.
MONTREAL (AP)  The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said late Thursday it was investigating the discovery of six bodies in a marshy area of Quebec near Canada's border with New York state.

Police said they were awaiting the results of post-mortem and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.
LONDON (AP)  Six climate change activists who stormed the track at last years British Grand Prix Formula 1 race in one of a series of disruptive protests against fossil fuels were spared prison sentences Friday.

Five of the activists had to be dragged from the track as cars passed by during the July protest on behalf of the group Just Stop Oil, which has staged a series of protests blocking a major highway and targeting priceless artworks with stunts designed to attract publicity.

The protesters ran onto the track at the Silverstone Circuit after a crash on the first lap led to a red flag that slowed traffic.

This was not trespass or obstruction of a highway or criminal damage  to put it colloquially this was in a different league," Justice Neil Garnham told the protesters in Northampton Crown Court.

The group wants the U.K. government to halt new oil and gas projects.

Three of the protesters were given suspended prison terms and three were ordered to complete a year of community service.

Two of the protesters given suspended sentences  Louis McKechnie, 22, and Emily Brocklebank, 24  were convicted of gluing themselves to the frame of a 70 million pound Vincent Van Gogh painting days before the speedway protest.

The judge said the race track protest had created the risk of injury or death, though he understood they did not intend to cause harm but draw attention to climate change.

I knew I was safe and secure where I was on the track. I understood that where I was would be perfectly fine, McKechnie testified. Those drivers are the best drivers in the world. They would not even have flinched at something like this.

The anti-oil group has also splattered tomato soup on the glass covering a van Gogh painting in Londons National Gallery and glued themselves to the frame of a copy of Leonardo da Vincis The Last Supper in the Royal Academy of Arts.

Similar protests have been staged in other European cities, with participants gluing themselves to Johannes Vermeers Girl With a Pearl Earring in The Hague and throwing mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting in a German museum.

Just Stop Oil is backed by the U.S.-based Climate Emergency Fund, which supports youthful disruptive environmental protests.
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MANILA, Philippines (AP)  A Philippine coast guard commander said Friday that the tragic scenes of death his team saw aboard a gutted ferry, including bodies of adults clutching children, had moved them to tears and sparked fears other passengers could be found dead in the still-smoldering ship.

At least 29 of more than 250 people onboard the M/V Lady Mary Joy 3 were killed in the blaze that raged through the ferry Wednesday while it was on an overnight trip from the southern Zamboanga city to Jolo town in Sulu province. At least seven passengers, including two army soldiers, remained missing in the country's deadliest sea disaster this year, the coast guard said.

Basilan Governor Jim Hataman initially reported 31 deaths Thursday but later reduced the toll to 29 after search and rescue groups crossed-checked their figures.

All 35 crew members survived, including the captain, who issued an abandon-ship order when the fire hit close to midnight and then ran the ferry aground on an island off Basilan province to give remaining passengers a better chance to survive, coast guard officials said.

Many passengers jumped into the sea in panic without life jackets and were saved by rescuers but at least 11 drowned. When a team of coast guard personnel, including Bureau of Fire officers, boarded the burned ferry on Baluk-baluk island's coast, they discovered the bodies of 18 passengers scattered on the uppermost open-air economy deck and another floor below, coast guard Commander Chadley Salahuddin said.

The passengers, including an adult clutching a child by the railing, could have easily jumped into the sea and survived like many others but failed to do so for unclear reasons. Two passengers, apparently siblings who were among the missing, were found holding each other in a bathroom, he said.

When I first saw that scene, I was moved to tears with some of my men, Salahuddin told The Associated Press by telephone. It was a short journey. Why did so many have to die?

What if my mother or my other loved ones were the ones who were trapped here? They were just a step away from the open sides but why did they not jump off like the others? Salahuddin asked.

The passengers, some of whom were burned beyond recognition, could have been overcome by smoke and passed out or could have been immobilized injuries. Some survivors said they heard a series of firecracker-like blasts during the fire but Salahuddin said all of those details could only be confirmed by investigators.

He feared more bodies could be found in the lower enclosed decks, which remained dangerously hot and could not be inspected on Thursday by his team.

His team found a partly burned rifle, which may have been left by a police officer who was among the passengers who survived, Salahuddin said, adding that there was no sign of a bomb explosion at least in the upper decks that they managed to inspect.

The steel-hulled ferry could accommodate up to 430 people and was not overcrowded, said another coast guard official, Commodore Rejard Marfe.

According to the manifest, it was carrying 205 passengers and a 35-member crew, Marfe said. In addition, it had a security contingent of four coast guard marshals, who all survived. Eight soldiers were traveling to Sulu.

Threats posed by Muslim insurgents, including those aligned with the Islamic State group, remain a security issue in the southern Philippines, where cargo and passenger ships are provided extra security by the coast guard and other law enforcement agencies in vulnerable regions.

Marfe said officials are investigating whether the 33-year-old ferry was seaworthy, if there were passengers not listed on the manifest, and whether the crew properly guided passengers to safety.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippines because of frequent storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.

In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the worlds worst peacetime maritime disaster.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Russia is expelling an Estonian diplomat from Moscow in a tit for tat move following a similar action by Tallinn, Estonia's foreign ministry said Friday.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry had summoned Estonias charge daffaires, who heads the European Union countrys mission in Moscow, to protest the expulsion this month of a Russian diplomat in Estonia and announce that an Estonian diplomat must leave Moscow.

The Russian ministry warned that Moscow will also take other retaliatory action in response to the persistently provocative anti-Russian actions by the Estonian authorities.

Estonia's foreign ministry dismissed that charge as ludicrous. It said its diplomat has been given until April 5 to leave Russia, and added that the Estonian embassy in Moscow will continue to operate and the staff will continue their work.

On March 24, Tallinn said a Russian diplomat's activities had violated international law, and gave the person five days to leave Estonia, according to the Baltic News Service.

The diplomat, who Estonian broadcaster ERR said was a consul in Tallinn, had allegedly engaged in activities undermining Estonias security and constitutional order, spreading propaganda that justifies Russias war in Ukraine and causing divisions in Estonian society, BNS said.

In January, the Estonian Foreign Ministry ordered Russia to reduce the size of its embassy staff in Tallinn by more than half, to achieve parity with the number of people working at the Estonian embassy in Moscow. A total of 13 Russian diplomats and eight technical staff were made to leave Estonia at that time.

Russia responded by telling Tallinn that Estonias ambassador to Russia had to leave.
HONG KONG (AP)  Huawei on Friday reported a nearly 70% decline in profit last year amid sanctions and pandemic challenges, but its enterprise sales rose as the Chinese technology giant sought to pivot into digital industries and reduce its vulnerabilities to U.S. sanctions.

While its true that we have considerable pressures ahead of us, we still see opportunities to grow a resilient business portfolio, a unique competitive edge, the trust of our customers and partners and have the courage to invest heavily in R&D," Eric Xu, the outgoing rotating chairman of Huawei, said at a news conference.

Huawei its revenue in 2022 reached 642.3 billion yuan ($93.5 billion), a 0.9% gain from the year before.

Its net profit for the year was 35.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), down 68.7% from 2021 amid pressures from the pandemic, U.S. sanctions, an increase in commodity prices and R&D spending, as well as a decline in the companys consumer business, which mostly sells smartphones. Huawei reported a higher-than-usual 113.7 billion yuan ($16.6 billion) in profit in 2021 due to the sale of Honor, its budget smartphone business.

The year 2022 is a year where Huawei pulled ourselves out of a crisis mode. U.S. restrictions are now our new normal and were back to business as usual, said Sabrina Meng, Huaweis chief financial officer.

Also known as Meng Wanzhou, she is the daughter of Huaweis founder and will become its rotating chairwoman from April 1, a role that allows her to oversee Huawei's businesses for six months.

Meng was detained in Canada for nearly three years after her arrest on U.S. charges of lying to Hong Kong banks about dealings with Iran in violation of trade sanctions. She was released under a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that dismissed the charges in exchange for her accepting responsibility for misrepresenting Huaweis dealings with Iran.

Huawei, one of Chinas first global tech brands, has been caught up in China-U.S. tensions over technology and security. American officials say the company is a security risk and might enable Chinese spying, an accusation Huawei denies.

The U.S. has banned U.S. companies from doing business with Huawei, cutting off its access to chips and software such as Google services for its smartphones and preventing it from selling its telecommunications gear to U.S. customers.

The Shenzhen-headquartered telecommunications company shifted its focus in 2022 to growing its corporate business by selling network equipment and services to industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and mining to help them become more digital.

For now, those efforts seem to have paid off. Huaweis enterprise business revenues in 2022 grew 30% from a year earlier to 133.2 billion yuan ($19.4 billion). Its growth in 2021 was just 2.1%.

Revenue from its companys consumer business, which sells smartphones, tablets and other devices, continued to decline, falling 11.9%. Huawei was the worlds largest smartphone maker in 2020 but has since seen its global market share plunge after losing its Android license and Google services.

Huawei is one of the world's biggest spenders on research and development, devoting a record 161.5 billion yuan ($23.5 billion) in 2022, representing 25% of its total revenue.

Just over half of Huawei's workforce of 207,000 employees work in R&D. The company's R&D efforts have helped it replace components that it lost access to when Huawei was hit by U.S. sanctions, Meng said.

Rotating chairman Xu said Friday that Huawei had achieved breakthroughs in electronic design automation tools for chips at 14 nanometers and above together with its partners, and that the breakthrough would allow it to use the tools for its chip design efforts.

The breakthrough comes as the Chinese government is pushing for self-reliance in technology as tensions with the U.S. rise.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP)  Prosecutors in Senegal who had sought two years in prison for opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have filed an appeal after he was given a much lighter, two-month suspended sentence for his conviction on libel charges in a case his supporters say was politically motivated.

The outcome of Thursday's verdict allows Sonko to run for president next year though he still faces unrelated criminal charges in a pending rape case that would disqualify him if he is convicted. Sonko is widely viewed as the top opposition candidate in Senegal's elections next year.

Sonko has not yet decided whether to appeal the sentence in the libel case, his lawyer Bamba Cisse told The Associated Press.

Sonko was also ordered to pay about $330,000 to Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang, who accused the politician of defamation and public insults.

Neither Sonko nor his lawyers were present on Thursday when the verdict and sentence were delivered.

Each of Sonko's previous court appearances led to protests in the streets of Dakar, the capital, and Sonko himself was forcibly removed from his vehicle by police on two occasions. Demonstrations have taken place not only in Dakar but in cities throughout the country.

Sonkos supporters see the charges against him as the latest attempt to cut short his political career. Sonko finished third in Senegals 2019 presidential election and has called on President Macky Sall to declare publicly that he wont seek a third term.

The ruling party says Sall should be allowed to run after a constitutional change in 2016  made while Sall was president  which changed presidential terms to five years.

Sonko also faces rape charges based on accusations from a female employee of a massage salon who said she was assaulted by him. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and would be barred from running for president. No date has been set yet for the that trial.
The only peace plan that can be implemented is the plan of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday following Bucha summit.

He said there is one peace plan, the peace plan of Zelenskyy, Ukraine and its president, this is something that the EU states should support.

According to the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Ukraine has shown leadership and courage in defending values. This war is for common future. He said all of them strive for peace.

In turn, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said they do not want to live in a world ruled by force. She said all those officials came in Ukraine to reaffirm their commitment. They support Bucha declaration, the creation of a tribunal so that all crimes against humanity are investigated and the guilty punished, Sandu said.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, in turn, drew attention to the importance of respect for international law. He said it is the key message of Bucha declaration. The security of Europe is only with respect for international law and punishment of those responsible, he said.
After one of the nations deadliest school massacres left 20 children and six adults in his Newtown community dead in 2012, the Monsignor Robert Weiss began receiving calls from fellow priests and Catholic school officials around the country  with many wanting to know what could be done to provide protection for their students and parishioners

At the parish school at the St. Rose of Lima Church, where Weiss has pastored since 1999, he said officials were asking themselves the same question.

In response to the attack, as well subsequent edicts from local officials, Weiss said the school replaced windows with bullet-proof glass, hired a retired police officer to provide armed security, built fencing and installed a system of security cameras to blanket the K-8 campus.

In the years since, Weiss said the school has continued to beef up its security measures, most recently installing a system allowing the principal to lock down the school with the push of one button.

I would say in this day and age, especially with the number of school shootings that just keep happening, pretty much were up to par as best we can, Weiss said. I think everybodys got past that naive attitude that it cant happen here.

Questions about security at private, parochial and other religious schools have reverberated throughout the country following an attack on a private Christian elementary school in Tennessee this week that killed three students and three adults.

According to the Associated Press, the school that was targeted by the attack, Nashvilles The Covenant School, did not have a police officer assigned to the school because it was operated by the Presbyterian Church.

Police say the suspected shooter entered the school after blasting their way through two glass doors located on the side of the building with a military-style rifle.

In Connecticut, laws passed in the wake of Sandy Hook have pumped millions of dollars into school security upgrades, with 10 percent of the funding dedicated to non-public schools. Since 2014, that has amounted to $6.7 million in state funds spent on 110 projects at private schools, according to Nicole Velardi, an emergency management coordinator at the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

Connecticut is one of at least a dozen states that makes public tax dollars available to private schools for security improvements, according to Rabbi Ari Weisenfeld, the Director of the Connecticut Office of Agudath Israel, an Orthodox Jewish advocacy organization.

Even with that funding, however, those who advocate on behalf of religious-affiliated, private schools say that it can often be difficult for those schools to raise comparable amounts of money for infrastructure upgrades and security as public school districts.

People think private schools and they think rich kids, thats not true. Weisenfeld said, adding that the majority of students in the states Orthodox Jewish schools, known as yeshivas, receive financial assistance and are eligible for free or reduced lunch.

So when they invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on their security, infrastructure and personnel, that is a serious investment thats coming at the cost of a better playground, perhaps more teachers or other capital infrastructure improvements that can be made, he added.

While Connecticut's law governing school resource officers applies only to public schools, a spokesman for the state Department of Education said the state does not prohibit private schools from reaching agreements with local police departments or other private security firms so long as their guards are properly licensed and permitted to carry firearms.

There are 72 Catholic parochial schools in Connecticut, and about 20 Orthodox yeshivas.

The Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, which represents 90 other religious and secular private schools, did not respond to requests for comment this week.

Connecticut was a forerunner in making funding available to public and private schools, according to Anne LaMonica, an education lobbyist for the Connecticut Catholic Conference, which advocates on behalf of parochial and other Catholic schools.

This is the way public safety should be approached, it should be based on the need, the emergency, safety, LaMonica said. If youre going to require kids to be in school, they should be safe.

To receive public funding for school security projects, public and private schools must provide a security plan to the state, according to DOE spokesman Eric Scoville. Private schools are eligible to receive a 50 percent match of security projects, up to $50,000, which in many cases is higher than the match available to public school districts, which is based on income levels in the surrounding community.

The grants can be used on infrastructure upgrades, such as installing new windows and doors, but not for hiring staff, such as security guards.

While LaMonica said the system is fair to private schools, she said many schools do not have resources built into their budgets to match the state grants, and often have to turn to fundraising, which can often fall short of the schools goals. To improve the system, she said, the state could consider allowing schools to receive partial grants if they are unable to raise the full matching amount.

Its not for a lack of wanting to fundraise, its just that sometimes some of these schools are in New Haven, Waterbury, LaMonica said. We just have limited resources, especially from the parents. Theyre already paying for tuition.

Weisenfeld said Connecticut lawmakers should consider adopting New Jerseys method of making school security funding available on a per-pupil basis, regardless of whether the students attend a private or public school.

Due to the upwell in antisemitic incidents locally and across the country, as well as general threats from active shooters, Weisenfeld said that some Jewish schools in Connecticut have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in school security, including single points of entry with double doors, perimeter fencing and both armed and unarmed security.

In addition, Weisenfeld said many schools have taken steps to lower their public visibility, even going so far as to have online address searches show results for a business office that is located away from the school. You could drive by and not know it, he said.

After news of the shooting in Nashville broke on Monday afternoon, Weisenfeld said his office has received an increase in phone calls from concerned parents, and that most schools he communicates with have reached out to local law enforcement about increasing patrols.

Representatives of Connecticuts three Catholic dioceses did not respond to requests for comment this week about security concerns following the attack in Nashville.

Weiss, the pastor at Newtowns St. Rose of Lima Church, said schools in the Diocese of Bridgeport moved recess indoors this week as an added precaution. He said that fears of a possible anti-religious sentiment behind the attack had rattled parishioners and left them with concerns of a possible copycat attack.

Police in Nashville have not yet identified a motive for the suspected attacker, who was said to be a former student at the school.

I think parents send their children to private schools a lot of times because they feel a level of safety, and you know now it's in question again, Weiss said. How safe can we keep these kids?
After being cut by the Boston Red Sox in December 2022, first baseman Eric Hosmer is swinging for a little profit from the sale of his West Newton, MA, home.

The historic, brick-front estate was built in 1936 and sits about 10 miles outside of Boston.

Hosmer and his wife, Kacie, purchased their "dream home" last September for $6,150,000, according to The Wall Street Journal.

It's back on the market for $6,575,000which translates to $814 per square foot of luxurious living space.

And after just 23 days on the market, the 8,081-square-foot home already has a contingent offer.

Backyard Realtor.com

Patio Realtor.com

And although it was built nearly a century ago, the six-bedroom New England Colonial was completely renovated in 2018.

Historic highlights include a curved staircase, arched doorways, three fireplaces, and ornate molding.

There are also custom built-ins and decorative mantels throughout the open-floor-plan space.

A bright living room has a cozy fireplace and flows seamlessly into the nearby light-filled sunroom, which is surrounded by three walls of arched windows.

The seriously spacious dining room boasts detailed crown molding and a beautiful crystal chandelier.

Living room Realtor.com

Sunroom Realtor.com

The enormous designer kitchen was seemingly assembled for an all-star chef.

Highlighted by minimalist design, the space features a huge island, high-end appliances, stylish light fixtures, and granite countertops.

A separate dining area is surrounded by windows to enjoy backyard views, with grass nearly as green as what you'll see at Fenway Park.

Kitchen Realtor.com

Bedroom Realtor.com

There are five spacious bedrooms upstairs, including a "luxurious primary suite with spalike bath and oversized walk-in closet."

On the lower level, there is a bonus living room with a fireplace, gym, and wine cellar, plus extra storage space.

Located on a little more than an acre of lush landscaping, the home comes with a three-car garage.

Hosmer, 33, broke into the big leagues back in 2011, with the Kansas City Royals. After starring for the Royals for seven seasons and playing a key role in the team's 2015 World Series win, he inked a rich, free-agent deal with the San Diego Padres. A trade in August 2022 sent Hosmer from the Padres to the Red Sox for a couple of months. After his release from Boston in December, he signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs.

Lower level Realtor.com

Wine room Realtor.com

The post Former Red Sox Slugger Eric Hosmer Lists Massachusetts Mansion for $6.5M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
Roku, the video streamer recently in the hot seat for holding $487 million at Silicon Valley Bank, is laying off workers for the second time in five months.

The San Jose-based firm announced the 200-worker layoff round in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday and said it will also leave or sublease unoccupied office facilities. The move will cost Roku $30 million to $35 million in severance and notice pay, benefits, and office costs, the filing said. The workforce cut represents 6% of Rokus employees.

A company spokesperson told SFGATE this wave of cost-cutting is an attempt to slow operating expense growth, focused on lower-priority programs and initiatives. The company cited similar reasoning for its November layoff round, also affecting 200 workers.

We believe these actions are necessary to enhance our leadership position in TV streaming and achieve our goals, the spokesperson added. Roku would not confirm if this would be the last layoff round of the year, what the severance packages would specifically contain or where in the company the job cuts would be concentrated.

Roku spun off from Netflix in 2008 and went on to popularize the now-ubiquitous streaming devices that hook up to televisions. After years of simply partnering with streamers, Roku launched its own channel in 2017  a free, ad-supported place to watch TV and movies on its devices.

More recently, the company has pushed into creating its own video content, including Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (a biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe) and Kevin Harts action comedy show Die Hart. The New York Times reported that the companys annual content budget is now around $1 billion.

By the end of 2022, Roku had 70 million active accounts but mixed prospects. The firms profit stagnated last year as costs rose, and it now aims to hit its profitability goal in 2024. Like other tech and media firms, Rokus stock price peaked during the digital advertising boom of the pandemic but has since cratered.

Last summer, the Times reported that Roku was assuring investors that it wouldnt be laying off employees as it dealt with the advertising slowdown.

The company, like many who have cut down workforces in recent months, used dehumanizing language and avoided the term layoff in its regulatory filing  a restructuring plan will impact employees.

Hear of anything happening at Roku or another tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at stephen.council@sfgate.com or on Signal at 628-204-5452.
Outsourcing group Capita revealed on Friday that computer systems had come to an abrupt halt, set off fears it could potentially be under cyber-attack.

Capita staff was said to have been unable to access IT systems, with an early investigation yet to determine the cause.

According to the Times, a Capita spokesperson said: "We are aware of a technical issue with our systems, which we are investigating."

The outage will likely be of concern to Downing Street due to Capita holding contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds with the UK government.

Capita manages primary care support services for the NHS, recruitment for the British army, maintenance at Britain's Submarine Training Centre, and fire and rescue operations for the Ministry of Defence.

It also operates Transport for London's road charging system, covering the city's congestion charge and ultra-low emissions zone, as well as the Department for Work and Pensions' disability payment assessments and a contract with HM Revenue and Customs to automate certain processes.

As of 1330 BST, Capita shares were down 2.64% at 37.62p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Rio Tinto has agreed to sell a majority stake in its La Granja copper project in Peru to Canadas First Quantum Minerals for $105m.

The deal gives First Quantum a 55% stake in La Granja, one of the worlds largest untapped deposits, which will also commit to a further investment of up to $546m to complete a feasibility study.

Rio said the deal paves the way for the pair to collaborate on more copper and other base metals exploration and development projects.

La Granja is an exciting but complex project that has the potential to be a significant new source of the copper that is needed for the energy transition, the company said.

Global copper demand is forecast to rise sharply as motorists begin to swap to electric vehicles and the world transitions to renewable energies.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
The United States is joining other countries and organizations around the world in holding Russians accountable for their crimes and demanding justice for Ukrainians, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

"We join countries and organizations worldwide to push for accountability and demand justice for Ukrainians," Blinken said on Twitter on Friday.

He also said "the horrors Russia inflicted on Bucha and continues to inflict on other Ukrainian cities is unacceptable."

"We will not forget Ukrainians who have suffered and were murdered," he said.
Indian origin software and robotics engineer, Amit Kshatriya has been appointed as first head of NASA's new Moon to Mars Programme Office at the agency's headquarters in Washington.

The new office aims to carry out NASA's human exploration activities at the Moon and Mars for the benefit of humanity. "The Moon to Mars Programme Office will help prepare NASA to carry out our bold missions to the Moon and land the first humans on Mars," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, in a statement.

"The golden age of exploration is happening right now, and this new office will help ensure that NASA successfully establishes a long-term lunar presence needed to prepare for humanity's next giant leap to the Red Planet."

As directed by the 2022 NASA Authorization Act, the Moon to Mars Programme Office focuses on hardware development, mission integration, and risk management functions for programmes critical to the agency's exploration approach that uses Artemis missions at the Moon to open a new era of scientific discovery and prepare for human missions to Mars.

This includes the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, human landing systems, spacesuits, Gateway, and more related to deep space exploration. The new office will also lead planning and analysis for long-lead developments to support human Mars missions.

The office resides within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), and Kshatriya, appointed as deputy associate administrator, will report to its Associate Administrator Jim Free.

Kshatriya previously served as acting deputy associate administrator for Common Exploration Systems Development, providing leadership and integration across several of the programmes that now fall within the new office. In the new role, Kshatriya is responsible for programme planning and implementation for human missions to the Moon and Mars.A He will direct and lead the programmes to ensure Artemis and Mars planning, development, and operations are consistent with ESDMD requirements, and will serve as the single point of focus for risk management.

Kshatriya began his career in the space programme in 2003, working as a software engineer, robotics engineer, and spacecraft operator primarily focused on the robotic assembly of the International Space Station. From 2014 to 2017, he served as a space station flight director, where he led global teams in the operations and execution of the space station during all phases of flight. From 2017 to 2021, he became deputy, and then acting manager, of the ISS Vehicle Office, where he was responsible for sustaining engineering, logistics, and hardware programme management.

In 2021, he was assigned to NASA Headquarters in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate as an assistant deputy associate administrator, where he was an integral part of the team that returned a spacecraft designed to carry humans to the Moon during the Artemis I mission. Son of first generation Indian immigrants to the US, Kshatriya holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, and a Master of Arts in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin.

He has also been decorated with the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for actions as the lead flight director for the 50th expedition to the space station, as well as the Silver Snoopy an award that astronauts bestow for outstanding performance contributing to flight safety for his actions as lead robotics officer for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Dragon demonstration mission to the orbiting laboratory.
World Backup Day is an annual event that serves as a reminder for individuals and organizations to safeguard their data and prevent the loss of important information. Observed on March 31st, this day encourages people to take proactive steps to back up their data and protect it from hardware failure, cyberattacks, or other unforeseen events.

The importance of data backup and protection cannot be overstated. With the increasing amount of sensitive information being stored digitally, the risk of data loss or theft is higher than ever. In the event of a hardware failure or cyberattack, data backup is crucial to ensure that the information can be easily recovered without significant loss.

To participate in World Backup Day 2023, individuals and organizations can take simple yet crucial steps to safeguard their data. The first step is to back up important files and documents and store them in multiple locations, such as external hard drives, cloud storage, or physical copies. This ensures that the data can be easily recovered in case of data loss.

In addition to backing up data, it is also important to regularly test backup systems to ensure that they are working correctly and that the data can be restored in case of an emergency. Educating others about the importance of data backup and protection is also crucial to encourage them to take similar measures.

Reviewing cybersecurity practices is another important step in protecting data. Adequate measures must be in place to prevent cyberattacks and protect sensitive information from being stolen or compromised. This includes using strong passwords, regularly updating software, and implementing security protocols such as firewalls and antivirus software.

Since its inception in 2011, World Backup Day has gained popularity and recognition worldwide. It has become an important reminder for individuals and organizations to take proactive steps to protect their data and prevent the loss of important information. By participating in World Backup Day 2023, we can take the necessary steps to safeguard our data and protect it from unforeseen events.

Ramanujam Komanduri, Country Manager, Pure Storage India Data loss is a silent killer that strikes individuals and businesses without warning. It can happen due to hardware failure, cyber-attacks, or natural disasters, and the consequences can be catastrophic. The financial and emotional toll of data loss is immeasurable, and it can leave a lasting impact on your life and your business. That is why data backup and recovery should be a top priority for everyone.

As we approach World Backup Day on March 31st, it's important to remember that data loss is a possibility. So, take a moment to reflect on your data backup strategy and ask yourself, "Is it enough?" With the constantly evolving threat environment, traditional prevention measures are no longer sufficient. You need to invest not only in a solid backup approach but also in a multitier data protection architecture that ensures resilience, durability and more importantly restore so your business is always on.

This World Backup Day, let's make a commitment to protect our valuable data and build a meaningful recovery strategy. Remember, data backup and recovery is not an afterthought - it's a critical component of any IT infrastructure.

Balaji Rao, Area Vice President, India & SAARC, Commvault With the ubiquitous data taking precedence over todays modernised digital generation, it is imperative for every organisation to holistically safeguard their prized possession. 2022 surfaced as a hot bed of ransomware incidents in India, with attacks ranging from encryption, data theft, distributed denial of service (DDoS), harassment and many more. Moreover, close to 49% of Indian enterprises cited malicious attacks damaging their backup and data recovery, according to the recent Commvault-IDC study. This threat landscape will only continue to further evolve with attacks becoming more aggressive in terms of sophistication and reach.

Data resiliency is plagued by data breaches and becoming a norm in the dynamic business landscape, hence the question now lies in how organizations respond to a particular incident and how quickly they recover from it. As businesses get addicted to modernization of technological capabilities across environments, data resiliency through a comprehensive backup and recovery for hybrid and multi-cloud becomes non-negotiable. To have the highest chance of protection, IT departments must implement enhanced multi-cloud and ransomware protection. Its that extra element that can take a companys data from vulnerable to secure. Organisations must also explore the realms of Zero Trust strategy which isnt just one component like threat detection or recoverability, but a range of technologies working together to create a comprehensive security solution.

This World Backup Day, thus, serves as an annual but timely reminder for businesses to revisit and upgrade their data backup and recovery solutions to ensure the restoration of business operations during a crisis/disaster and be prepared for an unexpected incident. Enterprises must rise to the data guardianship challenge and ensure the data model provides secure, ubiquitous, real-time access to services and data. Data recovery can no longer be a siloed activity. Businesses looking to be relevant will need to understand the role data plays in their organization and to roll out data protection capabilities including data backup speedily to ensure they are able to thrive in their own Datasphere.

Ripu Bajwa, Director and General Manager, Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies India Data security is of utmost importance in today's digital age where vast amount of information is being collected and processed by enterprises. Owing to the rise in the frequency and intensity of data breaches, businesses across sectors need to upgrade their data protection strategy.

Businesses and IT departments are now looking for backup solutions that can successfully secure data against loss and corruption. Prioritising and leveraging scalable, real-time, and cloud-enabled data protection storage for backup, archival, and disaster recovery, is the need of the hour.

Organizations recognise these challenges and are looking for solutions which can help them integrate data protection across legacy and new age cloud native applications. Simple-to-implement solutions which can secure data wherever it may exist, will help in maximising the value of company data.

Steady adoption of future-ready backup solutions is bound to benefit Indian organisations in the coming times. This World Backup Day Indian businesses have an opportunity to take cognizance of their data recovery, threat reporting, and transparency across IT environments. This will not only sustain their progress in digital transformation but also, ensure that the pace of innovation doesnt decelerate due to a cybersecurity incident.

Sandeep Bhambur Vice President and Managing Director, India & SAARC, Veeam Software Businesses today face a wide range of uncertainties, from pandemics to cyberattacks to natural disasters. Because of their increased reliance on technology, businesses are becoming more vulnerable to cyber-attacks, losing data, and experiencing business disruptions. According to a recent report by Think Teal and Veeam on State of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery in India  2023, around 18% of the businesses in India lost data due to downtime, and more than 20% of the downtime caused has resulted in a financial loss of more than $1 million per hour.

The cost of such downtime also goes beyond just monetary or data loss. Businesses today are more concerned with their market reputation, brand image, customer loyalty, and a variety of other factors, yet businesses impacted by downtime reported customer loss 55% of the time, damaged brand image 44% of the time, and lower employee productivity 52% of the time.

To avoid such damage, businesses must go above and beyond to ensure they have a solid data backup strategy in place, as well as a strong Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan that mitigates business risks and minimizes downtime. On this World Backup Day 2023, we would advise businesses to take a more pragmatic approach towards data backup and begin with implementing the 3-2-1 Rule  three copies of data on two media, with one off site -- and refreshing it to additionally make sure one copy is air-gapped, offline, or immutable, and with zero errors in recovery.
DEAR ABBY:

My 28-year-old daughter moved back home when COVID hit. She works as an influencer and also has a part-time job as a content creator. She doesnt pay bills. My husband doesnt want her to pay rent, etc. I feel its important for her to do so. She does pay for her groceries and gas. She stays in her room day and night. She used to go out with friends, but now doesnt do anything. She says she has cyber friends.

We have asked her to come out with us at times, but she refuses. Another problem is, she hasnt gone to the doctor or dentist in a very long time. I talked with her about it, and she blamed me for not taking her. I offered to go with her, but she doesnt do anything about it.

My husband doesnt think there is a problem, but I feel there is. I feel we have enabled her, although we didnt mean to. Should we be charging her rent? How do we get her to become more social?

How do we get her the right help so she can move forward in life? -- CONCERNED MOM IN RHODE ISLAND

DEAR CONCERNED MOM:

A step in the right direction would be for your husband to take his head out of the sand and admit that his daughter may have a problem. The next step would be to have a frank talk with her and tell her that if she is going to continue living with you, she must agree to have medical and dental checkups.

Go with her so you can understand what is going on, because your daughter appears to have some emotional issues. Her world may be on the web, but unless she can find one on terra firma, expect her to be under your roof forever.

** ** **

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

** ** **

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order How to Be Popular. Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

COPYRIGHT 2023 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION 1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106; 816-581-7500
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With the current ubiquity of social media, its relatively easy to find, friend and keep tabs on neighbors, casual acquaintances, or your high school sweetheart. But is this increased connectivity a curse when it comes to mingling with co-workers? A new study says it just might be.

One-third of people prefer not to connect with co-workers on social media at all, and one in four have seen something on social media that lowered their opinion of a co-worker, noted research from All About Cookies, a research-focused website that recently surveyed 1,500 U.S. adults to learn how they deal with social media in the workplace.

And since 27% of employees have seen a co-worker post negatively about their workplace and one-in-10 have seen someone fired for social media posts, the overall consensus is to avoid friending a co-worker at all costs.

Social media isnt always a pretty place, and sometimes people post and say things online that can have real-world consequences on their job, the study noted.

But the connections are still happening, despite those consequences: According to the report, the social media platform where people are the most likely to connect with co-workers is Facebook, as a whopping 85% of people who use Facebook say theyre friends with at least one co-worker on that site.

Two other platforms boast connection rates over 50%. About 59% of Instagram users say they follow or are followed by a co-worker, and 57% of Snapchat users are connected with a co-worker as well.

And while many people are connected to co-workers, that doesnt mean they all actually want to be. In fact, one out of every three people surveyed said they would prefer not to be friend-requested by co-workers on social media at all.

Sixty-two percent of people said a desire to keep work and personal lives separate keeps them from connecting with co-workers online, the study said.

So how do you keep your work and personal lives separate? All About Cookies offers these tips:

Restrict who can see your profile. Learn how to adjust privacy settings on social media to ensure who can and cannot view your profile or posts.

Avoid common social media mishaps. Be careful about what you post online, disable location services and create a separate account if you use the page for business purposes.

Stay skeptical of scams. Even if a co-worker agrees to friend you on social media, be wary of any strange messages or requests.

ADDITIONAL STORIES

How much does the average customer spend at Costco? New report reveals some key numbers.

Additional Walmart closures planned across U.S., report says. Heres the list of locations.

Honda recalls over 330K vehicles for side-view mirrors that could detach
URCS to inform Kyiv residents, guests about rules of conduct with explosives

On the International Day for Mine Awareness, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) will inform Kyiv residents and guests about the rules of conduct with explosives.

"In Kyiv, on April 4, 2023, Shevchenko Park will host an event 'Your Knowledge Is Your Safety' dedicated to International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action," the URCS said on its Facebook page on Friday.

Today, when a third of the territory of Ukraine is mined and thousands of munitions remain undetonated after Russian artillery or missile attacks, "we must disseminate information about the threat of explosives," the URCS said.

The event is designed for both adults and children. The program includes educational sessions on mine risk and interactive activities for the youngest participants.

As reported, in December 2005, the UN General Assembly declared April 4 as International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. This day is marked annually.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A 35-year-old felon was caught napping with his gun in a car that was idling in Stapleton, authorities allege.

The arrest occurred a block from where a victim was rescued in a bizarre abduction incident that the suspect and an accomplice were charged in 12 years ago.

Officers from the 120th Precinct spotted Robert Jemmott of Hill Street in the Stapleton Houses sleeping alone inside a gray, 2019 Kia Optima in the vicinity of Gordon and Warren streets on March 3 around 2 a.m., according to the criminal complaint and police.

Officers allege they recovered a black, Smith & Wesson M&P Shield from the car. The semi-automatic gun was loaded with a magazine containing seven .40-caliber bullets, according to the complaint.

A second magazine containing six rounds of .40-caliber bullets was seized from the vehicle by officers, police allege.

Great collaborative effort from our Field Intelligence Officers and Neighborhood Safety Team to get this gun off the streets of #Stapleton. Great Job!! pic.twitter.com/cmP08oaXh8  NYPD 120th Precinct (@NYPD120Pct) March 3, 2023

A computer check by police determined that the suspect did not have a license to possess a pistol or revolver and is not a dealer in rifles or shotguns in New York City, according to the complaint.

Also, the suspects drivers license was suspended or revoked at the time of his arrest on March 3, the complaint alleges.

Jemmott was indicted on charges that include criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

He pleaded not guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, and bond has been set at $450,000/$150,000 cash.

He is due back in court on April 11, according to public records.

Attorney Mark Geisser, who is defending Jemmott, declined to comment.

PRIOR CONVICTION IN ABDUCTION CASE

Jemmott was convicted by a jury in Supreme Court in January 2011 of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and sentenced to nine years in prison and four years of post-release supervision, the complaint states.

Jurors in that case acquitted Jemmott of the more serious charge of first-degree kidnapping, which could have put him behind bars for life.

His incarceration stemmed from a brief abduction of a woman allegedly over her husbands $130 debt.

The episode unfolded about 7:15 p.m. on April 6, 2010, at the corner of Bay Street and Lynhurst Avenue in Rosebank.

Jemmott and a female accomplice approached a man who had borrowed money over time from Jemmott, prosecutors alleged at the time.

The accomplice punched the man in the face, then grabbed his wife, who was with him, and dragged her into the rear passenger seat of a white, 2000 Chevrolet Lumina, according to prosecutors.

The suspects drove off as they snatched the womans cell phone, blindfolded her, stuffed a bandanna in her mouth and bound her hands and feet, prosecutors said.

The accomplice then telephoned the womans husband and threatened to harm his spouse.

The suspects allegedly demanded $130.

The husband, meanwhile, reported the abduction to police. About an hour later, officers spotted the Lumina at the corner of Gordon and Broad streets in Stapleton.

The suspects consented to a search and officers alleged they found a loaded, .38-caliber handgun in the glove compartment.

Jemmott was released from prison on parole in February 2019 and his post-release supervision ended in February of this year, according to public records.

His co-defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping and was sentenced to nine years.



OTHER STATEN ISLAND NEWS:

>> NYPD: Man sought for questioning in connection with pattern of 23 burglaries at businesses, restaurants on Staten Island

>> Hes accused of firing flare gun into car occupied by 2 men in Staten Island road-rage shocker

>> Suspect tosses brick to break glass, burglarize store on Staten Island, source says

>> Man, 53, who died after falling off boat in waters off of Staten Island identified by sources

>> Disturbing hand incident at Staten Island cemetery raises questions about security of borough coffins

>> NYPD: Man caught with 3 guns posed as correctional officer in 2 car stops on Staten Island
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Authorities allege that a 30-year-old man sexually assaulted, beat and kept a woman prisoner inside a bus steps from the Staten Island Courthouse in St. George.

The victim was known to the defendant prior to the attack, according to court documents.

The criminal complaint alleges that Alexander Isaac placed shackles on the womans legs so that she was not able to leave a bus he lived in that was parked on Central Avenue near Slosson Terrace on the morning of March 27.

The suspect handcuffed the womans arms behind her back, placed a T-shirt around her mouth, pushed her face down on a bed and repeatedly raped and sexually abused her, the complaint alleges.

The suspect also is accused of punching the woman in the face, slamming her body against the wall and striking her with a belt at some point during the violent episode.

Isaac allegedly left the bus and locked the door, leaving the woman trapped inside the vehicle for about nine hours, police allege.

The criminal complaint does not provide any information about how the woman left the bus, but on that same night, the suspect allegedly grabbed the womans arm in the vicinity of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street.

You made it worse for yourself, the criminal complaint quotes Isaac as saying as he grabbed the woman and forced her back into the bus.

He then placed shackles around her ankles and handcuffed her to a bedpost, the complaint alleges.

The criminal complaint and police did not provide any information about how the woman finally escaped.

She showed up at the 120th Precinct stationhouse at 78 Richmond Terrace with handcuffs and shackles dangling from her body, the New York Post reported.

Authorities raided the suspects bus and the results of that search remain under investigation.

The victim suffered injuries to various parts of her body that required treatment at a local hospital, the complaint states.

The suspect has been charged with criminal sex act, rape, kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment.

Isaac, who stands about 511 tall and weighs about 170 pounds, is being held at Rikers Island in lieu of bond set at $700,000/$200,000 cash, according to public records.

The suspect was due to appear in Criminal Court on Friday.

Attorney Michael Cirigliano, who is defending the suspect, declined to comment at this time.



OTHER STATEN ISLAND NEWS:

>> NYPD: Man drove stolen car after wheel fell off in wild chase on Staten Island

>> Good Samaritan details dramatic attempts to save pedestrian who died in fatal crash on Staten Island

>> Questions mount, amplifying devastation after young mother dies in recovery

>> NYPD: Man sought for questioning in connection with pattern of 23 burglaries at businesses, restaurants on Staten Island
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A 33-year-old St. George man has been sentenced to up to four years in prison for assaulting two individuals in a homophobic attack outside of a deli in Flatbush, Brooklyn, last summer.

Aaron Richard of Saint Marks Place pleaded guilty to third-degree assault as a hate crime on March 15 in front of Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Hecht.

On July 8, 2022, at approximately 5:45 p.m., on the 500 block of Ocean Avenue, prosecutors allege Richard approached a 22-year-old man with whom he was acquainted as he stood in front of a deli with another person and shouted: Yo, you f--s got to go. Lets get these f--s out of here. You need to move off this corner.

Richard then struck the man in the face with a metal object, causing a laceration. When the second person tried to intervene, that person was struck in the hand with the metal object and suffered a cut. The defendant was located and arrested on Aug. 30, 2022, according to police.

Attacks victimizing the LGBTQ+ community have surged nationwide, and we have no tolerance for this abhorrent violence in Brooklyn. Todays sentence holds the defendant accountable for this senseless and unprovoked attack and sends a strong message that those who commit hate crimes will face serious consequences, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Katherine Gardzalla, of the District Attorneys Hate Crimes Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Kelli M. Muse, Chief of the Hate Crimes Bureau.



RELATED COVERAGE: Staten Island courts

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>> Prison sentence for Staten Island financial advisor who targeted senior citizens

>> After his life sentence in 2 murders at Staten Island business was tossed, he takes plea; will serve 30 to life

>> In courtroom twist, he takes plea in slaying of Staten Island brothers 2 days into retrial; will serve 20 years

>> Woman charged in New Dorp kidnap, torture nightmare learns her fate

>> 2 brothers who terrorized Staten Island community in violent muggings are now both off to prison

>> Prosecutors reveal shocking speed driver allegedly hit in Staten Island wreck that killed pregnant fiancee
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Three Curtis High School students are the recipients of a prestigious award that is worth a full 4-year scholarship to college.

The three students, Sebastian David, Katelynn King Velez, and Emilee Jospey, will have respective full rides to Columbia, Boston College, and Yale thanks to scholarships from Questbridge, a California-based non-profit organization that helps low-income students navigate their way through college.

Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore/Brooklyn/Lower Manhattan) visited with the students last month and Curtis Principal Gregory Jaenicke to discuss their achievements and their plans for the future.

I was extremely happy to stop by Curtis High School today to meet and recognize these students. Winning a scholarship is a pleasant moment for them as well as their family and friends. The exertion of working towards a grant merits laud, Fall, who presented each of the students with an honorary citation from his office, said. It gives me enormous pleasure that these students are some of the brightest minds that Staten Island has to offer. Theyve worked diligently and this scholarship opens entryways to their splendid future. Numerous congratulations on behalf of my office, Principal Jaenicke and the entire faculty at Curtis High School.

Last year, Questbridge saw almost 18,000 students from around the country apply to be selected as finalists for the organizations National College Match program that pairs low-income students with almost 50 of the most prestigious colleges and universities.

Jospey, King-Velez, and David arent the first Staten Island students to receive the prestigious honor. In 2019, Staten Island Technical High School student Andy Wang, a resident of Dyker Heights, received the honor.

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Heres how 5 dedicated parents helped students reclaim PS 30 school library after the pandemic
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Doctors Hospital on Targee Street, Concord, was a for-profit hospital that opened in 1963. It was built to replace Sunnyside Hospital on Little Clove Road, which opened in 1940 and was demolished in 1962 to make way for the Staten Island Expressway. Doctors Hospital closed in 2003 and was later demolished.

The site is now home to PS/IS 48 William G. Wilcox, which opened in September 2013. This school offers students an opportunity to integrate technology with academics; support the diverse resources of the rapidly expanding multicultural community.
A Pensacola man is in custody roughly four months after police say he deliberately caused a crash in order to rob an older man of some $8,000 he won at an Alabama casino.

Police identified 45-year-old Edward Jerome Butler Jr. as the suspect in early January after investigators watched surveillance video and located the vehicle from the crash.

Butler was taken into custody this week by the Escambia County Sheriffs Office and is facing multiple charges stemming from the Dec. 27 incident, Florida TV station WEAR reported.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  New York finalized a list of disadvantaged communities, delineating which areas will be earmarked for climate-change funding and advancing the implementation of the states climate law.

The Climate Justice Working Group, comprised of 13 representatives from organizations working in environmental justice communities across New York, evaluated 45 indications  ranging from climate-change risks to sociodemographic factors  to land on 1,736 census tracts considered disadvantaged.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  As the first Latina executive director of the West Brighton Community Local Development Corporation  more commonly known as the Staten Island Business Outreach Center (SIBOC)  Nina Flores is in charge of an integral part of the Staten Island community. Her work with SIBOC has led her to running the Staten Island Womens Business Center, a center specifically dedicated to helping women achieve their entrepreneurial goals and start their own businesses.

Flores journey into the world of business began when she attended the Katharine Gibbs School, where she received her associate degree in business administration. After graduating at 19, she started to work as a receptionist at a nonprofit organization called the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation. It was there she found what the power of entrepreneurial programs can do to help an aspiring business owner. Eventually, she became the business manager.
Editors note: Staff writers Darian Stevenson, Rylee Kirk, and Elizabeth Doran contributed to this report.

Town of Onondaga, N.Y. -- State troopers said that false reports of school shootings were received Thursday across New York state, including in Central New York

In a tweet at 10:30 a.m., they announced that swatting calls, or false 911 calls, reported active shooters in schools across the state. They confirmed that all the reports have been unfounded.

Around 10:20 a.m., the Onondaga County 911 Center received a report of a shooting in a bathroom at Westhill High School in the town of Onondaga.

Officers rushing to the scene were told seven students had been shot.

Camillus Police, Geddes Police, State troopers and Onondaga County sheriffs deputies rushed to Westhill High School.

Westhill Central School District Superintendant Stephen Dunham confirmed the call was false in a note to parents Thursday morning. Westhill High School went into a hold in place and lockout as a result of the false report, he said.

These are hoax calls intended to get a response from law enforcement, Dunham said. They are incredibly scary and troubling situations that are taken seriously by schools and law enforcement.

Shortly after the call, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said he received calls from other district attorneys across the state who were told that the reports were part of a statewide hoax.

Fitzpatrick has heard about confirmed hoax calls in Onondaga, Oneida, St. Lawrence, Albany and Clinton counties.

Several schools across Putnam County and Westchester County also received hoax calls, according to a Facebook post from the Town of Putnam Valley.

In Utica, officers also responded to calls of gunfire at Proctor High School that turned out to be false, according to a Facebook post from the Utica Police Department. Rome Free Academy also received a call and it was determined to be possibly the same caller, according to a Facebook post from the Rome Police Department.

In Buffalo, police responded to a weapons call at South Park High School and a K9 unit searched the school, according to a Facebook post from the Buffalo Police Department. The call was believed to be fake, similar to false calls reported across the state and nation in the past couple days, Buffalo police said. Albany High School also received a false call, according to a Facebook post from Albany Police. Potsdam also received a false call, according to the Potsdam Police Department Facebook.

West Genessee High School also triggered a temporary lockout as a result of the reports at Westhill High School, according to a tweet from West Genessee High Schools principal Tracy Klefbeck.

By 10:45 a.m., officers were already beginning to leave Westhill High Shool after it was confirmed the call was a hoax.

Troopers are working with local leaders across the state to investigate the threats.

FBI Public Affairs Specialist Sarah Ruane said the FBI is aware of the numerous swatting incidents. Ruane said they will continue to work with local, state, and federal law enforcement to gather, share, and act on threat information as it comes to their attention.

Swatting is a prank call alleging a fake emergency, according to the FBI. In 2017, a police officer in Wichita, Kansas, shot and killed a man while responding to a hoax emergency call according to CNN. A man was sentenced for the hoax call.
A Hudson County court officer conducting an eviction at an apartment building within yards of a Jersey City grammar school was stunned to find a makeshift marijuana-growing facility inside an apartment, authorities said.

Jersey City police were called to 630 Bergen Ave., between Jewett and Belmont avenues, and they arrested 26-year-old Eyuemeyar Mazon on multiple marijuana offenses, including operating a drug manufacturing facility and operating it within 500 feet of a school, authorities said.

Police responded to the location at approximately 2:55 p.m. Tuesday, just as School 17 next door was dismissing students.

Upon arrival, police found 18 planter pots containing suspected marijuana, fertilizer, equipment for plant growing, and various amounts of psilocybin mushroom, authorities said.
Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the statement made by Spokesperson for Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani and called him to listen carefully to the comments made by Jeyhun Bayranmov, Azernews reports per the ministry.

In a statement released on March 31, the Iranian official demanded an explanation from Azerbaijan for the foreign ministers comments about a new stage in strategic partnership and noted Israel's "intention to turn the Azerbaijani soil into a platform for posing threats to the Islamic Republic of Irans national security".

Commenting on the matter, the Azerbaijani ministry recalled that Bayramov did not express any position against Iran during the press briefing with the Israeli foreign minister.

"In this regard, we consider this statement made by Iranian Foreign Ministry as the next anti-Azerbaijani step. We inform you that Azerbaijan has never allowed its territory to be used against third countries," the ministry added.

It was pointed out that contrary to what was said by Kanaani, threats and provocations have been made against Azerbaijan from the territory of Iran.

"For example, the conduction of military drills by Iran along the borders of Azerbaijan, military operations across the border, anti-Azerbaijani statements made by Iranian officials, even involving children by Iranian security structures such as the IRGC, and shooting and demonstrating threatening videos against Azerbaijan near Khudafarin bridge, the terrorist attack against the Azerbaijan embassy in Iran, the preliminary traces of the investigation of the terrorist act against MP Fazil Mustafa can be mentioned," the ministry listed.

Furthermore, it was noted that today the "Iranian-Armenian brotherhood" remains a threat to the region as a whole. The ministry recalled how Iran has turned a blind eye to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands for the last 30 years.

"It is well known that Iran does not pay attention to the occupation of Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur and the looting of these areas, the selling of stones removed from the houses in these areas in Iranian markets, the destruction of 65 of the existing 67 mosques," the ministry stressed.

The ministry emphasized that this statement is the next step in the crisis of Azerbaijan-Iran relations.

"These threats from the Iranian side can never scare Azerbaijan. Despite the military support sent to Armenia from Iran, the Azerbaijani army defeated the invading Armenian army in 2020. After that, any aggression and provocation against Azerbaijan will be resolutely prevented," the ministry concluded.




On Monday, April 3, at 13.30, the press centre of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a press conference with Acting Head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) Dmytro Zhoravovych entitled "Results of ARMA's work in Q1, 2023. Automation of ways to manage seized assets" (8/5a Reitarska Street). The event will be streamed on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot. Additional information by phone: (044) 290 0831, (099) 263 1990 (Pavlo Buldovych).
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Scores of students proudly called for peace at Concord High School on Thursday.

The school serves 175 students, most of whom were present at the Stop the Violence afternoon march. Students and staff of various backgrounds displayed handcrafted signs urging the community and the world to bring an end to the incessant violence plaguing our society.

The assembly of educators and teens echoed a chant every few moments as they made their way around the schoolyard.

Students and faculty of Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Some of the staff, such as Principal Mike Stobel, sported t-shirts with the saying, Alone we are strong, together we are indomitable emblazoned on the back.

Students are afraid to go into certain neighborhoods; they dont want to cross boundary lines to go into certain schools, and its causing this fear among the community to want to stay home, and its hurting school attendance, Stobel said. My hope in doing this is to show that we can come together as a community, create a safe space for students that theyll want to come to school. Theyll want to engage and do some of these things, as well as work towards earning that diploma.

The schools march marks the culmination of a week-long effort to promote peace. In partnering with the nationwide Stop the Violence movement, schools throughout the city Department of Education have been addressing violence in ways all their own.

For the Concord High School family, that manifested in decorated doors, daily inspirational quotes and the conclusive march.

Students and faculty of Concord High School took part in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023 as a response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Its all been geared to getting all the sources that are supporting this cause, so the kids can be authentically engaged in the movement, COSA team member Matilde Yunsan said.

And engaged they were.

Prior to the march, each room of the school had students diligently adding final touches to their posters. But beyond involvement in the class, many of the students have been engrossed in a culture of violence off of school grounds, witnessing the toll it has taken on their communities.

The trend is violence, thats the whole thing, and thats very dangerous because now to be cool is to be violent,' said Heshan Ibn Abdullah, a student at Concord High School. Especially in these kinds of communities, everybody wants to be accepted. Everybody wants to be cool. So now (youve) got to make things cool, such as being knowledgeable and being productive. Those things are actually cool, versus whats not really cool, which is killing each other.

Students and faculty of Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Some of the students at Concord have been victims of violence. Others have even lost loved ones.

We have to really just educate the youth . . . because all they really are is listening to music, Student JaMonte White said. I feel like the youth is really just going based off the music they hear nowadays, and you know whats blowing up right now is drill. The youth just need to realize that they have different choices, you know, opportunities.

When it came to concerns of violence on the inside, students said they predominantly felt secure among their peers and staff. Its a relationship that has been fostered through a unique, family-oriented program, staff members said.

We have an open-door policy, we have this adoption program, where certain staff members adopt kids, said Cynthia Roman Rivera, a school aide. If they feel like something is going wrong. . . theyll alert their parent. Me, as a parent, Ill bring it to someone of higher power and theyll try to stop it before it happens. They mediate a lot of things faster than other schools.

Students and faculty of Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

At one point, two students debated over school security, with one feeling secure, and the other wishing the school had safety agents with weapons, should the need for such tools be required. Its a topic that has been at the forefront of conversation in the wake of incidents such as the tragedy in Tennessee.

When it comes to lawmaking and direct action, some students felt that there was a disconnect between members of the community and those in office.

We live here every day and go through this,' said Ibn Abdullah. The people that are making the laws, theyre making laws that dont even fit to the custom of what would actually benefit this neighborhood. If they really wanted to make a difference and help us, then they should come and talk to us, and ask us what do we need to make our communities better, instead of deciding for us.

Students and faculty of Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)Jason Paderon

Although the students may not wield the power to implement the desired changes, they certainly made their wishes known.

The future of Staten Island made it clear that they seek peace and genuine change. The staff of Concord High School found that building a bridge was their solution to ensuring a healthy and secure environment, and these students share the hope that their communities can someday bask in that peace.

Culturally, weve really got to take an honest look at what were promoting, said Carlos Feliciano, a community associate/parent coordinator, because I do believe thats one of the bigger issues, that we glorify the violence and everything you hear in music, T.V., and especially with social media now, its cool to be violent. I personally feel that we should be raising the bar with these kids, because they are the future. They will be making the changes coming up.

Concord High School Principal Michael Sobel, right, holds a sign in front of the school with organizer Matilde Yunsan as students and faculty partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Concord High School is decorated with posters promoting peace ahead of a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023, held in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Students and faculty of Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Senior Jessica Zavala works on her sign as students and faculty from Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023, in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Students and faculty of Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023, in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Students and faculty of Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023, in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Students and faculty of Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Students and faculty of Concord High School partake in a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023, in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

Concord High School is decorated with posters promoting peace ahead of a "Stop the Violence" march in the schoolyard on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in response to the recent school shooting in Nashville. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  News about a historic indictment against former President Donald Trump broke Thursday night, and at least one prominent attorney thinks the trial should be on Staten Island.

Alan Dershowitz told Fox News host Sean Hannity that a trial related to a Manhattan grand jurys indictment against the former president should be moved to the citys most conservative borough in order to avoid a prejudiced jury.

This case has to get out of Manhattan. Will it get out of Manhattan? We dont know, Dershowitz told the talk show host. I would try to move it to Staten Island or some upstate venue.

The attorney and professor emeritus at Harvard went on to reference some controversy he got into in 2018 when he wrote an op-ed for The Hill saying that he had been shunned by former friends on Marthas Vineyard for his defense of Trumps civil liberties as rumors swirled at the time about what would become of the former presidents first of two impeachments.

Dershowitz told Hannity that Manhattanites treatment of any judge or juror responsible for a possible acquittal of the former president would be even worse than what he allegedly experienced on Marthas Vineyard.

Nobody would ever speak to them again, he said. Theres no possibility he could get a fair trial in Manhattan.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office, which is prosecuting the case against Trump and announced Thursday night on Twitter that its coordinating with the former presidents attorney on his surrender for arraignment, did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication on Friday.

A spokesman for Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahons office declined comment as the case is an active matter in another jurisdiction.

The indictment against Trump marks a historic moment in American politics and criminal justice as no president has ever been criminally charged in the nations history.

Braggs case against the former president centers on Trumps long-time fixer Michael Cohens $130,000 payment to pornstar Stormy Daniels, and the way the Trump Organization repaid Cohen.

Daniels tried to sell the story in the lead-up to the 2016 election, and Cohen, who testified before Congress and the Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump, said the former president knew about allegedly falsified business records from the Trump Organization that tried to conceal the repayment.

Under New York penal law, falsifying business records is typically a misdemeanor charge, but can be elevated to a felony if done with the intent of committing, aiding or concealing another crime.

The New York Times, citing people with knowledge of the matter and outside legal experts, reported that Braggs case, which remains sealed, is likely to center on charges related to those business records.

Trump has denied an affair with Daniels, and any knowledge of criminal wrongdoing. He has also taken to his Truth social media platform to blast the case against him, and fundraise off the indictment.

They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York! Trump wrote on the social media site.

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Minutes after the indictment was announced Thursday, Trump released a lengthy statement calling it the next step in a witch-hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference, Trumps statement said.

Trump accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of doing Joe Bidens dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on.

Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, said the former president is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history. He will be vindicated.

Republicans react, including Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) tweeted the indictment was Shameful.

Instead of locking up dangerous career criminals wreaking havoc on our city, wrote Rep. Malliotakis, Alvin Bragg has chosen to abuse our tax dollars and his prosecutorial power to politically target a political foe. Shameful.

Instead of locking up dangerous career criminals wreaking havoc on our city, Alvin Bragg has chosen to abuse our tax dollars and his prosecutorial power to politically target a political foe. Shameful.  Nicole Malliotakis (@NMalliotakis) March 30, 2023

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., speaks during a news conference Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Republicans from the former presidents son to GOP senators lashed out at the indictment. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the conservative chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a one-word reaction: Outrageous.

One of Trumps most loyal supporters in Congress, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, said, without citing evidence, that Trump was innocent and the only one standing in the way of these modern day tyrants.

Eric Trump, the former presidents son, said: This is third-world prosecutorial misconduct. In a text to The Associated Press, he called the indictment an opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year.

New York is being overrun by violence, children are being been shot in Time Square, homelessness is through the roof yet the only focus of the New York DA is to get Trump, Eric Trump said.

-- Advance staffers Mark Stein and Scott Axelrod contributed to this story.
San Mateo, CA (94402)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 63F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low 47F. WSW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.
WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE expo is one of the most significant events in the wine and alcohol industry of Ukraine. It is a platform for establishing business relations between wine and alcoholic beverage producers, retailers, sommeliers, restaurateurs, importers and distributors from Ukraine and abroad. In just a few days, WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE will be held again at the Kyiv International Exhibition Center.

"Despite russian military in Ukraine, our business continues to work, and the national economy needs support. Interest in Ukrainian products and demand for them are growing both abroad and at the domestic market. We have just returned from ProWein international expo in Dusseldorf, where the national Wines of Ukraine stand was presented for the first time, and, in total, 12 Ukrainian wineries participated in the fair. It showed that our wines are successful all over the world, our export of this product is constantly growing, and our wines deserve the attention of both foreign and national consumers. We cannot waste time and opportunities, so we decided to hold our event this spring," comments Viktoriya Agromakova, founder and organizer of WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE.

The list of participants of the Wine&Spirits Ukraine exhibition currently includes 36 companies, but it is constantly updated. This year, for obvious reasons, only companies from Ukraine are taking part in the expo, among them are large, medium and craft winemakers, alcohol and beer producers. For them, this is a great opportunity to find new contacts and sign contracts with national retail chains, retail stores and HoReCa. For buyers, there is an opportunity to expand the range of quality Ukrainian wines, beer and spirits.

For the first time, the combined stands of the Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Craft Distillers will be presented. 10 manufacturers will showcase their products at each stand.

You can learn more about the participants here .

Durig the expo, Ukraine Wine&Spirits Awards international tasting competition will traditionally take place. The competition is held with the support and participation of the Association of Sommeliers of Ukraine and the International Association of Sommeliers in accordance with the standards of the International Organization of Grapes and Wine, OIV. The jury of the competition this time includes well-known Ukrainian wine experts, sommeliers, as well as buyers of retail chains.

A long-time partner of WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE  the "UKRSADVYNPROM" union  will traditionally host the Wine&Spirits Congress at the exhibition. The head of the union, Volodymyr Pechko, emphasizes that this year the topic of the discussion panel is the issue of supporting the viticulture industry during war and post-war period. Participants of the discussion panel will learn more about potential and existing programs, projects and grants to support Ukrainian winegrowers and winemakers.

Whenl: March 30 from 12:00 to 14:00.

Where: pavilion 1A, conference hall #3.

During the expo, the Ukrainian Association of Craft Distillers will organize a round table on the topic of "Simplification of distillate production conditions for small producers". The event will take place on March 30 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., pavilion 1A, conference hall #3.

It may also be interesting for industry representatives to visit the specialized events that will be held by WorldFood Ukraine. The organizers invite producers, associations, regional development agencies, advisory services, profile media and everyone who is interested in the development of partnerships and cooperation, to join the Round Table named "Partnerships in the food market: how to unite to develop?"

When: March 31, 11:00-13:00

Where: pavilion #1, entrance 1A, conference hall #3.

Specialists and market insiders, including Svitlana Tsybak, Head of the Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine, will discuss the opportunities and problems of uniting market players in the production, promotion, sales and export of food and beverages, as well as analyze successful national and international cases.

Registration of visitors online: https://wineandspirits.com.ua/visit/
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When Aidan Cox, a project engineer, sat in the witness box at a NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing this past week, he dobbed in one of the countrys most boring but civically important listed companies, Downer EDI, for having a corruption problem. And not just a low-level corruption problem but one that in his opinion was systemic. Cox, a subcontractor, is one of about a dozen individuals, including at least six former Downer staff, who have been accused by the ICAC of either rigging contracts, inflating bids, fraud, bribery and kickbacks. Those accusations relate to a range of rail maintenance contracts that were awarded by the NSW government to Downer (and by Downer to subcontractors). Aidan Cox (top left) testifying at the ICAC hearings where bid rigging and fraud allegations have been made about rail maintenance contracts awarded to Downer EDI. Credit: The ICAC investigation as it has unpicked these contracts has, within a few weeks, laid bare a culture of complacency and poor corporate governance at Downer, where the company failed to identify the shady behaviour going on under some of its top executives noses. One of the biggest factors in allowing fraud and corruption to occur in companies is either poor controls or lack of oversight of those controls, says Chris Watson, a partner in Grant Thortons forensic consulting team. In some examples, ICAC outlined where subcontractors had lined their pockets by inflating the price for work on a number of the government contracts awarded to Downer, while the company lost money on them.

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That Downer lost money on some contracts, while subcontractors made money, should concern shareholders who might want to question Downers management about it at the next annual meeting, if there is one. The companys poor earnings and weak share price performance has sparked speculation that it could be ripe for a break-up by private equity. In the past three months, Downer has issued two profit downgrades, and its shares have lost almost half their value in a year, reducing its market cap to $2.3 billion. The decline in Downers shares began well before the ICAC hearings commenced this month. Last December, Downer revealed it had accounting irregularities in one of its power maintenance contracts and this may have led it to overstate its profits by as much as $40 million. It prompted Fitch to place the companys ratings outlook on a negative watch, which placed further pressure on Downers shares. In Downers annual report, investors were warned of the risk to any adjustment to the companys rating. Where the credit rating is lowered or placed on negative watch, customers and suppliers may be less willing to contract with the group. Furthermore, banks and other lending institutions may demand more stringent terms [including increased pricing, reduced tenors and lower facility limits] on all financing facilities, to reflect the weaker credit risk profile.

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In a statement, the company said that it remains in compliance with all financial covenants. At the end of December, Downers net debt to EBITDA ratio was at 2.3 times, which sits within the companys target range of 2-2.5 times, and anything below three times is generally considered ok. This ratio of leverage is a measure that shows how many years it would take for a company to pay back its debt. When asked about its interest cover ratio, which measures how easily a company can pay interest on its outstanding debt, Downer declined to comment other than to say it was meeting its financial covenants. One of the biggest factors in allowing fraud and corruption to occur in companies is either poor controls or lack of oversight of those controls. Chris Watson, partner Grant Thornton By February, Downer had a report from an external investigation into the accounting irregularities relating to the power contract, which revealed that the overstatement of profits between April 2020 and June 2022, was $22.2 million rather than the $40 million feared. In a statement to the ASX on February 27, the management and board said: Downer is confident that the misreporting was specific to the contract and not replicated elsewhere. In other words, an isolated incident. But it wasnt. By early March, ICAC had revealed that there were problems in rail maintenance contracts from 2014 and 2020 involving the company. A Downer spokesman said the company only learnt of the ICAC investigation and operation on March 1, before it was made public the following day. Peter Tompkins succeeded Grant Fenn as Downers chief executive in February and is now managing the fallout from the ICAC investigation. Credit:Michael Quelch With more scandals emerging, Downer shareholders began demanding significant change at the top of the company, which led to the retirement of the chairman, the resignation of the chief financial officer and the departure of another two board directors. Some mid-level staff who were the subject of the ICAC investigation also exited.

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Downers chief executive, Grant Fenn, who held that role for 12-and-a-half years, had already flagged his retirement in December, and then stepped down in February. He was succeeded by the companys chief operating officer, Peter Tompkins, who is now embarking on a turnaround and cost-cutting program. Tompkins was Downers company secretary and general counsel when the company settled a class action in 2016 brought by shareholders concerning the groups disastrous $3 billion Waratah train project for the NSW government. The class action brought in the Supreme Court of Victoria heard that Downer knew a blow-out of costs and delays had put the project 12 months behind schedule and $117 million over budget more than a year before telling the market of its troubles with the contract. Downer employs 33,000 people across Australia and New Zealand, and does mundane work that is important to most peoples daily lives. It has three divisions: transport, utilities and facilities, which in the event of a takeover would most likely be split up and sold off. The transport division is contracted by local, state and federal governments to do work that includes maintaining more than 50,000 kilometres of roads for governments here and in New Zealand, by doing jobs such as resurfacing and fixing potholes. Downer also manufactures train cars, maintains them, and also looks after the tracks and facilities at platforms from ramps, lifts, fences, and even landscaping.

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Workers at Downer rail maintenance site Credit:Joe Armao In February, despite its woes, Downer was named the preferred supplier by the Queensland government to deliver its $7 billion train program, which includes 65 trains and related infrastructure. In its utilities business, Downer has contracts with power, telecommunication and water companies. For example, it has contracts to provide the maintenance and decommissioning of power and gas stations, and it does work for the NBN, looking after the latters network performance and sites. In its facilities business, Downer has contracts for work that includes cleaning and mowing for large government departments, including defence, health and education. On a sum of the parts basis, those divisions are worth more separated than together under the Downer umbrella. And this is why there has been talk of a potential break-up. There has been a lot of talk around that potentially there could be suitors circling, says Fitch analyst Kelly Amato, but adds such discussion was before changes were made at board and management level. Simon Mawhinney, chief investment officer at Allan Gray, would prefer Downer EDI wasnt split up. Credit:Louie Douvis

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It was free-form radio. Id arrive at about ten minutes to showtime and just hold on while Doug would riff on everything that came to mind. He loved, in order, his wife and producer Miss Lizzie, who was his North Star in everything he did, his children, radio, the Manly Sea Eagles and life itself. He lived huge: enjoying his wealth, his houses, the lunches and dinners that never ended. Despite all of that, he remained an intensely private man, and never really played the publicity game. He was hugely loyal to his wide circle of friends that became ever wider as the years passed.

From close observation, his singular ability as a broadcaster was to get right to the very edge of saying something that would have him taken off the air, and never blinking. He pretty much always knew where the line was, and was quite comfortable riffing while staring over the abyss. In my time I reckon he went over that line once or twice but was instantly forgiven by audience and regulators alike: he was Doug Mulray! Breaking the rules was what he was meant to do and besides which, he never had an ounce of malice in him and everything was delivered with great humour.

After a year, Doug had taken the ratings from 2.1 to the high 7s on 2SM, and we went to 2WS. Alas, what had been free-form radio, making it up as we went along, was jammed into a highly regulated corporate environment with a playlist that came from Los Angeles, and it just didnt work, though the show was significant for pioneering the idea that radio could be multi-platformed, on the internet.

I went my way, and he went his, but we kept in light touch.
While Doug Mulrays death reverberates through Australias media landscape his listeners and former colleagues are reflecting on his decades-long career as a loveable larrikin on the radio. But its his naughty 34 minutes on TV that will remain forever imprinted in the minds of many.

Mulray, affectionately known as Uncle Doug, hosted Australias Naughtiest Home Videos in 1992  Channel Nines spin-off of Australias Funniest Home Videos which depicts comedic, and often cringeworthy, home videos sent in by viewers.

Doug Mulrays 34 minutes on Channel Nine will never be forgotten. Credit: Dallas Kilponen

As the name suggests, the one-off special remake revolved entirely around videos that were more risque and scandalous than the average home recording - less slipping on ice, much more nudity.

Mulray performed humorous monologues and voice-overs alongside (arguably) funny sexual content. Some examples include an elderly woman using her dentures to remove an envelope from a strippers underwear, a man lifting a barbell with his penis, people being accidentally disrobed, a man getting his head squeezed between an erotic dancers large breasts, and two people running into a body of water with flaming pieces of toilet paper hanging from their behinds.
In a history of parenting failure, losing the mobile phone war is as consequential as it is regrettable. For parents, it can feel like having raised heavy smokers who dont know why they cough all the time.

The incoming NSW government promised during the election campaign to ban mobile phones from public high schools by the end of 2023. It will allocate funds for research on the harms of smartphone misuse among children, and it has floated the contentious idea of jamming technology in schools.

Illustration by Simon Letch. Credit:

Such a promise reflects extreme community anxiety at a time when youth self-harm and suicide are rising. Is the poison of social media, funnelled through eight hours a day of smartphone use, to blame? Long-term research is still to come in on such new devices, but this is a case where common wisdom has raced ahead of the research.

Parents who lost the mobile phone battle will see government action as a start  but its only a start. Jamming might be overkill and many schools already ban phones. But these are fringe skirmishes. Children spend some 30 hours a week in school. The other 80-plus hours, it can seem, they spend on their phones. If more was done to address phone use in these hours, there would be less pressure on school hours.
The accompanying image was familiara mans mouth taped shut. Yannick Thoraval, its writer, tells of race and gender identity politics in his classroom shutting down debate woke ideology he calls it, while describing students disengaging when certain debates arise.

Last week an opinion piece in this masthead, Im a university lecturer and wokeism is stifling free debate in my classroom , made me wonder about my time in the US just before Donald Trumps election.

Before highlighting my differences with Thoravals perspective, Ill agree with some of what he argues. Most students I know are anxious about saying the wrong thing on sensitive topics. My sense is that they are spooked by how badly people can be shamed on social media for accidentally saying the wrong thing. I encourage such students to speak and I never shame them, even when what comes out of their mouths is inadvertently racist or sexist.

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I grew up facing extreme racism in Perth during the nineties. A white supremacist political movement had set up a suburb over and gripped my peers. Im brown so I suffered. I sought a better situation by going to university for an arts degree, but I was the only non-white person in my classes. Although I was eager to talk about my experiences, I had little confidence. My lecturers seemed to care about social issues but were out of touch with any reality that I knew, so I ended up dropping out.

Looking back now, I imagine how different things might have been if todays wokeism had been around then. It could have made a world of difference to my confidence and helped me to actually be part of the conversation. We need to be careful not to completely vilify wokeism because minorities that feel excluded by mainstream society may get some comfort from a version of it.

Despite that, like Thoraval, I see trouble. When I reentered university in 2013, I returned to Australia from the US with one foot in the Americas. Over the following years I would continue to spend much of my time there, mixing with fairly working-class American locals, whereas in Australia I had sporadic contact with academics. I happily discovered that the modern Australian university had a robust conversation about race and gender, but unfortunately, it coexisted with some pretty off-putting sanctimony.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When it came to support for controversial neurosurgeon Charlie Teo, the chasm between his patients and his peers could not have been more vast. Its either going to be a good day for Australian medicine or a bad day, said Teo reflecting on the possible outcome of his eight-day disciplinary hearing which concluded this week. His loyal supporters, rallied into action by texts and emails they received from Teo, loudly proclaimed their love. But in the small hearing room on the sixth floor of an unremarkable Sydney office block near Central Station, the silence from his neurosurgical colleagues had been profound. Charlie Teo is greeted by supporters as he leaves the last day of his inquiry. Credit:Nick Moir Not a single letter of support from an Australian or New Zealand neurosurgeon was provided to the four-person committee hearing allegations regarding Teos lack of insight, lack of judgment, lack of empathy, failure to obtain informed consent and conduct that falls short of expected professional standards. Asked about this lack of backing outside the hearing, Teo said, When all this went down, I thought I had a whole lot of neurosurgical friends. And I would write to them and send messages to them  they just didnt reply.

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His lawyers also came up empty-handed. Teo told the media he felt the lack of support was because of the potential for a supportive colleague to be blackballed, to join him in becoming an enemy of the fraternity. For years, the media has perpetuated the narrative that Teo is uniquely talented and performs operations beyond the skill and ability of his colleagues. In a combative display in the witness box, Teo routinely dismissed the expert opinions of three neurosurgeons, including the expert called by his own legal team. I dont expect them to know as much as I do, he said angrily. I have more experience with brain-stem tumours than almost anyone in the world. Of his own expert witness, Professor Bryant Stokes, Teo said, He is a nice man, but he doesnt know as much about brain tumours as I do. Professor Bryant Stokes was called as a medical expert by Charlie Teos legal team. Teo continues to maintain that his career has been beset by professional jealousy, and that envy was at the heart of the two complaints made against him, the outcome of which will be delivered some time this year. On the eve of the hearing, he told a podcast that the proceedings had nothing to do with fairness and whats right or wrong  its all got to do with peoples agendas. And the agenda is to destroy Charlie Teo.

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However, his colleagues reject this. In 2019, a Herald investigation interviewed 14 neurosurgeons and related specialists. Not one questioned Teos surgical skills. Instead, they raised serious questions about his judgment, narcissistic behaviour and charging financially stressed people exorbitant fees for questionable surgeries. As one said, No one is criticising his surgical skill. But good surgical practice is about so much more than that ... its knowing when not to operate  It is crystal clear from a medical and a scientific perspective, that excising some of these tumours does nothing to improve life expectancy or address the cancer. Charlie Teo is greeted by supporters outside the disciplinary hearing this week. Credit:Nick Moir While the hearing was in progress, Teo told the media that the two men who had complained about him must have been hoodwinked or coerced by his rivals. When grilled about this statement in the witness box, Teo offered no evidence for this statement except that he found it incomprehensible to think either had been unhappy with him. He called me by my first name. I liked him, he liked me, he said of the husband of a Geelong woman who died without regaining consciousness. The three expert witnesses said this operation had resulted in the largest removal of brain matter they had seen. Teo took out most of the right frontal lobe, removing normal brain tissue and leaving behind a significant amount of the tumour. The Geelong womans husband said: All my savings and superannuation went on saving my wife. I had to sell our house and move into a retirement village. On top of that, his daughter, a nurse, had to pay for an air ambulance to bring her unconscious and intubated mother back to Victoria, where she later died.

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The committee heard that Teo did not explain the serious risks of comas or death to his patients. It was also suggested they did not have time to give proper informed consent as Teo had rushed them into having their surgeries. Patient A, a 41-year-old mother of three young children, never got to say goodbye to her family in Perth as Teo had convinced her and her husband it was crucial she have surgery before Teo left for India. Charlie Teo is greeted by supporters as he leaves the last day of a disciplinary inquiry. Credit:Nick Moir Despite her biopsy report confirming that the woman had an incurable H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline glioma, Teo said it was operable and offered only a 5 per cent risk of death or coma. But three experts disagreed. There was no data, no statistics, no medical literature to support Teos decision to operate on the woman, Associate Professor Andrew Morokoff told the committee. After the operation, the woman remained in intensive care in Sydney for three weeks. At vast expense, her family paid for an air ambulance to medivac her across the country. Her husband said he only spoke to Teo once after the operation.

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While acknowledging his surgical outcome was very bad, a defiant Teo stood by his decision to perform the surgery. My job is to give them some hope that maybe, maybe theres a chance you can live a bit longer, he said. I would still offer the surgery. Teo made much of the fact that he hadnt charged anything for this surgery. However, the account from the womans husband painted a somewhat different picture. He said hed had a problem transferring the first $10,000 of Teos $35,000 fee. After the disastrous surgery, there was no further discussion of payment, he said. A Teo supporter outside court this week. Credit:Peter Rae Patient B, the woman from Geelong, was crying during her consultation with Teo. Her husband gave evidence that Teo said, What the f--- are you crying about? Im here to fix you. You should be happy. He said Teo told them: If you dont have the surgery by Tuesday, youll be f---ing dead by Friday. The husband could not have known that after Teos surgery, his wife would be effectively dead on Friday. She never regained consciousness and died on March 30, 2019, several weeks after her fateful surgery. Once again, other doctors had warned against an operation to remove the womans tumour. Experts told the hearing that not only was Teos removal of the womans right frontal lobe excessive, one expert said it was the biggest hed ever seen. Teo had left behind a significant amount of the tumour.

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Luke sat on the porch for five minutes and concluded that Holly had been wavering in her refusal. I felt like she still wanted to be with me, he said, under questioning from prosecutor Daryl Brown. So he tried the sliding door to Hollys ground-floor bedroom and was able to open it; two nights before shed unlocked it for Tom. Luke testified that he heard the shower and knocked on the bathroom door: Holly, its Luke, can I come in? Luke said Holly replied yes. He undressed, joined her and later had sex with Holly in her bed. At every step of the way I asked for her consent, he told the jury.

At her front door, Holly says Luke said he loved her. It was completely out of the blue, considering we hadnt spoken for months, Holly tells Good Weekend. She informed Luke that she had a boyfriend and then locked the front door. His version is that Holly briefly let him in, before deciding that no, she had a boyfriend, and that he should leave. Luke told the court that he heard the front door lock.

That night Holly, her best friend Mia*, Mias boyfriend Josh* and his friends, including Luke, ended up at a bar in Prahran, in Melbournes inner east. The drinks were flowing, and Hollys memory is patchy and flash-like. But after the four shared an Uber home, she was surprised to see Luke behind her as she walked from the kerb to her townhouse in a bayside suburb.

The first was his admission that, on the night of September 23, 2018, the then 22-year-old had slipped uninvited through a sliding door into 19-year-old Holly Harriss bedroom. Luke and Holly knew each other as former students at the private Haileybury school. Theyd chatted and flirted earlier that year. But in May, when Luke suggested a drive-in date, Holly had declined. Shed become serious about a young man called Tom, her soon-to-be boyfriend. They then had almost no contact, until the evening that upended their lives.

O n the first day of spring last year, Luke* was called to the witness box at Melbournes County Court. Nice big voice for the jury, Judge Anne Hassan instructed the operations coordinator for a property services company, who stood before her accused of rape. Yes, your honour, the 25-year-old replied. But Luke would need more than a big voice to convince the jury of his innocence. Several things hed done, before and after the alleged rape, were difficult to explain.

Many would see the result as proof of the justice system working. The Crown simply failed to prove Lukes guilt beyond reasonable doubt. But others see the frequent acquittals in these sorts of cases  two people, often young and drunk, alone with no witnesses, one persons word against anothers  as evidence of a broken system, a justice gap for sexual assault victims. A recent analysis of five years of Victorian rape trials indicated that three in four cases where the accused is known to the victim end in acquittal.

Juries dont give reasons, so well never know why, but after several days of debate, in September last year, a jury of 12 acquitted Luke of both rape and aggravated burglary. Holly Harris, a law student at Monash University, was devastated. I was in my own home. And I had told him, No, then shut him out. He broke in while I was naked in the shower. They should have looked at that and said: Thats not a fair situation, she could not give reasonable consent. 

Four days later, at 10.13pm, a message appeared on Hollys phone from Luke. It read, in part: Ive done the most heinous thing possible you can do to a woman, and Ive done it to you. It was never my intention for things not to be consensual, I should of realised what you were communicating to me, but I didnt, and I pushed it and ever since Ive felt sick. Here was the second difficult thing for Luke to explain: an apparent admission to non-consensual sex. But, he told the court, the message was only sent to placate Holly. I felt like that if I just told her what she would want to hear, she would be satisfied enough by that  to never go to the police. He consistently asserted his innocence: I never raped her.

She woke at around 6am in pain, naked and on the wrong side of the bed. She recalls telling Luke to get out, then texted Mia: Mia, help me. Mia omg  Luke raped me Im not kidding. Luke went to Joshs, who later described him to court as looking visibly shaken and worried. This was because, Luke explained in court, hed slept with Holly knowing she had a boyfriend.

Theres been a couple of times in the last few months where Ive been like, What on earth was the point of all that? says Harris. Credit:Peter Tarasiuk

I couldnt, in my head, work out how hed gotten there, she tells Good Weekend. She remembers asking him what he was doing. And the next snippet of memory, like a scene from a roughly edited montage, has him on top of her, on her bed. Looking back, she believes she may have had a fawn response, a common and instinctive reaction of compliance aimed at minimising injury. Hes appeared in my house, this guy whos essentially, like, pretty close to a stranger. I think I sort of just went into myself and just let what was happening  happen.

Calls for change are growing, both from victim-survivor advocates and from within legal circles. Recently, two of the Albanese governments most senior women, Katy Gallagher and Tanya Plibersek, joined the chorus asking for a rethink on rape and related offences. Survivors of sexual assault know that convicting perpetrators is the exception, not the rule. This has to change, tweeted Plibersek, whose daughter Anna was sexually assaulted by a former boyfriend (who was convicted).

Sydney lawyer and victim-survivor advocate Michael Bradley says the interrogations that complainants go through in sexual assault trials are designed to tear them to shreds. (Lehrmann denied ever having sex with Higgins and is now suing for defamation the media that published the original allegations.)

But accountability is one thing. Following last years high-profile rape trial of former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann, many Australians might be wondering whether the personal price of going to court is intolerably high, an almost self-destroying pursuit regardless of the outcome. As the case against Lehrmann unfolded, the alleged victim, Brittany Higgins, was repeatedly questioned about her dress, her drunkenness, her text messages and her actions in the days, weeks and months following the alleged assault. After a mistrial, a second trial was abandoned amid fears for her mental health.

If any business had the success rates of the adversarial system of justice for sexual crimes, it would no longer exist, says Patrick Tidmarsh, an Australian criminologist working in the UK on Operation Soteria Bluestone, a national initiative aimed at improving the investigation of rape and sexual offences.

Former federal court judge Tony North says that in sexual assault cases, the focus in court is still regularly on the victims behaviour rather than whether they consented. Credit:Eddie Jim

The proposition that a woman can convey consent while asleep rankled with some senior figures in the Melbourne legal community. Victorias Victims of Crime Commissioner Fiona McCormack described the decision as extremely concerning, while in a submission to the VLRC, the states Office of Public Prosecutions said the troubling decision appeared to set a low bar for the communication of consent, rendering it very difficult to prosecute similar cases, which were not-uncommon. Tony North, too, found the judgment problematic. He says that the Court of Appeal judges produced no evidence that there is a stage of sleep  a sort of twilight land  in which you can convey consent. (The judges held that it was common knowledge that the state of being asleep is not binary in nature, and so they didnt need evidence.)

But consent is just one element of a rape charge. The Crown must also prove beyond reasonable doubt that Jonathon did not reasonably believe she was consenting. The judges decided it was possible the woman had given him the impression of consent and quashed the rape conviction. In his reasons, Justice Forrest wrote: It is plain that, as the normal English term asleep is understood, there are various stages of sleep, ranging from deep sleep to something just short of full wakefulness. It was possible, he said, that the woman engaged in pre-penetration activities (such as moaning and nuzzling into a person) while not sufficiently awake to recall doing so.

She said words to the effect of: What the f---, Jono? and left. In a pretext call  where police record the complainant talking to the accused  he admitted to penetration and apologised. The Court of Appeal judges accepted that the woman did not consent.

Jonathon was charged after a female friend had fallen asleep on his bed following an evening of nightclubbing. In evidence the three appeal judges described as cogent and credible, the woman said she woke to find her pants pulled down to mid-thigh and Jonathon aggressively assaulting her vagina with two fingers. She thought it was her boyfriend but after some minutes, opened her eyes and realised she wasnt at home.

In the upper tiers of the law, its unusual for judges to publicly criticise each other. But thats what former federal court judge Tony North appears to be doing, here in his law book-lined corner office at the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC), which he chairs. His targets? State Court of Appeal judges Terry Forrest, Lex Lasry and Mark Weinberg  three aged men, like myself  who in November 2020 overturned a jury decision that found a Melbourne man, Jonathon, guilty of rape.

A few of these directions are recent additions, but Quilter found that, in general, the ones that were available to judges during the period she studied were not used in a timely or consistent way. She found cases of judges forgetting to give them or disagreeing with them. She has little time for this sort of thing. Well, you know, its the law, she says, via phone to Good Weekend from Wollongong.

One of the biggest changes to this area of law is that judges can address juries on common misconceptions . These directions can include noting that rape victims may not be physically injured and may not resist (its not uncommon to freeze, for example); that a person is not consenting if they wear sexually provocative clothes or have consumed alcohol or drugs; that rapes can occur between people known to each other (Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicate only one in five rapes involve a stranger); that a delay in reporting does not necessarily mean a complainant is lying; and that trauma may impact a persons recall, such that they describe a sexual offence differently at different times, to different people or in different contexts.

To get a sense of what was happening behind courtroom doors, the VLRC asked University of Wollongong academic Julia Quilter to analyse 25 Victorian rape trial transcripts. Quilter, who has just finished analysing 75 sexual offence trials in NSW, says her work in both states confirms the disconnect North noticed: progressive law reform over 40 years is being undermined by the way people behave in the actual courtroom.

When North looked closely at how rape trials were run, he was perplexed. The legislation was clear: free agreement to sex is the overriding definition of consent. But the focus in court is still regularly on the victims behaviour rather than whether they consented. Whether they flirted, what they were wearing and so on. That completely contorted the legal framework, says North. And so I kept asking: Why was this? 

For North, this appeal was just one of many disturbing cases he encountered during the VLRCs 2020-21 inquiry into how the justice system deals with sexual assault offences.

Quilter, now a professor, also found that undermining and blaming complainants is still common. In one trial she analysed, a defence barrister suggested a complainant was giving her soon-to-be rapist easier access by changing from leggings to pyjama shorts as she was getting ready for bed. The law is not self-executing, Quilter says. Human beings are involved. And you actually need Crown prosecutors, defence lawyers and judges to put these things into practice.

After the VLRC review, Tony North concluded that something was wrong with legal culture: from the judges in the sleep-consent case down to fresh-faced young barristers. This, he thought, had something to do with how older dinosaur barristers, as he calls them, mentor younger colleagues, passing on their playbook of how to defend a rape case with little attention paid to the changing law. Younger barristers told the VLRC that they knew some of these cross-examinations were wrong and unethical, says North, but courtroom dynamics stymied change. You might get an old dinosaur defence barrister whos out there to slaughter the complainant, and an older judge who thinks, Well, this is how I used to do it. Or maybe theres a younger judge who is across the new way of thinking, yet worries about coming across as barracking for the complainant, or having his or her directions criticised by the Court of Appeal.

The VLRC recommended more sexual offence education for police, lawyers and judges, and that only judges who have completed an overhauled training course hear these cases. They are among 78 recommendations being considered by the Andrews government (13 other recommendations, around issues such as affirmative consent and removing a condom mid-sex, have already been acted upon). So in time, says North, the influence of the dinosaurs should be reduced, reduced, reduced.

The morning after her alleged rape, Holly Harris made two decisions: that this event would not ruin her life, and that she would not involve the police. (ABS figures suggest one in five Australian women have suffered sexual violence, but only 13 per cent will make a police report.) I pretty much went straight into denial, she says. At dinner that night, Holly told three girlfriends shed been raped and had a high level of vaginal pain, making it difficult to sit down. The friends urged her to get medical help, so Holly reluctantly went to the nearby Alfred Hospital. But the doctor refused to examine her because, unusually, there was no one available to first conduct a forensic rape examination. She was referred to another hospital, but it was late and Holly didnt want to worry her parents.

When Luke texted his apology four days later, she felt validated: It seemed quite genuine. But a few weeks later, at a 21st party they both attended, she heard hed been telling people he hadnt raped her, that shed wanted it. (Luke declines to be interviewed for this article.) She was also unhappy that he continued turning up to the same parties as her.

A month after the alleged rape, she broke down and told her mother Anthea about it. Encouraged by Anthea, Holly met with one of Victoria Polices specialist Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Teams, which started looking into it. Holly then briefly dropped the complaint, thinking that, after being questioned by police, Luke would take the situation seriously. But when she heard, through friends, that he still denied responsibility, she reopened the case in mid-2019.

The Director of Public Prosecutions decided to take Hollys case to court, which is not the norm. Only 23 per cent of sexual assault police reports reached Victorian courts in 2017, and only 20 per cent made it to NSW courts in 2021, the high attrition rate often driven by lack of evidence or the withdrawal of a daunted complainant. Holly says she felt disempowered in the lead-up to court due to poor consultation from prosecutors and police, and the slow-turning cogs of the judicial system, a common feeling for victims. But the gap between her expectations of the justice system and its bruising reality was only just beginning.

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On the ground floor of Victorias Office of Public Prosecutions, Lucy the court dog emerges through a door and casually drops the small rectangular piece of cardboard between her teeth  her business card  on the ground. A chocolate labrador, she often sits at the feet of rape victims as they give evidence. The nations first full-time court canine, Lucy is part of a push to make the legal system less traumatic. But theres little Lucy can do to protect a victim from the reality of a rape trial. They might reasonably believe theyre at the trials centre but the victim is, to the court, simply the complainant and a witness. The Crowns barrister is there first and foremost to serve the court and the public interest, not them.

A complainant can be required to hand over their phone, passwords, messages, social media accounts, photos and data, while the accused is not. The defence can apply for the complainants counselling records, while the accused, with the right to silence, does not have to even take the stand. The Crown must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and in rape cases, due to the nature of the crime  one persons word against the other, with often no witnesses or physical evidence  doubt can flourish, particularly if alcohol was involved. Indeed, it is the defences job to ensure doubt does flourish.

Julia Quilter says alcohol is estimated to be a factor in up to 80 per cent of sexual assaults, with either the complainant or the accused being drunk, or both. In NSW and Victoria, you cant legally have sex with someone so alcohol-affected that theyre incapable of consenting. But its tricky for the Crown to take this line, says Quilter, because the defence will then question the complainants recall of events. A typical defence line, she says, might be: You were so drunk, you have no memory of what occurred. And I put it to you now that you were the one who started unzipping his pants. Or the defence might argue that a disinhibited complainant was more likely to consent.

Quilter says juries in Australian rape trials rarely receive any expert guidance on the effects of alcohol, despite a large body of evidence being available on how intoxication affects memory. She points to research that suggests a very drunk person is no less unreliable than a sober person about the essential aspects of an assault  they might not remember peripheral details such as the bedspread colour, but often will remember things relevant to the traumatic event. They might have parts of the night that are completely blank, but will recall a clear image of the assault.

In the 48 to 72 hours after a traumatic event, the brain will not make rational decisions ... How well is this explained to juries?

The other field rich for cultivating doubt is in how people respond to trauma. Patrick Tidmarsh trains investigators and prosecutors in the UK on the nature of sexual offending. He says defence counsel will often show that a complainant acted normally after the event in a bid to cast doubt on their credibility. Yet research suggests theres no behavioural template for trauma victims, who often do unexpected things. In the 48 to 72 hours after a traumatic event, the brain will not make rational decisions, he says down the line from Brighton, England. But when we get into the justice system, everyone is judged as though they had a rational brain at that time.

Why would a sexual assault victim take a shower instead of asking for a medical examination? Why would they wash or throw away the clothes theyd been wearing? Most people would think its not possible to be in denial about something like assault, Tidmarsh says. But if you understand trauma, denial is typical. How well is that explained to juries? Tidmarsh would like to see better jury education on sexual trauma, and potentially even the introduction of professional jurors. Julia Quilter, meanwhile, would like to see more expert witnesses called on how alcohol and trauma affect memory, and more research done on how alcohol affects consent.

When Holly Harris appeared before Victorias County Court in late August, she took the prosecutors advice and was beamed in from a specially built facility away from the courtroom. Giving evidence remotely is now the default for sexual assault victims, a largely successful, trauma-reducing reform. But it may also be having unintended consequences. Holly felt she appeared less real to the jury, by virtue of being seen via video, than Luke and his supporters sitting physically before them.

Theres nothing more devastating to a defence case than for the jury to see the white-knuckled grip of a victims hand on the witness box and the solitary tear sliding down the cheek, agrees one defence lawyer.

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In Hollys cross-examination, defence barrister Belinda Franjic asked at least 10 questions about whether shed flirted with Luke at the nightclub and elsewhere. (Tony North describes this line of questioning as dog-whistling to the jury: suggesting that flirting in a nightclub somehow gives consent to a sex act several hours later.) But in reading the trial transcript, its clear Franjic was trying to tread carefully with Holly. At one point, when Holly was not in the courtroom, Franjic asked Judge Hassan for guidance on her cross-examination. Nevertheless, when Holly returned, the continued questioning  which included putting to her a list of specific sex acts detailed in Lukes story  left her in tears.

Speaking now, Holly says the cross-examination felt like an attempt to break her. The questions were disgusting. I got really upset to the point where I couldnt really answer her any more. I was just saying no, and shaking my head and struggling to sort of breathe because I was crying.

The window of Julie Condons 17th-floor office has a commanding view of Victorias Supreme Court. Well, actually, its roof. Right next door is the County Court, where Condon served 19 months as a judge before returning to the bar as a criminal barrister. Now a Kings Counsel, shes well-placed to comment on rape trials, having overseen several while on the bench and defended many accused of rape.

Condon understands that women often feel like the ones on trial in such cases. But in a legal system thats set up to be adversarial, with serious, life-altering consequences for the accused, a defence barrister must thoroughly test their reliability. An adverse verdict means hes going to jail, hes going to lose his liberty, says Condon. So the allegation needs to be vigorously tested. And cross-examination is not designed to be a pleasant experience.

Does she agree with Tony North and Julia Quilter that theres a gap between the law and courtroom practice? Its difficult to make an assessment about the whole system, Condon says, but she believes times have changed. If the aim was to humiliate or embarrass the complainant by asking about how long her skirt was, in my view, these days, you would alienate a jury in a second if you engaged in that line of cross-examination. As a judge, Condon says she did not see any unduly upsetting cross-examinations of rape complainants.

University of Wollongong professor Julia Quilter would like to see more expert testimony on how alcohol and trauma affects memory. Credit:

Other defence barristers who speak to Good Weekend for this story express concern about what they see as a shift in police attitude: that police now often seem to take a complainants narrative at face-value, without seeking evidence that may expose weaknesses in it. One senior female criminal barrister tells Good Weekend that this disproportionately affects defendants from disadvantaged backgrounds, who may not have the funds to seek a subpoena to search a complainants phone and an expert to extract messages from it. Shes had a number of trials where this information exposed false statements, motives to lie or collusion. I have never heard of a complainant being reported to the police for making a false complaint. These examples are not, therefore, captured in any statistics, she says.

So how many rape allegations are false? Good Weekend speaks to another criminal defence barrister who rails against the inconsistencies they see in rape complainants stories, yet suspects the percentage of false allegations is probably fairly small. (A 2016 meta-analysis of seven studies of rape allegations in four Western countries put confirmed false police reports at 5 per cent). False allegations can, of course, reach court, but its also possible the brutal reputation of rape trials acts as a deterrent. The system places such a burden on complainants its unlikely you are going to have people who are outright lying, says Julia Quilter.

Upstairs from where Lucy the court dog hangs out, Kerri Judd KC, the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions, is talking in her roomy corner office about the difficulties that prosecutors face in securing guilty verdicts for rape. For example, for every 23 reports of rape to the police in Victoria in 2010-19, only one person was sentenced, according to the states Sentencing Advisory Council. Of the fraction of complaints that get to trial  under a broader category of sexual offences  52 per cent of defendants were found guilty in Victoria in the year to June 2020, and 43 per cent in NSW (in the year to September 2022). The figures have remained stable in both states over the past decade, but its certainly clear that the conviction rate for rape is lower than for many other crimes.

The other thing about rape statistics is that there are two different categories of rape that can skew the figures. A 2021 Crime Statistics Agency Victoria analysis found reports of sexual offences involving strangers  the least common  are more likely to get to court and be proven than cases where the accused is known to the complainant. In further analysis for Good Weekend, the CSAV found that between July 2017 and June 2022, Victorian courts heard 3838 charges of rape where the offender was known to the victim. Of these, 26 per cent had the charge proven and a conviction recorded. Of the 788 stranger rape charges, 34 per cent were proven and a conviction recorded.

Judd says that in cases where the parties know each other, the prosecution often struggles to prove that the accused had no reasonable belief of consent. If you have somebody giving evidence who says, Look, you know, on reflection, they werent consenting. I accept that. But at the time, I reasonably believed they were. This is very hard to overcome. An experienced rape trial prosecutor tells Good Weekend that juries are more likely to convict than they were 10 or 15 years ago, but with acquaintance rapes they still struggle with the hurdle of beyond reasonable doubt. If you had to prove it on the balance of probabilities [as in civil cases], thered be a lot more convictions.

British research into jury bias has revealed that even when jurors believe a young man is guilty, theyre often reluctant to convict because they worry the rapist label will damage his future. The high standard of proof, the allowance for doubt and the accuseds right to silence  they all protect against the scourge of wrongful conviction, underpinned by a principle called Blackstones ratio, named after the English jurist William Blackstone, who wrote in the 1760s that it is better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.

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Certainly parents of young men would appreciate this legal protection, as they navigate the fraught phase when their children start experimenting sexually, often armed with ideas of sexual consent garnered from porn.

But some observers such as Marque Lawyers partner Michael Bradley now believe this formulation places the rights of men to liberty above the rights of women and girls to physical safety. Or, as the Harvard Medical School psychiatry professor Judith Herman once put it: The legal system is designed to protect men from the superior power of the state but not to protect women or children from the superior power of men.

In recent years, some victim-survivors have shunned courtrooms and used online tools or the media to tell their story. Indeed, women have sought alternative justice pathways for years, from the list of alleged sexual assault perpetrators written on the bathroom walls of New Yorks Columbia University in 2014, to the #MeToo movements online outing of sex pests, to American campus databases such as Callisto, which file away anonymous and encrypted reports of sexual violence that can be acted on only if two victims report the same assailant. These approaches can be messy and result in what American moral philosopher Martha Nussbaum describes as retributive overreach. They are also scary for men, who fear the stigma of being falsely tarred a sexual predator without any right of reply. But they are likely to continue while the system remains so traumatic and while women perceive that the scales of justice are tipped against them.

Is there a way, then, of making victims feel they can safely engage with the system? Stacey Maloney, head of the sex crimes unit of the NSW Police, has floated the idea of a new negligent sexual assault offence, to be dealt with by lower courts, as a way of encouraging more offenders to plead guilty. (Rape cases are highly likely to be contested. As one barrister says, when faced with a jail sentence, young men and their families will remortgage the house and fight the charge with every fibre of their being.) One of the Victorian Law Reform Commissions recommendations that particularly excites Tony North is getting the government to fund a rape complainant to take their alleged rapist to court in the civil jurisdiction, where theres a lower standard of proof (he envisages this might happen in cases that raise important systemic or legal issues).

The former judge also thinks its not a bad thing that recent changes to consent laws in NSW and Victoria  requiring a person to show they took steps to establish consent before sex  might force more perpetrators into the witness box. Marque Lawyers Michael Bradley, meanwhile, has suggested doing away with the right to silence for people accused of rape. This would be a radical change and difficult to enforce. When pressed, Bradley says, in practice, it would mean the judge be allowed to direct the jury that they could draw inferences from an accuseds refusal to testify. At present, the jury is told they cannot conclude anything from an accuseds silence.

There are plenty of other reform suggestions on the table: getting rid of committal hearings in Victoria; judge-only trials; screening jurors for rape myths. The VLRC recommends providing victims with personal advocates to help them navigate the system, and with state-funded legal advice  up to the point of trial  that would, for example, help with cross-examinations or defence attempts to get personal information. Victorian Victims of Crime Commissioner Fiona McCormack goes further, advocating for state-funded lawyers to represent victims at trial, making them equal to, but not in opposition with, the accused.

In 2021, a woman well call Lou* sat at her kitchen table alone. She was about to do something completely counter-intuitive: call her rapist. In 2013, when she was 18, Lou was raped by a 19-year-old, a friend of a friend, whom she was casually seeing. She was in pain for five weeks. In 2016, Lou worked up the courage to go to the police, but found them discouraging. In March 2021, she went back to police, who told her the only way the allegation would reach court was if there was evidence from a pretext call. After several unsuccessful attempts at the police station, Lou was sent home with recording equipment to phone her rapist.

Lou was terrified. Before the call, she says, she had fantasised about running him over in her car. But it turned out to be a transformative conversation. The man said hed thought about that night a lot; that hed always felt they would, one day, have this conversation; that hed been to therapy about it. He recounted details without any prompting from Lou; apologised and said it shouldnt have happened, admitted he kept going when Lou had asked him to stop, that he knew she was in pain. It was so powerful, Lou says, for him to confirm that she hadnt made up this incident, or dramatised it in my head.

It was just sheer luck that I had this really helpful conversation and got a lot of healing from it.

Ultimately, the police decided there wasnt enough evidence to take the matter to court. Lou was relieved: I felt like a part of me had been physically healed after that call. I was like, Okay, were good. Like, this is done. The anger and need for him to be punished has gone.

Lou has become passionate about restorative justice, a healing process that brings the victim and offender together in a facilitated environment, often after receiving counselling and support from trained professionals. The victim gets to explain the impact of the offending and ask questions  Why me? Why did you do it?  while the offender may listen, apologise, or show accountability in the knowledge that, in the ideal models, there are no legal ramifications. In Australia, the ACT is the only jurisdiction that, since 2018, uses restorative justice for adult sex offences as part of the formal legal system. The Queensland government recently announced it would make restorative justice for sexual assault a meaningful option, as it is in New Zealand, the UK and parts of Europe. Across Australia, this idea enjoys widespread support from police, prosecutors, courts, victim advocates, criminal barristers and the VLRC.

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It wont be a solution for everyone. The last place some complainants want to be is in the same room as their perpetrator. But many who have gone through restorative justice pilot programs testify to its healing powers. Lou, now 28, realises the criminal justice system could never have delivered what she really wanted. It was just sheer luck that I had this really helpful conversation and got a lot of healing from it. The rest of the process was, like, actively really harmful.

Holly Harris, who never wanted Luke to go to jail, also thinks restorative justice is worth pursuing. And she believes rape trials should be heard by judges alone, partly because of jury bias but also because judges must explain their reasoning, giving victims more closure.

These days, Holly has a lovely, supportive new boyfriend. Shes in her fifth year of law school and is in a good place. She still wonders if going to court was worth it. Theres been a couple of times in the last few months where Ive been like, What on earth was the point of all that? I literally put myself through hell for years for nothing, essentially.

* Names have been changed.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.
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 Given that our system of government is based on two parties holding most of the power and deciding what is made law, those two parties and their places on the political spectrum have changed (Greens thrive following dust-up, March 31). As the mood of electorate and the needs of the nation change, Labor could now more appropriately be termed conservative-moderate and the Greens progressive. The Liberals have become little more than extremist right-wing outliers who have lost their relevance and their traditional base; and their Nationals colleagues are not much better. What is most heartening for everyday Australians and the challenges they face is that thanks to Adam Bandts pragmatism, the Greens have finally grown up as a party. Theyve finally worked out how to bring about incremental but meaningful change through negotiation. Its likely that in 2025 theyll become an even stronger force. Pam Timms, Suffolk Park <p> Credit:Illustration: Matt Golding David Crowe has foreshadowed the birth of the successor of the old political duopoly. How long will it be before the pitifully irrelevant Liberals hold their closing down sale, Labor becomes the dominant party of the centre right and the once-derided Greens move to occupy the vacant sensible left? Perhaps our political system has a future after all. Brian Haisman, Winmalee What is the point of having an opposition that doesnt participate positively in any debate of national significance? Many Coalition voters are blaming the Albanese government for being too cosy with the Greens. What is the alternative? If the Coalition thinks it can come back to the government in the next election without lifting a finger, it is deluding itself. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill Lidia Thorpe and Jacinta Price should take a leaf out of Adam Bandts book. What he wanted in regard to the safeguard mechanism, emission reduction targets, industrial relations laws and reconstruction was different (and probably better) to what the government was proposing. But by getting on board he may not have achieved exactly what he was after, but he is a long way down the track. And we will end up with something better than we currently have.

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On the other hand, by digging their heels in over the Voice, Thorpe and Price risk getting nothing. But maybe it wont matter. They say that a referendum needs bipartisan support. They dont say who those two parties must be. Could one of them be the Greens, particularly if they are the real opposition? David Rush, Lawson Id like to thank Bandt and the Greens for stepping into the role of opposition leader, despite the petty putdowns of our PM. It seems that any governments answer to real, pressing problems is a future fund, which Crowe is right to call a cashbox. Housing and rental affordability require a heavy dose of pixie dust now, not in the future. Mark Paskal, Austinmer Whistleblowers deserve benefit of the doubt Richard Boyle has been caught out in an unfortunate reverse trifecta; in the first instance he was confronted by an employer, the ATO, engaging in an abuse of power; in the second instance by an employer who demonstrated an incredible incompetence in investigating his public interest disclosure; and now, in a third instance, by a judicial officer that has assumed all whistleblowers should be experts in black letter law (Decision makes whistleblowing more difficult, March 31). In my respectful view Judge Liesl Kudelka has erred in her understanding of the legislation in two ways. Firstly, the Public Interest Disclosure Act was brought into existence to protect an employee David calling out an agency Goliath when it was apparent that Goliath was doing wrong. And the parliament did not expect David to be a Kings Counsel. Secondly, the act of making a public interest disclosure is an intellectual exercise that involves making a decision to blow the whistle, gathering the facts to ground a disclosure, preparing the disclosure and then tendering an allegation. Her judgment suggests it is just the handing over a document. It is my view the decision should be appealed to a superior court to be re-examined, mindful that whistleblowers are to be protected by the law, not subjected to a financial and psychological beating because of it. If I am wrong about the judgment, then the law is wrong. Irrespective of all that, Boyle is a hero, and Mark Dreyfus should use his Judiciary Act powers to stop this persecution. Rex Patrick, former senator

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If silence is consent, then whistleblowing is an ethical check on government, corporate excesses and misdeeds. Surely, the notion that people have to choose between facing legal charges and ethics is outdated in modern Australia, where we value organisational accountability and transparency. Steve Ngeow, Chatswood There are similarities between political prisoners and whistleblowers. If Boyle is incarcerated he is essentially a political prisoner. We condemn the imprisonment of political prisoners in other countries with poor human rights, but its happening here right under our noses. Renos Ross, Paddington Body shaming How woeful our iconic surf clubs, the ultimate symbol of the body, are wanting to make people feel ashamed by banning nudity in change rooms (Terrigal towel dance: Nudity ban in Central Coast change rooms, smh.com.au, March 31). Loading Is this the religious right influencers wanting to slowly infiltrate our society and our beautiful Australian freedom? The same type of people as in the US who want to ban the study of Michelangelos David from schools? If parents are repulsed at the thought of their child getting an eyeful of the human form, then they should use an outside shower and be the ones inconvenienced. Nicole Looby, Ettalong Beach

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Horror of horrors, people changing in change rooms! What will be next - diners demanding to eat in restaurants? Library patrons wanting to read in libraries? Had this story run on April 1, I would have thought it was a joke. Catherine DeMayo, Oatley If people dont want to be offended by nudity in change rooms, they should stop staring. Anne Barnett, Frenchs Forest Not being able to use a change room to change clothing. Bizarre. Peter Butler, Wyongah Take a bough While there is a lot of local disquiet about logging in and around Coffs Harbour, so far the name of nearby Sawtell has not been changed to Sawmill (Letters, March 30). Judith Fleming, Sawtell Without government help national treasures will be lost Only in Australia is a treasure like the National Gallery not carefully maintained and cherished (Great Dame rallies to plug NGA leak, March 31). How can the NGA have a leaking roof for over 25 years with a $6.9 billion art collection in the building? Travel through Europe and the endless art galleries are the hub of tourist and city life, yet here we cant even fix a leaking roof in the NGA. Lets hope former governor-general Quentin Bryce can lead a team to fix this embarrassing disrepair with big financial help from the new federal government. Helen Simpson, Curl Curl

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In December last year I first read of the threat of funds withdrawal for the digital research service called Trove. The National Library of Australia operates this excellent resource but cannot do so without government support. Now we read of the dire condition of the NGA. Unless federal governments support institutions such as the NLA and NGA our countrys treasures will be lost. Lyn Langtry, East Ryde Train pain Congratulations to incoming Transport Minister Jo Haylen for launching a review into the repeated infrastructure failures across the rail network (Labor tackles rail failure, March 31) Endemic problems with the signalling system and other maintenance issues point to the previous administrations singular focus on expensive new metro projects while failing to resource Sydney Trains adequately to operate existing services at a reliable level. No doubt this failure received its own reward at the ballot box, especially with a major signals meltdown causing extensive chaos to voters across the network on election day itself. Doug Walker, Baulkham Hills NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen has announced a major independent review of the states railway system. Credit:Jessica Hromas Marks stain Observing Mark Latham, defender of morality, religious freedom, and Christian Lives Matter, self-immolating in a puff of toxic homophobic smoke so putrid that even Pauline Hanson and Andrew Bolt cant stand the stench, confirms that we do indeed live in strange times (Hanson slams Latham for homophobic comments, March 31). Dennis Foster, Zetland There should be a very strict code of conduct for the states elected representatives. Mark Latham would certainly fail the test. Peng Ee, Castle Cove

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But could the tension between our politicians and watchdogs actually be a healthy reflection of an evolving integrity system? Who watches the watchdogs? At the western end of Melbournes CBD, the Victorian Ombudsman and the Victorian Inspectorate are almost neighbours. Their offices sit so nearly opposite each other that their heads could exchange waves at the windows if they were so inclined. But they are not. As The Age reveals today, there has been a breakdown in relations between the Ombudsman, Deborah Glass, and Inspector Eamonn Moran, head of the Victorian Inspectorate, the little-known agency that scrutinises other integrity bodies - the watchdogs watchdog.

An October letter from Glass to Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes, seen by The Age, reveals that despite his authority over her office, Glass is refusing to deal with Moran, alleging he has abused his powers in multiple investigations of her office. The row is a troubling new fault line in an already stretched integrity system. Head of the Victorian Inspectorate, Eamonn Moran. An Inspectorate spokeswoman says the Inspector (Moran) is not aware of the Glass letter, nor its contents, and that engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman continues as usual. But while Glass beef is in part with the Inspectorate and what she says are its excessive powers, it is also with the Andrews government. Sitting above all the watchdogs is the Integrity and Oversight Committee, made up of MPs from the lower and upper houses but which until late last month had been chaired and controlled by a majority of MPs from the governing Labor Party.

In her letter, Glass explains that after formally complaining to the committee about Moran in June, the committee failed to launch an investigation until October and then only allowed three weeks for its completion. She says the truncated timeframe led her to question the Committee, not to mention the governments, commitment to a meaningful investigation. Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass is approaching the end of her 10 years in the position. Credit: Paul Jeffers Glass argues the Inspectors unfettered use of his coercive powers exposes serious weaknesses in the integrity system. News of Glass letter comes just weeks after it was revealed that Redlich had written to the speaker and president of the Victorian parliament in December accusing the committee of seeking to undermine IBACs work.

Redlich called on the government to relinquish its dominant position on the committee and its insistence on having one of its MPs chair it. Late last month the government caved, its arm forced when the Opposition and Greens threatened to join forces to demand an inquiry into Labors alleged suppression of the Redlich letter. The missives from Redlich and Glass raise questions about who is, and who should be, watching whom and whether Victorias evolving integrity system needs retuning. A history of argy-bargy Yet the current tension between politicians and integrity agencies, and between the agencies themselves, is all but inevitable given the business theyre in: investigating dodgy doings by MPs and public servants. When the Baillieu government - after years of political argy-bargy - finally introduced IBAC, the first dedicated anti-corruption agency in Victoria with powers to probe MPs, it also established the Victorian Inspectorate in 2013 to oversee the watchdogs work.

The Ombudsmans office had been established in the 1970s, but its powers of scrutiny were limited to the public service. Bad dog, good dog: Are our integrity watchdogs living up to their billing? Credit: Richard Giliberto The Andrews government increased the jurisdiction of IBAC in 2016, removing the requirement for corrupt conduct to be serious and adding the ability to investigate misconduct in public office. As soon as IBAC got up and running and began poking around in politics, government MPs were irritated by its intrusions. That frustration has been fuelled by Redlichs insistence on probing matters arguably outside the scope of the IBAC Act, as well as what Redlich calls soft corruption: centralisation of executive power, the growing influence of advisers and staffers, relations with unions and pork-barrelling.

Redlich and Glass say they are increasingly worried about the lack of government accountability, and in their joint Operation Watts report that detailed Labors rotten internal culture, described Victoria as a laggard rather than a leader in parliamentary integrity. Loading They said the investigation resulted from failure to prevent publicly funded electorate and ministerial officers from being used by some MPs and ministers for party-specific purposes. The joint report concluded that the electoral staff working in MPs local offices should not be used for party-political purposes. But such finger-wagging infuriated some who say it is a naive view that ignores the realities of seeking and keeping office in a democracy. Senior government MPs also privately point to the damage to reputations that comes with being caught up in IBAC examination even if the matter is - by political if not IBAC standards - trivial.

Andrews himself has been grilled by IBAC on multiple occasions, albeit in private. Other ministers, former ministers and MPs have also been examined. Many are unimpressed, to put it lightly. Redlich and Glass have further ruffled feathers by being outspoken about the rights and wrongs of governance in Victoria. One of Robert Redlichs final acts was to call on the government to overhaul the make up of parliamentary committees. Credit: Jason South For his first four years at the helm of IBAC, Redlich was low-key and repeatedly refused to be drawn into public commentary about the agencys work. In his last year he was increasingly prominent, railing against declining government standards at both state and federal levels. Asked for suggestions about who might replace Redlich as IBAC commissioner, a senior legal figure closely associated with Labor takes a thinly veiled swipe. There is something about old blokes who have had high-pressure and powerful positions as they face their irrelevance, the insider said. We need to find someone for that [IBAC] job who can keep their ego in their back pocket. We need people who let their reports do the talking.

The Premier let his feelings be known last month in classic Andrews style. When asked about Redlichs letter he said he would not be responding to someone who used to do a job [who has] written a letter that apparently says a whole bunch of stuff. In fact Redlich was the IBAC commissioner when he wrote the letter. Integrity experts, including former Supreme Court judge Stephen Charles, were aghast at Andrews lack of respect. Glass is also unpopular among Labor frontbenchers, especially after her December 2020 report into the governments COVID response lockdown of North Melbourne and Flemington public housing towers. Glass found the government had violated Victorian human rights laws, and called on it to apologise to public tenants. Far from an apology, ministers were seething about what they perceived as Glass holier-than-thou narrative, especially given the crisis context in which the lockdown took place.

Ill feeling only intensified in 2022 when Glass launched her probe of the alleged politicisation of the public service, an inquiry that will likely feature the infamously centralised office of the Premier. The investigation was launched in response to a referral from the upper house after stories by The Age. The Ombudsman has no choice but to follow up such referrals. Nonetheless, Labor MPs see Glass enthusiasm for the inquiry as symptomatic of a negative attitude to government and parliament. This week she refused to comment on her letter to Symes because it is private correspondence. But she defends her public forthrightness: In my view, an important part of the role of the Ombudsman is to speak truth to power, even if such truths are not appreciated. She says her experience is that MPs have not done enough to promote their own integrity, noting that the government had accepted but not implemented the recommendations from the Watts investigation for a parliamentary ethics committee not controlled by the government.

Glass has just entered the last year of her decade-long stint as Ombudsman. She is unlikely to go out quietly. The bad old days But if the watchdogs are such an annoyance and so unreasonable, why let them loose? Why, for example, would Anthony Albanese go to an election promising a national anti-corruption body, after watching for decades the damage inflicted on politicians by such an agency in his home state? Inquiries by ICAC in New South Wales have cost three Liberal premiers their jobs since premier Nick Greiner established the agency in the late 1980s. Clearly Albanese saw a big political advantage in promising such a body at a time when integrity was a hot button issue. But despite their trepidation, many MPs also argue it was the right thing to do.

Integrity experts agree. Catherine Williams, research director of the Centre for Public Integrity, says the flaw in Pakulas argument is that voters need to know as much as possible about what transpires behind the scenes in politics to make an informed choice at the ballot box. If the electorate when it elects a government is not in full knowledge of the governments activities, how can it be said that the government really has moral authority? she asks. Privately, former MPs and insiders from both sides of politics acknowledge that 20 years ago - before IBAC and Labors strict 2018 donations laws - Victorian politics was much grubbier than it is now. We just didnt hear about it because there was no anti-corruption watchdog. The educational role of IBAC and equivalent agencies in other states has helped politicians and public servants better understand what acceptable conduct and corruption are, says Williams. The IBAC has a really important educational function. The integrity system, however, is a work in progress; it is evolving. And despite the complaints of some MPs, Victorians can expect more integrity reform.

Victoria has fallen behind other states and territories on some - but not all - integrity fronts, according to multiple experts, including Transparency International Australia, around lobbying regulations and the powers IBAC has. Pressure is mounting on Labor to further broaden IBACs jurisdiction by widening the definition of corrupt conduct so that it is not limited to hard, cash-in-a-paper-bag-style corruption. Loading Williams identifies this as the single biggest weakness in the Victorian IBAC legislation. She says Victoria has now fallen behind the federal sphere in this area, as Canberras new integrity commission has a much broader definition of corruption. Widening IBACs reach has also been identified by the Greens as a priority.

After his own low-key start in the job, acting IBAC commissioner Stephen Farrow has also gone public to call for reform. It is important to question whether having a much narrower definition [of corruption] in Victoria creates a gap in our integrity framework, says Farrow, in exclusive comments to The Age. That may not be music to the ears of MPs, or former MPs, fed up with being lectured to about integrity by former judges and ageing legal eagles. But when Pakula made his speech in September last year, there may have been things on his mind that he did not raise. Like many of his government colleagues, in his time as an MP Pakula was mentioned in public hearings of IBACs epic Operation Sandon, relating to legal political donations received from the allegedly corrupt developer John Woodman.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Tragedies and genocides have been inscribed in the history of Azerbaijan, along with numerous glorious pages, over the past 200 years.

One of these terrible events occurred from March through April 1918. Dozens of thousands of peaceful Azerbaijanis were brutally killed only on the basis of their nationality during these events, which went down in the history of Azerbaijan as the genocide of March 31.

One hundred and five years ago, Armenian Dashnaks and Bolsheviks committed unprecedented atrocities against the Azerbaijani population in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Karabakh, Zangazur, Nakhchivan, Lankaran, Ganja and other regions, killing over 70,000 people with extreme violence, including women, old people and children, burned the villages, expelled the inhabitants from their homes.

Armenian armed formations wiped out 229 villages in Baku province, 272 in Ganja province, 115 in Zangazur province, and 157 villages in Karabakh.

Most of the population in the territory of present-day Armenia, that is, living in the lands of Western Azerbaijan, about 565,000 people, were brutally killed or expelled from the lands of their ancestors as a result of the genocide committed from 1918 through 1920 by Armenian Andranik's bandit detachments against Azerbaijanis.

Numerous masterpieces of national architecture, schools, hospitals, mosques and other monuments were destroyed.

An extraordinary Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate this tragedy by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic dated July 15, 1918.

The commission the first stage investigated grave crimes committed by Armenians in Shamakhi and on the territory of the Irevan province.

Special structure was established under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to bring this truth to the international community.

March 31 was declared a day of national mourning by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

An attempt was made for the first time in history, to give a political assessment of the aggressive processes of genocide against Azerbaijanis, which have been going on for more than a century. However, activities in this area were interrupted after the fall of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

Turning the pages of history, face new facts testifying to the atrocities of the Armenians.

Searches have been expanding to clarify information, recently. Numerous undeniable archival documents, evidence of the genocide are revealed.

For example, with regard to the number of those killed in Shamakhi from March through April 1918, in some sources, this figure is 7,000, in others from 8,000 to 12,000 and even 40,000.

The documents of the Extraordinary Investigation Commission, created by the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, note that in March-April 1918, 3632 men, 1771 women, 956 children were brutally killed in 58 Azerbaijani villages in the Shamakhi province. However, according to experts, based on archival documents, 8,027 Azerbaijanis were killed in 53 villages of the Shamakhi province, 4,190 of them were men, 2,560 were women, and 1,277 were children. According to other sources, 7,000 people were killed in 72 villages of Shamakhi, including 1,653 women and 965 children.

The Extraordinary Investigative Commission testifies that 86 out of 120 villages were subjected to Armenian aggression in the Shamakhi province.

Due to the fact that the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic commission interrupted its work, it is impossible to find information about the other 34 villages.

Local researchers have been carrying out a number of works in connection with the calculation of the number of people killed in the city of Shamakhi from March through April 1918, since the 90s of the last century.

As a result of their research (memoirs and information collected from about a hundred witnesses), It was established that under the leadership of Armenian criminals S. Shaumyan, S. Lalayev, Z. Arestisyan, brothers T. Amirov and A. Amiryan, about 14,000  16,000 people were killed in the city of Shamakhi, in its 40 villages and settlements  6,000  8,000 people.

The number of persons expelled from the Shamakhi district amounted to more than 18,000 people.

More than 16,000 people were killed with extreme cruelty in the Guba district, 167 villages were destroyed as a result of the Armenian armed attack during the first five months of 1918.

A number of new facts about the massacres of Azerbaijanis by Armenian-Dashnak detachments in the Guba district have been discovered. Mass graves discovered in 2007 in the city of Guba is one of these facts.

Armenian military formations committed massacres in Guba not only to the Turkish-Muslim population, but also to Jews.

It was found that, about 3,000 Jews were killed by Armenians in Guba from 1918 through 1919, as a result of the research.

Through the policy of military aggression against Azerbaijan, which lasted for almost 30 years, Armenia continued to commit crimes against Azerbaijanis on ethnic grounds.

On the night of February 25-26, 1992, another terrible genocide was committed in the Azerbaijani city of Khojaly.

A total of 613 people were killed with particular cruelty, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 old people, 487 people were seriously injured, including 76 children, 1275 people were taken hostage as a result of a treacherous attack on the city at night.

The Azerbaijani state has taken all the necessary steps to bring the truth about the March genocide to the world. After 80 years  on March 26, 1998, an adequate political assessment was given of these horrific events by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis", signed by National Leader Heydar Aliyev and 31 March was declared the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.

The Decree of Heydar Aliyev "On the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from their historical and ethnic lands in the Armenian SSR from 1948 through 1953" dated December 18, 1997 is of great importance in terms of a comprehensive study of the deportation of Azerbaijanis from the territory of the Armenian SSR, giving a political and legal assessment these crimes bringing it to the attention of the international community.

These decrees are important not only for research and perpetuating the bloody pages of our history but also for exposing Armenian chauvinism and terrorism.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed an Order in 2018, on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the genocide in order to more fully bring the truth about this crime against Azerbaijanis to the public of the country and the whole world. The special action plan was developed and implemented for this purpose.
Michelle Simmons of UNSW is internationally recognised as a path-breaking researcher and some 20 Australian companies are developing the technology. Loading But: Michelle has found it really hard to get backing, says Husic. It would be really awful if we lost one of the great minds because we lack faith in our own people, and they have to go overseas. Another quiet tech breakthrough happened in parliament this week: Husic succeeded in getting his National Reconstruction Fund through the Senate and into law. This was a Labor election commitment  a $15 billion capital fund designed to do for manufacturing and tech what the Clean Energy Finance Corporation did for renewable energy. That is, catalyse billions more in private capital to invest jointly in seven priority areas, including $1 billion for critical technologies, a category embracing quantum technologies. Albanese says it will restore Australia as a country that makes things.

Why was it a quiet success? It was in the news, but it was not a topline news story this week. Public awareness of the fund is low. Partly thats because it was overshadowed by another major legislative achievement. This week the government won Senate approval of a centrepiece of its climate change plan  the parliament has now made law Albaneses safeguard mechanism. So far, the government has not suffered the loss of any of its major legislative initiatives; its Housing Australia Future Fund is snagged in Senate negotiations but has not been defeated and remains in play. A government of grown-ups: Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Neither has the government suffered any internal crisis or serious outbreak of indiscipline. Overall, the Albanese government to date is the most purposeful and unified of any since Hawke in 1983. Its a government of grown-ups. James Walter, a political scientist who co-authored a two-volume study of the Australian prime ministership since 1949, judges that Albaneses government has come into office and started more smoothly than any since Hawke. There are two big things that help.

One is having a clear sense of what they are doing, having a program, says the Monash University professor emeritus. The other thing is having a prime minister with a good understanding that the job is one that can only be done by multiple people, engaging productively. As opposed to a leader who tries to centralise power in their own office. What about the most successful Liberal prime minister of the modern era, John Howard? His early days were marked by a lack of purpose and roiled by the sackings and resignations of a brace of his ministers. It was a rocky start and people worried he might lose the next election, but he managed to consolidate, Walter points out. Labor learnt its lesson from the divisive Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen A key Labor insider, Don Farrell, a political linchpin of the Albanese government, offers this explanation for its early cohesiveness  Labor learnt a searing lesson from its traumas of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years: In the same way that, when Bob Hawke came in in 1983 and had learnt the lessons of the dysfunction of the Whitlam government, all those of us lucky enough to be re-elected realised that we cannot afford to have a repetition of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years, he tells me. Theres a determination not to let that happen again. Farrell was one of the agents of disruption, one of the faceless men who organised the coup against Kevin Rudd in 2010. Today hes an agent of stabilisation. As a force in the Labor right faction, he helped maintain caucus calm during the most anxious days of Albaneses term as opposition leader. Today, Farrell is Albaneses minister for trade and tourism as well as special minister of state and deputy leader of the government in the Senate.

He says the distinguishing feature of the government is the way in which Anthony runs his cabinet, of which Farrell is a member. He says to his ministers, Im going to give you this portfolio, you go and implement government policy and you will only hear from me if you make a mistake. Loading That means ministers have confidence to deal with their portfolios and he can manage the government overall and not second-guess his ministers. He conducts his cabinet in an extremely consultative manner. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you can never say I didnt get a chance to put my case. I think that results in better decisions. But Labor hasnt had such a high legislative success rate entirely of its own accord. Don Farrell agrees that youve got to give the Greens credit for negotiating constructively in the Senate. The Greens under Adam Bandt have transformed from being a party of protest to a party of problem-solving, from being an angry teenager to being a responsible adult. Bandts aim is to make the Greens into a party of government, something that the Greens have achieved decisively in Germany.

And the Coalition? Its now adopted the attitude of the truculent teen, arms crossed and angry, saying no reflexively to almost everything. Including saying no to the National Reconstruction Fund, the emissions safeguards, even the governments $1.5 billion plan to give households some relief on power prices. This style of denial politics is a handy way for Peter Dutton to achieve unity in his party room, but it has limited value in the medium run. Because it plays to the partys base but not to the electorate at large. Ousted NSW premier Dominic Perrottet and former treasurer Matt Kean. We fended off the teals, we fended off One Nation, what we couldnt fend off was a resurgent Labor after 12 years in government, Kean said. Credit: NA The teal independents took six traditional Liberal heartland seats last year. The Liberals current stance will only entrench the teals. Surveying the Liberals loss in last weekends NSW election, the former treasurer, Matt Kean, says that there are lessons for his federal colleagues: On election night John Howard said we got the balance right, and thats demonstrated by the fact that we held onto all the seats under teal challenge, Kean, a leading moderate, tells me. The NSW Liberal government was far more progressive than the Morrison government on climate change and womens rights, and it showed in the results. The Climate 200 founder and independent teal funder, Simon Holmes a Court, tweeted that Keans climate policies certainly made it harder for indie campaigns to engage pro-climate voters (& donors).

In the traditional Liberal stronghold of the federal seat of Warringah, for instance, the teal Zali Steggall won a primary vote of 45 per cent last year while the Liberals Catherine Deves scored only 33 per cent. Teals win. But in the state seat of Manly, which overlaps Warringah, the Liberals James Griffith held his seat with 46 per cent of the primary vote against the teal hopeful Joeline Hackman with 27 per cent. Libs win. Loading Kean also points out that the NSW Liberals didnt succumb to the assault from the right  One Nations share of the vote gained by only 0.7 per cent in the lower house and remained under 2 per cent. Concludes Kean: So it can be done  we fended off the teals, we fended off One Nation, what we couldnt fend off was a resurgent Labor after 12 years in government. Don Farrell says that Albaneses crowning achievement so far is to understand the centre of Australian politics because thats ultimately where Australian governments win  not on the right, not on the left, they win in the centre. That computes. It should hardly be a national secret.
Federal politicians would need to rush to Canberra for debate when the nation goes to war under changes being considered by the government following a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry.

The joint standing committees report on international armed conflict decision-making, released on Friday, called for more parliamentary oversight of the Australian Defence Force, including the creation of a powerful new committee to examine defence strategy, acquisitions and military operations.

But it rejected calls by the Greens and war power reform advocates for parliament to be given a veto over whether the nation goes to war.

The United States and France require congressional approval for the use of military force and declarations of war while Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Norway and Sweden require parliamentary approval for overseas troop deployments.
Sydney MP Alex Greenwich says Mark Lathams homophobic attack on him suggests that he is unwell but this latest episode in his long history of abuse proves he is not a fit and proper person to remain in parliament.

Regrettably, there is no parliamentary mechanism to deal with transgressions like Lathams. He should do the decent thing and resign. But of course, Latham is not a decent man.

His dark obsessions with gays, abused women, casual racism and trans people are beyond the pale and clearly unacceptable in a modern society that values tolerance and openness. So, what to do? The very least is that MPs should censure him urgently after vote counting is completed on April 20. Further, major parties and his fellow crossbenchers should resolve to have nothing to do with this tainted parody of a politician.

The tweets from One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham have drawn wide condemnation. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Latham belatedly attacked Greenwich after the independent MP had castigated him as an extremely hateful and dangerous individual following the targeting of LGBTQIA+ activists by conservative Catholic protesters outside a church where the One Nation leader gave a speech in the last week of the NSW election campaign. Latham returned fire with his highly offensive tweet at mid-morning on Thursday. It was deleted within three hours.
Both major parties are predicting a tight result in the crucial Aston byelection, with Labors hope of a history-making win hinging on whether it can convince apathetic voters to turn up to polling booths on Saturday.

On the eve of the election, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he thinks the Liberal Party can retain the seat in Melbournes outer east but was predicting a close outcome when voters decide who will replace retiring MP Alan Tudge.

Labors candidate for the seat Mary Doyle (left) and Liberal candidate Roshena Campbell.

A last-minute blitz by Labor reminding Aston residents to vote is expected to be key to the outcome with pre-polling numbers down by more than 5 per cent, based on the same period in 2022.

Labor and Liberal party sources said a low voter turnout would help the Liberal Party with younger voters and transient voters, who are more inclined to vote Labor, less likely to cast a ballot.
Sydney renter Richard Woods knew moving out of home in a rental crisis would be no easy feat, but never expected his first share-house experience would be so short-lived.

The 25-year-old customer service worker moved into a Petersham house mid-last year, paying $325 per week for a furnished room.

Richard Woods never expected his first experience of share-house life would be so short-lived. Credit: Oscar Colman

But less than nine months later he returned to his family home, after being notified of a 77 per cent rent hike that would increase his housing costs to $575 per week including utilities.

That was for one room in the three-bedroom house with a separate studio, which he shared with four others. Two of his housemates also received large rent increases, he said, one of whom faced two rent hikes in less than eight months.
It is called the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, but it has Beijings interests at heart.

On Tuesday in Beijing, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews met the associations vice president, Li Xikui, a 59-year-old official from the Central Party School, who has made it his lifes work to get to know the lower levels of government that build communities  governors and premiers, councillors and MPs  not the prime ministers and presidents who represent them.

The associations name invites Western comparisons to a quasi-non-government organisation or a community group, but in reality, it is a product of Chinas Soviet-style diplomacy, which aims to bypass interactions with official representatives from foreign governments to build networks at the sub-national level.

Li, who is a member of the Chinese governments top advisory body, the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, has pushed for this kind of lobbying to be accelerated as China faces growing international pressure.
Four of Australias early prime ministers have served in the role, five leaders of the opposition, a premier and several more cabinet ministers. But its easy to forget that Smith, who nowadays presents as a rather bookish technocrat with a shock of white hair and a slender frame, spent more than two decades as a key player in the cut-and-thrust of Labor politics in Canberra, also holding the defence and trade portfolios. As part of a group famously known as The Roosters, he  along with former treasurer Wayne Swan and Senate powerbroker Stephen Conroy  were leading agitators in several rather bruising leadership battles in the Beazley, Crean, Latham, Beazley, Rudd, Gillard and Rudd eras. Smith and then-prime minister Kevin Rudd in 2013. Credit: Bohdan Warchomij More recently he attempted a disastrous bid to oust West Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan from his role from outside of state parliament, famously declaring he thought McGowan was incapable of winning an election. Long before that, he was a key player in a coup that rolled Bob Hawke and delivered Australias top job to his old boss, Paul Keating.

Its a delicious irony that Smith is now a leading player in AUKUS  the contentious nuclear submarine agreement between Australia, Britain and the United States  at the same time as Keating is making Fleet Street headlines labelling the $368 billion plan as the worst deal in all history, seriously unwise and the worst international decision. Loading But Smith, like Albanese and other senior government figures, wont bite when it comes to his old mentors views. Im not going to get into a running commentary about who said what to whom over AUKUS, he says. I dont regard public interventions by former prime ministers as doing anything other than underlying the fact that weve come from a robust democracy. We gently prod him again on whether Keatings intervention could damage public trust in the project both at home or abroad.

To me the key points of reference are what is the Australian government policy, he says. And in the context of AUKUS, what is the alternative Australian governments policy  the oppositions policy, which is very strong support  just as in the UK. Loading Sure, we say, but people like former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr and former cabinet ministers Peter Garrett and Kim Carr say branch members are turning against it. Keating himself, insisted the branches were against it. But Smith says otherwise. People will have their own opinions, he replies. But whatever position they occupy or have previously occupied, the anecdotal polling that Ive seen vis-a-vis AUKUS from the Australian community has been very supportive  and 70 per cent in favour of the US alliance.

There is perhaps the tiniest of hints dropped about what, deep down, he thinks about Keatings outburst. Its rather subtle but still pointed. His political wilderness years were largely spent in academia and at think tanks, as a professor of public international law at the University of Western Australia, chairman of the UWA Public Policy Institute and on the board of the Perth USAsia Centre. Things have changed quite dramatically in strategic circumstances since I was a minister, so I think it is very important  sort of in inverted commas  to keep up with things if you have an interest in them, Smith says, crediting his role as co-author of Australias Defence Strategic Review with preparing him for the role. The review, written with former head of the Defence Force Angus Houston, in close consultation with the government, is due for release soon. When the prime minister and foreign minister talk to me in terms of security and AUKUS, theyre really talking Indo-Pacific security. Stephen Smith Smith, who also wants to strengthen co-operation with Britain on renewable energy investment, met King Charles at Buckingham Palace last month. He plays a straight bat to those questions, too, respecting long-standing protocols that revealing ones conversations with a monarch is frowned on.

I think I can say that, as you might expect, he was very friendly, very warm, very engaging, and keenly interested in all matters Australian, he said. As we know, he has a history of a relationship with Australia and schooling and living in Australia. So, hes keenly interested in all aspects of Australian society. Later Smith drops another clue that the planned referendum for an Indigenous Voice has been a key part of his conversations from the highest level down since arriving. But not so much a republic, regarding which he says theres, perversely, more interest in Australia about what a republic would mean for the relationship than in Britain. Smith had barely got his feet under the desk in January when the AUKUS subs deal was signed. Credit: Hollie Adams Wherever I go in the UK, theres a shrug of the shoulders, which is Well, if you change your constitutional relationship with us, its entirely a matter for you. Life will go on as you know; youll still be Australia, youll still be in the Commonwealth, youll still be in AUKUS,  he says. Another old political relationship that has been revived is with the man who once took his job as foreign minister, Kevin Rudd.

In his memoir, Not for the Faint-hearted, the former prime minister and now ambassador to the United States, wrote that Smith  a factional enemy  was the most ice-cold politician I had ever met. He said Smith shared Swans deep cynicism for the business of politics and was so neat that he would be discombobulated if anyone disturbed the plastic folders of papers that made up his universe. Loading But Rudd sounded out Smith when he was in London last month, putting aside a sketchy history to ensure they were in lock-step when it came to delivering AUKUS. He reached out because it made sense for the two of us to have a conversation because there will be connections and interlinkages with what we do, Smith says. He says the pair didnt chat about old times but how they could work smoothly to ensure AUKUS worked between Canberra, Washington and London. What advice did Smith give Rudd about his new role?

Ive never chosen to give Dr Rudd advice as to how he should conduct himself, he says. My relationship with Kevin, in terms of policy, has always been professional. So, we will have a warm and professional relationship as we discharge our respective obligations in London and Washington. Smith himself sought out advice from several of his predecessors, including Liberal counterparts George Brandis and Alexander Downer, before he took the role. He admits he received good advice. What was the most salient? If youre not careful, youll spend all of your time doing all of the things which look meaningful. But did I change anything which affected a national interest outcome for Australia or was I just managing things that were going to occur anyway? I think thats the real lesson. Youve got to have a laser-like focus on what are our strategic objectives
Ankara: The Turkish parliament has ratified Finlands application to join NATO, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the Nordic countrys long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance.

All 276 MPs present voted in favour of Finlands bid, days after Hungarian parliament endorsed Helsinkis accession.

This will make the whole NATO family stronger & safer, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter in welcoming Turkeys action.

Alarmed by Russias invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Finland and Sweden abandoned their decades-long policy of non-alignment and applied to join the alliance.
~Bank inducts 10 more outstanding employees into its Hall of Fame~



Bridgetown, Barbados:--- CIBC FirstCaribbean feted its top performers from across the region in a glittering ceremony at Sandals Royal Barbados with the banks Chief Executive Officer Mark St. Hill stressing that reward and recognition is a fundamental element of who we are as a company.

Hailing the ten FirstStars Awardees as truly examples of the best of the best, St. Hill told those gathered for the Illumination Ceremony and Cocktail reception on Saturday March 25, the banks first in-person awards event since 2018, that the winners, from Barbados, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and St Maarten, exemplified excellence from all areas of the bank.

Our awardees, therefore, have been chosen because they demonstrate our behaviors of agility, collaboration, ownership, and integrity. By adopting these behaviors in their daily life at work, they have set the tone for helping to make our clients ambitions a reality, by delivering a superior banking experience in a digital world, St Hill said.

He thanked all of the banks heroes who are on the job, often well into the night, striving to give our clients the best possible digital banking experience, and making their ambitions a reality. St. Hill noted that while it is always difficult to select the ten FirstStars winners, throughout the year over 150 staffers were presented with Highflyer Quarterly Awards and more than 500 received On-the-Spot awards, an immediate award for great work from management or fellow employees.

The banks Chief Administrative Officer Neil Brennan in his welcome remarks noted that recognition was extremely important for organizations since it served as a great motivator, reinforced behaviors and values which defined the organization, fostered greater team spirit and collaboration, and built trust.

So appreciation is not just a buzzword in our bank; it is a firm commitment to our team members that when we see them working hard for our clients, we will stop and we will acknowledge it. Our goal is to make our bank a wonderful place with which to do business, and a great place to work, he said.

Brennan noted that CIBC FirstCaribbeans recognition scheme is seen across the region as best practice, and we have been supporting other organizations in building out their own unique recognition programmes.

St Maartens Frederica Green-Brazier, Customer Service Officer, Retail and Business Banking, also took center stage to be awarded for her outstanding customer service skills, surpassing her entire years targets by the first quarter of fiscal 2022. She also emerged top among CSOs selling the most products and having no customer complaints.

Other FirstStars winners who were inducted into the banks Hall of Fame were from Barbados, Adrian Gomes, Relationship Manager, Platinum Banking, Christopher McFarlane, Senior Manager, Sales and Business Development, Berlinda Sutton, Manager Insurance and Operations, Iyisha Gibson, Manager, Compliance Testing and Training, Risk Management, and Christopher Carter, Manager/Project Head, HR Shared Services, Human Resources; Bahamas, Latoya Curry, Private Banker, Wealth Management and Jason Knowles, Senior Officer, Implementation, Cash Management, Merchant Services, Corporate Investments.

FirstStars winners from the Cayman Islands were Shaquille Smith, Credit Manager, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Alero Abrams, Relationship Manager, Platinum Banking.

Christopher McFarlanes star shone extra brightly on the night as he received the prestigious CEOs Award of Distinction for his tireless and strategic leadership and innovation on the XG teams responsible for the development and roll-out of the banks online lending app The Loan Store which offers, credits cards, auto, and consumer loans from hello to funded in under 10 minutes.

The FirstStars and their partners were hosted at Sandals Royal during their time in Barbados, they also toured the banks Regional Head Office in Warrens where they received a red-carpet welcome. They also toured the Chickmont Group of Companies, which includes Chickmont Foods and Sea Breeze Hotel as well as engaged in a number of recreational activities across the island ahead of the awards ceremony.
Washington, DC:--- The Emergency Debris Management Project (EDMP) has received US $60 million in additional funding apportioned by the World Bank-managed Sint Maarten Trust Fund. The funds cover a financing gap under the parent project for improving debris management in communities and at the landfill and strengthening the institutional capacity of the government to execute technical activities.

These activities are part of Sint Maartens broader and concerted efforts to build the foundation for an environmentally sustainable, economically viable, and responsibly managed solid waste system. These work hand in hand with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and have been implemented within the context of the National Development Vision - a document drafted to ensure the forward movement of Sint Maarten.

The grant funding - provided by the Government of the Netherlands, administered by the World Bank as the Trustee, and implemented by the National Recovery Program Bureau on behalf of the Sint Maarten Government - will further support the governments goal of building a more resilient country. Through strategic investments, the parent project has already contributed to the reduction of open landfill fires which, for years, had posed health, safety, and environmental risks. These efforts seek to further protect Sint Maartens natural environment and aesthetics, support economic recovery, reduce air pollution, and improve living conditions.

Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Director for Caribbean Countries remarked after the signing, A long-term solution to waste management, such as is the goal of the Emergency Debris Management Project, is central to fostering economic growth through the competitiveness and sustainability of Sint Maartens tourism sector.

The project is Sint Maartens response to calls for better local waste management. It supports institutional, legal, and financial waste management reforms to realize the long-term sustainability of the solid waste management sector. The Government of Sint Maarten remains committed to enacting these crucial reforms and has established an inter-ministerial working group mandated to deliver plans for creating and financing a Solid Waste Authority.

Despite initial implementation delays, EDMP  approved in December 2018 for US $25 million  has already made several achievements. The project has improved landfill operations by purchasing heavy equipment and alternative daily cover materials; it also disposed of an estimated 200,000 million cubic yards of hurricane-related debris, including subsequent demolition and reconstruction activities. Most notable was the safe removal of 139 shipwrecks from Simpson Bay Lagoon and Mullet Pond and over 10 kilometers of shoreline cleaned.

Additionally, more than 200 persons living around the landfill on Pond Island are being resettled under the project. For generations, Sint Maarten has dealt with waste removal without proper foresight. Through the actions of this project, long-lasting sustainability for future generations and governments will be secured.

The additional funding will facilitate the final phases of the resettlement and support a community engagement plan, which will ensure the establishment of citizens engagement activities, including a complaints system and a public awareness campaign. These engagement plans - anchored to efforts already being taken by local ministries - will provide additional support for non-governmental organizations which promote sustainability.

This additional financing will continue the process of helping Sint Maarten revamp our waste management system. It builds on the foundation that the Government of Sint Maarten and the Trust Fund has established and will propel us forward in successfully creating a more sustainable and environmentally friendly manner of waste processing and disposal, which will benefit all sectors of our economy and society, said Silveria Jacobs, Prime Minister of Sint Maarten.

About the Sint Maarten Reconstruction, Recovery, and Resilience Trust Fund

The Sint Maarten Reconstruction, Recovery, and Resilience Trust Fund (SXM TF) were launched in April 2018 as a tripartite partnership between the Government of the Netherlands, the Government of Sint Maarten, and the World Bank to help the country rebuild stronger and more sustainably, in a way that would support longer-term development priorities.

The SXM TF is financed by the Government of the Netherlands, administered by the World Bank, and implemented by the Government and people of Sint Maarten. Initially envisioned to run through 2019-2025, the Fund has been extended to the end of 2028.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Armenia must abandon its provocative intentions, such behavior is unacceptable, former director general of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Member of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center Abdulaziz Altwaijri told Trend.

According to Altwaijri, Armenia is an aggressor which occupied Azerbaijani lands for 30 years. During the period of occupation, it destroyed everything that was in these territories, and the world didnt resist this.

"International organizations must contribute to the restoration of the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation, where not only buildings, houses, but also samples of cultural heritage that are important for humanity were destroyed, he reminded. During the occupation, people were expelled from their native lands. Peace and international organizations should support the return of people to their native lands.

The former head of ISESCO also noted that Azerbaijan is a very strong state that can defend itself, so Armenia should give up its provocative thoughts and behavior.

"Azerbaijan plays an important role in the region. Thanks to the unique integration of different cultures, the creation of strong and constructive ties between them, Azerbaijan serves as an example of multiculturalism for the whole world. Now it's time to return our debt and help restore the territories of this country, liberated from the occupation," Altwaijri added.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Heydar Aliyev's personality was a distinguished one, and he had always made an impression of a leader, one highly appreciated by his peers, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, ex-president of Latvia, co-chair of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC), told Trend.

Vike-Freiberga was sharing her memories of Heydar Aliyev as part of the joint Trend-NGIC project titled "The lasting legacy of Heydar Aliyev".

She recalled meeting Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan at the time, during the visit to Yalta in 1999, and noted, how special this occasion was for her.

"I very much learned from him about the situation in the Caucasus, the particular circumstances, the kinds of difficulties the countries of the region had to overcome in firmly establishing their independence. But he also explained the transition process from the perspective of a statesman who had already held a high office in the Soviet times, and who was then largely capable of understanding the traps that such a transition from autocracy to democracy entails, and how hard it is to achieve democracy," she said.
Lunar eclipses are one of the most popular events for skywatchers worldwide.

Lunar eclipses happen when Earth positions itself between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow across the lunar surface.

They can only occur during a full moon and are a popular event for skywatchers worldwide as they do not require any specialist equipment to enjoy (unlike solar eclipses ).

In 2023, Earth will experience two lunar eclipses. The next lunar eclipse will be a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 5 and will be visible across parts of Africa, Asia and Australia. The second will be a partial lunar eclipse on October 28 and will be visible across parts of E. Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia To find out when, where and how to see this year's lunar eclipses, check out our lunar eclipses 2023 guide.

Related: Night sky guide, what you can see tonight

What are lunar eclipses?

A lunar eclipse is caused by Earth blocking sunlight from reaching the moon and creating a shadow across the lunar surface.

The sun-blocking Earth casts two shadows that fall on the moon during a lunar eclipse: The umbra is a full, dark shadow, and the penumbra is a partial outer shadow.

There are three types of lunar eclipses depending on how the sun, Earth and moon are aligned at the time of the event.

Total lunar eclipse: Earth's shadow is cast across the entire lunar surface. Partial lunar eclipse: During a partial lunar eclipse, only part of the moon enters Earth's shadow, which may look like it is taking a "bite" out of the lunar surface. Earth's shadow will appear dark on the side of the moon facing Earth. How much of a "bite" we see depends on how the sun, Earth and moon align, according to NASA (opens in new tab) . Penumbral lunar eclipse: The faint outer part of Earth's shadow is cast across the lunar surface. This type of eclipse is not as dramatic as the other two and can be difficult to see.

During a lunar eclipse the sun, Earth and moon align so that Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the moon and casts a shadow across the lunar surface. Whether the moon sits in the penumbra or umbra will dictate the type of lunar eclipse. During a total lunar eclipse, the umbra completely covers the lunar surface. In this diagram, the moon is located in the penumbral shadow so it is experiencing a penumbral eclipse. (Image credit: Future)

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What happens during a lunar eclipse?

Why does the moon turn red during an eclipse?

During a total lunar eclipse, the lunar surface turns a rusty red color, earning the nickname "blood moon". The eerie red appearance is caused by sunlight interacting with Earth's atmosphere.

When sunlight reaches Earth, our atmosphere scatters and filters different wavelengths. Shorter wavelengths such as blue light are scattered outward, while longer wavelengths like red are bent  or refracted  into Earth's umbra, according to the Natural History Museum (opens in new tab). When the moon passes through Earth's umbra during a total lunar eclipse, the red light reflects off the lunar surface, giving the moon its blood-red appearance.

"How gold, orange, or red the moon appears during a total lunar eclipse depends on how much dust, water, and other particles are in Earth's atmosphere" according to NASA scientists (opens in new tab). Other atmospheric factors such as temperature and humidity also affect the moon's appearance during a lunar eclipse.

How often do lunar eclipses happen and how long do they last?

In astronomical terms, a lunar eclipse is a relatively common phenomenon, with about three lunar eclipses occurring every year, according to the National History Museum. Approximately 29% of lunar eclipses are total lunar eclipses, according to TimeandDate.com (opens in new tab).

Did you know? A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

A total eclipse can be seen from any given location  on average  once every 2.5 years.

A lunar eclipse usually lasts a few hours according to the National Weather Service with totality (the duration of total obscuration of the moon) ranging between 30 minutes to over an hour.

Lunar eclipses are more easily observed than solar eclipses, as they can be viewed with the unaided eye by any observer situated where the moon is above the horizon.

(Reminder: Never look directly at the sun, even during a total solar eclipse, without protection such as verified eclipse glasses; serious and permanent eye damage can result.)

How to see a lunar eclipse

This montage of images taken by skywatcher Keith Burns shows the Dec. 20, 2010 total lunar eclipse. The photos won a NASA contest to become an official NASA/JPL wallpaper for the public. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-via Kieth Burns)

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TOP TELESCOPE PICK! (Image credit: Celestron) Looking for a telescope for a lunar eclipse? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 (opens in new tab) as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide.

Lunar eclipses are among the easiest skywatching events to observe.

To watch one, you simply go out, look up and enjoy. You don't need a telescope or any other special equipment. However, binoculars or a small telescope will bring out details on the lunar surface  moonwatching is as interesting during an eclipse as it is at any other time. If the eclipse occurs during winter, bundle up if you plan to be out for the duration  an eclipse can take a couple of hours to unfold. Bring warm drinks and blankets or chairs for comfort.

The Earth blocks the sun during a total lunar eclipse, as seen from the moon. (Image credit: NASA)

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Scientists like to watch lunar eclipses, too.

"We can get really good science out of what happens to the surface of the moon during total lunar eclipses, but again, the cool thing is that the moon changes color," Noah Petro, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, told Space.com. "It's something fun to see  it's benign, but it's a change. And anytime we see [a] change in the skies, it's always kind of exciting."

If you hope to snap a photo of a lunar eclipse, here's our guide on How to photograph a lunar eclipse with a camera. And if you need imaging equipment, our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography have recommendations to make sure you're ready for the next eclipse.

Lunar eclipse FAQs answered by an expert

We asked meteorologist Joe Rao, a few commonly asked questions about lunar eclipses.

Joe Rao Meteorologist Joe Rao is Space.com's skywatching columnist, as well as a veteran meteorologist and eclipse chaser who also serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium.

What is a total lunar eclipse? When the moon moves completely into the Earth's dark shadow cone (called the "umbra") we call that a total lunar eclipse. At the moon's average distance from Earth of 239,000 miles [383,000 km], the umbra measures roughly 5,800 miles [9,334 km] in diameter. The moon is about 2,200 miles [3,540 km] in diameter. So there's no problem in getting the moon completely immersed in the umbra; there's plenty of room.

Why do lunar eclipses occur? Lunar eclipses can only happen when the moon is directly opposite to the sun in our Earthly sky at the time of the full moon. But we don't get a lunar eclipse every month  that is, at every full moon. The reason for this is simple: the moon's orbit is inclined to the Earth's orbit by just over 5 degrees. So more often than not, the full moon will pass either above or below the Earth's shadow. However, there are times when the sun, Earth and moon are aligned in such a way that the moon will pass either partially or totally into Earth's shadow, producing a lunar eclipse.

What's the difference between a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse? A solar eclipse occurs when the moon crosses in front of the sun (at new moon). A lunar eclipse is something quite different. It occurs when the full moon passes into the Earth's shadow.

Additional resources

Learn more about lunar phases and eclipses with NASA Science (opens in new tab). Explore Hanwell Community Observatory (opens in new tab)'s fact sheet for more lunar eclipse information. Discover why we don't have a lunar eclipse every month with the Rice Space Institute (opens in new tab) at Rice University.

Bibliography

NASA. Blood Red Moon: Total Lunar Eclipse. NASA. Retrieved May 10 (opens in new tab), 2022,

O'Callaghan, J. (2019, July 16). Lunar eclipse guide: What they are, when to see them and where. Natural History Museum (opens in new tab). Retrieved May 10, 2022.

NASA. (2017, May 3 (opens in new tab)). What is an Eclipse? NASA. Retrieved May 10, 2022.

Hocken, V., Kher, A. Total Lunar Eclipse. timeanddate.com (opens in new tab). Retrieved May 10, 2022.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has shared a tweet in connection with March 31 - the Day of the Azerbaijanis Genocide, Trend reports.

"105 years pass since the March Massacre when thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed on ethnic grounds by Armenians. On the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, we remember victims of the policy of genocide by Armenia against Azerbaijan and reiterate the significance of ending impunity to prevent the recurrence of such crimes," the tweet said.

In March-April 1918, Dashnak-Bolshevik armed groups operating under the mandate of the Baku Soviet carried out brutal massacres against tens of thousands of peaceful Azerbaijanis in Baku, as well as in Shamakhi, Guba, Irevan, Zangazur, Garabagh, Nakhchivan and Kars regions. As a result of massacres, more than 16,000 people were brutally murdered and 167 villages were destroyed in Guba alone.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded Verizon Communications a contract potentially worth $2.4 billion to upgrade the agencys technology systems.

The FAA said Verizon will build a network that includes secure communications and administrative services. If the FAA exercises all options in the deal, the contract would run for 15 years and reach the full potential value, according to an agency spokeswoman.

Verizon said it will build a network to support all of the agencys mission-critical applications including air traffic management for more than 45,000 flights per day.

The contract, disclosed Thursday, comes nearly three months after a critical alert system failed, temporarily halting departing flights across the country. The FAA blamed the outage on contractors who accidentally deleted files from a database and its backup.

FAA officials have said they need to modernize the alert system and many other programs. Airline officials have supported the agency, telling Congress to provide more funding for FAA technology.
STAMFORD  After dramatically returning to the companys board of directors in January, WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon is now back on the sports-entertainment powerhouses payroll.

McMahon and the Stamford-based company finalized this week an employment agreement, whose terms include a $1.2 million annual base salary and potentially seven-figure bonuses and stock awards, as well as a number of benefits, according to a company filing Friday to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

As WWE officials weigh options that could include a sale of the company, the deal solidifies the comeback of McMahon, 77, who announced last July an ultimately short-lived retirement amid a company investigation of his alleged misconduct.

McMahon agrees to render such services to WWE on a full-time basis as are consistent with the position of executive chairman of the board pursuant to the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, the agreement says, in part. McMahon shall, at all times, faithfully, industriously and to the best of his ability, experience and talent, perform the duties associated with this position, and he shall devote all of his working time and efforts to the performance of such duties. McMahon shall, at all times, also be subject to and comply with the policies and procedures generally applicable to WWEs senior executives to the extent the same are not inconsistent with any term of this agreement.

Among other requirements, the employment agreement stipulates that McMahon shall report directly to, and be subject to the direction of the board. McMahons base of work shall be in WWEs Stamford, Connecticut headquarters; however, he shall also render services at such other places within or outside the United States as WWE may direct from time to time and as may be reasonably necessary to effectively fulfill his duties and responsibilities.

The deal provides McMahon with several ways of increasing his compensation, including participation in the companys discretionary bonus plan. For the company's 2023 fiscal year, he will have an annual incentive bonus, with a target of 175 percent of his current salary. With a $1.2 million base salary, 175 percent of that amount would equal $2.1 million.

McMahon, who is the companys controlling shareholder, will also be considered for eligibility in all future stock programs that are offered to other key executives in the company. Starting this year, McMahons equity grant will have an annual target grant date value of $4.3 million.

At the same time, McMahon will be eligible for full company benefits that include medical, dental, life and disability while he will be automatically enrolled in WWEs 401k plan. He will also have paid time off through the accrual of 20 vacation days and three personal days per year. In addition, McMahon shall be entitled to travel first class in the performance of his duties hereunder.

McMahons deal is intended to be two (2) years from McMahons start date of Jan. 9, 2023, and it shall be extended automatically for an additional year as of the second anniversary of the effective date and as of each subsequent annual anniversary of the effective date.

The agreement also notes that McMahons employment shall, at all times, be on an at-will basis, so that either WWE or McMahon may terminate his employment, and this agreement, with or without cause or reason, at any time. However, if McMahon intends to terminate his employment, he shall provide WWE with at least 60 days advance written notice.

In the SEC filing, WWE also reported a new employment agreement with Nick Khan, who has served as the company's sole chief executive officer since January and had served from last July to January as co-CEO alongside Stephanie McMahon, who is Vince McMahons daughter. Through the new deal, Khans annual base salary increased from $1.35 million to $1.5 million. At the same time, his annual target bonus opportunity, as a percentage of annual base salary, increased from 160 percent to 175 percent, and his annual equity grant date target value increased from $3.575 million to $5.375 million.

Among other recent developments, WWE last week submitted a filing to the SEC in which it said that McMahon had paid the company about $17 million as reimbursement for costs that include those connected to the boards investigation of his alleged misconduct.

McMahon announced last July his retirement as chief executive officer following several articles published by The Wall Street Journal that revealed the allegations against him. The Journal reported that McMahon agreed to pay four women a total of more than $12 million over the past 16 years to keep secret allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity, citing unnamed people familiar with those agreements and related documents.

WWE officials have said that the investigation was completed last year and that the company is implementing the boards recommendations related to the probe. But, in public documents and statements, the company has not disclosed those recommendations or clarified whether the board found that McMahon had committed any wrongdoing.

McMahon leveraged his status as the controlling shareholder to return to the board in January, a process that also involved him bringing back two former WWE co-presidents to serve on the board and removing three board members. Two other board members resigned because they opposed McMahons return.
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STAMFORD  After two decades as the chair of the Mill River Park Collaboratives board of directors, Arthur Selkowitz said the time had come for someone else to take over as the chief promoter of Stamfords Central Park.

Earlier this month, the board elected Arnold Karp, the founder and president of New Canaan-based development company Karp Associates Inc., as its new chair. Karp, a Stamford native, was previously a vice chair of the board.

I felt that I had done everything I possibly could to get the park to where it is, and I felt that it was time for some new leadership to come in, and  most importantly  I had such confidence in (CEO Nette Compton) and in Arnold Karp as my successor that I really felt my baby, as it were, was going to be in very good hands, Selkowitz told Hearst Connecticut Media.

As he steps down as chair of the collaboratives board, Selkowitz said he is taking on the role of co-chair of The Avon Theatre Film Centers board of directors after 10 years as a member.

Its a new challenge, and I try to do things that help the community, said Selkowitz, who will turn 80 later this year.

Karp, a Greenwich resident and former president of the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, said he plans to focus on getting more residents of Stamford and nearby towns engaged in the park and plans for future expansion.

My view is that in my lifetime, we have a wonderful opportunity to keep the growth of the park going all the way from Long Island Sound to, eventually, Long Ridge Road, Karp said.

The Miller River Park Collaborative maintains the park, runs events and programs and raises money for capital projects. Compton said that the nonprofit has raised more than $37 million for construction since its establishment in 2003, including $22.6 million from private donors and $14.7 million from state and federal grants. It has raised another $10.9 million from private sources for operations.

The city has contributed millions of dollars more to the collaborative. The group also receives a portion of the tax revenue from properties near the park through tax increment financing.

Selkowitz said part of his job as chair was to be the primary fundraiser for the park.

You could ask any of my friends and colleagues who run when they see me coming, he said. I always said, I have no shame in asking for money when its a good cause. I believed in the Mill River cause. And I think Ive been vindicated, frankly, by how the community has responded to it. ... Its been used and enjoyed and loved far more than I really anticipated.

Selkowitz said that when he agreed to chair the board in the early 2000s after a career in advertising, then-Mayor Dannel P. Malloy was determined to start building a Mill River corridor, but there were a lot of skeptics, a lot of naysayers.

For one reason, it had been 75 years, and nothing had happened, Selkowitz said, referring to Herbert Swans 1929 Plan of a Metropolitan Suburb, which envisaged a greenway along the Rippowam River.

Another source of skepticism was the anticipated cost.

People dont realize that cities today just cant afford to do these projects alone. It really takes a public-private partnership to make it happen, Selkowitz said. I think that was the key insight that came out of the conversations that (Malloy) had had with the Trust for Public Land, a conservation organization.

Selkowitz said the greatest point of satisfaction for him came in 2006, when volunteers built a playground in the park.

The project began to show the community was coming together around this idea, he said.

Several years later, dams and concrete walls were removed to restore the river's flow. But the project came at a cost: Cherry blossom trees that Junzo Nojima, a Japanese immigrant and local business owner, had donated to the city in the 1950s were cut down. Selkowitz said it earned him the title of cherry tree assassin.

I promised then  and I delivered  that we would more than restore the cherry trees, Selkowitz said.

The milestones over the next decade included the opening of 12 acres of park space in 2013, a carousel in 2017 and an ice rink the following year.

In 2022, the Whittingham Discovery Center opened its doors, offering classrooms, an exhibit on the parks history and ecology and community space.

When we started this out the mission was: Raise money, build a park and take care of it, he said. And pretty soon thereafter we realized the park could be a laboratory for environmental awareness and education, and its done that.
It was the 130th United States mass shooting in 2023. And we were only 86 days into the year.

On Monday, March 27, two 9-year-old children, one child nearly 9, and three adults were shot to death at the Covenant School in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville. The 28-year-old assailant, killed during the police response, had recently purchased seven firearms, legally.

Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake told reporters that the parents of the shooter believed their adult child, who lived with them and was being treated by a doctor for an emotional disorder, no longer had a firearm and should not be in possession of weapons.

Tennessee has no red flag provision that would allow removal of firearms from those who pose a violent threat to others, or themselves. Tennessees lax gun laws have become even less strict in recent years, with permits and background checks no longer required.

Since 2021, Tennessee has allowed the carry of handguns, both concealed and unconcealed, without a permit for anyone over 21. And on Monday, the very day of the shooting, a federal judge approved an agreement to lower that age to 18, with some restrictions. Instead of defending the age in the existing law, Tennessees attorney general, Jonathan Skrmetti, chose to negotiate a settlement with a gun rights group that brought a lawsuit arguing for the lower age.

As part of the rationale for the agreement on a lower age, Skrmetti referred to the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a New York gun law. In this 6-3 ruling, SCOTUS expanded gun rights by asserting a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. Considering this ruling, legislatures in red states throughout the country will likely enact laws that expand gun rights. And while legislatures in blue states seek to enact laws that promote gun safety, the SCOTUS ruling potentially makes this more difficult.

Ned Lamont, governor of blue Connecticut, is seeking passage in this legislative session of House Bill 6667, "An Act Addressing Gun Violence." The bill was voted out of the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday March 28, with 23 in favor and 14 opposed. No Republican members of the committee voted in favor. As of the writing of this column (March 30), the bill had 28 co-sponsors with others still signing on. Co-sponsors include Democratic representatives Stephen Meskers, Hector Arzeno, and Rachel Khanna, with state Sen. Ryan Fazio, a Republican, the only legislator representing Greenwich who is not among the co-sponsors.

With the horror of the Nashville school shooting fresh on our minds, its good to know that Gov. Lamont and legislative leaders continue to aggressively pursue measures to reduce gun violence in Connecticut, Jonathan Perloe, Communications Director for Connecticut Against Gun Violence (CAGV), wrote in an email. Our state remains one of the safest from gun violence, but were still facing a public health crisis. We must remain vigilant in keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people and committed to funding community-based intervention programs in the neighborhoods most affected by gun violence. Thats what the governors bill will do.

Among the bills many good measures, CAGV has identified as its own priorities the no exceptions safe storage requirement; making the ghost gun law more enforceable; and continued funding of community violence intervention programs.

Some of the numerous other safety measures included in this legislation are closing loopholes in the states assault weapons ban; strengthening penalties related to the states ban on large-capacity magazines to make that ban enforceable; and increasing the age to purchase all firearms to 21.

The proposals will institute commonsense reforms, close loopholes, and make our gun safety laws enforceable, the governor says in his official fact sheet.

Connecticuts gun safety laws, enacted in 2013 with bipartisan support following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012, are among the countrys strictest. At the time, it seemed inevitable that the massacre of 20 small children would change the national conversation, the culture, and federal law.

This time, the outrage wont be fading, is the headline to my Feb. 17, 2013 column about the March for Change at the State Capitol.

A decade later, there appears little hope for change beyond blue borders.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. The strategic vision of Heydar Aliyev surpassed times and generations, Eka Tkeshelashvili, Former Minister of Justice of Georgia, told Trend.

Tkeshelashvili was sharing her memories of Heydar Aliyev as part of the joint Trend-NGIC project titled "The lasting legacy of Heydar Aliyev".

"Speaking about President Heydar Aliyev is very emotional for me as a Georgian, as I vividly remember the role he played, not only in the nation-building of Azerbaijan, but for the whole region, and Georgia in particular. The close, brotherly relations between our two nations have been revitalized specifically during the period of Heydar Aliyevs presidency," she said.

The former Georgian minister noted that the foundation for those issues on the agenda, such as energy independence, the connection between East and West, as well as the role of the Caucasus in all this, has been laid during those times.

"President Heydar Aliyev, together with Eduard Shevarnadze, President of Georgia at the time, have built that vision that is serving our nations in terms of our role internationally and became the foundation for nation building, economic prosperity for the region, and the well-being of so many people. Heydar Aliyevs image and legacy that he left are vividly known and appreciated. We, as Georgians, think of him as our own because his role in our countrys prosperity was very big as well. All that foundation for the strategic partnership of or two very close nations has been consolidated with his personal efforts," Tkeshelashvili concluded.
B usiness leaders are stepping up warnings that firms will struggle to pay energy bills when a government relief scheme ends on Saturday.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said businesses face an 85% decrease in energy support when the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) comes to an end.

The business group called for targeted help for firms who desperately need it.

Almost half of firms say paying bills will be difficult from tomorrow onwards

Alex Veitch, director of policy and public affairs at the BCC said: We have been signalling for months that many businesses will struggle to afford their energy bills when the financial envelope of support reduces by 85%, with many receiving a fraction of their original support.

Almost half of firms say paying bills will be difficult from tomorrow onwards, but of the seven energy policies we advocated for the Government to include in this months spring Budget, not one was acted upon.

Flexibility to increase support for those who desperately need it  ignored. Easing the burden of claiming VAT on energy  ignored. Funding for improved business energy efficiency  ignored. And so the list goes on.

Government also failed to heed our calls to increase regulation of the business energy sector.

The BCC also called on the Government to ensure that Ofgem has the necessary powers to properly regulate the industry.

The chambers group added that as well as the reduction in energy support, businesses are facing several other changes from tomorrow including increases in corporation tax and the national living wage.

These changes will have a significant impact, but Government is yet to offer any meaningful support to offset the challenges currently facing so many UK businesses, said Mr Veitch.
GDP figures in focus tomorrow

The Office for National Statistics will release the latest UK GDP figures tomorrow morning.

These figures will cover February, a month in which inflation came in higher than expected.

After a stronger-than-expected expansion of 0.3% in January, the numbers will reveal if the trend for the UK to head away from recession continued. While the OBR and the Bank of England both no longer expect a decline, the IMF said this week that it expects the UK economy to contract by 0.3 per cent this year.

This time around, GDP is expected to show even more modest growth  of 0.1 per cent according to consensus forecasts  enough to keep City experts more positive than the bleaker predictions originally made for 2023.

Read more here
S ir Richard Branson has lost a staggering 1.5 billion from his stake in Virgin Orbit over the past year after the companys share price plummeted more than 95%.

The billionaire entrepreneurs share in the New York-listed business had been worth as much as $1.9 billion a year ago, but a series of setbacks including a failed rocket launch attempt and a funding crisis have left his stake worth less than $50 million.

Last night, the beleaguered company abruptly sacked 85% of its workforce, amounting to nearly 700 employees as a result of what it called its inability to secure meaningful funding.

We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and extremely painful changes, Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart told employees, according to CNBC.

Virgin Orbit said it would complete the layoffs by the beginning of next week and incur charges of approximately $15 million relating to severance costs. Its shares sunk a further 50% in after-market trading.

In January the firms attempt at its first ever launch from UK ended in failure after the system experienced an anomaly at some point during the firing of the rockets second stage engine, ending the mission prematurely.

Although failed rocket launches can be common, the hotly-anticipated inaugural attempt by Virgin Orbit was seen as a major milestone for the UKs ambitions to become a major hub for satellite launches. Currently, satellites developed in the UK have to be launched overseas, thwarting the global competitiveness of the industry.

Virgin Orbit boss Dan Hart said: The first-time nature of this mission added layers of complexity that our team professionally managed through; however, in the end a technical failure appears to have prevented us from delivering the final orbit.

Branson has a net worth of 3.8 billion according to an estimate by the Evening Standard.
E uropeans, like much of the world, cannot vote in American elections. We watch, nervously from afar, wondering what the autoworkers of Michigan and croupiers in Nevada will decide  or at least the 50-55 per cent who turn out.

Its frustrating, bordering on an injustice, given the outsized influence presidential elections (in reality, many state races too) have on the future direction of our own politics, prosperity and security. But that is the price we pay for living in the shadow of a global hegemon, even one as historically benevolent as the United States.

Take the war in Ukraine. It is taking place on our continent, yet it has only heightened the reality that Europe is still hugely dependent on American military might. It is the US, not the UK or France, let alone Germany, that remains the guarantor of European security. This despite the fact the EUs economy, at roughly $17trn, is only slightly less than the USs $23trn but vastly greater than Russias $1.8trn.

The deal is therefore something like this: the US guarantees European security, primarily through Nato, and in return enjoys leverage over the continent. Not unlike the long-established rule for couples and parents planning weddings: If you pay, you have a say.

Of course, this hasnt prevented the US from trying to cajole Europeans into doing more. All Nato members are supposed to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence  many simply dont. While the US allocates 3.5 per cent of its massive annual output to defence, Italy manages 1.51 per cent, Germany 1.49 per cent and Spain 1.09 per cent.

It is not only Donald Trump who is unhappy about this. In his final policy speech as Barack Obamas defence secretary in 2011, Robert Gates made a blunt call for Nato allies to spend more on defence. It didnt really work, but Europe could hardly say it wasnt warned.

This newsletter is tangentially about Trumps indictment for alleged hush money paid to Stormy Daniels, a porn star. Having been the first president to take office without any prior military or governing experience and the first to be impeached twice, he now becomes the first former president to face criminal charges.

Of course, US politics is so strange and polarised that this indictment might not do him much harm, as Sarah Baxter reports in todays paper. His party is not about to turn its back on him. And in further good news for the Trump campaign, there is no legal bar to running for president from a jail cell, should things get that far.

But whether Trump wins again or not, the old shibboleths are crumbling. Under Biden, the US  already quiet quitting the Middle East  sees Asia as the primary location and China the principal geopolitical rival amid a return of great power competition. Russias invasion of Ukraine has put Europe back on the map, but only temporarily. Meanwhile, Trumps main rival for the Republican nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is hardly a transatlanticist either.

European leaders could conclude that Trump is toast and keep crossing their fingers in the hope that Democrats win every presidential election from now until the end of the republic. Or, they could suit up, just in case.

In the comment pages, Emily Sheffield warns that if we keep turning a blind eye to the post-pandemic spike in fraud, it will corrode public trust. Emily also reflects on the feedback she received from last weeks column suggesting the next election could be closer than many think. While Paul Flynn has written a lovely tribute to Paul OGrady.

And finally, Josh Barries dishes that can do one column this week is literally about a dish, one that lies within the uncanny valley between bowl and plate and usually spells trouble for unwitting diners: blates. Which dont even fit in the dishwasher.

Have a lovely weekend.

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I n the early Nineties, an expression became voguish across gay communities. Post-victim politics was a new mood, a shared hustle. A vibe shift, if you will. In response to the catastrophic death toll from HIV, something emboldened the living, a narrative U-turn which would stop us viewing ourselves as passive targets of a hostile establishment. The fightback began: bold, strident, funny, crude and clever. No more, that was the message delivered from the frontline. It was in this climate that Paul OGrady, wearing the demonic Friday night drag and Bet Lynch wig of Lily Savage, started his gloriously unapologetic ascent to public prominence.

OGrady was grassroots, working-class gay culture personified. Funniest man in the pub. Sharpest tongue on the block. In the gradients of razor-sharp regional gay humour, Scousers frequently win the comic lottery. OGrady was a gold medallist across all disciplines.

Just because he had a taste for helping the little people  latterly, the little creatures, too  didnt mean he was one of them. It takes a fearless fellow to be at the frontline, to spot the enemy at 20 paces and have a whole whiplash cavalry of caustic putdowns to reduce them to size, tucked away in the back pocket of his white PVC mini-skirt.

The outpouring of love for OGrady since his death was announced two days ago is now reaching David Bowie levels of national sentiment. This love has been shared across class, creed, gender and race. Royalty has chimed in, making his death not just a poignant moment for the metaphorical queens.

When he shed the scally wardrobe and make-up of Lily, OGrady turned himself into something even more potent, a weapons-grade favourite of middle England. Here was post-victim politics working at its most cheerfully effective. He ironed out the nervous energy of primetime TV and radio audiences, taking them with him on an effortless journey toward acceptance, without once mentioning the word.

In his honour, it may well be time to start donning a little of that post-victim politics armour once again. We have seen the abhorrent, draconian laws being passed in Tennessee to ban public drag performances. We have watched the confected outrage about drag story-time for kids, mostly from people who said nothing when paedophile priests were redistributed from parish to parish to keep the endemic molestation of childhood congregations quiet. Weve heard the cheers as GIC clinics shut down, ushering a legion of gender-confused teenagers straight online to get their hands on the first sketchy hormone pills they can find, without any guidance.

Now is exactly the time to be more OGrady. He was a scion of straight-speaking, bluff, hilarious, livid, defiant decency. Victimhood was anathema to him. For the Northern, working-class LGBT+ army who adored him, currently primed for a brand new battle, OGrady exits the public stage exactly as he entered it. As one of us.

Special corners of London on film

Last night saw the opening of an amazing exhibition of work by nightlife photographer Jason Manning at the Whitechapel art space, Gallery 46.

Taken mostly from the late Nineties and early Noughties, Jasons pictures document corners of London that mean a lot to me. He captured the things that I saw, turning the young, witty and wasted into something painterly and beautiful.

He pointed his camera at the louche corners of nightclubs.

His feeling for the intimacy of nightlife is the exact opposite of that Studio 54 grand entrance of a starlet on horseback.

Its the kid with rolling eyes, trying to light a cigarette, the couple locked into a febrile embrace, the shadowy figures tumbling into one another as time and space collapse.

Somewhere in the middle of these images is the errant energy of youth itself, that gorgeous abandon of getting twisted for fun and never knowing where the night will take you.
Review at a glance









S ix millennial Cairo dwellers explore freedom through stimulants, protest, and different forms of sexuality in this arresting drama from the pseudonymous author Ahlam. It won the 2020 Womens Prize for Playwriting but was written five years previously, when the liberal hopes born of the 2011 Egyptian revolution were already turning sour. Though clearly a beginners work in terms of its dialogue and stagecraft, its a beguiling, well-structured piece of storytelling that shines fascinating light on a generation shaped by events that have already, perhaps, slipped from British minds.

Osman is an earnest anti-government blogger, his teenage sister Maya a party girl who delights in scandalising Lina, her strait-laced Coptic Christian schoolmate. Linas brother Tamer is secretly in love with Muslim Alia, whose male relatives all work for the secret police. Rafik is gay and living with Osman since his dad threatened him with a knife.

The seventh character is Cairo itself, a louche melting-pot metropolis run by conservative autocrats. Here the constant promise of delight  hash, booze, teenage frotting, censored copies of Titanic  is sharpened by ever-present fear. The plays title, a Levantine Arabic expression of affection according to a programme note, also speaks to the citys ability to enthrall and throttle its young.

Eleanor Nawal as Lina, Tarrick Benham as Osman, Nezar Alderazi as Rafik, Yasemin Ozdemir as Maya / Pamela Raith

The love story of Tamer (Moe Bar-El) and Alia (Hanna Khogali) is bittersweet and hilarious, as their hormones war with their inculcated morals. Their first, tentative attempts at mutual arousal brought the house down and his later reference to a portable Chinese hymen thing will surely give some nascent indie band their name. The friendship of Maya (Yasemin Ozdemir) and Lina (Eleanor Nawal) also has laugh-out-loud moments, though the way both girls work out their real wants and needs is mechanical.

The juxtaposition of revolutionary Osman (Tarrick Benham) and hedonist Rafik (Nezar Alderazi) however is downright clumsy and overly shouty. The poor are still dying while we play at being revolutionaries, Rafik screams at one point, in case we havent got it yet. Solemn later scenes alluding to government crackdowns and abductions arent very effective: but one deliberately absurd moment brings the current international refugee crisis into sharp focus.

This is a co-production between touring company Paines Plough and several other organisations and theatres. Its staged by director Katie Posner with a few multipurpose scraps of scenery and three graffitied concrete blocks hovering menacingly overhead. Initially theres an arch, playful tone, the cast prancing around the stage, drawling into microphones and side-eyeing the audience. It makes for an energetic introduction to 21st century Cairo, but I was relieved when things calmed down.

Overall the actors bring an attractive zeal to the proceedings. The show confronts a dismal era of political repression with a message of hope. Whatever its flaws, it puts a human face on momentous events outside the usual concerns of British theatre.

Orange Tree Theatre, to 22 April; orangetreetheatre.co.uk
Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves

Swords! Sorcery! Flame-spitting beasts! Dice! Well, theres no actual rolling of dice, but the daddy of all fantasy games gets its cinematic day. And its a humdinging, wise-cracking goofy epic that should please D&D nerds and ignoramuses alike. Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez lead the charge against Hugh Grants villainous Lord of Neverwinter. One online comment quipped: Its nice to see Hugh Grant acting again. WTF was he doing before this then? Out now

Air

As in Air Jordans, the most legendary trainers, like, ever. Ben Affleck directs the story of how marketing exec Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) managed against the odds to get Michael Jordan to sign for Nike. Affleck does an amusing turn as hippy-lord and Nike boss Phil Knight, while Viola Davis slam dunks it as Jordans hard-bargaining mother. Not this months MVP, but sneaker freaks and Jordan fans will love it. Out 5 April

Super Mario Bros

Does this really need any explanation? If you do take the kids to the cinema this Easter hols, heres a game to play if youre finding the plot a little basic: match Jack Black, Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlie Day to the characters they voice (Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi and Bowser). Out 7 April

The Popes Exorcist

Its been a while since weve seen Russell Crowe in something vaguely meaty. But Big Gruff Russ is back as Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vaticans real-life chief exorcist. This unholy thriller is inspired by Father Gs case files, but thats just an excuse for The Crowe to put on his deadly serious face as bulgy-eyed, twisty-faced devil children wreak hellfire all around him. Out 7 April

Suzume / Crunchyroll

Suzume

Makoto Shinkai, who made the 2016 fantasy animation Your Name, might not quite be the new Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away are in the Top 100 Films Ever In The Universe, so thats a tall order anyway). But this beguiling, baffling and gorgeously beautiful tale of a lonely teenage girl who opens an Alice and Wonderland style door, unleashing destructive cosmic forces, should still charm fans of the genre. Out 14 April

Renfield

One of Nicolas Cages most unsung performances, in this writers opinion, was him going full Nicolas Cage in 1988s Vampires Kiss, so the prospect of ol Cagey baring his gnashers as Dracula is a juicy one. Although this romp focuses on the counts tortured servant Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) and is directed by the bloke who made The Lego Batman Movie, meaning subtlety wont feature heavily. Out 14 April

Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult in Renfield / Universal

Missing

From the team behind laptop-based thriller Searching comes another, erm, laptop-based nail-biter. When her mum disappears, 18-year-old June (Storm Reid) plunges herself into every online tool conceivable to find her. The USP of a whole film seen through the screens of Junes various devices is the opposite of widescreen cinema, but the twists and tangles this story takes are the epitome of gripping movie-making. Out 21 April

Evil Dead Rise

The all-time best cabin in the woods slasher franchise ever returns after a 10-year hiatus. And with a relentless carnival of proper jump-scares, creative slaughter and dismemberment, all awash in a tsunami of blood, it shouldnt disappoint. What about the plot? you say. A demonic mother inflicting ultra-creepy terror on her own children should keep you happily unnerved. Out 21 April

How to Blow Up a Pipeline

Do you have strong opinions about environmental activists? You know, the ones who chuck paint over Van Goghs or glue themselves to trains. Well this eco-thriller, loosely based on Andreas Malms non-fiction book, might reset your lens on the debate - or make you really, really livid. Regardless of the thrusty politics, this rivettingly plays out like a raw heist movie. Explosive film-making. Out 21 April

Polite Society

In the high-kicking, slapstick, school conflict, social horror, London Pakistani wedding destruction comedy genre, there only seems to be one contender this month. Funny that. Creator of TV series We Are Lady Parts, Nida Manzoors unique feature debut follows Ria, who dreams of being a stuntwoman, as she attempts to derail her older sisters marriage plans. Its non-stop, its frenetically all things all at once (minus the multiverse) and mostly - but not always - it kind of works. Out 28 April

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Harold (Jim Broadbent) hasnt lived much of a life, so he thinks. When he pops out to the postbox with a letter for his dying friend Queenie, he suddenly decides to deliver it on foot  500 miles north to Berwick-Upon-Tweed. If you dont cry by the time Harold reaches the Midlands, youre a hard-hearted beast; when he eventually gets to Queenie, even stone-cold psychos should be weeping. Bafta-winner Hettie Macdonald (Normal People) directs. Out 28 April
T hey say that when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold. So, how is everybody feeling? In a matter of weeks, three American bank failures (Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank) and the government-brokered acquisition of Europes floundering behemoth Credit Suisse have caused heart palpitations in the City. If West Coast panic spreads to the streets of London, what might that mean for you? What about your mortgage, your savings, your job, your life? What, exactly, is going on?

Not very long ago, this all felt very far away. On 10 Mar, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a lender deeply enmeshed with the lives of techs biggest names, became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis. After credit rating agency Moodys warned that the banks bonds were in danger of being downgraded to junk due to a worsening economic climate, clients pulled out $40bn (33bn) of their money during a single Thursday. If youre going to panic, panic first, quipped a venture capitalist, as customers queued round the block outside SVB HQ in sunny Santa Clara, California. A tearful Sharon Stone claimed that shed lost half my money in the collapse.

You often dont know where the bodies are buried until you see the stress

Ex-SVB CEO Greg Becker, turfed out after a swift Federal Reserve bailout that saved depositors fortunes, jetted off to his 2.5 million Hawaii bolthole in shorts and flip-flops. Closer to home, the Governments rescue bid, Project Yeti, swung into action. Rishi Sunaks whirlwind overnight operation tapped advisers including former British chancellor George Osborne, hooking up SVBs ailing British arm, which has 3,300 UK clients, with HSBC as a buyer. It cost a symbolic 1. Deposits will be protected, with no taxpayer support, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt wrote on Twitter. For a hot second, SVB was seen as simply an eccentric, under-regulated outlier operating in a particularly volatile space  a victim of Silicon Valleys close-knit, move fast, break things investor culture, hoisted by indulging the whims of fickle California dreamers.

Then, at ferociously high speed, events deteriorated. Signature and Silvergate, two banks with exposure to crypto and other tech-focused lending, failed  perhaps not a huge shock to those who have followed the crypto crash and the downfall of Sam Bankman Frieds crypto exchange and hedge fund FTX. Then Credit Suisse, a 166-year-old institution that was once an emblem of Swiss pride, was bought by its larger rival UBS in a rescue deal for a humiliating 2.6bn  less than the value of Greggs, the British bakers. A rout in banking stocks, spurred by the collapse of SVB, had brought Credit Suisses long-standing vulnerabilities into sharp relief and hurried its collapse, highlighting just how spooked investors are.

Last weekend, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, warned that the global economy faces exceptionally high risks to its financial stability because of the turbulence in the banking sector. And Deutsche Bank, Germanys biggest bank and one of the largest in the eurozone, caused jitters when its shares tanked a week ago.

Are we on the verge of a 2008-style financial meltdown? Two schools of thought prevail: one rattled; the other becalmed by the speed and certainty with which regulators have acted by pumping liquidity into jittery systems. Tests can be overcome. Financial crises on the scale of 2008 are exceedingly rare. False alarms have fizzled out before and regulation is much improved.

So how does all this affect you and me? What weve seen from the reaction of central banks and authorities that guarantee our funds is that they move very, very fast, says economist Vicky Pryce, co-author of How to be a Successful Economist. The real problem is that lots of investors have lost out. If you were investing in the banking sector  or if your pension was invested in the banking sector  the drop in value that we have seen recently is a concern.

I think we should be worried, says Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard professor of economics, who has long warned that the world is sleepwalking towards financial contagion, when doubt about one banks assets spreads to anothers. Financial crises go in waves. You remember the European debt crisis. First it was Greece. But its only Greece, they said. Then a couple of months later its Portugal. But its only Greece and Portugal. So, you shouldnt just look a week later and say nothing else happened, all clear. Its much easier to call a financial crisis in hindsight than to call it in the moment you often dont know where the bodies are buried until you see the stress.

What about the domestic picture? The International Monetary Fund has said the UK will be the only G7 economy to shrink this year, which will likely kill struggling companies and hit jobs hard. The cost of further bank bailouts must eventually be passed on to the taxpayer: whatever the Chancellor might tweet, SVB UK is the exception, not a new rule. The era of dirt cheap credit is kaput for now. Moreover, the failure of a bank like SVB, one which was the go-to bank for a technology start-up company, could have a stifling impact on Britains innovation economy unless other challengers can step in. Tech businesses may withhold new hires, and staff who remain may respond in kind, cutting local spending or delaying home purchases or renovation work.

Lets be honest. We have been here before. Bank bailouts. Centuries-old institutions  poof!  gone in a puff of smoke. For all the analysis you can do, the power of panic is bigger than any number that you can put on it, says Rogoff. But this time, experts say, its different. Theres always a fear that idiosyncratic events are indicative of a picture that we cant see yet, says John Cronin, UK lead at financial analyst Goodbody. Yes, the next big danger can come out of nowhere, he says. Whos next? What else is lurking out there? Could we see problems elsewhere? What are the unknown unknowns? But Im confident that the banks in my bit of the universe are in good shape, he concludes. Theres no particular reason to worry.

So dont panic. Yet
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Azerbaijan's Center of Analysis of International Relations has published a comprehensive report on biased attitudes towards Azerbaijan, in particular, the distorted coverage of the Karabakh War by some Western media, think tanks, and experts, Trend reports.

As it is noted in the report, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Armenian diaspora in the West was able to effectively integrate into the intellectual, academic, business, and cultural elites of various nations, and attain strong and influential positions.

"Furthermore, the Armenian diaspora effectively incorporated the Armenian cause and their narrative of victimization into the broader global liberal agenda, depicting themselves as one of the historically oppressed peoples. Substantial resources, including financial and human capital, have been devoted to genocide recognition campaigns for many years. This advocacy has resulted in the Armenian lobby amassing significant political support and financial resources, which have been instrumental in both the military aggression and information warfare against Azerbaijan by the Armenian state," said the report.

According to the report, in contrast, the Azerbaijani community in the West was virtually unknown before the collapse of the USSR and lacked representation in, or direct contact with, the Western world. The historical absence of Azerbaijani voices has resulted in the dominance of Armenian perspectives and narratives in public opinion.

"Only after independence in 1991 did the Azerbaijani community gain access to Western intellectual platforms and academic institutions, but the young generation of Azerbaijani experts and scholars have faced significant challenges due to established narratives and perceptions. They often face difficulty getting their perspectives published in Western academic journals and media, which frequently demonstrate a biased and intolerant approach towards their alternative viewpoint," said the article.

Experts of the Center of Analysis of International Relations note that before the second Karabakh war (September 27November 10, 2020), most reporting and commentary on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia aimed to justify the status quo and the legitimacy of the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories. This was done through a so-called balanced approach that failed to distinguish between the aggressor and victim and ignored basic principles of international law.

The report provides some examples of bias against Azerbaijan, in particular, distorted coverage of the Karabakh war.

During the war, the number of events that were held publicly in Western cities were limited only to the Armenian side of the conflict and propagated the Armenian perspective. For example, on October 31, 2020, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) held an all-Armenian one-day conference, which, predictably, presented a pro-Armenian, one-sided narration of the past and current events.

In another instance, the Armenian Center at Columbia University held a discussion on November 5, with five Armenian panelists and no Azerbaijani presenter.

Furthermore, the Program on Peacebuilding and Rights (PBHR) at Columbia Universitys Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) announced the launch of a research project, Human Rights and Foreign Terrorist Activities in [so-called] Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), on November 12; this contained unfounded allegations about the deployment of Islamist terrorists on the side of Azerbaijan

Unfortunately, the one-sided approach to events in the ArmeniaAzerbaijan conflict is not only limited to events held by academic institutions. There have been instances of journalists and reporters who have failed to cover the situation in its entirety, shedding light only on one side of the conflict.

A Canadian would-be journalist and analyst, Neil Hauer, has been actively covering the events of the Second Karabakh War from the Armenian perspective. In his reporting during the conflict, Hauer has demonstrated numerous one-sided approaches to the events. Hauers reporting relied on sources such as WarGonzo, a channel on Telegram that is acknowledged as a biased and unreliable source that misled the Armenian population about the situation in the region throughout the war.

Another would-be journalist is Lindsey Snell, who was previously stationed in the Middle East and is suspected of connections with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) and other affiliated terrorist organizations. Detained in 2016 for illegally crossing the SyrianTurkish border, Snell used every opportunity, including the ArmeniaAzerbaijan conflict, to seek revenge on Turkiye for her detention. She reported one-sidedly about the conflict and even objected to findings by Human Rights Watch about war crimes committed during the conflict. She also retweeted some conspiracy theories concerning Amnesty International being bribed by Azerbaijan.

A resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Michael Rubin, has been actively publishing anti-Azerbaijani articles in various media outlets, especially in the National Interest and Washington Examiner. In November 2020 alone, Rubin published ten op-eds in these journals, all openly one-sided, uninformed pieces spreading misleading anti-Azerbaijani narratives. His materials are filled with false information, including baseless and unconfirmed allegations about Azerbaijans military counter-operation which was conducted on its internationally recognized territory that had been held under Armenian occupation for twenty-seven years.

"The biased and one-sided approach towards Azerbaijan in general and the Armenia Azerbaijan conflict, in particular, has been observed in the publications, activities, and statements of various media outlets, institutions, and journalists. The exclusion of the Azerbaijani perspective has raised questions about the impartiality and integrity of these media outlets and the respective journalists and experts," said the report.

"This one-sided approach, combined with indifference towards the rights and struggles of Azerbaijani internally displaced persons, has created extensive misperceptions about the conflict and has had invariably negative consequences for the efforts to resolve regional disputes peacefully. It is, therefore, crucial for all media platforms and individuals covering the region and the ArmeniaAzerbaijan peace process to be neutral facilitators promoting peace, reconciliation, and respect for international legal norms," the report concluded.
Donald Trump could soon have a startling new campaign poster: his police mugshot. I wouldnt put it past him. He has already been boasting to confidants that he wants a perp walk  the public parade of a defendant in handcuffs, usually a badge of shame. Alternatively, he may decide on a dramatic showdown with the forces of law and order by refusing to leave his compound at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, protected by a rebel horde of MAGA-loving extremists.

In practice Trump may slip into the back entrance of a New York police station for his compulsory fingerprinting and headshot. Yet however privately alarmed he feels about being the first former American president in history to face criminal charges, he is bound to make the most of his latest brush with infamy. The case is sensational. His nemesis, porn star Stormy Daniels, has claimed with all the subtlety of a Carry On film, Im giving him a ride straight to jail, but for Trump, it is yet more evidence that there is a mighty establishment witch-hunt against him.

AFP via Getty Images

The backstory to Trumps indictment is as old as the hills. At issue is $130,000 in hush money paid to the raunchy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged fling in 2006, shortly after Melania had given birth to Barron Trump, now 17 and a strapping 67. Years later, Trumps inner circle feared that Daniels was about to go public on the eve of the 2016 presidential election, when Trump was already reeling from the leaked Access Hollywood tape, in which he boasted about grabbing women by the pussy. His gross behaviour was forgiven by US voters then, and Trump sees no reason why it should dim his chances of re-election again.

AP

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable  indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference, the former president raged last night on Truth Social, his own-brand Twitter. He predicted a massive backlash against President Joe Biden. But the canny Trump, 77, will also try to use his indictment to quash a younger rival: Ron DeSantis, 44, the bullish Florida governor, who has been running an undeclared campaign for the 2024 presidential nomination.

Imagine how the hard-core base of the Republican party would feel if DeSantis allowed Trump to be dragged from his beachfront sanctuary. The Florida governor would be instantly transformed from macho culture warrior to political weakling. As a result, DeSantis conspicuously bent the knee last night by declaring his state would not cooperate in any extradition request for his former mentor. When he did attempt a bit of snark against Trump a few weeks ago, saying, I dont know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of affair, his poll numbers plummeted.

DeSantis and Trump together at The White House / Getty Images

Earlier this week, a Fox News opinion poll on the 2024 Republican nomination showed Trump thumping DeSantis by 54-24 points, with other presidential hopefuls barely registering a blip. A leading Republican consultant from the swing state of Arizona said on hearing news of the indictment, Everyone is lining up behind Trump. Let the coronation begin. Unlikely as it seems, DeSantis may even be spooked into not running at all.

Yesterdays bombshell landed after a seemingly brilliant guerrilla campaign by Trump to wrongfoot Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney (DA) who brought the case. A fortnight ago Trump announced to a huge fanfare that he was due to be indicted on March 21 and effectively goaded Bragg to come and get him. But the DA had some smart moves of his own. He let the case dangle to the point that the former president declared premature victory and began crowing that Bragg had failed to persuade the grand jury to indict him. Then came last nights mic drop. Boom!

District Attorney Alvin Bragg / AFP via Getty Images

The charges against Trump could be the first in a series of major legal blows. The former president may soon be indicted in Georgia for seeking to overturn the results of the 2024 election there; and a special counsel is investigating his attempt to prevent Biden from taking office  incorporating not just the January 6 Capitol riot but a series of unconstitutional power-plays  and, separately, his retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Plenty of Democrats are cock-a-hoop that Trump is at last getting his comeuppance, but others fear the Stormy Daniels case is not only the first but also the weakest criminal case against the Teflon Don. It may never reach gale force.

We know for a fact that Trumps personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid off Daniels, because Cohen owned up to it and was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion and campaign finance violations. He went on to turn against his ex-boss and was the star witness to appear before the Manhattan grand jury. In recent days, David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, also gave evidence about paying $150,000 to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, to catch and kill a story about her own alleged affair with Trump.

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal (pictured in 2004) has revealed her alleged affair with Donald Trump / Getty Images

Yet the Department of Justice declined to bring a similar federal case against Trump and the Manhattan DA may find it difficult to prove the motive behind Daniels hush money. Trump could argue that he was seeking to protect his wife Melania from Daniels allegations, rather than concealing them fraudulently from the voting public. Many legal experts believe that false record-keeping amounts to no more than a misdemeanour, rather than a felony. If the case peters out, Trump will be triumphant.

Of course, winning the Republican nomination is very different to winning a presidential election. Cumulatively, the legal challenges to Trump may be deeply off-putting to moderate Republican and independent swing voters. The prospect of voting a potential criminal into the White House  the most powerful office in the world  ought to make sane heads pause. Trumps fury has also brought out some ugly tropes, including calls for violence against Bragg and anti-semitic dog-whistles against the financier George Soros, for supposedly backing the Manhattan DAs campaign for office.

US President Joe Biden (Niall Carson/PA) / PA Wire

Trump has already trolled his opponents by playing the US national anthem, sung by a choir of January 6 prisoners, at a rally in Waco, Texas, last weekend, accompanied by his own recital of the pledge of allegiance. (Waco was the scene of the last stand by religious cult leader, David Koresh, before he and his followers were gunned down in 1993.) Lawyers say there is nothing to stop Trump running for president while facing charges. There is not even a disqualification that says if youre in jail, you cant run, said Saikrishna Prakash, a law professor at the University of Virginia.

Still, the sound and fury that accompanies every move by Trump could turn out to be an advantage for Biden. The 80-year-old president managed to win the last election from his basement, while sheltering from the impact of Covid-19. In 2024, he will need a new excuse to stay out of the limelight. With Trump on the rampage, hogging all the attention, the doddery Biden could sneak under the radar to victory again.

Sarah Baxter is the director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting, New York
F our police officers were injured while breaking up a large gathering of youths at a south London shopping centre on Friday afternoon.

Officers were called to The Glades shopping centre in Bromley shortly after 3pm to youths behaving in an antisocial manner and refusing to disperse.

Police broke up the group as they anticipated that incidents involving violence may take place.

Four police officers sustained injuries breaking up the group, but the injuries are not life-threatening.

Five youths were arrested for assault on police and affray, said a Met spokesperson.

They were taken to a south London Police station where they remain.

One youth was arrested for breaching a dispersal order.

A section 60 dispersal order has been put in force for Bromley Town centre until 6am Saturday.

This gives police the right to search people in the area without reasonable grounds, and can only be used where a senior officer believes there is a possibility of serious crime.
A ristocrat Constance Marten and her boyfriend will face a trial next January over allegations they killed a new-born baby girl and left the body in an abandoned shed.

The 35-year-old faces a manslaughter charge alongside her boyfriend, Mark Gordon, 48, with both also facing allegations of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.

A court hearing earlier this month heard a dead baby girl called Victoria was found wrapped in a plastic bag under nappies inside an overgrown allotment shed during a widespread police investigation into the couples disappearance.

The pair appeared in the dock of Courtroom 1 at the Old Bailey on Friday morning, greeting each other affectionately as they took their seats.

A security guard sat between the couple during the 20-minute hearing, as Judge Richard Marks KC, the Common Serjeant of London, set a timetable for their case.

They are due to enter pleas on August 18, with a trial set for January 2, 2024.

Marten, whose legal fees are being privately paid, wore a cream and black-patterned blouse for the hearing, while Gordon was dressed in a prison-issue grey tracksuit.

She took notes throughout the proceedings, and was clutching a stack of legal papers as she was led away to the cells at the end.

At Crawley magistrates court earlier in March, prosecutor Jeremy King said the couple were arrested in early March after a 53-day police investigation, and two days later baby Victorias body was located.

In a locked shed, wrapped in a plastic bag, under nappies, the baby was found inside, he said.

Life was pronounced extinct - the charges flow from that discovery.

According to the charge, the couple are accused of manslaughter by having unlawfully killed baby Victoria, it is said the birth was concealed between Janaury 27 and February 27, and they are accused of doing an act or acts by concealing the death of baby Victoria which had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice.

Marten and Gordon, who have dated since 2015, were reported missing after the discovery of placenta in an abandoned motor vehicle on the M61 in January.

A national missing persons campaign was launched, which was ongoing until February 27, said the prosecutor.

It appears both parties were staying in and around hotels in the country, using taxis to get around.

There were various sightings of them.

Marten, who hails from a wealthy aristocratic family with members who have served the Royal Family, grew up at Crichel House, the family seat in north Dorset. She is being represented in the legal proceedings by leading barrister Lewis Power KC.

The Metropolitan Police was drawn into the search for the couple, in an operation which ultimately involved more than 200 officers.

The couple were finally found in Stanmer Villas, Brighton, about 9.30pm on February 27, after a tip-off from a member of the public.

Responding to the news, Martens father Napier said: It is an immense relief to know my beloved daughter Constance has been found.

Mr Marten, a former page to Queen Elizabeth II, added: When the time comes, I am longing to see Constance to reassure her that, whatever the weather, I love her dearly and will support her as best I can through the difficult weeks and months here on in.

Around 48 hours after the arrests, police announced the discovery of the babys remains in woodland in the Hollingbury area of Brighton.

Both Marten and Gordon are remanded in custody.
A teenager has been arrested after a 15-year-old boy was injured at an east London school on Thursday.

Police were contacted by the Royal London Hospital about the incident at Morpeth School in Bethnal Green at 3pm after a boy, also aged 15, attended with an injury.

The victim had sustained the injury during an incident at the school earlier in the day, said police. He has since been discharged.

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of assault and bailed to return on a date in mid-June, said police.

Officers initially said in a statement the incident reportedly involved a bladed article, but have subsequently apologised as that turned out not to be the case.

Met Superintendent Andy Port said: The initial allegation made to police was that the boy had received the injury as a result of a bladed weapon.

Our investigation has subsequently established that this was not the case.

I understand the distress and concern that mentioning a bladed weapon in the original partnership message has caused to the school and the wider community and even though the message was sent with the very best intention I apologise that the message was circulated before the full facts were established.

Enquiries into the circumstances of the incident continue.
S chools, shopping centres, and businesses were sent envelopes containing white powder in an alleged six-week terror campaign, a court has heard.

The Westfield shopping centres in east and west London, two primary schools in Essex, DVLA headquarters in Swansea, and a Premier Inn close to Stansted Airport were among the targets of the hoax campaign, it is said.

Prosecutors say some letters included written threats, suggesting the white powder was deadly and could cause widespread harm to health.

Gary John Preston, 63, who lives in the market town of Haverhill in Suffolk, now faces 21 charges brought under anti-terror laws, following an investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit.

He has not entered a plea.

Preston was due to appear for a preliminary hearing in his case at the Old Bailey on Friday morning, but he was not present.

He was ordered to face trial at Woolwich Crown Court, in south-east London, in April 2024.

A trial preparation hearing was set for the same venue on July 14

It is said Preston sent notes with the intention of inducing in a person a belief that it is likely to be, or contain, a noxious substance or other noxious thing and thereby endanger human life or create a serious risk to human health.

Westminster magistrates court was told a large number of letters containing a white powder were sent to businesses and commercial and educational establishments in England and Wales between September and November 2013.

Ten of the notes were sent to locations in Braintree in Essex; to the local college, Notley High School, Lyons Hall and St Michaels Church of England primary schools, as well as the Freeport Shopping Centre, and branches of Vision Express, Coral Bookmakers, Specsavers, Barclays Bank, and Costa Coffee.

Also among the alleged targets were Transport for London, Essex County Council, the Premier Inn at Stansted Airport, Westfield Shopping Centres in White City and Stratford and Elmsleigh Shopping Centre in Staines, Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, an investment management firm, also in Chelmsford, a Holiday Inn in Hayes, west London, and Bishops Stortford Post Office.

Preston, who is currently being held at HMP Chelmsford, appeared in court on March 22, when he was remanded in custody.

The magistrates court directed that he stand trial in front of a jury, with no pleas indicated to the 21 charges brought under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.
T wo teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a pensioner who died after she was robbed in her own home.

The pair, aged 14 and 15 and both from the Lowestoft area, are being held following the death of 82-year-old Joy Middleditch who lived in Pakefield, Suffolk Police said.

Ms Middleditch was found lying on the floor of her end-of-terrace bungalow in Grayson Avenue by concerned family members on Saturday, and police were called just after 1.50pm.

Her handbag had been taken and was recovered a short distance away in Nelson Road.

Ms Middleditch told her relatives, and later police officers, that she had heard a noise at the door before two masked men forced their way in and knocked her to the ground.

Police said it is thought she was attacked between the evening of Friday March 24 and the early hours of Saturday March 25.

The pensioner was found conscious and breathing but was in a serious condition and was taken to the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk.

She died there in the early hours of Monday.

A forensics officer at the property where 82-year-old Joy Middleditch died after masked robbers burst into her home and knocked her to the ground / PA

A Suffolk Police spokesman said: Officers have been pursuing numerous lines of inquiry and today, Friday March 31, arrested two males in connection with the incident.

A 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy, both from the Lowestoft area, were arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

A Home Office post-mortem examination was carried out on Monday but the cause of death is yet to be confirmed, pending further investigation, the force said.

Ms Middleditchs family said in an earlier statement released through police: Joy was a strong, determined character who loved life and her dog.

She was a loving person who was sadly taken from us too soon.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the major investigation team by emailing MITincident.room@suffolk.police.uk or by calling 101 quoting the reference 37/17537/23.

People can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
P olice are hunting for a violent offender after he was accidentally released from a London prison.

Rayon Newby, 20, was allowed to walk free from HMP Thameside, where he was serving a sentence for assault, harassment and burglary, in error on March 17.

Police on Friday issued a public appeal calling for help locating him, urging people not to approach him if he is spotted.

Newby is from east London, and has links to Tower Hamlets and Ilford.

He is Black, around 5ft 10ins tall, of heavy build, and has a pierced left ear. He speaks with a London accent.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: The public are asked not to approach Newby. Anyone who sees him, or knows where he is should call 101 or Tweet @MetCC quoting reference CAD 3195/30Mar.

To remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A rmed robbers are being hunted after two similar raids in London within 24 hours, including one where corrosive liquid was hurled in an elderly mans face.

Four balaclava-wearing burglars wielding a knife and a screwdriver burst into his house on Lady Margaret Road, Southall at around 11pm on Thursday.

They sprayed a substance at the victim, who is in his 70s, before stealing a safe containing cash and jewellery.

Metropolitan Police officers arrived but the robbers had fled.

The man was taken to hospital with facial injuries which were later assessed to be not life-threatening or life-changing.

A police spokesman said: An urgent investigation is under way to trace the men and officers remain in the area.

The suspects were described as being dressed in dark clothing and wearing balaclavas and gloves.

At approximately 23.14pm on Wednesday, a woman in her 40s was targeted by four men who forced their way into her home ten miles away on Highfield Avenue, Golders Green, a road where properties sell for over 1million.

They threatened her with a knife and an unknown substance was thrown towards the victim.

Calm restored to Lady Margaret Road, Southall on Friday morning / John Dunne

It is currently unknown whether any items were stolen.

She was taken to hospital for treatment and has since been discharged.

At this early stage, there have been no arrests in either crime. Scotland Yard said there is currently no evidence to suggest a link.

Shopkeeper Sindaram Uthaykumar, who runs a convenience store on Lady Margaret Road half a mile from Southhall Police Station, said: Im shocked to hear of this incident. Unfortunately there are always police up and down this road. It seems like an every few minutes. Still, to hear of someone robbed and the use of force used is very worrying.

Another resident added: To be targeted in this way is just horrible.

There were loads of police and blue lights, it was a serious incident. We hope the man will be okay.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A man accused of trying to murder a US spy who worked at GCHQ is set to stand trial later this year, the Old Bailey heard on Friday.

Joshua Bowles, 29, is accused of repeatedly stabbing the woman outside a leisure centre in Cheltenham, just a few miles from GCHQ headquarters.

Appearing at the Old Bailey via videolink from HMP Belmarsh, Bowles spoke to confirm his name and date of birth during the preliminary hearing.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said Bowles would stand trial on October 3 at Birmingham crown court, in a case being overseen by a High Court judge.

The defendant is expected to appear in court again on July 28 to enter pleas. He faces an attempted murder charge and two allegations of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Bowles was arrested following an investigation by the Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) unit.

A man accused of trying to stab a woman to death outside a leisure centre because he believed she worked at GCHQ has been remanded in custody / PA Media

GCHQ is the UKs intelligence, security, and cyber agency, and regularly hosts agents from allied nations as well as British operatives.

The woman was not named and referred to only by the codenumber 99230.

Bowles is accused of stabbing the woman repeatedly in the incident at around 9.15pm on March 9, and also punching a man, Alex Fuentes, who went to speak to him afterwards.

The woman suffered wounds to her abdomen, liver, leg, and chest, and was rushed to hospital for treatment in intensive care.

Bowles, who lives in the village of Up Hatherley on the outskirts of Cheltenham, was remanded back into custody and has not yet entered any pleas.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on March 31  Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, Trend reports.

"Today is 31 March  Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, when the memory of Azerbaijanis killed by Armenians for their ethnic and religious affiliation, subjected to a policy of racial discrimination, ethnic cleansing and genocide is commemorated.

105 years ago, in March-April 1918, Dashnak-Bolshevik armed groups operating under the mandate of the Baku Soviet carried out brutal massacres against tens of thousands of peaceful Azerbaijanis in Baku, as well as in Shamakhi, Guba, Irevan, Zangazur, Garabagh, Nakhchivan and Kars regions. As a result of massacres, more than 16,000 people were brutally murdered and 167 villages were destroyed in Guba alone.

The systematic and planned nature of the massacres, which were an integral part of the radical nationalist Armenians policy of racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis, manifests itself in the confessions of Stephan Shaumyan, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Caucasus, an ethnic Armenian, that 6,000 armed soldiers of the Baku Soviet and 4,000 armed soldiers of the Dashnaksutyun Party took part in the massacres.

After the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), the government created the Extraordinary Investigation Commission for the investigation of grave crimes committed by Armenians, where the best lawyers of that time, including different ethnicities, such as Russians, Jews, Poles, Georgians and even Armenians were represented. As a result of the Commissions investigation and based on evidence, criminal cases were opened against 194 persons accused of different crimes against peaceful populations, and 24 people were arrested in Baku and about 100 in Shamakhi for their crimes. However, the continuation of this first step towards a political and legal assessment of the policy of genocide against Azerbaijanis was interrupted due to the occupation of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Soviet Army.

An adequate political assessment of the events was given after the restoration of Azerbaijan's independence, with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis dated March 26, 1998, signed by the National Leader Heydar Aliyev, when according to this Decree, March 31 was declared as the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis. Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis is of exceptional importance in informing the world community about the policy of ethnic cleansing and crimes of genocide committed against Azerbaijanis.

Ethnic cleansing, genocide and other crimes against humanity, which are an integral part of Armenia's policy of ethnic hatred and intolerance against Azerbaijanis, were continued during the 30-year-long policy of military aggression against Azerbaijan, as well as during the 44-Day Patriotic War. Our compatriots who were expelled as a result of the deportation of Azerbaijanis living in Armenia, as well as the occupation of Azerbaijani territories from their homes were subjected to the policy of ethnic cleansing by Armenia, the civilian population became victims of acts of genocide, including Khojaly, numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity. Missile attacks against civilians in Ganja, Barda, Tartar and other cities of Azerbaijan outside the frontline during the 44-Day Patriotic War once again proved the continuation of Armenias state-level policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis.

On the 105th anniversary of the March massacres, we commemorate the innocent victims of the policy of genocide, racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis with deep sorrow, as well as reiterate the importance of ending Armenias impunity to prevent such crimes and their recurrence.

Azerbaijan, believing that the restoration of justice will make a significant contribution to the establishment of peace and security in the region, will continue to take measures to end impunity in the international legal framework," the statement said.
A man has been rushed to hospital after being pulled to safety from a north London house fire.

Emergency services rushed to Keston Road in Tottenham at 1pm on Friday.

Firefighters tackled the blaze next to Downhills Park for more than 30 minutes.

An eyewitness said: The man was badly burned all up his arms. He was sitting outside in the rain waiting for an ambulance.

A London Fire Brigade Spokesman said: Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters tackled a house fire on Keston Road in Tottenham.

A small part of the ground floor of an end-of-terrace house was damaged by fire. Firefighters rescued a man from the ground floor of the house who was taken to hospital.

Fire crews from Tottenham, Kentish Town, Stoke Newington and Edmonton fire stations attended the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

It came after a woman was treated for smoke inhalation after a fire in Old Kent Road at 10.20am on Friday.
N o arrests were made after protesters disrupted Humza Yousafs inaugural First Ministers Questions, with Holyrood officials issuing six-month bans.

Protests by climate change activists have become a fixture at the weekly parliamentary session, with Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone being forced to suspend proceedings a number of times in recent months.

But on Thursday, Parliament business was suspended five times before the end of questioning from Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, leaving the Presiding Officer visibly angry and forcing her to clear the public gallery of visitors  leaving just two school classes and the family of the First Minister able to watch proceedings from within the chamber.

Police Scotland said no arrests were made, but 11 people were removed from the gallery at Holyrood.

A spokeswoman for the force said: Around 12.20pm on Thursday March 30, 11 protesters were asked to leave the public gallery for breach of the code of conduct at the Scottish Parliament.

There were no arrests and there is no further police action.

Late on Thursday, the Presiding Officer told MSPs in an email that the interruptions were wholly unacceptable.

She added: Under my authority, all those who disrupted business today will be issued with a ban from the chamber public galleries for six months.

The (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body) was also clear that we must be in the strongest position possible to prevent further disruptions to business.

With that in mind, we will introduce, at the earliest opportunity, more stringent measures to identify those who disrupt our proceedings.

We will also amend our visitor access policy to explicitly state that anyone who wilfully disrupts business will be excluded from our public galleries.

The harder stance comes after the Parliament announced this week that mobile phones would not be allowed in the gallery.
T rade Secretary Kemi Badenoch on Friday urged people to stop talking about the vote for Brexit as she defended a new Indo-Pacific trade deal forecast to boost the UK economy by less than one per cent.

Britains acceptance into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a bloc of 11 countries including Australia, Canada and Japan, is being hailed by ministers as one of the UKs biggest post-Brexit wins. But hours after signing the deal, Ms Badenoch had to fend off questions over how membership would soften the blow of leaving the EU, set to deliver a four per cent hit to the UKs GDP.

By comparison, Department of Trade figures suggest the CPTPP could deliver a 0.08 per cent boost to Britains economic output in the coming years.

Weve left the EU so we need to look at what to do in order to grow the UK economy and not keep talking about a vote from seven years ago, Ms Badenoch said on Times Radio, referring to the 2016 EU referendum.

It would be quite ridiculous to suggest that we shouldnt carry out any free trade deals now that we have left the EU.

The minister played down the significance of the 0.08 per cent growth figure and said: Its a deal about the future.

On LBC she said the full potential was not yet known but it could be bigger than the EU single market if other major economies such as China joined. Britain is the first new member, and first European nation, to join the CPTPP, as part of a post-Brexit tilt to the east started by Boris Johnson.

Officials said 99 per cent of UK exports to the bloc will now be eligible for zero tariffs. Labour gave a cautious welcome but said it will look closely at details, as critics said it will add just 1.8 billion a year to the economy after 10 years.

Meanwhile Ms Badenoch insisted the Conservatives were managing the economy well even as revised GDP figures for the end of last year, out this morning, showed growth of just 0.1 per cent between October and December. But Ruth Gregory from Capital Economics warned that the UK economy will still slip into recession this year.
T he time of pranks and hijinks is upon us once again. Every year on April 1, people all over the world compete to play the worst (or best, depending on whether or not youre on the receiving end) tricks on each other, whether thats something as simple as a whoopee cushion on a chair or the extreme of a fake proposal.

While the exact origins of the day are unknown, its thought to have been celebrated in the UK since at least the 19th century.

Back then, pranks were mostly played on children but, nowadays, anyone is fair game.

This year, Twitter users with verified badges will lose their checkmarks on April 1, unless they pay for Elon Musks Twitter Blue subscription service.

Heres everything you need to know about what is (supposedly) the funniest day of the year, April Fools Day.

April Fools' Day origins

Newspapers often prank their readers with fake stories on April Fools' Day / Ben Stansall / AFP / Getty Images

There are various theories about where the day actually came from, but the most likely seems to trace all the way back to the late 16th century, when Pope Gregory XIII decided it would be a good idea to adopt the Gregorian calendar (no prizes for guessing why).

Where the year had previously started at the end of March, under the new calendar rules, it was moved to January 1.

Even though the news was spread, some people clearly didnt get the message in time and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. Because of this, they were ridiculed and branded as fools; thus the tradition of April Fools Day began.

April Fools Day around the world

People take pictures of a giant straw fish in Nice, France, that was installed on April Fools' Day / Valery Hache / AFP / Getty Images

In France, children prank their friends by taping a paper fish to their backs.

In Scotland, April Fools Day lasts two days. On the second day, known as Taily Day, pranks involving the backside are played. Its thought to be where kick me signs originated.

In New York, press releases for a non-existent April Fools Day Parade have been released every year since 1986.

In Canada and the UK, April Fools Day jokes are only supposed to be played until noon.

In Poland, April Fools Day is so strongly observed that an anti-Turkish alliance signed on April 1 with Leopold I in 1683 had to be backdated to March 31.

Is April Fools Day a bank holiday?

Yes, April Fools Day is a national holiday and everyone gets the day off.

Fooled you! Its business as usual, Im afraid.

Last years April Fools pranks

Take a look at some funny April Fools Day pranks from last year--and hope you dont get caught out when April 1 rolls around this time.

Geordie presenters Ant and Dec fooled fans by telling them: We have joined the crypto revolution and launched Toon Coin, and thanked Safri Pollo for their help  an anagram of April Fools.

Discount supermarket Aldi pretended to launch their own airline, Aldiair.

Delivery service Deliveroo joined in the fun and joked about banning people from ordering pineapple on pizza on the app.
T he UK has joined the trade group known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in what has been hailed a major Brexit victory.

The UK will join forces with 11 other countries and gain access to a $10 trillion (8.1tn) market.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said joining the CTPPP demonstrated how the UK is able to take advantage of its post-Brexit freedoms to strike agreements that were not possible when it was in the EU.

However, critics say the impact of joining CTPPP will be limited.

Official estimates suggest it will add just 1.8 billion a year to the economy after 10 years, representing less than one per cent of UK GDP.

What is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership?

Eleven countries have combined to make a group that enjoys a free trade agreement.

The CPTPP covers virtually all sectors and aspects of trade, with its sole aim to reduce red tape, take down trade barriers, and facilitate trade business between member countries.

Between them, the clubs constituents are home to around 500 million people and generate more than 13 per cent of the worlds income.

When was the CPTPP formed?

It was first founded in 2018, with the core members being Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Singapore.

In 2019, Vietnam joined, as did Peru in 2021. Malaysia joined in 2022, while Chile signed up in February 2023.

Why did the UK want to join the CPTPP?

The UK Government wanted to seal a trade deal now it is outside the European Union.

The Government has said joining CPTPP will add even more economic clout to this exciting and dynamic trade alliance and allow the country to grow financially while strengthening our bilateral trade relationships with Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore  which total 32bn.

Which countries are members of the CPTPP?

The other members of the CPTPP are Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Peru, and Vietnam.
B ritish Airways has cancelled more than 70 flights as hundreds of security guards walk out from Heathrow Terminal 5 for the first day of strike action.

Around 10,000 passengers are thought to be affected with flights to Europe and America grounded after last-ditch talks to prevent strikes broke down on Thursday night.

The strikes involve security officers at Terminal Five, which is used exclusively by British Airways, and campus security guards who are responsible for checking all cargo that enters the airport.

A Heathrow spokeswoman insisted the airport is operating as usual and security is free flowing on Friday morning.

But it comes after BA cancelled 72 flights, sharply reducing the number of passengers who would normally use the terminal.

A BA Spokesman said: Due to a number of issues including the Heathrow Airport strike, continued French Air Traffic Control industrial action and bad weather, weve been forced to make a small number of adjustments to our schedule. Were sorry for the disruption to our customers travel plans.

The vast majority of our flights continue to operate as planned and were in contact with affected customers to inform them of their rights and offer them options including a full refund or rebooking onto an alternative flight.

Around 1,400 members of Unite will be on strike for 10 days, covering much of the busy Easter weekend.

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: Heathrow Airport has thrown away the opportunity to avoid strikes.

The strike action will undoubtedly result in severe delays and disruption to passengers across the airport but this dispute is a direct result of Heathrow Airports stubborn refusal to pay its workers fairly.

Security guard members of the Unite union on the picket line at Heathrow Airport / PA

Picket lines were mounted outside the airport and Unite said the strike which ends at 23.59pm on Easter Sunday April 10 was being well supported.

The airports chief executive John Holland-Kaye told Sky News: Im here in Terminal 5 which is the only terminal that voted for strike action and youll see its operating as normal.

We have a lot of colleagues who have come to help us out today  both security officers and managers who are helping out in their purple shirts like me.

But we also have some other agency, third party, workers who have come in to help us who are very experienced in this kind of security environment, and theyre keeping the airport running smoothly.

So, Heathrow is operating as normal. If youre travelling over the Easter period, dont worry, youll have a good journey.

Please dont come too early. Three hours is plenty for a long-haul flight, two hours for a short-haul flight, and we will get you to your destination on time.

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: Heathrow Airport has thrown away the opportunity to avoid strikes.

The strike action will undoubtedly result in severe delays and disruption to passengers across the airport but this dispute is a direct result of Heathrow Airports stubborn refusal to pay its workers fairly.
T he crown jewels will be on display for all to see on

On display for King Charless coronation (May 6), the Crown Jewels are the most recognisable symbol of the monarchy.

Many pieces of the Crown Jewels, normally kept locked away at the Tower of London, are reserved especially for coronations and some will be in full use this spring.

Heres what you need to know about the Crown Jewels, including how much theyre worth and if they change between monarchs.

How much are the Crown Jewels worth?

The Crown Jewels refer to a collection of more than 100 objects and 23,000 gemstones. They have been stored safely at the Tower of London since the 1600s.

At the heart of the Crown Jewels collection is the Coronation Regalia, which are the ceremonial objects used during the coronation and which have also been used in the Queens funeral. These pieces are symbols of the powers and responsibilities of the monarch, including:

St Edwards Crown, which is only ever used at the moment of coronation. Weighing 2.23kg, it is adorned with semi-precious stones.

Imperial State Crown, which is the crown worn by the monarch when leaving Westminster Abbey after the coronation. It was also the crown that was sitting on the Queens coffin during the lying-in-state and the state funeral. The crown is made of gold and set with 2,868 diamonds, 269 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and four rubies. These jewels include some of the most famous in the Crown Jewels, such as the Black Princes ruby, the Stuart sapphire, and the Cullinan II diamond.

The Crown jewels, as worn by Queen Elizabeth during her coronation / ITV / Rex

Sovereigns Sceptre with Cross, which has been used at every coronation since Charles IIs in 1661. In 1910, the Cullinan I diamond was added to the sceptre and is the largest colourless cut diamond in the world at 530.2 carats.

Sovereigns Orb, which is also presented to the monarch at their coronation and appeared at the Queens funeral.

While the Crown Jewels are considered priceless due to their historic and cultural value, various experts have attempted to unofficially value them, coming up with estimates of between 3 billion and 5 billion.

However, no official valuations have been made as the Crown has never considered selling them.

Diamonds fit for a Queen... Crown Jewels sparkle for jubilee exhibition 1 / 8 Diamonds fit for a Queen... Crown Jewels sparkle for jubilee exhibition jewels6.jpg Caroline de Guitat, curator of Royal Collections, holds Queen Victoria's small diamond crown from 1870 jewels5.jpg Queen Victoria's small diamond crown from 1870, which she had requested to be made to wear with her mourning veil jewels3.jpg Cullinan diamond jewellery piece, made from the famous diamond that was discovered in South Africa in 1905 jewels4.jpg A close up of the diamond jewellery piece. The large Cullinan diamond from which it came from was 3,106.75 carats when found jewels2.jpg Cullinan diamond piece and an emerald and diamond drop necklace jewels1.jpg Cullinan diamond piece and an emerald and diamond drop necklace

Are King Charless Crown Jewels the same as Queen Elizabeths?

The Crown Jewels are handed down through the monarchy, with many of the pieces dating back hundreds of years.

That means that King Charles will use the same Crown Jewels as his mother, Queen Elizabeth, with the traditional ceremonies using them in very specific ways during the coronation and subsequent events.
GUBA, Azerbaijan, March 31. Hatred towards Azerbaijanis is the basis of genocide crimes committed by Armenians, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva said, Trend reports.

Aliyeva made the remark at a conference on "Legal aspects of the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the context of historical facts" dedicated to March 31 - the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis in Guba.

"From March 30 to April 3, 1918, Azerbaijanis who lived in Baku city and various districts of the Baku province, in Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangazur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan and our other territories were subjected to genocide by Armenian Bolshevik-Dashnak armed detachments, she noted.

According to official sources, as a result of these acts of genocide, about 12,000 Azerbaijanis were killed with particular cruelty, and tens of thousands of people went missing, the ombudsman reminded.

She also noted that the first stage of the genocide committed by Armenians against the Azerbaijani people was carried out in 1905-1906 in all Azerbaijani lands, including Iravan.

"From 1918 through 1920, the territory of Western Azerbaijan, now called Armenia - Iravan city, Zangazur, Daralayaz, Goycha, Vedibasar, Garnibasar, Zangibasar, Aghbaba-Shorayel, Loru-Pambak, Derechichek, Dilijan, Garagoyunlu and other historical regions - underwent another terrible genocide, Aliyeva said.

Besides, according to her, the policy of ethnic cleansing against our people through violence, genocide, massacres and other crimes against humanity led to gross violations of all fundamental rights of Western Azerbaijanis.

The crimes of genocide committed by Armenians were based on centuries of hatred towards Azerbaijanis, a policy that instill discrimination, and completely unfounded territorial claims. Looking back, we see that the implementation of this process was especially brutal in 1905-1906, 1918-1921, 1948-1953 and 1987-1991, the ombudsman further reminded.

According to international law, genocide is considered the most serious crime because its directed against peace and humanity, she said.

In this regard, the deliberate and purposeful murder of thousands of innocent people by Armenia as a result of its policy of ethnic cleansing, racial, and religious hatred towards Azerbaijanis confirms that this crime against humanity is precisely an act of genocide, Aliyeva added.

Besides, as the ombudsman noted, the UN General Assembly resolution of December 11, 1946, indicates that genocide is one of the most serious crimes against humanity, along with a violation of the human right to life.

"According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crimes of Genocide, adopted by the resolution of the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1948, an act of genocide is a crime committed intentionally with the intent to completely or partially mass extermination of any national, ethnic, racial or religious group, she further said.

Therefore, the facts of the massacre of tens of thousands of civilians in 1918 on the basis of ethnic and religious affiliation, a pre-planned and stage-by-stage criminal act, including one committed in various territories of Azerbaijan, should be characterized precisely as a crime of genocide, Aliyeva explained.

After return of the national leader of our people Heydar Aliyev to political power at the insistent demand of the people, along with other crucial issues of Azerbaijan, on March 31 - the Genocide of Azerbaijanis - was first put on the political agenda, the ombudsman pointed out.

According to the decree of March 26, 1998, signed by the great leader Heydar Aliyev, March 31 was declared the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis, these events were given a political assessment and for the first time the genocide of Azerbaijanis by Armenia was officially announced, she reminded.

In order to fulfill the relevant order of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in 2018, an appropriate action plan was prepared and implemented in connection with the 100th anniversary of the genocide, and a special meeting was held by the Azerbaijani Parliament," Aliyeva stressed.

The ombudsman added that as a result of investigative actions and scientific research conducted in recent years, a large number of reliable facts and documents confirming the crimes of genocide committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis were revealed.

In this context, the mass grave found in the city of Guba is one of the bloody episodes of the crime of genocide committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis. The Guba Genocide Memorial Complex established here also contains clear evidence of this fact, she said.

The policy of ethnic cleansing, genocide, terror and occupation based on hatred towards Azerbaijan, and carried out over the years, continued in subsequent years. The consequence of this is that in modern times, many of our compatriots also became victims of war crimes in Armenia, were brutally killed, received various injuries, were captured, taken hostage or disappeared without a trace, Aliyeva noted.

The discovery of mass graves in the territories liberated from occupation [in the 2020 second Karabakh war] once again confirms that the Azerbaijanis captured and taken hostage during the first Karabakh war were killed with cruel torture and buried inhumanly - contrary to the norms of international humanitarian law," she concluded.
K ing Charles and Queen Camilla arrived to cheers of God Save The King! at Hamburgs Dammtor station on Friday having made the 1hr 45 minute journey on the train from Berlin.

The royal couple were met on the platform by the First Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher and his wife Eva Maria and walked downstairs with the mayoral couple, President Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbender and their entourage.

King Charles waves to wellwishers outside Hamburgs town hall / AFP via Getty Images

Camilla wore a blue Anna Valentine coat and dress with a sapphire and diamond brooch given to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert on their wedding day.

King Charles III and the Queen Consort lay a rose during a visit to the Kindertransport Memorial to mark the 85th anniversary of the first Kindertransport / PA

Crowds waited for them behind cordons inside the station and cheered wildly as the royal visitors appeared, with one man shouting God Save the King!

King Charles III lays a wreath on the steps of St. Nikolai Memorial Church / Getty Images

The royal party had taken over a carriage of the train and aides carried off their luggage.

Outside, the royal couple held umbrellas for the short walk to the Kindertransporte memorial.

The King and Queen had a deja bye moment outside Hamburg city hall when they met a devoted German fan of the royal family they had seen the previous day in Berlin.

HM King Charles turns cheesemaker during state visit to organic farm in Brandenburg, Germany 1 / 10 HM King Charles turns cheesemaker during state visit to organic farm in Brandenburg, Germany Getty Images via REUTERS via REUTERS Getty Images via REUTERS via REUTERS Getty Images via REUTERS

Lawyer Bjoern von der Ohe, 60, said he told the King: Its a great honour to meet you, only for Charles to reply Again!

He had previously seen them twice in Berlin - both of them at the market, and the Queen by herself at the refugee centre.

After giving her three cheers at the refugee centre she came up to him and said: Thank you, it was so kind.

The King told Kristiana Mechla, who had waited two hours in the rain for him: Its great to be in Hamburg again.

She said afterwards: I told him it was a pleasure to meet him. He was in Hamburg in the 1980s with Diana and many people still talk about that so we are pleased to see him again.
E very year, millions of Christians across the globe celebrate the festival of Lent.

The special period is preceded by Shrove Tuesday, the day that is colloquially known as Pancake Day. It ends on Easter Sunday, which comes with a four-day bank holiday weekend.

The celebration has many special traditions attached to it, an important one being giving up something you love.

If youve been wanting to learn more about Lent and youre seeking some inspiration about what to give up, keep reading.

What is Lent?

Lent is a special season for Christians, which sees them remember the story of Jesus Christs death.

The Bible says Jesus prayed and fasted for 40 days in the desert.

The word Lent comes from an old English word that means lengthen. This is a nod to the time of the year when our days start getting longer as seasons begin to change.

The celebration is a time for prayer, reflection, and community.

When is Lent and how long does it last?

Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, which fell on February 22 this year. Special church services are often held to mark the day.

Lent lasts for approximately 40 days, during which many Christians give up something they love.

Some commit to more serious forms of fasting to imitate Jesuss sacrifice during his journey into the desert.

Depending on the Christian denomination, the celebration period concludes on either Maundy Thursday (April 6) or on the evening of Holy Saturday (April 8, the day before Easter Sunday), when the Easter Vigil is marked.

The tradition involves Christians giving up something they love, such as coffee or chocolate / Samson Katt / Pexels

What can I give up for Lent?

The idea is to give up something you love, so it has to be something that feels like a sacrifice and a period of fasting.

If youre looking for some inspiration, here is a list of traditional and modern ideas of what you can give up this Lent.

Alcohol

Social media

Meat and/or dairy products

Coffee

Smoking

Gossip

Online shopping

Fast food

Dating apps

Video games

Swearing

Single-use plastic

Takeaways

Make-up

Massages or facials

How to treat yourself on Easter Sunday

After 40 days of giving up the food you love, you might want to gorge on Easter Sunday.

If youd prefer to do so without the effort of shopping and cooking, you might instead opt to book one of Londons dining rooms.

Across town are numerous pubs and restaurants offering special Easter menus. Others will be serving Sunday lunch as they always do  tried and tested, ready for action.

Alternatively, if youve given up chocolate for Lent, why not splash out on an indulgent Easter egg?

Weve compiled a list of the best luxury eggs for a special chocolate treat as well as unusual eggs.
Y ouve stocked up on Easter eggs and cleaned the barbecue just in case the weather surprises us  yep, the long Easter weekend is just around the corner.

Many of us will be granted a whole four days off to celebrate Easter by spending time with friends and family.

As we prepare, heres everything you need to know about Good Friday.

When is Good Friday?

Good Friday is always the Friday before Easter Sunday.

The date changes every year, as Easter Sunday falls on the next full moon after the Spring Equinox.

This year, Good Friday is on April 7.

Why do we call it Good Friday?

Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at the Calvary.

While the origin of the word good is debated, some believe it developed from the term Gods Friday.

Things to do in London this Easter 1 / 14 Things to do in London this Easter Take a ride in Wonka's world The View of Pure Imagination, London Eye, SE1, March 25  April 9, londoneye.com

The London Eye is having a scrumdiddlyumptious makeover, as its pods are transformed into an immersive family experience based on the West End telling of Roald Dahls beloved Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Take a ride with Willy Wonkas assistant, Professor Pop, as the popular show is hoisted 135m into the air, complete with storytellers, actors and workshops.

(Golden) Tickets 29.65 for adults, 26.05 for children A search in the skies Wheres Wally at the Shard, SE1, March 19  April 10, the-shard.com

Traveller extraordinaire Wally has returned to London once again and is hiding among the capitals most iconic buildings. In fact, the stripy fellow and his pals Wenda, Woof, Wizard Whitebeard and Odlaw are so well concealed, would-be detectives will have to go as high as they can to find them. Head to the floor 72 of the Shard, via its space-age lifts, to scan the skyline for them.

A Family ticket is 74.95 Beautiful ballet My First Ballet, Sleeping Beauty, Peacock Theatre, WC2, peacocktheatre.com

Ballet is a beautiful thing, not always high-tech but thoroughly highly skilled, and all the more absorbing for it. This retelling of a familiar tale has been shortened for young audiences, and theres a narrator on hand to ensure nobody gets lost. It may be for young ones, but Tchaikovsky's score is captivating no matter your age.

Tickets from 10 Savour a childrens classic Railway Children, Across London, March 28, railwaychildrenfilm.com

For one day only, the spectacular Olivier award-winning theatre production of E. Nesbits iconic childrens story The Railway Children will be screened in all major cinemas nationwide. The show even has its own lifesize locomotive puffing onto the stage. Steaming marvellous.

Ticket prices vary Dance the weekend away Sadlers Wells Family Dance Weekend, EC1R, March 25  26, sadlerswells.com

Sadlers Wells annual two-day festival of family-friendly happenings returns with acclaimed contemporary dance company Ballet-Lorent performing Snow White, a production theyve put together with poet laureate Dame Carol Ann Duffy, and featuring Olivier-award winning actress Lindsay Duncan as the narrator. Alternatively, MOKO Dance are hosting dance workshop Digitopia for 5  8 year olds (and their grown-ups), which is all bright colours and fun.

Tickets 18 Shakespeare on the roof Shakespeare Up at The O2, SE10, March 26, theo2.co.uk

Celebrate 400 years of the Bard and have an adventure doing it: climb the roof of the O2 arena  you can see for around 15 miles  where theatre group Grassroots Shakespeare will be performing snippets from Shakespeares most famous works, including Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet. Culture never had a view so good.

Tickets from 35 RD Photography Dahls darkest creations return The Witches, Rose King Theatre, KT1, Mar 29 - Sun Apr 10, rosetheatrekingston.org

The darkest of Dahls imagination crawled onto the page when he wrote The Witches, and this stage adaption promises the same deliciously grizzly experience. It stays faithful to the story of how one boy and his grandmother work together to destroy children-hating Witches. It is frightening, heartwarming, joyous, playful and has a wonderful score which twists the tension up and up and up. No risk of anyone being bored.

Tickets from 8 Cats at the circus Zippos Circus 2016, Blackheath, SE3, March 25  April 5, zippos.co.uk

Zippos are celebrating 30 years on the road with all the usual high-flying antics  and an array of cats. Not just any cats, either: these are talented, agile moggies acrocats, as it were. Zippos offer old-fashioned fun, but it remains as impressive as ever, and the Wheel of Death has rarely been more terrifying. Just dont let anyone try the knife-throwing routine at home.

Tickets 9 for adults, 7.50 for children Feast with friends, take the family Hawker House, SE16, every Fri/Sat from 5pm, streetfeastlondon.com

Hawker House has long been an evening favourite for Londons foodies, but this year is proving more welcoming for families than ever. Its not that theyve changed the formula  its still a haven of top street food  but hungry grown-ups are bringing the family and everyones happy. Such variety of food means even the fussiest of eaters will find something to demolish, but really, its a perfect excuse for adults to finally have that long overdue catch-up with friends and take the little ones.

Prices vary Youve goat to see this The Oxford and Cambridge Goat Race, Spitalfields City Farm, E1, March 27, ticketsource.co.uk

If you find the boat race a little too straight-faced, head to this alternative, which sees two goats purporting to represent the famous universities trot it out across Spitalfields farm. It is, from start to finish, a laugh, for both spectators and organisers. Well, whatever floats your goat

Tickets 13 Go hunting Across London, standard.co.uk

It's a little known fact, but Easter doesn't actually celebrate the invention of chocolate eggs. Still, due to large-scale public ignorance, Easter egg hunts remain as popular as ever. Thank goodness: food tastes all the better if you've had to crawl about for it. For little ones and big kids alike, there's some serious detecting to be done across the capital  read our guide for more.

Prices vary

In some countries, Good Friday goes by another name. For example, in Germany, Good Friday goes by Sorrowful Friday.

In churches across the UK, there is usually a Good Friday service.

Is Good Friday a bank holiday?

Good Friday is a recognised bank holiday.

However, keep in mind that employers do not have to give employees bank or public holidays as paid leave. They decide whether to include bank holidays as part of a workers statutory leave.

Check the gov.uk website for more information on your rights relating to public holidays.

Can you send post on Good Friday?

Royal Mail doesnt usually deliver or collect post on bank holidays, which means there will be no post delivered or collected on Good Friday or Easter Monday.

Most post offices will be open on Easter Saturday and some areas in central London have deliveries on Sunday. Just be prepared for your post to take a little longer than usual to send or receive over the bank holiday weekend!

What are Good Friday opening hours for shops?

Most supermarkets will be closed or run at reduced hours over Easter. However, many of the major supermarkets will be open on Good Friday for reduced hours.

Make sure you check shop opening times.

What are the other Easter dates in 2023?

During the 40 days of Lent, there are various days that are commemorated in the Christian calendar. These include:
A s we plough ahead into April, Brits are looking forward to their next holidays.

Easter is one of the most significant observances in the Christian calendar but, unlike Christmas, Halloween, and Valentines Day, its date changes every year and can fall any time between March 22 and April 25.

This is because the Christian date is decided by a complex set of calculations based on observations of the moon.

Heres everything you need to know about school holidays, bank holidays, and UK term dates around Easter.

When was the last half-term holiday?

February half-term was the last time pupils and staff enjoyed a break.

Half-term falls between Monday, February 13, and Friday, February 17, though this does vary in different schools and areas.

When is Easter 2023?

Easter Sunday falls on April 9, just over a week earlier than last years celebrations on April 17, with school holidays and bank holidays slotting around that date.

Good Friday, which Christians believe is the commemoration of Jesuss crucifixion, will land on Friday, April 7.

Easter Monday bank holiday will then follow on Monday, April 10, which will complete a four-day weekend for people in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Easter is not actually a nationwide bank holiday in Scotland, although various councils do claim it as one, such as Edinburgh, Falkirk, and Dundee.

When do schools break up for Easter 2023?

Schools usually get around two weeks off for the Easter break. This can vary in different areas, so its worth double-checking dates with your childs school.

However, most schools in England, Scotland, and Wales will break up for Easter from Monday, April 3 to Monday, April 17.

Parents are urged to double-check dates with their local councils, many of which post term dates on their websites.

When are UK term dates in 2023?

Term dates vary for each school, so it is important for parents to check their childrens school website, but below are common dates.

Summer term starts on Tuesday, April 19.

The following half-term holiday is for a week, between Monday, May 30 and Friday, June 3.

This leaves several weeks of term until the summer holidays on Friday, July 22.

Bank holidays

Good Friday and Easter Monday are not the only national holidays to look forward to as temperatures become warmer.

The first May bank holiday this year falls on Monday, May 2, with another on Monday, May 8, to celebrate King Charless coronation.

The spring bank holiday falls on Thursday, June 2, and the summer bank holiday falls on August 29.
W e all know about Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but many of us arent aware of Maundy Thursday, which is today.

While we dont get a day off for Maundy Thursday, its still an important date in the Christian calendar.

Its considered the fifth day of Holy Week and is usually observed at different times by the Western and Orthodox churches.

As we look forward to the Easter weekend, heres everything you need to know about Maundy Thursday.

When is Maundy Thursday?

In Christian tradition, Maundy Thursday always falls on the Thursday before Easter Sunday.

This year, Maundy Thursday is on April 6.

What is Maundy Thursday?

Things to do in London this Easter 1 / 14 Things to do in London this Easter Take a ride in Wonka's world The View of Pure Imagination, London Eye, SE1, March 25  April 9, londoneye.com

The London Eye is having a scrumdiddlyumptious makeover, as its pods are transformed into an immersive family experience based on the West End telling of Roald Dahls beloved Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Take a ride with Willy Wonkas assistant, Professor Pop, as the popular show is hoisted 135m into the air, complete with storytellers, actors and workshops.

(Golden) Tickets 29.65 for adults, 26.05 for children A search in the skies Wheres Wally at the Shard, SE1, March 19  April 10, the-shard.com

Traveller extraordinaire Wally has returned to London once again and is hiding among the capitals most iconic buildings. In fact, the stripy fellow and his pals Wenda, Woof, Wizard Whitebeard and Odlaw are so well concealed, would-be detectives will have to go as high as they can to find them. Head to the floor 72 of the Shard, via its space-age lifts, to scan the skyline for them.

A Family ticket is 74.95 Beautiful ballet My First Ballet, Sleeping Beauty, Peacock Theatre, WC2, peacocktheatre.com

Ballet is a beautiful thing, not always high-tech but thoroughly highly skilled, and all the more absorbing for it. This retelling of a familiar tale has been shortened for young audiences, and theres a narrator on hand to ensure nobody gets lost. It may be for young ones, but Tchaikovsky's score is captivating no matter your age.

Tickets from 10 Savour a childrens classic Railway Children, Across London, March 28, railwaychildrenfilm.com

For one day only, the spectacular Olivier award-winning theatre production of E. Nesbits iconic childrens story The Railway Children will be screened in all major cinemas nationwide. The show even has its own lifesize locomotive puffing onto the stage. Steaming marvellous.

Ticket prices vary Dance the weekend away Sadlers Wells Family Dance Weekend, EC1R, March 25  26, sadlerswells.com

Sadlers Wells annual two-day festival of family-friendly happenings returns with acclaimed contemporary dance company Ballet-Lorent performing Snow White, a production theyve put together with poet laureate Dame Carol Ann Duffy, and featuring Olivier-award winning actress Lindsay Duncan as the narrator. Alternatively, MOKO Dance are hosting dance workshop Digitopia for 5  8 year olds (and their grown-ups), which is all bright colours and fun.

Tickets 18 Shakespeare on the roof Shakespeare Up at The O2, SE10, March 26, theo2.co.uk

Celebrate 400 years of the Bard and have an adventure doing it: climb the roof of the O2 arena  you can see for around 15 miles  where theatre group Grassroots Shakespeare will be performing snippets from Shakespeares most famous works, including Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet. Culture never had a view so good.

Tickets from 35 RD Photography Dahls darkest creations return The Witches, Rose King Theatre, KT1, Mar 29 - Sun Apr 10, rosetheatrekingston.org

The darkest of Dahls imagination crawled onto the page when he wrote The Witches, and this stage adaption promises the same deliciously grizzly experience. It stays faithful to the story of how one boy and his grandmother work together to destroy children-hating Witches. It is frightening, heartwarming, joyous, playful and has a wonderful score which twists the tension up and up and up. No risk of anyone being bored.

Tickets from 8 Cats at the circus Zippos Circus 2016, Blackheath, SE3, March 25  April 5, zippos.co.uk

Zippos are celebrating 30 years on the road with all the usual high-flying antics  and an array of cats. Not just any cats, either: these are talented, agile moggies acrocats, as it were. Zippos offer old-fashioned fun, but it remains as impressive as ever, and the Wheel of Death has rarely been more terrifying. Just dont let anyone try the knife-throwing routine at home.

Tickets 9 for adults, 7.50 for children Feast with friends, take the family Hawker House, SE16, every Fri/Sat from 5pm, streetfeastlondon.com

Hawker House has long been an evening favourite for Londons foodies, but this year is proving more welcoming for families than ever. Its not that theyve changed the formula  its still a haven of top street food  but hungry grown-ups are bringing the family and everyones happy. Such variety of food means even the fussiest of eaters will find something to demolish, but really, its a perfect excuse for adults to finally have that long overdue catch-up with friends and take the little ones.

Prices vary Youve goat to see this The Oxford and Cambridge Goat Race, Spitalfields City Farm, E1, March 27, ticketsource.co.uk

If you find the boat race a little too straight-faced, head to this alternative, which sees two goats purporting to represent the famous universities trot it out across Spitalfields farm. It is, from start to finish, a laugh, for both spectators and organisers. Well, whatever floats your goat

Tickets 13 Go hunting Across London, standard.co.uk

It's a little known fact, but Easter doesn't actually celebrate the invention of chocolate eggs. Still, due to large-scale public ignorance, Easter egg hunts remain as popular as ever. Thank goodness: food tastes all the better if you've had to crawl about for it. For little ones and big kids alike, there's some serious detecting to be done across the capital  read our guide for more.

Prices vary

Maundy Thursday commemorates Christs last supper with the apostles in Jerusalem before being crucified and resurrected.

The name derives from the Latin mandatum, which means command.

According to St Johns Gospel, at the meal Jesus had with his followers, he told them: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Maundy Thursday also goes by other names including Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries.

How is Maundy Thursday celebrated?

Queen Elizabeth II greeted parishioners as she left Blackburn Cathedral after attending the Royal Maundy Service in 2014 in Blackburn / Jack Hill - WPA Pool / Getty Images

Until 1689, it was customary for the monarch to wash worshippers feet in Westminster Abbey.

Food and clothing were also handed out to the poor.

Nowadays, feet washing remains a tradition only in the Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Churches. On this day, masses are also held by many Anglican churches.

On Maundy Thursday, the monarch attends a Royal Maundy service at one of Britains cathedrals or royal chapels.

This year, the Kings first Royal Maundy Service will be held at York Minster.

Why does the monarch give out Maundy money?

Especially minted Maundy money from 2016 / Richard Pohle - WPA Pool / Getty Images

During the Royal Maundy Service, men and women from all over the country are given special coins in small purses handed to them by the monarch.

These coins are designed for the occasion, and are legal tender and highly collectable.

During the service, the King will present each recipient with two purses: one red and one white. The white purse will contain a set of specially minted silver Maundy coins equivalent in value to the age of the monarch  75.

The red purse will contain two commemorative coins, symbolising the Sovereigns historic gift of food and clothing. This year, one will celebrate King Charless forthcoming 75th birthday and the other will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Windrush Generation.

What are the other Easter 2023 dates?

Pixabay

During the 40 days of lent, there are various days that are commemorated in the Christian calendar. These include:
T he Royal Familys titles have changed a lot over time, and it can be hard to keep track of whos who.

On the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Charles became king, which will be officially recognised at the coronation.

However, many other titles within the Royal Family have also changed.

Here are the Royal Familys official titles, and how they have changed over time.

Charles  King

Charles, who was the Prince of Wales, is now King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

He is also King of other Commonwealth realms.

He prefers to use His Majesty rather than His Royal Highness.

Although Charles became king the moment his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died, he will be crowned in May.

Charles is also Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England

The monarch has been known by the title Defender of the Faith ever since it was bestowed on Henry VIII as Fidei Defensor by the Pope in 1521 for his early support for Roman Catholicism.

When Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church in 1534, he was named Supreme Head of the Church of England. This was repealed by Mary I but reinstated during the reign of Elizabeth I, who was proclaimed Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

In 1994, Charles, a passionate advocate of religious tolerance, caused controversy when he told of his desire to become Defender of Faith rather than Defender of the Faith when king.

But he later indicated in 2015 that he would still be sworn in as Defender of the (Anglican) Faith when he became king.

It always seems to me that, while at the same time being Defender of the Faith, you can also be protector of faiths, Charles said.

According to the Privy Council website, the new monarch will proclaim an oath at the Accession Council which will begin: I, (his name as King) by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of my other Realms and Territories King, Defender of the Faith...

Charles is now the Duke of Lancaster

Revenue from the Duchy of Lancaster  the hereditary landed estate  forms a vital component of the sovereigns income. Elizabeth II was also the Duke of Lancaster.

This is only a custom for sovereigns, rather than a legal title. When Henry V, who held the title before he acceded to the throne in 1413, became king, the dukedom merged with the crown and has not been officially recreated.

Camilla  Queen Consort

Camilla is, as the wife of the King, the Queen.

Her style is now Her Majesty rather than Her Royal Highness.

She is a Queen Consort, as was the Queen Mother, rather than a Queen Regnant who rules in her own right, such as Elizabeth II.

Ahead of Charles and Camillas wedding in 2005, royal aides said Camilla did not want to be Queen and intended, when the time came, to be known as Princess Consort instead  a title which has never been used before in British history.

But, just a few weeks before their nuptials, the Government confirmed that legislation would be needed for Camilla not to become Queen automatically on Charless accession, no matter what she wished to style herself.

Elizabeth II ended years of controversy in February 2022 when she publicly endorsed her daughter-in-law to be known as Queen Consort in her Platinum Jubilee message to the nation.

William  The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge

The Duke of Cambridge, as heir to the throne, is now the Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge.

As Charless eldest son, he has inherited the title the Duke of Cornwall.

Williams great-great-grandfather, George V, combined the Cornwall title with his existing dukedom in 1901.

He became the Duke of Cornwall and York, when his father became Edward VII  but only remained so for nine months, after which he was created, and was known as, the Prince of Wales, on the orders of the king.

As the 25th Duke of Cornwall, William is entitled to the multimillion-pound annual net surplus from the Duchy of Cornwall landed estate. The income will cover the cost of both his public and private life.

William is also Prince of Wales

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have become Prince and Princess of Wales following the Queens death, the King has announced.

King Charles III said his son, Prince William, will assume the title he himself held until his succession to the throne, although this is not automatic.

And the title is controversial, having been taken from the Welsh in 1301, when King Edward I, after his conquest of Wales and execution of the last native prince of Wales, David III, gave the title instead to his son, the future Edward II. Since that time most, but not all, of the eldest sons of English sovereigns have been given the title.

Williams Scottish titles

William has also inherited the Scottish titles the Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

Duke of Rothesay  This title of the Scottish peerage was first conferred by Robert III, King of Scots, on his son David in 1398. An act of the Scottish Parliament in 1469 confirmed its restriction to the heir apparent to the throne of Scotland.

Since the 1603 Union of the Crowns, the title has descended alongside the Dukedom of Cornwall.

Earl of Carrick and Baron of Renfrew  Other titles of the Scottish peerage inherited by the heir to the throne under the 1469 Act.

Lord of The Isles  This ancient title, held by those who ruled the Western Isles as vassals of the King of Scotland, was annexed to the Crown by James V of Scotland in 1540, to be passed to his heirs.

Prince and Great Steward of Scotland  The hereditary office of Great (or High) Steward dates from the 12th century. The 1469 Act confirmed that the title should go to the first-born prince of the King of Scots for ever.

Kate  The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, and Princess of Wales

The Duchess of Cambridge is now the Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.

Until the Queens death, Camilla was the Duchess of Cornwall.

When William became the Prince of Wales, Kate became the Princess of Wales, which was last used by Williams mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, when she was married to Charles.

Camilla was also technically the Princess of Wales but never used the title because of its association with Diana.

Kate will also hold the title the Countess of Chester, if William becomes the Earl of Chester.

She is also now the Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland  also previously Camillas title.

George, Charlotte, and Louis

William and Kates children have become Prince George of Cornwall and Cambridge, and of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Cornwall and Cambridge, and of Wales, and Prince Louis of Cornwall and Cambridge, and also Prince of Wales.

The Sussexes with their children, now named the Prince of Princess of Sussex / Alexi Lubomirski / Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Archie

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Archie and Lilibet had officially been named Prince and Princess of Sussex on the Royal Familys website.

Previously, they were listed as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.

The rules governing the titles of royal children were set out by King George V  Queen Elizabeths grandfather  in 1917.

Archie and Lilibet were not prince and princess at birth, because they were not grandchildren of the monarch, but they gained the right to these titles when King Charles acceded to the throne.

When Archie was born, he was too far down the line of succession for such a title according to George Vs restrictions, but now, as the son of a son of a sovereign, he can be an HRH and a prince.

Archie was allowed to become Earl of Dumbarton  one of the dukes subsidiary titles  when he was born, or could have been known as Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

Lilibet

Archies younger sister Lilibet Lili Mountbatten-Windsor is now Princess of Sussex.

It comes after the couple announced that Lilibet, who was born in June 2021, had been christened at their home in California.

Prince Edward is now the Duke of Edinburgh

King Charles has given the title of Duke of Edinburgh to his brother Prince Edward, honouring the late Queen and Prince Philips wishes.

Charles conferred the title on the former Earl of Wessex to coincide with Edwards 59th birthday in March. 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 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.
A co-defendant of Alec Baldwin has been convicted of unsafe handling of a gun and handed six months probation over the fatal 2021 shooting on the set of movie Rust.

Assistant David Halls was handed the sentence in a plea deal which will also see him fined $500 and given 24 hours of community service.

The charge relates to the death of Halyna Hutchins, who was killed by Baldwin when he unknowingly fired a live round while rehearsing on the set of Western film, Rust.

Prosecutors said that Mr Halls as first assistant director was responsible for set safety on the Hollywood film.

Aerial photo shows the movie set of Rust at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe / AP

Halls did not check every round in the gun to confirm it was a dummy round and not a live round," state prosecutor Kari Morrissey said during the plea hearing at Santa Fe District Court.

Under the plea agreement, Mr Halls agreed to testify truthfully at any upcoming hearings or trials.

This includes criminal proceedings against Baldwin and movie armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed over Ms Hutchins death.

It remains unclear whether Mr Halls will testify on behalf of the prosecution in a May preliminary hearing where it will be decided whether there is probable cause to try Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed.

If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed could face a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and fines.

Ms Hutchins died shortly after she was shot on October 21, 2021, during rehearsals on the film-set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.

Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the weapon went off. A single live round killed her and wounded director Joel Souza.

He has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and has said he relied on experts on the film set to ensure the firearm was safe to use.

Gutierrez-Reed is also expected to plead not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
F ar-right MPs have walked out of Austrias parliament during a speech by Ukrainian Preisdent Volodymyr Zelensky, protesting that it violated the countrys neutrality.

Mr Zelensky addressed the chamber via video link on Thursday, thanking Austria for its humanitarian aid and help with projects such as clearing land mines.

He also invited MPs to travel to Ukraine to see the widespread destruction caused by Russia since its invasion in February 2022.

The president of Austrias lower house of parliament, Wolfgang Sobotka, pledged more financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and said the country deserved Austrias solidarity.

But MPs of the pro-Russia Freedom Party (FPO) walked out of the chamber and left small placards on their desks featuring the party logo and either space for neutrality or space for peace.

Austria says its neutrality prevents it from military involvement in the conflict and while it supports Ukraine politically it cannot send the country weapons in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Austrias permanent neutrality has been part of its constitution since 1955. It means the country cannot hold membership in a military alliance, have no permanent deployment of foreign troops and no participation in foreign wars.

The Freedom Party had warned days before that it would hold some form of protest against Mr Zelenskys address.

It is sad that the FPO is the only party in parliament that takes our ever-lasting neutrality seriously, thereby also standing up for peace, leader Herbert Kickl said in a statement on Tuesday.

Of the five parties in parliament, the FPO has the third-biggest number of seats in the lower house.

It currently has a slight lead in opinion polls over the opposition Social Democrats and Chancellor Karl Nehammers conservatives, who govern in coalition with the left-wing Greens.

The Freedom Party has sparked criticism in the past for its pro-Russian stance. In 2018, when the FPOs Karin Kneissl was foreign minister, she danced with President Vladimir Putin at her wedding.

The current parliament runs until autumn of next year.
D onald Trump will not be handcuffed when he surrenders next week in New York to face criminal charges, his defence lawyer has said.

Joe Tacopina said he expected the arrest to proceed as a matter of routine on Tuesday, when Mr Trump is due to appear to face an indictment following a grand jury investigation of a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.

I don't know how all this is going to go down. There's no textbook to see how you arraign a former president of the United States in criminal court, Mr Tacopina said.

New York court officials confirmed that Mr Trump would be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon.

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels pictured in 2018 / AP

Mr Tacopina said the former president and his defence team were shocked by news of the indictment. He added Mr Trump is upset and angry but not worried.

The specific charges against Mr Trump are not yet known as the indictment remains under seal, but reports indicate he faces more than 30 counts.

The news is set to shake the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, in which Mr Trump is a front-runner according to many polls.
A Wall Street Journal reporter held in a former KGB prison in Russia on espionage charges has had his appeal against pre-trial detention rejected by a Russian court.

Evan Gershkovich appeared in court in Moscow on Tuesday, the first time he had been seen in public for weeks.

He was arrested at a restaurant on March 30 by Russias Federal Security Service (FSB), which said it had opened a case against him for collecting what it said were state secrets about a military industrial complex.

Mr Gershkovich appeared in bullet-proof glass enclosure and did not say anything to the reporters present.

The court rejected his legal teams offer to free him on bail of 50 million roubles ($614,000) or put him under house arrest.

The reporter has been ordered to be held at least until May 29 on espionage charges.

Mr Gershkovich  the first US journalist to be detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War  has denied he was involved in espionage, as have Washington and the WSJ.

Heres what you need to know about Evan Gershkovich.

Who is Evan Gershkovich?

Evan Gershkovich, 31, is an experienced reporter on Russian issues, who was working in the city of Yekaterinburg at the time of his detention. He is well known among foreign correspondents in Moscow. BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg described him as an excellent reporter and a highly principled journalist.

On Thursday (March 30), he appeared at the Lefortovo courthouse in Moscow for a brief hearing at which the charges were officially presented. The Kremlin claimed he had been caught red-handed but the Wall Street Journal vehemently denied the allegations against him.

The FSB, which is the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, alleged that Mr Gershkovich was acting on the US orders to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex that constitutes a state secret.

The court ordered him to be held in pre-trial detention until at least 29 May, local media reported.

Mr Gershkovich speaks fluent Russian and previously worked for the French agency Agence France-Presse and the New York Times. He covers Russia, Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations as a correspondent in the WSJs Moscow bureau. In his most recent WSJ piece, published on March 28, he reported on Russias declining economy and how the Kremlin was having to deal with ballooning military expenditures while maintaining social spending.

What has the response been to Evan Gershkovichs arrest?

Friends and colleagues of Mr Gershkovich called the allegations absurd, describing him as a professional and the allegations against him as ridiculous.

Tthe Wall Street Journal said it stood in solidarity with the reporter and his family: The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich.

The White House has condemned his detention in the strongest terms.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed the Wall Street Journal in saying he was deeply concerned by the arrest.

But even before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, reporting from Russia had become more difficult, with independent journalists labelled foreign agents.

Jeanne Cavelier, head of the eastern Europe and central Asia desk at the Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, said Mr Gershkovich is the first foreign journalist to be arrested in Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine.

It looks like a retaliation measure of Russia against the United States, so we are very alarmed because it is probably a way to intimidate all western journalists that are trying to investigate aspects of the war on the ground in Russia, she told the Associated Press.

The western powers should immediately ask for clarifications on the charges because, as far as we know, he was just doing his job as a journalist.
Merkel's answer to right-wing surge: Forge a new centre

Winfried Kretschmann's success in turning his Green Party for the first time into the biggest party in a German parliament could help Chancellor Angela Merkel reshape the country's political landscape.

GALLERY

With his trademark grey brush haircut, Kretschmann"s political ascendency has coincided with the decline of the SPD, which is currently a junior member of Merkel"s ruling national coalition.

Berlin (dpa) - Winfried Kretschmann has spent the last five years carefully crafting the image of a pragmatic business-friendly leader of the conservative south-western German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.On Sunday it paid off for the 67-year-old former biology teacher when his Green Party emerged for the first time as the biggest party in one of the nations parliaments after a 6.3-per-cent swing to the Greens in Baden-Wuerttembergs state elections.Home to some of Germanys biggest brand names such as Mercedes Benz, Porsche and Hugo Boss, Baden-Wuerttemberg was one of three of Germanys 16 states that went to the polls on Sunday, with elections also held in neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt in the east.But with five parties - including the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) - set to enter each of the state parliaments, the polls could mark the end of the countrys post-World War II tradition of two-party coalitions.The outcome of the polls raises the prospect of multi-party coalitions in the regional parliaments.In particular, the Baden-Wuerttemberg result could open the way for the Greens to become an option as a coalition partner to Chancellor Angela Merkels conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) for next years national election."On the party level I think this is an important testing ground," said Daniela Schwarzer, who heads the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.A practicing Catholic, Kretschmann has cast himself as father of the state and has ruled out moving to the national political stage.Kretschmann is already the first-ever Green Party head of government after forging in 2011 a coalition with the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD), consequently ousting the CDU from power after 58 years at the helm of the state.Now, Kretschmanns Greens have tightened their grip on Baden-Wuerttemberg by securing 30.5 per cent of the vote - far ahead of the 27 per cent for the CDU, which suffered a humiliating 12-per-cent swing against the party."Baden-Wuerttemberg has again made history," said Kretschmann.With his trademark grey brush haircut, Kretschmanns political ascendency has coincided with the decline of the SPD, which is currently a junior member of Merkels ruling national coalition.The SPD vote slumped 10.4 per cent to 12.7 per cent coming in behind the bigger-than-forecast 14.9 per cent garnered by the AfD, which turned the populist rightwing party into the states third-biggest political force.However, Sundays result will make Kretschmanns task of forging a new coalition in the state very complicated.He has not ruled out teaming up with the CDU or the formation of a multi-party coalition, also incorporating the pro-business Free Democrats.But his success in Germanys third-largest state could help Merkel forge a new political centre in Germany as the refugee crisis drives right-wing voters away from the CDU and into the arms of the AfD, which surged into the parliaments in each of the states voting on Sunday."There is a new phenomenon in Germany is protest voters, who voice their discontent with the established parties," said Schwarzer."It is a phenomenon which has already emerged in other countries," she said. "Voting is a valve for them to release their discontent."Merkel carried out intensive coalition talks with the Greens after the last national election in 2013.A short time later, the Greens decided to team up with the CDU in Hesse under a close ally of Merkel, Volker Bouffier, which acts as a model for the Greens to enter a conservative-led coalition after the 2017 election.The Baden-Wuerttemberg premier has also praised Merkels crisis management and her handling of the refugee crisis.Polls show that more than 60 per cent of Green Party voters also back Merkels liberal stance on the migrant issue.The anti-nuclear Greens rode to power five years ago on the back of the apocalytic images that emerged from Japan in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and deep opposition to the former CDU-led governments plans for building a new central railway in the state capital Stuttgart.The chancellor has since moved closer to mainstream Green positions.In addition to spearheading global efforts to address climate change, Merkel went on to mount a major political U-turn after Fukushima, abandoning her support for nuclear energy and co-opt the Greens platform on ending atomic energy.
Qabil Ashirov

Iran's haughty and self-glorifying army generals in concert with diplomats continue to blatantly threaten and blackmail Azerbaijan and demand explanations for Baku's foreign policy priorities. This is ludicrous and comical as Azerbaijan has always been behind independent and fair policies driven by its national interests that are unharmful and non-toxic for third countries, in particular for neighbors. Tehran's theocratic regimes have always failed to assess Baku's friendly and good-neighborly policies. Alas...

In the meantime, hardly a day goes without Iran's unfounded accusations and attempts to interfere in Azerbaijan's domestic affairs. The recent vile and defamatory anti-Azerbaijani remarks by the commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Force, Brig Gen Kioumars Heydari, are also neither surprising nor unexpected.

They are not the first time, nor will it be the last and soon after this vile accusation of the figurehead general, the Iranian Foreign Ministry repeated the same rhetoric.

In a comment on the remarks by the Iranian figurehead and untested on the battlefield general, expert Farhad Mammadov opined that Iran's latest statement and the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel have irritated Iran.

However, the current accusations, especially the allegation that members of ISIS were involved in the 44-day war on the Azerbaijani side in 2020 and that they are still in Azerbaijan, are ridiculous. The claim that ISIS and Israel are in the same territory should be considered a baseless accusation and once again proves that Iran's stance on the region is wide off the mark and is inconsistent with reality.

Iran says that it cannot turn a blind eye to a change of borders in the region. According to Khomenei, this is a red line for them. However, there was a danger of changing the borders of the two countries by force in the South Caucasus. The danger is still there with one of the South Caucasus nations. My point is that Armenia wanted and still wants to change Azerbaijan's borders by force, and Russia intends to change the borders of Georgia by force and even Russia occupied two regions of Georgia. The occupation is still going on. Both Russia and Armenia are Iran's partner countries. This accusation primarily concerns the countries with which Iran is a partner in the region and they have nothing in common with Azerbaijan, the expert said.

Farhad Mammadov noted that it is unknown what Iran wants from the region. If Iran is against the change of borders in the region, Azerbaijan offers Armenia to sign a peace agreement, and the basis of this peace agreement is territorial integrity, mutual recognition of territories, and political solution to all issues.

Iran has not yet expressed a clear opinion on the peace issue being discussed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We do not know whether Iran supports it or is against it. Here, Iran's insincerity manifests itself once again, Farhad Mammadov added.

Moreover, Azerbaijan has never had a territorial claim on Armenia, and the proof of this is the fact that Azerbaijan wants to install checkpoints both on the Lachin-Khankandi road and on the Zangezur corridor. With this, Azerbaijan once again proves that the sovereign rights over the corridor belong to Armenia.

The pundit also added that Iran's opinion about the Zangazur corridor is obscure and dark.

If they are against the exterritorial corridor issue through Armenia, then Azerbaijan's proposal to erect checkpoints on the border disproves this claim. If they are against communications going from the western regions of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, passing through the territory of Armenia, then they should state this openly. Anyway, a new question crops up. If they are against our proposal, why did they sign a memorandum on communication with Azerbaijan regarding the use of Iran's territory to Nakhchivan, Farhad Mammadov questioned.

The pundit noted that those insincere, baseless, and false views of Iran indicate that Iran's South Caucasus policy has reached an impasse. In addition, the political leadership of Armenia has not asked Iran for help in case of an attack on Armenian territory. Also, there is no document regulating Iran's military support to Armenia. That is, they are neither allies nor members of any military-political bloc, nor there is a bilateral agreement under which Iran can provide military assistance to Armenia.

Having noted all this, I want to note that the baseless, ridiculous, slanderous accusations about Israel and ISIS are the product of the groundless and spurious official rhetoric. If Iran intends to implement a clear-cut policy vis-a-vis Azerbaijan, i.e. if it wants to eliminate the tension and normalize relations with Azerbaijan, it should show it in statements and actions.

First, Iran should step on a terrorist/s and assassin's paymaster/s for the crime against the security officer of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran. Iran should avoid threatening anti-Azerbaijani statements and end with its hypocritical policies. Without these, of course, we will witness similar statements and military threats, and tensions will remain high, the pundit opined.
Details added: first version posted on 11:34

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. A conference on "Legal aspects of the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the context of historical facts" is being held in Azerbaijan's Guba, Trend reports.

The participants of the conference, organized jointly by the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan, the Community of Western Azerbaijan and the Executive Power of the Guba District, first visited the monument to national leader Heydar Aliyev in Guba city and laid flowers to the monument.

Then, they honored the memory of the genocide victims at the Genocide Memorial Complex.

The conference with the participation of Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva, Chairman of the Community of Western Azerbaijan Aziz Alakbarli, Head of the Guba District Executive Power Ziyaddin Aliyev and other officials has been organized at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Guba city.

Tragedies and genocides have been inscribed in the history of Azerbaijan, along with numerous glorious pages, over the past 200 years.

One of these terrible events occurred from March through April 1918. Dozens of thousands of peaceful Azerbaijanis were brutally killed only on the basis of their nationality during these events, which went down in the history of Azerbaijan as the genocide of March 31.

One hundred and five years ago, Armenian Dashnaks and Bolsheviks committed unprecedented atrocities against the Azerbaijani population in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Karabakh, Zangazur, Nakhchivan, Lankaran, Ganja, and other regions, killing over 70,000 people with extreme violence, including women, old people, and children, burned the villages, expelled the inhabitants from their homes.

Armenian armed formations wiped out 229 villages in Baku province, 272 in Ganja province, 115 in Zangazur province, and 157 villages in Karabakh.
A t least 35 people have been killed and 16 injured after the roof of a historic stepwell in an Indian temple complex collapsed on festival goers.

Hindu followers were celebrating Ram Navami in the city of Indore on Thursday when a concrete slab covering the roof of a stepwell crushed them, Indian officials confirmed on Friday.

Videos showed chaos afterward, with people rushing toward the exits. An excavator pulled down a wall of the decades-old temple to help people flee.

Thousands of Hindu devotees across India thronged Ram temples since early morning to pay their obeisance to Lord Ram and complete rituals.

Stepwells are a common feature across India, built hundreds of years ago, many of them ornately decorated, with access to a body of water through stairs and niches.

The stepwell was covered, but the slab covering it collapsed because of the crowd and extra load on it, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the central Indian state where Indore is located, told reporters.

I have given instructions to investigate the incident. In this unfortunate incident, the government stands with all those families with full sensitivity, whom we could not save, he added.

Nearly 140 rescuers worked through the day to remove debris, using ropes and ladders to pull out people who had fallen into the well after pumping out the water.

Dozens of people fell into the water when the structure over the well collapsed and were covered by falling debris, police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar said.

Photos show emergency services carrying stretchers of the injured through large crowds of onlookers and into awaiting ambulances.

AP

Kantibhai Patel, president of a residents association, told reporters that authorities were slow to react and the first ambulance reached the spot an hour after the alert.

We have rescued 18 people, 35 have been found dead and 16 are injured, Ilayaraja T, a top local government official, told Reuters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and announced compensation for the dead and injured in the incident.

Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore, he wrote on Twitter.

The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers with all those affected and their families.

The Times of India newspaper reported the rescue work was expedited after underwater cameras showed bodies floating in the muddy waters of the well.

Temple authorities had stopped using the well years ago and covered the mouth with iron grills and tiles.

Local authorities in January ordered temple owners to remove the covering of the well because it was an unsafe and unauthorised structure, but temple authorities ignored the warning, the newspaper said.

Building collapses are common in India because of poor construction and a failure to observe regulations.

In October, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western state of Gujarat, sending hundreds of people plunging into the water and killing at least 132 in one of the worst accidents in the country in the past decade.
I taly has become the first Western country to block ChatGPT over privacy concerns.

The temporary ban comes as the Italian authorities launch a probe into ChatGPT over a suspected breach of data collection rules.

The countrys data protection agency also accused ChatGPT of failing to check the age of its users, which should be reserved to people aged 13 and above.

It said it had provisionally restricted the chatbots use of Italian users personal data.

The move came after an alleged leak of personal data last week, said to have exposed some user conversations and some financial details for several hours.

The watchdog said OpenAI, the US company behind ChatGPT, would have 20 days to respond to the ban and illustrate what actions it had adopted to tackle the issues.

If it fails to respond, the watchdog has the power to issue fines of up to 20m (17.56m).

The chatbot has been used by millions of people worldwide since it launched in November 2022.

The advanced chatbot can mimic human conversation and can provide answers to wide-ranging queries using the internet as it was in 2021 as its database.

Earlier this week, a group of tech figures and scientists including Elon Musk called for a six-month pause on developing AI systems similar to ChatGPT-4, the latest model, saying it could pose profound risks to society and humanity.

Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in the technology, which was added to search engine Bing last month.

In the UK, ministers said on Wednesday they wanted to avoid heavy-handed legislation which could stifle innovation in relation to developing AI.

The EU is drawing up new rules on how AI can be used in Europe, with companies that violate them facing fines of up to 30m.

The Standard has contacted OpenAI for comment.
O scar Pistorius has been denied parole ten years after he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The former Olympic and Paralympic runner was denied parole because he has not served a minimum detention period, authorities in South Africa said following a hearing on Friday.

Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion who made history by running against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics, was convicted of murder for the Valentines Day 2013 shooting of Ms Steenkamp, 29, at his home in Pretoria.

The 36-year-old claims he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

He said he did not realise she got out of bed and went to the bathroom.

Pistorius was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison and is eligible for parole under South African law after serving half his sentence.

A parole hearing was held on Friday at Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria, where Pistorius has been held since 2016.

The decision was expected to take days to finalise.

Oscar Pistorius leaves the high court in Pretoria on June 14, 2016 / AFP via Getty Images

Double-amputee Pistorius fired four shots with his licensed 9mm pistol through a toilet door at his upscale Pretoria home to kill Ms Steenkamp, who was also a reality TV star, in the early hours.

He was ultimately sentenced in 2017 after a series of appeals and has, taking into account time served, served more than seven years since late 2014.

An initial manslaughter conviction was overturned after an appeal by the prosecution and replaced with a murder conviction.

Ms Steenkamps parents had been expected to oppose Pistoriuss parole application.

Their lawyer Rania Koen said unless he comes clean about the deadly shooting of his model girlfriend, her parents dont feel that he is rehabilitated.

Oscar Pistorius Trial - In pictures 1 / 41 Oscar Pistorius Trial - In pictures Oscar Pistorius arrives outside the court in Pretoria, South Africa on 21 October 2014 AP Oscar Pistorius' prosthetics lie on the floor as he walks on his amputated legs during argument in mitigation of sentence by his defense attorney Barry Roux in the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa AP South African Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius holds his sister Aimee Pistorius (3rd R) as he leaves the High Court in Pretoria on 6 July 2016 AFP/Getty Images South African Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius leaves the High Court in Pretoria on 6 July 2016 after beeing sentenced to six years in jail for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp AFP/Getty Images Oscar Pistorius gives his first media interview after the killing of Reeva Steenkamp ITV Oscar Pistorius reaches out to Barry Steenkamp during the third day of Oscar's hearing for a resentence at Pretoria High Court on 15 June 2016 Getty Images South African Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius leaves the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on 18 April 2016 Reuters Judge Thokozile Masipa reads her sentence of South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius on day six of sentencing procedures at the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa on 21 October 2014 EPA Oscar Pistorius cries in the dock in Pretoria during his trial on 11 September 2014 AP Oscar Pistorius competes in the Men's 200m during the London 2012 Paralympic Games Oscar Pistorius leaves court in Pretoria on 7 July 2014 AP June Steenkamp with her husband Barry, parents of Reevaa Steenkamp, look on as South African Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius enters a court in Pretoria on 8 August 2014 Reuters South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius sits in the dock during his ongoing murder trial, in Pretoria on 12 May 2014 AFP/Getty Images Oscar Pistorius arrives at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa on 10 April 2014 AP South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius leaves court after breaking down in the dock during his ongoing murder trial, Pretoria, South Africa on 08 April 2014 EPA Oscar Pistorius Trial South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius speaks with a member of his legal team ahead of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on 6 March 2014 AFP/Getty Images Oscar Pistorius Trial CCTV footage of Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp flirting and kissing, just days before he killed her Oscar Pistorius Trial Oscar Pistorius covers his head with his hands and a notebook as he listens to forensic evidence during his trial in court on 13 March 2014 AP Oscar Pistorius Trial A policeman demonstrates the effect of hitting a bathroom door with a cricket bat on 12 March 2014 Reuters Oscar Pistorius Trial Oscar Pistorius sits in the dock ahead of the second day of the trial on 4 March 2014 Reuters Oscar Pistorius Trial Shot three times: Reeva Steenkamp Oscar Pistorius Trial Reeva Steenkamp, 29 Oscar Pistorius Trial Oscar Pistorius escorted out of the high court after the first day of his trial in Pretoria, South Africa on 3 March 2014 AP Oscar Pistorius Trial Relatives of Oscar Pistorius wait inside the high court prior to the start of his trial in Pretoria, South Africa on 3 March 2014 AP Oscar Pistorius Trial June Steenkamp, the mother of as Reeva Steenkamp, arrives at the high court for the start of the trial of Oscar Pistorius in Pretoria, South Africa on 3 March 2014 AP Oscar Pistorius Trial South Africa's Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius hides his face in his hands in the court room during his hearing on charge of murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day on 15 February 2013 AFP/Getty Images Oscar Pistorius Trial Oscar Pistorius enters the dock before court proceedings at the in his first formal appearance since his release on bail Reuters Oscar Pistorius Trial Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius leaves the Boschkop police station, east of Pretoria Oscar Pistorius Trial South Africa's Oscar Pistorius gives the thumbs up sign after finishing his men's 400m heats at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium Reuters Oscar Pistorius Trial South Africa's Oscar Pistorius crosses the line with his arms raised as he wins gold in the Men's 400m T44 Final in the Olympic Stadium Getty Images Oscar Pistorius at his house in Pretoria in February 2012

Barry and June Steenkamp believe he killed her intentionally after a late-night row.

Ms Koen said June, who hails from Blackburn, Lancashire, would submit written and oral statements at the hearing to oppose Pistoriuss bid for freedom.

She doesnt feel that he must be released, Ms Koen told reporters outside the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre.
A round 30,000 soldiers from Vladimir Putins Wagner Group private army and regular Russian units have been killed or wounded in the battle for the eastern town of Bakhmut, says a top British military expert.

Ian Stubbs, senior military adviser at the UK Delegation to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), stressed that the staggering casualties had been the cost of the Wagner mercenaries advancing just 25km (15.5 miles) in nine months.

Latest reports suggested that Wagner soldiers were still inching their way forward in fierce fighting towards the centre of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk province.

But Ukrainian military chiefs stressed that their forces were still holding the town.

In a speech in Vienna, Mr Stubbs said: In recent weeks, the staggering casualties suffered by Russia around Bakhmut appear to have had significant impact.

Their assault seemingly stalled, reports suggest that the Russian military and Wagner group urgently need to replenish personnel and munition stocks.

Approximately 30,000 Russian fighters have been killed or wounded since the battle for Bakhmut began nine months ago, with the Wagner-dominated force advancing just 25km in this time.

As Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to hint that a Ukrainian counter-offensive may be launched very soon, as Putins spring advances have made little significant gains, Mr Stubbs slammed astounding levels of incompetence in Russias military leadership.

He added: It is nearly 400 days since Russias barbaric and illegal invasion of Ukraine. Since then, we have seen the extraordinary determination of the Ukrainian people as they defend their homeland. With support from their partners, Ukraine has shown that agility and ingenuity can have a devastating effect against a so-called super power.

Ukrainian President Mr Zelensky spoke in his Thursday evening video address of the tremendous path his country had taken in 400 days of resistance since Russias invasion on February 24, 2022.

Ukraine will win at the front ... we will not leave a single trace of Russia on our land, and we will not leave any enemy unpunished either. We are preparing news about this, he said.

He did not give details, but the Ukrainian military has been planning a counter-offensive.

Ukraine said on Thursday that Russian forces continued their assault on Bakhmut and nearby towns as well as on the contested city of Avdiivka and surrounding area.

The mining town of Bakhmut has been the site of the bloodiest infantry battle in Europe since World War Two, with Russian forces seeking their first victory since mid-2022.

Our defences are holding the city and repelling numerous enemy attacks, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a report on Facebook on Thursday evening.

The Ukrainian military had said a day earlier that Russian fighters were having some success in Bakhmut.

Evhen Dikyi, a Ukrainian military analyst interviewed on Ukrainian NV Radio on Thursday, said Russian forces control more than half the city.

I can tell you that Bakhmut is holding firm. But there is heavy fighting in the city and it is getting closer to the city centre, he said.

If Russian forces are reported to have made some progress it is probably because they have crossed the Bakhmutka River. They have come wave upon wave and we are talking about a few hundred metres, Mr Dikyi added.

A month ago, the Ukrainian military seemed likely to abandon Bakhmut but has since decided to stay and fight for it, hoping to break the attacking force and inflict heavy casualties on it.

Russian forces were reported to be suffering between five to eight casualties compared to each Ukrainian one.

On the political front, Turkeys parliament approved a bill on Thursday to allow Finland to join NATO, with Swedens bid to do so not as far advanced.

The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the Western defence alliance to ratify Finlands membership after Hungarys legislature approved a similar bill earlier this week. Sweden has also sought NATO membership.

NATO countries individually, notably the United States, UK and European nations, and the alliance collectively have provided major military and financial support to the Kyiv government.

Soon both Finland and Sweden will be (NATO) members, meaning that President Putin is getting the exact opposite of what he wanted, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Fox News.

He wanted less NATO. He is getting more NATO.

Russia has repeatedly accused the West and NATO of playing a direct role in the Ukraine conflict by supplying weapons to Kyiv and has warned that NATO weapons are legitimate targets for its armed forces.

Nato member countries have given weapons, including tanks, bilaterally to Ukraine, rather than under the umbrella of the military alliance.
S tormy Daniels has said that Donald Trumps indictment shows that he is no longer untouchable  but warned that the case could lead to violence.

The former president was on Thursday indicted by a grand jury in New York over an alleged hush money payment to the porn star during his 2016 campaign.

It is the first time that a former president has faced criminal charges and has raised doubts over whether Mr Trump will be able to run for the White House again in 2024. Mr Trump has claimed he is completely innocent and accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of trying to harm his electoral chances.

Speaking to The Times, Ms Daniels said the case was monumental and epic and that she was proud of the charges.

He's done so much worse that he should have been taken down [for] before. I am fully aware of the insanity of it being a porn star. But its also poetic; this p*** grabbed back.

But she added: The other side of it is that its going to continue to divide people and bring them up in arms. Hes already gotten away with inciting a riot, and causing death and destruction.

Whatever the outcome is, its going to cause violence, and theres going to be injuries and death. Theres the potential for a lot of good to come from this. But either way, a lot of bad is going to come from it, too.

Protestors gather in front of Trump Tower in New York on Friday / AFP via Getty Images

Ms Daniels claimed she had received numerous death threats since speaking out against Mr Trump, but said it was especially scary as the former president himself was inciting violence and encouraging it.

Mr Trump will surrender to authorities in New York on Tuesday afternoon, with his lawyer Joe Tapocina confirming that he would not be handcuffed during the court hearing. He admitted that Mr Trump was shocked by news of the indictment.

The specific charges are not yet known, though CNN reported that Mr Trump is facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Mr Trump in 2006.

The former presidents personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Mr Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also claimed she had a sexual relationship with him.

Mr Trump has denied having affairs with either woman and has disputed knowing anything about the payments.

Stormy Daniels claimed she had received numerous death threats since speaking out against Mr Trump / AP

However, he later acknowledged reimbursing Mr Cohen for what he called a simple private transaction. Federal prosecutors claimed that Mr Cohen acted on Mr Trumps direction.

Mr Trump also faces several separate legal battles which could derail his bid for presidency.

In Atlanta, prosecutors are considering whether he committed any crimes when trying to get Georgia officials to overturn his 2020 election loss there to Joe Biden.

At the federal level, a Justice Department-appointed special counsel also is investigating Mr Trump's efforts to unravel the national election results.

But Mr Trump has sought to paint the legal investigations as a politically motivated witch-hunt and used them to rally his supporters.

I am not afraid of what's to come, he said in a fundraising email on Friday.

In a message to supporters on Thursday evening, he wrote: They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York!

US President Joe Biden declines to comment after reporters question him about the criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump / Getty Images

Any potential trial is still at least more than a year away, legal experts said, meaning it could occur during or after the presidential campaign.

Some 44 per cent of Republicans said Mr Trump should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.

Mr Trump appealed earlier this month for nationwide protests, recalling his charged rhetoric ahead of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, and warned last week of potential death and destruction if he were charged.

President Biden has declined to comment on the case.

Im not going to talk about Trumps indictment, Mr Biden said firmly as he departed the White House on Friday.
S ix bodies, including one of a child, were found in a marshy area close to Canadas border with New York state, the local police service said on Thursday night.

Officers are investigating the discovery in the St Lawrence River and await the results of post-mortem and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.

They said they were still trying to identify the dead and their status in Canada. It wasnt immediately known if they were migrants trying to cross the border, The Associated Press reported.

The first body was located around 5pm in a marsh area in Tsi Snaihne, Akwesasne, Quebec, police said in a statement on social media. There is no threat to the public at this time.

At least one of the deceased was a child with a Canadian passport, Police Chief Shawn Dulude said. The ages or the nationalities of the other victims were not immediately known.

Earlier in the afternoon, a helicopter spotted an overturned boat in the water, BNO News said.
But what happens now? When will Trumps mugshot and fingerprints taken? When might a trial happen? And how might his lawyers try to challenge the case?

What is Trump accused of?

A grand jury has voted to indict Trump, after months of hearing evidence about a $130,000 payment to adult film star Ms Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 election campaign.

The money was intended to buy her silence about a sexual encounter she claims they had years before, while Trump was married.

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels / AP

The charges Trump faces are not yet clear, though legal analysts have said it is likely the former president will be tried for falsifying business records on charges of hiding the true nature of the payments.

Trump has denied Danielss claim, and his lawyer has accused Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, of extortion.

When will Trumps fingerprints and mugshot be taken?

Prosecutors and Trumps legal team are negotiating a surrender date, when the former president would have to travel from his Florida home to the district attorneys office in New York to be fingerprinted and photographed, according to a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Trump would then make an initial appearance in court, where he would be formally charged. He would likely then be allowed to head home, experts said.

The New York Times and NBC News reported that Trump is expected to surrender next week, citing his lawyers. If Trump for some reason decided not to go in voluntarily, prosecutors could seek to have him extradited from Florida.

Republican Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, would typically have to give formal approval for an extradition demand.

In a Twitter post on Thursday, Mr DeSantis said he would not assist in any extradition request, calling the indictment politically motivated. But Florida legal experts said the governors role in the process is strictly administrative and questioned whether Mr DeSantis can lawfully refuse such a request.

If necessary, experts said, the Manhattan district attorneys office could also go to court to secure Trumps appearance in New York.

How could Trumps lawyers challenge the case?

In his early career in real estate, as a television celebrity and then in politics, the famously litigious Trump has employed aggressive counter-attacks and delay tactics when confronted with legal challenges.

Trump has accused Manhattan District Attorney Mr Bragg, an elected Democrat, of targeting him for political gain and could try to seek dismissal of the charges on those grounds.

Trump will likely pursue other avenues as well, some of which could present thorny legal issues that take time to resolve.

Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him, which Trump has denied.

While president, Trump reimbursed Cohen for the Daniels payments, and federal prosecutors who charged Cohen said in court papers that the payments were falsely recorded as for legal services.

Falsifying business records - the charge that legal analysts say is most likely - is typically a misdemeanor.

To elevate that charge to a felony, prosecutors must prove that Trump falsified records to cover up a second crime.

One possibility, according to the New York Times, is that prosecutors could assert the payment itself violated state campaign finance law, since it was effectively an illegal secret donation to boost his campaign.

But using state election law in that manner - and in a case involving a federal, not a state, candidate - is an untested legal theory, legal experts said, and Trumps lawyers would be sure to challenge it.

Trump could also challenge whether the statute of limitations - five years in this instance - should have run out. Under New York law, the statute of limitations can be extended if the defendant has been out of state, but Trump may argue that serving as US president should not apply.

Theres a whole host of possibilities, David Shapiro, a former FBI agent and prosecutor and a lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said before news of the indictment broke. This is a dream case for defence attorneys.

When would a trial take place?

Any potential trial is still at minimum more than a year away, legal experts said. This raises the possibility that the former US president could face a jury in a Manhattan courtroom during or even after the 2024 presidential campaign, as he seeks to return to the White House as president.

Trump - the first former US president to face criminal prosecution - is leading potential rivals for the Republican nomination, opinion polls show, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for the White House.

In the first three-quarters of 2022, the average criminal case in Manhattan took more than 900 days to move from indictment to a trial verdict, according to data from the states division of criminal justice services - and Trumps case is far from typical.

That could push any trial past Election Day in November 2024, though putting a president-elect or president on trial for state charges would enter uncharted legal waters. If elected, he would not hold the power to pardon himself of state charges.

This is so unprecedented that its hard for me to say, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, former Manhattan chief assistant district attorney, said when asked earlier this month whether a judge would put Trump on trial close to the election. I think its tricky.

The New York case is one of several focused on Trump, including a Georgia election interference probe and a pair of federal investigations into his role in the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol by his supporters trying to overturn his November 2020 election defeat. Another investigation is about his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House.
A nything Dr Jart+ touches turns to beauty gold.

The Korean skincare label is riding the wave of K-Beauty popularity and is at the forefront, bringing with the traditions and practices from The Land of the Morning Calm (think dewy skin, a ritualistic approach to skincare and the importance on skins health) to our everyday routines.

The brand is going back to its roots with a reinterpretation of the BB Cream - its first product to market way back in 2004 and the innovation that triggered our collective obsession with all things K-beauty way back in the mid-1980s. The new iteration takes a technologically advanced approach to its formulation and has become the most searched product on the Dr Jart+ site since it launched in North America around 6 months ago. The product is finally dropping on UK shores and we knew we had to try it for ourselves.

Dr Jart+

BB creams had a huge surge in popularity in the early 2010s but seemed to slip off our radar, eclipsed by fuller coverage favourites and the emergence of the contour revolution. But, much like in fashion, beauty trends are cyclical and the latest penchant for minimalistic makeup and a movement towards fresh-faced finishes has seen the humble balms return to our natural everyday makeup looks.

It will come as no surprise to casual cosmetic wearers that these multitasking makeup-skincare hybrids are having a comeback - the #bbcream has had 140K views on TikTok in the UK in just the last week. We want each and every product in our beauty bags to work harder for us and thats exactly where the Dr.Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm BB Cream SPF50 comes in.

Dr Jart+

To streamline your application, it works triple duty to hydrate, conceal and protect. With niacinamide at its heart to shield against pollution and lock in moisture, glycerin for hydration and SPF50 to guard against UVA and UVB rays, this is a tinted product to even out the complexion that is also kind on the skins barrier.

There are just four colourways; Fair-Light, Light Medium-Medium, Medium-Tan and Deep Tan-Deep that are created to adapt to a range of skin tones with a soft cream texture.

According to a consumer test by the brand of 114 participants over three days, 96 per cent of participants said it left a natural finish and left uniformity in the complexion, while feeling weightless and smoothing. Similarily 97 per cent felt it was moisturising and didnt leave a white cast. But does it pass the ES Best test?

Find out below.

Buy now - 35 | Dr Jart+
K ris Marshall will make a surprise visit to the fictional island of Saint Marie during the finale of his spin-off show, the BBC has announced.

The actor, 49, played Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman over three series of Death In Paradise between 2014 and 2017.

He left the Caribbean island after falling in love with tourist Martha Lloyd, whom he followed to England.

Now engaged, the couple moved to her not-so-sleepy home town of Shipton Abbott on the Devon coast, where he joins the police in solving crimes in six-part Beyond Paradise, which began airing in February.

In the new show, Goodman and Martha, played by Not Going Outs Sally Bretton, have been trying to have a child and their future as a couple has looked in jeopardy.

Their struggles appeared to increase in the fifth episode of the series on Friday with the show teasing that Goodman will consider his future.

Marshall, also known for My Family, said: I was honoured and delighted to return to (filming on) Guadeloupe as part of Humphreys journey in Beyond Paradise, and to rekindle my deep passion for the island.

In the final episode on Friday, April 7 the Shipton Abbott police team, which includes Derry Girls actor Dylan Llewellyn as Pc Kelby Hartford, are faced with a seemingly impossible case to crack.

Comedian Spencer Jones, known for Upstart Crow, also appears as criminal Atticus Styles, who matches a thiefs unusual calling card.

However, the forensic evidence instead points to Hayley Collins, played by Boiling Point actress Hannah Traylen.

Marshall was replaced as the detective inspector in Death In Paradise by Father Ted star Ardal OHanlon, who then saw The Royle Familys Ralf Little take over the role.

In the last episode of the twelfth series of the show, aired in February, Little as Detective Inspector Neville Parker weighed up his decision on whether to stay in Saint Marie before appearing to remain on the island.
GUBA, Azerbaijan, March 31. Armenia still refuses to provide Azerbaijan with accurate maps of mined areas, following the liberation of its territories, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva said at a conference on "Legal aspects of the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the context of historical facts" dedicated to March 31 - the Day of the Azerbaijani Genocide in Azerbaijan's Guba, Trend reports.

She noted that the existing mine problem, which led to numerous casualties, is a serious obstacle to peace and large-scale restoration and construction work on Azerbaijan's liberated territories, as well as delays the safe return of people to their native lands.

"I would like to note that in total during the second Karabakh war and in the post-war period, I prepared and sent to international organizations and courts 16 reports, 28 statements, and 33 appeals (7 of which were in video format), more than 300 press releases, as well as three videos. This activity successfully continues to this day," she said.

Sabina Aliyeva noted with regret that despite sufficient evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity committed by Armenians in relation to Azerbaijanis, as well as acts of terror and genocide, these actions have not yet been adequately addressed on an international level.

"Taking this opportunity, I once again call on international organizations, to take a decisive and fair position on these serious crimes against Azerbaijanis, and to recognize the act of genocide, based on the norms of international law," she said.
A uthor and actor Charlie Higson has been commissioned to write a new James Bond story to celebrate the Kings forthcoming coronation.

The 64-year-old is the author behind the five books in the Young Bond series, which were written for younger readers and see Bond as a teenager at Eton College before becoming an MI5 agent.

On His Majestys Secret Service has been commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications and is billed for publication on May 4, ahead of the Kings coronation on May 6.

The book comes 60 years after the publication of James Bond creator Ian Flemings tenth novel, On Her Majestys Secret Service, which was published in 1963.

The new 007 story is set to bring Bond into the present day  set two days before the coronation, Bond is tasked with thwarting a last-minute attempt to disrupt the ceremony by the eccentric Athelstan of Wessex who plans to try to teach the UK a lesson.

Speaking about the upcoming novel, Higson said: When Ian Fleming Publications came to me with the idea of writing an adult Bond story a little more than a month ago I was thrilled  until I realised it had to be ready for the coronation in May.

Getting it written and turned around in such a short space of time was going to be as tense and heart-pounding as any Bond mission. Although, of course, nobody would actually be shooting at me.

Everything you want from a Bond story is in there  sex, violence, cars, a colourful villain with a nasty henchman, and of course, Bond himself, so well-known and yet so unknowable

But Ive been thinking about writing an adult Bond adventure ever since working on the Young Bond books, and he came bursting out of me with both fists flying. It was all I could do to keep up with him and get his story down on paper.

Fleming famously wrote fast, and I channelled that energy. And now its so exciting for me to finally enter the world of grown-up Bond.

Everything you want from a Bond story is in there  sex, violence, cars, a colourful villain with a nasty henchman, and of course, Bond himself, so well-known and yet so unknowable.

All royalties from the sale of On His Majestys Secret Service will go towards supporting the National Literacy Trust, which works with schools and communities to provide disadvantaged children with the literacy skills they need to succeed.

Managing director of Ian Fleming Publications Corinne Turner said: The coronation of King Charles III is a momentous occasion for the country.

We asked ourselves how we at Ian Fleming Publications could celebrate it, and the answer seemed obvious. Ian Flemings On Her Majestys Secret Service was first published on April 1 1963. What better way, 60 years on, to mark this new chapter in history than with a brand new story: On His Majestys Secret Service?

We shared our thoughts with Charlie, and he was delighted to take on the challenge of writing a Bond adventure in time for publication in May.

Together we hope this book will give valuable support to the National Literacy Trust.

On His Majestys Secret Service will be available digitally as an eBook, as an audiobook  read by Charlie Higson  and as a hardback, online and in bookshops from May 4.
D aniel Kaluuya was on hand to support his new leading man Kane Robinson at the launch of C.P. Company x Kano in London earlier this week.

The Oscar winner looked effortlessly cool as he celebrated the arrival of the campaign at Flannels alongside several of Kanos closest friends and collaborators including Little Simz, Top Boys Ashley Walters, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Jorja Smith and Munya Chawawa.

The pairs fashionable outing comes as it was announced that Kano will star in The Kitchen directed by first-time feature director Kibwe Tavares.

The futuristic dystopian drama for Netflix is written by Kaluuya and will be produced by his company 59% Productions as well as DMC Film.

According to the official synopsis, the film will be set in London in 2044, where the gap between rich and poor has been stretched to its limits.

Kano is set to portray lead Izi, following his turn as Sully in Top Boy, who is a resident of the kitchen who is desperately trying to find a way out.

Kano pictured with Kaluuya at the launch of C.P. Company x Kano earlier this week / Dave Benett/Getty Images for FLANNELS

It's here he meets 12-year-old Benji, played by newcomer Jedaiah Bannerman and the pair battle to survive in a system that is stacked against them.

While announcing the exciting cinematic news, Black Panther star Kaluuya explained that the films inspiration came from his own life.

He said: In 2011, I was in my barbershop and there was a guy boasting about smash and grabs - kids doing million-pound heists in a minute, getting paid 200 to do it.

I saw the potential to unlock a unique story door to the inequality, fatherhood, class, joy, resilience, courage, defiance and care of London.

"Now, nearly a decade later, Kibwe Tavares, Daniel Emmerson and I are about to start production, immersing ourselves in a dystopian London that interrogates what care means, at home and as a society and the dangers in our future if we stay indifferent to everything around us.

I feel blessed and honoured that my first co-writing film credit is with this inspiring group of creatives, and with the support of Film 4 and Netflix.

All of us are excited to watch Kibwes incredible, cinematic, electric vision come to life, and to create a moment that audiences want to take with them.
H uw Edwards may helm BBCs flagship News at Ten, but that doesnt mean he avoids pre-broadcast jitters after 20 years in the job.

In fact, the Welsh newsreader has revealed that hes already feeling the nerves ahead of King Charles IIIs coronation in May, when hell be leading the BBCs coverage.

Speaking to the Standard at the Royal Television Society Awards, the 61-year-old said: Im terrified.

Edwards has a number of historic royal events during lustrous career, most recently the Queens death and state funeral, which earned him a RTS Live Event Award.

Despite being known for his composure, Edwards revealed how he relies on pep talks to overcome any nerves he may have before a big live broadcast.

He said: The only thing you can do is say to yourself, Ive the experience. Ive done things before, and theyve gone OK.

Edwards said he was nervous ahead of covering King Charles IIIs Coronation in May / PA Archive

So, youve got to tell yourself, Its going to be alright.

The moment you start getting slightly carried away with worrying about, what was that? or did I forget that? thats when your system starts to work up, so youve got to calm it down.

Edwards comments come after he admitted to making an elementary error when he reported on his first Trooping the Colour in 2003.

The BBC news anchor discussed his experience reporting on the royal family over the years in a new interview with Good Housekeeping.

Recalling the moment, he told the magazine: Theres a huge responsibility to get it right and Im always terrified of making a mistake.

When I was presenting my first Trooping the Colour in 2003, I mixed up Sandhurst and Sandringham and my military friends couldnt believe Id made such an elementary error, but I was nervous and I slipped.

Last year, Edwards also opened up on announcing the Queens death - and revealed that he only learned of the news 10 seconds before the rest of the UK.

Speaking with Radio Times at the time, the presenter said he was told by the gallery: The announcement is here. Take your time. Speak when you are ready. Dont rush.
S ir Tony Robinson has hinted a new Blackadder project is in development after he reprised the role of Baldrick for Comic Relief.

The actor, author and broadcaster, 76, shot to fame in 1986 playing dimwitted sidekick Baldrick to Rowan Atkinsons Edmund Blackadder.

Earlier this month, as part of the annual Comic Relief broadcasting, he read a humorous bedtime story inspired by Cinderella as the character. It was the first time he had played the role in nearly 25 years.

BBC

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Sir Tony said fans could look forward to new material, adding: There is something new coming at some point in the next few months but Im sworn to secrecy as to precisely what it is.

All I can say is that it will be on TV, and its something associated with Blackadder that viewers wont have seen before.

He said the Comic Relief sketch had inspired the move. I was swamped with love from the public after that, so Im feeling very positive about the future.

Before the sketch was broadcast, Sir Tony addressed Atkinsons absence - saying: This just happens to be a script for Baldrick.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, he added: No, this just happens to be a script for Baldrick.

Rowan always contributes to Comic Relief. Im sure hell be there in some form or another.

The actor also spoke of his enthusiasm at being asked to reprise his role by the sitcoms co-writer, Richard Curtis, after they saw each other at a recent Radio Times event.

He said: It was extraordinary for me. This was a character that I hadnt played for 25 years and I suddenly got this beautifully crafted script, and I said Yeah, try and keep me away from it!.

Sir Tony had previously reprised his role for a Comic Relief Red Nose Day sketch in 1988 alongside Atkinson.

The special, which was set during the English Civil War, saw Edmund Blackadder and Baldrick as the last two men loyal to the defeated King Charles I of England.

The veteran actor also returned to the role in 1999 for the short film special Blackadder: Back & Forth.

The first series, The Black Adder, was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, while subsequent series were written by Curtis and Ben Elton.
A video of Sarah Lancashire recalling how an elderly lady told her that the stars television shows kept her company when she was alone at Christmas has gone viral.

The Happy Valley star was accepting the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards when she told an anecdote of how an elderly woman approached her at Christmas time.

Lancashire said, a few years back, she was waiting in a long line in a supermarket on Christmas Eve when a lady smiled at her and started a conversation.

Lancashire said the woman said: I bet you think what you do doesnt matter.

To which she joked to the audience: I thought this could go anywhere

Then Lancashire continued: She said: Tomorrow is Christmas day and I will be on my own. And I will have the television on all day and that will be my company, so thank you.

She wrapped up the poignant speech by saying I think we all need to carry on doing what we are doing. As it really is company for so many people.

A clip of the video, posted on Twitter by television writer Scott Bryan, has now been viewed more than 650,000 times.

Lancashire in Happy Valley / BBC/Lookout Point/Matt Squire

He tweeted alongside the video: Still thinking about this speech Sarah Lancashire gave at the #RTSAwards.

It perfectly encapsulates the power of television and why so many people make programmes.

Another fan wrote: Sarahs perfectly articulated what Ive always felt.

At the awards, which took place on Tuesday, Lancashire was honoured for her long career in television work - and in particular for her role in BBC drama Happy Valley which drew to a close earlier this year.

At the time, viewing figures reported by Broadcast suggested 7.5 million Britons tuned in to watch the finale of the three-series drama starring Lancashire as Sergeant Catherine Cawood and Norton as villain Tommy Lee Royce. Around five million tuned in to watch the first episode live as it was broadcast.

The ratings, supplied by Barb data from overnights.tv, make Happy Valley the highest rated show of 2023 so far. It meant almost 42 per cent of people who were watching television at that time were watching the BBC drama.

Line of Duty  the long-running series about police corruption  is the current record holder, as it pulled in 12.8 million viewers for the final episode of its sixth series in 2021 , making it the most-watched episode of any drama since records began in 2002.

As the Happy Valley finale was aired, seven years after the second series ended, some of its stars reminisced about working on the drama.

Norton spoke to GQ magazine , hailing Lancashire and Wainwright as absolute heroes.

The actor said: Youve got Sally Wainwright at her absolute best. Sarah Lancashire, standing opposite me, giving her absolute best. These absolute heroes, these Queens of our industry, are the best there are.
C hatGPT is now banned in Italy.

The countrys data protection watchdog said on Friday (March 31) that it has ordered use of the bot to be halted immediately over what they say is its unlawful collection of personal data. It also claimed the AI tool lacked systems for verifying the age of minors.

Alongside the immediate ban, the watchdog has opened an investigation into OpenAI, the US-based research lab that created ChatGPT.

The clampdown comes after the viral chatbot suffered a data breach on March 20, which saw the conversation histories and payment information leaked for users of its premium subscription service. At the time, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he regretted the leak, and the company fixed the problem.

Italy is the first western country to outright ban the bot. The action is part of a broader move to limit the spread of public AI systems, the prevalence of which have grown since the launch of ChatGPT last December. OpenAI licenses the underlying tech for its bot to other companies, including Microsoft, Snapchat, and Slack.

Meanwhile, the UK issued a white paper on AI on Wednesday (March 29). With the aim of striking a balance between regulation and innovation, the Government plans to use existing regulators in different sectors rather than giving responsibility for AI governance to a new single regulator.

More than 1,100 tech experts, including Elon Musk, also recently signed an open letter demanding a pause on powerful AI systems in the absence of regulatory oversight.

Italys data watchdog said OpenAI does not have a legal basis to justify its mass collection and storage of personal data. The company uses the information to train its AI systems, which include ChatGPT and AI-powered image generator Dall-E.

The watchdog added that although OpenAI says that ChatGPT is only accessible to those aged over 13, it does not have any filter to check the age of users. This, it added, exposes minors to absolutely unsuitable answers compared to their degree of development and self-awareness.

OpenAI now faces a fine of up to 20 million (17.6), or up to four per cent of its annual global turnover, if it does not implement the changes requested by the Italian watchdog within 20 days. In February, the regulator also banned a chatbot known as Replika over similar grounds.
T he Metropolitan Police force is banning its officers from social media apps as part of an upgrade of smartphones for police.

Scotland Yard told the Standard: Weve been undergoing a smartphone rollout for officers over the last few months. It is possible to download apps like maps, news, and transport apps on them, but not social media apps.

The Met confirmed that it has already provided these newly locked-down smartphones to various police teams, but did not specify exactly how many of its 30,000 serving officers have been issued with one so far.

A spokesperson added that the social media ban does not include the messaging app WhatsApp, which many people consider to be a social network. However, this popular app can now only be used by Met officers or staff on a restricted basis and permission must be sought to use it, presumably on a case-by-case basis.

The Met Police said that its own communications teams would continue to use its corporate social media TikTok account.

The move would appear to mark a significant policy shift from the Met Police, which has faced serious criticism over its officers misuse of social media and WhatsApp. These issues were all clearly highlighted in the Casey review, published last week.

Former Met officer Wayne Couzens received a whole life term for the abduction, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard / Metropolitan Police / PA

Wayne Couzens, who is serving a whole-life sentence at Durham Prison for the kidnap, rape, and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard in March 2021, was part of a WhatsApp group with other serving officers that was described by prosecutors Edward Brown QC in court as being grossly racist, sexist, and misogynistic.

Two Met Police officers were jailed for taking and sharing photos on WhatsApp of the murder scene of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in 2020, in a park in Wembley.

The girls mother, Mina Smallman, criticised the Met Police for its actions at the time.

She said: "You know you go to London to start to prepare the funeral of your dead children and then youre forced to have a meeting with the IOPC and the then commander, to tell you that police officers that should have been protecting the area had actually taken selfies and sent them out to a dentist and a doctor and a WhatsApp group.

Two officers were jailed for sharing photos of Bibaa Henry, left, and Nicole Smallman / PA Media

The Met Police has also faced criticism over its officers use of TikTok during the pandemic.

During Covid lockdowns, chief constable Gavin Stephens warned the Met Police, and other forces, that it was inappropriate to put light-hearted dancing and singing clips on TikTok and other social networks as the country battled the pandemic.

Several police officers were investigated for posting jokey videos on TikTok while on duty. One Scotland Yard officer, thought to be called Jordan, put dozens of clips on TikTok in 2020  including at least six when he was meant to be working to keep London safe, according to the Daily Mail.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) also found gross misconduct was proven against a Northamptonshire police officer, PC Aaron Parry, for posting inappropriate TikTok videos in July 2021.

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents officers, said the new ban was a sensible move, although he admitted that social media was a useful tool for day-to-day policing.

Mr Marsh said: With anything which is a workpiece of equipment owned by the Metropolitan Police, any iPad, iPhone, we should not be using any form of TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook etc.

It is the easiest way for my colleagues to get themselves into trouble. Dont use it. Full stop.

He also called on Met Police officers not to use WhatsApp, partly due to the risk of managing inappropriate behaviours when these encrypted messages are shared.

Marsh added: If youre on a WhatsApp group and someone sends a message through and the wording is not right or something is incorrect. What should you do? Should you report it immediately to a senior officer?

And if you report it to a senior officer, if that senior officer does not act immediately, are you to blame for that? We are getting officers in so much trouble for all these sorts of things, I would say categorically, do not use any of them.

Aside from the issue of professional misconduct, this new move by the Met Police comes amid ongoing security and data-privacy concerns linked to social-media apps, most notably due to TikTok.

The UK Government has expressed its concern that sensitive data might be accessible via TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese internet firm ByteDance, to the Chinese government.

The UK government has banned the app on government-issued phones while the BBC has called on its staff to delete TikTok from corporate mobile phones.

London City Hall staff have also been banned from accessing TikTok on their phones, while the London Fire Brigade said its officers cant access any social media, except for Microsoft-owned Yammer.

The Cabinet Office said the UK Government ban was being imposed because TikTok users must give information that includes contacts, user content, and geolocation data to Bytedance.

TikTok has been criticised by governments across the world. The US, France, and India are among those countries which have issued TikTok bans.

TikTok said it would make a statement once it had further details from the Met Police.
S ir Richard Bransons satellite launch firm Virgin Orbit is to cut 675 jobs  about 85% of its workforce  after failing to secure new funding.

The entrepreneur has said he will inject almost 9 million to go towards severance costs.

It comes amid reports from the Financial Times that Virgin Orbits chief executive Dan Hart is racing to seal last-minute investment to stop the firm from collapsing.

Shares in the business plunged by as much as 40% in after-hours trading in New York after the layoffs were confirmed.

Earlier this year, a Virgin Orbit rocket failed to complete the first satellite launch from UK soil.

The business, which is headquartered in California, also paused all operations earlier this month as it sought extra funding.

In US regulatory filings, the firm confirmed the job cuts in order to reduce expenses in light of the companys inability to secure meaningful funding.

It added that the layoffs, which are due to be completed by Monday April 3, will affect workers in the all areas of the company.

Virgin Orbit said it expects severance payments to staff and other costs related to the cuts to cost it around 15 million US dollars (12.1 million).

Melissa Quinn, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said: We are saddened to hear the news from Virgin Orbit. We wish the very best for all of the team who have been affected.

The Government remains committed to supporting the development of a dynamic UK spaceflight sector, and our focus is on supporting multiple projects designed to make the UK the leading provider of commercial small satellite launch in Europe by 2030

Spaceport Cornwall continues to operate with no direct impact to the team or project.

As the UKs only licensed Spaceport we continue to grow the space cluster in Cornwall through developing future launch operations, opening a new facility to support global space and satellite businesses and inspire local school children into STEAM through our outreach programme.

A spokesperson for the UK Space Agency said: This is a commercial matter for Virgin Orbit.

We have worked with the company for many years and our thoughts are with its employees in the US during this difficult time.

The UK space sector is thriving, generating an income of 17.5 billion a year and employing almost 49,000 people.

The Government remains committed to supporting the development of a dynamic UK spaceflight sector, and our focus is on supporting multiple projects designed to make the UK the leading provider of commercial small satellite launch in Europe by 2030, generating more jobs and growth across the country.


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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Azerbaijan have issued a statement in connection with the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis, Trend reports.

"From March 30 to April 3, 1918, armed gangs of Armenian Dashnaks committed an act genocide against Azerbaijanis in Baku city and various districts of the Baku province, as well as in Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangazur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan and other regions, the statement said.

According to the statement, thousands of Azerbaijani civilians became victims of those events only because of their nationality.

Unique historical monuments, schools, hospitals, mosques were destroyed and turned into ruins. The minarets of the Juma and Tezepir mosques [in Baku] were heavily damaged as a result of artillery fire opened on them by the military fleet stationed in the Caspian Sea, the statement noted. In Shamakhi alone, during the March Events, the Armenians completely destroyed 75 villages. The March massacre of 1918 was a pre-planned criminal act by radical nationalist Armenian groups against Azerbaijanis, carried out on the basis of a policy of racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing.

Despite that more than a century has passed since the March act of genocide, those bloody events haven't been forgotten and left an indelible trace on the blood memory of Azerbaijani people, the statement also said.

The decree "On genocide of Azerbaijanis" signed on March 26, 1998 by the national leader Heydar Aliyev was an important step that prompted the disclosure of historical facts, giving a political assessment of these terrible events, March 31 was declared the Day of the Azerbaijani Genocide, the statement reminded.

Recently, facts of massacres committed by Armenians during the events of 1918 have been revealed in Guba. The countless human remains found are clear evidence of Armenian atrocities and massacres, the statement said. In order to bring these facts to the attention of the international community, and to perpetuate the memory of the genocide victims, the Genocide Memorial Complex was established in Guba city by the relevant Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Every year, thousands of people visit this place to commemorate the victims of the genocide.

According to international law, genocide is considered the most serious crime because it is directed against peace and humanity, the statement emphasized.

Besides, in the statement the NGOs expressed regret that despite the presence of sufficient grounds and evidence of acts of genocide committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis, these crimes against humanity havent been adequately reacted by international organizations.

As members of the Azerbaijani civil society, we are once again paying tribute to the memory of the victims of the genocide committed against Azerbaijanis with deep sorrow, and calling on the international community, international organizations to give an appropriate political and legal assessment of this act of genocide in the name of protecting human rights, preventing the commission of inhuman acts and the recurrency of such cases in the future," the statement concluded.
Details added (first published: 12:11)

GUBA, Azerbaijan, March 31. Armenia still refuses to provide Azerbaijan with accurate maps of mined areas, following the liberation of its territories, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva said at a conference on "Legal aspects of the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the context of historical facts" dedicated to March 31 - the Day of the Azerbaijani Genocide in Azerbaijan's Guba, Trend reports.

She noted that the existing mine problem, which led to numerous casualties, is a serious obstacle to peace and large-scale restoration and construction work on Azerbaijan's liberated territories, as well as delays the safe return of people to their native lands.

"I would like to note that in total during the second Karabakh war and in the post-war period, I prepared and sent to international organizations and courts 16 reports, 28 statements, and 33 appeals (7 of which were in video format), more than 300 press releases, as well as three videos. This activity successfully continues to this day," she said.

Sabina Aliyeva noted with regret that despite sufficient evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity committed by Armenians in relation to Azerbaijanis, as well as acts of terror and genocide, these actions have not yet been adequately addressed on an international level.

"Taking this opportunity, I once again call on international organizations, to take a decisive and fair position on these serious crimes against Azerbaijanis, and to recognize the act of genocide, based on the norms of international law," she said.
A Fort Erie resident has hit the jackpot with Ontario 49.

Deyvi Urrutia won the top prize of $2 million in the March 1 draw.

This is the first big win for the 33-year-old, who plays the lottery every week.

I checked my ticket on the OLG app and heard the fun music, he said in a release while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up his winnings.

I immediately thought of my family. I went home to tell my partner and she was so excited.

Urrutia plans to set up an education fund for his children, and invest his winnings.

The winning ticket was purchased at Esso on North Service Road in Fort Erie.

Ontario 49 is $1 per play and the draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday.

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A Port Colborne elementary school was placed under a precautionary 'hold and secure' after students spotted a neighbour brandishing what appeared to be a firearm on their own property.

Niagara Regional Police reported on its social media channels that at 1:31 p.m. on March 31, students inside a classroom at St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School observed a neighbour holding a firearm on their own property. The firearm, police noted, was not pointed at any student or at the Rosemount Avenue school.

As a safety precaution for all students and staff, the school was placed into a hold and secure.

During a hold and secure, students are kept indoors for some or all of a school day, depending on the situation, according to Niagara Catholic District School Board communications officer Jennifer Pellegrini. Students are able to move freely within the school.

Officers from Niagara Regional Police's 6 District attended the scene and confronted the neighbour, determining the firearm was a pellet gun. The officers deemed there was no threat to safety and the hold and secure was lifted as of 2:05 p.m.

Pellegrini said parents and guardians were advised of the hold and secure by an email sent at approximately 2:45 p.m., prior to the students being dismissed for the day.

"Niagara Catholic values our excellent relationship with the Niagara Regional Police, and we are grateful for their immediate response and professionalism at St. Patrick this afternoon," said Pellegrini in an emailed statement. "Niagara Catholic commends the students who immediately brought their concerns to their teacher, and the staff who ensured that the hold and secure procedure was followed at St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School Friday afternoon."

This precautionary measure comes just days after a school shooting occurred in Nashville, Tenn., where six people lost their lives. Three adults and three nine-year-old students died in a premeditated mass shooting incident at a private Christian school on March 27.

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If youre an entrepreneur between 15 and 29 years old, this is the program for you.

The St. Catharines Enterprise Centre is now accepting applications for the 2023 Summer Company Program.

The program is designed to help students between the ages of 15 to 29 start their own businesses by giving them a $3,000 grant, broken up into two instalments.

The first $1,500 is given to help with startup costs. Then, $1,500 is given when the program requirements have been completed successfully.

Successful applicants will also receive many hours of business training and mentorship with the support of the St. Catharines Enterprise Centre.

Almost any type of business can be accepted into the program, as long as it is a sole proprietorship or corporation and an independent business venture  not part of an existing or family business.

The plan would be for the business to launch between May and July, with the program ending on Sept. 5.

Rob Belchior, small business consultant with the St. Catharines Enterprise Centre, said the program is a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs.

This is about more than funding to support the startup  its about helping them develop different skills and experience that will serve as a base for their future endeavours and provide a mentor to connect with to share their experiences, he said.

Additionally, Brian York, the citys director of economic development and government relations, said the program creates the opportunity to improve the economic landscape in St. Catharines, and across Niagara, by investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Its inspiring to meet young students who have found success starting up their own summer businesses, including some who have continued on past the summer, operating for years to come, he said.

Program details, including funding and eligibility, can be found at stcatharines.ca/summercompany.

On the website, there is an eligibility questionnaire.

If applicants meet the requirements, they will be led to a detailed application, and once the application is fully completed, those wishing to be considered will need to select St. Catharines Enterprise Centre when prompted to choose a program provider.

The centre will then contact the applicants and send additional information.

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Details added (first published: 12:10)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Two people who tried to violate the state border of Azerbaijan from Iran have been detained, Trend reports citing the State Border Service of Azerbaijan.

Two people were detained on March 31, around 02:00 (GMT+4), on the territory protected by the State Border Service of Goytapa, located near the village of Aruz in the Yardimli district. The detainees, having violated the state border, tried to illegally enter Azerbaijan from Iran.

"During the inspection, it was established that the detainees were Iranian citizen Javad Rejebi born in 1992, and Afghan citizen Ahmedshah Elmiddin born in 1994. The case is currently under investigation," said the statement.

Previously, on March 27, two Iranian citizens who violated the border of Azerbaijan were detained near Shatirli village of Azerbaijans Jalilabad district. During the detainees' inspection, the border guards found and confiscated 41.37 kilograms of drugs, one knife and pepper spray.
People experiencing homelessness and migrant workers in Niagara region, and across the province, are no longer being covered by OHIP after changes to pandemic-era medical care by the provincial government.

The Ontario government recently announced it would be ending the Physicians and Hospital Services for Uninsured Peoples (PHSUP) program as of March 31 for people without access to the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).

The move has left medical professionals concerned.

The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) issued a letter to members earlier this month expressing concern about the decision by the province that would impact marginalized populations in the province.

The OMA has expressed concerns to the ministry, as this decision will be detrimental to the livelihood of marginalized Ontarians who often face the greatest barriers in our society, the letter stated.

The OMA is shocked and concerned regarding discontinuation of the program, said Dr. Rose Zacharias, OMA president.

We do believe there are vulnerable, particularly marginalized groups, that will now not be insured for medically necessary services, she said.

In that category is migrant workers or anyone with barriers to getting registered with OHIP, even if eligible.

She said several barriers exist preventing people from treatment, including language, mental health and pre-existing medical conditions, mobility, and housing issues.

The most vulnerable in the community are going to suffer even more, due to the lack of medical care they have access to and now with the defunding of this program, said Carolyn Dyer, executive director of Regional Essential Access to Connected Healthcare (REACH) Niagara program.

We already see people who are very unwell, this requires them to seek specialist care or other care in a very timely manner and now were very concerned about how they are going to do that, because they wont be able to afford that, she said.

You can anticipate in some ways folks are going to get sicker without care and then were almost denying care to the most vulnerable in our communities.

Dyer said people tend to take health care for granted. Vulnerable populations do not have easy access to health care, which means they need more, not less she said.

We feel thats a basic human right, health care should be something that we should be able to easily access, she said.

That was a good thing throughout the pandemic, there was true universal health care coverage for folks and now its disappointing because what happens to these individuals?

She said with this program coming to an end, what the government is saying is these people are not worth the cost of health care.

For us to send them to a hospital or to certain specialist care, where theyre going to get a bill at the end of the visit, thats not realistic, thats sad, because its essentially saying theyre not worthy of health care, she said.

Dyer said during an average month, thee REACH mobile unit sees at least a few hundred people who do not have health cards for a variety of reasons.

A majority dont have health coverage, as we predominantly service homeless or under housed people, and most have lost their health card, and its not a priority, she said.

Its not as simple as applying to get another card. The problem is folks dont have any form of identification.

Migrant workers and undocumented workers would also be impacted by the change to the program, said Kit Andres, Migrant Workers for Change organizer.

Were not only talking about farm workers in Niagara, were also talking about care workers, she said.

These are migrant workers who come and work in long-term care homes, in private homes as nannies, and workers who take care of our grandparents or family members when theyre sick or injured.

Andres said when someone doesnt have access to health care, as many undocumented workers do not, it creates issues within communal spaces where they live with documented co-workers who have access to health care.

Workers are having to choose between going to work sick or not paying the bills and when you have people coming to work sick, that affects everyone, she said.

Particularly with farm workers living in congregate housing, very crowded housing, and in some cases airborne viruses, like COVID, the flu or cold, it spreads like wildfire.

Andres said when undocumented workers, homeless and people without access to health care are denied, it impacts the whole community.

Giving permanent status to undocumented people and to all migrants and refugees so we all have access to the same rights and services, thats the basis for fair and healthy societies where we all have the same rights, she said.

Zacharias said the OMA has petitioned the Ontario government for the PHSUP program to be extended.

The Ministry of Health declined the Standards request for an interview, providing a statement saying with the lower cases of COVID-19 and the ending of public health restrictions, the province is winding down its pandemic response measures to focus on delivering services Ontarians need the most.

PHSUP funding will end on March 31, 2023, as was the case prior to the pandemic, from April 1, those not eligible for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and do not have any other form of health insurance coverage are encouraged to speak to the treating hospital and/or physician to develop plans for future care.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones came under fire in the legislature Monday, where she accused the opposition NDP of spreading false information online about the end of the Physician and Hospital Services for Uninsured Persons program.

If there is one individual who chooses not to take their loved one to a hospital because they think theyre uninsured, then thats on the NDP to explain, she said.

This program was put in place when individuals could not travel in the province of Ontario at the beginning of the pandemic  when we had limitations on individuals who needed to be able to return to their home communities, the minister said.

I want to reinforce: We have 75 community health centres spread across Ontario that have funding models that ensure that they can provide necessary health services for individuals who, for any number of reasons, do not have an up-to-date OHIP card, said Jones.

We have temporary foreign workers who have programs provided by the federal government to ensure that they have health-care funding in the province of Ontario, she said.

Under the plan, hospitals and doctors were allowed to bill the government for medically necessary treatments provided to patients without OHIP coverage.

There is no change in the way that uninsured persons will receive care in the province of Ontario, said Jones. The only change is how hospitals, community health and midwifery centres will be reimbursed for insuring and providing that care.

With files from the Toronto Star

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For Niagaras wine industry  growers, winemakers and the retail sector  the recent provincial budget had a little bit of everything, including anticipated changes and welcomed extensions.

But it also left out a few items the industry will continue advocating for to ensure Niagaras success and sustainability.

In the budget, most noticeable was the harmonization of the tax rate. Canada recently lost a World Trade Organization challenge to Australia, and part of the negotiated settlement was the loss of the provinces exemption of federal excise tax.

Debbie Zimmerman, chief executive officer of Grape Growers of Ontario, said there were also a number of details the provincial government had to settle prior before June 2023.

One was the harmonized tax rate at off-site stores  boutique stores in grocery stores (Ontario has about 59) and wine rack stores, which had four separate tax structures. Essentially, the Australian challenge raised the tax rate on VQA wines, while lowering the rate on imported blends.

Zimmerman said the government was looking for ways to neutralize the impact, and did so by taking different rates and melding them into one, now 12 per cent.

So while it was not what anyone wanted, it was required.

At the end of the day, it is a resolve, said Zimmerman, adding the harmonization results in a loss of revenue collected by the province.

The government had to find a way to make it more equitable for imports coming into our marketplace  when youre being faced with a looming trade challenge from a country like Australia, that has 100 times the size of our small industry, its very disturbing that we cant be protected.

While the result will likely have a neutral effect, Zimmerman said seeing an extension of a $10-million support program for VQA wines in the budget was an important step, and thinks it will ease some of the tax pain facing the wine industry.

Wine Growers Ontario president Aaron Dobbin said few details were spelled out about the program itself  which began as a COVID-19 relief support program  but said the extension is very, very welcome.

Ontario Craft Wineries president Richard Lindley said the investment is very positive and provides business certainty and shows the governments commitment to supporting and strengthening the agri-food supply chain and Ontario farmers.

He and Dobbin both said they will continue to have conversations with the province around the industrys 2030 Vision, specifically about improving wholesale margins and removing unnecessary and crippling farm gate taxes.

For Allan Schmidt, president of Vineland Estates Winery, the tax  Ontario is the only province required its VQA wineries to pay an additional tax  is a tax on agriculture and reducing our margins and not allowing us to expand our retail capacity or hire more people.

But the governments commitment to extend the program will allow wineries to remain competitive, and offsets some of the high taxation rates.

Schmidt said the grant has allowed Vineland Estates to build an outdoor wine bar to hold wine tastings while sitting in the vineyard and enabled the winery to hire six additional staff members.

If it wasnt for this grant, we wouldnt have been able to make those investments and its increased our retail sales by about 20 to 30 per cent, he said, adding over the past year that has been necessary as the winery is not back to pre-pandemic levels of business.

Schmidt said the on-site restaurant is doing well, but overall, the winery is not seeing the same number of tourists, despite having the infrastructure to accommodate additional tourism.

One of the problems is  and in a future budget I hope the Ontario government will look again at  what was called the mid-Peninsula corridor solution, which is building a highway on top of the escarpment, he said. In the summertime, the QEW in Niagara is just jam-packed and we cant get many more people into Niagara because of that.

Zimmerman highlighted a few other items in the budget, including an investment in soil study maps that are currently really out of date. Updating that information will be a good barometer for growers in understanding the capacity and capabilities of the soil in which they grow their fruit.

Meanwhile, grape and tender fruit growers are also continuing to advocate for installing an irrigation system across Niagara, pressing both levels of governments to recognize irrigation as infrastructure.

As one of the few agriculture and manufacturing businesses growing product, from start to finish, within Ontario, its economic impact should never be overlooked. If government can give money to build roads, sewers and water treatment plans, Zimmerman said that same commitment is needed for the future, the stability and sustainability of our industry.

It is as important to our tender fruitlands as roads. I cant stress it anymore  if we dont have and protect this agricultural base that we have we wont have it for the future, and climate change is making it even more challenging, she said.

Access to water is important for our industry but its important for the region and the economy of agriculture in the region.

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Niagara Regions own rules regarding legal fees that elected councillors might rack up if theyre named in a code-of-conduct complaint and decide to hire a lawyer are very clear.

The Region  and by extension taxpayers  doesnt pay.

Niagaras policy states legal fees arising from, or in any way related to complaints filed over alleged violations of the code of conduct, are not eligible for reimbursement.

Basically, if you want a lawyer, go ahead and get one. But were not paying.

Thats the rule  except when its not.

Last week, council decided that it would make an exception for Coun. Bob Gale and cover an $8,108 bill for a third-party legal opinion he sought after a complaint was filed against him.

The complaint against Gale cost $28,000 for the Region to investigate through its integrity commissioner, Michael Maynard, who ended up dismissing it.

Maynard did not need a legal opinion from the councillors side to make this decision and the regional expenditure on behalf of Gale was a waste of money.

A week later, it is still difficult to make sense of councils reasoning. The decision came in a close vote; apparently, many councillors didnt think reimbursing Gale was the right thing to do, either.

Its not as if code of conduct complaints are rare or extraordinary things at Niagara Region headquarters and Gale was caught in a one-in-a-million circumstance. Council sets aside money at the start of every year to pay the integrity commissioners retainer, because a few of these cases come up throughout the year.

Gale is a longtime and successful businessperson and presumably an $8,000 legal bill wouldnt cost him any sleep. But thats not the point.

Its not the amount of money involved, its the principle. And there are good reasons for the rules existence.

A code of conduct complaint at Niagara Region is not a court case; the integrity commissioner accepts information from both sides and hands down a ruling, and regional council gets to decide a punishment if necessary.

It can demand an apology, or occasionally dock a councillors pay. Council might take no action at all.

The Ontario Municipal Act requires all municipalities to appoint an integrity commissioner or make the services of one available.

Donna Gibbs, the Regions director of legal services, said the Region indemnifies councillors if they face a civil lawsuit with either the Region or its insurer paying the bill. However, code-of-conduct investigations arent considered legal proceedings.

Speaking in favour of offering reimbursement, Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati noted Gales reputation was on the line.

Is Diodati recommending more councillors get legal advice and Niagara Region should pay all their legal fees?

Paying Gales legal costs could have a chilling effect for any member of the public who wants to file a code-of-conduct complaint.

Ordinary citizens should be able to exercise their legal right to file complaints without having to take on the cost of hiring a lawyer, while knowing taxpayers will help cover the councillors legal expenses.

The Regions decision could escalate the complaints process, in terms of both time and cost.

Turning a filing into a fight between opposing legal teams will increase overall price, and lengthen the time needed to deal with complaints.

Rules are rules. Lets see which of these generous councillors who voted to pay Gales costs will stand up and say the policy should be changed, and councillors costs should be covered every time they hire a lawyer in a code of conduct instance.

Three or four cases like Gales in a year might cost the Region $30,000 in legal fees. Would they consider that money well spent?

Council has set a terrible precedent.

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South Niagara needs a hospital

Re: Misinformation and health care dont mix, March 29

It was a struggle, but I managed to read Lynn Guerrieros opinion piece regarding health care in Niagara Region.

I must say, I am positively giddy from the spin she continues to apply to the disastrous 10-year plan she and her cohorts have concocted.

St Catharines desperately needed a new hospital, and got one.

Niagara Falls desperately needs a new hospital, and is getting one.

Now, what about Fort Erie, Stevensville, Ridgeway, Port Colborne, Wainfleet, Welland, Pelham and every smaller rural community south of Highway 20?

Its time to start planning for a genuine full service south Niagara hospital. One actually located in south Niagara.

Mike Moore

Welland

Penners death needless

Fred Penner suffered a mental health episode on Dec. 31, 2019, which cost him his life as police shot him in self-defence.

Police said Penner was threatening them with a serrated knife, refusing numerous times to drop it. Police say they feared for their safety and for bystanders nearby. Police also said Penner didnt perceive what they were saying and he was almost trancelike.

Right there, police admit Penner wasnt very sound of mind. They could have taken a different approach.

Why did police have to pump 10 bullets into Penner? He wasnt holding a gun. Police were in close proximity to him.

One bullet would have disarmed Penner, police would have quickly subdued him and Penner would be alive today. It was a needless death.

Lou Cesar

St. Catharines

Fresh food gone

Are organic fruits and vegetables actually fresher than non-organic varieties available in supermarkets? Having sampled both, Ive concluded freshness is the key word which does not seem to apply to either organic or non-organic produce.

As an enthusiastic and health-conscious home cook and cookbook author, I have used fresh greens as a staple for salads for years. Since COVID-19, Ive noticed a significant change in the quality of most types of fresh lettuce and herbs.

While they appear fresh and green in their sealed plastic bags, they are mostly overgrown and dry, with a coarse texture thats hard to chew. Most importantly, Id like to know what healthy nutrients remain in these greens which obviously have been picked prematurely and kept artificially fresh in order for them to preserve their healthy look.

The fresh taste we used to expect is gone. While food prices steadily increase, so are the pockets of the large food retailers. We consumers must demand real fresh when paying for what is falsely labelled fresh. Sadly, in this day and age, fresh only means fresh in appearance.

Brita Housez

St Catharines

Letters welcome

We welcome letters from our readers. Send them to letters@niagaradailies.com or mail to PO Box 5031 Stn Main, St. Catharines, Ont., L2R 7T4. Letters should be 250 words or less, and may be edited for length and clarity. Please include your name, address and phone number for verification purposes.

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The federal government has approved a key licence transfer needed for Rogers and Shaw to close their $26-billion deal, aiming to pave the way for lower telecom prices for Canadians.

Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said that his department has approved the transfer of wireless licences from Shaw to Quebec-based Videotron, which has a side deal to buy Shaws Freedom Mobile division.

The message I hear from Canadians is we pay way too much for telecom services and we want more options. Full stop, Champagne said during a Friday morning news conference.

The evidence is clear: Having a strong fourth competitor does lead to lower prices, as weve seen in Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, Champagne said in a statement.

A fourth national player will be able to go toe-to-toe with the Big Three telecoms, Rogers, Bell and Telus, to help drive down prices, he said. To do so, there will be 21 legally enforceable conditions and commitments for the tech giants in the transfer, which include investing $5.5 billion to extend 5G coverage and $1 billion to connect rural, remote and Indigenous communities.

In addition, Videotron will not be allowed to transfer the Freedom Mobile licences for 10 years and Rogers must establish a Western headquarters in Calgary and maintain it for a minimum of 10 years, creating 3,000 new jobs.

Should either party breach these commitments, they will pay up to $200 million in Videotrons case and up to $1 billion in the case of Rogers, he said.

The penalties offer incentive for the companies to honour these commitments, but enforcing the conditions will be difficult, said Keldon Bester, co-founder of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project.

Weve created a ton of risk that these conditions dont pan out and theyre not monitored correctly, he said. What if the government changes? Its unclear how they will enforce these conditions.

Some of the conditions, such as extending 5G coverage or connecting rural communities, are nothing new and were part of the original proposal in 2021 from Rogers, said Laura Tribe, executive director of OpenMedia, a non-profit advocacy organization encouraging transparent communication systems within Canada.

Champagnes putting the nail in the coffin of competition in telecommunications in Canada, she said in a written statement. At this point, theres only one thing he can do to save our downward spiralling telecom sector: full-scale competition reform in Canada. Without it, we could easily be looking at a Bell and Telus merger next.

John Lawford, executive director of Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said the creation of 3,000 new jobs in a Calgary regional headquarters for Rogers have no transparent time line, and it is unclear if they will lead to job reductions elsewhere or forced re-locations of present Rogers employees.

We do not believe the conditions obtained by the minister can counteract the anti-competitive effects of this merger on Canadians, he said.

The licence transfer was the only regulatory approval standing in the way of Rogers and Shaw finalizing their merger, which the companies announced in March 2021.

They revealed a $2.85-billion deal to sell Freedom Mobile to Videotron last June in a bid to address concerns about reduced competition in the wireless industry.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the transfer of Shaws broadcast assets to Rogers in March 2022.

Late last year, the Competition Tribunal dismissed an attempt by the Competition Bureau to block the deal and the Federal Court of Appeal upheld that ruling in January.

The companies have extended the deadline to close the transaction on several occasions, most recently pushing the date to March 31. The companies just extended the date one more time to April 7 to allow more time for the closing of the deals.

The closing of the transactions will materialize over the coming days.

We are very pleased to move forward with this transformative merger and proudly deliver on our commitments to enhance and expand network coverage, connect underserved communities, and improve access for low-income Canadians, said Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers. Building on a shared legacy with Shaw, we will invest substantially to bring more choice, more value and more connectivity to Canadians across the country.

Champagne also said he is launching a review of Canadas spectrum transfer policy and freezing all large-scale spectrum licence transfers. If pricing in telecom doesnt come down, hell seek legislative and regulatory powers to lower prices.

If Canadians do not begin to see a clear and meaningful reduction in prices within a reasonable amount of time as a result of this decision, I will have no choice but to use further legislative and regulatory powers to drive down prices, he said.

Correction  March 31, 2023: This article has been updated to reflect that Videotron will pay up to $200 million, not $2 million, should it breach its commitments.

With files from Christine Dobby

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The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service says they are investigating after the bodies of six people were found late Thursday afternoon in the St. Lawrence River by a marsh area near Akwesasne, Que.

Akwesasne is close to the United States border across from New York state.

Police say the search has been called off for the night and is to resume Friday.

A police marine unit searched the area Thursday evening with help from the Canadian Coast Guard and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department.

The Akwesasne Mohawk Police say in a release that they will seek help from the Quebec provincial police and Ontario Provincial Police air support units.

Police say they are waiting on the results of post-mortem and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.

The first body was located around 5:00 P.M. in a marsh area in Tsi Snaihne, Akwesasne, Quebec, police said in a statement on Facebook.

Police are attempting to identify the deceased persons at this time and ascertain their status in Canada. There is no threat to the public at this time.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2023

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ST. JOHNS, N.L. - The board of regents at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador suspended one of its members Friday for tweeting f--- the police.

Kerri Claire Neils social media post was in response to a tweet from the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary that included a thin blue line symbol. The symbol is considered by some a sign of police solidarity, but in recent years it has been adopted by far-right groups and criticized as an emblem of white supremacy.

While the board understands the post was made in reaction to the RNCs use of the thin blue line in their social media post, your comment was felt by many to be flippant and insensitive to the deaths of two members of the Edmonton Police Department and their families, the board said in a letter to Neil, which was shared with The Canadian Press.

Neil posted her tweet on March 17 with a screenshot of a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary tweet that showed a horizontal blue bar across a black and grey image of the Edmonton Police Service crest. The constabularys tweet included a message of condolence for the deaths of Edmonton constables Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan, who were fatally shot the day before while responding to a domestic violence call.

The board said in a media release that Neil had violated its code of conduct, and that she will be suspended until her term ends on Aug. 31. Its letter to Neil said it had received complaints about her tweet from the university community as well as people in Alberta. Her comments online reflected poorly on the university, the letter said.

Neil is part of the Social Justice Co-operative, a local non-profit that advocates for social and environmental issues. She was elected to Memorials board of regents in 2020.

Neils removal from Memorials board of regents comes after Vianne Timmons, the universitys president, went on paid leave for six weeks following a CBC News investigation earlier this month that raised questions about her claims of Mikmaq heritage. The board of regents has said it will decide what to do about the situation with the guidance of an Indigenous-led roundtable.

Memorial is also the subject of a lawsuit filed with the provincial Supreme Court alleging the school was wrong to ban a student -- Matt Barter -- from campus for three months after he stood near Timmons and held up a sign saying STOP VlANNE! No to tuition hikes and out of control spending, as she spoke at a public event.

The case has been argued in court and is awaiting a ruling.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.

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LUSAKA, Zambia (AP)  When Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she touched down at an airport thats doubled in size and features glittering new terminals.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, its a reminder of Chinas deep influence. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent thats rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt. Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Bidens administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijings sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition. However, she has acknowledged theres limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent, telling reporters earlier in the trip that there is a window that is definitely open now for American investments.

At a news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday, Harris reiterated her call for all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia  an oblique reference to China  but she stressed that our presence here is not about China.

Hichilema said it would be completely wrong to view Zambias interests in terms of a rivalry between the U.S. and China.

When Im in Washington, Im not against Beijing. When Im in Beijing, Im not against Washington, he said, adding that none of these relationships are about working against someone or a group of countries.

Chinas roots in both Tanzania and Zambia run deep. In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzanias Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

Today, China is Africas largest two-way trading partner, with $254 billion of business in 2021, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Thats four times the amount of trade between the U.S. and Africa. In addition, dealing with Beijing features less admonishments about democracy than with Washington.

Most African countries are rightly unapologetic about their close ties to China, Nigerias vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, tweeted on Thursday. China shows up where and when the West will not and/or are reluctant.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has worked on Africa issues in Congress, expressed frustration over Chinas growing influence on the continent.

We switched from being the No. 1 trade partner or the No. 1 investment partner in two dozen countries, to China being the No. 1 trade and investment partner, he told reporters aboard Air Force Two on the flight to Ghana at the beginning of Harris trip. I think our challenge for this decade is to address that.

Biden has been taking steps toward that, such as hosting a summit for African leaders in December, when he announced that he wants to commit $55 billion to the continent in the coming years.

Harris has made announcements as well during her trip, including more than $1 billion in public and private money for economic development, $100 million for security assistance in West Africa and $500 million to facilitate trade with Tanzania.

However, theres skepticism about whether the U.S. will follow through on its promises, and Harris has been faced with not-so-subtle hints that Africa expects more. For example, the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania bluntly said they hope Biden chooses to visit their countries during his expected trip to Africa later this year, which would be his first to the continent as president.

By comparison, Tanzania was among the first countries that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited after becoming president in 2013. And after Xi secured a third term, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African head of state to visit Beijing.

Kamala faces Chinese dominance in Tanzania, the Tanzania Business Insight publication tweeted Wednesday.

Ian Johnson, a former China-based journalist who works at the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Beijing presents a powerful narrative in the developing world as a country that rapidly built its economy and pulled much of its population out of poverty.

African leaders think lets see what we can learn from China, he said, adding that theres a certain fascination in how they did it.

Johnson also said China views Africa differently than the U.S.

We have a tendency to see Africa as a series of problems  wars, famines, something like that, he said. But in Chinas eyes, Africa is much more of an opportunity.

Edem Selormey, who conducts public opinion research at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, said the feeling is often mutual.

Chinas influence in Africa is largely seen as positive, she said. And the U.S. trails China in that regard.

The difference, she said, is often about what citizens see on the ground, such as infrastructure projects, and the U.S. has been missing from this picture for a while.

John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the debt that comes from Chinas involvement is ultimately corrosive. He said African leaders are beginning to realize that China is not really their friend.

Chinas interests in the region are purely selfish, as opposed to the United States, he said.

Its a sentiment that draws scoffs in some corners of Africa.

America is like playing the role of a big Uncle Sam in trying to defend African countries against what they think is the encroachment of China into the liberty of African countries through these loans, said Tanzania-based analyst Mohamed Issa Hemed.

However, he added, China is ahead of the U.S. in many, many ways.

Daniel Russel, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, summed up the African perspective as enough with the lectures about China. Theyve got something we want. And theyve got it right here.

When it comes to U.S. hopes for Africa, he said, you cant beat something with nothing.

___ Anna reported from Nairobi, Kenya, and Meldrum from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

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ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Two men accused of planning a Passover attack on a Jewish center in central Athens appeared in court Friday to answer to terrorism charges and were ordered to remain in pre-trial detention, authorities said.

Greek officials announced the suspects arrests earlier this week and described the men as being of Pakistani origin.

Police alleged they were planning to attack the Chabad of Athens center, which is part of Judaisms international Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The center hosts religious services, as well as a kosher restaurant and grocery.

Passover, one of the most important Jewish holidays, starts next Wednesday at sundown.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the suspects were planning attacks at other locations. Police have searched multiple sites in Athens as well as in southern Greece and on the western island of Zakynthos.

The two men appeared before a public prosecutor, who ordered their detention in prison pending trial.

A third man, who is not in Greece, is wanted for questioning and has been charged with terrorism-related offenses in absentia.

Israel has thanked the Greek government for its response and said that its national intelligence agency, Mossad, had provided information about the suspects.

A Greek lawyer representing the two suspects told reporters after the hearing that one of the men had agreed to take videos of the Jewish center using his cell phone but had decided not to go through with the attack.

My client believed that the third man, who has not been arrested, was in a position to threaten him and carry out criminal acts against him and members of his family, lawyer Iraklis Stavaris said.

He acknowledges the part that was an attempt: meaning that he went and checked out the location, the scene where the crime would be committed, and he withdrew. He saw that the operation would not be easy and would have consequences.

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TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed to Belarus along with part of Russias tactical nuclear arsenal, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday, ramping up his rhetoric amid tensions with the West over the Kremlins war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that his country plans to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The strategic nuclear weapons such as missile-borne warheads that Lukashenko mentioned during his state-of-the nation address would pose an even greater threat, if Moscow moves them to the territory of its neighbor and ally.

Belarus was a staging ground for Russian troops to launch their invasion of Ukraine a little over 13 months ago. Lukashenko, in office since 1994, delivered his annual address amid escalating tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

Both he and Putin have alleged that Western powers want to ruin Russia and Belarus.

Putin and I will decide and introduce here, if necessary, strategic weapons, and they must understand this, the scoundrels abroad, who today are trying to blow us up from inside and outside, the Belarusian leader said. We will protect our sovereignty and independence by any means necessary, including through the nuclear arsenal.

While Putin emphasized that Russia will retain control over the tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, Lukashenko charged that he also will have a say.

Dont say we will just be looking after them, and these are not our weapons, he said. These are our weapons and they will contribute to ensuring sovereignty and independence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday denounced Putins plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus as a reflection of Russias battlefield setbacks and its increasing global isolation. Zelenskyy argued that it also means Lukashenko has yielded completely to Moscows control, adding: I think he no longer decides which weapons are located on his territory.

Putin has said that construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be completed by July 1 and added that Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

While the deployment of Russian short-range tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would put them closer to potential targets in Ukraine and NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe, it wouldnt make much sense for the Kremlin to station any of its strategic nuclear-tipped missiles on Belarusian territory. Those missiles have intercontinental range and can reach a target anywhere around the world from their positions in Russia.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was forced to leave Belarus under official pressure after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election that the opposition and the West rejected as rigged, denounced Lukashenkos push for Russian nuclear weapons as a betrayal of national interests.

The deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus put the lives of Belarusians in serious danger and turns our country into a potential target for strikes, including nuclear strikes at the whim of the two dictators, Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press.

Russias political and economic support helped Lukashenko survive months of major opposition protests, and he has grown increasingly dependent on the Kremlin.

Earlier in the address, Lukashenko called for a cease-fire in Ukraine. A truce must be announced without any preconditions, and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted, he said.

Ukraines presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, quickly dismissed the proposal, saying that any cease-fire would allow Russia to stay in the occupied territories.

This is totally inadmissible, he tweeted.

Belarus and Russia have intensified their military cooperation since the start of the Ukraine war. Moscow has kept its troops and weapons in Belarus, although no Belarusian troops have participated in the fighting.

Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan all relinquished Soviet nuclear weapons, which were left on their terrotories after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Under the so-called Budapest Memorandum that accompanied giving up the weapons, Russia, the United States and Britain agreed to respect the territorial integrity of those countries.

Ukraine has repeatedly complained that Russias 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and the 2022 invasion violate that agreement.

Lukashenko said Friday that he didnt want to lose his countrys nuclear weapons, but was pressured into doing so by then Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Speaking about the possible deployment of Russian strategic nuclear weapons to Belarus in Fridays speech, Lukashenko said that a week ago he ordered his military to immediately put the former base for Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles in order to make it ready for use.

Its a highly technologically sophisticated structure, he said.

All the infrastructure has been created and is standing ready, Lukashenko declared. Im sure that those measures will help sober up all those hawks across the ocean and their satellites for a long time ahead and force them to reckon with our people if they dont understand different language.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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Details added: first version posted on 11:59

GUBA, Azerbaijan, March 31. Hatred towards Azerbaijanis is the basis of genocide crimes committed by Armenians, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva said, Trend reports.

Aliyeva made the remark at a conference on "Legal aspects of the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the context of historical facts" dedicated to March 31 - the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis in Guba.

"From March 30 to April 3, 1918, Azerbaijanis who lived in Baku city and various districts of the Baku province, in Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangazur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan and our other territories were subjected to genocide by Armenian Bolshevik-Dashnak armed detachments, she noted.

According to official sources, as a result of these acts of genocide, about 12,000 Azerbaijanis were killed with particular cruelty, and tens of thousands of people went missing, the ombudsman reminded.

She also noted that the first stage of the genocide committed by Armenians against the Azerbaijani people was carried out in 1905-1906 in all Azerbaijani lands, including Iravan.

"From 1918 through 1920, the territory of Western Azerbaijan, now called Armenia - Iravan city, Zangazur, Daralayaz, Goycha, Vedibasar, Garnibasar, Zangibasar, Aghbaba-Shorayel, Loru-Pambak, Derechichek, Dilijan, Garagoyunlu and other historical regions - underwent another terrible genocide, Aliyeva said.

Besides, according to her, the policy of ethnic cleansing against our people through violence, genocide, massacres and other crimes against humanity led to gross violations of all fundamental rights of Western Azerbaijanis.

The crimes of genocide committed by Armenians were based on centuries of hatred towards Azerbaijanis, a policy that instill discrimination, and completely unfounded territorial claims. Looking back, we see that the implementation of this process was especially brutal in 1905-1906, 1918-1921, 1948-1953 and 1987-1991, the ombudsman further reminded.

According to international law, genocide is considered the most serious crime because its directed against peace and humanity, she said.

In this regard, the deliberate and purposeful murder of thousands of innocent people by Armenia as a result of its policy of ethnic cleansing, racial, and religious hatred towards Azerbaijanis confirms that this crime against humanity is precisely an act of genocide, Aliyeva added.

Besides, as the ombudsman noted, the UN General Assembly resolution of December 11, 1946, indicates that genocide is one of the most serious crimes against humanity, along with a violation of the human right to life.

"According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crimes of Genocide, adopted by the resolution of the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1948, an act of genocide is a crime committed intentionally with the intent to completely or partially mass extermination of any national, ethnic, racial or religious group, she further said.

Therefore, the facts of the massacre of tens of thousands of civilians in 1918 on the basis of ethnic and religious affiliation, a pre-planned and stage-by-stage criminal act, including one committed in various territories of Azerbaijan, should be characterized precisely as a crime of genocide, Aliyeva explained.

After return of the national leader of our people Heydar Aliyev to political power at the insistent demand of the people, along with other crucial issues of Azerbaijan, on March 31 - the Genocide of Azerbaijanis - was first put on the political agenda, the ombudsman pointed out.

According to the decree of March 26, 1998, signed by the great leader Heydar Aliyev, March 31 was declared the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis, these events were given a political assessment and for the first time the genocide of Azerbaijanis by Armenia was officially announced, she reminded.

In order to fulfill the relevant order of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in 2018, an appropriate action plan was prepared and implemented in connection with the 100th anniversary of the genocide, and a special meeting was held by the Azerbaijani Parliament," Aliyeva stressed.

The ombudsman added that as a result of investigative actions and scientific research conducted in recent years, a large number of reliable facts and documents confirming the crimes of genocide committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis were revealed.

In this context, the mass grave found in the city of Guba is one of the bloody episodes of the crime of genocide committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis. The Guba Genocide Memorial Complex established here also contains clear evidence of this fact, she said.

The policy of ethnic cleansing, genocide, terror and occupation based on hatred towards Azerbaijan, and carried out over the years, continued in subsequent years. The consequence of this is that in modern times, many of our compatriots also became victims of war crimes in Armenia, were brutally killed, received various injuries, were captured, taken hostage or disappeared without a trace, Aliyeva noted.

The discovery of mass graves in the territories liberated from occupation [in the 2020 second Karabakh war] once again confirms that the Azerbaijanis captured and taken hostage during the first Karabakh war were killed with cruel torture and buried inhumanly - contrary to the norms of international humanitarian law," she concluded.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The city of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights signed a court-enforceable settlement agreement Friday to revamp policing in the city where George Floyd was murdered by an officer nearly three years ago.

The agency issued a blistering report last year after an investigation found the police department had engaged in a pattern of race discrimination for at least a decade. The City Council approved the settlement in an 11-0 vote. Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero signed it soon after.

"The agreement isnt change, in and of itself, but it charts a clear roadmap to it, Frey said at a news conference.

Lucero said: This agreement serves as a model for how cities, police departments and community members across the country can work together to address race-based policing and strengthen public safety.

The state agency launched its investigation shortly after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyds neck for 9 1/2 minutes on May 25, 2020, disregarding the Black mans fading pleas that he couldn't breathe. Floyds death sparked mass protests around the world, forced a national reckoning on racial injustice, and compelled a Minneapolis Police Department overhaul.

Chauvin was convicted of murder. He and three other officers on the scene are serving prison terms.

We didnt get here overnight, and change also wont happen overnight, Frey said. This problem that we now face, it has taken hold over many generations, many administrations, mayors and chiefs, and clearly our Black and brown communities have taken the brunt of this.

Lucero said the legally binding agreement requires the city and the police department to make transformational changes to fix the organizational culture at the heart of race-based policing.

She said it includes measures to ensure force is used only when it is objectively reasonable, necessary and proportional and never to punish or retaliate. Officers must de-escalate conflicts when possible. There will be limits on when and how officers can use chemical irritants and Tasers. And training in the disputed condition of excited delirium  a key issue in the confrontation that led to Floyds death  will be banned. Stops for broken lights and searches based on the alleged smell of marijuana are banned.

Frey, Lucero and Police Chief Brian OHara said the agreement reflects feedback from and the concerns of the community and police officers.

The court-enforceable agreement does not prohibit officers from relying on reasonable, articulatable suspicion or probable cause of criminal activity to enforce the law. We want officers to do their jobs, Lucero said.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and other lawyers who won a $27 million settlement for the Floyd family called the agreement monumental and the culmination of years of heartbreak and advocacy by those impacted by the poor policies and practices of the Minneapolis Police Department.

The U.S. Department of Justice is still investigating whether Minneapolis police engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination. That investigation could lead to a separate agreement with the city known as a consent decree. City officials couldnt provide information on where that stands.

Several police departments nationwide operate under federal consent decrees. Justice Department and city officials asked a judge Tuesday to end most federal oversight of the Seattle police department, saying its sustained, decade-long reform efforts are a model for other cities.

The Minneapolis settlement, which requires court approval, also governs the use of body-worn and dashboard cameras; officer wellness; and response to mental health and behavioral crises. An independent evaluator must be appointed to monitor compliance.

Several council members criticized the police department and other city leaders.

The lack of political will to take responsibility for MPD is why we are in this position today, council member Robin Wonsley said. This legal settlement formally and legally prevents city leadership from deferring that responsibility anymore. And I hope this settlement is a wake-up call for city leaders, who the public has watched rubber-stamp poor labor contracts, have signed off on endless misconduct settlements, and then shrugged their shoulders when residents asked then why we have a dysfunctional police department.

Some activists were upset that the agreement wasnt posted publicly until after the vote.

Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said she will ask the state data practices office whether the council acted legally. She said her group must study the agreement before commenting on its merits.

This is not the way to start this process and vote on something the communitys going to have to live with for the next five or six years, Gross said.

Even council members had only about a day to study and discuss the document.

This is something weve been waiting for for a long time and my hope is the city will act with fidelity, the city will act with integrity, and the city will follow through. civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong said.

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March is Fraud Prevention Month and a recent Equifax Canada survey showed 97 per cent of Canadians are concerned about fraud and identity theft. They should be because unless something changes theyll be on their own.

I say this because when my SIN and personal details were stolen and used to obtain a credit card with a $15,000 limit, I had assumed government agencies, or the bank that issued the fraudulent card, would help me through the process. They didnt. But with better fraud-awareness training and updated website information they could have.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which estimates only about 5 per cent of cases are reported, says victims lost a record $530 million in 2022, up 40 per cent from 2021. This means more people like you and me will become victims.

I was lucky. I found the new credit card package in my mailbox before the criminals did so I didnt lose money. I lost time, points on my credit score and confidence in financial institutions and the government. In fact, only the police provided reliable aid.

In my case, employees at the bank that issued the fraudulent credit card told me to phone their fraud department, the police, and Equifax and TransUnion. But no one could explain the process or give me a complete list of organizations to contact.

A recent KPMG survey showed three-quarters of small- and medium-sized businesses in Canada experienced fraud in the past year, yet the websites of most public and private institutions focus solely on explaining fraud or ways to prevent it. A simple fix would be for institutions to update their websites to include easy-to-find, accurate and complete instructions for victims. That includes Service Canada.

I contacted Service Canada at least seven times, either waiting hours in line or on the phone, to launch an investigation. Even when I had all documents listed on the website, employees gave me conflicting instructions and sent me away to get more information. When I finally found a savvy employee who filed the documents, she said I would hear back in a week. That was almost three months ago and Ive only just been contacted. It shouldnt be this difficult.

While I acknowledge many groups are working to come to grips with this tsunami of fraud, the resources of an institution are greater than those of one individual. What we need is a concerted effort between financial and government institutions to improve fraud-awareness training and boost transparency around the process of gathering and filing documents so victims are supported rather than brushed off. This would better serve both employees and victims.

When it comes to identity theft and fraud, the onus is already on the victim to gather and present the paperwork to clear our names. Its time for organizations  who we hire and trust to safeguard our money or who we fund through our taxes  to make it easier for us to understand exactly what we need to do to repair the damage and prevent further victimization.

Kirsten Fogg is an Australian-Canadian journalist and award-winning essayist.

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One thing about Justin Trudeau. Hes not spooked by deficits. In fact, as the Liberal budget this week demonstrates, hes willing to run deficits forever if he can come up with a plausible reason for doing so.

Some call this reckless. I find it rather charming.

Its certainly not standard behaviour. Standard behaviour for a prime minister ready to unleash more deficits on the world is a combination of apology and explanation.

As in  Im really sorry but we have no choice. If we run a big deficit now, we can avoid running an even bigger one later.

In the meantime, the standard argument goes, frugality is the order of the day. Cut, cut, cut. To spend money we dont have is to engage in the worst form of fiscal wantonness. Even if the economy is running into trouble, governments must be held back from spending their way to safety.

Thats the standard argument a standard Liberal would give you.

Trudeau has never been standard. In the 2015 election campaign he was presented by his critics as someone unable to explain his fiscal stance. In fact, he didnt care about his fiscal stance. He made a half-hearted promise to balance the books during his first term in office. But it was obvious that he didnt mean it. Deficits didnt worry him. Hed just spend what he had to and deal with the aftermath later.

This unorthodox approach to deficits struck a chord with voters. It seems that they werent focused on fiscal rectitude either.

Trudeau won the next three elections in spite of  or perhaps because of  his unorthodox approach to deficits.

So perhaps this explains the latest budget, released this week by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. It contains none of the usual anchors designed to put a brake on spending  such as limits on the ratio of debt to GDP.

Freeland talks of making tough fiscal choices. But she doesnt do so. And perhaps she is wise to refrain from spending cuts.

Economists predict that Canada is headed for another recession. In Europe and America, banks are coming under attack. A full-fledged financial crisis is not out of the picture.

One can plausibly argue that now is not the best time to bring spending under control. Quite the reverse. Perhaps now is the time to spend in an effort to build the economy up.

The Liberals are being pushed by the New Democrats to bring in a means-tested version of denticare. Perhaps the NDP will use its clout in this minority Parliament to promote universal pharmacare as well.

The Liberals are also proposing to use tax breaks to promote new kinds of manufacturing. One can quibble over the specific industries that could be aided. But the basic idea  using the power of government to create an industrial strategy is a good one.

However, none of these positive virtues could be realized if the government were fixated on deficits. Luckily this government is not. Justin Trudeau has many faults. Obsession with the deficit is not one of them.

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By the mid-1990s, it was common for analysts to lament a rising culture of meanness. Public anger and government cutbacks seemed aimed at punishing those already struggling. Worse, the mood took hold at the very time the wealth and income gaps between the rich and the rest was expanding.

Theres a strong taste of that mood in the decision by Doug Fords government to wind down a pandemic program, established in March 2020, to give uninsured Ontario patients access to medically necessary care.

It was a program the Health Network for Uninsured Clients, in a report released last week, said had improved health outcomes and reduced financial hardships for those without insurance.

Under the programs, clients  those on temporary work or study permits and those without authorized immigration status  were less likely to wait until medical issues became severe or life-threatening to seek care.

The network recommended the program be made permanent. Instead, the government has decided to shut it down at the end of March.

The HNUC said the uninsured will again have to engage in lengthy negotiations with hospitals or advocacy groups  with the risks of worsening health that delays present  to find funding to pay for care.

Those delays in seeking care can mean a health condition can literally make the difference between life and death. Earlier access to care contributes to better outcomes for serious conditions like cancer and HIV, the report states.

As of 2016, the HUNC report said, there were about 500,000 uninsured people living in Ontario. The reason someone is uninsured is often tied to their immigration status and can include those on temporary work or study permits and people who are undocumented or without authorized immigration status, the report said.

Many of them, though often voiceless, perform important work. I always say its people that are putting food on your table, people that clean your houses, clean your buildings, clean your garbage, one clinic director told the network.

A social worker said the program relieved clients of the terrible choice between getting necessary care or paying for rent and groceries.

The fear, for the uninsured, is constant, the network was told. Youre afraid to trip on the street, youre afraid your child might fall.

They face significant barriers to accessing health care, from unaffordable out-of-pocket fees, to systemic discrimination against racialized groups, low income people, immigrants and newcomers in general, the report said.

The Ontario Medical Association told the CBC that it estimated physicians in the community billed the province about $15 million under the program and there would be further costs for patients seen in hospitals.

RELATED STORIES Provincial Politics Health minister under fire over OHIP changes for eye care, uninsured patients

For a government crowing about the windfall tax revenues pouring into its accounts to the tune of billions of dollars, the cost of this program is a pittance, a reasonable price for the considerable benefits in both health and peace of mind.

To have taken the axe to a small program supporting some of the most vulnerable people in Ontario said a lot about the Ford government, none of it good.

Former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said that the test of progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.

The observation stands many decades later as a sensible means of identifying a governments soul.

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Although Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reaffirmed this year in March while in Berlin Armenia's adherence to Western values, several actions and strategic positioning of his country rather show a rapprochement with Russia that could even place Armenia under international sanctions.

Iran's participation to the war in Ukraine as Russias ally came as no surprise to the public opinion, given the hostility shown by Tehran towards the West and its values.

Surprising, however, is Iran's closeness to Armenia. Since the war started in Ukraine, Iranian President Raisi made numerous statements regarding the importance of his countrys relations with Armenia, advocating for their strengthening. As an echo of the Iranian interest, there are mirroring statements of friendship made by the Armenian Prime Minister, Nicol Pashinyan, as well as shifting the discussions to the topic of security in the two countries. "The security of Armenia is the security of Iran", announced the head of the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic, and the next day, his Armenian counterpart emphasized that the relations between the two countries are based "on a deep understanding of our common natural interests".

After President Khachatryan confirmed earlier this year that Armenia wishes to expand and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with Iran, the Armenian Defense Ministry admitted that Iran had supplied them with attack drones, the Iranians donating 600 missiles to the Armenians.

Moreover, Nicol Pashinyan made an official visit to Tehran where a memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the energy sector was signed. Another relevant signal is the fact that, during the war in Ukraine, trade between the two countries has increased sharply: in 2022, exports from Armenia to Iran reached $111.2 million, which is 70% more than the previous year. Iranian imports to Armenia amounted to $599.7 million, an increase of 37%.

The intensity of Yerevan's official support for the regime in Tehran is highlighted by a fact that barely noticed in the West: shortly after the brutal suppression of women's rights protests in Iran, the Prime Minister of Armenias wife, Hakobyan, visited Tehran to take part in a soft power movement organized by the authorities - the First International Congress of Influential Women.

Relevant to Yerevan's true foreign policy priorities is Armenia's position against the UN resolution entitled "The Worsening of the Human Rights Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran" voted in the special session of the UN General Assembly Council.

On November 23, 2022, the Russians fired rockets at several civilian targets - the maternity in Volnyansk, Zaporozhye region (one newborn died), a block of flats and a polyclinic in Kupyansk, Kharkiv region (two dead), buildings in residential areas in Kyiv and Vyshgorod, Kyiv Region (7 dead), as well as in Poltava, Vinnytsia, Lviv Region, Odesa, Dnipro and Mariupol. Ironically, the same day, Prime Minister Pashinyan received the visit of Vladimir Putin in Yerevan, addressed him as "Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich" and shook his hand.

This gesture comes as no surrise because Pashinyan previously stated: "... The successful partnership in the economic and military fields fully meets the interests of the development of relations between Armenia and Russia." "Russia is a strategic partner and ally of Armenia", the Armenian Prime Minister emphasized two days later. "The positions of our countries on fundamental international issues are close or coincide," said Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Arshakyan. "Russia is the closest partner and strategic ally of the Republic of Armenia" repeated the head of government. And the Speaker of the Parliament, Simonyan, proudly admitted: "I can say with confidence that the current government of Armenia is one of the most pro-Russians".

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Pashinyan has visited Russia no less than 5 times, met with Putin 6 times and had 18 phone calls.

Since the beginning of the invasion in Ukraine, the military partnership has intensively strengthened: the Armenian Minister of Defense visited Moscow 4 times, and the Secretary of the Security Council, twice. And the Chief of the General Staff visited Moscow. Joint military exercises were held in September, a military cooperation agreement for 2023 was signed in December. In February 2023, the Defense and Security Committee of the Armenian Parliament ratified a cooperation agreement between the special services of the two countries in the field of information security, after Ukraine did the same with Western partners in the field to counter threats from Russia.

Trade between Armenia and Russia has intensified: in 2022, Armenia's exports to Russia amounted to $2.4 billion, which is 185.7% more than in 2021; Russias imports from Armenia amounted to $2.6 billion, an increase of 44.5%. On February 2nd this year, Prime Minister Pashinyan said: "There is an intensification in our trade and economic relations." He noted "Vladimir Putin's special role in this dynamic."

It's not just a question of increasing Armenian exports to Russia: According to Western officials, government agencies and think tanks, Armenia serves as one of Russia's main hubs for purchasing products in the EU and East Asia to circumvent international sanctions imposed on Russia. Parallel imports of microchips, smartphones and cars are particularly active through Armenia. "New supply chains through Armenia were created within days of sanctions and took months to expand," a February 2023 report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development stated.

Latvian Prime Minister Karins announced that Yerevan is not complying with the sanctions regime. On March 2 this year, in a joint document of the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Commerce and the US Treasury, Armenia is called one of the "transshipment points commonly used for the illegal transfer of (sanctioned) restricted goods to the Russian Federation and Belarus".

In September 2022, the US Treasury published detailed information about the participation of an Armenian company in the purchase of foreign equipment for the Russian military industry. Bloomberg later presented evidence of deliveries of European equipment components through Armenia, which were later used in Russian military equipment.

There are clear indications of Armenias active involvement in supporting Russia to evade international sanctions, not just for the import of civilian use goods. Thus, it became obvious that Armenia plays an important role as a logistics center and technical and military supply for the Putin regime, especially since international sanctions were imposed on Russia in an attempt to stop the aggression against Ukraine.

On November 28, 2022, New Eastern Europe, a Polish news magazine specializing in former Warsaw Pact countries noted: "Irans support for the Russian war against Ukraine is being undertaken with the support of Armenia, which is helping Moscow evade sanctions through the supply of Iranian drones and missiles via Armenian air space and airports. Iran Air Cargo, a subsidiary of Iran Air, flew from Yerevans Zvartnots International, a civilian airport, to Moscow on September 4th and 5th, following two earlier flights on August 21st and 29th. Iran Air Cargo, Safiran Airport Services and their parent company Iran Air are under US sanctions for transferring, with the help of Armenia, Iranian drones to Russia. Russian Air Force Ilyushin II-76MD planes have also been used to transport the Iranian drones via Yerevan. Russia has used these Iranian drones and missiles to launch terrorist attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure that constitute war crimes. () The US has warned Armenia about its close relations with Iran and Russia, including during the head of the CIAs visit to Armenia in the summer of 2022. He warned, but Armenia ignored, to stay away from the close military alliance between Iran and Russia."
The General Secretary of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Minister of Internal Affairs Lucian Bode, stated on Friday that the Government has not advanced a threshold for abuse of office, considering that this should be done by the Legislature.

"I participated in the coalition's activity on Sunday. 80% of the time we discussed the amendments to the law on special pensions. The discussions related to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, the draft law in Parliament, were marginal and Minister Predoiu was mandated by the coalition to discuss with the parliamentary groups to find a solution. (...) All the necessary explanations were given by Catalin Predoiu, and if other statements and other explanations are needed, will give them to the public", stated Lucian Bode, at the Parliament.

He argued that the senators could not have known what they voted for when they approved the threshold of 250,000 lei.

Bode emphasized that at the coalition discussion, there was no discussion about a certain amount regarding the threshold for abuse of office.

The Senate adopted, in Wednesday's plenary session, the Government's draft law for the amendment of the Criminal Code and other normative acts, in order to bring it into line with the decisions of the Constitutional Court, whereby the threshold for abuse of office, which is punishable by imprisonment of for 2 to 7 years, it is set at 250,000 lei.

The Ministry of Justice later announced that it would support the adoption by the Chamber of Deputies of a threshold of 9,000 lei for the crime of abuse of office.

Coalition leaders Nicolae Ciuca and Marcel Ciolacu announced on Wednesday that they support the proposal from the Ministry of Justice. AGERPRES
Bucharest, March 31 /Agerpres/ - A transfer of authority ceremony between the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team "Strike" and those of the 1st Brigade Combat Team "Bastogne," both of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) of the US Army, will took place today at the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Constanta County.

The ceremony marks the completion of the rotation of the forces of these units in Romania, and the events on this occasion include a static exhibition of military equipment and a demonstration exercise of the Romanian and American military, as well as conducting an air assault mission, Romania's Defence Ministry (MApN) reports.

The 1st Brigade Combat Team "Bastogne" began its deployment to the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base at the beginning of March.

"In all, approximately 3,800 soldiers from this brigade will be deployed to several military bases elsewhere in Europe. They provide support to the mission of the V Army Corps of the US Army and allied and partner states on the eastern flank of NATO to enhance the deterrence and defence posture of NATO in the Black Sea," according to MApN.
The European Green Pact, the regulation on the restoration of nature, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the importance of the energy efficiency of buildings were among the topics discussed on Friday by the Minister of the Environment, Barna Tanczos, with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, in a bilateral meeting that took place at the headquarters of the ministry.

"We discussed the European programs that must also be supported financially on the model of the Social Fund for the Climate, which supports those who will be affected by these reductions in carbon emissions, so that the prices are bearable and the cost of these transformations is bearable for the citizens. The costs must be shared equitably between all the actors involved, taking into account the specifics of each country. We must not put undue pressure on the final consumer, on the European citizens, on the Romanian citizens," the Romanian Minister of Environment, Water and Forests said.

He specified that a very interesting discussion was focused on energy efficiency in construction, in buildings, during which it was agreed that new technologies must be supported financially by the Commission, and member states can come up with very effective solutions to reduce carbon emissions "so that energy efficiency can be achieved by implementing these technologies".

At the same time, the Romanian dignitary mentioned the program dedicated to the installation of photovoltaic panels, carried out by the Environmental Fund Administration, and emphasized the need to continue massive investments in energy efficiency.

In turn, Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the European Commission, pointed out the importance of investments in energy efficiency, but also the need to establish firm thresholds in the use of pesticides.

"Investments in the energy efficiency of buildings, the use of smart technology in order to reduce energy consumption and pollution are measures that benefit people. Also, as far as the agricultural sector is concerned, we are all aware that the overuse of pesticides and fertilizers is dangerous, we must find an optimal formula to decrease their use, with the aim of reducing the impact on the soil. At the same time, farmers must understand that the excess of pesticides is killing the soil and their future. In this sense, in the coming period, we are working on a legislative package that includes all these aspects," added Timmermans.

At the same time, the Secretary of State Ionut-Sorin Banciu presented the efforts that Romania is making to combat illegal logging, as well as the inventory of degraded forest habitats in our country, in the context of the new European regulation on nature restoration.AGERPRES
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Romania on Monday, informed the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Romania.

According to the source, the Chancellor will be received in Bucharest by President Klaus Iohannis, with whom he will discuss bilateral issues as well as topics such as European policy, security and energy. A joint press conference is planned after the talks.

Afterwards, Chancellor Scholz will be received with military honours by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.

After the meeting with Prime Minister Ciuca, the German official and President Iohannis will meet the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, for a joint discussion. During this meeting, issues of further support to the Republic of Moldova will be discussed. A joint press conference is planned after the meeting.

Chancellor Scholz will also hold a dialogue with the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, and will later meet representatives of the German minority in Romania.

"The visit of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz underlines the significant importance of our bilateral relations with Romania, which are closer and more reliable than ever. With this visit, together with our Romanian partners, we are sending an important signal as to Europe's unity, especially in these difficult times of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. In addition to a number of bilateral topics, the discussions will focus on support and solidarity with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. I would like to thank Romania, our close partner and friend, for its support and readiness to help Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova," says German Ambassador to Romania Peer Gebauer
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. The Community of Western Azerbaijan (historical lands of Azerbaijan located in modern-day Armenias territory) has urged Armenia to acknowledge its responsibility for genocide and war crimes against Azerbaijanis, Trend reports via the statement of the Community.

It was noted in the statement that Western Azerbaijanis are commemorating March 31, the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, with deep sorrow. After the mass resettlement of Armenians in the Caucasus, the Armenian extremist armed groups and government committed genocide against the Azerbaijani people. The genocide was carried out systematically based on a racist ideology inciting ethnic hatred.

One of the most horrific acts of this genocide was the massacre committed in Baku on March 31, 1918, by armed units of the extremist nationalist Dashnaktsutyun Party [Armenian Revolutionary Federation]. Also, from 1918 to 1920, Armenians carried out ethnic cleansing and massacres of Azerbaijanis in Zangazur, Goycha, Daralayaz, Surmali, Sharur and other regions.

Numerous acts of genocide, during which hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed by Armenians, caused Azerbaijanis, who once made up more than 80 percent of the population in the territory of today's Armenia, to become an ethnic minority there in 1921.

As a result of ethnic cleansing carried out from 1948 to 1952 and from 1987 to 1991, Azerbaijanis were completely expelled from the territory of modern Armenia. Historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis, mosques, and cemeteries were destroyed.

Although Armenia has joined the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other numerous international conventions on human rights, it continues its racist policy.

This country prevents the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis to their homes, continues to glorify Garegin Nzhdeh, Andranik Ozanyan, Drastamat Kanayan, and Monte Melkonyan, who committed crimes against humanity, and terrorist acts against Azerbaijanis, and encourages Nazi ideology such as Nzhdeism at the state level.

The Community urges the Armenian state to acknowledge its responsibility for genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and war crimes and to take the necessary steps in the name of peace. Armenia must create conditions for the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from this country and restore the destroyed Azerbaijani cultural heritage.

In addition, Armenia must stop the policies and practices that incite hatred and discrimination against Azerbaijanis. It must bring to justice those who have committed crimes against humanity, immediately put an end to their glorification, and dismantle monuments to persons who participated in terrorist crimes against Azerbaijanis.
Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu participated on Thursday in the first working meeting of the Bucharest 9 (B9) Foreign Ministers' meeting in Lodz, Poland, where he announced that the first High Level Conference on Black Sea Security will take place on April 13 in Bucharest, the Foreign Ministry (MAE) said.

The conference on April 13 will be organised by the Romanian and Ukrainian foreign and defence ministers, with the participation of the foreign and defence ministers of the states participating in the International Crimean Platform.

At the consultations in Lodz, the B9 ministers focused on the implications of the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine for the regional and Euro-Atlantic context, "with emphasis on the need for continued strong and robust support for Ukraine and the strengthening of the transatlantic tie," the Foreign Ministry said.

In his intervention, the head of the Romanian diplomacy called on the B9 ministers to maintain increased allied attention and involvement in the Black Sea region, which is of strategic importance for the entire Euro-Atlantic area, and to strengthen transatlantic coordination.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu reiterated Romania's firm commitment to continue the country's multidimensional support to Ukraine.

He said that "the aim and duty of the B9 states on the Eastern flank is to restore peace, which can only be achieved by helping Ukraine to win the war of aggression launched by Russia."

At the same time, Aurescu encouraged the Eastern flank allies to continue supporting Ukraine's neighbours, vulnerable to Russia's aggressive actions, in particular the Republic of Moldova, which is also facing hybrid threats aimed at destabilising the state and hijacking its European course, as well as Georgia.

Regarding Romania's support for the Republic of Moldova, Minister Bogdan Aurescu also referred to the need to strengthen Moldova's defence and resilience capabilities and called on the B9 allies to support these efforts.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy pleaded for further coordination, in complementarity, of NATO-EU efforts to support these states.

The Bucharest 9 Format Foreign Ministers' meeting continues on Friday and is co-chaired by Bogdan Aurescu and his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau.
The minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, participated, on Friday, in the second day of the meeting of heads of diplomacy from the allied member countries of the Bucharest Format 9 (B9), in Lodz (Poland), in a context in which he supported the consolidation of NATO troops, especially of the USA on the Eastern Flank, appreciating that this is "essential," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) reports.

Aurescu drew attention to the fact that the Russian threat affects the security of the Eastern Flank in its entirety and, therefore, a unitary vision at the allied level is necessary, in the mirror, to ensure an adequate deterrence and defense position. He emphasized that "for this purpose, strengthening the presence of allied troops on the Eastern Flank is essential, especially US troops, also considering that the transatlantic link represents the foundation of Euro-Atlantic security," MAE says.

The minister also drew attention to the need to continue the measures at the operational level, including regarding the Battle Groups on the Eastern Flank, of which the one in Romania is also a part.

He also pleaded in this context for the continuation of robust support for Ukraine and for strengthening the strategic resilience of Ukraine's neighboring states most vulnerable to Russian pressure, such as the Republic of Moldova, but also Georgia, in order to ensure peace and security in the Black Sea region.

The head of Romanian diplomacy reiterated the request to the B9 ministers to maintain increased allied attention and involvement in the Black Sea region, including by resuming the allied maritime presence, also indicating the future opportunities to transform this region into a "real platform for economic and energy ties between Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia".

Equally, Aurescu reiterated the position regarding the clarification of NATO's future relations with Russia, starting from the lessons learned in recent years, but especially since the outbreak of the war, as well as from the parameters established in the Strategic Concept and the documents of the Madrid Summit, which qualifies Russia as the main threat to allied security. He also pleaded for progress in Vilnius regarding Ukraine's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

At the end of the meeting, the two co-presidents of the format, the foreign ministers of Romania and Poland, adopted a document of conclusions.AGERPRES
National Defence Minister Angel Tilvar had a meeting on Thursday with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, context in which he talked about the need of a strategy for the Black Sea security, under the coordination of the United States of America, the National Defence Ministry (MApN) conveyed.

Tilvar is paying an official visit to the US.

"We believe that there is an urgent need for a comprehensive strategy, multi-area, for the Black Sea, under the coordination of the US, that involves key-actors in the region. This thing will create a more solid policy, built around the consistent and persistent presence of the US and NATO and an active US leadership in the region. The robust presence of the US forces in Romania, supplemented last year with the 2nd Infantry Brigade, under the command of the 101st Airborne Division is another proof of solidarity of what means the US commitment for the Black sea security," the Romanian minister stated.

The agenda of talks of the two officials focused on topics related to the developments of the regional security situation in the context of the Russian Federation's war of aggression in Ukraine, with an emphasis on the concrete ways to strengthen military bilateral cooperation, deepening the cooperation in the Black Sea, further presence of the US armed forces in Romania and in the Black Sea region, namely the contribution to the allied deterrence and defence posture on the Eastern Flank.

The Romanian minister added that "today, Romania is a solid, trustworthy ally, a state which proves ambition, political will, as well as the capacity to concretely and credibly contribute to the implementation of common future priorities, including through the firm assumption of the role of security supplier in the Black Sea region."

In respect to the support for Ukraine, Tilvar highlighted Romania's efforts, alongside those of the communities of democratic states.

"I welcome the special results obtained at the level of the support for Ukraine under the leadership of the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, within the Defense Contact Group. Romania, as a EU and NATO member state, granted multidimensional support for Ukraine and will continue to do this thing as long as it is needed," the Romanian official stated.

Angel Tilvar mentioned that "besides the strengthening of Romania's profile within the North-Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, the deepening and expansion of the Strategic Partnership with the US represents an important component of the foreign affairs and security policy of our country."

In view of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, in June 2023, the Romanian official mentioned the necessity of implementing the decisions adopted within the NATO Summit in Madrid, last year, the adoption of some consistent decisions regarding the security in the Black Sea, as well as the identification of some concrete support measures for Ukraine and for the partners in the region, such as the Republic of Moldova.

The visit of the Romanian official marks the 30th anniversary since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership between the Romanian Armed Forces and the Alabama National Guard. In this context, the Romanian minister will have a series of meetings in Washington D.C., with US officials within the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Governor of Alabama and members of the Congress, as well as with the representatives of research and analysis institutes renowned in the sphere of security studies, Moreover, the Defence minister will also attend the event organized to mark the 30th anniversary of the partnership with the Alabama National Guard, in Montgomery.
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca declared on Friday that he hopes that Sweden will join NATO as soon as possible and thus be able to participate with troops at the (central Romania) Cincu military base.

The head of the Executive from Bucharest held a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson.

Ciuca expressed his hope that the Scandinavian country will join the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance until July, when the Vilnius NATO Summit takes place.

"I see Sweden as a future NATO member, but also as a NATO partner. Taking into account that NATO has increased its presence in all regions of the Black Sea, especially in Romania, the USA has also increased its presence in the Black Sea area and in areas in Romania, I think that Sweden can participate in our exercises and deploy soldiers and be part of the NATO presence at (the military base at) Cincu," he pointed out.

"We are looking forward to this country becoming a member of the Alliance," Nicolae Ciuca added.AGERPRES
Ever since it joined the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) has proven that it is capable of governing, party chairman Marcel Ciolacu on Friday told an event organized together with PES Activists Romania to mark 130 years since the creation of the first social democratic party in Romania.

"Ever since we joined the coalition, we have proven that we are capable of governing, that we fight for the things we believe in and that we can deliver. We raised the minimum wage, regulated the energy market which had been thrown into chaos by a completely incompetent government, provided support to Romanian companies. Without the PSD in the government, none of the measures taken in the last year would have happened. This is the truth! As a party, we have put behind the old methods of doing politics and have grown into a modern, European party focused on supporting and furthering the Romanian economy. Not only did we renew ourselves here, at home, but we also took up an important place at the table of the European social-democratic parties," Ciolacu said.

He went on to remark that from the very first moment, the PSD was totally involved in helping Romania's neighbors "attacked by an abusive and tyrannical regime".

"We need to invest, first and foremost, in our future. This starts with investing in future generations, building a stronger education system, more affordable housing, better health care, and creating more and better-paying jobs. We must invest in our farmers and promote the 'Buy Romanian' concept. Our farmers and small entrepreneurs are the backbone of our society and economy. We must also do everything in our power to offer more opportunities to the ladies who should play a stronger role in our economy. Our nation only stands to gain from the involvement of women in politics, economy and society," the PSD leader said.

According to him, the PSD is prepared to rule, having passed the test of governing throughout its history, and will do it again anytime. AGERPRES
Social Democratic Party (PSD) president Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday, in a press conference, that he hopes "with all his heart" that the milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) on special pensions be fulfilled in a timely manner.

He was asked if it is true that the representatives of the European Commission do not fully agree with the form of the special pensions bill as voted in the Senate.

"I understood the same thing, but I don't know where. Where did you understand this? (...) I didn't allow myself [to speak with the representatives of the European Commission on this subject]. Instead, I know that there are debates in the Chamber of Deputies. We will modify and discuss with the Commission, so that we meet the milestone. We have not spoken with the Commission. We have a relevant minister, the minister of Investments and European Projects, who negotiates with the Commission. It is not Ciolacu from the Chamber that negotiate whatever comes to mind to negotiate. We are waiting for the negotiations, we have a form passed through a chamber, I am firmly convinced that minister Budai continues to collect opinions from the ministers. In the Chamber of Deputies we start debates and I hope with all my heart that we will meet the milestone in due time," answered Marcel Ciolacu.

He added that a "correct approach" in the PNRR would have been to adopt, as a package, the wage law, the pension law and the special pension law, "so that you have an overall picture".AGERPRES
National chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday that Romanian farmers will receive new financial aid from the European Commission, based on a fair formula.

"Romanian farmers will receive new financial aid from the European Commission, based on a fair formula! This is one of the outcomes of my talks today with the executive vice-president of the European Commission, Mr Frans Timmermans. I thanked Mr Timmermans for the strong support of the European Socialists for Romania's accession to the Schengen area, and I am glad to note that this support remains just as firm from our European family," Ciolacu said in a social media post.

He added that he also said that PSD will ensure the full implementation of Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and will continue the effort to support Ukraine and Moldova.

"PSD has taken over the responsibility of governing to provide the stability that Romania needs. Today, together with Mr Timmermans and our PSD colleagues, we will celebrate 130 years of Social Democracy in Romania," said Ciolacu.
A Bucharest Court of Appeal judge has ordered the provisional arrest for extradition of a Romanian wanted in the United States of America for conspiracy to riot and rioting, as one of the founders of an organisation that supports white supremacist ideology in the US.

"On March 29, police officers of the Criminal Investigation Department - Tracking Service and fighters of the Service for Interventions and Special Actions have detected, in the municipality of Bucharest, a 33-year-old man, an American citizen, with an APB issued by the US judicial authorities for committing crimes of conspiracy to riot and riot activities," reads a press release the Romanian Police General Inspectorate (IGPR) issued on Friday.

According to the source, the American judicial authorities have sent a request for provisional arrest with a view to extradite the Romanian, from which it appears that, between December 2016 and October 2018, in the Central District of the State of California and in other parts of the United States, the man allegedly conspired with others to travel to political rallies and to use tactics of fighting and physical violence against individuals and groups that did not support their ideology.

The person is suspected of being one of the founders of an organisation supporting white supremacist ideology, which would publicly present itself as a battle-ready group advocating for a new nationalist movement of white supremacy and identity.

The man allegedly led mixed martial arts training fights for members of the movement, travelling to two political rallies where he allegedly assaulted others, including a police officer.

Following the detection, the internationally wanted man was presented to the prosecutor of the Bucharest Court of Appeal Prosecutor's Office, who ordered his detention and, on March 30, a judge of the Bucharest Court of Appeal ordered his provisional arrest for extradition.

Currently, the American citizen is in the custody of the Bucharest Municipality Police Directorate General.
The inclusion of Romania in the Visa Waiver program as soon as possible will contribute to increasing the level of cooperation between Romania and the United States, Defence Minister Angel Tilvar said on Thursday at meetings within the US Congress.

According to the Ministry of National Defence ( MApN), the Romanian minister appreciated the progress made by the US legislature to include Romania in the Visa Waiver program, giving assurances that the Romanian Government will work closely with the US authorities to achieve this goal as soon as possible.

He referred to the eighth round of the US - Romania Strategic Dialogue, which took place in Bucharest in March, whose final declaration states that "Romania and the United States remain committed to working together to support Romania's efforts to meet the criteria established by law for Romania's admission to the Visa Waiver program".

MApN reminds that on 15 March, US Senators Richard Durbin and Jeanne Shaheen introduced a bill in Congress recommending Romania's inclusion in the Visa Waiver program.AGERPRES
The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MAT) is launching the national selection of tourist villages that aspire to the "Best Tourism Villages" title, the initiative being a prelude to the third edition of the international competition of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), through which, annually, outstanding examples of rural destinations are identified.

"It is a real honour to rediscover the Romanian village as a source for sustainable development, to promote both traditions and to exploit natural opportunities for tourism purposes," Minister of Entrepreneurship and Tourism Constantin-Daniel Cadariu is quoted as saying in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Friday.

Following the submission of applications and their evaluation, Romania will submit to the WTO up to eight proposals for tourist villages, which will compete with other rural destinations around the world. To be eligible, the village must have a low population density and no more than 15,000 inhabitants according to the last census, be located in a landscape with a significant presence of traditional activities and reflect the values and lifestyle of the community.

In the evaluation process, the following selection criteria will be scored: cultural and natural resources, promotion and conservation of cultural resources, economic, social and environmental sustainability, tourism development and value chain integration, governance and tourism prioritisation, infrastructure and connectivity, health, safety and security, presentation materials (video, images).

The rural destinations from Romania, which will participate in the global competition, will have the chance to be designated "Best Tourism Villages," like the village of Rasinari, which obtained this distinction last year, or to be included in the Upgrade Programme, through which they will benefit from support from the WTO and partners to improve the areas of activity identified as less developed following the evaluation.

The villages recognised as "Best Tourism Villages," as well as those selected to participate in the Upgrade Programme, will become members of a network that facilitates the exchange of information, experiences and best practices.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Regular political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic took place in Baku on March 30, 2023, the Azerbaijani MFA told Trend.

According to the ministry, from the Azerbaijani side, the delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Khalaf Khalafov, and from the opposite side - Director General for European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jaroslav Kurfurst.

Throughout the consultations, the current state and prospects of bilateral and multilateral relations between the two countries were discussed, including political, economic, trade, humanitarian, and consular issues, as well as cooperation within international organizations.

During the discussions, Khalafov noted that 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, adding that over the years the relations of effective cooperation based on mutual respect and trust between them have grown to the level of strategic partnership. The top-level political dialogue and exchange of official visits, as well as inter-parliamentary cooperation, play a significant role in this process. Moreover, there is a wide potential for further development of relations. He also mentioned the transport and communication projects carried out in the region at the initiative and with the participation of Azerbaijan and emphasized ample opportunities for cooperation in these areas.

Khalafov provided details of the new realities that have developed in the region in the post-conflict period, the reconstruction work in the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from Armenian occupation. By notifying Azerbaijan's initiatives to normalize relations with Armenia, promote the peace agenda, delimitation of the state border, and open communications, he also added that the provocations committed by Armenia, especially the non-fulfillment of obligations arising from the Trilateral Statement, pose a threat to ensuring peace and tranquility in the region.

At the same time, Kurfurst expressed satisfaction with the current level of bilateral relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic and noted that the relations, based on the relevant Joint Statement signed in 2015, have reached the level of strategic partnership. He pointed out that the Czech Republic always supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and underlines the importance of establishing lasting peace and stability in the region. He also noted that a productive meeting of the Azerbaijani-Czech intergovernmental commission was held in Prague (Czech Republic) on March 3 this year, which contributed to the development of economic cooperation between the two countries.

Moreover, during the meeting, the representatives of both countries exchanged views on other regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Two trucks carrying more than 20 tones of waste from Germany and Italy were stopped upon entering Romanian, at the Nadlac II and Bors II Border Crossing Points (PTF), and the authorities ordered the waste to be returned to their countries of origin.

The trucks were driven by Romanian drivers, who were transporting, according to the documents accompanying the goods, clothing waste, other textile materials and glass waste from various trading companies in Germany and Italy for companies in Romania.

"As there were suspicions about the legality of the transport in question, the border policemen requested authorized support from the representatives of the Arad and Bihor County Commissariat of the National Environmental Guard. Following check-ups, it was found that the vehicles were loaded with 20,890 kg of waste, consisting of clothing, second-hand textile materials and glass waste, a load for which it was determined that it does not meet the legal conditions to entry our country's territory," the Arad Border Police conveyed on Friday.

The authorities have ordered that the goods be returned to the shipping companies
Dr. Jacqui OKane took a job with a hospital in southern Georgia in 2020, as the lone doctor in a primary care clinic in a small town thats a medically underserved area. She soon attracted nearly 3,000 patients.

But she said the hospital pressed her to take more new patients, so she had to work nights and weekends  not ideal for the mother of two young daughters. She thought about opening her own practice in town, which would give her more control over her schedule.

The problem was that her three-year contract included a noncompete clause barring her from practicing within 50 miles of the hospital for two years after it ended.

So, she has decided to join a practice in South Carolina. That means she and her husband will sell their house, move hundreds of miles, and enroll their children in a new school.

It sucks, she said. I know my patients very well, and I feel like Im being forced to abandon them. But I cant stay in this job because its unhealthy for me to work this much.

In January, the Federal Trade Commission proposed to end predicaments like OKanes by prohibiting noncompete clauses in employment contracts. The freedom to change jobs is core to economic liberty and to a competitive, thriving economy, said Lina Khan, the FTC chairperson.

The proposed rule would prohibit employment contract provisions that block employees or contractors from working for a competing employer when they move on, or from starting a competing business. Such contracts typically bar people from working within a certain geographic area for a period after the job ends.

The FTC estimates that 30 million workers are bound by noncompete clauses. It says ending those provisions would boost economic competition, reduce prices, and increase workers earnings overall by up to $296 billion a year.

Eliminating noncompete contracts would allow doctors to practice wherever their services are needed, which would improve patients access to care. They say it would free them to speak out about unsafe conditions for patients, since they wouldnt have to worry about getting fired and not being able to continue working in their community.

But the FTCs proposal faces resistance from employers in all industries, including hospitals and private equity-backed medical groups that employ thousands of physicians, nurse practitioners, and other medical professionals.

Its about money for them, too. They say eliminating noncompetes would drive up the cost of hospital care because hospitals would have to pay physicians more to keep them. They also say noncompete clauses are necessary to protect proprietary information and investments in employee training, and to prevent employees from taking clients and patients with them when they leave.

Business and hospital groups are likely to sue to block the rule, arguing that Congress hasnt authorized the commission to regulate noncompete clauses. While there is bipartisan support in Congress for legislation that would restrict noncompete clauses and authorize FTC action, the bill hasnt advanced; similar legislation stalled in past years.

Health care industry groups hope to block any change with the argument that the FTC lacks statutory authority to regulate nonprofit, or tax-exempt, hospitals, which account for nearly 60% of all U.S. community hospitals. In the proposed rule, the FTC acknowledged that entities not conducting business for profit may not be subject to the rule because they are exempt from coverage under the Federal Trade Commission Act, the law that gives the agency its authority.

The rule would create an unlevel playing field because we compete with nonprofit and public hospitals that wouldnt be subject to it, said Chip Kahn, CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, which represents for-profit hospital systems.

But other experts arent sure the FTC lacks authority over nonprofits. While the FTC Act exempts nonprofits, the commission has acted many times under the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act, federal antitrust laws used to block anti-competitive conduct by nonprofit hospital systems. Its not clear whether the FTC will clarify this issue before it finalizes the rule.

We fully support having the noncompete ban apply to all hospitals, said Dr. Jonathan Jones, president of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, half of whose members are bound by noncompetes.

California, North Dakota, and Oklahoma already ban enforcement of noncompete clauses for all employees, while six other states prohibit enforcement of noncompete clauses for physicians. Even in states without bans, judges have invalidated noncompetes when they found them to be overbroad or unreasonable.

But it can cost tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees to challenge a noncompete clause, and other employers may not want to take the risk of hiring a person in the middle of a legal fight, said Luke Campbell, a Seattle attorney who represents physicians.

The FTC rule also would bar the use of nondisclosure or training repayment agreements in employment contracts if they functioned as de facto noncompetes.

Hospitals often require nurses to sign training repayment agreement provisions, called TRAPs, which nursing groups say lock nurses into jobs by demanding they pay as much as $20,000, for whats essentially job orientation, if they leave before two years. National Nurses United, a labor union, wants the FTC to explicitly prohibit TRAPs.

As of last year, nearly three-quarters of all U.S. physicians were employed by hospital systems or other companies, with many working under noncompete agreements. A 2018 survey found that nearly half of primary care physicians in California, Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas were bound by noncompetes.

Private equity-owned staffing firms such as TeamHealth, Envision Healthcare, and Sound Physicians, which provide emergency physicians and other medical professionals to work in hospitals, commonly use noncompete provisions. Hospitals, insurers, and physician-owned medical groups also use noncompetes in employing doctors and other medical professionals.

Best and worst states for health care Best and worst states for health care The 10 states with the best health care The 10 states with the lowest rank for health care Additional findings: Outcome, cost and access data rankings Depending on state, Americans' cost for care can vary significantly Methodology
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  In February, the first month that recreational marijuana could legally be sold in Missouri, sales hit $103 million  well above what many industry observers predicted.

That's good news for the marijuana business. For consumers, it could be more of a mixed bag, at least in the short term.

Here's why: The state's licensed cultivators didn't anticipate such huge weed sales, either. They weren't operating at full capacity and didn't grow enough to keep up with all that new demand. Many are ramping up production now, but it takes about four months to grow, dry and cure marijuana. Which means that until those new plants are ready, supply will stay low while demand is high.

Which usually means prices go up. How high depends on whom you ask.

Mike Wilson of Franklin's Stash House, a Kansas City manufacturer of cannabis tinctures and beverages, said he expects consumers to see a 50-60% price increase over the next several months in certain categories. The cultivators that provide Wilson with the marijuana he uses in his products have upped their prices, which means Wilson has to charge dispensaries more. He expects those dispensaries to pass along that price increase to consumers.

"Our inputs have increased 300% in the last few weeks," Wilson said. "We're eating about three-quarters of that cost that was added to us. But the lemonade we have that sells in dispensaries for $10will likely go up to about $15, and the preroll blunt pack we sell that was $35 or $40 could go to $60 or $65."

"Prices are going to get volatile in the next few weeks," Wilson added. "I think until June you're going to see less product available and increased prices."

But other industry operators aren't as spooked. Blair Cave of Besame Wellness, a Kansas City-area chain of dispensaries, said he's noticed some increases in the price of THC distillate, which is used in vape cartridges and other products. Flower is also hard to come by lately  Cave said Besame used to purchase flower from "10 or 15 cultivators" but is currently down to two or three.

"But I don't think most of the things we're seeing will affect the end user very much," Cave said. "Mostly it will hit dispensaries on the margins."

John Mueller, CEO of Greenlight, another dispensary chain with locations across Missouri, said a few of his vendors have raised prices in recent months but thinks Wilson's prediction of a 50-60% price hike is unlikely.

"You're seeing higher prices in concentrates and edibles and drinks, because it's tougher to get distillate now than it has been in the past," Mueller said. "But I don't think consumers will see anything more than a temporary 5 or 10% increase."

"Ten percent, tops," agreed Josh Mitchem, who owns Clovr, the biggest manufacturer in the state.

Only 50 of the state's 67 cultivation facilities are currently operational, said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, and of those, many aren't producing to their maximum capacity. That's due in part to an oversupply in the market last year, when the state's medical marijuana program produced 92,000 more pounds of marijuana than it sold.

Cultivators responded by turning off some of their grow rooms and trimming staff. After voters approved recreational marijuana in November, many cultivators began to expand their facilities or increase production in anticipation of a much more vibrant market. But due to a variety of issues  a tight labor market, a tougher lending environment  that process hasn't kept up with demand. "We estimate we're only at 40% of cultivation capacity right now," Cardetti said.

"It's not like turning on a light switch," Mitchem said. "But this is a temporary problem. As growers turn more rooms on, this problem fixes itself sometime in April or May."

So far, the numbers don't suggest much in the way of price increases for consumers. According to Pistil Data, a cannabis industry tracker, Missouri marijuana prices have remained mostly steady over the last three months. The average price of gummies has increased by about $5 in that time, but the average price of an eighth of flower or 0.5g vape cartridge has risen only by about a dollar.

Missouri's prices also compare favorably to Illinois, the only bordering state where recreational weed is legal. There, taxes on marijuana purchases can climb as high as 35% depending on THC potency, whereas Missouri's state tax is a flat 6%, although numerous cities and counties are asking voters to approve an additional 3% on April 4. Cardetti and others suggested that Missouri's $103 million opening month was in part due to Illinois residents crossing the Mississippi in search of lower prices.

Mueller thinks that trend will continue  and grow. "I think the state will see $120 million in March," he said. "I think Missouri is going to be the fastest state to hit that kind of number this quickly."
ST. LOUIS  Police found Kenyata Rogers stolen Kia Sportage about a month after she reported it stolen last summer from outside her apartment building in the citys Downtown West neighborhood.

I saw my car last probably at midnight, she said. The next morning, it wasnt there. I called and made a report, and a month later the police called me to tell me my car was totaled and vandalized and pieces of it were missing, and there was no point even coming to see it.

Police told her it was found in a resale shop, but they had not arrested anyone for the theft. She hasnt heard anything on her case since then.

Rogers is one of the thousands of Kia and Hyundai owners in the St. Louis region who walked outside last year to find a pile of glass on the ground and their cars gone. And her case, like most others, was never brought to court.

Car thieves are especially hard to catch, experts say, because the crime happens quickly, and the stolen car is typically used for only a short period of time. That is especially true when it comes to the exploitable security flaw in many Kia and Hyundai vehicles that has plagued the St. Louis region for more than a year.

St. Louis police received 2,677 reports of stolen vehicles in the city during a three-month peak of car thefts last summer that was fueled by skyrocketing rates of stolen Kias and Hyundais. But only 23 adults were charged with car theft-related crimes during that same span, from June to August, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis. St. Louis County saw a similar rate, where 2,123 cars were reported stolen during the three-month surge, and 64 suspects were charged.

Police and prosecutors point to a growing trend of juveniles stealing cars  for the entire year, police turned juveniles over to city or county courts more than 950 times for car theft. Its unclear how many of those resulted in charges, as most juvenile cases are sealed.

Cars are often stolen at night when there are few witnesses, a St. Louis County auto unit spokesperson wrote in an email. There is also little physical evidence left behind when a vehicle is stolen.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell added in a written statement that prosecutors need clear surveillance footage, phone data or DNA evidence linking the suspect to the theft. When a thief touches the surfaces in the car, Bell said, it often does not leave behind DNA.

The types of car thefts that led to charges during the three-month surge were myriad. In some, a family member or a friend took a vehicle without permission. In others, license plate readers alerted police to the theft when the plate was not immediately removed. And in one, a man fell asleep for hours inside a stolen car that was parked at a gas pump.

But far less common are charges related to the types of cases that drove the car theft surge over the past year.

Rates of stolen Kias and Hyundais exploded in the region last year  a trend also seen nationally because of a viral TikTok video that shows how to break into and drive off in many 2011-21 models of the South Korean-made vehicles using just a screwdriver and a USB charging cable. The method can be used on some models of those cars because manufacturers did not install engine immobilizers, an electric anti-theft security device.

The number of Kias and Hyundais stolen in the city in 2022 (3,958) surpassed the number of all cars stolen in 2021 (3,874). In all, 7,393 cars were reported stolen in 2022 in the city, a 91% increase from the previous year.

And as theft rates persisted, Progressive and State Farm late last year began declining to open new policies on Kias and Hyundais altogether in some parts of the U.S., including the St. Louis region, while drivers with existing plans were stuck paying increasingly high premiums.

Then the city on Monday followed other municipalities across the country and filed suit against Hyundai and Kia in federal court over the defect  something they first threatened to do last fall.

St. Louisans should not be forced to bear the cost of their negligence, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said last week at a press conference.

St. Louis criminologist Rick Rosenfeld said his data in a recent study shows an uptick in car thefts across the country since the beginning of the pandemic, which bucked the previous years declining trend. But he said the surge in Kia and Hyundai thefts is only part of the issue.

The problem is much broader than simply defects in a couple of vehicles, said Rosenfeld, a professor emeritus of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The days in which motor vehicle thefts are committed for joy rides appear to be pretty much over, and the days when lots of car thefts were committed to break them down and sell the parts, thats not happening either. These days, the majority of these thefts are used to commit another crimes.

Juveniles

One of the primary hurdles to prosecuting car theft cases is that suspects are getting increasingly younger, said Bell. The St. Louis County auto unit spokesperson shared that observation, noting that most thefts in the county involve juvenile suspects.

Bell said his office believes criminal groups take the deliberate strategy of using juveniles as the driver, or wheel man, of stolen vehicles.

Car theft rings all know that juvenile offenders are sent to juvenile court, where they expect more lenient treatment than in circuit court. Our office never sees juvenile offenders unless we get them certified as an adult, Bell said.

Judge Steven R. Ohmer, who oversees the citys juvenile court, told the Post-Dispatch in February the court generally files multiple charges daily, but the programs goal is to divert and rehabilitate the youth, not charge them.

The increase in car incidents  driving stolen cars, tampering, assaults  the court has been proactive with that, Judge Steven R. Ohmer said. We try to do what we can. Each case is different.

Last year, police referred youths to juvenile court for car theft 387 times; in 2021, that number was 180. The same trend was seen in the county, where juvenile referrals for car theft referrals jumped from 338 in 2021 to 576 last year.

Chief Juvenile Officer Amanda Sodomka said the vast majority of all referrals end in diversion, where informal services are offered, equating to about an 85% diversion rate.

We want to hold them accountable for their actions, but youth are youth, she said in February.

Bell said his office has to focus first on prosecuting the violent crimes that plague the region, but noted that car theft is on the violent end of property crimes because, as others noted, those stolen cars are often used in other crimes.

St. Louis police cited drive-by shootings and reckless driving as common crimes that happen after someone steals a car. They pointed to several high-profile cases over the past year, including a hit-and-run involving a stolen Kia that killed a bicyclist on South Grand Boulevard last September, and a midday shootout one month earlier between a stolen Kia and a stolen Hyundai near a busy intersection downtown.

The huge spike in Kia and Hyundai thefts makes the job of SLMPD much more difficult, siphoning resources that could be devoted to other law enforcement priorities, a police spokesperson said in a written statement.

The St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office said it receives a small percentage of cases related to motor vehicle theft from the police department and acknowledged the challenges officers face in identifying suspects in these cases.

This is a complex situation and we are working closely with the police and the community to help address this crisis, a spokesperson wrote in a written statement.

Moving forward

Despite facing lawsuits from municipalities across the country, Kia and Hyundai insist they are not responsible for ballooning theft rates of their vehicles. Still, theyve begun providing a free software upgrade that negates the security flaw in some models.

The citys lawsuit says that for decades the security device has been an industry standard and cited a study from the Netherlands that showed engine immobilizers lowered the overall rate of car theft on average by about 40% during 1995-2008. It also cites another study, conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute, that showed a decrease in theft between 1996 and 2013 in vehicles with factory-installed engine immobilizers.

Several police departments across the region have formed task forces that focus specifically on auto theft enforcement.

But for Rogers, whose Kia was stolen in June, recent enforcement and accountability efforts have done little to dull the sting. The insurance on her Kia had lapsed when it was stolen, and she now owes about $15,000 for a car that no longer exists. She has since moved to north St. Louis County, leaving behind the almost daily car break-ins outside her Downtown West apartment building.

After her Kia was stolen, Rogers received a car as a gift from her church. But then her bad luck continued.

Just recently somebody hit this car while it was parked outside in the same area my Kia got stolen, she said, noting she now needs to pay to fix that damage.

And in the meantime, there is no sign that the wave of stolen cars is likely to stop. In the first two months of 2023 in St. Louis, auto thefts were twice what the city saw during the same period last year.
BELLEVILLE  Federal law enforcement leaders meeting here Thursday encouraged dozens of police officers, coroners and other officials from throughout southern Illinois to view fatal opioid overdoses as criminal acts that should be prosecuted.

The days of deeming these cases as accidental has to end, Michael Davis, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administrations St. Louis Division, told the crowd of about 100 people.

While the opioid epidemic seems to worsen every year, the dramatic increase in synthetic fentanyl-related deaths has left a wake of destruction for families and sent officials and public health experts scrambling.

In 2021, the overdose death toll in the United States surpassed 100,000, about three-fourths of them from opioids. Also that year, there were 3,013 fatal opioid overdoses in Illinois, up from 1,072 in 2013, according to state records. There were more than 19,000 EMS responses to opioid overdoses in 2020.

Thursdays group in Belleville was gathered for a day of presentations titled Operation OD Justice. Officials cautioned that death rates have been climbing in southern Illinois, as well as the rates of fentanyl being a factor in overdose cases.

Some of the subject matter experts stressed the importance of processing crime scenes well and establishing good contact with family members so that leads could be quickly followed, cases made against dealers, distributors, even main suppliers.

Rachelle Crowe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, said comprehensive strategies are needed, such as utilizing stiffer federal prison sentences involving fentanyl overdoses that can top 20 years in prison.

Its a priority in our office to increase the number of opioid overdose cases, she said.

She wanted the audiences help to bring those cases forward.

In order to successfully prosecute these cases, we need proper evidence collection at the scenes, she said.

Davis, who came to the DEAs St. Louis Division from Los Angeles in 2022, said in an interview that he wanted both federal and state prosecutors to seek criminal charges involving fatal fentanyl overdoses.

The U.S. Attorney can only take so much, he said of the cases. We want Illinois state prosecutors to prosecute some of the cases also.

Regardless, he said DEA will assist at both levels, on both sides of the Mississippi River.

We will work with local law enforcement to get that case to where it needs to be, he said. Whether its state or federal, we just want it prosecuted.

Roger Smith, retired chief deputy coroner in Madison County, said in an interview that he was glad to see the opioid epidemic explored at the event. He said the lack of consensus in society on how best to view and handle overdoses leaves many questions.

Is this a public health issue or is this a criminal justice and law enforcement issue? And is there a happy medium? he said. Are there areas where there can be collaboration?

He said costly autopsy and toxicology reports are often delayed due to the high volume of overdose deaths.

Can the criminal justice system handle it? he said of emphasizing prosecution.

James Fontaine, chief of the major narcotics division at the San Diego County, California, district attorneys office, said in an interview that they started prosecuting fentanyl cases in 2018.

No one approach can solve the problem, said Fontaine, one of the presenters. Just like we cant arrest our way out of the problem, treatment alone can never solve the problem, nor can harm reduction efforts like clean needles, naloxone and fentanyl test strips.

At some level, he added, punishment does serve as a deterrent. If nothing else, it deters those individuals from continuing to sell drugs and taking lives.
Details added (first published: 15:48)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Preliminary investigation of the terrorist attack against Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa shows that traces of the attack lead to Iran, Trend reports via the statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in response to the unfounded allegations of the Spokesperson for the Iranian MFA Nasir Kanani.

The spokesperson noted that there are several examples of these traces.

"Examples include Iran's military exercises along the borders of Azerbaijan, military flights on the border, anti-Azerbaijani statements by Iranian officials, the involvement of even children by Iranian structures such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in filming a video with threats against Azerbaijan near Khudafarin Bridge, a terrorist attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran," he said.

On March 28, 2023, at 21:51 (GMT +4), unknown men opened fire at Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa, near his house. The MP survived, receiving two bullet wounds, one in the right shoulder.

In this regard, a criminal case has been initiated in the Main Investigation Department of the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan under Article 277 (encroachment on the life of a state or public figure to terminate his service or political activity or out of revenge for such activity) and 228.2.1 (Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms, components for it, ammunition by a group of persons by prior agreement) of the Criminal Code.
BERKELEY  The Jackson County Prosecutors Office on Friday announced it dismissed criminal charges against former Berkeley Mayor Theodore Ted Hoskins, and in return Hoskins, a current city council member, will not seek re-election or any other public office.

The 84-year-old was charged in November 2019 with four counts of committing an election offense and one felony count of forgery.

Charges say Hoskins in the months leading up to the April 3, 2018, municipal election for four city council seats, submitted to the St. Louis County Board of Elections fraudulent absentee voter applications and other documents from at least three Berkeley residents in their 80s and 90s.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in 2019 the charges were based on years of investigation into a pattern of harvesting absentee ballots to influence Berkeley elections. Baker served as a special prosecutor at the request of the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorneys Office.

Im glad the prosecutor did the correct thing and dismissed the false charges. I have always maintained my innocence, Hoskins said in a written statement. I can now restore my familys good name and reputation. I had already decided I was not going to run again. Therefore, the prosecutors agreement for me not run again is moot.

Hoskins was first elected as the towns mayor in 1996 after almost a decade as a Berkeley councilman. After serving several terms in state-level politics he ran again for mayor in 2012 and served in that position for eight years. He was elected to serve as a councilman again in April 2022.

He will finish out his current term, which ends in 2026.

This agreement does not force him out of the current seat. The reason we didnt do that is because we would have to file a writ of quo warranto and that would take about the amount of time to do as what is left of his term, Michael Mansur, director of communication for the Jackson County Prosecutors Office, told the Post-Dispatch.

A writ of quo warranto is a legal maneuver used to challenge a persons right to hold a public or corporate office.

Our main goal was to remove Hoskins from political office, the Jackson County Prosecutors Office said in a written statement. The sworn agreement we have accomplishes that.
A young boy is taken to an ambulance to be checked out by St. Louis EMS workers after he was found bloody riding with a man shot earlier in Walnut Park on Friday, March 31, 2023. The man was driven towards a hospital but the driver sought help outside of a rehabilitation center in the 4400 block of Duncan Avenue.The man later died at the hospital. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
JEFFERSON CITY  The leader of the Missouri Senate plans to jettison language in the proposed state budget that would bar the state from spending tax dollars on diversity and inclusion initiatives.

A day after House Republicans sparked contentious debate by inserting restrictions on state spending associated with diversity, equity (and) inclusion into their budget plan, Senate President Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said the framework was a non-starter in his chamber.

He called the provision well-intentioned but said it was overly broad and would result in billions of dollars in cuts to hospitals, health care facilities, colleges and universities, and the Missouri House of Representatives itself.

My office will be working with the governor and other interested parties to find language that will incentivize institutions within this state to encourage environments of merit, fairness and equality that will truly benefit the people of this great state and unite us behind a forward-facing set of ideals motivated by common sense and not by identity politics, Rowden said in a social media post.

The sponsor of the restrictions, Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, said Friday the fight isnt over. Rather, he believes his proposal will remain alive until work on the budget is complete.

I do believe that this language going into Missouris budget bills is a work in progress, Richey said.

Under the plan, state spending would be banned from going to initiatives that promote collective guilt, the concept that disparities are necessarily tied to oppression and intersectional or divisive identity activism, among other concepts.

The language is part of a culture war push by Republicans and has surfaced in other states, including Florida, where GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is using the subject as part of his presidential bid.

Richey, who is a Baptist minister, said his proposal will combat critical race theory and neo-Marxist thought.

We must put a stop to the woke, marxist, DEI ideology thats striving to divide& destroy western ideals. Taxpayer $s shouldt be funding the very effort to destroy our civilization. Heres a portion of my comment during debate re budget language prohibiting DEI expenditures. pic.twitter.com/Dd8wDku0uI  Doug Richey (@DougRicheyMO) March 31, 2023

Democrats expressed outrage over the proposal, calling it racist and an affront to state agency heads, who say diversity and inclusion efforts are important in hiring workers within a state government that has 7,000 job openings because of low pay and high turnover.

Examples of how Gov. Mike Parsons administration has pressed for diversity and inclusion programs abound throughout state government.

In 2020, records show the Missouri Department of Mental Health sought bids from companies that could help the agency remove barriers that may be keeping marginalized groups from supervisory, management and senior leadership roles.

The Department of Mental Health is seeking an experienced vendor to conduct an organizational assessment of its current practices and readiness for a culture in which prioritizes equity, inclusion and diversity, the procurement request notes.

During Thursdays debate over the limits in the House, Democrats also argued the language could close charter schools and affect health insurance coverage for low-income Missourians.

Rowdens decision was announced a day after chief Senate budget writer Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, told reporters he would strip the language from the states $50 billion spending plan.

Although Rowden said he is dumping the House version, he outlined his support for some changes.

Regular Missourians of all backgrounds and political persuasions are tired of the woke litmus test being pushed on them from every direction, Rowden wrote.
COLLINSVILLE  A library board election, traditionally a staid affair, now resembles a fight for the library after a Metro East system was criticized for a drag queen story time with protests, death threats and a mailed swastika.

Ive never been in such a hotly contested election, says Cathy Kulupka, who is on the ballot April 4 for a second term with the board of trustees for the Mississippi Valley Library District.

The district, which serves about 33,000 residents, has two libraries: one in Collinsville and one in Fairmont City.

One of seven candidates for five positions on the board, Kulupka has felt the need not only to knock on doors but also to place signs in supporters yards  something shes never done before.

I had not planned on running again, she said. But as the election heated up, it felt like a fight for the library.

In the meantime, as libraries face criticism or book challenges, particularly in Missouri, the Illinois state House passed a bill, HB 2789, in March to prevent libraries from banning books. It is now before the state Senate.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias was quoted by the Chicago Tribune as saying libraries are 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.

On March 27, the American Library Association released a statement saying it condemns  in the strongest terms possible  the violence, threats of violence and other acts of intimidation that are increasingly taking place in Americas libraries, including last weeks bomb threats to Hilton Central School District in New York.

The Metro East library district has faced no bombs, but anonymous threats were reported in connection with a drag queen story time last summer in Collinsville.

Prenzler gets involved

This was an outrageous thing that took place in these libraries, Kurt Prenzler, chairman of the Madison County Board, said in an interview, referring to the drag event and a similar one later in Glen Carbon. This is why we have to replace the trustees.

Prenzler lives in Edwardsville.

Although the trustee positions are volunteer and nonpartisan, Prenzler, a Republican who last year lost some of his powers on the county board, has endorsed a slate of five candidates. He used campaign money to mail voters a flyer tagged let kids be kids.

Identifying himself as a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Prenzler said several of the churchs pastors gathered outside the Collinsville Memorial Public Library the morning of June 3, when drag queen Chasity Valentino was scheduled to read later in the librarys community room (rather than the childrens book area). The event was free, and Valentino was not paid.

Fifty to 60 people showed up to listen to the stories, but Valentino stayed away. Instead, reporting death threats, she appeared via Zoom, said Kyla Waltermire, the library districts executive director.

The director said Valentino read Red, a Crayons Story by Michael Hall and You Are Not Alone by Alphabet Rockers. Some pastors from St. John United Church of Christ attended in support of the event, Waltermire said, and police monitored the library but did not need to intervene.

Those who attended were grateful to see themselves reflected in the event, while others appreciated a safe space for their families to expand their horizons, Waltermire said.

No future drag queen story times are planned, she said, calling it a one-off event.

Afterward, however, a current board candidate, Jeanne Lomax, asked to hold a Christian story time. She requested that her event also receive co-sponsorship from the library, with a public listing on the librarys event calendar. The library staff told her they would rather plan a series of religious-themed story times than a single event focused on one religion, but Lomax said she wanted the same treatment that the drag event received.

Her free event in the community room, attended by about 70 people, Lomax said, included songs and two books by Christian author Max Lucado: You Are Special and Because I Love You.

The Christian event March 4 was expected to be followed by a Wiccan event scheduled for March 24. But when the librarys board of trustees met March 20, it passed a policy to eliminate all co-sponsored events.

Meeting and community rooms in the Collinsville and Fairmont City libraries will still be available to rent for $25-$50 an hour for private events, Waltermire said.

The president of the librarys board of trustees said it was advised by a lawyer to stop the co-sponsored events because they could lead to lawsuits.

Threatening letters

The president, Mark Schusky, said he is worried about the future of small town libraries like the ones the Mississippi Valley district represents. After the drag story time, Waltermire told the board she had opened nasty pieces of mail, one with a swastika in it, Schusky said.

Waltermire confirmed she opened mail in which a Pride Progress flag was used to create a swastika. An image of a pedobear  a cartoon bear used to mock people accused of having a sexual interest in children  on a Pride Progress flag was sent to her home. Both incidents resulted in police reports.

The library had been getting requests since 2019 for a drag story time, the director said.

We knew there would be pushback, she said, but the librarys job is to provide materials and services to meet the diverse needs of the people we serve.

Candidates supported by Prenzler have focused on promoting conservative family values in the libraries while saying there should be no drag queen story times.

Some, like Lisa McCormick, have also said on Facebook that they are concerned about tax increases.

The library districts projected 2023-2024 budget, about $1.2 million, was affected by a new tax rate the trustees passed last year. An 8.5% levy increase for Uptown Collinsville, largely a business area, came about because of the expiration of a TIF, Waltermire said. The library district awaits confirmation of the levy request from county officials, she said.

Both McCormick and Lomax also said they were concerned about the shelving locations of nonfiction sex education materials they did not believe are age appropriate for some children. One book that McCormick specified, Its Perfectly Normal, is marketed to readers 10-12. The best-seller, first published more than 25 years ago, is a frequent target of challenges.

McCormick, who home-schooled her son, said she frequently took him to the Collinsville library. In an email, she wrote: Now there are sexually explicit books shelved in the childrens library so it is no longer a childs safe space and parents have no idea. I believe those books should be put in a different part of the library, out of reach of elementary school children, and they should require parental approval before handling or checking them out.

Waltermire said no library users have filed a complaint about Its Perfectly Normal, which is shelved in the juvenile section.

Like the other candidates, Lomax does not declare a political party for the board election. But she said she attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally for President Donald Trump in Washington. Lomax said she no longer has young children but wants to make sure traditional family values arent marginalized.

The other three candidates supported by Prenzler are Kathy Murphy, Chris Shurilla and Virginia York. Murphy is unopposed in a race for a two-year term. Current trustee Michael E. Treece Jr., who is aligned with Kulupka, faces McCormick for a four-year term. Four (Kulupka, Shurilla, York and Lomax) seek a full six-year term (three positions open).

The terms vary because two trustees resigned before their terms ran out, including one who left because of the library disputes, Schusky said. Five of seven trustee positions are up for grabs in the April 4 election.

Schusky, a Collinsville High School social studies teacher, said that he tries to remain nonpartisan and that some of the disputes have been regrettable.

A library should offer diverse programming and make sure everyone feels welcome, he said.

Kulupka said she fears possible changes with the future board and says library jobs may be in danger. McCormick has praised Waltermire and said there is no plan for firings, but she also said trustees should offer ideas for programming and bring new ideas for the community.

Kulupka counters that Waltermire runs the library meticulously and should be in charge of programming details, not volunteer trustees. We havent done that in the past.

Waltermire, who has worked for the Mississippi Valley system for nine years, has been director for three years. She said she had not seen these kinds of trustee disputes before in the Metro East. But she said beleaguered boards in the Niles-Maine and Elmwood Park libraries near Chicago led to new state legislation requiring boards to fill trustee vacancies. Library staff have quit and positions not filled.

This April, several Niles-Maine board candidates are calling their slate Reclaim Our Library.
ST. CHARLES  Incumbent Dan Borgmeyer has a big money edge over challenger Tom Besselman as the race for St. Charles mayor enters its final days.

Borgmeyer, who is seeking a second four-year term in Tuesdays election, reported receipts of $88,700 by March 23. That was the cutoff date for the most recent campaign finance reports.

Borgmeyers total includes $39,000 in personal loans from Borgmeyer to his campaign and more than $49,000 in contributions from others. Borgmeyers campaign reported spending nearly $75,000, much of it on printing and mailing campaign brochures.

In contrast, Besselman, a city councilman the past 12 years, reported contributions of about $12,000 and expenses of about $4,800. The two candidates filed their reports earlier this week.

Borgmeyers donors included Jeff Tegethoff, an official with CRG, the firm developing a major part of the citys Riverpointe development that Borgmeyer has championed. Tegethoff and his wife, Anna, each gave $1,000.

The mayors two largest contributions came from Adam Glosier, with Scout Realty Group, and Robert Affholder, the co-founder of SAK Construction, who donated $5,000 apiece.

Among various $1,000 donors to Borgmeyer were Robert Griggs, the president of Trinity Products; Corporate Group chairman Jerry Scheidegger; McKelvey Homes president James Brennan; Tom Hughes, the founder of home builder T.R. Hughes, and John Porter, the president of Lindenwood University.

Also kicking in $1,000 each were the St. Charles Realtors PAC and the Build St. Louis PAC, the political arm of the Home Builders Association of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri.

St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann, a St. Charles resident who has endorsed Borgmeyer, gave $500.

Besselmans largest contributor was Randy Schilling, the founder of OPO Startups, who gave $4,900. Big St. Charles Motorsports LLC and On Wheels Storage LLC each contributed $500.

Borgmeyer and Besselman qualified for the general election by finishing first and second in the citys mayoral primary in February. The third-place candidate, Venetia Powell, was eliminated.
Joe Holleman Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

The indictment of former President Donald Trump brought a range of responses from Missouri and Illinois politicians.

Republicans were uniformly critical.

On Thursday, Josh Hawley, Missouris senior U.S. senator, said on Twitter: Tonights indictment of Donald Trump isnt about the law. Its about power. Raw power. Its the Democrat Party telling the nation they will stop at nothing to control the outcome of the next presidential election. It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple, he wrote.

Tonights indictment of Donald Trump isnt about the law. Its about power. Raw power. Its the Democrat Party telling the nation they will stop at nothing to control the outcome of the next presidential election. It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple  Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) March 30, 2023

U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a former prosecutor, also weighed in Thursday night on Twitter:

This is purely a partisan case against President Trump. Soros DA Bragg campaigned on prosecuting President Trump, while violent crime in NYC rages on & violent criminals walk free. This is a political prosecution in search of a crime & sets an dangerous precedent going forward, he said.

This is purely a partisan case against President Trump



Soros DA Bragg campaigned on prosecuting President Trump, while violent crime in NYC rages on & violent criminals walk free



This is a political prosecution in search of a crime & sets an dangerous precedent going forward  Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) March 30, 2023

U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Town and Country, called the indictment political Friday.

The liberal New York DA overstepped his bounds with these completely outrageous, politically motivated charges. He is undermining Americans faith in our justice system and he should be focused on fighting crime rather than weaponizing the justice system, Wagner, who represents the 2nd Congressional District, said.

The liberal New York DA overstepped his bounds with these completely outrageous, politically motivated charges. He is undermining Americans faith in our justice system and he should be focused on fighting crime rather than weaponizing the justice system.  Ann Wagner (@AnnLWagner) March 31, 2023

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, also weighed in Friday:

It is impossible to believe that a DA who has spent the last year protecting criminals cares anything about crime. Last year major crime in NYC rose by 22%. If the DA and his liberal backers believed in justice they wouldn't immediately put those criminals back on the street.

While we do not yet know the details of the charges, we do know the left will stop at nothing in its pursuit to bring down President Trump. This indictment could do irreparable damage to our justice system for years to come, the 3rd Congressional District lawmaker said.

It is impossible to believe that a DA who has spent the last year protecting criminals cares anything about crime. Last year major crime in NYC rose by 22%. If the DA and his liberal backers believed in justice they wouldn't immediately put those criminals back on the street.  Blaine Luetkemeyer (@RepBlaine) March 31, 2023

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday said on Twitter: Yet again, another Soros-backed prosecutor uses the rule of law to serve his own political agenda, not justice. This political prosecution against a former President is concerning for the future of our nation and the strength of our democracy. The justice system is supposed to promote law and order, not aid vendettas against political rivals.

My Statement on the Indictment of Former President Trump:



Yet again, another Soros-backed prosecutor uses the rule of law to serve his own political agenda, not justice. 1/2  Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) March 31, 2023

U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, a Republican who represents Missouris 4th Congressional District, on Thursday said the indictment was nothing short of political persecution.

Were President Trump not be running for re-election, this would not be an issue. This DA will clearly dig up old parking tickets if that means Donald Trump cannot run for President, Alford said.

Others weighed in earlier on the indictment push by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after Trump said he expected to be arrested on Tuesday, March 21.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-8th District (Missouri) and chair of House Ways & Means Committee, said:

Instead of doing whats right and walking away from a case lacking any credit, merit, or sound legal basis  like any reasonable DA would  (Bragg has) pushed ahead for political gain, putting himself front and center in the Lefts never-ending witch hunt, Smith said on March 21.

Instead of doing whats right and walking away from a case lacking any credit, merit, or sound legal basis  like any reasonable DA would  hes pushed ahead for political gain, putting himself front and center in the Lefts never-ending witch hunt.  Rep. Jason Smith (@RepJasonSmith) March 21, 2023

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, Illinois, chimed in along the same lines:

President Trumps imminent indictment is a clear reminder that liberals will stop at nothing to derail his candidacy. Biden & the Dems know their woke agenda is a recipe for electoral disaster, so theyre scrambling to stack the deck for 2024, Bost said on March 19.

President Trumps imminent indictment is a clear reminder that liberals will stop at nothing to derail his candidacy. Biden & the Dems know their woke agenda is a recipe for electoral disaster, so theyre scrambling to stack the deck for 2024. Enough with these vendetta politics.  Rep. Mike Bost (@RepBost) March 19, 2023 President Trumps imminent indictment is a clear reminder that liberals will stop at nothing to derail his candidacy. Biden & the Dems know their woke agenda is a recipe for electoral disaster, so theyre scrambling to stack the deck for 2024. Enough with these vendetta politics.  Rep. Mike Bost (@RepBost) March 19, 2023

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, Illinois, who along with Bost is one of about 30 U.S. representatives who have already endorsed Trump for president in 2024, said on Twitter:

The people of New York, especially crime victims, should be horrified that this partisan Manhattan DA is spending resources on a political campaign against President Trump when murder, carjacking, robbery, and violence are causing so much suffering in NYC, she wrote on March 18.

The people of New York, especially crime victims, should be horrified that this partisan Manhattan DA is spending resources on a political campaign against President Trump when murder, carjacking, robbery, and violence are causing so much suffering in NYC.  Mary Miller (@Miller_Congress) March 18, 2023

As expected, Democrats sounded a much different tone than their Republican colleagues.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in several tweets Thursday night, warned against any interference in ongoing investigation of the former president, as well as any violence or threats of violence. But he also said Trumps rights must be respected.

As this process continues, former President Trump should be afforded the due process protections that he is guaranteed by our Constitution, just like any other American.

But no one is above the law  not even a former president, Durbin said.

But no one is above the law  not even a former president.  Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) March 31, 2023

U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, retweeted a brief statement Thursday night by prosecutor Bragg on arrangements for Trumps surrender with a GIF of women applauding.

Updated Saturday, April 1, with additional statements.
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP)  Nine people were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters conducting a nighttime training exercise in Kentucky, Army officials said Thursday.

Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, said the deaths happened Wednesday night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission.

A statement from Fort Campbell says the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky. The 101st Airborne confirmed the crash about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Fort Campbell. The crash is under investigation.

The helicopters crashed in a field near a residential area with no injuries on the ground, Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander, said. One helicopter had five people aboard and the other had four, Lubas said.

Speaking a news conference Thursday morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the state would do everything it can to support the families of those killed.

"We're going to do what we always do. We're going to wrap our arms around these families, and we're going to be there with them, not just for the days, but the weeks and the months and the years to come," Beshear said.

Lubas said it is unclear what caused the crash. He said a team of investigators from Fort Rucker in Alabama was headed to the crash site.

"This was a training progression, and specifically they were flying a multi-ship formation, two ships, under night vision goggles at night," Lubas said.

He said officials believe the accident occurred when "they were doing flying, not deliberate medical evacuation drills."

The helicopters have something similar to the black boxes on passenger planes, which records the performance of aircrafts in flight and are used by investigators to analyze crashes.

"We're hopeful that will provide quite a bit of information of what occurred," Lubas said.

The Black Hawk helicopter is a critical work horse for the U.S. Army, used in security, transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue and other missions. The helicopters are known to many people from the 2001 movie "Black Hawk Down," which is about a violent battle in Somalia eight years earlier.

Black Hawks were a frequent sight in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan during the wars conducting combat missions and are also used by the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. They were also often used to ferry visiting senior leaders to headquarters locations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones.

Fort Campbell is located near the Tennessee border, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Nashville, and the crash occurred in the Trigg County, Kentucky, community of Cadiz.

Nick Tomaszewski, who lives about a mile from where the crash occurred, said he saw two helicopters flying over his house moments before the crash.

"For whatever reason last night my wife and I were sitting there looking out on the back deck and I said 'Wow, those two helicopters look low and they look kind of close to one another tonight,'" he said.

The helicopters flew over and looped back around and moments later "we saw what looked like a firework went off in the sky."

"All of the lights in their helicopter went out. It was like they just poofed ... and then we saw a huge glow like a fireball," Tomaszewski said.

Flyovers for training exercises happen almost daily and the helicopters typically fly low but not so close together, he said.

"There were two back to back. We typically see one and then see another one a few minutes later, and we just saw two of them flying together last night," he said.

In the Kentucky House and in the Senate, members stood for a moment of silence Thursday morning in honor of the crash victims. Kentucky state Rep. Walker Thomas said the crash occurred about 15 to 20 minutes from his home.

"They're there to protect us," Thomas said. "And we're constantly seeing these helicopters flying over our communities."

Thomas spoke about how connected Fort Campbell soldiers and their families are to the communities near the Army post.

"The Fort Campbell soldiers that live in our communities, go to our churches ... they go to our schools, their kids do," he added. "And this really hurts."

Last month, two Tennessee National Guard pilots were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed along an Alabama highway during a training exercise.

US Army history from the year you were born Intro 1920: Amended National Defense Act is passed 1921: The Army intervenes at the Battle of Blair Mountain 1922: Col. Charles Young dies 1923: Harding orders troops home from Germany 1924: Philippines scouts rebel 1925: Black soldiers evaluated for wartime fitness 1926: Sgt. Stubby dies 1927: Joint Army and Navy Basic War Plan Red 1928: First US Army Day 1929: Escobar revolutionaries send stray bullets to US 1930: Douglas MacArthur is appointed Army chief of staff 1931: US Army wins International Military Team Trophy 1932: Calvary soldiers attack veterans 1933: US Army aids Civilian Conservation Corps 1934: Army takes over the mail 1935: Final flight of US Army Air Corps LTA operations 1936: M1 Garand becomes go-to Army rifle 1937: Army's Airship Program ends 1938: 15th Regiment returns home from China 1939 US Army (and its Calvary) ranks 39th in the world 1940: Selective Training and Service Act 1941: It's only a maneuver 1942: Dogs Defense group founded 1943: US Army Fights the Japanese in Alaska 1944: Operation Neptune 1945: Dachau (mostly) liberated 1946: The 'mutiny of American troops after WWII 1947: The World War II draft expires 1948: Truman desegregates the US Military 1949 Army withdraws from Korea 1950: Attack on Korea authorized 1951: China supports North Korea 1952: Armistice talks stall 1953: Korean War ends 1954: McCarthy hearings begin 1955: Operation Gyroscope 1956: M113 ships to Vietnam 1957: Operation Plumbbob 1958: Elvis Presley joins up 1959: First soldiers killed in Vietnam 1960: Laos is determined to be non-threatening 1961: Green Berets receive real green berets 1962: Army troops head to Florida airfields 1963: Operation Biglift 1964: South Vietnamese training begins 1965: China Beach 1966: Army forces in Vietnam number 200,000 1967: Operation Malheur I and II 1968: My Lai massacre 1969: The Battle of Hamburger Hill 1970: Koza riot in Okinawa, Japan 1971: Women recruitment is up 1972: Withdrawals begin from Vietnam 1973: Withdrawal from Vietnam concludes 1974: Tensions rise 1975: Mandatory defensive weapons training for women 1976: Operation Paul Bunyan 1977: Army admits to 27 germ warfare tests conducted on public property 1978: Jonestown Massacre 1979: Faulty pilot ejection controls found 1980: Bright Star military exercise commences 1981: US Army gets a new look 1982: New recruits, new (amended) requirements 1983: US Army invades Grenada 1984: Pedro Colondres-Rosa defrauds US Army 1985: El Salvador raid 1986: US troops arrive in Honduras 1987: US Army Airborne heads to Honduras 1988: US takes on Nicaraguan insurgents 1989: Operation Just Cause 1990: Gulf War starts 1991: Gulf ground war begins 1992: US troops offer humanitarian aid in Somalia 1993: Battle of Mogadishu 1994: Operation Uphold Democracy 1995: Peace treaty ends Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict 1996: All-Black Korean War unit has honor restored 1997: 7 Black WWII soldiers get Medal of Honor 1998: Bosnia mission zaps US Army strength 1999: Yugoslavians hold U.S. soldiers captive 2000: 49th Armored Division deploys 2001: 9/11 2002: Army uses video games for recruitment, training 2003: US Army invades Baghdad amidst looters 2004: Second Battle of Fallujah 2005: Iraqi election 2006: President Bush visits Afghanistan 2007: Troops need more sleep 2008: Felons join up 2009: Army major kills 13 in Fort Hood 2010: Army sent to Haiti for relief effort 2011: US troops leave Iraq 2012: Military gets trimmed 2013: Women join the front lines 2014: Army hairstyles get a closer look 2015: Army shrinks to pre-WWII levels 2016: Army reduced further 2017: Immigrant recruits can't serve 2018: US Army has stations throughout Africa 2019: First woman poised to lead US Army Infantry division 2020: COVID-19 upends the military 2021: Extended-range guided rocket successfully traverses 80 km
Finland has received the green light to join NATO after Turkey ratified the Nordic country's membership. However, a few more steps and procedures are required before the northern European nation becomes the 31st full NATO member.
Financial crimp for hiding the chimp

A federal judge has imposed a harsh but well-justified $225,000 penalty against Tonia Haddix over her dispute with an animal-rights group regarding the fate of Tonka the chimp. Haddix had possession of the chimp but had refused pleas to hand it over so it could be properly and humanely cared for. A court ordered her to relinquish Tonka to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, but Haddix lied under oath and claimed that the chimp had died and been cremated.

Tonka was, in fact, very much alive and staying in her basement near Lake of the Ozarks. The chimp had appeared in movies, which brought unusual public attention to the dispute. The animal-rights group argued that it had to hire attorneys and pay them for hundreds of hours of work to debunk Haddixs lies. On Monday, Judge Catherine Perry ordered Haddix to pay $225,000, citing the defendants blatant recalcitrance, chicanery, perjury and contempt of court.

After animal-rights activists gained control of Tonka last year from Haddixs basement, the chimp was sent to a Florida primate sanctuary.

Have gun, will teach

A Wentzville School Board candidate is backtracking on his apparent admission during a forum that he has carried a gun into schools while substitute teaching. Candidate David Lewis was asked during Tuesdays forum how he would address school safety. He answered by complaining about lax security in schools, then proceeded to give a personal example: Ive had opportunity to go to different schools as a substitute teacher and learning whats going on the inside. I get in and out of the schools without a problem, whether or not I was carrying or not. Its just disappointing with the level of safety that we have at the schools. We need to harden the schools.

From gun-toting substitute teachers, apparently.

Reached later by the Post-Dispatchs Blythe Bernhard, Lewis claimed he was speaking hypothetically and said he never carries guns where its prohibited. He insisted thats not what he meant if I said it that way. (Narrator: He did.)

The school district, which prohibits firearms in school buildings, is investigating. The voters will have their say on the issue Tuesday.

Cant do the time? Dont dump the burrito.

From the annals of dumb crime stories comes this one from Wisconsin, where the offices of Wisconsin Family Action, a nonprofit political advocacy and anti-abortion group, were firebombed shortly after last years Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. One of the accused vandals, Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, of Madison, Wisconsin, allegedly had used spray paint to tag the offices with a threat: If abortions arent safe then you arent either.

Months later, vandals were spray-painting messages at the Wisconsin state capitol. Authorities recognized similarities between that graffiti and the message left at the Wisconsin Family Action offices. Law enforcers followed the spray-painter, who was seen discarding a partially eaten burrito as he drove away.

The DNA they got off the burrito matched DNA left at the scene of the Wisconsin firebombing. The moral to this story for would-be criminals is what moms everywhere tell their children: Waste not, want not. Finish your food.

Hold the tusks

Wouldnt it be interesting to eat like a prehistoric cave-dweller? An Australian company has created a lab-grown meatball from the DNA sequence of the extinct wooly mammoth. Unlike plant-based faux-meat products, cultured meat is actually meat  its made from animals  but instead of butchering a live animal, animal cells are grown in labs without killing anything or using resources to raise livestock.

Normally, a cell from, say, a cow is used to grow the lab equivalent of hamburger. But scientists with the company Vow used publicly available genetic information from the long-extinct mammoth, inserted it into a living cell from a sheep, and grew it until there was enough to form a meatball.

No one has tasted the creation, and its makers admit its essentially a publicity stunt, but with a noble purpose: to get people talking about sustainable food. We know now that [mammoths] died from climate change, said one. Vows researchers wanted to see if we could create something that was a symbol of a more exciting future thats not only better for us, but also better for the planet.

Resigning to retrograde Puritanism

The Tallahassee Classical charter school in Florida is supposed to expose children to art, but some parents apparently think the Renaissance statue of David is a little too much exposure. The schools principal was forced to resign after the classic nude by Michelangelo was displayed to students. As reported by the Tallahassee Democrat, the charter school is actually required to teach Renaissance art in the sixth grade.

But after three parents complained that their children were upset by the David sculpture, as well as the Creation of Adam fresco painting and Boticellis Birth of Venus, principal Hope Carrasquilla was forced by the chairman of the school board to resign.

The incident is an extreme example of whats happening in schools around the country as politically conservative parents demand more say in whats being taught, in some cases to the point of sanitizing history, current events and art of important context.

Among the fallout from the Tallahassee controversy was an invitation from the mayor of Florence, Italy, to Carrasquilla to visit his city. Mistaking art for pornography is just ridiculous, he tweeted (in Italian).
Voters elected Gardner, and they should decide her future

Regarding the Kim Gardner saga (Kim Gardner created toxic environment, failed to review police use of force, AG claims, March 22): Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, in a widely publicized campaign, is seeking to have Gardner removed as St. Louis circuit attorney. She is not being charged with any crime, only with the failure to perform her duties.

It is well documented that Gardner, either through incompetence or an unwillingness to perform her duties, has allowed her office to become the poster child of government dysfunction. However, she is an elected official, and it is up to the electorate, not the Missouri attorney general, to determine her competency.

Based on various pro-Gardner rallies, it is obvious that she still has support within the St. Louis community. She won her last reelection campaign by a wide margin. Even if the Missouri attorney general is able to find a way to remove Gardner from her office, what would prevent her from running again in the next election?

This is the conundrum of democracy. If the electorate is not informed or is committed to a certain political party or personality rather than good government, the result will be demagoguery and a political oligarchy, not a democracy.

Ken Niemann  Waterloo, Ill.

Why will Congress restrict deadly drugs but not guns?

Bipartisan legislation in Congress would designate the animal tranquilizer xylazine, known as tranq on the streets, as a controlled substance, requiring stricter prescribing regulations. (Lawmakers want to tighten access to veterinary drug xylazine, often mixed with fentanyl, March 29.) This would allow for tighter restrictions and tracking information.

Tranq is a powerful drug increasingly found mixed with fentanyl and other opioids and is partly responsible for increasing morbidity and deaths among drug users. The proposed legislation would not hinder proper veterinary use of xylazine, nor would it eliminate drug overdoses, but it would surely save lives.

If legislators can potentially agree to allow constraints on more deadly drugs, why can they not consider powerful guns as a controlled substance? Red flag laws and more diligent tracking of automatic weapons would not interfere with lawful use nor end gun deaths. But if we are willing to monitor dangerous drugs that kill people, we should be agreeable to do the same for the guns that kill people.

Jerold Kreisman, M.D.  Creve Coeur

Republicans are distracting the public with nonsense

When theres an ex-president calling for violence, insurrection and absolute loyalty to him, theres a major problem in America. One party seems to be prohibiting any solution to the gun violence that continues to kill and maim young adults, children and educators, while distracting the public with nonsense about book banning, sexual orientation and abortion.

I say vote  and vote out those who have failed to prove they can legislate with compassion, reason and intelligence. This is the only solution.

Maryann Mace  Ballwin

Quit electing politicians who refuse to protect children

I wonder if enough people care when children are murdered. More than 300,000 students have experienced school gun violence since the Columbine mass killings in Colorado, with 376 school shootings since 1999. In 2022 there were 46 school shootings, more than any previous year since 1999.

Most Americans support stronger gun laws, which are proven to reduce deaths. But the National Rifle Association has spent millions on political campaigns for politicians who oppose gun-safety legislation. Perhaps that is why they refuse to support common-sense gun reform like expanding background checks and banning assault weapons.

Why continue putting representatives in office who value money and power over commonsense action to protect children? Its not about peoples freedom to own a gun. Thats not going to be taken away. I think people should quit believing in that bogeyman and do something about the real threat that is killing our children.

Brenda Mantooth  Wildwood

Nursing homes are still reeling from the pandemic

Regarding Mental health conditions increasing in St. Louis nursing homes, report says (March 28): Finally, someone is taking notice of the increasing burden that we who care for the elderly are facing. Im a certified medication technician, and Ive worked in one such nursing home. Over the course of the pandemic, residents and others thanked me and my coworkers for our dedication. But now, many people think that since the coronavirus is becoming more manageable, everything is back to normal in these homes. It isnt.

Few in the broader public are aware that nursing homes have been admitting more challenging residents for quite a while now. This not only increases our workload but our stress levels as well. That, in turn, contributes to staff turnover and morale problems, which means giving our elderly subpar treatment.

Words of praise are nice. So are hugs and well wishes. But it will take more funding and more oversight, at a bare minimum, to restore Missouri nursing homes to at least the level of care all of us enjoyed a few years back.

Yamura Smith  St. Louis

For all the fuss, drag shows arent hurting anyone

Theres a lot of fuss these days over drag shows. Is it art? Cabaret? Sinful? So many opinions out there.

Let me offer mine: Drag shows arent going to hurt anyone. People might see colorful clothes and people being who they want to be, among people they want to be with. Taken in that context, its not unlike a Donald Trump rally.

Robert Utt  St. Charles

Read letters online at STLToday.com
Details added (first published: 15:53)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Iran-Armenia fraternity continues to pose a threat to the region, Trend reports via the statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in response to the unfounded allegations of the Spokesperson for the Iranian MFA Nasir Kanani.

He noted that over the past 30 years, Iran, keeping silent, in fact, turned a blind eye to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia.

"It is well known that Iran did not attach importance to the occupation of Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur and the plunder of these territories, the sale of stones from destroyed houses in these territories in Iranian markets, and the destruction and desecration of 65 out of 67 mosques that existed on these lands. Considering all the above, we strongly condemn the statement of the Iranian MFA's Spokesperson, Nasir Kanani. This statement is another step to damage relations between Iran and Azerbaijan," Hajizade said.
LUSAKA, Zambia (AP)  When Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she touched down at an airport thats doubled in size and features glittering new terminals.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, its a reminder of Chinas deep influence. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent that's rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt. Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Bidens administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijings sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition. However, she has acknowledged theres limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent, telling reporters earlier in the trip that there is a window that is definitely open now for American investments.

At a news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday, Harris reiterated her call for all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia  an oblique reference to China  but she stressed that our presence here is not about China.

Hichilema said it would be completely wrong to view Zambias interests in terms of a rivalry between the U.S. and China.

When Im in Washington, Im not against Beijing. When Im in Beijing, Im not against Washington, he said, adding that none of these relationships are about working against someone or a group of countries."

Chinas roots in both Tanzania and Zambia run deep. In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzanias Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

Today, China is Africas largest two-way trading partner, with $254 billion of business in 2021, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Thats four times the amount of trade between the U.S. and Africa. In addition, dealing with Beijing features less admonishments about democracy than with Washington.

Most African countries are rightly unapologetic about their close ties to China, Nigerias vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, tweeted on Thursday. China shows up where and when the West will not and/or are reluctant.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has worked on Africa issues in Congress, expressed frustration over Chinas growing influence on the continent.

We switched from being the No. 1 trade partner or the No. 1 investment partner in two dozen countries, to China being the No. 1 trade and investment partner, he told reporters aboard Air Force Two on the flight to Ghana at the beginning of Harris trip. I think our challenge for this decade is to address that.

Biden has been taking steps toward that, such as hosting a summit for African leaders in December, when he announced that he wants to commit $55 billion to the continent in the coming years.

Harris has made announcements as well during her trip, including more than $1 billion in public and private money for economic development, $100 million for security assistance in West Africa and $500 million to facilitate trade with Tanzania.

However, theres skepticism about whether the U.S. will follow through on its promises, and Harris has been faced with not-so-subtle hints that Africa expects more. For example, the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania bluntly said they hope Biden chooses to visit their countries during his expected trip to Africa later this year, which would be his first to the continent as president.

By comparison, Tanzania was among the first countries that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited after becoming president in 2013. And after Xi secured a third term, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African head of state to visit Beijing.

Kamala faces Chinese dominance in Tanzania, the Tanzania Business Insight publication tweeted Wednesday.

Ian Johnson, a former China-based journalist who works at the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Beijing presents a powerful narrative in the developing world as a country that rapidly built its economy and pulled much of its population out of poverty.

African leaders think lets see what we can learn from China, he said, adding that theres a certain fascination in how they did it.

Johnson also said China views Africa differently than the U.S.

We have a tendency to see Africa as a series of problems  wars, famines, something like that, he said. "But in Chinas eyes, Africa is much more of an opportunity.

Edem Selormey, who conducts public opinion research at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, said the feeling is often mutual.

Chinas influence in Africa is largely seen as positive, she said. And the U.S. trails China in that regard.

The difference, she said, is often about what citizens see on the ground, such as infrastructure projects, and the U.S. has been missing from this picture for a while.

John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the debt that comes from Chinas involvement is ultimately corrosive. He said African leaders are beginning to realize that China is not really their friend.

Chinas interests in the region are purely selfish, as opposed to the United States, he said.

Its a sentiment that draws scoffs in some corners of Africa.

America is like playing the role of a big Uncle Sam in trying to defend African countries against what they think is the encroachment of China into the liberty of African countries through these loans, said Tanzania-based analyst Mohamed Issa Hemed.

However, he added, China is ahead of the U.S. in many, many ways."

Daniel Russel, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, summed up the African perspective as enough with the lectures about China. Theyve got something we want. And theyve got it right here.

When it comes to U.S. hopes for Africa, he said, you cant beat something with nothing.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial overhaul unleashed the most intense social unrest in Israel in decades before he announced that he would delay the plan.

Tens of thousands of people repeatedly took to the streets to protest the proposal  including spontaneous mass demonstrations that erupted across the country after he fired his defense minister for questioning the overhaul.

Israel's largest trade union declared a general strike  paralyzing the country's international airport  and thousands of people gathered outside parliament.

Netanyahu then announced he would delay the overhaul, saying he was still determined to pass a judicial reform but would take the time to seek a compromise. The head of the country's largest trade union responded by saying it would call off a general strike that threatened to grind the country's economy to a halt.

Here's a look at Israel's most serious domestic crisis in decades:

How did we get here?

Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption in three separate cases, has been at the center of political turmoil that has plagued the country since 2019.

After he was indicted, Netanyahu's former governing partners turned on him, and he was unable to form a stable, lasting coalition. That led to a protracted political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls five times in less than four years.

After an 18-month political exile as opposition leader, Netanyahu returned to power late last year in a coalition with ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist allies, forming the country's most right-wing government ever. He denies wrongdoing in the corruption cases.

What is the judicial overhaul about?

After taking power, key figures in Netanyahu's Likud Party along with his governing partners pledged to quickly overhaul the country's judicial system, which critics say is driven by a desire to push their ideological agendas with less judicial oversight. The changes would give the governing coalition control over judicial appointments and weaken the country's Supreme Court by granting parliament the authority to over turn its decisions and limiting judicial review of laws.

Opponents say the overhaul would upend the country's delicate system of checks and balances by giving Netanyahu's ruling coalition control over what is now an independent judiciary. They also say Netanyahu has a deep conflict of interest in trying to reshape the legal system while on trial.

The government says the legal changes are necessary to streamline governance in the face of an interventionist judiciary.

What fueled the latest protests?

Israel has experienced nearly three months of mass protests since Netanyahu's confidant, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, unveiled the overhaul in January.

But the eruption of anger over Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's dismissal, organized quickly largely via the WhatsApp messaging app, was startling. In roughly one hour, tens of thousands of people blocked Tel Aviv's main highway, and thousands more demonstrated outside Netanyahu's Jerusalem home.

Gallant was the first Cabinet minister to break ranks and publicly call for a delay in the overhaul. With morale down and soldiers threatening not to report for duty,Gallant said that pushing ahead could hurt Israel's military readiness.

Gallant,a gruff retired general, is among the most respected members of the new Cabinet. By attacking the man responsible for national security, Netanyahu may have crossed a red lineand unwittingly united this deeply polarized country by touching upon national security, one of the few areas of consensus.

Where do we go from here?

The pause Netanyahu declared could help ease the tensions and buy him some time to find a compromise. But it also runs the risk of angering his far-right coalition partnerspotentially threatening the stability of his government and risking the possibility of new elections.

Any new election would once again likely focus on Netanyahu's suitability to govern while he faces serious legal problems.

What effect could the judicial overhaul have outside Israel?

While the battle may seem like an internal Israeli matter, its outcome could have important repercussions for the region and beyond.

Netanyahu's coalition allies are dominated by religious and nationalist hardliners who oppose Palestinian state hood and have close ties to the West Bank settlement movement. A weaker court system could clear the way for more aggressive settlement construction and even annexation of West Bank lands. That could lead to further friction with the Palestinians, who seek the Israeli-occupied West Bank as part of a future independent state, as well as with Israel's Western allies, who have voiced concerns about the overhaul and criticized the comments of some of his partners.

Israel's high-tech industry, the engine of the country's economy, could also be affected.

International agencies have already said they might lower Israel's debt rating if the overhaul passes since the agencies consider a strong judiciary crucial to ensuring a good business climate. A lower rating could make investors hesitant to do business in Israel and potentially lead companies with operations in Israel, including the world's leading tech giants, to scale back their presence.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Aclara Resources Inc. ("Aclara" or the "Company") (TSX:ARA) announces that Rodrigo Ceballos has tendered his resignation from the position of President and General Manager of the Company to pursue another opportunity. The Company has already made significant progress in its search for a qualified candidate to succeed Mr. Ceballos and will provide further information as it becomes available.

Ramn Barua, Chief Executive Officer of Aclara, said, "We thank Rodrigo for his service and many accomplishments during his tenure as General Manager. We will always be grateful for his leadership at a critical juncture in the Company's history. We wish Rodrigo the very best in his future endeavors."

About Aclara

Aclara Resources is a Rare Earths company with a development project in Chile, and is listed on the TSX (TSX:ARA).

Aclara is initiating the development of its resources through a project called the Penco Module, which covers a surface area of approximately 600 hectares, and which hosts ionic clays rich in rare earth elements. Aclara is currently focused on the development and future construction and operation of the Penco Module, which will aim to produce a rare earth concentrate through a processing plant that will be fed by clays from nearby deposits. Aclara's extraction process offers several environmentally positive attributes such as: no blasting, crushing, or milling; no tailings facility; minimal water consumption due to a high level of water recirculation; is amenable to leaching with a fertilizer; and contains no radioactivity. In parallel with the development of the Penco Module, the Company intends to define additional opportunities to increase potential future rare earth element production via intensive greenfield exploration programmes and the development of additional project "modules" within the Company's concessions.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflects the Company's current expectations regarding future events, including statements with regard to, among other things, management's expectations as a result of the resignation of the Officer. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated as of March 28, 2023 filed on the Company's SEDAR profile. Actual results and timing could differ materially from those projected herein. Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise indicates, the forward-looking information contained in this news release is provided as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required under applicable securities laws.

For further information, please contact:

Ramon Barua

Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

SOURCE: Aclara Resources Inc.

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Applied Materials



At Applied Materials, our community involvement is driven by the belief that equity-centered engagement will contribute to a more just, fair and humane world. We are committed to working collaboratively to address historical inequities and to learn from leaders who deeply understand issues we hope to help address.

We believe that communities hold the knowledge to create solutions that build and support resilient, thriving neighborhoods and families. Our commitment is to be responsive to these voices, supporting efforts that address societal imbalances and provide access to resources and opportunities for local residents.

In December 2021, we published a blog outlining our commitment to an equity-centered approach to community involvement. We are pleased to provide the following updates as we turn this commitment into action:

Grantmaking: A primary recommendation from our Equity Evaluation, led by Frontline Solutions, was to collect disaggregated demographic data from grant seekers to inform our work. Beginning in Fall 2021, we requested applicant organizations to provide race and/or ethnicity information about their Board members, executive leadership and staff. After reviewing the data, we confirmed the opportunity to expand our network of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color)-led grantees and to continue our encouragement of greater BIPOC representation across all levels of the organizations we fund. In addition, an underlying premise of the Applied Materials Foundation's Generation Girl initiative is that race, gender and class intersect to affect access to opportunity; this belief is increasingly centered in our other grantmaking areas.

To support nonprofit organizations' reflection and growth, we have embarked on new projects focused on helping them build their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) capacity, including funding the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofit's Racial Justice Learning Series, which, to date, has provided workshops focused on language justice and allyship to nonprofits throughout Santa Clara County. In Austin, Texas, we are supporting the Community-Engaged Research Course at Huston-Tillotson University, a collaboration with Capacity Catalyst focused on creating a network of young researchers representative of the communities being served by local nonprofit organizations, with a focus on equity.

Also, in response to grantees' requests to better understand who and how we fund, we now publish annually a directory of organizations receiving grants from Applied Materials, Inc. as well as the Applied Materials Foundation.

Employee Engagement: This year, we began collaborating with Visit.org to introduce employees to organizations outside of our grantee network, prioritizing experiences with organizations led by and serving communities of color as well as opportunities that acknowledge the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class and gender. Since October, employees have virtually mentored girls across the country in collaboration with the YesSheCan! Campaign, learned about the environmental impact of waste on communities of color with Common Ground Compost, and took a virtual tour of the women of the Met with Oscar Wilde Tours, exploring an underrepresented side of history.

Personal and Professional Development: The Community Affairs team continues its personal and professional journey in DEIB, participating in Applied Materials' Culture of Inclusion activities in addition to holding space for team discussions on equitable grantmaking, asset-based mindsets and language, and inclusive environments, among other topics.

At Applied Materials, we are committed to helping create and sustain vibrant, equitable communities in areas where the company is located, and our employees work and live. Together, we can Make Possible  a Better Future. We look forward to keeping you posted on our progress.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Applied Materials on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Applied Materials

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/applied-materials

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Applied Materials

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Cummins Inc.:

Cummins

Global power and technology leader Cummins Inc. and leading provider of energy storage solutions, Leclanch SA, have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on providing customers with a broader portfolio of integrated power solutions.

The memorandum enables Cummins and Leclanche to offer customers a wide range of hybrid, battery-only and fuel cell package solutions in marine and rail applications, utilizing a variety of power sources such as engines, hydrogen fuel cells, battery packs and racks, as well as other components.

The collaboration establishes another important relationship as Cummins works to achieve goals and aspirations around its Destination Zero product decarbonization strategy. Recently, the company launched Accelera by Cummins, rebranding its New Power segment to bring no- and low-carbon power solutions to markets even faster.

"Leclanche's portfolio of products tailored for Industrial markets aligns well with the Cummins core, bridge and zero-carbon technology offerings." said Gbile Adewunmi, Executive Director of Industrial Markets in Power Systems segment at Cummins.

"The agreement offers a unique opportunity for both companies to collaborate, combining our capabilities to offer bespoke solutions to help decarbonize both the global transport and energy sectors," said Phil Broad, co-CEO of Leclanche E-Mobility.

Leclanche's co-CEO Pierre Blanc commented: "Both companies possess a wealth of expertise in their respective fields and markets, and this, coupled with Cummins' well established global presence, will offer customers quality solutions to suit their needs in transitioning towards green energy and transportation."

Cummins and Leclanche will work together to optimize the installation, training, commissioning, warranty and aftersales support of these power source packages.

The collaboration between Cummins and Leclanche reinforces the companies' shared commitment to decarbonization and fits nicely into Cummins' Planet 2050 environmental sustainability strategy. It is also a key step in enabling customers to have more efficient and cleaner operations.

Cummins' Corporate Office Building in Columbus, Indiana.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cummins Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Cummins Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cummins-inc

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Cummins Inc.

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Gama Explorations Inc. (CSE:GAMA)(OTCQB: GMMAF)(FSE:N79) ("Gama" or the "Company") is pleased to announce exploration results from the Big Onion porphyry copper-molybdenum project near Smithers, British Columbia.

Highlights

Prospecting yields gold assays up to 5.84 g/t Au from grab samples.

Copper is associated with tungsten, antimony and minor gold and silver in potential epithermal zone.

Highest copper and gold values are more than 2 km east of historical drilling at Big Onion.

"These results clearly indicate the exploration upside potential at the Big Onion project, outside of the main porphyry zone," stated Dr. Mick Carew, CEO of Gama. "This Big Onion project has seen over 30km of historical drilling, mostly focused in one area. These results suggest that other prospective areas of exploration related to a variety of mineralization styles could be situated beyond the immediate footprint of historical drilling at Big Onion. Follow-up prospecting work is required and is planned for the coming summer."

2022 Rock Sampling program

A total of 35 rock samples were collected on the Big Onion project in 2022. The rock samples were collected across the project and outside of the area of the historical resource to identify new zones of mineralization. One area of historical trenches to the northeast of the historical resource yielded samples with up to 5.84 g/t Au and 0.419% Cu. Rock samples in this area are associated with elevated tungsten, antimony, lead, copper, arsenic and zinc. This metal association may be indicative of epithermal mineralization. A total of 5 samples were collected with an average of 1.22 g/t Au and 0.218% Cu.

An area east of the Big Onion project contains rock samples up to 1.625 g/t Au with some samples elevated in copper and arsenic. A total of 18 rock samples were collected with one sample enriched in gold (1.625 g/t Au) and one sample enriched in copper (0.1835% Cu).

Figure 1. Rock samples collected in 2022. Rock samples that assayed >0.1 g/t Au or >1000 ppm (0.1%) Cu are labeled.

About the Big Onion

The Big Onion Property is roughly centered on Astlais Creek and is underlain by a late Cretaceous to early Tertiary quartz diorite porphyry and quartz feldspar porphyry that intruded Jurassic Hazelton Group mafic volcanics and sediments. The multiphase intrusive formed in a northeast trending lineament.

Historical work on the Property includes almost 55,000 meters of drilling in the 1960's, 1970's and the 2000's. The most recent resource estimate was done in 2010 for Eagle Peak Resources Inc. and Metal Mountain Resources lnc. by Giroux Consultants Inc. (Giroux, 2010) and outlined an indicated resource of 87.1 M tonnes grading 0.30% copper and an inferred resource of 8.6 M tonnes grading 0.27% copper.

The 2010 resource estimate is considered historical in nature by the Company and is provided for background information purposes only. It is not a current resource estimate. A qualified person (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource.

QAQC and Data Verification

Samples were analyzed at ALS in North Vancouver. ALS inserts standards, blanks and duplicates as QAQC samples at regular intervals. All QAQC samples returned values within acceptable bounds for the elements of interest.

QP Disclosure

Bill Cronk, P.Geo., an independent consulting geologist has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

About Gama Explorations Inc.

Gama is a Canadian company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE: GAMA), and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE:N79). The Company is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties containing metals used in green technologies and the renewable energy sector. The company currently has the right to acquire 100% interest in the Big Onion Copper-Molybdenum Project located a short 20-minute drive from the town of Smithers in northern British Columbia and owns 100% of the Tyee Nickel-Copper Massive Sulphide Project located in North-Eastern Quebec. The Company continuously evaluates opportunities to acquire interest in additional exploration stage mineral properties in stable jurisdictions.

On behalf of the board,

Dr. Mick Carew, PhD|CEO and Director

[email protected]

Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Readers should not rely on information in this summary for any purpose other than for gaining general knowledge of the Company. The words "expected", "will" and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations as reflected in any forward-looking statements, are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates, opinions or other factors should change.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE: Gama Explorations Inc.

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"React19" partners with closed-loop care coordination and referral platform "CrossTx" and biomedical-focused media network "TrialSite" to develop the first ever provider, social supports, and mental health network for the vaccine-injured across the United States with an eye on international expansion.

BOZEMAN, MT / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / CrossTx, a leading healthcare technology company headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, and React19, a science-based non-profit offering financial, physical, and emotional support for those suffering from long-term COVID-19 vaccine adverse events, announce the launch of the nation's first bi-directional referral network for persons injured by the COVID-19 vaccines. This novel network, digitizing a nascent, existing network React19 has developed, supports hundreds of thousands to millions of people injured by COVID-19 vaccines by connecting the injured seamlessly and efficiently to supportive clinical and mental health providers, legal assistance, financial support, and other vital supportive assistance.



Supportive Network of Care

Patients injured by COVID-19 vaccines face an uphill struggle as a majority of healthcare systems today still don't formally acknowledge a spectrum of vaccine-related injury, from moderately impactful to completely debilitating. Individuals injured by COVID-19 vaccines typically must visit dozens of doctors before they are able to find the appropriate provider and care access. Unfortunately, far too many people who signed up to take the vaccine to combat the pandemic experienced unfortunate debilitating injuries.

With an electronic care coordination and referral network, CrossTx and React19 now collaborate to fill a vitally important gap in care---the lack of adequate medical, behavioral health and social supports necessary to care for a substantial vulnerable population.

Through this partnership, individuals who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 vaccines can connect with supportive medical professionals, access specialized care, and receive referrals to other resources and support networks based on needs, geography and coverage options. This state-of-the-art platform provides a comprehensive database of resources, including information about legal and financial assistance, as well as mental health and wellness support.

React19 partner TrialSite Inc. envisioned a national, if not global, electronic network bringing together seamlessly and efficiently COVID-19 vaccine injured patients and providers. The vision comes from a similar project TrialSite and CrossTx just launching in El Paso, Texas, where the care coordination and referral network efficiently brings together health care providers and local research centers to drive more clinical trials participation in the region.

With over a decade of experience delivering referral management and care coordination solutions to healthcare systems, CrossTx and React19 collaborate to launch a robust, extensible, secure and compliant React19 COVID-19 vaccine injured referral network. React19, the largest organization of its kind, brings its extensive network of not only COVID-19 vaccine injured (approaching 50,000 people) but also the medical professionals, advocates, and resources necessary to ensure that injured individuals can access the best possible care and support.

"We are privileged to work with both the React19 and CrossTx teams to facilitate and implement this incredibly important COVID-19 vaccine injured referral platform," said Megan Redshaw, JD serving as project management for the initiative representing TrialSite. "Redshaw, an attorney stated "We estimate that the number of Americans injured by COVID-19 vaccination program ranges from a few hundred thousand to over two million people. While COVID-19 vaccine injuries are deemed statistically rare by agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TrialSite estimates injury rates at 0.005 to 0.008 of the over 270 million Americans who received their full series vaccination. Unfortunately, this estimate suggests anywhere from approximately 1 to 2.16 million persons struggling with some level of COVID-19 vaccine-related injury, a large vulnerable group that's in desperate need of care."

"We are thrilled to partner with React19 and TrialSite to deliver this much-needed referral platform for individuals impacted by the COVID-19 vaccine," said Chad Nybo, Founder and CEO of CrossTx. "By combining our expertise in healthcare technology and closed-loop referral management with React19's deep knowledge of the COVID-19 care and patient landscape, CrossTx will support React19 both scale up and accelerate the coordination and connection of COVID-19 vaccine injured patients with the appropriate care."

"Spending the last year-and-a-half building our network dedicated to the quality and expeditious care of COVID-19 vaccine injured, we are now truly excited to work with CrossTx in this ongoing effort both to deliver, scale out and optimize our COVID-19 vaccine injury patient network," said Brianne Dressen, Co-founder of React19. Dressen herself vaccine injured during a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. She, along with co-founder Dr. Joel Wallskog, also COVID-19 vaccine injured, launched React19 with a bold vision to help as many people as possible. She emphasized "We work diligently to provide COVID-19 vaccine injured individuals with the resources and support they need to navigate the challenges they may face with a vaccine injury. We believe that by collaborating with CrossTx and TrialSite we can make a real difference in the lives of those impacted by COVID-19 vaccines."

React19, CrossTx and TrialSite will continue to collaborate to ensure that the React19 COVID-19 vaccine injured referral network outcomes benefit as many people as possible across the United States with plans of expansion to other nations. Already React19 has members in dozens of countries across the world.

If you believe that you have been injured by the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit https://react19.org/start-here and reach out to React19.

If you are a provider or attorney seeking resources for your clients please visit: https://react19.org/physician-network-doctors

About React19

Founded almost two years ago, React19, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals impacted by COVID-19 vaccines, has grown to nearly 50,000 members. Through its network of medical professionals, advocates and navigators and other community resources across the United States and abroad in dozens of countries, React19 provides a comprehensive range of support services to individuals and families adversely impacted by the COVID-19 vaccination program. React19 has emerged as a vital support source for tens of thousands of vulnerable people seeking access to health care, at a time when most healthcare systems were not in a position to help.

About CrossTx Inc.

Based in Bozeman, Montana, CrossTx, a healthcare technology company, offers market leading solutions delivered via its closed loop, care coordination and referral management platform deployed via AWS for Health cloud. Over 100 healthcare institutions use CrossTx for referral management, care coordination and compliance with U.S. Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Chronic Care Management fee-for-value solutions such as Chronic Care Management, Principal Care Management, Behavioral Health Integration, Transitional Care Management and Remote Physiological Monitoring. The CrossTx platform supports bi-directional HIPAA compliant referrals, complex intake processes, tracking healthcare data for actionable decision making and CMS programs. With a focus on innovation and user-centered design, CrossTx develops solutions that make healthcare more efficient, accessible, and effective.

About TrialSite Inc.:

Salt Lake City, Utah-headquartered TrialSite Inc. launched the www.trialsitenews.com media platform in 2019 as part of a quest to provide more transparency and engagement in the dynamic world of biomedical research. Representing a novel disruptive, empowering influence in the world of biomedical research, TrialSite translates complex medical-scientific results into comprehensible, consumable content. By tracking the scientific, regulatory and business aspects of biomedical-focused trial site organizations with an unbiased objective focus, TrialSite helps audiences worldwide better understand the world of biomedical research. With iOS and Android apps and subscription services, groups dedicated to therapeutic topics and a YouTube channel, independent TrialSite chronicles biomedical breakthroughs, challenges, best practices, intrigue and mishaps associated with biomedical and health-related research, including the daily tracking of clinical trials.

Contact Information:

Chandra Donnell

VP Client Success

[email protected]

406.595.1326

Megan Redshaw

Project Manager

[email protected]

5178891461

Brianne Dressen

CoFounder

[email protected]

406.595.1326

SOURCE: CrossTx

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Rockland Resources Ltd. (the "Company" or "Rockland") (CSE:RKL) is pleased to announce that it has signed an option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Wapistan Lithium Project (the "Project") located within the James Bay region of Quebec.

The Wapistan Lithium Project is a large land package comprised of 219 claims (10,722 hectares) over two claim blocks (Wapistan East and West; Figure 1). The property is easily accessed by all-season roads, hydro and has two nearby communities offering exploration and mining services.

The Wapistan East Property is underlain by approximately 20 kilometres of the Yasinski Group volcano-sedimentary rocks (greenstone belt). Whereas the Wapistan West property is underlain by approximately 11 kilometres of the Yasinski Group rocks.

The Wapistan Project is located between 8 and 30 kilometres easterly from the lithium prospects and spodumene bearing pegmatites of the nearby Q2 Metals Mia Property (QTWO - TSXV) and Ophir Gold's Radis Property (OPHR - TSXV); all which form part of the same greenstone belt.

At Mia, two notable showings include Mia Li-1 (0.47% Li2O) and Mia Li-2 (2.27% Li2O), were recently sampled by Q2 Metals. These occurrences of spodumene pegmatite are well documented and located within the western part of the Yasinski Lake (greenstone) Belt. Historical work in 1959 (Main Exploration Company Ltd., GM10200) within the Mia Property has mapped an approximate 8.3 km trend of pegmatite (up to 30.5 metres wide) extending in the same greenstone belt from the Mia occurrences eastward toward the Wapistan Property.

The Wapistan Project has never been explored with lithium or critical elements in mind, despite the well positioned location. At Wapistan, a small number of pegmatites are described within the regional provincial SIGEOM database. The Company has retained Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd. to complete a comprehensive property-wide compilation of historical data, and a review and interpretation of high-resolution satellite photos, in order to generate exploration targets for the upcoming field season.

Figure 1. Wapistan Lithium Project Location

Mike England, CEO of Rockland stated "We are extremely excited to acquire such a large land package covering one of the most promising Greenstone Belts in the James Bay Region of Quebec. Recent exploration by both Q2 Metals and Ophir Gold has shown the western part of the belt to host a number of spodumene bearing pegmatites. While Patriot Battery Metals has demonstrated the James Bay region to host the potential for a world class lithium discovery"

Cumulative terms of the option agreement will see Rockland issue 10.8 million shares and pay $400,000 cash over a 12-month period. A 2% NSR will be granted to the vendor of which half (1%) can be purchased back by the Company for $1,000,000 at any time.

The proposed transaction is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including, as applicable, approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. A 21-day due diligence period has been granted to Rockland. The proposed transaction would be an arm's-length transaction for the company and would not constitute a fundamental change or result in a change of control of the company, within the meaning of the policies of the CSE. A finders fee will be payable.

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Franois Gagnon, P. Geo., Senior Exploration Geologist for Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., and Qualified Person under NI 43-101 on standards of disclosure for mineral projects.

Disclaimer

*Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby and/or geologically similar properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's properties

About Rockland Resources Ltd.

Rockland Resources is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets for the benefit of its shareholders.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Mike England

Director

For further information, please contact:

Mike England

Email: [email protected]

Neither the Canadian Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at WWW.SEDAR.COM).

SOURCE: Rockland Resources Ltd.

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / To continue Timberland's 50th anniversary celebration and honor the communities that helped propel the brand to where it is today, Timberland will host five youth design workshops in partnership with Black-owned creative brand CNSTNT:DVLPMNT. Founded by Timberland senior footwear designer, Chris Dixon, CNSTNT:DVLPMNT cultivates untapped talent and expands the creative community, particularly by engaging young communities of color. The Timberland x CNSTNT:DVLPMNT Youth Design Workshop tour will launch and conclude in New York City with stops in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Charlotte this spring and summer.

Timberland and CNSTNT:DVLPMNT hosted their first one day workshop in New York in collaboration with youth development nonprofit Youth INC and footwear and apparel store Up NYC earlier this year. The collaboration gave 25 students the opportunity to learn about design as a potential career and introduced them to the fundamentals of footwear design, sketching, and exploring creative concepts and color first hand from design professionals at Timberland. During the event, the young creatives had the chance to design their own version of the Original Timberland Boot. After the design session, NYC fashion and lifestyle authenticators alongside special celebrity guest Fat Joe reviewed the sketches. The leading design will be brought to life, offsite in Timberland's prototyping lab, The Shed.

"There are less than 7% Black and Brown creatives in the design industry," said Dixon. "We want to grow that number by introducing design as a career option early in the kids' academic journeys, so they can consider building their skills now. In the workshop environment, I can see the kids latch on quick to the joys of design and that feels good. Using the iconic Timberland boot as a launchpad for their creativity really engages them, and it is so exciting to see the heights of their imagination."

As part of Timberland's 50-anniversary celebration of the Original Timberland Boot, a staple in New York and hip-hop culture, the brand has introduced its Timberland Hip Hop Royalty Boot, designed by Dixon himself. This version of the emblematic boot has been reimagined with intricate design details that speak to and incorporate elements of Hip Hop- from a bold purple and regal gold colorway to a graffiti logo treatment to mini-microphone capping the laces and a boom box hang tag.

While Black and Brown designers are under-represented in the design industry, the communities of color and Hip Hop have been instrumental in cultivating footwear culture. Timberland and Dixon plan to increase that statistic through the workshops that help students hone their creativity and open their eyes to new potential career paths. The Hip Hop Royalty Boots were designed to honor Timberland's roots and celebrate the community that has been so important to the brand's journey.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Timberland on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Timberland

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/timberland

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Timberland

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Morgan Stanley analyst Kristine Liwag conducted a deep-dive analysis in the battle of behemoths - General Electric (NYSE: GE) vs Boeing (NYSE: BA).

The research was focused on four key categories: 1) Growth; 2) Market Share; 3) Risks; and 4) Balance Sheet and Cash Flow.

According to Liwag and her colleagues, GE won the battle on all four fronts.

GE stands out with a more defensible Aerospace portfolio than Boeing, the analyst wrote in a client note.

These are by no means a comprehensive set of categories in which to compare the companies, but are the key debates currently driving the stocks in our view.

Overall, the analysis showed that GE should be seen as an opportunity to own a pure play Aviation business thats building momentum with strong visibility through at least mid-decade.

As a result, GE deserves a premium multiple vs Boeing. Therefore, the analyst raised the price target on GE stock to $110 per share from the prior $90.

GE Aero also has clear growth, profitability, technology moat, and scarcity advantages over most multi-industry names and significantly higher 2H23 visibility - we believe it should trade as such, Liwag concluded.

The analyst also reiterated an Equal-weight rating and a $220 per share price target on Boeing stock.

By Senad Karaahmetovic
Switzerlands biggest bank, UBS, will buy its ailing rival Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue deal aimed at stemming financial market panic unleashed by the failure of two American banks earlier this month.

Credit Suisse and UBS entered into a merger agreement on Sunday following the intervention of the Swiss Federal Department of Finance, the Swiss National Bank and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority Fimna, said a statement.

UBS will be the surviving entity upon closing of the merger transaction.

Under the terms of the merger agreement all shareholders of Credit Suisse will receive one share in UBS for 22.48 shares in Credit Suisse.

UBS is paying 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.25 billion) for Credit Suisse, about 60% less than the bank was worth when markets closed on Friday, a CNN report said. Credit Suisse shareholders will be largely wiped out, receiving the equivalent of just 0.76 Swiss francs in UBS shares for stock that was worth 1.86 Swiss francs on Friday. Owners of $17 billion worth of additional tier one bonds  a riskier class of bank debt  will lose everything, Swiss regulators said.

Until consummation of the merger, Credit Suisse will continue to conduct its business in the ordinary course and implement its restructuring measures in collaboration with UBS, said a press statement.

The Swiss National Bank will grant Credit Suisse access to facilities that provide substantial additional liquidity.

On March 19, Swiss Federal Department of Finance, the Swiss National Bank and Finma asked Credit Suisse and UBS to enter into the merger agreement. Pursuant to the emergency ordinance which is being issued by the Swiss Federal Council, the merger can be implemented without approval of the shareholders. The consummation of the merger remains subject to customary closing conditions, it said.

For the purpose of a seamless integration of Credit Suisse into UBS, UBS is expected to appoint key personnel to Credit Suisse as soon as legally possible.

UBS has expressed its confidence that the employment of the staff of Credit Suisse will be continued.

On Sunday, Credit Suisse has been informed by Finma that it had determined that Credit Suisses Additional Tier 1 Capital (deriving from the issuance of Tier 1 Capital Notes) in the aggregate nominal amount of approximately CHF 16 billion will be written off to zero.

In consideration of the unique circumstances affecting the Swiss economy as a whole, the Swiss Federal Council is issuing an emergency ordinance (Notverordnung) tailored to this particular transaction. Most importantly, the merger will be implemented without the otherwise necessary approval of the shareholders of UBS and Credit Suisse to enhance deal certainty.

Axel P Lehmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse, said: Given recent extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances, the announced merger represents the best available outcome. This has been an extremely challenging time for Credit Suisse and while the team has worked tirelessly to address many significant legacy issues and execute on its new strategy, we are forced to reach a solution today that provides a durable outcome. - TradeArabia News Service
Details added: first version posted on 15:47

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. The Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasir Kanani should attentively listen to statements of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Trend reports citing the Spokesperson for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada.

Hajizada made the remark, commenting on Kananis recent allegations regarding statements of Bayramov at the press briefing within his visit to Israel.

"As its known, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov didnt voice anything anti-Iranian during the joint press briefing with the Israeli Foreign Minister [Eli Cohen]. In this regard, we consider this statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry as another step against Azerbaijan, he said.

According to Hajizada, Azerbaijan has never allowed its territory to be used against third states.

On the contrary, recently threats against Azerbaijan have been voiced from the territory of Iran, along with certain provocations. The examples include the conduct of military exercises by Iran along the borders of Azerbaijan, military flights over the state border, anti-Azerbaijani statements by Iranian officials, filming and displaying videos with threats to Azerbaijan near the Khudaferin bridge, involving children, by Iranian security structures such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a terrorist attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran, the spokesperson said.

According to Hajizada, the initial results of the investigation of the terrorist attack against the Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa, also point to the Iranian trail.

Today, Iranian-Armenian brotherhood is the main threat to the region. Over the past 30 years, Iran, in fact, by its tacit consent, turned a blind eye to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia, he noted.

Its well known that Iran didnt resent the occupation of Azerbaijans Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur, didnt prevent the sale of building stones from destroyed houses from plundered Azerbaijani districts in Iranian markets, nor protested the destruction and desecration of 65 out of 67 existing mosques [in previously occupied Azerbaijani territories], the spokesperson reminded.

In connection with the above, we strongly condemn the statement of Spokesperson Nasir Kanani. This statement is another step towards reducing the Azerbaijani-Iranian relations to a crisis , Hajizada said.

Threats from Iran can never frighten Azerbaijan. In 2020, despite the large-scale military support to Armenia from Iran, the Azerbaijani army defeated the occupying Armenian armed forces, and after that, any aggression and provocations against Azerbaijan will be decisively suppressed, he emphasized.
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

LONDON (Reuters) - Investors moved $508 billion into cash in the first three months of this year, the largest quarterly inflow since market turmoil early in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to BofA Global Research, as the failure of several banks sent markets spinning.

Flows into cash of $60.1 billion in the week to Wednesday were down from $142.9 billion the previous week, but the quarterly dash for cash was the biggest since the first quarter of 2020, BofA said on Friday, citing data from EPFR.

Markets have gyrated wildly this month following the collapse of U.S. regional lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and Europe's Credit Suisse.

Investors dumped bank stocks, with a net $600 million outflow from financial equity funds in the week, although expectations the turmoil could lead to a slower pace of central bank rate hikes meant funds investing in tech attracted $400 million in inflows.

The S&P 500 financial index has fallen more than 10% in March and is set for its biggest monthly decline in nine months. In contrast, 'big tech' stocks are on track for a 10% monthly gain.

"Panic, flush, unwind, then Fed blinked and off we rally into April," BofA said in the report.

The report also showed large flows into emerging market equities in the first quarter. If year-to-date inflows of $37.4 billion continue at the same pace through 2023, it would be the largest annual inflow on record.

For the week to Wednesday, gold funds attracted a net $500 million, and bond funds a net $2.3 billion.

(Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Amanda Cooper, Kirsten Donovan)
Further Expands Capabilities to Support Reclamation, a Critical Part of Lifecycle Refrigerant Management

RHOME, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A-Gas, a world leader in environmentally responsible lifecycle refrigerant management, broke ground on another set of separation towers at their Rhome, Texas plant, strengthening their commitment to the circular economy. This expansion project is another example of A-Gas continued investment in cutting-edge technology, deepening their role as a sustainable industry player. These new separation towers will increase A-Gas output by 100% over the next eighteen months to supply the US with high-quality reclaimed refrigerant gases, substantially increasing the number of such gases in the market.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005302/en/

A timeline of A-Gas' Rhome, TX plant refrigerant reclamation capacity expansion since 2017. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Late last year, A-Gas completed the construction of their latest refrigerant separation towers at their plant located outside of Dallas/Fort Worth. Recently, the separation towers were brought online, which multiplied the separation capacity at the Texas plant, increasing capacity by 100% since the first set of separation towers were brought online in 2021 and 200% since A-Gas began investing in this technology.

Year-over-year, A-Gas has nearly doubled their reclaimed refrigerant output, making A-Gas a market leader in reclaimed refrigerant in the US. Paired with the AHRI-certified laboratory at the Rhome plant, millions of additional pounds of reclaimed refrigerant, including the most complicated mixes, can be safely returned to the marketplace at AHRI-700 specifications.

Expanding the recovery and reclaim of refrigerant gases is essential for implementing the production and importation phase down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act), which ensures US compliance with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

Between the phase down of virgin HFCs in the US, local governments requiring the use of certified reclaimed refrigerant, and our customers desire to reduce their own environmental impact, the demand for high-quality reclaimed gas is only growing, noted Mike Armstrong, President, A-Gas Americas. Were proud to meet the needs of customers, industry stakeholders, environmental stewards, and the government through our innovative technology. Together, we can continue to utilize existing resources to provide more circular economy solutions.

A-Gas newest separators will be operational in early 2024. With these new separators, A-Gas will have quadrupled the separation capacity at the current site since 2017, which addresses a critical need highlighted by a recent NGO report: The 90 Billion Ton Opportunity: Lifecycle Refrigerant Management.

Taylor Ferranti, Commercial Vice President of Refrigerant Management at A-Gas, shared, At the end of the day, every pound of refrigerant that is reclaimed is a pound of refrigerant that was recovered instead of harming the environment with illegal venting. Safe gas recovery through on-site recovery services like A-Gas Rapid Recovery and cylinder exchange programs like Rapid Exchange and Refri-Claim make reclaiming refrigerant possible. Were thrilled to give industry stakeholders who are responsibly recovering refrigerant a solution to bring their used gas back to virgin-grade product specifications for future re-use. We look forward to giving more people and organizations the opportunity to participate in the circular economy.

A-Gas continues to lead the way in managing the refrigerant lifecycle process through their reclamation capability while continuing to source the next-generation products to support their customers in transitioning to alternative refrigerants.

About A-Gas:

A-Gas (US), headquartered in Bowling Green, Ohio, is a trading subsidiary of A-Gas International (headquartered in Bristol, UK) and is the worlds largest refrigerant recovery and reclamation company. The companys core business offers environmental solutions and lifecycle management services for ozone depleting substances and global warming gases including CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, and Halons in the HVAC/Refrigeration and Fire Suppression Industries. For more information about A-Gas, please visit www.agas.com/us

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005302/en/

PR Contact

Jaclyn Schilkey

[email protected]

419-704-4737

Source: A-Gas
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has downgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to a (Excellent) from a+ (Excellent) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) of MS Amlin AG (Switzerland). The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from negative, whereas the outlook on the FSR is stable.

These Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect MS Amlin AGs balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). In addition, MS Amlin AGs ratings benefit from rating enhancement, in the form of lift, due to the support provided by its ultimate parent, MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. (MS&AD).

The downgrade of the Long-Term ICR reflects a deterioration of the companys risk-adjusted capitalisation to the very strong level, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), due to multiple years of operating losses, coupled with recent strong premium growth. Whilst risk-adjusted capitalisation is expected to recover moderately over the medium term, AM Best expects it to remain at a lower level than it was historically.

The companys underwriting profitability has been under pressure, demonstrated by a five-year (2017-2021) weighted average combined ratio of approximately 110% (including a combined ratio of 123% in 2021). However, underwriting results were marginally positive in 2022, and are expected to continue to improve as a result of corrective actions taken by the companys new management team.

The companys profile benefits from its relationship with its ultimate parent, MS&AD, and its recent rebranding to MS Reinsurance further strengthens its association with the MS&AD group.

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/20230331005356/en/

Romeo Berti

Financial Analyst

+44 20 7397 0267

[email protected]

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

[email protected]

Tim Prince

Director, Analytics

+44 20 7397 0320

[email protected]

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5098

[email protected]

Source: AM Best
FLEX rover expected to be the largest and most capable rover ever to travel to the Moon

HAWTHORNE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab), announced it has reached an agreement with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) for the company to transport Astrolabs Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover on an upcoming mission to the Moon. SpaceX will use the Starship launch and landing system for this mission as soon as mid-2026.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230328005781/en/

Astrolab FLEX Rover during a field test near Death Valley, Calif. (Photo: Astrolab)

Upon completion of this mission, Astrolabs FLEX will become the largest and most capable rover to ever travel to the Moon. With a maximum combined rover and cargo mass of more than two tons, the FLEX rover is nearly three times the mass of its largest predecessor. This increased capacity provides significantly more opportunities to conduct scientific experiments and commercial endeavors on the lunar surface. Astrolab has already signed several customer agreements to carry payloads on this mission. The company expects to release details of these agreements later this spring.

FLEX is more than a rover, its a logistics system for missions to the Moon and Mars

Historically, planetary rovers have been custom designed for each specific mission. These missions typically have occurred around once every ten years. But with the rapid increase in launch cadence along with the significant increases in payload capacity of launch vehicles, this bespoke approach to rover design is no longer practical or efficient.

Thats why Astrolab designed the FLEX rover to transport and deploy payloads in a modular system. Astrolab seeks to prove the benefits of having a highly capable and versatile rover to establish infrastructure, conduct high-priority science, and deploy technology demos and other specialized systems on the lunar surface. Astrolab plans for this rover to be the first in a fleet of FLEX rovers on the lunar surface that will accelerate the vision of creating a permanent human presence on the Moon, and eventually Mars.

Our Astrolab team has created much more than a rover for use on the Moon or Mars, said Jaret Matthews, Founder and CEO of Astrolab. Weve created a logistics system that can accommodate a wide variety of cargo. We expect that this approach will help establish a permanent lunar outpost on the Moon at a lower cost and in less time than previously envisioned. We are delighted that this contract with SpaceX will allow Astrolab to demonstrate the advantages of the FLEX rover and its modular payload system.

Starship is designed to transport large amounts of cargo, including rovers, to the Moon and Mars for research and exploration, said Tom Ochinero, Senior Vice President, Commercial Business, SpaceX. Developing sustainable outposts will require lunar logistics and transportation on the surface of the Moon, like what Astrolab offers. We look forward to working with the Astrolab team to deliver their FLEX Rover to the surface of the Moon.

In addition to being able to operate FLEX on the lunar surface from Earth, Astrolab designed the vehicle to serve as an unpressurized rover for a crew of two astronauts on the lunar surface. This design is compatible with NASAs requirements for its Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), the rover which will be a standard component to the agencys Artemis program long-term.

Testing is ongoing

FLEX is more than just a concept. Last year, the Astrolab team began testing a full-scale, fully-functional terrestrial prototype of the FLEX rover in the California desert. Tests included both crewed and telerobotic operations, deployment of a variety of large payloads, science operations with its robotic arm, and engineering testing of the rovers mobility performance in challenging terrain. Testing has continued in lunar analog sites around California throughout 2022 and into this year.

To learn more about Astrolab, the FLEX rover, the details of our Mission 1, and how your cargo can accompany FLEX to the Moon in 2026  please visit: astrolab.space.

About Astrolab

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is on a mission to move humanity forward to the next horizon by designing, building and operating a fleet of multi-purpose rovers for all planetary surface needs. Formed by a highly specialized team of NASA veterans, former SpaceXers and JPL engineers, Astrolab is laser-focused on providing adaptive mobility solutions essential for life beyond Earth. The team has industry leading experience in terrestrial and planetary robotics, electric vehicles, human spaceflight and more. Astrolabs depth of experience and strategic partnerships with a wide array of world-class institutions, including electric vehicle pioneer Venturi Group, enables the delivery of Lunar and Mars mobility offerings at maximum reliability, flexibility and cost effectiveness. The company is headquartered in Hawthorne, California. For more information, visit astrolab.space or follow on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230328005781/en/

John Taylor for Astrolab

[email protected]

+1 (571) 437-4685

Source: Venturi Astrolab, Inc.
Total purchase price of total EUR 10 million through a combination of low-coupon debt, cash and 350,000 new beaconsmind shares to the sellers

Transaction is highly accretive with Socialwaves run rate revenues at EUR 4.5 million and around EUR 1.8 million EBITDA

Strong synergy effects and client cross-fertilization expected

ZURICH, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Publication of inside information pursuant to Article 17 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)

beaconsmind AG (ISIN: CH0451123589  Ticker: 81D) has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares of Socialwave GmbH in a further acquisition and coherent extension of its business model as a B2B Point-of-Sales solution provider.

Socialwave is a fully automated location-based marketing service provider offering guest Wi-Fi as well as additional online (Bluetooth) and offline (NFC, QR-codes) technologies collecting guest data for efficient review collections, marketing campaigns, recommendation marketing, and customer analytics. The company has currently run rate sales revenues of EUR 4.5 million and around EUR 1.8 million EBITDA.

The purchase price of EUR 10 million will be financed through a mixture of low-coupon debt from a local Sparkasse, cash at hand from the recent capital increase and 350,000 newly issued beaconsmind shares issued to the founders of Socialwave. The newly issued shares are locked up for 6-12 months. The transaction is expected to close end of April with full access to cash flows and consolidation of all FREDERIX and Socialwave financials going forward.

On a proforma basis beaconsmind group including FREDERIX and Netopsie will significantly increase its run-rate revenues from EUR 6.4 million to around EUR 10.9 million and run rate EBITDA from a range of EUR 0.9  EUR 1.1 million to EUR 2.7  EUR 2.9 million through the acquisition.

Explanatory part

With over 12,000 touchpoints Socialwave is the market leader in the German speaking region for location-based automated marketing services for stationary businesses. Socialwave provides its clients with Plug & Play Wi-Fi Hotspot services with various marketing suites to enable review collections, fully automated marketing campaigns, recommendation marketing, and customer analytics. Socialwave has a highly attractive diversified blue-chip customer base including clients such as Pizza Hut, Clever Fit, Hotel Rothof, Caritas, BMW, Medic-Center Nuremberg, Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken from over 20 industries with a low churn rate below 1% even during COVID-19 crisis.

Through this bolt-on transaction beaconsmind will strengthen its Wi-Fi Hotspot vertical and increase its reach significantly in the market whilst unlocking immense sales and cost synergies between Socialwave, Frederix and beaconsmind. The new management team has implemented immediate cost synergies of at least EUR 0.4MM. On a combined basis the newly established Wi-Fi Hotspot vertical will deliver an EUR 2.7 million run-rate EBITDA with significant growth ahead. Clients will have access to both, technology and solutions for the adjacent Bluetooth-Low-Energy and Wi-Fi Hotspot further offering data management, feedback, and marketing solutions.

Through the transaction both founders and managing Directors of Socialwave will become shareholders of beaconsmind with a long-term lockup on the newly issued shares. Felix Schonfelder, Founder and CFO will continue to serve as Managing Director for Socialwave reporting to Jonathan Sauppe and Michael Ambros.

Felix Schonfelder, Founder and CFO of Socialwave: We are very excited to join beaconsmind in its new vertical within this exciting group. Socialwave combined with FREDERIX and beaconsmind will unlock enormous growth opportunities within this global platform. I am particularly thankful to be a part of the beaconsmind journey going ahead as the Managing Director of Socialwave and driving the growth within the Wi-Fi Hotspot vertical together with Jonathan, Michael, and Max.

Jonathan Sauppe, head of beaconsmind Wi-Fi Hotspot vertical: With this acquisition we further manifest beaconsmind role and market position in the Wi-Fi Hotspot segment. This acquisition will further accelerate our growth trajectory and enable best in class product offering for our clients whilst also increasing profitability for our shareholders.

Michael Ambros, Deputy Chairman: I am happy to welcome Socialwave to the beaconsmind group. Being able to jointly grow this vertical together with Max, Jonathan and now also Felix is truly exciting, and we are looking forward to implementing more rollups together.

A presentation on the acquisition including financials is available on the webpage www.beaconsmind.com/investor-relations/.

About beaconsmind

Founded in 2015 in Switzerland, beaconsmind AG is a pioneer in the field of location-based marketing (LBM) software for retail chains. By fitting stores with Bluetooth beacons that precisely locate and identify customers, and by integrating its Software Suite, beaconsmind opens a brand-new channel for retailers to interact with their customers. Thanks to its solution, retailers can converge digital and physical shopping and address the convenience gaps of each. The shares of the company (ISIN: CH0451123589  Ticker: 81D) are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with XETRA trading and on Euronext in Paris. For more information, please visit www.beaconsmind.com

About Socialwave

Sociwalwave is a Munich, Germany based provider of guest Wi-Fi and marketing solutions with a highly attractive diversified blue-chip customer base. With Socialwaves solutions its clients can collect reviews, run fully automated marketing campaigns, recommendation marketing, and gather customer analytics.

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Contact Company

beaconsmind AG, Stafa (Switzerland)

Max Weiland, Founder & CEO

[email protected]

Tel.: +41 44 380 73-73

Contact for Business and Finance Press

edicto GmbH, Frankfurt (Germany)

Axel Muhlhaus/Doron Kaufmann

[email protected]

Tel.: +49 69 905 505-54

Source: beaconsmind AG
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) today announced that it will report first quarter 2023 earnings prior to the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, April 14, 2023. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Laurence D. Fink, President, Robert S. Kapito, and Chief Financial Officer, Martin S. Small, will host a teleconference call for investors and analysts at 7:30 a.m. ET. BlackRocks earnings release and supplemental materials will be available via the investor relations section of www.blackrock.com, before the teleconference call begins.

Teleconference and Webcast Details

Members of the public who are interested in participating in the teleconference should dial, from the United States, (877) 502-9276, or from outside the United States, (313) 209-4906, shortly before 7:30 a.m. ET and reference the BlackRock Conference Call (ID Number 2152058). A live, listen-only webcast will also be available via the investor relations section of www.blackrock.com.

The webcast will be available for replay by 10:30 a.m. ET on Friday, April 14, 2023. To access the replay of the webcast, please visit the investor relations section of www.blackrock.com.

About BlackRock

BlackRocks purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005326/en/

Investor Relations

Caroline Rodda

212-810-3442

[email protected]



Media Relations

Brian Beades

212-810-5596

[email protected]

Source: BlackRock
Recommendation for approval based on Phase 3 TRANSFORM study, supporting the potential of Breyanzi in earlier lines of therapy in this patient population

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval of Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) for the treatment of adult patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), high grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBCL), primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) and follicular lymphoma grade 3B (FL3B), who relapsed within 12 months from completion of, or are refractory to, first-line chemoimmunotherapy.

This positive CHMP opinion is an important milestone towards introducing a potential new standard of care for people in the European Union living with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after first-line treatment, an area of critical unmet need where few patients are able to undergo or derive long-term clinical benefit from stem cell transplant, said Anne Kerber, senior vice president, Cell Therapy Development, Bristol Myers Squibb. We look forward to continuing to work with the European Medicines Agency with the goal of bringing our cell therapy, Breyanzi, and the potential for cure to more people.

The CHMP adopted a positive opinion based on results from the pivotal Phase 3 TRANSFORM study evaluating Breyanzi as a second-line treatment in adults with relapsed or refractory LBCL compared to the standard of care consisting of salvage chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy plus hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

In the European Union (EU), the European Commission delivers its final decision within approximately two months following receipt of the CHMP opinion. The decision will be applicable to all EU member states and Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.*

Bristol Myers Squibb thanks the patients and investigators involved in the TRANSFORM study.

*Centralized Marketing Authorization does not include approval in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).

About TRANSFORM

TRANSFORM (NCT03575351) is a pivotal, global, randomized, multicenter Phase 3 trial evaluating Breyanzi compared to the current standard of care (platinum-based salvage chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplant [HSCT] in patients responding to salvage chemotherapy) in patients with large B-cell lymphoma that was primary refractory or relapsed within 12 months after CD20-antibody and anthracycline containing first-line therapy. Patients were randomized to receive Breyanzi or standard of care salvage therapy, including rituximab plus dexamethasone, high-dose cytarabine, and cisplatin (R-DHAP), rituximab plus ifosfamide, carboplatin and etoposide (R-ICE), or rituximab plus gemcitabine, dexamethasone and cisplatin (R-GDP) per the investigators choice before proceeding to high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and HSCT. The primary endpoint of the study was event-free survival, defined as time from randomization to death from any cause, progressive disease, failure to achieve complete response or partial response, or start of new antineoplastic therapy due to efficacy concerns, whichever occurs first. Complete response rate was a key secondary endpoint. Other efficacy endpoints included progression-free survival, overall survival, overall response rate and duration of response.

About Breyanzi

Breyanzi is a CD19-directed CAR T cell therapy with a 4-1BB costimulatory domain, which enhances the expansion and persistence of the CAR T cells. Breyanzi is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adult patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified (including DLBCL arising from indolent lymphoma), high-grade B-cell lymphoma, primary mediastinal LBCL, and follicular lymphoma grade 3B who have refractory disease to first-line chemoimmunotherapy or relapse within 12 months of first-line chemoimmunotherapy, or refractory disease to first-line chemoimmunotherapy or relapse after first-line chemoimmunotherapy and are not eligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplant due to comorbidities or age, or relapsed or refractory disease after two or more lines of systemic therapy. Breyanzi is not indicated for the treatment of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma. Please see the Important Safety Information section below, including Boxed WARNINGS for Breyanzi regarding cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity.

Breyanzi is also approved in Japan for the second-line treatment of relapsed or refractory LBCL, and in Japan, Europe, Switzerland and Canada for relapsed or refractory LBCL after two or more lines of systemic therapy. Bristol Myers Squibbs clinical development program for Breyanzi includes clinical studies in earlier lines of treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory LBCL and other types of lymphomas and leukemia. For more information, visit clinicaltrials.gov.

Full European Summary of Product Characteristics for Breyanzi is available from the EMA website at www.ema.europa.eu.

U.S. Important Safety Information

BOXED WARNING: CYTOKINE RELEASE SYNDROME and NEUROLOGIC TOXICITIES

Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS), including fatal or life-threatening reactions, occurred in patients receiving BREYANZI. Do not administer BREYANZI to patients with active infection or inflammatory disorders. Treat severe or life-threatening CRS with tocilizumab with or without corticosteroids.

Neurologic toxicities, including fatal or life-threatening reactions, occurred in patients receiving BREYANZI, including concurrently with CRS, after CRS resolution or in the absence of CRS. Monitor for neurologic events after treatment with BREYANZI. Provide supportive care and/or corticosteroids as needed.

BREYANZI is available only through a restricted program under a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) called the BREYANZI REMS.

Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS)

CRS, including fatal or life-threatening reactions, occurred following treatment with BREYANZI. CRS occurred in 46% (122/268) of patients receiving BREYANZI, including  Grade 3 (Lee grading system) CRS in 4% (11/268) of patients. One patient had fatal CRS and 2 had ongoing CRS at time of death. The median time to onset was 5 days (range: 1 to 15 days). CRS resolved in 119 of 122 patients (98%) with a median duration of 5 days (range: 1 to 17 days). Median duration of CRS was 5 days (range 1 to 30 days) in all patients, including those who died or had CRS ongoing at time of death.

Among patients with CRS, the most common manifestations of CRS include fever (93%), hypotension (49%), tachycardia (39%), chills (28%), and hypoxia (21%). Serious events that may be associated with CRS include cardiac arrhythmias (including atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia), cardiac arrest, cardiac failure, diffuse alveolar damage, renal insufficiency, capillary leak syndrome, hypotension, hypoxia, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome (HLH/MAS).

Ensure that 2 doses of tocilizumab are available prior to infusion of BREYANZI. Sixty-one of 268 (23%) patients received tocilizumab and/or a corticosteroid for CRS after infusion of BREYANZI. Twenty-seven (10%) patients received tocilizumab only, 25 (9%) received tocilizumab and a corticosteroid, and 9 (3%) received corticosteroids only.

Neurologic Toxicities

Neurologic toxicities that were fatal or life-threatening, occurred following treatment with BREYANZI. CAR T cell-associated neurologic toxicities occurred in 35% (95/268) of patients receiving BREYANZI, including  Grade 3 in 12% (31/268) of patients. Three patients had fatal neurologic toxicity and 7 had ongoing neurologic toxicity at time of death. The median time to onset of the first event was 8 days (range: 1 to 46 days). The onset of all neurologic events occurred within the first 8 weeks following BREYANZI infusion. Neurologic toxicities resolved in 81 of 95 patients (85%) with a median duration of 12 days (range: 1 to 87 days). Three of four patients with ongoing neurologic toxicity at data cutoff had tremor and one subject had encephalopathy. Median duration of neurologic toxicity was 15 days (range: 1 to 785 days) in all patients, including those with ongoing neurologic events at the time of death or at data cutoff.

Seventy-eight (78) of 95 (82%) patients with neurologic toxicity experienced CRS. Neurologic toxicity overlapped with CRS in 57 patients. The onset of neurologic toxicity was after onset of CRS in 30 patients, before CRS onset in 13 patients, same day as CRS onset in 7 patients, and same day as CRS resolution in 7 patients. Neurologic toxicity resolved in three patients before the onset of CRS. Eighteen patients experienced neurologic toxicity after resolution of CRS.

The most common neurologic toxicities included encephalopathy (24%), tremor (14%), aphasia (9%), delirium (7%), headache (7%), dizziness (6%), and ataxia (6%). Serious events including cerebral edema and seizures occurred with BREYANZI. Fatal and serious cases of leukoencephalopathy, some attributable to fludarabine, have occurred in patients treated with BREYANZI.

CRS and Neurologic Toxicities Monitoring

Monitor patients daily at a certified healthcare facility during the first week following infusion, for signs and symptoms of CRS and neurologic toxicities. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of CRS and neurologic toxicities for at least 4 weeks after infusion; evaluate and treat promptly. Counsel patients to seek immediate medical attention should signs or symptoms of CRS or neurologic toxicity occur at any time. At the first sign of CRS, institute treatment with supportive care, tocilizumab or tocilizumab and corticosteroids as indicated.

BREYANZI REMS

Because of the risk of CRS and neurologic toxicities, BREYANZI is available only through a restricted program under a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) called the BREYANZI REMS. The required components of the BREYANZI REMS are:

Healthcare facilities that dispense and administer BREYANZI must be enrolled and comply with the REMS requirements.

Certified healthcare facilities must have on-site, immediate access to tocilizumab.

Ensure that a minimum of 2 doses of tocilizumab are available for each patient for infusion within 2 hours after BREYANZI infusion, if needed for treatment of CRS.

Certified healthcare facilities must ensure that healthcare providers who prescribe, dispense, or administer BREYANZI are trained on the management of CRS and neurologic toxicities.

Further information is available at www.BreyanziREMS.com, or contact Bristol Myers Squibb at 1-888-423-5436.

Hypersensitivity Reactions

Allergic reactions may occur with the infusion of BREYANZI. Serious hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, may be due to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).

Serious Infections

Severe infections, including life-threatening or fatal infections, have occurred in patients after BREYANZI infusion. Infections (all grades) occurred in 45% (121/268) of patients. Grade 3 or higher infections occurred in 19% of patients. Grade 3 or higher infections with an unspecified pathogen occurred in 16% of patients, bacterial infections occurred in 5%, and viral and fungal infections occurred in 1.5% and 0.4% of patients, respectively. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of infection before and after BREYANZI administration and treat appropriately. Administer prophylactic antimicrobials according to standard institutional guidelines.

Febrile neutropenia has been observed in 9% (24/268) of patients after BREYANZI infusion and may be concurrent with CRS. In the event of febrile neutropenia, evaluate for infection and manage with broad spectrum antibiotics, fluids, and other supportive care as medically indicated.

Avoid administration of BREYANZI in patients with clinically significant active systemic infections.

Viral reactivation: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation, in some cases resulting in fulminant hepatitis, hepatic failure, and death, can occur in patients treated with drugs directed against B cells. Ten of the 11 patients in the TRANSCEND study with a prior history of HBV were treated with concurrent antiviral suppressive therapy to prevent HBV reactivation during and after treatment with BREYANZI. Perform screening for HBV, HCV, and HIV in accordance with clinical guidelines before collection of cells for manufacturing.

Prolonged Cytopenias

Patients may exhibit cytopenias not resolved for several weeks following lymphodepleting chemotherapy and BREYANZI infusion. Grade 3 or higher cytopenias persisted at Day 29 following BREYANZI infusion in 31% (84/268) of patients, and included thrombocytopenia (26%), neutropenia (14%), and anemia (3%). Monitor complete blood counts prior to and after BREYANZI administration.

Hypogammaglobulinemia

B-cell aplasia and hypogammaglobulinemia can occur in patients receiving treatment with BREYANZI. The adverse event of hypogammaglobulinemia was reported as an adverse reaction in 14% (37/268) of patients; laboratory IgG levels fell below 500 mg/dL after infusion in 21% (56/268) of patients. Hypogammaglobulinemia, either as an adverse reaction or laboratory IgG level below 500 mg/dL after infusion, was reported in 32% (85/268) of patients. Monitor immunoglobulin levels after treatment with BREYANZI and manage using infection precautions, antibiotic prophylaxis, and immunoglobulin replacement as clinically indicated.

Live vaccines: The safety of immunization with live viral vaccines during or following BREYANZI treatment has not been studied. Vaccination with live virus vaccines is not recommended for at least 6 weeks prior to the start of lymphodepleting chemotherapy, during BREYANZI treatment, and until immune recovery following treatment with BREYANZI.

Secondary Malignancies

Patients treated with BREYANZI may develop secondary malignancies. Monitor lifelong for secondary malignancies. In the event that a secondary malignancy occurs, contact Bristol Myers Squibb at 1-888-805-4555 for reporting and to obtain instructions on collection of patient samples for testing.

Effects on Ability to Drive and Use Machines

Due to the potential for neurologic events, including altered mental status or seizures, patients receiving BREYANZI are at risk for altered or decreased consciousness or impaired coordination in the 8 weeks following BREYANZI administration. Advise patients to refrain from driving and engaging in hazardous occupations or activities, such as operating heavy or potentially dangerous machinery, during this initial period.

Adverse Reactions

Serious adverse reactions occurred in 46% of patients. The most common nonlaboratory, serious adverse reactions (> 2%) were CRS, encephalopathy, sepsis, febrile neutropenia, aphasia, pneumonia, fever, hypotension, dizziness, and delirium. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 4% of patients.

The most common nonlaboratory adverse reactions of any grade ( 20%) were fatigue, CRS, musculoskeletal pain, nausea, headache, encephalopathy, infections (pathogen unspecified), decreased appetite, diarrhea, hypotension, tachycardia, dizziness, cough, constipation, abdominal pain, vomiting, and edema.

Please see full Prescribing Information, including Boxed WARNINGS and Medication Guide.

Bristol Myers Squibb: Creating a Better Future for People with Cancer

Bristol Myers Squibb is inspired by a single visiontransforming patients lives through science. The goal of the companys cancer research is to deliver medicines that offer each patient a better, healthier life and to make cure a possibility. Building on a legacy across a broad range of cancers that have changed survival expectations for many, Bristol Myers Squibb researchers are exploring new frontiers in personalized medicine, and through innovative digital platforms, are turning data into insights that sharpen their focus. Deep scientific expertise, cutting-edge capabilities and discovery platforms enable the company to look at cancer from every angle. Cancer can have a relentless grasp on many parts of a patients life, and Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to taking actions to address all aspects of care, from diagnosis to survivorship. Because as a leader in cancer care, Bristol Myers Squibb is working to empower all people with cancer to have a better future.

Learn more about the science behind cell therapy and ongoing research at Bristol Myers Squibb here.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Celgene and Juno Therapeutics are wholly owned subsidiaries of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. In certain countries outside the U.S., due to local laws, Celgene and Juno Therapeutics are referred to as, Celgene, a Bristol Myers Squibb company and Juno Therapeutics, a Bristol Myers Squibb company.

Bristol Myers Squibb Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, that the CHMP opinion is not binding on the EC, that Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) may not receive regulatory approval for the indication described in this release in the currently anticipated timeline or at all, that any marketing approvals, if granted, may have significant limitations on their use, and, if approved, whether such product candidate for such indication described in this release will be commercially successful. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibbs business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibbs Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

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Bristol Myers Squibb



Media Inquiries:

[email protected]



Kimberly Whitefield

[email protected]



Investors:

[email protected]

Source: Bristol Myers Squibb
California Public Utilities Commission Revises Pure Water Monterey Expansion Decision

MONTEREY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- California American Water will sign the Pure Water Monterey Expansion (PWMe) agreement. The expansion project is a critical component for future water supplies for the Monterey Peninsula, along with desalination and an Aquifer Storage and Recovery system that stores excess winter river flows for use during dry months. The announcement comes in response to the Order issued yesterday by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regarding California-American Water Companys Application for Rehearing of Decision 22-12-001. The order denies a rehearing but modifies several critical portions of the decision.

Since 1995, residents of the Monterey Peninsula have faced an uncertain future for their water supply, said Kevin Tilden, president of California American Water. Today, with desalination and water reuse in process, and aquifer storage and recovery on line, the Peninsula now has a secure water future. This will protect the Carmel River while providing water needed for the community. I want to thank everyone who worked hard on each of these projects to bring them to fruition.

In its original PWMe decision, issued in December 2022, the Commission delayed recovery of infrastructure investments made by the company to support the project, denied recovery of the companys actual financing costs, and contradicted CPUC precedent and practice. The decision as originally written would have had substantial negative impacts on the company, its customers and the region. California American Water requested the CPUC review the decision.

In yesterdays order, the CPUC has corrected factual errors to its original decision. California American Water will be allowed standard ratemaking treatment for the construction funding of the pumps and pipes that were built to support the expansion. The company is also required to file additional information about proposed extraction wells that parties agree are needed to deliver PWMe water from the Seaside Aquifer to customers across the service area.

Together, the recently approved desalination plant and the Pure Water Monterey Expansion will allow the community to replace water no longer available from the Carmel River and comply with the orders of the State Water Resources Control Board.

About California American Water:

California American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), provides high-quality and reliable water and wastewater services to more than 700,000 people. Information regarding California American Waters service areas can be found on the companys website www.californiaamwater.com.

About American Water:

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,500 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and regulated-like drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people in 24 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable, and reliable water services to our customers to help keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and diversityataw.com. Follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Media:

Luke Gianni

Manager of External Affairs

California American Water

831-236-8523

[email protected]

Source: California American Water
Company signed a definitive agreement with Elevance Health

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Continental General Insurance Company (together with its affiliates, Continental General or the Company), today announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire a block of long-term care (LTC) policies from Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE: ELV).

The acquisition, which will be one of the few successfully consummated LTC transactions in the last decade, comes on the heels of the Companys recently launched third-party administrator (TPA), Continental General Services.

Michael Gorzynski, Executive Chairman of Continental General, commented:

The acquisition of Elevance Healths block of LTC policies marks an exciting opportunity for Continental General. It demonstrates our commitment to growth and validates the capability of our platform to provide meaningful, permanent solutions to partners like Elevance Health. Our announcement adds to Continental Generals momentum as we strive to become the acquisition partner and administrator of choice for the long-term care industry.

The transaction with Elevance Health will allow policyholders to benefit from Continental Generals more than 60 years experience administering and managing insurance blocks.

David Ramsey, President and CEO of Continental General, commented:

Underscored by this transaction, Continental Generals team of seasoned leaders is uniquely well positioned to execute future transactions swiftly, as well as provide policyholders with the comfort and security of a seamless transition to top quality ongoing policy administration. Working alongside Elevance Health, our teams will ensure a seamless transition for all policyholders.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed on April 3, 2023. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

About Continental General

Based in Austin, Texas, Continental General Insurance Company was incorporated as a life, accident & health insurance company in 1961. Our family of companies and strategic partners provide administrative services to approximately 100,000 policyholders. We are dedicated to upholding the commitments we have made to provide excellent service to all our policyholders and serve the needs of our claimants and their families during difficult times. Learn more about Continental General at www.cgic.com.

TPA Services provided by Continental General Services, LLC (in California doing business as Continental General Administrative Services).

Continental Insurance Group, Ltd. (CIG") is the parent company of Continental General Management, LLC (CGM), Continental General Insurance Company (CGIC), and Continental General Services, LLC (CGS). CIG, CGM, CGIC, and CGS are all wholly owned subsidiaries of Continental General Holdings, LLC (CGH).

CGIC is a stock life, accident and health insurance company existing under the laws of the State of Texas and is a licensed insurance carrier in forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Continental General is an umbrella marketing name for CGM, CGIC, and CGS.

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For Media:

Longacre Square Partners

Greg Marose / Casie Connolly

[email protected]

Source: Continental General Insurance Company
LEBANON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Eastgate Group, a leading provider of contract package labeling & decorating services, has announced the expansion of its beverage can sleeving line to meet growing demand. The companys investment in state-of-the-art technology & equipment will allow for additional production capacity & the ability to produce full height pallets of product for customers that need them.

When we entered the can sleeving market in 2019, most of our customers actually preferred half height pallets, but as our customers have continued to grow in size & scale, the need for a full height option became clear. Full height pallets allow our customers to produce more efficiently by reducing the number of pallets that they load into their filling line, said Grady Ludeke, VP of Eastgate Group. While many suppliers have exited the market, we remain committed to providing the highest quality sleeved cans at industry-leading prices and lead times. We know that when a customer comes to us with a project, theyre trusting us to take good care of their brand, and we take that incredibly seriously.

The new production line will be capable of handling nearly any size or shape of can, including standard, sleek, and slim. With infinite graphic potential and the option of matte, gloss, metallics, and tactile varnish, shrink sleeves continue to provide a unique opportunity for beverage brands to tell their story and differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive beverage category.

Founded in 1989 and located in southwest Ohio, Eastgate Group is a contract package labeler that provides turnkey & a la carte shrink sleeve, screen print, and PS label services for rigid packaging including plastic bottles, glass jars, and metal containers. As a holder of GFSI, Kosher, and Organic certifications, Eastgate Group supports a variety of industries ranging from food & beverage to health & beauty, home fragrance, personal care, automotive, pet, home goods, and more.

For more information: email [email protected] or visit https://eastgategroup.com/

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Grady Ludeke, 513-934-0018

[email protected]

Source: Eastgate Group
Details added (first published: 15:41)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. The Community of Western Azerbaijan (historical lands of Azerbaijan located in modern-day Armenias territory) has urged Armenia to acknowledge its responsibility for genocide and war crimes against Azerbaijanis, Trend reports via the statement of the Community.

It was noted in the statement that Western Azerbaijanis are commemorating March 31, the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, with deep sorrow. After the mass resettlement of Armenians in the Caucasus, the Armenian extremist armed groups and government committed genocide against the Azerbaijani people. The genocide was carried out systematically based on a racist ideology inciting ethnic hatred.

One of the most horrific acts of this genocide was the massacre committed in Baku on March 31, 1918, by armed units of the extremist nationalist Dashnaktsutyun Party [Armenian Revolutionary Federation]. Also, from 1918 to 1920, Armenians carried out ethnic cleansing and massacres of Azerbaijanis in Zangazur, Goycha, Daralayaz, Surmali, Sharur and other regions.

Numerous acts of genocide, during which hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed by Armenians, caused Azerbaijanis, who once made up more than 80 percent of the population in the territory of today's Armenia, to become an ethnic minority there in 1921.

As a result of ethnic cleansing carried out from 1948 to 1952 and from 1987 to 1991, Azerbaijanis were completely expelled from the territory of modern Armenia. Historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis, mosques, and cemeteries were destroyed.

Although Armenia has joined the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other numerous international conventions on human rights, it continues its racist policy.

This country prevents the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis to their homes, continues to glorify Garegin Nzhdeh, Andranik Ozanyan, Drastamat Kanayan, and Monte Melkonyan, who committed crimes against humanity, and terrorist acts against Azerbaijanis, and encourages Nazi ideology such as Nzhdeism at the state level.

The Community urges the Armenian state to acknowledge its responsibility for genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and war crimes and to take the necessary steps in the name of peace. Armenia must create conditions for the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from this country and restore the destroyed Azerbaijani cultural heritage.

In addition, Armenia must stop the policies and practices that incite hatred and discrimination against Azerbaijanis. It must bring to justice those who have committed crimes against humanity, immediately put an end to their glorification, and dismantle monuments to persons who participated in terrorist crimes against Azerbaijanis.
Its Robust Capital Improvements Investments Continue

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met on Monday, March 20. Chairman Ric Campo opened the meeting regarding the continued progress of the Houston Ship Channel expansion and deepening program, Project 11. The project is still on time and on budget. However, he acknowledged the anticipation of $180 million in government funding still needed for the final leg of construction expected for completion in 2025.

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Port Houston's Turning Basin General Cargo Terminal (Photo: Business Wire)

Campo applauded all those involved with the continued success of the ambitious water infrastructure program. He also emphasized the critical importance of deepening and widening the Houston Ship Channel - the nation's busiest waterway - to improve the efficiency and safety of two-way vessel traffic to keep goods and commerce moving.

While reports concerning Project 11 remained steady, a new development in cargo volumes for the eight public terminals was given by Executive Director Roger Guenther in his executive report to the Port Commission. Overall tonnage is up 7% year-to-date collectively for our public terminals, however, we are now seeing considerable softening of demand, especially in the import of containers, he said.

Nevertheless, export volumes remain strong driven by the strength of plastic resins and other petrochemical commodities produced in our region and delivered globally through Port Houston, Guenther added, Our export shippers have signaled that 2023 will continue to be a solid year.

Tempering expectations concerning container imports, Guenther expressed that this softening was anticipated in the annual budget, so though only 2 months into the year, the Port is tracking to those plans. Expectations are that recovery of this volume will begin to bounce back in the last half of 2023, he said.

Still, Guenther presented an optimistic summary. We look at this short breather in import demand as an opportunity to take advantage of and utilize this time to reset and continue to aggressively continue with capital improvements to our facilities to meet future demand, with planned investments of $1.8 billion in improvements over the next five years, he stated.

Actions taken by the Port Commission during its meeting included adopting a resolution expressing Port Houstons intent to finance the remaining portions of its share of Project 11 expenditures with proceeds of tax-exempt, revenue-backed debt obligations.

Also, during the meeting, Guenther mentioned a visit earlier in March from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Board of Trustees and staff. During their visit and tour of the Port and waterway, EDF learned more in-depth about how the Port works collaboratively with private industries, the community, and others.

Guenther and other executive leadership expressed how they were encouraged by EDFs responsiveness to the Ports Environmental, Social, Safety, and Governance Plan (ES2G) and the funding applications it is pursuing. Guenther and the leadership team also shared Port Houston is looking forward to continuing cooperative engagement with EDF.

The Executive Director also announced Charlie Jenkins, Senior Director of Asset Management & Strategic Coordination, has assumed the new role of Chief Channel Infrastructure Officer. Jenkins will lead the development and maintenance of the Houston Ship Channel and oversee the development and implementation of the Port Houston Strategic Asset Management Program.

Rich Byrnes will continue as Chief Port Infrastructure Officer, leading the planning, design, construction, and sustainability of all current and future Port Houston facilities and programs, including the Environmental Affairs, Project & Construction Management, Technical & Business Analytics, and Facility Planning departments.

The Port Commission will meet on Tuesday, May 2, for its next regular monthly meeting.

About Port Houston

For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals along the Houston Ship Channel, including the areas largest breakbulk facility and two of the most efficient container terminals in the country. Port Houston is the advocate and a strategic leader for the Channel. The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 private and eight public terminals, collectively known as the Port of Houston, is the nations largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the U.S. The Port of Houston supports the creation of nearly 1.35 million jobs in Texas and 3.2 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $339 billion in Texas  20.6 percent of Texas total gross domestic product (GDP)  and $801.9 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit the website at PortHouston.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005407/en/

Lisa Ashley-Daniels, Director, Public Relations, Office: 713-670-2644; Mobile: 832-247-8179; E-mail: [email protected]

Source: Port Houston
Gimme 4 is a grassroots effort to help fund first round of construction for cap park

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today the HUB404 Conservancy announces April 4 is Gimme 4 Day. The grassroots campaign asks Atlanta area residents to give as little as $4.04 to help get HUB404 off the ground. HUB404 will be a half-mile green space above Georgia 400 in Buckhead, creating an iconic 9-acre park above the highway.

HUB404 is for Atlanta, by Atlanta, says Anthony Rodriguez, executive director of the HUB404 Conservancy. We will be an integral part of The 404, showcasing the culture, art and events that make Atlanta shine.

Established by the Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID), HUB404 will bridge Lenox Road and Georgia 400, linking the PATH400 Greenway Trail, the Atlanta Beltline, MARTA, neighboring streets and neighborhood parks. The HUB404 mission is to create a world-class community-driven greenspace showcasing the best of Atlanta.

Atlanta has long celebrated April 4 (4/04) as its own day, says Jim Durrett, executive director, Buckhead Community Improvement District. With HUB404 embodying the spirit of Atlanta, it is only fitting that we call on Atlantans to improve the city even more with donations to this incredible project. We know the community will love what HUB404 has to offer, and we are excited to bring it to life in the coming years.

The project is funded by a mix of public and private donations. To date, HUB404 has raised approximately $1.2M, with more than $17,000 from grassroots donors. In addition, $4M in public sector funding has been dedicated to the project to date, most of that from the Buckhead CID. The project is poised to begin engineering pedestrian bridges over Lenox Road this year, with the engineering of the major section from Lenox Road to Peachtree Road expected to begin by 2024. Donations can be made at hub404.org/gimme4/.

About HUB404 Conservancy

The HUB404 Conservancy is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to build private-sector support for the creation and operation of HUB404. After construction of HUB404, the Conservancy will be responsible for operations, maintenance, and programming of the park. For more information about HUB404, visit hub404.org.

About Buckhead CID

The objective of the Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID), working with the City of Atlanta and its community partners, is to meet the challenges resulting from Buckheads rapid, primarily automobile-based growth, including improving safety, traffic mobility, enhancing the pedestrian environment, creating better access to public transit, initiating intra-district transportation alternatives, encouraging better integration of land uses and improving linkages to the regions automobile, transit and bicycle networks. For more information about the Buckhead CID, visit www.buckheadcid.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005069/en/

Emily Rios

[email protected]

Source: HUB404 Conservancy
/Not for Distribution in the United States or Over United States News Wire Services/

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lithium Royalty Corp. (TSX: LIRC):

(in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted)

Lithium Royalty Corp. (TSX: LIRC) (LRC or the Company) is pleased to report its annual results for 2022. We have established a high grade, low cost and globally diversified royalty portfolio with embedded growth. With the conclusion of our initial public offering on March 15, 2023, we are set up for continued growth through accretive royalty acquisitions. Our portfolio of 30 royalties on 28 properties positions us well for a strong macro backdrop in the growing EV supply chain, stated LRCs CEO, Ernie Ortiz.

Financial Highlights

For the year ended December 31, 2022 2021 Royalty Income $1,683,801 $1,803,175 Depletion 961,322 1,036,170 Gross profit 722,479 767,005

Royalty income declined year on year by $119,374. Despite a growth in production and royalty payments received from Allkem Limited on the Mt Cattlin mine, the results were more than offset by an 8.0% depreciation in the Australian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar in 2022.

Financial Foundation for Growth

We completed our initial public offering on March 15, 2023, raising aggregate proceeds of $102.7 million (C$141.4 million), net of underwriting fees and related underwriting expenses, which will support the acquisition of additional royalties.

Growth and Optionality

13 royalty interests acquired in 2022 and three acquired in 2023.

Meaningful embedded growth from volume expansions and life of mine extensions on existing projects.

Core assets materially outperforming initial assumptions.

Strong pipeline of new royalty acquisition opportunities.

LRC Royalty Activity Updates

Ganfeng Lithium Mariana Royalty: Ganfeng commented in their 2022 Annual Report that the Mariana project is progressing with expected first production in 2024.

Allkem James Bay Royalty: Allkem management commentary from their December 2022 Quarterly Activities Report highlighted that a Mineral Resource update is expected to be released by July 2023 for the James Bay project.

Allkem Mt Cattlin Royalty: Allkem announced in their December 2022 Quarterly Activities Report that Phase I and II of their three-phase resource extension drilling at the Mt Cattlin project is complete. The program was designed to test multi-year mine life extensions with a Mineral Resource update expected soon.

Zijin Mining Tres Quebradas Royalty: Zijins 2022 Annual Report reaffirmed its guidance for production to commence at Tres Quebradas in 2023. The company is actively evaluating increasing production to 40,000 to 60,000 tonnes as per their public statements.

Sigma Resources Grota do Cirilo Royalty: In February 2023, Sigma reaffirmed guidance that it expects first production from its Phase I spodumene asset in Brazil to commence in April 2023.

Core Lithium Finnis Royalty: LRC expects to receive its first royalty payment from Core as a result of the 1Q23 DSO sales. Furthermore, in March 2023, the company announced an agreement with its offtake partner, Yahua Lithium, to sell 18,500 tonnes of spodumene concentrate, with 3,500 tonnes expected to be shipped by the end of April.

Red Dirt Metals Yinnetharra Royalty: In their Interim Financial Report for the Half-Year Ended December 31, 2022, Red Dirt updated its financial disclosure highlighting the potential near-to-medium term achievement of a minimum 15 million tonne Mineral Resource at Yinnetharra.

Sayona Mining Moblan Royalty: In their Financial Report for the Half-Year Ended December 31, 2022, Sayona reaffirmed that it expects to release a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) in May 2023, with an updated Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) to follow in September 2023.

Winsome Resources Adina Royalty: In March 2023, Winsome Resources released additional promising assays on the Adina lithium project, including 47 meters at 1.64% Li2O from 33 meters, and several other holes with widths in excess of 40 meters and grades between 1.08%  1.64% lithium oxide.

Green Technology Metals Seymour Lake Royalty: Green Technology Metals stated in their February 2022 Presentation, that it expects to release a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) pending its imminent update to the Seymour Lake Mineral Resource, with construction to start in 2024.

Green Technology Metals Root Lake Royalty: Green Technology Metals stated in their February 2022 Presentation, that it expects to release a maiden Mineral Resource.

Acquisition Activity in 2022 and 2023

Operator Royalty % Acquisition Date Allkem Limited James Bay  Quebec, Ontario 1.5% NSR1 March 2023 Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. Mariana  Salta, Argentina 0.5% NSR2 February 2023 Winsome Resources Ltd. Adina  Quebec, Ontario 2.0% NSR January 2023 Arvo Lithium Ltd. Kaustinen & Ilmajoki  Finland 1.25% GOR3 December 2022 Larvotto Resources Ltd. Eyre  Western Australia 1.0% GOR October 2022 Green Technology Metals Seymour Lake  Ontario, Canada Root Lake  Ontario, Canada Wisa Lake  Ontario, Canada 1.0% GOR September 2022 Morella Corp. Tabba Tabba  Western Australia Mt Edon/Mt Edon West  Western Australia 1.25% GOR August 2022 Red Dirt Metals Ltd. Yinnetharra  Western Australia 1.0% GOR May 2022 ACME Lithium Inc. Shatford & Cat  Euclid Lake  Manitoba, Canada 2.0% GOR March 2022 Noram Lithium Corp. Zeus  Nevada, USA 1.0% GOR February 2022 Grid Metals Corp. Donner Lake  Manitoba, Canada Campus Creek  Ontario, Canada 2.0% GOR January 2022

Shareholder Information

The audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Managements Discussion and Analysis can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Corporate Summary

LRC is a lithium-focused royalty company with a globally diversified portfolio of 30 high-grade revenue royalties on mineral properties around the world that supply and are expected to supply raw materials to support the electrification of transportation and decarbonization of the global economy. Our portfolio is focused on high-grade and low-cost mineral projects that are primarily located in Australia, Canada, South America and the United States. LRC is a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment; the integration of ESG factors and sustainable mining are important considerations in our investment analysis and royalty acquisitions.

For more information, please visit our website www.lithiumroyaltycorp.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future events or future performance, managements expectations regarding LRCs growth, results of operations, estimated future revenues, performance guidance, carrying value of assets and requirements for additional capital, mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates, production estimates, production costs and revenue, future demand for and prices of commodities, expected mining sequences, business prospects and opportunities, the performance and plans of third party operators and the expected exposure for current and future assessments and available remedies. In addition, statements relating to resources and reserves and mine life are forward-looking statements, as they involve implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, and no assurance can be given that the estimates and assumptions are accurate and that such resources and reserves or mine life will be realized. Such forward-looking statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects, is expected, budgets, potential for, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, predicts, projects, intends, targets, aims, anticipates or believes or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions may, could, should, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of LRC to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement, including, without limitation: fluctuations in the prices of the primary commodities that drive royalty revenue (including various lithium products); fluctuations in the value of the Canadian and Australian dollar and any other currency in which revenue is generated, relative to the U.S. dollar; changes in national and local government legislation, including permitting and licensing regimes and taxation policies and the enforcement thereof; the adoption of a global minimum tax on corporations; regulatory, political or economic developments in any of the countries where properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest are located or through which they are held; risks related to the operators of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest, including changes in the ownership and control of such operators; relinquishment or sale of mineral properties; influence of macroeconomic developments; business opportunities that become available to, or are pursued by LRC; reduced access to debt and equity capital; litigation; title, permit or license disputes related to interests on any of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest; whether or not the Company is determined to have passive foreign investment company (PFIC) status as defined in Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; excessive cost escalation as well as development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest; actual mineral content may differ from the resources and reserves contained in technical reports; rate and timing of production differences from resource estimates, other technical reports and mine plans; risks and hazards associated with the business of development and mining on any of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest, including, but not limited to unusual or unexpected geological and metallurgical conditions, slope failures or cave-ins, sinkholes, flooding and other natural disasters, terrorism, civil unrest or an outbreak of contagious disease; the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic; and the integration of acquired assets. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including, without limitation: the ongoing operation of the properties in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest by the owners or operators of such properties in a manner consistent with past practice; the accuracy of public statements and disclosures made by the owners or operators of such underlying properties; no material adverse change in the market price of the commodities (including various lithium products) that underlie the asset portfolio; the Companys ongoing income and assets relating to determination of its PFIC status; no material changes to existing tax treatment; the expected application of tax laws and regulations by taxation authorities; no adverse development in respect of any significant property in which LRC holds a royalty or other interest; the accuracy of publicly disclosed expectations for the development of underlying properties that are not yet in production; integration of acquired assets; and the absence of any other factors that could cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. However, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. LRC cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

For additional information with respect to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, please refer to LRCs most recent Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only and LRC does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

__________________________

1 Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalties are based on the value of production or net proceeds received by the operator from the smelter or refinery that treats the operators mineral production. These proceeds are usually subject to deductions or charges for transportation, insurance, smelting and refining costs as set out in the royalty agreement, but may also be subject to other deductions or charges.

2 In February 2023, LRC acquired a one-quarter interest in an existing 2.0% NSR royalty on the Mariana lithium brine project in Salta, Argentina operated by Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd.

3 Gross Overriding Revenue (GOR) royalties are based on the total revenue stream from the sale of production from a property with few, if any, deductions.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005428/en/

Jonida Zaganjori

Investor Relations

(647) 792-1100

[email protected]

Source: Lithium Royalty Corp.
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Marret Asset Management Inc. (Marret) today announced that Marret High Yield Strategies Fund (MHY) (CSE: MHY.UN) and Marret Multi-Strategy Income Fund (MMF) (CSE: MMF.UN) will take a substantial write-up in the value of securities held in Cline Mining Corporation (Cline). Cline is the main asset of MHY and MMF.

As a result of the write-up, the net asset value per unit of MHY on March 31st will increase from $0.0544 to approximately $0.2533 or by approximately $0.1989 per unit, the net asset value per class A unit of MMF on March 31st will increase from $0.00 to approximately $0.1468 or by approximately $0.1468 per class A unit, and the net asset value per class F unit of MMF on March 31st will increase from $0.00 to approximately $0.1468 or by approximately $0.1468 per class F unit.

New Elk Coal Company, LLC (NECC) filed for Chapter 11 protection on February 21, 2023. NECC is the issuer of the secured notes held by Cline (NECC Notes). In addition to NECC, its parent company Allegiance Coal Limited (AHQ) and three other related entities also filed for insolvency protection. The previous write-down reflected the increased uncertainty of future cash flows to Cline from the NECC Notes.

Subsequent to the bankruptcy and upon finalization of the MHY and MMF December 31, 2022 Financial Statements, Marret gained additional market information which re-informed managements valuation of the securities held in Cline.

About Allegiance

Allegiance is a publicly listed (ASX: AHQ) Australian company that owns the NECC mine in Colorado and is advancing a metallurgical coal mine into production in British Columbia.

About Marret Asset Management

Marret Asset Management Inc. is a specialist fixed-income manager. With mandates in investment grade credit, short-term cash alternatives, high yield and opportunistic distressed securities, Marrets focus is on achieving positive absolute returns with emphasis on risk management. CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX) holds a 65% ownership stake in Marret.

Forward-looking information

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the expressions seeks, expects, believes, estimates, will, target and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect the current expectations of Marret and the managers of the underlying portfolios regarding future results or events and are based on information currently available to them. Certain material factors and assumptions were applied in providing these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Marret believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions; however, Marret can give no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including the matters discussed under Risks Factors in the annual information forms of MHY and MMF dated March 31, 2023. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, a forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. Marret undertakes no obligation to publicly update any such statement or to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances except as required by securities laws. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005283/en/

Marret Investor Relations

416-214-5800

[email protected]

Kathleen Cooney

Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Operating Officer

[email protected]

Source: Marret Asset Management Inc.
Me Right Now Time! You have 5 minutes to show friends what youre doing right now! Newly Patented Post Type Encourages Friends to Drop the Filter and Show Their Real Lives

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Phanto, the social networking product development company located in Scottsdale, Arizona, is announcing the issuance of the latest of multiple pending patents for its breakthrough social networking platform for authenticity, U.S. patent 11,616,751 B2.

The original patent specification was filed by Phanto July 16, 2019, to describe the companys recent inventions at the time titled Me Right Now and Sup!, or more generally Third Party-initiated Social Media Posting, following five years developing and testing novel methods for increased authenticity and privacy in online sharing.

We are proud to have been awarded our latest patent covering our novel platform providing users a way to share their real lives with friends through safe, authentic posts, which our team spent years developing and testing. The methods contained in this patented platform represent a shift towards healthier, more inclusive and more authentic sharing among friends, said Dan Morrison, founder and CEO of Phanto, and previous cofounder and CEO of early social network ITtoolbox (launched in 1998 and acquired in 2007). As the social networking industry matures, we anticipate patents will represent a cornerstone of future innovation and breakthroughs that benefit all players, including users and startups who benefit from such protections through increased investment. Larger platforms will also benefit from patented innovations of smaller companies in a win-win scenario as smaller companies, free from internal biases that come with running large existing platforms, make their innovations available to be used within these large networks.

Morrison continued, Patents provide the social networking industry with what we believe may be a necessary ability to rely on exclusivity to drive new cultural movements, getting breakthrough innovations over the complicated hurdle of mass adoption as users congregate in one place to experience new ways of sharing at scale. Without such patent protections, mass adoption of an otherwise breakout innovation risks being prematurely neutralized as the early growth of the innovator is quickly diffused among copycats, producing a situation where such features may fail to reach the level of enthusiasm necessary to unlock their benefit to society.

History of the Patented Invention

The Me Right Now invention was the culmination of more than five years of research and development on completely novel ways to share online more authentically and privately. This R&D involved launching and test marketing five unique social networking apps, hosting over 500 target users in office for focus groups and user interviews to understand the needs and pains of Gen Z users and test innovative solutions, and filing and eventually securing over a dozen patents on the resulting, market tested methods, with more patents pending.

The companys fourth app in its ongoing research and development efforts, named Phanto (the only app to use the companys namesake), was dedicated to authentic sharing among close friends and used the tagline Be real. Stay close. The Phanto app was first launched in the Apple App Store August 13, 2018. After testing and receiving feedback on several novel improvements to authentic sharing within early versions of the Phanto app, the company came upon three important lessons it deemed fundamental to producing a modern social networking breakout.

First, to motivate users to set up a new social graph on a new app requires more than improvements to existing patterns and features. Feedback suggested any breakout feature would require a new post type that users could not make at any other app they already had, and they had to want to make that post type immediately and repeatedly with their friends (see Tweet, conclusions from this perspective from 10/7/2019 https://twitter.com/bydanm/status/1181307896933433346).

Second, editorial controls in conventional posts offered by existing social networks incentivized users to post idealized, inauthentic versions of themselves, producing unhealthy cognitive dissonance for an entire generation that grew up recognizing a need to exist online but only having these inauthentic outlets to do so. A new post type meeting their inherent desire for authenticity would need to remove enough editorial control to enforce authenticity while making it safe for users to share more candidly among friends, despite this type of raw sharing running counter to long established social norms.

Third, since it had become common for large companies and well funded startups alike to fast copy any breakout feature and thus cause harm to an original inventor before they could recognize the value of their invention and see its development through, these novel inventions would need to be patentable and thoroughly patented to avoid a near certain loss of investment and opportunity as soon as a larger rival with powerful network effects copied (see TechCrunch Snapchat growth slowed 82% after Instagram Stories Launched https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/02/slowchat/).

To overcome these obstacles, the company invented a completely novel post type for sharing among friends that induces the true authenticity Gen Z users crave and that they couldnt make at any other social app. This new post type, originally named Me Right Now by the company, was introduced to the Phanto app March 9th, 2019. To enable the Me Right Now post type, the Phanto social network issued users a push notification once a day at a time determined by the social network, giving users a predetermined number of minutes (a limit that varied during public testing) to respond by posting a newly captured, unedited photo to their story for their friends to see. In the following weeks, the feature was modified to require photos from both the front and back cameras to give viewers a sense they could see an unedited window into their friends real daily lives, bringing them closer together.

Qualified Me Right Now posts were eventually labeled with a unique indicator certifying their system imposed authenticity, distinguishing a dedicated post type that could only be made under such specific constraints. This authenticity indicator helped viewing users understand why their friends posts were unusually candid and often unflattering in comparison to conventional posts that tended to be staged or highly selective, and reduced reputation risk from those sharing unusually raw photos and/or videos by certifying the specific authenticity criteria had been imposed by the system. The novel Me Right Now invention for friend sharing was a breakthrough hit with early Phanto users, and these lessons learned from the thorough research and development process formed the basis for the 2019 patent filings.

Throughout the remainder of 2019 the company identified opportunities to improve the invention and drive increased posting and greater repeat usage beyond the once a day, system generated request, filing further patents on these inventions, providing an entire platform of features around the authentic post type, and extending them into dating specific applications. Both the Phanto app and successor Sup! app (where some of these v2 features were developed and tested) were temporarily shelved by early 2020, in part to allow the companys patent filings to circulate the US patent process to secure rights to the invention prior to broad marketing, in order to avoid likely harms resulting from fast copying as identified above.

Whats Next

The company has over a dozen more patent filings in progress providing further coverage of the original, system requested, time limited, once a day authentic post type, as well as extensions of the platform covering new applications of the invention, some of which tested notably better among users than the original. Phanto plans to bring these and the original feature to market in at least one new app scheduled to release in 2023.

About Phanto

Phanto is a technology product development company creating innovative online sharing experiences through research and development in the field of social networking, with a focus on big and novel ideas to bring friends closer together and make sharing safer through improved authenticity and privacy. Phanto provides solutions to social media's biggest problems through rigorous research and development combined with deep experience in the origin and evolution of social networking platforms, in an environment free from internal biases that come with operating large, mature products.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005330/en/

Erica Knight

[email protected]

480-406-3079

Source: Phanto
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The 19(a) distribution notices for ten Nuveen closed-end funds are now available. These informational notices provide further details on the sources of the funds regular monthly or quarterly distributions and follows the most recent monthly and quarterly distribution announcements. The full text of these notices is available below or on the Nuveen website via Distribution Source Estimates.

Important Information Regarding Distributions

March 31, 2023: THIS NOTICE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NO ACTION IS REQUIRED ON YOUR PART. If you would like to receive this notice and other shareholder information electronically, please visit www.investordelivery.com if you receive distributions and statements from your financial advisor or brokerage account. An electronic copy of this notice is also posted under distribution notices at www.nuveen.com/cef.

This notice provides shareholders with information regarding fund distributions, as required by current securities laws. You should not draw any conclusions about the Funds investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Funds Managed Distribution Policy.

The following table provides estimates of the Funds distribution sources, reflecting year-to-date cumulative experience through the month-end prior to the latest distribution. The Funds attribute these estimates equally to each regular distribution throughout the year. Consequently, the estimated information as of the specified month-end shown below is for the current distribution, and also represents an updated estimate for all prior months in the year. It is estimated that JRS, DIAX, JCE, NMAI, NDMO, JRI and NPCT have distributed more than their income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of the distributions may be (and is shown below as being estimated to be) a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Funds investment performance and should not be confused with yield or income.

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this 19(a) Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Funds investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. Each Fund will send a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. More details about each Funds distributions and the basis for these estimates are available on www.nuveen.com/cef.

Data as of 2/28/2023 Current Quarter Fiscal YTD Estimated Percentages Estimated Sources of Distribution Estimated Sources of Distribution of Distribution 1 Per Share LT ST Return of Per Share LT ST Return of LT ST Return of Distribution NII Gains Gains Capital Distribution NII Gains Gains Capital NII Gains Gains Capital JRS (FYE 12/31) .1700 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.1700 0.1700 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.1700 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% QQQX (FYE 12/31) .4200 0.0113 0.3051 0.1036 0.0000 0.4200 0.0113 0.3051 0.1036 0.0000 2.7% 72.6% 24.7% 0.0% SPXX (FYE 12/31) .2940 0.0341 0.2599 0.0000 0.0000 0.2940 0.0341 0.2599 0.0000 0.0000 11.6% 88.4% 0.0% 0.0% BXMX (FYE 12/31) .2365 0.0337 0.0264 0.1764 0.0000 0.2365 0.0337 0.0264 0.1764 0.0000 14.3% 11.2% 74.6% 0.0% DIAX (FYE 12/31) .2867 0.0503 0.0347 0.0000 0.2017 0.2867 0.0503 0.0347 0.0000 0.2017 17.5% 12.1% 0.0% 70.4% JCE (FYE 12/31) .3200 0.0185 0.0000 0.0000 0.3015 0.3200 0.0185 0.0000 0.0000 0.3015 5.8% 0.0% 0.0% 94.2% NMAI (FYE 12/31) .3000 0.2252 0.0000 0.0000 0.0748 0.3000 0.2252 0.0000 0.0000 0.0748 75.1% 0.0% 0.0% 24.9% 1 Net investment income (NII) is a projection through the end of the current calendar quarter using actual data through the stated month-end date above. Capital gain amounts are as of the stated date above. JRS owns REIT securities which attribute their distributions to various sources including NII, gains, and return of capital. The estimated per share sources above include an allocation of the NII based on prior year attributions which can be expected to differ from the actual final attributions for the current year.

Data as of 2/28/2023 Current Month Fiscal YTD Estimated Percentages Estimated Sources of Distribution Estimated Sources of Distribution of Distribution 1 Per Share LT ST Return of Per Share LT ST Return of LT ST Return of Distribution NII Gains Gains Capital Distribution NII Gains Gains Capital NII Gains Gains Capital NDMO (FYE 10/31) .0765 0.0365 0.0000 0.0000 0.0400 0.3060 0.1459 0.0000 0.0000 0.1601 47.7% 0.0% 0.0% 52.3% JRI (FYE 12/31) .0965 0.0375 0.0000 0.0000 0.0590 0.1930 0.0749 0.0000 0.0000 0.1181 38.8% 0.0% 0.0% 61.2% NPCT (FYE 12/31) .1030 0.0359 0.0000 0.0000 0.0671 0.2060 0.0719 0.0000 0.0000 0.1341 34.9% 0.0% 0.0% 65.1% 1 Net investment income (NII) and capital gain amounts are as of the stated month-end date above.

The following table provides information regarding distributions and total return performance over various time periods. This information is intended to help you better understand whether returns for the specified time periods were sufficient to meet distributions.

Data as of 2/28/2023 Annualized Cumulative Inception

Date Quarterly

Distribution Fiscal

YTD

Distribution NAV 5-Year

Return on NAV2 Fiscal YTD

Distribution Rate

on NAV1 Fiscal YTD

Return on NAV Fiscal YTD

Distribution Rate

on NAV1 JRS (FYE 12/31) Nov-2001 .1700 .1700 8.83 5.38% 7.70% 8.74% 1.93% QQQX (FYE 12/31) Jan-2007 .4200 .4200 21.44 5.13% 7.84% 9.33% 1.96% SPXX (FYE 12/31) Nov-2005 .2940 .2940 15.38 5.47% 7.65% 3.92% 1.91% BXMX (FYE 12/31) Oct-2004 .2365 .2365 12.97 5.35% 7.29% 3.18% 1.82% DIAX (FYE 12/31) Apr-2005 .2867 .2867 15.98 3.32% 7.18% -1.30% 1.79% JCE (FYE 12/31) Mar-2007 .3200 .3200 12.44 6.24% 10.29% 3.32% 2.57% NMAI (FYE 12/31) Nov-2021 .3000 .3000 13.92 -13.96% 8.62% 3.80% 2.16%

1As a percentage of 2/28/2023 NAV. 2 NMAI 5 year return figure reflects the annualized since inception return on NAV

Data as of 2/28/2023 Annualized Cumulative Inception

Date Monthly

Distribution Fiscal

YTD

Distribution NAV 5-Year

Return on NAV2 Fiscal YTD

Distribution Rate

on NAV1 Fiscal YTD

Return on NAV Fiscal YTD

Distribution Rate

on NAV1 NDMO (FYE 10/31) Aug-2020 .0765 .3060 10.89 -6.13% 8.43% 8.16% 2.81% JRI (FYE 12/31) Apr-2012 .0965 .1930 13.91 1.61% 8.32% 3.89% 1.39% NPCT (FYE 12/31) Apr-2021 .1030 .2060 12.55 -16.26% 9.85% 3.92% 1.64% 1As a percentage of 2/28/2023 NAV. 2 NPCT and NDMO 5 year return figure reflects the annualized since inception return on NAV

About Nuveen

Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.1 trillion in assets under management as of 31 Dec 2022 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com.

Nuveen Securities, LLC, member FINRA and SIPC.

The information contained on the Nuveen website is not a part of this press release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements made in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. These include, but are not limited to:

market developments;

legal and regulatory developments; and

other additional risks and uncertainties.

Nuveen and the closed-end funds managed by Nuveen and its affiliates undertake no responsibility to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement.

EPS-2819596PR-E0323W

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005358/en/

For more information, please visit Nuveens CEF homepage www.nuveen.com/closed-end-funds or contact:

Financial Professionals

800-752-8700

Investors

800-257-8787

Media

[email protected]

Source: Nuveen
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

In accordance with Article 5 of EU Regulation n 596/2014 (Market Abuse Regulation), detailed information is available on the website of Tikehau Capital (Paris: TKO): https://www.tikehaucapital.com/fr/shareholders/regulatory-information

Disclosure of shares repurchases from 24 March 2023 to 30 March 2023 Name of the issuer Issuer Identity Code (LEI) Trading Day ISIN Aggregated volume

per day (number of

shares) Weighted

average price

per day Market (MIC

Code) TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 24/03/2023 FR0013230612 2,000 23.9754 XPAR TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 27/03/2023 FR0013230612 6,279 23.9022 XPAR TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 28/03/2023 FR0013230612 9,500 23.7155 XPAR TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 29/03/2023 FR0013230612 2,000 23.9519 XPAR TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 30/03/2023 FR0013230612 2,000 24.3686 XPAR TOTAL 21,779 23.8749

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005151/en/

Tikehau Capital

Source: Tikehau Capital
Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval of Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) for the treatment of adult patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), high grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBCL), primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) and follicular lymphoma grade 3B (FL3B), who relapsed within 12 months from completion of, or are refractory to, first-line chemoimmunotherapy.

This positive CHMP opinion is an important milestone towards introducing a potential new standard of care for people in the European Union living with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after first-line treatment, an area of critical unmet need where few patients are able to undergo or derive long-term clinical benefit from stem cell transplant, said Anne Kerber, senior vice president, Cell Therapy Development, Bristol Myers Squibb. We look forward to continuing to work with the European Medicines Agency with the goal of bringing our cell therapy, Breyanzi, and the potential for cure to more people.

The CHMP adopted a positive opinion based on results from the pivotal Phase 3 TRANSFORM study evaluating Breyanzi as a second-line treatment in adults with relapsed or refractory LBCL compared to the standard of care consisting of salvage chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy plus hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

In the European Union (EU), the European Commission delivers its final decision within approximately two months following receipt of the CHMP opinion. The decision will be applicable to all EU member states and Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.*

Bristol Myers Squibb thanks the patients and investigators involved in the TRANSFORM study.

*Centralized Marketing Authorization does not include approval in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).
Xpeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) announced that it will begin the rollout of its XNGP Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) to eligible customers in China beginning on March 31.

XPENG G9 Max and P7i Max customers in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai, three of Chinas largest cities, will receive XNGP via Over-the-Air (OTA) update.

In this first phase, its City NGP (Navigation Guided Pilot) functions, already available in Guangzhou (see details: https://ir.xiaopeng.com/zh-hans/news-releases/news-release-details/xpeng-debuts-city-ngp-pilot-program) will be expanded to eligible customers in Shenzhen and Shanghai.

Today marks another exciting milestone in the development of autonomous driving. We are truly proud to be trailblazing this leap forward that will significantly enrich our customers driving experience using the latest technology, said Dr Xinzhou Wu, Vice President and Head of Autonomous Driving Center at XPENG.

XNGP has proven itself to be highly advanced and capable ADAS platform in the Chinese market. We are able to deploy the software via OTA updates to multiple models across multiple cities in China concurrently, said Dr Wu.

With this OTA update, XPENG also brings to customers its enhanced SR (Simulated Reality) 2.0 empowered by XNET perception technology which delivers a real time Birds Eye View (BEV) and 360 panoramic environmental perception of surrounding road conditions.

The OTA update delivered through XPENGs latest operating system Xmart OS 4.2.0, brings 27 new functions, 52 optimizations and over 40 other improvements, covering smart driving, smart voice, cockpit experience, among others.

The second phase of XNGPs rollout is planned for 2H 2023. In the second phase rollout, full lane changing, overtaking and navigation through crossroads under complex city driving scenarios will be expanded to major Chinese cities and no longer require high definition map.
Almere, the Netherlands

March 31, 2023

ASM International N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) today announces that the information regarding the Annual General Meeting scheduled for May 15, 2023 (AGM), is now available on the Company's website. This information includes the convocation, the agenda and annexes thereto. The U.S. market proxy materials for holders of New York Registry Shares are also posted on our website.

The AGM will commence at 2:00 p.m. CET.

The AGM can be attended in person by shareholders. Our shareholders are also offered the possibility to exercise their voting rights by proxy and to follow (view and hear only) the meeting through our live webcast.





The agenda for the AGM includes, amongst others, a change of the remuneration policy for the Management Board, approval of the proposal to declare a regular dividend of 2.50 per common share, approval of reappointment of KPMG Accountants N.V. for the financial year 2023 and the financial year 2024 and approval of the annual accounts of 2022.

In accordance with applicable legal requirements in the Netherlands the record date for the AGM is April 17, 2023. The total number of issued shares in ASM International N.V. as per today amounts to 49,348,548 common shares. Considering the number of shares held in treasury as per today, amounting to 10,476 shares, the number of voting shares amounts to 49,338,072.

About ASM International



ASM International N.V., headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, and its subsidiaries design and manufacture equipment and process solutions to produce semiconductor devices for wafer processing, and have facilities in the United States, Europe, and Asia. ASM International's common stock trades on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange (symbol ASM). For more information, visit ASM's website at www.asm.com .





Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: All matters discussed in this press release, except for any historical data, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, economic conditions and trends in the semiconductor industry generally and the timing of the industry cycles specifically, currency fluctuations, corporate transactions, financing and liquidity matters, the success of restructurings, the timing of significant orders, market acceptance of new products, competitive factors, litigation involving intellectual property, shareholders or other issues, commercial and economic disruption due to natural disasters, terrorist activity, armed conflict or political instability, changes in import/export regulations, epidemics and other risks indicated in the Company's reports and financial statements. The Company assumes no obligation nor intends to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future developments or circumstances.

CONTACT



Investor and Media contact:

Victor Bareno

T: +31 88 100 8500

E: [email protected]





Attachment
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. The Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov and the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov held phone talks on March 31, Trend reports via the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.

According to the statement, Ali Asadov congratulated Prime Minister Smailov on his reappointment to this position and wished him success in his upcoming work.

During the phone call, the development of friendship and cooperation between the two countries in various fields was positively assessed, and the prospects of the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan strategic partnership were discussed.
TORONTO, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Base Carbon Inc. (NEO: BCBN) (OTCQX: BCBNF) (Base Carbon, or the Company) is pleased to announce its year-end 2022 consolidated financial results and operational highlights. All financial references are denominated in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.

Annual Corporate and Financial Highlights as of December 31, 2022:

Vietnam Household Devices Project: Base Carbon, through its subsidiary, Base Carbon Capital Partners Corp. (BCCPC), executed project agreements with in-country partner Sustainability Investment Promotion and Development Joint Stock Company (SIPCO) to fund an expected $20.8 million related to the development of a cookstove and water purifier carbon reduction project in Vietnam. Base Carbon facilitated a project offtake agreement between Citigroup Global Markets Limited (Citigroup) and SIPCO related to the first phase of the project.

Rwanda Cookstoves Project: Base Carbon, through its subsidiary, BCCPC, executed an agreement with a subsidiary of project partner DelAgua Group (DelAgua) to fund $8.8 million towards the purchase, distribution, and initial monitoring of 250,000 fuel-efficient cookstoves for a carbon reduction project in Rwanda.

Financial Resources: As of December 31, 2023, the Company had total assets of $44.1 million, including $12.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $24.5 million in investments into carbon credit projects.

Blue Carbon Partnership with Danish Red Cross: In Q4 2022, Base Carbon signed a letter of intent with the Danish Red Cross to develop blue carbon projects in Southeast Asia, with the scope including a potential mangrove carbon credit removal project. An initial project in the Philippines is currently in the evaluation phase and a key project consultant has been engaged to provide mapping and scoping services.

Public Listing on the NEO and OTCQX Trading: On March 3, 2022, the Company commenced trading as a public company on the NEO Exchange Inc. under the symbol BCBN, and on August 22, 2022, commenced trading on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol BCBNF. The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies.

2022 was transformational for Base Carbon where we established a foundation to grow our business. During the year, the company focused on developing Base as a public issuer and executing investments from our pipeline of high-quality carbon projects. From this pipeline we committed $29.7 million in capital related to our carbon reduction projects in Rwanda and Vietnam, with project partners DelAgua and SIPCO, respectively. In addition, we announced our partnership with the Danish Red Cross with the intention of developing mangrove-focused blue carbon removal projects in Southeast Asia. As of today, we are fully distributed on both household device projects in Rwanda and Vietnam, and we anticipate first verifications and first carbon credit issuances in mid-2023, stated Michael Costa, Chief Executive Officer of Base Carbon.

Project Updates and Other Highlights:

Vietnam Household Devices Project

Device Distribution and Project Capital: Project partner SIPCO has completed the full distribution of project devices, an aggregate of 1.214 million fuel-efficient cookstoves and water purifiers, four months ahead of the initial schedule and on budget. As of March 31, 2023, Base Carbon has funded 90% of the committed project capital with remaining commitments primarily tied to 2023 and 2024 project monitoring activities.

Registry Validation: Project partner SIPCO re-registered the cookstoves portion of the project under a new project ID #2923. The new Project Design Document (PDD) was validated by the Validation and Verification Body (VVB), and the project was subsequently registered by Verra on November 25th, 2022. The Project ID for the re-registered cookstove portion of the project can be found at VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) 2923 and the Project ID for the water purifier portion of the project can be found at VCS 2557.

First Carbon Credit Issuance & Citigroup Offtake: Initial carbon credits are anticipated to be generated from the project in mid-2023, with Citigroup contracted to purchase the first 7.4 million carbon credits generated from the project.

Rwanda Cookstoves Project

Device Distribution and Project Capital: Project partner DelAgua has completed the full distribution of 250,000 cookstoves, on schedule and on budget. As of March 31, 2023, Base Carbon has funded 100% of the committed project capital.

First Carbon Credit Issuance: First carbon credits are anticipated to be generated from the project in mid-2023, and Base Carbon maintains a contractual preferential share of the revenues anticipated from the first 2.2 million carbon credits issued. The project design document for the Rwanda project can be found at VCS 4150.

HCBL Operating Relationship

Base Carbon and Hardwick Climate Business Limited (HCBL) have mutually agreed not to complete the proposed 100% acquisition of HCBL by Base Carbon. Into 2023 and beyond, the Company and HCBL intend to continue collaborating on the development of current projects in addition to the prospective project pipeline. Base Carbon and HCBL are actively working towards a restructured future operating relationship.

2022 Year-end Financial Results

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had total assets of $44.1 million, comprised of $12.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, $0.1 million in prepaid and other assets, $24.5 million in investments in carbon credit projects, a $1.4 million equity investment in ACX Holdings Ltd. (AirCarbon) and a $5.1 million investment in associate company HCBL. The Company had $0.2 million in accounts payable and accrued liabilities, comprising total liabilities.

In Q4 2022, the Company incurred a net loss of $8.1 million, of which $6.0 million was due to a non-cash impairment loss related to the Companys 49.9% ownership in associate company HCBL. Other operating expenses in Q4 2022 were attributable to consulting and professional fees, salaries and wages, and share-based compensation. The Companys revenue lines are still being developed.

On June 17th, 2022, the Company implemented a normal course issuer bid program (NCIB) to repurchase Company Shares. As of March 24, 2023, the Company had purchased 4,844,678 Company Shares for cancellation under the NCIB resulting in outstanding Company Shares of 122,819,602.

About Base Carbon

Base Carbon provides capital, development expertise and management operating resources to projects involved in the voluntary carbon markets. The company seeks to be the preferred carbon project partner in providing capital and developmental resources to carbon projects globally and, where appropriate, will endeavour to utilize technologies within the evolving carbon industry to enhance efficiencies, commercial credibility, and trading transparency. For more information, please visit www.basecarbon.com.

Media and Investor Inquiries

Base Carbon Inc.Investor RelationsTel: +1 647 952 3979E-mail: [email protected]

Media InquiriesE-mail: [email protected]

Michael Costa, Chief Executive Officer, and Ryan Hornby, Chief Legal Officer are responsible for this press release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws with respect of the Company, including but not limited to, statements relating to the focus of Base Carbons business, the intention to restructure its relationship and investments with HCBL, the Companys carbon reduction projects and financial results of the Company. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as expects, anticipates, intends, contemplates, believes, projects, plans or variations of such words and similar expressions or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might, will or will be taken, occur or be achieved. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent managements expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. Statements about, among other things, Base Carbons strategic plans the intention to restructure its relationship and investments with HCBL and details of development and revenue generation timelines of current projects (including that the first issuance of carbon credits associated with the Vietnam project and the Rwanda project is anticipated mid-2023) are all forward-looking information. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance, results, or achievements.

Although management believes that the anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information because it involves assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

In respect of the Companys carbon credit projects, the Rwanda project and the Vietnam project, certain factors that influence successfully meeting the anticipated first issuance of carbon credits associated with such projects in mid-2023 include, among other things: (i) the Company has retained industry leading experts/consultants/advisors to assist with the planning and execution of such projects, (ii) the timelines for execution of the development of the Rwanda project and the Vietnam project has to date been in line with (or accelerated from) initial expectations, and (iii) the Company has sufficient funds on hand to complete the execution of its milestones stated herein for the Rwanda project and the Vietnam project.

In respect of the Companys carbon credit projects, the Rwanda project and the Vietnam project, certain assumptions that influence successfully meeting the anticipated first issuance of carbon credits associated with such projects in mid-2023 include, among other things: (i) the Companys project partners satisfy their obligations as expected by the Company and on expected timelines, (ii) the household participants in the projects utilize the Devices supplied to them in accordance with the expectations under the projects, (iii) the validation process in respect of the Rwanda project, being undertaken with Verra, the organization that has been appointed as the carbon credit registry for such project, occurs mid-2023, (iv) the completion and submission to Verra of the initial project monitoring reports prepared by the project Validation and Verification Body (VVB) occurs mid-2023, and (v) the initial acceptance of the verification by Verra of the performance of the projects set out in the VVB reports against the project methodology in order to enable the first issuance of the resulting carbon credits occurs mid-2023, which timeline is reflective of the Companys observation of Verras current timeline for the verification of similar carbon reduction projects being undertaken by other parties.

The evaluation and negotiation by the Company of new additional projects described herein is in respect of potential opportunities which are non-binding proposals only and which are subject to due diligence and/or negotiation of definitive documentation by the Company as of the date of this press release. Readers are cautioned that there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to enter into definitive agreements for, or otherwise proceed with or realize upon, such potential opportunities on a timely basis or at all, nor that the nature and scope of such potential opportunities will ultimately be as described herein or as to the extent of any financial, operational or other benefits which may be realized by the Company in proceeding with such potential opportunities. Potential projects may be removed from the Companys pipeline from time to time or at any time as a result of, among other things, unsatisfactory results from the Companys due diligence or negotiation of terms and conditions in respect of such potential projects.

The forward-looking statements made herein are subject to a variety of risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys control, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially and adversely from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Specific reference is made to the most recent Annual Information Form on file with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities (and available on www.sedar.com) for a more detailed discussion of some of the factors underlying forward-looking statements and the risks that may affect the Companys ability to achieve the expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Should one or more of the risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual events or results may vary materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is provided as of the date of this press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Source: Base Carbon Inc.
NEW YORK, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: RA) (the Fund) today announced that its Board of Directors (the Board) declared the Funds monthly distributions for April, May and June 2023.



Distribution Declaration

Month Record Date Ex Date Payable Date Amount per Share April 2023 April 12, 2023 April 11, 2023 April 25, 2023 $ 0.1990 May 2023 May 10, 2023 May 9, 2023 May 25, 2023 $ 0.1990 June 2023 June 14, 2023 June 13, 2023 June 27, 2023 $ 0.1990

Shares purchased on or after the ex-distribution date will not receive the distribution discussed above. Please contact your financial advisor with any questions. Distributions may include net investment income, capital gains and/or return of capital (ROC). Any portion of the Funds distributions that is a return of capital does not necessarily reflect the Funds investment performance and should not be confused with yield or income. The tax status of distributions will be determined at the end of the taxable year.*

Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC (Public Securities Group or PSG) is a Delaware limited liability company and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management ULC, an unlimited liability company formed under the laws of British Columbia, Canada. Brookfield Corporation holds a 75% interest in Brookfield Asset Management ULC, while Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (Brookfield Asset Management), holds a 25% interest in Brookfield Asset Management ULC. Brookfield Asset Management is a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately US$800 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2022.

PSG is an SEC-registered investment adviser and represents the Public Securities platform of Brookfield Asset Management Ltd., providing global listed real assets strategies including real estate equities, infrastructure equities, multi-strategy real asset solutions and real asset debt. With over US$21 billion of assets under management as of February 28, 2023, PSG manages separate accounts, registered funds and opportunistic strategies for institutional and individual clients, including financial institutions, public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds and high net worth investors. For more information, go to https://publicsecurities.brookfield.com/.

Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc. is managed by PSG. The Fund uses its website as a channel of distribution of material information about the Fund. Financial and other material information regarding the Fund is routinely posted on and accessible at https://publicsecurities.brookfield.com/.

COMPANY CONTACT

Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc.

Brookfield Place

250 Vesey Street, 15th Floor

New York, NY 10281-1023

(855) 777-8001

[email protected]

Investing involves risk; principal loss is possible. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

* Distributions include all distribution payments regardless of source and may include net income, capital gains, and/or return of capital (ROC). ROC should not be confused with yield or income. The Fund's Section 19a-1 Notice, if applicable, contains additional distribution composition information and may be obtained by visiting publicsecurities.brookfield.com. Final determination of a distribution's tax character will be made on Form 1099 DIV and sent to shareholders. On a tax basis, as of February 28, 2023, the most recent available figures, the estimated components of the cumulative distributions for the fiscal year to date would include an estimated return of capital of $0.3980 (79.47%) per share for the Fund. This amount is an estimate and the actual amount and sources for tax reporting purposes may change upon final determination of tax characteristics and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. A return of capital is not taxable and results in a reduction in the tax basis of a shareholders investment. The final determination regarding the nature of the distributions will be made after the end of the Funds fiscal year when the Fund can determine its earnings and profits. The final tax status of the distributions may differ substantially and will be made available to shareholders after the close of each calendar year. The proportion of distributions that are treated as taxable distributions may also vary and or increase in future years. The Fund invests in master limited partnerships (MLPs), which are generally treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes. Distributions from MLPs are estimated as income and return of capital based on information reported by the MLPs and managements estimates of such amounts based on historical information. These estimates are adjusted when the actual source of distributions is disclosed by the MLPs and the actual amounts may differ from the estimated amounts. In setting the Funds distribution policy, PSG and the Funds Board consider a number of factors, including both expected income and distributions received by the Fund and our expectations regarding potential capital appreciation. From time to time the Fund may be over- or under- distributed when taking into account actual income, distributions and net unrealized gains or losses since actual capital appreciation is variable over time. However, our goal is to have a distribution rate that is stable over the long term.

Quasar Distributors, LLC provides filing administration for Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc.
Contacts Media Contact Investor Relations Amsterdam +31 20 721 4133 Brussels +32 2 620 15 50 +33 1 70 48 24 27 Dublin +33 1 70 48 24 45 Lisbon +351 210 600 614 Milan +39 02 72 42 62 12 Oslo +47 41 69 59 10 Paris +33 1 70 48 24 45

Convening of the Annual General Meeting of Euronext N.V.

Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris  31 March 2023  Euronext today announced that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on Wednesday 17 May 2023 at 10.30 CEST at Beursplein 5, 1012 JW Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

Opening Presentation of the Chief Executive Officer (discussion item) Annual report 2022 Explanation of the policy on additions to reserves and dividends (discussion item) Proposal to adopt the 2022 remuneration report (voting item 1) Proposal to adopt the 2022 financial statements (voting item 2) Proposal to adopt a dividend of 2.22 per ordinary share (voting item 3) Proposal to discharge the members of the Managing Board in respect of their duties performed during the year 2022 (voting item 4) Proposal to discharge the members of the Supervisory Board in respect of their duties performed during the year 2022 (voting item 5) Composition of the Supervisory Board Re-appointment of Nathalie Rachou as a member of the Supervisory Board (voting item 6) Re-appointment of Morten Thorsrud as a member of the Supervisory Board (voting item 7) Composition of the Managing Board Re-appointment of Stephane Boujnah as a member of the Managing Board (voting item 8) Re-appointment of Daryl Byrne as a member of the Managing Board (voting item 9) Re-appointment of Chris Topple as a member of the Managing Board (voting item 10) Re-appointment of Isabel Ucha as a member of the Managing Board (voting item 11) Appointment of Manuel Bento as a member of the Managing Board (voting item 12) Appointment of Benoit van den Hove as a member of the Managing Board (voting item 13) Proposal to appoint the external auditor (voting item 14) Proposal to designate the Managing Board as the competent body: to issue ordinary shares (voting item 15); and to restrict or exclude the pre-emptive rights of shareholders (voting item 16) Proposal to authorise the Managing Board to acquire ordinary shares in the share capital of the company on behalf of the company (voting item 17) Any other business Close

The AGM will be conducted in English.

Registration date AGM

Pursuant to Dutch law and Euronext N.V.s Articles of Association, the persons who will be considered as entitled to attend and vote at the AGM are those persons who are registered as such in the administrations held by their financial intermediaries (the Shareholders) on 19 April 2023, after processing of all settlements on that date (the Registration Date).

Registration and voting instructions

Shareholders holding their shares through Euroclear France S.A. (i.e. the public) who wish to attend the AGM, provide instructions or grant a power of attorney to vote on their behalf, must complete the form (voting form / attendance card request) provided for this purpose by their financial intermediary or by Euronext Securities Department  Uptevia. The Shareholders should be aware that these documents must be received, no later than on Thursday 11 May 2023 by their financial intermediary for receipt no later than on Friday 12 May 2023 by Uptevia, Assemblees Generales, 9 rue du Debarcadere 93761 Pantin Cedex, France. The financial intermediary should deliver to the Shareholder a certificate of holding containing: name and city of residence of the Shareholder; number of shares; name and city of residence of the attendee (if different from the Shareholder) and declaration that the shares were in custody with the Euroclear France-admitted institution on the Registration Date. This certificate will serve as the admission certificate for the AGM for the Shareholder.

Shareholders holding their shares through Interbolsa in Portugal who wish to attend the AGM, provide instructions or grant a power of attorney to vote on their behalf, must complete the form (voting form / attendance card request) provided for this purpose by Euronext Securities Department  Uptevia Corporate Trust. The Shareholders should be aware that these documents must be received, no later than on Thursday 11 May 2023 by their financial intermediary for receipt no later than on Friday 12 May 2023 by BNP Paribas Securities Services, PT Local Team, Edificio ARTS  Av. D. Joao II  Lote 1.18.01, Bloco B, 1998-028 Lisboa, Portugal. The financial intermediary should deliver to the Shareholder a certificate of holding containing: name and city of residence of the Shareholder; number of shares on the Registration Date; name and city of residence of the attendee (if different from the Shareholder). This certificate will serve as admission certificate for the AGM for the Shareholder.

Persons without a valid admission certificate will not be given access to the meeting. Attendants may be asked for identification prior to being admitted.

At the time of the publication of this convening notice, Euronexts total issued share capital in number of issued shares and in voting rights is published on Euronexts website:

https://www.euronext.com/en/investor-relations/capital-and-shareholding

Webcast

There will be a live broadcast of the AGM via

https://channel.royalcast.com/landingpage/euronextwebcast/20230517_1/

AGM Documentation

The AGM Documentation (i.e. this convening notice, the agenda and the explanatory notes thereto including the information on the persons to be appointed to the Supervisory Board and the Managing Board, as well as the 2022 Annual Report) is available:





at the registered office of Euronext N.V.: Beursplein 5, 1012 JW Amsterdam, The Netherlands

by email request to [email protected]

on Euronexts website https://www.euronext.com/en/investor-relations/shareholder-meetings

at Uptevia - CTS Assemblees Generales  9 rue du Debarcadere, 93761 Pantin Cedex, France - + 33 1 57 43 02 30

Managing Board and Supervisory Board of Euronext N.V.

Beursplein 5, 1012 JW Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, under number 60234520

About Euronext

Euronext is the leading pan-European market infrastructure, connecting European economies to global capital markets, to accelerate innovation and sustainable growth. It operates regulated exchanges in Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal. With close to 1,930 listed equity issuers and around 6.3 trillion in market capitalisation as of end December 2022, it has an unmatched blue chip franchise and a strong diverse domestic and international client base. Euronext operates regulated and transparent equity and derivatives markets, one of Europes leading electronic fixed income trading markets and is the largest centre for debt and funds listings in the world. Its total product offering includes Equities, FX, Exchange Traded Funds, Warrants & Certificates, Bonds, Derivatives, Commodities and Indices. The Group provides a multi-asset clearing house through Euronext Clearing, and custody and settlement services through Euronext Securities central securities depositories in Denmark, Italy, Norway and Portugal. Euronext also leverages its expertise in running markets by providing technology and managed services to third parties. In addition to its main regulated market, it also operates a number of junior markets, simplifying access to listing for SMEs.

For the latest news, go to euronext.com or follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/euronext) and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/euronext).

Disclaimer

This press release is for information purposes only: it is not a recommendation to engage in investment activities and is provided as is, without representation or warranty of any kind. While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the content, Euronext does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Euronext will not be held liable for any loss or damages of any nature ensuing from using, trusting or acting on information provided. No information set out or referred to in this publication may be regarded as creating any right or obligation. The creation of rights and obligations in respect of financial products that are traded on the exchanges operated by Euronexts subsidiaries shall depend solely on the applicable rules of the market operator. All proprietary rights and interest in or connected with this publication shall vest in Euronext. This press release speaks only as of this date. Euronext refers to Euronext N.V. and its affiliates. Information regarding trademarks and intellectual property rights of Euronext is available at www.euronext.com/terms-use.

 2023, Euronext N.V. - All rights reserved.

The Euronext Group processes your personal data in order to provide you with information about Euronext (the "Purpose"). With regard to the processing of this personal data, Euronext will comply with its obligations under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR), and any applicable national laws, rules and regulations implementing the GDPR, as provided in its privacy statement available at: www.euronext.com/privacy-policy. In accordance with the applicable legislation you have rights with regard to the processing of your personal data: for more information on your rights, please refer to: www.euronext.com/data_subjects_rights_request_information. To make a request regarding the processing of your data or to unsubscribe from this press release service, please use our data subject request form at connect2.euronext.com/form/data-subjects-rights-request or email our Data Protection Officer at [email protected].

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Press release

Paris, 31 March 2023

Credit Agricole Immobilier finalises the acquisition of Sudeco from Casino Immobilier and strengthens its position as a major player in in Property Management

Credit Agricole Immobilier has completed today the acquisition of Sudeco announced on 14 March 2023. Its subsidiary, CAI Corporate et Promotion (CAICP), has signed the final agreement for the acquisition of Sudeco, a property management company (joint property, rental and facility management) specialist in retail real estate, from Casino Immobilier.

This signature comes after consultation of Sudeco's employee representative body.

With this acquisition, Credit Agricole Immobilier becomes the fourth player in institutional property management in France in terms of revenue, thus accelerating its strategic ambition to join the top three in the sector by 2025.

Franck Helary, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Agricole Immobilier Corporate et Promotion, commented: With this acquisition, we are developing a full range of services for our current and future clients, in all asset classes. The complementarities of our expertise and locations make Credit Agricole Immobilier a key player in property management and allow us to expect a solid and reliable growth in the coming months.

This transaction will have a negligible negative impact on the CET1 of Credit Agricole S.A. and Groupe Credit Agricole.

About Sudeco

Founded in 1988, Sudeco is a property management company specialised in retail parks, local shops and logistics in France, mainly for assets located in the French regions. Sudeco has a diversified client base, including real estate companies, institutional investors, management companies, independent retailers and family offices. Sudeco is a key player in the ecological transition through its consulting practice to support its clients in meeting the new environmental standards for real estate: obtaining certification, managing energy consumption, managing their ESG strategy, etc.

Sudeco employs nearly 120 people and achieved a turnover of more than 20m in 2022.

About Credit Agricole Immobilier

Subsidiary of the Credit Agricole Group, Credit Agricole Immobilier, through its two business lines (Credit Agricole Immobilier Corporate et Promotion / CAICP and Credit Agricole Services Immobiliers / CA-SIM), is a global real estate player that advises its clients on their real estate projects. The group's businesses include:

- Residential development

- Commercial development

- Consultancy in commercial real estate solutions

- Operational real estate management

- Property management and transactions for individuals

Credit Agricole Immobilier has 1,300 employees and provides expert services to individuals, businesses and local authorities. The group generated 155 million in net income in 2022.

P ress contact Credit Agricole Immobilier :

Amal Hmimed - + 33 (0)6 20 94 24 96 - [email protected]

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CALGARY, Alberta, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ECO Canada celebrates the Government of Canada's 2023 budget, which focuses on renewed support and investment to help young professionals transition into the environmental workforce. These measures will ensure that students gain the necessary skills, education, and real-life work experience to transition successfully into careers supporting a robust Canadian economy.

ECO Canada hopes the Government of Canada will make the Student Work Placement Program a permanent program to address the long-term needs for environmental workers. There is also hope for continued industry support from public investments to deliver a sustainable jobs plan that will fill the need for all newly available environmental jobs. With nearly 30 per cent of the current workforce expected to retire in the next decade, there is a growing need to attract new talent, including equity-seeking groups and mid-career transitioners. By 2025, it is expected to develop and upskill existing workers to fill over 170,0000 environmental job openings.

The announcement from the Government of Canada to continue its support for Work Integrated Learning and Student Work Placement Programs through partnerships between employers and post-secondary education institutions is welcome news, said Kevin Nilsen, President & CEO of ECO Canada.

These initiatives align with ECO Canadas organizational mission, and the government's renewed commitment to job creation, skills development, and green investments will support the growing environmental industry. Continued ongoing funding for the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program and newcomer integration would address the long-term needs of the industry.

This recent budget announcement will continue helping students develop work-ready skills, particularly in an increasingly complex and evolving environmental labour market. ECO Canadas commitment to the environmental workforce has created more than 15,183 job placements, and the federal subsidies released through our program oversight amounted to over $150 million in the last five years.

With continued government support, we can continue to build the world's leading environmental workforce and supplement our Environmental Professionals (EP) of over 3,000 members, said Kevin Nilsen, President & CEO of ECO Canada.

ECO Canada remains dedicated to building a robust environmental workforce by helping students transition from post-secondary institutions to the workforce. The organization remains committed to ensuring Canada has an adequate supply of professionals with the demonstrated skills and knowledge to meet the environmental human resource needs. This includes the public and private sectors with training, certification, employment programs and partnerships.

About ECO Canada:ECO Canada is the steward of the Canadian environmental industry. From job creation and wage funding to training and labour market research  we champion the end-to-end career of an environmental professional. We aim to promote and drive responsible, sustainable economic growth within the industry while ensuring that environmental care and best practice are priorities. Over the past 30 years, we have forged academic partnerships, tools, and research to train and certify environmental job seekers and help fill the labour market.

We work alongside government, policymakers, academia, students, employers, professionals, industry, and international audiences to ensure we support Canada as a global leader in innovative workforce solutions and job creation. We remain the go-to source in the environmental labour market; our research provides unmatched statistics and analysis on the industry's economic and labour trends that identify workforce gaps.

For more information, contact:Aaron WilsonVP, Marketing & SalesECO Canada[email protected]

Source: ECO Canada
Paris, France , March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Made in France sustainable clothing brand, Erverte Paris, announces a significant expansion with the aim of penetrating the European market. The companys objective is to showcase its commitment to sustainability to a broader audience. Erverte Paris produces high-end men's clothing made from natural fibers in France. The name "Erverte" means Green Era in French, signifying their dedication to a greener future, with its materials sourced from renewable sources and eco-friendly production processes.

Erverte has long been committed to sustainable fashion, and now with its expansion into the European market, Erverte Paris plans to offer its unique fashion and exceptional quality to customers throughout the continent. The brand believes that the European market is a perfect fit for its eco-responsible and sustainable fashion. Further, there has been a demand for ethically produced and environmentally friendly fashion choices worldwide.

The company is committed to fostering a green era for the fashion industry, one garment at a time. Its collections are sustainable and eco-responsible, made in France from 100% high-quality natural fibers without the addition of any synthetic products. Their products are free from synthetic fibres that when washed produce plastic microfibers, a major contributor to plastic waste in our oceans.

The brand's commitment to sustainability and quality will resonate with European consumers, who are increasingly sourcing environmentally friendly and ethically produced fashion. The brand carefully sources its materials from natural, renewable sources and prioritizes environmentally friendly production processes. With its preference for quality over quantity, minimalism, and elegance, the brand is committed to sustainability within the fashion industry. Ervertes designs celebrate the natural beauty of France through a minimalist style that is versatile, functional, and timeless.

We are proud to announce our expansion into the European market, and we are confident in guaranteeing complete customer satisfaction with every garment. All clothing is imagined, designed, and produced in France. The fact that the clothes are made in France guarantees a high-quality of workers conditions as France is a country that has some of the highest working conditions. The local production of Ervertes clothes reduces their environmental impact as all products are shipped locally, resulting in a reduction in carbon emissions.

Erverte takes a global approach with a focus on respecting the lives of each person the brand works with, says Marc Franck Garcia, Founder, and CEO of Erverte Paris.

Erverte Paris intends to work closely with both its partners and customers throughout Europe. With a focus on natural fibers and eco-friendly production, Erverte Paris is poised to make a significant impact on the European fashion market.

By choosing Erverte Paris, customers are investing in clothing that is both stylish and sustainable, and they are joining the brand on its journey toward a more sustainable future for fashion. We believe that our expansion into the European market is an exciting opportunity for us to share our commitment to sustainability with a wider audience, Marc Franck Garcia added.

Media contact

Name: Marc Garcia

Email: [email protected]

Source: Erverte Paris
AURORA, Ontario, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Magna International Inc. (TSX: MG; NYSE: MGA) today announced that its 2022 Annual Report, including Managements Discussion and Analysis and Audited Consolidated Financial Statements, Annual Information Form (AIF) and Form 40-F, are now available on the companys website, www.magna.com. Magna has also filed these documents with the Canadian Securities Administrators (accessible through its website at www.sedar.com) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (accessible through its website at www.sec.gov/edgar).

Our 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Thursday, May 11, 2023, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time). The meeting is being conducted as a virtual-only meeting accessible at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MGA2023.

Magna will provide a hard copy of its audited financial statements as contained in our 2022 Annual Report to Shareholders, free of charge, on request through our website or in writing to Magna International Inc., Attn: Corporate Secretary, 337 Magna Drive, Aurora, ON, Canada L4G 7K1.

INVESTOR CONTACT

Louis Tonelli, Vice-President, Investor Relations

[email protected], 905.726.7035

MEDIA CONTACT

Tracy Fuerst, Vice-President, Corporate Communications & PR

[email protected], 248.761.7004

OUR BUSINESS1

Magna is more than one of the worlds largest suppliers in the automotive space. We are a mobility technology company with a global, entrepreneurial-minded team of over 168,0002 employees and an organizational structure designed to innovate like a startup. With 65+ years of expertise, and a systems approach to design, engineering and manufacturing that touches nearly every aspect of the vehicle, we are positioned to support advancing mobility in a transforming industry. Our global network includes 343 manufacturing operations and 88 product development, engineering and sales centres spanning 29 countries. Our common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (MG) and the New York Stock Exchange (MGA). For further information about Magna, visit www.magna.com.

_________________________________________
MONTREAL, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MONARCH MINING CORPORATION (Monarch or the Corporation) (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQB: GBARF) announces the resignation of Renaud Adams as a director of the Corporation effective immediately. Mr. Adams was recently appointed President and CEO of a mining company and will devote the majority of his time to his new position.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Renaud Adams for his contribution and wish him all the best in this new opportunity, said Michel Bouchard, Chairman of the Board of Monarch.

About MonarchMonarch 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

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jean-Marc Lacoste 1-888-994-4465 President and Chief Executive Officer [email protected] Mathieu Seguin 1-888-994-4465 Vice President, Corporate Development [email protected] www.monarchmining.com

Source: Monarch Mining Corporation
TORONTO, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Partners Value Investments Inc. (the Company, TSX: PVF.WT) announced today its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022. All amounts are stated in US dollars.

The Company generated net income of $1.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to a net loss of $1.0 billion in the prior year. Net income was higher in the current period primarily due to a special noncash distribution received from Brookfield Corporation (the Corporation, formerly Brookfield Asset Management Inc.). On December 9, 2022, the Corporation completed the distribution of a 25% interest in its asset management business through Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (the Manager), which was incorporated and publicly listed for the purpose of holding an interest in this business. As part of this distribution, the Company received one share of the Manager for every four shares held of the Corporation. As a result, the Company recognized noncash dividend income of $1.0 billion from the Corporation in its Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The increase in net income further included remeasurement gains of $495 million during the year relating to the Companys retractable common shares, compared to remeasurement losses of $402 million in the prior year. The Companys retractable common shares are classified as liabilities due to their exchangeable feature equivalent to a Partners Value Investments L.P (the Partnership) unit, therefore the remeasurement gains or losses in a given period are driven by the respective depreciation or appreciation of the Partnership unit price. During the year, the Partnership unit price decreased by $8.09 compared to an increase of $13.70 in the prior year. The Partnership unit value is primarily driven by the share prices of the Corporation and the Manager, which experienced decreases during the year along with the broader market.

Excluding retractable share and warrant liability remeasurement gains and non-recurring transactions, Adjusted Earnings for the Company was $121 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $6 million in the prior year. Adjusted Earnings is higher in the current year period due to foreign currency gains and tax recoveries as a result of the depreciation of the Canadian dollar, which most of the Companys liabilities are denominated in.

As at December 31, 2022, the market prices of a Corporation (NYSE/TSX: BN) and Manager (NYSE/TSX: BAM) share were $31.46 and $28.67, respectively. As at March 29, 2023, the market prices of a BN and BAM share were $31.19 and $31.39, respectively.

Effective March 31, 2023, Rachel Powell was replaced by Jason Weckwerth as Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

For the years ended December 31(Thousands, US dollars) 2022 2021 Investment income Dividends $ 1,131,797 $ 128,784 Other investment income 6,694 5,361 1,138,491 134,145 Expenses Operating expenses (1,677 ) (2,748 ) Financing costs (33,205 ) (404,711 ) Retractable preferred share dividends (34,379 ) (33,628 ) (69,261 ) (441,087 ) Other items Investment valuation gains (losses) 10,653 (5,739 ) Retractable share remeasurement gains (losses) 495,073 (402,266 ) Warrant liability remeasurement gains (losses) 215,219 (280,474 ) Amortization of deferred financing costs (3,363 ) (4,070 ) Current tax (expense) recovery (19,990 ) 7,816 Deferred tax recovery (expense) 21,439 (15,024 ) Foreign currency gains (losses) 62,415 (20,075 ) Net income (loss) $ 1,850,676 $ (1,026,774 )

Financial Profile

The Companys principal investments are its interest in 132 million Class A Limited Voting Shares of the Corporation and approximately 33 million Class A Limited Voting Shares of the Manager. This represents an 8% interest as at December 31, 2022 in both entities. In addition, the Company owns a diversified investment portfolio of marketable securities.

The information in the following table has been extracted from the Companys Consolidated Statements of Financial Position:

Consolidated Statements of Financial Position

As at(Thousands, US dollars) December 31,2022 December 31,2021 Assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 185,711 $ 80,697 Accounts receivable and other assets 47,260 77,501 Deferred tax asset 1,604  Investment in Brookfield Corporation1 4,149,188 7,869,681 Investment in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.2 934,183  Other investments carried at fair value 606,223 666,033 $ 5,924,169 $ 8,693,912 Liabilities and Equity Accounts payable and other liabilities $ 36,861 $ 7,693 Corporate borrowings 220,711 236,513 Preferred shares3 752,727 682,613 Retractable common shares 3,447,021 3,932,110 Warrant liability 363,707 611,010 Deferred tax liability  23,430 4,821,027 5,493,369 Equity Accumulated deficit (2,698,663 ) (4,549,339 ) Accumulated other comprehensive income 3,801,805 7,749,882 $ 5,924,169 $ 8,693,912

The investment in Brookfield Corporation (formerly known as Brookfield Asset Management Inc.) consists of 132 million Corporation shares with a quoted market value of $31.46 per share as at December 31, 2022. The investment in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. consists of 33 million Manager shares with a quoted market value of $28.67 per share as at December 31, 2022. Represents $681 million of retractable preferred shares less $13 million of unamortized issue costs as at December 31, 2022 (December 31, 2021  $611 million less $13 million). $84 million of three series of preferred shares of a subsidiary of the Company (December 31, 2021  $84 million).

For further information, contact Investor Relations at [email protected] or 416-956-5141.

Note: This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities regulations. The words potential and estimated and other expressions which are predictions of or indicate future events, trends or prospects and which do not relate to historical matters, identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements with regard to the Companys potential future income taxes.

Although the Company believes that its anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond its control, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to: the financial performance of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., the impact or unanticipated impact of general economic, political and market factors; the behavior of financial markets, including fluctuations in interest and foreign exchanges rates; global equity and capital markets and the availability of equity and debt financing and refinancing within these markets; strategic actions including dispositions; changes in accounting policies and methods used to report financial condition (including uncertainties associated with critical accounting assumptions and estimates); the effect of applying future accounting changes; business competition; operational and reputational risks; technological change; changes in government regulation and legislation; changes in tax laws, catastrophic events, such as earthquakes and hurricanes; the possible impact of international conflicts and other developments including terrorist acts; and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in the Companys documents filed with the securities regulators in Canada.

The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on the Companys forward-looking statements and information, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements and information, whether written or oral, that may be as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Source: Partners Value Investments Inc.
Vancouver, BC, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RevoluGROUP Canada Inc. (TSX-V: REVO), (Frankfurt: IJA2), (Munich: A2PU92), (the "Company") is pleased to announce that a conference call is planned for April 2nd, 2023 between CEO, Steve Marshall, and the CEO of the European Financially Regulated entity. The Company issues the current news release in conformity with policy 85, sections A and C of the SECURITIES ACT as it pertains to "Continuous Disclosure."

Suitor Conference Call Planned 2nd April 2023

The Company would like to advise shareholders that CEO, Steve Marshall expects to attend a prearranged conference call with the CEO of the European Financially Regulated entity on Sunday, April 2nd, 2023. On March 20th, 2023 the Company informed shareholders that it had signed a mutually agreed addendum assigning a newly defined timeline within which the European Financially Regulated entity expected to complete within what was then a new 14-day maximum term ending on or before midnight April 2nd, 2023, likewise the investment proposal was projected to culminate on or before midnight on April 3rd, 2023. Since these dates are looming the parties intend to discuss the next steps on the aforementioned date. The Company expects to update shareholders on Monday as to the outcome of the call.

Current Status of the Equity Investment

Further to the news release dated 20th of March, 2023, the timeline agreed by the suitors of the mutually agreed third addendum assigns the newly defined period within which the European Financially Regulated entity expects to complete within a new 14-day maximum term ending on or before midnight April 2nd, 2023. As such, the investment proposal is anticipated to culminate on or before midnight on April 3rd, 2023. As previously stated CEO, Steve Marshall expects to attend a planned conference call with the CEO of the European Financially Regulated entity on April 2nd, 2023. Even so, the Company repeats there can be no guarantee that any definitive agreement, tender, or investment will be completed. The Company will keep shareholders closely informed of developments throughout the final mutually agreed extension term.

Mr. Marshall Share Disposition

Further to the news release dated March 24th, 2023, and the subsequent early warning report filed on March 27th, 2023, Company CEO Steve Marshall has today reported the disposition of a final tranche of his shareholdings. Mr. Marshall is now pleased to announce that the personal brokerage margin account has been fully satisfied via the recent divestment of privately held shares in RevoluGROUP as reported today on the System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI). Mr. Marshall continues as one of the Company's largest shareholders, with approximately 5.5m shares. He also holds 4,496,000 exercisable corporate warrants.

About RevoluPAY

The Company's flagship Neobanking technology is RevoluPAY, the Apple and Android multinational payment app. Conceived entirely in-house, RevoluPAY features proprietary, sector-specific technology of which the resulting source code is the Company's intellectual property. RevoluPAY's built-in features include Remittance Payments, Forex, Crypto-to-fiat exchange, Retail and Hospitality payments, Real Estate Payments, pay-as-you-go phone top-ups, Gift Cards & Online Credits, Utility Bill payments, Gaming Credits, Leisure payments, Travel Payments, etc. RevoluPAY is aimed squarely at the worldwide multi-billion dollar Open Banking sector, cross-border forex payments, and + $595 billion family remittance market. RevoluPAY is operated by the European wholly-owned subsidiary RevoluPAY EP S.L situated in Barcelona. RevoluPAY is a licensed United States MSB, Canadian FINTRAC, and European PSD2 payment institution 6900 under the auspices of E.U. Directive 2015/2366 with E.U. 27 Country Passporting and official issuer of Visa Cards and authorized Visa Affiliate Member. RevoluGROUP Canada Inc. controls five wholly-owned subsidiaries on four continents.

About RevoluGROUP Canada Inc.:

RevoluGROUP Canada Inc. is a multi-asset, multidivisional, publicly traded Canadian Company deploying advanced technologies in; Banking, Mobile Apps, Money Remittance, Cross-Border Forex Payments, Mobile Phone Top-Ups, EGaming, Healthcare Payments, Esports, Invoice factoring, Online Travel, Vacation Resort, Blockchain Systems, and Fintech app sectors. Click here to read more.

For further information on RevoluGROUP Canada Inc. (TSX-V: REVO), visit the Company's website at www.RevoluGROUP.com. The Company has approximately 193,585,376 shares issued and outstanding.

RevoluGROUP Canada, Inc.

"Steve Marshall" ______________________STEVE MARSHALLCEO

For further information, contact:RevoluGROUP Canada Inc.Telephone: (604) 332 5355Email: [email protected]

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.

Source: RevoluGROUP Canada Inc.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Any humanitarian activity in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan must be coordinated with the Government of Azerbaijan, Aykhan Hajizada, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, said, Trend reports.

Hajizada commented on the statements of President of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Regional Council of the French Republic Laurent Wauquiez regarding an idea to organize the humanitarian convoy passage through the Lachin corridor together with organizations representing the Armenian community in France.

Wauquiez spoke about the matter in Yerevan at a meeting with Sergey Kazaryan, who calls himself the "Minister of Foreign Affairs" of separatists.

"The French authorities must put an end to such incendiary and subversive acts. In accordance with the law of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and internationally recognized rules and norms, any humanitarian activity on sovereign territories of Azerbaijan must be integrated and coordinated with the Government of Azerbaijan," Aykhan Hajizada said.
FILE PHOTO: An Amazon worker loads a trolley from a Prime delivery van in Los Angeles, California, U.S. February 25, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) -A judge has rejected Amazon.com Inc's bid to dismiss California's antitrust lawsuit accusing the online retailer of illegally forcing merchants to accept policies that cause consumers to pay artificially high prices.

Judge Ethan Schulman in San Francisco Superior Court said California sufficiently alleged that Amazon's policies "have had the anticompetitive effect of raising prices on competing retail marketplaces as well as on third-party sellers' own websites."

Amazon declined on Friday to comment on the decision, which is dated March 30.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta had sued Seattle-based Amazon last September.

He accused the retailer of threatening to cut off merchants or deny them access to its "Buy Box"--where shoppers can click "Add to Cart" or "Buy Now"--if they offered lower prices on rivals such as Costco, eBay, Target and Walmart, and even their own websites.

The lawsuit sought to block Amazon from enforcing policies that bar the sale of goods more cheaply elsewhere, and to pay damages and penalties.

"There is no shortage of evidence showing that the 'everything store' is costing consumers more for just about everything," Bonta said in a statement.

Amazon has said the challenged policies affected only a tiny amount of commerce, and were actually "procompetitive" because it could offer products that might otherwise be unprofitable and facilitate discounting "to meet or beat the competition."

The retailer has also said consumers might end up paying more if Bonta's lawsuit succeeded, because it would be forced to feature higher prices on its website.

Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine is appealing a judge's March 2022 dismissal of his similar lawsuit against Amazon.

In January 2022, Amazon settled a price-fixing probe by Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson by paying a $2.25 million fine and shuttering a program that guaranteed minimum prices for sellers who agreed to stop competing on price.

The case is California v Amazon.com Inc, Superior Court of California, San Francisco County, No. CGC-22-601826.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Broadway Strategic Metals Inc. (the "Company" or "BSM") and Rossiter Mining Corp. ("Rossiter") are pleased to announce the signing of a binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") for a merger of the two companies. The proposed transaction will be structured in a manner most efficient and effective to result in Rossiter, directly or indirectly, acquiring all outstanding securities of BSM. The final structure for the transaction will be subject to satisfactory tax, corporate and securities law advice for both the BSM and Rossiter. The transaction is subject to completion of due diligence as well as any and all required shareholder, exchange, and regulatory approvals.

The resulting entity, to be known as Broadway Strategic Metals ("Broadway"), plans to apply to list its shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE"). Broadway's main asset is its well mineralized district-scale mining concessions in the Republic of Panama, located immediately adjacent to First Quantum's Cobre Panama Copper-Gold Mine property. Mineralization in the district and elsewhere in Panama varies from extensive bodies of copper with minor gold silver and molybdenum mineralization in porphyry style copper dominated bodies, to extensive epithermal to hydrothermal vein systems and sulphide replacement mineralized bodies. The Company's concessions include both mineralized environments within its 100% interest in Contract No. 8 representing 9,984 hectares that hosts the past producing Molejn Gold Project mine, and the Santa Lucia Copper Gold Project both located in the Donoso District of Colon Province.

The Molejon Gold Silver Project includes a former mining operation with a historic resource of over 800,000 ounces of gold and 1,400,000 ounces of silver that Broadway plans to evaluate and if feasible, bring back into production, given the current higher commodity prices that may drive improved economics (Source - Behre Dolbear, (2012), Molejon Project NI 43-101 Technical Report, Donoso District, Colon Province, Republic of Panama). This resource is not NI 43-101 compliant, is historic in nature and should not be relied upon.

The Santa Lucia Copper Gold Silver Project covers 8,800 hectares and historic field sampling by Adrian Resources in 1998 returned anomalous values of gold, silver, and copper.

In addition to the Molejon and Santa Lucia projects, BSM has signed a letter of intent with the Republic of Panama, including the concessions known as Palmilla Copper Gold Project ("Palmilla"). Palmilla has a historic NI-43-101 resource with 27,020,000 tonnes of Measured and Indicated Resources, containing 143,900,000 pounds of copper ("Cu") and 509,400 ounces of gold ("Au"); and 11,060,000 tonnes of Inferred Resources containing 54,600,000 pounds of Cu and 144,000 ounces of Au (Source - NI 43-101 Palmilla Deposit Resource Update Rio Belencillo Zone 1 Concession Colon Province, Panama Oct 29, 2013. Prepared by SGS Canada Inc. Pages 3, 77. This resource is not NI 43-101 compliant, is historic in nature, and should not be relied upon). The concessions covering the Palmilla deposit are not currently held by the Company, however under specific conditions and deliverables, these additional concessions are available for Broadway to purchase.

The terms of the LOI require Rossiter shareholders to approve a change of name, a share consolidation of one new share for three existing shares, and for Rossiter to have a positive working capital position. BSM is required to provide audited financial statements, prospectus-level disclosure, and a listing statement.

Concurrent with the LOI, BSM is the process of completing a US$10 million convertible debenture financing (the "Convertible"). Under the terms of the Convertible, BSM will pay a 15% coupon over a 36-month term, or the investor can convert into BSM post listing shares at a 30% discount to share price at the time of conversion. There is an 8% finder's fee payable on the Convertible. BSM has already received over US$5 million in commitments for the Convertible.

In addition to the Convertible, BSM is in discussions with institutional grade investors to provide US$200 to US$300 million in project financing should BSM decide to proceed with re-starting the Molejon Mine; to fund drilling to expand the deposit; or, to carry out regional exploration to identify new discoveries - all three of which would add significantly to shareholder value.

Broadway anticipates approximately 36 million proforma common shares issued and outstanding with a total of 5.4 million outstanding common share purchase warrants, which would provide an additional $11.3 million, if fully exercised.

The Board of Directors of Broadway is projected to include Duane Parnham, Manuel Nunez, Carlos Lucas Pulido, James Macintosh, and Stephen Coates. The management team will consist of Mr. Parnham, Executive Chairman and CEO, and Carlos Lucas Pulido, Country Manager.

Both Mr. Parnham and Rodrigo Diaz will be deemed Insiders by virtue of ownership positions in Broadway. Insiders, including management, will own roughly 40% of Broadway and expects Insiders and management to agree to voluntary escrow terms.

Mr. Parnham has a record of success in corporate development, regulatory compliance with publicly listed companies, geological and environmental consulting and corporate finance services to the hydrocarbon and mining industries. Mr. Nunez is a practising attorney and Professor of Banking Law, Universal Trials, and Agricultural and Mining Law at the Latin American University of Science and Technology. Mr. Pulido has a great amount of experience advising private companies in the execution of contracts with the government of Panama. Mr. Macintosh has over 37 years of experience in the mining industry, as a mining analyst and various executive / directorial positions with both public and private companies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Macintosh was VP, Corporate Development for a company with several Central American gold projects. Mr. Coates has extensive international experience in the small-cap and natural resources sectors and has advised numerous companies in financial structuring, business development, communications, and market finance.

Broadway will be represented by Corporate Counsel Professional Corporation, a North American corporate and securities law firm, that has significant experience taking companies public.

Qualified Person

Bruce Durham, P.Geo., is a Qualified Person ("QP"), as that term is defined by Canadian regulatory guidelines under NI 43-101 and has read and approved the technical information contained in this press release. Readers are reminded that results and other technical information related to the Molejon, Santa Lucia and Palmilla Projects in this release are historic in nature and should not be relied upon as the QP is unable to verify the information contained in the historic report referenced given the work was completed by a prior operator.

About Broadway Strategic Metals

Broadway Strategic Metals is a privately-owned mining company managed by industry veterans with over 30 years of experience advising governments of over 15 countries on resource exploration & development, risk management, sustainability, technology, job creation, financing, mining, and education. Broadway's consortium of international mining executives, legal experts, community partners, and finance specialists bring insight and a holistic understanding of the socio-economic legacy issues effecting mine development.

For more information, contact:

Rossiter Mining Corp.: (+1) 647-493-9910

Iryna Zheliasko, Investor Relations, at [email protected]

or

Broadway Strategic Metals: (+1) 416-574-1007

Jason Bagg, Manager Public Relations, at [email protected]

On Behalf of their Boards of Directors,

Stephen Coates, President

Rossiter Mining Corp.

Duane Parnham, Executive Chairman and CEO

Broadway Strategic Metals

This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of the companies. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of the companies. Although the companies believe that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based on are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the companies can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The companies disclaim any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160891
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Cruz Battery Metals Corp. (CSE: CRUZ) (OTC Pink: BKTPF) (FSE: A3CWU7) ("Cruz" or the "Company") wishes to announce that drill results have been received from the phase-3 drill program on the 100-percent owned, 8,135-acre Solar Lithium Project in Nevada, directly bordering American Lithium Corp.'s TLC project (See map below). The phase-3 drill program discovered the presence of lithium in all 4 drill holes with a high value of 1,460 parts-per-million lithium (ppm Li). Hole-6 had a high of 1,460 ppm Li including 871 ppm Li over 50 feet. Hole-7 had a high of 1,220 ppm Li including 873 ppm Li over 47 feet, starting at 18 feet. Hole-8 had a high of 1,240 ppm Li. Hole-9 had a high of 1,160 ppm Li.

Frank Bain, the on-site PGeo and a director of Cruz Battery Metals stated, "We are pleased to have expanded the lithium footprint on this property, encountering lithium in each hole helps to validate the merit of this large project."

The 'Solar Lithium Project' directly borders American Lithium Corp.'s TLC project. On January 17, 2023, American Lithium Corp. announced a resource estimate, in an independent National Instrument 43-101 titled "Technical Report TLC Property" prepared by Stantec Consulting Ltd., for the TLC lithium claystone property containing 8.83 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) measured & indicated with another 1.86 million tonnes LCE inferred. Cruz Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Cruz may not necessarily be indicative of the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties.

Jim Nelson, President of Cruz Battery Metals stated, "We are encouraged to achieve lithium values higher than 1,160 ppm Li in every hole of the phase-3 drill program. We are immediately formulating a phase-4 drill program. This was our first lithium drill program of 2023, and we anticipate at least 2 additional phases of drilling on the 8,135-acre Solar Lithium Project within this calendar year. The phase 1, 2 & 3 drill programs discovered the presence of lithium in every hole drilled and we've only explored a small fraction of property to date. Cruz is well-funded to complete all planned drilling this year and we anticipate generating our maiden resource estimate in 2023. We are one of the largest landholders in the Big Smoky Valley of Nevada, directly bordering American Lithium who recently announced a substantial increase to their resource estimate. Cruz's goal is to locate and provide a new, domestically sourced, battery grade lithium deposit."





Figure 1: Cruz Ownership Map

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4754/160722_e8a64c48542718b4_002full.jpg

Qualified Person

The technical contents of this release were reviewed and approved by Frank Bain, PGeo, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Cruz Battery Metals Corp.

Cruz currently has several projects located throughout North America. Cruz's Nevada lithium projects consist of the 8,135-acre 'Solar Lithium Project' and the 240-acre 'Clayton Valley Lithium Project'. Cruz's 6,146-acre Hector cobalt project is located in the vicinity of the town of Cobalt, Ontario, which is prospective for cobalt, silver, and diamonds. Cruz's Idaho projects include the 2,211-acre 'Idaho Cobalt Belt Project' and the 80-acre 'Idaho Star Cobalt Project'. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Cruz may not necessarily be indicative of the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties.

If you would like to be added to Cruz's news distribution list, please send your email address to [email protected].

Cruz Battery Metals Corp.

"James Nelson"

James Nelson

President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Director

For more information regarding this news release, please contact:

James Nelson, CEO and Director

T: 604-899-9150

Toll free: 1-855-599-9150

E: [email protected]

W: www.cruzbatterymetals.com

Twitter: @CruzBattMetals

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160722
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - District Metals Corp. (TSXV: DMX) (FSE: DFPP); ("District" or the "Company") commented on January 25, 2023, that Swedish media had reported that a majority of the Swedish Parliament had resolved to allow for exploration and mining of uranium in Sweden. This previously announced majority by the Swedish Parliament led to the commencement of suggestions, preparation, and the debate of a motion to officially lift the moratorium on uranium exploration and mining in Sweden. The vote took place on March 30, 2023, and the decision reached was to maintain the uranium moratorium.

The motion to lift the uranium moratorium in Sweden was put forward to the legislature by the ruling Moderate Party (John Weinerhall and Viktor Warnick). The motion was amended to include two passages put forward by the Far-Right Sweden Democrats Party. The Sweden Democrats Party had 64 votes in favour of lifting the uranium moratorium, and all other Political Party's (including the ruling Moderate Party) had 237 votes against lifting the uranium moratorium.

Garrett Ainsworth, CEO of District, commented: "The Swedish Parliament's decision to not lift the uranium moratorium at the March 30, 2023, vote is unexpected and disappointing. We look forward to obtaining additional information about this vote given that a majority was reached on lifting the uranium moratorium in January 2023, and then the Moderate Party voted against the motion that they put forward on March 30, 2023.

"Our Viken nr 1 mineral license application that covers the majority of the Viken Deposit hosts energy metal resources of uranium, vanadium, nickel, molybdenum, copper, and zinc. Exploration, development, and mining of the Viken Deposit is still possible under the current Swedish Minerals Act due to the low grade of uranium, however, recovery of uranium in a mining scenario would not be permitted under the current mineral legislation.

"Given the unexpected decision to keep the uranium moratorium intact for the time being we will be reviewing next steps and potential options on our high grade polymetallic (zinc-silver-lead-copper-gold) properties in the Bergslagen District that include Tomtebo, Gruvberget, and Svrdsjo."

Technical Information

All scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared by, or approved by Garrett Ainsworth, PGeo, President and CEO of the Company. Mr. Ainsworth is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

The data disclosed in this news release is related to mineral resource estimates that are considered to be "historical estimates" under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource, and the Company is not treating these historical estimates as current Mineral Resources. The Company would need to conduct an exploration program, including twinning of historical drill holes in order to verify the Viken Deposit historical estimate as a current mineral resource.

Mr. Ainsworth has not verified any of the information regarding any of the properties or projects referred to herein other than the Viken Mineral License application. Mineralization on any other properties referred to herein is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Viken Mineral License application.

About District Metals Corp.

District Metals Corp. is led by industry professionals with a track record of success in the mining industry. The Company's mandate is to seek out, explore, and develop prospective mineral properties through a disciplined science-based approach to create shareholder value and benefit other stakeholders.

The advanced exploration stage Tomtebo Property is located in the Bergslagen Mining District of south-central Sweden is the Company's main focus. Tomtebo comprises 5,144 ha and is situated between the historic Falun Mine and Boliden's Garpenberg Mine that are located 25 km to the northwest and southeast, respectively. Two historic polymetallic mines and numerous polymetallic showings are located on the Tomtebo Property along an approximate 17 km trend that exhibits similar geology, structure, alteration and VMS/SedEx style mineralization as other significant mines within the district. Mineralization that is open at depth and along strike at the historic mines on the Tomtebo Property has not been followed up on, and modern systematic exploration has never been conducted on the Property.

For further information on the Tomtebo Property, please see the technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Update Technical Report on the Tomtebo Project, Bergslagen Region of Sweden" dated effective October 15, 2020, and amended and restated on February 26, 2021, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

"Garrett Ainsworth"

President and Chief Executive Officer

(604) 288-4430

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 Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information.

This news release contains certain statements that may be considered "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends", "assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" and any similar expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, predictions, indications, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. Forward-looking statements in this news release relating to the Company include, among other things, statements relating to the Company's application for a 2,302 hectare mineral license (Figure 1) to explore for vanadium, nickel, molybdenum, zinc, and other elements covering a portion of the polymetallic Viken Deposit located in Jamtland County, central Sweden; the expected timing of the Bergsstaten's (Mining Inspectorate) decision on the Company's Viken nr 101 mineral license application; the Company's planned exploration activities, including its drill target strategy and next steps for the Viken Property; and the Company's interpretations and expectations about the results on the Viken Property.

These statements and other forward-looking information are based on opinions, assumptions and estimates made by the Company in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that the Company believes are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances, as of the date of this news release, including, without limitation, assumptions about the reliability of historical data and the accuracy of publicly reported information regarding past and historic mines in the Bergslagen district; the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital to fund planned exploration activities, maintain corporate capacity; and stability in financial and capital markets.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date such statements are made, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to risks associated with the following: the likelihood of the Bergsstaten's (Mining Inspectorate) decision to approve the Company's Viken nr 101 mineral license application; the reliability of historic data regarding the Viken Deposit and the Tomtebo Property; the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital to finance planned exploration (including incurring prescribed exploration expenditures required by the Tomtebo Purchase Agreement, failing which the Tomtebo Property will be forfeited without any repayment of the purchase price); the Company's limited operating history; the Company's negative operating cash flow and dependence on third-party financing; the uncertainty of additional funding; the uncertainties associated with early stage exploration activities including general economic, market and business conditions, the regulatory process, failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals, technical issues, potential delays, unexpected events and management's capacity to execute and implement its future plans; the Company's ability to identify any mineral resources and mineral reserves; the substantial expenditures required to establish mineral reserves through drilling and the estimation of mineral reserves or mineral resources; the Company's dependence on one material project, the Tomtebo Property; the uncertainty of estimates used to calculated mineralization figures; changes in governmental regulations; compliance with applicable laws and regulations; competition for future resource acquisitions and skilled industry personnel; reliance on key personnel; title matters; conflicts of interest; environmental laws and regulations and associated risks, including climate change legislation; land reclamation requirements; changes in government policies; volatility of the Company's share price; the unlikelihood that shareholders will receive dividends from the Company; potential future acquisitions and joint ventures; infrastructure risks; fluctuations in demand for, and prices of gold, silver and copper; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; legal proceedings and the enforceability of judgments; going concern risk; risks related to the Company's information technology systems and cyber-security risks; and risk related to the outbreak of epidemics or pandemics or other health crises, including the recent outbreak of COVID-19. For additional information regarding these risks, please see the Company's Annual Information Form, under the heading "Risk Factors", which is available at www.sedar.com. These factors and assumptions are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors and assumptions that could affect the Company. These factors and assumptions, however, should be considered carefully. Although the Company has attempted to identify factors that would cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in the forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Also, many of such factors are beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities laws.

All scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been prepared by or reviewed and approved by Garrett Ainsworth, PGeo, President and CEO of the Company. Mr. Ainsworth is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160884
Paris, France--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Bon Parfumeur, the French perfume brand, has launched a new collection in the niche haute perfumery industry including new perfume articles.

The new collection, "Les Privs" comprises 4 intense and invigorating scents made with the most expensive ingredients. As with all of Bon Parfumeur's perfumes, the new collection is 100% made in France with a focus on clean and sustainable ingredients.

Moreover, since its launch in 2017, Bon Parfumeur has grown its collection to include 27 unisex fragrances, each 100% made in France and clean. The brand has also expanded to offer body and home lines, all crafted with the same attention to detail and olfactory expertise as its perfumes.

With over 900 resellers worldwide, including 100 doors in the USA, 150 in the UK, 200 in France, and 50 in China, Bon Parfumeur has established itself as a leader in the niche perfume industry.

Founder Ludovic Bonneton's passion for perfume led him to create a brand that celebrates sensory pleasure and freedom, while also promoting encounters with perfumers, craftsmen, friends, customers, and the planet. Bon Parfumeur's values of community, made in France with love, freedom, workshop, and haute perfumery are at the heart of everything they do.

Bon Parfumeur's unique positioning in the industry bridges the gap between expensive niche and selective brands, offering high-quality fragrances made to be part of a collection.

"The company is thrilled to be leading the way in the niche haute perfumery industry," stated company founder, Ludovic Bonneton, when expressing his views about the latest development of his company. "Our goal is to share with the world the wonderful experience of being in a perfumer's workshop, and we're grateful for the recognition we've received so far."

Consequently, Bon Parfumeur invites users to discover their collection and experience the world of French haute perfumery.

About the Company - Bon Parfumeur

Paris-based perfumery brand Bon Parfumeur has been disrupting the high-end fragrance market since its inception in 2016, offering creative niche perfumes that do not compromise on quality. The brand has just announced the launch of a new fragrance, adding to their already impressive range of 27 unisex fragrances.

Bon Parfumeur has also expanded beyond fragrances and has recently launched a line of scented candles and a range of body care products. The body line features soaps and hand creams, all infused with Bon Parfumeur's signature scents.

For more information, visit https://www.bonparfumeur.com/.

Media Details:

Name: Ludovic Bonneton

Email: [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160757
Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - HEAL, Organizations for Health Action, who represent over 40 national health organizations dedicated to improving the health of Canadians and the quality of care they receive, responded today to the recently tabled federal budget.

"HEAL welcomes the additional details provided for the nearly $196 billion provided for new healthcare transfer agreements for the next ten years," began Hlene Sabourin, Co-Chair of HEAL. "Further collaboration between all levels of government will ensure that we can better address the current healthcare crisis that Canada is experiencing."

The budget laid out more details regarding the federal government's requirements for the funding to provinces and territories. This includes ensuring funds are only used for healthcare, that the public healthcare system continues to be upheld, and developing action plans to measure and report progress to Canadians.

"We are hopeful that this funding will support more access by Canadians to team-based healthcare and will help to address some of the pressing concerns that Canada's healthcare system is currently experiencing, including workforce shortages, delayed surgeries, and over-capacity emergency rooms," continued Fred Phelps, Co-Chair of HEAL.

The budget also included ealth Care data$13 billion over five years to implement the Canadian Dental Care Plan, $2 billion in new funding over ten years for the Indigenous Health Equity Fund and investments for better health care data.

"We need a national planning framework that reflects the complex, interdependent health care markets across all health professions," said Phelps.

The budget did not include a new, permanently funded Canada Mental Health Transfer to scale up investments in mental health and substance use care. This is despite Canadians' significant unmet need for access to timely, community-based services.

"We are disappointed to see that the budget did not include a Canada Mental Health Transfer, as promised during the election in 2021. We will continue to advocate for mental health parity, at the same time noting that further investments are needed in Canada's healthcare system," concluded Sabourin.

-30-

Organizations for Health Action (HEAL) is a coalition of 40 national health organizations dedicated to improving the health of Canadians and the quality of care they receive. Our members are professional associations of regulated healthcare providers and organizations of health charities that provide a range of healthcare services across Canada. HEAL now represents more than 650,000 providers (and consumers) of healthcare.

Contact

Kyle Larkin, Public Affairs Advisor

613-233-8906

[email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160789
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today opened public registration for its Municipal Securities Disclosure Conference, which will be held on May 10, 2023, at the SECs headquarters. The conference, held in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual participation, will bring together a variety of municipal securities market participants, including issuers and investors, to discuss the state of disclosure in the municipal securities market.

Conference topics will include:

Voluntary disclosure practices of municipal issuers;

The impact of the Financial Data Transparency Act on the municipal market;

ESG practices in the municipal market; and

Emerging and longstanding issues in the municipal securities market.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Commissioners Hester Peirce and Jaime Lizrraga, and staff from the Office of Municipal Securities (OMS), including Director Dave Sanchez, will participate in the conference.

OMS coordinates the SECs municipal securities oversight activities and administers the Commissions rules pertaining to municipal securities brokers and dealers, municipal advisors, investors in municipal securities, and municipal issuers. OMS advises the Commission on policy matters relating to the municipal securities market and is responsible for policy development, coordination, and implementation of Commission initiatives to improve the municipal securities market. To register for the conference, and to learn more about the municipal securities market and the work of the Office of Municipal Securities, please visit OMSs webpage.

Conference registration is open until May 5, 2023, and is subject to confirmation. For media inquiries regarding the conference, please contact SEC Public Affairs at [email protected]. For registration questions, please contact the Office of Municipal Securities at (202) 551-5680 or at [email protected].
New Trading Symbol will be in effect April 4

Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Silk Road Energy Inc. (TSXV: REC) reports that the TSX Venture Exchange has approved the company's name change from Silk Road Energy Inc. to Record Resources Inc. No further actions are required to be taken by shareholders to effect the change of name.

The company will also change its trading symbol from "SLK" to "REC" on the TSXV. The effective date on which the company will begin trading under the new name and symbol is April 4, 2023. The CUSIP number is 756250106.

"The name change reflects a new business strategy of pursuing opportunities across the natural resource spectrum," said Michael Judson, Chairman and CEO.

Please see the link below to a video in which the company discusses its lithium opportunity in Ontario, Canada.

https://recordgoldcorp.com/2023/03/23/record-resources_ontario-lithium-properties/

Documents can be viewed under the SEDAR Profile for Record Resources Inc.: www.sedar.com.

For more information please contact:

Michael C. Judson, Chairman & CEO,

Record Resources Inc.

T. +1-514-865-5496

Website: www.recordgoldcorp.com

Cautionary Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes", an or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would" , "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: approval of the Private Placement and obtaining a full revocation order. This forward-looking information reflects the Company's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to the Company and on assumptions the Company believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: the market acceptance of the Private Placement; the ability of the Company to obtain a full revocation order and the receipt of all required approvals in connection with the foregoing. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market price for securities; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder, court or regulatory approvals. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change.

The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

The Units and the securities comprising the Units have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor shall there be any sale of securities in the Unites States, or any other jurisdiction, in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. Securities laws

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160825
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Solarvest BioEnergy Inc. (TSXV: SVS) ("Solarvest" or the "Company") wishes to report that it has filed its interim financial results for the six-month period ended January 31, 2023. Solarvest's financial statements (the "Financial Statements") are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Full copies of the Financial Statements, accompanying management discussion and analysis ("MD&A") and officer certifications are available on www.sedar.com.

Q2 Summary

The Company faces increasingly challenging financial and business conditions, including an inability to raise sufficient equity, equity-linked or debt financing to fully fund execution of its business plans and for the sale of its inventory and work in process.

As of January 31, 2023, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $90,421, a working capital deficit of $1,752,397 and an accumulated deficit of $17,518,048. The Company also had a net loss of $977,398 and negative cash flows from operations of $716,328 for the six-months ended January 31, 2023. Due to limited cash flows from operations, the Company and its subsidiaries have missed making vendor and loan payments.

Due to difficult capital market conditions, the Company raised only $541,900 of a proposed $1,000,000 private placement which closed on February 7, 2023.

Debt refinancing of the Company, the raising of additional capital, and/or the trade sale of some of the Company's operations to make bulk payments to repay outstanding debt and accounts payable, if successful, would potentially alleviate any significant doubt on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. In the event that debt and/or capital financing is unable to be secured or contemplated trade sale fail to materialize, the Company may need to resolve to other means of protecting its assets in the best interests of its shareholders, including foreclosure or forced liquidation and/or seeking creditors' protection.

Management is evaluating various alternatives to secure the necessary financing so that the Company can continue as a going concern. While the Company has been successful in obtaining financing to date and believes it will be able to obtain sufficient funds in the future and ultimately achieve profitability and positive cash flows from operations, there can be no assurance that the Company will achieve profitability and be able to do so in the future on terms favorable for the Company.

Shareholders and investors are directed to read the Financial Statements and MD&A in their entirety.

Financial Advisory Board Dissolved

As part of the Company's streamlining of its organizational structure, it has decided to dissolve its financial advisory board (the "FAB") (see the Company's news releases dated July 7 and 14, 2022) and terminated the consulting agreements with two FAB members, Richard Groome and Jerome Cliche. The Company would like thank Messrs. Groome and Cliche for their services.

About Solarvest

Solarvest BioEnergy Inc. is an algae biologics company whose production platform provides it with an extremely flexible system capable of producing numerous products from Omega 3 fatty acids to human therapeutic proteins.

For further information contact:

Claes Ellegaard

Phone: 1.514.898.3488

Email: [email protected]

Forward-Looking Statement

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), which are based upon our current expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs. All information that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms or phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "will", "would" and "should", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions.

Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the forward-looking statement will not occur. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and reflect several material factors, expectations and assumptions. While Solarvest considers these factors, expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, actual events or results could differ materially from the results, predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on any predictions or forward-looking statements as these may be affected by, among other things, changing external events and general uncertainties of the business. A discussion of the material risks applicable to us can be found in our current Management Discussion and Analysis, which will be filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com. Solarvest cautions that the list of risk factors included in such Management Discussion and Analysis is not exhaustive. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we disclaim any intention and assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future 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 press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160906
Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) ("Talon" or the "Company") reported a net loss for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $1.5 million or nil per share (basic and diluted), which was primarily the result of administration expenses and stock option compensation offset by foreign currency gains. This compares to a net loss for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $5.5 million or $0.01 per share (basic and diluted), which was primarily the result of administration expenses and stock option compensation.

Capitalized exploration costs and deferred expenditures on the Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project for the year ended December 31, 2022 amounted to $52.9 million. This compares to $38.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The total capitalized exploration cost to the Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project to December 31, 2022 amounts to $160.5 million.

Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, together with Management's Discussion and Analysis have been filed on SEDAR and are available at www.sedar.com.

All amounts are presented in Canadian dollars.

ABOUT TALON

Talon is a TSX-listed base metals company in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project located in central Minnesota. Talon's shares are also traded in the US over the OTC market under the symbol TLOFF. The Tamarack Nickel Project comprises a large land position (18km of strike length) with high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area. Talon has an earn-in right to acquire up to 60% of the Tamarack Nickel Project, and currently owns 51%. Talon is focused on (i) expanding and infilling its current high-grade nickel mineralization resource prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 to shape a mine plan for submission to Minnesota regulators, and (ii) following up on additional high-grade nickel mineralization in the Tamarack Intrusive Complex. Talon has an agreement with Tesla Inc. to supply it with 75,000 metric tonnes (165 million lbs) of nickel in concentrate (and certain by-products, including cobalt and iron) from the Tamarack Nickel Project over an estimated six-year period once commercial production is achieved. Talon has a neutrality and workforce development agreement in place with the United Steelworkers union. Talon's Battery Mineral Processing Facility in Mercer County was selected by the US Department of Energy for $114m funding grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Talon has well-qualified experienced exploration, mine development, external affairs and mine permitting teams.

For additional information on Talon, please visit the Company's website at www.talonmetals.com or contact:

Sean Werger

President

Talon Metals Corp.

Tel: (416) 361-9636 x102

Email: [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160919
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. The leaders of Azerbaijani diaspora organizations operating in foreign countries issued a statement by requiring international community to give a political and legal assessment of events, occurred from March through April 1918, and recognize them as genocide, Trend reports via The State Committee on Work with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

According to the statement, the bloody massacre committed by the Bolsheviks and Armenian armed bandit detachments in Azerbaijan from March 30 through April 1, 1918, is one of the genocides committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis and crimes against humanity.

"Tens of thousands of peaceful, unarmed people were brutally killed, burned, tortured, which is a clear indicator of the brutality of the Armenians. During the genocide committed by the Armenian Dashnaks, more than 150 villages of Karabakh, 110 villages of Shamakhi, 167 villages of Guba, 115 villages of Zangezur and 98 villages of Kars were destroyed. Moreover, tens of thousands of civilians, including women, children and the elderly, were killed for ethnic and religious reasons. In Iravan, which is an ancient Azerbaijani land, and in its vicinity, 199 villages were destroyed, and 132,000 Azerbaijanis were killed. The mass grave discovered in the Guba district clearly confirms the crime of genocide committed by Armenians in 1918," the statement said.

Underlining that Azerbaijan is carrying out activities aimed at recognizing the genocide of Azerbaijanis, the authors of the statement note that in the decree "On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis" dated March 26, 1998, and signed by Heydar Aliyev, these events were given a political assessment. At the same time, this decree officially stated that Azerbaijanis were subjected to genocide from the Armenian side. By an order of President Ilham Aliyev dated 30 December 2009, the establishment of a genocide memorial was started in Guba.

The statement says that the crimes of Armenians against Azerbaijanis, the deportation of Azerbaijanis continued during the years of Soviet Union, and that the world community has not yet given a political and legal assessment of the genocide on March 31. Thus, impunity is the reason for the commission of new genocides by Armenians. Representatives of diaspora call on the international community to give a political and legal assessment of the tragedy of March 31 and recognize it as genocide.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Tincorp Metals Inc.(TSXV:TIN) (OTCQX:TINFF)("Tincorp" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has granted, subject to regulatory approval, an aggregate of 2,480,000 stock options to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company, pursuant to the terms of the Company's stock option plan. The options are exercisable for a period of 5 years from the date of grant at price of $0.47 per share, being the closing price of the common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") on March 30, 2023. The options vest in six equal tranches over a period of three years, and are subject to the provisions of the plan and the policies of the TSXV.

About Tincorp

Tincorp Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company focusing on tin projects in Bolivia and a gold project near Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The Company has signed agreements to acquire up to a 100% interest in the Porvenir Project and SF Tin Project, which are 70 km southeast of Oruro, Bolivia. The Company's 100% owned Skukum Gold Project is approximately 84 km south of Whitehorse by road. An independent mineral resource estimate update in respect of the Skukum Gold Project was completed in October 2022.

On Behalf of Tincorp Metals Inc.

signed "Gordon Neal"

Gordon Neal, CEO & Director

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations, Tincorp Metals Inc.

Phone: +1 (604)-336-5919

Email: [email protected]

www.tincorp.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160910
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: TH8) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") today announces that it expects to be issued a cease trade order ("CTO") by the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "BCSC") under National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (the "Instrument") as a result of not filing its audited annual financial statements, accompanying management's discussion and analysis, and certifications for the year ended November 30, 2022 (the "Annual Filings") by the filing deadline of March 30, 2023. The BCSC has rejected the Company's application for a management cease trade order (the "MCTO") as the Company is not viewed as having met all of the criteria for an MCTO. The Company filed the MCTO with the BCSC due to an anticipated delay in filing its Annual Filings.

The Company's 2022 audit currently remains ongoing. The Company is working diligently with its consultants and auditors to complete the remaining audit and make the required filings as soon as possible. Once complete, a news release will be issued indicating that the Annual Filings have been submitted. The Company anticipates that it will complete the Annual Filings on or before June 28th, 2023. Upon remedying the default within 90 days of the date of the CTO, the filing of the Annual Filings, including all other filings and certifications that subsequently become due, constitutes the application to revoke the CTO. In the interim, the Company continues to operate normally and without disruption.

The Company also confirms, as of the date of this news release, that there is no other material information concerning the affairs of the Company that have not been generally disclosed.

About TransCanna Holdings Inc.

TransCanna Holdings Inc. is a California-based, Canadian-listed company building cannabis-focused brands for the California lifestyle, through its wholly-owned California subsidiaries.

TransCanna's wholly owned subsidiary Lyfted Farms is California's authentic cannabis brand whose pioneering spirit has been continuously providing the finest cannabis flower genetics and cultivation methods since 1984. The Lyfted Farms brand of exclusive cannabis flower is sold at premium retailers throughout the state. With its new cultivation facility in Daly, California, the company is now poised to become one of the largest and most efficient vertically integrated cannabis companies in the California market. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.transcanna.com or email the Company at [email protected].

On behalf of the Board of Directors

James Robert Blink, President

604-207-5548

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The words "may," "would," "could," "should," "will," "intend," "plan," "goal," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "achieve," "must," "next," "focus," "potential," "progress," "develop," "continue," "advance," "investigate," "optimize," "improve," "opportunity," "future," "prospect," "vision," "target," "growth," "envisage," "option," "roadmap," "pursue," "near-term," "de-risking," "eventual," "later," "until," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release and reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among other things, statements about: the CTO; the timing of completion of the audit; the timing and revocation of the CTO; and statements regarding management's expectations on the Company's future performance.

The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by many materials factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including risks related to the failure of the Company to complete the Annual Filings, to receive the required corporate and regulatory approvals, including CSE approval, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's disclosure documents filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160873
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - World Copper Ltd. (TSXV: WCU) (OTCQX: WCUFF) (FSE: 7LY0)("World Copper" or the "Company") reports that pursuant to their news releases dated March 8, 2023 and March 30, 2023, the Company has closed a first tranche of the Placement. On March 31, 2023 the Company issued 7,974,344 Units for gross proceeds of $1,435,381.90. Each unit consists of one common share (a "Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional share of the Company for a period of two years from the date of issuance at a price of $0.30 per share.

Insider participation included Hendrik van Alphen, Director and Chairman as to 1,125,000 units and Nolan Peterson, CEO & President as to 100,000 units. These transactions constitute a "related party transaction" as such term is defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements under MI 61- 101. The Company is exempt from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101 in reliance on sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the transaction, insofar as it involves interested parties, is not more than the 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

Finder's fees were paid to Canaccord Genuity Corp. ($3,150 and 17,500 finder's warrants), Red Cloud Securities Inc. ($1,750 and 9,722 finders warrants) and StephenAvenue Securities Inc. ($913.50 and 5,075 finder's warrants).

All securities issued in the Offering have a four-month plus one day hold period, during which time the securities may not be traded. Closing of the Offering is subject to the final acceptance of the TSXV.

The net proceeds from the Offering are intended for general working capital and development costs.

This press release does not constitute an offer of sale of any of the foregoing securities in the United States. None of the foregoing securities have been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of the foregoing securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

ABOUT WORLD COPPER LTD.

World Copper Ltd., headquartered in Vancouver, BC, is a Canadian resource company focused on the exploration and development of its copper porphyry projects: Escalones and Cristal in Chile, and Zonia in Arizona. Two of these projects have estimated resources with significant soluble copper mineralization, and each has additional copper porphyry targets with exciting potential to expand the resource base.

Detailed information is available at World Copper's website at www.worldcopperltd.com, and for general Company updates you may follow us on our social media pages via Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

WORLD COPPER LTD.

"Nolan Peterson"

Nolan Peterson

Chief Executive Officer and President

For further information, or to schedule a Zoom meeting with Management, please contact:

Nolan Peterson or Michael Pound

Phone: 604-638-3287

E-mail: [email protected]

For all Investor Relations inquiries, please contact:

John Liviakis

Liviakis Financial Communications Inc.

Phone: 415-389-4670

For all Public Relations inquiries, please contact:

Nancy Thompson

Vorticom, Inc.

Office: 212-532-2208 | Mobile: 917-371-4053

Follow Us:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WorldCopperLtd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldCopperLtd

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldcopperltd

Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained copper and precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future development of the Company's projects in a timely manner, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of the Company's projects and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, requirements for additional capital, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Escalones Project and the Cristal Project, the reasonability of the economic assumptions at the basis of the results of the PEA for the Zonia Project, the estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, future prices of copper, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in the Private Placement, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals (including acceptance of the Private Placement by the TSXV), permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics, including the impact of an epidemic or pandemic on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as the risk factors described in the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis and in other filings made by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

**NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES**

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160894
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Xtra-Gold Resources Corp. (TSX: XTG) (OTCQB: XTGRF) ("Xtra-Gold" or the "Company"). Further its news release of March 17, 2023, the Company advises that it has filed its annual financial statements and accompanying management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "Annual Filings") on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

As the Annual Filings have been filed by the prescribed filing deadline of March 31, 2023, the Company has withdrawn its application to the Ontario Securities Commission for a management cease trade order under National Policy 12-203 - Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203").

Highlights

Total Assets increased from US$10,758,031 (Dec. 31, 2021) to US$11,881,013 (Dec. 31, 2022), comprised mainly of cash, liquid securities, and gold inventory ("liquid assets");





(Dec. 31, 2022), comprised mainly of cash, liquid securities, and gold inventory ("liquid assets"); Zero Debt ; and





; and Pre-tax income for the year of US$1,564,849.

James Longshore, CEO/Co-Founder, states: "Our company had another great year, financing the development of our mineral resource expansion internally, through our community mining project. Currently, we have three (3) company owned diamond drill rigs working on the expanding our mineral resource "footprint". Our drill program is fully funded for 2023, and will not require any capital raises."

The full details of the Annual Filings can be viewed on SEDAR or on the Company's website at www.xtragold.com.

About Xtra-Gold Resources Corp.

Xtra-Gold is a gold exploration company with a substantial land position in the Kibi Gold Belt, in Ghana West Africa.

Forward-Looking Statements

The TSX does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements". These statements are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's 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", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of the Company's mineral properties, and the Company's financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Contact Information

For further information please contact:

James Longshore

Chief Executive Officer

416-628-2881

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.xtragold.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160820
HONG KONG, Mar 31, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - - Austar Lifesciences Limited ("AUSTAR" or "Company") (HKEX Stock Code: 6118.HK), a technology-based pharmaceutical engineering solution provider, together with its subsidiaries (collectively the "Group" or "AUSTAR Group"), announced its audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022 ("Reporting Period"). Although the Group was affected by the requirements for epidemic control causing challenges to its supply chain, manufacturing, and project execution, the Group recorded a growth of approximately 10.6% in revenue as compared to the corresponding period in 2021. Thanks to the Group's capacities to offer modular and innovative solutions with digitalisation and robotic technologies based on excellent containment-based engineering and contamination control practices, the Group's product lines in the sectors of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and oral solid dosage (OSD) in chemical drugs have still been recorded a significant growth in order-in-take and revenue.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS BY BUSINESS SEGMENT

Liquid and Bioprocess System

During the Reporting Period, through effective management of supply chain and project execution, the Group's revenue from the business segment of Liquid and Bioprocess System increased from 2021 by approximately RMB67.3 million or 7.6% to approximately RMB950.3 million for the Reporting Period. With completion of construction of a production site, this business segment is believed to have upgraded its manufacturing condition, with more space for new product research and development and more optimised production processes, which will definitely improve its competitiveness in terms of cost efficiency and quality standard.

Clean Room and Automation Control and Monitoring System

The Group's revenue from the business segment of Clean Room and Automation Control and Monitoring System increased from 2021 by approximately RMB34.4 million or 7.2% to approximately RMB514.1 million for the Reporting Period. The revenue increased along with that of order-in-take due to ever increasing market potential and recognition of the Group in the market in terms of technology and execution efficiency. The Group has been gaining good market reputation and share, with new technology of integrated space sterilisation system, dust particle online monitoring, floating bacteria monitoring, energy saving control and etc., which provides customers with computerised system confirmation and validation documents, and cost-effective solution. The fast growth of research and development for innovative drugs in mainland China had led to a much larger demand for the business of this segment, with a higher requirement on quality, cost efficiency, and effective project execution. On top of that, with the emerging innovative medical treatment, more capital is pursuing cell therapy commercial production. All these trends constitute a huge business opportunity for the Group, as a knowledge and technology leader in this area.

Powder and Solid System

The Group's revenue from the business segment of Powder and Solid System increased dramatically from 2021 by approximately RMB107.5 million or 77.7% to approximately RMB245.8 million for the Reporting Period. The revenue of this business segment has been increasing constantly, due to enlarged market share of the Group by dedicated investment of new products. The increase in revenue was in line with that of order-in-take and the increased backlog balance at the end of 2021 also contributed to this growth. The Group's adoption of modular design increases the flexibility of products, which was well acknowledged by the market and thus drove the business increase, to a large extent. At the same time, the business potential, in terms of market share and technical advantage, was greatly enlarged with integration of material and formula management system, integrated process equipment, automatic equipment, including automatic transfer equipment, robots and automatic guided vehicles (AGV), and etc.

GMP Compliance Service

The Group's revenue from the business segment of GMP Compliance Service increased significantly from 2021 by approximately RMB28.2 million or 42.7% to RMB94.3 million for the Reporting Period. The business revenue of this segment has been increasing constantly attributable to the new business stimulated by new international standards and other requirements. Along with its business scope extension to the entire life cycle of pharmaceutical production process, GMP Compliance Service is believed to keep pace of a rapid growth in the future.

Life Science Consumables

The Group's revenue from the business segment of Life Science Consumables decreased by approximately RMB32.8 million or 7.8% to approximately RMB388.3 million for the Reporting Period as compared to 2021. The decrease in revenue was caused by the decline from the business related to COVID-19 vaccine production. The Group is investing into the area of sterile chemical drugs and cell therapy, which is believed to be a new business and profit margin generator in the revised long-term business strategy.

Distribution and Agency of Pharmaceutical Equipment

The Group's revenue from the business segment of Distribution and Agency of Pharmaceutical Equipment increased by approximately RMB8.9 million or 33.2% to approximately RMB35.8 million for the Reporting Period as compared to 2021. The Group will continue to engage in the distribution of various types of high-end pharmaceutical equipment together with its joint ventures and overseas business partners providing clients with the most intimate and timely service.

Research and Development, and Production Lines

With regards to the research and development, the Group obtained 384 patents. During the Reporting Period, the Group obtained 76 registered patents, and applications for 83 patents are currently in progress. Based on the SIEMENS software platform, a report system about Utility Automation System and Process Control system was developed in 2022, which improves the automation system functions and shortens the research and development period of projects. The Group developed a data analysis system, through a series of mathematical algorithms to achieve multivariate data analysis and prediction and help clients achieve analysis and prediction in the process of biological reaction, which could be used at both research and commercial manufacturing phases of the client's product lifecycle.

In addition, the Group's stainless-steel bioreactor series entered the stage of large-scale manufacturing and execution in 2022. The inline conditioning system ILC based on process analytical technology (PAT) developed in 2021 has completed the comprehensive upgrade of recipe management and control system and has been trialed by target clients. It is expected to achieve a breakthrough in 2023.

The Group has completed the development of cell preparation isolator and cell culture system at the end of 2022. This development achievement supplemented AUSTAR's ability in cell therapy process system and services, and increased brand recognition in the field of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP).

AUSTAR's management said, "The Group has been developing 12 technology applications in our competence and knowledge model, and individual specific technology application teams have been established step by step over the past years. The Group has set up 12 technology application teams, namely: (1) Pharmaceutical Automation & Digitalization, (2) Cleaning, Sterilization & Disinfection, (3) Clean Utilities, (4) Biopharma Process and Technology, (5) Containment Technology, (6) Clean Room/HVAC/EMS/BMS, (7) Freeze-drying, Filling & Inspection, (8) Biosafety Technology and Facilities, (9) Laboratory Technology & Facilities, (10) Pharmaceutical Formulation Technology, (11) Regulatory Compliance & Operation Excellence, and (12) Analytics Measurement Technologies, where regular workshops were held for the purpose of better unification of the technology capability of individual product lines into comprehensive technology solutions."

Exploring Business Growth Drivers through Acquisitions

During the Reporting Period, the Group continued to seek business growth through acquisitions. In February 2022, the Group successfully acquired the business of an expertise in sterile liquid and powder filling line ("BOSTA Business"), which has further enhanced the Group's business portfolio in the integration of the filling line system and freeze-dryer system and increased the capability of providing integrated solutions for the filling and freeze-drying of aseptic products. In 2022, the Group also successfully completed the acquisition of a minority shareholding of a company which provides complete and high-end solutions used in nanomedicine and inhalation preparations. It is expected that the Group and the said company are able to benefit from this transaction through upcoming strategic business collaboration.

Future Growth Drivers

Looking forward, with the rapid development trend of cell and gene therapy sector, Car-T drugs were approved, which represents that the ATMP products has entered the stage of rapid development. The Group is dedicated to helping clients to build a compliant, lean and flexible cell therapy facilities, providing engineering and process solutions from conceptual design, clean engineering to core cell therapy process equipment, and building traceable cell therapy automation and information solutions. More cell-related equipment and systems in the ATMP sector would be launched in 2023 including some products developed and manufactured by the Company with its own intellectual property rights. Strong pipelines of products and services under development through the corporate level Innovative and Research Centre and through business unit research and development teams can support further growth in the Group's business.

To improve the quality and yield of drugs, API manufacturers are paying more attention to advanced technologies such as continuous-flow micro-reactions, continuous crystallisation and crystal form control, and process analysis in the production process to increase the stability of drugs in order to increase the market share through new technologies. This will further promote the digitalisation transformation of API companies. Our clients' business extension from formulations to API manufacturing, and their business extension from existing API to formulations manufacturing, was one of the key trends of pharmaceutical industry development in China in 2022. Modular design application reduces production cost and improves operation flexibility, which has successfully helped securing orders. This modular technology would be one of the key technologies for API manufacturing in the coming years.

Moreover, the core competence of the Group's Powder and Solid system engineering business would be accelerated by its application of automated devices like robots and AGV integrated by automation control system together with customised production information system. Demand from some emerging countries for establishment of API facilities and chemical compound product technology transfer as supply chain back-up and cost pressure will further drive growth in this business segment.

Due to the release and enforcement of EU GMP new regulations and process requirements of cell and gene therapy, the sterility assurance in the whole manufacturing process become stringent and key considerations in equipment and system engineering. It is believed that with AUSTAR UK, Cape Europe Joint Venture in France and the Group's manufacturing facility for sterile transfer and isolation technology in China working closely with a strategic goal to offer most competitive sterile protection and assurance scheme globally, it will contribute substantial growth in revenue and profit to the Group."

About Austar Lifesciences Limited

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Shanghai, PRC, AUSTAR is a technology-based pharmaceutical engineering solutions provider with its business covering more than 50 countries and regions, partnering with world-leading pharmaceutical companies to protect and promote human health. AUSTAR employs approximately 2,000 staff in different regions to deliver technically guaranteed pharmaceutical engineering solutions that assist clients to set up drug production facilities and contribute to the world's drug safety and efficacy.

With the full spectrum of pharmaceutical technology knowledge, the company has leading technical application capabilities and high-quality equipment & systems in the areas of Clean Utilities, Pharmaceutical Automation & Digitalization, Pharmaceutical Formulation Technology, Biopharma Process & Technology, Regulatory Compliance & Operation Excellence, Laboratory Technology & Facilities, Biosafety Technology & Facilities, Cleaning, Sterilization & Disinfection, Clean Room/HVAC/EMS/BMS, Quality/Measurement & Analytics, Filling, Freeze-Drying & Inspection, Containment Technology. The Group has a number of leading business and product brands in its portfolio including H+E Pharma, BIOSYSTEC, STERIS-AUSTAR, ROTA-AUSTAR, Pharma LeanTec, Pharma LeanDigital, AUSMILL, Aunity, and Purvita. AUSTAR was listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 7 November 2014 (Stock code: 6118).

For more information about AUSTAR, please visit www.austar.com.cn

Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Friday, March 31. Atlanta, GA. History was made in Georgia as well as in the United States, when a first ever County Resolution condemning Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu hate was passed in the Georgia legislature this week. The Resolution was directed by Rep. Lauren McDonald and Rep. Todd Jones from Forsyth County in the suburbs of Atlanta and home to one of the largest Hindu and Indian American diaspora communities in Georgia. The county delegation drew attention to the rising Hinduphobia across the nation and called for an end to such hatred.

To view the full announcement, including downloadable images, bios, and more, click here.

Click image above to view full announcement.





CoHNA is a grassroots level advocacy and civil rights organization dedicated to improving the understanding of Hinduism in North America by working on matters related to the Hindu community and by educating the public about Hindu heritage and tradition. For more information, please visit https://cohna.org or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cohnaofficial , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cohnaofficial and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/cohnaofficial

Source: cohna

Distributed by: Reportable, Inc.
The Foundation's signature biennial event will take place on Wednesday, October 11 , at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

WASHINGTON , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Barbara Bush Foundation is pleased to announce that the Honorable Mike Rogers and Kristi Rogers will serve as chairs for the 2023 National Celebration of Reading, to be held on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 , at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Barbara Bush Foundation's 2023 National Celebration of Reading to be held October 11, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

The Barbara Bush Foundation's signature biennial event, the National Celebration of Reading brings together bestselling authors, entertainers, and special guests to advance the Foundation's mission and raise support for its nationwide programming.

"Mike and Kristi Rogers share a keen understanding of literacy's intersection with pressing issues including economic growth, global competitiveness and national security," said Barbara Bush Foundation president and CEO British A. Robinson. "I'm thrilled that they've agreed to invest their time, talents and energy in raising support for literacy by chairing the 2023 National Celebration of Reading."

Kristi Rogers is currently the managing partner and co-founder of Principal to Principal, a firm that brings together senior executive leaders and decision-makers to consider new and constructive approaches to today's problems. Her strategic advice and counsel are regularly sought on issues relating to security and disaster response, federal government contracting, the role of business in complex and dynamic environments (including markets emerging from conflict), public-private partnerships and crisis communications.

Previously, Rogers successfully launched and led two companies with extensive overseas operations. Rogers has also held senior positions within the U.S. government, including her appointment as assistant commissioner at U.S. Customs & Border Protection and as a senior official with the U.S. Department of Defense , serving nine months in Iraq .

Kristi currently serves on Qualys Inc.'s board of directors, NowSecure's board of directors, ForgePoint Capital Cyber advisory council, as co-chair of the Women's Foreign Policy Group , and on Business Executives for National Security's board of directors. She is also the president of the State Society of Michigan .

The Honorable Mike Rogers is a former member of Congress representing Michigan's Eighth Congressional District , and previously served as an officer in the U.S. Army and FBI special agent in Chicago tackling organized crime. While in Congress , Rogers chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence , where he authorized and oversaw a budget of $70 billion that funded the nation's 17 intelligence agencies.

He currently serves as the vice chairman of the board at the MITRE Corporation , and as a director at leading companies including IAP, IronNet Cybersecurity and Constella Intelligence. Rogers is a member of the board of trustees and the David Abshire Chair at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress , where he directs the Center's national security programs and its National Space Program.

Together, Mike and Kristi Rogers are the cofounders of Leadership to Ensure the American Dream, a policy initiative focusing on helping people achieve the American Dream, address top policy issues and foster economic opportunities nationwide. (https://www.leadamerica.org/)

"With literacy comes opportunity, and low literacy is the one epidemic in America that together we can solve," shared Mike Rogers .

"We are thrilled and honored to join the Barbara Bush Foundation in helping families and students of all ages gain the power of reading," said Kristi Rogers .

"We're over the moon to have Kristi and Mike Rogers serving as chairs for the National Celebration of Reading," said Barbara Bush Foundation honorary chair Doro Bush Koch . "They're wonderful advocates for the Foundation's mission  especially here in Washington, D.C. , where we are headquartered  and we know that the event will be absolutely incredible thanks to their support."

The lineup of featured authors and special guests for the 2023 National Celebration of Reading will be announced in the coming weeks. The most recent events in 2019 and 2021 featured appearances by bestselling authors and entertainers including former President George W. Bush , former first ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama , Mateo Askaripour, LeVar Burton , Eva Chen , Meena Harris , Jesse J. Holland , Leslie Jordan , Tim McGraw , Jon Meacham , Eric L. Motley , Lupita Nyong 'o, Susan Orlean , Delia Owens , Tim Shriver and Darren Walker .

About the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy : The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy has been the nation's leading advocate for family literacy for more than three decades. Established by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1989, the Foundation is a public charity dedicated to creating a stronger, more equitable America in which everyone can read, write and comprehend in order to navigate the world with dignity. To learn more, visit www.BarbaraBush.org.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/barbara-bush-foundation-names-the-honorable-mike-rogers-and-kristi-rogers-as-chairs-for-the-2023-national-celebration-of-reading-301787087.html
PEABODY, Mass. , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Barton Associates , the 4th largest locum tenens staffing and recruiting agency in the U.S. , is proud to announce that it has been named the Top Healthcare Staffing Service Company of 2023 by Healthcare Business Review. Featured on the cover of the March 2023 edition of the magazine, are Rob Indresano , CEO of Barton Associates , Lina Gallotto , EVP of Barton Associates and President of Barton Healthcare Staffing, MaryAnn Stolgitis , President of Wellhart, and Anne Zukowski , SVP of Barton Associates' Inbound Division.

The article introduces The Barton Companies and explains the company's success, growth, diversity, and training approach. Highlighted in the publication is the collective mission of the three businesses; to help combat the healthcare crisis in the United States by providing facilities nationwide access to highly-skilled medical providers and clinicians, ensuring that all clients, regardless of size or location, are able to fulfill their mission of providing healthcare to those in need.

"We like to think of our locums in a similar way to doctors without borders. Just like doctors go overseas to provide care in underserved countries, we provide those who chose to save lives with opportunities to serve the underserved communities in our country," states Lina Gallotto , Executive Vice President of Barton Associates and President of Barton Healthcare Staffing.

The Barton Companies, which includes Barton Associates , Barton Healthcare Staffing, and Wellhart, continues to see substantial growth, and plans to open a new office in Las Vegas, NV in June 2023 , as well as add hundreds of new employees across the 8 other offices.

Learn more about how Wellhart, Barton Healthcare Staffing, and Barton Associates are augmenting healthcare with locum tenens and travel clinicians .

About Barton & Associates Inc.

Barton is a leading U.S. healthcare staffing company focused on locum tenens with additional capabilities in travel nursing, allied healthcare, and government-related physician staffing markets. Barton is headquartered in Peabody, Massachusetts , and the Company serves over 1,000 active customers in the United States via a network of 10 offices and more than 700 employees. Learn more about Barton Associates at www.bartonassociates.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/barton-associates-earns-top-spot-as-healthcare-business-reviews-2023-healthcare-staffing-service-company-of-the-year-301787245.html
SHERIDAN, Wyo. , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CedCommerce, a leading multichannel e-commerce enabler, has emerged as a prominent player in the e-commerce industry at Shoptalk US. The premier event for retail and e-commerce innovation, which took place from March 26-29 , brought together industry leaders, merchants, and partners to discuss the latest trends and innovations in the world of e-commerce.

With a series of meetings with strategic partners, merchants, and industry leaders, CedCommerce showcased its innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies poised to transform the retail industry.

CedCommerce Holds Strategic Meetings with Industry Leaders and Partners

During the event, CedCommerce held several meetings with strategic partners such as Google, TikTok , Buy with Prime , Walmart , Wish , Michaels , Adobe Commerce , WooCommerce , and others to discuss the latest trends and innovations in the retail industry. The meetings focused on exploring new opportunities and collaborating on new initiatives to help merchants leverage the power of multichannel retail.

"We are thrilled to be part of this exciting event and to have the opportunity to connect with some of the brightest minds in the e-commerce industry," said Mr. Himanshu Rauthan , Co-Founder, CedCommerce. "We aim to continue to be a leader in the multichannel retail space, and events like these help us to achieve that goal."

CedCommerce Unveils Latest Product Launches at Shoptalk US

CedCommerce unveiled its latest product launches at Shoptalk US, including the highly anticipated agency partnership with Buy with Prime. The company also introduced its groundbreaking multi-account connectivity feature for eBay and Amazon, alongside integrations with TikTok , Michaels, and other leading e-commerce platforms.

Multi-Account Connectivity Feature for eBay and Amazon: A Game-Changer for Merchants

These integrations represent a significant milestone for CedCommerce, enabling merchants to expand their reach and sell their products across multiple channels. With the multi-account connectivity feature for eBay and Amazon, merchants can now easily list their inventory and sales across various accounts through different e-commerce platforms. This is a game-changer for merchants looking for a way to streamline their operations and increase efficiency.

Social Ads for Buy with Prime: Linking Merchants to Amazon's Prime Customer Base

Additionally, CedCommerce's Social Ads for Buy with Prime directly link merchants to Amazon's highly coveted Prime customer base. This solution allows merchants to offer their products with the benefits of Amazon Prime, including fast and free shipping and access to exclusive deals. It helps shoppers engage on Facebook and Instagram with social ads featuring the trust of Prime.

CedCommerce Launches Integration Tools for TikTok Shops UK , Making Social Commerce Easier

Furthermore, CedCommerce's integrations with TikTok offer merchants new opportunities to sell their products on emerging social media platforms and marketplaces. With these integrations, merchants can reach a broader audience and tap into new customer segments.

"CedCommerce's latest launches are a testament to our commitment to providing innovative solutions that help merchants succeed in today's competitive retail landscape," said Mr. Abhishek Jaiswal , Co-Founder, CedCommerce. "Events of this magnitude help us navigate our direction and validate our efforts through wide and deep discussions on critical checkpoints with industry leaders. We are thrilled to announce that CED is jam-packed with innovation this year, which will help our partners and merchants optimize their businesses."

CedCommerce's latest and upcoming product launches demonstrate the company's commitment to providing innovative solutions that help merchants succeed in the ever-changing e-commerce landscape.

About CedCommerce

CedCommerce is a leading multichannel enabler that helps online merchants expand their business to international marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Google via secure, optimized, and scalable integration tools and technologies. With 50+ sales channel tools for Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, OpenCart, and Prestashop, over 40,000 merchants across the globe have benefited from CedCommerce's multichannel capabilities. Highly recommended by G2, Trustpilot, Capterra, Web merchant, Cuspera, and Serchen, CedCommerce enables smooth merchant onboarding and streamlined product data feed flow.

Visit CedCommerce or follow them on Twitter , LinkedIn , YouTube , and Facebook for more.

Contact Details:

Shruti Tiwari

[email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1420605/CedCommerce_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cedcommerce-emerges-as-a-leading-multichannel-ecommerce-enabler-at-shoptalk-us-301787274.html

SOURCE CedCommerce
-Fast casual concept celebrates grand opening on April 12 th with free chicken salad for a year-

ATLANTA , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Salad Chick , the nation's only fast casual chicken salad restaurant concept, announced today the opening of its newest North Carolina location in Leland . This marks the brand's 12th restaurant in North Carolina and the second for local franchise owners Shane and Haley Pinder , who opened their first Chick in Wilmington in 2019. Located in the Olde Waterford Way shopping center at 503 Olde Waterford Way at Highway 17 , Chicken Salad Chick Leland boasts a drive-thru and patio. The community is invited to celebrate the grand opening on April 12 ; the first 100 guests that morning will win free chicken salad for a year.

During grand opening week, Leland guests can expect to experience the Southern hospitality that Chicken Salad Chick is known for with specials and giveaways that include:

Wednesday, April 12  Free Chicken Salad for a Year  The first guest in line will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week for an entire year. The next 99 guests in line receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for a year.* An early arrival is highly recommended to secure a place in line; the restaurant team will begin assigning numbers to guests in line at 8 a.m.

  The first guest in line will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week for an entire year. The next 99 guests in line receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for a year.* An early arrival is highly recommended to secure a place in line; the restaurant team will begin assigning numbers to guests in line at Thursday, April 13 - The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick Tote Bag.**

- The first 50 guests to purchase a will receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick Tote Bag.** Friday, April 14  The first 50 guests to make a purchase will receive a FREE commemorative Chicken Salad Chick cup and FREE drink with their meal.**

 The first 50 guests to make a purchase will receive a FREE commemorative cup and FREE drink with their meal.** Saturday, April 15  The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick cutting board.**

Shane and Haley Pinder of Coastal Chicks, LLC opened their first Chick in Wilmington in November 2019 after relocating to the area from their long-term home in Virginia . The Pinder family fell in love with Wilmington's close-knit community and hoped to contribute in a bigger way, which is when they were introduced to the Chicken Salad Chick franchise. With a mutual attraction to the brand's mission of spreading joy, enriching lives and serving others, the Pinders are thrilled to be doing just that in the Wilmington community with the addition of their second location.

"We are grateful for all the support we have received in Wilmington and are eager to share our passion for service with the opening of our Chick in Leland. It's a wonderful, family-centered community and one of the fastest-growing towns in North Carolina ," explained Haley Pinder , co-owner of Chicken Salad Chick Leland. "We have enjoyed getting to know our guests and working alongside our staff to serve them, and we are excited to continue our journey with a brand that values faith and family, while providing everyone's favorite fresh, made-from-scratch menu items to Brunswick County ."

Chicken Salad Chick in Leland will be open Monday  Saturday from 10:30 a.m.  8 p.m. For more information, visit www.chickensaladchick.com. Follow Chicken Salad Chick on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and trends.

For information on giveaways and specials, visit https://www.facebook.com/ChickenSaladChickLelandNC/.

*Guests should arrive early to get checked in; numbers will be assigned starting at 8 a.m. The first 100 guests must remain in line and download the Craving Credits app. Wi-Fi will not be available on site. Once the restaurant opens, guests will make a purchase of "The Chick" or anything of greater value and enter a code in the Craving Credits app to officially secure your spot. If you leave the line for any reason, your spot will be awarded to the next guest in line. Guests will receive their first free Large Quick Chick electronically to your app the Monday following Grand Opening Day.

**Must download the CSC App and be 16 years or older to purchase. Not valid with any other offers. Limit 1 reward per guest present.

About Chicken Salad Chick

Chicken Salad Chick serves full-flavored, Southern-style chicken salad made from scratch and served from the heart. With more than a dozen original chicken salad flavors as well as fresh side salads, gourmet soups, signature sandwiches and delicious desserts, Chicken Salad Chick's robust menu is a perfect fit for any guest. Founded in Auburn, Alabama , by Stacy and Kevin Brown , in 2008, Chicken Salad Chick has grown to more than 225 restaurants in 17 states. Today, under the leadership of Scott Deviney and the Chicken Salad Chick team, the brand is continuing its rapid expansion with both franchise and company locations. Chicken Salad Chick has received numerous accolades including rankings in the 2023 Entrepreneur Franchise 500, Franchise Times' Fast & Serious for the third consecutive year, Fast Casual.com's top Movers and Shakers from 2018 to 2022, QSR's Best Franchise Deals in 2019, 2020 and 2022, and Franchise Business Review's Top Food Franchises in 2020. See www.chickensaladchick.com for additional information.

Contact:

Isabella Bobillo

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

[email protected]

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Details added: first version posted on 12:27

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Azerbaijan have issued a statement in connection with the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis, Trend reports.

"From March 30 to April 3, 1918, armed gangs of Armenian Dashnaks committed an act genocide against Azerbaijanis in Baku city and various districts of the Baku province, as well as in Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangazur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan and other regions, the statement said.

According to the statement, thousands of Azerbaijani civilians became victims of those events only because of their nationality.

Unique historical monuments, schools, hospitals, mosques were destroyed and turned into ruins. The minarets of the Juma and Tezepir mosques [in Baku] were heavily damaged as a result of artillery fire opened on them by the military fleet stationed in the Caspian Sea, the statement noted. In Shamakhi alone, during the March Events, the Armenians completely destroyed 75 villages. The March massacre of 1918 was a pre-planned criminal act by radical nationalist Armenian groups against Azerbaijanis, carried out on the basis of a policy of racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing.

Despite that more than a century has passed since the March act of genocide, those bloody events haven't been forgotten and left an indelible trace on the blood memory of Azerbaijani people, the statement also said.

The decree "On genocide of Azerbaijanis" signed on March 26, 1998 by the national leader Heydar Aliyev was an important step that prompted the disclosure of historical facts, giving a political assessment of these terrible events, March 31 was declared the Day of the Azerbaijani Genocide, the statement reminded.

Recently, facts of massacres committed by Armenians during the events of 1918 have been revealed in Guba. The countless human remains found are clear evidence of Armenian atrocities and massacres, the statement said. In order to bring these facts to the attention of the international community, and to perpetuate the memory of the genocide victims, the Genocide Memorial Complex was established in Guba city by the relevant Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Every year, thousands of people visit this place to commemorate the victims of the genocide.

According to international law, genocide is considered the most serious crime because it is directed against peace and humanity, the statement emphasized.

Besides, in the statement the NGOs expressed regret that despite the presence of sufficient grounds and evidence of acts of genocide committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis, these crimes against humanity havent been adequately reacted by international organizations.

As members of the Azerbaijani civil society, we are once again paying tribute to the memory of the victims of the genocide committed against Azerbaijanis with deep sorrow, and calling on the international community, international organizations to give an appropriate political and legal assessment of this act of genocide in the name of protecting human rights, preventing the commission of inhuman acts and the recurrency of such cases in the future," the statement concluded.
Maryann Lakey honored with prestigious award at ComForCare's annual franchise conference

TROY, Mich. , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ComForCare , a franchised provider of in-home caregiving services, announced the Caregiver of the Year at the company's 20th annual conference. Maryann Lakey , a ComForCare Home Care caregiver in Vancouver, WA , was named the 2022 Caregiver of the Year for her outstanding service and exemplary care. She was invited to Henderson, Nevada to attend the annual dinner and award ceremony.

"Maryann is highly skilled, extremely knowledgeable, and a team player who has consistently displayed and promoted the highest ethical standards," said Debi Kyle , franchise owner of ComForCare in Vancouver . "Her willingness to work overtime, her dedication to champion each client's needs, and her compassion for caring has made her a superstar to many of her clients and to her team. Maryann doesn't just exhibit the core values and mission of ComForCare, she lives them."

The Caregiver of the Year is a distinguished award recognizing a caregiver who exemplifies ComForCare's core values and goes above and beyond by demonstrating extraordinary commitment to clients and families.

One example of Maryann going above and beyond was when she stepped in to plan a celebration for a special client turning 100 years old. One obstacle was to figure out how to get the client in his hospital bed to the dining area. Maryann suggested reaching out to the EMT's who had assisted him over the years. They willingly agreed to come and assist in moving his hospital bed and equipment to the party location. It was done at no charge to the family. It was a remarkable celebration that the family and the community enjoyed. Maryann has a whole roster of clients who continually look forward to her visits.

"Maryann truly embodies our values and our company's mission to help people live their best lives possible," said Rebecca Bouchard , ComForCare/At Your Side vice president of operations. "The passion and genuine joy she displays when serving others is something everyone at ComForCare should strive to provide to our clients. I am proud to know that ComForCare has people like Maryann working hard to ensure our clients receive the best possible care."

While attending the ceremony, Maryann had the opportunity to meet the original founder of ComForCare Home Care, Mark Armstrong . He stated it was an honor to meet her and stood with her as they both hugged, shed a few tears, and admired her award.

Maryann has been with ComForCare of Vancouver since 2014. A local celebration was held on March 30, 2023 in honor of Maryann which her co-workers attended.

If you or someone you know is interested in joining an amazing caregiving team, please contact [email protected] or call 360-718-8276 to schedule an interview.

For more information on ComForCare, visit www.comforcare.com.

About ComForCare Home Care:

ComForCare is a premier franchised provider of in-home caregiving services with 270 territories independently-owned and operated in Canada and the U.S. , helping older adults live independently in their own homes. ComForCare operates as At Your Side in Houston, Texas . ComForCare is committed to helping people live their best lives possible and offers special programs, including fall risk prevention, dementia care, meaningful activities, and Joyful Memories music. Founded in 1996, ComForCare was acquired by private equity firm The Riverside Company in 2017 and is now part of Best Life Brands, which has plans for continued expansion of service brands across the continuum of care. ComForCare has earned a ranking of 402 on the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list. For more information, visit www.comforcare.com .

For more information, contact:

Marcella Winfiele I BizCom Associates

832.314.8565 | [email protected]

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SOURCE ComForCare Home Care
VANCOUVER, BC , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (TSX: CMMC) (ASX: C6C) (the "Company" or "Copper Mountain") will release its first quarter 2023 financial and operating results on Friday, April 28, 2023 before market open. The Company will host a conference call and webcast the same day at 10:30 am Eastern Time ( 7:30 am Pacific Time ).

Dial-in and webcast information:

Toronto and international: 1 (416) 764 8650

North America (toll-free): 1 (888) 664 6383

Webcast: https://app.webinar.net/VXjZ7Gmz54l

Replay information:

Toronto and international: 1 (416) 764 8677, Passcode: 538637#

North America (toll-free): 1 (888) 390 0541, Passcode: 538637#

The conference call replay will be available until 11:59 pm Eastern Time ( 8:59 pm Pacific Time ) on May 5, 2023 . An archive of the audio webcast will also be available on the Company's website at www.CuMtn.com.

About Copper Mountain Mining Corporation

Copper Mountain owns 75% of the Copper Mountain Mine , which is located in southern British Columbia near the town of Princeton . The Copper Mountain Mine produces approximately 100 million pounds of copper equivalent on average per year. Copper Mountain trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CMMC" and Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol "C6C".

Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.CuMtn.com.

On behalf of the Board of

COPPER MOUNTAIN MINING CORPORATION

"Gil Clausen"

Gil Clausen

President and Chief Executive Officer

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HOUSTON , March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fulcrum Technology Solutions, LLC (Fulcrum), a leading cybersecurity company for Enterprise and Healthcare organizations in the south central, today announced it has entered into an agreement to merge with Talus Solutions, LLC , an emerging leader in providing cybersecurity solutions and services to healthcare entities across the US. This combination creates a dynamic new company that will offer comprehensive cybersecurity and identity services to businesses of all sizes and will have offices throughout Texas and the Midwest. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Fulcrum to merge with Talus Solutions, emerging leaders providing cybersecurity solutions & services across the US.

"With this acquisition, Fulcrum will enhance its already extensive Healthcare cybersecurity capabilities while also adding substantial growth to our broad portfolio of managed services to keep our clients' patients, employees, partners, and information safe," said Randle Moore , CEO of Fulcrum. "We are excited to be joining forces with Talus, a company that shares our commitment to providing excellent service, expertise, and innovation to our clients nationwide."

"We have been using both Fulcrum and Talus for several years now and find the prospect of a combined company to be very compelling," said Randy Yates , CISO of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System . "Talus brings deep expertise in IAM (Identity and Access Management) and Governance which will serve Fulcrum's clients well."

"We are thrilled to be joining forces with Fulcrum, a company that is widely recognized for its expertise and innovation in the cybersecurity industry," said Mike Grall , CEO of Talus. "This merger is an excellent opportunity to expand our solutions and provide our clients with even more comprehensive services that will help them protect their critical assets."

"Talus is one of our key Vizient -contracted vendors," said Skip Rollins , CIO and CISO of Freeman Health System . "Adding Fulcrum's cyber security experience and expertise to Talus' healthcare experience will only elevate their capabilities in our opinion. I look forward to the strategic guidance and expanded security services Freeman will receive from the combined company going forward."

Under the terms of the merger agreement, the management teams of both Fulcrum and Talus will continue to operate the combined company. Clients of both companies will continue to receive the same high-quality service and support they have come to expect from their respective providers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About Fulcrum Technology Solutions, LLC

Houston -based consulting and solutions firm, Fulcrum Technology Solutions, has been providing Fortune 500 companies worldwide with top-tier infrastructure, cloud and automation, data & analytics, network, and cybersecurity consulting and managed services since its founding in 2011. Fulcrum's consulting services include risk assessments, threat management, incident response, security infrastructure, digital transformation, cloud security, compliance assistance, big data, SIEM, and SOC, as well as co-managed infrastructure and security engineering services for its customers. Fulcrum's commitment to excellence and ability to provide tailored solutions to its clients' needs has earned it a reputation as a leading provider of consulting services and products in the industry.

More information is available at www.ftsc.com, or follow us on LinkedIn

About Talus Solutions, LLC

Talus, headquartered in Milwaukee, WI , was founded in 2018 to assist healthcare organizations improve their cyber security posture to prevent cyber-attacks. Through their national contract with Vizient, Inc. , Talus has quickly grown and serves healthcare organizations nationwide with expertise in risk analysis, ransomware readiness, identity governance & administration, threat management, medical device security, and security architecture design and implementation. Talus also provides a comprehensive managed service for identity solutions.

For more information, visit www.talussolutions.com, or follow us on LinkedIn

Media contacts:

Jen Winters

[email protected]

Heather Gisin

[email protected]

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SOURCE Fulcrum Technology Solutions
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has selected Oxitec's Friendly Aedes aegypti solution for a new pilot intervention to control the disease-spreading invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito.

of the has selected Friendly solution for a new pilot intervention to control the disease-spreading invasive mosquito. The project is a partnership between the Republic of the Marshall Islands , the Pacific Island Health Officers' Association , the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , and Oxitec .

, the , the , and . Aedes aegypti has spread globally and is the primary vector of diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

has spread globally and is the primary vector of diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Deployments of the Friendly Aedes aegypti are planned to be conducted on Ebeye Island where, in 2019, a severe dengue outbreak forced a 'state of health emergency'.

OXFORD, England , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of insect-based biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock, announced that it has joined a new partnership formed to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), in the Pacific. Working in partnership with RMI, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) and the Pacific Island Health Officers' Association (PIHOA), Oxitec will supply Friendly Aedes aegypti and transfer knowhow for self-sustained releases of the solution on Ebeye Island , which has been affected by serious dengue outbreaks and is home to more than 15,000 people.

In assessing the vector management tools available to address the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito, RMI government experts selected Oxitec's Friendly Aedes aegypti as the most sustainable and operationally effective option well-suited for deployment in the unique ecosystem in the RMI.

This pilot program will focus on equipping RMI with Friendly Aedes aegypti products and the technical training and support to integrate them into RMI's current vector control efforts, with the aim of establishing a strong model for making safe, scalable vector control solutions available to a broader range of governments and communities seeking to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito in the Pacific.

The first phase of the project will include the importation of Friendly Aedes aegypti products to RMI and training and capacity-building efforts for teams that will carry out future releases. The project team aims to start releasing Friendly Aedes aegypti following regulatory approvals by RMI government authorities, and will focus deployments on the island of Ebeye, which is the most densely populated island in RMI. Since the late 1980s, dengue, and other mosquito-borne diseases, have burdened communities in RMI. In 2019, a dengue epidemic forced the government of RMI to declare a State of Health Emergency.

Oxitec's CEO, Grey Frandsen , said, "We're honoured that our Friendly Aedes aegypti solution has been selected by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for a groundbreaking new pilot program to address the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito in the RMI. We're also thankful to be working alongside such excellent partners, all of whom are coming together to address this critical public health challenge. We've built this safe, sustainable technology to be scalable and deployable globally, and we're looking forward to demonstrating its effectiveness in this important effort."

"We selected the Friendly solution to manage Aedes aegypti on Ebeye on the basis of its track record for outstanding vector control and environmental safety in other countries, and we're delighted to have built a world-class coalition of organisations to deliver in our communities," added Jack Niedenthal , Secretary of Health and Human Services , Republic of the Marshall Islands .

Oxitec's just-add-water product produces non-biting Friendly male mosquitoes over time, which mate with invasive, biting Aedes aegypti females. Their female offspring cannot survive, which means fewer biting female mosquitoes in the following generations. Already deployed in the US and Brazil , in urban pilots in the city of Indaiatuba in Brazil , deployments of the Friendly Aedes aegypti in densely populated communities led to up to 96% suppression of Aedes aegypti populations. The Friendly Aedes aegypti product is now serving cities, communities and businesses across Brazil . This solution controls only this particular mosquito species, without harming beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies.

About Oxitec

Oxitec is the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford , Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class public, private and non-profit partners.

Learn more at oxitec.com.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2044962/Oxitec_Joins_Partnership_In_RMI.jpg

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VANCOUVER, BC , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - International Battery Metals Ltd. (the "Company") (CSE: IBAT) (OTC: IBATF) (FSE: 8RE), announces it can fully meet the Chilean government's requirement that all new lithium recovery projects use a Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) methodology.

Chile now requires use of a DLE means of lithium extraction in order to reduce loss of precious water resources. DLE technologies are more water efficient than traditional extraction methods, but are currently not used in Chile. Global scarcity, water misuse, and waste of water have had extremely detrimental effects on land, vegetation, animals and people.

This month, the Chilean National Patent Office issued a Notice of Allowance for IBAT's patent for its mobile, modular mineral extraction system "Modular System for Extraction of Elements from Brine Solutions." This allowance from INAPI (the Chilean National Institute of Industrial Property ) assures investors that the unique benefits of IBAT's technology are protected.

Inherent elements of IBAT's breakthrough DLE technology make it ideal for lithium processing in areas where water resources are scarce. IBAT's unique DLE technology is the only type of DLE that minimizes water waste to this extent:

Water : IBAT recycles up to 94% of fresh water used in processing. In addition, essentially all extracted brine is put directly back into the ground where it came from. The dual conservation features of the system result in very little water waste.

: IBAT recycles up to 94% of fresh water used in processing. In addition, essentially all extracted brine is put directly back into the ground where it came from. The dual conservation features of the system result in very little water waste. Chemicals : IBAT does not use chemicals for processing and therefore uses does not use resources for chemical handling

: IBAT does not use chemicals for processing and therefore uses does not use resources for chemical handling Waste : IBAT generates no waste from chemical, industrial or extraction byproduct sources, so there are no disposal issues

: IBAT generates no waste from chemical, industrial or extraction byproduct sources, so there are no disposal issues Efficient : IBAT's technology is highly efficient in achieving at least 68% recovery of lithium, and due to its efficient technology design, the plant uses a minimal amount of energy for processing needs.

: IBAT's technology is highly efficient in achieving at least 68% recovery of lithium, and due to its efficient technology design, the plant uses a minimal amount of energy for processing needs. Land protection: IBAT's processing plant has a very small footprint which creates minimal impact on the land and surrounding area

Chile has massive lithium resources but the challenge is recovering lithium without decimating the environment. Salt flats have previously been used in Chile to extract lithium. The flats are massive ponds created to stretch across hundreds of thousands of acres, and are flooded with salt water brine pumped from the earth. The brine sits for a year or more until the water evaporates, leaving salt and lithium behind for processing. This technique wastes billions of liters of water in one of the driest places on earth, and is extremely destructive to the land.

Last year, Chilean contracts previously awarded to companies were rescinded amid growing resource nationalism and a push to introduce less polluting production techniques.

IBAT's modular DLE system is available for placement in Chile as well as other locations that can benefit from clean, efficient, sustainable extraction.

ABOUT US

International Battery Metals (IBAT) is the fastest lithium processing company, and has the only patented technology able to achieve commercial scale production in just 18 months. IBAT's proprietary Modular Direct Lithium Extraction technology is proven to quickly and efficiently recover more lithium from brine than traditional methods, while offering safe, superior and sustainable environmental performance. By bringing more lithium to more partners, we are accelerating a bright future for electric vehicles.

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Forwardlooking and cautionary statements

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This release may contain statements within the meaning of safe harbour provisions as defined under securities laws and regulations.

This release may contain certain forwardlooking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of the Company and certain of the plans and objectives of the Company with respect to the same. There is no assurance that the company's apparatus will be able to commercially produce lithium at the stated capacity. The purpose of the tests is to determine if it will be able to do so and successful completion of the tests cannot be assured as they are subject to risks and uncertainties associated with any new mineral processing method and characteristics of the material being processed.

By their nature, forwardlooking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forwardlooking statements.

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BOSTON , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE: PDT) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC and subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC , announced today sources of its monthly distribution of $0.0975 per share paid to all shareholders of record as of March 13, 2023 , pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan. This press release is issued as required by an exemptive order granted to the Fund by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission .

Notification of Sources of Distribution

This notice provides shareholders of the John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE: PDT) with important information concerning the distribution declared on March 1, 2023 , and payable on March 31, 2023 . No action is required on your part.

Distribution Period: March 2023

Distribution Amount Per Common Share: $0.0975

The following table sets forth the estimated sources of the current distribution, payable March 31, 2023 , and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short term capital gains; net realized long term capital gains; and return of capital or other capital source. All amounts are expressed on a per common share basis and as a percentage of the distribution amount.





For the period 03/1/2023-03/31/2023

For the fiscal year-to-date period 11/1/2022-03/31/2023 1 Source

Current

Distribution ($)

% Breakdown

of the Current

Distribution

Total Cumulative

Distributions ($)

% Breakdown

of the Total Cumulative

Distributions Net Investment Income

0.0549

56 %

0.2594

53 % Net Realized Short- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0000

0 % Net Realized Long- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0000

0 % Return of Capital or Other Capital Source

0.0426

44 %

0.2279

47 % Total per common share

0.0975

100 %

0.4873

100 %

















Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the 5 years ended on February 28, 2023

5.97 %





Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of February 28, 2023

9.18 %





Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through February 28, 2023

4.25 %





Cumulative fiscal year-to-date distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of February 28, 2023

3.82 %



_______________________________ 1 The Fund's current fiscal year began on November 1, 2022 and will end on October 31, 2023 .



You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan.

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The Fund has declared the March 2023 distribution pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan (the "Plan"). Under the Plan, the Fund makes fixed monthly distributions in the amount of $0.0975 per share, which will continue to be paid monthly until further notice.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your financial professional or call the John Hancock Investment Management Closed-End Fund Information Line at 1-800-843-0090, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time .

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing.

About John Hancock Investment Management

A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation . We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto , our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

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SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management
Bent Danholm , a real estate broker in Orlando , is offering homeowners a cash offer at full market value with no inspection needed, provided that the home appraises at the agreed price. This offer eliminates the need for dozens of showings, keeping the home show ready, and allows homeowners to move at their own pace while preserving their equity.

ORLANDO, Fla. , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bent Danholm, a reputable real estate broker in Orlando, FL , has announced a unique opportunity for homeowners looking to sell their property. Danholm offers to purchase homes at full market value without inspection, provided the home appraises at the agreed price. This offer presents significant advantages to sellers, including avoiding multiple showings, eliminating the need to keep the home show-ready, the ability to move on their timeline, and preserving equity.

Danholm's offer is a game-changer for homeowners looking to sell their homes quickly and efficiently, without the hassle of traditional home selling methods. By providing a full market value cash offer, homeowners can bypass the time-consuming and often costly process of listing their homes, waiting for showings, and negotiating with potential buyers.

The offer is straightforward: if the home appraises at the agreed price, he will purchase it for cash, no questions asked. This approach saves homeowners valuable time, money, and energy, allowing them to move on to the next chapter of their lives without the stress and uncertainty that often accompanies the traditional home selling process.

"Offering homeowners the opportunity to sell their homes at full market value, with no inspections needed, is a unique approach in the real estate industry," said Danholm. "By eliminating the need for showings and keeping the process simple, we can provide our clients a stress-free and efficient home selling experience."

For more information about Bent Danholm and his new offer, visit his website at

www.bentdanholm.com or call (407) 288-0704.

About Bent Danholm at MAXIM Realty Orlando:

Bent Danholm is a real estate broker with over 30 years of real estate expertise. He is known for his professionalism, expertise, and personalized service. Bent specializes in residential real estate, including single-family homes, townhouses, condos, and luxury properties.

Contact:

Bent Danholm

***@maximrealtors.com

Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/12957961

Press release distributed by PRLog

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SOURCE MAXIM Realty Orlando
WASHINGTON , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Media are invited to a NASA media teleconference 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, April 5 , to discuss the upcoming launch of the first space-based instrument to observe major air pollutants across North America every hour during the daytime.

The agency will livestream audio of the teleconference on its website.

NASA's TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument) will improve life on Earth by revolutionizing the way scientists observe air quality. A partnership between NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory  a part of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian  TEMPO will launch on a commercial mission in early April.

The briefing participants are:

Karen St. Germain , Earth Science Division director, NASA Headquarters

, Earth Science Division director, NASA Headquarters Kevin Daugherty , TEMPO project manager, NASA's Langley Research Center

, TEMPO project manager, Xiong Liu , TEMPO deputy principal investigator, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

, TEMPO deputy principal investigator, | Harvard & Smithsonian Dennis Nicks , director of payload engineering, Ball Aerospace

, director of payload engineering, Aaron Abell , TEMPO project manager, Maxar

, TEMPO project manager, Maxar Jean-Luc Froeliger , senior vice president of Space Systems, Intelsat

Media interested in participating in the teleconference must RSVP to Joe Atkinson no later than one hour prior to the start of the event at [email protected].

TEMPO will be the first space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants hourly in high spatial resolutiondown to four square milesin a region stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Canadian oil sands to below Mexico City , encompassing the entire continental United States.

The instrument is a payload on the satellite Intelsat 40E. It was built by Ball Aerospace and integrated onto Intelsat 40E by Maxar.

For more information on NASA Earth science, visit:

https://nasa.gov/earth

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SOURCE NASA
Nearly 3,000 new jobs added in 2022; state had highest growth rate nationally

CARSON CITY, Nev. , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Against the backdrop of an eventful year tech employment in Nevada added new jobs and grew in depth and breadth, according to today's release of new research from CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce.

CompTIA's annual "State of the Tech Workforce" reveals that net tech employment1 in Nevada grew by 6.4% in 2022, the highest percentage of any state. The number of people employed in technology increased by 2,942 workers.2 CompTIA forecasts a 4.8% increase in tech employment for 2023  approximately 2,300 net new jobs.

More than 48,000 people work in tech jobs, spanning both technical and non-technical workers employed by tech companies and tech professionals who work in other industries. The estimated median wage for a tech worker in Nevada is $75,778 . That's 97% higher than the median wage for all occupations in the state.

Nevada's tech industry has an economic impact of $8.9 billion , or 4.6% of the state economy. There are an estimated 5,000 tech businesses in the state.

CompTIA's "State of the Tech Workforce" is the most comprehensive source of data on the size and scope of the U.S. technology industry and workforce. The report includes data on employment, wages, business establishments, job postings, workforce diversity, emerging tech metrics and more. Among other highlights from the new report:

Occupations poised for growth  Positions in software development, programming, web development and quality assurance; cybersecurity and systems engineering; database, data science and analytics are expected to see the most growth in Nevada this year.

Emerging tech employment opportunities  27% of all tech jobs postings in the state last year were for occupations related to emerging technologies or for positions that required emerging tech skills.

Workforce diversity  Nevada is in the first quartile in the report's diversity index, a measurement of the depth and breadth of diversity in the tech workforce for seven primary race and ethnicity groups, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics . Women account for 26% of the state's tech workforce; Hispanic or Latino workers, 13%; and Black or African American workers, 7%.

The full report is available at https://www.cyberstates.org/.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world's leading information technology (IT) certification and training body. CompTIA is a mission-driven organization committed to unlocking the potential of every student, career changer or professional seeking to begin or advance in a technology career. Each year CompTIA, directly and through its global network of partners, provides millions of people with training, education and certification opportunities designed to help them build career-ready IT skills. To learn more visit https://www.comptia.org/

Media Contact

Steven Ostrowski

CompTIA

[email protected]

630.678.8468

1 The tech workforce consists of two primary components  technology professionals working in technical positions (IT support, network engineering, software development, data science, etc.) and business professionals employed by technology companies. Combined they are represented by the "net tech employment" designation.

2 The 2022 employment estimates and 2023 projections represent the most up-to-date data at the time of publication. As with any labor market data source there is a lag effect, recent developments during late 2022 and early 2023 will likely not be fully reflected in the data.

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SOURCE CompTIA
SEATTLE , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Science Center (PacSci) today announced a new partnership with Seattle -based radio station KEXP. Titled Live at the Laser Dome: KEXP DJ in Residence, the partnership includes a DJ residency program through which KEXP DJs will create unique musical laser experiences in PacSci's Laser Dome. The program kicks off on Wednesday, April 5 with DJ Yaddy.

"I am proud to announce our new partnership with KEXP, an international community of music lovers and music makers based here in Seattle ," said Will Daugherty , President and CEO of PacSci. "It's an absolute pleasure to host KEXP's world-renowned DJs in the world's largest laser dome. This exciting partnership is a celebration of the city of Seattle and highlights the profound ties between STEM, music, and community."

"It's always a joy to collaborate with our neighbors at Pacific Science Center ," said Chris Kellogg , Chief Programming Officer at KEXP. "And this newest endeavor is shaping up to be something special. We're looking forward to joining PacSci to celebrate the power of enjoying and discovering great music together  with lasers!"

Every three months, a different KEXP DJ will curate a series of monthly playlists for the Laser Dome. The select DJ will then perform a live set accompanying the laser performance once a month at the Laser Dome. DJs were selected from KEXP shows such as El Sonido , Positive Vibrations, Street Sounds, Mechanical Breakdown, and others.

PacSci's Laser Dome is one of the largest dedicated laser domes in the world. It is also the longest-running laser dome in the world and the only laser dome in the Pacific Northwest . During live shows, PacSci's laser artists adapt each show in real time based on the crowd's reaction.

To learn more and purchase tickets, visit PacSci.org.

About KEXP

KEXP's mission is to enrich your life by championing music and discovery. Our vision is a connected and compassionate world embracing curiosity and a shared love of music. An international community of music lovers and music makers, KEXP is a nonprofit organization fostering relationship and community building through broadcast, online, and in-person music experiences.

Since our founding at the University of Washington in 1972, we've remained focused on championing music from all around the globe  spanning eras, styles, and traditions.

KEXP operates one of the most influential listener-supported music radio stations in the world, broadcasting at 90.3 KEXP-FM , Seattle and through our website and mobile apps. More information at KEXP.ORG.

About Pacific Science Center (PacSci)

Pacific Science Center is an independent, not-for-profit institution in Seattle, Washington and has been a gateway to access science education and innovation for over 60 years. The institution's mission is to ignite curiosity in every child and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking in all of us. Pacific Science Center innovated during the pandemic to expand its digital and virtual programming and increase its reach across Washington , employing technology to bring experiential STEM education directly to homes and classrooms. In 20212022, its interactive online programs reached nearly half a million people and Virtual Field Trips reached more than 28,000 students across the state. PacSci imagines a future in which it serves every grade in every preK-8 Title I school in the state with programming in schools, digital and virtual programming, and in-person field tripsall at no cost to schools, educators, or families.

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The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) is soliciting applications from Azerbaijani citizens for a Masters Degree program in journalism and media management offered by the Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management. The coursework will be taught by visiting instructors from the United States, and European Universities, and the western educated Georgian professors. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of State. The overall goal of the program is to strengthen the media in the South Caucasus.

It is expected that up to five Azerbaijani participants are expected to be selected for the program, which will be offered over the course of four semesters from September 2023 to June 2025. Students interested in journalism, media, communications, graphics, photojournalism, content development and other related fields are welcome to apply. The students will study in Tbilisi, Georgia from September 2023 until December 2024 and will work on their diploma portfolio in Azerbaijan in January-June 2025. Students will be expected to return to Georgia for the defense of a thesis/final project in July 2025. While studying at GIPA, students will have access to computers, audio and video equipment, the internet, and a journalism library. The program will produce multimedia stories for the student media web page and reports for Radio GIPA FM. GIPA students are eligible to participate in the Erasmus+ Exchange programs and receive funding for one semester education in different European Universities.

The program curriculum provides a hands-on, experiential approach to learning the latest techniques of fact-based, professional reporting and writing for print, online and broadcast media. Coursework also includes management techniques and key knowledge fields, such as economics and the judiciary.

Strong English language skills, as demonstrated at an oral interview, are required.

The U.S. Embassy in Baku provides tuition support and financial assistance for the duration of their studies in Georgia to students who demonstrate financial need.

The selection process includes an English-language interview with a joint Azerbaijani-American admissions committee in Baku. The deadline for applications is April 30, 2023.

For more information please contact: Mehdi Huseynguliyev, recruitment coordinator, at [email protected]

More information available at: [[link to Embassy website]]

Please send your documents to Mehdi Huseynguliyevs e-mail address:[email protected]

Please note that the subject line in your email should be: GIPA - 2023 Documents

List of documents to be presented for GIPA program:

1. Application Form

2. Reference Letters

3. Statement of Purpose

4. Copies of Diplomas *

5. Transcripts

6. Copy of ID Card or Passport

* Note: Recent graduates who have not yet received their diploma may still apply and submit a temporarily document confirming their graduation from university. They need submit a diploma by August 01, 2023.

Please see the GIPA Masters Degree Program in Journalism Application Forms link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LbG4xgC2aNNrv1axgjy7O-nvF4N-Kb9h/view?usp=sharing

Additional Information:

The Georgian Institute of Public Affairs was established in 1994 as a non-governmental, non-profit educational institution, raising a cadre of highly trained public servants and journalists to support democratic and market reforms in Caucasus.

The Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management (CSJMM) was established in 2001 to support the development of independent media in the Caucasus by means of educational and training programs in journalism, communication, and media management. The schools philosophy is that journalists -- well-grounded in skills to report fairly and accurately -- will raise the level of journalism where they practice and will serve the public by providing truthful information and upholding the highest ethical standards of the profession.

Since its opening in January 2002, CSJMMs English-language, regional program graduated more than 200 students with masters degrees in journalism and media management. In Azerbaijan, CSJMM has graduates, who hold leading positions in the professional media. Overall employment rate is high. The graduates today are well-established journalists committed to the principles of fairness, independence, honesty, and accuracy in their work for newspapers, television, and radio. The employers of Azerbaijani graduates are BBC, Bloomberg, Turan, APA, 1News and Report News agencies, CBC, VOA, and several other outlets and organizations.
A dedicated team of conservation specialists works unceasingly to protect migratory birds at Beibayao Wetland of the Dongtan Reserve in Shanghai, China . To help them monitor the site and bird populations more effectively, Hikvision provided advanced video perception equipment.

HANGZHOU, China , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dongtan Reserve in Shanghai , located at the mouth of the Yangtze River , provides food, shelter, and breeding grounds for nearly one million migratory birds each year.

To ensure that Beibayao Wetland continues to meet the needs of its feathered visitors, a team of rangers, engineers and other specialists continually monitor the site and the bird populations. In recent years, Hikvision also joined hands with the One Planet Foundation to protect the birds in Beibayao Wetland, which is a work area of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Now Hikvision's video perception devices have been installed here, assisting the team in bird watching and providing a scientific basis for ecological protection.

Among this dedicated team at the Reserve is Liu Jieyun, a WWF project specialist. According to Jieyun, managing the site and optimizing the habitat for the birds is a unique and complex task.

It is critical to check, for example, that the water level at the site, the available exposed land, the vegetation, and other environmental factors, are conducive to the wellbeing of the visiting migratory birds. What's more, Jieyun constantly monitors the behavior of the birds, counting the number of species present to understand and report on trends in their populations and diversity.

Jieyun says, "The ultimate goal is to manage this wetland as well as possible and to ensure that it continues to function as a place where birds can stop, rest, spend the winter, and breed. However, constantly monitoring the reserve, and getting a close-up view of their behaviors  including their reproductive cycle  can be very difficult."

Adding video perception to the conservation toolkit

To support this valuable work, Hikvision has contributed video perception equipment at the Dongtan Reserve. This helps Jieyun and other team members keep a constant eye on multiple areas of the site to ensure that the breeding grounds are in good condition and able to support the visiting populations.

PTZ (pan tilt zoom) cameras are being used to capture close-up images of birds and their behavior to support and enhance conservation efforts. At night or in low-light conditions, thermal dome cameras play a critical role in the continuous monitoring.

Jieyun and the conservation team have captured incredible images of birds at the reserve, underlining the value of the site for multiple species. For example, the team has seen Kentish plovers wet their abdomens with muddy water to cool down hatchlings in their nests, and recorded images of birds fishing to feed their young.

Hikvision's intelligent analysis equipment has been deployed at the reserve, and it will develop an intelligent bird identification system based on joint efforts with the partners. Advanced applications such as identification, classification, and analysis will be enabled by intelligent platform software, transforming approaches to bird monitoring and protection. For example, it can be used to help researchers establish correlations between a variety of environmental factors and bird habits, supporting experts and staff to further improve protection measures and plans.

Measuring conservation success at Dongtan Reserve

The conversation team works tirelessly to ensure that the Dongtan Reserve meets the needs of visiting bird populations, and the video perception equipment has become part of the conservation toolkit. Thanks to the hard work of Jieyun and other specialists, the number of bird species recorded in Beibayao Wetland has increased from 150 to more than 200.

Among the general bird population, there are some "star" species, including the spoon-billed sandpiper, a species with fewer than 500 individuals remaining in the world. The staff at the reserve have also seen laughing gulls, curly-feathered pelicans, Chinese crested terns, and other rare birds.

"Bird monitoring is an essential part of Dongtan Reserve's habitat management," Jieyun continued. "The dedicated on-site team records bird species, numbers, breeding conditions and a range of other data that reflect the status of the wetland and the effectiveness of our management efforts. The video perception devices enable the staff to better manage the wetland and to ensure that migratory birds enjoy a good living environment and have enough food to thrive."

As part of Hikvision's Global STAR Program for Social Good, the Dongtan Reserve project is bringing a brighter future for the birds and the wetland ecosystem. With the power of technology, Hikvision will continue to explore innovative ways to benefit communities and protect our valuable nature and culture. If you want to join us and create a better world together, please click here.

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SOURCE Hikvision Digital Technology
NORCROSS, Ga. , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PruittHealth , a family-owned organization for more than 50 years, recently acquired Dogwood Forest of Dunwoody , effective on Friday, March 31 . Under new ownership, the assisted living center is now called PruittPlace  Sandy Springs . In speaking with residents and staff, PruittHealth leaders committed to offering the exceptional, high-quality care provided since 1969.

Located just off Georgia 400, PruittPlace  Sandy Springs provides a beautiful campus and accommodations that fit an active lifestyle. Residents can choose from several spacious floor plans offering plenty of natural light, a private bathroom with a walk-in shower, and an attractive kitchenette. Various campus features include a beauty salon and barbershop, upscale fine dining areas, a courtyard and covered porches, and a dedicated memory unit for residents with Alzheimer's and dementia.

"We are excited to continue to provide valued services and programs to the residents of PruittPlace  Sandy Springs and their families," said Neil Pruitt , Chairman & CEO of PruittHealth . "Our goal has always been to provide exceptional, compassionate service to those under our care. We like to say our patients and residents are part of our family, and we welcome the residents and staff of PruittPlace  Sandy Springs into our PruittHealth family."

Connect with PruittPlace  Sandy Springs to schedule a tour here. For more information about PruittHealth , visit pruitthealth.com.

About PruittHealth

A family-owned organization for more than 50 years, PruittHealth provides a seamless network of post-acute care services and resources, offering skilled nursing care, home health care, end-of-life hospice care, therapy services, as well as pharmacy and infusion services across the Southeast. Our 13,000 employed partners serve approximately 24,000 patients daily in more than 180 locations in Florida , Georgia , North Carolina , and South Carolina . For more information about our commitment to caring, visit pruitthealth.com.

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WILLEMSTAD, Curacao , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Retail Holdings N.V. (Symbol: RHDGF) -- Retail Holdings N.V. (the "Company") announced today that the Company's shareholders had approved the voluntary liquidation of the Company, now identified as Retail Holdings N.V.  In Liquidation (the " Liquidating Company "), in Curacao , the country of the Company's incorporation. Approximately 98.75% of shareholders attending the meeting, in person or by proxy, voted in favor of liquidation. The entire Board of Directors and Officers of the Company have resigned effective March 31, 2023 .

Shareholders at the meeting appointed as Liquidator, Ms. Ramona Alfred , a Curacao resident with a dispensation from the Central Bank of Curacao and Saint Maarten to provide liquidator services. Ms. Alfred will be assisted by Antillean Management Corporation N.V. , (the "Administrator") a Curacao , secretarial services company, who will act as Administrator to the Liquidator and assist her in preparing, completing, and filing all liquidation documents with the local authorities as are deemed necessary. The Liquidator, assisted by the Administrator, will assume control of all the assets and operations of the Liquidating Company as at March 31, 2023 , and will complete the liquidation and dissolve that company when all the requirements for liquidation pursuant to Curacao law and regulation have been satisfied.

No distribution is being made to shareholders at this time. At the discretion of, at a time and in an amount to be determined by the Liquidator, the Liquidator may pay from the cash balance of the Liquidating Company a distribution of the funds, if any, that are determined by the Liquidator to be in excess of likely future claims on the Liquidating Company and other expenses for the liquidation until its ultimate conclusion.

During April 2023 , the Company will provide on its website, www.retailholdings.com, certain summary financial information, including a balance sheet as at March 31, 2023 and results of operations from January 1, 2023 to March 31, 2023 . The Company intends to maintain its website only until June 30, 2023 .

It is not anticipated that the Liquidating Company will provide any financial statements for the period beyond March 31, 2023 , other than those that will be required in the liquidation process. The Liquidating Company will not maintain a unique website but will in the period following liquidation provide applicable notices to shareholders, initially through publication on the Company's website and by other means thereafter, as well, as appropriate, through notices in the Landscourant van Curacao .

For additional information or questions, shareholders may for the time being contact the Liquidator, the Administrator or the Liquidating Company at [email protected]. Further contact details will be provided during April.

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NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tensor Tech , a Taiwan -based company specializing in satellite minimization, is pushing to disrupt the booming worldwide space industry with lighter, smaller, and more power-efficient satellite subsystems.

According to a report by the Space Foundation , the annual global spending for the space industry hit $469 billion in 2022. The costs involved represent a prime opportunity for companies like Tensor Tech to step in and assist on a variety of government and commercial space ventures.

"It is important to keep moving in our industry, constantly improving to ensure that we make interplanetary travel a reality. Growth of the space industry is limited mainly by cost, and Tensor Tech is addressing this pain point through disruptive innovation, offering our customers more efficient solutions that incentivize further development of this industry," said Jordan Hsieh , Chief Business Development Officer at Tensor Tech.

Charting New Courses

Tensor Tech possesses a unique position in which to disrupt the industry standards, with technological innovations enabling attitude determination control systems (ADCS) in satellites to be smaller, lighter, and more power-efficient compared to traditional attitude control systems.

At present, there remain major obstacles for commercial entities looking to enter the growing space industry. The first is the building of launch rockets, while the second pertains to the building of the satellite, both of which brings substantial costs. A possible workaround is that of satellite minimization, but the ADCS is the biggest roadblock among all other subsystems . There is a limit to how much it can be shrunk down without impacting its tangible functions.

However, Tensor Tech has been able to make a breakthrough, reducing the weight, size, and power consumption of the nanosatellite ADCS by 60% compared to conventional solutions. In addition, the company's technology can enable the space industry with wider commercial applications by allowing satellite missions to carry more payloads and further reducing the costs involved.

This level of innovation extends to the testing equipment that Tensor Tech also develops  namely the ADCS testbed. A cutting-edge solution for testing and calibration, the testbed is fully scalable and can measure the mass properties of a given device, and an upcoming partnership with a European company will bring further enhancements.

Shining Bright

Tensor Tech's full attitude control solutions are headlined by its integrated attitude determination and control systems. Catering to satellites of various sizes, the product lineup of ADCS-10m, ADCS-MTQ, ADCS-20m and ADCS-40m deliver both affordable prices and user-friendly functionality.

At the core of these systems is the control moment gyroscope (CMG), an integral component that has been further enhanced by Tensor Tech's technological advancements. The CMG-10m realizes a variable-speed, single-gimbal CMG driven by spherical motor technology. It successfully shrinks the volume and weight of a CMG for nanosatellites.

For those with other needs, the likes of the CMG-20m scissor pair or the CMG-40m pyramid cluster CMG will have plenty of use as well. Furthermore, Tensor Tech provides magnetorquers and sun sensors that can be size-efficient or tweaked to address specific needs.

Tensor Tech has plans to extend their product offering in the future, in particular with specialized CMGs tailored to micro and small satellites. Also, since gimbals are the part that most often requires replacement, the brand is developing gimballess versions of these groundbreaking products to maximize the lifetime of ADCS for space operation.

Spreading the Word

Tensor Tech will be making appearances in several upcoming events, including the Small Satellite Conference 2023 and Space Tech Expo Europe 2023 . Interested visitors can learn more by joining the events and hearing from the experts themselves about how the company is disrupting the space industry.

About Tensor Tech

Operating out of Taiwan , Tensor Tech seeks to help humanity expand into the frontier of interplanetary travel by assisting investors, corporations, and governments in this noble pursuit. The company's innovative approach to downsizing satellite components is advancing space exploration through increasing efficiency and profitability.

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SOURCE Tensor Tech
Abrahamic Family House Director highlights UAE's commitment to inclusion, coexistence

WASHINGTON , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The UAE Embassy in Washington last night welcomed a diverse group of religious, government and civil society leaders to its sixth annual Interfaith Iftar  an annual tradition marking the holy month of Ramadan .

Before the call to prayer marking the end of the daily Ramadan fast, Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba greeted guests and highlighted the UAE's long history of acceptance and religious diversity. "Coexistence and inclusion are a foundation of Emirati culture and society. We challenge intolerance, welcome the stranger, and celebrate diversity."

The program also featured remarks by Abdulla Al Shehhi , Director of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi .

Mr. Al Shehhi reflected on the Abrahamic Family House's launch last month, noting that the space  which houses a mosque, a church and a synagogue  invites contemplation and communication between people of diverse faiths.

He stated: "The Abrahamic Family House is the living embodiment of the UAE's values of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect. It is the home of three distinct and vibrant faith communities, and a place for discovery and dialogue for people of all faiths and none."

In attendance were community leaders, senior members of US Government and elected officials, including Deborah Lipstadt , US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, US congressman Brad Schneider and Rashad Hussain , US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

Attendees participated in the traditional breaking of the fast, and learned more about the values that are cherished and shared during the holy month of Ramadan .

Media Contact:

Lamiyae Jbari

[email protected]

202 243 2464

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VERO BEACH, Fla. , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Watercrest Senior Living Group proudly announces the addition of Danielle Potter to the leadership team as executive director of Market Street Memory Care Residence Palm Coast in Palm Coast, Florida .

Potter joins the Market Street Palm Coast team with the knowledge and experience of serving in a multitude of roles in the senior living industry. She started her career in housekeeping, working her way upwards as a resident care coordinator, lifestyle director, lead concierge, and business office director before earning her leadership role as an executive director several years ago.

"We are privileged to welcome Danielle to our Watercrest team as she embraces the residents and associates of Market Street Palm Coast like family," says Marc Vorkapich , Principal and CEO of Watercrest Senior Living Group . "The depth and breadth of knowledge in serving seniors combined with her personal mission to honor seniors, makes Danielle an excellent addition to our team."

Being raised by her great-grandmother, 'Nana,' Potter learned from an early age the importance of respecting her elders. Her earliest memories include volunteer hours at the local VFW and numerous trips to visit Nana's friends in senior living communities.

"I gained so much wisdom at a young age listening to the stories and advice I learned from Nana and her friends," says Danielle Potter , Executive Director of Market Street Palm Coast . "These experiences showed me how the simplest of gestures, a kind word, touch or smile, can leave a lasting impact on those around you."

Market Street Palm Coast is a 64-unit state-of-the-art memory care community in Palm Coast, Florida , owned and operated by Watercrest Senior Living Group . The community was recently recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a 2022-23 Best Memory Care Community, achieving the highest possible performance rating for Memory Care

Market Street Memory Care Residence Palm Coast offers world class care, multi-sensory programming, diverse culinary experiences, and unparalleled associate training honoring seniors with Alzheimer's and dementia. The community is conveniently located at 2 Corporate Drive in Palm Coast, Fla. For information, please contact the community at 386-388-7495.

About Watercrest Senior Living Group

Watercrest Senior Living Group was founded to honor our mothers and fathers, aspiring to become a beacon for quality in senior living by surpassing standards of care, service and associate training. Watercrest senior living communities are recognized for their luxury aesthetic, exceptional amenities, world-class care, and innovative memory care programming offering unparalleled service to seniors living with Alzheimer's and dementia. A five-time certified Great Place to Work , Watercrest specializes in the development and operations of assisted living and memory care communities and the growth of servant leaders. For information, visit www.watercrestseniorliving.com.

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An Interview with Best-Selling Author and Educational Innovator, Mindy Bingham

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The use of artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT and Bard has sparked concerns about plagiarism in high school and college. However, little attention has been given to the potential harm these tools can do to the intellectual development of elementary age children.

During elementary school, children learn fundamental skills, including writing, math, critical thinking, and problem-solving. The introduction of this new technology may hinder their ability to think for themselves and stifle their creativity.

So, what is the solution? Mindy Bingham , best-selling author of the Career Choices series and awardee of the Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for Innovative Approaches to Curricula by the United States Congress and The Breaking Traditions Award from the Equity Council of the national Association for Career and Technical Education , suggests keeping these tools out of the hands of our younger students.

"We don't have time to sleepwalk through this one. The genie is out of the bottle," said Bingham. "As educators and parents, I recommend caution by not jumping on this newest technology bandwagon, at least until research shows us the positives and negatives."

Bingham is in a unique place to sound the alarm. Besides being the developer of nationally-acclaimed textbooks and children's books, Bingham has also developed two proprietary online platforms including the My10yearPlan.com , a tool that thousands of students use each year so they can plan a productive path to self-sufficiency.

"Until a child is literate, can read and comprehend what they are reading, write clearly and convincingly, and compute through basic algebra using only their own brainpower, do not introduce artificial intelligence into the elementary classroom," Bingham stated.

Problem-solving, critical, creative, and strategic thinking are essential skills required by employers in any field. Writing papers and solving complex word problems are just some examples of how students develop these skills. Yet the use of the chatbots makes this effort no longer necessary.

"Creativity is a fundamental aspect of human expression that distinguishes us from other species," Bingham reminds us. "From prehistoric cave paintings to modern-day street art, we are driven to express ourselves creatively from an early age. Abdicating this basic human drive to a machine may remove one of the most enjoyable and productive functions of our existence."

When we adapt a well-known recipe or figure out how to balance our budget, we apply strategic thinking originally practiced in the elementary classroom.

"Imagine what your life would be like if a machine does this for you, and you never get the opportunity to stretch your thinking and apply basic knowledge to common problems," Bingham cautions. "What would society be like if within one generation we don't have people with the experience to solve the problems we face."

Beware the temptation to allow young students to use a chatbot to write their first draft of a paper, justifying they then can do the work to customize it. It is the act of coming up with original ideas and then organizing their thoughts that is the cornerstone to the critical thinking prized in the workforce.

The creators of these artificial intelligence tools have a responsibility to design them in ways that allow their use to be tracked. This could be as simple as incorporating digital watermarks that are traceable to help educators identify original work from machine-generated work. This feature will ensure that students receive appropriate credit for their efforts, and educators can accurately assess their performance.

Here are six things parents can do right now:

Take a test run and try a chatbot yourself. Get this issue on your local school board's next agenda. Talk to your children's teachers and share this article. Create opportunities to enhance your child's creativity through their own brainpower. Lobby congress to make tech companies accountable to the educational process. Talk to your children about the downsides of technology.

Six things parents can do right now to ensure artificial intelligence does not impact your elementary-age children's future.

"A young mind is a precious thing, and it is vital that all necessary precautions are taken to protect it. Let us prioritize brain power over digital power and use technology only as a means to support and enhance learning, not replace it," Bingham concludes.

Six things parents can do right now:

Go online and test run one of the ai bots, either Chap GPT (openai.com) or Bard. They are very easy to use and seeing is believing. Know what you are up against. Get this discussion on the agenda of your next school board meeting. Large districts such as New York City Schools have already banned the use of these tools in the classroom. Until research shows that the positive impact outweighs the negative, every school district should be cautious about introducing ai bots into the elementary classroom. Talk to your children's teachers and find out what they know about this and what plans they have for its use in the classroom. Share this article with them. Create opportunities for your children to explore their own creativity with their own brainpower, such as a storyline round robin: You start a fictional story and each child continues the story line picking up where the last person left off. Lobby your congressional representative to move quickly to assure that the technology companies creating these tools have a responsibility to get ahead of any problems to children's learning. Talk to your children about the downsides of technology. Watch the movie,

Here is what ChatGPT said about some of these topics

I asked how to get on these two platforms and it didn't really answer. For Bard, it provided information on a Shakespear site. What should school districts be doing about artificial intelligence and classroom use? School districts should be proactive in considering the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom and developing guidelines and policies to ensure that its use is safe, ethical, and effective. Here are some recommendations for school districts to consider: Educate staff and students about AI: Teachers, administrators, and students should receive training on what AI is, how it works, and how it can be used in education. This training can help dispel myths and fears about AI, as well as equip teachers and students with the knowledge and skills to use AI tools effectively. Identify appropriate use cases: School districts should carefully consider which AI applications are appropriate for classroom use, and how they can enhance learning outcomes. For example, AI-powered language learning tools can help students practice and improve their language skills, while AI-powered grading tools can help teachers save time and provide more consistent feedback to students. Ensure data privacy and security: When using AI in the classroom, it is essential to protect students' data privacy and security. School districts should establish clear policies for how student data will be collected, stored, and used, and ensure that any third-party AI providers they work with are compliant with data privacy regulations such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Address bias and fairness: AI systems can reflect and amplify human biases if they are not designed and trained appropriately. School districts should work with AI providers to ensure that their systems are designed to be fair and unbiased, and that they are regularly audited to ensure that they are not perpetuating discrimination. Foster collaboration and innovation: School districts should encourage collaboration between teachers, administrators, and AI providers to develop new and innovative AI-powered tools that can enhance teaching and learning. This collaboration can help ensure that AI is being used in a way that is responsive to the needs of educators and students, and that it is supporting their goals and objectives.

How should tech companies creating chatbots be held accountable for plagiarism using their bots?

Tech companies that create chatbots should be held accountable for plagiarism using their bots by implementing policies that prevent and discourage plagiarism. Here are some ways tech companies can take responsibility for plagiarism:

Clear guidelines: Companies should create clear guidelines for their chatbots that discourage plagiarism and outline consequences for violating these guidelines. Proper attribution: Chatbots should be programmed to provide proper attribution when using content that is not original. This could include linking to the original source or citing the author of the content. Content filters: Companies should use content filters to prevent their chatbots from using plagiarized content. These filters could be programmed to scan for common phrases or sentences that are commonly used in plagiarized content. Continuous monitoring: Chatbots should be continuously monitored for plagiarism, and any instances of plagiarism should be immediately addressed. Legal action: If a company is found to be using plagiarized content in their chatbots, they should take legal action against the individual or organization responsible for the plagiarism.

By implementing these measures, tech companies can hold themselves accountable for plagiarism using their chatbots and ensure that their bots are operating ethically and responsibly.

When talking about the downside of technology with elementary age children, it's important to keep your language simple and use examples that are relatable to their everyday experiences. Here are some tips on how to approach this topic:

Acknowledge the positives: Start by acknowledging the many positive aspects of technology, such as the ability to connect with friends and family, learn new things, and have fun. Emphasize balance: Discuss how it's important to use technology in moderation and balance it with other activities like outdoor play, reading, and spending time with loved ones. Use age-appropriate language: Use simple language that is appropriate for the child's age level. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that they may not understand. Address safety concerns: Talk about the potential dangers of technology such as cyberbullying, online predators, and addiction, and teach them how to stay safe online. Encourage critical thinking: Teach children to think critically about the information they see online and help them develop healthy skepticism towards what they read online. Set boundaries: Encourage children to set boundaries around their technology use, such as limiting screen time before bed, and turning off notifications during homework time. Model responsible use: Model responsible technology use yourself and encourage your child to follow your example.

By following these tips, you can have an open and honest conversation with elementary age children about the downside of technology while still emphasizing its positive aspects.

To schedule an interview with Mindy Bingham , contact Gavin Rhoades

[email protected]

972-765-5562

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Revenue increases by 121.4% to RMB 3,756 million

Profit attributable to owners of the Company of RMB 377 million

Three major businesses grow rapidly through in-depth service and lean management

HONG KONG , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yunkang Group Limited (" Yunkang " or the "Group"; Stock Code: 2325.HK), a leading medical operation services provider in China , has announced its first annual results for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "Reporting Period") since its listing.

Driven by the promotion of health care policies in mainland China , the Group has made steady progress in service network expansion, operational efficiency improvement and lean management, and achieved quality growth under the annual goals of "in-depth service, lean management and achieving quality growth". In particular, in the field of diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances, the Group has developed a set of medical institution alliance construction and operation support solutions with the advantages of "professionalism, standardization and intelligence", which effectively enhanced the diagnostic capabilities and service efficiency of medical institution alliances and continued to have a positive impact on the Group's profitability. During the Reporting Period, the Group's revenue reached RMB3,756 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 121.4%, and its gross profit increased by 45.4% to RMB1,307 million. Profit attributable to owners of the Company reached RMB377 million for the year. The Board of Directors resolved to recommend the payment of a final dividend of HK$0.22 per share for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Three main businesses maintained rapid growth with in-depth services

The Group achieved rapid growth in scale in the provision of diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances. During the Reporting Period, revenue generated from this segment reached RMB1,680 million , representing an increase of 171.3% compared with the same period in 2021. The number of on-site diagnostic centers increased from 275 as of December 31, 2021 to 398 as of December 31, 2022 , providing over 840 medical institutions with diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances and helping medical institutions enhance diagnostic testing capabilities at all levels in the medical institution alliances and improve the efficiency of diagnostic testing services as a whole. The expansion of capabilities and service scope of on-site diagnostic centers after the initial construction and operation, resulting in a rapid growth of 90.9% in the average revenue of the unit on-site diagnostic centers to RMB 4.2 million. As a key business for the Group, diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances accounted for an increasing proportion of the Group's total revenue, rising from 36.5% for the year ended December 31, 2021 to 44.7% for the year ended December 31, 2022 .

During the Reporting Period, revenue from diagnostic outsourcing services amounted to RMB1 ,944 million, a growth of 89.8% when compared with the same period of 2021. The Group's product lines in key areas such as infectious diseases and blood diseases maintained stable growth during the Reporting Period, driving further growth in outsourcing services revenue. As a professional medical diagnostic testing service institution, the Group has continuously improved its diagnostic testing capabilities and developed competitive products to provide customers with more precise medical solutions. It has established nearly 10 new provincial comprehensive laboratories and regional rapid response laboratories in order to respond to customer demands more quickly and efficiently.

Diagnostic testing services for non-medical institutions are mainly provided through the Group's outpatient clinics, serving the general public and other individual customers such as employees of the Group's non-medical institution clients. During the Reporting Period, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for COVID-19 testing from individual customers and non-healthcare customers increased significantly, and the diagnostic testing services for non-medical institutions recorded revenue of RMB131.5 million , representing a growth of 147.5% compared with the same period of 2021.

Expand network to guide the allocation of quality medical resources to move downwards

The Group has basically built four models for the development of medical institution alliances, namely urban medical institution alliances, county-level medical alliances, specialist alliances and telemedicine collaboration networks, and has matched them with specific schemes to create various iconic joint projects and help to guide the sharing and allocation of quality medical resources to move downwards, so as to enhance the service capabilities of medical institutions at all levels.

Pursue technological innovation to improve precision diagnostic technology

During the Reporting Period, the Group embarked on a number of domestic and international industrial collaborations in pursuit of an internationally competitive industry position. In 2022, the Company's investment in R&D reached RMB94.7 million , accounting for representing a year-on-year increase of 115.6%. Through external cooperation, the Group continued to develop in a healthy manner and offer competitive products and services to the market.

Achieve lean operations to strengthen operational capabilities

During the Reporting Period, the Group's laboratory lean operation project achieved initial results. The lean operation project mainly consists of two parts, namely the 7S management of self-built labs and the establishment of a management system for collaborative projects.

Digitalization of operations to establish a standardized operation system

In terms of digitalization, the Group successively launched 10 digital operation systems, including "Tengyun", in 2022, to fully integrate the Group's sales management system, human resources system, training system, settlement system, general ledger system, fixed asset system, warehousing system, logistics system and customer service system. Consequently, Yunkang's digital operation model has taken shape.

Prioritizing quality to raise product and service standards

By adhering to the strategic concept of "Quality is the lifeline", the Group has actively promoted the lean management of production and operation, established world-leading laboratories that meet international standards and continuously improved product quality and service quality to provide customers with professional, precision, efficient and convenient medical and health services. As one of the first medical service companies to establish medical laboratories that meet international standards, the Group has built independent medical laboratories with ISO15189 quality control system certification and CAP dual certification in Southern, Eastern and Southwestern China . As at the end of the Reporting Period, the Group had obtained various domestic and overseas quality certifications, including CAP, ISO15189, ISO9001, CMA, CMMI and ISO27001, of which the Guangzhou laboratory has even obtained the ISO15189 certification for 12 consecutive years.

Mr. Zhang Yong , Chairman and Executive Director of Yunkang Group Limited , said, "The overall demand for public health services from the public has become stronger after the COVID-19 pandemic. This, coupled with the aging population, has led to increased health awareness and demand for health services among the public. In light of this, the government has introduced a series of policies to promote the upgrading of medical service demand and the four models for the construction of medical institution alliances, namely urban medical groups, county-level medical alliances, specialist alliances and telemedicine collaboration networks. On the technology side, the rapid development of biotechnology has facilitated the expansion of the bioeconomy into many other sectors. Driven by multiple favorable factors, the universal health care industry, especially the third-party testing sector, which places high emphasis on quality, cost and efficiency, is bound to see tremendous development opportunities. Looking ahead, the Group will continue to execute "in-depth service and lean management" to enhance its products and co-built solutions through in-depth service marketing; supported by a lean operation system, it will continuously enrich its in-depth service content and optimize the cost structure of the entire value chain. The Group will continue to leverage on its own value, committed to improving people's livelihood and health, and striving to provide more professional, accurate, efficient and convenient medical and health testing services to the medical institutions and general public."

Yunkang Group Limited  Stock Code  2325.HK 

Yunkang Group is a leading medical operation service provider in China , which started to provide standardized medical diagnostic services to medical institutions at all levels as early as 2008. Leveraging its own professional diagnostic capabilities and the nationwide service network of integrated healthcare systems, Yunkang has gradually grown to become a medical operation service platform. Meanwhile, Yunkang is a medical operation service provider in China offering a full suite of diagnostic testing services which are diagnostic outsourcing services and diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances. Yunkang provides diagnostic services through on-site diagnostic centers to collaborative hospitals in the integrated healthcare systems in China , and assists them in improving their clinical diagnosis capabilities through co-developing diagnostic centers. As of December 31, 2022 , Yunkang has successfully provided professional services to 398 medical institution alliances and the hospitals we collaborated with were located across 31 provinces and municipalities in China .

Media Enquiries

Yunkang Group Ltd

Venus Zhao General Manager of Hong Kong Office, General Manager of Capital Markets and Corporate Communication

E-mail [email protected]

Website www.yunkanghealth.com

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(This March 31 story has been corrected to to show that the Musk Foundation is a major, not the primary donor to FLI, in paragraph 6)

By Martin Coulter

LONDON (Reuters) - Four artificial intelligence experts have expressed concern after their work was cited in an open letter  co-signed by Elon Musk  demanding an urgent pause in research.

The letter, dated March 22 and with more than 1,800 signatures by Friday, called for a six-month circuit-breaker in the development of systems "more powerful" than Microsoft-backed OpenAI's new GPT-4, which can hold human-like conversation, compose songs and summarise lengthy documents.

Since GPT-4's predecessor ChatGPT was released last year, rival companies have rushed to launch similar products.

The open letter says AI systems with "human-competitive intelligence" pose profound risks to humanity, citing 12 pieces of research from experts including university academics as well as current and former employees of OpenAI, Google and its subsidiary DeepMind.

Civil society groups in the U.S. and EU have since pressed lawmakers to rein in OpenAI's research. OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Critics have accused the Future of Life Institute (FLI), the organisation behind the letter, of prioritising imagined apocalyptic scenarios over more immediate concerns about AI, such as racist or sexist biases. The Musk Foundation is a major donor to FLI.

Among the research cited was "On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots", a well-known paper co-authored by Margaret Mitchell, who previously oversaw ethical AI research at Google.

Mitchell, now chief ethical scientist at AI firm Hugging Face, criticised the letter, telling Reuters it was unclear what counted as "more powerful than GPT4".

"By treating a lot of questionable ideas as a given, the letter asserts a set of priorities and a narrative on AI that benefits the supporters of FLI," she said. "Ignoring active harms right now is a privilege that some of us don't have."

Her co-authors Timnit Gebru and Emily M. Bender criticised the letter on Twitter, with the latter branding some of its claims "unhinged".

FLI president Max Tegmark told Reuters the campaign was not an attempt to hinder OpenAIs corporate advantage.

"It's quite hilarious. I've seen people say, 'Elon Musk is trying to slow down the competition,'" he said, adding that Musk had no role in drafting the letter. "This is not about one company."

RISKS NOW

Shiri Dori-Hacohen, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut, also took issue with her work being mentioned in the letter. She last year co-authored a research paper arguing the widespread use of AI already posed serious risks.

Her research argued the present-day use of AI systems could influence decision-making in relation to climate change, nuclear war, and other existential threats.

She told Reuters: "AI does not need to reach human-level intelligence to exacerbate those risks."

"There are non-existential risks that are really, really important, but don't receive the same kind of Hollywood-level attention."

Asked to comment on the criticism, FLI's Tegmark said both short-term and long-term risks of AI should be taken seriously.

"If we cite someone, it just means we claim they're endorsing that sentence. It doesn't mean they're endorsing the letter, or we endorse everything they think," he told Reuters.

Dan Hendrycks, director of the California-based Center for AI Safety, who was also cited in the letter, stood by its contents, telling Reuters it was sensible to consider black swan events - those which appear unlikely, but would have devastating consequences.

The open letter also warned that generative AI tools could be used to flood the internet with "propaganda and untruth".

Dori-Hacohen said it was "pretty rich" for Musk to have signed it, citing a reported rise in misinformation on Twitter following his acquisition of the platform, documented by civil society group Common Cause and others.

Twitter will soon launch a new fee structure for access to its research data, potentially hindering research on the subject.

"That has directly impacted my lab's work, and that done by others studying mis- and disinformation," Dori-Hacohen said. "We're operating with one hand tied behind our back."

Musk and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Martin Coulter; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Anglo Asian Mining PLC [Public Limited Company], the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) listed gold, copper, and silver producer confirmed the potential for production of over 300,000 tons of copper at Azerbaijan's Garadagh deposit, located north of the Gedabek and Kharkhar contract areas, the companys press service told Trend.

According to the company, the forecast was made based on geological data received from AzerGold CJSC.

"This initial assessment by the company has not been prepared according to the JORC [Joint Ore Reserves Committee] Standard. The company intends to prepare a mineral resource estimate using the JORC procedures on completion of the evaluation program, targeting mid-2024 for the preparation of the mineral resource estimate according to the JORC code," said the statement.

Moreover, Anglo Asian Mining noted the potential of production from 20,000 to 25,000 tons of copper per year in the Garadagh deposit.

The Garadagh contract area was transferred to Anglo Asian Mining in July 2022. It has an area of 344 square kilometers. The first mineral resource estimate of the Garadagh deposit was produced during January 1992. It contained over 318,000 tons of copper (under the Soviet standard of resource classification).

Anglo Asian Mining plans to put into operation Garadagh, Kharkhar, and Damirli fields. The company has already commenced the exploration of the Vezhnali gold deposit in the liberated Zangilan district.

Anglo Asian mainly exports gold bars produced in Azerbaijan to Switzerland. Meanwhile, copper is exported to Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Turkiye.

The Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) is one of the 13 members of the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO), as well as a partner of the International Council on Mining and Metals. The JORC Code, like other international reporting codes, is designed to ensure that public reports intended to inform investors and their consultants are transparent and reliable, contain all relevant information and are compiled by competent persons.
FILE PHOTO: Men sit in the cabin of a combine while harvesting wheat during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Russia-controlled village of Muzykivka in the Kherson region, Ukraine July 26, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

WARSAW (Reuters) - Tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural imports may need to be reintroduced if an influx of products that is pushing down prices in European Union markets cannot be stopped by other means, the prime ministers of five eastern states said on Friday.

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen published on a Polish government website, the prime ministers of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia said that the scale of the increase of products including grains oilseeds, eggs, poultry and sugar had been "unprecedented".

Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, had its Black Sea ports blocked following Russia's February 2022 invasion and found alternative shipping routes through European Union states Poland and Romania.

Logistical bottlenecks mean large quantities of Ukrainian grains, which are cheaper than those produced in the EU, have ended up in central European states, hitting prices and sales of local farmers.

In the letter the prime ministers called for a variety of measures to limit market distortions caused by Ukrainian imports, but said that if these were not successful tariffs and tariff quotas should be reintroduced.

"Let's support Ukraine, but let's do it wisely and, above all, let's put the interest of the country and Polish farmers in the first place," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Twitter.

Among the measures proposed in the letter was a joint solution between the EU and the World Food Program to ensure Ukrainian grain does not end up in EU markets.

They reiterated calls for more funds to help farmers and for faster development of transport infrastructure to help with the transport of goods from Ukraine.

They also called for changes to laws on agricultural imports that would help regulate the volume and direction of the inflow of agricultural products.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrives for her departure to New York to start her trip to Guatemala and Belize at Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Ann Wang

(Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York on Wednesday on what is officially called a transit on her way to Guatemala and Belize, and will be stopping in Los Angeles on her way back to Taipei next month.

While in California she is expected to meet U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory, has threatened unspecified retaliation if that meeting goes ahead, having staged war games around Taiwan in August after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to Taipei.

Here are some facts about the relationship between Taiwan and the United States.

* After the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 having lost a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, who established the People's Republic of China, Washington continued to recognise the government in Taipei as the sole legal representative of the Chinese people.

* During the height of the Cold War, Taiwan hosted U.S. military bases and the two had a Mutual Defence Treaty.

* In 1979, the United States severed official relations with the government in Taipei and instead recognised the government in Beijing. The defence treaty was terminated too.

* Post-1979, the U.S. relationship with Taiwan has been governed by the Taiwan Relations Act, which gives a legal basis to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but does not mandate that the United States come to Taiwan's aid if attacked.

* While the United States has long followed a policy of "strategic ambiguity" on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, U.S. President Joe Biden has said he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan.

* The United States retains a large de facto embassy in Taipei called the American Institute in Taiwan, staffed by diplomats. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office is the name of Taiwan's de facto embassy in the United States.

* The United States continues to be Taiwan's most important international source of weapons, and Taiwan's contested status is a constant source of friction between Beijing and Washington.

* Taiwan's government says that as the People's Republic of China has never ruled the island it has no right to claim sovereignty over it or speak for or represent it on the world stage, and that only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

* China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and in 2005 passed a law giving Beijing the legal basis for military action against Taiwan if it secedes or seems about to.

* Taiwan's official name continues to be the Republic of China, though these days the government often stylises it as the Republic of China (Taiwan). Only 13 countries now formally recognise Taiwan.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's executive board on Friday approved a four-year $15.6 billion financing package for Ukraine as part of a $115 billion total international support package, as Russia's invasion stretched into a second year, the IMF said.

The decision is expected to mobilize large-scale concessional financing from Ukraines international donors and partners to help resolve Ukraines balance of payments problem, attain medium-term external viability, and restore debt sustainability, the fund said in a statement.

It said the new Extended Fund Facility would allow the immediate disbursement of around $2.7 billion to Ukraine.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Chris Reese)
FILE PHOTO: A man walks in front of the headquarters of Bank of Japan in Tokyo, Japan, January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato

By Leika Kihara and Yoshifumi Takemoto

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is stepping up efforts toward issuing a digital yen with the creation of a government advisory panel and the launch of a pilot programme, joining a growing number of countries exploring a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The finance ministry will set up a panel of experts as early as April to discuss the feasibility of issuing a digital yen, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The step will come after the central bank's decision to start in April a pilot programme to test the use of a digital yen, moving Japan closer to issuing a CBDC in several years.

Under a medium-term policy platform issued in 2021, the government pledged to start examining the feasibility of a CBDC when the Bank of Japan (BOJ) completed the initial phase of experiments by March 2023, which it has.

"It will be in line with the pledge made in the policy platform," one of the sources said on the plan to set up a government panel, a view echoed by the other source.

Both sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak publicly.

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told reporters on Friday the government was still in the process of scrutinising ways to meet the pledge to examine the feasibility of a CBDC, including the idea of the panel.

The BOJ has said no decision has been made on whether Japan will issue a CBDC. But it spent two years experimenting and will move to the next phase of conducting a pilot programme from April, to be ready in case the government decides to issue a digital yen.

The central bank has said the pilot programme may last for several years. Some laws may need to be revised if the government were to start issuing a CBDC for public use.

"Ensuring the coexistence of CBDC with various other forms of money ... is something that we need to and will in fact achieve in the future," BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in a speech on Tuesday.

Public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday the finance ministry was considering setting up an advisory panel in April to discuss the possibility of a digital yen.

Central banks around the world have stepped up efforts to develop digital currencies to modernize financial systems and speed up domestic and international payments.

Japan and other advanced economies are seeking to catch up with China, which is at the fore of a global race to develop CBDCs and has ramped up pilot schemes for retail payments.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has also been exploring a fully digital dollar that some have referred to as Fedcoin. Fed leaders have said that any launch of such an asset would need the support of elected leaders.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Josie Kao, Robert Birsel)
A view shows the pre-trial detention centre Lefortovo, where Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on suspicion of espionage, will reportedly be held in Moscow, Russia March 30, 2023. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that all accredited foreign journalists could continue to work in Russia, a day after a Wall Street Journal reporter was remanded in custody on espionage charges brought by the FSB security agency.

The Kremlin said Evan Gershkovich had been carrying out espionage "under the cover" of journalism. Russia has not published any evidence to support the charges - the first such case against an American reporter since the end of the Cold War - which have been denied by the WSJ.

"All journalists who have valid accreditation here - I mean foreign journalists - can and do continue their journalistic activity in the country. They do not face any restrictions and are working fine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

Gershkovich, who is an accredited reporter, was arrested in Yekaterinburg on charges decried by the U.S. administration and those who know him as bogus. A Moscow court ordered him to be held in pre-trial custody until at least May 29.

The case - the most serious action against a Western reporter in Russia for decades - has threatened to further worsen already abysmal U.S.-Russia relations.

Civil rights groups criticised it as the latest escalation in Russia's campaign to stifle all independent journalism, which has intensified with the toughening of censorship laws since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine.

While a number of Russian journalists have been imprisoned during the two decades since Putin came to power, foreign reporters who have fallen foul of the authorities have generally simply been expelled.

Peskov on Friday repeated an assertion that Gershkovich had been "caught red-handed", but declined to elaborate on the details of the case, which have been kept secret even from the reporter's legal team.

He also urged Washington not to respond by expelling Russian journalists working in the United States.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party has proposed imposing fines of up to 100,000 euros ($108,750) on public and private entities which use foreign terms, most notably English, instead of Italian in official communications.

"It is not just a matter of fashion, as fashions pass, but Anglomania (has) repercussions for society as a whole," said the text of the draft bill, calling for the Italian language to be protected and nurtured.

The bill was presented by lawmakers from Meloni's nationalist Brothers of Italy party and will have to be approved by both houses of parliament to become law. There was no indication of when this might happen.

It said the spread of English "demeans and mortifies" Italian and proposed that all public and private bodies had to use the language of Dante to promote their goods and services.

It also stipulates that all names and acronyms indicating jobs in companies operating in Italy should be spelt out in the local language, with foreign words only allowed if they prove to be impossible to translate.

The bill said the widespread use of English in Europe was "even more negative and paradoxical" given that Britain had quit the European Union.

If the draft becomes law, the government might have to get its own house quickly in order. When it took office last October, it added the English term "Made in Italy" to the name of the industry minister, while Meloni herself occasionally drops foreign words into her speeches.

In her inaugural address to parliament as prime minister in October, Meloni described herself as an "underdog".

The draft bill comes just days after the government moved to defend what it sees as another important part of Italy's culture, banning the use of laboratory-produced food to safeguard the country's agri-food heritage.

($1 = 0.9195 euro)

(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Jonathan Oatis)
FILE PHOTO: Relatives of missing students hold posters with their images as they arrive for a mass to mark the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa College Raul Isidro Burgos students in the state of Guerrero, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mex

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican authorities have failed to carry out all arrests ordered by prosecutors over the 2014 disappearance of 43 students and the military has denied access to important information, a rights group said on Friday, expressing concern over continued delays in the investigation.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in 2018 vowing to uncover the truth around the suspected abduction and massacre of the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College, after his predecessor's inquiry was riddled with errors.

Last year, a truth commission created by Lopez Obrador called the disappearances a "state crime" that was covered up by members of government. The remains of only three students have been discovered and identified.

The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), human rights experts who have tracked the investigation, on Friday urged the military to cooperate with informational requests, and for prosecutors to issue more arrest orders.

"The case cannot be resolved by withholding information or giving answers that don't match up with reality," said Carlos Beristain, one of two current members of the GIEI.

Some public officials for whom arrest warrants were issued as long as six months ago have still not been detained, said GIEI member Angela Buitrago.

She did not say how many arrests were still pending.

"We have insisted on the need for verifying and carrying out these arrest orders," she told a news conference.

The Attorney General's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors last year called for the arrests of 83 military, police and government officials, among others, with 21 of the arrest orders later withdrawn. The GIEI at the time called the withdrawal "incomprehensible," and accused the government of interfering with the case.

Buitrago said the GIEI has now sent evidence to prosecutors supporting the arrest orders that were dropped.

The GIEI also accused Mexico's military of denying access to potential evidence in several instances. The rights experts said the military had told them that certain documents and records did not exist even after the GIEI had obtained some of those same records.

In one case, the GIEI said it had found the transcripts of intercepted phone calls in military archives. When asked about them, it said the Defense Ministry had responded that it does not intercept or monitor calls, and that the information did not exist.

The Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last year, prosecutors filed the first charges against a former high-level official, accusing ex-Attorney General Jesus Murillo of torture, forced disappearance and obstruction of justice. The case is still ongoing and Murillo's lawyers have denied the allegations.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Rosalba O'Brien)
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romanian police said on Friday they will extradite to the United States a U.S. citizen wanted there for allegedly inciting violence in favour of white supremacy at rallies in California.

Police did not name the 33-year-old suspect, who they said is a possible founder of a white supremacy group who attended political rallies during 2016-2018 where he allegedly assaulted people, including a police officer. He is also suspected of promoting white supremacy propaganda on social media.

The suspect is currently in police custody awaiting extradition to the United States to face charges of rebellion or insurection, police said in a statement.

"American judicial authorities have sent a request to hold the person in custody awaiting extradition," the statement said.

In February, Romania extradited the suspected leader of the country's Hell's Angels chapter to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and complicity in attempted murder.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Frances Kerry)
(Reuters) -Russia has protested to the American-led coalition against the Islamic State militant group about "provocative actions" by U.S. armed forces in Syria, Tass news agency said on Friday.

Tass cited a senior Russian official as saying the incidents had occurred in the northeastern province of Hasakeh. The United States has been deploying troops in Syria for almost eight years to combat ISIS.

Hundreds of ISIS fighters are camped in desolate areas where neither the coalition nor the Syrian army exert full control. Russia - which together with Turkey is carrying out joint patrols in northern Syria - has agreed special zones where the coalition can operate.

But Russian Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria, told Tass that U.S. forces had twice been spotted in areas which lay outside the agreed zones.

"Provocative actions on the part of U.S. armed forces units have been noted in Hasakeh province ... the Russian side lodged a protest with the coalition," he said, without giving details of timing.

Last week the U.S. military carried out multiple air strikes in Syria against Iran-aligned groups that it blamed for a drone attack that killed an American contractor at a coalition base in the northeast of the country.

Russia intervened in the Syrian Civil War in 2015, tipping the balance in President Bashar Al-Assad's favour. Moscow has since expanded its military facilities in the country with a permanent air base and also has a naval base.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Giles Elgood)
(Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that a ceasefire in Ukraine would not enable it to achieve the goals of its "special military operation" at the moment.

The Kremlin was reacting after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko - Russia's closest ally - called for an immediate ceasefire, without preconditions, and for both Moscow and Kyiv to start negotiations on a lasting peace settlement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia had noted Lukashenko's comments and that President Vladimir Putin would discuss it with him next week. But he said Russia's goals in Ukraine could not be achieved at the moment through a halt in fighting.

"In terms of Ukraine, nothing is changing, the special military operation is continuing because today that is the only means in front of us to achieve our goals," Peskov said.

He said parts of a plan proposed by China for peace in Ukraine were "unrealisable at the moment, due to the unwillingness - or rather the inability - of the Ukrainian side to disobey their supervisors and commanders".

That was a reference to Moscow's claims - unsupported by evidence - that Ukraine's Western backers have ordered Kyiv not to pursue a ceasefire.

"These commanders, as we know, are not sitting in Kyiv and insist that the war continues," Peskov said.

Russia has said it is open for peace but has made clear this would only be on its terms. It says Kyiv must accept the "new realities" on the ground, where Russia has seized and claimed to have annexed more than a sixth of Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine has said Russia must withdraw its troops as a precursor to any peace deal, and says any temporary ceasefire would only allow Russia to regroup for future military action.

Moscow says the United States and its allies are using Ukraine as part of a "hybrid war" in which they aim to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Ukraine and the West say Russia's claims are a baseless pretext to justify its invasion.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Mark Trevelyan)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Raiffeisen Bank International, based in Austria, is interested to support Azerbaijan in modernization of its economy, RBI told Trend.

RBI said it sees the increase of the oil price has a positive impact on Azerbaijan economy and sees activation in cash flow and trade.

"So, we are interested to support Azerbaijan in modernization of its economy through purchase of modern technology using payments or trade finance instruments," said the bank.

Raiffeisen Bank International has been acting for many years as the main correspondent bank in Europe for the financial market of Azerbaijan.

It is represented in 24 countries. In Central and Eastern Europe, Raiffeisen Bank covers 12 countries, five of which are EU members, with subsidiary banks. Its consolidated profit stood at 3.6 billion euros in 2022, driven by significant increase in core revenues.

RBI not only offers Austrian and international companies a broad range of products in corporate and investment banking, but also a comprehensive coverage in CEE. Through an extensive branch network, local companies of all sizes as well as private customers are supplied with high-quality financial products. RBI maintains representative offices and service branches in selected Asian and Western European locations to support its business activities.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
A view shows the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters, the Kremlin towers and other buildings during sunset in Moscow, Russia September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

(Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the country faced "existential threats" to its security and development from "unfriendly states" as he presented President Vladimir Putin with an updated foreign policy doctrine.

The 42-page document sets out changes to Russia's view of the world - in particular its increasingly confrontational relationship with the West - that have already taken shape and have often been articulated by Putin in recent years.

Lavrov said the start of what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine had ushered in "revolutionary changes" in world affairs that now needed to be reflected in Russia's main foreign policy document.

He told a televised meeting of Russia's Security Council that the new concept outlined how Russia could take "symmetric and asymmetric measures in response to unfriendly actions against Russia".

Russia's Western foes were trying to "weaken Russia in every possible way", Lavrov said.

The document, a de facto handbook for Russian diplomats, names the United States as the main threat to international stability and driver of an "anti-Russian line". But it also says Moscow seeks "peaceful coexistence" and a "balance of interests" with Washington.

It calls for Russia to maintain "strategic stability" with the United States - a reference to the nuclear capabilities of the two countries - despite having suspended the New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control pact between the two sides, in February.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Mark Trevelyan)
FILE PHOTO: The logo of German multinational conglomerate corporation Siemens AG is displayed at the Collision conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada June 23, 2022. Picture taken June 23, 2022. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

ZURICH (Reuters) - Siemens has launched an investigation after Der Spiegel reported a former programmer from Russian IT company NTC Vulkan - which has reported links to Russian security services - worked for the German engineering and tech company.

The German news magazine said the worker was now employed by Siemens in Munich.

"We take this seriously and we are looking into this. We cannot reveal any information about the identity of the person due to data protection laws," Siemens said on Friday.

Der Spiegel reported on Friday that more than 90 former staff of NTC Vulkan worked for a several other European companies.

The magazine said NTC Vulkan maintains close ties to all three major Russian intelligence services: FSB, GRU and SWR.

Its so-called "Vulkan Files" said the company builds cyber programmes for the security services aimed at attacking critical infrastructure facilities.

NTC Vulkan did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for the German interior ministry said the general security threat was considered high but declined to comment on this specific case.

An ex-chief developer of NTC Vulkan is working as a "senior software development engineer" at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Dublin, Der Spiegel also reported. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by John Revill; Additional reporting by Hakan Ersen and Andreas Rinke; Editing by Mark Potter)
FILE PHOTO: Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius leaves court after appearing for the 2013 killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/Files

By Wendell Roelf, Anait Miridzhanian and Siyabonga Sishi

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South Africa Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, jailed in 2016 for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has been denied parole, South Africa's prison authorities and a lawyer for the victim's family said on Friday.

Once the darling of the Paralympic movement for pushing for greater recognition and acceptance of disabled athletes, Pistorius shot dead Steenkamp, a model and law student, in his bathroom on Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day - in 2013.

The athlete, known as "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, went from public hero to convicted murderer in a trial that drew worldwide interest.

He was jailed in 2016, initially for a six-year term, but had that sentence increased to 13 years after an appeal by prosecutors who argued it was too lenient.

The Department of Correctional Services said in a statement on Friday that Pistorius, aged 36, had not completed the minimum detention period required to be considered for parole.

"Come August 2024, he would have reached the minimum detention period, then the (parole) board will make a decision," prison spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told a media briefing.

"He will have to appear again next year. And then we look into the profile and make a decision in terms of his placement. But for now, it was a matter of saying he has not served the minimum detention period."

Steenkamp's family had opposed the bid, their lawyer Tania Koen told Reuters.

"I've just received a call from the parole board. It is a huge sense of relief for June," she said, referring to Reeva's mother.

June Steenkamp had earlier said she was feeling nervous as she arrived at Atteridgeville prison near the capital Pretoria for the closed-door hearing.

"While we welcome today's decision, today is not a cause for celebration," Koen said on behalf of Reeva's parents. "We miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail."

Pistorius' lawyer, Julian Knight, earlier told Reuters that Pistorius was due to appear before the parole board to answer questions based on Knight's written submission arguing for his client's release.

Knight had said he did not expect a decision on Friday. He was not available to comment after Pistorius was denied parole.

The basis for his argument for Pistorius' parole consideration was that "there doesn't seem to be any negative factors precluding his being released on parole because he meets the requirements of the department in terms of their policies and procedures".

GUN ENTHUSIAST

Pistorius, who had both legs amputated as a baby, reached the peak of his fame in 2012 when he became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics, reaching the 400m semi-finals in London.

A gun enthusiast, he told his trial he had believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her several times through the bathroom door with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the human body.

Pistorius shuffled through the Pretoria court without his prosthetics to show how vulnerable he was faced with the threat of an intruder.

The athlete broke down crying as he told the court that he had been trying to protect Steenkamp when he fired the shots. The prosecutor at the time accused him of using emotional breakdowns to avoid questioning.

He met Steenkamp's father Barry last year when participating in a process known as victim-offender dialogue - part of South Africa's restorative justice programme that brings parties affected by a crime together in a bid to achieve closure.

(Additional reporting by Nellie Peyton and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by James Macharia Chege, Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan)
Wildfire burns Naranco mountain, near Oviedo, Spain, March 31, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Sofi Fdez-Pena via REUTERS

By Vincent West

SETIENES, Spain (Reuters) - The lush region of Asturias in northern Spain was ravaged by more than 90 wildfires on Friday, most of them believed to have been started by arsonists whom the region's leader called "fire terrorists".

Over 600 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blazes and several towns have been evacuated as police closed off roads and highways.

The Spanish government has said it is worried more wildfires will flare this year after an unusually dry winter across parts of southern Europe and rising average temperatures due to climate change.

"THEY ARE BURNING OUR ASTURIAS. We are dealing with real terrorists who are endangering lives, towns and cities," Adrian Barbon, the head of the regional government, said on Twitter.

Dozens of fires have already been put off by emergency services in Asturias and the neighboring region of Cantabria over the past two days. Most of them were sparked on purpose and fanned by strong winds, authorities said.

Police said they opened multiple investigations but no arsonist has yet been identified. Penalties for arson can reach up to 20 years in prison, depending on the damage caused.

Andres Perez, a 68-year-old resident of the town of Setienes, told Reuters he was convinced the fires were the result of arson but did not know who was behind them or their motives.

"But what we do know is that it is total ruin, both for the ecology, materially and for everything."

In the past, intentional fires have often been linked to pastoralists seeking to gain more grazing land for their cattle. Asturias revoked a law restricting cattle from grazing in fire-damaged forest areas in 2017.

"These fires are unparallelled and it's devastating to watch with impotence as the fires sweep over our land," Oscar Perez, the mayor of Luarca - a municipality that comprises 164 towns and hamlets - told state broadcaster TVE.

The densely-forested mountainous region is one of Spain's rainiest areas, though fires are common in March, according to the regional government.

A combination of scarce rainfall, high temperatures and winds has placed most of northern Spain at a high wildfire risk.

Spain registered its hottest March 29 on record on Wednesday, with temperatures exceeding normal levels by seven to 14 Celsius, according to weather agency AEMET.

(This story has been refiled to remove incorrect temperature conversion in paragraph 13)

(Reporting by Vincent West, Inti Landauro and Emma Pinedo; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
By Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING (Reuters) -Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday to talk to the Ukrainian leadership and learn first-hand about Kyiv's peace formula to help bring an end to Russia's invasion.

Sanchez told a news conference in Beijing he had informed Xi, who visited Moscow on March 20-21, that Spain supported the proposals made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. These include a demand to restore Ukraine's territory to the status quo before Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

"I believe it's a plan that lays the foundations for a durable peace in Ukraine and is perfectly aligned with the United Nations charter and its principles, which have been violated by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin with his invasion," he said.

"I transmitted our concern over the illegal invasion of Ukraine," Sanchez said, adding that he encouraged Xi to talk to President Zelenskiy in order to get to know first-hand Kyiv's peace plan.

Last month, Beijing put forward its own 12-point position paper on a political solution to the war in Ukraine, which included a comprehensive ceasefire in the conflict.

However, the paper also raised eyebrows among some EU officials in China for not stating that the aggressor in the conflict was Russia.

Sanchez on Thursday praised two aspects of China's position paper - "its complete and categorical rejection of not only the use but even the threat to use nuclear weapons" and its respect for territorial integrity.

Sanchez declined to say what Xi had said about the issue.

Russia has said Ukraine must accept its loss of Crimea and four other regions in the south and east of the country.

According to a readout of the meeting from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Xi called for an end to a "Cold War mentality" and to the pressure of "extreme" sanctions, though he did not name Russia.

"We hope that all parties concerned will build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture through dialogue and consultation," CCTV quoted Xi as saying.

Spain, a NATO member whose foreign and security policy is closely aligned with that of the United States, is a staunch ally of Ukraine. In July it assumes the rotating presidency of the European Union's Council, which groups the bloc's 27 national governments.

'COMPLEX' RELATIONSHIP

Sanchez said he agreed with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's view that relations between the EU and China were "complex" and he stressed the need for reciprocity and a level playing field between them.

The absence of any official engagement between Xi and Zelensky since the war broke out has worried EU leaders, not least because it contrasts with signs of close personal ties between Xi and Putin, such as when both leaders greeted one another as "dear friend" in their most recent meeting.

Von der Leyen, who in a speech on Thursday said China was becoming "more repressive at home and more assertive abroad", is scheduled to visit Beijing herself next week alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

Sanchez urged China to seek a more balanced economic relationship with the EU and greater transparency.

On bilateral commerce, Sanchez announced agreements that would allow for the export of Spanish almonds and persimmons to China.

In 2022, Spain's imports from China amounted to 49.6 billion euros ($53.9 billion), while exports to China reached about 8 billion euros, Spanish economy ministry data showed.

According to CCTV, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Beijing wanted to expand trade and investment with Spain, strengthen industrial docking and increase cooperation on new energy and advanced materials as well as on Xi's Belt and Road Initiative.

Spain, one of the world's most visited countries, also hopes to attract more Chinese tourists after the lifting of COVID restrictions there.

Madrid aims to "facilitate the issuing of visas" to Chinese visitors, Sanchez said, adding that Spain would host a bilateral tourism forum in the summer.

($1 = 0.9201 euros)

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista and Laurie Chen in Beijing, writing and additional reporting by David Latona in Madrid, editing by Andrei Khalip, Gareth Jones, William Maclean)
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) -Shares of companies tied to former U.S. President Donald Trump gained in early trading on Friday, drawing interest from retail investors after the ex-president was indicted in a historic first.

Trump, the frontrunner to be Republican nominee in 2024, was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after an investigation into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign.

"It might seem counter intuitive ... but Donald Trump's indictment might actually make him more electable with a certain portion of U.S. voters," Danni Hewson, analyst at AJ Bell, said.

"If more people are talking about Trump, more will gravitate to his social media platform and there's likely to be a lot more cash swelling the coffers of his campaign budget."

Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp, the blank-check company looking to take Trump's social media venture Truth Social public, rose 7.4%.

Software developer Phunware Inc, which was hired by Trump's 2020 presidential re-election campaign to build a phone app, gained 2.5%.

"There is always the prospect that if he successfully defends the charges, it may actually boost his appeal and increase his chances of winning the presidency again," Stuart Cole, head macro economist at Equiti Capital said.

To win the party's nomination, Trump will likely have to broaden his support beyond the 25%-30% of the Republican electorate generally thought to be in his corner no matter what, especially if the field of Republican candidates narrows in the coming months.

An indictment could also make it difficult for Trump to broaden his appeal and push Republicans tired of the drama around him to look for another presidential candidate.

Shares of video-sharing platform Rumble Inc, popular with conservatives, gained 10% after posting a near seven-fold jump in quarterly revenue.

Digital World and Rumble were among the top 10 most touted stocks on investor-focused social media platform stocktwits.com.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shounak Dasgupta)
FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outs a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh Dave//File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers reintroduced a bill to allow news organizations to join together to negotiate ad rates with tech giants such as Alphabet Inc's Google.

The measure would allow news broadcasters and publishers with fewer than 1,500 full-time workers to jointly negotiate ad rates -- many of which face financial struggles. One of the biggest of the companies placing online ads for advertisers is Google.

News organizations have complained for years they are not sufficiently compensated for readers that their content attracts.

The bill was also introduced in the last Congress but failed to become law.

The bill was introduced by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, along with Senator John Kennedy, a Republican.

The News/Media Alliance, a media trade association, praised the bill it says will protect and sustain local journalism. "Emerging technologies such as AI are making it even more clear the need for compensation when content creators may soon see even less return than what they receive today," the group said.

Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the proposal.

Previously, Google said that its ad revenue and licensing fees provides needed revenue to news organizations, and that its search engine sends readers to publishers' websites billions of times per month.

While in December, Facebook parent Meta Platforms threatened to remove news if Congress had approved the journalism competition measure.

Other co-sponsors include Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, Joe Manchin and Cory Booker along with Republican Senators Steve Daines, Bill Cassidy, Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, Cynthia Lummis, and Roger Wicker.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; additional reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

(Reuters) - The U.S. health regulator on Friday classified the recall of Getinge AB's heart devices as its most serious type as their use may cause grave injuries or death due to risk of unexpected shutdowns.

The company said it has informed its customers about the issue and there was no material financial impact from the recall.

An estimated 4,502 devices were recalled by the Swedish medical equipment maker's unit, Datascope, in the country in January, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A communication loss between certain chips may result in an unexpected shutdown of the devices, which are designed to help the heart pump more blood, the agency said.

Unexpected pump shutdown and any interruption to therapy could lead to unstable blood flow, organ damage, including death, especially for critically ill people.

Datascope has reported 42 complaints about the communication failures resulting in unexpected shutdowns of the devices, distributed between March 6, 2012, and Jan. 13 of this year, the FDA said. It added there were no reports of any injuries or deaths related to the issue.

Earlier in March, the FDA had classified recall of an estimated 2,300 of these devices as most serious due to a different issue. Getinge had also recalled 4,454 units initiated back in December due to another issue.

(Reporting by Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru)
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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):

RUBICON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 001-40910 88-3703651 (State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation) (Commission

File Number) (IRS Employer

Identification No.)

100 West Main Street Suite #610 Lexington , KY 40507 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(844) 479-1507

(Registrants telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(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 Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share RBT New York Stock Exchange Warrants, each exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share RBT WS 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. 

Item 3.01 Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing.

On March 28, 2023, Rubicon Technologies, Inc. (the Company) received notice (the Notice) from the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE) that the average per share trading price of its Class A common stock (the Common Stock) was below the NYSEs continued listing standard rule relating to minimum average share price. Rule 802.01C of the NYSEs Listed Company Manual requires that a companys common stock trade at a minimum average closing price of $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.

Pursuant to Section 802.01C, the Company has a period of six months following the receipt of the Notice to regain compliance with the minimum share price requirement. In accordance with the NYSEs rules, the Company plans to notify the NYSE within 10 business days of its intent to cure the deficiency. The Company can regain compliance with the minimum share price requirement at any time during the six month cure period if, on the last trading day of any calendar month during the cure period or on the last day of the cure period, the Company has (i) a closing share price of at least $1.00, and (ii) an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over the 30 trading-day period ending on the last trading day of that month.

The Notice has no immediate impact on the listing of the Common Stock, which will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE during this period, subject to the Companys compliance with the other continued listing requirements of the NYSE. The Common Stock will continue to trade on the NYSE under the symbol RBT but will have an added designation of .BC to indicate the Company is not in compliance with the NYSEs continued listing standards. Failure to satisfy the conditions of the cure period or to maintain other listing requirements could lead to a delisting.

The NYSE notification does not affect the ongoing business operations of the Company or its reporting requirements with the Securities and Exchange Commission nor does it trigger any violation of its debt obligations.

On March 31, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing receipt of the Notice. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No. Description 99.1 Press Release dated March 31, 2023 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL)

1

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.

Rubicon Technologies, Inc. By: /s/ Philip Rodoni Name: Philip Rodoni Title: Chief Executive Officer

Date: March 31, 2023

2

ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS

EXHIBIT 99.1

XBRL DEFINITION FILE

XBRL LABEL FILE

XBRL PRESENTATION FILE

XBRL SCHEMA FILE

IDEA: R1.htm

IDEA: rubicontech_8k_htm.xml

IDEA: Financial_Report.xlsx

IDEA: FilingSummary.xml

IDEA: MetaLinks.json
0000086312 false 0000086312 2023-03-27 2023-03-27 iso4217:USD xbrli:shares iso4217:USD xbrli:shares

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):

The Travelers Companies, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Minnesota (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) 001-10898 (Commission File Number) 41-0518860 (IRS Employer Identification No.)

485 Lexington Avenue

New York , New York 10017

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

( 917 ) 778-6000

(Registrants telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(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 (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 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, without par value TRV 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. 

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

(b) The Travelers Companies, Inc. (the Company) announced that Douglas K. Russell, Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller and Treasurer (the Companys principal accounting officer), provided notice of his retirement on March 27, 2023, which will become effective on June 2, 2023.

(c) Effective June 2, 2023, Paul E. Munson, the Company's current Senior Vice President, Finance and Assistant Corporate Controller and Assistant Treasurer, will assume the role of Corporate Controller. Mr. Munson will also serve as the Companys principal accounting officer.

Mr. Munson, age 57, has served in various financial roles since joining the Company in January 1999, including as the Companys Senior Vice President, Finance and Assistant Corporate Controller and Assistant Treasurer since October 2018.

Mr. Munson has no family relationships with any director or executive officer of the Company. There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Munson and any other person pursuant to which Mr. Munson was appointed as the Companys principal accounting officer. Additionally, there are no transactions involving Mr. Munson that would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

Effective June 2, 2023, Larry J. Mills, the Companys current Vice President, Finance and Assistant Treasurer, will assume the role of Corporate Treasurer. Mr. Mills joined the Company in July 2002 and has served as the Companys Vice President, Finance and Assistant Treasurer since April 2017.

2

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, The Travelers Companies, Inc. has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 31, 2023 THE TRAVELERS COMPANIES, INC. By: /s/ Christine K. Kalla Name: Christine K. Kalla Title: Executive Vice President and General Counsel

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Iran's imports from Kazakhstan increased by 51.6 percent in value and 20.6 percent in volume, during the first 11 months of the last Iranian year (March 21, 2022 through February 19, 2023), compared to the same period in the preceding Iranian year, Trend reports via the statistics of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

In 11 months, Iran imported a total of 265,000 tons of goods worth more than $119 million from Kazakhstan.

Whereas, the imports amounted to 220,000 tons worth approximately $78.7 million for the first 11 months in the preceding Iranian year.

Iran mainly imported tractors, wheat, barley, mining machinery, etc. from Kazakhstan within the mentioned period.

Overall, Iran imported 33.6 million tons of goods worth $53.7 billion within the first 11 months of the last Iranian year (March 21, 2022, through February 19, 2023).

This is an increase of 15.2 percent in value, while a decrease of 8.61 percent in volume compared to the same period in the preceding Iranian year.

---

Follow the author on Twitter:@BaghishovElnur
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2023

Registration Nos. 333-207106 333-262677

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549



POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 1

POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 2

TO





FORM S-3 REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 333-207106



FORM S-3 REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 333-262677

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933





AgroFresh Solutions, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 46-4007249 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. employer identification no.)

One Washington Square

510-530 Walnut Street, Suite 1350

Philadelphia, PA 19106

(267) 317-9135

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrants principal executive offices)

Thomas Ermi

One Washington Square

4510-530 Walnut Street, Suite 1350

Philadelphia, PA 19106

(817) 928-1500

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: Not Applicable

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. 

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer, smaller reporting company and emerging growth company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.





Large accelerated filer  Accelerated filer  Non-accelerated filer  Smaller reporting company  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 7(a)(2)(B) of Securities Act. 





EXPLANATORY NOTE

REMOVAL FROM REGISTRATION OF SECURITIES

These Post-Effective Amendments (these Post-Effective Amendments) relate to the following Registration Statements (the Registration Statements) on Form S-3 filed by AgroFresh Solutions, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the  Registrant  ), and are being filed to deregister any and all securities, registered but unsold or otherwise unissued as of the date hereof under the Registration Statements:

1. Registration Statement on Form S-3 (333-207106), originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on September 24, 2015, which registered 15,903,048 shares of the Registrants common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, at a proposed maximum offering price of $10.04 per share; and

2. Registration Statement on Form S-3 (333-262677), originally filed with the SEC on February 11, 2022, which registered $200,000,000 of common stock, preferred stock, warrants, rights, units and debt securities of the Registrant. On March 31, 2023, pursuant to its previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 21, 2022, by and among the Registrant, Project Cloud Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (Parent), and Project Cloud Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (Merger Sub), Merger Sub merged with and into the Registrant (the Merger), with the Registrant surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. As a result of the Merger, the Registrant has terminated any and all offerings of its securities pursuant to the above-referenced Registration Statements. Accordingly, the Registrant, by filing these Post-Effective Amendments, hereby terminates the effectiveness of the Registration Statements and, in accordance with the undertakings made by the Registrant in the Registration Statements to remove from registration, by means of a post-effective amendment, any of the securities being registered that remain unsold at the termination of the offering, the Registrant hereby removes from registration any and all securities of the Registrant registered under the Registration Statements that remain unsold or otherwise unissued as of the effective date of the Merger.



SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused these Post-Effective Amendments to the Registration Statements to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Philadelphia, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on March 31, 2023.





AGROFRESH SOLUTIONS, INC. By: /s/ Thomas Ermi Thomas Ermi Vice President and General Counsel

No other person is required to sign these Post-Effective Amendments to the Registration Statements in reliance on Rule 478 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.








WASHINGTON  Army investigators are sifting through the wreckage of two Black Hawk helicopters that crashed during a nighttime training mission this week in Kentucky and killed nine soldiers, service officials said Friday.

The investigative team from Fort Rucker, Ala., arrived at the scene of the crash near Fort Campbell, Ky., on Thursday night. Inclement weather, though, has slowed the efforts, base officials said.

The HH-60 Black Hawks belonging to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell went down in Cadiz, Ky., at about 10 p.m. Wednesday as they were flying in a multi-ship formation with night-vision goggles, the base officials said. Both aircraft crashed in an open field not far from a residential neighborhood, but no civilians were hurt.

Base officials said the helicopters were participating in a medical evacuation exercise when they crashed. Four soldiers were in one helicopter and five in the other, according to base officials. No one on either helicopter survived.

The nine soldiers who died in the crashes are:

 Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Fla.

 Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas.

 Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Mo.

 Sgt. Isaac John Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, Calif.

 Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, N.C.

 Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Fla.

 Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Ala.

 Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Mo.

 Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23, of Oradell, N.J.

This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come, Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, said Friday. Now is the time for grieving and healing. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen soldiers.

Fort Campbell is located about 50 miles northwest of downtown Nashville on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, and Cadiz is 25 miles northwest of the border.

Military officials have not yet specified how the helicopters crashed or said whether they collided in midair. Eyewitnesses told ABC News Thursday that both helicopters were in flames and wreckage scattered in the field.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top spokesman at the Pentagon, said Thursday that no decision has been made yet to halt flying Black Hawks so the fleet can be examined for mechanical problems.

Anytime theres the potential for a fleet of aircraft to have some type of systemic issue, then certainly those fleets can be stood down, he said. You've seen us do that with other types of aircraft in the past.  Certainly thats a step that could be taken  but we need to allow time for this investigation to run its course.

The crash Wednesday was the second involving a Black Hawk helicopter in more than a month. On Feb. 15, two veteran Tennessee Army National Guard pilots were killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk crashed during a training flight near Huntsville, Ala. That crash is still under investigation.

The Black Hawk has been in service with the Army since 1979 and is one of the militarys most popular workhorse helicopters.

There are several variants and derivatives of the Black Hawk. The UH-60 is the main version, but Sikorsky also produces the HH-60, the SH-60 Seahawk and MH-60 Jayhawk. The Seahawk is a marine utility helicopter used by the Navy, and the Jayhawk is a recovery aircraft used by the Coast Guard.

The 101st Airborne Division is based at Fort Campbell, which covers more than 105,000 acres in southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee. Its home to a number of Army garrisons, including the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, 5th Special Forces Group, the NCO Academy and the 101st Airborne Divisions Screaming Eagles parachute demonstration team.
Service members who need it may now take up to two weeks of non-chargeable leave following the death of an immediate family member, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday.

The new bereavement leave benefit applies only to active-duty and active National Guard and reserve members who have served longer than 12 months but have less than 30 days leave available to them, according to a DOD news release. They are eligible for non-chargeable leave following the death of a spouse or child even if they have less than 30 days of leave available or will go below 30 days while on emergency leave.

This benefit is only available to service members with accrued leave balances below 30 days, the release states. Service members with a leave balance of 30 or more days may take chargeable emergency leave as they would in the past.

The loss of a spouse or child has detrimental effects on a service members ability to perform assigned duties, the release states.

Bereavement leave allows service members time away from their military duties in the event of a family members death to make arrangements and attend the funeral, burial or memorial service, according to the new policy.

I think its a good policy, I think its beneficial and its one less thing to worry about, Marine Corps spouse Christian Perez, 26, of Stratford, Conn., told Stars and Stripes on Friday at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. I think [bereavement leave] will help take away stress from some people that dont have the leave days already saved up.

While some said the policy goes in a good direction, others say the immediate family clause in the policy is too restrictive.

Mom, dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles and just anyone in your life youre still close with, I think should count as immediate family, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Izzo, 21, of Strike Fighter Squadron 115, MCAS Iwakuni, said Friday.

The memorandum outlines that unit commanders have the authority to grant requests for bereavement leave.

The policy also allows services members to take chargeable leave, such as emergency leave, in conjunction with bereavement leave.

The new benefit was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, and service members who took leave on or after June 25 following the death of a spouse or child may have up to 14 days of leave restored.
Japan said it will expand restrictions on exports of 23 types of leading-edge chipmaking technology, as the U.S. ratchets up efforts to limit China's access to key semiconductor know-how.

About 10 Japanese companies including leading gearmaker Tokyo Electron would need to get licenses to ship a broader-than-expected array of equipment used to transform silicon into chips, spanning cleaning, deposition, annealing, lithography, etching and testing.

Tokyo's move follows months of lobbying by the U.S. to get Japan to join it in tightening shipments of semiconductor tools to China. Japan and the Netherlands had agreed in principle to join the U.S., but have sought to chart a middle road between the two superpowers.

Japan Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the move was not in coordination with the U.S. and was not a ban.

"These export controls apply to all regions and are not meant to target any one country," he told reporters on Friday. "We will be looking at whether there is any danger of military appropriation."

However, Japan's most-favored trading partners - including South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan - will be able to continue importing without a license, trade ministry officials said. Shipments of restricted equipment to China would require sign-offs by export control officials.

Japan's announcement comes a day before Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi's visit to China the first by a foreign minister in more than 3 years. It also coincides with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's trip to the U.S., which China has protested.

With the help of the Netherlands and Japan, the U.S. is seeking to create a global blockade to prevent China from getting key equipment now essential to make the most advanced chips used in quantum computing, advanced wireless networks and artificial intelligence.

Much hinges on how Japan implements the controls. If Japan refuses to approve any, that could be a blow both for the country's semiconductor equipment manufacturers as well as for China, Morningstar analyst Kazunori Ito said.

Chip-related stocks fell on the news, with Tokyo Electron, Screen, Nikon and Lasertec all paring gains.

Tokyo's measures - which will be subject to public comment before implementation slated for July - affect a wide range of equipment, similar to the U.S. curbs in scope. Etching machines that are capable of making 14- and 16-nanometer and more advanced chips would be affected, for instance.

"If our exports are not being re-appropriated for military use, we will continue shipments," Nishimura told reporters. "We believe the impact on companies will be limited."

China blasted Japan's decision. Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry, said that politicizing and weaponizing trade and technological issues, and sabotaging the global supply chain will only bring harm to all, according to state media CCTV.

The U.S., Netherlands and Japan together control critical equipment now necessary for China to make leading-edge chips. The U.S. has banned American gear suppliers Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA from shipping some of their most advanced technology to China without a license. Japan's Tokyo Electron and the Netherlands's ASML are the two other critical suppliers that the U.S. needs to contain China's technological ascent.

Japan's planned export controls include tools used to clean silicon wafers of impurities, extreme ultraviolet mask-testers, as well as all immersion lithography machines. Screen Holdings, Lasertec and Nikon are suppliers of such equipment.

Over the long term, China will be forced to develop its own chipmaking machines, said Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda. "A complete decoupling of standards in chips would make it difficult for China to produce semiconductors at low cost."

Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki and Debby Wu contributed to this report.
AD Ports Group, the leading facilitator of global trade, logistics, and industry, said it has signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Red Sea Ports Authority to develop and operate a multi-purpose port in Safaga in Egypt.

As per the deal, the Abu Dhabi group will be responsible for the development and operation of a multi-purpose terminal at Safaga Port, a strategic location on the Red Sea coast of Egypt.

Safaga Port will be the first internationally operated port in the Upper Egypt region, bringing significant cost savings to traders, industries and businesses located in this region.

The terminal will come up on a 810,000 sq m area and is set to be operational in Q2 2025. It will boast a quay wall of up to 1,000 m and it will have the capacity to handle 5 million tonnes of dry bulk and general cargo, 1 million tonnes of liquid bulk, 450,000 TEUs of containerised cargo, and 50,000 CEUs of RoRo.

In addition to this, the Abu Dhabi Group has signed two 15-year agreements - a MoU and three Head of Terms (HoTs) - concerning ports located in Egypts Red Sea region and Mediterranean Sea, enabling a major expansion of the groups activities into Egypt.

These agreements allow for expanded access to multipurpose terminals, cruise routes, and logistics capabilities in Safaga, Ain Sokhna, Port Said, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh and Al Arish, said AD Ports Group in its statement.

The agreements were signed in Cairo in the presence of Lieutenant-General Kamel Al Wazir, Minister of Transport of Egypt, Mariam Al Kaabi, Ambassador of UAE to Egypt, Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO, AD Ports Group, Major General Osama Saleh, Vice-Chairman of Red Sea Port Authority, Walid Jamal Eldin, Chairman of General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone as well as Saif Al Mazroui and CEO of Ports Cluster, AD Ports Group.

AD Ports Group said it will invest a total of $200 million in superstructure and equipment, buildings, and other real estate facilities and utilities network inside the concession area. The majority of this CapEx will be spent in 2024 and 2025.

The agreements for the development of two cement terminals in Al Arish Port and West Port Said Port were signed between AD Ports Group and the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone requiring a combined investment of EGP1 billion ($33 million) in both terminals.

As per the 15-year agreements, AD Ports Group will construct silos with a storage capacity of up to 60,000 tonnes in Al Arish Port and 30,000 tonnes in West Port Said; each terminal will be able to handle 1.0  1.5 million tonnes annually.

Both terminals which will be operational in Q4 2023, are expected to contribute to doubling Egypt's cement exports to global markets.-TradeArabia News Service
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Baku will host an Azerbaijani-US forum on green energy on April 3, Trend reports via the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan.

According to the ministry, the organizers of the event are the ministry and the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency.

The forum will discuss the possibilities of cooperation between the two countries in the field of renewable energy, long-term plans for green energy projects, green hydrogen projects, the current situation in electricity production, as well as the introduction of clean energy technologies.

As part of the event, it is planned to hold business meetings with the participation of Azerbaijani and US companies.

The green energy production potential in Azerbaijan is about 200 GW. Azerbaijan intends to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity generation to 30 percent by 2030.
A Fort Carson soldiers death is being investigated as a homicide after the 23-year-old was found with gunshots wounds along a street in Colorado Springs, Colo., according to local police.

Police responded to several 911 calls about the sound of gunshots at about 3:44 a.m. Sunday in the 2700 block of Palmer Park Blvd., according to a news release from the Colorado Springs Police Department. When police arrived at the scene, they found Spc. Braden Peltier, an artillery soldier from Bay City, Mich., and another person with gunshot wounds. Both were transported to local hospitals, and Peltier later died from his injuries.

The El Paso County Coroners Office completed an autopsy, but police said the cause of death has not been determined.

The shooting occurred in the eastern part of town about 10 miles from Fort Carson.

Misty Coon, Peltiers mother-in-law, said the family is shocked by the loss of Peltier, who had returned in December from a deployment to Poland.

We all miss this boy so much. It was a huge shock to the system that that even happened, she said.

Coon said she had known Peltier since he was a teenager, and he loved the outdoors and driving on trails with his pickup truck. The two shared coffee together nearly every morning he was home in Michigan.

Peltier had always wanted to join the Army, and after enlisting in November 2020, he came to her house in a black U.S. Army hat and T-shirt that hed been given.

He was so excited. He came right home and made sure I had a sign to put in my front yard and a coffee cup, Coon said. He was all decked out in his shirt and his hat I think for a couple of days.

Earlier that year, he had married her daughter, Pagge Peltier, and the couple welcomed their son Caycee, now 2.

Caycee would follow him right behind, everywhere he went, Pagge Peltier said.

Coon created a Facebook page to seek justice in Peltiers death and said the family is hopeful that someone will come forward with information.

We want to know who did this. We want them to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Nobody should get away with taking somebody else's life, she said. He was truly a great person and a hero to every one of us.

Colorado Springs police said anyone with information or who is a witness to this investigation is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at 719-444-7000. To remain anonymous, call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 719-634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477.
WASHINGTON  Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers at Fort Sill, Okla., have finished learning how to use the Patriot missile system, part of the more than 7,000 troops the U.S. has trained to fight off Russian forces invading their country, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Sixty-five Ukrainians were taken to the Army base in January to learn how to field the air-defense system to help defend their country against Russian attacks. Fort Sill, where U.S. troops are trained to use the Patriot, is about 80 miles southwest of Oklahoma City near the town of Lawton. The base is home to the Armys Air Defense Artillery School and Field Artillery School.

Once in Ukraine, the Patriot air-defense system will add to Ukraines layered air defenses to provide protection and shield from Russias wanton brutal attacks on innocent civilians, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesperson.

The Pentagon has said it takes about 90 troops to operate and maintain the Patriot missile system. Ukraine is receiving three Patriot batteries  one from the U.S. and one each from Germany and the Netherlands. Ukraine leaders had repeatedly requested the Patriot systems from Western countries before the United States agreed to send one in December.

The U.S. has so far committed more than $32 billion in military weapons, vehicles and equipment since Russia launched its war in Ukraine in February 2022. Various military aid packages have included the Patriot, Stryker armored personnel carriers, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M1 Abrams tanks.

Ryder noted 4,000 of the 7,000 Ukrainians troops trained by the U.S. military are in two brigades  one equipped with Bradleys and one with Strykers  that finished combined arms training in Germany this month. Another 1,200 are now being trained at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas in Germany, he added.

The training comes at a time when the weather is beginning to warm in Europe and Ukraine is preparing for expected waves of new Russian attacks.

Military officials in Kyiv, the Ukraine capital, said Thursday that Ukrainian forces repelled dozens of Russian attacks Wednesday and Thursday.

Over the past 24 hours, the enemy launched five missile attacks and 25 airstrikes, [and] conducted 34 attacks using multiple launch rocket systems, Ukraines General Staff of the Armed Forces said Thursday in a social media post. Units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled more than 60 enemy attacks. Bilohorivka, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka remain at the epicenter of hostilities.

Ryder told reporters at the Pentagon that more Ukrainian troops would travel to Fort Sill and European training areas as it becomes necessary.

We will continue to train them, continue to have those kinds of discussions on what kind of future training might they need, he said. They need to be able to ensure that they have the forces they need on the actual battlefield.
MANCHESTER, Conn. (Tribune News Service)  A man accused of slashing a 63-year-old mans throat in an Enfield motel room amid a psychiatric episode that the older man feared would lead to his suicide has accepted a plea bargain, been convicted of first-degree assault, and faces a likely five-year prison sentence, court records show.

Marine veteran Alexander Arslanian, 30, of Agawam, Massachusetts accepted the Hartford Superior Court plea bargain last week under the Alford doctrine, meaning that he didnt admit guilt but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence for a conviction at trial, the records show.

He was convicted of first-degree assault under a provision relating to extremely reckless conduct that causes serious physical injury to a victim.

Arslanian is scheduled to be sentenced May 18. Both sides have agreed on the five-year prison term, which is likely to be followed by five years of probation, with the possibility of up to five more years behind bars if he violates release conditions.

The victims name has been blacked out of public copies of court records on grounds that it was a family violence crime.

The plea agreement calls for Judge David P. Gold to issue a no contact protective order when he imposes sentence, requiring Arslanian to stay away from the victim, as he has been while the case was in court.

The slashing occurred in a room at the Motel 6 on Hazard Avenue on Oct. 21, 2021.

A report by Enfield police Detective Brian Callaghan includes no psychiatric diagnosis for Arslanian. But it contains extensive information pointing to the possibility that he was having a psychiatric episode.

The detective quotes Arslanian as initially telling another officer that he was Alex but later denying it and giving another name. He also quotes Arslanian as saying the victim cut his own throat.

Callaghan quotes Arslanian as saying during a brief conversation in a motel stairway, recorded with a body-worn camera, that his family has been making him hallucinate lately. ... He feels that God is controlling his phone. He also said his blood family is planning a strategic attack on him.

In another interview with Callaghan outside the motel room, Arslanian said everything was a blur, the detective reported. As Callaghan walked away, Arslanian said the victim has been telling him untrue things, the detective reported.

Arslanian has been held in lieu of $750,000 bond while the case was in court.

At his October 2021 arraignment, public defender Gabriela Sandoval asked the judge to direct prison officials to provide Arslanian with detoxification. She also said he has served in the Marine Corps, has family in Connecticut, and has a daughter.

Callaghan quoted the victim as saying after undergoing surgery at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield that Arslanian has been having mental health issues recently and that the victim had arranged an appointment for him with a mental health provider.

The victim said Arslanian had left his job the week before, telling his boss he wasnt mentally stable. The victim said he had stayed with Arslanian at the motel the previous night because he thought Arslanian was suicidal.

As they waited in the motel room for Arslanians mental health appointment, the victim said, he got up to go to the bathroom. He said Arslanian grabbed him from behind and slit his throat. He said they struggled and fell to the ground and that he managed to get away and run to the motel lobby for help.

The victim said Arslanian had never been violent in the past, the detective reported.

(c)2023 Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.

Visit Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn. at www.journalinquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(Tribune News Service)  A Michigan man has pleaded guilty to making false statements in his security clearance application for a job working with the U.S. Navy overseas, federal officials announced Thursday.

Federal officials said the false statements were an attempt to conceal contacts with members of the Taiwanese Navy and a Taiwanese company.

Yifei Chus plea hearing was held Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, records show.

The 57-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts listed in an indictment filed in January: making false statements and falsifying records in a federal investigation.

He faces up to five years in prison on the false statements charge and 20 years on the falsifying records charge, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a statement.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 15 before U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts.

Chu, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Taiwan and recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employee, applied for a three-year detailed assignment to the U.S. Embassy in Singapore working for the U.S. Navy, according to a criminal complaint filed in October.

He was required to apply for a security clearance; Chu made several false statements in his application during an interview with federal background investigators and in an affidavit he signed, authorities claimed in court documents.

Chus false statements were made to hide his extensive contacts with members of the Taiwanese Navy and a Taiwanese company, federal officials said Thursday. These contacts included the fact that Chu was hired by the Taiwanese company to provide consulting services on a classified Taiwanese Navy project, was paid money by the Taiwanese company, and that he traveled to Taiwan on multiple occasions to meet with members of the Taiwanese Navy on a military base in Taiwan in performance of his consulting services.

Chu, also known as Philip, was born in Taiwan and signed paperwork indicating he had renounced his citizenship in 2008, the FBI reported.

It is vital that those individuals who gain access to classified information related to our national defense are truthful and honest about their connections to foreign governments so that our nations military secrets do not end up in the wrong hands, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said Thursday.

James Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Detroit Field Office, added: This case is about more than just lying on a job application. In order to obtain a position with the U.S. Navy, Chu attempted to hide his extensive contacts with the Taiwanese government, potentially giving them access to our nations classified information and military technology. The FBI continues to work tirelessly to ensure only the most trusted people have access to the U.S. Governments sensitive information. (c)2023 The Detroit News

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The Security forces killed a terrorist and injured two in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in the general area of Noshman, south of Sibi, who were involved in targeting civilians in the area besides harassing coal mine owners.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the security forces had initiated an IBO from March 30 onwards to intercept a group of terrorists operating in Noshman, south of Sibi.

The forces, based on credible information, laid multiple ambushes along different routes in the area frequented by terrorists for the last two days.

Resultantly, a party of three terrorists was intercepted while moving toward their hideout. However, on being blocked, they opened fire on the security forces.

During the ensuing heavy exchange of fire, one terrorist was killed, two others were injured, and a cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered.

Pakistan Army, in step with the nation, remains determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability, and progress in Balochistan, the ISPR said.
105 years have passed since the genocide committed against Azerbaijanis by Armenian Dashnaks together with Bolsheviks, APA reports.

The mass massacres that began in Baku on the night of March 30, 1918 resulted in the murder of nearly 20,000 innocent people, including a large number of elderly, women and children.

During the massacre that lasted from March 30 until April 2, Armenian Bolsheviks led by Stepan Shaumian killed thousands of people, burnt Muslim shrines, and confiscated the 400-million-manat estate of Baku residents.

During the mass massacres, the most magnificent mosque of the city Tazapir mosque was subjected to incessant cannon fire, Armenians burned the "Ismailiyya" building, one of the most magnificent architectural pearls of Baku.

The policy of genocide against Azerbaijanis was not limited to only Baku. On March 31, Armenian Dashnaks killed 8,027 Azerbaijanis, including 2,560 women and 1,277 children in 53 villages in the Shamakhi region.

The number of innocent Azerbaijanis killed in 162 villages of Guba was more than 16 thousand. Armenian Dashnaks burned thousands of villages in Lankaran, Mughan region and Karabakh and brutally murdered tens of thousands of people.

The Special Investigation Commission, set by the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic on 15 July 1918, collected plenty of documents and submitted them to the government. In 1919, the Parliament of Azerbaijan adopted a decision to mark March 31 as the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis.

Though this bloody day was forgotten during the Soviet period, a series of investigations were carried out into the crimes committed on 31 March 1918, and numerous books were published after Azerbaijan gained its independence.

President Heydar Aliyev signed a decree on 26 March 1998 to declare March 31 as the 'Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis'.

Events, commemorative ceremonies, and conferences are held in various countries of the world on this occasion.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Azerbaijan is developing programs to turn the country into an international hub for energy, including green energy, MP of Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis (Parliament), Doctor of Economics, Professor Rufat Guliyev told Trend.

According to him, their implementation is indeed important, as it contributes to the inflow of foreign currency into the national economy, the opening of new jobs, and the further growth of the country's image in the international arena.

Guliyev noted that Azerbaijan's national interests always come first in the country's international projects and politics.

He said that Azerbaijan is one of the countries that successfully extracts hydrocarbons and supplies them.

Meanwhile, Doctor of Philosophy in Economics Ilgar Velizade told Trend, Azerbaijan is on the way to forming a green energy agenda.

He noted that in recent years, a fairly effective infrastructure has been created in Azerbaijan, which is focused on the supply of large volumes of green energy to European markets.

"In addition, Azerbaijan attracts funds from foreign investors for the implementation of these projects, in particular, from such companies as MASDAR, Acwa Power, BP, and others specializing in the production of this type of energy. The number of projects and initiatives for the construction of solar and wind power plants is also growing day by day. A significant part of them is on the territory of the Absheron Peninsula and near the city of Baku," he said.

"This geography is expected to expand with the help of the resources of the Caspian Sea and liberated territories. The total potential of Azerbaijan's green energy production capacity exceeds 200,000 megawatts," Velizade said.
Woman suspected of having controlled laundering and money mules

Commercial ships were used to bring goods from Vietnam and China to western Africa. Stock photo   Getty Images

A woman who is considered a key figure in the so-called Black Axe crime group has been arrested.

The suspect (40), who is based in Clondalkin, west Dublin, remained in custody yesterdayat a garda station.

She was being questioned by fraud squad officers about allegedly directing the activities of a major criminal organisation.

A total of around 10m in fraud-related cash is believed to have passed through several bank accounts she allegedly controlled between 2017 and 2019.

Her arrest is considered one of the most significant yet under Operation Skein, the investigation being run by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB).

Its suspected money was used to bulk-buy items such as cars, expensive clothes and machinery for delivery to Nigeria

The woman is understood to have become a significant player in Black Axe through her involvement in organised prostitution in Dublin.

She is suspected of having a male employee of one of the countrys main banks working for her, and allegedly used this person while controlling a major money-mule and money-laundering operation.

This man was previously arrested by the GNECB, and a file is being prepared for the DPP in relation to him.

The woman is alleged to have set up a fake business that was registered to her and that she used to manage money-mule accounts. It is claimed she told gang members to lodge money in those accounts.

There can be no doubt the suspect in custody right nowis way higher above the food chain than the bank employee who was previously lifted, a source said. A total of around 10m is suspected to have gone through accounts linked to her, including almost 7m in her business account.

Detectives have said the suspect has no significant trappings of wealth.

Virtually all the cash that went through the bank accounts has been transferred out of the country in what is known as trade-based money-laundering.

This involves using business transactions to try to legitimise the illicit origins of proceeds of crime.

Commercial ships were used to bring goods from Vietnam and China to western Africa. Stock photo   Getty Images

In the womans case, it is suspected the money was used to bulk-buy items including cars, expensive clothes, machinery and pharmaceutical equipment from China and Vietnam, among other countries, and then transferred out of her bank accounts.

Sources said these high-value items would arrive on container ships in Nigeria, where Black Axe has its base, and be distributed from there.

The money allegedly came into the womans accounts from the proceeds of mainly international but sometimes Irish invoice re-direct fraud, romance scams, rental frauds and other crimes.

Black Axe is considered one of the worlds biggest and most far-reaching crime syndicates.

An Garda Siochana is playing a key role in an international police operation involving Europol and other law enforcement agencies targeting the organisation.

The woman was arrested on Monday, and her period of detention was extended by a judge late on Tuesday night. She can be held for up to seven days.
In response, the judge said he emphatically rejected Mr Burkes complaints

Enoch Burke has alleged a judge laughed, mocked and ridiculed him after he sought to raise concerns over the disclosure of documents to him by Wilsons Hospital School.

The sacked schoolteachers complaints that he was unjustly barred from the court and denied a fair hearing were outlined in an email to a High Court registrar, read out in court today by Mr Justice Alexander Owens.

In response, the judge said he emphatically rejected Mr Burkes complaints and said the issues raised regarding disclosure had been addressed to his satisfaction by a lawyer for the school.

He also described Mr Burkes conduct in court earlier this week as completely and utterly unacceptable.

Mr Burke was excluded from the courtroom on Tuesday after being found in contempt in the face of the court after refusing to accept a ruling by Mr Justice Owens. The judge had rejected his arguments on the discovery issue as flimsy.

The teacher had repeatedly raised his voice, talked over the judge and counsel for the school and refused to sit down when directed to do so.

Since then the trial of the action against him by the school and his counterclaim have been proceeding in his absence. It is expected to conclude today.

The court has to decide whether the school correctly invoked a disciplinary process against Mr Burke and if it was correct to suspend him following incidents in which he publicly voiced opposition to a request that teachers address a transgender student by a new name and by they/them pronouns.

The teacher, who is an evangelical Christian, objected on religious grounds and alleges his suspension and subsequent dismissal was unlawful.

Mr Burke has been told by the judge he can return to the trial if he gives an undertaking to abide by rulings of the court.

However, although he and his sister Ammi were seen in the vicinity of the Four Courts today, he has not tried to re-enter the trial, which is now in its fourth and final day.

The judge had been hearing closing arguments from Mark Connaughton SC for the Co Westmeath schools board of management when the court was informed an email had been received from Mr Burke.

In the correspondence, Mr Burke again outlined claims that an email between the schools former principal Niamh McShane and the chair of its board of management, John Rogers, contained in discovery documents, had been tampered with.

He also claimed minutes of various board meetings had not been disclosed and that WhatsApp messages between Ms McShane and Mr Rogers were only partially discovered as they did not include attachments or screenshots.

When I raised these issues at the beginning of the hearing on Tuesday I was repeatedly laughed at, mocked and ridiculed by the judge who refused to make any orders in relation to the matter, he wrote.

He [the judge] stated: I hold all the cards in relation to this and you hold none of them.

He said my arguments were flimsy and that there was no evidence the school had been suppressing documents.

The email continued: I was subsequently barred by the judge from participating further in the hearing until I agreed to accept his rulings, inter alia that the issues I had raised were flimsy and stupid and a waste of time.

This was enforced by the gardai who refused to let me re-enter the courtroom when proceedings resumed at 2pm.

Mr Burke claimed that solicitors for the board had purported to address the issues he had raised in a subsequent email to him. However, almost all the issues remain unchanged, he claimed.

Despite my wholehearted desire to see this case progress, it is unconscionable that the trial has been allowed to proceed in these circumstances, he said.

Later in the email, he said: In order to participate in this hearing, the judge has made it a condition that I accept the issues I have raised are flimsy and stupid and a waste of time.

It is not possible for me to accept this. It is unacceptable the judge would proceed with the trial in the full knowledge of the alteration and suppression of documentation by the board of management. I am gravely concerned by the actions of the judge in this matter.

I have unjustly barred from the trial and have been denied a fair hearing in the matter.

Mr Justice Owens said he wished to reject emphatically all of the points made by Mr Burke.

I repeat again that Mr Burkes conduct on Monday was completely and utterly unacceptable.

Sometimes it is necessary to be direct with people who deal with one unfairly. I thought I was being dealt with unfairly by Mr Burke. It is necessary to call a spade a spade.

Mr Justice Owens said it was occasionally necessary for a judge to not to be too polite about these things and to drive home the message by whatever means are appropriate.

He said the discovery issues had been addressed to my satisfaction by Alex White SC, counsel for the board of management.

The judge said if Mr Burke had a legitimate concern, he was at liberty to come into court at any stage, provided he first indicate he is prepared to abide by the rulings of the court.

The hearing continues.
Ionut Ciobanu (36) had a significant addiction at the time gardai found 4,500 worth of plants and cannabis in a search at his home.

A man caught growing cannabis plants in his bedroom had turned to cultivating the drug when it became difficult to come by during the pandemic.

Ionut Ciobanu (36) had a significant addiction at the time gardai found 4,500 worth of plants and cannabis in a search at his home.

Ciobanu, of Esker Park, Lucan, pleaded guilty to cultivating the drug.

Judge Treasa Kelly gave him a four-month sentence, suspended for a year, but struck out a sale or supply charge after hearing it was not a commercial enterprise.

Dublin District Court heard gardai searched Ciobanus bedroom on November 7, 2021, and found 1,368 of cannabis in four glass jars, and plants valued at 3,200 in tents that had been adapted for cultivation. The court heard the valuation made was what the plants would be on maturity.

Straight out of the gate Ciobanu had told gardai what they would find and how they would find it, his solicitor Niall Walsh said.

The majority of the drugs found were for his own use but he accepted he shared it on occasion with other people in the house.

The accused had been on anti-depressants for mental health issues but didnt like the way they made him feel, then made a very stupid decision with hindsight that he was going to self-medicate, Mr Walsh said.

During the pandemic, cannabis was more difficult to come by so he decided to cultivate it. He was smoking 25g to 30g of the drug a week at the time.

Ciobanu accepted it was a very large valuation for the district court to deal with but it was not a commercial enterprise and he got a jolt from what happened.

The accused, who was now clean, had a diploma in software development and was a constructive member of society, Mr Walsh said.

Judge Kelly said it was a significant amount of drugs but the accused had since made good strides.
Seema Banu told a security guard after her husband beat her that he forced the family to move to Ireland, an inquest has heard

A mother who was found dead in her Dublin home along with the bodies of her two children raised concerns that her husband would kill her nearly two years before their deaths.

Seema Banu also told a security guard after her husband beat her that he "tortures her all of the time" and that he forced the family to move to Ireland, an inquest has heard.

Ms Banu (37), her daughter Asfira (11) and her son Faizan (6) were found dead in their home at Llewellyn Court in Ballinteer, Co Dublin, on October 28, 2020.

Sameer Syed, her husband and the children's father, was charged with the three murders but died by suicide a week before he was due to stand trial last year.

Sameer Syed's claims are 'completely and utterly rejected' by garda investigators. (Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins)

This morning, the Dublin Coroners Court heard from a security worker who gave evidence that Seema Banu said her husband beat and tortured her while describing him as a "very dangerous man".

Two of Ms Banu's relatives have travelled to Dublin from India for the inquest listened to proceedings with the aid of an interpreter.

Kamran Khan, a security guard at Dunnes Stores in Sandyford, was in the store on Christmas Eve in 2018, when a colleague asked him to speak to a woman who was crying.

The woman, who the court heard was Seema Banu, spoke Hindi and Mr Khan spoke Urdu, which he said is a similar language.

Evidence was given that she told him: "My husband is beating me and my kids very badly." She also said that her husband "tortures her all of the time" and that they hadn't eaten since the previous evening.

Staff gave the family food and gardai were called.

Mr Khan told the inquest that Ms Banu also kept saying to him: "I want to go back to India" and that she had no family here.

She also told him that her husband had worked in Dubai and that they moved to Ireland where he had promised them "a new life" and that he would "keep you happy".

The family were in the store for around two hours, the witness said, and during that time they were all crying while the children also said they were beaten by their father.

Ms Banu also said her husband "will kill me he is very dangerous" and "I don't want to leave with him, he will kill me."

During the incident Sameer Syed was outside and not allowed into the store by a member of staff.

Gardai arrived and spoke with the family before they were taken away, he told the court.

Mr Khan said he saw the family a number of times at the store over the following weeks and said they were "not close" and "quiet".

He also gave evidence that he caught Sameer Syed shoplifting on another occasion.

Retired garda Aisling Long said she responded to the incident on Christmas Eve at 3.15pm.

She said Seema Banu reported that her husband beat her that morning but didn't want to make a statement of complaint against him, adding that she just wanted to go back to India.

Evidence was given that Ms Banu told gardai her husband had "forcefully" brought the family to Ireland two weeks earlier and that he had beaten her "every day" since arriving here.

This included slapping her in the face, holding her throat, and saying nasty words to her.

Her daughter, Asfira, also confirmed to Gda Long that she was hit in the face by her father.

The witness said that the family were brought to Dundrum garda station where gardai spoke to them about the abuse.

Seema Banu was later accompanied to her apartment in the Beacon South Quarter by gardai to collect her and her children's belongings, which Gda Long believed included passports.

The mother had also informed gardai that she did not have the finances to return to India.

Sameer Syed was in the house at the time and the couple spoke briefly in Hindi in front of gardai.

Gda Long said they didn't appear to be fighting and that they were speaking "softly" with one another.

The mother and her children were then brought to the Sonas refuge in Blanchardstown.

When Gda Long rang the facility several days later, she was informed that the family had returned home on Christmas Day.

Gardai carried out a number of follow up checks and referrals for both children were also sent to the Child and Family agency Tusla.

Gda Long added that she spoke to Seema Banu around two months later, who informed her she was doing okay.

At the beginning of the proceedings the Coroner, Dr Claire Keane, told the eight-person jury that the court could not blame or exonerate a person of responsibility.

The jury were told that Det Sgt Rachel Kilpatrick, of Dundrum garda station, accompanied Sameer Syed to the City mortuary two days after the deaths.

She said he identified the bodies of his wife and children and was given private time with them after each identification was made.

The inquest continues this afternoon.
The jury of nine men and three women returned their majority verdict to Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring this afternoon

A 33-year-old man who stabbed a man in his own home in self defence because he believed his life was in danger has been acquitted of murder by a jury at the Central Criminal Court.

The jury of nine men and three women returned their majority verdict to Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring this afternoon, agreeing with the defence case that Matusz Batiuk was entitled to defend himself when he came under attack in his own home. They had deliberated for a total of nine hours and 54 minutes over three days.

Mr Batiuk had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Michael McDonagh (24) at a housing estate in Swinford on November 16, 2020.

Ms Justice Ring thanked the jury for their service in what she described as a very difficult trial and excused the panel from jury service for a period of ten years.

Mr McDonagh died from a single stab wound to his stomach which severed the iliac artery and caused rapid, fatal blood loss.

In his closing address to the jury, defence counsel Vincent Heneghen SC said the accuseds first words during a 999 call after he stabbed Michael McDonagh were I did it in self defence and he had maintained that position throughout his garda interviews.

However, the prosecution had contended that when Mr Batiuk took a knife and plunged it into Michael McDonagh, he did so with the intent of murder.

Mr Batiuk told gardai I did what I did to defend myself and said he never intended to kill Mr McDonagh.

Members of Mr McDonaghs family cried and expressed their shock and upset after the verdict was delivered.

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Bail was set in his bond of 100

A businessman has been granted bail after gardai charged him with possessing almost 100,000 in crime proceeds.

Car dealer Oisin Legaspi, 38, with an address in Dublin 18, appeared before Judge Cormac Dunne at Dublin District Court this morning.

He has two charges for possessing proceeds of crime in two south Dublin banks: 27,000 in an AIB account in Ballsbridge in south Dublin on May 17, 2019, and 70,000 in an AIB in Belfield on September 14, 2018.

The charges are under section seven of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010

The court heard he made no reply to the charges put to him after he was brought to the Bridewell Garda station.

Judge Dunne noted the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed trial on indictment, meaning the case would be heard in the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers.

He said he would grant a lengthy adjournment to allow the State to prepare the book of evidence.

Judge Dunne noted there was no objection to bail subject to conditions Detective Sergeant Nuala Burke sought.

He ordered Mr Legaspi to sign on once a week at a south Dublin garda station, surrender his passport and not associate with three other individuals whose names were not read out.

Bail was set in his bond of 100, and he was ordered to appear again in June to be served with a book of evidence and returned for trial.

He is yet to indicate a plea.
The knife used to stab the alleged victim has been described as having a 21 centimetre (eight inch) blade

AN Irishman has been arrested over the stabbing of a compatriot at a holiday apartment in the Costa Blanca resort of Benidorm.

The victim was seriously injured after being knifed in the shoulder.

Police have confirmed the incident and the arrest.

A spokesman for Benidorms local police force said in a short statement: Our officers have arrested an Irish national on suspicion of stabbing a compatriot.

Fortunately the victim is now out of danger.

The arrest occurred around lunchtime on Wednesday at an apartment complex in the resorts Rincon de Loix area.

The two men are understood to have got into a fight for reasons that have not yet been made public.

Police have confirmed the person held is aged 20 but no details about the victim apart from his nationality have so far been revealed.

Officers found him semi-conscious near the crime scene after he managed to flee his attacker and he was rushed to the Marina Baixa Hospital in Villlajoyosa near Benidorm.

The knife the detained Irishman is said to have used to stab his alleged victim has been described as having a 21 centimetre (eight inch) blade.

It was not immediately clear this morning if the two men knew each other and whether the suspect has already appeared in court for a remand hearing and been sent to prison or released on bail pending an ongoing investigation.

A 68-year-old Irishman died in hospital after a separate stabbing in the same resort last November.

He was rushed to hospital with multiple stab wounds to his chest, abdomen, head and left leg but lost his fight for life hours later.

A 62-year-old British man described at the time as his flatmate was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide and wounding before the other man died.

He was also hospitalised with stab wounds and put under police guard in hospital.

A judge was due to place him under formal investigation for homicide after he recovered from his injuries, although authorities could not provide an immediate update on the case early today.
A total of 23 boxes of eggs were stolen last weekend from the hatch, along with their money box

Gardai are trying to apprehend the thieves.   NurPhoto via Getty Images

Liam Ellis and Sophie who had their honesty box stolen.

Gardai have launched an investigation after two charity fundraising children had their honesty box plundered by robbers in Laois.

The two youngsters, Liam Ellis (11) and his sister Sophie (10) were giving half the takings from their egg selling business to charity and had already raised an incredible 3,000.

"It's really disappointing alright. The kids put a lot of work in feeding and caring for their hens. They're just so disappointed," their mother, Caitriona, said.

Now the generous young pair have been forced to close the honesty box, The Honest Egg which had been running for the past year near Caponellan Woods main road.

"We leave the eggs there and people just get them as they need. The kids deliver to neighbours also but they have over 100 hens, so they had to get another way to sell them," Catriona said.

Liam and Sophie had been leaving the eggs in the small, wooden shed on a grassy verge for people to purchase, as part of their LE Eggs initiative.

A total of 23 boxes of eggs were stolen last weekend from the hatch, along with their money box.

Their mother Catriona said it was the fourth robbery from the childrens heroic efforts, on behalf of Laura- Lynn Hospice.

She also highlighted the wonderful support Liam Ellis and Sophie have received.

People are texting and wanting to give donations and wanting to help. People are great. It is brilliant, everyone has been so supportive and everyone was so honest, she said.

Gardai said they were investigating a theft that occurred at approximately 10am on Sunday 26th March 2023 in the Durrow area of County Laois and enquiries are ongoing.

LauraLynn, Irelands Childrens Hospice, provide specialist palliative care to meet the needs of children with life limiting conditions.

The charity aims to ensure all children and their families have equitable access to palliative care services.

Its not the first time an honesty box has gone missing in Ireland this year, with locals reporting the theft of a poor box from a south-west Dublin church last month.

The priest was reported to have chased a group of youths up the road in an effort to reclaim their ill-gotten gains.
Homeless services are operating beyond capacity and rents are skyrocketing

Latest figures from the Department of Housing show that almost 12,000 people are homeless nationwide, ahead of the ending of the eviction ban on Saturday.

The figures show a new high in the number of homeless, single adults of which there were 5,736  the biggest number since current records began in 2014.

In the capital, the homeless figure currently stands at 8,523, including 2,576 children. 11,742 people were without homes nationwide in February, including 3,373 children.

The Government should do the right thing and reinstate the eviction ban to protect people, it is never too late to reverse a bad decision, said TD Cian OCallaghan.

Average rents currently stand at 1,700 nationwide and 2,300 in Dublin with a collapse in the number of available properties online.

Barely 30 properties were available to rent for people accessing the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) over the last month, according to the Simon Communities of Ireland  the lowest since the charity began recording the numbers in 2015.

A woman walks past the tents of homeless people in Dublin city centre (Niall Carson/PA)   Niall Carson

Mr OCallaghan is Housing spokesperson for the Social Democrats. He spoke about how Government led initiatives aimed at tackling the problem are not being followed.

The Government has justified their callous decision by saying they will ramp up the tenant in-situ purchase scheme to protect renters due to be evicted. However, I have spoken to both landlords and renters who are at their wits end trying to access the scheme.

Some local authorities are showing considerable reluctance to purchasing homes and protecting renters from homelessness. There needs to be much clearer direction from the Minister for Housing on this.

The Government must also be a lot more ambitious when it comes to setting its targets. The Department of Housing has stated that it plans to complete 1,500 tenant in-situ purchases for the whole country, with just 400 of these in Dublin city. This target is completely inadequate, Mr OCallaghan said.

Around Dublin city centre, there is currently an unprecedented number of tents in laneways, parks and along the banks of rivers and canals.

Homeless services are operating beyond capacity, rents are skyrocketing and there are thousands of people competing for a handful of rental properties around the country. The eviction ban must be extended or there will be a further spike in people becoming homeless, Mr OCallaghan added.

Meanwhile, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said tenants rights had changed fundamentally and that the lifting of the ban had been a difficult decision for everybody.

If you are at risk of eviction, you will have the right of first refusal to be able to purchase the property.

And that we will extend from the 1st of April, from this weekend, the tenant in situ scheme so that those households in receipt of housing supports can avail of that option.

We need to knuckle down and deliver for the people of this country, as we've done for the last two and a half years, he said.
The animal champion died unexpectedly but peacefully at the age of 67 at home in Kent on Tuesday evening

Paul O'Grady with one of his canine friends. Photo: Channel Four

BELOVED Paul OGrady returns to the small screen for the last time in a brand new series of For the Love of Dogs next month.

The animal champion died unexpectedly but peacefully at the age of 67 at home in Kent on Tuesday evening, it was confirmed by his husband-of-six-years Andre Portasio.

Poignantly, the presenter makes what is now his final outing on the award-winning show when it returns to ITV1 for an 11th season on Thursday 14 April.

Set at the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in south London, the popular documentary series - also aired at a later date on Virgin Media One here - premiered in 2012, and has since seen the part-Irish presenter help to rehome hundreds of down-at-heel dogs.

Better known to some as drag star Lily Savage, kind-hearted Paul is believed to be survived by a fur family of five rescue dogs, Nancy, Arfur, Conchita, Eddie and Sausage, whom he fell in love with on the programme last February.

"I took this hairy little monster home. She's called Sausage, which isn't very original but it doesn't matter as she can't understand a word of English except 'biscuit'," he told followers on Instagram at the time.

The Blankety Blank host also leaves behind a menagerie of animals including chickens, pigs, sheep and goats at the couples Adlington farmhouse.

Describing him as a champion for the underdog, the animal shelter yesterday paid tribute to its most famous ambassador: Battersea will forever remember Paul as a devoted animal lover with the biggest heart, who fell head over heels in love with every dog he met at our centres.

British Queen Consort Camilla, who last year appeared in a special one-off episode to mark 160 years of the charity, was also deeply saddened to hear of his death, following lots of laughter and many waggy-tailed memories, according to a Buckingham Palace statement.

Meanwhile, tributes poured in from the world of showbiz, with pal Lorraine Kelly adding: I always think dogs are the best judge of character and they ADORED him.

A special episode dedicated to the presenter, For the Love of Paul OGrady, is also scheduled to air on Easter Sunday on ITV1.
James Kailedzi, who was originally from Malawi and worked at a well-known hotel in the capital, passed away at home as a result of injuries sustained during the incident last Friday.

Tributes have been paid to a friendly hotel chef who died following an altercation in Dublin city centre.

James Kailedzi, who was originally from Malawi and worked at a well-known hotel in the capital, passed away at home as a result of injuries sustained during the incident last Friday.

He is described as the beloved son of Grace and Odilo who will be sadly missed by his loving parents, brothers Timothy and Charles (CJ), sister Liz, loving son Caleb, nephews, nieces, extended family and friends.

Tributes have continued to pour in for James, who has been described as always friendly.

Rest in peace James nicest fella ever, one mourner wrote. Doesnt pass you without saying hello.

Wishing his family peace, comfort and courage during this time of sorrow, another said.

One mourner wrote: James was always humble and friendly rest in peace! Legend.

Another added: I've only known you a couple months in work but you spoke so lovingly for your son, rest in peace.

His body will be repatriated to Malawi, the Association of Malawians in Ireland have shared.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the process, so James can be accorded a proper send off by his family and loved ones.

I therefore, on behalf of the family and the Malawian Community in Ireland appeal to all friends and well wishers to help us with all funeral processes which includes body repatriation to Malawi, the organiser said.

Gardai have appealed for witnesses who were in the Coppinger Row/South William Street areas in the early hours of March 24.

A garda spokesperson said: Gardai are appealing for witnesses to a public order incident that occurred in the early hours of Friday 24th March 2023 in the Dublin 2 area.

Any persons who may have been in the Coppinger Row/ South William Street areas between 1:15am and 2:30am and witnessed an altercation between a number of males are asked to contact investigating Gardai.

"One of these males (aged in his early 30s) later passed away, at his residence, as a result of injuries sustained.

Two men were arrested in relation to the incident and have since been released without charge. A file is being prepared for the DPP.

"Any persons travelling in the Coppinger Row/William Street areas between 1:15am and 2:30am who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) are asked to make this footage available to Gardai, the garda spokesperson added.

"Anyone with any information that can assist Gardai with this investigation are asked to contact Pearse Street Garda Station on 01 6669000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
Michael Gallaghers son was one of those victims and was just 21 years old when his life was taken by the dissident gang headed up by McKevitt.

29 innocent people and two unborn twins lost their lives in the Omagh bombing   PA

The father of Omagh bomb victim Aidan Gallagher has spoken of his disgust over recent revelations that MI5 did not want the boss of the Real IRA arrested.

Michael McKevitt, the leader of the RIRA, was one of the men behind the bombing that took the lives of 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins in 1998.

Michael Gallaghers son was one of those victims and was just 21 years old when his life was taken by the dissident gang headed up by McKevitt.

The family of the happy-go-lucky mechanic have never recovered from their loss but news that McKevitt was allowed to remain on the streets with permission from both MI5 and the FBI has left them sickened, the thought that another family could suffer like them unbearable.

This is just shocking news, to think that the people who should have stopped people like that man were happy to keep him on the streets is disgusting, Michael Gallagher told the Sunday World.

Michael Gallagher whose son Aiden was killed in the Omagh Bomb

What happened to my family and the other victims of Omagh could have happened again, they were playing with peoples lives and that is hard to hear, to understand, it is disgusting, .

Its just shocking to think that they had high-level information about that man, why not bring him before the courts straight away? Why let him walk the streets?

The fact MI5 was willing to let the leader of a deadly group responsible for the deaths of 31 innocent people walk free for a second is just horrendous, he said.

The campaigning father believes the Omagh bombing could have been prevented if the likes of Mickey McKevitt had been arrested and jailed and that their dissident activities that were well known.

My son and all those who lost their lives that day in Omagh should be here today. I have lived 25 years of knowing my son would be here with us today with a family of his own if the intelligence had been acted upon. It was a failure. It seems to me they (MI5 and FBI) were happy to let this happen, he said.

Adrian Gallagher (21), who died in the Omagh bomb

We need to know to what extent the RUC and politicians knew about this  the wider public had, and have, the right to know. Why were we not protected, why was it not stopped before the deaths and destruction were brought into our lives? What people had the power? Its just soul destroying,

Last week it was revealed a US trucker who spied on the dissident group stated the security services did not want McKevitt arrested.

David Rupert infiltrated the Real IRA for the FBI and MI5.

His undercover evidence was used in 2003 to prosecute McKevitt, who died two years ago of cancer.

Rupert has claimed MI5 wanted to keep gathering intelligence and did not want to arrest McKevitt after the Omagh bomb.

Rupert, who ran a trucking company in Chicago, first visited Ireland in 1992.

When an FBI agent arrived at his Chicago office in the summer of 1994, Rupert at first thought he had come to talk about the trucking business, but the agent raised the subject of Ireland and his friendship with hardline republican Joe ONeill.

Recalling that meeting, Rupert said: Im thinking, Sweet Jesus, I wouldnt have done anything really illegal but the grey area was my specialty. Would you come to work for us? he asked. I said, No man, I dont need to get on the bad side of a foreign terrorist organisation.

Michael McKevitt

The first IRA ceasefire of 1994 meant someone like Rupert would be a valuable asset to the FBI.

With US President Bill Clinton heavily invested in the peace process, the White House needed to know from their own spies on the ground if breakaway republicans such as Joe ONeill, who was aligned to a group known as the Continuity IRA, would fill the vacuum.

The FBI agent returned to Ruperts office with a new proposition  the FBI would pay for his trips to Ireland in return for information.

This eventually led to the US trucker and his wife Maureen moving to Ireland to run a pub in County Leitrim, financed by the FBI.

The value was it allowed me to become ingrained in the IRA population and to become accepted, said Rupert.

By early 1997, the couple was no longer running the pub but the FBIs investment in the trucker turned spy had paid off.

He had become trusted by ONeills Continuity IRA group, and he had also positioned himself as the bagman for their US fundraising effort, regularly delivering thousands of dollars from Chicago to ONeills group in Ireland.

The Real IRA was formed in 1997 by Michael McKevitt, who left the Provisional IRA in fury over the direction of the peace process.

McKevitt, the man who had been in charge of the Provisional IRAs arsenal for decades, saw peace talks as a sell-out and was determined to continue the war against the British.

In 1999, McKevitt not only brought Rupert into his secret army to help him fund his terror, he spoke in detail during what was only their second meeting about his plans to bomb Britain.

Rupert was then appointed to the top table of the Real IRAs army council.

MI5 wanted to keep it going for ever, said Rupert The FBI won. I mean they won the argument. It was more important to MI5 to have a thumb on the pulse than it is to go arrest a couple of people and prosecute them.

In early 2001, in a top-secret meeting in Dublin, Rupert made a detailed statement to Gardai who were building a case to prosecute McKevitt.

Rupert went on to face the Real IRA leader in a Dublin court and in August 2003, McKevitt was sentenced to 20 years in prison for directing the activities of the Real IRA.

I was just doing a job. And doing a job that I viewed as doing for good to stop them from killing people, he said.
Trump becomes first former U.S. president to face criminal charges

The case involves payments made to actress Stormy Daniels after an affair she said she had with Trump.

Donald Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges.   AP

Donald and Melania Trump stepped out in their Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate as MAGA supporters surrounded the former presidents home in response to his indictment on charges of him paying hush money to a porn star.

Local media reported that police were stationed outside the front gate of Mar-a-Lago a few hours before the former president was indicted by a New York grand jury.

A few dozen people also reportedly showed up to offer support to Mr Trump, waving Trump and MAGA flags.

The crowd played the song God Bless the USA, CNN reported.

Mr Trump is the first former president in US history to face criminal charges after the Manhattan grand jury investigating his role in a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels voted to indict him.

He was indicted on charges of falsifying business records stemming from payments he made to Ms Daniels to prevent her from revealing an affair he had with her before the 2016 election. He is expected to surrender himself to prosecutors next week and has vowed to fight the charges, as he prepares for another presidential run.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the former president called key allies on Capitol Hill to shore up support before his indictment  including members of House GOP leadership and lawmakers.

The case involves payments made to actress Stormy Daniels after an affair she said she had with Trump.

It was reported that Mr Trump told his allies that he plans to fight the charges.

This is literally legal voodoo, this is political persecution, this is a combination of political hatred and selective prosecution on steroids, Republican senator Lindsey Graham said on Fox News.

He added: Give the president some money to fight this bulls**t.

Meanwhile, prosecutor Alvin Bragg said in a statement on Thursday that his office has been in touch with Mr Trumps attorneys over the former presidents surrender.

This evening we contacted Mr Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected, Mr Bragg said.

For the first time in our countrys history, a president (current or former) of the United States has been indicted. I take no pride in issuing this statement and wish to also remind everyone of the presumption of innocence; as provided by the due process clause, Michael Cohen said.

The charges from an investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg come as Trump seeks the Republican nomination to run again in 2024.

The specific charges are not yet known, as the indictment remains under seal. CNN reported Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

Trump said he was "completely innocent" and indicated he would not drop out of the race. He accused Bragg, a Democrat, of trying to hurt his chances of winning re-election.

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," he said in a statement.

Shortly after, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defence. He has raised over $2 million, according to his campaign, since he incorrectly predicted on March 18 that he would be arrested four days later.

The charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days. Trump will have to travel to Manhattan for fingerprinting and other processing at that point.

Bragg's office said it had contacted Trump's attorney to coordinate a surrender, which a court official said would likely occur next Tuesday.

Trump's lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said they will "vigorously fight" the charges.

The Manhattan investigation is one of several legal challenges facing Trump.

Bragg successfully prosecuted Trump's business last year on tax-fraud charges, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty.

The presiding judge in that case, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, is expected to oversee this case as well, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The charges could hurt Trump's presidential comeback attempt, as the mug shot from his arraignment and any visuals from his courtroom appearances could provide fodder for rivals.

Trump could use the case to stoke anger among his core supporters, though other Republican voters might tire of the drama.

Some 44% of Republicans said he should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.

Trump's allies and fellow Republicans blasted the indictment as politically motivated, while Democrats said he is not immune from the rule of law.

Even potential presidential rivals voiced support for Trump. "This will only serve to divide our country," Trump's former vice president Mike Pence said on CNN.

The White House declined to comment.

Outside the courthouse, several protesters silently held signs criticizing Trump. Authorities bolstered security around the courthouse after Trump called for nationwide protests on March 18, recalling his charged rhetoric ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

The former president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him. Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.

Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he called a "simple private transaction."

"No one is above the law," Daniels' lawyer Clark Brewster said on Twitter.

Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said he acted at Trump's direction.

Cohen said he stood by his testimony and the evidence he provided to prosecutors. "Accountability matters," he said in a statement.

No former or sitting U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges.

Aside from this case, Trump faces two criminal investigations by a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and another criminal probe by a local prosecutor in Georgia.

Trump has escaped legal peril numerous times. In the White House, he weathered two attempts by Congress to remove him from office, including for the Jan. 6, assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, as well as a years-long probe into his campaign's contacts with Russia in 2016.

In last year's tax-fraud case, Bragg targeted Trump's business but declined to charge Trump himself with financial crimes, prompting two prosecutors who worked on the probe to resign.

In the hush-money case, legal experts say that Bragg might have to rely on untested legal theories to argue Trump falsified business records to cover up other crimes, such as violating federal campaign-finance law.

Trump leads his early rivals for his party's nomination, holding the support of 44% of Republicans in a March Reuters/Ipsos poll, compared with 30% support for his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has yet to announce his candidacy. President Joe Biden is expected to seek re-election.
If she shot her way into that school from the outside, my guard, who is tucked away, armed, and unseen, would have seen her and taken her down

Conor McGregor has revealed that he has hired an armed guard to safeguard his children while they attend school in the US.

The Dubliner is currently with his fiancee Dee Devlin and his three children in Las Vegas, where he is working on the show The Ultimate Fighter.

This week, six people were shot dead in a private Christian school in Nashville.

Three nine-year-old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, were among the victims, while three adults named Katherine Koonce, Michael Hill, and Cynthia Peak, also lost their lives in the tragedy.

Referring to the recent tragedy, McGregor revealed in a series of deleted tweets that he had hired someone to protect his kids while he was in the US.

"Amber alert to my phone while here in Orlando," he said.

"A smart and quick setup that alerts everyone there is a child missing and with a full description and details also. Very smart. I would like to see armed protection at each school also.

"I have had my children at school here while stateside and have had my own armed guard present at the school. This was prior to the most recent school shooting also.

"If she shot her way into that school from the outside, my guard, who is tucked away, armed, and unseen, would have seen her and taken her down. Saving those children's lives.

"May God and his best people on this earth protect our children!"

The disturbed individual who carried out the killings in Green Hills had warned a friend about their intentions.

The shooter, Nashville resident Audrey Hale, had no previous criminal record before opening fire, authorities said.

Police have said Hale (28) was transgender and had sent Instagram messages describing not wanting to live anymore.

Audrey Hale killed six.

Joe Biden responded to the latest school shooting with a renewed call for gun-control legislation, but his wish to pass new reforms are faced with stern opposition.

"We have to do more to stop gun violence. It's ripping our communities apart. I call on Congress again to pass my assault weapons ban. It's about time to begin to make some more progress," the US President said.Nashville mayor, John Cooper, said the US has a problem with the cult of the gun.

"The country needs to pick itself up and say no to an assault weapons lobby that again is making it too available and too convenient and too first of mind for people to go out and commit terrible acts," he said.

The deadly rampage on Monday morning at Covenant lasted about 14 minutes before the shooter was shot and killed by police.

The massacre marked the 19th shooting at a school or university in just the past three months that left at least one person wounded, a CNN count shows.

It was among 130 mass shootings this year in the US with at least four wounded, excluding the shooting, and it was the deadliest US school shooting since last Mays massacre in Uvalde, Texas, left 21 people dead.

A Nashville city councilman also said a witness told him the head of The Covenant School, Katherine Koonce, spent her last moments trying to protect the children in her care.

The witness said Katherine Koonce was on a Zoom call, heard the shots and abruptly ended the Zoom call and left the office. The assumption from there is that she headed towards the shooter, Councilman Russ Pulley said. He did not identify the witness.

Drake, the police chief, said he cant confirm how Koonce died but said, I do know she was in the hallway by herself. There was a confrontation, Im sure. You can tell the way she is lying in the hallway.
Less than one year since its inception, the work of the Police National Retail Investigation Support Unit with districts has resulted in 1000 retail crime charges against 178 offenders.

This is a significant milestone for the unit, which has been fully operational since May 2022, says Matt Tierney, Manager of the National Retail Investigation Support Unit.

Included in this number are the two most prolific retail offenders in the country who were caught last month and racked up 82 charges between them for the more than $300,000 in theft.

New Zealand Police established the NRISU to address patterns of high priority repeat retail offending across the country.

The unit identifies and facilitates the apprehension of the most prolific and harmful retail crime offenders nationwide.

We are a small unit with three investigators and one intelligence support officer who focus on the worst recidivist offenders, says Matt.

We then work with districts to hold them to account.

We have partnered with the retail sector and crime prevention organisations to draw on data, identify patterns, and work with our local staff to address repeat offending.

And weve had results.

Retail crime costs the sector $1 billion a year and this has a huge impact on our retail communities and the staff confronted with crime when they are working.

Its a great feeling to know weve laid these charges and stopped these people from causing harm in our communities..

Dovetailing with the work of the unit, Auckland and Waikato have also had operations underway with a focus on youth offending and retail crime.

Operation Rhino in Auckland and Operation Pryor in Waikato have resulted in significant arrests and seen a corresponding decrease in unlawful taking of motor vehicles.

As of March 9, 2023, there had been 607 prosecutions and 257 youth referrals since January 2022 in relation to these operations.

Operation Trump Card in Wellington also had a part focus on retail crime.

As well as these operations, right across the country Police staff are working every day on both preventing and charging retail offending.

Working with our communities on prevention is also a key piece of this puzzle, says Chris de Wattignar, Assistant Commissioner iwi and communities.

Polices Retail Crime Prevention Programme delivers protective equipment, and additional prevention advice for retailers, to reduce the risk of harm.

We see the distress that retail crime and ram raid style burglaries and robberies cause retailers and communities.

As well as responding to these incidents with significant investigative action, we work closely with retailers on prevention.

As at March 29, 2352 security interventions have been approved for eligible stores previously ram raided, or that have had an aggravated robbery, and allocated to contractors. Of these 2,352 interventions, 810 have been completed and invoiced by contractors.

This includes 156 fog cannons, 127 security sirens, 133 alarms, 222 CCTV systems or system upgrades, 65 bollards or similar security measures, 65 roller doors, and 45 other interventions that include improved lighting/strengthened windows.

This is a complex matter and Police cannot solve it alone.

We need a coordinated partnership approach with agencies, communities, iwi, and social service providers working together to prevent this offending, says Chris.
From April 1, catch limits for Northlands rock lobster fishery will reduce by 21 tonnes.

Rock lobsters, also known as spiny red rock lobster, crayfish, and koura, are a taonga for tangata whenua and a popular species for commercial and recreational fishers.

They provide food for whanau, support valuable export markets and local economies, and provide jobs in our communities, says Emma Taylor, Director Fisheries Management.

Rock lobster also play an important role in ecosystems as predators, feeding on a wide range of prey including kina (sea urchins).

The reductions to catch limits received ministerial approval following a public consultation and consideration of advice provided by Fisheries New Zealand.

The Ministers decision takes a precautionary approach, and it is expected to increase rock lobster abundance in the fishery so they can contribute to the control of kina populations over time.

In Northland, there is evidence that spiny rock lobster abundance is below a level that enables them to play their part in controlling kina populations, which in high abundance are known to cause kina barrens, resulting in less biologically diverse marine habitats.

Well continue to assess the effectiveness of the new catch settings on rock lobster abundance and consider if a further review is require for April 2024, says Emma.

The changes, which come into effect at the start of the new fishing year, on April 1 include:

The total allowable catch (TAC) decreases by 21 tonnes to 172 tonnes.

This reduces the commercial limit by 16 tonnes to 89 tonnes, and the recreational allowance by five tonnes to 22 tonnes.

The customary Maori allowance and the allowance for all other mortality, such as illegal take, will remain the same.

From April 15, the recreational daily bag limit will reduce from six to three spiny rock lobster per fisher per day to manage recreational take within the new allowance.

The decision follows a consultation held earlier this year, as part of Fisheries New Zealands regular review of sustainability measures, and responds to findings in a recent High Court judgment on last years decision for the fishery.

Copy of the submissions received, can be found on MPIs website: Review of sustainability measures for fisheries  April 2023 round
Police has released two sets of ram raid data here.

The first set is Text Mined Operational Offence Statistics, created to be able to report against questions regarding historic and current volumes of ram raids, and to compare against other crime types.

It initially included only retail ram raids but in January 2023 was retrospectively widened to include both retail and commercial ram raid data.

The second set is Individually Reviewed File Programme Data created with the end goal of determining whether retail outlets might be eligible to be supported through the Retail Crime Prevention Programme.

This data holds reviewed instances as far back as January 1, 2021.

Police offence codes are based on the Crimes Act, and there is no specific offence for ram raids.

This means to bring together this ram raid specific information, police has text mined data and searched and reviewed files.

Assistant Commissioner Bruce OBrien says given a ram raid doesnt have its own offence code, it makes automatic collation of the data for statistics challenging

When youre trying to measure something specific you dont have a category for, its always going to be harder and more complex.

However, weve come up with two solutions and they both work for their specific purposes.

The data is drawn from live data sets for both.

Because operational information can be updated, numbers in each can change depending on when the data is sourced.

Police operational data will always be live data that can change as investigations progress.

From an operational perspective this is not an issue as the pattern of offences will be visible at the local and district level, and policing deployment choices and investigations will follow.

Our focus is on having information which will support our people to do their jobs  preventing crime and holding offenders to account.

I am confident the data we have is supporting our people to do that.

At the same time, its important to recognise that police alone cannot solve some of the complex societal issues at play.

We are committed to working with our partners and communities as we know we dont hold all the answers.
Mouth-watering bienmesabe: sweet or savoury? It is not an April fools joke. In Antequera, order the dish and you get a sponge-based pudding but ask for it in Cadiz and youll be served fish

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Bienmesabe confuses many people, even Spanish, who think that waiters are making fun of them by serving a savoury fish dish instead of a sweet dessert, or in reverse. This is not a prank. Bienmesabe is the same name for different dishes, with different ingredients. In Malaga province, bienmesabe is a sponge-based pudding, and in the neighbouring Cadiz, it is what they call a marinated dogfish, or rather shark. The word is a conglomeration of three Spanish words (bien, me, sabe) meaning it tastes good to me. And this is true, because they are both delicious.

Many people, especially for Easter, head to Antequera to try the mouth-watering sweet - bienmesabe Antequerano. It is a typical dessert from this beautiful town to the north of Malaga. Its origins might be Moorish but locals stress that it dates back to 1635. The exact year is known because the Convento de Clausura de Belen de las Monjas Clarisas say that its nuns have been baking bienmesabe for almost 400 years. Honey, egg yolk, ground almonds, cinnamon, sugar and cabello de angel (made from pumpkin pulp) are primary ingredients in the preparation of this sweet. Moreover, there are some versions of the recipe where lemon zest, sweet wine or sherry are also used.

Ampliar The sweet.

In Cadiz province, a fish dish is also known as bienmesabe. This, one of the traditional dishes of Andalusian cuisine, is made from cubes of dogfish, marinated and then fried. Dogfish is translated into Spanish as cazon and is actually a species of shark. Dogfish enjoy the temperate waters of the Andalusian coast including Malaga province. These creatures live in the depths of the ocean and are bottom feeders. With its usual size of only two metres and weighing just about forty-five kilograms  the local shark is quite far from the frightening image of some of their relatives.

In Malaga, marinated dogfish is known as adobo. The name adobo comes from the verb adobar and means marinade. The sauces may vary but are usually based on paprika, oregano, salt, garlic and vinegar. These spices help to preserve and enhance the flavour of dogfish.
Tenerife, an 18th-century explorer's paradise Alexander von Humboldt. The Prussian scientist's travels to the island in 1799 allowed him to collect numerous samples and climb Mount Teide

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The Canary Islands, Spain's outermost region, once acted as a very important laboratory. There they tested how crops would cope on the mainland after being sent from the Americas.

The conditions found on the islands, as well as the attraction of Mount Teide, are what made Prussian naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt keen to make a stop in Tenerife on the way to Central and South America in the late 18th century.

His journey was not like the one that the rich English explorers undertook. On his stop, Humboldt took advantage of this opportunity to explore Tenerife and make an inventory of the island which sits in the shadow of Mount Teide, Spain's highest peak.

Ampliar The town of La Laguna, former capital of Tenerife, pictured at sunset. Photolinda

He walked, observed, and gathered material and new ideas. He stayed for six days, visiting Santa Cruz, La Laguna, Puerto de la Cruz and Orotava Valley. He also climbed Mount Teide.

The German scientist docked in the harbour of Santa Cruz on 19 June 1799. He disembarked from the Pizarro, a corvette lent to him by the Spanish Crown, along with fellow explorer, Aime Bonpland, and the tools and measuring devices that he always had at his side.

In his unusual collection of instruments there was a theodolite, a tool used to measure angles on horizontal and vertical planes; a barometer to measure air pressure; a thermometer; a stopwatch; and a cyanometer, a device for measuring the blueness of the sky. That was not all, however.

He also carried a pair of binoculars, a sextant to measure the angle of any celestial body in relation to the horizon, and a book in which he recorded every single detail that captured his attention: native species such as the Canary dragon tree, lichens, ferns, bushes, flowers that lived at high altitudes, the variation in the climate, among many other questions and observations.

A historical journey

At that time, Santa Cruz was not the capital of the island, or even considered an important city. It was a commercial port where fishermen and poor people lived. From that 'sauna', Humboldt and his fellow companion travelled 15 kilometres to La Laguna, Tenerife's cooler and unfortified capital, located 550 metres above sea level. Its historical centre is well-planned, with wide streets and four-storey volcanic stone buildings with balconies.

After La Laguna, the pair travelled to Puerto de La Orotava which today is known as Puerto de la Cruz.

There they searched for locals to accompany them, and mules to help carry their equipment as they wanted to climb Mount Teide the next day. The ascent started on the black sand of Muelle beach in Puerto de la Cruz, just over 30 kilometres from Teide. Because of the versatility of this island, tropical plants and snow are never that far away from one another.

Ampliar Virgen de Los Patos beach in La Orotava. Juan Garcia Cruzacan

An open-air laboratory

Mount Teide is a volcanic pyramid, hidden in parts by clouds, a weather phenomenon known as the donkey's belly. The origins og the volcano are found at the bottom of the ocean 3,000 metres deep, and it rises to 3,718 metres above sea level at its highest point.

Before reaching the summit, Humboldt crossed what is known as Malpais, a land devoid of vegetation and covered by fragments of lava. He reached La Rambleta, the edge of the first crater at an altitude of 3,550 metres.

Nine centuries ago, Mount Teide finished here. It grew a bit more after a series of eruptions which took place in the Middle Ages. The eruption created a new peak as the molten lava cooled and hardened. Today, when weather conditions are good, hikers can alight the cable car which covers the final stretch of the climb, a barren cone where only white broom grows.

At the summit, Humboldt, who was almost more interested in gaining knowledge than breathing, measured everything he possibly could until dawn. He then descended and left Tenerife. He continued his journey, visiting new places.

This intruder among scientists, as Humboldt described himself, stored unlimited knowledge of geography, astronomy, physics, zoology, ethnography, climatology, oceanography, cartography, geology, botanics and volcanology. An all-round rebel, thirsty for knowledge.
The memory of Pia Beck lives on in Torremolinos Singer, pianist, businesswoman and lesbian at the height of a dictatorship; her son Gino tells the story of his two mothers, LGBT icons in the town

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It is comforting to know that memories of many of the great figures who helped change the world are still alive and kicking. Maybe the younger generation doesn't yet know of her but, for the majority of Torremolinos' residents, Pia Beck was, is and will always be, one of its treasured residents. Very soon, thanks to the local association Pasaje Begona, one of Torremolinos' streets will bear her name. Neither she nor her faithful life partner are here with us to enjoy the honour, but it might make those who wander down that street ask, "Who was Pia Beck?" Then they just might discover the story of a really brave woman.

Woman, professional musician, lesbian, defender of the LGBT collective, entrepreneur, a shining light. Pia Beck was all of these throughout the decades when the world still did not give them the value and voice they deserved. She was born in The Hague (Netherlands) in 1925 and came to be considered by many to be the best jazz pianist in the world.

She was a true child prodigy who, at the age of four, was already playing the piano by ear. She fought against the tide all her life and got her reward: worldwide recognition thanks to her international tours, especially in the USA. However, it was not there that she decided to spend her days, but in Torremolinos (first in Malaga).

Her only descendant is still there, fighting to keep her memory alive in a town that gave her so much. "She was a strong woman, a fighter and she radiated light, but it wasn't easy living in a man's world," pointed out Gino Felleman. He might not be of her blood, but he has always been her son. To explain why, one has to know their story. Gino's biological mother was called Marga Simonowski, a German of Jewish origin who fled in WWII to the Netherlands with her family.

Love

It was there that Marga met her future husband, Pete Felleman, marrying him at the age of 18. He was a well-known music radio host and that led to him creating good ties with Beck, then the talk of the town in the world of jazz. At a party he introduced Pia to his wife, Marga. From then on nothing was ever the same.

"It was fate," stated Gino, who knows the story well even though he came into the world later.

"Pia fell in love with my mother the moment she saw her. She knew that Marga was married, but she couldn't get her out of her head. Pia always knew that she was attracted to women but it was not the case for Marga, she fell in love with Pia's soul. She first became Pia's best friend, then she began to see her in a different way," Gino added.

When fate decides, there is no point trying to go against it, especially in the face of the love of two empowered women ahead of their time. "When I was born, I had two mothers. We were a normal family unit like any other," said Gino proudly. When the couple decided to move to Torremolinos in the 1960s, tourism was booming and, to all outward appearances, social freedoms were permitted, although the reality for homosexuals under Franco's rule was very different.

"In Spain I certainly had problems for having two mothers. School was awful, a nightmare. The children pelted me with rotten tomatoes and threw insults at me. The teachers did nothing to protect me," Gino stated, with sadness. Yet the three of them formed a strong bond and they pushed on, together. Besides, Pia's musical fame ensured that some respect was still shown.

Ampliar Marga, Pia and Gino, in the Blue Note. Courtesy of Gino Felleman

An iconic club

Pia, supported by Marga, decided the time was right to get into business. She found premises in Pasaje Begona and turned it into one of the most renowned nightclubs in Torremolinos, one of the first jazz clubs in Spain and, above all, a place where they could fly the flag for free love.

The Blue Note opened in 1965. It soon became legendary, elegant, where people flocked to listen to Pia's talent on the piano as they sipped their drinks. Even the internationally famous went through its doors, bedazzled by the Dutch musician and also by the atmosphere of freedom, pride and equality that emanated from all the music bars and nightlife in Pasaje Begona - places where no one was labelled. However, after several financial issues, the Blue Note closed its doors in 1969. With its closure Pia and Marga escaped what came to be known as "the great raid".

The darkest episode in the history of Torremolinos occurred on the night of 24 June, 1971. The Francoist police by order of the civil governor of Malaga, Victor Arroyo, shut down Pasaje Begona with a violent raid, culminating in 300 arrests and more than twenty premises closed for "violating the regulations in force regarding public morality and appropriate behaviour in a public place" - in short, for being LGBT, or as they were called then, "sexual inverts".

With the club closed and Marga busy raising her children, Pia resumed her music career with international tours. She also opened an estate agency, created a jazz programme in five languages on Radio Juventud (youth radio) and wrote three tourist guides on the area for Dutch travellers, contributing greatly to the tourism boom in Torremolinos.

Both Pia and Marga had a long and full life, together with Gino, who also worked in the tourism sector. Despite living in difficult times, the couple's love was always stronger than any homophobia directed at them, and they showed it until the very end. Marga passed away in 2009 at the age of 84; six months later, Pia followed. Their love knew no boundaries; despite everything they were able to live freely.
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Canandaigua, N.Y. -- The Ontario County Sheriffs Office has closed its investigation into the fatal shooting of a man by officers in Canandaigua.

The New York Attorney Generals Office is continuing its formal investigation into the Feb. 28 shooting of the Pennsylvania man, said Alexis Richards, a spokesperson for the AGs office.

Brandon Zurkan, 31, of Warren, died after two Ontario County Sheriffs Office deputies and two Canandaigua police officers fired their guns at him.

Sheriff David J. Cirencione made the announcement that the investigation was closed Friday and released more details.

The incident started when a person called 911 at about 11:20 p.m. to report a car was driving erratically on Route 5 near East Bloomfield and heard what could be a gunshot coming from the car, Cirencione said during a news conference on March 1.

Deputies later found another witness who heard a gunshot as Zurkans vehicle passed his residence, according to a Friday news release from the Ontario County Sheriffs Office.

When deputies attempted to stop Zurkan he continued to drive until he drove his car through a fence and hit a curb. Zurkan got out of the car with a handgun, Cirencione said.

Officers and deputies tried to de-escalate the situation for eight minutes and repeatedly ordered Zurkan to put the gun down, Canandaigua Police Chief Mathew Nielsen said at the news conference.

Zurkan raised his gun and four officers opened fire, Cirencione said. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators have determined the gun was a .45 caliber handgun, deputies said Friday.

Five .45 caliber shell casings were recovered on South Pearl Street in Canandaigua, near where the shots were reportedly fired.

Police also found a Remington .20 gauge shotgun in the car that was loaded with five rounds, deputies said. They also found a .45 caliber magazine with four rounds, they said. They also found additional loose .45 caliber and .20 gauge rounds in the car.

Both the shotgun and handgun were legally purchased by Zurkan in Pennsylvania, deputies said.

Police also found several prescription containers holding drugs including; suboxone, amphetamine salts, venlafaxine, ziprasidone, enalapril, clonazepam and sucralfate.

The toxicology report on Zurkan is still pending with the Monroe County Medical Examiners Office, deputies said.

Deputies still have not determined why the Pennsylvania man was in Ontario County. They did find he had several job interviews the week prior to his death in the Buffalo, Syracuse and Southern Tier.

Zurkan had no other known connections in New York state or Ontario County, deputies said. He has no criminal history in New York but had a previous drug conviction from Warren County in Pennsylvania, deputies said.

Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.
The Syracuse University Art Museum will host a live performance by multidisciplinary artists Emilio Rojas and Katiushka Melo on Wednesday, April 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rojas and Melo will be in dialogue with Robert Smithsons Double Nonsite, California and Nevada, installed in the museum exhibition Collections Highlights: 5,500 Years of Art and on loan from the Art Bridges Foundation.

Working with obsidian mirrors, and using movement, meditations and reflections, the artists will explore Smithsons biography and land art. They will embody the deeper meanings of Smithsons piece, which is commonly seen as a clear example of his indoor earthworks. Tracing histories of colonialism, extraction, and the landscape, Rojas and Melos performance will attempt to contest Smithsons idea of the non-site by connecting with layered notions of site, land sovereignty, and ritual.

After the performance, Rojas and Melo will be in conversation with Syracuse University assistant professor Ethan Madarieta (Department of English) at 4:00 pm. Free and open to the public, these programs have been generously supported by a Learning and Engagement Grant provided by Art Bridges.

About Emilio Rojas

Emilio Rojas is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily with the body in performance, using video, photography, installation, public interventions, and sculpture. As a queer, Latinx immigrant with Indigenous heritage, it is essential to his practice to uncover, investigate, and make visible and audible undervalued or disparaged sites of knowledge. He utilizes his body in a political and critical way, as an instrument to unearth removed traumas, embodied forms of decolonization, migration, and poetics of space. His research-based practice is heavily influenced by queer and feminist archives, border politics, botanical colonialism, and defaced monuments. He holds an M.F.A. in Performance from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a B.F.A. in Film from Emily Carr University in Vancouver, Canada. He is currently a visiting professor at Cornell University in the School of Art, Architecture and Planning. His traveling survey exhibition Tracing A Wound Through My Body, accompanied by a bilingual catalogue, is currently exhibited in its third iteration at the Usdan Gallery at Bennington College in Vermont. It will also travel to SECCA, North Carolina, and Artspace, New Heaven.

About Katiushka Melo

Katiushka Melo is a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist, born in New York and raised by Chilean parents. Her work often addresses the challenging questions about the role and representation of women in modern society. She gathers historical artifacts from other women, incorporating them into her performance practice. She finds meaning in the daily rituals of different cultures, collaborating with woman from different tribes and breaking bread in order to understand cultures distant from her own. Melos work dissects issues of gender identity and beauty ideals as well as challenging the domestic roles of women in modern society. Her work creates a space for contemplation, whilst her own emphasis on physical endurance provides a backdrop for more visceral understanding of the body as material and its capabilities. Her work has been exhibited in the Americas, Europe and Asia, most recently at Miami Art Basel and a solo show at Veracruzana Cultural Center for the Arts in Mexico.

About Robert Smithson and Double Nonsite, California and Nevada

Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Robert Smithson (1938-1973) produced paintings, drawings, sculpture, earthworks, architectural scheme, films and video, photographs and slideworks, and writings. In 1969, Smithson traveled to Chiapas and Yucatan, in Mexico, retracing the travels of writer John Lloyd Stephens. He believed he was impersonating the Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca, whom he claims spoke to him. After returning from his trip, he finished Double Nonsite, California and Nevada using obsidian from Truman Springs, Nevada. Obsidian is the rock that symbolizes Tezcatlipoca, or Smoking Mirror, an indigenous Mexican god of death, war, beauty, youth, and fatality.
Area troops and local Girl Scouts in the NYPENN Pathways Council (GSNYPENN) footprint are gearing up for the start of booth sales and the conclusion of the 2023 Girl Scout Cookie Program. The public can use the Cookie Finder on the councils dedicated season webpage at buygirlscoutcookiesnow.com to enter their zip code to locate booths and support their local Girl Scout entrepreneurs.

Booths run April 1-23.

Consumers who may not want cookies for themselves but still wish to support their local Girl Scouts can donate cookie purchases to assist community partners. The council gifts cookies to local organizations each year for an annual service project. This years GSNYPENN Sweet Support Gift of Caring partners are the Food Bank of Central New York and the Food Bank of the Southern Tier.

The local cookie season concludes on the final day of booths, April 23. GSNYPENN covers 26 counties across the area with a footprint spanning Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne and Yates counties in New York and Bradford and Tioga counties in Pennsylvania.

Locally, Girl Scout Cookies remain priced at $5 per package. Varieties sold at local booths will include:

Samoas - crisp cookie coated with caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and striped with dark chocolate

Tagalongs - crispy cookie layered with peanut butter and covered with chocolate

Do-si-dos - crunchy oatmeal sandwich cookie with creamy peanut butter filling

Lemon-Ups - lemon cookie with messages inspired by Girl Scout entrepreneurs, I am a go-getter and I am an innovator are among 8 phrases that bring Girl Scouting to life

Thin Mints - crisp wafer cookie covered in chocolate coating made with natural oil of peppermint, vegan, #1 selling variety nationwide

Toffee-tastic - gluten-free, rich buttery cookie with crunchy toffee bits

Trefoils - traditional shortbread cookie, oldest variety still produced today

Girl Scout Smores  crunchy graham sandwich cookie with creamy chocolate and marshmallow filling

Adventurefuls - brownie-inspired cookie with caramel-flavored creme and a hint of sea salt

The cookie program is the councils largest annual fundraiser. Proceeds stay local, powering life-changing programming and volunteer support and building troop funds to explore new places, programs, and beyond. Girl Scouts use cookie funds to pay for invaluable experiences like attending summer camp, going on field trips, and spearheading community service projects. As the community opens their favorite box of Girl Scout Cookies, they simultaneously open new doors for local girls to explore their leadership potential, build lifelong friendships, and make the world around them a better place.
Six people  including a young child  have been found dead in the St. Lawrence River in Akwesasne near the U.S.-Canadian border.

The bodies were discovered late Thursday afternoon in Tsi Snaihne (Snye) Akwesasne, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service announced. They were spotted in a marsh near an overturned boat while police were searching by air for a missing man from Akwesasne, said Lee-Ann OBrien, deputy chief of Akwesasne Mohawk police, during a news conference Friday.

The marsh is in the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribes territory thats part in New York state and part in Quebec.
To the Editor:

On March 17, Women of Italian and Syracuse Heritage of CNY (WISH CNY) and Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON), jointly filed a friend of the court (amicus curiae) legal brief supporting the City of Syracuses appeal to reverse last years lower court decision against moving the Columbus monument. US efforts to remove Columbus statues are strengthening, as seen recently in Newark, New Jersey, where Harriet Tubman is honored instead.

On Monday, April 3, the New York state Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4th Department, will hear oral arguments from the city and Columbus Monument Corporation (CMC).

The lower court and CMC consider the issue contractual, without full evaluation of pertinent issues. Our amicus brief supplies the higher court with full and historically accurate details regarding Columbus, and the progression of dedicated public engagement in Syracuse.

WISH CNY and NOON submitted this 75-page legal brief to demonstrate through clear legal arguments that CMC does not represent all Italian-Americans, and that the lower court manipulated its decision by granting an injunction. We argue that the court favored CMCs interest and did not consider the public. The ban on moving the monument is a disservice to the broader public interest, which is well-documented over years of discourse, community dialogue, demonstrations and news publications.

Our brief also argues that moving the monument is not prohibited by the Preservation Covenant, as claimed by CMC and last years judgment. We assert the Preservation Covenant is terminated because the Columbus monument no longer serves its original purpose: to honor and commemorate Italian-Americans. Columbus role in history at the time of the monuments construction was commemorated by dominant society, and his association with Italian-Americans promoted their social position and acceptance in America. That is no longer the case.

Our brief offers details of Columbus actions and the evolution of understanding his role in history. We submit that whether viewed as the direct perpetrator of violent colonization of the Americas or simply the one to open the door for this historic human rights violation, the view of Columbus is no longer universally positive.

We agree with the United States Naming Commission, which made recommendations in 2022 for renaming, relocating, modifying or removing military assets commemorating the Confederacy or Confederate soldiers. Their final report says history ... describes the people and places of the past in all their greatness and grimness, achievements and failures, nobility and notoriety. Commemoration elevates an act, event, or individual by bestowing it with communal esteem and honor. The best histories present humans and their choices in the context of the complex and complicated days they live through. The best commemorations highlight individuals, movements and moments that epitomize the highest values of our present and motivate us as we shape our societies of the future  History is about who we were. Commemoration is about who we strive to be.

WISH CNY and NOON are committed to promoting education and greater perspective regarding this complex and controversial issue.

Hilary-Anne Coppola, Sue Eiholzer, Grace Fritzke, Tarki Heath, Andy Mager, Heather Law Pezzarossi, Cindy Squillace, Sidney Turner and Colleen Zawadzki

Replace Columbus Group

Syracuse
Washington  U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams lashed out Friday at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over his offices move to prosecute former president Donald Trump following a grand jury indictment.

The indictment, which remained under seal Friday, is the first against a former U.S. president.

Williams, a Republican from Central New York, joined other GOP House members who suggested Trump is being targeted for political purposes by the Democratic DA.

Alvin Bragg releases violent criminals and uses his office for political grandstanding, Williams said in a statement issued by his campaign. Justice should be blind, and everyone should be held to equal standardsBlind justice should also apply to the rapists, drug dealers, and violent criminals Bragg lets off the hook  not just presidents.

Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Republican whose district includes Cayuga County and most of Oswego County, called the indictment outrageous.

Tenney said the witch-hunt targeting President Donald Trump is a political persecution with purely malicious intent from Bragg.

Every American should be concerned about this gross abuse of power and the politicized two-tiered system of justice we now have in America, Tenney said in a statement.

She called for Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove Bragg from office for his failure to enforce the law and his blatant politicization of the criminal justice system.

President Joe Biden had no comment about the indictment when asked by reporters as he left the White House on Friday morning.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate majority leader, pushed back on those who suggested the indictment is politicized.

Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American, Schumer said. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law. There should be no outside political influence, intimidation or interference in the case.

READ MORE

Rep. Brandon Williams to hold first town hall meetings in Central New York

Williams ripped bipartisanship during campaign for Congress. Now he embraces it

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
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TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

What just happened? A whistleblower has leaked files from a Moscow-based defense contractor that allegedly show how the company works with Russian military and intelligence agencies to support them in hacking operations, training operatives, spreading disinformation, and scanning the internet for vulnerabilities.

An anonymous whistleblower angry over the Ukraine war provided the documents on Moscow IT consulting agency NTC Vulkan. Journalists from several publications, including The Guardian, have been working with the source and just published tell-all articles, referred to as The Vulkan Files.

The files' authenticity has been confirmed by five Western intelligence agencies and several independent cybersecurity companies. They link a Vulkan cyber-attack tool with hacking group Sandworm, which the US government said twice caused blackouts in Ukraine and disrupted the Olympics in South Korea. It is also thought to be behind the launch of NotPetya.

The tool, codenamed Scan-V, scans the internet for vulnerabilities, storing what it discovers for later analysis and for use in cyberattacks. Another, called Amezit, is described as a framework for controlling the online information environment and manipulating public opinion through methods such as creating fake social media profiles. It is also used to "enhance psychological operations, and store and organize data for upstream communication of efforts."

Another system, Crystal-2V, is a training program for operatives that explains the methods required to coordinate attacks on rail, air, and sea infrastructure.

The source approached the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung days after the Ukraine invasion last year. They said the GRU, the intelligence division of Russia's armed forces, and the FSB, the country's federal security service, "hide behind" Vulkan.

"People should know the dangers of this," the whistleblower said. "Because of the events in Ukraine, I decided to make this information public. The company is doing bad things and the Russian government is cowardly and wrong. I am angry about the invasion of Ukraine and the terrible things that are happening there. I hope you can use this information to show what is happening behind closed doors."

The cache of more than 5,000 pages of documents, dated between 2016 and 2021, also contains emails, internal documents, project plans, budgets, and contracts. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's computer network, but there is no definite evidence of Vulkan-created tools being used in real-world attacks.

One of the most concerning parts of the leak is what appears to be illustrations showing potential targets. One is a map containing circles across the US that appear to represent clusters of internet servers; another shows details of a nuclear power plant in Switzerland. There's also a document showing engineers recommending Russia add to its own capabilities by using hacking tools stolen in 2016 from the US National Security Agency and posted online.

The documents do not include verified targets, malicious software code, or evidence linking the company to known cyberattacks.

NTC Vulkan and Kremlin officials have refused requests for comment.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and China leader Xi Jinping announced they intend to make their respective countries world leaders in IT, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. They released a document outlining their ambitions, which included a section stating, "Both sides support the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee to develop a comprehensive international convention against the use of information and communication technologies for criminal purposes."
TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

The big picture: Once upon a time, Google was the dominant force behind the growing cloud computing market. Things are pretty different nowadays, as Alphabet's internet business is trailing behind market leaders Microsoft and Amazon.

Google is officially accusing Microsoft of anti-competitive behavior in the cloud computing business as the Redmond corporation is striking specific agreements with several cloud vendors in Europe. The deals, Google said, don't provide clear answers to the broader concerns the company has (and that the European authorities should have too) about actual licensing terms.

Google Cloud's Vice President Amit Zavery said Microsoft has "a very anti-competitive posture in cloud," as the company is leveraging its dominant position in the on-premise market as well as with Office 365 and Windows to "tie Azure and the rest of cloud services" together. Microsoft is essentially making an offer that customers can't refuse, Zavery suggested, so they don't have a choice about their cloud provider anymore.

Zavery said that when Google talks to "a lot" of its potential customers, they have already become hostage to Microsoft's bundling practices, its pricing and licensing restrictions, and they aren't free to choose other cloud providers anymore. Redmond is exploiting its unfair advantage in the cloud business to shut the mouth of smaller European vendors, Google suggested.

Zavery also said that Microsoft is "selectively kind of buying out those ones" who complain about its market practices offering terms they won't make available to other companies. That definitely is "an unfair advantage to Microsoft and ties the people who complained back to Microsoft anyway," Zavery said.

European regulators should look at this behavior from a historical point of view, Zavery stated, meaning that EU should consider the anti-competitive behavior Microsoft had been well-known for in the pre-cloud era already. Even if one or two vendors might settle their antitrust case, the broader problem remains.

Zavery said the issue is not merely a spat between Google and Microsoft, as Microsoft is already facing an antitrust complaint from the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE). CISPE members includes Amazon (AWS) and many companies working in the European cloud business.

"The question is not about Google," Zavery said, "it's the cloud." Which should be an "open, flexible way" to deploy customers' software and provide companies with more choices so that they can run their software wherever they want in a much easier way.
Google's artificial intelligence program opened up a new milestone by expanding its generative AI experience to the public for its testing, allowing select participants to engage with its latest development. It will help people create content using text prompts, built-in among Google's Workspace suite, but is currently testing in Gmail and Docs.

The Google AI helps in creating a detailed and extensive write-up regarding one's needs, using text prompts that users set to the AI as its basis, and it would be available right where people would usually type.

Google's Generative AI in Gmail, Docs Now Available for Public Testing

(Photo : Google Workspace via YouTube)

9to5 Google reported that Google is now opening up the Generative AI feature on its Workspace Apps, Gmail, and Docs, to more public users to test the experience on their devices. This will allow people to use Google's AI to help them create content or e-mail messages to send to team members, friends, or family, alongside the summarization of available content to catch up.

This is part of Google's announcement two weeks ago, which claims a "new era" for artificial intelligence, centering on the Workspace suite that received this update.

Users under the consumer, enterprise, and education suite for users over 18 in the United States will be able to tap into the Generative AI features of Google Docs and Gmail to help them create content. It will be available with the dedicated button with the pencil icon and sparkling design which represents the AI.

Read Also: Google: AI Content Remains, Will Not Ban or Mark as Spam on Search Depending on its Quality

How to Join Google's Public Testing for Generative AI

There are no sure ways yet available on Google's Generative AI homepage, but it is best to monitor this website to learn more about the company's public beta testing. This webpage contains most of Google's announcements for its latest AI developments, one that would help the public get more of what they wish to do using Google's AI in the Workspace.

Google and its AI Developments

Two weeks ago, Google announced its famed AI development is coming to two of its Workspace suite apps for availability to the public, namely Gmail and Docs. This is part of Google's expansion of creating generative AI for the public, one that would highlight its newfound power using AI, integrating what Bard has to offer.

However, this is not exactly the Bard, as it remains to have no names apart from the "Generative AI" intended for its Workspace.

Regarding Bard, Google's AI chatbot, it remains under selected public beta access available mostly for developers, including that of its web browser. Recently, Google allowed early access to its Bard AI to selected Pixel users, particularly the "super fans" of the famous smartphone lineup, to experience the latest development firsthand.

Google is gearing up for the expansion of its AI services to the public, with the Generative AI already seeing public testing to users, alongside Bard's beta experience. The Workspace suite is getting an enhanced version thanks to AI in this development from Google, to bring users easier summarization or content generation in these apps.

Related Article: Google Bard vs. Microsoft Bing: AI Race is Starting with Big Tech

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Waymo One is pledging to an all-electric ride-hailing service for its public availability as it moves to phase out its older, gas-consuming vehicles, in favor of the Jaguar I-PACE. The company will utilize the fifth-generation Jaguar I-PACE to commandeer its fleet, with self-driving systems in place to bring passengers from point A to B.

The famed company is letting its older fleet go, particularly with the Chrysler Pacifica minivans that are best known for their hybrid setup, still heavily reliant on its gas engine.

Waymo One is Going Fully Electric with Jaguar I-PACE Fleet

(Photo : Waymo)

Waymo's latest blog post in Waypoint announced the company's transition to a fully-electric fleet for the public to enjoy, centering on the Jaguar I-PACE as its main and only operational car on the streets. The company claims that its ride-hailing and self-driving fleet pledges one for the environment by finally transitioning to fully-electric vehicles.

The Jaguar I-PACE has been in service since 2018, but the company still operates the famed Chrysler Pacifica which was its main vehicle during it started its service from its public debut in 2017.

The transition will be complete by late April, and all places or states where Waymo One operates will only bring the Jaguar I-PACE to driving people around when hailing a ride.

Read Also: Robotaxis Are Causing Problems in San Francisco, Now Looking to Slow Down Approvals in the City

Waymo Phases Out Gas-Powered Hybrid for EV

According to Waymo, this is part of the White House EV Acceleration Challenge that aims to transition all cars in the country into a fully-electric experience, to help reduce the United States' carbon footprint.

The company operated the Chrysler Pacifica for almost five years now, but this change would be similar to their past experiences of phasing out ICE cars in favor of more economical and environmental-friendly ones.

Waymo's Ride-Hailing Service

The famous Google-owned subsidiary started its ride-hailing service, paired with the self-driving technology mounted atop the roof of the cars in 2009. Fast forward to nine years later, the company debuted its autonomous service to the public, which started with Chrysler Pacifica minivans, also adding the Jaguar I-PACE electric SUVs.

Another iconic move from the company is headlining the self-driving robotaxi fleet in San Fransisco, one of the earliest cities in the country that allowed autonomous vehicles to drive around. It was alongside General Motors' Cruise which also joined the company in launching its ride-hailing services in the coastal city of California.

The company later added the Big Apple, New York City, as a place to start its services and journeys, further expanding its reach.

Waymo was operating with a mixed fleet since its beginnings, but this is the only time that the company transitioned to a fully-electric fleet, finally letting go of the gas-chugging minivans. Chrysler Pacifica helped Waymo One do wonders on the streets and gave people a chance to go their ways, and while Jaguar I-PACE will do the same, the public would be assured that it is a fully-clean ride all the way.

Related Article: Waymo Robotaxis Hit 1 Million Miles With No Fatalities

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Virgin Orbit is already shutting down after six years in the space industry, and the subsidiary will cease to exist within the company, no longer seeing any satellite launches moving forward. This is due to the lack of funding from its parent company, Virgin, known to be under the leadership of Sir Richard Branson, also known for Virgin Galactic.

Alongside this shutdown is the loss of jobs for the entire subsidiary, with as many as 700 employees under Virgin Orbit losing their jobs as the department pulls the plug on its entire operations.

Virgin Orbit Shuts Down Operations Due to Lack of Funding

(Photo : Hugh Hastings/Getty Images)

As per CNBC's report, Virgin Orbit is shutting down its operations effective immediately due to a lack of funding for the subsidiary, an end of an era for Virgin's satellite launching service. The company is ceasing its operations for the "foreseeable future," with CEO Dan Hart confirming this in an all-hands meeting last Thursday.

"We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and extremely painful changes," Hart said, as per the obtained meeting call from the 5 PM ET meeting by CNBC. He added that this is "probably the hardest all-hands that we've ever done in my life."

Virgin Orbit is best known for being formed in 2017 to commercialize the company's LauncherOne, a satellite launch system strapped on its modified 747 airliner that flies it up to high altitudes.

Read Also: Virgin Galactic Wants 1000 Passengers To Purchase Its $450,000 Tickets; What are the Inclusions?

As many as 700 Employees to Lose Jobs

In a securities filing of the company, it is laying off 85 percent of the workforce, with as many as 675 employees losing their jobs in this collapse. There would be 100 employees who will be retaining their work when this subsidiary shuts down.

All laid-off employees will receive a severance package, cash payment, extension of benefits, and a direct pipeline to apply to Virgin Galactic.

Virgin's Space Operations

Virgin is one of the most iconic companies in the world, under the leadership of the famed business mogul, Sir Richard Branson, and prior reports claim it is a good company to work with. One of the most invaluable perks within Virgin is the chance to take unlimited vacations and days off, among the most important from Branson's legacy.

Virgin Orbit is the company's subsidiary which heavily centers on launching satellites to orbit, using their vessel and services to bring the orbiting spacecraft for different services or needs. The latest merger for Virgin Orbit was with a special purpose acquisition corporation or SPAC after the firm went public last August 2021.

The famed Virgin Galactic, the renowned space missions subsidiary under the British multinational venture company had several launches in the past which makes it a part of the Big Three in the private space race.

However, the company may not be as profitable as it seems, as Virgin Orbit experiences one of the harshest shutdowns in the company's history. Virgin Orbit is now defunct and will no longer be in service moving forward, with the entire company ceasing its operations, with its employees facing layoffs.

Related Article: New Virgin Galactic Video Shows Off Their Space Tourism Ride In Detail

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Bot detection and mitigation companies provide businesses the technology and expertise needed to protect them against the growing threat of bot attacks. Bots can wreak havoc on businesses by creating fake accounts, stealing data, and overwhelming servers.

With the rise of automation, bots are becoming increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect. That's where bot detection and mitigation companies come in, offering various innovative solutions designed to identify and neutralize bot attacks.

This article will explore some of the top bot detection and mitigation companies and highlight the key features that make them stand out.

How Do You Detect a Bot Attack?

Even if you intend to avail the services for bot detection and mitigation, knowing immediately that something's wrong can help in preventing damages in case of an attack.

Detecting a bot attack can be challenging, as bots can mimic human behavior to varying degrees. However, some common signs can indicate a bot attack:

Unusually high traffic: If you notice a sudden surge in traffic that exceeds what you typically receive, it could indicate a bot attack.

Identical user behavior: If multiple users are exhibiting the same behavior, such as clicking on the same links or filling out forms in the same way, it could be a sign of a bot attack.

Inhuman speed: Bots can perform actions much faster than humans, so if you see a large number of activities happening in a brief period, it could be a bot attack.

Unusual patterns: If you notice unusual patterns of activity, such as a large number of requests coming from a single IP address, it could signal a bot attack.

Failed login attempts: If you see many failed login attempts in a short period, it could indicate a bot trying to guess passwords.

There are also various software and tools available that can help prevent and detect bots. These include firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and web application security tools that can help detect and block malicious traffic. Now, let's talk about bot mitigation.

How Do You Mitigate Bots?

First, what is bot mitigation? Bot mitigation detects and neutralizes bot traffic on a website or online service. There are several ways to mitigate bots, depending on the type of bot attack and the target of the attack. Here are some common strategies for bot mitigation:

Use rate limiting: Rate limiting can be used to restrict the number of requests that can be made in a given period. This can help prevent bots from overwhelming a website or web application with many requests.

Use web application firewalls (WAFs): WAFs can detect and block bots by analyzing traffic and identifying patterns indicative of bot activity. WAFs can also block known bot IP addresses and malicious user agents.

Implement bot detection tools: These tools can analyze user behavior and detect patterns that signal bot activity. This can help identify and block bots in real-time.

Monitor web traffic: Monitoring web traffic can help identify unusual activity, such as many requests from a single IP address or identical user behavior across multiple sessions.

Keep software up-to-date: Keeping software up-to-date can help mitigate bot attacks by patching known vulnerabilities and keeping security measures current.

By implementing these bot mitigation strategies, you can help reduce the risk of a bot attack and protect your website or web application from harm. One of the best ways to ensure the security of your business online is getting reliable bot detection and mitigation software. Here are our top picks.

Best Bot Detection and Mitigation Software

Online businesses face a constant threat from bots that can disrupt their operations, steal sensitive information, and cause significant financial losses. To address this challenge, businesses need a reliable software to quickly identify and neutralize bot attacks before they cause damage. Fortunately, there are several powerful software options available on the market:

1. Arkose Labs

Arkose Labs is a bot detection software that offers high confidence in its services. The company provides a commercial SLA guarantee against bot attacks as part of its service agreement, demonstrating a commitment to providing reliable and effective bot detection solutions.

Arkose Labs can identify, block, and monitor various bot attacks, including high-volume attacks, low and slow attacks, and hybrid attacks that combine bots and human fraud farms to bypass security checks.

Unlike many other providers that rely on static rules or risk scoring, Arkose Labs utilizes real-time intelligence, rich analytics, and step-up challenges to eliminate the return on investment of bot fraud.

Using these advanced techniques, Arkose Labs can offer a high level of protection against bot attacks and provide its customers with greater confidence in their ability to detect and mitigate such attacks.

With its emphasis on real-time intelligence and advanced analytics, Arkose Labs is well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of businesses seeking to protect themselves from the growing cybersecurity threat.

Key Features:

Account Security: Arkose Labs provides comprehensive account security while ensuring a seamless user experience for genuine users.

Bot Detection: The company uses advanced techniques to detect and prevent bots from bypassing defenses such as reCAPTCHA and other traditional security measures.

Fraud Prevention: By eliminating the economic incentives that drive fraudulent activities, Arkose Labs provides long-term protection against various types of attacks, including account takeover, payment fraud, and more.

2. DataDome

DataDome markets itself as a leading SaaS bot protection solution for companies that operate in the e-commerce and classified ads industries. Dashboards and real-time notifications allow you to monitor your traffic in real time.

You can manually alter and filter actions to stop bot activity. It even enables you to categorize bots whether they are beneficial, harmful, or profitable for you. The portion of the software that deals with malicious bots will prevent DDoS attacks, SQL injections, and scraping.

DataDome is compatible with all the technologies used for web infrastructure, including multi-cloud and multi-CDN configurations. The company is currently responsible for protecting over 10,000 e-commerce. It classified domains worldwide, including TripAdvisor, the New York Times, and ZocDoc.

Key Features:

Bot Mitigation software: DataDome offers advanced bot mitigation capabilities to protect web applications against all types of automated threats.

Real-time Monitoring: Allows businesses to monitor their web traffic and detect suspicious activities and patterns in real-time. This enables companies to respond to threats quickly and take proactive measures to protect their systems from future attacks.

Alerts: Notify businesses of potential threats and attacks. Alerts can be customized to meet a company's specific needs, such as notifying key stakeholders or triggering automatic responses to mitigate the threat.

3. hCaptcha

hCaptcha is a tool that offers a CAPTCHA solution and contributes to the protection of websites from traffic generated by bots. It is intended to function as a drop-in replacement for reCAPTCHA and can be setup in a matter of minutes.

The priority that hCaptcha places on protecting user privacy significantly sets it apart from other CAPTCHA solutions. Because hCaptcha does not track user data or behavior and does not use cookies, it can help websites protect user privacy while defending against bots. Additionally, because it does not use cookies, hCaptcha does not require users to download any additional software.

In addition, hCaptcha provides a revenue stream, which rewards websites for using the tool. The website proprietor receives a modest payment each time a user completes an hCaptcha challenge. This might help offset some of the costs associated with running a website and keeping it secure.

hCaptcha can also assist businesses in labeling their data by utilizing the CAPTCHA challenges to crowdsource the labeling of images and audio. Companies that require the training of machine learning models or the analysis of large datasets may find this useful.

Key Features:

Works in every country

GDPR and CCPA-friendly privacy policy

Fine-grained difficulty levels

Time-based difficulty scheduling

Advanced reporting features

4. reCAPTCHA Enterprise

reCAPTCHA Enterprise is a fraud detection service created by Google to safeguard public-facing web applications against abuse, spam, and fraudulent activities. The service uses advanced risk analysis techniques. These are developed using Google's over-a-decade experience in safeguarding hyper-scale web applications and knowledge gained from protecting more than four million sites.

The service uses strategies that differentiate between humans and bots, providing developers with a granular risk score to make informed decisions on countermeasures based on their preferred risk level.

The deployment of reCAPTCHA Enterprise is simple, as it requires only a small number of lines of code and has a small overall footprint. It will not present the user with a visual challenge, contributing to the product's user-friendliness.

Google recommends installing reCAPTCHA Enterprise on every web page at the point of action, such as when an account is created, when login verification is performed, or when a purchase is made.

The OWASP Automated Threat Handbook outlines several different types of attacks, including account credential attacks, payment cardholder attacks, and availability of inventory attacks. This knowledge gives developers the ability to protect their entire application from these types of threats.

Key Features:

Adaptive risk analysis

Score-based detection

Granular risk scores

Frictionless deployment

Frictionless user interface

Flexible API

Enterprise scale

Tunable risk analysis

Mobile app support

Machine learning

5. GeeTest

GeeTest has made it its mission to introduce cutting-edge biometric data and AI-driven bot management technology to the global market. It holds the number one market share in APAC and provides services to more than 320,000 businesses worldwide, including Airbnb, Nike, HUAWEI, Imperva, and many others.

Most importantly, GeeTest has reached the point where it provides comprehensive coverage of the blockchain industry. It is the anti-fraud solution of choice for more than 20% of the top 50 cryptocurrency exchanges, including BINANCE, Axie Infinity, Poloniex, crypto.com, and others.

Key Features and Benefits:

Adaptive security strategies that automatically adjust to changing fraud trends without impacting genuine users.

Real-time risk assessment that enhances user experience without causing any inconvenience or requiring user interaction while maintaining security.

Dynamic global database that accurately identifies potential risks such as web simulators, suspicious IPs, and CAPTCHA farms in real time.

Easy and seamless integration of the security platform with your system, including the ability to switch from Google reCAPTCHA with just a few steps.

Multiple CAPTCHA types are available for deployment in different scenarios, including an invisible mode that provides web security without being seen or clicked by users.

Multilingual support for up to 78 languages and quick client responses facilitated by assigning users to the nearest server or clusters for global deployment

GeeTest is a provider of advanced bot management solutions that can help businesses protect themselves against various forms of online fraud in today's ever-changing market. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, GeeTest allows businesses to eliminate bad bots and secure their operations in a range of industries. Here are some examples of how GeeTest's solutions can help different types of businesses:

For companies that operate using blockchain technology, GeeTest's solutions can help eliminate losses from transaction fraud by detecting and blocking fraudulent transactions in real time.

In the gaming industry, GeeTest's solutions can help create a secure in-game experience by preventing spam and abuse by malicious actors.

In the e-commerce industry, GeeTest's solutions can help mitigate fraud losses and ensure a positive customer experience that promotes loyalty.

In the travel industry, GeeTest's solutions can help detect scalpers and prevent fraudulent reservations, which can help protect businesses from lost revenue and reputational damage.

By implementing GeeTest's advanced bot management solutions, businesses can protect themselves from various threats and safeguard their operations for long-term success.

Many online businesses are vulnerable to financially motivated cyber attacks. However, traditional high-friction security solutions can often hurt customers and disrupt business operations, making it challenging for businesses to balance security and user experience.

At GeeTest, they believe that an effective security solution should provide not only top-notch security but also an excellent user experience. They help customers secure their online business operations and optimize their marketing spending by delivering both.

As a pioneer in bot management, GeeTest leverages biometric data and artificial intelligence technology to create a better user experience. This innovative approach has helped over 320,000 enterprises worldwide, including industry leaders like Airbnb, Binance, and Xiaomi. They are passionate about solving bot problems and helping their clients succeed in today's digital marketplace.

Their mission at GeeTest is to provide the best possible protection against cyber-attacks while maintaining a seamless user experience. They believe that security and usability are not mutually exclusive and that businesses can achieve both by partnering with a reliable and innovative bot management solution like GeeTest.

Ready to experience GeeTest's innovative bot management solution for yourself? Sign up for a free trial today and join the over 320,000 enterprises that trust GeeTest in securing their online business operations. Start your free trial now!

In today's digital age, bot detection and mitigation companies are essential partners for businesses looking to protect themselves from the damaging effects of bot attacks. With the rise of automation and the growing sophistication of bots, these companies provide cutting-edge solutions to detect and neutralize malicious bots before they cause damage.

From biometric data and artificial intelligence to advanced behavioral analysis and machine learning, bot detection and mitigation companies employ a range of innovative technologies to stay ahead of the ever-evolving bot threat. By partnering with these companies, businesses can safeguard their operations, protect their customers, and stay one step ahead of the competition.

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Minors hit on scooters in Paris: three police officers suspended and placed in custody

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Disappearance of Chloe in Seine-et-Marne: how did the investigators find the young woman?

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France's Macron dismisses unrest, promises drought action plan



Savines-le-Lac, France, March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2023



President Emmanuel Macron announced new water-saving measures for France on Thursday as he sought to brush aside weeks of political turmoil over a deeply unpopular pensions reform.

Dozens of protesters calling for him to resign gathered in the Alpine village of Savines-le-Lac ahead of his announcement, as he faces the biggest challenge of his second term in office.

Two people were arrested before he even arrived on the shores of western Europe's largest fresh-water reservoir.

"There is contestation over a reform, but it doesn't mean everything else should grind to a halt... We need to continue working," Macron told reporters against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains.

After a devastating heatwave last summer and record low rainfall this winter, Macron said he wanted to reuse 10 percent of all water in France by 2030.

"We have decided to launch 1,000 projects in five years to recycle and reuse water," he said.

"We want to reuse 300 million cubic metres, or... 3,500 bottles of water per French person per year," he said.

France currently reuses less than one percent of its water.



- Won't 'be calmed down' -



Macron said all parts of the economy would be asked to decrease their water consumption by summer -- not just the water-guzzling agricultural sector, but also energy, industry, tourism and leisure.

Last summer was Europe's hottest on record.

Winter has also been particularly dry in France, with a record spell of 32 days without significant rainfall earlier this year.

The country's groundwater levels were 80 percent lower than average on March 1.

Macron's water plan was overshadowed by ongoing anger over his pensions plan, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

"Manu, we have a lot to worry about if you're going to manage water like you did pensions," read one protester's poster in Savines-le-Lac on Thursday, addressing the president by his nickname.

Helen, a retired nurse, was among the protesters trying to shout down Macron during his speech.

"He says he's here to speak about water, to calm us down, but we don't want to be calmed down," said the 68-year-old, who refused to give her surname.

Protesters also gathered in Paris and other French cities on Thursday night, for mainly peaceful demonstrations.

Seven people were arrested in Paris, after small groups of protesters turned violent, a police source told AFP.

Macron's government on March 16 triggered widespread anger when it invoked a controversial executive power to ram through the bill without a parliamentary vote.

After two months of largely peaceful mass protests, spontaneous demonstrations have erupted on a daily basis, with some angry protesters clashing with security forces.



- 'Unacceptable violence' -



The authorities have blamed the unrest on violent "troublemakers" bent on damaging public property, but rights groups have criticised the police for disproportionate use of force in dealing with the crowds.

The White House said Thursday it supports a global right to protest peacefully.

"We support the right of people to protest and to express their opinions and to demonstrate peacefully there as we would anywhere," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said when asked about the situation in France.

The unrest has also trickled into protests not directly related to the pensions reform.

Two men are fighting for their lives in hospital after clashes on Saturday at a rally against giant water "basins" in the southwestern village of Sainte-Soline, one of whom woke up from a coma on Thursday.

Campaigners there were trying to stop the construction of the pools to irrigate crops, which they say will distort access to water amid drought conditions.

"There have been scenes of unacceptable violence these last few weeks," Macron said.

There were peaceful protesters in Sainte-Soline, the president said, but also "you had thousands of people who simply came to wage war".

He defended the concept of basins like the one in the village, which pump up groundwater in winter so farmers can draw from it in the summer.

"It's not about privatising water or allowing some to monopolise it," he said.

But he did say future basin projects should be more economical with water and ensure farmers use less pesticides.

France's highest constitutional authority will rule on the pensions reform on April 14.

burs-ah/adp/fb/bfm
UN raises quarter of $1 bn Turkey quake funds target



Geneva, March 31 (AFP) Mar 31, 2023



The United Nations said Friday it has so far raised a quarter of the money it needs for relief work in Turkey after the earthquake that killed more than 55,000 people.

Donors have so far contributed $268 million to the $1 billion flash appeal issued by the UN following the 7.8-magnitude quake on February 6 and its aftershocks that devastated swathes of southeast Turkey and parts of war-torn Syria.

The UN humanitarian agency's spokesman Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that the initial emergency phase had ended.

"Now we are involved in the humanitarian emergency phase, where we look at what the survivors need," he added.

On February 16, the UN launched an appeal for $1 billion to help more than five million people in Turkey during the first three months after the quake.

The United States, Kuwait, the European Commission, the UN's emergency fund CERF and Saudi Arabia are currently the top five donors.

Laerke said UN and other humanitarian agencies had reached more than 4.1 million people with basic household items and clothes.

Of those, almost three million have been reached with emergency food aid.

And 1.6 million have received water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance.

The EU hosted a conference in Brussels earlier this month to raise money for reconstruction, the longer third phase.

Donors pledged seven billion euros to help Turkey and Syria recover, although Ankara has set the bill for rebuilding at well over 10 times that figure.

The UN has a twin flash appeal for Syria to help survivors over the first three months, which has raised $364 million of the $398 million requested.

Some 1,177 UN relief trucks have so far entered northern Syria from Turkey.

"Since last month, we and our partners have provided shelter support, including tents, to nearly 100,000 people.

"Partners have also distributed more than 850,000 ready-to-eat food rations and over one million hot meals to people across affected areas," Laerke said.
Parched Tunisia imposes water rationing



Tunis, March 31 (AFP) Mar 31, 2023



Tunisia announced tight restrictions on water usage, including rationing tap water, on Friday, as the drought-hit country braces for another baking summer.

The North African country's dams are at critical lows following years of drought, exacerbated by pipeline leaks in a decrepit distribution network.

The agriculture ministry announced a ban on the use of potable water for irrigating farmland or green spaces, or for cleaning public areas or cars.

It said it would also implement quotas for mains supply to households until September.

The head of public water company Sonede, Mosbah Helali, said fines and even prison sentences were being considered for those breaking the rules, telling radio station Mosaique FM that mains supply would be cut between 9:00 pm and 3:00 am.

Residents of several areas of the capital have already complained of unannounced cuts to their mains supply at night since the start of the fasting month of Ramadan, when many stay up late.

"Years of drought and low water flow into reservoirs has impacted the country's water stocks, which have reached an unprecedented situation," the ministry said.

None of the country's major reservoirs is more than a third full, while some are at at less than 15 percent, threatening Tunisia's agricultural sector, which usually accounts for 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

Farmers' unions have voiced fears for the coming season, particularly as regards cereals. A poor domestic harvest would compound Tunisia's problems procuring sufficient flour in the face of skyrocketing international wheat prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine early last year.

The Tunisian Federation for Agriculture and Fisheries said thousands of hectares of farmland risked being left fallow due to the lack of rain.

"This year's cereal season will be catastrophic -- there won't be a harvest," spokesman Anis Kharbech told Tunisian media. He said projected yields would not even be enough to provide seeds for next year's crop.

Scientists say that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of human-caused global warming, and that droughts worldwide are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.
Coca-Cola Group has appointed Andrew Buckingham as its Vice President and General Manager for Middle East region.

Bringing more than 23 years of international experience working within Coca-Cola to his new role, Buckingham will continue the company's goal of strengthening and growing its Middle East business which comprises 13 markets.

By driving the next chapter in its growth agenda, he will leverage the companys multifunctional network working in close partnership with its bottling partners across the region.

Buckingham joined the company in 1999 as the marketing manager of Ecuador. He then worked in a series of marketing and commercial leadership roles across Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

In 2015, he moved to North America as Vice President, Customer and Commercial Leadership, and in 2017 was appointed as General Manager of the Puerto Rico Region.

In his most recent role as General Manager for Russia and Belarus, Buckingham secured double digit revenue growth, attaining record high people engagement results, and managing the operation during some exceptionally challenging times.

Welcoming the appointment, Sedef Salingan Sahin, President Eurasia and Middle East Operating Unit, said: "Buckingham brings a wealth of global industry experience and excellent strategic and leadership skills, and I am delighted that he will be leading our Middle East operations through its strategic growth phase."

On his new role, Buckingham said: "I am keen to build on the solid foundation that the team has achieved over the past few years. This year, we have ambitious plans keeping our consumers at the heart of all we do. We will continue to drive innovation, bring unparalleled experiences, and focus on our sustainability agenda."

"I look forward to working alongside our partners, bottlers, and my team to continue to refresh the region and make a difference," he added.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. The delegation of Turkmenistan on March 29 through 31, 2023 in New York took part in high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on "The Role of Zero Waste as a Transformative Solution in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals", Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

According to the information, the delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Myahri Byashimova.

During the meeting, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan in his speech, expressing gratitude to Turkey for the initiative in organizing the event and launching a global campaign to achieve zero waste goals, noted the importance of consolidating the efforts of the world community to develop circular economy models that minimize the impact on the environment and thus contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Furthermore, the Turkmen delegation presented the measures taken by the country at the national level to establish waste management systems within settlements, introduction of modern technologies for the disposal of household and industrial waste in order to improve the living conditions of the population of Turkmenistan and reduce the gap between regions due to the advanced development of rural areas.

Within the framework of this event, a presentation of the new Turkmen city of Arkadag was held. In particular, the emphasis was placed on demonstrating modern waste-free technologies used in the city, "smart" transport and communication systems and innovative environmental solutions.
Three killed, including foreign tourist, in Norway avalanches: police



Oslo, March 31 (AFP) Mar 31, 2023



Three people, including a foreign tourist, were killed Friday as multiple avalanches hit Norway's far north, including one which swept a house and a barn into the sea, police said.

According to police, a group of tourists were caught in an avalanche near the Kavringtinden peak in Norway's far north on Friday afternoon.

"There were five people of foreign origin that were on an outing in the area. We can confirm that one person is deceased," Morten Pettersen with the police in northern Troms told a press conference.

Pettersen added two others were hurt, one critically and one with "moderate injuries." The others were unharmed.

Pettersen said authorities were working on identifying the victim and contacting consular services to inform their next of kin.

Dan-Havard Johnsen, mayor of the Lyngen municipality, told AFP that the group was from Italy but it had not been confirmed whether the deceased was Italian.

About half an hour after the first report, police received notice of another avalanche on the nearby island of Reinoya "where a house and a barn were caught in the snow mass and carried into the sea," Pettersen said, adding that two people had been confirmed dead.

Police also said there were about 140 goats in the barn at the time of the incident
Tourists among four killed in Norway avalanches: police



Oslo, March 31 (AFP) Mar 31, 2023



Four people, including foreign tourists, were killed Friday as multiple avalanches hit Norway's far north, including one which swept a house and a barn into the sea, police said.

According to police, a group of tourists were caught in an avalanche in the Kvalvikdalen valley in Norway's far north on Friday afternoon.

"There were five people of foreign origin that were on an outing in the area. We can confirm that one person is deceased," Morten Pettersen, a spokesman for the police, told journalists.

Pettersen added two others were hurt, one critically and one with "moderate injuries." The others were unharmed.

Pettersen said authorities were working on identifying the victim and contacting consular services to inform their next of kin.

Dan-Havard Johnsen, mayor of the Lyngen municipality, told AFP that the group was from Italy. But it had not been confirmed whether the deceased was Italian.

About half an hour after the first report, police received notice of another avalanche on the nearby island of Reinoya "where a house and a barn were caught in the snow mass and carried into the sea," Pettersen said, adding that two people had been confirmed dead.

Police also said there were about 140 goats in the barn at the time of the incident.

Later in the evening, police said in a statement that a fourth person had been killed in another avalanche by the Tverrelva river in the Nordreisa area.

"The person was part of a larger foreign travelling party. Another member of the travelling party who was at the scene located the person and alerted the emergency services," police said, without specifying their nationality.
'Significant damage' after tornado hits Arkansas: governor



Washington, March 31 (AFP) Mar 31, 2023



A large tornado tore through Arkansas on Friday causing "significant damage," the governor of the southern US state tweeted, as rescuers rushed to aid residents and hospitals said they were bracing for casualties.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote that police and emergency services were working to "assist anyone injured," and called for residents to stay aware as the National Weather Service forecast more storms later in the afternoon.

"Significant damage has occurred in Central Arkansas," Sanders wrote.

The New York Times reported that the tornado had touched down near the state capital, Little Rock, and had torn down trees and damaged houses. More than 70,000 people were without power across the state, according to Poweroutage.us.

The city's mayor, Frank Scott, tweeted that the storm had been "devastating" and said he had asked Sanders' office to send National Guards to help with cleanup.

The governor's office could not immediately confirm any casualties to AFP, but a local hospital told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that it had already begun to receive patients, including "a few" in critical condition.

The spokesperson for the Baptist Health hospital said it was preparing to treat injuries, the newspaper reported.

The University of Arkansas hospital was also on standby, a spokesperson there told AFP.

"We haven't seen people come in quite yet but we know that emergency services have had trouble reaching people because of downed trees," the spokesperson said.

"We expect people to come throughout the night."

Tornadoes are common in the United States, especially in the center and south of the country.

A week ago, a tornado swept through Rolling Fork, a small town in Mississippi, killing 13 people and causing extensive property damage.

President Joe Biden visited the area on Friday.

In December 2021, about 80 people were killed by tornadoes in Kentucky.
Editor's note: As debates over library books unfold throughout the state, we talked to parents on both sides of the issue about why they became involved and what they believe is at stake.

John Voltz, 35, of Lafayette Parish, believes it's indefensible to allow sexually explicit material in the children's section of the public library.

The father of five children, ages 6 months to 10 years old, said his wife of 12 years takes the children to the library about every two weeks, allowing them to browse the children's section for books about topics they each love.

"The girl that likes horses will find horse books and the girl who likes cooking finds cooking books," Voltz said.

At the Lafayette Public Library Board of Control's February meeting, Voltz voiced support for policy changes that prohibit sexually explicit material from being shelved in the children's sections of public libraries.

Voltz's children have never come across any sexually explicit books at the library, but Voltz said excerpts and drawings from books showing people engaged in sexual acts that he saw in the Project Innocence report by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry were "repulsive" to him.

"Looking through the books and seeing what types of images, the wording, seems indefensible to allow in the children's section," he said.

Voltz said he doesn't know what the main objection is to removing the books from the kids section.

"Its not censorship because adults will still be able to check it out if they want their child to read the book," he said.

He heard people say it's censorship to remove books. Voltz also heard the argument that if you remove a certain book for sexually explicit content as defined by Landry's suggested rule, which was adopted by the Lafayette Library Board, you would have to remove the Bible, too.
Lara Nicholson writes for The Advocate as a Report for America Corps Member. Email her at lnicholson@theadvocate.com or follow her on Twitter @LaraNicholson_.

To learn more about Report for America and to support our journalism, please click here.
Guest column: From the beginning, Grace King was a place for us
Clarice Beckett had a power that very few artists possess, says Lisa Sullivan, senior curator at Geelong Art Gallery. Imbued with emotion and atmosphere, mood and nuance, Becketts art  even a century on from its creation  is strikingly contemporary and evocative.

The Australian modernist who died aged 48 in 1935  from pneumonia contracted while she was painting outdoors  is celebrated in a new exhibition, Atmosphere, which opens at Geelong Art Gallery this weekend. Despite having shown work during her lifetime, Beckett was largely overlooked for 35 years after her death, in part thanks to politics in the art world, and in part, no doubt, because she was a woman.

Art historian Rosalind Hollinrake with Clarice Becketts painting Wet Night, Brighton. Credit: Eddie Jim

[Her] late works verge on abstraction, shes testing perception, the boundaries of abstraction... and [theres a] focus on the mood and emotion that different places evoke, says Sullivan.We can only wonder where she would have gone had her life not been cut short.

A prolific painter who often worked outdoors, Beckett captured images of everyday life in the suburbs and the changing world around her. Another constant was the beach around Port Phillip Bay, particularly Beaumaris, near where she lived. She focussed on atmosphere and would go back to the same places again and again, to capture them in different conditions.
Concerning the story in Good Weekend [March 25] about the disappearance of a sloop named the Southern Maid back in September 1973. I came to Yap, Micronesia in June or July 1974 as a Peace Corps volunteer. I trained on Yap and then on Ulithi Atoll. I was a teacher on Fais Island between 1974 and 1975. By the way, Fais is probably the closest island to the Mariana Trench. The main town on Yap is Colonia and seemed pretty relaxed, and I remember some pleasant evenings at OKeefes Oasis, a club-bar named after a captain OKeefe. There is a 1954 film starring Burt Lancaster called His Majesty OKeefe. In 1974, Yap was a territory of the USA with a US Post Office and US currency in use. At the time, I was told a story about some people who were sailing being arrested on a remote island because they werent supposed to visit such islands without permission. I cant remember any other details. I also heard stories about an anthropologist taking Micronesians back to the US to educate them and that he had connections to the CIA. Jay Lamb Mount Martha, Vic

What a moving story about Monica Maciass life and dictator fathers [March 25]. Living in ones country of birth being ruled by a dictator is soul-destroying. When Robert Mugabe came into power in the 1980s, our family were determined to give the new Zimbabwe a go, but by 2000 we realised it was impossible to stay. We saw so many injustices taking place: friends murdered, homes and land confiscated, so we made the big decision to emigrate to Australia. How fortunate we have been that this country has been good to us, and we are now accepted as Australians and live free from fear and danger. Monica Macias says she would love to return to North Korea. I however, have made Australia my home and Zimbabwe is my past life. I will never return.

Felicity Rooney

Sale, Vic

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Thank you for the beautiful story about the two Ukrainian friends [March 25]. When war and horrible things happen far away, the average person often doesnt know how to help. This story shows that simple kindness  and drawing parties and play dates  goes a long way towards making newcomers feel welcome. Half of Australians were immigrants once; it is our obligation to pay our good fortune forward.

Shira Levine

Caulfield, Vic

Your article on the Ukrainian girls was certainly heartwarming, but not new. That was also my 1950s boyhood and that wave of immigration. I was fourth-generation Australian, but my classmates were from Europe, with all the stories of their voyage out. We have had other waves since.

Roderick Smith

Surrey Hills, Vic
Thousands of Victorians marched through Melbournes CBD on Friday night to mark International Transgender Day of Visibility, returning to the scene of a recent confrontation in which far-right protesters performed Nazi salutes.

The protesters gathered in the rain at the State Library of Victoria on Swanston Street and heard speeches from LGBTQ community and union leaders, before heading to Victorian parliament via Bourke Street.

Organisers called for attendees to reclaim the streets after a national furore erupted when neo-Nazis attended an anti-trans rights demonstration and performed Nazi salutes on the steps of parliament.

Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming was subsequently suspended from the parliamentary party after she attended the rally, which clashed with demonstrators gathering in support of trans rights. The state government is also moving to strengthen its anti-vilification laws to ban the Nazi salute after the incident.
A teenage boy and a woman have died and five others were hospitalised after two separate car crashes in Melbournes outer suburbs early Saturday morning, resulting in one arrest.

In Chirnside Park, 32 kilometres north-east of the CBD, emergency services responded to reports a car had hit two parked vehicles on Edward Road around 2am. The car burst into flames after impact, police said.

The scene of the crash at Edward Road in Chirnside Park. Credit: Nine News

Paramedics tried to save a 16-year-old Montrose boy who was a passenger in the car, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the driver, a 16-year-old Chirnside Park boy, was taken to hospital where he remains with serious injuries.
The man accused of murdering Ashley Bropho at Hakea Prison earlier this month has been revealed as Evan James Martin.

Martin, 42, made no appearance at Armadale Magistrate Court on Friday, after being charged with Brophos murder on Thursday.

Ashley Bropho died in Hakea Prison. Credit: Fairfax

Instead, his lawyer appeared on his behalf, asking for an adjournment of the matter until next month.

Martin was being held at Hakea Prison alongside Bropho, who had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of indecently dealing with a child under 13 and encouraging a child to engage in sexual acts after abducting a girl from a park in Doubleview last year.
The NSW Liberal party spent more than $1.6 million on ads trying to convince voters to give it a fourth term in government, hundreds of thousands of dollars more than NSW Labor, and six times more than the Nationals.

Advertising across television and radio networks and newspapers ramped up in the final fortnight of the March 25 election race, but it did not do enough to secure another four years for the Perrottet government. The election advertising push cost $280,000 more for the Liberals than NSW Labor, which spent about $1.4 million. The National Party, which has secured 11 seats for the next term, spent about $270,000.

The data is from Nielsen Ad Intel, which tracks spending across metropolitan TV and radio networks, newspapers, and digital advertising on online publications (not social media). A total of $3.6 million was spent between the major parties during the campaign, the majority of which ($2.2 million) was spent on metropolitan television networks such as the Nine Network, whose parent company owns this masthead, Channel Seven, and Channel 10.

The Liberals ads typically featured former premier Dominic Perrottet and frequently emphasised the partys track record with economic management and delivering infrastructure to NSW. Minns advertising focused on giving NSW a fresh start, with promises for teachers in schools, more healthcare workers, and affordable housing.
The NSW parliament is powerless to take action against the states One Nation leader Mark Latham for making offensive homophobic comments until he is confirmed re-elected to the upper house, with the political firebrand unlikely to face any formal retribution until vote counting is complete on April 20.

Premier Chris Minns rebuked Latham on Friday for the vile and shameful comments he made towards a member of parliament and called for universal condemnation of the language, which was also condemned by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and federal One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has called Mark Lathams comments vile and shameful. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer, Getty

Minns said Latham had revealed himself to be a bigot, but did not address whether the government would take action such as moving a censure motion against the MP.

As vote counting for the upper house will continue until April 20, Latham is yet to be formally elected, and would not be re-sworn until May, making any censure motion impossible, according to political sources. Even after this, such a step could be invalid because Latham was a private citizen at the time he made the comments.
One of the most prosaic but nonetheless accurate explanations for the utter and seemingly inexplicable insanity that has surrounded Donald Trump, and in turn America, for some seven years now is this: That he is a man forever focused on tactics and virtually never on strategy.

This is his pattern: Moved by the urges of a small child, he finds himself backed into a corner, and then embarks upon ever-more-outrageous plays to get himself out of it.

This explains why we are at the mind-blowing pass we are at today: Donald Trump  to be clear, a former president of the United States, the worlds greatest democracy and most powerful nation  has been indicted for hush money payments to a porn star. And the betting involves how many more times he may be indicted in coming months. Pick your number, one to three. (My betting is on two, with three a distinct possibility.)

If you recall, Trump, his bumbling fixer Michael Cohen, and the owner of an American supermarket tabloid, the National Enquirer, got together to pay Stormy Daniels, a porn star, $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election.
Washington: The Manhattan district attorney at the centre of Donald Trumps historic indictment has accused Republicans of unlawful political interference as tensions escalated ahead of the former US presidents arraignment next week.

A day after a grand jury in New York took the unprecedented step of indicting Trump over hush money paid to a porn star, Trump launched a new fundraising blitz off the back of his plight. In a statement on Saturday (AEDT), he said he had raised $US4 million in the 24 hours following the charges, adding 25 per cent of it came from first-time donors.

Meanwhile, his allies in Congress called for people to protest in the streets and Trumps favourite daughter Ivanka broke her silence over the case, declaring: I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both.

Trump is expected to be arraigned in New York on Tuesday at 2.15pm, New York time, which will mark the first time a former US president has ever been processed, fingerprinted, and had his mugshot taken before appearing in court where his charges will be outlined and he will enter a plea.
The Business Association of Georgia published the results of a survey that said 63 percent of its member companies planned to increase the volume of their investments this year, Trend reports with reference to Agenda.

Collected in the first quarter of the year, the survey also saw 28 percent of the member companies say they would keep investment levels unchanged this year, while nine percent predicted a decline.

The Association, which brings together around 100 companies, said the construction sector had shown the most optimistic investment expectations in 2023.

It noted 75 percent of surveyed companies in the industry planned to increase investments, while for the trade sector the figure stood at 64 percent.

Among companies in the service sector 63 percent indicated plans for increasing their investments, while in the industrial sector 45 percent projected annual increase of their total investment volume.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Turkish parliaments decision to ratify the protocol of Finlands accession to NATO, Trend reports citing Turkish media.

"I welcome the vote of the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye to complete the ratification of Finlands accession. This will make the whole NATO family stronger and safer," he wrote on Twitter.

The parliament of Turkiye approved a bill to ratify a protocol on Finlands accession to NATO on Thursday night. All 276 lawmakers present in the parliamentary hall voted in favor. Therefore, Finland has obtained legal grounds for joining the alliance.

Turkiye was the remaining NATO member to approve Helsinkis bid. Earlier, the process was also delayed by Hungary, but the country passed a relevant bill on March 27.
Japan bans Russia-bound exports of steel, aluminum and aircraft including drones in its latest sanction against Moscow, the trade ministry said on Friday, Trend reports citing TASS.

The measure, which also prohibits Japanese entities from exporting a wide variety of industrial items such as construction machinery, ship engines, testing equipment and optical devices to Russia, will go into effect on April 7, the ministry said in a statement.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. President Emmanuel Macrons government "rejects migrants, but keeps terrorists", Matteo Salvini, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister said, following the decision of the French Court of Cassation made in relation to ten former terrorist members of the Red Brigades group, Trend reports, citing EURACTIV.

On Tuesday, the French Court of Cassation refused to extradite ten former members of the Italian Red Brigades terrorist group, who found refuge in France, despite the fact that Italian courts sentenced them to various degrees of punishment, including life imprisonment, for bloody crimes.

Created in the 1970s, the far-left terrorist group is responsible for numerous murders and kidnappings.

"It is a disgrace. They reject children at the Ventimiglia border in the woods and keep terrorists who should be in jail in Italy," Salvini said.

As Salvini pointed out, French police, systematically return illegal migrants trying to cross the Italian border through the forest or by train, often in order to get to relatives in France.

However, the French court justified its decision by upholding the right to private and family life and the right to a fair trial against terrorists.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. A woman in France was arrested for insulting President Emmanuel Macron in her Facebook post, the day before he gave an interview to TF1 television to defend his controversial pension reform that has caused protests all over the country, Trend reports, citing French media.

According to the sources, she is facing trial for insulting Macron after calling him "filth". The woman faces a fine of 12,000 euros, but not a prison, if she is brought to trial on June 20.

"This piece of filth is going to address you at 1:00 pm... it's always on television that we see this filth," she wrote.

In an interview with local paper, right after she was interrogated, the woman said that she was shocked to see the police that had come to arrest her.

"I asked them if it was a joke, I had never been arrested. I am not public enemy number one. They want to make an example of me," she said.

Months-long protest against pension reform led to social tensions in France, although Macron and his government refuse to give in.
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

A steady light rain early...then remaining cloudy with a few showers. High 46F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Some passing clouds. Low 33F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday sent 38 tons of medical aid and food supplies to families in Afghanistan affected by a recent earthquake in the country, state press agency WAM reported, Trend reports citing Al Arabiya.

At least 13 people were killed and more than 90 injured after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Afghanistan and Pakistan just over a week ago.

The provision of these supplies is part of the UAEs enduring efforts to provide urgent relief to countries affected by natural disasters and enhance humanitarian support for vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly, WAM said on Friday evening.

The epicenter of the quake was in the Hindu Kush mountains, in the sparsely populated northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, 40 km (25 miles) southeast of Jurm village, at the considerable depth of 187 km (116 miles), the US Geological Survey said at the time.
AD Ports Group, a leading global facilitator of trade, logistics, and industry, signed today (March 15) a Head of Terms (HoT) with the Ministry of International Cooperation and Promotion of Public Private Partnership of the Republic of Congo, for a new multipurpose terminal in Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo.

Under the HoT, AD Ports Group has the exclusive right to invest in the development, operation, and management of the New Mole Port that will handle containers, general cargo, break-bulk and other types of cargo.

Furthermore, the Group will provide the new facility with digital services and technology solutions to enhance its efficiency including design, implementation and operation of a single-window, software development, digital architecture, business analytics, digital operations support and digital transformation.

The HoT agreement runs for one year from the date of signing and could lead to a concession agreement subject to technical, legal, commercial, and environmental due diligence.

Pointe Noire is the main commercial centre of the Republic of the Congo, and its port plays a key role in the economy and development of the nation and wider region.

Executives are confident that the collaboration will help stimulate trade and enhance connectivity for the Republic of the Congo, which is pursuing a new National Development Plan (NDP) focusing on economic diversification and high, resilient, and inclusive growth.

Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO, AD Ports Group, said: AD Ports Group continues to expand its operations globally, working with partners to develop world-class port, logistics and maritime facilities in key commercial hubs. We see significant potential for developing a multipurpose terminal at the Port of Pointe Noire, particularly given the ports key role in the energy sector. As always, we are grateful for the support of the UAEs leadership in enabling us to develop this new opportunity and supporting our international ambitions. We value the trust of the Congo Government in our capabilities and our commitment to deploying our expertise in supporting its development plans.

Denis-Christel Sassou Nguesso, Minister of International Cooperation and Promotion of Public Private Partnership of the Republic of Congo, said: AD Ports Group has quickly developed an outstanding reputation for the development of advanced, innovation-enabled port and maritime facilities, and we are pleased to work with them on the development of the new terminal at Pointe Noire Port. Their experience and global network will no doubt add significant value to our efforts to make the New Mole Port in Pointe Noire one of the best performing ports on the central west coast of the African continent.TradeArabia News Service
Russias COVID-19 case tally rose by 10,750 over the past day to 22,636,589, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Friday, Trend reports with reference to TASS.

A day earlier, 10,750 daily cases were recorded.

As many as 1,308 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 23.7% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients increased in 21 regions, while in 59 regions the figure decreased. The situation remained unchanged in five regions. A day earlier, 1,714 people were rushed to hospitals.

Moscows COVID-19 cases surged by 1,549 over the past day versus 1,771 cases a day earlier, reaching 3,477,613, according to the anti-coronavirus crisis center. St. Petersburgs COVID-19 cases increased by 1,121 over the past day versus 1,054 a day earlier, reaching 1,917,616.

Russias COVID-19 recoveries rose by 12,974 over the past day, reaching 21,995,504, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Friday.

A day earlier some 12,467 patients recovered.

Russias COVID-19 death toll rose by 34 over the past day, reaching 397,245, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Friday.

A day earlier 32 COVID-19 deaths were registered.
50,000 Signed Letter Calling for AI Advancement Pause, Nonprofit Says

A recent open letter calling for a pause on artificial intelligence advancement has been signed by more than 50,000 people, including more than 1,800 CEOs and 1,500 professors, according to the nonprofit that issued it.

The reaction has been intense, the Future of Life Institute (FLI), a nonprofit seeking to mitigate large-scale technology risks, wrote on its website.

We feel that it has given voice to a huge undercurrent of concern about the risks of high-powered AI systems not just at the public level, but top researchers in AI and other topics, business leaders, and policymakers.

Some prominent figures have added their names under the letter, including Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, inventor of associative neural networks John Hopfield, Scientific Director of the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms Yoshua Bengio, and Stuart Russell, professor and AI researcher at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley.

The letter states that AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity and should be developed with sufficient care and forethought.

Unfortunately, this level of planning and management is not happening, even though recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no onenot even their creatorscan understand, predict, or reliably control, it reads, asking AI developers to pause the training of AI systems more advanced than OpenAIs recently released GPT-4.

If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.

Research doesnt need to stop but rather steer away from the dangerous race to ever-larger unpredictable black-box models with emergent capabilities, according to the letter.

AI research and development should be refocused on making todays powerful, state-of-the-art systems more accurate, safe, interpretable, transparent, robust, aligned, trustworthy, and loyal, it reads.

The letters webpage shows roughly 2,200 signatures as of the afternoon of March 31. Many signatories didnt identify as experts in the AI field. FLI stated that it has slowed adding new names to the list so it can vet them.

Missing from the list are executives of all the top AI developers, including Alphabets DeepMind, ChatGPT developer OpenAI, and other big players, such as Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft. Also absent are virtually all heads of universities top AI research departments.

It isnt clear whether any of these individuals are among those thousands of signatures not yet added to the list. FLI didnt respond to emailed questions.

On a March 31 FAQ page, the nonprofit acknowledged that, initially, some signatures on the letter were fake.

Some individuals were incorrectly and maliciously added to the list before we were prepared to publish widely, the page reads. We have now improved our process and all signatories that appear on top of the list are genuine.

The sheet likens the call for an AI advancement pause to the 1975 Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA.

The conference allowed leading scientists and government experts to prohibit certain experiments and design rules that would allow actors to safely research this technology, leading to huge progress in biotechnology, the page reads.

Sometimes stepping back to reassess and reevaluate can engineer trust between scientists and the societies they operate in and subsequently accelerate progress.

Musks AI Concerns

Musk has long been vocal about the dangers posed by advanced AI.

During previous talks, he opined that as AI develops, its likely to far surpass human intelligence. At that point, even if it turns out to be benevolent, it may treat humans as a lower life form.

Well be like the house cat, he said at the Recodes Code Conference in 2016.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but is no longer associated with it.

He recently said some of his actions may have exacerbated the AI problem.
Mainly American works from many collections now at the Rijksmuseum

Vermeer hysteria has been stoked by the current blockbuster exhibition Vermeer on view at the Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam, until June 4, 2023. This show is a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition showcasing the majority of the artists oeuvre. The show, which is the first Vermeer exhibition ever held at the Rijksmuseum, congregates an astonishing 28 of the Baroque painters approximately 37 known paintings. (The exact number of total works is disputed.)

Johannes Vermeer (16321675) lived his whole life in the Dutch city of Delft. He painted exquisite works: light rendered naturalistically; intimate interiors of quiet domestic moments, captured and made timeless; and compositions that masterfully draw the viewers gaze. Vermeer was respected in his lifetime but died heavily in debt. Subsequently, his work was overlooked for centuries, rediscovered to great acclaim by the art world only in the mid-19th century. Today, his paintings are iconic images that have inspired numerous novels and films.

Interestingly, at the time of Vermeers death, the United States was not even a country, yet over a third of the works in Vermeer (10 paintings in total) are now on loan from American collections, both public and private. Four of the exhibitions works are part of the collection in Washingtons National Gallery of Art. The Frick Collection in New York contributed all three of its Vermeer works, while The Metropolitan Museum of Art sent two from its collection.

National Gallerys Vermeers

A Lady Writing, circa 1665, by Johannes Vermeer. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington. (Public Domain)

The National Gallery of Arts A Lady Writing is a classic example of Vermeers style and composition. As is typical of the artist, soft light coming from the left side of the painting illuminates an intimate interior scene. Luminous paint accents deployed on the tabletops pearls, the womans earrings, and her satin hair ribbons accentuate her luxurious accessories. Many of Vermeers other paintings showcase the same furnishings, motifs, and even one of two rooms in his home.

The lush yellow jacket in A Lady Writing is composed of the pigment lead-tin yellow, which Kassia St. Clair in her book The Secret Lives of Color explains was the yellow of choice for old-master painters such as Vermeer. For unknown reasons, the use of this color sharply declined around 1750, and knowledge of lead-tin yellow was completely lost until its existence and long history of artistic use was rediscovered in 1941. Indeed, scientific analysis of paintings that reveals this pigments presence can help date and authenticate works of art.

Woman Holding a Balance, circa 1664, by Johannes Vermeer. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington. (Public Domain)

Woman Holding a Balance features the use of lead-tin yellow. The work also displays Vermeers signature liberal use of ultramarine, a pigment that comes from the rock lapis lazuli and was the most expensive pigment in its day, in the womans jacket. Woman Holding a Balance is a superb example of Vermeers use of diffused light, shimmering paint accents, and balanced compositions that lead to an almost otherworldly sense of equilibrium.

The Fricks Paired Figures

Mistress and Maid, circa 16661667, by Johannes Vermeer. Oil on canvas. The Frick Collection, New York. (Public Domain)

The Frick Collection, housed in the private home turned museum of the Gilded Age industrialist Henry Clay Frick, is prohibited from lending works of art in its collection that were acquired by its founder, as stipulated in Mr. Fricks will. Serendipitously, however, the Frick is currently undergoing a multiyear renovation of its building and has transported much of its collection to an off-site display. These special circumstances resulted in the impossible being possible, and the Fricks Vermeers have been allowed to join their siblings at the Rijksmuseum.

All three of the Fricks paintings feature a pair of figures. Mistress and Maid depicts two women, but it hints at a third person with the delivery of a letter. The motif of mistresses and maids, along with letter correspondence, was popular in contemporaneous art and literature. The Fricks website commentary heralds this painting as an example of Vermeers great technical skill, with bravura brushstrokes employed to show the pleating of the ladys yellow mantle along with shorter brushstrokes used to capture flickering light on glassware and shimmering pearls.

Girl Interrupted at Her Music, circa 16581659, by Johannes Vermeer. Oil on canvas. The Frick Collection, New York. (Public Domain)

As in other Vermeer works, Girl Interrupted at Her Music utilizes music to imply a scene of courtship between the male and female figures. Officer and Laughing Girl, illustrating the theme of love, transcends the popular Dutch art subject of a young woman entertaining a suitor by its dazzling display of pictorial light. The Frick notes: The dark foil of the officers silhouette dramatizes both the illusion of depth and the brilliant play of light over the woman and the furnishings of the chamber.

Officer and Laughing Girl, circa 1657, by Johannes Vermeer. Oil on canvas. The Frick Collection, New York. (Public Domain)

Nine Vermeer paintings feature wall maps and other cartographic items, and the map of Holland in Officer and Laughing Girl was probably the first time the artist depicted such an object. In the fall of 2022, the Frick published a book titled Vermeers Maps, which is an in-depth exploration of Vermeers unparalleled ability to render maps with great detailed accuracy and artistic flair. Amazingly, all the maps and globes that he depicts can be identified. In the 17th century, the Dutch led the world in mapmaking. At the crossroads of art and science, maps became popular objects for interior decoration.

The Mets Gilded Age Collection

Young Woman With a Lute, circa 166263, by Johannes Vermeer. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (Public Domain)

The Met owns five Vermeers, more than any other museum, and has sent both Allegory of the Catholic Faith and Young Woman With a Lute to the Rijksmuseum. The latter painting was formerly in the collection of the Gilded Age railway magnate Collis P. Huntington. Met curator Adam Eaker explains in the works catalog entry that the painting displays classic Vermeer characteristics: a composition with a half-length figure, anchored in space by a table that juts out of the lower left-hand corner, diffused light entering the interior through a left-hand side window, and highlighted luminous pearls. The tabletop laden with open songbooks and an instrument on the floor indicate that the young woman is preparing for a duet and allows the viewer to imagine an array of narrative scenarios.

The American businessman and philanthropist Thomas Kaplan and his wife, Daphne Recanati Kaplan, are collectors in the style of those Gilded Age titans, such as Henry Clay Frick, with a focus on collecting old masters and putting them on public display. The couple call their holdings The Leiden Collection in homage to the Dutch city of Leiden, and have created a free online scholarly catalog detailing their works. The collection includes the only mature Vermeer painting, Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, which is on view in the Rijksmuseums exhibition. The painting features a young woman at her music, a subject comparable with other Vermeers, and showcases Vermeers sensitivity and skill in depicting luminous light. Yet again, music-making in the scene implies courtship as the woman gazes out from the canvas, situating the viewer as a potential suitor.

Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, circa 167275. Oil on canvas. The Leiden Collection, New York. (Public Domain)

The 17th century in the Dutch Republic was one of the greatest periods of artistic achievement in Western art. Connective threads can be found among many of Vermeers paintings, yet each one is individualistic, richly evocative, restrained, but immediate, mesmerizing, and timeless.

Many visitors to the Vermeer exhibition, whether in-person or as armchair travelers, will agree with the claim of Taco Dibbits, the Rijksmuseum general director, that Vermeer is the most mysterious and beloved artist of all time.
Biden Says He Has No Comment on Trump After Indictment

(Left) President Joe Biden speaks during a rally for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in Yonkers, N.Y., on Nov. 6, 2022. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images); (Right) Former President Donald Trump gestures during a rally for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in Miami on Nov. 6, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden and the White House have declined to comment on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs Thursday indictment of former President Donald Trump.

As he traveled from the White House to Mississippi to survey tornado-ravaged portions of the state on Friday, Biden was asked by reporters about Trump being charged. He declined to answer.

I have no comment on Trump, Biden said. He did not elaborate more and instead pivoted to Russia having detained a Wall Street Journal reporter, saying: Let him go.

Earlier this month, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he might be indicted, prompting a flurry of reports and questions to White House officials about the DAs case. White House officials, in response, have repeatedly declined to comment on the matter over the past several weeks.

We do not comment on any ongoing investigations from here. Weve been very consistent on that, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on March 20, days after Trumps Truth Social announcement and statement that supporters should protest his indictment. The president has been very clear when it comes to Americans who want to protest: They should do it peacefully.

Meanwhile, some top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have remained relatively reserved about the case against Trump. On Thursday, Schumer posted to Twitter that Trump is is subject to the same laws as every American and will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered a similar refrain on her Twitter account. But she drew controversy for suggesting that Trump has to prove his innocence, with critics suggesting that she is flouting longstanding Anglo-American jurisprudence that one should be assumed innocent until proven guilty.

Neither the Department of Justice (DOJ) nor Attorney General Merrick Garland have commented on the indictment. The DOJ, which reportedly declined to investigate Trump in connection to the alleged Stormy Daniels payments, last year named a special counsel to investigate Trump about whether he mishandled classified documents and his activity following the 2020 election.

A New York grand jury voted Thursday to indict Trump, a 2024 presidential candidate, although details about the charges are not clear. It has been reported that the case is in relation to alleged hush-money payments Trump paid to adult actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign and whether he misclassified those funds.

Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Trump, told The Epoch Times that the former president was told about the Manhattan grand jurys vote to indict him. The indictment, however, remains sealedand it likely will remain so until Trump arrives in court for his arraignment.

While Trump claimed in a social media post on March 18 that he would be arrested in days, Trumps first reaction at the news was shock, said one of his attorneys, Joe Tacopina, in a Friday interview on ABC News.

Well go in there and well proceed to see a judge at some point, plead not guilty, start talking about filing motions, which we will do immediately and very aggressively, Tacopina said.

Trump, 76, said he was completely innocent and accused Bragg, a Democrat, of trying to hurt his electoral chances. This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history, Trump said in a statement.

The Manhattan charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days and Trump will have to travel there to be photographed, fingerprinted, and appear in court, which a court official said was expected on Tuesday. Trump lawyer Susan Necheles confirmed the Tuesday surrender date and said she did not expect charges to be unsealed until that day.

Reuters contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, to reaffirm his commitment to supporting the people of Mississippi as they recover and rebuild from devastating storms.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Russia's Rosselkhoznadzor will ban the import of dairy products from Armenia into the country from April 5, Trend reports via Russian Interfax agency.

According to the agency, the Veterinary Service of Armenia has been requested to suspend the certification of dairy products of all enterprises of the country for supplies to Russia.

The reason of the ban is the unsatisfactory results of the inspection of Armenian enterprises, which the Rosselkhoznadzor specialists conducted from March 20 through March 24, 2023 in connection with the increase in the supply of Armenian dairy products.

Verification revealed that Armenian factories use raw materials produced in Iran, the supply of which to Russia is not allowed.

According to the source, these violations mean the lack of proper state control over these enterprises.

"The possibility of resuming supplies will be discussed additionally following the results of the work carried out by the Armenian side to eliminate the revealed violations," Rosselkhoznadzor said.
Blinken Talks With Israeli Counterpart After Judicial Change Protests

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks on the release of the 2022 Human Rights Report at the U.S. State Department in Washington, on March 20, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, on March 30just days after President Joe Biden criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus efforts at judicial change.

Like many supporters of Israel, Im very concerned, said Biden on March 28. And Im concerned that they get this right. They cannot continue down this road.

He also said he would not meet with Netanyahu in the near term.

In a statement, the State Department did not explicitly mention the judicial change effort, though it said Blinken emphasized the importance of refraining from unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions.

Blinken, according to the department, reaffirmed the importance of the enduring U.S.Israel bilateral relationship.

The secretary and the foreign minister discussed shared challenges including Iran, as well as efforts to advance mutual interests, such as Israels further regional integration.

The secretary reiterated the continued United States commitment to a two-state solution, welcomed recent efforts to de-escalate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians through meetings in Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh, and emphasized the importance of refraining from unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions.

The meeting in Aqaba, Jordan, was on Feb. 26 and the communique in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, was on March 19.

Netanyahu announced on March 27 that Israel will halt its attempt at judicial change until the next legislative session, which will be after Passover.

In Israel, Passover starts on April 5 and ends on April 12 (April 13 outside of Israel).

I am taking a timeout in the legislation of the judicial reform, he said.

In order to prevent a rift in our people, I have decided to suspend the vote on the second and third reading of the legislation in the current Knesset session, in order to try and reach an understanding on the legislation during the next Knesset session.

Netanyahu pledged to bring a reform that will restore the balance between the different branches of government while strengthening civil liberties.

Massive protests were happening in Israel in response to the proposed changes and after Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who voiced opposition to the governments efforts, on March 26.

The United States expressed concern about the protests.

As the president recently discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu, democratic values have always been and must remain a hallmark of the U.S.Israel relationship, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a March 26 statement.

We continue to strongly urge Israeli leaders to find a compromise as soon as possible. We believe that is the best path forward for Israel and all of its citizens. United States support for Israels security and democracy remains ironclad.

Israels proposed changes would allow the government to appoint judges and for the Knesset, Israels parliament, to overturn Supreme Court decisions.

Netanyahu has been criticized for attempting the move in order to shield himself from legal liability as hes under indictment in multiple corruption scandals.
Boston COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for City Workers Okay, Court Rules

Bostons COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city workers was legal, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled on March 30.

The citys claim that COVID-19 could not adequately be combated without vaccination outweighed the risk of irreparable harm to workers who were facing termination, Justice Elspeth Cypher wrote in the ruling.

The potential harm to the city and the public resulting from the spread of COVID-19 clearly outweighed the economic harm to the employees, Cypher said.

The citys 2021 mandate initially required proof of vaccination or weekly testing, but weekly testing was cut out after the emergence of the Omicron variant. That prompted a challenge from unions, which said the city had not properly negotiated the update.

Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, an adviser to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, told the court that the update was needed because the testing alternative was likely insufficient to combat COVID-19 once Omicron appeared, even though the vaccines have performed much worse against the strain and its subvariants.

Overturns Injunction

The new ruling overturns a preliminary injunction entered in 2022.

Workers who failed to get a COVID-19 vaccine under the mandate faced repercussions, including termination. Unions asked for a preliminary injunction so workers could not be punished. Their bid was initially rejected, with a trial judge finding plaintiffs had not demonstrated irreparable harm absent an injunction. Massachusetts Appeals Court Judge Sabita Singh reversed that ruling, finding that workers faced substantial harm if the mandate was not blocked and that the citys failure to negotiate the policy meant plaintiffs were likely to succeed.

Singh said the case differed from others because it implicated issues of bodily integrity and self-determination.

Singh abused her discretion in issuing the injunction, which remained in place until Thursday, the states top court said.

The harm the plaintiffs were facing is solely economic because they could have continued to refuse to become vaccinated and instead challenged the decision both in court and before the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (CERB), the court said.

Further, due to the pandemic, the city was able to make the mandate change without bargaining with unions, the court ruled.

Given the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and its threat to the health and safety of the public, the decision to remove the testing alternative in the defendants COVID-19 policy constituted a nondelegable policy decision that could not be the subject of decision bargaining because any such requirement would have impinged directly on the defendants ability to provide essential public safety services to city residents, the ruling stated.

Its unclear, though, whether the citys deadline to get vaccinated was reasonable and necessary, Cypher said, noting that the deadline of three weeks was much shorter than that imposed by the state.

Given CERBs acknowledgement that the defendants initial deadline more than halved that of another employer in similar circumstances, we conclude that the plaintiffs have demonstrated at least some likelihood of success on the merits of their impact bargaining claim, Cypher said.

Doesnt Affect Firefighters

The city recently agreed to drop the mandate for the plaintiffs, firefighters and superior officers. The resolution was reached because the parties desire to resolve this matter without the expense and uncertainty of further litigation, and in promotion of harmonious labor relations between them, the Boston Herald reported.

I respect the Courts decision to lift the injunction however I do not see it having any impact on our Union and members given the agreement we reached with the City in February, Sam Dillon, president of Boston Firefighters Local 718, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

The Courts decision in no way impacts the recent agreement between Local 718 and the City, and the Covid-19 mandate remains unenforceable to the members of Local 718, Leah Barrault, representing the plaintiffs in the case, added.

Boston officials said in a statement that the decision affirms that our policies were grounded in sound medical guidance and the public interest at a time of emergency, and it makes absolutely clear that the City of Boston had and continues to have full authority to act in the interest of public health and safety, both last winter and in the future.

Wus office did not respond to a request for comment as to whether the city will impose a mandate for other workers in the future.
California Bill That Would Impose Harsher Penalties on Fentanyl Dealers Stalls in Senate Committee

A bipartisan bill in the California Legislature that would have allowed prosecutors to charge fentanyl dealers with murder if someone dies as a result of them ingesting a drug they sold, failed to pass in the Senate Public Safety Committee March 28.

Senate Bill 44, introduced last month by Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), would have required drug dealers, following an offense related to fentanyl, to be notified that if they sell it again and someone dies from taking it, they could be charged with murder or voluntary manslaughter.

That doesnt mean that the fight is over. It just means that once again we have another challenge in front of us, Umberg said at a press conference following the vote. At this point, Im somewhat stunned. Im obviously disappointed, but Im committed to working on this issue.

California state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) speaks at a press conference after his fentanyl bill failed to pass in the Senate Public Safety Committee in Sacramento, on March 28, 2023. (Screenshot via YouTube/California Senate Democrats)

The bill is modeled after the states so-called Watson Waiver admonishment given to drunk driversthat if they are caught driving intoxicated again and kill someone in the process they face a second-degree murder charge instead of manslaughter.

A similar bill was previously introduced by former Republican state Sen. Melissa Melendez in 2021, but it failed in committee later that year. She named it Alexandras Law in honor of 20-year-old Alexandra Capelouto, who died in 2019 when she took half a pill of a counterfeit prescription painkiller laced with fentanyl.

The dealer, Brandon Michael McDowell, has since been sentenced to nine years in federal prison.

Umberg revived the bill with the same name.

State Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), who co-authored the bill said at the press conference she was heartbroken by her colleagues vote.

The bill would have been one prong in the multi-faced approach we must take in addressing the fentanyl crisis, she said. A policy like SB44 would make a difference.

California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) speaks at a Public Safety Committee hearing in Sacramento on March 28, 2023. (Screenshot via California State Senate)

Democrat Sens. Aisha Wahab, Steven Bradford, Nancy Skinner, and Scott Wiener all abstained from voting, causing the bill to fail which needed majority support. The latter three senators also voted down Alexandras Law last year.

Their reasoning is that the bill appears to repeat failed drug policies that they said have led to mass incarceration.

Wiener additionally said during the committee meeting hearing that some drug dealers are unaware the drugs they are selling are laced with fentanyl, so any kind of warning about the ramifications of doing so would be pointless.

Were going to have situations where some college kid sells what they think is a Percocet [and] has no idea it has fentanyl  to their college classmate. And then theyre going to get that triggered warning when they had no idea and no reason to know, Wiener said.

Matt Capelouto, the father of Alexandra of whom the bill is named, slammed the lawmakers at the news conference.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins speaks at a press conference in Sacramento, on March 28, 2023. (Screenshot via YouTube/California Senate Democrats)

Im appalled to be standing here once again expressing disagreement with a decision of the Public Safety Committee that refuses, absolutely refuses, to do anything about the epidemic ripping our communities apart, he said. The first time I was stunned. The second time I was angry.

He also said the warning in the bill would have given drug dealers a chance to change direction to avoid serious accountability. They are given an opportunity to save themselves from a life behind bars. And if they dont take that opportunity, they pay a price.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, were in Sacramento to show their support for the bill.

So many people are dying from [fentanyl] overdoses, Gloria said at the news conference. If you can see the line of corpses in our coroners offices across the state of California and not realize we need to take action  to have consequences for illegal behavior, accountability for reckless endangerment of peoples loved ones  I feel right now thats not necessarily happening.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria speaks at a press conference in Sacramento, on March 28, 2023. (Screenshot via YouTube/California Senate Democrats)

Jenkins additionally said the bill would have given a warning that gives that person pause next time they think about selling fentanyl, so that we can save lives.

Over 100,000 people died of drug overdoses nationally in a one-year period ending in August 2022 and the majority were caused by fentanyl and other illicit synthetic drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Upon request by Umberg, the committee granted the bill reconsideration, giving it another opportunity for a vote at a future meeting.

Last week in the Assemblys Public Safety Committee, two billsAB 1058 and AB 367that would have increased penalties for fentanyl dealers were postponed indefinitely.
California Bill Would Require Schools to Provide Free Condoms to Students

A state Senate bill that would require schools to provide free condoms to all California students passed the Senate Education Committee March 29.

State Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley) introduced Senate Bill 541 last month to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among youth.

If passed, the bill would require all public schools to make internal and external condoms available to students in grades 712 free and ensure students are aware of the availability.

The bill would also ban retailers from refusing to sell contraception to people based on ageand prevent them from requiring identification for proof of age.

During a March 29 hearing in the Senate Education Committee, committee members voted 52 to pass the bill, and referred it to the Senate Health Committee for a vote in the coming weeks.

During the hearing, Menjivar cited 2018 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that indicated over half of all sexually transmitted infections nationwide were experienced among youth between 15 to 24 years old.

A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., on Sept. 30, 2014. (Tami Chappell/File Photo/Reuters)

Additionally, 2019 data from the CDC showed that an average of 38 percent of high school students nationwide were sexually active, and only 54 percent used condoms during intercourse.

The bill, Menjivar said, aims to instill safe sexual habits.

While abstinence is, as we know, the only 100 percent effective way to prevent a [sexually transmitted infection], we know some teens are still engaging in sexual activity, she said during the committee hearing. We want to make sure when that teenager makes that personal decision, they have the resources to stay safe.

Menjivar said teens often face barriers to accessing condomssuch as cost, accessibility, identification requirementor shame when theyre looking to purchase.

Youth are often denied and turned away [when purchasing condoms], and its not deterring them from engaging in sexual behavior, its just promoting unsafe sexual behavior, she said. Providing condoms in school ensures we are meeting youth where they are at.

Several representatives from health and youth advocacy organizations spoke at the hearing in support of the billincluding members of the AIDs Healthcare Foundation, the California Coalition for Youth, the California Federation of Teachers, and the California Teachers Association.

An elementary school classroom in Orange, Calif., on March 11, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Others, however, spoke at the hearing to oppose the bill.

Greg Burt, with the California Family Council, a public policy advocacy group, said during the hearing that he thought the states sexual health policies in recent years have inadvertently caused a rise in sexually transmitted infections.

For the last decade or more this legislative body has been pushing condoms as the solution to sexually transmitted infections spreading among our youth, he said. And each time the infection rate rose, [legislators] insisted kids just need easier access to condoms and information about safe sex at younger and younger ages.

Burt urged the committee to rethink the issue, advocating instead for the state to uphold the ideal of abstinence until marriage.

It is time to tell young people the truth, that those with the most fulfilling and healthy sex lives are those who treat sex as a special and intimate act to be shared in a monogamous, committed marriage, he said. Im not encouraging you to shame people. But hold up abstinence until marriage as a noble ideal. [Sexually transmitted infections] cant thrive in a culture that idealizes marriage.
California Labor Board to Decide If LA Unified Strike Was Illegal

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) workers and supporters rally in Los Angeles State Historic Park on the last day of a strike over a new contract in Los Angeles on March 23, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Was the three-day strike earlier this month by Los Angeles Unified School Districts (LAUSD) two unions illegal?

An administrative judge for Californias Public Employee Relations Board may soon decide.

Last week, SEIU Local 99the union representing LAUSDs 30,000 cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians, and special education assistantswent on strike from March 21 through March 23.

United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), the union representing 35,000 LAUSD teachers, joined the strike, halting classes for the districts 420,000 students.

In the days leading up to the strike, LAUSD filed charges March 18 with the relations board asking it to issue an injunction to halt the strike, and alleged in a complaint that the strike was illegal because it was declared before the union completed the step-by-step process for negotiations, as required by the board.

That process requires both parties to declare that negotiations have reached an impasse, then they must enlist an independent mediator, and carry out fact-finding research. If all steps have been completed, the union may declare a strike, according to legal counsel for the relations board.

A sign reads Increase Educator Salaries as Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) workers and supporters rally in Los Angeles State Historic Park on the last day of a strike over a new contract in Los Angeles on March 23, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

While SEIU Local completed the first two steps, its members struck before it completed the third, she told The Epoch Times.

In their charge, LAUSD said the unions action was a purely economic strike initiated before the union has exhausted [the boards] mediation and fact-finding procedures; and includes the participation of employees who are essential to preventing an imminent and substantial threat to the public health or safety.

Ross, also confirmed to The Epoch Times that the two parties were currently still in the fact-finding stage of negotiations as of March 29.

The spokesperson also said that a hearing is likely to take place in the coming months, though no timeline has been established yet.

On March 19, the district said in a statement that the relations board dismissed its injunction but ordered an expedited trialmeaning the trial proceedings will be sped up for this casefor LAUSDs complaint against the union.

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) workers and supporters rally in Los Angeles State Historic Park on the last day of a strike over a new contract in Los Angeles on March 23, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Though district and union leaders reached a tentative labor contract agreement March 24 with the help of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the agreement doesnt address or settle LAUSDs unfair labor practice charges.

Union leaders maintain that they had the right to strike and that LAUSDs charges are unfounded.

UTLA and SEIU 99 members continued to have the right to strike and did, UTLA said in a March 27 statement. Instead of wasting time on legal maneuvers over the last two weeks that didnt prevent a strike, LAUSD should have been focused on resolving the issues and respecting their employees.

The proposed contract meets SEIU Local 99s demand for a 30 percent pay raise with bonus payments, retroactive pay, and fully paid health benefits.

The unions members will vote on whether to approve the contract next week.

A spokesperson for SEIU Local 99 was not immediately available for comment.
California Man Arrested 10 Times in 31 Days, Faces 33 Charges

A man in Fresno County, California was arrested 10 times within a span of 31 days, according to the Clovis Police Department.

Keith Chastains first arrest was on Feb. 19, and his tenth was on March 21. He was booked by Clovis police six times and other agencies four times.

Chastain, 38, faces 18 felonies and 15 misdemeanors. Charges include six stolen vehicles, vandalism, DUI, possession of a controlled substance, fraud, and more, according to authorities.

I dont know what is happening in his life to cause him to steal so many peoples vehicles and property. Its sad; I hope he gets some help, Clovis Police Corporal Meredith Alexander told KMPH Fox 26.

On his tenth arrest, police received a tip over the phone and caught Chastain driving a stolen truck in Old Town Clovis. Police said he was on his way to the police station in the stolen vehicle to pick up his personal property.
President Joe Biden is not planning to veto a GOP-led bill to end the COVID emergency. What does the White House say as some Democrats voice frustration over the reversal?

Nine soldiers were killed in a helicopter accident in Kentucky Wednesday night.

A bipartisan effort passed a key bill on American energy production. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is counting on the White House to get the bill through the Senate.

Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) joins us to unpack H.R. 1the Lower Energy Costs Actand take a look at Americas dependence on China for rare earth minerals.

Emotions ran wild at a hearing on investigating alleged weaponization of the federal government Thursday, with both parties accusing the other of abuse of power.

A pastor and human rights activist joins us to share his experience with the Chinese regimes repression. He recently received death threats from the Chinese regime, texted to his phone.
Case Against Trump a Legal Disaster: Jenna Ellis

Attorney Jenna Ellis arriving for a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, on Nov. 19, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

The Manhattan district attorneys case against former President Donald Trump is a legal disaster that has far-reaching legal ramifications, according to his former lawyer Jenna Ellis.

The case against Donald Trump is a legal disaster, weaponizing the justice system against a political opponent, Ellis, a former attorney for Trumps 2020 campaign, told The Epoch Times after a grand jury in New York voted to indict the former president.

The Manhattan district attorneys office has been investigating Trump in connection with an alleged hush money payment to adult performer Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, who is the frontrunner in the field of 2024 presidential hopefuls, has denied any wrongdoing, describing the March 30 indictment as political persecution and election interference.

Ellis expressed the same view.

The only reason DA Alvin Bragg is bringing charges is because Trump is running for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination, she said, noting that such efforts are likely to backfire.

The DNC and RNC want a post-Trump America, yet they are incentivizing donors and the MAGA base to rally support against Trump because no one deserves to be politically prosecuted.

She pointed to Trumps top potential rival for the Republican nomination in 2024, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came out to denounce the indictment as un-American. He also declared that he will not assist in any extradition of Trump, a Florida resident, given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda, referring to controversial billionaire financier George Soros.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center National Harbor, Md., on March 4, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

A throng of prominent Republicans have come to Trumps aide in the wake of the indictment and criticized the charges against him as politically motivated.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), like Ellis, said that Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.

As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump, he wrote, vowing that the House will hold Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the House GOP conference chair, released a statement saying the indictment was a dark day for America.

The radical Far Left will stop at nothing to persecute Joe Bidens chief political opponent ahead of the 2024 presidential election to suppress the will and voice of the American people, she wrote.

Democrats, in the meantime, hailed the news, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying that Trump is subject to the same laws as every American.

The swift response from DeSantis is rewarding politically, Ellis noted. With such a statement, she said, he is positioning himself as a champion for the rule of law and an executive officer who will not allow political games.

Voters will love that display of strength and backbone, she said.

Trumps lawyer Joseph Tacopina has told CNN that Trump, who is reported to be in Florida currently, will likely be arraigned early next week.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Braggs office for comment.
Chinas Genocide in Tibet

Communist 'development' could eventually reach us all

Tibetans living in exile gather to observe the Tibetan uprising anniversary in New Delhi on March 10, 2023. (Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

The exiled leader of Tibet, Penpa Tsering, said in a hearing on March 28 that his people face a slow death.

Group death through cultural assimilation, enforced by torture and execution, is more than murder or a crime against humanity.

It is genocide, and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) said so in the hearing.

Since 2016, Chinas regime has redoubled efforts to separate Tibetan children from their parents, forcing them into boarding schools. There, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) subjects them to Mandarin-language teaching, mandatory DNA tests, and what has been called brainwashing since as early as 1991.

The CCP bans children from learning more than a token amount of the Tibetan language or practicing Tibetan Buddhism. Boarding schools start as early as age 4. Children gradually become alienated from their parents and grandparents even when they return home for visits, the director of the Tibet Action Institute, Lhadon Tethong, told the commission.

Xi Jinping now believes the best way for China to conquer Tibet is to kill the Tibetan in the child, she said.

Some Tibetan women are subjected to rape, forced abortion, and sterilization.

Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) noted that the Tibetan population is put at risk of genealogical repression for future generations who are targeted on the basis of their DNA.

Between 2016 and 2022, the CCP subjected as many as 1.2 million Tibetans to DNA harvesting, including from children without parental consent.

History of Tibet

Actor Richard Gere, who first met Tibetan refugees in 1978, sits on the board of the International Campaign for Tibet. He briefly touched on the countrys history.

U.S. actor and Chair of the International Campaign for Tibet Richard Gere (C) speaks at a bipartisan press conference to highlight the important plight of the Tibetans, on Capitol Hill on March 28, 2023. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Human habitation of Tibet extends back at least 4,000 years, including a powerful kingdom that emerged in the 7th century A.D. Tibet was fully independent during the Ming Dynasty from the 14th to 17th centuries. After a Mongol invasion in 1640, Tibetans built the Potala Palace, and Lhasa became the spiritual and political capital of an independent country.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the British attempted to sway Tibet away from Russia, sometimes with force, and with an illegitimate treaty with China that failed to gain the participation of Tibetans. China invaded Tibet in 1910 but was defeated within two years.

In 19491950, at the suggestion of Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, the Peoples Liberation Army invaded Tibet, imposing an ersatz religion under the control of Beijing. The CCPs road and communications networks were then sliced into the country. Beijing violated trade agreements with India and Nepal to focus Tibets trade toward China. Communist dismantling of monasteries starting in 1956 led to an uprising that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency supported from 1957 to 1969.

Beijing Destroys Tibet

Tibets government-in-exile estimates 1.2 million Tibetans died up to the 1970s as a result of Chinas repression of dissent.

Gere noted at the hearing that Beijing has committed recognized acts of genocide against Tibetans as far back as 1960, which intensified after the 2008 Tibetan uprising. More than 2 million Tibetan nomads were forcefully placed in new socialist villages and contemporary forms of slavery.

New technologies such as DNA testing give even more coercive power to the CCP. Thermo Fisher Scientific, based in Massachusetts, supplies such tests to the regime and is equally complicit, according to Nunn.

Smith stated there is a mountain of evidence that the regime uses DNA harvesting to match unwilling organ donors to recipients.

When any CCP official gets sick, and is in need of a new liver, or a new lung, or a heart, who do they turn to? Smith asked. Those people they despise the most. And, the average age of those who are murdered for their organs is 28 years old.

Today, the CCP continues its decades-long project of replacing Tibetans with fortified borders, railways, roads, airports, dams, river diversions, and military outposts, and through unscrupulous use of natural resources, according to Tsering. This development threatens all of Asia.

Defending Tibet and the World

Gere said the United States should engage our European allies in a unified voice against this Chinese oppression.

The destruction of Tibet is a dress rehearsal for the CCPs hegemonic ambitions for the rest of the world. Chinas Belt and Road Initiative has disturbing parallels to what Beijing did to Tibet. With its investments in trade infrastructure in the United States and Europe, including ports and e-commerce platforms, the CCPs multiple genocides could eventually include all of us.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Cory Morgan: Report on NS Massacre Should Have Given Woke Politics a Miss and Stuck With the Facts

The Mass Casualty Commission inquiry into the mass murders in rural Nova Scotia in Halifax is shown on Aug. 31, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan)

Commentary

On April 18, 2020, Gabriel Wortman went on a violent 12-hour rampage leaving 22 people dead and three injured in Nova Scotia. The incident was marked with panic, miscommunication, and signs of outright incompetence from the RCMP as they tried to get the situation under control.

An inquiry into what happened was needed, and we got one.

Unfortunately, the terms of the inquiry must have been too broad because the resulting report spans more than 3,000 pages, much of which is packed with woke pap unrelated to the Nova Scotia incident. Much of the report is dedicated to how white privilege was behind the incident, though evidence of this was scarce.

The Mass Casualty Commission report has a detailed account of the events leading up to and during the massacre. There are many recommendations within it worthy of examination or implementation to try and prevent future incidents. It can be tough to find the gems in the manure pile, though, when so much ink has been committed to trying to create a racial element in the incident when there was none. Ideological bias can be found when it comes to the recommendations for firearm control as well.

In the 517-page portion of the report labelled Violence, it boldly states near the beginning, The perpetrators privilege as a wealthy white man contributed to his impunity from adverse official or social consequences for his violence.

When working to try to support this claim, however, the report descends into what amounts to little more than a long rambling of loaded terms while failing to make the case that race had anything to do with the incident.

The report details how Wortman had a reputation for exchanging dental work for sex. It noted that some of the women he invited to his clinic were of African American origin. There is no indication he targeted any particular race, however. While it appears Wortman was a pervert who used dental services as a means to coerce sexual favours, the race of his victims had no part in it. The report had to go well out of its way to try and shoehorn the implication into it.

From all accounts, Wortmans rampage was indiscriminate. He went out with the intent to kill as many people as he possibly could before being stopped. Every single one of his 22 victims was white, and nearly half of them were male. In the case of the mass murder by Marc Lepine in Montreal in 1989, he targeted women with his horrific crime. In Buffalo, New York, in 2022, 10 black people were murdered in a racially motivated slaughter. Hatred toward women and other races has played a part in mass murders before.

Its worth examining to see if race or gender were behind the Nova Scotia shootings. With the absence of evidence of such, though, the report should have been honest and said as much.

The report drifts off into rambling with statements such as Dr. Perry emphasized the importance of recognizing the intersectionality of far-right extremism in Canada, including an anti-Muslim segment, a white supremacist segment, and a misogynistic or gender defender element.

Its as if the authors are eager to create an impression of widespread white nationalism throughout Canada where it doesnt exist, and they are using the Nova Scotia shooting as a springboard to do so. Repugnant to say the least.

Much of the report goes into indigenous issues, though there was no element of indigenous involvement in the case.

Beyond the racial fixation in the report, the ideological bias regarding firearms is on display as the report recommends banning all semi-automatic rifles in Canada. The report notes Wortman was not a licensed firearms owner and that he had illegally smuggled his firearms into the country. Undeterred by their own facts, the authors offered a recommendation that clearly would have had no impact on the shooting.

Considering the controversy over former RCMP Commissioner Brenda Luckis alleged interference in the investigation when she pressured investigators on behalf of the Prime Ministers Office, it is surprising the drafters of the report still went there.

Many questions needed to be answered after the shooting.

Why did Wortman choose to go on a murderous rampage?

How did he slide under the radar for so long?

Why was the RCMPs communication to the public during the crisis so terrible and why were their actions so confused?

The report answers some of those questions. However, the conclusions were diluted when the commission insisted on taking a path down woke politics rather than sticking with their own facts. We need to learn from tragedies to prevent them. We wont learn much if we insist on modelling conclusions to meet ideological expectations rather than reality.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Foreign Ministry of Turkiye strongly condemned the repeated desecration of the Quran and the Turkish flag in Denmark on Friday, as it urged Danish authorities to prevent such provocations, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

In a statement released Friday, the ministry said that the hate crime was committed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Noting that a similar attack was carried out on March 24, the ministry said authorizing such a heinous act under the guise of freedom of expression is absolutely unacceptable and that such an approach can never be justified.

The ministry also pointed to the lack of legal and administrative measures and political will to prevent such hate crimes.

This act is clear proof that Islamophobia, xenophobia, discrimination and racism have recently increased in Europe. Such acts of hate crime also constitute an offense to those who believe in tolerance, the culture of peaceful coexistence and democratic values. Being unable to see this fact and condoning these acts is a grave negligence, the ministry added.

The ministry also said it summoned Denmarks envoy and urged Danish authorities to take necessary action to prevent such provocations and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Court Officially Confirms Details for First Hearing in Trump Criminal Case

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center National Harbor, Md., on March 4, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trumps first hearing will take place on April 4, a court spokesperson confirmed on Friday.

Trump is set to appear at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday before New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, the spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email.

The hearing will be open to members of the public and the press on a first come, first serve basis, the spokesperson said. The hearing will not be livestreamed.

The courthouse is located in lower Manhattan.

Trump has been indicted by a grand jury for reasons that are under seal. Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges in the history of the United States.

A spokesperson for the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, said in a statement that it is now coordinating with Trumps attorneys his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment. Bragg had been probing a payment by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to adult performer Stormy Daniels, who has alleged Trump had an affair with her. Trump has denied the claim. Cohen has said he spoke to the grand jury.

Merchan on Thursday signed an order authorizing Bragg to disclose the indictments existence, in part because the indictment would be in the public interest and such an order is an appropriate exercise of this Courts discretion, the judge said.

Trumps attorney, Joseph Tacopina, previously said his legal team was working out the details of the former presidents first court appearance in the case.

Hes angry, disappointed, but hes ready to fight. Hes a pretty tough guyhis knees dont buckle, so hell be ready to go, Tacopina said.

Judge

Merchan is the judge who oversaw the case of Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization.

Trump said in a statement that Merchan HATES ME and that the judge railroaded Weisselberg.

He strong armed Allen, which a judge is not allowed to do, & treated my companies, which didnt plead, VICIOUSLY, the former president wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Weisselberg was hit with 15 felony charges, including tax fraud. He pleaded guilty and testified against the Trump Organization and another Trump company.

Weisselberg received five months in prison but Merchan warned him that he could face additional jail time if he did not adhere to the plea agreement, CNN reported. Additionally, Merchan said during the sentencing hearing that he would have sentenced Weisselberg to a much greater sentence if he had not previously agreed on the prison term.

Trumps companies were convicted in the case and were fined $1.6 million.
The man who flew over the Iron Curtain to escape communist Czechoslovakia in 1984 came to America, but delivered the biggest political irony when he fled the blue state of California in 2017, seeking a more libertarian lifestyle in the middle of the Utah desert.

Today, Ivo Zdarsky, 62, jokes that if he had to flee again, for whatever reason, he would fail. He has nowhere left to run to.

We may never know how close we came to nuclear catastrophe during the Cold War, but Zdarsky knows what we can expect if we end up going communist. From his hangar home in Lucin, a ghost town abandoned in the 1990spopulation oneZdarsky shared why and how he escaped. Its kind of depressing. They dont let me do things I like to do, Zdarsky said in his markedly accented English.

He furnished some examples: Libertarianism, they dont like it at allmy favorite. They dont even let you leave. Can you imagine that? Once you start engine, like in flying, youre kind of asking for it. Its not really just the economics, okay? Its things that they pile up.

Ivo Zdarsky posing beside an aircraft as an engineering student, living in what was then Soviet Czechoslovakia. (Courtesy of Ivo Zdarsky)

At age 24, Zdarsky was a third-year aircraft engineering student at Czech Technical University in Prague and already something of a freedom fighter, having distributed literature penned by dissident political prisoner-turned-president Vaclav Havel. This was frowned upon by Zdarskys communist rulersas was Zdarskys love of flying. The mounting hassles under totalitarianism were becoming jet fuel for his now-famed air exodus.

Zdarskys last straw fell during a joy flight in his ultralight trike to Kralovehradecky in the mountains when he flew into some sort of restricted airspace. Youre not supposed to fly anyway, but apparently I flew through something and they sent like two jet fighters after me, he said. But they couldnt find me because theyre too fast, and Im going really slow.

Needing fuel, Zdarsky landed and a gust of wind flipped his flying contraption over, damaging it. And the police found me and they put the airplane into jail, not me, he said, adding how the Czech version of KGB, the secret State Security (STB), proceeded working on me to find out more. The police confiscated his trike, but the industrious student managed to bribe them and collect his wings. But Zdarsky was done.

He would leave everything behind and risk everything by making a break for freedom. I was always ready. I didnt make the trike specifically for that, but it was useful, he said.

An old photo of Ivo Zdarsky as an engineering student in his 20s, living in what was then Soviet Czechoslovakia. (Courtesy of Ivo Zdarsky)

Plans for an escape formulated in his mind: It would be by air. It would be by night, otherwise armed guards would surely spot him. I tried to find out whats the best place to escape, and my friendone of them used to work on the radar next to the Iron Curtain, he said, referencing the Soviet-era border fortified by barbwire, machine gun nests, and mines intended to keep inhabitants in. And he told me that the radar has a blind spot. If youre really close to it, it wont see you. It starts working from certain distance. So I just planned direct route, as direct as possible.

If ever an exit existed, this was it, though every last detail had to be considered. Zdarsky practiced for his night flight by attempting after-dark takeoffs and landings by the sole light of his cars high beams, the moon, and the stars. Czechoslovakias southwestern border into Austria was to be his route with Vienna his target destination, so he located an empty field nearby from which to launch.

He would carry sufficient fuel aboard his trike to fly right till sunrise and would stow a second compass in his pocket, as he heard of one unfortunate flier who landed short. He got lost at night or in a fog, or whatever, and he landed back in Czechoslovakia, Zdarsky said through hearty chuckling, though it surely wasnt funny for the stray Czech. It was a restricted area so he was in jail, and his aircraft was in a police museum.

As the planned night for his escape drew near, Zdarsky had his trike moved to the takeoff site. It was a clear, beautiful summers morning on Aug. 4, 1984, around 3 a.m. when Zdarsky boarded his trike, strapped in, and launched himself skyward, bound for freedom. There would be no going back.

The Iron Curtain along the border of what is now Czechia. (Karl Allen Lugmayer/Shutterstock); Inset: This image has been color corrected. (Pudelek/CC BY-SA 3.0)

He could see Vienna glowing in the distance. So its kind of hard to get lost, Zdarsky said. I even figured out which way the Big Dipper or North Star should be. But getting lost wasnt the main concern; a possible engine failure haunted him most, but for naught. It was smooth sailing.

Nearing the border, he climbed high so that even if guards saw him he would be far out of shooting range. Then he let the engine idle so as to glide over the border in perfect silence. It felt great. It was a beautiful night, no turbulence, he said, adding that his excitement welled as he entered Austria. I could see the river there glittering in the starlight. So, I know Im safe nowWell, I had to land somewhere.

Home free he was, but Zdarsky wasnt out of the woods. Ideally, he would land on some freeway or parking lot, but the problem is you dont see powerlines at night, he said. So with a map, he managed to navigate to Vienna International Airport, whose aircraft control tower lights flickered, and circled the tower twice before successfully touching down on a taxiway under the colossal wing of a Boeing 747.

The towers were empty, but Zdarsky found a mechanic who proceeded to yell at him, clearly upset by his presence, until Zdarsky opened his mouth and showed his expired Czechoslovakian passport. Then it dawned what he was. A defector!

Then they were really nice to me, said Zdarsky, who was promptly met by officials accommodating Czech refugees and the American ambassador. Likely because of the political messaging Zdarskys escape presented, fame followed; his story was broadcast by news outlets globally, including the Sunday Express world news desk whose headline ran, Bat Man Beats Reds in Moon Freedom Dash. I didnt think it was such a big deal, but apparently it was, Zdarsky said. Everybody liked itI mean, except for the communists.

A recent photo of Ivo Zdarsky taken from his hangar home in Lucin, Utah. (Courtesy of Ivo Zdarsky)

As the STB were hunting for him in Austria, Zdarskys asylum claim to America was expedited, he said. Several weeks in Europe were followed by an extended stay in San Francisco before his eventual settling in Long Beach, where he lived for 17 years. Zdarskys Czech neighbors advised him to get a job and that his novel idea of starting a business was a bad one. But he started Ivo Prop anyway, crafting trike propellers while garnering notable financial success.

California smiled on both Zdarsky and Ivo Prop until about 2000 when the state started losing its luster. The FAA banned the flying of two-seater trikes while thrill seekers increasingly sought drones and videogames over planes. Meanwhile, dreams of a craft with a tilt-rotor, capable of vertical takeoffs and landings, saw the pilot longing for an airfield in the middle of nowhere. So, he bought an abandoned airport in northern Utah. And the rest is history.

The man who flew over the Iron Curtain now boarded his Cessna Skyhawk and escaped from L.A.

Seven years on, the libertarian now has it all: His enormous hangar man cave, larger than many peoples entire houses, complete with drum set and super-sized flat-screen TV. His tilt-rotor plane that works, but for the requisite engine installation. His Second Amendment rights, rattling his Belgium FS2000 and 308 sniper rifle in the Utah desert to keep badgers from undermining the homestead. And, above all, his freedom to roamto explore the rock formations, old Indian caves, and abandoned mines across Utah.

Ivo Zdarskys new tilting prop plane is unique in that it is capable of vertical takeoff. (Courtesy of Ivo Zdarsky)

When supplies run low, Zdarsky swings by the store, flying 160 miles to the nearest city45 minutes by airwhere his car is parked at the airport. After running for supplies or groceries, he shuttles home.

Finding freedom in America, Zdarsky now gives back. In 2019, he made headlines again after spotting a motorist stranded in mud near his home from the air. He radioed searchers who promptly had her rescued. A plow reached her SUV in the pass and picked her up.

The man who escaped California is a libertarian. Always was. He just didnt know the word for it until voting day, perusing the political possibilities: Democrat, Republican, Libertarian. I figure out thats actually me, he said, adding what the libertarian rules according to Zdarsky entail, Not promoting chaos. Dont hurt other people, also. Dont take their stuff. Travel free.

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
Deadly Airstrikes in Northern Burma Kill, Injure Dozens of Civilians

Villagers gathered to mourn the victims who were killed in a junta airstrike in the Khuafo village, located north of the Chin State town of Thantlang, Burma, on March. 30, 2023. (Free Burma Rangers)

Burmese junta forces fired airstrikes on a village in the countrys northwest on Thursday, killing at least eight civilians, as the military intensified efforts to tackle opposition groups, according to independent news reports.

The Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement, told The Epoch Times by email that eight civilians, including two children, were killed in the attack. Seven villagers were wounded, including a one-year-old child.

The Chin National Army (CNA), an ethnic armed rebel group in Burma (also known as Myanmar), claimed that junta forces dropped four bombs on the Khuafo village, just north of the Chin State town of Thantlang.

There are concerns that the death toll may rise, CNA spokesperson Salai Htet Ni was quoted as saying by Myanmar Now.

US Condemns Burmas Dissolution of Parties

David Eubank, who founded the Free Burma Rangers, described the situation in Burma as the worst he has seen in 30 years. The military junta fired over 30 airstrikes against civilians in Karenni State last month, he said.

Ive never seen the Burma army come with such speed and force as they have now with Russian aircraft, jet fighters, attack helicopters, armor, multiple launches, rocket systems, and heavy artillery, he told The Epoch Times.

At least two and a half million people in Burma had been displaced since the military seized control, with internally displaced persons (IDP) camps being the targets of many attacks, Eubank said.

Almost every hiding place was hit by bombers, not military places, [but] IDP hiding places and also churches and schools, average about once a week, he added.

He said that junta forces attacked Thantlang town shortly after launching airstrikes on Khuafo but did not elaborate.

One of the houses that were destroyed in an airstrike by the military junta in the Khuafo village, located north of the Chin State town of Thantlang, Burma, on March 30, 2023. (Free Burma Rangers)

Thantlang was among the 37 townships placed under martial law by the junta in February, but ethnic rebels claimed to have seized much of the town.

On Feb. 9, the CNA and its allied groups seized the juntas police station in Thantlang, killing at least four junta troops and driving out nearly 40 soldiers and police stationed there. The junta has since increased air raids on the town to regain control.

In his speech for the Armed Forces Day on Monday, the juntas leader, senior general Min Aung Hlaing, vowed that his military would take decisive action against terrorist groups that are challenging his rule.

The terror acts of the NUG [National Unity Government] and its lackey so-called PDFs [Peoples Defense Forces] are needed to be tackled for good and all, he said.

The [military] and the government also need to take action against this terrorist group, trying to devastate the country and killing people, the junta leader added.

Villagers gathered to mourn the victims who were killed in a junta airstrike in the Khuafo village, located north of the Chin State town of Thantlang, Burma, on March 30, 2023. (Free Burma Rangers)

US Condemns Burmas Dissolution of Parties

The military junta on Tuesday dissolved 40 political parties, including the party led by deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to re-register by the deadline. The decision was made ahead of an election that the junta plans to hold later this year.

The United States condemned the juntas decision to abolish political parties, saying that any election without the participation of all stakeholders in Burma would not be and cannot be considered free or fair.

And given the widespread opposition to military rule, the regimes unilateral push towards elections likely will escalate instability, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

In this photo, provided by the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), smokes and flames billow from vehicles in Hpruso township, Kayah state, Myanmar, on Dec. 24, 2021. (KNDF via AP)

Burma has been in turmoil since the military overthrew Suu Kyis elected government in February 2021, triggering widespread popular opposition. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of the military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.

The pro-democracy resistance that arose allied itself with several ethnic minorities, including the CNA, that have been carrying out an armed struggle for decades seeking greater autonomy. The military has sought to suppress such opposition with air and artillery strikes, with civilians often the victims.

Soldiers stand next to military vehicles as people gather to protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Burma, on Feb. 15, 2021. (Stringer/Reuters)

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an exile group that monitors human rights in Burma, said that at least 3,185 people had been killed through military action against the pro-democracy movement since the army takeover.

About 17,067 people have been detained since the military seized control, of which 5,264 are serving sentences. Some 150 people have been sentenced to death, according to the AAPP.

These are the numbers verified by AAPP. The actual numbers are likely much higher, the group said on Thursday.

Fifty junta troops raided and set fire to Sone village in Budalin Township, Sagaing region, on March 25, killing seven people, including visually-impaired persons. The AAPP said that 180 houses were burned down.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Democrats Decry Youngkin for Rolling Back Process to Restore Ex-Felon Rights

Virginia Democrats are concerned that ex-felons are not having their rights restored in a timely manner. Meanwhile, Governor Glenn Youngkins spokesperson told The Epoch Times that while the governor firmly believes in second chances, he is committed to considering each case individually and as the Virginia Constitution outlines.

Youngkin Rolls Back Voting Rights, read the headline of a March 27 article on the state Democratic Party website, which accused Youngkin of one of his most regressive acts as governor.

On March 17, Virginia Senator Lionell Spruill Sr. (D-Chesapeake) sent a letter to Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth Kay Cole James, criticizing the fact that fewer than 4,000 ex-felons had their rights restored in 2022, and claiming that the process Youngkin is using to decide is unclear.

Spruill had a series of questions for James, among them When did the Governor change the process implemented by the [former Virginia Governor Ralph] Northam administration? Further, Spruill queried how the public was notified of the change, and asked how the administration is notifying prisoners of their ability to have their rights restored.

Like the majority of states, Virginia automatically strips anyone convicted of a felony of their civil rights, including the right to vote, serve on a jury, run for office, become a notary public, and carry a firearm.

The Constitution places the responsibility to consider Virginians for restoration in the hands of the Governor alone, and he does not take this lightly. Restoration of rights are assessed on an individual basis according to the law and take into consideration the unique elements of each situation, practicing grace for those who need it and ensuring public safety for our community and families, spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said in a written statement.

Youngkin said he does so with thorough consideration and in conjunction with various departments, including corrections, elections, and behavioral health.

Individuals with their rights restored come from every walk of life and are eager to provide for themselves, and their families and put the past behind them for a better tomorrow, Youngkin said in May of 2022 when he announced that he had restored civil rights to 3,496 Virginians.

Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton) led the Virginia legislatures 2021 effort to get an amendment added to the Virginia Constitution to make rights restoration automatic. Although it passed by the Democratic majority, the measure required further action in 2022 and failed to pass in the House of Delegates, now controlled by Republicans, despite some Republican support.

Sheba Williams, founder of advocacy group Nolef Turns, believes that an amendment should be added to the Virginia Constitution that automatically restores felons rights after they have served their jail sentences, so they do not continue to be punished for their past.

She said people who have criminal records face additional challenges when looking for jobs, even after they have served their time.

Having a conviction is probably one of the few things that people can legally discriminate against a person for. So to not have to rely on social services and different nonprofits, if people are able to work and make a living wage, they build into this community, Williams told WRIC News in 2022.

Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe watches as former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for McAuliffe at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia on Nov. 3, 2013. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

During their tenures, the three previous Virginia governors tried to loosen the rules for restoring rights to ex-criminals.

Republican governor Robert McDonnell restored rights to about 16,000 people; Democrat Ralph Northam restored voting rights to about 69,000 former felons, and Democrat Terry McAuliffe restored the rights of about 170,000 ex-prisoners.

In the past, Republicans have criticized efforts to change the process for rights restoration as a thinly disguised way to boost Democratic support and as unconstitutional.

In 2016, Republicans sued McAuliffe for a sweeping order that restored voting rights to 206,000 felons.

The Virginia Supreme Court ultimately agreed, ruling 4 to 3 that the Virginia Constitution requires the governor to consider each case separately.

Never before have any of the prior 71 Virginia Governors issued a clemency order of any kindincluding pardons, reprieves, commutations, and restoration ordersto a class of unnamed felons without regard for the nature of the crimes or any other individual circumstances relevant to the request, the majority wrote. To be sure, no Governor of this Commonwealth, until now, has even suggested that such a power exists. And the only Governors who have seriously considered the question concluded that no such power exists.

After the ruling, McAuliffe continued to restore civil rights to ex-felons in large numbers but did so on an individual basis.

Despite the ruling against McAuliffe, in 2021, Northam went further and took executive action to remove the requirement that ex-felons complete probation before having their rights restored.

Virginia is one of four states where the governor has the authority to restore an ex-felons rights (except to possess a firearm) after the person files the proper papers. Many states automatically give felons their rights back after they are released from prison, while some do so after they have completed a probation period. Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia never take felons rights away.
DeSantis Denounces Trump Indictment, Says Florida Will Not Assist in an Extradition Request

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media in the Florida Cabinet following his "State of the State" address during a joint session of the Florida Senate and House of Representatives at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., on March 7, 2023. (Cheney Orr/AFP via Getty Images)

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) blasted the indictment of former President Donald Trump.

A New York grand jury voted on March 30 to indict Trump over allegedly misreporting a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels just weeks before the 2016 election.

In a Twitter post, in addition to slamming the indictment, DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the White House soon, said Florida will not help extradite Trump to New York. However, extradition is out of the governors control.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head.

It is un-American.

The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney [Alvin Bragg] has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.

However, as Trump defense attorney Joe Tacopina told CNN, the former president is expected to go to New York early next week.

In a lengthy statement, Trump blasted the indictment.

This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democratsthe enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Countryhave been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this, he said.

Entrepreneur and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy slammed the indictment.

The politically motivated indictment of the 45th President of the United States marks a dark moment in American history. It will undermine public trust in our electoral system & justice system. It is un-American for the ruling party to use police power to arrest its political rivals. Principles go beyond partisanship. Let the American people decide who governs, he said in a Twitter post that includes a video.

Mike Pompeo, who served as secretary of state under Trump and may jump into the 2024 field, also joined the GOP outrage.

The Manhattan DA is undermining Americas confidence in our legal system. Bragg is the same Soros-funded prosecutor who refuses to prosecute violent crimes and who has downgraded more than half of all felonies to misdemeanors, he said on Twitter.

Prosecuting serious crimes keeps Americans safe, but political prosecutions put the American legal system at risk of being viewed as a tool for abuse. DA Bragg  spend taxpayers money and your energy protecting law-abiding citizens. Not playing politics, he continued.

The GOP presidential campaign of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served under Trump as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, referred The Epoch Times to Haleys remarks on Fox News anchor Bret Baiers show Special Report last week. Haley accused Bragg of trying to score political points.
DOJ Sues Rail Company Over Pollution From Ohio Derailment

Ron Fodo of Ohio EPA Emergency Response looks for signs of fish in Leslie Run creek and also agitates the water to check for chemicals that have settled at the bottom following a train derailment that is causing environmental concerns in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Michael Swensen/Getty Images)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railway over the pollution caused in East Palestine, Ohio, by the Feb. 3 derailment of a train that was carrying hazardous materials.

The complaint (pdf), filed on March 31 in the Northern District of Ohio, seeks to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for unlawfully polluting the nations waterways and to ensure that the company foots the bill for the cleanup.

When a Norfolk Southern train derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio, it released toxins into the air, soil, and water, endangering the health and safety of people in surrounding communities, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland noted in a statement.

With this complaint, the Justice Department and the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community.

One of the chemicals that spilled from the derailed train was vinyl chloride, a highly toxic and flammable gas used in the production of plastic. To prevent an explosion, Norfolk Southern chose to conduct a controlled burn of the chemical, which released a thick black cloud that hovered over the area for days.

The effects of the chemicals also could be seen in local waterways, including the Ohio Rivera major drinking water source for more than 5 million peoplewhere state officials observed a plume of chemicals traveling downstream.

The DOJs lawsuit follows the EPAs issuance of an administrative order on Feb. 21 that required Norfolk Southern to identify and clean up the soil and water resources contaminated by the chemical spill and pay for the agencys response costs relating to the order.

From the very beginning, I pledged to the people of East Palestine that EPA would hold Norfolk Southern fully accountable for jeopardizing the communitys health and safety, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. No community should have to go through what East Palestine residents have faced.

With todays action, we are once more delivering on our commitment to ensure Norfolk Southern cleans up the mess they made and pays for the damage they have inflicted as we work to ensure this community can feel safe at home again.

Fight or Flight

Following the derailment, as evacuated East Palestine residents returned to their homes, they began to present with a range of health problemsincluding rashes, nausea, headaches, burning sensations, and difficulty breathingas did some local animals.

As a result, some residents fled the town to protect their health.

We cant trust the area, local renter Paul Dabney told CBS 19 News on March 3 as he prepared to move. We dont know if its safe for our kid.

Dabney, who lived close to the derailment site, told the media outlet that his family membersincluding a toddlerhad developed health issues in the weeks since the crash.

I dont see us living here again in the near future any time soon, he said. Of course, that depends on what comes out of all of this, but its common sense that its not just going to go away.

Other residents have chosen to take legal action against Norfolk Southern, as has the state of Ohio.

Ohio shouldnt have to bear the tremendous financial burden of Norfolk Southerns glaring negligence, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a March 14 statement. The fallout from this highly preventable incident may continue for years to come, and theres still so much we dont know about the long-term effects on our air, water, and soil.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has repeatedly apologized for the derailment, vowing to pay for the cleanup.

Our job right now is to make progress every day cleaning up the site, assisting residents whose lives were impacted by the derailment, and investing in the future of East Palestine and the surrounding areas, Norfolk Southern spokesperson Connor Spielmaker said in a statement.

To date, more than 9 million gallons of wastewater have been removed from the derailment site, according to state officials.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump Responds to Grand Jury Indictment, Says Witch-Hunt Will Backfire

Former president Donald Trump issued a statement responding to the news that a Manhattan grand jury indicted him on Thursday, calling it political persecution and election interference.

From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country  have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement, Trump wrote in a statement posted on Truth Social on Thursday.

You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this, the former president added.

Joseph Tacopina, an attorney for Trump, confirmed the news that a grand jury had indicted Trump as part of an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Braggs office has been investigating allegations of Trumps alleged involvement in a $130,000 payment to adult entertainer Stormy Daniels by Trumps then-lawyer Michael Cohen in the leadup to the 2016 presidential election. The payment allegedly was to stop Daniels from going public with an affair she claims to have had with Trump, who denies the claim.

Braggs criminal case appears to be centered on whether Trump falsified business records involving the payment to Danielsa state offenseto cover up Cohens campaign finance violations of federal law.

Legal experts, including Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz, have commented that this combination of laws raises serious legal questions.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable  indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference, Trumps statement reads.

Never before in our Nations history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever.

I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party  united and strong  will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Trump said.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Manhattan DAs office for comment.
Drag Queen Summer Camp for Kids 711 Hosted by Government-Funded Vancouver Theatre

The Carousel Theatre hosting a drag camp for children in July 2023 receives funding from all levels of government.

Vancouvers Carousel Theatre is hosting a junior drag summer camp for children ages 711, where children are given drag makeup starter kits and learn to find their alter ego.

The theatre will also host a teen drag camp this summer for ages 1217.

You might be wondering, is drag for kids? says the theatres website. Drag is for everyone! it says.

It suggests that getting dressed up is drag and everyone does it. Parents, ask yourself, whats the difference between what you wear at home versus what you wear at work? Youre doing drag honey, you just dont know it!

The theatre is supported by municipal, provincial, and federal funds. It received $41,000 in federal funding last year, and a combined $407,632 since 2014, according to government grants data. Much of the federal funding is from the heritage ministry.

The Epoch Times asked the ministry how it responds to critics who say drag camp is not suitable for children and shouldnt be government funded, but did not receive a reply as of publication.

This is utterly disgusting. Camps indoctrinating kids as young as 7 with gender ideology and sexual confusion are now being promoted and subsidized by all government levels, said Maxime Bernier, Peoples Party of Canada leader, in a tweet on March 31.

It isnt the first childrens drag camp in Vancouver. The Havana Theatre hosted one in 2019. It was the first all-ages drag camp in the city, according to the theatre.

A similar camp, for children aged 1218, will be hosted this summer by the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. Youll investigate drag history and work together with local artists to create your own personas. Youll choose your name, explore hair and makeup techniques, and develop your characters stage presence, its website says.

Protests have surrounded drag events for children across Canada, particularly the many drag story hours hosted by public libraries. After a spate of protests in Calgary, the city passed a bylaw this month against protests within 100 metres of libraries and recreation centres. Protests around recreation centres had focused on transgender use of the changerooms.
Drones, Other Advanced Avionics Can Soar If FAA Clarifies Approval Process, Witnesses Tell Congressmen

Airplane designer Adam Woodworth (R, at table), CEO of Wing, shows off one of his company's innovative small airplanes at a hearing before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee in Washington, on March 30, 2023. (Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times via screenshot of live video.)

Drones and other high-tech aviation devices are in production all across America, poised to help peoples lives in novel ways, ranging from helping police preview possible crime scenes to transporting emergency medical supplies to patients.

But cumbersome, murky federal processes are impeding developers, witnesses told a Congressional subcommittee on March 30, calling for a reorganization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) lamented, The FAA has an inability to make quick and sound decisions, and stand by those decisions, resulting in a lack of clarity for new entrants to the market. After over five years of trying, the FAA has succeeded in certifying a grand total of one drone.

That model of drone was developed by a company called, Wing, and faced innumerable roadblocks in getting that approval, Graves said.

Kyle Clark is the CEO of BETA Technologies in Vermont, a company that now employs about 500 engineers who are waiting for the FAA to certify electric propulsion. What we need is a simple regulatory unblock and clarity. Thats it. Its not complicated, he said. The technology is here, and were ready to get to work.

While the FAA holds American companies in regulatory purgatory, other nations, including hostile foreign powers such as China, are paving the way for rapid approvals of futuristic avionics, witnesses and Congressmen said during the hearing of the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure.

A committee member, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), worries that America, which brought the magic of flight to the world, is now in danger of ceding its preeminence in aviation history.

Three Eras of Aviation

Van Drew started with a quick history lesson.

The Golden Era of American aviation began in 1903, he said. Thats when Orville and Wilbur Wright built the first functioning aircraft in Dayton, Ohio. The brothers completed the first powered, controlled flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Then, 75 years ago, we entered the jet age, which dramatically expanded the safety and accessibility of air travel, Van Drew said.

Today, we find ourselves on the cusp of the Third Era of aviation, a 75-year span that will be known as the Era of Advanced Aviation, Van Drew said. The term, advanced aviation, refers to a wave of technologies including drones, supersonics, and many other technologies that have not yet been integrated into our National Aerospace System, he said.

Despite the excitement over this new era, the harsh reality is the United States is falling behind. And we cant have that happen, he said. Stakeholders told me that while we still have the best technology in the world, a complete lack of clear regulation is preventing businesses from investing in the United States of America.

The current path is unacceptable, he said, and will lead to America losing its global aviation leadership.

The FAA is operating on an uncoordinated, 50-year-old organizational model. It should change, he said.

Witnesses validated Van Drews assertions as they testified before the Aviation Subcommittee.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) makes a point during an Aviation Subcommittee hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 30, 2023. (Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times via screenshot of live video)

Were Stuck

Congressmen marveled at a 10-pound airplane that sat in the hearing room next to aircraft designer Adam Woodworth, CEO of Wing, a company that develops drones to deliver small packages.

Yes, sir, thats a real airplane, not a model, Woodworth told one Congressman.

Wing is the first drone company to receive U.S. approval for operations beyond line-of-sight, Woodworth said.

The company delivers goods ranging from over-the-counter medications to household essentials and meals, and is approved to do so in four other countries: Australia, Ireland, Finland, and Switzerland.

Weve completed over 300,000 commercial deliveries to consumers and our service areas, and weve done so safely, he said.

But the process of getting FAA approval is fraught with lengthy delays, and confusing or often contradictory guidance, he said.

Quite simply, were stuck, Woodworth said, calling for a clearer, more predictable process to help break up these logjams.

Drones Help Police

Roxana Kennedy, police chief in Chula Vista, Calif., described how a Drone First-Responder Program helped officers avoid overreacting to reports of a gunman at a local taco shop.

After receiving multiple calls from frightened patrons, within one minute, the airborne device arrived at the scene and began providing images to officers who were en route, Kennedy said. The camera showed that the suspected gunman was merely holding a gun-shaped cigarette lighter, not a firearm.

The ability to view the scene before officers arrive saves lives, Kennedy said. This is, by far, the best de-escalation tool I have seen in my law enforcement career.

While Kennedy said her agencys partnership with the FAA has been amazing, she said the agent could improve its processes. She cited inconsistencies that create confusion.

China has pretty much cornered the U.S. drone market, and law enforcement agencies are leery of using China-produced drones, Kennedy said. However, they have figured out ways to bypass some of the manufacturers systems and encrypt data that the drones gather.

Police Chief Roxana Kennedy of Chula Vista, Calif., testifies to a Congressional subcommittee about drone use in law enforcement on March 30, 2023. (Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times via screenshot of live video)

Medical Uses, Too

Another witness, Dr. Stuart Ginn, a physician and surgeon in Raleigh, North Carolina, described medical uses for drones.

They can be used to transport blood to critically ill patients, deliver life-saving automatic defibrillators to rural communities, or even emergency medicines such as rescue inhalers for asthmatics and treatments for drug overdoses, Ginn said.

Un-crewed aircraft systems can improve health care access, save lives, and bring new efficiencies, he said.

The industry working on these systems is at an inflection point, Ginn said. Innovative companiesare operating with little to no revenue or profit, awaiting development of a regulatory framework.

He said Congress should instruct the FAA to reorganize and to include a funded pilot program that will enable further testing, evaluation and deployment to assist industries that provide a clear public benefit.

Overhaul Needed

In 2021, the FAA acknowledged that it needs an overhaul, Van Drew said, when the agency submitted a reorganization proposal to Congress.

At that time, the Aviation Subcommittee opposed the proposal. Van Drew opposed it, too.

But since then, he has spent the past two years working with other people to put together a workable FAA restructuring plan. Van Drew said the plan would establish an Office of Advanced Aviation, which will help build teams of experts from across the USA.

In addition, Van Drews proposal would create an online system where applicants can track progress on their certifications and submit inquiries. The new system would also help the FAA to keep track of these projects. He said the full plan would be unveiled soon.

We will make sure the United States leads the world, he said.
Fewer Australian Children End up in Criminal Justice System in the Last 5 Years

Australia has seen a reduction in the number of children under supervision for criminal activities in the past five years, despite the recent high-profile cases of youth crime in some states.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfares (AIHW) latest report, 4,536 young Australians aged 10 and over were under supervision on an average day in 2021-2022, down 18 percent from 5,505 in 2017-2018.

The rate of people aged 10-17 who were subject to supervision also dropped from 19 to 13 per 10,000 during the period.

Regarding the type of supervision, over four in five children (82 percent) involved in crimes or alleged crimes were supervised by the community, while the remaining were sent to detention centres.

Three in four (75 percent) of those held in detention remained not sentenced as they waited for the outcome of their legal matters.

In addition, the average time young people spent in supervision was around 185 days, or six months, in 2021-2022.

Among the jurisdictions, the Northern Territory has the highest rate of people aged 1017 under supervision on an average day at 46.2 per 10,000, followed by Queensland at 21.3 per 10,000 and Western Australia at 17.4 per 10,000.

Meanwhile, young people from lower socioeconomic areas were more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system.

The report found that 35 percent of those subject to supervision on an average day were from places with the lowest level of social and economic development compared to 6.1 percent from the highest socioeconomic areas.

Repetition is also a problem, as two-thirds of young people under supervision in 2021-2022 were supervised in the previous year.

A Drop in Supervision Rate Among Indigenous Children

The report showed that the rate of Indigenous young people under supervision on an average day was 121 per 10,000 in 2021-2022, a significant fall from 162 per 10,000 in 2017-2018.

However, the ratio was still 18 times higher than that of non-Indigenous children.

Among the children held in detention centres, nearly two-thirds (60 percent) were of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent.

These facts resulted in the over-representation of young Indigenous people in Australias criminal justice system.

The report cited several reasons for the phenomenon, including a long history of trauma, cultural dispossession, forced displacement and assimilation, and the disconnection from family and kinship systems caused by government policies in previous eras.

Indigenous Australians experience of child welfare policies has historically been traumatic, with the policy of forcible removal of children leading to what is now known as the Stolen Generations, the report said.

These removal policies have long-term consequences, including enduring social, physical and psychological impacts for those directly involved and their families and communities.

The overrepresentation of Indigenous children in juvenile justice systems reflects this history of trauma and the stressors that have affected their parents, families and communities.

Nevertheless, the report noted that the vast majority of Indigenous children had never faced the criminal justice system, with only 1.2 percent of people aged 1017 under supervision on an average day in 202122.

Indigenous children are seen wandering along the side of the road in Wurrumiyanga, Australia, on April 18, 2019. (Stefan Postles/Getty Images)

Experts Say Harsher Penalties Are Not A Solution to Indigenous Youth Crime

Amnesty International Australia Indigenous advisor Rodney Dillon said the government needed to deal with the underlying causes of poverty and inequality among Indigenous children.

We need to have kids medically assessed before they go in or before theyre even taken to court, he said in comments obtained by AAP.

Were not doing that. Were just locking them up. And then we put them in solitary confinement and supercharge them and send them back to the community.

The Palawa elder also wanted the government to consider approaches other than imposing heavier penalties, saying bad laws made in a hurry often had a lifelong impact on children.

So we need to look at whats causing the crime and address those issues in each state, and those politicians that are lazywho just want to increase the penalties, he said.

Its not very smart politics. Its short-term votes for a long-term problem. We need to stop crime, not glorifying it and making it worse.
Former US President Donald Trump may appear in court for indictment next Tuesday, April 4, The New York Times reported citing one of his lawyers, Trend reports citing TASS.

The newspaper said that "Trump is expected to turn himself in on Tuesday for arraignment on the indictment in State Supreme Court in Manhattan."

Earlier, CNN reported that Trump was facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

According to the Wall Street Journal, New York attorneys normally refrain from publishing the indictment before the suspect is brought to the court.
In Midst of Trump Indictment, Florida Legislature Filed Bill to Permit DeSantis to Run for President

A Florida Senate bill filed on Thursday at 6:08 p.m.minutes after news of former President Donald Trumps indictment in Manhattan brokeis the resign-to-run bill that would permit Gov. Ron DeSantis to keep his post if he runs for president.

Under current state law, DeSantis would have to resign his posteffective later but irrevocablyif he qualifies to run for president. The state law applies to all local, state, and federal candidates. However, it is unclear how exactly it would work for a presidential candidaterunning first in multiple state presidential primaries.

DeSantis has so far not declared his candidacy for president. One condition was seen as the legislaturewith Republicans controlling both chambers with supermajoritiesneeding to act first to change the law. The legislature is in session until May 5.

A Florida legislator confirmed to The Epoch Times that Senate Bill 7050, filed on March 30, is, in fact, the resign-to-run bill. The legislator added there is no House companion bill, and the text will be added on April 3.

Former President Donald Trump with Gov. Ron DeSantis at Southwest Florida International Airport on Oct. 16, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

The text, as yet, doesnt say much. It does not yet have a title and notes its a preliminary draft. It would have to be amended with much greater detail. Submitted for the consideration of the Committee on Ethics and Elections, the text currently states, An act relating to elections, providing legislative intent, providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida, Section 1. The legislature intends to revise laws relating to elections. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.

DeSantis was reelected as governor in November 2022 with a landslide majority and inaugurated on Jan. 3, 2023. He told Fox News on Feb. 20 that any announcement on his candidacy would come after the two-month legislative session concluded.

Were going to sell some books, were going to spread the message of Florida. And then on March 8, I have our legislative session thats kicking off, DeSantis told the hosts of Fox & Friends. He referred to his book, The Courage To Be Free, published on Feb. 28.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promotes his book at a book tour speech in Smyrna, Ga. on March 30, 2023. (Phil Mistry/The Epoch Times.)

You aint seen nothing yet, he added. This is going to be the most productive Legislative Session we have had across the board and I think people are going to be really excited.  So those are what were going to be doing over these next few months as we get beyond that, then we can decide from there.

DeSantiss book tour has allowed him to act like a candidate without officially declaring for office, traveling to numerous states, including ones critical for presidential candidates like Iowa. His speeches at them, such as one he gave in Smyrna, Ga. on March 30, sound a lot like campaign speeches.

He touts the states strong record under his leadership, including bold moves to keep the state open during the COVID-19 pandemic and challenging woke initiatives in the schools, workplaces, and elsewhere. He contrasts them with leadership in blue states and the President Joe Biden White House.

His book tour, entitled And To The Republic, is separate from his taxpayer-funded governors office operation, and the two strive to maintain a public image of separation. Different staffs manage his public appearances, depending upon whether the event is state business or a promotion of his book.
Foreign Interference Eclipses Espionage as a Threat, and Beijing Takes the Lead: CSIS Veteran

A sign for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service building in Ottawa, in a file photo. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The threat from foreign interference, with Beijing as the main culprit, has evolved to become more dangerous to the state than traditional espionage, a former executive with Canadas spy agency told MPs.

What weve seen, in the last 30 years, is that foreign interference has eclipsed classic espionage as a national security threat, both in terms of its scope and its speed, said Dan Stanton, a 32-year veteran of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Why risk stealing another states secrets when you can influence and manipulate the targeted countries policymakers, you can get close to what we consider the soft underbelly of the state through our democratic institutions.

Stanton was testifying before the House of Commons ethics committee on March 31 as part of its study on foreign interference.

The CSIS veteran, who left the agency in 2017, said espionage was the all-consuming threat during the Cold War, but things changed after the fall of the Soviet Union.

He said it is easier to conduct foreign influence than espionage, which is high risk and very difficult to do against hard targets.

The committee study comes after months of revelations in the media stemming from national security leaks that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interfered in past elections.

The Trudeau government has rejected calls for a public inquiry and instead appointed former governor general David Johnston to study the matter.

There has been fallout from the leaks with two allegedly implicated elected officials leaving their party caucuses.

MP Han Dong left the Liberal caucus on March 22 after it was alleged by Global News he advised the Chinese consul general in Toronto to keep Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in jail. He said he would step down to clear his name, and announced a few days after he planned to sue Global.

Ontario MPP Vincent Ke resigned from the Progressive Conservative caucus on March 10 after Global reported he was a financial intermediary in the CCPs foreign interference network. He called the report false and defamatory and also said he was stepping down to clear his name.

This alleged interference affecting different parties is something Stanton stressed during his testimony, saying that past governments have also treated the threat with indifference.

The CSIS veteran said he worked on the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) file for many years, also serving as the national program manager for a time.

It was a different government at the time and the reaction to foreign interference reporting  was no different than it was today, he said.

A-Team of Foreign Interference

Stanton called the PRC the A-Team and the most sophisticated foreign interference threat.

He says Beijings confidence bordering on arrogance has made the regime probably the most daunting threat from a foreign intelligence perspective.

While China continues to play chess, Canada plays whack-a-mole. We need to raise our game, he said.

Some MPs on the committee sought to have Stanton address foreign interference threats from other actors, with NDP MP Matthew Green expressing concerns that we may miss the broader picture.

Stanton briefly mentioned activities by Iran, Russia, and India, but kept the focus on the PRC.

I think were solely focused on China, because it is, as I said, the A-Team when it comes to foreign interference. There is absolutely no comparison in terms of scope and qualitative differences, he said.

Liberal MP Parm Bains asked Stanton if there are additional actors to be mindful of.

I understand youve said that China is number one, theyre the A-Team, but are there others that are maybe developing a little bit more? he said.

No, there arent a lot of others that fall under the CSIS Act threat definition, Stanton replied.

Measures

Stanton commented on the various initiatives currently in progress to tackle foreign interference and lamented the approach or slow pace.

He noted theres already Bill S-237 in the Senate to create a foreign influence registry, hence he doesnt see the purpose of going the consultation route that the Trudeau government has chosen.

Why dont we just move it to the House of Commons, instead of going across the country and having town halls to see what people think of it? said Stanton.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced on March 10 the government was launching consultations on creating a registry, amid mounting pressure from the leaks in the media.

Mendicino had said a few weeks earlier Canada needs to be thoughtful and inclusive in creating the registry.

Stanton also criticized providing the RCMP with additional funding to counter foreign interference without establishing a better strategy.

The latest budget earmarks $49 million over three years for the federal police force to tackle the matter.

Stanton says throwing more money at the problem isnt the solution if there is no accompanying investigative or prosecution strategies. Instead, the government should renew its national security to address the changing threat landscape, he said.

Every time weve had a crisis, every time weve had an incident, thats what the governments donewell throw money at the RCMP, well say you folks, youve got to sort that outand I dont think thats really an appropriate response.
Foreign Minister Still Concerned Over Australian Journalists Long-Term Detention in China

Australian journalist Cheng Lei is seen in Beijing, China, in this still image taken from undated video footage. Australia Global Alumni-Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade/Handout via REUTERS

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she remains deeply concerned over the continuing detention of China-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who has been imprisoned for nearly three years.

Cheng was arrested by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities in 2020 on charges of illegally supplying state secrets overseas.

She had been working at the time of her arrest as a news anchor for China Global Television Network and was in prison for 19 months prior to her closed-door trial last year. Cheng is still awaiting the outcome of those proceedings.

In a media statement to mark the anniversary of the trial, Wong said the Australian government has deep concerns over delays in the case.

Today marks one year since Australian citizen Ms. Cheng Lei faced a closed trial in Beijing on national security charges. 12 months on, she is still waiting to learn the outcome of the trial, Wong said.

We share the deep concerns of Ms. Chengs family and friends about the ongoing delays in her case. Our thoughts today are with Ms. Cheng and her loved ones, particularly her two children.

Chengs two young children and family reside in the southern Australian city of Melbourne in Victoria. But, according to Chengs partner, Nick Coyle, she has not been able to contact them regularly.

The foreign minister also said that the federal government had advocated at every opportunity for Cheng to be reunited with her young family.

Australia has consistently called for Ms. Cheng to be afforded basic standards of justice, procedural fairness, and humane treatment in accordance with international norms.

However, Chinas spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, has said that Chinas position on Cheng is clear and consistent and that the CCP fully protect the rights and interests of the individuals.

CCP Authorities Blocking Consular Access to Cheng

CCP authorities have regularly denied Australian consulate staff contact with Cheng, with Coyle telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that she has only had two face-to-face consular visits during her 31-month detention.

On March 31, Chengs case was tried in secret at Beijings Second Intermediate Court after 19 months in custody, with authorities refusing to allow Graham Fletcher, Australias ambassador to China, to attend.

Australian Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher (left) is turned away by court officials and police as he tries to enter the trial of Chinese Australian journalist Cheng Lei at the Beijing Number 2 Intermediate Peoples Court in Beijing, China, on March 31, 2022. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

This is deeply concerning, unsatisfactory, and very regrettable, Fletcher told reporters at the time.

Coyle, who is the outgoing CEO of the Australian China Chamber of Commerce, revealed in June 2022 that monthly consular visits and regular 30-minute video meetings between Cheng and Australian officials had been suspended due to the CCPs tight COVID-19 restrictions.

I find that just totally unacceptable, Coyle told Sky News Australia. These monthly consular visits have literally been whats kept her going for 20 months.

Victorian Premier Criticised For his Failure to Speak Up

The statement from the foreign minister stands in stark contrast to the actions of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews who has been criticised for his decision not to speak up for Cheng during his current diplomatic visit to Beijing.

Andrews is the first Australian premier to officially visit China since 2019. The four-day trip has been shrouded in secrecy with no journalists invited to accompany him.

Prior to travelling to Beijing, Andrews told the press that he would not be raising the issue of Cheng Lei with his Chinese hosts as the topic was too sensitive and not appropriate.

Andrews has been noted for his close association with the CCP, signing Victoria up for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

This controversial move was later overturned by the federal Coalition government after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Sky News the United States would consider disconnecting from Australia if Victorias BRI presented a risk to telecommunications infrastructure.

Then-federal opposition Labor leader Prime Minister Anthony Albanese eventually supported the move saying: A government I led would not be signing up to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Coyle, Chengs partner, criticised Andrews for the decision, telling ABC News Breakfast there was no reason why the premier chose to ignore the issue.

Leis a Victorian, he said. So, I would have thought it is entirely appropriate for the premier to raise concerns that he might have had.

Coyle noted that the Albanese government and Foreign Minister Wong had routinely raised her case, and he would have thought that the premier could have joined in helping one of his constituents.

I think if these things are done carefully and obviously done in consultation with the federal government that theres no reason why the premier couldnt be raising Leis case. I think it is important that her case is raised as consistently and at a higher level as possible as much as we can, Coyle said.
Former Conservative Leader Erin OToole to Resign as MP

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole speaks during a news conference responding to the federal governments COVID-19 response, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Jan. 6, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

Former Conservative leader Erin OToole has announced he will not be seeking re-election and will resign as MP at the end of the spring session of Parliament.

It has been the honour of a lifetime to serve my community in Parliament and to also have the privilege to serve the country as a Minister and as Leader of the Opposition, he said in a statement on March 31.

I am thankful to the people of Durham for their trust.

OToole said he was fortunate to have been able to advance critically important issues like veterans mental health, military preparedness, and Canadas Arctic sovereignty while in government. He said he will remain the MP for Durham until the end of Parliaments spring session.

I am a proud Conservative and had the unique privilege to lead our party amid a challenging time for our country. The Conservative party is the party of Confederation and I know it will return to government offering the hope and ideas our country so desperately needs, he said.

OToole, a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, was first elected to Parliament in a 2012 byelection. In former prime minister Stephen Harpers government, he served as parliamentary secretary to the minister for international trade, and then as veterans affairs minister.

He ran for the leadership of the Conservative party in 2017, placing third. He successfully ran again in 2020, beating former cabinet minister Peter MacKay. He would lead his party through the COVID-19 pandemic until being ousted in February 2022, when a majority of his caucus voted to remove him during a secret ballot.

While leading the party, OToole faced issues within his party over concerns that he flip-flopped on various policy issues.

In September 2021, he reversed a Conservative platform promise to overturn a ban on 1,500 makes and models of what the Liberal government called military-grade weapons.

In April 2021, after previously having pledged that the party would repeal the federal carbon tax and not introduce any future national carbon tax or cap-and-trade scheme, he said the Conservatives would introduce their own version of a carbon tax.

Issues surrounding mandatory COVID-19 vaccination also haunted OToole in the run-up to the September 2021 election. He campaigned on allowing for rapid testing in place of vaccination, a policy position heavily criticized by the Liberals. At the time, several Conservative MPs also refused to share their COVID vaccination status, despite it being a requirement to enter Parliament.

After the Conservatives failed to win the 2021 election, an internal review of OTooles leadership was conducted, led by Conservative MP Bob Benzen.

Mr. OToole campaigned in the leadership as a principled Conservative voice that could unite the party. However, since Mr. OToole assumed the position of leader there have been numerous instances of flip-flops and questionable judgment, Benzen said.

OToole vowed to defend his leadership position, declaring on Jan 31, 2022, that he was not going anywhere, but following the 7345 vote to remove him, he resigned as leader on Feb. 2.

Poilievre Thanks OToole for His Service

In a statement released on March 31 following OTooles announcement, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the former Conservative leader would be sorely missed by his constituents. Erin can leave his role as their Member of Parliament knowing that his community is far better off because of his years of sacrifice and service for the people of Durham.

Poilievre applauded OToole for holding the Liberal government to account and fighting against their reckless spending and divisive politics as leader of the party.

I truly wish Erin all the best in the next chapter of his life, and I would like to thank him for his service to both the Conservative Party of Canada and all Canadians, Poilievre said.

Conservative MP Gerard Deltell, who served as House leader of the Official Opposition from September 2020 to February 2022 under Erin OToole, said it was an honour and a privilege to have served with OToole. Thank you for your 10 years of political commitment to the country and our party. To you and your wonderful family, my best wishes.

Conservative MP and shadow Defence Minister Michael Chong told the National Post that OToole made a tremendous contribution to Canada.

As Conservative leader, he took the party through a difficult time of transition as we head towards government, he said. I know hell continue to play an important role in providing advice as we continue to build a Conservative party ready for government.
George Soros Responds to Soros-Funded DA Label Stuck to Alvin Bragg

George Soros answers to questions after delivering a speech on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 24, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

George Soros said he neither knows Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg nor did he contribute to his election campaign, with the billionaire financier responding to a question as to what he thought about the Soros-funded DA label often slapped on Bragg by his critics.

Soros told Semafor that he did not contribute any money to Braggs election campaign and doesnt know him, while responding to a question about his thoughts on supporters of former president Donald Trump linking Soros to Trumps unprecedented indictment.

I think some on the right would rather focus on far-fetched conspiracy theories than on the serious charges against the former president, Soros replied.

The billionaire financier has contributed significantly to the Color of Change PAC, which endorsed Bragg in his campaign for Manhattan district attorney in 2021 and which pledged more than $1 million on an independent expenditure campaign to support Bragg.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization at the New York Supreme Court in New York, on Jan. 13, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Soros spokesperson Michael Vachon told CNN recently that while Soros and Democracy PACa PAC to which Soros has donated moneyjointly contributed $4 million to the Color of Change PAC, Vachon insisted, however, that none of those funds were earmarked for Braggs campaign and that there has been no contact between the two.

In his remarks to Semafor, Soros pointed to an op-ed he had written explaining why hes donated to reform-minded prosecutors and why he has no intention of stopping.

The funds I provide enable sensible reform-minded candidates to receive a hearing from the public. Judging by the results, the public likes what its hearing, Soros wrote.

Many, especially those on the right, would disagree that Soross investments in political activism are music to their ears.

Some, like the Anti-Defamation League, have said that criticism of Soros for backing progressive political causes is often recast as fodder for outsized conspiracy theories that rely on longstanding antisemitic myths, particularly the notion that rich and powerful Jews work behind the scenes, plotting to control countries and manipulate global events.

Soros, founder of Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Foundations, is Jewish.

Soros-Funded

The Soros-funded label has been applied to Bragg for some time, though it seems to have become the default descriptor for the man who many see as being driven by political imperatives in the pursuit of criminal charges against the former president.

Trump was charged on Thursday after a grand jury empaneled by Bragg voted to indict the former president.

Apparently, Soros-backed Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg is actually indicting my father, the former presidents eldest son, Don Trump Jr., said in a video statement. Lets be clear, folks. This is like communist-level [expletive]. This is stuff that would make Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot  it would make them blush.

Its so flagrant, its so crazed, he added, with his comments reflective of the type of criticism has been leveled against Bragg over his pursuit of criminal charges against the former president, namely that the case is politically motivated and amounts to election interference.

Then-President Donald Trump watches as Donald Trump Jr. speaks at a campaign event at the Kenosha Regional Airport in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 2, 2020. (Morry Gash/AP)

Further, as rumors swirled that Bragg was preparing to make his move, Florida governor Ron DeSantis alleged that Bragg was not just playing politics but had weaponized the district attorneys office to the detriment of public safety by focusing on Trump while ignoring violent crime.

The Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor, and so he, like other Soros-funded prosecutors, they weaponize their office to impose a political agenda on society at the expense of the rule of law and public safety, DeSantis said Monday.

If you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many, many years ago to try to use something about porn star hush-money payments, you know, thats an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office, DeSantis said. And I think that thats fundamentally wrong.

DeSantis warned further that other Soros-funded prosecutors might carry out a high-profile politicized prosecution, and thats bad.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis speaks to Iowa voters gathered at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, on March 10, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

While repeated requests for comment to Braggs office by The Epoch Times have gone unanswered, the general counsel for Braggs office on Friday penned a letter denouncing baseless and inflammatory allegations that our investigation is politically motivated.

Leslie B. Dubeck, the general counsel for Braggs office, wrote in a letter to top House Republican chairmen that the committees attempted interference with an ongoing state criminal investigationand now prosecutionis an unprecedented and illegal incursion on New Yorks sovereign interests.

House Republicans have demanded documents and testimony from Bragg about his case against Trump, accusing the Manhattan district attorney of playing politics.
GOP Candidate Responds to Trump Indictment: Dark Moment in American History

Entrepreneur and political activist Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the Vision 2024 National Conservative Forum at the Charleston Area Convention Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on March 18, 2023. (Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images)

Vivek Ramaswamy described the indictment of Donald J. Trump as a dark moment in American history on March 30, warning that were skating on thin ice as a country.

It is un-American for the ruling party to use police power to arrest its political rivals., said Ramaswamy in a post on Twitter.

Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur known for his anti-ESG activism, is running for GOPs 2024 presidential nomination.

That pits him against Trump as well as former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, among other candidates.

In his comments regarding the indictment, Ramaswamy sounded a dire note about the latest moves against his 2024 rival.

He warned that the arrest of Trump will undermine public trust in our electoral system & justice system, saying that the United States could be hurtling towards a national divorce.

A spokesperson for Ramaswamy told The Epoch Times that the indictment would not deter the entrepreneur from his pursuit of the highest office in the land.

He is running to lead a national revival, the spokesperson said.

Trump allies have made similar comments.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who previously served as Trumps personal lawyer, said the indictment marked a sad day in America.

There is no crime here, said Kari Lake, who ran for governor of Arizona in 2022.

A Manhattan jury voted to indict the former president on March 30, as confirmed to The Epoch Times by Joseph Tacopina, an attorney for Trump. The Manhattan district attorneys office said a date for the arraignment, when Trump will formally be handed the indictment document, has yet to be set.

Tacopina has previously stated that, in the event of an indictment, Trump would surrender voluntarily.

While the exact charges remain under seal, the investigation stems from allegations Trump arranged to have then-attorney Michael Cohen pay adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 so she would not disclose their alleged affair. The former president denies those accusations.

The indictment, which is sealed, followed weeks of proceedings led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Testimony from Cohen is thought to be at the core of Braggs case against Trump.

Robert Costello, a former attorney for Cohen, also testified.

In a statement released on March 30, Trump characterized the events as an unthinkable move by Democrats and their allies.

Our movement, and our partyunited and strongwill first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, Trump said in his statement.

Some experts have argued the statute of limitations has expired on any felony charge Bragg may bring.

Its thought that Bragg will claim that the charge isnt stale because the statute of limitations was paused while Trump was outside of New York, initially in Washington and then in Florida.
GOP Lawmakers Probing If Ideology Is Driving HHS Advocacy for Transgender Treatments

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House on Aug. 3, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

A group of Republican lawmakers is demanding that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provide evidence to justify the administrations support of what they describe as dangerous transgender medical procedures for minors.

We are increasingly alarmed that HHS advocacy has led health professionals to prescribe dangerous and experimental drugs and surgeries to troubled children, reads a March 29 letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra signed by Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) and 13 of his Republican colleagues.

The letter raising concerns over HHSs support of the life-altering proceduresand the use of tax dollars to fund themcontrasts sharply with President Joe Bidens support for gender-affirming care.

Shortly after his 2021 inauguration, Biden nominated as assistant secretary for health the openly transgender Adm. Rachel Levine.

Without mentioning Levine, Risch and his colleagues in both houses of Congress said they want assurance that the procedures are evidence-based and not ideologically motivated.

The lawmakers are asking HHS to answer seven questions within a month as they seek to ensure that the agency upholds the moral responsibility it owes to parents and kids.

Their questions probe HHSs justification for interventions that can cause permanent damage, such as infertility, blood disorders, and bone deterioration.

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) poses in an undated photo near the U.S. Capitol. (Courtesy of Sen. James Risch)

Red States Versus Blue Ones

Citing such harms, many Republican or red states across the country have passed or proposed bills that would curtail or ban the procedures for minors. Blue, or Democrat-dominant states, have either largely ignored the issue or taken steps to guarantee access to the procedures.

In January, California, a state known for far-left politics, became the nations first sanctuary state for transgender youth seeking gender-affirming medical care.

Supporters of these interventions call them life-saving, asserting that youths with gender dysphoria may be suicidal over their perceived gender mismatch with their bodies. But opponents say there are no reliable studies that prove a long-term improvement in the mental health of such youths. They cite a 30-year Swedish study showing that transsexual adults had higher rates of depression and death from all causes, including suicide.

On March 30, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to a reporters question about Kentucky becoming the latest state to outlaw gender-altering hormones and surgeries for minors.

Jean-Pierre said this is the latest example of a hateful bill passed just before the Transgender Day of Visibility, a day that we should be lifting up our trans kids, our trans youth, and making sure that they feel seen and that these measures attack transgender youth and their parents.

It is shameful. And it is unacceptable, she said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks in Washington on Oct. 24, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In Bidens proclamation on the Transgender Day of Visibility, he said, Transgender Americans shape our Nations soulproudly serving in the military, curing deadly diseases, holding elected office  and much more.

He decried a wave of discriminatory State laws, saying the measures are targeting transgender youth, terrifying families and hurting kids who are not hurting anyone.

Biden also said theres an increasing number of attacks against transgender peoplea remark that came just two days after a transgender intruder opened fire and fatally shot three children and three adults at a Nashville Christian school before police killed the shooter.

Transgender People Join Christians in Battle

Scott Newgent, a transgender person whos female but appears male, fought for the passage of the Kentucky bill and many others like it. Newgent, whose health suffered tremendously after undergoing sex-reassignment procedures in adulthood, seeks to protect children from being taken down the same perilous path.

Gays, lesbians, and transgender people have aligned with conservative Christians and others to protect children, according to Newgent, whos opposed by increasingly militant transgender-rights activists.

Many Democrats privately oppose trans-ing kids, but they wont admit it publicly, Newgent told The Epoch Times.

Scott Newgent, who regrets transitioning from female to male, prepares to testify in support of a bill that would outlaw the procedures, at the Nebraska Statehouse, on Feb. 8, 2023. (Courtesy of Scott Newgent/TreVoices.org)

Unfortunately, they wont say anything because they are so worried about their career, just like the social media stars are, Newgent said.

Anyone who comes at this with an open mind cannot support the medical transitioning of children after learning facts and dismissing unicorn farts and glitter bombs. Thats Newgents colorful shorthand for a strongly promoted fantasy: People are told that transitioning will solve all their problems.

After a temporary period of post-transition euphoria wears off, most people discover that their old issues remainand theyre saddled with new ones, he said.

Newgent called upon Democrats to take a stand that protects children from more agony and soaring medical costs.

If you are a Democrat and dont come out against this because it is career suicide, you need to leave the political realm today, Newgent said.

You need to understand that you have influence over people, and you need to do the right thing. Regardless of whether its harderespecially about children.

Emel Akan contributed to this story.
GOP Lawmakers Outraged Over Trump Indictment, Decry Weaponization of Justice System

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A bevy of Republican lawmakers responded to the news of former President Donald Trumps indictment, largely offering support for the former party leader following news that he is the first former president to be indicted after leaving office.

Republicans and Trump have characterized the prosecution by the Manhattan district attorneys office as a partisan witch hunt.

A grand jury in New York decided on March 30 to indict Trump over his alleged role in the payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels only weeks before the 2016 presidential election. The charges, which remain sealed, are expected to relate to the falsification of business records in connection with the payment, which was made by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

Cohen claims that he was directed to make the payment by Trump and was later reimbursed by the Trump organization under routine legal expenses. Trump has denied all wrongdoing in the matter.

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) described the indictment as a dark day for America.

The unprecedented election interference from corrupt socialist District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a political witch-hunt and a dark day for America, she said in a statement. The radical Far Left will stop at nothing to persecute Joe Bidens chief political opponent ahead of the 2024 presidential election to suppress the will and voice of the American people.

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Twitter called the indictment a sham and one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a longtime Trump ally, said the former president is innocent and the only one standing in the way of these modern day tyrants, just like our founding fathers did, to protect each of us from evil.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said the indictment was not about the law, but raw power.

Its the Democrat Party telling the nation they will stop at nothing to control the outcome of the next presidential election. It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple, Hawyley wrote on Twitter.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a former attorney, described the substance of the legal case against Trump as utter garbage.

This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system, Cruz said on Twitter.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) saw the indictment as another example of two tiers of justice at work.

It is a gross abuse of power by a blue state government to fabricate the outcome theyve wanted since 2015. The left has thrown the rule of law out the window at the expense of American democracy. Its unprecedented, unnerving, and unacceptable, Blackburn said in a statement.

Braggs office said on March 30 that it is coordinating with Trumps attorneys on his surrender to the district attorneys office, and that a date for the arraignment, when Trump will be handed the indictment document, has not been set.
Governments Used Fifth-Generation Warfare During COVID, Robert Malone Tells National Citizens Inquiry

Governments used fifth-generational warfare techniques to modify public perception during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the reporting of media outlets shifted into propaganda, two experts testified at the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI).

Over the last three years, Western governments, non-governmental organizations, as well as media, pharmaceutical, and financial corporations deployed a massive, globally harmonized psychological and propaganda operation, said Dr. Robert Malone.

With this campaign, the governments of many Western nation-states turned military grade strategies, tactics, technologies, and capabilitiesdeveloped for modern military combatagainst their citizens.

Malone testified virtually during the Toronto hearing of the NCI, which describes itself as a citizen-led and citizen-funded initiative examining how pandemic measures put in place by all levels of government impacted Canadians in the categories of health, fundamental rights and freedoms, social well-being, and economic prosperity.

The NCI was announced back in November 2022 by former Reform Party Leader Preston Manning, who chairs the group of citizens that launched the organization.

Malone, who helped create the messenger RNA technology (mRNA) used in some of the vaccines, told the inquiry that he is a named inventor on all patents related to the initial developments of mRNA technology.

He said he became concerned when he heard mRNA technology was being used in COVID-19 vaccines, as he believed the viruss toxic spike protein would be encoded into the human body. He also said one of the reasons he abandoned mRNA technology was because he could not overcome the toxicity or inflammatory responses associated with lipid mRNA nanoparticles.

Malone claimed that the COVID vaccines have been shown to, in some cases, damage the brain, and the endocrine and reproductive systems of its recipients. There is also very clear, unequivocal, well-documented riskparticularly in young malesof myocarditis, which depending on the study is in the range of one in 3,000 and one in 6,000, he said.

He also spoke extensively about fifth-generation warfare, which he defined as a war of information and perception that is fought not over conflict over territory, but rather to influence thought, belief, and emotion. Malone said fifth-generation warfare is meant to target individuals cognitive biases in a concealed and strategic fashion.

He said this type of warfare was used during the pandemic to convince citizens to follow public health measures such as lockdowns, masking, and vaccines, while ignoring misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information to the contrary.

Malone cited a 2021 news report that found commanders in the Canadian Armed Forces used the pandemic as an opportunity to test out propaganda techniques on the civilian population. Documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen showed that Canadian Joint Operations Command used propaganda techniques similar to those employed during the Afghanistan war to head off civil disobedience and bolster government messages about the pandemic.

I argue that in the context of fifth-generation warfare, when it is being deployed by governments against their own populations, the concept of sovereignty is irrelevant. There is no sovereignty in an environment in which your emotions and the information you obtained was manipulated towards the end goals are of the nation-state, Malone said.

Its difficult to come to grips with fifth-generational warfare, because there are no boundaries in terms of truth, ethics, media, and social organizations. This is what was deployed against the population of Canada.

Media Outlets Spread Propaganda

Rodney Palmer, a former reporter of 20 years, said he saw much of the news reporting during COVID-19 as examples of propaganda. He defined the word as persuasive mass communication that filters and frames the issues of the day in a way that strongly favours particular interests, usually those of a government or a corporation.

Palmer, who previously worked for outlets like the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun, and CBC for more than 20 years, said he reported on the SARS outbreak in China in the early 2000s. But he told the commission that when he saw the Chinese city of Wuhan lock down in early 2020, he knew that something was very, very different.

The former journalist said shortly after the first Canadian lockdowns, he saw a media outlet publish a piece on what to do if a family member believed the COVID-19 virus might have leaked from a laboratory. I thought, what evidence do they have 15 days into this pandemic that this was not manufactured in a lab? There was an assumption that was put forth instantly, he said.

Palmer pointed to evidence that COVID-19 may have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, such as one of three global coronavirus labs being located in Wuhan, and FBI Director Christopher Wray claiming in early March this year that the bureau believes the virus most likely originated in a Chinese government-controlled lab. Back in 2021, a joint investigation between China and the World Health Organization found the lab leak theory was extremely unlikely.

Not much research was done by this outlet to determine 15 days after the emergency that it didnt happen in a lab, Palmer said. This piece was an example of the intentional manipulation of public opinion through lies and half-truths, and the selective retelling of history.

The media coverage of the drug ivermectin was another example of propaganda, according to Palmer, as they failed to report accurate and balanced information. While one outlet reported that ivermectin was a drug meant for horses and cows, they failed to mention that it was also used extensively in humans, or that its inventor won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015, he said.

Health Canada has said there is no evidence that ivermectin, a prescription antiparasitic drug, works to prevent or treat COVID-19, and it is not authorized for this use.

Palmer also said that mainstream outlets had fomented hate against people who chose not to get vaccinated by failing to give them a full voice. He mentioned how outlets would write stories on why Canadians refused to get vaccinated, but would omit their concerns around a lack of long-term testing, possible adverse reactions, or reports of deaths.

They suppressed or eliminated that side of the story, because it wasnt news gathering. It was propaganda, he said.
Human Rights Group Shares Expertise in Handling Anonymous Threats Against Overseas Hongkongers

Katherine Leung (right), Canada's Hong Kong Watch policy advisor, was interviewed by The Epoch Times on how to deal with anonymous threats against Hong Kong people overseas. Katherine is pictured with Hong Kong Watch co-founder Benedict Rogers (center) and Canadian Senator and Hong Kong Watch patron Leo Housakos (left). (Courtesy of Katherine Leung)

Hong Kong Watch (HKW) Canada has received several requests for assistance from Hong Kong residents in Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary who have received anonymous threatening messages from pro-China individuals who suspect their personal movements are being monitored. HKW Canadas Policy Advisor Katherine Leung reminds Hong Kongs residents not to panic if they receive similar messages but to keep the screenshot and source of the message and report it to the police.

Those facing threats and intimidation in the Hong Kong community are not limited to those at the forefront of political activism but also extend to individuals involved in non-political activities, including immigrants who have made their homes in the community and actively participate in communal affairs. Leung highlights that HKW Canada has raised concerns over anonymous threats directed towards members of the Hong Kong diaspora residing in Canada and is urging the Canadian government to swiftly establish an independent reporting hotline and pass legislation to address the matter.

In the wake of the ominous and anonymous threats targeting the people of Hong Kong, HKW Canada has taken a proactive step to assist those in need. At the end of March, the organization organized a closed-door roundtable meeting in Ottawa, where the affected individuals could present their cases to federal officials and members of Parliament. The primary objective of this meeting is to urge the government to expedite the establishment of a reporting hotline, offering a swift and efficient recourse for the aggrieved. The details of the meetings discourse shall be revealed shortly after the gathering convenes.

On March 10, the Canadian federal government made an announcement regarding the initiation of a public consultation for the establishment of a Foreign Agents Registration. The Minister of Public Safety of Canada, Marco Mendicino, disclosed this information to the public and the media. However, it is expected to take several months to complete this process.

When asked about the Canadian governments efficiency, Katherine expressed her uncertainty about how the legislation would be enacted. She recommended taking cues from Bill S-237, proposed by Canadian Senator and HKW patron Leo Housakos in November 2021. This bill requires foreign government agents to file returns and prescribes fines or imprisonment for false declarations. The bill is under consideration during its second reading in the Canadian Senate.

Anonymous Threats Cause Stress

HKW Canada is deeply concerned about the plight of immigrants in Hong Kong, having received numerous pleas for assistance over the past year. Some of these distress calls have been linked to anonymous threats. In a recent interview with The Epoch Times, Katherine disclosed that many messages and phone calls had been transmitted via popular social media apps, including Telegram, where the identities of the offending parties have proven elusive to trace.

The menacing correspondence typically enjoins Hong Kong citizens to desist from engaging in certain communal activities or implies an ominous foreknowledge of their actions. Worst of all, a handful of individuals have reportedly been sent grisly videos of beheadings, constituting a serious threat to their physical safety.

Katherine expressed her concern, stating that the messages are a source of great fear for Hong Kong residents. The anonymity of the sender and their knowledge of personal information leave recipients feeling vulnerable and exposed. This is particularly alarming for those at the forefront of the Hong Kong protests. They have endured trauma and believed that moving to Canada would provide safety and security. The unexpected occurrence of these threatening messages overseas has made them uneasy and anxious.

No Need to Panic if you Receive Anonymous Threats, Calm Down and Keep Evidence Safe

Katherine advises Hong Kongers residing overseas who receive anonymous threats to adopt a cautious approach. In case of a threat, refrain from responding immediately. The first step should be to gather evidence, keep the individuals contact details, capture a screenshot of the threat, and report it to the police. HKW is compiling such cases and will soon hold a closed-door roundtable meeting with federal congressmen if willing. We may arrange similar events in the future, and your contribution in providing evidence could prove invaluable.

Katherine also highlights the importance of taking precautionary measures to ensure personal safety, such as disabling cell phone location services and locking doors upon arriving home to secure oneself from harms way.

Katherine recommends that Hong Kong residents experiencing psychological distress from threats seek professional psychological counseling, confide in trusted friends, and avoid carrying the burden alone.

Katherine has highlighted that Hong Kong residents who receive anonymous threats can still report them to the RCMP and CSIS, regardless of whether or not they have concrete evidence. While most cases remain pending due to lacking a robust mechanism and a comprehensive cross-governmental approach to tackle such incidents,

Hong Kong authorities are closely monitoring the situation. They are also advocating for establishing an independent reporting hotline and urging Hong Kong citizens living abroad to come forward and report any such incidents. Every call to the police is crucial and serves as vital evidence to expedite the enactment of the Foreign Agents Registration legislation.

HKW Closely Monitors the Incident and Hopes that Canada will Confirm Their Solution ASAP

Some victims consider receiving threatening messages as a personal and private matter and may not wish to reveal their experiences. Katherine recognizes this and hopes the Canadian government will establish an autonomous reporting hotline as an interim solution. If there exists a secure method to report a crime to Canadian authorities, it is to safeguard oneself, and by not speaking up, one deprives themselves of any aid. Each individual reporting a crime contributes to the safety of our community, she remarked.

Katherine has a profound vision for the future. She hopes that Canadas administration will embrace the essence of Bill S-237. She introduced the bill, modeled after similar legislation in the United States and Australia, which may not explicitly focus on the predicament faced by the people of Hong Kong. Nevertheless, it offers a potential solution to the problem of foreign agents operating in the country. By providing a supplementary legal avenue for prosecuting such individuals, the bill could serve as a formidable deterrent against their nefarious activities.

During her visits with Canadian legislators across party lines, Katherine endeavored to inform them about the pressing issue of anonymous intimidation faced by Hong Kong citizens. From my observations, it seems that all parties recognize the severity of this problem and are committed to finding a solution.

The Liberal Party believes the United Nations Special Rapporteur should investigate the matter. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party proposes a public investigation and insists that Katie Telford, chief of staff to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, be summoned to testify.

The New Democratic Party (NDP) also calls for a public investigation. I believe the Canadian government is genuinely concerned about this issue but lacks a concrete action plan. I hope representatives from different political factions can work together towards a resolution.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Brussels, Belgium, April 3-5, to attend the NATO Foreign Ministerial and the tenth US-EU Energy Council meeting, Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department said, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Secretary Blinken will discuss ensuring energy security while accelerating the clean energy transition during the US-EU Energy Council meeting. He will have bilateral meetings with European Union High Representative and Vice President Josep Borrell, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
India Stepwell Roof Collapse Leaves 36 People Dead, 16 More Injured

People stand around a structure built over an old temple well that collapsed Thursday as a large crowd of devotees gathered for the Ram Navami Hindu festival in Indore, India, on March 30, 2023. (AP Photo)

At least 36 people were killed, and 16 others were injured after the roof of a stepwell at a Hindu temple in India collapsed on Thursday, according to local authorities.

The incident occurred at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in the Indian city of Indore.

Police said that a concrete slab covering an ancient stepwell had collapsed and crushed devotees who were gathered at the temple to celebrate the Ram Navami festival.

Local official Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the structure was unable to take the weight of the crowd and caved in. Dozens of people plunged into the water reservoir and were covered by falling debris.

Some 75 army personnel were deployed to assist with the ongoing rescue operation, which so far has taken over 18 hours. Chouhan said he had ordered an investigation into the incident, local news agency NDTV reported.

Shiv Shankar Maurya, a resident who spoke to India Today, said the stepwell had existed for about 100 years, while the temple was built about 50 years ago.

Earlier, the stepwell was open but got covered around 25 years ago, Maurya told the news outlet. The construction of [the] stepwell roof was completely illegal.

Municipal authorities in January ordered the temple owners to remove the covering of the well because it was an unsafe and unauthorized structure, but temple authorities ignored the warning, according to local reports.

Action will be taken against [those] found responsible. The current priority is the rescue operation. The injured will be treated free of cost, Chouhan said. We have ordered an inspection of such stepwell and borewells across the state.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the victims and their families regarding the mishap, saying that the state government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace.

Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore, Modi stated on Twitter. My prayers with all those affected and their families.

Building collapses are common in India because of poor construction and a failure to observe regulations.

In October, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western state of Gujarat, plunging hundreds of people into the water and killing at least 132 in one of the worst accidents in the country in the past decade.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Indictment of Trump An Outrage, Sends Terrible Message About US Justice System: Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at "Politics & Eggs" at the New Hampshire Institute Politics at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 17, 2022. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Mike Pence, who served as vice president under President Donald Trump from 20172021, said the indictment of the former president is a great disservice to the country and that he thinks millions of Americans will see it as nothing more than a political prosecution.

Pence reacted to the indictment during a 10-minute exclusive interview with CNNs Wolf Blitzer on March 30, hours after news broke that a New York grand jury had voted to criminally charge Trump.

He said it was wrong for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to pursue charges after Braggs predecessor and federal prosecutors declined to do so. Pence said he also took issue with Bragg running for office on the pledge to indict the former president.

I think that offends the notion of the overwhelming majority of the American people who believe in fairness, who believe in equal treatment before the law, Pence said, adding that singling out Trump appears to be an example of a two-tiered justice system, and that the American people are fed up with it.

This is a bad decision by a political prosecutor, he said.

When Blitzer pointed out that a grand jury, not Bragg, voted to indict Trump, Pence replied that, clearly, the prosecutor is very influential in guiding a grand jury toward an indictment and that the threshold of proof is very low.

Pence, who is an attorney, called the prosecution an outrage and said there is a possibility that a judge will even throw this case out before we even go to trial.

While stating that he cannot speak to the merits of Braggs case, Pence said that a campaign finance issue should never have risen to the level to bring an unprecedented and historic prosecution.

Media Obsession With Trump Lost on Citizenry

While considering his own possible run for the presidency, Pence said he has been traveling around the country quite a bit. Yet, in his travels, he said, not a single citizen raised the issue of the probes Trump has been facing. The medias obsession about these investigations into Donald Trump, I think its being lost on the American people who are struggling under the weight of the failed policies of the Biden administration, Pence said.

He said Americans see it as one more example of the criminalization of politics in this country.

Pence is concerned about how the prosecution is being perceived on the world stage. It sends a terrible message about the American justice system, Pence said. He would have preferred for Bragg to have thought better of it and put the interest of the nation first.

Blitzer asked whether Pence is worried about violent protests in the wake of Trumps indictment, considering that some people who disagreed with the November 2020 presidential election committed violent acts at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Pence and Congress were considering whether to certify the election results that put Democrat Joe Biden in the White House.

Theres no excuse for rhetoric encouraging violence on either side of this debate, Pence said, and theres really no reason to be calling for people to be protesting over it as well. 

Blitzer pointed out that Trumps first 2024 campaign rally, held in Texas this past weekend, opened with a recording of incarcerated Jan. 6 defendants singing the National Anthem and asked whether Pence was comfortable with that. He said he wasnt, noting that he, his wife, daughter, and staff were all evacuated from the U.S. Senate floor during the Jan. 6 disturbances.

Ill never diminish what happened that day, he said, adding that he would never celebrate people who ransacked the Capitol and attacked police. However, Pence said he believes that some well-intentioned people were swept up into the crowd.

While it did not end well, Ill always be proud of the record of the Trump-Pence administration, he said.
Indigenous Advisor Quits After Qld Police Shooting

For Professor Gracelyn Smallwood, a late-night phone call about another Aboriginal man being shot and killed by police was the final straw.

Aubrey Donahue, 27, died after being shot four times by police, who say he advanced on officers while armed with a knife in Mareeba, west of Cairns, on Saturday.

Coroner Terry Ryan will hold an inquest into the shooting, but police have already revealed there is no close-range footage of the incident.

On Wednesday, Prof Smallwood resigned from the Queensland Police Service First Nations advisory group.

Half an hour after the shooting happened, I got a call from a family member describing how four bullets were put in the young mans abdomen, she told AAP.

I sent (Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll) a text at midnight on Saturday and said, Whats going on? People are saying he was unarmed. Why was he shot four times in the abdomen? Why didnt they shoot him in the kneecaps to bring him down?.

Because what the community was saying to me on the phone is that it was a welfare check and that he was trying to self-harm.

Smallwood said that she understood police procedure in Australia was to shoot to kill if officers believed someone was armed and they felt threatened.

Youve got three or four police officers with ammunition in heavy guns pointing at the victim, she said.

Maybe hes got a knifebut he hasnt got a knife like Crocodile Dundee, and he doesnt have a machine gun.

They didnt have their cameras on, and they felt intimidated, so they just put four bullet holes in this boys abdomen and killed him.

Gracelyn Smallwood is a retired professor of nursing and midwifery and has been an Indigenous activist for decades, including with the campaign for justice for Mulrunji Doomadgee.

Doomadgee died in custody in Palm Island from massive internal injuries.

Smallwood has also been advocating for changes in the way police restrain people, particularly in the wake of the death of Townsville Indigenous man Noomba in 2018.

She joined the advisory group because she believed she could help change things for the better from the inside.

Smallwood said she believed in the cultural changes Carroll was trying to make.

Im optimistic that it is going to change but, as a hardcore activist, I felt that they were taking their time with the stranglehold laws, she said.

The shooting in Mareeba was the last straw. I cant sit here as a hardcore activist and not do something.

And the only thing I thought of doing was resigning and making a statement.

It wasnt about me. It was about a lot of injustice thats happening to our people all around Australia.

In her resignation letter, Prof Smallwood calls for changes in police procedures and for governments to work with Indigenous communities to reduce the number of children in out-of-home care and the criminal justice system.
Industry Department Official Wont Say How Much Volkswagen Was Paid to Build EV Battery Plant in Ontario

The VW logo on the ID. Buzz, a fresh take on the iconic vehicle of the Volkswagen brand, during its world premiere in Paris on March 9, 2022. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters)

An Industry Department official has confirmed that the Liberal government paid subsidies to Volkswagen to build its first overseas electric vehicle (EV) battery cell plant in Ontario, but said the amount cannot yet be made public.

Sheryl Groeneweg, the Department of Industrys director general of advanced manufacturing, recently told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry that she is aware of how much money Ottawa paid Volkswagen to incentivize building the plant in Canada, but would not reveal the amount, as first reported by Blacklocks Reporter.

That information is not yet public, so this is nothing I can communicate to you at this point, she told the committee on March 29.

Are you aware of the number but unable to give it to me? asked Conservative MP Brad Vis.

Yes, replied Groeneweg.

Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced on March 13 that Volkswagens subsidiary company PowerCo would be establishing the new plant in St. Thomas, Ont., in the near future.

Champagne called the move by Volkswagen a testament to Canadas strong and growing battery ecosystem and Ontarios competitive business environment.

Todays news is a major vote of confidence in Canada and Ontario, he said.

However, Vis told the committee that he has heard speculation that the federal government may have paid Volkswagen up to $15 billion in subsidies as an incentive to build the plant in Ontario.

I know that the government of Germany offered Volkswagen over $10 billion to have a lithium battery processing plant in that country, Vis said. Were talking a lot of money here.

Motion

Vis attempted to introduce a motion to have the Industry Department provide the committee with all documents regarding how much the federal government paid Volkswagen in subsidies.

However, he later dropped the motion and simply asked the department to provide the committee with all relevant information pertaining to the matter before its next meeting.

Im not asking for something theoretical, Vis said. The witness told this committee that she is in possession of the information that we are seeking, so its a very specific request.

Im just looking for a number, he added. The number is, how much money did the Government of Canada give Volkswagen to build the battery plant?

Liberal MP Joel Lightbound, the chair of the committee, said the department will provide the committee a written response with the requested information.

Volkswagen Group is Europes largest automaker and manages a portfolio of 10 companies that brought in a total of over $400 billion in revenue last year.

Champagne told the Commons on March 23 that Volkswagens decision to build a battery cell plant in Ontario represents the first time ever that Canada has brought a European manufacturer into the country.

Canada can win big, and this is another example, he said.
International Organizations Have Become Communist Chinas Little Helpers

Influence peddling is paying off handsomely for Beijing

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (L), director-general of the World Health Organization, shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on Jan. 28, 2020. (Naohiko Hatta/Pool/Getty Images)

Commentary

In pursuit of Chinese leader Xi Jinpings global hegemony goals, Chinas communist regime has mounted a huge campaign over the past two decades to gain control of international organizations.

The campaign has involved influence peddling and bribery on a grand scale, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sought to infiltrate, gain control of, and use those organizations to push China-friendly policies, as well as to distract from and suppress issues that are counter-productive or outright embarrassments to Beijing.

Let us examine some of the international agencies corrupted by the CCP and the resulting benefits accrued to the communists.

IMF, World Bank

Created in 1944, the International Monetary Funds (IMF) original purpose was to eliminate destructive mercantilist trade policies, such as competitive devaluations and foreign exchange restrictions.

The World Bank finances development projects and short-term balance-of-payments deficits of member countries, which, beginning in 1980, included communist China (the first project loan was approved in 1981).

Rather than opening up democratically as those supporting Chinese access to international institutions predicted at the time (which was the public rationale given for opening China when the reality was all about the money and access to Chinese consumers), the Chinese regime has retained an authoritarian capitalist system and mercantilist trade policies that exploit other countries by manipulating standards and currency, implementing onerous domestic regulatory certification requirements for companies to operate in China, and using discriminatory government procurement activities that corrupt free trade. Beijing got (and continues to get) access to IMF/World Bank funds without real strings attached.

The CCP also benefited from a data-rigging scandal at the World Bank in 2017 that directly benefited China, as reported by Reuters. The scandal boosted Chinas business climate ranking to 78th from 85th in the 2018 report. A higher ranking leads to increased inflows of foreign investment funds [and] boosting [a] countrys econom[y] and financial market.

World Trade Organization

The primary purposes of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are to set and enforce rules for international trade, to facilitate further trade liberalization, and to resolve trade disputes.

As a direct result of alleged influence peddling in the United States during the Clinton administration (Chinagate and other scandals), China became a member of the WTO in 2001. WTO membership involves awarding most favored nation status, facilitating the lowest tariffs possible among member nations. Chinese exports to the United States have rocketed since 2001. However, the liberalization of authoritarian China had not happened as planned by the United States and its allies when China became a WTO member.

A logo is pictured on the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 2, 2020. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

All the benefits from WTO membership have accrued to China at the expense of others. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, China has benefited greatly from the WTO, taking advantage of the provisions that suit its interests while skirting less convenient restrictions.

Over two dozen WTO disputes have alleged Chinese violations of internationally approved trade practices. Many centered around intellectual property theft through forced technology transfers associated with joint ventures between Chinese and U.S. companies.

There are no prospects for change in the foreseeable future, with a U.S. administration more interested in cooperation and engagement than in confrontation with an increasingly belligerent and authoritarian China.

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) is not independent and is subject to the whims and policy preferences of the countries that fund its budget, including its director and staff.

The CCPs real influence with the WHO reportedly began in 2006 with the election of Dr. Margaret Chan, the first overtly pro-China director-general who served 10 years. During this period, the WHO declared the H1N1 Swine Flu to be a pandemic, collaborated with Purdue Pharmaceutical to expand opioid use and global addiction, and failed to take action against the Ebola outbreak in 2013, according to the Alliance for Human Research Protection. These and other misguided actions served the CCPs purpose in conditioning the world to future pandemics and stimulating demand for Chinese-produced opioids like fentanyl and their chemical precursors.

Much has been written about how Beijing corrupted the worlds response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus to its own economic and geopolitical benefit under the leadership of WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (here, here, here, here, and here). Early in 2020, Tedros commended China for setting a new standard for outbreak control, which later became Xis signature zero-COVID policy, and was emulated by other countries. However, it was dumped after three years of failure in December 2022, and was responsible for unknown numbers of lives destroyed through death and economic deprivation.

As Breitbart reported in January, in another nod to Beijing, the WHO renew[ed] the status of the coronavirus pandemic as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) despite dubious data reported by China associated with the termination of the zero-COVID policy.

And as if profiting from the deaths of others isnt enough for the CCP, the latest push by the WHO is for an international treaty that would strip 194 nations of their sovereignty and give the WHO global control over health matters worldwide.

A coffin is loaded into a storage container at the Dongjiao crematorium and funeral home, one of several in the city that handles COVID-19 cases, in Beijing, on Dec. 18, 2022. (Getty Images)

As previously reported by The Epoch Times, the Biden administration is preparing to sign up the U.S. to that legally binding accord. Putting the WHO in the drivers seat, in reality, places communist China in control.

United Nations

The United Nations Common Agenda, which focuses on re-embracing global solidarity and working together for the common good, echoes Xis community with a shared future, win-win cooperation, and common prosperity messaging.

This is no accident, as the CCP has been corrupting and subverting the U.N. since its admission in 1971. Paying approximately 12 percent of the U.N.s regular budget and peacekeeping assessments makes China the second largest contributor to the organizationgiving it much leverage with the U.N. bureaucracy.

The CCP sees the U.N. as an exploitable partner and a useful tool in Beijings pursuit of world hegemony. For example, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is a Portuguese socialist who is a primary motivator behind the U.N.s sustainability agenda and is also pushing for a stronger, more networked and inclusive multilateral system, anchored within the United Nations.

The sustainability agenda, which deals with the supposed climate crisis, is perfectly in sync with Chinas world dominance in producing green technologies, including batteries, solar panels, and electric vehicles. Meanwhile, the multilateral system championed by the U.N. can only come about with the diminishment of the worlds only superpower (the United States), which has long been a geopolitical goal of Xi and the CCP. Imagine that! The U.N.s geopolitical goals are the same as communist Chinas.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping virtually addresses the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 21, 2021. (Spencer Platt/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Beijing has been relentlessly pursuing leadership positions within the U.N. bureaucracy to help advance the CCPs geopolitical goals. As reported by The Diplomat, four of the 15 U.N. specialized agencies are headed by Chinese nationals, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDP), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Chinese career diplomats have also owned the position of under-secretary-general for the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) since 2007, which has allowed Beijing to slyly infiltrate its Belt and Road Initiative investments into the U.N.s Sustainable Development Goals.

A good example of the Chines regimes continuing efforts to undermine and influence U.N. decision-making in favor of the CCPs goals was its establishment of the U.N. Peace and Development Trust Fund in 2016 with a promise of $200 million in Chinese donations over 10 years. The UNPDTF has supported projects that include peacekeeping security, rapid response system, prevention and mediation, counter-terrorism, strengthening partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations, poverty alleviation, etc., as reported on its official website.

However, the Spectator (UK) pointed out that the Chinese money came with strings attached: A priority of this fund is U.N. promotion of Xis Belt and Road Initiative, with its predatory lending practices, strong-arm diplomacy and trade practices, and potential military extension of Chinas reach. That would be donations with Chinese characteristics, for example, in service of the CCPs geopolitical objectives.

The regimes influence-peddling at the U.N. continues to pay other dividends. A good example was the U.N. Human Rights Councils vote of 19-17 against a Western-led motion to hold a debate about alleged human rights abuses by China against Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang (East Turkmenistan) last October. The vote made a mockery of the U.N.s vaunted support for universal human rights while allowing the CCP to skate on its continuing genocide against the Uyghur people, including a million-plus languishing in concentration camps.

A related example was the accusation made in February this year by the Uyghur Human Rights Project that the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has sanitize[ed] the persecution of Uyghurs and destruction of their cultural heritage in China, as reported by Voice of America News.

The UHRP report accuses UNESCO of violating its own standards because the Chinese government has destroyed large numbers of mosques, shrines, graveyards, and historic books and restricted the use of Uyghur and other indigenous Turkic languages. Additionally, hundreds, possibly thousands, of Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyz intellectuals and cultural leaders have been imprisoned.

UNESCO apparently is yet another U.N. agency with Chinese characteristics.

Concluding Thoughts

Bejing has mounted a comprehensive campaign over the last several decades to gain control of the U.N. and other international organizations. Chinese money and influence-peddling have been wildly successful in influencing these entities in enabling and supporting the CCPs pursuit of its long-term geopolitical goals, foremost of which include displacing the United States as the worlds superpower and replacing the current liberal international order with a dystopian system dominated by Chinese authoritarianism. The U.N.s Common Agenda goals could have easily been written in Beijing, as they dovetail seamlessly with Chinas common prosperity propaganda messaging.

CCP influence peddling has delivered favorable results from many international organizations.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the NIH, received $400 million from Moderna in a catch-up payment, according to a newly disclosed contract that The Epoch Times obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

So where is the money going? Which government officials are getting the money?

Kash Patel argues that it poses a major conflict of interest for scientists at the NIH to be able to receive royalties from patents.

Do people in the Department of Agriculture who work with private-sector farmers and come up with some new seed receive millions of dollars from the farming industry? No, Patel said.

What about the army guy that comes up with the technology for our next aerial asset, [and] we enter into a contract with Lockheed Martin or Boeing to make billions of dollars worth of this? Is he going to get a royalty from that? Absolutely not, he said.

The NIH received up to $2 billion in royalties from 34 drug contracts between 1991 and 2019, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

We also take a look at new allegations of bribery in FTX founder Sam Bankman-Frieds case. On top of the 12 counts he was already indicted on, hes now being charged for allegedly bribing Chinese officials to the tune of over $40 million to get his accounts in China unfrozen.



FULL TRANSCRIPT

Kash Patel:

Hey everybody, and welcome back to Kashs Corner. Jan, we have an interesting episode today, some quickfire subjects and some long-term subjects. Where do you want to start?

Jan Jekielek:

The Senate has just rescinded the authorization for use of military force in Iraq. This has some pretty incredible implications if it actually goes through to the end. We definitely want to touch on that. Sam Bankman-Fried with his new indictment is fascinating. But the big thing I really want to talk about is the $400 million that weve discovered Moderna paid out in the not too distant past to NIAID, Faucis agency.

Mr. Patel:

Yes, thats a lot, well try to simplify it. AUMF is the authorization of use of military force. We call it the AUMF. Congress has to act under the law every time the United States commits its military to a theater of war for operational purposes. Thats the law. If we go to war, congress must act.

Thats an oversimplification, but thats what the AUMF is for. The Defense Department or the United States government goes to Congress or the president and says, I want to conduct operations in X. Ill give you an example. The attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania occurred on 9/11.

Very swiftly after that, in order to invade Afghanistan, Congress passed a law, the AUMF, the authorization of use of military force to hunt terrorists in Afghanistan responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Now, whats supposed to happen is every time you enter a new theater of war, a new area of operational review, as we call it, you are supposed to do another AUMF.

In this instance, youre talking about the AUMF for Iraq. On a side note, the 9/11-Afghanistan AUMF has been stretched and some people believe overstretched, if not violated, in order to to allow United States military operations in other countries, such as Somalia and Syria, by continuing the manhunt for terrorism.

Whatever your thoughts are on that pursuit itself, its different from the legal component. As the former chief of staff of DOD, I want to do everything out there to protect American citizens in the world from terrorist activities and war that will bring harm to America. Whats interesting about the Senates move here is theyre saying, We dont need an AUMF in Iraq anymore.

If the House agrees, that will be a full rescission of the authority to conduct military operations in and around Iraq. On a technical basis, that doesnt mean that we cant still do things in Iraq from a military standpoint, because we could bootstrap to other AUMFs that are currently active, i.e. the 9/11 one, to say, Under this authority, we are going in here and staying in this region to do X, Y, and Z.

It sends a strong message to Americans in the world that weve been in Iraq for a long time. It started in the first Persian Gulf War, and then weve just stayed there since 9/11. We have a massive base of operations throughout Iraq. Ive been to most of our platforms there.

It will be interesting to see how the defense industrial complex reacts. Because when you shut down a massive theater of war, like we just shut down in Afghanistan, they stop producing equipment and machinery pursuant to whatever contracts were outstanding, because those authorizations are gone.

If were not committing forces to military operations, then we dont need any more of that. With the defense industrial complex, Ive always said they provide one of the most valuable services of any sort of private sector industry. Ive also said that they are, in my opinion, the worst in terms of overusing taxpayer dollars and literally lighting them on fire for purposes that I cannot understand.

We took them on when we were in the Pentagon and we said, You guys provide great, valuable services, but youre also providing programs and things that we dont need. Why are they doing that? Why are we allowing that? Thats a conversation for another day about the defense industrial complex, but we will see their reaction play out in the public square.

A third of the United States Senate still said, We want to maintain operational control and lawful authority to execute programs in the Iraqi theater of war. Thats not a small number, Jan. I dont know what the House is going to do. If they will take it up and put it on the floor for a vote remains to be seen. Then, do they have enough votes in a bipartisan fashion?

Maybe the Republicans will just take it on its face value and move the entire block behind it. That remains to be seen. Until both chambers act, theres still a long way to go. This isnt going to be resolved next week or next month. Were probably looking at the rest of this year to see where this goes.

Mr. Jekielek:

Fascinating. Put on your legal hat now and lets look at this new indictment. I was kind of surprised theres yet another indictment of Sam Bankman-Fried at this point, and this one has to do with China. Please give us the picture.

Mr. Patel:

First of all, it just hit me this week that Sam Bankman-Frieds name is Bankman, and hes committing some of the largest fraud in the banking history of the United States and the world. Sam Bankman-Fried was already charged with a dozen counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy.

What the DOJ did, and what theyre allowed to do is supersede. They issued a superseding indictment, meaning they added a charge or charges. That means they have been continuing the investigation into Bankmans case. Even though hes already been charged, they didnt stop.

That happens frequently. Its not an unusual tactic, and I want to be clear about that. We charge people all the time and then continue with the investigation. Tactically speaking, and I dont know if this is the case with Bankman, what I would do as a former federal prosecutor is go up to the target and say, Okay, this is the current indictment.

I go up to his lawyer and say, Heres the current indictment. Would you like to work out a plea agreement on this indictment? If they say, No, you would make them aware of the possibility of a superseding indictment, which exposes them to more criminal liability, a longer prison sentence, and bigger fines.

I dont know if thats the case here, but thats generally a strategy prosecutors utilize, because resolving a case short of trial saves the taxpayers and the judicial system an enormous amount of time and money. Remember, less than 10 percent of federal cases ever go to actual jury trial, they mostly resolve in plea agreements.

I dont know what the behind the scenes maneuvering is here, but likely those conversations happened in some fashion. This guy, Bankman, as if it wasnt bad enough, is alleged to have committed this multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme, bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy. He has defrauded so many thousands if not millions of people around the world.

He bribed the Chinese Communist Party to perpetrate this scheme. This guy, Bankman, and his colleagues are identified as CC-1 and CC-2 in the superseding indictment. Just a quick offshoot, the DOJ doesnt identify those individuals on purpose, because its unlikely that theyre charged at this time.

They could be unindicted co-conspirators, or they could be cooperating witnesses, we dont know. They just label them CC-1 and CC-2, but identify them as senior level executives at FTX. FTX and the Alameda Research company were the two organizations that Bankman ran to conduct this scheme.

Bankman had billions of dollars in a Chinese financial institution in mainland China. For some reason the Chinese Communist Party, and we dont know this for sure because this information hasnt come out yet, froze those funds. What does that mean? That means Bankman, his company and his executives literally could not get that money out. Thats a lot of money.

Remember, his whole thing was a cryptocurrency deal, which isnt necessarily my wheelhouse. But there are banks that do trade in crypto specifically, and monetarily, it syncs up with the dollar for evaluation. Thats how were talking about it, and thats how its talked about in the indictment.

If you look at the indictment, and if the facts alleged are true, hes been at it for some time. First, he tried to stand up what we call dummy corporations or dummy companies to try to siphon the money out of the frozen accounts into strawman accounts, as we call them, to trick the Chinese government. He said, No, no, no, its going from this to something that has nothing to do with me. The CCP didnt go for it. After months, they basically said, No, were not allowing any of this money to be siphoned to this other institution or financial account.

Then he, Bankman, directs his executives to go out and literally send through the cryptocurrency exchange $40 million to CCP officials to unfreeze the money that the government in China froze. And shockingly, they do it. Literally, as the indictment alleges, the money is released shortly thereafter from the frozen bank accounts due to this bribe. Thats what it is, and thats what hes been charged with.

That money was utilized by Bankman to continue his fraud and his scheme and his conspiracy, which is outlined in the indictment. Its interrelated to the bigger criminal enterprise that theyve charged him with. One of the things that caught my attention in the superseding indictment was not that he bribed CCP officials, its that after the bribe was successful, he continued his operations.

The indictment doesnt define an exact quantity, but Bankman continued to spend tens of millions of dollars to continue the bribe. That means the $40 million he paid, plus the tens of millions the DOJ hasnt exactly defined. Is it $100 million? Who else in the CCP did he pay? Did he pay anyone in America?

Did any of that money from the frozen accounts in mainland China come back to any American coffers? Any super PACs? Any politically-oriented organizations? Any candidates? We know from the indictment that Bankman-Frieds organizations gave to both Democrats and Republicans. Some folks have returned some of that money. A lot of that money is unaccounted for. We dont exactly know where it went.

At this time, I believe the DOJ does know where it went. But this guys in a lot of trouble. Weve talked about fraud, and its been a couple years now. When youre charged in federal court with a fraud, unlike a bank robbery or a narco trafficking case, the amount of time you are subjected to and for incarceration purposes is based on the value of the fraud.

If you commit a fraud for like 10,000 bucks, youre looking at less than a year. The DOJ has charged Bankman with committing a fraud of billions of dollars. Its so high that it literally doesnt score on the sentencing guidelines, which means he can face up to life in prison for these charges.

Mr. Jekielek:

This indictment shines a light on how business is actually done with the Chinese Communist Party. Number one, whatever you invest into China is not something you can pull out very easily at all. The billionaire, Mark Mobius, is recently on record talking about how he cant get some of his investments out of China.

This has happened to all sorts of people. In some cases you never get it out. But it turns out if you allegedly grease the right palms

Mr. Patel:

The palms of the CCP.

Mr. Jekielek:

 you might be able to get it out. Its a whole different question that they dont have the money to pay out all of those investments anyway. Lets jump to the bond. This is something that I was really curious about. It seems like his bond was quite low given the reality of the crimes that are alleged. What happens with that?

Mr. Patel:

Just to remind our audience, when he was originally arrested on the original indictment, he was found in the Bahamas and had to be brought back to the United States of America. The judge at the bond hearing gave Bankman a bond in New York City. Hes supposedly residing at the multimillion dollar home of his parents in Manhattan. That judge made a determination based on the two factors that matter for bond; Bankman, under the law, poses no flight risk and is not a danger to himself or the community.

If you can satisfy those prongs under the law, youre entitled to a reasonable bail commensurate with your circumstances. I said last time, I dont think he should have been given one, because this guy was literally caught in some foreign nation on some island and can literally go anywhere in the world because he has the economic means to do so.

If his scheme is proven true, he has already destroyed countless lives. To me, hes a threat in that fashion. By definition, when you have a superseding indictment, there is an automatic change in circumstances.

Every time you charge the defendant with another crime, like they did with Bankman here, you have to be brought before the court for arraignment. Bankman has to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty and either take a plea agreement, work towards a plea agreement, or set the case for trial. That change in circumstances is supposed to be taken to the judge.

Hes supposed to reevaluate whether or not Bankman should remain out on bond, should the bond increase, or should he be detained and incarcerated in jail pending the outcome of the trial or his sentence. The defense attorneys and prosecutors are scheduled to go before the New York judge on Thursday of this week, which is the day before our show airs, and there will be a decision.

It will be interesting to see what the judge or the prosecutors ask for. Ill remind our audience that he is now charged with committing a fraud on top of everything else, bribing the Chinese Communist Party at a minimum of $40 million plus the tens of millions of dollars that followed. That is a massive fraud in and of itself, aside from the other dozen counts hes charged with. In my opinion, if that happened to any other individual other than Sam Bankman-Fried, they would be detained.

It will be interesting. In all likelihood, I dont think that he will get detained. We should follow this case closely. My interest is in where the money from mainland China and the CCP went. Did the proceeds of his fraudulent conspiracy and crime flow to politicians? To political action committees? To charities?

Did he bribe other officials in the U.S.? Did other financial institutions go along with this scheme? This is a massive, massive, massive, massive-scale fraud that we havent seen since the likes of Bernie Madoff. And this guy is like 30-something years old, if that.

Mr. Jekielek:

Assuming all the allegations in the indictments are true, my birds eye view here is that he had an uncanny ability to know who to give money to, in order to avoid scrutiny.

Mr. Patel:

Thats a fascinating point that we havent talked about. Its not like he called the CCP hotline and said, Heres $40 million. He knew exactly who to send that money to and directed his associates to do so, with the almost immediate effect of having the billions of dollars that were frozen be released. Thats a fascinating point, and I hope the DOJ provides us, the American public, with that information, because I want to know who he was dealing with over there.

I want to know who those CCP affiliates are. Theyre a part of the crime, and they can be charged in America. Thats an American crime, and the CCP affiliates that were involved should be charged. Is the DOJ going to charge them? Who are they connected to?

Mr. Jekielek:

Just as a final twist in all of this, the fact that this was revealed might be enough to put whatever officials involved in a very difficult position with the top CCP officials.

Mr. Patel:

Yes.

Mr. Jekielek:

The whole thing is just absolutely fascinating. Well follow this very closely. Most recently, through some of our work, we found that theres been a $400 million payment from Moderna to NIH, specifically NIAID, which was Faucis agency when he was still running things over there. This is part of this broader approach of people working at the NIH.

Last year, OpenThe Books found there are 1,600-plus people that are getting royalty payments for patents they have developed while being employees of the NIH. But $400 million, thats a sizable chunk of change, and it suddenly came through, according to this contract. What are you seeing here?

Mr. Patel:

I am seeing my mind light itself on fire because of this kickback conspiracy between government servants and the private sector. Thanks to the great reporting of Steve over at Epoch Times, Epoch requested through the FOIA process, the Freedom of Information Act, directly to the NIH agencies and its organizations. Its been attributed to Moderna that they, Moderna, were somehow paying royalties to government officials to the tune of $400 million in relation to Modernas vaccine for the Covid virus.

In and of itself, I was kind of blown away. I was like, Wait a second. First of all, Moderna made $37 billion on the vaccine for Covid. Just Moderna. I dont know what Pfizers numbers are, or any other company out there. Now Im learning that government officials who enter into government service have been on the books with Moderna to get royalties for whatever they invented during a certain stretch of time at the NIH to the tune of $400 million.

Even though the FOIA requests were granted in this instance, it was redacted. I dont know where the money went. Where did the kickbacks and I will call them kickbacks because thats what they arewhere did they go? Did Fauci get them? Were other people at NIH involved? How much did they get?

I dont agree with the NIH response that they were justified in their redactions because it protects personal information. Thats garbage. These people were made rich by the Covid vaccine through a privately funded organization, Moderna, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, while on the government payroll as a government servant. Just put all this stuff aside for a second.

When you enter into government service, me or anybody else, its an intentional decision. You know youre going in and youre going to take a massive financial hit, whatever sector it is; agriculture, law enforcement, medical, or the military.

I have never heard of a system in government where employees get a kickback or a royalty scheme because they were part of some novelty or invention. Do people in the Department of Agriculture who work with private sector farmers and come up with some new seed, receive millions of dollars from the farming industry?

What about the army guy that comes up with a technology for our next aerial asset with which we enter into a contract with Lockheed Martin or Boeing. Does he make billions of dollars? Is he going to get a royalty from that? Absolutely not. Its unheard of. I dont know why we allow this.

Thats another conversation, and we need to fully investigate that, and hopefully somebody will. But first, we need to find out how much money was gotten, who got it, why, and then someone needs to go to Congress and ask for subpoenas from congressional committees if the NIH wont release this information and say, We want to know, and not just about Moderna and this one specific royalty.  Heres the thing that just has my head on fire.

NIH has received $2 billion worth of royalties since 1991. Who got all this money? Lets remind the audience, when you go to work for NIH, you use taxpayer dollars to enter into research. Im not saying they dont do amazing work, they do. But they use taxpayer funded dollars to enter into research to create these patents and work with the private sector, big pharma to come up with things that are supposed to be used to save lives, not just in America but around the world.

I know of no other sector of government where you are allowed to profit from it. It needs to be seriously looked at, and probably in my opinion, shut down. I dont understand. Theres no way an FBI agent can work with a gun company and say, If you would make this adjustment to the barrel and do this on the scope, its going to be just great for us.

Once youve done that, since we created a new patent, give me $10 million. What would your response be to that? Why are these officials at NIH treated any differently than everyone else in government who does similar work in a different sector?

The only way its allowed is because Congress legislated for it or created a regulation that permits this. But I dont agree with it at all, and a lot of Americans will probably be just as ticked off as I am upon learning this. Now, we have to figure out the depth of it, how far back it goes, and who it goes to.

Mr. Jekielek:

I remember about a year ago we had Adam Andrzejewski from Open The Books on the show, and we were talking about a similar theme. This is a very large single lump sum payment. Its a very strategically important time, which makes it particularly interesting. Its something to the tune of 1,600-plus individuals that have received royalties of various amounts. Some of them are pretty small, and some of them are quite a lot bigger. But if I recall correctly, all the names were redacted.

Mr. Patel:

For me, thats just unacceptable. These people chose to go work at NIH. Nobody forced them to work there. They could have worked in the private sector if they wanted to make money, and theres nothing wrong with that. Im not knocking that. But when you choose to go into government service like so many millions of Americans do, you dont benefit from it financially, because you create something thats of value to everyday Americans or the rest of the world. Its unlawful. Literally, we were just talking about bribes with Bankman and kickbacks, and thats literally what this is.

If I received a monetary benefit because I ushered through a program with a private sector industry from the defense industrial complex, and they said, By the way, were going to give you a couple of million dollars, I would be put in prison, as I should be. I dont know the legality behind these NIH regulations.

My question is why is it permitted? It needs to be looked at in congress. Congress needs to subpoena all of these records involving these royalties, lets call them; who got them, how much and why, release that to the American people, and then, revisit whether or not that should be the policy going forward for the NIH. You cannot be in government service and make $10 million.

Mr. Jekielek:

Basically, you think that the money from these patents should go to the government coffers.

Mr. Patel:

Thats a great point. Im not saying dont take the money as the United States government. If we use taxpayer dollars, and thats what has been reported, taxpayer money was given to these NIH employees. They utilized that money to create something new in partnership with the private industry, and then, they got paid for it. Its like getting a loan from a bank for free and saying, Dont worry, we dont have to pay that back. And then, when you profit off of it, someone else pays you even more money.

That money should go into the treasury or at the very least, be used to donate medical supplies and equipment to people in need across America, if not the rest of the world, or fund some sort of charitable endeavor like that. It shouldnt go into the pockets of the American government employees that signed up to serve and are now monetarily benefiting from it to the tune of seven figures.

Mr. Jekielek:

Just speaking with you right now, you can see a conflict of interest. Actually, it makes me wonder if these structures exist elsewhere.

Mr. Patel:

I have not ever seen or heard of this. When those structures existed for me as a federal prosecutor, I would prosecute that individual in government for accepting a bribe or a kickback, even if it was masqueraded as some sort of royalty. Even if they agreed to do it while they were in government service, and received the money after they left, it is still a crime.

Supposedly, weve exempted the NIH and its employees from doing that. Again, Im not attacking the workers at the NIH or anyone that chooses to enter service there. I want to know why we as a government permit this. If its permitted there, why isnt it permitted everywhere else? In my opinion, it should not happen anywhere in government service.

Mr. Jekielek:

Ill ask this one question as we finish up. Youre aware that industry funds these agencies substantially to the tune of many millions of dollars.

Mr. Patel:

Just add another layer onto the problem. Just because its been done for so long doesnt mean its legal. That takes me to the last thing I want to touch upon. I did say Congress should issue subpoenas, but theres another track that I hope some organization takes up. They need to challenge not just the NIH and NIAID for the unredacted versions of the information on this one, but expand the FOIA to all these other royalty payments that have come in and demand the unredacted versions of that.

Then, whoever has standing needs to take them to federal court and sue to say, Is this law or regulation constitutional? As we know, just because Congress passes a law and the President signs it, doesnt automatically always make it constitutional.

Our Supreme Court is the final arbiter of that. Not a lot of times, but sometimes they come in and say, That law that was passed on the books related to X, Y, or Z is actually unconstitutional. We need to test the constitutionality of whatever regulation or law by which the NIH folks are receiving these royalties. I cant believe it hasnt happened. Maybe it has, but I have never heard of it.

Ive never heard of them being taken to court. Ive never heard of anyone examining this in Congress, and it needs to be reevaluated there. Someone needs to take them to federal court. The subpoenas need to go out from Congress to expose all of this monetary benefit, and more FOIAs need to go out the door immediately.

This isnt just a one-off story. This is something that needs to be investigated thoroughly, if not more thoroughly, than some of the things that the committees in Congress are focusing on right now.

Mr. Jekielek:

Ill add one last thing. Ive heard the argument before that its very difficult to attract quality people into the government because of the payment limitations.

Mr. Patel:

Sure, I know that.

Mr. Jekielek:

People have said, We need to make it attractive. This might have been one way to make it attractive.

Mr. Patel:

Maybe it is, but you cant make it attractive for one sector and not for everyone else in government. Thats the whole point. The same rules have to apply for every government employee. Again, its a decision to go into government service. No one is forcing you. Its also a privilege, in my opinion. Thats why its so hard to enter into government service. Yes, of course, were always underpaid, whether youre at the DOJ, FBI, or DOD. Certainly our military, more so than any service, in my opinion, is drastically underpaid.

Thats not why you engage in that. You can have a career after your lifetime in government service and go on to make some monetary benefit thereafter. But to me, to do so while youre in government, something innate in me just strikes a friction with this concept or this regulation thats been allowed at NIH. Maybe Im totally wrong.

Mr. Jekielek:

Your point is very good that there is an obvious, significant conflict of interest here, that just becomes more obvious the moment you sit down and really think about it for a moment.

Mr. Patel:

Yes. It looks like Fauci has gone up to Congress, or is going back to Congress to testify. Maybe someone can just ask him these questions under oath. How much money have you gotten? Where did you get it? Who gave it to you and why? Im not necessarily, and this might shock a lot of people, Im not necessarily blaming Fauci if thats the law and regulation on the books.

My focus point is attacking and analyzing what is on the books and whether or not its legal. Someone needs to analyze that before we allow more private sector companies to literally pay government employees millions and billions of dollars.

Mr. Jekielek:

Kash, its time for our shout-out.

Mr. Patel:

It is. This weeks shout-out goes to Michael Kozlowski. Thanks for your kind words on our message board, and thanks for participating in our live chat. Thank you everybody for making our live chat so much fun on Friday nights during the show. We will see you next week on Kashs Corner.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Kentucky Governor Signs Bill Banning ESG Investment in Public Pensions

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear walks to his seat before the start of a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and governors visiting from states around the country in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 10, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has signed into law a measure that requires the states public pension funds to make investment decisions on financial risks and returns, rather than environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.

Beshear signed House Bill 236 into law on March 24, mandating the states fiduciaries to solely consider factors that have a direct and material connection to the financial risk or financial return of an investment, according to the measures language.

It bans actions on nonpecuniary interests, including environmental, social, political, or ideological interest without a connection to the financial performance of an asset.

State Treasurer Allison Ball, a Republican, touted the new law.

Kentucky now has the strongest anti-ESG legislation in the nation, Just the News reported on March 28.

For many years, pension investments were about maximizing returns. Recently, however, there has been a destructive shift in investment methodology to use the savings of Americans as financial muscle to push ideological causes through the ESG movement.

Kentucky has said no to this shift by passing HB 236, which clarifies that pension fiduciaries must base investment decisions solely on financial metrics, not politics.

The states House passed the legislation 7717 on March 2, and the states Senate approved it on March 13 on a 325 vote. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature.

Heritage Action for America, a grassroots conservative advocacy group, applauded the Kentucky General Assembly and Ball in a statement on March 24 for their efforts to protect citizens from the harms of the radical ESG movement.

With the ESG movement infiltrating businesses and threatening Americans finances, its now more important than ever to ensure that asset managers are following through with their fiduciary responsibilities, said Jessica Anderson, the groups executive director. As the first bill of its kind to be enacted, HB 236 will require asset managers to prioritize the investment returns and financial interests of Kentuckians.

This is a historic victory for Kentucky and will be an example for other states to follow as they look to protect their state industries, investments, and workers.

We look forward to even more states across the country adopting this approach and taking additional steps to rid our states of woke finance.

Ball was in Washington on March 9 to take part in a bill-signing ceremony held by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who signed a resolution introduced by Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) that would block a Labor Department rule that allows pension fund managers to consider ESG factors in investment decisions.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), with Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball standing behind him (far right), signs a resolution to block a Biden administration rule encouraging retirement managers to consider environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions, during a bill signing ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on March 9, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Im here to support what is happening as a Kentuckian and as the state treasurer of Kentucky, Ball said at the ceremony. I have been fighting to make sure our pension systems are strong and people can retire, so Ive been pushing back against the ESG movement.

We dont need to push ideological agendas. We dont need to push anything that is progressive. We need to focus on getting good returns so people can retire at the end of their work life.

However, President Joe Biden vetoed the resolution on March 20, saying the measure would put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country. The House failed to override Bidens veto after a 219200 vote on March 23, falling short of the two-thirds majority threshold needed.

After Bidens veto, Ball took to Twitter to express her disappointment.

He believes political agendas are more important than returns. In reality, ESG funds have underperformed the broader market over the past 5 years. Retirements are about returns, not politics, she wrote.

Ball, who has been the state treasurer since 2016, is currently running to be Kentuckys next state auditor. Beshear is running for reelection as governor of Kentucky.
Key US Ally Saudi Arabia to Join Regional Bloc Led by Moscow, Beijing

Participants of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit attend an extended-format meeting of heads of SCO member states in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Sept. 16, 2022. (Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/Pool via Reuters)

Saudi Arabia came one step closer this week to joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a formidable bloc of Eurasian states led by Russia and China.

On March 28, Riyadh approved a memorandum to begin the process of joining the SCO as a dialogue partner, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Dialogue partner status is generally seen as a first step toward full membership in the regional bloc.

The oil-rich kingdom has been a key U.S. ally in the Middle East for decades. The move, therefore, is likely to prompt Western fears of a Saudi shift into the RussianChinese orbit.

Saudi accession to the SCO reflects Riyadhs pursuit of a more balanced foreign policy, professor Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, a Turkish political analyst who heads the Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy (ANKASAM), told The Epoch Times. In recent years, Saudi foreign policy has sought to prioritize the Eastern World.

When asked about the move by Riyadh, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told The Epoch Times, We would defer to the Saudi government to discuss the formalization of its SCO dialogue partner status.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz attends the G-20 Leaders Summit via videoconference at the royal palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 30, 2021. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP)

Worlds Largest Regional Bloc

The SCO was founded by Moscow and Beijing in 2001 with the goal of countering perceived Western influence in the Eurasian region. Founding members include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

In 2017, India and Pakistan both joined the organizationdespite their historical rivalryas full-fledged members, bringing the total number of SCO-affiliated nuclear powers to four.

Headquartered in Beijing, the SCO is the worlds largest regional bloc in terms of population and geographical scope. Its current members collectively account for some 40 percent of the worlds population, 60 percent of the Eurasian land mass, and a third of global gross domestic product.

Last year, a high-ranking Belarusian defense official noted that half the worlds 10 largest armiesin terms of overall troop strengthwere accounted for by SCO member states.

A close ally of Moscow, Belarus is slated to become a full SCO member later this year.

On March 29, New Delhi hosted a meeting of SCO security chiefs, including Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian Security Council.

According to press reports, meeting participants discussed regional efforts to combat terrorism, smuggling, and transnational crime. They also discussed perceived security threats emanating from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Speaking in New Delhi, Patrushev blamed Washington and its allies for the critical situation in Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal from that country in 2021.

Reflecting the SCOs military dimension, he described the return of U.S. or NATO military assets to Afghanistanor its neighborsas categorically inadmissible.

Notably, the SCO coordinates its activities with the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Moscow-led military alliance of six Eurasian countries.

In August, SCO member states will take part in extensive joint security exercises in Russias central west Chelyabinsk region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) leaders summit in Samarkand on Sept. 16, 2022. (Sergei Bobylov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Expanding Membership

Saudi Arabia isnt the only U.S. ally seeking SCO membership. Last year, Egypt and Qatar also joined the Eurasian bloc as dialogue partners.

Egypt has been a leading recipient of U.S. financial and military aid since 1979, when it became the first Arab state to make peace with Israel. Qatar, meanwhile, is home to U.S. Central Commands (CENTCOM) forward headquarters.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has voiced hope of seeing his countrya dialogue partner since 2013become a full-fledged SCO member. Full membership in the regional bloc, he said, would bring Turkeys relations with SCO member states to the next level.

Erdogan made the remark after attending an SCO summit held last September in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. The event was attended by leaders of all member states, including Russias Vladimir Putin and Chinas Xi Jinping.

Turkey, however, is also a longstanding member of the Western NATO alliance. If it were to become a full SCO member, it would be the first NATO ally to do so.

ANKASAMs Erol says its natural for Ankara to cooperate with both Asia-based organizations and with Western ones.

Turkey, he said, pursues a multifaceted and balanced foreign policy, and its relations with the SCO can be viewed in this context.

He went on to stress, however, that the SCO is not an alternative to NATO.

He also dismissed the likelihood of Turkey joining the Eurasian bloc as a full-fledged memberat least in the short term.

This doesnt seem possible under current conditions, he said. Its not on Turkeys agenda right now.

A man holds a local newspaper reporting on the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in the Iranian capital of Tehran on March 11, 2023. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Geopolitical Realignments

Iran was promoted to an SCO dialogue partner at last years summit in Samarkand after having held observer status since 2005. A close ally of Russia, Iran is expected to become a full member of the organization in April.

On March 10, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties after years of mutual hostility, including full-blown proxy conflicts in Syria and Yemen. The agreement was brokered by SCO leader China, while Washington was largely uninvolved in the talks that led to the deal.

Erol sees this as further proof that the focus of Saudi foreign policy is shifting eastward. It is also a sign, he believes, of Chinas growing weight in the region.

There have also been reports that Riyadh is mulling a resumption of ties with the Syrian government. Shunned by the West and its allies since 2011, Damascus enjoys the staunch support of both Moscow and Tehran.

Turkey, too, is now in the process of normalizing ties with Syria in a reconciliation process brokered by Moscow.

According to Erol, these geopolitical realignments reflect waning U.S. influence in the regiona vacuum that he says risks being filled by other powers.

But they also present the United States with an opportunity to reexamine its policies, he added, and adopt a fresh approach to the region.
Lack of Openings in Residency Programs Is Causing Doctor Shortage in California, Doctor Says

Many California residents have been suffering from doctor shortages that cause long wait times to see a physician. Dr. Henry Chien, a family practice and internal medicine physician in Shafter, California, told The Epoch Times what he believes are the reasons behind the shortage.

He described what it is like being a primary care doctor: Its long hours, and the pay sucks.

The California Healthcare Foundation has stated: Californias health workforce is facing severe shortages.

Its not what you think, Chien said. What the media is telling you is not the whole truth. No one is talking about the real story.

He talked about several reasons, such as large numbers of doctors retiring, but he believes a major factor that goes largely undiscussed is that not enough doctors-in-training can get into residency programs.

Aging Population

In addition to California, the rest of the nation also faces a growing shortage of primary care physicians as baby boomers get older and require more medical care.

Doctors are also getting older. More than two fifths of physicians in the United States are expected to reach the age of 65 or older within the next decade, the Association of American Medical Colleges reported in 2021.

Low Pay in Primary Care

Chien said, New doctors do not want to go into primary care because the pay is lower than other areas, such as orthopedics, general surgery, psychiatry, and plastic surgery.

According to the Council on Graduate Medical Education, only around 20 percent of American medical students go into primary care, which includes general pediatric and general internal medicine.

A federal map shows the countrys access to doctors; yellow areas are considered medically underserved. (Courtesy of the Health Resources & Services Administration)

Rural Areas

A map from the Health Resources & Services Administration shows that California, as well as the rest of the country, has shortages of doctors in rural areas.

Medical schools are not recruiting doctors or giving them incentives to work in primary care in rural areas, Chien stated. There are going to be new programs from the government that are supposed to help both doctors and patients.

He said the programs are supposed to ease the load on primary care physicians and help patients find doctors more easily. However, he is hesitant to have more government involvement in healthcare.

According to Lets Get Healthy California, the state of California will need an additional 4,100 primary care doctors to meet the projected demand in the next 10 years, and simply having health insurance does not always mean that one receives appropriate or high-quality care at the right time.

An estimated 7 million Californians live in areas that have shortages of primary care, dental care, or mental health care, according to the California Future Health Workforce Commission.

Chien said, This delay in receiving healthcare results in barriers which negatively affect health outcomes.

He thinks medical schools should educate doctors to go into practice in rural areas.

Chien stated that he works in what is considered a rural office on Mondays, and the rest of the week he works in Bakersfield, which is a large city. When he is at the rural office in Shafter, he is swamped with patients.

He said he is very thorough with his patients, so his patients typically have longer wait times.

I like to take extensive notes on my patients, which some primary doctors are not doing from lack of time and the demand to see too many patients on a daily basis, he said.

As an example, he mentioned one patient who was referred to him from another doctor.

The notes section was empty when it should have contained notes, he said. I had no idea why the patient was referred to me.

Residency Programs

Chien stated, The referenced statistics of retiring doctors, medical students not wanting to go into primary care because of the pay, long hours, and not [being] able to take adequate time with each patient are all true, as well as doctors not wanting to go into practice in rural areas, but that is not the whole story.

Chien believes that there is not a problem recruiting doctors to go to medical schools and that enrollment numbers keep going up.

What the public is not being told is that there are thousands of doctors in California that would love to be working, but they cannot get into residency programs to complete all their training, Chien said. The number of spots in residency programs never changes, and that number is controlled by the government.

As a result, he said, doctors are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans that they wont be able to repay.

Chien said he went to a medical school in Mexico that was a feeder school for U.S. residential programs.

The training was identical to the medical schools in the United States, he said.

He said that right when his class in Mexico was almost finished with medical school and was to go into residency in the United States, a member of the Department of Education made the decision himself to shut down this U.S. feeder program from Mexico. This caused acceptance rates into U.S. residency programs to plummet.

I had to get an attorney, Chien said.

After others in his program got an attorney as well, the U.S. government decided to let Chiens class be the last class that would be accepted into U.S. residency programs at a high percentage.

Chien stated, There are plenty of doctors in the state of California that received training from other countries and have been practicing doctors in those other countries, but when [they move] to the United States to continue to practice medicine here, the government is putting too many restrictions on them, and they are not allowed to be doctors.

It is not right, Chien said. The doctors are out there wanting to work. If there is a shortage, its not because good doctors are not available.

A real concern of his is that due to doctor shortages, patients are seeing more physician assistants, who only have two years of training and then they are allowed to practice medicine.

He said, Physician assistants are the only provider people can see, because it takes a long time to get an appointment with the primary care doctor, from the shortages.

He worries that patients are not getting the adequate care that they deserve.
Lawyer: Trump Wont Take Plea Deal, Wont Be Handcuffed

Former President Donald Trumps lawyer said there is zero chance the 45th president will take a plea deal after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted him, and indicated his team would file motions to dismiss the case, although the indictment has not yet been unsealed.

President Trump will not take a plea deal on this case. Its not gonna happen, Trump Attorney Joe Tacopina told NBC on Friday, adding there is zero chance it will happen. Theres no crime. I dont know if its gonna make it to trial because we have substantial legal challenges.

Trump is not going to hole up in Mar-a-Lago, he said. The indictment targeting Trump has not been unsealed, as typically a court will make it public after a defendant appears in court for their arraignment.

In a separate interview with ABC News, Tacopina said that Thursdays development was a shock for Trump. At the end of the day, we were really hoping and he was hoping that the rule of law wouldve prevailed, he added. In my opinionand I dont say this with pride or pleasurein my 32 years as a lawyer, both as a prosecutor and a defense attorney, I feel like the rule of law died yesterday in this country.

This is unprecedented in this countrys history. I dont know what to expect other than an arraignment, he remarked. I understand theyre going to be closing off blocks around the courthouse, shutting down the courthouse. You know, well go in there and well proceed to see a judge at some point, plead not guilty, start talking about filing motions, which we will do immediately and very aggressively regarding the legal viability of this case.

Another lawyer representing Trump in a separate case, Jim Trusty, told CNN that he believes the former presidents legal team will attempt to dismiss the charges before it gets to trial. Several legal experts have made similar remarks, arguing that Trump could try to get the case tossed because of the statute of limitations or because Braggs case against him is based on a faulty legal theory.

I would think in very short order, youll see a motion to dismissor several motions to dismiss, Trusty told CNN, adding that those filings will likely be submitted within days.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arrives at the Manhattan District Attorneys office in New York City, on March 23, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Some analysts, including George Washington University professor John Banzhaf, have said Trump could argue selective enforcement is at play, or when a prosecutor attempts to target someone for certain charges when they generally choose not to charge other people who committed similar offenses.

Noting the peculiarities of the case against Trump, Tacopina told ABC News that there is really no precedent for this case  this was done with personal money. Reports have indicated that Bragg was investigating Trump for misclassifying alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to adult actress Stormy Daniels to cover up a purported affair, which Trump has denied.

Statutorily, the law says this: If the payment was made with personal funds and it wouldve been made irrespective of the candidates campaign, its outside of campaign finance and, clearly, thats what you have here, Tacopina said.

When asked whether he believes Trump will be placed in handcuffs for a perp walk or a mugshot, the lawyer said that they will try to get every ounce of publicity they can out of this thing but that Trump will not be put in handcuffs.

As far as a mugshots concerned, perp walk, I mean, you know, as I said, Im sure theyll try to make sure they get some joy out of this by parading him, Tacopina said. But, you know, I think this is a different situation, he continued. It is a lot of groups involved here and I dont think theyre going to allow this to become a circus, as much as humanly possible.

Although it is not believed Trump will resist arrest, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on Twitter that he would not assist in extraditing the former president and linked Bragg to alleged campaign money provided by controversial left-wing billionaire George Soros. Like Trump, DeSantis is reportedly eyeing the White House in 2024, although he has not officially announced his candidacy, and it isnt clear if he will.

Trump faces additional legal troubles amid a federal investigation into his activity following the 2020 election, a Georgia investigation relating to the 2020 election, and another federal investigation into his handling of government records after he left office. The former president has denied wrongdoing in those three cases, alleging they are part of politically motivated efforts to harm him politically.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts after his speech during a rally at the Iowa States Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Rachel Mummey)

In a historic and unprecedented move, former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, marking the first time a current or former US president has faced criminal charges. Although the indictment has been filed under seal and the specific charges are yet to be disclosed, the development is expected to send shockwaves across the nation.



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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office plans to contact Trump's lawyers to discuss his surrender and subsequent arraignment. The district attorney has been investigating Trump's alleged involvement in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up with adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election.



The indictment not only challenges the American political system, which has never seen criminal charges brought against a former leader, but also propels the 2024 presidential campaign into a new phase. Trump has vowed to continue his bid for the presidency despite facing criminal charges.



Throughout various investigations, Trump has repeatedly labeled them as a "witch hunt" and portrayed himself as a victim of politically motivated probes by Democratic prosecutors. As the indictment approached, Trump called upon his supporters to protest his arrest, echoing his post-2020 election calls to action when he attempted to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden.



Despite settling multiple private civil lawsuits and navigating disputes involving the Trump Organization, Trump has managed to avoid legal consequences in his personal, professional, and political lives. He was impeached twice by the Democratic-led House but escaped conviction by the Senate. In December, the Trump Organization faced multiple tax fraud charges but Trump himself remained uncharged.



The looming indictment has drawn criticism from Trump's Republican allies and potential 2024 GOP rivals. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has pledged to investigate the matter. Bragg's office had hinted at charges against Trump in early March after inviting the former president to testify before the grand jury investigating the hush money scheme. Trump declined to appear before the panel.



The long-running investigation, initiated by Bragg's predecessor, Cy Vance, revolves around a $130,000 payment made by Trump's then-personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election. Trump Organization executives allegedly authorized $420,000 in payments to Cohen, which included the original payment, tax liabilities, and a bonus. The reimbursements were recorded as a legal expense in the Trump Organization's books. Trump has denied any knowledge of the payment.


Lawyers Say Supreme Court Justices Not Subject to New Gift Reporting Rules

It is unclear if Supreme Court justices will have to comply with new regulations requiring members of the federal judiciary to publicly disclose more information about personal hospitality, gifts, and benefits they receive from outside sources, lawyers told The Epoch Times.

Supreme Court justices have said they voluntarily comply with the official code of conduct, but it is not clear that they are required to do so. Although they are members of the federal judiciary, they enjoy a level of independence that the rest of the federal judiciary does not. This is because the Supreme Court enjoys a special status because it was created by the U.S. Constitution, as opposed to Congress. Legal experts say this means that only the Supreme Court can regulate the Supreme Court.

The new regulations, which took effect March 14, were issued by a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policymaking body for the federal courts. The problem is that the Judicial Conference was created by Congress, not the Supreme Court.

The existence of the rules only came to light when The Washington Post reported March 28 that the new regulations apply to Supreme Court justices and all federal judges, an assertion disputed by legal experts who spoke with The Epoch Times.

Roslynn Mauskopf, a U.S. district court judge who is director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, sent a letter (pdf) to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on March 23 that outlined the policy changes. Whitehouse chairs the Senate Judiciary Committees panel on federal courts.

But Mauskopfs letter does not specifically mention the Supreme Court or its justices.

The Epoch Times reached out for comment to the Office of Legislative Affairs at the Administrative Office but had not received a reply as of press time.

Lawmakers like the left-wing Whitehouse, an outspoken critic of the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, and activists have been pressing for more stringent ethics guidelines for the high court for years, arguing the justices should have to follow ethics rules that more closely resemble those followed by the legislative and executive branches.

They argue that justices whose spouses are involved in political activism, like Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife, Ginni Thomas, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, is active in conservative politics, should have to recuse themselves from involvement in cases related to that activism. Despite pressure, the justice declined to recuse himself from the various challenges to the disputed 2020 presidential election that made it to the court.

While the new rules do not give ethics activists all that they want, such as new recusal guidelines, they do require federal judges to declare more information about gifts than was previously required.

An overnight stay at a personal vacation home owned by a friend will continue to be exempt from disclosure. But judges will be required to disclose when they are allowed free stays at commercial properties such as hotels and resorts and when they travel by private jet.

The Epoch Times reached out to Whitehouses communications director, Meaghan McCabe, but had not received a reply as of press time.

But Whitehouse told The Washington Post that the new regulations represent a little, but real victory that closes a loophole that left open an enormous avenue to real mischief by permitting free, secret holidays orchestrated by one of the many interests seeking to influence the court.

Left-wing ethics activists were particularly incensed when the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative, flew on Air Force Two at the invitation of then-Vice President Dick Cheney to a hunting expedition in Louisiana. In 2004, environmentalists demanded that Scalia recuse himself from a case involving Cheney. Scalia refused, writing a memo saying he did not believe his impartiality can reasonably be questioned. Scalia also publicly disclosed taking upwards of 200 subsidized trips over a decade, often to speak to students or legal organizations.

Attorney J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), said he doubts the new ethics regulations apply to the Supreme Court.

I think there is a fair chance they are unconstitutional, Adams told The Epoch Times by email.

Congressional oversight of the judicial branch in the Constitution appears in three places, he said.

First, Congress has the power of the purse to appropriate money. But Congress may not even reduce the salary of judges according to the Constitution. Second, Congress has the power to create inferior courts. The Supreme Court is created by the Constitution itself. And third, Congress can impeach. The Constitution does not give Congress the power to regulate the Supreme Courts behavior, Adams said.

The Supreme Court could take it upon itself to refuse to follow the regulations or it could strike them down if a lawsuit on the subject came before it, he said.

Another branch of government cannot regulate the Supreme Court except in the two ways outlined in the Constitution, Adams said.

It doesnt matter if Congress is acting directly or if it delegates its authority to another body, he added.

Veteran Supreme Court observer Curt Levey, president of the conservative Committee for Justice, also questioned the ability of the Judicial Conference to regulate the conduct of Supreme Court justices.

The Supreme Court can voluntarily follow this, but they certainly dont have the right to impose it on them, Levey told The Epoch Times in an interview.

Im not sure what the left would be celebrating unless the left wants there to be stricter rules for lower court judges, but thats not the focus of the left. They want stricter ethics for the Supreme Court, the attorney said.

Supreme Court justices have not commented publicly on the new regulations.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Supreme Courts Public Information Office but had not received a reply as of press time.
Los Angeles Man Charged With Assaulting 3 Girls in Irvine

SANTA ANA, Calif.A 53-year-old Los Angeles man was charged March 30 with assaulting three children in Irvine on separate occasions.

Christopher Eduard was charged with two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor younger than 14, and single counts of forcible lewd act on a child, contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex offense, and possession or control of child pornographyall felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts of sexual exploitation of a child, using a minor in the sale or distribution of child pornography, and indecent exposure.

Eduard pleaded not guilty Thursday at his arraignment and a pretrial hearing was set for April 10. He was ordered held without bail.

Eduard is accused of groping an 11-year-old girl May 24, 2021, at a Target department store at 13200 Jamboree Road, Irvine police said.

He is also accused of attacking a 9-year-old girl at a library in Irvine at 14361 Yale Avenue on March 21, police said. While the girl was in the childrens section he convinced her to help him film a video, handing her a cell phone while he held up cue cards for her to read aloud before he exposed himself and assaulted her, police alleged.

Eduard was arrested near his home in Los Angeles on March 24, but he bailed out. Police arrested him again Tuesday for the other cases.

According to the criminal complaint, there was a third victim for an alleged attack on March 1, 2021, but details of that were not immediately available.

Below is a security camera footage of the suspect.
Lukashenko: Russia Could Put Intercontinental Missiles in Belarus If Necessary

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivers an annual address to parliament, government and the nation in Minsk, Belarus, on March 31, 2023. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA/Handout via Reuters)

President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that Russia, which has already decided to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, could if necessary put intercontinental nuclear missiles there too.

In an annual address to lawmakers and government officials, Lukashenko said Moscows plans to station nuclear arms on the territory of its close ally would help protect Belarus, which he said was under threat from the West.

I am not trying to intimidate or blackmail anyone. I want to safeguard the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people, Lukashenko said.

Although Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the tactical missiles would remain under Moscows control, Lukashenko suggested he could use them with Russias agreement if Belarus was threatened with destruction.

Lukashenko said Belarus had enough conventional weapons to counter threats, but if we see that behind (the threats) lies the destruction of our country, we will use everything we have.

If necessary, Putin and I will decide and bring in strategic weaponsif needed, he said.

He offered no evidence of such a threat from the West, or of a further allegation that there were plans to invade Belarus from neighboring Poland, a member of the U.S.-led Western NATO alliance.

They Are Preparing to Invade

Take my word for it, I have never deceived you. They are preparing to invade Belarus, to destroy our country, he told the audience.

Russias decision to station tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus amid rising tension with the West over its invasion of Ukraine is its first deployment of nuclear weapons outside its borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Belarus said this week that the weapons would offer protection against what it called a campaign of pressure from the United States and its allies aimed at overthrowing Lukashenko.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he found the promised deployment worrisome.

In Fridays speech, Lukashenko also called for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in the Ukraine war, cautioning that Russia would be forced to use the most terrible weapon if it felt threatened.

It is impossible to defeat a nuclear power. If the Russian leadership understands that the situation threatens to cause Russias disintegration, it will use the most terrible weapon. This cannot be allowed, he said.

The Kremlin acknowledged Lukashenkos ceasefire proposal and said Putin and Lukashenko would have an opportunity to discuss it next week, but that the situation in Ukraine had not changed.

Ukraine has previously rejected Minsks offer to broker peace.

Belarus has said it will not enter the war, but regularly holds joint military training exercises with Russian forces.
Manhattan DA Calls House GOP Probe Dangerous Usurpation in First Statement After Trump Indictment

District attorney candidate Alvin Bragg speaks during a Get Out the Vote rally at A. Philip Randolph Square in Harlem in New York City on Nov. 1, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office fired back on March 31 at House GOP committee chairmen over their two letters to him regarding his investigation of former President Donald Trump.

A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on March 30 over his alleged role in the payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. With this prosecution, Trump became the first former president in history to be indicted.

The letters to Bragg were written by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), and House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.).

The first, on March 20, requested his testimony in addition to documents and communicationsfrom Jan. 1, 2017, to the presentrelated to the DAs then-investigation of Trump. It also requested all documents and communications referring or relating to the New York County District Attorney Offices receipt and use of federal funds.

The House chairmen called the then-expected indictment an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority. They warned that Braggs actions will erode confidence in the evenhanded application of justice and unalterably interfere in the course of the 2024 presidential election.

In response to the letter, Leslie Dubeck, the general counsel for the Manhattan DAs office, wrote to the House committee chairmen on March 23, calling the congressional inquiry illegitimate.

He said that complying with the March 20 letter would interfere with law enforcement, that the requests for documents and communications violate New Yorks sovereignty, and that a congressional review of a pending criminal investigation usurps executive powers. Dubeck also wrote that federal funding is an insufficient basis to justify these unconstitutional requests.

Nonetheless, to assist Congress in understanding the ways in which the DAs Office has used federal funds, we are preparing and will submit a letter describing its use of federal funds, he wrote.

The second letter, on March 25, sought to refute Dubecks points.

Notably, your reply letter did not dispute the central allegations at issuethat you, under political pressure from left-wing activists and former prosecutors in your office, are reportedly planning to use an alleged federal campaign finance violation, previously declined by federal prosecutors, as a vehicle to extend the statute of limitations on an otherwise misdemeanor offense and indict for the first time in history a former President of the United States, wrote Jordan, Comer, and Steil.

Moreover, you are apparently attempting to upgrade a misdemeanor charge to a felony using an untested legal theory at the same time when you are simultaneously downgrading felony charges to misdemeanors in a majority of other cases in your jurisdiction, they continued.

The committee chairmen wrote that the arguments in defense of your unprecedented prosecutorial conduct are conclusory and unconvincing, that the committees are authorized to conduct such an inquiry, that the inquiry is on a matter on which legislation could be had, and that the requests for documents and communications are pertinent to the committees inquiry.

They also wrote that Dubecks state law-based defenses are insufficient, that the investigation does not intrude on federalism powers because Congress is exercising its core authority to Legislate and that the investigation does not usurp executive powers.

The chairmen called Braggs offices offer to give information about its use of federal funds insufficient.

In response to the March 25 letter, in a March 31 letter, Dubeck told Jordan, Comer, and Steil to pound sand.
Manhattan DAs Office Responds to Trump Indictment

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization at the New York Supreme Court in New York on Jan. 13, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed on Thursday evening that his office contacted lawyers for former President Donald Trump to coordinate his surrender to the DAs office for arraignment after a grand jury handed down an indictment hours earlier.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Braggs office wrote that the indictment against Trump remains under seal and that guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected. Other details were not provided.

Trump will have to travel to Manhattan to face the charges against him, which stem from alleged hush-money payments that he made to adult performer Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal during the 2016 campaign. Braggs office reportedly is seeking to charge the former commander-in-chief with misclassifying payments, although details of the case are not clear as the indictment remains under seal. In New York, judges often unseal them after charges are brought in person.

President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime, Trump lawyers Joe Tacopina and Susan Necheles said in a statement. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court.

In a statement shortly after the indictment was handed down, the former president described it again as a witch-hunt and said it was merely an attempt to politically harm him.

This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history, Trump said in a Thursday statement. The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkableindicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.

If the case ever makes it to trial, its likely that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen will have to testify. The disbarred lawyer, who frequently appears on MSNBC, pleaded guilty to a range of felony charges, including making false statements to a bank, in 2018 before spending time in a federal prison in Otisville, New York.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to guests gathered for an event at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa, on March 13, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Cohen has alleged that Trump paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in 2016 to keep quiet about an alleged affair in the early 2000s. Trump has categorically denied the claims.

A lawyer of Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, Bob Costello, told multiple news outlets in the past two weeks that he testified in front of the Manhattan grand jury and said he attempted to discredit Cohens statements, saying that he is an unreliable witness and was once his attorney. But Cohen said that he never signed a waiver with Costello and disputed his remarks on MSNBC last week.

I stand by my testimony and the evidence that I provided to the district attorney of New York, Cohen told MSNBC on Thursday. Its extremely important that we let the process work out, and that people do still understand that there is a presumption of innocence in this country, he added.

The case, meanwhile, could serve to bolster Trumps 2024 presidential campaign as it would thrust the former president into the media spotlight, in which Trump appears to thrive. On Truth Social, hes frequently posted about the case, claiming that Bragg is a left-wing district attorney who obtained campaign cash from controversial billionaire financier George Soros.

These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President. THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE, wrote Trump on Thursday night. IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!

Trump has said that he wont stop campaigning if hes charged. The former president is under investigation in Fulton County, Georgia, for his activity following the 2020 election, and a Department of Justice special counsel is working on several probes targeting him, including whether he mishandled allegedly classified materials that led to the FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago resort last year.

Braggs case will have no legal bearing on whether he can become president. The U.S. Constitution has only three requirements for who can become president: they have to be aged 35 or older, be a natural-born U.S. citizen, and they have had to have lived in the country for 14 years, legal experts have said.
Marxism Makes Chinese Military Believe War With US Is Inevitable: Top US General

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 3, 2022. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Communist Chinas military leadership increasingly believes that war with the United States is inevitable, according to the United States most senior military officer.

The Chinese military is fostering destabilizing rhetoric and ideas that could encourage a catastrophic conflict with the United States, said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley during an interview with the Government Executive Media Group on March 31.

Theres a lot of rhetoric in China that could create the perception that war is right around the corner, Milley said.

In my analysis of China, at least their military and perhaps others have come to some sort of conclusion that war with the United States is inevitable. I think thats a very dangerous thing.

Milley said that the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) Marxist ideology was largely responsible for this belief, and that it encouraged deterministic thinking among Chinese leadership, including military officers.

They come out of a Marxist ideology they believe in historical determinism, they believe in a linear approach to history, Milley said.

That is not how we in the West think.

To that end, Milley said that war with the CCP regime was not inevitable and could still be deterred, but that the United States would need to stay strong relative to China and ensure it was ready to win any war that emerged.

I dont believe war is inevitable, Milley said. I dont think its imminent. But I do think that we need to be very, very pragmatic and cautious going forward.

Milley also noted that CCP leader Xi Jinping had set an explicit date of 2027 for the Chinese military to be ready to attack and seize Taiwan. The decision to invade had not been given yet, Milley said, but the regime is nevertheless intentionally building its capacity to do so.

Theyre training and manning equipment to do just that, Milley said of the CCPs preparation to invade Taiwan.

My guess is weve got three or four years to get Taiwan in a position where they will create a perception in the minds of the Chinese decision makers that the costs outweigh the benefits.

Next War Will Be Fought with AI and Robots



Speaking more broadly about the nature of conflict and the United States military development, Milley said that the character of war was in a period of profound transition. The next great power war, he said, would look unlike anything seen before.

I think were at a pivotal moment in history from a military standpoint, Milley said.

Paraphrasing the Prussian general and military philosopher Carl von Clausewitz, Milley said that, although the nature of war does not change, its character over the ages does, and that the world was currently in a period of fundamental change in the very character of war.

To that end, Milley said, robotics, artificial intelligence, precision munitions, and global communications would all become aligned and interconnected in the next war. Indeed, he said, the major militaries of the world would become predominantly robotic.

Over the next ten, fifteen years, youll see large portions of advanced countries militaries become robotic, Milley said.

I would submit that the country, the nation state, that takes those technologies and adapts them most effectively for military operations, that country is probably going to have a decisive advantage at the beginning of the next conflict.

Milley compared the race to deploy such technologies to the emergence of mechanization and airpower between the two world wars.

Much in the way Nazi Germany had harnessed industrialization to conquer Europe, he said, the first nation to unify AI, robotics, and telecommunications in a coherent doctrine of war will become supreme on the world stage.

[Germany] overran Europe in a very, very short period of time because they were able to take those technologies and put them together in a doctrine now known as Blitzkrieg, Milley said.

The United States, he added, was working to develop its own doctrine of joint warfare in this new technological era, and would deploy automation, robotics, and other technologies accordingly within the next five to seven years.

Thats coming Milley said. Were looking at the inside of ten years.
McCarthy Vows to Hold Manhattan DA Accountable for Unprecedented Abuse of Power

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has railed against the indictment of former President Donald Trump, pledging to hold the Manhattan district attorney in charge of the case to account.

A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on March 30 over his alleged role in the payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. With this prosecution, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trump became the first former president in history to be indicted.

Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election. As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account, said McCarthy in a Twitter post.

House GOP lawmakers have started a probe into Bragg and his office over the Trump investigation, which Bragg has characterized as congressional overreach.

While Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has been absent from the Senate as he recovers from falling at a GOP event in Washington a couple of weeks ago, have yet to react, other members of the GOP congressional leadership have expressed outrage over the indictment.

The sham New York indictment of President Donald Trump is one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents, said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Twitter. Outrageous.

Its a sad state of affairs when socialist DAs would rather pursue a politically motivated witch hunt against President Donald Trump than crack down on violent crime. The American people wont forget, said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) in a Twitter post.

The unprecedented election interference from corrupt Socialist District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a political witch-hunt and a dark day for America, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, said in a statement. The radical Far Left will stop at nothing to persecute Joe Bidens chief political opponent ahead of the 2024 presidential election to suppress the will and voice of the American people.

Stefanik is the only member of GOP congressional leadership to have endorsed Trumps candidacy so far.

Trump responded to the indictment, describing it as political persecution and a witch-hunt that will backfire.

Other Republicans were swift in condemning the criminal case.

Tonights indictment of Donald Trump isnt about the law. Its about power. Raw power. Its the Democrat Party telling the nation they will stop at nothing to control the outcome of the next presidential election. It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple, said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

Welcome to the club, @realDonaldTrump. In honor of the fact that the Manhattan DA could indict a ham sandwich next, I will be handing them out tomorrow in Longworth 1504 at noon. All are welcome! posted Rep. Barry Moore in a Twitter post with a mock certificate.

Welcome to the club, @realDonaldTrump. In honor of the fact that the Manhattan DA could indict a ham sandwich next, I will be handing them out tomorrow in Longworth 1504 at noon. All are welcome! pic.twitter.com/xKguEKsy3x  Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) March 30, 2023

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, said Arresting a presidential candidate on a manufactured basis should not happen in America.

The lefts continued attempts to weaponize our judicial system erode peoples faith in the American justice system and it needs to stop, Youngkin added in a Twitter post.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) expressed his support for McCarthys efforts to investigate Bragg.

We are now living in a nation where people cant trust the legal process, FBI, DOJ, or IRSand I will do all I can in the Senate to support @SpeakerMcCarthys efforts. I call on Senate leadership to do the same, Scott wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Republican strategists believe that the criminal charges will only boost Trumps political standing.

This helps Trump (especially in GOP primary) because it comes off as Bragg/Dems using the Justice system to go after a political opponent. And that wont sit well with voters, Ford OConnell, a lawyer and GOP strategist, told The Epoch Times.

Legally the case as we currently know it is pathetic and outrageous. And if the John Edwards saga is the precedent, Trump will prevail legally & politically.

Brian Darling, another GOP strategist, concurred.

I honestly think that this indictment will be a footnote in history and will have zero impact on Republican primary and the 2024 general election, Darling told The Epoch Times.

The legal result will be months and months of appeals on motions to dismiss and other procedural hurdles that come up because this is an unprecedented case of first impression. Expect a long drawn out process and the American people quickly losing interest because the stakes in the case are so low.
Sharon, Jason, and Scott Woska at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at State Theatre New Jersey on March 30, 2023. (Frank Liang/The Epoch Times)

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.History serves as a lesson for everyone who is willing to learn from it. Shen Yun Performing Arts is reviving the 5,000 years of Chinese culture that was destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party, but some audience members feel that America is facing the same fate.

Just as Chinese culture is becoming a loss, Americas culture is becoming a loss. I think were all at risk of not remembering what we had and valued before. So its an important lesson across cultures, said Scott Woska, a physician.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and it is dedicated to presenting China before communism to audiences around the world.

I think its very vital. Its valuable and vital for younger generations to understand whats happening in China today and to have an appreciation of the lost culture, Mr. Woska said.

Present-day China is already unrecognizable compared to China in the past. When people think of China, very few think of Chinas glorious past.

You dont associate China with beauty and culture. Its been destroyed, said Sharon Woska, Mr. Woskas wife.

China was once a place infused with spirituality. Whether it was Buddhism or Taoism, each dynasty had its own beliefs. Shen Yun is reflecting this pious atmosphere in its performance.

Its also inspirational because theres the whole spiritual aspect of it. A long time ago, we all felt like we were divine beings, and people dont feel like they are divine beings anymore. Just cattle, said Mrs. Woska.

Aside from dances depicting the beauty of Chinese culture, Shen Yun also uses dance to tell the state of present-day China.

Well, its very enlightening and bringing a lot of information that we didnt know or werent so aware of, Mr. Woska said.

One of the stories is about the persecution of Falun Gong. When the persecution started in 1999, media around the world believed the lies that the Chinese state media was broadcasting about what was happening. No one told the truth about the persecution. Today, Shen Yun is presenting the truth.

I think people have to know more about the truth about whats been happening in China with Falun Gong and all the spiritual practitioners theyre being tortured. We dont know about this in America. And the media should be telling us, said Mrs. Woska.

The couple brought their son, Jason, to the performance, and he shared his thoughts on Shen Yun.

I really like the dancing and everything. Its very cool and fun. Its really beautiful, he said.

Reporting by Frank Liang and Maria Han.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
NHS Trust Pays Out to Catholic Chaplain Who Was Told Equality and Diversity Take Precedence Over Religious Belief

A London NHS Trust has resolved a discrimination case with a Catholic chaplain who was dismissed from his role after he answered a question from a patient on a psychiatric ward regarding the Churchs stance on marriage.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Rev. Dr. Patrick Pullicino, 73, was pursuing a claim against South West London and St. Georges Mental Health NHS Trust for harassment, religious discrimination, and victimisation.

Pullicino, who had worked in the NHS as a Consultant Neurologist until being ordained as a Catholic priest in 2016, was told equality and diversity take precedence over religious belief.

The hearing was set to take place in July 2023 at Croydon Employment Tribunal.

On Friday, the Trust settled the case by awarding him 10,000 in compensation for perceived injury to feelings.

Supersedes Religious Standing

In 2019, while employed by the South West London and St. Georges Mental Health NHS Trust as a part-time Catholic chaplain, Pullicino was assigned to visit a male patient in one of south Londons Springfield Hospital mental health wards who had specifically requested to see a Catholic chaplain.

The patient requested to take a walk with him, during which he told the priest he planned to marry his same-sex partner and asked what he thought about it.

Pullicino was asked what his opinion was as a Catholic priest, and responded by saying: What do you think God would say to you about this?

The next day, Pullicino was met by another member of staff who told him he could not enter as a complaint had been lodged against him. He was then told to adhere to the Trusts Equality and Diversity policy to avoid future complaints and to retake his diversity training.

He was also sent an email that said: NHS policy on Equality and Diversity in relation to the complaint supersedes religious standing whilst working and representing the trust, even though religious beliefs as protected under the Equality Act.

Pullicino was then dismissed on budget grounds but volunteered to continue to serve without payment as he was the only Catholic chaplain on site.

He then received an email from the Trust saying: I need you to know that you are currently not authorised to visit the wards or saying mass [sic] as you are not currently under any terms and conditions or insurance. This will stand until and unless we have agreed in writing for you to have an on-going role in the Trust.

Vanessa Ford, the acting chief executive of South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust, had asserted that the trusts policy on equality and diversity takes precedence over religious belief.

However, during the case, it was found she had accepted that on reflection her letter should have been phrased differently as religion and belief is afforded exactly the same rights as the other eight protected characteristics.

She added that there was no suggestion that the Trust felt you had told the patient that he would go to hell, as the complainant alleged.

Throughout the proceedings, the Trust and Ford strongly denied all allegations of religious discrimination.

Government Inquiry Needed

Pullicino was one of the first doctors who first raised concerns over the now-abolished Liverpool Care Pathway (pdf), a controversial protocol that included painkillers and sometimes sedation for dying patients.

In a statement, he was pleased and relieved by the outcome but said a government inquiry is urgently needed.

He said it had been: Crucial to expose the NHSs disturbing approach to the standard expression of Christian beliefs.

The documented downgrading of Christian belief by the Chief Executive undermines not only her NHS trust but also all the patients under her care as well as the chaplains of different faiths that she employs.

There is a tendency throughout the NHS to force their patients to accept generic spiritual care instead of giving support for their Christian beliefs. Christian faith is particularly important in sickness, particularly when in danger of death.

Limiting this is inhumane, in addition to being outside the law. Good, religion-specific chaplaincy support is under threat in the NHS but is essential in all hospitals. A government inquiry is urgently needed into restoring Hospital Chaplaincy to its rightful place.

Riding Roughshod

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said it was time to see an end to the ideology of equality and diversity riding roughshod over the Christian faith and treating it with such little respect.

She added that Pullicinos case was a worrying trend that NHS chaplains risk punishment for responding to questions on human sexuality with standard biblical teaching. They live under pressure to self-censor, affirm at all costs, or face the consequences.

This has to change, she added.

The Epoch Times contacted the South West London and St. Georges Mental Health NHS Trust for comment.

A spokesperson from South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust said told The Epoch Times by email that it was pleased that we have agreed an outcome with Mr. Pullicino which avoids the need for further proceedings.

We remain absolutely committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for our patients, staff, and communities. We respect and celebrate all protected characteristics equally, including religion, race, sexual orientation, disability, age, sex, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.

We take seriously our responsibility to ensure patients spiritual needs are met and we oppose any form of discrimination. We seek to protect all patients and members of staff in line with the Equality Act 2010.
NSA Cybersecurity Head Calls Chinese-Owned TikTok a Trojan Horse

A smartphone with a displayed TikTok logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken on Feb. 23, 2023. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

The head of the U.S. National Security Agencys cybersecurity division said that the Chinese-owned application TikTok is Chinas trojan horse and poses a long-term security threat to Americans, according to Bloomberg.

Instead of only looking at the direct threat of TikToks manipulated content, Rob Joyce said that the U.S. government should monitor TikToks China-based parent company ByteDance Ltd. to avoid a security incident five, 10, or 20 years in the future.

Why would you bring the Trojan horse inside the fortress? Joyce said Monday at the Silverado Accelerator Conference in Napa, California. Why would you bring that capability into the US when the Chinese could manipulate the data we see to either include the things they want to present to our populationdivisive materialor remove the things that paint them in a bad light, which they would not like to be exposed to the American people?

The Epoch Times reached out to TikTok for comment.

TikTok has 150 million monthly users in the United States, raising concerns about Beijings strategy in corrupting the youth and sharing its users information with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China.

House Committee Hearing

TikTok CEO Shou Chew appeared before a House Committee on March 23 over the apps ties to the CCP. Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) opened the hearing heavily criticizing TikToks ties to the CCP through its parent company ByteDance.

CCP laws require Chinese companies like ByteDance to spy on their behalf, Rodgers said. That means any Chinese company must grant the CCP access and manipulation capabilities as a design feature.

TikTok surveils us all, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is able to use this as a tool to manipulate America as a whole. We do not trust TikTok will ever embrace American values.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee speaks during the hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Chew before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Chew tried to distance TikTok from ByteDance without providing any sound argument and failed to convince the lawmakers, as the scheduled ban of the app in U.S. Congress will proceed as planned.

The House will be moving forward with legislation to protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Sunday, March 26.

Several Western governments and institutions have banned TikTok in recent weeks, including the UK parliament, the Dutch and Belgian administrations, and the New Zealand parliament.

TikToks Immediate Danger

According to expert and Epoch Times columnist Roger Simon, TikToks mind control on American youth is even more serious than the lack of privacy.

TikTok does that via its proprietary algorithm, which presents the most self-destructive trends of our culture to its audience.

In this way, TikTok is radically increasing the spread of all aspects of what we call woke, from transgenderism and hyper-sexuality to a pervasive sense of victimhood and depression unseen in our society probably ever, Simon argues.

Drug use and suicide, often closely associated, are way up. Theres a general feeling of hopelessness in our culture, particularly among the young. If you wanted to destroy a country without firing a bullet, what better way could there be than to get them addicted to an app with those inherent values?

Andrew Thornebrooke and Melanie Sun contributed to this report.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, a major railroad company, over the environmental damage caused by a train derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The derailment resulted in hazardous chemicals spilling into nearby creeks and rivers. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, aims to hold the company accountable for "unlawfully polluting the nation's waterways" and ensure they cover the full cost of the environmental cleanup.



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In early February, the train derailment led to the evacuation of around 2,500 residents of East Palestine as emergency responders deliberately burned toxic chemicals in some of the derailed cars to prevent an uncontrolled explosion. The chemicals from the derailed cars, as well as firefighting foam, seeped into creeks and rivers near the village, with some eventually reaching the Ohio River.



Although government officials have stated that tests have not detected dangerous levels of chemicals in the air or water in the area, many residents remain concerned about their long-term health.



Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has repeatedly apologized for the impact of the derailment, and the company has committed to paying for the cleanup. The railroad has also pledged over $20 million to aid the Ohio community's recovery and announced several voluntary safety upgrades.



Ohio filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern just over two weeks ago, aiming to ensure the company pays for the cleanup and environmental damage, as well as for groundwater and soil monitoring in the coming years.


Former President Donald Trumps first hearing will take place on April 4, a court spokesperson confirmed on March 31. Trumps lawyer says they plan to plead not guilty. Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington tells NTDs Stefania Cox she believes that the United States and the world are now in more danger, after Trumps indictment.

Florida lawmakers are clearing the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president and still keep his position as governor. And although Trump would be his main competitor, DeSantis appears to be standing behind the former president over his recent indictment.

President Joe Biden visited a ravaged town in Mississippi, announcing more federal help. This is after last weekends weather systems pummeled the Southeast and killed over two dozen people.

Several CDC investigators fell ill while studying the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, according to a CNN report.
Plan for Chinese Electric Vehicle Battery Plant Sparks Opposition in Rural Michigan

This rural Michigan community may become home to a Chinese EV battery plant. (Courtesy of Jim Chapman)

The possible construction of a new lithium-ion battery factory in their backyard has presented the people of rural western Michigan with a choice between new jobs and national security.

Because of the battery companys ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), former Air Force Staff Sergeant Ormand Hook had no trouble making up his mind.

Hook, who resides three miles from the site, told The Epoch Times that he is choosing national security and safety over new jobs and money in our pockets.

Its not worth the risk. Communist China is our biggest enemy. We have to go with national security first. In a dangerous world, take the boldest course for your survival, he said.

A view of the nearly 700-acre site for a proposed Chinese Electric Vehicle battery plant in rural Michigan. (Courtesy of Jim Chapman)

Plans call for the sprawling, advanced manufacturing complex to be built on a 665-acre site divided between Big Rapids Charter Township and neighboring Green Charter Township.

Each township has a population of under 5,000.

They are located in Mecosta County (population 40,031), where the unemployment rate in January was 6.8 percent.

Nearly one out of five families in Mecosta and neighboring Lake County live below the poverty line.

In the late fall of 2022, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, announced that Gotion Inc. intends to construct a $2.4 billion factory near the small college town of Big Rapids to manufacture components for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.

Gotion is a California-based subsidiary of the Chinese company Gotion High-tech, also known as Guoxuan High Tech,

The firm also operates a research facility in Independence, Ohio.

Just under 50 percent of the investment would be provided by Michigan taxpayers and utilities through a combination of cash contributions, tax abatements, and other incentives.

Construction is slated to begin in July.

Prospective employees of the new plant will be drawn from a 60-mile radius.

Green Charter Township Supervisor Jim Chapman. (Courtesy of Jim Chapman)

According to Green Charter Township Supervisor Jim Chapman, the plant is expected to employ up to 2,350 workers over the course of a few years.

For every job the plant creates, there will be 2.5 jobs generated in the community economy. A rising tide lifts all boats. It will be life-changing, said Chapman in an interview with The Epoch Times.

In Mecosta and neighboring Lake County, over 19 percent of the population live below the poverty line, so the new plant will help a lot. It will have a regional draw and a very positive impact.

Chapman told of people he knows who love to live in the Big Rapids area and enjoy its many amenities but have to drive long distances to make a living.

One local husband and father said he is currently driving roundtrip 126 miles a day to his skilled high-paying job near Grand Rapids.

If he hires into the new plant, he will have an additional three hours a day to spend with his family. That strengthens family life.

Chapman said the coming plant has created a clash of interests between retirees and the younger generation.

The pensioners have got it made here. They are comfortable. They dont want anything to change. But weve got to think about providing economic opportunities for our young people or they will be forced to move away, he said.

$45,000 a Year to Start

Chapman said it was his understanding that the starting pay at the new factory will be $45,000 a year.

Michigan political activist Jon Rocha. (Courtesy of Jon Rocha)

Ex-Marine combat veteran and western Michigan political activist Jon Rocha told The Epoch Times, This deal is state capitalism on the Chinese model.

Instead of free market capitalism transforming China, Chinese state capitalism is changing America.

China expert Brian Kennedy, of the Committee on the Present Danger: China, told The Epoch Times that people should be wary of multibillion-dollar investments that sound great on the surface but are drawing the United States into long-term dependence on China, our mortal enemy.

Kennedy warned that the CCP has an agenda that will make America poorer, China richer  and will create a decade of bad investments that will ultimately fail.

According to Kennedy, the CCP strategy is to lure America into using electric cars which he calls a demonstrably unrealistic form of transportation.

Citing the high price tag of electric vehicle batteries and the insufficient amount of electricity production in the United States, Kennedy calls the whole concept misguided.

Making major investments in electric batteries is even more ridiculous given the large amounts of oil and natural gas that America currently possesses, he said.

Chinese Corporate Model

Rocha and other opponents of the project are circulating a copy of Gotion High-techs articles of association to illustrate some of their concerns about how the CCP permeates Chinese companies.

The 94-page document mostly reads like boilerplate corporate bylaws. It grants the company permission to invest in other companies and pledges to remain committed to developing new green energy.

The articles state they are legally binding on the companys organizations and behaviors.

Chapter 10 mentions civil capacity as a qualification for a director, supervisor, and senior manager, saying they must never have been convicted of disrupting the economic order of the socialist market.

Social Credit Scores

Also listed in the articles is the companys unified social credit code, an account assigned by the Chinese government as a way of rating a businesss adhesion to the governments laws and CCP policies.

Article Nine sets up within the company a Party organization to carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China.

Within the company, the Party Committee must ensure the implementation of the Partys guidelines, principles, and policies  and implement major strategic decisions, according to the articles.

Strengthening the Party organization and members at the grassroots level of the company is required, as well as giving full play to the role of the Party branch as a fighting fortress and the vanguard.

Do Articles Apply to US Plants?

In several statements to the press, Gotions vice president of North American operations, Chuck Thelen, said the CCP does not influence the companys in North America.

Chapman said he understands that people are upset about the loyalty and support the articles demand toward the CCP and he is aware of the evils of communism that the document exposes, but he insists, They dont apply in the United States.

I have no indication of a branch of the CCP being set up in this plant or the companys other facilities in California and Ohio.

As reported in The Epoch Times earlier this month, inflammatory comments from Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warning of the possibility, if not inevitability, of catastrophic conflict between China and the United States have stoked fears among some west Michigan residents.

Residents Fear Conflict, Pollution

The ownership of Gotion Inc. being aligned with the interests of the CCP does not make me feel safe, said Theresa Emshwiller.

My husband and I moved out of the city to come to a place where we can raise our kids in safety. Im not comfortable with Gotion Inc. being here.

We pay taxes to the state of Michigan that is giving our tax dollars to a Chinese company. Why not bring in an ethical American company? she said.

Hook, Rocha, and Emshwiller each also expressed concerns about the environmental impact of a plant that uses lithium, cobalt, and possibly other heavy metals in the manufacturing process.

West Michigan political activist Ormand Hook. (Courtesy of Ormand Hook)

The same people who are trying to stop the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline from bringing oil into Michigan from Canada are perfectly fine with the Chinese battery plant. Why is that? said Rocha.

Emshwiller said, The Democrat majorities in Lansing are just gaveling the battery factory through. I do not at all feel that I am being listened to. And from what Ive read, the townships are just making excuses.

As a volunteer firefighter certified in the handling of hazardous materials, Chapman told The Epoch Times, Many of our existing local factories handle hazardous materials successfully every day. They have been doing so for years and most people havent heard a thing about it.

Some materials come with some dangers. That is a fact of life, said Chapman. Growth is going to come. The trick is to manage it.

They Came to Us

Chapman said that Gotion came to Green Township out of nowhere.

They came to us. We were not out looking for them.

Addressing what he says is the oft-heard concern about the loss of hundreds of acres of agricultural land to build the factory, Chapman said, That so-called pristine farmland hasnt been plowed in 40 years. A good farmer couldnt raise his voice on it.

The Big Rapids Charter Township Board voted unanimously to submit the project to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for review to determine if the foreign ties of Gotion pose a threat to national security.

Opponents of the plant expect demonstrations to arise in the coming days to dissuade local officials from moving forward with the project.
Police Left Lower West Terrace Tunnel Doors Unsecured, Giving Protesters Easy Access

A Metropolitan Police Department bodycam captured the moment a rioter smashed the door glass in the Lower West Terrace tunnel on Jan. 6, 2021. (Metropolitan Police Department/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Just minutes after misfired tear gas canisters drove police back into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the retreating officers left unsecured the sets of double doors in the Lower West Terrace tunnel, giving protesters easy access to the entrance and sparking several hours of brutal violence, videos reveal.

Cell phone video entered into evidence in a recent Jan. 6 criminal case shows that protesters walked right through the sets of double doors at the back of the tunnel and began fighting against the police for access to the rest of the Capitol.

For months, questions have been raised by defense attorneys and case observers whether the doors at the tunnel entrance were locked and secure. Prosecutors contended in court filings that the doors were locked when the last officers retreated into the Capitol at about 2:40 p.m.

However, two videos that were entered into evidence by the U.S. Department of Justice in Jan. 6 criminal cases show that neither set of doors was secured. All protesters had to do was pull on the outer handles to gain entry.

Police fire rubber bullets at advancing protesters as they retreat into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Capitol Police/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

The police retreat into the Capitol became necessary when police lines on the ground level of the west front of the Capitol collapsed in two key areas starting at about 2:25 p.m.

The first break in the line came after Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Thau told MPD Officer Rich Khoury to fire a gas projectile.

Hey Rich, put it up in the [expletive] scaffolding, Thau said, according to his bodycam. Fire it up in the air, Rich, over there. Just [expletive] shoot!

Khourys shot misfired and the gas round landed right in the middle of a gathering of MPD supervisors. The smoking payload sent everyone scrambling for fresh air and left a gap in the police line.

We Cant Stop Them

Thau retreated up the stairs under the scaffolding, where he spoke briefly with MPDs commander, Jason Bagshaw.

Were going to have to make a tactical disadvantaged move out here, or were going to get people seriously [expletive] hurt man, Thau said.

We got 20,000 people out there. We cant stop them. We need to make a [expletive] decision. We dont need to get our people [expletive] killed, man.

Just before 2:36 p.m., MPD Officer Anthony Alioto tossed a silver gas canister from the Lower West Terrace into the crowd below. Someone picked up the smoking object and threw it back, flooding the Lower West Terrace with tear gas. That accelerated the police retreat into the Capitol.

Capitol security camera video shows a steady stream of mostly MPD officers heading into the building from the Lower West Terrace. As the last officers moved through the doorway, one of them fired rubber bullets at several advancing protesters, but that did little to deter them.

As protesters began banging on the outer doors, an MPD officer held open an inside door and asked a colleague to take a video. Thats a federal crime, he said, pointing to the crowd outside.

Moments later, a rioter appeared to use some type of glass punch or another tool to shatter the glass in the upper corner of one outer door. That was followed by a flagpole being jammed through the glass, sending shards raining on the floor.

A video posted to Instagram by Jan. 6 defendant Geoffrey Sills, 31, and used in his criminal case, shows a rioter in front of the doors simply pulling on the outer handle to open the left-side door.

The first person to step over the threshold was David Mehaffie, 63, who walked to the inner set of doors and opened the right side. Sills and Mehaffie were recently sentenced to 52 months and 14 months in prison, respectively, on various Jan. 6 charges.

Tunnel Had Worst Violence

The easy defeat of the tunnel doors led to more than two hours of the worst violence recorded at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

It led to the death of Rosanne Boyland, 34, who was trampled by the crowd after police deployed gas in the tunnel, and was later beaten by an MPD officer armed with a walking stick.

The tunnel was also where Jan. 6 defendant Victoria White was beaten by Bagshaw and other officers with expandable steel batons and fists.

The first people to confront the police line after Mehaffie opened the inner door used flagpoles to stab at officers, who blocked the inner hallway with shields.

One protester, possibly Mehaffie, shouted, Dont hurt the police! Dont hurt the police! Dont hurt the police! Dont hurt them!

Heavy use of pepper spray on both sides of the police line incapacitated numerous police and protesters.

John Steven Anderson, an asthma sufferer, begged police to call for medical help as he hung halfway through an outer glass door.

I cant breathe, Anderson said just after 3 p.m. I cant breathe, Im collapsing. Ive got asthma. Ive got asthma.

Police officers scatter after an MPD officer misfired a tear gas shell that landed in their midst on Jan. 6, 2021. (Metropolitan Police Department/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Metro PD Officer William Bogner repeatedly tried to get protesters to cooperate so they could tend to Anderson.

Back up so we can get this man some help, Bogner said, according to bodycam video. Back up, well get him an ambulance.

A protester shouted, Either [inaudible] let him through, or he doesnt get an ambulance, to which Bogner replied, Youre a bad human being.

As police pulled Anderson through the upper section of the door, he said, Im gonna die.

Anderson, a Marine Corps veteran, was later charged with attacking police, something he vehemently denied.

I didnt attack any officers. I didnt hurt anyone, Anderson said, according to a 2021 statement from his attorney, Marina Medvin.

Someone sprayed me, I couldnt breathe and I begged the officers for help. And I thank God every day that they helped me. They saved my life.

Anderson died in September 2021 while awaiting trial. He was 61.

In March 2023, Anderson was incorrectly identified by an online sleuth as an undercover police officer. Medvin quickly secured a retraction of that claim.
Police Say Six Bodies Found Near Akwesasne, Que, Near US Border: Mohawk Police

The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service says they are investigating after the bodies of six people were found late Thursday afternoon in the St. Lawrence River by a marsh area near Akwesasne, Que.

Akwesasne is close to the United States border across from New York state.

Police say the search has been called off for the night and is to resume Friday.

A police marine unit searched the area Thursday evening with help from the Canadian Coast Guard and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department.

The Akwesasne Mohawk Police say in a release that they will seek help from the Quebec provincial police and Ontario Provincial Police air support units.

Police say they are waiting on the results of post-mortem and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.

The first body was located around 5:00 P.M. in a marsh area in Tsi Snaihne, Akwesasne, Quebec, police said in a statement on Facebook.

Police are attempting to identify the deceased persons at this time and ascertain their status in Canada. There is no threat to the public at this time.
Political Campaign Worker Indicted for Allegedly Offering Voters Bribes

Americans vote at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens polling place in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 8, 2022. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

Three political campaign workers from New Jersey have been indicted on charges related to a scheme regarding mail-in ballots.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone announced Thursday that the charges stem from a scheme where one of the campaign workers for a Perth Amboy City Council candidate offered $20 supermarket gift cards to voters in return for letting her complete their mail-in ballots.

The grand jury returned a seven-count indictment, charging Ana Camilo, Annet Sanchez, and Maria Peralta, all from Perth Amboy, with various offenses related to their involvement in offering gift cards to voters in exchange for completed mail-in ballots in favor of their preferred candidate.

Last October, Camilo, 62, was taken into custody by law enforcement officials for allegedly meeting with and attempting to bribe an undercover detective who was pretending to be a voter from Perth Amboy.

Authorities have said that Camilo was employed by a candidate for the Perth Amboy city council, but they have not revealed the candidates identity.

She faces two counts of third-degree bribery, third-degree unlawful possession of a ballot, third-degree attempt to cast an illegal ballot, and third-degree election law violation.

Annet Sanchez, 52, and Maria Peralta, 60, were indicted on a charge of retaliation against a witness. Both women are accused of engaging in harassing conduct towards a witness who provided information about Camilos involvement in the voter fraud.

According to New Jersey election law, offering any inducements for voting for a particular candidate is illegal.

Ciccone reminded the public that the charges against Camilo are merely accusations, and she is presumed innocent until proven guilty, like all criminal defendants.

It wasnt clear Thursday if any of the campaign workers had retained attorneys. Authorities said the three have nothing to do with the county or city election offices or operations.
Pompeo Decries Trump Indictment: Undermining Americas Confidence In Our Legal System

Former U.S. Secretary of State and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Mike Pompeo speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 3, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has denounced the indictment of former President Donald Trump, whom he served under.

A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on March 30 over his alleged role in the payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. With this prosecution, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trump became the first former president in history to be indicted.

The Manhattan DA is undermining Americas confidence in our legal system. Bragg is the same Soros-funded prosecutor who refuses to prosecute violent crimes and who has downgraded more than half of all felonies to misdemeanors, Pompeo, a possible presidential candidate, wrote on Twitter.

Prosecuting serious crimes keeps Americans safe, but political prosecutions put the American legal system at risk of being viewed as a tool for abuse. DA Bragg  spend taxpayers money and your energy protecting law-abiding citizens. Not playing politics, he continued.

Prosecuting serious crimes keeps Americans safe, but political prosecutions put the American legal system at risk of being viewed as a tool for abuse. DA Bragg  spend taxpayers money and your energy protecting law-abiding citizens. Not playing politics. (2/2)  Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) March 30, 2023

Trump blasted the indictment in a lengthy statement.

This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country  have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this.

Republicans were swift in condemning the criminal case.

Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election. As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account, said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

The Regime occupying our country and systematically killing America is most afraid of President Donald J. Trump. Period, said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.). Hes our guy.

Outrageous, posted Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Tonights indictment of Donald Trump isnt about the law. Its about power. Raw power. Its the Democrat Party telling the nation they will stop at nothing to control the outcome of the next presidential election. It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple, said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

Meanwhile, Democrats applauded the indictment.

No one in this country is above the lawincluding former President Trump. Being indicted for falsifying business records with hush money is only the beginning of being held accountable for his crimes, said Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.).

Republicans will continue to claim this was a political arrest, but they cant continue to hide behind their lies, misinformation, and racist attacks towards Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, he added.

The indictment of a former president is unprecedented. But so too is the unlawful conduct in which Trump has been engaged. A nation of laws must hold the rich and powerful accountable, even when they hold high office. Especially when they do. To do otherwise is not democracy, said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

The indictment of a former president is a somber day for America. Its also a time to put faith in our judicial system. Donald Trump deserves every protection provided to him by the Constitution. As that unfolds, let us neither celebrate nor destroy. Justice benefits us all, said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).

This is not a moment to celebrate. This is a terrible moment for the country. But no one is above the law. Those lock her up chants that people were chanting like hyenas in a stadium around the country were never funny, perhaps they now understand why, said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.).

Trump, who primarily lives in Florida, will likely be arraigned in New York early next week, Trumps defense attorney Joe Tacopina told CNN.
Pro-Transgender Protesters Arrested at Kentucky Capitol as State Lawmakers Outlaw Gender Transitions for Minors

Opponents and supporters of transgender bill SB 150 rally at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., on March 29, 2023. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Nineteen protesters were arrested at the Kentucky Capitol on March 29 as lawmakers voted to override Democrat Gov. Andy Beshears veto of a bill prohibiting the use of gender transition procedures on children.

According to the Louisville Courier Journal, the individuals were arrested by Kentucky State Police and charged with criminal trespassing after refusing to leave the House gallery, where they were shouting and chanting during the debate.

The protesters have since been released on their own recognizance.

Radical Ideology in Schools

Commenting on the demonstrations, Republican Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne told the outlet: Obviously, we welcome everybody to be here, to participate in their government  but we do expect that proper levels of decorum will be maintained to allow us to conduct our business.

We felt it was important to proceed on with the business thing that we did.

Present for March 29s demonstrations were some Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) studentsa fact the Republican Party of Kentucky excoriated in a statement.

Why arent our kids in school? Isnt today a school day? Republican spokesman Sean Southard wondered.

Andy Beshear and [Kentucky Department of Education Commissioner] Jason Glass are so committed to radical gender ideology in our schools that they would send students to the Capitol to protest instead of their classes, he added.

Understand whats going on here: Andy Beshear, Jason Glass, and JCPS appear to be working together to implement this agenda in our schools.

Responding to those comments, JCPS said: Engaging in civic activities is a valuable part of the educational experience. Todays field trip to Frankfort was student-led and student-centered. JCPS supports students right to free speech.

Any students who were transported to Frankfort on a JCPS school bus had permission slips signed by their parents or guardians, as is the case with all field trips, the school district added.

Meanwhile, Glass called Southards claims of his support for the move an invented fanciful conspiracy theory and described the Republican legislation as bigoted, hateful, and shameful.

Instead of trying to pin this on someone else, legislators who feel uncomfortable with the attention they are getting because of this issue should reflect on their own actions and statements, he added.

Hormone Therapies

At the core of the tensions on March 29 was Senate Bill 150, which prevents minors from being treated with puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone therapies, gender transition surgeries, and other related procedures.

Additionally, among other provisions, the bill bans sex-based discussions in schools and prohibits schools from requiring staff to use a students preferred pronouns if they do not align with the childs biological gender.

The bill was passed by the Republican-controlled Kentucky General Assembly earlier this month only to be vetoed by Beshear, who held that the legislation strips freedom from parents and allows too much government interference in families health decisions.

SB 150 also turns educators and administrators into investigators that must listen in on student conversations and then knock on doors to confront and question parents and families about how students behave and/or refer to themselves or others, he wrote in his March 24 veto message.

The governor also cited his faith as a reason for his decision, noting that all children are children of God and asserting that the bill would endanger the children of Kentucky.

But proponents of the bill have argued that it protects children and empowers their parents.

Kentuckians overwhelmingly support SB 150s commonsense student privacy protections in restrooms and locker rooms, along with the right of parents to have a say in their childs education, said David Walls, executive director of The Family Foundation, in a statement.

The off-label use of puberty blockers, along with cross-sex hormones and surgery, in experimental gender transitions has no place in childrens healthcarethe irreversible harms that de-transitioners have suffered testify to that.

Adding that he found Beshears position on the matter deeply troubling, Walls said the bill would save the lives of Kentucky children by setting policy in alignment with the truth that every child is created as a biological male or female and deserves to be loved, treated with dignity, and accepted for who they really are.
Protests in Kenya to Unseat President Led by Former Prime Minister

Protesters gather at a burning barricade during a protest called by the opposiion coalition "Azimio la Umoja," in Kibera, Nairobi, on March 30, 2023. YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images

NAIROBI, KenyaKenyans have witnessed another wave of demonstrations across the country that have resulted in property destruction in Nairobi and parts of the Western counties surrounding the Lakeside city of Kisumu.

The protests, which started on March 20, were called by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is seeking to unseat President William Ruto, who he blames for the high cost of living while also claiming that he stole the 2022 presidential election.

Odinga has now asked his supporters to protest every Monday and Thursday until the government bows to his demands.

Kenya must be liberated. Dictatorial leadership must be done away with, Odinga said on March 30. Even if they bring in one million police officers, Kenya is stronger. Political strength is with the citizens.

Odinga has led anti-government protests relentlessly since 1982, when he was accused of staging a coup against the late President Daniel Mois administration. Odinga would then be charged with treason and detained without trial for six years.

He has been on the back of every government since, keeping each one on their toes and in check.

Odingas opposition efforts, seen by many as a necessary evil, have forced former presidents Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta to give him a share of their governments. During Kibakis time, Odinga rose to the position of prime minister after the country was plunged into chaos in the post-election violence that saw the East African nation almost torn apart along tribal and political lines.

Kibaki was then an incumbent running for his second and last term in office as Odinga sought to unseat him in an election.

The 20072008 post-election violence, which claimed more than 1,000 lives, would later see the current president, William Ruto, and his predecessor, President Uhuru Kenyatta, along with four others, charged with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court at the Hague, Netherlands.

The charges were later dropped due to a lack of evidence.

During the struggle, Ruto was Odingas main supporter and is believed to have been the one who pushed him to sit down for talks with Kibaki, resulting in a share of power that was mediated by the former Ghanaian president, Kofi Annan. Odinga became the prime minister, and Kibaki the president.

Ruto blamed Odinga for his tribulations after Odinga sacked him from the Agriculture Ministry when Odinga became prime minister, accusing Ruto of his alleged involvement in a maize scandal that had rocked the country.

In his early days as a political activist, Odinga had brushed shoulders with the high and mighty on several occasions.

In 1992, Odinga was arrested by President Daniel Mois regime for staging a demonstration to call for multiparty democracy in the country. His arrest came three days before a July 7 meeting that he and other like-minded political activists had planned in Kamukunji grounds within the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

These arrests, detentions, and the relentless fight for democratic space are what have earned Odinga respect, not only on the continent but in other parts of the world. He is now delivering speeches and public lectures on democracy in Africa, locally and internationally.

Hi critics, however, say that Odinga has gotten it wrong on many occasions and would have clinched the top seat if he had done it differently.

Lecturer and political analyst Michael Ndonye says that protests are not the best way for the five-time unsuccessful presidential candidate.

If Raila sat & left Uhuru regime to expose it's underbellies in 2018, he would have become PORK in 2022. If Baba wants to be PORK in 2027, he should sit calmly & let Kenyans judge this regime. But, impatience has cost the old man top sit & he never learns.#MaandamanoThursdays pic.twitter.com/xsMo2OcFY8  Michael Ndonye (PhD) (@Dr_Mndonye) March 30, 2023

If Raila sat back and left Uhuru Kenyattas regime to expose its underbelly in 2018, he would have become president of Kenya in 2022, Ndonye wrote in a March 30 tweet. If he wants to be president in 2027, he should sit back and let Kenyans judge this regime. But, impatience has cost the old man the top seat and he never learns.

Odinga was a member of parliament together with his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who was Kenyas first vice president. The 78-year-old father of four is a former university lecturer who has grown over the years to become a wealthy politician. He has interests in the energy sector and runs an LPG gas company, Spectre East Africa, which was attacked earlier in the week by pro-government protesters who claimed that his followers were ruining their businesses.

Ruto had allowed a Tanzanian company to do business in the country, a move that would surely hurt Odingas business.

Former president Kenyattas Northlands farm was also attacked. This is because, in the previous regime, Kenyatta had an agreement with Odinga to work together in his government. Kenyatta ran a campaign for Odinga in the 2022 elections, and even after Ruto was declared winner, he said that he only recognized Odinga as his leader.

Odinga has, over the years, been loved and hated in almost equal measure, with his followers calling him Baba and Agwambo, meaning difficult to predict.
Rescued Dog from Iran to Undergo Eyelid Surgery in San Diego

Omid, a rescued dog from Iran, is seen smiling to the camera at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (Courtesy of Helen Woodward Animal Center)

RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif.An abused and orphaned puppy that arrived from Iran at the Helen Woodward Animal Center earlier this month will undergo eyelid surgery on April 4, the center said March 30.

After suffering from an alleged acid attack in Iran, Omid the dog was rescued and brought to the center. A local specialty eye veterinarian will replace the eyelid the dog lost.

Omid, which means hope in Farsi, has begun to receive well-wishes and inquiries on her availability for adoption, according to a news release.

Omid, a rescued dog from Iran, is seen at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (Courtesy of Helen Woodward Animal Center)

Last week, Helen Woodward Animal Center went public with the story of Omid, a special dog with a year-long story that wound through cruelty in the streets of Iran, into brave hands of kindness, and onto a plane that took her far across the world to a chance at true happiness.

San Diego resident Moloud Rabieyousefi told the center about the 14-month-old female shepherd. Rabieyousefi spent months financially assisting a heroic Iranian woman who took in the severely injured puppy, abused by transients who had poured acid all over her face, according to Helen Woodward officials.

Because Iran has no laws to protect animals from acts of cruelty the Iranian woman was desperate to get the dog to the United States and Rabieyousefi spent approximately eight months working with [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] to do just that, according to Helen Woodward officials.

A staff is playing with Omid, a rescued dog from Iran, at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (Courtesy of Helen Woodward Animal Center)

Omid has undergone months of medical treatments, but is still recovering from the trauma caused to her face and is unable to close her left eye, which causes discomfort and possible infection.

Were incredibly excited for Omid, said Kendall Schulz, adoption services director at Helen Woodward. Every time an orphan animal comes through our doors, they become our family. When one of them has been through something this traumatic, we really do all rally around them to help get them that perfect happy ending. We all knew that we would find Omid the perfect family but helping her get a new eyelid was beyond anything we had dreamed.

According to Helen Woodward officials, the surgery will be complicated and will cost over $5,000.

Those wanting to help with the costs of Omids surgery and her recovery care may go to the animal centers website for more information.
San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher Announces Resignation

Just two days after announcing he will enter out-of-state treatment for post traumatic stress, trauma and alcohol abuse, San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said March 30 he will resign from his supervisorial role at the end of his medical leave.

His last day in office is reportedly May 15. The delay will allow time for the board and the public to consider who will take over his seat.

The strain on my wife and family over this past week has been immense and unbearable, Fletcher wrote on Twitter March 29. I will focus solely on getting healthy and being a good husband, father and friend.

The strain on my wife and family over this past week has been immense and unbearable. A combination of my personal mistakes plus false accusations has created a burden that my family shouldnt have to bear. I will be resigning from the Board of Supervisors, effective  Nathan Fletcher (@nathanfletcher) March 30, 2023

He said he was grateful for his constituents and his team, and thanked the county workers for the work they do.

I am proud of what we accomplished together, he said.

In a joint statement with his attorney March 29, Fletcher admitted to having consensual relations with someone outside my marriage.

While his attorney said, about a woman suing the supervisor over alleged sexual harassment, The simple truth is that Ms. Figueroa pursued my client, their interactions were consensual and Mr. Fletcher does not and never had authority over her employment.

Local officials have shown support for Mr. Fletcher and his family while admonishing some of his behavior.

Nora Vargas, chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, told The Epoch Times in an email Im deeply disturbed by the allegations against Supervisor Fletcher and support his resignation. We must work to create a safe environment for all the dedicated people who work throughout San Diego County, and I wont accept anything less.

Supervisor Jim Desmond also expressed concern over the allegations of sexual misconduct by Fletcher.

It takes immense courage for individuals to come forward with such allegations, and we must create a safe and supportive environment for victims to share their stories, Desmond wrote on Twitter. As elected officials, we must remain vigilant in our commitment to serving the public good and always act with integrity and honor.

Supervisor Joel Anderson told The Epoch Times in an email just after Fletcher announced he would check into a rehabilitation center March 27, My prayers go out to my colleague Nathan Fletcher and his family during this difficult time in his life and I encourage all San Diegans who are quietly suffering with mental health issues to seek help.

El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells also responded to Fletchers announcement on Twitter.

Of course, we have compassion for the public official battling addiction and mental illness, but we also must be realistic about the gravity of the Job, he wrote.

Wells also called on the Board of Supervisors to clean their own house and address their failures instead of having little to no thought given to the careers of the individuals involved.

The board of supervisors will next decide, as early as 20 days prior to Fletchers vacancy, if his seat will be filled by an appointment made by the board or by a special election.
The annual paid May Day holiday to public and private sector employees will be enjoyed on Thursday 4 May to allow for a longer weekend, announced Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announed on Tuesday.
School District Officials Deny Secret Social Gender Transitions; Board Members Request Investigation

Two assistant superintendents at a California school district accused of secretly socially transitioning the gender identities of students without informed parental consent have denied the allegations, while three school board members have requested an investigation.

The controversy stems from a public records act request initiated by parental rights advocates that yielded hundreds of pages of emails and revealed that 23 students in the Newport-Mesa Unified School Districteight of them elementary school agebegan social gender transitioning without informed parental consent from January 2020 to October 2022.

In all 23 cases, parents either werent informed about the initiation of their childs gender support plan, known as a GSP, or were told and didnt consent, a parental rights advocate, who goes by the pseudonym Kim Davis for fear of retaliation, told The Epoch Times.

District Responds

The school board that oversees pre-K through grade 12 schools in the Orange County cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa held a 45-minute discussion at its March 28 school board meeting following demands from three school board membersMichelle Barto, Krista Weigand, and Lisa Pearsonthat the issue be placed on the agenda.

Board member Michelle Barto and a transgender student board member attend a Newport-Mesa Unified School District board meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif., on March 28, 2023. (Screenshot via Newport-Mesa Unified School District)

The three trustees stated March 19 that they found the allegations sickening and appalling.

It is not the role of schools to hide things from parents, particularly those matters which impact their students mental health, as the support needed goes beyond what a school can provide. We are committed to a full investigation of these claims and to making parents aware of what happens in the classroom. We will be pushing for a board policy to explicitly address making parental rights and transparency at the forefront of parent and teacher interactions, the trustees wrote on Instagram.

In a memo to Wesley Smith, district superintendent, they requested a review of the districts practices related to gender support at the March 28 meeting and asked for an investigation into the allegations referenced in the March 17 Epoch Times article California School District Emails Reveal Students Were Secretly Gender Transitioned.

At the March 28 meeting, Sara Jocham, assistant superintendent of student support services, and Kerrie Torres, assistant superintendent of secondary education, denied the allegations, claiming that no students are transitioned without parental knowledge or involvement.

I think its important to keep in mind that when we talk about gender support plans  they are not transition plans, Jocham said. Thats not what this is. We do not transition students to a different gender. We do not provide any medical support, any medical counselinganything like that. This is strictly a plan for how to socially support the student to navigate their school day.

Torres told the board that the district is looking into the emails obtained through the public records act request.

The emails show conversation that does look scary and indicate there might be staff overreach, Torres said.

So thats one of the things that were taking a look at, just to ensure that there wasnt anybody who may have overstepped their boundaries, and maybe recruited students instead of letting students come forward, she said.

Sara Jocham (front L), the assistant superintendent of student support services, and Kerrie Torres (front R), the assistant superintendent of secondary education, at the Newport-Mesa Unified School District board meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif., on March 28, 2023. (Screenshot via Newport-Mesa Unified School District)

Annette Franco, a public relations officer for the district, echoed Jochams denial of the allegations in an email to The Epoch Times on March 30.

We dont have any secret social gender transitions. We do not transition students, Franco said.

However, she said, GSPs may include a students preferred pronouns and name.

Our practice has been to have parental involvement at the elementary level, and we strongly encourage parent participation at the secondary level, Franco said.

She said the investigation into staff participation with gender support plans is being conducted by a third party.

Social Transitioning

Meanwhile, parental rights advocates affiliated with a group called California Alliance For Education accused the district of using deceptive language by implying social transitioning is merely social support, and thus downplaying it as a form of gender transition.

Social transitioning is a widely used term that refers to changing a persons name, preferred pronouns, and appearance, including clothing and hairstyles, to reflect a transgender identity, and its differentiated from physical forms of gender transition such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Sept. 21, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Haley Jenkins, a parent who pulled her children out of school in the district, told The Epoch Times the district is trying to redefine what social transitioning means to deflect criticism.

With the word games they play, they choose to use the word support  but theyre supporting them by allowing them to socially transition at school, she said.

Davis agrees.

Its weaponized language to hide the deceit and the subversiveness of what these mental health policies are doing to students, parents, and families, she told The Epoch Times.

Gender-affirming policies not only allow students to use different names, pronouns, email addresses, and facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms, but also affirm an adolescent childs belief in being a different gender.

Its a mental health intervention, she said. And it can set the child down a pathway that eventually leads to physical transition and irreversible damage.

Legal Arguments

Mental and physical harm caused by transgender medical interventions is a source of deep regret among a growing number of detransitioners who transitioned socially, and then physicallyincluding Chloe Cole, a California woman who is now suing her medical provider and doctors for removing her healthy breasts when she was 15 years old.

Chloe Cole takes part in a demonstration in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 8, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Dr. Erica E. Anderson, a clinical psychologist with more than 40 years of experience practicing in Berkeley, California, who is transgender, wrote an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals on March 20 for a case involving another school district allowing minor children to secretly adopt a new gender identity at school, according to the document.

Anderson argued that constitutional law protects parents as the primary decision-makers with respect to their minor childrennot their school, or even the children themselvesand that a childs disagreement with a parents decision does not diminish the parents authority to decide what is best for the child.

Anderson also served as a board member for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and as president of USPATH, the U.S. arm of WPATH.

In the brief, Anderson states that the American Psychological Association recommends a comprehensive evaluation and consultation with the parents and youth to discuss, among other things, the advantages and disadvantages of social transition during childhood and adolescence, and that The Endocrine Society recommends a complete psychodiagnostic assessment.

Even WPATH, which takes a gender-affirming approach, also recommends a full mental health assessment covering peer, family, and other social relationships and any unresolved issues in ones environment, according to Anderson.

At the board meeting, Trustee Barto asked attorneys Anthony De Marco and Sara Young, partners with a law firm that provides legal services for the district, about student privacy laws.

Young said the California Constitution states all people have inalienable rights of privacy but doesnt specify age, and that the states education code protects the privacy of students 12 and older in school counseling sessions.

Trustee Weigand asked the attorneys, Who makes the Ed Codes? De Marco responded, The state legislature.

Students and parents attend a Newport-Mesa Unified School District meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif., on March 28, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Jenkins, the parental rights advocate, pointed out that California Assembly Bill (AB) 1266 states that parents or legal guardians shall be notified in a general manner at least once in the advance of career counseling and course selection so that they may participate in the counseling sessions and decisions.

Not even once in AB 1266 does it say that schools are required to keep a students gender preference quiet from parents, she said.

California Alliance for Education has lawyers on hand right now to protect families rights and hold everyone here accountable. The only way out of this is litigation challenging the constitutional protection of parental rights.

Bill Dunlap, another parental rights advocate, criticized district officials for what he called a lack of transparency that led to the public records act request in the first place.

Over the last two years, our group has been very involved in obtaining and reviewing, through public records requests, the curriculum being used by our children, he said. It seems that the truth and transparency is a bad dream for you guys. You just want to have it go away.
Senators Discuss Monitoring Federal Employees Working at Home for Productivity

An illustration photo of a person working on a laptop from home. (Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images)

A Senate committee is considering updates to work policies as many federal employees continue to work from homeand the issue of productivity is a key question, said Senator Raymonde Saint-Germain.

We know that it is an issue for many government, public, as well as private, enterprises, she said during a meeting of the standing committee on internal economy on March 30.

Senator Scott Tannas suggested employee contracts under the new policy should include an agreement to submit to productivity monitoring.

He referred broadly to technology that may monitor and analyse keyboard activity, mouse movement, and other data related to work-at-home productivity.

Technology is going to move in a direction and the employee needs to understand down the road there may be very sophisticated productivity analytics they may be subject to, and they should agree to that in advance, Tannas said, as first reported by Blacklocks Reporter.

What were hearing right now from industry is there is a clearbut only anecdotaldrop in productivity, he said. Nowhere in the drafted contracts under the new policy does it say an employee will be subject to productivity analysis, he said.

Saint-Germain agreed this is a matter of concern and asked Toni Francis, the Senates chief human resources officer, what would be required to start monitoring employees.

Francis said no such monitoring is currently taking place, but if it were to be used the government would have to tell employees well in advance. There would likely be negotiations with union representatives, and it would have to be clearly communicated to employees how such monitoring would be used.

She said managers currently can see if employees are in meetings on the software theyre using. Productivity is mostly measured by whether employees are meeting deadlines, she said.

The Senate committee was debating rewriting a 2007 policy on alternative work arrangements, with a view to expanding telework. Saint-Germain said she supports the revision to adapt to the modern requirements of an employer.

It will also save taxpayers money, she said, as excess government building space could be sold with the pandemic-related work-from-home measures becoming more permanently defined.

Vacancy rates in federal buildings have averaged about 70 percent, according to an Inquiry of Ministry viewed by Blacklocks.

Saint-Germain suggested the information management policy also be updated to reflect unique security risks of information being viewed in a telework location.

Employees would be responsible for equipping and maintaining their own work spaces, she said, including their bills for internet and utilities. They would also be responsible for purchasing their own office furniture.
Senior CCP Officials Rely on Organs From Prisoners of Conscience to Extend Their Lives: Rep. Smith

Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act aims to hold CCP officials accountable

News Analysis

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forcibly harvests organs from prisoners of conscience, including Falun Gong practitioners, while still alive, because of their excellent health, and transplants them into elderly CCP officials to extend their lives.

The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023 (H.R. 1154), drafted by Smith, is currently being before the U.S. Senate for consideration. The bill was overwhelmingly passed in the House of Representatives on March 27 and aims to hold CCP officials accountable and impose civil or criminal penalties on those who are found to be guilty. This is the first concrete legislative effort by the United States to combat the CCPs appalling practice of organ harvesting.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) at the Policy Forum on Organ Procurement and Extrajudicial Execution in China on Capitol Hill on March 10, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

In a press release on the day the bill passed, Smith stated that the bill is intended to combat the CCPs ghoulish industry of stealing organs from young people, especially Falun Gong practitioners, whose peaceful meditation and exercise practicesand exceptional good healthmake their organs highly desirable.

We also know though open-source Chinese language media that elderly high ranking Chinese Communist Party officials have received replacement organs from the very people they despise and oppress at the Peoples Liberation Army Hospital 301 in Beijing, the statement read.

Jing Suo, a Falun Gong practitioner from Liaoning Province who now lives in the United States, agreed with Smiths statement. Jing told the Chinese-language Epoch Times on March 29 that Falun Gong practitioners are often looked down upon and have no social status in China.

CCP officials are particularly disrespectful to Falun Gong practitioners, he said after witnessing many officials and police officers treating Falun Gong practitioners as inferior and scolding them like animals.

Aim to Prolong Lives to 150

In a video ad that went viral on Sept. 15 of 2019, Beijings 301 Hospital, touted that it was running a project dedicated to maintaining Chinese leaders health and that the next stage is prolonging their lives to 150 years.

The ad was shown on WeChat, a Facebook-like social media platform. It soon sparked public outrage and was blocked the next day.

The 301 Hospital is a military hospital. It is rated the number one hospital in China, and is where top Chinese leaders often receive their medical care. The ad was intended to promote the hospital by bragging about its advanced health project for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders.

The 301 military hospital in Beijing on July 6, 2011. (Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images)

With 60 years of development, the health project for our leaders has made tremendous progress, the ad says. From preventative medicine, medical care to recuperation, this comprehensive project focuses on prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease, anti-aging, chronic disease management, regeneration of organ function, and healthy lifestyles. It is a unique health regimen that combines traditional Chinese medicine principles with Western medical technology.

The ad claimed that this health regimen is the best in the world, and supports this claim by saying that the average life expectancy of the CCP leaders is 88, based on available data in 2008. This is generally older than that of the leaders of Western developed countries.

The very end of the ad revealed that a project called 981 Health Project for Leaders was launched in 2005 that aimed at extending Chinese leaders lives to 150.

CCP Officials Receiving Organ Transplants

Gao Zhanxiang, former Deputy Minister of Culture and Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, died of illness on Dec. 9, 2022, in Beijing. A eulogy released by another CCP official revealed that Gao had undergone multiple organ transplant surgeries when he was alive.

The eulogy said: In recent years, Gao Zhanxiang has been fighting against illness with perseverance. He has replaced many of his internal organs, and joked that many of his parts were not his own.

Related Coverage Death of Chinese Official Amid COVID-19 Wave Casts Spotlight on Forced Organ Harvesting

Another CCP official, Jin Renqing, was also found to be a transplant recipient as a result of a eulogy. A former Chinese Minister of Finance, he passed away on August 27, 2021, at his home in Beijing. A close friend released a eulogy online, saying that Jin had received the heart of a 28-year-old man.

Nine years ago, he had a heart transplant due to his long-term heart disease, and the surgery was very successful. Everyone joked that he was a 68-year-old man with a 28-year-old heart. After the surgery, he became active again and often participated in various activities. Even after he resigned, he continued to enjoy the treatment of a minister-level official. The unit even provided him with a car and driver, and he had a worry-free retirement life. Jin had repeatedly told us that the country (CCP) treated him very well.

CCP Maintains a Massive Live Organ Donor Pool

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), based in the United States, has investigated over more than a decade and found that the CCP maintains a massive live organ donor pool for its organ transplant industry.

According to WOIPFG investigation reports, evidence reveals that after the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, Chinas organ transplant industry saw explosive growth. Waiting times for organs were extremely short. There were shocking numbers of emergency transplants, using people alive as backup donors. Multiple transplant surgeries were conducted simultaneously. For instance, a Chinese hospital performed 24 kidney or liver-kidney transplants in a single day. The donor organs were found to have no or extremely short warm ischemia time. Ischemia time refers to the time the blood supply to the organ is cut off until it is restored after transplantation.

Falun Gong practitioners take part in a parade to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the persecution of the spiritual discipline in China, in New Yorks Chinatown on July 10, 2022. (Larry Dye/The Epoch Times)

After the first public exposure of live organ harvesting in 2006, there was suddenly a spike in organ transplants in China and even free liver and kidney transplant promotions. Meanwhile, detained Falun Gong practitioners, who were being subjected to physical and mental abuse, were also forced to take blood tests, but were never informed of the results.

WOIPFG analyzed over 300 papers from more than 200 hospitals in various provinces and cities in China and found descriptions of the donors gender, age, pre-existing medical conditions, cause of death, the steps of organ extraction, the description of cold and warm ischemia time, and the time of organ transplant surgery, all suggest that the CCP maintains a massive live organ donor pool. The large number of illegally detained, healthy Falun Gong practitioners are likely the main source of live donors.

CCPs Most Sensitive Nerve

In an interview with The Epoch Times on March 30, China expert and U.S.-based political commentator Tang Jingyuan stated that the passage of the recent bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, which directly sanctions the CCP for forced organ harvesting and specifically mentions Falun Gong, has struck a nerve with the CCP, touching upon one of their most sensitive issues.

Tang explained that there is an important background to this bill. After the CCP launched its persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, it has used almost all resources to silence and cover up the persecution worldwide, which has made many Western governments reluctant to directly mention Falun Gong in government-level discussions.

These governments didnt want to offend the CCP, Tang said. But now  the United States is becoming increasingly aware that the CCP is exporting its evil means of persecuting its own people to the international community. Now the U.S. officials are directly sanctioning the CCP for forced organ harvesting, which is the most crucial issue, and directly mentioning Falun Gong, which is equivalent to hitting the CCPs most sensitive nerve.
Seven Women Sue Sorority at University of Wyoming for Admitting Man Claiming to Be Female

The University Family statue, by artist Robert Russin, stands on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie, Wyo., on Aug. 13, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Seven women are suing their sorority at the University of Wyoming for admitting a man claiming to be a female into its sisterhood.

The plaintiffs, anonymous in the lawsuit (pdf), are suing the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) sororitya nonprofit corporation headquartered in Dublin, Ohioand its Fraternity Council president, Mary Pat Rooney.

The 21-year-old man who identifies as a woman, who is more than 6 feet tall and weighs 260 pounds, is given the pseudonym Terry Smith in the lawsuit.

Rooney and other KKG officials conducted Smiths admission with disregard to the secret voting process required, violated fiduciary duties to the sororitys bylaws, andby admitting a man into the sororityinterfered with the plaintiffs contractual relationship with the defendant, according to the lawsuit.

A woman is an adult human female, the lawsuit states. An adult human male is not a woman, no matter how he chooses to describe himself. From conception, every single cell in a mans body differs from the analogous cell in a woman: brain cells, muscle cells, bone cells. These cells mature and develop in different waysbefore, during, and after pubertyfor reasons that are still not fully understood.

Deviation From Sorority Bylaws

Instead of adhering to the bylaws, the lawsuit stated that defendant Rooney and members of the KKG Fraternity Council followed a 2018 Guide for Supporting our LGBTQIA+ Members (pdf) that proclaimed KKG as a single gender organization that admitted both women and individuals who identify as women.

The lawsuit states that the guide isnt a bylaw of the sorority adopted by an official vote through the Fraternity Council but was distributed as a resourcenot provided to all sorority members that repeats, without attribution, material created by an organization called CampusPride.org.

Defendant Rooney and the Fraternity Council members cannot, consistent with their fiduciary duties, twist the Sororitys longstanding membership requirement to conflate being female (being a woman) with femininity (acting like one believes a woman should), the lawsuit states.

By admitting Smith, KKG leaders have not only violated their own bylaws and corporate charter but also abandoned the sororitys 150-year commitment to providing a haven for women, according to the lawsuit.

An Unsettling Presence

Since Smiths admission, hes received all KKG privileges, including access to areas restricted to women only.

Smith doesnt live in the sorority house because of a housing contract that requires him to live in a dormitory on the campus for the 20222023 academic year, although it is reported that he will move the next year.

While not a resident yet, the lawsuit states that women have reported that he has lingered in the common area staring at women walking into the bathroom.

One sorority member walked down the hall to take a shower, wearing only a towel, the lawsuit states. She felt an unsettling presence, turned, and saw Mr. Smith watching her silently.

In a similar incident, the lawsuit reports that one of the plaintiffs alleged that when changing shirts, she discovered Smith had been watching her and had become aroused.

When the plaintiffs and their parents brought up concerns, KKG officials either dismissed them or recommended that, if they are uncomfortable or concerned about their safety, they quit the sorority.

Plaintiffs have requested to live away from the sorority house next year to avoid being forced to live with Mr. Smith, the lawsuit states. These requests have all been refused, even though the sorority house will no longer be single-sex.

The lawsuit claims that, in addition to the plaintiffs, the sorority is being harmed by the wrongful admission.

Housing contracts were due on February 17, 2023, but at present only ten of the more than 40 chapter members have returned a signed contract, the lawsuit states. This dramatic decline is because of the lack of privacy in the sorority house, and Mr. Smiths access to all areas within.

The plaintiffs allege that the defendants have disregarded concerns about Smiths inappropriate, and sometimes threatening, behavior since his admission.

Frequently, Smith has been witnessed staring at women while visibly sexually aroused, the lawsuit alleges.

Hes taken photos of women at awkward moments, and has repeatedly questioned the women about what vaginas look like, breast cup size, whether some women were considering breast reductions, and birth control, the lawsuit states.

Mr. Smith talked about his virginity and at what age it would be appropriate for someone to have sex, the lawsuit states. Mr. Smith also talked about kissing a girl.

A transgender activist blocks a vehicle in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 8, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Inconsistent Behavior

While he claims to be transgender, Smith has behaved inconsistently with being a woman, the lawsuit states.

Hes failed to change the gender on his drivers license to female from male in his home state of Washington, which allows him to do so.

He regularly travels about campus wearing baggy pants as would any other male student, the lawsuit states. Other than occasionally wearing womens clothing, Mr. Smith makes little effort to resemble a woman.

He has not undergone treatments to create a more feminine appearance, such as female hormones, feminization surgery, or laser hair removal. Plaintiffs often see Mr. Smith with the facial hair one would expect on a man who either did not shave that morning or whose facial hair has regrown by the evening.

Interested in politics and law, Smith reportedly calls those who disagree with him a transphobe, labeling the disagreements as an act of discrimination, the lawsuit states.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges that Smith is still attracted to women, with a profile on the dating app Tinder.

A Blacklist

Because of the fear of reprisal, many voted to admit Smith because the secondary voting method used required voters to sign in on Google Poll with their email address, which violated their anonymity, the lawsuit says.

Mr. Smith was admitted by a margin of either one or two votes, the lawsuit states. Had the chapter conducted a lawful voting process, according to the Sororitys required procedures, Mr. Smith would not have been offered membership in Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Before the vote, one witness reported that Smith had sent a blacklist to KKG officials of chapter members he believed to be transphobic and should be expelled from the sorority, the lawsuit states.

Mr. Smith has demonstrated and acted on his intention to pressure the Sorority, at the local and national level, to expel any member who is committed to preserving the women-only character of the Sorority, the lawsuit states.

Removed From Their Positions

According to the lawsuit, because dialogue has failed between the plaintiffs and defendants, the plaintiffs seek relief from the court.

To the extent that discovery demonstrates that each member of the Fraternity Council has colluded in this effort, these individuals should be removed from their positions, the lawsuit states. Plaintiffs ask this Court to declare that Defendants have violated their fiduciary duty, and their contractual obligations to the Plaintiffs, by purporting to admit Mr. Smith into the Sorority.

The national KKG office didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment; attempts to contact Smith were unsuccessful.
Priscilla Restaino and Erica Lesak attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts Mahaffey Theater on March 30, 2023. Nancy Ma/The Epoch Times

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.One of the many unique things about Shen Yun Performing Arts is its all-new program every year. On March 30, returning audience members Erica Lesak, a youth minister, and Priscilla Restaino, a retired business owner, watched Shen Yun once again at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts Mahaffey Theater and were delighted by the 2023 program.

It was amazing! It was absolutely beautiful, said Ms. Lesak, who added that they would definitely be returning again next year.

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Now with eight equally sized companies touring the world simultaneously, Shen Yuns mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture and give its audiences a glimpse of pre-communist China.

Ms. Lesak said that she was inspired by the heart of the people; that they want to keep this going and to share their story with the world. I think its amazing that theyre doing that. Because otherwise, I wouldnt know about it!

Dont you think it was a little different [this year]? Ms. Lesak asked Ms. Restaino, and the two women concurred that Shen Yuns new program was more spiritually inspiring this season.

Ms. Lesak shared that what she found spiritual was that the communists could take away things from the people, but they cant take away their spirit [and] whats in their heart.

It was uplifting to say, even though there is bad in the world, the good shines through, added Ms. Restaino.

Ms. Lesak also found spiritual elements in other aspects of Shen Yuns performance.

The color of the background was yellow and glowing, and I think that signifies Divinity, she said. And I think they did a great job with the costumes  their graceful costumes kind of reminded me of angels in the end.

It seemed like they (Shen Yun) really wanted people to understand the history of the culture and communism and how it tried to ruin the people and the religion and that  goodness and Divinity shines through all the time, no matter what.

According to Shen Yuns website, the foundations of traditional Chinese culture are deeply embedded in the spiritual teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Both Ms. Lesak and Ms. Restaino felt that these spiritual elements in Chinese culture are relevant to the modern world. The women shared that in their opinion, the problem in the world today is that many people arent spiritual right now.

Ms. Lesak said that Shen Yuns performance might prompt audience members to look at the spirituality in Chinese culture in a different way, and maybe look for their own spirituality.

Finally, both women also expressed their admiration for Shen Yuns dancers.

Theyre just beautiful! Ms. Resaino exclaimed.

I wish I could dance like that! said Ms. Lesak. The dedication that it must take to dance in that mannerI really admire that. Its a true art form.

Reporting by Nancy Ma 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.
Shenzhen Becomes Chinas Largest Industrial City as Shanghai Declines

For many years, Chinas top three industrial cities were Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Suzhou, in that order. However, as Shanghai implemented Beijings draconian zero-COVID policy last year, the citys GDP by industry fell, and Shenzhen overtook Shanghai to become the No. 1 industrial city in China.

According to Chinas recently released 2022 GDP ranking of the top 10 industrial cities, Shenzhen took the lead with an industry value added of 1.13 trillion yuan (about $164 billion), surpassing Shanghais 1.08 trillion yuan (about $157 billion), with Suzhou ranking third. All of the top 10 citiesexcept for Chongqing in western Chinaare located in the coastal areas.

Guangdong Province and Jiangsu Province have the highest concentration of the top 10 cities, with four cities from Guangdong and two from Jiangsu making the list. Historically, Chinas coastal cities have been more developed due to early trade with foreign countries.

According to the production and sales report released by Shenzhen-based car manufacturer BYD in 2022, BYD produced 1.87 million new energy vehicles (NEVs), an increase of 209.17 percent year on year, and sold over 1.86 million NEVs, an increase of 208.64 percent year on year. BYD has become one of the major contributors to Shenzhens economy.

Wang Lili (alias), an employee of a foreign trade enterprise in Shanghai, told The Epoch Times on March 27: The situation is not good this year, mainly due to fewer orders and very low rates of reopening [after the Chinese New Year]. Many factories with large numbers of employees are quiet and no longer hiring new workers. The recruitment agencies are starting to charge brokerage fees, which means that the agencies are not doing well.

The main cause was the CCPs [Chinese Communist Party] strictly enforced zero-COVID policy last year in Shanghai. Businesses took a long break, and goods at the ports could not be shipped. No one is placing new orders. Who dares to place orders with you if you cannot guarantee the timely delivery of your products? Therefore, demand has dropped significantly this year.

A worker, who guards the entrance to a neighborhood under COVID lockdown, receives food from a delivery man in Jingan district, in Shanghai, on March 29, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Gu Lin (alias), a freelance political commentator living in Guangzhou, told The Epoch Times on March 27 that since the death of former CCP leader Jiang Zemin, Shanghai has declined since it had been the powerhouse of the Jiang family for a while. Shanghais economic strength is deteriorating in all aspects, he said.

On the other hand, Chinese leader Xi Jinpings father proposed Shenzhen for the first time to become a special economic zone, Gu said. Due to favorable economic policies, such as low-income tax rate, many private businesses have flourished in Shenzhen.

Western economies are based on the free market model, while the CCP rules Chinas economy. Therefore, when the Chinese regime prioritized developing the coastal economy, only the coastal areas were being developed, while the inland regions lagged significantly behind. Most industries in China are concentrated in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions, he said.

However, in recent years, the CCPs policies dealt a heavy blow to private businesses, and many entrepreneurs have left the country with their assets. As a result, the Chinese economy is in crisis.
So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe: A Special Place of Joy, Hope and Great Food

Kathy Opperman, left, the co-founder of the So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe, Maureen Stanko, right, another co-founder, and Tyler Kammerle, center, the cafes general manager, outside the cafe on March 26, 2023. (William Huang/The Epoch Times)

CEDARS, Pa.So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe is a unique full-service restaurant with a welcoming environment for people with disabilities who are among their staff.

The cafe in Cedars, eastern Pennsylvania, officially opened on Jan. 21.

Kathy Opperman, founder of Pillars of Light and Love, which is the owner of the cafe, said they had a soft opening for friends and families of their employees last November.

We have over 60 employees, and they are very eager to work, Opperman told The Epoch Times.

We also have a waiting list of employees. Its very fulfilling, and its very rewarding because they really enjoy working here.

Opperman and her partners realized that there was a need to assist youths and adults with disabilities to better integrate with the broader community.

Weve created this experience of an inclusive environment where those with disabilities can work alongside everyone else and to show to the public that they can do this job just like anyone else, Opperman said.

Because they cant get jobs, 76 percent of those with disabilities are unable to be employed, she said. But were employing them. Some of them can only work two-hour shifts, and so we are very flexible with their schedules, which is very unique and different than other opportunities at other restaurants.

Opperman said their staff is amazing: They are filled with so much joy when they come into work.

Were here also to teach and educate the community to let people know that those with disabilities can work and they can be very, very good employees.

Braxton Denner, a 16-year-old server, interacts with customers at the So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe on March 26, 2023. (William Huang/The Epoch Times)

Initial Start

Maureen Stanko, another co-founder of the cafe, has been a school teacher for over 25 years. I did this because my son is about to turn 21. There really isnt anything for these young adults when they age out of the school system, she said.

Stanko was concerned about her son Nicholas who has autism and may not find a job after school. So she started the programSo Much to Give for young adults with disabilities in 2021.

Stanko knew her son is a good cook, which led her to contact Tyler Kammerle, one of her sons therapists, who had a dream to open an inclusive restaurant, and from that, along with teaming up with Opperman, they created the So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe.

Stanko said they want to explore different peoples abilities to create ways for everybody to be able to give back to the community and share who they are.

Stanko said she was amazed to see the growth of the project.

When you come in here, you really can just feel the love, and you can see all these different people growing constantly, she said.

The food is great, and its just so different from anything else that exists right now for the community that we are serving.

Its like a flower opening. Every week is something new, and we just watched them grow, and we love it, Stanko said.

Im so proud of all of our workers. Theyre just incredible people. And our volunteers are helping to make this happen. And we couldnt do it without all these people.

Stanko also expressed her deep appreciation for the communitys great support.

Because they are the ones that helped us to build this. It was our community here that raised $150,000 so that we could even make this happen. So without the community, none of this would be happening.

Nikki Foster, a waitress at the So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe, says she feels happy to interact with customers on March 26, 2023. (William Huang/The Epoch Times)

New Business Model

Opperman commended Tyler Kammerle, the cafes general manager.

Ive never met a young man who had so much inspiration and a drive to change the world, Opperman said.

Kammerle said he loves his work.

Its definitely my favorite job Ive ever had. You get something new every day. I love the people I work with. I love the customers that come in and kind of match our energy. I guess everybody just has this very positive feeling coming in, you can feel a sense of love and just compassion, he said.

And honestly, I cant ask for anything more going to work every day.

Kammerle thinks they are creating a new business model in what they are doing.

Weve tried to make systems that make any type of job in this place possible for anybody, he said.

Thats what were about; instead of kind of finding somebody that fits into a role, were about morphing the role around the people. So I think thats what makes us very special, said Kammerle. We just want to kind of create a place of welcoming.

But there have been some challenges for him in running the cafe.

In the first week of opening, a customer was taken aback by how the cafe operated and its mission and complained about it, saying that the cafe needed to be more open about what they were doing and offering.

It upset him at the time, but he said it was a one-off.

Ever since then, its been amazing. Its been a complete 180. Everybody that comes in: this is so cool, we love the servers, we love your employees, everybody gets along, everybody supports each other.

Kammerle said that he is happy to see how much their employees have progressed and grown together since working at the cafe.

Bridget Hopkins, a greeter at the So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe, is distributing the mission page of the cafe to the dining tables on March 26, 2023. (William Huang/The Epoch Times)

Love Working at the Cafe

Braxton Denner, a 16-year-old high school student, said he enjoyed working at the cafe as a server.

I like it a lot. It motivates me a lot, he said.

Nikki Foster, one of the cafes waitresses, echoed the same sentiments. Though every other job that Ive been to, theyve been letting me go because of my disability, she said. Though here they dont judge.

Bridget Hopkins is a greeter at the cafe and talks to everyone who walks in the door. I love itbecause its great to see all the people working here, Hopkins said.

And I have a little three-year-old daughter who comes in to eat a lot. She loves it here too, she said.

Devon Anderson, another greeter, said she enjoyed working at the cafe as its nice and fun.

I like bringing people to their tables and welcoming them to the cafe and telling them to enjoy their meal, Anderson said.

Anderson said she felt that she has improved herself after working at the cafe.

I think Im able to talk to people better and have better conversations with people, she said.

Devon Anderson, a greeter at the So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe, tells The Epoch Times that she enjoys working at the cafe very much, on March 26, 2023. (William Huang/The Epoch Times)

Jackson Harris, a waiter, said: I really love it. Everyones so nice. And the culture here is just amazing. Everyones always trying to do their best.

Anybody can find work. And everyone can be useful no matter who you are. You can always do something to help someone else.

Jackson Harris, a waiter at the So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe on March 26, 2023. (William Huang/The Epoch Times)

Lauren Oppelt is the hostess of the cafe. Its really neat to be able to work with these young adults and just see that joy in their faces, Oppelt said. I saw growth in them and growth in myself.

Lauren Oppelt, a hostess of the So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe, says: To me, its not work, [but] its fun, on March 26, 2023. (William Huang/The Epoch Times) Its really rewarding for people like myself because this cafe is inclusive. Its with people with or without disabilities. So to see everybody work together, its just amazing.

Oppelt said people here care for each other. She feels she comes here not for work: To me, its not work, [but] its fun.

I think its joy. Everyone wants that sense of joy and hope that something thats good for everyone.

In addition to the employees, Opperman told The Epoch Times that they also have 55 volunteers who help their employees.

Customers

Scott Waller just finished his lunch with his family at the cafe. Hes an electrical lineman and also a pastor of a small church at his house. He said this is their second time at the cafe, and they plan on coming there a lot more.

The restaurant is fantastic! The food is great! The atmosphere is welcoming, said Waller.

Scott Waller, a customer of the So Much to Give Inclusive Cafe, says he would recommend the restaurant to everybody on March 26, 2023. (William Huang/The Epoch Times)

The love is shared through the people who are serving us, and even the people who come here. Its just refreshing. We love an atmosphere like this, he said.

I think its a good way to inspire the community because in a world right now, its been just so angry. When you come in a place like this, you can feel the love, you can see the love, you can express the love, and everybody here is accepted as who they are, Waller added.

The world could learn from that.

He said he would recommend the restaurant to everybody.

Just check it out yourself. Really great food, great people, great atmosphere.

The cafe menu is primarily American fare with Italian, Mexican, seafood, vegetarian, and dessert offerings.
Some Democrats Say Trump Indictment Is a Strategic Mistake

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) listens during the third hearing by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington on June 16, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

A prominent progressive organization has described the indictment of former President Donald Trump by a grand jury in New York as embarrassing.

After the March 30 announcement that Trump had been indicted in his home state of New York, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee issued a statement suggesting many more reasons why the former president should have faced legal penalties.

Given the severity of the possible accusations in those ongoing cases, some liberals are concerned that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs decision may undercut any future indictments.

After inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, pressuring local officials to overturn the 2020 election, receiving financial kickbacks from foreign powers, and numerous other crimes during his presidency, its embarrassing and infuriating that the first indictment against Trump is about  Stormy Daniels, Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

The January 6th Select Committee and bold leaders like [Rep.] Jamie Raskin [D-Md.] did their job, he said. Its time for Merrick Garland and the Justice Department to do theirs.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was heavily involved in the push to impeach Trump, said during a recent TV interview that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should have brought charges against Trump.

Ive been very critical, as you know, Andrea, of the Justice Department and the pace of their investigation of the whole, multiple lines of effort by Donald Trump to overturn the election culminating in the violence of January 6th, Schiff told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.

And had they, I think, pursued that with more urgency, they would have gone first, and, you know, presumingand its a big presumptionthat they find sufficient evidence to charge the president, those would have been the most serious charges. And those should, in the logical scheme of things, be the first that you bring.

Schiff commented on the uniqueness of the situation and repeated the most common refrain among Democratic lawmakers, that no one is above the law:

The indictment of a former president is unprecedented. But so, too, is the unlawful conduct in which Trump has been engaged.

A nation of laws must hold the rich and powerful accountable, even when they hold high office. Especially when they do. To do otherwise is not democracy, the lawmaker wrote in a Twitter post.

Some conservatives have voiced their opinion that this indictment could help seal Trumps victory in 2024. Just hours after the indictment, Real Americas Voice host David Brody took to Twitter, writing that it could have a far-reaching effect on the election.

It would be a mistake to think that the indictment of Donald Trump ONLY fired up the MAGA base. No. This will help Trump with blue collar independents and Soft Ds in the Rustbelt and Heartland. These are the exact voters who propelled Trump to the presidency in key swing states. So remember this isnt just about Republicans getting fired up about this.

Other investigations into the former president continue. In 2021, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis oversaw a special-purpose grand jury inquiry into a phone discussion between Trump and his legal team and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff, in which Trump allegedly pressured the official to probe extensive election fraud charges.

All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state, Trump reportedly told Raffensperger during the phone call on Jan. 2, 2021, a transcript of which was released by media organizations.

Willis characterized Trumps wording (pdf) during the call as evidence of criminal disruption of the 2020 election, and has based her case on charges around that allegation. The grand jury heard testimony from Trumps former associates, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was Trumps former personal attorney, and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Emily Kohrs, the foreman of the jury, told media outlets in February 2023 that the group recommended indictments.

As Trump declared his candidacy for president in November, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed former DOJ prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel to investigate Trumps suspected illegal behavior following the 2020 election. Smith most recently worked at the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands.

Smith, who vowed a swift probe as special counsel, is technically independent from the DOJ in order to prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest. He has the option of recommending charges following his inquiry.

Gary Bai contributed to this report.
State Department Confirms 2 US Citizens Kidnapped in Haiti

Jean-Dickens Toussaint and his wife Abigail Michael Toussaint pose for a photo at their wedding in Pompano Beach, Fla., on Nov. 9, 2018. (Nikese Toussaint via AP)

The U.S. State Department on Thursday confirmed that two U.S. citizens have been kidnaped in Haiti.

I can confirm the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti. We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our U.S. Government interagency partners, but I dont have any other specific updates to offer at this time, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a briefing.

Jean-Dickens Toussaint and his wife, Abigail Michael Toussaint, were reportedly kidnapped on March 18.

The couple, from Tamarac, Florida, were on their way to Leogane in Haiti to visit family. But they and another person were snatched off a public bus in the Port-Au-Prince area of Haiti, and never made it to their destination.

The gang that kidnapped them are demanding $200,000 per person as a ransom, according to relatives.

How are we ever going to come up with that money? Nikese Toussaint, the sister of Jean-Dickens Toussaint, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on March 27.

She noted that the family is in touch with the FBI, which is helping with the case.

Since the couple was kidnapped, Jean-Dickens Toussaint has only been able to make two brief calls to the family. The family was told that he and his wife are tied up.

Relatives of the Toussaints are caring for the couples child, who just turned two on March 28.

Haiti has been plagued by gang violence and kidnappings for many years.

According to the United Nations, there have been at least 277 kidnappings reported in Haiti since the start of 2023, with at least 101 kidnappings reported in the first two weeks of March alone.

Gangs in Haiti are known to target both Haitian citizens and foreigners for ransom money. The kidnappings are often financially motivated, with reports saying gangs are believed to have made millions from ransom payments. Several countries have issued travel warnings for Haiti due to kidnapping concerns.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Big DEI Gulf on Campus: Its Much More Than He Said/Ze Said

The fight over academic freedom on campus increasingly comes down to a fight over three lettersDEIwhich goes a long way to explaining the fissures now tearing higher education apart.

For progressives committed to social justice advocacy, academic freedom must shield the prevailing academic consensus on race and gender from outside political pressure. Nowhere is that academic consensus better represented in the modern university than in the campus Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy, which exists to advocate for students and faculty who identify as brown or queer, often by monitoring the campus culture for whiteness and cisheteropatriarchythe social dominance of white, heterosexual men.

Conservative reformers also see themselves as defending academic freedom by challenging the progressive campus orthodoxy thats enforced by DEI functionaries in the name of social justice. Critics of DEI say that these are overzealous bureaucrats who stifle the academic freedom of anyone who dares to dissent from their monocausal, moralistic metanarratives about race and gender.

These critics note numerous studies that show the climate of fear and self-censorship on campus today is worse than it was during the Cold War McCarthyism of the 1950s. The free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), for example, reported in February that about half of faculty reported being worried about losing their jobs or reputation because someone misunderstands something they have said or done, takes it out of context, or posts something from their past online.

Conservative faculty expressed more pressure to avoid controversial research, this survey found. (FIRE.org)

Conservatives link the rise of campus illiberalism and censoriousness to the expansion of DEI offices during the last decade, which they say politicizes the campus through a DEI apparatus that exerts its administrative power through bias hotlines, sensitivity workshops, and speech codes. They condemn DEI statements in admissions, hiring and promotions decisions as de facto political litmus tests; these diversity statements have become a mainstay of application processes for faculty jobs, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

We cannot live up to our mission as a university unless we attend to inequity, both past and present, said Mimi Chapman, the faculty chair at the University of North Carolina, at a recent board of trustees meeting.

Today, half of faculty support the practice of requiring job applicants to commit to DEI advocacy in their teaching and research, according to FIRE. And progressive faculty are not troubled about political homogeneity, as long as it aligns with their politics: 57 percent of liberal faculty say that advancing race and gender diversity is more important than promoting political viewpoint diversity. One such professor is Stacy Hawkins, vice dean and professor of law at Rutgers Law School, who wrote an opinion piece last month for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sometimes Diversity Trumps Academic Freedom. Hawkins contends that conservative opposition to CRT is not a legitimate exercise of academic freedom because the opposition to CRT is designed to silence, further marginalize, and diminish the value of minority voices and experiences.

Some peoples right to express themselves cannot come at the expense of other peoples right to dignity, safety, and equal participation in the academic community, Hawkins wrote. Rather than willingly cede DEI wholesale to academic freedom, perhaps it is time to reshape our understanding of academic freedom.

High school seniors across the political spectrum are so aware of the ideological divides on campus that one in four has ruled out attending a higher education institution because of its political climate, according to a survey reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The U.S. campus has been transformed in recent years by the explosion of diversity offices and diversity jobs, said Ilya Shapiro, the director of Constitutional Studies at the conservative Manhattan Institute, who is working on a book about the ideological capture of the nations law schools through the bureaucratization of DEI initiatives.

Shapiro is among those who say that university administrators are more politically radical than the professoriate, and that their ideological commitment corrupts the core mission of higher education. Based on his research, between 1987 and 2012, the nations universities added more than a 500,000 administrators, so that around 2010, universities started employing more administrators than full-time instructors, and in some elite institutions the administrators now even outnumber the students. Most administrators are not DEI bureaucrats, but DEI is now the fastest-growing segment of the educational bureaucracy, Shapiro found, so that the average college has more people devoted to DEIexceeding 45 per campusthan the number of professors teaching history.

In any bureaucracy, bureaucrats are incentivized to justify their positions, grow their authority, increase their budgets, Shapiro said. So in the DEI space, they have to search for dragons to destroycases of racism, sexism, transphobiaall of these -isms and -phobias.

The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Educations 35-page antiracism guide confirms this picture, stating that Higher education systems are a complex web of practices, policies, and procedures steeped in White normativity.

The organizations brochure encourages using critical race theory as a framework for making sense of racism in curricula, instruction, and assessment in education. And the DEI trade group warns: DEI cost-cutting sends a powerful message that BIPOC [black, indigenous and people of color] students, faculty, and staff are expendable.

The explosion of DEI employment opportunities and growing budgets is leading to a proliferation of DEI certifications, DEI minors, and even DEI majors at the university level. One example is the DEI major launched in 2021 by Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., to train chief diversity officers and chief inclusion officers for in-demand careers in a growing field.

Bentleys course catalog is imbued with activist jargon and revolutionary rhetoric. In an introductory course, Students will understand and critically analyze issues of oppression, power and privilege as they intersect with themselves as well as others. In a course about race relations, Students will leave this class with a heightened awareness of the racism in all of your own everyday lives and how to resolve it. A course about the legal system examines law as both an instrument of institutionalized oppression and a tool for liberation.

Bentley University, which offers a DEI major, has a course catalog imbued with activist jargon. (Bentley University)

Bentley also offers a course linking the monstrosities of slavery to capitalism, a claim also made by the self-described antiracist advocate Ibram X. Kendi in his 2019 book, How to Be an Antiracist, and The 1619 Project published in 2019 by The New York Times and reissued as a book last year. All of these claims and arguments have been advanced by critical race theorists for decades, centering racism, oppression, and violence as the defining features of the United States.

A long history of scholarship in sociology ties U.S. slavery to the development of capitalism and modern business and finance, the course description states. This course is designed to give students a framework for appreciating the centrality of the relationship between slavery and capitalism in the U.S., and translating that into new ways of understanding how tacit racism, hidden and unacknowledged, is structured into business and society today.

At the same time, grant funding from federal agencies is increasingly contingent on diversity and equity commitments. For instance, starting in FY2023, U.S. Department of Energy grant applications require applicants to describe how theyll incorporate diversity and equity into their research projects, and those strategies will be evaluated as part of the merit review process.

DEI is also becoming part of the accreditation process required by the U.S. Department of Education for universities to qualify for federal funding, including federal student loans and other forms of financial aid, such as Pell grants. Medical schools are now required to provide faculty training in DEI and cultural competency, according to a 2022 City Journal article, pressuring the schools to expand their DEI bureaucracies. And regional accreditors that certify undergraduate colleges and universities now endorse or mandate DEI training and DEI offices, according to a Heritage Foundation report issued in February.

However, universities are not limited to a single accreditor and can apply to multiple accrediting agencies if they run into conflicts.

Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which currently accredits the universities in Florida that Gov. DeSantis is seeking to reform, said in an interview with RealClearInvestigations that of the seven regional accrediting agencies, her organization is the only one that doesnt require DEI to earn accreditation. But she said SACS is moving forward with adopting a DEI mandate that would be effective in January 2024. She said that SACS allows universities to define diversity, so that it does not have to be based on race and gender and can be defined as viewpoint diversity. Wheelan noted that SACS has issued accreditations to three private conservative Christian colleges: Patrick Henry College, Liberty University and Bob Jones University.

DEI practitioners say their jobs focus on making universities more representative and more welcoming to first-generation students, disabled students, and returning military veterans, not just advocating for people who identify as brown and queer.

Yoleidy Rosario-Hernandez, who headed the Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence at New College of Florida, granted an interview to The Washington Post after getting fired from her $135,000-a-year job by the newly constituted board of trustees. Rosario-Hernandez, who identifies as BIPOC and transgender and uses ze/zir pronouns, described the conservative critique of DEI mandates as coming from a position of white supremacy.

Rosario-Hernandez categorically rejected the conservative accusation that DEI divides people into two groupsthe oppressors and the oppressed.

Instead, DEI promotes reconciliation between two groupspeople who are harmed and people who have harmed them.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Ukraine controls only a third of the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut, which has seen the longest battle of the Russian invasion, an advisor to Ukraine's presidency said on Thursday.

"Bakhmut is one-third controlled by Ukraine, as international observers have established," Sergiy Leshchenko said in a briefing broadcast by the presidency's Telegram channel.

He denied however that the city was surrounded by Russian forces despite recent claims from a Russian aide in the Donetsk region, where Bakhmut is located, that it was "practically surrounded".

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner paramilitary group spearheading Russia's assault in eastern Ukraine, said last week that his forces were in control of around 70 percent of the city.

Bakhmut -- which once had an estimated population of around 70,000 people -- has been virtually emptied of civilians over months of fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

Kyiv says Bakhmut is key to holding back Russian forces along the entire eastern front.

Both sides have invested heavily in the fight, even though analysts say the city has little strategic value.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War said on Tuesday that Russian forces controlled "roughly 65 percent" of Bakhmut after advancing in recent days.

Ukraine said last week its forces were "managing to stabilize the situation" around Bakhmut and that a counterattack could be launched soon against "exhausted" Russian forces near the city.

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The Energy Transition Is a Delusion Indeed

Commentary

The energy transition continues to receive thunderous applause from all the usual Beltway suspects, an exercise in groupthink fantasy amazing to behold. For those with actual lives to live and thus uninterested in silliness: The energy transition is a massive shift, wholly artificial and politicized, from conventional energy inexpensive (Table 1b and here), reliable, and very clean given the proper policy environment, toward such unconventional energy technologies as wind and solar power. They are expensive, unreliable, and deeply problematic environmentally in terms of toxic metal pollution, wildlife destruction, land use massive and unsightly, emissions of conventional pollutants, and in a broader context large and inexorable reductions in aggregate wealth and thus the social willingness to invest in environmental protection.

But the Beltway being what it is, the fantasists are impervious to reality, until the massive costs and dislocations and absurdities become impossible to ignore. (Witness, for example, California.) Even as they backtrack on their confident assertions that a modern economy can be powered with the energy equivalent of pixie dust, they argue that the emerging problems are little more than growing pains attendant upon short run rigidities, and all will be well given some more time, more subsidies, and more magical thinking.

Uh, no. The obstacles confronting the energy transition are fundamentalthey are caused by the very nature of unconventional energydriven by massive costs, technical and engineering realities, severe constraints in terms of needed physical inputs, and at a political level growing local opposition to the unconventional energy facilities central to the transition.

These realitiestheres that word againare discussed in detail in a major recent paper by Mark P. Mills of the Manhattan Institute. This brief discussion cannot do it justice, but let us first quote Mills directly:

In these circumstances, policymakers are beginning to grasp the enormous difficulty of replacing even a mere 10 percent share of global hydrocarbonsthe share supplied by Russianever mind the impossibility of trying to replace all of societys use of hydrocarbons with solar, wind, and battery (SWB) technologies. Two decades of aspirational policies and trillions of dollars in spending, most of it on SWB tech, have not yielded an energy transition that eliminates hydrocarbons. Regardless of climate-inspired motivations, it is a dangerous delusion to believe that spending yet more, and more quickly, will do so. The lessons of the recent decade make it clear that SWB technologies cannot be surged in times of need, are neither inherently clean nor even independent of hydrocarbons, and are not cheap.

Mills makes a number of hard realities clear, among which are the following:

 The realities of the physics, engineering, and economics of energy systems are independent of any beliefs about climate change.

 Europe, the United States and Canada, Australia, and the other regions that have pursued power grids with a higher share of wind and solar electricity uniformly have experienced large increases in electricity costs, and even that effect hides the costs of the massive subsidies borne by taxpayers.

 It costs at least $30 to store the energy equivalent of one barrel of oil using lithium batteries, which explains why batteries cannot compensate for the unreliable nature of wind and solar power even for days, let alone weeks. There is no physics, never mind engineering or economies of scale that would overcome this cost disadvantage.

 The time cost alone of recharging an electric vehicle makes such vehicles uncompetitive, even apart from the costs of the batteries and other problems.

 The International Energy Agency estimates that only a partial energy transition would require increases in the supplies of lithium, graphite, nickel, and rare earths by 4,200 percent, 2,500 percent, 1,900 percent, and 700 percent, respectively, by 2040. This staggering problem of materials is inherent in the nature of SWB technologies, which means that the cost of unconventional energy will rise even more.

Nonetheless, the delusions continue. Mr. Amos Hochstein, an official at the Department of State, testified before a Senate committee recently that The imperative [is] to diversify away from Russian energy dependence while accelerating the clean energy transition, and that The most effective way to reduce demand for Russian fossil fuels is to reduce dependence on all fossil fuels.

Got that? Were the Europeans to reduce their dependence upon unreliable deliveries of Russian natural gas, and increase their dependence upon unconventional energy even more unreliable, there will result an increase in European energy security. Wow.

This is utter delusion, as Mills demonstrates incontrovertibly. But the Beltway continues in its imitation of George Orwells world, in which War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, and Ignorance Is Strength. The energy transition translation: Expensive Energy Is Cheap, Environmentally Destructive Energy Is Clean, and Central Planning Will Yield Utopia. Only fools can believe such things. Much of the Beltway believes them.

From RealClearWire

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Readers share their treasured recipes

Submitted by Teresa Todt, Illinois

My Grandma Ediths home was warm and inviting. But what I remember most are the mouthwatering smells coming from her oven.

I recall fondly the knotty pine paneling on the walls in her kitchen and the large round table positioned in the middle of the room. On days I would walk to her house after school, I would often find her sitting at that table sipping instant iced tea, her favorite drink, from a tall glass. The day would be perfect if I also discovered a freshly baked batch of her banana cookies cooling on the countertop.

Grandma worked outside of her home at a time when most women did not. Several mornings a week, she would be up before dawn, headed for the local restaurant she and Grandpa owned. Arts Motel and Restaurant was quite a famous landmark on old Route 66 in Farmersville, Illinois.

There, she would prepare several of her famous pies, rolling dough and shaping crusts into works of art. Her soft pies were my favorite, and she made them all: banana cream, lemon, butterscotch, and coconut cream, each one piled high with light meringue toasted to perfection. My mom told me customers would drive more than 25 miles just to have a piece of her mothers delectable pies, only after an order of her famous fried chicken. Twenty-five miles was quite a trek back in the 40s!

After midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, my family would arrive at Grandmas house, where a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pastries galore would cover her long rectangular dining room table. This table was reserved for special occasions, and Christmas was the most special of all. To this day, Ive never seen or tasted a fried egg as pretty or as delicious as Grandmas. The edges resembled crocheted doilies, with designs in intricate detail, crisp and full of flavor.

I loved everything Grandma Edith prepared in her kitchen, but her banana cookies were my all-time favorite. And not just mine. Grandmas large family, and especially her grandkids, made those cookies disappear as fast as she pulled them from the oven.

Grandma touched lots of lives over her 80-plus years, and she had a unique way of making each one of her many grandchildren feel loved and special. She was ahead of her time in many ways, but to a young child, she was simply Grandma, someone who loved me unconditionally and taught me many things throughout my lifetime. Shes still teaching me today.

Her freshly baked banana cookies were just one of the ways in which she shared her love with family and friends. She readily shared her recipe with anyone who asked, so her famous cookies live on. And every time I bake a batch, most recently for my grandsons, I remember the love inside those knotty pine walls and my sweet Grandma baking yet another batch for those she loved.

Grandma Ediths Banana Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies

2 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly butter a cookie sheet.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.

In a separate bowl, use a hand mixer to beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs until creamy. Stir in mashed bananas.

Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir just enough to mix together. Do not overmix.

Drop batter by rounded teaspoon onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Let stand several minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

___________________________

Do you have a treasured family recipe that holds a special place in your family history, heritage, or traditions? We would be honored if you would share it with us.

Along with the recipe, tell us its storywho gave it to you, its journey through the generations, and the personal meanings and memories it carries. Is it a special occasion dish or an everyday family favorite? Does it connect you to your cultural heritage or to a certain loved one?

How have you kept the recipe alive, and why is it important to you to do so?

Send your recipe and comments, along with your full name, state, and contact information, to home@epochtimes.com, or mail it to: Home, The Epoch Times, 229 W. 28th St., Floor 7, New York, NY 10001.
The Immigration Conundrum

America needs workers, but border chaos is no way to get them

Illegal immigrants from Cuba line up to board a bus to be driven to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection station as they are processed in Marathon, Fla., on Jan. 5, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Commentary

If the United States wants to recapture its former economic strength, itll need more workers and to find ways to make all workers more productive.

Without a larger, more effective workforce, the country will have to settle for slower growth than previously, something like the 1.8 percent per year projected recently by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Thats a disappointing prospect compared with the 3.1 percent annual real growth rate averaged during the past 70-something years.

Innovation doubtlessly will continue to improve worker productivity, but given the low birth rates of past decades, immigration is the only way to get additional needed workers. However, there are better ways to do this than todays chaos on the southern border.

The United States has always relied on productivity-enhancing innovation to spur the pace of growth and development. At least half the impressive growth of the past 70-something years sprang from this source. In the 1950s and 1960s, advances in aerospace, miniaturization, and communication, as well as the beginnings of computerization and the first introduction of robotics into production processes enhanced worker output per hour. In the 1970s and 1980s, the widespread application of computers into the workplace did the same, as did more sophisticated robotics and still more impressive advances in communication. Productivity in the 1990s and early 2000s got a lift from the introduction of PCs and their connection to the internet.

Although theres every reason to expect that something new will come along to support the pace of economic growth in the coming years and decades, these technologies cant be forced. As has always been true, they come from the trial-and-error process of millions of independent actors. The best policy approach is to allow room and financing for innovators.

Government support can help but only up to a point. In the past, the government has had, at best, a spotty and often inadvertent role. The space race developed miniaturization to decrease the weight of rockets. The tremendous commercial applications came from others. When the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency invented the internet, it was for defense. Others found the stupendous commercial and productivity applications.

If theres only so much that official policy can do to advance the pace of productivity-enhancing innovation, theres considerable potential for immigration reform. The CBO projections outline the extent of the problem.

During the rapid growth period of the past, the nations workforce grew by some 1.2 percent per year. In the early part of the period, the flow of veterans from World War II and the Korean War added huge numbers to the workforce. In the 1960s and beyond, the maturation of the huge post-war baby boom provided an impressive flow of new workers. But falling birth rates since the 1960s have slowed the flow of native-born workers to a trickle. Immigration has become essential. Without it, the CBO estimates that the nations labor force will grow by a mere 0.4 percent per year.

But not every sort of immigration is as economically useful as another. The economy responds best to a flow of skilled people and those with the language skills to learn quickly. Such immigrants not only add a productivity enhancement to the raw labor they bring, but they also help other workers improve their skills. The chaos at the border offers little of this sort of help. Undoubtedly, some involved there possess desirable talents, but thats purely accidental. The economy needs something more reliable.

In this, Canada and Australia offer useful models that might guide this countrys immigration reform. Both of these other immigrant countries use what might be called a point approach. Potential migrants get points for levels of education, language skills, the lack of a criminal record, and work skillsfor example, machinists, pilots, welders, railroad engineers, and the like. Once an applicant has enough points, he or she immediately receives a work permit and, with his or her family, gets permanent residence. These people enter the country as productive taxpayers who impose no burden on social services and may even enhance the skills of those around them. If the United States adopted such an approach, it would likely see less resistance to immigration than today from the existing population.

Even a perfect immigrant flowif such a thing were possiblecouldnt guarantee that the United States would recapture its former rapid rate of growth. But reform of its present arbitrary and impenetrable immigration system would surely increase the likelihood of such growth to benefit the immigrants and the population at large.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Ominous Message Behind the Taxmans Visit to Journalist Matt Taibbis Home

Journalist Matt Taibbi testifies at the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing on The Twitter Files in Washington on March 9, 2023, in a still from video. (House Judiciary Committee/Screenshot via NTD)

Commentary

When the IRS targeted Tea Party groups during the Obama years, and no one paid a serious price for it, it was both a harbinger of and contributor to the more pervasive and extreme weaponization of the federal government against dissenters from its orthodoxy that was to come.

Today, a decade after IRS officials admitted to those depredations, and with the weaponization having grown so vast and dangerous that Congress has devoted an entire subcommittee to it, the taxmans targeting of Wrongthinkers would seem to be continuing apace.

Just ask Matt Taibbi.

On March 9, the very day the iconoclastic journalist appeared before the House Judiciary Committees Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government to testify about the Twitter Files, an IRS agent appeared at his home.

Lets rephrase that: As Taibbi spoke to a congressional subcommittee created for the purpose of exposing and holding to account weaponized federal agencies, about how a number of those agencies had conspired with each other and private sector actors to target their political opposition in arguable violation of the oppositions First Amendment rights, a federal agency with the power to wreak unique havoc on its targets life dispatched an official to Taibbis door with a message.

The stated message was that the journalist was to call the IRS.

The unstated message needed no articulating: Expose federal government malfeasance such as authorities imposing of a mass public-private censorship regime on the American people, and you can expect a knock at your door from federal agents armed with the power to break you.

Now, Taibbi has been more charitable toward authorities, suggesting they werent acting in bad faith in tweeting that hes been reassured  that theres no problem.

He called the IRS as instructed and was told that prior tax returns had been rejected, supposedly over concerns regarding identity theft.

Taibbi claims he has been told the issues with the returns are not monetary, and that in fact hes owed a considerable sum from Uncle Sam.

But the idea that the timing of the visit was just a big coincidence strains credulity.

In his prepared remarks before the Weaponization Subcommittee (pdf), Taibbi noted that he and his Twitter Files co-authors had unearthed a sweeping effort to reverse the promise of a free and open interneta promise to enable the free flow of information imperative to combatting tyrannywhereby actors, including the U.S. government, acted tyrannically in turning the internet into an instrument of censorship and social control.

Taibbi, who has spent his career exposing corruption and chicanery in the corridors of the United States most powerful institutions, called his work on the Twitter Files the most grave story hes ever personally worked on.

Apparently, that work perturbed those who were in power.

Congressional Democrats derided Taibbi and his co-panelist and Twitter Files co-author Michael Shellenberger as so-called journalists despite their sterling credentials.

For these men were traitors to their class, both given their politics as disaffected/ex-liberals, and as journalists who are expected to serve as dutiful stenographers for the Democrat-allied Deep State.

To expose the United States Disinformation Industrial Complexone targeting Democrats foes and coordinated and driven by the Deep State with which they have alliedrepresents a high thoughtcrime.

So both Democrats and the Deep State targeted Taibbi.

During the hearing, minority members of the Weaponization Subcommittee not only attacked Taibbi professionally, endeavoring to discredit him, but they also badgered him to give up his sources, a total nonstarter for the so-called journalist.

The Deep State had previously pried for similar information. The Federal Trade Commission began harassing Elon Musk shortly after his purchase of Twitter by directing a barrage of invasive records demands at him and the social media companydemands often completely unmoored from the consent decree that served as the ostensible basis for the FTCs inquiries.

Among the demands was a call for Twitter to disclose records of interactions with journalists responsible for drafting the Twitter Files, including Taibbi specifically.

Those demands came 11 days after the release of the first installment of the Twitter Filespublished by Taibbi.

Its clear that Taibbi, like others connected with the Twitter Files, was persona non grata with our authorities.

So when an IRS official visited his home, apparently in violation of standard protocol for communications over such tax issues, on the very day he was testifying before the Weaponization Subcommittee, how could anyone see this as anything other than retributive?

In response to the news of these visits, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and its Weaponization Subcommittee, demanded answers from the Treasury secretary and IRS commissioner about the IRSs conduct.

The facts of the approach, Jordan wrote in a letter to the officials, demand a careful examination  to determine whether the visit was a thinly veiled attempt to influence or intimidate a witness before Congress.

Officials havent yet been forthcoming about those facts.

But we already know that in todays America, deviations from ruling class orthodoxy arent to be tolerated.

If you engage in Wrongthink on virtually any significant issue on a social media platform, youre liable to be censored.

If you challenge your local school board, you can be branded a domestic terrorist and pursued accordingly (pdf).

If you represent a client up to and including a U.S. president in an election integrity case, you can face disbarment and ruin within your community.

Expose any of these depredations, and authorities will come down hard on younot the actors responsible for the depredations.

If youre on the side of the angels, by contrast, you can abuse your powers in violation of Americans most fundamental rights, menace outside the homes of Supreme Court justices, and destroy city blocks and attack federal buildings, with near total impunity.

The brazenness is quickly becoming the point.

House Republicans are now openly entertaining the idea of withholding funds for a glitzy new headquarters sought by the FBI, because of its weaponization.

Theyre likely going to have to think much bigger if theyre to effectively combat an administrative state run amok as ours appears to be.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Strategic Ambiguity Surrounding Taiwan

US ally Taiwan not only wonder if the US will defend it against mainland China invasion, but if the US is still capable of doing

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen speaks as Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen (R) listens during a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 2, 2022. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)

Commentary

Strategic ambiguity has been the longstanding policy of the United States with regard to defending it against Chinese aggression from across the Taiwan Strait. In keeping with the term, the actual meaning of strategic ambiguity is, well, ambiguous.

Idea Behind Ambiguity

The gist of the ambiguity strategy is that U.S. military planners and policymakers think that its most effective to keep both Beijing and Taipei guessing regarding U.S. defense plans concerning Taiwan. Not knowing if the United States would defend Taiwan, and if so, under what circumstances and by what means, supposedly made it much more difficult for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to plan an invasion of the island nation.

As for the Taiwanese, ambiguity serves to keep them on their toes militarily and maintain readiness rather than becoming militarily weak, as some European allies had become under U.S. security guarantees. It also has kept Taipei from declaring independence from Beijing, which could trigger an escalatory response from China.

It could be said that this commitment to non-commitment, as it were, served the United States and Taiwan well over the past decades. After all, mainland China has yet to launch an invasion to conquer Taiwan, at least not militarily. Nonetheless, Chinas influence over economic, political, and cultural affairs in Taiwan has certainly increased over the years.

China Goes From Competitor to Global US Adversary

But it would be unwise to regard the past as a prologue. Today, China is, on every level, a qualitatively different country than it was even 10 or 20 years ago. Both strategically and militarily, China now is a direct competitor, if not an adversary to the United States. The latter is more accurate.

Furthermore, Chinas ambitions are to replace U.S. influence on a global scale, not just in the South Pacific or even in the Asia-Pacific region.

Theyre well on their way to doing so. In terms of projecting power, Beijing now fields a blue water navy that exceeds the number of ships than that of the United States. Though the U.S. Navy is superior to Chinas, superior numbers allow Chinese naval presence to assert itself in more areas around the world at once. Perceptions matter.

Ships transit through the Panama Canal near Panama City in this file photo. China is continuing its push to displace U.S. influence in the region and already has put parts of the Panama Canal under its control. (Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)

Whats more, China now controls most of the key sea gates, those strategic chokepoints of the worlds most important waterways. Controlling the worlds waterways is one of the three pillars of sea power, and China has successfully done so. Those sea gates include the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal access to the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea access point to the Indian Ocean via the Port of Djibouti, and many others.

Furthermore, Chinas strategic arsenal includes nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as hypersonic anti-ship and nuclear missiles designed specifically to neutralize U.S. naval power and strategic arsenal. Whether the U.S. military is up to the task of defending itself against Chinas strategic forces is up to debate.

US Decline Is Unambiguous

Conversely, the United States is not the same country that it used to be. Concurrent with Chinas rise has been a demonstrable and consistent downgrading of American military capabilities. Recent policy decisions have certainly contributed to that.

The decision to back Ukraine in its efforts to push back Russian invaders has depleted our military readiness in terms of munitions, tanks, and other war-making material and support items. In the short term, the United States simply cannot outproduce Russias war-making productive capacity.

US Policy Decisions Tarnish Its Reputation

Whats more, the Ukraine policy is degrading our reputation as a nation that is strategically serious. The war is a tragedy that could have been mostly avoided by not making Ukraine a NATO puppet. Were backing a deeply corrupt country that, in its war effort, is moving further down the road toward a personality-driven neo-fascism, not away from it.

The U.S. militarys exit from Afghanistan was another policy blunder that left billions of dollars worth of advanced military equipment, including sophisticated attack aircraft, tanks, and more, behind for our enemies such as the Taliban and Iran. Our hasty and unannounced retreat also destroyed the trust of our allies and made America look like the rapidly declining power that it apparently is.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen gestures from an upgraded U.S.-made F-16 V fighter during a ceremony at the Chiayi Air Force in southern Taiwan on Nov. 18, 2021. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

Its for these reasons, and others having to do with a president that inspires neither confidence in our allies nor fear in our adversaries, that the U.S. strategic ambiguity approach to Taiwans security no longer makes sense. Not only are U.S. security policies less definite and reliable than they used to be, but U.S. military readiness and capacity to deter Chinese aggression and defend Taiwan from invasion by China are now ambiguous at best.

US Intentions, Political Will, and Capabilities Degraded

The irony is as clear as it is disturbing. Three major factors of power in international relations are the intentions of a policy, the will to support those intentions, and the military capability to enforce your policy upon others. With respect to the U.S. security plans for Taiwan, the ambiguity is growing in all three areas.

The U.S. militarys ability to deter China from aggressive behavior toward Taiwan is declining by the day. Chinese military aircraft repeatedly penetrate Taiwans air space, and they conduct military exercises near the island without consequence, making the veracity of Beijings vow to bring Taiwan under its control by 2027 seem more likely than not.

Beijing Doesnt Fear the Biden Administration

Whats also ambiguous is U.S. intentions regarding Taiwans defense. In the event of an invasion by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), does the Biden administration really intend to send American sailors and soldiers to fight with the Taiwanese against the Chinese?

Given the policy decisions of the Biden administration so far, that seems highly unlikely, and much less ambiguous.

But whats not in the least ambiguous is the U.S. declining military capability to defend Taiwan in absolute terms. Chinas numerically superior navy dwarfs the U.S. navy, which itself could be the deciding factor in a naval battle. In fact, there is great doubt the United States is still capable of actually defending Taiwan.

Working from that assumption, perhaps the least ambiguous option for Taiwan would be to take a page out of North Koreas book and arm itself with a nuclear defense force as soon as it can.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew recently faced a barrage of questioning from lawmakers on Capitol Hill regarding the safety, privacy, and security threat of the Chinese Communist Party-controlled app. There are reportedly 150 million TikTok users in the United States. Should the CCP have a direct line to influencing the minds and behavior of 45 percent of Americas population?

Influencing youth influences culture. The TikTok algorithm is designed to be addictive and allows trends that promote dangerous behavior among youth. In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission fined TikTok $5.7 million for collecting data from minors. TikTok is also beholden to the CCP and therefore forced to comply with the surveillance demands of the regime. This led the DOJ and FBI to order an investigation into TikTok over the alleged surveillance of journalists. Will Congress ignore the harms of the app or take this opportunity to do something meaningful?
Tom Cotton Says Ukraine War Will End in Negotiated Peace

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) speaks at the National Review Institute's Ideas Summit on March 30, 2023. (Courtesy of NRI)

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a prominent Republican and Senate Armed Services Committee member, said Thursday a Ukrainian victory in the ongoing war will ultimately come in the form of a negotiated peace.

In January, Cotton penned a letter to President Biden urging him to provide more advanced weaponry to the Ukrainian military and empower the country to throw out the Russian invaders, retake its sovereign territory, and win this war. This week, speaking at the National Review Institutes Ideas Summit, the senator clarified thatwhile short-term military wins are crucialnegotiations are the endgame.

From Ukraines standpoint, victory in the end is some kind of negotiated peace, he said. If Ukraine is successful enough on the battlefield thats how they can negotiate at a table.

In Cottons view, the path to de-escalation in Ukraine will be achieved through escalation.

He emphasized that the key to achieving such a settlement is to put Putin in enough fear that he will lose more territory and be disadvantaged on the battlefield than if it goes to the negotiating table.

We cant force nuclear-armed power to sit and negotiate, Cotton said. But we can put them enough on the backfoot that theyll perceive it as in their interest to negotiate.

Despite his support for a settlement, the senator stated that he would not speculate on the specific terms of a negotiated settlement, saying, Ill leave that for Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian people.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Mark Wright speak at the National Review Institutes Ideas Summit on March 30, 2023. (Courtesy of NRI)

Republicans Divided on Foreign Policy

The Republican Partys position on whether to continue to fund the Ukrainian military remains in dispute.

In December, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)who has voted against U.S. involvement in the war since it beganchallenged the notion that sending tax dollars abroad is a virtuous policy.

It is not charity. Charity would be given freely, he wrote on Twitter. The American taxpayers have been conscripted into making welfare payments to this foreign government.

Cotton was highly critical of the Biden administrations foreign policy, accusing the President of being weak in response to last weeks Iran-backed drone strike that killed an American contractor.

They killed an American and wounded five others Thursday morning, he said. We hit back, mostly its empty buildings, Thursday night.

According to war monitors, the Presidents Thursday night strike killed at least 19 peoplea mix of Iranian and Syrian nationals.

Sen. Cotton did not respond to a request for comment.
Top Senators Push to Ban China From Owning US Land

Top U.S. senators introduced a bill Thursday to ban China from owning any U.S. land, including agricultural and other real estate properties. The bill further gives the U.S. president the authority to require a sale if existing property ownership is deemed a national security risk.

The bill, dubbed Not One More Inch or Acre Act, is a comprehensive pushback on Chinese land ownership in America, which has increased in acreage by 20-fold from 2010 to 2020. In addition, the proposed legislation also imposes a minimum fine10 percent of the lands fair market valuefor failing to report foreign ownership under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA).

The bills main sponsor Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Committee on Armed Services, has been a staunch proponent of diminishing the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) threat to America.

For decades, the Chinese Communist Party has been gobbling up American farmland and real-estate, Cotton told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. At best, this submits American land and resources to Chinas best interests, not Americasat worst, these purchases serve as outposts for Chinese espionage campaigns against American businesses and military bases.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) at a book signing event in Vienna, Va., on Feb. 1, 2023. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)

In her statement to The Epoch Times, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), a co-sponsor of the new bill, called the CCP our greatest geopolitical and national security threat.

The FBI has said that they open a new counterintelligence case against China about twice per day. From stealing our intellectual property and spying on our children through TikTok, to buying up American farmland near military installations and engaging in unfair trade practices that undercut Alabama steelmakers and shrimpers, we must hold the CCP accountable, said the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. We accomplish this through strength, not continued weakness.

The legislation would close the door on Chinese persons or entities having access to U.S. real estate properties, as well as open a pathway to reclaiming the land if a national security risk is identifiedfor example, the 370 acres of farmland in Grand Forks, North Dakota, a site less than 15 miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base where sensitive drone, satellite, and surveillance technology is housed.

Although the Chinese corn mill project associated with that land purchase was halted due to the U.S. Air Forces warning two months ago that the project poses a significant threat to national security, Fufeng USA, the U.S. subsidiary of China-based Fufeng Group, still owns the land.

We cant allow Chinese citizens, or anyone affiliated with the CCP, to own one more inch of American soil. And any American land exploited by current Chinese ownership should be sold, said Cotton in his statement.

Stipulating a minimum penalty would also avoid a repeat of a Chinese company paying $120,000 from the lowered fine of $21 million for not reporting foreign ownership of U.S. farmland. While $21 million was assessed as the maximum amount at 25 percent of the lands fair market value, the ex-military Chinese billionaire paid only $120,000 because AFIDA doesnt require a minimum penalty. With a 10 percent minimum, as proposed in the latest U.S. Senate bill, the fine would have to be $8 million or more.

A sign opposing a corn mill in Grand Forks, N.D., stands near 370 acres recently annexed by the city for the project. Many residents dont want the project in the city because the owner, Fufeng Group, has reputed ties to the Chinese Communist Party through its company chairman. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

Legislative Actions Urgently Needed

Earlier this week, The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, released a comprehensive set of policy recommendations regarding how America should respond to the CCP threat. The paper contains 100 operational items that are mainly for Congress, according to Michael Pillsbury, a senior fellow at Heritage and a co-author.

In the report titled Winning the New Cold War: A Plan for Countering China, a key recommendation is to prevent the purchase of sensitive land or property near critical infrastructure or strategic farmland by PRC [Peoples Republic of China] agents.

Many lawmakers have been pushing toward this direction, with Cotton and Britts bill representing the latest effort.

Earlier this month, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill that would bar corporations and individuals linked to the Chinese regime from buying or leasing U.S. agricultural land. At the same time, existing owners must divest their interests under the bill or face fines and criminal consequences.

Another Heritage recommendation related to fending off the CCP threat on American land is to require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be included in the review process of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a cross-departmental panel that reviews foreign acquisitions for national security risks.

Last month, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced a bill to install the secretary of agriculture as a standing member of CFIUS, in addition to barring China from owning or leasing any U.S. farmland or agricultural businesses.

On March 22, Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Tester (D-Mont.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) introduced a proposal that would ban foreign adversaries, including China-controlled entities, from purchasing U.S. farmland. Their collective objective for the legislation was to address national security concernsfood security and Chinas threat to the U.S. military and economic powerrelated to Chinese farmland ownership in America.

At the Heritage policy paper launch event on Tuesday, Rubio outlined a dire picture of the CCP threat: a near-peer adversary thats ready to exploit America, whose current leaders have no memory of what its like to combat such a threat that is more severe than the communist Soviet Union due to the CCPs economic power.

According to him, America is meanwhile facing societal and cultural rot thats dividing our nation, thats weakening the national soul, that questions our identity due to the lefts ideology thats confusing basic truths, such as sex and gender.

It creates the societal rot and destruction from within; it makes it hard for us to unite people, much less rally behind a great cause, he added. I think we have to also wake up to the reality that we are in a geopolitical conflict between two very different models of human relations and the world.

Rubios overall read of the situation is shared by Cotton, as conveyed in Cottons latest book Only the Strong: Reversing the Lefts Plot to Sabotage American Power.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference at The Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 25, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

More legislative actions are urgently needed, according to Pillsbury.

To talk without an action component is what this report is trying to get us past. Its too late to just talk about how bad communist China is. Its way too late. And they dont care, he said at the Heritage event on Tuesday. Senator Rubio made it very clear that the Chinese reaction to all this is the moaning and whining of a declining superpower. Nothing more. Weve got to have legislation and things that really happen in the real world, or were going to lose and be very sorry about it.
Tragically, US Travel Restrictions Remain in Place

Commentary

The Information Age, for all its wonders in the vast and instant access to any topic imaginable, is really quite a paradox. Accessible information should ideally lead to greater knowledge and understanding. Yet information is not always true or accurate, causing confusion and misleading recipients. Journalists and news organizations, therefore, bear a duty to their readers to investigate and verify information before publishing.

Vetting information should be relatively easy in some cases. So why do todays media authors insist on being parrot-like mouthpieces instead of ethical, investigative journalists? Why do they not dig anymore? Why not question and confirm or correct information before publishing articles that get viewed by the masses, creating perceptions with a reckless disregard for the truth?

Forbes, TravelPulse, Sky Sports, and Express Daily, among other outlets, reported on March 30 that the United States has voted to end its restrictions against unvaccinated foreign travelers. Some of these articles quote Geoff Freeman, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, following a statement published on the organizations website that appears to have since been deleted. In the quotes, Freeman praised the Senates passage of H.J. Res. 7, a bill terminating the national COVID-19 emergency declaration in the United States, suggesting that this bill removed the travel vaccine mandate for visitors to the United States.

Had any of these authors or their editors read the text of the bill, they would have at least questioned the accuracy of U.S. Travels official commentary that the bill has any effect on the international travel ban. Instead, each news outlet, in rapid succession, published similar, misleading articles. Quintessential irresponsible journalismerroneous reporting compounded with a whisper down the lane effect that because information has been reported, and then reported by multiple sources, it is now true albeit a gross misrepresentation of the facts.

The truth is that the United States has not lifted the travel ban. It is still in place without expiration, and will only be terminated by President Joe Biden upon recommendation by the secretary of health and human services (HHS). Hope in that respect is grim for both citizens and noncitizens harmed and kept apart from loved ones by the restriction.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra testified before the House of Representatives on March 28 that the actions that our administration is taking with regard to American citizens is to protect them as best possible against COVID.

The actions we take with regard to those trying to enter the country are somewhat similar, but there are some differences because these are folks who are asking for permission to come into the U.S., he said.

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) asked if the decision to not lift vaccine mandates was political, to which Becerra responded that the mandates, including the travel restrictions, are based on science and the evidence.

While testifying, Becerraa lawyerwas oblivious to statements made by his own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky. Walensky told the public in an interview with CNNs Wolf Blitzer that vaccines are no longer effective at preventing disease.

The CDC also updated its guidance to no longer differentiate based on a persons vaccination status because breakthrough infections occur  as of Aug. 19, 2022. However, the CDC has not yet removed the Amended Order banning unvaccinated travelers. In their official comment regarding the travel restrictions, the CDC responded that the order is simply an implementation of Bidens Proclamation 10294, and the agency defers status updates to the White House.

Given Becerras recent testimony, it is apparent that he is also unaware that the global scientists in the World Health Organization have recommended since July 2021 that governments not require international travelers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for entry.

He further testified that he does not have the authority to issue waivers of the vaccine requirement for foreign travelers, which begs the question: Does Becerra know that he is responsible for advising Biden to terminate the travel restriction? If he followed the science and the evidence, as he testified that his department does, then he should have advised Biden to end Proclamation 10294 in the summer of 2022.

Alas, the only measures before Congress that would legislate an end to the COVID-19 travel restrictions have been stalled in the Senate. As of March 30, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has twice asked his colleagues to unanimously consent to pass H.R. 185, a bill offered by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) that passed the House in February to terminate the CDC Amended Order requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for air passengers. Both calls for consent were quashed by objections.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) objected, believing that Congress should not set precedent by ending any programs of Bidens public health emergency before the administration was ready. At Lees second request for unanimous consent, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) stood and objected for then-absent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Although not all of the reasons for Sanders objections were read into the record, the most compelling objection, per Booker, was that COVID-19 originated outside of the United States and many health professionals believe that keeping unvaccinated noncitizens out will curb the spread of the disease and future variants.

Now that the objections have stalled any legislative action on H.R. 185, the Senate may need to hold a roll call vote to pass the bill and send it to Biden, who has not promised to veto. Such a vote is not expected prior to April 17, as Senators will be out of D.C. for state work.

Certain media outlets have also mistakenly published that the COVID travel restrictions are due to end on April 10. No doubt, their assumption comes from the Transportation Security Administration Security Directive, which orders airlines to comply with Proclamation 10294. Unfortunately, the agency renews this directive so long as Proclamation 10294 remains in place.

It cannot be said enough that Proclamation 10294 and the CDC Amended Order implementing Bidens policy have no expiration date. Indeed, the White House only promised that the restriction would be reviewed prior to the anticipated May 11 end to the COVID-19 public health emergencythere is no offered end date.

Further, the proclamation is based on the National Immigration Act. Although the national COVID-19 emergency spawned the development of this now-defunct policy, the legal authority rationalizing it will remain well beyond the termination of any emergency, allowing the policy itself to be enforced until removed.

An official from the White House advised that ending the national COVID-19 emergency does not end the travel restrictions and that those restrictions remain in effect at this time under Proclamation 10294 and the CDCs Amended Order. The official did not provide an anticipated end date when asked.

To make this abundantly clear for the public: Presidential Proclamation 10294 requiring noncitizen nonimmigrants be vaccinated to enter the United States will only end if Biden rescinds it, Congress repeals it, or the judiciary strikes it down. To date, no lawsuits have been filed challenging the ban on foreign visitors.

From the Brownstone Institute

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Trans Day of Vengeance Protest in DC Canceled Over Safety Concerns

The Trans Day of Vengeance rally scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., on Saturday has been canceled due to a credible threat to life and safety, according to its organizers.

The decision comes after a transgender individual, Audrey Hale, killed six people, including three 9-year-old children, at a Christian grammar school in Tennessee earlier this week.

In a statement released Thursday, the Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN), the leftist organizers of the demonstration, announced that the physical event in front of the U.S. Supreme Court will not take place due to a credible threat to life and safety.

According to its official website, the Trans Radical Activist Network is a nationwide network of activists and community organizers for transgender/non-binary rights.

On TikTok, the group mentioned that they will be hosting an online event at 2 p.m. PST. and plan to organize another protest with a better theme in the near future.

The group claimed the purported threat was a direct result of the flood of raw hatred directed toward the trans community following the Tennessee shooting and that innocent individuals who had nothing to with that heinous act have been subjected to serious threats and blame solely because of their gender identity.

This is one of the steps in genocide, and we will continue our efforts to protect trans lives, the group stated.

TRAN emphasized that their decision to cancel the rally was not an easy one, as they strongly believe in the mission and message behind the Trans Day of Vengeance. However, the group explained that they lacked the resources to ensure the safety of the protest and could not move forward with it.

While we wholeheartedly believe in the mission and message we put forth for Trans Day of Vengeance, we must prioritize the safety of our community and the people that make it up.

In an ideal world, we would have continued on in defiance of the attempt to silence our right to free expression, the group said. However, we lack the resources to ensure the safety of the protest and cannot in good conscience move forward with it.

Day of Vengeance Protest Name Elicits Strong Response

After the school shooting, several high-profile people expressed anger over the name of the activist groups protest, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who claimed that the Trans Day of Vengeance represented the threat of Antifa-driven trans-terrorism.

Twitter restricted multiple accounts that posted about the event, including that of conservatives commenting on it, citing that the term Vengeance did not suggest a peaceful protest.

Greenes account was restricted on the grounds of violent speech after she shared a poster for the now-canceled rally. In the same post, shared on Tuesday, Greene alleged that Antifa was organizing the Trans Day of Vengeance event. Twitter subsequently locked Greene out of her account on the condition that she deleted her offending tweet.

Twitters head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, said on Twitter that the company was removing images of the poster over concerns it could incite violence.

We had to automatically sweep our platform and remove >5000 tweets /retweets of this [Trans Day of Vengeance] poster, Irwin wrote. We do not support tweets that incite violence irrespective of who posts them. Vengeance does not imply peaceful protest. Organizing or support for peaceful protests is ok.

Irwin also wrote that the platform has not applied any strikes to anyone and had [j]ust restricted the media.

Transgender Activists Defend Protest

Our Rights DC, which co-organized the protest alongside TRAN, reported that groups affiliated with TRAN had their accounts temporarily suspended until they voluntarily removed the promotional posters for the event.

Our Rights DC, which has roughly 1,200 followers as of the time of writing, describes itself on Twitter as an autonomous community sustaining direct action to demand accountability for injustice.

In a joint statement, Our Rights DC, TRAN, and TRAN co-founder Tsukuru Fors said they were horrified by the violence at the Covenant School and mourned the loss of the victims. They also stated that the shooting had nothing to do with the concept of vengeance promoted in their activism.

We also reject any connection between that horrific event and ours. Vegeance means fighting back with vehemence, the group stated. We are fighting against false narratives, criminalization, and eradication of our existence.

In a separate statement, TRAN condemned the efforts of bad faith actors on the far-right, who it accused of weaponizing the tragedy to target the transgender community.

Twitters sweeping and mostly automated bans impacted the accounts of the New York Post, a Daily Wire journalist, and others who shared about the Trans Day of Vengeance rally.

The Federalist CEO Sean Davis was among those whose account was restricted.

Prior to the account block, Davis had posted: The cold-blooded mass murder at a Christian school in Nashville by an apparent transgender person came just days before a planned Trans Day of Vengeance organized by the Trans Radical Activist Network.

Mimi Nguyen-Ly contributed to this report.
The Islamic Research Academy (AIRA) of Egypt's Al-Azhar  the world's leading Sunni Muslim religious institution  has joined the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in their global Ramadan campaign to provide urgent relief to refugees and forcibly displaced people around the world.

The month-long campaign, which is carried out under the motto In hardship: Your gift is support and ease, comes amid the increasing numbers and severity of humanitarian emergencies, the AIRA said in a statement on Thursday.

This campaign is the second launched by the academy in cooperation with the UN refugee body.

The first campaign, which was carried out in December 2020 under the motto 30 Days of Kindness, raised awareness on the situation of refugees and internally displaced people.

The new campaign seeks through various stories to spotlight the humanitarian suffering of displaced people and so urge Muslims to show solidarity and support, Secretary-General of AIRA Nazir Muhammad explained.

It will also include recorded messages from Al-Azhar scholars supporting the campaign and religious edicts (fatwas) directing Zakat to displaced people, Nazir noted.

Zakat (alms-giving), which is one of the five pillars of Islam, obliges financially-able Muslims to give 2.5 percent of their annual income to the poor and needy.

The UNHCR said in a statement on Tuesday that this year's campaign invites the public to look closer and see the people behind the headlines and the statistics.

According to the UNHCR, over 100 million people remain forcibly displaced from their homes in 2022 due to war, violence, persecution and human rights abuses.

Many have been struggling to survive for years as many crises remain unresolved.

Any gift during this holy month will be a lifeline to millions of displaced people observing Ramadan away from home, the UNHCR's statement added.

It noted that the UNHCRs Refugee Zakat Fund since its inception in 2017 has impacted the lives of more than six million beneficiaries in 26 countries.

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Trump Allies Rally Around Former President After Indictment

Former President Donald Trump arrives for an event at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa, on March 13, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Calling the move political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history, former President Donald Trump released a lengthy statement upon learning that a New York grand jury voted on March 30 to indict him on unspecified criminal charges.

The news sparked outrage and support from multiple Republicans, including 2024 GOP presidential primary rival Vivek Ramaswamy and potential rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has drawn Trumps ire in recent weeks.

Trumps lawyer Joseph Tacopina has said that, in the event of an indictment, Trump would surrender himself to Manhattan.

DeSantis, in a statement following the indictment, said his state would not cooperate with authorities if asked.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct, DeSantis said. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to Iowa voters at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, on March 10, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda, DeSantis added.

Trumps lawyers confirmed the indictment, which marks the first time a former president has been criminally charged.

President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime, said Tacopina. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg acknowledged that his office notified Trumps lawyers.

This evening, we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal, a Bragg spokesperson said. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.

Ramaswamy said in a statement that the politically motivated indictment of the 45th president of the United States marks a dark moment in American history.

This will undermine public trust in our electoral system and our justice system. It is un-American for the ruling party to use police power to arrest political rivals. Principles go beyond partisanship. The American people should decide who governs. Not politically ambitious prosecutors, Ramaswamy said.

Our entire country is skating on thin ice now and we cannot afford to politicize the justice system or else we will reach our breaking point, he said. I pray for our national unity and call on every current and prospective Presidential candidate in both parties to condemn this dangerously politicized prosecution.

Most Republicans who released a statement about Trumps indictment share a common viewpointthat the decision represents political persecution.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said, Its a sad state of affairs when socialist DAs would rather pursue a politically motivated witch hunt against President Donald Trump than crack down on violent crime. The American people wont forget.

Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., on March 4, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Kari Lake, the Trump-backed Republican nominee in Arizonas gubernatorial race last November, said the radical left and their weaponized criminal justice system have crossed all legal and ethical lines in an attempt to destroy Trump.

Jailing your political opponents based on frivolous politically motivated accusations is something that youd expect to see out of third-world dictatorships or banana republics, Lake said.

And now, after a relentless assault on our beloved United States Constitution and our institutional norms, the radical left has accelerated this countrys decline into a broken system that allows for the political persecution of anyone who threatens the status quo, Lake continued.

Trump denies any wrongdoing and has produced numerous pieces of evidence from the Grand Jurys star witnesses (Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen) refuting these accusations, she said.

It is also quite clear that the only potential wrongdoing here would be an FEC crime punishable by a fine, not potential imprisonment.

This political prosecution should receive bipartisan condemnation. The precedent this sets threatens to further divide a country that already seems to be on the verge of tearing itself apart, Lake added.

I stand unequivocally beside President Donald J. Trump and in defense of the rule of law, she said. I am calling on all others to do the same.

Jenna Ellis, a former Trump senior adviser and attorney, described the indictment as a legal disaster, and weaponizing the justice system against a political opponent.

The only reason DA Alvin Bragg is bringing charges is because Trump is running for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination, Ellis said. The DNC and RNC want a post-Trump America, yet they are incentivizing donors and the MAGA base to rally support against Trump because no one deserves to be politically prosecuted.

Freshman Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who graduated from Harvard Law School and was endorsed by Trump, called the indictment political persecution masquerading as law.

Donald Trump is the former President of the United States, the leader of our nations political opposition, and the presumptive Republican nominee in 2024, Vance said in a statement. Alvin Braggs decision to indict him is blatant election interference and a direct assault on the tens of millions of Americans who support him.

To make matters worse, this entire charade is predicated on an unprecedented, doomed-to-fail legal theory and a baseless misdemeanor charge from seven years ago, he added.

While the radical left continues their obsession with harassing Donald Trump, the American people are suffering. Families are struggling to put food on the table, violent crime is running rampant in our cities, and thousands have been poisoned by the fentanyl pouring across our southern border, Vance said.

Former President Donald Trump and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate J.D. Vance during a rally at the Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio, on Nov. 7, 2022. (Angerer/Getty Images)

Instead of working to improve the lives of the Americans they are supposed to represent, the ruling party is focused on knee-capping their greatest threat in the next election, he said.

In his statement, Trump chastised President Joe Biden, Bragg, and the Democrats obsession with trying to Get Trump.

The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who was hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace. Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, hes doing Joe Bidens dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time!

Trump added that he believes this witch hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden.

The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. Trump wrote. So our Movement, and our Partyunited and strongwill first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Trump Could Still Be Elected President Despite DAs Indictment, Say Legal Experts

Former President Donald Trump speaks during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 15, 2022. Trump announced that he was seeking another term in office and officially launched his 2024 presidential campaign. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump became the first presidentcurrent or formerto be criminally charged after he was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office Thursday. But legal experts say he can still become and serve as president even if hes in prison.

Amid multiple investigations, Trumpwho has categorically denied any wrongdoing and said such probes are part of a witch hunt designed to wound him politicallyhas said he wont bow out of the 2024 race for the White House. Since reports surfaced that he would be charged earlier this month, Trump has made that a central part of his campaign messaging, often posting about his arrest on social media.

The U.S. Constitution does not say that having a criminal record bars an individual from becoming president. It says that natural-born citizens who are aged 35 and older and who have been a resident of the United States for 14 years can become president. The 22nd Amendment, meanwhile, stipulates that people who have twice been elected president cannot become president again.

The only way he can be disqualified is if they can prove that he actually fought in the Civil War for the South. If he fought for the Civil War in the south, hes out, retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz quipped to The Epoch Times earlier this month. But other than that, if hes 35 years old, was born in America, and didnt fight in the Civil War for the south. Hes eligible. And [can] run from prison.

If Trump goes to prison, he can campaign for president, too, Dershowitz said in another interview. Even if hes convicted, he can run for president. He can run for president from prison; he can even serve as president from prison, he said.

Some people are surprised to learn that theres no constitutional bar on a felon running for president, but theres no such bar, Kate Shaw, a professor at Cardozo School of Law, told ABC News earlier this month. Because of the 22nd Amendment, the individual cant have been twice elected president previously, she added. But theres nothing in the Constitution disqualifying individuals convicted of crimes from running for or serving as president.

James Sampler, a constitutional law professor at Hofstra University, told the outlet that the Constitution sets a low number of requirements. It was done that way to allow voters the maximum freedom to decide, he said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization at the New York Supreme Court in New York on Jan. 13, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

It depends on the wisdom of the people to determine that an individual is not fit for office, Sampler said. So the most fundamental obstacle that President Trump has in seeking office in 2024 is the obstacle that anyone has, but he has it in a different and more pronounced waywhich is proving to the voters that the individual deserves the office.

On Thursday evening, Trump called the indictment political persecution and predicted it would damage Democrats in 2024. In a statement confirming the charges, defense lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said Trump did not commit any crime and we will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.

Trump assailed Democrats after they did the unthinkableindicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.

The case centers on well-chronicled allegations from a period in 2016. Prosecutors scrutinized money paid to adult performer Stormy Daniels and former model Karen McDougal. Trump has denied any allegations of misconduct.

The indictment has not yet been made public. In New York, its common for judges to keep charges sealed until a defendant appears in court to face charges, while Trump is reportedly currently at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Epoch Times has contacted Braggs office for comment. In a statement posted to Twitter, Braggs office wrote that his office contacted Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DAs office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump Is Indicted: Heres What Happens to Him Next in Court

Law professor reveals what Trump's lawyers could initially do to fight the indictment

Former President Donald Trump speaks to guests gathered for an event at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa, on March 13, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Legal analysts have revealed what will happen next in court after former President Donald Trump was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorneys office on Thursday night, with some saying that the former president will have to get his mugshot taken.

When someone is indicted, the charges are kept sealed by a judge until the defendant makes their first court appearance, analysts have said. Its not clear what charges Trump faces as theyve not been made public yet.

The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office acknowledged late Thursday that Trumps lawyers had been told about the indictment. This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender  for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal, a spokesperson said in a statement. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.

Trumps lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told The Epoch Times on Thursday night that the former president is expected in New York City early next week for arraignment. He suggested that Tuesday, April 4, could be his arraignment date, coming two weeks after the initial arrest date that the former president had initially predicted.

According to a Bragg spokesperson, prosecutors and Trumps legal team are negotiating a surrender date, when Trump would have to travel from his Florida home to the district attorneys office in New York to be fingerprinted and photographed.

Trump would then make an initial appearance in court, where he would be formally charged. He would likely be allowed to head home afterward, experts said.

Mugshot?

He would be arraigned, face a trial date, and face a jury verdict just like anyone else, said University of California, Berkeley law professor Andrea Roth in a statement. He would have no more or fewer procedural protections than other defendants, and the state has the same powerssubpoena power, for exampleit would normally have.

She added: Of course, the case will be high-profile, but other high-profile defendants have been successfully prosecuted. The defense attorneys will surely raise numerous issues, from intent to defraud to a statute of limitations bar, but that is also true in most high-profile cases. The New York case also has no formal consequence for the election; you can be an indicted or even convicted person and run for president. Eugene Debs, a Socialist candidate, ran from prison in the early 1900s.

Former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax earlier this month: He will be mugshot and fingerprinted. Theres really no way around that. But for Trumps 2024 campaign, that could be a boost, he suggested, adding that Trump could use that photo as a campaign poster.

The U.S. Constitution does not bar a convicted felon from holding political office. It only lists three requirements: that the person is aged 35 or older, a natural-born American citizen, and has had to have lived within the U.S. for at least 14 years.

University Law Professor Craig Green told 6ABC that Trump will surrender and be photographed, and fingerprinted, and he will make bail, and then he will leave the courthouse. After that, he says that standard legal procedures would play out.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization at the New York Supreme Court in New York on Jan. 13, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

But some analysts have said that its not clear what the arraignment will look like. In some cases, a defendant is handcuffed and walked to the courthouse for arraignment in a process known as a perp walk. Its not clear how that would proceed in the case of Trump, a former president who enjoys U.S. Secret Service protection.

Green, however, said that if the case ever makes it to a jury, it could prove to be more complex.

If we ever got to a jury trial and he actually was supposed to go to jail, the timeline means this would be well after the election of 2024, Green told the outlet. So, at least its theoretically possible you could have a sitting president who would face state criminal charges and have to go to jail.

In an ironic twist, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would typically have to give formal approval for an extradition demand in his capacity as governor. In a Twitter post on Thursday, the governor said he would not assist in any extradition request, calling the indictment politically motivated.

What Trump Might Do

John Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University, said that Trumps lawyers could file a motion to dismiss the case on multiple legal grounds, likely arguing that it is based on a faulty legal theory that a misrepresentation of an alleged hush-money payment is not by itself a criminal act. They also likely will argue that charges against himstemming from payments that were made in 2016are barred by the statutes of limitations.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, his lawyers will seek a dismissal based upon the argument of prosecutorial misconduct, and especially selective prosecution, said a news release from Banzhafs office issued Thursday night. In support they would point to the undisputed facts that several prosecutors (including Bragg himself once) who had reviewed the case declined to prosecute, and that there is no logical reason (e.g. newly discovered evidence) to suddenly reinvigorate what has been called a zombie case now years after the facts became known.

The former president also could argue that selective enforcement could be at play, which is when a district attorney or other prosecutors attempt to single out an individual for charges when they generally choose not to charge other people who committed similar offenses, the release said.

Reuters contributed to this report.
UK Government Got Rid of 3 Billion PPEs Bought During COVID-19 Pandemic, Official Data Show

Boxes containing face masks are unloaded from a plane in Bournemouth, England, on May 23, 2020. (Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

The UK government got rid of more than three billion pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) that it bought during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce storage cost, according to official data published on Thursday.

It includes items such as aprons, masks, gloves coveralls, eye protectors, and body bags. Some of them were sold or donated, most were burnt or made into other products.

The government said it makes no apology for over-purchasing PPEs at the beginning of the pandemic, saying its priority at the time was to ensure the National Health Service (NHS) had the PPE it needed to deal with the worst-case scenario.

According to a fact sheet published on Thursday by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the government bought more than 30 billion PPEs at the height of pandemic, and has delivered more than 25 billion items to frontline staff and other eligible users.

Data published on the same day revealed that, by Feb. 28, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had removed 269,500 pallets, or 3.14 billion items, of PPE.

Around 133,000 pallets of PPEs, or 1.4 billion items, were burnt, including more 571 million aprons, 454 million masks, and 362 million eye protectors.

The DHSC said its part of a energy from waste processes, for example to generate electricity for the national grid. The department also noted that the PPEs generate fewer carbon emissions.

Nearly 1.5 billion items were recycled, including around 1.1 billion aprons, 167 million eye protectors, and 149 million gowns.

According to the DHSC, 23 million visors were turned into plastic food trays, and aprons become bags for lifethat is, multi-use shopping bags to reduce single-use plastics. The department also said it has worked with Innovate UKs Knowledge Transfer Network to look for new ways to recycle the stock.

Around 6,100 pallets, or 108 items, were donated to countries, such as Brazil and Pakistan, and domestic events, such as the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Almost 12,000 pallets, or 161 million items, were sold through e-auctions.

The removal of excess stock is an effort to reduce the cost of PPE storage.

According to the DHSC, the department currently holds around 5.8 billion items of excess PPE, the equivalent of 15 percent of the total stock purchased

It also said the cost of storing PPE was around 564,000 per day in January, which was 78 percent down from the first three months of 2021.

The government has repeatedly faced criticism over its handling of PPE during the pandemic, including the purchase of useless items.

Last year, the Commons Public Accounts Committee said the government had lost 75 percent of the 12 billion it spent on PPE in the first year of the pandemic to inflated prices and kit that did not meet requirements, including 4 billion of PPE that could not be used in the NHS.

The government announced in December it was suing one firm that supplied it with PPE for 122 million plus costs.

PPE Medpro won contracts after being recommended by Tory peer Baroness Mone. She denies any wrongdoing.

The government is attempting to get its money back on one of the deals in the High Court, claiming the medical gowns supplied did not comply with the specification in the contract.

PPE Medpro has said it would rigorously defend the claim.

The DHSC defended its over-purchasing of PPEs, saying it had acted swiftly to procure PPE at the height of the pandemic, competing in an overheated global market where demand massively outstripped supply.

Our priority throughout the pandemic was saving livesand we make no apology for erring on the side of caution and ensuring that the NHS had the PPE it needed to deal with the worst-case scenario. This meant we were able to keep our NHS open and protect as many people as possible, it said.

PA Media contributed to this report.
CCPs Slave-Labor Practices Aided by West Turning Blind Eye, Says China Expert

Cotton from Xinjiang has brought to light the notorious concentration camps, forced labor, and the Chinese communist regimes crime of genocide against Xinjiangs Uyghur population. However, slave labor has been a feature of the regimes prisons since the communist revolution ended in 1949, and sporadic reports on the issue have never received enough attention from the rest of the world.

China commentator Heng He told The Epoch Times that the huge profits generated by international trade with China have seen the world turn its face away from the Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) inhumane practicesand prolonged the suffering of prisoners.

Heng said that Chinas systems of slave labor in its Re-education Through Labor campswhich are derived from the CCPs ideologyexhibits the same ideology as the Nazis Auschwitz concentration camp motto: Arbeit macht frei (Work sets you free).

Recently, a number of female survivors of the CCPs labor camps told The Epoch Times their stories of inhumane prison slavery.

20-Hour Workdays

Wang Chunyan, who owned a trading company in China, was imprisoned in 2002 and again in 2007 for practicing Falun Gong, a mind and body practice that has benefited hundreds of millions of followers with its teaching of the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, and its gentle exercises that include a sitting meditation.

The former leader of Chinas Communist regime, Jiang Zemin, decided to initiate the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. Since then, a vast number of Falun Gong adherents have been thrown into jails, forced to perform slave labor, tortured, killed, and even murdered for their organs.

Wang told The Epoch Times that on January 9, 2003, she was sent to Liaoning Provincial Womens Prison, where prisoners were forced to work intensively on producing goods for export.

The heavy workload started at six in the morning, and went on until 2 a.m. the next morning. Only five minutes was given for meal times, and each prisoner was given just two small bottles of waterthats 500 ml of drinking water per day.

Wang Chunyan shows the slave labor-produced jacket she smuggled out of Liaoning Womens Prison in northeastern China when she spoke to members of the Virginia General Assembly during a regular session in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 25, 2022. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

When the quota wasnt finished, the prison would cut the prisoners meal times. At one point during her incarceration, lunch was skipped for three consecutive days just to meet the plants quota, Wang said.

The constant overwork and oppressive atmosphere left many inmates suffering from numerous illnesses, she said, such as respiratory diseases, liver problems, eczema, scabies, and various infectious conditions. But the work never stopped, and the products did not go through any sanitary inspection or sterilization.

Once she had escaped China for America, she found many familiar items in the supermarket that she had previously encountered in prison.

Wang said she believes that much of our lingerie and underwearoften made with fine materials but sold at cheap prices in the United Statesare surely made in Chinese prisons. Many of those [Chinese-made] cotton pants and sweaters sold in Walmart were what we made [in prison], she said.

The fancy wrappers of goods imported from China often hide the most heinous crimes. There are many stories of blood and tears behind them, she told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times on March 26.

According to reports by Minghui.org, a U.S.-based platform that reports on the CCPs persecution of Falun Gong in China, Liaoning Womens Prison produces Chinese police uniforms, as well as uniforms for the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, and some railway departments. In addition, it is also a processing base for Chinas export trade, producing a variety of brand-name clothing, down coats, sportswear, and accessories such as handbags.

The Epoch Times tried to contact Liaoning Womens Prison and Liaoning Prison Administrative Bureau, but they had not replied by the time this article was published.

Restroom Breaks Twice A Day

Another Falun Gong adherent, Lu Mei (a pseudonym), was imprisoned in Liaonings Masanjia Re-education Through Labor Camp in 2006, and is now on the run.

Lu told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times that when she was imprisoned there, the prison was producing green cotton T-shirts and camouflage uniforms for the Chinese army, as well as Italian brand-name clothes.

She said the minimum workload was 12 hours per day. The food was bad and there was little of it, she said, adding that she lost all her teeth in prison.

The restroom breaks were at 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., and the restroom was locked the rest of the time. [Many people] damaged their kidneys, she said.

More than a dozen of the inmates whom she had met have since died of kidney failure, Lu said.

A Falun Gong practitioner wipes away tears while listening to a fellow practitioner recount her brutal treatment in a Chinese labor camp outside of the U.N. building in Manhattan on Sept. 20, 2011. (Amal Chen/The Epoch Times)

Fake Eyelashes

Tong Fang (a pseudonym) was once imprisoned in Heilongjiang Provincial Womens Prison.

She said the prison had 14 production areas, of which at least 8 areas were equipped with assembly lines for garmentsfrom cutting to final products.

The clothes came in large batched rolls, she said, and it would take several people to carry each heavy roll. In order to avoid beatings and merely in order to survive, many of the inmates worked through the night just to earn points on their performance score sheets.

The prison also produced accessories such as hairpiece beads, cotton swabs, toothpicks, coffee stirrers, shopping bags, false eyelashes, and so on.

The inmates were overloaded with labor-intensive tasks. When the quota wasnt met, there was no sleep, no meals, and points deductions.

In one working cell, more than two dozens inmates would be packed in for making false eyelashes, shoulder to shoulder, with no extra room for moving about. Even though it was hot on summer days, the windows and doors were kept shut to make sure the eyelashes wouldnt blow away on any breeze. Inmates maintained one posture to work, with sweat dripping from their hair. Our clothes were drenched with sweat  you would often work overnight, and if you couldnt finish that day, youd work overtime again the next, Tong said.

Many of the inmates working on false eyelashes ended up wearing reading glasses in their 30s, according to Tong. It hurts the eyes, the neck, and many had swollen legs after long hours of work, she said.

Communist Ideology: Slave Laborers

Commentator Heng He said that in the early years of the CCPs persecution campaign against Falun Gong, many persecuted adherents exposed the CCPs use of prisoners for large-scale manufacturing and the export of prison-made products. The U.S. government deliberately ignored the severity of the issues at the time, he said, which made the situation worse.

In 2003 and 2004, the WOIPFG (World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong) reported how the CCPs prisons and labor camps were exploiting imprisoned Falun Gong adherents in the production of Henan Rebecca Hair Products.

In 2005, journalist Jamil Anderlini of the South China Morning Post also investigated wig manufacturer Henan Rebecca Hair Products, which is listed on the Shanghai stock exchange and is a popular recipient of international investmentincluding from institutions such as ING, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, and HSBC, which were among the publicly traded corporations top 10 shareholders at that time.

A follow-up investigative report by The Village Voice found that the U.S. government thought it better to urge China to change while working with it.

Heng said that the U.S. governments appeasement policy at that time acted as a green light for Chinese slave-labor products.

The appeasement policy has been popular in the West, and even the forced work of the Xinjiang concentration camp laborers had been ignored until recent years.

A still image from the documentary film Letter From Massanjia shows Julie Keith (L), who found a cry-for-help letter Sun Yi (R) had smuggled out of Masanjia Labor Camp in a Halloween Decoration Kit. (Flying Cloud Productions)

A recent case that exposed the CCPs prisons and forced labor camps for the production of exported goods was in 2012, when Oregon woman Julie Keith found a letter pleading for help in a box of Halloween decorations purchased at Kmart.

The letter stated that People who work here have to work 15 hours a day without Saturday, Sunday break and any holidays. Otherwise, they will suffer torturement, beat and rude remark. Nearly no payment (10 yuan/1 month). Ten yuan is equivalent to $1.46.

The letter came from Falun Gong adherent Sun Yi, who had been imprisoned in Masanjia Labor Camp in Shenyang, northeastern China.

The incident was later portrayed in the documentary film Letter from Masanjia.

Slave-labor products are the systematic consequences of the CCPs ideology, Heng said. The forced labor camp was prevalent before the Cultural Revolution, and was designed for reforming prisoners through labora key part of communist ideology.

Its just like the Nazis concentration camps with signs that read, Arbeit macht frei (work sets you free). They are the same thing, he said.

Haizhong Ning, Hong Ning, Luo Ya, and Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report.
US Troops Diagnosed With Traumatic Brain Injuries After Attacks in Syria

Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks at a briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on March 16, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Six U.S. troops have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries following suspected Iranian-backed attacks at U.S. bases in Syria last week, according to the Pentagon.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters that four U.S. troops at the coalition base near Hasakah that was attacked by a suspected Iranian drone on March 23, and two U.S. troops at Mission Support Site Green Village that was attacked on March 24, were diagnosed with traumatic brain injury.

As standard procedure, all personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injuries. So these additional injuries were identified during post-attack medical screenings, Ryder said.

The latest TBI diagnoses bring the total number of injured U.S. personnel due to the recent attacks in Syria to 13. But Ryder said that more TBIs could be diagnosed as medical screenings continue.

The March 23 attack in northeast Syria via the suspected Iranian drone had killed a U.S. contractor and injured another U.S. contractor and five U.S. troops. All are in stable condition, with two of the troops having already returned to duty, Ryder said.

One service member was medically evacuated to Landstuhl to receive treatment and two U.S. service members and the U.S. contractor are receiving medical treatment in Iraq, Ryder said of those who havent been discharged from medical care.

In response to the drone strike on March 23, the United States on the same day carried out retaliatory air strikes in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups linked to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The strikes, which marked the first military action taken by Biden since taking office, killed eight terrorists.

We now assess that eight militants were killed in our strikes against two IRGC Quds Force facilities near Deir ez-Zor by U.S. Air Force F-15E fighters assigned to U.S. Air Forces Central, Ryder told reporters on Thursday. Again, these precision strikes were taken to protect and defend U.S. personnel.

President Joe Biden last week said the retaliatory airstrikes in Syria targeted those responsible for attacking U.S. personnel, adding: Make no mistake: The United States does notdoes not, I emphasizeseek conflict with Iran, but be prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people.

Following the U.S. air strikes, Iranian-backed forces carried out three more attacks on bases in Syria, which injured one person in one of the attacks.

Separately, the U.S. service member injured in the attack against Mission Support Site Conoco on March 24 is also in stable condition and continues to receive medical care, Ryder said of the casualty.

Iranian-backed forces have attacked U.S. forces in Syria around 83 times since Biden took office, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on Thursday. Meanwhile, the United States has responded with strikes a total of four times.

What kind of signal do we think it sends to Iran when they can attack us 83 times since Joe Biden has become president and we only respond four [times]? Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) told Austin at the hearing.

He added: Maybe its because they know that we will not retaliate until they kill an American, which emboldens them to keep launching these attacks which kill Americans.

TBI is a type of brain injury caused by a blow or jolt to the head and symptoms can range from mild to severe. Mild symptoms include headache, confusion, dizziness, and ringing in the ears. More severe symptoms include memory impairment, blurred vision, behavioral changes, problems with thinking and learning, incessant nausea, slurred speech, weakness in limbs, and even death.
Weather Service: Tens of Millions of People Facing Strong Tornadoes, Destructive Winds

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center shows potential impacts of severe weather in the central United States, according to a map posted March 31, 2023. (NOAA's Storm Prediction Center)

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued severe weather warnings and alerts to tens of millions of people across the United States as a powerful system has started to develop on March 31.

At least a few long-track, strong to potentially violent tornadoes, intense damaging wind, and very large hail are probable across much of the Mississippi Valley, said the NWS in a bulletin.

The weather services Storm Prediction Center expanded an area of concern to the central United States, impacting millions of people. More than 85 million people were under weather advisories due to a potential outbreak of thunderstorms with the potential to cause hail, damaging wind gusts, and strong tornadoes that could move for long distances over the ground.

The area at greatest risk for storms follows a large stretch of the Mississippi River from Wisconsin all the way to Mississippi, with two high-risk advisories centered on Memphis, Tennessee, and the border between Iowa and Illinois, according to the map.

The major population centers at high risk for storms starting Friday afternoon include Chicago; St. Louis; Little Rock and Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But people throughout eastern Iowa, western and northern Illinois, and Arkansas should also be prepared, the map shows.

The deepening low pressure system responsible for much of the anticipated active weather is forecast to push northeast from the central Plains today and enter the Great Lakes region by tonight, the NWS said. A strong cold front attached to this system will clash with warm and humid air surging into the Lower/Mid-Mississippi Valley, sparking numerous thunderstorms from the Midwest to eastern Texas.

The storms are then forecast to swing eastward tonight through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys before weakening early Saturday across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, according to the NWS. In order to further highlight the concern, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a Moderate Risk (level 4/5) of severe thunderstorms across parts of southeast Iowa, northwest Illinois, and northeast Missouri, as well as a separate area from northeast Arkansas to far western Kentucky, it added.

The National Weather Service has issued severe weather warnings and alerts to millions of people across the United States as a powerful system has started to develop on March 31, 2023. (National Weather Service)

Severe Winds Major Concern

Of the storms, Fox Weather forecaster Britta Merwin said that the storms will be very dangerous and may spawn tornadoes that stay on the ground for more than an hour.

To have that double component of strong straight line winds and a tornadic abilitythats some scary stuff, Merwin said.

That wind threat, by the way, thats the major concern up north across the Midwest for places like Iowa and Illinois, Merwin stated. Thats a spot that is known for strong straight-line wind damage as we head into spring.

About a week ago, a vicious tornado in Mississippi killed at least 21 people, injured dozens and flattened entire blocks as it carved a path of destruction for more than an hour. About 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are scheduled to visit Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on Friday.

In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem ordered state executive branch offices to be closed Friday in parts of the state, as freezing rain, snow and high winds were expected. Many counties were under blizzard or ice storm warnings.

The hazardous forecast is a result of strong southerly winds transporting copious amounts of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico north, where they will interact with the strengthening storm system.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What Is Above Our Laws?

Can we legally disobey unjust law?

Tourists take pictures in front of the Athens Academy adorned with sculputures depicting ancient greek philosophers, Plato (L) and Sokrates (R) on June 10, 2016. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

When government enacts legislation that undermines even our most elementary rights, one might be inclined to inquiry whether, in order to be valid, positive laws may have to conform to certain objective standards of justice and morality.

Some lawyers have traditionally answered this in the affirmative, arguing for objective standards which are accessible to everyone by virtue of our rational capacities. Others have gone even further by attributing the authorship of these higher standards directly to Godin particular, a Christian incarnation of God.

Whatever one makes of these arguments, the belief in the existence of higher laws can be traced to the ancient Greeks, through Christian medieval writers, and down to modern times.

Principles of the natural law are enshrined in all the most important documents in Western legal history, including the Magna Carta of 1215, the English Bill of Rights of 1689, the American Declaration of Independence of 1776.

Of course, the understanding of higher laws is not limited to Western societies. The Chinese have their own tradition of natural law that can be traced as far back as the 12th century BC.

In Analects, an ancient book collecting the sayings and ideas of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, one finds statements such as this: He who does not understand the Mandate of Heaven cannot be a ruler.

Yu Yang (act. ca. 1750after 1776) and assistants. The Qianlong Emperors Southern Song Inspection Tour Scene from Scroll Six: Entering Suzhou along the Grand Canal, China, Qing dynasty (16441911), dated 1770. Handscroll; ink and color on silk. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Kati Vereshaka/The Epoch Times)

Credited to the Zhou Dynasty (1121249 BC), the Mandate of Heaven asserts that legitimacy ultimately comes from Heaven, which can withdraw its mandate and transfer the right to govern on a more virtuous political ruler.

If the emperor became immoral or his rule tyrannical, the people would be justified in thinking that he had lost the right to rule and that he and his dynasty should be replaced, even by revolt.

An Unchanging True Law

In Western societies, the idea that law ought to conform to objective standards was articulated by the Greeks.

The famous philosopher Aristotle (384322 BC) was especially interested in the use of law as a mechanism to achieve limited government. In his work, Politics, the Rule of Law is regarded as being always preferable to the rule of men, because, as Aristotle explained:

To invest the law then with authority is, it seems, to invest God and reason only; to invest a man with authority is to introduce a beast, as desire is something bestial, and even the best of men in authority are liable to be corrupted by passion. We may conclude then that the law is reason without passion, and it is therefore preferable to any individual.

People walk past a statue of ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, on Oct. 21, 2011. (Nikolas Giakoumidis/AP Photo)

The Roman philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero (106143 BC), believed that we are born for justice, and right is not the mere arbitrary construction of opinion.

In his view, not all things are necessarily just which are established by the civil laws and institutions of nations; nor is justice identical with obedience to the written laws.

Of course, Cicero was entirely aware that many pernicious and harmful measures are constantly enacted among peoples which do not deserve the name law.

However, he did not regard such measures as laws properly so called because, according to him:

True law is right reason in agreement with nature, diffused among all men; constant and unchanging  To curtail this law is unholy, to amend it illicit, to repeal it impossible; nor can we be dispensed from it by the order either of senate or of popular assembly; nor need we look for anyone to clarify or interpret it; nor will it be one law at Rome and a different one at Athens, nor otherwise tomorrow than it is today; but one and the same Law, eternal and unchangeable, will bind all peoples and all ages.

Saint Thomas believed that once a government is constituted, such a government must be so arranged that opportunity to tyrannize be removed.

For him, we are bound to obey the law in so far as this is required by the order of justice. Wherefore if the authority  commands what is unjust, his subjects are not bound to obey him, except perhaps accidentally in order to avoid scandal or danger.

This analysis provides for the classical liberal doctrine of limited government, on which we can affirm that there are proper constitutional limits to what governments can legitimately do.

Legal Traditions Eroded

In the 19th century, however, the idea of natural law was undermined by the scientific spirit of the age. As a consequence, laws were no longer assumed to contain objective standards of justice but were said to be subject to historical change.

Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the horrible crimes committed by Nazi officers resulted in their trial by a special court held in Nuremberg from November 1945 to October 1946. At these trials, those officers argued that their actions were justified by the law of the State.

View of the judges bench in Nuremberg International Military Tribunal (IMT) court taken in September 1946, during the war crimes trial of nazi leaders during the World War II. (AFP/Getty Images)

In answer to such an argument, the prosecution directly appealed to principles of the natural law. The chief prosecutor, Robert H Jackson, then a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, relied on these principles of the natural law to press for condemnation.

Although natural law theory now remains almost exclusively in the realm of legal academia rather than the courts and parliament, a few more enlightened judges, such as Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court, have based their entire jurisprudential approach on what Justice Thomas properly describes as the higher law philosophy of the Founding Fathers.

The principles contained in this higher law jurisprudence, writes Justice Thomas, are the best defense of liberty and of limited government. Moreover, without recourse to higher law, we abandon our best defense of judicial reviewa judiciary active in defending the Constitution but judicious in its restraint and moderation. Rather than being a justification of the worst type of judicial activism, higher law is the only alternative to the wilfulness of both run-amok majorities and run-amok judges.

It is difficult to overestimate the extent to which our legal systems have been developed as a result of concepts such as natural law, natural right, and natural justice.

Indeed, our legal traditions are intrinsically associated with this particular way of thinking about law. Under this tradition, one might have not just a right but a lawful duty to disobey unjust laws.

Ignore this important perspective results in a diminished understanding of the rule of law and the basic principles that underpin our legal systems.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
White House Says It Has No Comment on Trump Indictment

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 17, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

A White House spokesperson told The Epoch Times that it has no comment on the announcement that a grand jury in New York has indicted former President Donald Trump.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed on Thursday evening that a grand jury had indicted the former president.

In a statement on Twitter, a spokesman for Bragg said his office had contacted Trumps attorneys to coordinate his surrender to the DAs office for arraignment. Braggs office wrote that the indictment against Trump remains under seal and that guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.

Trumps lawyer Joe Tacopina said in a statement that Trump did not commit any crime, vowing to vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court.

Trump is expected to surrender to the Manhattan DAs office early next week following his indictment.

In a statement, Trump decried the indictment as a witch hunt meant to hurt him politically.

This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history, Trump said in a statement shortly after the indictment was handed down. The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkableindicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.

The grand jury investigation centers around alleged hush-money payments Trump made to adult performer Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and model Karen McDougal during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Braggs office has reportedly sought to charge the former commander-in-chief with misclassifying payments, although details of the case are not clear as the indictment remains under seal. In New York, judges often unseal them after charges are brought in person.

Trump, who lives in Florida, will have to voluntarily travel to Manhattan to surrender and face the charges against him. Tacopina has previously said the former president would voluntarily surrender if indicted.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential challenger to Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, has criticized the indictment and said he will not comply with any extradition requests.

Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda, he said in a statement on Twitter, referring to billionaire financier George Soros.

Earlier this month, Trump, while speaking to reporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference, said he wont drop out of the 2024 race if criminally charged.

Oh, absolutely, I wont even think about leaving, Trump said, responding to a question. Probably, itll enhance my numbers, but its a very bad thing for America. Its very bad for the country.

Emel Akan and Gary Bai contributed to this report.
White House Says It Wasnt Given Advance Warning of Trump Indictment

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters in Washington on March 31, 2023. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

The White House was not tipped off about the indictment against former President Donald Trump, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on March 31.

All of us, including the president, found out about the news yesterday just like every other American through the news reports, Jean-Pierre told reporters.

White House chief of staff Jeffrey Zients alerted President Joe Biden to the situation after perusing reports, Jean-Pierre said.

Biden, a Democrat, was not given a heads-up, she said.

She was speaking en route to Jackson, Mississippi. Biden was scheduled to tour areas struck by tornadoes in the state last week.

Trump, a Republican, has been indicted for reasons under seal, according to his legal representatives and the Manhattan District Attorneys Office.

Jean-Pierre declined to comment on the indictment.

Were not going to comment on an ongoing case, she said.

Asked if he had a reaction to the indictment before he departed Washington, Biden said, No.

He also declined to say whether he was concerned the indictment will further divide the country or whether he was worried about possible protests.

Im not going to talk about Trumps indictment, he said, adding later, I have no comment at all on Trump.

Trump is slated to be arraigned early next week, one of Trumps lawyers told The Epoch Times. Were working that outmaybe Tuesday, attorney Joseph Tacopina said.

A spokesperson for the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, said it is now coordinating with Trumps attorneys his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment.

NYPD Directive

After the indictment was announced, the New York Police Department (NYPD) directed all uniformed members to show up in uniform on Friday morning, the agency told news outlets in a statement.

The directive was issued as a precautionary measure, the department said.

The NYPD did not respond to a request for more information.

Manhattan is a borough in New York City.

A spokesperson for Eric Adams, the Democrat mayor of the city, said Adams has been in constant contact with Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell about all public safety issues affecting the city.

The NYPD continues to monitor all activity and there are no credible threats to the city at this time, the spokesperson said. The NYPD always remains prepared to respond to events happening on the ground and keep New Yorkers safe.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, another Democrat, wrote on Twitter that the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies have been planning and coordinating intensively for this moment.

Gary Bai contributed to this report.
NEOM Airlines, an airline dedicated to serve the mega NEOM project in the north west of Saudi Arabia, is expected to begin operations at the end of Q4 2024, its Chief Executive Officer says.

The airline will be focused on enabling travel for tourists, residents, and commercial partners to and from NEOM, says Klaus Goersch in an article on NEOM's website.

The airline will be an extension of NEOM: the place, the company, the vision.

"We are there to enable the destination. Our goal is a holistic and interconnected approach, with NEOM Airlines enabling the gross domestic product of NEOM," says Goersch, a former chief operating officer of British Airways and Air Canada.

The airline will be an ambassador, a showcase for NEOM. Therefore, it has to be a very good product and it has to reflect the values of the overall project. Its not just an airline, its a brand extension and a linear part of the travel experience because you remember the way you got there as well as the place itself, says . Our ultimate ambition is that you will not think about being on a plane or in an airport, you will simply enjoy the experience. Wouldnt that be something?

"NEOM's resorts will be going live in early 2024, so we need to service that demand quickly, initially retrofitting existing aircraft with existing technology. But come 2026 onwards, there will be new innovative aircraft  whether it be electric, hydrogen-powered or supersonic  and next-generation interiors coming online from us. We are already in discussions with plane, interior and seat manufacturers," he says .

In the first instance the airline will fly out of NEOM Bay Airport, which is already open with Saudia flights domestically as well as to London and Dubai, and then from the NEOM International Airport.

"Organically, due to the strategic geographical location and the level of economic activity here, we expect that we will have a global aviation hub on our hands as time goes on  servicing the Middle East, Europe, America, Asia and so on," he says.

The ambition is that every flight that the airline operates will have some sustainable fuel onboard  originating from mixing facilities at NEOM, says Goersch.

"Sustainability will even stretch into the catering, with foods sourced locally from here and delivered via on-demand dining at a time when you actually feel like eating. We will look at every single component right down to the carpets and single-use plastics. Little things like this will accumulate and add up to more than the sum of their parts," he says.

The unique position of building an airline and airport from scratch provides the freedom to personalise the customer experience in a way not seen before in the aviation industry, he wrote in NEOM website.

ELEVATING JOURNEYS

The airline and airport will start from scratch, learning the lessons of history and embracing advanced technology like biometrics and artificial intelligence.

"This legacy-free approach is how we are working at NEOM. We have no outdated infrastructure or business models to protect, meaning we can provide a personalized service," he says.

"Just imagine if your bags were collected from your home or office and delivered to the hotel or residence you were going to. Imagine if biometrics were advanced enough to recognize you via facial recognition as soon as you walked in a building, security clearing you for travel without the need for even going through a gate  let alone having to bother with a visa. And just imagine the time of your meeting changed by a few hours and you were able to change your flight to a later one, without hassle or cost. Better still, imagine you are collecting loyalty points at the airport  where the whole place is lounge-style service  as well as while flying and when using the facilities in your destination, because everything is owned by the same company." he adds giving examples.

"Ours certainly will not be a generic airline, we will be aiming to elevate every single touch point and your NEOM immersion will start before you even board the plane in London, New York, Paris and so on. The goal is to make the traveller journey as seamless as possible. Due to the fact we are building a new destination, new airports and a new airline all at the same time  there is a sense that we can achieve this to a level that just has not been seen before," says Goersch. - TradeArabia News Service
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday pledged enduring ties with Israel but warned against inflaming tensions with the Palestinians, following a rare public spat between the allies.

President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters Tuesday, called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step back from a bid to weaken the judiciary that has set off massive protests.

Netanyahu, who at least temporarily froze the push faced with a general strike, responded that he would not bow to foreign pressure but took a more conciliatory tone when he participated in a democracy summit called by Biden.

In the highest level contact since the exchange, Blinken called Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and "reaffirmed the importance of the enduring US-Israel bilateral relationship," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

Blinken also discussed Iran, seen by Netanyahu as a paramount threat, and renewed US support for a Palestinian state -- an idea rejected by much of Netanyahu's hard-right government.

The top US diplomat "emphasized the importance of refraining from unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions," Patel said in a statement.

'Great ally'

Cohen, in a statement on Twitter, said he talked about "the judicial reform", among other topics, adding that "our relationship with the United States is one of the pillars of our foreign policy."

"We will continuously work to strengthen the dialogue with this great ally", Cohen added.

Biden, who has known Netanyahu for decades, took office hoping to avoid a replay of the public feuding with the Israeli leader seen when he was Barack Obama's vice president.

But the State Department issued strong condemnation after Israel's parliament voted to annul a US-backed rule against certain settlements in the West Bank, and denounced one of Netanyahu's ministers over remarks denying the existence of the Palestinian people.

A senior Israeli official, on condition of anonymity, said Cohen had spoken to several US government officials, after Biden said he hoped the Israeli government would abandon its judicial reform or find a compromise with the opposition.

The proposed reforms would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over the selection of judges.

After three months of tensions that split the nation, triggered protests by tens of thousands, and a general strike, Netanyahu on Monday announced a "pause" for dialogue on the measures.

The government, a coalition between Netanyahu's Likud party and extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies, argues the reforms are needed to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary.

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A state founded on fairness, friendship, and freedom

William Penn became famous for founding the English province of Pennsylvania in the 1600s, which many call Americas original melting pot society. Penn stood out in American history for several things that he did differently than most colonists, including his unique way of dealing with Native American tribes.

Penn was also known to be a champion of freedom, and his first form of government helped pave the way for the U.S. Constitution. Penn once said, There can be no friendship where there is no freedom. Friendship loves a free air and will not be penned up in straight and narrow enclosures.

Penn was born to a wealthy family in England in 1644, and his father was the Lord High Admiral, or leader, of the English Navy. Penns father encouraged his son to follow in his footsteps and learn diplomacy. Penn attended Oxford University until he decided to reject Anglicanism and was expelled in 1662 for becoming a Quaker.

William Penn founded the Colony of Pennsylvania based on his Quaker beliefs. Portrait of William Penn, 18th century, anonymous. (Public Domain)

Penn then traveled throughout England and preached his Quaker beliefs which landed him in prison several times. He eventually became a leader in religious reform in England as he used his connections with the royal family gained through his father to free many religious prisoners in the country.

After a while, Penn gave up on his fight for religious freedom in England and chose to develop a Quaker colony in America, seeing it as a safe haven for those who faced religious persecution. To a friend living in the American colonies, Penn wrote, There may be room there, though not here for such a holy experiment.

Penn eventually secured a deal with King Charles II to acquire a 45,000-square mile plot of land west of New Jersey and north of Maryland, making him the largest private (non-royal) landowner in the world.

The king gave the land to Penn for his new Quaker safe haven in 1681 due to a debt that he owed Penns father. Penn first named the area New Wales, and then Sylvania which is Latin for woods or forests. The king, however, then changed the name to Pennsylvania, which means Penns forest, in honor of Penns father.

First Frame of Government

Once Penn finalized the acquisition of land, he quickly began formulating a legal framework for a free society. Before Penn ever set foot on the new land he wrote the First Frame of Government, which was adopted in the colony in April 1682.

In the document laying out the rules of his new colony, Penn expressed similar ideals to those that would nearly a century later be expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Men being born with a title to perfect freedom and uncontrolled enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of nature  no one can be put out of his estate and subjected to the political view of another, without his consent, Penns First Frame of Government stated.

In Pennsylvanias first form of government, residents had the right to secured private property, a free press, virtually unlimited free enterprise, trial by jury, and religious toleration. The new colonys penal code only gave the death penalty for treason and murder compared to the 200 charges that could get someone executed under the English penal code. The framework also included an amending clause so it could be altered as necessity required, which was the first time such a clause was put into any written constitution.

Penn also believed in having low taxes in the colony. He passed laws that imposed low taxes on liquor and cider, and a low tariff on imports and exported furs and hides.

Penn then made the gruesome voyage across the Atlantic in 1682 on the ship Welcome. Despite hardship on the journey, including losing a third of the ships passengers due to a smallpox outbreak, Penn arrived at his colony on Nov. 8, 1682.

As soon as Penn arrived in the American colonies, he gathered with his Quaker friends to establish the first city in the colony. He laid the city out in a grid pattern and named it Philadelphia, which is Greek for city of brotherly love. A mere four years after Penn established the city, it had thousands of residents from many ethnicities and religious backgrounds.

The Great Treaty

Penns Treaty, 1847, by Edward Hicks. (Public Domain)

Before he moved to his new colony, Penn knew that he had one more hurdle to cross, as he had heard from his friends in America that the land he was granted by the king was already inhabited by indigenous tribes. Penn had wanted to change the way colonists had dealt with Native American tribes after hearing about the brutal conquering and takeovers of land that occurred in parts of New England and Maryland.

Since he was devoted to his Quaker religion, Penn was a pacifist and did not believe in violence. In fact, Pennsylvania was started as the only colony in America that did not have an army.

Penn strongly believed that he could create peace with the indigenous tribes and not resort to war and bloodshed as other colonists had. Before Penn even arrived, he wrote a letter to tribal leaders telling them that he was coming to settle in their land as, by that time, many tribal leaders has dealt with English colonists or had translators to interpret.

He told them that he regretted the unkindness and injustice that Native Americans had experienced with other Europeans and he promised that his Pennsylvania would be different. He said that, because God commanded his Quaker people to love others, he and those in his colony would treat the indigenous people with peace, fairness, and honesty. From the time he arrived, Penn and the Quakers refused to take any land unless the indigenous people, who had been living there for several years, agreed to it.

Penn made a peaceful purchase of the land from the Lenape tribe in 1682. This is the belt of wampum delivered by Native Peoples to William Penn at the Great Treaty. (Public Domain)

He was able to achieve peaceful relations with the Susquehannocks, Shawnees, and Leni-Lenape tribes. The Native Americans respected Penns courage, as he was known to visit the tribes without having personal guards or weapons on him.

He was known to be a fast runner who could sprint away from the Native American warriors, which helped him gain respect among the tribes. He also learned the Native American languages so that he could conduct his negotiations and communicate with the tribes without a translator.

In 1682, under a large elm tree, Penn made a peaceful purchase of the land from the leaders of the Lenape tribe in the village of Shackamaxon. It was reported that Penn paid a total of 1,200 for the land and he invited the native people to visit Philadelphia any time they desired. Penn also probably made multiple payments to the same tribe due to the fact that several of the tribal people had claims to various portions of the land.

Years later, the deal Penn made with the Native American tribes earned the nicknames The Great Treaty or Penns Treaty. During the 18th century, French philosopher Voltaire famously labeled the treaty as the only treaty between those people [Indians] and Christians that was not ratified by an oath, and that was never infringed. In 1771, painter Benjamin West gave Penns meeting with the Native Americans a new life, when he painted Penns Treaty with the Indians.

Penn Returns to England

In 1684, Penn left America and headed back to England to visit his family and attempt to solve a territorial dispute with Lord Baltimore. Penn and Lord Baltimore had a disagreement regarding where Pennsylvania ended and Maryland started which led to an 80-year legal dispute between the two families.

Penn returned to Philadelphia in December 1699 on a ship called the Canterbury. Pennsylvania now had over 18,000 residents and Philadelphia was a booming city.

Penns second stint living in his American colony was also shortlived as he and his family decided to move back to England in 1701, where he passed away in 1718. Even though Penn only lived in his American colony for a total of four years, he laid the groundwork for the State of Pennsylvania, which was the second of the original 13 states to join the Union in 1787.
World Should Face Reality on Climate Change, Says Former Australian PM

Centre-right Liberal Party must reject labels that it's not inclusive, Howard says

Former Prime Minister John Howard during the launch of "The Art of Coalition" book at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on June 23, 2022. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

BRISBANEThe world should face the reality that it may have got it wrong on climate change, says former Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Howard, who served as the Australian leader from 1996 to 2007, made the comments while appealing to the centre-right Liberal Party not to abandon its position on critical issues, warning that conservatives had stopped arguing their case.

I am so worried about what the world is doing on climate change, and Im worried about what Australia is doing, he told an event hosted by the Centre for Independent Studies on March 30 in Brisbane.

Howard pointed to the performance of the Greens and Nationalsthe parties with the most forthright positions on climate changeas proof that having a firm view on the issue would yield better election results.

I dont think theres anything wrong with [the Liberal Partys] fundamental position on these issues, although I think we have to face the reality that the world could well have got it wrong on climate change, he added.

The Liberal and Labor parties have struggled with ideological shifts within their ranks, with proponents calling for more progressive-leaning policies to appease inner-city and younger voters. Climate change and net-zero are key issues at the heart of this schism.

If I were the prime minister of India, the last thing I would want is to stop importing fossil fuels from Australia, Howard said. My sacred duty would be to increase the size of the Indian middle class.

India has continued increasing its construction of coal-fired power plants and imports of coal to fuel the growth of its burgeoning economy; at the same time, developed nations look to cut back on their involvement in carbon-emitting industries.

If you believe in free enterprise, and you believe in the capacity of private investors to do better than government, he said. If you believe in those things, youve got to find a better way of arguing the case. Theres nothing wrong with what we believe in.

Howard Criticises Victorian Leaders Actions on Trans Debate

Howard pointed to the near-expulsion of Victorian state MP Moira Deeming as an example of political leaders losing their way.

Deeming was suspended from the party for nine months after she attended a womens rights rally on March 18 in Melbourne.

The rally was met with a counter-protest involving hundreds of LGBTQ advocates and gate-crashed by neo-Nazi protestors. Subsequently, media outlets soon linked womens rights advocates to neo-Nazism.

Victorian state Liberal leader John Pesutto was quick to condemn Deemings attendance and moved to expel her from the party.

However, a party meeting saw the leader back down after senior figures stood by Deemings conduct.

The new material she supplied this morning opened the doorway to a sensible proposal that I put to the party room that saw her accept the nine months [suspension], losing the party whip position as well, Pesutto said.

The conduct that I wanted condemned has been condemned, he said.

We are committed to being a welcoming, engaging, and inclusive party, there for all, no matter what your background.

Related Coverage Liberal Leader Backs Down as Moira Deeming Suspended, Not Expelled

Howard called this episode an absolute farce.

Who said we werent [an inclusive party]? Our opponents said we werent, he said.

The former prime minister said when he joined in 1974, his branch was comprised of people from all walks of life, including teachers and haberdashers.

I didnt think I was joining some odd group of white male exclusionists.

I think we accept labels put on us by our opponents. We should reject them, he added. Every time I hear a Liberal [member] saying, Oh, look, weve got to do more, weve got to be more inclusive, youve got to be kinder and nicer.'

What theyre really saying is the criticism is rightwell, theyre not right. Theyre not right.
Worst Case of Prosecutorial Abuse: Alan Dershowitz Reacts to Trump Indictment

Attorney Alan Dershowitz, then member of President Donald Trump's legal team, speaks to the press in the Senate Reception Room during the Senate impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 29, 2020. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz harshly criticized the indictment of former President Donald Trump, describing it as an extreme case of prosecutorial misconduct.

In 60 years of practice, this is the worst case of prosecutorial abuse I have ever seen, Dershowitz told The Epoch Times on March 30. Whats really unprecedented is not the indictment of a past president, but the indictment of a potential future president who is running against the head of the party of the man who indicted him.

Its very dangerousit means that district attorneys can indict their own political enemies, the scholar said. It really endangers the rule of law for all Americans. Today, its Trump; tomorrow, its a Democrat. The day after tomorrow, its your uncle Charlie, or your niece, or your nephew.

Dershowitz was responding to the news that a Manhattan jury voted to indict Trump on charges surrounding alleged hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, making Trump the first former president to be criminally charged in the nations history. It spawned from an investigation conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office that included grand jury testimony by Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen and Cohens former lawyer, Robert Costello.

Days before the 2016 presidential election, Cohen allegedly paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence on an alleged 2006 tryst between her and Trumpwhich the former president denies. Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance laws in 2018 for arranging payment to Daniels and another woman claiming to have had an affair with Trump. In his guilty plea, Cohen claims to have done so at Trumps direction and was reimbursed by the Trump Organization through routine legal expenses.

While no charges have been announced, Dershowitz said Bragg likely relied on elevating a charge of falsifying business records involving the payment to Danielsa misdemeanorto a felony by tying it to a federal charge of campaign finance violation.

In order to turn the state statute into a felony, you have to borrow a federal statute, Dershowitz told The Epoch Times in an interview earlier in March. He said that this combining of laws seems to raise real serious legal questions.

Nobody should ever be arrested based on made-up laws or combining a federal and state statute, Dershowitz told The Epoch Times in an interview on March 18. I taught criminal law for 50 years at Harvard, and the one rule was, no creativity is permitted by prosecutors. The law has to be clear.

In Braggs case, what theyre trying to do is add one and one, and come up with 11. No rational person would look at these two statutes and say that Trump violated them, Dershowitz said. Thomas Jefferson once put it very nicely: For a criminal statute to be constitutional, the average person has to be able to understand it if he reads it while running.

The case pursued by Bragg, a Democrat, is politically motivated, Dershowitz says.

When you get a district attorney, who ran as a Democrat, promising to get Trump indicting the man whos trying to unseat, essentially, his bossthe President of the United States, a Democratthe case should be a slam dunk, it should be very strong, Dershowitz said. If the indictment tracks that weve seenand were not sure about thatthis is the weakest case in the sixty years Ive been practicing criminal law.

Its not a righteous prosecution. Its not a just prosecution. And I think every libertarian, whether youre conservative, or liberal, should be opposed to it, he said. There seem to be two systems of justice in Americaone for the rest of us, and the other for Trumpand thats the thesis of my book, Get Trump. There is a special system of targeted injustice against Trump, and this is coming from a liberal Democrat who voted against him twice.

Dershowitz dismissed the idea that these cases would exert a material impact on Trumps candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.

Hes not going to get prison. Nonetheless, he can run as a convicted defendant, Dershowitz said, referring to the 2024 election. He can run from prison.

Theyre just rummaging through the law books and doing everything they can to get him, but I dont think theyve succeeded, he added. I cant imagine that an appellate court would ever hold this, but I dont think Bragg cares about this. He wants the publicity of a perp walk and an arrest.

Trump issued a statement on Thursday afternoon responding to the news of his indictment, calling it political persecution and election interference.

From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democratsthe enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Countryhave been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement, Trump wrote in a statement posted on Truth Social on Thursday.

Never before in our Nations history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever.

Trump, a Florida resident, is expected to be arraigned next week in New York.

This evening we contacted Mr. Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal, reads a statement from Braggs office, sent to media outlets on Thursday. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.

Joseph Tacopina, Trumps lawyer on this case, told The Epoch Times on Thursday that Trumps arraignment is expected to occur early next week.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis echoed Trumps view in a statement promptly following the release of the news, saying that Bragg is stretching the law in prosecuting Trump and that Florida will not assist with an extradition request.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head, DeSantis wrote in a post on Twitter on Thursday. Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.

The Epoch Times contacted Braggs office for comment.
EAST ST. LOUIS  A federal jury on Wednesday returned guilty verdicts against a St. Louis man accused of several attempted sex crimes against a minor.

Vallie Francis Zeller, 46, was found guilty of attempted enticement of a minor, travel with intent to engage in sexual conduct with a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.

Zeller was charged with setting up a June 2020 meeting in Collinsville for sex with what he believed to be a 15-year-old girl. Instead, Zeller was communicating online with an FBI agent.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 18. Zeller faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

The defendant deliberately tried to exploit a minor for sexual activity and chose to drive across state lines to engage in criminal sex acts, and Im grateful the jury convicted him on all counts, said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. The FBI works diligently to protect minors from online predators, and I appreciate their collaboration with our office to put this offender behind bars.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, Zeller started conversing on an online platform with a profile created by an undercover FBI agent in June 2020. The agent was posing as a 15-year-old girl, and Zeller began sexually explicit conversations with the account, requested sexually explicit images of the minor, and made plans to meet for illegal sexual activity, knowing she was a minor.

On Wednesday, Zeller was convicted of driving across the Missouri-Illinois border to engage in criminal sexual activity once the agent gave him an address for a residence in Collinsville to meet the purported minor. In addition, during the conversation over several days, Zeller asked the alleged girl for nude photographs and other sexually explicit content.

The FBIs investigation revealed a deliberate attempt by Vallie Zeller to victimize a child. Our utilization of proactive investigative techniques stopped Zeller from completing the harm he intended, said David Nanz, FBI Springfield Field Office special agent in charge. We are grateful to the many law enforcement partners who participated in this investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Zoe Gross are prosecuting the case.

Zeller was one of 14 defendants charged by the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Southern District of Illinois in June 2020 as the result of an operation involving multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies that targeted online predators attempting to meet minors for sex.

The FBI Springfield Field Office led the investigation with assistance by the FBI St. Louis Field Office, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Belleville Police Department, the Collinsville Police Department, the Edwardsville Police Department, the Franklin County Sheriffs Office, the Illinois State Police, the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Swansea Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Alton Jail, the Monroe County Jail, and the St. Clair County Jail.
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EDWARDSVILLE  Three local residents are vying for two seats on the District 7 school board, and voters will make their decisions Tuesday.

Those competing for the positions are current board member Jill Bertels; former school board member Lelan Olsen; and community member and parent Robert "Bob" Paty.

The League of Women Voters of the Edwardsville area and the Edwardsville branch of the NAACP sponsored a March 15 candidate forum that included the trio of school board candidates. It was held at the Wildey Theatre in downtown Edwardsville.

At the forum, Bertels and Olsen specifically said they support District 7's referendum asking voters to allow the system to issue $100 million in bonds to pay for extensive facilities improvements across the district.

This week, Paty said he supports the referendum but does have some questions about the financial figures. He said, if elected, he will further research the district's numbers.

Among the three candidates, they identify the referendum, with emphasis on facility safety and quality; staff retention; and education quality as top issues for Edwardsville schools.

Jill Bertels

A current board member, Bertels said she looks forward to the future. She noted her experience, and said she is here to stay.

"I'm running for re-election to the school board because I value education and I'm excited about the direction that District 7 is taking," Bertels said.

She was initially elected to the Edwardsville board of education in August 1999 and was last re-elected to the board in spring 2019. She has served as secretary, vice president and president as well as on various committees and as a diversity and equity liaison.

She currently sits on the finance and facilities committees. She served as chairman of the building committee during past major facilities work in District 7.

Bertels lives in Dorsey in the northern part of District 7. She has lived in the district her entire life.

"I understand that the decisions that the board makes will impact my family as well as all the other students in the district and the staff that works within the buildings." she said.

Bertels said the district's referendum next week, if passed, allows improvement and additions to school buildings. She noted the safety issues to be addressed in the facilities plan, too.

She called the referendum and facilities improvements, particularly security upgrades, the top issue facing the district. Second on the priority list is staff retention, Bertels added.

Lelan Olsen

A previous District 7 school board member from 2013-21, Olsen is owner of Olsen Veterinary Clinic. The veterinarian and his family moved to the Edwardsville area in 1998.

"We need experience at the table," Olsen says in campaign materials. "We need to have continuity when making tough decisions."

At the forum, he said, "Experience matters. I am pragmatic and a good listener who is a team player but, when needed, a leader who leads by example."

He noted that many qualities he needs as business owner translate to make him a good candidate to help lead District 7 schools. Olsen said these include creativity and being able to "think outside the box."

"Above all, communication is essential," Olsen said. "We are expected to be caretakers for the stakeholders and make the tough decisions to lead the district.

"There may be a time when our decisions are not in line with the public's opinions, but we need to have a backbone to stand by and support our decisions," he said.

As to the District 7 bond issue referendum on the April 4 ballot, Olsen is a supporter.

"The passage of the bond goes a long ways with one of my campaign's platforms: That is, providing a safe and secure environment for each and every student and faculty member," Olsen said. "We need to update the facilities so we are not on the news as a casualty.

"The passage of the bond issue will provide for this in all of the district's learning centers," he said.

Robert "Bob" Paty

Paty, who has three children who attend District 7 schools, said value is his focus. He and his family have lived in Edwardsville or Glen Carbon since 2014.

"I think it's all about value," Paty said. "One of the things that I would like to focus on is bringing value to the students, to parents, to teachers and, through that, to the community.

"I believe government should be able to demonstrate its value to the community in every decision it makes. Schools demonstrate value through the success of their students," Paty also said, via his website.

Paty is a U.S. Navy veteran who has worked as a corporate finance manager and IT program manager and served as treasurer of the Glen Carbon Centennial Library. He also has been a stay-at-home dad.

At the March 15 candidate forum, he brought up the topic of ensuring that students receive a good education. The district must be able to measure results of solid curriculum, he noted.

Paty said school board members need to "help push the goals and make sure that the mission is more than just having words on a paper but it can actually be tracked with the metrics that we align it to."

Video of the March 15 candidate forum can be viewed in its entirety here.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The city of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights signed a court-enforceable settlement agreement Friday to revamp policing in the city where George Floyd was murdered by an officer nearly three years ago.

The agency issued a blistering report last year after an investigation found the police department had engaged in a pattern of race discrimination for at least a decade. The City Council approved the settlement in an 11-0 vote. Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero signed it soon after.

"The agreement isn't change, in and of itself, but it charts a clear roadmap to it, Frey said at a news conference.

Lucero said: This agreement serves as a model for how cities, police departments and community members across the country can work together to address race-based policing and strengthen public safety.

The state agency launched its investigation shortly after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for 9 1/2 minutes on May 25, 2020, disregarding the Black man's fading pleas that he couldn't breathe. Floyd's death sparked mass protests around the world, forced a national reckoning on racial injustice, and compelled a Minneapolis Police Department overhaul.

Chauvin was convicted of murder. He and three other officers on the scene are serving prison terms.

We didn't get here overnight, and change also won't happen overnight," Frey said. "This problem that we now face, it has taken hold over many generations, many administrations, mayors and chiefs, and clearly our Black and brown communities have taken the brunt of this.

Lucero said the legally binding agreement requires the city and the police department to make transformational changes" to fix the organizational culture at the heart of race-based policing.

She said it includes measures to ensure force is used only when it is objectively reasonable, necessary and proportional and never to punish or retaliate. Officers must de-escalate conflicts when possible. There will be limits on when and how officers can use chemical irritants and Tasers. And training in the disputed condition of excited delirium  a key issue in the confrontation that led to Floyd's death  will be banned. Stops for broken lights and searches based on the alleged smell of marijuana are banned.

Frey, Lucero and Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the agreement reflects feedback from and the concerns of the community and police officers.

The court-enforceable agreement does not prohibit officers from relying on reasonable, articulatable suspicion or probable cause of criminal activity to enforce the law. We want officers to do their jobs," Lucero said.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and other lawyers who won a $27 million settlement for the Floyd family called the agreement monumental and the culmination of years of heartbreak and advocacy by those impacted by the poor policies and practices of the Minneapolis Police Department.

The U.S. Department of Justice is still investigating whether Minneapolis police engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination. That investigation could lead to a separate agreement with the city known as a consent decree. City officials couldn't provide information on where that stands.

Several police departments nationwide operate under federal consent decrees. Justice Department and city officials asked a judge Tuesday to end most federal oversight of the Seattle police department, saying its sustained, decade-long reform efforts are a model for other cities.

The Minneapolis settlement, which requires court approval, also governs the use of body-worn and dashboard cameras; officer wellness; and response to mental health and behavioral crises. An independent evaluator must be appointed to monitor compliance.

Several council members criticized the police department and other city leaders.

The lack of political will to take responsibility for MPD is why we are in this position today, council member Robin Wonsley said. This legal settlement formally and legally prevents city leadership from deferring that responsibility anymore. And I hope this settlement is a wake-up call for city leaders, who the public has watched rubber-stamp poor labor contracts, have signed off on endless misconduct settlements, and then shrugged their shoulders when residents asked then why we have a dysfunctional police department.

Some activists were upset that the agreement wasnt posted publicly until after the vote.

Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said she will ask the state data practices office whether the council acted legally. She said her group must study the agreement before commenting on its merits.

This is not the way to start this process and vote on something the communitys going to have to live with for the next five or six years, Gross said.

Even council members had only about a day to study and discuss the document.

This is something weve been waiting for for a long time and my hope is the city will act with fidelity, the city will act with integrity, and the city will follow through. civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong said.
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TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed to Belarus along with part of Russia's tactical nuclear arsenal, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday, ramping up his rhetoric amid tensions with the West over the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that his country plans to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The strategic nuclear weapons such as missile-borne warheads that Lukashenko mentioned during his state-of-the nation address would pose an even greater threat, if Moscow moves them to the territory of its neighbor and ally.

Belarus was a staging ground for Russian troops to launch their invasion of Ukraine a little over 13 months ago. Lukashenko, in office since 1994, delivered his annual address amid escalating tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

Both he and Putin have alleged that Western powers want to ruin Russia and Belarus.

Putin and I will decide and introduce here, if necessary, strategic weapons, and they must understand this, the scoundrels abroad, who today are trying to blow us up from inside and outside," the Belarusian leader said. "We will protect our sovereignty and independence by any means necessary, including through the nuclear arsenal.

While Putin emphasized that Russia will retain control over the tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, Lukashenko charged that he also will have a say.

Dont say we will just be looking after them, and these are not our weapons," he said. "These are our weapons and they will contribute to ensuring sovereignty and independence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday denounced Putin's plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus as a reflection of Russia's battlefield setbacks and its increasing global isolation. Zelenskyy argued that it also means Lukashenko has yielded completely to Moscow's control, adding: "I think he no longer decides which weapons are located on his territory.

Putin has said that construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be completed by July 1 and added that Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

While the deployment of Russian short-range tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would put them closer to potential targets in Ukraine and NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe, it wouldn't make much sense for the Kremlin to station any of its strategic nuclear-tipped missiles on Belarusian territory. Those missiles have intercontinental range and can reach a target anywhere around the world from their positions in Russia.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was forced to leave Belarus under official pressure after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election that the opposition and the West rejected as rigged, denounced Lukashenko's push for Russian nuclear weapons as a betrayal of national interests.

The deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus put the lives of Belarusians in serious danger and turns our country into a potential target for strikes, including nuclear strikes at the whim of the two dictators, Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press.

Russia's political and economic support helped Lukashenko survive months of major opposition protests, and he has grown increasingly dependent on the Kremlin.

Earlier in the address, Lukashenko called for a cease-fire in Ukraine. A truce must be announced without any preconditions, and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted, he said.

Ukraine's presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, quickly dismissed the proposal, saying that any cease-fire would allow Russia to stay in the occupied territories.

This is totally inadmissible, he tweeted.

Belarus and Russia have intensified their military cooperation since the start of the Ukraine war. Moscow has kept its troops and weapons in Belarus, although no Belarusian troops have participated in the fighting.

Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan all relinquished Soviet nuclear weapons, which were left on their terrotories after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Under the so-called Budapest Memorandum that accompanied giving up the weapons, Russia, the United States and Britain agreed to respect the territorial integrity of those countries.

Ukraine has repeatedly complained that Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and the 2022 invasion violate that agreement.

Lukashenko said Friday that he didn't want to lose his country's nuclear weapons, but was pressured into doing so by then Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Speaking about the possible deployment of Russian strategic nuclear weapons to Belarus in Friday's speech, Lukashenko said that a week ago he ordered his military to immediately put the former base for Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles in order to make it ready for use.

It's a highly technologically sophisticated structure, he said.

All the infrastructure has been created and is standing ready, Lukashenko declared. I'm sure that those measures will help sober up all those hawks across the ocean and their satellites for a long time ahead and force them to reckon with our people if they don't understand different language.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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NEW YORK (AP)  If you didnt know what you were looking for, you mightve missed it. Even then, it was hard to know at the moment that history was unfolding before your eyes.

Donald Trumps indictment, the first of a former U.S. president, was quietly brought to the clerks office at the Manhattan criminal courthouse just before closing time Thursday.

A woman and two men in suits walked in past reporters whove been staking out the office for weeks, turned a corner and disappeared through a door to a non-public area known as the indictment room.

The vibe in the room shifted, and then around the courthouse, too.

The clerks office, normally a bustle of lawyers and paralegals seeking case files and submitting papers, people posting bail and court employees cracking jokes, grew quiet and tense.

Moments later, just before 5 p.m., when a reporter asked if there were any filings involving People v. Donald Trump  her customary end-of-day question in recent days  a usually cheerful clerk sternly replied: We have no information on that case. The office is closing. You have to leave.

The reporters, from outlets including The Associated Press, The New York Times, New York Post and legal publication Law360, left the office and stood outside in the hallway, watching through glass doors as workers turned out the lights and the people whod walked in a few minutes earlier worked in darkness inside filing the indictment.

After visiting the clerks office for weeks, this was all very strange, said Frank G. Runyeon, a reporter for Law360. Very unusual and we knew something was up.

As the people continued to work, and reporters peered in at what was going on, court officers came to the hallway and shooed the press away. That floor of the courthouse was now closed, they said.

The indictment remains under seal, its contents secret, likely until Trump is arraigned. But news of the indictment, voted on by a grand jury sitting in a court building across the street from the criminal courthouse, broke shortly after 5 p.m. in The New York Times. It was confirmed minutes later by Trumps lawyers and ultimately in a brief statement from the Manhattan district attorney's office.

The indictment was broadly expected for two weeks, with Trump himself even saying he expected to be arrested. Yet it still came as a surprise. Reports in recent days had indicated that the grand jury was about to go on a lengthy, scheduled break and wasnt expected to be dealing with the Trump matter until late April.

The announcement sent television crews pouring onto the sidewalks around the courthouse complex and brought a handful of demonstrators carrying banners and posters  some who opposed Trump and some that supported him.

Police surrounded the courthouse into the evening, with flood lights illuminating the sidewalk and streets.

Ditte Lynge, who works for a Danish newspaper that has been staking out the courthouse all week, was among the reporters who rushed to the scene.

Everyones following whats going on over here," she said of her audience back home. This is historical. Its the first time that a former American president has been indicted. So of course, it has a lot of interest."

___

Associated Press writer Bobby Caina Calvan contributed to this report.
BEIRUT (AP)  Israeli airstrikes hit the suburbs of Syria's capital city early Friday for the second day in a row, killing an Iranian adviser, the state media of Syria and Iran reported.

Loud explosions were heard over Damascus shortly after midnight Thursday, according to residents in the capital and the state news agency SANA. The airstrikes came after similar attacks early Thursday.

SANA said Syrian air defenses confronted "hostile targets, adding that the strike caused material damage. SANA said some of the Israeli missiles were shot down by air defenses.

Iran's state television reported Friday that Milad Heidari, an Iranian military adviser, was killed during what it called a criminal strike by Israel early Friday morning in Syria. Without giving Heidari's rank, the report called him a guard of Islam. The outlet said he was a member of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and warned Israel will receive an answer for the crime.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strikes targeted an arms depot for government forces and Iran-backed groups just south of Damascus.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges specific operations.

Israel says it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanons Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assads forces.

An Israeli airstrike last week targeting the airport in Aleppo put it out of commission for two days.

Israel has also struck seaports in government-held areas of Syria, in an apparent attempt to prevent Iranian arms shipments to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Hezbollah.
Belarusian strongman and close Kremlin ally Alexander Lukashenko called Friday for a "truce" in Ukraine and talks "without preconditions" between Moscow and Kyiv.

"We must stop now, before an escalation begins. I'll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities... a declaration of a truce," Lukashenko said during a televised state of the nation address.

"All territorial, reconstruction, security and other issues can and should be settled at the negotiation table, without preconditions," added Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994.

He also said that Western support for Kyiv was increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war breaking out in Ukraine.

"As a result of the efforts of the United States and its satellites, a full-scale war has been unleashed in (Ukraine)... a third world war with nuclear fires looms on the horizon," he said.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced that it is aware of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and will discuss it with him in the coming days.

However, as per the Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, some aspects of the peace plan proposed by China cannot be implemented due to Ukraine's obedience to orders from the West not to negotiate with Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss Lukashenko's call for negotiations, but it is currently impossible to achieve the goals of the ongoing "special military operation" in Ukraine, Peskov added.

Belarus has allowed Russian forces to use its territory as a launchpad for Moscow's offensive, but Lukashenko has so far refused to send troops over the border.

Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in the Moscow-allied country, drawing condemnation from the West.

Belarus said it was forced to host Russian nuclear weapons because of "unprecedented" Western pressure, insisting their deployment did not violate international agreements.

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Linkedin Sheena Suparman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, March 31, 2023 19:07 24 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b05398e62 4 Economy SDGs,ASEAN Free

The achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is usually more successful when it is treated as a grassroot initiative from the people and by the people. Based on this perception, the localization of SDGs down to the village level is regarded as the best regional approach in ASEAN.

The approach was agreed upon and announced by ASEAN member countries in Bangkok on March 31, as part of the Joint Statement of the Second ASEAN Ministerial Dialogue on Accelerating Actions to Achieve SDGs.

Moreover, since 2020 Indonesia has been implementing the Village SDGs as a form of localizing the SDGs to the villages. It's time for the governance and results of the Village SDGs to be conveyed to the international public," said Ivanovich Agusta, Head of Development and Information Agency for Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration.

The core of the SDGs for village empowerment is to embolden the voices of local communities, including rural areas, and promote sustainability goals on a regional level. This includes facilitating networking and dialogue among ASEAN villages and various relevant stakeholders, carried out through partnerships between member countries and beyond, toward inclusive rural development.

The meeting in Bangkok was attended by Yanuar Nugroho, the expert coordinator of the National Secretariat for Sustainable Development Goals, National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas). He was joined by the delegates from the Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry Ivanovich Agusta, Fince Decima Hasibuan, Theresia Junidar, Sudarti, Minarni Marbun and Yoga Sidharta.

In line with the post-pandemic recovery, ASEAN agrees to prioritize certain issues, such as the first goal, which is to eradicate poverty, and to increase job opportunities and economic growth, which occupies the eighth goal on the list.

Moreover, it is also agreed upon by member nations to provide accelerated action to narrow the gap on the third goal, on health and well-being, sixth on clean water and sanitation, 11th on cities and communities, 12th on responsible consumption and production, 13th on climate action, and 14th about life below water.

In order to further ensure the success of the initiatives, it was agreed upon by all parties that they would take action to strengthen data systems and institutions to track the implementation and progress of the SDGs. It is also coupled with the commitment to create and maintain a conducive financial environment, which aims to mobilize development financing that closes the gap in financing activities related to achieving the said goals.

Staying true to the gotong royong term that was put forth by the Indonesian leadership in recent years, the chairmanship once again stresses the importance of enhanced regional cooperation and partnership to ensure that no country is left behind. All parties agreed to adopt the terms of reference of the ASEAN Ministerial Dialogue on Accelerated Action on SDGs as a platform for strengthening cooperation among nations, exchanging knowledge, good practices and building capacity.

Furthermore, if deemed necessary, ASEAN will review the COVID-19 recovery strategy, to align and synergize with national development policies and financing frameworks that focus on SDGs, as well as exploring more approaches to promoting synergies with other ASEAN organs, sectoral bodies and ASEAN-related mechanisms to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.

With external parties, it was agreed to strengthen cooperation on SDGs by implementing ASEAN's views on the Indo-Pacific, through open, inclusive and mutually beneficial activities with external partners.

This article was published in collaboration with Ministry of Village, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration

Topics : SDGs ASEAN
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Linkedin Nur Janti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, March 31, 2023

Activists have warned that public faith in the Constitutional Courts integrity is at risk after its ethics council found that a new justice was guilty of breaching the code of ethics, leading to questions as to whether the top court can carry out its role as guardian of the Constitution.

The ethics council decided on March 20 only to issue a written warning to new justice Guntur Hamzah for his unethical conduct in altering a court ruling challenging the dismissal of his predecessor without the knowledge of the other justices.

The Indonesia Center for Law and Policy Studies (PSHK) has said that Guntur's move not only undermines public trust in the Constitutional Court but also compromises the transparency and legitimacy of the rule of law.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, March 31, 2023

The Defense Ministrys Research and Development Agency (Balitbang) conducted a series of functionality tests on the prototype IFAR 22 assault rifle at its laboratory in Batujajar district, West Bandung regency, West Java, private arms maker PT Republik Armamen Industri said in a statement on March 24.

The company said IFAR 22 was its first bullpup assault rifle, which uses a gas piston system with a weight of 3.6 kilogram for rifle with 16-inch barrel and 3.7 kg for 20-inch barrel with a caliber of 5.56mm.

Bullpup refers to a firearm configuration where the mechanism and magazine are located behind the trigger, as opposed to in front of the trigger in conventional configuration.

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Linkedin Reuters Jakarta  Fri, March 31, 2023 14:44 24 5fceed71997e5776a1634d25dc3ad41d 2 Society Crime-Law-Justice,crime,Diplomacy-Foreign-Policy,Government-Politics,Indonesia,Russia Free

Indonesia and Russia signed an extradition agreement on Friday, with the Southeast Asian country's law minister welcoming a move that he said should strengthen efforts to combat cross-border crimes, ranging from money laundering to cybercrime.

The treaty was signed by Indonesia's law minister Yasonna Laoly and Russia's justice minister Konstantin Chuychenko in an ceremony held on the resort island of Bali.

"This is very important as it helps us to deal with transnational crimes such as cybercrime, money laundering, drugs and corruption," said Yasonna.

Indonesia has had diplomatic ties with Russia since 1950 and its relations have remained good despite the war in Ukraine.

Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo also visited Moscow and Kyiv last year in a bid to rekindle peace talks and seek ways to free up grain to global markets.

Russian nationals are also among the biggest groups of foreign arrivals in Indonesia, according to official tourism data. Since COVID-19 restrictions were eased, more than 77,500 Russians arrived in Indonesia between September 2022 and January 2023.
GoPay sees digital donations remain popular, especially during Ramadan

.

While public activities started returning to normalcy last year, digital donation remained popular among Indonesians. In 2022, digital donations made through GoPay surpassed Rp 154 billion, indicating that donating digital platforms is still the preferred method for many.

The high interest of digital donations has also led GoPay to once again be named as the Best Collection Partner through Fintech by the National Alms Agency (BAZNAS) for four consecutive years.

Budi Gandasoebrata, Managing Director of Gopay, said in a statement, During the pandemic, people adopted new habits including getting accustomed to donating through digital platforms. Last year, although the public activities had returned to normalcy, we discovered that people were still excited to donate through digital platforms, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.

Budi added, Last year, we also saw that BAZNAS remained the most-trusted zakat charity institutions and most-used platform for GoPay users to share kindness, through donations, zakat, infaq and even alms.

GoTo Financial Head of Regulatory Affairs , Yogi Harsudino received the 2023 BAZNAS Award for Best Collection Partner through Fintech from BAZNAS representative KH. Achmad Sudrajat.

The importance of digital donations in overcoming barriers to support the community cannot be understated. In line with this digital innovation, BAZNAS, the official board responsible for managing Zakat, has continuously supported GoPays technology to modernize the donation efforts for the benefit of the community.

BAZNAS head, Prof. Dr. KH. Noor Achmad expressed his gratitude for the donations received in 2022. We express our sincere gratitude to everyone in Indonesia for their generous donations, which are eagerly awaited by the needy community. As we enter the festive season of Ramadan, let us encourage each other to donate using a trusted platform like GoPay, which provides easy access to donations.

Noor explained that the pandemic had increased the amount of donations, saying that the board saw a 40 percent increase in donations compared to the period before the pandemic. Interestingly, most of the donations came from the younger generation. With that in mind, GoPay and Baznas seek to educate the younger generation through the Gerakan Cinta Zakat BAZNAS movement by highlighting the perks of donating through digital platforms.

In addition to donating, users who wish to donate during this holy month of Ramadan could also pay Zakat through the GoTagihan feature. By clicking the Zakat menu, GoPay users can simply enter the amount they wish to donate. GoPay has also partnered up with 400 foundations, making digital donations easier for many.
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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, March 31, 2023 07:53 24 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b05389e5a 1 Editorial South-China-Sea,border,peace,Dispute,Code-of-Conduct,ASEAN,China,Natuna,Vietnam,EEZ Free

Last weeks incident in the South China Sea between Chinese and United States warships proves the need for all parties to not only exercise restraint but also play active roles as peacemakers. And Indonesia is a good example of this.

Al-Jazeera quoted Chinese state media as describing the US ships as having trespassed Chinese territorial waters. The US responded by saying that its military will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.

Earlier, the US military accused a Chinese fighter pilot of engaging in a separate risky maneuver over the waterway: flying within 20 feet of the nose of a US Air Force plane.

China had long claimed almost the entire South China Sea as its own, but in July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled its claims were baseless.

Indonesia and China are embroiled in a longstanding dispute over the North Natuna Sea, with China saying the marine area has been its traditional fishing ground for thousands of years. Beijing is also protesting Indonesias gas exploration in the waters, which is valid under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

But Indonesia maintains and can still play the role of an honest peace broker for several reasons.

First, earlier this month in its capacity this year as the ASEAN chair, Indonesia broke the years-long stalemate over the South China Sea Code of Conduct (CoC) between the regional bloc and China. Although not legally binding, the CoC is still essential as a fundamental guideline for preventing and mitigating the risk of open clashes between disputing parties, as Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have also claimed parts of the South China Sea.

A meeting on the CoC between senior officials was recently held behind closed doors in Jakarta. There were strong indications afterward that any meaningful progress remained elusive, dependent as it was on Chinas critical role in the negotiations rather than ASEANs.

Still, several agreements were reached during the meeting, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. The Jakarta Post quoted an Indonesian Foreign Ministry official acknowledging that they were still unable to give a clear timeline on when the CoC would be concluded and that disagreements were still rife in the latest talks.

Hopefully, as the negotiations continue, both parties will be eager to demonstrate a strong willingness to finalize the much-awaited CoC in a timely manner.

Second, Indonesia and Vietnam have proved there is always a peaceful way to solve any conflict, no matter how complicated.

In December, following a bilateral summit in Jakarta between President Joko Jokowi Widodo and then-Vietnam president Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the two governments signed a historic agreement to demarcate their exclusive economic zones (EEZs), marking an end to 12-year talks held in line with UNCLOS.

In 2003, the two ASEAN neighbors had previously agreed on their continental shelf boundaries, after decades of bilateral negotiations as fishers from both countries frequently clashed in the contested waters.

The two countries have set a good example. When disputing parties do not possess strong political will to reach a mutual solution, compromise is never possible. So when ASEAN and China have a good intention to achieve peace, compromise is always possible.

We must also keep in mind that territorial disputes are not limited to the South China Sea, or in the case of Indonesia, the North Natuna Sea. Take a look at the Malacca Strait. Following massive international protests, Indonesia launched a massive anti-piracy operation there and local maritime security has greatly improved now.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are littoral states on one of the worlds busiest sea-lanes. The Malacca Strait directly connects the South China Sea. Every year, approximately 90,000 ships pass through the strait, reportedly carrying 40 percent of global trade.

Although it has a recurring dispute with China in the North Natuna Sea, as ASEANs largest member, Indonesia has demonstrated its commitment to peace and filling the role of peace broker in the South China Sea.
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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, March 31 2023

Last weeks incident in the South China Sea between Chinese and United States warships proves the need for all parties to not only exercise restraint but also play active roles as peacemakers. And Indonesia is a good example of this.

Al-Jazeera quoted Chinese state media as describing the US ships as having trespassed Chinese territorial waters. The US responded by saying that its military will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.

Earlier, the US military accused a Chinese fighter pilot of engaging in a separate risky maneuver over the waterway: flying within 20 feet of the nose of a US Air Force plane.

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Linkedin Nicolas Revise with Amber Wang (The Jakarta Post) Agence France-Presse/New York, United States/Taipei  Fri, March 31 2023

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York in the United States on Wednesday for a visit that has triggered threats of reprisal by China if she meets with House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and US warnings for Beijing not to overreact.

Tsai is stopping over in the US en route to Central America, where she will meet with the leaders of Guatemala and Belize to shore up ties with those diplomatic allies.

On her way back to Taiwan she will stop in California, where McCarthy had said he would meet her.

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Linkedin Hanno Stegmann and Jon Sugihara (BCG X) (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, March 31 2023

Indonesias 2022 Group of 20 presidency saw the nation reaffirming its position as a digital trailblazer, proclaiming a commitment to an inclusive and collaborative digital transition.

Bridging the digital divide and fostering digital transformation were key goals of Indonesias G20 presidency, aiming to radically accelerate the integration of underprivileged citizens into the digital economy and to recover stronger, together.

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers an increasingly powerful platform to support this opportunity. While ChatGPT commands the headlines, there are countless AI-driven solutions with positive implications for inclusive future growth.

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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 1 2023

Despite Western countries push to restrict the TikTok social media platform over data and national security concerns, cybersecurity analysts suggest that Indonesia should not immediately jump on the bandwagon but instead look to guarantee Indonesias data security.

Last Thursday, the United States Congress grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over Chinas allegedly wide-ranging influence over the platform, during which Chew denied that the app shares data or has connections with the Chinese Communist Party.

Some 20 US senators have also backed bipartisan legislation forging a path for US President Joe Bidens administration to ban TikTok on national security grounds, news agencies have reported.

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Syria's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad is set to meet with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo on Saturday, the first such visit by a top Syrian diplomat to Egypt in over a decade.

The two top diplomats will discuss issues of mutual concern, including regional issues.

In late February, FM Shoukry visited Damascus to extend a message of solidarity to the Syrian people following the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria leaving thousands dead and more homeless. It was the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Syria since 2011. During the visit, FM Shoukry held meetings with his counterpart as well as with Syrias President Bashar Al-Assad. In a press conference in Damascus following these meetings, Shoukry stressed that the Syrian people have a special place to Egyptian people and the purpose of this visit, in the first place, is humanitarian to deliver solidarity at the presidential, governmental and citizen level to the Syrian people amid this tragedy. Egypt was the first country to send humanitarian relief to Syria following the devastating earthquake.

A day before Shoukrys visit to Damascus, the Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament Hanafy El-Gebaly visited Damascus and met with Syrian President Al-Assad as part of a delegation of speakers of several Arab parliaments to express solidarity with the Syrian people following the earthquake.

This visit was the first of its kind for an Arab parliamentary delegation to Syria in two decades.

"The visit comes to show solidarity with the Syrian people and express support after the disastrous earthquake which hit the country on 6 February," said El-Gebaly in Damascus.

"Egypt in particular has historic relations with Syria. I am here in Damascus to convey a message that we all support the great and steadfast Syrian people and wish them all prosperity and welfare," El-Gebaly added.

On the day that the earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi phoned his Syrian counterpart Al-Assad to express condolences over the victims of the calamity and affirm that Cairo would provide all needed humanitarian aid.

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Linkedin Pavel Polityuk (Reuters) (The Jakarta Post) Kyiv  Sat, April 1 2023

Russia charged an American journalist with spying while Finland moved closer to becoming a NATO member, deepening tensions between Moscow and the West as the war in Ukraine reached its 400th day on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in his Thursday evening video address of the "tremendous path" his country had taken in 400 days since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

"Ukraine will win at the front ... we will not leave a single trace of Russia on our land, and we will not leave any enemy unpunished either. We are preparing news about this," he said. He did not give details, but the Ukrainian military has been planning a counteroffensive.

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Blue Fin Capital Inc. decreased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:EEM  Get Rating) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,629 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 3,075 shares during the quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF were worth $2,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF in the first quarter valued at approximately $146,000. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 5.7% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,268 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 65,005 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,965 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 892,269 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $40,286,000 after purchasing an additional 76,229 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA:EEM traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.54. The company had a trading volume of 7,648,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,371,977. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.19. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has a one year low of $33.49 and a one year high of $46.78.

About iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, formerly iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (the Fund), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded equity securities in global emerging markets, as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the Index).

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Shares of Fiera Capital Co. (TSE:FSZ  Get Rating) have been given an average recommendation of Hold by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$9.57.

FSZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Fiera Capital from C$10.50 to C$10.00 in a research note on Monday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Fiera Capital from C$10.00 to C$9.50 in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Fiera Capital from C$10.00 to C$9.50 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 27th. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Fiera Capital from C$10.00 to C$9.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Fiera Capital from C$9.50 to C$9.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 27th.

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Fiera Capital Stock Performance

Shares of FSZ stock opened at C$7.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$628.39 million, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.87 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$8.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$8.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 215.25. Fiera Capital has a 12 month low of C$7.50 and a 12 month high of C$10.54.

Fiera Capital Dividend Announcement

Fiera Capital Company Profile

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 8th will be issued a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 7th. Fiera Capitals payout ratio is 358.33%.

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Fiera Capital Corporation is an employee owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional investors, mutual funds, charitable organizations, and private clients. It manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios. The firm also launches and manages equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds and income trusts for its clients.

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Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC trimmed its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Get Rating) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,744 shares of the companys stock after selling 31,553 shares during the quarter. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF makes up approximately 2.9% of Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLCs holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $7,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 145.5% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,590 shares of the companys stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 3,906 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 36.2% in the first quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 52,003 shares of the companys stock worth $5,570,000 after purchasing an additional 13,829 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF in the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF in the first quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 2.0% in the first quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 14,640 shares of the companys stock worth $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 80.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA AGG opened at $99.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.77. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 52-week low of $93.20 and a 52-week high of $107.38.

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Profile

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. (CVE:ISD  Get Rating)s stock price traded up 50% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$0.02 and last traded at C$0.02. 259,500 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 81% from the average session volume of 143,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.01.

iSIGN Media Solutions Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of C$3.40 million, a PE ratio of -1.50 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$0.01 and a 200-day moving average price of C$0.01.

iSIGN Media Solutions Company Profile

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iSIGN Media Solutions Inc, a data-focused software-as-a-service company, provides location-based security alert messaging and proximity marketing solutions in North America. The company provides Hybrid Analytics Location Observation, a software platform and listening device that offers a suite of functions specifically designed to maximize safety and security within a managed environment, such as school, hospital, shopping plaza, and concert venue; Hybrid Analytics Location Observation with facial recognition offers facial and object recognition modules; Passive Historical Aggregate Contact Tracing, an intelligent smart space analytics platform that utilizes publicly available anonymous interactions between mobile devices to accurately determine occupancy levels and movements of individuals.

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Jackson Square Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI  Get Rating) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,653 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLCs holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,335,213 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,204,827,000 after buying an additional 3,258,264 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,577,218 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $602,332,000 after buying an additional 752,420 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,419,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 33,676,811 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $4,867,983,000 after buying an additional 445,642 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,942,098 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $8,230,979,000 after buying an additional 355,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.27% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CCI. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Crown Castle from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $230.00 to $175.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $150.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $152.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $159.07.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCI opened at $132.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $136.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.10. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.71 and a 1-year high of $199.97. The stock has a market cap of $57.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33 and a beta of 0.65.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.83). The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Crown Castle had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 23.96%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. Crown Castles payout ratio is 162.18%.

About Crown Castle

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Crown Castle, Inc is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the provision of access to wireless infrastructure via long-term contacts. It operates through the Towers and Fiber segments. The Towers segment offers access, including space or capacity towers dispersed throughout the United States.

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Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lowered its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW  Get Rating) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,231 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLCs holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Standard Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Old North State Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 51.0% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ITW shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $170.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $210.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $223.07.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Vice Chairman Christopher A. Oherlihy sold 60,137 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.26, for a total transaction of $14,809,337.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,072 shares in the company, valued at $9,868,130.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . In other news, CEO Ernest Scott Santi sold 235,656 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.29, for a total transaction of $58,039,716.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,538 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $52,592,274.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink . Also, Vice Chairman Christopher A. Oherlihy sold 60,137 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.26, for a total value of $14,809,337.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,868,130.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NYSE ITW opened at $240.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $173.52 and a fifty-two week high of $253.37.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.60 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 87.15% and a net margin of 19.04%. The companys revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Illinois Tool Workss dividend payout ratio is currently 53.58%.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

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Illinois Tool Works, Inc engages in the manufacture of industrial products and equipment. It operates through the following segments: Automotive OEM, Test and Measurement and Electronics, Food Equipment, Polymers and Fluids, Welding, Construction Products, and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment produces components and fasteners for automotive-related applications.

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RHS Financial LLC boosted its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Get Rating) by 187.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,329 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,128 shares during the quarter. RHS Financial LLCs holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGG. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 15.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,527,580 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,482,469,000 after buying an additional 6,127,129 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 184.4% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,326,918 shares of the companys stock valued at $338,281,000 after buying an additional 2,156,923 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 24.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,925,971 shares of the companys stock valued at $955,866,000 after buying an additional 1,754,499 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 320.0% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,100,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $202,246,000 after buying an additional 1,600,000 shares during the period. Finally, Continental Investors Services Inc. raised its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 6,307.4% in the third quarter. Continental Investors Services Inc. now owns 1,503,361 shares of the companys stock valued at $152,004,000 after buying an additional 1,479,898 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.07% of the companys stock.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSEARCA AGG traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.41. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,448,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,616,999. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 52-week low of $93.20 and a 52-week high of $107.38. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $98.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.77.

About iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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The Egyptian Health and Population Ministry announced on Friday that it provided medical assistance to over 2 million patients suffering from respiratory illnesses in 2022.

The patients received treatment from 33 hospitals and 131 specialized clinics across the country.

The announcement was made during a press conference held on World TB Day, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Association against Smoking, Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases. The event, titled "Yes! We can end TB!", celebrated the progress made in fighting tuberculosis in Egypt.

Dr. Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din, Presidential Advisor for Health and Prevention Affairs, praised the efforts of chest disease hospitals and the measures taken by the Egyptian government which resulted in an 88 percent increase in the number of patients treated for respiratory diseases in 2022.

Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, emphasized the importance of international cooperation in the fight against tuberculosis. He revealed that the guidance documents for combating TB were updated in collaboration with the World Health Organization, and that chest physicians received training on the updated guidelines in various governorates through two training programs.

Abdel-Ghaffar also mentioned a training program implemented to combat TB, COVID-19, and other respiratory diseases for trainees from eight African countries, in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency. He added that this program serves as an extension of training for workers in TB control programs in the Eastern Mediterranean region, which has been ongoing for 12 years.

The Health Ministry's efforts in providing medical services to millions of respiratory disease patients in Egypt have been commendable. The cooperation with international organizations and the implementation of training programs have also been instrumental in the fight against tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases in the country.

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Neil Fulton, general manager of Blommer Chocolate Company, invites residents into the companys Campbellford location on April 22.







Neil Fulton has the golden tickets and is handing them out to Northumberland County residents to step inside Blommer Chocolate Company in Campbellford.

Fulton, the general manager of Blommer, and staff will open the chocolate factorys doors and welcome visitors, on a first-come, first-served basis, to see how their chocolate is made -- and yes, there will be taste testing involved. Participants can also enter a draw for a chance to win one of Blommers 10-pound chocolate bars.

Located on Second Street, Blommer is participating in How Its Made, Northumberland Manufacturers Associations (NMA) open house on Saturday, April 22.

The NMA, in collaboration with Northumberland County, is holding the one-event where manufacturers from select Northumberland communities -- Campbellford, Cobourg and Port Hope -- will open their doors to shed light on what is made in the county and how its done, said Darla Price, NMA executive director.

We want to remove the stigma of the industry, Price said.

Its not grandpas shop anymore. Its not dirty, unsafe, insecure, low-wage type work, she explained.

We want to bring (people) in to see the innovation, to see that health and safety is priority No. 1, for you to meet our teams, and show our youth and our parents and our general community the amazing opportunities that there are within our industry.

The purpose of the event is to engage residents in real time, highlight the career opportunities, educate visitors about their manufacturing neighbours, and more. The NMA also hopes to entice Northumberlands mature community members as well, such as retirees, and those semi-retired residents who have recently moved to Northumberland County, to take part in the day. They come with skill. And, they come with wealth, Price noted.

We have found, over the past five years, we have individuals who have come out to become mentors or to invest in start-up businesses and wed like to engage more of those individuals, she noted, during a recent presentation about the event to Brighton council.

How Its Made will also highlight the philanthropy and corporate citizenship within the sector and show how manufacturers give back to their local communities and the industry, Price added.

Last, but not least, were looking to build an overall sense of pride for the industry.

The target audience for the event is people aged 10 to 70 and above.

People so rarely get to see what happens in a factory, Fulton told the Brighton Independent.

We wanted to be a part of this event. Its a great opportunity. Were nestled right inside a residential community  its not like were located in an industrial park, so we have good relationships with our neighbours, and I think this might be a way to help promote them.

Visitors to Blommer Chocolate Company will learn more about the business on their tour. Part of Fuji Oil Holdings, Blommer Chocolate Company is one of the largest cocoa processors and ingredient chocolate suppliers in North America. With four strategically located manufacturing facilities in North America, Blommer provides comprehensive business-to-business products and solutions for domestic and international customers of all sizes in the confectionery, baking and dairy industries.

Among Blommers core competencies are cocoa bean processing, chocolate and confectionery coating manufacturing, commodity risk management, and product and process research and development.

At its Campbellford location, Blommer manufactures specialty confectionary coatings and organic chocolate liquor.

Visitors can expect to see a video about Blommer, have a short tour, and take part in some product sampling.

We anticipate a lot of interest, Fulton said.

Trade Tech Industries in Port Hope is also taking part in the open house event.

Mathew Hillman, project manager, said its a good opportunity for residents to get to know the company.

I think its important for Trade Tech to take part because our role as a manufacturer within the community (is) to supply jobs and give great jobs to people and to produce products for the country, Hillman said.

Not many people know what we do here. Its important for the community to know whats going on in their town, and to know what resources they have access to, and to know what jobs are available.

Trade Tech, located on Henderson Street, o?ers the fabrication, supply, delivery and erection of structural steel, steel deck, miscellaneous metals, as well as a variety of general fabrications.

Hillman said he hopes the event helps change pre-conceived notions people may have about the sector. Its important for people to see the clean, well-lit, and safe, proceduralized shops, the jobs that are available, and that the trades are a great industry.

Here are the general details about the overall event and its participants:

- The first tour is at 10 a.m., the last tour is at 2 p.m.

- When touring, visitors will learn about whats made, see employees in action, watch robots at work and learn about job opportunities, local innovation, and corporate citizenship.

- There will be a free barbecue from noon to 1 p.m. at select sites in the participating communities.

- Organizers ask those who want to attend to read the rules prior to the day of the event, as there are certain protocols for each company around safety wear and personal protective equipment required for gaining entry.

- In Campbellford, the participating businesses are Blommer Chocolate Company and Mirmil Products.

- In Cobourg, residents can visit Graphic Packaging International, Cameco, and the Venture13 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre.

- In Port Hope, the participating manufacturers are CPK Interior Products and Trade Tech Industries.

For the details, locations, and corresponding safety requirements for each location, visit the NMA website.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: After hearing about How Its Made, we looked more closely at what the open house event means for the Northumberland Manufacturers Association and local manufacturers, and what visitors can expect.

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The public school board is beginning the process of developing a second French immersion program in Port Hope.

The move, supported by Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board trustees during their Tuesday night (March 28) regular board meeting, hopes to alleviate anticipated enrolment pressures at Ganaraska Trail Public School (PS). The second French immersion program will be established at Beatrice Strong Public School for September 2024.

Accommodation challenges are as unique as the students and communities we serve, and wed like to begin by thanking the elementary school communities of Port Hope for their engagement and positive collaboration throughout our recent consultation process, stated board chair Steve Russell. We believe we have arrived at a positive course of action that values the input weve received and meets our broad goals of accommodating the students in the community now and into the future.

The decision was made based on recommendations from the boards resource committee and after completing community consultations on ongoing accommodation pressures within the elementary family of schools connected to Port Hope High School.

In September 2022, the Grade 6 students from Ganaraska Trail PS transitioned to Dr. M.S. Hawkins Senior Public School to alleviate accommodation pressure there. A comprehensive consultation process was launched to seek input from a variety of stakeholders, specifically to give families an opportunity to review and seek input on possible approaches to student accommodation pressures within the family of schools. Administration reviewed community feedback shared during consultation in December and analyzed the viability and impact of each option being considered.

Three options for final consideration were presented at a second community consultation meeting in January, including changing the French immersion program cohorts between Ganaraska Trail and Beatrice Strong, turning Ganaraska Trail into a dual-track junior kindergarten to Grade 3 school and Dr. M.S. Hawkins a dual-track Grade 4 to 6 school, with a dual-track intermediate school (Grade 7 and 8) established at Port Hope High School, or establish a second French immersion program at Beatrice Strong.

The trustees decision supports the 86.3 per cent of parents who participated in a recent survey who preferred the third option. Reasons for favouring this option included transportation, mental health, student success and equity.

Director of education Rita Russo noted there still remains a lot of angst in the community regarding the impact of moving the process further, but assured trustees we have run the numbers and are confident we will be able to run two programs effectively.

During the coming months, administration will explore using all available space at Ganaraska Trail for classrooms, and the possibility of an additional portable at the school. To further manage enrolment at Ganaraska Trail in the short term, the school will not be accepting out-of-boundary students.

Russo added staff is in the process of developing programming plans for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. A report is expected to be presented to trustees by June.

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This year, due to the increasing violence and hatred toward the trans community  which is accelerating at an alarming rate  PFLAG Cobourg/Port Hope Chapter has decided to host a peaceful protest in the form of a rally and march on Friday, March 31, says the local PFLAG chapter.

The You Are Loved Peaceful Protest starts at 6:30 p.m. at Victoria Park in Cobourg, in solidarity, and to promote safety and support, said organizers, who have also noted anti-trans rallies happening nearby and across the province.

We hope that members of the community will come out to help spread messages of positivity and love and create community awareness that trans rights are human rights, said organizers, in a recent release. It is with heavy hearts that we have seen recent anti-trans sentiments, shared in-person and online in our community, which indicates that there is still a lot of education needed regarding these issues.

Our organizations strive to make sure that we are always trans-inclusive and are collectively working toward erasing the stigma and misinformation around transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming individuals who want to live and thrive in Northumberland County.

The Transgender Day of Visibility (or Trans Day of Visibility)  marked on March 31  is an internationally-recognized day and is an annual event dedicated to the celebration of trans people while also raising awareness of the discrimination and injustice faced by the trans community, explained organizers.

The day was founded by U.S.-based trans activist Rachel Crandall, who celebrated the first #TDofV on March 31, 2009, in Michigan. It was created as a reaction to the lack of LGB recognition of trans people and the fact that the only well-known, trans-centred day was the Transgender Day of Remembrance (Nov. 20), which mourns the casualties of gender-based violence toward the trans and non-binary community, said organizers.

Crandall wanted a day that celebrated the living and their contributions to society. In 2015, the day took off on social media with many trans/non-binary/gender-diverse folks posting selfies and personal stories and spreading awareness of trans issues and statistics from all over the world, it was explained.

In our community, we should strive to honour our trans, non-binary and gender-diverse residents. We, as community members, should work together to ensure that all members of our community feel accepted and safe, regardless of their gender expression or gender presentation.

While the right to merely exist is eroding in the United States, in Canada, we need to be careful that the anti-trans and trans-hate movement does not take root here. We need to protect the lives of our trans siblings and not exacerbate violence toward them.

This rally is planned to let people know that they are loved no matter what.

LEARN MORE SAYS PFLAG:

For up-to-the-minute information about the queer community in Northumberland County and to share posts, PFLAG encourages folks to follow these Facebook pages:

PFLAG Canada  Cobourg/ Port Hope Chapter: https://www.facebook.com/pflagcobourg/

Cobourg Queer Collective: https://www.facebook.com/CobourgQueerCollective/

For more information about the Trans Day of Visibility, there are webinars  one with audio/slide descriptions and the other without audio  created by the newly-founded Northumberland Queeries Rainbow Knowledge Network (community educators creating content and resources about LGBTQ+ advocacy and more), said organizers.

Trans Day of Visibility webinar with audio: https://vimeo.com/693335297.

Trans Day of Visibility webinar no audio: https://vimeo.com/692650015

There are more educational materials found at: https://www.facebook.com/northumberlandqueeries/

Pronoun usage webinar: https://vimeo.com/653224977

This webinar was created to encourage community organizations and professional offices on how to be more inclusive so that their offices and workplaces are reflective of a safe and welcoming space for everyone. Many trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse people already have a difficult time navigating through the social service system, which is why it is important that organizations are designed with equality and accessibility in mind, said PFLAG.

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi performed Friday prayers alongside high ranking state and military officials at El-Moshir Tantawy Mosque in New Cairo to mark the 6th of October 1973 war victory, which occurred on the 10th of Ramadan on the Islamic Hijri Calendar.

The Friday prayers were attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Defense and Military Production General Mohamed Zaki, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Osama Askar as well as Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb and Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawki Allam.

Also in attendance were Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfik, Minister of Justice Mohamed Abdel-Rahim, Minister of Local Development Hisham Amna, Minister of Military Production Mohamed Salah El-Din, Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa and Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel-Aal.

Doctor El-Shahat El-Sayed Azazi delivered the Friday sermon.

Following the prayer, President El-Sisi held a meeting with the commanders of the Armed Forces in which he asserted that the Egyptian people highly appreciate all the efforts and sacrifices made by the Armed Forces to defend the security and safety of the homeland.

El-Sisi also saluted the Armed Forces servicemen for their huge efforts to enhance Egypt's security, stability and progress.



The meeting with the military top brass tackled several local, regional and international issues, especially in light of both the current political and economic developments worldwide and Egypts efforts to achieve stability and enhance development in the region.

The 10th of the holy month of Ramadan this year falls on Saturday.

Ramadan is the 9th month on the Hijri lunar calendar.

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Police say a driver was killed following a crash which led to the closure of part of Lakehurst Road in Trent Lakes.

"A two-vehicle collision on Lakehurst Road involving a pickup truck and car occurred at approximately 1:00pm on March 31, 2023, between Anchor Bay Road and Elim Lodge Road," says a statement from Peterborough County OPP.

"As a result of the collision, the driver of the car, a 42-year-old male from Peterborough has been pronounced deceased. No other injuries were reported at the time of the time of the collision."

Police continue to be at the scene investigating the cause and Lakehurt road will remain closed between Anchor Bay Road and Elim Lodge Road while the collision is cleaned up and the cause of the collision is investigated say police, advising to please avoid the area.

Check back in for more info.

Update - March 31, 2021: This story has been updated following news from Peterborough County OPP that a person has been pronounced dead.

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Theres never a shortage of climate change concerns to write about, but this week my columns elicited many concerns from readers. Here are three of them:

1. Problems with EV charging stations: I recently purchased a BMW IX EV and drove 4,000 km to Florida and back for March break with no issues at the many Electrify America charging stations there (and a few other brands along the way). One sure way to eliminate range anxiety is to drive the U.S. interstate systemeven through the rural back-roads!

I returned home to make a trip from our Whitby home to Windsor and had the opposite experience-- two consecutive OnRoute IVY stations werent working. In Cambridge, the chargers were all down, with varying messages. When I called IVY, they had no idea when these would be serviced. I travelled to the next OnRoute (St. Thomas). The southbound OnRoute doesnt have chargers; you have to pass it, exit, and drive to the northbound OnRoute  only to find another IVY again with no functional chargers! The higher speed chargers were down and the two 50kw chargers had 'app' issues (while the charger itself works, youre unable to pay because of IVYs unnecessarily confusing app-based payment system). The fact that IVYs service response time is measured in months (not hours) suggests that IVY fundamentally does not understand how EV charging works.

The MTO website reveals that IVY received provincial funding to provide EV charging stations at OnRoutes. Based on my experience, IVY's machines are junk and their service is astoundingly abysmal. Its bad enough that taxpayers dollars have been wasted on them, but its more disappointing that this terrible company dominates OnRoutes! Because of IVY's complete incompetence, EV drivers have to exit the highway and drive into town to the nearest Canadian Tire to charge with Electrify Canada which is more reliable and accepts credit card paymentif you make it there! The Ford Government shouldnt be using taxpayer dollars for charging stations that dont work! (Whitby reader)

My Response: An investigative reporter should reveal why the Ford Government isnt rectifying this. Solution: Charging ports should be at all gas stations.

2. Too much unnecessary Idling: Where-ever I go, I see people idling  sitting in parking lots, on their phones, or going into a store with the car running. Idling creates pollution and wastes gas. We shouldnt allow it. Id like to see your column on this. (Peterborough reader)

My Response: Here in Honduras, people leave their motorcycles running while grocery shopping so they dont have to bother kick-starting them again! This shows that people who idle are more concerned about their own convenience and comfort than the planet, their health, the health of others, or saving money.

Solution: Our three levels of government need to send out Climate Change Warnings about the harmful effects of idling, increase signs and fines and enforce these fines! Otherwise, unnecessary idling will continue.

3. Too many over-sized vehicles: SUVs have become an invasive species. Theyre now 40% taller, 40% heavier, 40% more plastic. (Peterborough reader).

FACTS

 80% of new vehicles sold in Canada are SUVs and pick-up trucks.

 60% of SUV owners dont use the majority of their seats

 79% dont use SUVs for towing.

 Most people buy SUVs for future concerns (starting a family, purchasing large items etc) without concern for the environment.

 There are 330 million SUVs worldwide that produce 1 billion tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions (International Energy Agency).

My Response: Add to that an SUV or pick-up truck driver purchasing coffee daily at a drive-through and global emissions increase considerably.

Solution: Make more compact zero-emissions SUVs and pick-up trucks.

Bottom Line: Were in a struggle between environmentalism and consumerism and consumerism always wins. Our only hope is new technology and environmental legislation.

What are your climate change concerns? Please let me know.

Tricia Clarkson is a climate change columnist and co-chair for Peterborough Alliance for Climate Action.



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HALIFAX - The final report of the public inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting says the gunmans partner  a survivor of his violent domestic abuse  was revictimized by the RCMP investigation into the tragedy.

Gabriel Wortmans rampage left 22 dead in April 2020 and began when he assaulted his partner, Lisa Banfield, who escaped and survived by hiding in the woods.

The inquirys report released Thursday said the Mounties treatment of Banfield during their investigation is an example of the kind of revictimization that makes it less likely that women survivors of gender-based violence will seek help from police. One of the reports main findings is that the RCMP did not treat Lisa Banfield as a surviving victim of the mass casualty.

Its clear (that) for 19 years Lisa Banfield was abused by her spouse and it culminated on April 18, (2020), inquiry commissioner Michael MacDonald said Thursday.

We highlight that she was clearly the first victim, and our view, as stated in the report, is that she ought to have been immediately recognized as such.

On the evening of April 18, 2020, Wortman beat Banfield and handcuffed her in the back of his replica police cruiser. He told her he would kill her if she tried to run away. He poured gasoline throughout the home they shared in Portapique, N.S., before lighting it and his warehouse on fire. Banfield pulled off one handcuff, injuring herself, and escaped through the front window and ran to nearby woods, where she hid overnight as temperatures dipped below zero.

At about 6:30 a.m. the next morning Banfield left the woods and sought help at the home of a neighbour, who helped her call the police, whom Banfield told about the assault and Wortmans replica cruiser.

Banfield shared details about Wortman from the back of an ambulance just hours after he had violently assaulted her, but police failed to photograph her injuries or arrange for victim services to offer her support.

Inquiry commissioner Kim Stanton said Thursday that Banfield was not appropriately debriefed as an injured person who had survived a night in the woods and that she was not interviewed in a way that is acceptable for someone with the kind of injuries she had and the experience that she had had.

The report also suggests that the details Banfield shared immediately after leaving the woods  including that the gunman was driving a replica cruiser with stripe decals, RCMP logos, a light bar and siren  did not appear to be taken seriously by police.

During his testimony before the inquiry, Const. Terry Brown explained he did not realize the serious implications of what Ms. Banfield was saying until later that morning, when he saw a photograph of the replica RCMP cruiser, the inquirys final report said.

The report also highlights Banfields co-operation throughout the investigation and public inquiry, which included four interviews with RCMP; five interviews with the inquiry itself; an in-depth, on-site re-enactment of her assault; and her in-person testimony before the inquirys public hearings.

Stanton also said that the circumstances under which Banfield was charged by RCMP for unlawfully transferring the gunman ammunition were concerning.

Although she had been told that she was not a suspect in any way, it became apparent that she had not been provided with the information that she indeed was being looked at, because ultimately the RCMP put forward charges against her, Stanton said.

The charge was later withdrawn.

Jessica Zita, a lawyer representing Banfield, said that she and her client were very pleased with the report, adding that she hoped its impact would be that survivors of domestic and gender-based violence feel more comfortable speaking up.

The way she was treated in the aftermath of this massacre, which began as an assault against her, is disgraceful, Zita said.

In Ottawa Thursday, reporters asked Rick Perkins, Conservative Nova Scotia MP for South Shore-St. Margarets, about his thoughts on the reports recommendations to increase support for addressing domestic violence in rural regions.

Perkins said he had not read the inquirys report but added that he thought Banfield had not effectively reached out to disclose her issues.

So its pretty hard for the system to help someone if they dont initiate it themselves, he told reporters.

The report said that Banfield has been subjected to victim blaming and hyper-responsibilization, which means holding someone to standards higher than to those that would be expected of the average person. This victim-blaming has had a chilling effect on other survivors of gender-based violence, the report said.

The commissioners also said in the report that Banfield does not see herself to be a victim of the mass casualty or at least not victim enough to count.

While we acknowledge Ms. Banfields self-assessment, we believe it is important to recognize that she is a survivor of the mass casualty and she has also been failed by many people and institutions in its aftermath.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

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OTTAWA  Dominic LeBlanc, one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus most senior cabinet ministers, said Friday he played no part in a decision to appoint his sister-in-law as the governments temporary ethics watchdog.

LeBlanc said he recused himself when the matter came before cabinet.

I didnt participate in any way in this decision, he told reporters in New Brunswick, with Trudeau by his side.

But that didnt quell the political furor over the fact that Martine Richard was appointed to the ethics commissioners post on an interim basis this month.

Opposition MPs blasted the government for the third straight day in the House of Commons over the issue, with calls for the Liberals to rescind the appointment.

Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs called giving the job to Richard an effort to to cover their own butts in the future. Bloc MP Rene Villemure said that while no one doubts Richards competence, cabinet must have understood the optics.

The appearance of a conflict of interest is obvious, he said.

Trudeau said Canadians can have confidence in the ethical oversight process.

Richard has worked in the office for years, Trudeau stressed, including stepping in from time to time for former commissioner Mario Dion, who retired earlier this year.

From the very beginning, there were already measures in place to ensure that the work is done professionally and without conflicts given the connections, Trudeau said.

This is something that is a continuation of what has been done in the past and we will continue to ensure that all the necessary tools are in place so that Canadians can continue to have confidence in the ethics commissioner.

Dion declined to comment when contacted by the Star.

Over the course of Richards time in the office, Trudeau has twice been found in breach of ethics laws, as have three of his cabinet ministers. They include Leblanc, who was fisheries minister in 2018 when he awarded a licence to harvest arctic surf clams to a company that employed one of his family members  an affair the Conservatives dubbed the clam scam Friday in the House of Commons.

The ethics commissioner office has confirmed that Richard  who joined it as senior counsel in 2013  has had a conflict of interest screen that kept her away from any files dealing with her family.

She had also recused herself from working on an investigation that found Trudeau in breach of the law during the SNC-Lavalin affair.

For opposition MPs, however, that doesnt appear to be good enough.

If there is one position where independence should not just be a presumption but a certainty, it is that of the ethics commissioner, said Conservative MP Luc Berthold.

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British expat dies from bee sting in Phuket

PHUKET: A long-time expatriate resident of Phuket died after developing a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting sustained while riding home on his motorbike in Rawai yesterday (Mar 30). The mans spouse explained that the 68-year-old British man was known to be allergic to insect bites, but nothing so tragically severe had ever happened before.

deathhealth

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Friday 31 March 2023, 02:46PM

Phuket expat resident Stephen Prince died after developing a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting on Mar 30. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

At around 11.50am yesterday (Mar 30), rescue workers from Rawai Municipality were called to a house on Soi Kitprasarn 1 where a local expat needed help being in critical serious condition after a bee sting.

Having arrived at the scene, Rawai rescue workers found Stephen Prince, 68, from the UK, already in code blue condition. The expat was unconscious, had no pulse and was not breathing.

Rescue workers immediately proceeded to perform CPR and requested an EMS Advance Unit from Chalong Hospital, which then rushed Mr Prince to hospital. Despite all the efforts, medics could not save the elderly expats life.

Capt Weerapong Crinalpan from Chalong was informed of the death and requested to come to Chalong Hospital to take part in the immediate autopsy procedures. Mr Princes body was then taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital morgue after that.

Mr Princes Thai wife explained later that her husband was known to be allergic to insect bites and other allergens. Once the man had lost consciousness after eating honey, in another case he had gone unconscious after a bee sting.

This time Mr Prince was stung by a bee while riding home on his motorcycle. The mans wife administered antihistamines, but Mr Princes condition did not improve. The Thai woman called 1669 when he lost consciousness.

Rawai Municipality rescue worker Natchak Wattanarajjiroj told Phuket reporters that this was the first case in his 4-year-long career when a patient developed such a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting. He did not provide any recommendations on what a person should do in the case of somebody having such a reaction to an insect sting or a jellyfish sting.
Foreigners arrested, property seized in child sex trafficking raids

PHUKET: Police have arrested three foreigners for paying for sex with a minor following further investigations into a child sex trafficking ring exposed when a bar in Patong was raided earlier this month.

patongsextourismcrimepolice

By The Phuket News

Friday 31 March 2023, 11:28AM

Deputy national police chief Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn announced the news at meeting held at Region 8 Police headquarters, at the northern end of Phuket, yesterday (Mar 30).

The three arrested and charged for the offence were named as Paul Herbert Corbett, 67, from Australia; Max Rigobert Ramasamy, 68, from France; and Mutu Pan, 44, from China.

Three other suspects wanted for the same offence had already fled the country, Maj Gen Surachate said.

The suspects were named as Jeffrey Lynn Amman, 50, and Jesse James Demian, 49, both from the US; and Ahmed Saleh Balobead, 40, from Saudi Arabia.

Arrest warrants had been issued and police are pursuing their arrests, he said.

Officers had found that the Velvet bar, located in Soi Sea Dragon off Bangla Rd, and raided on Mar 15, was registered as operating under the company Aurum Bualuang Co Ltd.

The company operated three more bars in Patong as part of the child sex trafficking network, Maj Gen Surachate added. The bars were named as Model, Bangla Beach and Strip Phuket Bar.

Arrested warrants had been issued for five company directors. Police had arrested four of them, including Benjamaporn Krajadkaew and Supaporn Lions, he said.

Ronnie Peterhitch, a foreigner named as a company director, had already fled the country. Efforts were underway to have Interpol issue a Red Notice for his arrest, he added.

The charges against the directors include breach of the Foreign Business Act for using nominees, he noted.

The raid on the Velvet bar in Patong had led to 36 raids in 10 provinces across Thailand, Maj Gen Surachate explained.

We served search warrants at 36 locations in 10 provinces. including Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Chonburi, Prachinburi, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Ratchasima, Surin, Ratchaburi, Petchaburi and Phuket.

We have seized 52 bank accounts which had a turnover of B100 million, he said.

The Anti-Money Laundering Office, Department of Business Development and Ministry of Commerce had all assisted with the police operation, Maj Gen Surachate noted.

Police had seized assets worth in total B22mn, including two townhouses together worth B7mn, a condo worth B5mn, four plots of land worth B10mn and four motorbikes worth B500,000, he said.

Six girls had been rescued and taken into care following the raid on the Velvet bar and the further investigations, Maj Gen Surachate confirmed.

Police had identified 109 customers who had paid for sex with minors. Most of them were foreigners, paying B10,000 a time, he said.

Since the investigation had been expanded, another four victims had been found and taken into care, bringing the total number of girls rescued from the child sex trafficking network to 10, he added.

Police will continue to look for more people involved in child trafficking and seize their assets to stop them from repeating the same business. The seized assets will be spent on helping the victims once the case is closed, Maj Gen Surachate said.

Not mentioned in the official reports of the meeting chaired by Maj Gen Surachate yesterday was that five top-ranking officers at Patong Police Station, including Patong Police Chief Col Sujin Nilabadee, had been transferred immediately pending further investigation into the child sex trafficking ring operating in the Patong Police area.

No updates have been provided since the five officers were transferred on Mar 16.
Government defends electricity bill hike

BANGKOK: The government is defending its decision to raise the fuel tariff (Ft) price for households from May to August as suitable after the governments B3.2-billion subsidy for vulnerable groups ends in April.



By Bangkok Post

Friday 31 March 2023, 09:25AM

High-voltage power poles for Pathum Thani Provincial Electricity Authority. Photo: Pattanapong Hirunard

Yesterday (Mar 30), government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said the move was a resolution agreed upon during the Energy Regulatory Commissions (ERC) meeting.

The ERC has decided to increase power bills for households from B4.72 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit) in the January-April billing period to B4.77 in the May-August billing period. The ERC will apply a single power tariff rate for both households and businesses after April, reports the Bangkok Post.

However, Mr Anucha said that as global energy prices are falling, this might lower electricity prices in the future. He added that the Ft rate is renewed every four months to adjust electricity prices in accordance with the production budget.

Nonetheless, despite the rise - which has aggravated the public given the expected increase in electricity use during the summer months - the government has proposed to give subsidies to people in vulnerable groups whose households use less than 300 units per month from January to April. They will get a cut-off from the Ft before the VAT calculation.

Isares Rattanadilok na Phuket, Vice President of the Federation of Thai Industries, on Wednesday urged the government to halt the rise of Ft rates in the May-August billing period.

Mr Isares noted that Thailands fuel production cost had been steadily dropping. The price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is currently at US$13 (B445) per MMBTU, yet the ERC is still using the LNGs rate for January, which was US$20.

The FTI deems the decision inefficient and hopes the government will reconsider before the decision is enforced in May, he said.
Illegal operators removed from Leypang beach

PHUKET: Phuket officials have ordered three operators, including a restaurant, on Leypang Beach to vacate their sites after they were deemed to be on public land.

tourismenvironmentlandcrime

By The Phuket News

Friday 31 March 2023, 12:15PM

Officers arrived to have tables, chairs, sun loungers and umbrellas removed yesterday (Mar 30). Officers also serve a notice for the restaurant to be demolished.

More than 20 officers were present for the raid yesterday, led by Thalang District Chief Bancha Thanu-in.

Among those present as enforcers were a representative from the Royal Thai Navy, which has its Third Area Command at Cape Panwa, on the east coast of Phuket, along with three representatives of the ISOC Region 4 branch. As the Internal Security Operations Command, ISOC is the political arm of the Royal Thai Military.

Also present were Cherng Talay Police along with officers from the Phuket Marine Office, Sirinat National Park, the Thalang branch of the Phuket Provincial Land Office, the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor) and local village headmen (Phu Yai Baan).

The land is registered as NorSorLor government property, Mr Bancha explained.

Some parts of this area are for the public. We are to tidy this area so the public can make use of this space, as well as restore the beach to be beautiful, natural and sustainable, Mr Bancha said.

Officers needed to explain to the operators where the boundaries were for the government land, he added. (See the Department of Land public map here.)

Officers will continue to check the area to prevent future instances of encroachment, Mr Bancha said.

Rapin Suwannasin, Chief Administration Office (Palad) of Cherng Talay OrBorTor, noted that the road used to access the beach was also public land.

Cherng Talay OrBorTor was moving to prosecute people who had encroached on the area, he said.

Some of the claimants had presented SorKor 1 land use documents as evidence for their right to use the land they were occupying, he noted.

Cherng Talay OrBorTor had checked the land in question and confirmed it is public land, he said.
Ugandan troops operating as part of an East African regional military force entered the east DR Congo border town of Bunagana on Friday, an army officer and witnesses said.

The soldiers are intended to supervise the gradual withdrawal of the M23 rebel group, which has conquered swathes of territory in eastern Congo since taking up arms again in late 2021.

The Ugandan contingent of the East African Community (EAC) force entered Bunagana on Friday morning, according to the force commander, Kenyan General Jeff Nyagah.

He explained to reporters on Friday that about 1,000 Ugandan soldiers had crossed into the town -- which lies on the Ugandan border -- as part of a contingent that is expected to eventually comprise 2,000 troops.

A Bunagana resident also told AFP that Ugandan troops had entered the town, with vehicles and tanks.

On Thursday evening, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stated that the troops are not due to fighting the M23.

Rather, they will "occupy some of the positions that the M23 has handed over to the East African Force as a neutral force", he said.

The seven-nation EAC decided last June to create a military force, to stabilize eastern Congo, which has been plagued by armed groups for decades.

The M23 first came to international prominence in 2012, when it captured the eastern Congolese city of Goma before being driven out.

But the Tutsi-led group re-emerged from dormancy in late 2021, arguing that the government had ignored a promise to integrate its fighters into the army.

It went on to capture large chunks of North Kivu province and displace hundreds of thousands of people, and has come close to surrounding Goma.

March 30 was supposed to mark the end of the withdrawal of "all armed groups", according to a timetable adopted in mid-February by the EAC. The deadline was not respected.

Kenyan General Nyagah said that the M23 withdrawal would be "sequenced".

The Democratic Republic of Congo accuses its smaller neighbour Rwanda of backing the M23, which the United States, other Western countries and independent UN experts agree with, but Kigali denies.

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KITCHENER  The principal of a Waterloo elementary school allegedly used an online website and social media to contact teenaged girls, leading to an arrest in an investigation involving three separate police forces.

The joint investigation involving London police, Toronto police and Waterloo Regional Police started in February 2023.

During the investigation, a 55-year-old man communicated with girls he believed to be under the age of 16 years old, sending sexually explicit messages and images.

Under the username Sam and Chuck, the man used an online website and the social media messaging app Snapchat to contact the girls.

On Thursday, the man had arranged to meet one of the teenaged girls. Police arrested him in Burlington and he was taken to London to be charged.

Phillip Sallewsky, a 55-year-old man from Kitchener, now faces 17 charges.

Sallewsky is a principal of Northlake Woods Public School, a school in the northwest end of Waterloo.

Waterloo Region District School Board spokesperson Estefania Brandenstein said the board is aware of the situation and cannot comment because the matter is before the courts.

As per our process, the staff member has been assigned to home immediately, and as such, they are not able to attend WRDSB school properties or access WRDSB communication tools, Brandenstein said in an email statement.

The charges against Sallewsky are:

Five counts of luring a person under 16 years of age by means of telecommunications

Two counts of invitation to sexual touching under 16 years of age

Sexual assault

Sexual interference with person under 16 years of age

Luring a person under 16 years of age by means of telecommunication

Three counts of transmit sexually explicit material to a person under 16 years of age

Luring a person under 18 years of age by means of telecommunication

Print/publish/possess to publish child pornography

Import/sell/distribute, etc. child pornography

Unlawfully possess child pornography

No one had physical injuries in connection to the investigation.

Cst. Sandasha Bough with London police said any other information about the investigation will be released through the court process.

The accused is scheduled to appear in a London court on May 11, 2023.

Anyone with information or who may have been a victim is asked to call their local police service. You can call Waterloo Regional Police at 519-570-9777 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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KITCHENER  The jury at Beau Bakers inquest has made 24 recommendations aimed at preventing deaths in similar circumstances.

Baker, 20, was fatally shot by a Waterloo Regional Police officer in 2015. The jury ruled on Friday that Baker died by suicide.

He had a history of mental-health issues and had a difficult life, including stints in foster care group homes.

Baker lived in London, Ont., before moving to Kitchener. At the time of his death, despite being 20, he remained under the auspices of the Childrens Aid Society of London and Middlesex. He would have been cut off from CAS support when he turned 21.

Jury recommendations

The Region of Waterloo should apply to the provincial government for funding to set up at least one youth wellness hub. These are one-stop shops for young people offering help with mental health, substance use issues, primary care, education, employment, training and housing.

Ten recommendations are aimed at the Ontario government:

Create youth wellness hubs across Ontario with extended hours for youths aged 16 to 24. The hubs should be connected to a 24-hour crisis line.

Provide full and permanent funding to Childrens Aid Societies for youth aged 18 to 23 in the care of a Childrens Aid Society through the Ready Set Go Program.

Adequately fund community mental-health and addiction services for assessment, treatment and relapse prevention services.

Move away from licensing traditional group home settings toward licensing and fully funding smaller care settings, with access to multidisciplinary care teams that wrap around a youth and respond to their individual needs effectively, to improve outcomes and support youth health and wellness.

Identify and implement critical linkages between its Child Welfare Redesign strategy (Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services) and its Roadmap to Wellness strategy (Ministry of Health) to streamline access and facilitate early intervention and wraparound services for children and families. The Province of Ontario should adequately fund and implement community-based prevention services to avoid intrusive child welfare involvement. This should include addiction and mental-health services for parents.

Provide sufficient and sustained funding for mobile crisis intervention teams and crisis call diversion programs.

Support and implement Waterloo Regional Police Services 2021 Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police resolution, as endorsed and passed, as it relates to Response to Mental Health (Non-Public Safety) Calls and Authorities under the Mental Health Act.

Ensure that community-based nonpolice crisis response teams are available 24/7 across the province and are sufficiently funded to provide effective response times.

Create or amend legislation, and provide supporting funding, that would allow for Situation Tables or Connectivity Tables within all communities to be mandated. Consideration should be given to authorizing the sharing of information to allow for the efficient identification of persons in crisis for referrals and support. The mandate of such Tables should be the identification and support of those that may be receiving treatment while in crisis but not accessing or offered support in between those crises.

Use the model adopted by the Gerstein Crisis Centre to launch similar programs across Ontario and continue support of the existing centre in the City of Toronto.

One recommendation is directed at both the provincial government and municipal governments:

Adopt a Housing First commitment for youth 16 and over in the care of a Childrens Aid Society and receiving extended support from a Society under the Ready Set Go program, by ensuring there is adequate funding and supply for affordable, supportive transitional housing up to and including young adults aged 23.

One is aimed at all police agencies, Childrens Aid Societies and health-care clinics or professionals who support youth 16 to 24 with complex needs:

Be empowered to initiate case conferencing and case management if such a process would be helpful in co-ordinating supports for the young person. Any case conference process should be strengths-based and place the young person and his or her family at the centre.

One recommendation is for Childrens Aid Societies:

Ensure youth are being connected with a worker in the community in which they reside in order to maximize knowledge of, and referrals to, local resources and supports. In the case of interjurisdictional case management, information about available local services should flow regularly and freely between the collaborating agencies.

One is for police services that use mobile crisis intervention teams:

Ensure that such teams are promptly advised of any calls involving persons in crisis for which they are not part of the initial response by police, subject to applicable privacy laws and other statutory restrictions. This will ensure that (the mobile crisis intervention team) is available to engage in any followup with the person after the immediate crisis is resolved.

Two recommendations are for the Ministry of the Solicitor General:

Support initiatives (including amendments to any adequacy standards or legislation) that would allow for the transfer of first response to mental-health calls not involving safety concerns (such as a threat of violence to others or the person in crisis) to other, community-based nonpolice agencies.

Consult with mental-health experts, people with lived experience, and the police to create, maintain and mandate integrated use-of-force, mental-health and de-escalation training for all police officers (after recruitment training). This training should also be made available to crisis response workers who work with police to respond to persons in crisis.

Two are for Waterloo Regional Police:

Until such time as there is provincially mandated curriculum ... undertake to have their in-service training with respect to use of force and de-escalation reviewed by peer-run advocacy groups and other community-based crisis and mental health service providers prior to the training being delivered. The Ministry of the Solicitor General should provide sufficient and consistent funding to allow the WRPS to engage in this type of training review and to allow for members from the same peer-run advocacy groups and other community-based crisis and mental health service providers to assist with the delivery of de-escalation training.

Ensure that any officer involved in a situation in which they are required to draw their firearm as a result of threat of serious bodily harm or death shall receive a documented debrief with a supervisor prior to their next shift.

Two are for both the provincial government and Ontario medical schools:

Take necessary measures to ensure that patients have timely access to child and adolescent psychiatrists, including but not limited to funding for additional residency positions dedicated to child and adolescent psychiatry.

Take necessary measures (i.e. raising caps) to allow for training of additional primary care physicians and child and adolescent psychiatrists.:

One is for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario:

Encourage physicians to remain up to date with evidence-based treatment plans and drugs related to mental-health cases.

One is for the Ontario Ministry of Education:

Provide information on mental-health supports available in the community through schools and incorporate age-appropriate curriculum regarding mental health.

One is for every party listed in the recommendations:

Secure adequate funding and resources to implement these recommendations.

The Office of the Chief Coroner (OCC) distributes inquest recommendations to organizations for them to implement.

The OCC asks recipients to respond within six months to indicate if the recommendation(s) was implemented, and if not, the rationale for their position, according to its website.

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WATERLOO REGION  Flair Airlines has cut its growth forecast by half at the Region of Waterloo International Airport after the carrier didnt pay leases on four jetliners which were then repossessed.

The discount airline previously said it would grow passengers by 30 per cent in 2023 and base a third jetliner at the regional airport in June. The revised plan announced Friday is to further delay a third jetliner and aim for 15 per cent more passengers.

Flair has brought a surge of passengers to the regional airport since 2021 when Waterloo regional government gave it exclusive, temporary rights to certain routes.

However, the Flair fleet will be limited to 21 airplanes at peak this summer after the drama of March 11 when four airplanes were repossessed. The airline has partly replaced the grounded airplanes with other aircraft that are leased or on order, but Flair remains far below its original goal of 30 airplanes by the end of 2023.

The business is stable, airline president Stephen Jones told reporters on a media call Friday. Were back to normal. Everything is running smoothly. But we have had to make some adjustments based on the events of three weeks ago.

Four seized jets are not returning to Flair, Jones acknowledged. This includes one based in Breslau.

Civil aviation records show Transport Canada cancelled registrations for the airplanes March 13. A website that tracks airplane sales shows they are currently being shopped around for lease, available immediately from Airborne Capital, the Ireland-based firm that repossessed them. Flair is suing Airborne Capital over the repossessions.

Jones said Flair provided $36 million in value to the regional economy last year, citing airline jobs and airport tourism.

We are the only airline in Kitchener-Waterloo of any consequence, and we believe in it, he said.

Im not going to say its an easy journey, but we are committed to it. And so weve had to cut our cloth to fit the circumstances. Its an unfortunate circumstance and we wish we werent in this position. And so weve had to make adjustments across the entire network, not just to to Kitchener-Waterloo.

Airport manager Chris Wood could not say how Flairs reduced growth will affect the airport, which was forecasting a surge to 600,000 passengers and a surge to $12 million in revenue. The airport had 375,000 passengers last year who mostly flew on Flair.

The airport will begin to reforecast over the coming weeks after we fully understand the changes Flair have made, Wood said.

The airline provided few details about a schedule in flux. Flair still plans to add more flights this summer to Abottsford, B.C. as well as flights in December to Mexican resort Puerto Vallarta. But Edmonton flights will be suspended, the airline said.

Flair, which leads the nation in passenger complaints, says it has compensated all but a handful of almost 2,000 passengers whose flights were cancelled when four jetliners were seized. This includes more than 600 passengers whose flights were cancelled at the regional airport.

The airline says it hired an outside consulting agency to calculate its economic impact in 2022.

The methodology looks at 188 full-time employees, including Flair airline managers who work outside this region, as well as airport staff and contractors engaged by the airline. It estimates tourism and visitor spending connected to Flair has resulted in further 226 jobs in the region.

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KITCHENER  Beau Baker, a troubled young Kitchener man, died by suicide, an inquest jury has ruled.

Baker, 20, was armed with a small kitchen knife when he was fatally shot by Waterloo Regional Police officer Eric Boynton in 2015 outside Bakers apartment building at 77 Brybeck Cres.

The inquest jury had four options: suicide, homicide, accident or undetermined.

The two-week inquest ended on Friday with the suicide ruling. Cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso.

Baker had experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.

Beau Baker was a young man, a beloved family member and friend who died tragically in an interaction with police, said Dr. David Eden, the presiding officer at the inquest.

He had a serious and long-standing mental disorder which likely played a role in his death.

In a one-year period leading up to the night he died, Baker visited hospital emergency departments 26 times.

I have never in 50 years of my career and practice  ever heard anybody make 26 visits in a year, testified Dr. Peter Szatmari, an expert in adolescent mental health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Baker was often suicidal and asking for help.

I find it very distressing that somebody would have to go through this pain and agony, Szatmari said, adding that agencies failed to work together to help Baker.

The jury of three women and two men made 24 recommendations aimed at preventing deaths in similar circumstances.

We are deeply concerned by the message that the jurys verdict of suicide sends to other people experiencing crisis and interacting with police, Bakers mother, Jackie Baker, said in a statement on Friday.

However, I believe that if Beau had access to the types of services that the jury calls for in its recommendations, they would have changed the trajectory of Beaus life. I hope the recommendations will be implemented and prevent another family from having to go through what we have gone through.

In a 911 call shortly before the shooting, Beau Baker threatened to stab police officers, paramedics and others. He also said he would kill himself.

Boynton, a constable with regional police when he shot Baker but now a staff sergeant, testified he feared for his life and the lives of others when Baker moved toward him while holding the knife. He fired his pistol seven times. The first shots missed.

The Special Investigations Unit cleared Boynton of any criminal wrongdoing.

Lawyers representing Boynton, the police chief and the police board asked the jury to find Bakers death was a suicide.

The evidence demonstrates Mr. Baker undertook a series of calculated and intentional actions knowing or reasonably expecting that it would result in a potentially fatal response from a police officer, Boynton lawyer Lucas OHara told the jury.

Asha James, a lawyer representing the Baker family, had urged the jury to conclude Baker died by homicide.

James said Boynton knew that firing at Baker could be fatal.

Suicide attempts

Baker had tried to kill himself more than once, but he never told Boynton to shoot him or kill him, James said.

It is a real stretch of the evidence, she said, to get to a suicide verdict.

Baker made a video just minutes before he died.

Mr. Baker states, Well see where this goes in the next 15, meaning the next 15 minutes, OHara said. Mr. Baker then outlines three possibilities of what he believes will happen: that he goes to jail, that he gets killed or that he goes to the psych ward because I am going to stab a cop. 

Fourteen minutes later, OHara said, Baker told 911, I dont want to live and I need somebody with a gun because I have a knife.

Outside Bakers apartment, Boynton said he asked Baker what he had in his hand. A really sharp knife, Baker said, according to Boynton.

Baker knew the comment would prompt the officer to draw his firearm, OHara said.

Boynton said Baker threatened to stab him in the face.

It was obvious to me with no degree of uncertainty that he had the intent, the means and the ability to carry out the threats that he had made to me... Boynton testified.

Mother testifies

Bakers mother was asked at the inquest what Beau was like as a child.

In my opinion, Beau was a cutie, Jackie Baker said. He was creative. He was the little version of the 20-year-old version. He thought of others.

He had a learning disability as a child, but the exact problem wasnt diagnosed, his mother said. Further testing would cost money that she didnt have.

Baker spent time in foster care as his mother struggled with her own issues.

When he returned to her custody, the Childrens Aid Society of London and Middlesex offered no support to ease transition from a group home, she said. (He had lived in London, Ont., and remained under the auspices of the London Childrens Aid when he lived in Kitchener.)

Baker had a close relationship with his grandmother. When she died in 2011, he became sad and angry, his mother said. He developed an alcohol problem.

Beau Baker didnt have enough access to mental-health support, his mother said.

We had each other, she said. We talked, we cried. We were very close.

Eden, the presiding officer at the inquest, thanked Bakers mother for her role at the inquest. She was there every day.

Her active involvement was critical in shaping this inquest and her presence during this inquest reminded us that an inquest is not an abstract exercise  its an inquiry into the death of a real, beloved person, Eden said.

Disappointed

James, the Baker family lawyer, issued a statement on Friday.

While we are disappointed that the jury did not find that Beaus death was a homicide, she said, the jurys verdict is a recognition that Beau was a person suffering from mental illness who was crying out for help.

Tragically, Beau never received the help he so desperately needed. It is clear from this jurys verdict and recommendations that we need to change the way we look at those suffering with mental illness in this province and recognize it as a health issue instead of a criminal issue, James added.

The jury provided a road map for how to improve these systems and remedy these failings. We hope that the provincial ministries involved, the childrens aid societies, and the police services in Ontario will follow these recommendations to the letter. Without systemic reform, and sufficient funding, these systems will continue to fail young people like Beau Baker.

Bakers inquest was delayed for several reasons, including the pandemic, the death of a prosecutor and a request by the officer who shot Baker to remain anonymous during the inquest.

Group homes

Baker had a difficult life, including stints in foster care group homes.

At the time of his death, despite being 20, he remained under the auspices of the London Childrens Aid Society. He would have been cut off from CAS support when he turned 21.

Reka Kadar, a child protection worker with the London CAS, said she was shocked to learn of Bakers death.

This was the saddest event in my CAS career of 23 years, she told the jury. Its going to be with me for the rest of my life.

Kadar was Bakers worker for five years. He had been a Crown ward when he lived in London and continued to get support from Kadar when he was an adult living in Kitchener.

She knew that Baker had previously tried to take his own life, but did not know he had suicidal thoughts in the days leading up to his death and had made many visits to hospital emergency departments.

Kadar said it would help if childrens aid workers had more time with each client.

A lot of time we are meeting with a youth and were in a rush because we have to go and see someone else, she said.

Kadars last meeting with Baker was nine days before he died. She said he seemed to be under the influence of a substance.

Baker worked briefly at Amway and dreamed of opening a tattoo business. But he could be impulsive and had trouble following a plan, Kadar said.

After the meeting ended, Kadar wrote out notes in her car in the parking lot of Bakers apartment building.

As she drove off, she saw a shirtless Baker with two friends dancing and being silly on top of a snowbank, she said.

That was the last time I saw him.

Many childrens aid workers went to his funeral, she said.

He was a great kid, Kadar said. He had challenges, but he was very kind and very social and I know that he was liked by very many.

He tried hard to manage life the best that he could.

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The woman and her three young children were struggling to walk up the hill toward the Kitchener train station.

It was snowing hard, the hill was steep, and they were holding suitcases.

By chance, Colleen James saw them.

I thought, Oh my goodness, thats not OK,  said James. She went over to help them.

James, who happens to be an elected regional councillor, is now planning to ask what the Region of Waterloo can do to make that path easier to navigate. She said some of the land is owned by the region. She plans to bring the issue up at a planning and works committee meeting next week.

Its not safe the way it is now, she said.

In fact, the hill is not an official pathway. Its an improvised shortcut for people heading to the train station on foot. At the intersection of Weber and Victoria streets, opposite the encampment of homeless people that still remains there, pedestrians climb a steep hill with a gully cut into it.

When I went to see it on Thursday, it was slippery with mud, yet with hundreds of footprints attesting to its popularity.

Is there a safer way to get to the station? Yes, but it takes longer  you have to walk further along Victoria and then turn up Ahrens Street. There are sidewalks there. But when people are in a hurry or have heavy luggage to carry, its easy to see why the shortest route is also the one that most people use.

James said a safer community is a priority of hers. She thinks it should be possible to build at least a temporary pedestrian access path.

The whole episode reminded me that people travelling on foot dont always use the path that the government has built for them, because it doesnt work for them.

And thats because pedestrians and their concerns are not at the centre of the conversation when transportation systems are being planned

Remember a few years ago, when people living on Traynor Avenue in Kitchener were cut off from their usual pedestrian route to the stores, coffee shops and other amenities on busy nearby Fairway Road South?

They used to walk easily across a hydro allowance. But then the train tracks for light rail were built, and fences were constructed on both sides of the tracks. These fences blocked their way.

The next part of the story is revelatory: Rather than walk all the way to the official crossing along a smooth, paved path, which would have added 10 minutes to their journey, they cut a hole through the fences, scrambled up a stony slope, crossed the tracks, and went down another slope to another hole cut in another fence. Then theyd be on Fairway Road.

If the government mended the fence, another hole was cut elsewhere. These people were going to take the most direct route, no matter what.

It was incredibly dangerous. But it didnt stop until after the trains had started running in 2019 and local governments built a pedestrian crossing and walkway where the people wanted to cross.

Its easy to describe this as irresponsible.

But its also true that pedestrians seem to be an afterthought in a transportation system built for vehicles.

Sidewalks are clogged with snow for days after the roads are cleared. Multi-use trails dont protect pedestrians from careless cyclists and skateboarders. Roundabouts are wonderful to keep vehicle traffic flowing, but they are dangerous, even deadly, for pedestrians.

Maybe the pedestrians arent really the ones who should be taking the blame.

Update on unresponsive MPPs: Last month I wrote about on the Nith Valley EcoBoosters, an environmentalist group whose members got so frustrated when they couldnt get a meeting with Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris  despite repeated requests  that they held a demonstration outside his Elmira office. Local media reported on the protest and then they got their appointment. Harris staff responded to me the same day I asked them about it.

It turns out that Harris isnt the only MPP whos slow to answer requests for a meeting.

Mike Brennan of Kitchener wrote to this paper to say he had contacted Kitchener South-Hespeler MPP Jess Dixon (PC) six times by email, letter and phone call.

I have simply asked her to address my concerns about development on Greenbelt lands. I have not heard from Ms. Dixon at all since my first attempt in early December, he wrote in a letter on Feb. 22.

This paralyzing, passive aggressive behaviour of both Kitchener MPPs, Harris and Dixon, should not be applauded as the proper way to act as a civil servant. Their silence is deafening!

I contacted Dixons office to ask why Brennans request had not been answered. Weeks later, her office still has not replied.

Luisa DAmato is a Waterloo Region-based staff columnist for The Record. Reach her via email: ldamato@therecord.com

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The president of Belarus says Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in his country along with part of Russias tactical nuclear arsenal, as NATO eastern flank members on Friday called for a stepped-up US military presence in the region as they looked ahead to an alliance summit in Vilnius in July.

Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed to Belarus along with part of Russia's tactical nuclear arsenal, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that his country intended to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The strategic nuclear weapons such as missile-borne warheads that Lukashenko mentioned during his state-of-the nation address would pose an even greater threat, if Moscow moves them to the territory of its neighbor and ally.

"We need to work to grow the US presence in our region on the eastern flank in terms of troops and equipment," Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said after talks with his counterparts in the so-called Bucharest Nine.

Ministers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia reiterated calls for boosting the defence capabilities of the region which borders war-torn Ukraine.

"If we have a strong defence, then we are able to project a strong deterrence as far as Russia's destabilizing and assertive conduct is concerned," Aurescu said following the talks in a Polish city of Lodz.

"This is the only language Russia understands," he added.

Aurescu called for "more air defence, more anti missile capacities on our territories... more surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence means."

The B9 countries also pledged further support for Ukraine in fending off Russia's invasion.

"The B9 countries are leaders here, also in terms of mobilising the allies to bolder actions, as it was in the case of transferring the MiG-29 fighter jets or tanks," Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said.

"We all support the accession of Ukraine to NATO," Aurescu added, saying that "the priority now is to support Ukraine to win this war."

Belarus was a staging ground for Russian troops to launch their invasion of Ukraine a little over 13 months ago. Lukashenko, in office since 1994, delivered his annual address amid escalating tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

Both Lukashenko and Putin have alleged that Western powers want to ruin Russia and Belarus.

Putin and I will decide and introduce here, if necessary, strategic weapons, and they must understand this, the scoundrels abroad, who today are trying to blow us up from inside and outside," the Belarusian leader said. "We will stop at nothing to protect our countries, our state and their peoples.

We will protect our sovereignty and independence by any means necessary, including through the nuclear arsenal, Lukashenko said . Dont say we will just be looking after them, and these are not our weapons. These are our weapons and they will contribute to ensuring sovereignty and independence.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was forced to leave Belarus under official pressure after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election that the opposition and the West, denounced Lukashenko's push for Russian nuclear weapons as a betrayal of national interests.

The deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus put the lives of Belarusians in serious danger and turns our country into a potential target for strikes, including nuclear strikes at the whim of the two dictators, Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press.

Earlier in the address, Lukashenko called for a cease-fire in Ukraine.

A truce must be announced without any preconditions, and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted, he said.

Belarus and Russia have intensified their military cooperation since the start of the Ukraine war. Moscow has kept its troops and weapons in Belarus, although no Belarusian troops have participated in the fighting.

Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan all relinquished Soviet nuclear weapons, which were left on their terrotories after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Under the so-called Budapest Memorandum that accompanied giving up the weapons, Russia, the United States and Britain agreed to respect the territorial integrity of those countries.

Ukraine has repeatedly complained that Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and the 2022 invasion violate that agreement.

Lukashenko said Friday that he did not want to lose his country's nuclear weapons but was pressured into doing so by then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Speaking about the possible deployment of Russian strategic nuclear weapons to Belarus in Friday's speech, Lukashenko said that a week ago he ordered his military to immediately put the former base for Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles in order to make it ready for use. It's a highly technologically sophisticated structure, he said.

All the infrastructure has been created and is standing ready, Lukashenko declared. I'm sure that those measures will help sober up all those hawks across the ocean and their satellites for a long time ahead and force them to reckon with our people if they don't understand different language.

"The next month, the next period will be crucial for the fate of the war in Ukraine," Aurescu said.

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Needed : Visionary leaders Look 30/40 years hence

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A long term vision. Many of the vexatious issues besieging Manipur right now are matters that could have been avoided or averted or may simply not have risen at all if successive Governments down the years had been guided with a vision, the ability to look beyond the next twenty/thirty or even fifty years. The crackdown launched by Imphal on large scale poppy plantations may be seen as a step towards ensuring a safer future for the coming generations and this is a step which may be said to have been dictated by a long term vision. The follies of history and in many ways Manipur may be said to be paying the price for the blunders of the past and this is where extra care needs to be taken now so that the future does not suffer or face uncertainty due to the failure of the present generation to shake off the shackles of the past and fail to look beyond the immediate. This is where Imphal would need to look at the different points put up by different groups with an eye to the next three/four decades. The different challenges that have cropped up to question the existence of Manipur as a geo-political reality may be said to be a failure to take everyone along with the idea of a unified Manipur. This is where one may look at the idea of a Greater Lim, floated and championed by the NSCN (IM) under Thuingaleng Muivah and note the fact that this is an idea which had already spread amongst the Naga folks of Manipur long before the ceasefire agreement was inked with New Delhi back in 1997. Long before the truce pact was signed in 1997, the movement for a unified Naga homeland was already put in motion and this was most visible at its most base form in the fact that no Naga student from Manipur identified himself or herself with any student organisation with a pan Manipur outlook. So it is that no Naga student from Manipur would identify himself or herself with the Manipur Students Association Delhi, instead preferring to be with the Naga Students Union, Delhi. It is the same in other cities of India where a sizeable number of students from Manipur study. This is also the same story in Manipur with no students from the Naga community identifying themselves with any student group with a pan Manipur outlook. Significant to note that all the Naga centric student organisations are affiliated to the Nagaland based Naga Students Federation-a federation. Time to seriously study and introspect why no other community other than the Meiteis identify themselves with the idea of a Manipur.

No doubt, the BJP led Government at Imphal is leaving no stone unturned to reach out to the hills and in the process promote the idea of a Manipur which is home to different communities but this may not be enough and the different civil society organisations too have a crucial role to play. This is where the announcement that DESAM and ANSAM would work together on crucial issues some years back was of such interest to The Sangai Express. This is a good beginning and if there is the All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM) to give a common voice to the tribal students of Manipur, then one may also look at the coming together of DESAM and ANSAM as a significant step of two student organisations joining hands to give more teeth to issues which are common to the people. This is at the level of students, but given that students have always played a crucial role in issues which are of importance to the people, it is extremely significant. One hopes that it takes off from here and steps are worked out to see whether the United Naga Council (UNC) may also work together with any of the other organisations which have a pan Manipur outlook. These steps are important for the future of the land and the people especially at this point of time when different forces are at work toying with the understanding of Manipur and her people. Time for all to look beyond the immediate and see where they would like Manipur and her people to be 20/30 years hence.
The Sangh and SwarajRole of RSS in freedom struggle

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Dr Sagolsem Kulachandra Singh (Kendra Pramukh, Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Manipur)

Contd from previous issue

When the Inspector threatened action the agitation intensified with boycotting the class .Ultimately he himself came into open as he did not want his friends to suffer. He was dismissed from that school. (Dr. Hedgewar NH. Palkar, Marathi 5th edition, 2000 pages 21-22.)

After he finished his doctors degree he returned to Nagpur to pursue his dream of freeing India.

Dr KB Hedgewara committed Congress party member Dr Hedgewar was joint organiser of the National session of the Indian National Congress in 1920 in Nagpur along with Dr Hardikar. They recruited about 1,200 volunteers for the purpose. Dr Hedgewar was the Joint Secretary of Nagpur Branch of the Indian National Congress at that time. He did such a wonderful job that his stature in the party and his following rose sharply. Dr Hedgewar had presented a resolution to the resolution committee, of which he was a member that demanded Complete Freedom. It was rejected by the committee.

The proposed resolution said Goal of Congress is to achieve complete freedom and establishing Indian republic and to liberate other Nations of the world from exploitation and atrocities of capitalist imperialism. (Dr KB Hedgewar, Rakesh Sinha, Page 79).

It is noteworthy that Congress declared its resolve for complete independence only after 9 years in 1929 Lahore Conference. It shows that Dr Hedgewar was much ahead of the leaders of his times about his vision of India-not just to be an Independent country, but also help other colonized countries to gain independence from what he termed Capitalist Imperialism.

First Imprisonment

His first imprisonment was for taking part in non cooperation movement in 1921. Dr Hedgewar gave highly aggressive speeches with Dr Munje in many places. To stop him the District Collector Cyril James Irwin banned his public speaking and holding meetings for one year vide notice dated 23 February 1921 and put on trial in May 1921 for his objectionable speeches. His defence on 5th August was so fiery that the Judge Smelly exclaimed, His statement of defence is more seditious than his speech. He was given one year imprisonment on 19th August. (Dr. Manmohan Vaidya, Panchjanya 11.12.2018, page 31).

Key is Unity and Self-Sacrifice

After his release, he kept working for Congress at various levels. He was elected as Joint Secretary of the State Congress Committee in 1922.

Dr Hedgewar Decision to Reform Hindu Society - Dr. Hedgewar could see that it was possible only by keeping away from politics thereby he founded Rastritya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1925 on Vijayadashin Day in a meeting with 22 colleagues of his, at his home.

Total Commitment to Complete Freedom.

In the Lahore session of All India Congress Committee in Dec 1929, Congress declared complete independence as its goal. Dr Hedgewar sent out a notification to all his RSS shakhas. We are very happy to see that AICC has spelt out its goal very clearly, So, it is our duty to support and co-operate with this organisation. It is but natural. As a part of this duty, all shakhas should come together on the evening of 26th January, 1930 at 6 pm; salute the National flag, i.e. bhagwa flag.

(To be contd)


Lower Spencer Creek is among 13 subwatersheds that got a D, or poor, for surface water quality in the Hamilton Conservation Authoritys 2023 Watershed Report Card.



The Hamilton Conservation Authority says 10 lower grades for surface water quality in its 2023 report card on the health of city watersheds dont indicate conditions are deteriorating  although a majority are now ranked poor or very poor.

Deputy chief administrative officer Scott Peck said the 2023 Report Card, released on March 22 to coincide with World Water Day, reflects additional monitoring data since the last report card in 2018.

Ontarios conservation authorities issue the report cards every five years using common guidelines and standards.

Its not that the water quality has gotten worse, its just that we have a better understanding because we have more parameters to look at as it relates to those water quality issues, Peck said.

The city has seven major watersheds  including lands draining into Lake Ontario via Spencer, Chedoke, Red Hill and Battlefield/Stoney creeks  which the report card subdivides into 28 subwatersheds.

It assigns grades of A to F for 21 of the 28 subwatersheds, with A being excellent and F very poor. The seven remaining subwatersheds still have insufficient data for a grade.

No subwatershed got an A for surface water quality, unlike 2018, when only Sulphur Creek received that grade. It got a D in 2023. Just two got a B, or good  upper Spencer and Tiffany creeks  while six got a C, or fair: Fletcher, Logies, Sulphur, Ancaster, Red Hill and Montgomery creeks.

Eight received a D, or poor, including Flamborough, middle and lower Spencer, Hannon, lower Davis and Fifty creeks, as well as parts of the Stoney/Battlefield watershed.

The five Fs, or very poor, went to Westover, West Spencer, Spring and Chedoke creeks, and parts of the Stoney/Battlefield watershed. Spring Creek had received a B in 2018.

Areas with insufficient data include Sydenham Creek, Hamiltons urban core, Greenhill, Upper Ottawa and Stoney Creeks numbered watercourses.

Peck said the authority and city have programs to enhance and restore subwatersheds with poor surface water quality, addressing issues like rural and urban water runoff, stormwater management and buffers around watercourses.

Thats ultimately what we use this report card (for), to further understand where we can do more work and where things are in good condition, he said.

The report card also assesses the citys forest conditions, groundwater and wetland cover. While the latter is new for 2023, Peck said the authoritys information shows wetlands and the other two categories are basically maintaining the status quo.

Forest cover is generally the best in the citys west end, with three subwatersheds getting an A, three a B, eight a C, 10 a D and four an F  the latter including the urban core, Green Hill, Upper Ottawa and Hannon.

Groundwater grades were unchanged from 2018, with four of seven wells getting an A for nitrite concentrations, one a B and two a C.

But three wells got an F for chloride concentrations, including in the West Spencer, Westover and Hannon subwatersheds, while three got an A and one a B.

The best well, scoring an A in both, was in the Beverly Swamp, while the worst, scoring an F in chlorides and C in nitrite, was near the former Beverly public school.

Wetland cover was markedly better in the west end of the city, where five subwatersheds scored an A and three a C, while those to the east generally got an F.

Peck said Stoney Creeks water quality will benefit from an authority initiative that built a wetland at the sprawling Saltfleet Conservation Area. Three more are planned as part of efforts to reduce flash flooding and erosion along lower Battlefield and Stoney creeks.

Wetlands do act as sponges, so that serves to address some of those water quality issues, he said.

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Hamilton advocates pleaded with councillors and other levels of government to help the citys homeless population recently in order to prevent the complete collapse of the citys shelter system.

Shawn MacKeigan of Mission Services, along with representatives from the Good Shepherd and Salvation Army, said the homeless crisis the city is experiencing now is like nothing they have ever seen before.

The fear and hopelessness we witness in the people we are serving is untenable, MacKeigan told councillors.

The situation prompted Stoney Creek Coun. Brad Clark to prepare a motion to be presented April 6 to declare a state of emergency over the homelessness crisis. He said the more municipalities declare an emergency, the quicker the provincial government will respond to the situation.

But Premier Doug Ford said his government is doing all it can to help.

We are pouring money into (homeless programs) right across the province, said Ford at McMaster University March 30. It is so important to get people help, get people support. We are putting money into supporting them.

The Ontario government in October declined a request from the city for more funding to address its housing crisis. The letter stated the province allocated more than $52 million for the 2022-23 fiscal year for housing and homelessness, including $23.7 million from its Homeless Prevention Program.

Ford was accompanied by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, Health Minister Sylvia Jones, Minister of Tourism Neil Lumsden and Flamborough-Glanbrook MPP Donna Skelly.

Yet in Hamilton, the homeless crisis continues to grow despite attempts by the city to get people housed.

There were about 1,500 people at the end of 2022 homeless, an increase from about 1,000 in 2020 and 1,200 in 2021, stated a report to council.

Manny Figueiredo, president and CEO of the YMCA of Hamilton, Burlington and Brantford, told the committee, there are 174 men transitioning to permanent housing in the YWCAs living residence, with 220 others on a wait list.

He said six men died in their beds last year because of the lack for services they required. A health report recently revealed that at least 22 people experiencing homelessness died in Hamilton from June to November in 2022.

Over the last three years, the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness  going without a home for more than six months  has been about 500, said Michelle Baird, the director of the citys housing services.

Hamilton councillors at their March 29 meeting, approved about $44 million in housing support, including $2.6 million for the YWCA for its transitional program at MacNab Street, as part of the 2023 budget.

But city staff said the city needs an additional $20 million annually to end chronic homelessness by 2025.

I dont see a path forward for this city alone, said Mike Zegarac, the citys corporate services general manager recently.

Several councillors blamed the provincial government for downloading programs and services onto the backs of municipalities without any corresponding funding for the problem.

Mountain Coun. John-Paul Danko said the city is paying about $15 million for encampment programs, housing services and shelters, along with another $4 million for more paramedics, areas that the provincial government should be funding.

These are directly due to provincial downloading, said Danko.

But Ford, at his news conference at McMaster University, refused to accept any blame for the municipalitys woes.

We are helping municipalities across this province, said Ford.

Bethlenfalvy said the recent provincial budget doubled the Community Investment Fund from $1 billion to $2 billion, provided an additional $202 million each year to the Homeless Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program and contributed new support for mental health and addiction with $500 million over the next three years.

We are putting more into homelessness, said Ford. We will continue to work with municipalities, especially in the larger cities.

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More than 53,000 people in the Hamilton area dont have a family doctor, with research showing the crisis is getting worse.

Data from Ontario research group INSPIRE Primary Health Care shows the number of residents without a family doctor has increased to 53,288 in 2022 from 49,338 in 2020 in the Greater Hamilton Health Network, which includes Hamilton, Haldimand and Niagara North West.

The message is a really clear one that all Hamiltonians deserve a family doctor  its essential to their own health and the health of the system overall, said Dr. Cathy Risdon, a Hamilton family doctor and a professor of family medicine at McMaster University. The situation in Hamilton is worsening. Weve seen an increase in the number of patients without access to a family doctor ... and, of course, its the people who really need care that are disproportionately impacted by the family physician shortage. Im just worried about whats going to happen to those people if we cant get them a family doctor.

Premier Doug Ford was at McMaster on Thursday to highlight the $33 million over three years that has been earmarked to expand Ontario medical schools. He was joined by Health Minister Sylvia Jones and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy.

The provincial cash that was set out in the budget tabled on March 23 adds another 100 undergraduate medical school seats and 154 postgraduate medical training seats beginning in 2024. The spots are prioritized for Ontario residents.

When it comes to health care, we know the status quo is no longer acceptable, said Ford. Too many people are waiting too long for surgeries, having to travel too far to see a doctor or spending too much time navigating our health-care system.

But educating more doctors doesnt guarantee they will go into primary care. For the second year in a row, McMaster has an unusually high number of family doctor training spots left empty after the first round of matching.

As of March 22, McMaster had 11 unfilled spots for family medicine residencies compared to 18 after the first round last year.

In the past, the university has generally had five or fewer unmatched spots for its roughly 87 family-medicine residencies for medical school graduates and 14 more for foreign-trained physicians.

Its a national concern, said Risdon. The government has recognized the need to replenish the family-medicine workforce and its investing in new training spots. But without the changes to the practice environment, learners are voting with their feet and are not making a family medicine career choice. I really strongly believe we offer an absolutely fantastic training experience. What we need is for the practice environment to be equally enticing and attractive.

Last year, McMaster was able to ultimately fill all of the unfilled primary-care residencies during the second round of matching. However, 12 of them were in Hamilton compared to none left unfilled in the city this year.

The current open spots include six in Kitchener-Waterloo, two in Brampton, two in rural Mount Forest and one in Six Nations.

Risdon says there are straightforward solutions to making family medicine an attractive specialty again.

The first is to invest more in team-based care that consists of a number of health-care professionals working together instead of solo family doctor practices.

Training as a family doctor in a team-based environment definitely adds to the career satisfaction, said Risdon. The majority of Ontarians do not have access to team-based care, and family docs running a solo practice without that kind of support are getting extremely burned out.

Next is to relieve some of the administrative burden on family practices, which Risdon says has increased sharply  particularly third-party forms.

The joyous part of being a physician is caring for patients, said Risdon. But the amount of time we get to spend doing that has shrunken considerably.

Last, Risdon says there needs to be better co-ordination in the health-care system so family doctors dont spend excessive amounts of time advocating on behalf of their patients.

Risdon gives the example of a patient who needs to see an orthopedic surgeon. Family doctors may have to contact seven different doctors before one agrees to take on the patient with little or no explanation of why the others turned them down.

The lack of co-ordination in the health-care system is really an enormous burden on family docs, said Risdon. I want my patient to get care, but in the absence of a centralized referral theres almost no way for me to know how to connect that person. So me and my staff deal with endless numbers of phone calls, frustrated patients and just a lack of clear access to other services.

The issue is significant because family physicians play a key role in knowing their patients full history and helping them navigate the system.

I can detect diseases early, I can co-ordinate care, I can understand when a person might need a specialist or if theyre coming in with something that weve dealt with before, said Risdon. The family doctor is just so core to the persons life and, in the absence of that, theres nothing else in the system that can replace it.

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Israel staged airstrikes on the suburbs of Syria's capital Damascus early Friday morning, killing Milad Heidari, an Iranian military adviser from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Iran's state TV reported.

Irans state TV also warned that Israel would receive a response for the crime.

Syrian state news agency SANA acknowledged the attack, quoting a military source who said the missile barrage came from the direction of the Golan Heights at 12:17am.

"The Syrian air defense system successfully intercepted several of the missiles, but the attack resulted in some material damage," the source added.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani strongly condemned the attacks.

Unfortunately, the international community did not have the expected and deterrent reaction to the aggressive and continuous military attacks by Israel on Syria, including civilian airports and residential areas," Kanaani said.

He added that such aggressive practices are a clear and ongoing violation of international laws and regulations.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges specific operations.

Israel says it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanons Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Al-Assads forces.

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Say goodbye to that last bit of snowpack.

Hamilton Conservation Authority upgraded their watershed conditions Thursday, noting that we are now in a flood watch, with rain Friday and Saturday adding to water levels already above normal.

But with snow-melting weather upon us and more springlike rain in the forecast, has the region finally moved beyond wintry weather?

Not necessarily, said Environment Canada meteorologist Steven Flisfeder.

Were into spring officially, but that doesnt mean the end of winter weather  meaning snow and freezing rain  thats going to be potential for the ... coming weeks, he said.

The past few years weve seen snow in the GTA and Golden Horseshoe well into May, Flisfeder added.

However, there are no serious winter storms in the long-term forecast and, with daytime high temperatures on the rise and more sunshine expected, any pesky April snow isnt expected to stick around, he said.

As the rain falls this weekend, up to 30 millimetres of it Friday and Saturday, HCA water watchers expect the last bit of snowpack to melt away.

All the low-lying areas that typically flood are expected to flood.

More than that, the possibility flooding  and significant flooding in the Spencer Creek watershed  prompted a warning from the conservation authority, asking residents to stay away from bodies of water.

Beyond the current wet weather, another system coming mid next week is expected to bring similar conditions to this one, Flisfeder says.

So keep those rubber boots and umbrellas handy.

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OTTAWA - Economic growth resumed in January and came in better than first expected following a small contraction in December, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Real gross domestic product rose 0.5 per cent to start the year, the agency said, beating its initial estimate for a gain of 0.3 per cent for the month and reversing a contraction of 0.1 per cent in the final month of 2022.

Statistics Canada also said its initial estimate for February indicates growth continued with a gain of 0.3 per cent, though it cautioned the figure will be updated.

There were many indications that the economy got off to a solid start in 2023, but todays double-barrelled blast of strength is well above even the most optimistic views, BMO chief economist Douglas Porter wrote in a report.

Even if growth stalls in March, it now looks like Q1 will post growth of 2.5 per cent, up from a flat read in Q4. While we continue to look for a notable cooldown in the next two quarters, we are bumping up our GDP growth estimate for all of 2023 by three ticks to 1.0 per cent.

The growth in January came as goods-producing industries gained 0.4 per cent for the month, while services-producing industries rose 0.6 per cent.

Statistics Canada said many of the main drivers for growth in January also contributed the most to the decline in December.

The wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sectors all rebounded after falling in the previous month.

Wholesale trade gained 1.8 per cent in January, helped by wholesalers of machinery, equipment and supplies, while the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector grew 1.1 per cent after falling 3.3 per cent in December.

The transportation and warehousing sector added 1.9 per cent in January, more than offsetting a drop of 1.1 per cent in December that was due in part to bad weather.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.

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Books can be magical things. Especially when they get young people engaged in reading and the world around them. Perhaps even more so when they spark their  and our  imaginations, or change the way we see the world.

Reading doesnt come easily to every young person. Although Im close to one who has read author Cherie Dimalines The Marrow Thieves multiple times. In her class is an Indigenous boy who is excited that theres a book he relates to on the curriculum. Theyre in a group together, these two, and they talk about the book and the issues and examine their own relationship to the text and the ideas it sparks.

Thats got to be a kick, I suggested, as Dimaline and I chatted over Zoom from her home north of Toronto.

It was the best thing that I could never have hoped for; I didnt even dare to dream that big, she said. The most beautiful experience is talking to these kids and seeing the ways that they connect to the story.

But not everyone is happy about the tale. A few weeks ago in Bozeman, Montana, parents went to the media, asking that The Marrow Thieves be removed from the Grade 9 school curriculum. The book features a dystopian near-future in which non-Indigenous people have lost their ability to dream, which has led to widespread madness. They can only fix it by eating the bone marrow of Indigenous Peoples, who are unwillingly harvested for the cure in marrow-harvesting factories (not unlike residential schools).

One parent told local television station KBZK that Keeping this book in the curriculum fosters religious bias toward the church and Catholic students  Youre willing for students minds to be poisoned by the sophistry of Canadian history. Other parents were more sanguine: I think this book encourages critical thinking by students, the station reported one parent saying, and another that If we begin to ban books because a narrative doesnt align with one familys beliefs, where do we draw that line on banning books?

Dimaline has a slightly different take. My experience talking to students from all different backgrounds has never been them feeling attacked or left out of the story. Its about (them saying) How do I do better? How do I come together? I wouldnt let this happen again. It turned me into a bit more of an optimist, which is a hard thing to do with me because, man, the kids are all right.

She might not be an optimist, but she was animated and laughed easily as we talked. Its a bit of a contrast to what seem like the distinctly dark themes shes chosen for her latest book for young adults, Funeral Songs for Dying Girls.

Win  short for Winifred  is struggling to live in surroundings that at first glance seem pretty grim. Her father is the caretaker of a cemetery  set around the downtown Regent Park area of Toronto; the Necropolis has obviously provided inspiration  and they live in an apartment above the administrative offices. Her mother died when Win was young; she is interred in the cemetery and her father wears his grief heavily. He is white, her mother was Metis and the one character who connects Win to that community, her Aunt Roberta, dies.

Win is really living in a liminal world: between life and death, childhood and adulthood, and trying to understand who she is and her mixed heritage. Its a coming-of-age story, but also a creation story.

I think that the work of our younger years is not really about finding yourself, its about creating yourself, Dimaline explained. This is the story of one girl in very unusual circumstances doing that work of creating herself. Shes trying to understand so much about herself and the world.

No wonder the narrative is packed with ghosts, the ultimate liminal character: neither here nor there but occupying some magical space in between.

Both this book and VenCo, Dimalines latest for adults that came out earlier in the spring  the Stars reviewer called it a thriller to take down the patriarchy and save the world  have very obvious supernatural elements: the former features seven witches, and the latter ghosts and a graveyard. Both of the books were written during the pandemic and Dimaline mused on how they are really about connection. While we were locked down, we were feeling homesick for each other, for community, and perhaps lost an idea of our own spirituality along the way.

We felt so disconnected  especially for people who had belief systems that involve being in a certain building or having this sort of man whos the intermediary between you and your God.

She wanted, she said, to shake people out of the amnesia (and remind them) that were already connected; were already powerful. Thats not a dig on anyones belief system.

As Win is trying to figure things out, heading toward her 16th birthday and kind of friendless except for best friend Jack, on whom shes developed a decided crush, she meets a ghost in the graveyard: Phil. Phil is young  well, she was young when she died  and provides something of a buffer, it seems to me, between the dead and the living.

Plus the book is full of bones: in the cemetery, naturally, but also theres the idea of things that are bred in the bone and Win collects bones. Again, theres a sense of hovering somewhere between the physical and supernatural worlds.

One of the ideas Dimaline wanted to explore was the difference between ghosts and spirits, between the deceased and ancestors.

One is very lonely, right? she said. A ghost is sort of a wandering, empty, yearning thing and a spirit is a full potential of something beautiful. But the other is the idea of where we come from, where we fit in.

Going back to our experience of the pandemic, she said that, at a time when we were forced to live apart from each other, many of us were in close quarters with things like grief and anxiety. I wanted to look at that grief: where does it live in our body? What are the ways in which it informs our life? How do we use it  so that it emboldens us and its not a weight that holds us down?

Like so many writers trying to get to the core of things, she taps into one of the most primeval experiences we have, delving into fairy tales and the idea of the motherless child. Do we need to be motherless  at least in fairy tales and coming-of-age stories  in order to grow?

Without a mother it feels like in most circumstances that then you have a child who is truly alone, profoundly alone. And we know that even as adults when we lose a parent theres something about standing alone. When (the Indigenous writer and artist) Lee Maracle passed, who was incredibly important in my life, the world immediately felt different. I felt smaller. I felt more fragile.

Knowing that Maracle was in the world, Dimaline said, made her feel protected somehow. She helped me to see my place in the world.

Dimaline also references Canadian writer Heather ONeills incredible, incredible characters, the kind of characters my characters would want to be when they grow up, the kind seen most recently in ONeills novel When We Lost Our Heads.

Theyre characters that refuse shame, they refuse the weight of shame. They have wants and needs, and they say it and they act on it, said Dimaline. And her characters very often are these motherless individuals kind of wandering the landscape and really owning it. Im always inspired by her work in that way. I have these characters that have the strength to bear their humiliation, and try and rise, but they still do feel that sting.

The other book Dimaline is out with this spring is An Anthology of Monsters: How Story Saves Us From Our Anxiety.

Dimaline had, she told me, her first panic attack when she was seven years old. It went undiagnosed for a long time. And so I lived with fear which, of course, is really not the best thing to put with anxiety. I spent a lot of years making myself as small as possible.

That made her really vulnerable to problematic people. I had made myself so tiny, which takes away your voice.

When she was about 20, and a single mom, she went to the doctor, an older man sitting behind a desk. He asked her what she was there for and I just started crying. I (said) I think Im losing my mind. I cant think, I cant breathe sometimes.

He looked at her, she recounted, told her she had anxiety and gave her a prescription. In that moment, he named it, named what she was experiencing and that was empowering  because once something is named it can be externalized.

That is also part of the power of storytelling: Dimaline is reminded, she said, of Neil Gaiman saying about stories (the quote is about fairy tales in particular) that the point isnt to tell you that dragons exist, but that they can be defeated.

Which, really, is what Dimaline is getting at in all of her books. The idea of empowering: women, people with anxiety or young people trying to figure out their place in the world.

Telling stories, including her own, was her way of contributing to that, of letting people know theyre not alone.

Maybe thats why, after The Marrow Thieves, which had a pretty open-ended ending even though she figured it would be a stand-alone novel, she decided to write a sequel. I was peer pressured into it by thousands and thousands of lovely kids who could reach out to her thanks to social media and who wanted to have a conversation. How could she say no?

The ending to Funeral Songs for Dying Girls is pretty open-ended too  no spoilers, we find out pretty close to the beginning that Win and her dad are leaving the city and heading out to B.C.  but we dont know whats going to happen.

If people fall in love with Winifred and Phil, and really need that to be a part of their life, thats a conversation Im willing to have, Dimaline said.

Lee (Maracle) used to always say you have to stand for your stories. You cant just write them and let them go. My responsibility is to stand back, but also maybe to sit down and keep writing.

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Canada will join the United States in a diplomatic initiative to restrict the use of malicious spyware technology to covertly track political opponents, journalists and human rights defenders.

The White House announced on Thursday that the U.S. and its allies are joining forces to enforce regulatory measures against commercial spyware proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware.

The initiative builds on U.S. President Joe Bidens executive order on Monday to prohibit the use of commercial spyware, because of risks to national security and exploitation by foreign actors.

Aside from Canada, the mission includes eight other allies, including Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

Our efforts will allow us to work collectively for the first time as we develop and implement policies to discourage the misuse of commercial spyware, read a joint statement by the countries on Thursday, adding that universal human rights, the rule of law and civil liberties are at the forefront of the efforts.

Apart from confirming Ottawa is involved in the effort, Global Affairs Canada did not respond to the Stars questions about what this might mean for Canadas next steps to restrict the use of spyware.

These principles will allow us to work collectively to discourage the misuse of commercial spyware and encourage the development and implementation of responsible use principles that are consistent with respect for human rights and the rule of law, said Grantly Franklin, Global Affairs Spokesperson.

Bidens executive order only applies to U.S. federal government departments and agencies, which includes those working in collaborations with law enforcement, defence, or intelligence activities, according to the White House.

The misuse of these tools presents significant and growing risks to our national security, including to the safety and security of our government personnel, information, and information systems, read a White House statement on Mondays order.

We are committed, where applicable and subject to national legal frameworks, to implementing the Guiding Principles on Government Use of Surveillance Technologies and the Code of Conduct developed within the Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative.

The restrictions also indicate that some international entities will be monitored under the Department of Commerces export control list. But, the order does not restrict spyware developed by government agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency, or Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The U.S. government has identified devices associated with 50 U.S. government personnel overseas in at least 10 countries that are confirmed or suspected to have been targeted by commercial spyware, the White House statement said.

The Biden administration imposed sanctions last year on NSO Group, the Israeli company that manufactures Pegasus.

Pegasus software has been linked to the surveillance of human rights advocates, journalists and politicians, which Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, led by Ronald Deibert, has been monitoring since 2016.

The United States uses all sorts of surveillance technologies and border crossings and intelligence and they will still use spyware, just not the type that causes so much harm, said Deibert.

So its not solving everything, but its a very positive step in the right direction,

With the latest version of Pegasus, attackers can gain access to any device anywhere without tricking people into clicking a link or opening an attachment. Experts like Deibert say the malicious software, which has godlike powers, can access someones emails, camera, microphone and more once it gets access to their devices.

Overall, I think this is very positive (that Canada joins the effort), Deibert told the Star.

To see these initiatives taken by the most powerful government in the world is a landmark for sure. Does it solve everything everywhere? No. There is still work to be done.

It is also difficult to determine what surveillance tools are used by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, like the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), he said, as these agencies do not usually disclose such information.

Theres a lack of transparency, accountability and no rules whatsoever, said Deibert.

So by signing on to this pledge, hopefully (Canada) kick starts some more substantive meaningful measures.

Last summer, the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee conducted a special study on the RCMPs use of spyware. The committee urged the national police force to be more transparent about its use of on-device investigation tools and spyware.

RCMP officials told the members of the committee that spyware had been used in 32 investigations since 2017, targeting 49 devices according to the committees report from 2022.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Bryan Larkin said then that the department has never procured or used the Pegasus software, or any other NSO product.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, also reassured the Committee that the Pegasus spyware is not used by the RCMP, according to the committee report.

In 2021, an investigation by the Star revealed that a U.S.-based company called Clearview AIs artificial intelligence technology was used by more than two dozen police forces including Toronto police and the Ontario Provincial Police for mass surveillance on millions of citizens.

Correction  April 3, 2023: CSE stands for Communications Security Establishment, not Canadian Securities Exchange as previously stated.

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MONTREAL - The deaths this week of eight people of Indian and Romanian descent in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne have underscored the dangers related to illegal immigration.

Over the past year, a number of deaths and close calls have occurred along the nearly 9,000-kilometre Canada-United States border. Here is a look:

March 31, 2023

Akwesasne Mohawk Police say eight people, including two children under the age of three, whose bodies were pulled from the St. Lawrence River, were trying to enter the United States illegally from Canada.

The victims were from two families, one of Romanian descent and the other composed of Indian citizens. The children are believed to have been part of the Romanian family, and police found Canadian passports belonging to them.

Feb. 19, 2023

Jose Leos Cervantes, 45, originally from Aguascalientes, Mexico, collapsed and died shortly after crossing the border into the United States from Quebec on foot in late February. Vermont State Police said the migrant was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

In court documents, Border Patrol Agent Brian Wilda said Leos Cervantes was clutching a tree and appeared to be in distress at the time he was found.

Jan. 28, 2023

A man seeking to enter the United States was rescued by the RCMP near the border in Quebecs Eastern Townships, Radio-Canada reported. The man was found conscious but in poor health about a kilometre away from the border. He was transported to the hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia and frostbite.

Jan. 4, 2023

A Haitian man was found frozen to death in a wooded area near St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que., where police said he was trying to cross into the United States.

Provincial police said Fritznel Richard, 44, likely died of hypothermia. Friends of the asylum seeker later said that he had been unable to get a work permit in Canada and believed he would be able to get legal status in the U.S., as well as reunite with his wife in Florida.

Jan. 19, 2022

An Indian family of four died trying to reach the United States from Canada. The Patel family was found dead near a border crossing in Manitoba. The RCMP said they were trying to get into the U.S. during severe winter weather but died from exposure before reaching their destination.

Authorities said they believe a human smuggling operation was involved in the deaths of 39-year-old Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, his 37-year-old wife Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel and their two children, 11-year-old Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel and Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, who was three.

Police in India have charged three people for their alleged roles in the deaths of the family with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempting culpable homicide, human trafficking and criminal conspiracy. A Florida man was also arrested and charged in Minnesota for his alleged role in smuggling the family.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.

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The apparent online scam that landed Suzana Thayer in a Hong Kong jailfor allegedly trafficking cocaine on a flight from Ethiopia was not the first time the Ontario grandmother had been duped by a fake internet romance.

Thayer was writing a book about her first experience of being defrauded online  by someone purporting to be a doctor working for the United Nations in Syria  when her family says she was lured in again.

In the first ordeal the Barrie, Ont., resident lost more than$200,000. In the second she lost her liberty, at least for now, as she languishes in a Hong Kong jail pending resolution of her case.

Thayers daughter told The Canadian Press that her 64-year-old mother is 1000 per cent innocent of drug trafficking, and would never have knowingly travelled with tens of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine packed into buttons of clothing she was asked to transport.

Angela Thayer described her mother as a woman who became vulnerable as she sought companionship online several years after the 2016 death of her husband, the only man she had ever been with and to whom she had been married for decades.

I believe she had no knowledge of the drugs and that she was a victim of  a romance scam, Thayer said in an interview.

When asked about the matter, Global Affairs Canada said consular officials are actively engaged on this case and are providing consular assistance to the individual and their family.

Suzana Thayer is receiving informal assistance from a Hong Kong-based Catholic clergyman named John Witherspoon, who says hes helped more than a dozen foreigners who claimed to have been tricked into smuggling drugs.

Witherspoon said in an interview that he has visited Thayer in jail several times.

He voiced hope Thayer may walk free, saying the Hong Kong authorities are not after blood at any cost, and have a track record of releasing people when evidence points towards innocence.

I am optimistic but I cant guarantee a time frame, he said. You just have to be patient.

Angela Thayer said her mother was first targeted by someone who identified themselves on Facebook as Walter Williams.

She isnt certain when the relationship began, but knows that by the summer of 2021 her mother believed she was married to the person, who presented her with a marriage certificate subsequently deemed fake by Ontario Provincial Police.

Suzana Thayer had also transferred more than $200,000 to the person, her daughter said.

When Angela Thayer learned that her mother had been defrauded, she insisted they file a complaint with the OPP.

She kind of broke down, the younger Thayer said.  She says that she was in love with him.

Suzana Thayer then wrote Ive Been Conned: A Book for Dummies, that came out in June 2022 and was her attempt to raise awareness about the scourge of fake internet romances, which have defrauded countless people across the globe.

While writing her book, Thayer was approached on Facebook by someone who identified himself as James Caywood and claimed he was a member of the U.S. military.

Angela Thayer recalled how her mother sent chapters of her book to Caywood, who would provide feedback.

Their exchanges became romantic but suspicions werent raised because Caywood never asked for money, Thayer said.

Caywood then got Suzana Thayer a one-month entry visa for Ethiopia and sent her a ticket to fly to Addis Ababa, her daughter said.

Angela Thayer asked her mother not to go, but Suzana Thayer insisted she would not pass up an opportunity to travel, having never previously left Canada.

According to Angela Thayer, her mother spent around two weeks in an Addis Ababa hotel, but Caywood never showed up. He then sent her a ticket to Hong Kong and asked her to meet him there.

Next, she said a man who identified himself as Eric brought a blue suitcaseto the hotel, which he described as a gift from Caywood.

Angela Thayer said she received a call from her mother at 10 a.m. EST on Sept. 6, telling her that the police at Hong Kongs airport had arrested her after discovering that the buttons of the clothes she was carrying in her suitcase were filled with cocaine.

Angela Thayer said she is now working tirelessly to secure her mothers release, efforts that include a GoFundMe campaign to hire a lawyer in Hong Kong.

Her mother had lived a sheltered life, she said, and suffered from depression following the death of husband  a former police officer.

She was just going online because she was lonely, she said. She was wanting to find that love that she had, that she lost, she just wanted to be with somebody again, to be happy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.

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Angela Shintani-Sandrowicz is at the Keele TTC station again  the third time since Saturday night. While its her home stop, shes not there to take a bus or the subway.

She has come to process her thoughts and emotions about bearing witness to the last minutes of 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaess life.

It was around 9 p.m. Saturday. Shintani-Sandrowicz, 45, and her wife had come to put funds on their Presto cards. Their car had broken down just before March break, and so they had started to use public transit more often. They chose to see the positives  it saved money and offered a new way to explore the city with their children. And without her hands on a steering wheel, Shintani-Sandrowicz could interact with her children more, even brushing their hair on the mornings they forgot.

After they filled their Presto cards, the couple walked toward the benches to look at a board on the lower level of the station. Thats where 16-year-old Magalhaes had been sitting. He was with a friend, heading home after a day out, when he was attacked, unprovoked and at random.

Shintani-Sandrowicz, a Toronto District School Board lunch supervisor, hadnt heard a sound and tried to understand the scene in front of her. A boy was on the ground and his friend was beside him in shock. She heard another couple mention a seizure and thought she could help  one of her own three kids had experienced one before.

I went over and looked at him, but didnt see him shaking in any way, Shintani-Sandrowicz said. Thats when I heard someone say hed been stabbed.

She peeled back his coat to reveal a gaping wound on the left side of his chest; she remembered hearing our hearts are closer to the middle, and she hoped it was true. Putting Magalhaess coat back over the wound, her hands one on top of the other, Shintani-Sandrowicz pressed down.

All I knew was to apply pressure to try and stop the bleeding.

Like magic, she said, she remembers two nurses stepping in, also bystanders. A first-aid kit arrived soon after. One of the nurses began compressions, telling Shintani-Sandrowicz that Magalhaess breathing was poor and specifying the kind of breathing pattern he was exhibiting.

I tried to look it up later, but I couldnt figure it out, she said. I wish I had more skills, more knowledge. And maybe if I did, I would have been able to do more.

After she helped to cut open his shirt, Shintani-Sandrowicz could tell the focus had changed. She held his head and his hand as she spoke to him.

Stay with us. Come on, you can do this. Stay with us, youre doing OK. Youre going to be all right.

After paramedics transported Magalhaes to a hospital, Shintani-Sandrowicz realized his blood was on her hands, her bracelet, her coat. She looked over at the first-aid kit strewn across the floor, and picked up a small alcohol wipe, before someone from the TTC showed her to a washroom.

Shintani-Sandrowicz and her wife were let out of the then closed Keele station. From High Park station, they boarded the 89 Weston bus and headed home, where their eldest had been looking after their younger two kids. At the time, still in shock, Shintani-Sandrowicz wasnt upset. I was just hoping and hoping that he was going to be OK, she said. I guess its funny how trauma works.

She later learned from the news that Magalhaes had died. Later still, she learned his name. In the Star, she read the words of his mother, Andrea.

He was loved, he was happy, he had dreams, Andrea had shared about her son. I trusted the system. I trusted public transit. Now, I am 100 per cent hopeless.

Shintani-Sandrowicz reached out to a Star reporter to ask that her contact information be shared with Andrea. She wants her to know her son wasnt alone.

I want to be able to tell his mother I was there for him, and that I held his hand, she said. So she knows there was another mother there, caring for her son.

During one of her visits to the memorial set up outside Keele station, Shintani-Sandrowicz met one of Magalhaess friends and shared with him that she had been there. We had a very, very long hug. Shintani-Sandrowicz wonders if things could have been done differently to save his life.

Its so hard to say, and I dont really want to go there because we cant turn back time, she said. No one wants this to ever happen again. No one wants to see a child murdered.

But its going to continue to happen, if we dont change things.

Correction  March 31, 2023: This file was updated to correct that Angela Shintani-Sandrowicz, not nurses, cut open the victims shirt on the scene.

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A man is in stable condition in hospital after a shooting in Brampton on Thursday night.

Around 8:40 p.m., Peel Regional Police said in a tweet they were called to the area of Dixie Road and Northclife Street for reports of gunshots.

About 20 minutes later, police said a man was rushed to hospital with a gunshot wound in stable condition.

Police said there is no suspect information at this time and more information will be released once it is available.

Given the heavy police presence around Dixie and Northclife, officers are advising people to avoid the area while the investigation is ongoing.

MH Mahdis Habibinia is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: mhabibinia@thestar.ca

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Ontarios Special Investigations Unit is probing the death of a man who fell from a balcony in North York on Thursday afternoon.

Toronto police were called to a highrise apartment building on Martha Eaton Way near Black Creek and Trethewey Drives around 4:30 p.m. for reports of a person in crisis, the SIU said in a news release.

According to the SIU, Toronto police located a 56-year-old man on the balcony. An officer spoke with the man before the man fell from the balcony.

He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The SIU is the provinces police watchdog. The agency is called in to investigate whenever police discharge a firearm at a person, or when they are involved in a death, serious injury, or allegations of sexual assault.

MH Mahdis Habibinia is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: mhabibinia@thestar.ca

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The Ontario Provincial Police said a 10-year-old from Beamsville, a community in Lincoln, Ont., was killed in a three-vehicle crash on the Queen Elizabeth Way Highway.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said in a Tweet that the collision took place at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday on the Niagara-bound lanes of the QEW, near Tufford Road in Lincoln.

Police say a vehicle driven by a 31-year-old woman from Mississauga hit the back of a white SUV being driven by a 44-year-old woman from Beamsville, with two 10-year-old brothers in the back seat. As a result, the SUV was pushed into another SUV with a 37-year-old female driver and a 10-year-old girl, both from Milton.

Emergency crews took a 10-year-old boy to hospital with serious injuries, where he was pronounced deceased at around 9 p.m., said OPP. The 44-year-old woman and the boy from Beamsville, along with the 37-year-old woman and the girl from Milton, were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The woman from Mississauga did not sustain any injuries.

The OPP is investigating and no charges have been laid at this time.

The roads are dry, the sun was shining. Visibility was clear. There was some congestion ahead due to likely afternoon rush hour traffic, Schmidt said in a video posted to Twitter, this is certainly a very tragic investigation and our hearts go out to those family members and loved ones of this 10-year-old boy.

Ana Pereira is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @anabpereiraa

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Pope Francis has been cleared by doctors for discharge on Saturday from the Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, the Vatican said, adding that the pontiff had pizza one evening with medical staff and baptized a baby in the pediatrics ward.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, in one of several updates on Friday, also said that Francis will be in St. Peter's Square for Palm Sunday Mass at the start of Holy Week, although he didn't say if the pontiff would deliver the homily during the particularly lengthy service.

The medical team that is following His Holiness Pope Francis, after evaluating the outcome of tests carried out today and the favorable clinical recovery, has confirmed discharge on Saturday, Bruni said in a written statement Friday night.

Francis, 86, was hospitalized on Wednesday at Gemelli Polyclinic, where doctors said the pontiff was receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat his bronchitis.

Calling the pontiff's medical recovery normal, Bruni said earlier in the day that on Thursday evening, "Pope Francis had dinner, eating a pizza, together with all those who are assisting him in these days of the hospital stay, including doctors, nurses, assistants and Vatican security personnel.

Given the pope's return to the Vatican hotel where he lives, the spokesman said, was expected to be present in the square for Palm Sunday Mass, which formally begins Holy Week that culminates with Easter Mass in the square on April 9.

Medical personnel decided to hospitalize him on Wednesday after he returned to his Vatican residence following his customary weekly public audience in St. Peters Square. The Vatican reported he had experienced difficulty breathing in the previous days.

The Vatican on Thursday said that antibiotic treatment for bronchitis had resulted in a marked improvement in his health.

In a video released by the Vatican, Francis was seen baptizing a hospitalized baby who is a few weeks old.

After the mother tells Francis the boy's name, Miguel Angel, the pope uses a metal hospital tray usually employed to hold syringes to pour water over the sleeping baby's head, then tries to comfort the infant, who wakes up, wailing and seeming to try to swat away the pope's hand.

Francis then asked the mother to dry her son's wet forehead. He then told her: When you go to your parish, say that the pope baptized him."

Francis was smiling and looked chipper as he visited children being treated at Gemelli for cancer and gave out large, wrapped chocolate Easter eggs.

Earlier in the day, Francis sent a tweet on Friday possibly inspired by his current health challenge.

When experienced with faith, the trials and difficulties of life serve to purify our hearts, making them humbler and thus more and more open to God, Francis wrote. The tweet carried a hashtag for Lent, the period of the liturgical year stressing penitence and sacrifice in the run-up to the joyous Church celebration of Easter, which marks the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead after his crucifixion.

The Vatican seemed keen to quickly dispel any worries about the pope's physical fitness to carry on fully with his duties. Nearly immediately after the announcement of a discharge date for Francis, the Vatican announced that the pope would meet the prime minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace.

Palm Sunday Mass usually draws tens of thousands of faithful, including many pilgrims from abroad, flocking to Rome for Holy Week.

Francis had already largely stopped celebrating Mass at major Catholic Church holy days because of a chronic knee problem, but had continued to preside at the ceremonies and deliver homilies.

The Holy Week appointments include a stamina-taxing late night Way of the Cross procession marked by prayers on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome and Easter Mass on April 9, which is traditionally followed by a long papal speech delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

During Wednesday's hour-long public audience, Francis at times appeared visibly in pain when he moved about and was helped by aides.

In July 2021, Francis underwent surgery at Gemelli Polyclinic after suffering from a narrowing of his colon. As a young man in Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed.

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The man who murdered TSN producer Jonathan Gayle-West received a life sentence Friday with no chance at parole for 18 years  as the judge expressed hope that the victims family will find a place of peace.

Gayle-West, 29, was a complete stranger to his killers, Salman Ahmed and Samir Adem. The pair were convicted by a jury last year of second-degree murder for shooting Gayle-West to death in his car  a carjacking, the judge found.

Adem, who was 18 at the time of the murder, died in custody last year.

Now 22, Ahmed already faced a mandatory prison sentence of life for the murder, but Superior Court Justice Kelly Byrne had to decide how long he should serve before becoming eligible to apply for parole  a period of between 10 and 25 years.

Every murder, without question, is a tragedy of epic proportion, Byrne said Friday. The tragedy of this murder, however, is exacerbated by the fact that Jonathan Gayle was a completely innocent victim.

A talented broadcaster who was beloved by his family, Gayle-West was shot three times in the torso. He was a story editor at TSN who had recently been granted an interview for an on-air position  his dream job  but was murdered before that could happen.

Gayle-West was on his way home for dinner after meeting with a pastor. His family believes that he agreed to give his killers a ride on a cold winter day.

Byrne was unable to say which of the two men fired the fatal shots, but was satisfied that both Ahmed and Adem dominated and forcibly confined Mr. Gayle before shooting him to death on Dec. 12, 2018.

I am satisfied that Mr. Adem and Mr. Ahmed were co-principals and equally responsible for the shooting death of Jonathan Gayle, she said.

Knowing what she knows now about Gayle-West after reading numerous victim impact statements, Byrne said he was probably driving home that night thinking about all the opportunities that awaited him, and how grateful he was.

She said he was clearly an extraordinary human being whose murder has left a wake of devastation, describing the profound grief and sadness felt by his loved ones.

They do, however, share one other thing in common that gives me hope, the judge said.

And that is their love for Jonathan and each other. This is your common ground. It is my hope that the deep love you have expressed for Jonathan and each other will guide you to a place of peace.

The Crown had urged Byrne to impose the maximum parole ineligibility period of 25 years. The prosecution argued that Gayle-Wests killing was effectively first-degree murder, as he was forcibly confined in his car. That offence carries an automatic parole ineligibility period of 25 years.

Ahmed had no prior criminal record. His defence team said he should receive a period of 12 years, arguing the Crown was trying to get Ahmed sentenced for a crime for which he was not convicted.

Eligibility for parole at 18 years is not a guarantee it will be granted. Whether or not Ahmed gets parole will be up to the Parole Board and will depend on a number of factors, including his behaviour in prison.

Byrne noted in her ruling Friday that Ahmed has not been a model prisoner in jail since his arrest in February 2019, having racked up numerous misconducts and a number of criminal charges.

He was left to die like his life meant nothing, Gayle-Wests older brother Justin said in an emotional victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing in December. But it meant something. It meant something to everyone he ever met.

His mother Grace Gayle raised her two sons on her own, and when she went through his things after his death, she found a plan to create a foundation supporting single parents.

Grief is like having broken ribs, she said at the sentencing hearing. Things look OK on the outside, but every breath is incredibly painful.

Ahmed grew up in Torontos Dixon neighbourhood with his parents and younger brother, and by all accounts was a good-natured child who had the love and support of his family and community, Byrne said.

He was also exposed to crime growing up in Dixon, with the judge finding that violence and personal loss impacted his decisions leading up to Gayle-Wests murder.

Mr. Ahmeds life circumstances do not amount to an excuse for the murder of Mr. Gayle, she said. They do, however, provide some limited insight or understanding for how it is that Mr. Ahmed, coming from such a good family and community, made the choices he did that resulted in the murder of Mr. Gayle.

Jacques Gallant is a Toronto-based reporter covering courts, justice and legal affairs for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @JacquesGallant

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The enduring image of the week, for me, will be of Andrea Magalhaes Thursday evening kneeling against the bench in the spot at Keele subway station where her 16-year-old son Gabriel was stabbed and killed last Saturday  the very spot, we heard from a bystander who tried to comfort him in his final moments, that he lay on the floor bleeding after hed simply been waiting for the bus with a friend.

The whole citys heart has been broken by news of this boys sudden, unprovoked murder by an apparent stranger. We have, together, experienced a gamut of emotions from sadness to fear to frustration-fuelled, powerless rage. It is hard to imagine the depth of emotional pain his mother must be feeling. And yet there she was, at the scene where it had happened  leading, that evening a candlelight vigil walk from High Park to the subway, sharing her pain with the rest of us, in memory of her son and in hopes of preventing other families from experiencing the same loss.

Magalhaes, a nurse by profession, has been vocal all week about the public response she thinks is called for in response to her sons tragedy. Summoning a clarity of thought and expression I cannot fathom at what is certainly the most painful moment of her life, she has demanded more mental health support for people in crisis, more investment in physical and mental health, more housing. More needs to be done to help people in crisis, more needs to be done so people dont get to the point where they are in crisis, she told CBC radio this week.

In that radio interview, she said the temptation to just hide in my bed and never get up again was strong, but the impulse to fix the broken things that had cost her son his life was stronger.

We can only pray that impulse is felt as strongly, and as clearly, by our leaders.

The so-far-known record of Jordan OBrien-Tobin, the 22-year-old charged by police in this death, strongly suggests multiple, overlapping failures. He has been repeatedly charged and often convicted of a variety of offences in his short adult life, including assaults and including ones involving sharp objects such as boxcutters and scissors. He has repeatedly violated release conditions  including in Newfoundland, where he was wanted for allegedly breaching a court order, and where he had a lengthy criminal history  and was on probation when this crime was committed. He has, in the past, been ordered to get mental health and substance abuse treatment, though its not clear if he ever did. He has, according to Star reporting, bounced between homeless shelters and jails.

If it is proven that he committed this crime as police allege, it represents our collective failure. Whatever social systems we have in place to provide treatment and support to people so they do not become threats to themselves and others failed here. The policing system we have in place to protect us from active threats was ineffective. The criminal justice system we have in place to keep people who are threats to our safety away from us failed.

This murder has already become a lightning rod in the just-beginning mayoral byelection campaign where fear of crime was already going to feature prominently, but it is not strictly or even mostly a municipal issue. The layers of protection we count on to ensure our safety involve all three levels of government interacting with each other. Which, sadly, makes me feel less hopeful that were politically equipped to address the problems.

Dealing with sophisticated issues like this requires multi-level co-ordination, it often requires implementing programs where success is invisible because it results in things that dont happen, it requires whole boatloads of money. These are all things that, politically, we arent very good at.

It is easier for a mayoral candidate to demand bail reform from the federal government and maybe put a few more security officers on subway platforms than it is to weave together a functioning web of public health, policing, criminal justice, housing, transit and other programs that together form a safety net that helps people in crisis, keeps people from reaching the point of crisis, and protects us all from people who become dangerous if they are in crisis. Its complicated. Its hard. And it doesnt make as good a slogan.

But even to the extent that many of our leaders do recognize, and want, to do the right things across a broad swath of areas, I fear they will not have the money to do it. The criminal justice system is not within a mayors power, but the policing system, homelessness services and many front-line mental health and social service systems are. But right now the city has a $45-billion hole in its budget over the next 10 years, and has been cutting transit service as part of its response. The provincial and federal governments, in their recent budgets, have offered almost no additional help  even in areas like the sheltering of refugees where their policies are driving new costs to the city. So where does the money for a sustained effort to ensure public safety come from? Especially after this wave of widespread sadness and anger and fear passes, as it inevitably will, and some new issue or crime or scandal dominates headlines?

At that point  as anyone who knows a parent who has lost a child can be sure  Andrea Magalhaes will still be dealing with the lifelong grief resulting from this crime, this demonstration of our collective failure to protect her son. We should heed her words this week, and keep in our minds for a long time the image of her, brought to her knees by bottomless sorrow, mourning her boy and begging us to do better. The sight of it should strengthen our resolve for sustained collective action. And if it does not, the memory of it should be a reminder of our collective shame.

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Nearly 200 women and girls were killed by violence in Canada in 2022, the majority by men  the highest number recorded by the national research organization that began tracking femicides five years ago.

The data, released by the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability Thursday, suggests the increase in killings of women and girls documented during the COVID-19 pandemic is going to continue for some time to come, said Myrna Dawson, University of Guelph professor and founder of the femicide organization.

These have been gradual increases over the last three years, and it doesnt look like theyre diminishing, Dawson said in an interview.

In the last five years, the Femicide Observatory has documented 850 deaths of women and girls in Canada, or one every 48 hours.

In 2022 there were at least 184 killings, the highest number since the organization began tracking such deaths nationwide in 2018, when it recorded 169. The number has increased each year since 2020, when COVID-19 lockdown measures saw increased rates of intimate partner violence.

In 2020, the Femicide Observatory counted 172  up from 148 in 2019. In 2021, there were 177.

Among those killed in 2022: 23-year-old Daniella Mallia, whose murder  allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, Dylon Dowman  led to misconduct charges being laid against the Toronto police officer who allegedly failed to investigate her case.

As first reported by the Star, Mallia went to Toronto police three days before her death to report that her ex-boyfriend was harassing and threatening her via text. She repeatedly told police that her ex-boyfriends behaviour caused her to fear for her safety, according to a police document outlining the Police Service Act misconduct charges laid against Const. Anson Alfonso.

But Alfonso took no action to protect Mallia, Toronto police allege, including failing to charge Dowman despite having reasonable grounds, instead cautioning Mallia despite ample evidence that (she) was the victim, the document alleges.

The misconduct charges filed against Alfonso have not been proven at the tribunal. Dowman was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Mallias. His case remains before the courts.

Dawson said Mallias disturbing case highlights the much broader systemic issues laid bare by the numbers and known all too well by anyone working to stop intimate partner violence.

We dont listen to women when they say that they feel theyre in danger, Dawson said.

Responding to Alfonsos misconduct charge earlier this week, Toronto police chief Myron Demkiw said in a statement he is concerned about the alleged misconduct in this case. He added he wanted to reassure the public that Toronto officers respond to intimate partner violence calls on a daily basis, and they do so with compassion and professionalism.

Mallias death also underscores how crucial it is to have frank discussions about the role of race and anti-Black racism in gender-based violence, said Nneka MacGregor, a member of the Femicide Observatory and co-founder of the Black Femicide Canada Council.

Hearing how Mallia had called for help from police, MacGregor said her first reaction was immense sadness at the preventable loss.

Then, quickly following the sadness is anger  justifiable anger  at something that weve been saying for decades, about how it is not safe for Black women, Black girls, Black gender-diverse and trans people to go to the police, expecting that the police will protect us.

Tope Adefarakan, who co-founded the Black Femicide Canada Council with MacGregor and who has served on Ontarios Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, said a key piece in combating gender-based violence impacting Black women and girls is collecting race-based data to help understand the full scope of the problem.

We need to know what the reality is in Canada and we dont have this data, said Adefarakan.

Much like the Canadian Femicide Observatory  founded in part to document femicides and produce reports like the one released this week  a central goal of the Black Femicide Canada Council is to track and document instances of Black femicide.

Femicide researchers have for years lamented a dearth of data needed to identify patterns that could help prevent deaths  including accurate information on gender, race and ethnicity. Researchers often have to rely on media reports.

Every year, we have drawn attention to the data challenges and gaps in documenting the patterns and risks of femicide for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized women and girls, reads the Femicide Observatory report released this week.

It notes that, during the five years the observatory has collected data, race-based information was available less than half the time. Even so, femicide victims who were Indigenous continue to be, at minimum, four times higher than their representation in the population, the report found.

We also know that other groups of racialized women and girls are at increased risk, but our data quality is even more limited for these women and girls because it is difficult to document their level of risk from public documents, the report says.

The report notes that Statistics Canada said in 2020 it would begin collecting race-based data with the Canadian Association of the Chiefs of Police. But due to recording biases inherent in police data, the report said questions about this process remain, including how the data will be used and by who.

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing for the Star. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis

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Toronto personal injury lawyer Jeremy Diamond must not practise law for three months and has been fined $100,000 after being found guilty of professional misconduct for misleading advertising, according to an order made by a Law Society disciplinary panel.

Diamond is the face of the firm Diamond & Diamond, known across the country for billboards, TV and radio spots boasting nothing is tougher than a diamond.

In a March 29 decision, the panel ordered Diamond not to practise law or provide legal services for three months starting April 28, 2023. The Law Society Tribunal is an independent adjudicative body that hears and decides regulatory cases between the Law Society and Ontario lawyers and paralegals in a manner that is fair, just and in the public interest.

During that three-month period, Diamond must comply as if suspended, under some, but not all, of the Law Societys guidelines for lawyers who are suspended.

Reached by the Star, his lead lawyer, Brian Greenspan, emphasized Friday the penalty imposed on Diamond is not a suspension. It is an order that does not affect or impact the operation of Diamond & Diamond nor of its 65 lawyers across the country. It only requires that Jeremy Diamond not personally attend at his office or personally take on new clients or personally provide legal advice for three months.

Nevertheless, Greenspan said Diamond will appeal the order.

In 2021, Diamond admitted before the panel that between 2013 and 2017 he did improperly market personal injury legal services by failing to disclose clearly and prominently that Diamond & Diamond referred thousands of potential clients to other lawyers for fees.

He later sought to revoke that admission after the tribunal, led by chair Malcolm Mercer, indicated that a reprimand, as jointly recommended by prosecutors and Diamonds defence team, was too lenient, in the context of failures of honesty and integrity in communications to very large numbers of potential clients over a lengthy period of time.

The panel eventually rejected Diamonds bid to rescind his guilty plea and, after further arguments, crafted the penalty decision released this week.

Having improperly rejected the joint submission of the Law Society and counsel that a reprimand was both fair and appropriate, the Tribunal imposed a purely punitive and unjustifiably harsh penalty which will be appealed, Greenspan wrote in an emailed statement.

The next step would be for Diamond to request that his penalty be put on hold. If that is granted, Diamond can continue practising law pending the outcome of the appeal.

During legal arguments earlier this year, Greenspan argued that Diamonds ubiquity would make it impossible for him to comply with the rules of suspension, such as removing his name from all of the firms internet sites. A suspension would also have unduly harsh repercussions on the dozens of lawyers who work at the firm, Greenspan told the panel.

According to the panels order released this week, Diamond must during the three-month period ensure the firms website prominently indicates that he is not currently permitted to practise law or provide legal services, or cause all references to Mr. Diamond to be removed.

As well, the panel stated Diamond must not be referred to in new or renewed marketing or advertising, in any form, that had not been arranged for prior to the date of these reasons.

The Law Society first alleged Diamond had engaged in professional misconduct related to advertising back in 2008.

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Plan your trip before youre in your car: The Ministry of Transportation has scheduled seven closures in Durham on March 31, 2023 for roadwork on Highway 12, Highway 35/115, Highway 401 and Highway 7.

Highway 12 southbound between Highway 7 North Junction and Highway 407: one right lane closed until June 12 at 3 p.m.

Highway 35/115 northbound between Main Street and Highway 35: one alternating lane closed until April 3 at 11:59 p.m.

Highway 35/115 southbound between Highway 35 and Main Street: one alternating lane closed until April 3 at 11:59 p.m.

Highway 401 eastbound at Mill Street: two alternating lanes closed until March 31 at 5 a.m.

Highway 401 eastbound off-ramp at Thickson Road: one right lane closed from March 31 at 10 a.m. until March 31 at 1 p.m.

Highway 401 westbound at Mill Street: two alternating lanes closed until March 31 at 5 a.m.

Highway 7 eastbound between Ashburn Road and Highway 12 Brooklin / Baldwin Street: one right lane closed until April 7 at 3 p.m.

Have further to travel? Highway closures for planned roadwork outside Durham

About this story

This story was automatically generated using open data from Ontario 511. These closures are scheduled for short-term or emergency repairs and maintenance of provincial highways around Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Clarington and Pickering. The disruptions may be intermittent or ongoing and can change due to weather, emergencies and other factors.

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Good morning. This is the Friday, March 31, 2023 edition of First Up, the Stars daily morning digest. Sign up to get it earlier each day, in your inbox.

Heres the latest on the death of Gabriel Magalhaes, the N.S. massacre and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

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She held 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaess hand after he was stabbed

It was around 9 p.m. on Saturday when Angela Shintani-Sandrowicz, 45, and her wife went to Keele station to load their Presto cards. They walked toward some benches to look at a board on the lower level of the station  where Gabriel Magalhaes had been sitting. When she saw the teen, she went over to help. Then, two nurse bystanders appeared, and she just held the 16-year-olds head and hand as she spoke to him. I want to be able to tell his mother I was there for him, and that I held his hand, Shintani-Sandrowicz told the Star. So she knows there was another mother there, caring for her son. Dhriti Gupta reports on some of the boys last moments and the people who stepped in to try and save him.

More: He was loved, he was happy, he had dreams, Andrea Magalhaes had shared about her son. I trusted the system. I trusted public transit. Now, I am 100 per cent hopeless. Heres what else she told the Star after his death.

ICYMI: Heres why experts recommend talking to children about fears on the TTC and how parents can start the conversation.

Analysis: Some Mounties were heroes in the N.S. massacre  but the mass shooting will be remembered as another RCMP failure

Three years have passed since 22 lives were taken in Portapique, N.S. On Thursday, the Mass Casualty Commission found the police response to the massacre was disorganized, dysfunctional and dangerous, Allan Woods writes. Whats more is that the commissions report says the RCMP has continuously shown that its unable or unwilling to make meaningful changes. With the force already facing criticism for issues of racism and sexual harassment, the commission adds to a growing chorus of voices calling for an overhaul. From micro-issues to top leadership, these are some of the changes being recommended.

More: The report also drew attention to the courage and heroism of individual officers, and the traumas that have likely persisted to this day.

Go deeper: The commission is critical of the RCMPs treatment of the killers wife, Lisa Banfield. She was the first to be attacked in the rampage. Highlighting she was the victim of decades of violent abuse and coercive control at the hands of the perpetrator, the report slams the victim blaming that occurred and the charges laid against her. Heres what else it says.

After requests from Indigenous leaders, Pope Francis has denounced the Doctrine of Discovery

Indigenous leaders have long called the Doctrine of Discovery a racist, harmful tool that was foundational for colonizers claiming sovereignty over Indigenous lands. On Thursday, the Vatican finally denounced it, saying it did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous Peoples. Omar Mosleh reports on the significance of the historical shift and why one First Nation chief says the announcement will put pressure on Canada to honour its treaty commitments.

Context: The Doctrine of Discovery is a declaration and legal concept that authorized Christian explorers to claim terra nullius, or vacant lands, based on the idea they had racial and religious superiority. It was tied to the idea that the lands being claimed were empty, when in fact Indigenous Peoples had long been present.

More: Former Truth and Reconciliation commissioner Chief Willie Littlechild has been urging the move for decades. Its a very emotional day for me  I know we still have a lot more work to do. But this is a very important milestone in our journey together toward reconciliation, he said.

WHAT ELSE:

Donald Trump is now the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime. Heres what to know about his indictment.

A cabinet ministers sister in law was appointed ethics commissioner  renewing criticism of Justin Trudeaus ethical track record.

A financial watchdog is proposing these mortgage fixes to help struggling homeowners.

A coroner has rejected a former Toronto cops 11th-hour theory that Sammy Yatim died in a suicide by cop.

A Scarborough teacher was charged with sexual assault of two students and police fear there are more victims.

Canadas alcohol tax increases on April 1. Heres how it could impact store prices.

Is the cottage real estate bubble bursting? Heres what we know.

Given the economic conditions in Ontario, is it better to buy or rent?

Torstars owner has made an impassioned plea to support journalism against big tech. Heres why he said its essential to democracy.

After months of loss, City and Colours Dallas Green actually sounds optimistic.

ICYMI:

How a landmark legal battle is impacting Catholic school boards across Ontario.

CLOSE-UP:

KEELE STATION: A candlelight vigil was led Thursday night by family and friends of Gabriel Magalhaes, the 16-year-old boy Toronto police said was killed in an unprovoked attack at the subway station. These are the emotional scenes that emerged as his mother Andrea mourned her son.

Thank you for reading First Up. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca

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UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Russia and the U.S. clashed in the United Nations on Friday over Moscows plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which neighboring Ukraine denounced as a desperate Kremlin attempt to avoid military defeat and threaten the world with nuclear apocalypse.

China, without naming Russia, made clear its opposition to the planned deployment.

Ukraines U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called for the U.N. Security Council meeting following Russian President Vladimir Putins announcement on March 25 that his country plans to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko upped the ante just before the council meeting, saying Russia might also deploy strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus, which Russian forces have used as a staging ground for the war in Ukraine.

Kyslytsya said it took only four days for Putin to violate a pledge he made to Chinas President Xi Jinping in a joint statement at their recent meeting in Moscow. It declared that all nuclear states should refrain from deploying nuclear weapons outside their countries and withdraw those deployed abroad.

The same point was emphasized by the U.S. and Chinese deputy U.N. ambassadors, among others.

We call for the abolition of the nuclear-sharing arrangements and advocate no deployment of nuclear weapons abroad by all nuclear weapons states, and the withdrawal of nuclear weapons deployed abroad, said Geng Shuang of China.

Calling nuclear weapons the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, Geng reiterated that China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants and the threat or use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. He said nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided.

Beijing claims to have a neutral stance in the war, but has also stressed its no limits friendship with Russia. It has refused to criticize Moscows invasion, and late last month released a peace plan calling for a cease-fire and talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Kyslytsya welcomed Beijings stand, telling the council: To the credit of the Chinese side, the Chinese side reminded Moscow in a very sensible manner that nuclear war cannot be won and fought, and that nuclear proliferation must be prevented.

Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow is not transferring nuclear weapons but operational tactical missile complexes, which will be under Russian control. He insisted this was not in violation of Moscows international obligations.

Nebenzia accused the United States of destroying key arms control agreements and he repeated Putins objection to the tactical nuclear weapons the U.S. has deployed in other NATO countries, indicating that this violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of global disarmament.

Belarus U.N. Ambassador Valentin Rybakov said the planned deployment of tactical nuclear weapons was a reaction to the challenges and risks to national security his country faces, citing NATO neighbors ramping up their military capacity and Western sanctions. He also criticized the U.S. nuclear sharing with its allies.

The U.S. deputy ambassador, Robert Wood, countered that the issue of nuclear sharing within NATO was discussed during negotiations on the NPT treaty, and for close to four decades Washington heard nothing about it from Russia until after its takeover of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Wood stressed that any allegations that the United States is not in full compliance with the nonproliferation treaty are just patently false.

He accused Russia of attempting to manipulate the specter of nuclear conflict to help win the war in Ukraine.

No other country is inflicting such damage on arms control nor seeking to undermine strategic stability in Europe, Wood said. No other country has raised the prospect of potential nuclear use in connection with the war in Ukraine.  No country is threatening Russia or threatening President Putin.

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NEW DELHI (AP)  Thirty-six bodies have been found inside a well at a Hindu temple in central India after dozens of people attending a festival fell into the muddy water when its cover collapsed, officials said Friday.

Video of Thursdays collapse at the temple complex in Indore in Madhya Pradesh state showed chaos afterward, with people rushing away. An excavator pulled down a wall of the decades-old temple to help people flee.

Nearly 140 rescuers, including army personnel, used ropes and ladders to pull the bodies from the well after pumping out the water. A narrow path and debris in the well made the task difficult.

We have recovered 36 bodies and everybody is accounted for now, Pawan Kumar Sharma, commissioner of the local municipal corporation, told The Associated Press.

The secretary of the temple board was among the dead and the president is recovering from injuries, Sharma said.

Police brought a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, but no arrests have been made so far, he said.

Witnesses said a large crowd of devotees had thronged the temple to perform a fire ritual and celebrate the festival for the deity Rama.

Dozens of people fell into the water when the structure collapsed and were covered by falling debris, police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar said.

Kantibhai Patel, president of a residents association, told reporters that authorities were slow to react and the first ambulance reached the spot an hour after the alert.

The structure apparently caved in because it could not handle the weight of the large crowd, said the states top elected official, Shivraj Singh Chauhan. He ordered an investigation.

A team of army rescuers joined the operation on Thursday night. The Times of India newspaper reported the rescue work was expedited after underwater cameras showed bodies floating in the muddy waters of the well.

Chauhan said 33 of the bodies had been identified. Sixteen of the people who were injured remained hospitalized Friday.

Sobbing relatives claimed the bodies of the victims and visited the hospital where the injured were being treated.

Temple authorities had stopped using the well years ago and covered the mouth with iron grills and tiles.

Municipal authorities in January ordered the temple owners to remove the covering of the well because it was an unsafe and unauthorized structure, but temple authorities ignored the warning, the newspaper said.

Building collapses are common in India because of poor construction and a failure to observe regulations.

In October, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western state of Gujarat, sending hundreds of people plunging into the water and killing at least 132 in one of the worst accidents in the country in the past decade.

___

Find more of APs Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Russia is expelling an Estonian diplomat from Moscow in a tit for tat move following a similar action by Tallinn, Estonias foreign ministry said Friday.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry had summoned Estonias charge daffaires, who heads the European Union countrys mission in Moscow, to protest the expulsion this month of a Russian diplomat in Estonia and announce that an Estonian diplomat must leave Moscow.

The Russian ministry warned that Moscow will also take other retaliatory action in response to the persistently provocative anti-Russian actions by the Estonian authorities.

Estonias foreign ministry dismissed that charge as ludicrous. It said its diplomat has been given until April 5 to leave Russia, and added that the Estonian embassy in Moscow will continue to operate and the staff will continue their work.

On March 24, Tallinn said a Russian diplomats activities had violated international law, and gave the person five days to leave Estonia, according to the Baltic News Service.

The diplomat, who Estonian broadcaster ERR said was a consul in Tallinn, had allegedly engaged in activities undermining Estonias security and constitutional order, spreading propaganda that justifies Russias war in Ukraine and causing divisions in Estonian society, BNS said.

In January, the Estonian Foreign Ministry ordered Russia to reduce the size of its embassy staff in Tallinn by more than half, to achieve parity with the number of people working at the Estonian embassy in Moscow. A total of 13 Russian diplomats and eight technical staff were made to leave Estonia at that time.

Russia responded by telling Tallinn that Estonias ambassador to Russia had to leave.

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BERLIN (AP)  Two regional trains in Switzerland derailed in separate incidents, injuring more than a dozen people Friday after a storm brought high winds and strong rains to the small Alpine nation, police said.

The incidents occurred at Luscherz and Buren zum Hof, near the western city of Bern, police said.

In Buren zum Hof, a police spokeswoman said that 12 people  9 adults and 3 children  were injured. Of those, one persons injuries were severe.

Police also said several people were injured in the derailment at Luscherz, but further information about the number of the injured and the severity of their condition was not immediately available.

The transit agencies responsible for the trains, Aare Seeland Mobil and Regional Transit Bern-Solothurn, also confirmed the derailments on their respective websites. They noted that the affected rail routes were closed in response.

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Amr Diab topped the Anghami charts with his song Taala (Come), which provided a soundtrack to one of the many ads released by companies during the popular TV-viewing month of Ramadan.

The Taala song was written for an advertisement for Madinaty, the New Cairo satellite city.

Anghami is the Arab world's leading streaming platform.

Diab released the songs audio track on his YouTube channel where it has scored more than 350,000 views, placing it on fifth position of trending music videos in Egypt.

Taala was composed by Aziz Elshafey to lyrics by Tamer Hussien.

The new songs success comes month and a half after Diab released single Btamen Alek (I'm checking on you) which was also the most listened-to song on the Anghami application.

Released just a day prior to Valentine's day (13 February), Btamen Alek topped the lists of the most listened to track in Egypt, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman and Iraq.

Diab continues to dominate top spots of Anghami with many songs. By the end of 2022, the 61-year-old artist was announced the most-streamed Arab artist in Anghami history, with 1.3 billion streams. In 2022, he topped Anghamis most-listened artist's list with nearly 360 million streams, including over 270 million from Egypt alone.

Amr Diab also provided the soundtrack for another of this year's Ramadan ads, singing Thank You for Vodafone Egypt.

Featuring Mohamed Salah, the ad was viewed more than 23 million times on YouTube one week after its release, the highest of any of this year's Ramadan ads. In addition, the ad has exceeded 120 million views across social media platforms - Instagram, Facebook.

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ROME (AP)  Pope Francis has been cleared by doctors for discharge on Saturday from the Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, the Vatican said, adding that the pontiff had pizza one evening with medical staff and baptized a baby in the pediatrics ward.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, in one of several updates on Friday, also said that Francis will be in St. Peters Square for Palm Sunday Mass at the start of Holy Week, although he didnt say if the pontiff would deliver the homily during the particularly lengthy service.

The medical team that is following His Holiness Pope Francis, after evaluating the outcome of tests carried out today and the favorable clinical recovery, has confirmed discharge on Saturday, Bruni said in a written statement Friday night.

Francis, 86, was hospitalized on Wednesday at Gemelli Polyclinic, where doctors said the pontiff was receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat his bronchitis.

Calling the pontiffs medical recovery normal, Bruni said earlier in the day that on Thursday evening, Pope Francis had dinner, eating a pizza, together with all those who are assisting him in these days of the hospital stay, including doctors, nurses, assistants and Vatican security personnel.

Given the popes return to the Vatican hotel where he lives, the spokesman said, was expected to be present in the square for Palm Sunday Mass, which formally begins Holy Week that culminates with Easter Mass in the square on April 9.

Medical personnel decided to hospitalize him on Wednesday after he returned to his Vatican residence following his customary weekly public audience in St. Peters Square. The Vatican reported he had experienced difficulty breathing in the previous days.

The Vatican on Thursday said that antibiotic treatment for bronchitis had resulted in a marked improvement in his health.

In a video released by the Vatican, Francis was seen baptizing a hospitalized baby who is a few weeks old.

After the mother tells Francis the boys name, Miguel Angel, the pope uses a metal hospital tray usually employed to hold syringes to pour water over the sleeping babys head, then tries to comfort the infant, who wakes up, wailing and seeming to try to swat away the popes hand.

Francis then asked the mother to dry her sons wet forehead. He then told her: When you go to your parish, say that the pope baptized him.

Francis was smiling and looked chipper as he visited children being treated at Gemelli for cancer and gave out large, wrapped chocolate Easter eggs.

Earlier in the day, Francis sent a tweet on Friday possibly inspired by his current health challenge.

When experienced with faith, the trials and difficulties of life serve to purify our hearts, making them humbler and thus more and more open to God, Francis wrote. The tweet carried a hashtag for Lent, the period of the liturgical year stressing penitence and sacrifice in the run-up to the joyous Church celebration of Easter, which marks the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead after his crucifixion.

The Vatican seemed keen to quickly dispel any worries about the popes physical fitness to carry on fully with his duties. Nearly immediately after the announcement of a discharge date for Francis, the Vatican announced that the pope would meet the prime minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace.

Palm Sunday Mass usually draws tens of thousands of faithful, including many pilgrims from abroad, flocking to Rome for Holy Week.

Francis had already largely stopped celebrating Mass at major Catholic Church holy days because of a chronic knee problem, but had continued to preside at the ceremonies and deliver homilies.

The Holy Week appointments include a stamina-taxing late night Way of the Cross procession marked by prayers on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome and Easter Mass on April 9, which is traditionally followed by a long papal speech delivered from the central balcony of St. Peters Basilica.

During Wednesdays hour-long public audience, Francis at times appeared visibly in pain when he moved about and was helped by aides.

In July 2021, Francis underwent surgery at Gemelli Polyclinic after suffering from a narrowing of his colon. As a young man in Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed.

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BEIRUT (AP)  Israeli airstrikes hit the suburbs of Syrias capital city early Friday for the second day in a row, killing an Iranian adviser, the state media of Syria and Iran reported.

Loud explosions were heard over Damascus shortly after midnight Thursday, according to residents in the capital and the state news agency SANA. The airstrikes came after similar attacks early Thursday.

SANA said Syrian air defenses confronted hostile targets, adding that the strike caused material damage. SANA said some of the Israeli missiles were shot down by air defenses.

Irans state television reported Friday that Milad Heidari, an Iranian military adviser, was killed during what it called a criminal strike by Israel early Friday morning in Syria. Without giving Heidaris rank, the report called him a guard of Islam. The outlet said he was a member of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and warned Israel will receive an answer for the crime.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strikes targeted an arms depot for government forces and Iran-backed groups just south of Damascus.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges specific operations.

Israel says it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanons Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assads forces.

An Israeli airstrike last week targeting the airport in Aleppo put it out of commission for two days.

Israel has also struck seaports in government-held areas of Syria, in an apparent attempt to prevent Iranian arms shipments to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Hezbollah.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  Two Memphis police officers and a suspect were wounded in a shooting during a foot chase in the city, authorities said.

The shooting occurred after officers responded to a report of a person with a gun at a convenience store shortly before 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

The two officers and the suspect, who was outside the business before the chase began, were hospitalized in critical condition following the shooting in the Whitehaven neighborhood, authorities said.

The bureau on Friday identified the suspect as Charles Williams II, 47, and said he has been charged with attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault.

Williams will be booked into jail after he is released from the hospital, the bureau said. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer to comment on the charges Friday.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage charges  allegations the newspaper denies.

Let him go, Biden told reporters at the White House when asked about his message to Russia on the arrest of Gershkovich.

Russias Federal Security Service has accused Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, of trying to obtain classified information. It is the first time an American journalist has been detained in Russia on accusations of spying since the Cold War. The Journal has said it vehemently denies the charges.

Speaking at a news conference in Lusaka, Zambia, Vice President Kamala Harris added that the administration was deeply concerned about Gershkovichs arrest.

We will not tolerate  and condemn, in fact  repression of journalists, Harris said during a weeklong visit to Africa.

The Biden administration said Thursday it was working to secure U.S. consular access to Gershkovich. Asked Friday whether he would expel Russian diplomats or journalists in the U.S., Biden responded: Thats not the plan right now.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, called the targeting of U.S. citizens in Russia unacceptable and said the administration condemns the detention of Gershkovich in the strongest terms.

The Biden administration has also warned U.S. citizens not to travel to Russia, and for Americans in the country to depart immediately.

In Moscow, Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize-winning editor-in-chief of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, told reporters he knows the detained journalist and Gershkovich was not an agent using his professional and journalistic accreditation as a cover for espionage.

Speaking more generally of the Kremlins repression of independent journalism, which has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine, Muratov said: This is a trend  trying to attribute espionage and treason to people at every step, to show that the profession of a journalist is an enemy profession for the country  for Russian and other journalists.

___

Associated Press reporter Chris Megerian contributed to this report from Lusaka, Zambia.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  A celebrity and insatiable publicity hound long before he was president, Donald Trump has been photographed countless times. But never like this.

Now that a New York grand jury has voted to indict him for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn actor, Trump will have to appear at district attorney headquarters in Manhattan to be booked, fingerprinted and get a mug shot taken. The former president, the first ever to be indicted, is expected to surrender to authorities early next week.

New York law discourages the release of mug shots in most cases, though they have leaked in the past. Less clear is whether Trump would seek to have the picture released himself, for political or other reasons. Within minutes of word of his indictment breaking, his 2024 presidential campaign was sending fundraising messages off the news.

Some Trump aides have floated the idea of holding a post-booking press conference  a political trail blazed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry when he surrendered to authorities for his own mug shot in 2014.

Indeed, what is a moment of shame for many accused hasnt always been that for politicians. Some have offered large smiles  or at least defiant smirks. Theyve tried to frame the moment as a political boon, looking to boost their popularity with supporters who see them as being unfairly targeted.

Heres a look at how some notable politicians handled their own mug shots:

A SMIRK AND A SOFT-SERVE CONE

Clad in a snappy dark suit, white shirt and blue tie, Perry removed his then-signature black glasses  as mandated by county rules  and offered a smirking half smile in his 2014 mug shot.

The Republican was facing abuse of power charges over a veto that prosecutors said he issued to settle political scores. But the governor did his best to convey that he considered the case a waste of time.

A group of cheering supporters gathered outside and, when he emerged, Perry told them, We will prevail. He then went for vanilla ice cream at a nearby soft-serve joint in Austin, Texas, and tweeted a photo of himself and his lawyers hoisting their own cones under the caption, And then, ice cream.

Noting the governors posturing, the Democratic National Committee responded, This may be a sideshow to Rick Perry but no amount of spin can cover up two felony charges.

Perry was looking to build momentum for a 2016 presidential run that ultimately fizzled in a matter of months  much like the case against him, which never went to trial.

PUTTING ON A HAPPY FACE

While he didnt mark the occasion with a press conference, another Texas Republican, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, also saw political opportunity in his mug shot.

Indicted in Houston in 2005 on accusations of money laundering, DeLay wore a dark suit with his gold House security pin still attached and offered such a wide and toothy mug shot grin that it looked like the resulting photo could have been affixed to a campaign poster. He was convicted, but the verdict was later overturned on appeal.

Also smiling broadly in his mug shot was 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. Edwards, who wore a white shirt and blue tie in his 2011 mug shot, was charged with using nearly $1 million in funds from his 2008 presidential campaign to help cover up an extramarital affair. He was acquitted of one charge, and the jury deadlocked on others.

The smile was less deliberate for former Attorney General John Mitchell, who offered a confused-looking half grin, wearing a shirt and tie but no jacket when he was booked in 1974. Mitchell was eventually convicted of conspiracy, perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon. Once the nations top law enforcement officer, Mitchell ultimately served 19 months in prison.

SOMBER SHOTS

Not every politician sees criminal charges as a boost to their political future, though.

Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig was arrested in 2007 by a plainclothes police officer in a mens bathroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. The officer said Craig tapped his foot and signaled under the stall that he wanted sex.

Craig looked exceedingly uncomfortable in his mug shot in a suit, a tie and an American flag lapel pin  offering a tight-lipped look and wearing glasses that threw back deep light reflections.

Craig appeared to be aware that his political career was effectively over. Although he later sought unsuccessfully to rescind his guilty plea and rebuffed calls from his own party to resign his Senate seat, Craig opted not to seek reelection in 2008.

Looking equally troubled was Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who wore a blue jogging suit, his famous black hair decidedly less poufy than usual, as he peered impassively into the camera shortly after federal agents showed up around 6 a.m. to arrest him.

Serving his second term, Blagojevich was arrested in 2008 and accused of trying to sell the Senate seat that Barack Obama vacated when he won the White House. He was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison  until Trump commuted his sentence in 2020.

Blagojevich kept his sense of humor, though.

When New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was detained last summer while decrying the Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision in Washington, she was pictured holding her hands behind her back as if handcuffed  except she wasnt wearing restraints.

Blagojevich tweeted a picture of Ocasio-Cortez alongside his own mug shot under the caption, At least when I get arrested, I get arrested for real!

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NEW YORK (AP)  Donald Trump has become the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal.

The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign catapults the now-candidate Trump into a new era of legal risk and complicates his attempts to return to the White House.

Heres what to know about the indictment and the case:

THE FORMER PRESIDENT COULD HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD

Trump now faces threats to his freedom after decades of legal investigations that have never resulted in serious consequences.

The Manhattan district attorneys office said Thursday that prosecutors had reached out to Trumps lawyers to arrange for him to surrender, which could happen early next week. Trump is expected to appear at the prosecutors office to be processed and fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken. He is also expected to appear in court, when a judge would list the charges and Trump would enter a plea.

He will have to contend with a criminal case while running again for the White House, taking time and attention away from the campaign trail  though neither the case nor a conviction would preclude him from seeking or winning the presidency in 2024.

The indictment comes as he is facing several other investigations that could lead to legal problems for the former president. Those pending cases, along with a civil trial that's scheduled to start in New York next month over a columnists claims that Trump raped her in the 1990s, add to an ever-growing cloud of scandals surrounding him.

CASE STEMS FROM HUSH MONEY PAID TO WOMEN

The grand jury in Manhattan had been probing hush money payments at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, one of the witnesses who testified, says he orchestrated payments totaling $280,000 to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Federal prosecutors said the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trumps campaign. But they declined to file charges against Trump himself.

The Manhattan district attorneys office appeared to be investigating whether anyone committed crimes in arranging the payments, or in the way they accounted for them internally at the Trump Organization. But the specific charges remained under seal late Thursday.

TRUMP MAINTAINS HIS INNOCENCE

Trump, who denies the sexual encounters, called the indictment political persecution and an attempt to interfere in his presidential campaign.

Calling himself a completely innocent person, he cast the indictment as the latest in a line of actions that he says are designed to destroy his Make America Great Again movement, including his two presidential impeachments and the FBI search of his home that turned up classified documents.

The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, he said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Trump said his arrest was imminent and called on his supporters to protest. Last week, he warned about potential death and destruction if he were charged. His words evoked his comments ahead of the violent Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump did not repeat his call to protest Thursday, but police forces around the country are on guard for potential unrest.

OTHER INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE

Beyond the Manhattan case, Trump is facing an array of other investigations.

On the federal level, the Justice Department is investigating the retention of top-secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The efforts by many of the same players in the latter case were also the subject of a special grand jury investigation in Georgia. The panels foreperson said the special grand jury recommended multiple criminal indictments, leaving it up to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, to decide whether to convene a regular grand jury and pursue criminal charges.

With many serious cases looming around the other investigations, some legal experts have questioned the wisdom of the Manhattan case becoming the first to result in charges.

TRUMPS RIVALS CONDEMN INDICTMENT

Trump has said the charges would actually help him in the 2024 presidential race and has tried to use the case to galvanize support. Last weekend, at the first rally of the campaign, he cast the Manhattan investigation and the other probes as the latest in a long line of political attacks against him. His campaign handed out signs that said Witch Hunt as Trump told his supporters that the legal challenges were also an attack on his followers and his political movement.

Some Republican and independent voters could see the case, at the very least, as another example of problematic baggage that has followed Trump for years and has been a distraction. The news was expected to only fortify existing Democratic opposition to Trump.

Republicans who are running against Trump or who are considering their own campaigns were quick to rally to criticize the case and attack Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, even if they didnt address the underlying allegations against Trump.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce a campaign and is seen as Trumps top rival for the GOP nomination, called the indictment un-American. Former Vice President Mike Pence, also considering a challenge to Trump in 2024, called the indictment an outrage.

GOP LAWMAKERS TARGET PROSECUTOR

Republicans framed the arrest as a political prosecution by a rogue Democratic district attorney who they said was weaponizing the criminal justice system.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the House will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.

Some of Trumps fiercest supporters came to his defense. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, two names floated as potential Trump running mates, said hes innocent.

BIDEN, DEMOCRATS HAVE LITTLE TO SAY

Democrats were less vocal in the hours after the indictment became known, but some of the former presidents critics have framed the case as a long-overdue dose of accountability.

President Joe Biden, who is expected to announce hes running for reelection next year, has not commented on the indictment.

The Democratic National Committee did not comment on the specifics of the case but sought to yoke the entire GOP to Trump.

No matter what happens in Trumps upcoming legal proceedings, its obvious the Republican Party remains firmly in the hold of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, DNC National Press Secretary Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not immediately comment, though some lesser-known House members welcomed the news.

I continue to believe that every American elected official and leader should be held fully accountable for their actions and crimes, said Rep. Harley Rouda of California.

Finally, today, Donald Trumps chickens have come home to roost, said Rep. Raul Grijalva, who represents a safe district in Arizona. But his fellow Arizonan, Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for the Senate, was more measured: We should wait to hear from the grand jury before jumping to conclusions.

___

Cooper reported from Phoenix.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration said Friday that the U.S. will open an embassy in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in its latest move to blunt Chinas increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific.

The new embassy in Port Vila will be the fifth diplomatic mission that the U.S. has either opened or announced that it will build in the region over the past three years as it seeks to confront what it sees as a threat or challenge from China.

Consistent with the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, a permanent diplomatic presence in Vanuatu would allow the U.S. government to deepen relationships with Vanuatu officials and society, the State Department said in a statement.

Establishing U.S. Embassy Port Vila would facilitate areas of potential bilateral cooperation and development assistance, including efforts to tackle the climate crisis, it said.

A low-lying island nation of some 300,000 people, Vanuatu last year declared a climate emergency as it faces moving dozens of villages to higher ground. Vanuatu, as one of the countries most immediately threatened, also is among the most outspoken and active islands in demanding greater effort by other countries to cut climate-wrecking pollution from burning coal, oil and natural gas.

This week, Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakaus government spearheaded passage of a U.N. resolution demanding that the U.N.s high court strengthen requirements on countries to slow the climates warming and deal with the impact.

That announcement follows a high-level visit to Vanuatu and other Pacific islands led by the White Houses top Asia-Pacific coordinator, Kurt Campbell. The U.S. is currently represented in Vanuatu by the American ambassador in New Guinea.

The U.S. recently opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands and will soon open one in the Maldives. Other embassies to be opened include in Tonga and Kiribati.

The administration has also moved to shore up existing close ties with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau by extending agreements with those Pacific nations that give them billions of dollars in aid in return for military and other basing rights.

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The Star has been doing a real public service by putting the big three telecom providers  Bell, Rogers and Telus  on the spot for failing to make cell service available in the subway at a time of rising public concern about violence on the TTC.

Its not the biggest issue in the world, but its a concrete and doable step toward making people feel safer. Thats vital at a time when riders are fleeing the TTC in part because of fears about safety  fears brought into sharp focus by the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes at Keele station last weekend.

Toronto city councillor Chris Moise had this to say about the telecom companies that refuse to step up: They should be embarrassed and they should be shamed into providing this service.

So let me do my modest bit on that front.

To Bell, Rogers and Telus: shame on you for ducking, diving and avoiding the issue every time its raised. Its past time for you to get over whatever it is thats stopping you from getting this right.

The Stars Lex Harvey first highlighted the problem last September. But when she asked the companies why they wont let their customers tap into the cell infrastructure thats already in place on the TTC, they either wouldnt respond (Rogers and Telus) or basically ducked the issue (Bell). Six months later, theyre still doing the same thing.

TTC riders tell the Star that having cell service would make them feel safer  connected to friends and emergency services if danger arises. And its clearly possible from a technical point of view. If youre with Freedom Mobile, you can already connect to cell services in the subway.

My strong advice to the big three providers is to get on board. You know youre not doing the right thing, and youre already on the defensive. The longer you wait, the worse youll look. So just do it  asap.

Again, this is a relatively small thing. But Toronto has a crisis on its hands right now  a crisis of rising street crime and a crisis of confidence in the transit system. We know people are already avoiding the system and we have to make sure they dont give up on it for good.

If theres one single thing thats key to ensuring a big city like Toronto keeps functioning well, with a busy, vibrant downtown, its having a safe and reliable transit system. Right now were heading in exactly the wrong direction, with increasing violence and more service cuts on the horizon. All the ingredients are in place for a downward spiral of the kind thats all too obvious in many U.S. cities.

The mayoral race is our chance to debate this. The candidates need to spell out what they would do to fight the rise in violent crime and the fear that goes with it.

Of course we know theres no quick fix. The kind of crime thats spreading fear throughout the city is linked to deep, intractable issues like mental health and homelessness. Everyone knows all levels of government must be involved, that tackling the underlying causes of street violence is complicated and will take many years. Even Mark Saunders, whos building his campaign for mayor around the need for safe communities, is careful to say there are no easy solutions.

But in this climate, woe betide the candidate who just lectures voters about the root causes of crime without offering hope for the shorter term. Mitzie Hunter, who jumped into the mayoral race this week, says she has a plan that involves a bigger police presence on the transit system as well as social workers to address mental health issues.

Crime and safety have already dominated mayoral races in U.S. cities like San Francisco, New York and Chicago. In Vancouver, Mayor Ken Sim rode concerns about increasing crime to the mayors office last fall, with a plan that broadly resembles the one outlined by Hunter.

That could well happen in Toronto. Candidates could start by demanding the telecom companies do their part by making TTC riders feel just a bit safer.

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In February, Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), the organization I lead, sent former CTV National News anchor Lisa LaFlamme to Kenya and Tunisia. We asked her to track case studies wed recorded and report back on their real-world impact in the most transparent way possible  through strong journalism.

LaFlamme spoke with women activists in Tunisia. They confirmed that media coverage supported by Journalists for Human Rights and the Government of Canada had focused attention on women fleeing domestic violence, a cruel side-effect of prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns. This prompted local government to build shelters for those women.

She spoke with Rachel Nakitare of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation in Nairobi. Nakitare confirmed that our work with them had delivered a made-in-Kenya sexual harassment policy for the newsroom. It had already been used twice to protect women journalists from the otherwise-endemic issue of sexual harassment.

And LaFlamme spoke with a young Kenyan girl named Serafina, a teen mother who was able to resume her education by applying to a school that provided particular supports for teen mothers. Serafina told Lisa she learned about the school through the media  through coverage JHR helped start.

Journalists for Human Rights, like so many other Canadian NGOs, works with taxpayer dollars and private donations. Our donors put their trust in us to strengthen the media and human rights for the worlds most vulnerable, in particular women and girls.

LaFlammes reporting documented improved outcomes for Serafina: shes now in school. For Rachel Nakitare, her female reporters can now work in peace, without the fear a male boss will ask them for sex in exchange for plum assignments. And women trying to escape abusive partners in Tunisia now have somewhere to go.

This weeks federal budget threatens all this progress. It represents a missed opportunity that will significantly hamper Canadian NGOs efforts toward achieving the sustainable development goals. It threatens the work of Journalists for Human Rights and it threatens the important work of 94 other organizations that came together in a coalition to ask the federal government to keep its promise to increase foreign aid every year.

The coalition sent a letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Feb. 23. It called on the government to honour whats in International Development Minister Harjeet Sajjans mandate letter and commit to predictable increases in funding. The goal: $10 billion per year by 2025, a number that sounds impressive but is still short of the 1.7 per cent of GDP going to foreign assistance that Lester Pearsons government recommended 50 years ago. This government instead cut foreign assistance by $1.3 billion  16.8 per cent less than last years investment.

These cuts to international assistance tell the global majority that Canada is not serious about walking its talk in a sustained way on human rights, democracy, media freedoms, nor support for women and girls. In choosing not to invest in Canadian international development, we undermine Canadas ability to help the most vulnerable  at a time when they most need it.

This news comes during a global attack on both journalism and human rights. There are only 24 full democracies left in the world, according to The Economists Democracy Index. Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa estimates we have less than two years to push back the global trend toward authoritarian technocracy. The work of Journalists for Human Rights is on the front lines of that fight. We are trying to increase that number through strengthening the most important check and balance in a full democracy  the media sector.

Funding this development work is vital. Through it, we are fighting, together with those whose values we share, for a way of life, one defined by freedom and universal human rights. We work with people who fight every day to uphold the freedoms we take for granted here in Canada.

We cannot meet the significant challenges of this critical moment without resources. Yet this budget asks us, and other Canadian NGOs, to do exactly that.

Rachel Pulfer is the executive director of Journalists for Human Rights.

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Ive always considered budget speeches performative (one of those terms that suddenly, inexplicably, sprout everywhere. Im hoping it replaces the TV reporters recent, Give a listen.) versus substantial. Example, a Canadian finance ministers new shoes  though its a less elegant prop than the U.K.s red dispatch box. The most ritualistic part is the lock-up of journalists, who are then released collectively, like the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

I found the most interesting speaking part this round not Chrystia Freeland, but Pierre Poilievre as opposition leader. His instant reaction was, its a frontal attack on the paycheques of hardworking Canadians. Hardworking isnt just a cliche while he thinks of something to say, its a call to resentment: You worked hard for your meagre pay and this evil gatekeeper wants to gift it to layabout paupers as free dental and daycare for their kids, not yours! Hes good at that.

But the real question for Poilievre is what hes going to say when Freeland drops her other shoe in next years budget showcase just before an election: a big housing program, which theyre clearly prepping. CTVs Vassy Kapelos nailed this by asking a Tory MP if he thought just speeding up building approvals will solve the housing problem and he pretty much said, yes. The Globes Campbell Clark made the point about Poilievre himself, saying he couldnt get an answer out of him about the Big Spending Liberal programs, which he enjoys spitting at but wouldnt outright reject. Its a dilemma for him. Shiftiness belies rhetoric.

Of course elections are performative too. Not because citizens dont care about politics but because voting offers such a mild dose: a drive-by hit every four years. So voting has declined drastically, till theres a crisis because China is trying to influence the thing weve cheerily neglected. The London Review had an intriguing piece called, Whats so good about elections? It said our system makes no sense to people in Mali because it insists that majority opinion is the only way to adjudicate daunting issues  in a complex, heterogeneous society.

Thats one reason I was moved by Sarah Polleys film, Women Talking (OK, dont torture me, I confess shes a good friend). It suggests that democracy isnt always about voting and finito; it can be about talking, deliberating, taking the time and reaching a new, inclusive conclusion, that wasnt there at the start of the process  as she said in her Oscar acceptance speech.

Speaking of which, I was also intrigued by an anonymous column in the Globe by a national security whistleblower, clearly aimed at the government.

Former CSIS director Ward Elcock, on CBC, suggested the piece showed signs of being edited, which I found a bit mild. I wondered if it wasnt ghost written. Why? In the years I wrote for the Globe, I had an editor whod tell me to bulletproof my stuff against the most obvious attacks. In this case, thatd be a suspicion that the writer was a right wing convoy sympathizer or even member.

In fact, some convoy leaders were once military, cops or security, like former Mountie Daniel Bulford or Tom Marazzo, ex-military. In the U.S., when the new Republican congress got some of the deep state whistleblowers in front of public hearings they were an embarrassment.

One had tweeted, Cancer! GO FASTER! about a rumour that Biden was sick. A pro-Trump Fox commentator moaned, Tell me this is going somewhere. Anticipating the charge, the Globe Deep State Throat proclaimed theyd even voted Liberal in the past. So shut up.

As for ghost written, the piece ended by invoking Jody Wilson-Raybould as inspiration for standing up against Justin Trudeau. Its the sort of fillip that hired pens will add to show they were worth the extra bucks. Then  mic drop.

Granted, its a hunch, without proof. But if theyre going to play fast and loose, outside the rules of honest attribution, we all get a little extra licence.

Rick Salutin is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Reach him via email: salutinrick@gmail.com

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Palestine expert Khaled Elgindy speaks to Al-Ahram Weekly on the present transformative moment for the Palestinians in which the resurgence of new resistance groups is gaining momentum.

Massive pro-democracy protests against attempts to undermine the judiciary might be rocking Israel, possibly marking a crack in the wall of the Jewish state, as some observers suggest. But on the other side of the barbed wire, 5.4 million Palestinians who live under Israels apartheid regime have only ever known the brutal force of settler colonialism since 1948.

It is a reality that a minority anti-occupation bloc in Israel has been calling out, highlighting the contradiction between the countrys pro-democracy protests, essentially led by former military figures and politicians responsible for the military dictatorship imposed on the Palestinians, and Palestinian lives under occupation.

In the Palestinian Territories occupied by Israel since 1967, Zionist settlers have been carrying out pogroms, burning a Palestinian home near Nablus on Sunday while the residents slept inside, for example, and the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have been pursuing deadly night raids to flush out resistance groups, committing massacres and wanton destruction in the process. The ultra-right-wing Israeli government is openly authorising the expansion of illegal settlements on Palestinian land.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, or the Palestinian Catastrophe, when Israel was created on 15 May 1948 following a series of massacres, forced displacements, and the dispossession of 700,000 Palestinians (85 per cent of the population). Nineteen years later, Israel occupied and annexed the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in the 1967 War, capturing Syrias Golan Heights and Egypts Sinai, which was liberated in 1982.

While anniversaries do not in themselves carry new meanings or realities, in its 75th year, the Nakba is being recalled to describe the recent surge in Israeli military and settler violence against the Palestinians and their continued dispossession. The Palestinians, on the other hand, are rallying behind new and emerging resistance groups in the West Bank, not Gaza, targeting Israeli soldiers and settlers.

While many in Palestine and across the region are celebrating the resurgence of resistance groups such as the Lions Den and the Jenin Brigades for their retaliation against Israeli violence, the bigger picture is often lost in the news cycle as is keeping tabs on the casualties. What do the growing number of Palestinian lone-wolf attacks on Israelis mean? What will come next for a new generation of angry Palestinians that grew up to the reality of the failed two-state solution and has no faith in diplomacy?

Are we seeing the signs of a new Intifada, as the Palestinian polls suggest, or is it a new Nakba, as the Israeli government adopts policies that translate into genocide and the mass expulsion of the Palestinians?

It is very hard to analyse this period because its a transitional period, says Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute and author of 'Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians from Balfour to Trump'.

Elgindy, one of the most reputable Palestine experts in Washington, made a name for himself during the years when he was an adviser to the Palestinian leadership during the eventful years between 2004 and 2009. He witnessed Israels 2005 evacuation of Gaza, Hamas 2006 election, the Civil War with Fatah that followed, the Annapolis negotiations in 2007-08, and Israels war on Gaza in December 2008.

I ask him if the cycle of violence in the Occupied Territories could be a ripple effect of the 2021 events in the East Jerusalem district of Sheikh Jarrah, when nationwide Palestinian protests, including in defiant Arab areas inside the Green Line, erupted against the Israeli court evictions of 13 Palestinian families from their homes to be replaced with Jewish settlements.

I think its very hard to draw a line through these dates, [although] it does seem that theres a common thread. What is different now is that you have an armed insurgency in the northern West Bank in places like Jenin and Nablus [by] new groups like the Lions Den and the Jenin Brigades, Elgindy said.

A lot of these activists belong to different factions like Fatah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, working together under a new umbrella but not a cohesive leadership, he says. This is ad hoc violence by several dozen armed men, not a large military force, in different places, but not directed and organised.

The influence of these new groups is served by the fact that the two main factions, Fatah and Hamas, have been, in Elgindys words, neutralised and contained in their own areas. Hamas arrangement with Israel in August 2022 allowed work permits to be issued to workers in Gaza to work in Israel with a few less restrictions on the 16-year-old blockade.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority (PA) are completely neutralised in Area A (18 per cent of the West Bank) and are in fact shrinking and losing control over major urban areas like Nablus and Jenin, Elgindy said.

TRANSITION

For the Palestinians, they see that the PA is committed to security cooperation and intelligence-sharing with Israel, despite claims this has been suspended over the violence, and it continues to communicate with the US coordinator on the ground.

The PA does not want to see another Intifada, but they also do nothing to protect Palestinians from the settlers and the army. So, what were seeing in Jenin and Nablus is basically people taking matters into their own hands and trying to fill that vacuum. Whenever we see these armed groups, they are emerging in places where the PA is losing control, or has already lost control, Elgindy said.

Although they were not sustained, the protests triggered in Sheikh Jarrah in 2021, which the Palestinians called a Unity Intifada, were alarming for the Israelis, who have since redoubled their efforts to keep the Palestinians fragmented: politically, physically and otherwise.

Despite their organisational shortcomings, recent polls by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, a think tank, show that 68 per cent of Palestinians support the formation of armed resistance groups and 87 per cent reject the PAs efforts to arrest them, while support for a two-state solution has dropped to 27 per cent.

I think public opinion is very important because we are now in a moment when armed resistance is quite popular, in large part because of the complete failure of the diplomatic process and the bankruptcy of the PA leadership to provide not just a political horizon but even basic safety for their people.

The new generation of young Palestinians are different from their parents, Elgindy observes, because they do not remember the 2002-2003 Intifada. These were the bad years when the Palestinians paid a very heavy price for an armed uprising that was extremely violent and destructive. They dont remember any of that, so that helps in terms of not being fully aware of the risks.

Its cyclical. Its almost every 20 years where you have a new generation that emerges that wants to do things differently. But you still need political leadership and direction. But right now, what is the Lions Den and what are their political demands? Do we know? Is it just to stop the [Israeli Occupation] army incursions every night? Is that enough? Or is to end the occupation? How? Whats the political dynamic that it is pushing?

Of course, they dont have any real demands. I think their goal is, if were going to pay a cost, then we will inflict the cost on the Israeli side. If were going to die were going to make sure that Israelis also die, though not in the same numbers obviously because we dont have the same capacity.

Elgindy reminds us that an Intifada has to have a political programme. The first Intifada (1987-1993) opened a political space that created a political process, empowering the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) leadership, which was becoming irrelevant, to take up a position.

Even the second Intifada, as violent as it was, opened up a political process. We had the Quartet [the international diplomatic entity mediating between both sides], the Road Map, and clearly articulated steps that were needed to move towards a Palestinian state. They were then completely abandoned, and the Road Map was aborted, but there was a political process, and there was a horizon that was inserted.

Right now, there is nothing, Elgindy said. There is no horizon, and there is no attempt to make a horizon. There is no political initiative by the Palestinian leadership, and there is nothing from the international community, forget about the United States. Never mind the great powers, theyre busy doing other things. And forget the Arab states also.

So, where is the political initiative going to come from? Its not coming from any of the Palestinian actors and certainly not coming from the region. So, what is the purpose of this violence and what is it pushing towards?

The Lions Den and their supporters may not have agency, but isnt this about just existing and fighting back? Israel has killed over 90 Palestinians in 2023 so far.

I understand why someone picks up a gun to attack the settlers or soldiers, when he sees his leadership totally incapable of protecting him and his family. Its a basic expectation: your government will protect you from outside threats. But theres a difference between explaining it in a rational way and whether that is going to be effective. That is a different calculation, Elgindy said.

You have to have a political programme, leadership, and a political organisation if you want to have a sustained or a successful uprising, he urges. Its pretty basic, whether its armed or unarmed: you need political and operational coherence.

Israels mission, like that of any colonial power, has been to spend the last 20 years destroying any semblance of Palestinian cohesiveness, physically and materially, and to divide and rule.

Recent polls also show that for the first time a majority of Palestinians find that the dismantling or collapse of the Palestinian Authority is in their interest.

END OF AN ERA

Elgindys portrayal of the PA and its octogenarian president is that of the end of an era.

Founded in 1994 as the two-state solution track took off, the PA is now in a state of slow-motion collapse, says Elgindy. In the last 10 years, the PA has lost 85 per cent of its international donor funds, as well as losing control on the ground.

Nobody is paying attention to them: they have very few allies in the region, and theyre physically shrinking. They cant pay salaries  teachers and lawyers are on strike  so Abbas main goal now is seeking money to keep his authority functioning. It is not about a political programme and statehood or liberation. Its just survival.

The Palestinians have two options, he says: either reform the institutions and bring in the whole population and create a truly representative political body, which would mean both Hamas and the PLO, or replace the old structures and build new ones.

This is not an overnight project. Ive written many times that the next Intifada, when and if it happens, will be as much directed at their own leadership as at the occupation. And it could be something more like what the Palestinians saw in 1936: the Great Arab Revolt during the British mandate in Palestine, which wasnt just against the British and Zionists, but it also swept away the totally bankrupt leadership of semi-feudal notables at the time.

The revolt was a direct outcome of the influx of immigrant Jews to Palestine, which was encouraged by the British mandate (1920-1948), soaring from 57,000 to 320,000 by 1935.

Today, we are at the end of one paradigm in which we talked about two states, Resolution 242, land for peace, the Peace Process, Oslo, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, and all of these things were relevant in that framework. Now were moving towards an entirely different framework where those things arent relevant.

The old order is dead, but the new order or alternative vision hasnt been articulated. Support for a two-state solution has almost collapsed, and even in the West Bank and Gaza, which were the primary constituency that supported a Palestinian state in 1967, now a plurality of Palestinians no longer support the two-state solution, Elgindy said.

Who can you name in the Palestinian political arena that is championing the cause of the one-state solution, he asks. Nobody. The two-state solution is dead, but what has filled its place ideologically? Nobody knows.

In this almost nihilistic moment, it is difficult to ignore the small anti-occupation bloc in Israel that became visible in the protest movement and is advancing a narrative questioning democracy under the Israeli military occupation. Should it be part of the conversation?

I think there is a segment of Israelis that is realising the link between what is happening in their own country, from their own government, and just across the Green Line. Theyre finally starting to see the connection when you had 55 years of military dictatorship where this is no rule of law.

The rule of law is basically whatever the military decides  arbitrary arrests, people lose their land, people have basically no rights. And that system was sustained by the left, right and centre governments in Israel.

It was only a matter of time before that disease infected the rest of Israel itself. It was never possible to keep an area that is a shining democracy for Jews but an oppressive dictatorship for millions of Palestinians. How long could you keep that wall and keep that quarantine? You cant.

Whats really behind the present attempt to destroy the independence of the judiciary in Israel, explains Elgindy, is in large part the settler movement that does not want restrictions and constraints on their expansion. In theory, rather than in practice, such restrictions are coming from the Israeli Supreme Court, which they want to eliminate.

A lot of Israelis are realising this organic connection, but not enough of them. But then again the Israelis are like the Palestinians and are going to have to go through a generational debate about where this goes. I think if theres a future where Palestinians and Israelis have equality in any form, then obviously you need to have a constituency in both places. And maybe what comes out of these protests will be an expansion of that constituency on the Israeli side as more and more people realise the connection.

The crisis should also be triggering questions about the nature of Israels constitutional crisis. Why is Israel facing a constitutional crisis? Because they dont have a constitution. Why? They couldnt have a constitution that enshrined basic rights when Israel was created in 1948, because what do you do with the captive Palestinian minority?

Palestinians who became Israeli citizens in 1948 were put under martial law for 18 years until 1966.

Now that original sin is coming back to haunt them, Elgindy said. All of the excuses and loopholes that were created to maintain the illusion of Israel as a democracy are now falling apart.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 30 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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It was about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, just as the evening rush hour was kicking off, and just after Toronto had experienced the full range of what springtime weather has to offer in a weird quick rush of thunder and rain that became hail and then snow and then sunshine. On the fare-gate level of St. Patrick subway station, masses of people were gathered around the collectors booth, where a TTC employee was addressing them through a tinny speaker, in a manner familiar to users of the system.

WOMP WOMP streetcar WOMP Dundas WOMP WOMP WOMP WOMP he said, as indecipherable as a teacher on the old Charlie Brown cartoons, save for the odd discernable word. Union WOMP WOMP WOMP Bloor, he carried on, gesturing with his hands to signal we should all go back upstairs to the street.

We riders looked to each other. This seemed like important information if we were hoping to get home anytime soon.

A young woman said shed just come up from being on the subway, and that the system was shut down between Union and St. George.

How can I get to the Green Line? an older woman said in English accented with what mightve been an Eastern European flavour.

WOMP WOMP streetcar WOMP WOMP WOMP WOMP said the TTC employee, making elaborate directional gestures.

I spoke up, as I am prone to do: I think hes saying people who want to get to Bloor should take the Dundas streetcar over to Yonge and then transfer to a subway there, I said.

OK, but how do I get to St. George? the young woman said.

Well, Im going to walk there, because its probably only about 15 minutes up University, I said. But you could transfer at Yonge-Bloor to a westbound train and then get off at St. George.

The older woman grabbed a bundle buggy and pulled it over beside me: Youre walking to Bloor? I come with you, OK? I nodded.

Do you mind if I join you? the young woman asked. I live in Mississauga. The only subway stations I know are Union and St. George.

Another man standing nearby, maybe 40 years old and possibly from the Middle East, wanted to join too. I need to get to Victoria Park. This has happened to me twice this week, the walking.

And so the four of us headed up University Avenue, like some updated Toronto version of The Breakfast Club  the young student, the senior citizen, the man, and me  a demographic sampling of Toronto: two of us evidently born in some other country, two of us people of colour, one of us from Mississauga, two of us from Scarborough, one of us living in the old city of Toronto. Together we were sentenced not to detention, but to the all-too-familiar drudgery of navigating the city in the absence of the subway.

This came during a grim and depressing week on the transit news front. I had just come from City Hall where the deputy mayor had kicked off the day by saying the absence of funding from provincial and federal governments might mean deeper transit service cuts to go with the ones implemented last weekend. Toronto was still reeling from the apparently random and unprovoked stabbing death of a teenage boy at a subway station on Saturday, which added to a sense of unease with the safety of the transit system and the city  suddenly more than ever this seemed like a place where every stranger might be a threat. And then there was the frustration of the moment.

The young woman said shed been on a train that had to reverse through the tunnel.

This is part of living in Toronto. Thats why so many people here ride bicycles, the man said, gesturing at the protected bike lanes on the street.

Over the announcements, the young woman said, it was announced that it was a personal injury at track level.

In Hong Kong they have barriers on the platform, the older woman said. We should have them here. The rest of us nodded at the suggestion.

We talked as we walked. The young woman was in her third year at University of Toronto studying immunology, but this was her first year actually attending in person  she commuted every day from Mississauga and only really knew the area of the city around school, and agreed this was a bit of an adventure getting to see part of the city she otherwise only rolled past underground. The man lived in the far north of Scarborough, and had a long subway and bus ride still ahead of him  hed left work early to avoid the forecast bad weather, but had managed to time things to ensure a long walk. The older woman, it turned out, lived near my old high school, and her own adult children had attended a nearby school  it seemed likely wed had friends in common.

When we reached College, we saw ambulances outside the subway entrance and reflected again on how it seemed like the cause of our delay was someone going through much worse than we were. Perspective.

I apologized as we passed the provincial legislature that the walk was a bit longer than Id initially estimated.

Its OK, said the older woman, setting a quick pace with purposeful strides past the masses of others walking along the sidewalk. Its a nice day for a walk.

Folks, this isnt leading to grand revelation  despite our Wizard of Oz-style journey along the road together, there was no behind-the curtain reveal at the end of it. We didnt resolve lifelong insecurities together, or even exchange names. We werent forever changed by our encounter. But our day was changed, for the better. By a bit of friendly human contact with kind strangers stuck in the same less-than-ideal circumstances.

If this hadnt happened, I wouldnt have met all of you, the young woman said by way of farewell. What a lucky thing.

After a week of news like weve had, in an atmosphere of fear and at a moment of potential sadness and frustration, some pleasant moments with people going through it together: It was a little thing, for sure. But it did feel lucky.

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VICTORIA - People or companies in British Columbia will need to explain how they obtained their cash, fancy homes, cars and luxury goods if theres a suspicion they came from criminal activity.

The provincial government has tabled changes to its Civil Forfeiture Act that would allow for the creation of unexplained wealth orders to help prevent money laundering by those who hide their assets in goods or through family members or associates.

If there is reason to suspect property was used in or acquired through crime or the person doesnt appear to have sufficient income to own what they have, a B.C. Supreme Court judge could require them to explain their income sources.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Thursday organized crime and money laundering techniques have become increasingly sophisticated, so the province has to become more agile.

Too many people are recruited into organized crime with dreams of exotic cars, fancy homes and glamorous lifestyle. It is anything but, he said.

However, todays amendments will make it more difficult for criminals to bank on their illicit assets.

The amendments will allow the provincial civil forfeiture office to look for assets hidden in the names of trustees of a trust, companies, partnerships and even family members.

Just because the mob bosss spouse isnt involved in illegal activity, doesnt mean they get to keep the house, Farnworth said.

Those targeted by the orders must hold assets in B.C. worth $75,000 or more and could include politically exposed foreigners such as members of a legislature, high-ranking military officers or heads of government agencies.

The unexplained wealth orders alone are not orders to forfeit property, but information gathered could be used in later civil court proceedings, the government says.

Similar laws exist in Manitoba, Ireland, Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, but critics have raised civil liberties concerns saying they place an onus of proof on the target.

Vibert Jack, litigation director for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said B.C.s adoption of the orders represents a serious threat to residents Charter rights.

The existing civil forfeiture laws already go too far in undermining the presumption of innocence by allowing the government to punish people on the balance of probabilities standard, Jack said in a statement issued Thursday.

Unexplained wealth orders go even further by forcing people to go to court to prove theyre not criminals  thats simply unconstitutional.

Farnworth said hes confident B.C.s law would withstand a court challenge.

He said there are safeguards in place, including a rule that prevents evidence from a wealth order being disclosed to police for use in criminal investigations.

It is a court that looks at the evidence that will say yes (to) an unexplained wealth order, and it is a court that will make that decision in terms of a forfeiture, he said.

So, this is an effective tool. Its being used in a number of jurisdictions, and we expect that it will work here.

The changes in the act are based on recommendations from the Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering released last year, which found money from organized crime was laundered through British Columbias casinos and real estate.

Former B.C. Supreme Court justice Austin Cullen said as he released his final report that the province needed to set up a money laundering investigation unit.

Cullen said sophisticated money launderers used the province to siphon an astounding amount of illegal cash.

Other legislative changes will include making it easier to access public bodies, such as real estate boards, targeting the illegal cannabis market and eliminating the limitation period on forfeiture proceedings.

Brock Martland, the senior counsel for the Cullen inquiry, said the commission devoted considerable attention to the forfeiture of assets and money that are the product of crime.

Martland said in a statement the unexplained wealth order was a key recommendation in the report.

It is heartening to hear that this is being done. I believe (wealth orders) will prove a powerful and effective tool in combating and deterring money laundering and financial crime.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2023.

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OTTAWA  Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus ethical track record is under renewed attack after a cabinet ministers sister-in-law was appointed as the governments ethical watchdog for the next six months.

Martine Richard is the sister-in-law of Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

Prior to her interim appointment earlier this week, Richard had worked in the number-two spot in the ethics commissioners office since 2015.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and several of his MPs pummelled the Liberals over the choice during question period on Thursday, accusing them of appointing family and friends to posts responsible for government oversight.

Poilievre also cited the naming of former governor general David Johnston to oversee a probe into the governments handling of allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections; Johnston and Trudeau have known each other for years, although it was a Conservative prime minister who appointed him as governor general.

The problem is pretty soon they are going to run out of family and friends  and after they do, how are they going to avoid their next conviction for breaking the law? Poilievre said.

Richards appointment followed last months resignation of commissioner Mario Dion, who stepped down due to ill health. It was announced on Tuesday, the same day the federal government tabled its 2023 budget.

She joined the office more than a decade ago as general counsel. As Liberal House Leader Mark Holland noted, that was during the Conservative government of Stephen Harper.

Since then, Holland said she has taken a lot of difficult positions against the government. Those have been well received, he said during question period, in the sense that the ethics commissioners job is to hold us to the highest possible standard.

In a statement, Richards office noted the appointment was a temporary six-month one as laid out by the Parliament of Canada Act.

Spokesperson Melanie Rushworth also said the office itself had no say in the decision, which was made through a governor in council appointment  that is, by the federal cabinet.

LeBlancs office directed questions to the Privy Council, the bureaucratic arm of the Prime Ministers Office.

It did not immediately answer a question about whether LeBlanc recused himself from the decision, saying only that Richard was the right fit for the job, being the senior-most official in the office.

Her appointment will provide the necessary organizational stability while a selection process is run, Stephane Shank said in an email.

Richards office said she has always had a conflict of interest screen in place for any matters related to her brother-in-law.

Unlike a recusal, a screen is a preventative measure to shield the person from becoming aware of a situation that would place them in a potential conflict, Rushworth said.

In 2018, LeBlanc was found by the office to be in breach of the Conflict of Interest Act when, as fisheries minister, he approved a fishing licence for a company that employed one of his relatives.

Rushworth said Richard recused herself once out of an abundance of caution during the investigation into whether Trudeau broke the Conflict of Interest Act in the SNC-Lavalin affair.

In 2019, the ethics commissioner concluded that Trudeau did break the law by using his position of authority over then-attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to attempt to influence her decision about whether to intervene in a criminal case against the construction giant.

That was the second time Trudeau had been found in breach of the law; the first was over a vacation he took to the Aga Khans private island in 2017.

Last December, the office found that International Trade Minister Mary Ng broke the law by awarding a contract to a company owned by a friend.

Former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau was also found to have twice been in breach of ethics laws.

As he left office, Dion raised concerns that ethical breaches were becoming all too common and urged formal training for elected officials.

Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett accused the Liberals Thursday of ignoring that advice.

Instead of that, at Sunday brunch, the Liberal cabinet minister turned to his sister-in-law and said, How about we make you the new ethics commissioner instead? Barrett charged.

When are these Liberals going to take their responsibilities seriously and appoint someone who is independent and can restore accountability to this place for all Canadians?

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A question has arisen whether a Member of Parliament convicted by a court of law and awarded imprisonment of two years or more warrants being disqualified again by the President in terms of Article 102 read with Article 103 of the Constitution. With respect to disqualification of a Member of a State legislature, similar provisions are enshrined in Articles 191 and 192. A constricted, or rather an erroneous, view is gaining currency that the words used in the Constitution are a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament, if he incurs any of the disqualifications mentioned under Article 102 (1). Further, it is being said that a matter of disqualification must be referred to the President who shall give his decision, which will be final, after obtaining the opinion of the Election Commission (EC) and in accordance with such opinion.

Such an argument is utterly flawed as it is against the spirit of the Constitution, the law, judicial dicta and well-established parliamentary practice. The words shall be disqualified are being given a very parochial rather than a harmonious construction. It is being said that after incurring any of these disqualifications, the MP has to be disqualified again with the decision of the President. If a question arises whether a member has incurred any of the disqualifications under Article 102(1), the question shall be referred to the President and who shall give his decision which shall be final in accordance with the opinion of the EC.

Now, it must be noted that the words used in Article 103 are if any question arises whereas Article 102(1) mentions the disqualifications. The grounds mentioned under Article 102(1) come under three categories. First, disqualifications on the ground of unsoundness of mind, undischarged insolvency and loss of Indian citizenship. On these grounds, there is no recorded case so far of any member having been disqualified. But, nevertheless, it is clear from the Article that the concerned House can disqualify a member once he incurs these disqualifications.

Second, in case a representation is received by the President about the alleged assumption of an office of profit by a member, the representation is referred to the EC by the President for opinion. Jaya Bachchan was disqualified by the President w.e.f.14 July 2004 on receipt of a petition that she was occupying an office of profit under the UP Government. Following her disqualification, there was a spate of representations including a representation against Sonia Gandhi who was chairperson of National Advisory Council. To avoid possible political upheaval, the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 was amended in 2006 retrospectively w.e.f. 4 April 1959. The result was that the membership of Jaya Bachchan and Sonia Gandhi was saved and similar petitions became infructuous.

In contrast, where a member is disqualified by a court of law, he stands disqualified from the date of the judgement. Shibu Soren was disqualified by the Apex Court in 2001on the ground of holding an office of profit. He was a member of Rajya Sabha and following the verdict of the Court, he stood disqualified and the Rajya Sabha Secretariat issued a notification to that effect. Once disqualified by a Court, there is no question or propriety to refer the matter to the EC as the question of disqualification stands settled by judicial dicta. Thirdly, the Speaker can disqualify a member under the Tenth Schedule on ground of defection. The decision of the Speaker is final under the Tenth Schedule subject of course to judicial review. An allegation of defection is not referred to the President or the EC. There is yet another category when a member can be expelled by the House without reference to any outside body or authority. Art.101 in respect of Parliament and Art. 190 in respect of State Legislature provide that in case a member remains absent from the House continuously for a period of sixty days without the approval of the House, his seat may be declared vacant. The motion for such removal is usually moved by the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, and once approved by the House, the seat is declared vacant. Three members of the Provisional Parliament in April 1950, a member of the Lok Sabha (S.N.Mahapatra) in 1956, and a member of the Rajya Sabha (Baljinder Singh Hamdard) in December 2000 were expelled under Art. 101(4).

A member can be expelled by the House for unbecoming conduct. H.G. Mudgal in 1951 and 10 members of Lok Sabha and one member of Rajya Sabha in 2005 were expelled by the respective Houses for cash for query, that is unbecoming conduct of a legislator. The expulsions were upheld by the Apex Court in Raja Ram Pal v. Honble Speaker Lok Sabha (2007). None of these cases were referred to the President for approving the expulsions since the legislature itself is competent to do so.

Under section 10A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, an elected member can be disqualified by the EC for failure to lodge account of election expenses. A member of Rajya Sabha was disqualified by the EC in July 1991 and the Rajya Sabha Secretariat issued the notification of disqualification. The matter was not referred to the President.

In terms of Article 102(1)(e), apart from the anti-defection law which is adjudicated by the Speaker/Presiding Officer, a member can be disqualified by or under any law by a court of law. The legal position after the judgement of the Apex Court in the Lily Thomas case (2013) is that a conviction which carries a sentence of two years or more will automatically result in disqualification since the Apex Court also struck down section 8(4)of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as being unconstitutional.

The earliest case is of Rasheed Masood who lost his membership of Rajya Sabha due to conviction in a corruption case in 2013. Lalu Prasad and Jagdish Sharma too were unseated from the Lok Sabha following their conviction and sentence of imprisonments which were for more than two years. There was no reference by either House to the President or the EC since they had been disqualified by the Court. The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notification informing the stakeholders including the EC about the vacancy caused due such disqualification.

So, the House cannot defer the date of disqualification of a member disqualified by the Court. Once the question of disqualification is judicially settled, a legislature cannot delay or stall the same, except by enacting a new law or by amending the extant act. The secretariat only issues notification about the vacancy so that the EC takes recourse to fill the vacancy thus caused. However, disqualification of a member would be untenable if the conviction is stayed as reiterated by the Appellate Court in the Lok Prahari case, 2018. It is therefore incumbent upon the legislature Secretariat to reinstate the membership with equal speed and alacrity once the decision of conviction is stayed by an Appellate Court. (The writer is a retired Addl Secretary, Lok Sabha and a member of Delhi Bar Council. Views expressed are personal.)
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the BJP, ruling at the Centre, was bulldozing the opposition parties and the much respected institutions of India for its narrow selfinterest, and behaving like the feudal land lords.

She was addressing a gathering on the second day of her dharna at Red Road organised against the Central governments financial deprivation of West Bengal.

Similar dharnas are being organized in all the districts down to the block level.

Coming down heavily on the BJP, Miss Banerjee said: The BJP has no respect for the Indian Constitution and has destroyed the federal structure of the country. The media has been forced to surrender. The BJP thinks only they are patriotic and others are antinational; that only they are honest and everyone else is corrupt. This is wrong. It is the most vindictive and corrupt political party in the country.

She said: The dues of many states have not been cleared but West Bengal is worst hit. The dues have reached a staggering Rs 1.15 lakh crore. I have met the Prime Minister thrice. Out MPs had met the concerned ministers but nothing has been done. Our state has been deprived deliberately.

Miss Banerjee reiterated that if required movements would be organised in New Delhi.

In what was seen as a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she spoke about Nandalal, a character penned by poet and dramatist DL Roy who had a tremendous desire to serve the country but failed to do so because of certain external factors like accidents and mishaps, among others.

She said: The countrys financial condition has gone down from bad to worse. The money of common people kept with the State Bank of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India has been looted by Adani and the Prime Minister is quiet on the issue. He has not made a single statement on the matter. The prices of essential commodities, cooking gas, petrol and diesel have gone beyond the reach of common people. No step has been taken by the Centre to control the prices.

Targeting the CPI-M, Miss Banerjee said: I have asked all the departments to open the files related to jobs in various departments during the Left Front regime. They had been neck-deep in corruption and have joined hands with the BJP to create trouble every day. The relatives of all those who work for CPI-M party organ Ganashakti got government jobs and there had been no advertisements. They got their jobs by producing chits carrying their names, she said. The employees belonging to the Coordination committee are demanding DA as per central government employees and threatened to go for pen down strike. They should remember that they are geting their salaries from peoples money. Miss Banerjee asked Kalyan Banerjee, Trinamul Congress MP, to explain to the gathering how many times they had raised the issue of financial deprivation on the floor of the House. Mr Banerjee urged the Supreme Court to form a committee comprising the best police officers in the country to probe into the corruption of the BJP. It is the most corrupt party not only in India but across the globe, he added.
Travel enthusiasts looking forward to religious tourism have good news coming their way from the Indian Railways. The (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) IRCTC is all set to run the first tourism special Bharat Gaurav train from Kolkata on 20 May, under the central governments Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat and Dekho Apna Desh initiatives.

The tourist special, Bharat Gaurav Train, according to the general manager of the Eastern Railway, will cover five Jyotirlingas  Omkareshwar, Mahakaleshwar, Somnath, Nageswar and Trimbakeshwar along with Statue of Unity, Shirdi Sai Baba and Shani Shingnapur. The train will commence on the spiritual journey from Kolkata Station and will continue the pilgrim experience for 11 nights and 12 days. The journey would include boarding and deboarding of passengers at stations like Bandel, Burdwan, Bolpur Shantiniketan, Rampurhat, Pakur, Sahibganj, Kahalgaon, Bhagalpur, Jamalpur, Kiul, Barauni, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, Patliputra, Ara, Buxar, Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Prayagraj Chheoki. According to the Eastern Railway, the tour package has been classified into three categories  Economy (SL class) with 315 seats, Standard (3 AC) with 297 seats and Comfort (2 AC) with 44 seats. Standard vegetarian menu is also to be followed for all the classes during the entire journey. Apart from these services, the train will have professional tour escorts, housekeeping staff, unarmed security, surveillance camera, PA system and travel insurance. The tour package includes the cost of the journey, Rs 20,060 per person for Economy, Rs, 31,800 per person for Standard, and Rs 41,600 per person for Comfort categories. For enabling ease of payment, options of EMIs would also be available to passengers. The national carrier is also providing approximately 33 per cent concessions for promotion of Rail Tourism under Bharat Gaurav Train Scheme.

Notably, apart from Hindu pilgrim spots, IRCTC will survey sites and use the rake for Sufi, Buddhists and other religious tourism. For non-religious tourist spots will also be considered for package tours for places like Kerala, Goa or northeast region.

Meanwhile, 270 stations of the Eastern Railway are to have healthcare focused multiutility stores or wellness centres, including pharmacy, diagnostic centres for blood and other tests and telemedicine for passengers. To address situations of emergency, ambulances are to be provided at 16 stations and doctors would also be available. The initiative would be a part of railways non-fare revenue and would be done on a PPP model. The railways would earn Rs 3.25 crore from this project annually for the next five years. The medical facilities would be available for the rail users as well as the residents living nearby the stations, informed the general manager of the ER, Arun Arora.

With this initiative, the railway aims to strengthen its disaster management system.
Israel has entered its most serious and delicate political phase in decades, after Prime Minister and Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu decided on Sunday to dismiss fellow party member and Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant.

Gallant had called for a halt to legislative measures interfering in Israels judicial system and a more broad dialogue with the opposition.

Gallants call was triggered by the broad political, economic and security repercussions caused by the governing coalitions push for judicial reform, which has been opposed by many circles in Israel. Meanwhile, Netanyahus coalition partners believe judicial reform is the governments first practical programme, which should not be retracted.

In response to Gallants dismissal and the governments pursuit of judicial reform, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in several cities. Widespread civil disobedience also began affecting Ben Gurion Airport, Israels Stock Exchange, the medical, educational and transportation sectors, as well as trade unions and labour bodies, resulting in full paralysis in Israel.

Netanyahu was able to persuade his right-wing partners to freeze legislation related to judicial reform, but the wider political impact caused by this crisis could be seen both among his coalition partners and in the cohesion of the Likud Party.

In a televised speech on Monday evening, Netanyahu said he would postpone judicial amendments until the next parliamentary session [starting in mid-May], out of a desire to end divisions and reach a broad consensus.

The Israeli opposition cautiously welcomed Netanyahus speech but viewed it as continued commitment to judicial reform, and an attempt to absorb the anger of the street before pursuing it again later once conditions were more conducive. At the same time, the opposition has said it is ready for dialogue in the house of the Israeli president.

The crisis triggered by the judicial reforms is the most serious in the countrys history, declared opposition leader Yair Lapid. We will make sure first and foremost that there is no deception. If Netanyahu tries to manoeuvre, he will once again find before him hundreds of thousands of Israeli patriots determined to fight for our democracy.

The leader of the National Camp and former defence minister Benny Gantz stated: We will go to the residence of President Isaac Herzog for talks, and we will not compromise on the principles of democracy and a comprehensive and inclusive Basic Law.

Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman said, the statements prove that Netanyahu is more determined than ever to finalise all legislation, including the Basic Law for the Judiciary, and takeover of the Supreme Court. He has no intention of starting real negotiations; his intention is to wait for an appropriate time, and blame it all on the opposition for not agreeing to the settlement.

The crisis portends the collapse of the fragile government coalition headed by Netanyahu, and Israels return to elections once again. So far, Israel has held five parliamentary elections in four years.

Alif Sabbagh, a specialist in Israeli affairs, believes that Israel has been going through a governance crisis for years, and what is happening now is an attempt by the Israeli right to radically alter the basic system through several strategic axes.

Sabbagh told Al-Ahram Weekly, the current coalition seeks to be the sole influential player and ruling party without any partners. The Supreme Court is the body that creates balance, and undermining it would create a new system. There are some 126 legislative amendments that not only change the face of Israel, but also change the content of the political system in Israel.

He continued: If this happens, there are two main risks. First, the army and its officers will be subject to prosecution by international judicial bodies; secondly, the US, which was legally protecting Israel, will not be able to continue this task.

The US, which has pressured Netanyahu to hold dialogue to end the crisis caused by judicial reforms, welcomed the decision to freeze plans, and called on Israeli leaders to reach a settlement as soon as possible.

The political crisis left by possible judicial reforms threatens to collapse the Israeli government, according to Palestinian political analyst Naji Al-Battah. Al-Battah told Al-Ahram Weekly that Netanyahus government coalition is on its way to disintegration, and Netanyahu is now aware that the judicial reform plan cannot pass in its current form.

Al-Battah predicted that Israel would be facing a major political crisis and new Knesset elections in the coming period, adding, Israels current crisis can only end with new Knesset elections and Netanyahus departure from the leadership of the Likud Party.

Al-Battah did not rule out the scenario of Netanyahu forming a new government with centre-right parties, away from dissidents within his party. He stressed that this would be in return for softening the judicial reform plan and reaching a deal that would end his trial issue.

According to Sabbagh, Netanyahu is currently walking a tightrope of moderation and wants to continue with judicial amendments, but he does not want a severe confrontation with the opposition. This is especially the case in light of the turmoil that Israel witnessed following recent decisions, because completely halting legislation would mean the collapse of the government.

On Monday, the Israeli government survived a no-confidence motion submitted by the opposition to the Knesset in protest of the judicial reform plan, after 59 out of 64 Knesset members in Netanyahus coalition voted against the proposal.

Meanwhile, Netanyahus right-wing partners in the incumbent government coalition have taken a less hardline stance towards judicial reform, but this will cause them great embarrassment with their right-wing voters.

The leaders of right-wing parties resorted to pressure from the street. Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir called for preventing the theft of election results and appealed for demonstrations in support of the governments efforts to pass judicial reform adopted by right-wing parties.

Security and political circles in Israel fear domestic clashes between supporters of the two political blocs would amount to a civil war, which is a scenario that prominent Israeli officials have warned against.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 30 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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An Arms dealer running a fire-arms factory in Bihar was arrested for supplying illegal fire-arms to criminals and in an attempt to murder case registered at North Dwarka Police station, informed police officials on Friday.

The accused has been identified as Bablu Sharma. According to DCP Dwarka M Harshavardhan, Main fire-arms dealer, who runs a fire-arms repair factory in Siwan Bihar has been arrested. 8 pistols and 11 live cartridges were recovered from his possession. One motorcycle being used in the commission of crime also recovered from his possession.

As per police officials, the accused Bablu Sharma used to supply illegal fire-arms and ammunition from Bhind Muraina, Madhya Pradesh to interstate criminal gangs and local gang members of Delhi, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

Accused has also been summoned up by other central investigating agencies for his links with many inter-state criminal groups. These criminals had links with dreaded terror outfits in Jammu and Kashmir. Four of his accomplices had links with criminals and dreaded terror outfits, said DCP Dwarka M Harshavardhan.

The accused was earlier arrested under section 300/20, 25A/26/35 of the Arms Act by Bihar police for running a mini-illegal arms factory at Siwan, Bihar.

He purchases illegal fire-arms and ammunition from Bhind Muraina, MP through his other accomplices. He runs a fire-arms repairing factory in the name of Pali Gun House from where he illegally sells illegal firearms and repairs guns, the DCP said.

More details are awaited.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday released the coffee table book titled Sikh Business Leaders of India, authored by Prabhleen, at a function here.

On the occasion, Khattar invited the industrialists present in the programme to set up industries in the state, adding that the government has created a conducive environment and are providing various facilities.

The Chief Minister said they will not face any problem in doing business in Haryana.

The government has created a single-window system, under which all types of permissions to industries are given in 45 days. The government has made four categories A, B, C and D. If industries are set up in category C and D zones, the government will reimburse Rs 4,000 per worker per month for the next four years.

Khattar said the Sikh community has made a huge contribution to the state, the country and the world as well.

This community is a working community and have worked hard with struggle to advance their business, family, country and society. They are also working to take forward and uplift the needy, who have been left behind from the mainstream due to some reason.

Appreciating the works of the Chief Minister, former Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh said after the formation of Haryana, maximum work has been done for Sikh community under the leadership of Khattar.

He said the Chief Minister has an important contribution in reviving the history of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.

Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee President Mahant Karmjit Singh said incomparable work has been done for Sikhism and Punjabi language under the leadership of Khattar.
Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal said here on Friday that there was no need to panic over the rising cases of COVID-19 in the National Capital as his government is fully prepared to deal with any eventuality.

Addressing the media here, Arvind Kejriwal said that the Delhi government is closely monitoring the situation arising from new COVID cases. However, wearing of face masks has not been made mandatory as yet.

Delhi has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases in the last 15 days, but the chief minister said there was no need to panic.

A total of 42 cases of COVID-19 were reported on March 15. The figure went up to 295 cases on March 30. Kejriwal said there were 932 active cases in the city.

We tried to understand the sudden jump in the daily Covid cases. There are a total of 932 active cases till now, and a total of 2363 Covid tests were conducted on March 30, the chief minister said.

There is no need to worry right now as we are taking the necessary steps on time. Till now, three deaths have been confirmed, two on Wednesday and one before that, the CM said adding that these deaths could probably be due to co-morbidities and COVID-19 is incidental.

Kejriwal pointed out that on Thursday, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had held a meeting with health officials and today he also met with them.

The Centre, two weeks ago, had identified six states where Covid cases were on the rise. These states were Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana. Delhi was not among the states, Kejriwal said.

The chief minister said his government is conducting genome sequencing of all COVID-19-positive cases to timely identify new variants.

Right now, the most predominant variant that is found is XBB1.16, in 48 per cent of cases this variant is found and in almost all other cases the sub-variant of this variant is found. This variant has three qualities: it spreads very fast but it is not severe, he said.

He cautioned that even if a person is vaccinated, it manages to infect him. 7,896 beds have been reserved for Covid-19 patients including oxygen, ICU and ventilator beds. Of these 7,986 beds, only 66 beds have been occupied so far, he added.

The chief minister also said that the Delhi government is testing sewage samples to ascertain in advance if Covid was spreading fast.

For conducting RTPCR tests we have enough capacity, we have the capacity to conduct 4000 tests in government labs and in private labs, we have the capacity to conduct more than 1 lakh tests per day, he informed further.

Talking about the vaccination, the CM said, Vaccine performance is also very good, better than the initial average, almost everyone in the 18-plus category is vaccinated and people below 18 are vaccinated with the first dose and for the second dose 85 per cent people are vaccinated.

We have a sufficient ambulance and sufficient oxygen, sufficient storage capacity. We conducted mock drill in Delhi government hospitals, the CM said, adding that the Centre had issued directions for mock drills in hospitals in the National Capital on April 10-11.

The Delhi government will run a campaign to inform people to be cautious and take precautions against Covid-19, he informed. 2 per cent of people are randomly tested at airports in the National Capital and instructions were given to the government hospital in the city to keep the isolation ward for COVID-19 patients.

Kejriwal said people suffering from respiratory diseases should wear masks to stay safe. He urged people to follow all COVID-19 protocols, including social distancing and hand hygiene, to stay safe.

So, people in Delhi do not need to worry, the government is keeping a sharp eye and the government is ready to face any situation, Kejriwal said.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the government aims to establish PET scan facilities in all medical colleges within a year.

He said that the state government has allocated Rs 400 crore for the Center of Excellence for Cancer Care in Dr. Radhakrishnan government medical college Hamirpur.

He laid the foundation stone for the first PET Block at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla on Friday, to be constructed with a cost of Rs. 45.68 crore including Rs. 21 crore Single Positron Emission Tomography (PET) CT machine, Rs. 9 crore for photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) CT machine and Rs. 15.68 crore for civil works.

The Chief Minister said that the patients of the state had to travel to Chandigarh or Delhi for a PET scan which was very expensive.

He said that the present state government was committed to provide world-class facilities to patients within the state which would go a long way in saving their money and time.

Once the PET block is completed it would facilitate in detection of cancer, response and follow-up, besides benefits to cardiology, psychiatry, urology and other departments, he said.

The PET block would be a three-story building with modern amenities for patients, doctors, and paramedical staff besides parking space for about 50 vehicles, he added.

The government recognizes that the number of cancer patients were increasing in the state and has earmarked funds in the budget for the study of cancer causes.

The chief minister said that the state government has accorded health sector top priority and efforts were being made to provide world-class medical facilities by eliminating the referral system in government hospitals.

The state government has made special provisions for the health sector in the budget, including establishment of a Department of Medical Emergency in all medical colleges so that people do not face any inconvenience in getting prompt treatment.

He said that this department would have one staff nurse per bed in the ICU, one staff nurse per three beds in casualty ward and one doctor for every 10 beds, with duty limited to eight hours.

The government has also allocated Rs. 11 crore to set up a 175-bed medical emergency facility with a trauma center at IGMC Shimla, he added.

Sukhu emphasized the importance of bringing reforms in medical education in order to align with modern techniques and encouraging doctors to work with a spirit of service.

The government was investing in modern technology to equip health institutions of the state so that best facilities were provided for people, he added.

He also highlighted the excellent reputation of IGMC Shimla and its alumni in the medical profession.

The Chief Minister said that the government was working for system revamp and efforts were also being made for resource mobilization in order to improve the financial health of the state. He said that the state government has given approval to open HP State Medical Services Corporation, through which all kinds of medical machinery, medicines and equipment would be procured.

Health Minister Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil said that the present state government was working with commitment towards health and welfare sectors.

He said that the number of cancer patients was increasing and a need was felt to construct PET block at IGMC Shimla to benefit the cancer patients.

By taking the help of advanced technology in the medical field, people would get the best treatment and the state government was endeavoring to provide better health facilities to the people of the state by solving the problems of the professionals related to the medical field, he said.

The Health Minister urged the people to be vigilant about Covid-19, as cases have been increasing day by day.

He emphasized the importance of following Covid appropriate behaviour and creating awareness among people about this virus.
The Delhi governments Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) will launch five new schools of science and social science from the academic session 2023-24 as part of the institutions expansion project.

The new schools will offer undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in public policy, mathematics and data science, indigenous knowledge & tribal studies, media studies, and philosophy & religion studies.

Delhi Education Minister Atishi held a review meeting with officials from the higher education department and AUD to discuss the development of the new schools.

Speaking about the expansion of AUD and new schools, Atishi said, The addition of these new schools at AUD is a positive step towards improving the quality of higher education in India and preparing students as per rapidly changing industrial demands. Programmes offered by AUD will especially focus on developing new age 21st-century skills among students.

She added that the programmes to be offered by the new schools are being designed in consultation with experts from the respective field, which will help in bridging the gap between academic research and practical applications.

She said, Under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, expanding opportunities for learning in niche areas is the priority of the higher education institutions. Following the same, these new schools are being introduced in AUD.

Atishi further added that the new schools would raise the benchmark for innovative higher education in India and promote diversity and innovation in the field of higher education.

The specialised programmes in public policy, mathematics and data science, and media studies will equip students with specialised knowledge and skills that are in demand in todays job market.

In addition, the new schools will incorporate 21st-century skills into their curriculum, including critical thinking, problem-solving, digital literacy, collaboration, entrepreneurship, and global awareness.

The launch of these new schools is a positive development for the education sector in India. The addition of the five new schools is part of AUDs expansion project, which aims to enhance student strength to about 26,000 in the future.

As a part of AUDs expansion project, the Delhi government is building two new campuses of Ambedkar University at Dheerpur and Rohini. The Ambedkar University campus at Rohini is spread over 164130 sqm. The campus at Dheerpur is spread over 200759 sqm.
The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) at the NITI Aayog, has launched three new resources aimed at fostering innovation and creativity among Indias youth. The launch event introduced the ATL Tinkering Curriculum, Equipment Manual, and Calendar of Activities for 2023-24.

The ATL Tinkering Curriculum is a structured learning pathway designed to help students develop and hone their innovation skills. The curriculum has been developed in collaboration with Makerghat and covers a wide range of concepts, from basic electronics and mechanics to cutting-edge technologies such as 3D printing and the Internet of Things.

With this curriculum, students will be encouraged to identify and design creative solutions to everyday problems through hands-on, experiential learning. The Equipment Manual provides comprehensive guidance on the equipment provided in the Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across the country.

The manual contains detailed information about each piece of equipment and tool, including the specifications, applications, and examples of projects that can be built using them. It is a valuable resource for anyone looking to explore the possibilities of innovation and problem-solving.

The Calendar of Activities for 2023-24 outlines a year-long schedule of events, workshops, and competitions aimed at promoting innovation and entrepreneurship among students. The calendar has the latest Tinkering Curriculum and Equipment Manual integrated into it. It also has a special section called  Activity of the Month which has exciting activities that the students can do in their ATL lab every month.

Speaking at the launch event, Chintan Vaishnav of AIM Mission said: We are excited to launch these new resources, which are aligned with the governments vision of creating a self-reliant India that is capable of finding innovative solutions to its own challenges. These initiatives will go a long way in empowering Indias young minds with the necessary skills to become tomorrows innovators and change-makers.

The AIM is committed to creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among Indias youth, and these resources are a testament to that commitment. With these resources, teachers, mentors and students across the country will be equipped with the necessary skills to innovate for a better India.
A Parliamentary delegation from Israel led by Speaker of Israeli Parliament (Knesset) Amir Ohana called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.

Welcoming the delegation, the President noted that over the last 30 years, diplomatic relations between the two countries have grown into a multidimensional strategic partnership.

The President noted that throughout their long history, the Jewish communities in India have maintained, and enriched their unique heritage and traditions. She said that the Jewish people have been  and will always be  an integral part of Indias composite society.

The President said that in India, Israel is well known as a key source of expertise in advanced agriculture and water technologies. Our collaboration in research and innovation has also boosted the Make in India initiative, she said.

She was happy to note the success of Centres of Excellence set up with Israeli assistance across India.

The Israeli delegation called on Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also. This is the first visit of Mr Amir Ohana to any country after assuming office of the Speaker. The Parliamentary delegation led by him is visiting India from 31 March to 4 April.

Birla said that Israel and India have traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations. He underscored that India and Israel share a robust democratic heritage and as fellow democracies both countries have many similarities, which includes respecting diverse cultures, following democratic values, and working as per the hopes and aspirations of the people.

Cautioning about the growing scourge of terrorism, Mr Birla said that terrorism is an area of common concern for India and Israel. Democratic countries like India and Israel should deepen cooperation in the fight against terrorism, stressed Mr Birla. He emphasized that the common strategy of India and Israel will give a new direction to the world in the fight against terrorism.

Mentioning about the strong parliamentary relations between the two Parliaments, Mr Birla expressed happiness at the formation of a Parliamentary Friendship Group for India in the Knesset.

Speaking about regular high-level visits between the two countries over the years, Mr Birla said that India-Israel relations have undergone fundamental and qualitative changes since the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in 2017 and subsequently, the visit of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu to India in 2018.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr Amir Ohana said that both India and Israel are old civilizations and the relationship between the countries has been strengthened over the period of time. Mentioning about Indias progress, he said that India is rising miraculously in all sectors.

On this occasion, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed for strengthening cooperation between the two Parliaments.
Swachh Mashaal March rallies held across 3,000 plus cities and towns in the country over the past three days witnessed lakhs of Swachhata women warriors scale up the fight against garbage and make India Garbage Free.

From Kashmirs Baramulla to Tiruvuru from Tamil Nadu, women change-makers demonstrated their commitment towards urban sanitation.

The journey of the women from all corners of the country in transforming the urban landscape has been inspirational. These marches were aimed at encouraging ward-level mobilization of citizens towards the goal of Garbage Free Cities.

The first Mashaal March began on the eve of International Day of Zero Waste. Citizens (especially women swachhata leaders aka Swachhta Doots) enthusiastically joined in to reinforce their commitment to building Garbage-Free Cities. People in large numbers were seen participating voluntarily and celebrating the spirit of swachhata in these rallies.

Premier swachhata champion cities such as Bhopal and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh have seen women-led Swachh Mashaal March rallies involving participation from a large number of citizens at night as well as during the day time.

Women in Madhyamgram and Ghatal cities of West Bengal came forward to lead the Swachh Mashaal March on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami on 30th March.

The zeal and enthusiasm among people for Swachh Mashaal March was so intense that not only did they walk shoulder-to-shoulder in large numbers, but even evoked larger public participation and a triggered a sense of togetherness by doing Kirtan as part of the march like this particular procession in Uttar Pradeshs Mathura.

In the southern part of the country, cities and towns in Telangana were some of the keenest participants taking out Mashaal Marches in big numbers. Rallies have been held in Warangal, Yellandu, Kothur and many other cities too.

Additionally, all the participants of Swachh Mashaal March rallies also took a Swachhata pledge to always follow, impart, imbibe and spread the message carrying core values of sanitation.
Posters mocking at BJP MP Arvind Dharmapuri have cropped up overnight in Nizamabad town a day after the Centre clarified that there was no plan to set up a separate turmeric board as promised by the parliamentarian to farmers prior to the general elections in 2019.

The yellow ochre hued posters in Telugu announcing Turmeric Board  this is the turmeric board brought by our MP, referred to the poll promise made by the BJP candidate in 2019 who signed on non judicial stamp paper to assure turmeric farmers. It was distributed among voters and contributed to the defeat of Kalvakuntla Kavitha, the daughter of K Chandrasekhar Rao from Nizamabad seat in the last General Elections. Even senior ministers and leaders like Rajnath Singh and Ram Madhav had announced that the Centre will set up a separate turmeric board.

Turmeric is the traditional crop of the region. The cultivation of turmeric apart from being quite labour-intensive, it requires quite a bit of capital. A turmeric board has been a long standing demand of the region.

According to the BRS the posters were put up by angry turmeric farmers after the Centre declared that it had no plans to set up a turmeric board in Nizamabad. It may be note here that in recent times the BRS has been using posters to attack the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Four BRS MPs had posed the question in Lok Sabha asking whether the Centre was facing any constraints to set up a turmeric board at Nizamabad. Union minister of state for commerce Anupriya Patel replied that there was no proposal to set up a turmeric board separately.

Spices Board, a statutory autonomous body, set up under the Spices Board Act, 1986 is entrusted with the responsibility of promoting 52 spices including turmeric, coriander and chillies. There is, therefore, no proposal under consideration to establish a Turmeric Board or any other spice specific Board in the country, stated the minister in her reply.

Kavitha, who has termed the repeated summons by CBI and ED against her in connection with the Delhi Liquor scam as political vendetta, is gearing up to put up a strong fight against Dharmapuri, next year. Apart from the poster war, Dharmapuri is plagued by family feud after his father, veteran politician D Srinivas joined the Congress with his elder son Sanjay Dharmapuri.

Within a day Srinivass wife circulated a letter saying that he was ill and appealed to the Congress against dragging him into politics. Sanjay Dharmapuri recently expressed apprehensions that his fathers life was in danger indirectly suggesting that he was being harassed by the BJP.
Police on Friday arrested two hybrid terrorists involved in an attack on a YouTuber journalist in south Kashmirs Shopian.

The police said during the course of investigation into the case by an SIT, a number of suspects were rounded up on the basis of oral, circumstantial and technical evidence.

During questioning, two suspects, identified as Suhaib Reyaz and Anayat Ullah Iqbal, both residents of Saidapora Payeen, confessed to their involvement in the terror attack. It has also come to fore that the duo were working as hybrid terrorists of proscribed terror outfit TRF.

On their disclosure, the weapon used in the offence viz a pistol along with its magazine and 05 pistol rounds besides, an IED has been recovered by a joint party of Police and 44RR in the orchards of village Saidapora Payeen Shopian.

Further investigation of the case is still going on.
The military escalation between US forces and Iran-backed militias in Syria coincides with news of Saudi-Syrian reconciliation and adds to speculation about waning US influence in the region.

News of attacks and counter-attacks between US forces in Syria and what Washington described as Iranian-backed militias came hours after media reports of Syrian-Saudi reconciliation this week.

It also came just days after another Israeli attack on Aleppo Airport in northern Syria, amid claims that this had taken place to intercept Iranian supplies being given to its proxy militias in Syria and Lebanon.

The US attacks started with a drone attack on a US base at the Al-Omar oilfield in Deir Al-Zor in northeastern Syria that killed a US contractor and injured half a dozen US troops.

According to the Associated Press, US fighters were scrambled from the Al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar within an hour of the drone attack, and strikes on militia bases on the opposite side of the Euphrates River killed more than a dozen militia members.

This was followed by missiles targeting the US base at the oilfield, where no casualties were reported.

Though such skirmishes are not rare, the Friday flare-up was one of the most deadly to have taken place, especially in terms of US casualties. The Pentagons press secretary stopped short of blaming Tehran for the attacks, however, saying that they were carried out by groups affiliated with Irans Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).

Iranian media outlets close to the IRGC denied any Iranian militia involvement, claiming the deaths from the US air raid in Syria were civilians working in an agricultural development centre in the area.

Most of northern Syria is under the control of groups opposed to the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, mainly US-backed Kurdish fighters and Turkish-backed militant Islamist groups.

The government in Damascus controls only 65 per cent of the countrys territory. While the US has bases in the east, Turkey controls the northwest, and the largest US base is in Tanf in southeastern Syria close to the border with Iraq and assists Israeli efforts at preventing Iranian arms supplies from reaching the Lebanese Hizbullah group through Iraq and Syria.

The US bases in the northeast control Syrian oilfields that were once under the control of the Islamic State (IS) group, and Syria has accused the US of stealing millions of tons of Syrian oil.

The US forces were based in Syria in 2014 as part of a wider coalition against the Islamic State group, and though Washington announced in 2019 that this had been destroyed in Iraq and Syria, it kept its forces in Syria, supposedly to help the Syrian Kurds root out the remnants of the terrorist group.

There are reportedly 10,000 terrorists in detention or dispersed in sleeper cells in the region in addition to an unaccounted number that includes family members kept in camps.

Meanwhile, Pro-Israeli Republican Party figures in the US Congress have accused US President Joe Bidens Democratic Party administration of being lenient with regards to Iran.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted this week that the targets the Iranians fear most are their refineries. For every attack against Americans in the future, take down an Iranian refinery and their oil and gas infrastructure, he said.

Other Republicans have repeated the same line, seen by some analysts as following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus position on the need to strike Iran.

The military escalation in Syria coincided with Netanyahus tour of Europe, intended to persuade European leaders that they should abandon any revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. At the same time, few around the world doubt that Arab reconciliation with Iran is against Israeli and US interests.

Even so, the diplomacy of such reconciliation in the region is rapidly progressing, and Al-Assad paid an official visit to the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi a few days ago, the second in a year, and following another visit to the Sultanate of Oman just before the news of Damascus and Riyadh agreeing to restore diplomatic relations was made public.

Some commentators in the region have gone as far as to see the recent attacks on the US forces in Syria as a green light for the Syrians to expel the Americans from their country, and following them the Turks.

But others believe that bringing Syria back into the Arab fold is not related to these developments. There are also some circles that think that Israel is behind the escalation to sabotage any Gulf rapprochement with Iran, Iraq, Syria and other countries where Iran has influence.

These scenarios may not align with the official narrative seen in the region, but one component of them that carries some credibility is that the region is no longer just under US hegemony and that some countries are actively seeking alliances with other powers like China and Russia.

As Al-Assads visit to Abu Dhabi coincided with the news of the Syrian-Saudi reconciliation, some opposition circles in the country have attempted to propagate the view that the Saudis and Emiratis are in competition or even disagree on regional policies.

The UAE was the first Arab country to restore full relations with Syria a couple of years ago. Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, tweeted that the Emirati approach towards Syria is part of a deep vision targeting enhancing regional stability The events of the Decade of Chaos prove that it is best for the Arab world to face its issues away from regional and international interference.

It was not clear what interference Gargash had in mind.

The Syrian leadership is keen on improving its relations with the Arab states that boycotted Damascus more than a decade ago after the outbreak of the conflict in Syria. However, it is reluctant to make major concessions, especially if these might mean scaling back its alliances with Iran or Russia.

What might help Damascus now is for the Gulf and Arab countries that are already cosying up to Tehran, Moscow, and Beijing to distance themselves from Washington and Tel Aviv.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 30 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Union Minister Anurag Thakur met the Oscar-winning team behind The Elephant Whisperers at his residence in Delhi on Thursday.

During the interaction, Thakur said that the power of Indias storytelling is unmatched!. The Minister met with Kartiki Gonsalves, Director and Cinematographer, Guneet Moonga, Producer and Monica from Netflix.

Expressing his pleasure at one such story winning the Oscar he said that Elephant Whisperers is a trunk full of heartwarming, socially relevant and cinematographically enthralling masterpiece! I am delighted to meet Guneet and Kartiki and learn about their amazing journey while making this spellbinding documentary.

He further said, The documentary beautifully depicts our social responsibility, impact and efforts towards conservation along with the delicate balance humans share with nature  in the most heartwarming way is truly worth applause.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Oscar-winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers producer Guneet Monga and director Kartiki Gonsalves.
A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former US President Donald Trump, The Washington Post reported citing his lawyers.

The indictment makes Trump the first person in the history of the US to serve as commander-in-chief and then be charged with a crime. This came weeks after speculation about whether and when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg might take a step. The indictment was unsealed, which implies that the specific charges or charges are not publicly known yet. The grand jury had been hearing evidence about hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trumps presidential campaign in 2016, as per the news report.

Alvin Bragg and his investigative team were probing whether Trump falsified business records related to the payments in a manner that could make a campaign finance violation, as reported by The Washington Post.

Former US President Donald Trump was at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home and a private club on Thursday when his lawyers said he had been indicted. How or when Trump could be brought to New York to respond to the charges was not clear. Security will be a concern considering that Trump has a significant Secret Service detail as a former president, the report said.

Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, the lawyers who have been representing Trump in the Bragg case, in a statement, said that their client was indicted. They further said, He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court, according to The Washington Post report.

Trump has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and stressed that those probing him were making politically motivated accusations.

An arrest warrant is typically issued automatically after an indictment is filed against a defendant who has not been charged previously in a criminal complaint.

In the case of Donald Trump, the indictment was filed behind closed doors at the lower Manhattan courthouse after the clerks office was closed for the day.

Braggs investigation seems to have focused on USD 130,000 paid by Trumps former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who has said he fronted the money involved in the Stormy Daniels transactions to ensure her silence ahead of the election in 2016, as reported by The Washington Post.

The money was later reimbursed by Trump, as per the news report. The reimbursement payments were classified as legal fees, The Washington Post reported while citing previous investigations.

Michael Cohen served time in prison after pleading guilty in two federal criminal cases. He also pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and his credibility has been attacked by Trumps defenders.
Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of light rain this afternoon. High 47F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Steady light rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 39F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
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 .
The Korean auto and semiconductor industries are alarmed after U.S. President Joe Biden last week announced curbs on exports of around 60 types of products involving American technology to Russia.

Samsung, Hyundai and LG, which have factories in Russia, urgently assessed the impact of the sanctions, fearing possible shutdowns.

But the Korean government was unable to give an immediate answer to worried businesses over the weekend. An official at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "It isn't clear what types of products are banned under the sanctions against Russia and we need to hold talks with the U.S."

Some Asia-Pacific countries including Australia, Japan and New Zealand have also announced sanctions against Russia and gained a waiver of the curbs in return. Korea belatedly expressed support for the sanctions, which means Korean companies must obtain U.S. approval for exports to Russia if they contain American technology.

Hyundai and affiliate Kia manufacture up to 200,000 cars annually at their plant in Saint Petersburg and are making contingency plans in case they face parts shortages. Last year, Korea exported around W3 trillion worth of cars and around W1.8 trillion worth of car parts to Russia, accounting for 42 percent of total exports to the belligerent country (US$1=W1,200).

Samsung makes TVs in a factory near Moscow, while LG produces home appliances and TVs on the outskirts of the Russian capital. Samsung's smartphone exports are expected to be impacted as well since they are stuffed with U.S. technology. Samsung leads the Russian phone market with a 30 percent share.

Jang Sang-shik at the Korea International Trade Association said, "The U.S.' rules were unclear when it imposed sanctions against Russia over the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which led to a lot of difficulties for Korean companies operating there. Even if consumer goods are excluded, Korean companies may need to get separate approval for every part and material used to operate factories there, which has increased uncertainties."


In the first criminal case against a former president, Donald Trump has been indicted on charges involving payments made during his 2016 campaign
A former Boston police officer has been arrested on charges that he assaulted a police officer after storming the U.S. Capitol with the mob of President Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021
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DOVER, Del. (AP)  A Delaware judge's ruling Friday set the stage for a dramatic springtime trial on whether Fox News bears financial responsibility for airing false allegations that a voting machine company rigged the 2020 presidential election against former President Donald Trump.

Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that it was CRYSTAL clear that none of the allegations made by Trump allies on Fox in the weeks after the election were true.

Davis said it was up to a jury to decide whether Fox acted with actual malice in airing the claims and, if so, how much money Dominion is entitled to in damages. Dominion has sued Fox for $1.6 billion.

Barring a last-minute settlement, the trial is expected to begin in mid-April.

The statements at issue were dramatically different than the truth, Davis said in a summary judgment ruling, which denied Fox's effort to throw out the case as well as Dominion's request for a victory without a jury. In fact, although it cannot be attributed directly to Fox's statements, it is noteworthy that some Americans still believe the election was rigged.

Fox's failure to reveal extensive evidence contradicting the fraud claims indicates that its reporting was not disinterested, the judge wrote.

In a statement issued after the ruling, Dominion said it was gratified that the court had rejected Foxs arguments and found as a matter of law that their statements about Dominion are false. We look forward to going to trial.

Fox emphasized that the case is about the medias First Amendment protections, and that it was trying to cover highly newsworthy developments  a sitting president's claim that an election was rigged.

Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings, the network said in a statement Friday.

The ruling sets the stage for a trial in which Fox News stars such as Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo, as well as network founder Rupert Murdoch, could be called to the stand.

Even before the judge's ruling, thousands of pages of evidence presented in the case showed Fox executives and stars privately ridiculing the accusations and bluntly expressing opinions, like Carlson saying he hated Trump passionately.

During a deposition, Murdoch testified that he believed the 2020 election was fair and had not been stolen from the former president.

Fox knew the truth, Dominion argued in court papers. It knew the allegations against Dominion were outlandish and crazy and ludicrous and nuts. Yet it used the power and influence of its platform to promote that false story.

Fox aired the allegations despite the doubts of its hosts and executives, and the coverage helped feed an ecosystem of misinformation surrounding Trumps loss in 2020 that has persisted ever since.

The documents also showed Fox feared losing viewers angered by the network's election night call of Arizona for Democrat Joe Biden, and how it didn't want to alienate viewers who backed Trump.

In methodically going through each side's arguments, Davis said neither Fox nor Dominion had presented a convincing argument for him to rule on whether or not the network acted with malice.

These are genuine issues of material fact and therefore must be determined by a jury, he said.

Davis denied summary judgment to Dominion on whether Fox Corp., the news network's parent company, was liable for the statements being aired  meaning the corporate executives' responsibility will have to be settled at trial.

The Trump allies had falsely claimed after the election that Dominion's machines and accompanying software had switched votes from Trump to Biden. Dominion claims it has lost millions of dollars in business because this belief spread across the country; Fox contends its claims are overblown.

The calculation of damages is a question for the jury, Davis said.

Davis ruled that the statements Dominion had challenged constitute defamation per se under New York law. That means Dominion did not have to prove damages to establish liability by Fox.

The U.S. Supreme Court limited the ability of public figures to sue for defamation in a 1964 case involving The New York Times. It ruled that plaintiffs needed to prove that news outlets published or aired false material with actual malice  knowing it was false or acting with a reckless disregard for whether or not it was true.

That has provided news organizations with stout protection against libel judgments. The nearly six-decade legal standard has come under attack by some conservatives in recent years, including Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who have argued for making it easier to win a libel case.

___

Bauder reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report.
EDWARDSVILLE  Panelists at an SIUE roundtable discussion on banned books this week agreed on one way to combat efforts to curb access, particularly for young people, to certain books:

Read.

"Keep reading. Read fiction, read nonfiction, read biographies, read transcripts, read newspapers. Keep reading," said Dr. Timothy Lewis, an identity politics researcher, social justice activist and assistant professor of political science at SIUE.

Journalist Blythe Bernhard, who has reported for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch since 2007 and now also works as an assistant editor, agreed.

"Read and encourage the children in your lives to read," she said.

Leah Gregory, membership coordinator and school library liaison at the Illinois Heartland Library System, said it is important to know why someone might want to hide information and do so through advocating book bans.

Gregory said, "Listen as closely to what people don't say as what they do say. If they're telling you what they want you to know, go find out what they don't want you to know."

The banned books conversation at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was hosted by the Sigma Tau Delta chapter in the Meridian Ballroom on campus. About 40 people attended.

Book banning isn't new

Moderator Elizabeth Donald, chapter president for SIUE Sigma Tau Delta and the St. Louis Society of Professional Journalists, asked how the panelists believe the current trend to ban books is unlike previous times in history where attempts to ban books surged.

"It is different because they are targeting marginalized people," said Gregory. "They're not being shy about it, either.

"I see people running for local library boards who say, 'I'm a conservative Christian,' and that basically says, 'I don't want to read or hear about anybody else,'" she said. "It is much more politicized and much more strategic in what they are trying to get out of libraries."

Bernhard agreed that the recent movement to ban more books is political.

"It's clearly a political moment  that's what's driving it," Bernhard said. "There's also ulterior motives to undermine our trust in public institutions  schools, libraries  with an ultimate goal of defunding those institutions.

"It's not even really about the books."

Lewis said he respectfully disagrees with the thought process that banning books is a relatively new movement or newly focused on minority groups or related issues.

"The entire notion of preventing certain groups from having ... literacy is not new," said Lewis, who is Black and was the only non-Caucasian panelist for the event.

He noted the life of American abolitionist Frederick Douglass as an example. As a slave, Douglass pushed back against his owner's insistence that he not be taught to read.

"The current book bans are literally the twin brothers of the anti-literacy laws that characterized the ... system of slavery in the United States," Lewis said.

Librarians being overruled

According to Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society founded in 1924, the American Library Association documented 681 attempts to ban or restrict library resources in eight months of 2022, with more than 1,600 titles targeted. The previous year saw 729 attempts targeting 1,597 books.

The ALA reports these are the highest numbers since they began to track book banning attempts more than 40 years ago.

Tuesday's discussion touched on the role of parents in determining the books that schools have on their shelves, plus the motives of those who want to ban some books.

"The expertise of the librarian and the teacher are overlooked," said Gregory, who then related a story from one school. "A librarian submitted a book order, and her superintendent struck out every book that he thought could be considered inappropriate if a parent saw the list.

"And it was everything to do with culture, accepting other cultures, anything to do with race, and a book about how women got the vote.

"They are not interested in educating students. They are interested in not making the newspaper," she added. "They don't want anybody to complain to them about anything."

There is a difference, she said later, in parents choosing to limit what their own children read and parents limiting what any children can read in their school or local library.

"Libraries are for everyone, and the collection has to reflect that," Gregory said.

Panelists: It's about minorities

Donald posed a question to the panel about the sources of recent efforts across the United States to ban certain books. She mentioned Moms for Liberty, a group that says its mission is to advocate for parental rights in schools.

Can "hundreds of the challenges" be traced "back to one or two people?" she asked. Are book bans an "organized effort" of late, or led by parents or small groups acting on their own?

Lewis objected to the phrasing of the query.

"When we generalize questions like that, I think we need to specify the parents we are talking about," he said. "I don't see any Black parents championing the banning of books.

"I don't see any Latino parents championing (the banning of) these books. We need to be specific on the demographic that we're talking about," he said. "When we say generalized statements like, 'this is what parents want,' we are totally overlooking the cultural differentiation across communities that determine not only the different styles of parenting but the different values of parenting and those values are what are driving these individuals to champion these book bans.

"Which parents are we talking about?"

Bernhard weighed in: "I think the challenge is coming from a very small segment. And you're right  they're white moms, white suburban moms.

"Sometimes they don't even have kids in that school but they're trying to ban a book," she said. "In the school districts that are majority Black in St. Louis, they're not banning books.

"It's not about the books. It's not about protecting kids," Bernhard added.

Gregory circled back to the question of where the banning books movement originates.

"It is highly organized right now," she said. In her 14 years working as a middle school teacher, she recalls that perhaps a handful of parents called her to complain about a book.

Recently, Gregory said, she fielded a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request related to Critical Race Theory (CRT).

"An organized group wanted to know if we had any Critical Race Theory books in our entire district," Gregory said. She contacted other school librarians as a result.

"Every district in the state of Illinois got that FOIA request. Somebody was organized enough to try to target Critical Race books in every district in Illinois."

Not the majority

The SIUE discussion was designed to focus on how to keep books uncensored in the United States.

The panelists agreed that those who want to ban books are in the minority. Bernhard said when her newspaper printed the names of people who filed to ban books in area school districts, some were upset that their names were published.

The information is public record, she noted.

"Most people are opposed to book bans," Bernhard said. "Book banners don't like to be called book banners."

Gregory had simple but apropos advice for the audience.

"Book banners have never been on the right side of history, so don't join them."
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MADISON  Play music, see the world is becoming a reality for the students in the band program at Madison High School.

MHS band members will be in Nashville April 14-15 to participate in the Louis Armstrong HBCU Jazz Festival at Tennessee State University. They also will be part of a two-week trip to Europe in June.

Closer to home, the band will play June 3-4 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison as part of the second annual Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR weekend.

The students got a taste of what is to come on March 23 when special guest Professor Ronald Carter conducted a master class with the Madison High School Jazz Band in the MHS band room. Carter is the former Jazz Studies director at Northern Illinois University and a former band director at Lincoln Senior High School in East St. Louis.

MHS Band Director Bernard Long Jr. is a Madison Trojan who graduated from East St. Louis Senior High School; Bernard Long Elementary School in Madison is named after his father. He returned to MHS in the fall of 2020 and started the band with seven students via Zoom; it now has 45 members playing in person.

Ive been playing music since I was 4 years old, and I felt it was only right to bring it back to Madison to get this program going, he said.

Long was voted Madison CUSD 12 Teacher of the Year and also earned the 2023 Illinois State Board of Education Award of Meritorious Service in the teaching category.

The June 15-30 trip Europe includes nine MHS students, eight of them seniors. The students will visit eight countries in 14 days. There will be about 315 band students from Illinois on the trip.

The Illinois Ambassadors of Music Association does an overseas trip every other year, but it hasnt happened in a couple of years because of COVID-19, Long said. Well be playing in churches and parks and, in some places, we may be playing on the sidewalk.

"Were going to different theater shows and taking in some of the cuisine and unique foods that well encounter, he said.

Fundraising for the trip has been going on for about two years. Last June the MHS band worked at a concession stand at the Enjoy Illinois 300 as part of the effort.

We recently performed at Bethel AME Church and Mt. Nebo Missionary Church in Madison, and we also performed at Third Presbyterian Church in St. Louis," Long said. "Wherever we can play, well play, because music makes the world go around.

Long said donations for the European trip, including cash and checks made out to Madison CUSD12 School District, are being accepted.

Were also still selling popcorn, and people can also drop off their donations here as well, said Long. They can also email me at bernard.long@madisoncusd12.org.

Before heading to Europe, the band has a busy stretch ahead starting with a Jazz Appreciation Month Concert at 1 p.m. April 13 at MHS. The event will feature current and past members of the St. Louis Musicians Union Local 2-197.

Im part of that organization as well and Ill be performing with them, and my students will be playing two songs to kick off the concert, Long said. Theyll get to see a professional band performing in their theater and get to play side-by-side with professional musicians.

The band will head to Nashville for the Louis Armstrong HBCU Jazz Festival April 14-15. This is the first time the festival has been hosted by Tennessee State University; Carters Jazz Clinics are among the sponsors. There will be guest artists and performances by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis.

Bryan Carter, who is Professor Ron Carters son, will be one of the judges, Long said. Donald Harrison, a great saxophonist from New Orleans, will be a judge as well.

Were in the exhibition category, so well be performing for 30 minutes on April 15," he said. "The day before, were doing some sightseeing and were going to the National Museum of African American Music. Nashville has a rich music history, and I want my students to experience that as well.

When the band returns from Europe, it also will play July 4 at Fair St. Louis.

On March 16 the MHS Marching Band played at the Chamber of Commerce Breakfast at World Wide Technology Raceway. The band also has been invited to perform for the second Enjoy Illinois NASCAR Cup Series event. The marching band will play June 3, with the drum line performing June 4.

We did our first parade last year in St. Louis for the Annie Malone Parade and we took first place, Long said. We also played in the 2022 Thanks-for-Giving Parade in St. Louis and got second place.

Some of these students have never been to the state of Missouri," he said. "So traveling nationally and internationally is huge for them.

"For me as a professional musician, Ive played with an orchestra, and Ive played on a cruise ship for my first gig after college," he said. "The farthest away Ive played is Athens, Greece.

"I tell the students that if you take care of the music, the music will take care of you.

Long is thrilled with the students response to the opportunity to play in the MHS band and impressed with their growth as musicians.

The parents are on board, as are the school board and the administration, Long said. Our principal, Mr. Juan Gardner, and our superintendent, Dr. Andrew Reinking, fully support everything the kids are doing.

The kids are really buying into it as well," he said. "At lunchtime, some of them go to lunch. But most of them go to the music room to practice.
EDWARDSVILLE  A Granite City man was charged with felony domestic battery and failure to register as a sex offender Thursday.

Isaac L. McCray, 36, was charged March 30 with aggravated domestic battery and unlawful failure to register as a sex offender, both Class 2 felonies.

The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department.

According to court documents, on March 29 McCray allegedly strangled a household or family member and failed to register as a sex offender with the Granite City Police Department.

He as convictions for unlawful failure to register as a sex offender out of St. Clair County in 2014 and 2021.

According to the Illinois State Police sex offender database, McCray is listed as a non-compliant sex offender. He has a conviction for criminal sexual assault out of Saline County, and multiple convictions for failure to register.

Bail was set at $50,000.

Other felony charges filed March 30 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include:

 Roy W. May, 54, of Granite City, was charged with aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on March 29 May allegedly strangled a household or family member. Bail was set at $75,000.

 Eric M. Sanders, 49, of Wood River, was charged with unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Wood River Police Department. According to court documents, on Feb. 8 Sanders allegedly had a Raven Arms Model 25 handgun. He has a conviction for domestic assault second degree out of St. Louis County in 2005, making him ineligible to possess weapons. Bail was set at $40,000.

 Kevin E. Jamison, 23, of Maryland Heights, Missouri, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. According to court documents, on March 29 Jamison allegedly had a loaded and accessible Smith & Wesson SD40 VE .40 caliber handgun in a motor vehicle without a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card or concealed carry permit. Bail was set at $50,000.

 Savanah N. Riggs, 36, of East Alton, was charged with driving while license revoked, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the South Roxana Police Department. According to court documents, on March 13 Riggs allegedly was driving on Illinois 111 in South Roxana with a revoked drivers license. Her license was revoked due to a previous conviction for DUI; she has a conviction for driving while license revoked out of Macoupin County in 2019. Bail was set at $25,000.

 James L. Deppe, 52, Marine, was charged with driving while license revoked, a Class 4 felony, and fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor. The case was presented by the Glen Carbon Police Department. According to court documents, on March 28 Deppe allegedly was driving a Chrysler Town and Country in Glen Carbon on a revoked drivers license. His license was revoked due to a prior conviction for DUI; he has previous convictions for driving while license revoked in 2005, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2022. He also allegedly attempted to flee from a Glen Carbon Police officer by failing to bring his vehicle to a stop or refusing to obey directions. Bail was set at $40,000.
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois House has advanced a measure that would allow noncitizen residents who are currently eligible for a temporary visitor drivers license to instead obtain a standard drivers license that can be used as identification.

Lawmakers created the temporary visitor drivers license, or TVDL, in 2013 to ensure all drivers on state roads have passed a road test regardless of legal residency. It is available to individuals who have lived in the state for over one year, do not have a social security number, and may or may not have government documentation authorizing their presence in the United States.

To receive one, the individual must provide their U.S. immigration documentation or, if they dont have that, a passport or consular card. They must also prove they have automobile insurance.

According to the secretary of states office, more than 300,000 people currently have a TVDL. Under the bill, these would remain valid drivers licenses but the secretary of state would no longer issue new ones.

While the TVDL is valid as a drivers license, it was never valid as identification. The card contains a purple line with the letters TVDL, and the phrase Not Valid for Identification.

Thats something immigrant rights activists said makes it difficult for the cardholder to do anything from pick up a prescription to buy alcohol. Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, D-Chicago, said in floor debate that some businesses decline to accept the TVDL as identification even when paired with identification from the individuals native country.

Applicants for a standard drivers license would be required to follow the same process as applying for a TVDL, but the license they receive would be the same as one issued to any other Illinoisan whose ID does not comply with federal REAL ID guidelines.

REAL ID requirements are scheduled to go into effect in Illinois in May 2025, and they require stricter identification such as a birth certificate and social security number to obtain one. The IDs are used for purposes such as air travel and visiting military bases and secure federal facilities.

Standard licenses contain the words Federal Limits Apply, but they are otherwise valid as both a drivers license and ID card.

The measure, House Bill 3882, has support from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.

This legislation will make our roads safer and protects immigrants who are legally able to drive, Giannoulias said in a statement. As with all drivers, immigrants who drive in Illinois must prove they are safe, capable motorists in order to earn the standard drivers license.

The legislations backers say it was motivated by the fact that those carrying a TVDL sometimes face discrimination because of the purple bar on the card. Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, is the lead sponsor of HB 3882.

My parents were undocumented for 21 years, she said. My parents would have wished years ago that they could have a driver license. Today we're updating those driver licenses to turn them more standardized, to stop discrimination.

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, characterized the bill as an attempt to hide a persons status.

I think the reality is we're trying to turn undocumented individuals into documented individuals, he said. We have individuals who have come here outside of the legal process, and I know the legal process is broken. So why don't we work on encouraging the federal government to actually do something to fix a broken system, instead of hiding the fact that it's broken.

Rep Elizabeth Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, noted that the TVDL is not only granted to individuals without legal residency status but also those who are here legally from a foreign country temporarily.

The premise behind the temporary driver's license was to allow individuals who are undocumented to be able to drive the road safely so that they can take their kids to school, so they can go to the grocery store, so they can go to work, she said. Unfortunately, over time, the purple ID has been viewed and recognized as a driver's license for the undocumented which is simply untrue.

Republican Rep. Dan Caulkins, of Decatur, questioned whether making TVDL holders eligible for a standard license would create a system thats ripe for voter fraud, since Illinoisans can register on the day of an election with a license and other identification.

Henry Haupt, a spokesperson for Giannoulias, said safeguards would remain in place to prevent ineligible individuals from being registered to vote.

Under the current registration process, he said, a registrar should never rely on a drivers license as proof of citizenship.

He noted anyone registering to vote must attest to their citizenship.

While election officials ask to see identification when an applicant registers to vote, it is for the purpose of identifying the applicant, not proof of citizenship, he said in an email. The voter application form completed by the applicant requires the applicant to swear or affirm U.S citizenship.

Haupt said the automatic voter registration process would not change under the bill.

Applicants will still present the same documents as they did under the TVDL program, such as a foreign passport or consular identification card, he said. Those documents will alert secretary of state facility employees that the applicant is not a U.S. citizen and therefore voter registration will not be offered.

Noncitizens will also be coded in the secretary of states system differently than citizens, Haupt said, and the program wont allow for voter registration in that instance.

The bill also exempts a license application from entering the automatic voter registration process if there is no social security number associated with it.

The bill would also prohibit the use of drivers license data for immigration enforcement purposes unless immigration agents provide a court-issued warrant, order or subpoena for the information.
While paying hush money is not illegal, federal prosecutors charged that classifying the payment as a "legal retainer" fee violated federal campaign finance laws. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple federal criminal charges, including campaign finance violations, and later served more than one year in prison.

Cohen has said he made the secret payment at Trump's direction and was later reimbursed by the Trump Organization, Trump's real estate company, for "legal" services.

The criminal charges against Trump were unclear, as the indictment remained under seal. But they grew out of the Manhattan district attorney's investigation into a payment of $130,000 that Trump's then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

The highly anticipated charges came as Trump seeks a return to the White House after losing a reelection bid in 2020, making him both the only former president and the only presidential candidate to be indicted.

In the first prosecution of its kind, a grand jury in New York has voted to indict former President Donald Trump on charges related to paying off porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign, multiple U.S. news outlets reported on Thursday.

Under New York law, falsifying business records is normally a misdemeanor. But when it is done with the intent to commit or hide another crime, it rises to the level of a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. A spokesperson for the district attorney's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Cohen, who testified before the grand jury investigating the hush money payment, confirmed Trump's indictment in a statement. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case. In a statement, he called the indictment "political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history."

"The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to 'Get Trump,' but now they've done the unthinkable -- indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election interference," the former president wrote.

While Trump has admitted reimbursing Cohen for the hush money payment, he has said it "had nothing to do with the campaign" and instead has accused the New York prosecutor, a Democrat, of carrying out a politically motivated "witch hunt."

With an indictment looming, Trump last Friday warned of "potential death and destruction" if he was indicted. On Saturday, he held a rally in Waco, Texas, where he told supporters he was being investigated "for something that is not a crime, not a misdemeanor, not an affair."

 Surrender to Authorities

The charges against Trump were widely anticipated after the former president recently announced that he would be "arrested" within days and urged his supporters to protest.

But it wasn't immediately clear when and how he would be taken into custody before being formally charged in a courtroom. Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said recently that the former president would not refuse to surrender to the authorities in New York. In New York, white collar criminal defendants can negotiate a surrender to the authorities.

Trump, who lives in Florida, would have to fly to New York in order to turn himself in. Once in police custody, he would be fingerprinted and photographed in keeping with standard processing procedures.
John Badman|The Telegraph

CHICAGO  Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with 12 attorneys general, has called for nationwide restrictions on the use of sulfoxaflor, a chemical pesticide that is extremely toxic to bees and other pollinators.

The coalition, comprised of some of the nations leading agricultural producers, depend on pollinators to sustain their crops and natural ecosystems.



In a letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Raoul and the coalition warned that the unrestricted use of sulfoxaflor could have devastating effects on pollinators, ultimately harming the economy and endangering the nations food security. Raoul urged the EPA to adopt reasonable restrictions on sulfoxaflors use and support further research into the pesticides potential impacts on human health and the environment.



We must do what we can to protect pollinators, which are critical to Illinois agriculture, Raoul said. I am urging the EPA to ensure restrictions on the use of sulfoxaflor are in place to keep Illinois crops and natural ecosystems healthy.



The EPA previously faced lawsuits challenging its attempts to lift needed restrictions on sulfoxaflor and allow the pesticides use in controversial ways  without consulting the public or considering the pesticides effects on endangered species. In December 2022, the lawsuits were successful, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ordered the EPA to immediately correct various legal violations. As a result, in February 2023, the EPA published a notice seeking public comment on the use of sulfoxaflor.



Raoul and the coalitions letter provides important state input in response to that notice. It asserts that the represented states together produce 37% of the nations crops and play a key role in American food security and resilience. Illinois and the coalition states are the leading national producers of a wide variety of crops, such as pumpkins, apples, almonds, lettuce, hops, beets, tomatoes, coffee and oranges. The states also have extraordinary natural resources and ecosystems, and are home to a variety of threatened and endangered species and critical habitats. All of this relies on pollination by insects such as bees.



To prevent harm to these necessary pollinators, Raoul urges the EPA to:



 Restrict the use of sulfoxaflor when crops are blooming and pollinators are present.

 Reimpose a required buffer zone between sprayed sulfoxaflor and blooming

vegetation.

 Encourage field owner collaboration to ensure sulfoxaflor is not applied before or during a period when managed pollinators are nearby.

 Support further research into sulfoxaflors impacts on the environment and on humans; remain vigilant about its potential harms.



In issuing the letter to the EPA, Attorney General Raoul joined the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.


NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  Cyprus Interior Ministry said Thursday 76 Afghans and Syrians seeking international protection have been relocated to France under a European Union program to ease the burden on Mediterranean countries receiving large numbers of migrants.

The ministry said in a statement the relocation is one of several planned in coming months. A total 210 people have been relocated to other EU countries, including Germany, Bulgaria and Romania, in the three months since such transfers began.
Each spring people around the world celebrate our planet, recognizing the need to find innovative solutions to protect our soil and water for generations to come.

Farmers, often called the original conservationists, continue the fight for cleaner, more sustainable agricultural practices throughout the year. We care deeply for our land and collaborate with our agricultural research partners to implement the best solutions to preserve our natural resources.

We invest time, money, and energy in protecting our land. We are investing in our future.

Our farmers utilize a variety of sustainable practices. One strategy that has gained momentum in recent years is the use of cover crops, or plants such as wheat, rye, and radishes which are planted after primary cash crops like corn and soybeans are harvested. These special crops work hard to enrich the soil, maintain moisture, and prevent erosion among other benefits.

In February, University of Illinois researchers released a new study showing that Midwestern farmers are seeding more cover crops than ever. The study showed that cover crop adoption reached 7.2% in 2021, up from 1.8% a decade earlier. Researchers stated that the rapid increase in cover crop adoption between 2017 and 2021 coincided with increased state and federal incentive programs.

The U of I study, Recent rapid increase of cover crop adoption across the U.S. Midwest detected by fusing multi-source satellite data, was published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Farmers also work hard to voluntarily implement the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) to reduce nutrient loss to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Last year, Illinois Farm Bureaus (IFB) environmental team joined forces with farmers and agricultural researchers to film a new documentary highlighting sustainability efforts in Illinois.

The hour-long film Sustaining Our Future: A Farm Family Story, celebrates farmers dedication to the environment while sharing with a broader consumer audience the trials, and in some cases, the financial risks farmers take to conserve our natural resources.

Viewers are invited to join the Ganschow family of Bureau County to learn how three generations of farmers have approached sustainability to create a brighter future for generations to come. People can now watch the documentary for free on IFBs YouTube channel.

This April, Illinois farmers and the agricultural research community are collaborating to showcase current and past conservation practices, including ongoing cover crop projects. These Spring Nutrient Stewardship Field days are an opportunity for those inside and outside of agriculture to learn more about farmers role in protecting the environment.

Now in its eighth year, IFBs Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program supports research conservation projects across the state. Our organization has committed more than $2.8 million to nutrient stewardship initiatives since 2015. For the fiscal year 2023, IFB distributed $175,000 in grants for local projects, including $25,000 to support pollinator conservation across the state.

It is fitting that this year Illinois farmers will host two field day opportunities ahead of Earth Day. In Washington County, farmers will evaluate nutrient loss reduction practices in addition to evaluating cover crop projects. Young farmers in Knox County will also invite researchers and farmers to learn more about their goal to implement one cover crop plot in each township within the county.

Farmers are at the forefront of climate-smart farming, putting scientific solutions, technology, and innovation to work to protect our land, air, and water. Every year is a learning curve, however.

We are constantly building upon previous research to develop better, more sustainable practices and strategies to protect our land. It is important to also keep in mind this is a long-haul effort. Each year, our farmers find new ways to approach conservation and sustainability, moving the needle ever closer to a brighter, greener future.

I am proud of the work Illinois farmers are doing and will continue to do to preserve our natural resources. While the world celebrates our planet on April 22, I challenge everyone to learn more about how their local farmers are committing themselves to finding innovative solutions to protect our land.
Korean businesses in Russia are facing a dilemma as Moscow makes it difficult for them to pull out, demanding that they pay a 10 percent tax on the money raised from selling their assets. But Russia's growing pariah status in the world since it invaded Ukraine have left them little choice.

Russia's Finance Ministry on Monday announced new rules on the sale of foreign assets and now requires businesses from "unfriendly" countries to give at least 10 percent of their proceeds from asset sales to charity.

Korea is considered "unfriendly" since it backs international sanctions in protest against the invasion of Ukraine. According to the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 1,895 out of 3,129 foreign companies that operate in Russia have either reduced their business there or pulled out.

Before the invasion, Russia was Korea's 10th-largest trading partner, but since then Chinese businesses have increased their market presence there. China is considered a "friendly" country.
From April 1, consumers will have to spend more for common medications, including painkillers and antibiotics, among others. The prices of 384 essential medications and over 900 formulations would witness more than 12 per cent increase in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI).

Based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data provided by the Office of the Economic Advisor, Department of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the annual change in the WPI works out as 12.1218 per cent during the calendar year 2022 over the corresponding period in 2021, a notification from the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), an independent regulator for pricing of drugs to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices, said on March 27.

As the development comes, the pharma industrys strive might see a relief because it has been struggling with a rise in production costs due to a number of factors since the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic had affected the industry by increasing the cost of freight, plastic and packaging materials, as well as the prices of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)the raw materials used for manufacturing medicines.

Our organisation is always following the instructions of NPPA, and also instructs its members to follow the same. The forthcoming increase will help the manufacturing companies to compensate the losses they are having because of heavy increase in APIs in the past, said Rajiv Singhal, Secretary General, All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD).

WPI measures the changes in goods prices at a selected stage before those reach into the market. The medicines that will witness a price hike next month onwards include paracetamol (for fever), ibuprofen (painkiller), cetirizine (for sneezing and allergic symptoms), ivermectin (for roundworm infections), amoxicillin (for cold or flu), and others that are a part of the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) prepared by the ministry of health.

To promote access to affordable healthcare, Malini Aisola, co-convener of the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), voiced concern that the new WPI will trigger increases in the ceiling prices under the DPCO provisions for fixing prices for scheduled formulations.

The increase is the highest since the DPCO 2013 came into force, and this is the second year in a row that the WPI is higher than the annual permitted price hike permitted for non-scheduled formulations (10 per cent). Since such a drastic hike will distort the price controls in place on essential medicines, the government should intervene in the interest of maintaining the affordability of these drugs. Such high back-to-back price increases are undermining the purpose of price fixation for essential medicines, she said.

Throughout the past few years, the annual increase in WPI has only slightly raised prices; and it has typically ranged between one and two per cent. However, its the second consecutive year that the WPI has exceeded the 10 per cent yearly permitted price increase for non-scheduled formulations (presenting a serious risk of abuse).
The death toll in the Indore temple stepwell roof collapse rose to 35 on Friday. Reportedly search operations are currently underway for one missing person.

On Thursday noon by around 12 pm, the slab constructed on top of an ancient 'bawdi' or stepwell collapsed during a 'havan' programme held on the occasion of Ram Navami at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Patel Nagar. Several devotees fell into the water reservoir below as the roof collapsed.

The temple had been constructed after covering the square-shaped stepwell of around 20 ft x 20 ft size about four decades ago.

"Our search operation, being carried out with the help of the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), is nearing completion. So far, 35 bodies have been recovered from the well," Indore District Magistrate Ilayaraja T told media persons.

The bodies of all persons, except one, whose names were mentioned in the list of missing persons, have been recovered so far, he said.

There is a lot of silt in the well and it is being removed to trace the missing person, Illayaraja said.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan Chouhan reached the spot and inspected the rescue operations at the site of the incident. "An FIR is registered and magisterial inquiry is ordered into the incident. Action will be taken against those found responsible. The current priority is rescue operation. The injured will be treated free of cost. PM has also announced ex-gratia amount to the victims. We have also ordered an inspection of such stepwells and borewells across the state," Chouhan told reporters.

He also met the injured victims at the hospital.

Indore Police Commissioner said thatr a case was registered against president and secretary of the temple administration under IPC 304.

Earlier, Indore Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) Pawan Kumar Sharma said that 16 people injured in the mishap have been admitted to a hospital, while two others were sent home after first aid.

The rescue operations are conducted jointly by the Army and the NDRF. With the help of a crane and trolley the people trapped were carried out of the reserviour. According to local residents, the temple was built over an ancient stepwell, which was covered with a slab during the construction.

(With PTI inputs)
In connection with the 1988 road rage death case, former Punjab Congress unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been in jail since May 20 last year, will be walking out of the prison on Saturday.

This is to inform everyone that Sardar Navjot Singh Sidhu will be released from Patiala Jail tomorrow. (As informed by the concerned authorities), said the tweet posted from Sidhu's official twitter handle.

This is to inform everyone that Sardar Navjot Singh Sidhu will be released from Patiala Jail tomorrow.



(As informed by the concerned authorities).  Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) March 31, 2023

While addressing a press conference, cabinet minister Aman Arora said that his release on Saturday was as per policy.

Sidhu was convicted in a road rage case. Since May 20 last year, after he surrendered before a Patiala court, he has been in jail. He is currently lodged at Patiala Central jail. He was awarded one-year imprisonment by the Supreme Court which was deciding a review petition in a 1988 road rage case.

Though Sidhu was expected to be released earlier during Republic Day on January 26 after availing special remission, he was not granted release. Depending on the work assigned in prison and conduct, his remission will finalised.

Sidhu was convicted over the death of Gurnam Singh, 65, who had allegedly died after he assaulted him over a parking altercation.

Reportedly, Sidhu would be eligible to walk out of jail in the first week of April, if he gets remission.

However, his scheduled release from jail is on May 16.

Navjot Sidhu's wife recently tweeted about the diagnosis of her cancer and operation.

"Waited for you, seeing you denied justice again and again. Truth is so powerful but it takes your tests time and again. KALYUG. Sorry can't wait for you because it's stage 2 invasive cancer. Going under the knife today. No one is to be blamed because its GODS plan: PERFECT," she wrote.
In connection with the clashes that occurred between groups during the Ram Navami celebrations, several got arrested in various states. Sporadic violence and stone pelting were reported from several states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Kolkata.

Police have arrested over 20 persons in connection with the clash between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in Mumbai's Malvani area. The incident occurred when the procession was going on. Some people objected to the loud music accompanying it which led to the tussle.

"The police have so far apprehended more than 20 persons on the charge of rioting and the process to place them under arrest is on," an official told PTI.

Police had to use additional force to disperse the crowd that gathered at the site of the incident.

In another similar incident, the police had detained 24 persons for allegedly hurling stones at two Ram Navami processions in communally-sensitive areas in Vadodara city of Gujarat.

Vadodara Police Commissioner Shamsher Singh said that the situation in the city was under control.

"We have so far detained 24 persons in connection with the stone pelting incidents that occurred during the Ram Navami processions in the city on Thursday. They will be formally arrested soon after the registration of first information reports (FIRs). The situation is completely under control and normalcy was restored yesterday itself," said Singh.

At least two persons were injured in the stone-pelting incident at Kumbharwada. Videos of the incident that surfaced the social media revealed people seeking shelter during the stone pelting.
During the stopover on her way to Central America, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen hailed the relations between both states. While speaking at an event in New York, Tsai said that the relationship between Washington and Taipei was closer than ever.

We have demonstrated a firm will and resolve to defend ourselves that we are capable of managing risks with calm and composure and that we have the ability to maintain regional peace and stability, Tsai was quoted by Al Jazeera.

While speaking at the event she also said that Taiwan has remained calm in the face of China "deliberately" raising tensions, reported Reuters.

Tsai had arrived in New York on Wednesday on her way to Central America. Amid China's warnings, she is expected to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on her way back to Taipei next week.

China had warned the US that the visit could lead to a "serious confrontation" in US-China relations.

Reportedly, since Washington normalised ties with Beijing in 1979, the US relations with China is quite tense.

Beijing says Taiwan belongs to "one China" and as a Chinese province, has no right to state-to-state ties and Taiwan disputes this, reported Reuters.

On her first US stopover since 2019, Tsai told an event held by the Hudson Institute think tank that the fault for raising tensions lay with China, according to excerpts of her comments reported by Taiwan's official Central News Agency.

"China deliberately raises tensions, but Taiwan always responds cautiously and calmly, so that the world can see that Taiwan is the responsible party in cross-Strait relations," the agency cited her saying.

"The people of Taiwan look forward to peace, but history tells us that the best way to avoid war is to make ourselves stronger," Tsai said at the event.

Meanwhile, the White House on Wednesday urged China not to use Tsai's stopover in the US as a pretext to increase aggressive activity against Taiwan.

"I think we have all seen them react in a rhetorical way, but we've seen no indication that there's been any other type of reaction," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

However, the meeting with McCarthy would be a first between the Taiwanese leader and a US House Speaker in the US.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian in Beijing said that if Tsai met with McCarthy, China would "definitely take measures to resolutely fight back."

Xu Xueyuan, charge d'affaires at China's Washington Embassy said that the meeting "could lead to another serious confrontation in the China-US relationship," reported Reuters.
The government on Thursday published a devastating report on North Korea's human rights abuses compiled from testimonies of about 500 North Korean defectors.

Similar reports had been compiled annually since 2018, but they were kept under wraps as the previous government sought in vain to pacify the North Korean regime.

The latest 450-page report details shocking abuses in political prison camps, public executions of teenagers and pregnant women, torture, medical experiments on living bodies and forced labor.

It was compiled based on interviews the Center for North Korean Human Rights Records has conducted since 2017 with 2,075 defectors at resettlement facility Hanawon.

One defector recalled that six teenagers aged 16-17 were executed by firing squad for watching South Korean videos and using drugs in Wonsan in 2015. In 2017, a woman in the sixth month of pregnancy was publicly executed on charges of pointing a finger at the portrait of regime founder Kim Il-sung while dancing in a room of her house in a video that had gone viral.

In 2014, when a woman gave birth in a detention facility after she was forcibly repatriated from China, a guard killed the baby because it had "Chinese blood."

Female detainees were stripped naked for intimate examinations including their vaginas, according to testimony. In some cases, male guards tried to examine female detainees' uterus. Sexual abuse is frequent in these circumstances.
In an unprecedented development, a grand jury in Manhattan has voted to indict former US president Donald Trump for paying hush money to Stormy Danielsa porn star he was accused of having an affair with. Though the charges are yet unknown, Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges.

In its report on Friday morning, the New York Times said that indictment is expected to be announced in the coming days. "By then, prosecutors working for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg," will have asked Trump to surrender and to face arraignment on charges that remain unknown for now. This historic development is likely to shake up the 2024 US presidential race as Trump seeks a rerun.

Senior Republicans rallied around Trump after the indictment, and called it a weaponisation of the justice system by the Democrats and political vendetta. Trump, too, called it a political persecution. "This is political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the radical left Democrats -- the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this country -- have been engaged in a witch-hunt to destroy the 'Make America Great Again' movement, he said.

Mike Pence has described the indictment of his former boss an "outrage" and "great disservice to the country".

Daniels, the adult film star at the centre of the controversial case, took to Twitter to thank supporters. "I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond... also don't want to spill my champagne." Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received the money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the allegations.

Indian-American Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy have claimed that former US president Donald Trump's indictment in a criminal case was about "revenge".

What next?

Earlier this month, Trump posted on his social media platform that he is likely to be arrested. But according to reports, it is unlikely that the former president will be publicly arrested. The prosecutors are likely to reach out to the former president's lawyers to see if he will voluntarily turn himself in. According to reports, the Manhattan District Attorney's office has already contacted Trumps attorney to coordinate his surrender for arraignment. A Trump adviser said that the former president is expected to surrender on April 4, Washington Post stated.

If Trump refuses to surrender, prosecutors will have to head to Florida, where he resides in his Mar-a-Lago estate, and seek permission to extradite him to New York. Trump's Republican opponent and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tweeted on Thursday that he would refuse to participate in any extradition efforts.

Following an arrest or surrender, Trump will have to appear for an arraignment hearing in Manhattan. Explaining the procedure, Washington Post stated that at the arraignment, a judge would determine whether Trump would need to pay bail or adhere to certain restrictions pending a trial  or whether he could be released with no bail or restrictions.

Can he still run for president?

Though a former president has never been convicted of a crime before, he can still run for president. A presidential candidate could be indicted, prosecuted and convicted by either state or federal authorities, reports state.

In fact, some advisers think this could be good for Trump's campaign. As per a recent survey, Trump remains the front-runner in the 2024 Republican field, with the support of 44 per cent of Republicans ahead of DeSantis's 30 per cent support.
There was a time when Al Capone could commit serious crimes in Chicago and cross state lines into the neighboring state of Wisconsin and away from the arms of the law because law enforcement agencies had limited jurisdiction outside of their respective states. This made it easy for criminals like Al Capone to evade arrest by simply staying across state lines. Capones house still stands on 55th Street of the Wisconsin border town of Kenosha.

In the wake of the New York state indictment of Donald Trump, Florida governor Ron DeSantis moved to turn the clock to the days of Capones interstate bootlegging and racketeering by declaring that his state, where Trump keeps his Mar-a-Lago home will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his political agenda.

Theoretically, that would allow Trump to refuse to turn himself in on Tuesday in Manhattan and, try to avoid prosecution, Al Capone-style, across state lines. Even that remoteand quite unlikely possibility is a stunning turn for the two men, Trump and DeSantis, who have made a political career of claiming to be the candidates of law and order as much as has their Republican Party, to be part of this fantastical speculation.

DeSantis's justification that the decision was made due to "questionable circumstances at issue" and "political agenda" by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a naked display of political farce and cynicism.

How stupid do you think we are, is the question by news anchor Erin Burnett that CNN replays on its promos, channeling its audiences skepticism and disbelief when politicians attempt to bamboozle their constituents.

Well, people gathered along the streets leading to Mar-a-Lago waving flags and expressing support for the former president, shouting cries of Political persecution! days before anyone finds out the actual charges and evidence against Trump.

It is indeed a shocking move by the Florida governor, making a law enforcement declaration that should raise fundamental questions about his own integrity, placing political positioning above the law for his political benefit.

In a volatile post-Trump political climate, DeSantis drew the line outside the law and the Constitution of the United States to further his standing with Trump supporters: He wins the Republican political hyperbole steeplechase; the lines are drawn, and the stakes are high.

It should be noted, however, that extradition from one US state to another is governed by the United States Constitution's Extradition Clause, which requires states to honour valid requests for extradition from other states, in fact defining the united part of the United States name. One state cannot go against another in the enforcement of the law. If a state fails to honour a valid request for extradition, the state seeking extradition may take legal action to enforce compliance.

In fact, American law is tired of antics of the likes of Capone back in 1919 when Congress passed the Dyer Acta federal statute that began by making it a crime to transport a stolen vehicle across state lines and then expanded its scope to include a wide array of criminal activities, making it possible for federal authorities to pursue and prosecute across state lines. It is a hallmark of federal law enforcement across the US.

Another hallmark of US justice has been the impartiality of the justice system and the ability of prosecutors to carry out their duties without political interference. By claiming that prosecutions against Trump are politically partial De Santis and other Republicans give the world a glimpse of the kind of world they envision, a world where justice is decided by political power that quite literally places their kind above others.

Functionally, however, Trump, who is entitled to Secret Service protection as a former president who had access to some of Americas most sensitive secrets, is unlikely to be able to do anything other than to follow the law and to present himself for his arraignment in New York. The Secret Service is there to protect his safety, but it is a law enforcement agency, and its ultimate charge would be to cooperate with other US law enforcement bodies.

In a country that has for nearly 250 years paraded itself and its values as examples to the rest of the world, it is nonetheless astounding to see the political cynicism of Republican partisans so prominently at the centre of the American discourse around the indictment of its former president on criminal charges.

Newly minted Speaker of the US House of Representatives and third in line for the presidency Kevin McCarthy, called for an investigation of the prosecutor.

Trumps vice president, targeted by the January 6 mob who wanted to hang him spurred by Trumps words and tweets, shook his head in righteous outrage while speaking with CNNs Wolf Blitzer; he attacked the prosecutor and said the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage, going on to say, without a hint of cynicism, that the American people have had enough of that kind of two-tiered justice system. It is one more example of the criminalisation of politics, said Pence.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham who as an impeachment manager against Bill Clinton famously called on the House floor for the conviction of Clinton arguing that impeachment is about the cleansing of the office, was this time sporting a different kind of outrage on FOX News as he called the indictment legal voodoo, and bullshit before going on to fundraise for the billionaire, Give the man some money so he can fight!

The fight that Trump may have in mind can be deducted from his words in anticipation of the indictment when he warned of death and destruction. Authorities, conscious of the effect of his words on January 6, have reinforced protection around New York.

Still, more Republicans at all levels with very few exceptions are rushing to microphones to attack the indictment and the prosecutor, even before the full facts are known, all seemingly unaware that even Capone's criminal activities eventually caught up with him.

In 1931, Capone was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison. So was the end of his reign as a powerful crime boss.
The partnership will focus on the development of a first-of-its-kind aggregator platform for women entrepreneurs, with the objective of providing access to peer support, mentorship, networking channels and a wide range of learning resources



New Delhi, Delhi, India  Business Wire India



BharatPe Group, one of Indias leading names in fintech industry, today announced its partnership with Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) with the objective of enabling women entrepreneurs across India in their journeys of self-reliance and business growth. The partnership aims to build a robust ecosystem that brings together women entrepreneurs from different parts of India and equips them with the required domain knowledge as well as the financial and technical know-how needed to fulfill their business goals. The core focus area will be facilitating the development of a first-of-its kind aggregator platform that gives access to peer support, mentorship, networking channels and a wide range of learning resources.



Launched under BharatPe Cares, a corporate social responsibility initiative by BharatPeGroup, this partnership is in line with the Groups brand purpose to empower lives through inclusive, innovative and reliable fintech solutions. This specific initiative rests under the CSR program of PAYBACK, a BharatPe company.



According to the sixth economic census by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, women comprise only 13.76% of the total entrepreneurs in India, which is 8.05 million out of the total 58.5 million entrepreneurs. The figure indicates that women entrepreneurs need to be empowered so they can follow their dreams. With this in mind, the partnership aims to address the constraining barriers faced by women entrepreneurs across the landscape in India and facilitate a level playing field wherein women enjoy equal opportunities for growth.



Speaking on this announcement, Nalin Negi, CFO and interim CEO, BharatPe, said, While India is a startup and unicorn hub, the share of women entrepreneurs in the country still remains low. I strongly believe that there is a huge untapped potential for unlocking entrepreneurship among women in India. WEP has an impeccable body of work towards driving women entrepreneurship in the country, and we are proud to partner with them on our shared vision of enabling women entrepreneurs to catalyze the growth of their businesses.



Nalin adds, As a homegrown fintech, our regular engagement with women solopreneurs and small business owners has helped us understand the challenges faced from their lens- the most important being lack of access to financial know-how, networking channels, mentorship and fundraising opportunities. Also, as per an industry report, women entrepreneurs in India can generate 150-170 million jobs by 2030, which is more than 25% of the new jobs required for the entire working-age population. Thus, driving women entrepreneurship would boost the economy through job creation, and is critical to building India as a US$ 5 trillion economy. Our partnership with WEP is aimed at facilitating the development of a plug-and-play digital infrastructure to address the existing gaps and aid the growth of women entrepreneurs.



Commenting on the partnership, Anna Roy, Mission Director, WEP, said, The entrepreneurial ecosystem in India is thriving but women-led businesses still need a lot of support to help scale businesses, and more so due to social biases. Women entrepreneurs across the country face an unfair disadvantage due to exclusion from networking channels and mentorship opportunities. Women entrepreneurship platform is a public private initiative that aims at providing a continuum of support to women entrepreneurs by leveraging the network of various stakeholders who are part of the ecosystem. The idea is to make these connect seamlessly across board, overcome information asymmetry and empower women by giving them the right information at the right time. With the partnership with BharatPe Group, WEP adds another important stakeholder to this vast and growing network of partner organizations that will help combine the effort of both the industry players towards leveling the playing field for women entrepreneurs as well as expanding the funnel to get more women to start their own enterprises.



BharatPe will also facilitate the development of learning sources curated around specific sectors to support capability development and equip women entrepreneurs with the required domain knowledge to scale their businesses.



About BharatPe



BharatPe was founded in 2018 to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants. In 2018, BharatPe launched Indias first UPI interoperable QR code, the first zero MDR payment acceptance service. In 2020, post-Covid, BharatPe also launched a card acceptance terminal  BharatSwipe. Currently serving 1 crore merchants across 400+ cities, the company is a leader in UPI offline transactions, processing 30 crores+ UPI transactions per month (annualized Transaction Processed Value of over US$ 24 Bn in payments). The company has already facilitated the disbursement of loans totaling close to 8000 crores. BharatPes POS business processes payments of over US$ 3.5 bn annually on its machines. BharatPe has raised over US$ 583 million in equity till date. The companys list of marquee investors includes Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital, Beenext, Amplo, and Sequoia Capital. In June 2021, the company announced the acquisition of PAYBACK India, the countrys largest multi-brand loyalty program company with 100 million+ members. In October 2021, the consortium of Centrum Financial Services Limited (Centrum) and BharatPe, was issued a Small Finance Bank (SFB) license by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). BharatPe also entered the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) segment with the launch of postpe in October 2021. postpe has over 8 million downloads and an annualized TPV of close to Rs. 5000 crores. Recently, BharatPe Group received an in-principle nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator.



About WEP



WEP (Women Entrepreneurship Platform) was ideated and incubated in NITI Aayog and presently being operated as a unique public private partnership. WEP is a one-stop platform that aggregates resources and services for women entrepreneurs, providing them with personalised information and services to assist in their entrepreneurial journey. It brings together stakeholders with the same goal of creating an enabling environment for women entrepreneurs, thus providing a comprehensive solution to address their unique challenges and needs. As a public private initiative, it works through partners where Government remains an enabler and a partner. You can access the platform at https://wep.gov.in/



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire India and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR
Chandigarh, Mar 31 (PTI) Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday demanded Rs 500 per quintal bonus for wheat farmers, saying their crop has been damaged in the recent unseasonal rain and hailstorms.

"Despite the announcement by the BJP-JJP government, neither Girdawari (field inspection) is done properly nor have farmers been given compensation. Farmers' complaints are coming from all over the state that the government is showing very less damage in comparison to the actual damage (estimated) in Girdawari.

"In many places, 60-80 per cent damage has been caused to crops, whereas in Girdawari it is being shown only 20-25 per cent, the Congress leader alleged in a statement.

Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister M L Khattar said the state government is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the farmers.

He said during the 10 years of the Congress rule, the farmers got a compensation of about Rs 1,200 crore, while his government has given a compensation of Rs 1,200 crore in the year 2015 itself.

Hooda said farmers are also facing problems in uploading the latest crop loss information on the designated portal, because in many places neither the portal is running nor the toll-free number is working.

On one hand the inclement weather and on the other hand the government's neglect is proving fatal for the farmers. In such a situation, the government should compensate the loss of farmers to some extent by giving bonus along with compensation, he added.

The leader of opposition said farmers are waiting for compensation for the damage to mustard crop as well.

Chief Minister Khattar asked farmers to register the complete information about their land area and crop on the 'Meri Fasal Mera Byora' portal.

Now the government has also created the e-Fasal Kshatipurti portal, on which the farmers can register their crop loss within 72 hours. The whole process is going on in a transparent manner and the compensation will be provided to all the farmers by the month of May, he said.

The fresh spell of rain in most parts of Haryana on Friday came a time when the wheat crop was almost ready for harvesting. Earlier this month, rains accompanied by hail and high velocity winds lashed several parts of the state.
Colombo, Mar 31 (PTI) The first stock of eggs imported from India by Sri Lanka was distributed to the crisis-hit island nation's market, with one egg costing Rs 35 to bakery owners, a media report said on Friday.

Sri Lanka imported two million eggs from India to ensure food security in the crisis-hit island nation, Trade and Food Safety Minister Nalin Fernando said last week.

The decision to import eggs was based on a decision by a cabinet committee to ensure food security, Fernando said on March 23.

This stock of eggs imported by Sri Lanka's State Trading (General) Corporation was distributed among bakery owners on Thursday at the Kerawalapitiya Spet R. Warehouse Complex, the official Daily News reported.

All-Ceylon Bakery Owners Association President N. K. Jayawardena said that one million eggs were given to bakery owners at Rs 35 per egg.

He said that this stock of eggs imported from India had been brought to Sri Lanka subject to approvals of all relevant government institutions.

The date of manufacture of the eggs distributed among bakery owners was mentioned as March 18, 2023 and the date of expiry was June 15, 2023.

All-Ceylon Bakery Owners Association President said that now egg producers in Sri Lanka should begin marketing eggs at competitive prices, adding that in the future eggs will be imported for bakeries, hotels, and restaurants.

He said, accordingly, it would be possible to reduce the price of bakery products in the future.

Jayawardena thanked Trade and Food Safety Minister Fernando and other officials for taking this action on behalf of consumers.

Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves, sparking political turmoil in the country that led to the ouster of the all-powerful Rajapaksa family.

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a USD 3 billion bailout programme to help Sri Lanka overcome its economic crisis and catalyse financial support from other development partners.

Last week, Sri Lanka received USD 330 million as the first tranche of the IMF bailout programme.
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) Some stories are real and others just "urban legends" in "Jubilee", says director Vikramaditya Motwane about his 10-part series that serves as an interesting guide to the early days of Hindi cinema.

"Jubilee", set during the Partition and the decades after that, chronicles the lives of a studio boss, his movie-star wife, his trusted aide, a rising star, a nautch girl and a refugee.

According to Motwane, who co-created the Prime Video show with Soumik Sen, it all started as a small idea about exploring the power dynamics and the drama of those early years of cinema.

"But it's taken a good five-six years for that one idea to end up becoming a pitch and then a series... It's been quite a journey," Motwane told PTI in an interview.

"It's the stories you hear... There is some truth, some gossip and everything put into this. Today (who's to say) what's true, what's made up and what's an urban legend that's taken a life of its own to become stories that we hear almost 70-75 years after the era... It's a wonderful way of presenting it to the audience," he said.

The first part of the series, featuring a stellar cast in Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aditi Rao Hydari, Aparshakti Khurana, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sidhant Gupta, Nandish Sandhu, and Ram Kapoor, will premiere on April 7, followed by the second part, also consisting of five episodes, releasing on April 14.

The challenges in recreating the era within a budget were aplenty but fun for the director, known for projects such as "Udaan", "Lootera", "Trapped" and "Sacred Games" series.

"Every challenge was a lovely challenge and the normal challenges of saying, 'Okay, you've got to be able to create this very, very ambitious world within a certain amount of money and all that kind of stuff...' Those are good challenges," Motwane said, crediting screenplay and dialogue writer Atul Sabharwal for coming up with layered characters rooted in moments from history.

Whether it's the start of Hindi film songs on Radio Ceylon due to a ban on film music on All India Radio or the beginning of playback singing and cinema scope in cinema, the historical moments and the advances in the technology have been woven into the story in an interesting way, he said.

"It doesn't feel like you're getting an education, but you are, in an entertaining sort of way.

"The fact that it happens to be in an industry where we bring a lot of our own love and affection for the medium, our own aesthetic value to it, is a bonus."

Motwane said every day they went out and tried to achieve something through a fantastic team of writers, technicians, music composers and the cast.

"Everybody just came with their A plus game. So, every day has been a delight," he recalled.

"Jubilee" also launched its music album recently. With tracks such as "Udan Khatola" "Vo Tere Mere Ishq", "Chandu Naache", "Babuji Bhole Bhaale", the soundtrack is true to the era the story is set and harks back to the music of K L Sehgal and other greats.

The songs, voiced by Sunidhi Chauhan, Papon, Swanand Kirkire, Shahid Mallya and Mohammed Irfan, are composed by Amit Trivedi with lyrics penned by Kausar Munir.

Motwane said Trivedi initially "freaked out" to learn that he had to compose 10 songs but ended up creating a phenomenal album.

"He's never let me down as a composer ever in my life," the director said.
New York, Mar 31 (AP) In a highly sensitive US visit, Taiwan's president delivered the message on Thursday that keeping her self-ruled island strong will help ensure the world's safety  even as her travel is carefully calibrated to try to contain what furious Chinese officials warn could be a strong response.

Taiwan is billing President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to New York as simply a transit," but she kept a full agenda of events Wednesday and Thursday before flying to Central America.

Most provocatively in the eyes of Beijing, her trip is expected to include a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy next week.

In a sign of the sensitivity of her visit, little about Tsai's full itinerary has been made public, and her events Thursday were closed to the news media.

The visit  while important for Taiwan in demonstrating its overseas support  is fraught for both Taiwan and the US because China views Taiwan as its territory and treats any dealings between US and Taiwanese officials as a challenge to its sovereignty.

Even with the precautions, Tsai's trip, including any meetings with US lawmakers, raises tensions at a time when both China and the US and its allies are boosting their military preparedness for a possible confrontation in the Indo-Pacific.

China's often-stated determination to take Taiwan, by force if necessary, stands as one of the region's main flashpoints.

Chinese officials are focusing, angrily, on the expected meeting next week between Tsai and McCarthy.

It would be one of the highest-level in-person meetings between US and Taiwanese officials on US soil.

Tsai emphasized Taiwan's perseverance in the face of daunting challenges in a closed-door speech Thursday night hosted by the Hudson Institute think tank, which awarded her its leadership award.

She said the Taiwanese public remains unswerving in its commitment to democracy, and that Taiwan is the responsible, calm side in contrast to China, which is raising tensions in cross-strait relations, according to Taiwan's official Central News Agency.

"She made a strong point that the defense of Taiwan is actually the defense of America, said Miles Yu, a Hudson Institute director who attended the speech.

A few dozen pro-China demonstrators  holding signs declaring One China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China  gathered behind police barricades outside the hotel where Tsai spoke.

The United States' longstanding one-China policy acknowledges that the Chinese claim Taiwan as their territory. However, the US does not endorse that claim and remains Taiwan's most important provider of military hardware and other defense assistance.

On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning restated China's serious objections to any interactions between Tsai and US leaders.

China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and Taiwan, Mao told reporters in Beijing. China will continue to closely follow the situation and resolutely safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

A senior Chinese diplomat in Washington, embassy charge d'affaires Xu Xueyuan, pointed to the anticipated meeting between Tsai and the US House speaker as one that would have significant repercussions overall and a serious, serious, serious impact on US-China relations.

Neither Taiwan nor McCarthy, a California Republican, has publicly confirmed any in-person get-together. Analysts have framed a session between the two outside Washington as possibly less provocative than a trip by McCarthy to Taiwan, which he has said he also intends to make

Beijing responded to a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last August by launching missiles, deploying warships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait and simulating a blockade of the island.

China also temporarily suspended dialogue with the US on climate and other major issues and restricted military-to-military communication with the Pentagon.

The United States broke off official ties with Taiwan in 1979, when it formally established diplomatic relations with China. US law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of grave concern but does not explicitly say whether the US would commit troops.

Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he hoped any US officials meeting unofficially with the Taiwanese president emphasize that American support for Taiwan is "strong and unequivocal.

Tsai has made six previous trips through the US during her presidency, meeting with members of Congress and members of the Taiwanese diaspora.

Administration officials are underscoring that her trip is in line with what she and her predecessors have done in the past.

Tsai's "transit is consistent with our longstanding unofficial relationship with Taiwan and is consistent with the United States' one-China policy, which remains unchanged, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

The People's Republic of China should not use this transit as a pretext to step up any aggressive activity around the Taiwan Strait," Kirby said.

The United States and China have differences when it comes to Taiwan. But we have managed those differences for more than 40 years.

Tsai told reporters before boarding her plane to the United States that external pressure will not obstruct our resolution to engage with the world."

Tsai was expected to meet with the American Institute in Taiwan chair, Laura Rosenberger. AIT is the US government-run nonprofit that carries out unofficial relations with Taiwan.

Tsai's stops in Central America are expected to shore up Taiwan's partnerships there, after Honduras this month switched its diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China. Tsai accused China of using dollar diplomacy to lure away Honduras. Worldwide, just 13 countries now officially recognize Taiwan.

Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, the chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said the visit is a chance for Tsai to convey to the Congress how important the partnership between the US and Taiwan is and what's necessary to preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have grown as China under President Xi Jinping seeks to expand its regional and global influence. Passage of what the US said was a Chinese spy balloon across the US this winter heightened Americans' sense of challenge from China. China says it was a research balloon that was blown off course.(AP) RUP
Dar Es Salaam, Mar 31 (AP) When Vice President Kamala Harris touches down in Lusaka, Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she'll see a glittering new airport that's doubled in size.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, it's a reminder of China's deep influence there.

Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent that's rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris' journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country.

Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt. Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Biden's administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijing's sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition.

However, she acknowledged there's limited time for the US to make inroads on the continent.

I do think there's a window, and we have made a concerted, intentional effort to demonstrate our commitment and our willingness to invest in a relationship, she told reporters earlier in the trip.

I do believe the window is definitely open now, and I do believe that based on what we do now, the window will continue to be open. But it will be a function of the investments that we make starting now to create the momentum that is necessary for this approach to endure.

China's roots in both Tanzania and Zambia run deep. In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzania's Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

Today, China is Africa's largest two-way trading partner with USD 254 billion of business in 2021, according to the United States Institute of Peace.

That's four times the amount of trade between the US and Africa. In addition, dealing with Beijing features less admonishments about democracy than with Washington.

Most African countries are rightly unapologetic about their close ties to China, Nigeria's vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, tweeted on Thursday.

China shows up where and when the West will not and or are reluctant.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has worked on Africa issues in Congress, expressed frustration over China's growing influence here.

We switched from being the No. 1 trade partner or the No. 1 investment partner in two dozen countries, to China being the No. 1 trade and investment partner, he told reporters aboard Air Force 2 on the flight to Ghana at the beginning of Harris' trip. I think our challenge for this decade is to address that.

Biden has been taking steps toward that, such as hosting a summit for African leaders in December, where he announced that he wants to commit USD 55 billion to the continent in the coming years.

Harris has made announcements as well during her trip, including more than USD 1 billion in public and private money for economic development, USD 100 million for security assistance in West Africa and USD 500 million to facilitate trade with Tanzania.

However, there's skepticism about whether the US will follow through on its promises, and Harris has been faced with not-so-subtle hints that Africa expects more. For example, the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania bluntly said they hope Biden chooses to visit their countries during his expected trip to Africa later this year, which would be his first to the continent as president.

By comparison, Tanzania was among the first countries that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited after becoming president in 2013. And after Xi secured a third term, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African head of state to visit Beijing.

Kamala faces Chinese dominance in Tanzania, the Tanzania Business Insight publication tweeted Wednesday.

Ian Johnson, a former China-based journalist who works at the US-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Beijing presents a powerful narrative in the developing world as a country that rapidly built its economy and pulled much of its population out of poverty.

African leaders think let's see what we can learn from China, he said, adding that there's a certain fascination in how they did it.

Johnson also said China views Africa differently than the US

We have a tendency to see Africa as a series of problems  wars, famines, something like that, he said. "But in China's eyes, Africa is much more of an opportunity.

Edem Selormey, who conducts public opinion research at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, said the feeling is often mutual.

China's influence in Africa is largely seen as positive, she said. And the US trails China in that regard.

The difference, she said, is often about what citizens see on the ground, such as infrastructure projects, and the US has been missing from this picture for a while.

John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the debt that comes from China's involvement is ultimately corrosive. He said African leaders are beginning to realize that China is not really their friend.

China's interests in the region are purely selfish, as opposed to the United States, he said.

It's a sentiment that draws scoffs in some corners of Africa.

America is like playing the role of a big Uncle Sam in trying to defend African countries against what they think is the encroachment of China into the liberty of African countries through these loans, said Tanzania-based analyst Mohamed Issa Hemed.

However, he added, China is ahead of the US in many, many ways."

Daniel Russel, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, summed up the African perspective as enough with the lectures about China. They've got something we want. And they've got it right here.

When it comes to US hopes for Africa, he said, you can't beat something with nothing.(AP) RUP

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London, Mar 31 (The Conversation) Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, warned Russians that they must prepare for a forever war. Things will get much harder, Peskov told a gathering of the countrys political elite. This will take a very, very long time.

Its a far cry from Vladimir Putins special military operation. This was supposed to sweep into Kyiv in a matter of days, weeks at the most. Once there, Russia would be able to free Ukrainians from the gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who were preventing Ukraine from assuming its natural role as a part of the motherland.

A war which was going to take days or weeks could now take many years. And far from rescuing Ukraine from fascists, the conflict is now a bitter struggle for Russias continued existence. As Putin told workers at an aviation factory recently: For us, this is not a geopolitical task, but a task of the survival of Russian statehood, creating conditions for the future development of the country and our children.

But then Kremlin narratives have been notably flexible and self-serving over the years. This was brilliantly highlighted in the recent BBC documentary Putin versus the West, which took a close look at shifts in Russian political rhetoric over the past decade.

This is the period we might accurately refer to as Putin II. In 2012, Putin resumed the presidency after getting around the constitutional ban on serving three consecutive terms by making his prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, president for one and then resuming the top job. Since then he has ramped up the historical nationalism somewhat.

But even as far back as 2008, in a meeting with then US president, George W. Bush, Putin was questioning Ukrainian sovereignty: You have to understand, George. Ukraine is not even a country.

Shortly after his troops entered Crimea, leading to its annexation in March 2014, he doubled down on this theme, insisting that it was the Bolsheviks (may god judge them) who gave much of south-east Russia to Kyiv. In the same speech he said Nikita Khrushchev, a former leader of the USSR, may have added Crimea to Ukraine to atone for the famine of the 1930s  but that this was something for historians to figure out.

This message of Ukraine as a historical aberration has been a common and fairly unwavering element of Putins discourse since 2012.

Firehose of falsehood

In 2016, the Rand Corporation, a US thinktank, developed a model for Russian propaganda it called the firehose of falsehood. The Kremlin uses all the machinery of state (including a tame media) to embellish and perpetuate its lies with the purpose of confusing the widest possible audience.

There have been several constant mantras emerging from the Kremlin over the war and in its build-up. One is that Ukraines pro-Russian former president Viktor Yanukovych had been ousted in a coup, meaning that all subsequent Ukrainians governments have been illegitimate.

The Kremlin logic trail then continues that, as a result, Ukraine is not a democracy. Of course, the fact that after the invasion began, the Zelensky government cracked down on pro-Russian agents and banned pro-Russia political parties is taken as further proof of Kyivs lack of commitment to democracy.

So, if not a democracy, Ukraine must be a fascist state. This old chestnut goes back to the aftermath of the second world war and was used to quell any pro-independence sentiment in Ukraine and Byelorussia (Belarus).

As a British journalist in Russia at the time, Paul Winterton wrote of Stalins rhetoric in his memoir Report on Russia: if anyone attacks us or offends us or effectively disagrees with us, we will call him a fascist. Some people are bound to take up the cry. Putin clearly learned much from his predecessor.

He has learned from the Nazi playbook, too, insisting he sent his troops into Ukraine to prevent genocide of the Russian-speaking population (Hitler insisted that German-speaking Poles were being threatened in the Danzig corridor and the ethnic German population of the Sudetenland needed his protection).

Perhaps his cheekiest claim was that the invasion was legal under the UN charter. Having ratified the existence of the Donetsk Peoples Republic and the Luhansk Peoples Republic and signed treaties of friendship and mutual assistance, Putin said: I made a decision to carry out a special military operation. Its goal is the protection of people who, during eight years, suffer from abuse and genocide from the Kyiv regime.

In other words, he was legally bound to invade Ukraine.

Ignoring the signs

It must have been obvious for years that something was bound to happen. But, on the whole, the west preferred to ignore the signs. Poland may have clearly sounded the alarm about Russian aggression as early as 2015, but other European countries preferred not to hear it. Germany wanted cheap gas and still believed economic integration with Russia would bring peace.

In Britain, the ruling Conservative party  including Boris Johnson  had enjoyed cordial relations with (and received millions in donations from) the Russian establishment.

In Hungary, the prime minister Viktor Orban had largely modelled his illiberal democracy on Putins Russia, and has maintained tacit support for Russia even since the invasion. There are also close ties between members of the Italian government and Russia  although Giorgia Meloni defied political pressure to declare support for Kyiv.

But, for years, Putins messaging had been there for all to see. But much of the world was unable  or unwilling  to see Putins rhetoric for what it was: paving the way for an aggressive invasion aimed at conquest.

So far it appears that most Russians continue to back Putin and his invasion. But now that it looks set to become a forever war, itll be instructive to see whether  and how quickly  that might change. (The Conversation) MRJ
Washington, Mar 31 (PTI) Indian-American Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy have claimed that former US president Donald Trump's indictment in a criminal case was about "revenge" and said it was a "dark day" in the history of the country.

A grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday voted to indict Trump for his role in paying hush money to a porn star. A New York Times report added that an indictment is expected to be announced in the coming days.

By then, prosecutors working for the district attorney Alvin L. Bragg will have asked Trump to surrender and to face arraignment on charges that remain unknown for now.

In an interview with Fox News, Haley said, "From everything I've seen from this New York district attorney, this would be something he'd be doing for political points. And I think what we know is when you get into political prosecutions like this, it's more about revenge than it is about justice".

"I think the country would be better off talking about things that the American public cares about, than have to deal with some revenge by some political people in New York," she said.

Trump, who has announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential polls, is the first president in American history to face criminal charges. "I believe this witch-hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden," he said in a strongly worded statement after the news of his indictment broke.

Ramaswamy termed Trump's indictment "politically motivated" which would "undermine public trust in our electoral system and our justice system".

"It is un-American for the ruling party to use police power to arrest its political rivals. Principles go beyond partisanship. The American people should decide who governs, not politically ambitious prosecutors," he said.

"Our entire country is skating on thin ice right now and we cannot afford to politicise the justice system or else we will reach our breaking point. I pray for our national unity and call on every current and prospective presidential candidate in both parties to condemn this dangerously politicized prosecution," Ramaswamy said.

Conservative Political Action Committee chairman Matt Schlapp said that he is appalled by the news of Trump's indictment and strongly condemned the "abuse of power" by New York district attorney Alvin L. Bragg.

"Americans have lost confidence in institutions and government experts because truth has become a casualty to raw political power," he said.

The renewed prosecutorial pursuit and indictment of former president Trump is an "outrageous breach of constitutional norms and a continuation of his maniacal political prosecution", Schlapp said.

"We believe that the authoritarian punishment of political opponents is deeply un-American and is more akin to the proceedings of a kangaroo court in a corrupt third-world banana republic. For too long now our justice system has been at the disposal of unhinged bureaucrats, overzealous activist judges and radicalized individuals who have transformed the institutions into political weapons," he said.

Republican National Committee chairperson Ronna McDaniel said, "When our justice system is weaponized as a political tool, it endangers all of us. This (indictment) is a blatant abuse of power from a DA focused on political vengeance instead of keeping people safe."
I just want to be a sane person. In 1994, embarking on her acting career at just 15 years old, Claire Danes already knew what she wanted from the Hollywood dream. She didnt want to fill her home with statuettes, add infinite zeros to her bank account or put her name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The greatest desire of that shy adolescent, who was immortalized skating down Venice Beach for the magazine ET, was to be a person who has a life and who acts. Almost three decades later, the New Yorker has achieved it, thanks to her ability to reconcile one of Hollywoods most low-key lifestyles with some of the eras greatest performances. Now she has added yet another achievement to her trajectory with the series Fleishman is in Trouble.

Danes performance in Fleishman is in Trouble has been considered the best of the year in television.

The miniseries, based on the book by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, tells the story of Toby and Rachel Fleishman (played by Jesse Eisenberg and Danes), who divorce after 15 years of marriage and two children. But Tobys return to dating is disrupted when Rachel decides to vanish without warning, leaving her ex-husband in charge of the kids. The shows nine episodes delve into a particular generations experience of mid-life crisis. It has sparked debate: outlets like The Cut have coined the term the Fleishman Effect to define the type of urban, professionally successful upper-middle-class women who find themselves in an existential spiral at that age. Claire Danes gives life to the role that press have called the best performance of the year, though award season left her empty-handed: Jennifer Coolidges performance in The White Lotus, also a pop phenomenon, overtook her.

The Rachel of Fleishman is in Trouble checks all the boxes shared by Danes characters over time. The New Yorker brought her characteristic intensity, determination and versatility to the roles physical and intellectual challenge. In the now-cult series that catapulted her to fame, My So-Called Life, 13-year-old Danes gave a voice, face and spirit to an entire generation in her role as Angela Chase. She left millions of young women frustrated over the short life of her platonic love for Jordan Catalano. After the role, which won her a Golden Globe, she went on to shine in Little Women, then starred in another nineties hit, Baz Luhrmanns Romeo and Juliet. The director called her the Meryl Streep of her generation. Filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and Oliver Stone agreed about her raw talent.

Stone himself wrote Danes a letter of recommendation for her application to Yale University, where she studied psychology. I was told that my going to college wouldnt be good for my career. I think thats nonsense. Its good to empower yourself by cutting yourself off from this business every once in a while, she said. When her popularity was at its peak, the New Yorker decided to slow down and enjoy what she hadnt gotten to do: living a normal youth. The daughter of a photographer and a textile designer, she had left school at age 12 to attend to professional obligations. Her education consisted of 20-minute classes in a trailer with a private tutor in the breaks during shoots. I would be doing a death scene and then go back to my geometry lesson, she told The Washington Post. Performing, for her, was a response to her lifelong fear of being alone: Acting is the greatest answer to my loneliness that I have found.

Putting education ahead of her meteoric career had a price that few would be willing to pay. After forming an unforgettable duo with Leonardo DiCaprio in the reinterpretation of Shakespeares classic, the director James Cameron wanted to resurrect the couple in his next mega-production, Titanic. Claire Danes rejected the role, which went to Kate Winslet, in one of the most successful and influential movies in film history. Danes doesnt regret it. She was terrified about the levels of fame that she and DiCaprio had begun to experience: It was going to propel me to something I knew I didnt have the resources to cope with. I knew I had to do a lot of foundation building.

While DiCaprio decided to climb aboard Titanic, Danes decided to slow down her fame before crashing. Ron Davis (Getty Images)

Danes spent two years at Yale enough, she said, to learn how to think critically before getting back her lost time as an actress. Whether because of her own will or her inability to submit to the industrys demands, it took her time to recover her career: she spent eight years making professional turns that seemed to put her future in danger. A vocal feminist long before the Me Too movement was popular in Hollywood Hills, she has spoken about the excessive physical scrutiny that follows actresses. I remember a couple of Emmys ago, Lena Dunham and I were on the carpet together. We were singled out and criticized for having different body types. I was too skinny and she was too big. I feel like my body is monitored and commented on infinitely more than my male counterpart, the 43-year-old actress told People.

In 2010, Danes turned to television to reach her dream of a stimulating but low-profile career. The miniseries Temple Gradin, and her role as the impulsive FBI agent Carrie Mathison in Homeland, turned her into the most-awarded actress this century. Four Golden Globes and three Emmys adorn her shelves, among more than a dozen nominations, to which her work in Fleishman is in Trouble added this year. Danes used the red carpet at the most recent Golden Globes ceremony to show off her pregnant belly, which will be her third child with Hugh Dancy after 10-year-old Cyrus and four-year-old Rowan. The couple met on the set of Evening and said I do in 2009.

Claire Danes and her partner, actor Hugh Dancy, at the premiere of their new show. Roy Rochlin (Getty Images)

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Tallinn, Mar 31 (AP) Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in Belarus along with part of Russia's tactical nuclear arsenal, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that his country intended to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The strategic nuclear weapons such as missile-borne warheads that Lukashenko mentioned during his state-of-the nation address would pose an even greater threat, if Moscow moves them to the territory of its neighbour and ally.

Belarus was a staging ground for amassing Russian troops before the invasion of Ukraine a little over 13 months ago.

Lukashenko, the only person to have served as president since the country's independence from the Soviet Union, delivered his annual address amid escalating tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

Both he and Putin have alleged that Western powers want to ruin Russia and Belarus.

Putin and I will decide and introduce here, if necessary, strategic weapons, and they must understand this, the scoundrels abroad, who today are trying to blow us up from inside and outside," the Belarusian leader said.

"We will stop at nothing to protect our countries, our state and their peoples. (AP)

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Pattaya (Thailand), Mar 31 (AP) More than 60 self-exiled members of a Chinese Christian church who were briefly detained in Thailand were released on Friday after paying fines, supporters said, allaying fears that they were about to be returned to their home country, where they face possible persecution.

Deana Brown, one of two American supporters who accompanied the church members, said a court in the coastal city of Pattaya where the 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church had been taken released them late Friday afternoon.

She said they were headed to the local police station to retrieve their passports, which were seized when they were detained on Thursday.

After that they were expected to return to where they have been staying, she said. No official confirmation of the court's action was immediately available.

Thirty-two adult Chinese nationals were charged with overstaying their visas, Col. Tawee Kutthalaeng, chief of the Pattaya-area Nong Prue police station, said earlier. Their children were not charged, and the two American citizens with them were not placed under arrest, he said.

Members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also called the Mayflower Church, came to Thailand in 2022 seeking asylum. The current status of their request was not immediately clear.

They fled China in 2019 alleging that their members were being persecuted by government security forces, initially settling on South Korea's Jeju Island. They left South Korea for Thailand after meetings with local and US officials made it clear that prospects for refuge there were dim.

Brown, CEO of the Texas-based Freedom Seekers International, an organisation whose mission statement says it seeks to rescue the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries," said that when the group looked into renewing their visas, they had been told that there was a new requirement that any Chinese citizen renewing a visa in Thailand must report to the Chinese Embassy first. The visas expired several months ago.

When they told us that, we knew that nobody could get their visas, said Brown, who was allowed to keep her phone when she also was briefly in police custody.

There was no way, because as soon as they walk into the Chinese Embassy they're gone, we would not see them again. They've been hiding out since then.

Brown said she is working to resettle the church members in Tyler, Texas, where her organisation is based, but that they had run into problems with their visas in Thailand.

She said she assumed that she and the other American, a nurse, had been held by police because they were there at the time the church members were taken into custody.

The press section at the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok did not answer its telephone and the embassy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The US Embassy said it had no immediate comment on the case.

Upon their 2022 arrival in Thailand, church members told reporters that they had been stalked, harassed and received threatening calls and messages even while they were in South Korea. They said relatives in China had been summoned, interrogated and intimidated.

At that time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the matter was not a diplomatic question and declined to comment further.

In China, Christians are legally allowed to worship only in churches affiliated with Communist Party-controlled religious groups, but for decades, the authorities largely tolerated independent, unregistered house churches. They have tens of millions of worshippers, possibly outnumbering those in the official groups.

However, in recent years, house churches have come under heavy pressure, with many prominent ones shut down. Unlike previous crackdowns, such as Beijing's ban on Falun Gong, a spiritual movement it labels a cult, the authorities have also targeted some believers not explicitly opposed to the Chinese state.

Most members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church are young, married middle-class couples, with their children making up about half the group.

Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid, another Texas Christian group helping the church, told the AP that American lawmakers were pressing the US State Department to get involved.

In a statement on his website, Fu said that time was of the essence.

Before the Chinese government demands repatriation, the international community can help prevent this tragedy from happening, he said.

China is one of 15 nations that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in its annual report last year recommended be designated as countries of particular concern for repression of religious groups.

It said the ruling Chinese Communist Party has long repressed religious freedom, and in recent years it has become increasingly hostile toward religion, implementing campaigns to sinicize' Islam, Tibetan Buddhism, and Christianity to rid them of alleged foreign' influences.

These policies require religious groups to support CCP rule and its political objectives, including by altering their religious teachings to conform to CCP ideology and policy. Both registered and unregistered religious groups and individuals who run afoul of the CCP face harassment, detention, arrest,imprisonment, and other abuses. (AP) PY

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Beijing, Mar 31 (PTI) China and Japan on Friday set up a military hotline to strengthen their capability of managing and controlling maritime and air incidents arising due to their aggressive patrolling of the disputed waters in the East China Sea.

The hotline mechanism was announced ahead of the visit by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to Beijing this weekend for talks with his Chinese counterpart Qing Gang on improving the relations between the two countries.

This will be the first visit by the Japanese Foreign Minister to China since 2019 when Hayashis predecessor Toshimitsu Motegi went to Beijing after which China shut down its borders to combat COVID-19. China reopened the country for international travel early this year.

Announcing the hotline, the Chinese Defence Ministry said as agreed upon by the defence departments of China and Japan, the two sides have recently completed the construction of a direct telephone line for the sea and air liaison mechanism and will maintain communication on the arrangement for the launch.

The establishment of the direct telephone line will effectively enrich the communication channels between the defence departments of China and Japan, strengthen the capabilities of the two sides to manage and control maritime and air crises, and help further maintain regional peace and stability, the ministry said.

China and Japan have a long-festering dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

The islands are referred to as the Senkakus by Japan, while China named them Diaoyu.

Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China as a rebel province, also claims the islands but has forged agreements with Japan to avoid any conflict as Japan maintains close defence ties with Taipei.

The hotline announced by the Chinese defence ministry is regarded as significant as the navies and air forces of both countries aggressively patrolled the islands to assert their claims.
Peshawar, Mar 31 (PTI) A Sikh businessman was shot dead on Friday by unknown assailants here, in the latest incident of targeted attacks against minority communities in Pakistan.

The incident took place at 3 pm when armed men on a motorcycle opened fire at Dayal Singh, a businessman in Peshawar's Dir Colony area, police said.

The gunmen fled the scene after committing the crime, they said.

Police have collected 30 bore bullet shells from the site of the crime. CCTV footage from the shop has been obtained and the police have launched an investigation into the attack.

The Peshawar killing comes a day after a Hindu doctor was shot dead by unknown assailants in Karachi.

Last week, shopkeepers from the minority Hindu community were assaulted in the Sindh province for "allegedly violating the Ramzan ordinance," according to the Express Tribune newspaper.

About 15,000 Sikhs live in Peshawar, mostly in the Jogan Shah neighbourhood of the provincial capital Peshawar.

Most of the members of the Sikh community in Peshawar are involved in business, while some also have pharmacies.

In September last year, a well-known Sikh hakeem (Unani medicine practitioner) was shot dead by unidentified gunmen inside his clinic in Peshawar.

In 2018, Charanjit Singh, a prominent Sikh community member, was killed by unknown men in Peshawar.

Similarly, news channel anchor Ravinder Singh was killed in 2020 in the city. In 2016, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf National Assembly member Soren Singh was also killed in Peshawar.

Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.

According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in the Muslim-majority country.

Muslims account for about 96 per cent of Pakistans 207 million population, Hindus 2.1 per cent and Christians about 1.6 per cent according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates.

The majority of Pakistans Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim residents.

The Ahmadis, Sikhs and Parsis are also among the notable religious minorities in Pakistan.
Washington, Mar 31 (AP) Under pressure from the US government, TikTok is now facing the music with the possibility of a nationwide ban if it defies a government order to sell to an American company  unless the popular social media app can convince a high-powered panel that its data security restructuring plan sufficiently guards against national security concerns.

At the heart of this social media business and national security drama is the increasingly tense relations between the US and China.

The video-sharing platform with 150 million US users is best known for quick snippets of viral dance routines and has been under scrutiny for years by federal authorities who say that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, could share sensitive user data with the Chinese government, or push propaganda and misinformation on its behalf.

Having already banned the shipment of certain technologies to China, and recently passing new legislation banning the app on government devices, lawmakers want to pursue a nationwide ban on the app if the tech firm can't be sold to an American buyer.

Enter: The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The little-known but potentially potent government agency known as CFIUS is tasked with investigating corporate deals for national security concerns and holds power to force the company to change.

WHY IS CFIUS SCRUTINIZING TIKTOK?

For at least two years, the U.S. government has tried to force TikTok ownership to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, though CFIUS' review of the social media app goes back at least to 2019.

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed in 2020 that CFIUS was reviewing whether then-President Donald Trump could ban TikTok in the US.

Its members agreed that TikTok cannot operate in the US in its current form because it risks sending back information on 100 million Americans, Mnuchin said at the time.

As geopolitical tensions between China and the US have soared in recent months, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified last week before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

He was grilled about online safety and user privacy in a hostile hearing that did little to ease lawmakers' concerns. Chew was repeatedly questioned about the Chinese Communist Party's influence on ByteDance but deflected.

TikTok is not available in mainland China, and today we're headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore, but I'm not saying that the founders of ByteDance are not Chinese, nor am I saying that we don't make use of Chinese employees, just like many other companies around the world, he added. We do use their expertise on some engineering projects.

WHAT IS CFIUS?

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen oversees CFIUS, a committee made up of members from the State, Justice, Energy and Commerce Departments among others, which investigates national security risks from foreign investments in American firms.

The committee screens business deals between US firms and foreign investors and can block sales or force parties to change the terms of an agreement for the purpose of protecting national security.

The committee's powers were significantly expanded in 2018 through an act of Congress called the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, known as FIRRMA.

In September, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that expands the factors that the committee should consider when reviewing deals  such as how the deal impacts the US supply chain or risks to Americans' sensitive personal data.

SELL, BAN OR ORACLE?

Defying CFIUS' orders to sell ultimately could mean doing business with the company may violate the law. That would suck the life out of its business operations, such as banking, payroll, advertising, and app store services.

But the company said it's already mitigating national security concerns with a USD 1.5 billion mitigation plan called Project Texas that would route all US user data to servers owned and maintained by the US software giant Oracle.

When that process is complete, all protected US data will be under the protection of US law and under the control of the U.S.-led security team. Under this structure, there is no way for the Chinese government to access it or compel access to it, Chew said.

While CFIUS can adopt such mitigation agreements, it's not clear if the committee will accept TikTok's proposed alternative, said Anupam Chander, a Georgetown University technology law professor.

If CFIUS rejects TikTok's preferred solution, Chander said the federal agency should have an obligation to explain how it finds that plan to be insufficient given that it amounts to an enormous restructuring of the company.

TikTok proposes lots of well-paid, third-party auditors that would be doing this kind of routine monitoring, Chander said. This is an expensive proposition for TikTok but by no means would I treat this as window dressing.

Though Chew last week also insisted that the company was not interested in a sale, TikTok has considered it before. TikTok had advanced negotiations with Microsoft after the company was put against the wall by the Trump administration in 2020, facing either an outright ban and CFIUS' divestment order.

Microsoft said TikTok ultimately rejected their offer, and though TikTok later said it would sell to Oracle and Walmart, it doesn't appear that Project Texas amounts to a sale, Chander said.

Should TikTok agree to a sale in the future, not only would CFIUS have to approve that transaction, but the Chinese government  which has said it won't support forced divestment  could also intervene.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Leaders in the US, European Union, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Taiwan have also banned TikTok on government-issued devices and at least two countries have banned TikTok outright.

Afghanistan's Taliban leadership last year banned it on the grounds of protecting young people from being misled, while India imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps in 2020 over privacy and security concerns.

The ban came shortly after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border killed 20 Indian soldiers and injured dozens.

Historically, CFIUS has focused on things like shipping and manufacturing when reviewing transactions for national security concerns, but it signalled deeper interest in popular social media when it ordered the dating app Grindr to divest in 2019, Chander said.

The function of CFIUS was also in the spotlight last year after billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter, plunging the microblogging platform into chaos. Yellen waffled on whether or not CFIUS would or could review that sale, given Musk's investments in China as well as significant Saudi interest. (AP) PY

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Lahore, Mar 31 (PTI) In a setback to the Pakistan Army, the Lahore High Court on Friday suspended handing over more than 45,000 acres of state land on a 30-year lease to the military in the Punjab province.

Punjabs caretaker government last month allotted 45,266 acres of state land on lease to the Pakistan Army in three districts -- Khushab, Bhakar and Sahiwal -- of Punjab province for the "corporate agriculture farming" on the latters "request".

The government cited section 10 of the Colonisation of Government Lands (Punjab) Act 1912 to allot the land to the Army for a 30-year lease.

The Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan challenged the decision in the Lahore High Court (LHC), contending that the governments notification was illegal as the caretaker government is not vested with any power to sanction it.

The LHCs Justice Abid Hussain Chattah suspended the governments notification and sought a reply from the ministry of defence and the Punjab government for May 9.

Under the law, the caretaker government can only perform the day-to-day functions of the province.

The petitioners counsel said the exercise of powers under section 10 of the Colonisation Act does not fall under any of the categories of permissible actions by the caretaker government of Mohsin Naqvi.

He argued the handing over of the state land to the Army is also in violation of the "Doctrine of Public Trust".

There is no provision in the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 which authorises or empowers the army to undertake any activity beyond its composition for the purposes of welfare unless the federal government expressly granted permission to do so, he argued, contending the Army has no jurisdiction to directly or indirectly engage in "business ventures" of any nature outside its composition.
London, Mar 31 (PTI) The UKs Opposition parties are piling on the pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over a recent Budget policy that could benefit his wife, Akshata Murty, through her business interest in a childcare firm.

Murty, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, is listed as a shareholder in Koru Kids Ltd which is likely to benefit from a new pilot scheme announced in the Spring Budget earlier this month to incentivise people to become childminders.

While 10 Downing Street has stated that Sunak had followed the UKs ministerial code on the matter, the Opposition has called for further explanations.

"There are serious questions for Rishi Sunak to answer over any potential conflict of interest, and any extra income his family could receive from his own government's policy, said Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain, who has called on the Independent Adviser on Ministers Interests Sir Laurie Magnus to investigate.

First reported by the i newspaper, the UKs Companies House register lists Murty as a shareholder in Koru Kids  one of six childminder agencies in England listed on the government's website with contact details.

Labours Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, said Sunak must explain why he failed to come clean about the shares his family held in a company now set to financially benefit from a childcare policy announced in his Budget, when queried during a parliamentary session of the Liaison Committee earlier this week.

He must urgently correct the record and set out what steps he took to avoid an actual or perceived conflict of interest. No proper explanation has yet been provided by the Prime Minister as to why this was not deemed necessary to publish in the register of members interests, she said.

At a hearing of the Liaison Committee  made up of all House of Commons committee chairs  Labour MP Catherine McKinnell had asked Sunak if he had any interest to declare in relation to the new childcare policy.

"No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way," he said.

According to The Guardian newspaper, Sunaks spokesperson said the Prime Minister had told the Downing Street Permanent Secretary of any relevant interests when he took the job as PM last year and that the government and the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests will publish an annual statement of all those interests in May.

He has followed the process in terms of declaring his interests as set out in the ministerial code, the spokesperson said.
Bucha (Ukraine), Mar 31 (AP) Ukrainians marked the anniversary Friday of the liberation of Bucha with calls for remembrance and justice after a brutal Russian occupation.

We will not let it be forgotten, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a formal ceremony in Bucha, vowing to punish those who committed outrages there. Human dignity will not let it be forgotten. On the streets of Bucha, the world has seen Russian evil. Evil unmasked.

The town near Kyiv has come to stand as a symbol of atrocities committed by Moscow's military since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Ukrainian troops who retook the town found hundreds of bodies, on the streets, in yards and homes, in a mass grave. Some showed signs of torture.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, fighting continued Friday: Russia used its long-range arsenal to bombard anew several areas, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes.

And the Kremlin-allied president of neighboring Belarus raised the stakes when he said Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in his country, along with part of Moscow's tactical nuclear arsenal. Moscow said earlier this week that it planned to place in Belarus tactical nuclear weapons, which are comparatively short-range and low-yield. Strategic nuclear weapons such as missile-borne warheads would bring a greater threat.

At the official commemoration in Bucha, Zelenskyy was joined by the president of Moldova and the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The Kremlin's forces occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month. When Ukrainian troops retook the town, they encountered horrific scenes. Over weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including children.

Russian soldiers on intercepted phone conversations called it zachistka  cleansing, according to an investigation by The Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline.

Such organized cruelty, which Russian troops employed in past conflicts as well, notably in Chechnya, was later repeated in Russia-occupied territories across Ukraine.

Zelenskyy handed out medals to soldiers, police officers, doctors, teachers and emergency workers in Bucha, as well as to the families of two soldiers killed during the defense of the Kyiv region.

Ukrainian people, you have stopped the biggest anti-human force of our times, he said. You have stopped the force which has no respect and wants to destroy everything that gives meaning to human life.

More than 1,400 civilian deaths, including 37 children, were documented in the Bucha district by Ukrainian authorities, Zelenskyy said. More than 175 people were found in mass graves and alleged torture chambers, he said. Ukraine and other countries, including the U.S., have demanded that Russia answer for war crimes.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin alleged Friday that many of the dead civilians were tortured. Almost 100 Russian soldiers are suspected of war crimes, he said on his Telegram channel, and indictments have been issued for 35 of them.

Two Russian servicemen have already been sentenced by a Ukrainian court to 12 years in prison for illegally depriving civilians of liberty, and for looting.

I am convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russia's planned strategy aimed at destroying Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation, Kostin said.

In Geneva, the U.N. human rights chief said his office has so far verified the deaths of more than 8,400 civilians in Ukraine since Russia's invasion  a count believed to be far short of the true toll. Volker Turk told the U.N. Human Rights Council that severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine amid Russia's invasion.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, along with announcing the possibility of Russian strategic nuclear weapons being put on his country's soil, at the same time called for a cease-fire in Ukraine. A truce, he said in his state-of-the-nation address in Minsk, must be announced without any preconditions, and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted.

It's necessary to stop now before an escalation begins, Lukashenko said, adding that an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using Western-supplied weapons would bring an irreversible escalation of the conflict.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Russia has to keep fighting, claiming Ukraine has rejected any talks under pressure from its Western allies.

Peskov also dismissed remarks by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's that the European Union was mulling the deployment of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, calling that extremely dangerous.

Russia has maintained its bombardment of Ukraine with the war already into its second year. Along with the two civilians killed Friday, 14 other civilians were wounded early Friday as Russia launched missiles, shells, exploding drones and gliding bombs, the Ukraine presidential office said.

Two Russian missiles hit the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, damaging eight residential buildings., the office said. Nine Russian missiles struck Kharkiv, damaging residential buildings, roads, gas stations and a prison. And Russian forces shelled the southern city and region of Kherson.

A barrage at Zaporizhzhia and its outskirts caused major fires. (AP)



NSA
Warsaw (Poland), Mar 31 (AP) The leaders of five European Union members helping the transit of Ukrainian farm produce to third countries on Friday called for EU action over a glut that resulted from the goods not leaving for their destinations, bringing down prices in their own markets and angering farmers.

Poland, Romania and other countries in the region stepped in to help the transit after Russia blocked traditional routes when it invaded Ukraine 13 months ago. The EU, which borders Ukraine, has waived customs duties and import quotas to facilitate the transport  also through Romania and Bulgaria  to non-EU markets that had counted on the deliveries.

But farmers in transit countries say much of the Ukrainian produce  especially the grain  stays, flooding their own markets and bringing prices down while fertilizer and energy costs are sky-rocketing.

In a letter Friday to the European Commission and its leader, Ursula von der Leyen, the prime ministers of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria said the channels meant to take Ukrainian produce to the destination points are not working as expected.

They appealed to the EU's executive arm to consider the urgent purchase by the 27-member bloc of the surplus produce and to provide funds for the speedy development of transport and storage infrastructure.

They said there was especially an unprecedented inflow of "grain, oil seeds, eggs, poultry, sugar, apple juice, apples, berries, flour, honey and noodles.

We are calling on the Commission to analyze the possibility of purchase of the surplus grain from member states (bordering Ukraine) for humanitarian reasons," the prime ministers said in their letter.

We are also renewing our appeal for financial support on the part of the EU for the needs of a faster development of the transport infrastructures," they said.

Their governments are facing pressure and protests from farmers anxious over dropping prices and lack of storage for this year's crops, due to the glut of Ukrainian produce. Bulgarian farmers staged border crossing blockades this week, while Poland's agriculture minister on Wednesday vowed financial and infrastructure assistance, following hours of heated talks with farmer organizations.

Last week, Brussels offered a total of 56.3 million euros ($61 million) in compensation to affected farmers, of which Bulgaria would receive 16.7 million and Poland almost 30 million  sums that protesters and the governments say are insufficient. (AP)



NSA
Panaji, Mar 31 (PTI) Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday informed the state legislative Assembly that the hotel that had employed the man accused of attacking a Dutch tourist had not verified his background.

A woman tourist from Netherlands holidaying in Goa was assaulted by a hotel staffer at Morjim in Pernem in the intervening night of March 29 and 30. The accused also attacked Eurica Dias, a local man who had rushed to the woman's rescue.

Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai had moved a Calling Attention motion on the floor of the House about the incident claiming that such things bring disrepute to the tourism industry.

Responding to the motion, the chief minister said the accused was arrested by the Pernem police immediately after it received the complaint.

The police probe has revealed that the hotel had not confirmed the background of the accused staffer, and the tourism industry has been warned against employing people of criminal background, Sawant said.

While not disclosing if the accused had any criminal record, the chief minister said all hotels have been asked to enroll their staff for Goa Labour Card, which will help in keeping their record and permanent addresses.

Dias, who rushed to rescue the Dutch tourist from her attacker, is currently undergoing treatment at the Goa Medical College and Hospital and his condition is stable, he said.
The story seems straight out of a Michel Houellebecq novel. Its all there: abundant depravity, existential angst, pornography and contemporary art. But perhaps its a bit more prosaic: the story of an aging man going through a rough patch who gets tangled up in a bad situation.

The experimental film in which Houellebecq has sex with several women cleared a decisive legal hurdle, despite the French writers attempts to block the films release. Shortly after Dutch art collective KIRAC (keeping.it.real.art.critics) won the lawsuit brought by Houellebecq, his lawyer said they would appeal the decision, reported Le Figaro.

The author of acclaimed novels like Platform (2001) and Aneantir (2022) asked an Amsterdam court to prohibit the films distribution claiming it violated his privacy rights. This is the second time Houellebecq has lost a lawsuit against KIRAC. In early March, a French court ruled that the films trailer did not violate his privacy. Initially scheduled for March 11, the two lawsuits postponed the premiere.

Houellebecq in a scene from 'Kirac 27'

What began as an artistic fling between a well-known rabble-rouser and a filmmaker with a similar penchant for provocation ended in a vitriolic falling out replete with accusations of deceit and disloyalty. Its a dramatic comedy  a dramedy  in three acts.

Act I

Paris, early November 2022. Houellebecqs wife, Qianyum Lysis Li, has dinner with visual artist and KIRAC principal Stefan Ruitenbeek and his friend, Jini van Rooijen, also known as Jini Jane. In an article for the French weekly Le Point, Houellebecq wrote that he stayed home that evening because he was depressed. At dinner, someone came up with the idea to shoot a threesome sex scene with Houellebecq, Lysis Li and Jini Jane. The video would be posted to Jini Janes OnlyFans (adult content) channel. My wife agreed, thinking that it would improve my mood, writes Houellebecq, who said he would do it under the condition of anonymity. The couple put on masks, and Ruitenbeek shot the scene.

Act II

Amsterdam, late December 2022. After doing the sex video in Paris, the writer and his wife stayed in contact with Ruitenbeek and agreed to shoot an entire film. But Houellebecq still demanded anonymity for personal tranquility. In the Le Point article, Houellebecq writes that he and his wife traveled to Amsterdam to cast several women for the film, and things started going sideways right away. Houellebecq didnt like that Ruitenbeek immediately started filming the couple without permission. Later that evening, he showed up with the cameraman in Houellebecqs hotel room with a contract that the writer signed. The next day, the filmmaker returned with a woman identified as Isa, with whom Houellebecq exchanged a few kisses. This scene was included in the films trailer, which was taken offline a few weeks ago due to the lawsuit. This was the first disagreement between the writer and the filmmaker; the big fight came two days later.

Act III

Paris and Amsterdam, March 2023. When Ruitenbeek posted the trailer on the Internet, Houellebecq was surprised to see himself in a film he says he didnt agree to release. He took the case to the French and Dutch courts to block the film. On March 3, a Paris court rejected his claim, and an Amsterdam court did the same on March 28. Both judges recognized a legal contract existed and concluded that Houellebecq had enough time to review the contract content and refuse to collaborate. They also found it incomprehensible that Houellebecq would allow himself to be filmed if he found the agreement problematic. Ruitenbeeks film now had the green light.

One controversy after another

In an open letter to Ruitenbeek, Houellebecq writes, Today I am paying for the violence caused by your trailer, which is an irreparable attack on my private life I formally object to the scenes of me you duplicitously filmed (I repeat, they were obtained before the signing of the contract and because, at that point, it was only for posting to an OnlyFans account) and used in your films  this one and others. However, in the same issue of Le Point, Houellebecq claims that the trailer was shot in Amsterdam after the contract was signed, unlike the OnlyFans scene shot in Paris.

Houellebecqs defense in the Netherlands case claimed he was depressed and drunk when he signed the contract and didnt know what he was agreeing to. On the other hand, Ruitenbeek claimed that the writer permitted him to film in full knowledge of the facts. When we contacted Ruitenbeek for comment, he asked us to send written questions but never responded to them.

Houellebecq in a scene from 'Kirac 27'.

The woman who wanted to post the Paris video to her OnlyFans account has now jumped into the fray and is upset that Houellebecq intends to block the films release. The French writer has a long history of provoking controversy. In late 2022, the Grand Mosque of Paris denounced him for inciting hatred of Muslims when the writer told Front Populaire magazine that purebred French people want Muslims to stop stealing and assaulting people and that it would be good if they would leave the country. When Houellebecq was forced to qualify his words a few days later, the Grand Mosque rector, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, withdrew the complaint. That incident ended more or less amicably, but its too early to tell whether Houellebecq and Ruitenbeek will eventually patch things up.

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Ahmedabad, Mar 31 (PTI) Union Minister Amit Shah on Friday inaugurated some projects and laid foundation stones of others in Mansa town, part of his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, in Gujarat through virtual mode.

Cumulatively worth Rs 56 crore, these projects include the renovation of Chandrasar lake, linking of other waterbodies and filling them with water from the Narmada, underground sewerage network, an official release informed.

On the occasion, the Union Home minister also announced upgradation of an existing government hospital in Mansa with the help of private donors as well as starting a medical college linked with this facility in the future.

"During the last five years, the Bharatiya Janata Party government has undertaken developmental works of nearly Rs 1,182 crore in Mansa Assembly constituency. This includes construction of Mansa-Kalol highway, which has drastically reduced travel time between these two towns of Gandhinagar district," Shah said in his virtual address.

Shah praised Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and his government for undertaking renovation work of Chandrasar Lake and filling other surrounding lakes with Narmada water.

"We will also use treated water to fill up the lakes in and around Mansa. The state government has also planned to dig percolation wells near these lakes to recharge ground water. I am confident the ground water level will rise by 50 feet due this exercise," Shah said.
Ahmedabad, Mar 31 (PTI) The Gujarat High Court on Friday set aside the seven-year-old order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), asking the Gujarat University to provide information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Allowing the Gujarat University's appeal against the CIC order, Justice Biren Vaishnav also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal and asked him to deposit the amount within four weeks to the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority (GSLSA).

"Accordingly, the petition is allowed and the impugned order (of CIC), dated April 29, 2016, is quashed and set aside" said Justice Vaishnav in his order.

Justice Vaishnav also refused to stay his order as requested by Kejriwal's lawyer Percy Kavina.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said it would appeal against the order in the the division bench.

"With this judgement, citizens have lost their right to seek information about the PM's degrees. The cost imposed on Kejriwal, who was a respondent in this case, also came as a surprise for us. Since we are not satisfied with this judgement, we will soon approach a division bench against this order," said AAP Gujarat's legal cell president Pranav Thakkar.

In April 2016, the then CIC M Sridhar Acharyulu had directed the Delhi University and the Gujarat University to provide information to Kejriwal on the degrees that Modi received.

Three months later, the Gujarat High Court stayed the CIC order after the varsity approached it against that order.

The CIC order came a day after Kejriwal wrote to Acharyulu, saying he has no objection to government records about him being made public and wondered why the commission wanted to "hide" information on Modi's educational qualifications.

Based on the letter, Acharyulu directed the Gujarat University to give records of Modi's educational qualifications to Kejriwal.

In May 2016, the then Vice Chancellor of the Gujarat University, MN Patel, had announced that Modi completed his MA in Political Science in 1983 with 62.3 per cent as an external student.

During the past hearings, the Gujarat University vehemently objected to the CIC's order saying "irresponsible childish curiosity" of someone cannot become public interest under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

During the last hearing held in February, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the university, claimed there was nothing to hide in the first place because information about PM's degrees is "already in public domain" and the university had also placed information on its website on a particular date in the past.

However, Kejriwal's advocate Percy Kavina had claimed the information was not available in public domain and defended his client's demand saying "no one is above the law".

Citing exceptions granted under the RTI Act for not complying with the order of the CIC, Mehta had also argued that the RTI Act is being used for settling scores and to make "childish jabs" against opponents.

Citing some past judgements of the Supreme Court and by other high courts about the exemptions granted under section 8 of the RTI Act, Mehta also said that one cannot seek someone's personal information just because one is curious about it.

Mehta had further argued that as per section 8 of the RTI Act, a university can refuse to divulge information regarding its students to a third person because of the "fiduciary relationship", a relationship of trust between a trustee and a beneficiary.

According to Mehta, one cannot seek private information not related to a person's public activity.

"Just because the public is interested in it, it cannot become public interest. Courts' interpretation has established that educational qualification is personal information, whether it is of a politician or any other person, argued the Solicitor General in the last hearing in February.
Bhopal, Mar 31 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal on Saturday to take part in the ongoing Combined Commanders' Conference and also flag off a Vande Bharat service to Delhi.

However, a roadshow scheduled to be held to welcome and thank the PM stands cancelled due to Thursday's Indore temple tragedy in which 36 persons died, a Bharatiya Janata Party functionary said.

As per sources, the PM will arrive here and take part in the Combined Commanders' Conference at 10am on Saturday, and he will flag off the Vande Bharat Express from Rani Kamlapti railway station here to Delhi at 3:15pm.

In view of the temple tragedy in Indore, the proposed roadshow to honour the PM has been cancelled, MP BJP chief Vishnu Dutt Sharma told reporters.

Thirty-six persons were killed after the floor of a temple built on top of a "bawdi" or stepwell caved in during Ram Navami celebrations on Thursday.

A havan (fire ritual) was being held at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple located in Patel Nagar area at the time.

The Combined Commanders' Conference is being held on the theme 'ready, resurgent, relevant' and will see deliberations over a spectrum of issues pertaining to national security, including jointness and theaterisation in the armed forces.
Mumbai, Mar 30 (PTI) Two groups clashed during a Ram Navami procession in Mumbai on Thursday night, police said.

The incident occurred at Malvani in suburban Malad (West) when the procession was going on and some people objected to high volume DJ and loud music accompanying it, an official said.

Some of the participants alleged stone pelting, which created panic among people, he said.

However, police did not confirm the stone pelting incident.

Additional police personnel were called to the spot and force was used to disperse the crowd, he said.

The situation in the area was under control, said the official.

Senior police officials and local politicians visited the area and appealed for peace.

Later, supporters of a right-wing organisation gathered outside the Malvani Police Station and demanded action against those who allegedly pelted stones.
Mumbai, Mar 31 (PTI) Police have apprehended more than 20 persons in connection with a clash between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in Mumbai's Malvani area, an official said on Friday.

The incident occurred on Thursday night at Malvani in suburban Malad (West) when the procession was going on and some people objected to high volume DJ and loud music accompanying it.

"The police have so far apprehended more than 20 persons on the charge of rioting and the process to place them under arrest is on," the official said.

During the clash between the two groups, stones were hurled, which triggered panic in the area. Additional police force was called in and the police personnel used force to disperse the crowd, the official said.

Senior police officials and some local political leaders rushed to the spot and appealed for peace, he said.

After the incident, supporters of a right-wing organisation gathered outside the Malvani police station and demanded action against those who allegedly pelted stones.

A large number of police personnel were deployed in the area and the situation was brought under control, he added.
Kolkata, Mar 31 (PTI) The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) wrote to national child rights body NCPCR, stating that its proposed visit to the state over the murder of a girl in Kolkata and the rape of another minor in Malda was "not really necessary".

In a letter to National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo, WBCPCR chief Sudeshna Roy on Thursday said the state body was not informed about his intended visit.

"We at WBCPCR have been informed that you are thinking of a visit to Kolkata and Malda regarding the Tiljala child murder case and sexual abuse of a school girl in Malda respectively," Roy said in the letter.

The WBCPCR has taken cognizance immediately in both cases and received the first action taken report from Malda while "the follow-up job" is on, she said, adding that she had personally spoken to the family of the victim in the Tiljala area.

Earlier this week, a seven-year-old girl was killed by a neighbour in Tiljala, while a class 6 girl was allegedly raped during school hours inside a government institute in Malda.

"Your concern is, however, appreciated, but your visit is not really necessary on these issues, as the State Commission has already taken cognizance," Roy said.

She also said in the letter that according to a Supreme Court judgement, the NCPCR and the state commission are expected to work together "as siblings".

"Therefore, it pains us when instead of informing us or taking us into confidence, you take cognizance on your own in cases where we have already intervened. We expect at least a letter from you regarding your plans of visiting the State," the WBCPCR chairperson said.

Roy later told PTI that it has become NCPCR's practice to come to the state without informing the state authority.

"We are not trying to hide anything. There is a minimum courtesy to inform us regarding their visit to the state. We have taken cognisance in both cases and I believe there is no need for them to come here," she said.
Aizawl, Mar 31 (PTI) The Mizoram Congress on Friday alleged that the BJP is conspiring against Rahul Gandhi so that he cannot contest next years Lok Sabha elections.

State Congress president Lalsawtas comments came in the wake of Gandhis disqualification from the Lok Sabha on March 24, a day after he was convicted in a defamation case by a Surat court.

The BJP has conspired against Rahul to not enable him to contest the 2024 general elections.

This is not only about Gandhi or the Congress, it concerns the general public as India is moving towards dictatorship and the secular fabric of the country has been destroyed by the BJP," Lalsawta told reporters.

Following his disqualification, Gandhi would not be able to contest elections for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.

Lalsawta also alleged that the saffron party has been going against all democratic norms.
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) An advocate, Harpreet Singh Brar, was on Friday appointed as an additional judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, days after the Supreme Court Collegium reiterated his name to the central government.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted to announce the Brar's appointment.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court collegium had recommended Brar's name for elevation as a judge in March last year.

The SC Collegium had approved his name in July last year and forwarded it to the Centre.

The Department of Justice in the Law Ministry had flagged certain issues and returned his name to the SC Collegium for reconsideration in November last year.

In its March 21 resolution, the SC Collegium reiterated Brar's name.

Additional judges are usually appointed for a period of two years before being elevated as judges or what is commonly called permanent judges.
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) The Congress has contended that there is no delay in the filing of a review petition challenging the Surat court verdict against Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case and it is likely to be registered "shortly" before the sessions court.

Sources said the 168-page judgement of the Surat court against Gandhi has been translated by experts and the petition is ready for filing, but his legal team is taking an "abundantly cautious approach" keeping in view its repercussions that it could have on the two other similar cases filed in Patna and Ranchi courts on the same grounds.

The sources also said that Gandhi's legal team handling the case has 30 days (from March 23) to file an appeal before the sessions court.

But they are prepared to go to the next level, sources in the party said, noting that Gandhi stands disqualified as he has taken on Prime Minister Narendra Modi "consistently and directly" ever since the 2016 demonetisation, followed by GST bill and privatisation, with the latest attack being on his relationship with businessman Gautam Adani.

Top legal advisors of the Congress are working on the review petition which will be filed before the Surat sessions court in a day or two, they added.

Gandhi was convicted and was given a two-year sentence in the 2019 defamation case over his remarks on Modi surname, following which he was disqualified as member of Lok Sabha.

The Congress has said it will fight the matter both politically and legally and will take the issue to the public.

Sources in the party feel that Gandhi's disqualification has helped bring unity among the opposition ranks with its first consequence being 19 opposition parties now displaying rare unity against the BJP against only a handful earlier.

A major meeting of senior leaders of these opposition parties is likely to be steered by the Congress in the next three or four weeks, the sources added.

They also feel that the BJP is out to embarrass Gandhi in a telling and dramatic way due to the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The party also feels that Gandhi will get public sympathy following his disqualification, even as they asserted that the ideological moorings within the party have sharpened in the last few months.
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) Scores of students on Friday staged a demonstration at Delhi University's Indraprastha College for Women to demand the resignation of principal Poonam Kumria, days after an alleged incident of harassment during a fest.

On Tuesday, "unknown" men allegedly trespassed, shouted slogans and harassed women students during the 'Shruti' festival at the college.

Holding placards and raising slogans against Kumria, the students of the all-women college held a march on campus amid slogans of "Poonam Kumria istifa do (Poonam Kumria resign)".

"Around 200 students have gathered here against the incident. We are demanding action against the goons, resignation of the principal and establishment of GSCASH (gender sensitization committee against sexual harassment)," a protesting student said.

She also demanded action against the police personnel who allegedly harassed students detained following a protest on Wednesday.

Following the alleged incident on Tuesday, the police registered an FIR under sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and and 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and arrested seven people, they said.

An All India Students' Association activist had alleged that the men who had trespassed were heard chanting "Miranda, IP dono hamara (Miranda House and Indraprastha College both are ours)" and "Miranda nahi chhoda to IP bhi nahi chhodenge (We didn't leave Miranda, we won't leave IP either)".

The police, on their part, said there was an excess crowd near the college gate during the fest.

Around 3 pm, some overzealous students started to enter the college in a hurry. In the process, there was heavy pressure on the gates and some students fell down, they said.
That chocolate bar saved my life, says Gennadiy, a 26-year-old soldier who has had several brushes with death over the last year, since the Russian invasion was launched on February 24, 2022. He touches his head, finding the scar that serves as a reminder of the day when a shrapnel fragment miraculously caused only a superficial wound. He had just bent down to pick up a Kit-Kat when a Russian bombing raid hit the base where he was stationed last April in Barvinkove, Kharkiv province. He was inside the building when the bomb struck. No helmet, he says with a grimace. A window ripped out by the blast flew over his head. Cadette, a compatriot, was outside smoking. The attack took them completely by surprise.

Like many others of his generation, born after independence from the Soviet yoke was gained in 1991, no one has imposed Gennadiys mission upon him. It is clear from his words that he is simply following a script that has been played out in Ukraine before. First, during World War II eight decades ago and, more recently, in the 2014 Donbas conflict. After leaving his job at a technology company out of patriotic impulse, Gennadiy volunteered for the army without any previous military experience. He considers himself just another of the tens of thousands of self-taught soldiers fighting in the most hostile environments.

However, Gennadiy has also been present at less fraught moments that will mark Ukraines history, such as the day when he was one of a handful of military personnel who received President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on his first visit to the besieged city of Bakhmut, on December 20. The abandoned factory where Zelenskiy was photographed with Gennadiy and his comrades fell weeks later to Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Group, who triumphantly published a photograph taken in the same place. Gennadiy plays down the existence of this photo, which he claims not to have seen. In any case, he says he has been stationed in far worse places than the Bakhmut front, where the bloodiest battle of the war to date has been raging for months.

Gennadiy signing the flag that Zelenskiy presented to Congress during his visit to the United States. Cedida

He enlisted as a volunteer in the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces, nominally made up of reserve units. Their deployment is a source of some criticism among its soldiers, voiced by Gennadiy: What makes me most furious is that they send the Territorials to the front line and not more experienced fighters, he says, referring to the bloodletting in Bakhmut, which he describes as hell on earth. In the devastated city, he says, the most paradoxical and incomprehensible thing is that there are still civilians there. He makes no attempt to hide the fact that the Ukrainian military knows some of them are pro-Moscow and holding out under the bombs for the Russians to liberate them.

But Bakhmut is not where Gennadiys worst experiences of war have taken place. He went through basic training nearby, on the Sloviansk, Dolyna and Bohorodych front, where he could see that things were already starting to look bad. He took part in the liberation of Izium, but it was in Kreminna, where he fought for two months, that he first questioned his courage. Sometimes I thought I wouldnt be able to take it, he says. There, the Ukrainian defenders were not faced with untrained mercenaries from the Wagner Group - thousands of them ex-convicts that Russia uses as cannon fodder - but with regular army soldiers who at least, he notes, carried their dead from the battlefield. During his conversation with EL PAIS, Gennadiy reveals his emotions, his frustrations, his hopes. His entire story can be condensed into one poignant sentence he offers up: I wouldnt wish the hell of this last year on my worst enemy.

The war has awakened an animalistic instinct for survival in Gennadiy, even if he admits that on occasion he has thrown in the towel and waited for death in a foxhole, puffing on a cigarette. Fear is the most precious thing I have lost in the war, he says. He has also lost 25 kilograms from the 135 he weighed a year ago. Some of that was dropped during a mission at the end of last year. He remembers December 31 as one of those days when he thought his time was up. The transport vehicle that was taking them to their position broke down. They were cut off and Russian infantry was advancing towards their location under an artillery barrage that left many of his comrades dead or wounded.

Gennadiy recounts the engagement: At exactly midnight, shells began falling on us, lighting up the night. From the trench we couldnt see what they were. Someone started to panic because he thought they were phosphorous bombs. I thought that, if they were, we would just burn up. Even if I ran, it was possible I would be shot by a sniper. So, I sat and waited, smoking. I didnt care about anything anymore. Later we found out they werent phosphorus shells. It was a horrible situation. I couldnt understand how the Territorial Defense, with the most basic weapons, made 70 years ago, had been deployed at ground zero. This situation dragged on for three days. Now, January 3 is my second birthday.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses Congress while Vice President Kamala Harris and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hold the signed flag. MANDEL NGAN (AFP)

Meeting Zelenskiy in Bakhmut

When his commander told Gennadiys unit on the morning of December 20 that they were going to Bakhmut, he did not expect to be one of the few who would receive Zelenskiy. It was the presidents first visit to this hornets nest in eastern Ukraine, where both armies have suffered horrific losses. Gennadiy was among the soldiers who signed the Ukrainian flag that Zelenskiy himself delivered to the United States Congress a day later. The soldiers had not been forewarned of the presidents visit, due to strict security protocols. Gennadiy even hugged the deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, whom he mistook for a reporter. The young soldier was struck by how Zelenskiy arrived in the most dangerous hole on the planet. He wasnt wearing a bulletproof vest. Nothing. He had just three men from his security detail with him. And all of us with our weapons, with the ammunition, with the grenades...

Bakhmut was then, as it is now, an absolute horror, but at least we thought it could be saved, we could force them to retreat. But now I just dont see any way to keep it going, with so many casualties. I dont think it makes much sense, he says. In recent weeks, the Russians have been making gains, with many casualties on both sides. Zelenskiy, on a visit to the front last week, made it clear Kyiv does not intend to cede an inch to the Russians. I am not a great strategist, Gennadiy acknowledges, which is why, he adds, he may not be able to understand what is behind the decisions being made by the Defense Ministry in Bakhmut. They are are not fools, he says. Maybe all these sacrifices are necessary to strike the final blow against Russia.

On the night of February 24, 2022, Gennadiy did not sleep. He was listening to music when the first missiles began to fall on Kharkiv. Then his mother got up. They started watching the news. He wondered at first what they should do, where to run to... but within a few minutes it became clear to him that he had to take an active part in the defense of Ukraine. That was his mission. A little over a year has passed since then, an eternity in which he has had to learn about strategy, weapons, and battlefield first aid: Sometimes I am not even able to remember what my life was like before the war.

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Shimla, Mar 31 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu laid the foundation stone of the first positron emission tomography (PET) scan block at the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) Hospital here on Friday.

The block, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 45.68 crore, would be a three-story building with modern amenities for patients, doctors and paramedical staff and a parking space for about 50 vehicles.

The chief minister said patients from the state had to travel to Chandigarh or Delhi for a PET scan which was very expensive and added that once the PET block is completed it would facilitate in detection of cancer, response and follow-up and be helpful to cardiology, psychiatry, urology and other departments.

A sum of Rs 21 crore would be spent for single positron emission tomography (PET) computed tomography (CT) machine, Rs 9 crore for photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) CT machine and Rs 15.68 crore for civil works.

Sukhu said the government aims to establish PET scan facilities in all medical colleges in the state within a year and has allocated Rs 400 crore for the Centre of Excellence for Cancer Care in Dr. Radhakrishnan Government Medical College in Hamirpur.

He said the state government has accorded top priority to the health sector and efforts were being made to provide world-class medical facilities by eliminating the referral system in government hospitals.

The state government has made special provisions for the health sector in the budget, including establishment of a Department of Medical Emergency in all medical colleges so that people do not face any inconvenience in getting prompt treatment.

He said that this department would have one staff nurse per bed in the ICU, one staff nurse per three beds in casualty ward and one doctor for every 10 beds, with duty limited to eight hours.

The government has also allocated Rs 11 crore to set up a 175-bed medical emergency facility with a trauma centre at the IGMC Hospital in Shimla, he added.

He said that the government was investing in modern technology to equip health institutions of the state so that best facilities can be provided to people.

He also informed that the state government has given approval to open HP State Medical Services Corporation, through which all kinds of medical machinery, medicines and equipment would be procured.

Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil appealed to the people to be vigilant about COVID-19 as cases are increasing every day. He also emphasized the importance of following Covid-appropriate behavior and creating awareness among people.
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Friday said he rejected the opposition BJP's breach of privilege notice over an alleged leak of the budget as it had no merit.

BJP MLA Vijender Gupta gave the breach of privilege notice alleging that the finance minister had leaked details of the budget for 2023-24.

Goel, addressing a post-budget session press conference, said no breach of privilege was made out as the alleged leak of budget details did not benefit anyone.

He said he had studied the issue closely and referred to Lok Sabha decisions on such matters before denying the notice.

BJP MLA Gupta had alleged that the finance minister in a statement leaked budget details by citing the allocations for infrastructure and advertisement. It was also alleged by the BJP that the date of budget presentation was also leaked outside the Assembly.

"Notice could be admitted on a budget leak if some of its provisions which could benefit anyone --like tax cut or hike or such other details -- are leaked. But in this case, only allocation for infrastructure and advertisement were there and no breach of privilege was made out.

"The notice was given at the Assembly secretary's office just one minute before the budget was previously scheduled to be tabled in the House at 11 AM on March 21. Also, it was about leak of Outcome budget not the annual budget 2023-24," Goel said.

The speaker also alleged that many "hurdles" are being created in the smooth functioning of the Delhi government. Replies to questions being raised in Assembly concerning reserved subjects such as land, services and public order are not given by the departments concerned.

"If not in Delhi Assembly, will the incidents like police laxity in preventing goons from entering IP College for Women be discussed in Haryana and UP," he said.

He was referring to the alleged harassment of students during a fest at Indraprastha College for Women by some unidentified men who trespassed into the college.

For the first time in the history of the House, the annual budget was not tabled on the scheduled date of March 21 due to lack of approval from the Home Ministry, the speaker said. The budget was tabled on March 23.

He asserted that the Assembly was obliged to take up any issue that concerned the interests of the people of Delhi.
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) The Supreme Court has dismissed a PIL seeking declaration of all animals as legal entities having rights like any living person.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala dismissed the PIL saying "we find that the prayer sought in the writ petition cannot be granted by this court in its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution of India."

"The writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed," it added.

The PIL filed by the NGO People's Charioteer Organisation said that of late cases of cruelty towards animals have come to light which have raised questions as to how humans have absolutely no respect for animals' lives and how can they be absolutely devoid of sympathy.

"Such incidents have further enraged many and made one ponder as to whether the laws in existence are sufficient enough to protect animals from possible abuse and cruelty," the plea said, while referring to various incidents of cruelty in various states.

It sought direction of the court to declare all the citizens of the country as "persons in loco parentis" (in place of a parent) for the protection of animals from cruelty and abuse and to ensure their welfare.

The PIL placed reliance on verdicts of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Uttarakhand High Court, whereby all animals in the animal kingdom were recognised as legal entities and all the people were declared as "persons in loco parentis".

It had also sought direction to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to report and publish data and statistics relating to animal cruelty and crimes against animals, including cases reported and convictions under various laws in its annual report.
Bahraich (UP), Mar 31 (PTI) Four suspected narcotics smugglers were arrested with smack worth over Rs 1 crore, police in this Uttar Pradesh district said on Friday.

Jibrail, Mobin, Sufian and Zubair were arrested from the Ramgaon area along the Bahraich-Nepal Road on Thursday, Superintendent of Police Prashant Verma said.

The police also seized 350 grams of smack worth over Rs 1 crore in the international market from them, Verma added.

The quartet has been booked under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and a probe is underway, the police said.
Amaravati, Mar 31 (PTI) The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) aims to replicate New Delhi-based Andhra Bhavans power saving strategies in other state bhavans and establishments in the national capital, said an official.



Employing these strategies, Andhra Bhavan is estimated to save two lakh units of electric power per annum worth Rs 39 lakh, slashing 139 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.



Replacing halogen lamps for stage lighting with 12 190W LED floodlights, 170 28W BLDC ceilings fans instead of the conventional ones, fourteen 1.8TR three star-rated hot and cold inverter split ACs and 40 motion sensing lights in corridors among others were some of the implemented measures, said Chandrasekhar Reddy, chief executive, APSECM and executive director of AP Transco in a statement on Thursday.



Implemented free of cost on receiving financial support from the BEE, the AP energy conservation body (APSECM) has conducted an investment grade energy audit through a BEE empanelled accredited energy auditing firm to identify the true gravity of savings.



According to Reddy, investment on these measures amounted to Rs 35 lakh with an estimated quick payback period of just 13 months.



Appreciating the southern states energy conservation efforts, BEE secretary, R K Rai said, "the AP government is extending good support for energy efficiency activities which will help to achieve energy security, environmental goals and reduce energy intensity on the economy."



He said the AP Bhavan was chosen for these projects recognising its energy efforts through APSECM which would contribute towards the national goal of reducing carbon emissions.



According to Rai, any state can gain from enhanced energy efficiency as it opens up new opportunities of economic growth, create employment, reduce energy bills, lessen fossil fuels use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.



"APSECM has successfully completed the project on March 28, 2023, that is well before the scheduled period of execution," added Reddy.



Further, he noted that other energy efficiency measures that have to be looked into are reduction in contracted demand, use of induction cooking appliances in kitchen, heat pumps and others.




By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

There is a minhag in many families of Klal Yisroel to avoid eating gebrochts.

And yet, the Shulchan Aruch (OC 461:4) writes that one fulfills the Mitzvah of Matzoh with matzoh shruyah  gebrochts, soaked Matzah  as long as the Matzoh remains intact and whole. This is based upon the Gemorah itself (Psachim 41a) which states the very same law.

WHAT IS THE SOURCE?

What then is the source for the custom of avoiding Gebrochts  dipped or wetted Matzoh?

Almost without exception, the custom to refrain from Gebrochts has spread throughout the Chassidic world and even among others. How did this Minhag develop? In this article we will attempt to trace the origin of this stringency.

THE OLAS SHABBOS

The first reference this author could find that directly mentions the Minhag is the Olas Shabbos (453:3) who discusses a halacha in the Bach that Matzos should be baked prior to Pesach and not during Pesach, as Chometz is only batel before Pesach and not during Pesach. The Olas Shabbos adds, And one who is concerned for this stringency should not cook a baked Matzoh on Pesach either, for how is it different than baking?

In other words, the Olas Shabbos is concerned that the Chametz that was mixed into the Matzoh but became nullified before Pesach is now re-awakened on Pesach itself.

The Mogain Avrohom 458:1 cites the Olas Shabbos and asks questions on it, differentiating between the Bachs case and the scenario described by the Olas Shabbos.

COOKING NOT SOAKING

Regardless, the concern of the Olas Shabbos deals with a Gebrokts of actual cooking. Simply soaking the Matzoh would not seem to be a concern of the Olas Shabbos, because it is not reawakened yet through any process.

The Knesses HaGedolah cited by the Mogen Avrohom (OC 473) tells us to avoid it as a fish coating because of a woman who did confuse it with flour. The Pri Chadash (in Orech Chaim 461:2) disagrees and writes, I say that this is all permitted and we cannot make our own enactments, and who cares if one woman made a mistake in halacha..

The Shaarei Teshuva in OC 460:2 after explaining that it is technically permitted, writes, Nonetheless, one who wishes to sanctify himself with that which is permitted.. we do not stop him.

The next time we see a concern for Gebrokts in print is in the response of Rabbi Shniur Zalman of Liadi, the GraZ or the Baal HaTanya. The concern he raises is that perhaps the Matzoh was not kneaded sufficiently, and some unbaked flour remains on the Matzoh. The soaking will thus bring about a Chometzizing process.

DIFFERENT THAN THE OLAS SHABBOS

The observant reader will note that this is a different concern that that mentioned by the Olas Shabbos. The Machtzis HaShekel voices the same concern in 458:1 about the unbaked flour. The Aishel Avrohom (Botshatch 447:4) is similarly concerned.

SOME HINTS

If we wish to find hints to the common practice of avoiding some form of Gebrokts  we can. The Gemorah in Psachim (40b) discusses an item called Chassissi which the workers of the house of the Raish Galusa would make. There were Amoraim, the Gemorah indicates, who were unsettled with eating it, however. Although Rabbi Yitzchok quoted in Tosfos understands it to be a lentil paste, the Rif describes it as Matzoh that was rolled and cooked.

TWO FASCINATING QUOTES

There are also two fascinating quotes of the Raavan (Psachim 73b). Firstly, he writes that one should avoid soaked Matzoh in soup on the first night of Pesach  because this takes away the taste of Matzoh itself. This is actually a proof to the notion that on the rest of Pesach one can eat Gebrokts. However, he also writes that one should avoid making Matzoh balls because people may come to do it with flour itself and cook it. The Beer Heitev OC 460 cites the Knesses HaGedolah to this effect as well.

The Ravya (Psachim 475)also explains that some people do not make kneidlach out of a concern that others may mix this up with doing it with flour and water. He describes this stringency as a Chumrah of a Baal Nefesh (a worthy individual roughly).

YUPKES

The Maharshdam (responsa OC #26) describes Yupkes, a Matzoh meal based item, and explains that a Baal Nefesh should avoid it. As of yet, this author has not found a recipe for this item.

IS IT MUKTZEH?

How does it fit into common practice? For the Korech section of the Pesach Seder people that avoid Gebrochts just dip the Marror in the Charoses  not the Matzah (See Mishna Brurah 475:19). Is it Muktzah for those who do not eat it? The Chazon Ish (Shabbos 49:15) rules that cooking Kneidlach from Yom Tov to Shabbos may be Muktzah if ones minhag is that Gebrochts are forbidden. If one is merely stringent to avoid it than it is permitted.

SOME HOLD IT IS FORBIDDEN TO KEEP GEBROCHTS

There are also opinions that it is forbidden to be stringent. The Sheilas Yaavetz (Vol. II #65) cites his father the Chacham Tzvi that it is wrong to disallow the Simchas Yom Tov with far-fetched stringencies!

BAAL SHEM TOV ATE KNAIDLACH

So when did the Chassidim start it? Reb Mendel of Vitebsk is cited by many of the early Chassidim as attributing it to the Maggid of Mezrich and that, believe it or not, the Baal Shem Tov did eat Kneidlach!

The Chsam Sofer (Responsa OC 138) also used to consume Gebrokts  especially with soup Kneidlach. Rumor has it that some members of the Chsam Sofers family even have the recipe for Kneidlach that his wife used.

In conclusion, Pesach allows us yet another opportunity to connect with our generations past, by strictly adhering to the Minhagim of our parents and grandparents. Focusing on this aspect of the Minhag will allow us to ever further our growth over this Yom Tov. A gutten Moed.

The author can be reached at [email protected]




The White House on Thursday said it has new evidence that Russia is looking again to North Korea for weapons to fuel the war in Ukraine, this time in a deal that would provide Pyongyang with needed food and other commodities in return.

Its the latest accusation that Russia, desperate for weaponry and restricted by sanctions and export controls, is turning to rogue nations to help it continue to prosecute the 13-month-old war.

As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions.

The administration has previously declassified intelligence to present evidence that Iran sold hundreds of attack drones to Russia over the summer and that the Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, has taken delivery of arms from North Korea to help bolster its forces as they fight side-by-side with Russian troops in Ukraine.

Experts believe the food situation in North Korea is the worst it has been under Kim Jong Uns 11-year rule, but they still say they see no signs of imminent famine or mass deaths. Kim vowed to strengthen state control over agriculture and take a spate of other steps to increase grain production, North Korean state media reported earlier this month.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last month that U.S. intelligence suggested China was considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia, though White House officials have said they have yet to see evidence of Beijing following through with weapons delivery.

The publicizing of Russias efforts to get weapons from North Korea is just the latest example of the Biden administration loosening restrictions on intelligence findings and making them public over the course of the grinding war in Ukraine.

The administration has said it has sought to disseminate the intelligence findings so allies and the public remain clear-eyed about Moscows intent and Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks twice about his actions.

Earlier Thursday, the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions against a Slovakian national, Ashot Mkrtychev, alleging he attempted to facilitate arms deals between Russia and North Korea.

Between the end of 2022 and early 2023, Treasury said Mkrtychev worked with North Korean officials to obtain over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions for Russia in exchange for commercial aircraft, raw materials and commodities to be sent to North Korea.

Mkrtychev worked with a Russian citizen to find commercial aircraft to delivers goods to North Korea in the exchange.

Russia has lost over 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment since the start of the war, and thanks in part to multilateral sanctions and export controls, Putin has become increasingly desperate to replace them, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. Schemes like the arms deal pursued by this individual show that Putin is turning to suppliers of last resort like Iran and the DPRK.

(AP)




A public inquiry has found widespread failures in how Canadas federal police force responded to the countrys worst mass shooting and recommends that the government rethink the Royal Canadian Mounted Polices central role in the countrys policing.

In a seven-volume report released Thursday, the Mass Casualty Commission also says the RCMP missed red flags in the years leading up to the Nova Scotia rampage that resulted in 22 people being slain April 18-19, 2020 by a denture maker disguised as a RCMP officer and driving a replica police vehicle.

The assailant, Gabriel Wortman, was killed by two Mounties at a gas station in Enfield, Nova Scotia, 13 hours into his rampage. Disguised as a police officer, Wortman shot people in their homes and set fires in a rampage across the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the release of the report in Nova Scotia and said his government will examine it closely. There is no question that there needs to be changes and there will be, Trudeau said.

Among other things, the commission says the national police force is badly disorganized. Its review of the RCMPs 5,000 pages of policies and procedures found the forces own members were unclear on proper responses to critical incidents and communication with the public.

The report delves deeply into the causes of the mass shooting. These include the killers violence toward his spouse and the failure of police to act on it, and implicit biases that seemed to blind officers and community members to the danger a white, male professional posed.

In response, the commissioners call for a future RCMP where the current 26-week model of training is scrapped  as its no longer sufficient for the complex demands of policing. The academy would be replaced with a three-year, degree-based model of education, as exists in Finland.

The document begins with an account of the police errors in the years before the killings, and the events of April 18 and 19.

The reports summary says that soon after the shooting started in Portapique, Nova Scotia, RCMP commanders disregarded witness accounts, and senior Mounties wrongly assumed residents were mistaken when they reported seeing the killer driving a fully marked RCMP cruiser.

Important community sources of information were ignored, it says.

In addition, the report says police failed to promptly send out alerts to the public with a description of the killer until it was too late for some of his victims.

Having laid out a litany of shortcomings, the inquiry calls for a fresh external review of the police force. It says the federal minister of public safety should then establish priorities for the RCMP, retaining the tasks that are suitable to a federal policing agency, and identifying what responsibilities are better reassigned to other agencies.

This may entail a reconfiguration of policing in Canada and a new approach to federal financial support for provincial and municipal policing services, the report says.

The victims in Canadas worst mass shooting included an RCMP officer, a teacher, health-care workers, retirees, neighbors of the shooter and two correctional officers killed in their home. The rampage started when Wortman attacked his spouse.

Nothing will bring my brother back or any of the other people in this horrible ordeal, said Scott McLeod, the brother of victim Sean McLeod. If this report makes a positive change nationwide it will be appreciated, I know, by families.

The report details Wortmans history of domestic violence in his relationships with women, including his spouse Lisa Banfield. In particular, the report notes the experience of Brenda Forbes, a neighbor in Portapique who informed the RCMP of Wortmans violence toward Banfield. He never faced any consequences, but she dealt with years of stalking, harassment and threats from Wortman, prompting her to leave the province.

Jessica Zita, lawyer for Banfield, read a statement from her client in which she says she hopes there will be meaningful changes from the recommendations especially those involving domestic violence.

Mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada. The country overhauled its gun-control laws after gunman Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself at Montreals Ecole Polytechnique college in 1989. Before the Nova Scotia rampage, that had been the countrys worst.

(AP)




During an interview with Sean Hannity, Donald Trump claimed he was unaware of Kanye Wests anti-Semitic remarks before the two shared a meal at Mar-a-Lago in November. White nationalist Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes also joined them at Trumps Florida residence.

Hannity inquired about Trumps thoughts on Kanye, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2018, in light of his controversial statements.

When I was with him, he didnt say that, Trump said. And when he asked me to have dinner because he needed some help, I didnt say, Well, what the problem? So, I didnt know anything about his attitude towardIm not reading about Kanye, Im reading about President Xi and Im reading about Putin and Kim Jong-un. Im not reading exactly about Kanye West. But when he came here, I think heand I will say this, he didnt say anything about anti-Semitism or anything else. And if he wouldve done that, I would have not been a happy camper.

You might believe him  if you live under a rock. Trump has made eerily similar claims about other disgusting figures with whom he associated with, which turned out to be evident lies.

As a presidential candidate, Trump was asked if he would publicly reject the support of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, Trump said, I just dont know anything about him.

Later in the campaign, Trump held a press conference to announce the endorsement of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. With Christie at his side, Trump was asked how he felt about receiving Dukes support. I didnt even know he endorsed me, Trump said, clearly irritated by the question. David Duke endorsed me? OK. Alright. I disavow. OK?

Trump was again asked about Duke in a Feb. 28 interview on CNNs State of the Union by anchor Jake Tapper.

I want to ask you about the Anti-Defamation League, which this week called on you to publicly condemn unequivocally the racism of former KKK grand wizard David Duke, who recently said that voting against you at this point would be treason to your heritage. Will you unequivocally condemn David Duke and say that you dont want his vote or that of other white supremacists in this election? Tapper asked.

Well, just so you understand, I dont know anything about David Duke, okay? Trump replied. I dont know anything about what youre even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So, I dont know.

Trump went on to say that he did not want to condemn any groups until he knew something about them. He told Tapper to give me a list of the groups and he would review them. But Tapper returned to Duke.

OK. I mean, Im just talking about David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan here, but

I dont know any  honestly, I dont know David Duke, Trump insisted. I dont believe I have ever met him. Im pretty sure I didnt meet him. And I just dont know anything about him.

Trump also put out a statement that day, according to the New York Times, which referred to Duke as a Klansman.

However, Trump certainly knew who David Duke is.

Trump published a statement in the New York Times on Feb. 14, 2000, which read: Mr. Trump painted a fairly dark picture of the Reform Party in his statement, noting the role of Mr. Buchanan, along with the roles of David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and Lenora Fulani, the former standard-bearer of the New Alliance Party and an advocate of Marxist-Leninist politics.

The Reform Party now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke, a neo-Nazi, Mr. Buchanan, and a communist, Ms. Fulani, Trump said in his statement. This is not company I wish to keep.

Time and again, Trump never heard of or has no idea about people when its inconvenient to him. And were seeing it again with his awful, indefensible dinner with two unapologetic anti-Semites.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

This article is dedicated in honor of the 15th yahrtzeit of Rav Henoch Liebowtz zatzal which is tonight  the 10th of Nissan.

Every year at this time, we negate the Chometz. But what is it, exactly, that we are doing?

Our great Roshei Yeshiva have always taught us that we must look at everything that happens in the world through a Torah lens. And yet, sometimes, we just plow through life and the fulfillment of our precious Torah rituals, customs, and Tefilos, without really thinking about things.

This is a mistake.

We need to wonder and ponder about our Tefilos and customs too. And we need to look at them through the eyes of the Rishonim and Acharonim. As we say in davening, Ki Haim Chayeinu  for these constitute our lives.

THE FOUR OPINIONS

Perhaps, somewhat shockingly, there actually seem to be four different understandings of this particular term  the Bitul of the Chometz. And, if we further explore these varied opinions we can gain a deeper insight and more appreciation of what it is.

TOSFOS

An unscientific straw poll indicated that most people believe that the declaration of Bitul is essentially declaring it ownerless  or hefker. This, in fact, is the opinion of Tosfos (Psachim 2a Mideoraisah) and the Rosh (1:9).

THE RAMBAN

The Ramban, however, challenges the view of Tosfos on several grounds:

If it is a mere declaration of ownerlessness (not sure if that is a word), then why did Chazal use the particular term bitul  negation and not use the term ownerlessness? (The Hebrew is less bulky  hefker).

Whatever happened to the idea that ownerlessness declarations have to be done before three people? These declarations are done by oneself, alone and at home.

Whereever do we ever find that the terminology of shall be considered like the dust of the earth is ever effective to declare something ownerless?

Dont we say that Dvarim shblaiv ainam dvarim  things left unsaid by mouth but said internally are invalid?

The Gemorah (Psachim 7a) says that you can do it on Shabbos  and making something hefker on Shabbos is forbidden!

The Ramban (basing himself on the Sifrei  lo yira-eh lecha  to you) concludes that the Bitul is a revelation,a gilui daas, that he does not care a twit about that Chometz he had owned previously. It is nothing in my eyes  I dont care about it! This, in essence, undoes the the Torah made it as if it is back in his possession.

THE RAN  RABBEINU NISSIM

The Rans view appears to be some sort of synthesis of the two aforementioned views. He writes that the revelation that he cares not a twit  leads to an automatic reassessment of the ownership status and now places the said item of Chometz in a legal status of hefker  ownerlessness.

RASHI AND THE RAMBAM

And then there is the fourth view. Both Rashi (Psachim 2a bbitul) and the Rambam (Hilchos Chometz uMatzah 2:2) indicate that this negation is a form of destruction  tashbisu.

There is, of course, much to explore here. How do the Baalei Tosfos defend themselves against the Ran? How do the Ramban and the Ran differ exactly? Why didnt the Ramban and the Ran not agree to the suppositions of Rashi and the Rambam that it is a form of Tashbisu  destruction of Chometz? Wherein does the Machlokes lie?

Someone recently inquired as to what really goes on in the world of the Yeshivos. The answer is actually two-fold. The first is the Torah learning aspect of things. These ideas presented above are an example of what is explored in the great Yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel and in America. These are the contents of the shiurim that our wonderful Roshei Yeshiva provide to our precious boys in Yeshivos.

NEGATING THE YETZER HARAH

The Nesivos Shalom states that Chometz represents not just Chometz but also the Yetzer Harah. This upcoming Shabbos, Shabbos HaGadol the 10th of Nissan is the 15th yahrtzeit of Rav Henoch Leibowitz ztl. His dedication to Klal Yisroel, his penetrating approach to both mussar and Gemorah learning, and his inculcating his remarkable values within his students are sorely missed by all of his Talmidim and continue to serve as a source of constant inspiration to them.

Presented here below are 16 ways of being Mevatel (negating) the Yetzer Harah, based upon the thoughts and sayings of Rav Henoch Leibowitz zatzals .

We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah, by furthering our knowledge of Hashem. This means to walk in His ways. This means to emulate Him in acts of kindness, in seeking just solutions, and in the performance of truly charitable acts. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by seeking inspiration from the example of others  just so that we can awaken ourselves to perform a difficult task with joy. When trying to impart a lesson to others, we can help them be mevatel the Yetzer Harah more effectively when we try to have them figure out the lesson themselves. Sometimes the motivating force to do the right thing and be mevatel the Yetzer Harah when faced with difficulty is the very absence of anyone else present who is willing to do it. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by talking over and reviewing something deeply with a friend. This allows for greater examination of an issue and helps one see the truth. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by thinking over and pondering the gravity of our responsibility. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by never despairing. The awful power of despair can warp and destroy the power of the mind. Even the greatest of people are susceptible of giving up hope. Realizing this can help us be mevatel the Yetzer Harah. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by always making the effort  even when the chances look slim. And if we need a miracle, the effort will make it easier. We must always make the effort to remain calm, cool, and collected  even when we are involved in earth-shattering matters. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by never Losing it.  Doing so is a sin. What is the definition of a sucker? To people who are far removed from the concept of chessed it is often it is a pejorative term for a baal chessed. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by performing acts of kindness each day, aside from being obligatory, is a means to acquire the character trait of loving others like oneself  step-by-step. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by being careful not to join with evil people, even for a worthy goal, because it appears as if we agree with their decisions. The issue is complex and requires consultation with the greatest of Torah leaders. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by realizing that embedded within the soul of man is a natural tendency toward goodness and fulfilling Hashems will. Without this, the soul cannot be truly happy, just like a princess who marries a commoner does not find true happiness. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by realizing that Humility is not the negation of the true state of affairs  rather it is the recognition of ones faults and qualities together, with the true and deep realization that all talent comes to us solely by the grace of the Creator. We can be mevatel the Yetzer Harah by realizing that we cannot achieve a state of wholeness merely by focusing on Mitzvos between man and G-d. One must perfect relationships and fulfill all Mitzvos between man and each other as well, in order to achieve the desired shleimus that we must all reach.

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Rav Leibowitz was the only son of his saintly father, Rav Dovid Leibowitz, ztl, founder of Yeshiva Rabbeinu Yisroel Meir HaCohen, commonly known as Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim. The yeshiva was first established in 1933 by Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz, a nephew of the Chofetz Chaim. On December 7, 1941, Rav Dovid Leibowitz passed away, and his son would take over at the helm of the yeshiva.

Rav Henoch Leibowitz molded the yeshiva in the image of the great yeshiva of his fathers rebbi, the Alter of Slabodka. Indeed, Rav Mordechai Shulman, ztl, a rosh yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael who had intimate knowledge of the Slabodka Yeshiva, commented, Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim is Slabodka.

Slowly but surely, Rav Henoch Leibowitz shaped and molded his talmidim to be talmidei chachamim as well as mentchen. He imbued them with a sense of mission to do and work for Klal Yisrael. The greatest achievement for one of his talmidim was to merit to be a marbitz Torah in Klal Yisrael.

And harbatzas Torah they did. Rav Henoch Leibowitzs talmidim opened up high schools across the nation and beyondin Miami, Los Angeles, Rochester, Milwaukee, and Ottawa, to name just a few. Rav Leibowitz nurtured his talmidim and the mosdos they set up. Soon, Chofetz Chaim became a major force in American Judaism. Entire Torah communities were to spring up around the Chofetz Chaim branches. These communities yielded fruit. Many graduates of the Chofetz Chaim schools entered harbatzas Torah themselves, in every capacity. The attitude of Rav Henochs talmidim created a major turning point and shift in the field and in the public perception of Jewish education, which affected all other yeshivos, as well. A career of harbatzas Torah became a lofty profession, something that the elite should aspire to achieve.

Rav Leibowitz focused his efforts on developing his students in three major areas.

He felt that mechanchimindeed, everyoneshould strive to achieve the highest level of iyun (in-depth study) possible. Toward this end, Rav Leibowitz spent countless hours with his students, teaching them how to unfold the latent processes of reasoning in a Talmudic text. He taught them to highly esteem the words of the Maharsha and to home in on the essence of an argument between the Maharam and the Maharsha. And he taught his talmidim to appreciate the words of the Acharonim, too.

He taught them to focus very closely on the shift between a texts initial supposition and the turning point in its final conclusion. What is the shift between the havah amina and the maskana? was a question he often asked. Most importantly, he taught his students the notion of muchrachism, that each and every piece of Torah they spoke had to be both textually and logically compelling. He eschewed the methodologies of baseless chakiros (logical inquiry and differentiation) and the standard use of reid when understanding Torah texts. The yeshiva was well known for the thorough manner in which the talmidim examined the texts they were learning. Shiurim were not just heard once; they were worked on for days and sometimes weeks, so as to understand and appreciate every nuance. (This slow pace, however, was limited to the morning iyun seder. Indeed, for the afternoon and evening bekiyus sedarim, the rosh yeshiva instituted a quota system, where a minimum number of blatt had to be learned each week.)

The second area in which Rav Leibowitz grew his talmidim was in the area of mussar thought and texts. Talmidim were taught how to develop a genuine mussar insight, either in psychology or midos or some other area of Torah growth. Such insight, of course, also had to be logically and textually compelling. The true Slabodka shmuess was not a drush-filled exposition of any Torah thought that comes into the talmid chachams mind; noit had to be derived from a previous Torah text: a Ramban, a Seforno, a Rashi, a Midrash. Otherwise, the integrity of Torah could be compromised, if peoples own ideas were read into the text and represented to the world as Torah.

Thirdly, Rav Leibowitz imbued his students with a sense of mission toward Klal Yisrael. His talmidim were in the forefront of chinuch and the revitalization of Torah throughout North America. His students opened Torah institutions and branches in many cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, St. Louis, Cherry Hill and Manalapan (New Jersey), Cedarhurst, Huntington, Monsey, New York City, Vancouver, Ottowa, Phoenix, and Dallasand in places in Eretz Yisrael, too.

He personified the midah of emes, as well. Once, for example, a wealthy individual gave a $10,000 donation that was doubled by his corporations matching-funds program. The problem was that the donors check did not clear. Rav Leibowitz promptly refunded the corporations money. Any behavior otherwise was sheer anathema to him. He was a genuine Torah sage in every way, and he would never countenance any form of dishonesty, chalilah.

Rav Leibowitz had a warmth and a smile that conveyed his love for each member of Klal Yisrael. He also had a great sense of humor, which he utilized to connect with talmidim, baalei batim, and other members of Klal Yisrael. Once, when my mother, aleha hashalom, met him, she asked him to compile the Kabbalistic writings of her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. For the next four weeks, he playfully teased me about it, but it was a loving, playful tease that served to connect. When I, a boy from California with no family in New York, had surgery during my first year in yeshiva, he and his rebbetzin put me up in their house to recover. His rebbetzin, ztl, served me her nurturing kasha, chicken soup, and kosher jello, and Rav Leibowitz patiently sat and learned with me.

Rav Leibowitz personified the idea of sensitivity toward others and making sure that people realized what it means to cause anxiety to others. A typical shmuess of Rav Leibowitz involved examining Rashis comments regarding the person who cursed the name of Hashem, found at the end of Parashas Emor. The pasuk says, Vayanichuhu bamishmar, they placed him under guard. Rashi comments: Aloneand they did not leave the person who gathered [sticks] with him. Why? Rashi explains that even though they both committed their sins during the same time period, one of them, the gatherer of sticks, incurred the death penalty; they just did not know which particular death penalty. But regarding the one who cursed G-d, they did not know what his punishment was to be at all.

Rav Leibowitz asked, how does this difference explain why these two prisoners were housed separately? He answered that they were placed in separate locations to avoid the additional anxiety that the one who cursed G-d would feel if he observed that they housed him with someone who incurred the death penalty. How sensitive we must be to each tzelem Elokim, if even a criminal deserves this sensitivity. The lesson is even more profound when we examine the words of the Daas Zekeinim. From there we see how particularly heinous the blasphemer who cursed Hashem actually was. And yet we see that we should be sensitive to his anxieties.

Rav Leibowitz, ztl, was one of the gedolei hador who personified the highest ideals of the Torahin his words, deeds, teachings, and actions. His impact on Torah in America will be felt for centuries to come.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
How is surrogacy viewed in different countries? In Spain, it is classified as a form of violence against women. In other parts of the world, however, the legal framework makes altruistic surrogacy allowed and even encouraged. We took a look at three cases where the latter holds true.

In the U.K., the surrogate mother can withdraw her consent

In late March, the parliamentary entities that review and propose reforms to British legislation published a draft bill to strengthen surrogacy by defining a safe route for the process. The British government must now decide whether to put the draft bill to a vote and establish it as law.

The proposed regulation is more reactive than protective since surrogacy agreements cannot be legally enforced in court. During traditional surrogacy, the surrogate uses her own egg for conception, which makes the surrogate the babys biological mother. Legal maternity of the newborn corresponds to the biological mother, so a lengthy adoption process must be followed after birth. The biological mother can also claim legal maternity in a family court at any time.

While surrogacy is ultimately altruistic, there is no legal limit on paying expenses. Costs do not have to be reduced to the minimum necessary; a court can increase or extend them. In the UK, intermediaries are forbidden to benefit from surrogacy arrangements.

The draft legislation enables aspiring parents to obtain legal guardianship of the child at birth. The biological mother can still withdraw her consent at any time, but a judge can dismiss this legal maternity claim if they believe it is detrimental to the child. The proposed regulation increases the number of required medical visits, and requires criminal background checks and psychological and legal counseling for both parties to the surrogacy agreement. The new regulations will provide greater legal certainty, transparency and protection from potential exploitation and will create an effective regime that puts the interests of the child front and center, said Nick Hopkins, the UKs commissioner for property, family and trust law. The draft bill provides for regulated, not-for-profit agencies that supervise surrogacy relationships. It also will establish a registry to provide transparency in the process and allow children to trace their origins after reaching the age of majority.

The draft law also establishes more explicit rules on the payment of expenses. It allows compensation for the welfare and medical care of the biological mother and the baby, losses incurred, gestational support and travel expenses. But compensatory fees and payment of ordinary living expenses (house rent, food, etc.) are prohibited.

The proposed legislation aims to maintain the altruistic nature of domestic surrogacy arrangements [within the UK] and make them more attractive than hiring a surrogate in another country.

Liberal support in Portugal

On January 1, 2022, Portuguese law allowed surrogacy for women with physical problems that prevent them from carrying a child to term, legal language that excludes men (specific regulations pertaining to this law are still being developed). The law gives surrogate mothers the right to back out of the agreement during the first 20 days and only allows payment of health care expenses.

Unlike Spain, where liberals align with feminists against surrogacy, all the left-wing parties in Portugal, except the Portuguese Communist Party, support the law on surrogate pregnancies. On the right, only the Liberal Initiative party supports it.

Redress for the biological mother was not in the original law. It was only incorporated after a long parliamentary and legal journey, including a presidential veto and a Constitutional Court ruling that annulled several articles of the version approved in 2017. Four law reforms culminated in the one approved at the end of 2021.

Even though the political and legal path of the law is now clear, it has not been put into practice due to the delay in drafting regulations regarding crucial aspects, like whether lesbian couples and single mothers can enter into surrogacy arrangements. The Portuguese law establishes that surrogacy legal transactions are only admissible on an exceptional basis and free of charge in cases of absence of the uterus, injury or disease of this organ or any other clinical situation that absolutely and definitively prevents the woman from becoming pregnant. Portugals National Council for Medically Assisted Procreation will supervise the entire process between both parties. Biological mothers are also entitled to psychological counseling before and after delivery.

Not wanting to wait for Portugals final regulations, some couples traveled to other countries to have a baby. Ukraine was a primary destination until Russia invaded the country in February 2022. Shortly after the invasion, Jornal de Noticias reported that 100 Portuguese couples had already paid for a Ukrainian surrogate mother and didnt know what would happen to the children after birth. Ukrainian surrogates usually receive $16,000-22,000 (15,000-20,000). According to an article in Expresso, Portuguese families are now going to places like Georgia, where the process costs more  $27,000-65,000 (25,000-60,000)  of which the biological mother receives about $13,000 (12,000).

Canada is open to foreigners but prohibits intermediaries

Canada also has laws allowing altruistic surrogacy and explicitly forbids paying a surrogate mother. Reimbursement of pregnancy-related expenses such as clothing, vitamins, food and transportation to medical appointments is permitted. The surrogate mother must be at least 21 and have given birth at least once. Heterosexual and homosexual couples, as well as single men and women, have access to the process.

Surrogacy brokering and advertising for profit are prohibited, so the process gets complicated for foreigners to enter into surrogacy agreements in Canada. An initiative by parliamentarian Anthony Housefather sought to decriminalize these practices, but it was not voted on in the last legislative session. Housefather believes women should have the right to make their own decisions on the issue. However, the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women and other organizations have opposed the commodification of bodies. Surrogacy agreements have legal standing in every Canadian province except Quebec. Canada does not collect official data on babies born through surrogacy arrangements.

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In this series, we bust the jargon and explain a popular investing term or theme. Here it's CoCos.

A type of breakfast cereal?

CoCos is shorthand for contingent convertibles. These securities  which are a blend of a bond and a share  were devised in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The aim was to provide a buffer for the finances of banks and thus limit the possibility of future government-mounted bailouts  for which taxpayers foot the bill. CoCos can be converted into shares of the bank, if its capital falls below certain levels.

Safeguard: CoCos  which are a blend of a bond and a share  were devised in the wake of the global financial crisis

Which banks issue them?

Those in the UK and the rest of Europe, including BNP Paribas, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander and UBS. US banks mostly do not.

Who invests in them?

Such has been the growth of the CoCos market that, earlier this year, it was estimated to be worth $275billion, with the bulk of this being held by financial institutions who like their high yields.

These institutions considered CoCos to be risky, but not excessively so, although recent events have caused them to reassess this viewpoint.

And these events are?

Huge doubts have arisen over the value of CoCos following the takeover of the collapsed Credit Suisse by UBS, another Swiss banking giant.

Finma, the Swiss financial watchdog, ordered that the $17billion worth of AT1 bonds issued by Credit Suisse should be written down to zero as part of the takeover.

Credit Suisse shareholders  who usually rank below bond holders in such situations  are to receive some money, $3.23billion.

But holders of CoCo bonds will get nothing. The fine print of these particular bonds is said to have permitted a total write-down, although holders appear to have been unaware of this. They now plan legal action against Finma.

What's been the response?

The Bank of England and European regulators say that they would observe the usual hierarchy if a bank failed, with shareholders, rather than bondholders, bearing the brunt of the losses.

Nevertheless the wipe-out of the Credit Suisse bonds has caused alarm, with prices of other banks' bonds in the same category falling sharply.

Their yields have doubled (when the price of a bond tumbles, its yield rises).

The fallout has spread to bank shares. Bill Winters, chief executive of Standard Chartered said that the move has 'profound' implications for the way banks are regulated.

Do CoCos have a future?

Experts have called the CoCos market a 'busted flush.'

In a letter to the Financial Times, Theo Vermaelen, Insead business school professor of finance, wrote that although CoCos were meant to keep a bank alive, they had proved to be 'instruments to facilitate a well-structured funeral'.

What happens next?

This is a moment of anxiety about banks. The Credit Suisse collapse came in the wake of the failure of the US Silicon Valley Bank. In the US concern has shifted to First Republic Bank and in Europe to Deutsche Bank. Against this background, banks may find it more expensive to raise capital which would hit their profitability. They may also be more constrained in their lending.
Rolls-Royce has announced a shake-up of its leadership team, as part of its new chief executive's plans to turn around the fortunes of the engineering giant.

Tufan Erginbilgic, who succeeded Warren East as CEO at the end of 2022, launched a transformation programme in January aimed at enhancing the firm's profitability.

He has compared the FTSE 100 company, known for manufacturing aircraft engines, to a 'burning platform' and said its current trajectory was 'unsustainable,' adding that it had 'not been performing for a long, long time'.

Turnaround man: Tufan Erginbilgic, who succeeded Warren East as CEO at the end of 2022, launched a transformation programme in January aimed at enhancing the firm's profitability

The Turkish-born boss has appointed Rob Watson to run Rolls Royce's civil aerospace division, transferring him from his role heading the electric aviation technology business.

Watson, a former chief of staff to Warren East, replaces Chris Cholerton, who has been moved to the group president post and has worked at Rolls-Royce since leaving Oxford University in 1981.

Cholerton was at the forefront of the response to the crisis regarding Rolls-Royce's faulty Trent 1000 aircraft engines, which landed the company with a 2.4billion bill for compensating airlines.

He was also in charge at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when the grounding of planes caused a heavy financial blow to Rolls-Royce, given that its revenues largely depend on how often planes with its engines are flying.

Rolls-Royce said Watson 'brings innovative business insights, coupled with robust commercial discipline, as well as a proven ability to develop and maintain strong customer and supplier relationships'.

Meanwhile, Helen McCabe, a former colleague of Erginbilgic at oil supermajor BP, has been hired to become Rolls-Royce's next chief financial officer.

She will replace Panos Kakoullis, who will stand down in late August after just two years in his role, having spent three decades previously working for 'Big Four' accounting firm Deloitte.

McCabe has worked at BP for more than a quarter-century and is currently its senior vice-president of finance for the customer and products arm, which covers lubricant brand Castrol and electric vehicle charging network Pulse.

Erginbilgic said: 'Her track record of promoting rigorous financial discipline and experience of delivering performance management to achieve dramatic improvements will be invaluable as we move, at pace, to transform Rolls-Royce.

'I have experienced her abilities first-hand, and her skillset will complement the existing capabilities of the executive team, contributing to Rolls-Royce delivering on its significant potential.'

In addition, Tom Samson, the head of the group's small modular reactors division, has departed with immediate effect, while Adam Riddle will become president of the company's defence business and chairman in the North America region.

Rolls-Royce said the former military officer was 'instrumental' in securing contracts to re-engine the US Air Force's B-52 aircraft and supply the propulsion system for the V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft currently being developed.

Rolls-Royce Holdings shares were 0.8 per cent up at 151.4p in early Friday trading, although they remain far below their pre-pandemic levels.
The chairman of De La Rue is facing another vote on his tenure after one of the company's largest shareholders renewed its efforts to oust him.

Crystal Amber Fund, which owns a 10 per cent stake in the troubled banknote printer, has called for a general meeting to vote on the removal of Kevin Loosemore and the appointment of Pepyn Dinandt in his place.

This is the second attempt by Crystal Amber Fund to unseat Loosemore in four months, having been been embroiled in a spat with De La Rue over its lacklustre performance.

This is the second attempt by Crystal Amber Fund to unseat Loosemore in four months

The company has been struggling since 2018 when it lost the lucrative contract to print Britain's post-Brexit passports to a French company.

De La Rue shares, which were down 5 per cent to 52.20p in early trade, have lost around 50 per cent of their value over the last year and are almost 90 per cent lower than five years ago.

Richard Bernstein, Crystal Amber founder and investment adviser, said: 'It is time for the chairman to take responsibility for the destruction of shareholder value on his watch.

'There have been strategic blunders and we urgently require new strategic leadership.'

The top investor wants Pepyn Dinandt - chief executive of the climate control and automotive controls systems divisions at German group Eberspaecher - to take over as De La Rue's new chairman.

In a statement on Friday, De La Rue said it was considering 'the contents and legality' of the requisition notice.

Loosemore was re-elected at last year's annual general meeting in July and survived an attempt to oust him in December, when he was backed by nearly 83 per cent of the votes at a shareholder meeting called by Crystal Amber.

The row between Crystal Amber and the company intensified in November after De La Rue reported its third profit warning in a year.

Crystal Amber's founder Richard Bernstein described the warning as a 'Liz Truss moment' for Loosemore  referencing the short and troubled tenure of the former prime minister, who quit after just six weeks.

Loosemore previously accused Bernstein of suggesting 'market manipulation' tactics when the investor said he wanted to propose a strategy.

Bernstein hit back, claiming Loosemore's comments were defamatory.
In vogue: Seats to watch Beyonce are the most popular treat at the moment for banks

Nervous banks are showering customers with more perks than ever before in a bid to keep their business  including tickets to the upcoming Beyonce tour, which are in high demand.

Alex Cheatle, boss of luxury concierge service Ten Lifestyle, said that the fear of bank runs is more an 'opportunity' than a threat for his company.

'We're finding that banks are signing longer and bigger contracts with us,' he told the Daily Mail.

Cheatle  who founded Ten with his half-brother Andrew Long in 1998  said the average bank was spending 20 per cent more year-on-year for customer benefits.

Ten works with banks and city bigwigs, organising everything from free upgrades at top London hotels to reserving the best tables at Michelin-star restaurants.

Cheatle said seats to watch Beyonce are the most popular treat at the moment for the banks.

Ten expects to post net revenue of around 30million for the six months ended on February 28, up 49 per cent.
Yamana Gold (LON:AUY  Get Rating) had its price objective trimmed by Berenberg Bank from GBX 500 ($6.14) to GBX 480 ($5.90) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, The Fly reports.

Yamana Gold Stock Performance

AUY opened at GBX 475 ($5.84) on Thursday. Yamana Gold has a 52-week low of GBX 360.10 ($4.42) and a 52-week high of GBX 548.40 ($6.74). The firm has a market capitalization of 4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 2,159.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.85, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.98. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is GBX 459.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 439.30.

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Yamana Gold Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a precious metal producer. It has gold and silver production, development-stage properties, exploration properties, and land positions throughout the Americas, including Canada, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. The company was formerly known as Yamana Resources Inc and changed its name to Yamana Gold Inc in August 2003.

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PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PWSC  Get Rating) CAO Angelina Hendraka sold 1,396 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total value of $27,040.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 137,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,673,001.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Angelina Hendraka also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Monday, March 27th, Angelina Hendraka sold 1,406 shares of PowerSchool stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.23, for a total value of $27,037.38.

PowerSchool Stock Performance

PWSC stock opened at $19.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $21.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.48. PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.60 and a fifty-two week high of $26.05.

Institutional Trading of PowerSchool

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of PowerSchool by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,722 shares of the companys stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in PowerSchool by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,397 shares of the companys stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in PowerSchool by 63.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,135 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in PowerSchool by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,977 shares of the companys stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in PowerSchool by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 79,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.21% of the companys stock.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on PowerSchool from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on PowerSchool from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on PowerSchool from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Bank of America upgraded PowerSchool from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on PowerSchool from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $26.09.

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PowerSchool Holdings, Inc provides cloud-based software to the K-12 education market. Its solution is embedded in school workflows and is used on daily basis by educators, students, administrators, and parents in schools and districts representing approximately 45 million students worldwide. Its cloud-based technology platform helps schools and districts manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resource, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, college and career readiness, assessments, and analytics.

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Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF  Get Rating) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,000 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 3,700 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.s holdings in Fidelity National Financial were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,635 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 85.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,103 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 11,138 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $77,000. Creative Planning raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,453 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 2,756,943 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $103,716,000 after purchasing an additional 285,636 shares during the period. 77.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

NYSE FNF opened at $34.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The firms 50 day moving average price is $39.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.93. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.84 and a 52-week high of $50.49. The company has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.36.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

Fidelity National Financial ( NYSE:FNF Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.22). Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 9.83% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. Fidelity National Financials revenue for the quarter was down 46.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.24%. Fidelity National Financials dividend payout ratio is presently 44.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Credit Suisse Group restated an outperform rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $49.00.

About Fidelity National Financial

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Fidelity National Financial, Inc engages in the provision of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. Its services include title insurance, escrow and other title-related services, including trust activities, trustee sales guarantees, recordings and reconveyances, and home warranty products and technology and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries.

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Janiczek Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI  Get Rating) (TSE:CNR) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 854 shares of the transportation companys stock after selling 187 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 1.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 556,550 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $60,100,000 after purchasing an additional 10,084 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 3.1% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,770 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 11.4% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,555 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Hendershot Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1.0% in the third quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 83,289 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $8,994,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,309,000. 86.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Canadian National Railway in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Canadian National Railway from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. National Bank Financial increased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from C$173.00 to C$175.00 in a report on Friday, December 16th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from C$159.00 to C$170.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on Canadian National Railway from C$181.00 to C$175.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $142.00.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Canadian National Railway stock opened at $116.30 on Friday. Canadian National Railway has a one year low of $103.79 and a one year high of $137.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $117.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.53. The company has a market cap of $77.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI  Get Rating) (TSE:CNR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The transportation company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 29.87% and a return on equity of 23.30%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a $0.5906 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Canadian National Railways previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Canadian National Railways dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.11%.

Canadian National Railway Profile

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Canadian National Railway Co engages in rail and related transportation business. Its services include rail, intermodal, trucking, supply chain services, business development and maps and network. Its offers their services in automotive, coal, fertilizer, food and beverages, forest products, dimensional loads, grain, metals and minerals and petroleum and chemicals industries.

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Dozens of South and Central American migrants wait outside the National Migration Institute for reports of the 29 migrants injured and 39 killed during last Monday's fire on March 30, 2023.

Mexicos president on Friday visited hospitals treating injured migrants in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, where 39 men died in an immigration detention center fire late Monday. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he was personally devastated by Mondays tragedy. But it appears he will bring little new with him in the way of immigration policy during Fridays visit to Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas.

I confess it hurt me a lot, it damaged me, Lopez Obrador said before the trip. It ripped my soul apart. The president said the Ciudad Juarez fire was the second most painful moment of his administration, exceeded only by a 2019 pipeline fire in the central Mexico town of Tlahuelilpan that killed about 135 people.

However, it hasnt cost him much politically.

Many residents of Mexican border cities mourned the death of the migrants in the smoky mattress fire, set by some migrants to protest perceived moves to deport them. But in Ciudad Juarez, many residents were fed up with migrants largely from Central America and Venezuela begging for change at street corners and blocking border bridges.

Eager to gain favor with the United States, Lopez Obrador has made life hard for migrants seeking to cross Mexico to reach the U.S. border. He has assigned tens of thousands of army troops and National Guard officers to retain migrants, and allowed the United States to return migrants from Venezuela, Honduras, Nicaragua and Cuba to Mexico.

But the U.S. has contributed little to helping Mexico shelter or integrate the returned migrants.

Lopez Obrador lashed out Friday, saying the United States should be spending more on economic development in Latin America to prevent migrants from leaving their homes, rather than sending military aid to Ukraine. He suggested the U.S. should provide direct cash support payments to families in the region.

How can you compare what the U.S. government send to Central America, with the $30, $35 billion it is spending on buying weapons for Ukraine? Lopez Obrador said.

That impasse  with federal governments in Mexico and the United States loathe to touch the migration issue  often leaves the situation up to local leaders, many of whose constituents view the migrants as a nuisance.

Lopez Obrador said Friday he was going to set up a commission to ensure the human rights of migrants are protected. He said the commission would be headed by longtime migrant activist and Roman Catholic priest Rev. Alejandro Solalinde. But it was unclear what powers the commission would have.

In the meantime, Lopez Obrador said I will concentrate on the medical side, basically. What matters to me is treatment for the injured. Mexico has turned down a U.S. offer to help provide medial treatment to the injured, most of whom suffered smoke inhalation, saying they were too ill to move.

Federal Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said Thursday that 27 migrants remained hospitalized, all of them in either serious or critical condition. One other migrant had been discharged, she said.

The migrant accused of starting the fire suffered only slight injuries and has already been released from the hospital, presumably into custody.

That migrant, along with three officials from the National Immigration Institute and two private security guards at the detention center face charges of homicide and causing injuries.

A video from a security camera inside the Ciudad Juarez facility showed guards walking away when the fire started inside the cell holding migrants and not making any attempt to release them. It was not clear whether those guards had keys to the cell doors.

But there have been years of complaints about poor conditions and human rights violations at migrant detention facilities in Mexico, including inadequate ventilation, food and water, and overflowing toilets.

Moreover, there is mounting evidence of corruption throughout Mexicos immigration system, in which everyone from lawyers and immigration officials to guards have taken bribes to allow migrants out of detention.

Little has been done up to now to address these concerns.

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Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO  Get Rating) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 835 shares of the basic materials companys stock after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Southern Copper were worth $63,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Southern Copper by 200.6% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,179,899 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $208,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789,376 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Southern Copper by 43.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,763,612 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $209,759,000 after acquiring an additional 835,044 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Southern Copper by 10.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,022,108 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $532,978,000 after acquiring an additional 680,165 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter valued at $25,834,000. Finally, First Republic Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 722.8% in the first quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 646,160 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $49,044,000 after purchasing an additional 567,629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.03% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Andreve Vicente Ariztegui sold 1,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.11, for a total transaction of $114,165.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $334,884. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

SCCO stock opened at $75.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.20. Southern Copper Co. has a one year low of $42.42 and a one year high of $79.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 3.38 and a current ratio of 4.20.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.28%. This is a positive change from Southern Coppers previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 13th. Southern Coppers dividend payout ratio is presently 116.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Southern Copper from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $40.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $60.14.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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Southern Copper Corp. engages in the development, production, and exploration of copper, molybdenum, zinc, and silver. It operates through the following segments: Peruvian Operations, Mexican Open-Pit Operations, and Mexican Underground Mining Operations. The Peruvian Operations segment focuses on the Toquepala and Cuajone mine complexes and the smelting and refining plants, industrial railroad, and port facilities that service both mines.

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Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG  Get Rating) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,268 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLCs holdings in EOG Resources were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in shares of EOG Resources by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 233 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in EOG Resources by 1,436.8% in the 1st quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 292 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.40% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EOG shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $160.00 to $122.00 in a report on Friday, March 17th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on EOG Resources from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on EOG Resources from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on EOG Resources from $152.00 to $146.00 in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, Johnson Rice downgraded EOG Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $177.00 to $163.00 in a report on Monday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, EOG Resources has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $150.68.

EOG Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

EOG Resources stock opened at $113.54 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.28. The company has a market cap of $66.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.52. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.16 and a 52-week high of $150.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The energy exploration company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). EOG Resources had a return on equity of 34.95% and a net margin of 30.19%. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.09 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

EOG Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael T. Kerr bought 20,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $130.49 per share, with a total value of $2,609,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 170,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,183,300. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the companys stock.

About EOG Resources

(Get Rating)

EOG Resources, Inc engages in the exploration, development, production and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. It operates through the United States, Trinidad & Tobago, and Other International segments. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

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Silvant Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF  Get Rating) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,494 shares of the basic materials companys stock after selling 274 shares during the quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLCs holdings in CF Industries were worth $2,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 76,830 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $7,918,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $245,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $232,000. National Pension Service acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,765,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,747,358 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $2,653,523,000 after buying an additional 94,482 shares during the last quarter. 92.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $126.00 to $100.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group restated an underperform rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $104.80.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:CF opened at $71.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.05. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $81.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.58. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.95 and a 1 year high of $119.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 3.22.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.13 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.80 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 29.91% and a return on equity of 48.59%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. CF Industriess payout ratio is currently 9.80%.

CF Industries Company Profile

(Get Rating)

CF Industries Holdings, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of nitrogen fertilizer. The firm owns and operates nitrogen plants and serves agricultural and industrial customers through its distribution system. It operates through following segments: Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other.

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Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lessened its stake in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT  Get Rating) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,017 shares of the aerospace companys stock after selling 395 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $1,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. IMA Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 78 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Cowa LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the companys stock.

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Lockheed Martin Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE LMT opened at $473.18 on Friday. The firms 50-day moving average is $470.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $461.11. The company has a market capitalization of $120.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.68. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 12-month low of $373.67 and a 12-month high of $498.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

Lockheed Martin ( NYSE:LMT Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $7.41 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $18.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.25 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 68.01% and a net margin of 8.69%. Lockheed Martins revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.47 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 1st were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. Lockheed Martins dividend payout ratio is presently 55.27%.

Insider Activity at Lockheed Martin

In other news, Director John Donovan purchased 556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $451.20 per share, for a total transaction of $250,867.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,588.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Lockheed Martin news, Director John Donovan acquired 556 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $451.20 per share, for a total transaction of $250,867.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,324 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,048,588.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy S. Cahill sold 2,534 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.44, for a total value of $1,214,900.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,460 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,014,942.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $500.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Monday, December 5th. Credit Suisse Group raised Lockheed Martin from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and raised their price target for the stock from $427.00 to $510.00 in a report on Monday, February 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Lockheed Martin in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Lockheed Martin from a neutral rating to a sell rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $388.00 to $332.00 in a report on Friday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $490.43.

Lockheed Martin Profile

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Lockheed Martin Corp. is a global security and aerospace company, which engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services. It operates through the following business segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control (MFC), Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), and Space.

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Veriti Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Get Rating) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,335 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 6,813 shares during the period. Veriti Management LLCs holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of USB. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. EWG Elevate Inc. purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 334.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. 71.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on USB shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 6th. Barclays raised U.S. Bancorp from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 20th. They issued a neutral rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Sunday, February 26th. They issued a neutral rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $53.42.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $35.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.77. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.72 and a 12 month high of $57.92. The company has a market capitalization of $54.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.61 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.13% and a net margin of 21.26%. The businesss revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.42%. U.S. Bancorps dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.75%.

About U.S. Bancorp

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U.S. Bancorp operates as a bank holding company, which offers financial services including lending and depository services, cash management, foreign exchange and trust and investment management. The firm also offers mortgage, refinance, auto, boat and RV loans, credit lines, credit card services, merchant, bank, checking and savings accounts, debit cards, online and mobile banking, ATM processing, mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage and leasing services.

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Cambridge Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV  Get Rating) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,115 shares of the companys stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Advisors Inc.s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,022,414 shares of the companys stock worth $20,939,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442,663 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,486,317 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,399,439,000 after buying an additional 366,695 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in AbbVie by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,530,360 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,919,162,000 after buying an additional 476,257 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 9.3% during the second quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 11,011,386 shares of the companys stock worth $1,686,504,000 after purchasing an additional 938,091 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 2.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,904,988 shares of the companys stock worth $1,443,588,000 after purchasing an additional 176,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.71% of the companys stock.

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AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $157.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.62. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $151.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.02. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.09 and a 52-week high of $175.91.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

AbbVie ( NYSE:ABBV Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.54 by $0.06. AbbVie had a return on equity of 154.52% and a net margin of 20.39%. The business had revenue of $15.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. AbbVies revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. AbbVies dividend payout ratio is 89.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roxanne S. Austin sold 10,000 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.50, for a total transaction of $1,505,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,705 shares in the company, valued at $6,126,102.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 53,125 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total value of $8,089,875.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,941 shares in the company, valued at $9,280,095.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Roxanne S. Austin sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.50, for a total value of $1,505,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,126,102.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,746 shares of company stock worth $24,267,450. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABBV. Wolfe Research downgraded AbbVie from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Truist Financial upped their price target on AbbVie from $160.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. SVB Leerink upgraded AbbVie from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Atlantic Securities cut their price objective on AbbVie from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on AbbVie from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $161.12.

AbbVie Company Profile

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AbbVie, Inc is a research-based biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and sale of pharmaceutical products. It focuses on treating conditions such as chronic autoimmune diseases in rheumatology, gastroenterology, and dermatology, oncology, including blood cancers, virology, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), neurological disorders, such as Parkinsons, metabolic, comprising thyroid disease and complications associated with cystic fibrosis, pain associated with endometriosis, and other serious health conditions.

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A hippo wanders down the road of Pablo Escobar's Hacienda Napoles; December 2017. Sinikka Tarvainen (Getty Images)

The heated debate over Pablo Escobars imported hippopotamuses is missing a prominent voice  Colombias Ministry of Environment. Many have weighed in on what to do with this invasive species, but Environment Minister Susana Muhamad is not one of them. In the meantime, department officials in Antioquia, northwest Colombia, have launched a plan to send 70 hippos abroad  10 to Mexico and 60 to India. The first 10 are scheduled to leave in two months for Mexico, a move that will be filmed by an Argentinean production company for an episode of Cargas Imposibles (or, Impossible Cargo), a television series about shipments that require extra-special handling.

While giving away 70 hippos is a good starting point, it doesnt fully solve the problem. Scientists have asked Minister Muhamad on Twitter to publish the results of a study conducted six months ago by Colombias National University and the Alexander Von Humboldt Institute. The study assessed the impacts of the growing hippo population on the people living in surrounding areas.

The study aimed to propose actions for the management, control and eradication of Hippopotamus amphibius, through the analysis of the socio-environmental, demographic and ecological dimension of the species. Still, the studys results have not been published. On March 27, Muhammad finally tweeted back. Based on the study results, we are defining the general policy and budget for the next four years. She added that they expect to announce their decisions in April.

Thats all we know from Muhamads ministry about the environmental risk posed by the booming hippo herd in Colombia. According to the most recent study published in 2021 in Biological Conservation, the countrys hippo population is projected to exceed 1,400 in 2034. Nataly Casteblanco, a co-author of the study, believes the number may be even higher because their latest analysis indicates a 15% reproduction rate, and almost half of the current population are infants and juveniles. The estimated number today is 160 hippos.

The last information about hippos posted to the Ministry of Environments website dates back to the previous administration of President Ivan Duque, so scientists are eager to see the recent studys results. Anticipating a presentation, an abstract of the study was submitted for the upcoming Colombian Zoology Congress but was later withdrawn. EL PAIS received no response from the Ministry of Environment when asked why the study presentation was canceled.

Antioquias televised hippo relocation

Meanwhile, Antioquia not-so-quietly decided to relocate at least 70 hippos to Mexico and India. In late March, Antioquia Governor Anibal Gaviria signed an agreement with Ernesto Zazueta, the president of the Ostok animal sanctuary in Sinaloa, Mexico, to take the first 10 hippos. We must acknowledge that their presence and uncontrolled future growth pose risks to our citizens and visitors. As an invasive species, it could endanger other native species, said Gaviria.

Three recent incidents involving humans have been reported in the Magdalena Medio region where the hippos live. One person was seriously bitten and continues to suffer mental health problems. A man trying to steal a calf to sell was attacked by its mother. The most widely publicized incident was a road accident. In September 2017, a hippopotamus strolled through the village of Doradal and was adopted as a pet by locals who didnt realize that the worlds third-largest land animal kills 500 people annually in Africa.

The hippo relocation to Mexico promises to be a spectacle. The Argentinean production company will film it and pay for the crates used to transport the animals. The municipality of Puerto Triunfo will build corrals to lure and hold the hippos, and Antioquias environmental agency will be responsible for capturing them. They will then be placed in special crates, quarantined and transported in trucks to Medellins airport or the nearby air base at Palanquero. From there, on to Ostok.

Zazueta, the entrepreneurial head of the Ostok sanctuary, said they just want to help control the hippo population growth rate. A radical move was needed. It didnt make sense to take one or two hippos, but enough to bring the population down [in Colombia], he said. The relocation has ruffled feathers back in Mexico. Ive heard some people are worried and say, Why are you bringing a plague here? But Ostok is a closed sanctuary. Its not a zoo and cant be accessed from the street. We have containment areas for these animals.

According to the Antioquia governors office, the transfer will occur in two months once the Ministry of Environment approves what Gaviria called a passport for the hippopotamuses, referring to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) permit.

According to Lina Marcela Rios, Antioquias animal protection manager, the hippopotamuses are innocent, and this relocation will eliminate the need to hunt the animals  a last resort. The Ministry of Environment has not said whether it agrees with Antioquias initiative or if it is considering other ways to control the invasive species.

All the rhetoric from officials involved at the national, regional and local levels focuses on preserving life. Thats why the hippos have become such a huge dilemma. Our mission is to save the lives of hippos and protect the people in the Magdalena Medio area. Two phenomenal objectives, said Gaviria, amid growing anticipation about the fate of the hippos.

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A few weeks ago, I overheard a visitor from El Salvador say she felt free in Colombia to sing a karaoke song that she no longer dared to sing back home. When I asked what it was, I got a huge surprise: Mis ojos lloran por ti (My eyes cry for you, in English). For a generation of Latin Americans  my generation  its a song we always sing loudly to light up the night and end parties.

In El Salvador, singing songs by musicians like Big Boy, wearing Nike Cortez or Adidas Superstar sneakers, and having religious tattoos can get you mistaken for a gangbanger because some have appropriated these things as a sign of belonging. Their strategies of territorial control, fear and violence meant that only gang members could wear certain clothes. It was also a way of recognizing enemies.

Fear of being associated with gangs forced many people to limit everyday choices like what music to listen to. Although President Nayib Bukeles government has dismantled several major gangs and thrown most of them in jail, many people are still afraid. They are still scared of the gangs but are now also fearful of the government.

This is a story of tradeoffs, of the price we are willing to pay to feel safe. As more and more voices in Colombia laud El Salvadors near-miraculous security model and suggest we apply it in our country, we should first ask ourselves  how much is our peace of mind worth? What rights and freedoms will we give up to feel safe in our neighborhoods? How do we know when we have gone too far in giving up human rights and civil liberties? Will there be a way back? Giving up a song or a pair of sneakers may seem trivial... or they may be the most tangible and familiar examples of a much greater sacrifice.

Lets look at El Salvador and some examples of the current tension between security, liberties, rights and power. Lets look at how ordinary Salvadorans are making these tradeoffs. First, there is the ongoing state of exception or emergency, an oft-used tool in Latin America to suspend certain rights and constitutional provisions. It grants civil and military authorities exceptional powers to face serious or extraordinary challenges. The challenge for El Salvador was providing better security for its citizens after decades of violent crime that surged a year ago. Yes, the state of exception has been in place for nearly a year now, so there is nothing exceptional about it anymore. Government data indicate that 61,000 people linked to gangs have been arrested during the state of exception, which includes measures such as suspending freedom of association, the right to be duly informed of ones rights and reasons for detention, and extending the preventive detention period to 15 days.

Another example is the justification for the eleventh extension of the state of exception. When the director of El Salvadors National Civil Police made his case to the National Assembly, he said, Remember, a police officer is a street judge with the skills and ability to detain, identify and evaluate people and then deliver them to the justice system.

A similar example is Bukeles penal code reform that punishes dissemination of information alluding to gangs with 10-15 years in prison. This covers text, drawings, designs, paintings or any form of visual expression on public or private real estate that explicitly or implicitly alludes to criminal groups. The same penalty applies to those who reproduce and transmit messages from criminal groups that may cause public panic or anxiety (there is a specific mention of the media). All this makes one wonder if music or clothing styles are included under this broad umbrella.

The big picture is terrifying. The government and public security forces rapidly acquire excessive power, while Salvadorans, especially innocent ones, are increasingly stripped of protections, rights and freedoms. The result is not a more robust justice system or government but a system easily manipulated by a few individuals. Today, the nation overwhelmingly supports going after gangs, but what if they decide tomorrow to focus on another group or another dimension of freedom of expression and association? Is this what we want to emulate in Colombia? Allowing unfettered, discretionary power to gain peace of mind?

The usual answer to these questions is that he who owes nothing fears nothing. But why shouldnt we worry about shifting boundaries? Who decides whether a piece of writing or a drawing contains allusions to a criminal group? Who decides whether a message will panic the public? What are the criteria? Why does a police officer on the street have the power to judge whether Im innocent or guilty without due process, which is the ultimate guarantee of justice and impartiality?

Being a citizen undoubtedly involves compromises and tradeoffs to coexist in a society. But how much do I have to give up so a cop wont decide Im a criminal? Easy  forget about certain people, songs, sneakers, tattoos, expressions, messages and designs. In other words, give up your everyday life and your individuality. Easy...

Of course, not everyone experiences violence and insecurity in the same way (surely its okay and even cool to wear Nike Cortez sneakers in affluent parts of El Salvador). That is why Bukele has won overwhelming support from residents of neighborhoods formerly controlled by gangs. Its understandable. I would dare say that generations of Latinos who grew up and live in countries with high rates of violence all share the fatigue, anger, sadness and frustration caused by decades of living with violence. Nothing makes it go away. That is why when I hear praise for the Bukele miracle, I wonder if feeling safer implies giving up rights and freedoms and the possibility that some innocent people may die or end up in prison. I wonder if we will be okay with that because this is the only way to attain the common good, which supposedly trumps everything.

Paradoxically, the Bukele model doesnt dispel fear and anxiety  it just changes the source. We still must be careful where we sing Mis ojos lloran por ti because that could cost us our freedom and even our lives.
Cosmetic surgeons nostalgically remember the days when their patients would come to their offices with a photo of, say, Angelina Jolie and say: I want to look like this. The response was as simple as handing back the photo and telling them: Thats nice, but youre not Angelina Jolie.

Two decades later, first meetings with patients have become a bit more complicated. Patients now pull out their phones and show their own filtered faces. I want this, they keep saying but now its harder to convince them that its impossible.

The argument of youre not Angelina Jolie is tougher to accept in the time of augmented reality. Patients arrive at consultations after having already lived (online) with the best version of their facial features. On screen, they were more beautiful, younger and smoother and they want to pay to have all of that in real life.

They come after having carefully studied their own faces theyve tried out various filters, they know [what makes them] look better and they arrive with the diagnosis already made. They [tell us] that they want to increase the size of their lips or raise the cheekbones says Dr. Gema Perez Sevilla, a cosmetic surgeon and specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Sometimes they ask for truly strange things that cannot be achieved, such as changing the position of their eyes.

On Instagram, Dr. Perez Sevilla has just published a video with her face passed through TikToks Bold Glamour filter. Its not healthy to show everyone [features] that arent ours and, on top of that, are reproducible en masse for the entire world, she tells her 45,000 followers.

While TikTok hasnt confirmed it, experts believe that Bold Glamour applies a type of artificial intelligence that rejuvenates faces with precision and  whats even more perverse  with some realism. The filter instantly shows you the best version of yourself. It erases everything you dont want to see: wrinkles, sunken cheekbones, dark circles, open pores, slack chin, dull eyes, sparse eyelashes. And it does so in real time, without fail.

This mental trap hooks people. Since the filter was launched in February, it has already been used more than 16 million times. The AI it uses compares each face against a database of infinite faces. Then, using machine learning technology, it builds the best possible version of the filtered face.

If the resulting esthetic is impressive, the realism is even more so: this elevated version of yourself doesnt fail even when you move your face, or when a hand enters the visual field (traditional filtered faces are generally betrayed by hand movements).

The phenomenon of people asking for surgical procedures to look like their digitally-filtered image was coined Snapchat dysmorphia (as the first filters came via that platform) by Dr Tijion Esho, a plastic surgeon with clinics in London and Newcastle.

In 2018, a study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery suggested that filtered images blur the line between reality and fantasy and can trigger body dysmorphic disorder  a mental disorder characterized by an obsession with imagined physical imperfections.

Until the filters arrived, we had never faced the best version [of ourselves]... this is harmful because it leads to a comparison in which reality always loses out. The perception of our brain is altered so that, when you see yourself without makeup, you feel a certain rejection towards your own image, because the brain also prefers the best option, affirms Dr. Perez Sevilla.

Every day, Paz Torralba  director of The Beauty Concept clinics  has to do didactic work to gain the trust of patients who arrive with very high expectations and an unreal image  distorted by filters  and who have serious self-esteem and self-perception problems. Both surgeons concede that the filters have, to some extent, altered the practice of their profession.

According to Snapchat, more than 90% of young people in the United States, France and the United Kingdom use its augmented reality (AR) filters. Meta, meanwhile, indicates that more than 600 million people have used its AR effects on Facebook and Instagram. Also, this habit is starting earlier and earlier. A 2020 investigation by the Dove Self-Esteem Project says that, by the age of 13, 80% of girls have already used a filter to alter their appearance.

The Bold Glamour filter is too new for there to be any scientific evidence regarding its impact on self-esteem. But those earlier filters  which now seem rudimentary  have been scrutinized for damaging mental health. The available scientific evidence shows that the farther away the filtered image is from our self-perception, the worse we feel. It also suggests that heavy use of filters speeds up the first visit to the plastic surgeon.

Therapist Adriana Royo has very young patients  under the age of 20  who, when theyre sick, put on a filter to appear before their TikTok audience.

They dont show their worst face although theyll tell their followers that theyve had a bad day and even cry in front of their audience. [This all] ends up impacting the brain. What Ive seen in my last 10 years of clinical practice is that anxiety and depression are closely linked to the constant search for perfection.

In 2021, a study from the City University of London explored the mental health issues in 175 young women and non-binary people ages 18 to 30. More than 90% of young women used filters or heavily edited their photos. The most popular filters were those that shed several pounds and whitened teeth, while offering an even, tanned, glowing skin tone. These young women used filters to define their jaws, alter their noses, enlarge the eyes and fill in lips.

According to the authors, the younger girls admitted to being under considerable pressure to appear happy, fun and [having] a very active social life. All of this falls within the notion of being beautiful without effort, which hides the filters and the enormous amount of hours spent editing. The researchers also found that people with low self-esteem and a poor self-image were more likely to use filters  behavior that reinforced negative beliefs about their appearance.

Other research has also shown that filter abuse increases feelings of body dissatisfaction. [Users] are no longer just comparing their appearance to professionally produced pictures of celebrities, but harshly judging themselves against their own filtered selfies, the authors write, noting that this relentless scrutiny wreaks havoc on self-esteem.

The obsession with comparing and judging yourself on social media increases filter dysmorphia a disconnect between actual appearance and edited images deemed fit to share with the world. This alienation from reality was observed by researcher Ashna Habbid in her work on how Snapchat filters affected young women, published in 2022.

Habbid described a ritual: You start finding flaws that no one else notices for example, the shape of the face or the width of the forehead. To correct these supposed imperfections, [users] frequently look at their old photos. They then spend a lot of time taking selfies over and over again, editing them until they achieve the ideal look. Ultimately, theyre trying to change their appearance to get closer and closer to their filtered version. Its very likely that there are people who never publish a photo that hasnt been passed through the image wash.

Other studies suggest that the detailed and excessive comparison of manipulated faces and bodies generates a type of self-objectification that could explain why intensive filter users opt, very quickly, for the scalpel to correct themselves. American plastic surgeons warn that unlike other static filters, TikToks Bold Glamour smoothes pores and adds lashes and remains undetectable to the untrained eye. In this hyperrealism lies its perversion.

TikTok hasnt released any information about the design of Bold Glamour, but the company has asked its content-makers  via an official statement  to be honest and mark their content every time they use this filter. In France  as of Friday  this is mandatory. All influencers will have to tell their audiences about the use of beautification filters  as explained by Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire  to limit its destructive psychological effects. The law is part of a set of behavior guidelines for influencers and content creators.

The confusion between reality and fiction can disrupt identity, writes Renee Engeln, director of the Body and Media Lab at Northwestern University. Looking at your real face in a mirror suddenly scares you. Youll never like yourself again. Youll always find something that needs to be corrected. Your interest in plastic surgery and other procedures will soon increase, the researcher warns.

Paz Torralba and Perez Sevilla already notice that their patients have become more demanding and have very high expectations. They no longer want to be Angelina Jolie  they want to be a real-life clone of their airbrushed TikTok clone.

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Donald Trump, the ex-president and frontrunner to be Republican nominee in 2024, is set to face a mug shot, finger-printing and a court appearance next week after being indicted over a probe into hush money paid to a porn star in an historic U.S. first.

The possible spectacle of Trumps appearance in Manhattan before a judge as the first sitting or former President to face criminal charges, with international media camped outside, could further divide the worlds most powerful country.

The specific charges against Trump are not yet known as the indictment remains under seal, but CNN on Thursday reported Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

Trump, 76, said he was completely innocent and accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the Democrat who led the investigation, of trying to hurt his electoral chances.

This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history, Trump said in a statement.

Shortly after, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense.

He has raised over $2 million since March 18, according to his campaign, and called for people to protest.

A small number of supporters rallied at Trumps Mar-a-Lago property in Florida on Thursday, waving flags along the highway, while a critic of the former president held a sign near the New York DAs office reading: Lock him up and throw away the key.

Authorities bolstered security around the Manhattan courthouse after Trump earlier this month called for nationwide protests, recalling his charged rhetoric ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Neither the White House nor President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is widely expected to seek re-election in a possible rematch against Trump, commented on Thursday.

But the partys top senator, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, called for matters to play out calmly.

I encourage both Mr. Trumps critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law, he said.

LEGAL BATTLES

The Manhattan investigation is just one of several legal challenges concerning Trump.

Trump also faces a separate criminal probe into whether he unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia, and two investigations by a special counsel including over his handling of classified documents after leaving office.

The Manhattan charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days and Trump will have to travel there to be fingerprinted and photographed, known as a surrender date, which a court official said was expected on Tuesday.

He will then appear before a judge and be formally charged.

Thursdays indictment from the grand jury came after months of hearing evidence about an alleged $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 campaign.

But any potential trial is still at least more than a year away, legal experts said, meaning it could occur during or after the presidential campaign.

Trumps lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said they will vigorously fight the charges.

Trump received support from a number of potential challengers for the Republican nomination including Florida Governor Ron Desantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.

This will only further serve to divide our country, Pence said.

Trump could use the case to stoke anger among his core supporters, though other Republican voters might tire of the drama.

Some 44% of Republicans said he should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.

How much the case affects the election could have profound implications beyond US borders.

While president between 2017 and 2021, Trump regularly clashed with allies over trade and defense, and a return to the Oval Office looks set to weaken U.S support for Ukraine.

AFFAIRS ALLEGED

He has also escaped legal peril numerous times.

In the White House, he weathered two attempts by Congress to remove him from office, over the U.S. Capitol assault by supporters and probe into his campaigns contacts with Russia in 2016.

The Manhattan District Attorneys office successfully prosecuted Trumps business on tax-fraud charges last year, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty.

The presiding judge in that case, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, is expected to oversee the Daniels case as well, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Legal experts say Bragg is expected to argue Trump falsified business records to cover up another crime, such as violating federal campaign-finance law, which makes it a felony.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

The former presidents personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him.

Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.

Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he called a simple private transaction.

No one is above the law, Daniels lawyer Clark Brewster said.

Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said he acted at Trumps direction.

Cohen said he stood by his testimony and the evidence he provided.

SOURCE: REUTERS
Russia has charged an American journalist with spying while Finland moved closer to becoming a NATO member, deepening tensions between Moscow and the West as the war in Ukraine reached its 400th day on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke in his Thursday evening video address of the tremendous path his country had taken in 400 days since Russias invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

Ukraine will win at the front  we will not leave a single trace of Russia on our land, and we will not leave any enemy unpunished either. We are preparing news about this, he said. He did not give details, but the Ukrainian military has been planning a counteroffensive.

Earlier on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal denied espionage allegations against its reporter, Evan Gershkovich, and demanded his immediate release. The Kremlin said he had been caught red-handed but presented no documentary or video evidence.

The White House condemned Russias action and urged U.S. citizens living or travelling in Russia to leave immediately.

These espionage charges are ridiculous. The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing.

The Russian FSB security service said it arrested Gershkovich, a 31-year-old who has worked in Russia as a journalist for six years, in the Urals industrial city of Yekaterinburg, suspected of spying in the interests of the American government.

He was brought to Moscow, where a court at a closed hearing ordered him held in pre-trial detention until May 29. Espionage under Russian law can be punishable by up to 20 years in jail.

Western political analysts speculated Moscow could seek to barter Gershkovich in a prisoner swap with Washington or use him as diplomatic leverage in some other way.

MORE NATO, NOT LESS

Separately, Turkeys parliament approved a bill on Thursday to allow Finland to join NATO. The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the Western defence alliance to ratify Finlands membership after Hungarys legislature approved a similar bill on Monday.

Sweden has also sought NATO membership as a response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. One of Russias main justifications for the invasion was to prevent the Western military alliance from expanding. The alliance and its members have supplied Kyiv with military and economic aid.

Soon both Finland and Sweden will be members, meaning that President Putin is getting the exact opposite of what he wanted, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Fox News. He wanted less NATO. He is getting more NATO.

Ukraine said Russian forces pressed on with their assault in the east, in particular on Bakhmut and nearby towns as well as on the town of Avdiivka, about 60 km (37 miles) to the southwest of Bakhmut.

Bakhmut has been the site of the bloodiest infantry battle in Europe since World War Two, with Russian forces seeking their first victory since mid-2022.

Our defences are holding the city and repelling numerous enemy attacks, Ukraines military said on Facebook on Thursday evening.

Ukrainian military analyst and journalist, Andriy Tsaplienko, interviewed on Ukrainian NV Radio, said Russian forces were trying to repeat in Avdiivka what happened in Bakhmut.

The city is under constant, daily shelling. They understand that they cannot simply capture it and instead are starting to destroy Avdiivka as much as possible, Tsaplienko said.

Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield reports.

The Ukrainian military had said a day earlier that Russian fighters were having some success in Bakhmut. Evhen Dikyi, a Ukrainian military analyst interviewed on Ukrainian NV Radio, said Russian forces controlled more than half the city.

I can tell you that Bakhmut is holding firm. But there is heavy fighting in the city and it is getting closer to the city centre, he said.

If Russian forces are reported to have made some progress it is probably because they have crossed the Bakhmutka River. They have come wave upon wave and we are talking about a few hundred metres, Dikyi added.

A month ago, the Ukrainian military seemed likely to abandon Bakhmut but has since decided to stay and fight for it, hoping to exhaust and deplete Russias attacking force.

Russias invasion has destroyed Ukrainian cities and set millions of civilians to flight. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers on both sides are believed to have died.

SOURCE: REUTERS
Wilfredo Lee/AP

California and three other states have joined a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking JetBlue's $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines, which is scheduled for trial this fall.

New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina also joined in an updated version of the complaint that was filed Friday in federal district court in Boston.
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ALBANY  Construction of a massive power line bringing electricity from Canada to New York City has started, with the Port of Albany being one of the first major staging areas.

On Wednesday, developers of the Champlain Hudson Power Express off-loaded 35 of what will be 500 cables to be used in the land-based portion of the line. Imported from Sweden, the cables will be trucked to Fort Edward, where they will be inspected and staged for installation.

When completed, the 339-mile line will include 190 miles of cable under the Hudson River and 140 miles of terrestrial line.

Champlain Hudson says that once it is completed, the high voltage direct-current, 1,250 megawatt capacity cable will be the nations largest fully buried power line.

After over a decade of planning, this brings us one step closer to a cleaner, greener New York, said Justin Sauber, CEO of Transmission Developers, the company that is building the line for Hydro-Quebec, the provincial-owned Quebec, Canada company that is selling the power. Hydro-Quebec operates a series of large hydroelectric dams and power plants in northern Canada.

They supply much of Quebec with its power needs and have been looking to export electricity as well.

One of their selling points has been the lack of carbon, or greenhouse gases, that are emitted with hydroelectric production.

The states 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act has set out ambitious goals for developing a carbon-free power grid. Much of the need for that is in New York City, where a good deal of the states electricity demand lies.

That need historically has been met with a fleet of aging, dirty oil and gas-fired power plants in the city, which are being phased out.

The Champlain Hudson project actually broke ground in late 2022, with preparation of a staging area in Whitehall, near Fort Edward in Washington County.

Champlain Hudson is one of two transmission lines going partially in the river to supply New York Citys needs. The Clean Path New York line is planned to connect solar and wind power farms across upstate New York via a transmission line as well.

That is being developed by a partnership between the quasi-public New York Power Authority, energyRE and Invenergy.

The two projects, when completed are expected to provide more than a third of New York Citys electricity needs.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
Here are your picks for the Best of the Capital Region 2023

We tallied the votes from this years Best of the Capital Region contest in 100 categories.
John Henry Ramirez wanted to die in physical contact with his pastor, accompanied by the prayers of the clergy person who had been mentoring him since 2015. He took that wish to the Supreme Court of the United States. While the case was being decided, the judges halted his execution scheduled for September 2021. The suspension came at the last minute, after the inmate had eaten his final meal. In March 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in his favor over the state of Texas, which opposed allowing the pastor to lay hands on the prisoner for security and safety reasons. On Wednesday night, Ramirez, 38, was finally executed by his pastors side via lethal injection. Ramirez was sentenced to death for the 2004 murder of Pablo Castro, a 46-year-old employee of a grocery store, who had nine children. Ramirez stole $1.25 from Castro and stabbed him 29 times. The lethal injection took 14 minutes to take effect, and the coroner pronounced Ramirez dead at 6.41pm (local time).

In his last words, Ramirez said: I just want to say to the family of Pablo Castro, I appreciate everything that yall did to try and communicate with me through the Victims Advocacy program. I tried to reply back, but there is nothing that I could have said or done that would have helped you. I have regret and remorse. This is such a heinous act. I hope this finds you comfort. If this helps you, then I am glad. I hope in some shape or form this helps you find closure. To my wife, my friends, my son, grasshopper, Dana and homies, I love yall. Just know that I fought a good fight, and I am ready to go. I am ready, Warden.

Pastor Dana Moore, at the Second Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, last December. Monica Gonzalez

Dana is Dana Moore, reverend of the Second Baptist Church of Corpus Christi, Texas, who accompanied the convicted murder in his last moments. He supported the defendants motion, stating in writing to the court that he, too, needed to be in physical contact with John Ramirez during the most stressful and difficult time of his life, in order to give him comfort. [...] Human touch has significance and power.

Aaron Castro, the victims son, issued a statement Wednesday: Peace and Love and justice for Pablo G. Castro may his name not be forgotten, and may God have mercy in J.H.R. for it is not up to us. He is receiving his true judgment with our Lord and Savior. The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end. A Life taken away is not to be celebrated but closure can definitely take place.

Ramirezs defense team argued that not allowing the prisoner to be in physical contact with his pastor was a violation of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of worship, and prison law. The Supreme Court, which is the most conservative it has been in decades, voted in favor 8 to 1.

Texas is one of 27 states in the United States that still apply the death penalty. It is also one of the most active, and has five executions scheduled from now until March 2023.

Ramirez met with EL PAIS last December on the death row of the Adam B. Polunsky high-security prison in Livingston, Texas, which has a capacity for 3,000 prisoners, of which 191 were then awaiting execution. The prisoner justified his aspiration to die in the company of his priest: In religious services people shake hands and touch each other and, if it is going to be literally my last moment, its very important to do it that way. As to whether he was afraid, he replied: No, I want to [die]. It will be a relief to get out of this place. I want to stop feeling pain.

He also recalled the night he killed Pablo Castro: I was in the parking lot, inside the car, and then I saw my friend struggling with a man [Pablo Castro]. I went out to separate them and he hit me in the mouth, so I got angry, I took out the knife and started to stab him. I passed. I dont know how to find another explanation, not even drugs, because at that time I was always high. I had a problem with my anger, I didnt know how to control myself, but I realized how serious it had been. We left and I went to sleep at a friends house. I didnt know that I had killed him until the next morning, when I saw my face on the television news, so I ran away to Mexico.

He spent enough time in Mexico to believe he was safe. He married and had a son, Grasshopper. He traveled to Brownsville, Texas, with his partner to give birth. He suspected that those who helped him escape gave him away. In 2007, he was arrested. Now, 15 years later, Texas has executed him.
ULSTER COUNTY  In the fall of 2019, Pam Eighmey heard a loud thump followed by the sound of a tailgate closing in her neighbors yard. Looking outside, she saw that a truckload of debris and soil had been delivered just uphill from their home in Shady, a hamlet of Woodstock. The Eighmeys neighbors at 10 Church Road apparently were planning to level their backyard, which sloped down to Sawkill Creek.

That delivery was the start of an ongoing saga that has set neighbor against neighbor, divided town officials and left Woodstock with a potential threat to its water supply. The soil and rocks purchased by the Eighmeys neighbors may have included contaminated construction debris from as far away as New York City and were part of a wide-ranging scheme that ultimately brought more than 3,000 truckloads of waste to a site in Saugerties not authorized to accept it.

At the center of the story is a businessman, Joseph E. Karolys, now facing serious legal charges  including first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and a lawsuit from the state attorney general and Department of Environmental Conservation.

Allegedly illegal dumping

Eighmey was surprised to see J. Karolys & Son on the side of the trucks streaming onto her neighbors property in 2019. She and her husband knew quite a bit about the companys owner, a stocky 38-year-old who owns three construction and demolition waste sites in the area.

Karolys business practices were already notorious. Since 2016, his company had allegedly accepted huge amounts of debris from New York City and Long Island construction sites, according to a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James, even though Karolys landfills were only authorized to accept solid waste from Ulster and Dutchess counties. The town of Saugerties issued stop-work orders which Karolys appealed, alleging that law enforcement was discriminating against him. The state Supreme Court stayed those orders temporarily in 2019.

By then, several other authorities had J. Karolys & Son on their radar.



Karolys was a frequent subject for the local Saugerties Times in 2019. The paper reported that a May DEC raid of Karolys sites turned up 39 violations of clean water and solid waste disposal laws, and subsequent test results indicated the presence of heavy metals like mercury, lead and zinc; coal ash, coal and slag; and nine chemicals deemed to be probable carcinogens, including the banned-for-decades pesticide DDT.

Karolys said that he only accepted recognizable uncontaminated asphalt, concrete, rock, brick and soil at his sites. But two months after its raid, the DEC found Karolys and his wife, Rachel, had violated New Yorks solid waste disposal regulations and ordered the company to immediately begin removing the waste.

We were able to stop any further dumping  but weve exhausted our toolbox, said Saugerties Town Supervisor Fred Costello. The town has no legal means to enforce the DECs removal order.

In December 2019, the state Supreme Court denied Karolys appeal of the DEC stop-work orders, noting that J. Karolys & Son hadnt applied for a permit to operate a construction and demolition processing or disposal facility and yet Karolys was accepting 10 or more truckloads of construction debris every day. The court found that Karolys claims of selective enforcement were unfounded and ordered him to stop receiving solid waste.

Multiple calls to Karolys lawyers went unanswered and were unreturned.

Trouble in Woodstock

Karolys extensive legal troubles are why Pam and Frank Eighmey were baffled when their neighbors, Gina and Vince Conigliaro, hired him in late 2019 to haul landfill onto their property, relocate their driveway and upgrade their electrical lines.

Pam alerted the Woodstock town supervisor, Bill McKenna, who lives nearby. He said that he warned Gina Conigliaro about Karolys reputation but soon heard from Karolys himself, who told him to stay away from his client. McKenna said the town didnt realize Karolys had brought illegal construction and demolition waste onto the Conigliaro property until months later, after the towns building inspector analyzed the material.

By June 2020, large chunks of asphalt and brick had spilled down onto the Eighmeys property near their well, debris the building inspector and a local hydrologist had warned them was probably contaminated. They started buying bottled drinking water.

A few months later, the town of Woodstock charged both the Conigliaros and Karolys with 200 counts of illegal dumping of noncompostable solid waste  one charge for each truckload.

When the case went to court in January 2022, the charges against Vincent Conigliaro were dropped in exchange for his testimony against his wife and Karolys. Conigliaro testified that hed never heard of Karolys before his wife hired him. He admitted that hed paid Karolys between $160,000 and $200,000, but he came to feel the work was shoddy. We had issues with the falling of the property into my neighbors yard.

Asked if he noticed anything wrong with the fill as it was piling up, Conigliaro testified that several deliveries came after dark and said that a lot of it was done behind my back. He said Gina Conigliaro and Karolys engaged in a little affair I didnt know anything about  the dirt got out of hand. (He said the affair started after Gina hired Karolys. Gina Conigliaro could not be reached for comment.)

Gina Conigliaro and Karolys negotiated a plea bargain: 200 counts of illegal dumping of construction and demolition waste were reduced to one. They were fined $1,500 each.

3,000 truckloads of debris

Vincent Conigliaro is now on his own. He is divorcing his wife of 28 years and has sued her and Karolys. Meanwhile, his neighbors and the Woodstock Environmental Commission worry about the safety of his landfill. Supervisor McKenna has promised that once a conviction of illegal dumping was obtained, Woodstock could and would insist that all the illegal landfill be removed. A local law would allow the town to recoup the cost in taxes levied on the homeowner.

Last year, McKenna told Conigliaro that if he didnt start removing the fill by Sept. 1, the town would do the work itself, at a cost of more than $500,000 that would be billed to him as the homeowner. But that deadline passed and no removal has started.

Conigliaro and McKenna have now agreed on a plan to remediate his property that involves on-site testing to separate the dirt into usable fill and construction waste material that would be removed. A geologist hired by the Eighmeys, John Conrad, says partial removal will not bring the 10 Church C&D dump into compliance with state and local laws and regulations, and will not result in protection of human health, groundwater or the environment.

Frank Eighmey calls Conigliaros clean-up plan total nonsense. Over the years, the Eighmeys have been promised that all the fill would be removed, including the piles that spilled onto their property. They say they are stressed and want to know when the town will keep its promises to them.

In a March 17 letter to the Town Board, the Woodstock Environmental Commission, an advisory body, also urged a total cleanup of the fill at 10 Church Road. The letter states that the debris sits on top of the Unconsolidated Aquifer that feeds into the towns drinking water and threatens the health of residents as well as local businesses that rely on tourism. The commission accused the town government of not living up to its responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of Woodstock residents.

As for Karolys, hes in more legal jeopardy than ever. According to town police, on Oct. 28, he called his 17-year-old son to pick up him and two other men from a bar. One of those men, David Mickey Myer, was celebrating his 66th birthday. The next morning, Myers badly beaten body was found at the side of Route 32, a mile from his home.

Both Karolyses are in custody, charged with first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and tampering with physical evidence in Myers death. They have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, the senior Karolys faces a maximum sentence of up to 25 years in state prison.

Then, on Thursday, Attorney General James announced that her office was broadening its suit against J. Karolys & Son to include 29 waste haulers and brokers from the New York City metropolitan area who allegedly brought more than 3,000 truckloads of construction and demolition debris to Karolys site. The suit  which now includes the DEC  alleges that the haulers chose to hire the cheaper Saugerties company rather than more proximate facilities authorized to dispose of construction and demolition waste according to New York state environmental standards. The suit seeks to recover all revenues and profits gained from this illegal activity, and potentially millions of dollars in penalties.
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BROADALBIN  The states plan to close the only public beach at the southern end of Great Sacandaga Lake outraged dozens of commenters and spurred hundreds to sign a petition against it. On April 18 the state Department of Environmental Conservation will hold a meeting before making a decision.

The beach is on forest preserve land and is part of an area called the Broadalbin Boat Launch. It is along Lakeview Road in the town of Broadalbin.

The Adirondack Park Agency and the DEC requested public comment on a draft unit management plan in December. Such plans include an overview of the natural and physical resources in an area of the Adirondack Park, projects and management actions the DEC would like at the location and the APAs review of how any proposed change conforms with agency rules and regulations.

The draft plan calls for expanding the boat launch and closing the beach. Josh Clague, Adirondack coordinator for the DEC, told commissioners in December that the beach was never compatible with regulations and over the last couple of years had become a nuisance area for law enforcement.

Some APA commissioners expressed concern about the closure. The board agreed to collect the publics comments. APA records show 78 pages and more than four dozen commenters upset about losing the beach. Among those against it were Republican lawmakers including state Sen. Mark Walczyk and Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, who represent the region. A Change.org online petition to save the beach received 829 signatures.

The state lawmakers noted that many of the residents may not have been aware of the UMP and its comment period and we feel those most affected should have a full opportunity to share their concerns.

The only letter in favor of the boat launch and beach revamp came from the Adirondack Council, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization.

Megan Phillips, deputy director for planning at the APA, told commissioners in March that due to the high degree of public interest the state would hold an in-person meeting to share information and to collect additional comments.

The Hudson River-Black River Regulating District, a public benefit corporation that regulates the water flow of the two rivers, once owned the beach area. In a 1989 executive order, the land was transferred to the DEC. For years, the town of Broadalbin had a use and occupancy agreement with the DEC and operated the area as a local beach.

During the pandemic, the town stopped staffing the beach. At a June 9 board meeting, the town decided it no longer wanted to operate it.

The DEC said the area provides patrolling and enforcement challenges because it is tucked away from the main road. No one has taken water quality samples to ensure public health regulations of beaches are met.

The Bureau of Fisheries maintains that a public bathing beach is incompatible within the same facility as a motorboat launch, the DEC said in its draft plan. As a result, the Department will repurpose the beach portion of the site by providing an ADA-compliant cartop boat access and dock, resurfacing the beach area with stone and native plants, and designating the current parking area for cartop users.

Feedback so far

In several comments to the APA and DEC, Mark Bohne, who lives in the town, criticized the states way of notifying the public about the beach closure. The DEC posts projects for public comment on its environmental notice bulletin online, which Bohne suggested most people do not know about.

Bohne paid for his own legal advertisement, he said, in the Leader-Herald of Gloversville, to make sure residents knew about the plans. Bohne also filed records requests with the Fulton County Sheriffs Department for reports of illegal activities at the boat launch and beach from 2020 through Jan. 1, 2023.

After its own records request to the APA, the Explorer obtained the police documents received by Bohne. The sheriffs department provided Bohne with a list of 47 incidents investigated in the three years. One of the entries cites the DEC as littering for placing logs on the beach. Most of the entries involve people apparently enjoying the beach area, including a couple eating Taco Bell and a Citizen on beach watching sunset. One arrest was listed as an altercation.

As tourism is so important to the state, one would expect that maintaining the Broadalbin Beach might be a priority, Bohne wrote, listing sums the state has committed to the Whiteface Mountain mid-station lodge, the Buffalo Bills stadium and the Great Sacandaga Lake Museum.Seems the state is flush with spare cash, but none for the Broadalbin community.

Walczyk and Walsh wrote to DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos saying the beach has allowed generations of this Fulton County community to enjoy access to the Great Sacandaga Lake.

Jessica Anastasio, another resident of the town, said she felt discriminated against because I do not own a boat. Others echoed similar sentiments.

In the lone support letter, The Adirondack Council said swimming is an incompatible use considering the proximity to the boat launch and the lack of water testing for water-borne illnesses such as E.Coli.

DEC announced on Wednesday that the meeting will be 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 18 at the Broadalbin-Perth High School cafeteria, 100 Bridge St. in the town.

DEC Region 5 Fisheries Manager Rob Fiorentino will talk about the plan followed by an open table session with DEC staff to facilitate conversation and answer questions, according to a release. Questions about the meeting may be made to Erin Hanczyk, erin.hanczyk@dec.ny.gov or 518-897-1200.

This story is from the Adirondack Explorer, a nonprofit news organization that covers the Adirondack Park. Its journalism is published in a bimonthly magazine and daily on adirondackexplorer.org.
ALBANY  The heater stopped working in Laneka's Albany apartment in November. Despite her complaints, her landlord still hasnt fixed it. She tried to keep the unit warm through the winter with small space heaters, but her kids kept complaining about the cold.

Laneka, who spoke to the Times Union on the condition her last name be withheld, called the citys buildings department five months ago seeking help. She thought they would force her landlord to quickly restore heat in her unit but thats not what happened, according to interviews and city records.

Instead, city officials gave the owner time to fix the heating problem. About two months later, when he hadnt, attorneys with the city filed a civil case against him. That matter has yet to go before a judge and the owner has faced no penalties.

Meanwhile, Lanekas landlord filed a separate case to evict her family because she refused to pay rent while the heat was broken. She said a judge has ordered her out by early April.

In Albany, the city buildings department is cracking down on property code violations  creating thousands more cases than ever.

But when owners refuse to clean up their properties, those cases are sent to court, where they typically stall for months before being heard by a judge and even longer before going to trial.

Except in two limited circumstances, the city cannot assess a fee on a property owner without the approval of a judge, said Sam Wells, neighborhood stabilization coordinator for the city. But the court administration is unsure it can add another judge or allocate more time to the cases.

Albany City Court also has longer delays on its docket than building code violation cases in other local cities, the Times Union found.

In contrast, eviction cases  which sometimes involve the same landlords who are facing code violations  are handled more expeditiously in the same Albany court, the Times Union found. Albany has more than double the number of eviction cases compared to code violation cases, according to court officials.

Once filed, eviction matters typically are heard by a judge within a month. And those eviction cases are in court nearly every day in Albany, while code violation cases go before a judge only four half days a month.

The result is a system apparently weighted toward removing tenants faster than it holds owners accountable for providing legal, safe housing.

"Priorities can be inferred from how limited resources are allocated by local leaders," said Tarik Abdelazim, director of National Technical Assistance at the Center for Community Progress. "If a municipal court is seeing eviction cases daily but seeing code cases that involve health and safety hazards in rental units only once a week, then I dont think it would be unreasonable for local residents to wonder if displacing tenants is being prioritized over ensuring the decency of units."

Laneka said she is deeply frustrated with the differences between how her eviction case and her landlord's code violation case have been handled.

"It took the city so long to bring him into court," Laneka said. "But it didnt take long for him to bring me to court. What about us? We have rights, too."

The delays in prosecuting code violations are hampering the citys ability to make non-compliant owners fix their properties. Often, its renters who left waiting in unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions. Locally, tenants displaced due to code violations have few options, according to United Tenants of Albany.

It's a problem that's not wholly unique to Albany: many code enforcement systems struggle because so many owners are "financially unwilling or unable" to clean up their violations, said Robin Bartram, an assistant professor of Sociology at Tulane University who studies code enforcement.

"There are so many buildings and so many people living in pretty horrific conditions," Bartram said "The system that we have, this building code enforcement legal system, just really isnt quite up to the job right now."

Explosion of code cases

In 2019, Albany received a grant allowing it to hire more staff to work on code enforcement issues, initiate more proactive cases and develop closer collaboration between the buildings department and city attorneys.

Over the past two years, city officials identified thousands more code violations per year than were found over the previous three years, data from the buildings department shows. Attorneys in the Corporation Counsel's office are also prosecuting more cases: the number of code enforcement cases in court jumped from an average of 218 per quarter in 2017 to 885 last year.

In response to the influx, over the past few years the court has added about 15 more half days per year to hear the matters, city data shows. Nevertheless, long wait times persist.

In 2022, on average about five months passed between city officials identifying a violation and the owners first appearance before a judge, according to data collecting by the buildings department and interviews with officials. If the case went to trial, it took at least an additional three months for that to begin.

For many cases, that means it took nearly a year for non-compliant owners to be fined for code violations.

While the months pass, tenants  especially those on fixed incomes  are most affected. They may be living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, with little recourse but to hunt for a new place to live in an increasingly expensive housing market, advocates said.

"If (the buildings department) cant access the courts to prosecute an absentee landlord, tenants are forced to suffer until anything happens, which in the winter can be a big deal," said Canyon Ryan, executive director of the United Tenants of Albany.

Albany renter Sierra, who also asked that her last name not be published to protect her privacy, said she complained to her landlord for weeks this winter about mouse droppings, mold and a broken heater in her apartment. Like Laneka, Sierra's kids were getting sick in the cold and she had to miss work as a result.

Provided photo Provided photo Sierra took this photo of mouse poop. Sierra and a city code inspector found mouse dead in her Albany apartment when they inspected the unit in February. ( Provided photo )

Sierra said her landlord refused to address the problems. She called the city. An inspector cited the landlord for nine violations in January and later deemed the apartment "unfit for human habitation," records show.

That determination forced Sierra and her kids to move out. The money she was saving to cover moving costs was instead spent on hotel rooms. Now, the family is staying with a family member, she said.

Nearly three months later, the landlord, who could not be reached for comment, still hasnt fixed the rodent infestation or other violations, according to the city. The case was referred for prosecution last week. City records show the landlord's Albany properties have had dozens of code violations in recent years.

An eviction case brought by the landlord against Sierra over non-payment of rent has already gone before a judge and is pending, Sierra said. She said she couldn't pay a month's rent because she had to miss work so often when her kids were ill.

Some tenants face "retaliation" from landlords if they report a code violation to the city. Or, theyll describe tenants' requests for maintenance as "harassment," said Diana Morano, court advocate for United Tenants of Albany.

In other cases, tenants may forestall a landlord from fixing a code violation by not allowing them access to the property, said Julia Long, founder of the Alternative to Economic and Housing Displacement, who mediates eviction cases.

For displaced tenants like Sierra, Albany has few options to help, said Ryan, with United Tenants of Albany.

"Essentially, tenants are expected to find somewhere else to go, and theres no expectation that the landlord  who allows the property to fall into such disrepair that a tenant is vacated  assist the tenant  whether financially, via a 'swing unit,' referral, etc.," Ryan said.

Faye Andrews, director of the Albany Community Development Agency, said the city runs an emergency relocation program designed to assist tenants who are displaced and pays for up to two weeks in a hotel, sometimes longer. The program, which costs about $90,000 annually, helps 35 to 50 tenants a year, most of whom are fire victims. The programs have never billed landlords as the issues generally have been resolved quickly, Andrews said.

"In a case where there is an unsafe/unfit situation, we help where we can, but the responsibility is really on the landlord to make sure that their tenants are provided temporary housing while they make repairs to the building," Andrews said. "Like most cities, our only responsibility is to provide shelter information to the tenants but in extenuating circumstances, the relocation program can be used."

City and court struggle for a fix

The delays in adjudicating property code violations are so severe they prompted Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan to send a letter to court officials in October requesting the court schedule more than double the time for allocated for those cases. The mayor proposed adding an additional four hours per week to code enforcement matters.

City and court officials met about the issue in February and agreed on a few other tweaks, including hearing 10 more cases per session.

But the delays have prompted some finger-pointing about what's causing the delays.

"Were doing everything we can to keep housing safe for residents. Were doing our jobs and as a result, thats creating more code court cases," said David Galin, the mayors chief of staff. "We expect the courts to fulfill their part of the judicial process and adjudicate these cases as quickly and efficiently as possible."

Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the court system, said in February, "We do not believe the court has a backlog. The backlog exists with the city codes office."

But more recently, Chalfen said the court is seeking to add another judge to hear code enforcement cases.

"This process is made more difficult, by the dearth of adequate courtroom facilities in the Albany City Court within which to add another sitting judge," he noted.

Chalfen added that the court feels the city could be doing more, too. City attorneys are inefficient with court time and rely on court officials to "babysit" their compliance cases, he said.

City officials disputed that description. Corporation Counsel officials said they have found non-compliant owners generally will not respond to the city without judicial orders.

Code enforcement cases are also often time and labor intensive because a quick guilty plea and fine wouldnt necessarily mean that any maintenance issues are fixed.

"Hurrying a building code violation case through the courts isnt necessarily going to have desirable impacts," said Bartram, the Tulane University professor. "It might punish the property owner and perhaps you think its a good thing. I would argue its not because tenants are going to bear the burden of punishing a property owner financially."

But leaving code violations unresolved can also have ripple effects beyond individual owners and tenants.

They can create eye-sore properties that drive down property values of surrounding homes. They also increase rent for tenant-occupied units, Bartram said.

Delays also mean problem properties fall into even worse shape, Richard LaJoy, director of Albanys Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance, wrote in a report last month. The more they deteriorate, the more likely they may end up among the 1,000 vacant properties dotting Albany.

Long wait times also lead some residents to lose faith in code enforcement and become reluctant to file future complaints, LaJoy said.

Laneka, who is looking for a new place after being ordered to vacate her apartment, said she would never call the city about a code violation again.

"The only thing it did was make things worse," she said.

A day in code court

On a recent Friday, Assistant Corporal Counsel Madalyn Rosa DeThomasis sprinted through dozens of code enforcement conferences and hearings.

She spoke with owners who lack permits, have pest infestations, overgrown trees, broken front steps, falling down fences, clogged sinks and vacant buildings. The city flagged the violations months ago.

Last year, the buildings department opened more than 2,000 code enforcement cases per quarter, city data shows. Most owners, who often do not end up in court, were given at least 35 days to rectify any violations before a referral for prosecution. Some got far more time if they demonstrated reasonable efforts to fix the problem or reasons why they couldnt.

Wells said the citys main goal is always compliance  getting owners to fix their properties  instead of penalties. Most cases are resolved between the owner and the department.

Jim Franco/Times Union

But in 2022, about one in 10 code cases was referred for prosecution, city data shows.

Once a case lands in the city attorneys office, it takes about a month or so for the two attorneys who handle the cases, Chris Cech and DeThomasis, to turn the violation into a court filing. The attorneys usually try contacting the owner again to see if they can resolve the issue without court.

After Cech or DeThomasis file a code enforcement case, they wait for a first appearance before a judge in Albany City Court. On average last year, the wait time was 88 days  or nearly three months.

The two judges presiding over civil matters in Albany City Court each hear code cases for the equivalent of two days per month, for a total of about 14 hours per month. In the 3.5 hour sessions, a judge hears about 70-75 cases, according to city data. Most cases are handled in a matter of minutes.

On a recent weekday, a few property owners who showed up for court described the work theyd done to fix the issues at their buildings. Those working to comply were generally offered more time by DeThomasis; the judge adjourned their cases with a plan to revisit them in a few weeks to ensure they did what they promised.

In some cases, owners said they want to fix their property but lack the money to do so. One landlord explained she addressed several violations with her apartments, but with health issues and limited income, she couldnt afford to hire a pest control company to eradicate the mice in her units before the court date. DeThomasis gave her two more months.

Will Waldron/Times Union

Attorneys represented a handful of owners, but in most cases, no one showed up. Often the city must spend time tracking down no-show owners because they've moved or their identity is obscured behind a web of businesses.

One corporate owner whose case was before a judge recently had more than 15 code violation cases being adjudicated, the city said.

Eventually, most code enforcement cases that are prosecuted result in fines. Sometimes a case drags on as the court tries to force the owner to pay. The fines and judgments result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual revenue for the city.

Solutions

Other local cities produce far fewer codes cases and prosecute a smaller percentage of them. In Troy, the city building department initiated 2,669 code cases in 2022  about a fourth of the cases Albany has in a year  and just 12 went to court, according to Troy spokeswoman Andrea Smyth. Once filed, cases received a first appearance in court in about 30 days.

In Saratoga Springs, the Code Enforcement Department issued 118 violation notices in 2021 and 112 notices last year. Twenty-two of those cases went to court, city officials said.

Matt Kreis, general counsel at the Center for Community Progress, who formerly prosecuted code enforcement cases in Chicago, said courts are often "inefficient" venues to handle code matters.

"Where this is the case, tools weve seen that may be helpful include establishing a dedicated housing court ... or relying on a more efficiently designed administrative forum," Kreis said.

Rochester allows its building department to assess fines and handle disputes through administrative hearings.

Other places have found alternatives to fix up substandard rental properties that have code violations. In Los Angeles, the citys Housing Department can give tenants living in rental properties with code violations a rent reduction and hold their rent in escrow until the landlord corrects the violations.

LaJoy, who leads the Albany buildings department, said his office can make a limited list of repairs to properties with code violations and bill the owner for them, but there is a cap on what the city can spend. So far, the city has never used that authority because the threat of doing so has prompted the owner to act or the problems were too expensive for the city to fix.

Abdelazim, director of National Technical Assistance at the Center for Community Progress, said: "The most effective way to achieve compliance from negligent landlords whose units threaten the health and safety of tenants is to cut off the rental revenue stream."
JamesBrey, Contributor / Getty Images

ALBANY  A 60-year-old man faces a 25 year-to-life prison sentence after a jury Thursday afternoon convicted him of killing his roommate last year, Albany County prosecutors said.

Jimmie Lee Allen of Albany was convicted of one second-degree murder count in the trial before Judge Andra Ackerman in Albany

County Court, the district attorney's office said in a statement.
Will Waldron/Albany Times Union

NASSAU - A Nassau man is accused of stalking and having five illegally possessed weapons among his gun stockpile, State Police said Friday.

Troopers said their investigation found that the suspect, 41, used a tracking device to keep tabs on the alleged victim and that he distributed images of another victim without permission.
ALBANY  State Police do not know where this week's widespread school shooting hoax calls came from, but it was probably from outside the U.S, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday.

She spoke after a meeting with the heads of the State Police, state Education Department and the state teachers union.

I wanted to find out how were responding, Hochul said, and wanted to assure the public that the state was taking the issue seriously but arresting someone might be complicated.

Very often, probably the case is foreign actors, the governor said. That is the challenge we face. If its a threat from abroad, how do we bring that person to justice?

The FBI is working on the case, along with state authorities, she said.

Law enforcement in Utah said they tracked similar calls to one IP address outside of the United States.

On Thursday, emergency dispatchers received calls reporting shootings at dozens of schools around New York. The calls prompted police departments to descend on schools. The attacks impacted several schools in the Capital Region, including the districts in East Greenbush, Albany and Troy.

This is whats so disturbing is, the person answering the phone has no idea if this is real, so panic sets in, Hochul said. Its heartbreaking that people are so cruel that they would do this to our children at this time.

So-called "swatting calls" have plagued school districts around the country for months. The incidents are occurring at a time when some schools have been attacked in mass shootings, adding a level of stress to the hoax calls.

Hochul said about 36 schools were targeted by name in swatting calls. State Police and local law enforcement went to those schools. Hochul said the troopers ultimately visit 226 school buildings in total after the hoaxes began Thursday morning.

We treat it as if its real, but the reality is this is meant to disrupt and cause chaos in our school system, she said.

She urged the public to report anyone who makes threats or appears to be planning violence.

Id rather be in the business of preventing tragedy than solving crime, she said.
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SCHENECTADY  A marijuana shop opened Friday morning on Union Street, making its first sales and turning the surrounding shopping district into the latest focal point in New York's legalization of cannabis sales.

Donald Andrews, 34, sold goods at his shop Friday morning and showed visitors what buyers will see when they come to the region's first marijuana shop. The store holds its official grand opening on Saturday.

"We're looking forward to opening our doors (Saturday), being able to provide our community something that's been long awaited, which is lab-tested cannabis product that's grown in New York," Andrews said. "We are honored to be the first to open our doors tomorrow."

Andrews' Upstate Canna Co. at 1613 Union St. is the first shop in the area to sell recreational marijuana. Stores have opened in New York City, Binghamton and Ithaca.

Andrews greeted the public on the second anniversary of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's signing of legislation that legalized the sale of recreational marijuana. The journey from legislation to a functional system of marijuana retailers has been slow, with only a half dozen locations open in the state.

Several businesses hope to open establishments in the Capital Region. Andrew won approval from the state and city earlier this year and spent the initial months of the year preparing to see his smoke shop transform into a business that will be unique  at least in the short term  in the region.

He already had the space set up. He was already selling a range of CBD products made from hemp, which is cannabis with low levels of the psychoactive component THC.

Afterward, Andrews, who lives in Schenectady, recalled opening up his first business, a smoke shop on Mohawk Avenue in Scotia in 2012.

"It's been a long journey, I've been through a bunch of BS to get to where I'm at today, so it just feels good to be in a position that I'm in and to be able to work with like-minded people, and to be able to give back to my community at the same time, so it's a great feeling," he said, adding he has a staff of about 15 people. Gummies and flower are big sellers, said Andrews.

He said he and his team toured California and Oregon, Massachusetts, states that had legalized marijuana, to gain more insight into the industry in preparation for the day the Empire State would follow suit.

Andrews said the plan is to open their second location, this one with a consumption site, in Glenville where he already has a shop. The state cannabis license allows him to open up to three. He said he would like to share some insights with dealers selling marijuana in the "legacy market" to provide for their family in the legal marijuana market.

After all the fanfare, Andrews and his employees got down to real business, hawking the wide assortment of products they sell.

Chuck Vandemark of Adirondack Hemp Company in Saratoga Springs, who purchased two small jars of "high THC cannabis" was the first customer. He said the THC is the "active ingredient in cannabis" that heals and can potentially be a life saver when used for medicinal purposes.

"I have a lot of pain and anxiety, and it helps with all kinds of issues," he added.

Chris Alexander, executive director of the state Office of Cannabis Management, said the business will flourish when it gets the full support of the community.

"There's a lot of work ahead, there's a lot more dispensaries for us to open, but we're encouraged every day by the success that we're experiencing with the businesses that are currently operating, and we're encouraged further by the entrepreneurs in this space," Alexander said.

Andrews made news in 2013 when an informant working for the Schenectady County Sheriff's Office tried to frame him for selling crack cocaine.

The situation unfolded at the smoke shop Andrews owned in Scotia. The informant pretended to twice buy crack at the Mohawk Avenue shop, pulling hidden drugs from his buttocks. Andrews was taken into custody but the charges were dropped after security cameras at the shop revealed the informant planted the evidence.

A grand jury later indicted the informant, James Slater, now 31, on criminal charges and he was sent to prison for perjury.

"How many other people have you set up? How many other people's lives have you ruined?" Andrews asked Slater at his sentencing.

Schenectady County later agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Andrews for $100,000.

Though the state legalized marijuana sales two years ago, the establishment of retail shops has been slow. Small-business owners looking to improve their chances of winning state approval have invested in storefronts only to wait through an unclear timeline for the regulations and application process.

The states Office of Cannabis Management and its corresponding lawmaker-appointed Cannabis Control Board have shifted target dates for industry regulations and other key milestones, frustrating even supporters who are eager to get into the business. The process stalled early on when Cuomo did not nominate regulatory leaders for several months; then, once the regulators were in place they shared information on their plans gradually and eventually pushed back the application timeline for most prospective businesses.

Rebekah Ward contributed reporting for this article.
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TROY  The $64.4 million transformation of the Hudson River waterfront neighborhood around the Congress Street Bridge and River Street moved from demolition into construction Thursday afternoon with a groundbreaking for a new John P. Taylor Apartments building.

The Taylor 1 and Taylor 2 nine-story public housing apartment buildings were vacant since 2006 are gone. In place of the two razed towers is the foundation work for the 141-unit Taylor building that will replace the deteriorating structures that dated back to the 1950s.

Ive seen a lot of changes. This is the most exciting one. Were going to have washers and dryers, said Virginia Ginny Clark, president of the Taylor Adult and Youth Tenant Council.

Clark, a 29-year resident of the four-building Taylor Apartments complex, said the Troy Housing Authority and Pennrose, the developer of the new seven-story building where the first floor is retail, have been listening to the tenants.

Housing Authority Executive Director Deborah Witkowski said the authority is contributing to the continued renaissance of the citys downtown as it offers affordable housing to its tenants.

The authority and city of Troy have coordinated their renewal efforts to create an overall initiative to restore the downtown street grid that was changed when the Congress Street Bridge was built in 1969, which in turn replaced a bridge that dated back to 1874 and was rebuilt in 1927. Troy has been coordinating with Watervliet, its neighbor on the western shore of the Hudson River. The bridge connects the two cities.

The move to a functioning street grid along with new public housing, riverfront access, reconfiguring the bridge and new construction is viewed as pumping life into the neighborhood and finding a redesign that's not overwhelmed by traffic and the bridge.

Mayor Patrick Madden said the Taylor apartments residents will no longer be isolated from the surrounding neighborhood. Once the new apartment building is completed, residents in Taylor 3 and Taylor 4 will move across the street to it and those two structures will be demolished.

RuthAnne Visnauskas, commissioner/CEO of New York Sate Homes and Community Renewal,, said the development of the new housing will be nothing short of life changing. State Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez said the city took the lead in using $1.6 million of its $10 million state Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant to help fund the project.

Other funds include a $30.1 million subsidy from the New York State Homes and Community Renewal and $28.5 million in federal low-income housing tax credits.

The combination of local, state and federal funding shows what government can do to help residents and stimulate urban areas, said Assemblyman John T. McDonald III, who represents Troy.
ALBANY  State Republican lawmakers are weighing taking legal action against Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal to change the process for selecting nominees to the Court of Appeals, including for chief judge.

Good-government groups and legal observers already weighed in this week and said the proposal is unconstitutional, but it was swiftly passed by the Legislature despite those concerns.

"That bill is unconstitutional," said state Sen. Anthony Palumbo, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee. Palumbo was successful in an earlier lawsuit he filed against the state Senate this year challenging Democrats on their position that the Judiciary Committee could block a floor vote on the nomination of appellate Justice Hector D. LaSalle for chief judge.

Palumbo said he is evaluating legal options on Hochul's bill. He said he has consulted with the attorney that represented him in the floor vote case, former state appellate Justice James M. Catterson.

A cohort of good government groups, some which fought for the "merit-based" selection of judges to the Court of Appeals in the 1970s, called the governor's legislation "flawed." The cohort includes Citizens Union, the League of Women Voters of New York State and the Committee for Modern Courts.

"We believe it would heavily politicize a sensitive nomination process that centers appropriate qualifications for each court position, and conflicts with the plain language of the state constitution," the groups said in a statement Thursday.

The surprise legislation, announced amid ongoing budget negotiations on Monday, quickly moved through the state Senate for approval. On Friday, the Assembly approved its version, too, which was introduced later  a sign they may not have been briefed on the matter at the same time as their legislative counterparts.

The "program bill," which is expected to quickly be signed by Hochul, would provide her a new option in how she nominates a judge to the Court of Appeals. It would apply to the current chief judge vacancy.

Hochul has a list of seven finalists to consider to nominate as the next chief judge of the Court of Appeals. The list was recently sent to her by the Commission on Judicial Nomination, which is required by the state constitution to provide her a list of candidates from the applicants who seek the chief judge position.

The list includes three judges serving on the Court of Appeals. The legislation would allow Hochul, if she chooses, to pick one of the three associate judges to fill the vacancy as chief judge (following confirmation of the state Senate). She could then  without starting the 120-day process over again  go back to the same list and choose someone to fill any vacancy created by the selection of a Court of Appeals judge for the position.

"Given that the court has been operating with vacancy since last summer, this legislation would create a path to quickly restore the court to full strength," Hochul spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays said in a statement earlier in the week.

Hochul defended the legislation on Friday.

"It is constitutional," Hochul told reporters at the Capitol. "I just wanted to see if we can explore our options."

She lamented that the court, without her proposal, could go without its full bench of seven judges for nearly a year. The court is scheduled to convene in mid-April and mid-May, but then not again until September. By the time the Senate could confirm a new chief judge and associate judge to the Court of Appeals, under Hochul's bill, it could leave the bench with no cases to decide before the fall.

The legislation would not require the governor to nominate an associate judge for from the list; she could request the commission provide a new list of nominees.

Legal groups representing Latinos and Asian-Americans lambasted Hochul's proposal. The finalist list for chief judge does not include either ethnic minority group. Hochul had defended her initial nomination of LaSalle in part on the historic prospect of him becoming the first Latino to lead the Court of Appeals.

Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, R-Ballston, said during a debate Friday that she believes other individuals would have applied for the associate judge position and are now are potentially being denied their constitutional right to be considered for the Court of Appeals because of the legislation.

"It's fundamentally unfair to those individuals," Walsh said, noting many qualified applicants who may not be interested in the chief judge position would have applied had they known that list would also be for an associate judge position.

Republican lawmakers, including Walsh, also asserted that the legislation is an indication a deal has been struck between the governor and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

"I shutter to say this on March 31 in Albany that there could be some back-room conversation that has happened regarding these two vacancies that maybe it's a, 'I pick one, you pick one,' type of situation," Assemblyman Ed Ra, R-Long Island said, referring to the budget deadline on Friday. "That is a real concern."

When asked on Thursday about the legislation, Stewart-Cousins said: "We introduced it and we passed it."

When asked if she has spoken with the governor about the nominees, she responded: "No."

And when asked if the nominating process is expected to go more smoothly this time, after the Senate's unprecedented rejection of LaSalle, Stewart-Cousins said, "I do."
Donald Trump has been the first to do many things, as a president and as a former president, and some of these things have been far from exemplary. On Thursday, he set a new record by becoming the first former resident of the White House to be indicted, over a case involving the cover-up of a payment of $130,000 to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election that would make him president. But he is not the first U.S. head of state to have run afoul of the law throughout history: a handful of presidents or vice-presidents have been immersed in political trials or linked to crimes.

The first U.S. president to be impeached was Andrew Johnson (1865-1869). In his case, not because there were any doubts about his record as a good citizen, but for purely political reasons: his term of office was dominated by a constant confrontation with Congress over his reconstruction initiatives after the Civil War (1861-1865). Johnson, a Democrat from the southern state of Tennessee, had allowed the secessionist states to quickly rejoin the Union. He had pardoned Confederate soldiers, and he vetoed bills that Congress had adopted to protect the rights of slaves who had just regained their freedom. He dismissed his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, who objected to his benevolence toward the former Confederate states. The confrontations reached their peak in 1868: the House of Representatives opened impeachment proceedings against him. Although the lower house concluded that he should be dismissed, the Senate acquitted him. But Johnson did not want to run for a second term.

His successor, Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877), had problems of a different kind: when he rode in his horse-drawn carriage, he liked to go fast. He was stopped once for speeding, but the police let him go after imposing a single fine.

It would be almost a century before reaching what, until now, had been the biggest and most notorious scandal in U.S. politics: Watergate, which cost Richard Nixon his job (1969-1974). The Republican president who claimed that I am not a crook resigned in 1974 before the beginning of an impeachment trial. Although a grand jury had named him as one of the participants in the case, charges were never brought against him and his successor in the White House, his former vice-president Gerald Ford, issued a pardon.

The case, which was taken to the big screen as All the Presidents Men, starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, erupted after members of Nixons re-election committee raided the Democratic Party headquarters in the offices of the Watergate complex on the Potomac River to install wiretaps and steal documents. The bugs did not work, and five individuals went back to change them. At that point they were discovered.

At first, Nixon tried to cover up his involvement, and he went so far as to dismiss the independent special counsel who was investigating the case. The scandal escalated to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the president had to release the tapes he kept of all his conversations. Those tapes implicated him.

Nixons term was also peppered with other political scandals. His vice-president Spiro Agnew had resigned in 1973 after accepting a charge of tax evasion. The charge was part of a broader investigation related to alleged bribes he had received during his time in local politics in the state of Maryland, where he became governor.

But if the case of the Republican president who reestablished diplomatic relations with Mao Zedongs China marked a before and after in contemporary American politics, that of Bill Clinton (1993-2001), the biggest sex scandal in the history of American politics, was no less of a media circus.

In 1998, the House of Representatives impeached Clinton for lying under oath and obstruction of justice after the president attempted to cover up his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, who was 22 at the time. As had happened 130 years earlier, the process did not succeed and the president was acquitted by the Senate. However, the erosion of the presidents popularity meant that his second term in office was that of a discredited leader, unable to carry out ambitious projects.

Clintons problems had begun in the state where he was governor, Arkansas, where there were suspicions about his involvement in the Whitewater real estate scam. A state official, Paula Jones, had sued him for sexual harassment. The Democrat became the first president to testify in his own defense before a jury.

As part of the case, investigators called the former intern to testify about her relationship with the president. On January 26, 1998, Clinton uttered one of the phrases that would mark his presidency: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. The key to the impeachment process was precisely to determine whether the president, who had oral sex with the young woman, had committed perjury by denying the affair and whether he obstructed justice by encouraging the young woman to deny the relationship.
ALBANY  A state prison official who had served as a deputy superintendent at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County has been demoted and transferred to Coxsackie Correctional Facility following his recent arrest on charges of stealing about $158 in merchandise from a Walmart.

The allegations that led to his demotion have apparently cost Close to lose more than $30,000 in annual salary.
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ALBANY  This year's debate on proposed changes to the state's bail laws are again at the center of annual budget negotiations, a subject that is expected to lead to delays in approving a final spending plan and crowd out substantive conversations on other pressing issues.

While the politics of the bail debate are well-covered, the actual mechanics of what Gov. Kathy Hochul's bail proposal could do  and what it's feared it could do  are less prominent.

Hochul says her plan is intended to provide judges with clearer discretion to hold someone accused of a "serious crime" while the person awaits trial. Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins acknowledged on Thursday they may be willing to provide more clarity for judges.

Current bail law

In 2019, the state Legislature agreed to overhaul New York's bail laws to prevent a person's financial situation from determining whether they are held in jail before trial.

A rallying cry was Kalief Browder, who was charged with stealing a backpack and held at Rikers Island for two years because he could not afford bail. He was found not guilty. He killed himself two years after his release.

The Legislature, newly emboldened by Democratic supermajorities in both houses, overhauled the bail law. Under the new rules, misdemeanors and many non-violent crimes are no longer "eligible" for bail. For some alleged offenses, such as violent felonies and certain non-violent offenses, a judge retains the same tools they always had: They could choose what condition to set for a defendant's release.

There are certain variables, including a person's criminal history, that a judge can weigh relative to whether they pose a flight risk. But unlike other states, New York does not have a standard for determining a defendant's perceived "dangerousness."

What changes have been made?

The Legislature, at the behest of the governor, have altered the bail proposal to add certain alleged offenses eligible for a judge to consider for bail. Those types of crimes are known as "bail-eligible" or "qualifying offenses," which the governor has tagged as "serious crimes."

Last year, the Legislature conceded to add a "harm-to-harm" standard for property-type crime as a qualifying offense, only when a person was accused of the crime an additional time. It was intended to remedy the "revolving door" of retail theft, particularly in New York City, at the urging of Mayor Eric Adams.

A list of additional variables on qualifying offenses was also added, which include someone's history of possession of a firearm or violating an order of protection.

What's the problem now?

Hochul says judges are not following the intent of the law, which she blames, in part, on conflicting elements in the law. She argues that judges are not using their available "discretion" to set bail in eligible cases.

Hochul's gubernatorial opponent, then-U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Long Island, frequently pointed to the alleged crimes of people not held pretrial as a sign of a failing system. Republicans have often turned to the bail laws as their top political message on surging crime.

The governor now wants to remove the "least restrictive means" and "ensure return to court" language in the state's bail law so that judges can more easily set bail or remand at arraignment.

Hochul believes that will create clarity for judges who are considering setting bail or keeping a person incarcerated before trial. The proposed language would remove the standard weighing whether someone is a flight risk as the lone element for a judge to weigh someone's release.

What do critics (and the Legislature) say?

Democratic leaders in the Assembly and state Senate flatly rejected the governor's proposal to change the state's bail laws.

Stewart-Cousins has consistently said she will follow the data to make decisions that are in line with halting injustices of the past while ensuring public safety for New Yorkers.

Heastie regularly rejects changes to the state's bail laws, but more so, he is irritated by the inclination to connect any public safety issue to bail. He typically pivots the conversation to additional funding for both preventive and rehabilitative resources, including money for education, access to stable housing and good-paying jobs.

Public defenders and criminal justice groups have lobbied against the changes. They say Hochul is not being a fair broker in what she is publicly arguing compared to what her proposal would do.

They believe by removing the "ensure return to court" standard, it would effectively create a dangerousness standard for qualifying offenses. The result, they fear, could be the pretrial imprisonment of tens of thousands defendants.

As with all budget proposals, the governor's offer is the starting point for negotiations.

What do the polls say?

A recent Siena College poll shows that an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers support giving judges greater discretion to set bail for serious crimes. Public defenders said the poll questions was poorly worded and that judges already have discretion they do not use.

Polling has shown over the last year that crime is the top issue for voters, especially those in New York City, who also say they fear they could be the victim of a crime.

What does the data say?

Various studies, including one by the left-leaning FWD.US, showed no effect in recidivism before and after the passage of the state's bail law changes.

A recent, highly anticipated study by John Jay College offered a more nuanced look. It found for most offenses, recidivism rates went down after the changes to the law.

Certain offenses, though, did lead to an increase.

Those charged with a violent felony saw slight increases in recidivism rates. The increases for that group were most pronounced when the person also had a prior violent felony; a person was rearrested 67 percent of the time, up from 57 percent. (The increases were also seen, and in fact were more pronounced, for those charged with non-qualifying felony offense and also had a prior violent felony  from 62 to 72 percent.)
GLENS FALLS  In the past 25 years or so, actor Robert Clohessy has been in more than 75 movies, two Broadway shows, 300 TV episodes, acted in Shakespeare twice and "A Streetcar Named Desire" three times.

And he has written one play.

"Writing is just too hard," said Clohessy, most familiar to TV audiences for playing law-enforcement roles. He was a cop in 20 episodes of "Hill Street Blues" in 1986-87, a prison guard in 38 episodes of "Oz" from 1999 to 2003 and, since 2010, prominent in more than 200 episodes on the CBS drama "Blue Bloods," where, as a street cop turned top aide to the New York City police commissioner, he regularly clashes and commiserates with Tom Selleck.

Clohessy's play  "The only one I wrote and the only one I ever will," he said  is called "Welcome Home, Johnny." It will receive two performances Saturday, April 8, at the Charles R. Wood Theater. Presented as a semistaged reading that is part of the play's development process, with an eye toward rewrites and perhaps future full productions, it will feature a cast that is in costume and moving around a limited set but reading from scripts. Directed by Jarel Davidow, artistic director of the Lake George Dinner Theatre, the play is being presented by the Wood Theater three years after an earlier reading there was derailed by the onset of the pandemic, having come to the attention of Wood management following a previous reading, also in Glens Falls.

If you go "Welcome Home, Johnny"

A semistaged reading When: 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 8

Where:Charles R. Wood Theater, 207 Glen St., Glens Falls

Tickets: $10

Info: 518-480-4878 and woodtheater.org/events See More Collapse

The connection between this North Country city and an actor who has been based in his native New York City for decades is the title character of "Welcome Home, Johnny": Clohessy's older brother John, who has lived in Glens Falls for about 35 years and is retired from the post office. An actor in more than two dozen community-theater productions, John Clohessy has had occasional bit parts and extras work in movies and TV including "Billy Bathgate," in which he was a program seller in a scene shot at Saratoga Race Course, and "Oz," where he said he did a few fight scenes and stunts.

The play is largely autobiographical, said Robert Clohessy, focused on his Bronx family's experiences in anticipation of and after Johnny's return from military service in Vietnam. Some details have been changed, including decreasing the number of children in the family to four. Clohessy grew up with eight siblings, but, for practical and financial reasons, "No one's going to do a play with nine brothers," he said.

Robert Clohessy said he will be the play's narrator during the Wood readings, with Ethan Drinkwine as the young Robby, Logan Haynes as Johnny and busy area actor Richard Lounello as patriarch John, who, like the Clohessy brothers' father of the same name, is a police officer and harsh parent with a drinking problem.

Although the adage advises to write what you know, Clohessy said trying to turn deeply personal family history and trauma into an evening of theater was a large part of why writing "Welcome Home, Johnny," took 25 years.

Also, "I was acting and raising kids," said Clohessy, whose sons are now 29 and 34. "I'd put the play down for a few years, then go back to it. And now here we are."

For John Clohessy, the wait didn't seem as long  because he didn't know for most of those years that it was being written.

"He'd ask me about Vietnam, what I went through, and what I remembered about our family from those years, but I didn't know he was taking it all down," John Clohessy said.

Now that it's completed, at least in this initial form, "I know it's what happened to us and what we did, but it's also a little different to see it this way, through his play. I like it," John Clohessy said.

Both of Robert Clohessy's sons are work in TV and movies. The three have acted in "Blue Bloods" episodes together, and the elder Clohessy has acted in multiple action movies written and directed by his younger son, Myles.

Here are your picks for the Best of the Capital Region 2023 We tallied the votes from this years Best of the Capital Region contest in 100 categories.

"He got some of Dad's money for them," Robert Clohessy said, "and I got a producing credit. You know I did."
March 31, 2023

The combined expertise and more than a hundred thousand guest rooms served will create value by covering all communication aspects for hotel owners and operators.

APPLETON, WISCONSIN- March 31, 2023 - Clearly IP Inc. (ClearlyIP or the Company), a leading provider in business telecom and unified communications, today announced that it has merged into ClearlyIP, the business of 360 Networks, LLC, the developers of ComXchange, the fastest growing specialized hospitality telephone platform in the USA. This merger offers exciting opportunities for us to continue being a leading provider in the telecommunications sector by adding the ComXchange solutions to the ClearlyIP family of products.







Both companies market their products through an extensive network of channel partners, and the merger of 360 Networks further increases ClearlyIPs share in the hospitality industry. By adding the flagship solution ComXchange to our portfolio of offerings, our channel partners will receive a complete hospitality telecom solution from one source, said Preston McNair, CRO of ClearlyIP.

The combined teams have been working diligently on the integration of the products and services each company offers. Some of the most notable enhancements available immediately to ComXchange customers are: the simple integration of ClearlyIP SIP trunks, enhanced E911 service, and the Clearly Anywhere smartphone application, plus the addition of ClearlyIPs SIP phones with an extended feature set. These are additional enhancements to an already robust ComXchange platform with a property management interface, voicemail, call accounting, and several life safety and emergency features available as a hosted or premise solution.

Many notable hotel franchises rely on the power of ComXchange, including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Intercontinental, as some of the industrys biggest brands that utilize ComXchange integrated with their PMS systems at their hotel properties.

I am excited for the extraordinary opportunity this merger provides for our channel partners, our employees, the hotel industry, and myself in my new role as Chief Hospitality Strategist, said Doug Schwartz, CEO of 360 Networks.

From the beginning, weve held the vision of ComXchange becoming the premier system, the platform others strive to emulate. In fact, one of our fundamental taglines is setting the new standard. My fortuitous reconnection with Tony Lewis (News - Alert) and ClearlyIP will provide many of the missing elements to take us to the next level. And that is inspiring! Doug Schwartz.

ClearlyIP will maintain the product name ComXchange to continue serving customers. The integration of both companies will take place in the next few months. Our customers will continue to receive the same high-quality services and solutions they have come to expect. We are excited about the vast hospitality experience our new team members bring to the ClearlyIP family, said Tony Lewis, CEO of ClearlyIP. We are pleased to have industry veteran Doug Schwartz with his 25 years of experience in lodging and hospitality, joining the executive team at ClearlyIP and we look forward to continued the rapid growth and expansion of ClearlyIP, continues Tony.

About ClearlyIP



With decades of leadership in communications and developing innovative telephony solutions, the team at ClearlyIP provides world-class telecommunications services, applications, and customer-premise hardware to businesses, ITSPs, OEMs, and other communications providers across the globe. Product offerings include Brandable IP Phones, VoIP Appliances, a Suite of Advanced Cloud Services, and a feature-rich SIP Trunking platform with full compliance with Karis Law and Ray Baum Act. ClearlyIP is privately held and headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, and utilizes a Build and Buy strategy for company growth, building products that help us grow organically and via strategic acquisitionsmore at www.clearlyip.com.

About 360 Networks, LLC

360 Networks, LLC, is a telecommunication company based in Dane, Wisconsin, near Madison, staffed by a group of professionals focused on building the next generation of hotel communication solutions. Its roots go back over 25 years, focused on servicing the hospitality market through its extensive, highly skilled channel partner group. The company has empowered hotels with ComXchange, a robust, future-focused PBX (News - Alert) system, and tailored support to continuously improve the guest experience. Major hotel franchises rely on the power of ComXchange, including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Intercontinental, as some of the industrys biggest brands that utilize ComXchange integrated with their PMS systems at their hotel properties.

Learn more at https://360networksllc.com

Contact:

Bre Fernie, CMO

920-383-3100 Ext.5024

[email protected]

Edited by Erik Linask
[March 31, 2023] SAP Supervisory Board Extends Contracts with Executive Board Members Julia White and Scott Russell - Sabine Bendiek to End Her Contract December 31, 2023

WALLDORF, Germany, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that the SAP Supervisory Board has extended the contracts of Executive Board Members Julia White, Chief Marketing & Solutions Officer, and Scott Russell, who leads SAP's Customer Success organization, for three years until 2027. "We express our gratitude to Julia and Scott for their excellent work, which has significantly propelled the company forward. With their exceptional skills and expertise, we are confident that they will continue to provide the necessary drive for their respective Board areas to manage the opportunities and challenges ahead," said Prof. Dr. Hasso Plattner, Chairman of the SAP Supervisory Board. Furthermore, Sabine Bendiek, Chief People & Operating Officer and Labor Relations Director, informed the Supervisory Board that she will not seek to renew her Executive Board contract. Bendiek has led the People & Operations Board area since 2021, combining HR expertise with the responsibility for operations across all Board areas. Bendiek's contract runs until December 31, 2023. She will continue to fulfill her responsibilities with complete dedication until then. During this time, the search for a successor will be conducted. "The SAP Supervisory Board deeply regrets the decision. At the same time, we respect this choice and thank Sabine for her excellent work and commitment to SAP's transformation. Sabine promoted new ways of working, bringing people, processes and technology together," said Plattner. Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.



About SAP SAP's strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want  without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people's lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP's 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.  2023 SAP SE. All rights reserved.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:

Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24

United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727) Please consider our privacy policy. If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list, please contact [email protected] and write Unsubscribe in the subject line. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sap-supervisory-board-extends-contracts-with-executive-board-members-julia-white-and-scott-russell--sabine-bendiek-to-end-her-contract-december-31-2023-301786770.html SOURCE SAP SE

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[March 30, 2023] Tenth Anniversary of DDPAI - Ten Years of Image Connection

SHENZHEN, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the intelligentization of automobiles and the rapid changes in mobility, as a pathfinder and game changer of the times, DDPAI has taken the initiative to reform and reconstruct the three main scenes of people, vehicles, and homes, establishing connections with image technology and innovating smart mobility. Leading Industry Innovations by Empowering Smart Mobility DDPAI has jointly built several solutions in terms of automotive electronics and the Internet of Vehicles, assisting various automotive groups and mobility companies in automotive electronics upgrade and smart mobility, enriching the driving experience, and improving operational efficiency. DDPAI has also been cooperating with the map industry in depth to create a more intuitive AR real-life navigation experience.



V2X with Intelligent Networked Vehicle Terminal

Through cooperating with Huawei's C-V2X and more, DDPAI digitalizes vehicle and road information by linking cloud, vehicle, and road to build the world's first intelligent networked vehicle terminal. Increasing R&D Investment for Tens of Millions of Users With 10% of its sales invested in R&D and innovation every year, DDPAI has applied for 166 patents and reached over 10000+ terminal stores worldwide. Its products have been sold to more than 120 countries and regions, with a total of 10 million end users! Mutual Choice Between DDPAI and Users In the past decade, DDPAI has continuously strengthened the user-centered concept when carrying out the whole chain reform of the company and continuously improved the user perception and service value, thus attracting more vehicle owners who are culturally confident and willing to try new things. DDPAI's in-depth understanding of users' needs and experiences leads to a mutual choice between DDPAI and users. Discovering Novelty in Beautiful Images Having captured the beauty and yearning for the better, regardless of what life may bring, DDPAI connects the vehicle's visual perception/mobile electronic equipment with human eyes through scientific and technological innovation, greatly extending the visual radius of humans. DDPAI has also developed a social platform for one-click sharing of driving recorders, making sharing more convenient and entertaining. With a decade-long experience, DDPAI will build a new ecology with full image interconnections between people, vehicles, and homes in an all-around way and provide new industry solutions with innovative image technologies to build an interconnected future! View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/tenth-anniversary-of-ddpai--ten-years-of-image-connection-301786063.html SOURCE DDPAI

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[March 31, 2023] The China-Malaysia Science and Technology Innovation Summit and Pitching Crush Grand Finale concluded successfully with fruitful results!

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 20, the China-Malaysia Science and Technology Innovation Summit and Pitching Crush Grand Finale was held simultaneously in Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen. During the event, TusStar signed strategic cooperation agreements with the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI) and the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), respectively. YB Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), said Malaysia's innovation engine has created an ideal environment for investors to join the future technology ecosystem. As part of this effort, MRANTI will assist seventy-five Chinese technology companies designated by the event organizer, TusStar Malaysia, in starting or expanding their business in Malaysia. Ten of these companies will create technology and innovation-related jobs for Chinese workes, and five high-tech companies will transfer technology to suitable Malaysian companies. TusStar will also provide soft-landing assistance, including logistics staff, venues, and business networks, to at least 15 Malaysian companies developing locally in China.



In addition, H.E Ouyang Yujing, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Malaysia, stated that in the post-COVID-19 era, China will continue to strengthen research and development and high-tech cooperation with Malaysia to improve the living standards of both countries. To achieve this goal, China will comprehensively improve its scientific and technological innovation system by strengthening the opening-up of science and technology. The Chinese government is committed to expand foreign exchanges and create friendly cooperative environment, especially with important countries like Malaysia in the Belt and Road initiative. Based on the two cooperation, TusStar will assist Chinese and Malaysian enterprises with market expansion, technological achievements transformation, talent development, and other aspects to promote sustainable economic and social development of both countries. Additionally, the event included various activities such as panel discussion, theme sharing, and pitching crush. Notable guests including Sun Nan, a Party Group of Shenzhen Association for Science and Technology, Datuk Fadzli Abdul Wahit, Senior Vice President, Digital Industry Development of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Xu Yunqi, Deputy General Manager of Shenzhen Angel FOF Management Co, LTD., and Tan Chin Chun, Solutions Architect of Malaysia of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, who shared the theme of "innovation, cooperation, win-win". The discussion of the panel discussion centered around the application of UAV technology and the digital transformation technologies of Industry 4.0 in China-Malaysia Science and technology innovation. Finally, 10 start-ups from different technology sectors competed in the finals of the TusStar Southeast Asia, Pitching Crush, for potential venture capital investment opportunities and support in both countries.

For more information regarding the summit, please visit https://www.tusstar.my/ .



















View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/the-china-malaysia-science-and-technology-innovation-summit-and-pitching-crush-grand-finale-concluded-successfully-with-fruitful-results-301786716.html SOURCE TusStar Malaysia

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[March 31, 2023] Creality Advocates 3D Printing through Maker Truck on FESPA Brasil 2023 and Campus Party Brasilia

Creality's newest 3D printing technology attracted the eyes of many during FESPA Brasil 2023, the largest digital printing exhibition in Latin America. It will later show up on Campus Party Brasilia on April 5. SHENZHEN, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Creality, a global pioneer in 3D printing, reinforces its leading position in the Brazilian market by introducing the latest 3D printers including the CR-M4 to the maker community on FESPA Brasil 2023. The event was held from March 20-March 23 at Expo Center Norte in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Creality's campaign was carried out on "Maker Truck", a truck tour project Creality partnered with Universo da Criatividade and Automacao ARR as the exclusive 3D printing brand. Universo de Criatividade, a maker organization promoting maker concepts and new ideas, drove the "Maker Truck" into the exhibition hall with 10 Creality 3D printers, attracting visitors from the education sector, industrial corporations, and the general public. With Automacao ARR, a leading robotics company in Brazil, Creality showcased its latest products, including the CR-M4, a professional-grade FDM printer with a massive build volume of 450*450*470mm. Other products include the Ender-5 S1, the Ender-3 S1 series, the Ender-3 V2 Neo, the HALOT-ONE series, the UW-02, etc. Voolt3D, one of Creality's leading distributors in Brazil, also joined hands with Crality and participated in the event.



"Creality and 3D printing have caught nationwide attention and interest in Brazil, thanks to the continuous advocacy from our business partners and us," said Jimmy Xiao, Country Manager of Creality in Brazil. "We will keep exploring 3D printing applications in education, robotics and other sectors to benefit more people and inspire more creativities." During the four-day exhibition, Creality held a "Creality Day" and several 3D printing workshops where participants learned about 3D printing and modeling, deepening their relationship with makers and influencers from various industries.

Following up on the success of advocating 3D printing on FESPA Brasil 2023, Creality and the "Maker Truck" will later show up on Campus Party Brasilia from April 5-April 9 at Arena BRB Mane Garrincha in Brasilia, Brazil . The 5th edition of Campus Party Brasilia is one of the largest festivals about technology, where gamers, developers, and entrepreneurs will gather and celebrate the geek spirit. It is expected that Creality will further popularize the knowledge of 3D printing to the Brazilian public. Creality's strong presence in Brazil Creality has a strong presence in Brazil as a leading 3D printing brand. In December 2022, Creality title sponsored Max Creality League, one of the major e-sports tournaments in Brazil featuring the mobile game Free Fire. In September 2021, Creality partnered with Bebyte to launch the Space Robotics Project to make 3D printing and robotics more inclusive to students in Brazil. The project was fully supported by the National Education Development Fund of Brazil, the Brazilian Space Agency, and the University of Brasilia. About Creality Founded in Shenzhen, Creality is a global pioneer in the 3D printing industry that focuses on the research, design and production of consumer and professional-grade 3D printers and 3D printing accessories. With user-centric philosophy, Creality has expanded its footprints across more than 100 countries and regions worldwide, introducing 3D printing concepts to homes, schools, workshops, factories and academic institutions, and driving digitalization in manufacturing, education, healthcare, architecture and beyond. Committed to becoming a 3D printing evangelist, Creality continues gravitating to cutting-edge technology and bringing a premium experience for individual users and businesses. For more information: www.creality.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/creality-advocates-3d-printing-through-maker-truck-on-fespa-brasil-2023-and-campus-party-brasilia-301786758.html SOURCE CREALITY 3D

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[March 31, 2023] Horizon Quantum Computing Raises USD 18.1 million Series A to Advance Quantum Software Development

Horizon Quantum Computing, a Singapore-based company building software development tools to unlock the potential of quantum computing hardware, announced today that it has raised USD 18.1 million Series A investment from Sequoia Capital India, Tencent, SGInnovate, Pappas Capital and Expeditions Fund. The investment round will boost the growth of the company, allowing it to strengthen its science and engineering teams to accelerate product development, establish its new engineering centre in Europe and bring Horizon's unique technology to the market. Horizon Quantum Computing's total funding now stands at approximately USD 21.3 million. "Quantum computing has the potential to completely change how we think about computing," says Horizon's CEO Dr Joe Fitzsimons. "While getting to large scale quantum computing is a daunting challenge, it is undeniable that progress towards that goal is being made. At Horizon, we focus on unlocking the power of future quantum computers, and have made significant headway towards our goal of enabling conventional software developers to take advantage of the technology through abstraction and automated algorithm synthesis. The new investment will support our effort to break through the barriers to useful quantum computation." Sequoia Capital India and SGInnovate, which led Horizon's Seed+ and Seed rounds respectively, both reconfirmed support of the company's ambition to provide tools to make programming of quantum computers as accessible and efficient as it is for conventional computers today. "We have been bullish on the developer economy thesis for a long time," says Pieter Kemps, Partner, Surge at Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia. "At th same time, we believe that a tectonic shift will be driven by advancements in quantum hardware. But unlocking quantum computing for the millions of developers is no small feat. Wouldn't it be amazing if any developer could develop quantum algorithms with little to no prior quantum experience? This is the future that Horizon is enabling. We believe in Joe's product vision around abstracting the underlying quantum physics to enable developers to create quantum software with ease, and we have been hugely impressed by the technological breakthroughs that the team has achieved in a short period of time."



Quantum computing faces two main challenges to widespread adoption: the development of hardware capable of supporting quantum computation at scale and the creation of software tools that allow programmers to harness this hardware to solve real-world problems. Horizon Quantum Computing is focused on the second challenge, enabling domain experts to leverage quantum computing in their most demanding computational workloads. Horizon is building a system for quantum software development that enables developers to bridge the gap between classical code and quantum accelerated applications. Horizon has already reached key milestones in its technology development, demonstrating advanced compilation techniques, algorithm synthesis and rapid device characterisation. At the Q2B conference in Silicon Valley in December 2022, Horizon demoed its integrated development environment and announced it would be launching an early access program this year.

Last year, Horizon also joined Singapore's National Quantum-Safe Network and has recently seen the first data transmission from its node. Horizon's participation in this network is a step towards fulfilling the company's ambition of enabling secure and privacy-preserving access to cloud-based quantum computers Horizon Quantum Computing has also recently announced that it is opening its first European offices in Ireland where it is building out its new engineering centre. The company is currently recruiting a software engineering team in Dublin to boost worldwide operations. About Horizon Quantum Computing Horizon Quantum Computing is developing a new generation of programming tools to simplify and expedite the process of developing software for quantum computers. By removing the need for prior quantum computing experience to develop applications for quantum hardware, Horizon's tools will make the power of quantum computing accessible to every software developer. The company was founded in 2018 by Dr Joe Fitzsimons, an expert in the space of quantum computing applications. Dr Fitzsimons has over 18 years of experience in quantum computing and computational complexity theory and holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford on quantum computing architectures. The leadership team also includes Dr Si-Hui Tan, Chief Science Officer, who holds a PhD in Physics from MIT and has been actively involved in quantum research for 18 years. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005030/en/

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A Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday to indict former president Donald Trump, in a case stemming from $130,000 in hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence over an alleged affair that, if known, would have destroyed his presidential aspirations, since the alleged bribe aborted the scandal in the final stretch of the 2016 campaign. The Republican, who became the first former U.S. president to face criminal prosecution, has repeatedly denied the relationship, and his lawyers have accused Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, of extortion. They have also denounced the moves of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is prosecuting the case, as politically motivated against the Republican.

The actual indictment, with the seal of U.S. Attorney Braggs office, will likely be announced in the coming days. It is assumed that, behind the scenes, the prosecution is negotiating Trumps voluntary surrender. If he accepts, it could produce the unprecedented image of an ex-president, accompanied by Secret Service agents, being photographed and fingerprinted in a New York courtroom.

The Manhattan D.A.s office offered Trump a chance to testify in early March before the grand jury investigating the alleged payment, in a sign that an indictment was imminent. The former president declined the offer, according to prosecutorial sources. The indictment opens up an uncharted scenario in legal terms, since no former occupant of the Oval Office, either sitting or retired, has ever faced criminal charges.

It also creates a practically existential dilemma for an already divided Republican Party, which must decide whether to support or reject a 2024 presidential candidate who has been signaled out by the justice system. The police has contingency plans ready in Washington D.C. and in New York, home of the Trump empire, ahead of possible protests by Trump followers and after the former president called on supporters to protest, take our nation back on his app Truth Social.

After Trump turned down the D.A.s offer to testify before the grand jury, it became evident that an indictment was forthcoming when Trumps former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified twice behind closed doors, as did Daniels. Cohen, once a trusted Trump aide, was convicted in 2018 after pleading guilty in federal court to violating campaign finance laws by paying Daniels and another woman in the final stretch of the 2016 campaign, among other crimes.

The lawyer paid Daniels through a shell company and was later reimbursed by Trump, whose Trump Organization recorded the payments as business expenses. In early 2016, Cohen also managed to get the editor of The National Enquirer to pay $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal for her silence about a similar affair. The tabloid pledged not to publish the exclusive. At that time, Trump was already married to Melania Trump, and the former president has denied sleeping with either of those two women.

A year to trial

The agenda now opening up before Trump leads to a crucial date, the 2024 presidential election. Any trial would take more than a year, according to legal experts, so it could coincide with the last stretch of the campaign. But criminal cases in New York take on average more than a year to move from indictment to trial, according to sources in the Manhattan D.A.s office. This raises the possibility of a trial in the middle of the campaign, or even after the election has been held, although putting an elected or incumbent president on trial for state charges would enter uncharted legal territory. If elected, he would not be able to pardon himself from the kinds of charges brought by Bragg.

In the short term, the indictment would involve Trump going to the district attorneys office in downtown New York to turn himself in. In high-profile cases such as this one, the defendants lawyers and prosecutors usually agree on a date and time to avoid the embarrassment of a house arrest. In an ironic plot twist, Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and Trumps main Republican rival, would have to approve the extradition request of the defendant, whose residency is in that state, although legal experts argue that DeSantis role would be strictly administrative.

In the end, it was none of the major outstanding issues with the courts that knocked Trump down but a minor one, albeit one with serious implications regarding the transparency of the 2016 campaign. But it is paradoxical that this is the case that has brought Trump the closest to facing a court, considering his other legal challenges: two federal cases, for keeping confidential documents and for his role in instigating the assault on the Capitol in 2021; another case for attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 election in the state of Georgia, and two more parallel cases for tax fraud brought by Manhattan and New York State prosecutors.

In fact, in December, the Trump Organization was found guilty of tax fraud in a criminal case also prosecuted by the Manhattan district attorneys office. In September, New York State Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and three of his adult children in a civil suit for what she described as exceptional fraud, a case that could result in penalties of at least $250 million.

The explosive dimension that this case has taken on is particularly striking, considering that it was on the verge of a deadlock in February of last year following the resignation of two of the top lawyers in the office run by the newly arrived Bragg. The resignation of the cases leading investigators was viewed as a prosecutorial retreat and perhaps an eventual end to the case, but nothing could be further from the truth, as evidenced by the indictment in a case that has accelerated in recent weeks with the presentation of evidence before the grand jury.

The legal challenges affecting Trump are so far-reaching that President Joe Biden in November appointed a special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee all investigations involving the former president. In all cases, starting with Daniels, Trump has denied the accusations. On Saturday he wrote on Truth Social that the Manhattan D.A.s office is corrupt and highly politicized. He has also lashed out against the New York State Attorney General, saying he is the target of a witch hunt motivated by the interests of James, a former gubernatorial candidate.

This alleged political motivation that Trump and his lawyers see in Bragg and James was the argument used on Saturday by the highest-ranking U.S. Republican, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose relationship with Trump has been full of ups and downs.

Here we go again  an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump, tweeted McCarthy on Saturday. Im directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions.

McCarthy was alluding to what is probably the biggest challenge of the Manhattan district attorneys office: the pending reform of the bail and parole system to avoid the revolving doors of police stations and prisons. This is the kind of ammunition that Republicans use with relish to exonerate Trump of any blame and deepens the polarization that the former president left behind as his main legacy.

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[March 31, 2023] HL Mando Awarded "2022 Supplier of the Year" by General Motors Company (GM)

"It is a great honor that we have received the Supplier of the Year Award from GM for three consecutive years," said Senior President and CEO Steve (Seong-hyeon) Cho of HL Mando. SEOUL, South Korea, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HL Mando, a company specializing in autonomous driving solutions for electric vehicles, was named a "2022 Supplier of the Year (SOY)" by General Motors Company (GM). The company has been given this honor three years in a row, starting with winning the "Launch Excellence Award" in 2020. The 31st ceremony of the 2022 SOY took place on March 23, 2023 (local time) in San Antonio, Texas, where 107 suppliers frm 10 countries, including HL Mando America, attended and received the SOY Award. The SOY award is given to outstanding partner companies within the top 1% of all GM suppliers that are selected annually from among over 20,000 suppliers worldwide. Senior President and CEO Steve (Seong-hyeon) Cho of HL Mando, Vice President Yun Lee (Head of HL Mando Americas Region), Executive Director Jason (Jae-hyuk) Kim (President of HL Mando America Novi), and Director Jeff Pontius (Engineering Director of HL Mando America Brake R&D) were all present at this year's ceremony.



HL Mando has won the SOY Award nine times in total since 2003. In spite of the extremely challenging COVID-19 pandemic and semiconductor supply shortage in 2020, HL Mando has persevered to win the SOY Award for three straight years. HL Mando received top marks both in terms of Business Performance (defect-free product launching, product supply, and quality maintenance) and Cultural Priorities (safety and communication and transparency) in 2022. "We are thrilled to recognize these outstanding suppliers after yet another challenging year in the automotive industry," said Jeff Morrison, GM vice president of Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. "They overcame countless obstacles and exemplified what it means to be resilient, resourceful and determined. Beyond that, these suppliers demonstrated their commitment to sustainable innovation and to driving advanced solutions in collaboration with the GM team."

CEO Steve Cho also expressed his gratitude during the ceremony: "It is a great honor that we have received the SOY Award from GM in such difficult times. I would like to send my gratitude to all members of our labor union and branches and subsidiaries across the world who have been working together to make us who we are today." About HL Mando HL Mando Corporation (KS 204320) is a leading global automotive parts supplier, specialized in xEV and autonomous driving solutions with an A grade in the MSCI (2021) ESG ratings. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in the Republic of Korea. HL Mando offers state of the art driving systems (Brake, Steering, Suspension, Propulsion, Power solutions) along with Software solutions for vehicle manufacturers and newly emerging mobility service providers in three technology domains of vehicle integrated safety, autonomous driving and electric mobility that allows vehicles to intuitively sense, deliberate and move cleverly. HL Mando serves over sixty (60) customers from over 50 locations worldwide, which encompasses local and global automakers in every major region of the world. HL Mando is pursuing a vision of creating a world where mobility can bring true freedom. For more information, visit [www.hlmando.com] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2044938/image_1.jpg https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2044938/image_1.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hl-mando-awarded-2022-supplier-of-the-year-by-general-motors-company-gm-301786611.html

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[March 31, 2023] Creator Guided Shopping Platform LTK Launches Social Media Advertising for Brands

LTK, the global creator marketing platform, today launched social media advertising for brands to further leverage LTK Creator content to drive business outcomes. The new LTK Boost advertising solution allows brands to amplify creator collaboration content directly from the creator's social media handles - leading to higher engagement and conversion. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230323005041/en/ LTK Boost, the new social media advertising solution from global influencer marketing platform LTK, allows brands to amplify creator collaboration content directly from the creator's social media handles - leading to higher engagement and conversion. (Photo: Business Wire) Brand investment in LTK Creators continued to increase last year with brand campaigns growing nearly 50% in the second half of the year. In a recent study, LTK found that Gen Z and Millennials rank influencer content over brand and even user-generated content when making a purchase decision. With LTK Boost, LTK can now run social media ads directly from creator profiles on behalf of brands -hich creates a more authentic message, reduces the cost of content production and drives higher engagement and conversion versus traditional social media advertising.



In an initial offering, LTK worked with several brands across multiple categories to run LTK Boost ads from creator profiles, which led to an increase in traffic to the brands' sites, as well as a significant lift in sales with some brands seeing nearly 4X sales growth. All brand results outpaced social media ad industry click through averages by 80%. In addition, creators that participated in the trial saw significant impact with increases in audience reach, outsized gains in new followers and incremental sales and commissions for each creator. Participating creators saw nearly 200K new audience views per post and reached a near 30% increase in retail sales. "Creators are undoubtedly having an impact on consumer shopping behaviors. 92% of Gen Z - a group that will make up the largest consumer segment in a few years - rely on creators to inform their purchases across virtually every category. And, creators are the number one most trusted source to help with purchase decisions for Gen Z and Millennials - beating social media ads and celebrities. That's why we continue to introduce solutions like LTK Media Boosting to help brands to fully harness the power of creators and reach their customers efficiently and effectively," said Kristi O'Brien, General Manager of the LTK Brand Platform.

LTK Boost is available now in the LTK Brand Platform. For more information, please visit https://company.shopltk.com/en/brands. About LTK As the founder of creator guided shopping, LTK is the trusted and effective platform for creators and their businesses by powering the connection between content and commerce. Founded in 2011 by Amber and Baxter Box, the LTK mission is to empower creators to be as economically successful as possible. World premium lifestyle creators in 150+ countries drive more than $3.6 billion in annual retail sales through their LTK Creator Shop profiles. Today, more than 18 million consumers turn to LTK Creator Shops in the LTK shopping platform each month to find inspiration and instantly shop the styles recommended by their favorite creators. And, more than 6,000 brands partner with LTK to gain access to its global creator network for content that converts against performance-driven, cross-channel KPIs. A three-time honoree on Fast Company's list of Most Innovative Retail Companies, LTK is headquartered in Dallas, TX and currently operates on five continents. To download the LTK shopping app, search for LTK in the App Store or Google Play. For the latest shopping trends and updates from LTK, follow Shop.LTK on Instagram and TikTok. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230323005041/en/

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[March 31, 2023] Chandigarh University makes a stellar debut in 5 Subjects in QS World University Subject Rankings 2023

Ranks 11th in India in the field of Engineering & Technology, Computer Science & Information Systems, 12th in Mechanical Engineering, 16th in Business & Management Studies and 1st in Hospitality Management CHANDIGARH, India, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chandigarh University Gharuan which already made a mark in QS World global rankings in 2022, continued its stellar performance in the QS World University Rankings 2023. Making debut this year in the World Subject Rankings, Chandigarh University got listed amongst the world's top universities in 5 subjects which includes Business & Management Studies, Engineering & Technology, Computer Science and Information Systems, Engineering- Mechanical and Hospitality and Leisure Management. The performance of Chandigarh University in the Global QS World University Ranking Subject Wise 2023 was revealed during a press interaction by Chancellor Chandigarh University, Satnam Singh Sandhu. Recently, QS announced the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023 which are published every year to help prospective students identify the leading universities in their domain of interest. The global rankings are based on the various stringent parameters which includes Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Faculty Student Ratio, Citations per Faculty, International Faculty Ratio, International Student Ratio, International Research Network and Employment Outcomes. Performance of Chandigarh University QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023







Subject World

Ranking Asia

Ranking India

Ranking Business & Management Studies 401-450 111 16 Engineering and Technology 342 98 11 Computer Science and Information Systems 301-350 86 11 Hospitality and Leisure Management 101-150 25 01 Engineering - Mechanical 401-450 125 12

Performance in Engineering and Technology With an overall score of 64.2, Chandigarh University ranked 342nd in world in the field of Engineering & Technology. This is the best debut in the history of QS World University Rankings by Subject, made by any Private Indian University in Engineering and Technology. With this performance, Chandigarh University ranked 11th in India (Overall) while it ranked 2nd amongst the Private Indian Universities in Engineering and Technology. Continuing its exceptional performance in engineering, Chandigarh University ranked 301-350 globally in the Computer Science and Information Systems while it bagged 11th overall rank in India and 3rd in the Indian Private Universities category. Only 27 Universities from India have managed to find place in the QS World University Rankings 2023 in the subject of Computer Science and Information Systems. In the other subject category of Engineering, Chandigarh University ranked in 401-450 all over the world in the subject area of Mechanical Engineering. With this, Chandigarh University ranked 12th in India and 3rd amongst the Indian Private Universities in the field of Mechanical Engineering. Performance in Business and Management Studies In the field of Business and Management Studies, Chandigarh University ranked 401-450 rank band in the world which made it the youngest university from India to make a debut in the QS World Subject Rankings. Only 21 Indian Universities managed to rank in the field of Business and Management studies and Chandigarh University ranked 16th All-Over India and 2nd amongst the private universities. Performance in Hospitality and Leisure Management Chandigarh University is the only University from India which finds its place amongst the World's top Hospitality Management Universities and Institutions. The University ranked in the 101-150 band in the world while it ranked 25th in Asia and 1st in India. Reacting on the performance of Chandigarh University in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023, Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu said, "It is a matter of great pride that Chandigarh University has once again made India proud by being featured amongst the World's top Universities in 5 domains. This achievement has made Chandigarh University the youngest university from India to make such a remarkable debut in the QS Global Rankings". He further added that this performance of Chandigarh University in the World University Rankings speaks volumes of the quality of education and the high standards of academics, quality placements, industry-focused research, and flexible academic environment offered to the students. 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/2045195/Chandigarh_University.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/chandigarh-university-makes-a-stellar-debut-in-5-subjects-in-qs-world-university-subject-rankings-2023-301786879.html

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[March 31, 2023] Infosys Recognized as the Top Service Provider Across Nordics in the Whitelane Research and PA Consulting IT Sourcing Study 2023

Infosys achieves a notable rise in overall ranking in the Nordics with a customer satisfaction score of 81 percent as compared to the industry average of 73 percent STOCKHOLM, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced that it has been recognized as one of the top service providers in the Nordics, achieving the highest awarded score in Whitelane Research and PA Consulting's 2023 IT Sourcing Study. The report ranked Infosys as the number one service provider and an 'Exceptional Performer' in the categories of Digital Transformation, Application Services, and Cloud & Infrastructure Hosting Services. Infosys also ranked number one in overall General Satisfaction and Service Delivery. For the report, Whitelane Research and PA Consulting, the innovation and transformation consultancy, surveyed nearly 400 CXOs and key decision-makers from top IT spending organizations in the Nordics and evaluated over 750 unique IT sourcing relationships and more than 1,400 cloud sourcing relationships. These service providers were assessed based on their service delivery, client relationships, commercial leverage, and transformation capabilities. Some of Infosys' key differentiating factors highlighted in the report are: Infosys ranked as a top provider in the Nordics across key performance indicators on service delivery quality, account management quality, price level and transformative innovation.

Infosys' ranked above the industry average by 8 percent year-on-year, making it one of the top system integrators in the Nordics.

Infosys is positioned as a "Strong Performer" in Security Services and scored significantly above average on account management. Arne Erik Berntzen, Group CIO of Posten Norge, said: "Infosys has been integral in helping Posten Norge transform its IT Service Management capabilities. As Posten's partner since 2021, Infosys picked up the IT Service Management function from the incumbent, successfully transforming it through a brand-new implementation of ServiceNow, redesigning IT service management to suit the next-generation development processes and resulting in a significant improvement of the overall customer experience. I congratulate Infosys for achieving the top ranking in the 2023 Nordic IT Sourcing Study." Antti Koskelin, SVP & CIO at KONE, said: "Infosys has been our trusted partner in our digitalization journey since 2017 and have helped us in establishing best-in-class services blueprint and olling-in our enterprise IT landscape over the last few years. Digital transformations need partners to constantly learn, give ideas that work and be flexible to share risks and rewards with us, and Infosys has done just that. I am delighted that Infosys has been positioned No. 1 in Whitelane's 2023 Nordic Survey. This is definitely a reflection of their capabilities."



Jef Loos, Head of Research Europe, Whitelane Research, said, "In today's dynamic IT market, client demand is ever evolving, and staying ahead of the curve requires a strategic blend of optimized offerings and trusted client relationships. Infosys' impressive ranking in Whitelane's Nordic IT Sourcing Study is a testament to their unwavering commitment to fulfilling client demands effectively. Through their innovative solutions and exceptional customer service, Infosys has established itself as a leader in the industry, paving the way for a brighter and more successful future for all." Hemant Lamba, Executive Vice President & Global Head  Strategic Sales, Infosys said, "Our ranking as one of the top service providers across the Nordics in the Whitelane Research and PA Consulting 2023 IT Sourcing Study, endorses our commitment to this important market. This is a significant milestone in our regional strategy, and the recognition revalidates our commitment towards driving customer success and excellence in delivering innovative IT services. Through our geographical presence in the Nordics, we will continue to drive business innovation and IT transformation in the region, backed by a strong partner network. We look forward to continuing investing in this market to foster client confidence and further enhance delivery."

About Infosys Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, in more than 50 countries, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by the cloud. We enable them with an AI-powered core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace. Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India and the US, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/infosys-recognized-as-the-top-service-provider-across-nordics-in-the-whitelane-research-and-pa-consulting-it-sourcing-study-2023-301786887.html SOURCE Infosys

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[March 31, 2023]

This Week in Travel News: 11 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the week's most newsworthy travel industry press releases from PR Newswire, including the world's most popular cruises and tips for choosing the right summer camp.

NEW YORK, March 31, 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.

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.

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].

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[March 31, 2023] Exnova's Blitz Options: New Spin On Short-Term Trading

LIMASSOL, Cyprus, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Exnova , an online broker, has recently introduced a new trading instrument called Blitz Options to its suite of trading options. This high-risk, high-reward financial instrument offers traders the potential to make quick profits or losses within a very short time frame. Blitz Options provide flexibility and control to traders, making it a unique addition to the trading industry. Understanding Blitz Options Blitz Options are a type of options that has the shortest expiration time of just 5 seconds. This means that the outcome of the trade, whether it will be in-the-money or out-of-the-money, is determined within this short period. Like traditional options, Blitz Options allow traders to place bets on the direction of an asset's price movement within a short time frame. Traders can bet on the asset's price increasing or decreasing. If the bet is successful, they can earn high returns on their investment. How it works Exnova provides traders with the opportunity to trade Blitz Options on demo and real balancs. The available assets include EUR/USD (OTC), AUD/CAD (OTC), EUR/GPB (OTC), and EUR/JPY (OTC).



To open a Blitz Options deal, a trader chooses an asset, specifies an investment amount, and predicts the price movement for the next five seconds. If the prediction is correct, the trader receives a profit of up to 95% of the initial investment. If not, the entire invested amount is lost. Traders can withdraw their profits to one of many payment methods, including Boleto, Pix, Skrill, Neteller, etc.

Exnova's proprietary trading platform is designed to be user-friendly and more straightforward than traditional trading engines like Metatrader. This simplifies the navigation process, reduces the learning curve, and makes it easy for traders to use. The platform comes with features like: About the Exnova platform - Smart charting  traders can run up to 9 charts at a time - 100+ technical indicators - In-built fundamental analysis tools: calendars, newsfeed - Useful widgets like price alerts, traders' sentiment, etc - Risk management: Stop Loss/Take Profit, Negative balance protection, Trailing Stop The Exnova platform also offers several benefits, including a low minimum deposit of $10, competitive spreads, and a variety of trading instruments, including Forex, stocks, currencies, commodities, crypto, ETFs, and several types of options. Exnova offers a demo account charged with $10,000 virtual coins to help less experienced traders practice trading strategies, test-drive instruments, and familiarize themselves with the platform interface. The platform also features helpful video tutorials to assist traders in improving their skills and achieving their financial goals. Conclusion Blitz Options offer a unique way to trade in the financial markets. They provide traders with a high level of flexibility and control, making them a viable option for experienced traders looking to make quick profits. However, traders should be aware that the short expiration time also poses a high risk of loss. It is essential to understand the risks involved and trade responsibly. With Exnova's user-friendly platform and useful tools, traders can learn to trade responsibly and improve their skills over time. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2045224/Blitz_Exnova.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/exnovas-blitz-options-new-spin-on-short-term-trading-301786927.html

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[March 31, 2023] Blockchain-Ads Receives $50K Grant from Partisia Blockchain to Grow their Privacy-Preserving Advertising Solution

BANGKOK , March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blockchain-Ads, , a pioneering advertising & data solution in the web3 space, has announced that it has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Partisia Blockchain. This financial support will help further the development of Blockchain-Ads' groundbreaking technology, for private data validation and enhanced user privacy protection, which combines Partisia Blockchain, Multi-Party Computation (MPC), and Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP).

Blockchain-Ads has quickly gained interest from prominent players in the web3 sector by delivering unparalleled results. Their innovative solution allows brands to reach their ideal customers with four times the performance of traditional solutions, particularly benefiting crypto brands by targeting web3 users across the open web. On the other hands, it enables websites and apps to monetize their traffic while maintaining strict privacy standards, ensuring users' data remains protected and secure. The Growing Need for Privacy-Preserving Advertising Solutions The online advertising industry has been under intense scrutiny in recent years due to privacy concerns and invasive data collection practices. Blockchain-Ads has developed a privacy-preserving advertising solution that respects users' data while still enabling advertisers to reach their target audience effectively. With the $50,000 grant from Partisia Foundations, a pioneer in MPC, Blockchain-Ads is poised to transform the online advertising industry and provide a new era of privacy-preserving online advertising and data monetization. Leveraging Multi-Party Computation and Zero-Knowledge Proof Technologies The key to Blockchain-Ads' privacy-preserving solution lies in its utilization of Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technologies. MPC enables the processing o data by multiple parties without revealing the underlying data to any of them. ZK, on the other hand, allows one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any information beyond the validity of the statement itself.



By combining these technologies, Blockchain-Ads can securely process user data and facilitate targeted advertising without compromising user privacy. This ensures that users retain control over their personal information while allowing websites to monetize their traffic effectively. AI-Powered Advertising

Leveraging the prowess of AI, Blockchain-Ads is working on predicting user behavior through the synthesis and analysis of numerous website and blockchain data points. This approach enables the creation of precise behavioral profiles, ultimately facilitating the delivery of highly personalized advertising that boasts an impressive 3x increase in average conversion rates. The startup has witnessed a surge in demand for its advertising services, particularly from brands operating in highly restrictive industries, with the crypto sector being a key player. At its core, Blockchain-Ads is committed to providing performance-driven and growth-oriented advertising outcomes for its clientele. Testnet Planned for Early Mid-April With the support of Partisia Blockchain, Blockchain-Ads plans to deploy its privacy-preserving smart contract on the Partisia Testnet in early mid-April. This deployment will allow Blockchain-Ads to test and refine its next-generation advertising solution in a secure environment before launching on the mainnet. By utilizing the cutting-edge capabilities of the Partisia MPC and ZK tech, Blockchain-Ads will benefit from the increased speed, security, and most importantly, privacy of the Partisia Blockchain infrastructure. The Future of Privacy-Preserving Advertising Blockchain-Ads' innovative approach and use of cutting-edge technologies such as MPC and ZKP have the potential to transform the online advertising industry and provide advertisers and publishers with a more secure and privacy-preserving platform. In comparison to traditional web2 advertising solutions like DoubleClick, which was acquired by Google in 2007 for $3.1 billion, Blockchain-Ads aims to disrupt the current centralized advertising industry by providing a decentralized, privacy-preserving, and cost-effective solution. By leveraging the capabilities of AI, MPC and ZKP technologies, Blockchain-Ads is creating the future of web3 advertising that respects users' data and privacy. The company's partnership with Partisia Blockchain marks a significant step forward for privacy-preserving online advertising and data monetization, setting a new standard for privacy and user control in the digital advertising landscape. Blockchain-Ads has experienced growing success in the web3 advertising industry, providing results for brands in the crypto industry that were previously unattainable. With its innovative approach and use of cutting-edge technologies, Blockchain-Ads hopes to achieve similar success in the web3 era. For more information on Blockchain-Ads, please contact media team at [email protected] or visit https://blockchain-ads.com/

Blockchain-Ads Media Contact:

Name: Marko Rende (Communication and PR)

Email: [email protected]



Partisia Blockchain Media Contact

Name: Bruce Ahn

Email: [email protected]

Location: Tampa, Florida, United State





Marko Rende Blockchain-Ads media at blockchain-ads.com

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[March 31, 2023] Mission Wealth Announces Addition of Trust Services to Platform

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the overall Estate Planning services, Mission Wealth LP announced this week several new solutions to assist in the transition of clients' assets, stewardship of their wealth, and support for their heirs. Mission Wealth introduced Trust Services as a function of its comprehensive wealth management platform. Mission Wealth introduces Trust Services as a function of its comprehensive wealth management platform. Mission Wealth Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Brad Stark said, "Our clients often ask us to be their successor trustees to shepherd their wealth for the benefit and protection of their heirs. These Trust Services now allow us to fulfill those requests. We are honored to be in a position to continue our clients' legacy as they have designed it." Trust Services will offer a full suite of solutions spanning Indepedent Trustee Services, Post-Death Administration, Trust Splitting & Funding, Tax Basis Reset, Appraisals, Marshalling Assets, Statutory Heir Reporting, Tax Optimization & Compliance, Investment Management, Financial Planning, Asset Protection, Trust Distributions, Special Needs, Bill Pay, and Charitable Intents with the focused purpose of supporting client family goals.



Key benefits to the Trust Services offering include flexibility, fully independent advice, and tax-efficient management. Mission Wealth also has access to alternative investments in addition to traditional stock and bond portfolios, potentially resulting in more income production and distribution to the heirs without having to distribute trust principal. "We're very excited about our trust and trustee services and what that means for our clients here at Mission Wealth. This is yet another example of the white-glove, one-stop shop that our clients deserve. In-house services will allow our clients' trusted advisors to continue to work with their families far into the future to ensure that their wishes are honored and continue to be good stewards over their hard-earned wealth," added Andrew Kulha, Director of Estate Strategy.

About Mission Wealth

Founded in 2000, Mission Wealth is a nationally recognized RIA that oversees $5.3 Billion in client assets under management. Mission Wealth is known for its client service model, driven by a world-class technology stack that offers financial planning, investment counsel, tax strategies, estate and trust management, philanthropic advice, and asset protection solutions tailored to each client's needs. For more information on Mission Wealth's comprehensive financial solutions, please visit missionwealth.com. Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube 00504459 03/23 Media Contact:

Michelle Winkles

(805) 729-2917

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mission-wealth-announces-addition-of-trust-services-to-platform-301787052.html SOURCE Mission Wealth Management, LP

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[March 31, 2023] Shima Capital's Founder Yida Gao Teaches Crypto Finance Course at MIT

Gao succeeds previous lecturer, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, for the second year SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Shima Capital Founder Yida Gao is going back to his MIT roots, this time to begin his second year as adjunct professor at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he teaches 15.492 Crypto Finance. Mr. Gao took over the assignment in 2022 when he replaced the previous lecturer, Gary Gensler, who moved into his new role as Chairperson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In his first year as a lecturer at MIT, Yida Gao was known for inviting special guests to join and speak to his class. Such guests included Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Chairman of Animoca Brands Yat Siu, Investor and Entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano aka Pomp, and Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky, among others. For year two, planned guest speakers include BitMEX cofounder Arthur Hayes, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, and many more founders and executives from top Web3 projects such as Ripple. Yida Gao, who is also Managing General Partner at Shima Capital, has a long history of success in crypto finance, most recently with regards to running his $200 million web3 venture capital fund. In addition to his students at MIT, Yida imparts similar wisdom daily amongst Shima's portfolio companies, of which there are nearly 200.



The course description for 15.492 Crypto Finance reads: "Explores the markets for cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. Begins with the basics and economics of crypto assets' underlying blockchain technology and then turns to the trading and markets for cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, other tokens and crypto derivatives. Students gain an understanding and comparison to traditional finance of the market structure, participants, regulation and dynamics of this relatively new and volatile asset class." For more on Yida Gao and Shima Capital visit www.yidagao.com and www.shima.capital.

About Yida Gao Yida Gao (Forbes 30 Under 30) is the Founder and Managing General Partner of early stage crypto investment firm Shima Capital. Yida formerly co-ran Struck Capital, an early stage industry agnostic venture fund, and also DDC (Divergence Digital Currency), a multi-strategy crypto fund. Prior, Yida served as a technology investor at New Enterprise Associates, a $25Bn+ venture capital fund, and as an M&A investment banker at Morgan Stanley. He graduated from MIT with degrees in mathematics and computer science and dropped out of Stanford's Graduate School of Business to pursue crypto investing full time in 2017. He teaches the 15.492: Crypto Finance course at MIT. Contact:

***@shima.capital Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/12957843 Press release distributed by PRLog View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shima-capitals-founder-yida-gao-teaches-crypto-finance-course-at-mit-301786703.html SOURCE Shima Capital

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[March 31, 2023] Statement - Statement from Minister Champagne concerning competition in the telecommunication sector

OTTAWA, ON, March 31, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, issued the following statement: "Since the proposed merger between Rogers and Shaw was announced, I have been very clear: affordability and competition are central to any decision I make in my role as Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. "That's why last October, I officially denied the request to transfer Shaw's wireless spectrum licences - held by their subsidiary, Freedom Mobileto Rogers. At the time, I also outlined my expectations for the separate proposed transfer of Freedom Mobile's spectrum licences to Videotron. "Since then, the Competition Bureau, the Competition Tribunal and the Federal Court of Appeal have all weighed in on the potential competitiveness a fourth national player could have on our telecom industry. "The evidence is clear: Having a strong fourth competitor does lead to lower prices, as we've seen in Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. "Today, I am informing Canadians that I have secured on their behalf unprecedent and legally binding commitments from Rogers and Videotron. And, after imposing strict conditions, the spectrum licences of Freedom Mobile will be transferred to Videotron. "This transfer follows a series of agreements signed by the parties that will ensure that this new national fourth player will be in it for the long haul, be able to go toe-to-toe with the big three, and actually drive down prices across Canada. "As part of these agreements and conditions, Videotron: Will offer plans that are comparable to those currently available in Quebec , and offer options at least 20% cheaper than those made available by the major players;

, and offer options at least 20% cheaper than those made available by the major players; Cannot transfer the Freedom Mobile licences for a period of ten years;

Will have to expand its 5G wireless network in Freedom Mobile's pre-existing operating territory within two years;

Will expand mobile service into Manitoba via the use of a signed Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement or other means and offer plans comparable to what it offers in Quebec ; and,

via the use of a signed Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement or other means and offer plans comparable to what it offers in ; and, Will increase data allotments of existing Freedom Mobile customers by 10% as a near-term bonus while it invests to bring down prices overall. "Separately, Rogers will also be subject to strict and legally binding commitments requiring them to make major investments to improve connectivity within the next 5 years, including: Creating 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada and maintaining them for a minimum of 10 years after the closing date;

and maintaining them for a minimum of 10 years after the closing date; Establishing a Western headquarters in Calgary and maintainng it for a minimum of 10 years after the closing date;

and maintainng it for a minimum of 10 years after the closing date; Investing $1 billion to expand broadband Internet access, at speeds of at least 50/10 megabits per second, and 5G mobile service in areas where it is not currently available;

to expand broadband Internet access, at speeds of at least 50/10 megabits per second, and 5G mobile service in areas where it is not currently available; Investing at least $2.5 billion to enhance its 5G network in Western Canada , and $3 billion in additional network service expansion projects; and,

to enhance its 5G network in , and in additional network service expansion projects; and, Expanding access to low-cost broadband Internet plans and launching a new low-cost mobile offering for low-income Canadians.



$200 million in the case of Videotron and up to $1 billion in the case of Rogers. These agreements will be released publicly and are subject to annual reporting requirements. "Should the parties fail to live up to any of their commitments, our government will use every means in our power to enforce the terms on behalf of Canadians.

"Videotron and Rogers have also entered into commercial network-access agreements, which includes a MVNO and Domestic Roaming Agreement, on terms that will help Videotron compete more effectively as it expands in other regions of Canada. This will ensure more Canadians can benefit from lower prices for their wireless services. "I am also looking forward to similar commercial MVNO agreements being signed expeditiously by the major players with regional players across Canada, as they are an essential tool to drive down prices. "Under these conditions, Videotron's acquisition of Freedom Mobile's licences will improve affordability, competition, and innovation in the telecommunications sector. "As part of my decision today, I am also announcing a moratorium on large scale spectrum transfers and directing my Department to launch a comprehensive review of Canada's spectrum transfer framework  something which has not been done in almost a decade. "The establishment of an effective national fourth player who can compete and drive down prices has been the goal of successive governments for decades. Today's announcement allows for the establishment of that fourth national player for the first time in Canada's history. "If Canadians do not begin to see a clear and meaningful reduction in prices within a reasonable amount of time as a result of this decision, I will have no choice but to use further legislative and regulatory powers to drive down prices. "Canadians rightfully expect and deserve more from their telecom sector. We will continue to ensure the industry meets these standards, including improving competition, reliability and affordability." Associated links Agreement with Videotron

Agreement with Rogers

Moratorium on Certain Spectrum Licence Transfers

More affordable telecom services

Reliable telecom services Stay connected Find more services and information at Canada.ca/ISED . Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

Twitter: @ISED_CA , Facebook: Canadian Innovation , Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

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Former President Donald Trump will be formally arrested and arraigned next Tuesday in his hush money case, court officials said  an announcement promising the historic, shocking scene of a former U.S. commander in chief forced to stand before a judge.

As the Manhattan court confirmed the timing on Friday, the streets outside had calmed from earlier in the week. There were no large-scale demonstrations for or against Trump, though tourists stopped to take selfies and throngs of reporters and police officers remained assembled.

When Trump turns himself in, hell be booked mostly like anyone else facing charges, mugshot and all. But he isnt expected to be put in handcuffs, hell have Secret Service protection and will almost certainly be released that day.

In the meantime, his legal team prepared Trumps defense while the prosecutor defended the grand jury investigation that propelled the matter toward trial. Congressional Republicans, as well as Trump himself, contend the whole matter is politically motivated.

We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote to three Republican House committee chairs Friday in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The case is plunging the U.S. into uncharted legal waters, with Trump the first former president ever to face an indictment. And the political implications could be huge ahead of next years presidential election. Trump is already in the midst of running for president a third time and has said the case against him could hurt that effort  though his campaign is already raising money by citing it.

Top Republicans also have begun closing ranks around him. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to use congressional oversight to probe Bragg. Reps. James Comer, Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil, the committee chairs whom Bragg addressed in his letter, have asked the district attorneys office for grand jury testimony, documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department.

Trumps indictment came after a grand jury probe into hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign to squelch allegations of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

The investigation dug into six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both claim to have had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics; he denies having sexual liaisons with either woman.

Trump also has denied any wrongdoing involving payments and has denounced the investigation as a scam, a persecution, an injustice. He argues that it is specifically designed to damage his 2024 presidential run. Within hours of the news breaking on Thursday, his campaign was noting the development in fundraising emails.

As far as the actual court case goes, Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said during TV interviews Friday he would very aggressively challenge the legal validity of the Manhattan grand jury indictment. Trump himself, on his social media platform, trained his ire on a new target, complaining that the judge expected to handle the case HATES ME.

Since no former president had ever been charged with a crime, theres no rulebook for booking the defendant. Indeed, Trump was asked to surrender Friday, but his lawyers said the Secret Service, which protects him, needed more time to make security preparations, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

For weeks, court officials and representatives from the district attorneys office, the New York Police Department and U.S. Secret Service have been discussing logistics and planning for a Trump indictment.

He will be fingerprinted, a mug shot will be taken, investigators will complete arrest paperwork and check to see if he has any outstanding criminal charges or warrants, according to a person who could not discuss details by name and thus spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

All of that activity takes place away from the public.

The former president would then appear before a judge for an afternoon arraignment.

Even for defendants who turn themselves in, answering criminal charges in New York generally entails at least several hours of detention while being fingerprinted, photographed, and going through other procedures.

As for the allegations, as Trump ran for president in 2016, his allies paid two women to bury their accusations. The publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer paid McDougal $150,000 for rights to her story and sat on it, in an arrangement brokered by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

After Cohen himself paid Daniels $130,000, Trumps company reimbursed him, added bonuses and logged the payments as legal expenses.

Federal prosecutors argued  in a 2018 criminal case against Cohen  that the payments equated to illegal aid to Trumps campaign. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation charges, but federal prosecutors didnt go after Trump, who was then in the White House. However, some of their court filings obliquely implicated him as someone who knew about the payment arrangements.

The New York indictment came as Trump contends with other investigations that could have grave legal consequences.

In Atlanta, prosecutors are considering whether he committed any crimes when trying to get Georgia officials to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss there to Joe Biden.

At the federal level, a Justice Department-appointed special counsel also is investigating Trumps efforts to unravel the national election results. Additionally, the special counsel is examining how and why Trump held onto a cache of top secret government documents at his Florida club and residence, Mar-a-Lago, and whether the ex-president or his representatives tried to obstruct the probe into those documents.

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[March 31, 2023]

Vestas selected as preferred supplier for 495 MW floating offshore wind project in South Korea

SINGAPORE, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vestas has signed a preferred supplier agreement for a 495 MW floating offshore wind project in South Korea. If the project materialises, Vestas will supply and install 33 units of the V236-15.0 MW turbine for the project.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Megumi Sakuma

Marketing & Communications Manager, Vestas Asia Pacific

[email protected]

Tel: +81 90 6723 5325

About Vestas

Vestas is the energy industry's global partner on sustainable energy solutions. We design, manufacture, install, and service onshore and offshore wind turbines across the globe and with more than 164 GW of wind turbines in 87 countries, we have installed more wind power than anyone else. Through our industry-leading smart data capabilities and unparalleled more than 144 GW of wind turbines under service, we use data to interpret, forecast, and exploit wind resources and deliver best-in-class wind power solutions. Together with our customers, Vestas' more than 28,000 employees are bringing the world sustainable energy solutions to power a bright future.







For updated Vestas photographs and videos, please visit our media images page on:

https://www.vestas.com/en/media/images.

We invite you to learn more about Vestas by visiting our website at www.vestas.com following us on our social media channels:

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/vestas-selected-as-preferred-supplier-for-495-mw-floating-offshore-wind-project-in-south-korea-301787100.html

SOURCE Vestas Asia Pacific
[March 31, 2023] Global Digital City (GDC) Announces VRT Token Listing on LBank Exchange

LONDON, UK, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VRT (virtual ride token) will be listed on LBank at 08:00 on April 4, 2023 (UTC). This listing operation marks an important step for the GDC project. The initiative will gain visibility and increase its digital assets market presence. The Importance of the Listing Operation The listing of VRT on LBank has significant advantages for GDC. In the long term, the project will be able to reach a higher share of the vast crypto market. The community will also have access to a larger selection of digital assets to have a customized virtual experience. The listing on LBank makes trading the projects digital assets more secure, increasing the potential reward for creators and players. LBank represents an important centralized exchange in the crypto world. GDC's presence on this platform will enable the team to further its mission of providing a unique virtual world experience. A Look at VRT in the GDC Ecosystem The VRT token is at the heart of the Global Digital City ecosystem. This asset provides the backbone for ll transactions and purchases made in the virtual world.



Users can earn VRT to purchase land assets and in-game items by playing games and participating in various events. In this digital experience, gamers can create and customize an avatar with multiple traits. VRT is also used for staking, allowing anyone to earn rewards by locking up their tokens. As more and more users buy VRTs, their demand increases, leading to a possible appreciation in their value.

Furthermore, when people buy land with VRTs, the projects smart contracts will burn these tokens. The operation helps keep the token's value stable in the long run. Overall, VRT is an essential part of the GDC platform. It provides users a secure and reliable way to transact in the virtual world. With its utility, participants can fully immerse themselves in Global Digital City and have a unique virtual experience. About GDC GDC is a metaverse platform relying on blockchain technology to enable users to create, monetize and own their gaming experiences. The platforms utility token, VRT, allows players to purchase in-game items, build customized worlds, and transact within the projects ecosystem. In Global Digital City, users can purchase virtual land, known as parcels. These parcels can help build and create digital worlds of their own. Unique digital assets, such as wearables and collectibles, are available for trading in this digital world. GDC's official website and the social media pages below provide more information about the project and its features. Instagram | Twitter | Telegram | Facebook





Luke Hogas Contact at gdc.world

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[March 31, 2023] The Global Cyber Innovation Summit, the CISO "Invitation-only" Event, Returns in 2023 to Set the Global Agenda for Cybersecurity

The Global Cyber Innovation Summit (GCIS), renowned as the "Davos of Cybersecurity," returned this year to bring together a preeminent group of leading Global 2000 CISO executives, cyber technology innovators, policy influencers, and members of the cyber investment community to catalyze the industry into creating more effective cyber defenses. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005327/en/ Bob Ackerman, Chairman of the GCIS forum and the founder of cybersecurity venture capital firm, AllegisCyber. (Photo: Business Wire) The "invitation-only" Global Cyber Innovation Summit-featuring representatives from the National Security Agency (NSA) and Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD)-gathered in Baltimore for two days of high-level strategy, policy, and technology discussions on the future of cyber threats and defense. The Summit was kicked off with opening remarks from Governor Wes Moore, State of Maryland and a special welcome by Kevin A. Anderson, Commerce Secretary, State of Maryland. "The National Security Agency supports the mission objctive of the Global Cyber Innovation Summit and has been featuring Rob Joyce as a contributing thought leader since the program's inception in 2019," stated an NSA spokesperson.



"This annual forum is unlike any other in the cybersecurity realm, convening thought leaders from Fortune 100 CISOs, cybersecurity CEOs, policy makers, cyber investors and the intelligence community in a trusted, non-commercial setting to raise the level of dialogue and facilitate collaboration on how we as a community meet the challenges of the rapidly evolving threat landscape and move the future of cyber innovation forward in actionable ways," said Bob Ackerman, Chairman of the GCIS forum and Founder of cybersecurity venture capital firm, AllegisCyber, and Co-Founder of DataTribe, a cybersecurity and data science startup studio. GCIS offers a confidential cybersecurity venue for top-tier intellectual discourse and collaboration amongst peers. The Summit included a series of keynote presentations, panel discussions, fireside chats and briefings by cybersecurity practitioners and thought leaders operating at the very cutting edge of the industry.

This year's event kicked off with the inaugural pre-conference CISO Masterclass Series exploring the "Journey to Board Appointment: Building your Personal Brand (for CISOs)" and "Preparing For The Board Seat." Summit topics this year included "The Next Frontier of Cybersecurity"; "Cyber's State Of Play- State of The Market"; "NSA: Advancing The Cyber Defense Strategy in 2023"; "ONCD: Cyber Collaboration To Become More Cyber Resilient"; "CISO's Call To Action"; "The Way Forward: Driving Growth & Impact In Cyber"; "Workforce As A Service"; "Active Measures-Identifying Cyber Breaches In 2023 and Beyond"; "The Race To Respond-The Colonial Gas Breach Explored"; "Team In Training: Preparing Next-Gen CISO Leadership For Cyber"; "Continuous Controls Monitoring"; "Nation State Threats Are On The Rise: Are We Prepared to Disrupt a Possible Attack?"; "Securing Industry and Infrastructure: Why Trust Is the Top Leadership Quality"; "War Of The Worlds: Global Cyber Threat Protection + Elevated Exposures"; "Cyber Resilience & Preparing For Cyber Strikes"; "Preparing for Quantum"; and "Human Security Engineering." Overseeing the strategy and direction of the Summit is GCIS Chairman Bob Ackerman and a 14-member advisory council that includes: Roland Cloutier, Former CISO, TikTok

Former CISO, TikTok Phil Venables , CISO, Google Cloud

, CISO, Google Cloud Tom Wilson, CISO, Southern Company

CISO, Southern Company Rich Baich, CISO, CIA

CISO, CIA Deborah Wheeler, CISO, Delta Airlines

CISO, Delta Airlines Adam Fletcher, CISO, Blackstone

CISO, Blackstone Mike Janke, Co-Founder, DataTribe

Co-Founder, DataTribe Doug Powers, Managing Director, Deloitte

Managing Director, Deloitte Rajesh De, Partner, Mayer Brown Law and Former General Counsel, NSA

Partner, Mayer Brown Law and Former General Counsel, NSA Gabe Green, CISO, Koch Industries

CISO, Koch Industries Michael Chertoff, Chairman, Chertoff Group and Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security

Chairman, Chertoff Group and Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Ron Gula, Co-Founder, Tenable Networks

Co-Founder, Tenable Networks Katie Gray, Senior Partner, In-Q-Tel

Senior Partner, In-Q-Tel Jason Whitty, Managing Director, Chief Security Officer, USAA Honoring 8 Disruptive Innovators As part of the Summit, eight early-stage disruptive cybersecurity companies-dubbed the "Disrupt 8"- were awarded by the community and selected to deliver "TED talks" that describe the most challenging, emerging industry problems and their innovative, over-the-horizon solutions. The 2023 GCIS Disrupt 8 Award Recipients: SixMap

CloudCover

VulnCheck

Balance Theory

Conceal

Thistle Technologies This year's Global Cyber Innovation Summit took place March 29-30, 2023 at The Sagamore Pendry Hotel, Baltimore, MD. The date for the 2024 Global Cyber Innovation Summit has been set for April 10-11, 2024 and will take place at The Sagamore Pendry Hotel. Attendance to the Summit is "by invitation only." For consideration for an invitation please contact [email protected]. About the Global Cyber Innovation Summit The annual Global Cyber Innovation Summit convenes the Global 2000 CISO community, cyber technology innovators, policy thought leaders and members of the cyber investment community for exchange of ideas, discussion and collaboration designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of cybersecurity strategies and solutions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005327/en/

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[March 31, 2023] CedCommerce Emerges as a leading Multichannel eCommerce Enabler at Shoptalk US

SHERIDAN, Wyo., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CedCommerce, a leading multichannel e-commerce enabler, has emerged as a prominent player in the e-commerce industry at Shoptalk US. The premier event for retail and e-commerce innovation, which took place from March 26-29, brought together industry leaders, merchants, and partners to discuss the latest trends and innovations in the world of e-commerce. With a series of meetings with strategic partners, merchants, and industry leaders, CedCommerce showcased its innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies poised to transform the retail industry. CedCommerce Holds Strategic Meetings with Industry Leaders and Partners During the event, CedCommerce held several meetings with strategic partners such as Google, TikTok , Buy with Prime , Walmart , Wish , Michaels , Adobe Commerce , WooCommerce , and others to discuss the latest trends and innovations in the retail industry. The meetings focused on exploring new opportunities and collaborating on new initiatives to help merchants leverage the power of multichannel retail. "We are thrilled to be part of this exciting event and to have the opportunity to connect with some of the brightest minds in the e-commerce industry," said Mr. Himanshu Rauthan , Co-Founder, CedCommerce. "We aim to continue to be a leader in the multichannel retail space, and events like these help us to achieve that goal."



CedCommerce Unveils Latest Product Launches at Shoptalk US CedCommerce unveiled its latest product launches at Shoptalk US, including the highly anticipated agency partnership with Buy with Prime. The company also introduced its groundbreaking multi-account connectivity feature for eBay and Amazon, alongside integrations with TikTok, Michaels, and other leading e-commerce platforms.

Multi-Account Connectivity Feature for eBay and Amazon: A Game-Changer for Merchants These integrations represent a significant milestone for CedCommerce, enabling merchants to expand their reach and sell their products across multiple channels. With the multi-account connectivity feature for eBay and Amazon, merchants can now easily list their inventory and sales across various accounts through different e-commerce platforms. This is a game-changer for merchants looking for a way to streamline their operations and increase efficiency. Social Ads for Buy with Prime: Linking Merchants to Amazon's Prime Customer Base Additionally, CedCommerce's Social Ads for Buy with Prime directly link merchants to Amazon's highly coveted Prime customer base. This solution allows merchants to offer their products with the benefits of Amazon Prime, including fast and free shipping and access to exclusive deals. It helps shoppers engage on Facebook and Instagram with social ads featuring the trust of Prime. CedCommerce Launches Integration Tools for TikTok Shops UK, Making Social Commerce Easier Furthermore, CedCommerce's integrations with TikTok offer merchants new opportunities to sell their products on emerging social media platforms and marketplaces. With these integrations, merchants can reach a broader audience and tap into new customer segments. "CedCommerce's latest launches are a testament to our commitment to providing innovative solutions that help merchants succeed in today's competitive retail landscape," said Mr. Abhishek Jaiswal , Co-Founder, CedCommerce. "Events of this magnitude help us navigate our direction and validate our efforts through wide and deep discussions on critical checkpoints with industry leaders. We are thrilled to announce that CED is jam-packed with innovation this year, which will help our partners and merchants optimize their businesses." CedCommerce's latest and upcoming product launches demonstrate the company's commitment to providing innovative solutions that help merchants succeed in the ever-changing e-commerce landscape. About CedCommerce CedCommerce is a leading multichannel enabler that helps online merchants expand their business to international marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Google via secure, optimized, and scalable integration tools and technologies. With 50+ sales channel tools for Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, OpenCart, and Prestashop, over 40,000 merchants across the globe have benefited from CedCommerce's multichannel capabilities. Highly recommended by G2, Trustpilot, Capterra, Web merchant, Cuspera, and Serchen, CedCommerce enables smooth merchant onboarding and streamlined product data feed flow. Visit CedCommerce or follow them on Twitter , LinkedIn , YouTube , and Facebook for more. Contact Details: Shruti Tiwari

[email protected] Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1420605/CedCommerce_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cedcommerce-emerges-as-a-leading-multichannel-ecommerce-enabler-at-shoptalk-us-301787274.html SOURCE CedCommerce

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[March 31, 2023]

NASA to Host Media Call on Upcoming Air Quality Satellite Launch

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Media are invited to a NASA media teleconference 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, April 5, to discuss the upcoming launch of the first space-based instrument to observe major air pollutants across North America every hour during the daytime.

The agency will livestream audio of the teleconference on its website.

NASA's TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument) will improve life on Earth by revolutionizing the way scientists observe air quality. A partnership between NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory  a part of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian  TEMPO will launh on a commercial mission in early April.







The briefing participants are:

Karen St. Germain , Earth Science Division director, NASA Headquarters

, Earth Science Division director, NASA Headquarters Kevin Daugherty , TEMPO project manager, NASA's Langley Research Center

, TEMPO project manager, NASA's Langley Research Center Xiong Liu , TEMPO deputy principal investigator, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

, TEMPO deputy principal investigator, Center for Astrophysics | & Smithsonian Dennis Nicks , director of payload engineering, Ball Aerospace

, director of payload engineering, Ball Aerospace Aaron Abell , TEMPO project manager, Maxar

, TEMPO project manager, Maxar Jean-Luc Froeliger , senior vice president of Space Systems, Intelsat

Media interested in participating in the teleconference must RSVP to Joe Atkinson no later than one hour prior to the start of the event at [email protected].

TEMPO will be the first space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants hourly in high spatial resolutiondown to four square milesin a region stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Canadian oil sands to below Mexico City, encompassing the entire continental United States.

The instrument is a payload on the satellite Intelsat 40E. It was built by Ball Aerospace and integrated onto Intelsat 40E by Maxar.

For more information on NASA Earth science, visit:

https://nasa.gov/earth

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-to-host-media-call-on-upcoming-air-quality-satellite-launch-301787285.html

SOURCE NASA
[March 31, 2023] Benchmark SVP, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer Steve Beaver Wins Arizona Corporate Counsel Award

Beaver Joins a Select Group of the Finest Legal Experts Across all Industries in the Private, Public and Nonprofit Sectors TEMPE, Ariz., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: BHE), a global provider of engineering, design, and manufacturing services, today announced that its Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, Steve Beaver, has been named a winner of the 2023 Arizona Corporate Counsel Awards held by AZ Business Magazine, in partnership with the Association of Corporate Counsel, the State Bar of Arizona, and title sponsors Cresa and Ogletree Deakins. Beaver was recognized during the Arizona Corporate Counsel Awards event on March 30 at Chateau Luxe.



"It is an honor to be recognized by AZ Business Magazine and my peers as the winner in this year's Corporate Counsel Awards," said Beaver. "When I think about what the most rewarding experiences throughout my career have been, I would have to say it has been my role as a servant leader over the legal function. Therefore, this award is a testament to all those who have been a part of my journey and have helped me to achieve my goals, especially my team here at Benchmark."

The Arizona Corporate Counsel Awards recognize the important and vital role in-house counsel plays across industries. Winners of this award represent the finest legal experts across all industries in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. In addition to beaver, 2023 winners include, "Steve is the best in the business, and he is tremendously deserving of this award as a leading legal expert in Arizona," said Jeff Benck, president and CEO, Benchmark. "Steve has been paramount in connecting Benchmark with the local business and technology community. Benchmark is incredibly proud of Steve's accomplishments and collectively congratulate him on this achievement." Beaver has over 20 years' experience in managing legal matters including litigation, contracts, labor and employment matters, trade secret and intellectual property matters, corporate controls, governance, and business processes. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. During his time at Benchmark, Beaver has become the connective tissue between Benchmark and the Arizona technology and manufacturing communities. In addition, he has helped to streamline the contracting process, allowing Benchmark to service more customers in a shorter time period than ever before. To learn more about Beaver and the Benchmark leadership team, please visit www.bench.com/leadership-team. About Benchmark Electronics, Inc.

Benchmark provides comprehensive solutions across the entire product life cycle; leading through its innovative technology and engineering design services; leveraging its optimized global supply chain; and delivering world-class manufacturing services in the following industries: commercial aerospace, defense, advanced computing, next-generation communications, medical, complex industrials, and semiconductor capital equipment. Benchmark's global operations include facilities in seven countries and its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BHE. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/benchmark-svp-general-counsel-and-chief-legal-officer-steve-beaver-wins-arizona-corporate-counsel-award-301787340.html SOURCE Benchmark Electronics, Inc.

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[March 31, 2023] Minister Champagne's merger approval ignores unlawful Rogers-Videotron agreements

CHATHAM, ON, March 31, 2023 /CNW/ - TekSavvy Solutions Inc. (TekSavvy) is disappointed in today's decision by Innovation Minister Champagne to approve the largest telecom deal in Canadian history  the Rogers-Shaw merger and the related sale of Shaw's Freedom Mobile to Quebecor's Videotron. In approving the deal, Minister Champagne ignored the advice of the Competition Bureau, the House of Commons Industry Committee and the vast majority of Canadians, all of whom vocally opposed it. He also failed to keep a commitment he made last fall, that he would wait until there was legal clarity surrounding the merger before rendering his final decision.



"The Minister approved this anticompetitive merger despite the CRTC's ongoing investigation," said Peter Nowak, TekSavvy's Vice-President of Insight and Engagement. "In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, this decision further consolidates Canada's telecom market and guarantees even higher prices for consumers." TekSavvy has long said federal approval for the merger must be contingent upon first enacting the CRTC's 2019 decision to lower regulated wholesale rates. However, in May of 2022, Minister Champagne declined to implement that CRTC decision and instead endorsed much higher rates, as requested by Rogers, Shaw, Videotron and others.

Less than 12 months later, Shaw and Freedom Mobile are just the latest dominos to fall in the rapid ongoing collapse of competition in Canada's telecom sector. The merger follows Bell's acquisition of Ebox, Distributel and Primus; Videotron's purchase of V-Media; Telus's acquisition of Start.ca and Altima; and Cogeco's acquisition of Oxio, among others. TekSavvy hopes that the CRTC's investigation into Rogers' and Videotron's unlawful wholesale agreements results in meaningful action and stops the further dismantling of competition in the telecom market. About TekSavvy Based in Chatham, Ontario, TekSavvy is Canada's largest independent telecom service company. TekSavvy has been proudly delivering award-winning services and fighting for consumers' rights for more than 20 years. TekSavvy is committed to providing quality competitive choice and closing Canada's digital divide. SOURCE TekSavvy Solutions Inc.

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[March 31, 2023] DSM - delivery of shares

This is a press release by Koninklijke DSM N.V. (Royal DSM), pursuant to the provisions of Sections 13 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Dutch Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit openbare biedingen Wft) (the Decree) in connection with the public offer by Danube AG (to be renamed DSM-Firmenich AG) for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of DSM (the Exchange Offer). This press release does not constitute an offer, or any solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities. This press release is not for general release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into, directly or indirectly, the United States or any other jurisdiction where such release, publication or distribution would violate applicable laws or regulations. HEERLEN, Netherlands, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the Offering Circular published on 22 November 2022, Royal DSM is required to announce transactions relating to the ordinary shares in its capital in accordance with the Dutch public offer rules. This includes the delivery of treasury shares to employees in view of settling the vesting of share units or the exercise of stock options. Pursuant to commitments entered into prior to issuing the Offering Circular, DSM has on 31 March 2023, delivered 145,836 ordinary shares to employees in view of (i) settling the customary vesting of 139,161 share units that have been granted in 2020 subject to the respective DSM Incentive Plan and (ii) settling the exercise of 6,675 stock options granted under the respective DSM Incentive Plan (average exercise price 93.21). On the date hereof, the total number of issued and outstanding DSM ordinary shares is 173,340,108. As a consequence of the delivery included herein, the number of outstanding DSM ordinary shares increased by 0.0842%. DSM

Royal DSM is a global, purpose-led company in Health, Nutrition & Bioscience, applying science to improve the health of people, animals and the planet. DSM's purpose is to create brighter lives for all. DSM's products and solutions address some of the world's biggest challenges while simultaneously creating economic, environmental and societal value for all its stakeholders  customers, employees, shareholders, and society at large. The company was founded in 1902 and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. More information can be found at www.dsm.com. Or find us on:

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/3108

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DSM

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DSMcompany

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/dsmcompany For more information







DSM Media Relations Gareth Mead tel. +31 (0) 45 5782420 email [email protected] DSM Investor Relations Dave Huizing tel. +31 (0) 45 5782864 email [email protected]

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to DSM's future (financial) performance and position. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections of DSM and information currently available to the company. DSM cautions readers that such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and therefore it should be understood that many factors can cause actual performance and position to differ materially from these statements. DSM has no obligation to update the statements contained in this press release, unless required by law. The English language version of the press release is leading. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/329419/dsm_logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dsm---delivery-of-shares-301787289.html

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Quick roundup of other ALLEGED misdeeds in today's news-cycle . . .



Check TKC news gathering . . .

FBI, KCPD investigating robbery at UMB Bank in Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City police and the FBI are investigating a robbery at a UMB Bank in Waldo. The FBI reported the robbery just after 4 p.m. Thursday at the UMB Bank at West 85th Street and Wornall Road.

Authorities investigate robbery in KCMO, determine suspicious package not a threat KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A bank robber took money Thursday afternoon from a Waldo neighborhood bank and left behind a suspicious package. The robbery happened about 4 p.m. at the UMB Bank branch located at 8442 Wornall Road in KCMO, according to an FBI news release.

Independence police say there's no danger to the public after a standoff at a hotel near Noland Road The Independence, Missouri police department said one person is in custody after a standoff at a hotel Thursday morning. Officers were called to what was dispatched as an armed disturbance at the Clarion Pointe Hotel, on South Lynn Court near Noland Road and Interstate 70 around 9:50 a.m.

Charges upgraded against Independence man accused of threatening judge KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Charges against an Independence, Missouri man accused of threatening a Jackson County judge have been upgraded. The prosecutor's office said this happened in part because the state alleges, he was motivated by the fact the judge was Black.

U.S. Marshals offering $2,500 reward for info leading to arrest of escaped inmate KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - One of two men accused of attacking a correctional officer is still on the run after the men escaped the Ray County Jail overnight Monday. U.S. Marshals are offering up to a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of 39-year-old Justin Robinson who has not been captured.

Person in wheelchair struck by pickup at 23rd, Television Place, driver arrested KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The driver of a pickup was arrested Thursday night in Kansas City for possible impairment after striking a man in a wheelchair, leaving him with serious injuries. Kansas City police say the incident happened just before 6 p.m. at East 23rd Street and Television Place.

Man pleads guilty to shooting at Overland Park police officers on Christmas Day in 2020 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Johnson County Court to shooting at Overland Park police officers on Christmas Day 2020. Chaz Lawrence, 32, of Olathe, ran from the burglary scene in the 9400 block of Metcalf Avenue after officers set up a perimeter and searched the area.

Kansas City police locate boy who was missing Thursday Update | KCPD said Jones was located and is safe. Original story | Police in Kansas City, Missouri, requested the public's help in locating a boy who went missing on Thursday afternoon. Jason A. Jones Jr., 10, was last seen at 4:20 p.m. getting on his school bus at Wendell Phillips School.

Developing . . .
Again . . . Rather than advancing healthcare, transit or business in the Sunflower State . . .



Public toilet rules have garnered a great deal of attention.



Here's a peek at the progress . . .



Senate Bill 180 passed the Kansas House with sharp criticism despite an attempt by lawmakers to amend the bill's language to help individuals who fall outside of the male/female binary.



The bill passed with a path to a veto-proof majority in the House, with three Republicans voting no and Rep. Marvin Robinson, D-Kansas City, supporting the bill.



It fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority in the Senate originally, though the new version will get another look in the chamber.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
A group of protesters marches after former police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, in June 2021, in downtown Minneapolis.

The city of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights signed a court-enforceable settlement agreement Friday to revamp policing in the city where George Floyd was murdered by an officer nearly three years ago.

The state agency issued a blistering report last year after a two-year investigation found the police department had engaged in a pattern of race discrimination for at least a decade. City leaders subsequently agreed to negotiate the settlement, which the City Council approved on an 11-0 vote. Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero signed it about half an hour later.

The agreement isnt change in and of itself, but it charts a clear roadmap to it, Frey said at a news conference. This agreement helps us to embark on the work and then push it even further.

Lucero pointed out that Floyd was murdered 1,040 days earlier. Its been a very long time to get to this point, where he should be alive still, she said.

This agreement serves as a model for how cities, police departments and community members across the country can work together to address race-based policing and strengthen public safety, Lucero said. This is a model for a new path forward.

The state agency launched its investigation shortly after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyds neck for nine and a half minutes on May 25, 2020, disregarding the Black mans fading pleas that he couldnt breathe. Floyds death sparked mass protests that spread around the world. It forced a national reckoning on racial injustice and compelled the Minneapolis Police Department to begin an overhaul.

Chauvin was later convicted of murder. He and three other officers who were at the scene are now serving prison terms.

We didnt get here overnight, and change also wont happen overnight, Frey said. This problem that we now face, it has taken hold over many generations, many administrations, mayors and chiefs, and clearly our Black and brown communities have taken the brunt of this.

Lucero said the agreement is a legally binding pact that requires the city and the police department to make transformational changes, to fix the organizational culture that her agencys report said was at the heart of the problems with race-based policing.

The commissioner said it includes measures to ensure that force is used only when it is objectively reasonable, necessary and proportional. Officers will be required to de-escalate conflicts whenever possible and prohibited from using force to punish or retaliate. There will be limits on when and how officers can use chemical irritants and Tasers. And training in the disputed condition of excited delirium  a key issue in the confrontation that led to Floyds death  will be banned. Pretext stops for broken lights and searches based solely on the alleged smell of marijuana are banned.

Frey, Lucero and Police Chief Brian OHara said the agreement reflects the feedback from and concerns of the community and police officers.

The court-enforceable agreement does not prohibit officers from relying on reasonable, articulatable suspicion or probable cause of criminal activity to enforce the law. We want officers to do their jobs, Lucereo said. We want them to be successful and do it well, and that means policing in a nondiscriminatory manner.

The U.S. Department of Justice is still investigating whether Minneapolis police engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination, and that investigation could lead to a separate agreement with the city known as a consent decree. City officials said they couldnt provide information on where that stands.

The state settlement, which still requires court approval, runs over 140 pages. It also contains sections governing the use of body-worn and dashboard cameras; training; officer wellness; and responding to mental health and behavioral crises. It also requires the appointment of an independent evaluator to monitor compliance.

While the City Councils approval was unanimous, several members expressed harsh criticism of the police department and other city leaders over the years.

The lack of political will to take responsibility for MPD is why we are in this position today, council member Robin Wonsley said. This legal settlement formally and legally prevents city leadership from deferring that responsibility anymore. And I hope this settlement is a wake-up call for city leaders, who the public has watched rubber-stamp poor labor contracts, have signed off on endless misconduct settlements, and then shrugged their shoulders when residents asked then why we have a dysfunctional police department.

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Tonight's outrage and the start of a terrifying new era in the American discourse.

Here are two highlights & more info . . .



Lawmakers in both Kansas and Missouri reacted to the indictment.



U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) called the indictment an assault on our democracy.



Tonights indictment of Donald Trump isnt about the law, Hawley said on Twitter. Its about power. Raw power. Its the Democrat Party telling the nation they will stop at nothing to control the outcome of the next presidential election. It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple.



U.S. House Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) also said it undermines Americas judicial institutions, calling it a joke.



This indictment is a direct undermining of our judicial institutions, Alford said. Never before have we seen something like this. Anyone who tells you this is not political persecution is lying. What a joke!

From former SecState Mike Pompeo:

The Manhattan DA is undermining Americas confidence in our legal system. Bragg is the same Soros-funded prosecutor who refuses to prosecute violent crimes and who has downgraded more than half of all felonies to misdemeanors, Pompeo, a former Wichita congressman who served in Trumps Cabinet, said on Twitter.



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley calls Trump indictment 'assault on our democracy' A host of lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri are reacting to the indictment of former President Donald Trump. A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter, his lawyers said Thursday.

Further reading from both sides of the aisle . . .

Live updates: Donald Trump has been indicted for hush money payments Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York grand jury for his role in paying hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, multiple sources close to the former president confirmed to NPR. District Attorney Alvin Bragg is likely to press charges against Trump in the coming days.

Trump Indictment: Prosecutors Asked For Friday Surrender-But Trump Team Rejected Plan, Report Says The Manhattan district attorney's office asked former President Donald Trump's legal team to arrange for him to surrender Friday-one day after a grand jury voted to indict him-but Trump's lawyers rejected the plan due to security concerns, a Trump attorney reportedly said, as New York police ramp up precautions ahead of the unprecedented arrest of a former president.

Donald Trump indicted on criminal charges in hush money payment case - live A lawyer for Donald Trump says the former president has been told that he's been indicted in New York on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with adult film star and producer Stormy Daniels.

Your questions about the Trump indictment, answered While the precise charges are secret for now, prosecutors have concluded they can prove a criminal case against Trump because of the apparent subterfuge surrounding a $130,000 payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her from publicizing her claim about a sexual encounter with Trump.

Trump Responds After Being Criminally Charged Former President Donald Trump responded on Thursday to being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury by saying that the case was an example of political persecution and election interference. The New York Times reported that the felony indictment over his alleged $130,000 hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels was filed under seal by the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Former President Trump releases statement following indictment KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter, the first ever criminal case against a former U.S. president.

'Communist-Level Sh*t': Trump Family Reacts To Indictment Former President Donald Trump's oldest sons accused the indictment of their father as being "prosecutorial misconduct" and a means of targeting a political opponent. A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump in connection to allegedly paying $130,000 in hush money to former stripper Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.

Developing . . .


The Greek government estimates that the current fence prevented the illegal entry of some 260,000 migrants in 2022

Constructing the Evros border fence, which the government expects to help prevent the influx of irregular migrants, is "a national demand," said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at Poros, near the border town of Feres on Friday, ANA reports.

The Greek PM was attending an event to sign the contract for the fence's extension by 35km from its current length of 37.5km, from Psathades to Kornofolia, with a budget of 99.2 million euros.

Mitsotakis promised that the fence, made of galvanized steel metal railing measuring five meters high and six meters underground, will be extended to cover the entire 140km length of Greece's land border with Turkiye.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Andrew Palamarchuk is a reporter with Metroland Media Toronto and toronto.com. He has been covering the crime beat since 2002 and has a passion for giving a voice to those affected by tragedy and looking at societal issues that may have contributed to it.
I feared for my life: Toronto man says he didn't do anything wrong before being shot by police
Then-Texas governor Rick Perry, right, arrives at the Blackwell Thurman Criminal Justice Center for booking, in Austin, Texas, August 19, 2014.

A celebrity and insatiable publicity hound long before he was president, Donald Trump has been photographed countless times. But never like this.

Now that a New York grand jury has voted to indict him for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn actor, Trump will have to appear at district attorney headquarters in Manhattan to be booked, fingerprinted and get a mug shot taken. The former president, the first ever to be indicted, is expected to surrender to authorities early next week.

New York Police Department policy prohibits publicly releasing mug shots, though they have leaked in the past. Less clear is whether Trump would seek to have the picture released himself, for political or other reasons. Within minutes of word of his indictment breaking, his 2024 presidential campaign was sending fundraising messages off the news.

Some Trump aides have floated the idea of holding a post-booking press conference  a political trail blazed by Texas Governor Rick Perry when he surrendered to authorities for his own mug shot in 2014.

Indeed, what is a moment of shame for many accused hasnt always been that for politicians. Some have offered large smiles  or at least defiant smirks. Theyve tried to frame the moment as a political boon, looking to boost their popularity with supporters who see them as being unfairly targeted.

Heres a look at how some notable politicians handled their own mug shots:

A smirk and a soft-serve cone

Clad in a snappy dark suit, white shirt and blue tie, Perry removed his then-signature black glasses  as mandated by county rules  and offered a smirking half smile in his 2014 mug shot.

The Republican was facing abuse of power charges over a veto that prosecutors said he issued to settle political scores. But the governor did his best to convey that he considered the case a waste of time.

A group of cheering supporters gathered outside and, when he emerged, Perry told them, We will prevail. He then went for vanilla ice cream at a nearby soft-serve joint in Austin, Texas, and tweeted a photo of himself and his lawyers hoisting their own cones under the caption, And then, ice cream.

Noting the governors posturing, the Democratic National Committee responded, This may be a sideshow to Rick Perry but no amount of spin can cover up two felony charges.

Perry was looking to build momentum for a 2016 presidential run that ultimately fizzled in a matter of months  much like the case against him, which never went to trial.

Putting on a happy face

While he didnt mark the occasion with a press conference, another Texas Republican, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, also saw political opportunity in his mug shot.

Indicted in Houston in 2005 on accusations of money laundering, DeLay wore a dark suit with his gold House security pin still attached and offered such a wide and toothy mug shot grin that it looked like the resulting photo could have been affixed to a campaign poster. He was convicted, but the verdict was later overturned on appeal.

Also smiling broadly in his mug shot was 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. Edwards, who wore a white shirt and blue tie in his 2011 mug shot, was charged with using nearly $1 million in funds from his 2008 presidential campaign to help cover up an extramarital affair. He was acquitted of one charge, and the jury deadlocked on others.

The smile was less deliberate for former Attorney General John Mitchell, who offered a confused-looking half grin, wearing a shirt and tie but no jacket when he was booked in 1974. Mitchell was eventually convicted of conspiracy, perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon. Once the nations top law enforcement officer, Mitchell ultimately served 19 months in prison.

Somber shots

Not every politician sees criminal charges as a boost to their political future, though.

Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig was arrested in 2007 by a plainclothes police officer in a mens bathroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. The officer said Craig tapped his foot and signaled under the stall that he wanted sex.

Craig looked exceedingly uncomfortable in his mug shot in a suit, a tie and an American flag lapel pin  offering a tight-lipped look and wearing glasses that threw back deep light reflections.

Craig appeared to be aware that his political career was effectively over. Although he later sought unsuccessfully to rescind his guilty plea and rebuffed calls from his own party to resign his Senate seat, Craig opted not to seek reelection in 2008.

Looking equally troubled was Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who wore a blue jogging suit, his famous black hair decidedly less poufy than usual, as he peered impassively into the camera shortly after federal agents showed up around 6 a.m. to arrest him.

Serving his second term, Blagojevich was arrested in 2008 and accused of trying to sell the Senate seat that Barack Obama vacated when he won the White House. He was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison  until Trump commuted his sentence in 2020.

Blagojevich kept his sense of humor, though.

When New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was detained last summer while decrying the Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision in Washington, she was pictured holding her hands behind her back as if handcuffed  except she wasnt wearing restraints.

Blagojevich tweeted a picture of Ocasio-Cortez alongside his own mug shot under the caption, At least when I get arrested, I get arrested for real!

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Former President Trump at West Palm Beach International Airport on March 25 before boarding a plane for a rally in Waco, Texas. Evan Vucci (AP)

The anticipation with which Donald Trump himself announced his own indictment  the first time in history that a former U.S. president will face criminal charges  has paved the way for what is coming now. He will be arrested. He will be photographed and fingerprinted, as any other detainee processed through the U.S. judicial system. He may even be handcuffed. And in another classic step that moviegoers from all over the world will be very familiar with, he will be read his rights.

But Trump is not just any ordinary citizen, even if he will be subjected to the same procedures as any other American charged with a felony in New York. Although the specific charges are not yet known, they are tied to his role in the payment of $130,000 in the weeks before the 2016 election that took him to the White House, to buy the silence of the porn actress Stormy Daniels about an alleged extramarital affair 10 years earlier.

According to the Manhattan district attorneys accusation, which the grand jury accepted, Trump falsified his companys accounts to pass off that payment as something else. This is an offense punishable by a sentence of up to one year in jail, which becomes a felony if it is proven that the operation was instrumental in committing another crime: for example, irregular campaign financing or conspiracy to influence or prevent a vote.

The former president denies everything, and it could be several days before he appears in court. First, he needs to formally receive the indictment document. It is assumed that a tug-of-war is already taking place in the negotiation over the terms of its delivery. And Trump may well try to turn all this into a show that will further inflame his die-hard supporters and give wings to his 2024 presidential campaign run. For now, his lawyers have said that he is willing to fly from Florida to New York to comply with his legal obligations.

A supporter of former U.S. president Donald Trump attends a gathering outside his Mar-a-Lago resort after hearing news of Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. MARIA ALEJANDRA CARDONA (REUTERS)

If he failed to do so, there is an unlikely scenario that Trump would have to be extradited. It would fall to Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, to authorize it. It so happens that DeSantis is currently the ex-presidents greatest enemy within his own party and very probably his most serious opponent to gain the Republican nomination for the presidential elections.

The New York court in charge of the prosecution is now faced with a dilemma. It has to show that Trump is just another citizen who is not above the law, yet at the same time it cannot ignore the extraordinary nature of the process. In just one indication of this, Trump will have to be accompanied at all times by armed members of the Secret Service. And that is without taking into account the media circus that is expected at the entrance to the courthouse  an even bigger one than has been camped out these past two weeks at the mere idea of a possible indictment. One of the questions that remains unclear is whether Trump will be required to appear in handcuffs. An exception could be made, given the nature of the case.

Trump had already stated that he had no intention of withdrawing from his presidential campaign in the event of an indictment. While there are no precedents of a former president being criminally prosecuted in the history of the United States, there is an instance of a candidate for the post running for office from prison. It is an obscure memory, one for keen students of American political history: it took place in 1920, when Eugene Debs was a candidate for the Socialist Party of America while also serving time in prison for violating the Espionage Act of 1917 for making speeches critical of Americas role in World War I. He only got a million votes. Trump, for the time being, is comfortably leading the polls among Republicans for his nomination as the conservative candidate in 2024.
The more the legal net tightens around Donald Trump, the greater the former presidents approval rating among Republican voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. This trend was confirmed by the most recent poll, conducted by the conservative Fox News network, a few hours before the announcement of Trumps indictment by a grand jury in New York on charges related to a secret payment to former porn actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged extramarital affair during the 2016 race for the White House. The poll, released Thursday, gave Trump a 30-point lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, double his February advantage. The historic indictment, far from jeopardizing his political future, could serve to hand Trump a timely boost in his 2024 bid to return to the Oval Office.

The appearance of the former president at the Manhattan district attorneys office, possibly with his hands cuffed in front like a white-collar criminal, will be the next step in the process. In a case as potentially explosive as this  the first indictment of an active or retired U.S. president in history  the aim is for Trumps surrender to the authorities to be as orderly as possible: that is to say, without producing any song and dance beyond the former presidents standard rhetoric. On Thursday, the prosecution officials were involved in negotiations with Trumps lawyers to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal, a spokesman said. CNN reported that Trump faces over 30 counts of business fraud for allegedly passing off the payment to Daniels as a legal expense on the books of the Trump Organization. The statement from the district attorneys office said further information will be provided when the date of Trumps arraignment is set.

Donald Trump speaks during a 2024 election campaign rally in Waco, Texas, March 25, 2023. SUZANNE CORDEIRO (AFP)

Trump has repeatedly claimed he is being subjected to a witch hunt and on March 18 he issued a call to his supporters to stage protests against the grand jury proceedings, conjuring images of the assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump loyalists in January 2021. Authorities in New York, fearing a repetition of that violence, have been examining contingency plans for weeks, including the mobilization of the citys entire police department, which is the largest in the United States. Michael Cohen, Trumps former personal lawyer who provided testimony before the grand jury, said Thursday that the former presidents indictment is not the end of this chapter, but, rather, just the beginning. Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty in 2018 to federal charges, including campaign finance violations, for facilitating payouts to Daniels and former model Karen McDougal, whom Trump also denies having had an affair with. The payment to Daniels was made in October 2016, 12 days before the election that handed Trump the keys to the White House.

Although the prosecution has remained scrupulously silent about the timelines, one of Trumps legal team, Joe Tacopina, told NBC Thursday that they expect his client to attend the Manhattan district attorneys office early next week. Another lawyer representing the former president, Susan Necheles, specified that he will appear next Tuesday, according to The New York Times.

The grand jury indictment implies only that Trump has been formally charged with one or more crimes so his arrest, whether by voluntary surrender or by force, is just one step in the process. U.S. media reported Thursday that after the hypothetical arrest, it is possible that the former president will be fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken, which could then be released to the press. Trump being booked as a criminal  or consecrated as a victim  could spark a multiplier effect in public opinion among his Republican strongholds.

It remains to be seen, however, whether he agrees to voluntarily present himself. After the grand jurys decision was made public, Trump again alluded to a perceived political persecution by his Democratic rivals, thugs and radical left monsters as he defined them in a message posted on his social network Truth Social, adding in capital letters: This is an attack on our country the likes of which has never been seen before. It is likewise a continuing attack on our once free and fair elections. The USA is now a third world nation, a nation in serious decline. So sad!

Trump also stated on Truth Social that he felt he cannot get a fair trial in New York. All eyes are now on the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trumps nemesis. The case against the former president was gathering dust in his office when Bragg was elected prosecutor during the 2021 Democratic primaries. It was a case inherited from his predecessor, fellow Democrat Cyrus Vance Jr., and was nearly derailed in early 2022 after the two lead investigators resigned over doubts about Braggs determination to move the process forward. Many then thought it would be dismissed, but the testimony of Cohen, who has also become a scourge of his former employer, and Daniels reinforced the investigation.

Speaking to CNN, Cohen, a one-time fixer for the former president, said that Trumps indictment had been a long time coming, adding theres plenty of corroborating testimony to go around. Daniels attorney Clifford Brewster said in a statement on Twitter that the indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, also posted a brief message on social media: Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I cant respond... also dont want to spill my champagne.

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Germany is considering the possibility of joint implementation of hydrogen production and transportation projects with Ukraine.

This was discussed during a meeting between Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko and State Secretary for Economic, Finance and European Affairs at the German Federal Chancellery Jorg Kukies, the Ministrys press service reports.

"There is a huge potential for bilateral cooperation in the field of hydrogen production and transportation. Germany is considering relevant projects, including the possible modernization of the Ukrainian gas transmission system for the transportation of hydrogen," the statement reads.

During the meeting, the parties also pointed out the importance of green transformation and getting rid of dependence on Russian energy resources, as well as discussed areas of cooperation in rebuilding the Ukrainian energy sector.

As reported, two documents on UkraineGermany energy cooperation were recently signed within the framework of the 9th Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue with the participation of the Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko.

In particular, the Joint Declaration on Framework Cooperation between the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine and the German Eastern Business Association and the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the "green" energy associations of Ukraine and Germany  Global 100% Re Ukraine and German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE - Bundesverband Erneuebare Energie e.V.)  were signed.
King Charles III has stated that the war launched by Russia against Ukraine trampled on freedom and threatened the security of Europe.

The unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has inflicted the most unimaginable suffering on so many innocent people. Countless lives have been destroyed; freedom and human dignity have been trampled in the most brutal way. The security of Europe has been threatened, as have our democratic values, King Charles III said at the Bundestag, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

However, according to him, the world did not stand aside. Even as we abhor the appalling scenes of destruction, we can take heart from our unity  in defense of Ukraine, of peace and freedom, the King said.

Charles III also highly appreciated the aid provided by Germany to Ukraine, including security assistance.

"Germanys decision to send such significant military support to Ukraine is remarkably courageous, important, and appreciated," said the monarch, who delivered almost the entire speech in German.

He noted that Germany and Great Britain assumed an important role as leaders in helping Ukraine in Europe, became the largest "donors", reacted decisively to the aggression of the Russian Federation and "made decisions that were previously impossible to imagine."

Read also: King Charles III visits center for Ukrainian refugees in Berlin

Britains monarch also urged to learn lessons from the past and not to repeat mistakes.

King Charles III became the first monarch to address the German Bundestag.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla arrived in Germany on March 29.

Today, March 30, King Charles III visited the Ukrainian refugees in Berlin.

Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 21:31 | All, World, Japan

Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreed on Britain joining the 11-nation free trade pact at an online ministerial meeting Friday, marking the first expansion of the deal and raising the bloc's share of global economic output to 15 percent.

Britain's accession to the high-standard TPP is widely seen as a counter to economic coercion and protectionism and a model case for future aspirants, including China and Taiwan. The trade bloc's gross domestic product currently accounts for 12 percent of world GDP.

Shigeyuki Goto, economic revitalization minister who is in charge of Japan's negotiations for the TPP, welcomed Britain's upcoming accession, saying it is "very significant" in terms of further promoting values, such as free trade and an open and competitive market, in and beyond the Pacific region.

Friday's decision by member ministers, including those from Japan, Canada and Australia, is expected to be approved at the partnership's regular ministerial meeting slated for July.

In a statement, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, "Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the U.K. at the center of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join."

Referring to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the formal name of the trade pact, Sunak added that "British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific."

The TPP's Accession Working Group for Britain confirmed the country will comply with the bloc's existing rules and said they will cooperate to conclude the accession process in a timely manner, according to a joint ministerial statement.

The working group, chaired by Japan, also confirmed that Britain has provided "commercially meaningful market access offers of the highest standard on goods, services, investment, financial services, government procurement, state-owned enterprises and temporary entry for business persons," the ministers said.

Being part of the bloc means that more than 99 percent of British goods exports to CPTPP countries will become eligible for zero tariffs, including key exports such as cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky, according to Sunak's office.

The trade alliance is designed to cut tariffs on agricultural and industrial products, ease investment restrictions and enhance intellectual property protections, with an eye on advancing economic integration among participating nations.

For Japan's part, tariffs for milled rice that will be exported to Britain will be eliminated following the accession. This move now "gives impetus to rice exports" amid the global popularity of "washoku" traditional Japanese cuisine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

Japanese farm minister Tetsuro Nomura, meanwhile, said the inclusion of Britain in the trade bloc will have no significant impact on the agricultural sector in Japan.

The current TPP took effect in 2018 after the United States withdrew from the pact in 2017 under then President Donald Trump to pursue an "America First" economic policy aimed at protecting the domestic job market.

Japan will continue encouraging the United States to return to the TPP as U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific region is highly desirable from a strategic standpoint, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said separately.

Since leaving the European Union, Britain has been trying to boost trade with the Indo-Pacific region, which is home to 60 percent of the world's population and accounts for a large portion of global economic growth, according to the British government.

Britain in 2021 became the first non-Pacific country to formally request to join the TPP. So far, five economies -- China, Taiwan, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Uruguay -- have followed suit.

Japan, which played a leading role in the inauguration of the 11-member TPP, has taken a cautious stance on China's potential accession amid concerns about its compliance with rules on protecting intellectual property rights and other issues.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday that China is a "staunch advocate for trade liberalization and facilitation" and claimed its TPP accession would give member countries "more access to the Chinese market" and expand their trade cooperation with the world's second-largest economy.

She also said Beijing is firmly opposed to Taiwan's accession to "any agreement or organization of official nature." China regards the self-ruled island as its own.

Both Beijing and Taipei filed bids to join the TPP in 2021.

The TPP members also include Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Related coverage:

TPP close to agreeing to Britain's membership, 1st expansion

Japan says Britain may join trans-Pacific free trade pact this year
A meeting of the National Security Council of Turkiye took place in Ankara with Ankara's peaceful efforts to end the Russian-Ukrainian war as one of the agenda items.

"The negative consequences of the war, which has been going on between the Russian Federation and Ukraine for more than a year, and its impact on the stability of other countries in the region and security in the Black Sea have been assessed," says the document based on the results of the Security Council meeting, Ukrinform reports with reference to DHA news agency.

"Efforts will be continued to establish durable peace, support regional stability, and eliminate the consequences of humanitarian crises," the document says.

As reported, President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin might pay an official visit to Turkey as early as next month.

Photo: tccb.gov.tr
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has stated that Croatia's experience in European integration, post-war reconstruction, veteran policy, and mine clearance is extremely valuable for Ukraine.

"I am glad to welcome Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic to Kyiv. We greatly appreciate the help of our Croatian friends throughout Russias full-scale aggression," Shmyhal posted on Telegram.

According to him, Croatia is a state that successfully fully integrated into the European Union despite the difficult path of post-war recovery.

"For us, experience in European integration, post-war reconstruction, veteran policy, and mine clearance is extremely valuable. And Croatia is ready to provide support in these areas. In particular, it is preparing initiatives at the level of the European Commission to help Ukraine in humanitarian demining," Shmyhal emphasized.

As reported, Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banozic said that his country, which has experience in eliminating the consequences of war in its territory, can help with the humanitarian demining of Ukrainian lands.

Photos: Denys Shmyhal, Telegram
Slovenia supports the peace formula of President Volodymyr Zelensky and is ready to take part in the restoration of Ukraine.

This was discussed at the meeting between Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Prime Minister of Slovenia Robert Golob.

"Slovenia supports the peace formula of the President of Ukraine and is ready to take part in the restoration of our state. I am grateful to Prime Minister Robert Golob for his strong support. Following our meeting, we signed a joint statement in which we condemn Russian terror against the civilian population and infrastructure and emphasize the need for the immediate and complete withdrawal of all Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine within the internationally recognized borders," Shmyhal posted on Telegram.

Slovenia expressed its support for Ukraine's accession to EU and NATO and declared its readiness to help with further integration and strengthening of defense capabilities.

The heads of government also emphasized the importance of investigating Russian war crimes to hold the perpetrators to account.

As reported, Prime Minister of Slovenia Robert Golob makes a working visit to Ukraine on March 31.

On Friday, Shmyhal also met with Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic in Kyiv. They discussed, in particular, Croatia's assistance in demining and veteran policy.

Photos: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
Ukraine counts on further active involvement of Slovenia in reconstruction projects.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated this at a meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Robert Golob, Ukrinform reports, referring to the presidents press service.

"I want to thank you for taking the time to visit us on such an important day - the day of de-occupation of Bucha. I am also grateful for all the help you have provided to Ukraine to strengthen it on the battlefield, Zelensky said.

The President separately emphasized the importance of the recent decision of the Slovenian government to allocate a new military aid package to Ukraine, which will speed up the liberation of Ukrainian lands from invaders.

In this context, Zelensky informed the Prime Minister of Slovenia about the situation at the front and emphasized that the continuation of effective and active defense support of Ukraine by all partners and allies is more important than ever.

The Head of State noted Slovenia's readiness to join further consolidated steps regarding the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula aimed at achieving lasting and just peace in Ukraine.

The parties also discussed the cooperation on restoration and reconstruction in the liberated territories, which is already developing in specific directions, in particular in the Zhytomyr and Kharkiv regions.

"We count on the further active involvement of Slovenia in the reconstruction projects in Ukraine," Zelensky emphasized.

Zelensky and Golob raised the issue of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine. The President emphasized the determination of Ukraine to do everything necessary to reach a decision on the start of negotiations on joining the EU by the end of the current year. He also stressed the importance of Slovenia's support for Ukraine on this path.

During the meeting, Zelensky separately thanked Slovenia for its warm attitude towards Ukrainians who were forced to leave their homeland due to the Russian invasion.

As part of the meeting, the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia signed a Joint Declaration, which will contribute to the enhancement of cooperation between the two countries.

As reported by Ukrinform, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Robert Golob is in Ukraine on a working visit on March 31.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger who arrived in Ukraine to participate in the Bucha summit.

According to the presidents press service, welcoming the head of the Slovak government to Kyiv, Zelensky emphasized that he is always welcome in Ukraine.

"On behalf of our people, I thank you for the support that you, your government and the President of Slovakia, as well as ordinary people have provided to Ukraine during such a difficult and challenging year," the President noted.

During the meeting, Zelensky and Heger discussed in detail the issue of countering Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine and further cooperation between Kyiv and Bratislava both at the bilateral level and on international platforms.

They also exchanged views on topical issues of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president emphasized that the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU will be an important signal of support for Ukrainian society.

"We count on active facilitation from Slovakia on this path," Zelensky said.

In addition, the interlocutors touched upon the issue of Slovakia's involvement in Ukraines recovery and reconstruction. Zelensky noted that the urgent challenge for Ukraine is the speedy restoration of social infrastructure in the de-occupied territories.

"The reconstruction of kindergartens, schools and medical institutions is important for the return of citizens to the liberated territories," the President emphasized.

In this context, the Head of State thanked Slovakia for providing shelter to Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Zelensky and Heger also discussed the bilateral dialogue measures for the near future.

As reported, on Friday, commemorative events were held in Bucha, Kyiv region, on the first anniversary of the towns liberation from the Russian occupation.

The ceremony was attended by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger, Prime Minister of Slovenia Robert Golob, and Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic.

Photo: Presidents Office
President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu, who is visiting Ukraine at his invitation.

Thats according to the Ukrainian Presidents Office, Ukrinform reports.

The head of the Ukrainian state noted the importance of Moldova's solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the conditions of ongoing Russian aggression, and emphasized the determination to continue doing everything necessary to build friendly and close relations between the two states, the report reads.

He highly appreciated the signals of the Moldovan side in support of Ukraine and the visit of the Moldovan president to the cities devastated by Russian invaders.

Read also: Moldova denies entry to Russian soldier who fought against Ukraine

The head of the Ukrainian state briefed his counterpart on the situation at the front.

The two leaders expressed readiness to strengthen cooperation in the context of countering challenges from Russia and exchanged views on the need for further sanctions pressure on Moscow.

The Ukrainian president welcomed the joint progress in the development of transport infrastructure, in particular the connection of Odesa region and the south of Moldova by a new railway corridor with joint border and customs control, according to the report. Both parties positively noted the work of the relevant agencies of the two countries, aimed at increasing the throughput capacity at certain border sections.

Particular attention was paid to the issue of creating a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

The presidents of Ukraine and Moldova also discussed the progress and further prospects of the movement of the two states through European integration.

During the meeting, Volodymyr Zelensky expressed gratitude to the Moldovan side for the decision adopted by the national parliament to recognize the Holodomor in Ukraine as an act of genocide of the Ukrainian people.
Moldovas border guards refused entry to a Russian military serviceman who arrived in Chisinau by plane.

Thats according to NewsMaker, Ukrinform reports.

"During the interview, the man got confused in his own statements, trying to mislead the border police. He was refused entry to Moldova and sent by plane to the country from which he arrived," the report reads.

According to border guards, the detainee is a Russian national who took part in hostilities against Ukraine.

From Chisinau, the man intended to travel to Tiraspol, which is considered the administrative center of unrecognized Transnistria.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Moldova President Maia Sandu said Russia sought to use Moldova against Ukraine in the same way as it has been using Belarus.
| By Alex Likowski

In just over 50 years, Americas relationship with cannabis, or what we used to call marijuana, has gone from disregard as a taboo counterculture drug to widespread acceptance, first for medical purposes and now for recreational use.

In 1971, congress enacted the Controlled Substances Act, to be followed in 1973 by the creation of the Drug Enforcement Agency. Around that time, an NBC News poll showed that 84 percent of Americans opposed legalizing cannabis and just 4 percent said they had tried it.

Today, according to the Pew Research Center, nearly nine out of 10 Americans support legalizing adult recreational cannabis, and even several presidents and at least one Supreme Court justice have admitted theyve used cannabis.

Ten years ago, Maryland joined about two-thirds of the rest of the states in approving the use of medical cannabis  to ease pain, control nausea, and even to induce a desire to eat. Dispensaries started opening in 2017. Now, doctors, nurse practitioners, dentists, and even podiatrists prescribe medical cannabis to thousands of patients each year.

Last fall, Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum making it the 20th state to approve the adult use of recreational cannabis. The Maryland General Assembly is still working on the details, but essentially as of July 1, adults 21 and older may possess up to an ounce and a half of cannabis and grow two plants  out of sight  for personal use. There are provisions to license growers, processors, and retailers, and other provisions addressing education, driving while under the influence of cannabis, and much more.

Legislators also are working to promote social justice. Maryland has a long history of disproportionately arresting African Americans for cannabis possession. The new law will allow the re-examination of the sentences of those incarcerated, in part, for minor cannabis possession, and allow the expungement of minor cannabis possession convictions from criminal records, something that can adversely impact the ability to get a job, buy a house, receive a professional license, or even get a student loan.

Lawmakers also want to ensure that communities that have been most impacted by the war on drugs reap a good share of the economic benefits. Some 400 licenses to grow, sell, and dispense cannabis could generate billions of dollars in sales and tens of millions in taxes and fees. Two states, Colorado and Washington, already derive more tax revenue from cannabis than alcohol.

Mindful that when medical cannabis was approved in Maryland, none of the initial licenses went to African Americans, legislators intend the new law to give advantage to those who have lived in disproportionately impacted communities and also provide mentoring and startup loans.

Supporters say there are public health benefits, too. Legalized cannabis can be made safe, free from dangerous additives like fentanyl. And cannabis, they say, is less addictive and less likely to lead to serious medical problems than alcohol. But there are still calls for caution. In a Washington Post column last fall, Leana Wen, MD, MSc, former Baltimore health commissioner and now a George Washington University public health professor, detailed what she called abundant research showing how exposure to marijuana during childhood impacts later cognitive ability, including memory, attention, motivation, and learning.

Wen is not alone in this view. The United Nations International Narcotics Control Boards annual report says, In all jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized, data show that cannabis-related health problems have increased. The report also points a finger at certain cannabis-based products like edibles and vaping products, often marketed in attractive packaging that may appeal to young people.

Another cause for concern is the concentration of THC, the main psychoactive cannabinoid, in the cannabis grown today, which is several times higher than it was in the 1960s and 1970s.

Finally, there is still the issue of the Controlled Substances Act, in which cannabis remains listed as a Schedule 1 drug, just like heroin, ecstasy, and LSD, making it illegal everywhere in the U.S. under federal law. The act defines Schedule 1 drugs as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. And its not just a technicality. This single fact has made it very difficult for universities to perform meaningful research, and it restricts state-authorized cannabis sellers to being cash-only operations, since they cannot access the federally protected interstate banking system.

On March 30, University of Maryland, Baltimore Provost, Executive Vice President, and Graduate School Dean Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA, hosted a discussion of the topic on Virtual Face to Face. Ward was joined by expert panelists Leah Sera, PharmD, MA, BCPS, associate professor and co-director of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacys first-in-the-nation MS in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics program, and Mathew Swinburne, JD, research associate with the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, who has worked closely with legislative committees crafting Marylands cannabis legislation.

Watch the entire discussion, including questions from the virtual audience, by accessing the link at the top of the page.
| By Emily Chappell

About five years ago, John Dignam was retired and spending his free time participating in local community theater.

Students participate in the 11th Annual Interprofessional Education Day.

Its there where he learned about Standardized Patients (SPs), actors who are hired to help train medical professionals in simulated scenarios. But to Dignam, the work he does with the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), as well as Johns Hopkins Hospital, is much more than just another acting gig.

I applied, and five years later, Im still doing it, he said. And I love it.

Dignam was one of multiple SPs on UMBs campus March 29 helping roughly 400 students from disciplines across the University work collaboratively at the 11th Annual Interprofessional Education (IPE) Day. The event is hosted by UMBs Center for Interprofessional Education.

The center began under former UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD, now chancellor of the University System of Maryland, and was announced at the first IPE Day in April 2013. Perman, a pediatric gastroenterologist who continues his practice in the weekly Presidents Clinic that includes students from various schools, has continued to be an avid supporter of interprofessional education and the center.

Jane M. Kirschling PhD, RN, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), has led the center as its director since its founding. This was Kirschlings last IPE Day as director, as she will retire at the end of the academic year.

What Dean Kirschling has stood up here  what she has sustained and grown and nourished  is really something special, Perman said to the students at the start of event. She has  advanced the practice of team-based care. She's grown the scholarship and the evidence base to demonstrate that team-based care is better care. She's encouraged us and enabled us to develop students to be capable contributing members of a team.

Each year, the all-day event includes hands-on practice with the SPs on scenarios where students in nursing, pharmacy, medicine, public health, social work, law, and dentistry are required to work in a team-based model to provide a wraparound care approach.

It does feel like were really helping in our way to help the future doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lawyers, and social workers of tomorrow to improve their skills in a setting that is safe, Dignam said.

A Lesson in Collaborative Care

Before each IPE Day, SPs like Dignam are trained on the years patient assignment. It prepares them for what the patient symptoms are, what their demeanor is, what their backstory is, and more, he said.

And it helps them be prepared for what types of questions students may ask the patient actor.

On the day of the actual event, there are one to several encounters with different students  and its a difficult job in the encounter, because you have to kind of do two things at once, Dignam said. You have to portray the patient, the way its written in the script. But you also have to, in the back of your mind, think of what the student is doing well, or what the student could do a little better if they had an opportunity.

The focus is less on who can get a correct answer, but rather how the students work together, and how their interactions made the patient feel, he added.

Second-year social work student Priya Bhayana said Wednesdays event and interaction with the SP taught her a lot and has motivated her to approach her practice a bit differently.

It even made her think more about her future career because shes focused her time more on social work in the school systems, as opposed to in the medical field, but after IPE Day, she realized all she could learn in and offer to the medical field.

Getting to work with multiple disciplines was especially rewarding, she said.

I feel often really siloed as a social worker. I think part of that is just people not understanding what a social worker is what the profession is supposed to do. Even a lot of social workers have difficulty articulating that. And it also looks very different in different settings, Bhayana said.

So I learned a lot about what the social workers role is in that kind of setting and how it can really support the other medical professionals. So it made me feel less siloed, because I felt like I was actually contributing something really meaningful to the team.

Treating the Whole Patient

IPE Day doesnt just provide students with an educational experience, it also helps people from different programs get to know each other and gets them out of their silos, said Nancy Culpepper, director of the Standardized Patient Program, which is housed at UMSON. They learn what its like to work on a health care team, she said.

They all learn so much about what each other does in their professions. And it really focuses on the importance of a collaborative approach to health care and treating patients, Culpepper added.

That type of approach to health care is instrumental because its important for patients to not only have a clinician tend to their medical needs, but also to understand their social situations to understand what could be impacting their health, she said.

The patient profile for the IPE event that Dignam participated in is a person who is struggling with diabetes and recent high blood pressure and arm weakness, but theres much more to the patients story. Lifestyle factors like smoking impact the overall health. A spouses recent job loss and battle with long COVID, plus family financial challenges, played a major role in whether the patient can afford medication and doctors appointments.

When you are able to dissect a persons life and understand what theyre going through, Culpepper said, and you can bring in multiple medical and social disciplines, it allows the care team to learn about the whole patient to immediately assist and coordinate.

We hope that there are lessons learned that they can take into the clinical environment and know that there are other disciplines that can assist them in treating their patients as they move into their professions outside of school, Culpepper said.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 17:56 | All, World

The Turkish parliament has approved Finland's bid to join NATO, clearing a path for the country to join the security alliance amid continued fears about the threat posed by Russia among its European neighbors following its invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey was the last of NATO's 30 members to ratify the accession of Finland, which shares a land border with Russia and had long maintained neutral relations with its neighbor. Thursday's move could trigger a reaction from Moscow, which has previously warned of military repercussions if Finland joined NATO.

Alongside Sweden, Finland applied to join the alliance in May last year in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Sweden's membership, however, is still being held up by Turkey and Hungary, as all NATO members' parliaments must give their approval.

Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer-long border with Russia and, until its application to NATO, had a neutrality agreement with the country after losing significant amounts of territory to the Soviet Union, Russia's predecessor state, during World War II.

Finland is now in the process of formal admittance to NATO, with the process expected to last a number of weeks.

Turkey has made its approval of both countries into the alliance conditional upon their support in fighting the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey and believed to have been behind decades of attacks in the country.

Following a meeting on March 17 with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will approve Finland's NATO application ahead of Sweden's, due to what he described as its full cooperation in measures against the organization.

It remains unclear, however, when Sweden's application will be approved. Hungary has been reluctant to ratify Sweden's membership, while the Turkish government has criticized Stockholm over its lack of cooperation in handing over what it considers terrorist suspects.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 17:05 | Sports, All, Olympics

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach hit back Thursday at European governments who have criticized the peak sporting body for seeking to readmit Russian and Belarusian athletes to competition, saying their "deplorable" stance ignores other nations' concerns about "double standards."

The IOC Executive Board on Tuesday recommended admitting athletes from Russia and Belarus to international events, including next year's Paris Olympics, as neutral competitors, provided they do not voice support for the invasion of Ukraine or have military ties.

But some European governments said the measures were insufficient and urged an outright ban on athletes from the two countries, prompting a stern response from Bach at the conclusion of the Executive Board meeting in Lausanne.

"It is deplorable to see that some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of sport which they are appraising and requesting from other countries in countless speeches, U.N. resolutions, European Union declarations and at every other opportunity," Bach said in his press conference.

"It is deplorable that these governments do not address the question of double standards with which we have been confronted in our consultations."

"We have not seen a single comment on their attitude on the participation of athletes whose countries are involved in the other 70 wars and armed conflict in the world."

Bach indicated a decision would be made on Russian and Belarusian athletes less than a year before the July 26, 2024, opening of the Paris Games.

The IOC earlier this month criticized the British government after it wrote to major Olympic sponsors urging them to support a ban on both countries' athletes.

Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Poland are among the countries voicing opposition to any move by the IOC to alter its position outlined in February 2022 against participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
UNODC Holds Launch Event for the Temporary Evidence Storage Facility at the Joint Investigation Center in Maiduguri

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Maiduguri (Nigeria), 31 March 2023: Earlier today, the Joint Investigation Centre (JIC) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held an event to commission a new evidence storage facility at the JIC in Maiduguri, Borno State. Through the generous financial support of the Republic of Italy, this infrastructure investment is a significant contribution to enhancing the JICs capacity to collect and preserve evidence recovered from terrorist incidents, thereby strengthening rule of law-based and human rights-compliant criminal justice measures against terrorism and violent extremism in the region.

With the support of the one-year Project to Strengthen the Capacity of the Joint Investigation Center in Maiduguri to Collect Evidence and Bring Terrorist to Justice with the Respect for the Rule of Law, funded by the Republic of Italy and implemented by UNODC, the secure evidence storage facility constructed at the JIC will enable the Centre - a multi-agency hub comprised of military, security and law enforcement officers - to preserve, exploit and handle evidential material is a manner that allows for its forensic examination and effective presentation in court.

In addition to the refurbishment of the JICs secure evidence facility, the project has further supported the mentoring, procurement of equipment and development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to facilitate the effective collection, processing, storage and retrieval of physical evidence.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by high-level VIPs including the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale; Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Italy to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Tarek Chazli; Deputy Theatre Commander, Major General KA Isoni; and UNODC Country Representative for Nigeria, Mr. Oliver Stolpe.

In his remarks, Mr. Stolpe, UNODC Country Representative for Nigeria, emphasized that this new facility, thanks to the generous funding by the Government of Italy, will provide the JIC with a critical resource to further enhance its capability to store and retrieve evidence. This ultimately will help the criminal justice system to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence, committed by Boko Haram over the course of the past 15 years.

Representing the Embassy of Italy, Mr. Tarek Chazli, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Italy to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, highlighted that the tide is turning in the North East. This infrastructural investment in the JIC will help to accelerate the course of justice, and in doing so, help the process of peace in Borno State.

Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Ahmed, Commander of the Joint Investigation Centre, noted that the significance of this facility cannot be over-emphasised considering the significance of evidence to the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria. This facility will greatly enhance our evidence storage capacity thereby contributing to the success of the overall mandate of the Centre.

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UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Mar, 2023 ) :Pakistan has called for enhanced global partnership focused on capacity building, technology transfer and finance to enable developing countries achieve 'Zero Waste'.

"There is a dire need worldwide to move towards 'Zero Waste'," Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan, said in a statement he read out on behalf of Federal Minister of Climate Change Sherry Rehman at a high-level meeting in the UN General Assembly Hall marking the first-ever International Day of Zero Waste.

The meeting was held to raise awareness of the urgent need to transition to a "green" and circular economy that promotes sustainable production and consumption patterns. The move could save governments billions and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

At the outset, Ambassador Khan, speaking on behalf of the Minister for Climate Change, thanked Turkiye for its initiative on 'Zero Waste' and in particular, commended Emine Erdogan, wife of the Turkiye President, for her leadership on this issue.

"Rising waste is a global issue," he said, as societies have become increasingly consumption driven, excessive consumerism, along with a growing population, causes billions of tons of waste to be produced every year.

Pointing out that different types of wasted are generated like municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, medical waste, Ambassador Khan said their effects vary widely. For example, hazardous waste, by definition, had the potential to negatively affect human health and the environment. Municipal solid waste landfills result in methane emissions and could contribute to global climate change.

"The concept of zero waste is embedded in Pakistan's culture and in our religion, islam," he told delegates.

"Yet,", he added, "like many other developing countries, Pakistan suffers many difficulties due to a lack of adequate waste management infrastructure." Pakistan's surface and groundwater resources were already under threat from climate change and the problem of inadequate waste management merely exacerbates this, it was pointed out. That was now under regulation to prevent dumping, under the National Hazardous Waste Management Policy 2022.

Thirty million tonnes of municipal solid waste was generated in Pakistan each year, 10 to 14 per cent of which was hazardous waste, including e-waste, hospital waste and pesticides. Pakistan also receives an average annual tonnage of 80,000 in hazardous waste from different parts of the world.

"The new policy promotes a life cycle approach to manage hazardous waste from its generation to disposal in a manner that does not harm the environment," the Pakistani envoy said, adding that it would result in strengthening of classification, transparency, institutional frameworks, a national action plan, and governance infrastructure for the regulation of hazardous waste in Pakistan and its international border.

"It is essential to adopt zero-waste initiatives and zero-waste lifestyles at local, regional, and national levels, in both households and governments", he added. "Yet, for many developing countries, moving towards such an approach will require enhanced global partnerships focused on capacity building, technology transfer, and finance."
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United Nations, United States, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Apr, 2023 ) :More and more governments are calling for strong environmental rules before allowing any large-scale mining of the seabed, but as the latest round of talks on the issue concluded Friday, NGOs voiced fear that industry may soon be given the green light.

Several nations called for a moratorium on such mining at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) council meeting.

"The first thing to highlight is that the political atmosphere has shifted quite radically since that time last year," Emma Wilson of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition told AFP.

"There wasn't a single state at that point that had stood up and said no to mining." But as the two-week meeting wrapped up, she remained "very worried" the door could be opened to mining applications later this year.

The Jamaica-based ISA, established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, has authority over the ocean floors outside of its 167 member states' Exclusive Economic Zones, which extend up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from coastlines.

It has so far awarded seabed exploration contracts only to research centers and companies in well-defined areas of potential mineral wealth.

Industrial exploitation of nickel, cobalt or copper is not expected to begin until the adoption of a mining code that has been under discussion for nearly 10 years -- including at the latest talks in Kingston.

For years, non-governmental organizations and scientists have warned about the damage seabed mining could inflict on deep-sea ecosystems.

Countries are increasingly echoing that concern: Canada, Australia and Belgium among others have insisted that international seabed mining cannot begin without strict rules.

"Brazil believes the current level of knowledge and best available science are insufficient to approve any seabed mining projects in areas beyond national jurisdiction," Ambassador Elza Moreira Marcelino de Castro said at the ISA council meeting.

Without calling outright for a moratorium on exploitation, she said Brazil sees "significant merit" in the proposal for a deep-sea mining "pause" as advocated by around 15 countries including France, Germany, Chile and Vanuatu.

"Deep-sea mining would go beyond harming the seabed and have a wider impact on fish populations, marine mammals, and the essential function of the deep-sea ecosystems in regulating the climate," said Vanuatu representative Sylvain Kalsakau.

"We encourage our fellow Pacific states who have expressed interest in deep-sea mining to step back from the brink," he said -- in a message pointedly aimed at the tiny island country of Nauru.

- 'A lot of anxiety' - Nauru, impatient with the pace of progress, invoked in June 2021 a clause allowing it to demand that a mining code be adopted within two years.

Once that deadline is reached, on July 9, Nauru's government could request a mining contract for NORI (Nauru Ocean Resources), a subsidiary of Canada's The Metals Company.

But without a code in place, the 36-member council is divided over the process for reviewing an application for a mining contract -- and it looked on course to part without agreement, with a draft seen by AFP calling for further talks on the matter.

The continuing uncertainty is "creating a lot of anxiety here," said Pradeep Singh, a law of the sea expert and fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability in Potsdam.

Nauru reiterated its pledge to wait until ISA's next council meeting, later in July, before filing a mining application -- but observers told AFP they doubted the mining code would be ready for adoption by then.

"It looks like meeting this deadline is certainly not possible," Singh said.

"There's a lot of points that are still contentious," he added, including the fraught issue of how profits from undersea mining would be shared, and how environmental impacts should be measured.

In the absence of clear rules on how to approve or reject a mining application, "governments are recklessly leaving the backdoor open for deep-sea mining to sneak in and start operating later this year," warned Greenpeace's Louisa Casson, in a statement.

If The Metals Company starts gearing up for a launch of production in late 2024, NGOs fear that other industry groups will spy an opening -- and file their own applications when the two-year clause ends.

Barely weeks after the historic adoption in March of the first international treaty on the protection of the high seas, "this deeply irresponsible outcome is a wasted opportunity to send a clear signal... that the era of ocean destruction is over," charged Casson.
Oslo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Apr, 2023 ) :Four people, including foreign tourists, were killed Friday as multiple avalanches hit Norway's far north, including one which swept a house and a barn into the sea, police said.

According to police, a group of tourists were caught in an avalanche in the Kvalvikdalen valley in Norway's far north on Friday afternoon.

"There were five people of foreign origin that were on an outing in the area. We can confirm that one person is deceased," Morten Pettersen, a spokesman for the police, told journalists.

Pettersen added two others were hurt, one critically and one with "moderate injuries." The others were unharmed.

Pettersen said authorities were working on identifying the victim and contacting consular services to inform their next of kin.

Dan-Havard Johnsen, mayor of the Lyngen municipality, told AFP that the group was from Italy.

But it had not been confirmed whether the deceased was Italian.

About half an hour after the first report, police received notice of another avalanche on the nearby island of Reinoya "where a house and a barn were caught in the snow mass and carried into the sea," Pettersen said, adding that two people had been confirmed dead.

Police also said there were about 140 goats in the barn at the time of the incident.

Later in the evening, police said in a statement that a fourth person had been killed in another avalanche by the Tverrelva river in the Nordreisa area.

"The person was part of a larger foreign travelling party. Another member of the travelling party who was at the scene located the person and alerted the emergency services," police said, without specifying their nationality.
Geneva, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Mar, 2023 ) :Russia's war in Ukraine has made severe rights violations "shockingly routine" and is distracting humanity from battling existential threats to its survival, the United Nations rights chief warned on Friday.

Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, Volker Turk denounced horrific abuses carried out since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago, and warned the conflict "continues to send shock waves across the world".

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed to how sharp increases in the price of food, energy and other commodities had "heightened tensions and inequalities in every region".

This, he warned, was exacerbating "the most severe global cost-of-living crisis in a generation" that has pushed some 71 million into poverty and "threatens the stability of numerous countries".

At the same time, 37 years after the Chernobyl disaster, "another Ukrainian nuclear power plant, in Zaporizhzhia, continues to be placed at enormous risk, with potential impact on millions of people".

"At a time when humanity faces overwhelming existential challenges, this destructive war is tugging us away from the work of building solutions, the work of ensuring our survival," Turk said.

"This war defies any reason. This madness must end and peace be found." - 'Tip of the iceberg' - In his update to the council on the situation in Ukraine, Turk said his office had verified that more than 8,400 civilians had died and over 14,000 civilians been wounded since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

"These figures are just the tip of the iceberg," he cautioned.

Most of the casualties, Turk said, resulted from Russian forces using wide-impact explosive weapons in residential neighbourhoods.

He also highlighted findings by a UN investigative team of "numerous summary executions and targeted attacks on civilians" by Russian forces and affiliated armed groups like the Wagner Group, as well as "621 cases of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention".

Ukrainian armed forces had also carried out summary executions, according to those findings.

UN interviews with 89 civilians released from detention meanwhile indicated that "91 percent of them were tortured or ill-treated by Russian personnel, including through various forms of sexual violence", Turk said.

He said five cases of enforced disappearances involved five boys as young as 14, who were all "tortured or ill-treated." Turk said his staff had also documented 109 cases of sexual violence by Russian personnel, mainly in places of detention.

UN staff had also verified 91 cases of enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces, with just over half saying they had been tortured or ill-treated, he said.

- Deporting Ukrainian children - Turk also highlighted findings that Ukrainian civilians, and in particular children, had been transferred to occupied territory or to Russia.

According to Kyiv, more than 16,000 Ukrainian children had been deported to Russia as of last month.

The International Criminal Court has announced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

A high-level UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) has meanwhile determined such forced transfers amount to war crimes, and said earlier this month they were also probing allegations they could amount to genocide.

In their first report, the investigators also highlighted numerous other Russian violations in Ukraine that they said amounted to war crimes, including killings, torture and rape.

The commission said the systematic attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and a widespread and systematic pattern of torture in areas under Russian control could amount to the even more serious charge of crimes against humanity.

The COI was created last year, and the Human Rights Council will decide next week whether to extend its one-year mandate.
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WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2023) US President Joe Biden said on Friday that Russia should let Evan Gershkovich go in his first public reaction to the detention of the Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges, according to a White House pool report.

"Let him go," Biden said when asked about his message to Russia regarding Gershkovich's case.

On Wednesday, Gershkovich was detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage in favor of the United States. The Russian Federal Security Service said that the journalist had been collecting classified information about the activities of one of Russia's military-industrial complex firms.

On Thursday, the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow ruled that the reporter be put in pre-trial detention for two months. The Wall Street Journal denies the allegations of espionage. The Russian Foreign Ministry said consular access had been granted to Gershkovich.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2023) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that he expects Finland to join the alliance in the coming days.

Late on Thursday, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey ratified the protocol on Finland's membership in NATO.

Turkey was the last NATO state, whose ratification was needed for Finland's accession to the alliance.

"I congratulated (Finnish) President (Sauli Niinisto) ... on the completion of the historic ratification of #Finland's accession. I look forward to raising #Finland's flag at #NATO HQ in the coming days. Together we are stronger & safer," Stoltenberg tweeted.
Several people have been hurt in two separate train derailments that happened in quick succession in bad weather in northwestern Switzerland, police said Friday

Geneva, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Mar, 2023 ) :Several people have been hurt in two separate train derailments that happened in quick succession in bad weather in northwestern Switzerland, police said Friday.

The incidents took place about 30 kilometres apart, north of the Swiss capital Bern, and rescue operations are still ongoing.

"There are injuries in both trains," a Bern cantonal police spokeswoman told AFP.

The first incident happened in the lakeside town of Luscherz, northwest of the capital Bern, at around 4:30 pm (1430 GMT), the Bern cantonal police said. The train was travelling between Luscherz and Bienne.

"A train derailed. The rear part of the train fell on the right side," a Bern cantonal police spokeswoman told AFP.

"There are several injured," she said, without being able to give more details on the condition of those involved.

"Rescue interventions -- police, ambulance and firefighters -- are still in progress," she added.

Police do not yet know why the train derailed.

Regional rail operator Aare Seeland Mobil said that services were cancelled on the line due to "a derailment caused by a storm", with the duration of the disruption "unknown".

The second incident took place around 20 minutes later at Buren zum Hof.

The Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn regional rail operator said some services had been suspended "as a result of the storm".
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2023) The United Kingdom will join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), UK Secretary of State for International Trade Kemi Badenoch said on Friday.

"It's nearly 1am UK time and my counterparts and I have only just officially concluded negotiations to join the CPTPP bloc! Fantastic news for UK business and consumers as we increase trade with the dynamic Indo-Pacific region providing the future of global GDP growth," Badenoch said on Twitter.

The UK will be the first European country to join the CPTPP.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement was originally signed in 2016 between the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Japan, Mexico, Chile, and Peru. As part of the agreement, it was planned to create a free trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region. However, in January 2017, then US President Donald Trump signed a decree withdrawing the US from the agreement, after which the remaining 11 countries formed the CPTPP.
The United States has filed a forfeiture complaint against more than a million rounds of ammunition and other weapons seized by the US Navy en route from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to militant groups in Yemen, the Justice Department announced on Friday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2023) The United States has filed a forfeiture complaint against more than a million rounds of ammunition and other weapons seized by the US Navy en route from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to militant groups in Yemen, the Justice Department announced on Friday.

"The United States disrupted a major operation by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to smuggle weapons of war into the hands of a militant group in Yemen," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the release.

Among the weapons the US is seeking to keep are over a million rounds of ammunition and thousands of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades.

The weapons were initially seized in early December of last year from a flagless vessel in the Arabian Sea, according to the release.

The forfeiture is part of a larger-scale effort to investigate an Iranian weapons-smuggling network involved in the illicit trafficking of advanced conventional weapons systems and components by sanctioned Iranian entities directly supporting both the Houthi movement in Yemen and Iranian terrorist activities across the region, the release said.

The case, which is part of a US effort to enforce sanctions against the IRGC, is being litigated by the US Attorney's office for the District of Columbia and the National Security Division.
Research at UW Part of New Findings on Earlier Indigenous Use of Horses in West

A former University of Wyoming graduate students analysis of the remains of a 17th century horse in southwest Wyoming played a key role in a new study showing that Indigenous people were using horses in the American West earlier than documented previously.

Cassidee Thornhill, who earned her bachelors and masters degrees in anthropology from UW, published the results of her analysis in the journal Plains Anthropologist in 2021. That research is cited in a new publication in the journal Science, involving researchers at dozens of institutions, showing that horses were being used by Native Americans in the Northern Rockies and central plains before 1650. Previously, it was thought that horses descended from those brought from Europe in the 1500s didnt reach the Rocky Mountain West until around 1700.

These insights provide additional information for the timeline of the introduction of the horse into the High Plains and demonstrate the horse was playing some role in Native lifeways soon after horses were brought from Europe to the Americas, says Thornhill, who now works as a lead archaeologist with Transcon Environmental.

The horse remains she analyzed as a graduate student, held in UWs Archaeological Repository, were found years earlier near the Blacks Fork River in what is now the Ashley National Forest near Flaming Gorge Reservoir. It was a young horse -- just 5 or 6 months old -- but its bones show chop marks and other clear signs of modification by humans.

Thornhills analysis also included radiocarbon dating showing that the horse lived and died around 1640 -- earlier than the previous most commonly accepted time of around 1700 for horses to have arrived in what is now Wyoming.

The Blacks Fork horse features prominently in the new paper published in Science by lead author William Taylor, from the University of Colorado. Thornhill is listed as one of the co-authors of the study, which included radiocarbon dating of 23 historical horse specimens in North America.

The researchers concluded that dispersal of domestic horses from Spanish settlements in the American Southwest to the northern Rockies and central Great Plains took place by the first half of the 17th century, at the latest. This happened via Indigenous people, who were raising, feeding, caring for and using horses for transportation.

The research shows that horses were present across the plains long before any documented European presence in the Rockies or the central plains, the researchers wrote.

Specific to the Blacks Fork horse, the new paper says the findings have deep ramifications for our understanding of social dynamics in the Great Plains during a period of disruptive social changes for Indigenous peoples.

That part of southwest Wyoming is considered to be a homeland for the ancestral Comanche, who were connected by language and more to the ancestors of todays Eastern Shoshone tribal members on Wyomings Wind River Indian Reservation. The Comanche migrated to the southern plains of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma before the early 18th century.

The drive to acquire horses from Spanish New Mexico has been cited as a likely reason for the Comanche migration, but the new research suggests that the Comanche had already integrated horse raising, ritual practices and transportation at least 50 years before their southward migration. Once they were on the southern plains, the Comanche built an empire on the horse and bison trade by around 1750.

By the time Europeans arrived in southwestern Wyoming, the area was already a critical secondary diffusion center for horse transmission to Northern Plains groups, the researchers wrote. Considering the small body of archaeological data available, our findings raise the possibility of rapid, non-European transmission of horses farther northward, including the Columbia Plateau, the Canadian Rockies, and the middle and upper Missouri regions.

Thornhills 2021 paper cited previous research noting historical documents that referred to livestock raiding by the Apache, Navajo and Ute people by the early 1600s -- which likely resulted in the spread of horses to other groups. These horses mostly likely descended from horses brought to the first Spanish settlements in New Mexico around 1598.

Most likely, via the Ute, with whom they are related, the Shoshone, in southwestern Wyoming, obtained the horses by the 1640s , Thornhill wrote.
UW Students and Faculty Engage in Large Artificial Intelligence Conference

University of Wyoming students recently attended the annual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence in Washington, D.C. Attending were, from left, front row: Mehdi Nourelahi, from Ghaemshahr, Iran; Lona van der Linden, of San Diego, Calif.; Natalie Foss, from Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Zachary Harris, of Beavercreek, Ohio; middle row: Jesse Evans, from Green River; Joshua Arulsamy, of Laramie; Nikita Gallegos, from Casper; Damir Pulatov, of Tashkent, Uzbekistan; and Austin Stephen, from Cheyenne; and back row: Haniye Kashgarani and Mohamad Zamini, both of Tehran, Iran. Not pictured is Chet Russell, from Laramie. (UW Photo)

More than 3,500 worldwide participants -- including 15 University of Wyoming students and faculty members -- recently participated in a conference that brings together leading researchers and practitioners who work on all aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications.

The UW contingent attended the annual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) in Washington, D.C. Technical sessions, invited plenary talks, tutorials, workshops, poster sessions and industry events were offered during the weeklong conference.

The conference provides a snapshot of the state of the art in AI, says Lars Kotthoff, a UW Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science assistant professor who was among faculty members attending the conference.

Besides Kotthoff and the 12 students, also attending were Patrick Johnson, head of the UW Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, and Hud Wahab, a postdoctoral research associate in the same department.

Going to the AAAI conference enabled me to see areas of artificial intelligence research not found at the University of Wyoming, says Austin Stephen, a Cheyenne senior majoring in computer science. This exposure helped me develop a deeper sense of what interests me; better understand what a career in academia looks like; and meet other students with similar interests.

All of the UW students say the conference was beneficial to their future careers, and they learned more about AI fields. They experienced recent advances across a broad range of AI and were introduced to advanced technical topics in tutorials.

Attending the AAAI conference was beneficial to my education and experience in artificial intelligence, adds Chet Russell, a Laramie junior majoring in computer science. I learned so much about a variety of topics in the field and a lot about topics I had never heard of before.

At the end of the conference, many members of the UW delegation took advantage of the location to visit with Wyoming U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis in her office. The students and the senator talked about her work on the digital assets committee and the general importance of technology, computer science and AI -- especially for Wyoming, Kotthoff says.

I hope that such trips will become a permanent fixture at UW, enriching the education of current and future students, he adds.

Before the conference, Kotthoff organized a UW-wide competition for scholarships that allowed students to attend the conference. UWs School of Computing, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, and Wyoming Research Scholars Program funded the program.

Exposing students to AI research and applications is especially important now, as there is a lot of hype around technologies such as ChatGPT that makes it difficult to see AIs limitations and where research still needs to happen, Kotthoff says. At many institutions, such opportunities are extremely limited, especially for undergraduate students. It is very encouraging to see so many units at UW come together to make this happen.

Additionally, Kotthoff and Johnson organized a daylong workshop to bring AI and materials science closer together. The program featured invited speakers from both areas, a poster session and breakout discussions to develop plans for more joint events to facilitate cross-fertilization. Approximately 20 people from academia and industry attended the workshop.

The workshop we organized was aimed at researchers working at the intersection of AI and materials science as part of the conference program, Kotthoff says. The interactions between the participants enabled future joint activities, which will benefit both areas.

UW students who attended the AAAI conference, listed by hometown, were:

Beavercreek, Ohio -- Zachary Harris.

Casper -- Nikita Gallegos.

Cheyenne -- Austin Stephen.

Colorado Springs, Colo. -- Natalie Foss.

Ghaemshahr, Iran -- Mehdi Nourelahi.

Green River -- Jesse Evans.

Laramie -- Joshua Arulsamy and Chet Russell.

San Diego, Calif. -- Lona van der Linden.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan -- Damir Pulatov.

Tehran, Iran -- Haniye Kashgarani and Mohamad Zamini.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 13:16 | World, All

Donald Trump was indicted Thursday over undisclosed crimes following a probe into hush money allegedly paid to a woman after an affair, U.S. media and prosecutors said, making him the first former American president to face a criminal charge.

The unprecedented development is likely to have an impact on Trump's bid to enter the Republican Party primaries through which he hopes to be nominated to contest next year's presidential election.

The indictment by the New York grand jury is also expected to further intensify the rivalry between the bloc led by Democratic President Joe Biden and the Republican opposition in the run-up to the presidential election.

New York state authorities investigated allegations that Trump's side paid some $130,000 ahead of his successful November 2016 presidential election bid to an adult film star known as Stormy Daniels, who claimed the pair had an affair, according to U.S. reports.

Trump, 76, who has flatly denied the allegations, labeled the indictment by the New York grand jury "political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history" in a statement.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat official, said it has demanded Trump report for "arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal."

The New York Times and other U.S. media said Trump is likely to turn himself in on Tuesday next week, while CNN said he was indicted on more than 30 charges related to alleged business fraud.

The indictment is "an outrage," Mike Pence, who served as vice president under Trump, told a CNN interview. "It appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution."

Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, said in a tweet, "I'm directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions."

Felipe Galindo, a 65-year-old cartoonist who was among a crowd that gathered near the Trump Tower building in Manhattan, said the indictment shows "nobody is above the law, even the former president."

"It might complicate things in the future and lead to some more pro-Trump sentiments," Em Ingram, a 20-year-old university student, said. "But I believe that this gives more concrete evidence that he is a criminal."

New York City is a power base for Democrats.

Trump has been embroiled in a spate of investigations since he left office, including over the improper removal of classified documents to his residence at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and his role in the attack on the U.S. Congress by a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021.

After the 2020 election, Trump challenged the results with unfounded claims of widespread fraud and urged his supporters to take action against the certification of Biden's win.

The Trump Organization, a family business, was fined $1.6 million earlier this year for tax fraud and other crimes, though Trump himself was not held accountable.

Trump was the third sitting president in U.S. history to be impeached after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. In the closing days of his term, Trump became the first to be dealt a second impeachment.

The first took place in December 2019, when the House of Representatives charged him with abusing the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden in an effort to boost his own chances of re-election. He was acquitted at a Senate vote two months later.

Shortly after the January 2021 Capitol attack, the House impeached Trump over his role in the deadly incident. He was acquitted the following month.

Related coverage:

OPINION: Why Donald Trump is so popular a topic among Democrats

Trump declares bid to return to White House amid party dust-ups

Trump summoned by Congress committee to testify over Capitol riot
Activists this week described the March 20 arrest of Kashmiri freelance journalist Irfan Mehraj for association with a Kashmir-based human rights group as another in a series of instances of Indian government punishment of journalists and activists who expose rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Mehraj was arrested by India's National Investigation Agency for his connection with Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, or JKCCS, for which he provided research support. The organization, a federation of rights organizations and individuals in Indian-administered Kashmir, is being investigated as part of what is known as the "NGO terror funding case" -- security agencies allege that several organizations have funded Kashmiri terrorist groups.

The group's leader, Kashmiri rights activist Khurram Parvez, had been detained on terrorism-related charges since November 2021. He was formally arrested in the terror funding case March 22.

Mehraj worked for such Indian news portals as Article 14 and The Caravan magazine. He also contributed to international media outlets, including Deutsche Welle and Al Jazeera, apart from his work for the JKCCS.

"Investigation revealed that the JKCCS was funding terror activities in [Kashmir] valley and had also been in the propagation of secessionist agenda in the Valley under the garb of protection of human rights," the NIA said in a statement after Mehraj's arrest.

However, Mehraj's arrest "for his principled articulations is grievous," Angana Chatterji, a University of California at Berkeley scholar who has long worked on Kashmir human rights issues, said.

"The strategy of the Indian government to brand certain Kashmiri journalists and human rights defenders as agents of 'terror' is an assault on freedom of speech and seeks to effectively silence reportage on the egregious political violence and human rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir," Chatterji told VOA.

The crackdown on journalists and rights activists has increased since August 2019, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party-led national government unilaterally revoked the autonomy that Kashmir had had for 70 years, dissolved its government, and brought it fully under the control of the central Indian government.

In the past 3 years, dozens of Kashmiri journalists have been summoned by the security agencies for background checks or to explain their stories, or their houses were raided. Some of them were arrested and jailed.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, four Kashmiri journalists, including Mehraj, are now in jail.

Dilbag Singh, director general of police for Jammu and Kashmir, did not respond to a WhatsApp request from the VOA for comment on the issue.

New Delhi-based senior BJP leader Alok Vats told VOA, however, that whatever security-related actions the government is taking in Kashmir are in the interest of peace and stability in the region.

"Under the garb of journalism and human rights activism, many secessionists and unlawful people are at work in Kashmir, in collaboration with the terrorist organizations. They are aiming to disrupt the region's peace and stability, " Vats said.

"The government is simply acting to stop those subversive activities. In this process suspects are arrested and questioned, to establish their links with terrorist organizations. Their arrest and interrogation in custody are fully justified."

Several global media rights groups, including Reporters Without Borders, have condemned the arrest of Mehraj and sought his immediate release.

Daniel Bastard, head of the organization's Asia-Pacific desk called Mehraj "an experienced, responsible and careful reporter who has no place being in prison."

"Special laws intended to combat terrorism should not be used to suppress the activities of journalists," he said.

A Kashmir-based journalist said journalists and rights activists are being targeted by the government "primarily because they are exposing rights violations committed by the forces."

"The government is punishing some journalists to send out a message to others that any journalist or human rights activist daring to expose rights violation in Kashmir would face punishment," the journalist who did not want to be identified told VOA.

Meenakshi Ganguly, south Asia director of Human Rights Watch told VOA the Indian authorities need to uphold human rights protections in Kashmir instead of punishing activists and journalists that draw attention to problems.

"Arbitrary arrests of journalists under draconian counterterrorism laws only exposes the Indian government to allegations that it is repressive, discriminatory and authoritarian," Ganguly said.

Mehraj's arrest is "another indication of the erosion of rights and democracy in India" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, Rohit Chopra, an associate professor at Santa Clara University in the U.S., told VOA.

"Like all regimes that seek to consolidate power at the expense of rights, the Modi regime wishes to control the flow of information and censor stories of state repression and rights violations. Mehraj's deep understanding of Kashmiri society and his record of work challenges the official narratives about Kashmir trotted out by the government," Chopra said.

"Kashmir activists are likely being targeted for the same reason that they might bring to light rights violations, a crackdown on ordinary freedoms of Kashmiris, and the fact that all is not hunky-dory in Kashmir."

With elections set for next year in India, "Modi is keen to project an image as a hypernationalist strong leader and immobilize any sources of criticism," he added.

"This strategy had worked for the BJP and him in 2019, so we will likely see jingoistic chest-thumping and stronger state repression in India in the months to follow," he said.
Mexican officials have arrested five people for their alleged connection to a fire earlier this week at a Mexican immigration detention center that killed 39 migrants.

The announcement of the arrests Thursday came a day after Mexicos attorney generals office announced a homicide investigation into the blaze after video surveillance footage appeared to show guards doing nothing to help migrants escape the fire engulfing their cell.

Authorities said one migrant is believed to be responsible for igniting the fire.

A private security company, Grupo de Seguridad Privada CAMSA SA de CV, was responsible for security at the center in the border town of Juarez, according to a Reuters report that says federal agents will now be responsible for the centers security concerns.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 21:55 | All, Japan

Japan's government pledged Friday to remove an income limit for child-rearing allowances in a draft policy package, alongside increasing benefits for families with multiple children in an effort to tackle the country's rapidly declining birthrate.

But the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stopped short of clarifying how it would fund such measures, including whether it intends to raise taxes, with critics labeling the initiatives as "pork barrel" policies in the run-up to a series of local elections in April.

Kishida, who took office in October 2021, has expressed his eagerness to bolster spending on child care in an attempt to tackle Japan's declining birthrate and shrinking population, saying that carrying out such policies on an "unprecedented" scale is one of the most pressing items on his agenda.

The number of babies born in Japan in 2022 fell to a new record low for the seventh consecutive year, dropping below 800,000 for the first time since record-keeping began in 1899, official data showed in February.

Currently, households with an income below a certain level receive a monthly allowance of 10,000 yen ($75) or 15,000 yen per child until they graduate from junior high school.

The government will eliminate the income ceiling and keep providing benefits to parents until their children graduate from high school, the draft said, but it did not go into specifics about how much money would be granted.

The draft also said the government will consider covering childbirth expenses through Japan's universal health insurance system and will make school lunches free at public elementary and junior high schools.

In the draft policy, Kishida's government has also promised to raise child care leave payments in an apparent attempt to enable more men to take time off of work and concentrate on parenting.

In Japan, 85.1 percent of eligible women took maternity leave in fiscal 2021 through March 2022, with only 13.97 percent of men doing so. Many workers say they worry that taking time off may increase colleagues' workload.

The prime minister has committed to implementing measures to allow 85 percent of male workers who have a child to take paternity leave by fiscal 2030.

Kishida told reporters later Friday the government will set up a new panel chaired by himself to discuss related issues, aiming to present a general framework for a budget focused on child care that will be "double" previous amounts.

The government will launch a new agency for overseeing child care policies on Saturday. Masanobu Ogura, the minister in charge of policies related to children, will be the Cabinet official responsible for the agency.

Ogura said at a press conference on Friday that the government will start a "national movement" later this year to deepen people's understanding of the importance of raising children.

Japan's public expenditure on measures related to family support stood at around 10 trillion yen in fiscal 2020, accounting for 2.01 percent of gross domestic product for that year, underscoring the degree to which the country has lagged behind developed European economies.

Sweden spent 3.46 percent, Britain 2.98 percent and France 2.81 percent of their GDP on child care, respectively, according to data released in fiscal 2018 by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research in Tokyo.

As the government forges ahead to create what Kishida calls child care policies of an "unprecedented" scale, there are concerns among lawmakers and voters that the government may conduct tax hikes to finance the costs.

Despite being the world's third-largest economy, Japan's fiscal health is the worst among major developed countries, with debt more than twice the size of its annual GDP.
Once seen as an international environmental laggard, Australia on Thursday enacted its most significant climate law in a decade. Targeting the nations worst polluters, the law will force coal mines and oil refineries to cut emissions. It is the first time pollution reduction has been written into Australian law.

Starting July 1, many of Australia biggest polluters -- more than 200 mines, refineries and other operations -- will be required to cut emissions by 5% each year under a new law passed Thursday by the countrys Parliament.

These enterprises account for about a third of Australias carbon pollution.

The law was passed with the backing of the Australian Greens, a minor party focused on environmental protection. It initially demanded that the center-left government ban all new coal and gas developments in return for its support. Later, a compromise was reached. New gas fields developed for Australias lucrative export market must offset all CO2 emissions through the purchase of carbon credits.

The Greens have insisted that Australia must soon take more decisive action, insisting that coal and gas are the main causes of the climate crisis.

However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said previously that gas would help to smooth Australias transition to renewable sources of energy.

Gas industry analyst Bruce Robertson, with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, which works to shift toward sustainable energy, told VOA that the Labor governments stance on gas is outdated.

They are still holding onto the past, he said. They are holding onto gas power, they are holding onto gas as a fuel and gas as a fuel [is] exiting the energy system. It is exiting the energy system in Australia. It is too expensive to use and basically we are seeing a transformation and the exiting out of gas over time.

Other analysts have said that the climate legislation is key to achieving Australia's target to cut carbon emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

This is roughly in step with goals set by the United Nations, and it brings Australia more into line with other countries after what Albanese said was a wasted decade under the previous conservative Australian government.

Fossil fuels continue to generate much of Australias electricity but there is a significant shift to renewable sources of energy.

Australia has the worlds highest use of solar power. About a third of its homes have rooftop solar electricity panels. Domestic energy storage is surging, too. The energy consultant company SunWiz said Thursday that the installations of residential batteries increased by 55% to 47,000 units last year.

Scientists have warned for years that a failure to reduce emissions would make Australia vulnerable to more extreme bushfires, droughts and floods.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Brussels on Monday for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers expected to focus on sustaining support for Ukraine. VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
The indictment of former President Donald Trump in New York stems from the payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the final days of Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.

The payment of $130,000 was made by then-Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen as part of a scheme to catch and kill damaging stories about the real estate moguls marital infidelities.

Cohen has said he made the secret payment at Trumps direction and was later reimbursed by the Trump Organization, Trumps real estate company, for legal services.

Cohen pleaded guilty in connection with the case in 2018, but federal prosecutors did not charge Trump, leaving it to the Manhattan district attorney to pursue the case under state law.

In court documents in 2018, federal prosecutors laid out how Cohen, working at the behest of Trump, sought to prevent the candidates female accusers from going public with their allegations during the 2016 campaign.

'Catch and kill'

Along with Cohen, a key player in the effort was David Pecker, chairman of American Media Inc. (AMI), the company that at the time published the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer.

A longtime Trump friend, Pecker had offered to help deal with negative stories about [Trumps] relationships with women by identifying stories that could be bought and then suppressed. The practice is known in the publishing industry as catch and kill.

In August 2016, AMI agreed to pay former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007. The story was shelved.

Two months later, a representative for Daniels informed AMI that the porn star was going public with her account of a sexual encounter with Trump and was willing to sell her story.

Having failed to secure a deal with Daniels, Pecker put her agent in touch with Cohen, who negotiated a $130,000 agreement to purchase [her] silence, prosecutors wrote in August 2018.

Paying hush money is not illegal. But federal prosecutors charged that classifying the payment as a legal retainer fee violated federal campaign finance laws.

Trump has acknowledged that Cohen was reimbursed for the $130,000 paid to Daniels to stop what he termed her false and extortionist accusations.

But hes denied the payment was a campaign contribution.

While the precise charges against the former president remain sealed, legal experts say they likely center on the falsification of business records.

Under New York law, falsifying business records is normally a misdemeanor. But when it is done with the intent to commit or hide another crime, it rises to the level of a felony punishable by up to four years in prison.

It is not clear what additional criminal offenses, if any, Trump has been charged with.
A group of influential figures from Silicon Valley and the larger tech community released an open letter this week calling for a pause in the development of powerful artificial intelligence programs, arguing that they present unpredictable dangers to society.

The organization that created the open letter, the Future of Life Institute, said the recent rollout of increasingly powerful AI tools by companies like Open AI, IBM and Google demonstrates that the industry is "locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one  not even their creators  can understand, predict, or reliably control."

The signatories of the letter, including Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, called for a six-month halt to all development work on large language model AI projects.

"AI labs and independent experts should use this pause to jointly develop and implement a set of shared safety protocols for advanced AI design and development that are rigorously audited and overseen by independent outside experts," the letter says. "These protocols should ensure that systems adhering to them are safe beyond a reasonable doubt."

The letter does not call for a halt to all AI-related research but focuses on extremely large systems that assimilate vast amounts of data and use it to solve complex tasks and answer difficult questions.

However, experts told VOA that commercial competition between different AI labs, and a broader concern about allowing Western companies to fall behind China in the race to develop more advanced applications of the technology, make any significant pause in development unlikely.

Chatbots offer window

While artificial intelligence is present in day-to-day life in myriad ways, including algorithms that curate social media feeds, systems used to make credit decisions in many financial institutions and facial recognition increasingly used in security systems, large language models have increasingly taken center stage in the discussion of AI.

In its simplest form, a large language model is an AI system that analyzes large amounts of textual data and uses a set of parameters to predict the next word in a sentence. However, models of sufficient complexity, operating with billions of parameters, are able to model human language, sometimes with uncanny accuracy.

In November of last year, Open AI released a program called ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) to the general public. Based on the underlying GPT 3.5 model, the program allows users to communicate with the program by entering text through a web browser, which returns responses created nearly instantaneously by the program.

ChatGPT was an immediate sensation, as users used it to generate everything from complex computer code to poetry. Though it was quickly apparent that the program frequently returned false or misleading information, the potential for it to disrupt any number of sectors of life, from academia to customer service systems to national defense, was clear.

Microsoft has since integrated ChatGPT into its search engine, Bing. More recently, Google has rolled out its own AI-supported search capability, known as Bard.

GPT-4 as benchmark

In the letter calling for pause in development, the signatories use GPT-4 as a benchmark. GPT-4 is an AI tool developed by Open AI that is more powerful than the version that powers the original ChatGPT. It is currently in limited release. The moratorium being called for in the letter is on systems "more powerful than GPT-4."

One problem though, is that it is not precisely clear what "more powerful" means in this context.

"There are other models that, in computational terms, are much less large or powerful, but which have very powerful potential impacts," Bill Drexel, an associate fellow with the AI Safety and Stability program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), told VOA. "So there are much smaller models that can potentially help develop dangerous pathogens or help with chemical engineering  really consequential models that are much smaller."

Limited capabilities

Edward Geist, a policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and the author of the forthcoming book Deterrence Under Uncertainty: Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Warfare told VOA that it is important to understand both what programs like GPT-4 are capable of, but also what they are not.

For example, he said, Open AI has made it clear in technical data provided to potential commercial customers that once the model is trained on a set of data, there is no clear way to teach it new facts or to otherwise update it without completely retraining the system. Additionally, it does not appear to be able to perform tasks that require "evolving" memory, such as reading a book.

"There are, sort of, glimmerings of an artificial general intelligence," he said. "But then you read the report, and it seems like it's missing some features of what I would consider even a basic form of general intelligence."

Geist said that he believes many of those warning about the dangers of AI are "absolutely earnest" in their concerns, but he is not persuaded that those dangers are as severe as they believe.

"The gap between that super-intelligent self-improving AI that has been postulated in those conjectures, and what GPT-4 and its ilk can actually do seems to be very broad, based on my reading of Open AI's technical report about it."

Commercial and security concerns

James A. Lewis, senior vice president and director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told VOA he is skeptical that the open letter will have much effect, for reasons as varied as commercial competition and concerns about national security.

Asked what he thinks the chances are of the industry agreeing to a pause in research, he said, "Zero."

"You're asking Microsoft to not compete with Google?" Lewis said. "They've been trying for decades to beat Google on search engines, and they're on the verge of being able to do it. And you're saying, let's take a pause? Yeah, unlikely."

Competition with China

More broadly, Lewis said, improvements in AI will be central to progress in technology related to national defense.

"The Chinese aren't going to stop because Elon Musk is getting nervous," Lewis said. "That will affect [Department of Defense] thinking. If we're the only ones who put the brakes on, we lose the race."

Drexel, of CNAS, agreed that China is unlikely to feel bound by any such moratorium.

"Chinese companies and the Chinese government would be unlikely to agree to this pause," he said. "If they agreed, they'd be unlikely to follow through. And in any case, it'd be very difficult to verify whether or not they were following through."

He added, "The reason why they'd be particularly unlikely to agree is because  particularly on models like GPT-4  they feel and recognize that they are behind. [Chinese President] Xi Jinping has said numerous times that AI is a really important priority for them. And so catching up and surpassing [Western companies] is a high priority."

Li Ang Zhang, an information scientist with the RAND Corporation, told VOA he believes a blanket moratorium is a mistake.

"Instead of taking a fear-based approach, Id like to see a better thought-out strategy towards AI governance," he said in an email exchange. "I dont see a broad pause in AI research as a tenable strategy but I think this is a good way to open a conversation on what AI safety and ethics should look like."

He also said that a moratorium might disadvantage the U.S. in future research.

"By many metrics, the U.S. is a world leader in AI," he said. "For AI safety standards to be established and succeed, two things must be true. The U.S. must maintain its world-lead in both AI and safety protocols. What happens after six months? Research continues, but now the U.S. is six months behind."
Hundreds of merchants gathered Friday in Kye Ossi, a Cameroonian town on the border with Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, to protest travel restrictions imposed since an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus. They say the restrictions are suffocating trade and violate a Central African regional agreement on the free movement of people and goods.

Cameroonian merchant Kema Godlove imports vegetable oil, skin moisturizers and perfumes from Equatorial Guinea, and exports cement and tiles to Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Kema said within the past 10 days, merchants have found it difficult to cross the borders between the three countries.

"Business people who leave Cameroon to meet their partners coming from Equatorial Guinea or from Gabon, they would definitely not come, so it affects the economic activities of Kye Ossi," Kema said Friday on Cameroon state broadcaster CRTV. "Actually, when borders are locked up, people relocate to different areas while waiting for the borders to be reopened, because when the borders are not open, businesses, everything is almost paralyzed."

He said some merchants have either sold their goods at giveaway prices or distributed perishable food items like fruits and vegetables, so they don't go to waste.

Kema said it would be better for governments of the three border states to keep the borders open for merchants and restrict only mass movement of people.

The merchants say by restricting the movement of people, Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea are disrespecting a regional agreement among countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC.

Under normal circumstances, several hundred merchants cross borders to Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon each day to do business.

Cameroon and Gabon stepped up border security on February 13 after Equatorial Guinea confirmed an outbreak of the Marburg virus.

Last week, authorities in Equatorial Guinea reported that Marburg had killed nine people. The World Health Organization said the death toll may be as high as 20.

Manouda Malachie, Cameroon's minister of public health, said that for now, travel restrictions will be maintained.

Manouda said although Cameroon and Gabon have not confirmed cases since neighboring Equatorial Guinea reported a Marburg spread, the three states decided to strictly control movements across their common borders because the virus is extremely dangerous and highly contagious. He said it is the duty of all states to protect citizens from diseases and hardship.

The Cameroon government says merchants should present themselves to border surveillance teams of health workers and police to facilitate the movement of goods.

On February 15, Cameroonian authorities said two cases of Marburg disease were detected on its southern border with Equatorial Guinea.

Cameroon says it has been struggling to contain a cholera and yellow fever outbreak and COVID-19, and will do everything possible to protect its territory from Marburg.

The highly infectious disease is similar to Ebola, with symptoms including fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss, according to the World Health Organization.
The China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the largest academic database in China, has notified several universities and research institutes in the U.S., Taiwan and Hong Kong that their access will be limited starting April 1.

CNKI was established in 1999 and contains Chinese government reports, academic journals and papers published since 1915, covering many fields such as politics, economy, humanities, social sciences and technology. For researchers unable to go to Chinese libraries to look up materials in person, the resources provided by CNKI are particularly important.

Research libraries all over the US (beyond?) are receiving these notices, tweeted Sheena Chestnut Greitens, an associate professor in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where she directs the Asia Policy Program. CNKI is a pretty essential research tool for scholars studying China, so its worrisome. (Hoping the suspension is temporary, but I have my doubts.)

Mark Witzke, senior analyst at the Rhodium Group, told VOA Mandarin that while he doesn't personally access CNKI directly, a lot of the research he reads and figures that he references are sourced from CNKI.

Its getting harder and harder to access reliable data on China, and this is just the latest blow, Witzke said.

Without reliable data and research, its hard to get a real understanding of what is going on in the country. This empowers those who instead rely on rumors and motivated reasoning, he said. Motivated reasoning occurs when people actively look for reasons to justify why theyre right and reject facts and research that dont fit their beliefs.

Questions remain

Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, told VOA Mandarin, We know too little to be sure what we are dealing with. CNKI has not clearly stated what will no longer be made available and if some or all of them will become permanently unavailable.

Tsang said that presumably, non-China-based researchers can still access the data in China by visiting Chinese institutions.

But this will mean being vetted by Chinese institutions first, in the process of being accepted as an academic visitor to a Chinese institution, and all Chinese institutions are, by order of Xi Jinping, subject to the leadership of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], he added.

According to Nikkei Asia, the affected libraries include at least a dozen research institutions such as the library of the City University of Hong Kong and the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

VOA contacted CNKI, the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy of the Academia Sinica, and the City University of Hong Kong, but did not receive replies by the time of publication.

Unflattering portrayals

Tsang thinks limiting CNKI access looks like an attempt by the ruling Chinese Communist Party to use information to shape how outside academics can research China, perhaps with a view to ensure outsiders cannot access material to portray China in a critical light.

Perry Link, professor of Chinese language studies at the University of California-Riverside, told VOA Mandarin, Spokespeople for the CCP regularly accuse the U.S. of a Cold War mentality. In today's information age, nothing is a clearer example of a Cold War mentality than to block the free flow of government reports and scholarly papers from crossing international borders.

According to Nikkei Asia, CNKI's operator, Tongfang Knowledge Network Technology, took the action in accordance with the "Measures of Data Cross-Border Transfer Assessment and relevant laws."

The Cyberspace Administration of China announced in June 2022 that it was investigating the operator to preempt risks related to data and national security.

Chinas state-run media outlet Global Times said that CNKI holds a large amount of personal information and important data related to key industries such as national defense, industry, telecommunications, transportation, natural resources, health care and finance as well as sensitive information such as major projects, important scientific and technological achievements, and key technological trends."

The Measures of Data Cross-Border Transfer Assessment was issued in July 2022 and implemented on September 1. It stipulates that companies that provide "important data" overseas need to declare and accept a data security assessment.

National security, public interest

According to consulting firm Deloitte, the assessment is conducted from the perspective of national security and public interest, as well as the legitimate rights and interests of individuals or organizations.

Bert Hofman, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore and a professor in practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School, told VOA Mandarin in an email, Access to CNKI is also a test for Chinas rules on international data transfer. Regulations issued September last year were meant to enable such transfers, and data transfer is part of trade agreements such as CPTPP [Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership] to which China has applied.

Restricting access to CNKI will have a negative effect on the communications between scholars both inside and outside of China, Witzke said.

CNKI isnt just used for China-focused issues, its also a repository of dissertations and other academic work by Chinese scholars," he said. "If scholars outside of China lose access it has quite a chilling effect on academic exchange. This exchange has already been stifled due to travel restrictions over the pandemic and Chinas long-standing restrictions on many digital communication platforms.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
A Philippine coast guard commander said Friday that the tragic scenes of death his team saw aboard a gutted ferry, including bodies of adults clutching children, had moved them to tears and sparked fears other passengers could be found dead in the still-smoldering ship.

At least 29 of more than 250 people onboard the M/V Lady Mary Joy 3 were killed in the blaze that raged through the ferry Wednesday while it was on an overnight trip from the southern Zamboanga city to Jolo town in Sulu province. At least seven passengers, including two army soldiers, remained missing in the country's deadliest sea disaster this year, the coast guard said.

Basilan Governor Jim Hataman initially reported 31 deaths Thursday but later reduced the toll to 29 after search and rescue groups cross-checked their figures.

All 35 crew members survived, including the captain, who issued an abandon-ship order when the fire hit close to midnight and then ran the ferry aground on an island off Basilan province to give remaining passengers a better chance to survive, coast guard officials said.

Many passengers jumped into the sea in panic without life jackets and were saved by rescuers but at least 11 drowned. When a team of coast guard personnel, including Bureau of Fire officers, boarded the burned ferry on Baluk-baluk island's coast, they discovered the bodies of 18 passengers scattered on the uppermost open-air economy deck and another floor below, coast guard Commander Chadley Salahuddin said.

The passengers, including an adult clutching a child by the railing, could have easily jumped into the sea and survived like many others but failed to do so for unclear reasons. Two passengers, apparently siblings who were among the missing, were found holding each other in a bathroom, he said.

"When I first saw that scene, I was moved to tears with some of my men," Salahuddin told The Associated Press by telephone. "It was a short journey. Why did so many have to die?"

"What if my mother or my other loved ones were the ones who were trapped here? They were just a step away from the open sides but why did they not jump off like the others?" Salahuddin asked.

The passengers, some of whom were burned beyond recognition, could have been overcome by smoke and passed out or could have been immobilized by injuries. Some survivors said they heard a series of firecracker-like blasts during the fire, but Salahuddin said all those details could only be confirmed by investigators.

He feared more bodies could be found in the lower enclosed decks, which remained dangerously hot and could not be inspected Thursday by his team.

His team found a partly burned rifle, which may have been left by a police officer who was among the passengers who survived, Salahuddin said, adding that there was no sign of a bomb explosion at least in the upper decks that they managed to inspect.

The steel-hulled ferry could accommodate up to 430 people and was not overcrowded, said another coast guard official, Commodore Rejard Marfe.

According to the manifest, it was carrying 205 passengers and a 35-member crew, Marfe said. In addition, it had a security contingent of four coast guard marshals, who all survived. Eight soldiers were traveling to Sulu.

Threats posed by Muslim insurgents, including those aligned with the Islamic State group, remain a security issue in the southern Philippines, where cargo and passenger ships are provided extra security by the coast guard and other law enforcement agencies in vulnerable regions.

Marfe said officials are investigating whether the 33-year-old ferry was seaworthy, if there were passengers not listed on the manifest, and whether the crew properly guided passengers to safety.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippines because of frequent storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.

In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.
Indian officials said Friday at least 35 people fell to their deaths Thursday and 16 were injured when the cover of a well collapsed in a temple complex in Indore in Madhya Pradesh state. One person remains unaccounted for.

"The stepwell was covered, but the slab covering it collapsed because of the crowd and extra load on it," Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

The well had not been in use for years.

Dozens of emergency workers, including army personnel, were called to the site where worshippers had been celebrating a festival for the deity Rama.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
Human rights experts warn that ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has trapped the country in continuing cycles of brutality and misery, which will not end until the fighting ends.

The experts, who participated in an in-depth examination of the human rights situation in the DRC at the U.N. human rights council Thursday, deplored the further deterioration of political and civic rights and the escalation of conflict-related violations since the council last reviewed conditions in the country in October.

The United Nations says that armed violence has forced more than 6 million people in the DRC to flee their homes, making this the highest number of internally displaced people on the African continent.

Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, warns the conditions leading to the deteriorating situation are worsening as the violence of numerous armed groups, notably in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, escalates.

The armed groups, M23, ADF, CODECO, Zaire and Nyatura, continue to carry out egregious attacks against the civilian population and they do this with full impunity, said Turk.

He said at least 1,338 people, including 107 children, have been killed in the eastern provinces.

The targeted violence endured by civilians in the conflict-affected areas include sexual violence, sexual violence of extreme brutality. This has historically been used as a deliberate weapon in the DRC and as a strategy of terror.

He said the violence suffered by broad segments of the population in the DRC was fueled by impunity and by corruption.

As a consequence, not only is the population deprived of any form of safety or security, they also are deprived of a legitimate part of the countrys wealth.

The high commissioner added that the people of the DRC have a right to live in peace and without the fear engendered by these continuing cycles of brutality and misery.

More than 100 armed groups operate in the eastern DRC. Human rights experts have expressed concern particularly about the continued hold of large swathes of territory by M23 rebels in North Kivus Petit Nord region, noting that violent attacks by the group against local communities and villages have displaced nearly 900,000 people.

At the same time, tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have continued to increase and are worrisome, said Bintou Keita, the head of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force, MONUSCO.

The DRC has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels, charges the Rwandan government denies.

Keita said ongoing violence in the east was disrupting preparations for presidential elections in December. Thousands of Congolese, she said, have been dissuaded from participating in the preparations because of insecurity.

I also note with concern the rise in political discourse of xenophobic and racist messages that constitute a danger to national cohesion, peace and security.

The fragile security and tense political context has had repercussions on civic and political space, which continues to shrink with the approach of scheduled national elections, she said and has given rise to restrictions and harassment of journalists, human rights defenders and others.

Safari Runiga, the National Coordinator of REPRODEV, the Network for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Victims, Witnesses and Media Professionals, told the council that the DRC has been shaken for 30 years by deadly cyclical violence and looting of its natural resources by armed terrorist groups in the provinces of Ituri, Maniema, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika.

He said serious human rights violations committed with total impunity have led to rampant corruption and widespread abuse throughout the country.

We call on the members of this council to unreservedly condemn this violence and to recommend sanctions against its perpetrators, supporters and other beneficiaries.

It is time for the international community, in particular the United Nations, to punish the perpetrators of crimes and violations of international law in the DRC, he said.

Paul Empole Losoko Efambe, the DRCs ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said his government was working hard to deliver on the countrys international human rights commitments.

We have, despite the challenges that we are faced with, undertaken to set up a transitional justice mechanism to combat impunity and promote an environment of peace, of social cohesion and reconciliation.

He said, the government has begun implementing a law on the fundamental principles relating to the protection of reparations for victims of sexual violence, in connection with conflict and for victims of attacks against peace and security.

He said the Democratic Republic of Congo was seeking to strengthen its fight against the armed groups operating in the eastern part of the country, particularly the M23 terrorist group, adding that ending human rights violations in the DRC was dependent on bringing that conflict to an end.
Finland received the green light to join NATO when Turkey ratified the Nordic country's membership late Thursday, becoming the last country in the 30-member Western military alliance to sign off.

All NATO members must vote unanimously to admit a new country. into the alliance. The decision by the Turkish parliament followed Hungary's ratification of Finland's bid earlier in the week.

The addition of Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, will more than double the size of NATOs border with Russia.

However, a few more steps and procedures are required before the northern European nation becomes the 31st full NATO member:

Acceptance letters

Turkey and Hungary dispatch acceptance letters to the United States which is the depositary, or safekeeper, of NATO under the alliance's 1949 founding treaty. The letters will be filed in the archives of the U.S. State Department, which will notify NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that the conditions for inviting Finland to become a member were met.

Invitation

NATO sends a letter signed by Stoltenberg inviting Finland to join the military alliance.

Signatures

Finland sends its own acceptance document, signed by Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, to the U.S. State Department. Finnish President Sauli Vainamo Niinisto authorized Haavisto to sign the document. Either the Finnish Embassy in Washington or a Finnish government official will deliver the document.

Full membership

Once Finland's membership acceptance document reaches the State Department in Washington, the country officially becomes a NATO member.

Finland-Sweden

Finland and neighboring Sweden jointly applied for NATO membership in May 2022. The countries, which have close cultural, economic and political ties, planned to enter the alliance simultaneously.

Swedens bid, however, has stalled due to opposition from Turkey, whose president has said his country wouldnt ratify membership before disputes between Ankara and Stockholm were resolved. The Turkish government has accused Sweden of being too soft on groups that it deems to be terror organizations.

Hungary's parliament also has yet to ratify Sweden's accession to NATO, and it remains unclear when it will do so.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 20:55 | All, Japan

The Japanese government said Friday it will tighten export controls for advanced chip manufacturing equipment, joining U.S.-led efforts that seek to stymie China's ability to develop high-end semiconductors capable of being used for military purposes.

Japan's decision to expand the scope of chip-manufacturing goods that require approval for export, expected to come into force in July, triggered a backlash from Beijing even as Tokyo did not single out the neighboring economic powerhouse as the main target of the restrictions.

"It is to prevent our technology from being diverted for military use," Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told a press conference. "We will fulfill our responsibility to the international community."

In October last year, the United States rolled out a sweeping set of export controls on certain high-end chips that Beijing could use to train artificial intelligence systems and modernize its military while asking Japan and the Netherlands -- in possession of advanced technologies on chip manufacturing -- to follow suit.

Under the plan, which will become official after soliciting public comments, Japan will revise a trade ministry ordinance under the foreign exchange law and add 23 items subject to the restrictions.

The list includes equipment for cleaning, checkups and lithography, a technology used for printing complex patterns on semiconductor wafers, which is essential in producing cutting-edge chips.

About 10 Japanese companies, including Tokyo Electron Ltd., are involved in such equipment manufacturing. But Nishimura said the impact of the new regulations on domestic companies would likely be limited as the export control targets "extremely advanced" technology.

At the same time, the Japanese government will allow a simplified process for exporting the equipment to 42 countries and regions, including the United States, a security ally of Japan, and Taiwan, a key player in the semiconductor industry. China was not among them.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning rapped Japan's move, saying it would "artificially disrupt the stability of the global supply chain."

"Politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing tech and trade issues...would only hurt others as well as oneself," Mao warned.

She also told a press conference that the global supply chain of chips came into being due to market rules and the choices of companies, in criticism of U.S.-led restrictions targeting China.

The latest development came after the Dutch government said earlier this month it plans to introduce stricter controls on lithography technology, with the measure likely to be introduced before the summer.

According to a U.S. government report on supply chains in 2021, the United States possesses a significant share of global production for most types of front-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment, with the notable exception of lithography, which is concentrated in the Netherlands and Japan.

China has objected to the U.S. export restrictions, filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization in December last year alleging that Washington has been "abusing" the use of export control measures in the name of protecting national security.

Related coverage:

Japan eases chipmaking material export curbs on South Korea

Japanese chipmaker Rapidus to build advanced chip plant in Hokkaido

Japan, U.S., South Korea, Taiwan launch 'Chip 4' talks for supply chain
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Russia launches a fresh barrage of missile strikes, exploding drones and bombs across Ukraine. Demands for the release of an American journalist arrested by Russia Thursday. Despite the challenges, Ukrainian women continue to produce their hand-knit collections for major designers.
Oscar Pistorius will remain behind bars, a South African parole board decided Friday, after the double-amputee athlete applied for early release. Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg.

The board said it denied the parole request because Pistorius  once dubbed "The Blade Runner" for his high-tech prosthetics  was not yet eligible and hadn't reached the minimum detention period required.

Pistorius, 36, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the murder of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day 2013.

He said he believed there was an intruder in the house, saying that is why he shot three times through the bathroom door, killing Steenkamp.

The paralympic gold medalist, who also ran in the 2012 London Olympics, has always maintained his story, despite the verdict finding him guilty of murder.

Ahead of the parole hearing in Pretoria, the victim's mother, June Steenkamp, told media she didn't believe Pistorius was "remorseful or rehabilitated."

"While they welcome today's decision, it's not a celebration for them because they still miss Reeva every day but they are pleased that justice has prevailed," Tania Koen, the Steenkamps' lawyer, told VOA.

The board said Pistorius could apply for parole again in August of next year.

Pistorius's lawyer, Julian Knight, told local media he would be "taking this decision on review."
A witness to the March 18 kidnapping of a Haitian American couple on a bus in Haiti has described the abduction to VOA in dramatic detail, explaining that the armed gang responsible first sought to extort money from all the passengers on the bus.

The couple, Abigail and Jean-Dickens Toussaint, are still missing, and family members in Florida say the kidnappers are demanding a ransom of $400,000 for their release.

The witness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the gang, said he was riding on the same bus with the couple when members of the Grand Ravine/Ti Lapli gang boarded it outside the capital, Port-au-Prince.

He said the gang members demanded the driver hand over $1,000 for the bus to be allowed to continue its journey.

When the driver reached Martissant [about 11 kilometers south of Port-au-Prince], he gave them $500 instead. the witness said. The men told him, Hey, you know the price is $1,000 and youre giving us just $500? Go park the bus.'"

He said two gang members then inspected the bus and saw suitcases, indicating travelers from abroad.

They told the driver, Now, youre going to give us $1,000, the man recalled.

The eyewitness said the frightened passengers scrambled to come up with the sum the gang asked for. They collected $700 and handed it over to the gang members.

They told us, We asked you to give us $1,000, and youre coming to us with just $700 now? the witness said.

The passengers returned to the bus and managed to collect an additional $300 among themselves.

When the driver went back to give them [the gang members] the $1,000, they told him to keep the money and go back to the bus, the witness said.

At that point, a black BMW sedan without a license plate drove up to the bus, and one of the men inside ordered the bus driver to follow them.

If the driver had done what he was supposed to do [pay the $1,000 up front], this may not have happened, the eyewitness told VOA.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel confirmed the kidnapping Thursday. Patel told reporters the State Department is in constant contact with Haitian authorities and will continue working with them to secure the couples release.

Nikesse Toussaint, a relative of the couple, told The Associated Press earlier this week that the gang is seeking $400,000. She said the FBI has been in contact with the family and told them they are working to secure the couples release.

President Joe Biden commented on Haitis gang situation during a recent visit to Canada.

The U.S. and Canada are working with the Haitian government and the international community to boost the Haitian National Polices capacity to combat the gangs, Biden said during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on March 24. He said a military force is not off the table, but that is not in play at the moment."

Haitis government has appealed multiple times for an international force to help combat the gangs. Although the idea has been discussed by the United Nations Security Council, the Organization of American States, and the Caribbean Community  CARICOM  no decision has been made.

News of the couples kidnapping spread quickly among the Haitian diaspora and has stoked fears inside the community about the uncontrolled gang violence that has terrorized Haitians inside and outside the country.

In New Yorks Queens neighborhood, Haitians expressed trepidation about expressing their opinions about the kidnapped couple and gang violence for fear that it could have repercussions on their families in Haiti.

I want to go to Haiti, but  its not safe, man, Francisco Jean Pierre told VOA.

He said he has lived in the United States for 21 years and loves to travel to Haiti, but the rampant kidnappings and unrelenting violence scares him.

Carl, who declined to give his last name, criticized the gangs.

No control, no compassion, not even for their own blood, he said.

Marie Elvire Telfort Dorcil, who said she worries about family in Haiti, said whats happening there also troubles Haitians living in the U.S.

The situation affects me. When we hear whats happening back home, it frustrates us a lot, she said. Not only does it make you cry, but it is also scary.

She cited news about children being traumatized and women being raped.

A recent United Nations report estimates that gangs control 60% of Port-au-Prince. Haitians say the actual percentage is much higher. Between Feb. 27 and March 9, 187 people were killed and more than 150 others were injured as rival gangs battled for control of more territory. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes.

Haitian officials say 260 kidnappings have been reported since January 2023.

In Queens, Haitian American Yves Pierre was solemn.

The country is upside down. Its painful for the Haitian diaspora because we left our country, but we havent abandoned it, he told VOA.
The killing of nine Chinese gold mine workers in conflict-ridden Central African Republic this month highlighted the risks some Belt and Road development projects face in volatile areas.



To protect Chinese investments and citizens, Beijing deploys its own private security contractors, but analysts say these companies operate very differently on the continent than Russias notorious Wagner Group.



President Xi Jinping called for those responsible for the March 19 attack by gunmen on a Chinese-run gold mine outside Bambari to be severely punished, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a security alert for its citizens.



The foreign ministry will continue to work closely with other government agencies concerned and subnational governments to do everything possible to protect the safety and security of Chinese nationals and companies in Africa, ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters after the incident.



With thousands of Chinese working in Africa since Xis infrastructure-building push began in 2013, their security and the protection of assets like mines and natural gas projects  as well as railways and shipping routes  have become a key concern for Beijing, said Jasmine Opperman, an independent security consultant based in South Africa.



Chinese workers in Africa also are increasingly targeted by criminal gangs for kidnapping.

All these threats have led to a rise in the number of private military companies (PMCs) or private security companies (PSCs) operating on the continent.



On China PMCs we have to go back to the Belt and Road Initiative," Opperman told VOA. "We have seen a massive deployment of workers, Chinese workers, more specifically infrastructure. Now these investments, like in Sudan, South Sudan, are really in volatile areas, so we have seen a proliferation of Chinese PMCs on the African continent, with a task to protect employees and the infrastructure projects.



Incidents like the one in CAR could now result in more Chinese security companies deployed.



Its about the protection and expansion of Chinese influence, and because of the volatile security situations, we are seeing these PMCs now growing in numbers, said Opperman.



Different than Wagner?



But analysts stress there is a huge difference between Chinese security firms and companies like Wagner Group  which the U.S. Treasury this year designated a transnational criminal organization  or even disgraced and disbanded U.S. company Blackwater, which committed abuses during the Iraq war.



Wagner Group, which has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, has been in the news recently because of the groups deployment of tens of thousands of mercenaries to fight in the war in Ukraine. But its long been operating in destabilized countries in Africa, including CAR and Mali.



Paul Nantulya, a China expert at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, told VOA that Chinese private security companies are not really private at all.



Ninety-nine percent of security contractors in China are ex-Peoples Liberation Army and also ex-special forces and ex-paramilitary police. Theres a level of control, the laws in China are very clear, that the state must have a holding interest in all security firms, he said.



Nantulyas previous research on the topic found that of the 5,000 security firms registered in China, 20 were licensed to operate overseas and reported that they employed 3,200 individual contractors. However, he said he thought the true number was much higher.



Among the companies working on the continent are Beijing DeWe Security Service, Huaxin Zhong An Security Group and China Security Technology Group. In Kenya, DeWe employs around 2,000 security contractors just to protect the $3.6 billion China-built Standard Gauge Railway, according to his study.

However, Nantulya told VOA that Chinese companies work very, very differently from Russian ones like Wagner. Wagner is engaged in combat operations. Its engaged in wars; it supplies a national security adviser in, for instance, the Central African Republic. They become part of the governing architecture. They fight wars on behalf of governments.



The U.S. government said Wagner has meddled and destabilized countries in Africa, committing widespread human rights abuses and extorting natural resources from their people.  Wagner personnel have engaged in an ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity, including mass executions, rape, child abductions and physical abuse in the Central African Republic and Mali.



Asked by VOA whether the U.S. has any concerns about Chinese security contractors operating in Africa, a State Department spokesperson replied: We respect the ability of countries to decide for themselves whether to partner with the PRC. However, we echo the long-standing calls from African capitals that the PRC must respect host country laws and international obligations.



Nantulya noted that most Chinese security contractors  except for those involved in maritime escort missions intended to protect against pirates  are strictly controlled and arent even allowed to be armed.



The Chinese, its a small footprint. According to Chinese law, Chinese contractors are not allowed to go into operations with weapons, so they have to work very closely with host nation security forces. They do a lot of training, they do a lot of capacity building, they supply equipment, they supply intelligence, they supply surveillance and so on, he said.



Opperman said the Chinese security contractors could still have a destabilizing effect.

Though PMCs from China are not allowed to carry weapons, what they are doing is collaborating through private or local security companies or even local militia groups in terms of providing security  by means of collaborating with local militias, youre basically taking sides.



In 2016, more than 300 Chinese oil workers were stranded amid heavy militia fighting in Juba, South Sudan. DeWes unarmed personnel helped to evacuate the Chinese nationals by enlisting armed South Sudanese by enlisting armed South Sudanese as backup. Some of the South Sudanese government-backed militias used by Chinese companies have been accused of committing atrocities.



And there have been incidences of violence, despite the arms ban. In Zimbabwe, two Chinese security contractors were jailed in 2017 for shooting and wounding a politicians son, while in Zambia in 2018, two suspected Chinese security contractors were arrested for providing illegal training and military equipment to a local security firm.



The Chinese Mission to the African Union did not reply to a request for comment.
When Finland becomes a NATO member, it adds a potent military to the alliance and a strategic puzzle piece that can better help defend the alliance's vulnerable eastern flank from potential Russian attack, officials and analysts say.

When President Vladimir Putin launched his war on Ukraine, part of Moscow's justification was the claim that it needed to stop further NATO expansion in its backyard.

But 13 months on, Finland's choice to join means the U.S.-led alliance is now doubling its border with Russia in a move that changes the military calculus from the Baltic region to the Arctic.

"Now Finland needs NATO, but NATO needs Finland as well in the face of an aggressive Russia," said Jamie Shea, a former senior NATO official who is an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank.

"NATO will find collective defense against Russia easier now it has access to Finnish territory and the capabilities Finland brings to the table."

Protecting the Baltics

Alliance military planners have fretted for years over how to protect its three Baltic members, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, from a possible attack by Russia.

Concern focused on the Suwalki Gap, a 65-kilometer strip between the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, where a lightning strike could sever the Baltic allies from the rest of NATO.

Now Finland's membership could help NATO to dominate the Baltic Sea and, with Helsinki less than 70 kilometers across the water from Estonia's capital, Tallinn, provide a new route for reinforcements.

"Finland's accession will strengthen NATO's forward defense and contribute to deterrence by denial," Estonia's Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told AFP.

But he warned "the significance of the Suwalki gap for NATO remains, since Belarus has de facto become Russia's military district," and insisted the alliance needs to push on with plans to reinforce the Baltics.

To the north, having Finland onboard will help the alliance defend the thin strip of Norwegian territory linking to Russia where Moscow could have staged a "fait accompli" assault, said analyst Jan Kallberg.

"Up to this point, NATO air forces have been dependent on a few Norwegian airfields that could be targeted early in a conflict, Finland adds more bases and air strips," said Kallberg, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis.

And as jostling for control in the Artic region involving Russia, China and the West increases, stepping up NATO's footprint on its doorstep will be a major boost.

Prepared for war

Adding an extra 1,300 kilometers to the alliance's land border with Russia will also bring vulnerabilities, and working out how to defend it will pose a challenge for NATO strategists.

While its response to Finland's membership has been more muted than many expected, the Kremlin has pledged to bolster its forces close to the frontier in the coming years.

But with Russia's military bogged down in Ukraine, analysts say it will likely take years for Moscow to rebuild its capacity.

For the time being, Finland is expected to follow neighbor Norway's example and opt not to have forces from NATO allies stationed permanently on its territory.

The country has its own highly capable military.

"Finland is one of the very few European countries that never stopped preparing for a potential war," said Minna Alander, a research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

While other Western European militaries scaled back after the Cold War, Finland stuck to a conscription model fashioned from the bitter experience of the Soviet Union's invasion in 1939.

"That now gives Finland a wartime troop strength up to 280,000 and a total reserve of 870,000," Alander said.

"With 1,500 systems, Finland has one of the largest artilleries in Europe and has been and is continuously investing in air defense."

A last gap

Military officials from its future NATO counterparts point to Finland's winter warfare experience and planned upgrade to the latest U.S. aircraft as key assets.

"On land, they are extremely capable, operating in the harshest of conditions and backed by considerable artillery," a senior Western official told AFP. "In the air, Finland is buying the new F-35 fighter."

Finland's membership does highlight one gap left for NATO  its neighbor Sweden.

Stockholm's application remains blocked by resistance from Turkey and Hungary, meaning that it still cannot be fully integrated into NATO's defense plans.

"The mere fact that Finland comes in will bolster Sweden because it will now be sandwiched between NATO members," Shea said.

"But the hope is still that they will be allowed in as soon as possible," he said.
Grand juries play a central role in the American justice system. They are tasked with listening to evidence presented by prosecutors and witnesses and then deciding, by a secret vote, whether there's enough evidence to charge a person with a felony, which is any criminal offense punishable by at least one year in prison.

Grand juries are required in federal felony prosecutions, and many U.S. states have adopted a similar system. However, in some states, prosecutors can also present their evidence to a judge, who then decides whether someone can be charged with a crime.

Federal grand juries are made up of 16 to 23 members. At least 12 jurors must agree before an indictment  a formal charge  can be brought against someone. Grand jurors are selected from the same pool of ordinary citizens who serve as trial jurors. They are identified from public records such as driver's licenses and voting registries. Grand jurors serve from 18 to 36 months, usually meeting a few times a month, and have the power to question witnesses and issue subpoenas.

"The grand jury system is important in terms of deciding who's going to face criminal charges, but it's also important for involving citizens in the criminal justice system," said Peter Joy, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. "The origins of the grand jury system are based on, in a sense, a certain degree of trying to keep the government honest."

Grand juries were originally conceived as a safeguard against government power, which is why the Founding Fathers wrote them into the U.S. Constitution. But former federal prosecutor Bruce Green isn't convinced the so-called "people's panel" fulfills that function in a meaningful way.

"If the original idea of the Founding Fathers was, as I believe it was, to be a restraint on government power  it's probably not a very effective tool to protect people from prosecution overreaching," Green said. "And there's a pretty significant risk that if the prosecutor gets it in their head that somebody's guilty, they can achieve an indictment whether the person is guilty or not."

Grand juries rarely decline to indict. In 2010, government statistics showed that federal grand juries brought charges more than 99% of the time.

High stakes

While the grand jury might be a rubber stamp in most cases, the panel is more likely to play a meaningful role in cases that draw widespread public attention, Joy said.

"I think it's very likely that prosecutors in presenting the evidence to the grand jury most likely tried to present more evidence than they might in a typical type of case and presented in a way that would be balanced," he said.

Some states require prosecutors to show evidence that the accused might be innocent. However, federal prosecutors are not required to do so.

"The higher the profile the accused has, the greater the likelihood is that the prosecutor really wants to feel that he or she has a solid case, and they're going to want to test out the evidence in a way that would give them increasing confidence in the case that they have," Joy said.

"Because the stakes are high, a smart prosecutor  if there is some contrary evidence that might put into question guilt or innocence  they're likely to use the grand jury as a vetting [testing] process for that."
Five decades ago, a count of tigers in India revealed that their numbers had plummeted from tens of thousands to about 1,800 as they fell prey to recreational hunting or lost habitat to a growing population pressing into forests.

That prompted India to launch one of the world's most ambitious conservation projects. In April 1973, the tiger was declared the country's national animal and protected areas were set up to conserve a species that lies at the top of the food chain. Hunting had been outlawed months earlier.

In its 50 years, Project Tiger has seen many ups and downs. But the nearly 3,000 tigers that now roam India's forests show the mighty cat has been saved from extinction, although conservationists warn that it still counts as an endangered species.

"I rate it as one of the finest examples in the annals of conservation globally. It is not matched anywhere in the magnitude, scale and effort," said Rajesh Gopal, secretary-general of the Global Tiger Forum.

"But we are still very much in project mode because the treasure you are guarding is unlocked and mobile and there is always a new challenge to overcome," he told VOA.

Over the years, the number of sanctuaries has grown from nine to 54 and India is now home to 70% of the world's tigers, which have disappeared from all except 13 countries in South and Southeast Asia.

The battle was not easy. More than 30 years after the project was launched, a census in 2006 rang alarm bells when it indicated that the tiger population had declined to 1,411. The wake-up call led authorities to refocus strategies to save the species.

A major threat to tigers was the rampant poaching of the predator as rising affluence in China and East Asian countries fueled growing demand for tiger parts used in traditional Chinese medicine.

But increased surveillance and better technology paid dividends in checking the thriving illegal trade in tigers and, while poaching has not ended, it no longer poses a significant threat, according to wildlife experts.

They say, though, that the challenges over the next 50 years could be greater than those of the past half century. The most pressing is the risk to tiger habitats from the ever-growing demand for land and resources in a rapidly developing country.

"There is the enormous pressure of the economic transformation of India  the building of highways, roads and mines that are cutting off access to what once used to be wildlife corridors along which tigers moved unhindered between forest landscapes in search of territory," said Mahesh Rangarajan, professor of environmental studies and history at Ashoka University in Haryana.

"This also raises a biological challenge  the danger of inbreeding of tiger populations as some of these reserves get cut off from one another," he said.

While tiger habitats have been secured, coexistence of the world's second-largest population in a densely packed country of 1.4 billion with the world's largest tiger population is not easy. Even though hundreds of villages have been relocated from sanctuaries to make space for the tigers, many parks are adjacent to human settlements into which tigers sometimes stray, resulting in increasing incidents of human-tiger conflict.

"A third of the tigers are still living outside protected areas and their prey often becomes livestock due to dwindling prey species due to hunting in the forests," Rangarajan said.

"There have been many incidents of tiger attacks on humans and also the reverse, that is the killing of tigers by villagers in retaliation. This needs serious redressal."

Some conservationists also question whether the single-minded focus on tigers needs to be broadened and say the tiger should be seen as a symbol of sustainable development.

"When we launched the project, the vision was that the tiger was a means to an end, to utilize it as an iconic flagship species to save something much more valuable than the tiger itself  the diverse habitat of which the tiger is an integral part but not its only representative," said M.K. Ranjitsinh, who was the country's first wildlife preservation director and was associated with Project Tiger.

"The project has been a success, but the focus is now too species-centric. We judge a wildlife reserve by the number of tigers it holds instead of seeing whether the entire ecosystem, the other species and flora and fauna in the park, are also flourishing," Ranjitsinh said.

Experts say that in coming decades, the focus should be on stabilizing the tiger population rather than increasing numbers.

"The tiger reserves are already reaching their carrying capacity. If we try to increase the tiger population beyond a point, we will land in a situation where we will be grappling with other problems such as more incidents of tiger-human conflict," said Gopal, who headed Project Tiger for several years. "We don't want the tiger to gain a pest value. We have to balance the needs of the tiger with that of more than a billion people."

India will reveal the results of the latest tiger census during a three-day event starting April 9 to commemorate 50 years of the project.

Regardless of the numbers, though, conservationists say India is now indisputably the world's greatest tiger stronghold.
Indonesia and Russia signed an extradition agreement Friday to strengthen cooperation against transnational crimes. It is the first extradition agreement Indonesia has reached with a European country.

Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly said, This agreement is a very important step because it will help Indonesia to take legal actions in combating transnational crimes, ranging from cybercrime, money laundering, narcotics, corruption and others.

He did not elaborate on the details of the agreement or any specific figure that was targeted by Indonesia or Russia. But he added, Although the mechanism for repatriating the perpetrators of criminal acts can also be carried out through deportation and immigration cooperation, this extradition cooperation will remain the main option because it's formal and binding [to] us.

The extradition agreement is a continuation of the mutual legal assistance agreement (MLA) in criminal matters that was signed in Moscow on December 13, 2019.

After having [the] MLA, and now followed by [the] extradition agreement, it will further strengthen our cooperation, said Yasonna.

Indonesia has had diplomatic ties with Russia since 1950 and its relations have remained good despite the war in Ukraine.

In a press statement sent by the Russian Embassy in Jakarta to VOA, Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko said having the extradition treaty with Indonesia was an important step for us in fighting transnational crime, protecting crime victims, and restoring justice and security.

He said the agreement would address a number of issues in interstate legal cooperation and prospects for cooperation in the legal assistance in civil and commercial matters, the transfers of prisoners and improvement of regulation in nonprofit sectors.

In his speech, Yasonna referred to Russias strategic position as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, the Group of 20 large economies and the Eurasian Economic Union that he hopes can also help Indonesia in building its reputation and credibility in terms of security and law enforcement, as well as open a wider network of cooperation with countries that have already had cooperation with Russia.

The signing of this extradition agreement was in line with President Joko Widodos directive to make Indonesia a member of the Financial Action Task Force to assist and maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system and law enforcement, which focuses on eradicating money laundering as well as the financing of terrorist activity.
U.S. lawmakers and officials are ratcheting up threats to ban TikTok, saying the Chinese-owned video-sharing app used by millions of Americans poses a threat to privacy and U.S. national security.

But free speech advocates and legal experts say an outright ban would likely face a constitutional hurdle: the First Amendment right to free speech.

If passed by Congress and enacted into law, a nationwide ban on TikTok would have serious ramifications for free expression in the digital sphere, infringing on Americans First Amendment rights and setting a potent and worrying precedent in a time of increased censorship of internet users around the world, a coalition of free speech advocacy organizations wrote in a letter to Congress last week, urging a solution short of an outright ban.

The plea came as U.S. lawmakers grilled TikTok CEO Shou Chew over concerns the Chinese government could exploit the platforms user data for espionage and influence operations in the United States.

TikTok, which bills itself as a platform for free expression and a modern-day version of the town square, says it has more than 150 million users in the United States.

But the platform is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company, and U.S. officials have raised concerns that the Chinese government could utilize the apps user data to influence and spy on Americans.

Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said while there are legitimate privacy and national security concerns about TikTok, the First Amendment implications of a ban so far have received little public attention.

If nothing else, its important for that to be a significant part of the conversation, Terr said in an interview. Its important for people to consider alongside national security concerns.

To be sure, the First Amendment is not absolute. There are types of speech that are not protected by the amendment. Among them: obscenity, defamation and incitement.

But the Supreme Court has also made it clear there are limits on how far the government can go to regulate speech, even when it involves a foreign adversary or when the government argues that national security is at stake.

In a landmark 1965 case, the Supreme Court invalidated a law that prevented Americans from receiving foreign mail that the government deemed was communist political propaganda.

In another consequential case involving a defamation lawsuit brought against The New York Times, the court ruled that even an erroneous statement enjoyed some constitutional protection.

And thats relevant because here, one of the reasons that Congress is concerned about TikTok is the potential that the Chinese government could use it to spread disinformation, said Caitlin Vogus, deputy director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, one of the signatories of the letter to Congress.

Proponents of a ban deny a prohibition would run afoul of the First Amendment.

This is not a First Amendment issue, because we're not trying to ban booty videos, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a longtime critic of TikTok, said on the Senate floor on Monday.

ByteDance, TikToks parent company, is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party, Rubio said.

So, if the Communist Party goes to ByteDance and says, 'We want you to use that algorithm to push these videos on Americans to convince them of whatever,' they have to do it. They don't have an option, Rubio said.

The Biden administration has reportedly demanded that ByteDance divest itself from TikTok or face a possible ban.

TikTok denies the allegations and says it has taken measures to protect the privacy and security of its U.S. user data.

Rubio is sponsoring one of several competing bills that envision different pathways to a TikTok ban.

A House bill called the Deterring Americas Technological Adversaries Act would empower the president to shut down TikTok.

A Senate bill called the RESTRICT Act would authorize the Commerce Department to investigate information and communications technologies to determine whether they pose national security risks.

This would not be the first time the U.S. government has attempted to ban TikTok.

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring a national emergency that would have effectively shut down the app.

In response, TikTok sued the Trump administration, arguing that the executive order violated its due process and First Amendment rights.

While courts did not weigh in on the question of free speech, they blocked the ban on the grounds that Trumps order exceeded statutory authority by targeting informational materials and personal communication.

Allowing the ban would "have the effect of shutting down, within the United States, a platform for expressive activity used by about 700 million individuals globally," including more than 100 million Americans, federal judge Wendy Beetlestone wrote in response to a lawsuit brought by a group of TikTok users.

A fresh attempt to ban TikTok, whether through legislation or executive action, would likely trigger a First Amendment challenge from the platform, as well as its content creators and users, according to free speech advocates. And the case could end up before the Supreme Court.

In determining the constitutionality of a ban, courts would likely apply a judicial review test known as an intermediate scrutiny standard, Vogus said.

It would still mean that any ban would have to be justified by an important governmental interest and that a ban would have to be narrowly tailored to address that interest, Vogus said. And I think that those are two significant barriers to a TikTok ban.

But others say a content-neutral ban would pass Supreme Court muster.

To pass content-neutral laws, the government would need to show that the restraint on speech, if any, is narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest and leaves open reasonable alternative avenues for expression, Joel Thayer, president of the Digital Progress Institute, wrote in a recent column in The Hill online newspaper.

In Congress, even as the push to ban TikTok gathers steam, there are lone voices of dissent.

One is progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Another is Democratic Representative Jamal Bowman, himself a prolific TikTok user.

Opposition to TikTok, Bowman said, stems from hysteria whipped up by a Red scare around China.

Our First Amendment gives us the right to speak freely and to communicate freely, and TikTok as a platform has created a community and a space for free speech for 150 million Americans and counting, Bowman, who has more than 180,000 TikTok followers, said recently at a rally held by TikTok content creators.

Instead of singling out TikTok, Bowman said, Congress should enact new legislation to ensure social media users are safe and their data secure.
Israeli airstrikes hit the suburbs of Syria's capital city early Friday for the second day in a row, killing an Iranian adviser, the state media of Syria and Iran reported.

Loud explosions were heard over Damascus shortly after midnight Thursday, according to residents in the capital and the state news agency SANA. The airstrikes came after similar attacks early Thursday.

SANA said Syrian air defenses confronted "hostile targets," adding that the strike caused material damage. SANA said some of the Israeli missiles were shot down by air defenses.

Iran's state television reported Friday that Milad Heidari, an Iranian military adviser, was killed during what it called a "criminal strike" by Israel early Friday morning in Syria. Without giving Heidari's rank, the report called him a "guard of Islam." The outlet said he was a member of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and warned Israel will receive an answer for the crime.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strikes targeted an arms depot for government forces and Iran-backed groups just south of Damascus.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges specific operations.

Israel says it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces.

An Israeli airstrike last week targeting the airport in Aleppo put it out of commission for two days.

Israel has also struck seaports in government-held areas of Syria, in an apparent attempt to prevent Iranian arms shipments to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Hezbollah.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 12:33 | All, World

The U.S. government said Thursday that North Korean officials tried to sell more than 20 types of weapons and munitions to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine.

The Treasury Department said it has sanctioned a Slovakian man for attempting to coordinate the transaction between late 2022 and early 2023 which would have seen raw materials, commercial aircraft and other items shipped to North Korea as payment.

"Today's action is a clear message that the United States will not relent in targeting those who provide support to Russia's aggression and brutal war against Ukraine," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

With the action, all U.S. assets of the Slovakian broker, Ashot Mkrtychev, will be frozen and any financial dealings with him will effectively be blocked.

This is the first time sanctions have been imposed in response to a Russian bid to secure weapons from North Korea, according to Blinken.

The White House said late last year North Korea assisted Russia's military operations against Ukraine by providing weapons and ammunition to the Wagner Group, a mercenary force fighting for the Kremlin.

Satellite imagery was released by the U.S. government in January which it said shows Russian railcars traveling to North Korea on Nov. 18 and returning to Russia the following day with containers.

U.S. officials said they have not confirmed any link between the latest case and the transfer involving Wagner.

"We have not at this time, beyond which had been previously announced beyond the shipment that Wagner Group had previously arranged for," Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder said. "But it's, again, something we continue to keep a close eye on."

Related coverage:

North Korea's Kim orders expansion of weapons-grade nuke material output

North Korea says it tested new underwater nuclear attack drone

North Korea touts "strengthened" Russia cooperation in message to Putin
New developments:

Russian UNSC presidency is a slap in the face to the international community, said Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba in a tweet .

. On Saturday, Russia took over the presidency of the U.N.'s top security body, which rotates every month. The last time Moscow held the post was in February 2022, when its troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine's top security agency notified Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of famed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Orthodox monastery that he was suspected of justifying Russia's aggression, a criminal offense. The Metropolitan refuses to vacate the religious site.

A new $2.6 billion U.S. military aid package that could include air surveillance radars, anti-tank rockets and fuel trucks for Ukraine could be announced next week, U.S. officials say.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu promised during a visit to Moscow to boost munitions supplies to Russian forces in Ukraine, according to footage published by the Defense Ministry on Saturday on Telegram.

A Ukrainian spring counteroffensive could begin anytime now, Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov said last week. According to the Associated Press, Kyiv is gearing up for a long fight, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is working to keep troops and civilians motivated.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Zelenskyy said Western help has been vital in strengthening Ukraines resistance and in shaping the course of the war, now in its 13th month of intense fighting with no negotiated peace in sight.

The Ukrainian military starts the spring with an influx of powerful weapons. Germany said this week it had delivered the 18 Leopard 2 tanks it promised to Ukraine. Poland, Canada and Norway have also handed over their pledged Leopard tanks.



Additionally, British Challenger tanks have arrived, while Ukraines defense minister says he hopes Western partners will supply at least two battalions of the German-made Leopard 2s by April. He expects six or seven battalions of Leopard 1 tanks, with ammunition, from a coalition of countries. About 80 tanks make up a battalion.



The U.S. pledged Abrams tanks, and France promised light tanks, along with training of Ukrainian soldiers.



More aid

A new $2.6 billion U.S. military aid package that could include air surveillance radars, anti-tank rockets and fuel trucks for Ukraine's fight against Russia is expected to be announced as soon as Monday, U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Friday.

A half-dozen types of munitions, including tank munitions, are also expected to be on the list of equipment that could be finalized this weekend. The officials added that the dollar amount and specific equipment in the package could change.

Also slated for inclusion were precision aerial munitions, bridging equipment Ukraine would use to assault Russian positions, recovery vehicles to help disabled heavy equipment such as tanks, and additional rounds for NASAMS air defenses that the U.S. and allies have given Kyiv.

Faltering offensive

According to the British Defense Ministrys daily intelligence update on Ukraine, Russia has made only marginal gains. The ministry reported that the Russian chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, has failed to stage a general winter offensive in Ukraine with the aim of extending Russian control of the whole of the Donbas region.

Gerasimov took command of the special military operation in Ukraine, the report said, but 80 days on, it is increasingly apparent that this project has failed at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties and largely squandering its temporary advantage in personnel gained for the autumns partial mobilization.

During a visit to Moscow, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu promised to boost munitions supplies to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, according to footage published by the Defense Ministry on Saturday.

Shoigu has in recent months come under bitter criticism from hard-line advocates of Russia's campaign in Ukraine, including Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, who have accused him of failing to supply sufficient munitions to troops on the frontline.



Slap in the Face

In his nightly video address on Saturday, Zelenskyy said it is absurd that Russia has assumed the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council, adding is showed the U.N.s "total bankruptcy."

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba also called Russias UNSC presidency a slap in the face to the international community.

The U.S. on Thursday urged Russia to conduct itself professionally, saying there was no means to block Moscow from the post.

The Kremlin said Friday it planned to "exercise all its rights" in the role.

Nuclear risk



"The risk of a nuclear weapon being used is currently higher than at any time since the depths of the Cold War," Izumi Nakamitsu, U.N. high representative for disarmament affairs, said Friday. "The war in Ukraine represents the most acute example of that risk," she said.

Nakamitsu said the lack of dialogue and the erosion of the disarmament and arms control agreements combined with dangerous rhetoric and veiled threats could potentially lead to nuclear escalation.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatened Friday that Belarus could host intercontinental nuclear missiles on its soil in addition to the tactical nuclear weapons its Russian ally and neighbor has decided to station in Belarus.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release American journalist Evan Gershkovich from custody.

Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was detained in Yekaterinburg, a city about 800 miles from the Russian capital, on accusations of espionage. His media outlet has denied those allegations.

A Moscow court on Friday ordered Gershkovich to be held in pre-trial detention until May 29.

When Biden was asked by reporters if he had a message for Russia on Gershkovichs case, the president responded, Let him go.

Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke about the case during her visit to Zambia, telling reporters the administration was deeply concerned.

We will not tolerate  and condemn, in fact  repression of journalists, Harris said.

The Journals editorial board said Thursday in an op-ed piece that neither the paper nor U.S. government officials had been allowed contact with Gershkovich since his arrest.

In the column, the Journal said that FSB agents snatched the 31-year-old while he was on assignment in Yekaterinburg.

The media outlet questioned whether the arrest was made in response to the U.S. Justice Department's filing of charges in March against Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, a Russian accused of operating in the U.S. as an illegal agent for Kremlin intelligence services.

A criminal complaint said Cherkasov pretended to be a student from Brazil to fraudulently gain a visa to enter the U.S.

VOA emailed the Russian Embassy in Washington for comment but as of the publication of this story had not received a response.

The U.S. said Thursday that it had been in direct contact with the Russian government about Gershkovichs arrest.

The Journal on Thursday said it thought the U.S. should respond to Gershkovichs arrest by expelling the Russian ambassador and any Russian journalists working in the U.S.

Biden told reporters on Friday, "That's not the plan right now."

In 2020, then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. would limit the number of visas open to staff at Chinese media outlets. In announcing the move, he cited the increased surveillance and harassment of American reporters in China.

The statement came after Beijing expelled three Journal correspondents.

Media rights groups at the time, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, warned against a "tit for tat" response and called for the U.S. to not adopt "authoritarian tactics.

Increased tensions

Andrey Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told VOA that Gershkovichs arrest reflected a general deterioration of relations with the West.

This is a signal both to [international] reporters who are still working in Russia with three-month accreditations from the Foreign Ministry and to local dissidents, Kolesnikov told VOAs Russian Service. It also aims to increase the general atmosphere of fear and suspicion, to create an exchange fund with the West.

Kolesnikov said it appeared that Gershkovich was in the wrong place at the wrong time, adding that Moscow is always in need of individuals that it can exchange for Russians who are detained overseas.

More than 30 international and U.S. news outlets and advocacy groups on Friday issued a letter to Russias ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, demanding Gershkovichs release.

The organizations said Russia should ensure that the journalist has immediate access to an attorney provided by his employer and asked for confirmation of his well-being.

Gershkovichs unwarranted and unjust arrest is a significant escalation in your governments anti-press actions," the letter read. "Russia is sending the message that journalism within your borders is criminalized and that foreign correspondents seeking to report from Russia do not enjoy the benefits of the rule of law.

The Kremlin said Friday that journalists with official media accreditation could still work in Russia.

"All journalists who have valid accreditation here  I mean foreign journalists  can and do continue their journalistic activity in the country. They do not face any restrictions and are working fine," said spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Gershkovich, who has worked in Russia as a journalist since 2017, had official accreditation.

No published evidence

Moscow has said that Gershkovich was carrying out espionage "under the cover" of journalism. It has not published evidence to back up that claim, Reuters reported.

David Satter, a former Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times and contributor to the Journal, said he thought Russia could have several motives for the arrest.

They may want to use [Gershkovich] as some type of future trade or, on the contrary, they may want to harass the United States, said Satter.



Satter in 2014 became the first U.S. correspondent to be barred from Russia since the Cold War. At the time, he was working as an adviser to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Another reason for the Journal reporters arrest, Satter told VOA, could be to deter newsgathering.

I think that the core reason here is to make sure that the Russian population doesn't start providing truthful information to Western journalists about losses, about the collapse of the economy, about demoralization, he said.

Conditions for journalists in Russia declined swiftly after the country invaded Ukraine, with Moscow issuing new laws and regulations on how they could cover the war. The increased pressure resulted in many local journalists moving their operations into exile.

Foreign correspondents have previously reported being followed while on assignment in Russia, especially when reporting outside the main cities. And data from the Committee to Protect Journalists showed at least 19 local journalists detained for their work in the country as of late 2022.

'Direct threat'

The U.S.-based James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which advocates for American hostages, issued a statement saying that Gershkovichs unjust detention  is a direct threat to media freedom in Russia and beyond.

The founder's president, Diane Foley, told VOA the arrest was "a new low for diplomatic relations between Russia and our country."

"What's frightening is it's going to create more and more black holes around the world where journalists are not going to go and dare report," she added.

The foundation, created in memory of Foley's son Jim  an American journalist killed by Islamic State militants in Syria  said that at least four U.S. nationals were currently being held in Russia, including former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained for 1,553 days.

Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence at a Russian penal colony after being convicted of espionage.



VOAs Russian Service and Lori Lundin contributed to this report. Some information came from Reuters.
Malawis government has told refugees and asylum-seekers to relocate to the countrys lone refugee camp by April 15 or face forced eviction from their homes.

The Ministry of Homeland Security said in a statement Thursday that the new deadline followed the expiration of the February 1 deadline the government set last year for about 8,000 refugees who had settled outside the Dzaleka refugee camp.

Ken Zikhale Ngoma, Malawi's minister of homeland security, said the latest move was in line with Malawis encampment policy, which prohibits refugees from staying outside a refugee camp.

Ngoma said the Dzaleka camp in central Malawi has facilities that meet international standards for all refugees and asylum-seekers, including primary and secondary schools, a health center and a public market.

Raphael Ndabagha, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, disputes that.

Ndabagha lived outside the Dzaleka camp before returning ahead of the February 1 deadline. "The advantage of living in the city, you have many more opportunities than the camp," he said. "In the city, if you are a businessperson, you can open a shop and you are able to make a living, because you can make income, you can prosper.

Ndabagha said that in the city, his three children were able to go to better schools than those in and around the refugee camp.

Kenyi Emanuel Lukajo, associate external relations and reporting officer for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR in Malawi, told VOA on Friday that the agency would comment officially on the new deadline later.

However, the UNHCR had previously expressed concerns when the Malawi government issued the first relocation order in August 2022.

The refugee agency said in a statement that the relocation would result in extreme pressure on the camps already inadequate health services, water, shelter and sanitation.

But the Malawi government said in its new order that refugees were already given ample time to make necessary arrangements for the relocation.

It warned that those resisting the new deadline would be forcefully evicted from their homes.

Business operators in Malawi have long threatened to forcefully evict refugees from market areas, saying they are bringing unnecessary competition in terms of prices of goods.

Teneson Mulimbula, general secretary for an association of small-business operators in Malawi, said, If you go to their shops you will find that there is stock, farm produce items like beans, rice, peas, which they receive at Dzaleka refugee camp. And just because they receive them freely, they start selling them at a lower price.

But some refugee traders, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, denied that they were selling items from the refugee camp.

The government said state agencies such as the Malawi Police Service and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services would be involved in the relocation.

It added that any person or group found to be harassing refugees or asylum-seekers would be arrested.

Dzaleka is home to refugees and asylum-seekers from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Somalia.

The camp was meant to accommodate about 10,000 refugees but now is home to more than 50,000.
Malaysias top court said Friday it will not review its 2022 graft conviction of former Prime Minister Najib Razak on charges stemming from the multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad or 1MDB.

Najibs legal maneuvering on Friday was his last legal recourse, but he has, however, applied for a royal pardon, which, if granted, would have him out of prison without serving his full 12-year term.

Najibs legal woes began after investigators discovered that $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, during Najibs first year in office, with more than $1 billion going to accounts linked to him. Najib is the co-founder of 1MDB.

Najib was found guilty in 2020 of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering for illegally receiving about $10 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. He lost all his appeals.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
For the first time, Mozambique's Defense Minister Cristovao Chume has asked foreign military personnel stationed in the country to share their knowledge with Mozambique's security forces to help end violent extremism.

Chume told reporters Thursday in Maputo that his country wants the new military attaches of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Portugal and Ukraine to share their experiences to aid the fight against the Islamist insurgency that has raged in oil-rich Cabo Delgado province since 2017.

In the past, officials have said the situation in Cabo Delgado was under control.



Chume said the African continent is faced with the challenges of terrorism and other transnational crimes, which require a collective effort by states to eradicate. He asked that the new defense attaches work to streamline the ongoing cooperation between nations and discuss new opportunities that are of common interest to them all.

Mozambique has not been open about requesting assistance to fight the insurgency, mainly fought between militant Islamists and jihadists attempting to establish an Islamic state in the region, and Mozambican security forces.

Civilians, public institutions and private vehicles have been the main targets of terrorist attacks.

Chume said a multifaceted approach that consists of a military response and the implementation of local development programs in the affected areas is needed to eradicate terrorism.



In the military response, he said, the government has the support of the Defense Forces of Rwanda and of the regional Southern African Development Community's mission. Likewise, he said, the country is benefiting from the support in terms of training provided by the United States and European Union, which has increased the combat capacity of Mozambique's defense and security forces.

Meanwhile, in New York on Thursday, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi told a meeting of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission that Mozambique, with the help of other countries, needs to do more to fight terrorists.

Mozambique holds the rotating U.N. Security Council presidency for March and Nyusi was reported by state-run Radio Mozambique as saying fighting continues in Cabo Delgado.

Terrorism is not yet over in Mozambique, he said, and though the terrorists are fragile, they are active, looking for new ways of acting and trying to win the minds of the population, especially young people.

The insurgency has claimed thousands of lives since it broke out in 2017 and has disrupted multibillion-dollar natural gas projects.
Regulations from Ukraine covering media access to the front lines of the war have drawn criticism from reporters and media advocates who say the rules are not proportionate with the dangers for war correspondents.

Two of Ukraines operational commands, in the countrys east and south, released new rules in March governing how media can operate in areas under their control.

The rules bar journalists from working in red zones deemed the most dangerous and require a military press officers escort to work in less dangerous yellow zones.

Journalists can work freely in "green zones." And commanders will have discretion to allow reporters access to red zones in certain circumstances, according to local media.

Restrictions 'worrying'

But media watchdogs have said that the new regulations mean journalists are now denied access to over 50 municipalities in Ukraine.

Its worrying that such a decision can be made to restrict the access of journalists, said Jeanne Cavelier, the Eastern Europe expert for media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, or RSF. Its in [Ukraines] interest to facilitate reporting on the war.

At least one command later removed the order from its website, Cavelier told VOA.

Officials are advising journalists to connect with press officers directly when planning an assignment to know in which color it is, if theyre allowed [access] or not, said Cavelier.

The order is part of amendments to regulations under martial law governing how journalists can work.

All military commanders are now required to classify the territories under their control into separate zones.

Ukraines Washington embassy did not reply to VOAs email requesting comment.

VOA emailed the Ukraine Ministry of Defense on Friday to ask whether the rules are now being enforced, and for its response to media concerns. At publishing time for this article, VOA had not received a response.

A Ministry of Defense statement provided to the advocacy group the Committee to Protect Journalists said, however, that the rules are meant to improve interaction with representatives of the mass media while working in combat areas.

Media risks

Russias invasion of Ukraine has made the country one of the deadliest for journalists. More than a dozen local and foreign correspondents have been killed there in the past year while on assignment.

The war also attracted large numbers of freelance journalists, many of whom were unfamiliar with working in conflict zones.

The thing about war is the situation can change day to day and even hour to hour, said Clothilde Redfern, director of the Rory Peck Trust, an organization that supports freelance journalists.

The situation in Ukraine is changing all the time, and up-to-date, accurate in-country information is crucial for journalists safety, she said.

Other media experts told VOA they thought the restrictions were excessive and not commensurate with the risks for journalists.

Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, told VOA that "the new rules of military accreditation should not completely stop coverage of this war." He added that areas should be considered red zones only if reporting is impossible there because of the conflict.

Skepticism on safety

Oksana Romaniuk, the head of the Institute of Mass Information, a local press freedom group, said the restrictions appeared to be about safety, but she said she thought they were more about control.

We do not think that it is connected with the desire to make the work of journalists safer. It is, rather, connected with the desire to make everything work like the army, she told VOA from Kyiv.

Romaniuk said she thought Ukraines north and west operational commands had developed similar rules but had not yet published them because of the criticism of the other commands policies.

Theyre too rigid, Karol Luczka said of the rules. Luczka, who focuses on Ukraine for the International Press Institute, a media rights organization, said, There shouldnt be a pre-established list of places which are excluded to journalists.

Access should really only be based on the situation on the ground, on an ad hoc basis, Luczka said.

Cavelier, of RSF, said its important that the Ukrainian government balance journalist safety with the freedom to report. We understand that some parts of the front line  very hot areas  are forbidden for journalists, she said, but that doesnt mean journalists should be barred entirely.

Details on the new regulations have also been unclear, analysts said, with zone lists on some fronts incomplete. This has added to the confusion and frustration, Cavelier said.

Military escorts  which Ukraines Institute of Mass Information said are in short supply  are also supposed to escort reporters in yellow zones, but some journalists already live and work in yellow zones full time. That has led to questions about how a journalist based in one of those areas is supposed to operate.

Alongside the war on the ground in Ukraine is a battleground on the internet, with disinformation pushed out in an effort to influence opinion.

Journalists in Ukraine are crucial to countering Russian disinformation, said IPIs Luczka. In order to ensure that the world continues to trust Ukraine in terms of what is going on on the front lines, journalists need to be present.

The ultimate consequence, said Romaniuk, is that some stories may never be told.

Reporting that, for the past year, has documented crimes and informed people about the plight of Ukraines people will now be harder to achieve.

For us, it is extremely important to tell the world, because people are dying every day, Romaniuk said. It is the only thing that gives us hope and gives us strength and resilience.
Supporters of Nigeria's ruling party are calling on the Department of State Services, often referred to as Nigerias secret police, to name the politicians the agency says are plotting to set up an interim government to prevent the handover of power to president-elect Bola Tinubu.

Opposition parties continue to reject the outcome of the February presidential election in which Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared the winner.

Felix Muoka, national publicity secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, told VOA Thursday that the APC has yet to officially react to reports of a threat to the nations democracy.

The secret police, in a statement late Wednesday, said some Nigerian politicians were plotting to institute an interim government ahead of May 29 when President Muhammadu Buhari is due to hand over power to president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Department of State Services said the politicians are trying to "sponsor endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of State of Emergency and obtain frivolous court injunctions to forestall the inauguration of new executive administrations."

The DSS did not name politicians involved in the interim government plot but pledged to take legal measures against them.

The declaration of Tinubu as president-elect last month was rejected by the opposition People's Democratic Party and Labour Party.

Both parties have challenged the outcome in court and have been speaking to local television stations, calling Tinubu's election illegal.

Muoka voiced support for the DSS.

"There's been quite a lot of incendiary statements made by leaders of the opposition, in particular, leaders of the Labour Party, Muoka said. I think it is absolutely wrong and unpatriotic and in fact almost teetering on the edge of treasonable felony to instigate civil disobedience that may bring the country into severe crisis.

Muoka added that the DSS is within its statutory authority to make arrests if it decides threats are sufficient.

I am certain that the DSS will do everything within its authority to keep the peace in Nigeria, he said.

Observers say the February elections lacked transparency. There were numerous reports of violence, voter intimidation and technical problems that caused delays.

But the DSS said in its statement the election was peaceful and that it is the alleged plot by politicians that could plunge Nigeria into crisis.

A civil society group, the Free Nigeria Movement, has been holding daily demonstrations in the capital to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, and Nigerian authorities to review the February and March elections.

Tochukwu Ezeoke is a Labour Party presidential campaign member who took part in the protest. He said the protests are not politically motivated and that the DSS is applying a double standard.

"We're a group of Nigerians who have come together and are demanding that the right things be done, Ezeoke said. To be honest with you I'd say it smacks of hypocrisy that when something is coming from the ruling party they all feign ignorance. But on the other side when the citizens march the streets, then we get strokes. We are law-abiding citizens, if they want to arrest us, so be it."

Paul James, elections program officer at YIAGA Africa, a nonprofit promoting democracy, said the timing of the DSS statement is suspicious. He said people are demanding what they said didnt represent their wishes and aspirations and is worried about the timing of the DSS statement.

To the best that I know they have not constituted any nuisance, he said about protesters.

Last week, the ruling party's presidential campaign spokesman and labor minister Festus Keyamo filed a complaint with the DSS about the opposition party's commentaries on local television stations.

The petition came after the Labour Party's vice presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti-Ahmed, told a station that Tinubu's election was a sham and said he must not be sworn in.
Reaction to the indictment of Donald Trump, the first of a former U.S. president, was predictable in the hothouse of divisive American politics. His fellow Republicans assailed the prosecutor for what they claimed was a purely partisan attack, while Democrats contended that no one should be allowed to stand above the law.

Even Republicans eyeing a 2024 run against Trump for the partys presidential nomination came to his defense after a New York grand jury indicted Trump on charges linked to his $130,000 hush money payment in 2016 to an adult film actress to silence her about an alleged affair she claimed to have had with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has long denied the claim by the porn star, Stormy Daniels.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not announced a 2024 presidential bid but nationally polls second behind Trump for the nomination, on Twitter accused New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, of deploying the legal system to advance a political agenda that he said turns the rule of law on its head.

DeSantis said he would not work with New York officials to extradite Trump from Florida to face the charges, although it may not be an issue in any event. Trumps lawyer has said the former president would fly to New York to turn himself in.

Nikki Haley, Trumps former ambassador to the United Nations who has announced her 2024 run for the presidency, said of the indictment, This is more about revenge than it is justice.

Mike Pompeo, a secretary of state during Trumps administration and another possible presidential contender, accused the prosecutor of playing politics.

South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott, yet another possible candidate, said in a statement, This pro-criminal New York DA has failed to uphold the law for violent criminals, yet weaponized the law against political enemies. This is a travesty, and it should not be happening in the greatest country on Earth.

Longtime Democratic foes of Trump took a different tack, saying no one should be able to escape prosecution if wrongdoing was alleged but should have their day in court to answer the charges.

Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, wrote on Twitter, The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence.

Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right, she added.

The Democratic Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said in a statement: Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law. There should be no outside political influence, intimidation or interference in the case. I encourage both Mr. Trumps critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law.

Reactions to the news on the streets of New York were mixed.

Finally. He should have been indicted on a million things and he hes finally being indicted on something. Its about time! said New York resident Caroline.

Another New York resident named Oscar said he believes the indictment will help Trumps reelection bid. This is probably what they want  the Trump campaign wants this. Its free marketing. Hes going to be out there. If he wins  hey, I won! Vote for me!

James, from Connecticut, said he believes the indictment strengthens the rule of law. I think that this indictment shows that we live in a civil society and that nobody is above the law. And hopefully, if he did commit crimes, then hell be held accountable for that.

Steve, a Chicago resident, had a different point of view. I think its a silly charge. America can spend more time on more important things than chasing a rat around the kitchen that  really he is not a rat hes actually a person who has done a tremendous amount for this country.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press.
New data is suggesting at least some U.S. adversaries are taking advantage of the hugely popular TikTok video-sharing app for influence operations.

A report Thursday by the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) finds Russia "has been using the app to push its own narrative in its effort to undermine Western support for Ukraine.

"Based on our analysis, some users are engaging more with Russian state media than other, more reputable independent news outlets on the platform," according to the report by the U.S.-based election security advocate that tracks official state actors and state-backed media.

"More TikTok users follow RT than The New York Times," it said.

The ASD report found that as of March 22, there were 78 Russian-funded news outlets on TikTok with a total of more than 14 million followers.

It also found that despite a commitment from TikTok to label the accounts as belonging to state-controlled media, 31 of the accounts were not labeled.

Yet even labeling the accounts seemed to have little impact on their ability to gain an audience.

"By some measures, including the performance of top posts, labeled Russian state media accounts are reaching larger audiences on TikTok than other platforms," the report said. "RIA Novosti's top TikTok post so far in 2023 has more than 5.6 million views. On Twitter, its top post has fewer than 20,000 views."

The report on Russian state medias use of TikTok comes as U.S. officials are again voicing concern about the potential for TikTok to be used for disinformation campaigns and foreign influence operations.

"Just a tremendous number of people in the United States use TikTok," John Plumb, the principal cyber adviser to the U.S. secretary of defense, told members of a House Armed Services subcommittee, warning of "the control China may have to direct information through it" and use it as a "misinformation platform."

"This provides a foreign nation a platform for information operations," U.S. Cyber Command's General Paul Nakasone added, noting that TikTok has 150 million users in the United States.

"One-third of the adult population receives their news from this app," he said. "One-sixth of our children are saying they're constantly on this app."

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has sought to push back against the concerns.

"Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country," TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told U.S. lawmakers during a hearing last week.

"We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government," he said, trying to downplay fears about the company's data collection practices and Chinese laws that would require the company to share that information with the Chinese government if asked.U.S. lawmakers, intelligence and security officials, however, have their doubts.

The top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Marco Rubio, earlier this month warned that TikTok is probably one of the most valuable surveillance tools on the planet."

A day later, Cyber Commands Nakasone told members of the House Intelligence Committee that TikTok is like a "loaded gun," while FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that TikTok's recommendation algorithm "could be used to conduct influence operations."

"That's not something that would be easily detected," he added.
A warrior-themed circus begins a tour of England on Friday with Ukrainian performers determined that the show should go on even though their hearts are very much still in their war-torn homeland.

Although the warrior idea behind the show was conceived in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme has inspired its Ukrainian artists to carry on, said Russian circus boss Irina Archer.

"Every day they are worried for their relatives. On stage, they perform, they entertain, but deep inside ... they are so worried," she said.

"But they love entertaining people. It gives them strength," she added.

Fifteen of the circus's 23 performers are Ukrainian, said Archer, who set up the Circus Cortex with her husband, Paul, in 2021.

"Before the war, there was no divide. I've worked with a lot of Ukrainian artists over the years," she said.

The Archers, who used to run the Moscow State Circus, took the Circus Cortex on tour in the U.K. in 2021 and had hoped to restart performances in 2022.

After the war broke out in February 2022, however, they found performers stranded in Ukraine or signing up to fight.

Irina Archer described the show, titled "Warriors," as an "epic magical production" with lots of dancing and traditional circus acts such as juggling and unicycles.

Some of the performers, such as Tetiana Lotiuk from Kharkiv, only recently left Ukraine.

Trapped in the city at the start of the war, she left two weeks later, traveling to Hungary and then the U.K.

Others include circus family Viktor Gorodetskiy, wife Yulia and son Valdis. The three were forced to leave their home three weeks after the start of the war.

They took refuge with Viktor's parents, also circus performers, before spending several months in Lviv and finally traveling to the U.K.

The tour, which runs until October, begins Friday in the northern city of Sheffield.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 22:07 | All, World, Japan

A leader of the European Union on Friday hailed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Ukraine in March, saying it sent a strong message to the Eastern European country and the international community, the government said.

During their 25-minute phone talks, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Kishida also agreed to maintain close communication on issues related to Ukraine and the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, the Japanese government said.

The EU leader plans to accompany French President Emmanuel Macron for part of his trip to China in early April, while Kishida is scheduled to host a Group of Seven summit in May in Hiroshima, which was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb in August 1945.

Kishida, elected to parliament from the western Japan city, has pledged to pitch his vision of a world without nuclear weapons amid fears that Russia could use a nuclear device against Ukraine in the ongoing war.

The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the EU.

On March 21, Kishida made an unannounced visit to Ukraine's capital of Kyiv ahead of the G-7 summit, vowing alongside President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to keep supporting the Eastern European nation as it continues trying to repel the Russian invasion that started in February 2022.

Related coverage:

Japan PM vows continued support for Ukraine in unannounced visit
Following meetings in Beijing on Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping to hold talks with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a peace plan with Russia, suggesting the two leaders may have common ground.

Speaking to reporters, Sanchez said he expressed to the Chinese leader Spains and Europes concerns about what Sanchez called Russian President Vladimir Putins "illegal aggression against Ukraine.

Sanchez said he was especially interested in the details of Chinas position on Ukraine following Xis visit to Moscow and his meetings with Putin.

The Spanish prime minister said he told Xi about a peace plan put forth by Zelenskyy, and that Sanchez believed it was a plan that lays the foundations for achieving fair and lasting peace for Ukraine.

He said he encouraged Xi to talk to Zelenskyy about the plan.

Sanchez also gave credit to Xi and the Chinese government for its positions on two issues he felt were important: its total rejection of using or even threatening to use nuclear weapons, and its respect of territorial integrity.

Sanchez made the trip to China not only in his capacity as the leader of Spain, but also as a member of NATO and as a member of the European Union. Spain will assume the rotating presidency of the council of the EU in July.

Sanchezs visit comes less than a week before European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Beijing to meet with Xi.

Macron invited Von der Leyen, leader of the EUs executive branch, to join him on the visit to present a united European front in the meetings with the Chinese leader.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is on a sensitive trip to the United States, where she wrapped up a second day of events closed to the media in New York City on Thursday. In a speech Wednesday, she vowed to protect regional stability in exchange for continued support from the United States. Yao Yu has the story.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was awarded the Global Leadership Award on Thursday by the Hudson Institute, a leading U.S. research policy group in New York.

"She has led a vibrant democracy with great courage and clear-eyed determination to resist tyranny and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific," the organization said in a statement after the event.

Tsai traveled through New York on her way to Guatemala and Belize, two of the 13 countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. She will visit Los Angeles after her visit to Central and South America. U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other members of Congress plan to meet with Tsai in Los Angeles. In response, China's Taiwan Affairs Office has said that Beijing will take "resolute countermeasures."

Miles Yu, director of the Hudson Institute's China Center, who attended the award ceremony, said the meeting between Tsai and McCarthy "was not mentioned during the whole evening" in a phone interview with VOAs Mandarin service.

Hudson Insitute President and CEO John P. Walters said in a statement that We are honored to host President Tsai. Under her leadership, the U.S. and Taiwan have expanded and deepened their security and economic relationship, and We are proud that America stands with Taiwan. And Hudson remains steadfast in promoting the security, freedom, and prosperity of America and its allies.

Tsai's two days of events in New York were largely closed-door, but protests organized by pro-Beijing expatriate groups followed her. On Thursday, neither Tsai nor the attendees used the hotels main entrance, but protesters across the street from the hotel held up banners and Chinese national flags, shouted anti-Taiwan independence and anti-Tsai slogans over loudspeakers and played pro-China patriotic songs.

"This is not surprising in a democratic country, but it doesnt make sense," Yu said.

"Taiwan's image in the world arena is becoming more and more positive, while Chinas political ideology and tactics are reviled by all democracies around the world."

In her acceptance speech, Tsai talked about the exchange and friendship between the people of the United States and Taiwan, and bilateral cooperation in technology and trade.

Yu told VOA that what struck him the most during the question-and-answer session was Tsai's reference to the democratic values of both the United States and Taiwan, and the importance of freedom of expression in Taiwan's diverse environment. Tsai stressed that democracy does not lead to chaos, but instead strengthens national unity.
Donald Trump was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's office following an investigation related to hush money payments to a porn star who has said she had a sexual relationship with him, a law enforcement source said, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges.

Below is a timeline of events leading up to the charges:

JANUARY 2018

The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump arranged a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in October 2016 to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump has consistently denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

FEBRUARY 2018

Michael Cohen, a former private lawyer and fixer for Trump, says he paid Daniels using his own money and was not directed by Trump's company or campaign to make the payment. He said Trump never reimbursed him for the payment.

Cohen would later contradict both statements under oath, stating Trump did in fact direct him to make the payment and reimbursed him.

FEBRUARY 2018

The New Yorker magazine reports that Trump had an affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal from 2006 to 2007. The magazine said American Media Inc, publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid, paid McDougal $150,000 shortly after Trump became the Republican nominee for president in 2016 for exclusive rights to her story.

The National Enquirer never published the story.

APRIL 2018

Trump, when asked by reporters if he knew about the payment to Daniels, responded, "No." Asked why Cohen made the payment, Trump said, "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen."

MAY 2018

In an ethics disclosure, Trump acknowledges reimbursing Cohen for the $130,000 paid for Daniels.

JULY 2018

Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's personal lawyers at the time, says Cohen recorded a conversation with Trump two months before the 2016 election in which the two discussed a potential payment to McDougal. Trump denies wrongdoing and calls Cohen's tape "perhaps illegal."

AUGUST 2018

Cohen pleads guilty to criminal charges in Manhattan federal court, including campaign finance violations over the hush money payments. He testified that Trump directed him to make the payments "for the principal purpose of influencing the election."

In their indictment of Cohen, prosecutors say a candidate for federal office referred to as "Individual-1" arranged the payments. Trump was not charged with a crime. Geoffrey Berman, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan at the time, later confirmed that Trump was Individual-1.

DECEMBER 2018

Trump, on Twitter, calls the hush money payments a "simple private transaction." In an interview with Reuters, he says the payment to Daniels "wasn't a campaign contribution" and "there was no violation based on what we did."

AUGUST 2019

Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney at the time, issues a subpoena to the Trump Organization - Trump's family real estate company - for records of hush money payments.

JULY 2021

Vance's office indicts the Trump Organization and its top financial executive on tax fraud charges. Trump himself is not charged with a crime, and the indictment contains no references to hush money payments.

FEBRUARY 2022

Two top prosecutors leading the probe into Trump's business practices resign. One of the prosecutors, Mark Pomerantz, later said his resignation came after Alvin Bragg - who replaced Vance as District Attorney - indicated to him he had doubts about pursuing a case against Trump.

Bragg's office says the investigation is ongoing.

DECEMBER 2022

The Trump Organization is found guilty of tax fraud after a trial in New York state court in Manhattan.

JANUARY 2023

Bragg's office begins presenting evidence about Trump's alleged role in the 2016 hush money payments to a grand jury.

MARCH 2023

Manhattan prosecutors invite Trump to testify before the grand jury, which legal experts say is a sign an indictment could come soon. Cohen testifies before the grand jury.

MARCH 18, 2023

Trump says on his social media platform Truth Social that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday and calls on his supporters to protest. A spokesperson for Trump said the former president had not been notified of any arrest.

MARCH 23, 2023

Bragg's office says Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested, and tells Republican congressmen seeking communications, documents and testimony about the probe that they were interfering with an ongoing investigation.

MARCH 24, 2023

Trump warns of potential "death and destruction" if he is charged with a crime.

MARCH 30, 2023

A law enforcement source and U.S. media reports say Trump is indicted.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, indicted Thursday in connection with a hush money payment to a porn star, is also facing several other significant criminal investigations related to his 2020 reelection loss and classified documents he took with him when his presidential term ended two years ago.

Trump is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and trying to reclaim the White House, but his political future is clouded by the array of probes that could lead to more charges, or possibly clear him of allegations of wrongdoing.

Special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, with an extensive team of prosecutors, is heading the two most wide-ranging probes.

One involves Trump's role in trying to upend his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the weeks after the November 2020 election and Trump's subsequent admonition on Jan. 6, 2021, to his supporters to head to the U.S. Capitol and "fight like hell" to keep Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote count that Biden had won.

About 2,000 Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol, ransacked congressional offices and clashed with police that day. About 1,000 of the rioters have been charged with criminal offenses and about half have been convicted so far, with some sentenced to prison for several years.

Smith's other investigation centers on hundreds of classified documents Trump took with him to his oceanside Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida when he left office, even though he was required by law to turn them over to the National Archives.

Trump voluntarily returned some of the documents after authorities asked for them, but when Justice Department officials concluded that he had still more at Mar-a-Lago they secured a court-ordered search warrant last August and FBI agents discovered more classified material in a search of his estate. Trump has contended he was entitled as a former president to keep the documents.

In a narrower criminal probe, a state prosecutor in Atlanta, Fani Willis, is investigating Trump's role in trying to overturn his 11,779-vote loss to Biden in the southern state of Georgia.

In a recorded conversation days ahead of the congressional certification of Biden's victory, Trump pleaded with Georgia state election chief Brad Raffensperger and other election officials to "find" him 11,780 votes, one more than he needed to overcome his loss.

"The people of Georgia are angry. The people in the country are angry," Trump said in the call to the Georgia officials. "And there's nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you've recalculated."

Both Smith and Willis have subpoenaed an array of former Trump administration officials to testify before grand juries about their conversations with Trump in the weeks after the election, his efforts to upend the election result and to stay in power. One effort, never fully implemented in states Trump lost to Biden, was to sign up fake electors supporting Trump to replace the legitimate ones committed to Biden in the Electoral College vote count as the Trump supporters rampaged into the Capitol.

In the past week, former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump's second-in-command, was ordered to honor a grand jury subpoena to testify about his interactions with Trump in the post-election period when the former president unsuccessfully pushed him to delay counting the electoral votes on Jan. 6 two years ago.

Willis has signaled she will decide whether to file charges against Trump or any his aides by May, while Smith could also bring his investigation to a head in the coming months.

In a civil inquiry that centers on events related to Trump's real estate business empire, New York state Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump of lying to lenders and insurers about the value of his properties.

She is seeking to bar Trump, along with his sons Donald Jr. and Eric and his daughter Ivanka, from continuing to run a business in New York. A New York judge declined in January to dismiss James' suit, increasing the likelihood that he will eventually face a trial in the matter later this year.
Less than two hours after news of his indictment broke, former President Donald Trump appealed to supporters to help with his legal defense, hoping to boost his coffers as he seeks the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

"Please make a contribution  of truly any amount  to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024," said an email sent by a Trump fundraising group called the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.

A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump after a investigation into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump, who has denied making any payment, has claimed the charges are evidence of a left-wing plot, an argument made in the fundraising email to supporters Thursday.

The indictment will likely encourage his most fervent grassroots supporters to donate, political analysts and donors said, handing Trump a financial bump for the first quarter of the year as a likely 2024 Republican rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, gains favor with deep-pocketed donors.

"Trump's fundraising will go through the roof," said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist in Washington. "More perceived politically motivated indictments could cause a large spike in small-dollar donations for Trump and cut into DeSantis efforts on raising money."

Even before Thursday's news of the indictment, the Trump campaign had said that it had raised $2 million in grassroots donations roughly in the week after March 18, when Trump said he was facing arrest in the hush money investigation.

Trump's online fundraising has shown signs of weakening over the last year, according to financial disclosures made to the Federal Election Commission.

His main fundraising groups gathered about $46 million in the second half of 2022, less than the roughly $50 million they raised in the same period of 2021, according to filings by WinRed, the main Republican platform for online fundraising.

The former president is to release by April 15 the figures for his presidential campaign's finances during the first three months of 2023.

At the end of 2022, Trump and an allied super PAC reported having close to $80 million across several fundraising accounts. Recent financial disclosures point to DeSantis, who is expected to declare a presidential run in the next few months, as having nearly the same amount.

While Trump has been able to count on a dedicated core of supporters, many in the donor class are eager for a fresh face, with DeSantis a particular favorite, according to interviews with more than a dozen donors.
The four attacks on U.S. forces in Syria by Iranian-backed militants last week, including one attack that killed a U.S. contractor, resulted in at least six traumatic brain injuries in service members, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters on Thursday.

In the first attack, last Thursday at a base near Hasakah, a suicide drone of Iranian origin killed a U.S. military contractor, wounded five U.S. service members and one other contractor, and caused four traumatic brain injuries in service members, according to the U.S. military.

One U.S. military source, speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the drone used in the attack was an Iranian-made Qasef-1.

The U.S retaliated last Thursday with what U.S. Central Command called proportionate and deliberate precision strikes against multiple facilities used by groups affiliated with Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

No group will strike our troops with impunity, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said last week.

Ryder said eight militants associated with the IRGC were killed in the U.S. strikes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at the time of the strikes that 19 had been killed.

On the evening of March 24 and the morning of March 25, CENTCOM said, three attacks targeted U.S. and coalition forces in Syria, two attacks at a post known as Green Village and another at Mission Support Site Conoco. A military official told VOA these Iranian-backed attacks were coordinated and showed a higher level of sophistication than some of the previous attacks.

One U.S. service member was wounded in the attack on Conoco, and at least two traumatic brain injuries in service members resulted from the attacks targeting Green Village.

The Pentagon says the traumatic brain injuries were identified during post-attack screenings that are ongoing.

Asked by VOA why the U.S. military had not retaliated for the injuries that resulted in these three attacks, Ryder said, We will continue to take appropriate action at a time and place of our choosing to ensure that our forces are protected.

The U.S. has about 900 troops in eastern Syria to help Syrian Kurdish forces prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State terror group.

Austin told senators on Tuesday that Iran or its proxies have carried out 83 attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

The United States has retaliated by launching four major strikes against the attackers.

Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican, challenged the adequacy of that response while questioning Austin during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

"What kind of signal do we think this sends to Iran when they can attack us 83 times since Joe Biden has become president, and we only respond to four? he asked. Maybe it's because they know that ... we will not retaliate until they kill an American, which emboldened them to keep launching these attacks which kill Americans."
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced Thursday during a summit on strengthening democracy the creation of a global Youth Democracy Network to train the next generation of leaders and activists.

For every generation there comes a moment where you have to learn new lessons and find new ways of building a better world, Thomas-Greenfield told the Summit for Democracy. And for you, that time is now.

She said the world is looking to young people for their leadership and their fresh ideas to help take the world in the right direction.

But its on us to include you. To not just give you a seat at the table, but to put you at the head of the table, Thomas-Greenfield said.

She said the new network will work in collaboration with the global coalition Community of Democracies and will ensure young people are essential players in political life and policymaking. It will also set up an annual Youth Democracy Fellowship.

Thomas-Greenfield, who is the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a member of President Joe Bidens Cabinet, made the announcement in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The United States and Costa Rica, along with the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia, are co-hosting the three-day summit, which is reviewing and building on commitments from the first summit, held in December 2021. Those include free and fair elections, a free and independent press, the relationship of technology in democracy and the role of young people.

More than half the worlds population is under the age of 30, making youth a powerful force for change.

Young people are stepping up, Thomas-Greenfield said. We see this in repressive regimes, like in Iran and Burma and China, where protests are being led in particular by young people who refuse to give up on human rights and fundamental freedoms. But we are also seeing young people leading in places like Chile, where you recently helped elect a 37-year-old president.

Washington will fund the startup of the Youth Democracy Network and will later look to finance it in partnership with other governments, foundations, the private sector and civil society groups.

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the United States is committing nearly $700 million in new funding for democracy programs.

"We're turning the tide here. As we often say, we're at an inflection point in history here, when the decisions we make today are going to affect the course of our world for the next several decades for certain," Biden said during the summit.

While in Costa Rica, Thomas-Greenfield also met with Nicaraguans who have fled the Ortega-Murillo regime. President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, have cracked down on human rights, deported opposition members and revoked their nationality in their bid to consolidate power. They have also stepped up attacks on the countrys Catholic clergy, who have been vocal critics of their authoritarian regime.

The regime targets anyone it deems a threat and has used repressive laws to strip the legal status of thousands of NGOs trying to help local communities, she said. The result has been a total loss of hope. Refugees, vulnerable migrants and asylum-seekers are fleeing their homes in search of a better life  somewhere where the government supports its own people.

Before arriving in San Jose, the ambassador stopped in Quito, Ecuador. The country is host to more than half a million refugees and migrants, including many Venezuelans.

Thomas-Greenfield visited a shelter for Venezuelan migrants that the United States supports through the World Food Program.

I made clear that the United States will continue to provide critical assistance to Venezuelan refugees and migrants, their host communities, and those still in Venezuela, she said during a joint news conference with Ecuadors foreign minister.

Ecuador joined the U.N. Security Council in January for a two-year term. The U.S. ambassador said the two countries share fundamental values, including democratic governance and human rights.
Uganda's former prime minister, Ruhakana Rugunda, has applauded the U.S. Agency for International Development for its support in fighting AIDS, saying the country cannot afford to treat patients on its own.

An estimated 1.2 million Ugandans aged 15 to 64 are living with HIV/AIDS and surviving on anti-retroviral drugs. Almost all HIV/AIDS patients receive the drugs through financial support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.

Rugunda, speaking as chief guest at celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the USAID partnership with Uganda, painted a picture of what HIV/AIDS was before U.S. support.

Rugunda recalled that as the AIDS pandemic ravaged the country in the 1990s and early 2000s, the government had no means to afford treatment for patients.

"We knew that AIDS drugs had been developed and they could control AIDS in many ways. The problem we had in Uganda was the drug is there, the people are here needing the drugs, but there's a gap," Rugunda said. "How does Uganda fill the gap? The taxpayer in Uganda, even if he or she was squeezed so hard, could not fill the gap."

In more recent years, Uganda has registered significant success in the fight against HIV, as seen in reduced HIV prevalence and a decline in new infections.

USAID Uganda Mission Director Richard Nelson said his agency and its partners have prioritized HIV/AIDS for the last 20 years and are getting close to control of the epidemic, but obstacles remain.

Uganda's parliament this month passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that criminalizes identifying as LGBT, mandates life in prison for gay sex, and imposes a possible death sentence for certain homosexual acts. THe bill is awaiting President Yoweri Museveni's veto or signature.



Nelson said the bill's progress is being watched carefully because it could scare people away from seeking treatment for HIV or AIDS.

"The last remaining work that needs to be done to reach epidemic control involves some of these key populations," he said. "And so, if those key populations are unable to access services, if it's difficult for us to provide those services, it will really jeopardize our ability to reach our goals of eliminating HIV/AIDS by 2030."

Even before the bill was passed by parliament, organizations providing HIV/AIDS care services were seeing people shy away from getting anti-retroviral drugs.

Henry Mukiibi, founder of one such group, Children of the Sun, spoke with VOA: "I've seen the number of people who are HIV positive, the number of people who are suppressing now is going down. Because people are in fear of getting health services in public facilities."

According to the Uganda AIDS Commission, stigma, denial, discrimination, inaction and violations of human rights continue to be major barriers to effective national responses to HIV.
What is an indictment?

An indictment is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. It contains the basic information about the charges being filed.

Why is it necessary?

The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires that the government seek an indictment before prosecuting someone for a federal felony offense.

What about state charges?

While the Fifth Amendment only applies to federal charges, many states have set up a similar system for indictments, requiring them for felony charges.

What is a felony?

A felony is typically defined as an offense punishable by a term of imprisonment of at least one year. Felonies are more serious than misdemeanor offenses, most of which do not require an indictment for charges to be brought.

How does an indictment begin?

After reviewing the facts of a case, a prosecutor will decide whether there is enough evidence to continue pursuing it, and if so, will present the case to a citizens panel, known as a grand jury.

What is a grand jury?

A grand jury hears evidence about a case and decides whether there is probable cause for criminal charges to be filed. Grand jurors do not determine the guilt or innocence of the suspect. Federal grand juries are made up of between 16 and 23 people. At least 12 jurors must agree before an indictment can be issued.

Can indictments be sealed?

Because an indictment comes after a grand jury but usually before an arrest, the prosecutor can seal an indictment, or keep it hidden from the public, for the amount of time needed to prevent the defendant or other suspects from fleeing or destroying evidence.

What happens after an indictment?

After a grand jury recommends indictment, the suspect is usually arrested and formally charged. The case then proceeds in court, with multiple legal paths possible, including a plea agreement or a trial.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 23:00 | All, World, Japan

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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TPP members agree on Britain joining trans-Pacific free trade accord

TOKYO - Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreed on Britain joining the 11-nation free trade pact at an online ministerial meeting Friday, marking the first expansion of the deal and raising the bloc's share of global economic output to 15 percent.

Britain's accession to the high-standard TPP is widely seen as a counter to economic coercion and protectionism and a model case for future aspirants, including China and Taiwan. The trade bloc's gross domestic product currently accounts for 12 percent of world GDP.

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Japan to tighten export controls of advanced chip equipment to China

TOKYO - The Japanese government said Friday it will tighten export controls for advanced chip manufacturing equipment to prevent the technology from being used for military purposes, joining U.S.-led efforts seeking to stymie China's ability to develop high-end semiconductors.

Japan's decision to expand the scope of chip-manufacturing goods that require approval for export, expected to come into force in July, is likely to anger Beijing, although Tokyo did not single out the neighboring economic powerhouse as the main target for the restrictions.

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Japan vows to boost child allowances to tackle falling birthrate

TOKYO - Japan's government pledged Friday, in a draft policy package to tackle the rapidly declining birthrate, to remove the income limit for parents to receive child allowances and increase the benefits for families with multiple children.

But the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has still shied away from clarifying to what extent it would hike taxes to fund the budget for such measures, which critics call "pork barrel" policies, in the run-up to a series of local elections in April.

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Trump indicted, becomes 1st ex-U.S. president to face criminal charge

NEW YORK - Donald Trump was indicted Thursday over undisclosed crimes following a probe into hush money allegedly paid to a woman after an affair, U.S. media and prosecutors said, making him the first former American president to face a criminal charge.

The unprecedented development is likely to have an impact on Trump's bid to enter the Republican Party primaries through which he hopes to be nominated to contest next year's presidential election.

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Turkey approves Finland's NATO membership bid amid Russia fears

ISTANBUL - The Turkish parliament has approved Finland's bid to join NATO, clearing a path for the country to join the security alliance amid continued fears about the threat posed by Russia among its European neighbors following its invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey was the last of NATO's 30 members to ratify the accession of Finland, which shares a land border with Russia and had long maintained neutral relations with its neighbor. Thursday's move could trigger a reaction from Moscow, which has previously warned of military repercussions if Finland joined NATO.

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Japan, China foreign ministers to hold talks in Beijing

TOKYO - Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi announced on Friday his plan to visit Beijing this weekend for talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang, where he will push for the early release of a Japanese businessman recently detained in the country for alleged espionage.

Hayashi said at a press conference that he will also make a four-day trip to Brussels from Monday to attend a foreign ministerial meeting of NATO countries and their partners, at which they are likely to reaffirm their unified stance over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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Japan space agency delays H2A rocket launch after next-gen failure

TOKYO - Japan will delay an H2A rocket launch scheduled for May to August or later, the country's space agency said Friday, as it shares parts with its successor rocket that was forced to self-destruct shortly after takeoff in March.

No new launches are currently planned after a series of setbacks for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, including the next-generation H3 rocket's failure and that of the smaller Epsilon-6 in October, which was ordered to self-destruct after deviating from its intended trajectory shortly after takeoff.

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Inflation pain to continue for Japan consumers in new fiscal year

TOKYO - Japan will see another wave of price hikes at the start of the new business year from Saturday as higher raw material costs eat into company margins, dealing yet another blow to consumers already facing inflation rates that have outpaced wage growth.

Over 5,100 food and beverages, ranging from mayonnaise and dairy products to imported wine will be pricier. Research firm Teikoku Databank estimates an average household will have to pay an extra 2,140 yen ($16) a month for foodstuffs.

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Video: Cherry blossoms in nuclear disaster-hit Fukushima town
In March 2022, Daniele Darlan, then-president of the Central African Republics Constitutional Court, faced intense pressure to modify her countrys constitution to allow the president to run for a third term in office.

The pressure came from local politicians and Russian diplomats, but she was unwavering in her belief that the constitution could not be undermined.

The constitution is the fundamental law. Its the text on which all other laws and regulations are based, she told VOA, speaking in French. If you dont respect the constitution, if you violate it, it sets off a chain reaction of violations. It means that you dont have to respect any law or any rule.

In October 2022 she was removed from her position, clearing the way for President Faustin-Archange Touadera to remain in power.

International reaction was immediate.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, judicial independence is a central tenet of democracy, at the time of her removal. We call on the Central African authorities to ensure the safety and independence of the Constitutional Court.

The court must be free from interference and political influence from inside and outside, said Yao Agbetse, a U.N. independent expert on the human rights situation in the country.

Darlan said she does not regret her stand even though it cost her dearly.

As a constitutional judge and president of the Constitutional Court I am a guardian of the constitution, she told VOA in a one-on-one interview at the State Department. At that moment, I had to make sure that the constitution would be respected. In this sense I only did my job.

Nicknamed the Woman of Iron, she was one of the recipients of the 2023 International Women of Courage Award presented by the State Department this month.

The Central African Republic has joined a controversial security agreement with the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary mercenary company that provides security to the countrys president and has become deeply enmeshed in the nations economy.

Darlan said while people initially had high hopes for the Russian fighters, those hopes have since been dashed.

The impact, unfortunately, has not been positive, she said. If at first the population was happy because Wagner was combatting certain armed groups, afterward that was no longer the case.

Human rights advocates accuse Wagner of human rights violations in the country.

Wagner has committed many abuses against the population and against the armed forces of the Central African Republic. So, little by little, there has been a rejection. At the beginning they were seen as saviors, but now the population has begun to realize they were not what they expected and are demanding they leave, Darlan said.

And its not just the Central African Republic that is facing threats to the rule of law. Across Africa there have been instances of presidents amending the constitutions to stay in power and soldiers grabbing power at the point of a gun.

As someone who has dedicated her life to the rule of law, Darlan said she is troubled by this trend. She says presidents who cling to power do so out of fear.

Once you run a country poorly. Once you mismanage the public funds, when you favor your friends and family, you are fearful of leaving power because you are fearful that you wont be protected, she said.

She said she hopes more African leaders will follow the examples of presidents who willing give up power and enjoy a quiet retirement.

I think the heads of state who lead with good governance do not want to stay in power because they know when they leave, theyll be safe, she said. There wont be a judicial pursuit, they dont have illicit funds. They are at ease. And they are loved by their population.
WASHINGTON - The mastermind behind a $1.9 million bank fraud was sentenced Thursday to more than 13 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

In a statement, the U.S State Department said Nohmaan Malik, 30, pleaded guilty in November 2022 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, passport fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman. The court ordered restitution in the amount of $1.9 million, the amount of loss the victims suffered.

According to plea papers, Mr. Malik admitted he and coconspirators defrauded Chase Bank customers.

They selected customers with sizeable balances at Chase and created counterfeit passport cards using the customers names and identifying information but with conspirators photographs. Using those counterfeit passport cards, conspirators imitating the bank customers opened fraudulent joint bank accounts with other conspirators acting as money mules.

The impersonator or the mule then transferred money from the customers actual account to the joint bank account, and then transferred the money from the joint account into a third bank account controlled solely by the conspirators.

His coconspirators include Juan Cruz, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, passport fraud, and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 10 years and nine months in federal prison

His other co-accused Ronald Godbold pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to five years and five months in federal prison.

Jeremy Pena and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, passport fraud, and aggravated identity thef. He was sentenced to five years and five months in federal prison

Louie Walencik was too charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, use of a false passport, and aggravated identity theft. He is a fugitive of justice.

Gregory Jesus Acevedo  pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and passport fraud and aggravated identity theft/sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison.

Christian Martinez  pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Martinez is slated to be sentenced on May 9 before Judge Reed OConnor.

The U.S. Department of States Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Dallas Resident Office, conducted the investigation with the assistance from the DFW Airport Police Department, Dallas Police Department, Benbrook Police Department, and Flower Mound Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht prosecuted the case.
Some Zanu PF members, who voted in the just-ended primary elections in Zimbabwes Mashonaland West province, say they ditched ministers, deputy ministers and non-performing legislators as they failed to fulfill their promises made five years ago.

In an interview, irate villagers said there are certain areas with poor roads and degraded bridges, which were ignored by sitting Members of Parliament, who include some occupying government positions.

Hurungwe West Zanu PF members dumped Mashonaland West provincial minister, Mary Mliswa-Chikoka, for allegedly failing to fulfill her promises that include taking care of certain roads and bridges that played a critical role in transporting their goods for sale in Karoi.

The Hurungwe villagers claimed that they were surprised to see Mliswa-Chikoka at recent election campaign rallies when she stopped doing so soon after she became a provincial minister.

Hurungwe ward 7 villager, Denzel Watyoka, said Mliswa-Chikoka, who was defeated by Chinjai Kambuzuma, failed to meet most of her last promises.

"She failed to provide what she promised to deliver therefore there was no reason for us to vote for her this time around," said Watyoka.

Another villager, Joel Zilala, said locals are determined to dump non-performers.

"Things have changed we are determined to change our destiny. Gone are the days when we used to listen to party leaders directives to vote for individuals who don't even come from the area.

Kambuzuma said she is happy that Zimbabweans have realized that their regions can mostly be developed by locals and not what he called outsiders.

Another Zanu PF member from Zvimba West, Adam Phiri, where Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi was beaten hands down in the primaries, said Members of Parliament forget about coming to their respective constituencies once they are appointed ministers.

Studio 7 was unable to reach primary election losers - Mliswa-Chikoka, Ziyambi, Deputy Minister of Information Kindness Paradza and Chegutu West MP, Dexter Nduna.

But Independent Norton MP, Temba Mliswa, who is the brother of Mliswa-Chikoka, said Zanu PF should not have allowed ministers to contest in primary elections.

"There is no logic in allowing ministers to be contested in the primary elections because they are hardly in their constituencies due to pressing government assignments," said Mliswa.

Independent political analyst, Rejoice Ngwenya, said the outcome of Zanu PF primary elections is not a sign of flourishing democracy in the ruling party but an indication that people are fed up with non-performers.

Only 4 sitting MPs managed to win in primaries conducted in 22 constituencies in the region.

Former Health Minister, Douglas Mombeshora, bounced back in Mhangura.
Donald Trump was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's office following an investigation related to hush money payments to a porn star who has said she had a sexual relationship with him, a law enforcement source said, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges.

Below is a timeline of events leading up to the charges:

JANUARY 2018

The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump arranged a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in October 2016 to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump has consistently denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

FEBRUARY 2018

Michael Cohen, a former private lawyer and fixer for Trump, says he paid Daniels using his own money and was not directed by Trump's company or campaign to make the payment. He said Trump never reimbursed him for the payment.

Cohen would later contradict both statements under oath, stating Trump did in fact direct him to make the payment and reimbursed him.

FEBRUARY 2018

The New Yorker magazine reports that Trump had an affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal from 2006 to 2007. The magazine said American Media Inc, publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid, paid McDougal $150,000 shortly after Trump became the Republican nominee for president in 2016 for exclusive rights to her story.

The National Enquirer never published the story.

APRIL 2018

Trump, when asked by reporters if he knew about the payment to Daniels, responded, "No." Asked why Cohen made the payment, Trump said, "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen."

MAY 2018

In an ethics disclosure, Trump acknowledges reimbursing Cohen for the $130,000 paid for Daniels.

JULY 2018

Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's personal lawyers at the time, says Cohen recorded a conversation with Trump two months before the 2016 election in which the two discussed a potential payment to McDougal. Trump denies wrongdoing and calls Cohen's tape "perhaps illegal."

AUGUST 2018

Cohen pleads guilty to criminal charges in Manhattan federal court, including campaign finance violations over the hush money payments. He testified that Trump directed him to make the payments "for the principal purpose of influencing the election."

In their indictment of Cohen, prosecutors say a candidate for federal office referred to as "Individual-1" arranged the payments. Trump was not charged with a crime. Geoffrey Berman, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan at the time, later confirmed that Trump was Individual-1.

DECEMBER 2018

Trump, on Twitter, calls the hush money payments a "simple private transaction." In an interview with Reuters, he says the payment to Daniels "wasn't a campaign contribution" and "there was no violation based on what we did."

AUGUST 2019

Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney at the time, issues a subpoena to the Trump Organization - Trump's family real estate company - for records of hush money payments.

JULY 2021

Vance's office indicts the Trump Organization and its top financial executive on tax fraud charges. Trump himself is not charged with a crime, and the indictment contains no references to hush money payments.

FEBRUARY 2022

Two top prosecutors leading the probe into Trump's business practices resign. One of the prosecutors, Mark Pomerantz, later said his resignation came after Alvin Bragg - who replaced Vance as District Attorney - indicated to him he had doubts about pursuing a case against Trump.

Bragg's office says the investigation is ongoing.

DECEMBER 2022

The Trump Organization is found guilty of tax fraud after a trial in New York state court in Manhattan.

JANUARY 2023

Bragg's office begins presenting evidence about Trump's alleged role in the 2016 hush money payments to a grand jury.

MARCH 2023

Manhattan prosecutors invite Trump to testify before the grand jury, which legal experts say is a sign an indictment could come soon. Cohen testifies before the grand jury.

MARCH 18, 2023

Trump says on his social media platform Truth Social that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday and calls on his supporters to protest. A spokesperson for Trump said the former president had not been notified of any arrest.

A supporter of former President Donald Trump attends a gathering outside his Mar-a-Lago resort after he posted a message saying he expects to be arrested and called on his supporters to protest, in Palm Beach, Florida, March 20, 2023.

MARCH 23, 2023

Bragg's office says Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested, and tells Republican congressmen seeking communications, documents and testimony about the probe that they were interfering with an ongoing investigation.

MARCH 24, 2023

Trump warns of potential "death and destruction" if he is charged with a crime.

MARCH 30, 2023

A law enforcement source and U.S. media reports say Trump is indicted.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 18:44 | World, All, Coronavirus, Travel/Tourism

The Japanese Embassy in Beijing hosted a tourism promotion event Friday targeted at local industry officials as demand slowly recovers after China ended its strict "zero-COVID" policy and reopened its borders earlier this year.

The event, attended by about 350 people including Chinese tourist agency and airline representatives, also took place as Japan awaits China's remaining COVID-19 restrictions including for group tours to be lifted.

The gathering featured a Japanese Awa Odori dance and Okinawan "sanshin" string instrument performance as well as sampling of the country's food and drink including sushi, rice cakes and sake. A tuna cutting demonstration drew a large crowd.

Japanese Ambassador to China Hideo Tarumi said he was "glad to host the gathering at a time when cherry blossoms are in full bloom."

Earlier this year, China reopened its borders and resumed overseas group tours but Japan is not among some 60 countries which Beijing has designated as tour destinations.

Wealthy Chinese individuals can acquire multiple entry visas valid for up to five years to visit Japan, but not many people hold those visas, tourism industry officials said.

Although the number of flights linking Japanese and Chinese cities has been gradually recovering, airfares remain high compared with the level before the start of the pandemic in 2020, they noted.

An official of Chinese online travel company Trip.com Group Ltd. said many people have been searching for information about trips to Japan but that travelers still face inconvenience as direct flights from China are currently limited to major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.

The number of Chinese visitors to Japan amounted to 9.59 million in 2019, but nosedived to 189,000 in 2022, down 98 percent compared with the 2019 level, according to Japanese government data.

In February, Japan saw 36,200 arrivals from China, ranking it eighth behind travelers from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia.
Photo: Late Night with Seth Meyers/YouTube

Well, it finally happened. Justice rained out across this great nation, as the rule of law was finally restored and America sent a stern rebuke to hucksters and charlatans everywhere: Gwyneth Paltrow won her ski lawsuit. Oh, and Trump was indicted. Also, the restraining order against Vanderpump Rules Scheana Shay was lifted. It was a big week for justice overall.

The cheering from the late-night audiences rang out loud and proud Thursday night. Stephen Colberts audience seemed to go on the longest (apparently news broke three minutes before Colbert went on, so its highly probable that the audience was hearing the news straight from him), The Daily Shows hootin and hollerin was most raucous, and Jimmy Fallon almost didnt leave space for the cheering between setup and punchline. But he did note how funny it is that Ron DeSantis might have to sign an extradition waiver for Trump if he refuses to leave Mar-a-Lago. And as always, the pettiest bitch was Jimmy Kimmel. His cold open was Trump addressing the nation from a jailhouse toilet. He also included a clip of Fox News breaking the story, wiping the smug grin off a transphobe. Nice. But as weve said many times before, Trump isnt very good for comedy. Heres what made us laugh this week in late night.

5. Stephen Colberts Honesty

Stephen Colberts wife, Evie McGee, joins him in this cheery little desk piece. Theyve done this bit before and its mostly harmless. But the way Evie roasts her husband for wanting approval is too funny. Oh, are you feeling insecure? Do you need us all to say this is fun? she asks. Very good bit, very good bit. To which Colbert responds, What makes you think that a man who comes out every night and tells jokes to people who chant his name is insecure? We love a moment of clarity! Seriously, the overly fawning audience at The Late Show is the worst thing about the show, and Im glad even Colbert sees theres something a lil off about the chanting.

4. Jimmy Kimmel Holds a Grudge

Ben Affleck invited both Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno to Christmas, which is bonkers. Rich peoples lives are weird. Recounting the story, Affleck recalled saying, Oh, you guys have some kind of a, like, death-blood feud! then deucing out of there. For those who arent well-versed in their Leno Lore, Kimmel was a guest on The Jay Leno Show and used his whole time to mock Leno for stealing The Tonight Show from Conan OBrien. Their blood-death feud was squashed, however, when Leno called to check in on Kimmel when his son was in the hospital. Apparently theyre still not Christmas-party close yet. This clip is actually a twofer of Kimmel feuds, as he mocks longtime fake enemy Matt Damon as well. Lotta bang for your feuding buck!

3. Andy Samberg Does a Hostile Takeover of Late Night

Andy Samberg shared all the segments he would have done if hed gotten to host Late Night the day after Meyers and his wife had their third child. The whole Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast was set to appear, so Samberg was drafted to host should Meyers want some time with his fam. Workaholic Seth didnt take paternity leave, so all the bits Samberg had cooked up fell by the wayside. Until now! Behold the Late Night that could have been: Jokes Andy Cant Tell (because he cant pronounce the words in them), The Spit Roast (which is soooo different from Ya Burnt), and some tender kissing between Samberg and cue-card guy Wally. Lorne, I think you know what succession plans you need to put in place.

2. A Brilliant Stand-up Comedian on The Late Late Show

Reggie Watts got to be a real weird Reggie Watts guy, and it was great. One gets the sense that everyone on The Late Late Show is getting a chance to do things theyve always wanted to do before James Corden takes the QE2 back to foggy London town. Morvin Splaversby doesnt really tell a single joke, but the cadence is close enough. And a blond beard is always funny. Thank you, Reggie, for being you. Or being Morvin  whichevs.

1. Jeff Goldblum Interviews Himself

Seth Meyers is back on this list, because he is just so good at dealing with a punchy guest. Jeff Goldblum was not interested in doing a straight talk-show interview  instead, he wanted to quiz the audience about movie trivia, name the color of Seths shirt, and futz with the lozenge in his mouth. This level of bullheadedness could be very annoying, and the fact that it was only kind of annoying belongs to Seth Meyers alone. Meyers thrives when hes on his toes, riffing and abandoning the premise of the interview altogether.
Photo: YouTube

Over three ultraviolent, neon-lit, mythologically elaborate films, weve seen Keanu Reevess reluctant assassin John Wick do it all. How to (maybe) wrap the franchise with a final installment that gives audiences something new? A trio of white-knuckle action sequences in John Wick: Chapter 4s final hour seemed like the answer. All are set in Paris  the first one in the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe, the last hurling Wick down the 222 stairs leading to the Sacre-Cur Basilica. But the sequence in the middle, an apartment-set shoot-out, posed a problem.

The staircase I knew I could own because it was a metaphor for Sisyphus rolling the boulder up the hill and being knocked down. We had that dialed in; we had the Arc de Triomphe dialed in, director Chad Stahelski says. The apartment fight wasnt clicking. It was just a fight in an apartment. And Im like, How do we shift perspective? The former stuntman, who has helmed every John Wick installment, found the special sauce of inspiration in the 2019 video game Hong Kong Massacre, which unfolds from a birds-eye view. There was a visual there that shouldnt have made sense but did, he says. It was part video game, part anime, part cinematic experience.

Stahelski and the crew turned this shoot-out into one of the most visually arresting segments of the entire John Wick franchise. The cameras smooth movement, the explosive bursts of light from the Dragons Breath ammunition, the choreography required to nail the one-take shot  it all combines into what cinematographer Dan Laustsen calls a really good gag.

You want it to feel natural

Photo: YouTube

Stahelski shared clips from Hong Kong Massacre with the crew, and together they began brainstorming how to apply its camera approach to Chapter 4. Two components were key to making the sequence work: the top-down perspective that lets viewers see the foes before Wick does and the flammable destruction of the Dragons Breath rounds, which provide a dazzling layer of tension and chaos.

A crucial detail of production designer Kevin Kavanaughs plan for the seven-room apartment set (built at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany) was its height  the walls had to be tall enough for the camera to track Wick up a stairwell into the first room and then continue floating and settling above him.

You want it to feel natural so youre not all of a sudden just in this weird top shot, stunt coordinator Scott Rogers says. That really became our biggest challenge: the lack of height. The production team worked for a month to build a space with 12-to-14-foot walls, though if we had a ceiling that was 20 feet higher, Rogers adds, everything would have been easier.

Meanwhile, as French stunt coordinator Laurent Demianoff choreographed the scenes hand-to-hand and firearms action, Stahelski, Laustsen, and Rogers ran through probably a dozen different concepts of how to get the shot in one (seemingly) uninterrupted take. (Theres only one seam in there, and thats before we light the guys on fire in the kitchen, Stahelski explains. The rest is all one take.)

All that prep came up against a tight deadline. The set was literally built and finished on a Sunday night, and we started shooting Monday, Stahelski remembers.

To film the scene, the crew used a Spidercam system designed and operated by Laustsen and his team. Often employed to film professional sports, the Spidercam is suspended between four wires attached to different corners of the set and is remotely controlled by an operator with a joystick. It can tilt and pan at the same time, allowing it to move down closer to the actors as necessary  and when Wick steps into the apartments entryway, the action properly begins.

Okay, that means I cant mess up

Photo: YouTube

John Wick: Chapter 4 is the longest film of the franchise, and maintaining fluid pacing is one of its foremost priorities. If John Wick does nothing else exceptionally well, theres a rhythm to it, says Rogers. Its a dance, and theres a rhythm to the dance, and it builds and builds, and it comes down, and then it builds.

At the center of that dance is Reeves, who continues to perform the majority of his own stunts in Chapter 4  even for the apartment scene, which almost exclusively features the top of his head. We could have done it without him; you never see his face until the camera comes down, Rogers says. But he was like, No, I want to do it. I want to do this.

Stahelski remembers explaining his idea for a one-take shot to Reeves. Okay, that means I cant mess up, he recalls the actor saying. He just looks at me and goes, Cool, I got to go to the gym. I better practice more.

Demianoff spent three weeks on the scenes choreography, while the stunt team put together a proof of concept that Laustsen used to coordinate the lighting and the Spidercams exact route through the apartment. The stunt actors playing Wicks enemies were tasked with executing complicated choreography with painstaking precision. Every time one person messes up, youre back to the beginning, and it wasnt an easy reset, Stahelski says.

To capture every detail of the shoot-out  every Wick reload, Dragons Breath ember, and Trackers dog racing across the furniture  as vividly as possible, Laustsen changed the cameras and lenses to bigger format, bigger sensor options from those he had used in the second and third John Wick films.

Its shot much wider and tighter. We took all the middle sizes out, Laustsen says. We were thinking a lot about Once Upon a Time in the West, the Sergio Leone spaghetti western famous for its sweeping shots of Utahs Monument Valley and its close-ups of stars Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda.

Finally, late in the German production schedule, it was time to go from rehearsal to reality. It was bumpy at first. The camera guys have rehearsed, the stunt guys have kind of rehearsed, Keanus kind of rehearsed, but weve never done it all together, Stahelski says. So the first day was by far the roughest. But then you kind of get your rhythm and everybody comes in sync.

How beautiful can I make it?

Photo: YouTube

When the scene begins, the space is so bluish black that Wick and his assailants look almost like silhouettes  until the first Dragons Breath round explodes. The searing light from the shotguns is entrancing and creates new shadows and distractions.

The set was lit by a mixture of tungsten, LED, and neon lights placed outside the apartment (Each room had to have a different character, Laustsen says), while the explosions created by the Dragons Breath rounds were created digitally. Stahelski held on to the idea of using the flammable ammo specifically for the top-down shot to add life to a scene that would otherwise be spent looking at the same color floor.

Without the Dragons Breath, the shot would be a lot more boring. It wouldnt last half as long, explains Rogers. (Stahelski recalls Laustsens similar reaction to the top-down idea: What are you, crazy? Thats going to bore the crap out of people.)

Stahelski asked himself, How many different colors can I put in this scene? How beautiful can I make it? The eureka moment: Screw it. Im just going to light people on fire.

The crew couldnt use actual Dragons Breath rounds, so Laustsen and his team used a flame gun to create a lighting reference for the visual-effects department, which later added the sparks and flares. Visual effects also helped maintain continuity when Wicks assailants catch fire in the apartments kitchen (done practically by the stunt team) and when the scene briefly cuts to some ground action of Wick fending off attackers.

But the rest of the scene was shot as a oner. Stunt coordinator Steve Dunlevy kept the beat, counting from 1 to 60 on a microphone so everyone could hit their marks at the right time, from the staircase opening and initial camera drift, through the kitchen fire  which took more than 30 takes, Stahelski says  and ending with Wick and the Tracker chasing each other through the apartment before the former jumps out a window. We shot the whole thing in less than three days, Stahelski says.

At the wrap, the cast and crew knew they had something special  an entertaining and ludicrous effort, as Rogers puts it, that captures what makes a John Wick movie a John Wick movie. But in the editing room, Stahelski found himself fighting to keep the sequence in. Hes glad he won.

When you see the top shot without all the cool effects and you dont see any of the Dragons Breath coming out with the muzzle flashes, what do you think is on the cutting table? Until pretty much the end, that was on the list that a lot of other people thought we should cut, Stahelski says. It wasnt until we put in the temp visual effects that people go, Oh, fuck. We didnt think it was going to be anything like that. And Im like, Good thing we didnt cut it.

Additional reporting by Vulture senior reporter Chris Lee.
From Life of Pi, at the Schoenfeld. Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

What do you want from me: Theres a tiger onstage! A big, hulking, royal Bengal tiger, slouching in a lifeboat with feline insouciance and thinking about eating a 17-year-old for lunch. You can see at least three puppeteers attached to the tiger at all timesone crouched inside its body, as if already consumed by the beast; another standing beside it, swaying the head like a pendulum; and a third at the rear, managing the hindquartersand a total of eight people are credited with its motions. On the West End, the tiger crew shared a supporting actor Olivier award, though Id argue that hes pretty much the star of this thing. Named Richard Parker, he makes its grand entrance early on in Life of Pi to devour a goat in a zoo, another lifelike puppet subjected to one of many gruesome animal deaths onstage. At my performance, he got the kind of applause that usually greets a movie star deigning to do a play on Broadway. Were here for the tiger, folksand yes, this tiger is pretty cool. Its a pity that hes stranded in a story awash with platitudes.

We meet the tiger in the zoo, but everyone is already waiting for him to reappear on a lifeboat, Life of Pis most famous setting. The play, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti, is of course based on Yann Martels 2001 novel which follows the fantasticalif familiar, owing to the success of both the book and Ang Lees 2012 filmpremise of a teenage boy named Pi Patel (played onstage by Hiran Abeysekera) whos shipwrecked with a tiger and a few other animals in the middle of the Pacific. Pi and his family intend to relocate their family zoo from Pondicherry to Canada and capsize somewhere outside Manila. Somehow, he makes it to Mexico. Thats not a spoiler, because because the story is framed, in its many versions, by an interview where Pi describes his unbelievable experience at sea, in this case to a naval inspector (Daisuke Tsuji) and a representative from the Canadian embassy (Kirsten Louie). He tells them his tale with a heavy emphasis on a woo-woo interpretation of faith, full of bromides about the power of storytelling. My story will make you believe in God, Pi announces to his interlocutors early on. I cant say it did, but it did reinforce my faith in puppetry.

The sermonizing lands hardest near the beginning and end of Life of Pi, where director Max Webster lets things get a little slack and starry-eyed. The first act is essentially an extended prologue, explaining how Pi gets stuck on that lifeboat, and the action drags. You end up rooting for catastrophe to hit sooner. Much of the time before then is spent on a series of scenes set around the familys zoo that heavy-handedly lay thematic groundwork. Take note when Pis father (Rajesh Bose) says man is the most dangerous animal in the zoo, early on, because youre going to hear that line twice more before the show ends.

Pi himself is one of those good to be true super-special boy protagonists. He happens to be interested in three religions at onceHinduism, Islam, and Christianityand sees little conflict between them. Abeysekera wisely makes the choice to lean into his humor wherever possible (Ive had a terrible trip, he deadpans in his hospital room in Mexico) to bring him a little closer to the earth, even if it still feels like the boy floats a few inches above the ground at all times. Sathya Sridharan, similarly brings wit to Pis worldly maternal uncle, whos traveled in France and is responsible for naming him Piscine in the first place, but also has to deliver some of Life of Pis glancing descriptions of political unrest in late-70s India. Like the animals at the zoo, he says, the political parties involved dont need to like each other, they just have to share. Like many of the sentiments in Life of Pi, thats boldly, vaguely true enough.

Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Best to take the plays cue and focus less on the people and more on the charismatic megafauna. In addition to Richard Parker the tiger, the marquee animal stars include a woeful zebra, an evil hyena, and a soulful orangutan named Orange Juice whos partly puppeteered by Mahira Kakkar, who also plays Pis mother, a doubling that prompts your sympathy for the ape and provides an early tell that Pis story may be more metaphorical than real. The first act comes together when, finally, the storm hits, the cargo ship goes down, and Pi and some of the animals end up on the lifeboat. Theres no sign of the tiger at first. Then Webster directs a taut sequence of animal-on-animal violence incited by the hyenawhich the puppeteers delightfully refer to as megadeaththat leads up to Richard Parkers action-hero-like re-emergence onto the stage. Its visceral and unsettling, so much so that the children I saw in the audience looked shell-shocked at intermission. (Id still recommend taking your kids; being unsettled by something on Broadway is an essential step in growing up.) The second act gets to the heart of the story as Pi tries to tame the tiger and survive at sea, conjuring more spectacles, some in the same gruesome vein and others more serene. Tim Hatleys scenic design cleverly finds multiple uses for elements of the set, so that Pis bed in his hospital becomes part of the lifeboat and the frames of umbrellas that uses to try to capture rain reappear as constellations held by members of the ensemble. At one point, Pi jumps through the stage into the water, and at another, meets a sea turtle that moves in some primal way that reads as wise. This being a survival tale, Pi also has to kill the turtle. In that death, as in many of the others, the puppeteer detaches from the animal as its killed, the human slipping offstage like a soul leaving a body. Theres more heft in that gesture than in any of Pis more self-conscious moralizing.

By the end of the play, Life of Pi wraps back around to its big lessons, making landfall again in the land of the vague and obvious. What sticks more clearly, however, are the productions smaller gestures like that turtles death: The way its creatures trigger your empathy in the way they move with consideration and care. In my favorite of those little moments, theres a scene where Richard Parker slips a paw under his chin to watch Pi. The expressions both menacingly predatory and as approachable as a housecat. Pi, when his interviewers demand a more rational explanation for his survival, challenges them with the question Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals? Who would say no to the one with animals, especially when the animals look like this?
Parenting is tough. Its especially tough when youre a ghost. It just is! Alberta is the latest of our Woodstone ghosts to learn that the hard way (see also: Pete, Thor) when the great-granddaughter of her younger sister Reese arrives at the B&B.

Alicia comes seeking out Sam  shes a big fan of Sams Alberta Haynes podcast and wants to know more about her relative. Suffice it to say, Albertas beside herself with excitement to be able to interact with a living relative. It has been 100 years! She has so many questions about her family! Who cares if those questions make Sam look like a creep? This is Albertas time! Alicia, a single lawyer inspired by Alberta, seems great. Well, sorry, she seems great until Creepy Todd shows up to record a new episode of the podcast with Sam and Alicia, and Todd and Alicia hit it off. There is flirting, if you can believe it. There is a romantic walk. There is a dinner date at the B&B. Once again, Alberta is beside herself, but this time with terror. She cant believe it, her descendant is hot for Todd.

The ghosts point out to Sam that this might be her fault  she has been editing the podcasts to make sure Todd sounds, well, less like a complete weirdo. She is, apparently, a great podcast producer. They realize that the only way they can stop this budding romance is to make Alicia aware of what Todd is really like. According to Thor, they need to cod-block Todd. Sam doesnt have time to explain the real term  Thors very into both reality TV and cod, hence cod-block. Honestly, its fun to let him have this one. Sam isnt thrilled with inserting herself into Alicias life, but Alberta pleads with her: She died young and never had a chance at being a mother, and steering Alicia in the right direction might be her only real shot at parenthood. Sams a sucker for an emotional plea, so cod-block she will. Someone has to deny two lonely people a chance at love, you know?

Once Todd and Alicias dinner date gets going, cod-blocking is a breeze. They really do seem to be having a nice time. As they chat, Alicia brings up that she has always thought about ditching her legal work to pursue a music career. Todd thinks she should go for it  Alberta went after her dreams too. Surely she would be Alicias first supporter of taking such a big risk. Little does Todd know that Alberta is right there listening to this conversation, and she couldnt disagree more. (If only all podcasters could be haunted by their subjects.) It doesnt take long for Sam to make Todds peculiarities known to Alicia. She starts small with the fact that he still lives in his mothers basement and runs the Alberta Haynes Museum out of his garage, but then drops the heavy hitters into the conversation: Todds giant back tattoo of Albertas face and that little gem about buying Albertas toenail on the internet in hopes of cloning her one day. See? Cod-blocking is easy.

Just because Alicias eyes are open to what a freak Todd is doesnt mean that she isnt still thinking about their conversation about chasing her dreams of becoming a musician the next day. Albertas frustrated  she just saved her relative from a life with Toenail Todd, and now she has to watch her flush a great career down the toilet to go after something likely unattainable. Thats the thing about parenting: The victories are very short-lived, Pete commiserates with her. Both Pete and Thor try to relate to Albertas predicament, but even they admit that their experience with parenting is pretty different from Albertas  Petes daughter was just a kid when Pete died, and Thors a father to an adult male baby ghost and most of his parenting tips are about accepting Danes, so not the most helpful.

Alberta pushes Sam to talk to Alicia again, but Alicias resolute: The only thing shell regret is not trying. Then she starts singing, and its gorgeous. Alberta is moved, and she begins harmonizing with her, and everyone else is impressed. Screw it. You tell her to go for it, says Alberta. She wants Alicia to try. Support and encouragement? How very parental of our dear Alberta.

But wait! The big news comes at the very end of the episode. Sam and Todd interview Alicia for the podcast. You might recall that the last clue they found in the case of Albertas murder was that note between Albertas then-boyfriend Earl and a woman called T plotting to get rid of her. Alicia doesnt have any guesses as to the identity of T, but she does know that her great-grandmother Reese dated Earl after Albertas death. Suddenly, it dawns on Alberta  Reese is short for Teresa. Could T be Albertas sister? Did Albertas own sister have something to do with her murder? Will CBS produce a few episodes of this podcast even if it means we must give airtime to Creepy Todd? Only time will tell!

Theres another major drama in the house that is less murder-y but equally compelling. Oh, baby, it is time: Hetty and Trevor are going public. Admittedly, I thought this reveal might come to light in a more audacious, ridiculous manner, but instead, the other ghosts find out about Hetty and Trevor because  Hetty and Trevor decide to tell them  because Hetty and Trevor maybe, sort of, really like each other? Its very sweet, especially on Trevors side of things, and I love that Ghosts went this route.

So how did Hetty and Trevor get from basement hookups to letting everyone in on their secret? Its thanks mostly to Nigel finally using his knowledge of their tryst as blackmail. Bless that, as Hetty calls him, filthy little teapot. Nigel wants Trevors bedroom, because theres a TV in it, and he threatens to tell everyone about what he saw in the basement unless Trevor gives it up. Trevor doesnt want to give it up, and he certainly doesnt want to move into a room full of books for obvious Wall Streetbro reasons, but Hetty almost immediately agrees to the deal. Trevor doesnt understand why they dont just tell everyone, then he realizes that what he thought was just a bit, just some super-mean foreplay, isnt a bit at all  Hettys actually embarrassed to be with him. She explains that part of it is that she was a woman of such high status in her day, but most of it is because of the no-pants thing. Its tough to date a man who never wears pants regardless of the circumstances (you get it). While it was fun and exciting for Trevor to be hooking up in secret, now that he knows the truth, it just makes him feel bad about himself. He breaks up with Hetty. The man with no pants has a lot of self-respect, and you have to give it up for that.

So consider Hetty utterly confused when she finds Trevor, post-breakup, moving into the library and letting Nigel take his room. Trevor explains that Nigel was still threatening to tell everyone the truth, regardless of their current relationship status, and while he doesnt care, Trevor knows that Hetty does. He gave up his room for her. Trevor is a good guy, and we know this.

The whole thing rattles Hetty. Trevors selflessness and affection for her is, well, basically the opposite of what shed experienced with Elias. In return, she decides to do something surprising: She gathers the ghosts and finally tells them the truth about her relationship with Trevor. Well, she tries to anyway. Unfortunately, Hetty uses phrases like engaged in amorous congress and scrumping. Trevor is the one who has to stand up and inform everyone that theyve been doing it for the full message to get across. Jaws drop, Flower asks about a third, and Isaac applauds his best friend for finally finding her stable boy. Theres sure to be more commentary on the whole thing, but for now, the group is pretty into this pairing! Plus Trevor gets his room back from Nigel. All in all, its a good day for No Pants.

Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun

 Pete, when he misinterprets what Alicia means when she says shes on all the (dating) apps and theyre a nightmare: She hates apps? Has she tried jalapeno poppers? The only nightmare is when youre done.

 Sorry, other ghosts, but I laugh every time Thor calls cars land ships.

 Trevor explaining to Hetty why he gave up his room for her: Thats the kind of guy I am. The kind of guy you couldve had if you werent embarrassed of me. Now please leave. My shirts not long enough to cover my butt, and I want to roll over.

 Isaac to Alberta when he sees that Todd has returned to the B&B: Oh, hes back. To clarify, I said Hes back, not His back, which is the thing that has your face on it.

 Apparently, Trevor has been trying to get Hetty to do a little role-playing in which shes a mermaid and hes the co-owner of a wholesale-fruit-and-vegetable business. Hettys response? Were not doing Splash. Stop asking.
Ken Marinos characters desperately want things and display those desires like neon signs that never stop flashing. Photo: Damien Maloney

On the lawn of an opulent Mediterranean estate in Beverly Hills, Ken Marino rolls the legs of his dark blue jeans all the way up to his knees so he can wade into a long, shallow pool. The dip is his idea: Hes midphoto shoot and appreciates the incongruity of the actor best known for playing Ron Donald  his character on the cater-waiter comedy Party Down and a man whose boundless optimism is surpassed only by his capacity to do the stupidest shit imaginable  unwinding at a venue like the Palazzo di Amore. Guys who look out of place are Ken Marinos specialty, and Ron, a destined-to-fail food-service boss with a bad flattop haircut and propensity to descend into a mad panic, is his masterpiece. But before Marino can even get his feet wet, the photographers assistant, Chad, notices something unpleasant: a dead rat at the bottom of the pool. After a dustbin and trash can are procured, Chad scoops out the drowned rodent, and Marino, undeterred, climbs into the water to stand for picture after picture. Its not like any plagues have been started by rats, he deadpans, a quieter attempt at humor than the big, broad swings he takes onscreen. In roughly eight hours, he will return to the estate for the post-premiere celebration of Party Downs third season, a revival set 13 years after the original Starz series was canceled, so he excuses himself to wash off his rat legs. Even a performer who has spent decades making uninhibited comedic choices knows when to play it safe.

In person, Marino is warm, self-effacing, and generally unlike the characters he excels at playing, most of whom are better described as off-putting. They take up space. Theyre a little strange. They desperately want things and display those desires  to lose their virginity in Wet Hot American Summer, to be the most powerful private investigator in Neptune, California, in Veronica Mars, to creep deeper into the family he works for in The Other Two  like neon signs that never stop flashing. Marinos approach to his performances isnt so much go big or go home as just keep going bigger until, like, infinity. Yet even when youre doubled over laughing at his characters inadequacies, he makes you feel for these idiots, including his most spectacular idiot, Ron, whose response to an allergic reaction that causes his legs to buckle and his eyes to recede into his skull is Pressure makes diamonds.

Marinos character work began at New York University in the late 1980s, when he and ten friends launched a comedy troupe they eventually named The State. It garnered the attention of MTV, which gave them a series in 1994, also called The State, filled with raw, absurdist tendencies that laid the foundation for future projects like Wet Hot and Reno 911!. The experience taught Marino how to be fearless and go for broke in performance and not censor myself, he says, an attitude best exemplified by his most well-known State character, Louie, a dude who bursts into parties and shouts the asinine catchphrase, I want to dip my balls in it! until he goes cross-eyed.

Marino is a child of sketch comedy, but hes also a student of Method acting. While studying at NYU, he took classes at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, where he learned how to anchor his characters in realism. Marinos first big role after graduation, before The State landed on MTV, wasnt even a comedy. He was an ensemble member (and Josh Malinas understudy) for a 1992 touring production of Aaron Sorkins A Few Good Men. From that point on, Marinos deftness with drama and his conventionally handsome looks  he is six feet tall and broad-shouldered, with an easy, charming smile  could just as easily get him cast as the love interest in a Hallmark rom-com (2006s Falling in Love With the Girl Next Door) or the crush-worthy professor on a teen drama (Joeys teacher on Dawsons Creek from 2001 to 2002). Weirder work with his State friends would remain steady. (He appeared in Wet Hot, written by David Wain and Michael Showalter, in 2001, and in The Ten, a Ten Commandments riff that he and Wain co-wrote, in 2007. He popped into Reno 911, created by Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, and Kerri Kenney-Silver, and the 2005 sketch series Stella, created by Wain, Showalter, and Michael Ian Black.) But he could never quite shake the normie parts and cameos on network shows like Greys Anatomy and Private Practice.

Make a decision, find a real way to express that, believe it, and then dont think that just because the choices are bigger or weirder that theyre false.

Seated on a velvet blue sofa in the screening room of this mansion and sipping a Starbucks iced coffee, Marino explains that more than ten years into his career, he felt lost, unsure how to integrate his tamer roles with the joy he got from playing over-the-top characters. What finally provided clarity, he says, was his recurring stint as Vinnie Van Lowe, the pompous private detective on Veronica Mars who had no qualms about belting Hall & Oatess Private Eyes at his perceived nemesis (a teenager) to prove he has the upper hand. (Spoiler: Vinnie rarely has the upper hand.)

I was like, Im just going to play a more character-y guy, he says of Vinnie, who he portrayed during the shows original run from 2005 to 2007, and in the 2014 movie and 2019 Veronica Mars revival on Hulu. So I did, and they didnt tell me to stop. He realized he could bring an unwritten, unhinged energy to all of his performances, as long as he didnt forget the skills he learned at Strasberg: Make a decision, find a real way to express that, believe it, and then dont think that just because the choices are bigger or weirder that theyre false. As long as you can ground them, they work.

A string of memorable morons unfurled from there. In 2012s Wanderlust, another film co-written with Wain, Marino stole scenes as Rick Gergenblatt, Paul Rudds unfiltered brother and the owner of a Porta-Potty business. (Marinos dad ran a cesspool-service company, which is why he sneaks in references to either a toilet bowl or Porta-Potties or something alluding to that world in everything he writes.) In 2013s Eastbound and Down, he transformed into a sports-talk-show host so insecure he jet-packs into a scene to prove hes more of a man than Danny McBrides Kenny Powers. More recently, he undergirded the obsequious talent manager Streeter Peters with a need to be liked on HBO Maxs The Other Two.

But Marinos most indelible nitwit remains Ron Donald, the intense catering team leader to a bunch of Hollywood creatives whod rather be anywhere than slinging hors doeuvres at yet another cocktail reception. (Three people who worked as writers and producers on Veronica Mars  John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, and Mars creator Rob Thomas  would go on to create Party Down with Paul Rudd and cast Marino as Ron.) In the first two seasons of Party Down, which was critically lauded but barely seen (co-star Adam Scott once joked that something like 13,000 viewers watched the finale), Ron is a young man scrapping to achieve something and blowing it every step of the way, whether by accidentally setting American flags on fire or vomiting at his own high-school reunion, which, of course, he was also catering.

In the third season, which returned to Starz following years of revival-teasing conversation among the creators and stars, Ron is just as delusional and prone to getting into horrifying predicaments. But with middle age comes a new sense of urgency. Ron is more determined to believe that good things are coming and that powering through a scorching case of food poisoning is the only appropriate way to proceed. Marino sweats, collapses, and explosively diarrheas his way into the physical-comedy Hall of Fame while maintaining a Strasbergian commitment to honesty. At one point during the shoot, he farted on purpose, he explains, to see what everybody would do. I knew I had one in there during a take, and I was like, Well, am I gonna hold it in and pretend to fart? No.

I have friends, very talented people, who never think about what the next thing is, and they get the next job and its fine, Marino says. They dont worry about it as much as I do. I always worry about it. Photo: Damien Maloney

Marino insists that Ron Donald lives inside of him, a fact made apparent on the red carpet outside the Bruin Theatre where the Party Down premiere is taking place. Standing beside his co-stars  including Jane Lynch, Megan Mullally, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen, Jennifer Garner, and James Marsden (Scott is not physically present, so Marino pulls up a photo of his face on his cell phone instead)  Marino releases the irrepressible. Everybody do a sexy look, he shouts to his colleagues. They comply. He suggests everyone hysterically laugh at an unspoken joke. They do that too. Marino is suddenly all kinetic energy, which Starr later tells me is what Marino is like when hes behind the camera as well. He directs the way he acts, Starr says. Manic.

Starr means it as a compliment, even if it doesnt sound like one. After we did season one, I left Ken a voice-mail message, he adds. I told him that I didnt like his performance in anything that I had seen him in before we started working together, but after working with him on the show, he is by far the best character. While I think his natural comedic style is broad, it works so well for the show and feels so grounded and real.

Back at the palazzo  where a grand patio has now been decked out with food stations, an ice sculpture of the Party Down logo, and tray-circulating servers dressed exactly like the Party Down waiters  Marino continues pushing for big, open-mouthed smiles every time he poses for a photo. A friend, fellow actor Andrea Savage (who played Casey in the unaired Party Down pilot; when the show finally sold, she was pregnant and the part went to Lizzie Caplan), calls him out on it. She digs through her own iPhone library, eventually finding an image of the very first Party Down ensemble. In it, Marinos mouth is wide open and so is Scotts. Savage shoves the photo in front of Marinos face: Youre still doing the same bit, she says drily. Marino cracks up, this time for real.

Marino is aware of an anxiety constantly lurking beneath the surface of his performances, easily masked by all the guffaws. He, like Ron, can be a people pleaser: Even at a party celebrating the triumphant return of his series  the sort of high-wattage event that Party Down never got during its initial two seasons on premium cable  Marino is looking after everyone else. Are the photographers getting the shot? Are the waiters warm enough in their thin white button-downs on this atypically chilly Los Angeles night?

I have friends, very talented people, who never think about what the next thing is, and they get the next job and its fine, he confides. They dont worry about it as much as I do. I always worry about it.

His friend and former State member Joe LoTruglio has a gentler read. He recalls one of his earliest memories of Marino, when they were just college kids. LoTruglio had just finished eating an apple, and even though Marino didnt know LoTruglio yet, he voluntarily took the apple and threw it away. It was a small but significant gesture. When youre trying to be funny, the most valuable thing you can ask for from your fellow actor is to feel completely safe and taken care of, LoTruglio says.

Marino doesnt hear this adulation, but earlier, when I relayed some of the kind words my own colleagues shared about his ability to imbue Ron with so much humor and pathos, hes verklempt. At first, the tears play like a bit, but after several seconds, it becomes clear hes so overcome he can barely speak.

I dont think I can handle compliments, he finally ekes out, laughing. I feel like Im constantly churning it out and hoping that people respond. Im trying my best to do the best work I can. So when you say that  he pauses again to gather himself  I think its just nice to hear.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 31, 2023 - 20:34 | World, All, Japan

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi announced on Friday his plan to visit Beijing this weekend for talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang, where he will push for the early release of a Japanese businessman recently detained in the country for alleged espionage.

Hayashi said at a press conference that he will also make a four-day trip to Brussels from Monday to attend a foreign ministerial meeting of NATO countries and their partners, at which they are likely to reaffirm their unified stance over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Referring to his planned two-day visit to the Chinese capital from Saturday, Hayashi said he will "explain our nation's position" on current issues between Tokyo and Beijing, including the detention case.

Hayashi will be the first Japanese foreign minister to visit China since December 2019, as well as the first to hold an in-person meeting with his Chinese counterpart since November 2020, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The meeting comes amid Japan pressing for the release of a senior employee of Japanese pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma Inc., detained in Beijing in March on suspicion of engaging in espionage, putting further strain on bilateral ties.

"I will have a candid and in-depth exchange of views (with Qin) to build constructive and stable Japan-China relations," Hayashi said.

Hayashi noted that his China visit is part of preparations for the Group of Seven summit to be hosted by Japan in Hiroshima in May. G-7 members plan to discuss a slew of issues concerning the Indo-Pacific region, including those involving China.

Beijing also announced Hayashi's trip to China, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning saying at a press conference Friday that the country "attaches importance" to his visit, adding that it will "enhance dialogue and communication" with Tokyo.

Mao echoed Hayashi's view, saying Beijing will seek to promote the building of a "stable and constructive China-Japan relationship set for the new era."

She also said China and Japan are each other's neighbors, and that a healthy and stable relationship between them serves the common interests of both countries and the region.

Beijing is eager to work with Tokyo to make this year's 45th anniversary of the signing of the 1978 bilateral Peace and Friendship Treaty an opportunity to "deepen practical cooperation and manage and control differences," Mao added.

Japan and China have long been at loggerheads over the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which Beijing claims and calls Diaoyu, with Chinese coast guard vessels repeatedly entering territorial waters around the uninhabited islets.

In November last year, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at a summit in Bangkok to arrange Hayashi's visit to China. Qin reiterated his invitation during phone talks between the two foreign ministers last month.

Qin, a former Chinese ambassador to the United States, succeeded Wang Yi in late December last year, and was promoted to state councilor this month.

Later on Friday, the Japanese and Chinese governments said that a hotline between their defense authorities has been set up, 16 years after first agreeing on the launch of the measure designed to build confidence and prevent unexpected contingencies.

The establishment of the direct communications link follows a security dialogue between the two governments in Tokyo in late February, when their senior officials agreed they would work together to launch the hotline "around spring of this year."

Although the hotline is not yet in operation, it is expected to be a pillar of the Maritime and Aerial Communication Mechanism that Tokyo and Beijing began in 2018 to avoid accidental clashes at sea and in the air.

In the Belgian capital, foreign ministers from countries such as South Korea, Australia and Ukraine will also attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting, according to Hayashi.

It will be the second straight year that Hayashi attends a NATO foreign ministerial meeting.
This photo taken on March 29, 2023 shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. Visiting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi has arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the country's state-run nuclear energy operator Energoatom said Wednesday. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)

KIEV, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Visiting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi has arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine, the country's state-run nuclear energy operator Energoatom said Wednesday.

During his visit, Grossi will evaluate the situation at the nuclear plant and talk to the engineers who operate it, Energoatom said in a Telegram post.

The visit is also aimed at guaranteeing the rotation of the members of the IAEA mission, which has been working at the ZNPP since September 2022. It marks Grossi's second trip to the plant after it fell under Russia's control.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, one of Europe's largest nuclear power plants, has been controlled by Russian forces since March 2022, but its Ukrainian staff has continued to operate it. 

This photo taken on March 29, 2023 shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. Visiting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi has arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the country's state-run nuclear energy operator Energoatom said Wednesday. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)
Pontiff plans to take part in Palm Sunday Mass, Vatican says.

Pope Francis is set to be discharged from hospital on Saturday, the Vatican has confirmed, after the 86-year-old pontiff was hospitalised on Wednesday with a respiratory infection.

The Vatican said in a statement on Friday that Francis is expected to return to his Santa Marta residence on Saturday "upon the outcome of the results of the last examinations this morning."

The pontiff is being treated with antiobiotics for viral bronchitis at Rome's Gemelli hospital after experiencing difficulty breathing earlier this week.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that Francis plans to take part in the Palm Sunday Mass in St Peters Square on Sunday, at the beginning of the Holy Week schedule leading up to Easter.

The pope's recovery has been "normal", according to Bruni, who stated on Thursday that Francis had experienced a "marked improvement in his state of health" following treatment at the Gemelli.

Bruni also said that the pontiff had eaten pizza on Thursday evening with doctors, nurses and staff, and on Friday morning after breakfast the pope read some newspapers and resumed work.

Italian media reported on Thursday that Cardinal Leonardo Sandri was set to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, with various other cardinals lined up to preside over Easter ceremonies.

Photo credit: giulio napolitano / Shutterstock.com
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French President Emmanuel Macron is being criticized for pressing on with a divisive pension reform despite a lack of parliamentary support and angry protests across the country. Its true that hes gambled, but hes right to persevere. Macrons reforms are both moderate and necessary: Its his critics whore letting France down.

Outsiders can only marvel at the rage aroused by Macrons proposal. Over more than a week, hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets, widespread strikes have roiled the economy, extremists have attacked police and damaged property, flights and public transit have crept to a standstill, and some gas stations have all but gone dry thanks to refinery disruptions. Trash piled up across Paris as garbage collectors walked out.

For all that, the mooted reforms arent exactly revolutionary. Macron wants to gradually raise the basic retirement age from 62 to 64, which would still be low in comparison with most other countries. Although modest, that change would make a significant difference: Because the current system replaces an unusually big share of incomes in work, it costs 14% of gross domestic product, roughly double what the US spends on its own relatively generous public-pension program. Public spending in France stands at some 60% of GDP, leaving no room in the budget for such excess. The longer the needed reforms are delayed, the worse the fiscal problem will get.

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In short, the case for action could hardly be stronger  which might explain why many are attacking Macron for the method of his reform as much as its substance. Unable to command a majority in parliament, the president used a constitutional provision to advance the plan at his own initiative. This maneuver, known as 49.3, has yet to be reviewed by Frances constitutional council. But it appears to be lawful in this case and is otherwise almost routine: Introduced by President Charles de Gaulle, its been deployed 100 times by successive governments.

Of course, a straightforward vote wouldve been preferable. Invoking 49.3 was bound to not only inflame the backlash to Macrons plan (as it has) but to validate the widespread perception of the president as imperious and dismissive of dissent. His critics argue  with some justification  that Macron is substituting his personal judgment for that of the two-thirds of French voters who oppose the plan.

Yet theres a measure of hypocrisy in these claims. Many parliamentarians who had declined to directly support the pension reform chose to sustain the government in the confidence votes, allowing the plan to proceed regardless. This was a craven denial of responsibility. If they opposed the plan, they shouldve blocked it. If they saw the case for it, they shouldve said so, and put the argument before voters. Instead, theyve allowed Macron to take the heat for changes that almost every fair-minded analyst has concluded are needed to put the countrys finances on a sustainable footing.

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Leadership sometimes demands making unpopular decisions. Macron has risked his government and his personal popularity (which has plummeted) to stick with an unloved but necessary reform. Even if he loses this gamble  even if the strikes and protests eventually force him to back down  he has done the right thing.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Blocking the Louvre Wont Defuse Pensions Bomb: Lionel Laurent

 Macron and the Rough Art of Kingship in Modern France: Howard Chua-Eoan

 Tax Evasions on the Agenda Again in Melonis Italy: Rachel Sanderson

The Editors are members of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board.

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Former President Donald Trump embarked on another White House run while facing a slew of legal troubles, not least the criminal probe in New York City that has now led to a felony indictment. The cases could pose distractions and produce unflattering revelations  not to mention adverse verdicts  that no presidential candidate would welcome. Trump is no normal politician, though, and the legal scrutiny could feed his preferred narrative that he is being unfairly targeted by the current Democratic administration and a deep state bureaucracy.

1. What is the New York case about?

The investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office concerns whether Trump and his company falsified records to conceal payments on the eve of the 2016 election to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, intended to keep her from going public about her alleged affair with Trump. (Trump has denied the affair.) Former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, a key player in the alleged scheme, admitted he facilitated payments and was reimbursed by the Trump Organization for advancing the money to Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance charges and other violations in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison. Cohen implicated Trump in his plea  which referred to Trump as Individual-1  but federal prosecutors decided not bring charges against someone who was then the sitting president.

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2. Whats the status of the other criminal cases?

 The FBI said it found 11 sets of documents bearing classified markings at Trumps home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, a number of which were marked top secret. In their search warrant, agents said they were investigating a potential violation of the Espionage Act  which makes it a crime to remove or misuse national-defense information  along with obstruction of justice and violation of a law prohibiting the removal or destruction of government records. Days after Trump announced his candidacy, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith, the former head of the Justice Departments public integrity section, as special counsel to take over the probe.

 Smith is also overseeing a Justice Department inquiry into whether Trump or people tied to him instigated the violent attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 election. The Democrat-led House of Representatives committee that investigated the Capitol riot voted on Dec. 19 to recommend that the Justice Department charge Trump with insurrection and other crimes  though such criminal referrals from Congress carry no legal weight on their own. Republicans have since taken control of the House.

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 In Georgia, Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating whether Trump broke the law in his attempts to alter the results of the states 2020 vote. In a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call, Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find him 11,780 votes  one more than Joe Bidens margin of victory in the state. A special grand jury that heard evidence in the case finished its work by submitting a report to Willis, who will decide whether to bring charges. The foreperson of that special grand jury, in media interviews that Trumps lawyers condemned, said the panels recommendations included indicting more than a dozen people, and she hinted that Trump was among them.

 On Dec. 6, following a weeks-long trial, two units of his family business, the Trump Organization, were found guilty of engaging in a 13-year tax-evasion scheme. A Manhattan jury found the two units guilty of all 17 counts including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. Trump himself wasnt charged. The two companies were assessed a $1.6 million fine. With a felony on its record, the Trump Organization could be barred from further contracts with government agencies and could have trouble doing business with banks. Lawyers for both units said they would appeal.

3. Could any of this disqualify Trump as a presidential candidate?

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Probably not. Article II of the US Constitution, which lays out qualifications for the presidency, says nothing about criminal accusations or convictions. Trump opponents see two possible avenues to challenging his eligibility, however. One is a federal law barring the removal or destruction of government records: It says anyone convicted of the offense is disqualified from federal office. This could conceivably apply if  and this is a big if  Trump is charged and convicted for taking classified documents from the White House. The other is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. It says nobody can hold a seat in Congress, or any office, civil or military, if they engaged in insurrection or rebellion. Two advocacy groups have said they would sue to make sure the 14th Amendment prohibition applies to Trump.

4. Where do the civil cases stand?

 A civil suit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Trump and three of his children is perhaps the biggest threat to the former presidents wealth, as well as his image as a successful businessman. It accuses them and their real estate company of fraudulently manipulating the value of assets for years to deceive banks and insurers. James is seeking $250 million in disgorgement and a permanent ban on the four Trumps doing business in New York. Shes already succeeded in winning a court order for an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization, a move that could bring unprecedented scrutiny to the former presidents finances.

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 A trial is scheduled for April 25 in a lawsuit by New York advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who sued Trump for battery and defamation stemming from her claim that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. The suit was filed under New Yorks new Adult Survivors Act, which lifted the statute of limitations for one year on civil claims for sexual offenses. When Carroll first made her accusation in 2019, Trump said she was not his type and that she made up the claim to boost sales of her book.

 Trump, his company and his three oldest children are also facing a class-action lawsuit filed in 2018 by four investors who claimed that they were duped by Trumps promotions into paying thousands of dollars to become independent sellers with ACN Opportunity LLC, which sold a doomed videophone device that Trump touted as the next big thing. The devices were made obsolete by smartphones. Trump sat for questions in October.

 Trump was sued by 12 Democratic lawmakers accusing him of sparking the Jan. 6 riot. Multiple Capitol police officers also sued Trump for physical injuries and racist abuse suffered during that day. Through appeals, Trump is trying to get the cases dismissed.

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 Mary Trump, the former presidents niece, sued her uncle, his late brother and older sister for allegedly cheating her out of her share of the family fortune. Donald Trump won dismissal of the lawsuit on Nov. 14; Mary Trump is seeking to have it reinstated.

 A group of Michigan voters sued Trump and his reelection campaign in 2020 for mass voter suppression, particularly among Black voters. Trumps attempt to dismiss the case was partially granted; the Michigan group sought more time to file a second complaint.

5. Do these cases hurt him politically?

In polling that has remained remarkably steady, roughly 53% of Americans say they view Trump unfavorably compared with 43% who view him favorably. He continues to hold a substantial lead among Republican voters as their pick for the 2024 nomination. A recent Economist/YouGov poll showed that views of Trumps legal travails largely align with how people view him more generally. Offered the basic outline of the hush-money charge, without Trumps name attached, poll respondents overwhelmingly agreed that its a crime for a candidate for elected office to pay someone to remain silent about an issue that may affect the outcome of an election. But when the question was rephrased to be specifically about Trump, just 15% of Republicans called it a very serious issue, compared with 53% of Democrats. Trump has long tried to cast lawsuits against him and investigations into his conduct as politically motivated, calling them hoaxes and witch hunts.

--With assistance from Erik Larson.

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When NATO invited Sweden and Finland into the military alliance in June, its leaders hailed a historic decision that showed their collective determination to face down Russian aggression in Ukraine. But the expansion plan has splintered, with Turkey green-lighting Finland while refusing to allow Sweden to join unless it does more to crack down on groups outlawed in Turkey, including the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK. As the dispute drags on, its complicating efforts to present a united front against Moscow.

1. What does Turkey want?

Its demanding that Sweden extradite suspected Kurdish militants and alleged coup-plotters wanted by Turkey and stop supporters of Kurdish movements in Sweden displaying their allegiances openly. (Swedens laws on freedom of speech make it hard for the government to stifle public expressions of support for Kurdish independence.) Initially Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opposed Finlands bid too. But it lifted that block while effectively deferring a decision on Swedens membership bid until after the Nordic countrys new anti-terrorism laws go into force in June. The Swedish law, long in the works, will ban participation in a terrorist organization and give authorities tools to intervene in terrorist activity at an earlier stage. The other holdout, Hungary, also approved Finlands entry while delaying a decision on Sweden. Hungarys ruling party has linked that to a clash inside the European Union over the rule of law.

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2. Whats Turkeys problem with the Kurds?

The Kurds are an Indo-European people, about 30 million strong, and one of the worlds largest ethnic groups without a state of their own. Their homeland is divided among Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. The PKK has fought Turkish forces on and off since the mid-1980s as it seeks an autonomous region for Kurds inside Turkey. Turkey is particularly focused on the Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, a Kurdish militia in Syria that was instrumental in the defeat of the Islamic State there. Turkey views the YPG as a security threat due to its ties to separatist Kurds in Turkey.

3. Why is Sweden involved?

Sweden has long sought to promote human rights and respect for minorities abroad, and the countrys welcome of refugees has made it home to as many as 100,000 Kurds. Some are Turkish opposition members sought by Erdogans government. Sweden has tended to align with other European nations in the way it treats Kurdish demands for self-determination and was the first country after Turkey to designate the PKK as a terrorist organization, in 1984. Erdogan wants some 120 individuals extradited, while Sweden has said it cant just hand people over without due process. The countrys Supreme Court, which makes decisions on extradition requests, has rejected appeals from Turkey on various grounds, including risk of persecution. Since they could do not give them to us, it is not possible for us to look positively to Sweden, Erdogan said on March 17. Thats why we had to separate Sweden from Finland.

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4. Why does the dispute matter?

Sweden and Finland conduct military exercises with NATO and increasingly share intelligence with it. However, they didnt join the group earlier for historical reasons. Having Sweden and Finland in the alliance would arguably make it easier to stabilize the security of the area around the Baltic Sea and to defend NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Those countries are often seen as potential targets for Russian aggression. Including Finland and Sweden would add to NATO two sophisticated, well-equipped militaries whose gear is already compatible with that used by the alliance. It would double the length of NATOs border with Russia, which now comprises just 6% of Russias land perimeter, and enable the alliance to improve its surveillance of the countrys western flank.

5. What are the chances of a resolution?

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Erdogan faces presidential and parliamentary elections in May and maintaining a tough stance against Sweden could consolidate his support in nationalist circles. The Nordic countries fulfill NATOs criteria and their terrorism legislation and treatment of Kurds align with those of alliance members. The US, the most powerful country in the alliance, has repeatedly urged Turkey to ratify their applications, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly said that Sweden has delivered on the pledges it made to Turkey in an agreement between the countries signed in June last year. The tougher law thats entering into force in Sweden June 1 may help sway Erdogans mind. The Turkish president said talks with Sweden will continue.

6. Where does this leave Finland?

While joining NATO improves Finnish security, doing so without Sweden risks hampering supply routes and NATOs ability to provide security guarantees. It would also entail rolling back some close military cooperation the two counties have developed over the years, if Swedens accession is significantly delayed.

--With assistance from Onur Ant, Firat Kozok and Kati Pohjanpalo.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

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Ma Ying-jeou speaks during a visit to Wuhan University in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 30, 2023. Ma joined a discussion between a group of students from Taiwan led by him and Wuhan University students during the visit. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

WUHAN, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, on Thursday called for the expansion of exchanges between students on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Ma made the remarks during a visit to Wuhan University, central China's Hubei Province.

It is important for the younger generation on both sides to interact more and understand each other further, said Ma, also expressing the hope that Wuhan University students will go to Taiwan for exchanges.

Exchanges between students across the Strait should be resumed and expanded, Ma said while joining a discussion between a group of students from Taiwan led by him and Wuhan University students.

The people in Taiwan and on the mainland share the same culture and ethnic identity, and exchanges can help promote integration between the two sides, he added. 

Ma Ying-jeou speaks during a visit to Wuhan University in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 30, 2023. Ma joined a discussion between a group of students from Taiwan led by him and Wuhan University students during the visit. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)
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For anyone who has sweated through record-high temperatures or waded through floodwater, it will come as no surprise that Britain is strikingly unprepared for the effects of climate change. Thats the conclusion of a report published Wednesday by the Climate Change Committee, the UKs independent advisory body on climate policy to the government.

It might feel surprising  or perhaps foreboding  that a rich country like the UK is so unready for the challenge. We typically hear about adaptation  changes in processes and structures to cope with the current and future impact of the climate crisis  in relation to developing nations whose vulnerable populations are bearing the brunt of change, such as extreme weather events becoming more frequent. But Lisa Schipper, professor of developmental geography at the University of Bonn, warns against that framing. Many people in the global north have been painted a picture in which climate disasters happen in poor countries, she told me. Thats led to a complacency that were perhaps just waking up from.

Poorer nations, which regularly meet harder times, have had a much clearer focus on adaptation for longer. In response to Germanys catastrophic floods in 2021, which killed 196 people, Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh, wrote an op-ed explaining how rich nations could learn from his home country. Though regularly struck by cyclones and floods, Bangladesh invested in minimizing the loss of human lives when disasters strike and now boasts one of the best disaster warning systems, with evacuation plans and shelters.

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Thats not to say developing countries dont need more help with sustainable development, or that the UK is uniquely ill-prepared in the developed world. As the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report summarized, policy gaps are stymieing the building of climate resilience everywhere. While investment in adaptation measures is increasing, it still represents a small portion of total green finance and is insufficient for the huge task at hand. Its also being held back by the very problems were trying to cope with. As losses pile up, more money is directed towards repairing the damage than safeguarding the future.

The situation in the UK is serious. The heatwave in summer 2022 contributed to wildfires, a prolonged drought and the highest rate of heat-related excess mortality that England has ever seen. It also demonstrated the risk of cascading impacts, when extreme temperatures caused two data centers  designed to act as back ups to each other  to fail. That, in turn, took down most of the clinical IT systems at several London hospitals and community services, causing widespread disruption to patient care. The country has also already been affected by changing conditions elsewhere: Unseasonably cold weather in Spain led to salad shortages in the UK just a few weeks ago.

Worryingly, what were currently witnessing is just the start. Every increment of temperature brings escalating effects and the temperature wont stop rising until we hit net zero, Julia King, chair of the CCCs adaptation committee, said in a press conference. We face roughly three more decades of increasing climate risks. It wont be long before exceeding 40C in the summer becomes somewhat normal.

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King refers to a lost decade in preparing for and adapting to known risks. Public spending in the UK has been low for years now, meaning that infrastructure and services are outdated and vulnerable. A government plan announced Thursday to boost energy investment and accelerate the deployment of renewable power contained little new spending.

Globally and domestically, its marginalized groups that suffer the most. Schipper emphasizes that equality has to be at the heart of all adaptation plans, or else youll only help a small section of people, and possibly make things worse for others. A study in Bangladesh, for example, found that eliminating floodplains protected male livelihoods, but cut off food and economic opportunities for poor, landless women.

People in the UK are aware of the risks  many live on floodplains or in houses that overheat  and are seeking a response, according to Chris Stark, chief executive officer of the CCC. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is currently responsible for making the economy more climate resilient; the CCC recommends introducing cross-governmental structures to ensure engagement and ownership from all relevant departments, because adaptation encompasses everything from telecommunications and transport to energy security and buildings.

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Research shows that the best measures are transformational, rather than incremental. Done correctly, you can solve other issues with adaptation. Including trees in urban design, for example, can reduce the risk of flooding, help keep cities cool, improve well-being and health and reduce air pollution. That beats making flood barriers a bit higher.

The British government is set to publish its third national adaptation program in mid-2023. Lets hope it takes the CCCs recommendations to heart, and learns from the experiences of those poorer countries that have been compelled to become exemplars.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 This Ocean Monster Offers a Climate Solution: Lara Williams

 A Green-Subsidy Arms Race Wont Stop Climate Change: Editorial

 Cleaning Up Pollution May Be Heating the Planet: David Fickling

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Lara Williams is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change.

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They are lukewarm about picking Biden as their nominee, but many believe he may be the best hope of preventing a second Trump term and fighting extremism.

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This series explores the plight of the National Gallery of Australia, an institution in a state of disrepair and in desperate need of funding.

Former governor-general Dame Quentin Bryce has used a rare intervention in public debate to express her dismay at the state of the National Gallery of Australia and add her voice to efforts to salvage the leaking, crisis-stricken cultural institution.

Bryce, who has largely stayed out of the limelight since her term as the first female governor-general ended in 2014, said it was incomprehensible and distressing that art treasures of world standing were at risk from water damage because the gallery had fallen into disrepair.

Former governor-general Quentin Bryce describes water leaks at the NGA as distressing. Credit: Paul Harris

Bryce called for the government, the public and philanthropists to rally to the NGAs cause and said Australia needed to prioritise spending on the arts in the same way it did with sport.

This is an opportunity in a distressing situation for people to look at the National Gallery and its role, what it has done and what it houses, and its place in our cultural life, she said. This is a crisis time and a call to arms because we must have a national gallery for our national collection.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When Matthew Buchanan and Karl Von Randow dreamt up a website where movie buffs could share their passions a little over a decade ago, it was very much a side hustle to their main business, Cactuslab, which develops websites and apps for others from a tiny office in the suburbs of Auckland. We had peaks and troughs of work coming through the door, and we started to think, well, weve got this great team, can we put them to work on something thats just for us?, says Buchanan. They had in mind the Google model, in which employees were directed to spend one day a week on pet projects, without mind to profitability. It was, he says, all about just putting a little portion of your focus into something cool to get you away from the day to day. Letterboxd founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl Von Randow. A dozen years after their site went into beta testing, and a decade after it launched to the public, Letterboxd is a bona fide success. The film-focused social network, which allows users to review movies, share watch lists and browse what others are saying, is now in 200 countries, with 8.4 million active members. The company claims more than 103 million movie reviews have been written for the platform, 10.9 million lists created, and 1.25 billion movies marked as watched by its members. It is, by any measure, a roaring success. And as Kiwi model Rachel Hunter might have said, it didnt happen overnight, but it did happen.

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It took us nine years to reach break-even point, says Buchanan. For the first six or seven years, I answered tech support calls. We only hired the first person specifically for the business three years ago. Before that, we were just begging, borrowing and stealing from the other business. That first employee was Gemma Gracewood, editor-in-chief of the site (while the bulk of content is user-generated, its Journal section is commissioned interviews and features). Taking members on a journey of discovery that might lead from Twilight to the more indie films of stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart is one of the delights of the platform, says editor-in-chief Gemma Gracewood. Credit:Ian Gavan Gracewood knew Buchanan from their days together at a student radio station; she was the editorial director, and he built their first website. They were chatting at a barbecue one day when Gracewood asked her old friend why the Letterboxd Twitter feed was only ever about what was going wrong. I was like, why is it always tech support? Why dont you talk about movies?, she says. And he was like, well, can you do that? Gracewood was hired, starting just as the pandemic was about to break. And while COVID-19 was terrible for the movie business  crippling production and shutting down cinemas worldwide  it was a boon for Letterboxd. Three years ago, the platform had just 1.3 million members; the explosion in home viewing, and the desire for virtual social connections, drove growth beyond all expectations. According to Buchanan, between 4 and 5 per cent of active members are paid subscribers. Everyone else sees ads, which generate their own revenue stream.

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Many people who come to the platform never write a thing  theyre the lurkers in Letterboxd parlance  but others are prolific reviewers (call them the workers). Professional critics, filmmakers, and industry professionals are all on the platform, some openly  such as directors Paul Thomas Anderson and Edgar Wright  and others on the sly. For proof of the mutual lovefest between the platform and the industry, look no further than the Love Letters From Letterboxd clip created with and for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in the run-up to this years Oscars. There youll see Tar director Todd Field confessing that he reads, and learns from, peoples contributions on the platform; Ke Huy Quan tearing up at a fans kind words about his performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once; and writer-director Rian Johnson (Knives Out), actor Paul Mescal (Aftersun), director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) and others soaking up the affection. Its not just for insiders though, by any means. Anyone can create a list of the films theyve seen and instantly assign a rating (out of five stars), or a list of the films they want to see. Members can follow other people  reading their reviews, poring over their lists, expanding their range of interests and knowledge. Ratings are averaged across all users, and determine where a particular title sits in the popularity stakes, which helps with its discoverability. Right now, the most popular film of the week is John Wick: Chapter 4; of the month is Scream; of the year is The Menu; and of all time is Parasite. The end game is driving discoverability, which Gracewood believes contributes to the viability of the movie business as a whole. I see Letterboxd not as an audience, but as many audiences that intersect around shared interests, she says. Its not demographic, not even psychographic, its just who likes this movie. And if you like that movie, you might like this movie, and they might be two completely different movies.

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She takes enormous delight in seeing someone graduate from the mainstream to something more challenging, discovering as they go a world of cinema they might otherwise never have known about. My favourite thing is the Twilight to Personal Shopper [via Kristen Stewart] or Twilight to Good Time [Robert Pattinson] pathway, she says. You know, a young person who has seen an actor they like in a blockbuster they love and they want to watch their other films. Twilight as a gateway film to The Lighthouse  thats what we need. As they celebrate 10 years of Letterboxd, the founders  Von Randow is still aboard, but concentrates mostly on the other business  and Gracewood are keen to shine a little light on what theyve achieved, no matter how at odds that might be with the typical diffidence of New Zealanders. The companys name refers to the cropping that takes place when a wide screen film is shown on a TV. Credit:Letterboxd Even though weve got some respectable numbers, theres still lots of people that have no idea we exist, and have no idea that we could represent for them something useful in their online lives, says Buchanan. Is there any chance that this sudden courting of attention might signal a future IPO, or an invitation to some overly liquid tech firm to snap up this niche operation of a dozen or so staff doing quite amazing things from across the Ditch? No, I think the people that might be interested in that angle probably already know of our existence, he says. And if they dont, they probably need to check their sources.

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Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects were told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics theyre given. This week, he talks to Hugo Weaving. The actor, 62, is best known for his roles in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings trilogies. He is currently starring in the Australian TV series, Love Me.

When were apart, we realise how much we rely on each other, how much we enjoy each other. Credit: Getty Images

SEX

Youve been with your partner, Katrina, for close to 40 years now. What first attracted you to her? My first love, Anna, and Katrina were good mates. We all lived together. Katrina was going out with my best friend from school, so the four of us used to hang out. He went off to Cambridge; Katrina followed him. By the time she came back, Anna and I had split up. It wasnt a terrible bust-up. When Katrina came back, I realised how thrilled I was to see her again  and I was free.

What keeps you together now? Were talking about it a lot at the moment. Im in London; shes in Sydney. I really miss her; she really misses me. When were apart, we realise how much we have in common, how much we rely on each other, how much we need each other, how much we enjoy each other.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang meets with his Dominican counterpart Vince Henderson in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BOAO, Hainan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with his Dominican counterpart Vince Henderson on Thursday in Boao, Hainan Province, and pledged to boost bilateral ties.

Qin said that Dominica is a good friend and partner of China in the Caribbean region.

China is willing to take the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Dominica next year as an opportunity to strengthen bilateral exchanges at all levels, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, enhance multilateral cooperation, and promote China-Dominica ties to reach a new level, Qin said.

He said China appreciates the support of Dominica for the Global Development Initiative and welcomes its active participation in the Global Civilization Initiative.

Henderson said Dominica adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in fields such as agriculture, education, medical care and climate change, and deepen exchanges and cooperation between the Caribbean Community and China.

Dominica supports and is willing to join the Global Civilization Initiative to work with China to promote exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations, he added. 
Home Affairs cyber systems are vulnerable to hacking and frontline officers are not properly trained, according to a damning internal report that says chronic underfunding has undermined the departments ability to keep Australia safe.

The leaked confidential review into the mega department  responsible for national security, cyber defence and foreign interference among other areas  revealed the department lost 600 employees in a year and more than $2 billion in cost-cutting has stopped it from hiring enough staff.

Malcolm Turnbull announcing the new department in July 2017. Credit: Andrew Meares

The probe into the agencys budget, conducted by consulting and legal firm Proximity between December 2021 and February 2022, interviewed dozens of top brass including the agencys secretary Mike Pezullo, who has run the department since its inception.

From the beginning the department was set up to fail, in terms of its expectations and budget envelope, an anonymous department official told the investigation.
Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be charged with a crime.

He is expected to hand himself in to prosecutors early next week where he will be fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken before appearing in court.

Donald Trump arrives at West Palm Beach Airport last weekend. Credit: AP

It is another incredible moment that is set to change the political landscape in the lead-up to the 2024 election and risks further dividing America.

As North American correspondent Farrah Tomazin writes, even in a country where norms have been shattered for years, the significance of this moment is truly something.

What happens next? Who would dare to predict?

This ends our live coverage of the criminal indictment of Donald Trump but the coverage will continue on this masthead across the evening and the weekend.

Thanks for reading.
A study visit for representatives of SACU and its Member States to the World Customs Organization Headquarters was organised from 13 to 22 March 2023, to coincide with the 71st Harmonized System Committee (HSC). Organised under the framework of the EU-WCO HS-Africa Programme, it was a follow up to consultations and work plans established at the national and regional level as part of the ongoing support to SACU and its Member States that is provided under the HS Africa Programme, funded by the European Union.

The study visit brought together tariff experts from all five SACU Member States, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa, as well as a representative from the SACU Secretariat. During the visit, the officials had an opportunity to learn, exchange, network, and enhance their knowledge and abilities to efficiently navigate the HS by getting a hands-on experience on the workings of the 71st HSC.

To improve the Member States collaboration on tariff classification and expand their capabilities in establishing a regional advance ruling system, the SACU experts visited the EU DG TAXUD where they had a workshop to exchange on best practices and mechanisms that support an effective binding tariff information at national and Customs Union level. The experts deliberated with their peers from the EU on practices that ensure a sound HS migration framework with time bound processes of submission of proposals, adoption and implementation of HS Amendments.

The outcomes of this study visit are intended to improve and strengthen tariff classification work and advance rulings at national level for all the SACU Member States. It is also expected to create greater collaboration in the region and further encourage SACU Member States to participate more in the future meetings of the HS Committee, and as a region, continue to timely migrate their Common External Tariff (CET) to new versions of the HS.

For more information, please contact hs@wcoomd.org.
The WCO organised a mission to provide technical assistance to the Malagasy Customs regarding the implementation of international trade facilitation standards in the area of Risk Management, particularly as defined by the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation.

This mission took place from 06 to 10 March 2023 in Antananarivo, Madagascar under the auspices of the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme, financially supported by His Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of the United Kingdom.

The mission was led by two WCO experts from Morocco and Burkina Faso. They analyzed the current situation of the Risk Management process through working meetings with several Malagasy Customs structures thus enabling the latter to become familiar with the procedures in force and the achievements made, and to assess the margins for progress. Eventually, recommendations were formulated in the form of a project designed to modernize and strengthen Risk Management.

The closing ceremony was presided over by the Director General of Malagasy Customs, who expressed his satisfaction with the results and recommendations obtained and validated the deliverables produced.

The WCO is pleased with its continued commitment to a multi-year strategic partnership for sustainable development and economic growth under the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme.

For more information, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.
Growing vegetables across the Tibetan plateau is no longer a problem, thanks to greenhouses. Join us as we soar across Pengcang Village to see these cultivation centers in action!
Committee recommends stripping German right-wing populist of immunity

A leading member of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party should be stripped of her immunity in order to allow a criminal investigation for suspected perjury, a state parliament committee said Thursday.

GALLERY

Prosecutors are looking into contradictory information given by Petry and AfD treasurer Carsten Huetter in a committee review of 2014 state elections.

Dresden (dpa) - Frauke Petry has been under investigation for more than a year in the eastern state of Saxony, where she is an elected member of the state parliament.A local parliamentary committee voted to recommend that her legislative immunity be removed, less than six weeks before national elections.Prosecutors are looking into contradictory information given by Petry and AfD treasurer Carsten Huetter in a committee review of 2014 state elections.The allegations concern a registered party candidate, Arvid Samtleben, who was later removed from the list. He alleged that this was because he had not paid a loan to the party.Petry, who insists that she did nothing wrong, supported the committees decision to clear the way for a criminal investigation.AfD General Secretary Uwe Wurlitzer also welcomed the outcome, saying that Petry could now clear her name."I am very confident and absolutely sure that Frau Petry did not commit perjury," Wurlitzer said."Now the state prosecution service has to make clear why it was necessary to do this before federal elections. Although I think that every voter can see whats going on here," he added.The AfD, which is currently polling at around 8 per cent ahead of the September 24 vote, and looks set to enter federal parliament for the first time. It has been running a campaign centred on nationalism, anti-migration policies and the purported Islamization of Germany.
A Palestinian actress performs at a theater in Gaza City, March 29, 2023. A group of Palestinian artists is trying to change social discrimination and violence in the local community through creative theater performances. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A group of Palestinian artists is trying to change social discrimination and violence in the local community through creative theater performances.

Three theater performances, featuring social problems in Gaza, were staged at the Red Crescent Society theater in Gaza Wednesday night.

The theatrical show reflected cruel realities faced by many disadvantaged people in Gaza, including women suffering domestic abuse and people with disabilities, Hanin al-Samak, an official at the Future Development Commission organization, the organizer of the event, told Xinhua.

"Based on our statistics, the coastal enclave has been witnessing a significant increase in the number of people who were subjected to social discrimination and violence," Abdul Fattah Shihada, a director at the Future Development Commission organization, told Xinhua.

Women, cancer patients, and people with disabilities are among those who suffered the most, added Shihada.

As a result, he said, those people are more likely to become victims of psychological crises like depression, lower self-esteem, guilt and sometimes even suicide.

So they decided to launch the theatrical performances to educate the locals on how to deal with others based on human values regardless of their physical and psychological condition, al-Sammak said.

In Gaza, about 57.2 percent of women are subjected to psychological violence and 18.5 percent to physical violence, according to the latest report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

In addition, the report said that about 49,000 persons with disabilities live in the coastal enclave, presenting about 2.4 percent of the total population.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry reported that some 9,000 cancer patients live in the Gaza Strip and the majority of whom are suffering from poverty, unemployment, and psychological problems because of the political and economic crises for more than 16 years.

"The abnormal and deteriorated conditions experienced by the population in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade and the internal Palestinian division have affected the psychological condition of the majority of the population, as well as the human and social values," Mahdi al-Sayed, a Gazan audience, told Xinhua.

He praised the show and said that "I believe that such theatrical performances can help the population restore their values.

"The play and the actors helped me change my stereotype of cancer patients and disabled people. We have to treat them without expressing excessive pity, which may harm them psychologically instead of helping them," Shadia Abdul Aal, another Gazan audience, told Xinhua. 

Palestinian actors perform at a theater in Gaza City, March 29, 2023. A group of Palestinian artists is trying to change social discrimination and violence in the local community through creative theater performances. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A Palestinian actress performs at a theater in Gaza City, March 29, 2023. A group of Palestinian artists is trying to change social discrimination and violence in the local community through creative theater performances. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Palestinian actors perform at a theater in Gaza City, March 29, 2023. A group of Palestinian artists is trying to change social discrimination and violence in the local community through creative theater performances. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Palestinian actors perform at a theater in Gaza City, March 29, 2023. A group of Palestinian artists is trying to change social discrimination and violence in the local community through creative theater performances. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Palestinian actors perform at a theater in Gaza City, March 29, 2023. A group of Palestinian artists is trying to change social discrimination and violence in the local community through creative theater performances. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
Ghanaian students participate in a job fair held in the University of Ghana, Accra, capital of Ghana, March 29, 2023. In a week-long job fair organized by the University of Ghana in partnership with the Confucius Institute starting Wednesday, the prospective young Ghanaian graduates who studied the Chinese language have become the sought-after talent of many Chinese and local enterprises. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)

ACCRA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese language teachers both from China and Ghana have voiced their confidence in the career prospects of Ghanaian graduates majoring in Chinese as the China-Africa cooperation prospers.

In a week-long job fair organized by the University of Ghana in partnership with the Confucius Institute starting Wednesday, the prospective young Ghanaian graduates who studied the Chinese language have become the sought-after talent of many Chinese and local enterprises.

Grace Selassie, a Chinese language teacher at the Confucius Institute, told Xinhua that students majoring in the Chinese language have many options for successful careers.

"This fair is organized to help students, especially final-year students who are looking for job opportunities. The Confucius Institute is also part of the project as we are recruiting students who have studied Chinese and want to become teachers, as well as students who want to do their internship in different companies," said Selassie.

Selassie, once a Chinese language major student, recounted how beneficial studying the Chinese language has been for her. "The training from the Confucius Institute has been very helpful to me. I can now speak Chinese fluently, and teach other people Chinese."

Wang Jimin, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute, said the institute has always served as a platform to provide job opportunities for young Ghanaians aspiring to make a difference in the future.

"Renowned Chinese enterprises in Ghana need people who are eloquent in the Chinese language so that they will be able to communicate with them," said Josephine Dzahene Quarshie, Ghanaian director of the Confucius Institute, urging students at the university and other tertiary institutions to take advantage of studying the Chinese language because of the opportunities it offers.

She added that Chinese language education in the country is of great significance in that regard and will further deepen the friendly relations between Ghana and China. 

Ghanaian students participate in a job fair held in the University of Ghana, Accra, capital of Ghana, March 29, 2023. In a week-long job fair organized by the University of Ghana in partnership with the Confucius Institute starting Wednesday, the prospective young Ghanaian graduates who studied the Chinese language have become the sought-after talent of many Chinese and local enterprises. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)
Holi

Place : North India

Significance: Spring festival

Date: 8.3.2023

Holi is the most lively of all Hindu festivals, observed all over North India, which falls on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun (March) according to the Hindu calendar. It heralds the end of the winter and the beginning of the spring and marks the rekindling of the spirit of life. It is a festival of joy when all is forgiven and it is a time to break free from the shackles of convention and let ourselves go.

Legend associated with the festival

Holy is associated with a legendry encounter between Hiranyakashyapu, a powerful demon king and his son Prahlad. Hiranyakashyapu who had gained victory over gods in a war had forbidden his subjects from worshipping gods. But his son Prahlad who was a ardent devotee of Vishnu, refused to obey his orders.

Hiranyakashyapu had a sister, Holika, who was blessed with special powers-fire could not burn her. Hiranyakashyapu ordered Holika to take Prahlad in her lap and mount a burning pyre. She did so, but Prahlad came out unscathed while Holika was reduced to ashes. It is said that Holi is celebrated and Holi fires lit in remembrance of this miracle.

Celebration

The night before full moon, crowds of people gather together and light huge bonfires to burn the residual dried leaves and twigs of the winter. People throw coloured powders at each other and make merry. People, young and old are drenched with colours being poured from atop the houses, bursting balloons, or long pistons. Singing and dancing add to the gaiety of the occasion.

Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a fresh coat of color, beautiful floral designs are drawn at the entrance and colours bought. In earlier days the colors were extracted from a flower that blossoms only during this festival and the pistons were made of bamboo sticks. But over the years colors are made artificially and pistons made of different materials are available in various designs. In villages, powders made of rice flour mixed with turmeric and bamboo poles are still used. Special delicacies such as malpua and other delicacies are prepared on this day, which vary from region to region.

Mathura ( Uttar Pradesh ) and the small towns of 'Braj Bhoomi ( Land of Lord Sri Krishna ) celebrates the joyful rasaleela of Krishna and gopis during Holi. Especially famous is the Lathmaar Holi of Barsana and Nandgaon. In Anandpur Sahib ( Punjab ), Sikhs celebrate a special festival 'Hola Mohalla' on the day after Holi. It marks a display of ancient martial arts and mock battles.
City councillors frustrated with the lack of progress in tackling Hamiltons increasing opioid crisis will consider Monday whether to declare a state of emergency.

The point of the declaration would be to send a clear message to the Progressive Conservative government that action is urgently needed as public health staff have already told councillors that the move would not result in any additional provincial funding.

If more municipalities across Ontario did this, the province would have to pay attention, Coun. Brad Clark said at a board of health meeting on March 20. If we elevate this from a crisis to a state of emergency ... it puts it front and centre.

Niagara Region council declared a state of emergency for homelessness, mental health and opioid addiction on Feb. 23 and asked for federal and provincial support in all three areas.

How did Niagara come up with the ways and means to do it and the city of Hamilton cant, Clark said about the issue that has come up repeatedly at board of health since January. Help me explain to my residents why it shouldnt be an emergency.

Public Health Services doesnt recommend Hamilton follow Niagaras lead because the declaration is meant for an acute emergency requiring a co-ordinated response that exceeds current capacities and not for responding to systemic health issues.

Absolutely opioids are a significant issue  we have a crisis when it comes to opioids, it needs urgent action, medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said at the meeting. But ... its not the sort of issue that one uses that sort of emergency response structure.

Clark rejected the advice, calling it a bureaucratic approach.

People are dying in our city and we need to address it, he said. We have declared it a crisis  its not getting better ... I think we are missing the boat if we are not elevating the degree of concern that this municipality has for the opioid crisis and the number of overdose deaths that are occurring in our municipality.

Hamilton has seen a 245 per cent increase in opioid-related overdoses and a 229 per cent increase in opioid-related deaths from 2016 to 2021, according to a staff report to the board.

As of November, 148 Hamilton deaths were probable or confirmed to be opioid related in 2022, city data shows.

Hamilton paramedics have responded to 211 suspected opioid overdoses from Jan. 1 to March. 19.

As the daughter of somebody who has died from an accidental opioid overdose, Im urging councillors to take action by declaring a state of emergency, Kayla Hagerty said in a delegation to the board. An official declaration would signal the urgency of the situation and help to raise awareness of the issue on a larger scale.

Hagertys stepfather Ian Harrington  who she calls dad  died of an opioid overdose in May 2020 at age 39. She grew up watching him struggle with opioid use disorder.

We cannot afford to wait any longer, said Hagerty. Everyday more lives are lost to the drug toxicity crisis and everyday more families including mine are left to grieve.

She also argued against the public health advice.

I understand that a state of emergency is typically reserved for an acute problem but I would argue any overdose death is an acute problem, she said. This drug toxicity crisis meets all of the criteria for a state of emergency  it requires urgent action and co-ordination from all levels of government, it requires significant resources ... it demands immediate intervention that the municipality cannot provide with current means.

The decision was postponed on March 20, but the matter is back on the board of health agenda for Mondays meeting.

At the heart of the issue is whether there is a point to declaring a state of emergency if it doesnt result in added funding. Public health explained in its report to the board that financial assistance for emergencies is set up to cover extraordinary costs after a disaster. The funds administered through the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance program are specific to natural disasters caused by forces of nature. The extra money is conditional on municipal costs totalling at least three per cent of the citys tax levy.

It doesnt say we cant declare an emergency, Mayor Andrea Horwath said at the March meeting. We can, but it wont do anything. It wont unlock funds  Thats the crux of the problem.

But Clark argued there is more to declaring the state of emergency than getting extra funding.

Whats at issue here is the complacency of the provincial government, he said. If we did do it, it would send a very clear message to the province of Ontario.

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A Montreal law firm has expanded the scope of its class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster, further arguing the ticket giant is engaged in anti-competitive behaviour and price fixing with some event organizers.

The updated suit, filed by LPC Avocat Inc., builds upon their previous file where they argued the ticket giant intentionally misleads consumers for their own financial gain.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation did not respond to the Stars numerous requests for comment before publication. The allegations laid out by LPC Avocat Inc. have not been tested in court.

Ticketmaster is often the only seller for primary tickets for events in Quebec and Canada, the amended suit reads, and serves as the primary and resale ticketing partner for the Montreal Canadiens, Bell Centre, Place Bell and other venues in Quebec, and for music festivals like Osheaga and Ile Soniq. Its also the worlds largest ticket seller, processing 500 million tickets each year in more than 30 countries.

Ticketmaster lawsuit launched over Drake tickets

The suit started with a Montreal man who purchased two Official Platinum seats for Drakes upcoming Its All A Blur tour at the Bell Centre on July 14 for $789.54 each. The next day, the law firm said, Drake added a second show for July 15 and the same seats were available for more than $350 less.

Ticketmaster unilaterally decides which tickets it advertises and sells as Official Platinum based on a given event, reads the lawsuit shared with the Star. The result is that most, if not all, of the tickets advertised and sold as Official Platinum are neither premium tickets nor some of the best seats in the house and are, in fact, just regular tickets sold by Ticketmaster at an artificially inflated premium in bad faith.

The suit further alleges Ticketmaster knew Drake would perform two concerts in Montreal, but concealed this information in order to squeeze out as much money as possible from fans buying tickets for the first show, and illustrates Ticketmasters greed, anticompetitive conduct, dominance of monopolistic position as the only primary seller and failure to respect the law.

Joey Zukran, the founder of the law firm LPC Avocat Inc., told the Star the anti-competitive allegations were added to the suit after people reached out to the firm expressing their troubles with reselling their inflated tickets on the platform. Their lowest resale prices were dictated by Ticketmaster and organizers, Zukran said, which he said may be price-fixing under section 45 of the Competition Act.

Were seeing artificially and illegally inflated prices, because we know for a fact there are people out there willing to sell their tickets for less but are prevented from doing to by Ticketmasters agreement with the event organizer, Zukran said.

If approved by the Quebec Superior Court, the class-action lawsuit will seek an injunction ordering Ticketmaster to modify their platforms and to cease the prohibited business practices, compensation in the amounts overcharged by the platform for Official Platinum tickets, plus punitive and compensatory damages.

The applicant hopes to ensure that a practice change is obtained so that fans and families can attend concerts at more affordable Regular ticket prices.

Backlash for Ticketmaster prices

While fans have long groaned about high Ticketmaster prices, one world-famous musician recently took his grievances to Twitter.

The Cure frontman Robert Smith convinced the company this month to issue partial refunds to some of his fans after it had inflated prices of tickets that had originally been set as low as $20.

And after Taylor Swifts Eras tour Ticketmaster drop last November, which saw exorbitantly high ticket prices and left many fans without tickets of their own, Swifties made their frustrations known  eventually leading to a Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington looking into the ticket-vending giants dominance in the industry.

Some are suggesting the U.S. government split the company up, more than a decade after Ticketmaster and concert promoter Live Nation merged.

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TORONTO - Rogers Communications Inc.s proposed $26-billion purchase of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared its final regulatory hurdle Friday after Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne approved the transfer or wireless spectrum licenses from Shaws Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc.s Videotron.

Heres what some people are saying about the decision:

If Canadians do not begin to see clear and meaningful reduction in prices within a reasonable amount of time, I will have no choice but to seek further legislative and regulatory powers to drive down prices in Canada, and I can tell you that everything is on the table.  Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.



We are very pleased to move forward with this transformative merger and proudly deliver on our commitments to enhance and expand network coverage, connect underserved communities, and improve access for low-income Canadians.  Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers.



In todays telecommunications industry, we recognize that companies need even greater scale to compete and make ongoing investments for future technology. This merger will provide the scale necessary for the future success and competitiveness of the wireline business that Shaw has built over the past five decades.  Brad Shaw, executive chair and CEO of Shaw.



The approval of this merger shows once again why we need a strong reform of our competition laws, a price cap to lower the bills of Canadians and more measures to bring competition.  NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.



This deal will take advantage of Canadians wallets, theres no sugar-coating it. More market power in fewer hands will always lead to higher prices and, in this case, a slower pace of wireless industry innovation.  Globalive Inc. chairman Anthony Lacavera, who sought to buy Shaws Freedom Mobile wireless business.



Its a massive betrayal thats only made worse coming from a government that has long-promised improved telecom affordability. Despite press releases claiming otherwise, Minister Champagnes putting the nail in the coffin of competition in telecommunications in Canada.  OpenMedia executive director Laura Tribe.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:RCI.B, TSX:SJR.B, TSX:QBR.B)

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BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Tibetologists have rebutted the accusations that the Tibetan culture is being destroyed, saying such claims glorified the anachronistic culture of the few serf owners, while ignoring the improvements enjoyed by the Tibetan people.

Zhang Yun, a researcher with the China Tibetology Research Center, said the "Tibetan culture" uttered by the Dalai clique only represented their own class and had little to do with the vast majority of the people in Tibet.

In old Tibet, the serfs and slaves that accounted for 95 percent of the population had no guaranteed right to live, let alone educational and cultural rights, Zhang said in an article published by the People's Daily overseas edition.

Since Tibet's peaceful liberation and democratic reform in the 1950s, the southwestern autonomous region has made great strides in preserving and developing Tibetan culture, with the government investing heavily in education and cultural preservation.

Between 1951 and 2021, over 257 billion yuan (37.4 billion U.S. dollars) were poured into the region's educational sector, helping raise the number of primary and middle schools from 462 and four respectively at the end of 1959 to 832 and 156 in 2021.

In the period spanning 2006-2020 alone, the central government allocated more than 3.4 billion yuan for the maintenance and repair of 155 cultural relic sites in Tibet.

Tibet now has three items (Gesar, Tibetan opera, and Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa) included on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. There are 106 items on the national intangible cultural heritage list with 96 state-level representative bearers. The University of Tibetan Medicine has trained over 7,000 Tibetan medicine professionals since its establishment in 1993.

"The Tibetan culture has gone through a fundamental transition from one monopolized by a small fraction of feudal serf owners to a culture jointly created, promoted and shared by all people in Tibet," Zhang said.

The Tibetologist said that despite the noticeable achievements, Tibetan culture doomsayers have continued to smear China's Tibet policies and cry out grievance for the decayed serfdom culture of the old Tibet.

"The true intention of the Dalai clique and some Western governments is not to protect the Tibetan culture, but to split China and restore the old rule," Zhang said.

In another article published by the Global Times, Tibetologist Li Decheng denounced the illegal nature of the Dalai clique and the so-called "Tibetan government-in-exile."

"The Dalai clique is a separatist political group engaged in separatist and sabotage activities," said Li, another researcher with the China Tibetology Research Center.

The Dalai clique represents the remnants of the feudal serf-owner class in old Tibet, and is supported and utilized by international hostile forces, Li said.

Meanwhile, the so-called "Tibetan government-in-exile" is only an illegal organization without political legitimacy, according to the article.

The organization is in essence an illegal organization plotting to split China. Furthermore, its existence and activities are totally unconstitutional and illegal, Li said, adding that it has no legitimacy at all from a political and legal point of view. 
Picture a Tyrannosaurus rex. What do you see?

Probably a towering creature with muscular hind limbs, a long tail and those exposed ferocious fangs  ready to chow down on any prey that comes its way.

Its an image of the iconic dinosaur with which weve grown up, passed down in popular culture for generations.

But that depiction may not be entirely true. A research paper published Thursday in the academic journal Science suggests that the T. rex and other theropods  a large group of bipedal dinosaurs  likely had lips covering their menacing set of teeth.

The findings, presented by an international team that included several Canadians, could challenge previous depictions of these dinosaurs, while also sparking a contentious debate among scientists, who have long disputed what the prehistoric creatures actually looked like.

Philip J. Currie, a dinosaur paleobiologist at the University of Alberta said he believes this study will have a pretty important impact on popular media and how dinosaurs are depicted.

Anything that looks at whats going on with the external anatomy on these creatures is going to change how we put them into paintings and movies, he told the Star in a phone interview.

The researchers came to their conclusion by examining the skulls of dinosaurs with those of living reptiles.

Crocodile teeth, for instance, wear down quickly because theyre exposed  like someones taken a sander to the side of the tooth, study co-author Mark Witton, a paleoartist at Englands University of Portsmouth, told the Associated Press.

But those same damage patterns dont appear on the teeth of ancient theropods, suggesting they had some form of protection, like lips.

The team also found that theropod teeth werent too long nor large for their mouths and didnt have to stick out, as previous research based on fossil evidence had suggested.

These dinosaur lips, however, would have looked less like those on modern-day mammals and more like the flaps of skin covering the mouths of Komodo dragons, the researchers concluded.

Dinosaurs lips were likely thin and scaly, Currie said, adding that they were likely not attached to muscles, meaning the animals could not grin or move their lips without opening their entire jaw.

The new research is not the first time scientists have suggested dinosaurs had lips. Paleontologists and artists have long debated the facial structure of theropods. Even as far back as a century ago, in the 1920s and 1930s, academic reconstructions depicted dinosaurs with flesh over their teeth.

Currie said hes been skeptical for years about the lipless dinosaur theories and that these findings make a lot of sense.

In addition to the evidence provided by the research team, Currie noted that the atmosphere on Earth was very dry when these dinosaurs were alive. Though Tyrannosaurs replaced their teeth each year, the dry conditions would have caused the teeth to crack if not for a protective covering of some sort, he said.

Why, then, have so many scientists and the rest of society clung to that classic image of a lipless, teeth-baring T. rex? Currie blames a feedback system of popular media influencing how scientists think of dinosaurs.

Its kind of crazy when you think about it because scientists are supposed to be skeptical of everything, he said. And yet, theres no doubt that if you have a favourite depiction of the T. rex from when you were a kid, you just dont want to mess with that  You just think, well, that must be right.

More recently, however, modern science has also called into question many other preconceived notions about what dinosaurs looked like: studies have shown that T. rex was more hunched over than previously thought, and that velociraptors likely sported feathers.

The lid has been taken off, said Currie. Essentially, all of these preconceived notions we had from the beginning of the 20th century  that dinosaurs are closely related to crocodiles and lizards  (are being challenged) once we started thinking of dinosaurs being more closely related to birds.

With files from The Associated Press

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ALICE, Texas (AP)  In 1977, Associated Press reporter James W. Mangans exclusive interview with a South Texas election judge who detailed certifying false votes for Lyndon B. Johnson nearly three decades earlier made headlines across the country.

With the win by an 87-vote margin in the 1948 Democratic primary runoff, Johnson, then a congressman, easily defeated his Republican opponent to take a seat in the U.S. Senate, and he eventually ascended to the presidency.

Mangan spent three years pursuing the story, which pulled back the curtain on the victory that had drawn suspicions ever since election officials in rural Jim Wells County announced the discovery of uncounted votes in ballot box known as Box 13.

Headlines across the U.S. that accompanied the story included: Polling Official: Phony Votes Stole 48 Runoff for LBJ; LBJs election to Senate stolen; Texan Claims Fix in LBJ Election.

Heres the story that ran July 31, 1977:

___

A former Texas voting official seeking peace of mind says he certified enough fictitious ballots to steal an election 29 years ago and launch Lyndon B. Johnson on a path that led to the presidency.

The statement comes from Luis Salas, who was the election judge for Jim Wells Countys notorious Box 13, which produced just enough votes in the 1948 Texas Democratic primary runoff to give Johnson the nomination, then tantamount to election, to the U.S. Senate.

Johnson did not win the election; It was stolen for him. And I know exactly how it was done, said Salas, now a lean, white-haired 76; then a swarthy 210-pound political henchman with absolute say over vote counts in his Mexican-American, South Texas, precinct.

The controversy over that runoff election has been a subject of tantalizing conjecture for nearly three decades, ever since U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black abruptly halted an investigation, but the principals have been silent. George B. Parr, the South Texas political boss whom Salas served for a decade, shot himself to death in June 1975. Johnson is dead and so is his opponent. Salas, retired from his railroad telegraphers job, is among the few living persons with direct knowledge of the election.

Johnsons widow, Lady Bird, was informed of Salas statements and said through a spokeswoman that she knows no more about the details of the 1948 election other than that charges were made at the time, carried through several courts and finally to a justice at the Supreme Court.

The Associated Press interviewed Salas frequently during the past three years, seeking answers to questions that, save for rumors, were left unanswered. Only recently did Salas agree to tell his full version of what happened. In his soft Spanish accent, Salas said that he decided to break his silence in quest of peace of mind and to reveal to the people the corruption of politics.

Salas says now that he lied during an aborted investigation of the election in 1948, when he testified that the vote count was proper and above board. I was just going along with my party, he says.

He told the AP that Parr ordered that 200-odd votes be added to Johnsons total from Box 13. Salas said he saw the fraudulent votes added in alphabetical order and then certified them as authentic on orders from Parr.

The final statewide count, including Box 13 votes, gave Johnson an 87-vote margin in a total tally approaching 1 million and earned him the tongue-in-cheek nickname: Landslide Lyndon.

Texas Democrats were split in 1948. Johnson, then 39, a congressman, represented new Democrats in his bid for the U.S. Senate. His primary opponent was Coke R. Stevenson  60 years old, three times Texas governor, never beaten and the candidate of the old wing of the party. They called him Calculating Coke.

The vote in the July primary was Stevenson 477,077, Johnson 405,617. But a third candidate, George Petty, siphoned off enough votes to deny Stevenson a majority, forcing a runoff between Stevenson and Johnson, set for Aug. 28, 1948.

In the interim, Johnson intensified his campaign. One of the places he went stumping was the hot, flat, brush country of South Texas, George B. Parr country, where the Mexican-American vote seemed always to come, favoring Parrs candidate, in a bloc.

The power had passed to Parr from his father, Archie, a state senator who had sided with Mexican-Americans in a 1912 battle with Anglos over political control in Duval County. The younger Parr was known as the Duke of Duval.

Salas said he was Parrs right-hand man in Jim Wells County from 1940 to 1950, but quit over Parrs failure to support a fellow Mexican-American who had been charged with murder.

We had the law to ourselves there, Salas said. It was a lawless son-of-a-bitch. We had iron control. If a man was opposed to us, wed put him out of business. Parr was the godfather. He had life or death control.

We could tell any election judge: Give us 80 per cent of the vote, the other guy 20 per cent. We had it made in every election.

The night of the runoff, Jim Wells Countys vote was wired to the Texas Election Bureau, the unofficial tabulating agency: Johnson 1,786, Stevenson 769.

Three days after the runoff, with Stevenson narrowly leading and the seesaw count nearly complete, Salas said, a meeting was called in Parrs office 10 miles from Alice. Salas said he met with George B. Parr; Lyndon Johnson; Ed Lloyd, a Jim Wells County Democratic Executive Committee member; and Bruce Ainsworth, an Alice city commissioner. Lloyd and Ainsworth like Johnson and Parr, now are dead.

Salas told the AP:

Lyndon Johnson said: If I can get 200 more votes, Ive got it won.

Parr said to me in Spanish: We need to win this election. I want you to add those 200 votes. I had already turned in my poll and tally sheets to Givens Parr, Georges brother.

I told Parr in Spanish: I dont give a damn if Johnson wins.

Parr then said: Well, for sure youre going to certify what we do.

I told him I would, because I didnt want anybody to think Im not backing up my party. I said I would be with the party to the end. After Parr I and I talked in Spanish, Parr told Johnson 200 votes would be added. When I left, Johnson knew we were going to take care of the situation.

Salas said he saw two men add the names to the list of voters, about 9 oclock at night, in the Adams Building in Alice. He said the two were just following orders and he would not identify them.

The AP interview then produced this exchange:

Q. When you told Parr you would certify the votes, he said he would get someone else to actually add the names?

A. Yeah. And I actually saw them do it. I was right there when they added the names.

Q. Were all 200 names in the same handwriting?

A. Oh, yeah. They all came from the poll taxes, I mean, from the poll tax sheet.

Q. But some were dead?

A. No one was dead. They just didnt vote.

Q. So you voted them?

A. They voted them.

Q. You certified?

A. I certified. So did the Democratic County chairman. I kept my word to be loyal to my party.

Q. Had some of those names already voted?

A. No, they didnt vote in that election. They added em. They made a mistake of doing it alphabetically.

Q. They added them alphabetically, as though they had walked in to vote alphabetically?

A. Yeah, thats what I told George B., and he wouldnt listen to me. I said: Look at the A, you add 10 or 12 names on that letter. Why dont you change it to the other, C or D or X, mix em up? George said, Thats all right. George was stubborn. He would not listen to anybody. But it was stupid. They went to the poll tax list and got those names. For instance, on the A they got 10 or 12 names.

Q. People who had not voted?

A. Thats right. they went on the B the same way, until they complete 200, and I told George, Thats wrong.

Q. While they were doing it you told him?

A. Yeah, and he said: Its OK.

Q. They should have changed the handwriting?

A. How? Only two guys? How they going to change it? The lawyers spotted it right away, they sure did.

Six days after the runoff, with Stevenson still holding a narrow lead in the statewide count, a second telegram was sent, changing Jim Wells Countys vote to: Johnson 1,988, Stevenson, 770.

Johnson gained 202 votes; Stevenson 1. They came from Box 13.

The next day, the official statewide vote canvass gave Johnson 494,191 and Stevenson 494,104.

Stevenson protested. Johnson said that if Stevenson had evidence, it was his duty to go to a grand jury. I know that I did not buy anybodys vote, Johnson said.

Stevenson went to federal court in Fort Worth and, on Sept. 14, Judge T. Whitfield Davidson signed a temporary restraining order forbidding certification of Johnson as the Democratic nominee. The judge ordered an on-the-spot probe of voting in Jim Wells County.

When that inquiry began, on Sept. 27, reporters from around the country showed up in Alice. By then it was national news.

The same day, in Washington, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Black agreed to hear Johnsons petition to lift the injection. Johnsons attorney was Abe Fortas, in later years a Johnson appointee to the high court.

Stevenson was in Alice that day; Johnson was on President Harry S. Trumans campaign train. During a campaign stop in Temple, Tex., Truman brought Johnson to his side and publicly endorsed him as the next senator from Texas. Also on the train at San Antonio that day, according to Salas, were Parr, who had received a presidential pardon from Truman in 1946 after serving nine months on an income tax conviction, and Lloyd, the Jim Wells County executive committeeman.

Salas told the AP he was summoned the next day by Lloyd and told: Luis, everything is all right. We talked to Truman on the train. Dont worry about the investigation.

Two days later, Justice Black, in an order he dated himself in longhand, voided the temporary injunction against putting Johnsons name on the ballot and ended the investigation. Black said, It would be a serious break with the past for a federal court to determine an election contest.

Stevenson had lost; Johnson had won.

That ended Stevensons political career. He retired to his Hill Country ranch, insisting until he died in 1975 that the election had been stolen from him. Johnson became a power in Congress, and 15 years later he was president.

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The Japanese government's announcement to discharge Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea has caused concerns across the world, a Turkish expert on the Asia Pacific region has said.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Sunshine mixing with clouds and rather cool. There might be a stray afternoon shower primarily north and west..

Tonight

Turning out mainly clear or partly cloudy and chilly.
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)  A small plane crashed on Friday in northern Croatia, killing two people on board, authorities said.

The plane crashed around 12:30 p.m. during takeoff at the airport in the town of Pula, in the Istria peninsula, according to the Ministry of Sea, Traffic and Infrastructure.

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash, a statement said.

The victims are foreign nationals, Pula airport manager Nina Vojnic Zagar said. Croatian media say the plane had German registration markings.

No other details were immediately available. The Pula airport was temporarily closed for traffic after the crash.

Istria and the rest of Croatia's Adriatic Sea coastline are a very popular tourism destination for travelers from all over Europe and beyond.
BUCHA, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainians marked the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha Friday with calls for remembrance and justice after a brutal Russian occupation that left hundreds of civilians dead in the streets and in mass graves, establishing the town near Kyiv as an epicenter of the war's atrocities.

We will not let it be forgotten, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a ceremony in Bucha, vowing to punish those who committed outrages there that are still raw. Human dignity will not let it be forgotten. On the streets of Bucha, the world has seen Russian evil. Evil unmasked.

Bucha's name has come to evoke savagery by Moscow's military since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Ukrainian troops who retook the town found the bodies of men, women and children on the streets, in yards and homes, and in mass graves. Some showed signs of torture.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, fighting continued Friday: Russia used its long-range arsenal to bombard several areas, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes.

And the Kremlin-allied president of neighboring Belarus raised the stakes when he said Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in his country, along with part of Moscows tactical nuclear arsenal. Moscow said earlier this week that it planned to place in Belarus tactical nuclear weapons, which are comparatively short-range and low-yield. Strategic nuclear weapons, such as missile-borne warheads, would bring a greater threat.

At the official commemoration in Bucha, Zelenskyy was joined by Moldova's president and the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Russian troops occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month. When Ukrainian forces retook the town, they encountered horrific scenes. Over weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including of children.

Russian soldiers, on intercepted phone conversations, called it zachistka  cleansing, according to an investigation by The Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline.

Such organized cruelty, which Russian troops also employed in other conflicts such as Chechnya, was later repeated in Russia-occupied territories across Ukraine.

Zelenskyy handed out medals to soldiers, police officers, doctors, teachers and emergency workers in Bucha, as well as to the families of two soldiers killed during the defense of the Kyiv region.

Ukrainian people, you have stopped the biggest anti-human force of our times, he said. You have stopped the force which has no respect and wants to destroy everything that gives meaning to human life.

Ukrainian authorities documented more than 1,400 civilian deaths, including 37 children, in the Bucha district, and more than 175 people were found in mass graves and alleged torture chambers, Zelenskyy said. Ukraine and other countries, including the U.S., have demanded that Russia answer for war crimes.

Among the civilians killed was 69-year-old Valerii Kyzylov, whose wife survived but for whom the horrors inflicted on Bucha, her home town, are still raw.

I remember everything like it was yesterday, she said, twisting a handkerchief in her hands as she stood at a candle-lit vigil on Friday evening. A year has passed but I still see it before my eyes.

She cried as she recounted the horror she endured a year ago. Of Russian troops shooting her husband dead and leaving the body lying in the street for days. Of the Russian soldiers taking over her house, where she was forced to live in the basement. They would bring other civilians to the basement, she said, some with bags over their heads, and they would decide there whom to execute and whom to allow to live.

I lived with my husband for 47 years. We have two children. We had such a nice family, she said, weeping. This pain is so great. He was so beautiful. He was killed for nothing.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin alleged Friday that many of the dead civilians were tortured. Almost 100 Russian soldiers are suspected of war crimes, he said on his Telegram channel, and indictments have been issued for 35 of them.

A Ukrainian court has sentenced two Russian servicemen to 12 years in prison for illegally depriving civilians of liberty, and for looting.

I am convinced that all these crimes are not a coincidence. This is part of Russias planned strategy aimed at destroying Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation, Kostin said.

In Geneva, the U.N. human rights chief said his office has verified the deaths of more than 8,400 civilians in Ukraine since Russias invasion  a count believed to be far short of the true toll. Volker Turk told the U.N. Human Rights Council that severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine during Russia's invasion.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, along with announcing the possibility of the deployment of Russian strategic nuclear weapons in his country, called for a cease-fire in Ukraine. A truce, he said in his state-of-the-nation address in Minsk, must be announced without any preconditions, and all movement of troops and weapons must be halted.

Its necessary to stop now, before an escalation begins, Lukashenko said, adding that an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using Western-supplied weapons would bring an irreversible escalation of the conflict.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Russia has to keep fighting, again claiming that Ukraine has rejected any talks under pressure from its Western allies.

Peskov also dismissed remarks by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that the European Union was mulling the deployment of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, calling that extremely dangerous.

Russia has maintained its bombardment of Ukraine, with the war already in its second year. Along with the two civilians killed Friday, 14 others were wounded as Russia launched missiles, shells, exploding drones and gliding bombs, the Ukraine presidential office said.

Two Russian missiles hit the eastern city of Kramatorsk, damaging eight residential buildings, the office said. Nine missiles struck Kharkiv, damaging residential buildings, roads, gas stations and a prison, while Russian forces shelled the southern city and region of Kherson. A barrage at Zaporizhzhia and its outskirts caused major fires.

In the battered front-line town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, a baby and adult were killed in Russian shelling, according to the presidential office. Before the Russian invasion, about 25,000 people lived in Avdiivka. About 2,000 civilians remain.

Hanna Arhirova reported from Kyiv. Jamey Keaten contributed to this report from Geneva, while Yuras Karmanau contributed from Tallinn, Estonia.

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
WEST READING, Pa.  The communities of Reading and West Reading joined Thursday evening for a "moment of solidarity." The Reading School District coordinated a show of support after the explosion that killed seven people at R.M. Palmer Company last Friday.

"They need us now, and we have to come together," said Reading Mayor Eddie Moran.

Moran and West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag guided a group of more than 60 people over the Penn Street Bridge.

"We're not divided by a bridge," said Gena Garcia of Reading. "We're all one."

During the event, which began at Reading Area Community College, Reading school board President Noahleen Betts addressed Kaag directly.

"We'll make sure that you feel supported," Betts said. "You cannot do this alone."

The Reading School District let the West Reading community and R.M. Palmer family know it stands with them.

"We mourn together," Betts said. "We stand together; we grieve together."

Holding up balloons and signs and handing out Palmer chocolate, the school district called it a "moment of solidarity."

After naming the seven victims from the deadly explosion, Betts held a moment of silence.

The crowd then made its way to the bridge that connects Reading to West Reading.

"We wanted to start in our city on behalf of the Reading School District," Betts said, "and then make sure that we bridge the gap and walk across the bridge to the actual side where the tragedy happened."

"We're not two different communities," Sara Torres, a resident of Reading, said. "I think Reading and West Reading are the same community."

Both mayors in attendance joined hands as they led the group across the way.

"Besides the prayers, the most significant part of the whole afternoon was them holding hands together," Torres said.

"For them to be able to grace this stand of solidarity with their presence," Betts said, "it means a lot to myself and to the school board and to the Reading community at large."

Cars honked in support.

"Our community is united," Shaykayarira DelRio-Gonzalez, another Reading resident, said. "That our community sees the pain, that a bridge doesn't separate us. It unites us."

The group ended the event at the site of the explosion.

"It taught me that it only takes a second to lose everything," Torres said. "But it also takes a second to know that the next person, the person next to you, is right there to hold you."

It was an emotional walk for many who took it.

"This is the first time I've been to the scene, and it's not pretty," said Kevin Brumbach of Reading.

"There's people we know," Garcia said. "Family members they lost. It hits home. It has been really rough seeing the names come through."

The seven people who lost their lives were top of mind for everyone.

"Four of them who died lived right here in our city  the city of Reading," Betts said.

"I was closer to someone than I had realized," added Moran. "A friend's daughter is in the hospital still."

"We're all here to grieve, just for them," added Brumbach.

Before it was destroyed, Brumbach says his company used to paint the walls in building two.

"They treated us like family every time we came here to do work for them, so I felt like it was my duty to show support for them," he explained.

Unity was one of the overarching themes.

"We kindly say to you, 'Lean on us. We're there for you. We walk together,'" said Bishop Robert Brookins of Holy Trinity Church of God.

"I know that this is a long road to recovery," Moran added. "It's not just today. There's going to be many days that they're going to need us."

Leaders in West Reading expressed their appreciation for the kind words and efforts by everyone.

"Just thanks, love and grace," Kaag said.

Organizers distributed R.M. Palmer Company candies and signs to people.

It is not the last event being held. Friday night, a larger vigil is planned.

West Reading and the City of Reading are uniting to hold a vigil to honor the victims and others affected by the tragedy.

People are asked to gather at Bethany Lutheran Church at 6 p.m. on Friday, so all participants can walk together to the memorial.

That is set for 7:30 p.m. at West Reading Fire Department.

People are encouraged to bring photos, flowers and other mementos to honor the seven people who died.
WEST READING, Pa. - A vigil to remember the seven people who died after an explosion at R.M. Palmer Company is bringing people from across the area to West Reading.

Some of them are meeting at a church close to the site, so people can be together, mourn and walk to the memorial as a group.

Bethany Lutheran Church has been in the community for 100 years this year. R.M. Palmer has been a company since 1948.

Some of the people who attend the church also work at R.M. Palmer.

The church is also very close to the site, and the pastor said it made perfect sense for them to open their doors before the vigil.

The distance from the site on South Second Avenue to Bethany Lutheran Church is minimal.

"People at Bethany have worked at Palmer Candy for the past 80 years," said Pastor Bruce Osterhout.

Neighbors living, working and walking the same streets.

"The grief is shared by the neighborhood, and Bethany is part of the neighborhood," added Osterhout.

The Pastor says it's important to give people a collective space to mourn the loss of life, the loss of a building that housed dedicated workers and the losses that can't be stated.

"Some people will never get over this," he said. "The ones who witnessed it happening, the ones who were there first helping bloody people run away, they're traumatized. Even the EMS, fire, police who are used to dealing with this, this goes beyond what they experienced."

Members of the church are also integral parts of the community.

"We have a police officer who is a member of Bethany," said Osterhout. "He was down there right away."

Before the vigil, while people gather, the church is planning a moment of silence and to toll its bell seven times, one ring to mark the life of each person taken.

"It's tradition in the Christian church to toll a bell when someone dies, especially on All Saint's Sunday," explained Pastor Osterhout. "We remember those who have gone before us."

Healing, the pastor says, can be a long process, but he stresses it's important to do it together.

"This is one of those events you're not going to forget," stated Osterhout. "People are already saying, 'where were you when?'"

The vigil begins at 7:30 p.m. at the West Reading Fire Department, and Osterhout says rain or shine, he'll be there.
BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- No matter how the world changes, China will remain committed to reform, opening up and innovation-driven development, and is bound to be a powerful force behind global prosperity and stability.

Themed "An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development amid Challenges," the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 that concluded Friday has pooled wisdom and consensus to strengthen solidarity and cooperation in a world plagued by uncertainties.

The rise of protectionism and unilateralism continues to hinder countries from strengthening cooperation and disrupt the global supply chain. The international community needs to work together to address these challenges by upholding multilateralism, strengthening macroeconomic policy coordination, and maintaining the security, stability and smoothness of global industrial and supply chains.

China has strengthened its bond with countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The year 2022 saw the total export and import value between China and the other 14 members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership increase by 7.5 percent year on year to 12.95 trillion yuan (about 1.88 trillion U.S. dollars).

The process of reform and opening up has played a crucial role in shaping China into the country it is today. China will steadily expand institutional opening up, which will create more opportunities for the development of the world.

In Shanghai's Lujiazui Financial City, more than 100 foreign-funded asset management institutions have now settled, demonstrating China's further opening-up of its financial sector.

The certainty of China is always the bulwark of world peace and development. The Chinese economy is showing strong momentum of growth. According to the International Monetary Fund, the country is set to account for around one-third of the global growth in 2023.

As China strives to advance high-quality development and foster a new development paradigm, the country's modernization will become an important source of inspiration and growth for the rest of the world. 
WEST READING, Pa.  A woman pulled alive from the rubble of the R.M. Palmer chocolate factory after an explosion that killed seven co-workers says her arm caught fire as flames engulfed the building  and then she fell through the floor into a vat of liquid chocolate.

The dark liquid extinguished her blazing arm, but Patricia Borges wound up breaking her collarbone and both of her heels. She would spend the next nine hours screaming for help and waiting for rescue as firefighters battled the inferno and choppers thumped overhead.

"When I began to burn, I thought it was the end for me," Borges, 50, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview from her bed at Reading Hospital, just minutes from the chocolate factory where she worked as a machine operator. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board planned to interview Borges on Friday.

The March 24 blast at R.M. Palmer killed seven of Borges's co-workers and injured 10. Federal, state and local investigations are underway. A cause has not been determined, but the federal transportation safety agency has characterized it as a natural gas explosion.

Borges said she and others had complained about a gas odor about 30 minutes before the factory blew up. She is angry R.M. Palmer didn't immediately evacuate. She said the deaths of her co-workers  including her close friend, Judith Lopez-Moran  could've been prevented.

Other workers have also said they smelled natural gas, according to their relatives. Palmer, a 75-year-old, family-run company with deep roots in the borough has not responded to questions about the workers' claims.

Speaking in Spanish over videoconference, her eyes bruised and her burned right arm heavily bandaged, Borges recounted her terrifying brush with death.

The factory was getting ready for a product switch that day, so instead of running a candy-wrapping machine as usual, she was helping to clean.

At 4:30 p.m., Borges told the AP, she smelled natural gas. It was strong and nauseated her. Borges and her co-workers approached their supervisor, asking "what was going to be done, if we were going to be evacuated," she recalled.

Borges said the supervisor noted someone higher up would have to make that decision, so she got back to work.

Just before 5 p.m., the two-story brick building exploded.

Borges, who'd been on a ladder, was thrown to the ground. She heard screaming. There was fire everywhere, and the flames quickly overtook her.

"I asked God why he was giving me such a horrible death," she said. "I asked him to save me, that I didn't want to die in the fire."

She began to run. That's when the floor gave way, and she could feel herself falling  into a long, horizontal tank of chocolate in the factory's basement. At 4 feet, 10 inches tall, Borges landed on her feet in chest-high liquid.

The chocolate extinguished the flames, but she believes her fall is what broke her feet.

The vat began filling with water from firefighters' hoses, eventually forcing Borges to climb out as it reached neck level. She sat on the lip of the tank, then jumped into a pool of water that had formed on the basement floor. Briefly submerged, Borges said she swallowed a mouthful of water before surfacing. She grabbed onto some plastic tubing.

And then she waited.

"Help, help, please help!" she yelled, over and over, for hours. No one came.

The pain grew more intense. The water was frigid. The main supply pipe for the building's fire suppression system had ruptured  and water was pouring into the basement. She lost track of time but thought she might be there for days.

"The only thing I wanted was to get out of there," she said.

Finally, in the middle of the night, she saw a light and screamed anew for help.

Search-and-rescue dogs had alerted their handlers that a survivor might be in the rubble. Now, as rescuers carefully worked their way down to the basement, they heard Borges's cries.

Calling for quiet, the rescuers followed the sound of her voice. They found her in a tight space, in chest-deep water. She made her way to them and was placed in a litter.

"She was severely hypothermic and banged up," conscious but "absolutely confused," said Ken Pagurek, who helped lead rescue efforts as program manager of Pennsylvania Task Force 1, an emergency response team that deploys to disaster sites around the country.

"I think had they not gotten to her when they did, there was a very good chance the number of victims was going to be plus one," said Pagurek, also a captain in the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Her rescue gave hope to first responders who already had pulled two bodies from the rubble in the hours after the blast. Rescuers spent two more days at the pile. They found five more bodies but no additional survivors.

Borges now faces surgery on both feet and a long recovery. Her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her pay the bills.

Borges, who came to the United States 31 years ago from Puebla state in south-central Mexico, has worked at Palmer for four years. She said she's seeking accountability.

"I wanted to speak so that this will be prevented in the future," she said. "For my colleague Judy, I want there to be justice."

Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania and Coronado reported from Austin, Texas.
READING, Pa.  Dozens of seniors helped make cards at Centro Hispano in Reading on Thursday to lift up R.M. Palmer employees and their families nearly a week after the explosion that leveled a chocolate factory building and killed seven workers.

"It's not easy when you're going through a grieving process or losing anybody," said Jeannie Rubero, director at Mami Angie's Casa De La Amistad Senior Center. "We decided to do cards to write words of comfort, words of hope."

"The cards have coloring and [I] made a response spiritually," said participant Henry Wilson. "Like the Tree of Life, beginnings, hope, joy."

Making the cards was a way that everybody could participate in showing support and sympathy for the people impacted hardest by the blast.

Maria Trinidad said her daughter worked in the same building with many of the people who were killed. Now, Trinidad is designing cards to hopefully comfort those who are heartbroken.

"I put like a little face on it with the crying, and I put down, 'May God bless the ones that are alive, and I feel sorry, and rest in peace to the ones that did die,'" said Trinidad.

"The seniors, even though there's language barriers, they wrote their cards in Spanish," said Rubero. "There's some of them that are in English and they drew pictures, they poured out their heart."

Centro Hispano said one of its community partners, HGSK Law Firm, made a donation so that gift cards could be included in the cards made by the seniors.

"It hits home because this community is a community," said Mike Toledo, Centro Hispano's president and CEO. "There's so much more that binds us than divides us and that's why you're seeing the outpouring from across the community."
HELLERTOWN, Pa. - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday against the Saucon Valley School District over the district's decision to not allow the After School Satan Club to meet in district facilities.

The ACLU says the district violated the First Amendment by not allowing the club to meet.

The complaint requests emergency and permanent injunctive relief against the district, as well as compensatory and nominal damages and attorneys fees.

The Saucon Valley School Districts decision to cancel the After School Satan Club in response to public opposition sets a dangerous precedent, said Sara Rose, deputy legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. The First Amendment protects the expression of unpopular or controversial views from government censorship. Once the district opened up school facilities to outside use, it was bound by the First Amendment to grant equal access to all groups, regardless of their religious beliefs or viewpoints.

The school district originally agreed to the club, but later rescinded that approval. The superintendent said the club failed to meet all district requirements and led to major disruptions, one of those being a threat called into the school by a North Carolina man who's now facing charges.

The ACLU says once the district mentioned that threat as a reason for nixing the club, it's looked at as a "Heckler's Veto," something it says goes against the First Amendment.

The After School Satan Club provides a critical space for students who may feel unwelcome at other after-school religious clubs, said June Everett, director of TSTs ASSC programming. By prohibiting the ASSC from meeting in school facilities, the district is sending a discriminatory message to the clubs students that they are second class and dont deserve the same opportunities as their peers.

We reached out to Saucon Valley for a response to the lawsuit, but officials there declined to comment.
EASTON, Pa. - Defense attorneys and prosecutors announced that former President Donald Trump has been indicted in New York.

The exact charges have yet to be made public, but it comes seven years after he allegedly made payments during his presidential campaign to keep an extramarital affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels quiet.

Trump has continually denied any wrongdoing in the case.

We sat down with Lafayette College Professor John Kincaid to get his take on how the indictment will affect Trump in the political sphere.

"The people who already supported him will be energized by this indictment. The people who aren't happy with Trump, this of course will be another reason they're not happy with him and why they don't want him to run," said Kincaid.

The indictment makes him the first former president to face criminal charges.

"It is an unprecedented situation but the Constitution only has three qualifications to be president," said Kincaid.

Those three qualifications are that you need to be 35 years-old, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the United States for 14 years.

"So being indicted, convicted, serving prison time does not prohibit him from running for president. I think it will increase the support among his base," said Kincaid.

The former president himself is stoking the fires of that base in a statement following the indictment announcement, saying, in part, "I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party - united and strong - will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden."
A bill requiring carbon monoxide detectors in child care centers is going to be debated in the Pennsylvania Legislature.

This comes after 28 children and four adults at Happy Smiles Learning Center in Allentown were sent to the hospital in October of last year for CO poisoning. The owner, Jessina Gautreaux, said at the time the emergency caught her off-guard.

"I got a call from one of my staff that one of my children collapsed. He was in the cozy area, and all of a sudden he just collapsed," said Gautreaux in October of last year.

It was later confirmed by UGI a faulty furnace and blocked ventilation allowed carbon monoxide to leak into the building. There were no detectors in place, and no state laws requiring them. State Rep. Jeanne McNeill said she watched the coverage in horror.

"I was really upset, I was crying," said McNeill. "Seeing those children on stretchers, with oxygen, I can't even fathom that happening to my children or grandchildren."

So McNeill crafted a bill to make sure nothing like this could happen again. HB 494 requires all childcare centers in Pennsylvania to have a carbon monoxide detector installed in every room on the same floor as a heating source that emits the gas.

"Keep our children safe, that's what it's all about, and it's such a small step to make that happen," said McNeill.

The bill gives businesses a year and a half to come into compliance. After that, they could lose their license if they're caught without detectors installed. On Wednesday, the bill passed the House Health committee, but not without some opposition.

"There's so many regulations already, it's death by a thousand cuts for a lot of businesses," said State Rep. Paul Schemel, who did not vote for the bill to pass out of committee.

McNeill said she doesn't buy that argument.

"I can't see that breaking a business, and for $80 to $100, it's about the safety of children," said McNeill.

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services announced, through a federal grant, it was making two free carbon monoxide detectors available for every child care center in the state.

McNeill said her bill would still be necessary, though, because it would force businesses to actually go out and get them installed. It now has to pass the House and Senate when session resumes at the end of April.
WASHINGTON  Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman was discharged Friday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was treated for major depression, according to a news release from the freshman senator's office.

He was treated by a team led by Dr. David Williamson, head of neuropsychiatry medical director. According to Williamson, Fetterman's depression is now in remission.

With the Senate in recess for the next two weeks, Fetterman will spend time with his family and constituents in Pennsylvania, and return to Washington, D.C., when the Senate session resumes on April 17.

"I am so happy to be home. I'm excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves. Pennsylvanians have always had my back, and I will always have theirs," said Fetterman. "I am extremely grateful to the incredible team at Walter Reed. The care they provided changed my life. I will have more to say about this soon, but for now I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works. This isn't about politics  right now there are people who are suffering with depression in red counties and blue counties. If you need help, please get help."
L. SAUCON TWP., Pa.  A conditional use hearing on a proposal to expand the Bethlehem Landfill continued Thursday afternoon at the Lower Saucon Fire Rescue Hall.

Bethlehem Landfill Co. is requesting to expand its operations by 189 acres, with 117.4 acres of those designated as a new disposal area.

Last Dec. 21, the township approved rezoning 275.7 acres adjacent to the landfill as "light industrial." The property is owned by Bethlehem Landfill and located at 2335 Applebutter Road. The rezoning relegated the matter as a conditional use request before commissioners, as opposed to a special exception request before the township zoning hearing board.

With an additional 26.7 acres of previously allowed disposal area factored, the total land consolidation would encompass 505.2 acres.

Traffic impact

On Thursday, project engineer Timothy Kramer's testimony involved a traffic impact assessment study done for the project. Kramer testified the study was done to determine if the current and proposed roadway system surrounding the Bethlehem Landfill property is adequate to accommodate the current permitted daily tonnages of the average 1,375 tons per day and the maximum of 1,800 tons per day.

Kramer's report noted the landfill is currently open to receive waste from 7 a.m. through 4 p.m., and that "no change" is being sought by the company in these hours or in its average or maximum daily volumes in connection with the expansion.

Thus, Kramer said, the vehicle trips to and from the facility are expected to remain the same. In addition, site access will remain through Applebutter Road and will not change with the expansion.

The study examined two intersections  Applebutter Road and the landfill site driveway, and Applebutter Road and Shimersville Road. The traffic counts were taken between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. to capture the entire time the site is operational.

Kramer testified that all movements at all intersections are expected to operate at no worse than no-build levels of service, even with the additional traffic from the development at maximum daily intake. Specifically, there were "no notable" increases surpassing 10 seconds at the studied intersections.

Kramer said the counts were conducted on Tuesday, Nov. 1 of last year for the morning and evening peak hours. The landfill at the maximum permitted intake is anticipated to result in the addition of 102 new weekday trips, with 12 new morning peak-hour trips and two new evening peak-hour trips.

Vehicle crashes

The topic of vehicle crashes was also explored. Kramer said crash data was obtained through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for the years between 2016 and 2021 for Applebutter Road, from the intersection with Shimersville Road to the eastern property limits of the existing site.

The crash data revealed 16 crashes along Applebutter Road and 12 crashes at intersections along Applebutter Road.

Traffic for the Bethlehem Landfill "can be adequately accommodated" by the surrounding roadway network, Kramer said.

Next steps

Thursday's hearing was the fourth dating back to Feb. 27, with four others having been canceled.

Bethlehem Landfill's request has spurred opposition from neighboring residents and businesses citing odors, noise and truck traffic.

The hearing is scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. on April 5 at the Lower Saucon Township building.
NOCKAMIXON TWP., Pa. - Authorities in Bucks County say they have solved the case of a man who was shot and killed decades ago.

Investigators with the Bucks County District Attorneys Office and the Pennsylvania State Police have identified the man who shot and killed 34-year-old Richard Wesley Wheeler in September 1980, in Nockamixon Township, according to a news release from the county DA's office.

Peter Eric Marschner, who changed his name after fleeing from authorities, shot Wheeler four times and hid his body on the wooded property off Center Hill Road, approximately a mile south of the intersection with Kintner Hill Road, in Nockamixon Township, the DA's office said.

Wheelers body was located on Sept. 18, 1980.

The investigation, pieced together by Bucks County Detective David Hanks and Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Christopher Cleveland, determined Marschner killed Wheeler under orders from another man, Leslie Schmidt, because Schmidt felt Wheeler mishandled a large sum of money Schmidt had entrusted Wheeler to manage, according to the news release.

Both Marschner and Schmidt have since died - Marschner in 2006 and Schmidt in 2022.

The Bucks County District Attorneys Office says it considers the case solved due to the deaths of all the participants in the murder.

"Additionally, this office has consulted with the victims family, and they are grateful that this crime is now solved," the DA's office said.

The investigation found that the three men - Wheeler, Marschner and Schmidt - met while incarcerated in Danbury Federal Prison in Danbury, Connecticut, according to the news release.

Marschner, a German national known as the Captain, had a history of stealing yachts, boating equipment and money from harbors in the Caribbean Islands, the DA's office said. Marschner was sent to prison in May 1974 for two years for stealing a 41-foot sailboat in Martinique. After he was released from prison, he was supposed to be deported to Germany, but he found his way back to the Caribbean Islands by working as a crewman on a private yacht.

The yacht was in St. Lucia in February 1977 when the owners went ashore for the night. The next morning, Marschner, all the money onboard, $10,000 worth of boating equipment and a motorized dinghy were missing, according to the DA's office.

The DA's office says that a month later, Marschner stole a 43-foot sailboat from a harbor in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. After an extensive manhunt, Marschner was arrested by French officials in May 1977.

Marschner eventually pleaded guilty to grand larceny and interstate transport of stolen goods, landing him in Danbury Federal Prison, where he met Wheeler, a marijuana dealer who escaped a California prison, and Schmidt, a Bucks County methamphetamine dealer, according to the DA's office.

While incarcerated, the three men conspired to set up a methamphetamine lab in Upper Bucks County once they were released from prison, the DA's office said.

Wheeler was the first to be released in November 1979. Later that year, Schmidt was released on a 30-day furlough.

During his time out of prison, Schmidt introduced Wheeler to a friend, who leased Wheeler the property in Nockamixon Township. Schmidt also provided Wheeler $250,000 that was to be used to care for Schmidts family while Schmidt finished serving the remainder of his sentence, the DA's office said.

In July 1980, Marschner was released from prison and was taken by U.S. Immigration officials to JFK Airport in New York City to be sent back to Germany. During the confusion caused when his deportation flight was cancelled due to mechanical issues on the plane, Marschner managed to escape and walked away from the airport, the DA's office said.

The DA's office says Wheeler had begun work for the methamphetamine lab on the Nockamixon Township property and was living on a camper on the property. Schmidt was still in prison but was financing the drug operation, the DA's office said.

Marschner re-connected with Wheeler in Bucks County and became Wheelers personal bodyguard and driver, according to the news release. At some point, Schmidt and Wheeler had a falling out over their business venture. Schmidt believed Wheeler was mishandling the $250,000 Schmidt had given Wheeler, and he was using the funds for himself and not for Schmidts family, the DA's office said.

Because of that belief, Schmidt ordered Marschner to kill Wheeler, the investigation concluded.

Wheeler was shot four times, sometime between Sept. 8 and Sept. 18, 1980. After the killing, Marschner, who was 42 at the time, fled in Wheelers pickup truck to New Jersey, the DA's office said.

In 1983, investigators spoke to witnesses, concluding that Schmidt hired a German guy to pull the trigger, the DA's office said.

Further, the gunman was someone Schmidt had met in Danbury Federal Prison, investigators learned. Throughout the case, investigators have tried to locate Marschner, who disappeared after killing Wheeler, the DA's office said.

Earlier this year, investigators examined Marschners criminal history and discovered he was arrested in 1982 on drug conspiracy charges in New York and identified himself as Charles McLaren, the DA's office said.

The DA's office says the fingerprints from McLarens arrest in 1982 matched those of Marschners arrest in 1977. The investigation found that Marschner had been living as Charles McLaren, with a new name, date of birth and social security number.

After being released on the drug conspiracy case, he moved to New Jersey, got married, had children and ran a successful limousine service in New York City before his death in 2006.
EAST NORRITON TWP, Pa. - Valley Forge Medical Center says it's one of two facilities in the state that combines addiction treatment with critical medical care.

The facility in East Norriton Township, Montgomery County serves patients from all across Pennsylvania, and now, new changes are aimed at helping even more people.

"We're going from old to new," said Mark Matzliach, the administrator at Valley Forge Medical Center.

Valley Forge Medical Center is under construction.

"New beds, new furniture," said Matzliach.

The whole interior is being redone. Plus, it's getting more medical equipment and staff.

"We're planning on having a physical therapist come on board," said Matzliach.

The 86-bed facility is different because it combines the medical care found at hospitals with addiction rehabilitation.

"Because of the fentanyl use, we see a lot of abscesses and wound care needed," said Ashley Hosseini, the business development representative at Valley Forge Medical Center.

The center's purpose is also key for people with chronic conditions.

"A lot of individuals that have back issues and are prescribed opiates for medication as a pain relief, they end up using the substances," said Hosseini.

Staff says treatment plans that take chronic illness into account lead to long-term success.

"I believe all of us can fight this disease and be successful," said Darron Shanks, the peer support director at Valley Forge Medical Center.

Every patient is given a counselor, a case manager, and a certified recovery specialist, one of whom is Shanks.

"I'm a personal long-term recovery," said Shanks. "Our language matches theirs. We understand what that feeling feels like. We're able to walk with them to give them a sense of understanding that it is a sickness, and that what they're in right now, that they too can come through it."

Shanks arranges transportation to and from Valley Forge, accompanies patients to appointments, and runs a supportive alumni community.

"We're able to give them a sense of how each and every single one of us in peer support recovers and in turn, gives them a system of how they can recover," said Shanks.

Shanks is hopeful the facility's upgrades will lead to even better outcomes.

"When a patient leaves here, they're leaving here with treatment," said Shanks. "They're leaving here with a recovery plan and also a safe place to go."

The goal is for construction to be completed by the fall.
BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- China is working on the establishment of a new master's degree in the field of intellectual property (IP) studies, the industry watchdog said Friday.

It is part of the country's continuous efforts to cultivate IP talent, Cao Hongying, an official with the National Intellectual Property Administration, told a news briefing. Cao said since the Chinese government approved the creation of a Master of Arts in IP in September last year, Shanghai-based Tongji University had been authorized to award doctorates in interdisciplinary IP, the country's first doctoral program in this field.

Over the past year, the IP administration has recommended candidates for education steering committees and solicited opinions on the master's degree program from 17 universities nationwide.

"We will keep the focus on the program this year to improve China's IP talent training system," said Cao. 
WASHINGTON (AP)  In the first criminal case against a former president, Donald Trump has been indicted on charges involving payments made during the 2016 campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.

Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed down against him by a New York grand jury, two people familiar with the matter have told The Associated Press. They were not authorized to discuss details that arent yet public and requested anonymity.

Prosecutors in New York investigated money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep the women from going public with claims that they had sex with him.

Trump, who's running for the White House again in 2024, called the decision by a Manhattan grand jury to indict him political persecution and election interference at the highest level.

At least one former federal prosecutor, though, said the Manhattan DA and other investigators wouldn't move forward with such a case unless they feel confident of a conviction.

WILL NEW YORK CASE OVERSHADOW OTHER LEGAL THREATS?

Former President Donald Trump faces multiple investigations related to his refusal to accept his loss of the 2020 presidential election.

Some legal experts worry that Trump's indictment this week in New York involving a hush money payment in 2016 could jeopardize public trust in the election-related cases.

The indictment itself has remained sealed, which is standard in New York until an arraignment.

Trump has long argued that the investigations in New York and elsewhere are politically motivated and ramped up those accusations without evidence after Thursday's indictment.

LITTLE SIGNS OF LARGE PROTEST IN NEW YORK, ELSEWHERE

Though the streets outside the Manhattan courthouse were bustling Friday, there was no sign of any large-scale protests. A few Trump supporters passed by, quickly posing for photos while police officers and reporters lined the sidewalks.

In Florida, about a dozen Trump supporters stood alongside the road leading to Mar-a-Lago, the former presidents Palm Beach residence and resort Friday morning. They waved Trump Nation and Keep America Great flags at motorists.

Kevin Hulbert, a retired outdoor educator from Maryland, waved an American flag as he called the indictment a disgrace.

We have to use our First Amendment rights to demonstrate how unhappy we are that something like this would happen, Hulbert said.

In Boston, several people rallied outside the Massachusetts Statehouse to support letting the legal process play out.

Laurie Woodward-Garcia, 56, of Westborough, said she was not there to celebrate and defended Trumps right to have his day in court.

I think its important that whoever you are, whatever position you hold, the message is clear: No one is above the law, she said.

WILL TRUMP TRY TO TURN MUG SHOT INTO A TOOL?

Former President Donald Trump is expected to go through the same process as anyone turning him or herself in on criminal charges, including fingerprinting and a mug shot.

Recent history offers examples of political figures who tried to turn arrest photos into a tool, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

New York law discourages the release of mug shots in most cases, though some have leaked in the past. It's unclear whether Trump would try to have the picture released himself, for political or other reasons.

But his presidential campaign and other political groups quickly used word of his indictment in fundraising messages. The National Republican Congressional Committee titled an email sent to supporters Friday: Trump IN HANDCUFFS!?

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION STAYS MUM ON CASE

President Joe Biden set the tone for his administrations approach to former President Donald Trumps indictment Friday with a firm refusal to comment on the case.

Vice President Kamala Harris and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre separately refused. Both told reporters that the decision is tied to the ongoing nature of the case against Trump.

Look, were just not going to comment on any ongoing case, and I will just leave it there, Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One en route to Mississippi, where the president toured recent storm damage.

BRAGG'S OFFICE DEFENDS INQUIRY

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is defending the unprecedented criminal case against Trump in a letter to House Republicans, calling their repeated criticism of the investigation unnecessary and unjustified."

The letter, the only substantial public comment on the case to come from Braggs office since Thursdays indictment, is the latest back-and-forth between Trumps allies in Congress and the prosecutor leading the Manhattan case.

Even worse, based on your reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury process, it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective, general counsel Leslie Dubeck wrote to three Republican chairmen in a letter obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

Reps. Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryan Steil have criticized the grand jury investigation as an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.

The chairmen had requested testimony as well as documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department.

Bragg did not answer reporters' questions on the indictment against Trump on Friday morning after he attended a high-profile sentencing hearing in an unrelated case.
A variety of stars join the royal caper

The leading cast members

( Provided by the production)

Al Murray, Mel Giedroyec, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Neil Morrissey, Joe Thomas, Aidan McArdle, and Tanvi Virmani are set to star in the upcoming West End production of The Crown Jewels.

The play is based on a true story about one of the most audacious heist attempts in British history. The star-studded cast will bring the piece to life at the Garrick Theatre from July 7 to September 16, 2023, before embarking on a regional tour. Tickets for the West End are on sale now.

The Crown Jewels tells the story of Colonel Blood, a charismatic and unpredictable figure who plans to steal the Crown Jewels in plain sight with the help of his gang of misfits.

The play is written by BAFTA-nominated creator Simon Nye, who is known for his work on ITV's The Durrells and BBC One's Men Behaving Badly. It is directed by multi-award winner Sean Foley, who has worked on shows such as Upstart Crow.

The cast includes Murray, who is known for his character the Pub Landlord, Giedroyc from The Great British Bake Off, Fletcher from Les Miserables and Heathers, Aidan McArdle from Leopoldstadt, Neil Morrissey from Men Behaving Badly and Line of Duty, Joe Thomas from The Inbetweeners, and Tanvi Virmani from Life of Pi.

Nye said: I hope audiences will be as titillated and thrilled as I am at the prospect of a riotous comedy-drama about a crown jewels heist that really happened. True crime comes to the West End, 350 years after the event. The cast is an amazing array of comedy talent, and the subject matter absurdly topical. Satire, sword-fighting, love, violence, an examination of the monarchy and Anglo-Irish relations - could you ask for anything more?"

Producer Simon Friend added: The Crown Jewels came out of a mad idea that Simon Nye and I cooked up during lockdown, fantasising about shows we could make if theatres were to ever reopen. Were incredibly lucky that such a talented cast, with Sean as director, have gathered around for this hilarious play about a famous heist that went awry, and we look forward to bringing some laughter to the West End this summer.

The creative team behind the show includes Foley, Nye, set and costume designer Michael Taylor, lighting designer Natasha Chivers, and sound designer Andy Graham.

The show is produced by Friend in association with Adam Kenwright, Trafalgar Theatre Productions, Jenny King, Gavin Kalin, David Adkin, and JAS Productions.

Tour stops are Salford, Canterbury and Cardiff, across September and early October.

Tickets are on sale right now  get them here.
TEHRAN, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Friday strongly condemned Israeli missile attacks on sites in the Syrian capital of Damascus and the killing of an Iranian officer serving as a military adviser in Syria in one of the strikes.

In a statement published by the Sepah News, the media arm of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the victim was identified as Milad Heidari, a military officer from IRGC.

Israel launched a missile attack on sites in the Syrian capital Damascus after midnight Friday, the second Israeli strike since Thursday, according to the Syrian national TV. Some missiles were intercepted by Syria in Damascus and its surrounding areas, according to the report.

In the statement, the IRGC slammed Israel for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent Arab country, stressing that the Israeli "crime" would be responded.

In a separate statement posted on the website of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani was quoted as saying that the Israeli "acts of aggression" are flagrant and ongoing violations of international law and regulations and aimed at diverting public opinion away from Israel's "deep internal crises and divisions."

The attacks also proved Israel's dissatisfaction with Syria's internal stability and its breakthrough in foreign relations, he added.

Kanaani urged the UN Security Council to take actions to prevent Israel from continuing its "aggressions" against Syria and blatantly violating a UN member's sovereignty and territorial integrity. 
Another stretch of highway near Devils Lake State Park is in need of pavement and other repairs, which will be done later this decade around the same time.

In addition to the Highway 113 project discussed on March 23, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation held its first public involvement meeting on a 1.1-mile corridor of Wisconsin Highway 136 slated for repairs in 2026. Pavement along the stretch to the south of Baraboo is deteriorating and a box-shaped culvert in bad condition will be replaced with a circular pipe culvert.

The work will be done from the highways intersection with Skillet Creek Road near Skillet Creek Campground and the County Highway DL intersection next to the Devils Lake entrance. Tanner Carolan, a design engineer with the department, explained the project at the Town of Baraboo town hall on March 29.

The pavement is deteriorating out there, said Carolan. Obviously, there is some cracking. Theres a structure out there right by the County DL intersection (the box-shaped culvert) thats in need of repairs. The end wall is close to the road, a little to close for comfort and poses a bit of a safety hazard.

Construction is slated to begin in either the summer of 2026 or fall of 2027, depending on budget reasons. Carolan listed summer of 2028 as the latest in which the project could be finished. Area officials and business owners at the meeting said that fall is the best time to do the work, as local outdoor attractions like Skillet Creek Campground and Devils Lake experience higher business volume in the summer.

More information regarding detours and other details of the project can be found on the department website.

Carolan said that the existing 4 inches of pavement will be removed and replaced (with an additional -inch layer) and needed repairs below the removed layer will be completed. Rumble strips along the center line will also be added and the aggregate (gravel) shoulder is set to be widened.

Lane width will be slightly narrower on the new road, with 11-foot wide lanes replacing the current 11-foot thoroughfares. The paved shoulder will be 2 feet wide with the additional 1-foot gravel shoulder.

The dilapidated box-shaped culverts pipe replacement will hopefully allow the end wall to be extended farther from the roadway, increasing safety in possible off-road incidents. Carolan said that adding the pipe culvert may require the department to acquire additional real estate in the constructed area.

Were kind of waiting on culvert design, said Carolan. Were not exactly sure what size were going to put back in there yet.

Greg Brecka, the project engineer, said that the biggest concern regarding the project is possible needed real estate acquisition. One of the meeting attendees expressed concern as to whether the existing pavement on the stretch will last until the slated construction time.

If were doing culvert work, that would mean more environmental permits, said Brecka. That takes a little bit longer.

Brecka added that the department has plans in queue in case needs for the project come sooner than anticipated, but did not provide further details. He added that traffic along the short Highway 136 corridor has a lower volume than the majority of other slated highway projects.

A rusted pipe culvert in the middle of the corridor will also be replaced, with Carolan citing rusting reasons. He added that the department has also begun drafting environmental reports for the project. The full environmental report will be completed late this year.

Access to all homes and businesses along the corridor will be maintained, but the road will be closed to through traffic during the project.
Actors perform a Tibetan classic drama in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 25, 2023. A five-day Tibetan drama event kicked off here on Feb. 22 to celebrate the Tibetan New Year. (Xinhua/Zhang Rufeng)

BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Tibetologists have rebutted the accusations that the Tibetan culture is being destroyed, saying such claims glorified the anachronistic culture of the few serf owners, while ignoring the improvements enjoyed by the Tibetan people.

Zhang Yun, a researcher with the China Tibetology Research Center, said the "Tibetan culture" uttered by the Dalai clique only represented their own class and had little to do with the vast majority of the people in Tibet.

In old Tibet, the serfs and slaves that accounted for 95 percent of the population had no guaranteed right to live, let alone educational and cultural rights, Zhang said in an article published by the People's Daily overseas edition.

Since Tibet's peaceful liberation and democratic reform in the 1950s, the southwestern autonomous region has made great strides in preserving and developing Tibetan culture, with the government investing heavily in education and cultural preservation.

Between 1951 and 2021, over 257 billion yuan (37.4 billion U.S. dollars) were poured into the region's educational sector, helping raise the number of primary and middle schools from 462 and four respectively at the end of 1959 to 832 and 156 in 2021.

In the period spanning 2006-2020 alone, the central government allocated more than 3.4 billion yuan for the maintenance and repair of 155 cultural relic sites in Tibet.

Tibet now has three items (Gesar, Tibetan opera, and Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa) included on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. There are 106 items on the national intangible cultural heritage list with 96 state-level representative bearers. The University of Tibetan Medicine has trained over 7,000 Tibetan medicine professionals since its establishment in 1993.

"The Tibetan culture has gone through a fundamental transition from one monopolized by a small fraction of feudal serf owners to a culture jointly created, promoted and shared by all people in Tibet," Zhang said.

The Tibetologist said that despite the noticeable achievements, Tibetan culture doomsayers have continued to smear China's Tibet policies and cry out grievance for the decayed serfdom culture of the old Tibet.

"The true intention of the Dalai clique and some Western governments is not to protect the Tibetan culture, but to split China and restore the old rule," Zhang said.

In another article published by the Global Times, Tibetologist Li Decheng denounced the illegal nature of the Dalai clique and the so-called "Tibetan government-in-exile."

"The Dalai clique is a separatist political group engaged in separatist and sabotage activities," said Li, another researcher with the China Tibetology Research Center.

The Dalai clique represents the remnants of the feudal serf-owner class in old Tibet, and is supported and utilized by international hostile forces, Li said.

Meanwhile, the so-called "Tibetan government-in-exile" is only an illegal organization without political legitimacy, according to the article.

The organization is in essence an illegal organization plotting to split China. Furthermore, its existence and activities are totally unconstitutional and illegal, Li said, adding that it has no legitimacy at all from a political and legal point of view. 
Two Baraboo women were arrested and charged with separate narcotics offenses following a police search of a city residence.

According to a release from Baraboo Police Department Capt. Ryan LaBroscian, members of the Sauk County Drug Task Force executed a narcotics search warrant on Friday, March 31 in the 500 block of Carignan Court in Baraboo. Substances believed to be marijuana and crystal methamphetamine were located in the residence, as well as drug paraphernalia.

Kelly Alcock, 59, Patricia Flores, 35, of Baraboo each had charges currently being referred to the Sauk County District Attorneys Office. Alcock was charged with maintaining a drug trafficking place and Flores received charges of possession of crystal methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

The investigation is ongoing. Members of police departments in Baraboo, Lake Delton, Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells, Sauk Prairie, and Plain/Spring Green, as well as the Ho-Chunk Nation Police Department, Wisconsin State Patrol, and Sauk County Sheriffs Office comprise the task force.
A police officer from Batavia, Illinois, was found deceased in a home in northern Juneau County on March 27 and another man in need of help.

An April 4 update from the Juneau County Sheriffs Office indicates that Gudella and Griffith both possibly suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. The department is awaiting results of a toxicology report to confirm.

According to a release from the Juneau County Sheriffs Office, the countys Communications Center received a welfare check call at around 5 p.m. that day at a cabin in the Town of Armenia. The center received an additional call from a neighbor prior to the arrival of deputies, stating that two residents in the cabin were not breathing. Emergency medical services (EMS) and fire staff were dispatched as a result of the follow-up call.

Deputies entered the residence and saw an adult male who was noticeably deceased, according to the release. Another source indicated the deceased individual was Batavia Police Department officer and Bloomingdale, Illinois, resident Joe Gudella.

When they arrived at the cabin, deputies witnessed EMS staff from Camp Douglas Fire and Rescue treating an adult male who was removed from the residence. He was later transferred to an area hospital via med-flight for treatment.

Another source said the adult male was Rick Griffith, a friend of Gudellas, and that he was on life support at the hospital. A social media post from March 29 indicates that Griffith is no longer on life support but has a long road ahead and mentions that the incident involving Griffith and Gudella was a terrible accident.

GoFundMe accounts are available for both Gudellas family and Griffith. As of March 31, the one for Gudellas family has received nearly $90,000, surpassing its initial goal of $10,000.

Mauston Area Ambulance, Armenia Fire, and the Juneau County Medical Examiner assisted the Juneau County Sheriffs Office and Camp Douglas EMS at the scene and with the investigation.

NOTE: This story was updated to include information provided by the Juneau County Sheriffs Office.
Morgan Stanley restated their underweight rating on shares of Admiral Group (LON:ADM  Get Rating) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a GBX 2,150 ($26.42) target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Peel Hunt reiterated a hold rating and set a GBX 2,160 ($26.54) price objective on shares of Admiral Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an underweight rating and set a GBX 1,650 ($20.27) target price on shares of Admiral Group in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Admiral Group to a hold rating and set a GBX 2,150 ($26.42) price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Finally, Numis Securities reaffirmed an add rating and issued a GBX 2,575 ($31.64) price objective on shares of Admiral Group in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Admiral Group presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of GBX 2,201.50 ($27.05).

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Admiral Group Stock Up 0.7 %

ADM opened at GBX 2,029 ($24.93) on Tuesday. Admiral Group has a 1-year low of GBX 1,691.50 ($20.78) and a 1-year high of GBX 2,646.60 ($32.52). The stocks fifty day simple moving average is GBX 2,119.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 2,081.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 107.56. The stock has a market cap of 6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 1,625.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -1.02 and a beta of 0.25.

Admiral Group Cuts Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling at Admiral Group

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 4th will be issued a GBX 52 ($0.64) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 4th. This represents a yield of 2.49%. Admiral Groups payout ratio is currently 6,612.90%.

In related news, insider Annette Court bought 920 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 1,999 ($24.56) per share, with a total value of 18,390.80 ($22,595.90). In other Admiral Group news, insider Annette Court acquired 920 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 1,999 ($24.56) per share, with a total value of 18,390.80 ($22,595.90). Also, insider Geraint Jones sold 1,175 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,851 ($22.74), for a total value of 21,749.25 ($26,722.26). Insiders own 16.55% of the companys stock.

About Admiral Group

(Get Rating)

Admiral Group plc provides financial services in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Canada, India, and the United States. It offers insurance products, including motor, household, travel, and pet insurance, as well as personal lending products through Admiral loans. The company operates through UK Insurance, International Insurance, Admiral Loans, and Other segments.

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Shares of Aecon Group Inc. (TSE:ARE  Get Rating) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$10.46 and traded as high as C$13.53. Aecon Group shares last traded at C$13.32, with a volume of 364,290 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Aecon Group from C$12.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 22nd. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Aecon Group from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Aecon Group from C$11.00 to C$11.50 in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Laurentian set a C$11.50 price objective on Aecon Group and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 16th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on Aecon Group from C$12.50 to C$16.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$13.75.

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Aecon Group Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of C$818.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$11.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$10.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 95.29.

Aecon Group Dividend Announcement

About Aecon Group

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 23rd. Aecon Groups payout ratio is presently 157.45%.

(Get Rating)

Aecon Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provide construction and infrastructure development services to private and public sector clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Construction and Concessions. The Construction segment focuses primarily on the civil infrastructure, urban transportation systems, nuclear power infrastructure, utility infrastructure, and conventional industrial infrastructure market sectors.

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Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL  Get Rating) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,386,556 shares of the transportation companys stock after purchasing an additional 25,944 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 2.15% of Air Lease worth $91,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Air Lease in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Air Lease by 3,417.0% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,653 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,606 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Air Lease by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company acquired a new position in Air Lease in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. 88.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

AL has been the topic of several research reports. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Air Lease in a report on Friday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. They set a buy rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Lease from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Air Lease from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, January 6th.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

Shares of NYSE AL opened at $38.62 on Friday. Air Lease Co. has a 12 month low of $29.75 and a 12 month high of $47.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $41.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.37.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Air Leases dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -69.57%.

Air Lease Profile

(Get Rating)

Air Lease Corp. engages in the provision of aircraft leasing business. It focuses on purchasing new commercial jet transport aircraft directly from aircraft manufacturers, and leasing those aircraft to airlines throughout the world with the intention to generate attractive returns on equity. The company was founded by Steven F.

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An intelligent connected bus runs on a road in Rongdong area of Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 20, 2023. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

Children do exercises at the sportsground of Yunxi primary school in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2023. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

People visit a park in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 30, 2023. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

People rehearse a dance at the Baiyangdian scenic spot in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 21, 2023. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 24, 2023 shows the Rongdong area in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 31, 2023 shows the sunrise in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows the Baiyangdian scenic spot in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 31, 2023 shows the business service center in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

A staff member uses holographic projection to display a project in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 20, 2023. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 21, 2023 shows the Rongxi area of Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 24, 2023 shows the streets in Rongdong area of Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows the Baiyangdian scenic spot in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 23, 2023 shows the Xiong'an Railway Station in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

A high-speed train departs for Beijing from the Xiong'an Railway Station in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 22, 2023. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 24, 2023 shows a science and technology park in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 24, 2023 shows the Rongdong area in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

This aerial photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows a forest in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

Children practice at a dancing room of Yunxi primary school in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2023. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)
ASM International NV (OTCMKTS:ASMIY  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,000 shares, a decrease of 16.7% from the February 28th total of 1,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days.

ASM International Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of ASMIY traded up $17.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $403.51. The stock had a trading volume of 3,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,510. ASM International has a 52 week low of $201.38 and a 52 week high of $404.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $345.70 and a 200 day moving average of $289.99. The company has a market cap of $19.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.13 and a beta of 1.73.

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ASM International (OTCMKTS:ASMIY  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $4.22 by ($1.29). The firm had revenue of $740.06 million during the quarter. ASM International had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 24.19%. As a group, equities analysts expect that ASM International will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

About ASM International

Several research firms have issued reports on ASMIY. Citigroup began coverage on ASM International in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. They set a buy rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised ASM International from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on ASM International from 375.00 ($403.23) to 378.00 ($406.45) and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on ASM International in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. They issued an outperform rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays started coverage on ASM International in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. They issued an underweight rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASM International currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $360.17.

(Get Rating)

ASM International NV engages in the research and development, design, manufacture, and sale of equipment, and provision of service to customers for the production of semiconductor devices and integrated circuits. It operates through the Front-end and Back-end segments. The Front-end segment manufactures and sells equipment used in wafer processing, encompassing the fabrication steps in which silicon wafers are layered with semiconductor devices.

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Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS  Get Rating) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,621 shares of the pharmacy operators stock after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLCs holdings in CVS Health were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its stake in CVS Health by 3.3% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 3,136 shares of the pharmacy operators stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. IFG Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the pharmacy operators stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. First National Trust Co boosted its stake in CVS Health by 2.9% during the third quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 3,640 shares of the pharmacy operators stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 1.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 10,025 shares of the pharmacy operators stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in CVS Health by 1.6% in the second quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 6,768 shares of the pharmacy operators stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.29% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CVS Health from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday. Raymond James cut their target price on CVS Health from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $130.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $119.06.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CVS stock opened at $74.70 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $107.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.61 and a 200-day moving average of $91.42. The firm has a market cap of $95.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.65.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.07. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 1.29%. The firm had revenue of $83.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be given a $0.605 dividend. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th. CVS Healths dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.56%.

About CVS Health

(Get Rating)

CVS Health Corp. is a health solutions company, which engages in the provision of healthcare services. It operates through the following segments: Pharmacy Services, Retail or Long-Term Care, Health Care Benefits, and Corporate and Other. The Pharmacy Services segment focuses on the pharmacy benefit management solutions.

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Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE  Get Rating) had its price objective reduced by Bank of America from $173.00 to $165.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, The Fly reports. They currently have a buy rating on the utilities providers stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $158.00 to $150.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $169.00 to $166.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Sempra Energy from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $168.45.

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Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $149.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $152.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.34. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $136.54 and a 52-week high of $176.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

Sempra Energy ( NYSE:SRE Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.29. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.74% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 8.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 22nd will be issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 21st. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. This is a boost from Sempra Energys previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Sempra Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 15,964 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.92, for a total value of $2,584,890.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,261 shares in the company, valued at $3,118,741.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 15,964 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.92, for a total transaction of $2,584,890.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,118,741.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 2,940 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.16, for a total value of $473,810.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,681 shares of the companys stock, valued at $915,549.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,504 shares of company stock worth $8,045,547. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 576.9% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 176 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 567.9% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 187 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 440.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 243 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 76.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 231 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 84.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Sempra Energy is an energy-service holding company, which engages in the development and operation of energy infrastructure, and provision of electric and gas services. It operates through the following segments: San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E), Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), Sempra Texas Utilities, Sempra Mexico, and Sempra LNG.

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Blue Fin Capital Inc. reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Get Rating) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,782 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc.s holdings in Southern were worth $913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 23.4% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Southern by 33.5% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Southern by 63.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 35.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $65,776,000 after purchasing an additional 239,325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.78% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. Credit Suisse Group lifted their target price on Southern from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. StockNews.com raised Southern from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Southern from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $76.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $71.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,546 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total value of $1,032,038.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,786 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,569,766.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 1,282 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $85,381.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,512 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,832,299.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,546 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total value of $1,032,038.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,786 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,569,766.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,680 shares of company stock valued at $1,174,768. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.98. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,122,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,347,664. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.52 and a 200-day moving average of $68.01. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $58.85 and a twelve month high of $80.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $75.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Southern had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Southerns revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Southerns dividend payout ratio is presently 82.93%.

About Southern

(Get Rating)

The Southern Co is a holding company, which engages in the generation and sale of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric Operating Companies segment refers to vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and supplies electric services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.

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Busey Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D  Get Rating) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,664 shares of the utilities providers stock after buying an additional 1,920 shares during the period. Busey Wealth Managements holdings in Dominion Energy were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Dominion Energy by 434.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 769 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Dominion Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $303,000. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Dominion Energy by 182.0% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 25,324 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,553,000 after buying an additional 16,343 shares in the last quarter. Pendal Group Ltd acquired a new position in Dominion Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $427,000. Finally, Thomasville National Bank lifted its position in Dominion Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 187,599 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $12,964,000 after purchasing an additional 3,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.30% of the companys stock.

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Dominion Energy Stock Performance

Shares of D stock opened at $55.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $46.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.45. The companys 50 day moving average price is $57.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.54. Dominion Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.03 and a 52 week high of $88.78.

Dominion Energy Announces Dividend

Dominion Energy ( NYSE:D Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Dominion Energy had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Dominion Energy, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 3rd were issued a $0.6675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. Dominion Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 244.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on D shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Dominion Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Dominion Energy from $76.00 to $66.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Dominion Energy from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Dominion Energy from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Dominion Energy from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $66.08.

Dominion Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Dominion Energy, Inc engages in the production and distribution of energy. It operates through following business segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Gas Distribution, Dominion Energy South Carolina, Contracted Assets, and Corporate and Other. The Corporate and Other segment focuses on corporate, service company, non-controlling interest in Dominion privatization, and non-regulated retail energy marketing operations.

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Capital Financial Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK  Get Rating) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,994 shares of the asset managers stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises approximately 2.9% of Capital Financial Services LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Capital Financial Services LLCs holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the asset managers stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Israel Discount Bank of New York grew its position in BlackRock by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Israel Discount Bank of New York now owns 594 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA grew its position in BlackRock by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 90 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. CAPROCK Group Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CAPROCK Group Inc. now owns 1,767 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in BlackRock by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 42 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 390 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $756.26, for a total value of $294,941.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,024.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 390 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $756.26, for a total value of $294,941.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,024.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 575 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $689.06, for a total value of $396,209.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,670 shares in the company, valued at $3,217,910.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,839 shares of company stock worth $3,578,947. Company insiders own 1.06% of the companys stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE BLK opened at $661.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $503.12 and a one year high of $788.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 2.99. The businesss fifty day moving average is $696.91 and its 200-day moving average is $679.56.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 13th. The asset manager reported $8.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $7.99 by $0.94. The company had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.16 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 28.97%. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 34.84 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 7th were paid a $5.00 dividend. This is a boost from BlackRocks previous quarterly dividend of $4.88. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 6th. BlackRocks payout ratio is currently 58.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $800.00 to $779.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $785.00 to $828.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $540.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. They set an overweight rating and a $820.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $741.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $749.62.

BlackRock Profile

(Get Rating)

BlackRock, Inc engages in providing investment management, risk management, and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. Its products include single and multi-asset class portfolios investing in equities, fixed income, alternatives, and money market instruments. The company was founded by Susan L.

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Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED  Get Rating)  Investment analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Consolidated Edison in a research note issued on Monday, March 27th. Zacks Research analyst A. Dutta now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.88 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.87. The consensus estimate for Consolidated Edisons current full-year earnings is $4.84 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Consolidated Edisons Q2 2024 earnings at $0.97 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $5.06 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.11 EPS.

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Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 7.79% and a net margin of 10.59%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS.

Consolidated Edison Trading Down 0.4 %

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Consolidated Edison in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Argus upgraded Consolidated Edison from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Consolidated Edison from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $89.92.

NYSE:ED opened at $94.72 on Wednesday. Consolidated Edison has a fifty-two week low of $78.10 and a fifty-two week high of $102.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.35. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $92.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.69.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ED. Roundview Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 1st quarter worth $680,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,616 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $97,579,000 after buying an additional 190,138 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 18,204 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,489 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,845,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the first quarter valued at about $214,000. 64.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edisons previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 14th. Consolidated Edisons dividend payout ratio is currently 69.38%.

About Consolidated Edison

(Get Rating)

Consolidated Edison, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the business of regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery. It operates through the following segments: Consolidated Edison Company of New York (CECONY), Orange and Rockland Utilities(O&R), Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses and Con Edison Transmission.

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Global Business Travel Group (NYSE:GBTG  Get Rating) is one of 35 publicly-traded companies in the Transportation services industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Global Business Travel Group to related companies based on the strength of its risk, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Global Business Travel Group has a beta of 0.31, meaning that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Business Travel Groups competitors have a beta of 2.11, meaning that their average share price is 111% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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Profitability

This table compares Global Business Travel Group and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Global Business Travel Group N/A -2.83% -0.87% Global Business Travel Group Competitors -3,276.52% 3.80% -4.03%

Earnings and Valuation

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Global Business Travel Group $1.85 billion -$25.00 million -10.61 Global Business Travel Group Competitors $3.92 billion $252.49 million 4.19

This table compares Global Business Travel Group and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Global Business Travel Groups competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Global Business Travel Group. Global Business Travel Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Global Business Travel Group and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Global Business Travel Group 0 2 4 0 2.67 Global Business Travel Group Competitors 101 896 1772 31 2.62

Global Business Travel Group presently has a consensus target price of $8.68, suggesting a potential upside of 34.21%. As a group, Transportation services companies have a potential upside of 8.27%. Given Global Business Travel Groups stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Global Business Travel Group is more favorable than its competitors.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

15.9% of Global Business Travel Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.1% of shares of all Transportation services companies are owned by institutional investors. 12.9% of Global Business Travel Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.8% of shares of all Transportation services companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Global Business Travel Group competitors beat Global Business Travel Group on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Global Business Travel Group

(Get Rating)

Global Business Travel Group, Inc. provides business-to-business (B2B) travel platform in the United States of America and internationally. The company's platform offers a suite of technology-enabled solutions to business travelers and clients; travel content suppliers including airlines, hotels, ground transportation, and aggregators; and third-party travel agencies. It manages travel, expenses, and meetings and events for companies. The company is headquartered in New York, New York.

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Davis Rea LTD. reduced its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY  Get Rating) (TSE:RY) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,900 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 1,679 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada comprises about 3.0% of Davis Rea LTD.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Davis Rea LTD.s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $4,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 28.0% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 18,405,848 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,660,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031,170 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,653,309 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,560,824,000 after buying an additional 1,191,987 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,400,941 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $811,689,000 after purchasing an additional 782,842 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 55.9% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,153,661 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $208,518,000 after purchasing an additional 772,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 123.1% in the 2nd quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 59,181 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $5,724,000 after purchasing an additional 315,911 shares in the last quarter. 41.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on RY. Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$145.00 to C$147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. National Bank Financial cut their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$148.00 to C$147.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$131.00 to C$136.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $139.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

NYSE:RY traded up $0.44 on Friday, reaching $95.39. 121,132 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 861,869. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.48. The firm has a market cap of $132.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.84. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $83.63 and a 12 month high of $113.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY  Get Rating) (TSE:RY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.09. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 18.77%. The firm had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.67 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 25th will be paid a $0.992 dividend. This represents a $3.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canadas previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canadas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.32%.

About Royal Bank of Canada

(Get Rating)

Royal Bank of Canada engages in the provision of banking and financial solutions. It operates through the following segments: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance, Investor and Treasury Services, Capital Markets, and Corporate Support. The Personal and Commercial Banking segment deals with a broad suite of financial products and services in Canada.

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StockNews.com lowered shares of Delek Logistics Partners (NYSE:DKL  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Separately, Citigroup started coverage on Delek Logistics Partners in a research note on Thursday, December 8th. They set a neutral rating and a $48.00 target price for the company.

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Delek Logistics Partners Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DKL opened at $49.25 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.43. Delek Logistics Partners has a twelve month low of $42.60 and a twelve month high of $64.46. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 2.18.

Delek Logistics Partners Increases Dividend

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delek Logistics Partners

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 2nd were issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Delek Logistics Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.28%. Delek Logistics Partnerss dividend payout ratio is 111.48%.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Delek Logistics Partners by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 23,671 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its holdings in Delek Logistics Partners by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 5,259 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Delek Logistics Partners by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,096 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 3,707 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC acquired a new position in Delek Logistics Partners in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Delek Logistics Partners by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 1,310,280 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $59,290,000 after acquiring an additional 56,846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.39% of the companys stock.

About Delek Logistics Partners

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Delek Logistics Partners LP owns and operates logistics and marketing assets for crude oil, intermediate, and refined products. The firm gathers, transports, and stores crude oil. It also markets, distributes, transports, and stores refined products. It operates through the following segments: Pipelines and Transportation, Wholesale Marketing and Terminalling, and Investments in Pipeline Joint Ventures.

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Photo taken on Dec. 8, 2022 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

SHANGHAI, March 31 (Xinhua) -- By co-hosting the second "Summit for Democracy" with hand-picked participants, the United States is imposing its own brand of democracy on other countries to further divide the world and maintain hegemony, said American and Chinese scholars based in Shanghai.

"I think what it revealed above all, was this sort of hypocrisy in the American side that they were the promoters of global democracy," Josef Gregory Mahoney, an American professor of politics and international relations at the East China Normal University, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The United States is trying to use "a very narrow concept of democracy as a tool for dividing the world," which is "a very undemocratic approach," noted Mahoney.

The country is also trying to use its power to limit the development and growth of other countries and push forward zero-sum perspective, said the professor.

Some analysts have pointed out that Washington, with a deep-rooted Cold War mentality, is trying to use the summit as a political tool to maintain its own hegemony.

In the name of democracy, the "Summit for Democracy" enforces hegemony in practice, according to Shen Yi, director of the International Research Institute of Global Cyberspace Governance of Fudan University.

"The U.S.-style democracy is based on its own standard and only works for the rich group and the political elite," noted Shen.

"Think of the U.S. handling of toxic chemicals after the recent train derailment in the state of Ohio. Think of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and the panic it caused in the market. These have been deliberately downplayed (by the U.S. government)," he added.

In Mahoney's view, the only way that humanity can survive in a world with challenges like climate change and the threat of conflict is to find common ground and build a shared future together. 
BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR  Get Rating) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $100.00 price target on the real estate investment trusts stock, down from their prior price target of $121.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $88.00 to $81.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Digital Realty Trust from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $121.86.

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Digital Realty Trust Stock Performance

DLR opened at $93.47 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.99, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.07 and a 200 day moving average of $104.30. Digital Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $85.76 and a fifty-two week high of $153.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Digital Realty Trust Announces Dividend

Digital Realty Trust ( NYSE:DLR Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.68 by ($1.70). Digital Realty Trust had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 2.46%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Digital Realty Trust will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.22%. Digital Realty Trusts payout ratio is 428.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Digital Realty Trust

In other Digital Realty Trust news, EVP Jeannie Lee sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $115,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,975 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,262,125. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Digital Realty Trust news, EVP Dyer Corey sold 4,401 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.19, for a total transaction of $458,540.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,026 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,128,408.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeannie Lee sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $115,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,262,125. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,311,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 758,245 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $75,179,000 after buying an additional 110,729 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 579,190 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $57,444,000 after buying an additional 51,161 shares during the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in Digital Realty Trust by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 12,019 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its position in Digital Realty Trust by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 980,215 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $97,552,000 after purchasing an additional 51,345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.00% of the companys stock.

About Digital Realty Trust

(Get Rating)

Digital Realty Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. It serves the following industries: artificial intelligence (AI), networks, cloud, digital media, mobile, financial services, healthcare, and gaming.

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DNB Markets upgraded shares of Tgs Asa (OTCMKTS:TGSGY  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday, The Fly reports.

Separately, Pareto Securities lowered Tgs Asa from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, February 13th.

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Tgs Asa Stock Performance

Tgs Asa stock opened at $15.63 on Monday. Tgs Asa has a 12 month low of $11.84 and a 12 month high of $19.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.43.

Tgs Asa Cuts Dividend

Tgs Asa Company Profile

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 20th were issued a $0.0928 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. Tgs Asas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

(Get Rating)

TGS ASA engages in the provision of geoscientific data products and services to oil and gas exploration companies. It operates through the following geographical segments: North & South America (NSA), Europe and Russia (EUR), Africal, Middle-East and Asia or Pacific (AMEAP), and Other or Corporate Costs.

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First Affirmative Financial Network reduced its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO  Get Rating) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,353 shares of the companys stock after selling 206 shares during the period. Novo Nordisk A/S accounts for about 0.7% of First Affirmative Financial Networks holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. First Affirmative Financial Networks holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,930,506 shares of the companys stock worth $1,089,006,000 after buying an additional 413,285 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 9.4% during the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 5,218,104 shares of the companys stock worth $519,878,000 after buying an additional 450,280 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,035,879 shares of the companys stock worth $559,235,000 after buying an additional 1,571,747 shares in the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.9% during the third quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 4,262,659 shares of the companys stock worth $424,689,000 after buying an additional 119,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 3,316,090 shares of the companys stock worth $330,382,000 after acquiring an additional 54,370 shares during the period. 6.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cowen raised their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $130.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, December 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating for the company. Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $130.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from 925.00 to 1,100.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $697.78.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $158.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $357.75 billion, a PE ratio of 45.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.47. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $142.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $95.02 and a 1 year high of $158.11.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.74 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 31.44% and a return on equity of 73.39%. Equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Investors of record on Monday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.1887 per share. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/Ss previous semi-annual dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 24th. This represents a yield of 0.8%. Novo Nordisk A/Ss dividend payout ratio is 49.28%.

Novo Nordisk A/S Profile

(Get Rating)

Novo Nordisk A/S is a global healthcare company, which engages in the the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products. It operates through the Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Biopharm segments. The Diabetes and Obesity Care segment includes insulin, GLP-1 and related delivery systems, oral antidiabetic products (OAD), obesity, and other serious chronic diseases.

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Foster Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA  Get Rating) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,889 shares of the companys stock after selling 725 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.s holdings in Corteva were worth $346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Corteva by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,055,723 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,689,484,000 after acquiring an additional 300,866 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Corteva by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,536,681 shares of the companys stock valued at $373,782,000 after purchasing an additional 224,993 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Corteva by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,843,247 shares of the companys stock valued at $316,355,000 after purchasing an additional 477,618 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Corteva by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,065 shares of the companys stock valued at $205,782,000 after purchasing an additional 110,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Corteva by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,578,413 shares of the companys stock valued at $193,736,000 after purchasing an additional 55,335 shares during the last quarter. 79.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Corteva

In related news, CEO Charles V. Magro bought 40,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $60.64 per share, for a total transaction of $2,425,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 126,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,646,400.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Corteva Stock Performance

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CTVA. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Corteva from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Corteva from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Corteva from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, OTR Global downgraded shares of Corteva to a positive rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Corteva presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $72.53.

CTVA stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,200,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,553,500. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.96. Corteva, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.03 and a fifty-two week high of $68.43.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.79 billion. Corteva had a net margin of 6.57% and a return on equity of 7.54%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 28th. Cortevas dividend payout ratio is currently 38.22%.

About Corteva

(Get Rating)

Corteva, Inc engages in the provision of seed and crop protection solutions, which focus on the agriculture industry and contributing to food supply. It operates through the Seed and Crop Protection segments. The Seed segment is involved in developing and supplying advanced germplasm and traits that produce yield for farms.

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Franklin Covey (NYSE:FC  Get Rating) had its target price cut by Roth Mkm from $71.00 to $65.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the business services providers stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FC. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Franklin Covey in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on Franklin Covey from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barrington Research lowered their price objective on Franklin Covey from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $72.00.

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Franklin Covey Price Performance

FC stock opened at $36.24 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $503.74 million, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.25. Franklin Covey has a 12-month low of $34.00 and a 12-month high of $54.70. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $46.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.50.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Covey

Franklin Covey ( NYSE:FC Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 5th. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $69.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.33 million. Franklin Covey had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 7.12%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Covey will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its position in Franklin Covey by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 330,647 shares of the business services providers stock worth $14,952,000 after acquiring an additional 3,207 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Covey by 58.0% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the business services providers stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,232 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Franklin Covey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $517,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Covey by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 622,158 shares of the business services providers stock worth $28,134,000 after acquiring an additional 41,247 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Grotto Capital LLC lifted its position in Franklin Covey by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 200,202 shares of the business services providers stock worth $9,053,000 after acquiring an additional 68,685 shares during the period. 68.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Franklin Covey

(Get Rating)

Franklin Covey Co engages in organizational performance improvement. It operates through the following segments: Direct Offices, International Licensees, Education Practice, and Corporate and Other. The Direct Offices segment includes sales personnel that serve the United States and Canada. The International Licensees segment focuses on international licensees royalty revenues.

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Index Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF (NYSEARCA:IVLU  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 27,140 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $629,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Security Financial Services INC. purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF in the third quarter worth about $868,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF by 2,146.3% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 62,783 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 59,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vance Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vance Wealth Inc. now owns 64,983 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 13,134 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of IVLU stock opened at $24.67 on Friday. iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF has a 12-month low of $19.53 and a 12-month high of $26.01. The businesss 50 day moving average is $24.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 0.83.

iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF Company Profile

The iShares Edge MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF (IVLU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI World ex USA Enhanced Value index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap developed ex-US equities, selected using fundamental metrics, and weighted by these metrics and market-cap. IVLU was launched on Jun 16, 2015 and is managed by BlackRock.

Further Reading

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Pharos Energy plc (LON:PHAR  Get Rating) insider Sue Rivett bought 4,271 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 23 ($0.28) per share, with a total value of 982.33 ($1,206.94).

Sue Rivett also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Monday, February 27th, Sue Rivett acquired 3,787 shares of Pharos Energy stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 26 ($0.32) per share, with a total value of 984.62 ($1,209.76).

On Friday, January 27th, Sue Rivett acquired 4,108 shares of Pharos Energy stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 24 ($0.29) per share, with a total value of 985.92 ($1,211.35).

On Wednesday, December 28th, Sue Rivett acquired 4,077 shares of Pharos Energy stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 24 ($0.29) per share, with a total value of 978.48 ($1,202.21).

Pharos Energy Price Performance

PHAR opened at GBX 22.40 ($0.28) on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.60, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a market capitalization of 96.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 281.25, a P/E/G ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 1.78. The firms fifty day moving average price is GBX 23.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 24.10. Pharos Energy plc has a 1 year low of GBX 17.74 ($0.22) and a 1 year high of GBX 29.90 ($0.37).

Pharos Energy Cuts Dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of GBX 1 ($0.01) per share. This represents a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 15th.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a GBX 30 ($0.37) price objective on shares of Pharos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 22nd.

Pharos Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Pharos Energy plc engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas properties. The company holds a 30.5% working interest in the Te Giac Trang Field of Block 16-1 located in the shallow water Cuu Long Basin, as well as a 25% working interest in the Ca Ngu Vang field of Block 9-2 located in the shallow water Cuu Long Basin, offshore southern Vietnam; a 70% interest in the Blocks 125 & 126 located in the Phu Khanh Basin, offshore central Vietnam; and a 100% working interest in the onshore El Fayum concession in the Western Desert, Egypt.

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Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated their buy rating on shares of J D Wetherspoon (LON:JDW  Get Rating) in a research note published on Monday morning, Digital Look reports. They currently have a GBX 640 ($7.86) target price on the stock.

JDW has been the subject of several other reports. Numis Securities reissued a reduce rating and set a GBX 475 ($5.84) target price on shares of J D Wetherspoon in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Shore Capital reissued a buy rating on shares of J D Wetherspoon in a research note on Friday, March 24th.

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J D Wetherspoon Price Performance

JDW stock opened at GBX 725.50 ($8.91) on Monday. J D Wetherspoon has a 12-month low of GBX 388.40 ($4.77) and a 12-month high of GBX 833 ($10.23). The company has a market capitalization of 934.08 million, a PE ratio of 4,813.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 437.31. The businesss fifty day moving average price is GBX 547.34 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 489.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

About J D Wetherspoon

In other J D Wetherspoon news, insider Timothy (Tim) Martin acquired 2,600,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 457 ($5.61) per share, with a total value of 11,882,000 ($14,598,845.07). Insiders purchased 2,600,060 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,229,844 in the last three months. 28.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

(Get Rating)

J D Wetherspoon plc owns and operates pubs and hotels in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It operates 852 pubs. The company was founded in 1979 and is based in Watford, the United Kingdom.

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JB Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of iShares Convertible Bond ETF (BATS:ICVT  Get Rating) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,294 shares of the companys stock after selling 437 shares during the period. JB Capital LLCs holdings in iShares Convertible Bond ETF were worth $5,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares Convertible Bond ETF by 4,530.3% during the 3rd quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,803,954 shares of the companys stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 2,743,397 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares Convertible Bond ETF by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,252,049 shares of the companys stock valued at $86,842,000 after purchasing an additional 869,859 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of iShares Convertible Bond ETF by 70,752.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 221,768 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,280,000 after purchasing an additional 221,455 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in iShares Convertible Bond ETF by 57,927.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 221,085 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,420,000 after purchasing an additional 220,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new position in iShares Convertible Bond ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $13,004,000.

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iShares Convertible Bond ETF Stock Up 0.4 %

BATS ICVT opened at $71.90 on Friday. iShares Convertible Bond ETF has a fifty-two week low of $50.43 and a fifty-two week high of $58.18. The firms fifty day moving average price is $72.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.33.

iShares Convertible Bond ETF Profile

The iShares Convertible Bond ETF (ICVT) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in broad credit fixed income. The fund tracks an index of USD-denominated convertible bonds weighted by market value. The index contains only cash-pay convertibles and excludes mandatory and preferred convertibles.

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First Affirmative Financial Network reduced its holdings in shares of Lowes Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW  Get Rating) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,652 shares of the home improvement retailers stock after selling 254 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Networks holdings in Lowes Companies were worth $329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Standard Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Lowes Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lowes Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its position in Lowes Companies by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 142 shares of the home improvement retailers stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Lowes Companies by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailers stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowes Companies in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 72.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Donald Frieson sold 9,411 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.00, for a total value of $1,853,967.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,888 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,523,936. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the companys stock.

Lowes Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Lowes Companies stock opened at $192.65 on Friday. Lowes Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $170.12 and a twelve month high of $223.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.10. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $203.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.67.

Lowes Companies (NYSE:LOW  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $22.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.71 billion. Lowes Companies had a net margin of 6.63% and a negative return on equity of 82.30%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lowes Companies, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowes Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 25th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Lowes Companiess dividend payout ratio is presently 41.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LOW. Roth Capital restated a neutral rating on shares of Lowes Companies in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Lowes Companies from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lowes Companies in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. They issued a market perform rating and a $237.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Lowes Companies from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Lowes Companies from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $223.85.

About Lowes Companies

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Lowes Cos., Inc engages in the retail sale of home improvement products. The firm offers products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, home decorating and property maintenance. It also provides home improvement products in the following categories: appliances, bathroom, building supply, electrical, flooring, hardware, paint, kitchen, plumbing, lighting & fans, outdoor living, windows and doors.

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BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi will visit China from April 1 to 2, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Friday.

"China and Japan are neighbors who are important to each other. To maintain the sound and steady development of bilateral relations serves the common interests of the two countries and the region," Mao said at a daily news briefing when asked to introduce the visit.

Noting that China attaches great importance to Hayashi's visit, Mao said the Chinese leadership will meet with Hayashi and that Qin will hold talks with him to exchange in-depth views on bilateral relations, as well as international and regional issues of common concern.

Using the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries as strategic guidance, China is willing to work with Japan to take the opportunity of the 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, to strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen practical cooperation, manage disputes and differences, and promote the building of constructive and stable China-Japan relations that meet the requirements of the new era, Mao added. 
Lundin Gold Inc. (OTCMKTS:LUGDF  Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,193,200 shares, an increase of 85.7% from the February 28th total of 642,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 12,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 94.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Desjardins raised their target price on Lundin Gold from C$18.25 to C$18.50 in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Lundin Gold from $14.00 to $15.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 30th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Lundin Gold from C$18.50 to C$20.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. National Bank Financial raised their price objective on shares of Lundin Gold from C$16.50 to C$17.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Lundin Gold from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 1st.

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Lundin Gold Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:LUGDF traded up C$0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching C$11.72. The companys stock had a trading volume of 5,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,494. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is C$10.62. Lundin Gold has a fifty-two week low of C$6.07 and a fifty-two week high of C$11.99.

Lundin Gold Dividend Announcement

Lundin Gold Company Profile

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 13th will be given a $0.0993 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 10th.

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Lundin Gold, Inc is a natural resource mining company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold, base, and precious metal properties. It focuses on the operation of Fruta del Norte project. The company was founded on July 25, 1986 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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MEG Energy Corp. (OTCMKTS:MEGEF  Get Rating) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,298,200 shares, a decline of 15.9% from the February 28th total of 3,923,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 177,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 18.6 days.

MEG Energy Stock Performance

MEGEF stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.77. The company had a trading volume of 31,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 77,260. The business has a 50 day moving average of $15.82 and a 200 day moving average of $14.34. MEG Energy has a fifty-two week low of $10.10 and a fifty-two week high of $19.90.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MEGEF shares. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of MEG Energy from C$22.00 to C$20.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of MEG Energy from C$26.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of MEG Energy from C$20.00 to C$23.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MEG Energy from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report on Monday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of MEG Energy from C$25.00 to C$26.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 28th.

MEG Energy Company Profile

MEG Energy Corp. engages in the production of in situ thermal oil. Its projects include Cristina Lake and Surmont. The company was founded by William J. McCaffrey, Steve Turner and David J. Wizinsky on March 9, 1999 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG  Get Rating) and AGF Management (OTCMKTS:AGFMF  Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Principal Financial Group and AGF Managements top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Principal Financial Group $17.49 billion 1.03 $4.58 billion $18.83 3.94 AGF Management N/A N/A N/A $0.70 8.30

Principal Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than AGF Management. Principal Financial Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AGF Management, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Principal Financial Group 0 0 0 0 N/A AGF Management 0 1 0 0 2.00

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Principal Financial Group and AGF Management, as provided by MarketBeat.

AGF Management has a consensus target price of $9.04, suggesting a potential upside of 55.62%. Given AGF Managements higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AGF Management is more favorable than Principal Financial Group.

Profitability

This table compares Principal Financial Group and AGF Managements net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Principal Financial Group N/A N/A N/A AGF Management N/A N/A N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

74.2% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.3% of AGF Management shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Principal Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. AGF Management pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 18.6%. Principal Financial Group pays out 13.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AGF Management pays out 154.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Principal Financial Group beats AGF Management on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Principal Financial Group

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Principal Financial Group, Inc. engages in the investment management offering business. It offers financial products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients. It operates its business through following segments: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, U.S. Insurance Solutions, and Corporate. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement and related financial products and services primarily to businesses, their employees, and other individuals. The Principal Global Investors segment is involved in asset management services to asset accumulation business, insurance operations, corporate segment and third-party clients, and also refers to the mutual fund business. The Principal International segment offers pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities and life insurance accumulation products. The U.S. Insurance Solutions segment includes the specialty benefits insurance division and consists of group dental and vision insurance, individual and group disability insurance, group life insurance and non-medical fee-for-service claims administration, and

About AGF Management

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AGF Management Ltd. is a diversified global asset management firm. It offers investment solutions to a wide range of clients, from individual investors and financial advisors to institutions, including pension plans, corporate plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and foundations. The firm provides investment management with operations and investments in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its products include a diversified mutual funds, mutual fund wrap programs, and pooled funds. The company was founded by C. Warren Goldring and Allan Manford in 1957 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Shop Apotheke Europe (OTCMKTS:SAEYY  Get Rating)s share price traded up 23% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $8.55 and last traded at $8.55. 1,010 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 133% from the average session volume of 433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Credit Suisse Group lowered shares of Shop Apotheke Europe from an outperform rating to an underperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $101.50.

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Shop Apotheke Europe Stock Up 23.0 %

The businesss fifty day moving average is $7.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.59.

About Shop Apotheke Europe

Shop Apotheke Europe N.V. owns and operates online pharmacies in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands. It provides prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, and pharmacy-related beauty and personal care products, as well as food supplements. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Sevenum, the Netherlands.

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Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund (NYSE:NUW  Get Rating) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,100 shares, a drop of 16.4% from the February 28th total of 6,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 36,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund Stock Performance

NUW opened at $13.79 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.96 and a 200-day moving average of $13.67. Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund has a 52 week low of $12.87 and a 52 week high of $15.22.

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Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.039 dividend. This represents a $0.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund Company Profile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Raymond James & Associates bought a new position in Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Mariner Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its position in Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 15,871 shares of the companys stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 6,144 shares in the last quarter.

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Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund is a close-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments Inc The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. It invests in fixed income markets of the United States. The fund makes its investments in the securities of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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Cannindah Resources Limited (ASX:CAE  Get Rating) insider Simon Beams bought 262,800 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of A$0.19 ($0.13) per share, for a total transaction of A$50,457.60 ($33,638.40).

Cannindah Resources Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2,087.47.

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About Cannindah Resources

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Cannindah Resources Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, evaluation, and development of various mineral projects in Australia. The company primarily explores for copper and gold deposits. Its flagship project is the Mount Cannindah project located in Queensland. The company was formerly known as Planet Metals Limited and changed its name to Cannindah Resources Limited in December 2014.

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Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO  Get Rating) and Soho House & Co Inc. (NYSE:SHCO  Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sunstone Hotel Investors and Soho House & Co Inc.s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Sunstone Hotel Investors $912.05 million 2.16 $87.29 million $0.35 27.00 Soho House & Co Inc. $972.21 million 1.29 -$220.58 million ($1.24) -5.18

Sunstone Hotel Investors has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Soho House & Co Inc.. Soho House & Co Inc. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sunstone Hotel Investors, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Sunstone Hotel Investors 4 2 1 0 1.57 Soho House & Co Inc. 0 0 0 0 N/A

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Sunstone Hotel Investors and Soho House & Co Inc., as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sunstone Hotel Investors currently has a consensus target price of $10.71, indicating a potential upside of 13.38%. Given Sunstone Hotel Investors higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Sunstone Hotel Investors is more favorable than Soho House & Co Inc..

Profitability

This table compares Sunstone Hotel Investors and Soho House & Co Inc.s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Sunstone Hotel Investors 9.57% 4.73% 2.85% Soho House & Co Inc. -25.47% -450.95% -10.13%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.5% of Sunstone Hotel Investors shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.0% of Soho House & Co Inc. shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Sunstone Hotel Investors shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 73.0% of Soho House & Co Inc. shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Sunstone Hotel Investors has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Soho House & Co Inc. has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Sunstone Hotel Investors beats Soho House & Co Inc. on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sunstone Hotel Investors

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Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the acquisition, ownership, asset management, and renovation of hotels and resorts. Its portfolio consists of upper upscale hotels located in major convention, resort destination, and urban markets. The company was founded by Robert A. Alter in 1995 and is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, CA.

About Soho House & Co Inc.

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The Membership Collective Group provides global membership platform of physical and digital spaces which connects a vibrant, diverse and global group of members. The members use the MCG platform to work, socialize, connect, create and flourish all over the world. The Membership Collective Group is based in London, the United Kingdom.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of TD SYNNEX (NYSE:SNX  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on SNX. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of TD SYNNEX from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on TD SYNNEX from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Barclays initiated coverage on TD SYNNEX in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an outperform rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of TD SYNNEX in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $116.20.

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TD SYNNEX Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of TD SYNNEX stock opened at $94.49 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.65. TD SYNNEX has a twelve month low of $78.86 and a twelve month high of $111.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $98.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.81.

TD SYNNEX Dividend Announcement

TD SYNNEX ( NYSE:SNX Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 10th. The business services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $16.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.78 billion. TD SYNNEX had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 1.04%. Equities research analysts forecast that TD SYNNEX will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 13th. TD SYNNEXs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Apollo Management Holdings Gp, sold 5,175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $501,975,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,802,877 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,666,879,069. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Apollo Management Holdings Gp, sold 5,175,000 shares of TD SYNNEX stock in a transaction on Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $501,975,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,802,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,666,879,069. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Marshall Witt sold 603 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.81, for a total value of $55,964.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,304 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,947,144.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,193,767 shares of company stock worth $503,877,398. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TD SYNNEX

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SNX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in TD SYNNEX in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,999,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in TD SYNNEX by 189.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 351,567 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $32,028,000 after buying an additional 229,997 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in TD SYNNEX by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,732,192 shares of the business services providers stock worth $303,018,000 after acquiring an additional 211,608 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in TD SYNNEX by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,351,256 shares of the business services providers stock worth $121,410,000 after acquiring an additional 205,708 shares during the period. Finally, GMT Capital Corp grew its stake in TD SYNNEX by 78.8% during the 4th quarter. GMT Capital Corp now owns 420,800 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $39,854,000 after acquiring an additional 185,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.70% of the companys stock.

TD SYNNEX Company Profile

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TD SYNNEX Corp. engages in the distribution and aggregation of solutions in the information technology ecosystem. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific and Japan. The firm offers IT hardware, software, and systems including personal computing devices and peripherals, mobile phones and accessories, printers, server and datacenter infrastructure, hybrid cloud, security, networking, communications and storage solutions, and system components.

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Thai Oil Public Company Limited (OTCMKTS:TOIPF  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 420,200 shares, a decline of 24.4% from the February 28th total of 556,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently  days.

Thai Oil Public Price Performance

Shares of TOIPF remained flat at $1.50 on Friday. The companys 50-day moving average is $1.50 and its 200-day moving average is $1.53. Thai Oil Public has a 52 week low of $1.50 and a 52 week high of $1.50.

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About Thai Oil Public

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Thai Oil Public Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the oil refining and distribution, petrochemicals, lube base oil, and other businesses in Thailand and internationally. It operates through Oil Refinery, Lube Base Oil Refinery, Petrochemical, Power Generation, Marine Transportation Services, Solvent, Ethanol, and Others segments.

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Tokuyama Co. (OTCMKTS:TKYMF  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,200 shares, a drop of 47.2% from the February 28th total of 81,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently  days.

Tokuyama Stock Performance

Shares of TKYMF remained flat at $15.10 during midday trading on Thursday. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $14.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.04. Tokuyama has a 1 year low of $13.56 and a 1 year high of $15.10.

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About Tokuyama

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Tokuyama Corporation produces and sells various chemical products in Japan. The company operates through six segments: Chemicals, Cement, Electronics Materials, Life Science, Eco Business, and Others. The Chemicals segment offers caustic soda, soda ash, calcium chloride, sodium silicate, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride resin, propylene oxide, chlorinated solvents, and hydrogen.

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UNITED NATIONS, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called on the international community to support Africa's leading role in its own peace and security in a high-level open debate of the Security Council on the impact of development policy on the implementation of Africa's Silencing the Guns initiative.

Africa is a rising continent, a fertile land of hope brimming with vigor and vitality. Without peace and development in Africa, there will be no stability and prosperity in the world, said Liu Yuxi, special representative of the Chinese government on African affairs.

Under the current circumstances, the Security Council needs to give serious thought to questions such as how to strengthen international coordination to better help Africa meet its challenges, how to forge synergy between development policies to address the root causes of conflicts, and how to advance the UN's cooperation with Africa to provide stronger support, he said.

It is important to support Africa's leading role in its own peace and security. Africans know Africa best, and African countries are core forces for maintaining their own peace and security, said Liu.

The international community should adhere to the principle of seeking African solutions for African problems, and provide assistance on the basis of respect and trust, rather than interfere in other countries' internal affairs in the name of human rights or even overstep their authority. For post-conflict countries, there is a need to support their own choice of development paths and governance models that suit their own national conditions, rather than find fault with them, still less engage in so-called democratic transformation, he said.

It is important to support African countries' security capacity-building, which is the only way to address both the symptoms and the root causes of the conflicts in Africa, he said.

"We need to help African countries build a professional, efficient and strong security sector to tackle real security threats such as terrorist extremism and intercommunal conflicts," he said. "The UN peacekeeping operations in Africa need to respect the views of the host countries and support their efforts to strengthen security-sector development and reform. The arms embargoes imposed by the Security Council on Sudan, South Sudan and other countries have hindered the development of the security capacity of these countries and should be adjusted or lifted in a timely manner." 
West Wealth Group LLC lessened its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (BATS:EFG  Get Rating) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,122 shares of the companys stock after selling 16,754 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF makes up about 6.3% of West Wealth Group LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. West Wealth Group LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF were worth $12,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EFG. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,240,103 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,686,302,000 after buying an additional 7,733,455 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 62.2% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,164,482 shares of the companys stock valued at $229,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213,234 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 47.4% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,246,567 shares of the companys stock valued at $163,011,000 after purchasing an additional 722,390 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 75.9% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,616,441 shares of the companys stock worth $117,289,000 after acquiring an additional 697,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 45.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,341,199 shares of the companys stock worth $97,317,000 after acquiring an additional 417,585 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Price Performance

Shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF stock traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.03. The companys stock had a trading volume of 723,521 shares. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.32 and a 200 day moving average of $84.38. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF has a 12 month low of $67.58 and a 12 month high of $85.81. The company has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.87.

About iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Growth Index (the Index). The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

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Winslow Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,768 shares of the payment services companys stock after selling 1,190 shares during the period. Winslow Asset Management Inc.s holdings in American Express were worth $5,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of American Express by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,713,458 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $366,073,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202,912 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of American Express by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,807,168 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $666,377,000 after purchasing an additional 675,971 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 44,553,661 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $6,010,732,000 after purchasing an additional 665,857 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,110,826 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $284,769,000 after purchasing an additional 629,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,525,852 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $880,402,000 after purchasing an additional 602,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.30% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Argus raised their price objective on American Express from $180.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Express from $170.00 to $166.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on American Express from $172.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $175.44.

Insider Activity at American Express

American Express Price Performance

In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total transaction of $2,635,280.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,712 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,374,644.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website . In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 5,456 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total value of $952,181.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,045 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,229,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . Also, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total value of $2,635,280.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,712 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,374,644.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold 49,361 shares of company stock valued at $8,773,678 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the companys stock.

AXP stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $162.40. 406,100 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,630,594. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.90. American Express has a 1-year low of $130.65 and a 1-year high of $194.00. The company has a market cap of $120.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

American Express (NYSE:AXP  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The payment services company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($0.11). American Express had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 31.76%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.18 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. This is a boost from American Expresss previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. American Expresss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.14%.

American Express announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 8th that permits the company to repurchase 120,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the payment services company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued.

About American Express

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American Express Co engages in the provision of charge and credit card products and travel-related services. It operates through the following segments: U.S Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS), Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS), and Corporate and Other.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AXP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Express (NYSE:AXP  Get Rating).

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Editor's Note

With the care of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and under the leadership of the All-China Women's Federation, the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) launched the Spring Bud Project in 1989, to help impoverished girls return to school, and to promote girls' education in disadvantaged areas.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, in 2012, with the attention and concern of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, and with the strong support of Peng Liyuan, special envoy of the Spring Bud Project for promoting girls' education, the project has conducted various activities to care for and support girls, and it has focused on girls' education, safety and health. During the past decade, the project has supported 1.76 million girls, and it has provided one-on-one companionship services and personalized psychological counseling to 133,400 girls. After they receive support from the project, the Spring Bud girls never forget to give back to society. With love and various actions, the girls have demonstrated the Spring Bud spirit of "unremitting self-improvement, striving for excellence, developing stronger virtues and pursuing better lives."

Today, we introduce a new section, Spring Bud Blooms, to share stories about Spring Bud girls who have grown up and become contributing members of society, and to encourage society to care for the development of girls. Feng Wangmei is one of them.

"My wish is to lead the women in the village in living better lives with their own hands!" says Feng Wangmei, an ethnic Hong Yao entrepreneur in Baiyun, a township in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Hong Yao is a branch of the ethnic Yao group.

As a graduate of the country's first Spring Bud girls' class, Feng rooted her dreams in her hometown and, after years of hard work, that is where she started her business. With an annual revenue of nearly 800,000 yuan (US $114,286), her business has helped more than 70 families increase their incomes. When speaking about what she has today, she is deeply grateful to the Spring Bud Project.

Feng was born in Yaokou, a village in Rongshui, in 1982. Located in the mountains, Rongshui was once a national-level, poverty-stricken county. Feng's parents, as farmers, had a meager income, and life was hard for the family.

The idea that girls should not study was prevalent in Baiyun at that time, so a lot of girls lost the opportunity to attend school. Feng was no exception, although she had always dreamed of going to school.

China's first Spring Bud girls' class was established in Baiyun in September 1988. As a preliminary public-welfare initiative of the All-China Women's Federation and the China Children and Teenagers' Fund, the class was intended to help out-of-school girls in impoverished ethnic minority areas return to school. That class was the prelude to the Spring Bud Project, which operates across the country today.

"The village cadres went from house to house, encouraging parents to allow their daughters to receive an education. I signed up for the project, and I knew that my dream was going to come true," recalls Feng.

The project provided the girls with subsidies, for tuition and other expenditures. As the youngest in her class, Feng appreciated the assistance she received from the project, and she studied hard. Baiyun is home to various ethnic groups.

Feng Wangmei (center) and her colleagues plant ganoderma on the hillside.

In the beginning, Feng could not understand some of her classmates, due to the differences in the languages, but later they learned Mandarin and became good friends. "Going to school was the happiest part of my life, every day, at that time," Feng says.

To date, more than 500 girls in Rongshui have been enrolled in schools through the project. They carry forward the Spring Bud spirit of unremitting self-improvement, striving for excellence, developing stronger virtues, and pursuing a better life while managing to contribute to all parts of society. The outdated idea that girls should not study has disappeared.

After graduating from junior high school, Feng decided to work while studying. Using online resources, she started to learn mushroom cultivation technology, and she later decided to return to her hometown to start a business.

"I have encountered many difficulties in the past few years, and I have always encouraged myself to face them bravely, and to overcome them," says Feng.

In 2005, incessant downpours triggered a landslide in Baiyun, and that landslide destroyed the factory Feng had built at the foot of the mountain.

Heavy pressure fell on her shoulders, but her unyielding spirit inspired her to start again. With the help of her parents and friends, she managed to build a new factory in 2006.

After several attempts, Feng set her sights on the ganoderma planting industry, in which it is comparatively easier to make a handsome profit.

In 2012, about 1.33 hectares of Feng's ganoderma were harvested, earning her the first bucket of gold.

She and her husband established Baiyun Town Xiaokun Edible Fungus Cultivation Cooperative, in 2014, and Rongshui Youye Agricultural Technology Cooperation, in 2021, both of which are now undergoing expansion, with a projected combined annual output of 200,000 sticks of fungi after completion.

The project gave Feng the opportunity to gain knowledge, and her gratitude for that has remained in her heart. Out of that gratitude, she decided to give back to society, to help people in need.

There are many stay-at-home women, with meager incomes, in Rongshui. In 2009, Feng began inviting them to plant ganoderma, to increase their incomes, and to improve their lives. To date, she has helped 78 families.

Feng goes to many places to obtain knowledge about and technology related to fungus-stick cultivation. She also invites experts and scholars to give lectures and training to farmers, to teach them how to run an online store.

Feng is influencing more and more local women, inspiring them to create better lives for themselves, with their own hands.

Photos Supplied by CCTF

(Women of China English Monthly March 2023 issue)
People attend the opening ceremony of an exhibition of China's renowned Terracotta Warriors in Alicante, Spain, March 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)

It is worth noting that affinities between China and Spain are growing in multiple fields, including trade and investment, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, science, and political and strategic understanding.

by Xulio Rios

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's official visit to China on March 30 and 31 offers an excellent opportunity to strengthen mutual affinities between the two sides.

Sanchez will travel to Beijing after his trip to Boao to attend the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023.

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Spain in 2018, the world has confronted the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis. To seek stability and cooperate to mitigate difficulties and challenges, Spain and China mutually desire to maintain their close bond.

Their mutually beneficial relationship has yielded positive results in recent decades. It is worth noting that affinities between both sides are growing in multiple fields, including trade and investment, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, science, and political and strategic understanding.

Regarding China as a vital cooperation partner, Spain should draw a roadmap for better engagement in the coming years. Sanchez's visit may represent a new starting point to reinforce the cooperation praised by both sides for its advantages.

In 2005, China and Spain established their comprehensive strategic partnership, reflecting Madrid's status as Beijing's important partner in Europe. This signals that both parties are committed to promoting political dialogue and developing their relations at all levels, sharing a mutual interest in pragmatism.



A freight train heading for Yiwu of China departs from Madrid, Spain, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)

Spain received significant assistance from China during its economic and financial woes when the Troika community led it to apply severe austerity measures. Given this, it's understandable that Spain hopes to prioritize strengthening economic cooperation with China in commerce, investment and leading industry cooperation. Moreover, the resumption of tourism is excellent news.

By adjusting its COVID-19 response and the return to normalcy, the resumption of various bilateral forums is expected to pave the way for a recovery of the traditionally good harmony between the two sides.

Looking back at history, long-standing cultural communication has greatly helped build relations between the two countries, exemplified by the splendor of their people-to-people exchanges between the 16th and 19th centuries. During this period, outstanding figures such as Spanish missionaries Martin de Rada, Diego de Pantoja and Juan Cobo traveled to China.

Spain is set to assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of this year against a background in which the scourge of the pandemic has affected expectations of economic recovery in the region and beyond, and the Ukraine crisis has dashed expectations. The souring of U.S.-China relations has also profoundly impacted the bloc.

Spain has supported the EU's strategic autonomy, advocating for a specific agenda that addresses the continent's problems, interests and structural needs. In this respect, China, the EU and Spain can broaden their convergences.

Spain's relationship with China remains constructive within the EU. As it braces for its turn at the bloc's helm, Spain is expected to positively enhance EU-China relations, address differences through dialogue and foster dynamic growth while preventing stagnation.

Spain should embrace China in its global strategy. The Chinese economy will remain strong despite uncertainties amid headwinds against globalization, so China will continue offering opportunities. Likewise, valuing China's growing role in the international system remains crucial.

With flexible and creative management of the bond with China, Sanchez's visit can significantly strengthen Spain-China and EU-China relations and bolster continental and global stability.





Editor's note: Xulio Rios is emeritus advisor of the Chinese Policy Observatory in Spain.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.


BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The so-called "Summit for Democracy" co-hosted by the United States was held Tuesday through Thursday when concerns about democratic backsliding are rising in participating countries.

At a time when the world yearns for unity, many experts and analysts see the summit as America's attempt to spread its false narrative of "democracy" which is not based on genuine dialogue but sheer manipulation.

A perspective mentioned a lot is that the United States is in no position to define the nature of democracy.

It cannot be the only judge of democracy, as there are different forms of democracy in the world and the American standard of democracy is not the only one that exists, Marinko Ogorec, a Croatian political analyst, told Xinhua in an interview.

"The basic principle of democracy is not to impose your model and your social values on others," he noted, adding that different forms of democracy should be respected just like different values and traditions and that "only when we respect those differences can we talk about democracy."

Some say that in the United States, democracy is not about the welfare of the people but a political tool. "American democracy has been deteriorating, and as you say, backsliding over the past decades," said Herman Tiu Laurel, founder of Philippine BRICS Strategic Studies.

Elections have become a very divisive factor, said Laurel, noting that the electoral and so-called democratic process has degenerated into two parties fighting each other.

"There is never a compromise, a real compromise, because each party wants to stay in power or grab power so that they can enjoy the economic and financial bonanza from being in power ... So it is no longer about the welfare of the people," he said.

According to an expert on international relations in Guinea-Bissau, Americans have no human rights lessons to give to Africa. The country "still can't solve the problem of racism and police blunders which have become a sad reality for the Black population of the country," said Antonio Nhaga, general director of the journal The Democracy.

Nhaga said that the "paradigm of democracy" declared by the United States is a "blow of pressure on certain countries" because Westerners have always wanted to impose "their vision of democracy on the world."

While troubled by its chaotic internal affairs, the United States is by no means democratic when it comes to its hegemony-based foreign policy, an Egyptian expert said.

"The West is schizophrenic when it comes to democracy," Mokhtar Ghobashy, deputy chairman of the Cairo-based Arab Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said in an interview with Xinhua.

The West in general and the United States in particular claim to be advocating democracy and rights in some countries as a pretext to pressure them for political purposes, the expert said, citing Washington's responsibility for the disorders and conflicts in some parts of the world, including the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

"The United States, through the intended summit on democracy, wants to talk about itself as an oasis of democracy and power transition ... but in one way or another, there is a wide gap when it comes to implementing democracy in relation to the external world," he said. 
This month, universities in Britain began to impose a pay deal of between 5 and 8 percent, which was de facto accepted by the University and College Union (UCU) and other campus trade unions when they suspended strikes in February. The imposition represents a 15 percent real terms pay cut for the 2022-24 period.

Strikes were suspended with a joint statement between the UCU and university bosses agreeing pay negotiations were at an impasse.

The picket line at Manchester Metropolitan University, February 16, 2023 [Photo: WSWS]

The UCU bureaucracy launched a flurry of fraudulent e-consultation online ballots after announcing a deal with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) two weeks ago, which it claimed would be an interim resolution of the remaining disputes over pensions, workload, casualisation and equality. In fact, the deal merely set up further talks, resolving nothing.

UCEA made clear that it would only begin talks on the understanding that no further industrial action, including ASOS [action short of a strike, such as a marking boycott], is called during these talks. The five higher education (HE) unions, including the UCU, issued a joint statement claiming, we will not agree to any cessation of industrial action up front for the next 12 months, but entering into talks is a de facto acceptance of the strike ban.

UCU announced the pensions deal on social media March 16 with the unambiguous claim that we have won our pensions back. An attached video saw UCU General Secretary Jo Grady claiming, In their new proposal, our employers have agreed to restore the 35 percent cut they made to your pension  and last but not least, theyve committed to working together to ensure that this scheme remains sustainable.

Universities UK (UUK), which represents the employers in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension scheme, did indeed commit to a sustainable pension scheme. However, this was not a promise but a threat to not reverse the cut if the upcoming valuation, completed in September, gives them the slightest excuse. The carefully worded commitment in the joint UUKUCU letter on pensions was to prioritise the improvements of benefits to pre-April 2022 levels, where this can be done in a demonstrably sustainable manner. [emphasis added]

In a podcast about the deal she described as truly historic, Grady said, until we have the [pension] costings in September, we can get off picket lines, and cancel an upcoming marking boycott. She added, the only thing at this point which could change this valuation would be a severe economic shock.

Sections of the ruling class have long called for the conversion of defined benefit pensions such as USSin their view an excessive and now unaffordable concession to workersto inferior defined contribution schemes, which do not provide a guaranteed income.

Financial Times chief economics commentator Martin Wolf wrote approvingly last week of a call by former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Conservative Party leader William Hague for defined benefit pensions to be radically consolidated and turned into open collective defined contribution schemes.

Higher education workers pensions are far from safe in the hands of UUK, the USS governors, or supposedly neutral central bankers.

Many members denounced the education unions for isolating workers at the post-1992 universities who are not part of the USS pension scheme, but who had been striking together with other university workers over pay and other issues.

The UCU claimed that its victory in the talks that would, in its words, end zero-hours contracts [ZHC] for every person who doesnt want to be on them. But many HE workers pointed out that universities which claim to have abolished zero-hours contracts for PR reasons still use contracts with a tiny number of guaranteed hours.

One wrote An end to ZHC means nothing. Are you aware of [the University of] Cardiff using contracts that specify you will be guaranteed 2 hours teaching a year?

The widespread use of fixed-term contracts was left unchanged by the agreement, apart from setting further talks. The fact nothing had been agreed on this issue, affecting one-third of the workforce (tens of thousands of workers) and which many of those on indefinite contracts suffered for years in the past, also drew condemnation.

One UCU member concluded Lots of uncertainties being a young casualised worker in academia. But we can confidently say both our employers & unions will always throw us under the bus first.

On every other issue, the agreement between UCU and the universities merely sets terms of reference for further talks. These involve a panel of 10 representatives from the unions and 10 from the universities together with ACAS conciliators, tasked with working out proposals which can be recommended for acceptance by the UCEA to universities and by the UCU to its members. That is, deciding the minimum that workers can be browbeaten into accepting.

The terms for the review of the pay spine, which is supposed to increase pay based on seniority, contains a major get-out clause for the employers: In the unlikely event that no agreement is reached the existing position regarding the pay spine will remain. The terms for discussing casualisation also allow insecure contracts to be offered provided the reasons are discussed between [universities] and their local trade unions. Other sections contained similar language about involving the unions in overseeing equality and workload issues.

While gaining nothing for HE workers, the terms of reference, reviews and associated seats at the employers table for the union are what the UCU bureaucracy wanted all along.

Many university workers, on the other hand, responded angrily to the deal, especially the lie that UUK had already agreed to reverse the pension cuts. This follows protests last month by UCU membersincluding outside the unions London headquartersagainst the calling off of seven days of strikes by Grady, without the employers offering a single concession.

In response to the March 16 statement, an estimated 10 percent of branch meetings passed motions of no confidence in Grady and condemned the unions e-ballots, which undemocratically linked a proposal for the deal to be put to full ballot with a proposal to pause strikes. This was under conditions in which tens of thousands of UCU members were already being balloted to renew their strike mandate, as required under Britains anti-strike laws. That ballot closes on March 31.

One UCU member tweeted in response to Gradys video, Why do you keep lying? The promises on pensions in the podcast transcript are extremely vague and depend on costings that will be done in September. So we have won absolutely nothing yet.

Another said, This seems exaggerated to the point of being actively misleading.

Around 100 people protested outside the UCUs headquarters after the deal was announced, holding signs reading no capitulation, the same slogan workers used in 2018 to oppose then-general secretary Sally Hunts moves to sell out the pension dispute. Such was the hostility to Hunt, who was able to eventually push through a sellout, that she was forced to resign soon afterwards.

The recent protest was called by the UCU Left, a faction in the union led by the Socialist Workers Party, which celebrated Gradys election in 2019 as a leap to the left. A component part of the UCU bureaucracy, UCU Left has found itself compelled to criticisewhile maintaining that all opposition be corralled within the structures of the UCUGradys nakedly anti-democratic attempts to shut down the strike.

The Socialist Worker reported several branch meetings attended by large numbers of UCU members which passed resolutions condemning the unions attempt to call off the strikes for the announced deal. This included almost 300 workers at the University of Leeds who voted 63 percent against pausing the strikes and only 30 percent in favour, and 215 workers at the University of Edinburgh who voted by 92 percent against suspending strikes.

HE workers entered into this fight determined to defend their living standards and defeat a concerted offensive by the employers and government. But their struggle now faces going down to a huge defeat. To prevent another UCU sellout, they must take leadership of the dispute out of the hands of the union bureaucracy through the formation of their own rank-and-file committees.

Emergency branch meetings must be called demanding the removal of Grady and the bureaucracy and an end to e-ballots on an offer which the membership clearly opposes!

The Educators Rank-and-File Committee, part of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, was formed in 2020 to organise education workers opposed to the unions sellouts of their health, jobs, wages and conditions. Contact the Committee today to discuss the way forward.
Last night, readers of the Marseille daily La Provence learned that Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the Unsubmissive France (LFI) party, has proposed a general strike for April 6. An unsuspecting reader could be forgiven for asking why this did not make front-page news in every newspaper and televised evening news broadcast in France, as explosive anger mounts with Macrons attempt to impose pension cuts against overwhelming popular opposition.

Indeed, Melenchon received just under 8 million votes in last years presidential election, nearly reaching the runoff against Emmanuel Macron. A mass strike by his voters, concentrated in the working class areas of Frances largest cities, would shut down the economy. Such action has the support of 62 percent of the French people, according to polls. It would shatter Macrons attempt to ram through his pension cuts despite overwhelming popular opposition and strikes by millions of workers, and pose the question of Macrons political survival.

But Melenchons call for a general strike was not reported in Frances major media yesterday, because he did not tell anyone about it.

Melenchon made clear that he is not serious about this demand at all: he buried it ten minutes into a YouTube video he posted yesterday afternoon, and whose title did not refer to any call for strikes. La Provence learned of his general strike proposal not in a call from one of Melenchons many political assistants or press attaches, but by listening to the video on his YouTube channel.

The Parti de legalite socialiste (PES), the French section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), advocates the preparation of a general strike as key for workers to realize the central task of the hour: bringing down Macron. But one key political lesson emerges from this ludicrous episode with Melenchon: the preparation of a general strike cannot be left in the hands of a former Senator and capitalist minister like him. It can only be carried out by building a mass movement of rank-and-file workers, rebelling against the political establishment.

Melenchons proposal was not addressed to rank-and-file workers, but to the French union bureaucracy, and above all to the Stalinist bureaucracy of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) union. In his video, Melenchon repeatedly praised the CGT, hoping its leadership would emerge unscathed from its ongoing congress, which has collapsed into bitter infighting.

CGT leader Philippe Martinez has backed French Democratic Labor Confederation (CFDT) boss Laurent Bergers attempt to orchestrate a sellout of the struggle against Macron. Berger is calling for mediation with Macron to cool down explosive anger that is mounting in the working class against Macron, and thus prepare a sellout.

Melenchon did not refer to the explosive anger mounting in the working class at Macrons attempt to rule against the people, or criticize Bergers treachery. However, Melenchons own account showed that he is well aware that Berger is trying to sell out the movement against Macron.

The March 28 one-day strike, Melenchon claimed, saw a fall in the number of participants in the demonstrations. He said that strikers are beginning to run out of savings, and noted in protests that there is a considerable increase in the number of youth, and a fall in the number of people coming with baby carriages  because people are getting afraid of the violence coming from the cops.

Melenchons analysis of the state of the movement against Macron must be taken with an enormous grain of salt. The precise number of people marching in a given one-day action in France is always the subject of controversy. Moreover, no one brings a baby carriage to a protest under Macron: the explosion of a tear gas canister or a police stun grenade inside the carriage could prove fatal to the baby. Above all, there is still enormous determination among workers and youth to continue the struggle against Macron, in defiance of Bergers call for mediation.

Nevertheless, it is clear that by delaying the next one-day protest until April 6, and refusing as always to pay strikers any strike pay, the French union bureaucracy is trying its best to strangle the movement against Macron.

Melenchon said, We must not give the spectacle of a gradual dying-down of the movement, because that would be to sell it out. The struggle continues, we need to demonstrate initiative, give perspectives for an offensive. Supposedly to provide such an offensive perspective to the workers and avoid a union sell out, Melenchon proposed to declare the one-day strike called by Berger and the CGT leadership on April 6 to be a general strike.

Melenchons proposal is politically absurd and dishonest. Clearly, he intends to leave the preparation of his general strike to Berger, Martinez and the French union bureaucracies. But these union leaders, whom his own analysis shows are aiming to stabilize Macrons regime and organize a sellout, will not suddenly turn 180 degrees and organize a general strike against Macron. Melenchons unserious call for a general strike is just cynical word-juggling, aiming to hide his alignment with Berger and other accomplices of Macron.

In 1935 in Whither France, before the outbreak of the 1936 French general strike, Leon Trotsky poured scorn on those who played around with references to general strikes. Such individuals did not have in mind a real general strike, he ironically wrote, but only a little strike, quite peaceful, just exactly suited to the personal requirements of one or another member of the political establishment. In contrast, he wrote:

The general strike, as every Marxist knows, is one of the most revolutionary methods of struggle. The general strike is not possible except at a time when the class struggle rises above particular and craft demands, and extends over all occupational and district divisions, and wipes away the lines and the parties, between legality and illegality, and mobilizes the majority of the proletariat in an active opposition to the bourgeoisie and the state. Nothing can be on a higher plane than the general strike, except the armed insurrection. The entire history of the working-class movement proves that every general strike, whatever may be the slogans under which it occurs, has an internal tendency to transform itself into an open revolutionary clash, into a direct struggle for power. In other words: the general strike is not possible except under the conditions of extreme political tension, and that is why it is always the incontestable expression of the revolutionary character of the situation.

Explosive anger emerging among broad layers of workers against Macrons attempt to rule against the people places the eruption of a general strike on the order of the day. The majority of the working population, across all divisions of occupation and geography, is seeking a way to impose its will on the diktat of Macron and the banks. Ever-broader layers of workers understand that in this struggle, the union leaders are not allies, but enemies seeking to prop up Macron.

The decisive questions to mobilize the working class against Macron are building new organizations of struggle among the rank and file, and fighting for Marxist political consciousness in the working class.

This requires mounting a political struggle against Melenchon, who advocates French populism and a citizens revolution, against an orientation to the international working class and socialist revolution. Indeed, it is worth in this context recalling how Melenchons book They Should All Go Away defines his citizens revolution. It is, he makes clear, a process where strikes and protests serve not to overthrow capitalism and capitalist governments, but to install a new capitalist government in France via elections. He writes:

I want a citizens revolution in France. The adjective citizens indicates both the means and the ends of this action. These two comments are decisive because of the childish imagery that stupidly associates revolution with I-dont-know-what plot for an armed insurrection.  The revolution I want is a citizens revolution in that it is rooted in social movements, and it is triggered and carried out by ballots and elections.

Melenchon repeatedly stressed that he is opposed to workers taking control of their industries and workplaces and expropriating their private capitalist owners. He arrogantly dismissed this essential component of socialist revolution as a capitulation to special interests. The citizens revolution, he wrote, is not either a question of shouting, old-style, The mine to the miner and the earth to he who tills it. One does not break a dictatorship of the shareholders to establish a government by special interests.

The key political demand Melenchon raises for his citizens revolution is to rename the legislature a Constituent Assembly, i.e. one that can change the constitution. But this policy, he makes clear, aims to lull to sleep workers rising up against the state authorities, by holding out the promise that the capitalist political establishment will itself carry out a deep-going democratic reform. The goal, ultimately, is to prop up the existing state machine and avert revolution via a change of personnel at the top.

Or, as Melenchon writes himself, he was initially unsure on his trip to Latin America why the call for a Constituent Assembly was necessary. However, he writes, The explanation was given to me once I arrived on the scene. It was the precondition for the authorities to be legitimate again.

This is how Melenchon tries to paint a defense of the capitalist state in revolutionary colors. This reactionary perspective has nothing to offer for millions of workers and youth who are rebelling against Macron and the dictatorship of the financial oligarchy. A key precondition to building the rank-and-file organizations and the revolutionary political leadership necessary to prepare a general strike, and fight to bring down Macron and build workers power, is to reject the counterrevolutionary populism of Melenchon.
In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined his motivations for sacrificing likely untold thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in an effort to hold on to the eastern city of Bakhmut. He gave the interview while traveling on a train throughout Ukraine on a PR trip to drum up support for the war.

Through the course of the English-language interview, Zelensky admitted that losing Bakhmut to Russian forces would increase calls for a compromise settlement from both within and outside the country.

Should Bakhmut fall, Our society will feel tired, Zelensky said. Our society will push me to have compromise with them.

In the interview, Zelensky also made clear the war likely would not continue without US support.

The United States really understands that if they stop helping us, we will not win, Zelensky stated, when asked about a potential change in US support should Biden lose a re-election bid in 2024.

As Zelensky is well aware, any negotiated compromise over the now 13-months-long war would be politically unacceptable both to the countrys domestic fascist forces such as the Azov Battalion and to its primary backer the United States, if it did not include the return of the entirety of Russian-controlled territories.

In October of last year, Zelensky signed a decree that formally ruled out any peace negotiations that involved current Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since then, countless Ukrainian government officials have stated that the war will only end when all of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea are retaken.

No serious peace negotiations have taken place since April 2022, when a deal was reportedly in place to end the war but was sabotaged after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson flew to Ukraine in a surprise visit to urge Kiev to continue the war with its nuclear-armed neighbor no matter what.

As the establishment Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported at the time, Johnson brought two simple messages to Kiev:

The first is that Putin is a war criminal; he should be pressured, not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not. We can sign [an agreement] with you [Ukraine], but not with him. Anyway, he will screw everyone over,' is how one of Zelensky's close associates summed up the essence of Johnson's visit... Johnson's position was that the collective West, which back in February had suggested Zelensky should surrender and flee, now felt that Putin was not really as powerful as they had previously imagined. Moreover, there is a chance to press him. And the West wants to use it.

Since August, and tens of thousands of lives lost, fighting is still centered on the meat grinder of Bakhmut. Russia views the city as essential in order to achieve its stated goals of gaining control over the entirety of the Donetsk and Lugansk provinces. Ukraine and its Western imperialist backers view Bakhmut as an opportunity to weaken Russian forces before a planned offensive this spring. As one Western official stated openly, Bakhmut, because of the Russian tactics, is giving Ukraine a unique opportunity to kill a lot of Russians.

For Zelensky and his band of advisers, the fact that defending Bakhmut involved sending thousands of troops to certain death is of little importance as long the wars momentum continues.

When Zelensky visited Washington in December, he obscenely gave a Bakhmut flag to the US Congress and called the city the fortress of our morale.

Such enthusiasm is apparently not shared by Ukrainian soldiers who are paying the price for the disastrous imperialist war with their lives.

Earlier in March, Volodymyr, an infantryman from the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, admitted to the pro-government Kyiv Independent he felt ill prepared for the battle and struggled to eat after fighting in Bakhmut for months.

When they drive us to Bakhmut, I already know Im being sent to death, Volodymyr stated bluntly.

While the Western media and NATO have played up Russian losses in the battle, claiming at least five Russian soldiers were killed for every Ukrainian, there is no way to verify this claim. It is clear that Ukrainian forces have admitted to high casualty rates of their own in several interviews.

Valeriy, another Ukrainian infantryman, told the Kyiv Independent that only a few of the original 27 members of his platoon were not killed or wounded in battle at Bakhmut.

Furthermore, soldiers who do survive the battle often refuse to return and become refuseniks, now subject to lengthy punitive prison sentences under recent changes to military law made by the Zelensky regime. Vladyslav from the 58th Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade told the Independent that many soldiers in his platoon refused to go to Bakhmut as Russians approached. Moreover, according to the Independent, During the last rotation in late February, Vladyslav said that only eight out of 25 soldiers in his platoon headed out to Bakhmut  and the rest said they couldn't go because of sudden fever or body pain.

As Zelenskys remarks make clear, the Ukrainian ruling class plans to continue the mass slaughter both in Bakhmut and throughout the country during the upcoming offensive, backed by billions in NATO and US weapons.

Earlier this month, the magazine Politico reported that more than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the war already. The pre-war population of the country was less than 40 million, out of which over 8 million have since fled, and several million are living in territories controlled by Russia.
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) held a successful public meeting entitled The war in Ukraine and how to stop it at Conrad Grebel University College on the campus of the University of Waterloo in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Tuesday evening.

WSWS Managing Editor Niles Niemuth gave a lecture that traced the origins of the war back to the Stalinist bureaucracys dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the unending series of imperialist wars instigated by the United States over the course of the past three decades.

Niles Niemuth speaking at the Waterloo meeting [Photo: WSWS]

That the meeting was even able to take place is the product of a determined effort on the part of the IYSSE. Last week, in a display of craven capitulation to pressure from pro-war Ukrainian-Canadian nationalists, the university administration attempted to censor the meeting, but retreated in the face of an IYSSE countercampaign. Far-right Ukrainian nationalists sought to disrupt Tuesdays meeting, but proved unsuccessful.

Niemuths lecture made it abundantly clear from the outset that the IYSSE opposes both sides in the conflictthe US imperialist-led NATO alliance on the one hand and the reactionary nationalist Putin regime on the other.

Addressing the meeting from the standpoint of socialist internationalism, he said, We are not speaking as partisans of either side in this conflict. We are irreconcilable opponents of all those responsible for this war, whether they sit in the White House or the Kremlin  Putins invasion of Ukraine is without question a reactionary crime. But understanding a conflicts origin and character is not a matter of determining who fired the first shot. And further, just like in medicine, you cannot cure a political diseasein this case the catastrophic war in Ukrainewithout understanding its origins.

Pointing to the suppression of any discussion of the antecedent history, encapsulated in the medias incessant references to Putins unprovoked war, Niemuth insisted that to build a mass anti-war movement, it is necessary to oppose the unrelenting propaganda barrage of the political establishment and corporate media in the western powers, Canada included. Reporting on the conflict has been conducted in an entirely one-sided fashion, ignoring the never-ending illegal wars and military actionsincluding the first Gulf War, the bombing of the former Yugoslavia, the invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq and the regime-change war in Libyaconducted by US imperialism over the past three decades.

Tracing the long series of wars conducted by all American presidents from Bush Sr., through Clinton, to George W. Bush to Obama, Trump and now Biden, Niemuth insisted that the war is the outcome of two interrelated processes: the Stalinist bureaucracys disastrous restoration of capitalism and dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991; and American imperialisms responsea drive for global hegemony, in which it has sought to use its military might to offset its declining economic power relative to its global competitors.

He cited an oft-overlooked but essential document, the US Defense Planning Guidance in 1992: Our first objective is to prevent the reemergence of a new rival. This is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to generate global power. These regions include Western Europe, East Asia, the territory of the former Soviet Union, and Southwest Asia.

 Finally, we must maintain the mechanisms for deterring potential competitors from even aspiring to a larger regional or global role.

The perspective advanced in this document has guided the US in incorporating all the former Warsaw Pact members and three former Soviet republics into NATO, despite security assurances given to the Soviet government at the end of the Cold War that NATO would not advance to Russias doorstep.

The lecture also drew attention to the great litany of lies that have been used to justify the wars of US imperialism. The media-orchestrated lie, pioneered in the promotion of the WMD lie (which was used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq), has become a permanent state of affairs: the pandemic is over, the US is not at war with Russia, one lie piles on top of another until it is nearly impossible to tell the truth from falsehood, said Niemuth. He noted that Bush, Cheney, Obama and Trump walk free, while those who have exposed the crimes of imperialism, such as Julian Assange, are behind bars.

The chronicle of falsehoods, however, are foundering or being dashed on a great truth, that truth is the class struggle. Great struggles from Sri Lanka to France to the American Midwest and right here in Ontario are taking place which challenge the prevailing capitalist order and provide the basis for putting an end to war.

While noting that US imperialism was playing the most provocative role in the war, Niemuth took time to explain the war aims of Canadian and European imperialism. He pointed to the vast contribution Canada has made to Ukraine. The total just in weaponry exceeds $1 billion, including eight Leopard tanks, dozens of armored vehicles, an anti-aircraft system and vast quantities of artillery and ammunition. The Liberal government has deployed special forces to Ukraine and has stepped up Operation Unifier, the NATO operation for training Ukrainian forces, in conjunction with the US and UK. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly declared earlier this month that Canada was seeking regime change in Moscow.

Pointing to Bidens first visit to Canada as president last week, Niemuth noted that its overriding purpose was to secure the means and materiel for global warfare, against Russia, China and beyond. The joint statement issued by Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the conclusion of their talks explicitly committed Washington and Ottawa to continue pouring billions of dollars of weaponry into the US-NATO war with Russia, promising to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.

Niemuth noted how, in their decades long campaign to harness Ukraine to NATO and the European Union and now in waging war on Russia, Canada and the NATO powers have openly aligned with fascistic forces, including promoting their incorporation into Ukraines security forces. The appearance of Chrystia Freeland, Canadas deputy prime minister and finance minister at a pro-war demonstration last March with a banner emblazoned with Slava Ukraini! the slogan of the Nazi collaborators in the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, was not just a personal matter. It was in keeping with Canadian imperialisms systematic cultivation of and collaboration with far-right Ukrainian nationalists stretching all the way back to the end of World War II.

Pointing to the political framework within which the war is being conducted, Niemuth drew attention to the crucial political support Canadas social democratic party, the NDP, is giving to the war. Last March, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh signed a confidence-and-supply agreement with the Trudeau Liberals pledging to prop up the government in parliament through June 2025, to ensure the ruling classs political stability. Similarly, Niemuth explained, the trade unions are close allies of the Trudeau government, supporting its policies of war abroad and attacks on workers at home. He noted that this is part of an international process, pointing to the support of the pseudo-left Democratic Socialists of America for the war.

The only social force capable of ending the drive towards a nuclear third world war is the workers of the world. Making an appeal to the students in attendance, Niemuth said, Workers and young people in Canada, the US, Ukraine, Russia and every other country in the world must unite to end the war. Students, youth and workers in every country must oppose their own ruling classs war policies. It is only the international working class which can end the wars and the economic and political system, capitalism, which gives rise to these conflicts.

An animated question and answer session followed the lecture. There were questions from several audience members about the nature of socialism. One woman directly addressed whether Russia was still socialist and about the nature of democracy.

Niemuth replied that the IYSSE is an open partisan of the working class, and that capitalism had been restored in Russia in 1991 by the Stalinist bureaucracy. He also pointed to the global breakdown of bourgeois democracy: in the US with Trumps January 6, 2021, coup attempt; in Canada with the increasing criminalization of strikes; and in France with Macrons use of an anti-democratic clause in the Constitution to ram through his pension reform without a parliamentary vote.

An important political issue that emerged in the discussion was the question of the historic role of the fascist Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), whose leaders like Stepan Bandera are openly celebrated by both fascist forces like the Azov Battalion in the Ukrainian armed forces and the Zelensky government, and the OUN slogan Slava Ukraini!

WSWS writer James Clayton gave a contribution from the floor on this issue. He explained how the OUN collaborated with the Nazis during their war of annihilation against the USSR and were heavily involved in the mass murder of Jews in Ukraine. The Canadian government provided refuge to many of these Nazi accomplices, including those who had served in the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, after the Second World War to use them to fight socialist influence in the Ukrainian-Canadian community.

The Ukrainian nationalists in attendance, who had been protesting the presence of the IYSSE prior to the meeting, vociferously denounced Claytons exposure of the crimes of the far-right Ukrainian nationalists. It is highly politically revealing that throughout the whole Q&A session, they never felt the need to distance themselves from either Bandera or the extermination of the Jews. One young man went so far as to say that the Slava Ukraini slogan was a legitimate slogan for the defence of Ukraine against its enemies.

Ukrainian nationalists filled the hallway outside the meeting in an attempt to block people from attending the IYSSE anti-war meeting [Photo: WSWS]

Towards the end of the discussion, an attendee raised the crucial distinction between the Trotskyist programme advance by the IYSSE and the reactionary nationalism and theory of socialism in one country peddled by Stalinthe spokesman of the privileged bureaucracy that usurped power from the Soviet working class in the 1920s, under conditions where the October 1917 Revolution remained isolated in a backward country ravaged by world war and civil war.

Niemuth noted that the revolutionary perspective advanced by the IYSSE has already brought the most class-conscious elements in Russia and Ukraine into solidarity with the IYSSE, as expressed by the support of the Young Guard of the Bolshevik-Leninists. Only by uniting workers and youth internationally can an end be brought to the Ukraine war and the source of war: capitalism and its outmoded nation-state system.

Tuesdays meeting was animated by the proposition that for a genuine mass working class anti-war movement to develop, it has to be armed with an understanding of the historical origins of the war. Students and young people ready to build an international anti-war movement must turn to the working class, which around the world is rebelling against ever deepening social inequality and economic insecurity and the demand that it pay for war, rearmament and bailouts of the financial oligarchy though further devastating attacks on its social rights and livings standards.

The meeting was a successful intervention on the basis of this perspective in the face of opposition from the university administration and pro-war, right-wing nationalist forces who are aligned with the Canadian government and enjoy the backing of the state-sponsored Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

We urge all readers from the University of Waterloo and throughout Canada to contact us at iysseincanada@gmail.com and join the struggle to build an IYSSE club on campus and at other university campuses across the country.
The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke to Jennifer, a Long-COVID sufferer living in Florida whose health and quality of life dramatically altered after contracting SARS-CoV-2 in March 2020. Jennifers experience is being submitted as testimony to the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, which seeks to break through the lies, cover-ups and misinformation spread internationally by capitalist governments and the media. Her comments have been edited slightly for clarity and length.

Patrick Smith (PS): Can you tell us about your experience having gone through two COVID-19 infections?

Jennifer (J): I first got sick in March 2020 while working in New York City. I was living there at the time and taking the subway back and forth to work. I was working in in-person sales. I remember it because it was St. Patricks day, March 17. I got very, very sick for six weeks. My initial symptoms were extreme fatigue, congestion, migraine headaches, terrible diarrhea, chest pain and breathlessness.

The second time I contracted the virus was at a Target Optical center a couple of months ago. I was wearing an N95 mask, but the person fitting me for glasses frames was not wearing a mask. That was the only contact I had. I still have migraines after contracting it the second time. Im so tired that I have difficulty getting out of bed to brush my teeth. This is aging me prematurely.

PS: Can you tell us more about your experience with Long COVID and how it has impacted your life?

J: I have extreme fatigue and brain fog. My brain is not as sharp cognitively as it used to be. Everything has to be planned strategically to figure out how I can do basic tasks. Everything takes more energy to do. I feel like Im 90 years old, but I know 90-year-old people that are in better shape than me. Im only 46.

I have been exhausted and am happy Im working from home, because when I get out of bed in the morning I barely have enough energy to put some clothes on to look good on Zoom. But, as soon as I finish work, I return to bed. I cant go for a walk. I have post-exertion malaise, meaning doing basic tasks takes all my strength. Just standing up to do laundry is exhausting.

One time, I was experiencing chest pain so badly that I thought I had a heart attack. So, I went to the emergency room and was traumatized because I was there for 14 hours, just in the waiting room, a high-risk patient next to COVID patients. After all, they were running out of beds. This was at JFK Medical in south Florida. When I finally got into the bed provided for me, they told me they were out of Tele-Pack units, a system that combines a monitor, a light source and a camera, so they couldnt treat me.

Im afraid to go to the hospital because I fear contracting COVID-19 again. None of the staff are masked, so you may catch something worse than what youre going in for.

PS: You started an online petition to demand the reinstatement of mitigation measures such as mask mandates in Florida. What led you to do so?

J: We have anti-mask Republicans in one camp, and in the other, the Democratic Party has gaslighted the public into thinking that if we get COVID, its somehow our fault. It shows how weak they are. Its challenging to realize that the party youve voted for all these years is gaslighting Americans, telling us COVID is over when it is airborne, and taking away all of our mitigations. The most vulnerable in society are at risk since it is a mass disabling event that makes anyone and everyone vulnerable. Currently, the most vulnerable people have been thrown under the bus.

I started the petition because I kept getting kidney infections, and I noticed that in May of 2022, nobody was masked during medical appointments, and nobody wore masks in public anymore. I started to feel upset. The public was being told that it was safe not to wear masks. Especially when Biden declared the pandemic was over. He made a promise that he would advocate for immunocompromised people and to beat this pandemic. When he was running for president, he chastised Trump for the high COVID numbers, and now he is doing the same thing as Trump.

My Dad tested positive for COVID on Saturday. I am being treated as if it is my third infection. He is oblivious and has a mental illness. I am at risk in the home and looking for a new place to live.

When US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle overturned the mask restrictions, the CDC and White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha immediately accepted this decision. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is advocating for eugenics. She had taken the let it rip ideology as far as possible when she said it was encouraging news that COVID-19 predominantly kills people who are unwell to begin with. As long as the economy is doing well, thats all they care about.

Anybody that is autoimmune or older is excluded from society. Since this decision was made, in Florida, even doctors will not mask if you ask them to. This is the world we live in because of Biden and Walensky. She said masks were the Scarlet Letter of the pandemic. This is very irresponsible. Now healthy people are getting sick. As bad off as I am, some people are physically worse than me. All of the senior living and retirement communities and all communities have dropped masking requirements, and the emergency declaration ends in a few weeks. Almost everybody should wear a mask. I worry about the seniors in the community.

PS: You note that since taking office, Bidens pandemic response has essentially been the same as Trumps. Why do you think the CDC and the government have overseen the abandonment of mitigation measures?

J: Everything is for big business. They dont want people to get better. Everything is a pharmaceutical commercial on TV. The advertising industry is normalizing being sick. They want you to take medicine.

Now that there are Paxlovid commercials on TV, it is being normalized. At first, all the COVID tests were free in the first part of the pandemic, they mailed us tests and masks and even sent us stimulus checks. Now nothing is free in health care, it is all for profit. It is not being a conspiracy theorist to see the eugenicist ideologies that are being pushed. The elderly, autoimmune, disabled and the poor who dont have equal access are being pushed out of society.

The biggest wake-up call to the general public should be from Davos when the hashtags #DavosSafe and #Davos were trending for weeks because the billionaires took every precaution possible from giant HEPA filters in the rooms, Far UVC lights, windows open, plenty of masking as well as advanced COVID tests that would deactivate your entrance badge if you tested positive. The leaders at Davos know COVID-19 is airborne and took all the precautions for themselves, but there are now zero mitigations for the general public.

Im hoping enough people will wake up and realize we are being treated like cattle. The rich do not care what happens to the middle class and the poor, who will be disabled and die. The current reality seems like we are living in a dystopian Orwell novel that is stranger and more disturbing than fiction.
Last week, a massive explosion rocked the small industrial city of West Reading, Pennsylvania. The blast originated at the R.M. Palmer chocolate factory, shaking several city blocks and spewing debris into the air.

Emergency responders and heavy equipment are seen at the site of a deadly explosion at a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, Saturday, March 25. [AP Photo/Michael Rubinkam]

The explosion is one of the deadliest workplace disasters in the US in years, with seven confirmed fatalities so far: Xiorky Nunez, 30; Susan Halvonik, 63; Michael Breedy, 62; Diana Cedeno, 44; Judith Lopez-Moran, 55; Amy Sandoe, 49; and Domingo Cruz, 60. Another 10 workers have been injured.

An investigation is underway, but, as always, early evidence points to criminal negligence by management. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched a probe into what it has called a natural gas explosion and fire.

Workers at the plant complained of gas odor for months, which management, evidently refusing to close down production to deal with it, reportedly ignored.

The horrific catastrophe in West Reading is part of an unending series of workplace tragedies in the US. Just a few days earlier, the previous Wednesday, six construction workers were killed near Baltimore, Maryland when a car crashed into an area where they were working.

According to the US government, 5,190 workers died from workplace injuries in 2021, the last year for which figures are available. A separate report by the AFL-CIO found that an additional 120,000 die every year from occupational diseases.

American capitalism not only kills workers with shocking regularity, it also poisons their communities. Indeed, the same day as the West Reading explosion, the water supply for the nearby Philadelphia metropolitan area, with a population of more than 6 million, was contaminated by a spill of more than 8,000 gallons of toxic butyl acrylate. This is one of the chemicals released last month by the massive derailment and spill in East Palestine, Ohio, and detection of butyl acrylate from the disaster in the Ohio River prompted Cincinnati water authorities to shut off the water intake.

But Philadelphia residents were not even informed of the spill for another two days, when it was finally reported by local news. This prompted a run on bottled water in supermarkets, while local authorities flip-flopped, imposing and then lifting a water advisory and declaring, without clear evidence, that the water was safe to drink. This is a repeat performance of the government response in East Palestine itself, where officials falsely claimed the water was safe to drink and refused even to test for deadly dioxins for more than a month.

As for the railroads, derailments, which average three per day in the US, continue apace in the aftermath of East Palestine, showing that absolutely nothing meaningful has been done to prevent similar disasters. The most recent major derailments include one train carrying liquid asphalt and ethylene glycol in North Dakota, a runaway train that derailed only a few hours later in California while traveling at 80 miles per hour, and another derailment and fire Thursday involving 22 cars, including chemical tankers, in Minnesota.

Other recent major accidents include:

On Wednesday, in Louisville, Kentucky, a barge containing 1,400 tons of methanol, a toxic chemical, broke loose in the Ohio River and began sinking;

Last September, brothers Ben and Max Morrissey were killed in an explosion at an oil refinery near Toledo, Ohio. After a six-month investigation, the federal government earlier this month fined the company just $156,250.

What emerges is a picture of a society in crisis. The United States is the wealthiest country in the world, with access to cutting-edge technological advances which should make workplace deaths all but a thing of the past. But this is more than outweighed by the irrational and outmoded profit interests of the ruling class, which runs the country and uses the technology to ramp up the exploitation of workers to the nth degree, with the net result that workplaces are even less safe.

For example, advances in computer-assisted safety technologies, such as Positive Train Control on the railroads, are used primarily to eliminate jobs among train crews and dispatchers. Thus, these are not merely random, tragic accidents, but cases of social murder resulting from deliberate decision-making.

Meanwhile, in defense of US imperialisms global interests, no expense is spared in funneling weapons used for mass killing on the battlefields in Ukraine or for massive ship-building programs for the Navy to prepare for war with China. The same political establishment then turns around and pleads poverty to workers dying every day in American workplaces, claiming nothing can be done to prevent such deaths.

After each and every one of these disasters, the political system demonstrates its complete inability to respond in any meaningful way or to even convincingly pretend to care. It acts as an enabler, shredding whatever protections existed earlier and shielding corporations from any financial or legal liability.

The unions, controlled by corrupt bureaucracies and totally integrated with the capitalist state, are critical instruments in suppressing any response to this in the working class. They work openly to block strikes and enforce substandard working conditions. Last December, the rail unions worked hand in glove with Washington to stave off a national strike and buy Congress time to preemptively ban it. In the United Auto Workers, the new so-called reform leadership, elected in a vote where hundreds of thousands of workers were excluded from participating, is already preparing a sellout in the contract talks later this year.

The official indifference to human life is being demonstrated on a grand scale in the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to kill an estimated 500 Americans per day in spite of official attempts to declare it over. Serious experts showed that the virus could have been contained within several weeks in 2020 through a globally coordinated response involving aggressive contact tracing and quarantining.

These measures either never took place or were implemented only briefly because the cost of such measures was considered worse than the disease, to use the phrase coined by New York Times columnist and multimillionaire Thomas Friedman. In other words, a preferable outcome for them to the swift end of the pandemic was the preventable deaths of 20 million people, including more than 1 million Americans.

But opposition is growing rapidly within the working class, and the class struggle creates the conditions in which these issues can be seriously addressed. There is a rising mood of militancy among rank-and-file workers and a growing awareness that they confront an entire social system, capitalism, which oppresses them. This is not only expressed in the rise of strike activity, such as the strike last week by 65,000 school workers in Los Angeles, but through the growth of new independent organizations of the working class. A major milestone was the meeting last Sunday of US autoworkers sponsored by the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC).

In countries around the world, including in France, Britain, Germany, Israel, Greece and Sri Lanka, millions of workers are participating in mass, nationwide strikes and demonstrations against austerity and growing political repression. This is also coming to America. The center of world capitalism is also the center of social misery, inequality and irrational social decision-making. But the critical question for workers, as it is around the world, is what the perspective of this movement will be.

In the Transitional Program, the Fourth Internationals founding document, Leon Trotsky stated, If capitalism is incapable of satisfying the demands inevitably arising from the calamities generated by itself, then let it perish.

The fight for safe workplaces, as with all other social questions, raises the issue of how, by whom and in whose interests such decisions are made. This in turn raises the question of workers control and the abolition of the profit system itself. The struggle of the working class must be turned towards the fight for socialism and the utilization of the worlds vast resources for human need, not private profit.
Around 10 p.m. Wednesday night, along the Kentucky-Tennessee border, two UH-60 Black Hawk assault helicopters from the US Armys 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, collided and crashed, killing all nine paratroopers aboard.

Two UH-60A Medevac helicopters take off during a practice run at the Campbell Army Airfield, August 7, 2012. [Photo: Spc. Jennifer Andersson/159th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs/U.S. Army]

As of this writing the military has not released the names of the soldiers killed in the crash, claiming that the next-of-kin are still being notified. In a press conference Thursday at Fort Campbell, Brigadier General John Lubas said the process to notify family members could take some time. Lubas acknowledged that while all of the soldiers were assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, many of their family members lived outside of the state, and some outside of the country.



Lubas said the nine soldiers were spread out between the two helicopters, with four soldiers in one helicopter and five in the other. Due to the severity of the injuries suffered in the crash, Lubas indicated that none of the soldiers were transported to the hospital following the accident.



Lubas said all of the soldiers were wearing Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) as part of a night-time training exercise. The soldiers were part of a medical unit and were practicing evacuating injured personnel.



Following Wednesdays crash, the military leadership at Fort Campbell imposed an information blackout prohibiting soldiers from contacting their family members. Worried parents and relatives took to social media Thursday to express their concern about the fate of their loved ones.



On the official Fort Campbell Facebook page, one mother wrote, my son is stationed here and [I] have not been able to get a hold of him. Several other family members of soldiers replied in agreement, writing, My daughter is stationed there too. I cant get a hold of her either.



The Black Hawk is one of the most ubiquitous US Army helicopters. For decades, from Mogadishu to Fallujah, the helicopter has quickly transported US soldiers and private military contractors to engage with the targets of US imperialism, whether in major cities or in desert enclaves.



Despite its workhorse reputation in the US military, the helicopter has been at the center of several major accidents that almost always end with the deaths of all the occupants. Just last month, on February 15, two soldiers with the Tennessee Army National Guard, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Daniel Wadham, of Joelton, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Danny Randolph, of Murfreesboro, were killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk crashed near Highway 53 in Huntsville.



In an interview with CNN last month, Don Webster of Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc. said that when firefighters first arrived on the scene the helicopter was fully engulfed in flames, with the remains of two people inside the vehicle.



Webster said that initially emergency services were unsure that the helicopter was military because the previously visible markings on the outside had been completely burned off, complicating efforts to identify it.



These recent accidents are part of a deadly, and consistent trend of rank-and-file and low-level officers perishing in training accidents.



In January 2018, two Fort Carson soldiers stationed at the Colorado Army base were killed when their AH64 Apache helicopter crashed at the National Training Center located at Fort Irwin, California.

During an early morning training exercise at Fort Stewart, Georgia on October 20, 2019, three soldiers were killed and three hospitalized after a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle fell from a bridge and landed upside down in the water below sometime after 3:00 a.m.



Sergeant First Class Bryan Jenkins, 41, of Gainesville, Florida; Corporal Thomas Walker, 22, of Conneaut, Ohio; and Private First Class Antonio Garcia, 21, of Peoria, Arizona perished in the accident. All three soldiers belonged to the 1st Armored Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, one of the Army units that spearheaded the 2003 invasion of Iraq. At the time of the accident, at least 12 Army soldiers had died while training in the United States in 2019.



Sergeant First Class Bryan Jenkins, 41, of Gainesville, Florida; Corporal Thomas Walker, 22, of Conneaut, Ohio; and Private First Class Antonio Garcia, 21, of Peoria, Arizona perished in the accident. All three soldiers belonged to the 1st Armored Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, one of the Army units that spearheaded the 2003 invasion of Iraq. At the time of the accident, at least 12 Army soldiers had died while training in the United States in 2019. On January 18, 2022, two Marines, Lance Corporal Jonathan Gierke, 19, of Lawrenceville, Georgia; and Private First Class Zachary W. Riffle, 18, of Kingwood, West Virginia, were killed, and over 15 other Marines were seriously injured in an accident involving several military vehicles outside Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.



Seventeen Marines, including Gierke and Riffle, were ejected from the 7-ton truck they were riding in when it overturned. Police claimed the driver, 19-year-old Marine Louis Barrera, took a right turn too fast. Barrera, who was also hospitalized following the crash, was charged with one count of exceeding a safe speed and two counts of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. None of the commanding officers were charged.



Seventeen Marines, including Gierke and Riffle, were ejected from the 7-ton truck they were riding in when it overturned. Police claimed the driver, 19-year-old Marine Louis Barrera, took a right turn too fast. Barrera, who was also hospitalized following the crash, was charged with one count of exceeding a safe speed and two counts of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. None of the commanding officers were charged. During a training exercise in Fort Bragg, on April 28, 2022, Specialist Luis Herrera, 23, of Marion, North Carolina died when the Humvee he was riding in crashed. Three other soldiers were injured.



On October 22, 2022, Specialist Mackenzie L. Shay was killed in a vehicle accident when Army officials claim the massive M1120 she was driving rear-ended another M1120, crushing her in the cab. The M1120 Load Handling System is an eight-wheel-drive tactical truck used for transporting large equipment in its rear flatbed. At the time of the accident Army officials told Stars and Stripes that on average nine soldiers have died annually in Ground Mobility Vehicle accidents during the past four years.



According to data complied by the Congressional Research Service from 2006 through 2021, by far the leading cause of US Active Duty military deaths is accidents. Of the 19,378 total deaths recorded by the US military in the last 15 years, 6,198, or 32 percent, were classified as accidents. The second leading cause of death, at nearly 5,000, or 25.4 percent, is self-inflicted or apparent suicide.



Illness or injury, which presumably would include deaths from COVID-19, is the third leading cause of death, at 3,470, or nearly 18 percent. Killed in Action is only the fourth leading cause of death, at 2,740, while there were only 21terrorist related deaths, or less than 0.1 percent.



Of the nearly 20,000 US Active Duty military deaths in the last 15 years, over three-quarters, or 76 percent, took place in Non-Overseas Contingency Operations (Non-OCO), with 93 percent of those deaths occurring within the United States. The remaining 24 percent of deaths took place in Overseas Contingency Operations(OCO), primarily within Iraq and Afghanistan.



The 14,758 US Active Duty soldiers killed in non-OCO operations averages out to about 922 non-war related deaths a year, or a little more than 2.5 soldiers a day.
Germanys ruling traffic light coalition government, consisting of the Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats, is escalating its offensive against Russia.

According to an official statement from the Ministry of Defense, 18 Leopard 2 including ammunition and spare parts packages as well as two buffalo recovery tanks with their crews trained in Germany arrived in Ukraine on Monday.

German Leopard 2 main battle tanks on their way to Ukraine. [Photo: Bundeswehr]

This is the first delivery of German battle tanks to Kiev. It has far-reaching historical and political implications. 82 years after Hitler's war of annihilation against the Soviet Union, German tanks are again rolling against Russia.

In a next step, Leopard 1 A5 will be delivered, writes the Ministry of Defense. The goal is to provide the first 25 tanks by the summer, to increase them to about 80 by the end of the year, and to at least 100 Leopard 1 A5 tanks in the course of 2024.

Kiev previously received 40 Marder armored vehicles, 34 Cheetah anti-aircraft guns, six Biber bridge-laying tanks, 15 salvage tanks, 14 self-propelled howitzer 2000s, 54 M113 armored troop carriers with munitions and three Badger tankdozers. According to the official list of military support for Ukraine, the German government is preparing additional large numbers of tanks and howitzers for export.

The German tank deliveries are part of a comprehensive escalation of the war by the NATO powers. On Tuesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov boasted on Twitter that he had taken a spin on the Challenger 2 tank. The tanks, supplied by the United Kingdom, recently arrived in our country, he said.

In another tweet, Reznikov thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (both SPD) for the German tank deliveries. Marder is an excellent example of German quality. I've tried it myself. Look forward to taming Leopards soon. I love the way they roar!

With the tank deliveries, the imperialist powers are pursuing the goal of strengthening the Ukrainian army so that it can repel Russian troops on the front in eastern Ukraine and possibly even go on a counter-offensive. I'm sure they [the German tanks] can make a difference at the front, Pistorius explained.

It is clear that the NATO powers can only achieve their goal if they continue to increase their war effort. This is exactly what is currently being prepared behind the backs of the population. On Wednesday, the Budget Committee released a further 12 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

Almost four billion will be spent on the replenishment of material that the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) has handed over to Ukraine, Pistorius announced. And the other part, about eight billion, will go into further support for Ukraine in the next few years through material, weapons and much more.

Earlier, the Treasury Department had stressed in a letter to the committee that due to the high material losses of the Ukrainian armed forces new material supplies are required. We need material in the areas of air defense, armored tracked vehicles, ammunition supply for the weapons systems and artillery supplied by Germany, the letter added. After all, anyone who supplies weapons is fundamentally under a follow-up obligation to keep these weapon systems operational in the future.

In other words, German imperialism is preparing for years of an ever-increasing war against the nuclear-armed power Russia  with potentially catastrophic consequences. At the weekend, the Kremlin announced that it would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. But despite the growing danger of nuclear escalation, the German government rejects any negotiated solution. Berlin's goal is to subjugate the resource-rich country and install a pro-Western puppet regime in Moscow.

We are fighting a war against Russia, Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe at the end of January.

When the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president on March 17, the traffic light coalition immediately announced that it would implement it. We are obliged to imprison President Putin if he enters German territory and to hand him over to the ICC, said Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the new epoch in foreign policy proclaimed by Scholz and the traffic light coalition is not only directed against Russia. The ruling class is using the Russian invasion of Ukraine provoked by NATO to rearm Germany, militarize all of Europe under the leadership of Berlin and re-establish itself as the leading war power after two lost world wars.

On Tuesday, the fourth German-Dutch government consultations took place, which were all about this policy. The focus was on the integration of the Dutch army into the Bundeswehr.

In three days, we will complete the full integration of all three Dutch army brigades into Bundeswehr structures, Scholz announced at a joint press conference with the prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte. It is about how the European Union can become an actor that is even more capable of geopolitical action than we can perceive today.

In order to implement the war policy, Europe will be transformed into a veritable war camp. Together with our European partners, we are trying to expand the production of ammunition in such a way that we can equip all these weapons [for Ukraine] on a regular basis, Scholz said. We strive to ensure that there are repair facilities everywhere, in Poland, Slovakia, Romania, so that the weapons heavily used in the war can actually be repaired quickly.

The war-mongering media outlets are criticizing the government from the right and demanding an even faster and more comprehensive rearmament  up to the acquisition of an atomic bomb. In a commentary, Der Spiegel accused Scholz and the German government of not making themselves independent of the protective power of the USA fast enough and forming a nuclear power out of the Federal Republic.

We are not prepared to endure a debate about a European nuclear umbrella. Or, even worse, about the need for a German bomb, if the French are not willing to share their force de frappe with the partners, the head of the Der Spiegel office in Washington, Rene Pfister, raged.

The costs of the militarist madness that threatens the existence of the entire planet in the event of a nuclear escalation would be imposed on the working class from a financial point of view. Already last year, when the Bundestag (German parliament) decided on the special fund for the Bundeswehr of 100 billion, there were massive cuts, especially in the health budget. Now the federal government is discussing tripling the special fund and at the same time massively increasing the regular military budget.

The current military report states: The 100 billion euros alone will not be enough to compensate for all shortages, for which, according to military experts, a total of 300 billion euros would be required The level of the defense budget must move steadily and in significant steps towards NATO's 2% target We need more double-digit billions of dollars to replenish ammunition stocks and build ammunition warehouses. These sums are not included in the special fund, but to be financed from the annual defense budget.

The dimensions of the planned armament are gigantic and only comparable to the armament of the Wehrmacht in the 1930s. As then, the war program requires historical attacks on the working class, and, ultimately, the establishment of a dictatorship. 300 billion corresponds to almost twice the amount that the federal government currently provides for work and social affairs (166.2 billion), 12 times the health budget (24.5 billion), and 15 times the education budget (21.4 billion).

But the same historical crisis of capitalism that drives the ruling class towards world war and fascism also creates the objective basis for the social revolution. In France, millions took to the streets on Tuesday against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform. And in Germany, too, there is growing resistance to anti-worker policies, which are being worked out by the government in days of behind-the-scenes coalition meetings and implemented in alliance with all of the parliamentary parties and the trade union bureaucracy.

To lead their struggle successfully, workers need to build rank-and-file committees that are independent of the unions, take the strikes and protests into their own hands, and network with their peers across Europe and internationally. They need a socialist perspective.

They must understand the confrontation with the government as what it is in its essence: part of a European and international movement of the working class against capitalism and war, according to a recent statement by the Socialist Equality Party (SGP) on the strikes on the railways and in the public service. No social problem can be solved and wages cannot be defended without breaking the power of the banks and corporations and putting them under democratic control. The fight against wage cuts must be directly linked to the fight against war.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Minden-Tahoe Airport in Minden, Nevada, on October 8, 2022. Trumped called for the termination of the US Constitution on his Truth Social media site on December 2, 2022.i [AP Photo/Jose Luis Villegas, Pool, File]

A grand jury in Manhattan voted Thursday to indict former President Donald Trump for charges stemming from the payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016. The payments were actually made, on the eve of the presidential election, by Trumps attorney and political fixer Michael Cohen, whom Trump then reimbursed after the election.

The case against Trump is the first indictment of a former president after leaving office, although it does not involve any of the multiple crimes Trump committed while he was president. These include the separation of immigrant children from their parents during his repeated border crackdowns; the use of US military assets like drone-fired missiles to carry out assassinations; and the conspiracy by Trump and his close aides to overturn the results of the 2020 elections and establish a dictatorship, culminating in the January 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill.

The case against Trump is not a genuine effort to bring him to justice for his crimes against immigrants, against the American people as a whole, or against those around the world who were targeted for deadly violence by American imperialism during his presidency. Nor is it aimed at exposing his plans to overturn the 2020 election and establish a presidential dictatorship.

There are, in fact, no issues of democratic principles involved in the indictment. On the contrary, the entire case, based as it is on private sexual conduct and Trumps efforts to cover it up, is a substitute for a real accounting for Trumps myriad crimes, while also appealing to the Democratic Partys base in privileged sections of the middle class.

At the same time, the indictment is another expression of the deep crisis of the entire political system and the bitter conflicts within the state.

The details of the case also reveal something about the ruling class and its representatives. That a figure such as Trump could rise to the level of president of the United States can not be explained simply on the basis of his own history. It expresses the extreme degradation of American capitalism.

Daniels allegedly sought payment to remain silent about a brief sexual relationship with Trump 10 years earlier in 2006. Trump denied the affair but authorized the payment, according to Cohen, to avoid unfavorable publicity in the final week of the election campaign.

Cohen served more than a year in prison for his role in the payoff scheme, and he will be the main witness against Trump if the case goes to trial. Daniels might also testify.

Any trial would not simply be Cohens word against Trumps. Cohen received a total of $420,000 in monthly installments of $35,000 throughout 2017, which covered the taxes on the $130,000 plus a $60,000 bonus. In return, he was to file bogus invoices for legal services.

Due to grand jury secrecy rules, the exact charges against Trump are not yet known, but they presumably go beyond merely filing false business records by claiming the payments to Cohen were legal expenses rather than reimbursement for the $130,000 in hush money.

This would only be a misdemeanor under New York law, and since nearly seven years have passed, it would be beyond the statute of limitations. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is believed to have presented felony charges against Trump, in which the misdemeanor charge of falsifying records is compounded into a felony by Trumps intention of covering up a separate crime, an illegal donation to Trumps campaign (the money for the payoff of Daniels).

Trump is expected to fly to New York City and surrender to the authorities on a date his lawyers will negotiate with Bragg.

Trump is currently in Florida, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis immediately announced that he would not extradite Trump to New York, condemning the indictment as political retaliation by a Democratic Party official.

DeSantis is expected to challenge Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, although he has not yet declared his intentions officially. An indictment, or even a conviction, does not bar Trump from continuing his candidacy, and he has led in polls of prospective Republican primary voters. Most declared and prospective Republican candidates immediately condemned the Manhattan proceeding and indicated their support for Trump against it.

In tweets posted nearly two weeks ago, Trump had predicted that he would be indicted on March 21, but that day came and went with no action by the grand jury or the Manhattan prosecutor. Trump and top aides were said to be surprised at the indictment Thursday, after reports that the grand jury would recess for the Easter break and take no action until after that.

Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, the lawyers who represent Trump in the Daniels case, issued a statement confirming that he had been indicted and would surrender and be booked in Manhattan. The Secret Service was said to be in discussions with the New York Police Department on security arrangements for that event.

Trump posted a statement on his own social media site, Truth Social, calling the indictment Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. He claimed that his Democratic opponents had done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference Never before in our Nations history has this been done.

Similar statements were issued by Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican Party, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and other prominent Republicans in Congress.
With 170,000 GM, Ford and Stellantis workers in the US and Canada facing a major contract battle in September, the automakers are stepping up their campaign of corporate terrorism to beat back workers demands for substantial gains in wages and working conditions.

Last week, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares toured the Warren Truck plant in suburban Detroit, where 5,000 workers manufacture highly profitable Wagoneer SUVs and the Ram 1500 Classic truck. Shortly afterwards, he met with officials from United Auto Workers Local 140.

Facebook post by UAW Local 140 officials [Photo: UAW Local 140]

According to a memo from union officials, Tavares complained that Warren Truck had higher rates of absenteeism, production costs and quality problems than other plants in Europe and North America. The memo stated that Tavares asked why people dont come to work and did not like the employee survey results, which showed that people arent happy at work.

Tavares reportedly complained that the company had to buy back 300 vehicles from customers since the launch of the new model at the plant. He stated that any other plant across the world would have shut down facing this issue alone and that he shouldve shut this plant down 1  years ago.

Tavares demanded that the factory reduce its costs by half over the next six months and asked the UAW for input on absenteeism and a cost-cutting plan, which would be rolled out by management, perhaps as early as this week, the post says.

Local 140 officials confirmed that the memo was accurate when contacted by this reporter.

This is the second time in less than six months that Stellantis management has threatened the jobs and livelihoods of workers at the plant. Far from opposing this economic blackmail, the UAW officials have joined in the threats.

Last October, Stellantis Chief Operations Officer Arnaud Deboeuf visited the plant and threatened to shift production elsewhere if quality and absenteeism did not improve. UAW Local 140 President Eric Graham echoed managements threats and denounced workers for the unacceptable level of defects at the plant and for taking time off. Shortly afterwards, the company eliminated the third shift at the plant without the slightest opposition from the UAW.

UAW Local 140 officials have endorsed managements threats once again, writing on Tavares latest visit, We are sending the wrong message in terms of absenteeism and not progressing fast enough in terms of quality improvements.

According to the Detroit News, company executives are not just threatening Warren Truck workers. Stellantis NV says its conducting a manufacturing assessment of its Ram 1500 pickup truck plant in Sterling Heights, and it could have implications for jobs and workers roles, the newspaper reported. The nearby Sterling Heights Assembly Plant employs 6,500 workers.

Stellantis workers leave Warren Truck Assembly Plant in suburban Detroit on January 24, 2023 [Photo: WSWS]

The threats follow the indefinite idling of the Belvidere Assembly Plant in late February and the layoff of the last of 1,300 workers. The company has also slashed jobs at its engine and stamping plants in Michigan.

Tavares has threatened to close more plants due to increased costs for the conversion towards electric vehicles. GM and Ford are also carrying out a global cost-cutting drive, closing plants and slashing the jobs of thousands of salaried employees.

The cuts are having a devastating impact on workers, their families and the broader community. For the auto executives, however, they are a deliberate shot across the bow against workers. As a recent editorial in Automotive News warned, Workers are upset, and the companies have been putting up record profits powered by COVID-era vehicle scarcity. Most members probably expect a big payback.

Pointing to GMs plans to slash salaried workers jobs, the editorial continued, If GM is aiming to soften up resistance among UAW leaders and members, the timing is just about perfect: Those who take the buyout offer will be gone by June, meaning that up to $1.8 billion in costs for the white-collar exits will hit the second-quarter earnings results, which should be announced right around the time of the handshake ceremonies that formally kick off the quadrennial negotiations.

Stellantis workers denounce job threats

In response to these latest threats, one Warren Truck worker wrote, Well maybe Mr. Tavares needs to recognize that we are not [the] property of the company. We are not here because it makes us happy. We are here selling our time and health to this company for a wage. Maybe some people feel like their time and health is worth more than what the company wants to pay them.

Pay us what were worth and quit expecting us to be happy when were only getting one Saturday off a month. Then you might see a change. Dont start this BS about cost and competitiveness as an excuse to try to get us to take more concessions or not pay us what were worth. The company had plenty of years of concessions to take that extra money the workers gave them and invest it in areas of improvement so dont punish us for management failures.

A temporary part-time (TPT) worker at Warren Truck added, Were supposed to put in our time and get rolled over to full-time and benefits. Its like that everywhere but at these auto factories. I mean seriously, would you be ok being a TPT and coming to work knowing the guy next you is getting benefits and profit sharing that youre not?

Pointing to the massive and continuing job losses, a veteran worker said, Since 2007, weve lost how many jobs across all of the Big 3? And now at 48,000 members? With line rates increasing, mandatory 6-day work schedules, how many concessions? How many relocations of our members? How many plant closures? How many members are relocated away from their families? How many divorces? How many suicides? On and on.

A Warren Truck worker with two years told the WSWS, They are not focusing on why there are quality problems and why people dont want to go to work. It starts at the top. Theyre literally training us not to do things right but just to get the cars out. Theyre pushing the team leaders, and theyre pushing us.

I had to screw a bolt on a Ram truck and some of the airbag was getting in the way. They told me to go ahead anyway. Theyre having us do crooked stuff just to keep the line moving.

Who wants to come to work with so much stress and anxiety that youre going to get written up. Theyre constantly switching shifts and bumping you off jobs. We want a life. We have kids and families.

The UAW doesnt do anything for us. They walk around the plant and when you need them, theyre hiding and dont answer phone calls. Why are we even paying union dues?

Now theyre taking away personal days and saying that going to the doctors or getting a mammogram is not an excused absence anymore. Its like they want us to die on the line. A guy had a heart attack, and they just moved him to the side to keep the line going. Were humans, not robots.

A third generation autoworker from the Stellantis plant told the WSWS, Im not buying that absenteeism is the cause of the problem. The big part of this is them wanting to take the truck to Mexico. They wouldnt take any advice from anyone on the shop floor about the quality issues.

Theyre forcing us to use junk parts. They make us keep running, when we see problems on the line. They wont let us shut down. Were always told that quality is number one, yet 90 percent of the vehicles go in the repair lot. I know for a fact that at the Mack Avenue plant they have 2,000 to 3,000 cars in repair.

I had a higher level manager tell me that its so bad theyre not planning to bring another vehicle inside this plant. Its a real issue.

You get treated terribly in there. If the economy wasnt so terrible, I really think they would lose 50 percent of the workforce. These managers talk to people like theyre dogs! I hear them calling for more manpower on the line and they say Can we get some more bodies over here? They dont have enough respect for someone to even call them a human being.

At what point is it too much money? Eighteen billion in profits last year. It will never be enough for them! They want more and more. Everything is 100 percent corrupt the way they run things.

Workers must organize a fight against this corporate terrorism by expanding the network of rank-and-file committees, which are fighting under the banner of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC).

Will Lehman, the Mack Trucks worker and socialist candidate for UAW president in the first round of the elections, replied to the threats, Tavares performs no labor and generates no profit for a living. His pay comes off the backs of all the workers he criticizes the performance of, while he lives a life of luxury, never working a day in it, and still somehow has the gall to criticize workers attendance.

Hes made threats before, and the UAW apparatus has done nothing to fight back. Hes now seeking assistance from the union bureaucrats to find solutions to absenteeism. Within the last week Stellantis congratulated Shawn Fain on winning the presidency of the UAW and was quoted in Reuters saying it looked forward to working on issues that will further contribute to our mutual success while securing Stellantis position in this highly competitive market. He knows the UAW apparatus will mount no challenge to him.

We must organize together on the shop floors of all plants internationally in rank-and-file committees to ready a fight against parasites like Tavares. We will not win waiting on the UAW apparatus to fight for us.
BAGHDAD, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Three Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in an airstrike on Thursday in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a security source said.

Based on intelligence reports, Iraqi warplanes carried out an airstrike on an IS hideout in the Himreen mountain range in northern Diyala, destroying the hideout and killing three IS militants, Ali Fadhel Omran, commander of Diyala Operations, told Xinhua.

Omran added that a total of 40 IS militants, including some leaders of the terrorist organization, were killed during the past five months in airstrikes in the Himreen Mountains.

Despite repeated military operations against IS remnants, extremist militants are still hiding in deserts and rugged areas, as well as in the Himreen mountains, in the Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces.

The security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. 
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines on Monday that only one shot of the bivalent booster against COVID-19 would suffice for anyone who received their last dose six months or more ago, regardless of their age or medical condition. This also leaves a big question mark over the promised annual COVID boosters that were in discussion as early as September 2022.

Without a doubt, the coronavirus continues to circulate throughout communities across the globe, posing an existential threat to anyone who becomes infected or reinfected with COVID. At the supposedly low rates now prevailing in the US, more than 100,000 Americans can be expected to die from COVID every year.

Patients receive intravenous drips in an emergency ward in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. [AP Photo/Andy Wong]

Additionally, numerous studies have shown that even mild infections can cause serious systemic injuries to a persons organs, leading to potential lethal consequences later in life. As Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, recently said about the long-term impact of COVID, This is not something that will go away in a week, in a year, or two, or three. This will reverberate with us for generations.

The Biden administration and every other capitalist government claimed that a vaccine-only strategy was sufficient to fight the pandemic. Now they are declaring that even this must come to an end. When Biden declared the pandemic over, he really meant that he was ending all efforts to help prevent severe disease and death among the most vulnerable. In May, the entire official COVID pandemic response will come to a halt, and working people will be left to defend themselves, by themselves, against the public health threat posed by the coronavirus.

In a terse statement, the CDC wrote, At this time, one updated booster dose is recommended for everyone in order to maintain protection from severe illness. Receiving more than one updated booster is not currently authorized by the US Federal Food and Drug Administration. Meanwhile, only 16.4 percent of all eligible people have received the latest bivalent vaccines and less than 80 percent have even completed the initial two-dose series.

Placing this in context, this will leave in the lurch the 75 million people over the age of 60, the nearly 10 million who are immune-compromised, and fully half the US population that has at least one chronic medical condition. Exactly one year ago the CDC recommended that the immunocompromised and people over age 50 should receive an additional shot if they had received their first booster just four months prior.

The rationale for these earlier decisions was based on their own study that found immunity against the virus waned quickly, leaving people vulnerable to infection, particularly those who were immunocompromised. Follow-on studies with the bivalent boosters have found immunity from these shots also wanes rapidly.

A recent study published just this month in The Lancet: Infectious Diseases underscored the important point that although a third mRNA booster dose was associated with a 26.2 percent reduction in incidence of infection and 75.1 percent reduction in incidence of severe COVID-19 over a year of follow up, protection against infection waned gradually by month after the booster and was negligible by the sixth month.

The authors concluded, The booster was associated with considerable protection against infection and high protection against severe COVID-19 among people more clinically vulnerable to severe COVID-19, underscoring the value of booster vaccinations for this population.

A day after the CDC published its updated guidelines, the World Health Organizations (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) revised its guidance for COVID-19 boosters, recommending additional boosters at six months from the last shot only for those at highest risk of death or severe disease from COVID. These include people who are 60 and older or with underlying medical conditions that include pregnancy. Frontline health workers were included as high risk.

Even though the SAGE guidelines are, for lack of a better word, relatively more comprehensive than those of the US CDC, many have taken the WHO to task on its about-face, as the agency issues statements that smack more of political expediency than concern for public health.

To halt the pandemic requires efforts to stop transmission by ramping up surveillance and tracking dashboards and investing in an international strategy to build up pandemic preparedness infrastructure. Instead the WHO writes, Countries that already have a policy in place for additional boosters should assess the evolving need based on national disease burden, cost effectiveness and opportunity costs. In other words, public health should take a back seat to financial interests which argue that the cure should not be worse than the disease.

Still, given the international health agencys recommendations, a federal official speaking under conditions of anonymity told NPR that the FDA is reconsidering offering a second booster to those 65 years of age and older or with immune-compromised systems. The decision could come as early as this week. which would align the US with the approach being taken by Britain and Canada.

Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, observed, Those doses are going to be expiring and will be thrown out. So, it makes sense to have those shots in arms instead of being tossed in the waste basket.

Perhaps the most revealing statement to date made by the WHO was at Tuesdays press briefing, when Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Lead on COVID-19, noted, At the present time, we are still in a Public Health Emergency of International Concern at a global level as well as still a pandemic. The virus is still circulating. [But] we are in a much better situation than we were at the beginning of this pandemic. While we still see a lot of circulation of the virus, we are not seeing the same level of impact. And by impact we mean there is reduced incidence of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths. But the threat isnt over.

She added, We still see between five to ten thousand deaths per week. These are largely among individuals who are of older age, they may not have been vaccinated or received the full number of doses that are required for them at their age. So, the threat remains.

Van Kerkhove then explained, One of the big uncertainties we face going forward is the virus itself. It hasnt settled into a predictable pattern and continues to evolve. Omicron is the variant of concern that remains dominant worldwide and there are still 600 sub-lineages of Omicron that are in circulation  We will continue to see waves of infections [though] the peaks of those infections will not be as large as we saw before and likely will not be because we have population-level immunity that has increased around the world from vaccination and also from past infection.

She continued:

However, one of the things we are very concerned about is the potential for the virus to changeto become not only more transmissible but [also] more severe. We have to remain vigilant. We have to have systems that are in place to have strong surveillance so that we can track variants that are known to be in circulation and detect new ones so we can have agile systems to scale up or scale down; the need for clinical care; making sure we have good anti-viral [treatments] that are in use and given to patients who need them when they need them to prevent severe disease; and really critically to focus on vaccinating those who are most at risk.

Van Kerkhove then warned that no one can predict how this pandemic will unfold but that all indications were that the virus was here to stay. One of the variants that the WHO is tracking, XBB.1.16, has recently caused a wave of new infections across India. It has a similar profile to XBB.1.5, but with one additional mutation in its spike protein that has been shown in the laboratory setting to cause increased infectivity and pathogenicity.

Meanwhile, as these discussions were taking place, a deadly outbreak of Marburg virus, which causes a disease like the Ebola virus and is just as lethal, has spread from rural districts of Equatorial Guinea and been found in the countrys commercial capital, Bata, raising concerns of a broader outbreak. The outbreak, which began last month, has now been confirmed to be much larger than previously expected with nine laboratory-confirmed cases with seven fatalities. There are also 20 suspected cases, of whom have all died.
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump was reportedly indicted on Thursday for his role in an alleged hush-money payment to an adult film actress.

Multiple news media outlets, including The New York Times, ABC News, and The Washington Post, broke the news in the evening, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Trump is said to be the first former U.S. president in American history to be indicted on criminal charges, which remain under seal. 
TEGUCIGALPA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Honduras, a Central American country endowed with excellent growth potential, has embraced a golden opportunity to boost its social and economic development after establishing diplomatic relations with China on Sunday.

With China promoting win-win cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean through the Belt and Road Initiative and other frameworks, Honduras will enjoy the dividends of the broader collaboration and benefit from China's investment in its economy.

China will fully support Honduras' economic and social development and improvement of its people's living standards, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang said, adding that China is willing to expand imports of Honduran specialty products, encourage Chinese companies to invest in Honduras, participate in large-scale infrastructure construction in Honduras and prioritize implementing projects benefiting people's livelihoods.

Alejandro Alonzo, a chef at an Italian restaurant in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, expects formal relations with China to become a significant driving force for his country's development, hoping that China could help Honduras and its people solve socioeconomic problems.

Joseana Martinez is fond of Chinese culture and customs. "Chinese culture has been in our country for a long history," the Tegucigalpa citizen said, "we hope we can continue to explore Chinese traditional customs and food, share each other's culture and learn more about China."

Noting that establishing Honduras-China diplomatic ties is an independent and courageous historic decision, Manuel Antonio Diaz, attorney general of Honduras, said that no country can ignore China's status and role in the global economy, finance and trade.

According to Chinese Customs statistics, trade between China and Honduras reached 1.589 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.

Armando Vidal, who has been in the tourism industry for over 20 years, is ready to welcome Chinese tourists to visit local scenic splendors and experience Hondurans' hospitality. Vidal said that establishing bilateral diplomatic ties will attract Chinese tourists to Honduras and bolster local revenues.

"We Hondurans are delighted because we have a friend like China," said Jury Hernandez, a resident in Tegucigalpa. "The development of bilateral relations will benefit the Honduran people." 
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump was reportedly indicted on Thursday for his role in an alleged hush-money payment to an adult film actress.

Multiple news media outlets, including The New York Times, ABC News, and The Washington Post, broke the news of Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand jury in the evening, quoting people familiar with the situation.

Trump, 76, is said to be the first former U.S. president in American history to be indicted on criminal charges, which remain under seal.

The charges are not publicly known at this time, according to CNN, citing a source. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office will reportedly reach out to Trump's attorneys to discuss his surrender to face an arraignment.

Bragg and his aides have been investigating Trump's alleged role in a hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The payment of 130,000 U.S. dollars was said to be used to prevent Daniels from going public about an alleged sexual encounter that she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump, a Republican who won the 2016 White House race and served as U.S. president from 2017 to 2021, has denied that the affair happened, dismissed any wrongdoing, and charged that the inquiry is politically motivated.

The case has been closely watched as no former U.S. president has ever been indicted on criminal charges and Trump is running again for the White House. 
Liu Yuxi (C, Front), Special representative of the Chinese government on African affairs, speaks at a high-level open debate of the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 30, 2023. A Chinese envoy on Thursday called on the international community to support Africa's leading role in its own peace and security in a high-level open debate of the Security Council on the impact of development policy on the implementation of Africa's Silencing the Guns initiative. (Xinhua/Xie E)

UNITED NATIONS, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called on the international community to support Africa's leading role in its own peace and security in a high-level open debate of the Security Council on the impact of development policy on the implementation of Africa's Silencing the Guns initiative.

Africa is a rising continent, a fertile land of hope brimming with vigor and vitality. Without peace and development in Africa, there will be no stability and prosperity in the world, said Liu Yuxi, special representative of the Chinese government on African affairs.

Under the current circumstances, the Security Council needs to give serious thought to questions such as how to strengthen international coordination to better help Africa meet its challenges, how to forge synergy between development policies to address the root causes of conflicts, and how to advance the UN's cooperation with Africa to provide stronger support, he said.

It is important to support Africa's leading role in its own peace and security. Africans know Africa best, and African countries are core forces for maintaining their own peace and security, said Liu.

The international community should adhere to the principle of seeking African solutions for African problems, and provide assistance on the basis of respect and trust, rather than interfere in other countries' internal affairs in the name of human rights or even overstep their authority. For post-conflict countries, there is a need to support their own choice of development paths and governance models that suit their own national conditions, rather than find fault with them, still less engage in so-called democratic transformation, he said.

It is important to support African countries' security capacity-building, which is the only way to address both the symptoms and the root causes of the conflicts in Africa, he said.

"We need to help African countries build a professional, efficient and strong security sector to tackle real security threats such as terrorist extremism and intercommunal conflicts," he said. "The UN peacekeeping operations in Africa need to respect the views of the host countries and support their efforts to strengthen security-sector development and reform. The arms embargoes imposed by the Security Council on Sudan, South Sudan and other countries have hindered the development of the security capacity of these countries and should be adjusted or lifted in a timely manner."

It is important to support Africa in achieving sustainable development. Development and security are interdependent and complementary, said Liu.

When working with Africa, the international community needs to strengthen coordination with the African Union's Agenda 2063, the Silencing the Guns initiative and other initiatives, and support Africa in advancing infrastructure development, speeding up industrialization, fighting pandemics, eliminating poverty, boosting employment, and accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The root cause of Africa's development issue is the unfair international economic order. Developed countries must shoulder their due responsibilities, honor their commitments to development aid and repay the historical debts they owed to Africa, he said.

It is important to support Africa's efforts to seek strength through unity, said Liu.

Over the past 20 years, the African Union has held high the banner of strengthening through unity, solidarity and cooperation, committed itself to exploring a development path that fits well with Africa, and spoken with one voice in international affairs. These efforts have vigorously safeguarded peace, security, stability and development in Africa, he said.

The African Union-led peacekeeping operations, as a useful practice for Africans to seek African solutions for African problems, should get flexible, predictable and sustainable financial support. China firmly supports Africa's in-depth participation in the Group of 20, BRICS and other mechanisms, and firmly supports Africa's greater role in global governance and international affairs, he said.

China has all along stood together with Africa through thick and thin. China will, as always, view Africa as a high priority in its external relations and prioritize Africa's peace and security in its work at the Security Council. China is ready to work with the international community to advocate a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, help Africa silence the guns, and build a community with a shared future for mankind, he said. 
SANAA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni government has set April 11 the day to start implementing a weighty prisoner exchange with Houthi rebels, national Yemen TV reported Friday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross will transport those released via flights scheduled between April 11 and 13 as per the implementation plan under a UN-brokered prisoner swap deal between the Yemeni warring parties, according to the report.

The warring sides reached the swap deal on March 20 following their 10-day negotiation in Switzerland facilitated by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, who said the two sides agreed to release 887 conflict-related detainees.

The swap list comprises 706 Houthi members and 181 individuals from the opposite side, al-Masirah TV reported earlier this month, citing Abdulkadir al-Murtada, head of the Houthi prisoner committee.

The 181 detainees include 15 Saudi citizens and three Sudanese nationals from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in the Yemeni civil war, according to the report.

Four journalists sentenced to death by the Houthis, several prisoners of war from the Saudi-led coalition, and relatives of some senior Yemeni officials are among the swap list, said Majid Fadail, a member of the government's negotiation team, in a statement posted on Twitter on March 20.

Nasser Mansour, the brother of former Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, was also on the swap list, Fadail said.

The prisoner exchange agreement is viewed as a significant breakthrough in years.

Since late 2014, Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war after the Iran-backed Houthi militia took control of several northern cities, forcing the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital, Sanaa. The war has led to tens of thousands of casualties and the imprisonment of thousands more. 
Friends Robyn Renee Bodine and Tracie Shoe "were supposed to be" heading back to the airport, but never made it onto their flight, nor was their rental car returned, police said

Truth or Consequences Police Department (2) Robyn Renee Bodine and Tracie Shoe

Authorities and loved ones are holding out hope for the "safe return" of two Ohio women who went missing while on vacation in New Mexico.

Robyn Renee Bodine, 46, and Tracie Shoe, 52, were vacationing in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, at the Riverbend Hot Spring when they went missing, according to police.

The women checked out of their hotel on Tuesday morning and "were supposed to be heading in their rental car toward Phoenix/Mesa airport in Arizona" to fly home, police said. However, their rental car, a white Toyota 4 door sedan, was never turned in, nor did the women make their flight home.

Related:Boy, 7, Missing After Officials Found His Mother Dead in Water and Brother Alone on Calif. Beach

In a family message shared by the Truth or Consequence Police Department on Wednesday, loved ones said neither woman had "been in contact with anyone in the last 24 hours."

"Police everywhere have been contacted, airports, records searched. Nothing is giving us any help," Bodine's daughter wrote in the message.

"We have exhausted all efforts and I'm just hoping to post this and maybe it reaches somewhere beneficial," Bodine's daughter shared. "Please, please, please keep my family in your prayers."

RELATED VIDEO: Grandparents Who'd Been Together 70 Years Found Dead on Nebraska Road 2 Months After Going Missing

The two women, both from Brookville, have been friends for several years, Bodine's daughter, Taylor Moberly, told CBS affiliate WHIO-TV.

Although her mother did not share many details about the trip with her, Moberly told the outlet her mom wanted to go to Riverbend Hot Springs for her birthday, which was on Wednesday.

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Moberly told the outlet the friends left Ohio on Saturday and arrived at the hot springs on Monday.

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Although details about where they went after checking out of the airport on Tuesday morning aren't known, a friend of Shoe's, Jennifer Lightcap, told WHIO-TV that she thought they planned to go on a hike before going to the airport.

Lightcap went on to say that calls to both women are going "straight to voicemail."

"We're not sure if a battery has gone dead or what has happened," the friend said. "But they are not responding, not answering on social media."

Related:Cops Find Dead Body, 3-Year-Old and Over 200 Reptiles  Including 60 Venomous Snakes  in Pa. Home

The Brookville Police Department said they have opened an investigation.

As of Wednesday, they said they had spoken with family members, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, the Truth or Consequence Police Department as well the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"We ask that you keep Robyn, Tracie, and their families in your thoughts and prayers and remain optimistic for their safe return to our community," they wrote in a statement.

Any one with information about Shoe and Bodine's whereabouts are asked to contact the Truth or Consequences Police Department at 575) 894-7111.

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Worshipers had reportedly gathered at the temple for the Hindu festival of Ram Navami when a part of the floor covering the well collapsed, causing victims and debris to fall into the water below

Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock

At least 36 people have died in India after falling into a stepwell at a Hindu temple, per multiple reports.

A floor covering at the temple complex in the city of Indore collapsed on Thursday, causing several people to fall into the hole, according to CNN and The Guardian.

The worshipers had gathered at the temple for the Hindu festival of Ram Navami, The Guardian and Reuters reported.

Witnesses said the worshipers had gathered for a fire ritual, according to the Associated Press.

Related:9 People Are Dead After 2 U.S. Army Blackhawk Helicopters Crash in Kentucky

Officials said 36 bodies were pulled from the well, per the reports. At least 16 people were injured, as well.

About 80 people were inside the building at the time of the collapse, according to the Reuters report.

Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock

Among the dead is the secretary of the temple's board, municipal corporation commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma told the AP. The temple's president is among the injured, he added.

"The major cause of deaths could be drowning," Ilayaraja T, a top local government official, told Reuters.

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Madhya Pradesh state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the floor collapsed "due to the heavy load" it was holding up, according to CNN.

Home Minister Narottam Mishra said water was pumped out of the well in hopes of aiding rescuers, per the report.

The well held water that was about 25 feet deep at the time of the incident, according to The Guardian.

Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock

Rescuers' response to the incident was reportedly slow. Kantibhai Patel, president of a residents' association, said the first ambulance did not arrive until an hour after authorities were first alerted to the incident, per the AP's report.

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Footage from the scene showed emergency crews using ropes and ladders to reach the victims.

Related:At Least 39 Dead and 29 Injured in Migrant Center Fire Near U.S.-Mexico Border

One witness said they "saw some people falling with their hands still folded in prayer," The Guardian reported.

An investigation into the collapse is ongoing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to those impacted by Thursday's tragedy, according to CNN and Reuters.

"The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace," he said, per CNN's report.

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A grand opening for the Wilmington Police Department Museum and Education Center was held Wednesday afternoon at the headquarters on Bess Street.

It was built to honor the department's history and to engage the community.

Brandon Shope, WPD communications specialist, said the creation of the new law enforcement museum will provide numerous benefits for the community and the police department that will make an impact on many lives for years to come.

"The purpose of our museum is to bridge the gap between the police department and the community, and to highlight the history of our agency and city," Shope said. "The museum will serve as a permanent community engagement tool that can serve our community and will connect citizens from all backgrounds with our agency."

What's inside?

The museum has artifacts collected over the years, dating back to the 1800s.

In addition, the museum will become an extension of a memorial to honor officers who died in the line of duty. It will also include the history of policing and interactive educational opportunities.

"Our goal is for schools and civic groups to make this space an annual learning stop for them," he said. "We feel this is a very productive project and will help to bridge the gap between all citizens and our agency by allowing citizens to see firsthand how law enforcement is a great profession for people to enter. Our internal staff has been researching and working with other museums and departments to create a world class location that can serve our citizens and agency for years to come."

Artifacts are displayed at the WPD's Museum & Education Center. Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

How was it built?

Wilmington's City Council approved an ordinance for the police department to use $40,000 of North Carolina Drug Tax Revenue to create the museum. The revenue program is an excise tax on illegal drugs, liquor, and mixed beverages. A portion of the funds are divided to law enforcement agencies across the state.

Funds were previously used for things such as training, equipment and educational materials.

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During a council meeting, Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams said the museum is a way to engage the community and spoke about his experience of visiting as a child.

Previous coverage: Wilmington police want to create a new museum, some say not so fast

Officers join department: Wilmington police welcome 18 new officers

A section of Wilmington police's museum and education center honors Chief D.L. Bruestle. He was the department's longest-serving chief.

Honoring longtime chief

Part of the museum includes a recreation of a former chief's office.

Chief Darryl Bruestle was the departments longest-serving chief. It includes his desk and uniform among other items.

How to visit

Tours for the Museum and Education Center are available by contacting Letecia Holiday at 910-343-3945 or by email at policeengagementrequests@wilmingtonnc.gov.

Admission is free. The museum is located at 615 Bess St.

"We see this museum as a place for the public to visit with us in a manner that is not service driven," he said. "There will be opportunities for connecting and learning about the history of the department."

STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the areas latest news by signing up for the StarNews newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram.

Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: What to know as Wilmington police open museum and education center
Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Wang Xuekun speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony of the China-aided Masaka Hospital renovation and expansion project in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, March 30, 2023. Rwanda has broken ground for the renovation and expansion of a hospital funded by the Chinese government in the suburb of Kigali, the Rwandan capital. (Photo by Cyril Ndegeya/Xinhua)

KIGALI, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda has broken ground for the renovation and expansion of a hospital funded by the Chinese government in the suburb of Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

The ground-breaking ceremony, held in Masaka District Hospital Thursday, was presided over by Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente and Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Wang Xuekun.

Ngirente thanked China for partnering with Rwanda on this important project, saying the hospital's renovation and expansion will further enhance its capacity to provide advanced healthcare services.

"Infrastructures like this one are a great contribution to our vision, to develop specialties, sub-specialties and train much-needed health professionals in a short time," the prime minister said.

The project will complement other strategic health services in the catchment area, including the IRCAD Africa research center, the Heart Center, and other initiatives that will significantly transform lives and turn Kigali into a major health hub, Ngirente said.

Wang, for his part, said the project is one of the China-aided projects in Rwanda that leaders of both China and Rwanda have given great importance to.

"This project marks a milestone of the highest infrastructure cooperation between our two countries," he said. "Upon completion, it will turn Masaka Hospital into a modern hospital with a size of more than 5,6000 square meters and 837 beds."

Wang said that despite the vast geographical distance between China and Rwanda, the two countries have enjoyed brotherly relations for more than half a century, particularly since the exchange of visits by the two leaders in 2017 and 2018.

"Fruitful cooperation in various fields has been enormously expanded between our two countries. Our political exchanges keep growing with good momentum. Economic and practical cooperation has achieved a lot with bigger projects ongoing and trading ties increasing," he said.

"We built Masaka Hospital in 2011 which cares for local patients. I am happy we are here to expand it," Wang said.

"We have seen 22 medical teams and more than 270 Chinese doctors in Rwanda. They have contributed a lot to the local resilience and to the health of Rwandan people," he said.

China dispatched its first medical team to Rwanda in 1982.

Wang said China is committed to working with Rwanda to promote the wellbeing of its people, adding that Beijing will continue to support the development of Rwanda.

The expansion and renovation project, which is set to be completed by July 2025, will include scaling up the hospital's capacity to receive up to 2,000 patients per day. 

Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente (2nd R) and Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Wang Xuekun (2nd L) pose for a group photo during the groundbreaking ceremony of the China-aided Masaka Hospital renovation and expansion project in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, March 30, 2023. Rwanda has broken ground for the renovation and expansion of a hospital funded by the Chinese government in the suburb of Kigali, the Rwandan capital. (Photo by Cyril Ndegeya/Xinhua)
The Murder Mystery stars go way back  and their friendship runs deep. See the pair's cute photos together through the years

Steve Granitz/WireImage

Where It All Began

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler shared a smile at the Los Angeles premiere of their 2011 rom-com, Just Go with It. The project marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship for the pair, who reunite for Netflix's Murder Mystery 2, streaming now.

"There's trust. We trust each other and we know that we're going to have a good time," Aniston told PEOPLE at the March 2023 Murder Mystery 2 premiere in L.A. "We have each other's back. We take care of each other. Neutral, deep respect for each other."

"He's just exactly who he is and has been since I've met him," she shared of her solid pal, adding they "just always have a wonderful time" in "every moment."

Here, a look back at some of their good times together through the years.

To the Point

Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty

The stars had some fun while promoting Just Go with It on El Hormiguero in Madrid, Spain, in 2011.

Such a Star

Steve Granitz/WireImage

When Aniston received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012, Sandler was among the famous friends who honored her.

Shoulder On

Steve Granitz/WireImage

After some time apart on-screen, Aniston and Sandler reunited for the 2019 Netflix smash Murder Mystery. They premiered the film in L.A. that summer.

Something to Solve

Steve Granitz/WireImage Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in 2019

They continued their Murder Mystery press tour in their signature styles.

Laugh In

Randy Holmes via Getty

And had a blast on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in L.A.

Red Carpet Ready

Todd Williamson/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

Sandler and Aniston got glammed up for the 2019 People's Choice Awards, where they walked the red carpet together.

Big Winners

Alberto Rodriguez/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

And they won! Together, they hit the stage to accept the comedy movie of 2019 award for Murder Mystery, much to fans' delight.

Back in Action

Jennifer Aniston/Instagram Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler

Their film was so popular that in 2022, they reunited yet again to film Murder Mystery 2, with Aniston documenting their scenic adventures on Instagram.

Paris Match

Jennifer Aniston/Instagram Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler

Wrap night came with a tough job: dressing up for a shoot at the Eiffel Tower in Paris!

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Funny Faces

Jennifer Aniston/Instagram

In a 2022 send-off on New Year's Eve, Aniston shared a few glimpses from the Murder Mystery 2 set, like this in-character selfie.

Twice as Nice

Jennifer Aniston/instagram

Another snap from Paris gave a peek at the Murder Mystery 2 set.

French Twist

Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty

The film's first 2023 premiere on March 16 brought the costars back to the City of Light.

Staying Connected

Paula Lobo/ABC via Getty

In N.Y.C. on March 22, they talked up their movie on Good Morning America.

'Til the End

Emma McIntyre/WireImage Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler

At the film's Los Angeles premiere on March 28, Sandler told PEOPLE about his longtime friend, someone who always "knows what to say" and "knows how to calm you down."

"We had breakfast together and I thought she was funny as hell," said Sandler of the first time they met. "Then I saw her a few more times and I just always ... she made me happy when I'd see her."

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Read the original article on People.
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Chun Woo-wun, grandson of ex-South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, was arrested for drug use on Tuesday.

After arriving at South Koreas Incheon International Airport from New York City, Chun, 27, was immediately arrested at around 6 a.m. KST by Seoul Metropolitan Polices drug investigation team.

While being escorted by the authorities, Chun was greeted by photographers, journalists and onlookers, some of whom held signs that read Welcome Chun Woo-wun.

Several Korean netizens said they were surprised by Chuns height and appearance, with users of the South Korean social media site Yeocho calling him really handsome and noting that he has the Hong Kong actor feels.

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Other users compared him to South Korean actor Yoo Ah-in, whose alleged drug use has been the subject of a police investigation.

He seems better looking than Yoo Ah-in with drug charges, one user wrote.

There seems to be no difference between Yoo Ah-in and Chun Woo-wun, another commented.

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Chun Woo-wun's late grandfather was a South Korean military general and dictator who took power from 1980 to 1988.

He is best known for his role in the Gwangju Uprising, which took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980 and saw university students and South Korean citizens demonstrating against martial law.

In response, the former president allowed military troops to injure, kill, beat and rape demonstrators. Although the government claimed a death toll of 165 individuals, recent studies surrounding the event estimate the true number of victims to be from 600 to 2,300 individuals.

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Earlier this month, Chun made headlines for his erratic behavior online.

Through his now-deactivated Instagram account (@hope.with.jesus) and YouTube channel (@JesusChrist0123), the former presidents grandson uploaded videos of himself exposing his familys alleged crimes.

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Videos uploaded to his now-defunct Instagram account were reuploaded to TikTok by user @kpopvideomovie.

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I think of my grandfather as a slaughterer, Chun states in his first video. "He is not a hero that protected our country, but a criminal. There is no justice in this world that does not accept the truth. There are no rules. This society is sick. You look at the evidence and judge."

In the second clip, Chun confirms his identity and says he will expose the alleged crimes of his family.

My name is Chun Woo-wun. I am the grandson of the shameful person known as President Chun Doo-hwan and the son of the devil-like Chun Jae-yong. I am also a devil. I will expose my crimes and the crimes of my family. I will receive the proper punishment.

Chun claims his father, Chun Jae-yong, forged documents regarding his alleged criminal activity in South Korea to receive U.S. citizenship.

Chun also claims his father is committing fraud by pretending to aid Korean churches as a missionary.

Please help me to stop [my father] from acting like a holy person on the inside, but committing evil acts behind the scenes like the devil, Chun asks his viewers.

Chun then shares official medical documents related to his mental health in fear of his family using his depression and ADHD to discredit him. Although he confesses to a suicide attempt in the past, he argues that he is a normal person that speaks and acts like everyone else.

To prevent his family from denying his relation to them, Chun also reveals official birth certificates and family documents as evidence.

On March 17, Chun wrote on Instagram, In one hour I will reveal everything. I will turn myself in.

As promised, Chun began a livestream of himself within the hour. Wearing a white button-down shirt, Chun sat at his desk with a cross on the wall behind him.

I will confess everything and return to South Korea, he began. I will reveal everything related to my crimes and show you what a disgusting person I am.

Chun then continued his livestream by introducing and consuming a wide variety of drugs  including MDMA (ecstasy/molly), DMT and more.

Even if I do this, I wont die, he stated. Im going to do everything because they need to appear [in my system] during the investigation.

On Thursday, Chun was officially released by the police.

In response to reporters waiting outside, Chun apologized for failing to turn himself in earlier and revealed that he planned on meeting the family members of the victims of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising.

Chun upheld his promise on Friday, meeting the bereaved families and publicly apologizing to the victims of the Gwangju Uprising, The Korea Herald reported. He is the first in his family to formally address and apologize for his late grandfathers role in the killings.

Chun is now back on Instagram under the handle @hope.with.jesus7.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  Its the end of an era on Easy Street in Tampa.

Carole Baskins Big Cat Rescue will transport most of its cats to a wildlife refuge based in Arkansas, and Baskin and her husband, Howard, will sell the property once there are no cats left, Howard Baskin said in a press release Monday.

Sending cats to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge will allow the rescue to cut overhead costs and devote the remaining resources of our sanctuary to the in situ projects being conducted around the world to avoid [big cat] extinction, Howard Baskin explained.

He noted that the cub petting industry has gradually declined over the past 11 years thanks in part to the rescues efforts in lobbying for the federal Big Cat Public Safety Act (BCPSA), which prohibits the private possession of big cats and restricts direct contact between them and the public.

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In particular, some of the stars of the Netflix series Tiger King have fallen from the sky, so to speak. Largely as a result of Big Cat Rescues efforts, Joe Exotic Schreibvogel and his successor Jeff Lowe no longer have big cats, Howard Baskin wrote. What this means, importantly, is that over the next decade almost all of this privately held population of cats will pass away. Within a few years after that they will all be gone and there will be no more cats living in miserable conditions in backyards.

Schreibvogel is the birth name of Joe Maldonado-Passage.

Howard Baskin said over the past few years, their rescue was focused intensely on the BCPSA instead of putting their resources into rescues.

During that time, with cats living so long at our facility and our cat population becoming increasingly geriatric, we have had cats pass away, he said. The result has been a decline in our cat population to 41 cats. A few decades ago, we had 200 big cats.

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The rescue has trimmed its staff by about 50% since the pandemic, but it still had overhead costs of around $1.5 million per year, covering medical expenses and other expenses such as grounds, building and equipment maintenance. Howard Baskin noted that animal care is done by volunteers, so payroll has not declined.

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When we had 100 cats, that $1.5 million in overhead was $15,000 per cat. At 41 cats, it is over $36,000 per cat. As the population declines, it becomes an increasingly inefficient use of donor funds per cat to operate a facility like ours, Howard Baskin said.

He predicts the need for rescues like Big Cat will decline over the next 10 years.

If the need were going to continue at the pace we saw up until a few years ago, we would be making a different decision, he explained. With me turning 73 this year and Carole 62, it would be time to be thinking about a transition to younger management to bring new energy to the organization to allow the sanctuary to continue into perpetuity. However, with other sanctuaries having capacity and the need for rescues expected to decline, such a transition would not make sense. It would not be the way to best fulfill our three-pronged mission.

Howard Baskin said slowly winding down operations until the last cat passed away would lead to substantial losses.

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It is hard to imagine funding levels holding up well enough to cover the overhead as the number of cats dwindled, he added. Even if funding levels did hold up, it would be difficult in good conscience to spend that much per captive cat when the funds are so needed for projects to keep the cats from going extinct in the wild, the third prong of our mission.

The rescues plan to build a $1.8 million, 13-acre site at Turpentine Creek that will have enclosures larger than the ones at Big Cat Rescue. There will be 22 for small cats, two for medium-sized cats like leopards and jaguars and 15 enclosures for big cats like tigers. Howard Baskin said construction has already begun and is expected to take six months. They may move some tigers to the facility as soon as July.

Most of Big Cat Rescues cats are expected to go to Arkansas, but one tiger (Kali) and five bobcats (Moses, Bailey, Winter, Summer and Val) are expected to remain at Big Cat Rescue for the time being. A few other cats, including Gilligan (Canada lynx), who has been having seizures, and Manny (Jaguar), who has been battling cancer, will be medically evaluated before any decisions are made.

As for the future of Big Cat Rescue?

Once we have no cats at the sanctuary, we will sell the sanctuary property and use the proceeds to fund these species-saving projects in the wild, Howard Baskin said.

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Established in 1992, Big Cat Rescue has been a refuge for exotic cats that have been abandoned, abused or retired from performing acts.

The rescue, located at 12802 Easy Street, has been a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. However, it closed to the public in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to reopen to visitors.

The founder, Carole Baskin, was featured in the popular Netflix series Tiger King, which chronicled her feud with eccentric zookeeper Joe Exotic. Exotic, whose legal name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving a 21-year sentence for hiring hitmen to kill Baskin.

In the documentary, Exotic alleged Carole Baskin murdered her ex-husband, Don Lewis, and fed him to their tigers. Baskin has denied Exotics accusations. Lewis disappeared without a trace in 1997. An investigation into his disappearance is still active.

Note: Howard Baskin said Big Cat Rescue would be merging with Turpentine Creek, but a representative for the refuge in Arkansas made it clear they are not merging operations and only agreed to take in dozens of Big Cats animals. This story has been updated.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
SHANGHAI  According to a recent report from Barclays, a healthy luxury consumption rebound in the Middle East will be partly fueled over the coming months by Chinas reopening.

We expect Chinese tourists to provide a boost to Middle East luxury sales over the next six to 12 months, which should be visible from the second quarter onward, Barclays wrote in the report.

More from WWD

We estimate that Chinese tourism contributed around 10 to 15 percent of luxury sales in Dubai pre-pandemic, the report continued. Looking at flight data, it is clear that travel from mainland China toward Dubai is recovering at a much faster pace than toward Europe since year-to-date, thanks to higher flight capacity and targeted marketing campaigns from the city toward Chinese tourists.

According to Barclays, in 2019, Chinese shoppers were the fifth-largest spenders in Dubai.

A packed agenda of major events in the Gulf this year, including Formula 1 Grand Prix races in March and October, and Expo 2023 in Doha, Qatar, launching in October, will become primary drivers of tourism this year.

To lure more travelers, Saudi Arabias Red Sea Project, an ambitious tourist hub with bewildering landscapes and hyper-luxury hotels, will also begin to open in phases this year.

The Barclays report said the hard luxury sector, in particular companies such as Compagnie Financiere Richemont and Swatch Group, will benefit the most from incoming tourism in the region, as prices for jewelry and watches tend to be 10 percent cheaper compared to Europe.

A watch dealer based in Riyadh recently told us that he continues to see very strong demand for high-end watches among Middle Eastern collectors, who are among the most enthusiastic in the world, Barclays said.

The report pointed to Richemont-owned brands Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpel for their growth momentum in the Middle East, reflecting a rapid change of tastes, which is seeing local consumers turn toward branded jewelry, particularly among younger consumer cohorts, the report said.

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As for the local clientele, Ramadan, the monthlong sacred holiday that began on March 22, will be a key sales driver.

Some notable brand initiatives include Dior Mens first Ramadan collection and Valentinos first exhibition in Doha.

This past week, the Italian luxury fashion house organized a whirlwind trip for its Chinese VIP clients before the exhibition closes on Saturday.

Best of WWD

Click here to read the full article.
PANAMA CITY  Gov. Ron DeSantis says the federal government should not have a say in how people spend their money.

With more than 100 people in attendance, DeSantis held a press conference on Monday at Gulf Coast State College's Charles Hilton Center. He announced that Florida will not support any efforts by the federal government to create and implement a U.S. Central Bank digital currency.

It's the latest issue that puts DeSantis at loggerheads with President Joe Biden. The governor is widely expected to launch a bid for president in the next few months after blasting Biden's policies on COVID-19 and immigration.

DeSantis noted Biden last year issued an executive order to explore the creation of a digital currency, which would be directly controlled and issued to consumers by the federal government.

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"The Order directs the U.S. Government to assess the technological infrastructure and capacity needs for a potential U.S. CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) in a manner that protects Americans interests," a White House fact sheet about Biden's announcement says.

"The Order also encourages the Federal Reserve to continue its research, development, and assessment efforts for a U.S. CBDC, including development of a plan for broader U.S. Government action in support of their work," the fact sheet says. "This effort prioritizes U.S. participation in multi-country experimentation, and ensures U.S. leadership internationally to promote CBDC development that is consistent with U.S. priorities and democratic values."

The White House said the Central Bank digital currency study was just one part of a "first ever, whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology."

But at Monday's press conference, DeSantis expressed concern about the privacy implications of establishing a Central Bank digital currency. He said such a move would give the government a "direct view" into consumers' activities, as well as possibly allow it to limit spending in ways it does not see fit.

Story continues

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"This is something that is being proposed as being environmentally sustainable, (and) a way to increase access to consumers who lack the means to join a traditional bank," DeSantis said. "But as we've come to learn, any way they can get into society to exercise their agenda, they will do it.

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"So what the central bank digital currency is all about is surveilling Americans and controlling behavior of Americans. How do we know? We've seen this happen in other parts of the world. Look no further than China," the governor said.

DeSantis' move also comes after viral videos from conservative commentators, including Infowars founder Alex Jones, connected the recent bank failures to the pursuit of a digital currency. Those claims were debunked in a fact check by Agence France-Presse.

Gov. Ron DeSantis at Monday's press conference at Gulf Coast State College's Charles Hilton Center.

DeSantis said he believes there is an ongoing effort across the U.S. to approve back door provisions for the use of a centralized digital currency through the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which provides standard governing laws for commercial transactions across state lines.

While legislation to apply recent changes to the UCC have been introduced in about 20 U.S. states, DeSantis said no bill has been introduced in Florida. And if it were to be passed by the state legislature, he would veto it.

DeSantis also called on like-minded states to pass similar legislation to oppose a U.S. Central Bank digital currency and what he said was "Chinese influence in worldwide affairs."

"Ultimately, cash is king. If you can hold it in your hand, you have power over that," DeSantis continued. "The minute it's all digitized, somebody else is going to have control over that, and it's just a question of (if) they're going to let you live your life, (or) are they going to decide to do things (to) circumvent what you want to do."

Gannett Florida contributed to this report

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Gov. Ron DeSantis unhappy with talk of Central Bank digital currency
Work on the long-discussed museum and cultural center at the site of the Poindexter Village public housing complex on the Near East Side might begin this summer.

So far, $3.9 million in state and city money has been raised to help fund the redevelopment of the two remaining Poindexter Village buildings. And on Saturday, April 29, a volunteer group will be hosting a fundraiser for the effort at the King Arts Complex, 835 Mount Vernon Ave.

The museum would not only tell the the story of Poindexter Village  Columbus' first public housing complex and dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940  but would also be the city's first Black history museum.

"This story connects a bigger Great Migration story," said Shelbi Toone, project manager for the Poindexter Village Museum and Cultural Center, referring to when millions of Black residents left the South in the early 20th century to find jobs in the industrial North, including Columbus.

Neil Thompson, spokesman for the Ohio History Connection, said it's too early to say what the total cost will be.

"We're still in the planning stages, still getting partners," he said. The Ohio History Connection owns the property after purchasing it from the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.

Michael Roberts, who chairs the board of the James Preston Poindexter Foundation, said about $4 million will be needed to complete the work.

In October, the Columbus City Council approved a $1.4-million grant for the effort. The state approved $1.425 million in 2020, then another $1 million as part of its capital budget passed in 2022, plus $65,282 in capital grants for 2023, according to Casey Rife, spokesperson for the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus.

"Weve begun spending the money," Toone said, including on new windows.

The Poindexter Village museum would be the Ohio History Connection's 59th historic site. State Sen. Hearcel Craig, a Columbus Democrat, introduced the legislation for that designation.

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"I felt it was really important because of its geographical location in the community," Craig said. "It was certainly representative in many ways of diverse and affordable housing for the city of Columbus."

Local historian Reita Smith lived at Poindexter Village and fought to preserve all of Poindexter Village's 35 buildings. Crews began demolishing 33 of the buildings in 2013, but Smith and others were able to save two for the museum.

"All our plans were derailed by the pandemic. Of course, we're in a make-up time now," Smith said. "Hopefully, we will move forward."

Other prominent residents were artist Aminah Robinson, whose artwork included depictions of Poindexter Village, and former WBNS-TV/Channel 10 anchor Angela Pace.

Aminah Robinson's "Christmas at Poindexter Village" at the Columbus Museum of Art.

Conestoga, a volunteer fundraising arm of the Ohio History Connection, is holding the April fundraiser.

Laura Ecklar, a Conestoga volunteer, said her group has raised about $24,000 so far. Roberts said the goal is to raise $40,000-$45,000 by April through this effort, while approaching other sources for donations to pay the total cost.

Ecklar said that Conestoga members decided its annual fundraiser should be for Poindexter Village after hearing more about it and its place in the city's history.

"We just realized how important it is to preserve, historically and culturally, to Columbus," Ecklar said.

"It will be a great asset to Columbus and Ohio when its completed. A great cultural center and educational center," she said.

Kate Curry-Da-Souza, who leads the Near East Area Commission, said it is important for the historic buildings to be maintained. She said the neighborhood welcomes the museum and is open to what else it could be used for, perhaps meeting space.

Kathleen Bailey, a longtime Near East Side resident who used to lead the area commission, said she hopes the museum could bring people to the neighborhood, much like the Paul Laurence Dunbar House in Dayton, a museum for the renowned Black writer that Bailey has visited.

"It would be an excellent place for teachers for trips," she said.

Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said the museum could also draw visitors to the Mount Vernon Avenue and East Long Street corridors, helping to drive economic development.

"There's so much rich African-American history we want to be shared," he said.

For information on the fundraiser, go to: ohiohistory.org/get-involved/donate/conestoga.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Work on Columbus' first Black history museum should start this summer
Breeze Airways Wednesday officially opened a "base" at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport  gold scissors, ribbon and all  but what does that mean for travelers?

As of Thursday, the budget airline will fly from Green directly to six cities, eight if you count flights that continue on after one stop without having to change planes.

By May 18, Breeze plans to add five more routes, including Providence to Los Angeles International Airport.

And by July 14 the airline will add three more flights to get to 16 total.

Some of those flights are seasonal  including Los Angeles  and disappear again in the fall.

But by making Green a "base," with jets, pilots, maintenance workers, flight attendants and ground staff based in Providence, Breeze officials say over the next five years they plan to continue adding routes until they get to at least 20.

"We have doubled in size each year," Michael Wuerger, Breeze's chief operations officer, said at a ribbon-cutting news conference at the airport Wednesday. "By summer of last year we went from three to six nonstops. This summer Breeze is offering 13 nonstops from PVD and BreezeThru one-stop to three more."

State officials and airline executives cut the ribbon at Breeze Airways' ticket counter to mark the opening of the airline's base at T.F. Green Airport

Aside from the flights themselves, Breeze just began work building 3,000 square feet of operations space on the ground floor of the terminal and 7,000 square feet of warehouse space, both of which are expected to be finished in July.

Wuerger said Breeze now employs around 95 people at Green, but that is expected to grow to 250 people in the years ahead.

"We have committed to Rhode Island for at least the next 12 years," he said.

What is Breeze getting from the state?

To get Breeze to land in Rhode Island the state granted the airline a package of incentives and reimbursements.

The largest piece is $1.2 million per year over five years (total $6 million) from the state's Air Service Development Fund to market the airline. The airline is also eligible for up to $2 million from the same fund over three years for "ground handling."

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$2.3 million per year from the state's Air Service Development Fund, about half of which pays for marketing Breeze destinations and half for ground operations for the airline.

The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation last fall also approved roughly $300,000 per year in tax credits under the state's Qualified Jobs program. If Breeze hits employment targets in the deal it would receive around $2.9 million in tax credits through 2034, according to a Commerce analysis.

The Rhode Island Airport Corporation, which runs T.F. Green, has reimbursed Breeze $200,000 for marketing new routes.

And it has reimbursed Breeze $3.5 million for modifying spaces at the terminal including "relocations for Breeze, JetBlue and United," Airport Corporation spokesman John Goodman said.

For context, he added that the airport plans to buy new jet bridges for Delta, United "and potentially three other gates in the near future and also will undertake improvements to the baggage system that could exceed $20 million."

At least some incentives could be ending soon. The Federal Aviation Administration allows airports across the country to waive landing and other fees for new airlines for up to two years, but only two years. Breeze first started flying out of Green in the spring of 2021.

In the past, T.F. Green has struggled to retain new airlines and routes past that two-year mark.

According to a presentation to the House Finance Committee last week, of 16 new routes the state marketed in recent years, only two routes are still active and two of four airlines involved still fly to the airport.

Why aren't Los Angeles flights year round?

The long-awaited Breeze flights to Los Angeles are slated to start May 17 and run through Labor Day. (They will be direct Wednesdays and Saturdays and one stop-same plane the rest of the week.)

The first T.F. Green flights to the West Coast were supposed to start a year ago, but were put on hold after going on sale.

Starting Wednesday, Breeze is also flying with one stop from Green to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Orange County, Calif. That route is also seasonal.

Asked why the California flights are not year round, Breeze spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones said the airline is targeting vacationers, not business travelers, and more leisure travelers travel in the summer than the rest of the year.

"Summer demand is peak vacation time to get either east or west, that's our peak leisure time," he said.

As has been the case for years, and was particularly pronounced on European routes, there is greater demand to fly from Rhode Island than to Rhode Island. That remains the case for the West Coast, he said.

The current Breeze routes from T.F. Green are: Charleston, S.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Penn.; Provo, Utah; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; New Orleans, La.; Orange County, Calif.

Starting in May: Los Angeles, Norfolk, Va.; Jacksonville, Fla.l Richmond, Va.; Tampa, Fla.

Starting in July: Fort Myers, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Sarasota, Fla.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Breeze Airways opens 'base' at RI's TF Green, flying direct to 8 cities
Ayanna Pressley

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts introduced a bill on Transgender Day of Visibility Friday to protect transgender and nonbinary people facing credit discrimination. The Name Accuracy in Credit Reporting Act addresses credit issues and discrimination faced by transgender and nonbinary people who legally change their names.

The Democratic lawmakers bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require nationwide consumer reporting agencies to use a consumers current legal name on consumer reports upon request.

Consumer reporting issues are common for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals after changing their names, including fragmentation of their credit report into two or more unconnected files after a name change and the fact that often, their name change and subsequent credit actions are never reflected in their reports.

When transgender or nonbinary people change their names with creditors or apply for credit using their current names, the credit bureaus create an entirely new credit file. Consequently, their credit report is fragmented into two or more unconnected files, and any credit actions taken after that do not appear.

This fragmentation often negatively impacts peoples financial and personal lives, causing them to lose 100 points or more on their credit score, making it difficult to access banking services, mortgages, auto loans, employment, and rental housing.

Moreover, even if transgender or nonbinary individuals update their credit reports with their new names, their old names remain visible on their reports. As a result, these consumers may suffer discrimination or harassment in the workplace, housing, or credit.

Our broken credit reporting system has perpetuated inequities and pushed our most vulnerable consumersincluding the trans and nonbinary communityfurther to the margins, risking their livelihoods and economic pursuits, Pressley told The Advocate in a statement.

The Name Accuracy in Credit Reporting Act would prohibit nationwide credit reporting agencies from including a consumers former name on their credit report following a legal name change. This is given the evidence that transgender and nonbinary people suffer severe adverse effects from having their dead names reflected on their credit reports.

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The cost of credit reporting problems can affect consumers financial and personal lives, making it difficult to access banking services, mortgages, auto financing, employment, and rental housing.

In her bill, Pressley seeks to alleviate these burdens.

The Name Accuracy in Credit Reporting Act is a legislative fix that will help prevent the financial discrimination of trans and nonbinary people and improve accuracy in consumer reporting, she said.

Approximately 1.4 million adults identified as transgender in 2017, and about 1.2 million identified as nonbinary in 2021, according to the Williams Institute.

National and state LGBTQ+ advocacy groups support the measure.

Being able to have a name that reflects who you are is essential to ensuring ones safety and dignity, said David Brown, legal director at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. The Name Accuracy in Credit Reporting Act of 2023 is critical, common sense legislation that will protect transgender and nonbinary people from being denied a financially secure future just because theyve changed their name. We are grateful to Rep. Ayanna Pressley for her leadership on this important legislation.

Bostons GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) celebrated the bill.

Transgender people often experience discrimination in areas critical to economic security such as employment and housing. Facing additional financial barriers, including in something as essential and commonplace as credit reporting, can further compound economic instability, said Michael Johnson, Chief Legal Strategist at GLAD.

Were grateful to Representative Pressley and other House leaders for working to address harmful obstacles such as loss of credit history and involuntary outing that transgender individuals may experience when dealing with credit agencies following a legal name change, Johnson added.

While transgender communities are attacked politically and legislated out of existence across Republican-controlled states, Pressleys announcement is timely.

Speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives earlier this week, Pressley recognized Transgender Day of Visibility while discussing her bill.

She also addressed the anti-trans sentiment spreading through the political sphere nationwide and making itself into real-world policies.

May we as members of Congress renew our efforts to condemn transphobia in all of its forms, Pressley said. The rhetoric is harmful, the policy is violent, and it stands to harm our most vulnerable and marginalized communities. May we stand with trans students who deserve to learn in a school environment free from hate. May we stand with the parents who are raising trans children, fighting to make a safer world for them. May we stand with the community organizers, movement builders, and status quo disruptors who are on the front lines of trans liberation.

She continued, May we do more than espouse the values of equality and freedom but practice them to include all people. When we say Black lives matter, that must include black trans lives in the fight for human rights. We must affirm that trans rights are human rights, and when we evoke the words of Fannie Lou Hamer that nobody is free until we all are free, that must include our siblings in the trans community.

Pressley told The Advocate that the time to act is now.

Passing this bill would be a meaningful step as we work towards long-overdue economic justice for the trans community. Im proud to introduce this legislation on Transgender Day of Visibility, and Im grateful to our partners in this work, Pressley said.

Watch Rep. Pressleys House Floor speech below.
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in the United States Xu Xueyuan met with President of Shenandoah University (SU) Tracy Fitzsimmons in Winchester, Virginia, to discuss further cooperation with Chinese universities.

During the visit on Tuesday, Xu commended SU for actively cooperating with Chinese universities despite the strained bilateral relationship and the impact of a once-in-a-century pandemic, said a statement on the embassy's website Thursday.

SU has carried out joint mandarin learning courses and MBA programs, positively contributing to China-U.S. educational exchanges and friendship between the two peoples. Fitzsimmons and faculty members expressed their readiness to further strengthen collaboration with Chinese partner universities to enhance academic and people-to-people ties in the post-COVID-19 era.

Xu and the delegation watched musical performances by teachers and students from the school's Conservatory, after which she made a few remarks.

Xu pointed out that since the beginning of reform and opening-up, China has gradually grown into the world's second-largest economy, marking several proud accomplishments along the way.

China has won the battle against poverty in a planned time frame and built a state-of-the-art high-speed railway, electronic payment in China is widespread and China's young people are becoming the leading force for innovation and start-ups in various fields, she told the audience.

The Chinese envoy also said that China still has a long way to go as a developing country. The 1.4 billion Chinese people strive for national development and a better life. China is willing to develop sound and stable China-U.S. relations based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.

Founded in 1875, SU is a distinctive institution that has grown from a minor seminary 150 years ago to a private university with 4,000 students. The university has produced many outstanding graduates and embraced students from 47 states in the U.S. and 42 countries around the world, including China. 
Jair Bolsonaro waves to supporters at Brasilia International Airport (Ton Molina /Reuters)

Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has returned from three months in the United States  welcomed back by hundreds of chanting supporters at the Brasilia airport before heading straight into meetings with his political party.

The turnout for the far-right leader was considerably smaller than expected by police, and a minister in leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula's cabinet called the reception a "flop" that showed his weak leadership.

Mr Bolsonaro, who never formally conceded defeat in last year's election, will be a leading voice in the opposition to Mr Lula's government, raising the stakes for the new administration after a highly-polarised election.

Supporters with Brazil flags draped around their shoulders sang the national anthem and chanted "legend" at the arrivals area of the airport amid tight security.

The 68-year-old former president said in a live webcast from the headquarters of his Liberal Party (PL) that conservatives controlled Congress and Mr Lula's minority government would not be able "to do what it liked with the future of our country."

Mr Bolsonaro left for the United States two days before he was due to hand over the presidential sash to Mr Lula on 1 January. He said he needed rest, but critics say he was avoiding the risks of over a dozen legal investigations he may face in Brazil.

Legal probes have focused on his attacks against Brazil's voting system and alleged role in encouraging supporters to storm government buildings in 8 January riots that recalled the 2021 assault on the US Capitol.

Supporters ofJair Bolsonaro wait to greet his return (Adriano Machado/Reuters)

Mr Bolsonaro said in his webcast that the riots were spontaneous and denied they had been planned, as his critics maintain, as an attempt to provoke a military coup against Mr Lula.

Mr Bolsonaro, who holds former US President Donald Trump as his political idol, attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this month in Washington where he questioned the result of the October election narrowly won by Mr Lula and said his mission in Brazil was "still not over."

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His return to Brazil has been eagerly awaited by PL leader Valdemar Costa Neto, who wants Mr Bolsonaro to lead the party into municipal elections next year. Mr Costa Neto has said that Mr Bolsonaro was losing political capital by staying in Florida and expects his party to triple its slate of elected mayors across Brazil with the help of the former president, who can draw crowds by firing up anti-Lula sentiment.

"Bolsonaro will lead the opposition and travel around Brazil preaching the party's... values and helping the PL grow," he told Reuters, outlining a plan for a right-wing comeback in the 2026 presidential elections.

Jair Bolsonaro attends a meeting with members of Liberal Party (PL) and allies after returning to Brazil (Natanael Alves/Partido Liberal via Reuters)

Mobilising the 58 million voters who backed him last year will not be an easy task Mr Bolsonaro, according to political analysts. Plenty of potential rivals on the right will have the advantage of holding public office in coming years.

"If Bolsonaro cannot quickly show that he can lead, the right will look for other leaders, like the governors of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais," said Andre Cesar at Hold Legislative Advisors, a public policy consultancy.

Mr Bolsonaro has also hurt his standing with many centre-right parties after the 8 January riots and probes into his attacks on Brazil's democratic institutions, said Leonardo Barreto at Vector Consultancy in Brasilia.

Mr Bolsonaro must also calibrate his plans with the popularity of his wife Michelle, who is emerging as a charismatic figure running PL outreach to women. Mr Barreto said her ambitions may provide an outlet for the ex-president's supporters if legal probes lead electoral authorities bar him from seeking office.

Reuters
Prince on stage in 1987

The old maxim that if it sounds right, it is right doesnt always ring true - particularly if youre working with a shonky monitoring setup - but there are certainly times when happy accidents can yield great results. Take Princes The Ballad of Dorothy Parker - the fourth track on side 1 of the Sign OThe Times album, which was released 33 years ago this week - which is a fine example of a track being recorded wrong but sounding very right indeed.

The story goes that, back in 1986, this was the first song that Prince recorded at his new Galpin Blvd Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Originally intended for his Dream Factory album - the history of which is a whole other story - Prince also had it in mind as a single, though this never happened.

Speaking to the Red Bull Music Academy, Princes engineer Susan Rogers revealed that, at the time when Prince came to start recording Dorothy Parker, installation of the custom console in the new studio hadnt yet been completed, and this is why the track ended up sounding like it does.

The fellow who designed this console, whose name was Frank De Medio, came in from Los Angeles, Rogers explained. He was hooking it all up and Prince couldnt take it anymore. He was just dying to record, and he told me to send Frank home. He says, Just send him home. I just got to work.

An impatient Prince immediately got down to business, telling Rogers to get fresh tape. However, as soon as recording started, the engineer immediately realised that something was wrong.

As soon as I heard it, I realised, Oh my God, there is no high end, Rogers recalls. It sounded like there were low-pass filters on everything. First, I was thinking it was just one track. It wasnt. It was the whole console.

In a state of panic, Rogers hoped that Prince would take a break so that she could investigate the problem, but no such luck.

Im thinking, Oh, please stop, so I can get out the voltmeter and see whats going on with this console. But he wouldnt stop, and he just kept going, and going, and going. It was like a baby eating baby food. Its like, whens it going to stop? He just kept going, and going, and going.

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Then, the moment of truth: We finished the song, and then we mixed it. He didnt stop, which was typical of him. I kept thinking, Isnt he noticing that theres something weird with this? We finally mixed the song. It was like a day later, and then he gets up and hes all happy, because he got the song then. He goes, That was great. Good. And then he goes, This consoles nice. Its kind of dull, isnt it?

For Prince, though, this wasnt a problem, and he went away happy. Rogers wasnt going to leave it at that, though, so she set about investigating the issue with the console.

I take out the voltmeter and I finally get to check the power supplies, she recalls. As some of you may know, consoles have bipolar power supplies. Theres usually a plus-or-minus 15, or a plus-or-minus 24 depending on the manufacturer, and one whole power supply was completely down, so it was only swinging half the current that it could normally swing. It had no high end, because it couldnt swing the current fast enough to give us high end, so the song ends up sounding like its kind of underwater. I was able to fix it [the console], but only after the fact. I wasnt able to fix it for this song.

History tells us, though, that it didnt need fixing: Dorothy Parkers dull sound has become part of its charm, and most listeners will never know that this effect wasnt used on purpose.

If it sounds wrong, it can still be right, in other words.
The Oklahoma City Dodgers will begin their 2023 season Friday night with a home game against the Tacoma Rainiers.

There is plenty of intrigue surrounding Gavin Stone heading into it, and hell get the start on the mound for OKC.

The 24-year-old right-hander was solid in spring training and is coming off a stellar 2022 season.

He competed in High-A, Double-A and with OKC in Triple-A, dominating at every level.

Overall, he had 25 starts and tossed 121  innings while finishing with a 9-6 record, 1.48 ERA and 168 strikeouts.

More: Tramel's ScissorTales: Looking back at a great OCU Goldbug  Bones Taylor

OKC Dodgers pitcher Gavin Stone had 25 starts last season, tossing 121  innings while finishing with a 9-6 record, 1.48 ERA and 168 strikeouts.

Stone, who was taken in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Central Arkansas, is one of the Dodgers top pitching prospects and will likely make it to the big leagues at some point this year.

Hes learned a lot during his time as a professional and is excited to keep things rolling.

Just the process, Stone said of what he learned last year. Everyday routine, daily routine. I think thats huge and just staying consistent. And consistency is what they look for in the big leagues. So if I can do that, I feel like its going to play in my favor.

Stone frustrated opposing hitters throughout his time with OKC last season.

For him, his success mainly came down to one simple thing.

Just throwing strikes, he said. I think thats key. Last year, I feel like I did a really good job of throwing strikes and so if I can do something similar to that, then Ill be fine.

More: How Heritage Hall's Austin Lemon, an OSU baseball signee, became a dangerous switch hitter

Michael Bush looks to build on stellar year

Offensively, Michael Bush will be one of the top players to watch for OKC.

The 25-year-old second baseman and former North Carolina standout played in 31 games with Double-A Tulsa and 111 games with OKC.

Bush, who was drafted 31st overall in 2019, had an exceptional year with the two teams, finishing with a .274 batting average, .365 on-base percentage, 32 homers and 108 RBI.

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Michael Bush, for sure, and Hunter Feduccia both had really good camps out in Arizona, OKC Dodgers manager Travis Barbary said.

Bushy started off a little slow this spring but got it going. Obviously had a big year here last year as well as in Double A. Feduccia had a really good camp. I think he caught the attention of the major league staff.

Feduccia, a catcher out of LSU, played in 43 games with Tulsa and 40 with OKC last year. He had a .238 batting average, .331 on-base percentage, 15 homers and 51 RBI.

More: OKC Dodgers key dates, top prospects, promotions to know for 2023 season

Hunter Feduccia of the Oklahoma City Dodgers stands in the batter's box during a game against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on July 27.

Manager Travis Barbary ready to see who rises to the occasion

There were several changes for OKC in the offseason.

For Barbary, that gives him a challenge, and hell try to help out some new guys.

Its a lot different group than last year, Barbary said. "A lot of changes. A lot of free agent signs, so still trying to learn some of the guys that were in major league spring training and guys who I didnt get to see a whole lot of who were on the other side.

Barbary is particularly excited to see his pitching staff this year.

Feel like pitching is going to be a strength for us, obviously with our starting pitching depth and some good arms in the bullpen, so Im excited to see how those guys progress, he said.

OKC Dodgers vs. Tacoma Rainiers

SEASON OPENER: 7:05 p.m. Friday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Dodgers: Pitcher Gavin Stone to start on opening day vs. Tacoma
Israel "Izzy" Scott, 4, died in June after drowning during a swim lesson in Augusta.

A swimming safety law introduced by Augusta-area legislators after a tragedy is headed to the desk of Gov. Brian Kemp after passing the Georgia House on Monday and the Senate passing the House amended version of the bill on Wednesday.

Named after 4-year-old Israel "Izzy" Scott, who drowned during a private swim lesson in Burke County on June 14, 2022, the legislation, SB 107, requires the Department of Public Health to develop a model safety plan for private swim lessons and for instructors to implement a safety plan before offering lessons.

The legislation passed the House by a vote of 169-0 to applause from lawmakers, it had previously passed the Senate on March 1. Scott's family were present and recognized by lawmakers. The final passage in the Senate on Wednesday was without fan fair  bill sponsor Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania spoke briefly in favor of it before the amended version passed 51-3.

Prior to the vote, Rep. Lynn Gladney, D-Augusta, spoke to legislators about the day that Scott died.

Izzy's Law:'Izzy's Law' introduced in the Georgia Senate, named for 4-year-old who drowned

Safety Plan:Izzy's law, aimed at mandating safety plans for swim lessons, passes in the Georgia Senate

"On this fateful day, Izzy, who was normally a vibrant, exuberant child who absolutely loves superhero Black Panther and dinosaurs and playing with his older brothers and sisters, he has a moment of pause, and he is slightly hesitant about going to the lesson that day, and says to his mother, 'What if I drown?'" Gladney told the House.

Gladney went on to highlight the number of accidental drownings involving children; more than 4,000 annually across the country.

"It is a good bill. It has provisions that protects other families like the Scotts from this awful fate of ever having this experience again," Gladney said, before asking her colleagues to back the bill.

After the passage of the bill, House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, took a moment to address the family.

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"Our hearts go out to you. What a beautiful young man he was," Burns said. "His memory will last in your family and in this state for years and years to come, as Izzy's Law is part of who we are."

The model safety plan developed by the Department of Public Health will include suggested student-to-instructor ratios, secondary supervision of lessons, allowing parents and guardians to be present and participate in private lessons, and that at least one instructor or assistant be CPR certified. By April 1, 2024, all private swim instructors would have to have an aquatic safety plan in place that addresses all of these points before offering lessons or face a misdemeanor charge and up to a $200 fine.

The instructor who was giving the lesson when Scott drowned, Lexie TenHuisen, was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Izzy's Law on swim instruction safety passes House, heads to Governor
The University of Georgia Arch on North Campus. UGA faculty have joined others in calling for changes in the University System of Georgia's fall reopening plans.

The University System of Georgia got hit with more than $60 million in cuts in the final version of the state Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which passed the state House and Senate late Wednesday, the last day of the 2023 legislative session.

The state Senate Appropriations Committee last week issued a version of the budget to include a $105 million cut to USG. The total cuts in the final version of the budget, approved by a joint House and Senate committee, reduced that number to $66 million.

Though millions less than previously proposed, USG said in a statement that the cuts still will significantly impact teaching, staff and students.

Previously: Georgia General Assembly passes budget with smaller cuts to USG, Cyber Center

Related: Georgia Senate approves budget with $105 million cut to university system

This is an incredibly disappointing outcome, given the work done over the years by our state leaders to elevate higher education and send Georgia on a path to ascension, USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue was quoted as saying in the statement. It will have a significant impact on institutions and the services that students and families depend on to advance their prosperity and help Georgia succeed.

The money cut from the teaching line of the budget will be pulled replaced from carryover funds, which are attached to each institution. According to a report on carry over funds published in October, these total $504 million across the 26 institutions that make up the university system.

Institution Reduction under USG Carry-Forward funds, Oct. 2022 Total budget, 2023 Percentage of budget cut University of Georgia $11,935,000 $139,441,796 $1,675,396,256 0.71% Georgia Institute of Technology $11,287,000 $73,722,494 $1,817,666,464 0.62% Augusta University $6,845,000 $75,569,596 $899,626,564 0.76% Georgia State University $8,333,000 $81,022,032 $1,206,125,069 0.69% Savannah State University $564,000 $4,130,802 $89,872,211 0.63% Georgia Southern University $3,879,000 $18,535,961 $477,913,382 0.81%

USG says that the cuts to state funding come along with a loss of funding for 20 of the institutions where enrollment has declined, due to a funding formula based on students. It also follows a 10% cut to state funding at the start of the COVID pandemic that was never restored.

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The release outlines how much each institution will have to make up. While the amount is small compared to the overall budget for each institution  from about half a percent to about 1.2%  for smaller schools the cuts would absorb much of their carry-forward funds. Four institutions are set to lose more than half their carry forward funds.

The statement from USG says that 82% of the carry forward funds across the system are at six schools, including the four USG research institutions . University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Augusta University and Georgia State University.

The October carry-forward report from USG, which outlines the revenue sources of the funds, says that the ability to carry money forward is important for long-term investment and to cover everything from fluctuations in enrollment to research equipment, emergencies, infrastructure and other costs. While most state institutions must return unspent revenue to the treasury, USG schools can keep excess money from continuing educations, sales services such as co-operative extensions, grants and contracts, technology fees from students and up to 3% of total student tuition.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: The USG budget cut of $66 million will be spread across all 26 schools
Gwyneth Paltrow was awarded $1 after a Utah jury found Terry Sanderson was '100 percent' at fault in the 2016 ski collision

Getty

A juror in Gwyneth Paltrow's civil suit in Utah is reflecting on the case one day after the actress was found not liable in the civil suit brought by Terry Sanderson over a 2016 ski collision.

On Friday morning, Samantha Imrie  a.k.a. juror No. 11 in the trial, which lasted eight days  told ABC News how she and an eight-person jury in Park City, Utah reached a verdict after more than two hours of deliberation Thursday.

"The whole thing was a little shocking to me," Imrie, 31, told the outlet, noting she found 50-year-old Paltrow's testimony last Friday convincing.

"I think there was, in the back of my mind, yes, this woman's an actress and I took that into account, but I didn't feel she had a reason to lie under oath," she told ABC News. "She's always in the spotlight so she always has to be honest."

"[Sanderson] was telling his truth and I think unfortunately some of that has been distorted due to some other factors," Imrie added of the retired optometrist who brought the lawsuit against Paltrow. "But I do think he did not intend to tell a truth that wasn't his truth."

Related:Gwyneth Paltrow Seemed More 'Truthful' to Jury, Terry Sanderson 'Never Had a Case': Legal Expert

Rick Bowmer/AP

The juror specifically cited testimony from Dr. Irving Scher, a principal biomechanical engineer who testified for Paltrow's defense team, as one expert witness whose testimony "had a stronger opinion" and noted social media photos that showed Sanderson, 76, traveling around the world despite his claims of traumatic brain injuries following the Feb. 26, 2016 incident.

"I think I wrote down, 'Wow, I need to make some more money so I can go travel this way,' " Imrie told the outlet. "I wouldn't have thought he was capable of those things based on the picture that had been painted."

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Imrie added in her interview with ABC News that she believes "it's important that the public doesn't just think that this was a win because Gwyneth's a celebrity."

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RELATED VIDEO: Gwyneth Paltrow Leaned In to Speak to Terry Sanderson While Leaving Courtroom After Winning Ski Trial

"I mean, this is based on the evidence. This is based on the law," Imrie, who otherwise works as a nurse, told ABC News. "I do work in medicine and you have to look at everyone the same. So I think that that should apply in the courtroom as well."

A jury found Thursday that Sanderson was "100 percent" at fault in the 2016 ski collision at Utah's Deer Valley Resort and awarded Paltrow $1 in damages plus legal fees. After the verdict was announced, the Oscar winner said in a statement shared on her Instagram Story: "I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity."

"I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case," Paltrow added in the statement.

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Read the original article on People.
Idaho prosecutors have disclosed evidence connected to an internal affairs investigation involving one of the officers who played a role in the University of Idaho quadruple homicide investigation.

The Latah County Prosecutors Office filed notice of the disclosure to the defense Monday after noting that the state had become aware of potential Brady/Giglio material related to one of the officers involved in the case against Bryan Kohberger, the former criminology PhD student accused of brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students at an off-campus residence in November, according to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com.

Prosecutors described the evidence as a confidential internal affairs investigation and asked the judge to issue a protective order to keep the information from being released to the public because it concerned a personnel issue.

RELATED: FBI Seized University Of Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohbergers Underwear, Shoes, Gloves From Pennsylvania Home

Its not clear what role the officer played in the murder investigation.

Judge Megan E. Marshall agreed to issue the protective order the following day, instructing prosecutors and defense attorneys not to disclose the contents of the documents, according to the court records.

Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves

Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves Photo: Instagram

Prosecutors were obligated to disclose the information to Kohbergers attorneys as a result of the Supreme Court cases Brady v. Maryland and Giglio v. United States, WNEP reports.

Brady material is considered any material that could prove a defendants innocence, while Giglio material refers to information that could impeach the credibility of a witness.

"It could be anything that would tend to impair the credibility of that particular individual, officer, or witness, depending upon what it is. I mean, sometimes you have an internal affairs investigation that doesn't even really directly relate to the officer," criminal defense attorney Brett Riegel explained to WNEP.

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According to Riegel, prosecutors likely wanted to disclose the information to avoid a possible appeal down the road.

Bryan Kohberger

Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, is escorted to an extradition hearing at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Photo: AP

"The last thing a prosecution wants is to have to do a case twice. So, they want to make sure that they have met the due process obligations and provide the things that they're required to provide because that is the only way they get to do the case once," he said.

Kohberger has been accused of sneaking into an off-campus Moscow, Idaho residence in the early morning hours of Nov. 13 and brutally stabbing Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, to death.

Two other roommates, including one who chillingly reported seeing the masked killer inside the home that morning, were not targeted and survived.

Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen

Authorities linked the murders to Kohberger, a PhD student studying criminal justice and criminology at the nearby Washington State University, after linking him to DNA found on a leather knife sheath left on Mogens bed, according to an affidavit in the case.

During a search of his Pullman, Washington apartment, investigators also found a pillow with reddish brown strains on it. Along with the pillow, investigators also seized a nitrite black glove, computer tower, possible strand of hair, dust container from a vacuum and other items while searching the apartment on Dec. 30, according to court documents previously obtained by Oxygen.com.

Kohberger was arrested in late December at his familys home in Pennsylvania. He has yet to enter a plea to the charges against him.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 31, 2023. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Beijing on Friday.

Xi pointed out that the China-Malaysia friendship has a long history, and bilateral relations have always been at the forefront of countries in the region.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Xi said, noting that during Prime Minister Anwar's visit, the two sides reached a consensus on building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future, which will surely open a new chapter in the history of bilateral relations.

He called on the two sides to make coordinated efforts to advance the development of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields in the next stage, push for steady and sustained growth of China-Malaysia relations, and inject new impetus into the prosperity and development of the two countries and the region at large.

China's unswerving pursuit of high-standard opening up and Chinese modernization will bring new opportunities for the development of Malaysia and other countries, Xi said, calling on the two sides to continue to raise the level of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, advance key projects, foster growth areas in the digital economy, green development and new energy, and explore cooperation on people's livelihoods so that China-Malaysia relations will bring more benefits to the two peoples.

Xi stressed that both China and Malaysia belong to Asian civilizations and have benefited from, contributed to, and upheld economic globalization and multilateralism.

"China is ready to work with Malaysia to promote Asian civilizations, uphold strategic independence and the original aspiration of East Asia cooperation, support the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) centrality, firmly reject the Cold War mentality and camp confrontation, and jointly build a common home," he noted.

For his part, Anwar spoke highly of the Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi.

Malaysia is ready to work with China to ensure the implementation and effectiveness of relevant initiatives and advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

Anwar pointed out that Malaysia opposes camp confrontation and stands against being forced to choose sides. He also said ASEAN, as an independent force, will play an active role in avoiding the escalation of regional tensions. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 31, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)
The Indianapolis Colts have a new tight end.

The Colts have agreed to terms with Pharaoh Brown, a league source confirmed to IndyStar on Friday afternoon.

ESPN reported the news first.

Brown, who has 51 catches for 478 yards and two touchdowns since entering the league in 2017, plans to sign officially on April 9, one day before the Colts offseason program begins under new head coach Shane Steichen. Brown will then be eligible to hit the ground running in Indianapolis.

The University of Oregon product has played for Oakland, Cleveland and the Houston Texans. This is what you should know:

Pharaoh Brown went to Oregon, then went undrafted

Oregon wide receiver Darren Carrington, left, celebrates his touchdown with tight end Pharaoh Brown during the second half of the Rose Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal against Florida State, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Brown, 28, is from Ohio but decided to go to college at Oregon. During his time with the Ducks, he was named first-team All-Pac 12 in 2014 and 2016.

While he was not drafted in 2017, Brown signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent. He returned to Ohio in 2018 when he signed with the Browns. Brown had two stints in Cleveland (2018-2019, 2022).

He played for the Texans from 2020 until 2022.

Anthony Richardson: Lord knows what my ceiling is. Will Colts be the team to find out?

Pharaoh Brown is known as a blocking tight end

Some tight ends play more of a pass-catching role, but Brown has been known as a blocker. Brown, listed at 6-6, 258 pounds, said in 2022 he lost 18 pounds because blocking tight ends get paid the league minimum.

I was a fat guy last year, Brown said, via the Houston Chronicle. One of the linemen just told me, Im proud of you, man. You were an O-Line tight end last year, and now youre out there catching balls. I told him I got a new financial advisor and they told me that the blocking tight end gets the minimum.

Here's a quick audio clip of me breaking down the #Texans power run game. Despite the Jaguars selling out for the run, we used Pharaoh Brown and Max Scharping to block and escort Mark Ingram, while he finished the job.



Full video dropping at 12pm CT: https://t.co/Nto9U8377w pic.twitter.com/iGyA883Eqc  Jordan Pun (@Texans_Thoughts) September 15, 2021

No. 1 blocker Pharaoh Brown! pic.twitter.com/wTHoRotV94  Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) December 20, 2020

Pharaoh Brown highlights

Former Oregon TE Pharaoh Brown with a major touchdown for the Houston Texans. #ProDucks pic.twitter.com/GtF3EEeEPV  Kevin Wade (@KwadeSays) January 4, 2021

#Texans Pharaoh Brown appreciation clips:

Brown runs a simple short route to the flat that he creates into a big YAC play due to his imposing size over Pats DB pic.twitter.com/LkE3to6JGs  Jair Lopez (@TXNFootball) November 23, 2020

Pharaoh Brown underneath sets up a huge third-and-3 pic.twitter.com/I6fY5jBcML  Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) December 26, 2021

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts, Pharaoh Brown agree to terms. 3 things to know about tight end
The Cincinnati Bengals were unlikely to leave the defensive line unaddressed going into the upcoming draft.

That idea proved true on Friday with the team quietly signing former Ohio University standout Tarell Basham.

Basham was a third-round pick in 2017 by the Indianapolis Colts. He was waived in October 2018 and claimed by the New York Jets, then signed by the Dallas Cowboys in March of 2021, then waived late in 2022, where he signed with the Tennessee Titans.

Along the way, Basham has played all over the field, drumming up 11 sacks and five forced fumbles. A brief glance at the sheet shows hes never played more than 64 percent of the snaps for a defense so far and has lined up on the ends of the line, inside and even at linebacker.

Thats exactly what the Bengals want, of course. Versatility and experience are a theme of Lou Anarumos scheme, so expect to hear plenty about how Basham will line up all over the defense in a rotational role.

At this stage of free agency, its surely a cost-effective move, too, meaning little risk but a potentially high reward.

As an added bonus to what looks like a nice value, Bashams arrival wont cause the Bengals to avoid adding to the pass-rush via the draft. Theres a good chance he can provide great competition for the likes of Jeff Gunter in camp, too.

As a whole, Basham isnt the biggest splash for the Bengals by any means, but hes a meaningful one as yet another addition capable of flourishing within Anarumos scheme.

More Latest News!

Bengals sign free agent DL Tarell Basham Bengals target Kentavius Street signs with Eagles in free agency Bengals will host Oklahoma State's Tyler Lacy on pre-draft visit

Story originally appeared on Bengals Wire
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynold's condemned what she called a "politically charged indictment" of former President Donald Trump on Thursday.

A New York grand jury indicted Trump on unspecified criminal charges in a case that marks the first time a former president has been charged criminally. The indictment was confirmed by Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, the Associated Press reported.

Iowa Republicans lined up Thursday to defend the former president and criticize the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Although the charges were not made public, the grand jury had been investigating hush-money payments to two women who reportedly had sex with Trump. The outline of those payments became public after he was elected in 2016, and more details were revealed in sworn testimony as Trump served in the White House.

More: 'Here we go again': In Iowa, Pence calls Trump's possible indictment 'politically motivated'

Reynolds called the indictment a "sham," arguing it "only serves as a reminder to Americans that there is a two-tiered justice system under Joe Biden."

While New York faces an open season for crime, the Manhattan DA is focused on arresting a former president. This is what an assault on democracy looks like  using government power to go after your political opponents  and its coming directly from those who proclaim to defend it," she wrote in a statement.

This isnt normal, it isnt justice, and its certainly not what America stands for.

More: Iowa Poll: Trumps Republican support erodes as DeSantis' favorability starts strong

While NY faces an open season for crime, the Manhattan DA is focused on arresting a former president. This is what an assault on democracy looks like  using government power to go after your political opponents  & its coming directly from those who proclaim to defend it. pic.twitter.com/bGZbVnu4hJ  Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) March 30, 2023

Trump has already denied the charges, has called his accusers liars and has threatened there would be "potential death & destruction" if charges were filed against him in the case.

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He has said also that he wouldnt quit the 2024 presidential race if indicted.

Sen. Chuck Grassley calls case against Trump 'incredibly weak'

Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said the indictment of former President Donald Trump "smells like politicization of our justice system."

Grassley also criticized Bragg for focusing on this case rather than "cracking down on recent crime in NY."

Former President Donald Trump endorses US Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, during Trump's rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sat. Oct. 9, 2021.

"Reported indictment of Pres Trump highlights increasing politicization of the state & federal justice system," he wrote on Twitter. "It's alarming. We must reverse this frightening trend."

Pres Trump was reportedly just indicted on an incredibly weak case after feds declined to prosecute Smells like politicization of our justice system Why isnt DA Bragg cracking down on recent crime in NY to keep public safe??  Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) March 30, 2023

On Friday morning, Grassley argued that Trump's indictment is a result of "pure politics" and an example of an unequal system of justice for those of opposing political parties.

"One system of justice for Dems another for Republicans. FBI has had information about Hunter and James Biden potential criminal conduct for several years & no prosecution. With trump its a different outcome," he wrote on Twitter.

Pure politics. One system of Justice for Dems another for Republicans. FBI has had information about hunter & james biden potential criminal conduct for several years & no prosecution With trump its a different outcome  Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) March 31, 2023

Sen. Joni Ernst says 'Iowans see right through' Trump indictment

Iowa's junior U.S. senator, Joni Ernst, took to Twitter to condemn the indictment of Trump in New York.

"This is politically motivated and Iowans see right through it. This far left, soft-on-crime DA has been fixated on going after the former president while crime in his city runs rampant. We need to restore confidence and faith in our justice system," she wrote.

This is politically motivated and Iowans see right through it. This far Left, soft on crime DA has been fixated on going after the former president while crime in his city runs rampant. We need to restore confidence and faith in our justice system.  Joni Ernst (@joniernst) March 31, 2023

Rep. Ashley Hinson calls indictment 'a political prosecution'

Echoing Reynolds, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-2nd, called the Trump indictment "politically motivated."

"A politically motivated indictment is wrong and dangerous. Alvin Bragg campaigned on taking on the former president  this is a political prosecution," she wrote in a Tweet following the announcement.

"Instead of trying to score points against political opponents, Bragg should focus on keeping New Yorkers safe. We will continue working to hold soft-on-crime DAs like Bragg accountable and restoring faith in our justice system," she added.

(1/2) A politically motivated indictment is wrong and dangerous. Alvin Bragg campaigned on taking on the former President  this is a political prosecution.  Ashley Hinson (@hinsonashley) March 30, 2023

Attorney General Brenna Bird: 'Our country deserves so much better'

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird alluded to the indictment of Trump in a tweet Thursday evening.

"Politics don't belong in prosecutions. Our country deserves so much better," she wrote.

Politics don't belong in prosecutions. Our country deserves so much better.  Brenna Bird (@BrennaBird) March 31, 2023

Iowa GOP chair criticizes 'Democrats misplaced priorities'

Jeff Kaufman, the chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, criticized the indictment of Trump on Twitter.

"Violent crime is skyrocketing in New York while dangerous criminals are being let back onto the streets, but the Manhattan DA is choosing to focus on settling political scores. A sad reflection of Democrats misplaced priorities," he wrote.

Violent crime is skyrocketing in New York while dangerous criminals are being let back onto the streets, but the Manhattan DA is choosing to focus on settling political scores. A sad reflection of Democrats misplaced priorities.  Jeff Kaufmann (@kaufmannGOP) March 31, 2023

Information from USA Today was used in this article.

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds calls Donald Trump indictment a 'sham'
A Shavit rocket launches the Ofek 13 radar spy satellite to orbit on March 29, 2023.

A Shavit rocket launches the Ofek 13 radar spy satellite to orbit on March 29, 2023.

Israel launched the newest addition to its Ofek series of spy satellites early Wednesday (March 29), according to an overnight press release from the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMoD).

That release identifies "a test site in central Israel" as the launch site for the satellite , which likely refers to Palmachim Airbase, about 9 miles (15 kilometers) south of Tel Aviv.

Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who attended the launch, praised Israel's standing among space-faring nations.

Related: Q&A with Israel space chief Uri Oron

A Shavit rocket carrying Israel's Ofek 13 radar spy satellite arcs toward orbit on March 29, 2023.

"The successful launch of the satellite is yet another important example of the Israeli defense establishment's groundbreaking innovation. Israel has already proved its diverse space capabilities many times and is one of very few countries to possess such capabilities  capabilities that we continue to develop and strengthen," Gallant said in the press release .

Ofek 13 was manufactured by the government-owned company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and launched atop a Shavit rocket on a westward trajectory, over the Mediterranean Sea. Israel's Shavit small-satellite launcher debuted in 1988, when Ofek 1 was placed in orbit. Since then, the nation has been steadily improving the spacecraft series' capabilities.

"The Ofek 13 is the most advanced of its kind, with unique radar observation capabilities, and will enable intelligence collection in any weather and conditions of visibility, thus enhancing strategic intelligence," IAI President and CEO Boaz Levy said in the IMoD press release.

Related stories:

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 SpaceX launches Israeli reconnaissance satellite, lands rocket in final flight of 2022

 Israel signs Artemis accords for moon exploration

The launch came amid unrest in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been stoking tensions recently throughout Israel's legislative bodies and populace with his attempts to overhaul Israel's judicial system. Nationwide protests against Netanyahu and members of his government have heightened, some escalating to violence.

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Gallant is among those who has resisted the proposed changes, prompting Netanyahu to publicly fire him over the weekend. (Gallant still seems to be serving as Defense Minister, however.)

Netanyahu's previous terms as prime minister were accompanied by investigations into fraud, bribery and breach of trust allegations against him.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and other agency leadership welcomed a delegation of Israeli representatives to NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Monday (March 27). NASA posted an album of photos of the visit to the agency's Flickr account , including a photo of Nelson with Ofir Akunis, Israel's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology.
Jenny Lewis has announced details of her new album, JoyAll, and shared the first track from it in Psychos.

The record  Lewis fifth solo LP  follows 2019s On The Line and will be released on June 9 via Blue Note/Capitol Records.

JoyAll began life on tour before the pandemic hit but really began to take shape during the coronavirus-enforced lockdown. During that time, the musician joined a virtual songwriting workshop led by Beck, where participating artists were challenged to write a song a day for a week. The guidelines would be prompts like write a song with 1-4-5 chord progression, write a song with only cliches, or write in free form style, Lewis explained. The first song I submitted to the group was Puppy and a Truck.

That single was shared in 2021 and is now joined by Psychos, JoyAlls opening song. Why do you come around, boy? Lewis asks on the breezy, country-inflected track. Im not a psycho/Im just trying to get laid/Im a rocknroll disciple/In a video game.

JoyAll was made with Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton) and his house band. It was recorded at Nashvilles historic RCA Studio A, while Lewis wears an outfit that once belonged to Nashville songwriter Skeeter Davis on the cover.

The musician will support the release of the new record with a run of dates across the US this summer, kicking off in Nashville on June 2. She will appear at numerous festivals, including Bonnaroo and Summerfest, and will join Beck and Phoenix on their co-headline tour for three dates in Oregon and California. You can find Lewis full tour itinerary and ticket details on her official website.

Pre-order JoyAll.

JoyAll tracklist:

1. Psychos

2. JoyAll

3. Puppy And A Truck

4. Apples And Oranges

5. Essence Of Life

6. Giddy Up

7. Cherry Baby

8. Love Feel

9. Balcony

10. Chain Of Tears

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.
Jeremy Renner poses for photographers upon arrival at the UK Fan Screening of the film Hawkeye. Renner will appear in person at the world premiere of his new Disney+ show Rennervations. | Vianney Le Caer, Invision via Associated Press

Jeremy Renner will be attending the world premiere of his Disney+ show  which falls roughly three months after a severe snowplow accident landed him in the ICU with more than 30 broken bones.

It will mark his first press event since he sustained blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries after getting run over by a 14,000-pound PistenBully near his home in Reno, Nevada, on the morning of Jan. 1, per Variety.

Related

What is Rennervations on Disney+?

Rennervations, a four-part docuseries, features Renner and expert builders traveling around the world to repurpose decommissioned government vehicles for communities in need.

I decided to reimagine, repurpose and renovate these vehicles, Renner said in the Disney+ trailer, which came out earlier this month and has more than 1 million views, per Deseret News. And I wanted to do it for communities and help kids in need all over the world.

I love that my great friends turn out to be pretty exceptional humans across the board #rennervations @DisneyPlus https://t.co/ouTrDORa1r  Jeremy Renner (@JeremyRenner) March 29, 2023

All four episodes will hit Disney+ on April 12, and the show appears to have been filmed before Renners accident, CNN reported.

This is one of my biggest passions and its a driving force in my recovery, Renner previously said in a statement, according to CNN. I cant wait for the world to see it.

Related

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How is Jeremy Renner doing?

Since his two-week stay in the hospital  where he celebrated his 52nd birthday  Renner has regularly kept his fans updated on his recovery.

Most recently, the Hawkeye actor shared a video that showed him walking on an anti-gravity treadmill, Good Morning America reported.

I now have to find OTHER things to occupy my time so my body can recover from my will. #minduful #intended #recovery pic.twitter.com/TuDFSMVJHY  Jeremy Renner (@JeremyRenner) March 26, 2023

Last month, in an interview with Access Hollywood, Renners friend and Hurt Locker co-star Evangeline Lilly shared how shocked she was by Renners progress.

I walked in his house and got chicken skin, cause I was like, Why are you mobile? Why are you mobile? Whats happening? Lilly said, per USA Today. 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. Its a straight-up miracle.

Hes made of something really tough, that guy, she continued. Youve always been able to see that in him, and he is recovering incredibly, and Im so grateful.

Related
President Joe Biden condemned a wave of state-level attempts to strip gender-affirming care from transgender Americans and celebrated trans and nonbinary people as some of the bravest people I know in his proclamation recognising Transgender Day of Visibility.

The International Transgender Day of Visibility, recognised annually on 31 March, seeks to celebrate trans people and bring attention to violence and discrimination against trans people worldwide.

We see them, they belong, and they should be treated with dignity and respect, Mr Biden said in his proclamation on 30 March. Their courage has given countless others strength, but no one should have to be brave just to be themselves. Every American deserves that freedom.

There are nearly 2 million people living in the US who identify as transgender, representing fewer than 1 per cent of all Americans. Yet states are increasingly engaged with legislation and policies to restrict or eliminate access to gender-affirming medical care and other support systems, terrifying families and hurting kids who are not hurting anyone, Mr Biden said.

At least 10 states have enacted laws or policies banning gender-affirming care for young trans people, and more than a dozen others are considering similar measures. More than half of all trans youth in the US between the ages of 13 and 17 are at risk of losing access to age-appropriate and medically necessary gender-affirming care in their home state, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Trans people are also four times more likely than cisgender people to be the victim of a violent crime, including rape and assault, according to a 2021 study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. The killings of trans people have more than doubled from 2017 to 2021, when at least 59 trans people were killed in homicides, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.

An epidemic of violence against transgender women and girls, in particular women and girls of colour, has taken lives far too soon, said Mr Biden, pointing to last years mass shooting inside a Colorado Springs LGBT+ nightclub as another painful example of this kind of violence  a stain on the conscience of our nation.

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The presidents proclamation urges Congress to pass the Equality Act to extend long-overdue civil rights protections and federal antidiscrimination rules to LGBT+ people.

Transgender Americans shape our nations soul  proudly serving in the military, curing deadly diseases, holding elected office, running thriving businesses, fighting for justice, raising families, and much more, Mr Biden added.

As kids, they deserve what every child deserves: the chance to learn in safe and supportive schools, to develop meaningful friendships, and to live openly and honestly. As adults, they deserve the same rights enjoyed by every American, including equal access to healthcare, housing, and jobs and the chance to age with grace as senior citizens. But today, too many transgender Americans are still denied those rights and freedoms, according to the proclamation.

His pointed to his administrations executive actions supporting LGBT+ people in schools and in the military and his approval of the Respect for Marriage Act into law, which enshrines marriage equality protections affirmed by the US Supreme Court.

Together, we also have to keep challenging the hundreds of hateful state laws that have been introduced across the country, making sure every child knows that they are made in the image of God, that they are loved, and that we are standing up for them, he added.

The statement comes one day after Republican lawmakers in Kentucky and West Virginia passed state bans on gender-affirming care, and as GOP officials and far-right activists seize on the mass shooting inside a Nashville school to amplify anti-trans rhetoric and build support for legislation targeting LGBT+ people.
Mexican soldiers on patrol before the transfer of the bodies of two Americans kidnapped in Matamoros on March 9. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

Four Americans were abducted in Mexico this month in an incident that left two of them and a bystander dead.

The city where the incident happened, Matamoros, is a gathering place for migrants seeking to enter the US.

The incident and others like it highlight the vulnerability that thousands of migrants now face.

The March 3 abduction of four Americans in the Mexican city of Matamoros, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas, was not the first such crime by Grupo Escorpiones, an armed branch of the Gulf Cartel.

Weeks earlier, the group kidnapped and held for ransom a family of five that it learned had tried to cross the Rio Grande without paying the "cuota," an extortion fee the cartel demands from anyone looking to enter the US.

The difference was that the people kidnapped on March 3 were not migrants but four Americans traveling to Mexico for a cosmetic procedure. The abduction left two of the Americans and a Mexican bystander dead.

Initial reports indicated that authorities suspected that the four kidnapped Americans had been confused for Haitian migrants, whose numbers in Matamoros have increased in recent weeks.

The incident sparked strong reactions in the US and an unusually swift response from the Mexican government. It also revealed an overlooked trend: the extreme vulnerability of the thousands of migrants who have been stuck in Mexican border towns for the past three years.

Mexican officials display a photo of man detained during the rescue of American citizens kidnapped in Matamoros at a press conference on March 7. Hector Vivas/Getty Images

A growing number of migrants have entered Mexico in recent years with the goal of reaching the US. Many come from countries in Central America, but increasing numbers are traveling from South America, the Caribbean, and more distant regions. For many, the journey has been halted by immigration restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, some pandemic-related, which the Biden administration has largely maintained.

As thousands of migrants huddle along the US-Mexico border waiting for their immigration processes to play out, cartels are preying on the new and vulnerable population.

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"We feel like we are being kidnapped inside this city," Fedler Dominic, an Haitian migrant in Matamoros, told Insider in a phone interview. "We can't get across because we need to wait, but we also can't leave because we could get kidnapped or forced by" members of the Gulf Cartel "to do things we don't want to do."

Dominic lives in an encampment right next to the Rio Grande along with other 7,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, Haiti, and Cuba, according to official figures.

The encampment has grown each month for at least two years after the US blocked admissions under Title 42, a longstanding law that the Trump administration invoked during the pandemic to stop and expel migrants seeking asylum. Title 42 is now set to be lifted on May 11.

Mexican criminal organizations have forced several migrants at the camp to work for them, either by selling drugs on the street or running human-smuggling rings.

Haiti migrants charge mobile phones at a camp in Matamoros on November 30. John Moore/Getty Images

"One of the most urgent vulnerabilities migrants are facing today in Matamoros is the fact that they are forced to stay in empty lots or on the riverside, exposing them to diseases but also to criminal organizations," Glady Canas, a pro-migrant activist, told Insider.

Canas said that the first few months of 2023 have been even worse for migrants in the city than 2018, when many migrants congregated in improvised tents waiting for a chance to cross the border.

"Migrants are being extorted, threatened, and kidnapped even by the same local authorities," Canas said.

In April 2022, three migrants, including a man from Peru, were kidnapped in Nuevo Laredo, another border city. They were abducted as they headed to a local shelter only hours after being expelled by US authorities under Title 42, according to reports at the time. They had to pay several thousand dollars to be freed and later told authorities there were 20 other kidnapped migrants at the house where they were held.

"You can't basically move from the camp," Manuel Velazquez, a Cuban migrant in Matamoros, told Insider. "No one wants to even go to the corner store to get food or water, because those people are out there just preying on us, especially men," Velazquez said, referring to cartel members.

Velazquez said that earlier this year two men approached him and asked if he wanted "to make some money" by giving them information about other migrants in the encampment.

Mexican soldiers stand guard outside the morgue holding the bodies of two Americans killed in Matamoros, on March 7. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

"They wanted me to snitch when other migrants tried to cross or if they were planning on leaving the camp or buying drugs, that kind of stuff. Of course I said no very respectfully," Velazquez said.

The state of Tamaulipas, where Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo are located, has had high levels of violent crime, especially against migrants, for years. The situation has only worsened with the influx of migrants. In 2021, the state was among the worst in Mexico in terms of migrant kidnappings and human trafficking, according to official figures.

Matamoros is less violent than other Mexican cities, likely because it is mostly controlled by a single group, the Gulf Cartel, though competing factions within the cartel are responsible for violence near the border in northeastern Mexico.

"Matamoros is widely controlled by a single cartel, the Gulf cartel, which brings down the violence, but at the same time they hold a sort of monopoly in the city," Raul Garcia, a former Homeland Security Investigations special agent in Matamoros, told Insider.

Cartel control, US restrictions on legal immigration, and the militarized response to insecurity promoted by the US and Mexican governments have left those migrants to suffer, often in silence.

"We don't want the attention. That's why we don't even go to the police. All we want is to wait in line to do things right and be safe in the US, away from the gangs in our country and away from what is happening here," Dominic said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Apparently, paper crowns aren't fit for an actual king.

Jane Barlow-WPA Pool / Getty Images; Papin Lab / Shutterstock

Last December, the gem-studded gold-framed St. Edward's Crown was quietly removed from its display at the Tower of London and transported to an undisclosed location so it could be re-sized in time for King Charles coronation in May. In a statement, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the five-pound, 362-year-old crown was undergoing modification work in advance of the ceremony.

Although King Charles still has to wait another month-plus before he can wear his official headgear, he has been offered a temporary replacement. His Majesty and Camilla, the Queen Consort, took their first state visit to Germany earlier this week, and during a stop in Berlin, someone in the crowd offered him a Burger King crown.

A group of spectators  all wearing cardboard BK crowns  shook hands with Charles, and one man tried to give him a crown of his own. Thats for you, if you want it, he said. Charles laughed and said Im alright. (Of course he is: no offense to Burger King, but the man does have access to the kind of crowns that are studded with chicken nugget-sized diamonds.)

Related:King Charles Has Banned Foie Gras at Buckingham Palace, Other Royal Residences

According to The Evening Standard, Charles and Camilla were enthusiastically received by the 1,500 people who lined the streets near the Brandenburg Gate. Some spectators waved signs and flags, while others had gifts for their Royal visitors. One man gave him a series of photographs of him serving [Charles] fish and chips during one of his previous trips to Germany.

Earlier this month, a woman in Colchester gave Camilla her own Burger King headgear during the Royals visit to the city in southeast England. A last minute gift, Liberty Williams said, handing Camilla the fast food chain crown. Oh lovely, thats very nice of you, the Queen Consort replied. Burger King!

King Charles will officially be crowned on Saturday, May 6. If you havent scored an invite to Westminster Abbey, you could always go to Dallas, Texas, instead. Thats also the day that Darren McGrady, a former chef at Buckingham Palace, will be opening his latest fish-and-chips truck.



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Theres no dress code for that ceremony, but we know where you could probably pick up a couple of paper crowns.



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Read the original article on Food & Wine.
People pick tulips at a tulip show in celebration of the upcoming International Women's Day in Los Angeles, the United States, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Liu Yilin/Xinhua)

With the lifting of county, state and federal COVID-19 emergency orders, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health continues to ensure easy access to free vaccines, boosters, tests and therapeutics, public health officials said.

LOS ANGELES, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Los Angeles, the most populous county in the United States, will end its local public health emergency for COVID-19 on Friday, authorities said.

"As the longest emergency in L.A. County history draws to a close after 1,122 days, we honor the 36,000 who lost their lives and reflect on the opportunity to serve the public during this challenging time," wrote county officials in a tweet.

The local state of emergency for COVID-19 was initially proclaimed on March 4, 2020, in Los Angeles County, home to over 10 million residents.

The county, once one of the hardest-hit parts in the United States amid the pandemic, reported 1,269 new COVID-19 cases and 24 new related deaths earlier this week, bringing the countywide tallies to over 3.72 million cases and 35,994 deaths as of Tuesday, according to the latest update of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

"The end of the emergency doesn't mean the end of L.A. County's support for residents who continue to struggle with COVID-19 and its impacts," county officials tweeted.

They noted in a statement that this means changes in some programs but many services will continue to be available to support residents in the county.

With the lifting of county, state and federal COVID-19 emergency orders, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health continues to ensure easy access to free vaccines, boosters, tests and therapeutics, public health officials said in a statement last week, urging local residents to maintain sensible precautions to minimize disruptions at worksites, schools and health care facilities caused by COVID-19 outbreaks.

The COVID-19 emergency state in California, the most populous state of the United States, officially ended on Feb. 28, nearly three years after Governor Gavin Newsom issued the country's first statewide stay-at-home order. In January, the White House announced its plan to end the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency on May 11. 
King Charles got hands on as he visited the Brodowin organic farm

King Charles got hands on with messy cheese making during his and Queen Camillas tour of Germany and he looked like he was having the time of his life.

His Majesty threw himself into cheese making during a visit to the Okodorf Brodowin organic farm in Germany.

King Charles looked to be having a brilliant time and later got to sample some of the delicious cheese.

This royal news comes as we revealed Prince William and Harry's special joint role at the coronation that King Charles has scrapped - even if Harry does attend.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla have undertaken their first international tour since taking on their new titles last year with a three-day State Visit to Germany ahead of King Charles coronation day in May. The royal couple started off in Berlin where they attended a State Banquet where fans got a glimpse of Queen Camillas favorite tiara. This was followed on March 30 with a visit to the German Bundestag (Federal Parliament) where King Charles delivered a speech and Queen Camillas bold fashion move caught our attention.

Later on they paid a visit to Okodorf Brodowin organic farm in Brodowin. It was here that King Charles got hands on with messy cheese making and he looked delighted to be so involved.

King Charles tries his hand at cheese-making during a visit to the Oekodorf Brodowin

Pictures taken from this fun and educational engagement show His Majesty with his hands in the cheese curds and ensuring they were settling into cylindrical-shaped molds. All of this was done with a huge smile on his face as he focused on getting the curds perfectly into the circles and he seemed to be having the time of his life.

The organic farm had even made some special Tilsiter cheese for the Kings visit with a crown print on the top in honor of His Majesty. King Charles was also presented with an impressive life-sized crown-shaped cake resting on an edible cake pillow for him to cut and sample during his visit to the farm in Brandenburg.

The Okodorf Brodowin organic farm strives to reduce the huge environmental impacts of agriculture and during his time there King Charles spoke with farmers, apprentices, cooks and retailers to discover more about their approach to sustainability.

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King Charles making cheese next to cheese produced for his visit

His Majesty has long been known for his own passion for not only the environment and conservation but specifically organic farming. He previously owned the 1,000-acre organic Home Farm close to his Gloucestershire home, Highgrove House.

However, in August 2020 he gave it up as he prepared for his future as King and it was confirmed by Clarence House in a statement that he wasnt renewing the lease. It was also reported that any new lease would be for 20 years and that this huge commitment whilst he would be taking over as King during that period was considered too much.

As per Hello!, a spokesman told PA, "The Prince of Wales will not be renewing his lease on Home Farm but will continue to farm organically at Sandringham."

Prince William and King Charles inspecting cattle at Home Farm

Last year The Observer reported that King Charles explained at an engagement how he had once been considered a complete idiot for pursuing organic farming.

One of the reasons I went organic 40 years ago was because I felt there was an overuse of antibiotics, he said. And I felt that if you overdo it, you end up with resistance. Anyway, thats happened. I was told I was a complete idiot for even suggesting going organic.
King Charles has pledged to strengthen the connections between the UK and Germany as he paid tribute to the enduring value of the two nations relationship on his first state visit of his reign.

Charles stressed in a banquet speech that he was utterly convinced the bond between Britain and one of the EUs leading nations will grow ever stronger.

He spoke in German to say he and Camilla were "deeply touched" by the welcome and he praised the "very special" nation.

He drew laughs from guests at the white-tie event when he referenced a British comedy sketch hugely popular in Germany called dinner for one, about an elderly aristocrat who dines alone while her waiter gets progressively more drunk as he consumes alcohol poured for her missing dinner guests.

The historic day saw the King and Queen Consort land at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Wednesday afternoon and they were then greeted with a 21-gun salute and a fly-past by two fighter jets after they emerged from the ministerial plane Voyager.

Pictured left to right: the German President's wife Elke Buedenbender, Camilla, Queen Consort, King Charles III and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attend a ceremonial welcome at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (AFP/Getty)

The couple were welcomed at the bottom of Voyagers steps by a line of dignitaries including the British Ambassador to Germany, Jill Gallard, and the State Secretary Dorte Dinger.

A guard of honour lined the red carpet walked by the couple who made their way to a waiting motorcade, which took them to the German capital, where they received a ceremonial welcome at the Brandenburg Gate.

In the shadow of Berlins Brandenburg Gate  a national symbol of peace and unity  Germanys president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and wife Elke Budenbender formally welcomed the King and Queen Consort, heralding a deepening of the post-Brexit relationship between the two countries.

The foursome posed for the waiting photographers with the famous landmark in the background before the national anthems of Germany and the UK were played.

The King inspected a guard of honour, accompanied by the president, before Charles, Camilla, the German statesman and his wife went on a brief walkabout meeting people waiting behind nearby crash barriers.

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Charles and Camilla later sat down to sign a book to commemorate the state visit at the Schloss Bellevue presidential palace.

At an event promoting UK and German climate and sustainability efforts, he praised the Kings green convictions and thanked him for making the personal gesture of choosing his country as the destination for the monarchs inaugural state visit.

Charles and Camilla said in a joint statement, released on their official Twitter account, it was a great joy to be able to develop the longstanding friendship between our two nations.
How to sniff out imposters and ensure youre buying the real deal, according to an Italian-American cook.

RomanBabakin/Getty Images

When buying Italian food products, you obviously want to make sure that what you're paying for is the real deal. The industry is flooded with dishonesty and imitations that prey on America's love of quality Italian products. For many companies, it's far more cost-effective to source and produce their goods in America and then slap an Italian-sounding label on so that a premium can be charged in the market. Of course, at the end of the day, what's more important than spotting the fakes is keeping an eye towards the quality.

What You Should Look For To Authenticate Italian Products

The market is rife with imposters for items like Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, San Marzano tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar. Thankfully, these ingredients are so prized in Italy that they are subject to a specific set of parameters in order to be called the real thing. This is called a DOP in Italy, which translates to "designated protected origin." This protection set forth by the Italian government specifies precisely how and where an item can be made to use the official name. In order to make sure you're getting an authentic item, look for the DOP seal on the label. It's a red and yellow logo with a sun motif; you'll usually see it at the bottom of the front-facing product label.

Related:25 Essential Ingredients in the Italian Pantry

Any actual Italian language on the label is also always a plus. Many imported products will have the nutrition facts in the Italian format with American nutrition facts printed as a sticker and placed on top; that's a good indicator the item was manufactured in Italy.

Common Fakes

AlexPro9500/Getty Images

San Marzano Tomatoes

San Marzano tomatoes are a strain of tomatoes that can only receive the DOP label if they are grown, harvested, and processed under special conditions in the San Marzano region of Italy. The seeds are widely available, and many domestic producers grow what are technically San Marzano-style tomatoes; they're the same seeds but are grown in different soil and conditions than the traditional Italian variety. These hothouse tomatoes taste much different than the authentic variety, but American brands try to charge just as much for these tomatoes by using the same name.

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In the case of San Marzano tomatoes, brands will use misleading verbiage to circumvent the truth that they're impostors. Look out for anything that says "San Marzano Style" or "Italian Style" when describing the tomatoes. Another dead giveaway is anything that alludes to tomatoes grown in America or elsewhere besides Italy.

Parmigiano Reggiano

Parmigiano Reggiano is another product that has DOP status from the Italian government. Before even looking for any DOP information, a good place to start is the name. The real-deal Italian cheese will be labeled as Parmigiano Reggiano, not simply, "Parmesan." Only one type of cheese can legally be called Parmigiano Reggiano, and that holds the DOP protection; everything else is typically a similar style. Some Parm-Reg fakes are actually produced in Italy, which can make it confusing when "Product of Italy'' is stamped on the label. That said, these will still generally be much closer to the authentic style (in terms of production method, flavor, and texture) than anything produced by Kraft.

Balsamic Vinegar

This may come as a shock, but most of the balsamic vinegar in grocery stores is fake by Italian standards. Authentic balsamic is quite expensive to make and import. The traditional process takes a significant amount of time with relatively little yield, so many brands try to replicate the flavor with cheaper ingredients that can be thrown together and don't require the traditional 12 years of aging. True balsamic vinegar is made in the Italian city of Modena and has the consistency of thick syrup. Many officials govern the entire process, from how the grapes are harvested to the type of wood the vinegar is aged in, which means the whole process is incredibly involved and expensive.

To spot real aceto balsamico, look at the label. A DOP seal is a good start, but the secret is in the ingredients  there should only be one: grape must. Additionally, authentic Italian balsamic vinegar always has a numbered, red wax seal at the top of the bottle, in line with the rules for its DOP.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is the most commonly counterfeited Italian food product, with oil from many countries being labeled as Italian. Olives grown or pressed worldwide are often shipped to Italy for processing, gaining them a "Mande in Italy" label, which is not technically untrue  but I think we can all agree is a bit dishonest. Look for an oil that denotes olives grown in Italy.

The more information on the label, the better; look for harvest and press dates or any language naming the region it was produced in, or type of olive used. Another thing to look for is single-origin oil; blended oils are almost always subpar and include olives from many other countries.

How to Spot the Posers

Beyond the DOP label, the price is one of the best ways to sniff out fakes. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. High-quality products cost money. A one-pound hunk of true Parmigiano Reggiano can cost upward of $20, while it's not uncommon to find a similar-sized piece of non-DOP Parmesan at your local grocery store for $5 to $10. The same goes for canned tomatoes. The cost reflects the time, energy, and resources that go into growing actual San Marzano tomatoes in Italy and shipping them abroad.

Related:Pancetta to Prosciutto: Everything You Need to Know About Italian Cured Meats

Pay close attention to the language used on the label; many producers trying to pull one over on shoppers regarding the origins and quality of their products will be intentionally deceptive. Phrases like "Italian Style" are common ways to suggest an authentic Italian product without authenticity. Beyond looking for "Made in Italy," look for specific cities or regions. Additionally, if there's any mention of American cities or states on the label or as qualifiers on the ingredients list, dont count on it being a true Italian product.
Striking Employees Block The Opening Of The Louvre Museum

Striking employees of the Louvre Museum in Paris set up a picket line on March 27, 2023 in protest against the pension reform. Credit - Vincent KoebelNurPhoto/Getty Images

Travelers hoping to visit the Louvre Museum in Paris were in for a surprise on Monday: instead of the Mona Lisa, they saw a crowd of protestors blocking museum entrances amid ongoing protests by union workers sweeping the city. The protests are the latest disruptions for those traveling to Europe this spring, as aviation, railway, and bus workers continue to strike over poor pay, working conditions, and other government policies.

Travel experts advise international travelers to expect and prepare for the disruptions well in advance of a busy travel season in Europe. While its unlikely the strikes will wipe out your travel plans entirely, there are ways you can circumvent unexpected roadblocksstarting with checking if your flights, hotel reservations, and itineraries overlap with any planned industrial action.

The most important thing for travelers to pack when going to Europe this spring is their patience, adds Michael Holtz, Founder, and CEO of SmartFlyer.

Where are the strikes happening and why?

Industrial action is expected to ripple across Europe on multiple days and in many countries.

The latest disruption for passengers occurred in France due to air traffic controller strikes, where workers have joined an unprecedented wave of industrial action against President Emmanuel Macrons unpopular reforms for pension, which will raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64. Additionally, tens of thousands of people are striking in various French cities as part of their workers unions, which includes train, metro and bus drivers.

European airlines have warned this may delay planes landing, taking off, or flying over French airspace. While French law dictates domestic flights must continue during strikes, international flights entering French airspace are not similarly protected. RyanAir, Europes biggest airline, is asking customers to sign a petition urging the European Commission to keep the skies open.

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Read More: Protests Sweep France After Pension Reform Is Forced Through by Macron

In Germany, two of the countrys largest unions went on strike earlier this week to demand higher pay at airports, ports, railways, underground services, and buses, leading Lufthansa Airlines to ground its flights through March 28. The airline advised travelers via email not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking for a flight. It also urged those who were planning to take a domestic flight to travel by train instead. More flight cancellations are expected this summer.

In the U.K., nearly a thousand border officers have striked on several occasions. At Londons Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, a 10-day strike over a pay dispute has been announced by security guards during the Easter holiday period beginning March 31, although Heathrow stated it will continue to be open and operational during this time.

Visitors to Italy are also advised to keep checking if strike announcements overlap with their travel dates as strikes are expected to disrupt transport across the country, with gas station workers taking to the streets to protest against the high prices of petrol. In Spain, 17 airports are affected, including Madrid, Barcelona and Tenerife, as ground staff working for Swissport Handling continue to strike over pay and working conditions until mid-April. (The planned action doesnt impact major airlines like Ryanair or easyJet.)

How can you plan your travel during a strike?

In most cases, an agreement is usually reached before strike action goes ahead, which means that travelers can hopefully avoid disruptions, says Sean Tipton from the ABTA, a trade association for the U.K. travel industry.

That said, some strikes will go ahead. So the next thing to do is to put an efficient contingency plan in place, said Tipton.

After the warning strike in rail and air traffic, many passengers were on the move in Bavaria, Munich, on March 28, 2023. Felix HorhagerGetty Images

Know all the details: Often, strike notices are posted weeks in advance. In most cases, the airlines or train operators will share critical information over email or text messages, but you should also do your own research on whether your trip might be affected by strike action. Check local news sites and airport authority websites as many will post a calendar of proposed strike action.

If possible, avoid dates when strike action is planned. But if traveling on those days is necessary, figure out alternate routes to reach your destination and take detours to avoid areas that may be impacted by the protests. Plan for your safety, too. For example, U.S. travelers can register for the State Departments Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to get current safety information and be contacted by the embassy in emergencies.

And finally, its always good travel discipline to have a backup plan, said Tipton. That can include figuring out alternate routes or means of travel; chalking up a different sightseeing itinerary; or planning what to do in instances where you may have to wait for the next available flight or train.

Usually, airlines or train operators are obligated to arrange alternatives for passengers affected by delays or cancellations. Being a member of frequent flyer clubs may enable you to access extra benefits like lounge access through your airlines. Experts also suggest packing everything in your hand luggage: That way, you can avoid baggage control issues, Tipton said.

What can you do if your flight or train is delayed or canceled?

In the worst-case scenario where your flight or train is canceled due to strike action, most airlines and train operators will arrange a replacement train or flight or issue a refund. In the instance of overnight transit, the airlines will also pay for your accommodation. Youll likely have to purchase food or other necessary items, so Tipton advises keeping all your receipts so that you can claim reimbursements from your airlines.

Another hack from Tipton is to purchase a through ticket where possible, which means booking all flights to your destination in one go, rather than through multiple, separate bookings. By law, through tickets protect customers by ensuring customers reach their final destination despite unexpected changes or delays. Thats a good protection if youre flying long haul, and where your travel involves separate flights, he said,

Holtz at SmartFlyer also recommends booking through a travel advisor, which can arm travelers with local fixers on the ground in case of disruptions or emergencies. Even if you hit a snag on your way to a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Loire Valley and your agent is still sleeping, youve got a local contact who can step in to help, he said.

Finally, think about taking out travel insurance. Some credit cards automatically entitle you to insurance that covers labor disruptions, but its helpful to check exactly what is covered and what the cards limits may be. Then, you can determine if you need to purchase additional coverage. You should always take out travel insurance, said Tipton, because without it, you could end up with potentially horrendous bills in case of medical or other travel emergencies.

In every instance, Tipton says the most important thing is to be aware of your rights. At the very least, you are entitled to ask for your money back if your flight was canceled, he said. Travelers can read more about their rights under the European Union rules, which also apply to travelers from Britain (which is no longer part of the E.U.).

Other tips and tricks to make your travel smooth and enjoyable

Holtz says that post-pandemic, travel has adapted to become slower in all the best ways. This means that creating room for flexibility and spontaneity is key.

By planning for a longer length of stay versus trying to combine too many things, you set yourself up not to be too stressed if the unexpected happens, he said.

And Tiptons last piece of advice might sound surprising: dont over-prepare by arriving at the airport earlier than necessary. Last summer, travelers worried about lining up in long queues at U.K. airports arrived six or seven hours in advance, which in turn created more chaos.

Suddenly, an airport that wouldve otherwise been empty became full. Its a self-fulfilling prophecy, Tipton warned.
WWII veteran Erle Donaldson

Bartlesville area WW II veteran Erle Donaldson and his son, Vincent Erle Donaldson of Owasso, who served in Vietnam, are two of 67 Oklahoma veterans who will take an all-expenses-paid Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight April 18 to visit the war memorials in Washington, D.C.

The senior Donaldson served in the U.S. Army from 1945-48, while his son served in both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy from 1974-2016.

We are honored to have the opportunity to take these courageous veterans to visit their war memorials in Washington D.C., said Vic Wheeler, president of the Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight. It is a privilege to be able to offer this experience to those who have given so much for our country. We could not do this without the support of our community, and we encourage everyone to get involved and show their support.

Vietnam veteran Vincent Erle Donaldson

The veterans and guardians will begin their journey with a welcome ceremony, dinner and overnight stay April 17 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa. Hard Rock is a sponsoring partner with Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flights.

The veterans will be transported early the next morning to Tulsa International Airport to take a chartered American Airlines plane to Washington, D.C., and will return that evening.

To learn more about volunteering with Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight, visit www.OklahomaWarriors.org or call 877-422-6943.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Local veteran and son to take Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.
In the latest batch of Love Is Blind episodes, fans saw Bliss make a return to the show after Zack ended things with her and proposed to Irina instead

Netflix Zack and Bliss

Warning: This post contains spoilers about season 4 of Netflix's Love Is Blind.

Love Is Blind's Bliss Poureetezadi may not have been the first woman Zack Goytowski proposed to on the show  but she has no hard feelings for the man she's always believed was her "person."

Fans were likely thrilled to see Bliss, 33, return to their screens in Netflix's newest batch of episodes, which dropped on Friday, after she was last shown getting dumped by Zack, 31, in the pods.

Episode 6 saw Zack meeting with Bliss for the first time since returning from Mexico, where he and ex-fiancee Irina Solomonova mutually agreed to call things off. (Irina, 26, even encouraged Zack to reconnect with Bliss when he returned to Seattle.) During his meeting with Bliss, Zack admitted that he made the "wrong choice" and begged her for a second chance.

Related:Love Is Blind's Bliss Was 'Disappointed' by Irina's Actions  Including Saying She 'Dodged a Bullet' with Zack

By episode 8, Zack and Bliss had fully rekindled their romance and were happily engaged, preparing for their trip down the altar.

Despite their ups and downs, Bliss tells PEOPLE she never had any doubts that she was meant to be with Zack  and because of that, was not fearful to open up her heart again.

"Going into this, I really was open to having a conversation because of the feelings that I had for him and because of the person that he showed me that he was," she says. "He never gave me any reason to not have faith in him and believe in him. He was always extremely honest with me  sometimes to a fault, in the pods. And so, everything that we discussed just made me really believe in him."

"I never felt like I was being manipulated or tricked," she continues. "I felt in my heart that I knew that this was my person. I felt like I knew he was making a mistake [with Irina]. I felt like he knew that he was making a mistake. I wasn't going to tell that to him and try to convince him. He needed to come to that on his own."

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She adds, "And I think ultimately it just comes down to my intuition. This felt so right to me, and I wasn't going to let my pride get in the way of that."

Monty Brinton/Netflix Bliss in the pods

Related:Zack's Love Is Blind Serenade Wasn't an Original Song  He Borrowed It from Ludo with the Band's Permission

Because of how the show is formatted, Bliss reveals that Zack was unable to reach out to her himself. Instead, procedures coordinated their meetup at a restaurant in Seattle.

"We didn't actually have a direct line of contact to each other. He actually reached out through producers to reach out to me," she shares. "So he and I didn't have any direct contact at all before we met up. And I was like, 'What's going on here?'"

Despite her surprise, Bliss agreed to meet him, and though she appears to be keeping it coy on screen, she says she could not deny the electricity between them.

"I didn't have any expectations necessarily," she notes. "But during that conversation, it was like that 'Oh, I know I was right' situation. I knew that I was right.... I know there's things I was definitely holding [in] because there was a very intense physical chemistry that really just shocked me when I walked in. So I was trying to hold that back a little bit. My smile, I'm trying to hold that smile down."

Netflix

Related:Love Is Blind: Irina Admits to Moments She Wasn't Her 'Best Self'  but Has No Regrets About Her Journey

Eventually, Bliss decided to let Zack in fully  leading up to episode 8 where he proposed on a boat overlooking Seattle.

Asked if she had any hesitations in agreeing to marry him so quickly after rekindling their love, Bliss says no. "It is a big decision ... but no, there really wasn't [any hesitation]. He just showed me the person that he is over and over again. I felt like I knew that he was my person, so I'm just like, 'Good. I was right.'"

She adds of the proposal: "Honestly, I was so shocked. I had no idea it was coming.... I'm glad I was surprised with it."

Though it appears to be smooth sailing for the duo, fans will have to wait two more weeks to find out if Bliss and Zack ultimately tie the knot at the altar.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The first eight episodes of Love Is Blind season 4 are now streaming on Netflix. New episodes will roll out Fridays through April 14.

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Read the original article on People.
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Love Is Blind season 4, episodes 1-8.

The honeymoon period seems to be over for one Love Is Blind couple.

In the first eight episodes (now streaming on Netflix), Jackie and Marshall got engaged in the pods, went on vacation in Mexico, and then moved in together back home in Seattle. But while they faced issues in their relationship during their tropical trip, things only got worse when they left paradise.

"I instantly knew once we came back from Mexico, once we started moving in and stuff, that's when we started to bicker," Jackie tells EW. "We were just getting irritated, and there was some conversation that me and him had that wasn't really appropriate, and disrespectful things were said. That's where I was just like, 'Yeah, I'm good. You go ahead, and I'm going to do me, and that's it.'"

Love is Blind. (L to R) Jackie, Marshall in episode 405 of Love is Blind. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix  2023

Netflix Jackie, Marshall

Episode 8, "Pick Me," reveals that Marshall temporarily moved out of their shared home after a massive fight with Jackie. "In this moment, this whole relationship with Jackie is very bleak," he says in the episode. "The other night, she says that I needed to boss up. The way that she made me feel in that moment when she said that I wasn't a man, that I wasn't doing grown-man stuff, that hurts."

When he returns a few days later, he finds Jackie packing her clothes. They fight again when she claims she never said Marshall wasn't "man enough." She insists she said she wanted him "to be more aggressive." "We don't have sex, bro," she says while not looking at him. Marshall tries to continue talking, but Jackie says he's giving her a migraine and tries to walk away.

Things get more heated when Marshall says he views Jackie as a "project" because she'd never been in a real relationship before. When she gets mad at that, he clarifies that he meant he sees "limitless potential" in her. He also says that being in a committed relationship and marriage means having tough conversations even when they don't want to, and that he loves her. The fight ends when Jackie breaks down crying in his arms and apologizes.

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Will Marshall and Jackie resolve their issues in time to walk down the aisle? Find out when new Love Is Blind episodes drop Friday, April 7, on Netflix.

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Warning: This article contains spoilers about Love Is Blind season 4, episodes 1-8.

One Love Is Blind couple is getting a second chance.

In the first eight episodes of season 4 (now streaming on Netflix), Zack Goytowski dumped Bliss Poureetezadi in the pods to propose to Irina Solomonova instead. But after their engagement crashed and burned in Mexico, he was ready for a do-over with the other side of the love triangle. He orchestrated a meet-up with Bliss at a restaurant back home in Seattle, and only a couple dates later, he proposed... and she said yes. Thankfully, the cameras were there to document it all, and for the first time in this franchise's history, one of the couples gearing up to walk down the aisle in the finale is not one who got engaged in the pods.

Love Is Blind

Netflix (2) Bliss, Zack

When EW spoke with Zack about getting a second chance with Bliss, he revealed that he knew his engagement with Irina wasn't going to work from the very first moment they met in person. "The mistake was not choosing Bliss, and I realized it when I told her that I didn't think we could get married," he says. "I knew pretty quickly at that moment that I had made the wrong decision, but I had to live with my choice, so I moved forward."

Despite his feelings of regret, Zack was committed to making things work with Irina in Mexico... until it became clear that was impossible. "I don't think that I would have tried to pursue something if things hadn't just ended with Irina independently," he says. "It's just not the type of person that I am. So things ended with Irina independent of Bliss, and Bliss and I met independent of Irina."

Love is Blind. (L to R) Zach, Irina in episode 405 of Love is Blind. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix  2023

Netflix Zack and Irina

As for why he wanted to get engaged to another person so quickly after ending things with Irina (literally just days later), he says it was a no-brainer. "When I met Bliss in person, the spark was there and I knew immediately that she was someone I could see myself spending the rest of my life with," he adds. "I was this close to proposing to her a couple of weeks prior, so I put a ring on it pretty quick."

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But his post-pod pursuit of Bliss didn't go as smoothly as he'd hoped. As viewers saw in episode 7, "Second Time's the Charm?," their second real-world date was kind of a disaster. Zack cooked dinner for Bliss in his apartment, and most of the dishes turned out inedible. "Did you see the steaks? Gordon Ramsey is going to have a heart attack," he says with a laugh. Despite the cooking fail, they went on a third date, which is when Zack popped the question to Bliss.

"What you saw was about as quick as it happened," he says. "What you didn't see is that we were texting and talking all night on the phone after we met [outside the pods]. We were in constant communication every day. When I was planning the proposal, I was like, 'How do you feel about pirate ships?' She was like, 'I like them.' Because that was the goal, I wanted to propose to her on a pirate ship, but I couldn't get one in time."

Episodes 1-8 of Love Is Blind season 4 are now streaming on Netflix. New episodes drop Fridays.

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A 25-year-old man from Pennsylvania died early Wednesday morning after crashing head-on into a police vehicle on Kirkwood Highway, New Castle County police said.

Officers were called to Kirkwood Highway near Limestone Road just before 1 a.m. after receiving reports of the wreck.

According to a witness, Herbert Arreola was driving east on Kirkwood Highway in a Volkswagen Jetta when he swerved to avoid hitting a car and then hit the center median, which caused his car to go airborne.

The car crossed into the opposite lanes of Kirkwood Highway, where a New Castle County police officer was driving their fully marked Ford Explorer. Arreola's car hit the vehicle head-on, police said.

RELATED: Police investigating after fishermen discover body and truck in Broad Creek in Laurel

Arreola was rushed to Christiana Hospital, where he died. The officer was also taken to the hospital and later released, the department said.

Police have not said whether they believe speed was a factor in the crash.

Got a tip? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2785. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware crash involving police vehicle on Kirkwood Highway kills 1
Martin Scorsese's Killers Of The Flower Moon headed to Cannes



Martin Scorsese

Its official: Martin Scorsese is headed back to the Cannes Film Festival. His new Apple Originals film Killers Of The Flower Moon was long suspected of being part of the lineup, but The Hollywood Reporter now confirms that the hotly anticipated drama will indeed have its world premiere at the esteemed French festival before it hits theaters in October 2023.

Scorseses last film to screen in official selection at Cannes was After Hours in 1986, for which he won the award for best director. He previously took home the Palme dOr for best film for Taxi Driver. The venerated directors latest entry is not yet confirmed for competition; the section will be announced with the rest of the festival lineup in mid-April.

Read more

Killers Of The Flower Moon, adapted from David Granns book by Scorsese and Eric Roth (Dune, A Star Is Born), is about a spate of serial murders of members of the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal, all of whom are expected to attend the festival alongside former Cannes judge Scorsese, per THR.

Though the full lineup has not yet been announced, there are already some buzzy selections on the menu for this years jaunt on the Riviera. Wes Andersons Asteroid City, which just debuted its star-studded first trailer, and Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny are both flying to France. The Weeknds controversial new series The Idol is also set to premiere out of competition. Ruben Ostlund, who was recently nominated for Best Director at the 2023 Academy Awards, will serve as president of the jury for this years festival.

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Scorseses Killers Of The Flower Moon, in partnership with Paramount Pictures, will have a limited theatrical release starting October 6 before opening wide on October 20, after which it will stream on Apple TV+. Cannes has clearly made peace with Apple because of its commitment to theatrical release, which is more than can be said for some other streamers we could name.

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TEHRAN, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Iranian police on Friday announced the seizure of the fifth large batch of narcotics in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan over the past seven days, according to the official news agency IRNA.

The batch contained 857 kg of opium and was seized in some simultaneous operations across the province over the past 24 hours, IRNA quoted Sistan and Baluchestan's Police Commander Doostali Jalilian as saying.

He noted that in addition to the seized opium batch, the police forces confiscated four cars and a motorcycle from the traffickers.

According to the IRNA, this batch of drugs seized by Iranian police is the fifth large seizure in the province in the past seven days. On March 24, the anti-narcotics police seized 1.66 tons of drugs and arrested four traffickers.

Two days later, the provincial police arrested four traffickers and seized 1.295 tons of opium after an armed clash. On Monday, the provincial police commander announced that they had seized 1.08 tons of narcotics in Sistan and Baluchestan. A day later, the police announced the seizure of 1.2 tons of illegal drugs. 
When the North Carolina House voted Tuesday to require sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration authorities  the third time in four years it has passed such a bill  three Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure.

One of those Democrats was Tricia Cotham, a Mecklenburg Democrat who represents Mint Hill and parts of east Charlotte.

House Bill 10 would require sheriffs to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they cant determine the citizenship status of someone charged with certain high-level offenses, such as murder, rape or violations of a domestic violence protective order. It would also require sheriffs to honor voluntary detainers issued by ICE. If a person subject to an immigration detainer is in the sheriffs custody, the sheriff would be required to take them before a state judge, who would order the person to be held for 48 hours or until ICE picks them up.

The bill is opposed by more than 120 local, regional and national organizations as well as a number of county sheriffs, including Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden. McFadden has vowed not to cooperate with ICE since his election in 2018; ending the countys 287(g) agreement was one of his biggest campaign promises.

Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed previous iterations of the bill in 2019 and 2022. But this time, the legislation passed the House with enough votes to potentially override a veto.

Opponents of the bill say it would jeopardize trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities and could lead to overpolicing. Rep. Laura Budd, another Mecklenburg Democrat whose district neighbors Cothams, said in committee that the bill is a smokescreen for racial profiling. She read aloud a statement from McFadden voicing his opposition to the bill.

I remain steadfast in my belief that the people of each county as reflected by the decisions of the Sheriff whom they elected should retain the ability to decide within the clear confines of the law as to what extent local law enforcement might cooperate with federal immigration authorities, McFadden said in that statement.

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Mecklenburg Countys 287(g) program sent more than 15,000 people into deportation proceedings between 2006 and 2018, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. But that doesnt mean that cooperation with ICE was protecting Mecklenburg County from 15,000 violent criminals. Even minor, non-violent offenses can send people into deportation proceedings, and in some cases ICE mistakenly detains people who are already U.S. citizens. The bills opponents also say ICE may sometimes issue detainers without probable cause.

House District 112, which Cotham represents, has one of the highest concentrations of Latino voters of any House district in the state. More than a fifth of the districts residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to 2020 population data.

Since being sworn in as a member of the House earlier this year, Cothams actions have disturbed some Democrats. On Wednesday, Cotham was one of three Democrats whose absence allowed Republicans to override one of Coopers vetoes for the first time in years. The successful override will result in a loosening of North Carolinas gun laws. Cotham said in a statement that she missed the vote because she was in the hospital receiving treatment for long COVID but is opposed to the pistol permit repeal.

Stefania Arteaga, co-executive director of Carolina Migrant Network, pointed out that Mecklenburg County voters overwhelmingly rejected cooperation with ICE when they elected McFadden in 2018 and 2022.

We are outraged by Rep. Cothams decision to vote in favor of HB 10, Arteaga said. Her decision to vote in favor of the bill is a slap in the face to voters, students and families who have seen up close how collaboration between sheriffs and ICE harms our community and makes us less safe due to fear of deportation.

Why did Cotham vote for a bill that could potentially harm her constituents or their families? Why did she vote for a bill that her countys sheriff does not support? If she isnt representing them, then who is she representing?

Cotham did not respond to multiple requests for comment asking why she voted for the bill. But elected officials are meant to be held accountable, and at the very least, she owes her constituents an explanation.

Paige Masten is a Charlotte-based opinion writer and member of the Editorial Board.
A magical love story! Melissa Joan Hart and husband Mark Wilkerson have a sweet romance that has been going strong for two decades.

The Sabrina the Teenage Witch alum first crossed paths with the musician in 2002 when they attended the Kentucky Derby. From the moment they met, Hart knew she met the man she was meant to be with.

In 2002, a girl from New York told her mother she met a boy from Alabama at the Kentucky Derby that she was going to marry, she wrote via Instagram in February 2018 recalling the beginning of her relationship with Wilkerson. 14 months later they were married in Italy, and within 5 years had 2 bouncing beautiful baby boys while living a blessed life in Los Angeles. Ready for some seasons and a change of pace, they moved their brood to the east coast where they added a third boy to their loving family in 2012 and lived happily ever after!

The couple, who tied the knot in Florence, Italy, had their nuptials broadcast on the ABC Family miniseries Tying the Knot.

"The most memorable part of my wedding was during the vows," the Clarissa Explains It All alum said in a 2009 interview with Woman's Day. "Mark was crying so hard and we were supposed to put our heads down, but his nose had filled up! I had my grandmother's handkerchief in my cleavage, so while the priest was speaking, I reached into my dress and everyone giggled  that was the only part of the day that didn't get caught on camera."

Three years after they walked down the aisle, Hart and the Course of Nature frontman became first-time parents when their son Mason arrived in January 2006. The twosome later welcomed sons Braden in March 2008 and Tucker in September 2012.

When the pair began to raise their family, they lived in Los Angeles as Hart worked on several TV projects in the late 2000s. They decided to move their family to Connecticut before they welcomed their youngest son. In 2020, the duo ultimately decided to relocate their brood to Nashville.

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Three years after their move, Hart revealed she and Wilkersons sons went to school close to where the March 2023 Nashville school shooting took place. While her boys were safe, the twosome assisted a group of elementary students as they evacuated during the tragedy.

We helped a class of kindergarteners across a busy highway that were climbing out of the woods and were trying to escape the shooter situation at their school, she recalled at the time. We helped all these tiny little kids cross the road and get their teachers over there, and we helped a mom reunite with her children.

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The Meridian Fire Department has issued cease-and-desist orders to four businesses and a chiropractor for using oxygen devices that fail to comply with state and federal regulations.

The oxygen devices, called hyperbaric chambers, are pressurized chambers in which users breathe a higher concentration of oxygen. Soft-sided hyperbaric chambers have been advertised by some wellness centers as a way to treat autism, Lyme disease and cerebral palsy, though theres no scientific proof they work for those conditions.

The cease-and-desist orders were issued to Meridian businesses using the soft-sided hyperbaric chambers, which dont comply with regulations because of their fire hazards and risks of suffocation. Many of the centers that use them do so without accreditation.

The businesses were also provided with copies of a bulletin issued by Idaho State Fire Marshal Knute C. Sandahl in January. The bulletin said that hyperbaric chambers must satisfy the requirements outlined by regulatory agencies, including those related to fire suppression, fire alarms and emergency planning.

Sandahl noted the bulletin does not apply to the use of the devices in private dwelling units, but is recommended.

Which businesses received the notices?

Joe Bongiorno, deputy chief of fire prevention at the Meridian Fire Department, delivered the bulletin and cease-and-desist letters to Restore Hyper Wellness, Karlfeldt Center, Idaho Brain and Body Institute and Scott Gibbons of BridgeTower Chiropractic, according to information obtained by the Idaho Statesman through a public records request.

If you have (soft-sided hyperbaric chambers) in your facilities in Meridian, please have them removed, Bongiorno said in the letters.

Restore Hyper Wellness, Karlfeldt Center and Idaho Brain and Body Institute did not respond to requests for comment from the Statesman. Gibbons, a doctor of chiropractic care, told the Statesman by email that his business sold the soft-sided hyperbaric chamber it was using upon receiving the cease-and-desist letter.

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The Statesman reported in August that a complaint to local fire authorities over safety concerns named Restore Hyper Wellness, a rapidly expanding company with locations in Meridian and Boise, and the Karlfeldt Center in Meridian.

What regulations do the chambers violate?

Hyperbaric chambers are regulated by the 2018 edition of the International Fire Code as adopted by the state of Idaho, according to the bulletin Sandahl issued.

Section 609 of the IFC requires hyperbaric facilities to be inspected, tested and maintained in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association Standard 99, which defines a hyperbaric facility as a building, structure or space that houses hyperbaric chambers.

Sandahl wrote that hyperbaric chambers should comply with the NFPA Standard 99, a code established to minimize the hazards of fire, explosion and electricity in health care facilities. The cease-and-desist letters delivered by Bongiorno said that soft-sided hyperbaric chambers do not meet NFPA 99 and the 2018 IFC.

Martin Gresho, a fire protection engineer consultant for Restore Hyper Wellness, previously said in a public comment on fire safety standards that the companys services are therapeutic, not medical, and so the code should not apply.

What are the safety concerns?

Soft-sided chambers, which are inflatable and sealed with a zipper, are at risk of explosions because of their high concentration of oxygen. A power disruption could also cause the chambers to deflate, suffocating the person inside. Hard-shell chambers, on the other hand, have much higher concentrations of oxygen but are manufactured to meet U.S. regulations.

The soft-sided versions are also not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in hyperbaric oxygen therapy except when treating people with altitude sickness.

The portable chambers were originally designed for divers and mountain climbers to use temporarily until they could be taken to a hard-shell hyperbaric chamber for treatment, according to the National Hyperbaric Treatment Center. Wellness centers claiming to use them for other ailments are providing off-label treatments.

In 2009, a soft-sided hyperbaric chamber in Florida caught fire and killed a 4-year-old with cerebral palsy and his grandmother, resulting in a $2 million settlement and leading the Florida Board of Medicine to revoke the medical licenses of five physicians.

And in 2011, a 19-year-old autistic man in North Carolina suffocated after falling asleep inside a soft-sided hyperbaric chamber used at home. The chamber was shipped to his home from a nearby clinic for temporary use.

Fire marshals across the country have halted the use of such chambers, including in Utah, Georgia and South Carolina, said Tom Workman, recently retired director of quality assurance and regulatory affairs for the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. The nonprofit supports hyperbaric medical research and has a hyperbaric facility accreditation program.

What are the chambers approved for?

Dr. Jason Quinn, an emergency medicine physician at the Saint Alphonsus Health System, previously told the Statesman that the biggest difference between medical and mild hyperbaric therapy is the pressure.

Hard-shell hyperbaric chambers, which are capable of reaching pressures much higher than their soft-shell counterparts, are typically used by physicians in hospitals and other medical clinics to treat conditions like decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning and diabetic foot ulcers.

Only four hospital-affiliated wound care and hyperbaric centers are accredited by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society in Idaho: the Saint Alphonsus Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine program in Boise, St. Lukes Health System in Meridian, Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello and Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Nampa.

Wellness centers, on the other hand, often tout mild hyperbaric therapy as treatment for a wide range of ailments, according to the FDA.

What are they not approved to treat?

If you are considering the use of a (hyperbaric oxygen therapy) device for yourself or a loved one, be aware that some claims of what it can do are unproven, the FDA says.

The FDA notes on its website that the devices are not proven to cure cancer, Lyme disease, autism, Alzheimers disease or COVID-19. However, some wellness centers claim the opposite.

The Statesman reported in August that the Karlfeldt Center in Meridian received a warning letter from the Federal Trade Commission in 2021 for unsubstantiated claims for coronavirus prevention and treatment. The letter cited advertisements and social media posts made or reposted by the center that said mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy could treat COVID-19.

Soft-sided hyperbaric chambers deliver 24% oxygen to the person inside, while hard-shell hyperbaric chambers deliver 100% oxygen, according to the National Hyperbaric Treatment Center.

The idea behind hyperbaric oxygen therapy and its success as a treatment option depend on flooding the body with higher levels of oxygen, to the National Hyperbaric Treatment Center said on its website. Unfortunately, you see that soft-sided chambers dont really offer much more than the air you naturally breathe.

Soft-sided hyperbaric chambers are significantly cheaper than hard-shell hyperbaric chambers, making the soft-shell chambers a more affordable option for wellness centers to buy.

Theyre claiming to treat all kinds of things under the sun that theres really no data for, Quinn previously told the Statesman. I would encourage patients to get the facts.

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Mexican officials said they are investigating who gave a possible "order" to keep migrants detained behind bars even as a fire grew at a Juarez migrant processing center.

In a news conference Wednesday from Mexico City, two officials said federal authorities are investigating possible homicide charges in the fire that left at least 38 people dead and dozens injured.

No charges were announced, but authorities said they would seek arrest warrants later in the day, including one for a migrant who allegedly was involved into starting the fire.

Conferencia de prensa de Seguridad https://t.co/pUz4U1nEi9  Gobierno de Mexico (@GobiernoMX) March 29, 2023

Sixty-eight migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Venezuela, Honduras, Ecuador and Colombia were being held Monday by Mexico's National Migration Institute when a group of them allegedly set fire to foam mattresses, filling the center with smoke.

A video circulated on Tuesday showing Mexican immigration officials and a private security officer walking by without attempting to open the cell door as smoke billowed. A migrant can be seen kicking at the door. The Mexican officials confirmed the video is being included in the investigative file.

The two officials appeared to place blame for the deaths in the fire largely on private, subcontracted security guards at the processing center in Juarez. The building sits at the foot of the Stanton-Lerdo international bridge connecting Juarez and El Paso.

Five of those under investigation for possible misconduct are private security guards, two are federal immigration agents and one is a Chihuahua state officer, federal Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said.

"Why didn't they bring the key and open the door and avoid this tragedy?" Icela Rodriguez said.

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Migrants in Juarez have grown increasingly frustrated as opportunities have closed to them at the U.S. border. The Biden administration's CBP One app allows some migrants to make appointments to present at a formal port of entry to seek asylum or an exception to quick expulsion, but the app hasn't been able to meet the high demand and frequently crashes.

In El Paso on Wednesday, hundreds of migrants crossed the Rio Grande to a U.S. border gate hoping to make a mass crossing  despite the likelihood that the majority will face quick expulsion to Mexico or their country of origin under the Title 42 policy.

Many of the men being held at the migrant processing center in Juarez had been expelled to the Mexican border city under the Title 42 authority, after crossing irregularly into the United States.

Mexico's investigation of the deadly fire has centered on guards who appeared to make no effort to release the men  almost all from Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and El Salvador  before smoke filled the building.

The deaths caused frustration, and may have played a role in a mass march late Wednesday afternoon by hundreds of migrants, who began walking toward a U.S. border crossing in the belief that American authorities would let them through.

These sorts of rumors are what led dozens of migrants to rush the Downtown Paso Del Norte international bridge earlier this month.

Jorman Colon, a 30-year-old Venezuelan migrant, walked hand-in-hand with his 9-year-old daughter, saying he had heard on social media that acquaintances had gotten through.

We want to turn ourselves in, Colon said, referring to the first step in the asylum process.

U.S. authorities have offered to help treat some of the 24 men still hospitalized in Juarez in critical or serious condition, most apparently from smoke inhalation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday said none of the men had been paroled into the country for medical treatment yet.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Mexico investigates deadly Juarez fire at migrant facility
(Independent)

Hundreds of Minnesota residents have been evacuated from their homes after a train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed overnight, sparking a large fire.

Kandiyohi County Sheriffs Office said in a press release that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe cargo train derailed at around 1am on Thursday morning in the town of Raymond, Minnesota.

Several train cars  carrying mixed freight including ethanol and corn syrup  burst into flames, the sheriffs office said.

Multiple fire departments and first responders were deployed to the scene where they have been battling to bring the blaze under control.

Local residents were told to evacuate their homes in the nearby area, with a half-mile evacuation zone set up around the crash site.

So far, there have been no reported injuries.

An emergency collection site has been set up at the Central Minnesotan Christian School in nearby Prinsburg for evacuated residents in need of a place to go.

As of around 5am, the sheriffs office said that the site remained active as the fire was being contained.

Members of the public have been urged to stay away from the town of Raymond until further notice.
Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo's new restaurant and lounge will celebrate its grand opening Friday.

Cache 42 Kitchen & Cocktails, located at 4202 Hacks Cross Road, Suite 121, will offer a lounge-like bar and dining experience.

Chef Daris Leatherwood is in charge of the kitchen. Leatherwood brings a wealth of experience to the restaurant, having worked as an executive chef for Ruths Chris Steak House, the American Empress riverboat cruise ship, as a personal chef for rapper Lil Wayne and most recently as the opening chef of Supper Club on 2nd.

Cache 42 operations manager Jason Spicer describes the food as "elevated fine dining." He said he expects dishes like the oxtails and lamb chops to be popular menu items.

Spicer said Moneybagg Yo has been involved in every detail of the restaurant.

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Cache 42 will have two different experiences: the Dining Room and the Living Room.

The Dining Room will offer an elevated dining experience. Reservations are recommended for tables, but walk-ins will be accepted for bar seating.

The Living Room is a hookah lounge that will feature clean hip hop music. While guests may mingle within the space, all guests must have a seat. Spicer said there will be no standing room and once every seat is taken, the lounge will be considered at capacity. To help with the flow, there is a two-hour maximum time allotment at each table. For now, the Living Room is open for walk-ins only, but soon guests will be able to make reservations for the space.

Based on photos online, the modern-styled dining room includes a variety of seating options, from regular tables to high-top tables to booths. Marble accents, crystal chandeliers and statement art posters add to the look of the upscale dining room and lounge.

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For the next month or so, the restaurant will be open for dinner only. Spicer said Saturday and Sunday brunch will be added in about four weeks.

There is no dress code other than no ball caps in the dining room, but Spicer said he hopes when guests see the space they will "have effort" when making dress choices.

The restaurant's soft opening kicked off March 24.

Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.

If you want to keep up with the tastiest news in the Bluff City  like the story above, sign up for our Eat Drink Memphis weekly newsletter for a hearty serving of stories on everything from restaurants to recipes. You can sign up here.

Cache 42 Kitchen & Cocktails

Where: 4202 Hacks Cross Road, Suite 121

Hours: 4-11 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday; 4-11 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday

Online: cache42kitchenandcocktails.com

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Moneybagg Yo opens Memphis restaurant, Cache 42: What we know
Linda Varela Adams knew something was very wrong when her son didn't call on her birthday in July.

The Billings, Montana mom said that's just who Jance Varela is: the kind of son who calls his mom for Mother's Day, her birthday and the holidays. The kind of son more worried more about others than himself.

Adams reported Varela missing right away. Nine months later, he's still missing.

Though police opened a missing persons file and assigned an investigator in July, they've never launched an active search for Varela.

So what happens when your only son goes missing and the police decide not to pull out all the stops to find him?

If you're Adams, you take charge of the search yourself.

Jance Varela pictured with his mom Linda Varela Adams in Billings, Montana around 2018.

Last confirmed sighting in June

The last confirmed sighting of Varela was at a bowling alley on June 1 in Fort Collins, Colorado, about 50 miles north of Denver and the area he moved to from Montana in 2018.

Adams' 60th birthday was July 1, something she said her son wouldn't have missed.

She told police that her son had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in May and that may be affecting his cognitive function. Varela also struggled with homelessness and opioid addiction following a surgery, Adams said.

Adams also told them that her son is not the type of person to abandon his family.

"He was a very loving person," she said. "He was the one that made sure people had a place to stay and food to eat."

Jance Varela has been missing in Colorado since July.

Police response

From the beginning, police determined that an active search for Varela wasn't warranted, said Kate Kimble, a spokeswoman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.

"There was no indication of foul play, there was no indication of any imminent risk to safety, and he's an independent adult," she said. "We have to balance those things ... Sometimes people decide to make a change in their life and cut ties with family or friends."

She said there was no evidence that Varela was cutting ties with family.

On Tuesday, nearly nine months after Varela disappeared, the department issued its first news release about his case, saying that new information investigators received about Varela has raised "concern about his wellbeing."

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Kimble declined to elaborate but said the news release is intended to cast a wider net and drum up new leads.

"We recognize that it's concerning for family that it's been months since they've heard from him." she said. "Our hearts are certainly with family."

A mother takes charge

A missing persons poster created for the mother of Jance Varela after she took charge of the search for her son.

From the start, Adams was frustrated at the lack of an active search for her son.

"I just didn't know what to do," she said. "I tried to generate any kind of law enforcement, action, which was just not going to happen initially."

So, for the first time in her life, Adams joined social media and made a Facebook page dedicated to finding her son.

She built a network of people who also became invested in finding Varela, including Justice Takes Flight, a local group that's been helping the families of missing people since 2018.

Since Adams began looking for Varela, she and volunteers have conducted vigils and ground searches, and continuously distributed fliers.

One of Adams' Facebook followers from Florida has paid for several billboards about Varela's disappearance, a woman from Australia helped update fliers about him, and a Colorado woman recently held up a poster about Varela on the Colorado Senate floor for National Missing Persons Day.

"I just never knew there were so many wonderful people in the world that are just like, 'Hey, I'll help you. Just because," Adams said.

A missing person billboard for Jance Varela is pictured in Colorado. It was paid for by a donor in Florida who sympathized with Varela's family's dogged search for him.

A familiar line

Adams' determination stands out among families of the missing, said Brittany Workman, founder and executive director of Justice Takes Flight.

"She's just been an amazing advocate for her son," Workman said. "Most families of missing persons are actively looking for them and trying to get answers, trying to get the picture and name out and everything. But she's on the next level."

At some point, many families can't take the emotional toll and take breaks from their search, sometimes for weeks or months. Not Adams.

"She's done it daily, even though it breaks her heart daily," Workman said. "It's really hard to watch because you really just want her to get the answers that she's looking for."

Linda Varela Adams uses a photo of herself and her son on her Facebook page to help get the word out about his case.

Workman said that police often are too quick to dismiss the cases of runaway teens, those experiencing homelessness and those suffering from addiction.

She recalled one case her group handled involving a man who walked outside for a cigarette and never returned.

"Police were like, 'Oh, he probably just took a ride somewhere,'" she said. "They wouldn't search around the property. The family found us after day two, we were up there by day three, and we found him dead within 15 minutes."

She said that's why her group is so passionate about on-the-ground searches and never giving up hope.

"There needs to be more support," from police, she said. "There needs to be more effort than just, 'He might have decided to go missing.'"

A group volunteers with Justice Takes Flight, including executive director Brittany Workman (second from left) and a search dog, are pictured during a search of Jance Varela.

'It's very hard.'

Kimble said the department hasn't dismissed Varela.

"People are coming from all sorts of circumstances in their life," she said. "It's not a deciding factor whether or not we're going to look for someone. Those deciding factors are foul play and the sense of imminent danger."

Adams said part of her understands where police are coming from when they tell people their loved ones might not want to be found.

"But I think family knows more about that person," she said, adding that it's been frustrating at times to be the main source for tips about her son. "Whatever comes to me, I pass on to them, and they do follow up on it. But it's very hard."

Linda Varela Adams holds a light and an orange ribbon during a candlelight vigil for her son in Colorado on Nov. 19, 2023.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Montana mom takes on manhunt for son, Jance Varela, missing since June
Looks like Napoleon Bonaparte now has his very own cruise.

Hot spots from the life of the cocky Corsican who almost conquered Europe (the Duke of Wellington sends his regards) are on the manifest on the new Napoleon Bonaparte: History and Heritage trip with French cruise company Ponant. The 20-night voyage aboard the ship Le Lyrial starts in the former French colony of Dakar, Senegal, and sails on to St. Helena, the British Overseas Territory in the middle of the Atlantic.

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Life wasnt a beach for Napoleon, but it will be for you aboard Le Lyrial.

Of course, St. Helena was never on Napoleons bucket list. He was banished there in 1815 after being captured in Belgium.

The cruise, which departs in October, follows the route taken by HMS Northumberland, the Royal Navy warship that escorted Napoleon, and the ride-or-dies who volunteered to join him in exile, to his new home. Two days at sea after leaving Dakar, youll get to kiss the ground at Georgetown on Ascension Island, the island where nothing makes sense, according to the BBC. Its where a garrison was established in 1815 to prevent Napoleons escape from St. Helena.

Then its back on Le Lyrial, your floating five-star hotel, for a few more days before you see St. Helena on the horizon. In the islands hub of Jamestown, youll discover conserved evidence of the emperors exile.

All the amenities that Napoleon lacked on St. Helena will be at your command while aboard.

While the emperor-in-exile had a rather hellish time dying from what was likely stomach cancer in St. Helena, Ponant promises youll love this natural fortress that offers a very diverse landscape, from steep cliffs to fertile lands covered with lush nature. Youll get to tour the Briars and Longwood House pavilions, where Napoleon was forced to live, and pay your respects at the Valley of the Tomb where his body lay for 19 years before being exhumed and sent back to France. His remains now reside at Les Invalides in Paris.

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Two more days at sea and its time to say goodbye to the ghost of Napoleon and hello to Christ the Redeemer. Despite the fact the Frenchman never made it to the Americas, your cruise ends in Brazil where youll have a few days of free time to explore. If anyone asks what youre going to do with it, you can quote from another famous figure who happens to share a name with the emperor: Napoleon Dynamite, who says Whatever I feel like I wanna do. Gosh!

Educate yourself in comfort in the spacious staterooms.

Whatever you do, youll be smarter when youre done. While at sea, live music is provided by Peter Hicks, a musician meets historian who specializes in songs that would have been on the Billboard Hot 100 during Napoleons reign. While Ponant has yet to reveal whether there will be a Napoleon impersonator on board, youll also have plenty of opportunities to rub elbows with experts well-versed in the whos who of the Battle of Waterloo (dont worry, you arent sailing there). Youll learn about the war of 1812 (not to be confused with our War of 1812) where Napoleon tried, and failed, to invade Russia (never fear, you arent going there, either).

Youll travel from Dakar all the way to Rio.

Some of the itinerarys conferences and lectures will even be hosted by Thierry Lentz, director of the Napoleon Foundation. There will also be screenings of films and documentaries about the Napoleonic era.

There is also plenty of luxury to be found in the ships 144 staterooms and suites; the vessel is outfitted with a spa, a fitness center and two restaurants. Youll also enjoy dinners inspired by the dishes and wines that were served to the emperor during his exile. Rates for the Napoleon Bonaparte: History and Heritage trip start at $13,080 for a Superior Stateroom and go all the way up to $58,280 for the Owners Suite.

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Republicans and Democrats across North Carolina began reacting almost immediately to news reports that former President Donald Trump had been indicted in a case related to hush money he allegedly paid to a porn star prior to his 2016 election.

Trump began teasing a possible indictment nearly two weeks ago. But attention around the courthouse relaxed after news broke earlier this week that the Manhattan grand jury which was hearing evidence in the case would recess until mid-April.

Then on Thursday, as Congress wrapped up its week in Washington for its own two-week vacation, the New York Times and others reported that Trump had been indicted. Trump becomes the first former U.S. president to face an indictment.

Within 30 minutes, Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville, put out a written statement saying that the indictment doesnt pass the smell test.

Last week, Tillis had said he questioned Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs timing and said evidence would reveal whether Bragg was politically motivated to indict Trump or if new information had come to light that led to a prosecution. He took a strong position following news that an indictment had been issued.

The Department of Justice already looked into the facts and decided there was no case to be made against President Trump, Tillis said Thursday. This is the same District Attorney who is notorious for letting violent crimes off the hook in Manhattan, but has been laser-focused on pursuing a politicized prosecution of a former president. Politics should never tip the scale of justice, and Congress has every right to investigate the conduct and decision-making of the Manhattan D.A.s office.

Tilliss colleagues tweeted out their own messages similarly criticizing Bragg as being soft-on-crime, but holding a political grudge against Trump.

Sen. Ted Budd, a Republican from Davie County, whose endorsement from Trump in the 2022 election helped him win his promotion from the U.S. House to the U.S. Senate, also weighed in.

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The Manhattan DAs partisan prosecution of President Trump is a disgrace, Budd tweeted. NYC has a real problem with violent crime. Instead of spending so much time targeting his political enemies, Alvin Bragg should focus on doing his job to keep the people of NYC safe.

Rep. Richard Hudson, who lives in Southern Pines and leads the National Republican Congressional Committee, tweeted his thoughts on the news.

Extreme partisan Democrats are weaponizing our judicial system against President Donald Trump in an unprecedented abuse of power, Hudson wrote. History will remember this as a dark day.

Rep. David Rouzer, a Republican from Wilmington, echoed Hudsons words.

This indictment is the most recent occurrence in what has become a disturbing pattern of weaponizing our government and legal institutions for political purposes, Rouzer wrote. Its interesting this is the same District Attorney who refuses to prosecute legitimate crime in NYC, yet indicts a former President on the basis of partisanship eroding the trust of the American public even further.

Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a Republican from Hendersonville who moved to Florida and who once said he considers Trump a father-figure, simply tweeted: Banana Republic. He later added Free him.

All of the Republicans who reacted have been endorsed by Trump in previous elections.

But Rep. Alma Adams, the lone Democratic member of Congress from North Carolina to make her thoughts known, tweeted that no one is above the law and added that those words are as old as the United States. The representative from Charlotte also said Trump is entitled to due process.

The State of New York has spent years meticulously building their case, and they secured an indictment not from political power brokers or the media, but from a grand jury of ordinary citizens, Adams said. Make no mistake, this is a sad day for our country. Justice doesnt celebrate, justice isnt vengeful and it doesnt find joy in accountability. Nevertheless, I am proud of our democracy and our legal system for renewing and refreshing our faith in our legal system of justice. No one, not even a president, is above the law.

Its not yet clear what charges Trump faces. The indictment remains sealed and he still needs to be served. It is believed that Bragg was building a case that Trump falsified business records to classify a legal fee as a settlement to actress Stormy Daniels, as part of allegedly paying her off to keep her quiet about a tryst.

It could be escalated to a felony if its connected to another crime, which would likely be a campaign finance violation.
Netflix was sued on Wednesday over No Limit, a fictionalized film that suggests a free diver deliberately killed his wife in a diving incident.

The French-language film is based on the true story of Francisco Pipin Ferreras and his wife, Audrey Mestre. They were a celebrity couple within the world of free diving, an extreme sport in which divers descend hundreds of feet without oxygen.

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Mestre drowned while attempting a dive in the Dominican Republic in 2002, after the device that was supposed to carry her to the surface malfunctioned.

The film tells the story of Pascal Gautier and Roxane Aubrey, a fictionalized version of the couple. Gautier is depicted as abusive and jealous of Aubreys success. In the climactic scene, the film strongly implies that Gautier sabotaged her compressed air tank, leaving it without enough air to bring her to the surface.

Ferreras filed a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that the film portrays him as a murderer. The film also shows Gautier choking Aubrey during sex, and both characters cheating on each other, leading to a confrontation just before the fatal dive.

I dont know how people can do something like that, Ferreras said in a phone interview from his home in Cuba. They turned the story around. They put it the way they wanted. That really hurt me.

The film includes a disclaimer saying that it is a work of fiction and that any resemblance to real people is coincidental. It also says that it is inspired by real events. At the end, there is a title card with Mestres photograph and a brief account of her death.

The writer-director, David M. Rosenthal, told Variety in an interview that the film was vetted by lawyers before going into production, and he does not think Ferreras has a case.

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This is a fictionalization of stories that were very much on the public eye  from documentaries to many articles and books about this, Rosenthal said. What I wrote is fiction, with fictional charactersIm sure hes trying to make a buck here by suing Netflix.

Netflix released the film in September, and for a couple of weeks it was the most popular non-English movie on the platform.

The couples story has been told in several ways over the last 20 years. An ESPN documentary was critical of Ferreras and raised concerns about the safety standards in place at the time of the fatal dive. Ferreras former business partner, Carlos Serra, also wrote a book condemning Ferreras and holding him responsible for Mestres death.

Ferreras has maintained that Mestres death was a tragic accident and pointed to a report that attributed the malfunction to a series of technical factors. He also wrote his own book. At one point, James Cameron was working with him on a film project, and Jennifer Lawrence was also rumored to be on board in the part of Mestre. Ferreras is seeking to release his own documentary about the story.

Ferreras said that the makers of No Limit did not contact him. He said watched the film about a week after it was released and had to stop midway through.

As the movie was going on I started suffering and suffering, he said. Everything was very disturbing. Imagine  without knowing  you see a movie thats about your life and your story with your late wife, and it gets you by surprise.

They put Audrey like she was cheating on me, he continued. She was an angel.

Since its release, he said he been bombarded with accusatory comments on social media.

His lawyer, Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, has sued Netflix twice, previously on behalf of people who say they were defamed by the platforms fictional shows. Rufus-Isaacs represented Nona Gaprindashvili, a Georgian chess champion who was referenced in The Queens Gambit, when a character said, falsely, that she had never faced male competitors.

He also represents a Vanity Fair staffer who claims she was defamed by the show Inventing Anna, about the con artist Anna Sorokin.

In a statement, Rufus-Isaacs said that the makers of No Limit had engaged in a clear and despicable libel.

Filmmakers cannot make a film about a real-life situation and simply change some names and dress it up as fiction in order to escape liability for defamation, he said. I am astounded that the defendants lawyers did not strongly advise them against doing so. I can see a jury awarding Pipin a very significant amount of damages.

Netflix declined to comment.

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Migrants celebrate after they have arrived in Eagle Pass, Texas, the United States, July 25, 2022. (Photo by Nick Wagner/ Xinhua)

Migrants have been waiting in anticipation of a major policy shift, expected in May, when the United States plans to lift a pandemic-era health policy that has allowed U.S. border authorities to swiftly expel many unauthorized migrants crossing the border from Mexico.

NEW YORK, March 31 (Xinhua) -- A series of tough new border policies have sharply reduced the number of migrants crossing into the United States to their lowest levels since President Joe Biden took office, but the measures have created a combustible bottleneck along Mexico's northern border, with tens of thousands of frustrated migrants languishing in overcrowded shelters from Tijuana to Reynosa, reported The New York Times (NYT) on Tuesday.

The situation exploded on Monday when a protest at a government-run migrant detention center in Ciudad Juarez led to a fire that killed at least 40 people. "But scenes of overcrowding and desperation have been unfolding in recent weeks along the length of the border as the Biden administration prepares for yet another surge in migration this spring," said the report.

Migrants have been waiting in anticipation of a major policy shift, expected in May, when the United States plans to lift a pandemic-era health policy that has allowed U.S. border authorities to swiftly expel many unauthorized migrants crossing the border from Mexico, according to the report.

"Separate new entry restrictions that have already taken effect require most migrants hoping to win U.S. asylum to apply for an appointment at a port of entry. Problems with the new mobile app have left thousands trying in vain for an appointment while stranded in Mexican border towns, where many have already been waiting for months," it said.

Under pressure from the United States, Mexico has agreed to accept the swelling numbers of migrants turned back by American authorities, and to take other measures to help control the number crossing into the United States, it added. 
Political newcomer Nicole Bennett is challenging incumbent school board member and board president Jude Makulec for the subdistrict D seat in Tuesday's election.

Subdistrict D is roughly bordered by Swanson Road to the north; Highcrest, Spring Creek and Rote roads to the south; Argyle Road to the east; and a jagged western border starting at Highcrest Road and extending north to Joy Lane.

Bennett and Makulec, along with the other candidates for Rockford School Board running in contested races this election, were sent questionnaires about themselves and their candidacy. The following are responses from Bennett and Makulec.

Nicole Bennett

Nicole Bennett

Age: 34

Family: Married to my husband, Dominick, and mom to my 1-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Love

Education: associate of arts from Rock Valley College, bachelor of science in sociology from Illinois State University, master of social work with a specialization in children and families from Loyola University Chicago, licensed clinical social worker

Profession: Region 1 Planning Council community impact coordinator

Memberships and associations: National Association of Social Workers since 2015

When it comes to student achievement, Rockford Public Schools typically scores below the state average in metrics such as math and reading at grade level, high school graduation rates and others. What grade would you give to the current school board when it comes to addressing these issues and what would you do differently if elected?

C. For the current board, I believe there is a spectrum of willingness to look at and act on the current issues that need to be addressed. A few want to be able to speak on the highlights or successes of RPS, which is necessary, but we also have to be able to look at root causes for lack of achievement in order to make improvements. If elected, I will seek input from those who attend or work in our buildings and the families who trust RPS for their children's education. Children are their own best advocates and they must be a part of the solution to our struggling schools.

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What grade would you give to Superintendent Ehren Jarrett and why?

C. Dr. Jarrett recently presented a color system to identify and assign schools that were excelling in addition to schools which were currently struggling. He discussed a plan to provide mentoring and support to principals as well as more targeted resources specific to the needs of those buildings. He also discussed partnering schools that may be struggling with those that are doing well as a way to support one another. I think these methods are a great way to utilize data, to inform decisions, on how to best support underperforming schools. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of this continuous improvement plan.

What grade would you give to the school district when it comes to student and teacher safety and what would do differently if elected?

D. From my personal experience working inside the schools in addition to the many individuals and groups I have spoken to over the past few months, many are feeling as though the buildings are not safe. The biggest request is for more qualified individuals, such as counselors and mental health providers, to be inside the buildings as support. If elected, I would increase our partnerships within our community and bring in more support, including trauma programming. I believe students, families, and staff should be able to have input regarding what their buildings need in order to address their safety concerns.

In your view, what is the main responsibility of a school board member and what makes you the best candidate for the job?

The main responsibility of a school board member is to ensure student achievement and protect student interests. School board members must also be accessible to the community, accountable for outcomes, as well as balance these with being mindful of public tax dollars. As a licensed clinical social worker, we are master problem solvers and great listeners. I have direct experience working with students, families, teachers and staff, administrators, as well as community members that will allow me a unique perspective when serving more than 28,000 of our communitys children.

For more about Bennett: nicolebennettforschoolboard.com, facebook.com/nicolebennettforschoolboard

Jude Makulec

Jude Makulec

Age: 66

Family: Husband, three children, two grandchildren

Education: bachelor of science (University of Illinois), masters of physical therapy (EmoryUniversity)

Profession: pediatric physical therapist

Memberships and associations: Illinois Association of School Boards

When it comes to student achievement, Rockford Public Schools typically scores below the state average in metrics such as math and reading at grade level, high school graduation rates and others. What grade would you give to the current school board when it comes to addressing these issues and what would you do differently if elected?

The board is aware of the historically low achievement score. We have been actively seeking and implementing remedies with a measurable increase in student test scores, meeting the state performance grade of partially met. To prepare our youngest, we are adding summer early childhood education. Based on the metrics and currentinformation on how students learn to read, we have adopted a new reading program to begin this fall. We are also negotiating to add 45 minutes instruction in many elementary schools. Additionally, the middle school curriculum for math and science have been updated for fall. This year we successfully adapted our credit recovery programs back into high school buildings to increase student on track to graduate rate to 81%. (Makulec did not provide a grade.)

What grade would you give to Superintendent Ehren Jarrett and why?

Limiting Dr. Jarretts evaluation to a single grade is reductive considering the scope of the organization he manages. While achievement is not where it should be, he is providing dynamic leadership which is already demonstrating district wide growth in student achievement. Leadership demonstrated during the pandemic was exceptional.We were the only large district in the state to offer a choice of in-school or remote learning. As a result, while average state reading scores dropped 8 points, Rockford only lost 3. He spearheaded upgrades at all district buildings, an overhaul of IT, and bolstered funding for student support and enrichment. (Makulec did not provide a grade.)

What grade would you give to the school district when it comes to student and teacher safety and what would do differently if elected?

Safety for all school districts is an ongoing concern. While the district continues to address the issue on multiple fronts, they are already at the state performance grade of meeting the standard. We have added locked vestibules to all school entrances. Secondary schools have resource officers, primarily to build relationships with studentsand staff, but also to respond quickly to threats. Having officers in our buildings has consistently prevented violence as students share information about situations with potential to escalate. Increased support staff, such as behavior specialists, social workers and parent liaisons, provide interventions when students are being bullied. Handle With Care Initiatives provide students of families undergoing crisis, building level safety and support. (Makulec did not provide a grade.)

In your view, what is the main responsibility of a school board member and what makes you the best candidate for the job?

The boards job is governance. They set policy, approve budgets and expenditures, make disciplinary decisions, and manage the superintendent and chief legal counsel. Through their actions and interactions, the board sets the tone of the district. Informed board members challenge the administration on behalf of students, staff and community.With 14 years experience as a board member, I have the historical and institutional knowledge to mentor new board members in understanding processes and questions to ask. I will also continue to advocate for a flat levy, which has already resulted in decreases in the property tax rate for 10 years.

For more about Makulec: judemakulec.com, facebook.com/judeforschoolboard, instagram.com/judemakulec

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Nicole Bennett, Jude Makulec are candidates for Rockford School Board
Michelle Budge, Deseret News

The American founders framed a republic reliant on informed engagement by citizens. But they were nervous that their experiment in liberty would require individuals to know the constitutional system and feel the responsibility to civically engage in a healthy and active manner. Then and now, it also requires that we respect the freedom to disagree across differences. These founding principles are embodied in good civics education.

Civics education is experiencing a renaissance in Utah. Since 2021 the Utah Legislature has supported a number of crucial efforts to bolster our knowledge of and participation in civic life. We thank the 2023 Legislature for continuing this arc in its efforts in the just-concluded session. Will this new and much-needed spending be a one-time investment, or will Utahns encourage legislators to keep civics education a priority?

Alarmed about our nations increasing polarization and the spread of misinformation and civil unrest, the 2021 Utah Legislature formed the HCR15 working group to study how civics is taught in our state. The groups recommendations have since prompted the Legislature to invest more than $5 million in civic-education support in the last two years.

This legislative action is timely. The World Values Survey reported a decline across several American generational cohorts that rank it as essential to live in a democratically governed country. Respondents were asked what sort of government they would prefer, and more than half (52%) said they favor a strong leader who does not have to bother with parliament or elections, up from 38% in 2009. And less than one-third of Americans born in the 1980s think democracy is vital. Should we be surprised by these results after generational disinvestment in civics education?

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How did this come about?

During the Cold War, taxpayers heavily funded math education programming to respond to the Soviet launch of Sputnik. In the No Child Left Behind era of President George W. Bush, federal education funding was distributed based on test scores in math and reading. In response, educators focused on these areas instead of social studies. The Obama administrations education plan, Race to the Top, also emphasized innovation in student performance in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

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As a result of these generational trends, for every five cents of federal funds spent per pupil on civics education, nearly $55 is invested in STEM, according to Ted McConnell, executive director of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools. While literacy and the STEM fields are important for our continued innovation and prosperity, if we neglect civics education we may lose the constitutional infrastructure that makes every other success possible.

In context of these broader national trends, the Utah Legislature passed HB327 in 2021, which allocated a one-time $1 million appropriation to create the Civic Thought and Leadership Initiative (CTLI) at Utah Valley Universitys Center for Constitutional Studies. In 2022, that one-time appropriation became an ongoing source of funding.

Then in 2023, the Legislature generously increased that funding, enabling CTLI to continue supporting K12 teacher professional development in civics; offering civic fellowships for UVU undergraduates; conducting Utah-focused research on civic knowledge, skills and dispositions among adults and youth; and providing regional training for civics educators and leaders. Each of these activities is raising public consciousness about the importance of civics education in Utah.

In addition to CTLI, Utah has promoted civics in other important ways. For example, HB274 created a $1.5 million fund distributed through the Utah State Board of Education for Utah schools to request funding support for innovative civics projects. Distribution of these funds reflects legislative emphasis on local control, where schools identify interests, design projects and request funding. Projects are now in motion and range from supporting the development of student simulation programs, such as We the People and mock trials, to interdisciplinary programs for students to identify misinformation, to professional development for teachers in the civics competencies of constitutional literacy, media literacy and academic service learning.

The HCR15 working group recommendations, which led to these measures, offered important caveats. Any skill-building or civic engagement must be deeply informed by an abiding knowledge of the Constitution and the foundations of our democracy. Fortunately, that is a requirement that both sides of the aisle can get behind in Utah.

These legislative moves are exciting, but will they last? Lawmakers at the state and national level tend to react to current events or increased pressure from constituents. As the ones with our hands on the spigot, will we as Utahns keep civic education front and center for our legislators?

Data suggest that with every new generation, fewer and fewer Americans believe in and are committed to these ideas. Like the founders, we now have our own reasons to be nervous. If we continue on this path, with our constitutional republic on the line, failure is not an option. We Utahns owe it to ourselves and those who follow after us to keep investing in civic education.

Eleesha Tucker is a civic research fellow with the Civic Thought and Leadership Initiative in the Center for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University. She teaches the required general education course American heritage, which aims to inform undergraduate students of our foundational ideals and inspire them to fulfill their civic responsibilities.
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced Monroe County residents are owed more than $27.1 million worth of unclaimed property on Wednesday.

In 2022, Pennsylvania's Treasury returned more than $211 million in unclaimed property, the third-most ever released in a single year, yet more than $4 billion remains unclaimed, including the $27.1 million in Monroe County.

Unclaimed property includes things like dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, and insurance policies.

Unclaimed property can also include tangible property, such as jewelry or other valuables stored in abandoned safe deposit boxes. Tangible property may be auctioned by the Treasury after three years of trying to locate the rightful owner, though auction proceeds are available in perpetuity for the rightful owner to claim.

According to the Treasury, their department also receives military decorations and memorabilia as unclaimed property, usually from safe deposit boxes. Treasury officials state they work diligently to find the veterans who earned them, or their families. Military decorations and memorabilia are never auctioned.

State law requires businesses to report unclaimed property to the Treasury after three years of dormancy.

To see if you have money waiting, search Treasurys unclaimed property database at patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property. If you do have anything listed, you can start the claims process online.

Since taking office, Garrity has returned 337 military decorations and memorabilia, including four Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars. However, about 300 military decorations remain in the Treasury's vault, including eight associated with Monroe County. Anyone wanting to help the Treasury find the rightful owners can visit patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property/medals.

One of my top priorities is to return unclaimed property to Pennsylvanians, Garrity said. Im glad to safeguard these funds, but this money doesnt belong to the state  it belongs to our hardworking taxpayers. The average claim is worth $1,600, and that could really make a difference, especially in todays economy, for families trying to make ends meet. I encourage everyone to search Treasurys website to see if they or someone they know has property waiting.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: $27.1 million of unclaimed property in Monroe County, Treasury says
When it came to his Rolling Stones all-access concert pass, time was not on Owen Wilson's side.

The Paint star revealed that he was once awarded a lifetime pass that allowed him to attend any Rolling Stones gig in the world  only for it to be rescinded after he accidentally walked on stage during one of the legendary rock group's concerts in Argentina.

"I was kind of friendly with some of the band and then my friend was really good friends with Mick Jagger," Wilson explained on Tuesday's episode of The Late Late Show. "We got [presented with] these special laminates, kind of all access, that were good for the rest of your life."

Wilson noted that the gift was "really exciting" for him because the first live show he ever attended was one from the Stones' Tattoo You tour in 1980.

"That night, at the concert, I'm kind of wandering around and testing it out  like, 'I'm going to walk over here and see if anybody stops me.' And no one would stop me any place," Wilson told host James Corden and fellow guest Jeff Goldblum. "I ended up right at this place where I could look over and see Mick Jagger on the stage, and right there and then, all of a sudden, he bolts during 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and comes running down."

The frontman then ended up sprinting directly toward a completely flabbergasted Wilson.

"It turns out, where I was, was kind of part of the stage a little bit, so I just sort of froze and tried to be inconspicuous, and he kinda came down and left," he recalled. "And then someone came running over, [shouting,] 'Get out of here! Move! You're not supposed to be here!' And I [said], 'I didn't know! I'm so sorry!'"

Owen Wilson, The Rolling Stones

Monica Schipper/Getty Images; Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images Owen Wilson; Mick Jagger

The mix-up haunted Wilson for the rest of the evening. "I go to bed that night still thinking, 'Well, gosh, that was kind of a gnarly experience,'" he said. But things only got worse.

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"Then I get a call the next morning from Mick's security team asking, 'Do you have that laminate?'" he continued. "'Yes, I still have it.' 'Okay, we're going to come over and pick it up.'"

And just like that, Wilson's backstage pass went goodbye Ruby Tuesday.

But the actor knows it was his fault  or at least his wardrobe's fault  that his lucky laminate was taken away.

"I was also dressed in a white T-shirt and white pants, and if you are at this part of the stage  where you're not supposed to be  you should be in like dark colors where you blend in," Wilson explained. "So I get it, you know? He's got a show to do. He doesn't need some kind of bozo just cruising around distracting him."

Still, it was a total bummer for him to lose all that unrestricted access. As Wilson lamented, "I only had it for 24 hours."

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Mike Pence, the former Indiana governor and vice president, defended Donald Trump Thursday night on CNN, telling Wolf Blitzer that the former president's indictment was an "outrage."

A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on unspecified criminal charges earlier in the day. The grand jury had been investigating hush money payments to two women who claimed to have had sex with him, USA TODAY reported.

Others are reading: Trump, Pence and Holcomb to speak at NRA convention in Indianapolis

Pence called the indictment an example of the "criminalization of politics."

"The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage," he said. "Nothing more than a political prosecution."

Pence said Americans will see through this indictment and that it gives the country an "awful" look internationally.

When asked about Trump's warning on social media that an indictment could cause "death and destruction," Pence disagreed and said there is no reason for that kind of language or to call for protests.

Indiana response: Indiana Republican politicians react, cry foul after Donald Trump indictment

Pence himself has reportedly been told to testify about conversations he had with Trump before a federal grand jury about the Jan. 6 insurrection.

When asked if he would testify at the grand jury proceedings, Pence said he had "nothing to hide" but did not say whether he would speak. He once again condemned the violence of the insurrection and said Trump should not be celebrating those who inflicted it.

"Those that engaged in violence in the Capitol, I believe, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he said. "I'll never diminish what happened that day."

USA TODAY contributed to this story.

Contact IndyStar Pulliam Fellow Cate Charron at ccharron@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @catecharron.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Mike Pence callsTrump indictment: 'criminalization of politics'
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  North Carolina residents can now buy a handgun without getting a permit from a local sheriff after the Republican-controlled legislature on Wednesday overrode the Democratic governors veto  a first since 2018.

The House voted 71-46 to enact the bill, which eliminates the longstanding permit system requiring sheriffs to perform character evaluations and criminal history checks of pistol applicants. The Senate overrode Gov. Roy Coopers veto in a party-line vote on Tuesday.

The permit repeal takes effect immediately. Cooper and Democratic lawmakers warned it allows a greater number of dangerous people to obtain weapons through private sales, which do not require a background check, and limits law enforcements ability to prevent them from committing violent crimes.

Those who purchase pistols from a gun store or a federally licensed dealer are still subject to a national background check, and concealed weapons permits are still required.

'Rogue' gun dealers revealed: What to know as ATF names gun shops that flout federal laws

'We're not going to fix it': Why lawmakers see no chance of major gun law changes after Nashville

North Carolina Sheriff's Association supports repeal

Bill supporters say the sheriff screening process for handguns was no longer necessary in light of significant updates to the national background check system. They also argue the permit system wasnt very effective at preventing criminals from obtaining guns.

The North Carolina Sheriffs Association supports the repeal in light of national system updates, but its current president does not.

Although Republican seat gains in the midterm elections gave them veto-proof margins in the Senate, they were one seat shy of a similar majority in the House.

Three North Carolina Democrats failed to vote on override

Wednesdays House vote tally showed three Democrats  Reps. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County, Cecil Brockman of Guilford County and Michael Wray of Northampton County  failed to vote on the override, creating enough of a margin to meet the constitutional requirement. Republicans needed at least one Democratic member to join them, or as few as two Democrats not to vote.

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Brockman was in urgent care Wednesday morning, according to a statement released by his office. Cotham said in a statement that she was receiving scheduled hospital treatment and had informed both parties that she would be absent. She said she does not support the permit repeal.

A phone message left at Wray's legislative office wasn't immediately returned Wednesday. Republicans gave Wray and Cotham key committee chairmanships this year  a rarity for the majority party in power.

A liberal-leaning group called Carolina Forward put out a fundraising tweet soon after the vote targeting the three representatives, vowing to hold them accountable.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper criticized move by House leadership

House Speaker Tim Moore, a Cleveland County Republican presiding over the chamber during the override vote, said the provisions contained within the bill have been long-standing goals of Second Amendment advocates in our state, and we have finally brought this legislation over the finish line.

Moore used parliamentary maneuvers Wednesday to block floor debate before the vote, causing frustration among Democrats.

Cooper, who is term-limited from seeking reelection next year, criticized the move by House leadership, saying in a tweet that arguments to uphold his veto would have been too compelling for them to hear.

Before the Senate vote Tuesday, some Democrats urged against loosening gun access in the immediate aftermath of Monday's mass shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville, despite Republicans' insistence that lawmakers refrain from politicizing the shooting.

For us to come in this tone-deaf about what happened in Nashville and to pretend that it doesn't matter, to pretend that that might not be an issue that we've got to bring up, is disturbing  with a bunch of kids sitting up here," said House Minority Leader Robert Reives, referring to the school group watching from the gallery.

While Reives said he asked all Democratic caucus members to be present, he refused to criticize those who were absent or didn't vote. The Chatham County Democrat told reporters the permit repeal could allow domestic abusers and mentally ill people at risk of suicide to obtain guns.

The enacted bill also will allow guns on some school properties where religious services are held, effective Dec. 1. The new law also creates and funds a two-year awareness campaign on the safe storage of firearms, which will distribute free gun locks.

In 2021, Cooper successfully blocked standalone versions of the pistol permit repeal and another provision allowing people with concealed weapons permits to carry openly or under clothing at houses of worship where private or charter schools also meet. At the time, Democrats had enough seats to block any override attempt if they stayed united. Those pistol and religious worship provisions were essentially unchanged when combined into this years bill.

Guns will not be permitted on campus during school hours or when students are present for extracurricular activities, and houses of worship can opt-out by posting signs.

Gun rights advocates celebrated the override after trying for years to pass the pistol permit repeal.

Second Amendment supporters made history today, said Paul Valone, executive director of Grass Roots North Carolina, which campaigned last year for candidates so that Republican majorities could override Coopers gun-related vetoes.

Gun-control advocates lamented the override, saying the handgun permit elimination would imperil more peoples lives in the nations ninth-largest state.

We will wake up five or 10 years from now and see that our gun homicide and gun suicide rates have risen, Becky Ceartas with North Carolinians Against Gun Violence said in a news release.

___

Hannah Schoenbaum 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.

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Associated Press writer Gary Robertson contributed from Raleigh.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: North Carolina residents can now buy a handgun without a permit
MEXICO-MIGRATION-FIRE

Migrants complain to Mexico's Human Rights Commission Visitor Raul Arturo Ramirez (R) outside the immigration detention center where 38 migrants died during a fire in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico on March 29, 2023. Credit - GUILLERMO ARIASAFP/Getty Images)

Video footage circulating online of guards appearing to leave migrants behind after a fire broke out at a detention center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico late Monday shocked the world, with the tragedy killing at least 39 people and leaving another 28 seriously injured.

At least one migrant allegedly lit a foam mattress on fire to protest after they were informed they would be deported, according to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Scores of people have temporarily settled in the border town as they await the May ending of Title 42, a U.S. policy which prevented migrants from being granted asylum due to concerns that they would increase the COVID-19 public health risk.

Ciudad Juarez has become a popular destination for thousands of asylum seekers who hope to enter the United States through El Paso, Texas. Tensions have been rising among officials and residents and there have been reports of agents inhumanely rounding-up people into detention centers. An open letter signed by 210 migrant advocacy organizations on Tuesday reported a lack of water, ventilation and medical access. Mexicos migration policy kills, they wrote.

Migration policy experts in the U.S. agree that the incident was completely preventable and was the culmination of inadequate migration policies.

This is an example of the type of tragedies we invite with the type of deterrent and barrier policy that our government keeps gravitating towards, says Javier Hidalgo, Director of Pre-Removal Services at immigration nonprofit RAICES.

How did U.S. migration policies play a role in the fire?

Migrants have been barred from entering the U.S. under Title 42. The policy, which began under former President Donald Trump during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, used the public health emergency as reasoning to expel more than 2.5 million migrants who were seeking asylum.

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The policy is set to end on May 11. While the Biden administration has proposed another set of asylum restrictions that could limit the number of migrants who can enter the country, Ariel Ruiz Soto, a policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, says that proposal is unlikely to roll out due to criticism from international organizations that it is unlawful.

Thousands of migrants have perceived that there may be an opening for them, Ruiz Soto says, and are waiting for that policy shift to seek refuge in the U.S.

Cities like Ciudad Juarez, have become a holding pen for a lot of migrants, Rachel Schmidtke, senior advocate for Latin America at nonprofit Refugees International, says. Tijuanas shelters, for instance, have a capacity for 5,600 people, per the New York Times, but there are currently some 15,000 migrants overcrowding the city.

Many of these asylum seekers are in limbo as new entry point regulations require them to make an appointment with the CBPOnea mobile app that provides services to non citizens who are entering through the southern borderwhich has been riddled with problems, as migrants struggle to be able to make appointments on the app, since its rollout.

And Mexico, which has seen the number of migrants substantially increase in the last few years, has not done much to address the needs of their current system. I think also without resources being delegated to where they need to go, the system is going to continue to be overwhelmed and these things will continue to happen, Schmidtke adds.

Mexicos Inaction

When the fire happened, there were 68 men in the migration center. Most of the men were Guatemalan, with the remaining from Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela.

Police have already issued four arrest warrants and identified eight suspectsincluding two federal agents, one state immigration agent, and one migrant who may have started the fire, Mexican authorities said during a press conference on Wednesday. But as the individual actions of the officers fall under question, so too do the broader policies of Mexicos migration system.

The Mexicos National Migration Institute (INM)which regulates the entry and exit of migrants in the country Schmidtke says, has a long history of human rights abuses at migration stations.

I know the Mexican government uses words like shelters, and says that theyre rescuing migrants, but really what theyre doing is detaining them, Schmidtke adds. If the Mexican government had really held the INM accountable and really tried to improve conditions in these migration stations or amend its detention policies, then this wouldnt have happened.

The INM has also recently been under fire by its adjacent citizen council that oversees their operations and makes proposals for the institutes improvement. In a letter released on Tuesday, the council said they documented the deficiencies of migration centers in 2017. Although the INM was aware of failures in their policies, no action had been taken prior to the incident, according to the letter.

Mexico now has to plan how to receive migrants who will be sent back from the U.S., though it will notably be a much more diverse population of people than the country has experienced prior to the Title 42 restrictions.

What is different today is that one, they have a very diverse population of migrants that are no longer primarily Mexican. And two, that they are different compositions, Ruiz Soto says. (Mexico previously agreed to take in Mexican nationals and citizens from the following seven countries: Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, who were turned away from the U.S. border under Title 42 restrictions.)

Some of them are families. Some of them are unaccompanied children. Some of them are single adults. This composition needs to be a central component of how Mexico reconsiders and revises its response or when people return, Ruiz Soto says.

That response involves accommodating detention centers for the number of migrants expected, and figuring out how to provide legal services for migrants who may want to seek asylum in Mexico and more, Ruiz Soto adds.

Are these types of incidents common?

While this does not mark the first time protests have occurred in Mexican migration centers (there was one last October in Tijuana, Mexico and another in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula) experts say the protests are a reflection of boiling pressures and frustrations among migrants [at] the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ruiz Soto notes that the city has the resources to deal with this sort of emergency and should have done better. If this type of event occurred in an urban hub with relatively significant resources to prevent these types of catastrophesit may show the possibility of something else like this happening in other [cities] that are less equipped to provide this type of assistance, Ruiz Soto says.

Videos of migrants complaining about inhumane conditions and treatment have also been circulating online. Hidalgo tells TIME that while these conditions grew prevalent during the pandemic, they are not dissimilar from what weve been hearing over the years about these facilities.

Migrants, many of whom are escaping persecution, are susceptible to maltreatment from migration officials and smugglers as they travel north.

A lot of those people are fleeing pretty dire conditions, Schmidtke says. There is a lot of desperation because theyre seeking safety and a better opportunity for themselves and for their families.

Theyre not committing any crime, Schmidtke adds.They are simply trying to survive and sell goods on the streets so they can have a livelihood, so they shouldnt really be treated like criminals.
Prohibition agents had gathered enough evidence to make a sweep through southern Delaware searching for illegal booze.

The raiding party, composed of federal state and local law enforcement officers, left Georgetown at 4 a.m. in the morning on Dec. 12, 1924. They headed for Roxana, where there were reportedly moonshiners who had set up a still so large that the police enlisted photographer Albert H. Waller of Laurel to document the raid.

It was an assignment that Waller would not soon forget.

Born around 1875, Waller established his Laurel photographic studio in the last years of the 19th century, when the photographer began documenting life in and around Laurel, one of the largest towns in southern Delaware. Using his Laurel studio as his base, Waller spent a half-century photographing everyday scenes of life in southern Delaware.

Law enforcement officials pour whiskey down the drain during prohibition.

In 1919, when the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in order to outlaw the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors, bootleggers established illegal stills in the Great Cypress Swamp and other isolated areas of Sussex County.

Federal, state and local authorities were determined to put an end to the illegal manufacture of booze, but when the prohibition agents arrived at Clarence Lynchs farm near Roxana, they did not find any evidence of an illegal still.

However, on the adjoining farm, the prohibition agents found a 25 gallon still. The still was not currently running, but searching further, the agents found ten barrels containing 50 gallons of fermented mash each.

Most Delaware moonshiners set up stills to produce distilled liquor. According to Eric Mills in "Chesapeake Rumrunners of the Roaring Twenties," The basic still setup is simple  Theres the main boiler kettle, called the cooker, or can. In here is the grain  cornmeal, rye, barely, whatever  mixes with distilled water, sugar, and though purist would argue but expediency would dictate, yeast to cause fermentation.

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MORE ON PROHIBITION: How the end of Prohibition era rang in 1933 with major changes for Delaware

This mixture, called mash, was allowed to ferment for a few days and then heated at a low temperature to allow the alcohol to boil off. The alcoholic vapor is condensed in a coil encased in cold water to produce the liquid spirits.

The mash barrels near Roxana had been partially buried in a trench, and pine slats had been used to camouflage them. It was reputedly the biggest bootleg bust in the state, and Waller set to work photographing the illegal booze-making operation.

He took a photo showing the layout of the mash barrels and other apparatus and a second photo with the Prohibition agents lined up on one side of the distilling operation.

Suddenly, his picture-taking was interrupted by the sharp, crackling sound of gunfire. According to the Laurel State Register, The officers were bombarded with rifle shots.

Michael Morgan

The agents returned fire, but they were in the open, and their assailants were hidden in the woods. The firing was so intense that several tree limbs were shot off and fell amid the still and the barrels of mash. When the agents realized that they could not see the moonshiners, the lawmen decided to abandon the still. The retreating lawmen made their way out of the woods to their cars and drove off.

The Prohibition agents had raided arguably the biggest still in southern Delaware, and Albert Waller who normally took photographs in more sedate settings, had a picture session like no other.

Principal sources

State Register, Jan. 24, 1925.

Laurel Historical Society Newsletter Spring 2014.

Town of Laurel Delaware Newsletter, Winter Edition, 2022.

Eric Mills, Chesapeake Rumrunner of the Roaring Twenties, Centreville, MD: Tidewater Publishers, 2000, p. 37.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: How a photographer recorded Prohibition-era raid under gunfire
The late Queens closest adviser has been recognised by the King alongside other royal aides, and many who played important roles during her funeral.

Angela Kelly, the daughter of a docker from Liverpool, and other devoted royal household staff were named as recipients of honours under the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) in recognition of their service to the Queen, as part of a special set of Demise awards.

The honours list also features RAF flight crew who transported the Queens coffin from Scotland to London, coffin bearers, senior managers from the household and Government, and the late Queens stud groom Terry Pendry, who held the reins of the monarchs pony Emma as the funeral cortege entered Windsor Castle.

Angela Kelly was the late Queens closest advisor (PA Media)

Awards under the RVO are in the Kings gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or the royal family in a personal way.

Ms Kelly, the late Queens personal assistant, adviser and curator, worked for the monarch for more than 25 years and was made a Commander of the RVO.

The Queen valued her opinion and gradually over the years gave her free rein when helping her create a look for an event.

Despite the late monarchs advancing years, she had been prepared to embellish her style  under Ms Kellys direction  as a nod to modern times.

A pair of 3D glasses worn by the Queen during a film demonstration in Canada in 2010 were given a touch of glamour by Ms Kelly  Swarovski crystals forming the letter Q on their sides.

The Queen sits with Anna Wintour and royal dressmaker Angela Kelly (second right) at London Fashion Week (PA Archive)

During lockdown, when the Queen isolated with a small group from her household dubbed HMS Bubble, Ms Kelly was thought to be part of the team.

She once disclosed in an interview: We are two typical women. We discuss clothes, make-up, jewellery.

Mr Pendry who was pictured with his head bowed standing beside the Queens pony as the monarchs coffin entered Windsor Castles quadrangle was made a Commander of the RVO.

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it departs St Giles Cathedral (Russell Cheyne/PA) (PA Archive)

Also recognised were the Marquess of Cholmondeley, formerly Lord Great Chamberlain, Royal Household, who was made a Knight Grand Cross of the RVO, while former ladies-in-waiting to the Queen, Philippa de Pass and Jennifer Gordon Lennox, were made Dame Commanders.

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The eight pallbearers who carried the Queens coffin were also awarded the silver Royal Victorian Medal in recognition of the important role they played at her funeral.

Lance Sergeant Alex Turner, Lance Corporal Tony Flynn, Lance Sergeant Elias Orlowski, Guardsman Fletcher Cox, Guardsman James Patterson, Lance Sergeant Ryan Griffiths, Guardsman Luke Simpson, and Guardsman David Sanderson were selected to be pallbearers from the Kings Company (then Queens), 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

Pallbearers from The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards carry the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II (AFP via Getty Images)

The soldiers carried the coffin draped in the Royal Standard as millions of people around the world watched the ceremony last September.

The unit had a close connection with the Queen - as the serving monarch she held the position of company commander and made a personal review of the company every decade.

The work of the eight pallbearers was highlighted during the broadcast of the Queens funeral, with viewers describing themselves as holding their breath when the guardsmen had to carry the coffin up the steps to the West Door of St Georges Chapel.

The Queen, left, and her then-lady in waiting Lady Susan Hussey (PA Wire)

Tory former minister Eddie Hughes said: I held my breath for every step... These lads are amazing.

Fellow Tory MP Tom Hunt said at the time: I cant imagine how hard and emotionally challenging it must have been to have carried Her Late Majestys coffin just once.

Theyve done it time and time again this week. With billions watching. Theyve done Her Late Majesty and the country proud.

Carla Lockhart, Upper Banns DUP MP, said: Amidst the pageantry and occasion, eight young men silently went about their duty.

The weight of the world on their shoulders, the glare of the world on them, but they were flawless.

They did themselves, their families and our country proud. Thank you.

Lady Susan Hussey, the Queens chief lady in waiting, who was at the centre of a royal race row last November, after she asked Sistah Space founder Ngozi Fulani where she really came from, was not included in the honours list.

Soon after the incident, which unfolded at the Queen Consort Camillas reception on violence against women, Lady Hussey resigned from her royal duties.

In a subsequent statement, Buckingham Palace said the 83-year-old had apologised to Ms Fulani at a meeting filled with warmth and understanding.
IRVINE, Calif.  The most radical thing about Asa Hutchinson is how traditional he sounds.

On foreign policy in particular, the former Arkansas governor and 2024 candidate-to-be argues for compassionate internationalism  with a hard edge  that former President George W. Bush might have emphasized before 9/11, but that today is outside his partys mainstream.

Hes a longshot for the nomination, but he is practically alone in his worldview within the broader 2024 field. That could give him a chance to shape a debate over why the party has abandoned its global-minded principles  and sneak a bit more Ronald Reagan and a little less MAGA into the GOP.

Speaking to a 70-person audience at the Nixon Presidential Library last week, Hutchinson made his case: Its important to welcome refugees to the United States because they love freedom and love America. The U.S. should assert global leadership. Cooperation with allies is key to solving global issues. America cant abandon international organizations because, otherwise, China and Russia fill the vacuum. And the future of U.S. foreign policy points not only to Asia, but also southward into Latin America.

At the end of his prepared remarks, delivered in front of a painting of the former president and two American flags, an elderly docent of the library turned to her neighbor and said he makes a lot of sense.

Hutchinsons views are a sharp contrast to his rivals for the Republican nomination, who talk unabashedly about prioritizing homefront concerns and securing U.S. interests worldwide  regardless of what others want or who America partners with. For many of them, its America First or America Only.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis openly trashed the idea of supporting small-d democrats abroad: Does the survival of American liberty depend on whether liberty succeeds in Djibouti? he wrote in his book, The Courage to be Free. And in his first major statement on the war in Ukraine, DeSantis described it as a territorial dispute that wasnt in the vital American interest to address, though he has since walked back the comments by calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.

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Nikki Haley, citing her experience as a U.N. ambassador, has said the U.S. will be taking names of countries, including allies, that dont align with Americas foreign policy aims. Former President Donald Trump openly floated an overhaul of the U.S. national security bureaucracy and a reevaluation of NATOs purpose and NATOs mission.

The concept of America doing what it wants, including among a neo-isolationist cohort, has grown inside the Republican Party for years. Its come into sharp relief with the 2024 race for the nomination. Hutchinson argues he can be the one to reorient the GOP back to caring about the rules-based international order. He may instead represent the last gasp of a Republican internationalism that is less and less in favor within his party.

In short, theres little room for a presidential candidate to espouse middle-of-the-road foreign policy views and expect to triumph.

Voters arent usually animated to pull the lever for a candidate based on their foreign policy views. But they do select someone who reflects them, and so far, Hutchinson isnt resonating.

The Arkansan isn't featured in polls of the top 11 Republican candidates for the nomination. His name recognition is nowhere near the levels of Trump, DeSantis, Haley, Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo. Even in solidly Republican areas, Hutchinson draws small crowds of like-minded people who typically skew older, with some saying they came to see him out of curiosity. During his speech at the Nixon Library, when he said he would decide on a bid for the presidency in April, most of the room erupted in surprise  not recognition  before clapping at the news.

The Hutchinson foreign policy vision is also losing. The most recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll, conducted last year, showed that 55 percent of Republicans want the U.S. to take an active role in the world  the lowest total in the surveys 50-year history. Only 9 percent of Republicans said the most important foreign policy priority was leading international cooperation on global problems. By contrast, 48 percent of GOP respondents said ensuring the physical defense of our country was the top issue.

Hutchinson believes if he gets his message out there, he can move Republicans away from Trumps vision and toward a Reagan-cum-Bush 2 worldview. The hope is his affable, oh, shucks southern charm endears him to people wistful for the era he represents  and encourages those pining after political comity to join his campaign.

It's really a post-Trump phenomenon that you have this wing of the party that is more isolationist, and that is dangerous for America, is dangerous for our freedoms and dangerous for stability and peace in the world, he said, chowing on cereal during an interview in a hotel lobby before his library address.

It makes sense to me for America to be part of a global discussion and sharing of information on matters that impact us, Hutchinson added, suggesting the U.S. remain in the World Health Organization and learn lessons from the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic. And we want to continue to invest in regions of the world that impact us.

In this era, his old-schoolness feels like a creative solution in a field full of conservative internationalists and nationalists.

Whenever Hutchinson makes foreign policy proclamations, the governor claims the audience he attracts laps it up. We need to have multiple voices in a 2024 race for ideas, but also so that we can better define what the GOP is, stands for, and how we're going to solve problems for our country, he said.

One of Hutchinsons strengths in his not-yet-announced campaign is that hes mainly alone in his foreign policy lane  and he knows it. But the problem for him is that others likely vying for the nomination might try to swerve into it.

Isolationist policy isnt going to do it, former House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers asserted in an interview. History has punished us for that policy.

If we surrender to the siren song of those in this country who argue that America has no interest in freedoms cause, history teaches we may soon send our own into harms way to defend our freedom and the freedom of nations in our alliance, Pence told an audience at the University of Texas in February.

Hutchinson argues his experience will see him climb up the rankings, pointing out that hes the only one with an inclination to run who actually served in the Reagan administration. Later, under the younger Bush, he led the Drug Enforcement Administration and was the top border security official at the Department of Homeland Security  qualifications he expects will resonate with voters who care about immigration and fentanyl.

But where his views match up with the Republican mainstream, Hutchinsons policy prescriptions dont stand out from other candidates.

China is the big threat, he said, telling the Nixon Library audience that the U.S. may have no choice but to engage in a Cold War with the Asian power. The U.S. should help Ukraine win quickly. And it behooves any administration to label Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations so that more resources can be devoted to defeating them.

But its less about specificity and more about strategic orientation for Hutchinson. Unless and until his party returns to its Reaganesque roots with a cooperative global outlook, the United States will be less safe and the world less stable.

Over breakfast, he declared: I don't think what I'm outlining takes the party back. I think it moves the party forward.
UNITED NATIONS, March 31 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said on Friday that China calls on all nuclear weapon states to effectively reduce the risk of a nuclear war.

"Mutual trust and cooperation among major countries are the fundamental guarantee for maintaining global strategic stability," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council briefing on threats to international peace and security.

Geng said that in January last year, the leaders of the five nuclear weapon states issued a joint statement emphasizing that nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, and reaffirming that none of the nuclear weapons are targeted at each other or at any other state. "Against the backdrop of the current tense relations among the nuclear weapon states, the special significance of this historic statement is all the more prominent."

"China calls on all nuclear weapon states to abide by the vision of the statement, effectively reduce the risk of a nuclear war, and avoid any armed conflict between nuclear weapons states," said the ambassador.

Geng pointed out that nuclear weapons are "the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads," noting that China's position on the issue of nuclear weapons "has been clear and consistent."

"Since its first day in possession of nuclear weapons, China has firmly committed to a defensive nuclear strategy, and honored the pledge to no first use of nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances," he said. "China has also clearly committed unconditionally not to use or threat to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states or nuclear weapon free zones."

"China is the only nuclear weapon state to have made these pledges. China attaches great importance to the status of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as the cornerstone of international nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, firmly upholds the authority, effectiveness, and the universal nature of the Treaty, and advocates a step-by-step approach to advance nuclear disarmament process for the eventual complete ban and total elimination of nuclear weapons," the envoy spelled out.

"We call for the abolition of the nuclear sharing arrangements and advocate no deployment of nuclear weapons abroad by all nuclear weapons states and the withdrawal of nuclear weapons deployed aboard," he said.

Turning to China's position on the Ukraine issue, Geng said that this position "is also clear and consistent."

"Not long ago, China issued a position paper on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, which comprehensively laid out China's propositions," he said.

"It includes aspects regarding opposing armed attacks against nuclear power plants or other peaceful nuclear facilities, emphasizing that nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought, that the threat or use of nuclear weapons should be opposed, and that nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided," the envoy added.

Geng noted that a series of recent events have once again proved that the resumption of dialogue and negotiation and the promotion of a political settlement should happen sooner rather than later.

"All parties must stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid aggravating tensions, intensifying frictions, or fanning the flames, stop all actions that contribute to prolonging the war, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiraling out of control," he said.

The envoy called on the international community to "have a heightened sense of urgency to promote talks for peace and create conditions for the early resumption of negotiations."

"China will continue to play a constructive role in seeking ceasefire, easing the crisis, and restoring peace," he continued. 
U.S. Rep. Gabriel Gabe Vasquez visited several cities in New Mexico's second district early last week including Las Cruces, Belen and Alamogordo, stopping at Holloman Air Force Base to learn the innerworkings of the facility.

Vasquez plans to visit communities throughout his Second Congressional District frequently for the remainder of his term, which is up for re-election next year, said Vasquez spokesperson Valeria Ojeda-Avitia.

We plan to be back most district work periods and plan to be in the district as often as possible," she said.

Vasquez started his visits on March 13 in Socorro with a discussion on the shortage of healthcare workers in the region at the Socorro Mental Health clinic.

U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez at the Socorro Mental Health Clinic

He also stopped by manufacturing facilities like Airnov and Big Tuna Pipe with a commitment to growing New Mexicos manufacturing industry, expanding jobs, and strengthening local economies, according to a press release from Vasquez's office.

Vasquez's last stop on March 20 was in Alamogordo at Holloman Air Force base (HAFB).

"Holloman Air Force Base had the pleasure of hosting a visit from Congressman Gabe Vasquez from New Mexico's 2nd District March 14. It was an absolute honor to show him and his team what Holloman is all about and why we are America's premiere training wing," read a statement from HAFB.

Vasquez was recently chosen to join the U.S. House Armed Services Committee and said he took this opportunity to learn about serving and supporting service members to inform his work on the committee.

U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez at Holloman Airforce Base

I visited rural manufacturing facilities, rural healthcare clinics and met individually with constituents in Alamogordo. Im looking forward to taking the feedback I heard back to Washington to continue fighting for the livelihood of our communities, Vasquez said in a statement.

Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on twitter at @Juan36Corr.

This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Gabe Vasquez stops at Holloman Air Force Base during district tour
Democrat Ruben Gallego speaks to supporters at one of the first events of his 2024 Senate campaign in Phoenix on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Gallego is running for independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinemas seat in what could be a three-way race for one of the top Senate races of 2024. | Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press

Next years U.S. Senate race in Arizona could be one of 2024s most hotly contested races, potentially pitting Republican and Democratic candidates against each other and incumbent independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema if she seeks reelection. So far, no Republican candidate has entered the race, though.

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is currently the only declared candidate running and Sinema has yet to indicate whether shell seek a second term. Who might seek the Republican nomination remains an open question.

Early polling released in February found Gallego winning matchups against several potential Republican contenders with or without Sinema in the race. The race promises to be competitive, with more than 1 in 5 registered voters in the state undecided, according to the poll from OH Predictive Insights, a Phoenix-based market research and data company.

Former Gov. Doug Ducey had a slight advantage against Gallego compared with other potential Republican candidates in the poll, though his slim lead is within the margin of error. Ducey, a former Cold Stone Creamery CEO, turned down an offer to run for U.S. Senate before, though, and hes made it seem unlikely that hed consider future runs. Ducey declined Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnells invitation to run last year, and in a statement explaining his decision, he wrote, By nature and by training Im an executive. And that led me to run for treasurer and ultimately governor instead of seeking federal office.

Bob Christie, Associated Press

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb tweeted in February he was seriously considering running. Lamb wasnt included in the poll, but hes built a national profile since taking office in 2017 for his conservative stance on issues including support for Second Amendment gun rights and stronger border security. Hes spoken out against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and said that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was about the other issues that have happened  the Hillary Clintons that have gone unpunished.

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Former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, known statewide following last years narrow gubernatorial race loss to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs by around 17,000 votes, has been floated as another potential candidate. At the moment, though, the former Phoenix TV news anchor is still more focused on 2022 than 2024.

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Lake has yet to concede her loss, which shes legally challenging despite no evidence of widespread fraud. The Arizona Supreme Court said it would not review most of Lakes appeal last week. Lake has continued to hold campaign-style events and as of January, she had raised more than $2.5 million, which she tells supporters she needs to fight last years election results.

Karrin Taylor-Robson, who lost last years gubernatorial primary to Lake, and Blake Masters, last years Republican nominee for U.S. Senate who lost to incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, were also listed in the poll. While Masters hasnt said if hes looking to try again for another Senate run, hes been critical of Gallego, writing on Twitter in early March that if Gallego was concerned about fentanyl he should support stronger border security.

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Arizona voters are roughly split between Democrats, Republicans, and those registered as other. The swing states divided electorate has been a boon for Democratic candidates whove run as center-left moderates to win statewide in recent years against Republican candidates closely aligned with former President Donald Trump. The prospect of a three-way race, though, could potentially complicate Democrats recent path to victory.

Sinemas role in helping to pass bipartisan legislation, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, could help her win over independents and voters who value lawmakers working across the aisle. She could also expect support from members of both major parties, like Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who said hes open to endorsing her, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who said she imagines she would too.

Arizona had the fourth most expensive U.S. Senate race in 2022, behind only Georgia, Pennsylvania and Florida.
Oli Sykes in the Shadow Moses video

As we entered the 2010s, Bring Me The Horizon were comfortably the most divisive band in metal. When they arrived on the scene as a group of youthful, obnoxious deathcore teens in the mid-00s, they left a trail of drunken debauchery, screaming girls, irate metalheads and hairspray behind them wherever they went. Despite their musical output getting more accomplished with every release, it seemed as though they would never truly be fully accepted by the wider metal community. But in 2013, their fourth album arrived, and not only did it shove the boyband with breakdowns accusations down the throats of their detractors, but it also became their finest musical statement, saw them achieve monumental crossover success and inspired an entire generation of BMTH copycats in its wake.

Ten years after its release, its undeniable: Sempiternal is the most influential metal album of its generation. How in the hell did that happen?

Metal Hammer line break

In 2012, Bring Me The Horizon were in something of an unusual position. Having finished touring in support of 2010s There Is A Hell Believe Me Ive Seen It, There Is A Heaven Lets Keep It A Secret, an album that had been rapturously received by much of the rock press but had still seen the band confronted with outright aggression from metal fans, their next album was penciled in for release at some point that year. BMTH, though, seemed aware that they were in a make-or-break situation, and so decided to delay the release and take a full year off to write their crucial next chapter.

They also pulled a slated release of an album of remixes of There Is A Hell... material and parted ways with longtime label Visible Noise, signing instead with Sony subsidiary RCA. "It's important not to overhype  that's crucial," said RCA's MD, Colin Barlow upon signing the Sheffield squad - before doing exactly that, telling The Guardian that getting the band was a "landmark deal; it's as important as when Sony signed AC/DC or when Metallica was signed to a major."

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Vocalist Oli Sykes was clear that his new boss was barking up the wrong tree, telling The Guardian in 2013 his reply to hearing this was: Youre gonna be disappointed, mate. At the end of the day, we're not Metallica, we don't sound like Metallica, we don't want to be Metallica, we're not going to be Metallica. We want to be our own mind." "We're never gonna sell out arenas," added guitarist Lee Malia. "If you get that in your hopes, you're only gonna be let down."

BMTH did no press at all during 2012, instead holing themselves up in Angelic Studios in Brackley, Northamptonshire, writing material and listening to scores from movies as inspiration, with the 28 Days Later soundtrack proving a particular favourite. They were joined by producer Terry Date, a man responsible for capturing the sound of some of the most definitive metal records of the past 30 years: Vulgar Display Of Power, Astro Creep 2000 and Badmotorfinger to name just a few. But it was Dates' work on Deftones White Pony and Limp Bizkits Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water that really sealed the deal, BMTH believing Date could make them sound like an entirely different band.

He certainly could, but it wasnt Date who proved to be the key contributor in helping Bring Me the Horizon find their new identity. Jordan Fish had begun working with the band as a session musician for the album, adding keyboards and samples to the new songs. But as their desire to use more electronics grew, so Fishs role increased, to the point where, as Sykes told Rock Sound, he had become One of the leaders in terms of composition.

Fishs confidence grew as the recording went on, and he began to dictate the sound and feel of the new material. Where initially he would play what he was told, he was now going back to Sykes house after a day spent in the studio and continuing to write with the vocalist and Malia, away from the rest of the band.

This clearly led to some tension within the ranks of BMTH, with an announcement two months prior to the records release that guitarist Jona Weinhofen had left the fold and that Fish was now a full-time member.

Hes amazing, Sykes told The Independent of Fish. Hes got loads of style, hes got loads of ideas and he listens to music that I dont listen to. We connect on a very similar level, even if we dont know the same bands and music, we both know the same elements of music and what makes a song good. I dont think many people find people like Jordan in life, someone you can trust to do something like that. It was a turning point for the album when he got involved, hes responsible for a big part of that new sound.

The first listen to this new sound that fans got was on January 4 2013, when Daniel P. Carter debuted the song Shadow Moses on BBC Radio 1. If you were one of the people to hear it that day, then you can probably remember having to scrape your jaw off the floor in the immediate aftermath of the song finishing. Even if you were a fan of BMTH already, you couldnt have seen it coming: Shadow Moses inescapable chorus, gang vocals, groove-heavy riff, stirring synths and seemingly endless supply of hooks was everything that Bring Me The Horizon had ever promised to be in a perfect four minutes and three seconds. Ten years on, it remains an absolutely bulletproof song.

In the aftermath of Shadow Moses, the hype for Sempiternal went supernova; Epitaph Records (the bands US and Canadian label) were forced to release the video for the song early, and on February 23 the album was leaked online a whole two months ahead of its release date. The band acknowledged it with a tweet, stating: Due to the phenomenal demand of Sempiternal we have some very exciting news coming this week. We are stoked youre all loving it. Fuck yea.

The band began to stream the album on their website themselves, and the official release date was brought forward from the April 29 to April 1.

Sempiternal was an immediate smash hit upon release, landing at number three on the UK album chart and number 11 on the US Billboard Top 200, eventually going Gold in both countries. Critics also loved the album; Metal Hammer's own 9/10 review said at the time: Put plainly, Sempiternal isnt simply the best album of BMTHs career. Its one of the best albums of recent times  metal or otherwise. The time to embrace the genres modern trailblazers has come.

Indeed, even outlets that were traditionally harder to crack for metal bands were happy to acclaim the album, with NME's 8/10 review declaring BMTH were Ready to break noisily out of the underground...the quintet have made one of the years most accomplished metal albums. Although the band were still the whipping boys of some corners of the metal internet, a grudging respect was beginning to seep through from many fans of heavy music who had (sometimes fairly) pooh-poohed Bring Me The Horizon previously.

Going back to Sempiternal today feels like a slight-of-hand trick: surely a record that still sounds as forward-thinking, fresh, innovative and chock-full of absolute bangers cannot be a decade old? It says much about the quality of the record and just how far BMTH sprinted ahead of the pack that it indeed is.

From the second those booming, swerving synths rattle your skull on now iconic opener Can You Feel My Heart, standards rarely drop. Empire (Let Them Sing) takes nu metal bounce and turns it into a glorious, bombastic, rapture; Sleepwalking is Linkin Park brought up on Poison the Well; album highlight And the Snakes Start To Sing brings sexy gothic balladry to modern metalcore with spectacular results; gorgeous closer Hospital For Souls sounds like Depeche Mode after being exposed to loads of Boston Hardcore and smashed with an adrenaline shot. The potty-mouthed Antivist has perhaps aged a little poorly, but in terms of criticisms, thats all weve got.

In the aftermath of Sempiternal, many bands from the metalcore scene have tried to ape BMTHs blueprint, which often amounts to nothing more than adding a bloke on keyboards to the ranks and hoping hell write some good pop rock songs. This bandwagon-jumping isnt uncommon in rock music: a load of thrash bands tried to write their Nothing Else Matters when they heard The Black Album, and countless 90s metal band went and got dreadlocks, donned sportswear and started writing songs about their pain when they saw how it worked for Korn.

Suddenly, all the things that people said Bring Me The Horizon could never do were happening. In December 2013, they decimated Londons Brixton Academy in one of the finest performances ever seen at that venue, leading to the announcement of a one-off date a year later at Wembley Arena. That kiddie deathcore haircut band? In arenas? Even BMTH themselves didnt believe it could happen. Looks like Colin Barlow was right after all.

It was no one-off, either. Bring Me The Horizon built on the momentum, and are now comfortably established as one of the biggest success stories in British metal history, opening The BRITs, singing with Ed Sheeran while headlining Reading, scoring number one albums and, finally, this summer, headlining the UK's flagship rock festival, Download.

None of it could have happened without Sempiternal: the album that finally rewrote the narrative around Bring Me The Horizon, and that took them to greatness.
SeriesFest has set the theme and lineup for this years signature series, Innovation Talks, for the upcoming event set to take place from May 5-10 in Denver, Colorado. Candid conversations with Kathryn Busby (President, Original Programming, STARZ), Wade Davis (Chief Executive Officer, Televisa Univision) speaking with Mike Fries (CEO, Liberty Global), and Adam Lewinson (Chief Content Officer, Tubi) will take place during the Innovation Talks event, TheWrap can exclusively reveal.

The theme for Season 9 of SeriesFest, the international festival and non-profit organization dedicated to championing emerging and underserved voices in storytelling, is Whats Your Perspective? Each thought leader will share their point of view on the rapidly evolving television landscape.

It is thrilling to welcome three of the industrys most respected leaders to the SeriesFest: Season 9 Innovation Talks stage. Wade, Kathryn and Adam are trailblazers at the forefront of the ever-changing television landscape, shares SeriesFest co-founder and CEO, Randi Kleiner. Pushing boundaries with their groundbreaking ideas, these luminaries will share their perspectives on the industry and give attendees a front-row seat to thought-provoking discussions about shaping the future of television.

Launched over five years ago, the Innovation Talks series has spotlighted industry powerhouses including Ted Sarandos, Jon Feltheimer, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jennifer Garner, Ben Silverman, W. Kamau Bell, Ann Dowd, Jane Turton and more.

The annual six-day festival in Denver, Colorado, includes a full slate of in-competition screenings, panels, workshops, as well as never-before-seen sneak peeks and television premieres. The full schedule will be revealed in the coming days.

Also Read:

Foxs Tubi Sees Record Viewership in Q2 as Total Time Jumps 41%
Janelle Brown Courtesy of Janelle Brown/Instagram

Practice makes perfect  eventually. Sister Wives star Janelle Brown gave fans an "authentic" glimpse of her fitness progress amid her weight loss journey.

"Posting this unfiltered photo of me from Pilates today was a scary proposition," the TLC personality, 53, captioned an Instagram upload on Thursday, March 30, showing herself attempting to do a split on a Pilates reformer. "I have worked for years on my physical strength and stamina and only now am I consciously working on my core and flexibility."

Brown noted that she wanted to be as honest as possible about the more challenging aspects of her health kick. "I am less than perfect and let's be honest with each other, social media can be pretty brutal. Usually there is a lot of judgement and umm 'helpful tips,'" she wrote. "But there is power in being authentic. In showing the small steps towards crafting your own life - even if progress isn't always obvious or perfect."

Janelle Brown Courtesy of Janelle Brown/Instagram

Social media users flooded the comments section with supportive messages, thanking the reality star for her candid words and positive attitude. "Working hard to improve ourselves should always be applauded no matter what stage of the journey we're in. well done ," one fan wrote, while another praised Brown's "beautiful" honesty.

The Utah native has documented her progress as she's worked toward a healthier lifestyle following her split from Kody Brown. Janelle and the businessman, 54, were spiritually married for nearly 30 years and welcomed six children together before she announced during a December 2022 episode of Sister Wives that the duo had been "separated for months."

Earlier this year, Janelle confessed that working out helped her feel more confident in the wake of her breakup. "I had no idea when I first started taking a little time for myself several years ago the EMPOWERMENT that would come from being stronger. I workout [sic] not just to help me change my body but to be strong in mind and spirit as well," she captioned an Instagram video in January. "I have proven to myself over and over again that when you know how much you can push yourself there arent a lot of limits. If you are brave enough."

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Before the end of his marriage to Janelle, Kody and Christine Brown announced their split in November 2021. The former couple spiritually tied the knot in 1994 and share six kids. Kody was legally married to Meri Brown from 1990 to 2014, when he opted to divorce her in order to lawfully wed Robyn Brown and adopt her children from a previous relationship. The Wyoming native and Meri, 52, remained in a spiritual union until their 2022 split.

Janelle and her former sister wives have been candid about moving on after their respective breakups, often discussing their hopes for their next chapters via social media. While Christine, 50, has sparked a romance with boyfriend David Woolley, Janelle is focusing on herself.

"Slow and steady wins the race," she wrote via Instagram earlier this month while describing her lifestyle changes. "The best advice I can give you is, just start. Create your 'day one' because 'one day' will always come and go. Give it your all, be consistent and I can guarantee you'll be pleased! I know I am!"
LiveScience logo

Live Science regularly publishes freelance news, features and explainer pieces.

The first step to a successful pitch is to read stories on our site. We cover everything from fascinating archaeological discoveries from ancient Egypt, to bizarre ancient sea monsters, to wild theories about the birth and death of the universe.

Before you pitch us, please read our editorial standards carefully. All pitches should be emailed to ls-editors@futurenet.com . In the email subject line, include the channel you're pitching, the type of pitch, a proposed headline and a filing deadline.

Sample email subject line: PHYSICS NEWS PITCH: Black holes may be even darker than we thought, deadline Feb. 23.

Sample email subject line: HEALTH NEWS ANALYSIS PITCH: Obesity guidelines for kids recently changed. Are they safe?, deadline Feb. 11.

Please read on to learn how to pitch specific types of stories in particular subject areas.

Types of stories we accept from freelancers

News stories

When you're pitching a news story, ask yourself three questions: Is it interesting? Is it new? Is it important? For Live Science to cover a story, it needs to meet at least two of these three criteria. Stories also need to capture the attention of someone who has no background in the field. Please make sure you have access to key images (or note if we can use stock images) for the story.

When you pitch, please include a proposed headline for your story, a proposed deadline (if it is embargoed, please include the embargo time) and a link to the source of your story (such as a study, press release or news clip). Then, include a few sentences explaining what the findings are, why they are important and why the story is a good fit for Live Science. Also include the number of sources you propose to interview for the story.

News pitches should be no more than 100 words. News articles are typically between 300 and 600 words. Only pitch stories that are currently trending if you can quickly turn around the copy (often the same day). Embargoed stories or those that have been covered less extensively may have longer lead times. News stories should cover studies that have been published recently (in the past few months). Please check the site prior to pitching, to ensure we haven't already published the findings.

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We typically publish dozens of news stories per week.

News analysis pieces

News analysis pieces answer a compelling question about a topic in the news. For instance, when a bumper crop of UFOs floated above the U.S., Live Science published an analysis of why they were being discovered all of a sudden .

News analysis pieces should be fewer than 1,000 words. We prioritize analysis pieces written by experts in the field or by journalists who have covered a topic extensively. To be timely, news analysis pieces should ideally be published within two days of a pitch, so a fast turnaround is critical. Pitches should include a proposed headline, which is typically framed as a question. The body of the pitch should be roughly 100 to 150 words. Pitches should describe how you will answer the question and which sources you will contact.

We typically publish about one analysis piece per week.

News explainers

News explainers are comprehensive stories that cover everything about a topic that has been in the news. For instance, when scientists proposed using brain organoids growing in petri dishes as biocomputers, Live Science explained everything there is to know about minibrains . And when scientists sounded the alarm about the proliferation of space junk, we described what space junk is and why it's a growing problem .

Pitches should be roughly 100 to 150 words and include a proposed headline and a link to the trending news. In your pitch, please explain why the topic merits an explainer, as well as a bulleted list of the questions you will answer in the story. These questions are most often ones commonly searched on the web.

We typically publish one explainer every week or two. Most explainers are written by staff, but we also commission news explainers from freelancers with deep knowledge of the topic they're pitching.

News features

News features are stories of no more than 2,000 words that answer a larger question or cover a broad change in a scientific field, such as what scientists have learned in recent years about extreme longevity. These stories have longer shelf lives than news analyses do. We publish news features about once a month, so the bar for accepting a news feature from a freelancer is higher than for our other stories.

News feature pitches should include a proposed headline, a sample story map elucidating the story structure, and links to proposed studies and research the article will cover.

Feature pitches should be about 300 words and include a list of proposed sources to interview. The rule of thumb is that features should include one interview for every 500 words of text. Most features are written by Live Science staff writers, but very occasionally, we accept pitches from freelancers.

Life's Little Mysteries

The Life's Little Mysteries (LLM) series answers fascinating questions about the world around us and the stuff in it, using evidence-based science to shed light on matters big and small. These mysteries are intriguing, not boring or obvious. We report on highly searched mysteries (e.g., How deep is the Mariana Trench? ; How big can animals get? ) as well as offbeat but compelling ones (e.g., What is the 'call of the void'? ; Why are there no bridges over the Amazon River? ).

LLMs usually have one or two expert interviews and cite a number of studies. The length is about 600 words. We have a list of LLMs we assign, but you are also free to pitch. Just make sure we haven't covered the mystery.

Pitches should include a proposed headline framed as a question, body text of no more than 100 words explaining what the answer to the question is, and which sources you intend to contact.

Pitch guidelines by channel

Animals

From towering dinosaurs to lowly " penis fish ," Live Science covers animals both past and present  and the stranger, the better. Bizarre or unidentified marine animals discovered at sea or washed up onshore are often hits with readers, as are stories about strange fossils and mummies that are not what they seem . We cover discoveries of new species if there is something particularly weird, superlative or fascinating about them, and always favor stories with excellent, compelling photos or illustrations. Animals that our readers love include sharks, spiders, ferocious or jaw-dropping dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, weird sea life, and whales. We typically do not cover animal intelligence or behavior studies, but we make exceptions for especially odd findings  like these beetles that fling pee with butt catapults .

Archaeology

Live Science covers archaeological finds that many other outlets overlook. Topics of particular interest to our readers include ancient Egyptian discoveries, ancient Roman finds, treasure hoards, stunning facial reconstructions and sunken battleships. We also report on anthropology findings about human evolution and ancient human genetics.

Live Science covers science, not history, so archaeology stories should use some scientifically vetted technique to elucidate the past. For instance, we may write about archaeologists using lidar to reveal hidden Maya cities beneath the rainforest , or radiocarbon dating or isotope analysis to understand who is buried in an Iron Age tomb. We also report on major discoveries unearthed in traditional archaeological excavations, such as this ancient Roman 'spike' defense made famous by Julius Caesar or this giant ceremonial sword unearthed in Japan that was used to ward off evil spirits .

Health

By and large, Live Science covers health studies and clinical trials conducted in humans, not animals. Rare exceptions are made for animal studies that reveal particularly surprising disease mechanisms or that involve compelling experiments that could not ethically be done in humans. We cover medical conditions and research findings that have relevance to a wide audience or that explain a key or fascinating mechanism in the human body. (If scientists discover a previously unknown body part, that's definitely one to pitch!)

Whenever possible, the studies featured in our health stories should include a large number of participants (always more than 10, but depending on the health condition, hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands). We prioritize covering clinical trials that are randomized and placebo-controlled over observational trials. We do sometimes cover preprints (which have not yet been peer-reviewed), but in doing so, we always have experts weigh in on the caveats of the work.

We also cover unusual case reports. Usually, these reports highlight an unusual or unknown medical condition, such as the case of magic mushrooms growing in a man's blood after he drank a psychedelic tea.

Live Science readers are particularly interested in viral diseases and surprising findings on COVID-19, such as COVID-19 mixing up our fight-or-flight response ; new body parts or cell types, like this long-sought immune cell that scientists only recently found; parasitic diseases; reproductive health; sleep; genetic research; and therapeutic uses for psychedelics.

Human Behavior

Live Science's human behavior stories largely elucidate why humans learn and behave the way we do. For example, these articles might delve into how memories are stored in the brain; why stress can derail our ability to think and perform tasks; and even how scientists define consciousness (if they really can).

Broadly, this vertical encompasses topics in psychology and neuroscience that wouldn't necessarily count as health-related. (Neurological diseases, for example, would fall under our health section.)

Many of our most popular human behavior stories reveal something fascinating or unusual about the way the brain works  for instance, how a memory trick used by Sherlock Holmes really works , how the brain uses a universal language network and what happens in gymnasts' brains when they get the "twisties."

Physics

At Live Science, we cover everything from the tiniest subatomic particles that make up the cosmos to the biggest structures in the universe. Our readers are fascinated by stories about how the universe began and is likely to end, about the spooky physics of quantum mechanics, the arrow of time and the physics of black holes .

Physics stories that are particularly successful address a fundamental question about the universe  for example, why we are here, what the universe is made of, and what laws govern matter.

We do not cover incremental technological innovations, but we do publish stories about truly transformative changes that will have a large impact on the world.

Planet Earth

At Live Science, we are fascinated by major geologic transitions that transform Earth . These may include topics like major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the hidden dynamics of Earth's interior. For instance, stories about new minerals hauled from deep inside the planet , Earth's hidden eighth continent , and big weather patterns have been a hit with readers.

Live Science also covers major studies on climate change and how it will impact the planet in the future . We do not cover stories that raise skepticism about human influence on climate change.

Space

Live Science readers find stories about near-Earth asteroids, meteor strikes, the physics of the sun and discoveries on Mars particularly interesting. Stories that highlight gorgeous celestial objects or discoveries of awesome new space structures are also especially fascinating to readers, especially when accompanied by a dazzling telescope image or compelling illustration. Live Science readers are intrigued by black holes, like this runaway black hole speeding through the galaxy , as well as new discoveries about our home galaxy, such as the James Webb telescope finding the Milky Way's twin . We also cover major skywatching events, such as total eclipses, meteor showers and large planetary conjunctions.

We do not cover minor shuttle launches, but we do report on major missions, such as the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Artemis program and the Double Asteroid Redirection Test.
Sutton Strackes Sheer Dress with a Cat Design Will Stop You in Your Tracks

Sutton Stracke has a knack for incorporating felines into her divine looks. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member once famously wore a cat sweater on a date. And when she hosted a star-studded anniversary party for her boutique, The Sutton Concept, she donned a sheer cat dress that was purr-fect for the occasion.

At the March 29 event, Sutton posed on a black carpet. She wore the Velvet Illusion Cat Dress by Alexis Mabille. The knee-length style features the silhouette of two black cats touching noses. The dress also has a bateau neck and long sleeves made of sheer, dotted fabric.

Sutton styled the dress with strappy black heels, a dainty pearl necklace, and a bangle bracelet. She wore her blonde hair in a half-back style and swiped her lips with her signature slick of red.

Of course, this isnt the first time Sutton has made a major style statement in Alexis Mabille. In 2021, she hosted a party in the designers honor, and she wore a one-of-a-kind dress that he made. The crimson style had a chic bow that tied at the neckline and long sleeves with slits down the middle.

But back to Suttons latest Alexis Mabille look. In this gorgeous dress, you could say she was ready for the, ahem, catwalk.

Sutton Stracke in a black sheer cat dress.

Sutton Stracke attends as Sutton Stracke celebrates her boutique SUTTON's 4th anniversary on March 29, 2023 in West Hollywood, California. Photo: Getty Images

Speaking of catwalks, the Georgia native took to the City of Lights for Paris Fashion Week this past winter. Lucky for us fashion fans, she documented her experiences along the way.

Sutton Promote

A few favorite moments from [haute couture] this week, the mom of two captioned a January 26 Instagram photo series that showcased her time in the fashion capital du monde. In the first shot, taken with Alexis, Sutton rocked a long-sleeved sheer white dotted blouse.

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She went on to share another moment from the trip, posting a photo of herself with BFF Jennifer Tilly as they attended the Valentino show.

[Valentino] couture. With my old friends and making new friends, Sutton captioned the January 27 Instagram snap. In the photo, she wore a sleeveless black sheath, crocodile-embossed knee-high boots, and a dazzling statement necklace. [Fashion] is the circle of life. [Couture] is the very first [circular fashion].

Jennifer also took to Instagram to share the second photo from Suttons January 26 series, a picture of the two posing for a group shot that included another lovely lady from the Bravoverse: The Real Housewives of Salt Lake Citys Meredith Marks.

At the fabulous [Alexis Mabille] show! the Chucky actress captioned her January 26 Instagram post that showed off her all-black look as well as Suttons long-sleeved black blouse, black leather pencil skirt, and black pointed-toe pumps with bejeweled ankle straps.

Watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Peacock and the Bravo app.
Thailands government has doubled the cap on its production incentive to THB150M ($4.4M), while an increase in the cash rebate it offers to 30% is also being considered.

The move comes as major projects including HBOs The Sympathizer are shooting in Thailand, while further projects such as the third season of The White Lotus are reportedly heading to the country later this year.

More from Deadline

Thailand currently offers a cash rebate of 15% to foreign productions shooting in the country, with a further 5% available based on a cultural test. The maximum rebate per production is capped at THB75M ($2.2M).

In February, Thailands cabinet approved an increase in the incentive to 30% of qualifying spend, which is currently being considered by the treasury department. The doubling of the cap to $4.4M has been confirmed. Local industry sources say the final decision about the increase of the rebate is likely to be announced at the Cannes film festival in May.

Last year, Thailands government also agreed to waive the personal income tax that it collects from foreign talent shooting in the country for a period of five years.

Meanwhile, local studios and facilities are exploring expansion plans in anticipation of bigger productions heading to Thailand following the changes to the incentives, while local property developers are looking at building new studios.

Speaking at a workshop organized by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Bangkok-based facility Studio Park said its planning to expand its existing five sound stages with additional, larger stages, and is also exploring the addition of a Virtual Production (VP) volume.

Studio Park acting director Vara Vilaivan described how Netflixs Thai Cave Rescue constructed 13 sections of cave on its stages, the biggest of which is 2,400 square meters, and also built a shallow water tank. We already have tanks, but they were too deep. This is when we discovered that our stages are not as big as we previously thought and we have room for improvement, Vilaivan said.

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Kulthep Narula, COO of production services company Benetone Films, explained that Thailand has always been known for location shooting, in particular beaches, jungle and cityscapes, but more inbound productions are requiring sound stages, so the industry is looking to upgrade its facilities, VP and other production technology infrastructure. While Bangkok already has more than 50 stages, most are relatively small and used for local TV and commercials work.

LtoR: Vara Vilaivan, Kanatanas Pimlapat Chaiviriyachok, Kulthep Narula

Thailand is ready for the next step, which is to have bigger and better facilities for bigger productions, and thats what we need to get ready for, Narula said. Were asking ourselves; can we handle a Mission Impossible or a John Wick? Probably not yet, but with some work and forward thinking its possible.

Valaivan said Studio Parks stages are booked out for the rest of the year and other Bangkok facilities are also busy. Studio Park has also been used by productions including Shantaram and Disneys Ms Marvel.

The Thailand Film Office (TFO) recently announced that Thailand hosted 348 film and TV productions in 2022, with combined budgets reaching $182M, the highest level ever. Other productions to shoot in the country over the past few years include The Meg 2: The Trench, Thirteen Lives, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Extraction and Fistful Of Vengeance.

HBO and A24s The Sympathizer is currently shooting at multiple locations across the country. At the MPA workshop, Executive Producer Niv Fichman said the production had considered shooting in Vietnam, where the series and the source novel of the same name are partly set, but opted for Thailand due to the ease of filming, experienced crews and government support.

We made a full assessment, and the incentives help for sure, but we were also impressed by the infrastructure. We knew we could get the crews and that our production services company, Indochina Productions, could provide HBO with the facilities they required, Fichman said. There are challenges, because Thailand doesnt look like Vietnam and we have a big responsibility towards authenticity, so we have Vietnamese cast and numerous Vietnamese consultants on the set.

Fichman also noted the irony that the lead character of the source novel, written by Viet Thanh Nguyen, is a Vietnamese refugee in the 1970s who gets a side gig working as a consultant on a big American movie about the Vietnam War shooting in the Philippines. No prizes for guessing which movie the book is referencing.

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Savannah Morning News editor Zach Dennis, documentary filmmaker Patrick Longstreth, Jannie Everette, president and CEO of the Thiokol Memorial Project, and Savannah Morning News reporter Nancy Guan talk about the 1971 chemical explosion at the Thiokol Plant in Woodbine Georgia during a panel discussion on Wednesday March 29, 2023 at Savannah State University.

One of the deadliest industrial disasters in U.S. history took place in south Georgia in 1971, but the stories of the community and tragic explosion are still largely forgotten.

On March 29, the Savannah Morning News and Savannah State University partnered on a documentary screening and panel discussion about the 1971 explosion at the Thiokol Chemical plant in Woodbine, Georgia, that killed 29 people and injured more than 50 others. The speakers explored media projects working to bring attention to the history of the explosion.

Deep dive: In 1971, 29 people died in an explosion in Georgia. 52 years later, their story is being told

All episodes of Tripwire: Tripwire: Podcast investigates the 1971 Thiokol plant explosion in Georgia and what happened after

The panel discussed Tripwire, the seven-episode narrative, investigative podcast about the Thiokol explosion created by Savannah Morning News reporter Nancy Guan and editor Zach Dennis, as well as a short version of the feature-length film documentary filmmakers Patrick and Anne Longstreth has been working on. Dennis, Guan and Longstreth were joined by Jannie Everette, the president and CEO of the Thiokol Memorial Project and runs their museum in Kingsland.

Jannie Everette, president and CEO of the Thiokol Memorial Project, talks about the 1971 chemical explosion that killed 29 people in Woodbine Georgia, during a panel discussion on Wednesday March 29, 2023 at Savannah State University.

50 years later, community strives to bring attention to Thiokol explosion

On Feb. 3, 1971, Woodbine was changed forever by an explosion at the Thiokol plant, a facility that employed and promised opportunity to local workers, predominantly Black women, during the Vietnam War. Workers were assembling trip flares illuminates for the war, which due to a U.S. government misclassification, the components exploded killing 29 and wounding 50 more.

For the next 17 years, survivors and family members of Thiokol's workers battled the federal government in court seeking justice. Despite the scale of the tragedy, survivors and their loved ones and descendants are still working to bring recognition to the Thiokol workers, both from the government and their own community.

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Everette began the Thiokol Memorial Project back in 2013 when she realized how little the tragedy was being remembered.

She was babysitting the great-grandchildren of Ethel Banks, one of the women who died due to the explosion, who are also the great-grandchildren of her mother, who survived the explosion. The children had found an article online and asked Everette if there had been an explosion in Woodbine. When they said "Thiokol," it clicked for her.

"I looked at the story, and the second person on the list is their great-grandmother," Everette said. "They didn't know her. They didn't know she was killed in this explosion. No one had told them the story, it was not being taught in school." She said the Thiokol explosion only has two sentences devoted to it in Camden County's school history books.

Everette's work creating the memorial project was highlighted in an article from The Current on the 50th anniversary of the Thiokol explosion, which Longstreth read and was inspired to create the documentary with his wife and fellow documentarian Anne Longstreth.

Longstreth approached Dennis about creating a multimedia project on Thiokol. Dennis and Guan used interview audio from Longstreth's work, and also conducted additional interviews, research and site visits.

Tripwire Podcast, Episode 1 We Sang While We Worked

Tripwire Podcast, Episode 2: Woodbine, We Have a Problem

Savannah Morning News reporter Nancy Guan talks about the making of the Tripwire podcast during a panel discussion on Wednesday March 29, 2023 at Savannah State University.

Telling difficult stories

"We feel very lucky to be able to tell this story in audio format and reach an even wider audience," Guan said. "I think the sound works to immerse people in the Thiokol story in visceral ways."

The panel discussed how to tell the stories of Thiokol tactfully and in a manner that balances the tragedy of the event while being respectful to those who were injured or killed. Guan said that the team took special care to strike that balance, particularly in the third and fourth episodes that focus heavily on the explosion and its aftermath. She said they worked to let the survivors tell their own stories, rather than narrate over the speakers.

"It's not about what you ask, it's how you ask," Everette said. Guan, Dennis and Longstreth agreed that Everette was the person who brought survivors, family members and other speakers to the conversation and helped facilitate the work. To tell these stories, building trust and rapport was integral.

According to Longstreth, some of the interviewees said it was the first time in 50 years that they had spoken on the subject and that it would also be their last. Moreover, Longstreth said several of the speakers have already passed away, and that the timeliness of this storytelling is more important than ever.

Former Thiokol employee Emma Lou Gibbs, right, listens as Jannie Everette, president and CEO of the Thiokol Memorial Project, speaks during a discussion about the 1971 chemical explosion that killed 29 employees who were mostly women, during a panel discussion on Wednesday March 29, 2023 at Savannah State University.

A place in history

"Those veterans, their lives had been saved by the men and women of Thiokol," Everette said.

The workers at Thiokol gave their lives to the war effort with little recognition. Not only have their sacrifices gone unrecognized by way of awards, historical recognition or governmental accountability, but the government has failed to deliver justice after a 17 legal battle in which it attempted to discredit survivors and families, calling them unskilled and illiterate, going so far as to claim that employees were at fault for killing their own coworkers.

"Give them their place in history," Everette said. Despite building the munitions used in the Vietnam War, the skilled workers of Thiokol have been largely left out of the histories of the war and labor.

The Thiokol Memorial Project spent about two years researching and considering an ultimate plan and decided that the organization's ultimate goal is to create a national monument.

National monuments are under the Department of Interior, which oversees all the country's national parks, monuments and wildlife refuges. The park would commemorate the 600 workers  30 killed and 570 who survived  and the 16 cities, 14 hospitals and Army, Navy and Coast Guard which provided first responders. The project plans the park to be on the north end of Camden County along the interstate where it would not only draw in tourism but provide space for reflection and education.

The Thiokol Memorial Project has also created a petition to award the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress's highest honor of national appreciation, to the 30 people who died at the Thiokol explosion. Read and sign the petition at thiokolmemorial.org/petition.

Marisa Mecke is an environmental journalist. She can be reached at 912-328-4411 or mmecke@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Morning News and Savannah State panel on Thiokol explosion
NAIROBI, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Onesmus Kasee runs a busy grocery shop in South C, a sprawling middle-class suburb in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. His morning to mid-day task is dominated by sourcing the stock for the day --making early morning trips to various fresh produce wholesale markets in the city, buying various fruits and vegetables and then arranging for their transport to his shop.

Thanks to an agritech innovation, Kasee's early morning trips to the fresh produce wholesale markets have now reduced; he spends less on transport and has more time to perform other tasks. This is because he has started using Terralima, a new agritech startup that is streamlining farm-to-retail linkages for smallholder farmers in Africa.

Roy Njoka, the chief executive and co-founder of Terralima, describes it as an online marketplace that connects the farmer directly to the retailer with the platform being the intermediary which sources from the farm, warehouses, sorts, packages and delivers to the retailer.

The startup is part of the innovation hub in Nairobi known as Delta40, a venture studio that aims to increase incomes and tackle climate change in Africa by building and investing in technology ventures. Delta40 focuses on technology-driven energy, agriculture, and mobility ventures led by diverse, experienced founders.

Kasee said one of the biggest advantages of using the Terralima platform is that it has helped him cut operational costs, free his time for other tasks and access high-quality produce.

On the outskirts of the industrial town of Thika, about 40 km north of Nairobi, is Patricia Wanjiku, a retired public servant who now does small-scale commercial farming of chickens for eggs. Three months ago, Terralima field agents recruited her into the network, her role being one of the 2,000 farmers supplying hundreds of retailers with eggs.

"Terralima buys up to 68 crates of eggs every week. Before I joined them, many traders were coming to pick eggs from my farm. The difference is that Terralima is consistent. This is why I want to keep this relationship with them. Their payment is prompt, no credit and this is good for my business," Wanjiku said.

Wanjiku is now directly connected to retailers, meaning that she is assured of demand for her eggs. As a result, she is planning to increase the number of her birds to 2,500 from the current 1,500 to meet the demand-driven market opportunity under Terralima.

Terralima's solution helps match supply with demand and in the process, cuts off many destructive intermediaries otherwise known as brokers from the fresh produce farm to the fork chain. To ensure each of them gets a profit, these brokers buy from farmers at rock-bottom prices to preserve margins along the chain, meaning the retailer gets the produce at six to ten times the farm gate price and the consumer unknowingly pays exorbitant prices.

"We started six months ago. We have 2,000 farmers and 800 retailers. We offer prices that are lower or similar to those at the retail market. Our platform is transparent. Our target is that in five years, we shall have at least 3 million farmers on our platform," said Roy Njoka, the co-founder of Terralima.

Terralima's biggest challenge is the logistics of getting produce at the farm gate and being able to deliver it at high quality to the retailers, which Njoka said is being addressed through technology options of using stickers that prolong the shelf life of fruits, use of special films to cover the produce while being transported to preserve the freshness and exploring other options like the cold storage. 
The carrier has more in store for its expansion plans.

Courtesy of United Airlines

I looked out the plane window as we flew over the Arabian Gulf. Dubais famous landmarks were slowly coming into view: first, the Palm Jumeirah, then the Burj Khalifa. We crossed the glittering city and made our way over the rolling sand dunes of the desert as we descended.

This wasnt just any flight. It was the inaugural flight for United Airlines' nonstop journey from Newark, New Jersey, to Dubai. This route now makes United the only U.S. carrier to fly direct from the U.S. to United Arab Emirates' most populous city. (United previously had a direct flight between Washington, D.C. and Dubai that was canceled in 2016, according to Reuters.)

The milestone flight is an expansion of United's partnership with Emirates, which the airlines first announced last fall. The new route means United serves a total of 35 destinations across the Atlantic Ocean, and it's indicative of the carrier's international expansion plans.



"It's important to have metal in the market," Patrick Quayle, the senior vice president of global network planning and alliances at United, told Travel + Leisure before boarding the Dubai flight. "It's really about creating an opportunity for our passengers to have that ability to fly United ... it really is symbolic to have a United plane going there."

Alison Fox

Alison Fox

After boarding the 13-hour and 30-minute flight, I settled into Uniteds Polaris business class. The flight took off at 9:40 p.m. and I enjoyed a late-night dinner. Later, I watched as the airline's famous ice cream sundae cart rolled down the aisle  dished out by none other than an apron-wearing Quayle himself  before turning my seat into a bed to catch a few hours of sleep.

As a bonus, United handed out commemorative pajamas and orange-and-cardamom baklava to celebrate the inaugural flight. The airline also gave each passenger a box of dates when we landed.

Alison Fox

But direct flights to Dubai is not Uniteds end game. It's just one part of their 2023 expansion plan. In May, the airline will launch a brand new flight to Malaga, Spain, from its Newark hub. Plus, it will resume flights to Stockholm (also from Newark) for the first time since 2019. United is also adding new flights to destinations it already serves, connecting San Francisco and Rome, Washington, D.C. and Berlin, and more.

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"Were looking at more expansion, we're looking at some new cities, and we're looking at connecting existing dots," Quayle told T+L. "It's really like making a cake: There are all these different ingredients and you have to mix them appropriately [to] get a great outcome."

Last year, United added five new destinations, marking its largest-ever transatlantic expansion: Amman, Jordan; Bergen, Norway; Azores, Portugal; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands.

And Quayle said the airline isnt done yet. "This has been our strategy for a long time," he said. "What I found is that breadth matters, so having a broad range of destinations matters."

Alison Fox

Once on the ground in Dubai, I made my way through the citys stunning architecture and bright lights that made it feel alive and humming after dark. I checked into my room at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai and walked to the window, looking down at the city lights from my room on the 48th floor.

I took in the glowing Burj Al Arab, which was lit up green that night, and spotted the Atlantis, The Palm in the distance. Standing there, I could see why Dubai was on Uniteds list, and couldnt wait to explore more.

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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
When they launched Urbanite Theatre nine years ago as an intimate home for new and provocative plays, FSU/Asolo Conservatory graduates Summer Wallace and Brendan Ragan were ahead of a growing curve of theater companies that are run by more than one artistic leader sharing responsibilities.

But after producing more than 50 local plays, many of which they either directed or performed in, Ragan plans to leave in April to become artistic director of Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Wallace will become Urbanite's Producing Artistic Director and one of the few female leaders of a Sarasota area theater company.

Its tough because when you start something from scratch, you find yourself working on it at hours of the day that you wouldnt normally be working in a different kind of job because you love it and feel it belongs to you, Ragan said.

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Brendan Ragan, a co-founder and co-artistic director of Urbanite Theatre in downtown Sarasota, is leaving the company after nine years for a new position with a Chicago area theater.

But then an opportunity comes along where you cant say no. Not only is this a wonderful professional opportunity, but its also a personal opportunity for me as well. I had a tough period of reflection when I needed to think of whether I wanted to take it, but ultimately found it to be an easy decision.

Wallace said the new job is a wonderful opportunity for Brendan to move to a bigger city and for him to work for a company on a bigger scale, with bigger budgets, bigger staff and bigger shows.

Urbanites theater space, which was built by the duos former business partner, Harry Lipstein, for the company on Second Street in downtown Sarasota, seats between 50 and 70 people, depending on the production design.

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Summer Wallace, a co-founder of Urbanite Theatre, will become the company's sole producing artistic director in April.

Since the company made its debut with the American premiere of Chicken Shop in 2015, Wallace and Ragan have divided the work load, but both were involved in season planning and casting. Ragan handled more of the marketing aspects and Wallace oversaw contracts and negotiations with guest artists.

Nearly a decade of growth

The company also has grown from a two-person operation to a team with four full-time staff members and several part-time employees.

Wallace said she is excited about being sole artistic director and having more autonomy, while also overseeing new strategic planning for the future. One of my goals is to really institute more planning for the company so Urbanite outsurvives me and we have a long-lasting footprint in the community.

She hopes to expand educational programming with interns and do more with artistic fellows who will work for a year, or on specific productions.

Ragan said Metropolis produces its own works, presents as many as 70 one-night performances (cabaret shows, bands, comedians), and has an active performing arts school with classes throughout the year and a summer camp.

It employs professional actors and produces much larger productions than Urbanite could afford to stage or fit in its intimate space. Upcoming productions include the musicals Ragtime and Xanadu.

Brendan Ragan and Summer Dawn Wallace in front of the Urbanite Theatre on Second Street around the time of its opening in 2015.

Im yearning to take on a big majestic musical or a big classic comedy. Thats certainly part of a theatermakers vocabulary.

He said he is confident that Urbanite will thrive after he leaves.

Theater by its very nature was meant to change. One of the motivating factors in deciding which works to do is have we done something like this before, have we told this kind of story, have we had this topic, Ragan said. Urbanite will stay that way. It will constantly look at topics and people and ideas. Thats one of the reasons people love coming to Urbanite because of the surprise.

Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Urbanite Theatre losing one of its co-founders and artistic directors
A South Carolina utility that sued one of its customers for complaining about the quality of the drinking water she receives has lost in court after three years of legal disputes.

Circuit Judge Brian Gibbons dismissed the defamation case by the Jenkinsville Water Co. against Bertha Goins, a Fairfield County Council member who receives water from the utility.

Gibbons did not provide an explanation for his decision, but is expected to do so with a formal written order.

This weeks ruling is a win for the publics right to criticize government, said Goins attorney and a leading free press lawyer in South Carolina.

Goins has said shes seen muddy water flow from her tap multiple times. She has said the system is getting old and has problems. The water company has said her claims are false, unwarranted, and cast the utility in a bad light.

Ms. Goins is pleased the court dismissed JWCs baseless defamation claim against her for speaking the truth, on behalf of herself and her constituents, about the concerns they have about the quality of JWCs water, according to a statement from her attorney, Tommy Morgan. As the law makes clear, elected officials such as Ms. Goins need to be able to speak for the people and bring such critical issues as water quality to light on behalf of those who oftentimes do not have a voice.

Jay Bender, an attorney for the S.C. Press Association and other media outlets, including The State, said the publics rights have been protected.

The utility is a special purpose district, an arm of government, Bender said. Since at least 1776, citizens have had every right to criticize the performance of government.

The Jenkinsville Water Co. has claimed it is a private, non-profit corporation, but Attorney General Alan Wilson has issued an opinion that it is a public body. Regardless of whether the utility is a government, Bender said, the public has a right to criticize utilities if the claims are accurate.

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T. Jeff Goodwyn, an attorney for the water company, was not immediately available for comment Thursday. Greg Ginyard, the companys top official, also was not immediately available.

In addition to tossing out the Jenkinsville suit, the judge allowed several counterclaims by Goins against the water company to continue.

The Jenkinsville Water Co., a small utility that serves about 2,500 people in Fairfield County north of Columbia, has had run-ins with state environmental and health regulators since the 1980s.

From 2010 to 2020, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control made at least four enforcement cases against the water company for various problems. In one case, the company did not notify customers for days about bacteria in the drinking water, resulting in a state fine of $14,000, The State has previously reported. The newspaper chronicled Jenkinsvilles challenges during a 2019 series about the trouble small drinking water systems have across South Carolina.

Ginyard has consistently said the utility provides quality water. In its 2020 lawsuit against Goins, the utility said she had engaged in a public campaign of maliciously attacking Jenkinsville Water Co. by stating that the water .... is substandard, but that the claims were false, defamatory and impugn the good reputation (of) Jenkinsville Water Co. 

Goins, a former water company board member, said Thursday shes seen little improvement in the water and is glad with the courts ruling. She questioned the wisdom of Jenkinsvilles decision to spend money to fight her in court.

The company should have focused on trying to repair the system and do better and clean it up, Goins said. That is what should have happened, rather than suing me to hush.
Viola Davis and Julius Tennon costar as NBA legend Michael Jordan's parents in the new movie Air

TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Viola Davis and Julius Tennon

Viola Davis and her husband Julius Tennon are reliving their meet cute.

During the couple's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live Thursday, Tennon, 69, and EGOT winner Davis, 57, recalled how they first met in 1999 on the set of the television series City of Angels while they were in line to get breakfast.

"I was dogging a bagel with tuna fish on it, a cinnamon raisin bagel with tunafish, and believe it or not it's really, really good, but go ahead, Julius," Davis said, laughing as she handed the story off to her husband, who added that he gave her his contact information at the end of that day's filming.

"Well, I gave you my card only because my mom told me, my mom said: 'If you want to meet a girl, don't ask for her phone number, give her your card. IF she's interested, she'll call you,' " Tennon told host Jimmy Kimmel.

"[Davis] promptly called me a month later," he added, generating laughs from Kimmel and the audience  as well as quite the grin on his wife's face.

Related:Viola Davis and Julius Tennon's Relationship Timeline

Robin L Marshall/Getty Images

The actress went on to explain that she did not call back immediately because she had "bad credit" and no car at the time.

"No one wants to meet a 34-year-old woman on a bus with bad credit," Davis explained. "So I was trying to get my stuff together, and then I was like, 'You know what, it's going to take too long to get the credit right.' "

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After joking that they moved in together early in their relationship due to financial concerns, Davis insisted that was an actual consideration at the time. "I'm not lying to you," she told host Kimmel. "Splitting that rent coming from New York, I was like  and he was cute, you know? He had a tight ass."

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Asked about their first date, Davis immediately told the host it was "magical" as the pair reminisced over the bread they shared together.

TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Viola Davis and Julius Tennon

Related:Viola Davis Was Unaware Michael Jordan Personally Cast Her as His Mom in AIR: 'Blew My Mind'

The couple  who costar in the new movie Air as Michael Jordan's parents Deloris and James  previously recalled to the Los Angeles Times in December that Tennon impressed Davis with his "Texas hospitality" on the date, at the the Crocodile Cafe in Santa Monica, Calif.

"You said you loved the bread basket!" Davis recalled. He added, "Oh, yeah ... the bread was fresh and good."

Afterward, he drove her home in his "new" Nissan Maxima, which Davis remembers being "so clean."

"And he drove me to the front curb and he shook my hand. He said I was beautiful and that he'd had such a beautiful time," Davis recalled. "And he stayed there until I got to the door of my apartment. He was such a gentleman."

Air opens in theaters April 5.

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It was 2019 and Hopital Albert Schweitzer, the only medical option available to hundreds of thousands of people along Haitis rural Artibonite River Valley, had just converted to solar power, expanded its 24-hour operations and implemented a surveillance program for mosquito-borne diseases and family planning.

All of it was costly. After years of being self-funded thanks to the efforts of its founders six decades earlier, the hospital, which sits on a 120-acre campus with its own solar power and water treatment plants, was in the red and cash reserves were running out.

The hospital was facing a huge challenge, recalls Jean Marc de Matteis, 50. It was transitioning from the era of being self-funded ... and the board was facing tough decisions.

On the table: scaling back medical services or closing altogether. Then de Matteis, whose wife, Verena, sat on the board, raised his hand. The Haitian-born professional thought that perhaps with his 20 years of experience in healthcare and commercial enterprises he could engineer a turnaround as the hospitals next chief executive officer.

This was before widespread fuel shortages spurred a countrywide shutdown in July, blocking de Matteis and outsiders from accessing the hospital; before 2020s COVID-19 pandemic made travel and in-person meetings almost impossible, and the worlds attention turned to finding personal protective equipment for local health facilities. And it was before Haitis deepening political turmoil took a spiraling downturn.

Throw in a presidential assassination and then the earthquake, de Matteis said. And then of course now this situation, which is worse than everything combined  what we are going through in Haiti now.

Jean Marc de Matteis is the current chief executive officer of Hopital Albert Schweitzer. The Haitian-born professional will be honored in South Florida for his leadership of the hospital, which continues to provide care in central Haiti despite gang violence forcing it to suspend some services in February 2023.

Despite the challenges, de Matteis managed to keep Hopital Albert Schweitzer afloat and open  even though last month armed gangs forced him to suspend regular operations and implement an emergency plan where the hospital only accepts life-threatening emergencies.

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I was able to go in there and get some efficient management going and reduce our expenses considerably and almost double our impact, said de Matteis, who replaced former CEO Louis Martin in June 2019. Weve expanded our community health programs, we reestablished our mobile clinics and established an HIV clinic, which we did not have before. So I am really proud.

More recent efforts included vaccinating 20,000-plus people against COVID-19, producing 20 million-plus liters of oxygen and spearheading relief efforts in the south of Haiti after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the cities of Les Cayes and Jeremie in August 2021. In addition to bringing in World Central Kitchen and its founder, chef Jose Andres, to provide thousands of hot meals to quake survivors, de Matteis and the hospital coordinated with Haiti Air Ambulance, which was part of a triage at the airport.

Were stepping in and serving where we see a void, he said.

De Matteis leadership will be lauded Friday at the Sailfish Club of Florida in Palm Beach. A fundraiser for the hospital, the White Hot Night annual benefit is spearheaded by Palm Beach resident Louise Stephaich, whose uncle and aunt, Larry and Gwen Mellon, founded Hopital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles, Haiti, 67 years ago.

Stephaich, 93, who once traveled to Haiti amid food riots to go check on the care being given, said the benefit isnt just about raising funds for the hospital in a time of need. It is also about bringing desperately needed attention to Haiti, where medical facilities and professionals are increasingly becoming casualties in the escalating armed gang violence.

I want people to be aware of whats going on in Haiti, she said. Hopefully they will talk to people in Washington. With Ukraine going on, we dont see that much about Haiti.

Hospital operating under war-like conditions

Despite scaling back regular operations, the hospital has remained busy. The pediatric ward is full, and surgeries are ongoing, de Matteis said, taking place under war-like conditions.

Weve treated more gunshot victims in three weeks than we did for all of last year, he said.

So far, supplies are still coming in, though every day is a game of chance and tactical maneuvering to get supplies, first out of the port, and then onto the road through gang-controlled roads unnoticed.

There is no food getting out anywhere, said de Matteis, deeply worried about the Artibonite, the countrys breadbasket. All of the solutions that are being proposed, $100 million for this and that, 14 months ago that would have had a chance, but today, there is nothing to reinforce.

The co-chairs of Fridays fundraiser are CNNs Anderson Cooper and author Mitch Albom, along with Andres, as well as Stephaich and Verena de Matteis. Albom, a journalist and philanthropist who runs an orphanage in Haiti and still travels there regularly, said he knows firsthand the stress under which hospitals are operating.

Over the last six weeks, staff had to run all over Port-au-Prince on a Sunday looking for medication to stop a seizure after a hospital didnt have it to treat one of his kids. Another facility discharged another one of his kids despite him being diagnosed with tuberculosis because the hospital said it had to shut down due to the gang violence preventing staff from getting to work.

I think its hard for any American mind that hasnt been to Haiti to really comprehend whats gong on there in hospitals or anything else for that matter. Its just so far out of our realm of thinking, he said. Its the worst thing you can imagine and then another 10% beyond that. When it comes to hospitals, what more vital cog of society can there be? You would think maybe the gangs would leave them alone. Its just not true.

People are being forced to take their safety into their own hands, said Albom, in order to get to and from work and just to save someones life.

Schweitzer inspired Haitis hospital

Stephaichs uncle, Larry Mellon, was a rancher when someone dropped a copy of a magazine at his doorstep one day. On the cover was a photo of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and medical missionary whose humanitarian work included building a hospital in Africa.

Mellon and Schweitzer corresponded, and the latter inspired him to quit ranching and become a doctor, even though Mellon at the time only had one year of undergraduate studies, Stephaich recalled.

Eventually, Mellon and his wife, Gwen, who had wanted to be a missionary, settled on Haiti after traveling the hemisphere looking for a place to build their own hospital. In Deschapelles, they found the campus of a defunct fruit company, which had a lot of buildings, and were given the land by the government on the condition that they make it a hospital.

Hopital Albert Schweitzer in central Haiti has had to suspend regular services due to kidnappings and violent gangs. But the hospitals pediatric wards are full and new patients are increasingly gunshot victims.

During his time at the hospital, which he named in honor of his friend and inspiration, Larry Mellon was known for walking around with a pith helmet, hence the name Le Grand Chapeau Award for Philanthropy and Service that de Matteis will receive.

Hopital Albert Schweitzer in central Haiti has had to suspend regular services due to kidnappings and violent gangs. But the hospitals pediatric wards are full and new patients include gunshot victims. Outside of Haiti, the hospital is known for its treatment of high-risk pregnancies.

Like Stephaich, de Matteis wants to keep Fridays focus on Haiti and the professionals providing day-to-day care. People like Dr. Jean William Bill Pape, who runs the Gheskio medical clinics, and University Hospital of Mirebalais Loune Viard and Didi Bertrand Farmer, widow of the late Dr. Paul Farmer, who also focused on bringing healthcare to central Haiti.

The worse the humanitarian crisis gets the more hospitals and our services are needed, de Matteis said. Whatever the situation is in Haiti ... the 2,800 women with high risk pregnancies that give birth every year and the 800 Caesarean sections that we do every year are needed more than even when people are suffering more.

At the end of the day, we are alleviating suffering, de Matteis added. And thats always a positive thing.

To donate to the hospital, a nonprofit tax-exempt charitable organization, make checks payable to HAS Haiti, P.O. Box 110091, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA; or by phone 1-412-351-5200. You can also go to https://hashaiti.org/take-action/ways-to-give/donate/
Rescuers alerted by her sisters 911 call found a woman clinging to a tree branch from a sinking, deflating raft in the Coquille River, Oregon officials reported.

In the 911 call at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, the woman said her sister had been swept downstream on the raft while they were at Albert Powers Park near Powers, the Coos County Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

Deputies and Myrtle Point Fire Department rescuers spotted the woman clinging to a tree branch in the swift current, the release said.

After running through a tangle of blackberry bushes to reach her, a sheriffs sergeant discovered the womans raft was deflating and taking on water, officials said.

The sergeant waded into the river to get close enough to throw a rope to the woman and pull her to shore, the release said. The raft fully deflated as rescuers pulled her out.

Although cold and shaken up, the young woman was otherwise fine and left the scene with her mother, the release said.

Powers is a city of 710 people about 250 miles south of Portland.

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Loved ones and law enforcement were concerned when Robyn Bodine and Tracie Shoe didn't make their return flight to Ohio after checking out of their New Mexico hotel

Truth or Consequences Police Department (2) Robyn Renee Bodine and Tracie Shoe

An Ohio woman who went missing during a birthday trip to New Mexico says she's happy to be alive after she and her friend and travel companion were stranded in their rental car.

Robyn Renee Bodine, 46, and Tracie Shoe, 52, were found safe "in an extremely remote area" of Catron County, Ohio's Brookville Police Department reported on Thursday.

Chief of Police Luis Tavizon in Truth or Consequences, N.M., told CBS affiliate WHIO-TV that the women were found in their car, which was stuck in mud near Snow Lake in Gila National Forest.

Related:Tourist Survives Terrifying Bungee Jump Fall in Thailand After Cord Snaps

In a statement, Bodine said she still has "fatigue and some dehydration to overcome," but is "thankful" to be home following the harrowing ordeal, per the outlet.

"I am so overwhelmed with the magnitude of the situation, the outpouring of love, and especially the amazing actions of law-enforcement to help us," the Brookville woman said Friday.

"Right now my priority is to get home and hug my family," she added. "We are safe. We are coming home."

Truth or Consequences Police Department (2) Robyn Renee Bodine and Tracie Shoe

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Bodine's daughter Taylor Moberly previously told WHIO-TV that her mother and Shoe had traveled to the Truth or Consequences area of New Mexico to visit Riverbend Hot Springs.

The two women checked out of a hotel around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the outlet reported. However, they never boarded their flight to Cincinnati later that day.

Police said the women were then "supposed to be heading in their rental car toward Phoenix/Mesa airport in Arizona" to fly home. But the white Toyota sedan they rented was never turned in. They women also missed their flight.

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Tavizon said deputies in Catron County eventually found the women "alive and well," according to WHIO-TV.

Related:8 People Survive Tornado Inside Restaurant's Walk-In Cooler: 'We Are Grieving, But We Are Alive'

Cell phone service can be difficult to come by in portions of Gila National Forest, Tavizon told the outlet.

"It's probably a good 28 miles in  you have zero cell phone service," he said, per the report. "When you go out there, to go fishing or recreational type stuff, you're off the grid. No cell phone service, no nothing. So you just don't expect to contact anybody."

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Bay Area police union leader allegedly smuggled fentanyl into US to sell in bulk

The head of a police union in the San Francisco Bay Area faces federal charges for allegedly smuggling thousands of synthetic opioids into the U.S. from multiple countries with the intent to distribute them.

San Jose Police Officers Association Executive Director Joanne Marian Segovia, 64, has been charged with attempt to unlawfully import a controlled substance -- specifically valeryl fentanyl, a fentanyl analog -- according to a complaint filed in federal court earlier this week.

Between 2015 and 2023, Segovia received 61 shipments that were labeled "Wedding Party Favors," "Shirts Tops," "Gift Makeup," "Chocolate and Sweets," "Food Supplement," "Health Product" and "Supplement," originating from countries including Hong Kong, Hungary, India and Singapore, according to the complaint. In reality, they were illicit drugs, prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California allege.

Between July 2019 and January 2023, as part of an ongoing Homeland Security investigation into controlled substances being shipped into the San Francisco Bay Area from India, authorities intercepted and opened five such shipments and found that they contained thousands of pills, including the synthetic opioids Tramadol and Tapentadol, prosecutors said.

MORE: New fentanyl targeting operation already has stopped 900 pounds from entering US: DHS

In a voluntary interview with Homeland Security agents in February, Segovia reportedly claimed to have only ordered "supplements" and "nothing out of the ordinary," according to the complaint. She reportedly denied ordering or receiving prescription medications through the mail and said that she would never do so, adding, "I wouldn't even know where to start," according to the complaint.

In a second interview earlier this month, Segovia allegedly told investigators "that she had nothing to do with the orders sent to her" and blamed them on a woman she identified as a "family friend and housekeeper," according to the complaint.

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Segovia continued to order controlled substances even after the February interview with Homeland Security, prosecutors allege. On March 13, federal agents in Kentucky seized a parcel purportedly containing a clock that originated from China that was addressed to Segovia and allegedly contained valeryl fentanyl, the complaint said.

Amid the investigation, agents also found emails and WhatsApp chat messages on Segovia's phone allegedly talking about shipments of drugs.

PHOTO: The Executive Director of the San Jose Police Officers Association Joanne Marian Segovia is seen here an undated file photo. (Joanne Marian Segovia/Linkedin)

Segovia is scheduled to make her first court appearance Friday afternoon.

ABC News was unable to reach Segovia for comment. Online court records do not include any attorney information for her.

If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.

Segovia had been with the union, which represents San Jose police officers, for nearly 20 years, according to San Jose Police Officers Association President Sean Pritchard.

"I was shocked, became saddened, and as the days have gone by, I'm at a place where I'm now, I'm angry," Pritchard told San Francisco ABC station KGO.

Pritchard told KGO he became aware of the investigation a week ago after getting a call from federal authorities about the charges against Segovia.

"A woman who has helped fallen officers' families, helped organize fundraisers when officers' children are sick. That's the person we know," he told the station.

MORE: What to know about the drug xylazine and why it's making fentanyl worse

Federal investigators allege Segovia used her personal and office computers to order thousands of opioids and other pills to her home and used her office at the San Jose Police Officers' Association to distribute controlled substances, including using the union's UPS account.

The union said it had no knowledge of the alleged criminal activity and is conducting an internal investigation.

Segovia, a civilian employee, has been placed on leave, the union said.

ABC News' Jack Date contributed to this report.

Bay Area police union leader allegedly smuggled fentanyl into US to sell in bulk originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
CAIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- While pushing for a ban on TikTok over claims that China uses the popular app to spy on Americans, the U.S. government itself spies on the world by using tech companies that effectively control the global internet, said a report published on the English news website of Al Jazeera.

The U.S. government allows its intelligence agencies to "carry out warrantless spying" on foreigners' emails, phones and other online communications, said the report published on Tuesday.

Compared with other countries, Washington has the advantage of having jurisdiction over the small number of companies that effectively run the modern internet, including Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, it said.

"It is a case of 'rules for thee but not for me,'" Asher Wolf, a tech researcher and privacy advocate based in Australia, was quoted as saying.

The U.S. targeted 232,432 "non-U.S. persons" for surveillance in 2021, when the most recent year for which data is available, the report said.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) estimates that the U.S. government has collected more than 1 billion communications per year since 2011, according to the report.

There have been some indications that U.S. officials see China, rather than TikTok itself, as the ultimate concern, it noted.

The U.S. moves to restrict TikTok appeared to be "more political than good policy," Vedran Sekara, an assistant professor at the IT University of Copenhagen, was quoted as saying. 
Former South African Olympic and Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius had his parole denied following a board hearing Friday.

The hearing took place in Atteridgeville Correctional Centre on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, where Pistorius has been incarcerated since 2016. Pistorius was convicted of murder in the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

If granted by the parole board, Pistorius could have been freed from prison in a matter of weeks. He will now have to wait to apply again in August 2024.

MORE: Imprisoned Paralympian Oscar Pistorius 'bruised' from inmate fight over phone use, officials say

"While we welcome todays decision, today is not a cause for celebration," the Steenkamp family said in a statement. "We miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail."

The parole board, composed of correctional service officers and community members, considered whether Pistorius, 36, should be released and allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence on license in Pretoria after serving half of his 13-year sentence.

PHOTO: In this Feb 20, 2013 file photo Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock during a break in court proceedings at the Pretoria Magistrates court. (Siphiwe Sibeko1/Reuters, FILE)

The closed-door parole board considered his offense, his conduct and disciplinary record while in prison, his mental and physical state, and other criteria, such as his participation in educational courses and whether he will pose a threat to public safety.

Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June Steenkamp, told the media assembled outside the hearing that said it would be "very hard" to be in the same room as Pistorius.

The Steenkamp family's lawyer, Tina Koen, told reporters prior to the hearing that being at the parole board decision was "very unpleasant" for June Steenkamp, "but she knows that she had to do it for Reeva and she did it and I am very proud of her and she is very relieved that it's over."

MORE: Paralympian Oscar Pistorius' murder sentence more than doubled in new ruling

Koen added, "As I've said before, she doesn't feel that he's rehabilitated and hasn't told the truth, and for that, both her and Barry [Steenkamp, Reeva's father] submit that he must not be released on parole."

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In a globally televised trial, Pistorius was convicted in 2015 and eventually sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013 at their Pretoria East home.

PHOTO: June Steenkamp, mother of Reeva Steenkamp who was murdered by former athlete Oscar Pistorius in 2013, arrives at Atteridgeville Correctional Centre to attend his parole hearing in Pretoria, South Africa, March 31, 2023. (Alet Pretorius/Reuters)

He has thus far served almost eight years of his sentence, which makes him eligible to apply for parole under South African law, as he has served half of his sentence.

Pistorius, who was born with a congenital defect that led to the amputation of both legs below the knee, ran with prosthetics in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He finished second in his heat of the 400 meters, but did not advance out of the semifinal. He also ran in the 4-by-400 meter relay, where the South African team finished eighth.

ABC News' Joe Simonetti and Liezl Thom contributed to this report.

Parole denied for South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius in killing of girlfriend originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
In her 2021 memoir The Beauty of Living Twice, Sharon wrote that while filming the famous scene, Verhoeven told her, We cant see anything  I just need you to remove your panties, as the white is reflecting the light, so we know you have panties on.

It was only at an early screening full of industry professionals that she learned the truth. That was how I saw my vagina-shot for the first time," she wrote.

Sharon slapped Verhoeven in the projection booth after the screening, then called her lawyer to see if she could get an injunction preventing the release of the film with the scene.

Ultimately, though, she decided to allow the scene to be included because it was correct for the film and for the character; and because, after all, I did it.
Amanda Knox has sparked controversy after weighing in on a viral op-ed which complained about studying abroad in Italy.

Ms Knox spent nearly four years in an Italian prison after being wrongfully convicted of murdering her housemate, Meredith Kercher, while they were studying abroad in Perugia in 2007.

On Tuesday, Ms Knox, who is now a journalist, retweeted an essay by Stacia Datskovska, a New York University student who recently returned from a semester in Florence.

Ms Datskovska, a journalism and international relations major, wrote how she hated every aspect of it in an essay for Insider which subsequently went viral.

Girl, what are you talking about? Studying abroad is awesome! Ms Knox wrote on Twitter when sharing the essay.

The comment immediately caught significant attention with 1.7 million views and more than 12,000 likes.

You have won the internet for the day, Amanda. You can rest easy, freelance journalist Benjamin Ryan commented. He went on to call it the ironic slay of the year.

Variety features editor Malina Saval responded: Your tweet deserves an award! (*This essayist sounds like an entitled, xenophobic, solipsistic brat. Or maybe just really depressed. Shes going to regret writing this. Ugh.)

But Ms Knoxs tweet also generated significant criticism.

Its funny because my friend was brutally murdered. Do you get the joke? wrote independent foreign policy and security analyst Jimmy Rushton, who is based in Kyiv.

Makes a lot more sense why she was initially found guilty when she be tweeting s*** like this, London Evening Standard journalist Maddy Mussen added.

Girl, what are you talking about? Studying abroad is awesome!https://t.co/xlEgCKTzqg  Amanda Knox (@amandaknox) March 15, 2023

The replies to this are the most the Brits and Americans have been apart on Twitter since the queen died, David Walsh, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Virginia, replied.

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I dont think I could make this joke if my roommate was murdered but enjoy the internet claps I guess, Hannah Murray, a US and Australian literature teacher in Melbourne, wrote.

In her essay, Ms Datskovska complained about issues such as living with seven others in central Florence.

My routine looked drastically different from that of my roommates. I had a GPA to upkeep and an online internship. I wasnt out partying; I was home working most of the time, and it became difficult to concentrate on my assignments, she wrote.

The pressure to travel on weekends became too much, she continued.

Since three-day weekends are the standard for NYUs study-abroad programs, almost everyone chose to take $20 Ryanair flights to places like Croatia and Munich for Oktoberfest, she said. To me, this seemed like an exhausting form of escapism. I was convinced my peers were doing it only to freshen up their social media profiles and make their friends back home jealous.

The student also claimed that Italians were hostile and that she felt like she was wasting precious time in Italy as life continued in New York.

Ms Knox shared an apartment with fellow exchange student Meredith Kercher in Perugia, central Italy in 2007. On 1 November 2007, Ms Kercher, a British student, was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in the home.

Rudy Guede was convicted of the sexual assault and murder of Ms Kercher in 2008. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison which was later cut down to 16 years. He was released from prison in November 2021, the BBC reported.

Ms Knox and her Italian boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito, were separately convicted of Ms Kerchers murder in 2009.

They both spent four years in an Italian prison before their convictions were overturned. Their final acquittal came in March 2015.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during a training session at London Colney on February 14, 2023 in St Albans, England.

Arsenal are ready to add another Brazilian attacker to an already impressive cast of options up front.

The Gunners signed Gabriel Jesus last summer as a transformative figure in their attack, with director Edu Gaspar pivotal in the capture of his countryman. Jesus was added to the likes of Gabriel in defence and Gabriel Martinelli to form a Brazilian core at in the Arsenal squad, while youngster Marquinhos later joined in another deal that Edu masterminded.

The likes of Willian and David Luiz have been on the Arsenal books in recent seasons, too, highlighting just how well the Gunners have exploited the market for Brazilian stars. Now, another might be on the way.

Gabriel Martinelli receives the Arsenal player of the month award from Arsenal Technical Director Edu the Premier League match between Arsenal and Burnley at Emirates Stadium on January 23, 2022 in London, England.

A report from GloboEsporte says Arsenal are among the European clubs chasing Porto star, Pepe. Pepes representatives have already received an offer of around 50 million  though the attacker's release clause is for 75m.

This correlates with the rumours that the north Londoners are set to enter the market for another forward option  and with Portugal's Primeira Liga being a good transition to the Premier League of late with plenty of examples of stars blooming after moves, this is a deal that makes sense on a number of levels.

26-year-old Pepe  not to be confused with the veteran centre-back who has represented Portugal at international level  is right-footed and most often deployed on the left-wing, similarly to Martinelli. He is capable of operating on both flanks, however.

Pepe has stepped into the side following the sale of Luis Diaz to Liverpool and has impressed in Sergio Conceicao's side.

Pepe Eduardo Gabriel Aquino Cossa of FC Porto looks on during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 leg two match between FC Porto and FC Internazionale at Estadio do Dragao on March 14, 2023 in Porto, Portugal.

There is interest reported from Arsenal's London rivals, Chelsea, while there are apparently a number of European suitors for his signature, too.

Pepe is valued at 22 million by Transfermarkt.

More Arsenal stories

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, sparking rumours that the Gunners could have to fight to keep their No.9. Manager Mikel Arteta has identified nine players who could leave this summer  while Rasmus Hojlund is a target up front, along with Leeds star Wilfried Gnonto.

Elsewhere, Gabri Veiga has been rumoured to be on Arsenal's radar, as has AC Milan star Brahim Diaz. Declan Rice is thought to be this summer's big target, with Oleksandr Zinchenko sharing a word with him when Ukraine played England, setting tongues wagging.
Ben Affleck is making the rounds to spread the word about his new movie Air, and his stylist has made sure that hes representing the project in style at each and every stop.

First, the actor-director stepped out for the SXSW premiere of his latest project in a stylish navy Brunello Cucinelli suit, then he showed up to the L.A. world premiere in a dark corduroy double-breasted Thom Sweeney suit that took his fashion credentials up yet another notch. His latest stop in spreading the word about Air was on Jimmy Kimmel, where he rocked yet another dark suit to add to his recent series of stylish looks.

More from Robb Report

If youre looking to nail the classic dark suit look, you cant do better than looking at Afflecks recent lineup. His stylist, Ilaria Urbinati, posted a photo of the actor on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, sharing that he was wearing a black Dolce & Gabbana suit over his white collared shirt and dark tie.

Ben Affleck at his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.

Its important that Affleck sets a good style example on this press tour in particular: Air is a movie about the beginning of Nikes collaboration with Michael Jordan and how the creation of the Air Jordan forever changed the trajectory of the sportswear brand and the entire landscape of the sneaker business. The actor both directed and starred in the film as Nike cofounder Phil Knight, alongside Matt Damon, Viola Davis (who plays Jordans mother), Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman, and more.

With Air out in theaters next week, Affleck has been giving interviews talking about the process of putting this film together, including getting Michael Jordans permission to move ahead with his vision. Urbinati has put together looks for the Deep Water star to wear at premieres and in photoshoots alike, each time showcasing the actors newfound confidence as a director, giving a nod to the movies subject matter like dressing him in Air Jordans for his Hollywood Reporter profile, and reminding us that the new, post-J.Lo Affleck may be becoming a style symbol.

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Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

Earlier this week, Vice President Kamala Harris made the journey to Africa for a 3-nation tour. The countrys first Black and South Asian vice presidents sole purpose for the trip was to mend relations between the United States and the bustling continent. She made stops in Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. Here are the most memorable moments from Harris voyage.



A Royal Arrival

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris dons a neutral colored power suit as she is greeted by traditional dancers as she arrives in Accra, Ghana, Sunday March 26, 2023.

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Opening Address

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

Harris speaks after arriving in Accra, Ghana. Harris seven-day African visit also brought her to Tanzania and Zambia.

The Children Are The Future

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris greets school children during her arrival ceremony at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana.

All Smiles In Accra

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris smiles as she walks past a flag of Ghana upon her arrival in Accra.

A Presidential Exchange

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is welcomed by Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo in Accra.

Vital Meetings

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo, opposite, in Accra.

A Celebrity Encounter

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

Kamala Harris, followed by actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, visits the Vibration studio at the freedom skate park in Accra. Vibration studios is a work station for young creative artists that includes a community recording studio and music business program.



The Vice President Speaks

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

Harris speaks at a state banquet in Accra, Ghana.



Power Of The Powder Blue Suit

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she arrives at Black Star square to address youths in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday March 28, 2023.

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Black Star Square Address

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

Vice President Kamala Harris addresses youth gathered on Black Star square in Accra.



A Painful History

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff listen to a guide as they tour Cape Coast Castle in Ghana. This castle in was one of around 40 slave castles that served as prisons and embarkation points for slaves en route to the Americas.

Reflection On Cape Coast Castle

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff listen to a guide as they tour Cape Coast Castle.

The Horror Of What Happened Here

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Cape Coast Castle in Ghana. This castle was one of around 40 slave castles that served as prisons and embarkation points for slaves en route to the Americas. Being here was immensely powerful, Harris said. The crimes that were done here. The blood that was shed here. The horror of what happened here must always be remembered. It cannot be denied. It must be taught; history must be learned.

A Cultural Exchange

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with traditional leaders at Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.

Emhoff Dons The Cloth

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff wears a Kente cloth during his visit with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.

Goodbye, Ghana

Photo: Misper Apawu (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff wave as they depart Accra.

Harris Meets Mpango

Photo: Emmanuel Herman (AP)

Vice President Kamala Harris talks with Tanzanias Vice President Philip Mpango as she arrives at the Julius Nyerere Airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, the second stop of a three-nation tour of Africa.

Hello, VP Harris

Photo: Ericky Boniphace (AP)

People welcome U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on her arrival at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam Wednesday, March 29, 2023.



Dar Es Salaam

Photo: Ericky Boniphace (AP)

U.S Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan speak during a news conference following their meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Strengthening Economic Ties

Photo: Ericky Boniphace (AP)

U.S Vice President Kamala Harris addresses a news conference following her meetings with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Thursday, March 30, 2023. Working together, it is our shared goal to increase economic investment in Tanzania and strengthen our economic ties, she said.



American Embassy Bombing Victims

Photo: Ericky Boniphace (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, center, greets survivors of the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Tanzania at National Museum and House of Culture in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

A Good Laugh

Photo: Ericky Boniphace (AP)

U.S. Vice President, Kamala Harris shares a light moment with Tanzanian climate entrepreneur, Gibson Kiwago at the SNDBX Space, a space for freelancers, entrepreneurs, builders, innovators and creatives, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

So Long, Tanzania

Photo: Ericky Boniphace (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, accompanied by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, wave as they depart, at Julius Nyerere Airport, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Friday, March 31, 2023. Harris will visit Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa.

Harris Goes To Zambia

Photo: Salim Dawood (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, second right, is greeted by traditional dancers after landing in Lusaka, Zambia, Friday March 31, 2023.

Presidential Greeting

Photo: Salim Dawood (AP)

Vice President Kamala Harris, left, is greeted by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in Lusaka, Zambia, Friday, March 31, 2023.

Farmer Harris

Photo: Angela Nandeka (AP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visits Panuka farms outside Lusaka, Zambia, Saturday April 1, 2023. At left is Bruno Mweemba, the farms founder. Harris is on the last leg of a a seven-day African visit that took her to Ghana and Tanzania.

Esteemed Farmhand





Photo: Angela Nandeka (AP)

Harris visits Panuka farms outside Lusaka, Zambia.



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And no, it is not a mistake.

Matt May/Getty Images

Breeze Airways will soon fly from Charleston  to Charleston.

And no, the route isnt just a giant loop. The carrier told Travel + Leisure it will fly about 472 miles from Charleston, South Carolina, to Charleston, West Virginia. The new flights, which launch on May 31, will operate twice a week during the summer on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

With our new Charleston to Charleston service, well connect the West Virginia and South Carolina cities for the very first time, David Neeleman, Breeze Airways founder and CEO, said in a statement provided to T+L. I know our South Carolina [passengers] will love the scenic mountain beauty and recreational opportunities of the Appalachian, mid-Atlantic, and southeastern regions. And West Virginia guests will enjoy getting to know Breezes affordability, flexibility, and family-friendly policies, like free family seating.

Additionally, the airline is launching year-round service from Charleston, West Virginia, to Orlando, Florida on May 31. That flight will run on Wednesdays and Saturdays as well. Overall, Breeze plans to operate flights to five different destinations from the West Virginia city in the next two years.



Neeleman called the city a great fit for Breezes business model, which looks to fill the gaps left by larger carriers in midsized markets.

Breeze  first created in 2021 by Neeleman, who also founded JetBlue  is a low-cost carrier. It offers travelers three tiers of seating: Nice, Nicer, and Nicest. The airline also doesnt charge change or cancellation fees up to 15 minutes before departure.

Breeze, which was recently named one of the best domestic airlines in the U.S. by T+L readers, has been expanding its routes, adding new destinations across its network. It also ordered an additional 80 new Airbus A220-300 aircraft to add to its fleet.

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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Italian and Portuguese chefs weigh in on the old-school cooking trick.

Jon Kopaloff / WireImage; Susanne Kronholm / Getty Images

When Brooklyn Beckham posted a photo of himself cooking Bolognese sauce with a wine cork in the pot, he was the latest celebrity kid to spark a cooking debate. But this one is a question shared by chefs from Europe to America: To cook or not to cook with cork? While most of the comments poked fun, other people  including Beckham  defended the corks inclusion, claiming it yields a more tender dish.

That way of thinking is found in more kitchens than you might expect. In Portugal and southern Italy, old-school chefs traditionally add wine corks to octopus recipes, claiming that the natural enzymes found in cork help to break down the cephalopod's tough tendons by drawing out moisture (a process similar to that of dry-aging). Lidia Bastianich has been known to recommend one cork for every two pounds of octopus, while some older recipe books advise one wine cork per quart of water. Aaron Walker from Pali Wine Co. says cork has a desiccant effect, meaning that it absorbs moisture. (Walker and his wife repurpose their corks by adding them to fruit bowls, keeping moisture and fruit flies away from fruit so it stays fresher longer.)

Related:4 Best Recipes for Octopus

Although chef Telmo Faria does not use the cork method at Uma Casa Restaurant in San Francisco, he remembers friends and family back home in Portugal often using cork while cooking octopus. In the Azores, octopus is cooked with red wine. Id see them open up the bottle, pour in the wine, and throw in the cork, he recalls. They would also put it in a pot of beans so that it wouldnt foam over.

Carla Pellegrino from Limoncello Fresh Italian Kitchen in Las Vegas remembers her Portuguese and Italian grandmothers repurposing wine corks in their kitchens. [They] used to make a cork tea, which was a wine cork boiled in water, she says. They would give it to infants and toddlers to soothe constipation. In Italy, we would find that the wine cork would loosen particles; therefore, we would use it when cooking harder or tougher meats to help tenderize them.

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Fabrizio Cavallini of Bencotto Italian Kitchen in San Diego cooks roughly 100 pounds of octopus each week. Despite learning the cork method while in cooking school in Italy, he remains convinced that the tenderness of octopus is based on two things: the quality of the octopus and its preparation. Chef Don Walker of Formentos in Chicago agrees. In my opinion, putting a cork in cooking water while making octopus is more of an old wives tale. While there could be some merit in the practice, nothing is more reliable than a great recipe with fresh ingredients, which will always help your octopus come out tender.

So, should you cook with cork or not? We say it cant hurt to experiment with cork to keep fruit fresh or pots of water from boiling over. But, if youre going to use a wine cork for a more tender bite, we recommend making sure your ingredients are fresh and using basic tenderization techniques (salting, braising, dry-aging, marinating, or using a tenderizer). Then, go ahead and cork it like Beckham.

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Colombia said Wednesday it was making progress on the transfer of 70 hippos to overseas sanctuaries, but mitigating the havoc caused by this unusual legacy of deceased drug lord Pablo Escobar carries a hefty price tag: $3.5 million.

The cocaine baron brought a small number of the African beasts to Colombia in the late 1980s. But after his death in 1993, the so-called "cocaine hippos" were left to roam freely in a hot, marshy area of Antioquia department, where environmental authorities have been helpless to curb their numbers which now stand at about 150 animals.

Authorities said they plan to capture and move nearly half of the hippopotamuses in the coming months, with 10 bound for the Ostok Sanctuary in northern Mexico and 60 destined for an as-yet unnamed facility in India.

"The whole operation should cost around $3.5 million," Ernesto Zazueta, owner of the Ostok Sanctuary, told reporters.

In this file photo from Feb. 4, 2021, hippos float in the lake at Hacienda Napoles Park, once the private estate of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar who imported three female hippos and one male decades ago in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia. / Credit: Fernando Vergara / AP

He and governor Anibel Gaviria, of the Colombian region that is home to the hippos, say they plan to lure the animals with bait into pens where they will remain confined before being put in special crates for the transfer.

Colombia had tried a sterilization program to control the population, but it failed.

The environment ministry declared the hippos an invasive species last year, which opened the door to an eventual cull.

But the hippo transfer plan is seen as a life-saving measure.

Independent journalist Audrey Huse, who has lived in Colombia for eight years, told CBS News last week that in the 1980's, Escobar imported just four hippos  and now there are nearly 150 of them.

"Because they have no natural predators here, as they would in Africa, the population is booming an it's affecting the local ecosystem," Huse said. "Because they are such large animals, they consume considerable amounts of grassland and produce significant waste, which then poisons the rivers."

The result is that the hippos end up killing fish and threatening endemic species like manatees, otters and turtles, she said.

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In 2021, after the Colombian government was sued over its plan to sterilize or kill the animals, a federal court ruled that the hippos can be recognized as people or "interested persons" with legal rights in the U.S. But the order doesn't carry any weight in Colombia where the hippos live, a legal expert said.

The area where they roam is a paradise for the animals who have no predators and ample food and water, CBS News correspondent Manuel Bojorquez reported in 2019. Locals call them the "village pets," but a local biologist told Bojorquez the "dangerous" and "territorial" species is anything but.

Last year, Alvaro Molina, 57, said he supports the hippos  even though he is one of the few Colombians to have been attacked by one. He was out fishing one day when he felt a movement beneath his canoe that spilled him into the water.

"The female attacked me once  the first pair that arrived  because she had recently given birth," he said.

Locals say the hippos sometimes come out of the water and walk through the streets of the town. When that happens, traffic stops and people keep out of their way.

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The Shade Room founder shares her story
MOGADISHU, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) police component and the Somali Police Force (SPF) have stepped up security patrols in the capital Mogadishu as part of efforts to improve security during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The AU mission said the joint team has been conducting search operations that included mounting snap checkpoints on main roads and access routes leading to government buildings and offices.

"The importance of this joint patrol is for the residents to know that ATMIS is working alongside them round the clock to improve security," Barrie Yusuf, ATMIS Joint Operations Command Center (JOCC) Team Leader, said in a statement released on Thursday.

Yusuf reiterated that teamwork will be critical in ensuring Mogadishu is safe during and after Ramadan, which started on March 23.

ATMIS said the patrols are expected to provide both proactive and reactive responses to security situations to ensure that the Somali people experience a peaceful month of Ramadan.

Ali Mohamed Ousman, SPF head of operations at Wadajir Police Station, noted that ATMIS and SPF officers must remain vigilant to thwart or prevent any planned attacks by terrorists.

"The importance of this patrol is to reduce the attacks from terrorist groups," said the officer who has served in the SPF for four years.

Mohamed urged ATMIS to redouble its efforts in collaborative operations to combat insecurity in Mogadishu and its environments.

"The patrols have so far accomplished many things, including increased public safety and security stability," Mohamed added.

According to ATMIS, the patrols, supported by ATMIS Individual Police Officers (IPOs) and the Formed Police Unit (FPU), have enabled Mogadishu residents to transact businesses and move freely during Ramadan.

ATMIS Police and SPF are also conducting joint patrols in the federal member states as part of efforts to build the capacity of the local security forces. 
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles says it will be issuing refunds after it charged disabled veterans for specialty license plates that should have free.

About 2,000 disabled veterans will get refunds for "erroneous" license plate charges, according to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

The BMV deeply regrets this error, BMV spokesman Charlie Norman said in a statement. We are undertaking an internal review to determine why the legislative change wasnt adopted in a timely manner to ensure that this will not happen in the future.

The agency announced the $60 refunds Thursday, but a lawsuit filed on March 17 alleges the bureau has been aware of this oversight for nearly two years.

"They didnt do it because they care about disabled veterans," Cleveland Attorney Marc Dann said. "They did it because we sued them."

Dann is the former Democratic attorney general of Ohio.

The lawsuit and subsequent refunds stem from a 2019 change by Ohio's legislature that expanded the kinds of free license plates certain disabled veterans could receive from those labeled disabled to all military license plates except personalized plates.

The only qualification for the free plates was a declaration of 100% service-related disability by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. But an Army veteran named Jack Kacin alleges in the lawsuit that his local BMV made him pay for regular military plates in May 2021.

"Defendants Deputy Registrar insisted that the only license plate available to him without charge was a 'Disabled Veteran' plate," according to the lawsuit. "For obvious reasons, many veterans may not prefer to publicly disclose that they are 100% disabled in this manner."

Kacin returned to his local BMV in May 2022 and was "again told that his request could not and would not be permitted."

"We have tons of emails he sent to the BMV," Dann said. "He really tried to resolve this on his own."

More: You may get money back if you were 'wrongly' charged fee on your Ohio driver's license

This isn't the first lawsuit Dann has brought against Ohio's BMV.

He's also the attorney in a class action lawsuit to refund a $1.50 fee plus interest to Ohioans who paid lamination fees after the state stopped laminating driver's licenses.

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The fee was later renamed a "document authentication fee" and covers additional costs to produce federally compliant licenses like verifying additional documents and scanning.

"The verbiage was never updated to reflect changes in technology," a BMV spokesperson said at the time.

But Dann said that doesn't mean the BMV gets to keep the lamination fees the BMV collected for two years. The lawsuit estimated about 2 million Ohioans were charged more than $3 million in improper fees.

And if you qualify, you've been automatically added to the class. Ohioans who want to opt-out have until Nov. 6, 2023, according to the BMV.

Those who remain in the class cannot bring their own lawsuits and will be bound by this case's ruling. You can opt-out by filling out a form at www.OhioLaminationFeesLitigation.com.

The trial is set for Dec. 11, 2023.

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio BMV to refund improperly charged fees for disabled veteran plates
The East St. Louis city clerk has been charged with misdemeanor election interference.

City Clerk Debra Hamilton-Tidwell, 67, is accused of using her official title and signature along with city letterhead during an ad campaign to promote her re-election, according to authorities.

She faces one count of election interference, a Class B misdemeanor, in St. Clair County court.

When reached by phone Friday, Hamilton-Tidwell referred questions to her lawyer, who could not immediately be reached for comment.

Hamilton-Tidwell previously spoke to a columnist for the St. Louis American newspaper this month about an allegation that she used official city clerk letterhead to solicit campaign donations in violation of state law.

The March 4 column stated that Hamilton-Tidwell told the columnist she was unaware of the violation and has ceased using the letterhead in her solicitations.

The Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation Special Investigations Unit started investigating an election allegation against Hamilton-Tidwell on Feb. 6, the agency stated Friday in a news release.

The St. Clair County States Attorneys office approved the charge on Wednesday, and Hamilton-Tidwell surrendered herself to the St. Clair County Sheriffs office on Thursday.

She has been released from custody after posting bond. Her first court appearance is scheduled for June 1.

Illinois State Police said Friday the investigation was open and ongoing and no further information would be released.
Fans Can't Stop Commenting on This Rare Instagram Photo of Toby Keith and His Wife Tricia

Country icon Toby Keith and his wife Tricia just celebrated a huge milestone: The couple had their 39th wedding anniversary on March 24.

To mark the day, Toby's official Instagram account posted a throwback photo of the two with the caption: "Happy anniversary to Toby and Tricia! Show them some love in the comments."

We're not sure exactly when it was taken, but we're thinking sometime in the late '80s or early '90s. Either way, they both look dapper with Toby wearing a tuxedo and Tricia in a gown.

Tricia has pretty much remained out of the spotlight, making only a handful of red carpet outings with her husband. They share three children together, two daughters and a son.

As soon as fans saw the rare photo of the two, they flooded the comments section with a ton of "Happy Anniversary," comments. Many also checked in to say they hope Toby was feeling well.

Jason Kempin - Getty Images

Toby announced in 2022 that he had been undergoing treatment for stomach cancer, and told fans he needed some time to recover. In November, he made a surprise appearance in Lexington, Kentucky, and also received the BMI Icon Award at the 2022 BMI Country Awards.

He also did an interview with CMT Hot 20 Countdown, where he explained, "It's pretty debilitating to have to go through all that, but as long as everything stays hunky-dory, then we'll look at something good in the future."

You heard it here first! @tobykeith has plans to get back on the road after battling cancer  More details on his road to recovery this weekend only on #cmtHot20! pic.twitter.com/3p3Rs5a1XM  CMT Hot 20 Countdown (@cmtHot20) November 19, 2022

We'll give Toby all the time he needs! And needless to say, we're sure Tricia will be by his side every step of the way.

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The remains of a man who died from a gunshot wound to the head have been identified after being found 39 years ago, Missouri officials told local news outlets.

The man, now identified as Jack Langeneckert of Florissant, was found dead in 1984 inside a building that operates irrigation pumps, according to KSDK. He was dressed in a gray suit with red pinstripes and a black cashmere Pea Coat when a farmer found him in Troy, about 50 miles northwest of St. Louis.

The case remained cold until 2015, when the remains were sent for testing. But the DNA didnt match any DNA in the system and the technology wasnt advanced enough, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Through forensic genetic genealogy, detectives with the help of anthropology students and their professor from Southeast Missouri State University recently identified the remains, according to KSDK.

Langeneckert, a 50-year-old real estate agent living with his wife and son, had been reported missing in 1982, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The missing mans car was found parked by the St. Louis Airport a week after he disappeared, according to FOX 2.

Detectives told FOX 2 that identifying Langeneckert brings them one step closer to solving the case, but they need the publics help.

If anyone has information on Langeneckerts disappearance, they are asked to call 636-528-8546.

34-year-old vanished a month ago. Her body was just found, Alabama officials say

Charred human remains found in trunk during search of abandoned vehicle, NC cops say

Remains found hidden behind hotel 30 years ago now identified, Georgia officials say
Christopher Fenimore

Armando Cabral has modeled all over the world for countless brands campaigns and runway shows, and though his smile is extremely recognizable to anyone interested in mens fashion, he has since evolved his career with his eponymous footwear label. Thats not to say he doesnt model anymore, but hes shifted a majority of his focus to his brand, currently settling into its fifteenth year of existence. He has a store in Rockefeller Center, which he calls the Armando Cabral Mercadomore on that in a momentand with a packed travel calendar, the man doesnt have time for much else.

Ive known Armando for almost a decade. We met at my first job, Carson Street Clothiers, where we sold his footwear brand. Id see him in passing during fashion weeks, photographing him when I could, and I dont recall ever seeing him without an ear-to-ear grin, complete with warm vibes. Cabral hails from Portugal, by way of his home country in West Africa, Guinea-Bissau. Since the pandemic, he has sought to more deeply inject his brand with the bits of his heritage that make him who he is. Below, we discuss his modeling career, the foundations of his brand and how its changed through the years, and more.

Fit One

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Where are you from and how did you start modeling?

Im from Lisbon, Portugal, and I started modeling early in 2001. I started off a little bit in Portugal, and then when I moved to London to study business and finance, I was basically always harassed by people on the street to try to be a model. That's how I joined. This is a short version of it, obviously. Shortly after, I moved to New York to pursue my career, and I've been here for the past 16 years now.

What have you learned about yourself over the course of your career?

I've learned my patience, I've learned my consistency, and I've learned my determination, because my career didn't start right away. I've always had to push, and knock doors away, in order to basically get to where I am today. Out of that came persistency, consistency and the drive. It was such a great discovery of my own inner personality that I didn't believe I had at the time.

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Fit Two

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

How has modeling impacted your personal style?

Throughout the years, having the opportunity to work with all these major fashion houses, I've learned to define my own aesthetics by experimenting with things that I like. Early in my career, I was very afraid of colors, but every time I would go for a shoot, or I'd go for a fashion show in some nice outfit with color, I end up looking at myself and going, "Wow, actually this is really nice." Before that, I would never go shopping and pick up on something bright. Even in the early years of my modeling career, I was still very into my grays and navies. Eventually, I started infusing colors because of work I'd done in the past.

What prompted you to start your own brand?

Armando Cabral was born out of a lifelong passion that I've had for shoes. At the time, I just wanted to create something that had a point of view, a sense of individualism. When I started it, most of the fashion houses that had footwear were either big brands that just wanted to diversify by creating a new category, or they were factory-owned brands. There were very few founder-led companies and brands. I wanted to communicate my point of view by bringing craftsmanship and a mid-entry price point to luxury, to infuse that and fill that gap. At the time, there was no such thing, except for Common Projects. And then even because of Common Projects, it was a sneaker-focused brand and I wanted to be a men's essential, where you can have shoes that you go to work with, shoes you can travel with, and shoes for leisure.

Fit Three

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

How have you grown and evolved the brand since you started it?

The brand has evolved from our initial concept of basically just making it these three categories that I've described to you to infusing something that is more personal to me and my heritage. I started telling more of my story. We also evolved to produce accessories, leather goods, and we're slowly expanding into unisex sizing.

Can you expound upon what you mean by your heritage?

In 2021, I decided to have people understand a little bit about me. My background is West African. I did research on the 13th century Mali Empire, which my country of origin was a part at the time. I felt it was really important to bring all this beautiful craftsmanship they exhibited in the way they weaved fabrics. Some of our loafers have these embroideries on them, which have Adinkra symbols of prosperity. Of course, we pair it with European craftsmanship, which is also part of who I am, being from Portugal. In bringing it all together, it gives us a unique brand positioning so that when you see it, you identify it. You know the story's authentic, and it really reflects who I am.

Fit Four

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

What makes your new store unique?

What we wanted to do is a concept store within our brand umbrella, to tell the story and celebrate African heritage, all the Africans in the diaspora, and their creativity. It's bringing together art, fashion, and design. I wanted it to be similar to a market. We actually call it Armando Cabral Mercado, and we host other brands that really amplify and complement what we are doing. We wanted you to submerge into the culture. You come in, you explore art, you explore design, even the scent, the music, the whole feel of itit's something that transports you to that world.

What are some of your favorite brands?

I love Art Comes First. I also love Officine Generale and Ami. These are all good friends that make approachable clothingsimple, approachable, comfortable. Dries Van Noten is a fashion house that I've worked with for many years and I loveloveeverything they do. But one of my favorite brands is Armando Cabral!

Fit Five

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

Christopher Fenimore

What does your off time look like?

When I'm not busy working, I love to play basketball. It's one of the things that some people don't know about me, but my biggest dream was to be an NBA player. Ill read a book, and if I'm fortunate enough, Ill book myself a spa day to get a massage or go to a sauna, but it's very rare.

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A former general counsel of Venezuelas state-owned oil company has pleaded guilty to a money-laundering scheme stretching from his homeland to South Florida to Europe that enabled him to pocket $11.5 million in bribes from an alleged government racket.

Alvaro Ledo Nass, a lawyer who also served as secretary of PDVSAs board of directors, faces up to 10 years in prison at his sentencing in early June in Miami federal court after admitting Wednesday that he played a key role in the $1.2 billion money-laundering conspiracy.

But according to his plea agreement, Nass is not likely to receive the maximum punishment because of his extensive assistance to federal prosecutors in the corruption case dating to 2018. He must also turn over millions of dollars in assets from bank accounts in Switzerland, Portugal and Malta to the U.S. government.

He has cooperated and done what is expected of him, Nass defense attorney, Oscar Rodriguez, said Thursday.

So far, a dozen foreign and local defendants have been charged in the sprawling foreign corruption case, and five have pleaded guilty in Miami federal court.

Nass came to Miami last year, surrendered to authorities in February and was released on a $1 million bond. Hes the latest senior Venezuelan official at PDVSA to admit giving access to a ring of political insiders accused of providing massive loans to the national oil company in exchange for inflated payments washed through the governments lucrative currency exchanges.

A factual statement, signed by Nass, his lawyer and prosecutors, says that between 2012 and 2017 the defendant and others engaged in various foreign exchange schemes using loan contracts with PDVSA that were unlawfully obtained via bribes and kickbacks.

The cases main money-laundering scheme unfolded in late 2014 with a sham loan to PDVSA that was repaid through the governments bolivar-dollar exchange system, siphoning $600 million from the state-owned oil companys coffers, according to an indictment and other court documents. That money was moved offshore to bank accounts in Switzerland and Malta, though the network of co-conspirators used an associate based in Miami to launder a portion of the PDVSA funds in the United States, according to federal prosecutors Kurt Lunkenheimer and Paul Hayden.

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By 2015, the conspiracy had doubled to $1.2 billion embezzled from Venezuelas national oil company, the indictment says. Meanwhile, the associate became a key cooperating source for Homeland Security Investigations, including recording conversations in undercover meetings with some of the co-conspirators.

The HSI informant has not been charged in the Miami case. The accused ringleader is Venezuelan Francisco Convit Guruceaga, who allegedly collaborated with other influential business people to exploit the oil-rich administrations of the late President Hugo Chavez and current President Nicolas Maduro.

Convits defense attorney, Adam Kaufmann in New York, has declined to comment while his client remains in Venezuela.

Since 2018, federal prosecutors and Homeland Security Investigations have frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in bank and real estate assets belonging to the dozen defendants named in the main money-laundering indictment and related cases.

The first to plead guilty was Venezuelan banker Matthias Krull, who was enlisted to transfer some of the PDVSA money secreted away in European bank accounts to the United States. Krull paid $600,000 to satisfy a forfeiture judgment and served only one year and three months in prison because of his substantial assistance in the governments case.

In 2021, Abraham Edgardo Ortega, a former executive director of financial planning at PDVSA, was sentenced to two years and four months after he admitted accepting more than $12 million in bribes that were secretly wired to U.S. and other financial institutions. Ortega also cooperated with prosecutors. Ortega, who served as PDVSAs top financial officer from 2014 to 2016, admitted that he conspired with the alleged leader of the money-laundering ring, Convit.

Ortega also said he collaborated with a Miami-based investment broker, Gustavo Adolfo Hernandez Frieri. Hernandez pleaded guilty to accepting $12 million from Ortega to invest in fake mutual funds in the United States so that the transactions looked legitimate, prosecutors said. Hernandez was sentenced to nearly four years.

Last year, a top lawyer of Venezuelas oil ministry who also played a central role in the $1.2 billion money-laundering scheme was sentenced to more than four years in prison. Carmelo Urdaneta Aqui, the former legal counsel for Venezuelas Ministry of Oil and Mining, was convicted in 2021 of accepting tens of millions of dollars in bribes and investing some of his illicit payments in a Sunny Isles Beach high-rise condo and other real estate in the Miami area.
Scott Yamano/Netflix



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Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler are back as a bickering, crime-solving duo in Murder Mystery 2. Now streaming on Netflix, the comedy follows the amateur detectives as they attend an incredible island weddingonly for it to be disrupted when someone is murdered and their friend is kidnapped. Without a doubt, theyre on the case. While the majority of 2019s Murder Mystery was filmed in Italy, the sequel takes place in equally idyllic locations in Hawaii and France. Ahead, find out everything we know about the filming locations that'll certainly serve as major inspiration for your next trip.

Scott Yamano/Netflix

Where was Murder Mystery 2 filmed?

The majority of Murder Mystery 2 was filmed on Oahu, Hawaii, and in Paris, France. The movie starts off in Hawaii, where some scenes were shot at Lanikuhonua Lagoon, National World reports. The lagoon is part of the Lanikuhonua nature preserve on Ko Olina . The nature preserve features 11 acres of manicured grounds that are available to reserve for small events and large affairs. Ko Onlina itself encompasses a 642-acre stretch of land that includes luxury resorts and a string of lagoons connected by seaside pathways.

In Paris , the production tapped a few iconic locations. The Arc de Triomphe was selected as the location for where the detectives Nick and Audrey Sptiz (played by Sandler and Aniston) are asked to bring the ransom money in exchange for their friend. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , Adam Sandler revealed a scene was actually filmed at the Eiffel Tower. We shot at 2 in the morning, and Jennifers stunt girl, Kelly, she went out there and swung on a rope, said the actor, who was recently awarded the 2023 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Scott Yamano/Netflix

Other Paris locations that can be spotted in the movie include the restaurant Les Cailloux, which is in the background when the Spitzes see a man walk into a burning vehicle; the opera house Palais Garnier, also known as Opera Garnier; and the Love Lock Bridge, where the Spitzes go to renew their vows.

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Scott Yamano/Netflix

Beyond the City of Love, the movie features the Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte located in Maincy, France. Built by the French architect Louis Le Vau, the mansion sits on nearly 500 hectares and comes complete with a gated entrance and moat. It was owned and envisioned by Nicolas Fouquet, a French finance minister in the early years of the reign of Louis XIV whose career ended when he was convicted of embezzlement. At the estate, visitors can tour the chateau, gardens, and carriage museum .

Beatrice LECUYER-BIBAL - Getty Images

If you're eager to learn about more itinerary-worthy filming locations in Hawaii and France, we have you covered with guides to the filming locations from the third season of Emily in Paris and first season of The White Lotus. Bon voyage!

You love filming locations. So do we. Lets obsess over them together.

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America has a long history of hand-crafted stoneware jugs, which were once a staple in every kitchen from the 1700s to the 1880s. They were used for holding water, milk, and everything in between  and as it turns out, there is quite a market for these antique pieces. Wise shoppers pick them out at estate sales and on eBay, then re-sell them for a higher price. If they're really lucky, they'll find a jug that is 200 years old or more and has few imperfections  these sell for at least $7,000. So, what makes a jug valuable, and if you own one, how much can you expect to earn by selling it? Learn about the stoneware market and how to determine your selling price below.

A Brief History of Stoneware Jugs in America

Up until the 1700s, most stoneware in America was imported from Europe; the British prohibited American potters from making stoneware, ceramic, or porcelain pottery. When Americans were finally able to make their own stoneware (often called earthenware or red-ware because of the red-brown rusty colors), the market blossomed. The earliest American pieces were rough around the edges, with minimal glazing that sometimes only reached halfway up the jug. (However, many of these colonial pieces are still very valuable because of their age.)

In the mid-1700s, Americans took notice of the pretty, white-salt glazed pieces made in Staffordshire, England. This ornate porcelain style became very popular, and many colonial homes contained Staffordshire pieces. (Wondering what salt glazing is? It's when an artisan adds salt to the kiln before firing the pot at a high temperature. The salt vaporizes and interacts with the silica and a substance called alumina oxide, which creates a glassy, orange-peel-textured coating of sodium silicate.) Today, salt-glazed stoneware from 1700s and 1800s sells for a pretty penny.

In the same time period, Americans also prized porcelain pottery from China. This stoneware was made from a non-absorbent, white clay which made the pottery longer-lasting. Plus, buyers loved the delicate styles with hand-painted nature scenes. (Some pieces even featured extravagant dragons.) Fine, hair-like cracks actually increase the value of this stoneware, because they indicate that the pottery is old.

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Examples of Rare Stoneware Jugs

While most antique stoneware jugs sell for around $200 to $300, a few rare pieces sometimes appear that have remarkable value. For instance, Morphy Auctions in Pennsylvania listed the below rare stoneware jug as having a value between $7000 and $10,000. What makes it so pricey? It dates back to the mid-19th century from Bennington, Vermont, and it has an intricate design of a cobalt blue stag leaping over a split rail fence in a pasture. The imperfections are minor: a shallow chip just above the base, and a few minor glaze imperfections.

Rare stoneware from the 19th century, stag leaping over a fence courtesy of Morphy Auctions

If jugs can't sell for a high amount of money on their own, selling them in sets of two or three can increase their value. For instance, Morphy Auctions listed these three, decorated American stoneware jugs as costing $900 to $1,200. They date back to the second half of the 19th century, originally from New York and Vermont. One of them  the middle piece with a freehand, sideways blue floral  is made by the well-known manufacturer Nichols and Alfred in Burlington, Vermont. All three jugs are in very good condition with minor discolorations and small flakes in the glaze.

Set of three rare stoneware jugs from NY and VT courtesy of Morphy Auctions

Sometimes, less is more when it comes to stoneware. The Crocker Farm Auction in Sparks, Maryland recently valued a small, cylindrical jug with no decorations at $2,040. Why did this one sell for so much money? It has the maker's mark (a stamped "T") of Shimuel Timmerman, a famous potter from Lanier County, Georgia. The tiny size makes it delicate and ornate, and the glossy alkaline glaze was masterfully applied. In addition, the imperfections are small  just a chip at the base and a worn section on the bottom.

What's the most stoneware can sell for? In 2022, Crocker Farm sold an extremely rare, two-gallon jug featuring a rooster for $34,800. It was designed by John Young & Co, an esteemed manufacturer in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania  and the rooster was painted using a special cobalt slip technique.

Signs That a Stoneware Jug Is Valuable

Above all, an antique stoneware jug is valuable if it was hand-painted, made in the 1700s or 1800s, and has a maker's mark. Here's how to tell if your jug is hand painted and salt-glazed:

It has a shiny, glass-like surface with sparse, tiny bumps (from the salt).

The jug has decorations, usually in a cobalt blue ink, and looks hand-painted. (You can see imperfections or brush strokes.)

Decorations lie beneath the glaze.

There are hand-drawn, carved, or stenciled numbers and letters on the jug signifying the maker.

Other signs that you have a valuable jug on your hands? It is antique (at least 100 years old) and was handcrafted by a master artisan. Intricate designs may also increase the value. Note: If your jug does not have a maker's mark but you believe it is very old, contact an antique appraiser.

Factors That Detract From a Jug's Value

Stoneware jugs that do not have an artist's signature or manufacturer's mark on the bottom, have cracks or chips, or have muted colors tend to be less valuable. There are always exceptions, however. For instance, this antique jug with muted colors, imperfections, and a faded design is selling for $2,500 on eBay. It's high in value because it dates back to 1850-1899, it's huge (it holds 20 gallons), and it was made by Williams and Reppert in Greensboro, Pennsylvania  another renowned manufacturer.

Famous Stoneware Makers

One of the easiest ways to determine your jug's value is to find out if a famous potter made it. Check out this list of renowned manufacturers and artisans below:

Caldwell

Davenport and Spode

John Young & Co

Longport

Nichols and Alfred Burlington, Vermont

Roberts Binghamton, New York

Shimuel Wilhelm Timmerman

Turner and Wood

Wedgewood

Ultimately, your best bet at determining the value of your stoneware is to ask an appraiser or two. Asking multiple professionals will give you a better idea of the pot's value. It will also help you determine whether an appraiser is undervaluing the jug in the hopes that you will sell it to them for less.
Funeral services were held Friday for bridal industry forerunner Hedda Kleinfeld Schachter, who died on Wednesday at the age of 99.

Schachter died at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, a day after colonic surgery, according to Mara Urshel, who currently co-owns Kleinfeld.

More from WWD

A Holocaust survivor, Schachter and her husband revamped what was once a ho-hum side of fashion retail by creating a sprawling bridal emporium that prioritized service with a fashion-focused spin. The by-appointment business was established with the customer experience at the forefront and employees were trained to tend to shoppers like the princesses they envisioned.

With her European accent and energetic manner, Schachter scoured Seventh Avenue showrooms seeking gowns and new labels. More than any other bridal retailer, Kleinfeld forged into fashion wholeheartedly by personally mining labels for the Brooklyn stores bridal selection.

Understanding the pageantry of her customers (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime occasions, Schachter spoke of her role in a 1985 interview with WWD: You are creating a heroine on a stage. The bride is on display, she has to be put together beautifully, and we have to edit and guide the customer, and be able to picture her under the chandelier or in a church. She has not only got to look good in the mirrors of the fitting room.

In early 1939, the Vienna-born Kleinfeld and members of her family escaped the Holocaust by fleeing their second-floor apartment in Austria and securing passage to Cuba. In May of 1940, the family was uprooted again and relocated to Brooklyn. Her journey is chronicled in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Being a Holocaust survivor cultivated a strong sense of resilience and optimism that resonated through her nearly century-long life. Once in the U.S., her father Isadore, who had been previously been detained at Dachau with one of his brothers, opened a small fur store called Kleinfeld in Brooklyn. One of his favorite employees was Jack Schachter  due partially to the young mans fur cutting skills  who also ingratiated himself with Hedda Kleinfeld. The pair later wed and enjoyed a 67-year marriage. The couple renamed the shop Kleinfeld and Son, and over time expanded beyond fur to include coats, suits, cocktail dresses and eventually bridal.

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Recognizing the dependability of the bridal market  unlike the peaks and valleys of the economy, weddings are constant  Schachter personally appealed to American designers to ask them why they werent designing wedding gowns and encouraged them to do. As an added luster, she often offered exclusive arrangements to maintain their prestige for both the designer and the customer. Carolina Herrera, Arnold Scaasi, Galina, Glasgow, House of Bianchi, Ilissa and Priscilla of Boston were among the myriad options.

In 1968, Hedda Schachter had the foresight to start carrying wedding gowns from European designers. More than a decade later, the retailer was focusing on only wedding dresses, showcasing 400 styles in a store with 12 dressing rooms to accommodate its growing base of customers. By 1990, the husband-and-wife team had a $20 million annual business with a 30,000-square-foot store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and a 4,000-square-foot bridesmaids store on Third Avenue. At that point, the average wedding gown in the store sold for $2,000 and the priciest one was in $20,000 range. The couple owned the company through 1991.

She really built Kleinfeld not only as an iconic name but she left an incredible mark on the whole industry with her vision. When she saw that the bridal industry was safe, she started visiting every single designer in the United States and all over the world to find new dresses that created the beginning of how we see the bridal industry today with many designers and a lot of fashion that appeals to many different kinds of brides, Urshel said.

On an average weekday in the mid-80s, Kleinfeld handled 85 appointments and on Saturday that figure rose to 100. By 1985, the Brooklyn store generated $8 million in annual sales. Architect Peter Marino redid the maze of fitting rooms and display cases. Brides-to-be flew in from California, Mexico, Australia and other far-off places, which meant her team was constantly juggling delivery dates, flight arrivals and fitting sessions.

Describing bridal as a sensitive business, she once told WWD that, Bridal is 20 percent editing and art, and 80 percent service.

Playing up the spectacle aspect of wedding dress shopping, Kleinfeld amped up the customer service under Schachters arched critical eye, whisking individual brides to their respective dressing rooms, having bridal consultants suggest and retrieve immaculate display gowns and then veils and headpieces from an elaborate encased glass display, enlisting fitters to cinch waistlines and, if need be, calling in Schachter for an expert opinion. Fickleness just went with the territory. While many brides once counted on bridal magazines to help define their preferences, Kleinfeld told WWD, Some know very much what they want, but many dont know. So they shop around, they go away, they come back and you cant be upset about that.

Mark Ingram, whose signature atelier in Midtown Manhattan is a favorite with many brides-to-be, recalled first meeting Miss Hedda, as she was widely known in the industry, in 1996 while working for the late bridal designer Amsale Aberra. Always making the rounds in the bridal market, Schachter kept her foot in the industry for years after she had stopped working in her namesake store. She and her husband were always invited to designers shows out of respect, he said.

They had so much power in the industry, when they were the bona fide owners of Kleinfeld into the 90s, that their presence was always requested. She was a warm, little, lovely lady. Unassuming, you would never know that she was such a powerful industry icon.

During his tenure at Amsale, Ingram visited Kleinfeld every Tuesday night. The stores remote location in Brooklyn and its impeccable customer service and selection created a captive audience, he said. There was no way a bride was leaving there without buying a dress. Having an onsite owner and manager, as she was, handpicking the dresses makes a big difference in how the store is perceived and run. That is especially true in bridal because it is so hands-on and so personal.

Brides shopping habits are always in motion, and they have only become more specific, and in many cases demanding, over time. Their appreciation for international designers and labels led to longer production runs. Whereas in the 60s, two months was considered a long time to wait for a delivery, by the 80s a six-month wait would qualify. Kleinfeld noted in 1985, One of the biggest changes in the bridal business is that the gown is bought way in advance.

Under her reign, gowns were arranged by categories  narrow dresses were housed in one area. Others were categorized according to styles, prices, long sleeves and short sleeves, so that sales personnel knew just where to go  not just for their own sanity in a workplace afloat with seemingly similar white confections, but as a timesaver too. One iron-clad rule that Schachter enforced was that if anyone other than the bride requested seeing the wedding gown, staffers refused and even hid the garments on occasion.

The company changed hands a few times, first in 1990 when it was sold to Michel Zelnik and a group of capital investors. In 1996, Gordon Brothers Capital acquired Kleinfeld and three years later Urshel, Ronnie Rothstein and Wayne Rogers purchased Kleinfeld Bridal. By 2000, the destination retailer offered a multitude of European designers and exclusive designs that totaled more than 800 dresses. The company made a monumental move in 2005 by opening a 35,000-square-foot store in Manhattan that operated with 250 employees and offered 1,500 designer sample dresses. In 2006, Kleinfelds reputation as a bridal authority, which Hedda Schachter had solidified decades before, helped secure the specialty store as the setting for the reality show Say Yes to the Dress.

Schachters legacy will be one of a visionary, who always knew the trends and what was coming next. Even when brides were wearing denim to get married in [in the late 60s], she went to Mexico and bought these incredible dresses that were accepted by the Flower Children. No matter where the stage was being set  she would travel there and she made it happen, Urshel said.

Predeceased by her husband in 2008, Schachter is survived by her sons Ronald and Robert and their respective extended families.

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JINYA Ramen Bars second Charlotte location  near SouthPark Mall  is set to open April 3 with free ramen for a few customers who line up first at lunch and dinner.

The traditional Japanese restaurant will give away its signature specialty for the first 50 diners who come in the door when it opens at 11 a.m., and again for the first 50 diners who line up at 5 p.m.

Another bonus? Its secret menu ramen, the Cha Cha Cha  featuring pork with garlic and bean sprouts in pork broth  will be available from April 3-17 to celebrate the opening.

As we get ready to open our second restaurant in Charlotte, we are excited to spread traditional Japanese flavor in a city that has a well-deserved reputation for culinary excellence, JINYA founder and CEO Tomo Takahashi said.

Diners will find a menu that also features small plates such as gyoza, tempura Brussels sprouts and shrimp, pork spare ribs and edamame.

JINYA opened its first North Carolina location at Ally Charlotte Center in 2021.

Location: 4401 Barclay Downs Drive, Suite 134, Charlotte, NC 28209

Location: 601 S Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Menu

Cuisine: Japanese, ramen

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m., daily

Instagram: @jinyaramenbar
TUNIS, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian National Guard spokesman Houcemeddine Jbabli said on Friday that 74 undocumented migrants of sub-Saharan African nationalities were intercepted off Tunisia's southeast coast while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.

"As part of the fight against illegal immigration, two illegal immigration attempts were foiled late Thursday night off the Sfax coast," Jbabli said in a statement.

Those immigrants were trying to cross the Mediterranean toward the Italian island of Lampedusa. The island of Lampedusa is about 80 km away from the Tunisian coast and is usually the first stop chosen by undocumented migrants for their sea voyage toward Italy.

Despite the strict measures taken by the Tunisian authorities to tackle illegal immigration, the number of migrants attempting to reach Italy via Tunisia has been on the rise. 
This article originally appeared on Velo News

GHENT, Belgium (VN) -- Jumbo-Vismas mens team could be bringing an adjustable tire pressure system to the gruesome pave of Paris-Roubaix.

The team renowned for its pioneering approach to nutrition, training, and tech put Edoardo Affini atop the Gravaa KAPS system Wednesday at Dwars door Vlaanderen in a test run for possible use at The Hell of the North.

The KAPS (kinetic air pressure system) technology is a hub-based system that allows tire pressure to be adjusted on the move with a wireless unit on the handlebar.

Also read: Tire pressure management system to be used by Team DSM at Paris-Roubaix?

In theory, it could allow racers like Wout van Aert and Dylan van Baarle to benefit from both the tarmac speed of harder tires and the cobblestone comfort of softer rubber as Jumbo-Visma hunts elusive victory in Roubaix next month.

Considering the complete Paris-Roubaix course, our KAPS technology can give a power advantage of about 20W overall, and a peak power advantage of about 60W, by simply adjusting the tire pressure to the surface while riding, Gravaa recently claimed after it completed a batch of testing.

Italian powerhouse Affini was seen racing a Cervelo rocking the distinctive KAPS pressure hose and valve laced to some Reserve carbon wheel rims in Wednesdays Tour of Flanders appetizer race.

Affinis feedback could determine if the tire-regulating tech is rolled onto the whole of Jumbo-Vismas bikes for Paris-Roubaix on April 9.

 Looks like Affini is testing the KAPS adjustable air pressure system. #DDV23 #DDV pic.twitter.com/myK3cltMrF -- Janus (@JVerlaeckt) March 29, 2023

"Today we tested with Affini whether it makes sense to use this system in the race," team boss Richard Plugge told VeloNews after the race Wednesday. It's an interesting test case. I haven't talked with him yet. He pulled out of the race after the Trieu and rode on to Ghent to finish his training ride.

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Jumbo-Visma already got its latest new gain approved by the UCI in anticipation of it making a mass monument debut in the coming weeks.

"We provided all the information and received the go. They can look at it again if they want to. Maybe other teams asked them to do so, Plugge said. That's alright. They can see everything,"

Affini (right) tested the KAPS system Wednesday. Van Aert (center) could be using it at Paris-Roubaix next weekend.

Tire pressure has long been a tricky topic for any Paris-Roubaix racer.

Endless recon rides and data analysis sees teams tinkering with their tires to find the optimal balance of speed over the first 100km of tarmac and pliability for the infamous stones of the Arenberg, Mons-en-Pevele, and Carrefour de lArbre.

Most opt for pressures as low and slow as 4 bar in anticipation of the bruising 55km of cobblestones that determine Roubaix racers fate.

Team DSM caused a stir when it revealed it would use a system similar to KAPS at Paris-Roubaix last year, only to eventually revert back to a traditional setup.

Will adjustable tire pressures finally shake Paris-Roubaix next Sunday?

Jumbo-Visma representatives told VeloNews that additional information will be available this weekend after testing and feedback.

For exclusive access to all of our fitness, gear, adventure, and travel stories, plus discounts on trips, events, and gear, sign up for Outside+ today.
When Dr. Johnny Hong was growing up in the Philippines, his fathers life depended on a kidney transplant.

Kidney transplants were rare in the late 1960s, and Hongs father had to travel to Taiwan. He survived the transplant, but soon died of infection related to anti-rejection drugs, which were far less effective than today.

The experience inspired Hong to become a transplant surgeon and devote his career to advancing the field.

In November, he came to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center to lead the kidney and liver transplant program that shut down voluntarily last April after state and federal health agencies found assorted problems.

Penn State Health said it has rebuilt the program and announced the restart on Wednesday. Transplants could resume in a week, said Hong, who is chief of the division of transplantation and director of liver transplant surgery.

I think we have taken a very deep, in-depth analysis of the past and really worked on new processes, he said.

Asked about the root of the problems, Hong cited communication, teamwork, culture.

He said the solution has included efforts to ensure that every single member of the team has a voice in how to improve patient care and focusing on every step of the transplant process from the viewpoint of patients.

Penn State Health has two hired new transplant surgeons in addition to Hong, and has recruited a fourth who will start in August.

It also has hired a new administrator to oversee kidney and liver transplants as well as heart transplants, which is a separate program that wasnt affected by the problems that shut down kidney and liver transplants.

The problems, found during inspections by the state health department and Medicare and first reported by PennLive/The Patriot-News, included: failing to inform national transplant authorities including Medicare of personnel changes that could impact quality of transplants; failing to analyze five instances of newly-transplanted patients having to go back to the operating room or be readmitted to the hospital; and not informing two patients they were receiving high-risk organs.

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Investigators also found problems with the credentials of a surgeon hired as program chief early last year, concluding it was unclear if the surgeon had done enough recent liver transplants to be considered current.

In September, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, which oversees transplants in the United States, declared Penn State Health a member not in good standing, the most severe action it had taken against a hospital in 15 years. OPTN cited concerns including reports of surgical complications and questions about the currency of surgical expertise, as well as a culture of retaliation for reporting potential problems.

In an interview Tuesday, Hong noted hes only been at Penn State Health for four months, and declined to elaborate on matters such as personnel changes or actions taken before he arrived. However, he said the recent investments in the program have enabled it to attract highly-skilled surgeons.

Asked for his main message to prospective transplant patients, he said: Transplant is a second chance for life. My message is that Penn State Health will be their team for life. That includes not only high-quality medical care during and after transplants, but during the time patients are waiting, when their failing organ can lead to cascading medical problems, Hong stressed.

Penn State Health had about 200 patients on its waiting lists for kidney or liver transplants when it shut down the program. Many of them switched to different programs, with some getting transplants through UPMCs Harrisburg-based transplant program. About 100 chose to remain listed at Penn State Health  patients commonly register with multiple programs  and Penn State Health has been contacting them and scheduling their pre-transplant appointments, according to Hong.

The kidney and liver transplant team, which includes about 40 people, has been conducting mock transplants in preparation for resuming transplants, he said.

The OPTN said it has approved Penn State Healths request to resume kidney and liver transplants. However, it said the program remains a member not in good standing, for reasons including the fact the declaration was made last fall, and programs cant regain full standing until at least nine months later. An OPTN committee will continue to monitor their progress and implementation of their corrective action plans and plans for quality improvement until they are satisfied that the hospital has made the necessary changes, a spokeswoman said.

Penn State Health says Hong has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to teaching and advancing the field of transplantation and surgery, training transplant surgeons throughout the world.

He previously worked at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert Health and Childrens Wisconsin and is a former medical director of liver, pancreas and intestinal transplantation at the University of California, Los Angeles. His accomplishments include some firsts, such as an innovative liver surgery procedure on a two-month-old infant, according to Penn State Health. Hong also patented a method of resuscitating marginal-quality livers, thereby extending the supply of the scarce organ that many people die while awaiting.

The other two new transplant surgeons are Dr. Thomas E. Butler, who previously worked at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, and Dr. Raymond Lynch, who previously was director of public policy and community relations at Emory Transplant Center and associate director of the Emory Health Services Research Center.

Michelle Lorenz, the new administrator for the kidney and liver transplant program and the heart transplant program, previously worked at the University of Virginia Medical Center.

Lynch specializes in overcoming inequities including race-based barriers to getting an organ transplant. For example, research shows African Americans, while having the highest rates of end-stage kidney disease, are less likely to be referred and listed for transplants. One of Lynchs roles will involve understanding barriers in central Pennsylvania, and outreach aimed at informing patients how to get referred, and informing doctors how to overcome the barriers, Hong said.
Hes suing the Raleigh police department, but first, he will take center stage at a local HBCUs graduation ceremony.

This week, North Carolina Central University announced that renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump will be the schools keynote speaker at this years commencement.

Crump is known for representing families in high-profile civil rights cases. In recent years, he has garnered widespread attention for his work on cases without household names: Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

But most recently, Crump has taken up a case in the Triangle.

In February, he announced that he would represent the family of Darryl Williams, a 32-year-old man who died after Raleigh police officers tased him three times, in their fight for criminal charges against the officers involved.

Body camera footage from Williams death shows him being stopped by police on Jan. 17 near Rock Quarry Road in Raleigh. Despite telling officers that he had a heart condition after he was tased twice, Raleigh police tased Williams for a third time when he lost consciousness. Williams never woke up.

We are here in the capital of our home state, here in Raleigh, North Carolina, fighting for justice for Darryl Tyree Williams, Crump said in February when he took on the case.

We come here to disturb the peace and the fact that we dont want everybody to sleep comfortable saying we can just kill Black people unnecessarily and unjustifiably.

Crump, 53, is originally from North Carolina and was born in Lumberton in Robeson County. He eventually moved to Florida to attend high school, college and law school, according to a 2012 story about his life from CBS8. He earned his law degree from Florida State University, according to his law firm biography.

He will speak at NCCUs commencement on May 6.
(AP)

Her high school principal in Florida was shot and killed by a disgruntled former teacher. Her cousin murdered his ex-fiance with a gun before taking his own life. And now, this week, three adults and three children were mowed down at school by a heavily-armed former student in the same city where shes raising her family.

Thats why 34-year-old mother Jen, who asked that only her first name be used, decided to attend her first rally on Thursday, joining hundreds of people clamoring for change on the grounds of the Tennessee Capitol  the same building where lawmakers in the staunchly pro-gun state continue to uphold laws that leave assault rifles in the hands of the public.

Honestly, this is my first rally; Ive never done this stuff before, she told The Independent, holding a poster that featured a family Christmas photo from Republican Rep. Andy Ogles that shows his family holding weapons. Our society does have a moral issue, she wrote alongside the photo of the politician, who represents the district where former student Audrey Hale killed six at The Covenant School on Monday.

I felt compelled because Im a mom, and Ive dealt with gun violence directly, she said, adding that the rash of school shootings is a disgrace.

Originally from Florida, the mother of two said that she is not against people having guns  do what you want with your hunting rifle or whatever.

A 34-year-old Nashville mother holds up a poster featuring the Christmas card of Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, which depicts his family armed with weapons (Sheila Flynn)

But theres no reason why we should have ARs, absolutely zero reason, referring to the AR-15 assault rifle.

Protestors halted downtown traffic on Thursday morning as they made their way towards the Capitol, with about 200 making it into the rotunda outside the chambers for state representatives  shouting at lawmakers for red flag laws and other reforms. Outside, attendees chanted and waved signs picturing school shooting victims and emblazoned with enraged slogans.

Linda Herrell, who went to the rally with her 17-year-old daughter and friends, held a poster that read BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS.

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There absolutely needs to be pressure on the lawmakers, because especially our representatives from Tennessee have no interest in protecting any of their citizens from gun violence, Ms Herrell told The Independent. They're all NRA supporters, and they believe that assault weapons are fine, and our state legislators are actively trying to reduce the age of gun ownership. They want permitless carry. They want anybody who wants a gun to have a gun -- and it makes no sense. It's completely illogical.

The 54-year-old grew up in a hunting community where almost every family had guns, she said.

I've never felt like just having a gun made somebody violent  but people never had automatic weapons and assault weapons, she said. And at some level, it feels like  because our government is so divided now  that people ... especially on the far right, feel like if they give an inch, they'll lose all their access to having a gun.

And so I think there's a lot of fear and mistrust that the government is trying to take over their ability to own a weapon, she said. But that's misguided, because what's happening is their children are being murdered at school, or at the grocery store, or when they go out to dinner; police officers are being attacked.

She pointed out that responding officers on Monday quickly killed shooter Audrey Hale, ending the attack in less than 15 minutes as opposed to the tragic response last year in Uvalde, Texas -- when dozens of heavily armed officers in protective gear waited for over an hour to stop an attack that left 19 students and three teachers dead.

Linda Herrell, 45, holds a BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS sign as she stands next to her 17-year-old daughter, Eleanor, and friends after a Thursday rally at the Tennessee State Capitol (Sheila Flynn)

In Nashville, Ms Herrell, pointed out, officers ran straight into harm's way  and they shouldn't have to do that. Their job is hard enough without having to run into situations like that and cope with that.

American adamance about owning assault rifles, she said, is fear-based... theyre just afraid that if they give any inch, that all their guns will go away.

Her daughter, a high school junior, pleaded for lawmakers to pay attention and understand the visceral terror of students like herself.

Kids are just fighting to be able to keep going to school and have their safety and not have to have the fear that one day they might die in a place that they really love and where their friends are, Eleanor Herrell said.

Like many her age, she was angry on Thursday; her entire life has been marked by news of school shootings across the country, and this week one happened in her backyard.

SKaila Colbert, 28, was in high school when the Sandy Hook massacre happened -- and, more than a decade later, is clamoring for change to ensure her own childrens safety (Sheila Flynn)

Nothing concrete has been done by the adults in power who are charged with protecting America and its children.

Its important to have the vigils and have the prayers and have the support, but its also important to make change  because, I mean, it keeps happening, the Nashville teen told The Independent. You see it every day in the news. I mean, Im wearing a Virginia shirt right now; there was a shooting there just a few months ago ... it just feels like every aspect of life is just taken up by this kind of stuff.

SKaila Colbert, who works at a nonprofit helping women and children, was in high school at the time of the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012.

That was over 10 years ago  and so, to still feel those same emotions and that same heartache attached with an issue that has been ongoing for years and years and years, I felt it very important to be here, Ms Colbert said.

I have a six-year-old, and I cant imagine him hearing those alarms and him feeling that threat. And I want it to be something that he never experiences, as well as any other child. Children shouldnt have to go through that. No one should have to go through that. Teachers shouldnt have to experience that.

She said: I would love to see some police change, some gun reform  and I think, really, it just comes down to having a heart, to look at the safety and the well-being of the people of the state, of the children of this state, and listening to the people. We are asking for what we want. Today, weve made our voices heard and known. So I really think that its on policymakers now to heed the people, to listen to the people.
A highly anticipated cobalt mine in the mountains near Salmon has been put on hold just as it was about to go into production. The mine would have been the only primary cobalt mine in the country.

Jervois Global Limited, of Melbourne, Australia, announced Tuesday that it would halt construction at its mine because of falling cobalt prices and the effects of inflation on construction costs.

The companys decision came just prior to the start of the mines production of cobalt, and months after Idaho Gov. Brad Little, the Australian ambassador to the U.S. and other dignitaries visited the site to herald its arrival in the Salmon River Mountains.

Were disappointed, of course, Tammy Stringham, executive director of the Lemhi County Economic Development Association, told the Idaho Statesman by phone. This cobalt project has been in the works for close to 20 years. It has had many starts and stops over the years.

A series of companies have owned this mines rights, and other companies are exploring deposits in the area. Jervois acquired eCobalt Solutions, a Canadian company that had owned the mining rights, in 2019. Jervois has invested more than $100 million in the mine since purchasing it.

The company had predicted that the mine would employ up to 180 people. Last fall, there were about 240 people, including building contractors, on site as prep work was underway to launch the mine.

On a mountain in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, Jervois has built a water treatment plant, buildings for milling and a mine camp for workers. The company has now halted production.

In an announcement on Twitter, Jervois said it expects to resume efforts over the medium term, once the price of cobalt rises. Cobalt prices have fallen by more than half since early last year.

The Idaho mine had been welcomed by U.S. officials, who have ramped up efforts to secure domestic supplies of what are known as critical minerals, and which are used in batteries for electric vehicles and cellphones. The minerals are in high demand as the U.S. economy shifts away from fossil fuels.

Though not a large mine by global standards, the Jervois operation near Salmon had been expected to supply about 10% of current U.S. cobalt demand, which would power about 400,000 new electric vehicles per year.

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Roads at the Jervois site connect mine buildings, tailings ponds and the mine itself, unpictured and on the right.

China, which many leaders in Washington view as the greatest threat to national security, controls most of the worlds production and refining of cobalt. There are no cobalt refineries in the U.S., and Jervois had planned to ship the Idaho cobalt to a refinery in Brazil.

Idahos congressional leaders saw the Jervois mine as a step toward gaining independence from China, and opening up a supply of the mineral for the U.S. and its allies.

Chinas the issue in national security and in foreign relations for the rest of the century, U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, a Republican, previously told the Statesman in an interview. They are a near-term competitor for us now, economically, militarily and culturally  and they have a lock on a lot of the critical minerals that are needed around the world. The concern always is that you have to treat them with kid gloves when youre dealing with them, because they can just cut you off.

The Statesman reached out to both Rischs and Littles offices for comment Thursday but did not hear back immediately.

In announcing its suspension, Jervois noted that the company applied for government grants to accelerate drilling in the area and to study the potential construction of a refinery on U.S. soil. The company said the further study can proceed as planned despite (the mines) suspension.

Mining near Salmon has a fraught environmental history. The Blackbird Mine, a cobalt mine that operated in the 20th century, poisoned fish and vegetation in a nearby creek. As Jervois prepared to begin production, a former U.S. Forest Service employee raised concerns about whether the government was requiring the company to provide enough funding to clean up the ecological damage the mine could cause.

In Salmon, residents are familiar with the ups and downs of mineral economies, Stringham said. She said mine officials told her they expect to keep fewer than 30 people employed at the site for the time being, and she hoped they would try to keep locals employed.

We all had high hopes for this one, it seemed like it was going to go, it was so close, she said. This communitys pretty resilient. Theyve been through the boom and bust cycles before. This community always seems to find a way to survive.
Miley's New Year's Eve Party - Season 1 - Credit: Vijat Mohindra/NBC/Getty Images

Hayer Elementary School, located in Waukesha, Wisconsin, was meant to feature Miley Cyrus and Dolly Partons collaboration Rainbowland during a spring concert, but a teacher revealed earlier this week that the song was pulled from the lineup. In an email to Wisconsin Public Radio, Waukesha Superintendent James Sebert stated: The question was around whether the song was appropriate for the age and maturity level of the first-grade students.

But the Happy Hippie Foundation, a non-profit founded by Cyrus in support of young people in the LGBTQ+ community and those facing homelessness, knows that the need for self-acceptance has no age.

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To the inspiring first grade students at Heyer Elementary, keep being YOU, the organization tweeted on Wednesday. We believe in our Happy Hippie heart that youll be the ones to brush the judgment and fear aside and make all of us more understanding and accepting.

Happy Hippie Foundation will also be making a donation to Pride and Less Prejudice, an organization providing pre-K through 3rd grade classrooms with LGBTQ-inclusive books. Read out loud, read out proud, their mantra reads.

We are rainbows, me and you

Every color, every hue

Let's shine on through TOGETHER WE CAN START LIVING IN A RAINBOWLAND.



When our founder @mileycyrus and her fairy godmother @dollyparton wrote these words together, they meant it. pic.twitter.com/zRjTkcWttm  Happy Hippie Foundation (@happyhippiefdn) March 29, 2023

On Rainbowland, Cyrus and Parton imagine a utopia without the kind of hurt or hate that would find malice in a song about happiness. Wouldnt it be nice to live in paradise/Where were free to be exactly who we are/Lets all dig down deep inside, they sing. Brush the judgment and fear aside/Make wrong things right/And end the fight/Cause I promise aint nobody gonna win.

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In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sarah Schindler, a mother of a first-grader at Heyer Elementary, shared that Kermit the Frogs Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie was also pulled from the concert lineup, swept in with what the school administration had deemed controversial. But Kermit was eventually reinstated in the list, while Cyrus and Parton are still on the outs.

I know, Miley Cyrus kind of has a past, in the spotlight with, you know, talking about drug use, and sexuality, and all of that. And Dolly Parton supports drag queens, and you know, thats another thing going about in our country these days, Schindler added. It feels like, because of these extreme policies that have been put into place by our school board in the past year or two, that administration, principals, and teachers are now starting to second-guess all of their choices.

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An introduction to cooking Nigerian food at home.

Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

I grew up in Warri, on the southern coast of Nigeria, eating, drinking, and enjoying Nigerian food. While I loved our food, I hardly thought of it as worthy of celebration, and boy, did I take it for granted until it was nowhere to be found. It wasnt until the late 1990s, when I was in my twenties at university in England, that I understood food as more than eatingnot just as a means to fill my belly, but as a way to soothe my soul, connect with home, and experience a sense of belonging.



By the time I moved back home to Warri after graduation, my appreciation for Nigerian food had grown. And still, I had no idea that edible traces of Nigerian cuisine existed across the Black Atlantic, throughout the Caribbean islands and Latin America, as a result of the transatlantic slave trade.



Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

I moved to The Netherlands for work as an exploration geologist in 2007. A few years later, in 2009, my Brazilian supervisor, Santiago, shared a story about Afro-Brazilian acarajea fritter that is a direct descendant of the Nigerian bean fritter known as akara. That singular conversation opened up a world of food history, heritage, legacy, and research that continues to fascinate me. Its motivated me to unravel, unearth, and document all the ways we, as human beings, are similarnot just people of African descent, but also other cultures and cuisines where there are connections, be they geographical or based upon shared histories (e.g. Nigeria and India through British colonialism).



With that discovery, I had numerous conversations about connections through food. These conversations also had me looking inwardat home, to our cuisinetrying to understand who we, as Nigerians, are and how we eat. Broadly speaking, most of the foods we eat on a daily basis are nationally recognized dishes with regional variations. There are recipes and ingredients with clear origins from one part of the country that are part of the daily lives of Nigerians all over the country, so national seems only fitting to describe them.



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Different regions have versions of the same dish. For instance, egusi soup (also known as agushi, egushi, egunsi) is beloved across the country. The differences in regional versions include how the egusi seeds are prepared: raw or toasted, dry-milled or wet-ground, light and creamy or thick with curd. The greens, herbs, and seasonings used are also unique to specific localities, but even with these different ways of preparing the soup, it's always instantly recognizable with its signature focus on the creamy, nutty flavor of the melon seed. Youll find this true for many dishes across Nigeriathey take slightly different shape in each place while retaining their essential character.

How a Nigerian Meal Is Structured

Nigerian food culture doesnt feature multiple courses. The main dish is usually the star of the show, and depending on the time of day, could be anything from akara or moin moin to rice, beans, and cooked vegetables with stew. A lunchtime meal at home might look like rice and stew with dodo and efo, or some combination; or it might be a soup with nuts, seeds, and vegetables served with a swallow, like eba or lafun, along with zobo or other drinks. At a party, you might begin with a plate of small chops like puff puff, then enjoy some jollof or fried rice with moin moin and dodo.

Enjoy the range our palates embracesweet, salty, smoky, umami, spicy, and everything in between.

For ease, Ive grouped the recipes here into fritters and fried doughs; swallows; soups, stews, and sauces; rice; cooked vegetables; snacks; and drinks. They capture the framework of our cuisine, and the majority of the 200-plus million people in Nigeria would recognize most of them in one form or another. Fresh fruit and vegetables, in abundance all year round, are also the go-to for people wanting a sweet bite.

Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

I must say though, these recipes are just a handful of the hundreds of Nigerian dishes that exist and are living and thriving across the country. Still, they give you some insight into what Nigerians eat; when, where, and how; from north to south and east to west. Enjoy the range our palates embracesweet, salty, smoky, umami, spicy, and everything in between.

Fritters and Fried Doughs

Fried foods are extremely popular across Nigeria, for both meals and snacks. Made from fresh and fermented batters and doughs, you'll find them on the streets or at home. However, not all fried foods are of the deep-fried variety. In the shallow-fried foods category, there's masa, crunchy fermented rice cakes cooked in a special pan called a kasko; they can also be made with corn, wheat, semolina, and other cereals.

Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

Puff puff is one of many deep-fried, golden brown Nigerian treats. There are also buns leavened with baking powder instead of yeast, and several types of rolls, from fish to egg rollssimilar to Scotch eggs in that the boiled eggs are dough-wrapped and deep-fried. And of course, theres akara, made from beans, which is as much a Saturday morning home breakfast as it is a street classic everyday of the week.

Swallows

Swallows are daily essentials for many Nigerians. They are soft, cooked doughs, not designed to be eaten on their own but instead paired with soups and stews. Swallows can be made with a single ingredient or a series of ingredients combined, like cereals, roots, tubers, and vegetables.

Swallows are made in two different ways: The first is by boiling, then working the cooked ingredient(s) into a soft, sticky dough (think mashed potatoes but stickier and stretchier, though only those made with tapioca starch have that mochi-like stretch); the second is by cooking fine and coarse flours or meals in water into cohesive doughs, much like polenta or mashed potatoes without butter or seasoning. In the north of Nigeria, cereals like rice, millet, Guinea corn (sorghum), and corn are the most common ingredients in swallows; in the south, east, and west, swallows tend to be made from root crops and vegetables like yams, plantains, sweet potatoes, and breadfruit.

Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

Eba and lafun are two swallows made from cassava meal. Despite having this ingredient in common, they are completely dissimilar, both in appearance and taste, due to their differences in processing. While eba has a touch of grit, lafun is super smooth, thanks to the gelatinized quality of its pure starches. With the exception of eba imoyoa specialty of the Eko people of Lagoswhich is cooked in a seafood stock, most swallows are cooked in water, and are neither sweetened nor salted so that the flavor of the ingredient shines through.

Soups, Stews, and Sauces

Soups, stews, and sauces are the mainstay of Nigerian cuisine, from light drinking broths like pepper soup to thick stews (which we call soups in Nigeria) like egusi and efo-riro and stew, a specific red dish commonly made with a pureed base of tomatoes, onions, and peppers, of which there are many variations, including obe ata. With a pot of stew or soup, there are so many possibilities, and you could put a meal together fairly quickly. Sauces are a mix of meat curriessimilar to Japanese or Korean curriesto ofada sauce, an Indigenous red sauce with bite-sized pieces of meat, lots of iru (fermented seeds), and a sweet-hot pepper base.

Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

Most soups and stews typically begin with a seasoned stock and a variety of plant, seafood, and animal proteins. This seasoned base is thickened with ground leafy vegetables, legumes, gums, nuts, and seeds. Soups tend to be flavored with unrefined red palm oil; fish powder or dried and ground crayfish; and stock cubes for umami, which altogether deliver complex flavors. Traditional stews are typically made with a red tomato-pepper base, but can also be made in a similar fashion to soups, or with dried thyme, vegetable oil, and a British colonial-era seasoning like curry powder.

These are eaten with a variety of dishesrice, bread, or swallows, and cooked vegetables like yams, plantains, or sweet potatoes that are boiled, grilled, roasted, or fried. Stew can be a dip for fried foods, or more liberally spooned over rice and beans. Soups can be eaten on their own or paired with swallows. Eba and egusi are personal favorites, as is lafun with both efo and obe ata.

Rice

Youll find rice everywhere in Nigerian cuisineat home, as street food, and at parties and celebrations. Most rice dishes can be paired with an assortment of sides, from white rice and stew with beans to dodo and jollof rice, or fried rice with moin moin and coleslaw. Jollof rice and Nigerian fried rice dishes are particularly saved for special occasions.

Nigerians love ricelong-grain rice especially. And here, it isnt a side dish. Instead, it's the main: aromatic varieties similar to Thai Jasmine are used in swallows, and converted or parboiled rice is served with stew or soups or used to make jollof and Nigerian fried rice.

Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

My favorite types of rice are the indigenous, red-streaked varieties of oryza glaberrima, especially those from Abakaliki (east), and Ekpoma (south). I love them for their sweet flavor and fragrance when the rice is simply boiled, but also when its made into coconut rice (with fresh, homemade coconut milk)thats a top-10 in my taste memory. Theres also ofada rice, which is fermented and processed rice that fills the air with the most blue-cheesy pungence during the cooking process, none of which interferes with the beautiful, complex, sweet flavors on the plate and the palate. Its served with ofada sauce.

Cooked Vegetables and Legumes

There are so many vegetables that take the form of a main or side. They are boiled, fried, roasted, cooked into thick stews, and more, from plantains used at all stages (green and unripe to yellow-black and ripe, and even over-ripe) to yams, taro, and both regular and sweet potatoes. Fried plantains, known as dodo, are always a crowd pleaser, as are fried yams. Set aside some stew to dip it in, plus some fried eggs to the side, and you have a quick and satisfying meal.

Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

Legumes are simply cooked and stewed, but also made into wraps, similar to tamales. Beans are often soaked, skinned, and pureed for dishes like akara, but are also scooped into ramekins or wrapped in broad leaves.

Snacks

There are a myriad of snacks, from fresh fruit and vegetablescoconuts, corn, carrots, and cucumber are popular snacks next to meaty dishes like suyato meat pies, which are parcels of dough filled with seasoned minced meat and baked to perfection; and chin chin, a snack of tiny cookie-cracker-crunchy bites, made from deep-fried, seasoned dough, and enjoyed by the handful all year round, but especially at Christmas.

Drinks

Nigerians serve a host of both hot and cold drinks. Theres zobo (which you might already be acquainted with as hibiscus tea), soft drinks, non-alcoholic malt drinks, alcoholic beers and spirits, bitters, shandies, palm wine, and kunu, a variety of milky beverages made from tubers and cereals.
If Texas or federal authorities at some point determine that criminal charges against the mother or stepfather of missing 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez are appropriate, issuing a warrant would make one or both of them fugitives. If that happens, law enforcement could begin the process of extradition from India, police said at a news conference this week.

Noel hasnt been seen by family or friends since November, but authorities werent notified that he was missing until they received an anonymous tip on March 20. His mother, who has full legal custody of Noel and lives in Everman, did not cooperate with investigators and lied to them about where her son was, according to Everman police.

Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, a 6-year-old boy with severe disabilities, hasnt been seen since November 2022. He is considered an endangered missing person.

She boarded a flight with her husband and six other children from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport bound for Turkey and connecting to India two days before an Amber Alert was issued, authorities said.

Police have confirmed that Cindy Rodriguez-Singh and her husband, Noels stepfather Arshdeep Singh, made it to India after initially flying to Istanbul. On Tuesday, Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer said that while investigators have still not been able to find any physical evidence as to what happened to Noel, circumstantial evidence was piling up.

The mother initially told police that Noel was with his biological father in Mexico. Homeland Security verified that there is no record of Noel crossing the border into Mexico, Spencer said. The biological father is cooperating with the investigation and has not seen Noel, according to police.

Spencer said authorities are concerned that the family might not return to the U.S. to answer questions. They issued warrants for Rodriguez-Singh on a misdemeanor charge of filing a false report and on a probation violation. She was sentenced to 10 years of probation in 2020 on a repeat offense of driving while intoxicated, according to Tarrant County court records.

Its unlikely that authorities would try to extradite the mother back to the U.S. on those charges, Spencer said. If the investigation leads to more serious charges, that would lead to fugitive status and federal authorities could help with extradition, he said.

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But there are still some boxes authorities would have to check before they could extradite anybody from India.

Police said they had no significant updates on the investigation to release Thursday. Please rest assured that as soon as we have something substantial to update, we will happily do so, the department said in a Facebook post.

Investigators are not working on a clock and will continue looking for Noel until they find out what happened to him, the police chief said.

Requirements and process for extradition from India

In order for a crime to be considered extraditable under the treaty between the United States and India, the charges have to be severe enough to warrant punishment for at least one year, no matter if the law or one similar exists in India or if that law is considered as severe there.

If that is met, Everman police, or any agency wanting to extradite a suspect from India, would have to work with federal authorities to submit an extradition request through diplomatic channels, by the terms of the treaty.

India would require the U.S. to provide evidence, statements, documents, a copy of the warrant, and such information as would justify the committal for trial of the person in the requested state, according to the website for the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Indian authorities would review those documents and decide whether to approve or decline the extradition request. In cases of urgency, American authorities can request a provisional arrest while the extradition is being processed.

Have U.S. suspects been extradited from India before?

Government documents from India indicate that from 2002 to 2015, the latest compiled information readily available, at least 11 people were extradited from India to the United States. The crimes of which the extradited people were accused included murder, terrorism, sexual abuse of a child, fraud, financial fraud and economic offenses.

In April 2019, Indian national Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, 42, was extradited to Houston to face charges of general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy for his role in running a call center to scam people, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. He was found guilty of scamming U.S. victims out of millions of dollars and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2014, Mahfuz Huq was returned to the U.S. to stand trial on murder charges after he was accused of murdering a romantic rival in the 1989 slaying of 19-year-old Todd Kelley in Hamilton, Indiana, the South Bend Tribune reported at the time. The Associated Press reported in 2014 that Huq, a naturalized American citizen, pleaded guilty and was sentenced under the terms of a plea agreement to 40 years in prison.

Fox News reported in 2014 that Huq appealed to the Indian government not to extradite him. That appeal was shot down by Indian authorities.
When Sen. Mark McKenney, D-Warwick, agreed to join a special legislative commission on shoreline access in 2021, he was initially skeptical that the law needed to change.

Fast forward to 2023, and McKenney  back in the Senate after a two-year hiatus  is pushing legislation that's even more aggressive than the bill he originally opposed.

"Quite frankly, I learned from the evidence and from everything that we saw," McKenney said. "I came around to a different view."

For the third year in a row, the General Assembly is considering passing a law that would create a clearly defined boundary between private and public property along Rhode Island's shoreline. And this time around, the question is where that boundary should be.

Rep. Terri Cortvriend, D-Portsmouth, has been the leading proponent of clarifying the boundary. Her bill would establish that the public has the right to be 6 feet above the "recognizable high tide line," also known as the "wrack line" or seaweed line.

The bill passed the House unanimously last May, but the Senate didn't take it up before the legislative session ended in June. It has been reintroduced this year as House Bill 5174.

This year, McKenney has introduced his own version of the bill in the Senate, increasing the likelihood that the legislation moves forward in both chambers. His Senate Bill 0417 would allow the public to use the shoreline up to the vegetation line  a more generous proposal.

The General Assembly doesn't have a formal process to reconcile conflicting language in bills. Cortvriend said on Tuesday that she didn't know what would happen if both bills pass their respective chambers.

A no-trespassing sign stands incongruously next to a public right of way to the beach in Charlestown.

The argument for a 6- or 10-foot buffer zone

Cortvriend noted that the special legislative commission on shoreline access had recommended a 10-foot buffer zone, based on extensive study and historic precedent. (At one point, the commission even attempted to figure out the average width of an oxcart.)

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That buffer zone was reduced to a more conservative 6 feet at the House Judiciary Committee's suggestion last year.

A group called Shoreline Taxpayers for Respectful Traverse, Environmental Responsibility and Safety, Inc. has warned of potential litigation if the bill becomes law, saying that it could be considered a "taking" under the Fifth Amendment.

Cortvriend said that her goal was making sure the bill would stand up to a legal challenge. Her proposal had been "vetted throughout the whole study commission process," she noted, while the commission "never really spent much time considering the vegetation line."

She said that she personally didn't have a problem with the idea of setting the boundary at the vegetation line, "but Im not sure it will pass constitutional muster, thats my concern."

The argument for the vegetation line

McKenney said his bill was the result of conversations with his colleagues in the Senate, who'd asked him why Rhode Islanders shouldn't have the same rights to the shoreline as people in states such as Oregon or Hawaii, where the beach is public up to the vegetation line.

"I found it a little difficult to argue with that," he said.

Rhode Island's Constitution doesn't just say that people have the right "to a section of shore, or below some line," he pointed out. "It says we have a right to the shore."

Any bill that the General Assembly passes is likely to face litigation, regardless of whether the boundary is set at 6 feet or at the vegetation line, McKenney added.

Some activists have come out in favor of setting the boundary at the vegetation line, since it would allow the public to access a larger portion of the beach.

However, advocacy groups including Save The Bay and New England Backcountry Hunters & Anglers testified on Tuesday that they'd like to see the General Assembly settle on the original 10-foot boundary as a compromise.

Michael Woods of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers urged the two chambers to work together to "come up with a solution that can be put into law this year ... as opposed to getting hung up on where the line is."

McKenney didn't rule out the possibility of a compromise but said that he wants to see how the process plays out in the Senate first.

"If at some point support for [the vegetation line] isnt sufficient, then absolutely theres a willingness to consider the alternative," he said.

What happens now?

The House bill was heard in the Judiciary Committee this week. As is typical, the committee only listened to testimony and did not vote on the bill. If a vote takes place, that will happen at a later, yet-to-be-announced date.

McKenney said that he expects the Senate bill to get a hearing in late April or early May. He said support in the Senate was "actually surprisingly strong" and that more than 20 members of the Senate  a majority of the 38-member body  had signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.

Senate leadership didn't want to take up the House bill last year, McKenney said, acknowledging that the proposal arrived late in the session.

This year, he said, he's gotten the sense that leadership is willing to take up the issue. He said that he'd spoken to leadership about his bill and "did not get pushback," and that members of the Senate leadership team have signed on as co-sponsors.

"The Senate president is not prejudging the legislation," said Greg Pare, a spokesman for Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio. "It will undergo the normal committee vetting process for a thorough review of all aspects and ramifications. We did not have time to conduct a thorough review last year because we did not receive the House bill until very late in the session and there was no Senate version."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI beach bill: Conflicting bills split on boundary for shoreline access
Two Republican senators clashed over TikTok Wednesday, widening a free-speech fight in the party as Congress and the White House consider outright bans of the social media app.

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawleys efforts to fast-track a ban on TikTok nationwide, with his "No TikTok on United States Devices Act, were blocked by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

We should act decisively to ban TikTok directly, said Hawley on the Senate floor, arguing the app's possible connections to the Chinese government call for swift action from Congress.

Rand Paul: Do Congressional Republicans really want to emulate China by banning TikTok?

But Paul objected, striking down Hawley's efforts and saying that banning the app would violate the First Amendment.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks during a hearing with former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 29, 2023 in Washington, DC.

This legislation not only violates the First Amendment of those who own TikTok, many of whom are actually Americans, not Chinese, said Paul. But it also violates the First Amendment rights of the millions of young Americans who use this social media app.

Where TikTok ban stands in Congress

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have increasingly expressed support for banning the app due to the platforms Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chews high profile testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Committee earlier this month.

In his testimony, Chew was grilled by skeptical lawmakers over whether the app is conducting surveillance for the Chinese government and how the app collects and stores user data.

Chew denied any sort of allegation that the Chinese government could use the app for its own purposes, but to no avail, with lawmakers becoming even more grounded in their opposition to TikTok.

But the app has found some defenders on Capitol Hill, first in progressive House Democrats such as New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who says that banning the app would be an attack on the First Amendment since the app is used by millions of Americans.

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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on the platform's consumer privacy and data security practices and impact on children, Thursday, March 23, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

What else did Paul and Hawley say?

Pauls objection to a ban on TikTok is a sign that banning the app isnt a one-sided effort from the platforms opponents. In addition to First Amendment concerns, Paul argued that banning the app wouldnt protect American user data, considering other U.S.-based tech companies have failed to secure its data before.

Every accusation of data gathering thats been attributed to TikTok could also be attributed to domestic big tech companies, said Paul.

Not only that, Paul warned his GOP colleagues that banning the app could have electoral consequences considering the apps wide user base.

If Republicans want to considerably lose elections for a generation, they should pass this bill to ban TikTok. Paul said. A social media app used by 150 million American people.

Hawley responded to Pauls objections, saying that the First Amendment does not protect the right of the Chinese government to spy on Americans.

Scour the First Amendment, I promise you, you wont find any right to espionage, you wont find any right to spy, Hawley continued.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rand Paul blocks Josh Hawley efforts in Senate to ban TikTok
BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi will visit China from April 1 to 2, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Friday. 
A Native American chef with a restaurant in Charlestown has made the finalist for Best Chef Northeast for the 2023 James Beard Foundation Awards.

Sherry Pocknett of Sly Fox Den, Too, in Charlestown, joins four other chefs nominated in the regional category. They were voted in from a list of 20 semi-finalist nominees that included two Providence chefs, Robert Andreozzi of Pizza Marvin in Providence and Milena Pagan of Little Sister.

Native American chef Sherry Pocknett is a James Beard finalist for Best Chef Northeast for 2023. Her restaurant is the Sly Fox Den Too in Charlestown.

Pocknett is a first-time nominee for a James Beard award, considered the "Oscars" of the hospitality world. She opened her restaurants post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Sly Fox Den, Too chef, who serves up Native American cuisine, gets award nomination

Pocknett opened her Sly Fox Den, Too, in Charlestown in 2021 at 4349 South County Trail. The Wampanoag chef/owner serves Native American cuisine. The restaurant grew out of her Connecticut-based catering business. She opened in the former home of the Gentleman Farmer Diner. She grew up on Cape Cod, where her extended family ran The Flume restaurant, and she previously worked as food and beverage director at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center.

James Beard awards:Farm-to-table rarely works in New England. This James Beard winner gets it right

James Beard Foundation voters will now cast their final ballots in 23 categories. Pocknett is up against four other New England chefs. Two are Boston chefs: Valentine Howell of Krasi and Yisha Siu of Yunnan Kitchen. Two are in Connecticut: Christian Hunter of Community Table in New Preston and Renee Touponce of The Port of Call in Mystic.

Winners will be recognized at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on June 5 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Sherry Pocknett gets James Beard finalist spot for Sly Fox Den, Too
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will hold a rally April 6 outside of Lexington as she campaigns for the 2024 Republican nomination for president, her campaign confirmed to The State Media Co.

The rally is a homecoming of sorts to the county where she kicked off her political career. Before being elected governor in 2010, Haley was first elected to the S.C. House in 2004, representing a Lexington County House district.

The rally is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 6 at the Grove on Augusta in Gilbert. Doors will open at 5 p.m.

The former ambassador to the United Nations during former President Donald Trumps administration launched her 2024 campaign in February in front of a packed crowd in Charleston. Since, she has spent time in Iowa and New Hampshire, states that lead off the Republican presidential nominating contests.

The April event will be Haleys third campaign rally in South Carolina, which holds the first-in-the-South presidential primary. Haley last held a rally in South Carolina March 13 in Myrtle Beach.

The campaign did not say who would be joining Haley at her Gilbert event.

Since formally entering the race, Haley has polled in single digits in national polling of the GOP race. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday of Republican registered voters had her at 4%, trailing Trump at 47% and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence at 33% and 5%, respectively.

So far Haley, Trump and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are the only major GOP candidates to announce a 2024 run for the White House.

When Haley, who touts how she has never lost an election, spoke at the Vision 24 conference hosted by the conservative Palmetto Family Council earlier this month, she was confident her poll numbers would improve.

The poll numbers you see today are not going to be the poll numbers you see a year from now, Haley said at the forum.
An elderly woman celebrates her 100th birthday with a cake.

On March 4, Maria Branyas Morera turned 116. In January, the great-grandmother, who was born in San Francisco in 1907 and now lives in a nursing home in Catalonia, Spain, became the world's oldest person following the death of Sister Andre (nee Lucile Randon), a French nun who lived to be 118.

Branyas Morera, who goes by the nickname "super grandmother," has lived through the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, both World Wars and the Spanish Civil War. She also survived a bout of COVID-19 just weeks after turning 113, according to Guinness World Records .

Branyas Morera attributes her long life to a number of things, from enjoying nature and good company to "staying away from toxic people," but she ultimately credits her extreme longevity to "luck and good genetics," she told Guinness World Records.

Branyas Morera is part of a super-exclusive club: She is a supercentenarian, meaning a person who is 110 years or older. For instance, in Japan only about 30 people can claim this title, meaning only 1 in 871,600 people reaches this milestone, according to the New England Centenarian Study . In comparison, approximately 573,400 centenarians (people who are at least 100 years old) were alive worldwide in 2021, according to the United Nations .

Related: We're nowhere near reaching the maximum human life span, controversial study suggests

People like Branyas Morera could help scientists better understand what allows some people to live so long. Is their longevity just luck, or is it due to good genes and other factors? And which genes are the most critical to defying the aging process?

Studying centenarians and supercentenarians also could reveal insight into the maximum life span for humans  and potentially ways to extend it. Supercentenarians tend to have certain lifestyle factors in common, which may help people overall lead longer, healthier lives. But to dramatically extend the human life span, scientists may have to venture beyond Homo sapiens and look to our long-lived animal counterparts.

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An elderly woman blows out birthday candles.

Are good genes the key to extreme longevity?

Genes clearly play a role in longevity. Children and siblings of centenarians tend to live longer than average, according to Medline , a service of the National Library of Medicine. And a 2016 study in the journal Aging found that genes tied to immune function and cell repair were more active in these extremely old people.

In general, scientists estimate that about 25% of life span is determined by genetics . But which specific genes, if any, play the largest roles in aging?

For decades, Dr. Annibale Puca , a professor of genetics at the University of Salerno in Italy, has been trying to answer that question.

In 2011, Puca discovered a human gene called BPIFB4 that halts cardiovascular aging and even reverses some aspects of aging when inserted into mice. In a 2015 paper in the journal Circulation Research , Puca and his colleagues showed that a certain version of BPIFB4 was associated with exceptional longevity and was overrepresented in centenarians. Those with two copies of the gene variant had less cardiovascular illness, lower blood pressure and less arteriosclerosis, compared with people without two copies of the gene variant. Puca estimates that about 10% of humans have this gene variant.

Could BPIFB4 partly explain why certain people are predisposed to living longer than others? Puca thinks so. "You don't live to 110 unless you have good genes," he told Live Science.

In follow-up research, Puca's team not only halted heart damage in middle-age and elderly mice but also reversed the biological age of the mice's hearts by the human equivalent of 10 years, according to the study.

"In the lab, we were able to regenerate their blood vessels and vascular (circulatory) systems, which converted inflammatory cells into anti-inflammatory cells," Puca said. "We found that cardiovascular function was corrected in the mice."

In a paper published Jan. 13 in the journal Cardiovascular Research , Puca and his team introduced the gene into heart cells collected from organ donors who had died of heart failure. As with the lab mice, the mutated gene rewound the clock and reversed cardiac aging by increasing cardiovascular function by 20% to 60%. Inflammatory cells also morphed into healthy cells.

"We now know that it works in human tissue," Puca said.

Related: Human life span may have an 'absolute limit' of 150 years

Puca's colleague Paolo Madeddu , a professor of experimental cardiovascular medicine at the University of Bristol in England, said that if more research backs up the effect, BPIFB4 could be inserted via gene therapy into the cells of people who don't carry the gene. However, the application of this treatment is still many years away.

"You would need to repeat the therapy over and over again," Madeddu told Live Science. "It doesn't last forever."

The researchers are currently testing whether the protein the gene codes for, rather than the anti-aging gene itself, can have similar effects in cardiac cells.

BPIFB4 isn't the only gene tied to a longer life span. In 2019, researchers described a so-called " longevity gene ," Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6), in the journal Cell . SIRT6 helps repair DNA, which aging cells can't repair efficiently, leading to gene mutations that can drive cancer and other illnesses.

The researchers analyzed the activity of SIRT6 in a range of rodent species, from mice to beavers, and found that the animals with the longest life spans also had the most efficient DNA repair capabilities due to their SIRT6 proteins being "more potent," according to the study.

Last year, a follow-up study in The Embo Journal looked at a cohort of 450 Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians and 550 Ashkenazi Jewish individuals who didn't have a family history of extreme longevity. The researchers discovered that a "novel rare variant," which they dubbed "centSIRT6," was twice as prevalent in the centenarians than in the latter group.

In lab dishes, they also found that centSIRT6 not only helped repair broken DNA but also "more robustly kill[ed] cancer cells" when compared with the more common version of SIRT6, according to the study.

Environmental factors tied to extreme longevity

A group of nuns linking arms in solidarity.

While variations in human genes affect longevity, environmental factors also play a role. Numerous studies have shown that things like being optimistic , having a healthy diet and not smoking are tied to living a longer life.

But can supercentenarians tell us about other factors that may extend life span? Some researchers say they've uncovered hints in a surprising place: convents.

Before Branyas Morera held the title of the world's oldest person, a French nun, Sister Andre, was the oldest living person. That may not be a coincidence. Many Catholic nuns live to become centenarians  and even supercentenarians. But why is this?

Several years ago, anthropologist Anna Corwin , author of " Embracing Age: How Catholic Nuns Became Models of Living Well " (Rutgers University Press, 2021), spent time at a convent in the Midwest, interviewing the nuns who lived there. Corwin noticed similar patterns in the women's lives that may be tied to longevity.

"It's not specifically because they're nuns that they're able to live for so long, but rather the types of cultural practices they engaged in," Corwin, an associate professor of women's spirituality and anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, told Live Science.

In general, nuns were living lives full of meaning. It also helped that they were part of a tight-knit, supportive community.

Related: People who live to be 100 have unique gut bacteria signatures

The nuns also tended to reject the stigma around aging. Corwin said they participated in day-to-day activities, such as prayer and socializing, well into old age. And they didn't necessarily view themselves as elderly.

"One of my first months at the convent, I met this 95-year-old woman who was in a wheelchair totally hunched over, who you would imagine couldn't participate in anything," Corwin said. "I asked her what she does with her days, and she said, 'I serve the infirm and visit the elderly.' Sure enough, as I watched her, she would wheel slowly down the hallway and check in on her neighbors in the infirmary to make sure they were doing well."

Corwin concluded that the nun found fulfillment and meaning in life by helping others. She also viewed herself as having autonomy and agency, Corwin said.

While this evidence may be anecdotal, a study conducted by epidemiologist and leading Alzheimer's expert David Snowdon backed up these observations. In 2003, Snowdon conducted a longitudinal study of 678 nuns from the School Sisters of Notre Dame, an international organization recognized by the Catholic Church.

Snowdon found that nuns had "lower all-cause mortality rates than did the general population and this mortality advantage increased over time." In fact, these nuns were "27% more likely to live into their 70s than their lay peers, and their likelihood of living longer increased with time," Corwin wrote in her book. In addition, the nuns were less likely to smoke, and they ate healthily and lived peaceful and communal lives.

The study also found differences among the nuns. Those who lived cloistered in convents, with strong internal communities and schedules packed with prayer, tended to live longer than those who interacted more with the outside world, Corwin told Live Science.

It's not clear how some of the most obvious differences between nuns and the general population  namely, that they make vows of celibacy and don't have children  affect longevity. Some research has found that each child a woman gives birth to shaved off years of a woman's life , while other studies have shown that people with children live longer than the child-free.

What animals reveal about extreme longevity

A trio of immortal jellyfish swimming in the ocean.

While human genes and environmental influences may lead to incremental improvements in longevity, to make leaps and bounds, it may help to look to the animal kingdom.

That's what Steven Austad , a distinguished professor in the department of biology at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, is doing.

Last year, Austad, who is also senior scientific director interim chair with the American Federation for Aging Research, wrote a book titled "Methuselah's Zoo: What Nature Can Teach Us about Living Longer, Healthier Lives" (MIT Press, 2022). (The title is a nod to Methuselah, a biblical patriarch who supposedly lived to be 969 years old.) Austad's book focuses on the longest-living animals on Earth , from bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), which can live 200-plus years, to Escarpia laminata, a species of tube worm found in the Gulf of Mexico that has an average life span of about 300 years.

However, the creature that captured Austad's attention was the world's oldest animal, a 507-year-old ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) dubbed "Ming the Mollusk."

One factor in Ming's longevity is clearly its underwater environment: It's "cold, safe and deficient of any real predators," Austad wrote in 2022 in an article for The Atlantic .

"Mollusks like Ming spend most of their lives living in really cold water burrowed in the mud and covered by a thick shell," Austad told Live Science. "Living at the bottom of the ocean is very stable, and being in the mud probably adds a layer of safety as well as having a shell."

Austad suspects that when animals aren't prone to predation or to the vagaries of a harsh or chaotic environment, evolution favors physiology that lasts a long time.

Bivalves also draw heat from their surroundings rather than generating it themselves the way humans and other mammals do. This may lead to creatures like Ming that are better protected from oxidative stress, Austad hypothesized. (Oxidative stress, or damage to tissue by chemically reactive oxygen compounds, has long been linked to aging.)

To test his theory, Austad and his students brought a variety of mollusk species into their lab, including bay scallops (Argopecten irradians), which live an average of two years; table clams, which can live up to a century; and a handful of super-aging ocean quahogs like Ming, and introduced oxygen-radical generating chemicals to their tanks. The scallops succumbed within two days, while the table clams held on for 11.

Two weeks into the experiment, the quahogs remained "happy as a clam" despite living in tainted water, Austad said. This suggested that the quahogs were recovering from or preventing oxidative stress.

"As humans, we can't replicate their living conditions, but we can figure out how they do it," Austad said. "[There are] no doubt some genetic tricks, but it could also be something that we could replicate pharmacologically if we understood it well enough."

Currently, there's only one animal species that could theoretically live forever: the immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii). No bigger than a pinky nail, these translucent blobs can turn back their biological clocks when injured and revert into plant-like polyps sprouting from the ocean floor. If enough of these polyps colonize, they can eventually begin to bud and "release medusae that are genetically identical to the injured adult," according to the American Museum of Natural History .

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This shape-shifting is possible thanks to a process known as transdifferentiation, which restarts cell generation and essentially gives these amorphous blobs a second lease on life. For the past three decades, scientists have been studying this mechanism and different ways to apply it to humans.

So far, no one has pinpointed the reason cells can transdifferentiate. But a 2022 paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that T. dohrnii had double the DNA repair genes of other jellyfish species. They also had gene mutations that protect telomeres, the caps on the ends of chromosomes, which typically shorten with age, according to the study.

However, that doesn't mean humankind could borrow these genes and seemingly live forever  or become supercentenarians like Branyas Morera, for that matter. Only time will tell.

Editor's Note: This story was corrected on Friday, March 31 at 9:45 a.m. EDT to note that there are only 30 supercententarians alive today in Japan, not worldwide. It was also corrected to note that the U.N. data on the the total number of centenarians alive worldwide was from 2021.
Baby Cheetah

By Tara Subramaniam and Manveena Suri, CNN



(CNN) -- More than 70 years after cheetahs were declared officially extinct in India, the country is now home to four newborn cheetahs, India's Environment Minister announced Wednesday.

The cubs were born to Siyaya and Freddie, two of the eight rehabilitated cheetahs brought from Namibia to India's Kuno National Park in the central state of Madhya Pradesh last September as part of a government plan to re-home 50 of the big cats in India over the next five years.

Taking to Twitter, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav called the birth of the cheetahs a "momentous event in our wildlife conservation history."

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi also welcomed the announcement, calling it "wonderful news."

The announcement of the baby cheetahs' arrival comes just days after one of the Namibian cheetahs, a female named Sasha, died of kidney disease.

While cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952, they now roam one of the country's national parks once again.

The group that arrived from Namibia in September consisted of three male and five female adult cheetahs, including Sasha and Siyaya, according to a news release from Namibia's Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF).









The animals were moved from quarantine enclosure to acclimatization zones in November last year and later released into the park.

In February, a dozen more cheetahs -- seven males and five females -- were brought in from South Africa, which has signed an agreement with India to introduce dozens of cheetahs to the country over the next decade.

Cheetahs are India's only large carnivore to have gone extinct.

Under British colonial rule, forests across India were cleared to develop settlements and set up plantations, resulting in the loss of habitat for big cats, including the cheetah.

Considered less dangerous than tigers and relatively easy to tame, cheetahs were also frequently used by Indian nobility for sport-hunting.



Today, the spotted felines are found in southern and eastern Africa, particularly in Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

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But the endangered cats used to have a much larger range. Historically, cheetahs roamed throughout the Middle East and central India as well as most of sub-Saharan Africa. Habitat loss, poaching, and conflict with humans have greatly reduced their populations.

There are now fewer than 7,000 cheetahs left in the wild, according to the WWF.



Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex's Perpetual Planet initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action.

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If seeing a solar eclipse isn't on your bucket list, we think it's time you add this celestial phenomenon to it. And you can check it off as soon as April 20, the date of the next solar eclipse.

This eclipse is a particularly unique one, as it's a rare hybrid of a total eclipse and an annular eclipse. Total eclipses occur when the moon moves between the Earth and the sun in perfect alignment where the moon covers the sun completely. On Earth, we'll be in the moon's shadow and plunged into an eerie midday darkness. Annular eclipses occur when the positioning of the three celestial bodies is such that the moon appears just slightly smaller than the sun from the Earth, resulting in viewers witnessing the sun turn black with a brilliant "ring of fire" around it. For this upcoming eclipse, viewers in some parts of the world will see a total eclipse, while others will see an annular eclipse.

Unfortunately, the eclipse won't be visible from the United Statesyou'll have to travel to the Indian Ocean in order to see both the total and annular eclipse. But if you're really eager to cross this off your bucket list, you can still book a trip! You'll be able to see the event from land on the Exmouth Peninsula of Western Australia, as well as points in Timor-Leste and Indonesia. But perhaps the best way to see the eclipse will be from a ship, and several travel companies, such as Smithsonian and P&O Cruises Australia , are sailing to the Indian Ocean for this rare marvel.

If you can't swing a last-minute vacation to the other side of the planet, you can watch live streams of the eclipse online; Timeanddate.com will offer one. And if you want to see an eclipse in personwhich we highly recommend you do, so long as you wear special eclipse glasses to protect your eyesthe United States will experience an annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, and a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

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A lipped dinosaur swallows another one whole.

An illustration of a lipped dinosaur swallowing a smaller dinosaur whole.

Popular depictions of the superpredator Tyrannosaurus rex snarling to display its gigantic, knifelike teeth are scientifically inaccurate, new research suggests.

Theropod dinosaurs  a group of bipedal, mostly meat-eating dinosaurs that included T. rex, Velociraptor and Spinosaurus  may instead have concealed their deadly chompers behind thin lips that kept their teeth hydrated and tough enough to crush bones.

Paleontologists had already suggested that T. rex may have had lips , and there has been debate whether carnivorous dinosaurs looked more like present-day crocodiles , which dont have lips and have protruding teeth, or if they more likely resembled monitor lizards, whose large teeth are covered by scaly lips.

"Dinosaur lips would be more similar to those of many lizards or amphibians," Thomas Cullen , a paleobiologist at Auburn University in Alabama, and lead author of the new study, told Live Science in an email. "It would be a covering of skin and scales extending from the edge of the jaw enough to cover the side view of the teeth somewhat, and allow the mouth to close with a tight seal that prevents the teeth from being exposed."

Teeth need to be hydrated to stay sturdy and healthy, co-author Mark Witton , a paleontologist, paleoartist and visiting researcher at the University of Portsmouth in England, told Live Science. "Crocodiles and alligators  their teeth are always breaking because they're not as strong, because they're not kept hydrated."

Related: T. rex could have been 70% bigger than fossils suggest, new study shows

Theropod dinosaurs probably didn't have muscles to pull back these flaps of skin into a snarl or toothy grin in the way that filmmakers portrayed them in the "Jurassic Park" movies . Instead, the beasts had a less threatening, gummy smile, according to the study published Thursday (March 30) in the journal Science .

The team dissected an upper tooth from a fossilized Daspletosaurus, a tyrannosaur that was a close relative of T. rex but slightly smaller, according to the Australian Museum . Dinosaurs continually replaced their teeth, so the researchers selected a relatively mature, 500-day-old tooth to assess its level of wear and determine if it was exposed or protected by lips.

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The tooth was "pristine," Witton said. "The enamel and everything was as fresh as the day it was baked, so to speak. That's a really good indication that that tooth was well looked after in a hydrated environment."

The researchers then investigated if a pair of lips could actually cover the gigantic teeth of carnivorous dinosaurs like T. rex. They compared tooth crown height with jaw length in tyrannosaurs and monitor lizards, which have large teeth relative to their skull that are covered with lips. They found that the proportions were similar in both groups and it was therefore plausible that some dinosaurs could have had lips.

A predatory dinosaur with its mouth shut and teeth concealed.

However, just how big theropod lips were  and whether they had lips at all  continues to divide experts.

"There has been much debate on this issue of tyrannosaur lips over the last few years, and I think this study makes a good case," Steve Brusatte , a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland who was not involved in the study, told Live Science in an email. "I suspect [the authors] are right, and that tyrannosaurs had more soft tissue covering their teeth than crocodiles, but I'm still on the fence as to whether they had as much stuff covering their teeth as monitor lizards."

Some paleontologists remain convinced that theropod dinosaurs sported the lipless look that their crocodile descendants have today. "The authors make claims about tyrannosaur teeth that don't map onto the fossils I've seen," Thomas Carr , an associate professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin, and lead author of a 2017 study on tyrannosaur lips published in the journal Scientific Reports , told Live Science in an email.

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In the study, Carr found that wrinkles on tyrannosaur skulls, which are printed onto the bone by their scales, are identical to those of crocodiles and do not extend beyond the jawline. This suggests that "tyrannosaurs had the lipless appearance of crocodylians," Carr said.

"The only resolution for this impasse will have to come from the fossil record," he added.

The authors of the new study acknowledged the need for further research.
A Mesa Police Department badge.

A 28-year-old teacher's assistant suspected of sexually abusing a 9-year-old student was arrested, Mesa police said.

The victim told school staff at Lehi Elementary that Antonio Jordan had touched them "inappropriately" earlier this week and that the teacher may have recorded it on his cellphone, police said in a news release.

Mesa police responded to investigate the report on Tuesday.

According to the news release, police spoke with Jordan on Wednesday, who told investigators he had a stethoscope fetish, and chose the victim because of the victim's interest in a stethoscope he brought to class.

According to court documents, Jordan confessed to touching the victim inappropriately by sticking his hand up the victim's shirt. Jordan also admitted he had recorded the abuse with his cellphone. He explained to officers that he had deleted the video after a school administrator contacted him to tell him he was being placed on administrative suspension.

Jordan gave the officers access to his phone where they found three videos of him abusing the victim on three different occasions, all while they were alone in the classroom together, police said in the release.

Jordan was booked into Maricopa County Jail on three counts of sexual abuse.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Teacher's aide arrested on suspicion of touching student
SOUTH BEND  In the wake of a shooting that took the life of 15-year-old Donnie Gray Jr. on March 16, officials have filed criminal charges against another teenage boy in connection to Gray's death and are seeking to adjudicate the case in adult court.

Donnie was killed just before 7 p.m. on March 16 when South Bend police were dispatched to the Prairie Apartments, off of Prairie Avenue, when a 911 caller said a boy had been shot. Donnie was declared dead at the scene and the police department's daily log initially classified the incident as a "negligent homicide."

On Wednesday, St. Joseph County prosecutors filed criminal charges in probate, or juvenile, court, accusing a 16-year-old of firing the shot that killed Donnie. The boy is charged with reckless homicide, a felony, and dangerous possession of a firearm, a misdemeanor.

Prosecutors are also seeking to move the boy's case to superior, or adult, court and Indiana law states a juvenile court shall waive jurisdiction to adult court in cases involving reckless homicide if the accused minor is 16 at the time, unless it would be in the best interests of the child and the safety and welfare of the community for the child to remain within the juvenile justice system."

The Tribune does not typically name juvenile defendants unless they have been waived to adult court.

Police say the 16-year-old was immediately taken into custody after the shooting and he is currently being held at the Juvenile Justice Center. He is scheduled to appear in court Monday for an initial hearing.

Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend teen charged in fatal shooting of 15-year-old boy
An anti-abortion monument approved by Tennessee legislators in 2018 has, after five years, received precisely zero donations  not even, it seems, from the Republican state representative who sponsored the bill.

The law calls for private funds to be raised to erect a monument at the state Capitol in memory of the victims of abortion. As no such funds have been raised, the monument remains unbuilt.

A spokesperson for the Tennessee Finance & Administration Department confirmed that the fund has yet to receive any contributions, according to a Wednesday report by Quartz.

The bill, championed by former Republican state Rep. Jerry Sexton, passed the Tennessee House on a 63-15 vote in April 2018. Sexton is also known for his three failed attempts to make the Bible the official state book.

People walk across the Legislative Plaza in front of the state Capitol on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Nashville, Tennessee.

People walk across the Legislative Plaza in front of the state Capitol on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Nashville, Tennessee.

HuffPosts attempts to contact Sexton via email and his campaign website were unsuccessful.

The clear lack of enthusiasm in Tennessee for the monument hasnt dissuaded other states from following suit.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) earlier this month signed a similar bill into law, seeking the construction of a monument to the unborn on state Capitol grounds.

The Arkansas proposal passed the majority-GOP House on a 60-19 vote, with two Republicans voting against it.

State Rep. Jeremiah Moore, one of the Republicans who voted no, told The Associated Press that the monument would effectively be a poke in the eye to all those who do not share our beliefs.

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Terry and Val Walker bought the former Ginza Club and adjoining buildings on the northeast corner of S.W. 6th and Tyler in 1976, renaming the club Terry's Bar and Grill in 1992. The restaurant closed for the last time Wednesday.

A longtime downtown Topeka establishment has closed its doors for the last time.

Terrys Bar and Grill closed effective Wednesday night, according to a Facebook post by the business.

The bar had opened in 1976, when Terry and Val Walker took over the former Ginza Club at 522 S.W. 6th Ave.

The Walkers continued to operate the establishment as a private club until 1992, when ownership remodeled and added a kitchen, renaming it Terry's Bar and Grill.

Terry's over the years has weathered a 1985 increase in the Kansas drinking age, a citywide smoking ban imposed in 2009, a recession in the 1970s and even a fire in 1983.

More: Test of time: Terry's is 'where everyone knows each other'

'Time to explore new opportunities'

"My friends have stuck with me, Terry Walker had told The Capital-Journal in 2014. But Ive had to do a lot on my own. Having good help has also been key.

Terry's, over the years, developed a family-friendly atmosphere with the help of loyal staff and customers, including several past staffers of The Capital-Journal.

The Walkers' put a post Wednesday evening on the Terry's Facebook page thanking Topekans for their patronage over the past 47 years.

Throughout the years the business has welcomed many customers and staff who have evolved into a family," it read. "We are very grateful for all the people that have come into our lives and supported us over the years. Although we are very sad about the ending, it is time to explore new opportunities and spend more time with family."

'Where everybody knows your name'

A 2011 Capital-Journal culinary review of Terry's touted it as being a place where "everybody knows your name," which was the same description given to the Boston bar featured in the 1980s TV sitcom, "Cheers."

"What I like best about Terrys is the mix of folks who patronize it," said the reviewer, whose name was kept a mystery. "You can spot local judges, county commissioners and folks in jeans or other casual clothing. Terrys isnt a swanky place, but thats okay. It is a place to relax and have fun."

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Terry's was particularly popular among public servants.

"Terry's was one of those comfortable neighborhood community gathering spots," said Mayor Mike Padilla. "Old friends, new friends, business conversations, political neutral zone where anybody could have conversation in a relaxed, casual atmosphere."

Terry's was her "favorite spot," said Topeka City Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz.

"I took all my lunch meetings there," she said.

Ortiz, who's been on the council since 2005, said she had her "own special booth" at Terry's.

She said she's held her campaign watch parties at Terry's on four of the five evenings she's won election and re-election to her council seat, in 2005, 2009, 2017 and 2021.

The only election night she didn't hold a watch party at Terry's was in 2013, when she ran unopposed, Ortiz said.

"I will miss them," she said.

'Topeka won't seem the same'

State employee Diane Jenkins posted one of the 240 comments that could be found Friday morning beneath the announcement of the closing made on the Terry's Facebook page.

"Where are we state employees supposed to have our retirement parties?" she wrote. "You only needed to hang in there another year and a half for me LOL."

"Congratulations on a great run!" Jim Turgeon wrote on the Terry's Facebook page. "Topeka won't seem the same."

The Capital-Journal's Tim Hrenchir contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Terry's Bar and Grill closes after 47 years in downtown Topeka
ISLAMABAD, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani security forces killed one terrorist and injured two others in an intelligence-based operation in the country's southwest Balochistan province, a military statement said on Friday.

Based on credible information, multiple ambushes have been laid along different routes frequented by the terrorists for the last two days in the Noshman area of the Sibi district of the province, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, said in the statement.

During the operation, a group of three terrorists was intercepted while moving toward their hideout and opened fire on the security forces.

During the ensuing heavy exchange of fire, one terrorist was killed while two others got injured, the ISPR statement said.

A cache of arms and ammunition were also recovered during the military operation, the ISPR said, adding that the terrorists were linked with the targeting of civilians in the area, besides harassment of coal mine owners.

The Pakistani army remained determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan province, according to the military. 
Brandon Bell - Getty Images

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg said in a statement on Thursday evening that his office had contacted former President Donald Trump's personal attorney "to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal." Trump is the first current or ex-president to be indicted, though Ulysses S. Grant beat him to "first president arrested" in 1872. (He was picked up for speeding in a horse-drawn carriage.) This is a significant test for the American democratic system, though globally it is not uncommon for former national leaders to face prosecution, including in democracies like South Korea and France.

What was Trump indicted for?

We won't know until the indictment is unsealed. News reports in the preceding weeks suggested the Manhattan grand jury that voted to return the indictment was examining allegations related to a hush-money payoff made to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Trump's former lawyer and "fixer," Michael Cohen, pled guilty to his role in the scheme in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison. That case was brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, a division of the Justice Department, at a time when Trump was president and therefore exempt from federal prosecution according to department policy.

This is a state indictment, unlike Cohen's federal case, that was pursued by a different prosecutor's office. Reports indicate it may focus on how Cohen was reimbursed after he took out a home equity loan to finance the payment to Daniels, and whether Trump himself was privy to a processthat allegedly ran through Trump's companyto disguise the installments as a legal retainer paid to Cohen on regular intervals. If this process involved falsifying business records, that may factor into the indictment.

Anna Moneymaker - Getty Images

But again, we won't know anything until the indictment is released. Trump is under investigation for a number of things in a number of different jurisdictions, all of which he denies any culpability for.

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What's next?

Trump is at Mar-a-Lago, his members' club in Florida. He will need to make his way up to New York to be arraigned on whatever charges are in the indictment. He will reportedly appear before Judge Juan Merchan of the New York Supreme Court. Trump is expected to surrender on Tuesday, and CNBC reports the arraignment will take place that afternoon.

As an accused criminal in the state of New York, Trump will be fingerprinted and photographed, though it appears unlikely at this point that his mugshot will be made public. It is not clear at the moment whether he will be perp-walked in front of the waiting cameras in front of the courthouse, but either way, it is very unlikely he will be handcuffed. The Secret Service will play a role in the process and Trump could avoid the handcuffs and the frogmarch for security reasons.

After the initial hearing, we may have some idea about the timeline for Trump's trial.

Can Trump still run for president?

We answered that oneand the question of whether Trump could run or even serve as president from jailin a previous story. In short: yes. Ain't no rule says a dog can't play basketball.

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Just in time for April Fools Day, Donald Trump has become the first president in history to be charged with a crime.

This is no joke, however.

Trump will, of course, try to turn our attention to himself, casting himself as the victim of a witch hunt.

Just hours after the announcement Thursday evening that the Manhattan District Attorney announced that a grand jury voted to indict Trump as part of his hush money payments to his alleged mistress  who happens to be a former porn star  the former president was emailing his supporters with yet another appeal for money. He did not mention the porn star or the hush money. Or the possibility he doctored his books to cover up everything.

FILE - Former President Donald Trump announces he is running for president for the third time as he smiles while speaking at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 15, 2022. A lawyer for Trump said Thursday, March 30, 2023, that he has been told that the former president has been indicted in New York on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

So the first lesson of this new chapter in history is that crime might actually pay for Trump. In the two weeks since the former president speculated that he was about to be arrested, he reportedly raised more than $2 million for his presidential campaign.

Now he expects to raise more apparently. Please make a contribution  of truly any amount  to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024, he wrote.

On Tuesday, when Trump is expected to appear in a Manhattan courtroom to answer the charges in the indictment, which reportedly includes more than 30 counts, you can expect more of the same rhetoric. But beyond the rhetorical chaos that will surely engulf Trump, this latest chapter offers important challenges for three corners of America  "red," "blue" and "purple."

Will the indictment matter to Trump nation?

Flags fly near former president Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida on March 31, 2023. A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump over hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

For the so-called "red" MAGA world of Trump followers  "Trump nation," as some call it  the indictment once again raises the question of how they can remain loyal to a leader who continually pushes the boundaries of good taste, ethics and, in this case, the law. As one supporter in Pennsylvania told me after Trump's election, I never expected Trump to be a choirboy.

But does "red" America have any boundaries on its support for Trump?

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In his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump insulted veterans, disabled people and women  to name just a few targets. It didn't matter. As Trump again seeks the presidency in 2024, will it matter that he has been indicted?

For Never Trumpers, will the indictment prove too petty?

For the anti-Trump crowd, another key question emerges: Is this latest legal attack on Trump too petty?

Paying hush money to anyone  even a porn star  is not illegal. And covering up those payments and doctoring your financial records is generally categorized as just a misdemeanor.

The Manhattan investigation suggests that Trump reportedly took the additional step of using those false records to commit a felony violation of campaign finance laws.

Police, media, and a small group of protesters gather outside of a Manhattan courthouse after news broke that former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury on March 30, 2023, in New York City. The indictment is sealed but the grand jury has been hearing evidence related to money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.

Is this alleged criminality complicated? Absolutely. But most voters will rightly ask whether this crime is really all that serious. And on a political and legal level, is this alleged miscue too small for a district attorney  a Democrat in Manhattan, no less  to jump into the history books with an unprecedented indictment of a former president?

That question is certain to follow this case. Trump is already raising it.

But another question looms here  and its just as important. Shouldnt all Americans, even former presidents who claim to be billionaires, be held accountable to the same laws as ordinary citizens? And should the size of the alleged crime matter?

These questions become even more important when you consider that Trump faces far more serious allegations that he mishandled and lied about top-secret government files, that he tried to pressure local election officials to doctor votes in the 2020 presidential election and that he ordered a coup-like assault on the U.S. Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden.

What we know: Donald Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges.

'An outrage': What Trump's potential rivals for 2024 are saying about his indictment

What about Americans in the middle?

Trumps legal troubles in Manhattan, beginning next week, may be just the beginning of a much longer journey. At the same time, it may open a whole new chapter in how another, far quieter group of American voters think.

Experts say these voters are something of a third constituency  those who are neither red state Trump loyalists or blue state members of the lock-him-up crowd.

Call this the purple corner of America.

This part of the nation has grown restless as wages stagnate and an American Dream seems more like a Norman Rockwell painting that is preserved and admired in a museum but no longer fits into everyday reality.

They vote for Democrats sometimes. But they also support Republicans. They watch CNN, but tune into Fox, too.

They don't fit neatly into the boxes that political parties and the media have created. In short, they are trying to make sense of the political circus that has engulfed America for more than a decade. And at the same time, this purple constituency has grown frustrated with governments inability to deal with basic issues that range from gun violence and immigration to crumbling roads, rails, bridges and airports.

Trump stumbled into American politics in 2015 as the nation had grown frustrated on many levels.

President Barack Obama was basking in the glow of his precedent-setting election and was about to retire and write his glowing memoir. But at the end of eight years of a presidency that was described as transformative by progressive admirers, the hard truth is that Obama had done almost nothing to curb gun violence, to stem the tide of undocumented immigration or to fix the nations broken infrastructure. To name just a few chronic problems.

Obama blamed Republicans in Congress  for good reason. Republicans offered few workable solutions to the nation's long-standing troubles. But American presidents do not become great by merely attacking their enemies. They achieve greatness by finding ways to work with their opponents. Tragically, Obama never figured out how to do that.

Trump walked into the White House as a can-do businessman. But like Obama, he never figured out how to work with his opponents either.

More Mike Kelly: Why Trump Nation voters ignored the lies of Fox News

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Instead, Trump spent four years tripping over himself, making promises that he never fulfilled, pumping up enemies who grew more powerful each time he attacked them, picking fights that meant little in the lives of ordinary voters.

Remember Trumps infrastructure week? How about his promised health insurance that would be cheaper than Obamacare? And how about that Trumpian plan to straighten out Americas relationship with Russia? And China? And Iran? And North Korea?

That worked out real well, didnt it?

If you followed Trumps rise as an Atlantic City casino boss and his record of self-promotion, inflated marketing claims, doctored financial records and refusal to pay bills to hardworking contractors, you knew all about his record of hollow promises.

Now as Americas so-called purple voters look back and try to find their place in Americas partisan crossfire, they may rightly ask why Trump failed so much.

What could play out in court

Which brings us back to that Manhattan courtroom.

The charges that Trump will answer on Tuesday highlight two of his worst habits  his willingness to skirt the law and his tendency to exaggerate and even lie to divert attention from his problems.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg leaves his office as the grand jury continues to hear evidence against former President Donald Trump on March 22, 2023 in New York City.

Trump will likely play the victim card, claiming he is targeted in a continuing witch hunt. But in the end, facts are facts. And Trump will have to answer to whether he stooped into the ethical gutter to pay a porn star to keep quiet about an alleged tryst. And then he will have to answer whether his gang of flunkies falsified ledger sheets to cover up those payments  all to avoid scrutiny under the nations campaign finance laws.

Those election laws were enacted and strengthened a half-century ago in the wake of the Watergate scandal in which a treacherous and lying president claimed to be the victim of a petty investigation led by Democrats. But as Richard Nixon learned in the early 1970s, sometimes the small stuff looms large, especially if you try to cover it up.

Donald Trump is about the face the same challenge. But in Trumps case, what happens in Manhattan may be just the beginning.

I am not afraid of whats to come, Trump wrote Friday morning in yet another fundraising appeal. This is the battle I willingly signed up for when I decided to take on the entire Washington Machine as a political outsider.

The question now looming in front of Americas voters is whether they signed up for this, too.

The search for an answer starts next week in Manhattan.

Mike Kelly is an award-winning columnist for NorthJersey.com as well as the author of three critically acclaimed non-fiction books and a podcast and documentary film producer. To get unlimited access to his insightful thoughts on how we live life in New Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kellym@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Donald Trump indictment: Where will voters land?
Viola Davis brought red-hot style to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday night.

The award-winning actress was joined on the late-night talk show by her husband Julius Tennon. The couple sat down with Kimmel to chat about being married for 20 years, Davis winning an EGOT Award and sharing the screen together in Air: Courting A Legend. Davis and Tennon star as Michael Jordans parents Deloris Jordan and James Jordan in the highly-anticipated film, which releases on April 5.

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For the interview, Davis donned a vibrant red dress. The garment featured a knot detailing at the neck, crystal embellishments on the shoulder, a small slit at the center of the chest and a thigh-high slit at the front.

To let her look do all of the talking, The Woman King star simply accessorized with dangling earrings. Davis parted her short tresses on the side and coordinated her outfit with a bold matte red lip.

Viola Davis arrives at Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 30, 2023, in Los Angeles. - Credit: RB/Bauergriffin.com / MEGA

RB/Bauergriffin.com / MEGA

Viola Davis and her husband Julius Tennon arrive at Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 30, 2023, in Los Angeles. - Credit: RB/Bauergriffin.com / MEGA

RB/Bauergriffin.com / MEGA

Davis husband looked dapper for the appearance. The actor wore a gray plaid blazer jacket with a button-down shirt and navy blue slacks. On his feet was a pair of dark leather loafers.

Davis initially arrived wearing ballet flats. However while appearing on the show, the How to Get Away with Murder alum slipped into black pointed-toe pumps.

Viola Davis arrives at Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 30, 2023, in Los Angeles. - Credit: GC Images

GC Images

Davis has captivated fashion lovers with a parade of red-carpet looks over the years. She has an affinity for statement earrings, monochrome moments, bold prints and classic separates. Davis has easily become one to watch since working with stylist Elizabeth Stewart. On the red carpet, the actress often wears coordinating pointed-toe pumps from brands like Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Stuart Weitzman. Off-duty, she can also be spotted in thong sandals, flats and mesh sneakers  plus one of her go-to shoes, a pair of gold platform brogues by Stella McCartney.

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PHOTOS: Click through the gallery to see Viola Davis red carpet style evolution.

Launch Gallery: Viola Davis Red Carpet Evolution at the Golden Globes

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David Usher shovels snow in Salt Lake City on Friday. Utahs valleys may receive another inch or two this week, while the mountains may end up with another foot from the latest storm arriving in Utah. | Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Utah's record snowpack is about to get another boost before the end of March, but a storm arriving in the state Wednesday is also prompting concerns because of the impact it may have on roads and power lines.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for Utah's Wasatch, west Uinta and southern Utah mountains, where 8 to 24 inches of heavy snow is possible, along with strong wind gusts. The Grand Junction office issued a winter weather advisory for the east Uinta mountains, where slightly smaller snow totals are expected.

A mixture of rain, snow and wind is forecast in the valleys over the next few days.

Storm timing

Wednesday is the warm before the storm, as temperatures will reach close to the 60s before the next storm system arrives. It's also going to be windy ahead of the next cold front. A wind advisory will go into effect in most of western Utah this afternoon through the evening, ahead of the precipitation, bringing winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts up to 55 mph from the southwest.

The weather service notes that travel may be difficult for semitrucks and other high-profile vehicles on east-west routes like Interstate 80, as a result. The windy conditions are ahead of a cold front arriving in Utah later in the day, says KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson.

He adds that some showers are possible in northern Utah late Wednesday afternoon, but most of the valley rain and mountain snow is expected to begin Wednesday night, impacting valleys and mountain ranges across the state. A few thunderstorms could be part of the mix, especially in northern and central Utah, according to the National Weather Service.

The precipitation will linger into Thursday, possibly disrupting the morning commute. There's a stronger probability of valley snow showers Thursday morning and afternoon, according to Johnson.

"Then, there's another round of snow, potentially, for northern Utah, as we move into Friday morning," he said. "So we have to watch Friday morning's commute, as well."

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Projected precipitation totals

The National Weather Service alerts state the storm has the possibility of delivering:

1 to 2 feet of snow in the Wasatch and west Uinta mountains by Friday evening. Wind gusts could also reach 70 mph at times.

8 to 16 inches of snow in the southern Utah mountains by Thursday evening, especially near Brian Head and the Tushar range. Wind gusts may reach 50 mph.

4 to 6 inches of snow in the east Uinta mountains by Thursday night. Wind gusts may reach 45 mph.

As for the valleys, Johnson said the storm system has the potential to deliver a quarter of an inch of rain along most of the Wasatch Front and parts of southwest Utah by early Thursday morning. The Ogden area could receive more than a -inch of precipitation by then.

The valleys may end up with 1 to 4 inches of snow if and when the rain transitions into snow Thursday. Most of the valley snow is expected in the northern Wasatch Front and Cache Valley. But Johnson cautions there could be more valley snow in those areas if the right conditions emerge, similar to what happened on Monday.

"It's not a huge snow maker but we've got to watch it because last time, the lake effect kicked in," he said. "That would push totals up a little bit more."

Storm impacts

The weather service warns that travel may be "very difficult" along mountain routes once the storm system arrives.

Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain Power officials said Tuesday they are monitoring the incoming storm system because heavy snowfall along the Wasatch Front could bring down trees and branches and cause weather-related outages. The company says crews are on standby in case that happens, so power can be restored as quickly as possible.

"As a reminder, treat all downed wires as live and dangerous. Customers should avoid both downed trees and power lines as well as keep pets far away from those areas," a Rocky Mountain Power statement says.

The Utah Avalanche Center notes that "considerable" avalanche conditions remain in effect throughout the Wasatch ranges. It has received reports of over a dozen natural and human-caused avalanches this week, alone.

The storm figures will tack onto Utah's statewide snowpack, too. It reached 27 inches on Tuesday, a full inch above the previous record set in 1983, since records have been kept in snow seasons after 1980.

The snow isn't over quite yet, either. While a warm and mostly dry weekend is expected, Johnson said another storm system is expected to impact both northern and southern Utah early next week.

Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center.
Police are investigating after a woman fell to her death off a cliff in the Coconino National Forest in Arizona. Authorities identified the victim as 44-year-old Jennifer Petri.

Shortly before 4 p.m. on Monday, Petri's friend called authorities to report she had fallen about 20 feet off a cliff in West Clear Creek and was "no longer visible," the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said in a statement posted to Facebook.

Petri fell in an area known to locals as "The Bluffs," located 200 feet above West Clear Creek, according to the sheriff's office.

"Steep sections of this trail can be a problem to a hiker loaded with a heavy backpack," according to the USDA Forest Service.

Multiple volunteer resources, fire officials and an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter were called to scene to help find Petri, the sheriff's office said.

"The terrain was steep and dangerous, making it difficult for rescuers to conduct for a search," the sheriff's office said.

Deputies using binoculars were able to spot Petri at the base of a cliff just above the water edge, officials said.

A trooper was dropped off at the base of the cliff by the helicopter to asses Petri's condition and it was determined she had died. She was then airlifted out of the canyon, the sheriff's office said.

The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office is investigating Petri's fall.

Petri, of Camp Verde, was a wife and a mother of four, and she worked as a server at Denny's for 15 years, KPNX reported.

"She was everyone's friend," Danae Wolf told the station. "She had so much compassion for people and empathy. And it's really something I looked up to."

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Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Reuters

When news broke on Thursday that former President Donald Trump was criminally indicted in Manhattan, congressional Republicansas theyve done countless times beforeimmediately declared they would leverage their power to defend him.

Im directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy, tweeted Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions. Days before the indictment, GOP chairmen signaled they would demand the testimony of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Key lawmakers also quickly declared they would retaliate against Democrats. Hunter Biden: Call your lawyers, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) tweeted after the indictment news broke.

Few officials are more familiar with the GOP playbook than Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who made his name as perhaps Trumps most dedicated foe in Congress.

The Storm Arrives: NYC Grand Jury Indicts Donald Trump

In an interview on Friday with The Daily Beast, Schiff said McCarthy and GOP lawmakers plan to run interference for Trump in response to the indictment are very true to form.

But Schiff argued a key difference this time aroundas Trump makes grim history as first U.S. president to ever face criminal chargesis that Republicans wield real power to disrupt the proceedings to hold him accountable.

Jim Jordan acted like he was Donald Trumps defense lawyer. Now they're in the majority, Schiff said. They didnt have the power of the speakership before. Now they do. That adds a new danger to our democracy and the rule of law.

When asked, Schiff did not detail any specific plans Democrats were developing to counter the Republican efforts. In the House, the Democratic minority has little recourse except to vocalize their opposition to GOP efforts to derail Braggs indictment of Trump on charges related to alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. (The exact charges will be revealed once the indictment is unsealed in the coming days.)

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In January, McCarthy removed Schiff from his leadership post on the House Intelligence Committee in retaliation for his role in Trumps impeachments. He was reinstated on the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the countrys law enforcement system, and is chaired by Jordan. Now, Schiff is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

But Schiff, as much as any Democrat, has a long view of Trumps relationship with powerful GOP officeholders. He was a key player in the early congressional Trump-Russia investigation, spearheaded the 2019 impeachment probe, and sat on the Select Committee investigating Jan. 6.

One of the most striking things about the Trump indictment, Schiff said, was how it reflected Trumps enduring grip on the GOPand his enduring imprint on the partys character.

At the dawn of the Trump administration, for instance, even the presidents GOP backers agreed that a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the connections between the 2016 campaign and Russia.

In the early Trump years, there was initially some expression of support for the rule of law, some outrage at his immorality and indecency, his violence and vitriol, his lawlessness, Schiff said. Year after year that would give way, to the point where theyre rushing to defend someone accused of making hush money payments to a porn star.

While a number of Republicans outspokenly defended Trump on Thursdayfrom diehard supporters to avowed skepticsfor Schiff, the most notable statement came from the man who is currently the ex-presidents top rival: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis Talks Tough After Indictment. Trumpers Unimpressed.

DeSantis, who is likely to challenge Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, issued a harsh rebuke of the indictment on Thursday, calling it un-American.

The [George] Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct, DeSantis tweeted. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

Notably, the governor committed to not cooperating with New York authorities to extradite Trump, a Florida resident, if the former president had chosen not to surrender in Manhattan.

For Schiff, DeSantis statement was a perfect illustration of todays GOP. Its not enough to try to interfere with justice, he said. The antipathy toward the rule of law, thats not even enough. They have to drag the repeated reference of George Soros into it and add that nice anti-semitic cast onto it.

Trump is not wrong, Schiff said, when he said he made Ron DeSantis.

For someone who has played a central role in efforts to hold Trump to some degree of account, Schiff might be expected to take some measure of relief in the indictment of the former president. Indeed, on Thursday, social media was saturated with messages of liberals outright cheering and celebrating the prospect of Trump in handcuffs.

But many Democratic lawmakers urged a different toneincluding Schiff, who came out with a very early statement calling the indictment a sobering moment for the country.

I dont think it should be celebrated, Schiff said. Its an affirmation of the principle that no one is above the law.

Prosecutors follow the evidence, follow facts and the law and where charges are warranted, they should bring charges, he said. They should do so whether its the former president of the United States or an ordinary citizen.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A virtual reality demonstration at a police conference, in Dubai, on March 9, 2023. (The New York Times)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  A brain wave reader that can detect lies. Miniaturized cameras that sit inside vape pens and disposable coffee cups. Massive video cameras that zoom in more than a kilometer to capture faces and license plates.

At a police conference in Dubai in March, new technologies for the security forces of the future were up for sale. Far from the eyes of the general public, the event provided a rare look at what tools are now available to law enforcement around the world: better and harder-to-detect surveillance, facial recognition software that automatically tracks individuals across cities and computers to break into phones.

Advances in artificial intelligence, drones and facial recognition have created an increasingly global police surveillance business. Israeli hacking software, American investigation tools and Chinese computer vision algorithms can all be bought and mixed together to make a snooping cocktail of startling effectiveness.

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Fueled by a surge of spending from Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, the conferences host and an aggressive adopter of next-generation security technologies, the event pointed to how tools of mass surveillance once believed to be widespread only in China are proliferating. The rising use of the technologies signals an era of policing based as much on software, data and code as officers and weaponry, raising questions about the effects on peoples privacy and how political power is wielded.

A lot of surveillance could ostensibly be benign or used to improve a city, said Daragh Murray, a senior lecturer of law at Queen Mary University in London who has studied police use of technology. But the flip side of the coin is it can give you incredible insight into peoples everyday lives. That can have an unintended chilling effect or be a tool for actual repression.

The gold rush was evident at a convention center in the heart of downtown Dubai, where uniformed police representatives from around the world browsed drones that could be launched and powered up remotely. Chinese camera makers showed software to identify when crowds gather. American companies like Dell and Cisco had booths offering police services. Cellebrite, an Israeli maker of systems to break into mobile phones, exhibited inside a government zone blocked off from the rest of the conference.

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Other companies sold facial recognition eyeglasses and sentiment analysis software, in which an algorithm determines a persons mood from facial expressions. Some products, like a Segway with a rifle mount, pushed the limits of practicality.

Nowadays, the police force, they dont think about the guns or weapons that theyre carrying, said Maj. Gen. Khalid Alrazooqi, the Dubai Polices general director of AI. Youre looking for the tools, the technology.

With its deep pockets, serious security challenges and autocratic government, the UAE, an important U.S. ally in the Middle East, has become a case study in the potential, and risks, of such policing technologies. The tools can help stop crime and terror attacks but can also become an undemocratic buttress of political power.

Under the leadership of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, often referred to by his initials MBZ, Emirati authorities have surveilled critics and activists. Amnesty International and other groups have accused the oil-rich country of human rights abuses against adversaries, including using the Pegasus phone spyware made by the NSO Group of Israel. Protests and free expression in the authoritarian monarchy are severely limited, part of what the government has said is an effort to combat Islamic extremism.

One tech firm based in the UAE with ties to the countrys leadership, Presight AI, sells software nearly identical to products that are popular with the Chinese police. At the conference, its software used cameras and AI to identify people, store data about their appearance and track their routes as they wandered the event.

A lack of transparency and oversight for the way surveillance technologies are used opens up the potential for abuse, said Marc O. Jones, author of the book Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East and a professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar.

The region has become so securitized, and under MBZ, the UAE has become so focused on security theres almost this fetishization of technology, he said.

Cameras are especially prevalent in the UAEs two largest cities, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai, which is flashier and more freewheeling, has cameras tucked away in unassuming corners. In Abu Dhabi, the more conservative center of political power, cameras dominate the cityscape. Grey metal towers that support them shaped like Ts and Ls hang over roads at predictable intervals.

Alrazooqi said in an interview that the cameras were part of a yearslong campaign to become a global leader in police technology  even though the city, which has a population of about 3.5 million, is known for low crime. In recent years, Emirati officials visited police departments and companies in China, Europe and the United States for ideas. The consulting companies KPMG and Gartner were hired to help with the process, Alrazooqi said. Dubai bought facial recognition systems from Chinese companies including Hikvision and Huawei.

KPMG, Gartner, Huawei and Hikvision declined to comment.

We pick what is the best practice in each country and to try to perfect and inject it in the system that we have, Alrazooqi said. He added that the Chinese are the best at computer vision and facial recognition.

The Middle East has become a petri dish of different actors, with China, Russia and the United States vying for influence through their technologies, Jones said. The heavy presence of Chinese technologies  most cameras visible on the streets are Chinese  is a sign of the countrys rising influence in the Gulf.

Dubais police run next-generation systems from a sprawling headquarters north of the citys downtown skyscrapers and malls. One of those systems, a citywide facial recognition program called Oyoon  Arabic for eyes  can pull the identity of anyone passing one of at least 10,000 cameras, linking to a database of images from airport customs and residents identification cards. Police have also required businesses to provide video from their security systems to a centralized government database.

Its monitoring the whole city from once you enter at the airport to when you leave, Alrazooqi said. He said the systems served the polices customers  a catchall term for the public. People, they are happy about it, he said.

The technological capabilities were on display in a police command center, where Dubais officers could view live camera feeds and the locations of all emergency vehicles on a giant screen.

With technology and smart cameras, if you committed a crime within a minute I will know which direction someone is going, said Lt. Col. Bilal Al Tayer, acting director of the command and control center.

One advanced tool was predictive policing software built by engineers from Dubai with machine learning that identifies where thieves might strike next. Officials said its 68% accuracy rate doubled that of an older model. Inside some patrol cars, mapping software gives officers specific routes to drive based on crime data.

Another algorithm, built on the records of automobile accidents, predicted the roughly 4,000 most dangerous drivers in Dubai, who will receive reminders via text message to drive carefully. The most-represented category of bad drivers was older Emirati men, followed by older South Asian men. (Nationality is a factor for the algorithm.)

At the Dubai police fair, officials from the UAEs Ministry of Interior, which oversees state security and has access to all police cameras, demonstrated how, with a tablet, they could scan the irises of conference attendees and pull up information about when they had entered the country, complete with a recent customs photo. Also displayed was a headset that is said to detect when a part of the brain concerning memories is activated, something a ministry official said is useful during interrogations to determine if a suspect is lying.

Walking among the booths at the conference was Lt. Gen. Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, the Dubai Polices commander in chief. The new capabilities on display, however intrusive, were a means to achieve a long-elusive, utopian goal of zero crime, he said.

We dont break the privacy of the people, he added. We are just monitoring.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Peter Lord, co-founder and creative director at Aardman, holds up the stop motion animation figure of Shaun the Sheep that flew on NASA's Artemis 1 mission to the moon. Behind him is Shaun's European Space Agency astronaut portrait.

Europe's first lunar "lamb-assador" has returned home to a hero's welcome as he prepares to be herded off on a celebratory post-flight tour.

"Shaun the Sheep," the title character from a popular animated television series, arrived back in England on Wednesday (March 29), three and a half months after he splashed down aboard NASA's Artemis 1 mission to the moon. Shaun, in the form of a 6-inch-tall (16 centimeters) stop motion model, was hailed for his service to the European Space Agency (ESA) during an event held at Aardman Animations, where his official astronaut portrait, a commemorative plaque and the documents attesting to his flight were unveiled.

"We've had many astronauts down the years, but Shaun is our first astronaut to go to the moon and beyond, travel 1.4 million miles [2.3 million kilometers] on Artemis 1 and is the first of several ESA astronauts who will be flying on Orion in the future," said David Parker, ESA's director of human and robotic exploration, in a call with collectSPACE.com. "I'm here at the Aardman Animations studio in Bristol, which happens to be my hometown, and I've seen Shaun this morning  he is looking great, he enjoyed the voyage and he's going to have a few tips to pass on to some of our new astronauts."

Related: 10 strange things NASA's Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft took to the moon

In November 2022, just after Artemis 1 launched, ESA announced its first new astronaut class in 13 years, in part to prepare for future missions to the moon. Among the recruits were five men and women who will report for training in April, including Rosemary Coogan, an astronomer from Northern Ireland, who joined Parker at the studio for Shaun's homecoming on Wednesday.

Shaun's place aboard the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft was in recognition of ESA's role providing the power-providing service module for the mission.

"Half of the Orion spaceship was built in Europe," said Parker. "The Orion service module, which provides the power, propulsion and electricity for the astronauts, performed absolutely flawlessly during its [first] mission and returned the Orion capsule back to Earth and did its job, so we're super proud of that."

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Shaun the Sheep, still wearing the European Space Agency (ESA) flight suit that he wore on NASA's Artemis I mission to the moon, has returned to Mossy Bottom Farm (a.k.a. Aardman Animations) where he received a hero's welcome.

The "unusually clever" Shropshire lamb, which had his start as a character in Aardman's 'Wallace & Gromit" film series, flew inside the Official Flight Kit (OFK), a package of nearly 10,000 artifacts and mementos that were ferried to the moon and back as tokens of gratitude for those who made the trip possible.

"I feel immensely proud, not of my achievement, but really the whole studio's achievement that he's been on this exceptional adventure," Peter Lord, co-founder and creative director at Aardman, said in an interview with collectSPACE. "Frankly, I am amazed because it seems such a big deal. I mean, this billion-dollar project  and I don't know how many billions of dollars the project is  and the fact that Shaun was invited to ride along, it seems to me incredible."

The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission served as a precursor for returning astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. The Artemis 1 Orion capsule entered a lunar distant retrograde orbit, flying farther into space than any human-, or sheep-rated spacecraft, has ever traveled.

Future Artemis missions will include ESA (human) astronauts as they become the first Europeans to work in lunar orbit and perhaps land on the moon's surface.

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut candidate Rosemary Coogan (at center) holds up her fellow ESA astronaut Shaun the Sheep for photo with Aardman managing director Sean Clarke (at left), ESA communication officer Rosita Suenson, ESA director of human and robotic exploration David Parker and Ardman co-founder and creative director Peter Lord at Ardman Animations' studio in Bristol, UK on March 29, 2023.

Related stories:

 European Space Agency recruits Shaun the Sheep for Artemis 1 moon mission

 The 10 greatest images from NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission

 Shaun the Sheep completes astronaut training for sci-fi film

In preparation for his history-making flight, Shaun took part in an extensive astronaut training program, which ESA documented and presented in a series of blog posts leading up to the Nov. 16, 2022 launch. Now well rested, Shaun will resume his astronaut duties, this time traveling with ESA to space centers across Europe, where he will help the public learn more about what the agency has to offer for the future of exploration.

"He's going to visit our space technology center in the Netherlands, where most of our engineers and the people who run the project are based; the astronaut center, as well, in Cologne [Germany]; but also very importantly, Airbus in Bremen, which led the construction of the service module," said Parker.

Whether Shaun might fly again or where he will go after the tour is over, has yet to be decided. Lord, though, hopes Shaun will return home again.

"I really think he should come home. We'll keep him in a perfect state," said Lord. "He's just the first sheep in space."

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2023 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
MOSCOW, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Russia will continue to exchange information with the United States on its ballistic missile launches, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday.

Russian media quoted Ryabkov as saying on Wednesday that Russia had halted all information exchanges with the United States, following Moscow's decision to suspend its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

On Thursday, Ryabkov clarified that Russia would adhere to the restrictions outlined in the treaty on a voluntary basis, and would continue to implement a 1988 bilateral agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union that requires each side to notify of any intercontinental or submarine ballistic missile launches.

Ryabkov added that the Russian side has officially informed the United States of its position.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law in late February, officially suspending Russia's participation in the New START treaty with the United States. 
PANAMA CITY BEACH  A Beach Police officer will soon join the 1% of law enforcement officials who have attended a prestigious FBI training program.

Capt. John Deegins of the Panama City Beach Police Department is among the approximately 250 officers from across the world selected to participate in session 286 of the FBI National Academy, an extensive 10-week training course that will be held in Quantico, Virginia.

Deegins, who has about 25 years of experience with the Beach Police, is scheduled to leave Friday and return home in early June.

Capt. John Deegins of the Panama City Beach Police Department was selected to participate in session 286 of the FBI National Academy.

"I'm certainly honored that the city has the faith to send me to this very challenging training," he said. "I plan on learning as much as I possibly can to bring back to this city and to our community. .... This is such an amazing opportunity. It's going to be a challenging opportunity also, but I look forward to that challenge."

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According to Chief J.R. Talamantez of the Beach Police, Deegins will become the fourth officer from the department to attend the FBI training course. Talamantez was the last to participate in 2019.

He said the FBI hosts the training academy a few times a year, and its purpose is to "combine law enforcement executives from all walks of life to help figure out problems that are plaguing not only our country, but the world."

"We're strengthened by our brothers and sisters in the amount of information we can leverage from each other," Talamantez said. "The biggest thing in law enforcement is we do nothing alone. It's always a partnership in everything we do. Having the ability to call somebody on their cell phone and run something by them from another state, another country to get their perspective on things provides us the ability to make more well-informed decisions.

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During the academy, Deegins will live in a barrack-style building and participate in physical training, as well as training in other areas such as active shooter situations, national threats and cyber security.

"This is the most premier law enforcement training in the country, if not the world," Talamantez said. "It's very difficult to get a spot. We're fortunate. Our partnership with the federal government and our partnership currently with the bureau has played a large part in that, and it just shows how we are trying to stay with modern times here at the Beach Police."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Beach Police officer to attend FBI training academy
When threats of violence are made against students in Delaware schools, who is responsible for keeping students safe and what happens if the threat becomes real?

That question, raised by DelawareOnline.com/News Journal staff writer Isabel Hughes in a special report published last week, was obvious in assessing a distressing incident last October, when it took police more than 70 minutes to respond to threats against students and staff at Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School near Christiana.

While the threat was ultimately proven to be a hoax, it took 19 calls to 911 from teachers, administrators and parents and 76 minutes before law enforcement arrived.

Parents forced their way in to the Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School on October 24, 2022 after the school was placed on lockdown after a threat was called in to the building. Delaware Online/The News Journal has edited the photos to blur the faces of parents involved.

As weve seen far too frequently across this country  in horrendous mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, East Lansing, and just this week in Nashville, police response to mass shootings is essential  and can be pivotal to the resolution of threats against those endangered.

19 calls and 76 minutes are data points that are simply unacceptable.

Parents, teachers, administrators, students  and Mercedes Alonso, the schools director who placed the initial 911 call to police to report the Oct. 24, 2022 threat  have every reason to have sustained and serious concerns about the Delaware State Polices response.

Equally concerning, we believe, was the silence the DSP maintained after the incident and, just as frustrating is a lack of concern  and lack of calls for investigation and change  from members of the General Assembly and Gov. John Carney.

Where, simply put, is the outrage?

Subscriber exclusive: A caller threatened to kill Delaware students. It took police 76 minutes to respond.

What we found

Hughes reviewed hours of surveillance video, fought for 911 call records and conducted hours of interviews with police, parents and administrators and, in turn dissected a series of missteps that lead to the poor handling of the shooting threat at Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School.

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Experts told Hughes that, of course, mistakes happen in emergency responses  and instead focused on the troubling lack of transparency in the Alonso incidents aftermath.

That lack of transparency, of course, was heightened by the scrutiny of police response to the major mass shootings the nation continues to experience.

Parents tried to force their way in to the Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School on October 24, 2022 after the school was placed on lockdown after a threat was called in to the building. Delaware Online/The News Journal has edited the photos to blur the faces of parents involved.

Delaware State Police, for their part, said the delay in response to Alonso last October was largely due to an initial misunderstanding by a 911 dispatcher.

State police have said the agency has taken accountability measures by way of an internal affairs investigation, policy review and training.

Sgt. India Sturgis, a spokesperson for the DSP, said the agency is confident we can move forward in a positive direction.

Thats all well and good, but Delaware  and its students  surely deserve better.

A better response is needed

Within a day after the incident at Alonso, Delaware State Police issued a brief press release, outlining news that officials had determined that a former student at the school, a 12-year-old girl, had called in the threat.

Beyond the responses Hughes received for our special report, the agency has remained mum.

Parents force their way in to the reception area of the Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School on October 24, 2022 after the school was placed on lockdown after a threat was called in to the building. Delaware Online/The News Journal has edited the photos to blur the faces of parents involved.

Again, so have officials in Dover.

As Hughes asked at the conclusion of the report, what would have happened if the threat at Alonso had been real?

Gov. Carney and members of the General Assembly  as well as leadership of the Delaware State Police, we need accountability here.

Errors were made. Lives could have been on the line.

Can Delaware really run the risk of another bungled response to the threat of a mass shooting?

As we grieve  over and over again, and this week for the families of the victims in the Nashville incident  we have to ask, where is the transparency in Delaware?

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware State Police 911 response was bungled-better responses needed
In an effort to address complaints about an exodus of Idaho physicians, who fear felony charges for providing pregnancy care, an Idaho bill would add exceptions to the states abortion ban. But pregnancies that cause health risks isnt one of them.

House Bill 374, which lawmakers cleared Thursday, would clarify that medical treatment for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are allowable under the states abortion ban. An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus, making the pregnancy non-viable.

The bill also would allow exceptions to felony criminal abortion when an abortion saves the life of the mother or if the pregnancy was the result of incest or rape. The exception applies only if the incest or rape was reported to police. Currently, the law grants affirmative defenses  opportunities to present evidence in court that negates charges  in those instances.

Additionally, exceptions for rape and incest would be narrowed to apply only in the first trimester of pregnancy.

The purpose of the legislation is to provide additional clarity, House Majority Leader Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett, who co-sponsored the legislation, told the House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday. It is tangible language thats within this bill, things that people can focus on and things that people can understand.

House Democrats protested a vote on the bill over the lack of exception for the health of the pregnant patient. They argued the bill is not a real fix because the clarifications already are law. The Idaho Supreme Court last year ruled that the abortion ban does not apply to ectopic and other non-viable pregnancies.

If this is supposedly the fix, then the women of Idaho are in real trouble, House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said during a Wednesday debate. I dont want to be a part of a charade that fixes nothing.

Representatives of the medical community reluctantly supported the bill, although they also hoped for a health exception.

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The bill heads to the governor.

Idaho physicians fear prosecution under current law

Idaho Republicans banned abortion in 2020. The law wasnt triggered until the U.S. Supreme Courts decision last year to overturn longstanding federal protection for the right to obtain an abortion.

Since the Idaho Supreme Court upheld the states abortion ban in August, Idaho doctors have been fearful of providing treatment to pregnant patients, said Dr. John Werdel, medical director of womens health care services at St. Lukes Health System.

Every week, dozens of St. Lukes patients with wanted pregnancies have complications that may require abortions for a myriad of reasons, Werdel told the House committee. Meanwhile, the health system has struggled to recruit and retain doctors specializing in pregnancy treatment amid threat of prosecution, he said.

A doctor can face up to five years in prison for providing an illegal abortion.

Physicians second-guess their decisions, but they ultimately have to make a diagnosis and provide treatment, which they believe, really, is in the best interest of the patient, Werdel said. But theyre left wondering whether they could be prosecuted.

Werdel told lawmakers he could muster only lukewarm support for House Bill 374. The clarifications on miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies as well as adding explicit exceptions represent a small step forward to provide safe care, he said.

Bonner General Health in Sandpoint last week announced it would stop delivering babies, in part because treating complicated pregnancies opened doctors to prosecution under Idahos abortion ban.

A news release from Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates said the bill masquerades as expanding exemptions while narrowing the window for rape and incest exceptions.

The truth is that this bill being brought forward is a direct result of the sloppy, ill-informed lawmaking done by this body just a few years prior, Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, Idaho director for the group, said in the release. At the expense of the health and safety of Idahoans, its clear that lawmakers are incapable of listening to anything other than the sound of their own self-righteousness and pats on each others backs.

Medical, anti-abortion groups negotiate language

The Idaho Medical Association in recent months negotiated with lawmakers and Idaho Chooses Life, an anti-abortion group that authored the abortion ban, to make exceptions clearer.

The physician group reluctantly supported House Bill 374, although it hoped for an exception for the health of the mother, said Ken McClure, a lobbyist representing the nonprofit trade group.

There is more good that we would like to see done, McClure told the House State Affairs Committee. And its, in our view, a disappointment that this bill does not do that.

Republicans on the committee rejected additional language clarifying that abortions as treatment for life-threatening conditions are exempt. Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, told the committee Wednesday that the language was too broad.

The list was endless when we began considering the decisions that would fall under that language, she said.

David Ripley, executive director of Idaho Chooses Life, told the Idaho Statesman that the stakeholders ran out of time before they could agree on the language.

If we were going to do anything to respond to the medical communitys concerns, we had to just set it aside, Ripley said. The decisions made by the Idaho Legislature have real world impact almost immediately. So theres a lot of due diligence that is now required that wasnt true in the past, before Roe was overturned.
Christopher Wray, right, director of the FBI, speaks to the press before the U.S. Attorneys Office and Law Enforcement Partners meeting Thursday, March 30, 2023 in the FBI Indiana Headquarters. Herbert Stapleton, left, special agent in charge of the FBI in Indianapolis, sits by his side.

FBI Director Christopher Wray addressed efforts to combat violent crime and the agencys botched investigation of sexual assault by Larry Nassar in a visit to the Indianapolis field office Thursday.

Wray, appointed to the director position in 2017, was joined by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Randal Taylor, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Zachary Myers and other law enforcement leaders from across Indiana.

Wray answered pre-submitted questions from Indianapolis reporters before meeting with law enforcement officials to discuss tackling violent crime.

He also made another stop in Indiana the day before.

On Wednesday, Wray met with several students studying in Anderson Universitys Center for Security Studies & Cyber Defense and the university's President John Pistole, a former FBI official, according to The Herald Bulletin.

Wray discussed preventing violent crime, the Nassar investigation, combating hate crimes and diversity efforts in Indianapolis:

Totally unacceptable: Wray addresses FBIs botched Larry Nassar investigation

There were massive systematic failures in the FBIs handling of 2015 allegations against longtime USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, according to a 2021 report from the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Officials with the Indianapolis FBI office made false statements, failed to respond for months leading to more than 100 other gymnasts being sexually abused and exhibited "extremely poor judgment, the report stated.

Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics doctor, was sentenced to more than 100 years imprisonment in 2018. Pressure on the federal law enforcement agency started to rise after IndyStar first exposed the allegations against Nassar in 2016.

What certain of our folks did and, more importantly, did not do back in 2015 is totally unacceptable and failed the young women who were victims of his (Larry Nassar's) abuse, Wray said Thursday. Those women deserved much better and for that, all of us at the FBI are deeply sorry and determined to make sure it never happens again.

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Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, speaks to the press before the U.S. Attorneys Office and Law Enforcement Partners meeting Thursday, March 30, 2023 in the FBI Indiana Headquarters.

From 2021: Failings of Indianapolis FBI in Nassar investigation cast a cloud over other cases

More: 'FBI failed survivors': Massive systematic failures uncovered in DOJ's Larry Nassar report

The FBI has strengthened its policies and procedures, building in additional accountability, and enhanced training across the agency for handling sexual abuse and assault complaints, Wray said.

The new policies are designed to have multiple checks in place to ensure there is no single point of failure. The policies are meant to make sure complaints are quickly reported to state and local agencies or handed off to another FBI field office in a timely matter, if necessary, Wray said.

They are all designed to make sure that everybody in the FBI learns the really heartbreaking lessons of that (the Larry Nassar) case and I'm proud of the work that our folks have done to learn from that, Wray said.

Violent crime an issue in Indianapolis, across the country

More: Indianapolis killings: Tracking every homicide in 2023

That violent crime threat we are facing is going to take all of us working together with all our collective strengths and expertise to stay ahead of it to protect the public, Wray said. That's something I am confident is happening here in Indianapolis.

The director pointed out FBI task forces, which include local law enforcement partnerships, that address gangs and criminal organizations. He noted the Safe Street and Violent Crimes task forces in Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis task forces worked with IMPD to arrest a serial rapist in the city using a fingerprint from a victims home, Wray said. The man arrested pleaded guilty to eight counts of rape earlier this month.

Christopher Wray, center, director of the FBI, speaks to the press before the U.S. Attorneys Office and Law Enforcement Partners meeting Thursday, March 30, 2023 in the FBI Indiana Headquarters.

More: Indianapolis gun violence has rideshare drivers scared: 'I thought I was going to die'

Indianapolis has so far seen 44 criminal homicides and 55 non-criminal homicides as of Thursday afternoon. In 2021, the city suffered record-breaking homicides with 271 total people killed and 249 killed in criminal homicides.

Indianapolis homicide count for 2022 was lower than 2021, but still did not reach pre-pandemic levels.

The violent crime problem is something we are seeing across the country, including here, Wray said. When I talk to chiefs and sheriffs all over the country it's the first topic that comes up and the last topic we talk about.

The key ingredient in reducing violent crime is ensuring federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are working together and prioritizing the arrest and conviction of the most dangerous offenders, Wray said.

FBI director talks about combatting hate crimes

In 2020, Indiana saw a spike in reported hate crimes, according to data from the FBI. The bureau received 186 hate crime reports in 2020 in Indiana, which was a 133% increase from 2019. Reported hate crimes dropped to 132 in the Hoosier state in 2021, according to the FBI.

It is certainly true that all too often in this country right now we are seeing people fueled by hate seeking to harm others simply because of what they look like or who they are, Wray said. That's totally unacceptable and something we are determined to do our part to help deter and prevent.

From February: Indy Jewish group urges vigilance ahead of purported national day of hate

The FBI has made investigating hate crimes a top priority nationally, which means hate crime investigations get extra resources, focus and attention, Wray said.

The agency works with U.S. attorneys to assist them with filing federal hate crime charges and works with local and state investigators when federal charges are not appropriate.

The FBI also does hundreds of trainings and seminars with law enforcement as well as community, religious and minority groups to increase cooperation in hate crime investigations, Wray said. The agency is working to raise awareness for potential victims and witnesses of what a hate crime is and how to report it.

FBI to hold diversity recruiting event in Indianapolis

Wray also highlighted a recruiting event the FBIs Indianapolis Field Office is hosting April 19.

"We cannot keep innovating and getting more sophisticated in our approach if we are all looking at the problem through exactly the same angle or coming at it with exactly the same set of tools, Wray said. It's going to take all kinds of people working together to accomplish our mission.

Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: FBI Director Wray talks botched Nassar investigation, crime in Indy
US Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, was released from Walter Reed on March 31, 2023. Office of US Senator John Fetterman

US Sen. John Fetterman was released from Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday.

Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, had been hospitalized in February for severe depression.

"I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works," Fetterman said Friday.

Senator John Fetterman has returned to his home in Pennsylvania following a five-week hospitalization for severe depression, the Democrat's office announced Friday.

"I am so happy to be home," Fetterman said in a statement. "I'm excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves."

Fetterman, who is recovering from a stroke suffered last year, had voluntarily checked in to Walter Reed Medical Center in February. Survivors of strokes often report symptoms of depression in the months following.

Dr. David Williamson, who oversaw the freshman senator's treatment, said his depression was now "in remission," according to Fetterman's office. In a discharge briefing, Williamson said Fetterman is "ready to return to his family, pursue outpatient treatment, and resume work."

That's far from where he was at five weeks ago. According to the discharge notes shared by Fetterman's office, the senator initially displayed "severe symptoms of depression with low energy and motivation, minimal speech, poor sleep, slowed thinking, slowed movement, [and] feelings of guilt and worthlessness."

Fetterman had also, in the weeks leading up to his hospitalization, "stopped eating and taking fluids, causing him to develop low blood pressure potentially affecting brain circulation."

Although Fetterman has overcome his depression, he will continue with outpatient rehabilitation, according to his office. He is currently back in Braddock, where he previously served as mayor, and lives with his wife and two children.

"I will have more to say about this soon, but for now I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works," Fetterman said Friday. "This isn't about politics  right now there are people who are suffering with depression in red counties and blue counties. If you need help, please get help."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
For decades, the US army's haphazard use and disposal of toxic substances have been the root cause of enduring health consequences for veterans and military families. Though largely unintentional, countless individuals who served and lived on contaminated bases were exposed to a cocktail of chemical hazards known to trigger debilitating and life-threatening diseases.

Although recent bipartisan legislation has sought to address a broad range of service-related toxic exposure issues, such as those of the extensively contaminated Camp Lejeune, experts have noted that certain hazards and their associated risks may be overlooked. Some of these "emerging contaminants" have been found on bases throughout Pennsylvania in excessive amounts due to the long-term use of fire suppressants.

Camp Lejeune veterans' struggles

North Carolina's Camp Lejeune is often pointed out as the poster child for the army's extensive contamination issues, and not without merit. For over thirty years (1953  1987), nearly 1 million of the base's residents were unwittingly exposed to over 60 toxic contaminants leaching into drinking water sources, with some of the more potent hazards including trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, benzene, and vinyl chloride.

In 1989, the EPA listed Camp Lejeune as a military Superfund site, but the decade-long contamination would incur a heavy toll on former residents for years to come. Exposure to the bases toxins has been linked to a host of diseases like cancer, leukemia, liver and kidney dysfunctions, neurobehavioral effects, and reproductive issues. In 2012, Congress passed legislation meant to improve Camp Lejeune victims' access to adequate medical benefits and disability compensation.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was subsequently tasked with drafting eligibility guidelines and employed "subject matter experts" to review claims. However, an investigation found that many of the VA's alleged experts weren't qualified to diagnose or evaluate Camp Lejeune-related conditions, only being licensed in preventive and general medicine. By 2016, claim approval rates throughout the county plummeted to under 5%. From 2011 to 2019, about 75% of the claims filed in Pennsylvania were rejected. In 2017, eight illnesses were recognized as presumptive of service-related exposure, yet veterans have insisted that the list should be expanded to cover more afflictions linked to the base's toxic hazards. According to the VAs Inspector General, between 2017 and 2021, the Department's underprepared staff misprocessed 37% of claims, totaling $13.8 million in unpaid benefits.

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Of interest: Carbon County event highlights need for veterans mental health services in Poconos

'Forever chemicals' on Pennsylvania bases

Despite its reputation, Camp Lejeune isn't the only base where hazardous chemicals placed unsuspecting service members at risk. The army's use of firefighting solutions like aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) since the 1970s has been the source of justified concerns due to mounting clinical evidence of its ingredients' potential for long-term harm. AFFF was primarily comprised of per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of synthetic compounds dubbed "forever chemicals" for their resilient molecular makeup.

However, since they don't decompose naturally and are formidably resistant in the environment, PFAS can accumulate in the organism over the years and trigger adverse effects and conditions like cancer, high cholesterol, thyroid issues, low birth weight, decreased vaccine efficiency in children, and high blood pressure (preeclampsia) in pregnant women.

In 2016, the EPA set (non-binding) health advisories for the most common PFAS compounds (PFOA and PFOS) of just 70 parts per trillion (ppt). PFAS contaminants have been confirmed on over 700 military installations across the US, ten of which are located in Pennsylvania. The most affected bases in the Keystone State include Horsham (239,500 ppt), North Penn (33,270 ppt), Warminster (22,400 ppt), ANG Pittsburgh (6,073 ppt), the Air National Guard Station at Harrisburg International Airport (2,215 ppt), Willow Grove (1,080 ppt), Letterkenny Army Depot (1,009 ppt), and Fort Indiantown Gap (324 ppt). To a lesser extent, "forever chemicals" were also found at the Carlisle Barracks and the Tobyhanna Army Depot in the Poconos.

Notably, PFAS from military sites have extended beyond base grounds in communities near Horsham, Warminster, Warrington, and Pittsburgh. A Waterkeeper Alliance study published last year also found high amounts in the Lower Susquehanna River. Still, since these compounds were believed to be benign or inert ingredients, exposure to "forever chemicals" was never really accounted for in the VA's long-term considerations of veterans' health.

PFAS chemicals were found at Tobyhanna Army Depot. Congressman Matt Cartwright, whose district includes Tobyhanna, submitted the Honoring Our PACT Act, which was signed in 2022. The act provides veterans with benefits and compensation for a range of toxic exposures incurred during military service.

The PACT Act and the growing tide of PFAS regulations

After President Biden assumed office, the new administration sought to finally address the army's enduring contaminant issues. In August 2022, the Honoring Our PACT Act was adopted with near-unanimous bipartisan support, providing veterans with improved benefits and compensation for a broad range of toxic exposures incurred during service. The bill also incorporates the Camp Lejeune Justice Act submitted by Pennsylvanian democratic senator Matt Cartwright.

Overall, the PACT Act is regarded chiefly as a long-overdue development of veterans' rights, yet legal experts have pointed out that the bill could benefit from several amendments. While Camp Lejeune veterans will once again be able to file toxic exposure claims, bypassing the statute of repose that formerly barred such actions, the ability to do so is restricted to a narrow 2-year timeframe, effectively ending in August 2024.

More: Senate passed the PACT Act. Here's how it could help Pennsylvania veterans

Another contentious issue surrounding the bill is its seemingly insufficient coverage of the risks that emerging contaminants represent. Although more than 20 new illnesses are now considered presumptive of service-related exposure, diseases linked to PFAS, such as prostate and thyroid cancer, aren't afforded the same status.

Despite the ongoing challenges, the growing awareness of PFAS' health risks has determined wider institutional involvement. The National Defense Authorization Act will eliminate AFFF from military use by late 2024 and finance cleanup efforts on the most contaminated bases. Meanwhile, legislative proposals such as the VET PFAS Act aim to have PFAS-related afflictions recognized as presumptive conditions. In January 2023, Pennsylvania adopted stringent drinking water limits for PFAS that reflect the EPA's broader efforts to establish federally-enforceable standards this fall. Toward this end, the EPA updated its advisories for PFAS, significantly cutting down acceptable concentrations to 0.004  0.02 ppt.

Jonathan Sharp is the Chief Financial Officer at Environmental Litigation Group PC, a law firm established in 1990 in Birmingham, Alabama, which specializes in toxic exposure cases and assists veterans who were injured by hazardous substances.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Opinion: Was the PACT Act too little too late for Pennsylvania vets?
Update: Fort Campbell officials on Friday afternoon released the names of the nine Fort Campbell soldiers killed Wednesday in a Black Hawk training exercise.

Nine U.S. Army servicemembers from Fort Campbell died after two Black Hawk helicopters crashed during a training exercise in Kentucky Wednesday night.

The HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Army's 101st Airborne Division crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky, to the west of the Army installation Fort Campbell, the division said in a Thursday statement. One helicopter was carrying five, another four, according to officials from the military installation.

The names of the nine who died in the crash were not released as investigators notify next of kin.

We can confirm two aircraft from the 101st were involved in an accident last night resulting in serveral casualties.



Right now the focus is on the Soldiers and their families who were involved. pic.twitter.com/eG5ndWVvbT  101st Airborne Div. (@101stAASLTDIV) March 30, 2023

Fort Campbell has played a role in communities in both Kentucky and Tennessee for years since the installation that lies between the towns of Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee. Here's everything you need to know about the post, the community it encompasses and more on the most recent helicopter crash.

Where is Fort Campbell in Kentucky?

Fort Campbell is just over the Tennessee and Kentucky boarder and just 13 miles from downtown Clarksville.

Where was the helicopter crash?

The two Black Hawks crashed in Trigg County, KY, around 30 miles northwest of Fort Campbell.

What we know: US Army Black Hawk helicopters crash in Kentucky leaving nine dead

What Fort Campbell means to Clarksville

The military installation means a lot to Clarksville, with more than 11% of the citys population being retired veterans.

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The military population, both retired and active duty contribute millions to the city in housing and sales tax.

Who is stationed at Fort Campbell?

The Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 5th Special Forces Group and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment all call Fort Campbell home.

How many people are stationed at Fort Campbell?

Statistics from the Department of Defense and Military OneSource, has that Fort Campbell supports over 250,532 persons as of 2021. Including:

Active Military: 27,057

Family Members: 51,480

Civilians: 6,340

Contract Employees: 1,583

Military Retirees: 71,106

Retiree Family: 92,966

Family Housing: 4,457

Barracks: 10,059

The history of Fort Campbell

The installation is named after former Tennessee Governor and Civil War Union General William Bowen Campbell.

Fort Campbell was originally established in 1942 as a war-time armor training and mobilization camp during WWII and became a permanent installation in 1950, according to Military OneSource. Between 1948 and 1965, Campbell was also home to Clarksville Base, a top-secret nuclear weapons storage and modification facility.

Since then, the U.S. Army installation has been home to multiple airborne, armored and infantry units.

Campbell has served as a training installation since it began and since 2002 its units have been among the most deployed combat units in the Army, according to OneSource.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Black Hawk Crash: What to know about Fort Campbell
Each year since 2009, top outdoor photographers from across the United States have submitted their best photos of Montanas wild places and wildlife to the Picture Wild Montana photo contest. On Wednesday, photo contest organizers Wild Montana and Wild Montana Action Fund announced the winners of this years contest.

This year 440 people from across the country submitted more than 1,700 photos to the 14th Annual Picture Wild Montana photo contest, a news release from the contest organizers revealed. Of those, judges selected three that best capture the beauty of Montanas wild public lands and waters.

Photos were judged anonymously by Wild Montana Creative Services Manager Chris Sawicki and by Luke Duran, art director at Montana Outdoors magazine. The judges based their decision on composition, technique, and subject matter.

It was a pleasure reviewing the photo submissions with Christian Sawicki, Duran said of this years contest. We discussed the merits of our selections, why we chose them, and ultimately, landed upon our top three finalists. We agreed that they truly represent the spirit of Montanas wild places, the opportunities we enjoy, and the solid technical aspects of great photography.

This years top prize went to Great Falls photographer Megan Niklasen, who won the first-place cash prize for her photo of Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park.

This years top prize in the Picture Wild Montana photo contest went to Great Falls photographer Megan Niklasen, who won the first-place cash prize for her photo of Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park.

Niklasen said her winning photo was taken during a quiet solo hike to Iceberg Lake on the first day of October.

It was actually my favorite day of the whole year, let alone one the best moments I think Ive ever had, Niklasen said. I got up at 3:30 in the morning on a Saturday and drove up to Many Glacier by myself before the sun came up. I knew the fall colors would be beautiful, so I just made a lot of noise (to alert bears) and I didnt see a single person. I was the only person at the lake. It was just so quiet, and the weather was perfect. I had the whole place to myself.

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In explaining the selection of Niklasens photo as the First Place submission, Duran identified the strong compositional elements of the image.

Strong leading lines permit the viewer to step into this wondrous, dreamy scene, Duran wrote. Water flow, reflections, clouds and mountain slopes create a visual swirl that enchants the viewers gaze. As my eye moves around this scene, I imagine myself standing on the trail, enjoying an immersive sensory experience: cool, crisp autumn air with a hint of organic decay; quiet solitude interrupted only by an occasional wind breeze or distant raptor call; a vibrant, colorful palette of glacial blue and green hues, earthy mountainous tans and browns, with accents of autumn leaf tones. Its a fantastic photoin perfect focus, excellent exposure, and masterful composition. This photo is alive and alert.

Taking second place in this years contest is Kevin League of Helena for his photo Cave exploration in the Big Belt Mountains.

Taking second place in this years Picture Montana Wild photo contest is Kevin League of Helena for his photo Cave exploration in the Big Belt Mountains.

My daughter and I recently did some cave exploration in the Big Belt Mountains of southwest Montana and we found a really cool one with an awesome view that made us both smile, League said of his photograph. I love the Big Belts for all of their geologic wonder.

Duran described Leagues photo as perfectly framed within solid walls of Madison limestone.

This scene accentuates all things vertical: tall spires and ridges, rock shelves to step higher above the trail, upthrust vertical stratification from eons of geologic life, and slender evergreens reaching from canyon shadows to touch the sun, Duran added. Chris and I were both attracted to this clever, vertical interpretation of wild Montana. Often, we view wild places under Montanas vast skies and wide panoramas, but this scene reminds us that we can also view the wild almost from within - enrobed in mountains with only the trail before us. Kevins photo brilliantly captures light as it illuminates rock walls and tree bark, creating great depth with visual elements to give the viewer an almost overwhelming sense of scale.

This years third place submission comes from Tim Egan of Dillon, Montana, for his photo of Miner Lake in the Beaverhead/Deerlodge National Forest.

I like to get up early when backpacking to watch the sunlight bathe the mountains and surrounding landscapes with warm light as it comes up, Egan explained of his photo. On this particular morning, the mountains surrounding Miner Lake were lit up, and the mountains were reflected in the calm water of the lake. It was a gorgeous sight, and I spent several minutes trying to capture it before the wind came up and ruined the reflection  which it did.

This is the scene we all hope to find at the end of a high mountain trail, Duran observed of Egans photo, sunny skies highlighting steep rocky peaks that reflect on the surface of a pristine mountain lake. I can just imagine the flash of golden trout lurking beneath the smooth lake surface. I love the composition of this image, anchored by the spruce trees on the left edge. Its a gorgeous photo with an inviting color palette of blues, greens, and browns, all in perfect balance that expresses the spirit and signature features of Montanas wild places.

The top 20 photos of the 2023 Picture Wild Montana photo competition will be featured in the halls of Benifis Health System in Great Falls, along with the photos of previous Picture Wild Montana contest finalists. If you would like to view all the top 20 photographs from this year's contest just log onto Wild Montana's web site at www.wildmontana.org.

We send a big thanks to everyone who submitted a photo this year to the Picture Wild Montana photo contest, says Ben Gabriel, executive director of Wild Montana and Wild Montana Action Fund. The sheer number of submissions we received is a testament to how much people across the country love wild public lands in Montana and how vital our work is to protect those places.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls photographer Megan Niklasen takes top prize in contest
KIEV, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's combined harvest of grain and oilseeds will fall about 7 percent in 2023 to 65 million tons, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Thursday, citing a senior official.

"We plan to harvest 65 million tons of crops this year," said Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

The contamination of more than 2.6 million hectares of Ukraine's agricultural lands with landmines is one of the main causes for the projected harvest decline, she said.

Last week, Ukraine's Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry forecast that Ukraine would yield 45 million tons of grain and legumes this year.

In 2022, Ukrainian farmers harvested 70 million tons of grain and oilseeds. 
Vice President Harris on Wednesday announced a global initiative to support women in the economy, touting $1 billion in funding from private sector and government investments.

The White House released details of the initiative during Harris final day in Ghana, the first stop on a three-country visit to Africa. A significant portion of the funding will go toward increasing economic opportunities for women on the continent.

Advancing the economic status of women and girls is not only a matter of human rights, justice, and fairnessit is also a strategic imperative that reduces poverty and promotes sustainable economic growth, increases access to education, improves health outcomes, advances political stability, and fosters democracy, the White House said in a statement.

Harris on Wednesday will host a roundtable in Ghana with women entrepreneurs to discuss economic empowerment and inclusion to highlight the initiative.

The announcement includes $528 million in private sector commitments to support womens economic empowerment in Africa, with investments from Vista Bank Group, Kuramo Capital Management, The Tony Elumelu Foundation and The African Women Impact Fund Initiative (AWIF), which is supported by the Standard Bank Group.

Private sector groups are also committing $400 million to specifically support closing the gender digital divide. The White House noted that roughly 260 million more men used the internet in 2022 than women, a gap that is especially wide in Africa.

Funding for the digital effort will come from companies such as Mastercard, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and the Visa Foundation.

The money will be used to improve access to digital finance and other online services and to address social norms that prevent women from participating fully in the digital economy, the White House statement said.

Other investments announced Wednesday include $47 million in U.S. government initiatives to advance gender equality across Africa by increasing womens involvement in political, economic and social matters, and $60 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to address the gender digital divide globally.

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Harris is set to depart Ghana on Wednesday for Tanzania, and she will travel later this week to Zambia before returning to Washington, D.C.

While in Ghana, Harris toured an old slave trading post and reflected on the need to learn from history during emotional remarks.

Harris on Monday announced $100 million in funding to support conflict prevention and stabilization efforts in the region, which is aimed at combating violent extremism and other forms of instability that threaten key Democratic allies in Coastal West Africa.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The House held a moment of silence on Thursday to honor the victims of the school shooting in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday.

Three students and three adults were killed this week when a gunman opened fire at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville that offers preschool through sixth grade. The three students  Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs  were all nine years old. Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school died in the shooting, in addition to Mike Hill, 61, a custodian, and Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), surrounded by other members of the Tennessee congressional delegation, led the moment of silence on the House floor. Lawmakers stood for roughly 15 seconds.

Tennessee Republican Reps. Tim Burchett and Andy Ogles  both of whom have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the shooting  were present on the House floor for the moment of silence, and Burchetts presence in particular was pointed out by Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.).

We were just in there, and there was a moment of silence, which I really respect. But one of the members who were up there during that moment of silence was the same member where a couple days ago, asked about the shooting, said theres nothing we can do about it, Frost, who before coming to Congress was the national organizing director for the gun control advocacy group March for Our Lives, told reporters, adding that a moment of silence is important, but what you do after also matters.

Faith without works is dead; without working on this issue our children will also be dead, he added. We live in a country where parents are losing their children to being shot up and mowed down by an AR-15 during their school day, dying in a pool of their own blood. And so what we do next matters. Its not enough to just have a moment of silence, we know about the thoughts and prayers. We need action and were gonna do what needs to be done.

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Burchett drew headlines this week when, speaking about gun violence, he told reporters were not gonna fix it.

Criminals are gonna be criminals, he added. The congressman doubled down on his remarks later in the week, telling NBC News if you think Washingtons gonna fix this problem, youre wrong. Theyre not gonna fix this problem; they are the problem.

Ogles, whose congressional district includes Nashville, has also been the target of criticism following the shooting after a photo from 2021 resurfaced that showed him and his family wielding firearms.

Cohen delivered remarks on the House floor Thursday honoring the six victims.

On Monday, the horror and the terror, the insanity of mass shootings came to our capital city, Nashville, Tennessee, and most directly, Covenant Presbyterian School, he said.

Six innocent victims passed. Three were children: Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, all nine years old, all loving students, friends, brothers, sisters, parents. And three adults: Mike Hill, a beloved custodian of 14 years and a father and a grandfather, Katherine Koonce, the headmaster whos been referred to as a saint, and Cynthia Peak, a substitute teacher who had a light that whenever she appeared, he added.

In addition to the six individuals who were killed, the congressman mentioned the other victims of the shooting, the classmates, the friends, the staff at Covenant Presbyterian, and the city of Nashville.

I ask that we have a moment of silence in their memory and in their honor, he added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Indiana politicians reacted to news that a New York grand jury indicted Donald Trump, the first time a former president has been charged criminally.

Trump indictment: Donald Trump indicted in New York, first time a former president has been charged criminally

While the charges have not been made public, a grand jury was investigating hush money payments made to two women who claimed to have had sex with him. Trump has denied all charges and called his accusers liars.

U.S. Rep. Jim Banks

U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, a 3rd District Republican who is running for Senate, proclaimed it a "political prosecution" in all caps on Twitter.

"If Donald Trump wasnt running for President they wouldnt be prosecuting him," Banks tweeted.

He also tweeted: "This isnt just an indictment of President Trump, its an attempt to intimidate anyone who goes against the Lefts radical regime!"

If Donald Trump wasnt running for President they wouldnt be prosecuting him.  Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) March 30, 2023

U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym

Republican U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym from Indiana's 2nd District called the indictment "politically motivated."

"Weaponizing state power to target political opponents is the stuff of banana republics, not the greatest nation on Earth," Yakym tweeted late Thursday, adding that he hoped "cooler heads  not partisan politics" would prevail.

My statement on the Manhattan D.A.s politically motivated indictment decision today. pic.twitter.com/fpMfGwT3GZ  Congressman Rudy Yakym (@RepRudyYakym) March 31, 2023

Sen. Mike Braun

Republican Sen. Mike Braun, who is running for governor, also lambasted the decision to indict the former president, calling out Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg without naming him directly.

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"Our justice system is being abused as a political weapon to go after former President Trump and affect an election," Braun wrote in a Tweet. "This indictment is clearly a politically-motivated prosecution by a DA who ignores murders and carjackings but will contort the law to attack his political enemy."

Our justice system is being abused as a political weapon to go after former President Trump and affect an election. This indictment is clearly a politically-motivated prosecution by a DA who ignores murders and carjackings but will contort the law to attack his political enemy.  Senator Mike Braun (@SenatorBraun) March 31, 2023

U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon

On Twitter, U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon of Indiana's 8th congressional district called the charges "frivolous."

"A shameful abuse of power by Manhattan DA Bragg. Dems should be against this action if they hold American values. This indictment risks damaging the very fabric of our country. Frivolous charges against political opponents is something that happens in third world countries."

A shameful abuse of power by Manhattan DA Bragg. Dems should be against this action if they hold American values. This indictment risks damaging the very fabric of our country. Frivolous charges against political opponents is something that happens in third world countries.  Larry Bucshon, MD (@RepLarryBucshon) March 31, 2023

Rep. Victoria Spartz

Republican congresswoman Victoria Spartz, from Indiana's 5th district, compared the grand jury's indictment to the actions of a dictator.

"Not sure how we as a country will be able to hold the moral high ground when we act no better than many dictators do - trying to jail political opponents. We are setting a dangerous precedent," Spartz wrote in a Friday morning Tweet.

Not sure how we as a country will be able to hold the moral high ground when we act no better than many dictators do - trying to jail political opponents.



We are setting a dangerous precedent. https://t.co/SHFHF3vrrU  Rep. Victoria Spartz (@RepSpartz) March 31, 2023

John Tufts covers evening breaking and trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Donald Trump indictment: Indiana Republicans react on Twitter
Rap star and Louisville native Jack Harlow will undergo a deposition later this year as part a lawsuit filed in the wake of a 2021 deadly shooting during a pre-Kentucky Derby party at a River Road nightclub.

Attorneys for the estate of Kasmira Nash, the woman killed in the 2021 shooting, filed a notice Friday in Jefferson Circuit Court that they will proceed with a videotaped deposition of Harlow on Aug. 30 at the Stites & Harbison law firm office on Market Street in downtown Louisville. Ronnie T. OBannon, Harlow's DJ at the time, was criminally charged following the shooting in a case that is still pending.

The deposition's main purpose is for discovery, or collecting any evidence and testimony that attorneys could use later on in the civil case. A trial date or mediation date has not yet been set, according to online records.

Robyn Bell Stanton, an attorney for Kennedy Tinker, who is the administratix of the estate of Nash, declined to comment Friday afternoon. Nash, 37, had two children, according to a GoFundMe campaign started after her death.

Stites & Harbison attorneys Brian Butler, Thad Barnes and Caitlyn Barnes, who are representing Harlow and Harlow Enterprises Inc., did not immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment Friday.

O'Bannon, was charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence after police said he fatally shot Nash, a bartender at Vibes Restaurant and Ultra Lounge, 1346 River Road, around 1:30 a.m. on May 1, 2021, during an argument amid a "Derby Weekend Kickoff" party.

Harlow was in the nightclub at the time of the shooting, and he backed out of an invitation to do the "Riders Up" call later that same day at the 2021 Kentucky Derby. (He came back a year later to the 2022 Derby to perform "Riders Up" and film the music video for his "Churchill Downs" song with Drake.)

New Jack Harlow song: Listen to 'Mockingbird Valley,' with plenty of Louisville references

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O'Bannon, 29, also known as Ronnie Lucciano, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been on home incarceration in Louisville, with a jury trial currently scheduled for October. O'Bannon's attorney, Steve Romines, previously said he was "defending himself" after Nash hit him with a champagne bottle and confronted him.

Other lawsuit defendants will also undergo videotaped depositions on separate days in August, including Allen Evans, the owner of the since-shuttered club, and Neelam Thadhani, Harlow's manager, according to online court records.

Three lawsuits that name Harlow, some of his associates, the former nightclub's security team and others as defendants have been filed over the shooting at Vibes, which eventually closed after the shooting. Attorneys have since agreed to merge the cases into one case before Jefferson Circuit Judge Eric Haner.

Claims made in a lawsuit represent only one side of a case.

The lawsuit from Nash's estate was filed in December 2021 and claims the club's management and security firm allowed O'Bannon, Harlow and other associates to bypass security, which also allowed the gun O'Bannon used to shoot Nash to be brought in that night.

Kentucky severe weather: Beshear declares state of emergency ahead of expected Friday night storms

The suit on behalf of Nash's estate asks for financial damages as well as reimbursement for attorney fees and funeral expenses.

Over a week after the 2021 deadly shooting, Harlow wrote on Instagram that he was "devastated by the events that occurred over Derby weekend."

"My heart breaks for Kasmira, her children, and everyone else touched by this tragic death," he wrote on his Instagram story. "My heart breaks for my city, a place thats been through too much pain already. Ive been in touch with Kasmiras family during this unimaginably painful time, and Im grateful to them for keeping the lines of communication open."

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jack Harlow to have deposition in Louisville Vibes nightclub shooting
In a blow to Fox News, a Delaware judge ruled Friday that a jury should decide a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit claiming that the channel broadcast numerous false statements about voter fraud after the 2020 election.

Judge Eric Davis concluded that Dominion Voting Systems, which makes election equipment, had proven that Fox aired a series of false claims about the company, but that depositions, internal emails and text messages had not established whether Fox acted with actual malice by carrying statements on its air that it knew were false or likely so.

The evidence is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true, Davis wrote. Foxs false statements included assertions that the company was controlled by Venezuela and implemented a bizarre algorithm to boost Democrats vote count under certain conditions, the judge said.

Some uncertainty remained about who at Fox authorized specific broadcasts and what those people knew or believed at the time, Davis continued.

The Court does not weigh the evidence to determine who may have been responsible for publication and if such people acted with actual malice  these are genuine issues of material fact and therefore must be determined by a jury, the judge wrote in his 81-page ruling .

Fox reacted to the ruling by insisting that the company is standing up for free-speech principles.

This case is and always has been about the First Amendment protections of the medias absolute right to cover the news. Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings, the company said.

A spokesperson for Dominion welcomed Davis ruling. We are gratified by the Court's thorough ruling soundly rejecting all of Fox's arguments and defenses, and finding as a matter of law that their statements about Dominion are false. We look forward to going to trial, the firm said.

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Davis has set jury selection for April 13 and the trial to begin in April 17 in Delaware Superior Court in Wilmington, assuming that the sides dont reach a financial settlement in the meantime.

The trial is expected to feature testimony from top Fox personalities including Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and others. The pre-trial litigation has already uncovered documents showing that the hosts and anchors did not believe many of the charges being leveled on their programs and that, in the wake of President Donald Trumps loss in the 2020 race, the company was desperately looking for ways to keep its Trump-supporting viewers from defecting to rivals like Newsmax and One America News.

Dominion filed the suit in 2021 , contending that Fox gravely damaged the voting companys reputation by repeatedly airing false charges about it even after being given details about the misstatements.

In recent court filings, Foxs attorneys argued that the network wasnt endorsing the claims leveled by Trump and allies like Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, but was simply conveying newsworthy statements being issued by important public figures. The judge rejected those arguments.

Fox dedicates little to its argument on falsity. It claims that [t]he question is whether the press reported the true fact that the President made those allegations, Davis wrote. However, falsity refers to the content of the statement, not the act of republishing it. Therefore, the question of falsity is whether the content of the allegations was true, not whether Fox truthfully republished the allegations.

Davis also said Foxs reports and interviews often aired the claims without rebuttal or context, further undercutting the networks arguments.

The evidence does not support that FNN conducted good-faith, disinterested reporting.FNNs failure to reveal extensive contradicting evidence from the public sphere and Dominion itself indicates its reporting was not disinterested, the judge wrote.
A Louisiana lawmaker is filing a bill that would require social media companies like TikTok to secure parental consent before children can download the apps and create blackout times to be off the platforms as criticism of the companies escalates in state legislatures and Congress.

Republican Covington state Sen. Patrick McMath, who said he is filing the bill Thursday, said the measure would create age restrictions for minors 16 and younger.

"I've got four young kids," McMath said. "Our oldest is 8 and I have seen enough evidence that social media can cause detrimental harm to our youth that I felt compelled to take action."

Clash at House hearing: GOP claims social media censorship, Democrats want to strike testimony

McMath said his bill is designed to protect children and teenagers from the dangers of social media while still being able to access the value of the technology. McMath said his children aren't on social media platforms yet, but their access is inevitable when they become older.

"It will give parents more tools to combat harmful effects of social media," he said. "We're not banning anyone; we're just giving parents the chance to make informed decisions.

"We have a mental health crisis in the country and social media is exacerbating that crisis, especially among our youth."

Banning TikTok?: Restrictions on the popular video app are spreading across the US

His bill will also outlaw the companies from storing data of minors or advertising to minor account holders. The social media blackout, similar to a curfew, would be from 10:30 p.m.-6:30 a.m.

McMath's legislation would also give parents a path to sue companies that they believe were negligent in their children being harmed.

Broad concerns about giant technology companies like Facebook and Google have been percolating for years, but Congress has so far been unable to pass national privacy laws and restrictions, leaving some states to take action.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on the platform's consumer privacy and data security practices and impact on children, Thursday, March 23, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

McMath said his bill is modeled after two new Utah laws passed this month.

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Tech industry lobbyists believe Utah's new laws are unconstitutional, saying they infringe on peoples right to exercise the First Amendment online.

Hemp lawsuit: Louisiana judge dismisses hemp lawsuit, but products remain protected with TRO

Utah will soon require online services to collect sensitive information about teens and families, not only to verify ages, but to verify parental relationships, like government-issued IDs and birth certificates, putting their private data at risk of breach, Nicole Saad Bembridge, an associate director for the tech lobby group NetChoice, said to the Associated Press.

Critics also express skepticism that such laws can be enforced, but McMath said his bill "gives teeth to enforcement and authority to the justice department."

Louisiana's Legislative Session begins on April 10.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana lawmaker seeks age restrictions on social media platforms
BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday that Honduras' establishment of diplomatic ties with China brings the total number of countries having diplomatic ties with China to 182, and it is hoped that Guatemala will see the trend of the world and make the right choice as early as possible.

Mao made the remarks when asked to comment that Guatemala, after Honduras established diplomatic relations with China, is now the only country left in Central America without formal ties with China.

Mao said Honduras' establishment of diplomatic ties with China shows that the one-China principle is universally recognized and represents the people's aspiration and the trend of the world, and no force can block that trend.

"The separatist pursuit of 'Taiwan independence' is against the will and interests of the Chinese nation and against the trend of history. It will not lead anywhere," said Mao. 
Many of the country's largest counties saw their population growth numbers rebound in 2022 as overall migration patterns begin to return to pre-pandemic levels, according to numbers released by the United States Census Bureau.

"Patterns of domestic migration in 2022 were notably different than 2021. During the height of the pandemic, many small counties experienced higher levels of domestic migration, while many large counties saw lower levels of domestic migration," the Bureau said in a news release.

That trend has now flipped, with large counties  notably in the southern and western parts of the nation  seeing higher levels of domestic migration and smaller ones seeing slowing migration. Domestic migration is people moving within the United States, excluding Puerto Rico, from one area to another.

Maricopa County: Growth rate is back on track after pandemic. Here's what the numbers say

For Maricopa County, that trend remains ever noticeable.

According to the data, Maricopa County remained the nation's largest-growing county, adding 56,831 new residents in 2022, a 1.3% increase from 2021 when the county saw 46,866 new residents.

"Domestic migration was the component of population change (i.e., births, deaths and migration), which made the largest contribution to Maricopa Countys growth," the Bureau said in the statement.

Last year: These 5 Arizona cities are among the fastest growing in the U.S. Here's what to know

Maricopa County also led in net domestic migration in 2022 adding 33,305 new faces as a consequence. Second place went to Collin County, Texas, which gained 29,696 residents due to net domestic migration.

Net domestic migration is the total number of population growth, calculated by in-migration and out-migration, over a period of time as a proportion of an area's population.

Notable numbers across the country

Some counties nationwide also showed drastic change. For example, Whitman County in Washington state had a population decline of 9.6% between 2020 and 2021 but recouped the following year, growing around 10.1%.

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This change, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is due to the return of college students following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whitman County is home to Washington State University.

"Many counties with large universities saw their populations fully rebound this year as students returned," Dr. Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for estimates and projections in the Census Bureaus population division, said in the statement.

"This is similar to the pattern observed by many metropolitan counties in the South and West, where many impacts experienced during the pandemic are either reverting to near pre-pandemic levels or making a full recovery," the Bureau said.

Counties in Texas carried much of the load in terms of fastest-growing counties, with half of the top 10 being located in the Lone Star state.

Kaufman County (8.9%)

Rockwall County (5.7%)

Parker County (5.6%)

Comal County (5.6%)

Chambers County (5.3%)

The biggest loser, however, took place in the country's most populous county, Los Angeles County, which scaled down by around 90,704 residents. According to the Census Bureau, the loss highlights a continuous downward trend in California as in 2021, they lost nearly double that  180,394.

A caveat to this is that even though Los Angeles County saw a big loss, the changes in domestic migration patterns produced a loss of fewer people than the year prior. Net domestic migration numbers show that between 2021 and 2022, LAC lost 142,953 people, whereas in 2021, they lost 194,804.

Other large counties, such as San Francisco County and King County (Seattle) mirrored this trend, with New York County (Manhattan) actually gaining residents.

New York County: +2,908 (2021: -98,566)

San Francisco County: -9,421 (2021: -57,611)

King County: -16,035 (2021: -37,655)

More information on the 2022 census data can be found on the United States Census Bureau website at https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-estimates-counties.html.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 2022 census show Maricopa county remains nations largest-gaining
three astronauts in spacesuits with white helmets. their visors are black and we cannot see their face. the astronauts grasp their visors in a gesture that suggests their faces will be visible soon, once the visor is lifted

A new NASA trailer previews a big moon announcement in movie style.

NASA will join with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to announce the four astronauts who will ride around the moon during the Artemis 2 mission. You can watch the big reveal here at Space.com on Monday (April 3) at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) via a NASA Television feed live from Ellington Field, near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"Are you ready to meet your crew?" the NASA trailer on YouTube states after boldly showing scenes of spacesuited astronauts walking, parade style, and the Space Launch System rocket dramatically lifting off to start the uncrewed Artemis 1 moon-orbiting mission in 2022.

Related: NASA's Artemis program: Everything you need to know

three astronauts in spacesuits with white helmets. their visors are black and we cannot see their face. the astronauts grasp their visors in a gesture that suggests their faces will be visible soon, once the visor is lifted

"It's a new era of pioneers, star sailors, thinkers and adventurers," NASA administrator Bill Nelson says at the trailer's opening. The quote is a callback to words Nelson said on Sept. 12, 2022 at Rice University in Houston, on the 60th anniversary of then-president John F. Kennedy giving his famous "we choose to go to the moon" speech at the same location.

In the 1960s, Kennedy was promoting what came to be known as the Apollo program. When Kennedy spoke, NASA had just barely begun the first Earth-orbiting missions and was enaged in a space race with the Soviet Union for scientific and reputational supremacy. That said, even Kennedy was pondering space collaborations with that country before his death.

Today things are much different; Artemis 2 is the leading edge of the NASA-led Artemis Accords, a collaboration of 23 nations (including Canada) working together for peaceful exploration and moon work. Artemis 2 will fly around the moon no sooner than November 2024 on the first crewed visit to lunar realms since Apollo 17 landed on the surface in December 1972.

RELATED STORIES:

 Artemis 2 moon rocket coming together ahead of 2024 astronaut launch (photo)

 1st map of moon water could help Artemis astronauts live at the lunar south pole

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 NASA's Artemis 2 mission: Taking humans around the moon

Canada received its seat aboard Artemis 2 by supplying, via the company MDA, a future Canadarm3 robotic arm that will service NASA's planned Gateway space station in lunar orbit.

The CSA also confirmed in late March that it would extend its International Space Station participation to 2030, alongside major partners NASA, the European Space Agency and Japan. (Russia has said it plans to exit the partnership sometime after 2024.)

Artemis 3, a planned landing mission at the lunar south pole currently set for 2025, will depend on surface spacesuits from Axiom Space (already partially revealed during a recent event) and the Starship landing system from SpaceX that may be tested in Earth orbit as soon as April.

NASA has pledged Artemis missions will be far more inclusive than those of the Apollo era; Artemis 3, for example, will put the first woman and the first person of color down on the moon, agency officials have said. The CSA astronaut aboard Artemis 2 will be the first non-American to leave Earth orbit.

Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book about space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
This is an excerpt from Incoming, BuzzFeed News morning newsletter dedicated to making sense of this chaotic world we live in. Join the club.

Donald Trump has become the first president in US history to face criminal charges

Trump at a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25. Brandon Bell / Getty Images

What happened?

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted for his role in a hush payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.

Stormy Daniels , whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, alleged that she had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006 and was paid $130,000 in 2016 by Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen to keep quiet about the alleged affair. Trump has denied having sex with Daniels, and initially denied knowing anything about the payment but later admitted that he reimbursed Cohen for the money.

What are the charges?

It is not immediately clear what charge or charges Trump is facing. Falsifying business records can be a felony in New York if it is done to conceal evidence of another crime  in this instance, a possible violation of election campaign finance laws.

Why is this a big deal?

The indictment marks the first time in US history that a president  former or current  has been criminally charged. It also comes as Trump, who has so often seemed to escape real consequences over his many scandals and wrongdoings, plans his 2024 run for presidency.

What happens now?

Trump will now need to be formally arrested and arraigned like any other defendant. As of Thursday, Trump was reportedly at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said his office was working with Trump's attorneys to coordinate his surrender and select a date for arraignment.

This case also is one of several criminal probes investigating Trump:

A special counsel for the Department of Justice is investigating Trump's actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021 , attack on the Capitol and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, as well his handling of classified documents .

In Georgia, authorities are investigating whether Trump interfered in the 2020 election in what is seen as one of the most significant legal threats he faces as he gears up for his 2024 presidential campaign.

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SNAPSHOTS

Years after the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, the FBI has finally shared a suspect motive. The shooter had lost thousands of dollars gambling and was mad at casinos a few weeks before killing 60 people and injuring hundreds more, the FBI says.

News outlets struggle to decide: Do we pay for journalists' Twitter Blue? BuzzFeed isnt ponying up, but for other outlets, paying might make sense .

A jury said Gwyneth Paltrow isn't liable for the ski crash , and the man who sued her will have to pay $1 and her legal bills. Terry Sanderson said he broke four ribs and sustained permanent brain injuries from the 2016 crash at a ski resort in Utah. Both Paltrows and Sandersons legal teams brought in expert witnesses to argue whether or not the collision created long-term problems in his life.

The original Scott Pilgrim cast is returning for Netflix's anime series. Both Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead will reprise their leading roles , alongside Successions Kieran Culkin, Captain Americas Chris Evans, Pitch Perfects Anna Kendrick, and The White Lotuss Aubrey Plaza.

Russia detained a journalist from the Wall Street Journal on spying accusations

Evan Gershkovich, a US citizen, was detained on Thursday in Yekaterinburg by Russias Federal Security Service (FSB), which claimed he was trying to obtain classified information. He is the first journalist in over 30 years to be detained in Russia on espionage accusations , and his arrest comes at a time the Kremlin is cracking down on media outlets.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, President Vladimir Putin signed a law making it a crime to report fake news about the war with Ukraine  including merely referring to it as a war. Gershkovich has lived in Moscow for the past six years as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal focusing his coverage on Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet Union. His last article, published Tuesday, was about the possible forthcoming decline of Russias economy.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that US officials have spoken with Gershkovichs employers and family, and were working to get consular access to Gershkovich.

In an article about the arrest, the Wall Street Journal said it vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. It added, We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.

IMAGE OF THE DAY

Anthony Volpe, #11 of the New York Yankees, is introduced before the game against the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium on March 30, 2023, in New York City. New York Yankees / Getty Images

When you're polyamorous, figuring out who's paying for what can be complicated

Jade, 29, Daniel, 33, and Ami, 30, are in a triad and share a shotgun house in New Orleans together. Annie Flanagan For Buzzfeed News

I used to fantasize about sharing a bank account with someone else, Sophie Lucido Johnson writes . The idea of pooling financial resources struck me as kind of radically romantic. Your money and your partners money, would merge, a financial parallel to the emotional joining of personhoods. Until I was in my mid-20s, I imagined finding The One.

But I didnt find The One; I found The Ones. I started exploring polyamory when I was 27 and I never looked back. Now, Im married with a long-term boyfriend, a long-term girlfriend, and a daughter. I have more love in my life than my puny childhood imagination could compute. But my bank account remains my own, and that isnt going to change any time soon.

I interviewed members of 17 polycules about their finances, and the only common thread was that there wasnt one. For one triad in New Orleans, all expenses, including childcare, are shared and paid for from their combined accounts. There is no separation of assets or wealth. For one couple that practices egalitarian polyamory, or polyamory without hierarchy, they pay a mortgage together, but insist that doesn't make their other relationships any less important.

"I trust our family to take care of each other, and the privilege of that is undeniable, one person told BuzzFeed News.

Still reading, eh? Seems like you might want to get this in your inbox. No pressure though. Just some food for thought.
Iowa Republican lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban anyone under 18 from having a social media account.

Two lawmakers agreed to advance the bill, House File 526, Thursday morning after a brief subcommittee meeting, but they acknowledged it would have to change.

GOP lawmakers say they're worried about social media companies collecting data on children and about data that show negative effects from social media on the mental health of children and teenagers.

"I think thats part of this overall conversation when it comes to childrens mental health," House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, told reporters Thursday.

Last week, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law banning minors from accessing social media apps without the consent of a parent.

Lawmakers plan to amend the bill to allow teens to use social media with parental consent

Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, said he's interested in amending Iowa's bill to require parental consent, rather than being a total ban for minors.

"Were going to bring back the parents into this conversation," Wills said, "and say that if a parent approves of a 16-year-old or a 14-year-old or whatever having a social media platform, then that would be up to the parents right to say yes or no to."

As currently written, the bill would ban anyone under 18 years old from having a social media account and assess a $1,000 penalty to a social media company for each violation. The Iowa attorney general could sue companies for violating the policy.

Wills said his amendment is intended to mirror the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which governs what kind of information companies can collect from children online. He said that would mean children under 13 couldn't have social media accounts and teens under 18 couldn't sign up for an account unless they have a parent's permission.

The bill would define a social media company as a site that allows users to create profiles and provide information about themselves that is accessible to the public or to other users, and to communicate with other users.

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The Tik Tok app is one of the most popular apps in the world, and is dominated by Generation Z users.

Does LinkedIn count as social media? Does Amazon? Groups say the bill's definitions are too broad

At Thursday's subcommittee, several lobbyists for school organizations and tech companies spoke against the bill or raised concerns that its definitions are too broad and could unintentionally encompass more sites than popular social media platforms.

Christopher Rants, a lobbyist for Amazon, said the bill could loop in his client since users create profiles to buy products and leave reviews.

"Most commerce sites, you create profiles," he said. "It allows for reviews. So I as a customer get to say, 'Hey I like those shoes', or, 'Those shoes are terrible.' Im creating a profile of myself and Im sharing information about myself and according to this definition that is now a social media site."

Jon Murphy, a lobbyist for Microsoft, said he'd like to see the bill make clear that job search platforms like LinkedIn are not covered by the prohibition.

"As we seek to get younger people engaged in the workforce, one of the ways theyre going to find and get and keep those jobs are to be able to find them online," Murphy said.

Matt McKinney, a lobbyist for Google, said the company has many tools to help ensure that children aren't accessing certain content and have protections when they're online.

"Those are all enabled by allowing accounts to exist," McKinney said.

Republican lawmakers said they are open to changing the language of the bill to avoid unintended consequences.

"Were open to tightening the language to make sure that the intent is there," said Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. "The original bill was put out to start a conversation. Now were focusing on what the actual language should look like and that would include potentially changing definitions to narrow the scope."

More: Senate won't curb eminent domain for carbon pipelines; most Iowans say they want limits

Republican calls the bill 'heavy-handed,' Democrat says it's 'nonsensical'

One of the Republicans who agreed to move the bill forward Thursday said he did so "with a lot of reservations."

"I'm not particularly excited about this bill," said Rep. Phil Thompson, R-Boone. "I do think it's a little heavy-handed."

Still, Thompson agreed to move the bill forward to continue the conversation about the effects of social media on kids' mental health.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said social media can be a toxic environment for kids, but it can also allow them to find community. She said the Republican bill doesn't reflect that nuance.

"When were taking broad strokes like banning things like that I think that were not truly looking at what the real problems are," she told reporters Thursday. "So I want to make sure that instead of just shutting something off and saying now weve fixed the problem were looking more broadly at what the problems and opportunities are."

Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, told reporters that Democrats are open to thoughtfully considering the impact of social media on kids, but he disagrees with Republicans' approach.

"I dont think its a partisan view that there are some very real challenges with social media, especially its impact on minors. And not just social media but I would also say phones generally," he said. "But I do think that the idea that youre just going to do a blanket ban is nonsensical."

More: Iowa bill limiting pain and suffering in trucking crash lawsuits passed by House

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa bill would ban TikTok, Instagram and other social media for kids
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have prohibited public school teachers and staff from referring to students and other staff by pronouns that do not match their sex assigned at birth.

In a letter expanding on his decision to the North Dakota Senate president, Burgum argued the bills ambiguity would invite lawsuits and put teachers in the precarious position of trying to determine how to refer to students without violating law.

The teaching profession is challenging enough without the heavy hand of state government forcing teachers to take on the role of pronoun police. Parents, teachers and administrators using compassion, empathy and common sense can address individual and infrequent situations that may arise, Burgum said.

The bill now heads back to the state Senate, but the legislature could reverse the governors veto with a two-thirds vote in either chamber.

Burgum said hed have had no objections to signing the bill if it included only Senate Bill 2231s first section, which asserts a state government employee cant be required to use a colleagues preferred pronouns. Existing free speech protections, Burgum said, already shield against compelled speech.

The governor took issue with the second section, which would have barred public school teachers from using a transgender students preferred pronouns without permission from both a school administrator and the students parents.

Section 2 infringes on local control by unnecessarily injecting the state into rare instances most appropriately handled at the parent, teacher and school district level. This section removes discretion from school boards, schools and teachers in determining how to accommodate the needs of all students in public schools, Burgum wrote.

Victory! Senate Bill 2231, legislation [that] wouldve prohibited schools from adopting inclusive policies that acknowledge the gender identity of their students, has been VETOED by Governor Burgum, wrote the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of North Dakota on Twitter.

For trans youth, especially those who cannot be safe at home, school may be one of the few places to be themselves, a North Dakota ACLU spokesperson told The Associated Press.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The North Dakota Supreme Court declared Thursday that the state's abortion ban is unconstitutional and will not be enforced.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade during the summer, a trigger ban was set to go into effect that would make it a felony to perform an abortion with only exceptions for rape, incest or if the mother's life is in danger.

A lower court blocked the ban over the summer after North Dakota's only abortion provider, the Red River Women's Clinic, argued the right to an abortion was guaranteed under the state's constitution.

MORE: Judge promises to rule soon on challenge to abortion drug, with potentially vast implications

In the majority opinion, written by Chief Justice Jon J. Jensen, the state Supreme Court found the ban infringed on fundamental rights including "the right of enjoying and defending life and pursuing and obtaining safety."

"While the regulation of abortion is within the authority of the legislature under the North Dakota Constitution, RRWC has demonstrated likely success on the merits that there is a fundamental right to an abortion in the limited instances of life-saving and health-preserving circumstances, and the statute is not narrowly tailored to satisfy strict scrutiny," Jensen wrote.

PHOTO: Anti-abortion and abortion rights activists protest during the 50th annual March for Life rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on January 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE)

With the state Supreme Court decision, it means the current 21-week limit on abortions will remain in place.

"Today, the court rightfully stopped one of the most extreme laws in the country from taking effect and depriving North Dakotans of their reproductive freedom," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights -- which had filed the suit in North Dakota on behalf of abortion providers -- in a statement.

"Under the state constitution, North Dakotans are promised the rights to life, liberty, safety, and happiness, all of which protect the right to abortion," the statement continued. "In state after state, people have made clear that they want this right protected, yet state officials continue to ignore the will of their citizens. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect North Dakotans and the fundamental human rights of all people."

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Following the Supreme Court's decision, RRWC moved from Fargo to Moorhead, Minnesota -- a mile-and-a-half away  amid the legal battle.

Tammi Kromenaker, director of RRWC, applauded the decision but said there were no plans to return to North Dakota.

"The court made the right decision and sided with the people of North Dakota today," she said in a statement. "Those seeking abortion care know what's best for themselves and their families and should be able to access such essential services if and when they need it."

MORE: Utah governor signs bill banning abortion clinics across the state

She continued, "While I'm heartbroken that we have been forced to close our doors here in Fargo, we will continue to serve the region at our new clinic in Moorhead, Minnesota."

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley, who had been asking the Court to reinstate the ban, criticized the ruling in a statement.

"Today's North Dakota Supreme Court decision does not bar the people of North Dakota from regulating abortion through the enactments by their elected representatives in our state legislature," he said. "Thankfully, our legislature has spent the past two months working on legislation that recrafts North Dakota's abortion laws and they will now have the opportunity to enact the will of North Dakotans aware of the latest North Dakota Supreme Court pronouncement."

North Dakota Supreme Court says state abortion ban is 'unconstitutional' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
NEW YORK, March 30 (Xinhua) -- It is imperative that the world's two biggest economies, the United States and China, find a modus vivendi if the peace of the planet is to be preserved, an American columnist said.

Relations between the United States and China are spiraling dangerously downward, said H.D.S. Greenway, who is currently a columnist for Foreign Affairs and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, in an article published by online magazine Responsible Statecraft on Monday.

U.S. House of Representatives had established a Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and China, he wrote in the article titled "It's not too late to stop a new cold war."

The growing antagonism between the United States and China presents the greatest danger to the world today, so it is imperative that cooler heads in China and the United States work to defuse tensions, he noted.

After all, China does not seek to overthrow the U.S. system of government and the Communist Party of China does not seek to export revolution, Greenway said. 
A color guard posts the colors during a ceremony to recognize and honor Vietnam War veterans at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. The Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs and Vietnam Veterans of America hosted the ceremony. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

An overflow crowd paid tribute to Vietnam War veterans during a ceremony on Wednesday at the Capitol in Salt Lake City.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

A military color guard posted the colors during a ceremony, hosted by the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs and Vietnam Veterans of America. Speakers shared their feelings and appreciation, while members of the different branches of the military were recognized.

Gov. Spencer Cox also proclaimed the day Vietnam War Veterans Day in Utah, noting that nearly 28,000 Utahns left their homes to serve, and that an estimated 45,000 Vietnam veterans live in the state today. The declaration stated ... we as Utahns come together to show our gratitude and commitment to never forget the heroism and service of our veterans of the Vietnam War.

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Jackson County prosecutors charged a 31-year-old man with murder in the fatal shooting of his 29-year-old live-in girlfriend in their apartment in south Kansas Citys Kirkside neighborhood.

Jaylen E. McDaniel, of Kansas City, is charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful firearm possession and first-degree endangerment of a childs welfare. He is accused of killing Trianna Tisdale in front of her juvenile son on March 13 after she threatened to call the police on him.

Kansas City police officers were dispatched around 8 a.m. to the 11500 block of Food Lane on a reported shooting. Tisdale was suffering from gunshot wounds when police arrived. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance and pronounced dead there.

According to court documents, the juvenile witness told detectives that Tisdale and McDaniel were arguing and that McDaniel struck her in the face. She said she was calling 911, and thats when McDaniel allegedly shot her with a pistol.

After she fell, her car keys were removed from her wrist and McDaniel allegedly fled the area in her Chevy Impala.

Four spent shell casings were collected as evidence. A rifle located in the residence was also seized.

The day after she was killed, Tisdales car was found abandoned at 76th Street and Troost Avenue. Police found a pair of shoes, a red jacket and McDaniels drivers license inside it, according to court documents.

Online court documents did not list a defense attorney for McDaniel as of Friday.
The 1776 Project PAC, a national political action committee, is endorsing local school board candidates in races in Oconto County, throughout Brown County and across Wisconsin  many of whom say the mailers were sent without their knowledge.

The group has endorsed Carrie Hill, who is running for Oconto Falls School Board, and five school board candidates in De Pere, West De Pere and Pulaski, sending out mailers that call for no reading materials about gender identity and increased transparency. Most of the candidates said they were not aware the mailers were being sent.

The 1776 Project PAC endorsed Justin Czachor and Jason Dorn who are running in West De Pere; Melissa Niffenegger who is running in De Pere; and Dennis Kaminski and Corey Juelich who are running in Pulaski.

In total, the PAC has endorsed about 50 candidates in school board races across Wisconsin.

It's "dedicated to electing school board members nationwide who want to reform our public education system by promoting patriotism and pride in American history," according to the group's website.

A mailer that was sent out to Oconto Falls School District voters ahead of the spring election.

The New York-based PAC, founded in 2020, endorses school board candidates across the country who "vow to overturn" teaching about The 1619 Project or critical race theory in school districts.

The 1619 Project is a series of essays by The New York Times Magazine that "aims to reframe the countrys history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative," according to the project's website.

The Pulitzer Center has developed a curriculum based on the project to talk about slavery in classrooms.

Critical race theory is a an academic and legal framework that says race is a social construct and racism is embedded in the legal and policy structures of America. It is a topic that traditionally is taught in college classes and law school.

When PACs campaign for a candidate, they only have to report campaigning costs as a contribution if they coordinated with the candidate. If there is no coordination, the PAC can campaign for many candidates and races without having to report contributions to each individual candidate's campaign.

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The 1776 Project PAC is largely funded by another political action committee: the Restoration PAC.

The Restoration PAC gets the bulk of its funding from billionaire Richard Uihlein, the owner of the Wisconsin-based Uline shipping and packaging, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

National PAC sends mailer on candidates' behalf without their knowledge

The group sent out a mailer campaigning for area school board candidates, which Hill said is generating bad publicity.

"I do NOT have any goals pertaining to magnet schools or gender quotas," Hill wrote in an email. "It is just not my message from my campaign. No group should speak on my behalf. This is a bipartisan election and this flyer from this group gives it a partisan feel and that is very unnerving to me. My views are my views, they have nothing to do with political stance."

Juelich, a Pulaski candidate, said he never approved and was surprised to find in his mailbox.

The mailer calls for not having gender identity reading materials and ending "secret voting for board members," among other calls for transparency and parental involvement.

The same mailer was also sent in the suburban Milwaukee districts of Mequon-Thiensville, Kettle Moraine and Waukesha; a similar one was sent in Eau Claire.

Juelich wrote in a Facebook post that the items on the mailer are not issues facing the Pulaski School District.

"This isn't something I stand for, and it's terrible that an outside organization is speaking on my behalf without permission," he wrote on March 25.

More: Here's whos behind the school board postcards, Facebook ads and door knockers

Juelich told the Press-Gazette in an email that he had never heard of the 1776 Project PAC, and he never gave it permission to use his name.

"As a grassroots campaign I vowed not to take funds from political parties (or) special interest groups and to remain positive," he said. "Most of the issues on the post card aren't happening in our district. We need to keep politics out of our education system."

Kaminski said he did not receive the mailer and has only seen social media postings about it.

How to register to vote and what's on the ballot

The general election is April 4. Oconto County residents will vote on local government positions, school board members, the next Wisconsin Supreme Court justice and multiple referendums.

To find your polling place, see what's on the ballot and register to vote, visit myvote.wi.gov/en-us.

You can register to vote on the day of the election at your polling place with a valid ID and proof of residence document.

Kevin Dittman contributed to this report.

Danielle DuClos is a Report for America corps member who covers K-12 education for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at dduclos@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @danielle_duclos. You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Oconto Falls school board candidate gets partisan endorsements
EDITORS NOTE: This reporting is part of ongoing Charlotte Observer coverage about gun violence, its impact on families and communities and relevant public policy.

When a child witnesses a shooting or other violence, it can take a toll. But providing support as soon as possible reduces the chances of that child experiencing long-term trauma.

In Mecklenburg County, when children are exposed to violence, the Child Development Community Policing program aims to connect families with services as soon as possible. The program started in Charlotte decades ago and is now expanding to help children and families in Pineville.

Pineville police chief Mike Hudgins said it wouldve been useful to have this partnership in 2021, when a 9-year-old died after being hit by a vehicle. Crisis teams and chaplains were deployed to help the family, but Hudgins indicated a need for tailored support to the boys siblings who witnessed the incident.

Its not just families that need support.

Theres folks out there that had nothing to do with an incident or the victims that are traumatized, Hudgins said. If we want to make a real big impact, we have to deal with that trauma, otherwise it could perpetuate itself.

How trauma affects youth

Theres evidence that being exposed to trauma at an earlier age can have a greater impact on long-term development, said Adam Miller, a developmental psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and RTI International.

Two main models aim to explain the effect of trauma on youth, Miller said. The adverse childhood experiences model says that the more adverse events a child is exposed to, the more likely they are to have poor mental health later in life. Adverse events could include anything from parental divorce to gun violence.

Another, the dimensional model of adversity and psychopathology, tries to break down why certain events impact child development. That model focuses on neglectful and threatening experiences.

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Threatening experiences change how children respond to their environment, and its harder for them to identify threats later on, Miller said.

We have a natural inborn system to help us start associating specific cues with danger, Miller said. But kids who are in highly threatening environments, their learning process starts to become overused and it overgeneralizes to other things that may not be true cues of risk or harm.

Not everyone is impacted by trauma in the same way.

Trauma isnt just about the event, but also how that event is experienced, said Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, a clinical psychologist at UNC Charlotte. The severity of the event, as well as how the person feels about why the event occurred or whether it might happen again, can contribute to the level of trauma they have.

Were they in a vulnerable state when it happened? Did it wake them up in the middle of the night when they thought they were safe, or did the gun violence pierce the window of their house which they thought was their safe haven? Langhinrichsen-Rohling said. All of those are factors in the impact of the event over time.

Youth at risk

CDCP director Stacey Butler said gun violence spreads like a virus  knowing someone thats been impacted increases the chances of being personally impacted.

If your child is in a social circle with another child who has been a victim or perpetrator of gun violence, then you know your child is at greater risk, she said.

Even if someone has no connection to any of the people involved in a traumatic incident, it can still negatively affect them, Butler said. That makes it harder to identify whos at risk and in need of services.

We dont always know whos been impacted by violence and have something to offer them. Often, people have to suffer and struggle for years before they come to the attention of mental health professionals, Butler said.

Last year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police reported that nearly 500 people under the age of 18 had been victims of gun-related crime. That number includes youth that had a gun pointed at them regardless of whether they were injured.

On the flip side, more than 100 minors have been suspects in gun crimes since the beginning of 2022, CMPD said.

Research has suggested that young people carry guns to establish dominance or facilitate other illegal activities, or because their friends or family members carry guns.

But research has also found that being shot or seeing someone else get shot can lead young people to start carrying guns for protection. This means that leaving fears about violence unaddressed could potentially lead to more shootings.

Butler emphasized that police cannot address the impact of shootings alone and that Mecklenburg needs a holistic system to help those affected.

How the program works

The CDCP is inspired by a similar partnership that started in Connecticut between the Yale Child Study Center and the New Haven Police Department in 1991.

Butler was one of the first full-time mental health clinicians hired to support the program. She oversaw the programs expansion to Mecklenburgs southern municipalities: Pineville, Matthews and Mint Hill.

We approached Pineville about that opportunity once we were able to go back into police cars and direct service work post-COVID and Pineville was on board, so we were very lucky and excited about that, Butler said.

Hudgins said officers received an eight-hour training on the CDCP. That training focuses on child development, the impact of trauma on children and effective partnerships between police and clinicians. It also focuses on identifying police interventions that are most helpful for families that have been impacted by trauma.

Police refer families to the program if they believe a child needs support after a sudden event. Then, one of 17 mental health clinicians will visit the home with police to see what the family needs.

A third of referrals involved families with at least one child younger than six. In June 2022, the CDCP was involved in a case where a 1-year-old was fatally shot and a 7-year-old was injured.

The goal of the CDCP is to provide short-term support to youth to prevent them from needing longer-term services in the future.

Were assessing for those earliest emerging trauma symptoms, indicators that our clinicians can pick up on within minutes or hours of an incident, and were applying interventions immediately in tandem with our officer partners who are talking with families about what they need to not just feel safe, but be safe, Butler said.
The former Martin Luther King Jr. Business Empowerment Center at 237 Chandler St.

Funding grants for 12 specialized housing developments around Massachusetts announced by the Healey administration Wednesday include a Worcester property, 237 Chandler St., tapped to share in the $62 million award.

The South Middlesex Opportunity Council, the nonprofit that merged in 2012 with the moribund Martin Luther King Jr. Business Empowerment Center, will share a portion of the Permanent Supportive Housing Grand Award.

Housing for chronically homeless

According to a release issued by the governors office, the nonprofit plans to convert a portion of the second floor of its current administrative building into 20 studio units for chronically homeless individuals. The organization, based in Framingham, will provide supportive services to residents through the Community Support for Persons Experiencing Chronic Homelessness program funded through MassHealth/Medicaid.

In addition, the City of Worcester has committed local American Rescue Plan Act funds and federal HOME funds to the project. The Department of Housing and Community Development will support the project with subsidy funds.

The awards include $62 million in direct subsidies, including federal ARPA funding, and state and federal housing tax credits which will create an additional $74 million in equity for projects, according to the governors office. In addition, DHCD will support projects with more than 120 project-based housing vouchers, which help operate housing over the long-term.

The statewide award will support a dozen projects that offer specialized services to residents. The organizations are expected to create more than 460 units throughout the state, nearly all of them reserved for low and very low-income residents.

Addressing needs of vulnerable first

The permanent supportive housing grants are targeted to make housing available to vulnerable populations - the homeless, adults with disabilities, low-income senior citizens, veterans and young adults experiencing homelessness. Many of the selected projects also offer wraparound support services that include job training, child care, health services as well as case-management support.

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Our administration is committed to ensuring that Massachusetts residents have access to safe, secure and affordable housing, said Gov. Maura Healey. Were proud to support projects in every region of our state that are providing permanent supportive housing for families, seniors, veterans, young people and people experiencing homelessness. This is the type of housing production that we want to drive in communities across the state to lower costs and address our housing crisis.

The Healey-Driscoll administration is committed to increasing housing opportunities for all Massachusetts households. The fiscal 2024 budget recommendations include increased funding for Massachusetts housing vouchers, increased commitment to homeless families, and emergency rental assistance. Through the creation of a new Housing Secretariat, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, the administration will pursue more comprehensive strategies to address the commonwealths housing supply and affordability challenges.

The Permanent Supportive Housing Grant program support projects that are affordable and accessible, close to transit and retail amenities, and offer a sense of community, said Lt. Gov. Kimberly Driscoll. These are the types of projects that our proposed housing secretariat will support while expanding our capacity to drive housing production at all income levels.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Gov. Maura Healey releases $62 million to fund specialized housing
People march around the Colorado State Capitol during a protest to end gun violence

People march around the Colorado State Capitol in Denver during a protest to end gun violence in schools, on March 24, 2023. Colorado is among states considering assault weapon bans in state legislatures. Credit - Michael CiagloGetty Images

What was supposed to be a summer party among friends in Mukilteo, Washington in July 2016 turned to bloodshed. A 19-year-old man brought an AR-15-style rifle and fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and two other teenagers. For the last seven years since the incident, Strom Peterson, the Washington State lawmaker who represents Mukilteo, has kept introducing a bill to ban assault weapons. Every year, the measure has failedbut this time might be different.

Petersons proposal, which would ban the sale and manufacture of all AR-15 and AK-47 rifles and many other popular semi-automatic weapons, had never even made it out of a chamber committee until January. Now, the bill has passed the house and a senate committee, and could soon face a vote on the senate floor. I do feel good about it, Peterson says. The Senate might be tougher, but the momentum is there.

With Congress unlikely to pass significant gun control measures at the federal level, most legislative action around assault weapon bans is occurring in state houses. Washington State and Colorado are considering bills to ban assault weapons. Delaware banned the manufacture, sale, transfer, receipt and possession of assault weapons in June 2022. Illinois adopted a ban on the sale, manufacturing, or delivery of assault weapons in January. The lawmakers behind these bills dont need to look back seven years for tragedies to add urgency to the effort: just this week, a shooter armed with an AR-15 style rifle killed three children and three adults at an elementary school in Nashville.

But despite the growing gun control sentiment in states, many of these new laws could be vulnerable to getting overturned if theyre challenged in court, legal experts say.

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Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen that the Constitution protects an individuals right to carry a concealed handgun for protection outside the home. While the case dealt with concealed carry laws, the ruling created a general test to be applied to gun restrictions, which includes evaluating whether a measure would be consistent with this nations historical tradition and would be similar to regulations in place during the time the Constitution was written.

Judges could take a literal interpretation of this ruling, to note that there was no ban on assault weapons in 1791 (even though those guns didnt exist at that time). Im hoping that this isnt true, but [the Supreme Court ruling] seems to say: we dont care how many people die; all we care about is looking back to 1791 and seeing, was there an existing regulation in place in 1791? If there wasnt, you cant regulate it today, says John Donahue, a law professor at Stanford University and expert on gun policy.

A broader interpretation of the Bruen test might consider restrictions on other dangerous weapons at the time. Judges can look throughout history every time a new weapon has become mass produced or readily available to the population and used in crime or violent behavior; legislatures have regulated them, says Adam Skaggs, chief counsel at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. We can analogize and say: once assault weapons become widely available to civilians, they started being used in mass shootings.

Legal experts say they expect conflicting rulings going forward as state laws are challenged and appealed. A judge could very reasonably come out either way. The Supreme Court doesnt provide a lot of guidance on how this reasoning by analogy to history should work, says Andrew Willinger, executive director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law.

Lower courts in Illinois and Delaware so far have denied preliminary injunctions against the assault weapons bans in those states. In the Illinois case, a district court judge drew parallels to restrictions on weapons in the late 1700s like bowie knives to argue that states can now regulate assault rifles. Responding to the growing prevalence and danger posed by Bowie knives, states quickly enacted laws regulating them, the judge wrote, pointing to laws in Alabama that placed an expensive tax on these knives and banned concealed carry as well as a law in Georgia that made it illegal to sell these knives. The judge also drew parallels to restrictions placed on clubs and other blunt weapons and noted that states continued to regulate particularly dangerous weapons from the 18th century through the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

David Kopel, a gun rights advocate and adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute notes that while the Illinois verdict highlights one way to evaluate a ban on assault weapons, the courts reliance on the bowie knives analogy may be strained because historically many U.S. jurisdictions did not have an outright ban on these weapons, but rather restrictions tied to particular circumstances. Those restrictions included concealed carry, or selling to a minor without parental consentbut many of the current assault weapons bans go further.

Further complicating matters, state laws have often used inconsistent definitions of what counts as an assault weapon. The proponents of bans have never stuck with any consistent definition of an assault weapon, Kopel says. Its always been this very amorphous thing and the category expands or contracts to ban as many guns as they can depending on the political circumstances of the year.

Polling suggests that most Americans support restrictions on assault weapons. A June 2022 Morning Consult survey found that 86% of Democrats and 47% of Republicans supported an assault weapons ban. Its a trend thats reflected in Washington State, too: more than 60% of residents in Washington support a statewide ban on assault weapons, according to a 2022 poll sponsored by The Seattle Times, KING 5, the University of Washingtons Center for an Informed Public, and Washington State Universitys Murrow College of Communication.

For Washington state rep. Peterson, every incident of gun violence in the country has strengthened his resolve. Not only is the political will there, but also a deeper understanding of what these weapons continue to do not only in Parkland or Uvalde, but what that does to every school in the country, every student in Washington state, Peterson says. People are done, and were finally hearing that message. Ive been saying that for a while. But it hasnt always gotten through to us. And I think this is just the year its gotten through to us.
Ben Huelskamp is the Executive Director of LOVEboldly, an Ohio nonprofit working to create spaces where LGBTQIA+ people can flourish in Christianity.

During a time of unprecedented attacks against the transgender community and with today's celebration of Trans Day of Visibility, cisgender allies must step up and use our privilege to speak out and act up.

Cisgender people  those of us whose sex assigned at birth is congruent with our gender identity  often have the option to remain silent when we see legislation targeting our trans siblings or when we hear about the murder of another trans person, particularly another trans person of color.

There are even people often referred to as trans exclusionary radical feminists or TERFs  who argue that trans women are really just men.

Lets be clear, transgender women are women and transgender men are men. Hard stop.

Ben Huelskamp: Disagreements now 'stuff of nightmares.' Ohio, nation needs a 'moral revival'

As a cisgender Queer person, I dont have to worry about attacks on the trans community.

In fact, with the larger attacks on the queer community, it might be easier to not be involved and stay silent. But our trans siblings need us now more than ever. They need us to disrupt transphobia. They need us to challenge trans the exclusionary radical feminists arguments.

They need us to amplify their voices. They need us to listen and follow their lead as they act in their own best interests.

More: Therapist: 'Gender-affirming care is ethical practice.' Bill would put bigotry over science

Trans people and trans bodies are under physical, existential, and legal assaults. In 2022, at least 38 trans people were killed according to the Human Rights Campaign (I write at least because many transgender people are not identified as trans at the time of their deaths or their deaths are not investigated as murders).

Within hours of the school shooting in Nashville on Monday, the news had identified the shooter as a transgender woman and right-wing politicians began using the identification as evidence of the need to ban gender affirming care. While this is causation without a hint of truth or even logic, my fear that this would become a right-wing talking point and conspiracy theory was quickly confirmed.

Story continues

Opinion: 'We need to keep politicians' hands off our daughters.' Anti-trans bills hateful

Across the United States LGBTQIA+ rights, particularly transgender rights, are under attack by state legislatures. As of March 27, the Human Rights Campaign had tracked 11 states which had already passed a ban on gender affirming care for people under the age of 18 and 21 additional statesincluding Ohiowhere these bans were being actively considered.

Dr. Ben Huelskamp

Proposed Legislation in Ohio:

All of these bills are on top of the ongoing struggle to get Ohio probate courts to act in accordance with the federal court ruling in 2020's Ray v. McCloud allowing for trans people born in Ohio to change the gender marker on their birth certificates.

The Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on a case where such a change was denied on April 4.

How to be an allies for trans Ohioans?

So, youre a cisgender person and you want to speak up and act out with the transgender community? Where can you start?

Whatever you do, remember as the community with privilege, cisgender people must follow the lead of and prioritize the agency of transgender people to act in their own best interests.

Ben Huelskamp is the Executive Director of LOVEboldly, an Ohio nonprofit working to create spaces where LGBTQIA+ people can flourish in Christianity.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How to be allies for trans people in Ohio. How to support transgender men, women.
A 3-year-old child died Wednesday night in a crash that involved multiple vehicles in Tuscaloosa County, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Troopers said the crash occurred around 11:12 p.m. on Alabama Highway 69, about seven miles south of the city of Tuscaloosa, when a 2015 Hyundai Genesis and a 2022 Ford F350 collided.

The driver of the Hyundai, identified by troopers as 24-year-old Shadereka M.L. Green of Tuscaloosa, was ejected from her vehicle, along with a 3-year-old passenger and a 4-year-old passenger.

Troopers said the 3-year-old was struck by an unidentified vehicle after being ejected. The driver of the unidentified vehicle did not stop or return to the crash site, according to troopers.

The 3-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. Green and the 4-year-old were taken to area hospitals for treatment. None of the occupants of the Hyundai were using seat belts or child restraints, troopers said.

The driver of the Ford was identified as 34-year-old John W. Henry of Newbern.

No further information was made available.

Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys Highway Patrol Division are investigating. Anyone who has information about the crash or the unidentified vehicle is asked to call the troopers at 205-553-5531.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Crash kills 3-year-old, injures two others, Alabama troopers say
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump was indicted on Thursday for his role in an alleged hush-money payment to an adult film actress.

Multiple news media outlets, including The New York Times, ABC News, and The Washington Post, broke the news of Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand jury in the evening, quoting people familiar with the situation.

A statement from Trump lawyers Joe Tacopina and Susan Necheles confirmed that the former president was indicted.

"President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court," the statement said.

Trump responded in a statement, saying that "this is political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history."

Trump, 76, is said to be the first former U.S. president in American history to be indicted on criminal charges, which remain under seal.

The charges are not publicly known at this time, according to CNN, citing a source. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office will reportedly reach out to Trump's attorneys to discuss his surrender to face an arraignment.

Bragg and his aides have been investigating Trump's alleged role in a hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The payment of 130,000 U.S. dollars was said to be used to prevent Daniels from going public about an alleged sexual encounter that she had with Trump in 2006.

Then Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, before being reimbursed by the Trump Organization, which described the reimbursement as legal fees.

Cohen pleaded guilty to nine federal charges, including campaign finance violations, and was sentenced in late 2018 to three years in prison.

"Today's indictment is not the end of this chapter; but rather, just the beginning," Cohen said in a statement. "Now that the charges have been filed, it is better for the case to let the indictment speak for itself."

Trump, a Republican who won the 2016 White House race and served as U.S. president from 2017 to 2021, has denied that the affair happened, dismissed any wrongdoing, and charged that the inquiry is politically motivated.

The case has been closely watched as no former U.S. president has ever been indicted on criminal charges and Trump is running again for the White House. 
U.S. forces have trained more than 7,000 Ukrainian troops since Russia first attacked the country last year, the Pentagons top spokesperson said Thursday.

Among those soldiers were 65 Ukrainians who completed training on the Patriot air defense system at Fort Sill, Okla., and returned to Europe this week, press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters.

Ryder also said that more than 4,000 Ukrainian troops in two brigades will have completed combined arms training in Germany, with one group equipped with Bradley fighting vehicles and one with Stryker vehicles.

Additional combined arms training is currently underway at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas in Germany, with two motorized infantry battalions consisting of 1,200 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, he added.

Another 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers have finished operator and maintenance training on more than 20 donated systems since April of 2022, a program that is ongoing, Ryder said.

Altogether, the U.S. and its coalition partners are currently training more than 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers across 26 different countries.

The U.S. will continue to provide training and work closely with our allies and partners to ensure the Ukrainian people have the security assistance they need to defend their country and repel Russian aggression, Ryder said.

Ukrainian troops first arrived at Fort Sill in January to begin training on the Patriot missile system in an accelerated version of a course that typically takes up to a year to learn.

The expertise was expected to take several months  an already sped up timeline  though the Ukrainian troops exceeded expectations and finished the course faster than planned.

The Ukrainian forces will now be able to operate the Patriot systems President Biden approved to ship to the country in December, as well as a Patriot battery Germany committed to sending from its own inventory.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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.
Police say WA drug laws are too lax. Tri-Cities took the issue into its own hands
HOUSTON, March 31 (Xinhua) -- At least two tornadoes battered parts of the southern U.S. state of Arkansas Friday afternoon, causing "catastrophic" damage in the state's capital city Little Rock, according to the U.S. National Weather Service.

At least one person was hospitalized in critical condition after severe storms moved through central Arkansas, said the Office of Emergency Management in Pulaski County, which includes Little Rock.

Large trees were uprooted, rooftops smashed, buildings severely damaged, and even 18-wheelers blown over, according to images posted online.

Members of the Little Rock National Weather Service were also forced to evacuate.

Authorities estimated there were at least 600 injuries so far, and Little Rock police were transporting people to hospitals as there were not enough ambulances to respond, according to local media outlet KTHV.

At least two tornadoes have been confirmed so far. Little Rock's Fire Department said on social media that heavy damage was caused and there was debris in the western end of the city.

As of 4:00 p.m. local time, nearly 75,000 customers were without power across the state, according to PowerOutage.us.

The threat of dangerous severe storms, including tornadoes, will last into early Saturday, meteorologists said. 
Russia offers North Korea food in exchange for ammunition 31 March, 12:40 AM John Kirby (Photo:REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Moscow plans to send a delegation to North Korea to negotiate a trade deal that would secure shipments of ammunition to Russia in exchange for food, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby told CNN on March 30.

"We have new information that Russia is actively seeking to acquire additional munitions from North Korea," said Kirby.

Read also: North Korea making winter uniforms for Russian soldiers in Ukraine

"We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea. And that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions."

He added that arms dealer and Slovak citizen Ashot Mkrtychev was working to broker this deal between Russia and North Korea, bypassing Western sanctions.

Video of day

On March 6, Ukraines Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said that Russia is prepared to pay any price for artillery shells, drones, and missiles for the war effort.

In January, Ukrainian intelligence reported that Russian forces have decreased their artillery shell expenditure from 60,000 to 20,000 rounds per day, which could indicate looming ammunition shortages.

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Ministrul austriac de Interne vine la Bucuresti. De doi bani speranta

Ministrul austriac de interne Gerhard Karner vine miercuri la Bucuresti si va avea discutii bilaterale cu omologul sau roman Lucian Bode, scrie presa austriaca, afirmand ca preocuparea oficialului de la Viena este legata in primul rand de traficul de persoane [citeste mai departe]
US has trained 7,000 Ukrainian troops so far, Pentagon says 31 March, 01:23 AM Patriot air defense in Poland (Photo:REUTERS/Kacper Pempel)

Since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States has trained over 7,000 Ukrainian troops, including 65 service members who recently completed their Patriot air defense system training at Fort Sill, U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on March 30, as reported by CNN.

Ryder added that by the end of March, more than 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers will have completed combined arms training in Germany.

Read also: Russian soldier found guilty in absentia of abusing civilians evacuating from Kyiv Oblast

Additional combined arms training is currently underway at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas in Germany, with two mechanized infantry battalions consisting of 1,200 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, Ryder said.

Video of day

Read also: US to expedite delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine

In recent weeks, Ukraine has received Leopard-2 main battle tanks from a number of countries, in addition to UK Challenger-2 tanks, Stryker AFVs, Bradley and Marder IFVs, and four MiG-29 fighter jets supplied by Slovakia.

On March 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that several Patriot batteries pledged to Ukraine by its international partners are yet to be deployed.

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Stiri pe aceeasi tema

- Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca declared on Monday that some of the liberal ministers of the current Cabinet will no longer be in the future Government, led by the leader of the social democrats, Marcel Ciolacu, after the government swap agreed by protocol for May. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi

- Prime minister Nicolae Ciuca will be on a working visit to Stockholm on Friday, during which he will have meetings with the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and with the president of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden, Andreas Norlen.In the first part of the visit, the head of the Romanian

- Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca welcomed on Monday at the Victoria Palace of Government a delegation led by Speaker of the Latvian Parliament Edvards Smiltens.At the beginning of the meeting, the head of the Executive in Bucharest remarked that the visit of the Latvian lawmakers reflects the excellent

- Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca declares that Romania's accession to the Schengen area is on the work agenda of the Swedish presidency of the European Union, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro  Help your

- Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca stated on Friday that at the moment we cannot discuss about a potential world conflict and emphasized that Romania is part of the strongest military alliance, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro

- Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on Friday said Romania, together with Western strategic partners, is determined to support Ukraine as long as necessary, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro  Help your friends

- Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca expressed his appreciation for the excellent cooperation between Romania and the European Commission within the European Civil Protection Mechanism, during a meeting he had on Friday with Janez Lenarcic, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management,

- Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Soder will be visiting Romania on Monday and will have bilateral meetings with President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, informs the German Embassy in Bucharest. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday that Hungary had violated the clause of the European Convention prohibiting discrimination against Roma in connection with the right to education.

The Court awarded 7,000 in compensation, the European Roma Rights Centre and lawyer Adel Kegye reported.



The case concerns Imre Szolcsany,who was a pupil at the Jokai Mor Primary School in Piliscsaba attended only by Roma children. His mother wanted to enrol him in the nearby PIlissjaszfalu school at the age of eight, in order that he should not study in segregated conditions.



The school refused to accept him without any explanation, a decision confirmed by the school district. It said the school was too far from the boys home.



This argument was accepted by Hungarian courts. The Kuria said that the school in Piliscsaba cannot be considered segregated simply because it is attended solely by Roma children. The boy and his family then appealed to the Strasbourg court.



The boys mother said after the ruling that while the decision cannot change the past, it has produced satisfaction after the humiliating treatment. The compensation will be partly used for the education of the boy, who is 17 now and is studying to be a welder in Esztergom.



Kegye said the decision sets a precedent because the Court ordered the government to develop public policy measures at the national level aimed at ending segregation in education.
Hungary having become a crucial player in Europes auto industry is akin to an economic life insurance policy, Peter Szijjarto, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, told a conference on Thursday.

Hungary also happens to be competing for electric battery plants with countries that most strongly attack Chinese investments in their political communication, Szijjarto told a year-opening event of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK).



Concerning criticisms levelled at electric battery plants, Szijjarto said the only question was where they would be built, not if they would be built at all.



Because when were competing for these investments, we are competing with countries that most strongly attack us, or the Chinese, or Chinese investments in their political communication, he said.



He added that the regulations investments in Hungary must meet were far stricter than European Union rules.



The minister said Hungary was already the worlds fourth largest electric battery producer, adding that batteries had been Hungarys leading export product over the last 13 months.



So we cant say that this is something secretive or that we dont know what will come of it, Szijjarto said.



He said it was only recently that the opposition had started to say that it would be better if these plants created tens of thousands of jobs in places other than Hungary.



Meanwhile, Szijjarto said Hungary had become a meeting point for Eastern and Western investments, which protected the country from uncertainties and guaranteed long-term economic growth.



Hungary has plants from all three German premium carmakers and three of the worlds seven leading battery makers are also present in the country, he said, adding that Western companies had become completely dependent on their Eastern partners in the sector.



Commenting on the debate over why the government was supporting large multinational companies over small and medium-sized firms, Szijjarto said: This is a hypocritical question to ask. Its not a question of either-or, but rather both-and.



He added that the government supported a larger share of the investments by Hungarian businesses.



Szijjarto said one of the most significant forms of support Hungarian firms were receiving was that the government was bringing large investments to Hungary that guaranteed a long-term demand for their products and services.



He said last years record-high output by the electronics and automotive sectors demonstrated the success of the strategy aimed at boosting the role of Hungarian suppliers.



On another subject, Szijjarto said steps needed to be taken against the re-emergence of a world divided into blocs, arguing that this was against Hungarys and central Europes interests. Instead, the world needs connectivity, meaning cooperation based on mutual respect and mutual benefits, he added.
Zelenskyy, leaders of four states visit Bucha on anniversary of its liberation 31 March, 04:45 PM Zelenskyy, together with the president of Moldova and the prime ministers of Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia, visited Bucha (Photo: )

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy along with the heads of several foreign states and governments visited the town of Bucha of Kyiv Oblast on March 31, on the anniversary of its liberation from Russian occupation, the presidents press service reported.

Together with Molodvan President Maia Sandu, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Zelenskyy honored the memory of Bucha residents murdered by the Russian army during its occupation of the town.

The ceremony took place near the Church of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called and All Saints in Bucha  near where a mass grave of murdered Ukrainian citizens was discovered a year ago.

Video of day

The names of 77 identified persons who had been buried in the mass grave near the church, as well as 11 servicemen killed in battles for Bucha, were read out during the ceremony.

After the Russian invasion forces fled from Kyiv Oblast, the world saw the aftermath of their atrocities, with hundreds of civilians being murdered, and their bodies dumped in mass graves.

The bodies of peaceful citizens tortured and killed by Russians were also found strewn across the streets in the towns of Bucha and Irpin, as well as near the Kyiv-Zhytomyr highway.

On April 14, 2022, the Ukrainian parliament voted to declare the actions of Russia and its army as genocide of the Ukrainian people.

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For the second consecutive morning, Momentum MPs removed the barriers set up outside the Prime Ministers office in Buda Castle that were erected 18 months ago.

The barriers block the public road leading to the office, thereby depriving reporters of a rare opportunity to encounter and question cabinet ministers directly.



The barriers were put in place because of a nearby construction work, but the protesting MPs say little work has gone on there recently.



They describe the barrier as a symbol of government propaganda and of restrictions on press freedom.



Momentum president Ferenc Gelencser declared there are no free elections without a free press, genuine public service media and fair release of information.



Cabinet office state secretary Csaba Domotor arrived and answered questions from journalists. He said cabinet members are at the disposal of the media.



Independent MP Akos Hadhazy said police had begun misdemeanour proceedings against him for his role in dismantling the barrier as he is considered to be the organiser of the act.



He said he would give up his right to immunity to face related charges.
More than 1,000 foreign people smugglers are serving legally binding prison sentences in Hungary, an official of the National Judicial Office (OBH) said on Thursday, adding that this was twenty times as many people as were imprisoned a few years ago.

Whereas 2-3 years ago there were no more than 40-50 foreign nationals serving time in Hungarian prisons for people smuggling, by now their number has exceeded 1,000, Zoltan Janos Peter, head of the OBHs IT and electronic administration department, told a press conference in response to a question.



The number of people smuggling cases has risen most significantly at courts near the border, he added.



He said this was also likely the reason why the number of new cases was on the rise again after steadily declining for several years.
EXETER  Feed the animal games, farm texture prints (using cut potatoes and tractor wheels), shade and texture the farm animal, and hay bale snacks were just part of the fun at Family Art Night at Exeter-Milligan School this past week.

The event is produced, directed and sponsored by the art department with preparation starting in January. The department, under the tutelage of art teacher Lisa Kanode, throws out ideas for the annual event and then a theme is chosen by the high school art students who vote.

Kanode introduced the event in 2015 and it has grown in attendance each year since. Kanode explained, Family art night is a special event that many can benefit from. Starting with the volunteers and helpers as they get an opportunity to teach and interact with kids. Families benefit as they have the opportunity to spend quality time with their kiddos in a unique way.

The event not only introduces different art mediums to the younger students, but it also gives the 6th -12th grade art students the chance to interact and teach. Since all members of the family are encouraged to attend, this gives the students running each booth the opportunity to interact with all ages. The art students are vital in planning and designing each station for the event.

Kanode has seen a direct impact in the art department in the student body, saying, I definitely see a growing interest in art, even in just helping out with family art night. This year the sixth graders have really stepped up and embraced being a part of family art night. They took on face painting which is one of the most difficult stations to run.

Its very student-driven. It benefits those who might want to go into education. The students are sometimes nervous but I think they do fine. They get to pick what station they are going to do and then figure out what they need for each station. I give them some direction and let them run with it, Kanode added.

Last year there were eight stations and this year they bumped it up to 11 including a farm version of the plinko game using a plastic egg to drop down to different prize buckets, a make-your-own-hobby horse head and then a chance to race against a friend and their horse on a track. The students could decorate a pot and then plant a seed in addition to using clay to make an animal picture.

Kanode has gotten some great feedback from the event. She said, This years most popular stations seemed to be planting the seed, building a playdough farm and shading farm animals. Along with the egg drop and tractor pull paintings! Oh and of course, they always love the book fair and face painting.

The art department had a little help from ag teacher Miranda Hornung as the theme was ag related. Props were brought in by Spanish teacher Lisa Ricenbaw and the prizes for the egg drop plinko were donated by school counselor Denice Kovanda.

The shop department, assisted by art students, built the plinko egg drop and the frame for the barn along with the picket fence.

Inside and outside of the gym was an art show of all of the students artwork. From kindergarten to seniors, the art was on display both inside the gym where farm animal sculptures were placed near the barn backdrop and art was hung on the walls.

Kanode sends home an art portfolio at the end of the school year with all of her students. She encourages them to host a gallery showing at home with their parents and other family members. The high school art students have already started working on a theme for next year.
AURORA  Hamilton County Fairgrounds is again hosting a time-honored favorite fundraising event, the Nebraska Mennonite Relief Sale.

Beginning at 4 p.m. Friday, March 31, ending Saturday afternoon, April 1, the fairgrounds (located in Aurora) will have a Ten Thousand Villages (Lincoln) pop-up sale, meals (including a traditional Mennonite meal), handmade quilts and crafts, food items and more. A special auction for kids is slated for Saturday.

Friday kicks off with an evening meal from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the fairgrounds Ag Building, serving sloppy joes or hot dogs plus beans, chips and a drink.

A 7 p.m. Friday night auction will feature items such as meats, crafts, tools and home decor. The Friday auction runs until 8 p.m.

Friday also marks the opening of booths and concessions, which will be open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and they will be open again on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Saturday is the biggest day of the event and will have breakfast served from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the 4-H Building.

The general auction kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with items like quilts, comforters, wall hangings and table runners up for bid. An art auction starts at 10 a.m. The childrens auction is that morning at 11 a.m. All children must be accompanied by an adult with a bidder number.

From 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., attendees can dine on a traditional verenika meal, which puts the Mennonite verenika (cheese-filled dumplings) in the spotlight with cream gravy, ham, coleslaw, zwieback and a drink.

If the Mennonite ethnic favorite isnt on your to-try list, there will also be a Windsor loin and barbecue chicken meal.

The event continues until everything is gone  nothing is to go to waste, according to the sales website.

Grab your bidder number and stock up on snack items such as leftover chips, candy and soda. Dont want to cook? Snag some leftover soup, verenika, Windsor loins and more.

The two-day event supports Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches that is dedicated to meeting emergency needs and assisting in economic development throughout the world with more than 1,000 MCC people working in 60 countries.

The organization provides relief like food and shelter in times of emergency, as well as long-term prevention efforts.

For example, according to the MCC website, the organization helped Haitians affected by the 2010 earthquake learn safer building strategies. Mennonite Central Committee also aids in development, such as helping families around the world learn how to support themselves and making peace education efforts.

Over the past 43 years, the Nebraska Mennonite Relief Sale has raised a total of $6,066,628.28 for Mennonite Central Committee to support both global and Nebraska-specific relief projects, according to a statement.

Learn more about the Nebraska Mennonite Relief Sale at the Nebraska Mennonite Relief Sale website, nebraskamccsale.org.
All of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilots intended to leave the national carrier, according to Khaqan Murtaza, Director General (DG) of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who testified before a Senate committee. According to the DG, around 35% of the pilots' earnings were taxed, as he explained before the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation, according to The Express Tribune. He continued by saying that in addition, a charge was also levied on pilots' flying time.

"Most of the times you hear about flight cancellations, the reason for this is the shortage of pilots," he said. Senator Mohsin Aziz, a member of the panel, inquired that the PIA would ever turn profitable in their lifetimes.

Also read: Delhi Police Arrests Two Ground Staff For Stealing Phone, Smartwatch At Delhi Airport

PIA CEO Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Amir Hayat replied that the national carrier was making an operational profit, The Express Tribune reported. Senator Aziz told him to inform the panel about the overall profit of the airline, and not just that of its operation. The PIA CEO then switched to the subject of pilots` licences. He said there were 141 pilots with questionable licences, adding that 69 of them had been cleared.

The DG told the panel that action was being taken against those who had acquired fake licences as well as those who assisted them. He continued that the issue was blown out of proportion when former Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had claimed on the floor of the National Assembly that 40 percent of the PIA pilots had dubious licences, The Express Tribune reported.

With IANS Inputs
Mumbai: Dubbed as one of veteran actor Satish Kaushiks last films, Mirg has completed post production and gearing up for release. The film stars Raj Babbar, Anup Soni & Shwetaabh Singh along with Satish Kaushik in pivotal roles.

MIRG is a mountain leopard found in the lower regions of Himachal Pradesh. There are numerous myths surrounding this rarely seen creature. Myths and stories are what separates Mirg from a normal leopard. Stories that are larger than life yet strangely believable. A genre bender, Mirg explores the journey of one man, Anil, a smart, yet caged, order following boy. Set in the jungles of Himachal, MIRG is a heist-gone-wrong revenge drama, a journey of realization that in the jungle the difference between the hunter and the hunted is just one letter.

Director, Tarun Sharma said, My main aim while approaching MIRG was to give the audience an engaging film. Every aspect of filmmaking should come together to create something engaging, transporting people into an alternate reality. That for me is the magic of cinema. I was blessed with a wonderful and involved crew. Having stalwarts like Raj Babbar, Satish Kaushik and Anup Soni in my debut film was a blessing. Satish Kaushik was the first actor on board and to my surprise he agreed to do the film within 2 hours of me sending the script. To this day I cant believe that he is no more. His childlike passion for cinema is something I shall never forget. I really wanted him to see the final product but that is one feeling that shall remain regretfully unfulfilled. I must also add, Shwetaabh gave a breakthrough performance standing up to such senior actors.

Speaking about MIRG, actor Raj Babbar said, I thoroughly enjoyed shooting for this film. We had a blast. Tarun is a brilliant director; he really gives his actors a free hand to grasp the characters their own way. This technique gets you much more attached to the character and you grow a sense of responsibility to really do justice to it. Every actor in this film has delivered nuanced performances.

Actor Anup Soni added, MIRG is many films within a film. The story line is unpredictable and the treatment is very fresh. It was a dream come true for me to be in a film with such brilliant actors like Satish Kaushik Sir and Raj Babbar ji. Tarun is a visionary; I blindly followed his lead and Im glad I did. Now I can't wait for it to hit the screens".

MIRG is majority financed by UK based Studio RA and Produced by Rishi Anand, NaMa productions (Shwetaabh Singh) & OneShot Films (Tarun Sharma), Mirg is shot in Districts of Himachal like Una, Hamirpur, Govind Sagar Lake and jungles of Himachal.
New Delhi: Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and the man of ChatGPT has scheduled a world tour for the months of May and June 2023. The objective of the tour is to interact with OpenAI users, developers, and anybody else who is interested in artificial intelligence (AI) globally. On Twitter, Altman announced the news and invited followers to accompany him on the trip to provide comments, suggest features, and express other views on AI.

16 cities, including Toronto, Washington, DC, Rio de Janeiro, Lagos, Madrid, Brussels, Munich, London, Paris, Tel Aviv, Dubai, New Delhi, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo, will be included in Sam Altman's forthcoming world tour, which will take place across five continents. (Also Read: Man Loses Apple Watch In Sea, Finds Days After In Working Condition - Here's How)

In order to gather opinions and thoughts on artificial intelligence, the CEO of OpenAI intends to meet with decision-makers and deliver speeches in some of these locations (AI). (Also Read: How To Use ChatGPT? This Man Earns Rs 28 Lakhs By Teaching Basics Of AI Chatbot)

Sam Altman will stop in New Delhi, the Indian capital, as part of his global tour. OpenAI has developed a form that interested people can complete to make interactions with Altman easier.

The form asks for basic information like a person's name and email address as well as why they want to meet with Altman. Also, the form allows those with the means to plan an event for 500 or more persons to express their interest.

The expanding AI community in India is expected to respond well to Altman's visit there. Altman is a key person in the AI revolution, and his ideas and suggestions are likely to have a significant impact on how mankind develops in the future.

Altman recently discussed his aspirations and anxieties for both the developer community and humanity during a podcast interview with Lex Fridman. Altman holds a prominent position in the industry, thus his opinions are highly regarded and widely used.
New Delhi: Amid the spree of layoffs by tech companies, American entrepreneur Richard Bransons rocket company Virgin Orbit has announced to fire 675 employees, or 85% workforce after it failed to secure new investment. The move will eventually reduce expenses in light of the companys inability to secure meaningful funding. Hence, the firm will cease its operations, which marks a blow to the dream of Brandson to have his satellite launch vehicle company. The firing of employees will be substantially completed by April 3, 2023. And the company is expecting to recognize the majority of these charges in the first quarter of 2023.

ALSO READ | Centre Exempts Import Duty On Drugs, Food Used For Treatment Of Rare Diseases

The company announced to incur the aggregate cost of approximately $15 million, consisting primarily of $8.8 million in severance payments and employee benefits costs and $6.5 million in other costs primarily related to outplacement services and WARN act exposure.

The companys stocks plummeted drastically after its rocket failed in an attempt to send 9 satellites of UK to orbit.

About Virgin Orbit

Virgin Orbit is a private rocket company that provides launch services for small satellites. It was a brainchild of Richard Brandson founded in 2017. It comes under Virgin Group. It is trying to venture into space tourism by developing re-launch rockets to send people back and forth.

At the beginning of the year, Virgin Orbit failed to make a successful first launch. The company used a modified 747 jet to send satellites into space. But the rocket caught fire and nine satellites onboard wouldnt reach orbit.
HOSHIARPUR: Punjab Police expanded their search for Amritpal Singh on Friday to 'deras' and other possible hideouts of the fugitive preacher in Hoshiarpur district, where some suspects had abandoned their car following a chase three days ago. Police sources said barricades have been placed at key points and a thorough search of all vehicles in Marnaian and nearby villages including Harkhowal, Bibi Di Pandori and Bassi was underway.

They said police officials were also searching deras, residential places, small rooms set up near tubewells and even shelter for animals in several villages.

Hoshiarpur Senior Superintendent of Police Sartaj Singh Chahal said they were maintaining strict vigil. There were reports that Joga Singh, said to be an aide of Amritpal Singh, has been held, but many senior police officials denied having any information about it.

The radical preacher has been on the run since a police crackdown on his outfit Waris Punjab De on March 18. He has, however, appeared in two purported videos and an audio clip released on social media in the past three days.

In the latest video, the Khalistan sympathiser asserted he was not a fugitive and would soon appear before the world. In the audio clip, he debunked speculation he was negotiating his surrender and nudged the Akal Takht for the second time to summon a "sarbat khalsa" congregation to discuss issues related to the Sikh community.

The hunt to nab Amritpal Singh was launched in Hoshiarpur district Tuesday night following inputs the radical preacher and his aides could be there.

It began after police chased an Innova SUV from Phagwara, which some sources said may have carried Amritpal Singh and his aides. The occupants abandoned the vehicle near Gurdwara Bhai Chanchal Singh in Marnaian and disappeared.

Officials said there were also inputs the suspects could have used a Swift car after abandoning the SUV.

Police had recovered another vehicle from Phagwara which they suspected could have been used by the fugitive and his aide Papalpreet Singh. Police had conducted a door-to-door search but no success has been achieved yet.

Punjab Police have been on a high alert since Amritpal Singh escaped their net in Jalandhar on March 18. The crackdown on Waris Punjab De chief was launched about three weeks after his supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested man.

He and his associates have been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

Police had stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal Singh may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines Golden Temple in Amritsar and Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.
New Delhi: Under sharp attack from the BJP, the Congress on Thursday sought to distance itself from remarks of party leader Digvijaya Singh over the German Foreign Ministry`s remarks on the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha, saying that the party firmly believes that India`s democratic processes themselves have to deal with the "threats posed to democracy".

Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Kiren Rijiju, and Anurag Thakur strongly reacted to Digvijaya Singh`s remarks. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Indian judiciary cannot be influenced by foreign interference."Thank you Rahul Gandhi for inviting foreign powers to interfere in India`s internal matters.

Remember, Indian Judiciary can`t be influenced by foreign interference. India won`t tolerate `foreign influence` anymore because our Prime Minister is:- Shri @narendramodi Ji," Rijiju said in a tweet over Divijaya Singh`s remarks. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it is apparent that Congress wants foreign interference in India`s domestic affairs.

"Apparent that @INCIndia wants foreign interference in our affairs. Sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Communist Party of China with opaque contents. During interactions abroad, plead for help to change the government.

Thank them when help is forthcoming. Any more proof needed?" she said in a tweet. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said Congress and Rahul Gandhi don`t believe to fight India`s "democratic, political and legal battle within the country" Disgrace to the nation, @INCIndia & @RahulGandhi don`t believe to fight India`s democratic, political & legal battle within the country, hence, invite foreign powers to interfere in our internal matter. But New India headed by @narendramodi Ji will not tolerate any foreign intervention," Thakur said.

Digvijaya Singh, MP and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister on Thursday thanked Germany for "taking note" of Rahul Gandhi`s disqualification from Parliament as Lok Sabha MP.

"Thank you German Foreign Affairs Ministry and Richard Walker for taking note of how the Democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi," Digvijaya Singh said in a tweet, reacting to another tweet about German Foreign Ministry spokesperson`s comments.

During a press briefing that was aired on German state-owned international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), the spokesperson stated that her country "expects that the standards of judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles will apply in the case.

"We have taken note of the verdict of the first instance against the Indian opposition politician Rahul Gandhi as well as the suspension of his parliamentary mandate. To our knowledge, Mr. Gandhi is in a position to appeal the verdict," she is heard saying in the clip of the briefing shared on Twitter by Richard Walkar the Chief International Editor of DW"It will then become clear whether this verdict will stand and whether the suspension of his mandate has any basis," the spokesperson added.

Earlier this week US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the US is watching Rahul Gandhi`s case in Indian courts. Patel, responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi`s disqualification said that the US engages with the Indian government on a shared commitment to democratic values, including freedom of expression.

Seeking to contain political damage over Digvijaya Singh`s remarks, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Congress and opposition parties will fight the Modi government fearlessly."@INCIndia firmly believes that India`s democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to our democracy by Mr. Modi`s assault on our institutions & his politics of vendetta, intimidation, threats & harassment.

INC & Oppn parties will take him on fearlessly," Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet. Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a Surat district court on March 23 and sentenced to two years imprisonment in a criminal defamation case over his `Modi surname` remark made during a rally in 2019.

He was later disqualified from Lok Sabha. The sentence of two-year imprisonment has been suspended for 30 days by the court to enable Rahul Gandhi to move to higher courts.

Rahul Gandhi`s disqualification from the Lower House of Parliament triggered a massive political row with the BJP stating that the Congress leader was "a habitual loose cannon" and the Congress alleging that he was got "deliberately disqualified".It is not the first time that Congress has distanced itself from Digvijaya Singh`s remarks.

In a press conference in Jammu and Kashmir during Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi referred to Digvijaya Singh`s remarks about the need for proof concerning the surgical strike as a "ridiculous thing"."I do not agree with what Digvijaya Singh said.

We have full trust in our Army. If Army takes action, there is no need for proof. I personally disagree with his statement and Congress's official position is also that this is his personal opinion," Rahul Gandhi had said. Digvijaya Singh had said the government talks of surgical strikes.

"They claim to have killed so many people but no proof is given," he had said. Rahul Gandhi had said Digvijaya Singh`s views were outlying."I would like to assure you that Digvijaya Singh`s views are outlying. They are not views that are held by the center of the party.

We are absolutely crystal clear that the armed forces do a job. They do a job exceptionally well and they do not need to be providing proof for anything...I am sorry to have to say this about a senior leader, he said a ridiculous thing," Rahul Gandhi had said.
peeterv / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Social Security was never intended to be the complete source of income for retirees, but unfortunately, in many cases it is. For seniors that can't generate any additional sources of income, moving to a low-cost state can be a big help, particularly if they're leaving high-cost areas like Southern California or New York City. States in the South and Midwest in particular can really help retirees stretch their Social Security checks.

Social Security: Romney Asks Why 25% Drop in Funds Isn't in Biden's Budget

Find Out: 3 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Retirement

To find out which are the 10 best states to live on a Social Security check, GOBankingRates analyzed data on rental rates for a one-bedroom apartment and the overall cost of living from a variety of sources, including the 2020 American Community Survey and the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.

The most affordable states, as determined from the data, are listed here in reverse order. All states have rents well below the national average of $1,067.80. Perhaps not surprisingly, the bulk of the states on the list are in the South or the Midwest.

Steven Frame / Shutterstock.com

10. South Dakota

2022 Average Rent: $751

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 93.8

South Dakota is a state to consider for retirees because the cost of living is below the national average and rents are quite reasonable, running over $300 below the national average for a one-bedroom apartment.

Take Our Poll: Do You Think the US Should Raise the Medicare Tax on High Earners To Help Save the Program?

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

9. Missouri

2022 Average Rent: $797

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 88.6

Missouri's average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is just under $800 per month, making it a very affordable option for retirees. Other expenses run more than 11% below national norms.

traveler1116 / iStock.com

8. Alabama

2022 Average Rent: $809

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 87.5

Alabama is part of the solid block of Southern states that offer an affordable place to live for those on limited incomes, such as seniors only drawing a Social Security check. You can expect to pay about 12.5% less than your fellow Americans when living in Alabama.

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Davel5957 / iStock.com

7. Oklahoma

2022 Average Rent: $827

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 85.7

Oklahoma is one of the most affordable states in the country, with a cost of living more than 14% below the national average. Rent is a bit high for a "low-cost" state, but if you can find a deal on rent, live with a roommate or otherwise contain your housing expenses, you'll find your Social Security check can go a long way there.

Housing Market 2023: Is a Double-Digit Drop in Prices Coming?

Davel5957 / iStock.com

6. Kansas

2022 Average Rent: $814

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 86.4

Kansas is one of the cheapest states in the Union, with a cost of living nearly 14% below the national average. Rents run a bit high compared to some other states on the list, but still far below what others across the country are paying.

Davel5957 / Getty Images

5. Wyoming

2022 Average Rent: $751

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 91.8

If you want to remain in the West and still live off Social Security, Wyoming is your best bet. You'll pay about 8.2% less on average for all your expenses, including well below-average rent on a one-bedroom apartment.

Solange_Z / Getty Images

4. North Dakota

2022 Average Rent: $675

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 96.7

Those looking to save money on rent might do well by moving to North Dakota. With average one-bedroom rents running below $700, you'll pay more than 30% below the national average.

Learn: 10 US Real Estate Markets To Avoid for Now

SeanPavonePhoto / iStock.com

3. Mississippi

2022 Average Rent: $799

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 84.9

Mississippi has the lowest cost-of-living index of any state on the list, making it an excellent choice for those looking to stretch their Social Security checks.

Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

2. Arkansas

2022 Average Rent: $724

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 89.9

Arkansas has a combination of relatively low one-bedroom rents and a low overall cost of living, good enough to make it the second-best state for retirees looking to stretch their Social Security income.

Steve Cukrov / Shutterstock.com

1. Iowa

2022 Average Rent: $712

Overall Cost-of-Living Index: 89

Iowa tops the list for best states to live on just a Social Security check thanks to a number of factors. Overall, the cost of living is about 11% below the national average, while one-bedroom rents are about one-third less than national norms.

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the best states to live on only a Social Security check based on the (1) average monthly benefit for retired workers, $1,628.17, sourced from Social Security Administration; (2) the overall cost of living in each city, sourced from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center's 2022 Quarter 2 Cost-of-Living data series; and (3) the average 2022 rent for a one-bedroom apartment as sourced from ApartmentList's September 2022 data. Factors (2) and (3) were scored and combined with the lowest score being the best. All data was collected and is up to date as of Oct. 25, 2022.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Best States To Live on Just a Social Security Check
Three men were arrested for allegedly opening fire inside a brothel earlier this month on central Delhi's GB Road and killing a sex worker, police said on Friday.

The accused ? Kaka, 19, Happy 20, and Anil, 22 ? were arrested in raids in western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, they said.

The shooting, in which a pimp too had been injured, had taken place March 7 around 2 pm at a brothel on GB Road.

The victims were a 30-year-old sex worker and a 28-year-old pimp, police said.

Both were rushed to LNJP hospital in injured state, where the sex worker succumbed. She was shot in the back of her neck.

The three accused were captured on CCTV talking to someone on mobile and identified. They were arrested in raids at different places in Western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Sanjay Sain said.

During interrogation, police found that Kaka used to work at a sweets shop in Mayur Vihar and knew that the shop counter will be flush with money during the festival season.

He hatched a plan to rob the place with his friends Happy and Anil, Sain said.

Happy and Kaka arranged a pistol from Bihar and reached New Delhi Railway Station on March 7, and were joined by Anil, who came from Punjab.

Since they were a little early, they decided to visit a brothel on GB Road and met Imran, a pimp, who took them to a kotha.

"After reaching the kotha, they had some confrontation with Imran and others. During the confrontation, Imran and a sex worker noticed that they were carrying a pistol," Sain said.

Afraid they might be reported to police, the three tried to flee, but were stopped by Imran and the sex worker.

During their scuffle, Kaka took the pistol from Happy and fired indiscriminate shots at sex worker and Imran and fled, the DCP said.
The violence in West Bengal's Howrah during the Ram Navami procession on Thursday and the vandalisation of temples and homes on Friday has led to a war of words between the ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition BJP. While the BJP claimed that the appeasement politics of the ruling party is behind the incident, the TMC alleged that it was a conspiracy of the saffron party to polarise the society for political gain. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has moved a PIL in the Calcutta High Court seeking an NIA probe into the incident. Adhikari said the chief minister must step down for her failure to control the violence and "apologise to Hindus for the attacks on their properties."

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged in a press conference that the procession was taken out without police permission as part of a long-term attempt of the saffron camp to disrupt peace and harmony. He also claimed that intelligence feedback suggested that the violence at Kazirapa was a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched by the BJP which wants to divide people on the basis of religion for political gains.

In today's DNA, Zee News' Rohit Ranjan has analysed the growing incidences of attacks on religious procession and categorisation of areas with terms like 'Muslim Area' and 'Hindu Area' in a secular nation like India.

Rohit wondered whether the Bengal violence is state-sponsored because police were present during the attacks but did nothing to control the violent mob. Rohit also reminded viewers that the mob violence occurred a day after Mamata Banerjee's statement where she was heard warning Hindus.

Violence broke out on Thursday evening between two groups when a Ram Navami procession was taken out at Kazipra in Howrah. Several vehicles, including some belonging to the police, were torched and shops and auto-rickshaws were ransacked. In fresh unrest, policemen deployed at Kazipara were pelted with stones on Friday afternoon.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is "morally corrupt politician", recalling his 2013 opposition to an amendment of a bill that would have allowed a convicted MP to remain a parliamentarian.

Sarma said the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had tried to bring the amendment, but Gandhi "denounced him publicly" and "tore" a copy of the ordinance.

"And now, Congress President Mallikarjun Khagde is demanding that convicted MP's should not be disqualified," he said.

"Rather than growing a spine, he is misguiding Kharge to protest against his own stand, which he had taken in 2013. I have not seen a politician in this country so morally corrupt like Rahul Gandhi," Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here.

Gandhi should tell people of the country he stands for the cause that a convicted MP/MLA should be disqualified immediately, the chief miniser said.

The former Congress president was recently convicted by a Surat court in a defamation case and subsequently disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP.
Indore: The death toll in the Indore temple stepwell collapse incident has increased to 35, Indore Collector Dr. Ilayaraja T said on Friday."A total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment.

The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," Indore Collector said. "The 18 hours long rescue operation started at around 12:30 on Thursday, and is still ongoing," Collector Ilayaraja T added. According to officials, a team of 75 army personnel along with NDRF and SDRF are engaged in the operation.

Stepwell collapse at Indore temple | Death toll rises to 35



18 people were admitted to the hospital, out of which 2 people have been discharged. 35 people died. One person is still missing. Army, NDRF & SDRF teams are conducting search & rescue operation: Indore Collector Dr pic.twitter.com/3Ff6VzAkXs  ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 31, 2023

At least 14 devotees were killed after the roof of a stepwell collapsed during a `hawan` organized at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in Patel Nagar area of Madhya Pradesh`s Indore on the occasion of Ram Navami.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced Rs 5 lakh exgratia to the kin of the deceased while Rs 50,000 to the injured."An ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh will be given to next of kin of deceased while Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured," Chouhan told reporters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to take stock of the situation. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers are with all those affected and their families."
Jammu Kashmir Police on Friday claimed to have arrested two hybrid terrorists of a Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit involved in an attack on a social media journalist in the Shopian district of South Kashmir last year. Police said that it has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) and as the investigation progressed, the police managed to round up a number of suspects based on oral, circumstantial and technical evidence.

During questioning, two suspects identified as Suhaib Reyaz son of Reyaz Ahmad Mir and Anayat Ullah Iqbal son of Mohammad Iqbal Wani, both residents of Saidapora Payen admitted their involvement in the terror attack. It also came to the fore that both were working as hybrid terrorists of the proscribed terror outfit TRF-an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

According to the police spokesman, on their disclosure, the weapon of offence viz a pistol along with its magazine and 05 pistol rounds besides, an IED has been recovered from the orchards of village Saidapora Payen Shopian.

Further investigation of the case is still going on, reads the statement.

Waseem Ahmad Wani (27), a resident of Heerpora area of Shopian, who ran a YouTube news channel, escaped unhurt after two motorcycle-borne militants shot at him on December 25 last year.
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court on Thursday disqualified Janata Dal (Secular) MLA Gowrishankar, however, it put a stay on the order immediately, upon the request of the leader`s lawyer, for one month considering the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Gowrishankar will have to appeal to the Supreme Court and get a stay on the High Court`s judgment within one month of the order. The move of the High Court comes as a jolt to the party ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, the dates of which have been declared this week. Gowrishankar is an MLA from the Tumkur Rural assembly constituency.

The JDS MLA was disqualified for allegedly distributing fake insurance policy bonds to 32,000 adults and 16,000 children aiming to garner votes ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections.

The application was filed by BJP leader Suresh Gowda who alleged that Gowrishankar won the election illegally by offering fake bond bait. He urged the court to invalidate his MLA position.

Senior advocate Nalina Mayegowda presented arguments for Suresh Gowda. As the verdict was delivered, Gowrishankar`s lawyer R Hemanta Raj filed an interim petition seeking a stay on the judgment given the declaration of assembly elections.

The bench allowed the petition and stayed the order for 30 days. As the election was annulled by the High Court, Gowrishankar can be disqualified from contesting elections for six years under the Representation of the People Act. So, the option before Gowrishankar is to file an appeal in the Supreme Court within 30 days. Gowrishankar will be allowed to contest the election only if he gets a stay of the High Court`s decision.

The Election Commission of India on March 29 declared the schedule for the Assembly elections in Karnataka. The polling would take place in a single phase on May 10, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Wednesday.

The counting of votes will be done on May 13, the CEC said in a press conference in the national capital."There are 224 Assembly constituencies of which 36 are reserved for the SCs and 15 for the STs.

The total electorates in the state are 5,21,73,579 crores of which males are 2.62 crores and females are 2.59 crores. The total number of 80 plus electors is 12.15 lakhs. It is an increase of 32 percent from 2018. It also includes 16,976 proud electors who are 100 plus.

The number of persons with disabilities (PWDs) has increased to 5.55 lakhs. This is an increase of close to 150 percent," Kumar said. The CEC also laid down the security measures for the identified sensitive booths in the state.

"There are 58,282 polling stations in Karnataka of which 20,866 are urban. The average number of electors per polling station comes to 883. On all the sensitive booths which have been identified, we take four to five measures. Either there would be CAPF, web-casting, or a micro-observer. With the combination of all of these, we tend to put more vigour and vigil on the sensitive booths," he informed.
With the Karnataka Election dates announced, the BJP and Congress are working to release the list of candidates for all 224 assembly seats. The BJP is in no mood to field weaker candidates on any seat and thus taking a bit longer to zero in on the final list. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai today said BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa along with the Parliamentary Board will take a call on fielding the latter's son B Y Vijayendra from Varuna constituency, from where Congress leader Siddaramaiah is slated to contest. Bommai's statement came a day after Yediyurappa, a former CM, did not rule out the possibility of Vijayendra taking on Siddaramaiah in Varuna in Mysuru district in the May 10 Assembly elections.

"As our senior leader B S Yediyurappa has said we (BJP) will give a tough fight (in Varuna) and he has wished to field Vijayendra, which is also the desire of the people of that area. The final decision will be taken by Yediyurappa as well as the BJP Parliamentary Board," Bommai told reporters outside Ghati Subrahmanya Temple near here.

The process of preparing a list of candidates has started and it will be released soon. BJP will get a clear majority in the state: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai

Bommai also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will get a clear majority in the upcoming Assembly elections. The chief minister was speaking to the media at the Ghati temple in Doddaballapur taluk of Bengaluru Rural district today. CM Bommai said, "A lot of poll surveys have been done and it shows the rivalry. Not in favour of Congress. There is still a month and a half to the elections and many changes are being seen."

Talking about the upcoming elections, the CM said, "The process of preparing the list has started and it will be released in another week."

Talking about the meeting of opinion gathering of potential candidates, he said, "The opinion of the office bearers at the grassroots level is being collected, and it will be submitted to the Parliamentary Board after consultation at the district and taluk level."

Targeting the leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah, the CM said, "Siddaramaiah is desperate. The last election was in 2013. Contested again in 2018 and now is dreaming again. It is not important that a person becomes the Chief Minister."

"What he can do for the people of the state as Chief Minister is important. People rejected him in 2018 and will reject him this time too...He could have done this in response to opposition parties` claims that reservation was an election gimmick. This is a 30-year demand. He did not go on this adventure because of a lack of commitment. People are seen as vote banks. We have done the impossible for them. Thus, he has started a turmoil and he will do politics at all costs," Bommai further remarked.

The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections. The polling would take place in a single phase on May 10, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Wednesday.The counting of votes will be done on May 13, the CEC said in a press conference here. Detailing the data of the electors, the CEC said that there are a total of 5.21 crores in the state and the number of 100 plus voters is 16,976.He informed that over 58,000 polling stations would be set up across the state. (With PTI/ANI inputs)
New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Friday (March 31) visited the site of the stepwell collapse in Indore amid the ongoing rescue operations. The incident claimed 35 lives till now as per an ANI report.

Chouhan said that an FIR has been registered and a magisterial inquiry ordered into the incident. He further said that action will be taken against the people responsible for the incident. "The current priority is the rescue operation. The injured will be treated free of cost. PM has also announced ex-gratia amount to the victims. We have ordered an inspection of such step-wells and borewells across the state," he further said.

#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan along with his cabinet ministers inspects rescue efforts at the site of the stepwell collapse in Indore.



The incident has claimed 35 lives till now. pic.twitter.com/qx8APzgpyh  ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 31, 2023

During a ceremony for Ram Navami at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Indore, the slab that was constructed over an ancient stepwell collapsed, causing many devotees to fall into the water below.

The temple was built about four decades ago by covering the square-shaped stepwell in Patel Nagar.

The recovery operation, assisted by the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), is almost complete, and as of now, 35 bodies have been found in the well, except for one missing person.

Stepwall collapse at a temple in Indore: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the injured victims at a hospital in Indore. The death toll in the incident stands at 35. pic.twitter.com/3Oo6LJdCaI  ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 31, 2023

The District Magistrate, Dr. Ilayaraja T, said that the missing person is still being searched for and that there is a lot of silt in the well that needs to be cleared. Sixteen injured individuals were taken to the hospital, and two were sent home after receiving first aid.

A joint team of the Army and the NDRF worked together to retrieve the bodies from the well, but the rescue operation was initially slowed down by the narrowness of the temple's construction. Witnesses reported that the temple floor collapsed under the weight of the large crowd of devotees during the religious ceremony. The local residents shared that the temple was constructed by placing a slab over the ancient stepwell.
A Delhi court today rejected former Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia's bail application in the excise policy case lodged by the CBI. Special Judge M K Nagpal dismissed Sisodia's plea. The Rouse Avenue Court had on March 24 reserved its order on the AAP leader's bail plea. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption and irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

Sisodia is presently in judicial custody and scheduled to be produced before the court on April 3, 2023. The court last week reserved the order on bail plea after the counsel representing the CBI submitted brief written submissions and judgements concerned, as directed by the court on the last date of the hearing.

The CBI also submitted case dairy detail and several statements of witnesses in the matter. Sisodia, in his bail petition in a trial court stated that no fruitful purpose would be served to keep him in custody as all the recoveries in the case have already been made. Sisodia also stated that he joined the investigation as and when called for by the CBI.

The other accused persons arrested in this case have already been granted bail, Sisodia noted further, adding that he held the important constitutional post of deputy CM of Delhi and has deep roots in the society. However, Sisodia later tendered his resignation as deputy CM in light of his arrest in the liquor policy case.

The CBI, represented by advocate DP Singh, opposed Sisodia's bail plea stating, "If he is granted bail, this will scuttle and compromise our investigation as the influence and interference are writ large," CBI said. The agency further claimed that Sisodia said he destroyed phones because he wanted to upgrade but nothing of the kind happened.

"According to us, he did this to destroy the chat. He (Manish Sisodia) might not be at a flight risk, but he is a definite risk who will destroy evidence, this cannot be ignored," CBI added, opposing Sisodia's bail plea.

The CBI also submitted that between March 14-17, 2021, the South Group was residing in Oberoi, adding that they prepared a note and took a printout. "They got 36 pages of photocopies. There were meetings and a printout was made. We have evidence to show that clauses were given and a report was prepared," the CBI stated.

Earlier, the Rouse Avenue Court, while sending Sisodia to CBI remand, directed that the interrogation of the accused during the remand period shall be conducted at some place having CCTV coverage, in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and the said footage shall be preserved by the CBI.

The CBI and ED is carrying out investigation into alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Earlier, the trial court observed that the accused had joined the investigation of this case on two earlier occasions, but he had failed to provide satisfactory answers to most of the questions put to him during his examination and interrogation, thus, failing to legitimately explain the incriminating evidence which allegedly surfaced against him during the investigation. (With agency inputs)
The body of a married woman was found buried in a vacant plot in Greater Noida with dogs nibbling on it Friday, a fortnight after her brother approached police fearing her death by her in-laws over dowry.

Police said they had lodged an FIR on March 15 based on the brother's complaint and are probing the case. However, a police official said the charge of ?dowry death? does not stand in cases where marriages outlast seven years.

The body of Sarita (26) was found in Sector 155, Noida, by locals who spotted dogs nibbling on what appeared to be a human body buried shallowly in the ground, a day after intense rains and thunderstorms.

"When the locals went near, they saw a woman's cloth after which they alerted the local Knowledge Park police station," the official said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Ashok Kumar Singh said the police immediately reached the spot and the body was exhumed.

"The brother of the deceased had lodged an FIR on March 15 under IPC sections 365 (abduction), 498A (husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty) and relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act against her husband and six relatives," Singh said.

The forensic team has been roped in for investigation, the body has been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the cause of the death and further legal proceedings are underway, he said.

"Raids are being conducted to arrest those named in the FIR," the additional DCP said.

In the FIR, Sarita's brother Narender Bhati, a resident of Tusyana village, has stated that his sister was being tortured and harassed over additional dowry by her husband and in-laws.

He said his family had spent Rs 10 lakh and given a motorcycle to Sarita's husband Joginder when they got married in 2015, but the in-laws taunted her regularly over dowry. He said he had approached the police in March 2021 also but the matter was mediated and brought to a compromise by elders of the community.

In his complaint, Bhati said since March 8, 2023, Sarita's phone was unreachable and when he inquired, her sister-in-law said she had ?run away?.

"However, we are sure that my sister has been killed by her in-laws. Hence, I request the police to find her body and take necessary action against the suspects," the brother stated.

On Friday, police said they have included IPC Section 302 (murder) in the case.

No arrest has been made in the matter so far but efforts are underway to nab the accused, police added.
As per the report by Fortune Business Insights, the global IP camera market Size is projected to reach USD 13.09 billion in 2029, at a CAGR of 14.1% during the forecast period, 2022-2029

Pune,India, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global IP Camera Market size was evaluated at USD 4.91 billion in 2021. The market is projected to grow from USD 5.20 billion in 2022 to USD 13.09 billion by 2029, showcasing a CAGR of 14.1% during the 2022-2029 period. Growing adoption of video analytics in BFSI, healthcare, and other sectors and rising use of advanced technologies in smart homes and public places will propel market expansion in the coming years. This information is provided by Fortune Business Insights, in its report titled, IP Camera Market Forecast 2023-2029.

Key Industry Development-

Wasabi Technology, a leading provider of cloud storage service for online streaming and video surveillance, joined forces with Axis Communication, a network service provider for IP video surveillance platforms. Under this partnership, Axis Communication used the Wasabi cloud platform for the distribution of video surveillance network.





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Report Scope & Segmentation

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2022 to 2029 Forecast Period 2022 to 2029 CAGR 14.1% 2029 Value Projection USD 13.09 Billion Base Year 2021 IP camera market Size in 2021 USD 4.91 Billion Historical Data for 2018 to 2020 No. of Pages 160 Segments covered Product Type, Connection Type, End User, Region













Key Takeaways-



IP camera market is expected to flourish & reach USD 13.09 Billion in 2029

An IP monitoring camera plays an important role in providing a wireless video analysis service to its consumer.

Growing incidences of data theft and data leakage will hinder market growth during the forecast period

Fixed lead camera due to heavy usage in industrial and residential areas.

IP camera market size in Asia pacific was USD 2.53 Billion 2021

Story continues

Drivers and Restraints-

Widespread Adoption of Video Analytics in Various Sectors to Drive the IP Camera Market Growth

Video analytics enables users to watch and analyze video surveillance footage of long durations with ease. It also allows the operator to capture and identify crucial surveillance footage such as road and traffic monitoring and industrial operations in real time. IP cameras provide seamless video analytics services without any wired connection to the consumer. After analyzing the footage, it sends a security alert to the operator through the IP network. These benefits of the video analytics system are increasing its adoption in the BFSI, government and public, healthcare, transportation and logistics, oil & gas, mining and automotive sectors, which is driving market growth.

On the other hand, concerns regarding data safety and privacy and rising incidences of data theft and leakage will act as challenges for businesses operating in this domain.





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Regional Insights-

Asia Pacific to Capture Significant Share due to Availability of Camera Lens Manufacturing Units

Asia Pacific captured majority of the global market share in 2021 and was gauged at USD 2.53 billion. The market in this region is driven by presence of advanced camera lens manufacturing companies and research & development facilities in Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea. Also, India is focusing on building advanced electronic and semiconductor manufacturing facilities to attract global investors and boost market expansion. Meanwhile, China is dominating the Asia Pacific market share backed by research and development activities to develop advanced products to be at par with the competitors and garner larger revenues.

In North America, the U.S generated the largest revenue in 2021 owing to the presence of major key players in the country. Additionally, rising concern regarding public security amid growing gun shooting incidents at schools has increased the demand for IP cameras.

In the Europe region, Germany is dominating the market by capturing the largest share stoked by the presence of modern and advanced manufacturing facilities in the country. The high crime rates in European countries such as Italy, Sweden, Hungary and Moldova creates the need for video surveillance and video analytics, thus attributing to market growth.

Report Coverage-

The report provides valuable insights into market share, growth rate, sales amassed, and valuation of the global market. It also covers the drivers, opportunities, challenges, and threats that are likely to affect market trends in the forecast period. Moreover, latest information pertaining to tactical moves made by industry leaders, such as partnerships, collaborations, and mergers & acquisitions, are documented as well.

Segments-

Hardware Segment to Lead Backed by Extensive Use of Camera Lenses and Mountings

Based on component, the market is bifurcated into hardware and services. Among these, the hardware segment captured a significant IP camera market share in 2021 owing to the heavy use of various types of hardware such as camera lenses and mountings. Moreover, cameras are long lasting and expensive and are bought sparingly, thus boosting the demand for camera hardware.

Fixed Camera Segment to Dominate Owing to Growing Use in Industrial and Residential Sectors

As per product type, the market is split into fixed camera, pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera, and infrared camera. Among these, the fixed camera segment dominated the market due to its rising use in residential and industrial sectors.

Centralized Segment to Capture Largest Share Due to the Use of Conventional Centralize Connection Network

By connection type, the market is divided into centralized and distributed. Among these, the centralized segment dominated the market in 2021 owing to the use of conventional centralize connection network.

Government and Public Sector to Hold Largest Share Backed by Growing Need for Video Analytics and Surveillance Solutions

According to end user, the market is segmented into residential, commercial, and government and public. Among these, the government and public segment held the largest share due to the growing need for high-end video analytics and surveillance solutions to monitor roads and public places such as bus stands, airports, railway stations, and metro stations.

Geographically, the market is segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa.





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Competitive Landscape-

Product Launches by Leading Companies to Escalate Market Augmentation

Industry leaders often make tactical decisions to boost revenue generation, increase sales, enlarge profit margins, or enhance geographical reach. One such move is the launch of new products to enhance product offerings and attract new consumers. For example, in April 2020, Bosch Security System GmbH introduced the INTEOX open platform. This platform enables users, application developers, and integrators to customize their plans to develop better surveillance solutions.

List of Key Players Mentioned in the Report-

Sony Corporation (Japan)

Bosch Security Systems GmbH (Germany)

Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.)

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (South Korea)

D-link corporation (Taiwan)

Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd. (China)

Avigilon Corporation (Canada)

Belkin International Inc. (U.S.)

CP Plus (India)

GEOVISION Inc. (Taiwan)

Major Table of Contents-

Introduction Definition, By Segment Research Methodology/Approach Data Sources

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Supportive Macro and Micro Economic Indicators Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities and Trends Impact of COVID-19 Short-term Impact Long-term Impact

Competition Landscape Business Strategies Adopted by Key Players Consolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players Global IP Camera Market Key Players Market Share Insights and Analysis, 2021

Global IP Camera Market Size Estimates and Forecasts (Quantitative Data), By Segments, 2018-2029 Key Findings By Component (USD Bn) Hardware Services By Product Type (USD Bn) Fixed Camera Pan-Tilt-Zoom Camera (PTZ) Infrared Camera By Connection Type (USD Bn) Centralized Distributed By End-User (USD Bn) Residential Commercial Government and Public By Region (USD Bn) North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa South America

North America IP Camera Market Size Estimates and Forecasts (Quantitative Data), By Segments, 2018-2029 Key Findings By Component (USD Bn) Hardware Services By Product Type (USD Bn) Fixed Camera Pan-Tilt-Zoom Camera (PTZ) Infrared Camera By Connection Type (USD Bn) Centralized Distributed By End-User (USD Bn) Residential Commercial Government and Public By Country (USD Bn) U.S. By End-Users Residential Commercial Government and Public Canada By End-Users Residential Commercial Government and Public Mexico By End-Users Residential Commercial Government and Public



TOC Continued!





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Related Report-

HD Security Cameras Market Share, Industry Report, 2023-2030

Surveillance Camera Systems Market Revenue Growth Forecast to 2030

Video Analytics Market Share, Revenue And Growth Rate Till 2029

FAQ:

How big is the IP camera market?

The global IP camera market size was valued at USD 4.91 billion in 2021. The market is projected to grow from USD 5.20 billion in 2022 to USD 13.09 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 14.1% during the forecast period.

How big is IP camera market in Asia pacific?

The market in Asia Pacific stood at USD 2.53 Billion in 2021 and is expected to gain a huge portion of the market share in the coming years.

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New Delhi: Violence broke out in parts of Maharastra, Gujarat, and West Bengal on the occasion of Ram Navami on Thursday (March 30). In Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, 56 people were arrested in connection with reported clashes over music being played outside a mosque while Namaz was going on, the police said on Friday (March 31).

"The situation is peaceful now and till now we have arrested 56 people. The accused are being identified with the help of CCTV footage. Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed till Friday," Krushikesh Rawale, ASP, Jalgaon said as quoted by ANI.

Similarly, in Gujarat's Vadodara, people allegedly pelted stones during a procession in the Fatehpura area on Ram Navami on Thursday. At least 22 people have been caught in connection with the incident. This was the second such violent incident on the same day. Before this, a stone-pelting incident occurred during a procession in the Kumbharwada area of Vadodara, reported ANI.

Home Minister of Gujarat Harsh Sanghavi stated that additional law enforcement personnel have been dispatched to Vadodara and that severe consequences await the perpetrators of the violence. According to Shamsher Singh, the Commissioner CP of Vadodara City, some disruptive individuals attempted to throw stones at the procession, but the police responded promptly and resolved the issue. More than 20 individuals have been detained, and Singh declared that the police will deal firmly with them.

According to PTI, in West Bengal, police said incidents of violence and arson were reported in the Howrah district during Ram Navami celebrations. Two groups clashed, resulting in the torching of vehicles and the ransacking of shops. A number of people were detained in connection with the incident, and the chief minister Mamata Banerjee promised that those responsible would face the full force of the law.

The violence occurred during a procession in the Kazipara locality, where shops and auto-rickshaws were damaged, and several cars, including police vehicles, were set on fire. The police used force to disperse the mob, and a large police presence was deployed to the area to control the situation. Banerjee accused the BJP of inciting communal tensions during the festival and alleged that the party had hired goons from other states to orchestrate the violence. She emphasized that she did not support those who incited riots and called on citizens to be vigilant in their localities.
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Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Friday (March 31) blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other right-wing organisations for the violence in Howrah on Ram Navami. Banerjee said that the state government will help people whose properties were vandalised and appealed to the people to maintain peace in the area.

"Howrah's incident is very unfortunate. Neither Hindus nor Muslims were behind the violence in Howrah. The BJP along with Bajrang Dal and other such organisations were involved in the violence with arms," Banerjee told Bengali television news channel ABP Ananda as quoted by PTI.

At least 31 people have been arrested in connection with the violent clashes in Howrah, said Banerjee. The police said that vehicles were torched and shops were ransacked in the area. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attributed these incidents to "laxity in a section of the administration" during the Ram Navami festivities.

Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari hit out against Banerjee's accusations. "The chief minister and the state administration are responsible for the violence," Adhikari said.

Violence was also reported in parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat on Ram Navami.

In Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, 56 people were arrested in connection with reported clashes over music being played outside a mosque while Namaz was going on, the police said on Friday (March 31).

Similarly, in Gujarat's Vadodara, people allegedly pelted stones during a procession in the Fatehpura area on Ram Navami on Thursday. At least 22 people have been caught in connection with the incident. This was the second such violent incident on the same day. Before this, a stone-pelting incident occurred during a procession in the Kumbharwada area of Vadodara, reported ANI.
West Bengal Leader Of Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari today said that he has filed a Public Interest Litigation in Calcutta High Court seeking a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the violence related to the Ram Navami procession in the state. Adhikari also sought the deployment of central forces in violence-hit areas. The Leader of the Opposition said that the PIL has been listed on Monday.

"I have filed a Public Interest Litigation today in the Honble High Court at Calcutta pertaining to the incidents of violence & attack on the Ram Navami processions at Howrah & Dalkhola. I have prayed for NIA probe and immediate deployment of Central Forces in such areas for containing the situation and restoration of Law and Order situation as well as for saving innocent lives. The Honble Acting Chief Justice has been pleased grant leave to file the PIL and directed the same to appear on Monday at top of the list," said Adhikari.

I have filed a Public Interest Litigation today in the Honble High Court at Calcutta pertaining to the incidents of violence & attack on the Ram Navami processions at Howrah & Dalkhola. I have prayed for NIA probe and immediate deployment of Central Forces in such areas...

(1/2) March 31, 2023

Adhikari also alleged that the Police are not doing their work. "Police are silent spectators. They are not doing anything. All houses of Hindus have been vandalised. All Hindus in the Kazipara area had to flee to save their lives...I will meet the injured and thereafter go to the Police Commissioner's office. CP has refused to meet me. CM (Mamata Banerjee) has given directions to him. But I will go there and carry a CD of yesterday's incidents with me," said Adhikari in Howrah.

On the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today alleged that the BJP along with other right-wing organisations was responsible for violence in the industrial town of Howrah on Ram Navami. She appealed to people to maintain peace in the area.

#WATCH | West Bengal: Situation turns violent in Shibpur area of Howrah. Fresh violence broke out here today, a day after arson on 'Ram Navami'. pic.twitter.com/4QyV1VSNuJ  ANI (@ANI) March 31, 2023

"Howrah's incident is very unfortunate. Neither Hindus nor Muslims were behind the violence in Howrah. The BJP along with Bajrang Dal and other such organisations were involved in the violence with arms," Banerjee said in a TV interview.

The Bengal CM said that the state government will help all those whose properties were vandalised in the clashes. "Thirty-one people have been arrested in connection with Thursday's violence in Howarh," the CM said. Claiming that there was 'laxity in a section of the administration', she said strict action would be taken against those involved in the clash.

Clashes broke out between two groups during Ram Navami festivities. Several vehicles were torched, and shops ransacked in the area, police said. The situation in and around the Kazipara area in the district, which witnessed clashes between two groups during Ram Navami, was peaceful on Friday and under control as large numbers of police force remained deployed in the area on Friday. (With PTI inputs)
Washington: Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga is poised to become the next President of the World Bank which on Thursday said he is the sole nominee for the post as no other candidates were nominated.

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors will interview Banga before he is formally appointed.

In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history."

The World Bank on Wednesday closed a month-long window for nominations for its next president, with no alternatives announced to 63-year-old Banga.

Banga is the only application received for the position of president of the World Bank, the financial institution said.

?The Board received one nomination and would like to announce that Mr Ajay Banga, a US national, will be considered for the position,? the bank said.

?In accordance with established procedures, the Board of Executive Directors will conduct a formal interview with the candidate in Washington D.C., and expect to conclude the Presidential selection in due course,? said a media release issued by the bank.

The bank has not announced the timing of the interview.

The former Mastercard Inc. Chief, Banga currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic.

A new leader of the World Bank is expected to be chosen by early May.

?Over the next few months, you will see the World Bank undergo an important transition. We expect that Ajay Banga ? President Biden's nominee ? will be elected President of the World Bank,? US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.

?He will be charged with accelerating our progress to evolve the institution to better address 21st-century challenges. This evolution will help the Bank deliver on its vital poverty alleviation and development goals,? Yellen said.

If confirmed, Banga would become the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Banga is expected to replace the current World Bank president David Malpass, who will step down in June, nearly a year before his term is scheduled to expire.

Malpass faced strong criticism over the bank's commitment to climate action and over his personal views on climate change.

Last week, reports emerged that China sounded doubtful about backing Banga, saying it is "open" to supporting "other potential candidates" based on merit.

Banga, however, received overwhelming support from major countries across the world, including India.

Following Banga's nomination, he has travelled to several countries for support.

A coalition of 55 advocates, academics, executives, luminaries, and former government officials -- including four Nobel Laureates -- wrote an open letter to welcome and support Banga's nomination as the next President of the World Bank.

Raised in India, Banga has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity, President Biden had said.

He has also worked closely with Vice President Harris as the Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016.

Banga is expected to take over the reins of the anti-poverty lender at a crucial time, with the US and Western nations pitching for reforms to focus on addressing a slew of wide-ranging global issues like climate change.
New Delhi: Oravel Stays - which operates hospitality tech firm OYO - on Friday pre-filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with stock market regulator Sebi, sources said.

Sources close to the company told PTI OYO may launch its initial public offering (IPO) around Diwali this year.

Unlike the traditional route where companies have to launch the IPO within 12 months from the Sebi approval or final observation; in the pre-filing route, an IPO can be floated within 18 months from the date of Sebi's final comments. (Also Read: How To Use ChatGPT? This Man Earns Rs 28 Lakhs By Teaching Basics Of AI Chatbot)

This route also provides flexibility to change the primary issue size by 50 percent till the Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) stage. (Also Read: Man Loses Apple Watch In Sea, Finds Days After In Working Condition - Here's How)

Explaining the rationale for filing through the pre-filing route, a source said, "The market continues to be highly volatile globally and to an extent in India as well.

Filing through the pre-filing route will give OYO some leeway on the timing of the listing, as well as on fine-tuning the issue size, basis the market conditions, to between USD 400 to 600 million, all of which will now be a primary issuance, to repay most of its debt.

Though for now, an issue timing of around Diwali is likely once Sebi approves." OYO's last submission to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in November 2022, was of its updated financial results for the first half of the financial year 2022-23, claiming that potential investors need to be made aware of the material uptick in its business performance since its initial IPO application in September 2021.

The company's founder Ritesh Agarwal, in an employee townhall on Monday, said, "The company expects to clock adjusted EBITDA of nearly Rs 800 crore in FY2024, that is, the upcoming financial year.

We are taking measures to keep a healthy cash runaway and continue to operate in a cost-effective way. "We have a current cash balance of approximately Rs 2,700 crore and we hope we will end up consuming very little of it for existing operations. Our cash flow has shown improvement and our reliance on external funds has gradually decreased overtime."

He also mentioned that this performance can be attributed to sustained growth in India, Indonesia, the US and UK and relevant optimisation as well as synergies in its European vacation homes business.

OYO had filed preliminary documents with the Sebi on September 2021 for a Rs 8,430-crore IPO, including a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 7,000 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 1,430 crore.
New Delhi: Customers have been receiving letters allegedly from ministry of power, urging them to update their electricity bill immediately to avoid power connection getting disconnected. It asks them to call on the given number to speak to their helpline representative. Moreover, it warns consumer that their power connections be cut tonight in case of failing to update the bill. PIB fact check has confirmed that these are fake and has tweeted that Ministry of power has not issued this letter. It further warned consumers to be cautious while sharing their personal & financial information.

The fake letter sent to consumers by in disguise of ministry of power said: Dear consumer, Your electricity power connection will be disconnected tonight 09:00 pm. Because your previous month bill has not updated, please immediately call our electricity officer Mr Devesh Joshi.To update your bill call our electricity helpline number.

Scammers use different mechanism to dupe customers into their traps and siphone off money from their accounts. Its very important to double check any website link, number, and messages in order to ensure safety and security online. Public authorities regularly urge to customers to not share their personal details like account number, OTPs, passwords, so on. Its become very easy for hackers and scammers to peep into the account holder and transfer money by using sensitive and personal details.

As a customer, you must have to be cautious and vigilant while using online mediums. You have to double check the websites and links before giving any personal details.

What to do if you become a victim of cybercrime?

You have to immediately report or file an fIR in case you become the victim of cyberfraud. You can dial to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Helpline Number  1930 to register any complaint about cyber fraud.

How to report cyber crime complaints online:

1. Go to www.cybercrime.gov.in

2. Click on File a complaint.

3. Tap on the Report other cybercrime button.

4. Then, you need to enter the required details including name, email, phone number, etc.

5. An OTP will be sent on the registered mobile number that you need to enter and then the submit button.

6. After that, you can report the details of cybercrime you want in the form.
Indian Railways is expanding the presence of Vande Bharat Express trains in India. As a part of this expansion, PM Narendra Modi will flag off the 11th unit of train on the New Delhi-Bhopal route on April 1. The train will start its journey from Bhopal's Rani Kamlapati railway station in Madhya Pradesh to Delhi railway station from Agra Cantt station in Uttar Pradesh. The semi-high-speed train will cover a distance of 709 km in 7 hours and 50 minutes. To cover this the train will be travelling at a high speed for which the railways has started the trial runs.

The Ministry of Railways shared a video of the Vande Bharat Express being tested at high speed. The video shared on Twitter shows the advanced train rushing past a station at high speed between the Palwal-Agra section of the North Central Railway. Sharing the video, the Railway Ministry wrote, "An Exhilarating night, #Vandebharat Express cruising at a speed of 160kmph during its trial run between Palwal-Agra section of CPRONCR."

Also read: Cuttack Railway Station To Be Redeveloped With Rs 303 Crore Investment: Ashwini Vaishnaw

According to the present proposal, this express track will travel through the North Central Railway (NCR) zone at a top speed of 160 kph between Palwal and Agra, 130 kph between Agra and Lalitpur, and 120 kph between Lalitpur and Bina.

An Exhilarating night, #Vandebharat Express cruising at a speed of 160kmph during its trial run between Palwal-Agra section of @CPRONCR pic.twitter.com/H1re3sucK1  Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) March 30, 2023

Following the same pattern as other trains, the New Delhi-Bhopal Vande Bharat express will be travelling between the cities six days a week. Based on the proposed schedule the train will depart from Bhopal at 5:55 am, reaching Agra at around 11:40 am. After a 5-minute halt at the Agra Cantt station, the train will leave for Delhi, reaching the station at 1:45 pm.

On its return journey, the train will depart from New Delhi at around 2:45 pm and will get to Agra at 4:45 pm. The journey on the train will end at Rani Kamalapati railway station at 10:45 pm. It is to be mentioned that the schedule is still to be approved.

Besides the New Delhi-Bhopal route, Indian Railways is also planning on deploying Vande Bharat on the Jaipur-New Delhi, New Jalpaiguri-Guwahati route, and Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla route.
New Delhi: Along with the launch, ChatGPT is in the headline most of the time. But this time, the AI-powered Chatbot is not in the news for its feature. Now, it is in the headline due to the courses available on it. A real incident on social media goes viral of a man earns Rs 28 lakhs in just 3 months by teaching basics of ChatGPT. As per the Business Insider report, the man named Lance Junck.

Sounding unbelievable! But this is true. A man by the name of Lance Junck made over $35,000 or about Rs.28 lakhs in just three months. (Also Read: These Two LIC Schemes Ending Today For Investments: Check Calculator, Benefits)

According to Business Insider, Lance Junck, a 23-year-old, has started an online course on an education platform. The goal of the course was to instruct students on ChatGPT usage. (Also Read: Apple iPhone 14 Available At Lowest Ever Price! Here's How To Get In Just Rs 34,999 On Flipkart)

Almost 15,000 students from all over the world registered for the course in just three months. Almost $35,000 has been made so far from his course, "ChatGPT Masterclass: A Comprehensive ChatGPT Tutorial for Beginners."

In an interview with the magazine, Junck expressed his amazement at the AI app's capabilities and his desire to make the bot accessible to everyone. In order for them to utilise the magic tool to its fullest, he also saw a chance to teach others how to use it.

The learning curve for ChatGPT is "amazing," he said. As a result, Junk remarked, "I tried to make it warm, interesting, and approachable because I think people are kind of terrified of ChatGPT." Unfortunately, Junk was not given any official ChatGPT training. He acknowledged being self-taught.

Junck revealed that he works on the programme for several hours every day. To better understand how to prompt the bot, he instructs it to "do things like compose an introduction to a novel or product descriptions for certain foods," according to the article. Junk also mentioned that he reads all of the ChatGPT material available online.

According to the story, the seven-hour course created by Junk now costs $20. It was filmed by Junck over the course of almost three weeks and consists of 50 lectures targeted at beginners.

Most of the students who have signed up for Junck's course are from the US, but it has also drawn pupils from Canada, Japan, and India. students from the Middle East, Russia, and Venezuela. Students have enrolled from nations where ChatGPT is not yet accessible, according to Junck.
Company Logo

Dublin, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "LGBTQ+ Tourism - Case Study" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This case study looks at the increasing interest behind the niche tourism segment of LGBTQ+ Tourism. It discusses the concept of LGBTQ+ Tourism, motivations behind LGBTQ+ Tourism, LGBTQ+ Tourism in the media and the role of travel industry players and tourism bodies.

The case study also discusses the challenges facing LGBTQ+ Tourism and the impacts it may have as well as the potential benefits associated with LGBTQ+ Tourism. Finally, this case study looks at types of LGBTQ+ destinations and explores key destinations around the world.



Key Highlights



LGBTQ+ tourism is a type of travel that is specifically catered towards individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other non-heterosexual orientations.

This type of tourism includes destinations, activities, and events that are welcoming and accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities. LGBTQ+ tourism has grown in popularity in recent years, as more destinations and businesses have recognized the economic potential of this market segment. It is a way for LGBTQ+ individuals to explore new places, connect with other members of the community, and celebrate their identities in a safe and supportive environment.

The origins of LGBTQ+ tourism can be traced back to the emergence of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As LGBTQ+ individuals began to demand more rights and visibility, they also sought out spaces where they could gather and connect with others who shared their experiences and identities.

This led to the development of LGBTQ+ neighborhoods and enclaves in major cities, such as San Francisco's Castro District and New York's Greenwich Village, which became important centers for LGBTQ+ culture and tourism. LGBTQ+ tourism is a segment of the travel industry that focuses on serving the needs and interests of LGBTQ+ individuals.

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It is a market that has grown significantly over the past few decades as a result of changing societal attitudes towards LGBTQ+ individuals and the emergence of the LGBTQ+ rights movement. LGBTQ+ tourism is unique in that it is not simply about providing travelers with a place to stay or things to do; it is also about creating an environment in which LGBTQ+ individuals feel safe, accepted, and valued.



Reasons to Buy

Gain an understanding of LGBTQ+ Tourism.

Recognize the range of the potential challenges and associated benefits of LGBTQ+ Tourism.

Gain an understanding of LGBTQ+ Tourism motivations. Gain an understanding of the role of the media, travel industry players and tourism bodies.

Key Topics Covered:

LGBTQ+ Tourism overview

Main findings

Key Travel Players Supporting the LGBTQ+ Traveler

Understanding LGBTQ+ Tourism

LGBTQ+ Tourism motivations

LGBTQ+ Tourism in the media

The role of Travel Industry Players, Tourism Bodies and Governments

Potential benefits associated with LGBTQ+ Tourism

The challenges facing LGBTQ+ Tourism

Types of LGBTQ+ Tourism

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sydney, Australia

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Appendix

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

RSVP Vacations

Out Adventures

Intrepid Travel

Olivia Travel

IGLTA

Tzell Travel Group

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)

Airbnb

Marriott International

Delta Air Lines

American Airlines

TUI Group

Virgin Voyages

Hilton Worldwide

AIG Travel

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Pinterest

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/s6pnyp



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.

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




Washington: President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared.

The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies' normal authorities.

It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic. Combined with the drawdown of most federal COVID-19 relief money, it would also shift the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government.

Biden's announcement comes in a statement opposing resolutions being brought to the floor this week by House Republicans to bring the emergency to an immediate end. House Republicans are also gearing up to launch investigations on the federal government's response to COVID-19.

Covid-19 was declared national emergency on March 13, 2020

Then-President Donald Trump first declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency on March 13, 2020. The emergencies have been repeatedly extended by Biden since he took office in January 2021, and are set to expire in the coming months. The White House said Biden plans to extend them both briefly to end on May 11.

"An abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system for states, for hospitals and doctors' offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans," the Office of Management and Budget wrote in a Statement of Administration Policy.

Congress has already blunted the reach of the public health emergency that had the most direct impact on Americans, as political calls to end the declaration intensified.

Lawmakers have refused for months to fulfill the Biden administration's request for billions more dollars to extend free COVID vaccines and testing. And the $1.7 trillion spending package passed last year and signed into law by Biden put an end to a rule that barred states from kicking people off Medicaid, a move that is expected to see millions of people lose their coverage after April 1.

Cost of Covid-19 vaccines may rise after government stops buying them

The costs of COVID-19 vaccines are also expected to skyrocket once the government stops buying them, with Pfizer saying it will charge as much as $130 per dose. Only 15% of Americans have received the recommended, updated booster that has been offered since last fall.

Once the emergency expires, people with private insurance will have some out-of-pocket costs for vaccines, tests, and treatment, while the uninsured will have to pay for those expenses in their entirety.

Legislators did extend telehealth flexibilities that were introduced as COVID-19 hit, leading healthcare systems around the country to regularly deliver care by smartphone or computer.

The Biden administration had previously considered ending the emergency last year, but held off amid concerns about a potential "winter surge" in cases and to provide adequate time for providers, insurers and patients to prepare for its end.

A senior administration official said the three months until the expiration would mark a transition period where the administration will "begin the process of a smooth operational wind-down of the flexibilities enabled by the COVID-19 emergency declarations."

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the announcement before it had been released.

More than 1.1 million people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including about 3,700 last week.

Case counts have trended downward after a slight bump over the winter holidays, and are significantly below levels seen over the last two winters though the number of tests performed for the virus and reported to public health officials has sharply decreased.

Moments before the White House's announcement, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., accused the president of unnecessarily extending the public health emergency to take action on issues like forgiving some federal student loan debts.

"The country has largely returned to normal," Cole said Monday, introducing a Republican-backed bill calling for an end to the health emergency. "Everyday Americans have returned to work and to school with no restrictions on their activities. It is time that the government acknowledges this reality: the pandemic is over."
Lance Junck made close to $35,000 in just three months selling his ChatGPT course on Udemy. Courtesy of Lance Junck/Udemy

Lance Junck, 23, earned $35,000 in just three months selling his ChatGPT course on Udemy.

Junck's has enrolled over 15,000 students in his seven-hour "ChatGPT Masterclass."

He has no doubt the course will keep selling as people start to recognize "the power of the tool."

Workers are turning to OpenAI's ChatGPT to make their jobs easier  and one guy is raking in tens of thousands of dollars teaching people how.

In late December, Lance Junck, 23, launched an online course on education platform Udemy that teaches people to use ChatGPT. In just three months, Junck has enrolled more than 15,000 students from around the world in his "ChatGPT Masterclass: A Complete ChatGPT Guide for Beginners," raking in $34,913 in profits so far, according to screenshots of his sales dashboard reviewed by Insider.

When the Austin-based, full-time brand strategist first used ChatGPT last November, he was "blown away" by its impressive generative capabilities. Junck said he wanted to make the bot accessible to everyone and saw an opportunity to teach people how to use the tool with an online course.

"There is an incredible learning curve to ChatGPT," he said. "I think people are kind of afraid of ChatGPT, so I tried to make it warm and exciting and approachable."

Junck admits that he's self-taught: He said he spends hours on the bot every day, asking it to do things like write an introduction to a novel or product descriptions for certain foods to better understand how to prompt the bot.

On top of that, he said he consumes "every piece of ChatGPT content" on the internet, including articles and posts on LinkedIn, GitHub, and Reddit.

The 'ChatGPT Masterclass' has enrolled more than 15,000 students globally

The course, which is more than seven hours long and is now priced at $20, includes 50 lectures aimed at beginners and took Junck three weeks to film.

It starts with how to write your first ChatGPT prompt, then moves into specific ChatGPT applications for businesses, students, and programmers. It also includes tutorials on how to make art with AI image generator DALL-E 2, suggestions on the best ChatGPT plug-ins, and even an introduction to GPT-4, OpenAI's newest language model.

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Within a week, 90 students enrolled in the course, Junck said. Since then, the course has enrolled between 200 and 250 new students each day. 15,250 students have taken the course as of the time this article was written, according to Udemy.

Students, he said, are anywhere from 20 to 50 years old, and include college students and working professionals. While the majority come from the US, Junck's course has attracted students in India, Japan, and Canada. Students from Venezuela, Russia, and parts of the Middle East  countries where ChatGPT isn't available  have also flocked to the course, he said.

Junck credits the demand for his services, in part, to his expertise in marketing and SEO, which he said is why his course is one of the first to appear amid 1,266 results when searching for ChatGPT on Udemy. He also promoted the course on LinkedIn.

Some students didn't like the course, but the demand continues to rise

While the responses to the course has been mostly positive  it has a 4.5-star rating on Udemy  some students said his course is too surface-level and not any better than free ChatGPT-instruction videos on YouTube, according to course reviews on Udemy.

Still, demand continues to rise, and Junck has even expanded his ChatGPT instruction beyond Udemy to target companies.

He's taught startups like ClearDesk how to implement ChatGPT into their marketing, human resources, and operations teams. He has gotten paid speaking opportunities to teach companies like CEO advisory firm Sage Executive Group and tech news site HPCwire how to use ChatGPT, according to emails reviewed by Insider.

Jerry Rollins, the chairman of Sage, told Insider that Junck's services were "very informative and insightful." Tom Tabor, a spokesperson for HPCwire, told Insider that "Lance has a current grasp of the GPT space and the possibilities of the technology." "We needed his insights of the tech so we could understand how to integrate it into our business processes," Tabor said.

Jeff Amon, the cofounder of ClearDesk, told Insider that his company has been working with Junck for months and is "excited" about how ChatGPT is being integrated into the business.

Junck, who has no formal AI training, admits that he's had doubts around whether the course would sell. He said he's wondered whether there's "some kid at Cornell getting his PhD in large language models" teaching ChatGPT that would "blow me out of the water."

Still, given the meteoric rise of generative AI tools, Junck believes there will be an even greater need for AI courses in the near future.

As of April, Udemy has enrolled 417,212 students across more than 429 ChatGPT classes on the site  an increase of 47% from the previous month, Callie Kaminski, a Udemy spokesperson, told Insider.

Junck, who is running his business on top of his full-time job at an e-commerce company, said he plans to add lectures on how to use other generative AI tools like Microsoft's new Bing and Google's Bard when they are officially launched to the public. He also wants to focus on striking larger deals with companies, he said.

Have you used ChatGPT or other AI chatbots in an interesting way? Email the reporter at amok@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2nd Malaysia-China Intervarsity Chinese Debate Competition has just concluded, and Multimedia University (Malacca campus) was crowned the champion by a narrow margin of 3:2 over Wuhan University. The competition, jointly organised by Confucius Institute at SEGi University and Hainan Normal University, aimed to provide a platform for young people from Malaysia and China to communicate and enhance mutual understanding, thereby promoting friendship between the two countries.

The 2nd Malaysia-China Intervarsity Chinese Debate Competition successfully concluded, hosted by Universiti Malaya, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, and University Technology Sarawak.

A total of 26 teams from Malaysia and China clashed in intense competition, sparking brilliant debates through the sparks of their thinking. Chen Yanxin, from Multimedia University (Malacca Campus), was awarded the Best Debater and Most Promising Debater honours for her excellent performance.

An award presentation and closing ceremony were held after the final. His Excellency Ouyang Yujing, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Malaysia, graced the closing ceremony and delivered his speech, emphasising the importance of the debating competition in promoting cultural exchange between China and Malaysia's youth and showcasing the beauty of the Chinese language.

Professor Dr Azrin Esmady Ariffin, Vice-Chancellor of SEGi University, extended a warm welcome to all the guests and students and expressed appreciation for the enthusiasm and vigour of exchanging ideas with the youth of Malaysia and China. He thanked the Confucius Institutes at the Universiti Malaya, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, and University Technology Sarawak for co-organising the debating competition and the Chinese Embassy's continuous support.

Professor Guo Jianchun, the president of Hainan Normal University, applauded the Multimedia University (Malacca campus) team for winning the competition, saying it was an outstanding achievement of Chinese education in Malaysia. Representatives from Multimedia University (Malacca campus) and the Wuhan University teams also shared the memorable days spent preparing for the competition and the international friendship they forged with fellow debaters throughout the match.

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The Malaysia-China Intervarsity Chinese Debate Competition provides a platform for the two countries' youth to unite through exchanges, explore the future through in-depth thinking, and unfold their passion. SEGi University & Colleges is confident that the following year's "Malaysia-China Intervarsity Chinese Debate Competition" will continue to be excellent.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/2nd-malaysia-china-intervarsity-chinese-debate-competition-concludes-successfully-promoting-cultural-exchange-and-enhancing-understanding-between-nations-301786605.html

SOURCE SEGi University & Colleges
Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited (NZSE:RBD) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. This means that investors who purchase Restaurant Brands New Zealand's shares on or after the 5th of April will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of April.

The company's next dividend payment will be NZ$0.19 per share, which looks like a nice increase on last year, when the company distributed a total of NZ$0.16 to shareholders. 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! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

View our latest analysis for Restaurant Brands New Zealand

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. Restaurant Brands New Zealand paid out more than half (62%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Restaurant Brands New Zealand paid out more free cash flow than it generated - 135%, 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.

While Restaurant Brands New Zealand's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, cash is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Were this to happen repeatedly, this would be a risk to Restaurant Brands New Zealand's ability to maintain its dividend.

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Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That explains why we're not overly excited about Restaurant Brands New Zealand's flat earnings over the past five years. It's better than seeing them drop, certainly, but over the long term, all of the best dividend stocks are able to meaningfully grow their earnings per share.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Restaurant Brands New Zealand's dividend payments are effectively flat on where they were 10 years ago.

To Sum It Up

Should investors buy Restaurant Brands New Zealand for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share have not grown and Restaurant Brands New Zealand's profit payout ratio looks reasonable. However, it paid out a disconcertingly high percentage of its cashflow, which is a worry. With the way things are shaping up from a dividend perspective, we'd be inclined to steer clear of Restaurant Brands New Zealand.

With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of Restaurant Brands New Zealand don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. We've identified 2 warning signs with Restaurant Brands New Zealand (at least 1 which is a bit concerning), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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.

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THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT FOR GENERAL RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD VIOLATE APPLICABLE LAWS OR REGULATIONS

This is a joint press release by Koninklijke DSM N.V. (DSM), Firmenich International SA (Firmenich) and Danube AG, to be renamed DSM-Firmenich AG (the Company) in connection with the voluntary public exchange offer by the Company for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the share capital of DSM (each such share, a DSM Ordinary Share) (the Exchange Offer)), pursuant to Section 4, paragraph 3 of the Dutch Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit openbare biedingen Wft). The Exchange Offer is not being made, and the DSM Ordinary Shares will not be accepted for purchase from or on behalf of any holder of DSM Ordinary Shares (a DSM Shareholder), in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Exchange Offer or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the terms of the offering circular in relation to the Exchange Offer dated 22 November 2022 (the Offering Circular).

KAISERAUGST, Switzerland, HEERLEN, Netherlands, and GENEVA, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On 23 January 2023, the acceptance period during which DSM Shareholders can tender their DSM Ordinary Shares into the Exchange Offer was extended as not all competition clearances would have been obtained by 31 January 2023 (the initial expiry date of the acceptance period). On 23 February 2023, we announced that we obtained nine out of the ten required competition clearances (including those in the European Union and China), and that the last competition clearance that is pending is the Indian competition clearance.





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Logo Combined Logo



We would make a public announcement once the Indian competition clearance has been obtained, and extend the acceptance period until two weeks after that announcement, but not before 17:40 hours CET on 7 March 2023 and no later than 17:40 hours CEST on 11 April 2023. To date, we have not yet obtained the Indian competition clearance.

Status of Indian competition clearance

The vacancy in the board of the relevant competition authority in India (the Competition Commission of India or CCI) has not yet been filled, but the CCI has resumed adopting decisions. Currently the CCI is processing a backlog of merger filings, including ours, and while it is taking some more time the decision is expected to be forthcoming.

As a result, and in accordance with our public announcements of 23 January 2023 and 23 February 2023, the expiry date of the extended acceptance period (11 April 2023) must be extended somewhat further.

End date of the extended acceptance period

We will make a public announcement immediately upon obtaining the Indian competition clearance. The acceptance period is hereby further extended until two weeks after clearance is obtained, but no later than 17:40 hours CEST on 12 May 2023. The end date of the acceptance period will be specified in the press release.1

1 Pursuant to an exemption (ontheffing) granted by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets on 30 March 2023 which is restricted to and conditioned on the contents of this press release.

Antitrust investigation

On 8 March 2023, Firmenich announced that four antitrust authorities have started an industry wide investigation, and that unannounced inspections were carried out at Firmenich's offices in France, Switzerland and the UK.

Firmenich and DSM will provide a further update to the market shortly by way of a supplement of the Offering Circular.

Tendered shares and withdrawal rights

DSM Shareholders who have already tendered their DSM Ordinary Shares are not required to take any action, but they may withdraw their tendered DSM Ordinary Shares in the extended acceptance period, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Offering Circular.

DSM Shareholders who have not yet tendered their DSM Ordinary Shares or who have withdrawn their tendered DSM Ordinary Shares in accordance with the above but want to tender again, are requested to take action via their financial intermediary within the extended acceptance period. Certain intermediaries may set an earlier deadline in order to be able to timely communicate the tender to the exchange agent. For more information, please see section 14.9 of the Offering Circular.

Announcements

Announcements in relation to the exchange offer are issued by means of a press release. Any joint press release issued by the Company, DSM and Firmenich is made available on the website of the Company (www.creator-innovator.com).

Subject to any applicable requirements of the applicable laws and without limiting the manner in which the Company, DSM and Firmenich may choose to make any public announcement, the Company, DSM and Firmenich will have no obligation to communicate any public announcement other than as described in the Offering Circular.

Further information

Capitalised terms used but not defined herein are defined in the Offering Circular. This announcement contains selected, condensed information regarding the Exchange Offer and does not replace the Offering Circular. The information in this announcement is not complete and additional information is contained in the Offering Circular as supplemented. The Company confirms that the contents thereof are still applicable to date and remains the basis for the investment decision on whether or not to tender the DSM Ordinary Shares into the Exchange Offer. A digital copy of the Offering Circular and supplements is available on the website of the Company (www.creator-innovator.com/en/offering-circular-and-egm/).

General restrictions

The Exchange Offer is being made in and from the Netherlands with due observance of such statements, conditions and restrictions as are included in the Offering Circular. The Company reserves the right to accept any tender under the Exchange Offer, which is made by or on behalf of a DSM Shareholder, even if it has not been made in the manner set out in the Offering Circular. The Company's authorisation to issue the DSM-Firmenich shares in exchange for the tendered DSM Ordinary Shares remains valid through to the extended Settlement Date.

The distribution of the Offering Circular and/or the making of the Exchange Offer in jurisdictions other than the Netherlands may be restricted and/or prohibited by law. In particular, subject to certain exceptions, the Offering Circular is not for general circulation in the United States. The Exchange Offer is not being made, and the DSM Ordinary Shares will not be accepted for purchase from or on behalf of any DSM Shareholder, in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Exchange Offer or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the terms of the Offering Circular. Persons obtaining the Offering Circular are required to take due note and observe all such restrictions and obtain any necessary authorisations, approvals or consents (to the extent applicable). The Exchange Offer is conducted in accordance with the applicable laws of the Netherlands. Outside of the Netherlands, no actions have been taken (nor will actions be taken) to make the Exchange Offer possible in any jurisdiction where such actions would be required. In addition, the Offering Circular has not been filed with nor recognised by the authorities of any jurisdiction other than the Netherlands. Neither the Company, nor DSM, nor Firmenich, nor any of their advisers accept any liability for any violation by any person of any such restriction. Any person (including, without limitation, custodians, nominees and trustees) who forwards or intends to forward the Offering Circular or any related document to any jurisdiction outside the Netherlands should carefully read section 16 (Restrictions) and section 17 (Important Information) of the Offering Circular before taking any action. The release, publication or distribution of the Offering Circular and any documentation regarding the Exchange Offer, the making of the Exchange Offer or the issuance and offering of the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares in jurisdictions other than the Netherlands may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession the Offering Circular comes should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions. Any failure to comply with any such restrictions may constitute a violation of the law of any such jurisdiction.

United States of America

Unless otherwise determined by the Company, the Exchange Offer is not being, and will not be, made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by the use of the mails of, or by any means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, telephonically or electronically) of, interstate or foreign commerce of, or of any facilities of a national securities exchange of, the United States except to DSM Shareholders who (i) are "qualified institutional buyers" as such term is defined in Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act, and each such person, a QIB) and (ii), to the Company's satisfaction (in its sole discretion), have duly completed and returned to the Company a letter confirming that it is a QIB and agreeing to certain transfer restrictions applicable to the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares (a U.S. Investor Letter) available from the Company (each an Eligible U.S. Holder). Accordingly, to be eligible to receive DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Offer, each DSM Shareholder that is a U.S. Person and that is a QIB must make their acceptance known through their custodian, bank or stockbroker by executing and delivering a U.S. Investor letter to such custodian or intermediary no later than 17:40 hours CEST on the Acceptance Closing Date. The custodian, bank or stockbroker may set an earlier deadline for communication by DSM Shareholders in order to permit the custodian, bank or stockbroker to communicate its acceptances to the Settlement Agent (ABN AMRO) in a timely manner. Accordingly, Eligible U.S. Holders holding DSM Ordinary Shares through a financial intermediary should comply with the dates communicated by such financial intermediary, as such dates may differ from the dates and times noted in the Offering Circular.

The form of a U.S. Investor Letter will be distributed to custodians, nominees and other financial intermediaries to distribute to those they hold for in due course and is also available to QIBs from the Company. Any U.S. Person who is not a QIB, or in respect of whom no U.S. Investor Letter is received before 17:40 hours CEST on the Acceptance Closing Date, will be a Restricted Shareholder and will be treated as set out under section 14.35 (Notice to DSM Shareholders in certain jurisdictions) of the Offering Circular.

The DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any other applicable law of the United States and accordingly, the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares may not be reoffered, resold or transferred, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act.

Any DSM Shareholder located in the United States at the time of the Transactions will be required to make certain representations, warranties and undertakings in respect of their status as QIB (the QIB Confirmations), in order to receive the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares on the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date.

If a beneficiary to DSM Ordinary Shares located in the United States is unable to make the QIB Confirmations on behalf of itself or the person on whose behalf such DSM Ordinary Shares are held, any DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted to such person will instead be transferred to a sales agent, and such DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares will be sold on his, her or its behalf with the proceeds being remitted to such person within five days of the Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during the Acceptance Period, or within five days of the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during any Post-Closing Acceptance Period.

Additional information is included in section 16.1 (United States of America) of the Offering Circular.

Forward looking statements

Certain statements in this press release other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs and projections and on information currently available to the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and all of which are based on its current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe", "expect", "may", "will", "seek", "would", "could", "should", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "assume", "predict", "anticipate", "annualised", "goal", "target", "potential", "continue", "hope", "objective", "position", "project", "risk" or "aim" or the highlights or negatives thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of DSM-Firmenich's strategy, short-term and mid-term objectives and future plans that involve risks and uncertainties.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not undertake and it expressly disclaims any duty to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections of the Directors in office at the time of this press release and the Company's management, public statements made by it, present and future business strategies and the environment in which DSM-Firmenich will operate in the future. By their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause DSM-Firmenich's actual results and future events to differ materially from those implied or expressed by forward-looking statements. The DSM Shareholders and other prospective investors are advised to read section 2 (Risk Factors) of the Offering Circular for a more complete discussion of the factors that could affect the DSM-Firmenich's future performance and the industry in which DSM-Firmenich operates. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialise, or should any of the assumptions underlying the above or other factors prove to be incorrect, DSM-Firmenich's actual results of operations or future financial condition could differ materially from those described herein as currently anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. In light of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions underlying the above factors, the forward-looking events described in the Offering Circular may not occur or be realised. Additional risks not known to the Company or that the Company does not currently consider material could also cause the forward-looking events discussed in the Offering Circular not to occur.

About Firmenich

Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 127 years. Firmenich is a business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its excellent research, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers innovation in formulation, a broad palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies such as biotechnology. Firmenich delivered CHF 4.7bn of sales in the financial year ended 30 June 2022.

About DSM

DSM has transformed during its 150+ year history into today's health, nutrition & bioscience global leader. The Dutch-Swiss company specializes in nutritional ingredients for food and feed with proven world-leading bioscience capabilities and an international network of high-quality manufacturing sites that underpin a business model of global products, local solutions and personalization and precision. For Health, Nutrition & Bioscience (excluding Materials), DSM delivered 7.3bn of sales in the calendar year 2021, with adjusted EBITDA of 1.4bn and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 19%.

Transaction website

Please visit www.creator-innovator.com for additional materials on the Transactions.

SOURCE Firmenich
TOKYO and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Haruo Naito, "Eisai") and Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB, Corporate headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts, CEO: Christopher A. Viehbacher, "Biogen") announced today that three additional detailed analyses from the Phase IIb clinical study (Study 201), evaluating the efficacy and safety of lecanemab for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild AD (collectively known as early AD), were published in the peer-reviewed journals.

Eisai logo. (PRNewsFoto/Eisai Inc.)

Detailed results on biomarker, cognitive, and clinical effects from Study 201 core to OLE (open-label extension): Alzheimer's Research and Therapy Consistency of efficacy results across various clinical measures and statistical methods in Study 201: Alzheimer's Research and Therapy ARIA (amyloid-related imaging abnormality) profile in Study 201: Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions

Study 201 was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2b trial conducted in 856 patients with early AD. Its core study evaluated key efficacy assessments, including clinical change on the AD Composite Score (ADCOMS) as the primary endpoint at 12 months and as key secondary endpoints, ADCOMS, Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum-of-Boxes (CDR-SB) and AD Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale 14 (ADAS-Cog14) at 18 months. Following analysis of the 18-month core phase, an intervening off-treatment period (gap period) ranging from 9-59 months (mean 24 months) was taken, which was followed by an OLE with 10 mg/kg IV bi-weekly lecanemab dosing to assess long-term safety and tolerability. The results of the primary analysis in the core study including clinical efficacy and biomarkers have already been published, showing a consistent reduction in clinical decline across several clinical and biomarker endpoints with lecanemab 10 mg/kg bi-weekly dosing.

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1. Detailed results on biomarker, cognitive, and clinical effects from Study 201.

"Lecanemab in patients with early Alzheimer's disease: detailed results on biomarker, cognitive, and clinical effects from the randomized and openlabel extension of the phase 2 proofofconcept study"

In the core 201 study, lecanemab was shown to reduce brain A accumulation measured by amyloid PET in a dose- and time-dependent manner after 12 and 18 months of treatment, and corresponding changes in plasma biomarkers and reduction in clinical decline. During the gap period, a trend was observed for plasma A42/40 ratio and p-tau181 values to return to the pre-administration levels (re-accumulation) faster than amyloid PET.

In the OLE, lecanemab 10 mg/kg biweekly treatment showed a decrease in brain amyloid beta (A) accumulation measured by amyloid PET, a decrease in the plasma A42/40 ratio, and a decrease in plasma p-tau181.

The potential for disease modification with lecanemab is supported by an increasing difference in clinical measures between the lecanemab group and placebo group in line with time during the core period, differences in clinical progression between subjects who received 10 mg/kg lecanemab and those who received placebo in the core period, which remained persistent throughout the gap period, and an impact on biological measures that reflect key pathophysiological changes in AD. Furthermore, the results showed the potential for monitoring the treatment effects of lecanemab using plasma biomarkers.

2. Consistency of efficacy results across various clinical measures and statistical methods in Study 201.

"Consistency of efficacy results across various clinical measures and statistical methods in the lecanemab phase 2 trial of early Alzheimer's disease"

In order to assess the robustness of lecanemab's efficacy in Study 201, sensitivity analyses were performed using several statistical models for three key clinical endpoints (ADCOMS, CDR-SB, ADAS-Cog14). The sensitivity analysis showed that 18 months of lecanemab treatment consistently reduced the clinical decline in all statistical models examined. The results of all sensitivity analyses for three key clinical endpoints at the highest dose (10 mg/kg bi-weekly) at 18 months were consistent, with a 29.1% to 37.4% reduction in clinical deterioration with lecanemab compared to placebo for ADCOMS, 26.5% to 38.4% for CDR-SB and 37.4% to 55.9% for ADAS-Cog14.

3. ARIA profile in Study 201

"ARIA in patients treated with lecanemab (BAN2401) in a phase 2 study in early Alzheimer's disease"

In the core study 201, amyloid-related imaging abnormalities-edema (ARIA-E) was dose dependent, with an incidence 9.9% at the highest doses (10 mg/kg bi-weekly) for the overall population and 14.3% for ApoE4 positive subjects. Most ARIA-E occurred within 30 days after the initial dose and had mild to moderate severity in radiographic severity. Symptomatic ARIA-E occurred in 3% of participants in the 10mg/kg bi-weekly treatment group. ARIA cerebral microhemorrhages, intracerebral hemorrhage >1cm, and superficial siderosis (ARIA-H) occurred in 6.2% of subjects who received 10 mg/kg biweekly lecanemab and those events were mostly mild in severity. There were no symptomatic cases of ARIA-H reported in the core study.

Overall ARIA-E events in the OLE phase were generally consistent with the rate seen in the lecanemab 10 mg/kg biweekly group in the core study (four subjects treated with placebo in the core study had ARIA-E in the OLE (4 of 45: 8.9%). As with the core study, most ARIA-E occurred within 3 months after receiving the initial dose in the OLE and had mostly mild to moderate in radiographic severity. ARIA-H events in the OLE were generally consistent with the rate seen in the lecanemab 10 mg/kg biweekly group in the core study. ARIA-H events were mostly mild or moderate in severity. One symptomatic case of ARIA-H, intracerebral hemorrhage > 1cm, was reported in OLE. This subject did not have concurrent ARIA-E, and the adverse event resolved with residual visual field defect.

PK/PD modeling showed that the incidence of ARIA-E was correlated with Cmax at steady state.

Based on the fact that lecanemab was generally well tolerated at the highest dose in this study, the Phase 3 Clarity AD study was conducted without dose titration. A subcutaneous formulation that may potentially reduce the Cmax of lecanemab is being developed and evaluated to determine if there is a reduction of the incidence of ARIA-E compared to intravenous formulation.

Eisai serves as the lead of lecanemab development and regulatory submissions globally with both Eisai and Biogen co-commercializing and co-promoting the product and Eisai having final decision-making authority.

To learn more, visit www.LEQEMBI.com.

Contacts

MEDIA CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT:

Eisai Co., Ltd. Biogen Inc.

Public Relations Department Natacha Gassenbach

TEL: +81-(0)3-3817-5120 + 1-857-777-6573



public.affairs@biogen.com

Eisai Inc. (U.S.)



Libby Holman



+ 1-201-753-1945



Libby_Holman@eisai.com









Eisai Europe, Ltd.



(UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and



Russia)



EMEA Communications Department



+44 (0) 786 601 1272



EMEA-comms@eisai.net INVESTOR CONTACT:



Biogen Inc.

INVESTOR CONTACT: Mike Hencke

Eisai Co., Ltd. + 1-781-464-2442

Investor Relations Department IR@biogen.com

TEL: +81 (0) 3-3817-5122





[Notes to editors]

1. About Lecanemab

Lecanemab (Brand Name in the U.S.: LEQEMBI) is the result of a strategic research alliance between Eisai and BioArctic. Lecanemab is a humanized immunoglobulin gamma 1 (IgG1) monoclonal antibody directed against aggregated soluble (protofibril) and insoluble forms of amyloid-beta (A). Lecanemab selectively binds and eliminates A protofibrils that are thought to contribute to the neurotoxicity in AD. As such, lecanemab may have the potential to have an effect on disease pathology and to slow down the progression of the disease. LEQEMBI is indicated for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the U.S. under an accelerated approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Treatment with LEQEMBI should be initiated in patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia stage of disease, the population in which treatment was initiated in clinical trials. There are no safety or effectiveness data on initiating treatment at earlier or later stages of the disease than were studied. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on reduction in A plaques observed in patients treated with LEQEMBI. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial. The Clarity AD study of lecanemab met its primary endpoint and all key secondary endpoints with highly statistically significant results.

Please see full Prescribing Information in the United States.

Lecanemab-irmb was approved under the accelerated approval pathway in the U.S. and was launched in the U.S. on January 18, 2023. The accelerated approval was based on Phase 2 data that demonstrated that lecanemab reduced the accumulation of A plaque in the brain, a defining feature of AD, and its continued approval may be contingent upon verification of lecanemab's clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial. The FDA determined that the results of the Phase 3 Clarity AD study can serve as the confirmatory study to verify the clinical benefit of lecanemab. In November 2022, the results of Clarity AD study were presented at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference and simultaneously published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, The New England Journal of Medicine.

In the U.S., Eisai submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the FDA for approval under the traditional pathway on January 6, 2023. On March 3, 2023, the FDA accepted Eisai's sBLA based on the Clarity AD clinical data, and the lecanemab application has been granted Priority Review, with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of July 6, 2023. The FDA is currently planning to hold an Advisory Committee to discuss this application but has not yet publicly announced the date of the meeting. Eisai submitted an application for manufacturing and marketing approval to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) on January 16, 2023, in Japan. The Priority Review was granted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) on January 26, 2023. Eisai utilized the prior assessment consultation system of PMDA, with the aim of shortening the review period for lecanemab. In Europe, Eisai submitted a marketing authorization application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on January 9, 2023, which was accepted on January 26, 2023. In China, Eisai initiated submission of data for a BLA to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China in December 2022, and the Priority Review was granted on February 27, 2023.

Eisai has completed a lecanemab subcutaneous bioavailability study, and subcutaneous dosing is currently being evaluated in the Clarity AD OLE.

Since July 2020 the Phase 3 clinical study (AHEAD 3-45) for individuals with preclinical AD, meaning they are clinically normal and have intermediate or elevated levels of amyloid in their brains, has been ongoing. AHEAD 3-45 is conducted as a public-private partnership between the Alzheimer's Clinical Trial Consortium that provides the infrastructure for academic clinical trials in AD and related dementias in the U.S., funded by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, Eisai and Biogen.

Since January 2022, the Tau NexGen clinical study for Dominantly Inherited AD (DIAD), that is conducted by the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU), led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been ongoing.

2. About the Collaboration between Eisai and Biogen for AD

Eisai and Biogen have been collaborating on the joint development and commercialization of AD treatments since 2014. Eisai serves as the lead of lecanemab development and regulatory submissions globally with both companies co-commercializing and co-promoting the product and Eisai having final decision-making authority.

3. About the Collaboration between Eisai and BioArctic for AD

Since 2005, Eisai and BioArctic have had a long-term collaboration regarding the development and commercialization of AD treatments. Eisai obtained the global rights to study, develop, manufacture and market LEQEMBI for the treatment of AD pursuant to an agreement with BioArctic in December 2007. The development and commercialization agreement on the antibody LEQEMBI back-up was signed in May 2015.

4. About Eisai Co., Ltd.

Eisai's Corporate Concept is "to give first thought to patients and people in the daily living domain, and to increase the benefits that health care provides." Under this concept (also known as the human health care [hhc] concept), we aim to effectively achieve social good in the form of relieving anxiety over health and reducing health disparities. With a global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to create and deliver innovative products to target diseases with high unmet medical needs, with a particular focus in our strategic areas of neurology and oncology.

In addition, we demonstrate our commitment to the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which is a target (3.3) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by working on various activities together with global partners.

For more information about Eisai, please visit www.eisai.com (for global headquarters: Eisai Co., Ltd.), and connect with us on Twitter @Eisai_SDGs.

5. About Biogen

Founded in 1978, Biogen is a leading global biotechnology company that has pioneered multiple breakthrough innovations including a broad portfolio of medicines to treat multiple sclerosis, the first approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, and two co-developed treatments to address a defining pathology of Alzheimer's disease. Biogen is advancing a pipeline of potential novel therapies across neurology, neuropsychiatry, specialized immunology and rare diseases and remains acutely focused on its purpose of serving humanity through science while advancing a healthier, more sustainable and equitable world.

The company routinely posts information that may be important to investors on its website at www.biogen.com. Follow Biogen on social media  Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube.

Biogen Safe Harbor

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, about the potential clinical effects of lecanemab; the potential benefits, safety and efficacy of lecanemab; potential regulatory discussions, submissions and approvals and the timing thereof; the treatment of Alzheimer's disease; the anticipated benefits and potential of Biogen's collaboration arrangements with Eisai; the potential of Biogen's commercial business and pipeline programs, including lecanemab; and risks and uncertainties associated with drug development and commercialization. These statements may be identified by words such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "possible,"" "potential," "will," "would" and other words and terms of similar meaning. Drug development and commercialization involve a high degree of risk, and only a small number of research and development programs result in commercialization of a product. Results in early-stage clinical studies may not be indicative of full results or results from later stage or larger scale clinical studies and do not ensure regulatory approval. You should not place undue reliance on these statements or the scientific data presented.

These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements, including without limitation unexpected concerns that may arise from additional data, analysis or results obtained during clinical studies, including the Clarity AD clinical trial and AHEAD 3-45 study; the occurrence of adverse safety events; risks of unexpected costs or delays; the risk of other unexpected hurdles; regulatory submissions may take longer or be more difficult to complete than expected; regulatory authorities may require additional information or further studies, or may fail or refuse to approve or may delay approval of Biogen's drug candidates, including lecanemab; actual timing and content of submissions to and decisions made by the regulatory authorities regarding lecanemab; uncertainty of success in the development and potential commercialization of lecanemab; failure to protect and enforce Biogen's data, intellectual property and other proprietary rights and uncertainties relating to intellectual property claims and challenges; product liability claims; third party collaboration risks; and the direct and indirect impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on Biogen's business, results of operations and financial condition. The foregoing sets forth many, but not all, of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from Biogen's expectations in any forward-looking statement. Investors should consider this cautionary statement as well as the risk factors identified in Biogen's most recent annual or quarterly report and in other reports Biogen has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are based on Biogen's current beliefs and expectations and speak only as of the date of this news release. Biogen does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Cision

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SOURCE Eisai Inc.
(Bloomberg) -- Cainiao Network Technology Co., the logistics arm of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has started preparations with banks for its Hong Kong initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said, paving way to be the first of the Chinese tech firms six business units to go public.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Banks including China International Capital Corp. and Citigroup Inc. are working with the company to prepare for the first-time share sale, the people said. The firm is targeting a listing as soon as the end of this year, said one of the people, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Cainiao is currently valued at more than $20 billion, the people said.

Cainiao hasnt decided on the IPO size, while the timing is still subject to change depending on market conditions, the people said. A representative for Cainiao said the company doesnt have a clear plan and timeline for an IPO. A representative for Citigroup declined to comment, while a spokesperson for CICC didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

Alibaba this week unveiled plans to split its $250 billion business into six main units encompassing e-commerce, media and the cloud. Each business will explore fundraising or IPO at an appropriate time. The tech mammoth will consider gradually giving up control of some of its main businesses, Alibaba Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang said on a conference call on Thursday, but declined to specify a timeline for any IPOs.

Read more: Alibaba Spinoff Plans Bring Hope to Hong Kongs Tepid IPO Market

Cainiao, which means rookie or amateur in Chinese, promises to deliver packages in China within 24 hours and anywhere else in the world in 72 hours, according to its website. It directly operated fifteen overseas sorting centers as of the end of last year, and partners with more than 500 logistics companies globally.

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The Alibaba arms revenue, after inter-segment elimination, rose 27% on a year-on-year basis to 16.6 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) for the three months ended Dec. 31, according to a statement last month. Upgrades in consumer logistics services and international fulfillment solutions contributed to the growth.

--With assistance from Jane Zhang.

(Updates with latest number of fulfillment centers in fifth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc. have begun preparations for a trio of the years biggest Chinese debuts, heralding a wave of initial public offerings that promise to breathe new life into the struggling technology industry and Hong Kongs stock market.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Cainiao Network Technology Co., Alibabas logistics arm, has kicked off discussions with banks for what may become the first of several IPOs by units of the e-commerce giant. On Thursday, two JD subsidiaries filed for first-time share sales in the city. Those three listings could raise about $5 billion between them, people familiar with the matter said.

The moves ignited hopes that Beijing  keen to resuscitate the worlds second-largest economy  is unfettering the private sector, allowing its biggest names to again pursue business and fundraising. Alibaba got the ball rolling this week by unveiling a six-way split that could usher several businesses  including Cainiao  onto public markets. That shake-up accomplishes Beijings broader aim of carving up tech titans and diminishing their influence over swaths of the economy  while unlocking potentially billions of dollars in value.

The revival of the Chinese tech IPO train ends a year-long drought that set in after regulators pulled the plug on Ant Group Co.s record IPO. Once among the worlds most lucrative investment banking plays, the business dried up around 2021 when Beijing launched a blistering attack on internet sectors from online commerce to gaming, and tightened requirements for overseas listings.

For the big techs, spinoffs no doubt can boost shareholder return, unlock the company value and ease regulatory concerns related to anti-trust, said Willer Chen, senior analyst at Forsyth Barr Asia Ltd. For more than a year or so, there has been very light demand on the deal side as market conditions were weak and investors disheartened. Now, the environment seems more friendly for valuation, which make sense for big tech subsidiaries that have a mature business and strong cash need to consider IPOs.

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A number of Chinese tech names have lodged or resubmitted their Hong Kong listing applications in just the past week: Lalatech Holdings Ltd., another tech-driven logistics giant in China, social media app Soulgate Inc. and fitness app Keep Inc. But there are bigger candidates: TikTok-owner ByteDance Ltd., ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc. and social media player Xiaohongshu are potentially waiting in the wings.

Read more: China Kicks Off 2023 Leading Global Peers in Equity Fundraising

Alibabas announcement dovetailed with the return of its billionaire co-founder Jack Ma to China, as well as a series of official proclamations of support for the private sector. But many entrepreneurs and tech executives, traumatized by almost two years of relentless scrutiny, remain wary of Beijings intentions given the Xi Jinping administrations distrust of powerful private firms. And theres no guarantee that splitting up and spinning off actually propels businesses over the long haul.

But Alibaba and JD are adding fuel to a trend thats emerged this year. Chinese firms have beaten their US and European peers early in the year on equity financing, buoyed by hopes about Chinas post-Covid reopening while the rest of the world grapples with a potential recession.

It indicates Beijing support for more buoyant capital market activities within Chinas tech sector ahead, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Catherine Lim. This should help lift overall market sentiment and anticipation for the listing of other mammoth companies within the sector.

Tapping the IPO market is key for Chinese firms to bankroll expansion and expand their investor base. A wave of listings will also benefit Hong Kong, long the prime venue for Chinese debuts until Beijing clamped down. The city has only seen about $852 million raised through IPOs so far this year, a fraction of the $4.1 billion raised in the same period in 2022.

Cainiao, which means amateur or rookie in Chinese, is on track to hit the market first in part because its had a long track-record as a standalone operation that supports other parts of the Alibaba empire. While loss-making, the unit has consistently racked up double-digit revenue growth and is one of the companys most recognizable brands, a nationwide logistics giant that helps ship upwards of a billion packages during the companys signature Singles Day shopping festival.

In the longer term, Alibabas burgeoning cloud business is attracting outsized anticipation. Group Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang will personally take the helm, underscoring hopes that artificial intelligence will lay the foundation for future growth. That unit houses its Slack-like DingTalk app and provides cloud computing and data-processing services worldwide. Much like Amazon Web Services, it grew out of the need for massive computing power to support e-commerce, and now is a leading regional player in the business of providing cloud and data services to corporate clients.

For JD, it had in past years spun off divisions including JD Health International Inc., which raised almost $4 billion in a 2020 Hong Kong IPO. JD Technology, its fintech arm, may be looking to list in the Asian financial hub.

Theres been speculation also about Tencent Holdings Ltd. potentially taking a page out of Alibabas book.

It runs Chinas biggest mobile wallet and payments platform, alongside four main businesses with spinoff potential: gaming, cloud computing, WeChat and online content such as video. The company has already listed music and online literature.

There are positive implications for the sector as investors get reminded that the Chinese Internet platforms are significantly undervalued, and these companies will continue to try to narrow the gap, said Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privee. It also shows that the regulatory environment is supportive.

--With assistance from Lin Zhu.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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Fortune Business Insights

Companies covered in Aloe Vera Market are Aloe Farms, Inc. (U.S.) , Lily of the Desert Organic (U.S.), Terry Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), Pharmachem Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), Natural Aloe Costa Rica S.A. (Costa Rica), Foodchem International Corporation (China), Aloe Laboratories, Inc.(U.S.), Aloecorp, Inc.(U.S.), Calmino Group AB (Sweden), Roche (Switzerland), and more players profiled.

Pune, India, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global aloe vera extract market size was valued at USD 2.46 billion in 2022. The market is projected to grow from USD 2.65 billion in 2023 to USD 4.55 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.0% during the forecast period. Aloe vera is succulent, which is derived from the Arabian Peninsula and is known to treat numerous diseases and disorders. It is widely used in food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic industries. Increasing usage of the extract in aloe-based drinks is set to propel market growth. Fortune Business Insights shares this information in its report titled Aloe Vera Extract Market, 2023-2030.

COVID-19 Impact:

Supply Chain Challenges Impacted Market Growth

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the global consumption of the food and beverage industry severely. Supply chain challenges were also witnessed by the manufacturers, leading to the fluctuation in raw material prices. After the pandemic, the demand for aloe vera has been surging in regions such as Europe and North America. There is increasing demand for the extract, owing to its health benefits and consumer inclination toward natural products amid the pandemic.

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https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/aloe-vera-extract-market-103893

List of Key Players Profiled in the Report:

Aloe Farms, Inc. (U.S.)

Lily of the Desert Organic (U.S.)

Terry Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.)

Pharmachem Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.)

Natural Aloe Costa Rica S.A. (Costa Rica)

Foodchem International Corporation (China)

Aloe Laboratories, Inc.(U.S.)

Aloecorp, Inc.(U.S.)

Calmino Group AB (Sweden)

Roche (Switzerland)

Story continues

Report Scope & Segmentation:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast CAGR 8.0 % 2030 Value Projection USD 4.55 Billion Base Year 2022 Aloe Vera Extract Market Size in 2023 USD 2.65 Billion Historical Data 2019-2021 No. of Pages 208 Segments Covered By Product, By Application, By Distribution Channel, By Region Aloe Vera Extract Market Growth Drivers Increasing Demand for Organic Healthcare Products to Propel the Demand for the Product

Segments

By Product Form

Liquid

Gel

Powder

Others

By Application

Food & Beverages

Cosmetics

Pharmaceuticals

By Distribution Channel

Offline

Online

Browse Summary of this Research Report:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/aloe-vera-extract-market-103893

Report Coverage

The report provides a detailed analysis of the top segments and the latest trends in the market. It comprehensively discusses the driving and restraining factors and the impact of COVID-19 on the market. Additionally, it examines the regional developments and the strategies undertaken by the market's key players.

Drivers and Restraints

Increasing Demand for Organic Healthcare Products to Propel the Demand for the Product

Increasing demand for organic healthcare products is anticipated to drive the aloe vera extract market growth. Aloe vera is useful for various diabetic, skin, and hair diseases. Natural, organic, and herbal extracts are utilized nowadays to treat a huge number of the population suffering from diabetes. It lessens dental plaque, helps in treating canker sores, reduces constipation, relieves gum inflammation, and lowers blood sugar levels. The increasing popularity of aloe vera extract as a natural and herbal ingredient in skincare and cosmetics is expected to propel market growth.

However, the adverse effects of the extract are expected to hamper the market growth.

Regional Insights

Europe to Lead Market Share Due to the Demand for Nutritional Health Supplements

Europe is expected to have a high part in the aloe vera extract market share due to the demand for nutritional health and supplements products. The demand for such products is derived from various countries such as Germany, the U.K., and France. Health and wellness companies are incorporating organic and natural ingredients and enhancing their product portfolio.

After Europe, Asia Pacific witnessed the highest CAGR due to growing applications in countries such as India and China. These countries are the major countries for imports and exports.

North America emerged as one of the significant markets due to the usage of the product in utilization for treating hair loss, gum diseases, and cancer. In Mexico, the aloe vera plant is produced throughout the Yucatan Peninsula.

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https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/queries/aloe-vera-extract-market-103893

Competitive Landscape

Celebrity Endorsements of Beauty Products to Progress Market Growth

The global aloe vera extract market has lucrative opportunities due to upsurge in the coming years with the growing inclination toward natural and organic ingredients. Celebrity endorsements of beauty products infused with the extract are set to influence the buying decisions and simultaneously increase the demand for the extract. In October 2019, Rob Lowe launched a new skincare product line, Cobalt, a young preserving affordable luxury skincare products that has aloe vera extract as an ingredient.

Detailed Table of Content:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Overview of the Parent/Related Markets Industry SWOT Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Recent Industry Developments - Policies, Partnerships, New Product Launches, and Mergers & Acquisitions Qualitative Analysis Related to COVID-19 Impact of COVID-19 on the Market Supply Chain Challenges amidst Pandemic Potential Opportunities due to this Global Crisis

Global Aloe Vera Extract Market Analysis, Insights, and Forecast, 2019-2030 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecast By Product Form Liquid Gel Powder Others By Application Food & Beverages Cosmetics Pharmaceuticals By Distribution Channel Offline Online By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa



TOC Continued!

Key Industry Development

July 2022- Organic Harvest, an organic beauty and personal care company, launched a new range of organic Aloe Vera Gel, which is available in four different variants.

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https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/aloe-vera-extract-market-103893

Read Related Insights:

Herbal Food Supplements Market Size, Industry Share, & Forecast 2030

Plant Extracts Market Size, Industry Share, Forecast 2030

Herbal Extract Market Size, Industry Share | Forecast, 2030

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FINEOS Corporation Holdings plc (ASX:FCL) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 20% in the last week. But over the last three years we've seen a quite serious decline. Tragically, the share price declined 50% in that time. So the improvement may be a real relief to some. Perhaps the company has turned over a new leaf.

On a more encouraging note the company has added AU$72m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the three-year loss for shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for FINEOS Corporation Holdings

Because FINEOS Corporation Holdings made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over three years, FINEOS Corporation Holdings grew revenue at 17% per year. That's a pretty good rate of top-line growth. So some shareholders would be frustrated with the compound loss of 15% per year. The market must have had really high expectations to be disappointed with this progress. So this is one stock that might be worth investigating further, or even adding to your watchlist.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. You can see what analysts are predicting for FINEOS Corporation Holdings in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

The last twelve months weren't great for FINEOS Corporation Holdings shares, which performed worse than the market, costing holders 46%. The market shed around 2.8%, no doubt weighing on the stock price. Shareholders have lost 15% per year over the last three years, so the share price drop has become steeper, over the last year; a potential symptom of as yet unsolved challenges. Although Baron Rothschild famously said to "buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own", he also focusses on high quality stocks with solid prospects. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with FINEOS Corporation Holdings , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Story continues

FINEOS Corporation Holdings 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.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Australian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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ArcelorMittal S.A.

31 March 2023, 07:00 CET



ArcelorMittal (the Company) today announces that AMNS Luxembourg Holding S.A., the parent company of AM/NS India, the Companys 60/40 steelmaking joint venture with Nippon Steel Corporation in India, has entered into a $5 billion loan agreement (JBIC co-financing loan) with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), MUFG Bank, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Mizuho Bank Europe N.V..

The proceeds obtained through the JBIC co-financing loan will be used to finance the expansion of AM/NS Indias annual steelmaking capacity at its Hazira plant from 9 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes. In addition to the primary steelmaking capacity expansion, the project includes the development of downstream rolling and finishing facilities that will enhance AM/NS Indias ability to produce value-added steels for sectors including defence, automotive and infrastructure. The expansion project, which started in October last year upon receipt of environment permitting, will create more than 60,000 jobs.

ENDS

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 16 countries. In 2022, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $79.8 billion and crude steel production of 59 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 50.9 million metric tonnes.

Our purpose is to produce ever smarter steels that have a positive benefit for people and planet. Steels made using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart, we will support the world in making that change. This is what we believe it takes to be the steel company of the future.

Story continues

ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).

For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/

Contact information ArcelorMittal Investor Relations General +44 20 7543 1128 Retail +44 20 3214 2893 SRI +44 20 3214 2801 Bonds/Credit

E-mail +33 171 921 026

investor.relations@arcelormittal.com Contact information ArcelorMittal Corporate Communications



Paul Weigh

Tel:

E-mail:







+44 20 3214 2419

press@arcelormittal.com




Analysis-From manual pricing to ChatGPT: How Air India is transforming under Tata An Air India Airbus A320neo passenger plane moves on the runway after landing, in Ahmedabad

By Aditi Shah and Tim Hepher

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Air India, until recently tied to an antiquated manual pricing system when setting airfares, is shifting to algorithm-based software long used by rivals to help it squeeze out more revenue from each flight.

In another sign of the formerly government-owned carrier's whirlwind transformation under its new owner Tata Group, Air India is testing ChatGPT, OpenAI's popular chatbot, to replace paper-based practices.

The push to modernise underscores the decay left by years of under-investment as Air India looks to shed decades-old bureaucratic processes and recapture customers from Dubai's Emirates and powerful domestic rival IndiGo.

"Frankly the system is almost so bad it's good," Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson told Indian airline executives last week, adding that this offered the chance to start from scratch rather than "jury-rig" existing architecture.

Air India is not only reworking every aspect of operations - from systems to supply chains - but integrating four Tata-related airlines, with Air India due to merge with Vistara while low-cost Air India Express and AirAsia India also converge.

Some areas, such as technology, allow for a clean-sheet approach, the 52-year-old New Zealander said, which is why he is putting artificial intelligence (AI) and other tools at the centre of Air India's reboot.

Modern "revenue management" software aims to stay one step ahead of demand, continuously anticipating where people want to go and how much each individual flyer is prepared to pay, rather than the old method of having one fare for each block of seats.

The result is higher revenue per flight, making it low-hanging fruit in the company's transformation.

FIXING THE FLEET

Wilson faces a tangle of fleets and staff as daunting as Delhi's zig-zagging traffic, leaving the airline's path to profit strewn with obstacles.

"Complexity is the curse of airlines," said Keith McMullan, partner at UK-based consultancy Aviation Strategy, who has experience in the Indian market.

Story continues

"What they are saying is absolutely right - they should go back to a blank piece of paper, but saying it and actually doing it are two very different things," he said. "The danger is that you keep on fighting legacy-related fires."

Air India's success is critical for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which wants to harness its scale and reach to turn India into a global aviation force like Dubai or Singapore.

Wilson's immediate game plan is to tackle pressing problems to get idle planes flying before Air India starts receiving the 470 jets ordered in a record deal last month.

For instance, it is working with Tata Technologies to build locally some plastic components for economy-class seats instead of waiting for suppliers to deliver the obsolete parts.

And it is grabbing what planes it can find on lease while reworking its network strategy to attract Indians overseas.

Any inconsistencies can be ironed out as the turnaround gathers momentum, Wilson said in an interview on the sidelines of the CAPA India conference last week.

"This is a transformation as well as a startup," said Wilson who was appointed to lead the turnaround last year by Tata after it regained control of the carrier.

"In a startup, you just do what you need to do to get going and then you refine along the way," he told Reuters, drawing from this experience of being the founding chief of Singapore Airlines' budget carrier Scoot.

But he said a clean-sheet approach cannot and should not be applied everywhere.

MERGER CHALLENGES

Analysts say Wilson's staggered turnaround plans will be severely tested as Air India executes the twin mergers.

Airline mergers in India have had little success with Air India still hobbled by the botched integration of Indian Airlines in 2007. Jet Airways' takeover of Sahara and Kingfisher's merger with Air Deccan hurt them for years.

Jet and Kingfisher are now bankrupt.

Air India's planes are already a mix of Airbus and Boeing jets with multiple cabin configurations. This will be further complicated when it absorbs the new carriers.

"Managing mixed fleets is a nightmare and given a choice no airline would want to do it," Vinod Kannan, chief executive of Tata-Singapore Airlines joint-venture Vistara, told Reuters.

Once an inspiration for Singapore Airlines, Air India is now far behind, especially on service and punctuality - areas it must improve swiftly if it wants to reclaim share from the Gulf carriers, who carry most of India's international traffic.

There are some early signs of success: Air India's international traffic was up 28% in the Oct-Dec quarter versus April-June and its domestic share rose to 9% at the end of February from 7.5% in mid-2022, according to government data.

Those figures should jump significantly when Air India combines with Vistara, but that deal brings new challenges.

"You can get everything right but the people and the culture ... it is not easy to get that right," Kannan said during an interview at Vistara's office near Delhi where the average age of staff is 29 years.

At Air India it is 50-plus.

"The intent is very much there," Kannan said of the combination, due to be completed by March 2024. "It's now just a matter of execution, which is not easy, but we'll get there."

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Tim Hepher in New Delhi; Editing by Jamie Freed)
ArcelorMittal S.A.

31 March 2023, 07:00 CET



On 30 March 2023, ArcelorMittal signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to strengthen their partnership in steelmaking and decarbonisation.

The signing of the MOU between ArcelorMittal and JBIC builds on their existing business relationship, which includes JBICs financing in support of ArcelorMittals joint ventures with Nippon Steel Corporation in India and the United States, and foresees the parties cooperating to develop business opportunities with Japanese companies involved in steelmaking, including in low-carbon steelmaking technologies.

As Japans policy-based financial institution, part of JBICs role is to contribute toward creating business opportunities for Japanese companies by facilitating cooperation with international partners.

ENDS

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 16 countries. In 2022, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $79.8 billion and crude steel production of 59 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 50.9 million metric tonnes.

Our purpose is to produce ever smarter steels that have a positive benefit for people and planet. Steels made using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart, we will support the world in making that change. This is what we believe it takes to be the steel company of the future.

ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).

Story continues

For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/

Contact information ArcelorMittal Investor Relations General +44 20 7543 1128 Retail +44 20 3214 2893 SRI +44 20 3214 2801 Bonds/Credit

E-mail +33 171 921 026

investor.relations@arcelormittal.com Contact information ArcelorMittal Corporate Communications



Paul Weigh

Tel:

E-mail:







+44 20 3214 2419

press@arcelormittal.com




ArcelorMittal S.A. MT announced that AMNS Luxembourg Holding S.A., the parent company of AM/NS India  MTs steelmaking joint venture with Nippon Steel Corporation in India  had signed a loan agreement worth $5 billion with a consortium of Japan banks. The banks involved in the agreement are Japan Bank for International Cooperation ("JBIC"), MUFG Bank Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Limited, Mizuho Bank Ltd., and Mizuho Bank Europe N.V.



The $5-billion JBIC co-financing loan will be utilized to fund the expansion of the steelmaking capacity at AM/NS Indias Hazira plant. The plant's annual production capacity is expected to increase from 9 million tons to 15 million.



The project also includes the development of downstream rolling and finishing facilities to improve AM/NS India's ability to produce high-value steels for the defense, automotive and infrastructure sectors. The expansion project, which began last October after obtaining environmental approval, is expected to generate more than 60,000 employment opportunities.



Shares of ArcelorMittal have lost 8.7% over the past year compared with a 2.7% decline recorded by its industry.

Zacks Investment Research



Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company, on its fourth-quarter earnings call, stated that it was expecting demand conditions to improve, as customer destocking peaked. The company anticipated world apparent steel consumption, excluding China, to recover 2-3% year over year in 2023.



ArcelorMittal also expects its steel shipments to grow 5% year over year in 2023. While real consumption growth is anticipated to remain dull in the United States, the expected end of destocking is predicted to lead to a rise in apparent consumption by 1.5-3.5% in 2023.



The company projects a modest decline in real demand this year in Europe. However, it expects apparent demand to recover 0.5-2.5% in 2023.

The company also expects a strong recovery in economic growth in China in 2023 as COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted. However, factoring in the sustained softness in real estate during the year, it projects steel consumption to stabilize in 2023 (+1% to -1%), with potential upside dependent on China governments infrastructure stimulus.

Story continues

ArcelorMittal Price and Consensus

ArcelorMittal Price and Consensus

ArcelorMittal price-consensus-chart | ArcelorMittal Quote

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

ArcelorMittal currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).



Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Olympic Steel, Inc. ZEUS, Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD and Linde plc LIN. LIN currently carries a Zacks Rank #2, and ZEUS and STLD sport a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Olympic Steels shares have gained 40% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ZEUS current-year earnings has been revised 33.1% upward in the past 60 days. It topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.2% on average.



Steel Dynamics shares have gained 31% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STLDs current-year earnings has been revised 40.1% upward in the past 60 days. It topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.3% on average.



Lindes shares have gained 9% in the past year. The company has an earnings growth rate of 8.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LINs current-year earnings has been revised 2.5% upward in the past 60 days.



LIN topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6% on average.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) : Free Stock Analysis Report

ArcelorMittal (MT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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"Treachery on the Nile" is the Sixth and Final Book in the Popular Michael Vaux Series

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Author Roger Croft is pleased to announce the launch of his newest spy novel, "Treachery on the Nile." The book is the sixth and final novel in the popular Michael Vaux series.

Roger Croft, Saturday, April 1, 2023, Press release picture

To learn more about "Treachery on the Nile," which can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and at Books a Million, please visit https://rogercroft.com.

As Croft noted, former newsman and occasional MI6 agent Michael Vaux has survived an assassination attempt and is planning on a long period of rehabilitation.

"But the spymasters at Vauxhall Cross, the London HQ of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, have learned of a military plot to overthrow the pro-West regime of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The conspirators are to finalize their planning on a Nile pleasure craft and MI6 hits on the idea of sending Vaux on a recuperative trip up the Nile on the same boat."

Vaux is told that he is being sent on a "recuperative" cruise up the Nile. By social contact and shipboard friendships his MI6 runners think it inevitable that he will soon learn more about the timing and details of the coup so that it can be aborted by any means possible.

Vaux quickly discovers from a motley crew of sub-agents and a careless army co-conspirator the details of the plot; and has mixed feelings about whether the coup would not be all that bad for the long-suffering Egyptian people.

As this excerpt makes clear, "Treachery on the Nile" is a fast-paced and exciting story that will appeal to fans of spy novels and stories of intrigue from start to finish.

"The two men stepped on to the narrow starboard deck. There was a mild breeze, just enough to see the lateen sails billowing gently as they powered the dahabiyathrough the moonlit western desert. "Both men leaned over the wooden handrail and gazed into the scudding, murky water as the vessel headed swiftly south. Small islands of scrub and felled palm trees flitted by and they heard the odd squawk of wildfowl as perhaps the night's slumber had been rudely disturbed. "Vaux said, Okay. Tell me what this is all about.' "Simcoe fished a packet of Cleopatra'from his pocket, then a classic Ronson lighter. He offered Vaux a cigarette. Vaux shook his head. Simcoe lit up and quickly dispelled smoke from the side of his mouth. "You must have noticed that clique of military men. They were there at dinner. That fellow who looks like President al-Sisi's twin brother and had the gall to whisk Anne away to see his big presidential cabin, or whatever he called it, is an army man if ever I saw one.' "Yes, they're on a sort of sabbatical as far as I could gather. This Himeidi fellow says he hoped the cool Nile evenings will help them relax and discuss some military games that are coming up-or so I understand.' "That's just it, Westropp. Or should I call you Vaux?' "Don't be flippant, old man. Get on with your story.' "It's all a sham. This clique, or whatever we want to call them, are plotting the overthrow of the current Sisi regime. There-as succinct as I can make it.' "Vaux showed no reaction. Then as a journalist you're in the right spot at the right time. You're on the brink of a major scoop and you could be nominated Newsman of the Year.' "Simcoe shook his head and looked Vaux straight in the eye. Don't joke Vaux. I'm serious. London wants you to work with me to help expose this conspiracy to overthrow the legitimate government of Egypt.' "Vaux fell silent. He peered through the moonlit night, his eyes sometimes falling on dim, isolated Bedouin camps and makeshift tents, the outlines of supine camels resting on the ground nearby. At one point, he thought he saw a floodlit minaret surrounded by palms in the middle of nowhere "So, he thought, the wily puppeteers at Vauxhall Cross had decided on one final and masterly deception to bring him back into the fold"

Story continues

About Roger Croft

Roger Croft was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England. Following national service, Croft landed his first job in journalism with London's Daily Mail where he worked on the City (financial) staff under legendary editor Patrick Sergeant, who taught him the basics of popular journalism. Croft went on to work at a number of other publications and enjoyed a long career before switching gears to write spy novels. Since he quit the grind of daily journalism, Croft has toured the world for novel ideas. For more information, please visit http://www.rogercroft.com.

Media Contact

Roger Croft

rcroft@sympatico.ca

416-923-9389

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

SOURCE: Roger Croft





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/747152/Author-Roger-Croft-Releases-His-Newest-Spy-Novel-Treachery-on-the-Nile




EDMONTON, AB and TORONTO, March 31, 2023 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or the "Company") (TSX: ACQ), a multi-location North American automobile dealership group, and Kijiji, the most visited automotive marketplace in Canada, announced today that they have agreed to strengthen and expand their existing strategic relationship. This includes a continuation of Kijiji's role as AutoCanada's preferred online marketplace partner in Canada, as well as the integration of consumer solutions developed by AutoCanada Used Digital on Kijiji.

AutoCanada Inc. Logo (CNW Group/AutoCanada Inc.)

The long-term agreement provides AutoCanada dealerships with expanded access to Kijiji's significant shopper audience while providing Kijiji with AutoCanada's nationwide inventory, both of which will provide car shoppers with greater selection on the Kijiji platform. AutoCanada Used Digital consumer solutions will also provide Kijiji users with value-added services in connection with used vehicle purchases and sales.

"Kijiji has been a trusted business partner since 2018 and we are very excited to expand our relationship across both our franchise and used vehicle initiatives," said Paul Antony, Executive Chairman of AutoCanada. "The integration of AutoCanada Used Digital consumer solutions on the Kijiji platform will also accelerate our existing efforts on the used vehicle segment of our business."

"We're thrilled to continue to partner with AutoCanada and are looking forward to unlocking increased value and functionality for our Kijiji users," said Leanne Kripp, Head of Autos at Kijiji. "We're confident this extended partnership will further improve the customer experience as we continue to provide AutoCanada's strong inventory offering to over 10 million users ."

About AutoCanada

AutoCanada is a leading North American multi-location automobile dealership group currently operating 82 franchised dealerships, comprised of 28 brands, in eight provinces in Canada as well as a group in Illinois, USA. AutoCanada currently sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Volvo, Toyota, Lincoln, Acura, Honda and Porsche branded vehicles. In addition, AutoCanada's Canadian Operations segment currently operates three used vehicle dealerships and one used vehicle auction business supporting the Used Digital Retail Division, 11 RightRide division locations, and 10 stand-alone collision centres within our group of 25 collision centres. In 2022, our dealerships sold approximately 100,000 vehicles and processed over 900,000 service and collision repair orders in our 1,367 service bays generating revenue in excess of $6 billion.

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Additional information about AutoCanada is available at www.sedar.com and the Company's website at www.autocan.ca.

About Kijiji

Kijiji is the first marketplace in Canada to enable millions of Canadians to shop locally and sustainably. Since 2005, Kijiji has been a leader in helping Canadians make money and shop great deals in their communities. We span across over 400 categories from Home, Autos, Electronics, Services and more on our app. We are the #1 most visited automotive marketplace in Canada and #1 in Real Estate for rentals.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. We hereby provide cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "will continue", "is anticipated", "projection", "vision", "goals", "objective", "target", "schedules", "outlook", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "could", "should", "plan", "seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "will", "believe" and similar expressions) are not historical facts and are forward looking.

Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

The forward-looking statements included in this press release are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly relied upon. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated and described in the forward-looking statements. These known and unknown risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: future operating results, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations, financial condition and liquidity and the duration of such impacts; potential changes in the regulatory and legislative environment; volatility in interest and tax rates; operating risks inherent in the automotive retail industry; and changes in general economic conditions including the capital and credit markets.

Forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. Accordingly, actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

AutoCanada cautions that the foregoing list of assumptions, risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. The Company's Annual Information Form and other documents filed with securities regulatory authorities (accessible through the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com) describe the risks, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and which are incorporated herein by reference. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and AutoCanada assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required pursuant to applicable securities laws.

Kijiji Logo (CNW Group/AutoCanada Inc.)

SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.

Cision

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BlueWeave Consulting and Research Pvt Ltd

The APAC region holds the highest market share in the global automotive ultrasonic technologies market due to several factors. The region has witnessed rapid growth in vehicle production in recent years, which has created a huge demand for ultrasonic sensors in the automotive industry. The region also has a strong presence of prominent players in the automotive sector, which has contributed to the growth of the market. Likewise, the increasing focus on improving safety features in automobiles, such as parking assistance, blind spot detection, and collision avoidance, has also led to the growth of the automotive ultrasonic technologies market in the region. The APAC region has been quick to adopt these safety features, which has further boosted the demand for ultrasonic sensors.

New Delhi, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global automotive ultrasonic technologies market is flourishing because of growing requirement for efficient parking assistance systems in crowded urban areas, a surging demand for electric and autonomous vehicles, and high adoption of advanced driver assistance systems.



BlueWeave Consulting, a leading strategic consulting and market research firm, in its recent study, estimated global automotive ultrasonic technologies market size at USD 1.63 billion in 2022. During the forecast period between 2023 and 2029, BlueWeave expects global automotive ultrasonic technologies market size to grow at a significant CAGR of 8.71% reaching a value of USD 2.91 billion by 2029. Major growth factors of global automotive ultrasonic technologies market include the rising demand for safety features in vehicles such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and increased consumer awareness about road safety, particularly in developing countries where road accidents are more common. Advancements in automotive ultrasonic technology, such as high-frequency ultrasonic sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), and the internet of things (IoT), are also contributing to market growth.

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The trend towards vehicle electrification and the increasing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) due to efforts to reduce vehicular emissions are additional drivers of market expansion. Additionally, there is a growing demand for parking assistance and obstacle detection systems that provide accurate range measurement in automobiles, creating new opportunities for growth. The adoption of luxury autonomous vehicles, government regulations mandating the installation of safety features in vehicles, and extensive research and development (R&D) activities are also expected to further fuel the growth of the global automotive ultrasonic technologies market in the forecast period. However, availability of alternative technologies such as LiDAR and radar is anticipated to restrain the overall market growth.

Sample Request @ https://www.blueweaveconsulting.com/report/automotive-ultrasonic-technologies-market/report-sample

Global Automotive Ultrasonic Technologies Market  Overview

Automotive ultrasonic technologies involve using ultrasonic waves that have a frequency greater than 20 kHz to detect or measure objects near a vehicle. These techniques rely on automotive ultrasonic sensors that use sound waves to gauge the distance between an object and the sensor, which can be placed on different vehicle parts like the front or rear bumper to facilitate parking and maneuvering. The primary application of automotive ultrasonic technologies is in parking assist systems that offer audio or visual instructions to the driver by sensing the proximity of objects. They are also used in collision avoidance systems to reduce speed to avoid crashes and blind spot monitoring systems to detect vehicles or objects in the driver's blind spot. The advantage of automotive ultrasonic technologies over other sensors such as cameras or radar is that they can detect soft or oddly shaped objects and provide accurate measurements even in unfavorable weather conditions. They are also affordable and require minimal maintenance.

Impact of COVID-19 on Global Automotive Ultrasonic Technologies Market

COVID-19 pandemic had a detrimental impact on the global automotive ultrasonic technologies market, as the pandemic and resultant stringent lockdown measures caused supply chain disruptions worldwide. The production of various vehicles, including passenger cars and electric vehicles, was also hindered, particularly during the initial lockdown phase, resulting in a decrease in the adoption of ultrasonic technologies. However, most companies have now begun to incorporate various strategies, such as agreements, expansions, product developments, and product launches, to continue the advancement of their technologies and cope with the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Please Visit the Press Release: https://www.blueweaveconsulting.com/press-release/global-automotive-ultrasonic-technologies-market-size-set-to-reach-usd-2-91-billion-by-2029

Global Automotive Ultrasonic Technologies Market  By Distribution Channel

Based on distribution channel, global automotive ultrasonic technologies market is bifurcated into OEMs and Aftermarket segments. The OEMs segment is expected to hold a higher market share during the forecast period. OEMs have a high level of integration in the automotive industry. They work closely with automakers to develop customized ultrasonic sensors and systems for different models and applications. This integration allows them to provide a complete solution that is optimized for the specific requirements of the automaker. Also, the high level of integration, strong R&D capabilities, established relationships with automakers, regulatory compliance, and brand reputation all contribute to OEMs segments higher growth in the global automotive ultrasonic technologies market.

Competitive Landscape

Major players operating in global automotive ultrasonic technologies market include Bosch, Continental AG, Delphi Technologies, DENSO Corporation, Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., NXP Semiconductors N.V., Omnivision Technologies, Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Valeo SA, Visteon Corporation, Xilinx, Inc., and ZF Friedrichshafen AG. To further enhance their market share, these companies employ various strategies, including mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures, license agreements, and new product launches.

Dont miss the business opportunity in the Global Automotive Ultrasonic Technologies Market . Consult our analysts to gain crucial insights and facilitate your business growth.

The in-depth analysis of the report provides information about growth potential, upcoming trends, and statistics of Global Automotive Ultrasonic Technologies Market. It also highlights the factors driving forecasts of total market size. The report promises to provide recent technology trends in Global Automotive Ultrasonic Technologies Market and industry insights to help decision-makers make sound strategic decisions. Furthermore, the report also analyzes the growth drivers, challenges, and competitive dynamics of the market.







Scope of the Report

Attributes Details Years Considered Historical Data  20192022 Base Year  2022 Estimated Year  2023 Forecast Period  20232029 Facts Covered Revenue in USD Billion Market Coverage North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America, Middle East and Africa (MEA) Product/ Service Segmentation Type, Vehicle Type, Frequency Range, Distribution Channel, Application, Region Key Players Bosch, Continental AG, Delphi Technologies, DENSO Corporation, Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., NXP Semiconductors N.V., Omnivision Technologies, Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Valeo SA, Visteon Corporation, Xilinx, Inc., ZF Friedrichshafen AG

By Type

Ultrasonic Sensors

Ultrasonic Transceivers

Ultrasonic Proximity Sensors

By Vehicle Type

Passenger Cars

Commercial Vehicles

Electric Vehicles

Autonomous Vehicles

By Frequency Range

High Frequency

Low Frequency

Mid Frequency

By Distribution Channel

OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)

Aftermarket

By Application

Park Assist Systems

Adaptive Cruise Control Systems

Blind Spot Detection Systems

Collision Avoidance Systems

By Region

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific (APAC)

Latin America

Middle East and Africa (MEA)







Please Find Below Some Related Topics:

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BlueWeave Consulting provides comprehensive Market Intelligence (MI) Solutions to businesses regarding various products and services online and offline. We offer all-inclusive market research reports by analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to boost the performance of your business solutions. BlueWeave has built its reputation by delivering quality inputs and nourishing long-lasting relationships with its clients. We are one of the promising digital MI solutions companies providing agile assistance to make your business endeavors successful.

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The Foundation's signature biennial event will take place on Wednesday, October 11, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Barbara Bush Foundation is pleased to announce that the Honorable Mike Rogers and Kristi Rogers will serve as chairs for the 2023 National Celebration of Reading, to be held on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The Honorable Mike Rogers

The Barbara Bush Foundation's signature biennial event, the National Celebration of Reading brings together bestselling authors, entertainers, and special guests to advance the Foundation's mission and raise support for its nationwide programming.

"Mike and Kristi Rogers share a keen understanding of literacy's intersection with pressing issues including economic growth, global competitiveness and national security," said Barbara Bush Foundation president and CEO British A. Robinson. "I'm thrilled that they've agreed to invest their time, talents and energy in raising support for literacy by chairing the 2023 National Celebration of Reading."

Kristi Rogers is currently the managing partner and co-founder of Principal to Principal, a firm that brings together senior executive leaders and decision-makers to consider new and constructive approaches to today's problems. Her strategic advice and counsel are regularly sought on issues relating to security and disaster response, federal government contracting, the role of business in complex and dynamic environments (including markets emerging from conflict), public-private partnerships and crisis communications.

Previously, Rogers successfully launched and led two companies with extensive overseas operations. Rogers has also held senior positions within the U.S. government, including her appointment as assistant commissioner at U.S. Customs & Border Protection and as a senior official with the U.S. Department of Defense, serving nine months in Iraq.

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Kristi currently serves on Qualys Inc.'s board of directors, NowSecure's board of directors, ForgePoint Capital Cyber advisory council, as co-chair of the Women's Foreign Policy Group, and on Business Executives for National Security's board of directors. She is also the president of the State Society of Michigan.

The Honorable Mike Rogers is a former member of Congress representing Michigan's Eighth Congressional District, and previously served as an officer in the U.S. Army and FBI special agent in Chicago tackling organized crime. While in Congress, Rogers chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he authorized and oversaw a budget of $70 billion that funded the nation's 17 intelligence agencies.

He currently serves as the vice chairman of the board at the MITRE Corporation, and as a director at leading companies including IAP, IronNet Cybersecurity and Constella Intelligence. Rogers is a member of the board of trustees and the David Abshire Chair at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, where he directs the Center's national security programs and its National Space Program.

Together, Mike and Kristi Rogers are the cofounders of Leadership to Ensure the American Dream, a policy initiative focusing on helping people achieve the American Dream, address top policy issues and foster economic opportunities nationwide. (https://www.leadamerica.org/)

"With literacy comes opportunity, and low literacy is the one epidemic in America that together we can solve," shared Mike Rogers.

"We are thrilled and honored to join the Barbara Bush Foundation in helping families and students of all ages gain the power of reading," said Kristi Rogers.

"We're over the moon to have Kristi and Mike Rogers serving as chairs for the National Celebration of Reading," said Barbara Bush Foundation honorary chair Doro Bush Koch. "They're wonderful advocates for the Foundation's mission  especially here in Washington, D.C., where we are headquartered  and we know that the event will be absolutely incredible thanks to their support."

The lineup of featured authors and special guests for the 2023 National Celebration of Reading will be announced in the coming weeks. The most recent events in 2019 and 2021 featured appearances by bestselling authors and entertainers including former President George W. Bush, former first ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama, Mateo Askaripour, LeVar Burton, Eva Chen, Meena Harris, Jesse J. Holland, Leslie Jordan, Tim McGraw, Jon Meacham, Eric L. Motley, Lupita Nyong'o, Susan Orlean, Delia Owens, Tim Shriver and Darren Walker.

About the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy: The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy has been the nation's leading advocate for family literacy for more than three decades. Established by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1989, the Foundation is a public charity dedicated to creating a stronger, more equitable America in which everyone can read, write and comprehend in order to navigate the world with dignity. To learn more, visit www.BarbaraBush.org.

Kristi Rogers

Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy (PRNewsfoto/Barbara Bush Foundation for Fam)

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SOURCE Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy
ReportLinker

Segmented By Type (Bath Soaps, Body Wash, Shower/Cream Gels, Others (Bath oils, Bath Additives, etc.)), By Form (Solid, Liquid, Gels, Others (Jellies, etc.)), By End User (Men, Women), By Distribution Channel (Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores, Specialty Stores, Online and Others (Cosmetic Stores, Pharmacies, etc.

New York, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Bath & Shower Products Market  Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2018-2028F" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06438497/?utm_source=GNW

), By Region, Competition



The global bath & shower products market is anticipated to project robust growth in the forecast period because of the rising demand for chemical-free bathing products, new and innovative launches by market players, and an increasing number of product offerings by brands containing skincare ingredients, etc. Another major factor in this market is the rising presence of bath & shower companies on online platforms.

Companies are coming up with innovative offerings to expand their consumer base.For instance, in 2021, Everist launched a waterless body wash concentrate.



The body wash can be activated by water with a simple paste-to-lather by rubbing the paste between their hands to clean and moisturize the skin.

Additionally, brands focus on improving their marketing strategies to attract more consumers.For instance, in 2022, Yardley launched its new range of floral-sense shower gels with a commercial intending to target young women.



Also, in 2022, Unilever launched its largest refill trial in Europe. The store consisted of touch-free refill machines, where new customers received a bottle, whereas returning customers utilized their old bottles.

Furthermore, several brands are expanding their product portfolio to provide a comprehensive offering to customers.For instance, in 2022, Godrej launched a new gel-to-liquid body wash under its Magic brand, a gel sachet that can be combined with water to produce a liquid body wash.



Also, the increasing presence of companies on online portals further leads to market growth expansion. The increased internet penetration is boosting the online sales of this market.

Skincare Ingredients in Bath & Shower Products Fueling the Market Growth

In the past couple of years, the demand for bath & shower products containing skincare ingredients has significantly risen as consumers have grown more conscious regarding hygiene and skincare.This trend promotes the linkage between self-care, well-being, and beauty.



Moreover, customers are beginning to read labels and shop depending on their unique needs, whether for skincare, particular body parts, or therapeutic benefits.Therefore, bath and shower brands are focusing on offering products with skincare ingredients to cater to consumer demand.



For instance, Kerala offers cleaning products without chemical and physical exfoliation.Also, Dove offers serum-infused cleansers that treat complicated skin issues like acne, dullness, etc.



Additionally, in 2021, Sanex, a brand of Colgate-Palmolive, developed a shower gel, bath foam, and other products employing pre- and postbiotics to promote the skin microbiome. Particularly, Gen Z is interacting with this market and relevant items sooner than previous generations, continuing to fuel category growth.

Sustainable Packaging Aiding the Market Growth

Consumers are becoming conscious of the sustainability of products.Consumer groups, particularly, Gen-Z, have demonstrated a strong desire to support companies that care about the environment.



This factor has prompted brands to opt for sustainable packaging for their products.For instance, in 2022, Bath & Body Works featured an array of products packaged in a more environmentally friendly way in its stores.



Similarly, in 2022, Nivea launched its shower gels with sustainable packaging by using recycled plastic. In 2020, around 21% of soap, bath, shower, and body care products launched In Europe made an "environmentally friendly product" claim, i.e., an increase of 7% from 2016.

Luxury Bath & Shower Products Boosting the Market Growth

The popularity of high-end soaps is attributed to their use of luxurious components like essential oils and organic plant materials that enhance skin care.Their rejuvenating qualities help moisturize and calm the skin, which is a necessary aspect of self-care.



Liquid body washes in distinctive bottles that reflect soothing spa-like smells are becoming more popular.Brands are focusing on offering premium and luxury categories of bath and shower products in designed glass bottles to cater to consumer demand.



For instance, in 2021, Manscaped, a mens hygiene and grooming company launched its ultra-premium product line containing shower gel infused with natural aloe vera and sea salt hydrates. Hence, this factor is anticipated to enhance further the market growth of the bath and shower market in the forecast period.

Market Segmentation

The global bath & shower products market is segmented on type, form, end user, distribution channel, region, and competitional landscape. Based on type, the market is further fragmented into bath soaps, body wash, shower/cream gels, and others (bath oils, bath additives, etc.) It is also segmented based on form in terms of solids, liquids, gels, and others (jellies, etc.). Based on end-user, it is segmented into men and women. Based on distribution channels, the market is segmented into supermarkets/hypermarkets, convenience stores, specialty stores, online, and others (cosmetic stores, pharmacies, etc.). The market analysis also studies the regional segmentation to devise regional market segmentation, divided among North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa.

Company Profiles

Unilever PLC, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Avon Products, Inc., Beiersdorf AG, Plum Island Soap Company LLC, Bath & Body Works, Inc., Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, and The Procter & Gamble Company are among the major market players in the global platform that lead the market growth of the global bath & shower products market.



Report Scope:



In this report, the global bath & shower products market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends, which have also been detailed below:

 Bath & Shower Products Market, By Type:

o Bath Soaps

o Body Wash

o Shower/Cream Gels

o Others

 Bath & Shower Products Market, By Form:

o Solid

o Liquid

o Gels

o Others

 Bath & Shower Products Market, By End User:

o Men

o Women

 Bath & Shower Products Market, By Distribution Channel:

o Supermarkets/Hypermarkets

o Convenience Stores

o Specialty Stores

o Online

o Others

 Bath & Shower Products Market, By Region:

o North America

United States

Canada

Mexico

o Europe

France

Germany

United Kingdom

Italy

Spain

Russia

Netherlands

o Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Australia

Vietnam

Indonesia

o Middle East & Africa

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

UAE

Turkey

Egypt

o South America

Brazil

Argentina

Colombia



Competitive Landscape



Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the global bath & shower products market.



Available Customizations:



With the given market data, we offers customizations according to a companys specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:



Company Information



 Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06438497/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Company Logo

Dublin, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Batoclimab Emerging Drug Insight and Market Forecast - 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report provides comprehensive insights about batoclimab for Generalized Myasthenia Gravis (gMG) in the seven major markets.

A detailed picture of the batoclimab for generalized myasthenia gravis in the 7MM, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan for the study period 2019 -2032 is provided in this report along with a detailed description of the batoclimab for generalized myasthenia gravis.

The report provides insights about mechanism of action, dosage and administration, as well as research and development including regulatory milestones, along with other developmental activities.

Further, it also consists of future market assessments inclusive of the batoclimab market forecast analysis for generalized myasthenia gravis in the 7MM, SWOT, analysts' views, comprehensive overview of market competitors, and brief about other emerging therapies in generalized myasthenia gravis.



Drug Summary



Batoclimab is a novel, fully humanized mAB, which inhibits neonatal Fc receptors by blocking FcRn-IgG interactions and accelerating the degradation of autoantibodies. The neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) is a cellular receptor that binds IgG antibodies and guides their transport through cells. FcRn plays a pivotal role in preventing the degradation of IgG antibodies.

Therefore, inhibition of FcRn, such as through an FcRn targeting antibody, has been shown to reduce levels of pathogenic IgG antibodies. Completed clinical trials of other anti-FcRn antibodies in IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases have generated promising results, suggesting that FcRn is a therapeutically important pharmaceutical target to treat these relevant pathogenic conditions.



Batoclimab is being evaluated in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of adult patients with gMG with AChR+ antibodies.



Scope of the Report



The report provides insights into:

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A comprehensive product overview including the batoclimab description, mechanism of action, dosage and administration, research and development activities in generalized myasthenia gravis.

Elaborated details on batoclimab regulatory milestones and other development activities have been provided in this report.

The report also highlights the batoclimab research and development activities in generalized myasthenia gravis across the United States, Europe and Japan.

The report also covers the patents information with expiry timeline around batoclimab.

The report contains forecasted sales of for generalized myasthenia gravis till 2032.

Comprehensive coverage of the late-stage emerging therapies for generalized myasthenia gravis.

The report also features the SWOT analysis with analyst views for batoclimab in generalized myasthenia gravis.

Methodology



The report is built using data and information sourced primarily from internal databases, primary and secondary research and in-house analysis by the publisher's team of industry experts. Information and data from the secondary sources have been obtained from various printable and nonprintable sources like search engines, news websites, global regulatory authorities websites, trade journals, white papers, magazines, books, trade associations, industry associations, industry portals and access to available databases.



Batoclimab Analytical Perspective

In-depth batoclimab Market Assessment



This report provides a detailed market assessment of batoclimab for generalized myasthenia gravis in the seven major markets, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan. This segment of the report provides forecasted sales data from 2025 to 2032.



Batoclimab Clinical Assessment



The report provides the clinical trials information of batoclimab for generalized myasthenia gravis covering trial interventions, trial conditions, trial status, start and completion dates.



Key Questions Answered

What is the product type, route of administration and mechanism of action of batoclimab?

What is the clinical trial status of the study related to batoclimab in generalized myasthenia gravis and study completion date?

What are the key collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and other activities related to the batoclimab development?

What are the key designations that have been granted to batoclimab for generalized myasthenia gravis?

What is the forecasted market scenario of batoclimab for generalized myasthenia gravis?

What are the forecasted sales of batoclimab in the seven major countries, including the United States, Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), and Japan?

What are the other emerging products available and how are these giving competition to batoclimab for generalized myasthenia gravis?

Which are the late-stage emerging therapies under development for the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis?

Key Topics Covered:



1. Report Introduction



2. Batoclimab Overview in Generalized Myasthenia Gravis

2.1. Product Detail

2.2. Clinical Development

2.2.1. Clinical studies

2.2.2. Clinical trials information

2.2.3. Safety and efficacy

2.3. Other Developmental Activities

2.4. Product Profile



3. Competitive Landscape (Marketed Therapies)



4. Competitive Landscape (Late-stage Emerging Therapies)



5. Batoclimab Market Assessment

5.1. Market Outlook of Batoclimab in Generalized Myasthenia Gravis

5.2. 7MM Analysis

5.2.1. Market size of batoclimab in the 7MM for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3. Country-wise Market Analysis

5.3.1. Market size of batoclimab in the United States for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.2. Market size of batoclimab in Germany for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.3. Market size of batoclimab in France for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.4. Market size of batoclimab in Italy for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.5. Market size of batoclimab in Spain for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.6. Market size of batoclimab in the United Kingdom for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.7. Market size of batoclimab in Japan for generalized myasthenia gravis



6. SWOT Analysis



7. Analysts' Views



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9pyci2

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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ISRAEL-US-DIPLOMACY

Then-Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address reporters in the prime minister's office in Jerusalem on March 9, 2016. Credit - Debbie HillAFP via Getty Images

It was an unusually pointed exchange of comments between an American President and an Israeli prime minister.

Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday afternoon that Benjamin Netanyahu wouldnt be coming to the White House in the near term and that he hopes Netanyahu walks away from the divisive judiciary overhaul effort that had brought Israel to a standstill.

Within hours, Netanyahu brushed Biden back. He took to Twitter with a retort that Israel is a sovereign country that makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.

It was the most visible sign of how the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu has turned markedly icy, a development that could have widespread implications for the role of both countries, particularly in the Middle East. Its been three months since Netanyahu was named Prime Minister for the third time. He has yet to visit Washington since his swearing in in December, a rare absence for a newly elected Israeli leader.

Any Israeli Prime Minister wants to have an early visit to Washington to coordinate with the President, says Daniel Shapiro, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council and the US ambassador to Israel from 2011 to 2017, who noted that both leaders would want to work to get on the same page on a long list of pressing issues, including the threat Iran poses and how to address it.

Netanyahus latest return to power has been overshadowed by the deal he had to make with Israels extreme-right parties to get there, including a promise to push for increasing executive control of the judicial branch. That move raised alarm bells throughout Israel that it would undermine the checks and balances among the countrys branches of government.

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It also rattled Bidens inner circle.

Biden has long considered himself a close friend of Israel, from his years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to his time as Vice President, when he was tapped to smooth over the tensions between President Obama and Netanyahu, who was in the midst of a previous stint as prime minister, over the U.S. effort to advance a nuclear deal with Iran.

Netanyahus plan to weaken Israels Supreme Court sparked weeks of massive protests and debilitating work stoppages. On Monday, Netanyahu announced he was backing off the overhaul for now, yet signaled he still intended to move forward with the plan at a later date. That leaves Netanyahus bid to hold on to power on a collision course not only with much of the Israeli public, but also with Biden. The face-off threatens to strain US-Israel relations.

Read more: What the Protests in Israel Ignore

Like many strong supporters of Israel, Im very concerned. And Im concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road, Biden told reporters Wednesday afternoon under the wing of Air Force One, as the President finished up a visit to a semiconductor maker in North Carolina.

The split comes at a critical time in the Middle East. Israel and the US have close security ties, sharing information on terrorist threats, as well as Irans destabilizing actions in the region and its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress last week that Iran could generate a nuclear weapon in several months, if it decided to produce the fissile material. US forces have recently exchanged strikes with militants in Syria affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

During a phone call on March 19, Biden told Netanyahu that democratic values are a hallmark of the US-Israel relationship, and that democratic societies are strengthened by genuine checks and balances, according to a White House description of the call. The two havent spoken since.

One sign of the amount of work and coordination thats still going on between the two governments is the number of senior Biden Administration officials who have visited the country in recent months. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visited Israel in January, weeks after Netanyahu took office, as did CIA director Bill Burns and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Milley was in Israel in early March. Ron Dermer, Netanyahus close advisor and Minister of Strategic Affairs, has also made multiple trips to Washington since the start of the year. But Netanyahu hasnt visited the Oval Office since Donald Trump was President and theres no plans at this point for him to do so.

Had it not been for some of Netanyahus policies, I suspect you would have had an early invitation for Netanyahu to visit the White House, says Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former State Department senior advisor for Arab-Israeli negotiations. Joe Biden is in love with the idea of Israel. He is not in love with Benjamin Netanyahu.

Its unclear if Netanyahu will change course on his efforts to weaken Israels judiciary or if he intends to press forward, hoping his pause will deflate the energy behind the protests. Along with concerns that the overhaul would weaken the countrys democracy, the changes could also benefit Netanyahu personally. He is facing a corruption trial in Israel, and giving the executive branch more authority over the countrys judiciary would give him more power to seat judges that could rule on cases involving him.

Netanyahu in recent years has tended to steer toward conflict, not away from it. In 2019, I interviewed him for a TIME cover story on the cusp of his becoming Israels longest-serving prime minister. Sitting on couches inside the prime ministers residence in Jerusalem, Netanyahu admitted he had few hobbies, aside from smoking a cigar at the end of the day, and reading history books in his spare time. He noted he had recently read The Lessons of History, by Will and Ariel Durant and recommended it. The No. 1 lesson he took away from the book was that turning the other cheek may not be a winning strategy in the annals of time. History does not favor Christ over Genghis Khan, he told TIME.
Seeking high-octane thrills? Luxury travel company Black Tomato has just what youre looking for with its latest itinerary spanning five European locations with James Bond-style flair.

Dubbed The Assignment, the experiences are developed in collaboration with EON Productions and the franchises film crew. Its luxe excursions in the UK, France, Monaco, Italy, and Austria can also be personalized and range from training with actor Daniel Craigs stunt double to exploring the Frances Cote dAzur onboard a vintage yacht. Journeys range from five nights to any length of time you please with prices starting at $18,500.

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Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco where youll enjoy a VIP casino experience part of The Assignment.

Black Tomatos Assignment launched in celebration of the franchises 60-year run on Thursday with just 60 spots available for purchase. And the details sound pretty impressive. For example, a thrilling pursuit down Englands River Thames aboard the same boata Superhawk 34featured in The World Is Not Enough sets the tone. To match that excitement, youll visit Bond filming sites aboard the boat like Big Ben and House of Parliament, oftentimes at double-knot speeds for a rush. And Sarah Donohue, the Cigar Girls stunt double from the 1999 flick, will join you onboard.

Wine and cocktail connoisseurs will enjoy visits to Bollingers secretive estate in Paris and a vintage Martini masterclass in the UK with one of franchises bartenders. Youll journey outside Paris by private Land Rover, or helicopter, when visiting the Bollinger estate which normally does not conduct tours. Here youll explore the vineyard of 007s favorite champagne brand, enjoy a scenic-view picnic, and traverse two cellars housing over 10,000 bottles altogether. In England, meanwhile, mixologist Erik Lorincz who consulted on recipes and bartending etiquette for Skyfall will teach you how to recreate Martinis seen on film from vintage ingredients.

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Actor Pierce Brosnan hopping into an Aston Martin on set in Monaco.

Other noteworthy adventures you will be able to partake in on The Assignment include driving an Aston Martin with a Bond special-effects supervisor, sightseeing in Monaco on a yacht with Octopussys Carole Ashby, an exclusive watch experience at Omega, and a high-flying helicopter adventure over Solden, Austria. Each Black Tomato trip culminates in Venice with an immersive finale dining experience. The dinner will be hosted at the citys Murano glass factory, a.k.a. the glass-filled venue where Bond and Chang face off in Moonraker (1979).

Views at an exclusive Omega Experience in France.

To top off your spy-centric escape, youll receive an exclusive Dr. No-inspired attache case by Globe-Trotter, the official luggage used by 007. You can book one of The Assignment vacation spots now via the Black Tomato website.

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Building heights. Parking requirements. Neighborhood markets. Lot sizes. Transit. Mixed-use complexes.

The details of a zoning code are often technical, filled with minutiae and dry specificity. But together, they add up to something large: the look, layout and feel of a city.

In Boise, a years-long process of rewriting the citys zoning code for the first time in 60 years is wrapping up, and the citys Planning Department has submitted a final draft to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which plans to hold public hearings in late April.

Many of the changes outlined in the more than 600-page document are drawn from the citys comprehensive plan, a 2011 document that laid out goals for sustainability, mixed-use districts, establishing incentives and changing parking requirements.

In an interview with the Idaho Statesman, the citys planner, Tim Keane, discussed what the biggest changes would be and explained how Boise hopes to avoid the pitfalls of sprawl, unaffordability and car reliance that many other cities have faced.

Weve got this chance to avoid that and build more affordability and a greater diversity of things as were growing, versus having to go back and try to repair all the damage later, he said.

Plan would encourage more housing units

Under the current zoning law, Boise has residential zones, which differ in the number of units they allow. Most of the citys neighborhoods  like the North End and Northwest Boise, much of the Bench and West Downtown  are zoned residential.

The new zoning laws would let developers raise the number of units allowed on a parcel if they designate a portion of the units as affordable and use sustainable materials during construction.

While current zoning allows single-family homes or duplexes, a developer could build four dwelling units  doubling the density  if one of three or two of four of the units were designated to be rented to households making no more than 80% of the area median income, or sold to households making no more than 120% of the area median income.

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In Boise, a two-person household making 100% of AMI earns $70,026 per year. The affordability requirements would last for 50 years.

Lot sizes in most of the citys residential areas would also decrease, meaning that multiple, smaller homes could be built in areas where there is now only one home.

Those projects would also have to meet several sustainability criteria, including using only electric or geothermal energy within the building and consuming 15% less energy and saving 15% more water than would otherwise be required.

Other incentives would allow builders to go up to between three and 12 units if they are near a mixed-use district. And they would have to meet a set of other criteria, including: at least 55 feet of street frontage; use of a vacant lot or structures that add up to no more than 25% of the propertys value; no demolition permit for a primary structure within three years, to avoid demolition of existing housing; and new parking would have to be situated in the rear.

Infill sites could add affordable housing

On busier residential streets, developers would be allowed to build more housing if they use a vacant lot or reuse an existing building, up to four units on a lot where there is now only one.

If one of those were designated as affordable housing, they could build between five and eight units, and as high as nine to 12 if two of them are affordable.

Infill sites within neighborhoods could also reduce their parking requirements and build more density if a portion of units are designated as affordable.

Zoning laws would add mixed-use districts

The new zoning laws create mixed-use districts, which would allow for much denser development along public transit corridors, like the planned bus hub along State Street, and in activity centers, like the intersection of Emerald and Orchard streets on the Bench, Hyde Park and the Boise Towne Square Mall.

These areas would likely see large apartment complexes going up, with mixes of retail commercial space and apartments. The city would also allow developers to increase the heights of their buildings if they made portions of the units affordable and designed more sustainable buildings.

Though the parking requirements for high-density mixed-use zones would remain in place, builders could qualify for a 50% reduction in parking if a quarter of the homes are designated for households earning less than 60% of area median income.

As many cities look to reduce the necessity of driving and make urban environments more pedestrian friendly, some have moved to nix parking requirements altogether.

Boise is choosing a different approach, which Keane said was a compromise between those who want no parking requirements and those who see a need for even more parking.

The new plan seeks to make reductions where we felt like it would be helpful, and provide single-family zones with more flexibility because there is often on-street parking, Keane said.

In mixed-use districts with large developments, the city decided it would make more sense to keep the requirements as they are, just with added incentives.

If we could kind of surgically replace some of those spaces and give you more room to build affordable (units), that was the thinking, Keane said.

Some residents have objected to the proposal and argued that it would significantly change neighborhoods.

A group called Reject Boise Upzone criticized the increased density in neighborhoods and lack of public hearings for some applications.

Dave Kangas, a spokesperson for the group, told the Statesman that larger buildings on neighborhood streets would change how they feel. He said homebuyers usually buy a home because you liked the looks of the neighborhood and its uniformity.

Its not so much an objection to having more units or even getting some affordability, its trying to blend in the architecture and the buildings that are here and people that are here, Kangas said.

He added that he worries the Bench and West Boise would have the largest density increases because of their proximity to transit corridors.

A neighborhood market, called Hollywood Market, sold groceries on 8th Street and Resseguie in Boises North End until it closed in 2008. In decades past, the citys historic North End had many neighborhood grocery stores.

Proposal would encourage neighborhood cafes

Historic neighborhoods in Boise, like Hyde Park, have cafes and coffee shops near residential streets. Other parts of Boise, for the most part, do not.

The new zoning laws would allow such establishments, called neighborhood cafes, to be built, so long as they are small and have limited hours. They would have to serve food and be allowed to sell retail items and alcohol.

Drive-throughs are prohibited, and the establishments would need to provide two parking spaces, including a spot for disabled people, as well as bicycle parking.

The cafes could be up to 2,000 square feet in size, and could only be open between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. If they have outdoor seating, it would have to be less than the indoor seating capacity.

On residential street corners, the cafes would be allowed outright. Within blocks, applicants would need to apply for a conditional use permit, which requires a public hearing.

Not everyone is sold on the idea. The Upzone groups website called the neighborhood cafes idea intrusive, and said that the effects of the new law would be immediate, significant, and permanent.

Some applications wont require hearings

While many of the zoning revisions relate to allowed uses themselves, Boise is also planning to streamline application processes for projects that planners want to see.

Under existing law, city planning staff have authority to approve certain minor applications, such as accessory dwelling units, duplexes and home-based businesses. More substantial applications, like conditional use permits, planned unit developments and rezones require a public hearing before a commission.

The new law would instead separate land-use decisions into four types, with different review standards for each.

Type 1 and Type 2 applications would be made by the Planning Department. Type 3 decisions would include conditional uses and more complex applications and would be made by an appointed body, like the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The most significant applications would be Type 4, which would include changes to the zoning map. Those decisions would be made by the City Council.

City planners aim to use the code to incentivize the types of projects they want to see.

The citys proposal makes it easier for developers to pursue projects with higher density in transit corridors. If the developer planned to build a low-density, single-story commercial building with a surface parking lot, the project would require a hearing, which is a change from current law. But a higher-density, six-story apartment building with first-floor retail would be categorized as a Type 2 project and would not require a hearing.

Type 2 applications could be appealed and reviewed by a newly created hearing examiner, who would take testimony and rule on the facts of the application and ordinance.

State code requires public hearings on subdivisions, conditional use permits, variances, annexations and rezones  all of which would still be required under the new system.

Keane said the citys engagement with the community has led to the laws overhaul, and that the hearing process would encourage developers to build what the community wants.

We want to make those things easier, he said. We want the community helping us make sure this ordinance is successful. Thats why we designed it this way.

He also noted that the city now has a community development tracker, which allows residents to track whats going on in their neighborhood.

Kangas, who objects to the rewrite, said he is concerned the city will lose leverage with developers by allowing greater density outright.

Under current law, Boise often uses development agreements  which are legally binding documents  to require builders to add in infrastructure or otherwise support community interests when they apply to construct buildings that exceed a zones allowances. If those developers dont need a variance, though, Kangas said the city wouldnt have the opportunity to add restrictions.

Boise planner calls affordability criticism utterly wrong

Fred Fritchman, a past president of the Southeast Neighborhood Association, wrote in a recent guest opinion in the Statesman that the new law would result in the demolition of affordable housing and would strip mine local neighborhoods by allowing more density in them.

Keane said the idea that the new zoning law would reduce affordable housing is utterly wrong.

For decades, Keane said that in most U.S. cities, rising property values from increased demand has caused modest-sized homes to get demolished and replaced with mansions.

Thats what our ordinance right now gets us, he said. The new code is designed to avoid that pattern, he added, by allowing smaller units and creating an incentive for developers to build units designated to be affordable.

Under the new law, Boise would go from having no protection for affordable units to measures in place that would prevent their replacement and encourage new ones, Keane said.

When residents in existing neighborhoods object to changes, growth gets pushed into the desert, farmland and Boise Foothills, causing sprawl, harming nature and leading to more expensive housing, Keane said.

This doesnt work. Weve proven it for 50 years in this country, he said. This idea that the zoning of the 60s and 70s is a way towards protection of affordable housing hasnt worked once. So why is it going to work here suddenly?

In the future, a need to build more public transit

The citys plans to focus density in transit-oriented parts of the city highlights the focus on public transportation, which now has limited ridership and frequency in Boise.

Kangas told the Statesman that he thought designing neighborhoods for transit without first having in place the needed investment is putting the cart before the horse.

Keane said that while the region will need significantly more investment in transit in the future, it all starts with development.

Cities with zoning codes dating from mid-century require people to spread out and be served by highways, Keane said. Phoenix and Salt Lake City were built that way, rendering efficient public transit difficult to design. If Boise wants to grow differently, it needs to be built differently, he said.

The thing that comes first is the development pattern, he said, referring to the citys layout. If you dont have the development pattern, youll never have a transit system.

By focusing on transit corridors now, Keane hopes for development to be focused in areas that have existing routes. And along State Street, designs for a more robust transit corridor are underway.

But the citys needs will require further investment, he said.

Its going to require not just the city but the region and the state to acknowledge that in order for us to be mobile, and have economic development, and be a growing place, were going to have to invest in something other than highways, he said. Which means public transportation.

Hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission are scheduled from April 24-27, with City Council hearings to follow.

Residents can also submit comments online or by email to zoningrewrite@cityofboise.org.
rishi sunak - Rory Arnold / No 10 Downing Street

Rishi Sunak is on a roll. The Windsor Framework begins to put Britains trade relations with Europe on a workable foundation, and without having to submit to European legal and political suzerainty.

Britains imminent accession to the Pacific free trade pact helps him finish the job. The accord instantly raises Britains bargaining power in dealings with the EU, and sets in motion a process that shatters a host of Rejoiner shibboleths.

It is not about immediate trade figures: it is about the geopolitical dynamic in world trade over the next 20 or 30 years. It raises the UKs status enormously in the global economy, said Professor David Collins, an expert on world trade at City University.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) comprises Japan, Canada, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, and Brunei. It jumps overnight to 16pc of global GDP once Britain joins, leap-frogging the combined EU.

The Pacific bloc is heading rapidly for 20pc as a string of states in the Far East and Latin America signal an intent to join, at which point it becomes a stampede. By the end of this decade it will probably be the worlds largest trading system by a wide margin, increasingly able to set the tone and rules of global commerce.

This revenge of the middle powers demolishes the central catechism of Britains pro-EU trade elites: that the world is divided into three regulatory blocs  the US, EU, and China  and that the underlings must buckle under and accept the terms.

This is a seismic event. The EU and the US fully understand the geo-economic significance of this, and are utterly shocked that it could have happened, said Shanker Singham, a UK trade adviser and a fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs.

It is a wake-up call in Washington. It is now much more likely that well see a US-UK bilateral trade deal, and there is going to be a chorus of calls for the US itself to join the CPTPP, he said.

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As a practical matter, UK accession kills off any likelihood that it will ever rejoin the EU customs union or single market. There will be no dynamic alignment with EU directives. The course is set irreversibly in a different direction.

The CPTPP members have one shared objective: to make trade as smooth and easy as humanly possible, subject to basic civilised standards. It is governed by twin principles of mutual recognition and equivalence.

This is entirely at odds with EU ideology. Brussels obliges supplicants to adopt identical laws, rules, and standards  under the writ of the European Court  in order to secure access to the European market. It does not accept reciprocation as a governing principle of trade.

The EUs neo-colonial ambitions have reached obvious limits. Its share of global GDP will drop to 14.6pc this year. It is losing roughly one percentage point every three years. Europe will remain a valuable market. Its regulatory apparatus will punch above its weight for a while yet.

Yet the EU is undergoing a slow, comfortable, economic relegation, trailing badly in the Sino-US technology arms race, and politically captured by corporate vested interests wedded to the status quo - a reflex on display over the last week as the German car industry won a (futile) reprieve for 20th century combustion engines.

The EUs dream of being a global regulatory superpower was never what it was cracked up to be and from now on it is going into decline. I dont think it is going to be exporting its rules or precautionary principle for much longer, said Prof Collins.

The tide is already receding over digital data. Japan, Singapore, and Korea are embarking on their own soft-touch regimes rather than swallowing the EUs rule-heavy GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)  a nightmare for small business.

The CPTPP has a trade-driven philosophy. Its chapter on small business is designed to promote easy access to information for start-ups and hi-tech firms, rather than seeking to restrict it. The pact reduces the burden of rules of origin in cross-border commerce to the absolute minimum with self-certification and paperless trade, unlike the bureaucratic overkill of the EUs customs regime - sheer torture for small British exporters trying to ship goods across the Channel.

The EU never delivered on free trade in services. National barriers proved intractable and Brussels failed to enforce its own laws. This was a chronic grievance for the UK as the worlds second largest exporter of services. The CPTPP goes much further in opening up e-commerce and financial services, said Prof Collins.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida - Simon Walker / No10 Downing Street

Britains pro-Brussels camp has always ridiculed UKs Pacific tilt as grandstanding, an implausible attempt to put flesh on the bones of Global Britain. The Pacific is far away and the volumes are trivial. The canonical gravity model of trade is solemnly invoked, even though it has less traction in the digital age. We are told that the CPTPP can never be a swap for lost EU trade.

But it is not intended to be a swap. It is better understood as a direct challenge to the EUs protectionist trade doctrines. It is an attempt to assert a rival Peelite doctrine of open global trade. It is a bid to seize intellectual leadership as the paralysed World Trade Organisation enters its agonies. There is a battle going on over the operating system for global trade. The EU is going to discover that it cant impose its laws on other countries, said Mr Singham.

British accession to the CPTPP matters in the international political dance. It brings added G7 heft and free-market credibility at a critical moment. Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica have either applied or talked of doing so. The Philippines and Indonesia are exploring the option. China has also applied to join, which concentrates the mind in Washington.

Xi Jinpings China is clearly not fit for membership today. His Leninist state-capitalism breaches a requirement that private and state companies must operate on a level-playing field. Uyghur concentration camps violate the pacts labour standards. Nevertheless, Beijing could muscle in at some point and gain a lockhold over the Pacific trading system if the US stands aloof.

The US was a key driver of the original Pacific accord (TTP) under Barack Obama. It was intended to counter Chinas push for hegemony in Asia. Donald Trump made it the scarecrow of his electoral campaign in 2016 and later pulled out theatrically, inflicting enormous damage on US strategic interests in the Far East. The Democrats have since been loath to touch it, believing that it cost Hillary Clinton the presidency.

There is by now broad agreement in US foreign policy circles that walking away was a gift to China, and an unforgivable squandering of US credibility in Asia. The US needs to learn from its TPP mistake and get its seat back at the table, say Senators Tom Carper and John Cornyn, leaders of a bipartisan coalition in favour of revisiting the issue.

Whatever happens, the UK is about to join a large, open, dynamic free trade grouping that is open to new technology and congenial for sovereign self-governing nations under their own laws. It can look forward to a bilateral deal with the US sooner than most had supposed.

The trading arrangements that free trade Brexiteers had always hoped to see are finally taking shape. Good work Prime Minister.
Britain reached an agreement to join an 11-member trans-Pacific trade pact on Friday, an important milestone in its efforts to build new trading partnerships since its exit from the European Union three years ago and to play a larger role in the Indo-Pacific region.

After British officials hinted a deal was close this week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed in the early morning hours in London on Friday that a deal had been reached to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Britain is expected to formally sign the trade pact, following a legal review, later this year.

"We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms," Sunak said. "As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation."

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

The deal makes Britain the first European and non-founding member to join the trade pact since it was formed in 2018 and follows two years of negotiations by British trade officials.

Other members of the trade agreement are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.

China formally applied to join the trade pact in September 2021 and pledged last October to continue reforms as part of an effort to join the free trade agreement. Former US president Donald Trump withdrew from its predecessor, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), soon after taking office in 2017.

British officials estimate joining the CPTPP could boost the UK economy by 1.8 billion (US$2.2 billion) in the long run.

"The benefits of UK accession for British businesses are clear: modern data and digital standards, significant tariff reductions and enhanced access to some of the world's most dynamic markets," Saif Malik, the CEO of Standard Chartered's UK business and its regional head for client coverage in the UK and Europe, said.

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Total British exports to CPTPP-member countries were 60.5 billion for the 12 months ended in September 2022, with government officials expecting those exports to increase after joining the trade pact.

"Not only does the agreement provide greater access to a group of fast growth economies representing 14 per cent of global GDP [gross domestic product] and over 500 million consumers, but membership reinforces the UK's commitment to building partnerships in an increasingly fragmented world," Matthew Fell, interim director of the Confederation of British Industry, a trade group, said.

More than 99 per cent of UK exported goods exports to will be eligible for zero tariffs, including cheese, automobiles and whisky, British officials said.

"Joining CPTPP will support jobs and create opportunities for companies of all sizes and in all parts of the UK," British Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said. "It is about giving British businesses improved access to the countries that will be gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific region which is projected to make up the majority of global growth in the future."

The agreement also comes as the UK is seeking to play a much larger role in the Indo-Pacific region amid rising tensions with Beijing.

US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego, California, on March 13, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg alt=US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego, California, on March 13, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg>

The UK joined the trilateral Aukus military alliance alongside the United States and Australia in September 2021, as a check on China's growing influence in the region. Earlier this month, the three countries agree to jointly develop nuclear-powered submarines together as part of the alliance, which has stoked Beijing's ire.

In December, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for Britain to establish deeper relationships with traditionally non-aligned countries in Asia and other parts of the world and take a longer-term view of diplomacy as it engages in a "multi-decade competition" to protect the values that have led to peace and prosperity globally.

In January, Britain and Japan signed a major defence agreement that will make it easier for the two nations to engage in joint military exercises and deploy troops to each other's countries. Last year, Britain agreed to develop the next generation of jet fighters with Japan and Italy.

In an update of its defence and diplomatic strategy this month, British officials said that the Chinese Communist Party's policies provide a "systemic challenge with implications for almost every area of government policy and the everyday lives of British people".

"Our preference is for better cooperation and understanding, and predictability and stability for global public good," the so-called integrated review said. "But we believe that this will depend on the choices China makes, and will be made harder if trends towards greater authoritarianism and assertiveness overseas continue."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in Wee Hur Holdings Ltd.'s (SGX:E3B) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Wee Hur Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Wee Hur Holdings

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Co-Founder & Executive Director Yeo Hwa Goh for S$557k worth of shares, at about S$0.20 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is S$0.20. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months Wee Hur Holdings insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Wee Hur Holdings insiders own 22% of the company, worth about S$41m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

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What Might The Insider Transactions At Wee Hur Holdings Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Wee Hur Holdings shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders do have a stake in Wee Hur Holdings and their transactions don't cause us concern. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Wee Hur Holdings that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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PICTURE POSED BY A MODEL File photo dated 08/01/22 of a person holding an energy bill. Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg is to set out details of a major Government support package for businesses - running to tens of billions of pounds - to ease the pain of soaring energy bills through the winter. Issue date: Wednesday September 21, 2022. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Energy. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire - Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Energy bills are to more than double for many businesses as state support is cut back, analysts have warned.

Government aid for companies to pay their energy bills will be reduced from Saturday just as many of annual contracts come to an end.

Some companies could be facing a rise of up to 133pc when they renew, according to energy market consultancy Cornwall Insight.

In a worst case scenario where businesses fixed the price of their energy contracts when prices peaked last summer, costs could rise from 297 per MWh to 692 per MWh.

Cornwall Insight warned the reduction in state support would pose difficulties for business across the board.

Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said: The reduced levels of support offered to most businesses through the Energy Bill Discount Scheme are expected to have financial and operational implications for non-domestic consumers across the UK.

It will be especially brutal for those that locked in fixed bills during the peak of the wholesale energy market, who will no longer be able to count on the safety net of government support to cap their bills at an affordable level.

UKHospitality, the trade group, said the hospitality sector was facing a 7.3bn hit from higher energy bills.

It said businesses are now spending 11.4pc of their turnover on energy, up from 3.4pc before the crisis.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: The energy crisis has suffocated businesses over the past year, causing thousands to fail and forcing many more to take drastic measures to afford extortionate energy bills.

The Government stepped in to subside household and business energy bills last year as energy prices soared amid Russias war on Ukraine.

Under the scheme, businesses have had their per unit rate of energy capped.

However, the level of the cap is set to be raised as the Chancellor tries to limit the costs of the scheme.

Wholesale energy prices have fallen thanks to warmer weather but are still far higher than long-term averages.

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The latest forecasts for household bills show a sharp decline from July.

Cornwall Insight estimated the price cap on household bills will be set at 2,024 per year in July and 2,076 per year in August.

That is far lower than the 3,280 price cap being introduced tomorrow.

Household bills are still being subsidised by the government so typical households don't pay more than 2,500.

It came as the High Court on Friday rejected a challenge from rival energy firms to the state-backed rescue of failed energy supplier Bulb.

British Gas, E.On and Scottish Power challenged the sale of Bulb to Octopus Energy, arguing the bidding process was unfair as they had not known about the level of support the Government would offer the buyer.

Under the deal struck with Octopus in December 2021, the Government agreed to help Octopus pay for energy for Bulbs 1.5m customers, amid soaring wholesale prices that threatened to make a sale impossible.

However, on Friday Lord Justice Singh rejected their claim for a judicial review, arguing their cases did not have any arguable prospect of success.

Octopuss takeover of Bulb helped boost its rapid growth, turning the seven-year-old company into the UKs second largest household energy supplier.

Bulb collapsed in November 2021 amid soaring wholesale prices and was then supported by the state for more than a year under special administration.

E.On said it would analyse the detail of todays ruling and consider our next steps. It is understood ScottishPower will not seek leave to appeal.

Centrica, the owner of British Gas, said the ruling was "disappointing" and it would "consider our options.
BW Offshore

Short-term contract extension for Abo FPSO

BW Offshore has signed a short-term extension for Abo FPSO with Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd, a subsidiary of ENI S.p.A., until 14 April 2023.

For further information, please contact:

Stale Andreassen, CFO, +47 91 71 86 55

Anders S. Platou, Head of Corporate Finance & Strategy, +47 99 50 47 40

IR@bwoffshore.com or www.bwoffshore.com

About BW Offshore:

BW Offshore engineers innovative floating production solutions. The Company has a fleet of 9 FPSOs with potential and ambition to grow. By leveraging four decades of offshore operations and project execution, the Company creates tailored offshore energy solutions for evolving markets world-wide. BW Offshore has around 2,000 employees and is publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.








(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian government will allow Rogers Communications Inc. to acquire rival Shaw Communications Inc., concluding one of the biggest corporate takeovers in the countrys history after more than two years.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne made the announcement at a news conference Friday morning in Ottawa, confirming a report on Thursday by Bloomberg News. He outlined a number of conditions, including a requirement for Rogers to create 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada and spend billions to expand 5G wireless coverage and services.

The deal unites two billionaire families in a communications firm that will offer wireless, internet and cable television to well over 10 million Canadians from the east coast to the west, with annual revenue near C$20 billion ($15 billion).

Its also the realization of a long-held ambition by the Rogers family. The two companies founders, the late Ted Rogers and JR Shaw, were friends who sometimes did deals together. Their sons, Rogers Chairman Edward Rogers and Shaw Chief Executive Officer Bradley Shaw, have known each other since they were children.

Shaw rose 3.3% to to C$40.44 at 11:45 a.m. in Toronto, just below the takeover price of C$40.50 a share.

Rogers shares initially moved higher, then reversed to trade down 3%. The company issued new financial guidance for the year to reflect the acquisition, which the companies expect to close by April 7.

Champagne on Friday also gave the green light to Quebecor Inc.s proposal to buy most of Shaws wireless business. The two deals were linked. Without the divestiture, Rogers and Shaw wouldnt have been allowed to complete their merger because it would have given Rogers too much market power.

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The minister took months to decide on the deals, during which he extracted a series of promises from Rogers and Quebecor. Among them, Toronto-based Rogers must maintain a second headquarters in Calgary and follow through on promises to invest C$1 billion on better service to rural, remote and indigenous regions of Canada.

Foundation for 5G

Toronto-based Rogers struck the agreement to buy Shaw for C$20 billion in March 2021. Beyond family ties, analysts and investors had long speculated the two companies would be logical business partners. Rogers is strong in Ontario and the eastern parts of Canada, while Shaws domain is the western provinces.

For Rogers, buying Shaws profitable cable and internet businesses is a way to strengthen its networks and gain the kind of scale the company says it needs to compete with BCE Inc., Canadas largest telecom company, and Telus Corp.

The Canadian governments approval of Rogers Shaw acquisition will provide the former with an extensive wireline network in western Canada that can serve as a foundation for the broader deployment of 5G in the region, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Butler said in a note.

The deal was controversial from the beginning, given Canadas already-concentrated communications sector: Rogers, BCE and Telus command more than 80% of the wireless market. The companies had hoped to close by the middle of 2022, but Canadas antitrust watchdog sued to block the takeover, saying that it would harm consumers.

Rogers and Shaw then cut a deal with Quebecor, a major provider of cable and wireless service in the province of Quebec. The Montreal-based firm will acquire Freedom Mobile  which represents the majority of Shaws 2.3 million wireless accounts  for almost C$3 billion, becoming Canadas No. 4 player.

The Quebecor-Freedom deal permitted Rogers and Shaw to argue that they had crafted a solution to any antitrust concerns. They defeated a legal challenge at Canadas Competition Tribunal in December and prevailed at an appeals court in January.

The courtroom victories cleared all hurdles but one  the industry minister. Champagne said on several occasions that he was pushing the companies for binding commitments that will improve service and prices, and that he wouldnt be bound by their timeline for closing.

Rogers faces fines of as much as C$1 billion if it breaks the conditions of the deal, Champagne said Friday, stressing that he would watch the companies like a hawk. Quebecor has also made commitments. It must invest at least C$150 million in Freedom Mobiles network over the next two years and offer wireless plans that are at least 20% cheaper than competitors, the minister said.

Listen, Im a lawyer, and its a contract, so I know how to read contracts and enforce them, he said Friday. I would not mess with the regulator. Its never a good thing.

As part of the agreement, Rogers must spend C$5.5 billion on expanding wireless coverage and services  C$2.5 billion of that in Western Canada.

--With assistance from Mathieu Dion, Danielle Bochove and Doug Alexander.

(Updates with share prices, analyst comment, more information about governments conditions)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Car services groups warn of unfair competition as EU data plan stalls Fuel information is displayed on a car screen in Keele

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - (This March 31 story has been corrected to say Laurianne Krid is director general of FIA Region I, part of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), and not director general of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, in paragraph 8)

Car services groups on Friday warned a stalled EU proposal to ensure fair access to valuable vehicle data could pave the way for unfair competition from U.S. and Chinese tech companies.

The vehicle data tussle between carmakers and a coalition of insurers, leasing companies and repair shops underscores the huge potential of the connected car market, which consultancy Fortune Business Insights says could grow to 250 billion-400 billion euros ($272 billion-$435 billion) by 2030.

Carmakers are looking to generate revenue from software products and subscription services driven by data which covers everything from driving habits to fuel consumption and tyre wear.

Data ownership, however, is not clearly defined in EU law, which has spawned the current dispute between carmakers and those who want to access it.

The European Commission had originally planned to adopt rules on how the data should be shared in the second quarter of the year, according to its agenda, but has yet to come up with a legislative proposal.

Car services groups are already concerned about the small number of players in the industry with access to the data, said Benjamin Krieger, secretary general of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA).

Unfair access could soon mean the sector "will be dominated by players from the United States and China", he told reporters.

Another problem, which legislation could solve, is unstandardised data, said Laurianne Krid, director general of FIA Region I, part of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

Car makers in turn said the Commission's proposed Data Act gives users control over data generated by vehicles, providing third parties fair and non-discriminatory access to the data.

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Krieger said it does not address the specificities in the auto sector. "It does not reflect the technology and the competitive situation," he said.

The Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alphabet's Google has already got a foothold in the market, picked by General Motors to develop infotainment systems for future electric vehicles as the U.S. carmaker phases out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto technologies.

Last month, Mercedes Benz teamed up with Google to offer traffic information and automatic rerouting in its cars.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Base Carbon Inc.

TORONTO, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Base Carbon Inc. (NEO: BCBN) (OTCQX: BCBNF) (Base Carbon, or the Company) is pleased to announce its year-end 2022 consolidated financial results and operational highlights. All financial references are denominated in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.



Annual Corporate and Financial Highlights as of December 31, 2022:

Vietnam Household Devices Project : Base Carbon, through its subsidiary, Base Carbon Capital Partners Corp. (BCCPC), executed project agreements with in-country partner Sustainability Investment Promotion and Development Joint Stock Company (SIPCO) to fund an expected $20.8 million related to the development of a cookstove and water purifier carbon reduction project in Vietnam. Base Carbon facilitated a project offtake agreement between Citigroup Global Markets Limited (Citigroup) and SIPCO related to the first phase of the project.

Rwanda Cookstoves Project: Base Carbon, through its subsidiary, BCCPC, executed an agreement with a subsidiary of project partner DelAgua Group (DelAgua) to fund $8.8 million towards the purchase, distribution, and initial monitoring of 250,000 fuel-efficient cookstoves for a carbon reduction project in Rwanda.

Financial Resources : As of December 31, 2023, the Company had total assets of $44.1 million, including $12.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $24.5 million in investments into carbon credit projects.

Blue Carbon Partnership with Danish Red Cross : In Q4 2022, Base Carbon signed a letter of intent with the Danish Red Cross to develop blue carbon projects in Southeast Asia, with the scope including a potential mangrove carbon credit removal project. An initial project in the Philippines is currently in the evaluation phase and a key project consultant has been engaged to provide mapping and scoping services.

Public Listing on the NEO and OTCQX Trading : On March 3, 2022, the Company commenced trading as a public company on the NEO Exchange Inc. under the symbol BCBN, and on August 22, 2022, commenced trading on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol BCBNF. The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies.



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2022 was transformational for Base Carbon where we established a foundation to grow our business. During the year, the company focused on developing Base as a public issuer and executing investments from our pipeline of high-quality carbon projects. From this pipeline we committed $29.7 million in capital related to our carbon reduction projects in Rwanda and Vietnam, with project partners DelAgua and SIPCO, respectively. In addition, we announced our partnership with the Danish Red Cross with the intention of developing mangrove-focused blue carbon removal projects in Southeast Asia. As of today, we are fully distributed on both household device projects in Rwanda and Vietnam, and we anticipate first verifications and first carbon credit issuances in mid-2023, stated Michael Costa, Chief Executive Officer of Base Carbon.

Project Updates and Other Highlights:

Vietnam Household Devices Project

Device Distribution and Project Capital : Project partner SIPCO has completed the full distribution of project devices, an aggregate of 1.214 million fuel-efficient cookstoves and water purifiers, four months ahead of the initial schedule and on budget. As of March 31, 2023, Base Carbon has funded 90% of the committed project capital with remaining commitments primarily tied to 2023 and 2024 project monitoring activities.

Registry Validation: Project partner SIPCO re-registered the cookstoves portion of the project under a new project ID #2923. The new Project Design Document (PDD) was validated by the Validation and Verification Body (VVB), and the project was subsequently registered by Verra on November 25th, 2022. The Project ID for the re-registered cookstove portion of the project can be found at VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) 2923 and the Project ID for the water purifier portion of the project can be found at VCS 2557.

First Carbon Credit Issuance & Citigroup Offtake : Initial carbon credits are anticipated to be generated from the project in mid-2023, with Citigroup contracted to purchase the first 7.4 million carbon credits generated from the project.



Rwanda Cookstoves Project

Device Distribution and Project Capital : Project partner DelAgua has completed the full distribution of 250,000 cookstoves, on schedule and on budget. As of March 31, 2023, Base Carbon has funded 100% of the committed project capital.

First Carbon Credit Issuance : First carbon credits are anticipated to be generated from the project in mid-2023, and Base Carbon maintains a contractual preferential share of the revenues anticipated from the first 2.2 million carbon credits issued. The project design document for the Rwanda project can be found at VCS 4150.



HCBL Operating Relationship

Base Carbon and Hardwick Climate Business Limited (HCBL) have mutually agreed not to complete the proposed 100% acquisition of HCBL by Base Carbon. Into 2023 and beyond, the Company and HCBL intend to continue collaborating on the development of current projects in addition to the prospective project pipeline. Base Carbon and HCBL are actively working towards a restructured future operating relationship.

2022 Year-end Financial Results

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had total assets of $44.1 million, comprised of $12.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, $0.1 million in prepaid and other assets, $24.5 million in investments in carbon credit projects, a $1.4 million equity investment in ACX Holdings Ltd. (AirCarbon) and a $5.1 million investment in associate company HCBL. The Company had $0.2 million in accounts payable and accrued liabilities, comprising total liabilities.

In Q4 2022, the Company incurred a net loss of $8.1 million, of which $6.0 million was due to a non-cash impairment loss related to the Companys 49.9% ownership in associate company HCBL. Other operating expenses in Q4 2022 were attributable to consulting and professional fees, salaries and wages, and share-based compensation. The Companys revenue lines are still being developed.

On June 17th, 2022, the Company implemented a normal course issuer bid program (NCIB) to repurchase Company Shares. As of March 24, 2023, the Company had purchased 4,844,678 Company Shares for cancellation under the NCIB resulting in outstanding Company Shares of 122,819,602.

About Base Carbon

Base Carbon provides capital, development expertise and management operating resources to projects involved in the voluntary carbon markets. The company seeks to be the preferred carbon project partner in providing capital and developmental resources to carbon projects globally and, where appropriate, will endeavour to utilize technologies within the evolving carbon industry to enhance efficiencies, commercial credibility, and trading transparency. For more information, please visit www.basecarbon.com .

Media and Investor Inquiries

Base Carbon Inc.

Investor Relations

Tel: +1 647 952 3979

E-mail: investorrelations@basecarbon.com

Media Inquiries

E-mail: media@basecarbon.com

Michael Costa, Chief Executive Officer, and Ryan Hornby, Chief Legal Officer are responsible for this press release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws with respect of the Company, including but not limited to, statements relating to the focus of Base Carbons business, the intention to restructure its relationship and investments with HCBL, the Companys carbon reduction projects and financial results of the Company. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as expects, anticipates, intends, contemplates, believes, projects, plans or variations of such words and similar expressions or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might, will or will be taken, occur or be achieved. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent managements expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. Statements about, among other things, Base Carbons strategic plans the intention to restructure its relationship and investments with HCBL and details of development and revenue generation timelines of current projects (including that the first issuance of carbon credits associated with the Vietnam project and the Rwanda project is anticipated mid-2023) are all forward-looking information. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance, results, or achievements.

Although management believes that the anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information because it involves assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

In respect of the Companys carbon credit projects, the Rwanda project and the Vietnam project, certain factors that influence successfully meeting the anticipated first issuance of carbon credits associated with such projects in mid-2023 include, among other things: (i) the Company has retained industry leading experts/consultants/advisors to assist with the planning and execution of such projects, (ii) the timelines for execution of the development of the Rwanda project and the Vietnam project has to date been in line with (or accelerated from) initial expectations, and (iii) the Company has sufficient funds on hand to complete the execution of its milestones stated herein for the Rwanda project and the Vietnam project.

In respect of the Companys carbon credit projects, the Rwanda project and the Vietnam project, certain assumptions that influence successfully meeting the anticipated first issuance of carbon credits associated with such projects in mid-2023 include, among other things: (i) the Companys project partners satisfy their obligations as expected by the Company and on expected timelines, (ii) the household participants in the projects utilize the Devices supplied to them in accordance with the expectations under the projects, (iii) the validation process in respect of the Rwanda project, being undertaken with Verra, the organization that has been appointed as the carbon credit registry for such project, occurs mid-2023, (iv) the completion and submission to Verra of the initial project monitoring reports prepared by the project Validation and Verification Body (VVB) occurs mid-2023, and (v) the initial acceptance of the verification by Verra of the performance of the projects set out in the VVB reports against the project methodology in order to enable the first issuance of the resulting carbon credits occurs mid-2023, which timeline is reflective of the Companys observation of Verras current timeline for the verification of similar carbon reduction projects being undertaken by other parties.

The evaluation and negotiation by the Company of new additional projects described herein is in respect of potential opportunities which are non-binding proposals only and which are subject to due diligence and/or negotiation of definitive documentation by the Company as of the date of this press release. Readers are cautioned that there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to enter into definitive agreements for, or otherwise proceed with or realize upon, such potential opportunities on a timely basis or at all, nor that the nature and scope of such potential opportunities will ultimately be as described herein or as to the extent of any financial, operational or other benefits which may be realized by the Company in proceeding with such potential opportunities. Potential projects may be removed from the Companys pipeline from time to time or at any time as a result of, among other things, unsatisfactory results from the Companys due diligence or negotiation of terms and conditions in respect of such potential projects.

The forward-looking statements made herein are subject to a variety of risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys control, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially and adversely from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Specific reference is made to the most recent Annual Information Form on file with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities (and available on www.sedar.com) for a more detailed discussion of some of the factors underlying forward-looking statements and the risks that may affect the Companys ability to achieve the expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Should one or more of the risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual events or results may vary materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is provided as of the date of this press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.




The Spinning Gold actress opens up about boyfriend Casey Affleck to PEOPLE at the film's premiere

Cindy Ord/VF23/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

Caylee Cowan can't help but gush about being in love with boyfriend Casey Affleck.

"It's the best thing," she tells PEOPLE of her relationship with Affleck at the premiere of Spinning Gold in Los Angeles Wednesday.

Cowan, 25, shares that the romance has had a wider impact in her life. "Being in love is just  makes your whole world just colored and beautiful," she says, adding that it's made her "fall in love with the little things again."

She raves about her boyfriend, who she's been on set with in Boston while he's filming The Instigators alongside Matt Damon, calling him "everything."

"He was in a fireman's outfit, and I was just like, 'Uh oh,' " Cowan recalls of a scene in the forthcoming film. "If this man was a fireman, if this man was homeless, if this man had any other career, I'd [still] be like, 'Mm, that's the one.' "

Cindy Ord/VF23/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

Affleck and Cowan went public in November 2021, with Affleck, 47, making their relationship Instagram official and calling her "my love" who "always shows up when it counts."

Since going public, the two have been open about their love for each other.

In January 2021, Cowan  who stars in Spinning Gold as Farrah Lee in the biopic about Casablanca Records co-founder Neil Bogart  described Affleck as "the other half of my heart" in a post celebrating the one-year anniversary of their meeting.

"You make me feel safe in this world. The shelter of your embrace gets me through the toughest days. In Vietnam, it is said that a nickname for one's life partner is 'my home' and that is what you've become for me. A home. Caleb Casey Affleck, I love you!"

Related:Casey Affleck Shares Videos of Flowers Blossoming to Celebrate Girlfriend Caylee Cowan's Birthday

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The Manchester by the Sea actor similarly gushed about his girlfriend as they marked a year of knowing each other at a bakery in Budapest. "A year ago, we met. A few months ago, I got smart. Thank God, it wasn't too late," he wrote on Instagram.

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"My girl, you make me a better man every day. You could push me and you could drag me and you could carry me, but instead you just walk with me and talk with me and make me laugh," Affleck continued. "While it beats, you have a place in my heart. I hope you stay that long."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.
Transparency Market Research

Adoption of commercial security and surveillance systems is expected to drive the demand for CCTV IP camera modules

Wilmington, Delaware, United States, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transparency Market Research Inc. - In 2022, the global CCTV IP camera modules market accounted for US$ 6.4 Billion in 2022, and it's expected to reach US$ 12.5 Billion by 2031. The global market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.9% between 2022 and 2031. Increasing penetration of technology such as IoT, AI, ML, and others is driving demand for CCTV IP camera modules.



Various defense industries are increasingly employing surveillance systems to monitor soldier activities, which has led to rapid growth in the market for CCTV P camera modules. With the advent of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), demand for high-definition cameras is on the rise.

A surge in traffic and accident surveillance, along with improved monitoring of traffic rules throughout different regions, has driven growth for this market. Using nanotechnologies, various manufacturers are focusing on designing cameras that are cost-effective and climate-resistant in the market.

Download a Sample for Highlights on Market Drivers and Challenges Affecting the CCTV IP Camera Modules: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=85511

Several government initiatives and growing investments in security systems have significantly raised the bar for this market. For instance, in India, for the next few years, the Delhi Government is planning to spend approximately USD 32.07 million on installing 1.3 million surveillance systems.

Europe followed by North America is expected to hold the largest market for CCTV IP camera modules. A study found that around 5.2 million surveillance systems were installed in the U.K. for residential surveillance, public surveillance, and home surveillance. Private businesses and homes operate around 96% of cameras in the U.K.

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Key Findings of Market Report

With high-definition cameras becoming more prevalent, demand for CMOS image sensors is expected to drive the global market.





As security and monitoring solutions become more widely accepted, the demand for CCTV IP camera modules is expected to increase.





PTZ systems based on AI will gain acceptance as intelligent features and zooming capabilities are introduced to the market.





Increasing demand for autonomous vehicles and smart technologies will further drive the growth of CCTV IP camera modules





Increasing numbers of IP surveillance systems installed in perimeter security and the increasing popularity of smart homes enhance the market growth.



Share Your Exact Requirements with Us So We Can Provide the Best Solution At -https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=85511

Global CCTV IP Camera Modules: Growth Drivers

With the increase in security concerns, video surveillance systems have become increasingly popular. As the adoption of video surveillance increases, the demand for CCTV IP camera modules is likely to grow.





There is rapid growth in the e-commerce and retail industry, and the demand for video surveillance and monitoring is expanding in these sectors. Integrated CCTV IP cameras are expected to be an important component of such systems, and their use will grow over time.





Increasing advances in high-resolution cameras, advanced video analytics, and the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, the CCTV IP camera modules market has experienced significant growth in recent years. These advancements are expected to drive market growth.





With the rising popularity of smart homes and smart cities, CCTV IP camera modules will be in greater demand. Smart home and smart city technologies are expected to lead to an increase in demand for CCTV IP camera modules as the adoption of these technologies increases.





Safety and security at the workplace are the major concerns of businesses across a broad range of industries. Demand for monitoring and protecting employees and assets using CCTV IP camera modules has increased. As a result, market growth will continue to accelerate over the next few years.



Global CCTV IP Camera Modules: Regional Landscape

Global industry analysis indicates that Asia Pacific CCTV IP Camera Modules will account for 50% of the market in 2022.





With the growing popularity of electronic manufacturing, China, Japan, Korea, and India will be the fastest-growing regions.





A growing market for security threats and a high level of customer demand for home security are expected to fuel the market growth in North American regions.





Due to increased security needs, the United States and Canada offer lucrative opportunities for CCTV IP camera modules.





U.K.'s industrial sectors will exhibit strong demand for CCTV IP camera modules in the coming years.



Global CCTV IP Camera Modules Market: Key Players

Customers are looking for advanced customer experience solutions to effectively manage their business operations and key players are investing in product innovation and strategic partnerships.

Several companies are also interested in acquiring small and mid-sized companies in this market. In May 2022, iENSO Inc. released CV22 and CV28 embedded vision camera modules powered by Ambarella CV series SoCs. A demonstration of these camera modules was held at the 2022 embedded vision summit which was held in Santa Clara, California. This camera module is ideal for commercial surveillance, drones, high-precision farming, OEMs, IoT, small business surveillance, and aftermarket automotive.

Key Points from TOC:

Preface

1.1. Market Introduction

1.2. Market and Segments Definition

1.3. Market Taxonomy

1.4. Research Methodology

1.5. Assumption and Acronyms

2. Executive Summary

2.1. Global CCTV IP Camera Modules Market Overview

2.2. Regional Outline

2.3. Industry Outline

2.4. Market Dynamics Snapshot

2.5. Competition Blueprint

3. Market Dynamics

3.1. Macro-economic Factors

3.2. Drivers

3.3. Restraints

3.4. Opportunities

3.5. Key Trends

3.6. Regulatory Framework

4. Associated Industry and Key Indicator Assessment

4.1. Parent Industry Overview  Global Camera Industry Overview

4.2. Supply Chain Analysis

4.3. Pricing Analysis

4.4. Technology Roadmap

4.5. Industry SWOT Analysis

4.6. Porters Five Forces Analysis

4.7. COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Analysis

TOC Continued

Browse the Full Report with Facts and Figures of the CCTV IP Camera Modules Market Report at: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=85511<ype=S

Global CCTV IP Camera Modules Market: Segmentation

By Component

Lenses

IR Filters

Image Sensors

CMOS

CCD

Voice Coil Motors (VCMs)

Digital Signal Processors

Others (Connectors, Flexible Printed Circuits (FPCs), etc)

By Type

Fixed Focus

Auto Focus

By Resolution

Less Than 2 MP

2 MP - 5 MP

6 MP - 10 MP

11 MP - 16 MP

17 MP - 20 MP

Above 20 MP

By Application

Bullet Cameras

Dome Cameras

PTZ Cameras

Turret Cameras

Fisheye Cameras

Others (Miniature Cameras, Panoramic Cameras, etc)

By End-use

Residential

Commercial

Industrial



Regions

North America

South America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa



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Tech companies are trying to get efficient but many have a lot of work to do. iStock; Marianne Ayala/Insider

Mass layoffs at tech firms indicate they want to become efficient.

One productivity metric to watch is revenue per employee, which has fallen at some big firms.

We crunched the numbers to show the bloat  with one notable exception.

Tech's year of efficiency is in full swing, but some companies have more to do than others to turn their fortunes around.

More than 300,000 workers in the sector have been laid off since the beginning of 2022, as companies discover that their pandemic gains aren't permanent and the economy slows down.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has talked about the need to get "leaner" and flatter." Amazon boss Andy Jassy stipulated the importance of simplifying in a note announcing the firm's second round of layoffs. The two companies have laid off a collective 48,000 staff in the last five months.

Tech investor and PayPal mafia member Keith Rabois recently said it's about time major firms cut back after years of over-hiring. As he sees it, the biggest tech firms are bloated and unproductive and he's called for a refocus on one particular metric: Revenue per employee.

This is a get-back-to-basics measure of efficiency and productivity, assigning a hard dollar value to individual workers. It's calculated by dividing a company's annual revenue by the number of its employees. A company might appear financially healthy if it's doing massive revenue  but if it has masses of workers and poor or waning profitability, low revenue per employee might signal inefficiency and bloat.

But just how bad is it?

We crunched the numbers for big tech companies between 2018 and 2022  and the analysis shows why so many are brutally cutting back on jobs.

1. Tech giants grew. They didn't become more efficient.

Tech companies swelled in the years up to and during the pandemic, but more manpower didn't necessarily mean more money.

The chart shows Amazon, Meta, and Twitter in particular hired heavily from 2018, but also experienced declining revenue per employee. It probably isn't a coincidence that all three companies have been among the most aggressive with job cuts over the past few months.

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Amazon's workforce grew from 647,000 five years ago to 1.5 million last year, a period of time in which its revenue per employee declined 6.9% to $333,550. Meta's revenue per employee fell 14% in that time as the firm more than doubled its workforce. Twitter's revenue per employee cratered by almost 60%.

Pursuing a bigger workforce may have stunted productivity, according to John Van Reenen, professor of economics at LSE. "It's possible because often CEOs think 'bigger is better' and it's nice to build an empire to look important," he said.

2. Size isn't everything

And how have tech companies fared against each other?

Twitter produced the least revenue per employee by the end of last year  $317,333  though this isn't necessarily a surprise, given it only employed 7,500 staff. By comparison, Alphabet generated $1.5 million per employee in 2022, with an employee base of 190,234.

The chart above shows Amazon and Salesforce are producing roughly the same revenue per employee as Twitter despite having tens of thousands more workers: each employee at Amazon generated $333,550 in revenue last year, while Salesforce employees generated $394,911. Bigger doesn't always mean better.

In Google's case, increases in employee numbers each year did coincide with small increases in the revenue generated by each person  until the market fell into a panic.

Apple, Microsoft, and Salesforce were the only other companies that managed to increase productivity in that time by improving revenue per employee while also increasing the size of their workforce.

For Van Reenen, what this highlights is that rather than there was an expansion drive to meet the demand for tech from "a huge boom in online shopping and software tools designed to facilitate remote working."

That, in some cases, was a mistake  something Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg admitted as he announced layoffs.

"Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended," he said in November. "I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments. Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected."

"What tech bosses hadn't taken fully into account was that there would be a switch back to the offline world as things returned to a kind of normal," Van Reenen said.

3. One company to rule them all

Apple hasn't had to make the drastic cuts that its peers have done, and the chart below shows one reason why.

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, Apple's revenue per employee has soared, climbing from $1.9 million that year to $2.4 million in 2022.

Though the chart shows how revenue per employee rose, on average, for Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Twitter from 2020 to 2021 amid the pandemic tech boom, they collectively struggled to maintain that momentum. Apple bucked that trend.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Center for AI and Digital Policy filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, accusing OpenAIcreator of the wildly popular ChatGPTof violating section five of the FTC Act that targets deceptive and unfair practices.

The FTC has a clear responsibility to investigate and prohibit unfair and deceptive trade practices, the centers founder and president, Marc Rotenberg, said in a statement. We believe that the FTC should look closely at OpenAI and GPT-4.

Not coincidentally, the FTC updated the act last month to include language directed at developers of artificial intelligence programs like OpenAI. The agency advised developers to avoid exaggerating their capabilities, making deceptive performance claims, or promising superiority over non-AI products without adequate proof.

The Center for AI and Digital Policy was established in 2020 under the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovationfounded by the former Massachusetts governor and failed Democratic U.S. presidential candidateand is now a Washington, DC-based non-profit.

Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak Urge OpenAI to Halt ChatGPT Upgrades

The FTC also warned developers to explore potential risks and impacts before launch.

You need to know about the reasonably foreseeable risks and impact of your AI product before putting it on the market, the agency wrote. If something goes wrongmaybe it fails or yields biased resultsyou cant just blame a third-party developer of the technology. And you cant say youre not responsible because that technology is a black box you cant understand or didnt know how to test.

Since 2017, the FTC has sounded the alarm about unethical uses of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain, as the two have become more popular and mainstream.

The almost overnight popularity of GPT-4, the latest iteration of ChatGPT, has many questioning OpenAIs rapid dominance of the industry. The Center for AI and Digital Policy is asking the FTC to investigate OpenAI to determine if the company has complied with the FTCs rules.

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The Centers filing with the FTC comes days after several high-profile tech industry membersincluding Telsa and Twitter CEO Elon Muskco-signed an open letter demanding a pause on developing AI systems like OpenAIs GPT-4 platform.

After +1000 tech workers urged pause in the training of the most powerful #AI systems, @UNESCO calls on countries to immediately implement its Recommendation on the Ethics of AI - the 1st global framework of this kind & adopted by 193 Member Stateshttps://t.co/BbA00ecihO pic.twitter.com/GowBq0jKbi  Eliot Minchenberg (@E_Minchenberg) March 30, 2023

We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. This pause should be public and verifiable, and include all key actors, the letter said. If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.

Siri, Youre Fired!

The Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy is not alone in calling for investigations into AIs rapid development and the need for rules. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released its own statement Thursday calling for a Global Ethical Framework.

In November 2021, the 193 Member States of UNESCOs General Conference voted to establish a global standard for artificial intelligence ethics by adopting the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. This framework aims to safeguard and advance human rights and dignity while serving as an ethical guide and foundation for promoting adherence to the rule of law in the digital realm.

The world needs stronger ethical rules for artificial intelligence: this is the challenge of our time, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said.

.@UNESCO calls on countries to fully implement its Recommendation on the #Ethics of #AI immediately. This global normative framework, adopted unanimously by the 193 Member States of the Organization, provides all the necessary safeguards. #ChatGPT https://t.co/VZc6ueKLx9  Audrey Azoulay (@AAzoulay) March 30, 2023

Decrypt contacted the Center for AI and Digital Policy and OpenAI for comment but has not heard back.
Check out today's Samsung deals on Bespoke refrigerators we love.

 Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

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One of our favorite Samsung Bespoke refrigerator deals includes up to $1,200 off the beautiful 4-door French Door Refrigerator with Beverage Center that we included in our list of best refrigerators of 2023 after testing it ourselves. The visual elegance of the Bespoke fridge impressed us, with its color swappable panels that can be arranged to match nearly any kitchen design concept. But the quality doesn't stop on the surface.

Mother's Day 2023: Shop 50 best gift ideas for mom at Amazon

Our lab found the Bespoke fridge to have "solid" temperature delivery, keeping an unwavering freezer temperature that won't cause freezer burn, and a good refrigerator temp that keeps food from spoiling. The door-in-door system allows you to get to the beverage center and some door storage without opening the whole refrigerator section and exposing it to heat loss. Our tester model also included a flex temperature drawer that can be set to whatever you need (more freezer room or more fridge space), and even brought up temp levels that would be unsafe in a normal fridge, for specific tasks like putting a little chill on a wine bottle or veggies.

The deals don't stop there. The Samsung Bespoke 3-Door French Door Refrigerator with Beverage Center is on sale for $2,099 ($1,200 off), while the new Samsung Bespoke Side-by-Side Refrigerator with Beverage Center is $1,699 right nowsaving you $600 off the usual $2,299 price.

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With so much color versatility, a stately build and all-around solid functionality, we think the Samsung Bespoke is a solid refrigerator for the premium kitchenespecially at these prices.

Shop deals on Samsung Bespoke refrigerators

The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews and more.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

This article originally appeared on Reviewed: Samsung Bespoke refrigerator deals: Save up to $1,200 on a beautiful fridge
Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of PBOC in Beijing

By Joe Cash

BOAO, China (Reuters) -China will beef up its regulatory oversight of the digital economy, as new technologies, especially new forms of finance, should not be blindly accepted and recognised, a deputy governor of the central bank said on Friday.

Digital currencies and newly invented cryptocurrencies, rather than solving problems in finance, can in fact create new challenges, Xuan Changneng, a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said at the annual Boao Forum in Hainan province.

He did not spell out steps that will be taken to boost oversight.

"The digital economy has changed the format of financial services, but it has not changed the financial model itself," Xuan said.

Cyclical swings in the sector, micro credit risks and liquidity risk mismatches "still exist", he said.

In recent years, Chinese regulators have increased scrutiny over the fintech sector as part of a broader campaign to fend off financial risks.

Since late 2020, authorities have stepped up restrictions on the financial arms of online platform businesses after years of rapid expansion, saying a balance between financial innovation and security needed to be struck.

Later in 2021, China's regulators banned crypto trading and mining amid concerns that cryptocurrency speculation could disrupt the country's economic and financial order, one of Beijing's top priorities.

"Cryptocurrencies lend themselves to risks relating to fraud and unlawful transactions," Xuan said, adding that the United States had "failed" at regulating cryptocurrencies.

On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Biden administration is continuing to study the potential for systemic risks from digital assets, an effort that began before the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

China itself has launched its own digital renminbi, or yuan, but it is little used.

Early this month, China said it would set up a new regulatory body consolidating oversight of the financial services industry, which analysts said was aimed at closing loopholes with multiple agencies monitoring different aspects of the $57 trillion financial sector.

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The National Financial Regulatory Administration will absorb the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission's responsibilities and take over some supervisory functions from the central bank and the securities regulator.

"The quality of regulatory oversight over the digital economy will be improved," Xuan said.

"In this era, the demands on financial regulators are higher."

(Reporting by Joe Cash and Shuyan Wang; Writing by Liz Lee, Ethan Wang, Ziyi Tang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Tom Hogue and Sonali Paul)
(Reuters) -China's cyberspace regulator will conduct a cybersecurity review of products sold in the country by U.S. memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology Inc, the regulator said on Friday.

The move, which comes amid a spat over chip technology between Washington and Beijing, is aimed at protecting the security of the supply chain for critical information infrastructure, prevent hidden risks and safeguard national security, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a brief statement.

It gave no other details, including which Micron products it was reviewing.

In a statement to Reuters, Micron said it was aware of the announcement and was "in communication with the CAC and are cooperating fully." It added that it stands by the security of its products and commitments to customers.

The U.S. has imposed a series of export controls on chipmaking technology to China for fear it could be used to produce chips for applications such as artificial intelligence which could be used by China's military, and blacklisted a number of China's largest chip firms, including Micron rival Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd.

Micron, one of the world's largest memory chip makers, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The company's shares fell 3% to $61.15 on Friday.

"Punitive actions against Micron could suggest a broader shift in Chinese policy with other U.S. vendors with large Chinese exposure now potentially at risk of similar actions," Wedbush Securities analyst Matthew Bryson said.

On Friday, Japan announced it would align its technology trade controls with a U.S. push to curb China's ability to make advanced chips. The Netherlands, which makes advanced lithography equipment critical for the manufacture of advanced chips, made a similar announcement earlier this month.

Weak consumer demand has roiled the memory chip market, which is dominated by South Korea's Samsung Electronics.

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Micron derives around 10% of its revenue from China, but it was not clear if the review would affect the company's sales to non-Chinese customers in the country.

The larger chunk of the company's products flowing into China are being purchased by non-Chinese firms for use in products manufactured in the country, according to analysts.

Micron has offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as a chip packaging facility in the city of Xian. In early 2022, the company announced it would shut its DRAM design operations in Shanghai.

(Reporting by Ella Cao, Meg Shen, Brenda Goh and Chavi Mehta; Additional reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by David Goodman, Mark Potter and Shounak Dasgupta)
(Bloomberg) -- Beijing opened a new front in the escalating semiconductor battle between the the US and China, launching a cybersecurity review of imports from Americas largest memory-chip maker, Micron Technology Inc.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The move risks further exacerbating tensions between the Biden administration and President Xi Jinpings government, which have worsened in recent months over the security of Taiwan and the alleged spy balloon shot down over US territory in February.

The Chinese government said in a statement Friday that its conducting the review to ensure the integrity of its information infrastructure supply chain, prevent network security risks and maintain national security. Shares of Micron, which counts on mainland China for about 11% of its sales, fell 4.4% in New York to $60.34. It was their worst one-day decline in more than three months.

Boise, Idaho-based Micron said in a statement that it was in communication with the Cyberspace Administration of China concerning the inquiry and that the company is cooperating fully. Micron is committed to conducting all business with uncompromising integrity, and we stand by the security of our products and our commitments to customers.

The worlds biggest economies increasingly see each others tech sectors as risks to national security. That has sent Washington rushing to secure its global supply chains and seeking to fence off advanced technology.

The US has already blacklisted Chinese tech firms, sought to cut the flow of sophisticated processors and banned its citizens from providing certain help to the countrys chip industry.

Washington has also enlisted allies, with Japan saying earlier on Friday that it will expand restrictions on exporting leading-edge chipmaking technology, joining similar US-led restrictions by another key supplier, the Netherlands. The move also comes as the US tries to play down the visit this week of Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen, which Beijing has protested.

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Read More: Japan Tightens Chip Gear Exports as US Seeks to Contain China

Its possible that the investigation of Micron is intended to pressure the US and its allies to tread lightly on export controls, said Gerard DiPippo, senior fellow with the Economics Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Its even more likely that Beijing is legitimately worried about Chinas reliance on Micron chips, or really any US technology. Expect more actions like this going forward.

The US State Department and Commerce Departments Bureau of Industry and Security declined to comment on the Chinese action.

Tech Battle

Washington last year unleashed strict export controls on semiconductor technologies to China, and has spent years targeting Huawei Technologies Co., a leader in telecommunications infrastructure that the US has deemed a national security threat with ties to the Chinese government.

As well, US authorities have alleged that Micron was the victim of economic espionage by Chinese chipmaker Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., which was blacklisted by Washington more than four years ago amid the accusations, which include it conspired to steal trade secrets from the American firm. A trial is expected later this year.

This seems more political in nature than anything, a rebuttal to recent US actions. In terms of specific security risks for the products sold by Micron, Im skeptical theres anything there, said Abhinav Davuluri, equity strategist at Morningstar. China has been investing aggressively to build out its own semiconductor ecosystem, and where we think about areas where they can be most successful, memory is one of them.

The Biden administration has been wielding the export control power of the Commerce Department, headed by Gina Raimondo, as one of its main tools to stifle Chinas technological ambitions and bolster national security. The US includes more than 600 Chinese establishments on the Entity List, which blocks them from buying technology from US suppliers unless they get a special export license from Commerce.

Chinas review also comes as US lawmakers are weighing a ban on TikTok, the social-media platform owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., over fears of Chinas ability to access the data of million of Americans and influence users. TikToks chief executive officer testified before Congress last week but failed to alleviate concerns.

Industry Survivor

Chinas probe could threaten a potential comeback for Micron and other memory chipmakers after a rough stretch. Over the past year, a steep drop in consumer demand spurred Microns customers to slash orders. Chinas exit from Covid-related restrictions was seen as one catalyst to help the industry, as gadget makers would be able to bring manufacturing plants back to normal rhythm.

Earlier this week, Micron issued a better-than-expected outlook for the quarter, forecasting sales of as much as $3.9 billion in the fiscal third quarter compared with an average of analysts estimates of $3.75 billion. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra cited expectations for improvements in the balance of supply and demand in the industry.

The company is the last remaining maker of computer memory based in the US, having survived brutal industry downturns that forced larger companies such as Intel Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. to bow out. The company has relatively little exposure to China compared with its peers, and it doesnt use the country as a major manufacturing base.

Microns revenue share from China is less than half that of Korean rival SK Hynix Inc. While the limited footprint stands to cushion Micron against any fallout, it could still exacerbate supply chain woes. Much of the worlds electronics and component systems come through factories in the worlds second-largest economy.

The biggest issue for Micron has been the global softness in consumer device sales, said James Kelleher, analyst at Argus Research. As that market recovers, its conceivable, if Micron were proscribed from selling to China, that they could make up lost sales in other markets. But it would affect them.

--With assistance from Gao Yuan, Eric Martin, Lucy Papachristou, Iain Marlow and Joel Rosenblatt.

(Updates Micron shares in third paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 20, the China-Malaysia Science and Technology Innovation Summit and Pitching Crush Grand Finale was held simultaneously in Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen. During the event, TusStar signed strategic cooperation agreements with the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI) and the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), respectively.

Exchange Ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding: TusStar Malaysia and MRANTI

YB Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI)

YB Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), said Malaysia's innovation engine has created an ideal environment for investors to join the future technology ecosystem. As part of this effort, MRANTI will assist seventy-five Chinese technology companies designated by the event organizer, TusStar Malaysia, in starting or expanding their business in Malaysia. Ten of these companies will create technology and innovation-related jobs for Chinese workers, and five high-tech companies will transfer technology to suitable Malaysian companies. TusStar will also provide soft-landing assistance, including logistics staff, venues, and business networks, to at least 15 Malaysian companies developing locally in China.

In addition, H.E Ouyang Yujing, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Malaysia, stated that in the post-COVID-19 era, China will continue to strengthen research and development and high-tech cooperation with Malaysia to improve the living standards of both countries. To achieve this goal, China will comprehensively improve its scientific and technological innovation system by strengthening the opening-up of science and technology. The Chinese government is committed to expand foreign exchanges and create friendly cooperative environment, especially with important countries like Malaysia in the Belt and Road initiative.

Based on the two cooperation, TusStar will assist Chinese and Malaysian enterprises with market expansion, technological achievements transformation, talent development, and other aspects to promote sustainable economic and social development of both countries. Additionally, the event included various activities such as panel discussion, theme sharing, and pitching crush. Notable guests including Sun Nan, a Party Group of Shenzhen Association for Science and Technology, Datuk Fadzli Abdul Wahit, Senior Vice President, Digital Industry Development of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Xu Yunqi, Deputy General Manager of Shenzhen Angel FOF Management Co, LTD., and Tan Chin Chun, Solutions Architect of Malaysia of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, who shared the theme of "innovation, cooperation, win-win". The discussion of the panel discussion centered around the application of UAV technology and the digital transformation technologies of Industry 4.0 in China-Malaysia Science and technology innovation. Finally, 10 start-ups from different technology sectors competed in the finals of the TusStar Southeast Asia, Pitching Crush, for potential venture capital investment opportunities and support in both countries.

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H.E Ouyang Yujing, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Malaysia

For more information regarding the summit, please visit https://www.tusstar.my/ .























Cision

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SOURCE TusStar Malaysia
By Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in March, official data showed on Friday, raising doubts about the strength of a post-COVID factory recovery amid weaker global demand and a property market downturn.

The services sector was stronger, with activity expanding at the fastest pace in nearly 12 years after the end of China's zero-COVID policy in December boosted transportation, accommodation and construction.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 51.9, against 52.6 in February, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), above the 50-point mark that separates expansion and contraction in activity on a monthly basis.

That slightly exceeded expectations of 51.5 tipped by economists in a Reuters poll, and led to the yuan strengthening against the dollar. The February figure had grown at the fastest pace in more than a decade.

China's economic activity picked up in the first two months of 2023 as consumption and infrastructure investment drove a recovery after the end of COVID-19 disruptions and retail sales swung back to growth.

Nomura economists said the strong data suggested China's economy had reached a "sweet spot" after the end of property tightening measures and the zero-COVID policy.

"However, amid rapidly worsening geopolitical tensions and financial concerns outside of China, this may not last long," they added in a note.

Exports remain weak and new home sales continue to fall, although the rate of decline is narrowing.

Companies face challenges including weak demand, tight availability of capital and high operating costs, and the foundations for an economic rebound need to be further consolidated, NBS said in an accompanying statement.

To support the rebound, China's central bank this month unexpectedly cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves for the first time this year.

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While business and consumer sentiment is starting to pick up, the manufacturing sector remains under pressure amid sluggish global demand and stubbornly high costs.

Any fallout from a recent crisis of confidence in the global banking sector could also affect demand for China's goods, adding to pressure on manufacturers.

Official data this week showed the slump in Chinese industrial firms' profits deepened in the first two months of the year, marking a downbeat start to the recovery.

Factory activity was hit by slowing growth in production and customer demand, with the output and new orders sub-indexes showing declines from February's levels.

The new export order sub-index fell to 50.4 against 52.4 in February, pointing to lacklustre external demand.

(Graphic: China's factory activity expands at slower pace - https://www.reuters.com/graphics/CHINA-ECONOMY/PMI/zdvxdqzwyvx/chart.png)

STRONG RECOVERY IN SERVICES ACTIVITY

In contrast the non-manufacturing PMI jumped to 58.2 versus 56.3 in February, reaching the highest level since May 2011 as the services sector recovered.

"The strong momentum will likely continue in the coming months, as the new order index for the service sector continued to rise," said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

Retail sales in the first two months jumped 3.5% from a year before, reversing a 1.8% annual fall seen in December, raising hopes of an economic revival led by consumption as flagging global demand weakens exports.

The government's softening tone toward the private sector is also boosting market confidence.

Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma's return and the firm's plans for a major revamp have been taken as a signal that Beijing's regulatory crackdown on private business is ending.

"These policy actions will help the economy to keep the strong momentum. We think GDP growth may surpass 6% this year," Zhang said.

The world's second-biggest economy set a modest target for economic growth this year of around 5% after it cooled to only 3% last year, one of the weakest showings in nearly half a century.

(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Transparency Market Research

The global chronic total occlusion (CTO) devices market growth is driven by the rise in prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and efficiency in diagnosing and treating complex conditions.

Wilmington, Delaware, United States, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a market report by TMR, the global chronic total occlusion devices industry was valued at USD 1.7 Bn in 2022 to reach USD 2.9 Bn by 2031. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period from 2023 to 2031.



The research report by TMR is based on the extensive market survey conducted by an expert team of professionals who are involved in providing deep insights into the market. These inferences are based on various parameters including competitive landscape, key drivers, latest trends, regional landscape, and businesses profiled.

Get the Recently Updated Report on the Chronic Total Occlusion Devices Market as a Sample Copy @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=40823

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) refers to a medical condition that involves the blockage of the coronary artery and leads to irregularities in the functioning of the heart, increasing the risk of heart attack, and chest pain. It is commonly found among patients with a history of bypass surgery or heart attack.

CTO devices have gained popularity owing to their efficiency in improving patient outcomes through minimally invasive surgeries. Rise in demand for hassle-free and painless surgical procedures has created lucrative business opportunities in the global market.

Chronic Total Occlusion Devices Market: Growth Drivers

Increase in Incidence of Cardiovascular Diseases Across the Globe: Rise in demand for CTO devices globally to remove blockages in blood vessels which could lead to heart failure, angina, or other heart-related issues is expected to bolster global business. The chronic total occlusion devices market is estimated to witness significant growth from 2023 to 2031. This is ascribed to changes in lifestyle, increase in the geriatric population, and rise in cases of diabetes and obesity.

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Integration of High-definition Imaging Technology with CTO Devices: Novel technological upgrades is anticipated to improve the efficacy of CTO devices. These technologies contribute to reducing complications and locating the blockages with higher efficiency. These advancements are likely to reduce the burden on healthcare professionals and ensure the safety of patients. These factor are expected to bolster business growth.

Feel Free to Share Your Research Requirements at: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=cr&rep_id=40823

Key Findings of Chronic Total Occlusion Devices Market

Guidewires Segment to Witness Robust Growth: Guidewires are essential components in devices used to diagnose and treat cardiovascular diseases. These wires can locate the blockages with precision. Integration of advanced technologies in chronic total occlusion devices is likely to drive the segment during the forecast period. Better efficacy of these products and reduced risk of transmissions has increased market demand for chronic total occlusion devices.

Hospitals Segment to Grow at a Rapid Pace: The hospitals segment is expected to grow at a rapid pace during the forecast period. This is ascribed to increase in incidence of cardiovascular diseases across the world. The severity of heart attack and other heart-related complexities can be addressed efficiently in hospitals. Hence, the segment is projected to witness substantial growth. The ambulatory surgical centers segment has also experienced strong growth due to provision of instant and efficient services.

Chronic Total Occlusion Devices Market: Regional Dynamics

North America is expected to account for major market share of the global market due to the high incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Well-equipped healthcare infrastructure has led to easy availability of CTO devices in healthcare centers. Furthermore, increase in initiatives to create product awareness among the people is fueling business growth. Government funding for healthcare infrastructural development offers lucrative opportunities in the chronic total occlusion devices market in North America.

The market in Asia Pacific is likely to witness robust growth during the forecast period. This is ascribed to rise in demand for minimally invasive procedures in this region. Technological advancements in the medical sector and development of advanced healthcare infrastructure has accelerated market progress.

Chronic Total Occlusion Devices: Competitive Landscape

Companies profiled in the chronic total occlusion devices market are focusing on developing technologically advanced products. Clinical trials and approvals are gaining traction due to the pressing need to have well-equipped healthcare facilities. Key players are engaging in strategic alliances and formulating growth strategies to meet market requirements. Novel product launches have broadened the scope of market expansion. Advertising, promotional activities, and government initiatives have expanded market reach. R&D activities to initiate novel integrations in the existing devices have also been crucial in creating opportunities in the chronic total occlusion devices market.

Major market participants active in the market are:

Boston Scientific Corporation

Abbot

Cook Medical

Cardinal Health

Teleflex Incorporated

Nitiloop

Medtronic

Beckton, Dickinson, and Company

Asahi Intecc Co. Ltd.

Merit Medical Systems

Buy this Premium Research Report (145 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, Figures) at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=40823<ype=S

Chronic Total Occlusion Devices Market: Segmentation

Product Type

Microcatheters

Guidewires

Crossing Devices

Re-entry Devices

Others



End-user

Hospitals

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Others



Regions

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa



About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and consulting services. The firm scrutinizes factors shaping the dynamics of demand in various markets. The insights and perspectives on the markets evaluate opportunities in various segments. The opportunities in the segments based on source, application, demographics, sales channel, and end-use are analysed, which will determine growth in the markets over the next decade.

Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision-makers, made possible by experienced teams of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants. The proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques we use always reflect the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in all of its business reports.

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Vancouver --News Direct-- Copper Fox Metals Inc

Copper Fox Metals CEO Elmer Stewart joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company has announced its plans for exploration at the Mineral Mountain Project in Arizona.

Stewart tells Proactive the company is planning a deep penetrating geophysical survey to further define the horizontal and depth extensions. In tandem, it will also do detailed mapping of lithology, alteration, and mineralization along the proposed geophysical survey lines.

Contact Details

Proactive Canada

+1 604-688-8158

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DUBLIN, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Critical Infrastructure Protection Market by Component, Security Type (Physical Safety & Security (Video Surveillance Systems, Screening, and Scanning) and Cybersecurity (Encryption, Threat Intelligence)), Vertical and Region - Global Forecast to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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The global critical infrastructure protection market is projected to grow from USD 143.0 billion in 2023 to USD 162.5 billion by 2027 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.3 % from 2022 to 2027.

Some factors driving the market growth include increasing cyber threats organizations face and government initiatives towards adopting critical infrastructure protection solutions. However, the lack of trained cybersecurity professionals to analyze CIP systems and interoperability between CIP solutions is expected to hinder the market growth.

Physical Safety and Security to hold largest market size during the forecast period

The physical safety and security segment includes physical identity and access control systems, perimeter intrusion systems (RADAR and sensors), video surveillance systems, screening and scanning, and others (facility management systems, emergency response, and disaster management).

Physical safety & security is the protection of physical assets, such as hardware, programs, premises, and personal data, from physical threats. Ignoring these threats can lead to severe damages or losses to owners and users. Secure and robust security systems such as high-quality video surveillance and perimeter security systems are integrated into the premises to monitor ongoing activities in and around the premises.

Video surveillance has improved drastically with the inception of video analytics and technologies, such as thermal cameras and biometric authentication. Some systems now use microwaves and radio waves to create perimeters that can alert security teams about threats. The increased adoption of video surveillance supported by facial recognition technology is observed in various application areas, including border control, law enforcement, and government and public utilities.

Story continues

Managed Services to grow at higher CAGR during the forecast period.

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) ensure the security of critical business information and the smooth functioning of business operations. MSPs help customers update their CIP systems, solutions, and software with the latest enhancements. Customers' in-house capabilities are enhanced as MSPs safeguard physical and IT system assets.

Compared to professional services, the managed services market growth is expected to increase during the forecast period as the need for third-party expertise to secure critical assets is rising. Managed services are affordable and resourceful. It helps enterprises to focus on their core business. With the advancement in managed services such as managed detection and response (MDR), extended detection and response (XDR) services, etc., the market is expected to grow for CIP in the coming years.

Middle East and Africa to grow at highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The MEA region comprises significant economies, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and Israel. In the Middle East, government regulations concerning critical infrastructure protection are stringent. Countries in MEA implement critical infrastructure protection solutions across different verticals. DarkMatter, a cybersecurity company in the UAE, has revealed that financial, utilities, transport, and oil and gas verticals are prone to cyber-attacks. The company has further reported that the UAE is witnessing the second-highest smartphone adoption in the region and is an attractive destination for the growing cyber threats. This reliance on IoT systems has led to the need to secure these systems with critical infrastructure protection solutions.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Increasing Cyberattacks on Systems Deployed

Initiatives Taken by Government to Protect Critical Infrastructure Industry

Restraints

Lack of Trained Cybersecurity Professionals to Analyze CIP Systems

Lack of Interoperability Between CIP Solutions

Opportunities

Rise in Usage and Adoption of Internet of Things

Challenges

Supply Chain Security-Based Concerns

Digital Transformation-Based Issues

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights

5 Market Overview and Industry Trends

6 Critical Infrastructure Protection Market, by Component

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Solutions

6.3 Services

7 Critical Infrastructure Protection Market, by Security Type

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Physical Safety & Security

7.3 Cybersecurity

8 Critical Infrastructure Protection Market, by Vertical

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Financial Institutions

8.3 Government

8.4 Defense

8.5 Transport & Logistics

8.7 Commercial Sector

8.8 Telecom

8.9 Chemicals & Manufacturing

8.10 Oil & Gas

8.11 Other Verticals

9 Critical Infrastructure Protection Market, by Region

10 Competitive Landscape

11 Company Profiles

Companies Mentioned





Achilles Heel Technologies

AirbUS

Axis Communications

Bae Systems

Bruker Corporation

Cips Security

Cisco

Forcepoint

Fortinet

Fujitsu

G4S

General Dynamics

General Electric

Hexagon Ab

Honeywell

Huawei

Johnson Controls

Liteye Systems

Lockheed Martin

Mission Secure

Motorola Solutions

Nec Corporation

Northrop Grumman

Optasense

Owl Cyber Defense Solutions

Rolta

Scadafence

Suprema Inc

Teltronic

Tenable

Thales

Waterfall Security Solutions

Westminster Group plc

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cwn4ag

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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SOURCE Research and Markets
(Bloomberg) -- Even by the to-the-moon standards of the crypto world, Justin Sun is known for making bold bets.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Theres the 2017 initial coin offering in his native China, completed days before the government banned such deals. The $4.6 million he paid in 2019 for lunch with Warren Buffett, which irked authorities back home. And the stablecoin he launched last year, just as a similar instrument crashed in such spectacular fashion that it took down large swathes of the cryptoasset universe.

So its perhaps no surprise that the 32-year-olds attempt to turn around crypto exchange Huobi Global hinges on a potentially risky strategy.

Sun says he doesnt own any stock in the company, founded in China almost a decade ago, and his official title is adviser  yet he works at its main office in Singapore, sends mass memos to employees, represents it in media interviews and has used about $200 million of his own wealth to help prop it up so far this year. Bloomberg News reported in November that Sun allegedly paid about $1 billion through a Hong Kong-based asset manager for a controlling stake in Huobi.

His plan for regaining market share after two dismal years is likewise the source of controversy, at least inside Huobi. At issue is Suns approach to catering to Chinese customers, 18 months after the country outlawed all trading in cryptocurrencies.

The September 2021 ban on cryptocurrency trading within Chinas borders was the culmination of a years-long crackdown on the sector. While the prohibition didnt explicitly encompass Chinese citizens living abroad, it triggered seismic changes in the crypto industry.

Story continues

Huobi, founded in Beijing almost a decade ago, relocated much of its operations to Singapore, stopped signing up mainland Chinese clients and said it would cut off any existing ones shortly after the ban. It is headquartered in the Seychelles.

About a year on, Sun is changing Huobis direction again, according to current and former workers.

Some of Huobis hundreds of workers on the mainland say theyre concerned that insufficient controls to keep people in China from trading on the platform could antagonize local authorities and put them at risk. These people spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals from Huobi. The company says it complies with Chinese regulations and doesnt serve clients in the country.

For Sun, wooing Chinese customers represents a potentially lucrative way of turning the business around. Sun said in an interview with Bloomberg News in January that Huobi was losing roughly $10 million a month, and the company announced it would cut about a fifth of its workforce to help stem the bleeding. (Sun says he became an adviser to Huobi after amassing a large position in its native token, called HT.)

Throughout December and January, Huobi added thousands of Chinese citizens as customers per day on average, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Theres no information on whether these new customers were based inside or outside China. In late December, the majority of the roughly 80,000 clients it signed up daily did so using either a Chinese phone number or an email address used predominantly by Chinese nationals, the person said.

Huobi said in a response to questions from Bloomberg News that it doesnt operate in China. It added that Chinese Internet Protocol addresses are strictly prohibited from accessing the platform, and the new customers are from anywhere but China.

Huobi has exited the Chinese market and barred Chinese users from signing up or logging in, the company said.

Chinese regulators havent announced sanctions on any offshore exchange operators for signing up users based in China since the ban took effect. And people living in the country can also access other crypto trading venues with relative ease these days, for example by using virtual private networks to mask their location.

Binance, one of Huobis two main rivals in China before the crackdown, didnt answer questions from Bloomberg News about its policy on Chinese users or whether it has employees there, saying only that it doesnt operate in China. The other one, OKX, declined to comment. The Peoples Bank of China, which oversees crypto regulations, didnt respond to a faxed request for comment.

Blocking Users in China

Under previous majority owner Leon Li, Huobi used geo-location to ensure that people in China were cut off from the platform after the ban, according to three people who worked there at the time. Those safeguards have been dropped under Sun, two of the people said. Geo-location involves methods such as using GPS coordinates or the location of cell-phone towers to determine where a user is, in addition to IP addresses.

Asked about whether it currently uses geo-location beyond banning Chinese IP addresses, Huobi said it employs KYC verification to prevent China users from accessing the platform, using the acronym for know-your-customer procedures.

The companys main huobi.com URL is blocked in China, and Huobis mobile application isnt available on local app stores. However, using a slight variation of the URL on a web browser allows users on the mainland to download Huobis trading app. Asked about the URL variation, Huobi said only that it doesnt engage in crypto business in China.

The lure of potentially taking on Chinese traders is obvious: The nation of 1.4 billion people was once the worlds biggest market for Bitcoin trading, and dominated mining of the token.

Huobi has gone further than competitors in making the platform available to Chinese crypto traders by enabling them on its mobile app to register under a Dominican nationality. Citizens of the eight other countries listed as barred from using Huobi in its user agreement arent immediately given the same option.

Sun is no stranger to walking the regulatory tightrope in China. In 2017, while he was based there, his Tron Foundation raised about $70 million in an initial coin offering of the TRX token that was completed just days before Chinese authorities banned ICOs. Sun, believing he was a fugitive, hurriedly left China soon after the deal, The Verge reported in March last year, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. In July 2019, Chinese news outlet Caixin said Sun had been placed on a border control list by the government amid allegations of illegal fundraising.

Huobi declined to comment on the two reports. Sun has previously said he worked with Chinese regulators to refund local TRX holders quickly after the ban took effect, and hes called the Caixin story completely inaccurate.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on March 22 sued Sun for allegedly violating securities rules, accusing him of breaking anti-fraud and market manipulation regulations. Sun tweeted at the time that the suit lacks merit.

Anti-China Strategy

Sun eventually settled in Geneva and in 2021 became permanent trade representative to the World Trade Organization for Grenada  a title that comes with diplomatic immunity  and adopted the honorific his excellency on his Twitter profile. Sun currently splits his time between Geneva, the Caribbean and Singapore, where hes been working at Huobis office in the main financial district.

On Friday, Sun tweeted that his term as trade representative for Grenada has come to an end.

In the January interview with Bloomberg News, Sun blamed what he called Lis anti-China strategy for Huobis rapid loss of market share. At the same time, he was vague on how he plans to reverse it, saying that Hong Kong  the Chinese enclave thats increasingly embracing crypto  will be an initial focal point for Huobis expansion. Li couldnt be reached for comment through the Hong Kong-listed company he controls.

In a Bloomberg Television interview in early February, Sun said Huobis revenue may have tripled in January, adding that the company would probably be profitable in the first quarter.

Sun says he believes China is likely to reverse its crypto ban after studying how the industry develops in Hong Kong, which has a separate legal and financial system. However, he signaled hes content to wait until that happens before actively courting Chinese traders.

Currently, our focus is not to directly go to Chinese users, Sun said in January.

Becoming Dominican

Interviews with 11 current and former employees who spoke on condition of anonymity paint a different picture. As of mid-February, at least six workers in Beijing had left or were in the process of leaving because they were concerned that the recent influx of Chinese clients could attract the attention of local authorities, given what they describe as a lack of safeguards to ensure those users arent based in China.

Even as Huobis top management and other workers relocated to Singapore or Hong Kong after Chinas ban, many employees  mostly in areas like engineering and marketing  remained in the country, according to the people. Huobi declined to say how many workers it has in China.

Overseas-based crypto platforms that sign up traders in China are probably not at legal risk from authorities  but any employees located on the mainland could be, along with the users themselves, according to Dominic Wai, a partner at ONC Lawyers in Hong Kong.

One thing that distinguishes Huobi from rivals is an option, announced in November, that lets would-be users apply for a digital identity with the tiny island nation of Dominica. Those selecting China as citizenship when applying on Huobis app are told that because of nationality restrictions, they will be redirected to a page where they can apply for a Dominican digital identity, or DID, the people said. Once on-boarded, their profile on the app then shows them as Dominican citizens, according to the people.

New Funding Route

The current and former employees interviewed for this story said they perceived the DID system as designed specifically to make it easier to attract Chinese clients trying to get around the crypto ban. A Jan. 4 internal memo from Sun written in Chinese, seen by Bloomberg News, said the introduction of DID was helping Huobi mitigate regulatory risks, without elaborating. Huobi said its not aware of the memo.

Huobi treats Chinese users in the same way it treats those from areas where it has no presence, and it never singles Chinese users out for KYC verification, the company said in response to questions about DID. It also said DID has nothing to do with KYC procedures.

Starting March 1, clients who sign up using DID have a new avenue for funding their Huobi accounts through Chinese banks like ICBC, according to marketing materials seen by Bloomberg News. The process involves a roundabout method of buying a so-called digital collectible  basically a Chinese version of nonfungible tokens thats legal there  on online marketplace Yuanhou. In effect, the client buys a collectible designated by Huobi on Yuanhou, and Huobi then funds their trading account by the equivalent amount.

Sun retweeted a Feb. 28 Twitter post advertising the yuan funding method from a person whose account identifies them as working at the exchange. Huobi said in response to questions about the initiative that it doesnt issue the collectibles on Yuanhou and that it doesnt support yuan-denominated trading. ICBC, Chinas largest bank, didnt respond to a request for comment.

Some recent comments and actions by Sun and Huobis management indicate theyre aware of the risks. In January, human resources staffers told workers in China that their employment contracts would be terminated and asked them to sign consulting agreements with overseas Huobi entities instead, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Huobi also wanted to pay them in Tethers stablecoin USDT instead of in yuan, they said.

The people said one reason given for the changes was ensuring employees safety given the push to on-board Chinese customers. Local staffers pushed back and went so far as to start a group on popular chat app QQ decrying the proposal and discussing ways to fight it.

After initially pausing the switch to consulting contracts and payment in crypto, Huobi has revived it and the changes were implemented in mid-February, two of the people said. Huobi didnt comment on the matter, saying only that it has been taking active measures to protect employees interest.

At a management meeting in October, Sun said employees in China should hang up Grenada flags in their offices along with his picture as a reminder of his diplomatic status, in case officials come knocking, according to a person who attended. While some attendees privately expressed surprise at Suns proposal after the meeting, he appeared to be serious, the person said, declining to be identified for fear of alienating Sun. (Huobi said the account of the meeting is not true, without elaborating.)

Sun never followed up on the suggestion, the person said.

--With assistance from Sarah Zheng, Kiuyan Wong and Ran Li.

(Updates with Sun stepping down as Grenada trade representative.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  The eastern Mediterranean can provide a key energy corridor to Europe through a planned electricity cable connecting the power grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel and a potential natural gas pipeline, the three countries' top diplomats said Friday.

The three foreign ministers met in the Cypriot capital as part of a series of high-level trilateral meetings aimed at deepening a partnership founded on the discovery of substantial offshore natural gas deposits.

Unlocking the full potential of our region will be a game changer, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told a news conference. We strive to promote a reliable and sustainable energy corridor from the Eastern Mediterranean basin to Europe.

Work hasn't started on either the cable  which will be partly funded by the European Union  or the gas pipeline, which has been under discussion for years but is still at the feasibility study stage.

The Cypriot foreign minister has underscored that the projects have gained added weight and urgency in light of Russia's war against Ukraine and the "need for energy diversification and increased interconnectivity.

Kombos said a 2,000-megawatt undersea electricity cable known as the EurAsia Interconnector and the proposed EastMed gas pipeline remain two significant strategic options on our energy agenda.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said the EUs engagement in a regional forum created to promote cooperation on energy generation showed that the eastern Mediterranean plays an important role as an alternative energy corridor."

We talked about the East Med pipeline, as you would expect us to do, and also the strategic importance of the Eurasian interconnector between Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Dendias said, extending an invitation to Turkey  Greece's neighbor and longtime regional rival  to join in as long as it heeds international law.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said his country attaches special importance to renewable energy.

Story continues

Funding for about a third of the EurAsia Interconnectors 1.6 billion euro ($1.74 billion) price tag will come from the EUs Connecting Europe Facility, which bankrolls infrastructure projects.

Feasibility studies on the proposed 1,900-kilometer (1,300-mile), $6 billion EastMed pipeline are still ongoing. The project has in recent years fallen in and out of favor with planners after U.S. officials declared it as not viable.

But it may have gotten a second wind in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine last year that compelled Europe to scramble for alternative sources of energy.

Cohen added that Israel would also boost military cooperation through joint military exercises and arms procurements, while information sharing between the three countries intelligence agencies would remain for the stability of our region.

Cyprus will host a meeting of the three countries' leaders later this year.
SNS Insider pvt ltd

As per SNS Insider analysis, with the rise of e-commerce and the growing demand for fast and convenient delivery, delivery drones are becoming an attractive solution for companies looking to streamline their logistics operations

Pune, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SNS Insider reported that the Delivery Drone Market reached USD 360.83 million in 2022. Our analysis suggests that this market will experience a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 53.94% between 2023 and 2030, and is projected to increase to USD 1.13 billion by 2030.

Delivery drones offer a wide range of benefits and potential applications across various industries. As technology continues to evolve and regulations become more lenient, we can expect to see even more innovative uses of delivery drones in the future. In addition, drones can be used to deliver emergency supplies and medical equipment to remote or hard-to-reach locations, making them a valuable tool in disaster relief efforts.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.snsinsider.com/sample-request/1123

Delivery Drone Market Report Scope

Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2022 US$ 360.83 Million Market Size by 2030 US$ 1.13 Billion CAGR From 203-2030 53.94% Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Historical Data 2020-2021 Report Scope & Coverage Market Size, Segments Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Regional Analysis, DROC & SWOT Analysis, Forecast Outlook Key Segments  by Type (Rotary-Wing, Though Wing)

 By Skill (> 10kg, <10kg)

 By Applications (Shops, Health, E-Commerce, A fast-serving restaurant, Some)

 By Components (Propulsion System, Air-frame, Control system, Battery, Camera, Roaming, Some)

 By End Users (Selling & Logistics, Food and Drink, Health, Some)

Market Analysis

There is a growing desire to minimize carbon emissions and reduce the environmental impact of delivery operations are some of the key factors driving the delivery drone market. Traditional delivery methods, such as trucks and vans, contribute significantly to air pollution and carbon emissions. Delivery drones, on the other hand, are powered by electric motors and emit zero carbon emissions, making them a more environmentally friendly option. The development of more sophisticated sensors, GPS systems, and communication technologies has enabled drones to operate more effectively and efficiently than ever before.

Story continues

Ask For Customized Report As Per Your Business Requirement: https://www.snsinsider.com/enquiry/1123

Impact of Recession

During a recession, businesses are more likely to cut costs, which could result in a reduction in investment in drone technology. This could cause delays in the development and deployment of new drone technologies, which would impact the growth of the market in the long run. Despite the potential negative impact of a recession on the delivery drone market, there are also some potential positive effects. As businesses look for ways to reduce costs, they may turn to delivery drones as a more cost-effective alternative to traditional delivery methods.

Key Regional Development

The United States and Canada are leading the charge in North America, with ongoing delivery drone testing trials and rising demand for same-day delivery of medical supplies and e-commerce goods. These factors, combined with various regulatory frameworks established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other government bodies, have contributed to the region's increased adoption of delivery drone technology. The benefits of delivery drones are becoming increasingly apparent, as they can provide faster and more efficient delivery services compared to traditional methods. With the ongoing pandemic, the demand for contactless deliveries has also contributed to the growth of the delivery drone market.

Key Takeaway from Delivery Drone Market Study

The selling and logistics segment is expected to continue to dominate the market, with businesses investing heavily in this technology to improve their delivery operations. As the technology continues to improve, we can expect to see more businesses adopting delivery drones to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and provide better service to their customers.

While the market is competitive, the thought wing segment presents a particularly challenging but rewarding opportunity for companies to establish themselves as leaders in the industry. Those who are able to overcome the technical hurdles and develop truly advanced thought wing drones will be well-positioned to capture a significant share of the rapidly growing market.

Recent Developments Related to Delivery Drone Market

The Canadian government has recently awarded a contract to Drone Delivery Canada, indicating an increased use of heavy-lift drones in the country. This development is a significant step forward for the commercial drone industry, which has been working to expand its capabilities and meet the growing demand for drone-based delivery services.

Japan Post has announced that it will be expanding and accelerating its trials of mail drone delivery, with the aim of improving the efficiency and speed of its postal services. This move is part of the company's efforts to stay competitive in an increasingly digital and fast-paced world.

Buy Exclusive Copy of the Delivery Drone Market Research Report Along With ME Sheet: https://www.snsinsider.com/checkout/1123

Table Of Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Research Methodology

3. Market Dynamics

4. Impact Analysis

5. Value Chain Analysis

6. Porters 5 Forces Model

7. PEST Analysis

8. Delivery Drone Market, By Type

9. Delivery Drone Market, By Capacity

10. Delivery Drone Market,By Applications

11. Delivery Drone Market, By Components

12. Delivery Drone Market, By End-Users

13. Regional Analysis

14. Company Profiles

15. Competitive Landscape

16. Conclusion

About SNS Insider

At SNS Insider, we believe that businesses should have access to the best market intelligence and insights, regardless of their size or industry. That's why we offer a range of solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each client, from startups to big corporations. With a passion for our work and an unwavering commitment to delivering value, we are dedicated to helping our clients achieve their full potential.

CONTACT: Contact Us: Akash Anand  Head of Business Development & Strategy Email: info@snsinsider.com Phone: +1-415-230-0044 (US)




DUBLIN, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Digital Forensics Market, Size, Global Forecast 2023-2028, Industry Trends, Growth, Share, Outlook, Impact of Inflation, Opportunity Company Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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Global Digital Forensics Market is forecasted to hit US$ 13.93 Billion by 2028, according to the publisher.



Global Digital Forensics Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.50% during the forecast period 2022-2028



The field of digital forensics is rapidly expanding and is dedicated to the examination, protection, analysis, and presentation of digital evidence in legal contexts. Experts in this field utilize specialized techniques and tools to collect and scrutinize data from digital devices, including computers, mobile phones, and other forms of digital media, with the purpose of identifying proof related to illegal activities, security breaches, and criminal offenses. The digital forensics industry comprises diverse professions, including forensic analysts, investigators, examiners, and legal specialists who specialize in digital evidence. These professionals operate in various settings, such as law enforcement agencies, government institutions, private investigation firms, and cybersecurity organizations. Worldwide Digital Forensics Market was valued at US$ 6.52 Billion in 2022.



Network Forensics' Growth is due to the Rapid Expansion of Wireless Connectivity and the Internet



Based on Type, Digital Forensics industry is divided into Computer Forensics, Network Forensics, Mobile Device Forensics and Cloud Forensics. Network forensics is expected to have a significant market share during the forecast period, as wireless communication devices are vulnerable to data theft. By capturing, recording, and analyzing network packets, network forensics identifies the source of security breaches. Security techniques like WEP and WAP are insufficient for ensuring wireless safety, leading to the increasing popularity of network forensics in various industries.



The computer forensics has gained second significance industry in recent years due to the growing occurrence of cybercrime and the need for digital evidence in legal proceedings. Law enforcement agencies, government organizations, corporations, private investigators, and individuals avail the services of computer forensics professionals to investigate various digital offenses, including computer-related crimes, data breaches, and intellectual property theft. The industry is anticipated to expand in the future as the frequency of cyber threats and incidents continues to rise.



Rapid Progress of Technology has caused a widespread Shift towards the Digital Realm will surge the demand of Forensics Software



Based on Components, Digital Forensics industry has been classified into Hardware, Software and Services. In the coming years, the software segment is projected to hold a considerable market share due to its ability to reduce processing time and identify fraud and theft based on evidence. Digital forensic software enables users to gain insight into data trends, analyze fluctuations, and assess potential risk factors. This software also allows for efficient searching, identification, and prioritization of evidence on mobile devices and computers. Furthermore, companies are emphasizing the development of adaptable digital forensic software that can extract data from various mobile devices.



The services segment is expected to hold a significant market share in the future as digital forensic services collaborate with digital forensic hardware and software to streamline the identification and examination of vital data. Additionally, digital forensics services tend to be expensive and are commonly offered by prominent organizations like KPMG, PwC, among others. As a result, the major portion of the costs involved in providing such services is attributed to skilled personnel, licenses, and training.



Government and Defense Segment is expected to exhibit a significant Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)



By End-Use, Digital Forensics industry has been segmented into Government, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), IT & Telecom, Retail, Healthcare and Others. The Government and Defense sector dominated the market share owing to its high susceptibility to cyber-attacks and insider threats due to the storage, transfer, and use of highly confidential data. Therefore, ensuring data integrity and restricting access to unauthorized personnel becomes a critical and topmost priority for the sector. As data loss or theft can pose a threat to national security, substantial investments are made in various hardware, software, and services, contributing to its largest share among other industry verticals.



The role of digital forensics in counter-terrorism is significant in upcoming years. Military and defense professionals and experts utilize computer forensics to assess network architecture and vulnerable systems that terrorists may attempt to access. The military and defense sector has a crucial responsibility to ensure data integrity and grant access to the appropriate individuals. Data theft is linked to national security, and therefore substantial investments in hardware, software, and services are made to safeguard against it, resulting in its prominent position.



North America is expected to maintain its position as the Largest Market for Digital Forensics



The Global Digital Forensics Market is categorized into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Latin America, based on geography. The North American region is expected to dominate the market share, owing to several organizations operating in the digital forensics industry and higher rates of technological integration in the region. This has resulted in an increased concern for maintaining data privacy and integrity, especially with the rise of remote working, cloud computing, and BYOD culture. The region has also witnessed a higher incidence of cyber-attacks, phishing, and social engineering due to the presence of prominent headquarters of companies. Consequently, organizations in the region are investing in digital forensics solutions to mitigate such threats.



Type - Digital Forensics Market has been covered from 4 viewpoints



1. Computer Forensics

2. Network Forensics

3. Mobile Device Forensics

4. Cloud Forensics



Component - Digital Forensics Market has been covered from 3 viewpoints



1. Software

2. Hardware

3. Services



Region - Digital Forensics Market has been covered from 5 viewpoints



1. North America

2. Europe

3. Asia-Pacific (APAC)

4. Middle East and Africa (MEA)

5. Latin America



End User - Digital Forensics Market has been covered from 6 viewpoints



1. BFSI

2. Healthcare & life Science

3. Govt. & law Enforcement

4. Defense& Aerospace

5. IT &Tc

6. Others



Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction



2. Research Methodology



3. Executive Summary



4. Market Dynamics



5. Porter's Five Forces



6. Digital Forensics Market



7. Market Share - Digital Forensics Market



8. Type - Digital Forensics Market



9. Components - Digital Forensics Market



10. End-Use - Digital Forensics Market



11. Region - Digital Forensics Market



12. SWOT Analysis



13. Company Analysis



Companies Mentioned

Story continues

IBM

Micro Systemation AB

OpenText Corporation

Nuix Pty Ltd

KLDiscovery Inc.

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Trend Micro Incorporated

Secureworks Inc. (Dell Technologies, Inc

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3wr87r

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ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

The increasing cost of energy has led to a growing demand for energy-efficient products, and smart glass is poised to become a popular solution in Europe. Smart glass has the ability to decrease a building's overall energy consumption while offering additional benefits such as on-demand privacy or glare reduction. Therefore, it is expected that the demand for smart glass will continue to rise in Europe.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global electrochromic glass market size reached US$ 1.8 billion in 2022. Over the next ten years, global electrochromic glass demand will rise at 8.0% CAGR. By 2032, the worldwide market for electrochromic glass will touch a valuation of US$ 3.9 billion.



Adoption of electrochromic glass will remain high in construction sector. As per the report, construction segment will thrive at 7.8% CAGR from 2022 to 2032.

Growing demand for electrochromic glass from automotive and construction sectors is driving the global market.

Electrochromic glass, also known as smart glass, is a glass type that alters its opacity in response to an electric current. It is gaining wider popularity across construction and automotive sectors. This is due to its capacity to conserve energy and enhance privacy and comfort.

Electrochromic glass can help reduce building energy consumption. This it does, by reducing the amount of heat and light that enters the interior. It is becoming a key technology for green and sustainable building concepts.

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High adoption of electrochromic glass in vehicles will boost sales through 2032. One of the main advantages of electrochromic glass in automobiles is its capacity to automatically adjust its tint in accordance with ambient lighting conditions.

For example, in direct sunlight, the glass darkens to lessen glare, while in low light, the glass becomes more transparent to enhance visibility. By blocking out heat from the sun and reducing glare and improving visibility, electrochromic glass can help ease the burden on an automobile's air conditioning system.

Story continues

Smart glass is used in various cars to reduce heat buildup and maintain a comfortable interior temperature. Therefore, the market for electrochromic glass is projected to expand during the assessment period as electrochromic glass adoption in automobiles rises.

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Key Takeaways from the Electrochromic Glass Market Report:

Global electrochromic glass sales are set to rise at 8.0% CAGR between 2022 and 2032.

By application, windows segment will thrive at 7.9% CAGR during the assessment period.

By end-use industry, construction segment is likely to expand at 7.8% CAGR through 2032.

The United States electrochromic glass market will reach a valuation of US$ 824.4 million by 2032.

China electrochromic glass market is forecast to progress at 9.0% CAGR through 2032.

Electrochromic glass demand across Korea will increase at 8.4% CAGR between 2022 and 2032.

By 2032, Japan electrochromic glass market is set to cross a valuation of US$ 285.5 million.



Rapid shift towards green and sustainable building is set to bolster electrochromic glass sales. Further, booming automotive sector will create growth prospects for the market. Says a lead Future Market Insights analyst.

Who is Winning?

Westminster International Ltd., AGG Inc., ChromoGenics AB, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A., Showa Denko, Halio, Inc., Suntuitive Glass, Polytronix, Inc., Diamond Glass, Smartglass International, and View, Inc. are few of the leading electrochromic glass manufacturers profiled in the report.

New product launches, mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and investments in research and development are key strategies adopted by electrochromic glass companies.

More Insights Available

Future Market Insights, in its new offering, presents an unbiased analysis of the electrochromic glass market presenting historical market data (2017 to 2021) and forecast statistics for the period from 2022 to 2032.

The study reveals extensive growth in terms of application (windows, mirrors, and display) and end-use industry (construction, automotive, and aerospace) across various regions.

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Global Electrochromic Glass Market Segmentation

By Application:

Windows

Mirror

Display



By End-use Industry:

Construction

Automotive

Aerospace



By Region:

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East and Africa



View Full Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/electrochromic-glass-market

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | Electrochromic Glass Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.1.1. Drivers

3.1.2. Restraints

3.1.3. Opportunity

3.1.4. Trends

Read More TOC..

Explore FMIs Extensive Coverage on Technology Domain:

Building Access Control Security Market Demand : In 2023, it is anticipated that the market for building access control security will reach a value of US$11.89 billion. During the 20232033 prediction window.

Smart Building Solutions Market Size : The size of the global market for smart building solutions is projected to increase from US$ 59,733 million in 2022 to US$ 1,90,002.1 million in 2032, at a CAGR of 12.3%.

Smart Fitness Market Share : Future Market Insights estimates that the revenue from the worldwide smart fitness market would reach US$ 13 billion in 2020. (FMI). The size of the global smart fitness market is anticipated to be around US$ 50 billion by 2031, expanding at a CAGR of 12% between 2021 and 2031.

Embedded Smart Cameras Market Growth : In 2022, the market for integrated smart cameras is anticipated to be worth US$4,952.2 million. By the end of 2032, sales of integrated smart camera devices are expected to reach about US$ 19,560.52 Million, growing at a strong CAGR of 14.7% between 2022 and 2032.

Intelligent Lighting Control Market Opportunity : In 2022, it is anticipated that the global intelligent lighting control market will be worth US$22,940 Mn. The market is anticipated to develop at a CAGR of 16.5% from 2022 to 2032, reaching a worth of US$ 105,640 Mn by that year.

ABOUT FUTURE MARKET INSIGHTS, INC.

Future Market Insights, Inc. is an ESOMAR-certified business consulting & market research firm, a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and is headquartered in Delaware, USA. A recipient of Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of high client score (4.9/5), we have been collaborating with global enterprises in their business transformation journey and helping them deliver on their business ambitions. 80% of the largest Forbes 1000 enterprises are our clients. We serve global clients across all leading & niche market segments across all major industries.

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HERNDON, Va., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ePlus inc. (NASDAQ NGS: PLUS  news) today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has honored it on the 2023 Tech Elite 250. This year marks the tenth time that ePlus has been included on the Tech Elite 250 list.

ePlus logo (PRNewsfoto/ePlus inc.)

This annual list features solution providers of all sizes across the U.S and Canada that have differentiated themselves by achieving the highest level and largest breadth of certifications and specializations from key technology vendors in the infrastructure, cloud, and security spaces.

ePlus helps 4,200+ customers across the U.S., Europe, and Asia navigate an increasingly complex and dynamic IT, regulatory and workforce environment. Backed by an unparalleled bench of technical experts, more than 5,000 certifications and accreditations, top industry recognition, and a commitment to innovation, ePlus empowers organizations to secure, modernize, optimize, and scale every aspect of their ITacross cloud and data center, security, networking and collaboration.

"ePlus is honored to be included in the Tech Elite 250 once again, marking a decade on the list," said Darren Raiguel, chief operating officer at ePlus. "We look forward to continuing to help customers prepare for and leverage market shifts as well as optimize technology, delivering the right solutions at the right time and in the most efficient way for maximum financial results and possibility."

"CRN's Tech Elite 250 list features the leading solution providers in the IT channel with the most in-depth technical knowledge, expertise, and certifications for providing the highest level of service for their customers," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "These solution providers have continued to extend their aptitudes and abilities across various technologies and IT practices, demonstrating their commitment and value to their customers."

Coverage of the Tech Elite 250 will be featured in the April issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/techelite250 .

Story continues

About ePlus inc.

ePlus has an unwavering and relentless focus on leveraging technology to create inspired and transformative business outcomes for its customers. Offering a robust portfolio of solutions, as well as a broad range of consultative and managed services across the technology spectrum, ePlus has proudly achieved more than 30 years of success in the business, carrying customers forward through adversity, rapidly changing environments, and other obstacles. ePlus is a trusted advisor, bringing expertise, credentials, talent and a thorough understanding of innovative technologies, spanning security, cloud, data center, networking, collaboration and emerging solutions, to organizations across all industry segments. With complete lifecycle management services and flexible payment solutions, ePlus' more than 1,700 associates are focused on cultivating positive customer experiences and are dedicated to their craft, harnessing new knowledge while applying decades of proven experience. ePlus is headquartered in Virginia, with offices in the United States, UK, Europe, and AsiaPacific. For more information, visit www.eplus.com, call 888-482-1122, or email info@eplus.com. Connect with ePlus on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. ePlus, Where Technology Means More.

ePlus, Where Technology Means More, and ePlus products referenced herein are either registered trademarks or trademarks of ePlus inc. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of other companies, products, and services mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with its dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, The Channel Company connects and empowers technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 40 years of unequalled channel experience, The Channel Company draws from its deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. For more information visit www.thechannelco.com. Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  2023 The Channel Company LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains information about management's view of ePlus' future expectations, plans and prospects that are not historical facts and may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements." Actual and anticipated future results may vary materially due to certain risks and uncertainties. Certain risks and uncertainties that may effect such "forward-looking statements" are detailed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially under the heading "Risk Factors". All information set forth in this press release is current as of the date of this release and ePlus expressly disclaims any duty or obligation to update this information, except as may be required by law.

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SOURCE ePlus inc.
Tron founder and Huobi adviser Justin Sun didnt seem to want anyone to know hes had to add an extra ex to his excellency, an honorific that hes been proudly using for over a year.

The Granada Government named Sun as its ambassador and permanent trade representative to the World Trade Organization in December 2021. But only seven months later, the New National Party that appointed him lost the general election to the National Democratic Congress.

After the NDC took over, all ambassadors were recalled, the Grenada Broadcasting Network reported on Monday in an article about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing charges against Sun and a slew of celebrities for illegally promoting Tronix (TRON) last week.

Up until this morning, Sun was adamant that he was still a diplomat and shared a screenshot of the WTO internal terminal showing his title with The Block. He denied the GBN report from earlier this week in an interview with the outlet, saying its not true, then contradicted himself on Twitter.

But even as Sun acknowledged that he was no longer an ambassador, he made it sound as though the appointment had only just ended today, and not eight months ago as it now appears.

As my term as the Ambassador of Grenada to the World Trade Organization comes to a close, effective 31 March 2023, I want to express my gratitude for the wonderful experiences and the amazing support that I have received during my time here, he wrote at the start of a 13-tweet thread.

Among the replies to Suns announcement was a fawning message from the official Tron Community account: For us, you will always be an ambassador for the blockchain and an ambassador for the great kingdom of #TRON.

Attorney David Lesperance has been advising wealthy clients and their families on citizenship-by-investment or Golden Visa programs through his firm, Lesperance & Associates, for years. He doesnt count Sun among his clients, but said in his experience diplomatic appointments can be pretty fickleeven if they have permanent in the title.

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A diplomatic appointment can be taken away in a moment. It is at the pleasure of the government, he told Decrypt. So if the government changes, or they decide you are no longer serving well, or youre a scoundrel, then they can cancel it.

Its a much quicker process than when a country cancels someones passport or strips them of citizenship.

Because diplomatic appointments can be so fleeting, Lesperance saw people try to claim they were diplomats to get through airport security when he was working for the Canada Border Services Agency in Toronto.

Crew and diplomats come through a special line. And I remember this guy showing me a hokey diplomatic passport, he said. I asked him what the purpose of his trip was, and he said he was going to meet the foreign minister.

Tron Token Sees Selloff After SEC Files Charges Against Founder Justin Sun

But there had been no call from foreign affairs about an arriving diplomat and the travelers claims about being a diplomat turned out to be fake.

Its worth pointing out that Suns status as a diplomat was very much real, even if it was brief.

Grenada sent Sun on a tour of the Caribbean after his appointment in December 2021, which included stops at the Panama Canal and Dominica. He even went so far as telling Bloomberg that he would be phasing out his participation in crypto-related projects, like Tron, to make way for his duties as an ambassador.

Around the same time as his appointment, Sun revealed he was the one who placed the anonymous, winning $28 million bid for a trip to space on Jeff Bezos Blue Origin. From a separate Twitter account, which appears to have been set up specifically for his new gig as an ambassador, Sun said hed be bringing the Grenadian flag with him.

Justin Suns credibility problem

Even now Sun is still calling himself a permanent representative of Grenada to the WTO on his LinkedIn profile and has kept the H.E. (which stands for his excellency) abbreviation in his Twitter bio. At the Milken Institutes Asia Summit in September 2022a few months after hed lost his ambassadorshipan announcers booming voice introduced him by his diplomatic title before he was interviewed on stage by Curtis S. Chin, chair of the institutes Asia center.

Chin asked him once about his appointment, then pressed again: Why and how did this happen?

This has become like a promotion for the Grenada citizenship program, Sun said, laughing. Grenada is trying to attract lots of foreign investment opportunities and wants to attract lots of good entrepreneurs to the islands.
The stability of mining jobs in Australia has been a topic of interest for many individuals and industries, especially in recent times when job security is more important than ever.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / According to Techforce, a leading recruitment and workforce management company with extensive experience in supplying qualified employees to a range of mining positions, including rigger jobs and FIFO chef jobs Perth-wide, the demand for minerals and resources continues to increase globally, particularly in countries such as China and India. Australia is a significant contributor to the global supply of minerals such as iron ore, coal, gold and natural gas, and this demand is expected to remain strong for the foreseeable future.

rigger jobs, chef jobs, mining chef jobs, fifo chef jobs perth

Techforce explains the advancements in mining technology have improved productivity and efficiency, making mining operations in Australia more competitive globally. The adoption of automation and artificial intelligence has reduced the risk of accidents and has made mining jobs safer and more appealing to a wider pool of potential employees.

Australia has a stable political and economic environment, which Techforce points out is an essential factor in attracting foreign investment and ensuring the longevity of mining operations. The government has implemented policies and regulations that promote sustainable mining practices, which further enhance the stability of the industry.

The mining sector in Australia provides a significant contribution to the national economy, creating jobs and generating revenue. According to the Minerals Council of Australia, the industry employs over 250,000 people directly and indirectly and contributed over AUD 230 billion to the economy in the 2020 financial year.

As Techforce points out, the mining sector in Australia has demonstrated resilience in the face of economic and environmental challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry has adapted quickly to changing conditions, implementing strict health and safety protocols and reducing carbon emissions, which has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability.

Story continues

Techforce explains that the industry will continue to provide secure and rewarding jobs for Australians for years to come with highly varied job opportunities available, such as chef jobs as well as specialised computer and IT positions.

To discover current job opportunities, including mining chef jobs and more, visit Techforce online today.

About Techforce

Techforce Personnel is a national privately owned recruitment and workforce management company experienced in supplying qualified employees to a range of industries across Australia and New Zealand.

Contact Information

Techforce Personnel

Marketing Manager

recruitment@techforce.com.au

(08) 6363 7040

SOURCE: Techforce

.





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(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. will take a direct stake in a battery-nickel plant under construction in Indonesia, deepening its role in the supply chain as carmakers try to secure materials for electric vehicles.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The US automaker joins PT Vale Indonesia and Chinas Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. as investors in a project to make an annual 120,000 tons of nickel chemicals for EV batteries, according to a joint statement from the companies. The Pomalaa plant is expected to start commercial production in 2026, with total investment at 67.5 trillion rupiah ($451 million).

The statement didnt disclose the amount of investment.

Global carmakers are racing to ensure long-term flows of materials like lithium, cobalt and nickel as demand balloons. While direct investments in mines or refineries are still rare, General Motors Co. has invested in a US lithium miner while Tesla Inc. is interested in buying a lithium producer.

Read more: Shortage of Metals for EVs Climbs Up the Agenda in Auto C-Suites

Indonesia is becoming a major source of battery-ready nickel following a wave of refinery investments in the minerals-rich country, mostly by Chinese companies. Ford, which plans to make 2 million EVs a year by the end of 2026, already had an agreement with Huayou to take battery materials derived from the Pomalaa plant.

This framework gives Ford direct control to source the nickel we need  in one of the industrys lowest-cost ways  and allows us to ensure the nickel is mined in line with our companys sustainability targets, Lisa Drake, vice president for Ford Model e EV industrialization, said in the statement.

Pomalaa is a long-delayed project, and an example of earlier efforts to use high-pressure acid leaching technology, or HPAL, to make nickel chemicals from low-grade ores. There are now a number of HPAL plants ramping up in the Southeast Asian nation, but there are still concerns about their environmental credentials.

Story continues

Read more: Indonesias Battery Arms Race Offers Risk-Tinged Green Prize

The technology remains difficult to develop and ramp up and manage, compared to other conventional nickel production methods and processes, said Allan Ray Restauro, analyst at BloombergNEF.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- FTSE Russell said it will keep South Korea on the watch list for inclusion to its global bond index  and India for the emerging-market equivalent  prolonging the countries wait to get into key market gauges.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Korean authorities are undertaking initiatives to improve the structure and accessibility of its capital markets which require local laws and regulations to be amended and may not be complete until 2024, FTSE said in a statement on Thursday. The index provider will seek evidence from market participants on the efficacy of the enhancements and whether theyre operating as intended prior to any reclassification decision, it said.

Korean policymakers have been pushing to get the country into global bond and stock indexes, which Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts suggested may attract an estimated $116 billion of foreign inflows. The addition to the WGBI alone would lure up to 90 trillion won ($69 billion) of inflows, the Korean government has said, citing estimates from investment banks.

Read More: Korea Expands Currency Market Access to Aid Index Inclusion Bids

South Koreas index inclusion is more likely to happen in September then this time around, Kang Seungwon, a fixed-income strategist at NH Investment & Securities Co., said before the announcement. It is too early for an inclusion considering it normally takes more than six months from the point the country is added to the watchlist, Kang said.

The government will continue to improve its systems and closely communicate with global investors so the country is possibly added to the WGBI this year, the finance ministry said in a statement following FTSEs announcement.

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Koreas three-year yield rose one basis point to 3.25% on Friday, while the yield on the 10-year government bond climbed one basis point to 3.32%.

In India, FTSE continues to note feedback from investors regarding areas for improvement of its market structure, including efficient foreign investor registration and operational issues regarding the settlement cycle, trade matching and tax clearance, the statement said. FTSE will continue its dialog with the Reserve Bank of India and seek feedback from market participants on their practical experiences of the evolution of the market structure, the company said.

Read More: What Adding India to Global Bond Indexes Would Mean: QuickTake

Bond traders were not expecting the inclusion of India in this review after New Delhi seemed to cool on the idea amid global market volatility. India shouldnt be looking at inclusion at the current juncture given the global situation, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said in February.

An inclusion would have paved the way for higher foreign inflows and helped the governments plan to borrow 15.4 trillion rupees ($187 billion) in the fiscal year starting April.

--With assistance from Matthew Burgess and Marcus Wong.

(Updates fifth and sixth paragraphs with comments from Korean government and Korean bond yields)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- The center of gravity in the global oil-refining complex is shifting sharply eastward  and thats spurring a boom in the business of building ships to haul fuel around the globe.

Most Read from Bloomberg

As many as 38 mid-range tankers have been ordered this year, marking one of the busiest quarters since 2013, according to ship broker Braemar. The number of ships assigned international serial numbers  another gauge of orders  is at 28 this year, closing in on the total of 31 for all of 2022, according to ship broker Simpson Spence Young.

Inefficient refineries in the US and Europe shut down after the Covid-19 pandemic crushed demand for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, while new complexes are being built in Asia and the Middle East. The subsequent rebound in demand has fuel buyers looking to those new producers for supplies, drawing larger amounts of product onto the water.

The trend has ratcheted up the rates the existing fleet can charge, making shipping more profitable and accelerating the construction of new vessels.

The main, structural shift in the refinery landscape that will support refined-product shipping demand in the medium- and long-term is the geographical dislocation between new refineries and major consumers, said Alexandra Alatari, senior analyst at Braemar.

The total amount of fuel that can be found at sea is currently more than 200 million barrels, up from 177 million two years ago, according to data from Kpler Inc. The figures include cargoes in transit, being moved from ship to ship, floating in storage or simply stuck in congestion.

Already, buyers on the US East Coast are taking more fuel shipments from the Middle East and Asia as exports from Europe dry up. Australia, which saw some domestic refineries close, is drawing more cargoes from north and southeast Asia, and India is exporting more products to Latin America. In the years ahead, US Gulf Coast refineries are poised to ship more to West Africa and Europe, said John Auers, managing director of refined fuels analytics at consultancy RBN Energy.

Story continues

Russias invasion of Ukraine has bolstered the phenomenon, sending shipping rates surging in recent months as sanctions further reshuffle global trade flows. Tankers in the Atlantic are earning about $40,000 a day, the highest for this time of year since at least 2013. Products are spending more time on vessels for longer-haul routes, while also waiting around to transfer onto other ships and in floating storage.

The increased ship orders are defying rising price tags. The cost for new builds has climbed to around $45 million per vessel, up 14% from a year earlier and the highest since 2008, data from ship brokers show.

The boom also reflects pent-up demand after many shipowners withheld orders in recent years as they waited to see whether national and international regulations would require them to contract so-called eco tankers that can be powered by fuels as well as methanol. When energy prices soared last year, some of that doubt dissipated, and a lot of the new orders are for conventionally fueled vessels, said Claire Grierson, head of tanker research at Simpson Spence Young.

Even with the new orders, which may add around 60 ships in 2025, vessel availability will still stay short of long-term average levels, Braemars Alatari said.

(Updates with product-on-water in sixth paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Russia and Iran warn sanctions effort by US Congress could backfire

Russia and Iran on Wednesday condemned the latest move by the US Congress to impose new sanctions against them and warned that there could be severe consequences.

GALLERY

Irans deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, blasted the initiative, calling it a "clear act of hostility" against the Islamic republic. The US Congress wants to slap fresh sanctions against individual Iranians for their involvement in the countrys ballistic missile programme, as well impose other penalties for what the US describes as Irans terrorist activities and human rights abuses.

Moscow (dpa) - The bill, which would impose further penalties against Russian officials, is a "very serious step towards destroying the prospects for normalizing relations," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said."What is happening is beyond common sense," Ryabkov said in comments carried by Russian state news agency TASS.Irans deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, blasted the initiative, calling it a "clear act of hostility" against the Islamic republic.The US Congress wants to slap fresh sanctions against individual Iranians for their involvement in the countrys ballistic missile programme, as well impose other penalties for what the US describes as Irans terrorist activities and human rights abuses.Iran plans to wait and see how the sanctions are implemented before conducting a reciprocal response, Araghchi said in comments carried by the Iranian news agency Tasnim.US lawmakers in the lower House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the sanctions bill on Tuesday, after a similar measure was passed by the Senate last month.The Senate must now consider the package passed by the House before the bill makes its way to President Donald Trump to be approved or vetoed.The bill also includes sanctions on North Korea targetting its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes as well as use of slave labour.Along with the sanctions package against the three countries, the bill contains a measure to make it difficult for the president to remove the sanctions later on.The bill poses a dilemma for Trump, as he has promised to rebuild bilateral relations with Russia and has expressed admiration for President Vladimir Putin.But Trumps administration has come under fire amid allegations of attempted collusion with the former Cold War foe. Vetoing the bill that aims to punish Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election would likely fuel accusations Trump is too friendly with Moscow.US-Russian ties in recent years have been severely frayed as the great powers support opposing sides in the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. The Ukraine conflict specifically has already led Western powers, including the US, to impose sanctions against Russia.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Gama Explorations Inc. (CSE:GAMA)(OTCQB:GMMAF)(FSE:N79) ("Gama" or the "Company") is pleased to announce exploration results from the Big Onion porphyry copper-molybdenum project near Smithers, British Columbia.

Highlights

Prospecting yields gold assays up to 5.84 g/t Au from grab samples.

Copper is associated with tungsten, antimony and minor gold and silver in potential epithermal zone.

Highest copper and gold values are more than 2 km east of historical drilling at Big Onion.

"These results clearly indicate the exploration upside potential at the Big Onion project, outside of the main porphyry zone," stated Dr. Mick Carew, CEO of Gama. "This Big Onion project has seen over 30km of historical drilling, mostly focused in one area. These results suggest that other prospective areas of exploration related to a variety of mineralization styles could be situated beyond the immediate footprint of historical drilling at Big Onion. Follow-up prospecting work is required and is planned for the coming summer."

2022 Rock Sampling program

A total of 35 rock samples were collected on the Big Onion project in 2022. The rock samples were collected across the project and outside of the area of the historical resource to identify new zones of mineralization. One area of historical trenches to the northeast of the historical resource yielded samples with up to 5.84 g/t Au and 0.419% Cu. Rock samples in this area are associated with elevated tungsten, antimony, lead, copper, arsenic and zinc. This metal association may be indicative of epithermal mineralization. A total of 5 samples were collected with an average of 1.22 g/t Au and 0.218% Cu.

An area east of the Big Onion project contains rock samples up to 1.625 g/t Au with some samples elevated in copper and arsenic. A total of 18 rock samples were collected with one sample enriched in gold (1.625 g/t Au) and one sample enriched in copper (0.1835% Cu).

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Figure 1. Rock samples collected in 2022. Rock samples that assayed >0.1 g/t Au or >1000 ppm (0.1%) Cu are labeled.

About the Big Onion

The Big Onion Property is roughly centered on Astlais Creek and is underlain by a late Cretaceous to early Tertiary quartz diorite porphyry and quartz feldspar porphyry that intruded Jurassic Hazelton Group mafic volcanics and sediments. The multiphase intrusive formed in a northeast trending lineament.

Historical work on the Property includes almost 55,000 meters of drilling in the 1960's, 1970's and the 2000's. The most recent resource estimate was done in 2010 for Eagle Peak Resources Inc. and Metal Mountain Resources lnc. by Giroux Consultants Inc. (Giroux, 2010) and outlined an indicated resource of 87.1 M tonnes grading 0.30% copper and an inferred resource of 8.6 M tonnes grading 0.27% copper.

The 2010 resource estimate is considered historical in nature by the Company and is provided for background information purposes only. It is not a current resource estimate. A qualified person (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource.

QAQC and Data Verification

Samples were analyzed at ALS in North Vancouver. ALS inserts standards, blanks and duplicates as QAQC samples at regular intervals. All QAQC samples returned values within acceptable bounds for the elements of interest.

QP Disclosure

Bill Cronk, P.Geo., an independent consulting geologist has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

About Gama Explorations Inc.

Gama is a Canadian company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE: GAMA), and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE:N79). The Company is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties containing metals used in green technologies and the renewable energy sector. The company currently has the right to acquire 100% interest in the Big Onion Copper-Molybdenum Project located a short 20-minute drive from the town of Smithers in northern British Columbia and owns 100% of the Tyee Nickel-Copper Massive Sulphide Project located in North-Eastern Quebec. The Company continuously evaluates opportunities to acquire interest in additional exploration stage mineral properties in stable jurisdictions.

On behalf of the board,

Dr. Mick Carew, PhD|CEO and Director

mick@gamaexplorations.com

Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Readers should not rely on information in this summary for any purpose other than for gaining general knowledge of the Company. The words "expected", "will" and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations as reflected in any forward-looking statements, are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates, opinions or other factors should change.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE: Gama Explorations Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/746850/Gama-Explorations-Identifies-Elevated-Gold-Values-East-of-Historic-Drilling-at-its-Big-Onion-Project-in-BC




(Reuters) -General Electric Co has settled all its outstanding wind turbine technology patent disputes in the United States and Europe with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A, the companies said on Friday.

Terms of the settlement, which was described as amicable, were not disclosed. Under the deal, the companies and their subsidiaries will receive cross licenses for the patents in question.

Siemens Gamesa had sued GE for patent infringement in 2020 over the latter's Haliade-X turbines. Last year, a Boston federal judge barred GE from making and selling its Haliade-X wind turbines in the United States, after a jury found they infringed a patent owned by Siemens Gamesa.

But GE was allowed to continue making and operating the turbines for existing projects off the coasts of Massachusetts and New Jersey with royalty payments to Siemens Gamesa.

In February, the same judge ruled GE must double its patent royalty payments to Siemens Gamesa for the turbines it uses in a renewable energy project off the New Jersey coast.

The settlement announced Friday removes an overhang on GE's renewable business, which has struggled to turn a profit in recent quarters due to a combination of weak demand, higher raw materials and labor costs and supply-chain pressures.

GE shares edged up 0.6% in early trade.

(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram, additional reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
Giant IFC

COLORADO SPRINGS,COLORADO, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Giant IFC has emerged as a modern investment bank providing high-quality, professional, and customized financial services and solutions. It also continues to focus on providing opportunities for employment as part of its corporate social responsibility.

While seeking its new development, Giant IFC organizes a Turkish rescue team in various regions to provide aid and help over 8000 people in the Turkey earthquake in 2023. The devastating earthquake caused 43,000 deaths, 110,000 injuries, over 600,000 damaged houses, and left 1.5 million people homeless. Many people sought refuge in tents, cars, or public buildings. Millions were affected by the lack of basic services, food, medicine, and fuel.

Giant IFC takes the initiative to gather Giant IFC employees from various regions to promptly provide 300,000 US dollars in assistance to Turkey, as well as 700,000 US dollars worth of relief materials. The company earned the gratitude of the Turkish fund team and the Turkish government.



Giant IFC strongly supports the cause of financial education and lights up hope for dreams, establishing foundations in Turkey, Dubai, Spain, and Brazil and jointly setting up "Giant IFC Local Fund Teams."

By focusing on three deeply impoverished regions in the Ugandan government, Giant IFC donate a total of 14 million US dollars in 2022 to help impoverished villages develop industries, construct children's centers, medical facilities, and residential activity venues, optimize village construction projects, improve infrastructure and village appearance, and road construction projects, promoting the timely poverty alleviation of impoverished villages.



Giant IFC continues to stay true to its original mission and focus on providing more people with opportunities for income and employment as part of its corporate social responsibility. As in the COVID-19 pandemic, Giant IFC responded immediately to the government's call and joined the efforts to combat and prevent the pandemic, donating 7 million US dollars to India, China, and Indonesia. At the same time, the company mobilized resources, urgently purchased epidemic prevention materials, and donated 78,000 medical-grade N95 masks worth 400,000 US dollars to China. The company's 548 employees donated over 140,000 US dollars for COVID-19 prevention and control efforts.

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With the new development, Giant IFC is deeply grateful for the immense energy brought by its members and agents. Adhering to the sense of responsibility and mission of "bearing the overall situation and responsibility," the company fully practices the social responsibility of financial institutions, actively participates in poverty alleviation and public welfare undertakings, and has gained high recognition from the industry and society.

In addition, Giant IFC has provided resource assistance, food, and materials to deeply impoverished countries such as the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Indonesia for five consecutive years, earning gratitude and blessings from the leaders of each country.

With strong support from various governments, Giant IFC restructured its board of directors and supervisory board, established a management execution committee, and completed the reshaping of its corporate governance system, officially embarking on a new development path. The company has actively promoted transformational development, and the effectiveness of its corporate governance and risk management has begun to show, with significant improvements in operating capacity and efficiency.



Furthermore, Giant IFC also provides funds for road construction projects in Pakistan and Georgia as well.

About Giant IFC:

Giant IFC is a modern investment bank that provides high-quality, professional, and customized financial services and solutions. The platform also creates greater value for its customers and continuously promotes industry standardization and innovation, and creates greater value for customers, employees, and society. Giant IFC built a strong reputation for innovation and maintained a keen insight, and promoted the innovation and development of the industry actively.



Additionally, Giant IFC practices the concept of sustainable development and dedicates itself to providing customers with more comprehensive and innovative solutions, meanwhile providing extensive training and development opportunities for employees to help them improve their professional level and competence constantly.













CONTACT: John Forrester Giant IFC john at giantifc.cc




Mordor Intelligence

Hyderabad, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled Global Military Training Aircraft Market - (2023  2028), the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.46%. Military training aircraft accounted for around 22% of the global military aircraft fleet in 2021. The international security horizon in the second half of 2021 was marked by escalating conflicts and geopolitical and border issues with major confrontations, such as between Russia and Ukraine, India and China, and other nations in Asia-Pacific.

What are the major trends shaping the Global Military Training Aircraft Market?

Armed conflicts and internal security increased global defense expenditures, with nations strengthening their armed forces with new procurements of training aircraft.

According to our research experts, some of the major market trends shaping the military training aircraft market are:



The world defense expenditure crossed over USD 2 trillion in 2021.

Defense spending for top militaries, like the United States, is on the rise. It reached USD 778 billion in 2020 and over USD 800 billion in 2021 - a 3% increase.

The United States was followed by China, India, Russia, and the United Kingdom, which also increased defense spending by 14%, 5%, 6.8%, and 13%, respectively, in their budgets.

With the growth in demand for cost reduction, future trainer aircraft are expected to incorporate systems that reduce procurement and operational costs.

With the growing focus on training fighter pilots in aircraft that perform like fighters, there is a growing requirement for supersonic trainer jets.

The adoption of such aircraft is expected to increase in the future.

The active fleet of training aircraft surged by around 6% from 2016 to 2021.

Asia-Pacific and North America account for 27% and 24% of the global training aircraft active fleet, respectively.

Hence, all such favorable trends are expected to drive demand in the military training aircraft market during the forecast period.

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Who are the key players in the Global Military Training Aircraft Market?



The Military Training Aircraft Market is fairly consolidated, with the top five companies occupying 85.11%. The major players in this market are:

Korea Aerospace Industries

Leonardo SpA

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd

Turkish Aerospace Industries

United Aircraft Corporation

Calidus

Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC)

Textron Inc.

The Boeing Company

Recent developments in the Global Military Training Aircraft Market:

In December 2021: A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between Turkish Aerospace and the Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT) was signed to facilitate the delivery of aerospace education, technical training, and research programs in Malaysia.

In July 2021: The French Air Force purchased nine additional PC-21s.

In a nutshell, the Mordor Intelligence Market Research Report is a must-read for start-ups, industry players, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who are looking to understand this industry. Get a glance at the https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/military-training-aircraft-market

About Mordor Intelligence:



Mordor Intelligence is a market intelligence and advisory firm. At Mordor Intelligence, we believe in predicting butterfly effects that have the potential to change or significantly impact market dynamics.

Our market research reports are comprehensive and provide exclusive data, facts and figures, trends, and the competitive landscape of the industry.

Some of the trending reports you may be interested in:









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CONTACT: Company Name: Mordor Intelligence Email: info@mordorintelligence.com Phone: +1 617-765-2493 Location: Hyderabad, Telangana Country: India




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Global PEM Electrolyzer Market

Global PEM Electrolyzer Market

Dublin, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "PEM Electrolyzer Market - A Global and Regional Analysis - Focus on End User, Material Type, and Region - Analysis and Forecast, 2022-2031" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global PEM electrolyzer market is forecast to reach a value of $2,302.4 million by 2031 from $95.9 million in 2021, growing at a CAGR of 37.4%

The demand for PEM electrolyzers is anticipated to grow with the increasing demand from the end-use industries such as ammonia production, refining industry, power and energy storage, transportation, methanol production, and others.

Furthermore, it is anticipated that during the projected period 2022-2031, the increasing adoption of PEM electrolyzers in generating green hydrogen and the investment from the government and private sector companies toward renewable energy is expected to further fuel the advancement of the global PEM electrolyzer market.

However, the lack of hydrogen infrastructures, such as hydrogen storage and hydrogen transportation, is anticipated to hinder market growth in the upcoming future.

Market Lifecycle Stage

The global PEM electrolyzer market is in the growth phase. Rising sales of fuel cell vehicles and increasing focus on decarbonization and controlling greenhouse emissions are expected to boost market growth.

Furthermore, due to high demand from the end-user industries and rising government regulations related to controlling GHG emissions are expected to increase the demand for eco-sustainable fuels, thereby bolstering the global PEM electrolyzer market.

Moreover, the global PEM electrolyzer market is expected to benefit from the growing demand for green hydrogen, which would promote market expansion. The requirement for PEM electrolyzers is being stimulated by fuel cell electric vehicles as well.

Industrial Impact

Growing demand for hydrogen and green hydrogen is the main driving force behind the growing interest in the PEM electrolyzer market.

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As a result, these materials are getting prominence in a variety of industries, including transportation, refining industry, and power and energy storage, among others. One area where implementation has been significantly greater is ammonia production, which has created opportunities for both existing market participants and market entrants.

Furthermore, PEM electrolyzers have a moderate to high impact on end-user industries; however, in the upcoming future, with increased production of ammonia, electric vehicles, and other applications, the impact is anticipated to increase.

Analyst View

According to Sachin Singh, Lead Analyst at the publisher, "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."

How can this report add value to an organization?

PEM electrolyzers are gaining traction in end-user industries on the back of sustainability concerns and their high-power density properties. They are also being used for controlling GHG emissions.

The global PEM electrolyzer market has seen major development by key players operating in the market, such as business expansions, partnerships, collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures. The favored strategy for the companies has been product developments, business expansions, and acquisitions to strengthen their position in the global PEM electrolyzer market.

For instance, in May 2022, Ohmium signed a collaboration agreement with Politecnico di Torino University in Turin, Italy. Ohmium is focused on developing next-generation catalyst materials used in PEM electrolysis, and the collaboration is expected to help the company determine the requirements for future projects.

Key players in the global PEM electrolyzer market analyzed and profiled in the study involve PEM electrolyzer manufacturers and the overall ecosystem.

Moreover, a detailed competitive benchmarking of the players operating in the global PEM electrolyzer market has been done to help the reader understand how players stack against each other, presenting a clear market landscape. Additionally, comprehensive competitive

Key Market Players and Competition Synopsis

The companies that are profiled have been selected based on inputs gathered from primary experts, analyzing company coverage, product portfolio, and market penetration.

The global PEM electrolyzer market has been segmented by different end users, among which ammonia production captured around 33.0% of the market as of 2021.

Other end users, including transportation, accounted for around 15.6%, the refining industry accounted for 22.6%, power and energy storage accounted for 7.2%, methanol production accounted for 4.7%, and other end-use industry accounted for 16.9% of the total demand in 2021 in terms of value.

Recent Developments in the Global PEM Electrolyzer Market

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.

In April 2022, Ohmium received an investment of around $45 million from one of its investors, Fenice Investment Group. The fund is 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 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.

Some of the established names in this market are:

Plug Power Inc

Nel ASA

Cummins. Inc.

ITM Power PLC

Hitachi Zosen Corporation

Elogen

Siemens Energy

Ningbo Vet Energy Technology Co., Ltd.

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 278 Forecast Period 2021 - 2031 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2021 $95.9 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2031 $2302.4 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 37.4% Regions Covered Global

Business Dynamics

Business Drivers

Increasing Demand for Green Hydrogen

Rising Adoption of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs)

Prevailing Research and Development Initiatives for Technological Advancements

Business Challenges

High Energy Losses during Production Process

High Cost of Production due to Usage of Precious Metals in PEM Technology

Business Strategies

Market Developments

Corporate Strategies

Partnerships, Collaborations, and Joint Ventures

Business Opportunities

Rising Need for Hydrogen Energy Storage Infrastructure

Rising Demand for Green Fuel Technologies and Green Fertilizers

Start-Up/Emerging Manufacturer Landscape

Key Start-Ups/Emerging Manufacturers in the Ecosystem

New Products/Offerings

Industry Outlook

Trends: Current and Future

Rising Government Efforts to Construct Low-Carbon Infrastructure

Surge in Sustainable Hydrogen Economy

Rising Demand for Advanced Electrolysis Technologies

Ecosystem/Ongoing Programs

Consortiums and Associations

Regulatory Bodies

Government Programs

Programs by Research Institutions and Universities

Iridium Impact on PEM Electrolyzer: Current and Future

Iridium Scarcity and Deposits

Methods to Reduce Iridium Dependence

Research and Development Activities by Universities/Institutes

Company Innovations to Lessen Reliance on Iridium

Proposed Activities to Enhance the Efficiency of PEM Electrolyzers

Iridium, Osmium, and Ruthenium: Import and Export Analysis by key Countries, (2017-2021)

Global Iridium Supply and Demand Gap

Impact of Russia-Ukraine Conflict on the PEM Electrolyzer Market

Impact on the Supply Chain of the PEM Electrolyzer Market

Sanctions on Russia and Evaluation of These Sanctions

Effect of Sanctions on Russia

Impact of Sanctions on other Countries

The Road Ahead

Key Metal Importers from Russia

New Sourcing Avenues for Key Metal Importers from Russia

Detailed Analysis of Key Steps Taken by Key 10 PEM Electrolyzer Manufacturers to Mitigate Iridium Demand-Supply Gap

Plug Power Inc.

ITM Power PLC

Cummins Inc.

Siemens Energy AG

Ohmium International, Inc.

Hystar

Nel ASA

Hitachi Zosen Corporation

Elogen

H-TEC SYSTEMS GmbH

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/q4dqr9

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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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 Joseph White

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors plans to phase out widely-used Apple CarPlay and Android Auto technologies that allow drivers to bypass a vehicle's infotainment systems, shifting instead to built-in infotainment systems developed with Google for future electric vehicles.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems allow users to mirror their smartphone screens in a vehicle's dashboard display.

GM's decision to stop offering those systems in future electric vehicles, starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, could help the automaker capture more data on how consumers drive and charge EVs.

GM is designing the on-board navigation and infotainment systems for future EVs in partnership with Alphabet Inc's Google.

The decision to phase out CarPlay smartphone projection technology is a setback for Apple Inc in the competition with Google to capture more real estate on vehicle dashboards in North America. GM's Chevrolet brand in the past boasted of offering more models with CarPlay or Android Auto than any other brand.

GM has been working with Google since 2019 to develop the software foundations for infotainment systems that will be more tightly integrated with other vehicle systems such as GM's Super Cruise driver assistant. The automaker is accelerating a strategy for its EVs to be platforms for digital subscription services.

By 2035, GM's goal is to phase out production of new combustion light-duty vehicles.

GM would benefit from focusing engineers and investment on one approach to more tightly connecting in-vehicle infotainment and navigation with features such as assisted driving, Edward Kummer, GM's chief digital officer, and Mike Hichme, executive director of digital cockpit experience, said in an interview.

"We have a lot of new driver assistance features coming that are more tightly coupled with navigation," Hichme told Reuters. "We dont want to design these features in a way that are dependent on person having a cellphone."

Story continues

Buyers of GM EVs with the new systems will get access to Google Maps and Google Assistant, a voice command system, at no extra cost for eight years, GM said. GM said the future infotainment systems will offer applications such as Spotify's music service, Audible and other services that many drivers now access via smartphones.

"We do believe there are subscription revenue opportunities for us," Kummer said. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra is aiming for $20 billion to $25 billion in annual revenue from subscriptions by 2030.

GM plans to continue offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto mirroring systems in its combustion models. Owners of vehicles equipped with the mirroring technologies will still be able to use the systems, GM said.

Drivers also will still be able to listen to music or make phone calls on iPhones or Android smartphones using Bluetooth wireless connectivity, GM said.

(This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Mike Hichme, GM executive director of digital cockpit experience, in paragraphs 8 and 9)

(Reporting By Joe White; Editing by Chris Reese)
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Dublin, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "GMP Master Class - Get it Right to Avoid Compliance Issues" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Overview

CGMPs or Current Good Manufacturing Practices is a general encompassing term for the regulations that the control of all facets of life sciences manufacturing processes and facilities particularly pharmaceutical products.

It is crucial, for any entity to be compliant, that every individual within the organization fully understand and adhere to these regulations in the course of

Adherence to those regulations assures the identity, strength, quality, and purity of drug products by requiring that manufacturers of medications adequately control manufacturing operations. This includes establishing strong quality management systems, obtaining appropriate quality raw materials, establishing robust operating procedures, detecting and investigating product quality deviations, and maintaining reliable testing laboratories. This formal system of controls if adequately put into practice, helps to prevent instances of contamination, mix-ups, deviations, failures, and errors. This assures that drug and medical device products meet their quality standards.

The CGMP requirements were established to be flexible in order to allow each manufacturer to decide individually how to best implement the necessary controls by using scientifically sound design, processing methods, and testing procedures. The flexibility in these regulations allows companies to use modern technologies and innovative approaches to achieve higher quality through continual improvement. Accordingly, the "C" in CGMP stands for "current," requiring companies to use technologies and systems that are up-to-date in order to comply with the regulations. Systems and equipment that may have been "top-of-the-line" to prevent contamination, mix-ups, and errors 10 or 20 years ago are less than adequate by today's standards.

Story continues

It is important to note that CGMPs are minimum requirements. Many manufacturers are already implementing comprehensive, modern quality systems and risk management approaches that exceed these minimum standards.

Why Should You Attend

Understanding GMP requirements, refreshed on a yearly basis is critical to maintain high-GMP standards in your company. Knowledge and skill surrounding the application and practice of GMPs is fundamental to avoiding regulatory issues. It's simple - you have to do it and you and your team must comply. You cannot assume that once taught, the content associated with GMPs will be retained from year to year. As human beings, we tend to forget over time and as we forget, we also get careless. In the health sciences there is no margin for error or tolerance for carelessness. This training will provide foundation to your GMP training.





Who Should Attend:



Virtually everyone in the health sciences, everyone within the organization, can benefit and in most cases, is required to attend periodic GMP training.

Compliance

Quality

Marketing

Engineering

Operations





Key Topics Covered:





GMPs - Government Regulations

What are the regulations governing Good Manufacturing Practices?

Your responsibilities

Pertinent GMP topics as per the code of Federal Regulations

Quality Management

Personnel

Premises and equipment

Documentation

Production

Quality Assurance

Materials management

Production and in-process controls

Packaging and labeling

Storage and distribution

Laboratory controls

Validation

Change control

Rejection and re-use of material

Complaints and recalls

Supplier controls

GMP Inspections

Preparing for a GMP Inspection

The consequences of not being ready

The specific areas that are inspected during a GMP inspection

FDA Inspection Tips and Recommendations

The FDA Inspection - how is it structured and conducted

Responding and organizing for the FDA Inspection

Importance of truthfulness

Importance of knowledgeability and confidence

FDA Tricks to elicit information

Arguing and challenging

Behavior during the inspection

Importance and role of documentation

Effective communication skills

Being deceptive

Opinion versus fact

Phrases never to say

Handling adverse findings during the inspection





Speakers:



Charles H. Paul

President

C. H. Paul Consulting, Inc.



Charles H. Paul is the President of C. H. Paul Consulting, Inc. - a regulatory, manufacturing, training, and technical documentation consulting firm - celebrating its twentieth year in business in 2017. He has been a regulatory and management consultant and an Instructional Technologist for 30 years and has published numerous white papers on various regulatory and training subjects. The firm works with both domestic and international clients designing solutions for complex training and documentation issues.



He has held senior positions in consulting and in corporate training development prior to forming C. H. Paul Consulting, Inc.. He also worked for several years in government contracting managing the development of significant Army-wide training development contracts impacting virtually all of the active Army and changing the training paradigm throughout the military.



He has dedicated his entire professional career explaining the benefits of performance-based training



For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/39dwy2

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




Missouri lawmakers are temporarily punting on whether to fund Republican Gov. Mike Parsons proposal for an $859 million expansion of I-70 near Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis.

The Missouri House approved a state transportation budget on Thursday that doesnt include the funding, which Parson proposed in January during his State of the State address. The top GOP budget representative has instead promised that the House will debate the proposed expansion in a separate bill next week.

We will shift that conversation to another bill and continue to work on it, state Rep. Cody Smith, a Carthage Republican who chairs the House Budget Committee, told lawmakers.

Asked about the funding shift, Kelli Jones, Parsons spokesperson, sent The Star an excerpt from the Republican governors State of the State address, highlighting safety issues on I-70.

To those who say we cant afford it, I say we cant afford not to. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the time is now, Parson said.

The decision to delay consideration of the I-70 project comes as some Republican lawmakers are opposed to spending hundreds of millions on I-70 amid concerns that I-44 and other highways are being overlooked.

The Missouri Department of Transportation, led by a governor-appointed commission, also faces a backlash from Republican lawmakers who say the commission is trying to exclude the General Assembly from decisions over how to spend money in a state roads fund. The commission is seeking a decision in state court giving it control over how to spend the fund.

In response, the Missouri House has approved a state constitutional amendment that would require MODOT to obtain legislative approval to spend money from the fund. The state Senate hasnt acted on the amendment.

House Democrats this week tried unsuccessfully to add the full funding for the I-70 project back into the transportation budget.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, a St. Louis Democrat and ranking minority member on the House Budget Committee, told The Star in a text that he felt Smith was holding the transportation funding hostage to negotiate with lawmakers.

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I-70 currently doesnt touch his district directly, Meredith said, referring to Smith. And hes a libertarian that wants a smaller budget.

State Rep. Doug Richey, an Excelsior Springs Republican who also serves on the committee, told The Star that the funding was moved to the other budget because it was a massive undertaking.

If the Missouri House eventually approves highway expansion funding, the Missouri Senate will also debate the spending. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans.

The House plan is expected to change when it gets to the Senate, where some lawmakers are proposing longer-term expansions for I-70. Some lawmakers said its possible the Senate will add the project back into the transportation budget.
Key Insights

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Barclays' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions

51% of the business is held by the top 21 shareholders

Insiders have been selling lately

A look at the shareholders of Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 78% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained UK672m in market cap last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 1.9%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Barclays.

Check out our latest analysis for Barclays

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Barclays?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Barclays. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Barclays' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Barclays is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 6.0% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.1% and 4.5% of the stock.

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Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 21 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Barclays

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Barclays PLC in their own names. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own UK29m worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 11% stake in Barclays. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 5.1%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Barclays better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Barclays .

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session

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Key Insights

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Union Pacific's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions

A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 43% ownership

Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 81% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutional investors would appreciate the 6.5% increase in share prices last week, given their one-year returns have been disappointing at 26%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Union Pacific, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Union Pacific

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Union Pacific?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Union Pacific does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Union Pacific's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Union Pacific. The company's largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc., with ownership of 8.9%. With 6.9% and 4.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Union Pacific

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that Union Pacific Corporation insiders own under 1% of the company. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own US$231m of stock. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 19% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Union Pacific. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Union Pacific better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Union Pacific that you should be aware of before investing here.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) clashed Wednesday afternoon over the future of TikTok in a spirited exchange on the Senate floor that shows disagreements over how to regulate the controversial app cross party lines in Congress.

The two conservative stars butted heads when Hawley attempted to gain unanimous consent to pass his bill to prohibit TikTok from operating in the United States and ban commercial activity with TikToks parent company, ByteDance.

Paul immediately slapped down Hawleys request.

There are two main reasons why we might not want to do this. The one would be the First Amendment to the Constitution. Speech is protected whether you like it or not. The second reason would be that the Constitution actually prohibits bills of attainder, he said before objecting.

This fails on two egregious points, pretty obvious points. I think we ought to think about that, he added.

The Constitution prohibits bills of attainder, which allow the government to punish individuals or groups without a trial.

Paul suggested that proponents of banning TikTok are peddling fear and argued that domestic Big Tech companies also collect vast amounts of data from American users without much scrutiny or interference from the federal government.

I think we should be aware of those who peddle fear. I think we should be aware of those who use fear to coax Americans to relinquish our liberties, he said. Every accusation of data-gathering thats been attributed to TikTok could also be attributed to domestic Big Tech companies.

Hawley parried Pauls attack by declaring: I have never before heard on this floor a defense of the right to spy.

I didnt realize that the First Amendment contained a right to espionage. The senator from Kentucky mentions the Bill of Rights. I must have missed the right of the Chinese government to spy on Americans in our Bill of Rights, he said with a heavy dose of sarcasm. Because thats what were talking about here.

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Hawley set the stage for his request to approve a TikTok ban by unanimous consent by ticking through the companys alleged business practices, saying TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew confirmed some of the allegations when he testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week.

We confirmed from the testimony of the TikTok CEO that TikTok has the ability to track Americans data, to track Americans location, to track Americans personal lives whether they want it to or not, Hawley said.

Its not just the videos that you watch. Its the key strokes that you enter and not just while you are on the app. No, it tracks your key strokes all the time, he said.

Paul, however, argued that it should be up to individual Americans whether or not to use TikTok and that the federal government shouldnt decide for them.

In a free country, I dont have the right to tell The New York Times to publish by op-ed or YouTube to publish my speech, he said.

He said if people dont like how TikTok or other social media platforms handle their data, quit using them.

But dont disenfranchise 150 million Americans who are using a social media app and just say its no big deal, he said.

Hawley had more success in December when he received unanimous consent to pass his bill to ban TikTok on government devices. President Biden signed it into law later that month.

Hawleys bill to direct the president to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act within 30 days to block and prohibit transactions with TikToks parent company ByteDance is one of several proposals addressing public concern over the app.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) have introduced the Restrict Act, which requires the Commerce Department to identify, deter and prohibit transactions in information communications technology services that pose a risk to national security or public safety.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Heart to Heart First Aid CPR Services Inc

TORONTO, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heart to Heart First Aid CPR Services Inc. has taken on a new role of becoming a naloxone distribution and training centre for the Canadian Red Cross Opioid Harm Reduction Program. Heart to Heart CPR will be providing FREE naloxone kits and opioid poisoning response training to their community. The program is available to anyone who feels they need the training and naloxone. Ongoing and in-person training courses will occur once a week starting in April 2023. Programs will start at Heart to Heart's downtown Toronto location. Options to register for virtual (instructor-led) training is also available. Registration is now open to the public.

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on the image or link below:

https://ml.globenewswire.com/1.0/snippet/2110/eng

Heart to Heart has been a training partner for the Canadian Red Cross for 24 years. With 16 training locations across Ontario, they are leaders in first aid and CPR education and training. We want to thank the Canadian Red Cross for this opportunity to serve our community that has given us so much. Our goal is to get kits and training in the hands of those who need it the most. We will slowly roll out this program across all Heart to Heart locations," says Nick Rondinelli, CEO of Heart to Heart CPR.

Opioid poisonings in Toronto Centre have been at an all-time high. It is the epicentre of opioid-related deaths in Toronto. The opioid-poisoning crisis has also affected the entire nation. A recent study revealed that between January 2016 and June 2022, there were a total of 32,632 opioid toxicity deaths in Canada. It is important to remember that each number represents one human life, says Heart to Heart's CEO. The horrific number of lives lost and families devastated is incomprehensible."

The news of Heart to Hearts approval from the Canadian Red Cross came a few days before a scheduled visit by our Member of Parliament, Honourable Marci Ien. It also came on the anniversary of Nicks dear and late friend's death, Natalie Brais. She died from an accidental opioid poisoning exactly 4 years prior. She passed away alone in her apartment, steps away from our downtown office, says Rondinelli. On the day Honourable Marci Ien came to visit Heart to Heart CPR, Nick felt compelled to bring Minister Ien to the apartment where Natalie was found by an upstairs neighbour. "It was important that I bring our Member of Parliament to the front lines of the opioid poisoning crisis," says Heart to Heart CEO. "It was a cathartic and powerful moment we shared and one that I will never forget."

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In 2021, Nick and his team spearheaded an urgent call to action during the dual opioid poisoning and COVID-19 crises. The pandemic exacerbated opioid-related deaths. It caused social isolation which caused more people to use drugs alone with no one around to help them in the event of an emergency. Border and travel restrictions caused an increase in toxic drug supply. The closure and limited support services for people who use drugs also contributed to the spike in deaths.

As a result, Heart to Heart provided free training and supplies to community members most at risk. Included were frontline workers who were likely to witness opioid poisoning. Learners gained specialized skills beyond naloxone administration. Donning and doffing 4-piece PPE. Two-rescuer CPR. Providing ventilations using a Bag-Valve Mask. These measures were necessary to provide a safe opioid poisoning response during the pandemic. Especially with the provision of providing oxygen to the person. A critical component when providing optimal care for opioid poisoning.

During the training, we received real-time feedback from participants within the affected communities. It provided valuable insight into the firsthand experience of our participants. We co-created a training program with people who use drugs and frontline workers. A grassroots initiative. Led by the affected community, for the affected community, from the street up.

The course was called Peer Support Responder. The intention was to target people who use drugs (PWUD), peers and frontline workers who are close in proximity and can intervene quickly to avert accidental deaths.

To date, we provided free training and supplies to over 250 community responders across Ontario.

As Heart to Heart continues their efforts to counter the drug poisoning crisis, they embrace the principle of Nothing About Us, Without Us''. They would like to acknowledge and thank all the people with lived experience, the frontline shelter, outreach, and harm reduction workers, as well as the allies who assisted in the co-creation of the Peer Support Responder training. As Heart to Heart CPR moves into this new role, they want to ensure that most of their training programs are led by people who use(d) drugs. They are also focused on ensuring that the training is facilitated by those from the various affected communities. "Although we are not receiving funding to provide this training, we will still pay our facilitators to deliver the training. We plan on creating jobs among those with lived or living experience, says Nick Rondinelli, CEO of Heart to Heart CPR.

Our former Peer Support Responder training, now followed with our new role as a naloxone distribution and training centre, has expanded Heart to Heart's mission and movement. Our goals are to train as many people as possible. Increase access to naloxone. Destigmatize people who use drugs. Promote healing, mental health and recovery. Encourage those struggling with addiction to ask for help. Our training will provide all these things, says Rondinelli.

Heart2Heart CPR is empowered by the leadership and humanity of the Canadian Red Cross. The power of education, collaboration and community is what we need to combat this crisis.

Click here for more information about Heart to Hearts training and naloxone program, Registration is now open.

The Canadian Red Cross Opioid Harm Reduction project is also available nation-wide. All those who complete the self-directed online training will receive a free naloxone kit by mail. Even anonymous, if you prefer. Click here to learn more about the Canadian Red Cross' Opioid Harm Reduction programs.

Heart to Heart CPR would like to extend a special thanks to Honourable Marci Ien. Heart to Heart CEO says, "To have our MP and Federal Minister of Women, Gender Equality and Youth visit us now is beyond coincidental. I feel it is the divine work of my dear and late-friend Natalie Brais. In loving memory of her and all those who have lost their lives to opioid poisoning, we do this work in their honour."

CONTACT:

Nick Rondinelli  CEO / Owner

Heart to Heart First Aid CPR Services Inc.

Office: 416-960-5319 / 1-866--260-2790

nick@heart2heartcpr.com / https://heart2heartcpr.com




FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York

By Nell Mackenzie, Carolina Mandl and Summer Zhen

LONDON/NEW YORK/HONG KONG (Reuters) - March's market turmoil has forced many macro and trend-following hedge funds to cut bait on bad portfolio bets and caused at least one bank that lends to them to scrutinize its clients' exposure, according to sources and preliminary data reviewed by Reuters.

The sudden collapse this month of two regional U.S. banks and Swiss lender Credit Suisse rocked stock, bond and currency markets, catching many hedge funds off-guard and leaving them with unexpected losses.

Macro and trend-following hedge funds dropped 3.2% this month through March 29, while algorithmic commodity trading advisor funds (CTAs) dove 6.8%. Those funds are down 2.7% and 6% for the year through March 29, respectively.

Hedge fund strategies based around macroeconomic ideas like those run by Rokos, DG Parters and EDL Capital fund posted negative performances in March, sources and bank data said.

HSBC Research showed EDL Capital lost 6.4% in March while DG Partners lost 8.1% this month through March 28. EDL said it had recouped March losses and was positive for the year but did not add further details. DG Partners declined to comment.

Edouard de Langlade, founder and owner of EDL Capital, said in a letter last week that he believed the move in rates was caused by CTAs unwinding positions because of risk-control purposes.

"There is a lot of pain out there and the other big question we must ask ourselves is how much of the fast money has been unwound," de Langlade wrote.

London-based Rokos Capital Management was down 12% on the year through March 24 due to market losses, said a source familiar with the matter. Rokos declined to comment; it told investors last week it decided to cut risk after the hit.

Trend-following hedge funds, which trade on systematically programmed ideas, also posted big losses. Progressive Capital Partners, Systematica, and Man Group had funds which posted losses of 19.8%, 13.1% and 7.6% in March, respectively, said HSBC. Systematica and Man Group declined to comment.

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Progressive said losses sustained by its Tulip Trend fund stemmed from fast moves in interest-rate markets. The fund gained 29% in 2022, it said.

Jim Neumann, chief investment officer of alternatives advisory firm Sussex Partners, said many funds were caught off guard in short positions in sovereign debt markets. The blowup in banks caused investors to flee to the safety of bonds, sending yields down at a rate not recorded since the 2008 financial crisis.

GRAPHIC: Treasury Market Volatility https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/zjvqjnbbmpx/Treasury%20market%20volatility.png

The violent swings in the global rates markets took their toll on many discretionary and systematic (CTAs) managers," said Neumann, adding portfolio managers on average cut risk exposure by 50% following the selloff.

CTAs cut their entire long exposure of roughly $60 billion in equities in two weeks and are also cutting credit exposure, UBS said in a note to clients. Funds exited numerous trades, including hedges that failed to shield investors from market volatility, according to a prime broker at a large bank.

The bank decided not to change clients' borrowing limits, but it has increased diligence oversight on the hedge fund exposure, including new clients, the broker said.

Trend-following funds tend to bail quickly on trades that stop working, said a pension fund director who invests in hedge funds. He does not plan to reduce his investment in trend funds because he believes trend-following strategies will work over the year.

Macro funds which lost money might face investor redemptions, said Don Steinbrugge, founder and chief executive of Agecroft Partners.

"For people who invest in CTAs, they tend to understand if you have sharp reversals, they are not going to do well staying with them," said Steinbrugge.

GRAPHIC: Wild swings in rates hurt hedge funds https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-HEDGEFUNDS/egvbyjddlpq/chart.png

(Reporting by Nell Mackenzie in London, Carolina Mandl in New York, and Summer Zhen in Hong Kong; Treasury graphic by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Josie Kao)
AleksandarNakic / Getty Images

When it's time to remodel, many homeowners head to home improvement stores like Lowe's to buy the supplies they need to complete their home projects. It's a smart idea, especially since the right projects can put more money back into your pocket.

Read: 10 US Cities With Plenty of Jobs and Cheap Housing

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However, home renovation costs can be substantial: The typical bathroom remodel alone ranges between $6,620 and $16,673, according to HomeAdvisor. Meanwhile, a kitchen remodel ranges from $14,555 to $40,399.

If you want to choose the best home renovations, here are several that will give you the biggest bang for your buck when the time comes to sell.

yunava1 / Getty Images

Remodel the Kitchen

"If it's more than 15 years old, upgrading the kitchen floor, cabinetry and appliances to modern standards will net you more money during [the] time of sale," said Joe Polyak, founder and Realtor of Rise Homes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Many families view the kitchen as the center of the home. So, minor kitchen renovations can drastically increase your property's value -- the Remodeling report showed a 65 percent national recoup on average. This renovation can also increase home enjoyment for the entire family.

If you have an outdoor kitchen that needs to be renovated, consider updating the appliances. For example, Lowe's offers savings on high-quality appliances.

"Outdoor entertaining and grilling go hand in hand," said Jule Eller, director of trend and style at Lowe's. "So bring the heat, and fire up that backyard flavor with a modular grill. You can choose add-ons like a sink, side burners or refrigerator to create a complete outdoor kitchen."

Still, renovators should take care not to go overboard with kitchen remodel costs. "Upgrading the appliances to a certain level of luxury -- KitchenAid versus Bosch, for example -- can significantly increase value," said Polyak. "Be careful, though. You don't need to put Wolf appliances in a condo in a blue-collar condo complex. That won't add value."

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Tyler Olson / Shutterstock.com

Build an Outdoor Deck

"This can be a fairly inexpensive project that can add a lot of value in the eyes of potential homebuyers," said Polyak. Specific features tend to vary in popularity by geographic location, and the national average cost for this upgrade is about $10,000 for wood and $17,000 for composite materials, according to Remodeling's report. Of that amount, a homebuyer can hope to recoup about 71% and 65%, respectively.

"In Arizona, people like a nice fire pit with a beautiful outdoor area. In the San Francisco Bay Area, they like a nice deck with landscaping," he said. "You can hire someone to do the work, but depending on how handy the homeowner, this can definitely be a fairly inexpensive do-it-yourself project."

Tiplyashina Evgeniya / Shutterstock.com

Create a Paver Patio

You might also consider adding a paver patio to your home. "Building a paver patio or walkway is a simple way to make your landscape more inviting and define an outdoor living space," said Eller. "Best of all, you can install the paving stones yourself. You can also integrate landscape lighting to add ambiance and dimension."

Eller recommends purchasing 10 percent more blocks, pavers or stones than you anticipated. "The excess should account for breakage, the material you need to cut and replacements for future repairs," she said.

Volodymyr Plysiuk / Shutterstock.com

Upgrade Lighting Fixtures

Most fixtures can be purchased for a few hundred dollars or less, but when you're working with electrical wires, you'll also want to make sure to bring in a professional. Most homeowners spend about $318 to bring in an electrician, which will increase overall remodeling bills, according to HomeAdvisor. Still, prospective buyers are likely to appreciate the enhanced lighting, making it one of the best home renovations on a budget.

You might also want to upgrade your outdoor patio lighting with string lights, lanterns, candles, outdoor table lamps or floor lamps to bring your patio to life. Or, perhaps you have a deck? You'll probably want to upgrade those lights as well. The good news: It won't cost you a lot of money at stores like Lowe's.

"From setting a festive mood to offering a soft glow after dark, outdoor lighting is a great way to make your outdoors warm and inviting," said Eller. "Check out these battery-operated LED step lights or these bronze solar LED post lights."

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karamysh / Shutterstock.com

Replace the Entry Door

Installing a new steel entry door has the largest cost versus resale value, according to Remodeling's report. It's about a $1,400 project that's likely to boost your home's value by the same amount.

Bold colors can always replace a traditional door like a bright yellow and high-gloss black. To make this change buy some inexpensive door and apply paint to it yourself. There are plenty of affordable door options you can find online.

ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com

Install or Repurpose Flooring

"Updated hardwood floors or new carpeting can help sell a home," said John Bodrozic, co-founder of digital home management tool HomeZada. "But a lot of the determination of whether the project pays for itself depends on how much money people put into the project."

According to HomeAdvisor, existing carpets can be cleaned from about $123 to $240, and the average hardwood refinishing cost is $3 to $8 per square foot. Installation of new flooring increases the cost: $1,583 for carpet and $4,578 for wood. However, you can reduce these sums.

"If you have the skill or are willing to learn, you can save labor costs if you can do some of the work yourself," said Bodrozic. "If you do hire a contractor, make sure you get three to five bids and make it known to the contractors that they are competing for the business. Depending on the marketing conditions and timing of your project, you could save yourself some money."

Volodymyr Plysiuk / Shutterstock.com

Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Features

"I'm noticing a big trend toward energy-efficient appliances, LED lights and tankless water heaters," said Diana George, a vice president at Century 21 Real Estate Alliance.

"These products save homeowners money and contribute to a smaller carbon footprint." A tankless water heater can be installed for about $4,200 in a 2,200-square-foot home, and LED converter bulbs can be bought for about $14 per light, said George.

You don't have to wait until you move to reap the financial benefits that accompany an energy-efficient upgrade. A tankless water heater can cut a homeowner's water heating bill by about a fifth each year. A switch from incandescent to LED bulbs, meanwhile, can save a homeowner a surprising $300 per year. Energy-efficient upgrades might not be the most exciting of home improvement projects, but they can have an almost immediate impact on a home's overall bottom line.

Find Out: 7 Florida Cities That Could Be Headed For a Housing Crisis

Kingarion / Shutterstock.com

Replace Vinyl Siding

It's not everyone's idea of a dream renovation project, but new vinyl siding can dramatically enhance a home's curb appeal, which can make or break a homeowner's prospects when selling on the open market.

Newer siding can also help curb heating and cooling costs and reduce occurrences of mold, fungus and mildew. New vinyl siding generally costs around $14,000 and will increase a home's resale value by about $11,000, according to Remodeling.

Hintau Aliaksei / Shutterstock.com

Remodel a Bathroom

"Bath renovations are always worth the money invested," said Karen Gray-Plaisted of Design Solutions KGP in Warwick, New York. "If the home has good bones and quality finishes, the home seller will reap most, if not all, of the cost."

A homebuyer can expect to pay about $18,000 for a mid-range bathroom renovation and recoup about 65 percent, according to Remodeling. However, making smaller changes can also bring big rewards. "The impact a new light fixture can make can take a house from being dated to feeling new," said Gray-Plaisted. "I find upgrading light fixtures in bathrooms and kitchens to be worth every penny spent."

In the end, a home renovation choice is about more than just the value you'll eventually recoup. Consider projects that will keep your home properly maintained, but also that your family will enjoy. A house is more than an investment; it's also the place where your family will build memories for years to come.

piovesempre / Getty Images

Open the Floor Plan

An open floor plan is one of the more sought-after features for homebuyers today. However, older homes typically have many walls and narrow hallways, said Polyak. The good news is that it can be surprisingly inexpensive to knock down a wall and create a more cohesive space. An interior demolition costs about $3,000 on average, according to HomeAdvisor.

Even load-bearing walls can be removed, preferably by a skilled contractor who can then place a beam in the ceiling for support. Even with the added home renovation costs, this improvement can still add significant value to a home, said Polyak.

Look: These Are the 10 Most Overpriced Housing Markets in the U.S. -- 5 Are in Florida

Syda Productions / Shutterstock.com

Paint the Interior

Most homeowners spend between $949 and $2,937 on home interior paint costs, according to HomeAdvisor. At that price point, it's easy to recoup the cost when it's time to sell. Even so, it might be worthwhile to consult a professional before selecting a color.

Still, professional advice doesn't have to add to the cost of the project. Many national paint retailers like Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore offer free paint consultations.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Home Renovations That Will Pay You Back
(Bloomberg) -- Huawei Technologies Co. posted its first annual profit decline in more than a decade, after years of US sanctions all but obliterated its smartphone arm and compelled the Chinese telecom gear maker to ratchet up research spending.

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The Shenzhen-based company said its net income for 2022 fell almost 70% to 35.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), though the year-ago comparison was inflated by the sale of its youth-oriented Honor mobile unit. Yet Huawei on Friday emphasized it poured 25.1% of its 642.3 billion yuan revenue back into research. Thats among the highest ratios in the global tech industry and reflects the Chinese telecom gear makers sustained intent to develop alternatives to the American components and software it can no longer access.

Huawei is trying to open up new markets and businesses after US tech export restrictions gutted its smartphone business  briefly the worlds largest  and curtailed the sale of advanced gear in developed markets. Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou  the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei  joined other executives on Friday affirming the companys intent to continue researching ways around a blockade of vital American technologies.

How China Aims to Counter US Efforts at Containment: QuickTake

The effort echoes Chinese President Xi Jinpings calls to step up the development of Chinas own technologies as the tech race against the US escalates. The Biden administration is said to be mulling a new round of sanctions against Huawei, banning all sales to the Chinese company.

2023 will be crucial to Huaweis sustainable survival and development, current rotating chairman Eric Xu said in a statement. Plum blossoms tend to grow sweeter from a harsh winters freeze. Today, Huawei is like a plum blossom.

Story continues

The responsibility of leading that effort will fall on Meng for much of 2023. She is slated to join the companys roster of rotating chairpersons in April, a six-month role that will allow her to oversee Huaweis operations for the first time. Ren, who is turning 79 in October, hasnt announced his succession plan. On Friday, she dismissed a question about plans after ascending to her new role, saying Huawei has always been run by a collective leadership.

The company will not tie its destiny to any individual. We have a clear commitment to that rule, Meng told reporters gathered at Huaweis leafy Shenzhen campus for an annual briefing.

Meng seldom attends public events since her high-profile return from Canada in 2021. The 51-year-old spent almost three years under house arrest in Vancouver as she battled extradition to the US on fraud charges. Meng has denied wrongdoing and accused the US of overreach.

Her company is now developing its own semiconductor capabilities from photolithography technologies to software, to get around its US blacklisting. Xu said in a recent speech that the company has developed its own chip design software, known as EDA tools, that makes 14 nanometer chips. US developers Cadence Design Systems Inc. and Synopsys Inc. are the major players in this industry.

Read more: Huawei Declares Business as Usual After Weathering US Curbs

Revenue from the carrier business, which includes sales of advanced fifth-generation mobile networking gear, climbed slightly to 284 billion yuan. Chinas state-owned telecom carriers put on aggressive 5G network construction projects last year despite Covid lockdowns. The country added close to 900,000 5G base stations in 2022, government data showed.

The consumer business was the worst-hit division for Huawei following 2019 sanctions that cut off essential smartphone chips from Qualcomm Inc. and Micron Technology Inc. Huawei stockpiled components and managed to make 4G phones after 5G chips ran out. But shipments gave out eventually, a major setback for a company that once vied with Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. for market leadership.

Huawei has since moved its focus to electric vehicles and enterprise businesses in hopes of fueling growth. It sold networking equipment and remote control programs powered by artificial intelligence to coal mines, sea ports and science parks across China. And it teamed up with carmakers to develop cockpit software running on an in-house operating system, making it one of the largest tech companies in an already-crowded EV market. Huawei also started to collect royalties from global smartphone brands, another way to expand income.

(Updates with Mengs comment on succession from the sixth paragraph)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
- Appointed as Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board at the General Meeting of Shareholders and Board of Directors meeting on the 30th

- Chairman Cha will lead the growth of Hugel based on his aesthetics know-how and experience in pioneering global markets

SEOUL, South Korea, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hugel (CEO: Ji-hoon Sohn), a global total medical aesthetics company, announced on March 31st that the company held the 22nd General Meeting of Shareholders and a Board of Directors meeting on the 30th.

Chairman Suk-yong Cha

At the General Meeting of Shareholders, a total of four agenda items were presented and passed by a vote as planned. These included the approval of financial statements and the appointment of Suk-yong Cha, former Vice chairman & CEO of LG Household & Health Care Co., Ltd.(LG H&H), as non-executive director. At the board meeting later that afternoon, non-executive director Cha was appointed as Hugel's new Executive Chairman and chairman of the Board.

Chairman Cha previously served as the CEO of LG H&H for 18 years from 2005 to 2022, he set a record of 17 consecutive years of increasing sales and operating profits. In particular, he transformed LG H&H into the global beauty company by enhancing the portfolio of each business divisions through 28 important M&As and expanding the company's reach into global markets, including North America, China, and Japan.

In addition, Chairman Cha demonstrated his corporate management capabilities in various industries while serving as President & CEO of Procter & Gamble(P&G) Korea and President & CEO of Haitai Confectionary & Foods Co. Ltd.

The appointment of Suk-yong Cha, former Vice chairman & CEO of LG H&H, is expected to aid Hugel in becoming a global top-tier company. Based on Chairman Cha's know-how in the field of aesthetics and experience of expanding into global markets, Hugel plans to accelerate its growth by improving the global strategy for its botulinum toxin, HA filler, and cosmetics and strengthening the development of new businesses.

Story continues

Meanwhile, Brent L. Saunders, former Executive Chairman of the Board will be appointed Chair of a newly established Advisory Board. In this role, Brent will continue to support the company in its growth and global expansion.

Hugel's CEO, Ji-hoon Sohn, said, "We expect that Chairman Cha, along with the existing Board of Directors, and with strong support from our investors, will be instrumental in leading the global growth of Hugel based on his extensive business insights in not only aesthetics but also in various industries. We will continue company-wide efforts with Chairman Cha to take the lead in the global medical aesthetics industry. I would also like to thank Brent for his service to the company and look forward to his continued support in his new appointment."

About Suk-young Cha

[Education]

1985 Indiana University School of Law

1984 Cornell University (MBA)

1982 The State University of New York

Acquired AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)

1974 Kyunggi High School, Seoul, Korea

[Professional Experience]

2005 ~ 2022 Vice Chairman & CEO of LG Household & Health Care(LG H&H) Co., Ltd.

2001 ~ 2004 President & CEO of Haitai Confectionary & Foods Co. Ltd

1999 ~ 2000 President & CEO of Procter & Gamble(P&G) Korea

1984 ~ 1998 Procter & Gamble(P&G) headquarters

Cision

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SOURCE Hugel
Mordor Intelligence

Hyderabad, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled "Hyperspectral Imaging Market - (2023 - 2028), the hyperspectral imaging market is expected to register a CAGR of 15.3%. The increasing need for data accuracy and consistency in HSI applications, such as food and agriculture, defense, and weather, is driving the demand for hyperspectral imaging in the market. HSI uses robust analytical procedures critical for imaging technology in applications such as food and agriculture.

The healthcare industry is expected to grow rapidly:



The utilization of HSI technology in the healthcare sector is of utmost importance.

Moreover, the increasing number of investments in the sector is expected to propel the growth of this domain.

The healthcare sector is undergoing a large-scale digital transformation, and these technologies are expected to influence the domain significantly.

Recently, hyperspectral imaging technology has been extensively incorporated for cancer cell detection since internal malignant tumors usually look similar to the healthy tissues around them.

For instance, HSI is also being used to detect other illnesses and diseases, such as dental caries and altered mucosa of the human larynx.

HSI in the 1,0002,500 nm spectral range is being used for the detection of dental caries, and hyperspectral images were obtained for the identification in 12 extracted teeth with different degrees of the natural lesion.

The increase in cancer cases in some regions is expected to drive the market studied.

For instance, the American Cancer Society estimated that, in 2022, there would be a total of 236,740 new cases of lung and bronchus cancer in the United States.

The highest number of these cases was estimated to be in the state of Florida.

Product developments in the healthcare sector during the forecast period are expected to drive the demand for hyperspectral imaging owing to its non-contact, non-ionizing, and label-free imaging modality.

Story continues

How is the growth being addressed?

Regional surveillance innovations are expected to drive the growth of the market studied. The presence of countries with significant investments in surveillance, such as the United States, distinguishes the region.



The military is not the only one conducting surveillance. It consists of several law enforcement agencies that use advanced technology to monitor and track multiple individuals or vehicles during the day and night, as well as to observe events in a given area. Such new deployments are expected to boost the use of hyperspectral imaging systems and devices.

Moreover, the United States has a significantly higher military expenditure than the rest of the world. In the budget proposed for the fiscal year 2023, released in March 2022, the Biden administration sought USD 813.3 billion for national defense.

The US army had removed many thousand pounds of explosives from the battlefields in Afghanistan by using hyperspectral imagers to spot objects typically hidden from view, such as tanks draped in camouflage or emissions from an improvised bomb-making factory.

Who are the key players in the Hyperspectral Imaging Market?

The Hyperspectral Imaging Market is fragmented. A few major dominant players in this market are:



Applied Spectral Imaging Inc.

BaySpec Inc.

Specim Spectral Imaging Ltd

Corning Inc.

Surface Optics Corporation

Headwall Photonics Inc.

Resonon Inc.

HyperMed Imaging Inc.

Norsk Elektro Optikk AS

Cubert GmbH

XIMEA GmbH

HinaLea Imaging (TruTag Technologies Inc.)

ITRES Research Limited

Recent developments in the Hyperspectral Imaging Market:

In September 2022: Resonon, a hyperspectral imaging company, introduced two new NIR range (925 - 1700 nm) hyperspectral imagers: the Pika IR-L and Pika IR-L+. Compared to the current generation of NIR imagers, the new images are smaller, roughly three times lighter, and have a higher spectral resolution.

In September 2022: NASA and the US Geographical Survey announced mapping portions of the southwest region of the United States for critical minerals using advanced airborne imaging. Scientists are expected to understand the Earths geology, biology, and effects of climate change through hyperspectral data from hundreds of wavelengths of reflected light.

In a nutshell, the Mordor Intelligence Market Research Report is a must-read for start-ups, industry players, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who are looking to understand this industry. Get a glance at the https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/hyperspectral-imaging-market

About Mordor Intelligence:

Mordor Intelligence is a market intelligence and advisory firm. At Mordor Intelligence, we believe in predicting butterfly effects that have the potential to change or significantly impact market dynamics.

Our market research reports are comprehensive and provide exclusive data, facts and figures, trends, and the competitive landscape of the industry.



Mordor Intelligence constantly tracks industry trends. Some relevant market reports from the analysts that might be of interest to you:





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CONTACT: Company Name: Mordor Intelligence Email: info@mordorintelligence.com Phone: +1 617-765-2493 Location: Hyderabad, Telangana Country: India




VANCOUVER, BC, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - International Battery Metals Ltd. (the "Company") (CSE: IBAT) (OTC: IBATF) (FSE: 8RE), announces it can fully meet the Chilean government's requirement that all new lithium recovery projects use a Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) methodology.

International Battery Metals Ltd Logo (CNW Group/International Battery Metals Ltd.)

Chile now requires use of a DLE means of lithium extraction in order to reduce loss of precious water resources. DLE technologies are more water efficient than traditional extraction methods, but are currently not used in Chile. Global scarcity, water misuse, and waste of water have had extremely detrimental effects on land, vegetation, animals and people.

This month, the Chilean National Patent Office issued a Notice of Allowance for IBAT's patent for its mobile, modular mineral extraction system "Modular System for Extraction of Elements from Brine Solutions." This allowance from INAPI (the Chilean National Institute of Industrial Property) assures investors that the unique benefits of IBAT's technology are protected.

Inherent elements of IBAT's breakthrough DLE technology make it ideal for lithium processing in areas where water resources are scarce. IBAT's unique DLE technology is the only type of DLE that minimizes water waste to this extent:

Water : IBAT recycles up to 94% of fresh water used in processing. In addition, essentially all extracted brine is put directly back into the ground where it came from. The dual conservation features of the system result in very little water waste.

Chemicals : IBAT does not use chemicals for processing and therefore uses does not use resources for chemical handling

Waste : IBAT generates no waste from chemical, industrial or extraction byproduct sources, so there are no disposal issues

Efficient : IBAT's technology is highly efficient in achieving at least 68% recovery of lithium, and due to its efficient technology design, the plant uses a minimal amount of energy for processing needs.

Land protection: IBAT's processing plant has a very small footprint which creates minimal impact on the land and surrounding area

Story continues

Chile has massive lithium resources but the challenge is recovering lithium without decimating the environment. Salt flats have previously been used in Chile to extract lithium. The flats are massive ponds created to stretch across hundreds of thousands of acres, and are flooded with salt water brine pumped from the earth. The brine sits for a year or more until the water evaporates, leaving salt and lithium behind for processing. This technique wastes billions of liters of water in one of the driest places on earth, and is extremely destructive to the land.

Last year, Chilean contracts previously awarded to companies were rescinded amid growing resource nationalism and a push to introduce less polluting production techniques.

IBAT's modular DLE system is available for placement in Chile as well as other locations that can benefit from clean, efficient, sustainable extraction.

ABOUT US

International Battery Metals (IBAT) is the fastest lithium processing company, and has the only patented technology able to achieve commercial scale production in just 18 months. IBAT's proprietary Modular Direct Lithium Extraction technology is proven to quickly and efficiently recover more lithium from brine than traditional methods, while offering safe, superior and sustainable environmental performance. By bringing more lithium to more partners, we are accelerating a bright future for electric vehicles.

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Forwardlooking and cautionary statements

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This release may contain statements within the meaning of safe harbour provisions as defined under securities laws and regulations.

This release may contain certain forwardlooking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of the Company and certain of the plans and objectives of the Company with respect to the same. There is no assurance that the company's apparatus will be able to commercially produce lithium at the stated capacity. The purpose of the tests is to determine if it will be able to do so and successful completion of the tests cannot be assured as they are subject to risks and uncertainties associated with any new mineral processing method and characteristics of the material being processed.

By their nature, forwardlooking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forwardlooking statements.

Cision

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SOURCE International Battery Metals Ltd.
Intensive palm oil production has been widely blamed for large amounts of wildlife habitat destruction. - Gavin Parsons

Britains biggest trade deal since Brexit faces claims of fuelling deforestation as the economy opens up to imports of Malaysian palm oil.

After an intense round of final talks in Vietnam, the UK has been accepted into the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade bloc that will now have a total GDP value of 11 trillion.

The UK will become the first non-founding member to join CPTPP, whose membership includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The deal will open up trade relations with Malaysia and Britain has liberalised tariffs on palm oil imported from the country under the terms of the deal.

The relaxation has sparked concern among environmental campaigners as intensive palm oil production has been widely blamed for large amounts of wildlife habitat destruction.

Clare Oxborrow, senior sustainability analyst at Friends of the Earth, a campaign group, warned that the trade deal undermined the UKs commitment to eradicating deforestation from its supply chains.

Ms Oxborrow said: Many parts of Southeast Asia have been heavily scarred by deforestation, particularly that driven by palm oil production. With our natural world in a state of emergency, we must bring in tougher measures to ensure that products bought and sold in the UK adhere to rigorous environmental and human rights legislation.

The UK will officially join CPTPP next year, after legislation has been passed and ratified. The Treasury estimates the deal will be worth 1.8bn a year for the economy within a decade.

Other allowances made under the terms of the deal include reduced tariffs to accommodate imports of bananas from Peru, crab sticks from Singapore, and rice from Vietnam.

Joining CPTPP will bring new opportunities for dairy farmers by granting new access to Canada, Mexico and Japan, as well as the car sector and Britains digital industries.

Story continues

Negotiations began in June 2021, and involved five rounds of talks, with more than 150 delegates meeting for the final round in Vietnam.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms.

Mr Sunak added: Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join. British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific.

Almost all UK goods exported to CPTPP countries will have zero tariffs, including major export industries such as cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky.

The services sector will also benefit from reduced red tape and greater access to growing markets.

More economies are likely to join the bloc, meaning the UK will gain access to new markets. Costa Rica, Uruguay and Ecuador have applied to join CPTPP, while Thailand and South Korea have expressed interest.

Looking further ahead, it is feasible that the US could join. It was previously a member of an earlier iteration of the bloc, but withdrew under Donald Trump in 2017.

China also applied to CPTPP in 2021 but several members  notably Australia, Canada and Japan  have publicly rebuffed its hopes of accession.
(Bloomberg) -- Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. will become the latest oil producer in Iraqi Kurdistan to cut production, as a legal spat between the regions government and Baghdad thats pushed up crude prices drags on.

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The London-listed company said it expects to shut-in Shaikan field flows processed at Production Facility 1 on Friday. Those that go to Production Facility 2 will continue to be sent to storage tanks for around another two weeks before being closed off.

Gulf Keystone continues to believe that the suspension of exports will be temporary, it said.

The Iraqi federal government and officials from Kurdistan are set to meet again in Baghdad next week. Those may lead to the resumption of more than 400,000 barrels a day of Iraqi oil exports that go through Turkey, a KRG official told Bloomberg.

Other companies including DNO ASA and HKN Energy have already started to lower production in Kurdistan. Genel Energy Plc expects to shut down the field of Sarta this weekend, according to a company statement.

Turkey closed a pipeline running from the northern Iraqi region to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan on Saturday. That was after an international business tribunal said the Kurdistan Regional Government shouldnt export oil from the terminal without Baghdads approval.

The Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce largely ruled against Turkey in a case brought by Iraqs federal government. The move was part of Baghdads long-running attempt to rein in the KRG, which ultimately wants independence, and take more control over its oil.

Brent crude has climbed 5.7% this week to above $79 a barrel, in part because of traders fears of a long stoppage. The US has urged the KRG and Baghdad to allow exports to restart quickly.

Story continues

Baghdad says its up to the KRG to break the deadlock by accepting that Iraqs state oil-marketing firm, known as SOMO, should handle Kurdish shipments from Ceyhan.

Smoother Relations

The discussions are complicated by the KRG owing hundreds of millions of dollars to oil traders, including Trafigura Group, from deals signed in the past decade.

Still, relations between the KRG, based in Erbil, and Baghdad have improved since Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani became Iraqs prime minister in October. The ICC case was brought by a previous administration.

Weve seen talks going on even before the arbitration handed down its ruling, said Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics at Energy Aspects, a consultant to energy traders. Theres a reasonable chance for them to come up with some kind of deal that allows the restart of the pipeline sooner rather than later.

Gulf Keystones shares have slumped 18% this week, while those of Norways DNO are down 6.3%.

The combined storage capacity for PF-1 and PF-2 at Shaikan is roughly 150,000 barrels, Gulf Keystone said. Shaikan produces around 45,000 barrels a day of crude.

(Adds context on KRGs debts.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Japan said it will expand restrictions on exports of 23 types of leading-edge chipmaking technology, as the US ratchets up efforts to limit Chinas access to key semiconductor knowhow.

Most Read from Bloomberg

About 10 Japanese companies including leading gearmaker Tokyo Electron Ltd. would need to get licenses to ship a broader-than-expected array of equipment used to transform silicon into chips, spanning cleaning, deposition, annealing, lithography, etching and testing.

Tokyos move follows months of lobbying by the US to get Japan to join it in tightening shipments of semiconductor tools to China. Japan and the Netherlands had agreed in principle to join the US, but have sought to chart a middle road between the two superpowers.

Japan Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the move was not in coordination with the US and was not a ban.

These export controls apply to all regions and are not meant to target any one country, he told reporters on Friday. We will be looking at whether there is any danger of military appropriation.

However, Japans most-favored trading partners  including South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan  will be able to continue importing without a license, trade ministry officials said. Shipments of restricted equipment to China would require sign-offs by export control officials.

Japans announcement comes a day before Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashis visit to China the first by a foreign minister in more than 3 years. It also coincides with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wens trip to the US, which China has protested.

With the help of the Netherlands and Japan, the US is seeking to create a global blockade to prevent China from getting key equipment now essential to make the most advanced chips used in quantum computing, advanced wireless networks and artificial intelligence.

Story continues

Much hinges on how Japan implements the controls. If Japan refuses to approve any, that could be a blow both for the countrys semiconductor equipment manufacturers as well as for China, Morningstar analyst Kazunori Ito said.

Chip-related stocks fell on the news, with Tokyo Electron, Screen Holdings Co., Nikon Corp. and Lasertec Corp. all paring gains.

Tokyos measures  which will be subject to public comment before implementation slated for July - affect a wide range of equipment, similar to the US curbs in scope. Etching machines that are capable of making 14- and 16-nanometer and more advanced chips would be affected, for instance.

If our exports are not being re-appropriated for military use, we will continue shipments, Nishimura told reporters. We believe the impact on companies will be limited.

China blasted Japans decision. Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for Chinas Foreign Ministry, said that politicizing and weaponizing trade and technological issues, and sabotaging the global supply chain will only bring harm to all, according to state media CCTV.

The US, Netherlands and Japan together control critical equipment now necessary for China to make leading-edge chips. The US has banned American gear suppliers Applied Materials Inc., Lam Research Corp. and KLA Corp. from shipping some of their most advanced technology to China without a license. Japans Tokyo Electron and the Netherlandss ASML Holding NV are the two other critical suppliers that the US needs to contain Chinas technological ascent.

Japans planned export controls include tools used to clean silicon wafers of impurities, extreme ultraviolet mask-testers, as well as all immersion lithography machines. Screen Holdings, Lasertec and Nikon are suppliers of such equipment.

Over the long term, China will be forced to develop its own chipmaking machines, said Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda. A complete decoupling of standards in chips would make it difficult for China to produce semiconductors at low cost.

--With assistance from Takashi Mochizuki and Debby Wu.

(Updates with Chinas comment on restrictions in 13th paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Japan said it will expand restrictions on exports of 23 types of leading-edge chipmaking technology, as the US ratchets up efforts to limit Chinas access to key semiconductor knowhow.

Most Read from Bloomberg

About 10 Japanese companies including leading gearmaker Tokyo Electron Ltd. would need to get licenses to ship a broader-than-expected array of equipment used to transform silicon into chips, spanning cleaning, deposition, annealing, lithography, etching and testing.

Tokyos move follows months of lobbying by the US to get Japan to join it in tightening shipments of semiconductor tools to China. Japan and the Netherlands had agreed in principle to join the US, but have sought to chart a middle road between the two superpowers.

Japan Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the move was not in coordination with the US and was not a ban.

These export controls apply to all regions and are not meant to target any one country, he told reporters on Friday. We will be looking at whether there is any danger of military appropriation.

However, Japans most-favored trading partners  including South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan  will be able to continue importing without a license, trade ministry officials said. Shipments of restricted equipment to China would require sign-offs by export control officials.

Japans announcement comes a day before Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashis visit to China, the first by a foreign minister in more than 3 years. It also coincides with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wens trip to the US, which China has protested.

With the help of the Netherlands and Japan, the US is seeking to create a global blockade to prevent China from getting key equipment now essential to make the most advanced chips used in quantum computing, advanced wireless networks and artificial intelligence.

Story continues

Much hinges on how Japan implements the controls. If Japan refuses to approve any, that could be a blow both for the countrys semiconductor equipment manufacturers as well as for China, Morningstar analyst Kazunori Ito said.

Chip-related stocks fell on the news, with Tokyo Electron, Screen Holdings Co., Nikon Corp. and Lasertec Corp. all paring gains.

Tokyos measures  which will be subject to public comment before implementation slated for July - affect a wide range of equipment, similar to the US curbs in scope. Etching machines that are capable of making 14- and 16-nanometer and more advanced chips would be affected, for instance.

If our exports are not being re-appropriated for military use, we will continue shipments, Nishimura told reporters. We believe the impact on companies will be limited.

China blasted Japans decision. Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for Chinas Foreign Ministry, said that politicizing and weaponizing trade and technological issues, and sabotaging the global supply chain will only bring harm to all, according to state media CCTV.

The US, Netherlands and Japan together control critical equipment now necessary for China to make leading-edge chips. The US has banned American gear suppliers Applied Materials Inc., Lam Research Corp. and KLA Corp. from shipping some of their most advanced technology to China without a license. Japans Tokyo Electron and the Netherlandss ASML Holding NV are the two other critical suppliers that the US needs to contain Chinas technological ascent.

Japans planned export controls include tools used to clean silicon wafers of impurities, extreme ultraviolet mask-testers, as well as all immersion lithography machines. Screen Holdings, Lasertec and Nikon are suppliers of such equipment.

Over the long term, China will be forced to develop its own chipmaking machines, said Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda. A complete decoupling of standards in chips would make it difficult for China to produce semiconductors at low cost.

--With assistance from Takashi Mochizuki and Debby Wu.

(Updates with Chinas comment on restrictions in 13th paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- JD.coms shares soared in the US after two of its subsidiaries filed for Hong Kong initial public offerings on Thursday, paving the way for some of the years biggest debuts by a Chinese tech company.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Jingdong Property Inc. and Jingdong Industrials Inc. submitted listing applications to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to separate statements. The firms didnt disclose fundraising amounts, valuations or prices for the shares. JD.com would hold more than 50% of both companies after completion of the spinoffs, according to exchange filings.

The move comes days after larger rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. spurred anticipation for a revival of Chinas tech IPO train. This week, it unveiled plans to split into six independent businesses, each of which can pursue funding and separate listings.

Read more: Alibaba Spinoff Plans Bring Hope to Hong Kongs Tepid IPO Market

JD.coms American depositary receipts jumped as much as 8.6% in New York, their biggest intraday advance since January. Alibaba also gained after Bloomberg reported that its logistics arm has started preparations for its Hong Kong listing.

The two are the latest Chinese companies choosing to tap the Hong Kong IPO market instead of a US listing. Increasing scrutiny of Chinese businesses in the US, combined with Beijings concern about data security for US-listed companies, has pushed a market decoupling between the worlds two biggest economies.

Still, debuts by Chinese firms have slumped in Hong Kong and overseas since 2021 as Beijing expanded a crackdown across tech spheres and industry groups ranging from online education to mobile gaming. IPO proceeds since January are 48% lower than at the same time last year, when they slumped 69% from 2021.

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Read more: JD.Coms Warehouse REIT Raises $259 Million, Lists on Shanghai Exchange

Operating independently since 2018, Jingdong Propertys business now covers 29 Chinese provincial-level regions. It also has 25 overseas infrastructure-related projects and manages industrial parks whose total area exceeds 20 million square meters, according to the companys website.

Jingdong Industrials specializes in industrial product supply and related technology and services. In 2022, the company provided services to over 100,000 industrial manufacturing plants in the fields of automobile, mechanical equipment, electronic product assembly and others. It also supported over 16,000 construction projects during the same period.

--With assistance from Rebecca Choong Wilkins and Henry Ren.

(Adds share price moves in headline, first and fourth paragraphs.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Two new research breakthroughs involving the company and its technologies make inroads into new possibilities for medicine

SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- JelloX Biotech Inc., a Taiwan-based startup focused on cancer pathology, announced involvement with two new research breakthroughs that demonstrate expanded potential for its specialized technology combining 3D imaging and AI.

3D imaging and digital pathology are currently viewed by the healthcare industry as prohibitively expensive due to the need for costly graphics tools, but JelloX's solution for this is MetaLite  a cost-effective software platform that leverages AI to analyze 3D-rendered thick tissue images rapidly, saving pathologists hours while improving diagnostic precision.

The company's work is timely, as a recent study released in The Harvard Gazette shows that cancer risks are rising with each new generation.

Advancing precision medicine beyond oncology

While focusing mainly on cancer-specific applications, JelloX believes strongly in the possibilities of 3D imaging and AI. Faced with the recent prospect of demonstrating this technology's potential beyond oncology, the company was eager to provide fast and informative service to its customers interested in this area. This included Dr. Lin-Shien Fu, Director of the Pediatric Nephrology and Immunology Department at Taiwan's Taichung Veterans General Hospital, whose recent work highlights new potential of 3D pathology.

Published in February 2023, Dr. Fu et al. released a paper that showed that 3D pathology can facilitate pathological analysis of kidney inflammation from lupus, also known as lupus nephritis.

"3D imaging from tissue that is hundreds of microns thick captures much greater information compared with a traditional 4-micron-thin slide, and the study is a key milestone in showing its usefulness to identify and pinpoint where exactly disease is affecting the body, in this case for kidney inflammation from lupus," notes Dr. Yen-Yin Lin, CEO of JelloX. "If 3D imaging can ultimately help doctors administer medicine with extreme accuracy across a wide variety of diseases, the possibilities are endless for healthcare  from keeping chronically ill patients healthy to saving lives."

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In the study, researchers compared conventional 2D biopsy samples with 3D morphology imaging of samples, which yielded observations that the 3D samples provided more comprehensive spatial information on important components of chronic inflammation. In turn, this means an improved prognosis for lupus nephritis.

The study also paves the way for the new 3D pathology method to address a major unresolved area of research: how chronic kidney damage progresses in different kidney diseases.

Foray into cross-staining solutions for precision medicine

In its forte of cancer pathology, JelloX experts published a recent research paper to demonstrate that the AI deep learning techniques powering JelloX's technology, and AI more broadly, can effectively analyze a combination of image types and distinguish between them.

Specific to the growing threat of breast cancer, this study combined two different types of staining dyes  bright-field hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and dark-field fluorescent (FLUO) dyes  for 2D physical biopsy analysis via light microscopy and confocal microscopy, respectively, and applied a cross-staining inference AI model to the samples. Color variation between the two staining technologies causes challenges for cross-analysis, but JelloX overcame this by applying color normalization and nucleus extraction methods.

The results demonstrated that the cross-staining inference AI model had high precision in identifying tumor features. This achievement is a breakthrough in that it demonstrates the world's first universal cross-staining solution for precision identification using both H&E and FLUO images, which paves the way for AI to have a greater impact on tumor recognition and pathology in the future.

BIO 2023 conference

To showcase its leadership in 3D pathology and AI, JelloX will attend the upcoming BIO 2023 conference on June 5-8 in Boston, where it will highlight its recent research breakthroughs in addition to its AI-powered MetaLite software platform.

To learn more, please visit: https://jellox.com/en/home

About JelloX Biotech Inc.

Based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, JelloX Biotech Inc. is a startup founded by researchers from National Tsing Hua University and focuses on advancing cancer pathology through 3D digital imaging and AI technology.

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GUANGZHOU, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 28th, the China International Furniture Fair (CIFF 2023) kicked off at the Guangzhou Import and Export Fair Complex. At the event, JIECANG the world's leading provider of linear actuator solutions, teamed up with the high-end European sub-brand LOGICDATA to showcase a range of stunning new products.

Adapting to the new market and meeting new demands with new solutions

After the pandemic, major well-known companies have adopted hybrid office models. As a result, these models have also become a new choice for emerging businesses, and various well-known office furniture brands have provided new space design and office furniture solutions.

In the past, the lifting system has been used in commercial office environments in the form of combined workstations and large desks. Today, agile working spaces break the previous fixed trend of working in an office and integrate into a diverse range of scenes and styles.

At this year's CIFF, JIECANG launched a series of new lifting system products under the theme of "BE AGILE. BE READY.", providing more inspiration for agile working space design. The products cover solutions such as electric standing desk solutions, movable flip standing desk solutions, telephone booth lifting systems, and television lifting systems.

Grasping the trend and innovating product categories from the supply side.

Over the past five years, China's esports industry has moved into the mainstream, become part of popular culture. Esports enthusiasts have increased in number every year, and the esports peripheral industry chain has also developed rapidly, giving rise to the esports lifting desk. As early as 2020, JIECANG launched an esports desk, and this year, the company unveiled the Invictus gaming desk, which is more market-differentiated, stable, meets GS requirements, has unique esports elements, a powerful wire management system, and offers brand-differentiated customized design services.

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Dual brand collaboration empowers comprehensive solutions for customers with cutting-edge technology.

JIECANG acquired the LEG Group in 2021, providing multi-dimensional and comprehensive solutions for industry customers. At this year's expo, JIECANG Group's European high-end sub-brand LOGICDATA jointly participated, exhibiting advanced brushless motor lifting systems LOGICleg and four-leg smart lifting desk systems LOGICflex X with LOGICDATA core technology. The brushless motor lifting system LOGICleg runs stably, meets international certification requirements such as GS, and can be customized in appearance, color, and travel distance. LOGICflex X is a multifunctional adjustable smart lifting desk that is equipped with LOGICflex series core technology.

The outstanding standing desk system of JIECANG, which adopts top-level safety standard anti-collision technology, ZOOM rapid lifting technology, EZ rapid installation solution, internal wiring technology of the column, and Internet of Things (IoT) standing desk technology, brings unique value points to users in different scenarios such as commercial and home use.

Becoming the technological cornerstone of smart furniture development, supporting the high-quality development of the industry.

As a technological cornerstone for the development of smart furniture, JIECANG's lifting system components have provided a solid technological foundation for the innovative development of intelligent lifting desks in China's office furniture industry. As a result, JIECANG has earned plaudits such as bee being awarded the China Intelligent Office Furniture Development Contribution Award.

In the future, JIECANG will continue to deepen the application of lifting system technology, assist customers in upgrading product intelligence, and promote the high-quality development of the industry.

After the pandemic, the smart furniture industry has entered a new era of development. Faced with new challenges, JIECANG is focused on developing the next generation of linear actuator products.

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What to know as tension between the U.S. and China mounts over Taiwan

China threatened to take "resolute countermeasures" if the leader of the small, democratically governed island of Taiwan meets U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy next week during her "transit visit" through the United States. It was the latest warning from Beijing amid escalating tension between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, which some analysts consider the most dangerous standoff between global superpowers, even as the war in Ukraine rages.

Here's what you need to know about where things stand, and how we got here:

Why is there tension between Taiwan and China?

Taiwan is an island about 100 miles off the east coast of mainland China. It's only a little larger than Maryland, but while that U.S. state is home to about 6 million people, Taiwan has a population of around 24 million.

Mainland China and territory controlled by the Chinese government is show in yellow, while territory claimed by, but not controlled by Beijing, including Taiwan, is depicted in brown on this map. / Credit: Getty/iStock

For decades leading up to the end of World War II, Taiwan was controlled by Japan. Then it became part of the Republic of China, a country ruled at the time by nationalists known as the Kuomintang.

In 1949, after China's civil war, Mao Zedong and his communist forces took over the Chinese mainland and the Kuomintang movement, led by commander Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan, where they set up a rival government. The U.S. maintained formal diplomatic relations with that government rather than Beijing until 1978, when it recognized the ruling Communist Party as China's leadership and cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Taiwan has continued to function since then as a multi-party democracy, however, separate from China's communist government, and its domestic economy has flourished.

Over time, people in Taiwan  especially younger generations  have increasingly come to view themselves and their island as separate from the People's Republic of China.

A graph compiled by the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University in Taiwan shows the changing mood on the island regarding residents' views on their own nationality, based on polling over 30 years. / Credit: Election Study Center, National Chengchi University

Surveys conducted by the National Chengchi University show the percentage of Taiwanese people who consider themselves Chinese, as well as those who consider themselves both Taiwanese and Chinese, has decreased since the early 1990's, while the percentage of people who consider themselves solely Taiwanese has increased.

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The 2016 election of Tsai Ing-wen, who has always referred to Taiwan as an independent entity under the long-standing arrangement that allows the island to control itself, free of meddling from Beijing, was a clear indication of the changing mood on the island.

Tsai's predecessor was an advocate for "unification" with mainland China, and he remains a leader of the pro-China political faction within Taiwanese politics, which considers unification with the mainland inevitable, and the only way of avoiding a catastrophic war.

China has always claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, considering it a breakaway province to eventually be brought under the control of Beijing under a "one country, two systems" principle, similar to how Hong Kong is administered.

Pro-Taiwan independence activists display banners during a protest before Chinese Taiwan Affairs officials arrive in Taipei, Taiwan, February 18, 2023. / Credit: SAM YEH/AFP/Getty

China exerts significant diplomatic pressure on other nations not to recognize Taiwan as an independent entity, and currently only 13 countries and the Vatican recognize it as a state.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said "reunification" with Taiwan "must be fulfilled"  by force if necessary  and should not be passed down to future generations.

The Taiwan Relations Act and the U.S. stake

Tension between Taiwan and Beijing has always been high, but Xi's vocal commitment to bringing the island under Chinese control has led many to believe the possibility of a military conflict is greater now than ever before.

As the cross-strait tension has increased, Taiwan has cultivated closer ties with the United States.

Taiwan produces the majority of the world's most advanced computer chips, and it also sits along a chain of islands that include a number of U.S.-friendly territories of crucial importance to U.S. foreign policy, often referred to as the "first island chain."

Under the Taiwan Relations Act, passed into law by the U.S. Congress in 1979, the United States is committed to supplying weapons to Taiwan "as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense," but the act says nothing about whether the U.S. would be obligated to defend the island militarily if it were to come under attack.

Last year, President Biden raised eyebrows by saying the U.S. would send troops to help defend Taiwan "if in fact there was an unprecedented attack" by China. The island "makes their own judgments about their independence," Mr. Biden told CBS News' "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley, stressing that the U.S. was "not encouraging their being independent that's their decision."

The United States has long employed a policy of "strategic ambiguity" over Taiwan, declining to explicitly state how Washington would respond to a Chinese invasion of the island. That appeared to have shifted under Mr. Biden, but the White House quickly denied any change in U.S. policy.

What's happening now, and what comes next?

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and China's perceived backing of Moscow in the conflict, has heightened concern that Beijing could make a similar play to seize control of Taiwan.

Tsai is stopping in New York and Los Angeles this week and next on "transit visits" before and after formal visits Central America. It will be Tsai's first time in the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic, but her seventh as Taiwan's leader.

These "traveling visits" are generally managed carefully to avoid further inflaming tension between the U.S. and China.

Tsai may meet with McCarthy, a Republican lawmaker, in his home state of California. The congressional leader had expressed a desire to visit Taiwan, but the two reportedly agreed to hold a meeting in the U.S. because of Taiwanese security concerns.

McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan last year. Hers was the first visit to Taiwan by a house speaker in a quarter of a century, and it infuriated China. In response, the People's Liberation Army staged huge military exercises in the area within days and, for the first time, fired ballistic missiles over Taiwan.

Beijing has warned that a meeting between Tsai and McCarthy, if it goes ahead, would be a move that "destroys peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" and could cause a "serious confrontation."

CBS News contributor General H.R. McMaster (Retired), who served as national security adviser to former President Donald Trump after a long career as an American battlefield commander, said recently that the U.S. military must "be ready" for a possible war with China.

Is the U.S. in a "new type of Cold War" with China?

McMaster backed a memo that came from Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan, head of the U.S. Air Mobility Command, who warned that the U.S. and China could be at war within the next two years.

McMaster pointed specifically to Taiwanese elections scheduled for 2024, saying if China's leadership "doesn't see the outcome they want in Taiwan then, I think the chances go up."

Most importantly, McMaster said, China's leader Xi Jinping "has said he's going to do it. You know, many of his speeches, he seems to be preparing the Chinese people for war, and of course, it's our military's job to be ready."

The United States has said it hopes to see Tsai make a "normal, uneventful transit" through the country, and has urged Beijing not to overreact.

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The Kraft logo is pictured outside its headquarters in Northfield

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Kraft Heinz has agreed to sell its baby food business in Russia to local drinks and snacks maker Chernogolovka, the U.S. food giant said on Friday, as domestic firms continue to capitalise on the departure of Western brands.

Chernogolovka has been one of the major beneficiaries of the corporate exodus from Russia in the past year, snapping up Kellogg Co's local operations and eyeing a huge increase in its share of the soft drinks market as Coca-Cola and Pepsi cut ties.

According to Chernogolovka, the deal will include two factories and the "Umnitsa" and "Sami s usami" brands.

"We anticipate closing the deal in the second half of 2023 (Q3) and will continue working with Chernogolovka post-completion, to ensure a smooth integration," a Kraft Heinz spokesperson told Reuters.

The deal has been in the works since before the conflict in Ukraine, a Kraft-Heinz spokesperson added.

"The decision to sell is a commercial decision in the best interests of our people and the local communities who rely on the local distribution of baby food products," the Kraft-Heinz spokesperson said in an email. "This agreed sale ensures we can continue to keep vital baby food products accessible to all."

The deal is subject to regulatory approval, Chernogolovka said.

Exiting firms are being forced to sell their Russian operations at deep discounts, with several being handed over for a nominal fee and many incurring large write-downs. Companies often insert buyback clauses that could one day see them return.

Neither Kraft Heinz nor Chernogolovka disclosed the price or mentioned any buyback clause.

Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday, citing sources, that Kraft Heinz estimates the deal's value at between 2.5 and 3 billion roubles ($32.4 to $38.9 million) but the government is yet to approve the valuation.

Deals require approval from a government commission that monitors foreign investment. This week, the commission said foreign investors from "unfriendly" countries selling assets in Russia would be obliged to donate at least 10% of the sale price to the Russian budget.

($1 = 77.1000 roubles)

(Reporting by Olga Popova and Caleb Davis; Jessica DiNapoli in New York; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan and Jonathan Oatis)
(L-R) Labour Party Deputy leader Angela Rayner, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, Labour Party Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves - Leon Neal/Getty Images

Francois Hollande was no match for Frances entrepreneurs.

When the countrys socialist president set out plans to double capital gains tax to 60pc in 2012, a group of around 60,000 entrepreneurs rallied on social media to block the move.

The groups nickname, les pigeons, came from French slang for suckers or fall guy. In other words, they did not want Hollande to treat them like suckers.

Just days later, Pierre Moscovici, Frances finance minister at the time, was forced into an embarrassing climbdown.

Now, the UK could be facing a reckoning of its own amid a brewing Labour plot to raise capital gains tax.

The mooted tax raid, hinted by deputy leader Angela Rayner, has sparked panic among British entrepreneurs, raising the threat that many founders could be forced to sell up or move abroad.

A return to 1970s levels of taxation will certainly make founders reconsider, says Rob Kniaz, partner at Hoxton Ventures, which invested in Deliveroo and Darktrace.

The Government needs to decide if it wants 10-28pc of something or 50pc of nothing.

Rayners suggestion last week that a Labour government would raise taxes on savings and investments sparked instant concern among businesses.

Criticising Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks tax return, Rayner attacked what she called a Tory tax system where the PM pays a far lower tax rate than working people.

A large part of the Prime Ministers tax charge was booked as capital gains. Despite earning 5m over three years, he paid an effective tax rate of 22pc.

Earlier this month The Telegraph disclosed that a large increase in capital gains tax is on the table if Sir Keir Starmer wins the next election.

For entrepreneurs considering a sale, it means there may be a narrow window to cash in and avoid a hefty bill from the taxman.

Already Im hearing entrepreneurs saying they are selling their companies because of the fear of the potential capital gains tax increase, says Brent Hoberman, co-founder of Made.com and chairman of Founders Forum.

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So yes, I think youll get a short-term flood of people selling their companies and then net the tax would be down after that for some time.

Andy Hodgetts, corporate finance partner at advisers Buzzacott, adds: In the next 18 to 24 month period you will see a lot of transactions that will be tax-driven. Driven by a fear over what Labour will do.

He adds that the market is now entering a golden window when founders can do deals without the risk of prices being deflated.

Charlie Mullins, the entrepreneur who sold Pimlico Plumbers for 140m two years ago, says many founders will undoubtedly be forced into a faster sale.

If theyre thinking of doing it in a year or two theyll just bring it forward, he says.

Such is the controversy over the potential tax raid that fault lines are starting to emerge even within the shadow Cabinet.

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, on Thursday insisted she had no plans to increase capital gains tax, despite Rayners comments.

She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: We also have said we want Britain to be the best place to start and grow a business.

But Momentum, the far-left wing of the party, argued the tax raid was popular, fair and necessary.

Richard Goold, partner at Wilson Sonsini, a law firm advising tech startups, points out that many founders are not overly concerned with tax in the early stages of their company.

Paying less tax is great, but in the early days building the company up it is not something they are particularly focused on, he says.

Still, Goold acknowledges that if the rate of tax were to double, people would be violently opposed.

He adds: It would be a disincentive to being an entrepreneur.

For many founders, though, even the prospect of a capital gains tax raid will be enough to make them pull the trigger.

Because of the time it takes to do a transaction, the impact is about belief, whether or not they put it through, says Hodgetts.

The corporate adviser adds that plenty of entrepreneurs are seeking advice on when is best to exit their business to avoid a hefty tax bill.

Hodgetts adds he had recently spoken to an entrepreneur in his mid-50s and who wants to get out at some point.

I said to him: If you feel like you want to sell anyway, you dont want to wait until six months before a [government] Budget when buyers will know you are under pressure.

Yet for the UK tech sector, fresh from its brush with catastrophe following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, there are more fundamental concerns at stake if Labour pushes ahead with tax rises.

The question is, would it make the UK a less attractive place to start your business than other countries in Europe? says Hoberman.

Unless they [Labour] did a raft of other exciting proposals to encourage entrepreneurship, all sorts of incentives, I cant see how its not a large negative.

This risk was highlighted in 2021, when an increase in capital gains tax was being considered by then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak to bring the top rate in-line with income tax, then at 45pc.

A survey conducted by start-up consultancy Beauhurst revealed that 85pc of founders would consider moving their companies abroad if the tax rise went ahead.

Up to 88pc of start-up jobs would also be at risk of moving abroad, according to the research, while 90pc of founders said it would be harder to attract top talent.

For a lot of entrepreneurs it does not make sense to work that hard for so little reward, says Henry Whorwood of Beauhurst.

For Hoberman, it is crucial that Labour does not focus on short-term political gain at the expense of the UKs tech sector.

I would want any potential incoming Labour government to demonstrate that they are not using populist policies that will benefit them politically in the short term, but will damage the economy, he says.

And I think raising capital gains tax for entrepreneurs would be one of those.

Mullins is more damning in his verdict. I think it just goes to show that Labour have never really been a business party, he says.

I just dont understand why they want to penalise successful, wealthy people that are creating jobs, creating opportunities and investing money in the UK.

While France managed to avoid a flight of les pigeons by cancelling its tax raid, Britain risks driving away founders with a capital gains crackdown.
Team Successfully Deploys Electronic Health Record to Nine Additional Parent Military Treatment Facilities, including Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Ft. Belvoir

RESTON, Va., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leidos Partnership for Defense Health (LPDH) today announced that it successfully delivered the MHS GENESIS electronic health record to an additional 14,000 clinicians and providers as part of its latest double wave deployment (Waves WALTER REED/FT. BELVOIR), spanning nine parent Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

Leidos logo. (PRNewsFoto/Leidos)

"Our team continues to successfully deploy MHS GENESIS and we are progressing toward full deployment within the continental U.S. and globally," said Liz Porter, Leidos Health Group President. "With each new wave, we continue to improve system scalability and capacity as well as add new capabilities to meet customer demand."

LPDH designed and developed MHS GENESIS, the Military Health System's new electronic health record, and has been providing program management and technical expertise to the Program Executive Office Defense Healthcare Management Systems (PEO DHMS) since 2015.

With this latest wave deployment, the MHS GENESIS system is now operational at over 2,700 locations and now reaches 6.6 million Department of Defense (DOD) beneficiaries  approximately 81% deployed to garrison DOD facilities.

"We're thrilled that MHS GENESIS is now operational in the National Capital Region," noted Holly Joers, PEO DHMS. "The commanders on site and our pay-it-forward volunteers provided at-the-elbow support to help make this a successful deployment."

MHS GENESIS is being deployed across the continental United States and overseas through a total of 23 waves, with each wave targeting a specific region. This approach enables the DOD to take full advantage of lessons learned from prior waves to maximize subsequent waves' efficiencies.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 45,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

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About Leidos Partnership for Defense Health

The Leidos Partnership consists of four core partners - Leidos, Oracle Cerner Corporation, Accenture and Henry Schein One - along with approximately 35 supporting businesses. Together, they deliver an integrated, modern, secure health information system that includes an electronic health record system, a dental system, identity management capability, cybersecurity, and other supporting components. MHS GENESIS will serve as the system of record, providing a single, integrated solution for managing the health and military readiness of the force for DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Certain statements in this announcement constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These statements are based on management's current beliefs and expectations and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These statements are not guarantees of future results or occurrences. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the "Risk Factors" set forth in Leidos' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Leidos does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statements were made.

Contact:

Melissa Duenas

(571) 526-6850

Melissa.L.Duenas@leidos.com

Thomas Doheny

(571) 474-4735

Dohenyt@leidos.com

Lauren Reddington-Sartain

(202) 924-2226

Lauren.A.Reddington@leidos.com

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Looks like the Prime drink craze has made its way down under, but Aussie kids wont be packing it in their school lunches.

Schools across Australia are banning the super-caffeinated drink created by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI, citing concerns about the drink's high caffeine content. Prime energy drinks pack twice the legal limit of caffeine per 100 milliliters, making it a no-go for school-aged children. While the drink is not available in stores in Australia, it can still be purchased on resale websites, which has officials concerned that students are getting their hands on it.

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Multiple schools in Queensland and Western Australia have recently taken action by issuing warnings to parents and banning Prime drinks. This comes as a response to health industry advice highlighting that the energy drinks contain dangerously high levels of caffeine, especially for children.

In the United States, there may be no ban on caffeine for kids, but that doesn't mean everyone is comfortable with the high levels of caffeine found in energy drinks like Prime, or the sugars found in others like Monster Beverage Corp.

Due to this, theres been an increase in popularity among sparkling waters and clearn energy drinks. Pureboost, for example, is a clean energy drink mix leaving out GMOs, sugar and artificial sweeteners aiming to shake up the $400 billion beverage market. According to their Wefunder investment page, the startup has seen continued traction with over 19 million servings sold.

This comes off the heels of other successful brands in the space. LiquidDeath, a sparkling water brand known for its humorous water in a beer can approach, recently raised funds at a $700 million valuation. National Beverage Corp. became a viral sensation for its lacroix brand of sparkling water, and is now valued at nearly $5 billion. White Claw, Truly and others have similarly rocketed to fame with their hard seltzers.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly advises against children consuming caffeine. While adults can generally consume caffeine in moderate amounts without significant health risks, caffeine can be especially harmful to children because of their smaller bodies and developing brains.

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Consuming too much caffeine can lead to a range of negative side effects for children, including insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, increased heart rate, high blood pressure and digestive problems. These side effects can interfere with a child's ability to focus, concentrate and learn and can also lead to more serious health problems in some cases.

According to Parents.com, the principal of an upper elementary school in New Jersey recently sent an email out to parents expressing concern about students who have consumed energy drinks in the past and have subsequently reported headaches and other symptoms to the nurse's office. While U.S. schools have yet to issue bans, many educators are encouraging parents to exercise caution when it comes to allowing their children to consume these beverages.

Prime boasts a caffeine content of 200 milligrams per 12-ounce can, which is equivalent to the caffeine found in six cans of Coca-Cola, 2 cans of Red Bull or two cups of coffee.

The Prime drink line comes with a warning that it's not meant for kids. According to its website, PRIME Energy is not recommended for children younger than 18, pregnant or nursing women or people who are sensitive to caffeine. PRIME Hydration and PRIME Hydration+ Sticks are caffeine-free.

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This article Logal Paul's Prime Energy Banned From Aussie Schools Because Of Safety Concerns originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Mandarin Oriental International fair value estimate is US$1.65

Mandarin Oriental International's US$1.75 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Mandarin Oriental International's peers seem to be trading at a higher premium to fair value based onthe industry average of -113%

Does the March share price for Mandarin Oriental International Limited (SGX:M04) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Mandarin Oriental International

The Model

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$33.3m US$57.8m US$87.8m US$120.3m US$152.2m US$181.3m US$206.6m US$228.0m US$245.8m US$260.7m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 104.18% Est @ 73.50% Est @ 52.03% Est @ 37.00% Est @ 26.48% Est @ 19.11% Est @ 13.96% Est @ 10.35% Est @ 7.82% Est @ 6.06% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 10% US$30.2 US$47.7 US$65.8 US$81.9 US$94.1 US$102 US$105 US$106 US$104 US$99.7

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$836m

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 1.9%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 10%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$261m (1 + 1.9%)  (10% 1.9%) = US$3.3b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$3.3b ( 1 + 10%)10= US$1.2b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$2.1b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$1.8, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important Assumptions

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 Mandarin Oriental International as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 10%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.170. 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 Mandarin Oriental International

Strength

Net debt to equity ratio below 40%.

Weakness

Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

Current share price is above our estimate of fair value.

Opportunity

Has sufficient cash runway for more than 3 years based on current free cash flows.

Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine M04's earnings prospects.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Moving On:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Mandarin Oriental International, we've put together three important elements you should further examine:

Risks: We feel that you should assess the 1 warning sign for Mandarin Oriental International we've flagged before making an investment in the company. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! Other Environmentally-Friendly Companies: Concerned about the environment and think consumers will buy eco-friendly products more and more? Browse through our interactive list of companies that are thinking about a greener future to discover some stocks you may not have thought of!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Singaporean stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Madison Realty Capital

NEW YORK, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Madison Realty Capital, a vertically integrated real estate private equity firm focused on debt and equity investment strategies, today announced that the firm has provided a $55.1 million loan to Savanna, a New York City-based real estate investment and development firm, for Olara, West Palm Beachs anticipated new luxury waterfront condominium tower.



Josh Zegen, Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Madison Realty Capital, said, Palm Beach has seen steady population growth over the last ten years, a trend which accelerated during the pandemic as more businesses began relocating to Palm Beach County. The ongoing influx of established financial services businesses to the county continues to drive demand for both luxury rentals and condominiums. Savanna navigated a complex acquisition process and successfully completed a rezoning that increased density at Olara, and we are pleased to provide a flexible financing solution so that they may capitalize on the opportunity set in West Palm Beach as its economy continues to thrive.

Joshs team understands our vision to create a live-work-play destination along the West Palm Beach waterfront at Olara, said Andrew Kurd, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Savanna. Madison Realty Capitals experience executing with certainty in South Florida made them the right team for us to move forward with on this exciting new development.

Located at 1919 North Flagler Drive, Olara will offer expansive views of the Intracoastal Waterway, Palm Beach, and the Atlantic Ocean and feature 80,000 square feet of resort-inspired amenities. The condominium tower will feature 275 private residences, as well as a ground-floor restaurant and epicurean marketplace. The property will offer a mix of holistically designed two- to four-bedroom plus den homes with floor to ceiling windows, terraces, and high-end appliances. Olara will include a private suite of indoor and outdoor amenity space including multiple pools, a spa, fitness center, resident lounges, and co-working spaces. The property will also include 836 parking spaces and a private marina with boat services on the Intracoastal Waterway.

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The property was designed by Miami-based architectural design firm Arquitectonica with interiors designed by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. Olara launched sales and leasing through Douglas Elliman Development Marketing in January 2023.

Eastdil Secured represented Savanna on the transaction.

About Madison Realty Capital

Madison Realty Capital is a vertically integrated real estate private equity firm that, as of December 31, 2022, manages approximately $10 billion in total assets on behalf of a global institutional investor base. Since 2004, Madison Realty Capital has completed approximately $22 billion in transactions providing borrowers with flexible and highly customized financing solutions, strong underwriting capabilities, and certainty of execution. Headquartered in New York City, with an office in Los Angeles, the firm has more than 70 employees across all real estate investment, development, and property management disciplines. Madison Realty Capital has been named to Commercial Observers prestigious Power 100 list of New York City real estate players every year since 2016 and was recognized In March 2023 by PERE as the Debt Firm of the Year, North America for Fiscal Year 2022. To learn more, follow us on LinkedIn and visit www.madisonrealtycapital.com.

About Savanna

Savanna is a vertically integrated real estate investment and development firm that has been in operation since 1992, with approximately 80 employees and a senior management team averaging 24 years of experience in the real estate industry. Founded in 1992, our firm is a well-established owner, operator, and developer with expertise across the office, retail, residential and industrial sectors. In 2020, Savanna extended its platform into Florida with offices in Miami and West Palm Beach. Over our 30-year history, we have built a platform designed to identify well-located properties with strong potential and capitalize on those opportunities through intensive development plans and leasing efforts. Our asset-specific approach ensures that a tailored plan is thoughtfully developed and implemented for each building, with a focus on delivering high-quality tenant experiences. Savannas vertically integrated platform encompasses in-house teams including acquisitions and asset management, leasing, project management, construction management, property management, legal, compliance, financial reporting, investor relations, and operations.

Media inquiries, contact:

Nathaniel Garnick/Grace Cartwright

Gasthalter & Co.

(212) 257-4170

madisonrealty@gasthalter.com




NEWARK, DE / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / According to a report published by Future Market Insights (FMI), the ASEAN and Gulf Countries MAP & VSP packaging market is likely to register a combined US$ 3,841.0 million valuation in 2032. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and Vacuum skin packaging (VSP) are modern packaging techniques that are primarily aimed at extending perishable products' shelf lives. Across ASEAN and Gulf Countries, these techniques are increasingly being adopted by companies in both food and non-food sectors for reducing waste.

Future Market Insights, Inc., Friday, March 31, 2023, Press release picture

Food waste, in particular, has been a persistent issue in recent times, especially in several ASEAN countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. Even with conventional packaging, perishable food products such as meat, milk, and dairy tend to spoil quickly in these countries due to their warm climates. Companies dealing in these perishable products across ASEAN and Gulf Countries have reported resounding losses owing to food spoilage and waste. This is where cutting-edge, modern-day packaging techniques such as MAP and VSP can make a difference.

While MAP and VSP are technically different, they offer several similar benefits. For instance, products packaged using MAP and VSP tend to enjoy extended shelf lives, i.e. they don't spoil like they would if conventional packaging was used. These techniques also allow companies to provide goods to consumers without preservatives, which makes the products more beneficial for health compared to items with preservatives.

For insights on global, regional, and country-level parameters with growth opportunities from 2023 to 2033 - Download a sample report

Among ASEAN and Gulf Countries, FMI expects Saudi Arabia market for MAP & VSP packaging to gain exponential traction between 2022 and 2032. The Arab nation's economic might is allowing it to adopt MAP & VSP packaging without any financial worries. In 2032, the Saudi Arabia market is anticipated to have a 34.8% share in the Gulf Countries market for MAP & VSP packaging. Other markets across ASEAN and Gulf Countries poised to provide lucrative opportunities to market players between 2022 and 2032 include Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

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Key Takeaways from the ASEAN and Gulf Countries MAP & VSP Packaging Market Report

ASEAN MAP & VSP packaging market was estimated to register a valuation of US$ 1,582.6 million in 2022.

Between 2022 and 2032, a steady 5.5% CAGR is anticipated to take the ASEAN market's valuation up to US$ 2,711.0 million in 2032.

From 2017 to 2021, slow and sluggish CAGRs of 3.7% and 3.4% were observed for the ASEAN and Gulf Countries markets respectively.

Vietnam market for MAP & VSP packaging is slated for healthy acceleration at a CAGR of 6.8% between 2022 and 2032.

By material type, ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) is poised to experience significant demand acceleration at a positive CAGR of 6.1% from 2022 to 2032.

By technology, VSP is set to outperform MAP in terms of sales across ASEAN and Gulf Countries between 2022 and 2032.

"Despite the rising popularity of MAP and VSP among companies dealing in perishable goods and products, the fact is that they do not completely guarantee lack of spoilage. Once MAP and VSP packaging is unpackaged, they are not effective anymore in terms of keeping products fresh. This is why market players are likely to improve their MAP and VSP packaging solutions for optimal spoilage reduction." Says an FMI analyst.

Who is Winning?

According to FMI's comprehensive report, both established and emerging market players are focused on improving their MAP and VSP packaging solutions. Owing to rising demand for these packaging techniques, players are expected to expand their facilities and enter into strategic collaborations and partnerships. Hefty research & development investments are also likely.

Mondi Group Plc, Berry Global Inc., Sealed Air Corporation, Swiss Pack Europe, Klockner Pentaplast Group, Amcor plc, Plastissimo Film Co., Ltd., Luban Pack, Al Borj Plastic Industries, VACUUM BAGS SARL, NARAI PACKAGING (THAILAND) LTD., IMPERIAL PACKAGING AND PLASTICS SDN BHD, FRAGSTAR CORPORATION SDN. BHD., SOLOS POLYMERS PVT. LTD., Vishakha Polyfab Pvt Ltd., and Napco National are the key players operating in the ASEAN and Gulf Countries MAP & VSP packaging market.

Future Market Insights, Inc., Friday, March 31, 2023, Press release picture

Expand operations in the future - To get requisite details, ask for a custom report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-the-analyst/rep-gb-16587

ASEAN and Gulf Countries MAP & VSP Packaging Market Outlook by Category

By Material Type:

Polyethylene (PE) HDPE LDPE LLDPE

Polypropylene (PP)

Polyamide (PA)

Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH)

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)

By Product Type:

Pouches & Bags

Films

By Film Structure:

Monolayer

3 Layers

5 Layers

7 Layers

More than 7 Layers

By Technology:

Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)

Vacuum Skin Packaging (VSP)

By End Use:

Food Convenience Food - RTE - Ready to Eat and RTC - Ready to Cook Bakery Snacks & Confectionary Pet Food Breakfast and Cereals Sauces and Condiments Grain & Cereals Flavors and Fragrances Meat Products Fish Products Dairy

Non-Food

By Country:

ASEAN

Gulf Countries

To Gain More Insights about this Research, Visit https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/asean-and-gulf-countries-map-and-vsp-packaging-market

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary

1.1. Market Outlook

1.2. Market Analysis

1.3. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

3. Key Market Trends

3.1. Key Trends Impacting the Market

3.2. Product Innovation / Development Trends

4. Key Success Factors

4.1. Product Adoption / Usage Analysis

4.2. Product USPs / Features

4.3. Strategic Promotional Strategies

Report Customization available @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-16587

Explore Trending Reports of Packaging:

Europe and Middle East and Africa Retail Glass Packaging Market : By 2032, the Middle East and Africa retail glass packaging market is expected to consistently expand at a 6.2% CAGR. The market is expected to expand its revenue share from US$ billion 1.8 in 2022 to US$ 3.2 billion by 2032.

Europe Molded Fiber Pulp Packaging Market : Europe molded fiber pulp packaging market is forecast to account for US$ 2.6 billion in 2023, and further accelerate at 5.7% CAGR between 2023 and 2033 to attain a valuation of US$ 4.5 billion by 2033.

ASEAN & Gulf Countries Inspection & Weighing Machine Market : Demand for inspection & weighing is especially high across ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Currently, ASEAN inspection & weighing machine market is valued at US$ 986.6 million and it is expected to reach around US$ 1595.0 million by 2032.

Europe Barrier Coated Paper Market : Europe barrier-coated paper market size is forecast to increase from US$ 1.3 billion in 2023 to US$ 1.8 billion by 2033. Total barrier-coated paper sales across Europe are set to rise at a CAGR of 3.2% throughout the projection period (2023 to 2033).

North America Fresh Meat Packaging Market : The North America fresh meat packaging market is poised to follow positive growth trajectory in 2021, with overall valuation is expected to reach US$ 788 million in 2021.

About Us:

Future Market Insights, Inc. is an ESOMAR-certified business consulting & market research firm, a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and is headquartered in Delaware, USA. A recipient of Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of high client score (4.9/5), we have been collaborating with global enterprises in their business transformation journey and helping them deliver on their business ambitions. 80% of the largest Forbes 1000 enterprises are our clients. We serve global clients across all leading & niche market segments across all major industries.

Contact Us:

Future Market Insights Inc.

Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive,

Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA

T: +1-845-579-5705

LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs | YouTube

For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com

SOURCE: Future Market Insights, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/746939/MAP-and-VSP-Market-in-ASEAN-Gulf-Countries-is-Estimated-to-Top-Revenue-of-US-3841-Million-at-Steady-CAGR-by-Forecast-Period-of-2032-End-Future-Market-Insights-Inc




There have already been some massive shakeups in Michelin Guides around the globe, but Great Britain and Ireland have been spared that fate.

Stars for the two regions were announced on Monday evening, and the creme de la creme remain the same: All eight three-star restaurants retained their status. The two-star category saw some new additions this year, however, with three restaurants joining the ranks of those that Michelin deems some of the best in the world.

More from Robb Report

Londons the Ledbury, helmed by the chef Brett Graham, regained to its two-star status after closing in 2020, when it also held that ranking. The restaurant reopened last year, and the Michelin ceremony host Amanda Stretton called it a welcome return to the London scene, with perfect technique and balance, according to Eater. Joining the Ledbury are Alex Dilling at Hotel Cafe Royal in London and Dede in Baltimore, Ireland.

Unlike in France, where two notable three-star restaurants were demoted to two stars earlier this month, Great Britain and Ireland were able to maintain their upper echelon. That includes the London spots Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, Core by Clare Smyth, Helene Darroze at the Connaught, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, and Sketch (the Lecture Room & Library), as well as Brays Fat Duck and Waterside Inn, and Cartmels LEnclume.

The one-star category, meanwhile, saw 20 new additions, with most of them located outside of London. Just four sit in Englands capital (Cycene, Luca, St. Barts, and Taku). The others span cities from Aughton (So-Lo) to Stoke Holy Cross (Store). Only two restaurants lost their one star, while six were taken out of the guide for having closed in the past year, according to Bon Appetit. In total, Great Britain and Ireland are home to 188 Michelin-starred restaurants.

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In recent years, the Michelin Guides relevance in the culinary world has been questioned, and its practices have come under scrutiny. But the organization is working to changetelling chefs in advance when theyre about to lose a star, for exampleand a rating is still seen as a major achievement for a chef and their restaurant. Despite Michelin having lost some of its luster, the teams behind the new English and Irish additions to the guide will still likely be celebrating heartily.

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.
OTTAWA, ON, March 31, 2023 /CNW/ - The National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) expresses disappointment in the Liberal Government 2023 Federal Budget, as it fails in addressing and supporting the growing needs of Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs across Canada. This budget will stifle the significant, positive advancements that have been made toward economic reconciliation in recent years and it is a surprising departure for a government that seemed willing to take the necessary steps to ensure economic self-reliance and prosperity in Indigenous communities.

Shannin Metatawabin - CEO - NACCA (CNW Group/National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association)

NACCA believes that access to capital and support are essential for Indigenous entrepreneurs to thrive and contribute to the Canadian economy. However, the budget lacks the necessary investments to ensure that Indigenous-managed Financial Institutions (IFIs) have the resources needed to support Indigenous entrepreneurs effectively. This is particularly concerning, as demand for NACCA program support through the IFIs has increased substantially.

The Federal government has fallen short to meet their commitments and responsibilities to Indigenous communities. Not providing adequate resources for Important programs that build self-sufficiency and self-reliance through business ownership runs counter to economic reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) principles. This budget is a surprising diversion from the path to Indigenous prosperity and will certainly slow growth and momentum.

Shannin Metatawabin, CEO of NACCA stated, "The lack of sufficient investment in Indigenous businesses in the 2023 federal budget is concerning. It fails to prioritize support for economic prosperity for Indigenous communities and we urge the government to take more proactive steps towards ensuring Indigenous self-determination and economic empowerment." Chair of the NACCA Board of Directors, Jean Vincent added, "We are disappointed that the government has missed an opportunity to support the growth and development of Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs. A more inclusive and collaborative approach that prioritizes sustainability and self-determination for Indigenous communities is required. This must include long-term meaningful investments for Indigenous entrepreneurs and the supports they require to prosper."

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Despite our disappointment in the federal budget, NACCA remains steadfast in our commitment to championing the growth of Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs, strengthening them to greater economic equality and self-determination. The NACCA network's 35 years of programming and advocacy have generated tremendous impact and tangible results with over $3 billion in loans distributed and more than 3,600 jobs created annually.

As we move forward, it is imperative that Indigenous inclusiveness and empowerment are prioritized as integral parts of Canada's economy. Reconciliation requires action and taking the necessary steps towards healing the past to create a brighter future. Supporting Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs creates a pathway to prosperity and equitable futures that benefit everyone. We call on Canada to build a truly inclusive and sustainable economy that is grounded in respect for Indigenous Peoples, their traditions, and their contributions.

NACCA, the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, is a network of over 50 Indigenous Financial Institutions (IFIs) dedicated to stimulating economic growth for all Indigenous people in Canada. These efforts increase social and economic self-reliance and sustainability for Indigenous people and communities nationwide.

NACCA logo (CNW Group/National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association)

SOURCE National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/31/c2046.html
Nkt A/S

Company Announcement

31 March 2023

Announcement No. 11



NKT awarded supply contract for the Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm in the UK

NKT has been awarded a supply contract for the delivery of the high-voltage DC on- and offshore export cable system to the Hornsea 3 project which is being developed by rsted. For NKT, the final order has an estimated contract value of approx. EUR 500m in market prices (approx. EUR 400m in std. metal prices).

The contract will comprise the design, manufacturing, jointing and termination of the export power cable system for Hornsea 3 which will include two circuits with a route length of approx. 170 km 320 kV DC offshore cable, 50 km 320 kV DC onshore cable as well as four circuits for 1.5 km route of 400 kV AC onshore cable. The DC system will connect the wind turbines with the substation while the AC cables will connect the substation to the national grid.

- In Q2 2022, we completed the power cable system for Hornsea 2 and we are proud to continue our long-term collaboration with rsted on Hornsea 3. It is a testament to our shared commitment of delivering more offshore wind energy to the United Kingdom thereby contributing to the green transition of the countries power supply, says NKT President and CEO, Alexander Kara.

Subject to rsted taking a final investment decision, Hornsea 3 will be located in the North Sea, approximately 160 km off the Yorkshire coast. When Hornsea 3 comes online the combined capacity of Hornsea 1, 2 and 3 will be in excess of 5 GW, making it one of the worlds largest offshore wind zones and capable of covering the power consumption of approximately five million UK homes. Hornsea 3 alone will be capable of producing enough low-cost, clean, renewable electricity to power millions of UK homes, making a significant contribution to the UK Governments ambition of having 50 GW offshore wind in operation by 2030.

- Hornsea 3 will provide low-cost, clean energy at great scale. Delivering such a project requires market-leading capabilities from our contractor partners, and we are therefore delighted to build upon our successful collaboration with NKT on Hornsea 2 as we embark on our next major project together, says Luke Bridgman, rsteds Senior Project Director for Hornsea 3.

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NKT will produce the power cables at the high-voltage factory in Karlskrona, Sweden, and plan to complete the project in 2027.



The contract does not change the 2023 financial outlook for NKT.

Contact

Investor Relations: Michael Nass Nielsen, Head of Investor Relations, tel: +45 2494 1654

Media Relations: Louise W. Naldal, Head of Group Communications, tel: +45 2982 0022

Attachment




NORBIT ASA

Trondheim, 31 March 2023: Today, NORBIT is pleased to announce the award of a new frame agreement for delivery of On-Board Units from an undisclosed customer.



The frame agreement covers deliveries for a two-year period across 2023-2025. The contract value is estimated to be in excess NOK 270 million.

Being able to conclude this significant frame agreement confirms that our strategy of migrating our On-Board Unit business into long term partnerships remains successful. This enables us to tailor our offering and bring added value to our customers, says Per Jrgen Weisethaunet, CEO of NORBIT.

For further queries, please contact:

Per Jrgen Weisethaunet, CEO, +47 959 62 915

Per Kristian Reppe, CFO, +47 900 33 203

About NORBIT ASA

NORBIT is a global company providing tailored technology to selected applications by solving challenges through innovative solutions, in line with its mission to Explore More. The company is structured in three business segments to address its key markets: Oceans, Connectivity and Product Innovation & Realization (PIR). The Oceans segment delivers tailored technology solutions to global maritime markets. The Connectivity segment provides tailored wireless solutions for identification, monitoring and tracking. The PIR segment offers R&D services, proprietary products, and contract manufacturing to key customers. NORBIT has around 450 employees, with headquarter in Trondheim, R&D and manufacturing in Norway and Hungary, and a worldwide sales and distribution platform.

For more information: www.norbit.com

The information is such that NORBIT is required to disclose in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

The information was submitted for publication by Elise Heidenreich, Investor Relations at NORBIT ASA, on 31 March 2023 at 11:45 CEST.




Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Koenig & Bauer fair value estimate is 36.61

Koenig & Bauer is estimated to be 47% undervalued based on current share price of 19.36

The 31.67 analyst price target for SKB is 14% less than our estimate of fair value

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Koenig & Bauer AG (ETR:SKB) as an investment opportunity by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

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. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

View our latest analysis for Koenig & Bauer

The Model

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) 31.5m 39.0m 41.8m 43.7m 45.1m 46.1m 46.9m 47.5m 47.9m 48.2m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x3 Analyst x2 Est @ 4.51% Est @ 3.21% Est @ 2.29% Est @ 1.65% Est @ 1.21% Est @ 0.89% Est @ 0.67% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 7.6% 29.2 33.7 33.6 32.6 31.3 29.7 28.1 26.4 24.8 23.2

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 293m

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.6%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 48m (1 + 0.2%)  (7.6% 0.2%) = 649m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 649m ( 1 + 7.6%)10= 312m

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 605m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of 19.4, the company appears quite good value at a 47% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Koenig & Bauer as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.251. 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 Koenig & Bauer

Strength

Net debt to equity ratio below 40%.

Weakness

Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

Opportunity

Expected to breakeven next year.

Has sufficient cash runway for more than 3 years based on current free cash flows.

Good value based on P/S ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Koenig & Bauer, we've put together three relevant items you should further research:

Financial Health: Does SKB have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does SKB's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every German stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Osino Resources Corp.

Figure 1

Omaruru Lithium Project location relative to the Twin Hills Gold Project and other mines and deposits in the area

Highlights



Assay results from Prospect Resources Phase 1 RC drill program outline a new, near surface shallow dipping discovery of lithium mineralization in the Southern Brockmans zone and confirmed historical results at Karlsbrunn.



Highlight intersections from the Phase 1 drilling program include: 6m @ 1.30% Li 2 O from 13m within 14m @ 0.79% Li 2 O from 13m 8m @ 0.99% Li 2 O from 6m 11m @ 0.95% Li 2 O from 51m 7m @ 0.90% Li 2 O from 17m and 8m @ 0.60% Li 2 O from 28m



Drilling undertaken at Brockmans indicates significant prospectivity and scope for identifying larger tonnages of higher-grade lithium mineralization.



Prospect Resources investing US$1.0M over 12 months to reach a 40% project interest.

Osino has the option to retain a 49% interest in the project through pro-rata equity contributions and regardless will be carried as a 15% holder in the event of non-funding, until Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).



VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Osino Resources Corp. (TSXV:OSI) (FSE:RSR1) (OTCQX:OSIIF) ("Osino or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on its majority-owned Omaruru Lithium Project (Omaruru or the Project) in central Namibia following the completion of a Phase 1 Reverse Circulation (RC) drill program by Prospect Resources Limited (ASX:PSC) (FRA:5E8) (Prospect). Osino entered into an Earn-In and Shareholder Agreement (the Agreement) with Prospect in Q4 2022 whereby Prospect can earn up to 51% and potentially up to 85% interest in the Project (see Osino press release dated September 30, 2022).

Omaruru is located 20km southeast of Osinos Twin Hills Gold Project for which a DFS is anticipated to be delivered in Q2 2023. Located east of Karibib and spanning 175km2 (see Figure 1), Omaruru is situated near several historical and current lithium mining operations, including Lepidicos Karibib Lithium Project located about 10km to the southwest. Omaruru is accessible by road from the sealed B2 National Highway which links the capital Windhoek, 130km the southeast, to the port at Walvis Bay, about 240km further southwest.

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Heye Daun, Osinos President and CEO, commented: We are excited to receive excellent results generated by Prospect Resources team at the Omaruru Lithium Project. The Phase 1 drilling results confirm and expand the success of the early exploration and drilling programs completed by Osino between 2019-2021 and set the stage for a significant, maiden JORC-compliant resource to be delineated at Omaruru later this year. Prospect is a world-class group with a track record for exploring and developing African lithium projects, evidenced by the teams previous success selling the Arcadia lithium project in Zimbabwe for approximately US$378M cash in 2022. Our Earn-In agreement provides Osino shareholders with continued exposure to the growing scope and excellent upside potential of the Omaruru Lithium Project.

Project Background

Omaruru contains more than 65 known and mostly zoned pegmatites which belong to the Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) family of rare-element pegmatites. These pegmatites occur within an area known as the Karibib Pegmatite Belt, one of five major pegmatite districts in the Damara Belt.

Omaruru Lithium Project location relative to the Twin Hills Gold Project and other mines and deposits in the area

Figure 1: Omaruru Lithium Project location relative to the Twin Hills Gold Project and other mines and deposits in the area



A number of pegmatites within the Karibib Pegmatite Belt have produced lithium in the past, including Lepidicos Karibib Lithium Project which is focused on the Rubicon and Helikon pegmatites.

Historically, small-scale production from the Karlsbrunn and Brockmans pegmatites located on the Project produced lithium minerals (mainly lepidolite, petalite, amblygonite and spodumene), as well as beryl. Exploration in the vicinity of the Project has generally been for gold, and companies such as Anglo American and Helio Resources Corp. explored the area intermittently prior to 2015.

Osino undertook an initial evaluation of the lithium potential of the Project from 2019-2021. This work included mapping, rock grab sampling and a 16 hole (1,942m) RC drill program in 2020. The drilling highlighted remaining potential at the Karlsbrunn pegmatite in particular, with a number of intersections of 5m or more at grades in the range of 1-1.2% of Li 2 O. Other drilling and surface sampling indicated lithium mineralization associated with most of the other pegmatites on the Project.

Karlsbrunn Deposit Phase 1 Drilling Program

Significant intersections returned from Prospects Phase 1 Drilling Program at the Karlsbrunn deposit include:

8m @ 0.99% Li 2 O from 6m

11m @ 0.95% Li 2 O from 51m

10m @ 0.88% Li 2 O from 35m

10m @ 0.82% Li 2 O from 15m

11m @ 0.80% Li 2 O from 35m



These results show robust lithium grades and pegmatite widths across the deposit and are broadly in line with the initial drilling at Karlsbrunn completed by Osino in 2020.

Prospect also completed detailed sampling of several extensive underground adits at Karlsbrunn which pass laterally through the deposit at several locations. The adits were developed historically to extract petalite and gemstones from the pegmatite, including beryl. Assays from sampling of these adits are pending. These pending results, along with the surface RC drilling results outlined above, are expected to contribute to the estimation of a maiden JORC-compliant Mineral Resource for the Karlsbrunn deposit later this year.

Brockmans Deposit Phase 1 Drilling Program

Prospect completed its maiden drilling at the Brockmans deposit, which is located just over 4km northeast of the Karlsbrunn deposit. Assay results are highly encouraging with two adjacent holes completed in the southern zone evidencing a new discovery of continuous lithium mineralization.

Significant intersections returned from Prospects Phase 1 Drilling Program at Brockmans include:

6m @ 1.30% Li 2 O from 13m within 14m @ 0.79% Li 2 O from 13m

7m @ 0.90% Li 2 O from 17m and 8m @ 0.60% Li 2 O from 28m

The results from this new drilling at Brockmans indicate a significant thickening of the pegmatite in the south, which is considered a key aspect for the zoning of lithium mineralization in the Karibib District (e.g. Karlsbrunn). Importantly, the limited drilling undertaken at Brockmans indicates significant prospectivity and scope for identifying larger tonnages of higher-grade lithium mineralization within the Omaruru Project

Metallurgical Sampling

Prospect recently collected three, 50kg bulk samples of identified lithium mineralization from the Karlsbrunn, Brockmans and Hillside deposits. These samples are set to undergo early stage metallurgical test work and evaluation in South Africa.

Geochemical Soil Sampling

Prospect completed detailed soil geochemical sampling at Omaruru over eight separate grids in January. Most assays for this work remain outstanding and will be reported separately once all data is received and interpreted.

Prospects Upcoming Omaruru Exploration Programs

Prospect expects to complete its Phase 1 earn-in to Omaruru during Q2 2023. Upcoming programs during this period are expected to encompass infill and extensional RC drilling at the Brockmans deposit, limited diamond drilling for metallurgical test work purposes at Karlsbrunn, and potentially first-pass, short-hole, RC drilling of regional exploration targets identified from any cohesive geochemical and soil anomalies associated with LCT mineralization characteristics across the region (i.e. elevated lithium-caesium-rubidium-beryllium values).

Earn-in Agreement Terms

Under the Agreement, Prospect may earn-in to up to 40% interest in the Project with a US$1M investment (Phase 1) and a further 11% interest through a US$560,000 investment (Phase 2), totalling a 51% ownership in the Project.

Phase 1 consists of a US$560,000 cash payment to acquire 20%, and a commitment to spend a further US$440,000 on the Project with a 12-month period, to earn an additional 20%. Upon the completion of Phase 1, Prospect may commit to a further US$560,000 within a 12-month period for in-ground exploration to reach 51% ownership.

Upon the completion of Phase 2 and having earned 51%, development funds are to be contributed on a pro-rata basis. If one party fails to contribute their pro rata share, their shareholding will be diluted. The minority shareholder will be diluted down to 15%, at which point their interest shall be free carried until the completion of the DFS.

If Prospect chooses not to proceed after Phase 1 or does not reach more than 50% by the end of a 24-month period (or as extended by mutual consent) Osino will have the right to repurchase Prospects interest for an agreed sum.

During the next phase of the Agreement (Phase 3"), if Prospects spending does not reach a minimum of US$500,000 within the 12-month period following Phase 2, either party will have the option to purchase the other partys interest for an agreed sum.

Osino will benefit from ongoing exposure to the significant potential of the Omaruru Project while remaining focused on the fast-tracked development of our wholly owned Twin Hills Gold Project and Ondundu Gold Project in Namibia.

Qualified Persons Statement

David Underwood, BSc. (Hons) is Vice President Exploration of Osino Resources Corp. and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release and is a registered Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (Pr. Sci. Nat. No.400323/11) and a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101

About Prospect Resources

Prospect is an ASX listed company focused on the exploration and development of opportunities in battery and electrification metals in the sub-Saharan African region. The team at Prospect has a proven track record of value creation and systematic de-risking of early-stage projects. Prospect successfully advanced its flagship Arcadia Lithium Mine Project in Zimbabwe from exploration through to resource definition, early-stage economic valuation, definitive studies, offtake agreements and strategic project financing process. Arcadia was discovered by Prospect in 2016 and was ultimately sold to Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt in early 2022, for approximately US$378M in cash.

About Osino Resources

Osino is a Canadian gold exploration and development company focused on the fast-tracked development of our wholly owned Twin Hills Gold Project (Twin Hills) in central Namibia. Since its grassroots discovery by Osino in August 2019 the Company has completed more than 225,000m of drilling and has completed a suite of specialist technical studies culminating in the recently published Twin Hills Pre Feasibility Study (PFS). The PFS describes a technically simple and economically robust open-pit gold operation with a 2.15moz gold reserve, 13-year mine life and average annual gold production of over 169koz per annum.

Osino has a commanding ground position of approximately 8,000km2 located within Namibias prospective Damara sedimentary mineral belt, mostly in proximity to and along strike of the producing Navachab and Otjikoto Gold Mines. The Company is actively exploring a range of gold prospects and targets along the belt by utilizing a portfolio approach geared towards discovery, targeting gold mineralization that fits the broad orogenic gold model.

Our core projects are favourably located north and north-west of Namibias capital city Windhoek. By virtue of their location, the projects benefit significantly from Namibias well-established infrastructure with paved highways, railway, power and water in close proximity. Namibia is mining-friendly and lauded as one of the continents most politically and socially stable jurisdictions. Osino continues to evaluate new ground with a view to expanding our Namibian portfolio.

Further details are available on the Company's website at https://osinoresources.com/

On Behalf of The Board of Directors

Heye Daun, President & CEO

CONTACT INFORMATION

Osino Resources Corp.

Yaron Conforti, Corporate Development

yconforti@osinoresources.com

+1-604-687-2038

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.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company's future plans or prospects of the Company, including prospects for economic recoverability of mineral resources. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not undertake to update any forward- looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dde7d8fe-581a-4d92-8ee8-17985f35efc5




Mordor Intelligence

Hyderabad, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled "Pain Management Market - (2023  2028), the market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.39%. The Indian Society of Anesthesiologists also published guidelines on anesthesia and intensive care practices. Also, the Journal of Pain Medicine suggested that epidural nonsteroid injections for radicular pain can be considered in patients who are already immunosuppressed and at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and complications. As per the April 2022 data published by PubMed, it was observed that people across the United States and Canada suffering from chronic pain witnessed a significant increase in pain during the pandemic.

The Facial Pain and Migraine segment is expected to grow significantly:

The most common complaints in the emergency and outpatient settings are headaches and facial pain. The majority of patients who present with headaches have one of the three main headache syndromes: migraine, cluster headache, or tension headache.

The Migraine Research Foundation updated in 2021 that migraine is an extraordinarily prevalent neurological disease.

It's affecting about 39 million men, women, and children in the United States and 1 billion worldwide.

Migraine is considered the third-most prevalent illness in the world.

According to the Cleveland Clinic update in 2021, migraine is also the sixth-most disabling illness in the world.

For every 10 seconds, someone in the United States goes to the emergency room complaining of a headache, and approximately 1.2 million visits are for acute migraine attacks.

Hence, the high prevalence of migraine is expected to propel the growth of the pain management market in the coming years.

Furthermore, the burden of headaches and migraine is found to be the same across the world, and every day, the percentage of people suffering from migraine/headaches increases.

North America is expected to remain dominant in the forecast period:

North America has the largest share of the pain management market, with the United States contributing the most revenue. Factors such as rising geriatric demand for long-term pain management and advancements in the pain management field are expected to drive the markets growth in North America.

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Moreover, according to PubMed data from 2022, the prevalence of chronic pain in Americans is increasing. Every year, one out of five people suffers from chronic pain in the region. Since it is one of the most common chronic conditions in the United States, there is a growing demand for pain management across the country.

Furthermore, according to the recommendations provided by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), chronic opioid therapy and the use of steroids in interventional pain procedures may induce immune suppression, which is very critical as it minimizes the chances of fighting several viral infections.



Hence, all the aforesaid factors are expected to increase the demand for pain management devices and drugs over the forecast period.

Who are the key players in Pain Management Market?

Abbott Laboratories

Becton, Dickinson, and Company

Boston Scientific Corporation

Johnson and Johnson

Baxter International Inc. (Avante Health Solutions)

Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA

Medtronic PLC

Novartis AG

Endo International PLC

Pfizer Inc.

Recent developments in Pain Management Market:

In October 2022: Parker Laboratories Inc., which develops, manufactures, and sells pain relief creams, ultrasound and electromedical contact media, and institutional cleaners and disinfectants, is expanding its analgesics line. The company has added Helix CBD Therapy Cream, CBD Clinical Cream, and Tri-Active Therapy Cream to its HelixTM line.

In September 2022: Compass Group Equity Partners, a St. Louis-based private equity firm, announced a strategic partnership with Mays & Schnapp Neurospine and Pain ("Mays & Schnapp"), a Memphis-based interventional pain management practice serving patients in Tennessee and Mississippi.

In a nutshell, the Mordor Intelligence Market Research Report is a must-read for start-ups, industry players, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who are looking to understand this industry. Get a glance at the https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/pain-management-market

About Mordor Intelligence:

Mordor Intelligence is a market intelligence and advisory firm. At Mordor Intelligence, we believe in predicting butterfly effects that have the potential to change or significantly impact market dynamics.

Our market research reports are comprehensive and provide exclusive data, facts and figures, trends, and the competitive landscape of the industry.

Mordor Intelligence constantly tracks industry trends. Some relevant market reports from the analysts that might be of interest to you:







Attachment

CONTACT: Company Name: Mordor Intelligence Email: info@mordorintelligence.com Phone: +1 617-765-2493 Location: Hyderabad, Telangana Country: India




VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Pampa Metals Corp. ("Pampa Metals" or the "Company") (CSE:PM)(FSE:FIRA)(OTCQX:PMMCF) is pleased to advise that diamond drill testing of the Buenavista target commenced on March 31, 2023. As previously advised, a ~2,100m diamond drill program of 3 deep holes designed to test coincident geological, geochemical, and geophysical anomalies at the Buenavista target and the Block 4 project more broadly is expected to be completed within 2 months, with assay results available during June.

The first drill hole is centred on the dacite porphyry and phreatomagmatic breccia complex with quartz-veinlet stockworking at Buenavista, and is initially targeted to a depth of about 750m. The drill hole diameter will be HQ, with the option of reducing to NQ at depth, depending on drilling conditions.

Pampa Metals Corp., Friday, March 31, 2023, Press release picture

Buenavista Target - Block 4 - Drill Rig on Site (light coloured area) for First Drill Hole

Block 4 Project & Buenavista Target - Summary Description of the New Porphyry Cu-Mo-Au Target

Block 4 is the Company's priority project, with the Buenavista Target displaying characteristics indicative of a large, fertile, Tertiary aged, porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold system, located along the world's preeminent porphyry copper belt in northern Chile;

Intense, sub-cropping, quartz-veinlet stockwork occurs at Buenavista within a dacite porphyry and phreatomagmatic breccia complex, flanked by a quartz-sulfide breccia to the west and skarn-type mineralization to the east, and is coincident with key geochemical and geophysical anomalies;

Anomalous soil and trench geochemical values of copper, molybdenum, and gold (and other pathfinders), in a heavily supergene leached desert environment, coincide with mapped geology, hydrothermal alteration, magnetic and induced polarisation (IP) geophysical anomalies, and other complementary data including 3D modeling and age dating;

The Buenavista Target footprint comprising geological, geochemical, and geophysical anomalies is approximately 1.5 km E-W by 1 km N-S along a significant geological structure;

The presence of several other geophysical anomalies under post-mineral covered portions of the Block 4 property is suggestive of a potential "cluster" of porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold systems, a characteristic typical of some major porphyry copper districts in Chile and worldwide.

Story continues

Pampa Metals Corp., Friday, March 31, 2023, Press release picture

Buenavista Target - Block 4 - Drill Rig on Site for First Drill Hole

Pampa Metals Corp., Friday, March 31, 2023, Press release picture

Block 4 - Regional Location Along the Domeyko Cordillera Porphyry Copper Belt

ABOUT PAMPA METALS

Pampa Metals is a Canadian company listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE:PM), Frankfurt (FSE:FIRA) and OTC (OTCQB:PMMCF) exchanges which wholly owns a 47,400 hectare portfolio of seven projects highly prospective for copper, molybdenum and gold located along proven and highly productive mineral belts in Chile, one of the world's top mining jurisdictions. The Company is actively advancing its projects through systematic exploration and drill testing of the highest priority targets, with a current focus on the Buenavista target and the Block 4 Project more broadly.

The Company's vision is to create significant value for shareholders and stakeholders through the application of its technical and commercial expertise towards exploring for a major copper discovery along the prime mineral belts of Chile. For more information, please visit Pampa Metals' website www.pampametals.com.

The latest Company Presentation can be accessed at https://pampametals.com/investor/.

Qualified Person

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Mario Orrego G, Geologist and a Registered Member of the Chilean Mining Commission and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Orrego is a consultant to the Company.

Note: The reader is cautioned that Pampa Metals' projects are early-stage exploration projects, and reference to existing mines and deposits, or mineralization hosted on adjacent or nearby properties, is not necessarily indicative of any mineralization on Pampa Metals' properties.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Joseph van den Elsen | President & CEO

INVESTORS CONTACT

Joseph van den Elsen | President & CEO

joseph@pampametals.com

Neither the CSE nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Pampa Metals expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will" or "may" occur. These statements are subject to various risks. Although Pampa Metals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Pampa Metals Corp.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/747014/Pampa-Metals-Commences-Buenavista-Porphyry-Copper-Target-Drill-Testing




FACT.MR

Spike in Diabetes Cases and Geriatric Population Worldwide to Raise Need for Paronychia Treatment

Rockville , March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, the global paronychia treatment market is anticipated to garner US$ 1 billion by 2033, increasing at 7.1% CAGR from 2023 to 2033.



A paronychia is a skin infection that surrounds a toe or fingernail. There are two forms of paronychia: acute and chronic. In acute paronychia, the skin infection develops quickly and lasts only a few days. This type of paronychia appears after skin breaks during a manicure or when an infection develops in an ingrown toenail. It is typically bacterial in nature, with staphylococcus aureus bacteria being the most common cause. Nevertheless, yeast, like candida, or germs from the cold sore virus, such as herpes simplex, can also be responsible for the disease.

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Chronic paronychia develops gradually and may stay for several weeks. In such circumstances, the infection is caused by a confluence of microorganisms. A virus, such as herpes simplex, yeast like candida, and bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, can be found in chronic paronychia. The condition is widespread in those who work in environments where their hands are continually exposed to water, detergents, and chemicals. It has a proclivity to return even after treatment and cure. Fishermen, cleaners, and household women are more vulnerable to this condition.

Diabetes is becoming increasingly frequent in many parts of the world, which is expected to fuel market growth. Diabetic patients are at a higher risk of developing paronychia; thus, a rise in the prevalence of diabetes around the world can lead to an increase in paronychia disease. Moreover, it takes longer for diabetic patients to recover from paronychia than non-diabetic patients.

Story continues

The bourgeoning geriatric population globally is another major factor projected to drive the demand for paronychia treatment. The immune system's functionality gradually declines with age. As a result, cognitive and physical changes in the elderly make them more vulnerable to diseases such as paronychia.

Key Takeaways from Market Study

The global paronychia treatment market amounted to US$ 500 million in 2023.

Worldwide demand for paronychia treatment is estimated to swell at a CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period (2023 to 2033).

The paronychia treatment market is set to reach US$ 1 billion by 2033.

North America is ruling the global paronychia treatment market.

Growing elderly population and increasing prevalence of diabetes globally are the main factors expected to drive the global paronychia treatment market. Moreover, key market players are strongly focusing on research and development activities to develop new therapies for paronychia, says a Fact.MR analyst.

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Key Companies Profiled in Paronychia Treatment Market report

Glenmark Generics Ltd

GlaxoSmithKline plc

Eli Lilly Company

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd

Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc

Jonakayem Pharma Formulation



Regional Analysis

North America is leading the global paronychia treatment market. The United States is witnessing substantial growth due to the increasing prevalence of chronic and acute paronychia. Asia Pacific is also experiencing considerable growth in the worldwide market due to the expanding elderly population in South Korea and Japan. Furthermore, Germany and the United Kingdom are significantly contributing to the regional market due to strong investments in healthcare.

Key Segments of Paronychia Treatment Industry Research

By Type : Acute Paronychia Chronic Paronychia

By Product : Mupirocin Ointment Fusidic Acid Ointment Gentamicin Ointment Dicloxacillin

By End User : Hospitals & Clinics Dermatology Centers

By Region : North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific & China Middle East & Africa





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More Valuable Insights on Offer

Fact.MR, in its new offering, presents an unbiased analysis of the global paronychia treatment market, presenting historical demand data (2018 to 2022) and forecast statistics for the period (2023 to 2033).

The study divulges essential insights on the market based on type (acute paronychia, chronic paronychia), product (mupirocin ointment, fusidic acid ointment, gentamicin ointment, dicloxacillin), and end user (hospitals & clinics, dermatology centers), across five major regions of the world (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and MEA).

Explore More Related Studies Published by Fact.MR Research:

Alport Syndrome Treatment Market Overview: According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), alport syndrome occurs in approximately 1 in 50,000 newborns. People affected from alport syndrome experience progressive loss of kidney function

Radiation Proctitis Treatment Market Outlook: The global radiation proctitis treatment market is expected to progress at a healthy CAGR of around 7% from 2021 to 2031.

Artificial Discs Market Outlook: The global artificial discs market is currently valued at US$ 905 million and is expected to skyrocket at a CAGR of 20.6% to reach a valuation of US$ 2.3 billion by the year 2027.

Cannula Market Size: Worldwide sales of cannulas are predicted to accelerate at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2022 to 2027. In 2022, the global cannula market is valued at US$ 185 million and is projected to reach a market size of US$ 250 million by 2027.

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It is doubtless a positive to see that the Mi Technovation Berhad (KLSE:MI) share price has gained some 37% in the last three months. But in truth the last year hasn't been good for the share price. The cold reality is that the stock has dropped 11% in one year, under-performing the market.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for Mi Technovation Berhad

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Even though the Mi Technovation Berhad share price is down over the year, its EPS actually improved. It could be that the share price was previously over-hyped.

It seems quite likely that the market was expecting higher growth from the stock. But other metrics might shed some light on why the share price is down.

Mi Technovation Berhad's revenue is actually up 3.7% over the last year. Since we can't easily explain the share price movement based on these metrics, it might be worth considering how market sentiment has changed towards the stock.

You can see how earnings and revenue have 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. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Mi Technovation Berhad will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Mi Technovation Berhad the TSR over the last 1 year was -9.4%, 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!

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A Different Perspective

Mi Technovation Berhad shareholders are down 9.4% for the year (even including dividends), falling short of the market return. The market shed around 3.7%, no doubt weighing on the stock price. Shareholders have lost 0.7% per year over the last three years, so the share price drop has become steeper, over the last year; a potential symptom of as yet unsolved challenges. We would be wary of buying into a company with unsolved problems, although some investors will buy into struggling stocks if they believe the price is sufficiently attractive. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Mi Technovation Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Mi Technovation Berhad that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Malaysian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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New Program Provides Mentorship, Apprenticeships, Resources and Support for Black Aspiring Designers, With First Student Design To Be Unveiled by NBA Star Russell Westbrook

DETROIT, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, PepsiCo and Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design celebrate the first step in their three-year partnership to develop Black designers and increase representation in the design industry. PepsiCo is revealing the work from its inaugural program at Pensole Lewis, the first and only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) dedicated to design, which tasked students to create a new student lounge on campus. Designers from the PepsiCo Design & Innovation team and MillerKnoll mentored Pensole Lewis students through the design process, a precursor to how PepsiCo will invest in bringing the winning concept to life this summer with support from MillerKnoll. In addition, PepsiCo teamed up with NBA star Russell Westbrook, who was inspired by the program and shares its mission to create opportunities for the community, to further amplify the effort and unveil the completed lounge on campus.

PepsiCo and Pensole Lewis College kick off a three-year partnership to develop Black designers and increase representation in the design industry. Radio Personality Angela Yee, PepsiCo's Kent Montgomery and Mauro Porcini, MillerKnoll's Matthew Stares and Pensole Lewis's D'Wayne Edwards announced Pensole Lewis students Angel Buckens and Rodney Banks as the winners of the Pepsi Stronger Together Relax and Refresh Lounge.

"Education has always been a cause I've been passionate about. I'm proud to partner with PepsiCo to give Pensole Lewis students the recognition they deserve for their hard work and creativity," said Westbrook, who also shared a congratulatory pre-recorded message with students.

With studies showing that Black designers account for only 3% of the industry1, PepsiCo and Pensole Lewis's larger partnership aims to address the diversity gap by providing students access to invaluable resources. The program looks to create opportunities for students through mentoring with PepsiCo professionals, one-of-a-kind apprenticeships, and creating a pipeline for job recruitment.

Pensole Lewis students Rodney Banks and Angel Buckens were selected for their winning design for the Pepsi Stronger Together Relax and Refresh Lounge. Guided by the knowledge and experience of PepsiCo and MillerKnoll designers throughout the process, students were assessed for how the space embodied key elements that united design principles and functional elements including branding, vending equipment, workstations, furniture from the MillerKnoll collective of brands, and more. The lounge space will be dedicated to a close friend and mentor of Pensole Lewis Founder Dr. D'Wayne Edwards, Author Kevin Carroll, who helped to inspire Dr. Edwards to start the Pensole brand.

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"Our partnership with Pensole Lewis is about providing resources to help address the barriers that specifically hinder Black talent from entering a career in design. By giving students access to some of the industry's best designers at PepsiCo, we can offer valuable resources and mentorship for the next generation of creatives," said Mauro Porcini, SVP and Chief Design Officer at PepsiCo. "To drive innovation, we must create a pipeline for more diverse perspectives and backgrounds to enter the design field. Our hope is that through education, inspiration, and recruitment, PepsiCo's program with Pensole Lewis will champion that."

Porcini was one of several mentors sharing their feedback on students' final lounge concepts, joined by Pensole Lewis Founder Dr. D'Wayne Edwards, a former JORDAN Brand Footwear Design Director spearheading Pensole Lewis's efforts to expand diversity in the industry; MillerKnoll SVP of Global Real Estate, Architecture and Development Matthew Stares, an executive at one of the world's most renowned collective of design brands that is also providing product for the lounge; and radio personality Angela Yee, who has brought her own developed eye for design to Detroit real estate.

"In developing this program, PepsiCo made it clear they shared Pensole Lewis's mission in making the design field more accessible by creating more opportunities within it," said Dr. D'Wayne Edwards. "We've seen the success that comes with opening students' eyes to new career paths in the industry and unlocking more ways they can apply their talents. With programs backed by partners that have the scale and breadth of PepsiCo and MillerKnoll, we can push the industry forward by developing, training, and shaping the next generation of talented Black designers."

In addition, PepsiCo also awarded design apprenticeships to Rodney and Angel. The students will participate in 10-week summer apprenticeships with the PepsiCo Design & Innovation team in New York City and gain invaluable work experience collaborating across different design disciplines and design projects through concept development, refinement, and execution.

This partnership is in support of PepsiCo's Racial Equality Journey, a more than $400 million investment over five years, to increase Black representation at PepsiCo, support Black-owned businesses, and create economic opportunities in those communities.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com , and follow on Twitter , Instagram , Facebook , and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.

About Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design

Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design is the pipeline for career education and professional development in the design industry. We are the source for creative vision and progress; bearing the torch to push the culture forward  beyond what's visible. At Pensole Lewis College, we offer a new path to break into the world of product creation. We prepare the largest talent pool of designers to enter the industry empowering them to make it better for the next generation, leaving our industry better than when we entered it.

About MillerKnoll

MillerKnoll is a collective of dynamic brands that comes together to design the world we live in. MillerKnoll brand portfolio includes Herman Miller, Knoll, Colebrook Bosson Saunders, DatesWeiser, Design Within Reach, Edelman Leather, Fully, Geiger, HAY, Holly Hunt, KnollTextiles, Maars Living Walls, Maharam, Muuto, NaughtOne, and Spinneybeck|FilzFelt. MillerKnoll is an unparalleled platform that redefines modern for the 21st century by building a more sustainable, equitable and beautiful future for all.

1 SOURCE: 2019 American Institute of Graphic Arts census

As part of PepsiCo's inaugural program at Pensole Lewis, students were tasked with designing a new student lounge on campus. The winning design by Angel Buckens and Rodney Banks will be built out by PepsiCo and unveiled this summer.

Cision

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SOURCE PepsiCo Beverages North America
ReportLinker

Segmented By Material (Glass, Plastic), By Capacity (Low, Medium High), By Price Range (Low, Medium High), By Distribution Channel (Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Multi-Branded Stores, Online, and Others (Convenience Stores, Direct Sales, etc.

New York, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Portable Blenders Market Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Competition, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2018-2028F" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06438506/?utm_source=GNW

)), By Region



The global portable blenders markets growth has been fueled by the rising demand for healthy foods and beverages because people are adopting healthier lifestyles. Moreover, rapid urbanization with high disposable income and a large working population are some of the critical factors boosting the market across the globe.

Blenders can be considered a device or appliances used for blending or emulsifying.Blenders are primarily available in two types stationary and portable.



The main differentiator is that stationary blenders need a constant power supply, while portable blenders dont need a continuous power supply and can be operated anywhere when required. Portable blenders come in different sizes and shapes with the additional benefit of rechargeable batteries.

The rise in fitness enthusiasts, the adoption of healthy eating practices, and increased convenience are significant drivers of the global portable blender market. The availability of several models in various sizes, shapes, and manufacturers at every level contributes to higher growth.

In a survey of portable electronic devices, 40% reported using portable electronic devices (PEDs), of which iPads were the most used devices among various portable devices; therefore, people are considering devices that are easy to carry, due to which portable blenders demand is increasing globally.

Rapid urbanization, enhanced lifestyles, shifting food consumption habits, and hectic consumer schedules have contributed to increased portable blender sales throughout the years. The growing demand for portable kitchen equipment in urban regions with a large working population has seen a considerable increase in the market for portable blenders. Other reasons driving the need for portable blenders in the global market are:

 Their affordability

 High charging limits

 Longer run times

 Reduced energy consumption due to their low wattage and voltage

BlendJets patented Turbojet technology has given BlendJet 2 game-changing power.This innovative blending method achieves noticeably better and faster mixing by using offset stainless steel blades to generate a tornado effect that blasts materials against the back of the jar at 275 times per second.



It is equipped with a waterproof USB-C port and delivers 15+ blends per charge.

Rising Popularity of Smoothies and Shakes Amongst Health-Conscious Consumers Fueling the Market Growth

Due to the high prices of smoothies and juices in stores, the growing popularity of smoothies and shakes among health-conscious customers has led to broader penetration of portable blenders in their lifestyle. These portable blenders are emerging as a practical option for consumers looking for affordable methods of enjoying nutritious and personalized drinks as people search for tasty, healthy methods to stay nourished when heading out of the house.

Rise in Dual Income Households Worldwide Driving the Market Growth

Demand for products has been growing due to the rise of dual-income households worldwide.Over 55% of homes in the United States have two earners, according to a YouGov PLC study.



Similarly, according to the Modern Families Index, over 75% of households in the U.K. were dual earners. As a result, it is anticipated that during the forecast years, the demand for such products will rise in these nations due to the rising number of dual-income households.

Rising Inclination of People Towards the Usage of Small Appliances Enhancing the Market Growth

The demand for portable blenders has been positively impacted by peoples increasing desire to use small portable appliances for cooking, health, and wellness after the pandemic scenario around the world.The NPD Group reports that during the week ending March 14, 2020, sales of small appliances increased by 8%.



People are also spending more time in the kitchen than eating out, resulting in a substantial increase in the sales of small kitchen appliances like portable blenders. As portable juicers are made simpler and faster, they are developed for short grab-and-go operations, driving the demand for portable blenders.

Market Segmentation

The global portable blenders market is segmented on material, capacity, price range, distribution channel, region, and competitional landscape.Based on material, the market is further fragmented into glass and plastic.



Based on capacity, the market is further fragmented into low, medium, and high.Based on price range, the market is further fragmented into low, medium, and high.



Based on the distribution channel, the market is segmented into supermarkets/hypermarkets, multi-branded stores, online, and others (convenience stores, direct sales, etc.).

Company Profiles

Cuisinart Corporation (Cuisinart), HK ULIKE Trade Co., Ltd. (Pop Babies), TOPQSC, Sunbeam Products, Inc. (Oster), Guangdong Deqi Electrical Appliances Industrial Co., Ltd (BILACA), Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., BHRS Group (Large Appliances) (Keyton), Little bees, Blendjet Inc., Caliber Brands, India. (NutriBullet), etc., are among the major market players in the global platform that lead the market growth of global portable blenders. Players in the market are implementing merger and acquisition tactics to improve their product offerings. Additionally, businesses employ innovative technologies as they concentrate on increasing their manufacturing capacity.



Report Scope:



In this report, the global portable blenders market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends, which have also been detailed below:

 Portable Blenders Market, By Material:

o Glass

o Plastic

 Portable Blenders Market, By Capacity:

o Low

o Medium

o High

 Portable Blenders Market, By Price Range:

o Low

o Medium

o High

 Portable Blenders Market, By Distribution Channel:

o Supermarkets/Hypermarkets

o Multi-Branded Stores

o Specialty Stores

o Online

o Others

 Portable Blenders Market, By Region:

o North America

United States

Canada

Mexico

o Europe

Germany

Italy

France

Spain

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Poland

o Asia-Pacific

China

Japan

India

Indonesia

Vietnam

Malaysia

South Korea

Australia

o Middle East & Africa

Saudi Arabia

Egypt

UAE

Turkey

South Africa

o South America

Brazil

Argentina

Colombia



Competitive Landscape



Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the global portable blenders market.



Available Customizations:



With the given market data, we offers customizations according to a companys specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:



Company Information



 Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06438506/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Market Research Future

Power Monitoring System Market Growth Boost by Rising Adoption of Smart Grid Technologies and Reducing Energy Costs

New York, US, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a Comprehensive Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR),  Power monitoring system Market Research Report, by Component, End-Use, and Region - Forecast Till 2030, the global market for Power monitoring systems is predicted to showcase considerable development over the assessment timeframe from 2022 to 2030 with a strong development rate of approximately 6.44%. The reports further anticipate the market to acquire a USD 5.70 billion valuation by the end of 2030.

Power Monitoring System Market Overview:

A power monitoring system guarantees a simple manner to automatically retrieve and examine power quality events as this system is permanently installed. The global market for power monitoring systems has showcased immense development in the last few years. The prime aspect supporting the development of the market is the escalated attention to reducing energy costs. Furthermore, maximizing the reliability of electrical infrastructure is also believed to be one of the crucial parameters supporting the development of the market worldwide. The power monitoring system behaves as a home power monitoring system by guaranteeing the efficient use of power resources in the residential end-use industry.

Competitive Analysis

The listing of the prominent leaders across the global market for power monitoring systems includes players such as:

Etap- Operation Technology (U.S.)

Fuji Electric (Japan)

Eaton (Ireland)

Rockwell Automation (U.S.)

ABB (Switzerland)

Omron (Japan)

Siemens (Germany)

Yokogawa (Japan)

Schneider Electric (France)

Greystone Energy Systems (Canada)

Emerson (U.S.)

Littelfuse (U.S.)

General Electric (U.S.)

Mitsubishi Electric (Japan)

Vacom Technologies (U.S.)

Samsara (U.S.)

Among others.



Get Free Sample PDF Brochure:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/9017

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Power Monitoring System Market USP Covered

Market Drivers

The global power monitoring system market power monitoring systems has showcased immense development in the last few years. The prime aspect supporting the development of the market is the escalated attention to reducing energy costs. Furthermore, maximizing the reliability of electrical infrastructure is also believed to be one of the crucial parameters supporting the development of the market worldwide. The power monitoring system behaves as a home power monitoring system by guaranteeing the efficient use of power resources in the residential end-use industry. For example, applications like smart cities and large residential complexes have installed power monitoring systems in a massive areas needing efficient energy. Consequently, they have installed power monitoring systems for power plant operation, power management, event verification, and billing information.

Market Restraints

On the other hand, certain aspects may impede the power monitoring system market growth. The primary parameter restricting the market's growth is the high up-gradation cost linked with the aging power plants. Furthermore, the changes introduced by the arrival of the pandemic and the lack of standardization of protocols are also likely to limit the performance over the coming years.

Report Scope:

Report Metrics Details Market Size 2030 2030: Significant value CAGR during 2022-2030 6.44% CAGR Base Year 2021 Forecast 2022-2030 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Key Market Opportunities Increasing the adoption of smart grid technologies



New product launches and R&D amongst major key players Key Market Drivers Increased attention to reducing energy costs



Maximizing the reliability of electrical infrastructure





Browse In-depth Market Research Report (111 Pages) on Power Monitoring System Market:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/power-monitoring-system-market-9017



Power Monitoring System Market COVID-19 Impact

Global industrial activities and business operations experienced a major setback given to the rise of the global health crisis in the form of COVID-19. The pandemic affected public health across nearly 225 countries, along with all industrial operations. All these situations led to the imposition of full or partial lockdowns across most regions worldwide. Subsequently, the industry operations were halted, and some businesses shut down. Given the sudden fall in demand for construction activities during the pandemic and the halt of most industrial operations, the power monitoring system market experienced many sudden & unexpected issues throughout the pandemic. On the contrary, now that the majority of the globe is being rapidly vaccinated and industrial operations are returning to normal, the market is predicted to witness a considerable expansion and recovery in revenue generation over the assessment period.

Power Monitoring System Market Segment Analysis

Among all the components, the hardware segment is predicted to secure the top spot across the global market for power monitoring systems over the assessment period. The hardware segment comprises several gadgets responsible for monitoring and controlling several parameters of the power monitoring system.

Among all the end-users, the data center segment is projected to ensure the top spot across the global market for power monitoring systems over the assessment period. The rising investments in I.T. hubs are considered the main aspect causing a rise in the segment's performance.



Ask for Customization:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/ask_for_customize/9017



Power Monitoring System Market Regional Analysis

The global market for power monitoring systems is analyzed across five main geographies: Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

The MRFR analysis documents imply that the North American region is predicted to secure the leading spot across the global market for power monitoring systems over the review era. The rising emphasis on the upgrade of aging power infrastructure is believed to be the main aspect backing the development of the regional market. Furthermore, the increasing installation of smart meters is also believed to be one of the crucial parameters boosting up the growth of the regional market. As per the U.S. Department of Energy's Smart Grid Investment Grant Program, several plan pronouncements have been made with certain organized implementations by Hawaiian Electric and Consolidated Edison that have assisted in supporting the presence of AMI activity.



Talk To Expert:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/ask_for_schedule_call/9017



In addition, the growing investments in smart meters with the market attaining nearly USD 9 billion by 2022. Such aspects are projected to positively impact the performance of the regional market over the coming years.

Related Reports:

Transformer Monitoring System Market Research Report: Information By Service, Type, Application and Region - Forecast till 2030

Tire Pressure Monitoring System Market Research Report Information By Technology, By Vehicle Type, By Sales Channel, And By Region  Market Forecast Till 2030

Load Monitoring System Market Research Report By Product, Technology and Industry Vertical  Forecast till 2027

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis regarding diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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CONTACT: Market Research Future (Part of Wantstats Research and Media Private Limited) 99 Hudson Street, 5Th Floor New York, NY 10013 United States of America +1 628 258 0071 (US) +44 2035 002 764 (UK) Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Website: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com




VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with Fokus Mining and Anfield Energy discussing their latest news.

The Power Play by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives.

Fokus (TSXV:FKM) reports significant gold results from Quebec

The Market Herald, Friday, March 31, 2023, Press release picture

Fokus Mining (FKM) is reporting significant gold results from the Galloway Project in Quebec. Highlights stem from the RB Zone and include 1.18 g/t Au over 27 m, as well as 1.01 g/t Au over 24 m. The company is considering a summer drill program between 8,000 to 10,000 m along an inferred gold-bearing corridor on the property. President and CEO, Jean Rainville, spoke with Shoran Devi about the news.

For the full interview with Jean Rainville and to learn about Fokus Mining, click here.

Anfield Energy (TSXV:AEC) validates uranium and vanadium projects

The Market Herald, Friday, March 31, 2023, Press release picture

Anfield Energy (AEC) has released a preliminary economic assessment for its Velvet-Wood and Slick Rock projects in Utah and Colorado. The assessment indicates a pre-tax project internal rate of return of 40 per cent and a net present value of US$238 million. Average annual production will be around 750,000 pounds of uranium and 2.5 million pounds of vanadium over a 15-year mine life. CEO Corey Dias spoke with Shoran Devi about the news.

For the full interview with Corey Dias and to learn about Anfield Energy, click here.

Interviews for The Power Play by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Power Play or to explore our other interviews visit The Power Play by The Market Herald.

About The Market Herald

The Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets.

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DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca. Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees may from time to time acquire, hold or sell securities and/or commodities and/or commodity futures contracts in certain underlying companies mentioned in this site and which may also be clients of Market Herald's affiliates. In such instances, Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees will use all reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in activities that would lead to conflicts of interest and Market Herald and/or its affiliates will use all reasonable efforts to comply with conflicts of interest disclosures and regulations to minimize any conflict. All the information on this document and/or the website - themarketherald.ca - is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Report Card does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this document and/or website (themarketherald.ca) is strictly at your own risk. Report Card will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone 'bad'. Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

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SOURCE: The Market Herald





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Hong Kong, China--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Powership Capital Management Limited announced that it will be opening two new offices in Australia and Switzerland in the first quarter of 2024. These new offices mark a significant milestone for the firm as it continues to grow its international reach. The new offices will open in Melbourne, Australia, and Geneva, Switzerland, and provide regional support for the company's operations across the Asia-Pacific and European markets.

"We are delighted to be expanding our reach in two key markets integral to our global growth plans," said CEO Meng Li.

"Several factors, such as the potential growth, deep talent pool, and regulatory environments, were significant factors that led us to decide to open offices in these two countries," Mr. Li added. "Australia stands out for its skilled workforce and rising interest in investment solutions, while Switzerland is known for its established financial sector and advantageous tax and regulatory environment."

Mr. Li continued, "We are confident that our investment philosophy and approach will be well received by clients in Australia and Switzerland as our aim has always been to achieve superior investment results through long-term value creation, disciplined risk management, and a detailed understanding of the markets."

The company will soon begin recruiting for a multitude of roles, including experienced investment professionals, client relationship managers, compliance, back office, and other clerical staff. Additionally, Powership Capital Management is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and will be actively seeking candidates from a wide range of backgrounds.

With the launch of these new offices, Powership Capital Management Limited is on track to continue its growth and deliver creative client solutions that address evolving needs.

Powership Capital Management Limited

For more information, please visit https://www.powercm.com/.

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Media Contact Details

Company Name: Powership Capital Management Limited

Contact Name: Meng Li

Email: info@powercm.com

Address: One International Finance Centre, Harbour View St, Central, Hong Kong

Website: https://www.powercm.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/160585
JERSEY CITY, N.J., March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. has announced the publication of a market research report titled "Global Precision Optics Market By End-User (Consumer Electronics, Aerospace & Defense, Semiconductor, Automotive, Biomedical, Manufacturing) And By Component (Transmissive And Reflective)- Market Outlook and Industry Analysis 2030" According to company's newest research, the global precision optics market is estimated to reach over USD 59.74 billion by 2031, exhibiting a CAGR of 10.73% during the forecast period.

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The prominent market players in industry includes:

Materion Corporation

ZEISS International

Optics & Allied Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

Edmund Optics Inc.

Corning Incorporated

Newport Corporation

Rochester Precision Optics, LLC

PFG Optics

Shanghai Optics

Precision Optics Corporation, Inc.

Sierra Precision Optics

Precision Optical

Panasonic Holdings Corporation

Nikon Corporation

Solaris Optics

Syntec Optics

WayRay AG

Momentum Optics

Astro Optics Pvt. Ltd.

Opto Precision Pte. Ltd.

CLZ Precision Optics

Zuend Group

Get a Demo Sample copy of the Global Precision Optics Market Report at https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/request-sample/1671

Precision Optics Market Report Scope

Report Attribute Specifications Market size value in 2022 USD 24.30 Bn Revenue forecast in 2031 USD 59.74 Bn Growth rate CAGR CAGR of 10.73 % from 2023 to 2031 Quantitative units Representation of revenue in US$ Billion, Volume (Units), 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 End-User And Component 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

Adaptive optics were first created for the defense industry and are now widely used in a variety of defense applications around the world, including wall imaging systems, missile protection systems, and others. The United States, with its substantial defense budgets and well-developed industrial defense complex, continues to use adaptive optics to develop high-energy laser systems and other applications.

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Globally, universities and research institutions are conducting ongoing research on the applications of optical systems in healthcare. In the medical industry, fiber optic sensors monitor pressure, temperature, and oxygen content. Fibre optic cables in medical equipment can be employed in various applications, such as remote spectrophotometry, endoscopic imaging, and pressure and position sensors. Furthermore, the medical sector has recently focused on creating smart disease-detection equipment and smart medical wearables using precision optical components such as lenses, windows, and filters.

Market Dynamics:

Drivers-

Photonics devices are primarily used in fiber optic transmission, optical data storage, displays, and laser printing. Photonics-enabled products are more energy efficient, have a longer product lifecycle, are more precise, and operate faster. As a result, photonics-enabled devices are becoming more popular among customers. Photonics advancements such as LiDAR and additive manufacturing are gaining traction. Photonics devices are used for high bandwidth, multi-channel wavelength transmission and optical communication.

Challenges:

Due to the complexity of building and optimizing resilient optics systems, space optics are difficult to implement. For material optimization, several elements must be considered, such as the space environment that imposes thermal conditions, cold background, operating variances, and varying temperature gradients.

Additionally, the market for adaptive optics is hampered by the intensive computations required for current optical system models and the difficulty in detecting non-common path aberrations (NCPA).

Non-common path aberrations (NCPA) are typical when utilizing an adaptive optics system to generate modified pictures in a cosmic instrument. The most frequent way to correct NCPA is to introduce an offset in the Wavefront Sensor (WFS) signals corresponding to the corrected aberration.

Regional Trends:

The North America Precision Optics Market is expected to register a major market share in terms of revenue and is projected to grow at a high CAGR in the near future due to the continued expansion in consumer electronics and biomedical equipment and the presence of manufacturers in China and Japan.

Furthermore, expanding smart city projects and developing telecommunications will promote market growth during the projection period. Moreover, the European market is expected to rise rapidly throughout the projection period. The semiconductor, healthcare, automotive, and manufacturing industries in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France will likely boost European market growth.

Enquiry Before Buying: https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/enquiry-before-buying/1671

The Key developments

In Feb 2023, Precision Optics Corporation, Inc. stated that it had signed a manufacturing and technology licence deal with a medical device manufacturer. The agreement specifies the terms under which POC will produce the product or receive royalties if the client or a third party manufactures the product. Under the terms of the agreement, POC has received a one-time payment of $600,000 in advance for these technological rights.

In Dec 2022, 3M stated that its acquisition of Corning Precision Lens Inc., a manufacturer of lens systems for rear-projection TVs, had been completed. The Cincinnati-based firm will operate under the name 3M Precision Optics Inc. as a subsidiary of the 3M Optical Systems Division.

In December 2022, Precision Optics Corporation, Inc. announced the acquisition of a follow-on production order for optical assembly totalling approximately $2.6 million from one of the major US defense contractors. Furthermore, the order is expected to be fulfilled within 12 to 18 months.

In Dec 2022, Precision Optics Corporation, Inc. revealed the receipt of an initial product development order for a next-generation single-use urology programme totalling approximately $750,000 from an established medical device company utilising the Company's specialisation in micro-optics, medical systems, and digital imaging. This launch signifies that the Company's development pipeline has moved past the proof-of-concept phase as Precision Optics increases its focus on this fast-expanding section of the medical device industry.

In June 2021, with its new state-of-the-art lens-centring equipment, PFG Precision Optics will build on its well-established market reputation. While fewer than 30 arc-second variations are often regarded as "high precision" in the industry, PFG's new capabilities will reach extreme centring precision of fewer than ten arc-second deviations for a variety of lens geometries. These capabilities expand a well-known advantage in the lens-making industry, which has been developed over many years of refining the craft.

Market Segments

Global Precision Optics Market, by End-user, 2023-2031 ((Value US$ Bn) & Volume (Units))

Consumer Electronics

Aerospace and Defense

Semiconductor

Automotive

Biomedical

Manufacturing

Others

Global Precision Optics Market, by Component, 2023-2031 ((Value US$ Bn) & Volume (Units))

Transmissive

Reflective

Global Precision Optics Market, by Region, 2023-2031 ((Value US$ Bn) & Volume (Units))

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

North America Precision Optics Market, by Country, 2023-2031 ((Value US$ Bn) & Volume (Units))

U.S.

Canada

Europe Precision Optics Market, by Country, 2023-2031 ((Value US$ Bn) & Volume (Units))

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Russia

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific Precision Optics Market, by Country, 2023-2031 ((Value US$ Bn) & Volume (Units))

India

China

Japan

South Korea

Australia & New Zealand

Latin America Precision Optics Market, by Country, 2023-2031 ((Value US$ Bn) & Volume (Units))

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa Precision Optics Market, by Country, 2023-2031 ((Value US$ Bn) & Volume (Units))

GCC Countries

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

Why should buy this report:

To receive a comprehensive analysis of the prospects for the Precision Optics Market

To receive an industry overview and future trends of the Precision Optics Market

To analyze the Global Precision Optics Market drivers and challenges

To get information on the Global Precision Optics Market size ((Value US$ Mn) & Volume (Units)) forecast to 2031

Significant investments, mergers & acquisitions in the Global Precision Optics Market industry

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Other Related Reports Published by InsightAce Analytic:

Global AI-Enabled X-Ray Imaging Solutions Market

Digital Pathology Market

Global Corneal Topographers Market

About Us:

InsightAce Analytic is a market research and consulting firm that enables clients to make strategic decisions. Our qualitative and quantitative market intelligence solutions inform the need for market and competitive intelligence to expand businesses. We help clients gain a competitive advantage by identifying untapped markets, exploring new and competing technologies, segmenting potential markets, and repositioning products. Our expertise is in providing syndicated and custom market intelligence reports with an in-depth analysis with key market insights in a timely and cost-effective manner.

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InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd.

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SOURCE InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd
On March 8, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared a short statement about the couples daughter, Lilibet: I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev. John Taylor.

But the religious sacrament wasnt what dominated the headlines: instead, it was the use of princess. Although Lilibet has technically been eligible for the title since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the ascension of King Charles III, it was the first time the 20-month-old had been publicly addressed as such. Hours later, Buckingham Palace also added the honorific to their website.

When the Queen died on September 8, the shock was felt around the globe as millions grieved the loss of a world leader. After 70 years on the throne, it felt almost impossible to imagine the British monarchy without her. But life goes on, it seems, and so do the Windsors. Six months later, the dust has finally settledand a new royal order has emerged.

The first shift has surrounded Queen Consort Camilla. While during the early days of their marriage, questions arose on whether Camilla Parker-Bowles would ever be named as Queen out of respect to the late Princess Diana, Camilla has seamlessly adapted to the new title with little negative reaction. Part of that is almost certainly due to a statement Queen Elizabeth herself released in February 2022: My sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service, she wrote.

Yet much of it is also due to shifting attitudes around the Queen Consort herself. While Camilla was considered a villain of sorts throughout the 1990s and early 2000s due to her involvement with Prince Charles during his marriage to Diana, her reputation has enjoyed an upward trajectory among the British public, even after the unflattering allegations from Prince Harry in his memoir, Spare. (Right now, her approval rating is at 40 percent according to YouGovnot high, by any means, but no longer dangerously low.)

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Its also believed that she will soon colloquially drop the cumbersome consort part of her title and go by Queen Camilla, as Prince Philip did before her. Indeed, during a recent state visit to Germany, Camilla stepped out in the Boucheron Honeycomb Tiara, one of the late Queen Mothers most beloved diadems, to much fanfare. No longer is she a secondary royal characterinstead, shes emerged as a major player within the British monarchy.

Official Picture Released Of King Charles III, Queen Consort And The Prince And Princess Of Wales Photo: Getty Images

Likewise, the Prince and Princess of Waless ascent to widespread popularity within the U.K. feels somehow both subtle and stratospheric. Following the death of the much-loved Queen Elizabeth, they are now officially the best-liked members of the royal family: According to YouGov, Prince William has an approval rating of 72 percent, while Princess Kate has one of 70 percent. In December 2022, Newsweek also found they polled as the most popular royals in America.

Plus, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs decision to step back from their duties as senior members of the royal family, the Waleses are now firmly in the spotlight. And theyve embraced it with polish: recently, the Princess of Wales has made several appearances wearing stunning jewelry she inherited from Queen Elizabeth. As Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth The Queen, previously told Vogue: Kate is this wonderful combination of modesty, discretion, and glamor.

The Princess of Wales is now visibly leaning into a more public roleand arguably becoming the most high-profile member of the family in the process. While earlier in her royal tenure, speaking engagements were few and far between, now, shes making a far more ambitious mark: In February, she launched Shaping Us, a long-term campaign to raise awareness about early childhood development. Whereas much of her previous work has been as part of a teamfor example Heads Together, a mental health initiative, was led alongside Princes William and HarryShaping Us is entirely her own project. (Last week, she even published an op-ed in The Financial Times tied to her campaign.) Like the Princess of Wales before her, who was known for her work with AIDS patients and the removal of landmines, Kate is committing to a long-term cause that she hopes will become her legacy. Multiple reports also suggest that the Wales family, including George and Charlotte, will play a key role in King Charless coronation.

What about the Sussexes? Even amid the whirlwindand criticismover their Netflix documentary Harry and Meghan, as well as Harrys memoir Spare, the couple shows no signs of stepping down from the public stage. Harry recently made a surprise trip to London for his invasion of privacy case against the parent company of the Daily Mail, confirming their outspoken battle against the British tabloids will be an ongoing one. The Duchess, meanwhile, is continuing to share updates on her charity work. She recently created a pop-up baby boutique for Harvest Home, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that supports at-risk expecting mothers, and also made a donation to the organization through her foundation, Archewell. It increasingly feels like they operate a court all of their own, undertaking public appearances, releasing statements about family milestones, and championing charitable causes just like their London counterparts.

Although a full reconciliation between the two divided branches of the Windsor family seems unlikely in the near future, it would also be remiss to say the Sussexes are completely severed from the royal fold. Reports say theyve received an invitation to King Charless coronation on May 6, although it remains unclear whether theyve accepted. In addition, their choice to use the titles of prince and princess for their children shows an interest in maintaining their links to the royal family. (For comparison: Princess Anne, the second child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, eschewed formal titles for their offspring.) The Sussexes seem to still consider themselves as part of the royal orderand given the Duke is fifth in line for the British throne, they very much are.

Originally Appeared on Vogue

More Great Living Stories From Vogue
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Hyderabad, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled "Programmable Logic Controller Market - (2023  2028), the programmable logic controller market is expected to register a CAGR of 4.56%. The use of PLC systems allows for detecting and correcting errors and initiating rapid responses without human intervention. The market was heavily influenced by industrial output and investment in computers and software. Traditionally, PLC systems have served as the foundation for process and discrete factory automation. The increasing adoption of Industry 4.0 across industrial sectors has boosted the demand for programmable logic controllers.

What is driving the growth of the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Market?

Industry automation is one of the major factors driving the growth of the PLC market. Automation can be defined as the use of automatic processing systems to decrease human intervention and increase the efficiency of the process through optimal resource utilization.

Some of the major market trends shaping the programmable logic controller (PLC) market according to our research experts:



The industries have now realized the reliability and long-term profits that can be achieved by using automated systems.

Conveyor systems and packaging systems, among others, can be automated by using PLC systems.

Automation of manufacturing processes can offer various benefits, such as effortless monitoring, reduction of waste, and speed of production.

This technology offers improved quality with standardization and dependable products within time and at a much lower cost.

Additionally, automation helps the sector cut costs on extra labor expenses.

It also aids in expanding the production scale because these systems can operate around the clock.

These systems make better use of the available resources and are more dependable and efficient.

PLC-based automation systems also aid in lowering industrial pollutants.

Automating processes is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by about 34 million metric tons annually.

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The automation industry has been revolutionized by the combination of digital and physical aspects of manufacturing aimed at delivering optimum performance. Further, the focus on achieving zero waste production and shorter time to market has augmented the growth of the market.



How is the growth being addressed?

The manufacturing sector forms a significant part of China's economy, which is undergoing a rapid transformation with the recent growth in IIoT due to the rise in Industry 4.0 across the manufacturing industries globally.

For instance, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China's manufacturing robot density is now ninth in the world (246 units), up from 25th (49 units) five years ago. Furthermore, by 2025, the country expects the robotics industry's average annual operating income growth rate to exceed 20%. This large-scale transformation has put the country in one of the leading positions in the PLC market globally.

The Government of India aims to increase the manufacturing sector's share in the gross domestic product (GDP) to 25% by 2022. Thus, manufacturers will likely incorporate Industry 4.0 and other digital technologies to achieve this target.

Additionally, according to the Central Electricity Authority of India, by 2030, about 50% of the country's power supply will be generated by renewable energy sources. Such trends are expected further to drive the demand for PLCs in the country.



Who are the key players in the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Market?

The Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Market is highly competitive and consists of several major players.

ABB Ltd

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Schneider Electric SE

Rockwell Automation Inc.

Siemens AG

Honeywell International Inc.

Omron Corporation

Panasonic Corporation

Robert Bosch GmbH

Emerson Electric Co. (GE)

Hitachi Ltd

Toshiba International Corporation

Recent developments in the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Market:



In July 2022 - Omron Corporation designed The CP2E Micro PLC for compact equipment, supported data collection, and machine-to-machine communication. CP2E is one of the powerful and effective solutions for mass-produced single machines where cost performance is important.

In June 2022 - Toshibas portfolio of products includes PLCs partnered with Farnell, a distributor of electronic components to strengthen the supply chain for an extended range of new and innovative products.

In a nutshell, the Mordor Intelligence Market Research Report is a must-read for start-ups, industry players, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who are looking to understand this industry. Get a glance at the https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/programmable-logic-controller-plc-market



About Mordor Intelligence:

Mordor Intelligence is a market intelligence and advisory firm. At Mordor Intelligence, we believe in predicting butterfly effects that have the potential to change or significantly impact market dynamics.



Our market research reports are comprehensive and provide exclusive data, facts and figures, trends, and the competitive landscape of the industry.

Mordor Intelligence constantly tracks industry trends. Some relevant market reports from the analysts that might be of interest to you:









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Mordor Intelligence

Hyderabad, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled "Pyrophyllite Market - (2023 - 2028), the market is expected to register a CAGR of over 4%. One of the major factors driving the growth of the market studied is the increasing demand for pyrophyllite for application in ceramics across major economies. In the coming years, the growing demand for pyrophyllite as an alternative to talc and kaolin in the refractory and foundry industries is expected to act as an opportunity for the market studied. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market, with China and India accounting for the majority of consumption.

Pyrophyllite demand from ceramics is growing in the global market:

Pyrophyllite is used as a raw material in ceramics because it reduces thermal expansion, shrinkage, and cracking and improves thermal shock resistance. Furthermore, the finished product has a high degree of vitrification as well as good mechanical resistance.

Some of the major market trends shaping the Pyrophyllite Market, according to our research experts, are:



Pyrophyllite is an early-time changeable mineral that is very typical and excellent.

It is found as a constituent of slate, phyllite, a few schists, and other early-stage metamorphic rocks.

The demand for pyrophyllite for application in ceramics is expected to increase in the construction and automotive industry in the coming years.

China is one of the largest producers of ceramics worldwide.

According to the China Ceramic Association, the market value of the industrial ceramic industry in China was USD 29.4 billion in 2021.

Furthermore, the demand for ceramics in various industries propelled ceramics exports.

According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Indonesia's exports of ceramic products were valued at USD 374 million in 2021.

The growth of the ceramics industry in Australia increased consumption in the market studied.

The growing construction industry accelerated the demand for ceramic tiles in the United States.

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Hence, due to the factors mentioned above, the application of pyrophyllite in ceramics is expected to aid the growth of the market studied during the forecast period.



The Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market:

The Asia-Pacific region is home to the majority of pyrophyllite producers. The leading producers of pyrophyllite are Khajuraho Minerals Pvt. Ltd, Jindutt Minerals Pvt. Ltd (JMPL), Eastern Minerals, and Jushi Group.

Pyrophyllite is an essential mineral used in the paper and paint industry as a filler. According to the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA), exports of paper and paperboard from India jumped to around 80% in 2021-22, touching a record value of INR 13,963 crores (USD 1.68 billion).

Pyrophyllite is used as a fertilizer carrier in agriculture, increasing the soil's ability to hold nutrients and reduce leaching. China is the largest fertilizer manufacturer in the world. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the nitrogen, phosphate, and potash fertilizer production volume in China accounted for 55.44 million tons in 2021, compared to 54.96 million tons in 2020, registering a growth of 0.87%.

Owing to the factors above, the pyrophyllite market in the Asia-Pacific region is projected to grow significantly during the study period.



Who are the key players in the Pyrophyllite Market?

HANKOOK MINERAL POWDER CO. LTD

Shinagawa Shirenga Co. Ltd

Shokozan Kogyosho Co. Ltd

Minkyung Industrial Co. Ltd

Ohira Co. Ltd

Pt. Gunung Bale

R.t. Vanderbilt Holding Company Inc.

Samirock Company

SKKU Minerals

Wonderstone

In a nutshell, the Mordor Intelligence Market Research Report is a must-read for start-ups, industry players, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who are looking to understand this industry. Get a glance at the https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/pyrophyllite-market

About Mordor Intelligence:

Mordor Intelligence is a market intelligence and advisory firm. At Mordor Intelligence, we believe in predicting butterfly effects that have the potential to change or significantly impact market dynamics.

Our market research reports are comprehensive and provide exclusive data, facts and figures, trends, and the competitive landscape of the industry.



Mordor Intelligence constantly tracks industry trends. Some relevant market reports from the analysts that might be of interest to you:

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CONTACT: Company Name: Mordor Intelligence Email: info@mordorintelligence.com Phone: +1 617-765-2493 Location: Hyderabad, Telangana Country: India




The robotic mower manufacturer has added Stephenson Equipment, Inc. and Elliott Equipment Co. to its roster of dealerships nationwide

GREEN BAY, Wis., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RC Mowers, a leading manufacturer of remote-operated robotic mowers, announced today it has entered into dealership agreements with Pennsylvania-based Stephenson Equipment, Inc. (SEI) and Iowa's Elliott Equipment Co. to add them to its dealer network.

RC Mowers has added Stephenson Equipment, Inc. and Elliott Equipment Co. to its roster of nearly 30 dealerships throughout the United States.

"Both Stephenson Equipment and Elliott Equipment are not only market leaders in the crane and heavy equipment space, but they have excellent reputations in both the private and public works industries," said Tim Kubista, vice president of sales and marketing for RC Mowers. "Their in-depth knowledge of the types of machinery necessary to get tough jobs done makes them perfect partners for RC Mowers. Because both of these dealers already work with public works departments and other industries adjacent to the commercial landscaping industry, RC Mowers' product line will be better positioned to get in front of the right commercial and governmental customers."

Founded in 1957, SEI operates nine branches in Pennsylvania and New York and a service operation location in Maryland. They market a complete line of cranes and asphalt, road repair and maintenance and construction equipment. Their agreement with RC Mowers extends to their New York markets.

Elliot Equipment was founded in 1970 out of Glen and Eilene Elliott's small home in Fairfield, Iowa before establishing a business location in Davenport, Iowa two years later. Through the years, the company has grown and expanded to meet the demands of customers seeking high quality municipal equipment. The company is now headquartered in Grimes, Iowa and they have four other locations in Des Moines, Iowa, Lincoln, Nebraska, Grandview, Missouri and Commerce City, Colorado.

"We are excited about our partnership with RC Mowers and anxious to introduce their remote-operated and autonomous mowing robots to our customer base," said Charlie Walsh, president of SEI. "While we concentrate on the heavy equipment used to build and maintain roads and clear large areas of land, we believe RC Mowers' product line will dovetail nicely with our selection of this type of equipment."

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Elliott Equipment CEO Gene Elliott said his team is also looking forward to its partnership with RC Mowers.

"This partnership with RC Mowers will make our product line more robust for our public works customers," Elliott said. "We already offer the rugged, heavy-duty and multi-functional garbage and street- and sewer-cleaning trucks that make municipal tasks both easier and safer. In offering our customers the remote-operated and autonomous mowing robots RC Mowers builds, we become the one-stop shop for public works crews."

Kubista said dealers are carefully selected, provided with extensive sales and product training and supported by the RC Mowers team during the entire sales and post-sale cycle. With the addition of SEI and Elliott to its dealership lineup, RC Mowers now has nearly 30 dealers throughout the United States.

About RC Mowers

Founded in 2018 and based near Green Bay, Wisconsin, closely held RC Mowers manufactures autonomous and remote-operated robotic mowers that solve the biggest challenges and improve opportunities for profitability and growth for landscaping contractors, public works departments, city, county, state and federal parks systems and roads departments, and many more. All of our robotic mowers are designed and manufactured in the United States, have a 30-day buy-back guarantee and come with a 72-hour parts shipping guarantee. We are redefining the business of mowing. For more information, visit https://www.rcmowersusa.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

hripley@ripleypr.com

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SOURCE RC Mowers
Leading Black-owned media company expands talented team with the appointment of Dominique Andrews, Donyell Kennedy-McCullough, Nancy Harrison and Alison Threadgill into leadership roles

LOS ANGELES, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- REVOLT, the leading Black-owned independent multimedia company, today is excited to announce the appointment of four highly experienced women who have joined its executive team. With this initiative, Dominique Andrews, Donyell Kennedy-McCullough, Nancy Harrison, and Alison Threadgill are elevated into key leadership positions to spearhead the company's culture-driven talent and production initiatives.

"Here at REVOLT, we are committed to providing a platform for changemakers both in our content as well as our company makeup," said Monique Chenault, President of REVOLT News, Specials & Documentary. "We are thrilled to welcome Dominique, Donyell, Nancy, and Alison to REVOLT's executive team, each of whom bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our mission-driven programming. With their impressive track records and vast industry experience, these four incredible women will continue to push the boundaries of the media industry."

Expanding REVOLT's trailblazing team of industry veterans, Dominique Andrews joins REVOLT as Senior Vice President of Production Management, Donyell Kennedy-McCullough as Senior Vice President of Talent Relations & Casting, Nancy Harrison as Supervising Producer, and Alison Threadgill as Senior Director of Talent Relations. Together, these four powerhouse women will further bolster the company's commitment to producing culture-driven content that shifts the narrative for Black people globally.

With a commitment to culture ingrained in both its workforce and viewership, REVOLT values diversity both in its perspective and company makeup. With this initiative, the company will continue to grow its highly talented team who will spearhead the productions of its groundbreaking content dedicated to authentically storytelling the Black experience. The appointments further expand the company's growing number of accomplished female leaders off of the heels of Women's History Month.

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REVOLT is pleased to announce the appointment of the following four executive women who will spearhead upcoming initiatives to carry out the company's initiatives.

Dominique Andrews joins REVOLT as Senior Vice President, Production Management, bringing over 15 years of experience in overseeing production management on both the studio and network sides. In her new role, Dominique will be responsible for the production quality of REVOLT's multi-platform network, serving as a chief point of contact for all production management operations.

Donyell Kennedy-McCullough joins REVOLT as Senior Vice President, Talent Relations and Casting, with over 25 years of experience in managing and casting a diverse slate of performing talent and content. She will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of talent relations and casting for REVOLT.

Nancy Harrison joins REVOLT as Supervising Producer, with a demonstrated history in both broadcast and online media. In her new role, Nancy will serve as lead booker for REVOLT Studios, responsible for high-profile bookings for two weekly shows, TV specials, and digital segments.

Alison Threadgill joins REVOLT as Senior Director of Talent Relations, with over 15 years of experience in talent development, management, and relations across linear, digital, and podcast networks. In her new role, Alison will be responsible for executing all business-related strategies for talent.

For more information on REVOLT's linear content, please visit https://www.revolt.tv/ and visit www.revolt.tv/providers to find REVOLT in your area.

ABOUT REVOLT

REVOLT is the leading Black-owned and operated multimedia platform servicing content 24/7 across digital, linear and live media channels. The platform produces rich content and original material with the biggest names in Hip-Hop, along with reports of breaking news, current events, trends and announcements within the Black cultural movement and Hip-Hop world. REVOLT takes pride in its diversity, both in its mindset and its company makeup, further instilling its dedication to culture within its staff and audiences. Founded by Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2013, REVOLT attracts over 50 Million millennials and Gen Z audiences through their disruptive, authentic material across all platforms. In 2021, REVOLT launched a brand new digital mobile app where users can view extended releases, live updates from relevant news, exclusive specials and much more.

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WILMINGTON. DE / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Transparency Market Research Inc. - The rice straw market for silica production generated US$ 39.1 Million in 2022 and the global market is anticipated to reach US$ 63.2 Million by 2031. The global industry will grow at a CAGR of 5.5% between 2023 and 2031. Due to the growing demand for silica and the need for more sustainable and cost-effective alternatives, businesses are growing market demand for rice straw in the market.

Transparency Market Research inc., Friday, March 31, 2023, Press release picture

Rice straw is a valuable source of silica in various industries, including rubber, plastics, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Excellent physical, chemical, and thermal properties allow it to be used for a variety of applications. With the low cost of rice straw compared with other sources of silica, such as sand and quartz, the use of rice straw in silica production is expected to grow.

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With the support of diverse stakeholders, intensive efforts are being made in Vietnam to promote the sustainable utilization of rice husks and other biomass resources for the production of electricity and heat. About 8.8 million tons of rice husk were generated from the harvest of 43.8 million tons of rice in 2019.

Approximately 9.21 tons of husks will be produced by 2025, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Rice straw has seen rapid growth in recent years, mainly in countries such as India and China. In addition to a growing demand for silica in various industries, rice straw is readily available at an affordable price in these regions.

With India being the largest producer and exporter of rice straw for silica production, large quantities are shipped to the United States and Canada. The Chinese market for the production of silica from rice straw has also experienced rapid growth over the past few years.

Key Findings of the Market Report

Over the past few years, ceramic brick production has increased at a rate of 2% to 3%.

A growing population and urbanization will increase construction activity worldwide by 2% to 3% each year, boosting silica demand in the market.

Globally, the tire industry is expected to be the largest producer of silica in the market.

Growing investment in housing and the development of public institutions is anticipated to boost the rice straw market for silica production.

Rice husks are expected to be in high demand in the agricultural industry.

For agricultural purposes, silica is considered a natural resource that promotes plant growth and provides nutrients to plants.

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Global Rice Straw Market for Silica Production: Growth Drivers

In an effort to explore the potential for silica as an industrial material, rice straw, which is a by-product of rice farming, has gained prominence as a source of the mineral silica in cement, glass, and ceramics.

Unlike traditional sources of silica, rice straw offers a sustainable alternative to traditional sources of silica. A growing focus on reducing waste and carbon emissions into the environment has led to the growth of rice straws as a fuel in the market.

Numerous studies have been conducted to optimize the extraction of silica from rice straws and to develop new applications for the market. Research on rice straw as a silica source is expected to provide more efficient and cost-effective methods of treating silica in the market.

Compared to traditional sources of silica, they provide a cost-effective alternative, making them the preferred choice for businesses seeking to reduce production costs while maintaining a high level of quality in the market.

Governments are advocating the use of rice straw as a source of silica to reduce waste and carbon emissions from the agricultural sector. For example, in India, a program has been launched to promote the use of rice straw as a silica source.

Global Rice Straw Market for Silica Production: Regional Landscape

According to the report, the Asia Pacific rice straw market for silica production is expected to lead the global market.

Growing industrialization businesses in China, India, and the Middle East are expected to be major markets during the forecast period.

A rise in investments in biofuel projects will increase demand for silica production in the United States.

With China accounting for 65% of global silica production, the market for rice straw for silica production is expected to increase.

India produces more than 20 million tons of rice husk each year, thereby stimulating a market for the production of silica from rice husk.

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Global Rice Straw Market for Silica Production: Key Players

Key players are consolidating their market positions by acquiring, merging, and forming alliances in the market. Several recent developments have taken place in the market as it enters a competitive phase.

In January 2023, Solvay announced the launch of its first highly dispersible silica (HDS) made with sodium silicate, obtained from rice husk ash. By reusing rice husk as part of a local value chain, this breakthrough silicate process provides a circular solution at its Livorno, Italy plant.

Global Rice Straw Market for Silica Production: Segmentation

Silica Type

Amorphous Silica

Crystalline Silica

Technology

Sol-Gel method

Lye method

Precipitation method

Heat Treatment

Measuring Range

Up to 5g

5g-20g

Above 20g

Application

Fillers

Catalyst Support

Lithium-ion Battery

Glass and Ceramics

Others

Regions

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

Browse More Chemicals And Materials Reports by TMR:

About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and consulting services. The firm scrutinizes factors shaping the dynamics of demand in various markets. The insights and perspectives on the markets evaluate opportunities in various segments. The opportunities in the segments based on source, application, demographics, sales channel, and end-use are analysed, which will determine growth in the markets over the next decade.

Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision-makers, made possible by experienced teams of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants. The proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques we use always reflect the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in all of its business reports.

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SOURCE: Transparency Market Research inc.





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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Rockland Resources Ltd. (the "Company" or "Rockland") (CSE:RKL) is pleased to announce that it has signed an option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Wapistan Lithium Project (the "Project") located within the James Bay region of Quebec.

The Wapistan Lithium Project is a large land package comprised of 219 claims (10,722 hectares) over two claim blocks (Wapistan East and West; Figure 1). The property is easily accessed by all-season roads, hydro and has two nearby communities offering exploration and mining services.

The Wapistan East Property is underlain by approximately 20 kilometres of the Yasinski Group volcano-sedimentary rocks (greenstone belt). Whereas the Wapistan West property is underlain by approximately 11 kilometres of the Yasinski Group rocks.

The Wapistan Project is located between 8 and 30 kilometres easterly from the lithium prospects and spodumene bearing pegmatites of the nearby Q2 Metals Mia Property (QTWO - TSXV) and Ophir Gold's Radis Property (OPHR - TSXV); all which form part of the same greenstone belt.

At Mia, two notable showings include Mia Li-1 (0.47% Li2O) and Mia Li-2 (2.27% Li2O), were recently sampled by Q2 Metals. These occurrences of spodumene pegmatite are well documented and located within the western part of the Yasinski Lake (greenstone) Belt. Historical work in 1959 (Main Exploration Company Ltd., GM10200) within the Mia Property has mapped an approximate 8.3 km trend of pegmatite (up to 30.5 metres wide) extending in the same greenstone belt from the Mia occurrences eastward toward the Wapistan Property.

The Wapistan Project has never been explored with lithium or critical elements in mind, despite the well positioned location. At Wapistan, a small number of pegmatites are described within the regional provincial SIGEOM database. The Company has retained Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd. to complete a comprehensive property-wide compilation of historical data, and a review and interpretation of high-resolution satellite photos, in order to generate exploration targets for the upcoming field season.

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Figure 1. Wapistan Lithium Project Location

Mike England, CEO of Rockland stated "We are extremely excited to acquire such a large land package covering one of the most promising Greenstone Belts in the James Bay Region of Quebec. Recent exploration by both Q2 Metals and Ophir Gold has shown the western part of the belt to host a number of spodumene bearing pegmatites. While Patriot Battery Metals has demonstrated the James Bay region to host the potential for a world class lithium discovery"

Cumulative terms of the option agreement will see Rockland issue 10.8 million shares and pay $400,000 cash over a 12-month period. A 2% NSR will be granted to the vendor of which half (1%) can be purchased back by the Company for $1,000,000 at any time.

The proposed transaction is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including, as applicable, approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. A 21-day due diligence period has been granted to Rockland. The proposed transaction would be an arm's-length transaction for the company and would not constitute a fundamental change or result in a change of control of the company, within the meaning of the policies of the CSE. A finders fee will be payable.

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Francois Gagnon, P. Geo., Senior Exploration Geologist for Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., and Qualified Person under NI 43-101 on standards of disclosure for mineral projects.

Disclaimer

*Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby and/or geologically similar properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's properties

About Rockland Resources Ltd.

Rockland Resources is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets for the benefit of its shareholders.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Mike England

Director

For further information, please contact:

Mike England

Email: mike@engcom.ca

Neither the Canadian Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at WWW.SEDAR.COM).

SOURCE: Rockland Resources Ltd.





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(Bloomberg) -- In the span of just two days, the future of Western grain traders in Russia has been quickly rewritten.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Major grain trader Viterra said Thursday it will stop shipping crops from Russia starting in July and may shed its assets there, confirming an earlier Bloomberg report. Just one day earlier, Cargill Inc. said it would soon stop exporting grain it sources in Russia, although it can continue buying cargoes from other firms at ports.

The back-to-back moves appeared to spook other traders as well, with Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. now reviewing its stake in a sweetener and starch venture there.

While a wave of foreign companies left Russia shortly after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, most western crop traders have stayed put while touting the importance of their role in keeping grain flowing from the vital Black Sea breadbasket. But even though agricultural products are not under sanction, the war has made trade more complicated and foreign traders have faced some Russian government pressure to leave.

The shift comes a year after Russias invasion of Ukraine and will leave the grain trading market more in control of local companies.

Glencore-backed Viterra said it had concluded that its activities in Russia no longer fit the long-term direction of the company and that it was assessing options to transfer our business and assets in Russia to new owners. The company has ranked as the fourth-biggest wheat exporter as of February.

State-backed companies have increased their market share in Russian wheat sales in recent years as the government expands its role in the sector. Russias agriculture ministry said Viterras withdrawal from the market will not affect Russian grain export levels and shipment capacity will continue to operate as usual.

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Chicago wheat futures headed for a sixth monthly loss on Friday.

Eduard Zernin, head of the Russian Union of Grain Exporters, said Viterras local team in Russia has self-organized and plans to start its own export company. Viterra couldnt immediately comment.

Read more: Russia Has a New Wheat-Exporting Champion

Bloomberg earlier reported that Viterra has offered to sell half its 50% stake in a major Black Sea grain terminal to Russias Demetra Trading, which owns the rest, according to people familiar with the matter.

--With assistance from Isis Almeida and Tarso Veloso.

(Updates with chart on global wheat exports, wheat prices in eighth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- The European Commission told member states that a $60-a-barrel cap on the price of Russian oil is proving effective in hurting the Kremlins access to petrodollars while not disrupting the market, and will remain unchanged for now.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The blocs executive arm told diplomats from the EUs 27 member states this week that there is no willingness among most Group of Seven countries to lower the threshold at this time, according to people familiar with the matter.

A report by the International Energy Agency, which formed the basis of a review into the cap, found that the mechanism had met its goals of reducing Moscows revenues and keeping global oil prices from spiking.

Russias Oil Revenue Drops Sharply as Price Caps Work, IEA Says

The agencys last monthly report said that the cap was hitting the price at which Russian crude oil and petroleum products were being sold.

The weighted average export price of Russian crude was at $52.48 a barrel, excluding shipping and insurance costs. Urals crude, Russias key export blend, sold for $45.27 in the Black Sea, while grades such as ESPO, Sakhalin and Sokol, all of which are exported from Asia, traded above the threshold, according to the IEA.

The G-7 previously agreed to review the price level in mid-March, and EU legislation stipulates that the aim should be to keep the threshold at 5% below average market rates. On that basis, a group of member states, including Poland and Estonia, had pushed to lower the threshold.

Under the agreed rules, EU and G-7 companies can only provide shipping and services such as insurance needed to transport Russian oil to third countries around the world when the products have been purchased at or below the threshold. Russia is free to transport and sell oil at any price if it doesnt use G-7 and EU services and vessels.

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Russia still relies on Western insurers to cover more than half of the tanker fleet that exports its oil, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Russia Still Uses Western Insurance for Half of Oil Shipments

However, EU member states were told that there was some openness to possibly making the price-cap mechanism less rigid, the people said, without specifying what that meant in practice.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd (OTC: SSNLF) is weighing a chip test line in Japan to bolster its advanced packaging business and forge closer ties with Japanese semiconductor equipment and materials makers.

The leading South Korean chipmaker is eyeing establishing the facility in Kanagawa prefecture, next to Tokyo, where it already has a research and development (R&D) center, Reuters reports.

The investment would likely be in the tens of billions of yen ($75 million).

Samsung proposes to deepen cooperation with Japanese companies to tap the country's relatively low labor costs and the leading chip equipment and materials makers, gaining access to a local "ecosystem."

The move coincides with the U.S.'s increasing canvassing of allies to work together to counter China's dominance in chips and advanced technology.

Japan on Friday committed to restricting exports of 23 types of chip-making tools, aligning its technology trade controls with U.S. sanctions on China.

In January, Samsung reported a fourth-quarter FY22 revenue decline of 8% year-on-year to KRW 70.46 trillion.

Semiconductor businesses revenue was KRW 20.07 trillion, down 24% Y/Y due to falling memory prices.

Samsung expects a market demand recovery in the second half of 2023.

Photo by Pierre Lecourt via Flickr

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This article Samsung Eyes $75M Chip Test Line In Japan, Wants To Tap Low Labor Costs And More originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
WALLDORF, Germany, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that the SAP Supervisory Board has extended the contracts of Executive Board Members Julia White, Chief Marketing & Solutions Officer, and Scott Russell, who leads SAP's Customer Success organization, for three years until 2027.

SAP Logo (PRNewsfoto/SAP SE)

"We express our gratitude to Julia and Scott for their excellent work, which has significantly propelled the company forward. With their exceptional skills and expertise, we are confident that they will continue to provide the necessary drive for their respective Board areas to manage the opportunities and challenges ahead," said Prof. Dr. Hasso Plattner, Chairman of the SAP Supervisory Board.

Furthermore, Sabine Bendiek, Chief People & Operating Officer and Labor Relations Director, informed the Supervisory Board that she will not seek to renew her Executive Board contract. Bendiek has led the People & Operations Board area since 2021, combining HR expertise with the responsibility for operations across all Board areas.

Bendiek's contract runs until December 31, 2023. She will continue to fulfill her responsibilities with complete dedication until then. During this time, the search for a successor will be conducted.

"The SAP Supervisory Board deeply regrets the decision. At the same time, we respect this choice and thank Sabine for her excellent work and commitment to SAP's transformation. Sabine promoted new ways of working, bringing people, processes and technology together," said Plattner.

Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.

About SAP

SAP's strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want  without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people's lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP's 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.

 2023 SAP SE. All rights reserved.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices.

For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:

Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24

United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)

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Dublin, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Saudi Arabia Drilling Rigs Market, By Location (Onshore, Offshore), By Type (Land Rigs, Jackup, Drill Ships, Semi-Submersible ), By Drilling Method, By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2018-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Saudi Arabia Drilling Rigs Market stood at USD4074.03 million in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.84% during 2023E-2028F on account of burgeoning demand for oil exploration activities as a result of rapid industrialization.



The field has a potential reserve of almost 200 trillion cubic feet of wet gas and has a daily production capacity of 500,000 barrels of gas liquids and condensates and 130,000 barrels of ethane.



Oil and gas drilling rig platforms are large buildings with equipment for extracting and processing petroleum and natural gas. Mud tanks and pumps, the derrick, the draw works, the rotary table, the drill string, power generation equipment, and ancillary equipment are some of the drilling rig's main parts.

A fleet of high-end, premium rigs are owned, operated, and managed by a drilling rig contractor. They provide workover and production services in addition to onshore and offshore contract drilling.



Oilfield Services to Drive the Market



Exploration and production (E&P) operators can explore, drill, and develop oil and gas fields thanks to the resources, labor, technology, and project management provided by the oilfield services (OFS) sector.

Additionally, the revenues from the oilfield services industry are essentially the capital outlays of E&P firms, whether they are NOCs, IOCs, or independents. The OFS sector has experienced several boom cycles, which suggests that the Saudi Arabia Drilling Rigs market will expand in the next few years.



Augmented & Virtual Reality Driving Market Growth



Reality technology-based findings, can show real-time information regarding equipment, tools, and parts, increase efficiency and reduce errors in the oil and gas business.

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Exploration and production (E&P) companies use reality solutions for things like remote monitoring, downhole imaging, and virtual training. O&G startups further combine the real and virtual worlds to enable human-machine interactions through wearables and smartphone notifications.

The solution promotes improvements to worker training and safety, as well as plant development and maintenance. To conduct plant walk-throughs, monitor plant operations or construction progress, and enable predictive maintenance, operations, and maintenance staff to use the startup's VR studio.



The Internet of Things



The oil and gas sector uses the Internet of Things (IoT) to gather, transmit, and analyze raw data in real-time to gain a comprehensive understanding of facility activities, increase operational effectiveness, lower energy usage, and increase profitability. IoT solutions cover all key industry segments of the oil and gas industry.

Midstream operators improve fleet management as well as pipeline and storage maintenance, downstream companies utilize IoT for better oil and gas processing and distribution, and Upstream operators use it to improve drilling and extraction management and reduce non-productive time.

The oil and gas industry has embraced IoT technologies over the past years to optimize operations across the stream, enhance workplace safety and control, and increase production. The capabilities of IoT for oil and gas are vast, ranging from decreasing manual maintenance to automating difficult jobs that are prone to errors, to lowering environmental impact and preventing risks.



Increasing Consumption of Oil & Gas in the Country Driving Market Growth



In December 2021, Saudi Arabia's oil consumption was recorded at 3,595.427 barrels per day. The previous value for December 2020 was 3,552.200 barrels/day, representing a rise from the previous year.

The Kingdom, in addition to purchasing fuel oil from foreign nations, reportedly sourced 34.3 percent of its June imports from Egypt, 25.5 percent from the UAE, and 21.1 percent from Estonia.

Future oil and gas consumption in Saudi Arabia will rise as a result of important variables such as a healthy economy, population growth, and fuel economy. As the nation's infrastructure continues to significantly rely on petroleum-based products, the dependence on oil and gas is predicted to grow even more.

Recent Developments

The Dammam Redevelopment conventional oil development, which is located on Saudi Arabian territory, is managed by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company. Dammam Redevelopment is situated in Saudi Aramco Concession Area. Commercial production is expected to start in 2024 while the project is still being built.

Production at shared Neutral Zone fields between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait is about to increase. The two countries want to increase oil production in the region to between 400,000 and 500,000 bpd, thereby positively influencing the growth of the market.

Competitive Landscape



Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Saudi Arabia Drilling Rigs Market.

Saudi Aramco Rowan Offshore Drilling

Saudi Aramco Nabors Drilling

Saipem Taqa Al Rushaid Fabricators Company Ltd.

ZP Arabia Drilling Co. Ltd.

ADES International Holding Plc.

Noble Drilling Arabia Co. Ltd.

Arabian Drilling Company

Shelf Drilling Ltd

Seadrill Limited

Egyptian Drilling Company

Report Scope:



Saudi Arabia Drilling Rigs Market, By Location:

Onshore

Offshore

Saudi Arabia Drilling Rigs Market, By Type:

Land Rigs

Jackup

Drill Ships

Semi-Submersible

Saudi Arabia Drilling Rigs Market, By Drilling Method:

Cable Drilling

Rotary Drilling

Dual Wall Reverse - Circulating Drilling

Electro Drilling

Directional Drilling

Saudi Arabia Drilling Rigs Market, By Region:

Eastern Region

Northern & Central Region

Western Region

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4qepq3

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ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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VANCOUVER, BC, March 31, 2023 /CNW/ - SKRR Exploration Inc. (TSXV: SKRR) (FSE: B04Q) ("SKRR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that further to its transaction and news release dated March 22, 2023, the Company received 2,000,000 common shares of Fathom Nickel Inc.

SKRR EXPLORATION Logo (CNW Group/SKRR EXPLORATION INC.)

The Company also announces the acquisition by staking of twelve (12) graphite mineral claims (the "Kelly Lake Graphite Claims") located approximately 120 km northeast of the town of La Ronge, Saskatchewan, Canada.

The staking was completed following a detailed review of several publicly available Saskatchewan Government geological databases and publications. A total of twelve claims were registered, covering a total area of approximately 10,572.42 hectares.

SKRR's President and CEO, Sherman Dahl commented:

"The 2,000,000 common shares received by Fathom Nickel Inc. provides us with continuing exposure to the Watts Lake property. We are also extremely pleased to have staked an exciting Graphite project in Saskatchewan. The addition of the Kelly Lake project adds to our portfolio of projects related to the ever-evolving battery-related industries in the search for a 'greener' world."

La Ronge, SK is a full service community with a commercial airport. Provincial transportation route #102 is 10km to the west of the Property. Access to the Property is via fixed wing or helicopter aircraft.

From a regional perspective, the property lies within the east boundary of the Kisseynew Litho-Structural Domain, which constitutes the largest geologic component of the Trans-Hudson Orogen in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Regionally, the bedrock comprises turbidites and continental sandstones, both of which are interlayered with rare volcanic rocks and intruded by plutons.

On a local scale, the Kelly Lake Graphite Claims are underlain mainly by highly metamorphosed gneisses of various mineralogical compositions, the three main types being garnet gneiss, plagioclase quartz gneiss, and pyroxene bearing gneiss. All of these units contain granitic and pegmatitic sills with associated quartz veins.

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There is scant historic exploration with significant efforts by White Rock Resources Ltd. / Comox Resources Ltd. in 1986, consisting of rock and soil sampling, and by Samurai Resources Inc. in 1987 completing two small detail grids of ground magnetometer and VLF surveys. Both of these efforts were concentrated on precious and base metals exploration. Interpretation of a 2012 airborne VLF-EM survey by Canadian Platinum Corp. indicated several EM anomalies on the Kelly Lake Property that do not have a magnetic association, which is indicative of graphite mineralization.

Geological reconnaissance of this area by W.G.Q. Johnston (Dept. of Mineral Resources Saskatchewan) in 1968 concluded 'One of the most important sources of graphite is from rocks similar to those in the Kelly Lake Area (Cameron, 1960), in which the mineralization consists of disseminated graphite flakes oriented parallel to the foliation of highly metamorphosed mica schists or gneisses cut by much granite material (pegmatite, aplite, etc.) in highly folded terrains. This type of deposit is larger, more uniform in grade and shape, and hence more readily mined. The similarities of the settings of important graphite-producing areas to the Kelly Lake Area makes the Kelly Lake Area worthy of investigation for graphite. The best concentrations of graphite noticed were south of Kakabigish Lake in the pyroxene-bearing gneisses. These rocks apparently more closely resemble those of the graphite terrains in Ceylon (Wadia, 1943) than other rocks in the Kelly Lake map-area. Graphite zones give electromagnetic anomalies for both ground and airborne electromagnetic surveys. Graphite zones containing a higher than usual amount of graphite were noticed south of Kakabigish Lake near the west limit of the area and west of the southern extremity of Brabant Lake.'

SKRR cautions that some of the historical results were collected and reported by past operators and have not been verified nor confirmed by a Qualified Person, but form a basis for future work on the Kelly Lake Graphite Claims. Mineralization hosted on nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization that may be hosted on the Kelly Lake Graphite Claims.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ross McElroy P.Geol, a director of the Company and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About SKRR Exploration Inc.:

SKRR is a Canadian-based precious and base metal explorer with properties in British Columbia and Saskatchewan  some of the world's highest ranked mining jurisdictions. The primary exploration focus is on the Trans-Hudson Corridor in Saskatchewan in search of world class precious and base metal deposits. The Trans-Hudson Orogen  although extremely well known in geological terms has been significantly under-explored in Saskatchewan. SKRR is committed to all stakeholders including shareholders, all its partners and the environment in which it operates.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Sherman Dahl

President & CEO

Tel: 250-558-8340

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which may include, without limitation, statements that address the Kelly Lake Graphite Claims, continuing exposure to the Watts Lake Property, other statements relating to the technical, financial and business prospects of the Company, its projects and other matters, and the Company's plans and goals. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of metals, the ability to achieve its goals, the ability to secure equipment and personnel to carry out work programs, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of exploration results, the interpretation of technical and scientific data, risks related to the inherent uncertainty of exploration and development and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses and including those filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. There is a possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, adverse weather or climate conditions, decrease in the price of metals, equipment failures or failure to obtain the necessary equipment, failure to maintain all necessary government permits, approvals and authorizations, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, failure to maintain community acceptance (including First Nations), increase in costs, litigation, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law.

SOURCE SKRR EXPLORATION INC.

Cision

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A lock screen from a cyber attack warns that data files have been encrypted on a laptop computer in this arranged photo in London, U.K., on Monday, May 15, 2017. Governments and companies around the world began to gain the upper hand against the first wave of an unrivaled global cyberattack, even as the assault was poised to continue claiming victims this week. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg - Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

An outsourcer that works with the NHS and handles the BBC licence fee has suffered an IT outage, fuelling speculation of a possible cyber attack.

Staff at Capita were unable to log into their computer systems on Friday, with the company confirming it was investigating a technical issue.

Employees have been told not to try and reset their passwords or use virtual private networks (VPNs) to attempt to log in, according to the Times, which first reported the incident.

The circumstances have led to speculation that one of the countrys biggest government outsourcers may have been hit by a cyber attack.

Problems logging on are typically the first sign of an attack, as hackers disable key systems so they can steal data.

Early investigations have not yet identified the cause of the problem, The Telegraph understands.

A company spokesman said: We are aware of a technical issue with our systems which we are investigating.

It is understood that even Capitas press office staff are unable to log into their computer systems thanks to the IT outage.

A source inside Capita said they had not received any official update about a major incident, saying: I found out through a colleague.

Capita holds billions of pounds of public sector contracts, including work with the Ministry of Defence and the BBC, where it has a 456m contract to administer the TV licence fee.

It is a major supplier of services to the NHS and other government departments.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment while the Department for Health did not respond to a request for comment.

The Cabinet Office said it was aware of the Capita situation and said it would issue a statement later on Friday afternoon.

In the first three months of this year Capita was awarded 1.6bn in public sector contracts according to figures from Bidstats, an online public contracts tracker website.

Capita's share price fell by more than 4pc on Friday.
OTTAWA, ON, March 30, 2023 /CNW/ - Dairy Farmers of Canada issued the following statement in reaction to UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP):

Dairy Farmers of Canada Logo (CNW Group/Dairy Farmers of Canada)

"The United Kingdom has now joined the CPTPP. This will provide the UK dairy exporters with access to the Canadian market. We expect the Canadian government will be vigilant to ensure that the dairy products coming into Canada adhere to our domestic standards for food safety and production, and that any volumes allowed into Canada are enforced according to the terms of the agreement."

ABOUT DAIRY FARMERS OF CANADA

Dairy Farmers of Canada is the national policy, lobbying and promotional organization representing Canadian dairy producers. DFC strives to create stable conditions for the dairy sector in our country. It also seeks to maintain policies that promote the sustainability of Canadian dairy production and promote dairy products and their health benefits. Dairy farmers have set a goal of net-zero emissions from farm-level dairy production by 2050.

SOURCE Dairy Farmers of Canada

Cision

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JJ Gouin / Getty Images/iStockphoto

One of the perks of working for so many years is that at retirement age you can finally start to take your Social Security benefits. While you can begin to receive Social Security income as early as age 62, the longer you wait, the closer you get to receiving your full benefits, at age 66 and older. While this income may not be enough to live on by itself, its a welcome addition to most retirees.

Social Security: Romney Asks Why 25% Drop in Funds Isnt in Bidens Budget

More: 3 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Retirement

Therefore, it can be a rude awakening to many retirees to learn that the federal government, in certain circumstances, taxes Social Security benefits. Even more surprising to some is that certain individual states also apply their own income tax to Social Security payouts. Fortunately, not many states fall into this category. Even those that do tax Social Security often provide exemptions or ways to reduce or eliminate the tax, typically based on age or income. Heres a list of the states that dont tax Social Security.

States That Dont Tax Social Security

Thirty-nine states plus the District of Columbia do not tax Social Security benefits. These states include the nine that dont have any income tax at all, which are:

Alaska

Florida

Nevada

New Hampshire

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Washington

Wyoming

Note that while New Hampshire does impose a 5% tax on investment income (dividends and interest earned), it does not tax wages or Social Security payouts.

Take Our Poll: Do You Think Bankruptcy Is an Acceptable Way To Escape Student Loan Debt?

The remaining 32 out of those 37 states, plus the District of Columbia, implement various credits or exemptions to help taxpayers avoid state-level Social Security taxes. These states are:

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado: Previously, Colorado worked around straight up taxing Social Security by allowing $24,000 of Social Security income to be deducted from state taxes. As of 2023, Colorado no longer taxes Social Security benefits.

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Virginia

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Washington, D.C.

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If you live in any of these states  or the District of Columbia  you wont have to worry about paying state taxes on your Social Security income.

States That Reduce Social Security Taxation Based on Age or Income

Connecticut

Retirees whose adjusted gross income is than $75,000 for a single filer and $100,000 for joint filers can deduct most or all of their benefit income, according to Investopedia. For people who make more than these thresholds, they can still deduct 75% of Social Security benefit payments.

Kansas

In Kansas, if your adjusted gross income is $75,000 or less, you dont have to pay state taxes on your benefits, no matter your filing status.

Missouri

Although Social Security is taxable in Missouri, many seniors will not have to, specifically those who have an adjusted gross income of less than $85,000 (single filers/heads of household) or $100,000 (joint filers), according to SmartAsset.

Montana

For many retirees in Montana, Social Security is taxable. However, taxpayers who make less than $25,000 (single filers) and $32,000 (joint filers) can deduct all of their Social Security retirement income, according to SmartAsset. However, starting in 2024, Social Security benefits will be taxed by Montana just as they are taxed at the federal level, according to Kiplinger.

Nebraska

Currently, Social Security benefits are still taxable in Nebraska, though on a sliding scale based on adjusted gross income. People and beneficiaries with incomes below $59,100 (for a married couple) and $44,460 (for an individual) do not currently have to pay state tax on their benefits, according to AARP. However, thanks to recent legislation, the state will phase out the state income tax on benefits by 2025 gradually. It began with a reduction of 5% for 2022, 20% in 2022, 30% in 2023, 40% in 2024 and 50% in 2025.

New Mexico

In the state of New Mexico, as of 2023, tax on Social Security benefits has been phased out for individuals earning less than $100,000 a year and married people filing jointly who earn less than $150,000, according to AARP.

Rhode Island

You do not have to pay taxes on Social Security in Rhode Island if youve reached full retirement age, per the Social Security Administration guidelines, and have an adjusted gross income that falls below $86,350 (single filers/head of household) or $107,950 (joint filers), according to AARP.

Vermont

Vermont lawmakers recently voted to increase the income threshold that would exempt retirees from paying taxes on their Social Security benefits, according to AARP. Single filers with an adjusted gross income of $50,000 or less can now receive full exemption from paying state taxes on their benefits. If you make between $50,000 and $60,000, youre eligible for a partial exemption.

For joint filers, you can get the full exemption at incomes of $65,000 or less, and partial exemption for incomes between $65,000 and $75,000.

Utah

Until 2021, Utah was the only state that taxed Social Security benefits the same way that the federal government does. Under the federal governments system, Social Security was taxed based on a formula involving a taxpayers filing status and the size of their combined income, which was a combination of adjusted gross income, nontaxable interest and half of Social Security benefits. However, the state recently capitulated and now uses its own income-based tax credit system to offset Social Security income for single filers earning less than $30,000 and joint filers drawing less than $50,000. Those who earn more than those thresholds can still get a partial exemption on their benefits  the tax credit is reduced by 25 cents for each dollar above the income thresholds mentioned above, according to AARP.

More From GOBankingRates

John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: All the States That Dont Tax Social Security
While some prominent voices in the tech industry are calling for a temporary pause in ChatGPTs upgrades, the CEO of Americas largest crypto exchange Coinbase made it clear he opposes the move.

Count me among the people who think this is a bad idea, Brian Armstrong wrote in a recent tweet. There are no 'experts' to adjudicate this issue, and many disparate actors will never agree. Committees and bureaucracy wont solve anything.

Armstrongs comments came shortly after the publication of an open letter calling for a six-month moratorium on developing artificial intelligence (AI) more powerful than GPT-4, the latest iteration of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot created by OpenAI.

The letter, signed by Twitter chief Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, American entrepreneur and politician Andrew Yang, among more than 1,700 other signees, claims that AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity.

Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak Urge OpenAI to Halt ChatGPT Upgrades

It also argues that the focus of AI research and development should be on making existing systems more accurate, safe, interpretable, transparent, robust, aligned, trustworthy, and loyal.

The Coinbase chief, however, disagrees, saying that as with many technologies, there are dangers, but we should keep marching forward with progress because the good outweighs the bad.

Dont ever let fear stop progress, and be wary of anyone trying to capture control in some central authority, said Armstrong, whose company recently turned to AI in an attempt to understand how accurately ChatGPT could perform a token security reviewa requirement for all tokens listed on the exchange.

Count me among the people who think this is a bad idea. There are no experts to adjudicate this issue, and many disparate actors will never agree. Committees and bureaucracy wont solve anything. As with many technologies, there are dangers, but we should keep marching https://t.co/iM0sKOVTaw  Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) March 31, 2023

ChatGPT: are concerns justified?

GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) models, such as ChatGPT, are designed to generate human-like language and are used in a wide range of natural language processing (NLP) applications, including chatbots, language translation, and content creation.

Story continues

GPT-4 was released about two weeks ago, featuring enhanced capabilities in areas like advanced reasoning and complex instructions, with OpenAI also claiming that the tool boasts more creativity.

ChatGPT Creator OpenAI Accused of Violating Federal Trade Law

While AI systems have been receiving increased attention in recent months, their growing popularity also sparked concerns, including ethical questions around the role of machines in human communication and decision-making, as well as the potential impact on employment and social inequality.

There are also concerns that software developers may use ChatGPT to make deceptive performance claims, with the Center for AI and Digital Policy filing a formal complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday, in which it accused OpenAI of violating section five of the FTC Act that targets deceptive and unfair practices.
Strike Enters Day Four in Louisville and Indianapolis; Picket Lines Extend to California

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Striking Teamsters at Sysco [NYSE: SYY] in Indianapolis and Louisville, Ky., extended their strike to California today. Nearly 1,000 members are now on the picket line nationwide as members of Teamsters Locals 495, 630, and 848 began honoring the strike in Southern California this afternoon, with more extensions expected to go up as early as tonight.

International Brotherhood Of Teamsters. (PRNewsFoto/International Brotherhood of Teamsters)

"The days of Sysco holding our members down are over. The Teamsters have made it clear that we will strike this company again and again to protect our members," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. "The company's attitude toward its workers is despicable. It's time for Sysco to get its act together. Until then, we'll be out in full force to hold this company accountable."

Nearly 300 workers represented by Teamsters Local 89 and Teamsters Local 135 went on strike on March 27 at Sysco Louisville and Sysco Indianapolis after weeks of contentious contract negotiations and unfair labor practices (ULPs). At both locations, members are united to win higher wages, affordable healthcare, fair work rules, and protections against excessive overtime.

"This strike extension shows that we have the support from Teamsters across the country and that our fight will continue to spread," said Cody Combs, a striking Local 89 member. "We're standing up to Sysco by standing up for each other."

The nationwide strike is the latest example of coordinated bargaining and collective action by the Teamsters at Sysco. In October, Teamsters went on strike at Sysco for nearly three weeks to win contracts for more than 800 members in Arizona, Syracuse, N.Y., and Plympton, Mass.

"Our members at Sysco work up to 16 hours a day, six days a week, keeping our communities fed. They're fed up by the way they're treated by this company," said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman. "Sysco's blatant disregard for workers is wrong and shameful. Our members are going to continue to take action until this company stops playing games and gets serious in negotiations. We won't stop fighting until strong contracts have been reached."

Story continues

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Daniel Moskowitz, (770) 262-4971

dmoskowitz@teamster.org

Cision

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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
When close to half the companies in South Africa have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 8x, you may consider Reunert Limited (JSE:RLO) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 11.7x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.

Reunert has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings at a solid pace. It might be that many expect the respectable earnings performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Reunert

pe

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Reunert will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Reunert would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 7.8%. The latest three year period has also seen a 5.7% overall rise in EPS, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has actually done a good job of growing earnings over that time.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 8.3% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

With this information, we find it concerning that Reunert is trading at a P/E higher than the market. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent earnings trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

Story continues

The Bottom Line On Reunert's P/E

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

Our examination of Reunert revealed its three-year earnings trends aren't impacting its high P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look worse than current market expectations. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as this earnings performance isn't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Reunert (1 is concerning!) that you need to take into consideration.

You might be able to find a better investment than Reunert. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20x (but have proven they can grow earnings).

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Atlantic Petroleum P/F

The Annual General Meeting of P/F Atlantic Petroleum is hereby called. The meeting will be held at the premises of Advokatfelagi, Lucas Debesargta 8, 100 Torshavn, Faroe Islands.



on Friday 28th April 2023 at 15:00 (Faroese time)

with the following agenda:

1. Election of Chairman of the Meeting.

2. The Board of Directors statement of the Companys activity during the previous accounting year.

3. Presentation of audited Annual Accounts for approval.





3A Approval of the remuneration to the Board in 2022 and 2023.

A. Approval of the remuneration to the Board in 2022.

The Board proposes approval of the actual remuneration in 2022 of DKK 18.900,00.

B. Approval of the basis for the remuneration to the Board in 2023.

The Board proposes that the basis for the remuneration to the Board in 2023 will be:

The basic remuneration to the Board Members will be DKK 60.000,00. The Chairman of the Board receives the basic remuneration x 2 The Deputy Chairman receives the basic remuneration x 1.5 An ordinary Board Member receives the basic remuneration x 1 The Chairman for the Audit Committee receives the basic remuneration x 0.5 in addition to his/her general Board remuneration.



4. Decision on how to use profit or cover loss according to the approved Accounts and Annual report.

The Board of Directors recommends that the result according to the approved Accounts is carried forward to next year.

5. Election of Board of Directors.





According to the Articles of Associations three members are to be elected to the Board of Directors. All Members of the Board are up for election for a period of one year, namely: Ben Arabo, Mourits Joensen and Mark T. Hjgaard.

These candidates are proposed for the election as board members:

Ben Arabo, current chairman of the board, a Oyrareingjum 110, 415 Oyrareingir;

Mourits Joensen, current deputy chairman, Heygsvegur 16, 100 Torshavn; and

Mark T. Hjgaard, current boardmember, Horheiar 48, 480 Skali.

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Three board members are to be elected.

All the proposed candidates accept to be elected.

More information on the proposed candidates can be found on the Companys website www.petroleum.fo.

6. Election of auditor, who will sit until the next Annual General Meeting is held.





The present auditor of the Company is P/F Januar lggilt grannskoaravirki, Oinshdd 13, 100 Torshavn. The Board proposes re-election of P/F Januar lggilt grannskoaravirki, for the period to the next Annual General Meeting.

7. AOB

- - - 0 - - -

Quorum.

Proposals on the agenda for the meeting can be adopted by majority vote.

Requisition of admission card, voting paper and the voting procedure.

The shareholders right to participate at the General Meeting and to vote according to his/her shares will be according to the number of shares, which the shareholder owns at the register date. The register date is Friday 21th April 2023.

A shareholder, his/her proxy and the press can participate at the General Meeting on the condition that he/she has given notice to the Company hereof at the latest by Monday 24th April 2023 via the website of the Company www.petroleum.fo or at the office of the Company, Lucas Debesargta 8, 100 Torshavn, or on telephone no. +(298) 59 16 01 or on the email address markh@petroleum.fo.

If a shareholder cannot participate in the General Meeting he/she can in writing give a written proxy to a third person to represent him/her at the meeting. Proxy  forms to be used for this purpose are available on the website of the Company www.petroleum.fo and at the office of the Company, Lucas Debesargta 8, 100 Torshavn. Shareholders with access to the Investor Portal through the Companys website can give their proxy instructions via this portal.

The voting  except the voting by letter ballot - will be executed at the General Meeting. The shareholder (or his/her proxy) who have in due time given notice that he/she wishes to attend the Annual General Meeting, will meet at the General Meeting and cast their votes. Admission cards and voting papers will be handed out at General Meeting entrance.

Letter ballot.

The shareholders can vote by letter ballot  that is cast their votes in writing prior to the day of the Annual General Meeting. On the Companys website www.petroleum.fo shareholders can download a letter ballot form. Letter ballot must be received at the Companys premises, Lucas Debesargta 8, 100 Torshavn or on the email address markh@petroleum.fo at the latest Thursday 27th April 2023.

The shareholders right to bring forward questions.

Shareholders can, prior to the General Meeting, bring forward to the Board/Management of the Company questions regarding matters that have relevance to the 2022 Annual Report and to the Companys general position or are regarding the decisions that are to be made at the General Meeting. If a shareholder wishes to use this right he/she can send his question in a letter to P/F Atlantic Petroleum, Lucas Debesargta 8, 100 Torshavn, or to the email address markh@petroleum.fo.

At the General Meeting shareholders can also bring forward questions to the Board/Management of the Company regarding the mentioned matters.

Documents for the General Meeting, including the 2022 Annual Accounts and agenda with the complete proposals.

Documents relevant for the General Meeting, including (1) the 2022 Annual Accounts with the Auditors Report and Annual Report (2) agenda, (3) complete proposals for the General Meeting (4) information on the Companys total number of shares and votes at the day of the summons and (5) proxy documents and letter ballot form are available at the Companys office at the address, Lucas Debesargta 8, 100 Torshavn (tel no. + (298) 59 16 01) at the latest 3 weeks prior to the General Meeting. The mentioned documents will also be available on the Companys website www.petroleum.fo.

Share capital, voting rights and financial institute holding accounts on behalf of the Company.

The share capital of the Company is DKK 3,697,860 divided into shares of DKK 1,- or multipla hereof. According to  5 sub clause 1 of the Articles of Association of the Company, each shareholder has one vote for each DKK 1,- they hold in share capital.

Number of shares is: 3,697,860 and number of votes is: 3,697,860.

The Company has appointed P/F Betri Banki as holder of accounts. Shareholders can contact this financial institute at Yviri vi Strond 2, 100 Torshavn or on the website www.betri.fo or on telephone no. +298 348 000 to exercise their financial rights in the Company.

Torshavn 31. March 2023

P/F Atlantic Petroleum

The Board of Directors




Market Research Future

Switchgear Monitoring Market Growth Boost by Rising Electricity Generation and Demand for Secure Electrical Distribution Systems

New York, US, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The MRFR analysis reports predict that the Switchgear Monitoring Market Research Report, by Type, Component, End-Use, Voltage, and Region - Forecast Till 2030, the global market for Switchgear monitoring is predicted to showcase considerable development over the assessment timeframe from 2022 to 2030 with a strong development rate of approximately 7.86%.

Switchgear Monitoring Market Overview:

Switchgear refers to a kind of electrical equipment that isolates, protects, and controls other electrical equipment. It is in high demand in the power industry due to increased investments in transmission and distribution networks. The global market for switchgear monitoring has grown immensely in the last few years. The main parameter supporting the expansion of the market is the rising power consumption. Furthermore, the expanding investments in renewable energy sources and the need for secure electrical distribution systems are also considered crucial parameters supporting the growth of the global market.

Competitive Analysis

The listing of the prominent leaders across the global switchgear monitoring market includes players such as:

Siemens (Germany)

ABB (Switzerland)

Fortive (France)

Eaton (Ireland)

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan)

Schneider Electric (France)

Senseor (France)

Siemens (Germany)

Trafag AG (Switzerland)

Emerson (US)

KONCAR-Electrical Engineering Institute Inc. (Croatia)

Among others.





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Switchgear Monitoring Market USP Covered

Market Drivers

The switchgear monitoring market has grown immensely in the last few years. The main parameter supporting the expansion of the market is the rising power consumption. Furthermore, the expanding investments in renewable energy sources and the need for secure electrical distribution systems are also considered crucial parameters supporting the growth of the global market. Moreover, the increased usage of renewable energy sources has caused a major increase in the demand for the market across the globe in the last few years. In addition, the rising investments in renewable energy sources have also boosted the market's development. With the rise in investments in transmission and distribution networks, there is a massive demand for switchgear in the power industry. As per the OECD, the cumulative power sector investment from 2017 to 2040 will probably attain a size of USD 5.9 trillion for transmission and USD 2.1 trillion for the distribution network. Therefore, the demand for switchgear monitoring systems will likely increase during the assessment era.

Story continues

Switchgear Monitoring Market Report Scope:

Report Metrics Details Market Size 2030 2030: Significant value CAGR during 2022-2030 7.86% CAGR Base Year 2021 Forecast 2022-2030 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Type, Voltage, Component and End-Use Key Market Opportunities New product launches and R&D amongst major key players Key Market Drivers Rising power demand



Demand for secure electrical distribution systems



Growing investments in renewable energy sources





Browse In-depth Market Research Report (111 Pages) on Switchgear Monitoring Market:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/switchgear-monitoring-market-7970



Market Restraints

On the other hand, certain aspects may impede the market's growth. The primary parameter restricting the market's growth is the high up-gradation cost linked with the aging power plants. Furthermore, the changes introduced by the arrival of the pandemic and the lack of standardization of protocols are also likely to limit the performance over the coming years.

Switchgear Monitoring Market COVID-19 Impact

Global industrial activities and business operations experienced a major setback given to the rise of the global health crisis in the form of COVID-19. The pandemic affected public health across nearly 225 countries, along with all industrial operations. All these situations led to the imposition of full or partial lockdowns across most regions worldwide. Subsequently, the industry operations were halted, and some businesses shut down. Given the sudden fall in demand for construction activities during the pandemic and the halt of most industrial operations, the switchgear monitoring market experienced many sudden & unexpected issues throughout the pandemic. On the contrary, now that the majority of the globe is being rapidly vaccinated and industrial operations are returning to normal, the market is predicted to witness a considerable expansion and recovery in revenue generation over the assessment period.



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Switchgear Monitoring Market Segment Analysis

Among all the voltages, the high voltage segment is predicted to secure the leading spot across the global market for switchgear monitoring over the assessment era. The high-voltage switchgear is mainly utilized in power transmission over long distances, making it mandatory to observe the switchgear that is utilized for the reliability and protection of grid infrastructure.

Among all the components, the hardware segment is projected to ensure the main spot across the global market for switchgear monitoring over the assessment era.

Among all the end-users, the utility segment is predicted to hold the leading spot across the global market for switchgear monitoring over the assessment era. The segment will likely display the maximum growth rate over the coming years.

Switchgear Monitoring Market Regional Analysis

Based on region, the global switchgear monitoring market is segmented into Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and South America.

The MRFR analysis reports implying that the Asia-Pacific region is predicted to ensure the lead across the global switchgear monitoring market over the assessment era. The escalated investments in the smart grid infrastructure development are considered the primary parameter supporting the regional market expansion. Furthermore, the factors such as infrastructural activities in the recent past, growing dependence on renewable power generation sources, and transmission & distribution spending are also considered to be some of the crucial aspects backing the development of the regional market.



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Given the high demand for electric supply, China registered for the maximum installed generation and distribution capacity across the region, causing a rise in demand for switchgear monitoring systems. Likewise, the rising power distribution in nations such as Indonesia, Australia, and India would boost the development of switchgear monitoring in Asia-Pacific.

The North American regional market for switchgear monitoring is anticipated to secure the second spot globally. The region has the US as the leading growth contributor, given mainly to the rising transmission & distribution lines.

Related Reports:

Gas Insulated Switchgear Market Research Report Information by Voltage, Installation, End-User, and Region - Global Forecast till 2030

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Low Voltage Switchgear Market Research Report Information By Protection, By Product, By Installation, By Application, And By Region  Market Forecast Till 2030

Paralleling Switchgear Market Research Report Information by Voltage, by Application, by End-Use and By Region - Forecast till 2030

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis regarding diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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Tenaris SA

LUXEMBOURG, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tenaris S.A. (NYSE and Mexico: TS and EXM Italy: TEN) filed today its 2022 Annual Report / Annual Report on Form 20-F, and its 2022 Sustainability Report with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and with the other securities regulators of the markets where its securities are listed. These reports (which contain the financial and non-financial information required by applicable Luxembourg law for the year ended December 31, 2022, including Tenariss consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022, Tenariss annual accounts as at December 31, 2022, and their related external auditors reports and consolidated management report and certifications) may be downloaded from the Luxembourg Stock Exchanges website at www.bourse.lu/regulated-information-oam, from the SECs website at www.sec.gov, and are available on Tenariss website at ir.tenaris.com.

Holders of Tenariss shares and ADSs, and any other interested parties, may request a hard copy of any of these reports, free of charge, through our website at ir.tenaris.com/tools/printed-materials.

In addition, on April 3, 2023, Tenaris will be convening its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 3, 2023, at 16:00 (Central European time). The convening notice (which includes the meeting agenda and the procedures for attending and/or voting at the meeting) can be downloaded from the Luxembourg Stock Exchanges website at www.bourse.lu/regulated-information-oam.

The following documents will be available on Tenariss website at ir.tenaris.com as of the date of the convening notice:

information on Tenariss total number of shares and voting rights as of the date of the convening notice;

the Shareholder Meeting Brochure and Proxy Statement (which contains reports on each item of the meeting agenda and draft resolutions proposed to be adopted at the meeting);

the 2022 Annual Report;

the 2022 Sustainability Report;

the 2022 Compensation Report; and

the forms required for purposes of attending and/or voting at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

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Copies of these documents will also be available, free of charge, at Tenariss registered office in Luxembourg, between 10:00 and 17:00 (Central European time). In addition, shareholders registered in the Companys share register will be able to obtain electronic copies of such documents, free of charge, by sending an e-mail request to investors@tenaris.com.

Tenaris is a leading global supplier of steel tubes and related services for the worlds energy industry and certain other industrial applications.

Giovanni Sardagna

Tenaris

1-888-300-5432

www.tenaris.com








SHENZHEN, China, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the intelligentization of automobiles and the rapid changes in mobility, as a pathfinder and game changer of the times, DDPAI has taken the initiative to reform and reconstruct the three main scenes of people, vehicles, and homes, establishing connections with image technology and innovating smart mobility.

Leading Industry Innovations by Empowering Smart Mobility

DDPAI has jointly built several solutions in terms of automotive electronics and the Internet of Vehicles, assisting various automotive groups and mobility companies in automotive electronics upgrade and smart mobility, enriching the driving experience, and improving operational efficiency. DDPAI has also been cooperating with the map industry in depth to create a more intuitive AR real-life navigation experience.

V2X with Intelligent Networked Vehicle Terminal

Through cooperating with Huawei's C-V2X and more, DDPAI digitalizes vehicle and road information by linking cloud, vehicle, and road to build the world's first intelligent networked vehicle terminal.

Increasing R&D Investment for Tens of Millions of Users

With 10% of its sales invested in R&D and innovation every year, DDPAI has applied for 166 patents and reached over 10000+ terminal stores worldwide. Its products have been sold to more than 120 countries and regions, with a total of 10 million end users!

Mutual Choice Between DDPAI and Users

In the past decade, DDPAI has continuously strengthened the user-centered concept when carrying out the whole chain reform of the company and continuously improved the user perception and service value, thus attracting more vehicle owners who are culturally confident and willing to try new things. DDPAI's in-depth understanding of users' needs and experiences leads to a mutual choice between DDPAI and users.

Discovering Novelty in Beautiful Images

Having captured the beauty and yearning for the better, regardless of what life may bring, DDPAI connects the vehicle's visual perception/mobile electronic equipment with human eyes through scientific and technological innovation, greatly extending the visual radius of humans. DDPAI has also developed a social platform for one-click sharing of driving recorders, making sharing more convenient and entertaining.

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With a decade-long experience, DDPAI will build a new ecology with full image interconnections between people, vehicles, and homes in an all-around way and provide new industry solutions with innovative image technologies to build an interconnected future!

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/tenth-anniversary-of-ddpai--ten-years-of-image-connection-301786063.html

SOURCE DDPAI
Logo of MTS Bank is seen on building in central Moscow

DUBAI (Reuters) -The United Arab Emirates' central bank on Friday said it will cancel the licence it granted last year to Russia's MTS bank, which was placed under British and U.S. sanctions in February.

Operations at the bank's UAE branch, which is licensed in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, will be wound down within six months under UAE central bank supervision.

A statement from MTS Bank said it will fulfil all settlement obligations to existing customers and guarantee the safety of their funds for six months.

"This decision comes after considering the available options regarding the new status of the MTS Bank and taking into account the sanctions risks associated with the bank," the UAE central bank's statement said.

During the winding down process the branch will not be allowed to open new accounts or conduct transactions apart from clearing prior obligations, for which it will be allowed to use the central bank's payment systems, it said.

The UAE, a member of the OPEC+ oil alliance that includes Russia, has maintained good ties with Moscow despite Western pressure to help to isolate Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. It has not matched global sanctions imposed on Moscow.

Large numbers of Russians have sought a safe haven in the UAE since the Ukraine conflict began. U.S. officials have visited the UAE to discuss with regulators including the central bank the importance of clamping down on sanctions evasion.

MTS Bank, a fintech unit of Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems, was part of a broader sanctions package against 200 entities and individuals announced in February on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian conglomerate Sistema holds a 42.09% stake in MTS. Russian billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov last year relinquished formal shareholder control of Sistema after Britain imposed sanctions on him, transferring a 10% stake to his son.

(Writing by Lisa Barrington and Hadeel SayeghEditing by Sharon Singleton and David Goodman)
(Bloomberg) -- The UK will join an 11-nation Indo-Pacific free-trade bloc, becoming the first new member since its creation, in a bid to strengthen economic ties with new partners following divorce from the European Union.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks government sees membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes Australia, Japan and Canada, as a boost for economic growth and geopolitical relations. The UK expects growth of 1.8 billion ($2.23 billion) each year over the long-term, a figure that could rise if other countries join the bloc.

The UK also believes membership will give it a role in setting regional trade rules over the coming decades. That could mean the UK and other members preventing Chinas future accession to the bloc in a move to ensure high trade standards. In a statement, the UK said it did not compromise on its environmental and food standards to join the bloc.

Britain concluded two years of negotiations with a formal agreement to become the 12th member of the CPTPP, the government announced on Friday. Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam are the other eight members.

The bloc, which is home to 500 million people, will be worth 15% of global GDP once the UK joins, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the center of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join, Sunak said in a statement. He said it represented real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms.

Membership will eventually ensure zero-tariff trade across a range of import and export sectors, with greater UK access to Mexico, Canada and Japan for dairy exports, and a boost to Britains automotive and alcohol industries, particularly through the export of spirits to Malaysia.

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Tariffs will also be reduced on imports of bananas from Peru, rice from Vietnam, crab sticks from Singapore and palm oil from Malaysia. The latter is likely to prove controversial due to its link to deforestation.

Limited Gains

Still, joining the CPTPP isnt comparable to Britains previous membership of the European Union. Unlike the EU, the CPTPP doesnt have a court or budget, and works more like a multinational trade agreement.

Theres also a long way to go to reverse the economic impact of a steep trade decline with the EU, Britains biggest partner, since its exit three years ago. The head of the UKs independent budget watchdog recently estimated that Brexit likely reduced economic output by 4%.

This is not a deal about tomorrow, its a deal about the future. Weve got in early and we will be able to have a say in shaping the bloc, UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch told Times Radio. Weve left the EU so we need to look at what to do in order to grow the UK economy.

Each country will now need to ratify the deal, British High Commissioner to Singapore Kara Owen told Bloomberg Televisions Haslinda Amin on Friday. It will take some time, but were really looking forward to getting off the blocks and doing a huge amount of education with our companies in the meantime, she said.

The economic gains for Britain are also limited. The UKs own projections, published in 2021, show that joining CPTPP will only boost its economy by 0.08%, partly due to having existing bilateral trade deals with more than half of the 11 member states. That could increase if membership expands to other nations, like Thailand and South Korea.

Since Brexit, the UK has sought to tilt its foreign policy toward the Indo-Pacific region. Sunak struck a pair of defense agreements with Australia and Japan earlier this year, part of an effort to counter China. CPTPP membership will further align Britain with the region, while joining will also give the UK a more direct say in regional affairs.

China has applied to join, and it could probably convince/coerce quite a few of the CPTPP members into saying yes, trade expert Sam Lowe, partner at consultancy Flint Global, wrote on his blog. Once a member, the UK will just say no to China. This provides cover for other members and effectively allows them to hide behind the welcome obstinance of the UK.

David Henig, director of the UK Trade Policy Project at the European Centre for International Political Economy, described it as a shallow trade deal that mostly focuses on lower tariffs in the same way that our existing free trade agreements with nine of 11 members do.

There may also be future gains from new members joining, and CPTPP will also bring us closer to important allies for retaining open global markets such as Japan and Singapore, he said.

--With assistance from Kitty Donaldson, Bryce Baschuk, Philip J. Heijmans and Richard Lewis.

(Updates with trade secretarys comments in 11th paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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Dublin, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "UPLIZNA Emerging Drug Insight and Market Forecast - 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report provides comprehensive insights about UPLIZNA for Generalized Myasthenia Gravis (gMG) in the seven major markets.

A detailed picture of the UPLIZNA for generalized myasthenia gravis in the 7MM, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan for the study period 2019-2032 is provided in this report along with a detailed description of the UPLIZNA for generalized myasthenia gravis.

The report provides insights about mechanism of action, dosage and administration, as well as research and development including regulatory milestones, along with other developmental activities.

Further, it also consists of future market assessments inclusive of the UPLIZNA market forecast analysis for generalized myasthenia gravis in the 7MM, SWOT, analysts' views, comprehensive overview of market competitors, and brief about other emerging therapies in generalized myasthenia gravis.



Drug Summary



UPLIZNA (Inebilizumab) is an affinity-optimized, afucosylated IgG1 kappa (IgG1?) monoclonal antibody (mAb) that binds to the B-cell-specific surface antigen CD19. The therapy was designed to deplete these cells, which play a central role in the progression of autoimmune diseases like MG.



In MG, B-cells produce self-reactive antibodies that impair the communication between nerves and muscle cells. Most notably, these autoantibodies target proteins called acetylcholine receptor (AChR) and muscle-specific kinase (MuSK). By killing B-cells, inebilizumab may reduce the production of autoantibodies and, as such, decrease disease activity and the associated symptoms.



The therapy is currently being investigated in people with MG in Phase III clinical trial that is now recruiting participants.



Scope of the Report

A comprehensive product overview including the UPLIZNA description, mechanism of action, dosage and administration, research and development activities in generalized myasthenia gravis.

Elaborated details on UPLIZNA regulatory milestones and other development activities have been provided in this report.

The report also highlights the UPLIZNA research and development activities in generalized myasthenia gravis across the United States, Europe and Japan.

The report also covers the patents information with expiry timeline around UPLIZNA.

The report contains forecasted sales of for generalized myasthenia gravis till 2032.

Comprehensive coverage of the late-stage emerging therapies for generalized myasthenia gravis.

The report also features the SWOT analysis with analyst views for UPLIZNA in generalized myasthenia gravis.

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UPLIZNA Analytical Perspective

In-depth UPLIZNA Market Assessment



This report provides a detailed market assessment of UPLIZNA for generalized myasthenia gravis in the seven major markets, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan. This segment of the report provides forecasted sales data from 2024 to 2032.



UPLIZNA Clinical Assessment



The report provides the clinical trials information of UPLIZNA for generalized myasthenia gravis covering trial interventions, trial conditions, trial status, start and completion dates.



Report Highlights

In the coming years, the market scenario for generalized myasthenia gravis is set to change due to the extensive research and incremental healthcare spending across the world; which would expand the size of the market to enable the drug manufacturers to penetrate more into the market.

The companies are developing therapies that focus on novel approaches to treat/improve the disease condition, assess challenges, and seek opportunities that could influence UPLIZNA dominance.

Other emerging products for generalized myasthenia gravis are expected to give tough market competition to UPLIZNA and launch of late-stage emerging therapies in the near future will significantly impact the market.

A detailed description of regulatory milestones, and developmental activities, provide the current development scenario of UPLIZNA in generalized myasthenia gravis.

This in-depth analysis of the forecasted sales data of UPLIZNA from 2024 to 2032 will support the clients in the decision-making process regarding their therapeutic portfolio by identifying the overall scenario of the UPLIZNA in generalized myasthenia gravis.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Report Introduction



2. UPLIZNA Overview in Generalized Myasthenia Gravis

2.1. Product Detail

2.2. Clinical Development

2.2.1. Clinical studies

2.2.2. Clinical trials information

2.2.3. Safety and efficacy

2.3. Other Developmental Activities

2.4. Product Profile



3. Competitive Landscape (Marketed Therapies)



4. Competitive Landscape (Late-stage Emerging Therapies)



5. UPLIZNA Market Assessment

5.1. Market Outlook of UPLIZNA in Generalized Myasthenia Gravis

5.2. 7MM Analysis

5.2.1. Market size of UPLIZNA in the 7MM for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3. Country-wise Market Analysis

5.3.1. Market size of UPLIZNA in the United States for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.2. Market size of UPLIZNA in Germany for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.3. Market size of UPLIZNA in France for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.4. Market size of UPLIZNA in Italy for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.5. Market size of UPLIZNA in Spain for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.6. Market size of UPLIZNA in the United Kingdom for generalized myasthenia gravis

5.3.7. Market size of UPLIZNA in Japan for generalized myasthenia gravis



6. SWOT Analysis



7. Analysts' Views



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/lwj0d5

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




American officials' "frequent, clear and candid" dialogues with counterparts in Beijing on Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's visit should help temper mainland China's response, a senior State Department diplomat said on Thursday.

Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, also expected a "smooth and successful" transit of the United States by the island's leader.

He made the comment after Tsai landed in New York on Wednesday local time. She is expected to stay two nights before heading to Guatemala on Saturday as part of a 10-day trip that will also include Belize, another Central American ally.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

On her way back to Taiwan, Tsai is due to stop over in Los Angeles for two nights starting on April 4, where she is expected to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Against a backdrop of high tensions between the US and China, "frequent communications" are taking place between Washington and Beijing regarding Tsai's visit and a range of other issues, Kritenbrink told a press conference on Thursday.

"We've had clear and candid exchanges as we often do on issues related to the Taiwan Strait," he said.

"I think both sides understand one another's position well," he told reporters, noting that he had spoken frequently about Tsai's stopover with his Chinese counterparts.

Tsai's current travel was consistent with long-standing US practice, he reiterated. "It is a routine, private and unofficial transit, and there is no reason for [China] or anyone else to overreact to it," he said multiple times during his briefing.

"I am confident that President Tsai is going to have a smooth and successful transit of the United States," Kritenbrink added.

The senior American diplomat anticipated that Tsai would have an opportunity to engage with various members of the US Congress, similar to her schedule during previous visits.

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"The US approach to the PRC, the US approach to the cross-strait situation and the US approach to our very important and robust but unofficial partnership with Taiwan, all of those policies remain unchanged," Kritenbrink said, alluding to China by the initials of its official name.

However, Qian Jin, Beijing's deputy consul general in New York, said any suggestion that Tsai should receive credit for a supposedly low-key approach misses the point, describing past US transits by the Taiwanese leader as "mistakes".

Tsai Ing-wen (centre) attends an event at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York on Thursday. Photo: AP alt=Tsai Ing-wen (centre) attends an event at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York on Thursday. Photo: AP>

"We cannot say that because this is not that serious, that this is encouraging," he told a round-table discussion with journalists on Thursday. "No, nothing is encouraging."

"Any previous mistakes should not justify a new mistake," he added. "What is encouraging is stop using Taiwan as a card to contain China."

Beijing said it would "resolutely hit back" if a planned meeting between Tsai and McCarthy proceeded.

Chinese officials also accused Washington of colluding with Tsai to promote the cause of the island's independence. They cautioned that any such meeting would give rise to another "serious confrontation" in the Sino-US relationship.

But Taipei's security chief on Thursday said he did not expect Beijing to respond on the scale it did when McCarthy's predecessor as House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, visited the island last August. He said the situation now was not as complicated as then, although he believed the mainland would escalate its military operations around Taiwan.

Asked whether American officials had seen indications yet of a response to Tsai's visit by China's military, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said: "We've seen no real tangible reaction from the PRC."

"I think we've all seen them react in a rhetorical way but we see no indication that there's been any other type of reaction," Kirby said on Thursday. "There is no reason for that given how commonplace these transits are."

Tsai's American stopovers coincide with former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou's historic 12-day visit to mainland China. Ma twice served as chairman of the Kuomintang, the island's Beijing-friendly opposition party.

Beijing has claimed it sees no links between Ma's and Tsai's travels, but some observers said the mainland authorities were seeking to offset her US visit by welcoming his.

China's defence ministry on Thursday held a monthly routine press conference, and no questions or remarks touched on Taiwan, according to the transcript on its website.

Meanwhile, organisers of Tsai's visit in New York have gone to great lengths to keep Tsai's engagements during the transit private, denying access to most local and foreign media.

Tsai on Wednesday attended a banquet in the city, but reporters from Taiwan who were travelling in her entourage were unaware of the event until after they arrived in the US.

Tsai at the banquet addressed her hosts, who included New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and New York State Senator Iwen Chu, saying Taiwan faced "tremendous challenges" and that Taiwan "cannot be isolated", nor did it take "friendship for granted".

Calling Taiwan-US ties "closer than ever", Tsai said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd - the world's largest maker of microchips and popularly known as TSMC - setting up a factory in Phoenix, Arizona, showed that the island's "technological prowess is spreading worldwide".

Tsai began her day on Thursday with a breakfast with Taiwanese business owners and professionals at Brooklyn's Win Son Bakery. Later she visited the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, where she met with members of the island's diplomatic community and cultural icons like Liya Chu, winner of a Fox cooking show, and cartoonists A ee mi and Saitemiss. Tsai was seen posing for selfies and was presented with an illustration of her cats.

Later on Thursday, Tsai was expected to receive a "global leadership award" and deliver a speech at an event organised by the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

Kritenbrink on Thursday criticised Beijing for its increased "provocative activity" in the Taiwan Strait in recent years and for having stepped up its pressure campaign against the island in military, economic, diplomatic and informational matters.

"Unilateral attempts to change the status quo will not pressure the United States government to alter our long-standing practice to facilitate transits through the United States," he said.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will eventually unite the island with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Few countries, including the US, recognise the island as an independent state. Under official US policy, Washington does not recognise Beijing's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan but "acknowledges" that the claim exists.

Craig Singleton, a China scholar with the non-partisan Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said the Biden administration could confidently argue that Tsai's visit was consistent with the one-China policy and Taiwan Relations Act, given its provision that Taiwan be treated the same under US law as other "foreign countries, nations, states, governments, or similar entities".

Furthermore, he added, while China would protest Tsai's trip, McCarthy's decision to meet Tsai in California at this juncture, rather than Taiwan, was "principled and pragmatic without being overly provocative".

Yet Singleton saw little hope for improved US-China relations any time soon.

"At present, there is little chance of an upside surprise in the bilateral relationship following Tsai's trip," he said. "In fact, Sino-US relations are likely to get worse, before worsening even further."

Additional reporting by Robert Delaney in Washington

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
The crypto markets may be looking uncertain right now but some are still making money from Bitcoin sales: the U.S. government.

According to court documents filed today, the Feds sold the crypto earlier this monthmaking over $215 million.

The crypto in question came from the Silk Road marketplace. Hacker James Zhong confessed to stealing it, and then cops then took it in a historic seizure back in November. They are now selling itand they still have 41,490 Bitcoins ($1.1 billion) to get rid of, the filing said.

With respect to the 51,351.89785803 Bitcoin forfeited in the Ulbricht case before Judge Schofield, the Government has begun liquidating (selling) it, Fridays document read.

On March 14, 2023, the Government sold 9,861.1707894 BTC (of the 51,351.89785803 BTC) for a total of $215,738,154.98. After $215,738.15 in transaction fees, the net proceeds to the Government were $215,522,416.83.

The Ulbricht case refers to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison back in 2015 in a high-profile case.

Ulbricht ran the Silk Road online black market which was used tomostlybuy and sell illegal drugs before authorities shut it down in 2014.

James Zhong pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud after the government alleged that he manipulated the Silk Road transaction system in 2012 to pocket 50,676 Bitcoins. He kept the stash hidden for 10 years until it ballooned to hit a value of $3.3 billion.

Billions in Bitcoin Linked to Silk Road Seized by US Attorneys Office

The defendant had in his possession multiple computer servers, virtual private networks, among other things, enabling him to commit the offense, prosecutors added in Fridays filing. He then managed to keep the Bitcoin protected, and his identity hidden for several years.

With the authorities planning to get rid of the remaining Bitcoin throughout 2023 in four different batches, what kind of effect might that have on the price of the biggest digital asset amid a brutal bear market?

The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.
By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - A Black former Tesla Inc factory worker suing the electric-vehicle maker for race discrimination lost his bid for a mistrial on Friday after claiming the company's lawyers violated court rules by trying to turn jurors against him.

Lawyers for plaintiff Owen Diaz filed a motion for a mistrial in San Francisco federal court shortly before the start of the final day in a week-long trial where a jury is considering how much Tesla must pay to Diaz for subjecting him to racial slurs, threats and other incidents.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick denied the motion during a pretrial conference, saying Diaz had not shown that comments by Tesla's lawyers had prejudiced the jury. Orrick also warned Diaz's lawyers against making "ad hominem attacks" on the company's legal team.

A different jury in 2021 found Tesla liable for discrimination, which Orrick had upheld while finding that the $137 million the jury had awarded in damages was excessive.

Diaz rejected a lowered award of $15 million and opted for a new trial on damages. Orrick barred the introduction of any new evidence or testimony at the retrial, which kicked off on Monday.

Diaz's lawyers on Friday said Tesla's legal team improperly questioned him and other witnesses during this week's trial about alleged incidents where Diaz called a coworker a "dumb Mexican" and asked a female employee if she dated Black men.

Diaz denied making those comments, and his lawyers claimed that Tesla had violated Orrick's order prohibiting new evidence.

But Orrick agreed with Tesla's lawyers that the questioning of Diaz was proper because his alleged comments were related to incidents that were discussed during the 2021 trial.

The jury could render a verdict as soon as Friday afternoon. Tesla is likely to challenge any verdict awarding damages to Diaz.

Tesla has said it does not tolerate discrimination and takes complaints by workers seriously.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Matthew Lewis)
Original founder re-acquires the company which was sold in 2018.

JENKINTOWN, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2023 / Ustayev Management, Inc. ("UMI"), a privately owned firm, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of SarahCare of Jenkintown ("SarahCare of Jenkintown" or "the Company"), a home and community-based services and adult day care company. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.



SarahCare





Located in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, SarahCare, founded in 2008, provides home and community-based services, including Adult Day Care center and Home Care services. SarahCare offers companions, nutrition and medication assistance, shopping, nursing, transportation, therapeutic activities and other services.

Arsen Ustayev was the original founder of the Company, but sold it to a Private Equity firm in 2018. Today, Arsen is happy to announce that the company has been purchased back. Arsen Ustayev will resume his role as the company President and Chief Executive Officer.

"I am pleased to announce that today I am acquiring my old company back and am returning to the operations helm. I strongly believe in the mission of SarahCare and I know with the help of our wonderful team, we can continue the post-pandemic growth of the company.

SarahCare of Jenkintown is located at 261 Old York Rd. Suite A51. Jenkintown, PA 19046. Web address: www.sarahpa.com. Phone number: 215-999-1200.

SarahCare Philosophy

SarahCare keeps families together at home by providing health-related services for those in need of assistance. Founded in 1985, SarahCare is one of the nation's leading providers of home and community-based services. Throughout the years, the company has earned its reputation as a recognized leader in providing qualified professionals to deliver family centered care that helps keep people remain at home and away from institutional facilities.

About Ustayev Management, Inc.

Ustayev Management, Inc. is a privately owned venture capital firm that invests in healthcare, real estate and various other companies in different states. The main focus of the company is quality operations and fast organic growth. Over the past 5 years, the company has had multiple successful acquisitions and mergers as the company continues to grow and expand its operations.

Story continues

Contact Information

Arsen Ustayev

CEO

(215) 999-1200

SOURCE: Ustayev Management, Inc.

.





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https://www.accesswire.com/746915/Ustayev-Management-Inc-Completes-Acquisition-of-SarahCare-of-Jenkintown




According to Fortune Business Insights, The Global Ventricular Assist Device Market size is projected to reach USD 2.56 Billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 10.8% during the forecast period, 2023-2030

Pune, India, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Ventricular Assist Device Market size hit USD 1.15 billion in 2022. The market valuation is expected to grow from USD 1.25 billion in 2023 to USD 2.56 Billion by 2030 at a 10.8% CAGR during the forecast period.

Heart Failure (HF) prevalence has been rising noticeably all over the world. The prevalence of the disease is rising as a result of factors such as bad food and lifestyle changes, among others. According to a piece written by the AME Publishing Company, there were around 64.4 million cases of heart failure worldwide in 2020. 51% of the patients had severe heart failure, which represented the entire prevalence of heart failure. Ventricular Assist Devices (VAD) are a class of mechanical circulatory support devices that are implanted in heart failure patients with severe symptoms. VADs work by pumping blood from the heart's chambers to the body as a whole.

Key Industry Development:

February 2021: In the Early Feasibility Study, CARMAT has been permitted to employ a new version of its artificial heart.





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Report Scope

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023 to 2030 Forecast Period 2023 to 2030 CAGR 10.8% 2030 Value Projection USD 2.56 Billion Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 USD 1.15 Billion Historical Data for 2019 to 2021 No. of Pages 156

Key Takeaways

Europe held the second-largest share in the market and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR owing to rising investments in the market coupled with newer product launches.

The market size in North America stood at USD 0.59 billion in 2022

The left ventricular assist device segment is set to lead the market by product.

The key factors driving the market are the increasing prevalence of heart failure and the rising penetration of ventricular assist devices.

Abbott and ABIOMED are the top players in the market.

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Drivers and Restraints

Long Waiting Periods for Heart Transplants to Aid Growth

The need for heart transplants has grown dramatically as the prevalence of heart failure rises globally. Yet, a global shortage crisis has emerged due to lack of sufficient heart donors to match the demand. In March 2022, the Health Resources & Services Administration reported that there were around 105,800 individuals on the waiting list for heart transplants. These factors drive the Ventricular Assist Device Market growth.





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LVAD Segment to Experience Maximum Demand During 2023-2030

The market is divided into bi-ventricular assist devices, right ventricular assist devices, and Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVAD). Due to patients around the world undergoing the most LVAD implantation procedures, LVAD held the largest market share in 2022.

Continuous Segment to Capture Maximum Share during the Forecast Period

The market is divided into the pulsatile flow and continuous flow based on the type of flow. In 2022, the continuous flow segment had a sizable market share due to its advantages. Benefits of continuous flow devices include low maintenance requirements, low noise levels, infrequent replacement needs, and few moving parts.

DT Application Segment to Generate Monumental Market Demand

The market is divided into Bridge to Transplant (BTT), Bridge to Candidacy (BTC), Destination Therapy (DT), and Bridge to Recovery (BTR) according to application. Due to variables such as increase in the frequency of heart failure in its terminal stages, Destination Treatment (DT) held the largest market share in 2022.

Hospitals and ASCs to Experience Robust Demand Through 2030

The market is divided into hospitals & ASCs and specialty clinics & others depending on the end user. Due to increase in hospital stays for patients having cardiac surgeries, such as device insertion or implant procedures, the hospitals & ASCs segment is anticipated to hold the majority of market share during the forecast period.

Report Coverage

The report offers:

Major growth drivers, restraining factors, opportunities, and potential challenges for the market.

Comprehensive insights into regional developments.

List of major industry players.

Key strategies adopted by the market players.

Recent industry developments include product launches, partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions.





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Regional Insights

North America to Dominate as Heart Failure Rates Increase

In 2022, the North America market had a value of USD 0.59 billion. The rising incidence of cardiovascular disorders in the area led to the domination of this regional market. Moreover, the adoption of these devices in the region has been fueled by an increase in collaborations and agreements among the major players that emphasize the growth of this market.

Due to increased market investments and the introduction of newer products, Europe, which had the second-largest Ventricular Assist Device Market share, is predicted to witness rapid growth.

Competitive Landscape

Strong VAD Sales Help Top Players Sustain Dominance

Among the leading industry participants, Abbott and ABIOMED held a sizeable global market share in 2022. Abbott held a substantial market share for ventricular assist devices globally. This is due to the result of the company's robust device sales. Also, the business places a high priority on strategic efforts with the intention of diversifying its product offers internationally.

List of the Companies Profiled:

Berlin Heart (Germany)

ABIOMED (U.S.)

Abbott (U.S.)

Jarvik Heart, Inc. (U.S.)





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Table Of Content

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Market Trends

Key Insights Prevalence of Heart Failure, by Region, 2021 Number of Cardiac Surgeries, By Region/Country New Product Launches, By Key Players Key Industry Developments (Mergers, Acquisitions, Partnerships; etc.) Impact of COVID-19 on the Market

Global Ventricular Assist Device Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2030 Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Product Left Ventricular Assist Device Right Ventricular Assist Device Bi-Ventricular Assist Device Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Type of Flow Pulsatile Flow Continuous Flow Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Application Bridge to Transplant (BTT) Bridge to Candidacy (BTC) Destination Therapy (DT) Bridge to Recovery (BTR) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By End-user Hospitals & ASCs Specialty Clinics & Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa

North America Ventricular Assist Device Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2030

Competitive Analysis Global Market Share Analysis (2022) Company Profiles (Overview, Products, SWOT Analysis, Recent Developments, Strategies, Financials (Based on Availability)) Berlin Heart ABIOMED Abbott Jarvik Heart, Inc. Other Players



Toc Continued!





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FAQs

What is the ventricular assist device market growth?

The global ventricular assist device market size is projected to grow from USD 1.25 billion in 2023 to USD 2.56 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 10.8% during the forecast period.

How many ventricular assist devices are there?

The two basic types of VADs are a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and a right ventricular assist device (RVAD). If both types are used at the same time, they may be called a biventricular assist device (BIVAD)

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As an investor its worth striving to ensure your overall portfolio beats the market average. But in any portfolio, there are likely to be some stocks that fall short of that benchmark. We regret to report that long term Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 30% in three years, versus a market return of about 67%.

On a more encouraging note the company has added US$5.4b to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the three-year loss for shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Verizon Communications

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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.

Although the share price is down over three years, Verizon Communications actually managed to grow EPS by 2.8% per year in that time. This is quite a puzzle, and suggests there might be something temporarily buoying the share price. Or else the company was over-hyped in the past, and so its growth has disappointed.

It looks to us like the market was probably too optimistic around growth three years ago. However, taking a look at other business metrics might shed a bit more light on the share price action.

We note that the dividend seems healthy enough, so that probably doesn't explain the share price drop. Revenue has been pretty flat over three years, so that isn't an obvious reason shareholders would sell. A closer look at revenue and profit trends might yield insights.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Verizon Communications is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. If you are thinking of buying or selling Verizon Communications stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst consensus estimates for future profits.

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What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Verizon Communications the TSR over the last 3 years was -19%, 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!

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Verizon Communications shareholders are down 20% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 11%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 0.2%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Verizon Communications better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Verizon Communications .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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SINGAPORE, March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vestas has signed a preferred supplier agreement for a 495 MW floating offshore wind project in South Korea. If the project materialises, Vestas will supply and install 33 units of the V236-15.0 MW turbine for the project.

Vestas Logo (PRNewsfoto/Vestas Asia Pacific)

For media inquiries, please contact:

Megumi Sakuma

Marketing & Communications Manager, Vestas Asia Pacific

mgskm@vestas.com

Tel: +81 90 6723 5325

About Vestas

Vestas is the energy industry's global partner on sustainable energy solutions. We design, manufacture, install, and service onshore and offshore wind turbines across the globe, and with more than 164 GW of wind turbines in 87 countries, we have installed more wind power than anyone else. Through our industry-leading smart data capabilities and unparalleled more than 144 GW of wind turbines under service, we use data to interpret, forecast, and exploit wind resources and deliver best-in-class wind power solutions. Together with our customers, Vestas' more than 28,000 employees are bringing the world sustainable energy solutions to power a bright future.

For updated Vestas photographs and videos, please visit our media images page on:

https://www.vestas.com/en/media/images.

We invite you to learn more about Vestas by visiting our website at www.vestas.com following us on our social media channels:

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SOURCE Vestas Asia Pacific
the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne - Ministry of Defence

Virgin Orbit is on the brink of collapse after the troubled rocket launch company announced it was laying off 85pc of its staff and ceasing operations.

Sir Richard Branson has been forced to inject $11m into the satellite-launch company after the business failed to raise funding from other sources.

The cash injection will fund the redundancies of 675 staff and remaining employees will work on winding down the business.

The loan from Sir Richard grants the billionaire rights over the companys Boeing 747 aircraft and other assets if it goes bankrupt.

Chief executive Dan Hart told staff the company had no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and extremely painful changes, CNBC reported.

Funding negotiations with a potential buyer, Matthew Brown, collapsed last weekend.

Mr Hart is making last ditch efforts to secure a rescue deal, according to the Financial Times.

It marks a rapid unravelling for the business, which in January completed a high-profile - though ultimately unsuccessful - launch from Cornwall. The failure led to a collapse in the companys share price.

Virgin Orbit temporarily suspended operations earlier this month while it sought additional capital.

Shares in US-listed Virgin Orbit, which was once worth $3bn, plunged 44pc in after market trading in the US, valuing it at less than $100m.

Virgin Orbit officially began in 2017 as an offshoot of Virgin Galactic before going public in 2021 through a combination with a blank-check firm.

It aimed to launch small satellites into orbit, distinct from Virgin Galactics focus on sending humans to the edge of space and back.

But two of Orbits six missions, mostly from the Mojave desert in the US, failed.

Its latest attempt from the UK ended in disaster after the rocket suffered an anomaly and its satellites crashed into the sea.

The business  part of Bransons empire that includes airline Virgin Atlantic and spaceflight company Virgin Galactic  has not turned a profit as a public company.

Story continues

With Virgin Orbit on the brink of collapse, Britains space ambitions have been thrown into doubt. The space company had been planning up to 17 launches from the UK over the next decade from a rocket port in Cornwall.

The company had received around 9.5m in taxpayer funding from the UK Space Agency for the failed mission in January.

The Long Beach, California-based company is one of several space-related start-ups that have seen their shares plunge as investors shy away from untested business models and money-losing operations.

Astra Space reported Thursday that its cash and cash-equivalent reserves fell by 32pc in the last quarter of last year.

Rocket Lab USA said last month it expects its quarterly loss to be three times bigger than analysts had estimated.
AeroFarms Is Honored to Receive The Inaugural Controlled Environment Agriculture Month Proclamation from Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin as AeroFarms Operational Expansion Continues

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin presents AeroFarms with the inaugural Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Proclamation

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin presents AeroFarms with the inaugural Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Proclamation in observation of CEA Month in Virginia.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Tours AeroFarms Danville with AeroFarms Co-Founder and CMO Marc Oshima

AeroFarms Danville is capable of growing over 3 million pounds of leafy greens annually.

Danville, Virginia, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AeroFarms, a Certified B Corporation and world leader in indoor vertical farming, welcomed Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Virginia Secretary of Agriculture Matthew Lohr to AeroFarms Danville, as they tour the cutting-edge indoor vertical farm, growing award-winning leafy greens with pioneering vertical farming technology.

Governor Youngkin presented the inaugural Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Proclamation to AeroFarms, a notable sign of the growing importance of the CEA category and the impact of next generation agriculture to the Commonwealth of Virginia. AeroFarms continues to pioneer the latest technology in indoor farming, bringing advancements in agriculture and job creation to Virginia as a model for continued expansion.

"I was pleased to visit AeroFarms and see firsthand their amazing contribution to the Commonwealth's growing controlled environment agriculture and AgTech innovation industry. Indoor growing is the future of agriculture and Virginia is leading the way, said Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

AeroFarms leafy greens are safely grown indoors in state-of-the art commercial indoor vertical farms that are certified for USDA Good Agricultural Practices, SQF Level 2 Good Manufacturing Practices, Non-GMO Project Verification, OU Kosher, and the industry-leading CEA Food Safety Seal that was developed to differentiate indoor clean growing practices from the traditional challenges in the field. AeroFarms leafy greens are completely pesticide free and are ready-to-eat without any need to wash, providing a major benefit to customers looking for safety and convenience.

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AeroFarms is proud to be part of the Virginia agriculture ecosystem, advancing next generation AgTech solutions as we continue expansion to grow the best plants possible for the betterment for humanity, said AeroFarms CEO and Co-Founder David Rosenberg, We are appreciative of the Virginia community for the support of AeroFarms and our work to advance the industry.

Winning on flavor, AeroFarms is the number one retail brand for both unit and dollar sales in the United States for microgreens according to Nielsen syndicated data*, and AeroFarms leafy greens can be found at major retailers like Ahold Delhaize, Amazon Fresh, Harris Teeter, The Fresh Market, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, and more.

AeroFarms proprietary indoor vertical farming technology to grow more plants at the highest productivity per square feet with the least amount of natural resources, continuing AeroFarms legacy of continuous improvement and innovation. The AeroFarms aeroponic advantage provides the perfect, nutrient-rich mist targeted right at the roots of the plants for optimized efficiency and better water management, using up to 95% less water than field farming. AeroFarms Danville introduces a state-of-the-art water recapture process for even more water savings. In addition to the benefits to the environment, AeroFarms Danville will also add 158 jobs to the local economy while bringing fresh, safe, delicious greens to more communities year-round.

AeroFarms Danville Key Benefits:

 Capable of serving over 50 million people within a days drive

 Capable of growing over 3 million pounds of leafy greens annually

 Hands-free farming with end-to-end automation from seeding to growing to harvesting to packaging

 Over 50% water savings and over 50% improvement in LED efficiency through proprietary design versus previous farm

About AeroFarms

Since 2004, AeroFarms has been leading the way for indoor vertical farming and championing transformational innovation for agriculture. On a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, AeroFarms is a Certified B Corporation with global headquarters in Newark, New Jersey. Named one of the Worlds Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company two years in a row and one of TIMEs Best Inventions in Food, AeroFarms patented, award-winning indoor vertical farming technology provides the perfect conditions for healthy plants to thrive, taking agriculture to a new level of precision, food safety, and productivity while using up to 95% less water and no pesticides ever versus traditional field farming. AeroFarms enables local production to safely grow all year round, using vertical farming for elevated flavor. Its products can be found at major selling partners like Ahold Delhaize, Amazon Fresh, Baldor Specialty Food, Compass Group, Harris Teeter, Marcus BP, Momofuku Noodle Bars, ShopRite, The Fresh Market, Walmart, and Whole Foods Market. In addition, through its proprietary growing technology platform, AeroFarms has grown over 550 varieties of plants and has developed multi-year strategic partnerships ranging from government to major Fortune 500 companies to help uniquely solve agriculture supply chain needs.

*Source: Nielsen [Microgreen SKUs] Total US xAOC 52-weeks ending 13-Aug-2022

Attachments

CONTACT: Marc Oshima AeroFarms 917-673-4602 marcoshima@aerofarms.com




Wartsila

HELSINKI, Finland, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The technology group Wartsila has signed an Operations & Maintenance agreement with Brazilian utility Rio Amazonas Energia (RAESA) to provide full operations and maintenance support for the Cristiano Rocha power plant in Manaus, Brazil. The agreement serves to strengthen the relationship already in place between Wartsila and RAESA, which entered into a Guarantee Asset Performance agreement in November 2019 to assist the plant to run with 100% natural gas. The O&M agreement went into effect on February 1, 2023 and will last 28 months.



The Cristiano Rocha power plant operates five Wartsila 50SG gas engines with a combined net output of 92 MW. The fast-starting and stopping ability of Wartsilas engine technology allows full output to be reached in just minutes, ensuring not only a stable and reliable electricity supply but also grid stability. The Cristiano Rocha power plant contributes 65 MW of energy to the national grid through a power purchase agreement with Eletronorte.

Wartsilas expertise and ability to offer a full O&M solution were key reasons why RAESA chose them to oversee the Cristiano Rocha power plants operations and maintenance needs.

RAESA is committed to being the most reliable, cost-effective energy producer possible to thrive in the Brazilian energy marketplace. Wartsilas ability to help customers reduce costs while maintaining a high level of quality assured us from the start. Wartsila is able to meet our needs in terms of savings while guaranteeing world-class reliability, says Technical Director Edesio Alves Nunes Filho from Raesa.

As a manufacturer, our goal is to offer the best solution in terms of scope, knowledge, and value. By extending our relationship with RAESA to cover the operations and maintenance of the Cristiano Rocha power plant, we will be able to ensure the plant can continue dispatching energy 24/7 while keeping costs low and performance high, says Business Development Manager Carlos Henrique Gonzales from Wartsila.

Story continues

Learn more:

Wartsila converts Brazilian power plant to run on gas for improved sustainability and competitiveness

The connection between gas conversions and clean energy

Media contact for more information on this release:

Katri Pehkonen

Communications Manager

Wartsila Energy

Mob: +358 50 591 6180

katri.pehkonen@wartsila.com

All Wartsila releases are available at https://www.wartsila.com/media/news-releases and at http://news.cision.com/wartsila-corporation where the images can also be downloaded.

Wartsila Energy in brief

Wartsila Energy leads the transition towards a 100% renewable energy future. We help our partners to accelerate their decarbonisation journeys through our market-leading technologies and power system modelling expertise. These cover decarbonisation services, future-fuel enabled balancing power plants, hybrid solutions, energy storage and optimisation technology, including the GEMS Digital Energy Platform. Wartsila Energys lifecycle services are designed to increase efficiency, promote reliability and guarantee operational performance. Our track record comprises 76 GW of power plant capacity and 110 energy storage systems delivered to 180 countries around the world.

www.wartsila.com/energy

Wartsila in brief

Wartsila is a global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. We emphasise innovation in sustainable technology and services to help our customers continuously improve their environmental and economic performance. Our dedicated and passionate team of 17,500 professionals in more than 240 locations in 79 countries shape the decarbonisation transformation of our industries across the globe. In 2022, Wartsilas net sales totalled EUR 5.8 billion. Wartsila is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

www.wartsila.com




Speaking on a healthcare related panel at the Laurentian Bank Securities Diversified Virtual Technology Conference on April 12 th .

Presenting the Company at the Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference on April 26th.

VANCOUVER, BC, March 31, 2023 /CNW/ - WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSX: WELL) (OTCQX: WHTCF) ("WELL" or the "Company"), a company focused on positively impacting health outcomes by leveraging technology to empower healthcare practitioners and their patients globally, is pleased to announce that a team from WELL Health including Hamed Shahbazi, Founder and CEO, will be participating in the Laurentian Bank Securities ("LBS") Diversified Virtual Technology Conference and the Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference.

WELL Health Technologies Corp. Logo (CNW Group/WELL Health Technologies Corp.)

The LBS Diversified Technology Conference is taking place virtually on April 12th, 2023. Mr. Shahbazi will be participating on a healthcare panel at 1:00pm ET, and in one-on-one meetings with investors throughout the conference. In addition, Iain Paterson, Chief Information Security Officer for WELL, will also be attending and will be speaking on a cybersecurity related panel at 11:45am ET. To register for LBS Diversified Technology Conference, please contact your LBS Securities representative.

The Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference will take place at Metro Toronto Convention Centre (North Building) in Toronto, Ontario on April 25th to 26th, 2023. Mr. Shahbazi will be presenting the Company on Wednesday April 26th at 9:30am ET. Mr. Shahbazi will also be participating in one-on-one meetings with investors throughout the conference. To register for the event, please contact your Bloom Burton & Co. representative.

WELL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES CORP.

Per: "Hamed Shahbazi"

Hamed Shahbazi

Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director

About WELL Health Technologies Corp.

WELL is a practitioner-focused digital healthcare company. WELL's overarching mission is to positively impact health outcomes by leveraging technology to empower healthcare practitioners and their patients globally. WELL exists to enable healthcare practitioners with best-in-class technology and services. WELL has built the most comprehensive end-to-end healthcare system across Canada including the nation's largest network of clinics supporting primary care, specialized care, and diagnostics services. In the United States, WELL provides omni-channel healthcare services and solutions targeting specialized markets such as the gastrointestinal market, women's health, primary care, and mental disorders. In addition to providing patient services, WELL develops, integrates, and sells its own suite of technology software and solutions to medical clinics and healthcare practitioners. WELL's practitioner enablement platform includes: Electronic Medical Records ("EMR"), telehealth platforms, practice management, billing, Revenue Cycle Management ("RCM"), digital health apps and data protection solutions. WELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "WELL" and on the OTC Exchange under the symbol "WHTCF". To learn more about the Company, please visit: www.well.company.

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SOURCE WELL Health Technologies Corp.

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The new partnership will make a transformational impact on improving the health and well-being of Georgians through education, research and innovative patient care.

MARIETTA, Ga. and AUGUSTA, Ga., March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wellstar Health System and Augusta University Health System (AUHS) have reached an agreement to form an innovative new partnership that expands Augusta University's health sciences training and research across the state and builds a broader affiliation between Wellstar Health System and the university's Medical College of Georgia (MCG). The agreements were approved this week by the boards of Wellstar and AUHS, as well as the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Wellstar, AUHS and Augusta University share a mission to create a healthier future for Georgians and solve health care challenges across the state. Through this partnership, they plan to make a transformational impact on improving the health and well-being of every patient they serve.

"This is an important day for health care in Georgia. I am excited for the benefits that this partnership will provide our state, including world-class care sites, greater access to care for our communities and more training and education for physicians and other vitally important health care providers at Augusta University and its outstanding Medical College of Georgia," said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

To be known as Wellstar MCG Health, the partnership will expand medical training, research and clinical care throughout Georgia, while implementing a successful model of bringing together community-based health systems and academic medical centers like MCG and its affiliate hospitals. MCG and Augusta University are part of the University System of Georgia (USG), and MCG serves as the only public medical school in the state.

"This partnership combines the strengths of AUHS, Augusta University and Wellstar to advance medical education and research and provide more access to quality health care where people need it most, especially in rural Georgia," USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said. "It allows AUHS to benefit from Wellstar's efficiencies in the delivery of health care and provide experiential education in a modern clinical environment, which increases MCG's positive impact on local communities and Georgia's medical workforce."

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Upon regulatory approval, the partnership will focus on five areas to create a healthier future for Georgia:

Access to Expertise: Creating an ecosystem of care that provides the most advanced clinical care, innovative academic teaching models and lifesaving research to all corners of the state and beyond.

Expanding the Pipeline of Clinicians: Making significant investments to increase the number of physicians trained in Georgia at the Medical College of Georgia.

Care Innovation: Creating new and innovative clinical care offerings and models to enhance the health and well-being of patients they serve.

Pediatric Care: Bringing Wellstar and AUHS's exemplary pediatric care to more Georgians across the state through Children's Hospital of Georgia and Wellstar's dedicated pediatric care and emergency departments.

Digital Health: Making significant investments in improving clinical IT, modernizing digital care centers and adding remote care offerings backed by the academic medical expertise of the Medical College of Georgia.

"Improving healthcare for Georgians requires taking new approaches, creating innovative care models and unprecedented collaboration," said Candice L. Saunders, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of Wellstar Health System. "This partnership will bring together the best capabilities and innovations from Wellstar, AUHS and the Medical College of Georgia to advance healthcare in Georgia, making it easier for patients to get the care they need wherever they are."

"As our two organizations have worked together over the last three months to reach this agreement, the rationale for our partnering with Wellstar has only grown stronger  to enable our health system to thrive in today's challenging health care environment and to extend our mission of improving health for all Georgians through excellence in patient care, education and research," said Brooks Keel, PhD, president of Augusta University and acting chief executive officer for Augusta University Health System. "Our partnership with Wellstar will secure the long-term future of academic medicine-influenced health care in Augusta and the surrounding region, increase the number of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals we are able to train and make substantial investments in our health care facilities and new technologies to provide care in more convenient settings for patients across Georgia."

In the proposed agreement, Wellstar has committed to investing nearly $800 million over 10 years in AUHS facilities and infrastructure, including more than $200 million allocated to Augusta University Medical Center  a more than 600-bed safety net and teaching hospital. Additionally, capital for a new hospital, medical office building and ambulatory surgery center in Columbia County and the costs associated with implementing a new state-funded electronic medical records system throughout AUHS will be funded. These investments will result in strengthened and expanded community programs, economic activity and jobs across the region.

"Our affiliation with Wellstar will accelerate the advances MCG will make in clinical care, medical education as well as research across the state. This includes enabling a larger number of students and residents to have expanded opportunities to learn from some of the most highly qualified physicians and other health care professionals in our state," said David Hess, MD, dean of the Medical College of Georgia and executive vice president of medical affairs and integration at Augusta University.

The primary AUHS clinical sites involved in the agreement include AUMC, Children's Hospital of Georgia, the clinical operations of the Georgia Cancer Center, Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital and the new hospital in Columbia County.

"I'm grateful for the support of Governor Kemp and the General Assembly as we've worked to ensure the future of AUHS and find a partner willing to invest in the newest facilities, technology and equipment to care for patients and provide state-of-the-art training for MCG's medical students and residents," USG Board of Regents Chairman Harold Reynolds said.

The agreement also includes AU Medical Associates, the physician practice plan comprised of faculty physicians who have appointments at MCG and community physicians directly employed by the plan, as well as several clinics and other health care sites in Augusta, throughout Georgia and in certain counties in South Carolina.

"As an Augusta resident, I'm excited to see the potential of MCG as it grows and matures into what I believe is one of the best public medical schools in the nation," said USG Regent Jim Hull, chairman of the AUHS Board of Directors. "This partnership is vital for that journey and will only enhance both MCG's reputation and Augusta University's recognition as a best-in-class research university."

Pending regulatory approvals, the organizations plan to close the partnership in late summer.

About Augusta University Health System

Augusta University Health System, in partnership with the Medical College of Georgia, is Georgia's only public academic health center and a place where world-class clinicians are bringing the medicine of tomorrow to patient care today. As the primary teaching affiliate of MCG, AUHS provides the most comprehensive routine-to-complex care at AU Medical Center, which houses the region's only Level 1 trauma center, Children's Hospital of Georgia, which houses the regions only Level IV NICU, the Georgia Cancer Center, as well as historic Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals, a virtual care network and more than 80 primary and specialty, and subspecialty care clinics across the state. Learn more at augustahealth.org.

About Wellstar Health System

As one of the most advanced and integrated health systems in Georgia, Wellstar Health System doesn't take a one size fits all approach to healthcare. We provide deeply personal care that takes each person's unique life story into account. With 24,000 team members, nurses and doctors, Wellstar provides compassionate, high-quality care. Our team is made up of more Top Doctors than any other health care system in Georgia, across nearly every specialty. We are training the next generation of clinicians, offering graduate medical education that prepares clinicians to deliver the highest quality of health care to our community. Several Wellstar facilities have been recognized in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings for providing world-class care in a variety of specialties, including cardiology, neurology, cancer care and pediatrics. In addition, Wellstar Paulding Hospital has been awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest level of recognition for performance excellence. Wellstar is the only health system to have a digital innovation hub  Catalyst by Wellstar. Catalyst by Wellstar is the -first-of-its-kind innovation company and venture firm created and operated within a health ecosystem to holistically address healthcare disruption by harnessing problems, building solutions, deploying capital and establishing strategic partnerships across industries. Wellstar operates the only comprehensive trauma care system in the state with Level II, Level III and Level IV trauma centers, pediatric emergency departments and a dedicated Burn Center. These centers help us serve the most critical patients with a range of emergency care options. Together, we're proud to have served one out of every six Georgians, including patients from 148 out of 159 Georgia counties. We provide nearly $1 billion in uncompensated care in Georgia annually and have been recognized as one of the top 10 providers nationally on charity care. Through more than 450 community partnerships, including our Wellstar Center for Health Equity, the care we provide in our community extends far beyond the walls of our facilities. And our journey continues as we work to reach patients and families in new communities in new ways to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve.

About Augusta University

As one of Georgia's four public research institutions, Augusta University offers customizable, accessible education on campuses in Augusta and across the state. Augusta University aims not only to be different, but also to make a difference  to reimagine and recreate the future of art, technology, education and health care. Home to Georgia's only public academic medical center and designated by the state as a health sciences center of excellence, Augusta University is dedicated to creating a safer, healthier and more equitable Georgia. Learn more at augusta.edu.

About the Medical College of Georgia

The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University is one of the nation's largest medical schools by class size, with 264 students per class. The educational experience is anchored by the main campus in Augusta, regional clinical campuses for third- and fourth-year students across the state and a second four-year campus in Athens in partnership with the University of Georgia. MCG's expanding partnerships with physicians and hospitals across Georgia currently provides about 350 sites where students can experience the full spectrum of medicine, from complex care hospitals to small-town solo practices. MCG and its teaching hospitals also provide postgraduate education to more than 500 residents and fellows in more than 50 different Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved programs.

Cision

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SOURCE Wellstar Health System
Wereldhave N.V.

Today, Wereldhave, the Municipality of Dordrecht, tenants and partners in development celebrated the official opening of the completely renewed Full Service Center Sterrenburg. The official opening act was performed by alderwoman Tanja de Jonge of the Municipality of Dordrecht, Chief Commercial Officer Pieter Polman of Wereldhave and local entrepreneur Jan-Willem Leemhuis of Jumbo Foodmarket. During the celebrations, the parties involved looked back on the high ambition level of the project, their successful collaboration and the clearly visible end-result.

Sterrenburg marks the fifth completed Full Service Center by Wereldhave, after Presikhaaf and City-Center Tilburg in the Netherlands and Les Bastions and Ring Kortrijk in Belgium. The project was delivered on time and within budget. Full Service Center Sterrenburg opens almost fully let, with a mixed-use percentage of around 20% and new tenants including Basic-Fit, Jumbo Foodmarkt, RegioBank and an every.deli fresh cluster with a variety of artisanal fresh food shops.

About Sterrenburg

Sterrenburg in Dordrecht has always been a well-functioning center in the city. Over the past two years, the center was transformed from an outdated convenience shopping center into a modern and vibrant Full Service Center. Sterrenburg now offers a multitude of visiting alibis next to shopping and already shows a significant footfall increase when compared to 2019. From a sustainability perspective, the center is now connected to district heating and is no longer using gas. Additional investments were made in insulation, greening, and green energy through solar panels.

Attachment




West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has signed a bill into law that bans most gender-affirming care for transgender youth, with an exception for those considered at risk for suicide or other self-harm.

Justice, a Republican, signed House Bill 2007 Wednesday. It bans the provision of puberty blockers, hormones, or gender-affirming surgery (not recommended for minors and not being performed in the state) to anyone under 18. It goes into effect in January.

An amendment added late in the legislative process by Republican Sen. Tom Takubo, a physician, allows for the exception. At least two doctors must submit written opinions that treatment with pubertal modulating and hormonal therapy is medically necessary to treat the minors psychiatric symptoms and limit self-harm, or the possibility of self-harm, by the minor, the amendment states. The minors parents or legal guardians must agree as well.

It stipulates that the medications must be in the lowest dosage necessary to treat the psychiatric condition and not for purposes of gender alteration. Puberty blockers and hormones are not to be administered to prepubescent minors, and that is not standard practice in any case.

While providers and their lawyers are waiting to see how the new law will be implemented, some doctors expect little to change in how health care workers prescribe gender-affirming medication like hormones and puberty blockers, reports Mountain State Spotlight, a West Virginia news service.

Big picture, I think everybody who needs care is still going to be able to get care, Dr. Kimberly Becher, a family physician and former health policy fellow at Marshall University, told the service.

Natalie Frazier, a Planned Parenthood worker who oversees gender-affirming care in West Virginia and neighboring states, told the Associated Press the legislation is better than it could have been, but it still creates an unnecessary barrier to care that is going to end up harming people. Some teens and families cant afford to see multiple doctors to get approval for the treatments, she pointed out.

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Virtually every young person who seeks gender-affirming care is at risk of self-harm, she added. Thats why people are so invested in providing the care, because there is a disproportionate risk, she said. Thats something that any of these kids could be at risk for, and nobodys going into this care lightly.

Cathryn Oakley, the Human Rights Campaigns state legislative director and senior counsel, released a statement denouncing the legislation: Gov. Justice and the legislature are substituting their political priorities for the expert judgment of medical experts  the mainstream American medical community recommends the age-appropriate, best practice medical care that this law now prohibits. I want to be clear: these lawmakers are denying transgender and nonbinary youth care that saves lives. Gov. Justices actions [Wednesday] are dangerous, discriminatory, and just another example of politicians in positions of power abusing their authority to cater to extreme elements of their base  harming the children of West Virginia in the process.

Other states that states have outlawed most or all gender-affirming care for trans minors through legislation are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, South Dakota Tennessee, and Utah. Florida has put a ban in place through its medical boards and is considering a bill for an even stricter measure. The Alabama and Arkansas bans are temporarily blocked by court action. Bans are pending in several other states.
The competition between the U.S. and China has been heating up for years, and leaders of both countries have sparred on matters of trade, technology and even alleged spying. Now, the World Bank is warning that souring U.S.-China relations will hinder the growth in both economies as well as other parts of Asia, and hurt innovation and information sharing around the world.

Politics, rather than economic fundamentals and predictable rules, are molding trade patterns and the resulting uncertainty could discourage investment in other countries, the World Bank said in a report released Friday. Bilateral restrictions on technology flows and collaboration between large countries could reduce the global availability of knowledge.

The gap between the U.S. and China got wider during the Trump administration, which implemented sweeping tariffs targeting Chinese imports on metals, electronics and more. A lot of those restrictions have been adopted by President Biden, who added additional controls on chip exports last October, weakening relations between the two trade partners.

But what happens between the U.S. and China wont just stay between the U.S. and China. Around 12 Asian neighbors are affected by the rising tensions between the two superpowers, including Vietnam and Thailand, according to the World Bank, which analyzed patent application trends to measure innovation.

What happens to both Chinese and US innovation matters for other countries in the region, the report reads. "While still small compared to the advanced economies like the U.S., China has become an increasingly important source of knowledge for innovation in other East Asia and Pacific countries," the report said.

The World Bank noted, however, that the import restrictions have translated into incremental gains for other countries in the region as they swoop in to make up for the lost business in China. For instance, Chinas share of U.S. imports dropped 4% between 2018 and 2022, while that of its peers in the region has increased over the same period. Those shifts came mainly from the electronics industry, which includes chips and semiconductors. But in the long run, U.S.-China decoupling could disrupt trade and increase the cost of business in the region, making it less attractive for future investments, according to the World Bank.

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On the bright side, the reopening of Chinas economy is set to boost business in the entire East Asia Pacific region this year. The World Bank projected that growth is expected to of 5.1% in 2023, up from its October forecast of 4.6%. Years of pent-up demand following the COVID-19 pandemic have helped the recovery of services, including tourism, in EAP countries, although they have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Most major economies of East Asia and the Pacific have come through the difficulties of the pandemic but must now navigate a changed global landscape, said World Banks EAP Vice President Manuela V. Ferro in a statement on Thursday.

Chips and spy balloons spelling doom

The U.S. and China have taken opposite stances on several major world events over the past few years. China has stood by Russia even after it invaded Ukraine, unlike its Western counterparts, and earlier this month Chinese President Xi made a major diplomatic trip to visit Vladimir Putin. The country has also moved to take over Hong Kong, which previously enjoyed political and judicial autonomy from Mainland China under the one country, two systems policy. And China has claimed Taiwan as its own under its One China '' ideology, outraging Taiwan and inflaming tensions with the U.S. For its part, the U.S. has imposed greater tariffs and trade restrictions on technology. President Bidens CHIPS and Science Act signed in 2022 bolstered Americas chip-making ambitions, an industry that had been dominated by countries in Asia and particularly China. That has threatened to cripple Chinas semiconductor industry and forced countries to pick sides between the U.S. and China.

In 2023, the countries relations were further impacted after the U.S. shot down a balloon last month that it suspected belonged to China. The U.S. says the balloon was spying on sensitive military sites in North America. The move angered China, which insisted it was an unmanned civilian airship, saying the U.S. used indiscriminate force and violated the spirit of international law and international practice. China also said it had observed several surveillance balloons sent by the U.S. on its land, which the U.S. denied.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Barbara Gustavson noticed in the last year how many people were struggling with burnout from their work as community helpers.

Thats a broad category she uses to include first-responders, dispatchers, medical professionals, educators, therapists and those providing care to the elderly at senior living facilities or in their own homes.

A Fredericksburg consultant who focuses on wellness and brain health, Gustavson remembered a comment made early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when many community helpers were struggling with grueling hours as well as fear of the deadly disease. A doctor said that when the dust settles from the medical aspect of COVID, society could experience a second crisis related to mental health.

Gustavson saw that happening and decided to act.

It really occurred to me that, if community helpers struggle to the point of burnout or their health declines, and they have to leave their role, whats going to happen? she wondered.

She hopes to offer ways to build stronger resilience, along with mental and emotional wellness in life and work, during the Elevate FXBG Conference, a half-day session from noon to 4 p.m. April 19 at the Fredericksburg Silk Mill.

While the event requires paid admission of $150 per person for businesses and organizations, Gustavson is looking to acquire enough sponsors to provide free tickets for 100 community helpers.

Registration is available at elevateFXBG.com. Community helpers can click on the tab to apply for sponsorship and their fees will be waived.

Gustavson, the founder of Discover Next Step, will talk about the difference between brain health and mental health and offer strategies to build ongoing resilience. Katina RandleHoward, the CEO of Transformation Lab, will speak about the momentum of community.

Jarvis Bailey, an educator and pastor, will speak about how self-care is an important part of health, and not self-indulgent or selfish, and Janel Donohue, president of the Rappahannock United Way, will talk about various situations in work and life and how you either accept them, change them or move on.

RandleHoward said she noticed Gustavsons heart for the community the first time the two met and believes theres an urgent need to invest in community helpers. Due to constant change brought about by the pandemic, workers had to adapt quickly to doing more with less, and the result has been burnout, stress, physical and mental fatigue, budget cuts and funding challenges.

COVID-19 magnified multiple disparities, RandleHoward said. The one that unfortunately seems to be glazed over is how important it is to support and provide help for the helpers.

After each of the four 20-minute presentations, there will be a roundtable with specific questions to focus on action plans. Each person will leave with a one-page customized plan that might include suggestions such as breathing techniques to help manage stress or exercises to share with other members of their team.

In addition to promoting wellness in the workplace, the conference will address how to improve productivity and redefine what living in balance means. Gustavson believes society glorifies burning the midnight oil and the need to work hard and play hard.

When the pandemic hit, I really feel like we were on the edge of burnout anyway and then our brains just hit a tipping point, she said. We just dont have any more capacity to take anything else on.

She believes that one positive impact of COVID was that it woke us up in some ways and helped people prioritize whats important, whether thats making do with less income or working from home instead of an office.

Theyre paying more attention to themselves, really looking at their lives differently, Gustavson said. I want people to walk away (from this event) seeing themselves a little bit differently, in a more positive light. You are resilient, stay on the path.

More information is available at elevateFXBG.com.
A King George teenager who was convicted of raping one teenage girl and sexually assaulting another in 2021 was ordered Thursday to serve five years in prison.

Jacob Michael Lilley, 18, pleaded guilty in King George Circuit Court to rape, attempted object sexual penetration and felony obstruction of justice. As part of a plea agreement, Lilley was sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison with all but five years suspended; several other charges were dropped.

According to the evidence presented by prosecutor Mason Husby, the rape took place May 31, 2021, at Lilleys home in King George. The victim was attending a gathering there. The second assault took place Sept. 11, 2021, in Lilleys garage and involved a different girl. Husby said neither incident was immediately reported.

Another young person eventually contacted police about the assaults and he was arrested in March last year. The felony obstruction charge stems from a Sept. 23 incident last year in which Lilley, who was on bond and confined to his home at the time, came to the edge of his property and shot a witness car with an air rifle in an apparent attempt to intimidate.

Because Lilley was a juvenile when the offenses occurred, he will remain in the Department of Juvenile Justice until he turns 21. He would then serve the remainder of his sentence in an adult facility.

He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Fredericksburgs Unitarian Universalist church will sponsor a community solidarity vigil on Sunday evening, one week after church property was vandalized with anti-LGBTQ+ messages.

Employees arrived at the church property on Monday morning to find the front door barricaded with multiple items, a post broken, a sign painted over and a lengthy message declaring transgenderism to be a Satanic ploy taped to the door.

The suspect left his name and phone number on the door and Stafford County Sheriffs deputies later located him on the church property, where church leadership had permitted him to camp.

He plainly stated he was in fact the one who committed the vandalism and was subsequently trespassed, Sheriffs Office spokesman Ryan Wilbur reported Tuesday.

The suspect was arrested this week and charged with removal of church property and destruction of property, Wilbur said.

Earlier this year, the Fellowship established an LGBTQ+ Youth Sanctuary ministry, making the building available one Friday each month as a safe space for area young adults who identify as part of that population.

The idea is to provide a space where youth between the ages of 13 and 17 can be in community with each other and with volunteer adults who are trained to support them.

Sundays vigil is being organized to send the message that the Fellowship is against any and all forms of hate and oppression.

We are in Solidarity with the LGBTQIA community, and will not let any intimidation deter us from our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of ALL people, an announcement of the vigil reads.

Members and leaders of other local LGBTQ+ groups and faith communities, as well as the wider community, are invited to participate in the vigil, which will be held at the Fellowship at 25 Chalice Circle and online.

The Stafford Sheriffs Office will be on site during the event. The Sheriffs Office has established a Worship Watch program to act as an open line of communication between faith communities and law enforcement. To become a partner in the program, visit staffordsheriff.com/content/crime/Worshipwatch.cfm.

For more information about the vigil, visit the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburgs website at uuffxbg.org.
'Harsh' parenting can bring mental health harms to kids. In a new study, yelling and physical punishment were more likely than calm, consistent parenting to lead to emotional issues, researchers found. Read more

'Harsh' Parenting Can Bring Mental Health Harms to Kids: Study FRIDAY, March 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Parents who harshly discipline their young children may be putting them on a path toward lasting mental health symptoms, a new study suggests.

Talking to your kids about school shootings. Following yet another tragedy, two children's mental health experts from UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas offer some advice. Read more

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Study refutes notion that C-section harms a baby's 'microbiome.' The bacterial makeup of a pregnant woman's vagina does not influence the composition of germs in the baby's gastrointestinal system, new research shows. Read more

Study Refutes Notion That Method of Delivery Impacts Baby's 'Microbiome' FRIDAY, March 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Despite a longstanding assumption that babies gut microbiome development could be affected by whether they were born vaginally or through cesarean section, scientists report this doesn't appear to be the case.
Huawei has reported a nearly 70% fall in profit last year amid sanctions and pandemic challenges, but saw its enterprise sales rise as the Chinese technology giant sought to pivot into digital industries and reduce its vulnerability to U.S. sanctions. Huawei says its annual revenue for 2022 rose nearly 1% from the previous year. Its net profit plunged 68% from 2021 amid pressures from the pandemic, U.S. sanctions, higher commodity prices and a decline in the companys consumer business, which mostly sells smartphones.
The Fremont City Council agreed Tuesday night to enter into another agreement with Texas A&M University to help install and teach how to operate two new railroad camera monitoring systems along Union Pacific railroad crossings at Luther and South Johnson roads.

The cameras are considered a high priority because of the impending seven-month closure of the Bell Street viaduct-bridge, which is expected to begin within the next several weeks. They are identical to ones already in use on the northwest side of the city.

Justin Zetterman, newly appointed director of public works, answered questions for council members on the project, admitting that aside from the $30,000 being paid to Texas A&M University Transportation Institute, the city would need to purchase the monitoring and camera technical equipment for the project.

This item is to put up some cameras at Luther and South Johnson (roads) with the railroad crossings. It is an extension of the system we currently have running on the BNSF line on the west side of the town. When we were unable to find a fiscal way to build another viaduct to get fire trucks to the other side of town, this solution was found, Zetterman said. The fire trucks actually have a computer where they can look on the citys website and see what roads are open. With the viaduct being closed, they are losing their known route to the southeast part of Fremont.

Zetterman said firefighters will be able to look at the cameras while en route to an incident. The cameras can also be looked at by the public on the citys website.

We will be installing these cameras so they do the same thing they do on the west side of the town. It has been beneficial enough on the west side of town, that we will keep them up after the viaduct is done. It will help ease some of the issues with the viaduct being closed, Zetterman added.

Ward 2 Council Member Dev Sookram questioned the costs of the program, notably the needed equipment and whether it is covered by the $30,000 fee. He stressed he is in favor of anything to improve public safety, but had questions about the project.

Zetterman said the $30,000 is only for the Texas A&M advisory consultations.

I do believe there will be equipment costs on top of it. I hate to throw a number out, but I would estimate it will be $15,000 on top of (the $30,000), Zetterman said. (The $30,000) is for (Texas A&M)s expertise in setting it up.

Sookram also questioned when the cameras would be operational.

Zetterman said that aspect was still being worked out.

My guess is it will not be ready when the closure of the viaduct starts, Zetterman explained.

According to a staff report on the project, the two new cameras are needed due to, A lengthy closing of the Bell Street viaduct is imminent.

This will temporarily eliminate the quickest means for emergency services to get to the south side of multiple railroad tracks in the event of an emergency. With the increase in growth and the future plans in this area, it has been a long-range plan to extend the crossing monitoring system to this area, city officials wrote in the staff report. With the imminent closing of the viaduct, a quick solution is needed.

The report also details how in 2017, an identical agreement with The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) was signed between the city and university.

They developed a project for the west side of town, at 23rd Street, Linden Avenue and Military Avenue. This system allows the 911 dispatchers and police and fire responders to see when the railroad crossings are blocked by trains and to quickly select another route to get to emergencies on the other side, officials explained in the staff report.

The system has been successfully deployed and in continuous use in Fremont for over five years. TTI has agreed to work with the city of Fremont again in designing and implementing a similar system for the crossings at Luther Road and Johnson Road.

The Bell Street viaduct-bridge closure is expected to cause delays for first responders such as law enforcement, fire department staff and EMS responders who may need to find an alternate route to calls in the south areas of Fremont and the county, especially if the Luther Road and South Johnson Road crossings are blocked by stopped Union Pacific trains.